The Power of the Ball

What started out as a question about my outfit turned into a discussion about the Olympics. I miss the Olympics. A lot. They should be extended to a month-long event. But like my other lover who only returns every 4 years, both the World Cup and Olympics last a  mere 2-weeks. I've learned to adapt.


Almost 2 months before the Olympics, I started reading The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game by John Fox. I'd received a copy for The L Magazine Literary Upstart event. Fox travels through time and around the world to answer the question his son asked him 4 years prior to completing the book -- Why do we play ball?


Why do we play ball? What is it about football and football, baseball, cricket, basketball, tennis, water polo, lacrosse, rugby, handball et al. that enthralls us? What is it about the ball that leads to endless hours of practice and play and bouncing? Balls of all sizes and shapes are the center of drama and wars, form alliances and create enemies, decades-long bragging rights, hand-eye coordination, speed, agility, power, strength...


Alas, like the Olympics, The Ball is "over". It was an enjoyable and entertaining read. A documentary based on the book is in the works. Now I have yet another reason why I want to visit Brazil - Altinha.

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A Random Moment with Jay White

Jay White, DJ

I can never blame anything on the alcohol. It was the music. It took his sets for me to learn who Adele is, choose a Franki Valli song for my burlesque routine and discover The Supermen Lovers. Always an hospitable host, I had to get up with him for a interview even though he claims he's not as cool as everybody thinks he is. DUMBO. Halcyon. He rolled up on his motorized scooter and we got to it.

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My name is Jay White. Brooklyn. I am in the hospitality industry. I’m also a student and a DJ.

A DJ. That’s why I chose you, that’s how I met you… but what do you do in the hospitality industry?

I’m a maître d' at Apothéke, in Chinatown. I was also a general manager for the same owner's previous business, The Wall Street Burger Shoppe and was a hospitality specialist during my college years at Starbucks—that’s where the hospitality background comes from.

Ok, with the DJ’ing, what was your first gig, your first break?

My first gig, DJing, believe it or not, was at the Chelsea Hotel. I was nervous, I was sweating, I didn’t know what to play next. I had a friend who was trying to mentor me through the DJ process, Richie Beretta, and he was telling me, “play this next, play that next” – my set was like an hour but it felt like the whole night to me. But that’s when I realized I wanna do it, everything clicked.

Subjectified: Nine Young Women Talk about Sex -- Giveaway

Subjectified: Nine Young Women Talk about Sex Trailer May 2012 from Melissa Tapper Goldman on Vimeo.

Women have sex. But, why? How? Why do they choose the partners they choose?

Subjectified is a documentary that asks the question that is often answered by everyone else but the women in question. Women are often sexually objectified for men or by their standards. As a result other women develop their own views on the sex and sexuality of their sisters. Real expressions of female sexuality are few and far between -- now here's Subjectified.

"While our culture is saturated with images of female sexuality, the real voices of women themselves are frequently missing.  Through in-depth interviews, Subjectified lets women do the talking, trading easy answers and stereotypes for brutal honesty.  The stories may sound familiar: young moms, abstinent Christians, lesbians, survivors of assaults and STD’s.  But outside the world of reality TV and sound bites, women approach their lives in complex and unexpected ways: sometimes hilarious, sometimes sobering, and always heartfelt.  Subjectified will change the way you think about female sexuality. "

A Random Moment with Ijeoma Iheanacho

Ijeoma Iheanacho, fine art photographer

I answered her casting call that was posted on SocietyHAE. We've kept each other abreast on our shutterbuggery. Last spring, her series, "Faces of the Great Recession", was a featured in the Faces of the Economy show held at the Art for Change Gallery. I finally made it to the Bronx, where she was gracious enough to grant this interview.

 

~   ~  ~

My name is Ijeoma Iheanacho. I am a fine art photographer.

How long have you been doing photography?

I’ve been doing photography since college. Graduated high school in 1996 so… ’96 to 2012… 15 years? I’m trained as an architect, I don’t do math [laughs].

Great Finds from bookbook

 

 Went to a bookstore today and bought 3 books. Topics: travel, food and sex. Hey, you love what you love.

I tweeted that on Saturday evening.


It felt good to be in a bookstore, to see the covers, to read the blurbs, to flip through the pages. I was at bookbook on Bleecker. These are the 3 titles I walked away with.

Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a rogue travel writer by Chuck Thompson

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain

Bonk: The curious coupling of science and sex by Mary Roach

A Random Moment with The Hired Gun

The Hired Gun, Hip Hop MC, writer, critic, arts educator

We totally dated ourselves when we realized we knew each other since the heydays of Myspace. Yes, that Myspace. Since then we've been connected through the music and poetry circles and the occasional hot button race issue. At the Ace Hotel, on a Saturday afternoon we discovered we were neighbors in Brooklyn, kindred in the artist lifestyle.

 ~  ~  ~

My name is Mikal Amin Lee AKA The Hired Gun, Fresh Roots Music, Nomadic Wax, Urban Word. I am a Hip Hop MC, artist, writer, cultural critic and arts educator. I’ve been based in New York City now for the last 13 years—born and raised in New Jersey—been reppin’ Brooklyn since 2000, officially. Unofficially, I’ve been reppin’ Brooklyn since Big Daddy Kane in 19- [muffles his voice] I’m not gonna say when cause I look very young.

As an MC and artist, what is the message behind your music?

My influences have been people like Chuck D, KRS-One, Brother Jay, The Native Tongues, Freestyle Fellowship and regardless of the political message or the artistic message, the thing that I took from them and what I try to carry on is I want you to think. I want you to ask questions. That’s what my music is—it’s to inspire thought, it’s to provoke thought—what’s going on with you, what’s going on with the community around you, what’s going on with the world around you, why are things the way they are, where do you fit in all of that. So that’s really what my music’s about regardless of what the topic or the concept or the theme is ... I’m not afraid to say I love Black people, so I try to celebrate us as much as possible in my music and I try to show a different angle because I’m not what this country or what people think are stereotypical of us so I try to represent that as well in my music.

A Random Moment with Terry Castro

Castro, jewelry designer, creator of dreams

He scored points simply for being at my favorite restaurant, 2 years ago. Once I struck up conversation, I noticed the bear claw around his neck; he told me about his jewelry, I told him about my "dirty" writing, we discussed race. Since then there were run-ins in SoHo and the LES when he wasn't in Europe or Asia racking up buyers or in Paris (le sigh) for Fashion Week. A few blocks away from the Art For Change Gallery, we met at his studio for this interview.

~   ~   ~

My name is Castro, like Fidel Castro, like Cuba. I’m a creator, a creator of dreams. At this point in my dreams I’m creating jewelry, leather accessories—whatever comes to my mind. Before that, I did clothing, women’s clothing.

A Random Moment with Damali Abrams

Damali Abrams, interdisciplinary artist

We met at the opening reception of her exhibit at A.I.R. Gallery in DUMBO. In person she was quiet and humble, on the video screens we viewed 365 of her characters. Summer of 2011, I watched a video she exhibited addressing the hot button issue at that time - unattractive Black women destined for lifelong singlehood - at an event at Bluestockings book store organized by her sister, Abiola Abrams. On July 18, Columbus Circle was under the deluge of a summer thunderstorm storm so we took refuge in the Time Warner Center for this interview.

~   ~   ~

My name is Damali Abrams. I’m an interdisciplinary artist but I work mostly right now in video and performance but I also do collage and mixed media.

How long have you been involved in the arts?

Well, I’ve pretty much been involved in the arts all my life; I studied dance growing up, I’ve written poetry since I was a little girl and then I started getting into more visual art as I got older.

A Random Moment with Robin Glasser

Robin Glasser, author

We were both on the bill for a literary reading event in 2010. She enjoyed my excerpt on fellatio, I was sucked into her excerpt on being seduced in Paris. She informed me about Word Up bookshop the opportunity to have copies of my book sold there and we later shared the stage at an event she organized. Then along came a nude young man and my camera. On a sultry Saturday, we met in Chinatown while passersby listening in on our conversation.

~   ~   ~

My name is Robin Glasser, like Batman and Robin, R-O-B-I-N, I’m not fancy, and I’m a writer. I’m an author. I have one book called Men At Work, which is fully illustrated and it actually comes with a guarantee to put twinkles in your eyes and sparkles in your pants. Somebody gave me a video camera to make little movies and I put them on YouTube and the very first poem they have now taken off so I’m at war with YouTube. My other book is My Life as a Concubine which is actually a roman à clef—I lived in Paris for 3 years—I changed the names to protect the guilty. Besides a love story, there’s recipes, there’s tips of France and great places to visit. I’ve just finished my third book, The Brain Exchange, which I call a "Sex-Fi" and the punchline is, “If you could walk in someone else’s shoes, would they fit?” It takes place in the not-too-distant future and the latest thing is instead of taking a vacation to an exotic land you can actually exchange brains and take a vacation in someone else’s body. And the whole plot revolves around a bodybuilder and a super plus size woman and what ensues.

