(W)hirst

(text from original The Independent article, Dec 6th 2008):

One is an entrepreneurial 16-year-old who takes time off from his schoolwork to create urban stencil designs of cultural icons such as Mickey Mouse and Clint Eastwood, which he sells for £65 on the internet. The other is the Turner prize-winning father of Britart whose diamond-encrusted skull and pickled sharks have brought him a £200m fortune.

Ordinarily, the two figures at opposite ends of the art spectrum should never have cause to meet. But Cartain, the moniker for the teenage artist, has earned the ire of Damien Hirst for incorporating photographic images of his platinum cast of a human skull, For the Love of God, into his graffiti prints. The two artists have become locked in an unlikely art clash that has led Hirst to demand recompense from the teenager for selling £200 worth of images of his skull without permission, says Private Eye magazine.

He made a series of collages using photographs of Hirst's skull, some of which imposed the bejewelled sculpture over the faces of figures taken from other photographs. One showed the skull in a shopping basket alongside some carrots. The images were displayed in the online gallery, 100artworks.com, where Cartrain's collages sell for £65, on average.
He was surprised to learn Hirst had not only seen the work but also contacted the Design and Artists Copyright Society (Dacs), who apparently informed the young artist he had infringed Hirst's copyright. The older man has reportedly demanded that Cartrain not only remove the works from sale but "deliver up" originals, along with any profit made on those sold, or face legal action.

Anyway, go on over to: www.redragtoabull.com if you think this was / is just ridiculous.

p.s: I recently walked past Damien Hirst and Jay Jopling on St Martins Lane, and managed not to throw up. Yay me.

Spin the Black Circle

Next Tuesday is the 60th anniversary of the 45rpm single. the Guardian has a good article about this - click the title for more:

The first single, ever, was a country record by Eddy Arnold called Texarkana Baby. Arnold was managed by Colonel Tom Parker, who saw another of his charges, Elvis Presley, sign to RCA Victor in 1956. Texarkana Baby was pressed on a slightly odd green vinyl; RCA figured that, in the format wars, they needed a novelty, and so they pressed country music on green vinyl, children's music on yellow, classical on red, and "race" music - rhythm and blues - on "cerise", or what looked like orange to the average Joe. Straightahead pop was released on straightahead black.

Ten – Redux

Partly because it’s my favourite album and partly due to the fact that, the new remixes make each song sound different in ways that are so subtle – I’m deciding if these or the originals sound ‘better’.

A recent re-release of REM’s Murmur, raised the issue of which version would stand the test of time with their fans. And indeed, if the remastered disc sounded TOO clean and crisp, removing the ethereal quality from what was essentially the 1st ‘college rock’ album to break mainstream.

There’s no point in me reviewing Ten Redux as it wouldn’t be that unbiased an opinion, but suffice to say, the most well known tracks off Ten (Jeremy / Alive) do sound new in interesting ways. Alive has possibly a more rounded feel overall, less like a band jam and more a ‘studio cut’. This isn’t necessarily a minus point however as Eddie’s vocals (and especially the drums – as with most of the other tracks) stand out spectacularly well on these versions.

Jeremy - possibly the most played single off the album back in 1992, feels like a new track here, the mix bringing McCready’s guitar to the front more obviously. While Once, Why Go, and Porch also have a new punch underlying their rhythm sections, all the while keeping the familiarity of the songs intact.

The £100 deluxe set would’ve been nice, but the CD/DVD – with the extra tracks from the early recording sessions and full MTV Unplugged show released for the first time, in 5.1 (albeit in the same order as first broadcast with the Jeremy encore still in the middle for some reason) is a nice little package that includes a hardback booklet. And I also have the vinyl on order, which still only takes the whole lot to half the price of the deluxe set.

Any of these are well worth a purchase. As, regardless of those people who would harp on about Nevermind being the definitive example of the Seattle sound in the early to mid nineties, Ten was a paradigm. A milestone album that caught the energy of a band just starting what would become one of the longest careers of all their cohorts and contemporaries.

Mr Pulman

 

Just added a link - the right - to Chris Pulman's blog. Met Chris while he worked in Slam and haven't seen him since he left. Thought I'd put the link up as he was always a gent and always sorted me out with my half-cabs. So there you go.

