Just buy Twin Peaks and watch it if you don't know. Television has never been better and likely will not be again.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
BEST VIDEO EVER
This is one of my favorite music videos in the world. My friend Mike Aho made it with some found VHS footage from a thrift store. It's pretty much the best thing ever. It is for his band Sounder, I really dig this record.
Monday, July 12, 2010
The FLING
Here is something fun. The Fling are one of my favorite local bands. I mixed their new album, "When The Mad Houses Appear" a couple months ago. They gave me a call to do a cover photo recently and set up this crazy set in a local garage. Listen to their music. It is great. And here is the final album cover picture I was able to knock off.
http://www.myspace.com/thefling
http://www.myspace.com/thefling
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Iphone App That I Kinda Like
Hi Diane, Ok I concede... digital technology is not all bad. I will always prefer the look of film and a substantial camera, but in a pinch, when I feel like taking a couple of cool pictures for posterity, I have found the ShakeItPhoto app to be kind of fun. I'm currently producing an album in my recording studio with the band Two Guns and I've started snapping a few frames with my Iphone, I'm actually kind of a fan of how they look. In fact, it is the first app that has me consistently using my phones camera. Next thing you know I'll have a facebook account. Or not.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
1987
I started photographing when I was about 13 with a camera I lifted from my dad. I was really into skate boarding and I lived around the block from Remy Stratton who eventually became a hell of a pro skater. I used to shoot him and some of the other local guys skating backyard pools around our hood. I took this photo in 1987 when I was a punk ass teenager and developed the negs in my parents laundry room. Remy hit me up to use it for a retrospective story on his career in the most recent "Drop City" hard bound photo book. I'm actually more excited about this than anything else I've done in a long time. I never did too much skate photography as I gravitated towards other subject matter, but I've always had a huge respect for the craft. I am delighted to say, I am finally a published skate photographer with one of my earliest proper photographs. It is the "Drop City" book with Heath Ledger on the cover, the Remy story in there is all time! www.skatebook.tv
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Holistic Dental Health, How To Stick It To The Man
Many of you know that I like to rant on occasion. I've gotten going on tooth health numerous times in the past months and everyone in ear shot wants to know more, so here it is...
I was once a dental train wreck, 1 cavity after the next for years. Then I got smart.
About 8 years ago I was walking down the street in Tijuana, on pain killers, with my Mexican American friend and translator Ivan Vejar. I had just had a mexican tooth extraction of my rear left top molar. The plan was to get the tooth extracted, and walk a mile or two over to Tijuana's "Casa de Mole" for a solid meal. I was spitting huge globs of blood on the ground, and the whole left side of my mouth was stuffed with cotton. Walking seemed to make me bleed more so we caught a cab. At the Casa de Mole I realized I could not eat in this condition, so I ordered a small bowl of Mole sauce and slurped it down the right side of my mouth. This was all courtesy of a bastard dentist I had gone to 4 years earlier in Long Beach. He was bored, and depressed, and lamented the fact that he had not had a vacation in a while. He gave me an amalgam filling on a minor cavity that was so half ass, it ended up getting infected under the filling and needing a root canal a couple years later. The root canal then went bad after another couple years and I found my way to Mexico, where prices are low, and quality is high, because it is a cash based system. It was then that I realized I never wanted to have another cavity or tooth problem. I had done it the conventional American way, and it had failed. I started to do some research and learned the following. Dental amalgam contains mercury. The American Dental Association states on their website: "The ADA recognizes dental amalgam (silver-colored filling) as a safe and effective restorative material and will oppose efforts to ban or otherwise restrict its use." On the same website they state that this wonderful safe restorative material cannot be put in the drain as it will contaminate the environment and the city water treatment facilities. Apparently our bodies are impervious to its adverse effects. Regardless of this, I opted to start removing this toxic metal from my mouth. I did several more trips to Mexico, and cleared the left side replacing them with composite fillings, largely recognized to be the safest and most similar to ones own teeth.
