Artist’s Statement:

I am fascinated by the encounter of consciousness embodied–that is to say, the existential platform of self encountering otherness. I am also enchanted by the exploration of “reality” as an embodied relationship between finitude and the transcendental.

My visual art depicts monsters and suffering as a metaphor for the state of despair and suffering that Self encounters as Separated Consciousness (e.g. arising into a body/Separation from Source). Thus, my art also seeks to explore the embodied point of contact between that state of despair/separation and the state of reconciliation: Enlightenment, the Kingdom of God, Relationship to Unconditional Love.

I feel called to producing visual images because they seem to convey deep and subtle relationships–e.g. between objects that are involved in suffering and freedom or relief from that suffering. My spiritual “work” usually evolves into the imagery I am drawing, and I will find myself in agreement with a principle that appears in the work: of reconciliation or aspects of despair, separation, or transcendent love. Teachers and traditions that have been fundamental to the development of my thought and art are Buddhist Foundations: Chogyam Trungpa, Shunryu Suzuki, Christian Foundations: Soren Keirkegaard, Thomas Merton, Other: Hafiz and other Sufi voices, Martin Buber, Early Indian theology, and my Friends!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jocelynskillman/

[nggallery id=8]

On Thursday, June 3^rd, The Pierce County Arts Commission will celebrate its 25^th Anniversary.  Though it may all but be defunded (currently facing a proposed budget for 2011 that will comprise a mere 10% of the funds it received in the year 2000, effectively ending Artist-in-Residence programs in Pierce County Schools and annual community grants to deserving Pierce County non-profits) the commissioners have nevertheless decided to celebrate yet one more year of public funding for the arts – at least in theory, if nothing else.

Therefore, Commission President Bonnie Egbert is organizing an awards ceremony – using funds from the commissioners’ personal bank accounts, to honor some of the individuals and organization that over the past 25 years played a crucial role in the rise of Pierce County’s cultural economy.  Dubbed, The President’s Awards, the recipients include: Pierce County Councilwoman Barbara Gelman (A Founding Member of PCAC), Elida Kirk Lathrop (PCAC’s first president), Arts Downtown (Puyallup’s Outdoor Gallery) and more.

Artists and Arts Advocates who have already RSVPed include: Tacoma Sculptor Larry Anderson (whose works can be seen at places like Slovonia Hall, Fireman’s Park and Union Station), Melanie Kirk Stauffer (Vice Chair Dance Theatre Northwest), Judy White (President of Arts Downtown) and Becky Condra (Chair of Valley Arts United).

The Ceremony will be held at 3602 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200 in Tacoma at 5:30.  We would like to invite any and all interested members of the media to attend this very special occasion.

Born on the campus of the University of Puget Sound, $2000 Puma has just released their freshman album “Last Night’s Kill”, streaming free on bandcamp. Sometimes loud and angry, but often solemn and ponderous, “LNK” presents a young band unabashed about what it is and the type of music it intends to play.

Having seen Puma live, “LNK” captures the same energies and careful releases of beautiful emotion that beam off the stage. Polished or not, Puma’s “LNK” is raw and real, just the type of release we’d expect from the creative-core of area 253.

Helmed by Greg Merrell on vocals, guitar and numerous other instruments, the band features other UPS talents in Jake Berenbeim, Mark Maples, Sean Bernfeld and Charlie Bevis.

In the band’s own words:

$2,000 Puma is homemade eclectic electric indie rock music that will leave your temples drenched in sweat.  Drawing from a variety of sounds, they have never stuck to a single genre.  However, there is one commonality between their songs- they all rock hard.  Their music is composed of spacey then rocking-effect-tripped-out-noisy guitar, groovy-jazzy-funky bass, explosively intricate jazzy and rocking drums, vocals with occasional vibrato application and the over-layering of synthesizer and simple guitar melodies.  It pulls elements from Jazz, Blues, Math-Rock, Dub, Glitchier Electronic, Folk, and just straight up rock and roll.  Like many talented artists $2,000 Puma doesn’t restrict their music to a particular meter.  Syncopated rhythms are a common thread in $2,000 Puma songs such as “The Seasons”, “Ultraviolet”, “Money/Love Problems”, and “Paladin-Drome”.