Indiana... Smith

mysterymanonfilm.com, has a link to download the 125-page transcript (in the form of a .pdf document) of the original 1978 story conference between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan for a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Spielberg suggested that Kasdan write Raiders because he admired his Continental Divide script. Lucas agreed. Lucas had just released Star Wars, the biggest film in the history of Hollywood and a cult phenomenon. Spielberg had just released Close Encounters of the Third Kind and before that, Jaws. Now Kasdan was called in to have a story conference with the biggest names in Hollywood who wanted to talk about their next blockbuster. They had 5 consecutive 9-hour days to talk about the story
Click the title for the full story and link if you have a couple hours to spare.

Seven things you need to know about time

Bored at work? Of course - but check this out to see if there's anything you can do about it. Click the title for the complete article and links.

What makes the universe tick?

It turns out that if you want to understand time, you might need to grab some measurements from the future, watch a big bang explode at the edge of the universe, or delve into the anomalies presented by the most unruly of the subatomic particles. For some, the only solution is to scrap the notion of time altogether.

Calls to scrap the 'leap second' grow

At midnight on New Year's Eve, time stopped momentarily. Guardians of atomic clocks around the world added an extra "leap second" to 2008 to keep time synched with the Earth's rotation - but do they really need to bother?

Time slows for people who stop smoking

Time really does pass more slowly when you are gasping for a cigarette. Researchers found that when regular smokers gave up their habit, their perception of passing time was stretched by 50%.

Is time an illusion?

One group of physicists has recently found a way to do quantum physics without invoking time. If correct, the approach suggests that time really is an illusion, and that we may need to rethink how the universe at large works.

Outside of time: The quantum gravity computer

A quantum gravity computer would be the ultimate design, and radically different from anything we have ever seen. Not only might it be supremely powerful, defying the logic of cause and effect to give instantaneous answers, it might also tell us exactly how the universe works.

Time in the future seems to go further

The best time to ask someone for a favour is at least several weeks in advance, a new study suggests. The research finds that people consistently over-commit because they expect to have more time in the future than they do right now.

2008: Does time travel start here?

If a pair of Russian mathematicians are right, the launch of the Large Hadron Collider could be overshadowed by a truly extraordinary event. According to Irina Aref'eva and Igor Volovich, the LHC might just turn out to be the world's first time machine.

William Melvin Hicks, 16/12/1961 – 26/2/1994

Thursday is the anniversary of Bill Hicks death.

As I can’t make it to the Jongleurs show and may not have internet access, I decided to post up these clips of the late great Goatboy a bit early.
This first one is Bill talking on public access TV about his 12th Letterman airing, and why what ended up being his last appearance, was cut:


And here is the set itself, shown the first time just a few weeks back, on the actual Letterman show. The lady sitting next to Dave is Bill’s mother:


And finally... The only clip I’ve ever seen of ‘Hicks losing it’. This whole thing starts – in case you don’t hear due to the sound quality – because the woman say’s 'you suck’. Bad choice baby:

Everything looks better like this

Managed to get a good skate in on Sunday just before the downfall of snow. Then went to the park today and it was like the scene from some kind of Disney film - all kids and sleds and comedy snowball throwing... also saw the biggest snowman ever - Lu is in the picture for scale.

New short story. Jan 2009

The secret adventures of a sullen boy.


She looked over her small rectangular glasses and smiled her unintentionally condescending smile
“There are some Freudian theories that fit what we’re talking about here.
Now I’m aware of you’re dislike of Freud but hear me out…”

She began to speak of abandonment issues and the 5 formative years, all the textbook stuff. And he tuned out. Though nodding and ‘hmm-ing’ every sentence or two, his mind was elsewhere within her first couple of syllables.
Not out of any disrespect – after all, he had wanted to be there, asked to be there, and she was intelligent and spoke to him on a level he appreciated.
But the superiority complex inherent in his very character, automatically controlled and edited any receiving / decoding / transmitting of information it deemed to be superfluous. And so it went for the next 20 minutes.

He was in front of a mic stand. Lead guitar just behind him - bass to the left and rhythm to his right, keyboards and drums towards the back of the small dusty black stage. A bottle of Rioja, normally half empty, sat at his feet. Tonight it was half full.
The small crowd knew every word, but didn’t scream, just sang along in unison. Smiling, understanding it all.

“…Nietzsche.” He snapped back in.