More recently, for fear of being raped and killed by Mexican drug cartels, I started the search for an over priced local dentist who was not a mercury peddling ignorant fool. I visited a dentist in Orange County who said he would remove my remaining amalgams, but not because they were harmful. I protested this notion, and ironically, sitting right next to us on the counter, was a yellow and black hazardous waste box for putting the mercury waste in to have it carefully and properly disposed of. I asked him if he thought the mercury somehow became mystically not hazardous when placed in our mouths. He was not amused. Such an ass. Despondent about my situation I did an internet search and found a decent dentist who understands the dangers of mercury here in Long Beach. They do not take up front insurance, because then they have to deal with all the rules and regulations of the government approved ADA views on amalgam and other unhealthy aspects of dentistry. They do however have good rates, and at the end of the day, why would I not want to spend a little extra on my teeth, we buy nice clothes and cars, yet no one wants to step up to the plate and invest in better quality dentistry, food, medicine etc. Not to open a whole other can of worms, but the notion that the government and the ADA know best about your teeth and your body is frightening. The food pyramid, amalgam fillings, pharmaceutical companies with more power than big oil, this is what "the man" has given us... we got to fight against the man. After Mexico, I banned all dentists for 8 years and researched the holistic approaches to dental health. I figured my teeth were already falling out of my head and it could not get any worse. I then did the opposite of what the ADA and Crest and our government are telling us to do. At my first dental check up in 8 years my teeth were flawless, my gums were strong and healthy, and the dentist said she has almost never seen someone with such an absence of gum pockets. All ones and twos. I was ecstatic, my 8 year experiment on myself had worked. You want lower cost health care and better dental health? Here is how to stick it to the man, the following is my dental health protocol.
Toothpaste
Read the back of your corporate toothpaste. It states roughly, "If you take more of this than you need to brush call the poison control center immediately". This is a huge problem for me. This is because of fluoride. There are some grand conspiracy theories about fluoride in our water supplies and toothpaste but I will not get into those. So supposedly fluoride can harden teeth, but at what cost? Suffice to say fluoride has been linked to all kinds of diseases, and it is poisonous to human beings. The other problem with your toothpaste, is Glycerin. It is not a poison, it comes from vegetables usually, and it is used to coat your teeth and give them a glossy feeling. The problem with this is, your teeth are living things, they have the capability to absorb minerals and to rebuild enamel. The glycerin coating prevents your teeth from absorbing minerals from food for hours after you brush. It also can trap plaque and create tarter build up by helping to adhere bacteria to your teeth. What I look for in a toothpaste is: 1. No Poison 2. No Glycerin.
This is hard to come by, there are a few brands at your local health food stores that will work. I personally use: www.toothsoap.com I believe they are the best. Browse their website, you can continue your tooth education there. (2013 update. I have switched to Oralive Dental Elixir from Ascended Health, I also use the Living Libations Tooth Serum. Both are fantastic and not as soapy as Tooth Soap, though I do still endorse Tooth Soap.)
Food
The food you eat has everything to do with your health and the health of the planet. You need to eat greens everyday. Not iceberg lettuce, but proper greens, kale, spinach, romaine, anything green and leafy. These are the basic building blocks of life. Chlorophyll is only one atom different from our own blood, greens are mineral rich. Get rid of the sugar and add greens. Juicing is also fantastic. Treat yourself to a green juice a couple times a week and swish it around your teeth, now that they are not covered in glycerin your bodies natural re-mineralization process can begin. If you eat acidic things like pineapple or lemon, be sure and rinse well afterward. Acidic foods will break down your enamel and eventually create weak points for bacteria to cause cavities. I love a good pineapple based smoothie but I always rinse well or brush with my tooth soap afterward.
Brushing and Flossing
I floss every other day, if I'm burned out at night every 3 days. I brush every night, sometimes in the morning. For 8 years I have done this combined with the toothpaste and food I have already mentioned. I also have a tongue scrapper. I do that once a week. I've heard it is good for you, it does not take long and makes me feel morally superior to my friends.
The Extras
I have a few different mouth washes and essential oils that I use regularly. My favorite mouth wash is EcoDent Daily Rinse. It is a little pricey but works great, you only need a small sip as opposed to the recommended amount so it will last for months. Also, after brushing I use Yogi Tooth Serum from www.livinglibations.com, this is a bunch of cleaning and germ killing oils like Neem and Clove. Neem has been used for centuries for dental health, add one drop to your tooth brush and get it on your gum line and teeth. You can also put a little on your floss and get it between your teeth. This website and some of the others are great starting points on your journey to optimum dental health and sticking it to the man.
