When a large amount of the population wants to band against a smaller group claiming they are an “abomination,” not only do I worry, I panic. And when that large group discovers a loophole in the Constitution, court decisions such as “Wade v. Roe,” stem cell research projects, and gay rights can become a fatality to our American Idol type of democracy. 52% voted against you, sorry… but you are out. Who needs legislators anyway when a mob can make the law?

Come show some love this Saturday, November 15th, 10:30 A.M. PST, at San Francisco’s City Hall, and support the people who feel your rights are not up for grabs! Turn this anti-Prop 8 shenanigans into a positive campaign for equality. See ya there!

-Alex

Posted: November 12th, 2008 under Art Pieces, Articles.
Comments: none

Inspired in Palin’s killing of Bambi, I thought of following her example by going off into the magical forest of Wasilla and taking care of those silly wabbits. Not only were these rabbits illegal aliens from Russia, they were also Taoists (practitioners of the “wrong” religion). Also, their alarm clocks would go on snooze until noon, disturbing the nearby residents who refused to wear earplugs as instructed by Wasilla’s amended Constitution (52% to 48%) in favor of earplugs.

-Alex

Posted: November 9th, 2008 under Art Pieces.
Comments: 1

Today the world rejoices because Barack Obama, a man of humble origins has become the first African American President of the United States. Beating all odds, and doing politics using the philosophy of Appreciative Inquiry. This philosophy of doing, and living, rather than negating, is resonating with communities across the globe.

It must have been really mind-blowing for the philosophers of the Enlightenment to share their thoughts, to engage in heated discussions, and notice how their theories turned to trends, and how these trends turned to movements that helped shape the world we live in today. Granted, many of our daily actions don’t seem to relate directly to the Enlightenment’s thinkers, but our current behaviors are, however, constructed directly upon their shoulders. What we do, and who we are today, relates to the people who felt so passionately about something, and felt they had to spread the word. These people were often imprisoned because of how radical or uncommon their ways seemed to their peers. Now, we see these philosophers as wise men, responsible for today’s advances in Science and Freedom. And in fact, people often quote them as sources of wisdom, even though they disagree with their philosophies.

It is with the same intensity as Voltaire, or Descartes, that I write to you today, with the absolute excitement of sensing a new system take shape. This system is rich, hopeful, and filled with colors. It consists of individuals taking responsibility for their actions, joining communities, and using emerging tools of communication to create truly democratic organizations. It is today that I see how, as birds who fly together perfectly in sync, we the people can become a giant organism capable of making informed decisions that can lead us to a better tomorrow. For the first time in a long time, we see the patterns of the future take shape today.

This organic society is one in which educated citizens are connected enough to take direct and immediate action when faced with life’s adversities. This system encloses many smaller systems of alternative living, that make each other stronger by supporting the one that’s next to them. Because of this, we see the birth of Appreciative Inquiry.

Appreciative Inquiry is a relatively recent terminology composed of two words: “appreciative” implies positive affirmation, while “inquiry” refers to questioning, to investigate and explore. In other words, this new system is one of positive questioning, which leads to positive action. The thought of such system in which humans are capable of improvement and cooperating with each other in respect has defeated previous ideas of militant action or unilateral dynamics as being the means to perform any social change. It takes away the previous sense of helplessness that a growing world had upon it’s everyday citizens.

What Appreciative Inquiry does is consider social structures to, not only be alive, but also be a source of infinite constructive capacity. This is very close to a true grassroots movement, in which governments and businesses mirror the actions and lives of regular people, who in turn lead extraordinary lives. Obama winning the presidency of the United States today shows a shift into a world of appreciate inquiry. This world places action, and personal responsibility ahead of negative thinking, problem-focused philosophies, and the politics of fear. In this world, one “no,” equals two “yes”; negation means only affirmation. So, a true “no” can only be expressed by lack of action, while a “yes” correlates with action.

Examples of Appreciative Inquiry:

1. Communities that, regardless of the government’s inertia, and the private sector’s sabotage, have emerged into being leaders in the development of alternative fuel and energy.

2. Communities that focus in organic farming, and in bringing those products to their neighbors. Training people’s palettes so they appreciate natural products. Also, bringing back honor to the manual art of caring for the Earth.

