Enjoy a little Frank O'Hara this morning: Mothers of America let your kids go to the movies! get them out of the house so they won't know what you're up to The full poem can be read at frankohara.org

I'm on my lunchbreak from a 'conference' at the Video Studio at the Duderstadt Center. It's called Arts & Minds, and is supposed to be thoughts and conversations about art and its intersection with science and humanities. From their promotional literature: Please join us in the Duderstadt Video Center this November 1– 2 for a playful, experimental “learning studio” in which leading international artists, scientists, scholars, activists, and students will explore the interactions of art and mind. There is no audience for Arts & Minds: everyone participates. Everyone participates? Excuse me? I just sat on my butt for 2 1/2 hours - literally, cross-legged on the bare floor - being talked at (and danced at) (and video-ed at). There was 20 ...

Ed links to a post on Seth Godin's blog. Seth has this to say about not re-inventing the wheel when it comes to web design: I'm going to go out on a limb and beg you not to create an original design. There are more than a billion pages on the web. Surely there's one that you can start with? If your organization can't find a website that you all agree can serve as a model, you need to stop right now and find a new job. Not a site to rip-off, but an inspiration. Fonts and colors and layout. The line spacing. The interactions. Why not? Your car isn't unique, and your house might not be either. If you've ...

Somewhat disappointingly, AIGA Detroit is hosting a screening of Helvetica next week at the Art & Architecture building. It's a very small auditorium and the screen isn't great. Some time ago, I tried to contact the filmmakers to try to get the film screened at the Michigan Theater, but never heard back from them. A shame, really; the film is really good and deserves a better venue. Oh well, it's still an interesting documentary and if you want to see it, I suggest showing up early! Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Art + Architecture Auditorium, room 2104 Time: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Cost: $5 donation at the door Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual ...

A little Friday pin-up action for ya. Gotta love The Fratellis. Great summer music. As far as I can tell, all the best music comes from Scotland. Spinner.com, which is run by AOL of all things, is one of my many my guilty pleasures. They have free .mp3s everyday - not too shabby! Edit: Ok, screw Spinner, can't resize their player. Try this one. Music Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

Second Life Finally gave it a try. I've called myself Mitten Beaumont, which seems like a porn name to me, but best as I can tell that's appropriate to the content. I didn't find adjusting my appearance too hard to do (I now have a grass shirt with flared cuffs), but as a newbie with no experience and no one sitting over my shoulder telling me where to go, moving around and visiting places was completely unintuitive and totally unproductive. I still have yet to find much of anything but porn, even when I tried to search for popular places and newbie places. I'm amused with the weird 'sitting' functions that let you strike a sunbathing pose or kissy pose, but beyond ...

Some of you know of my unhealthy fascination with French rap music. My new pusher for my addiction is one of Keith's buddies, Marc-Antoine. But I found this all on my own: Bienvenue dans la Secte (live au Canal 93) Uploaded by HippocampeAncien More music and videos at the La Secte Phonetik MySpace page. via 3 Quarks Daily

Oooh! Oooh! So excited! Keith and I are going to sponsor a film in the Michigan Theater's Summer Classic Film Series in July, which means I'll have freebie tickets to hand out to you, my adoring fans. Well, you don't have to adore me, we'll still get you a ticket if you want one. Mostly I'm excited for the movie itself - it's one of my absolute favs: The Thin Man, 1934, starring William Powell & Myrna Loy, nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture. Keith & I hold Nick & Nora as the ultimate marital role models. (Keith points out that I am sorely lacking in the 'heiress' ...

Yesterday, I tried to enter this painting into an alumni show to be held during Art Fair. I was supposed to email the details and a picture, but when I did, the email bounced - mailbox full. Sigh. I had been keeping the painting to myself, as I'm unsure of it. But I figured if I was willing to hang it in a show, I may as well share it online. I haven't posted my work here in a long time, partly because I haven't been making much, partly because of the deafening silence when I used to. But in the spirit of Ze Frank and Bye Bye ...

CinemaSlam got a mention in the New York Times! Too bad it wasn't for something more pleasant: Michigan Arts Groups Protest State Freeze Groups representing Michigan’s public museums, theaters, music halls and other cultural institutions plan to rally at the state capital in Lansing today in hopes of lifting a freeze on state spending for the arts. The moratorium was ordered last month by the state’s governor, Jennifer M. Granholm, as part of efforts to head off a $686 million budget deficit. State law requires that any deficit must be wiped out by the end of the state’s fiscal year on Sept. 30. The governor’s action affects about $7.5 million of $10 million in ...