Dentists
I now go to the dentist once every 2 years just for a check up. I have found a few dentists in both Long Beach, Mexico and Orange County who are to my liking. My current dentist is Dr. McBride, in Long Beach. (www.rpmdentistry.com) He spent an entire hour with me answering questions and discussing and debating tooth health. I have never had another doctor even spend 10 minutes with me. He is not 100% holistic, but pretty darn close. He does not take up front insurance or medicaid so as not to be forced by the government and ADA to use unhealthy dental practices. As a result his cash prices can be lower than you would expect. But if you are really in a pinch and need dirt cheap dental, these Tijuana dentists are both phenomenal.
Dr. Oscar Solorio
(he has dissapeared, but he was good.)
http://www.americanbiodental.com/
this place is coming highly recommended these days.
Dr. Juan Carlos Hernandez, DDS
Tijuana, Mexico
Tel. 011+ 52-6646-963716
And for a top notch oral surgeon:
Dr. Benjamin Arechiga, DDS
www.bajadentistry.com
Thoughts On Oral Surgery
The dental industry largely thinks everyone needs their wisdom teeth out. I was told this 16 years ago and it's one of the reasons I stopped going to the dentist. I could not afford to get them out and it was better to ignore the problem. Years later when I went to the Mexican dentist they told me everything was fine. They did not need to come out, this was confirmed by my current dentist here in Long Beach. In short I think it is a scam. Think about every ancient skull you've seen. Full head of teeth, wisdom teeth in tact. They were brushing with neem oil, eating more natural foods, and largely keeping their teeth. Life expectancy was also lower so you did not have the time to get bad teeth, and certainly people did die from tooth related problems. I'm not saying that wisdom teeth never need to come out, but largely it is not the case. I'm glad I kept mine, I am that much richer, and my wisdom tooth has dropped down into the place my molar used to be. They hold your teeth in place, and help to keep your jaws bone structure. My advice, find a good reputable honest minimally invasive dentist and find out if they really need to be removed.
Disclaimer: Matt is a freelance photographer and music producer and is not a dentist nor should he be mistaken for a dentist or health guru.
I was once a dental train wreck, 1 cavity after the next for years. Then I got smart.
About 8 years ago I was walking down the street in Tijuana, on pain killers, with my Mexican American friend and translator Ivan Vejar. I had just had a mexican tooth extraction of my rear left top molar. The plan was to get the tooth extracted, and walk a mile or two over to Tijuana's "Casa de Mole" for a solid meal. I was spitting huge globs of blood on the ground, and the whole left side of my mouth was stuffed with cotton. Walking seemed to make me bleed more so we caught a cab. At the Casa de Mole I realized I could not eat in this condition, so I ordered a small bowl of Mole sauce and slurped it down the right side of my mouth. This was all courtesy of a bastard dentist I had gone to 4 years earlier in Long Beach. He was bored, and depressed, and lamented the fact that he had not had a vacation in a while. He gave me an amalgam filling on a minor cavity that was so half ass, it ended up getting infected under the filling and needing a root canal a couple years later. The root canal then went bad after another couple years and I found my way to Mexico, where prices are low, and quality is high, because it is a cash based system. It was then that I realized I never wanted to have another cavity or tooth problem. I had done it the conventional American way, and it had failed. I started to do some research and learned the following. Dental amalgam contains mercury. The American Dental Association states on their website: "The ADA recognizes dental amalgam (silver-colored filling) as a safe and effective restorative material and will oppose efforts to ban or otherwise restrict its use." On the same website they state that this wonderful safe restorative material cannot be put in the drain as it will contaminate the environment and the city water treatment facilities. Apparently our bodies are impervious to its adverse effects. Regardless of this, I opted to start removing this toxic metal from my mouth. I did several more trips to Mexico, and cleared the left side replacing them with composite fillings, largely recognized to be the safest and most similar to ones own teeth.
