Hypnotic reversibles

Recently I put together a compilation of images that I created for my performance act. Each pair of similar images is placed on either side of a piece of plastic cardboard. The idea is that "on the reverse is the reverse". Here is the image, and the source file is available on the deviantart page for this image.




Because people in keep telling me that my imagery is "hypnotic", I've been considering learning hypnosis. It seems to be a proven method for personal actualization, and in the last couple of years I've been having a challenging time following through with my intentions, so I think it would help me in my work towards self-actualization as well as make a fun addition to my circus act. A friend of mine took a course online, and I'm trying to get ahold of him to learn more about it.

Yoga co-op

Today I walked a block to the Plant Bath, where I was supposed to attend the following event:

However, because Marcos' flight had been canceled the event has been delayed until tomorrow at the same time. I'm glad I'm available at this time as well, because I'm interested in both becoming a yoga instructor and working for and/or helping to set up a co-operative workplace. I'm hoping Marcos' visit will plant a seed that will grow here in Ottawa.

Free shows

Last night I saw both Spearhead and Manu Chau at Bluesfest. I didn't pay to get in; instead I just hung outside the gates. It sure felt ironic when Spearhead was singing "give the corporations some complications", and when Manu Chau was singing about the "casa de Babylon" I was thinking "Yeah folks, you're in in !" Particularly, I have some qualms with Cisco Systems because they are fueling the internet censorship in China... but really they're just playing by the rules of the corporation, and the profit game is a dirty one.

I got a pretty good view of the stage on both occasions, but I wished that I had brought some friends along to dance with me. I was supposed to do some busking with my friend Brad but he called 5 minutes after I had left to say he wouldn't be there, which I had guessed because it was pretty overcast and drums don't take well to rain. After the show was over, I considered doing some solo busking, but from the get-go I wasn't really in the mood, and I really need some good beats for what I have jokingly dubbed "pole dancing" (playing with my "roley poles", or batons). As well, I didn't put my clown face on for fear of rain. However, I feel the need to do some solo busking to get over my insecurities and learn how to engage the crowd in a "Free X-change".

The night before last I jammed with Brad and Dennis, two of the most spirited drummer/singers I have ever met, and we together got the crowd riled up. I kind of feel like the the cheer leader of the group, there encouraging everyone to "stick around" and dance.

Lately I've been kind of fascinated by the mode of exchange that is busking. The artist offers a Free (as in "freedom") show; they are free to give (or to not give) to whomever they please. As well, the audience is not obliged to pay anything for this service, they are Free to catch a free (as in "gratis") show if they please, but they are also free to give if they feel like it. And in between there is this dance of influence. The artist may attempt to solicit donations by either appealing to people's generosity, or they might try to guilt-tripping those who are getting a free show (I'm not really into the latter mention, let them give out of love and not fear I say). And then the audience may pump up the artist, calling for an encore or a more extreme trick. As well, the audience can participate with the show, maybe they dance to the music, or are asked to participate in a magic trick. All of this really appeals to me as an advocate of what has been termed "Free Culture", which more refers to the Free sharing of information on the internet (i.e. Creative Commons artistic works, Free Software), but that is kind of mirrored in the world of street peformance.

Mixed Media

Well, last week while I was headding to juggling club, I stumbled across Morgan of the Ottawa Community Sidewalk Chalk Network laying down some chalk as an ad for a new event called Mixed Media, and I appeared at it after going all the way out to Jaques Cartier Park in Hull with no success finding the jugglers. The event had lots going on: Stefan Thompson was laying some paint on canvas (and cardboard), Morgan was shooting old Thomas Ediston video footage of wild stunts, and DJ Mnemetic was spinning some good hip-hop. So, I took a look for some promo on the net with no success so I thought I'd blog this one, especially because the crowd was a bit thin considering how good the entertainment was. So...

Mixed Media
a weekly multimedia event
Wednesdays 7-11pm
@ the Mercury Lounge
Music, painting, and a special artistic guest every week

This week the event will feature the Decypher Cru . I'll be there.

