Title: This is how we will save the world… an introduction to the Sacred Spaces project
Location: Flipside Warehouse 1023 Springdale Rd Austin TX 78721

Description: Local artist collaborate on an installation demonstrating the use of art to cultivate an environment conducive to the benefit of mental health

Date: 2010-02-06

Start Time: 2:00pm
End Time: 10:00pm

Schedule:
Nathan Jensen children book signing: 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Aymie McKesson glass blowing demonstration: 4:00pm
Moses Montalto leather carving demonstration: 6:00pm

Video and Flyer Designed by Nathan Goodfellow

I hate Chase bank… WaMu was AWESOME! and then these ass-hole Chase banks come and take them all over!

WaMu never had any issues but Chase has done nothing but give me problems.

Chase bank refuses to cash any of my checks through their tellers unless the check is from Chase bank! they force me to wait 24 hours to withdraw any of my money! However, if I go to a Chase ATM and deposit a check and then withdraw the funds I have found that the ATM will allow me (even if the teller wont!)
So I have recently been doing this to avoid having to walk into a branch and feel the evil aura that every JP Morgan Chase branch emits.
So the other day I go and cash my check at an ATM without realizing or knowing that my account had been over drafted $.25.
*BAM*
Chase hits me with a $35 fee!

OUCH!

But since I did a deposit withdraw that same day without realizing my account was overdrawn

*BAM*
Chase hit me with ANOTHER $35 fee!

So I go in the next day to make a deposit and they tell me that I owe them $70!

I tried to get the bank to wave the second overdraft charge but they refuse.

I’m very confused at this point because I have setup an EMAIL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM to let me know IMMEDIATELY if I over drafted the account.  Sure enough, the email came!

2 DAYS LATE!

If their notification system was working properly I could have avoided the other charge!  but is it their fault?

Apparently not! because they have refused to refund the second overdraft charge!

THANKS CHASE BANK! You SUCK! I would close my account but I can’t find a good bank out there to switch to!

Austin and Central Texas Laser Light Shows at YOUR party or in YOUR backyard! Click the link for more pics or contact me for more information.

Don’t forget to check out:

Your home for Vintage KitchenAid mixers parts and accessories from the 1930’s to the 1970’s.

One more to take a look at:

here is why:

Rhett Reese saw people posting on twitter about how they were downloading the new movie Zombieland online.  Rhett is one of the writers and directors of the recent blockbuster hit.  Rhett claims that the amount of people who downloaded Zombieland is going to ruin any chance of a sequel (boycott Zombieland 2 too!) and he feels like those who are downloading his movie illegally are ripping him off.

Read this article for his exact post:
http://freakbits.com/zombieland-director-hunts-down-pirates-on-twitter-1115

Looks like Rhett has joined the likes of Lar Ulrich and other millionaires who have stood up to bitch about how people downloading their content is taking money away from them.  (I can’t wait for South Park to pick this up and make fun of Mr. Reese)

Now first let me clarify something for you.  I do not think that bootlegging content on the internet is right or that the people who downloaded Metallica or Zombieland should have done so.   I especially do NOT agree with people who download others original content and then use it to make a profit.

But there is one thing I hate more than anything in the world and that is bitching.
And this isn’t just bitching but unjustifiable whining and complaining about something that is not really drastically affecting the person who is doing the bitching.

Let me break it down for you, read this:
http://www.revolvermag.com/content/metallica-set-records-album-sales-and-concert-revenue

Metallica set breaking record sales and concert revenue.  In ONE show they made $1.6 million dollars.  That is all in one day for one show.  They just go on stage and play their music.  But that money is just not enough, they still have to bitch about people downloading their music.  And that is why I don’t listen to Metallica anymore, I smashed all their CD’s and I have been boycotting them since they stood up against Napster in 2001.

Once again let me reiterate, I do NOT support bootlegging.  I but I also don’t support BITCHING.  I never downloaded any Metallica songs,  I bought all their CD’s.  However, because they are arrogant money hungry bitches, I decided to stop listening to them and have been avoiding their music entirely.