A Random Moment with Mecca Woods

Mecca Woods, writer, filmmaker, astrologer

We met at A Monthly Bondfire in 2009 during the annual Ladies Night Event. She rocked the mic with powerful poetry about life and love. That same night she announced she was making a short film. Sure enough, it came to fruition. I attended a screening of the film, lived vicariously through her as she touched down on French soil and recently she read my natal chart keeping me on the right path. This past Friday, the 13th, despite Mercury Retrograde energy looming, we met in SoHo for Batidas and lots of laughter.

~   ~   ~

My name is Mecca Woods AKA The Meccanism. I am a writer, filmmaker and astrologer.

How long have you been a writer?

I wanna say it’s one of the things that has been with me all of my life. It’s funny ‘cause my Dad actually has laminated stories that I wrote back when I was like 7 years old. People would always ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up and at that time I would tell them I wanna be an author, that was my big word for it. As time went on, it was one of the things that stuck with me no matter what I did. There was a brief time when I thought I wanted to go into science but I suck at math so I ended up going back to what I always knew best and that was writing.

A Random Moment with Michael Cinquino

Michael Cinquino, photographer

Within minutes of meeting one another, we were naked. He's the photographer for the upcoming book, Asana Exposed by ISIS Phoenix. I love the images we created, and it was only a test shoot -- that's saying a lot. I appreciate his feedback on the development of my male nude series, we've shared self-portraits and are overdue for a Hapkido class. It was hot and humid day and thankfully his Williamsburg studio was air-conditioned when we got together on Friday.

~   ~   ~

I’m Michael Cinquino, I’m a photographer here in New York. I live in Brooklyn. I shoot just about anything with people. The frequency I would say is headshots first, then fashion, portraits and then also events and weddings. I work mostly in the consumer market. I’ve started to move more towards editorial and publications in the last 6 months to a year.

How many years have you been doing this?

It’ll be 3 years July 7 or something like that.

Do you have an image that you’ve captured or one that you saw that let you know,  "I want to be a photographer"?

I don’t know if there was a single image. I will say though that I’m most attracted to the face. I love doing actor headshots. Even with models or whomever, I’m most attracted to the face because there’s so much to it. I like to make and like to see compelling images; images that I look at and I instantly have some sort of visceral response to.

A Random Moment with StarPower

StarPower, hip hop artist

I had a crush on him in 7th grade. He was a bad boy with too much brainpower for his own good. A few years ago when I reconnected with many old junior high school friends, I learned he stuck with hip hop and was also a teacher. I went to a few of his shows and was sold on his in-your-face lyrics. I added him to my "Men of May" UrbanErotika lineup. Now he's taking those skills to teach in Qatar. We fueled up with burgers and soccer at Bill's Bar and Burger then headed over to The High Line to discuss.

~   ~   ~

Introduce yourself and tell us about art, your discipline.

Rod, R-O-D. I always spell it out because I went to a workshop one time and the guy told me I don’t enunciate well enough he said, “It sounds like you’re saying ‘Roz’” so I always say, Rod – R-O-D. Yeah, Rod AKA StarPower. My art is hip hop – writing and performing. My discipline is discipline; discipline’s changed my life, discipline has made me the person I am ‘cause I had none of it and now it’s an addiction. So yeah, that’s me.

So, you’re a hip hop artist. Is there a message to your music?

Yeah, definitely. The message is to be an individual. A lot of hip hop used to be dangerous, it used to be about “I don’t give a fuck” but it was not give a fuck for a reason. Now they’re not even trying to not give a fuck anymore so I’m not gonna give a fuck for all of us. My message is you’re here once, don’t leave anything on the table, don’t regret anything. There’s a million things that you could be rapping about but they don’t do it. And if you’re in a position, like in my position, I’m just a no-name rapper somewhere, I can say what the hell I want and I’m gonna rap about it. My message is just you’re beautiful, the world is beautiful, it’s also ugly and disgusting and you need to speak about all of it, in detail, that’s how I feel.

A Random Moment with Davi Russo

 

Davi Russo, photographer and director

"I'm usually the one asking the questions," I said at some point during our conversation at the bar. After exchanging a comment about the song that was playing and commiserating over both being a dying breed—native New Yorkers—we drank and talked about art, photography, sex and beauty ideals. We saw each other again at his exhibit and book release, "Turns" at Munch Gallery. Returning to the restaurant where we first met, it was my turn to ask the questions.