3. Individuals who are connected with all things DIY. Basically, these people are regular folks who feed that flame that inspires their peers. They are everywhere. They come from all classes, ages, religions, sexual orientations, race, and gender. These people are that little tipping point that shift the mentalities of everyday individuals. They are the arteries that feed the organs of this grassroots movements.

4. Communities of artists who think outside of the box. These artists use different mediums to create dialogs that inspire both pleasure and change. They see art as a powerful medium that can be used for therapeutic purposes, and also as a ways to connect with the spiritual.

5. Communities of scientists who challenge the establishment and find themselves able to spread their results faster, and with less censorship thanks to the Internet. They are the ones who experiment, who try to look for alternative sources of fuel, organic medicine, and technological systems, bringing with them a different ideology that challenges the previous stigmas science once carried.

6. Companies that try to take a stance against the status quo by taking risky decisions, and letting their progressive views show. It is true that they do it in part to drive sales, but the exposition these companies give to movements turns out to be quite beneficial in shifting ethos of people who aren’t as connected to their communities. It is companies that have an eye on the latest trends that can reach disconnected individuals.

We all must take part in these organisms that drive the world to the future, because apathy can only breed tyranny; lack of passion for information will only take people one step backward; and lack of culture will only turn us into “literal” rather than “figurative” beings. Literal people cannot understand satire, irony, metaphors, or other expressions of human intelligence that distinguish us from most animals. We must know our history, and not try to stick line-by-line to the words our ancestors spoke; It is important though to be inspired by those words, and to interpret those teachings in their historical context. They will aid us shape our new philosophies that are relevant to our times. What will be the progress the future brings? We do not know. But what we do know is this… The closer we come to respecting each other and allowing communities their autonomy to exist with dignity is key to a bright future.

Lets not forget the feminists in the 90s who would say: “The personal is political, and the political is personal.” So today, lets get political. Today, let us get personal.

Doggone it.
-Alex

Posted: November 6th, 2008 under Articles, Hottest trends.
Comments: none

Bill Maher is a brilliant person, which is why I’m scared of him getting killed by religious fanatics, but that’s a risk he’s willing to take with his movie Religulous, that certainly tickles people’s sensibilities the wrong way… even, god-forbid, liberals. Bill, like Michael Moore, editorializes with comedy to communicate his point. And I must say, satire is one of the most effective ways of doing this. Getting a political joke implies a level of literacy that, unfortunately, many people cannot achieve. It is not easy though, to fit actual facts and historical context inside your brain when you are too busy watching Entertainment Tonight, while playing with your friends your favorite phone game, “Who’s my baby daddy.”

First off, I understand people getting offended, the same way parents of retarded children hate it when their kids are called… well, retarded. But something very important is the power of context. I think we all agree we don’t call real retards, retards. We only say it to people who aren’t really retards. Like Kathy Griffin, we must say it to people’s backs (it is the polite thing to do). And although, it is true we cannot use words like fag or nigger, it is only a matter of time until it is OK to use them again in a funny context. I predict that after we have our first black, invalid AND lesbian president, we’ll be able to call each other “niggers,” the same way we already call each other “bitch,” “whore,” and “cracker” without getting offended. It is all about reclaiming things… and religion is one of those things we need to reclaim. Yes, it will be a long bumpy road… but we need to learn to roll our eyes at people who depict “the prophet” in comic strips without setting them on fire. Same way liberals roll their eyes at religious zealots who come to Gay Pride in San Francisco to make a scene. I just cannot imagine gay people doing the opposite, storming into a Christian town, wearing angel wings, and glittered short-shorts carrying torches, hungry to kill all of those who think opposite to them. In fact, people who disagree with conservatives try to stay away from their towns as much as possible…. unless they are recruiting them for blowjobs, of course.

The film touches religion in many different contexts. My favorite being the historical one. It talks about some of America’s founding fathers being outspoken advocates against religion, in specific, Christianity. They were cosmopolitan people who promoted change, the same way the world’s greatest people have brought progress by adopting revolutionary thoughts that are often in direct opposition of what is previously established as the norm. Again, I’m not saying they were atheists, but they were certainly not part of the United States current evangelical revival.