So as not to appear rude or indeed bored by her good intentions, he falsified a genuine response to something of which he had not taken in even a single word.
“O.k, though to be honest, Jung is more easily adaptable for me – in relation to all these ‘day to day’ issues. The shadow, you know? The denial of its existence and the unnatural requirement to repress these urges due to the culture of the society we have created?”

Time stood still, as it did when the teacher in your maths class would pause to consider the fact you’d been asleep for the 10 minutes prior to him demanding an answer from you…

“I understand – though I think what you have told me about your early childhood directly relates to how you have been feeling these last few years.”

She bought it.

He was clear. And immediately knew how that was just another problem they’d be discussing the next time he came to see her.

The lights went red, the drums stopped and the lead swapped his Gibson for an electric-acoustic. Things were about to get serious.

What kind of cop? Oh...

Excellent flick - if you can find a Maniac Cop t-shirt I beg you tell me where. Apparently they don't make them so would have to be a custom job, which I cannot be arsed with:

''It'd be like going up to Jackie Onasis with a sniper-rifle pendant... Just thinkin' of John...''

That's a Hicks quote - and here's pretty much proof of what he was talking about... 'Intervention?? holy crap:

23 years ago...

I have wanted to start taking more photos again recently but keep forgetting to take the camera with me when I go out anywhere. I Poached this pic of NK off the Thrasher site. Just 'cause it's a good pic... from 1985!

CHUCK D, RFH LONDON, OCT 10th 2008

Ok, so here's the footage from the Chuck D lecture. There are a couple of gaps where I had to hide the camera - and I didn't have a tripod so some is a bit shaky, but hey, I don't think there's any footage of it anywhere else.
Also, I cut out a LOT of the audience Q&A, as it d-r-a-g-g-e-d on a bit. Enjoy.

UPDATE: FILE IS CORRUPT - WILL BE BACK UP ON HERE SHORTLY.

Lucky old angels, lucky old heaven...

Mr Charles Ridenhour

Off to Southbank to hear this fella do a talk on the history of P.E tomorrow evening: The ticket says ‘from 7.30pm’ with no end time, as apparently Mr Ridenhour can talk for a while – which is a good thing in my book. Going to try and sneak the DV cam in, so there’ll hopefully be some footage up by Monday.

Bill Melendez R.I.P

Bill Melendez, the voice of Snoopy, who animated everybody from Mickey Mouse and Bambi to Bugs Bunny and Charlie Brown, passed away Tuesday at age 91. His other work included such classics as: Wabbit Twouble, What Makes Daffy Duck, What’s Up, Doc, Gerald McBoing Boing, and A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Click the title for the full article from AintitCool.

It's European Bat Weekend! (but of course you knew that...)

o.k, so I didn't know European Bat Weekend Existed, but now I do. And bats:(awww)

Eat these things: (AAARGH!)

...and therefore qualify for space on the blog.

A history of surgery

This is Howard Dully at 12 years of age. In December 1960, he became one of the youngest recipients of the transorbital or "ice-pick" lobotomy. This was a treatment for what they considered 'mental illness' and was performed by neurologist Walter Freeman.

Howard was on the first in a BBC series called A History of Surgery, last night and is the only living recipient of this type of treatment - he's now a bus driver and lives a normal life. His stepmother ordered him to have the treatment to 'calm him down and make him behave'. It didn't work as - ironically - his young brain managed to compensate for the lost tissue and he's still a pretty normal guy.

I posted this for some perspective on how hard you think your life can be, and how some people deal with the things that happen to them. Amazing.

Everything burns

So I wasn’t prepared for this at all. I mean I had read some reviews and the general consensus was along the lines of: ‘We don’t want to build up expectations, BUT it’s the best thing ever.’

Basically, it’s so good, on so many levels I won’t even bother to explain it here. Just go and see it. And yes – everyone is good, Bale, Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine… but Heath Ledger pretty much owns this film.

More mags

The depths of my wardrobe just keep on giving. Here’s what I'm pretty sure is the first issue of R.A.D, from 21 YEARS AGO!! (note the BMX Action Bike logo still in the corner):

And finally, one of my Favourite Transworld covers ever:

 

Cement Fun

Apart from unsuccessfully navigating the holes, I had a pretty good day at Stockwell last week. Then in a moment of great coincidence - while clearing out even more drawers - found this little beauty:

Shane Obrien and Jason Jessee at Brixton Beach.

