UUUUUUUUU

Laurelindorean

2011-12-26T15:14:00.003-06:00

This was part of the Summer of Books but it didn't quite make it onto the blog during the appropriate months.
The text pages fit into pockets between the illustrated pages.

and it folds out into a three dimensional landscape amongst the forest flowers:

could we call this.... fan art?

the return of the thing

2011-12-26T00:04:00.002-06:00

The time in between is not really when things happen but when they progress (wishful). A break from the city and some xmas cheer to return from a blogging hiatus. If I were on the beach now, I would be slowly sitting, reflecting on the ebb and flow of the things. But I'm not, I'm just here waiting for snow and more, building bibliographies 'till my eyes bleed or I get vertigo again. whichever comes first.

Got some good ones coming so cool your jets for a minute.

boom boom

2011-11-01T22:32:00.002-05:00

DAS MONSTRUM

i'm warning you.

2011-10-31T18:00:00.002-05:00

BOO!

And just when you think maybe it's over, you realize you probably have like 50 good years left. ugh.

You think you're a zombie, you think it's a scene, from some monster magazine. Well, open your eyes now, this ain't no fantasy, boy.

hear me laughing?

2011-10-17T10:16:00.003-05:00

Pretending 'till it happens. All you can do is a little bit at a time, and spend as much time in the library as possible. The answers are in the books, I promise.

2011-10-06T23:57:00.004-05:00

coooooool

2011-09-30T00:46:00.002-05:00

better late than never

2011-09-26T15:11:00.004-05:00

I have found that emotion that eluded me a while ago. 'Twas here all along. I just couldn't find it until the proper circumstances arose. And this one's for you, yeah:

"fear and pity sometimes result from the spectacle." -Aristotle

Just passing along the truth.

The Silent Warrior jumps in when needed. Thx dood, I know you've been waiting for THIS one for a while.

It was a diversion! The bomb's in the ambulance!

2011-09-23T01:20:00.003-05:00

Sometimes things you've said and really truly meant get covered up with little bits of colorful paper. (#25)

back to the lagoon

2011-09-21T10:58:00.003-05:00

Lettuce revisit this mermaid. I came across a poem cited in a 1930 translation of Plato's Republic, called "The Sensitive Plant" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Naturally, I can very much relate to the title in itself, for I am, in my heart of hearts, a sensitive plant. The particular stanza referenced, however, is just a little TOO perfect for this young lady above, so close your eyes while I read this to you and tell me what you see.

Dude wrote this in 1820, six years after abandoning his pregnant wife and running off with the one and only Mary Goodwin (who then became Mary Shelley). Also, peep the full text of the poem here, it's pretty....remarkable.

the love of learning and the love of wisdom are the same

2011-09-16T18:00:00.006-05:00

"The best education is gymnastics for the body and for the soul, music" -Plato

or my own personal translation—the best education is ladders for the body and for the soul, trees.

I don't remember this time two years ago, but I bet it was nice. Autumn is approaching (or already has) and measuring time in days, months, years is tiring. Always trying to resort to what worked and inch away from what didn't, we constantly attempt to improve upon our lives and also win football games.

#8

2011-09-13T06:53:00.000-05:00

This is what yesterday felt like, but today will be better I can tell already.

mermaid

2011-09-12T21:47:00.004-05:00

from the sea

I toooooold you

2011-09-12T21:26:00.003-05:00

#28 was an ice cream cone

for that wabs

2011-09-09T18:11:00.002-05:00

Ok, admittedly, drawing animal portraits with altered rap lyrics has been a recent hobby of mine.

superhero

2011-09-08T22:08:00.005-05:00

This is #9 from 28 ways out of here, too, a follow up to the book 28 ways out of here, which you might find in the archive somewhere in 2007, if this blog existed back then.

Seasons are rotating again and as it always seems to be, New York is best when each new season starts. I've been working hard on the Summer of Books project, which is very slowly drawing to a close and will then be replaced by the Thesis project. The thesis is the real #28. But the #28 from the book is an ice cream cone. I'll show you later.

baby oooh

2011-09-03T23:59:00.018-05:00

"We shall agree to this, at any rate, that whatever is appropriate to any particular thing makes that thing beautiful."

The Watcher

2011-08-15T22:22:00.003-05:00

"If you have walked all these days with closed ears and mind asleep, wake up now!" –Gandalf

2011-08-14T21:10:00.001-05:00

in the garden

2011-08-05T09:20:00.003-05:00

things can get out of hand if you're not careful...

