Arts, culture, ideas & expression of a few wild art monkeys living in an arts loft in Jersey City.


Tuesday, January 31, 2012

RockSoup Radio is HERE! I hope.

Check us out here for our introductory show.
More to come!
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/8u0Z4uS9/RockSoupRadio1.html

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Theres got to be a better way to reach people then facebook. {Philosophy Break}

Seems like everyone I know is suffering in some way these days. Maybe it's just me, maybe people have been suffering in mass since the dawn of time and nothings changed. Maybe it isn't suffering but the awareness that something is missing. Even those whom I consider fairly upbeat people seem to have a weight on their shoulders that they are looking to let go of. I first noticed it after taking a lil break from hanging out downtown in the scene, going to openings, bars etc; I noticed that the way people were greeting me was different then the years before. In the past, things were very much on the surface, nothing too deep, nothing too personal. We'd have some drinx, shoot the shit, laugh and keep moving, but now people seemed as if they genuinely were looking for conversation and connection. I began to feel like I was being a shitty friend to a bunch of friends I didn't even know I had. I have to admit at first it felt like I was everyone's favorite dinner guest- but eventually I speculated that the truth may have more to do with how our shit economy/politics has awaken many of us to what is truly important and we want more then just the bullshit chit chat these days. I wasn't necessarily ignoring these kinds of interactions, I just didn't think they were all that feasible in the environments where we would typically see each other. BUT I can't deny that I've shut myself off from some good folks that I'd like to get to know better. Real artists, cool people and interesting characters with interesting stories and perspectives that I unfortunately only ever see out at an event.

It's this reason that I've decided to venture off into radio podcast interviews with some of the folks here in the JC scene. Maybe a lil at a time, one by one I can connect and get to know some of the personalities that I've crossed paths with over the years at parties and openings,but haven't had the chance to really sit down with and have a chat.

The interviews will be coming soon and a friend and fellow 660'er Ryan Iozia will be our host. Ryan is even more of a recluse then I, so he doesn't have all the years of interactions to taint his perspective on a potential guest. His questions will likely be right to the point in trying to get to know whomever we have in the Studio. Taylor Allred will be our engineer keeping things clean & funky for us. I hope you guys listen, because there are some great minds out there in this weird fucking city and if we can pick their brain for an hour and connect maybe we'll all feel a lil more connected to that creative source that fuels us, so we dont have to depend on the parties for our social fix.
BUT above all we are artists! There's got to be a better fuckin way to reach people then facebook!!

Below you will find the link to our introductory podcast with Ryan interviewing me.
http://www.4shared.com/mp3/8u0Z4uS9/RockSoupRadio1.html

Why you should take the time to fill out 'THE REAL SURVEY'


When I wrote the real survey I did so in a late nite creative frenzy. The kind where your audacious enough to think whatever it is your doing is gonna change the world, when in retrospect all it really ever does is change you. It started because of the Facebook phenomenon that's taking over most of our lives. I don't have to recite the stats, you know them already; facebook owns yer pictures, they monitor your internet navigation,they save everything you ever do and they sell it all to the highest bidder. It's also impossible to close your account, one can only ever shut the door while it waits patiently for you to return.

We have staulkers and trolls, fans, friends and now subscribers too. We judge people quietly, we hide or block people we want to forget and we pretend that were always at our best, sure to untag our bad pics and copy clever quotes that we hope makes us seem interesting. That's just the tip of the iceberg, facebook has us by the balls by providing us a service we are desperate to have; an outlet for our vanity, our perversions and our banal interests that help waste the day away. So what does my survey have to do with facebook? Well it's a result really, a result of hearing a facebook related conversation atleast 3x a day or meeting someone out whom I do not know in person but am friends with on Facebook.

We don't give much thought to just how 'out there' we put ourselves when we engage in this sharing of information. Both willingly and unwillingly our everydays are cataloged and available for examination and not just by Big Brother, also by our alleged Facebook friends. So who are these people? Who are our 'friends' ? I know they really aren't my friends, but that's not really the point is it? The point is we have hundreds, if not thousands of people reading our posts, flipping through our lives and making judgments about us. When I post an update or share a link I see roughly the same 50 or so people 'liking' or commenting each day, so in my mind, these are my FB friends. These are the people I am talking to. The reality is hundreds of people are seeing it and for all you know you can be offending them or turning them on. It's a weird world out there and I didn't want to guess or suppose that most people who friend me think the same way I do. What does that artist in GA think of Obama? How does that banker in Baltimore feel about gay rights? Do I have any Republican friends? If I do, do they hate me? So I drafted up a list of basic questions that I felt were conversation starters, but also fundamental questions that could happen at any dinner party among friends whom are comfortable around eachother. We've given strangers so much freedom with our personal information, whats the harm in sharing a bit more and stating where we stand on subjects like Aliens, Government cover ups, bank bail outs and the end of the world.?

So I guess what I'm saying is you should take The Real Survey not just to satisfy my curiosity about who you are, but also to practice admitting where you stand on some interesting topics that you might keep talking about afterwards, either here on FB or among friends & strangers. Print it out if you want, email it to a friend. The results aren't just for me, they are for anyone interested in getting some reality outta this surreality we've endured since the dawn of the internet chatroom.

You can find the survey here on my blog. Copy paste it, respond in the comment section or make up yer own, I think its a better way to waste yer time, because there's only so many cute kitten videos you can watch before wondering if you've got a kitten fetish.


Cheers,
Fathom

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Zen Message #1

Zen message #1- If we stopped and used focused perspective before responding to our environment, it would reduce the amount of ill gotten dramatics perpetuated by the minds need to preclude & protect by conjuring up instances of historically inaccurate emotionally charged justifications that are otherwise just there to reduce the levels of incoming forced insights and maintain the status quo of our fragile egos.
- Be open, Listen and be Ready.

Fathom

Friday, January 6, 2012

The opposite of life is not death, it's dreaming. {Philosophy Break}

The opposite of dreaming is to be awake
To be awake is to be alive
To not be able to wake
is to be asleep
To do neither wake, nor sleep is to not exist
which is worse then death
because death is merely a measure of lifefulness
and existence is the fullNESS of life.

-JF

"Brains, they'll eat anything", so watch what you feed em.

(This is written backwards...but i like it for some reason backwards, perhaps it suits it to be?)


-The two battle and dance and whilst they do- so do we and whence they don't,none shall be.

When there is nothing to exist, existance is summoned once again to balance the void.

Time forces things into position, force meets resistance everytime until it doesnt and when it doesnt, it ceases to exist.

Every second you grow you also decay.

Most of the beings that have EVER lived are now dead & will be dead muchhh longer then they EVER were alive.

if you were to pay attn to how much obvious decay was going on around you, if you'd have a better intuition as to when your time was up.

Being life & death are in essence; growth & decay, I wonder;

»
John Fathom