Bill Maher interviews all sorts of people, from crazy anti-zionist Jews, to secular Catholic priests, from Muslims in denial, to scientific folks. Doing a good job at trying to get as varied and outrageous a pool of thought as he could find. Well, he left out all the New Age / Zen type of folks. He said he wanted to argue with religions that we can identify with, but I bet the main reason is because people with yoga mats are not the fish he’s after. Contrary to what some might think, he was quite respectful of people, specially the ones who were relatively regular folks, or the people who were in the smarter end of the religious pool. It definitely is not like Borat, that goes for the kill with complete ball-baring disrespect. Bill teases, but quite often even without the person noticing.

A very memorable moment is when they interview Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, the Hispanic guy in Florida who claims he’s Jesus. The guy says he got the “call” when two angels spoke to him and told him he was the Messiah. Bill notes how interesting it is how every religious revelation seems to come to people in secret and it involves making someone your indisputable leader, no questions asked.

The bottom line of Religulous could be that, for us, our religion makes sense because of context. We grew up listening to specific mythic stories that are so familiar to us, making our bodies feel warm and fuzzy inside. And as absurd as Mormon and Scientology beliefs might sound to you and me, the same goes for outsiders who hear about Christianity for the first time. When we understand that things have a meaning in context, we’ll be able to stop treating religion as taboo and, not only add it to our list of things to joke about, but add it to that part of us that can evolve and improve throughout time.

It is true that religion is inspiring for many folks, but it is also a mechanism many people use to justify their wrong actions and imperialistic tendencies in front of the masses. It is as if religion (along with science when it claims to know it all) would be one of the answers to the multiple choice test of life that people use when they don’t know the solution to a specific problem they are faced with. But if instead of answering that question wrongly, we leave it blank, or treat the answer as a placeholder, maybe, perhaps just maybe, someday we’ll be able to pass that test.

-Alex

Posted: October 22nd, 2008 under Articles, Hottest trends.
Comments: none

Saint Sebastian of the Fried Chickens,

Bring us the feathered peace we seek. Protect us from the plague. Don’t let our chickens be stained by Ebola, Influenza, E. Coli, or Muslims. Let us enjoy the beautiful taste of your dead muscles and skin. Like a cyclops that turns a blind eye to the moon’s obesity, we’ll cut off the babies’ beaks.

We’ll be with you in holy solemnity even after you’re gone. Thank you for sacrificing your tasty eggs in the altar of my kitchen, they make for great post-one-night-stand breakfast. Grant us wisdom! Give us Freedom! Deliver us from being literal, and bring from heavens the Kingdom of the Cock. Give us Love… and take away both the nightmares and the daymares. Where is your feast taking place? Your Holy Communion, your Eucharist? We’ll literally eat your flesh in remembrance of you.

All hail the Techno Chicken!

Sponsored by:
The What Would Techno Chicken Do Foundation

Posted: October 12th, 2008 under Art Pieces.
Comments: 1

As with everything, people got used to the invasion. Now no one even flinchess as a skulk politely sits by the balcony. I wonder if they ever flinched to begin with.

Posted: October 8th, 2008 under Art Pieces.
Comments: none

Years have passed since tools that allow users to customize their products began popping online. The most visible one being footwear, now this customization process is extending into virtually every other product out there.

NikeID has recently launched their redesign of the NikeID experience. An experience that comes with improved speed and easier choices (like clicking on specific parts of a shoe and having the available color palette pop up). This makes good use of the concept of information “on-demand,” meaning, you do not need to have all information exposed on a website layout at once. You can design websites that intuitively allow the customer to find the information as soon as he’s interested. This helps move design from a newspaper format, to an actual environment-driven format… which not only is fun, but filled with possibilities to evolve. Another sweet feature NikeID has is their wallpaper selections that automatically generate a high res image of your customized shoe with a cool background also of your choice. Their already established colors can be seen by a few as limiting, but in reality, people who aren’t that color savvy need to enjoy of the design experience too. Or do they? Is the design process cheapened by current trends that leave you with no real choice, but a celebration to the concept of choice? Either way, for better or for worst, online tools have developed to the point that it becomes more enticing to shop from home, than to visit the store.

Things to be improved from the overall experience? Rotation not intuitive enough. Also, there’s no intuitive way for communities to communicate with each other.