('twas here all along.)

other planets

2011-08-02T20:21:00.000-05:00

places

2011-08-02T19:36:00.009-05:00

more "maps" to come...they're so important!

(let me know if you've seen my garden book?)

the braeking of the fellowship

2011-08-01T16:28:00.001-05:00

heat wave (sunset)

2011-07-24T18:01:00.003-05:00

Let summer 2011 be known as The Summer of Books. And let it be known that this is one of many. Even in the searing heat, it is pleasant to look at sunsets.

a view from the patio window

2011-07-04T22:52:00.004-05:00

"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks."

young but redday

2011-06-25T23:31:00.004-05:00

speachless

2011-06-12T23:47:00.003-05:00

is the far end of the passion spectrum.

I've been using my old computer for the weekend and found some things I'm glad I ran into. It seems like these were so long ago because time fucking flies.

"tell my mother

2011-06-10T10:12:00.004-05:00

I have stood before the enemy fighting in a great and glorious cause."

speaking of working together. Irony actually, this quote is from a confederate soldier. Though I am a northern citizen with every bone in my body, this nonetheless expresses a true feeling of passion (on the verge of death.)

I've been having dreams about corpses floating in ice-water rivers filling the subway tracks, secrets, new and old connections. I'm hoping to transform some space pretty soon and move forward with some steeping ideas.

Research questions:
do lists really help? why does this rabbit stink so bad? will I ever watch tv again? how can I get rid of all the bugs in my basement rooms? can I really read 8 books in four weeks? Obama 2012? can David Barton be considered a historian? will the balance ever "feel right" ?

co-cragg-itation

2011-06-06T12:55:00.003-05:00

the black-furred animals have joined forces and the path before me becomes clearer everyday, with the exception of select moments of panic and weakness (it's a work in progress). My last post was a chain of shapes sewn together to form a line. Today's post is slightly more complex... a habitat of organisms cooperating to create this lovely cragg-y environment. Listen up— co-operation, co-habitation, life is just not life without it. For those who think it is, you've got another thing coming. or some kind of dream existence where you live in mountain solitude and are completely self sufficient (possible??...I'm young but I don't think so).

Here's to joining forces. call me.

little heart

2011-06-05T11:13:00.002-05:00

Lots of new things beginning in this month of June. Here's to new ideas and new projects. and new adventures on my new bike! What is your favorite place to go? share it with me!

lead me not into temptation

2011-06-01T22:20:00.002-05:00

through some window

2011-06-01T12:39:00.001-05:00

somewhere, for sure.

(iteration 2)

also...thunder storms today? YES please

summer love interlude

2011-06-01T12:21:00.002-05:00

the transformation has begun and things are becoming clearer already...? Saying concrete statements helps one decide which thoughts are in flux and which thoughts are not. You gotta believe in something!

I foresee some sketchbook projects and some prelim research for the future.

in the middle

2011-05-20T00:07:00.005-05:00

it is magical when things align on their own. this could not be said better.

braeking up passion

2011-05-19T12:07:00.005-05:00

Sloowly as the trees and flowers bloom, the grass and plants grow a bit taller and the rats now chillax (eat trash) outside my bedroom window ALL teh time instead of just SUM of the time. Sloowly things start to get clearer, and we're still defining levels of passion. Forever(yone) it's different. I showed you mine, now show me yours!

At the young age of 23, does a grand commitment seem doomed from the start? only if it is approached with a closed mind and heart. Has this very blog not been a similarly long-term commitment? Four years running and not near its end, this very blog has adapted and reflected the changing minds I switch on and off as I please. What better way to approach any sort of project? Some things to consider when deciding which path to take:
What is at stake here?
What might this path lead to?
What might this path not allow?

The biggest, most important question remains:
What tools do I have/need to clear a new path between two already established paths?

this can apply to anything.

passion scale

2011-05-18T21:35:00.002-05:00

this is what a passion scale might look like.

fieldwork

2011-04-15T12:24:00.005-05:00

Parts of this have travelled with me across the country to many places. Bigger and clearer things are coming, I can feel them. They will look something like the view thru those glass vases.