Fun weekend conducted

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the House of Paint, a fantastic free event which incorporates all of the elements of Hip-hop: DJing, MCing, Breakdancing, and Graf Writing. I brought my staff, juggling clubs, and some other toys to play with. When I got there, there was a huge crowd of people around the breakdance cypher, so I got up on a chair so I could see, and realized that I could juggle up there at the same time while watching the dancers. Sometimes I'm concerned that people think that I'm juggling just to show off, but really its for my own pleasure that I do it. And if other people get off on it, well that's great too. Later on Lochness of the Decypher Cru approached me and told me that it made her happy to see me juggling because it made her feel like she was there for the fun and not for the show. That gave me a nice lift :)

On Sunday I also had an opportunity to jam in the park with a very experienced staff spinner, The Pheonix (check out some sample videos on Google Video too). While I was passing by the market square, he caught my attention and after chatting with him for a bit, I found out that he was a fire spinner and his specialty was staff manipulation. My wishes were answered ! For a while I have been hoping to meet someone with more experience than me in the ways of staff play. And best of all The Pheonix has now moved to Ottawa.

At Major's Hill Park I picked up pass juggling with pins as well as learned a couple of new tricks for the sticks with The Pheonix. He at one point refered to my half-broomstick sized staff as a baton, and it never occured to me that it was somewhat like that. I always thought of a baton as a really thin stick that was just thrown in the air a lot, but I had never seen anything impressive done with them. So, last night I decided to do some research on "baton twirling" rather than "staff spinning" which is what I had been looking for with little successs, and I found a very well-developed culture around this. For example, here's a video from UK's Got Talent of Craig, a baton twirler.

So, I got up to some more research last night while I was working on my clowning act and found out that baton twirling culture came out of marching bands where drum majors and majorettes played the role of keeping a beat and conducting the band with their batons or maces (notice how a conductor's wand is also called a baton). Marching bands came out of the military, where they were used to keep the rhythm for marching troops. But then the bands became less useful in actual combat for whatever reason, so the marching band became more ceremonial than anything else.

So, a lot of this object manipulation (baton, mace, rifle) stuff has some strong roots in military, and I'm pretty opposed to the military-industrial complex . As well, marching bands are popular at football games, and I'm not to into that form of combat either. So, I guess what I'm working to do is make staff/baton manipulation into something that is more in the style of the circus rather than the militant marching or gymnastic competition that I have seen with baton twirling thus far. Ok, now to stick to it ! Hmm, maybe I should call my sticks "poles" to distinguish them from the tradition of baton-twirling. Roley-poley !

On the Fringe

I just got back from my first volunteer shift at the Ottawa Fringe Festival. I got to see two free shows, and I didn't even have to use up the free ticket I obtained for the shift, as they were shows that were open admitance to volunteers. The Rap Canterbury Tales was a spoken word solo show that was a modernized version of Chaucer's A Canterbury Tale, where the stories are told by rappers on a tour vehicle rather than.... uh, I don't know the original verion, to be honest. I like how this show presented some deep thematics in a way that was accessible to the general public. Next I saw Burden of Proof, which was about a nervous, self-depricating, sexually-frustrated clown. The act caught my eye because not only am I an aspiring clown, I also have a ukulele just like this clown did. As much as this act did make me laugh it also made me want to cry too. The clown was conciously asking for love in her life, yet every chance she got, she sqeamishly evaded intimacy.... until the end ... but I won't spoil it for you.

Good Food Box

On Tuesday I signed up for our household's first Good Food Box. I hear it is a good deal, and that the produce comes from local farmers. You can sign up for a Good Food Box in Ottawa at the Centretown Community Health Centre on Cooper just West of Bank. I believe there is only 1 day per month that you can actually sign up for it, and I just happened to pop in on just the right date. I'm still feeling a disapointed that I wasn't able to get our household a CSA share. The major impeding factor was the accessibility of pickups. Oh well, this Good Food box is a good start on supporting local food initiatives, and as well, we live pretty close to the Parkdale market. Yay, it's growing season !