Although their album has just released, rumor has it that Puma is already no more. With band members no longer students at UPS, they are looking to go their separate ways. I had a quick Q & A exchange with Greg Merrell about the band, the album and the future:

Whether or not your average evening consists of sitting back and watching The Tonight Show, chances are you’ve heard about NBC’s situation.  Since Conan O’Brien has taken over the franchise, I’ve found myself tuning in regularly.  However, my doing so hasn’t been enough to keep his ratings where NBC would like them to be.  But where to point the finger?  Older individuals claim that he’s just too much for them to handle when they’re in bed and wanting a simple chuckle before they doze off.  Others have pointed out how Leno’s show is currently doing horribly, the worst in its time slot, leading very few viewers to tune into Conan.  NBC’s idea (at this moment) is to bump Conan by half an hour and let Leno try to win back his old viewers.  As much as it pains me to say, it’s a solution that might very well fix their problem.

With that said, I’d like to point out that I’ve never found Leno to be entertaining.  I’m not only saying this because I prefer Conan– I gave Leno a legitimate shot.  I find him to be very formulaic.  Also, his back and forth with Kevin Eubanks is excruciating.  I’m talking real, shivering, bamboo shoots shoved up my finger nails type of pain.  And yet, he used to beat out Letterman.

My parents watched Leno for the majority of his run.  It wasn’t an evening ritual of theirs,  but if they had their afternoon coffee a little late, chances are they’d turn it on.  When Conan took over the show, my parents simply upgraded their Netflix plan for more movies.  “He’s just too crazy,” my mother would say.  “I just don’t find him funny.”

I argued with them that Conan penned many episodes of  The Simpsons during its golden age, back when my parents loved it.  “So what?” my father would contest.  “I was laughing at Homer, not at him.”  Needless to say, Conan’s just doesn’t seem to cut it for older generations.

Whether if Conan accepts the new time slot or tries to find another network is still up in the air.  I guess what really bothers me is that he seems like a genuinely nice person.  If I bumped into him at an airport, I’d imagine he’d shake my hand and pose for a photo.  And so when Leno agreed to retire several years ago and let him have the franchise, only to come back and take the time slot, thereby pushing Conan to 12:05AM in the east coast (The Tomorrow Show, anyone?), it’s undoubtedly a dick move, regardless of whom you prefer.

No matter what happens, I’d like us all to remember what’s most important here: my Conan kitten is extraordinarily cute.

I know, I know. It’s not like The Melon to present too many substance-less items, but hey, I figured I’d share some of my year’s favorites with my fellow Melonites.

BEST FILM OF 2009:

World’s Greatest Dad

There’s little I can say about this movie without giving it all away. Robin Williams has had his hits and misses over the years, but this dark comedy had me laughing when I thought I should be crying and crying when I thought I should be laughing. Written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, World’s Greatest Dad takes you on a remarkable ride spanning every emotion, and taps into the core of sociology and what each and every one of us is capable of. Don’t miss this film.

View trailer

Runner Up:

District 9

What’s remarkable about District 9 is not it’s great SFX or even its interesting commentary on discrimination. What I love about this movie is the fact that it watches like a hardcore science fiction book and plays to a mainstream audience without gratuitous action. D-9 puts an alien spaceship over Johannesburg, South Africa. What follows over the next 28 years is the establishment of a refugee camp for aliens aboard the ship. Government Agent Wikus Van De Merwe is in charge of this refugee camp and becomes the aliens’ unlikely ally, when he is exposed to an alien chemical that is slowly mutating him.

Trailer

Honorable Mention:

Inglorious Bastards

I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome this movie is. I constantly feel iffy about Quintin Tarantino, but he delivers full force in this strong piece, which features great dialogue and iconic suspense.

Trailer

BEST BLOG OF 2009:

Mark’s Daily Apple

Those of you who know me, know of my involvement in the Organic and Agriculture industries, which is why it should come as no surprise that my number one pick for blogs this year is Marks’ Daily Apple. Written by Mark Sisson, MDA focuses on living a primal lifestyle (primal meaning eating and approaching fitness from a caveman’s perspective). There are a lot of blogs out there that focus on this lifestyle of nutrition and fitness, but MDA seems to be the only one with the full spectrum of analysis, dispelling myths and presenting well-collected research. For anyone looking to better understand the human body and the fuel we require, I recommend this blog.

