Shock n Awe Xmas Sale

No this is not soon to be XVP Cheney in an undisclosed cave in Wyoming.
If you can't resist another visit to Santa's Encrusted Forest, the Space Santa display is an Unbelievably Freaky Original.



Iwo Jimamamia... does it really take five guys to upright a symbol of re-birth?



Jim Carrey was grrrrreat as the grinch that tried to steal christmas.


Here is the rock-bottom truth: fundamentalist fruit-cakes from the the big three (not detroit) abrahamic faiths; islam, christian and jewish, have been spilling blood over this particular rock for centuries.



From the incomparable Incertus comes this irresistably loaded image, brilliant.



In case we are not completly confused and relieved in the mullato millennium, check out the latest fringe group.

From all of us to all y'all, Have a Joyful and Indulging Holiday Season.



Update from the North Pole:
There is a Fire Sale at Gov. Palin's Church in Wazzup, Alaska.
I think I see the likeness of baby jesus in the smoke stains...
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Green is the new Red, White n Blue

Little old blue bin be banished, there's a new super-size bin on the block.

Came home yesterday to find a fancy new recycling can delivered to every house in the neighborhood courtesy of Metro Dade Sanitation Department. The literature included provides residents with detailed instructions on the new initiatives lauded by the county as a bigger 'greener' better solution to our collective issues with sustainability. Is it your tax dollars well spent or another boondoggle for the bureaucrats?

How fast can one household fill up a 65 gallon can of recyclable material? Who cares!

The biggest advantages of this new program are that you no longer have to separate your recyclables and you can now recycle more types of paper products. Recycling has never been easier!



Curbing our appetite for progress, new plastic bins ready for distribution.

Think about it, if every town in the nation decides to up-grade their recycling bins, is it really green? Oscar the Grouch says NO!

The official web site has nothing but good news on the effort to manage our insurmountable production and accumulation of waste in a culture of conspicuous consumption.

Miami-Dade County launched a new recycling program. The transition process will take several months, in the meantime please continue to use the current recycling system, until you receive the new information package and recycling cart.




And if that isn't enough progress for ya, wrap your head around the effort to automate the collection of trash and garbage. Why are we doing all this at a time when the economy is tanking and jobs are scarce? Because we can.

Again from the Department of Everything is Coming Up Roses:

It's official! The Department of Solid Waste Management completed its garbage automation effort, with crews delivering EZGO carts to the final households in the Department’s service area. More than 300,000 households participate in this innovative garbage collection service that is neater, cleaner, safer and more efficient for residents and employees alike! While automating the Department’s waste collection service area is complete, we’ll continue to adjust, monitor and improve our waste collection efforts.

The only thing that is EZ-GOing is sanity and jobs.


Prices for recovered waste paper have plummeted to record lows.



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Obamarabilia

From Swamp to shining Swamp.

The Chicago Tribune is worth periodic visits, particularly these days.
Wish I could say the same for the Miami Harold.

The Tribune has tons of great photos documenting Obama's Magical Life thus far.



Love is thicker than molten lava. Love has no opposite.



"I Read a Book Once" by George W. Bushed



Insert Your Face Here. Yearbook Yourself.
First Lady looks ready to tackle the world.



Brother don't need no surf-board.
Talk about catching a wave.... ride it all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue.



We won't fall for the old Aluminum Tubes neo-Con again.



In front of every great woman....
We know who's got his ears and heart.



Tee-shirt diplomacy.
Jackson's got his 'hands/Jr.' but Obama's still got his plum-sacks.
Little girls know a wolf in sheep t-shirt when they see one.



Even white people's got to shout.
Brother would never tattoo anything on baby's forehead.



Lefties Rule. We are "in the pink", let's not blow it.



Talk to the Hand, you Dick, Cheney.


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Drive-by Double-takes

D-Place All Dried Up.
This sign/water-feature probably complies with the city sign ordinance...
but it looks like arssss. Why people use bathroom tile outdoors is beyond me.
The wdf painters tape graffiti applique actually helps a bit.