Heres the cover (feat: the 'heaviest guy at the park'):

Also dug this up: Classic Rbt Williams:

 

‘This means something… this is important…’

Grunting fish have helped scientists to date the origins of vocal sounds to about 400million years ago. US researchers have found that the area of a fish's brain that drives vocalisation is extremely primitive. Writing in the journal Science, they say it suggests that the ability to communicate through sound emerged very early in the evolution of vertebrates.

The closely related toadfish and midshipman fish are nocturnal, living along the north-west coast of the US and Canada. Professor Bass said: "They make different kinds of sounds in different social contexts. Just as birds will use one call to attract a mate and another call to scare a rival off, the fish do exactly the same thing." A deep hum lures females to a male's nest; a sharp grunt is used to defend territory.

To investigate the origins of vocalisation, the team looked at the area of the fish's brain that was responsible for controlling the pitch and duration of the calls, which is known as vocal patterning.
Professor Bass told BBC News: "We identified where this pattern generator developed in the brains of these fishes, and then we looked at where it was in frogs, birds and primates."
The team discovered that the neural networks for vocalization were all situated in the same region.

"We stood back and said: 'Oh my god, this is all in the same place'. "It was astonishing how similar it was."

The team compared this information with the evolutionary "family tree" for vertebrates. Because the evolution of the fish can be traced back further than that of amphibians, birds and primates, the team was able to deduce when the ability to vocalise came about: "You could see that was a very ancient part of the nervous system shared by all vertebrates.
"We came to the conclusion that it must have evolved early in time before these different groups emerged from the evolutionary family tree - around the time when bony fishes evolved about 400 million years ago." Click title for link to BBC article.

 

It has just been discovered that SYZURRRP – is Latin for ‘Stop making records’.

So, TIME magazine have compared Lil Wayne to Bob Dylan. Yes you read that right – TIME magazine.

Anyway, I’m not a huge fan of Wayne or that whole steez, and not too schooled in that area of Hip Hop , as it holds no interest for me. But, even I know well enough that those 2 names shouldn’t be in the same sentence. Was Eminem the Hip Hop Woody Guthrie? No.

The reason I think they shouldn't over-emphasise the greatness of ‘Tha Carter’ is that these retard little gangsta wannabes already know more about Wayne than about Dylan, or even Hendrix. They'll know more about his whole crew, mix tapes, rhymes, and life stories of those rappers – than about Tommie Smith or John Carlos, Miles Davis or Donald Byrd.

These children have yet to realise that, as has been said before, ‘The world is not your block. The world is bigger than your block.’ Get on a bus – get on a train and go see what the world is about before you form an opinion, or start talking with such certainty about your bitch-ass 15 year old ‘life’.

Jon Theodore + ZDLR = Can only be good

Whimper / bang...

To quote Stephen Hawking: ‘Some have asked if turning on the LHC could produce some disastrous, unexpected result. Indeed, some theories of spacetime suggest the particle collisions might create mini black holes. If that happened, I have proposed that these black holes would radiate particles and disappear. If we saw this at the LHC, it would open up a new area of physics, and I might even win a Nobel prize. But I'm not holding my breath.’

Excellent. Too many people on the bloody planet anyway. And if it all goes wrong, at least I won’t have to worry about paying my credit card off…

George Carlin. 1937-2008

 god dammit…

Seriously what’s going on? I didn’t even post up Stan Winston’s passing on here, as I thought it would be one too many… Is 2008 the Chinese year of ‘every cool person dying’ or something? Like me, Carlin was a huge Robert Anton Wilson fan,

NK

If anyone else did a method out of a curb cut, it would look ridiculous

Didn't it rain...

 

Sunny outside so I thought I'd post this up. I hope that when I'm an old lady, and I get a horse drawn carriage to the train station, I can sling an electric guitar over my shoulder and sing some super-bad gospel... Sister Rosetta kicks ass.

'because I'm C Brown - class clown'

Bo Diddley

I'm not going to be Obituary boy and post every time someone I like dies - but - if it wasn't for Bo Diddley, alongside Little Richard and Chuck Berry - you wouldn't be listening to 80% of the music you have on your I-Pod right now. So recognise.   Dec 30, 1928 – Jun 2, 2008