More recently, for fear of being raped and killed by Mexican drug cartels, I started the search for an over priced local dentist who was not a mercury peddling ignorant fool. I visited a dentist in Orange County who said he would remove my remaining amalgams, but not because they were harmful. I protested this notion, and ironically, sitting right next to us on the counter, was a yellow and black hazardous waste box for putting the mercury waste in to have it carefully and properly disposed of. I asked him if he thought the mercury somehow became mystically not hazardous when placed in our mouths. He was not amused. Such an ass. Despondent about my situation I did an internet search and found a decent dentist who understands the dangers of mercury here in Long Beach. They do not take up front insurance, because then they have to deal with all the rules and regulations of the government approved ADA views on amalgam and other unhealthy aspects of dentistry. They do however have good rates, and at the end of the day, why would I not want to spend a little extra on my teeth, we buy nice clothes and cars, yet no one wants to step up to the plate and invest in better quality dentistry, food, medicine etc. Not to open a whole other can of worms, but the notion that the government and the ADA know best about your teeth and your body is frightening. The food pyramid, amalgam fillings, pharmaceutical companies with more power than big oil, this is what "the man" has given us... we got to fight against the man. After Mexico, I banned all dentists for 8 years and researched the holistic approaches to dental health. I figured my teeth were already falling out of my head and it could not get any worse. I then did the opposite of what the ADA and Crest and our government are telling us to do. At my first dental check up in 8 years my teeth were flawless, my gums were strong and healthy, and the dentist said she has almost never seen someone with such an absence of gum pockets. All ones and twos. I was ecstatic, my 8 year experiment on myself had worked. You want lower cost health care and better dental health? Here is how to stick it to the man, the following is my dental health protocol.
Toothpaste
Read the back of your corporate toothpaste. It states roughly, "If you take more of this than you need to brush call the poison control center immediately". This is a huge problem for me. This is because of fluoride. There are some grand conspiracy theories about fluoride in our water supplies and toothpaste but I will not get into those. So supposedly fluoride can harden teeth, but at what cost? Suffice to say fluoride has been linked to all kinds of diseases, and it is poisonous to human beings. The other problem with your toothpaste, is Glycerin. It is not a poison, it comes from vegetables usually, and it is used to coat your teeth and give them a glossy feeling. The problem with this is, your teeth are living things, they have the capability to absorb minerals and to rebuild enamel. The glycerin coating prevents your teeth from absorbing minerals from food for hours after you brush. It also can trap plaque and create tarter build up by helping to adhere bacteria to your teeth. What I look for in a toothpaste is: 1. No Poison 2. No Glycerin.
This is hard to come by, there are a few brands at your local health food stores that will work. I personally use: www.toothsoap.com I believe they are the best. Browse their website, you can continue your tooth education there. (2013 update. I have switched to Oralive Dental Elixir from Ascended Health, I also use the Living Libations Tooth Serum. Both are fantastic and not as soapy as Tooth Soap, though I do still endorse Tooth Soap.)
Food
The food you eat has everything to do with your health and the health of the planet. You need to eat greens everyday. Not iceberg lettuce, but proper greens, kale, spinach, romaine, anything green and leafy. These are the basic building blocks of life. Chlorophyll is only one atom different from our own blood, greens are mineral rich. Get rid of the sugar and add greens. Juicing is also fantastic. Treat yourself to a green juice a couple times a week and swish it around your teeth, now that they are not covered in glycerin your bodies natural re-mineralization process can begin. If you eat acidic things like pineapple or lemon, be sure and rinse well afterward. Acidic foods will break down your enamel and eventually create weak points for bacteria to cause cavities. I love a good pineapple based smoothie but I always rinse well or brush with my tooth soap afterward.
Brushing and Flossing
I floss every other day, if I'm burned out at night every 3 days. I brush every night, sometimes in the morning. For 8 years I have done this combined with the toothpaste and food I have already mentioned. I also have a tongue scrapper. I do that once a week. I've heard it is good for you, it does not take long and makes me feel morally superior to my friends.
The Extras
I have a few different mouth washes and essential oils that I use regularly. My favorite mouth wash is EcoDent Daily Rinse. It is a little pricey but works great, you only need a small sip as opposed to the recommended amount so it will last for months. Also, after brushing I use Yogi Tooth Serum from www.livinglibations.com, this is a bunch of cleaning and germ killing oils like Neem and Clove. Neem has been used for centuries for dental health, add one drop to your tooth brush and get it on your gum line and teeth. You can also put a little on your floss and get it between your teeth. This website and some of the others are great starting points on your journey to optimum dental health and sticking it to the man.
Dentists
I now go to the dentist once every 2 years just for a check up. I have found a few dentists in both Long Beach, Mexico and Orange County who are to my liking. My current dentist is Dr. McBride, in Long Beach. (www.rpmdentistry.com) He spent an entire hour with me answering questions and discussing and debating tooth health. I have never had another doctor even spend 10 minutes with me. He is not 100% holistic, but pretty darn close. He does not take up front insurance or medicaid so as not to be forced by the government and ADA to use unhealthy dental practices. As a result his cash prices can be lower than you would expect. But if you are really in a pinch and need dirt cheap dental, these Tijuana dentists are both phenomenal.