Wanna guess how much money Zombieland has made in 2 months?
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=zombieland.htm

Well would you take a look at that!   Zombieland has grossed over 85 MILLION DOLLARS worldwide since it has been released.  85 MILLION DOLLARS!  I’d be happy to just have 1% royalty of 85 million!  Which I’m sure the director of the movie is getting much more than 1%… and that is just the money the movie has made in the 2 months it has been in theaters.  The DVD’s haven’t even hit the shelves yet!
So listen up Rhett Reese, stop being a whiny little bitch.  You are making your hard earned money off your movie AND you still making more money than the average American makes in a lifetime off just one flick!  Why don’t you quit whining, maybe if you weren’t so rich you could find something more constructive to do with your time than bitch about the money you didn’t make because people downloaded your movie.  Who cares!

Just like Metallica songs are played on the radio soon enough Zombieland will be on TV and everyone can watch it for free, so what does it matter anyway.  You are still just a rich bitch.

You know who deserves a license to bitch about people bootlegging their work?

The poor starving artist that are struggling to survive.
The guy who sits on the street corner and plays his guitar or sells his sketches.

The people that struggle to find time around their busy jobs to sit down and paint or draw or perform music and create, not for the money but for the passion.

The hard working artist who don’t have corporate sponsorship or million dollars to back them up.
The struggling artist that has to support himself with a 9-5 job.
I’m talking about the starving artists, the ones that struggling to make it in life.
I commend them and I commend what they are doing and I would much rather spend my $5 on them instead of going to see a stupid zombie movie in an over priced theater that was directed by some rich bitch.

So Rhett, Lars and any other rich bitch who wants to complain about how people are bootlegging their content, why don’t you come up with a creative way to prevent it…  better yet, why don’t you take all you have and give it to the poor.  Only then can you enter the kingdom of heaven.

PS:  Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails released the album Ghosts free to the internet via torrentz and Radiohead offered free downloads of their CD In Rainbows prior to the CD release.   Both of which were a huge success.  I commend them both and all other artist out there who create for passion and not for money.  I support you today and will continue to support all the artists who stay true to themselves and their art.

Here are the ones I have finished so far. Check back later to see even more killed cereal boxes!

Crack, Smackle & Pot
High & Krispy

Bust o Nut Ondeeshos
Can Help Lower Cholesterol!

Cap’n Munch
Munch-a-tize Me Captain!

Toke a Puff
Chocolate Flavored Weed Puffs

More to come!

Have an idea or made your own cereal killer photoshop? post it to the comments below!

In July 2007 I received a phone call from a business partner of mine. He informed me he had just received a call from Earth Dance Austin asking him to show some artwork at their festival in September 2009. He informed me that he wanted to bring some other artists out to the event and asked me to make some phone calls. I called one of my artist friends and he said he was very interested in vending at the Earth Dance event. He notified me that if I payed the $100 vending cost he would compensate me so he could attend. I went ahead and made the payment via paypal and sent him the application to fill out.

Well in the middle of August I was notified by my friend that the Earth Dance event in central Texas was canceled. Notified by my friend NOT the event promoters. Earth Dance Austin made NO effort to inform me of their canceled event via email or otherwise. I contacted Austin Earth Dance and asked why the event was being canceled and requested a refund for the $100 vending permit I had purchased for my friend. Earthdance Austin did not contact me back at all. After a week I logged into paypal and filed a dispute over the payment. Paypal sent the dispute to Earth Dance Austin and notified me that Earth Dance Austin stated: “If an event date/time is rescheduled or postponed, there are no cancellations, refunds, or exchanges.”
I found this very interesting considering that they did not make this statement when I made the purchase and it was also not included on the vendor application. This statement was made AFTER THE EVENT HAD ALREADY BEEN CANCELED! As you can expect I was rather upset.

I notified paypal that the terms of refund had not been clearly stated at the time of checkout and only AFTER THE EVENT WAS CANCELED. Paypal deemed the claim in my favor and would have awarded me my $100 had Earth Dance Austin not cleared their account out already. Earthdance Austin also tried to get me to attend an alternative event in exchange for attending the Earth Dance event. I did not attend and had no interest in the alternative event for the following reasons: The alternative event was not promoted well and nobody I knew had heard about it. The alternative event catered more to music and musicians while the Earth Dance event catered to artists. It was for these reasons that the artist I was representing did not want to attend the alternative event.

So now what should I do? Paypal had approved me for my refund but Earthdance had cleared the account out before I could receive it. I did not want to take any of the alternative events because they were not the crowd we had been expecting to vend to. I emailed Earth Dance Austin several times asking them for my refund with NO RESPONSE! I then decided to email the Earth Dance Umbrella Organization and explain the situation to them.