~   ~   ~

I’m Davi Russo and I work as a photographer and director and I make pictures. I guess I like to think of myself as someone that is a maker of things.

How long have you been a photographer?

Well, my mother gave me photography but in like a natural way. When I was 7 years old, she gave me my first camera – she gave me actually 2 cameras – she gave me an old Kodak 110 camera, the film looks like a little telephone, and she gave me a Polaroid 600 series camera. My job was to kinda be the family photographer because my father was incarcerated around that time and so my mother realized that we’d be sending photographs to him through the mail. I think she was very smart about understanding that if she gave me this assigned role it was probably an ego boost for me as a young man, you know, and it gave me something good to do. I’m sure that my father adored having those pictures sent … so that’s how I was introduced to photography. It wasn’t like I studied it or something like that.

A Random Moment with Nimesh Gandhi

Nimesh Gandhi, singer/songwriter, actor

Only a few minutes after meeting him I knew I wanted to interview him. He expressed humility, a willingness to learn and shared part of his process all in our 5 to 10 minute chat. I was encouraged by a friend to hang around and listen to his set at the Nuyorican Poets Café that night, and I'm glad I did. His vocals and the band backing him that evening really effected me with its rich sound. At his gig at LIC Bar on June 27, he granted me this interview despite his usual "pregame" rituals.

~   ~   ~

My name is Nimesh Gandhi, I am a singer/songwriter and I also do some acting. I’ve recently created an act around my last name—Gandhi. My ancestors, my parents are from outside of Bombay, so that’s my origins, and I was raised in Indiana (laughs) From India to Indiana. My New York story is – I focus on singing and songwriting and working with a lot of quality rock and jazz musicians.

How long have you been a singer/songwriter?

I’ve been developing as a singer/songwriter for over 9, 10 years and it began to mature in the work with the producer, William Moses. His and my work together put me on the map as a singer/songwriter. Before that I was experimenting with guitar and my voice; I would play with bands and I would not really focus on my voice. He helped me shift to a focus on my voice and a focus on storytelling. All of what I had been working on up until I met him in 2005 was developing stories, songs, and by the time he and I got together, we realized all the material together.

A Random Moment with Tom Hatton

Tom Hatton, musican, songwriter

I met "Sir Hatton" by way of "France". I frequented Les Enfants Terribles, a lot, in 2010. Tom was the gracious bartender with the piercing eyes who wore his Oxfords unbuttoned to the third button. I'd known him as an actor. I learned of his other artistic endeavor, music, when I ran into him at a friend's gig recently. I met up with him the following week before his own gig for this interview.

~   ~   ~

Hi, I’m Tom Hatton and I play in the band, Gandhi – rhythm guitar, harmonica and background vocals.

When did you get involved in music?

I’ve been playing casually since I was about 15. But really in terms of performing, I started when I met Nimo – Nimesh Gandhi – we’re close friends so we started playing together and now we’re performing on a fairly regular basis.

A Random Moment with Tiffany McGuire

Tiffany McGuire, plus size fashion blogger

I'm fascinated at times at our Monica and Rachel relationship. I do not have the passion for the fashion I "fall into" that she has. But I've definitely learned a lot about fashion and sewing from her. The physical vision boards from her Katharine Gibbs days have been replaced by virtual ones on Pinterest. And she's recently taken the plunge into blogging her trials and tribulations as a Glamazon and sewing her own clothes. And her clothes are wearing her (I learned that term from her too).

~   ~   ~

My name is Tiffany McGuire. I am a seamstress, if you wanna call it that, and a selfish sewer, you can definitely call it that, and a newfound fashion blogger for the plus-size diva – that would be me. I’m still in my developmental stage, I’m still learning. I’m like the only person who actually sews and runs a fashion blog for plus-size women- it’s a whole new element. I think it will give me an edge up.

Do you have any idea when you got into fashion? Was there a “moment” or an “era”?

Yup. I always said as soon as I start making any kind of money, I was gonna change my look. So that has to be my earliest memory of it cause god knows the first 3 years of high school were disastrous. They were life-changers. And looking back I’m the extreme opposite of it—I mean my face looks the same, I’m probably around the same size but no one recognizes me. Ever. I’m that different.

Your look is that different…

I wore granny square sweaters and mid-calf skirts, opaque tights and old lady shoes. Come on. Totally different.