I’m including a little application taken from the NikeID site that allows users to take their experience “home” with a little code you can post on your blog. You and your friends can create a team, and store designs in virtual lockers. Pretty creative terminology. Reminds me a bit of the Puma Mongolian BBQ experience. What does a BBQ have to do with Puma? Not much, but who cares?

Also worth mentioning is the website Zazzle.com that truly allows users to upload ANY picture, word, or pattern, without censorship. Zazzle is not limited to shoes, but people can customize skateboards, t-shirts; you name it, they have it. Hopefully, sites like Zazzle that really let you explore with the freedom of the DIY movement (without restricting you by sticking a giant “swoosh” on the side of the shoe) will become more popular as time goes by.

Last, but not least, I decided to keep consistency, and name my NikeID group The Trannys. If you want to join, feel free to check the site out, and once you save your shoe, save it under the Tranny group. That simple.

—————Edited on October 18th, 2008—————–

I was reading recently, and I thought of adding it to this piece, about a guy who tried to add the word “sweatshop” to his Nike shoes using the customization tools in the NikeID site, and then getting a letter from the company canceling his order due to the use of “inappropriate” slang. The problem is, sweatshop is not a slang. Is a real word in the English dictionary, and doesn’t offend anyone but the people who don’t have transparent business practices. If you want to read the email thread between the customer and company, you can check it out out here.

Posted: September 17th, 2008 under Hottest trends.
Comments: none

“I lost me teeth to meth…and then I lost a million dollars to the orthodontist.”

We are a collective collage of dirty thoughts inserted into our brains through meth advertising. Oops, I meant “anti-meth” campaigning. Oh, wait. I live in San Francisco, so I guess these ads could just be local, targeting only the city’s gay males (and blacks)… oh, yes. That “me” cavemen thing is surely the white copywriters recreating ebonics. Totally no discrimination here. Not at all.

-Alex

Posted: September 14th, 2008 under Art Pieces, Articles.
Comments: none

Step away from me cuz I’m tripping.
Leave me your water and go.

This is too intense. Will I stay like this forever?

Alternate between dreams and nightmares.
God and the devil. Compassion and indifference.

Visions of beauty.
One lone soul passes by me with the deepness of the ocean.
The deepness only the dead or the living dead are aware of.

Fear, lack of fear, control, and control in the lack of control.

Ghosts of the past guide me with their beautiful songs.
Literal translation kills the metaphor.

Running in a white tutu. Lost helpless. Powerful. Endearing.
Fly with the wind. The carnival of monsters awakens me,
and my spirit gets taken away.

Ears raped by savage sounds, new age mysticism is truly comforting.
Disturbed by indifferent strangers. No connection.

Continue searching.

Crash party of gentle souls, offered gifts of comfort.
Cannot stay inside. Must search again.

It is never over. It will never be over.
As long as I give in to the flesh, there will be no release.

Lose your body, gain entrance to the spirit world.
Pulled back by water. Must be near the Earth.
The Earth is thirsty for love, and attention.
It craves for your touch, as you crave for hers.

Urinate in the dark sand.
Create an acid river that soon enough dries.
Like all things eternal, they are always permutating.

-Alex

Posted: September 7th, 2008 under Art Pieces.
Comments: none

Have you met someone who blames it on others when their weed runs out? I have. How to avoid weed culprits? Very simple.

Step 1: Hide your main stash.

Hide the stash you use in a place that only you know about. Do not get from this stash when you have visitors or roommates over. You need to give people weed from your “public” stash. This is meant to help you monitor your usage habits, and to avoid confusing what you smoke from what others “steal.”

Step 2: Set the bait.

Weight your weed, and serve others from your public stash and leave it unattended. Say how you don’t know how much you smoke anymore, and how much of an out-of-control tranny you are. Plant in others’ heads how much of an easy target you are.

Step 3: Monitor.

Check in on that “bait” weed often (Caution: Do not smoke it. This defeats the purpose of your weed surveillance practices.)

Step 4: Blame.

Blame it on others once you find your buds reduced to nothing, and make them buy you NEW weed. New weed you’ll need to monitor following the steps 1 to 4 over and over again (for eternity… or until you get busted and thrown in a post-apocalyptic jail).

Any if they keep on giving you any trouble, come back to me. I’ll take care of it.

-Alex

Posted: August 21st, 2008 under Ramblings.
Comments: none