Honorable Mention:

Robb Wolf - http://robbwolf.com/ – Another fitness and nutrition blog.

BEST RADIO PROGRAM OF 2009:

RADIOLAB

Hands down, in 2009, I had way more fun drawing or doing other random work listening to RadioLab than I did listening or watching anything else. Hands down! NPR’s RadioLab presents hour-long explorations of various exciting topics from parasites (some of which that live in most cat owners and are making them more lethargic) to death and the afterlife. For anyone with a scientific curiosity or just curiosity in general, check out RadioLab. Not only will you not be disappointed, but you’ll be instantly addicted.

BEST COMIC OF 2009:

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

A close second are the comics of every CLAW member found on Feed>>Tacoma’s comic page.

BEST ALBUMS OF 2009:

Picking just one favorite album of the year proved to be a difficult task, which I why I’ll present my top three.

Discovery – LP

Mixing electronic with alternative, Discovery is the dark horse of albums this year. The only way I can describe this album is cool. So get on it.

Passion Pit – Manners

High pitched, poppy and funky, Passion Pit’s Manners is a joyride, that’ll have you attempting to sing along in falsetto. You might recognize one of their songs from a car commercial, but really, everything on this album is great. Passion Pit may be the MGMT of 2009, so we’ll have to see how they evolve, but for now being that type of band ain’t at all bad.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Phoenix has been around for a while. Since the late 90’s actually. The french group released their first album in 2000, and while it has the same iconic, new age tunes present on their 2009 release, hadn’t seen the height of popularity in America until this new album. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has some great poppy, sing along tunes that will make you think “Hell yeah, this makes me happy,” and some other more mellow tunes along the “this really touches me, in a uplifting sort of way” songs. So if you’re interested in that sort of feeling check out this album.

Honorable Mention:

Bag Raiders

The Galvatrons – Laser Graffiti

Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much

ELECTRIC ELLIOT’S NEW PROJECTS OF 2009:

Bob the Dog – I’ve been drawing this comic since 2004, but after a year hiatus, I’ve started it up again on a brand new website.

The Fuck Yeah – My “interesting stuff” blog where I post interest items found while wasting my mind on the internet.
Trailer Hater – Where the typical reviewer looks at just the movies, Trailer Hater examines the art of movie trailer exclusively.
I am the greatest chef in the world – Yeah. I got that URL. I’m no chef, but I am adamant about eating good, healthy food. Join me as I journey through some modest recipes and evolve into the greatest chef in the world.
Minutaur.com – Have you ever wanted to own your own day, or your own moment in time? Well you can on minutaur.com. Take a look, you won’t be disappointed.

Finally, in the year 2009, I filmed the first interview of a new, feature documentary I have decided to develop. I’m not going to present the concept just yet, but my first interview was with Ernest Callenbach, author of Ecotopia.

What are some of your favorites of the year? Favorite website? Favorite book? Let us at The Melon know in the comments. Oh, and happy new year.

Pecha Kucha Night, devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture, was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

Read More >>

Professor Michael Heller’s book about the problems of property ownership and intransegence is at times interesting, and at times a pointless book. Its an argument that needs to be made, but its book form is up for question, and without a doubt, Heller’s solutions are not all that convincingly.

The Gridlock Economy:  How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation, and Costs Lives

Michael Heller

Basic Books:  July 2008

Heller’s book is a detailing of the many issues that exist for broad ownership within today’s western society. Specifically, Heller targets pharmaceuticals, bio-engineered products, music, and landed property, and the property rights that have developed around these industries. His argument is that because ownership is so splinted around a product, or a path to a product, that incentives encourage groups to work against each other, to not product valuable goods.

His best example in my mind was the massive problem with commercial airlines in this country, the number

of planes delayed, the sometimes brutal nature of using airports. Yet he cites that no

new large airports besides Denver have been built since the 1970s. And that is because groups (citizens) around established airports have adapted NIMBY (not in my back yard) policies and refuse to allow expansion, new airports, or any sort of development.