A Random Moment with Vid Son Doz

Vid Son Doz, painter, sculptor, art explorer

I eyed him curiously at the Artists Wanted "Cosmic Architecture" opening reception in late May 2012. When we finally spoke, he introduced himself as being from a rainforest in Puerto Rico. It wasn't the wine, I had heard correctly. This past Monday, June 18, 2012, his work was among the many showcased at Art Takes Times Square. It's only fitting that after a tremendous thunder and lightning storm, which produced hail and snow, we'd meet again.

~   ~   ~

I have lots of names. My sister, lately’s been calling me Videous Termite but I’m Vid Son Doz which is short for David Peterson Albandoz, but I shortened it, I like that everything happens in threes and the last letters of my name became Vid. My friends call me Vid. I sign my work Vid Son Doz—that’s my artist name. It’s important to me that we share our art, that we share our experience. That’s why I’m here.

So what’s your title? What do you call yourself?

I’m an artist—painter, sculptor. I am more like an art explorer. I mean I have lots of variety of art.

Inspiration struck! Vid Son Doz paints the latest in his Vegetative Translunary collection 

A Random Moment with Glendaliz Camacho

Glendaliz Camacho, writer

I asked her to sit next to me in our 6^th grade computer/typing class and a friendship was born. That led to many novel-length notes passed back and forth during class (even if she doesn’t remember the details). Our paths diverged and converged a few years ago and she’s still writing. Perhaps a writer is born. I stopped by her office (the day job) at SHARE on Friday afternoon.

~   ~   ~

Well, my name is Glendaliz Camacho. I’m a writer, also an editor and a translator. I’ve worked in publishing, years ago, and magazine article writing and right now I’m working on fiction; on short fiction and a novel.

I’m sure there’s that one story that you haven’t shared. Which story is that? And why haven’t you shared it?

I don’t know that I only have one story that I haven’t shared. I think there’s a couple. I think they marinate in my brain for quite some time and then when I’m ready then I can kinda start working on it. Like even the story that I’m working on right now, it’s something that I’ve had in my head for a while that came outta a passing comment that my Dad made about my great-grandparents. So this one factoid that he gave me about them got me thinking but it took a long time. So that would be the story that I haven’t been able to tell, haven’t told. But I think I have a couple of them like that, usually if they’re not about myself and my more scandalous times, then they’re about family or something.

A Random Moment with Habib Idris

Habib Idris, painter

In keeping with the random yet the synchronicity of life, I ran into an old college friend in SoHo on Wednesday. I knew he painted but wasn’t aware of the extent of his work. I was also witness to the effect his creations have on people; a mother and daughter walked by and were instantly drawn to one of his mannequin pieces—art admired, art sold. He was gracious enough to let me interview him right there on the spot.

~  ~  ~

Introduce yourself and tell us what it is you do; what’s your craft?

Habib Idris, from Ghana. My craft is paint. I paint. I draw. It’s therapy for me. To get my mind off a lot of things I paint. I don’t consider myself an artist… You can say I’m an artist but it’s more of a hobby or something that relaxes me than for money. But in this economy, you gotta do whatever you can to make money, right? And I’m using what I can. I’m blessed to have a gift where I can paint or create something so I use that to make a little money for now.

A Random Moment with Rubén González

Ruben Gonzalez, singer/songwriter

We first met last year at a show we both participated in at Word Up! Books in Washington Heights. He sang before intermission, I read after. I attended one of his jam sessions in September. On June 19, 2012, we met before his show at the Nuyorican Poets Café. We popped into the Snack Dragon Taco Shack and were greeted by the aroma of steak on the grill, soulful beats and sipped homemade Raspberry Limeade as we discussed his career, creative process and his panty-dropping music that he sings from his testicles in his neck.

 

At the taco shack

Alright, introduce yourself and tell us what you do

My name is Rubén González and I do a bunch of things, mostly related to music. I’m a singer/songwriter. I’m also an instrumentalist; I play bass, guitar. I’m also a teaching artist in New York City Public Schools working with early childhood but also I arrange and direct a couple of percussion orchestras for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders in Brooklyn. That program has been going on for years and years and it’s grown and it allows me to see music in a different way, arrange for little hands, for little brains—it’s a lot of fun—at PS 130, the one that I’m thinking of, the most important program, on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn. The principal is very supportive, we’ve got all kinds of instruments, so I teach there and I arrange for them and introduce them to music. Being a teaching artist gives me the opportunity to introduce young kids to music the way I feel it, the way I would like to have been introduced [to it].