Mantra

To the Ancient Forces connected to my success; Please clear the path of malevolence that aims to obstruct my view, Inspire me with well timed messages, and guide me with signs that I will understand. In return; I shall be open, emboldened and steadfast on my path. JF

660 studios celebrates 10yr anniversary. Coming Soon!

Next month 660 Grand st will reach 10yrs under the guidance of the arts. Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet and work a broad range of strange and talented folks looking for a creative space to work out of. Some time between Nov Jan we will be hosting an anniversary event. Stay tuned for details. 660's EARLY HISTORY Ol Helga as I like refer to her is over 206 yrs old and used to be known as MAX Lumber Mill. It was here that the unspoiled logs were turned into useable lumber for construction. Much of the land around 660 was bare back then. The Neighborhood- Across the street sat Whitlock Cordage. The Whitlock Cordage Company was among Jersey City's nationally recognized industrial businesses during the early twentieth century. It once manufactured what many considered to be the world’s finest and strongest rope. Today the company's former complex is part of the Morris Canal Redevelopment Area in the historic Lafayette neighborhood surrounded by cobblestone courtyards and the Rev. Dr. Ercel F. Webb Park. Down the block near The Junction is what we now refer to as Library Lofts. Before that and when I first got here 10 yrs back it was a carpet store,but after serious restoration and renovation it feels like it may have gotten some of the splendor back from its days as Library Hall. Library Hall was built in 1866 to provide a meeting place and town hall for the municipality of Bergen, an area founded by Peter Styuvessant in the 1600’s when the Dutch first settled around Manhattan Island and New York Harbor. I've been told that President Lincoln gave a speech there and that it served as this areas City Jail for a short time as well. Across the street/behind Whitlock Cordage was the (now defunct) Morris Canal, which was the path of the underground railroad. Some escaped slaves went into New York City, some stayed on the west side of the Hudson and went into Nyack after passing through this area which was also home to the Lenape Tribe. At the time of European settlement in the 17th century Communipaw was the site of the summer encampament and counsel fire of the Hackensack Indians. They, along with the Raritan, Tappan, Wecquaesgeek, Canarsee and other groups who circulated in the region were collectively known as the River Indians by the immigrating population. Communipaw is the site of one the earliest European settlements in North America. From what I heard 660 had been built as a wood mill and served as one under different names over the years before becoming abandoned. If this is true that would mean 660 Grand stood when President Abraham Lincoln was here giving his speech and being he was a man always affiliated with an axe and logging... I will reach far out enough to speculate Mr Lincoln maybe even toured the old mill on Grand street. Whose to say for sure? But until I hear otherwise I will imagine the late great Prez drawn to the smell of freshly sawn lumber and taking a stroll on by.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150152293986974 Nyugen Smith interviewing J.Fathom before "Super-Ego Idiot Man"

The computer isn't really your friend

The internet gave you; Two girls eatin shit outta a cup, a living monkey gettin its skull cracked open so someone can eat it's brain FRESH! You've seen a lion pride maul a man on African safari while his family sat in the jeep forced to watch the whole ordeal. You saw a protester die by grabbing an electric fence, a girl gettin fucked by a horse, a soldier gettin his head sawed off and seals being clubbed to death. The list goes on & on.

Not to mention it helped sell your identity, track your interests and sell your profile to the highest bidder.

You can't un-see what you saw here. You can't undo it either. There is no forgiveness.

The computer isn't really your friend.

JF

America has become a giant Junior High School

that awkward moment when...
I hate that fucking statement; "That awkward moment when_______________..."
I wanna slap them in the face with a cheese sandwich and show em an awkward moment. Its so corny even I cant handle it, and I like corny people. When did we all become teenagers all of a sudden?
FUCCCKKKK YOOOU.
It gets worse; As if celebrity/entertainment shows werent bad enough now they ask you to tweet your comments or "like" them on facebook. Everybody needs followers and friends these days and then those guys need favstar ratings for their cheesy quotes they steal from other corny website bloggers.
I've had enough. Theres no authenticity in news or social media anymore. Were all in Junior high school with our eye rolling WTF's and OMG's. It's gross. Cut it out. Im sick of it. I'm all for living a youthful life, but theres got to be a cut off point where everyone quits going to Vampire movie premiers and spending the night on a line waiting for the debut of a new video game.
It's time to graduate.

JF

What the fuck am I doing here? I don't belong in this dimension

Very often in life I feel like the Ghost of Nicole Kidman's husband in The Others- walking around like "WTF am I doing here? I don't belong in this dimension." For those of you whom havent seen the movie The Others, Christopher Eccleston plays Kidman's husband whom went off to war years earlier and apparently died in the war. She has also passed away but is unaware of it. For some reason his character returns to his home but seems distant and detached with a look of confusion on his face. It was the only time I ever saw such an expression and the actor does such a great job pulling it off that anytime I feel this sense of being an untethered foreigner I think of his part in this film.

jf

Happens all the time...

..it really does. I stay home, keep to myself, hang with the 660 fam, tell myself being good is the way to go. Stay focused, stay hydrated, stay the course, but then something happens. That something is I convince myself it's a good idea to GO OUT.

In and of itself going out is fine, we all need to spread our social wings every now and again, but the need isn't the same here in JC. Seeing people is more attuned to being part of something. 13th grade, a scene, a cliche'. Going out is keeping up appearances, saying your 'how do ya do?'s and showing support. There's an art show, event or happening every weekend in JC so you have to pick your day. I used to be partial to Tuesday nights but even that got stale. Not that there isn't a good time to be had but I've found that I've run out of interesting and interested. Even the conversations I start with good intentions end up drunken drivel. My flashback memories of the conversations I start end with me wondering just whom I think I am or a 'what the hell did i say that for' connotation.

My social ineptitude increases every year like a rocket gaining speed. I used to have things to talk about, things on my mind worth sharing, but now its always the same banal thunder spunk ricocheting off the ears of anyone willing or drunk enough to listen. I quit Facebook and Twitter, so now what do I do with my clever cache' of one liners and seemingly insightful observations? I spew em out in a sloppy slew of smarmy opinions and open faced psycho-babble.
I don't know, some of it feels funny, alot of it feels relevant and all of it seems to pass the time by faster. I'm not shy or anti-social, I'm just in a state of self enforced foreign incapatability. I feel like a stranger in my own body on autopilot thru the masses. The reasonable thing to do is stay home, get work done, make art, but there's a pressure valve waiting to be released and what used to be a pressure that facilitated a culture of learning now just cultivates my own self consciousness over how ridiculous I am.
-JF