Dr. Oscar Solorio
(he has dissapeared, but he was good.)
http://www.americanbiodental.com/
this place is coming highly recommended these days.
Dr. Juan Carlos Hernandez, DDS
Tijuana, Mexico
Tel. 011+ 52-6646-963716
And for a top notch oral surgeon:
Dr. Benjamin Arechiga, DDS
www.bajadentistry.com
Thoughts On Oral Surgery
The dental industry largely thinks everyone needs their wisdom teeth out. I was told this 16 years ago and it's one of the reasons I stopped going to the dentist. I could not afford to get them out and it was better to ignore the problem. Years later when I went to the Mexican dentist they told me everything was fine. They did not need to come out, this was confirmed by my current dentist here in Long Beach. In short I think it is a scam. Think about every ancient skull you've seen. Full head of teeth, wisdom teeth in tact. They were brushing with neem oil, eating more natural foods, and largely keeping their teeth. Life expectancy was also lower so you did not have the time to get bad teeth, and certainly people did die from tooth related problems. I'm not saying that wisdom teeth never need to come out, but largely it is not the case. I'm glad I kept mine, I am that much richer, and my wisdom tooth has dropped down into the place my molar used to be. They hold your teeth in place, and help to keep your jaws bone structure. My advice, find a good reputable honest minimally invasive dentist and find out if they really need to be removed.
Disclaimer: Matt is a freelance photographer and music producer and is not a dentist nor should he be mistaken for a dentist or health guru.
Monday, February 8, 2010
My Other Mother
On January 29, 2010 Marian Barnet passed away. When I was 16 years old I met Marian for the first time. She was sitting at her kitchen table reading a book with some sort of whiskey concoction and a More 100 cigarette. I don't ever remember the cigarette being burned down, they always seemed to just burn at the end. Probably because those Mores are like 6 inches long. Marian was always researching recipes, waiting for the New York Times weekend crossword puzzles, and cursing at the family dog Freddy who had a goiter and understood better English than most people. He would lazily sit on his couch and act humiliated. She was always reading something, I would estimate a book a day. She loved to cook, she was obsessed with it. She would make daily trips in her old Volvo to the one and only Trader Joes in the area and put together something for dinner that we often failed to understand. A gazpacho for instance. We'd sit around the Burke Saarinen dining set and talk about the world. This is where she started shaping us.
When I was 18 I thought I was Bob Dylan, I bought a harmonica holder, and started smoking so I could put the grits in the holder beside the harmonica. Upon seeing me in this state, she held her cigarette and drink in one hand and peered over her book telling me in her mostly British accent "HA!, the world already has one Bob Dylan and we certainly do not need another." She was famous for these well intended but hurtful one liners. It may not seem like much, but she was a master of spotting pretense and folly , and flat out calling it what it was. This brutal honesty sent people cowering and lost her many would be friends. Ironically she was the best friend of all, the one that would tell you the truth about yourself. For those of us who would listen, it changed our lives.
Marian had only one son, Alex, and she pretty much adopted myself, and our friend Jules de Balincourt. She always took an interest in us kids and made it her business to push and encourage us in our artistic endeavors. Up to the bitter end, we were finishing our works, and then taking them to her in Mal Pais, Costa Rica where we would sit on her balcony and talk about what we were doing, our ideas, and life in the states. How the Barnets ended up there is an interesting story. She came up with the idea to sell their house in Seal Beach, load everything in a Volkswagon, and drive to Costa Rica where her and Murray would buy land and build a house. Sometime in 1994 they bought beach front property in Mal Pais and Marian designed 2 houses with her son and husband Murray. Alex lived on the beach under a tarp for a year and built the damn things with Murray and some local Ticos. Below they are pictured.
I was broke in the mid 90's, I did freelance photography for a living, and played in a band that got me out on the road for almost a decade. When the Barnets (my adopted family) moved to Costa Rica, we all lost touch for few years. Mal Pais had no telephones and had only recently gotten electricity. 4 or 5 years went by and one day I got a scratchy call from Alex who demanded I come down and visit. I saved up a little money, packed up my surfboard, and went to Costa Rica. Alex made the 6 hour drive from Mal Pais and picked us up in San Jose. It was like seeing a sibling after being apart for a long time. When I finally got to meet up with Marian again, she was so happy. She had developed emphysema at this point, and was marooned in her lovely home, but hell if she didn't still have one of my photographs on her wall, as did Alex at his Mal Pais restaurant. This was the most touching thing I could imagine and even now it brings tears to my eyes, this woman who believed so much in my vision that she would drag my art across all of Central America.