Heller also has a very interesting take on the pharmaceutical industries, biotechnology and the innovations that is creating. His argument is that numerous university scientists and for profit companies are using each other ideas to create cures for cancer or disease, or whatever. However, they can’t bring their solutions to market because they don’t own all of the underlying science technology. They would have to buy the patents or pay usage rights to the owners, and because the trouble with getting that done, they often simply don’t go through the effort, depriving the world of cures. This is immensely tragic.

As I said before, Heller has good examples. However, I come away from the book wondering if the problems he cites can be solved, moreover, I very much doubt the world he envisions would be better than ours. Property rights in America are sacrosanct; we have seen this be upheld in reaction to the New London ruling.

In the end, Heller doesn’t succeed at convincing me his solutions will solve the problems he has found.

Two Melons out of Five.

Michael B Oren was recently appointed to be Israel’s ambassador to the US. Born in America but having spent much of his life in the Middle East and still living there today, he should provide an excellent view point on how to judge America’s interactions with the Middle East and most importantly, what we can do to change our image their and get our priorities solved.

Oren is a noted historian, most famous for his book Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. I have not read that book. And in the end, I did not read the entirety of Oren’s latest effort either. Because I gave up after about 100 pages. The book did not engage me. I felt bored. His stories of the evangelists who first ventured to the middle east and their difficulties there were somewhat interesting, but the style, the story, and the concept just did not capture me. He was developing the themes and the history of America’s engagement of the Middle East. But he wasn’t getting there quick enough for me, and the writing style wasn’t holding me close. I took it back to the library and dived into other books that I was much more interested in reading.

Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present

Michael B Oren

WW Norton, 2007

One Melon out of Five.

Because I might pick it up some day later. But really, go find a book you are interested in reading elsewhere. This one isn’t necessary or even that great.

Christopher Hibbert’s Garibaldi:  Hero of Italian Unification is another example of why libraries and brick and mortar bookstores can never be replaced by online retailers. In fact, its an example why libraries have such an great value that even Borders or Barnes and Noble can match. You can read a book that you don’t necessarily want or need to read and would never ever purchase.

Garibaldi:  Hero of Italian Unification

Christopher Hibbert

Palgrave Macmillan:  2008

Hibbert wrote a biography of one of the more interesting people I could imagine, Giuseppe Garibaldi. Garibaldi was an Italian, who was banished from Italy for leading an insurrection, left for South America where he played a critical role in the independence of Uruguay and then returned to Italy, where he lead a series of unification attempts in Italy, often with the help of more political influential leaders while he saw himself as the military leader.

Garibaldi is that unique character in that he is seen as a spectacularly successful guerrilla military leader, achieving a mythical quality by his compatriots and the peasants who he claimed to be leading/serving. Hibbert’s books traces Garibaldi’s exploits after his return to Italy. He only touches on Garibaldi’s tours in South America when it has direct impact on an event in Italy, such as the death of his wife (who was from South America) or when former comrades joined his banner.

In the end, this book is interesting, and I’m better off for having read it, but its very specific focus on Garibaldi is limiting. It talks very little of the broader picture that is going on throughout Italy, the different unifaction drives that are taking place in the disparate regions and cities. It gives rather short change to Giuseppe Mazzini and Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour (more commonly known as Cavour).

The most interesting part of the book to me is when Garibaldi and 1000 followers set off for Sicily to conquer the island and restart the push for unification after it had been stopped. Its a story of ridiculous faith in an extremely charismatic man, of amazingly poor training for his soldier who yet overcome a large, better trained, better armed force and in spite of some natives siding with the Bourbons. The story is so ridiculous and illogical, the characters all bigger than life and act with unseen motivations that could only be told by Neal Stephenson. And yet, Garibaldi succeeds.

As I said above, this is story about Garibaldi, not about the Italian Unification. If you are new to the history, as I was, this is not the book to start. If you want to know much more about a thoroughly complex and interesting individual, then read this book. But find it at your library. Its not a book to reread. But its a fun one.

Three out of Five Melons!

Today at 7pm, over 15 authors from the recently published collection of Tacoma poetry, In Tahoma’s Shadow, will be performing at King’s Books. Included in the bunch is Poet Laureate Antonio Edwards, former Poet Laureate Bill Kupinse, recently published Tammy Robacker and, The Melon’s own, Electric Elliot.

Join some of the greatest poets in Tacoma in one of Tacoma’s greatest venues.