FEEL it. can you imagine a machine that runs on the deep passion that pumps inside your torso? Do you have enough to power a grand machine? what does your passion scale look like?

nea bee twenty three

2011-04-08T14:56:00.002-05:00

For those who might be turning 23 this month (today it's Diana Chao!!!) Here's a reminder of why 23 will be a good year.

the future

2011-04-05T22:49:00.002-05:00

have you wondered what you could do in a parallel universe?

I could do anything.

transfoooooooooooorm!

2011-03-12T00:23:00.001-06:00

woman king

2011-03-11T01:17:00.001-06:00

What are you going to do with that woman?

What if no one was watching The Watcher?

2011-03-01T23:52:00.003-06:00

I ain't a thug, how much Tupac in you, you got?

note to self:

2011-02-28T20:26:00.001-06:00

who'd believe?

2011-02-27T14:46:00.002-06:00

You was a beauty indeed!

SPRING is coming and today's the day I felt it. Ella felt it in the open window, I felt it in Manhattan. Here's to an eventful present and future seasons for me, yea me. (and a return to twitter— @allegradenton —follow me and know more about my life than you'd ever want to know)

the King of Ladders

2011-02-20T23:57:00.003-06:00

Ladder to the Moon

2011-02-20T02:43:00.002-06:00

list

2011-02-15T11:17:00.001-06:00

Valentine

2011-02-14T17:45:00.002-06:00

it's truly wonderful to have such amazing friends! I love you, friends!

I won't! (self-love)

2011-02-14T12:58:00.001-06:00

smoooooch

2011-02-13T23:29:00.000-06:00

hug the earth for Valentine's Day

decay!

2011-02-13T15:50:00.001-06:00

a reminder,

2011-02-11T14:58:00.001-06:00

and don't you forget it!

The Imperial Skateboard P Tao

2011-02-06T17:35:00.002-06:00

as a matter of fact,

2011-02-05T23:40:00.001-06:00

re-mote

2011-01-21T14:21:00.002-06:00

you think you know where you're going?

Within the eternal circle, the dance of consciousness continues uninterrupted. Rather than a feeling of finishing something, you probably feel a beginning taking place!

Do you?

headless

2010-09-07T10:42:00.001-05:00

Looming around in the past and found a gem. How can one rule with such large feet?

flag you

2010-08-25T11:41:00.002-05:00

On my mother's kitchen counter, as a family, we laid out hundreds of tiny swatches of fabric and worked hard to put all of them in a correct (pleasing) order.

Raise the flag, stand tall, in place (intuition), sparkle, soft, and fast and right.

an update from far away

2010-08-21T08:54:00.002-05:00

If you think time moved quickly on earth, you should feel it here. Pulled from the archives, the above sample shows the deterioration of materials left alone (in a box, in a folder, in a computer) left to fend for themselves. Just wait, there are more marching this way.

I'm living in Brooklyn—materials downsized, life compressed and with dirtier streets. Inspiration has been few and far between, and the time required to respond to it, hidden. The images change, bright colors painted on buildings not birds. Time doesn't change, brains just morph into different shapes. Summer is over and now life starts again, while we wait, return to something from before

was well wishing

2010-08-06T18:54:00.003-05:00

hand grab

2010-07-24T12:57:00.001-05:00

2010-07-24T12:40:00.000-05:00

pose for the camera now click, click

2010-07-17T22:25:00.002-05:00

we're staging

2010-07-10T20:55:00.005-05:00

I'm crazy like the rest of us but I'm crazier when I'm next to her (Moolman)

above shapes

2010-07-08T19:47:00.003-05:00

Mia would be proud, I think

pocket paradise

2010-06-30T19:48:00.000-05:00

meet u there

it's full of stories (future)

2010-06-30T00:10:00.006-05:00

for this king, this particular mask

2010-06-29T23:12:00.003-05:00

when he wears this mask, no one recognizes him and therefore he has no responsibilities.

the house and the tree house

2010-06-24T19:29:00.003-05:00

we can live in the house, or we can live in the tree or we can live in the AIR (we already live there)

fortune

2010-06-24T18:52:00.001-05:00

for every king a mask

2010-06-22T17:21:00.002-05:00

The sun is shining again, the rain washed away like time. This king, a stand in, stands in inside, outside and on all other sides. watches me while I do what I do; making lists and moving things from one box to another is like meditation or a chore. He wears a mask so I don't recognize him, but when I see him i SEE him, you know what I'm sayin? you know where to find me.

yin and yang

2010-06-18T11:19:00.002-05:00

la luz

2010-06-16T13:41:00.001-05:00

see?

deep thoughts

2010-06-14T12:29:00.002-05:00

I can feel through the walls and across the borders. welcome and rezas para ganar

your dynasty

2010-06-13T11:08:00.003-05:00

it ain't complete without a chief like me

where are YOU?