I got to enjoy another 7 years of visiting her in Mal Pais and going on all her scavenger hunts to acquire a David Lynch movie, a Charley Trotter Raw food book, various herbs, dried berrys, cheese, booze and spices etc. I would listen to her stories of working for James Dean, Jane Fonda, meeting Elvis, this woman, stuck in Costa Rica and in her mid 70's, was turning me onto stuff in my own country. I could go on for days with stories about our youth and Marian's interactions with us, and perhaps some day I will. For those of you who did not know her, this brief description will have to suffice, and this article, one of the very few she wrote, will surely confirm that the world rarely has the privilege of hosting such a great woman. She wrote this as a letter to the Los Angeles Times when Alex and I were still in high school. Murray photo copied it and read it at her funeral at the beautiful graveyard in the village of Mal Pais, Costa Rica. Click on it and read it.
When I was 18 I thought I was Bob Dylan, I bought a harmonica holder, and started smoking so I could put the grits in the holder beside the harmonica. Upon seeing me in this state, she held her cigarette and drink in one hand and peered over her book telling me in her mostly British accent "HA!, the world already has one Bob Dylan and we certainly do not need another." She was famous for these well intended but hurtful one liners. It may not seem like much, but she was a master of spotting pretense and folly , and flat out calling it what it was. This brutal honesty sent people cowering and lost her many would be friends. Ironically she was the best friend of all, the one that would tell you the truth about yourself. For those of us who would listen, it changed our lives.
Marian had only one son, Alex, and she pretty much adopted myself, and our friend Jules de Balincourt. She always took an interest in us kids and made it her business to push and encourage us in our artistic endeavors. Up to the bitter end, we were finishing our works, and then taking them to her in Mal Pais, Costa Rica where we would sit on her balcony and talk about what we were doing, our ideas, and life in the states. How the Barnets ended up there is an interesting story. She came up with the idea to sell their house in Seal Beach, load everything in a Volkswagon, and drive to Costa Rica where her and Murray would buy land and build a house. Sometime in 1994 they bought beach front property in Mal Pais and Marian designed 2 houses with her son and husband Murray. Alex lived on the beach under a tarp for a year and built the damn things with Murray and some local Ticos. Below they are pictured.
I was broke in the mid 90's, I did freelance photography for a living, and played in a band that got me out on the road for almost a decade. When the Barnets (my adopted family) moved to Costa Rica, we all lost touch for few years. Mal Pais had no telephones and had only recently gotten electricity. 4 or 5 years went by and one day I got a scratchy call from Alex who demanded I come down and visit. I saved up a little money, packed up my surfboard, and went to Costa Rica. Alex made the 6 hour drive from Mal Pais and picked us up in San Jose. It was like seeing a sibling after being apart for a long time. When I finally got to meet up with Marian again, she was so happy. She had developed emphysema at this point, and was marooned in her lovely home, but hell if she didn't still have one of my photographs on her wall, as did Alex at his Mal Pais restaurant. This was the most touching thing I could imagine and even now it brings tears to my eyes, this woman who believed so much in my vision that she would drag my art across all of Central America.
I got to enjoy another 7 years of visiting her in Mal Pais and going on all her scavenger hunts to acquire a David Lynch movie, a Charley Trotter Raw food book, various herbs, dried berrys, cheese, booze and spices etc. I would listen to her stories of working for James Dean, Jane Fonda, meeting Elvis, this woman, stuck in Costa Rica and in her mid 70's, was turning me onto stuff in my own country. I could go on for days with stories about our youth and Marian's interactions with us, and perhaps some day I will. For those of you who did not know her, this brief description will have to suffice, and this article, one of the very few she wrote, will surely confirm that the world rarely has the privilege of hosting such a great woman. She wrote this as a letter to the Los Angeles Times when Alex and I were still in high school. Murray photo copied it and read it at her funeral at the beautiful graveyard in the village of Mal Pais, Costa Rica. Click on it and read it.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Behave Yourself
Hey Diane,
here is a fun little video from the recording sessions of the new Cold War Kids "Behave Yourself" EP which I had the pleasure of engineering, mixing and producing. I did not know this existed and someone called us the other day to say they saw it on Current TV. It's always fun to see my back yard on TV. It's like Jersey Shore or something, except I've got better abs.
