ian van ness

I was delighted by the “hidden track” on Four...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:56:00 -0500

I was delighted by the “hidden track” on Four Tet’s latest, “There is Love in You”. The voice is instantly recognizable as that of Lightspeed Champion, an artist I was introduced to via E, via our mutual affection for Emmy the Great. Looking forward to his upcoming album, with an untouched/unremixed version of this track (especially now that he lives locally in Brooklyn).

“it’s better to fly /

and never reach the sky //

every second that you run away /

makes me miss you more and more //

i miss you /

i miss you”

"Mr. Fox: Mole! What d’you got? Mole: I can see in the dark. Mr. Fox: We can use that. Rabbit?..."

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:05:57 -0500

“Mr. Fox: Mole! What d’you got?
Mole: I can see in the dark.
Mr. Fox: We can use that. Rabbit?
Rabbit: I’m fast.
Mr. Fox: Badger?
Badger: Demolitions expert.
Mr. Fox: What? Since when?”

- Despite my own “heart-on-sleeve” way of life, there is always more left to discover about one other, and sometimes it’s the timing of when it all comes pouring out that makes all the difference.

“A half-drawn shade” and “the thing about life...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:30:00 -0500

“A half-drawn shade” and “the thing about life is that it goes on”: two stand-out holiday “gifts”.

Balance.

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:18:36 -0500

Balance.

"I really enjoy forgetting. When I first come to a place, I notice all the little details. I notice..."

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:32:00 -0500

“I really enjoy forgetting. When I first come to a place, I notice all the little details. I notice the way the sky looks. The color of white paper. The way people walk. Doorknobs. Everything. Then I get used to the place and I don’t notice those things anymore. So only by forgetting can I see the place again as it really is.”

- David Byrne, in 1986’s “True Stories”, a film that he wrote, starred in, and directed.

We watched at Zoya’s on Halloween, her dressed as Oregon Trail, Evan as himself, and E and I as nouveau réalisme. Naturally.

‘we fell asleep in the middle of the fury’ sleigh...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:50:00 -0500

‘we fell asleep in the middle of the fury’

sleigh bells - ring ring

"Not every clocktick needs a martyr."

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:26:00 -0500

“Not every clocktick needs a martyr.”

- John Woods

Particularly appropriate, I feel, in the day and age of GTD, TODO apps, and the general weight and constant pressure of time. Unstructured time is infinitely valuable for us all - for recharging, regeneration, and personal growth.

It's the only place I know how to bear

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Thirteen years ago this morning I walked into my parents’ bedroom on an overcast and somewhat rainy Tuesday morning to find my Mother in bed, lying lifelessly still.

I froze that day, a state of mind that I’ve existed in ever since. That is until this time last year, when I finally exhaled, or perhaps more fittingly, inhaled, and came to see that my life’s journey hasn’t taken me all that far: I have not yet fully left home. In what is supposed to be the life and dreams of every teenager, and despite moving away and living in three different cities, drastic changes would be needed for me to even think of crawling mercilessly forward. So here I go.

Untitled

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:58:00 -0500

Scott: Where do you get these artsy tweets and away msgs?
Ian: My mind.
Ian: Or drugs.
Ian: Your call.
Scott: The union of both?
Ian: Well, so actually, I stare at the drugs and wonder what I would think I would think if I was ever on them.

"The study of thinking machines teaches us more about the brain than we can learn by introspective..."

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:42:00 -0400

“The study of thinking machines teaches us more about the brain than we can learn by introspective methods. Western man is externalizing himself in the form of gadgets.”

- Naked Lunch, William S Burroughs

This dude was on(to) something.

bloodisthenewblack: Pandora’s box. If you gotta run, run from...

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:05:00 -0400

bloodisthenewblack:

Pandora’s box.

If you gotta run, run from hope.

The Cloud Project Seeding clouds with tasty nanoparticles to...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:02:00 -0400

The Cloud Project

Seeding clouds with tasty nanoparticles to make ice cream flavored snow!

"You cannot create experience. You must undergo it."

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:49:00 -0500

“You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.”

- Albert Camus, French author, philosopher and Nobel prize-winning journalist

City Bakery's Hot Chocolate Festival!

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:51:00 -0500

Today marks the start of City Bakery’s 17th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival, which runs throughout the month. Fearing that I would miss my favorites again this year (cinnamon, bourbon, and lemon), I created an iCal filled with the days’ flavors. They’re kicking off the month, and SuperBowl Sunday, with beer hot chocolate! Take a peek or subscribe!

On the heels of the news that the city overwhelms us, but...

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:32:00 -0500

On the heels of the news that the city overwhelms us, but photographs of nature can help restore our mental well-being, João Paulo Carvalho’s work is sure to inspire, with its ever-so-subtle hints of human existence, in an otherwise natural environment. Refreshing.

"I love the way we all suddenly stop traducing our enemy when we hear they have a cancer or have..."

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:16:00 -0500

“I love the way we all suddenly stop traducing our enemy when we hear they have a cancer or have suffered a stroke. If only we could always keep in front of our minds that we are all dying.”

- Don Paterson, from his most recently published book of aphorisms, “Best Thought, Worst Thought.”

My Father, writing at his desk, the day before Christmas, and...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:07:00 -0500

My Father, writing at his desk, the day before Christmas, and just a few days before his new daughter, and my new sister, Brooke Elizabeth, was born.

"No dogma taught by the present civilization seems to form so insuperable an obstacle in a way of a..."

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:22:00 -0500

“No dogma taught by the present civilization seems to form so insuperable an obstacle in a way of a right understanding of the relations which culture sustains as to wilderness, as that which declares that the world was made especially for the uses of men. Every animal, plant, and crystal controverts it in the plainest terms. Yet it is taught from century to century as something ever new and precious, and in the resulting darkness the enormous conceit is allowed to go unchallenged.”

- John Muir, American naturalist.

Muir didn’t publish his first book until he was 55, but it was his writing that affected a generation of Americans to develop their relationship with Nature.

What Happens to the Posters After Election Day? “If Obama...

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0500

What Happens to the Posters After Election Day?

“If Obama is elected president, however, the man in the pictures is no longer a symbol of identity and aspiration. He’s the boss, “Leader of the Free World.” He has power. Ubiquitous images of his face take on a creepy Dear Leader quality, implicitly commanding obedience.”

Regardless, Shepard Fairey continues his excellent run of Obama posters. I hope to see these around the city soon.

Ended CMJ this year with a performance by Emmy the Great at...

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:49:00 -0500

Ended CMJ this year with a performance by Emmy the Great at Piano’s. Fantastic!

(photo via F Yang)