Peace, Love and Home Repairs.
Just a short walk from Casa Lin in Wynwood, this clever handymanvan provides ample proof that before the "art-invasion" aka gentrification miami's own puerto rican neighborhood was loaded with creativity.



We Paint Ugly Cars.
The candy-van parks illegally in the design district.

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In the Belly of Big Basel

Being immersed in the fine art industry, it is easy to forget that just short walk from all the hullabaloo of Basel one can find ample example of those who are perfectly oblivious to the "life or death" seriousness, self-importance pomp and circumstance of ABMB.


Tomorrows public service non-art troops.

Junior ROTC practice their maneuvers across Dade Blvd. from ABMB at MB Senior High School. They may very well be proud of not knowing anything about art.


!% down payment on income property.

Newly constructed du-plex just a block from Design Miami in the mainland.
Probably costs less than the Bob Williams 8"x10" that sold for 350,000.


Ground Zero Design Miami

The Bordello Bodega was a big hit among the vips and casual art aficionados.
There were times when a crowd would gather outside wanting to get in to take advantage of the 1940's prices on libations, substantials candies and necessities.



Bordello Bodega without the people.
I cant tell you how many times i heard people say this was such a welcome treat, the best thing they had seen all week. The place had an aura of having always been there. Foreigners were delighted with the quirky ambiance and intriguing native visual appeal.


That's allota GoGo Empanadas.

Somehow we managed to raise wads of dough for DASH. But more so, we raised the consciousness of many a traveler eager to be not just amused by art but transformed if only for a moment to a place in their minds, the bordello bodega.

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Basel Fossil Report

5-ton ready-made courtesy of the swamp.

ABMB 2008 Recaps and Recollections.

With the eighth annual Art and Design Extravaganza coming to a close it has become abundantly apparent that for better or worse we are a people of insatiable sensory needs and desires. The extent of participation on the part of all the parties interested confirms that Miami has become a mecca for art freaks of all persuasion. From the 600 private jets landing in OpaLocka airport to the native art-soldier and grunts eager to cash in on a pittance during the season, every one is scrambling to take in as much as humanly possible. ABMB and all that follows is at the core an orgy of desire for the collective mutual eye-candy only art, design and the people that make it happen deliver each year right here in the swamp.



If a picture tells a thousand words then MiamiArtWeek speaks volumes on the optic nerve of the human need for something extra, the need to find some meaning for our earthly existence.

This thing is bigger than the Boat Show... and the people are allot more interesting.



Swampthing is busy hosting the Bordello Bodega, no time to OD on all the Goings-Ons.

Do find time to read:
Interview with Ambra Medda, co-founder and director of Design Miami/ NOMADpaper

Also from the Dept. of Totally Unrelated.
The Real Bill Ayers Speaks , OpEd newyorktimes.


UPDATE:
Visit the incomparable Buildings n Food for a complete virtual tour of the Arttractions.


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Bordello Bodega

The Bordello Bodega

Celebrating 25 years in the Design District, Miami artist Oliver Sanchez will open his studio featuring the Bordello Bodega during the Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach events.

The BORDELLO BODEGA is a neighborhood convenience store with a hospitality club theme laced with a unique Latin Manhattan flavor. A ridiculous manifestation that attempts to convey the notion that what propels human endeavor is an unchanging burning desire for fundamental earthly pleasures.




WHO: Oliver Sanchez Studio
WHAT: The BORDELLO BODEGA
WHEN: December 1-7 2008
WHERE: 3821 NE 1 Court
WHY: Fund-raiser for Design and Architecture Senior High School

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No Black Basel

Omni Observant Local Word-Smith, Brett Sokol has the low-down on what flies and what doesn't with the art-police.

It appears we have another dark stain on the First Amendment.
Miami Beach officials have gagged CooPer's work from public space.