here is a fun little video from the recording sessions of the new Cold War Kids "Behave Yourself" EP which I had the pleasure of engineering, mixing and producing. I did not know this existed and someone called us the other day to say they saw it on Current TV. It's always fun to see my back yard on TV. It's like Jersey Shore or something, except I've got better abs.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Art Show
Merry Christmas Diane, I am sending you this on Christmas morning because it's the first chance I've had to sit down with a little free time. It's been in insanely productive month. I made a new Mando Diao video for their winter single, "Nothing Without You". This was a break through for me, I've been directing videos for a while now, but this is the first one that I did everything on, shot it, directed, produced, edited. Total pain in the ass. The catch was, they had no time to shoot, so I had to use existing footage from the Documentary Vern and I are making and force it to work. Totally silly request, but have a look at www.vimeo.com/mattwignall and check out that Nothing Without You video. Pretty sweet. I never want to edit again.
Next, I spent a week in Costa Rica relaxing, and preparing a little art for my friends restaurant, www.maryscostarica.com, I also filmed a how to video for my wife's website www.rawjudita.com, on how to make a jungle smoothie. Coconut water, whatever is growing, and a blender. Delicious and healthy. I'll send you that little video soon. It is funny.
After Costa Rica, I dove into 10 days at my studio of working on the Water Wells for Africa winter exhibit. This was to be the best time of my artistic life, working in my new 4th street Long Beach space, making whatever I want. It went great for a few days, then I got food poisoning and my boy Neil Harrison had to put together all my wood hanging mounts while I barfed my brains out. I finished the show just in time, got it hung up, spent 2 days filming a new video for Sherwood which I am directing, and now it's Christmas and no one is calling me any more, and I don't want to see anyone, unless they are bringing me desert. Here are a couple pictures from the show, I am putting a full gallery on my main website. I'm sorry you could not go Diane, maybe next time. Enjoy the pictures though, it sure looked good, I was so happy.
Merry Christmas.
Next, I spent a week in Costa Rica relaxing, and preparing a little art for my friends restaurant, www.maryscostarica.com, I also filmed a how to video for my wife's website www.rawjudita.com, on how to make a jungle smoothie. Coconut water, whatever is growing, and a blender. Delicious and healthy. I'll send you that little video soon. It is funny.
After Costa Rica, I dove into 10 days at my studio of working on the Water Wells for Africa winter exhibit. This was to be the best time of my artistic life, working in my new 4th street Long Beach space, making whatever I want. It went great for a few days, then I got food poisoning and my boy Neil Harrison had to put together all my wood hanging mounts while I barfed my brains out. I finished the show just in time, got it hung up, spent 2 days filming a new video for Sherwood which I am directing, and now it's Christmas and no one is calling me any more, and I don't want to see anyone, unless they are bringing me desert. Here are a couple pictures from the show, I am putting a full gallery on my main website. I'm sorry you could not go Diane, maybe next time. Enjoy the pictures though, it sure looked good, I was so happy.
Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
WWFA Photography Exhibit
Hey Diane, sorry to be a flake. Here is the info for the DEC. 20 WWFA exhibit. I could not be more exited about this. I've been working on some interesting printing
techniques and alternative means of presentation, and this exhibit is the one I've wanted to do since I captured these images. I was able to curate this event too, so I of course invited a few of my favorite artists to join me, namely, Matt Maust, Neil Harrison, Vern and Melinda Moen.
The Nyasa Story
Photography Art Exhibit on
The Life and People of Malawi, Africa
Exhibit Opening
December 20, 2009
7pm to 11pm
at James Gray Gallery
Bergamot Station Art Center
2525 Michigan Ave, Building D4
Santa Monica, CA 90404
techniques and alternative means of presentation, and this exhibit is the one I've wanted to do since I captured these images. I was able to curate this event too, so I of course invited a few of my favorite artists to join me, namely, Matt Maust, Neil Harrison, Vern and Melinda Moen.
The Nyasa Story
Photography Art Exhibit on
The Life and People of Malawi, Africa
Exhibit Opening
December 20, 2009
7pm to 11pm
at James Gray Gallery
Bergamot Station Art Center
2525 Michigan Ave, Building D4
Santa Monica, CA 90404
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