CRC says...

I was asked to record a little spot for my blind friends in Fresno, Ca. I thought I'd post it here as well in case anyone out there wants to join Biker Chef and his posse on this very cool, yet important poker rally.
BLIND%20FRIENDS.mov

It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.

--Italo Calvino

CRC says...

He was a fan of America's Most Wanted. I put him in one of the episodes I directed--the "Calloway" episode. He was the sharp shooter in the police helicopter and he played the part with great finesse and relish. I was glad I could do that for him. He died this morning and was loved more than he realized...rest in peace, Mack, and take that with you.

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CRC says...

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A leader is a dealer in hope.
--Napoleon Bonaparte

There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.
--Frederico Fellini

NFP, PDP, CRC at the Hispanic Business Bureau fundraiser.

CRC says...

He would always tell us that the real secret to life was in the fact that when you tickle yourself you don't laugh.

photo by N.F. Paine

A lot of the good people of New Mexico came out to see the unveiling of our latest Hi-Def Art piece and to show support for our HDAP art campaign which can be seen at Wal-Mart's throughout the country. Some random shoppers came up to us and asked what we were doing. I told them, "a commercial for art". Their answer was, "cool". My goal is to make the creative process accessible to everyone and to realize that art is indeed as necessary as toothpaste.

WOLF, CHICKENBONE, MR. SLIPERY, & SCARECROW surrounding Slip's trusty OL' YELLAR.
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CRC says...

A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard.

--Bruce Lee

Walking the streets of Chinatown on the last day of celebrations for The Year of the Dog. I also did an interview for V. Vale's Counter Culture TV Show, which was interesting coming off my New York Times interview on Thursday. Basically, counter culture and the main stream are starting to blur; being true to one's self against all odds is now a powerful marketing tool. You no longer have to sell out in order to succeed, but you will have to sell in.

Original 1971 press release

An internal sculpture exhibit which people will feel but never see goes on exhibit September 9, 1971 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts.


Tactile Dome on the museum floor
The exhibit, called the Tactile Dome, is encased in a geodesic dome about the size of a large weather balloon. Visitors enter through a light-lock room into a totally dark maze (path). Then, for an hour and fifteen minutes, they feel, bump, slide and crawl through and past hundreds of materials and shapes which blend, change and contrast.

The purpose is to disorient the sensory world so that the only sense the visitor can rely on is touch. The sensation is so outside ordinary experience that a few people panic. An attendant in a control panel can reach every part of the ant-hill like maze almost instantly.

Pre-opening visitors have compared the experience to being born again, turning yourself inside out head first, being swallowed by a whale, and inevitably, being enfolded in a giant womb.

Seemingly the tactile equivalent of a light show, the tour is actually a carefully planned and structured succession of shapes, temperatures and textures which require the full range of the touch sense to perceive.

The idea is to make people aware of what a complex. sensitive and under used sense touch is, and to train them to use the astonishing range of its perceptions, which include detection of pressure, pain, temperature and kinesthesia, as well as cutaneous, internal body and muscle awareness.


Tactile Dome on the museum floor
Dr. August F. Coppola, whose brainchild the exhibit is, became interested in perceptual prejudice while directing interdisciplinary studies as head of California State College's Honors Program. He gradually came to realize that philosophy, physics and even psychology have always relied overwhelmingly on visual evidence to interpret the world.

"Yet the irony is that touch is still the test of reality," said Coppola. It's the tangible, the concrete, what you can put your finger on when your feet are on the ground.

Coppola believes people are actually prejudiced against the touch sense. "It's development gets off to a bad start," he said, "for as soon as we've stopped chewing our toes, the first commandment in life is given: "Don't touch". The Exploratorium is one of the few museums in the world where visitors are encouraged to touch and even manipulate the exhibits."

One result of the touch taboo, Coppola believes, is that people become leery of physical contact with each other and the environment and that this leads to a sense of isolation and loneliness.

As evidence of our overly-visual values, Coppola points to the overemphasis on fashionable clothes and the benefits of tourism. "This route leads to passive, non-participatory activities like TV watching" he said.

Coppola and Carl Day, co-developer of the Tactile Dome, and gallery director at California State College in Long Beach, are leaders in an art revolution which uses people as participants in art experience rather than as targets at which to hurl artistic messages. They believe the revolution, if successful, will greatly affect not only art, advertising and industrial design but even life styles and basic beliefs.

Both claim that improving your haptic powers also increases your visual skills.

CRC says...

I'm headed to Frisco to meet with my fellow Planet X thinker and creator. We will be talking to the New York Times about some of our ideas. Last night, I released a press announcement regarding what is going on in our beloved Land of Enchantment. I totally stand by it.

STATEMENT FROM FILMMAKER CHRISTOPHER COPPOLA, FOUNDER OF EARS XXI:

"The incident that occurred at the House Taxation and Revenue Committee last Friday is unfortunate and in my opinion was absolutely unnecessary. All of those involved in the film industry in New Mexico want to see more people getting jobs, and for all to benefit from production activity in the state. We hope and expect that those involved will accept responsibility for their actions and the hurt they have caused as a result."

"I believe that we can all have differing opinions on activities that have and will continue to be debated without causing road-blocks to the process of filmmaking, which is critical to the economy of the state."

...whether you wear skirts or fur coats???

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Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.
--Henrik Ibsen

I met the man at a bar I used to work at in Frisco. We immediately hit it off. I remember talking about politics, religion, animals, responsibility, self-defense and motorcycles. It was a thoroughly invigorating and enjoyable conversation. There was a definite educated, but tough guy bald man's club thing going on. I gave him the name, SCARECROW. He reminded me of the lovable character in MGM's Wizard of Oz. And like other names I tend to give ( ie Chickenbone,The Seagull, Rocket, Barac and Striker), it stuck. Now, Scarecrow has become one of my most trusted motorcycle comrades on and off the road. Also, I am happy to see that he has really embraced the "social investigation" street journalism side of himself. When we get the on-line magazine up and running, he will be in charge of our Social Investigation section. But enough of the set up, it's time to wish my dear friend Scarecrow...




A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Get Down, Mr. Slipery and I will see you at the Ponderosa to celebrate very soon.

CRC says...

She has been by far the most supportive, encouraging person to me and my little family. She also shares her day with the great John Ford, which means she can kick some serious ass. We wish her many more happy birthdays to come. We all love you, Divi.