FREE BOOKS! FREE BOOKS!

The People’s Library: CALL TO ACTION

Contact Mayor Bloomberg and ask him to respond to our three demands: 1. Replace every missing/damaged book, 2. Acknowledge that a wrong was committed and that this can never happen again, 3. A space to recreate the library. You can call 311 or 212-639-9675 from outside NYC, or email him here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

:::2011 IS HERE:::LOVE IS THE ONLY LAW:::

It’s a bit of a shock to file away everything that happened this past year into memories.  But it’s official, 2010 is dead. Truly life is zooming out and 2010 showed me over and over just how small my position in the grand spectacle we call reality. This past year I made the move from the West Coast to NYC and was fortunate to get to do quite a bit of traveling: Los Angeles, Austin, New Orleans, San Francisco, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Paris, Woodstock, and ended it in Miami partying with all the legendary Club Kids at Susanne Bartsch’s extraordinary NYE extravaganza.

My year began focused on getting my play “Life on Mars: The James Bidgood Story” off the ground, but after I showed it at Poet’s Theater in SF last February, my life came apart in Los Angeles and I had to hit the road toward uncertainty. Looking back on the year, I’m able to see all the beautiful times that sprouted in a year that was heavily coated with pain, sorrow, loss and heartache. Unfortunately my anxiety level was at an all time high all year long, and looking back I’m acutely aware that I never seemed to fully be present, I was constantly worried about what was going to happen next and afraid my life would again come undone. It’s impossible to live fixated on worry or anxiety or whatever… So for 2011 I want to try to give up worrying about tomorrow, embrace the present and spray paint my visions gold.

2010 really proved individuals must accept change and be able to adapt to the changes life constantly evolves toward. 21st Century literacy is no longer limited to the ability to read and write. Now the literate person must also be able to adapt and constantly be able to learn and unlearn in order to relearn. Unlearning/relearning and change are difficult concepts because they inherent a sense of loss and me being an emotional person, I grieve each and every ending.

Here are a bunch of pictures of the NYE party my friends The Zand Collective and I rang in 2011 at:

SXSW VOLUME ONE

Co written and with pictures contributed by brokenbrooklyn

To make it easy on readers we decided to choose a different format this year. We have posted all the bands we have seen in alphabetical order according to bands names. We first discuss what made us decide to check out the band in question and then talk briefly about how they lived up to the hype and our expectations. As expected, we had a great time in Austin and feel even more confidant getting around the city and enjoying it like a local. Austin remains one of our favorite places to visit and SXSW remains the premier music festival in the country. Thanks SXSW for a wonderful time and for making minorprogression a part of your celebration of music and music culture.

My Year In List : Music

This is the first January to January that I have spent living in New York City. The job market is scary and unstable, though luckily I’m employed and still paying my bills. (Actually I may have just been fired so please give me a job if you are reading this living in New York and can give me some money.) It has been a long time since I left the city and realize that I am in need of a vacation. I don’t sleep much lately, spending long hours staring out of windows, wandering cold streets, or staring at glowing screens. It is too cold to sleep with the window open now and most days I don’t wake up before noon unless work or other extraordinary circumstances are at hand. All this said, I’m having a better time in the city than I was in the fall. I’ve just been reunited with one of my best friends in the world who moved here a few weeks ago from Africa and has been living on my floor. I have also met one of the more special friends I’ve made since moving here and it turns out that she’s my neighbor. My neighborhood is changing quickly and it’s inspiring and scary to bare witness to. There are possibilities for our country I’m excited about for the first time in my lifetime, and the beginning of an era of reconsideration seems to be at hand.