2010-06-12T19:35:00.003-05:00

that land

2010-06-09T10:38:00.003-05:00

In real life, this has been sent home via USPS (hence the holes). Just one group of things carries you differently than another group of things, but the FEELINGS are the ones that beat you or hold you up. The sun is out the wind is soft the ground is a trampoline, I'll see you here and then I'll see you in dreams and then I'll see you east of here.

Way of Achieving Relative Happiness

2010-06-08T18:14:00.005-05:00

two years later

2010-06-07T16:10:00.003-05:00

and tehy still not safe

they still runnin for they life coast to coast, run little kings run I'm gonna catch yah huh

I used to live in a room full of mirrors

2010-06-07T15:19:00.003-05:00

holding hands

2010-06-04T18:10:00.002-05:00

This is a Thank You card made by a toddler at my mom's nursery school, given to her on the last day of class.

Coast Galaxy

2010-06-03T13:38:00.003-05:00

connect

2010-06-01T11:54:00.002-05:00

callado

2010-05-31T01:05:00.002-05:00

Left The Cities today and held solid ground as hard as possible. I worked hard I played hard I spent time at the lakes. I left with my head full of things that are impossible to put on a line like this one. I arrived in Madison the same way. A strange welcome back for me from my neighborhood and an equal range of cosas inexplicables después de la locura.

I spent time in my best apartment I spent time with some serious sentemientos I sang hard as I drove out of the state.

beached

2010-05-26T18:05:00.002-05:00

under this water

2010-05-24T22:07:00.002-05:00

and then I dove into the frame and felt my tail and my whale skin refreshed by the cool cool ocean water.

thanks

2010-05-24T13:52:00.001-05:00

be here by morning

2010-05-21T23:24:00.002-05:00

feel it in the water, feel it in the earth

2010-05-18T23:32:00.002-05:00

deep drop II

2010-05-18T00:11:00.004-05:00

And the dreams turn out to be the dreamer only much much thicker. The shell (the barrier, the surrounding matter) is the only color and the inside is just the empty background. You can see this, right? but can you feel it?

The wind is blowing empty, and the screen glows on.

whatever you wish to keep you better grab it fast

2010-05-13T23:34:00.004-05:00

It's been raining for weeks, I'm surrounded. The sun is due this weekend, to shine through the water but it can't touch me, no no it can't reach me through the thick sea. I'm too far down, too deep to feel the rays. When the rain meets the surface of the sea, they are neither one nor the other. The sun warms the water but doesn't reach the bottom. I don't feel a thing but the soft soft cradle of the water that holds me so still ima statue, I'm a mummy ima mummy mummy deep in my tomb of water.

solid suggestions

2010-05-09T21:09:00.001-05:00

whip

2010-05-08T22:25:00.000-05:00

just a little shifted

2010-05-06T20:35:00.001-05:00

2010-05-02T20:17:00.003-05:00

el gran poder

2010-04-29T18:28:00.004-05:00

lealtad

2010-04-27T23:10:00.001-05:00

stormy weather

2010-04-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

food for thought

2010-04-26T07:34:00.001-05:00

oh this place

2010-04-25T14:05:00.002-05:00

It's been so dizzy here, the world's been spinning around me, knocking me off balance. Split computers lead to split online presence, split mind due to what is stable and what is spinning. this is not a metaphor.

I remember a place outside in a building, with stepping stones surrounding a humid bog. We walked around the path and into the next room where there were small rolling hills to walk over—carefully because there was a low ceiling. It was kind of sticky in here, as you would imagine a building filled with "outdoors" to be. I dove into part of the bog that spilled over into the other room and it was deep, like a pool, 13ft maybe (that's deep!). I was looking for a key that had been lost because, well, keys are pretty important. This building, from what I can remember, seemed to be a mix between the 2009 Japanese pavilion and a hobbit house. Strong and structured and open to the public, like a YMCA. this could be a metaphor.

You observe the world, but trust your inner vision. You allow things to come and go. Your heart is open as the sky. It's always there, you can use it any way you want. this is a metaphor.

breathe through THIS

2010-04-11T13:56:00.004-05:00