From Brett's piece in the NewYork Mag:

“The ink stains,” says Max Sklar, the city’s tourism honcho. “Clothing, cars, the sidewalk—everything.

“This isn’t Disney pretend,” he (CooPer) says. “This is real, live public art. You can look at it and enjoy it. But if you get in the middle of it, it’s not going to forgive you.”



Can't be bullish with fake bull.

Sokol in the Herald:
From beginning to today; a thorough account of the Locust Project Art Space in Wynwood.

"...Cooper recalls arguing with a city official over the precise classification of the building's occupational license:

``I kept telling him we didn't have a traditional occupation -- we were artists! So then he wanted to know how many desks we had!''

Cooper asked me about the ink issue and all i could come up with was squid-ink flavored kool-aid. Cooper is no substa-dude, he is the real thing.

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Pass Ocean Dr. Collect a Tan

Getting a tan is easy. Finding a place to park in South Beach is not and it's gonna cost. But when you are on Lincoln Road prepare for the season's Kaiju Invasion and check out the Pink Mantango at the Art Center South Florida gallery exhibition during ABMB .



Art Deco Sells

Half the fun in watching the famous Argentine artist Rosario Marquardt unveil her collectible poster for Miami Beach, was listening to mayor Matti Bower host the event with an amusing scripted delivery. The gathered were treated to Bower at her best when she light-heartedly said "parking isn't free on miami beach" and every one chucked. i remember when it was ... and thought, that's not funny.



But the bagels are Free..
All interested parties were in attendance on Ocean Drive and 10 street for the early morning scheduled Miami Beach loves ArtBasel Kick-Off with complimentary muffins and croissants.

Milton-Dradley on Vacation.
They also unveiled a SOBE Monopoly board-game. The nice lady that promotes it for the city did not know that the life-guard stand featured prominently on the weird collage game board was designed by kenny scharf in 1995.

Miami Beach Monopoly Game - 30 bucks!@#$%

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Have a Nice Turkey Day

When the pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower to the new world, the first thing they graced was the Plymouth Rock seen here today in all it's national treasure splendor.



But why is New England synonymous with Thanksgiving... why not St. Augustine Florida? There is a wellspring of information historians leave out of the textbooks.



It is no secret that we come from the land of plenty. Our strategic national stockpiles of food could solve the worlds hunger crisis... for about a week, and then what?


Let's not forget those who are less fortunate, those who Mother Teresa championed.
We don't have to go to India to find those in need.



A warm cranberry wish for each and everyone out there.


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The Bordello Bodega

The Bordello Bodega

Celebrating 25 years in the Design District, Miami artist Oliver Sanchez will open his studio featuring the Bordello Bodega during the Design Miami and ArtBaselMiamiBeach events.

The BORDELLO BODEGA is a neighborhood convenience store with a hospitality club theme laced with a unique Latin Manhattan flavor. A ridiculous manifestation that attempts to convey the notion that what propels human endeavor is an unchanging burning desire for fundamental earthly pleasures.

Since the dawn of human history, the urge to venture beyond the familiar has lead to new frontiers and expanded our common understanding of the world we inhabit. Whether nomadic wanderers or sea-faring conquerors; the sights of those dauntless few that heeded the call were set on discovering new places and people to interact with. As illusive and isolated points of destination were uncovered, tall tales and trade routes soon connected them intensifying the allure of untold exotic riches. In time, port-towns and out-posts became magnets for the intrepid. The spoils for the inquisitive voyagers were invariably the same then as they are today; more particularly GIRLS, GROG and GAIETY.

We humans are not made for work, but we will work very hard for that immeasurable reward at the end of the rainbow. The power process is a first-hand experience; the art of the hunt is more fulfilling than a job so if you want a rainbow, you have to put up with the rain. The Bordello Bodega is a glimpse into modern tropical Bohemia. It is another spark of the age-old beacon of passions.

The proceeds from the Bordello Bodega will be donated to the neighborhood Design and Architecture Senior High School.

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