Reavis Daniel Moore, the co-founder of Earth Dance, contacted me back and said that “We are following up and will try to help resolve. Earthdance promoters are independent and we don’t control budgets/finances. But we are doing all we can to get this sorted.” I have emailed him and called him since with no further reply. However after I emailed Reavis Daniel Moore I did finally receive an email back from Darla Horton at Earth Dance Austin. This email contained an attachment from another vendor who was also upset with Earth Dance Austin over their event. Darla Horton told me “If the group (EDA) will not go forward with the refund, I personally will make sure I get you the money back.” This has not happened and I have had no further response from Darla Horton, even after sending multiple emails.

I contacted the other company that had had complaints with Earth Dance Austin. They informed me they had decided to attend the alternative event and it was a nightmare. Not only was there a very small crowd but they had some of their inventory stolen and ended up loosing money over the whole event. They informed me that I could use them as a reference if I wanted to file with the Better Business Bureau. I decided to give Earth Dance Austin another chance and sent another round of emails. After I received no response I followed through with my formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I did not mention the other company and only stated my personal complaint and issues with the organization.

Now it is November 2009, this issue has been ongoing since August and I still have not been reimbursed for my $100. I have continued to send emails and did receive another response from the Earth Dance umbrella organization, this time from Abigail Lewis the Executive Director of Earthdance International. Abigail Lewis told me “Earthdance International is not directly involved in nor do we have control over individual event productions, but we certainly do not want anyone to have an experience such as yours. We will keep you posted.” I contacted her back requesting a resolution and have still had no response from her or anyone else affiliated with Earth Dance or Earth Dance Austin.

It is my opinion that Earth Dance Austin has scammed those interested in participating in their event. It is my opinion that they have taken payment for ticket and vendor sales and used the money for other purposes. They did not properly notify participants of the cancellation and tried to pawn everyone off on an alternative event that was much smaller and less successful than the one they originally promoted and promised. It appears to me that they have no intention of repaying me my one hundred dollars. It is for that reason that I am writing this article to inform others so that nobody else falls for the Earth Dance Austin Scam. I do not want to participate in any Earth Dance event in the future and I urge you to participate AT YOUR OWN RISK.

UPDATE: After I created this post I logged onto the earth dance site and began to send their members links to it so that others could be warned about the risk of dealing with this organization. Reavis Daniel Moore contacted me and said that they were still trying to resolve the issue but in my opinion that was a lie. Earthdance also banned me from their network. I have sent them several paypal invoices and tried everything short of a small claims lawsuit to recover my money. I’m considering taking this step or getting with others who got ripped off to file a class action suit against the organization. Times are tough these days and that $100 would have really helped me out. The money I was expecting to make at their event would have helped out more. Instead they have screwed me over and I feel ripped off.
I have also talked to quite a few other people who were trying to work with the Austin Earth Dance organization and the general consensus is that they did not do anything right in the organization of their event. I would like to warn the community and let them know to avoid doing business with the people involved with Earth Dance Austin. I understand that because of the bad press they have received they will be changing the organization name. No matter what they change it to I would advise anyone to avoid doing business with Reavis Daniel Moore or Darla Horton.

Voices Revealed

That is right this psycho thinks that he can control sound with his mind and has even found a list of SUCKERS who signed affidavits stating that they witnessed this phenomenon.

Here is an example of a signed affidavit and Philip Garrido apparently even got copies of their business cards posted on his web blog.
Here is a list of those mindless sheep.

WOW! What a bunch of tools! These mindless morons fell for a psycho’s mind control trick and they are grown adults. The only one I feel bad for is poor Jaycee Lee Dugard who at 11 years old was too young and gullible to know better, unlike the aforementioned adults.

Why are religious people so blinded by their own ideas of god that they fail to see the selfish and evil undertones of their actions.
Long story short I hope Philip and his wife both rot in jail for a long time and the inmates there afflict tenfold the abuse upon them both than what they afflicted upon that innocent 11yr old girl. I hope the damage from that attack leaves their rectums so battered and bruised that they bleed out in a slow and agonizingly painful death.

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, welcome to the 2005 Darwin Awards!  Today we are here to recognize those unfortunate individuals who gave up their lives for the cleansing of the gene pool. Natural selection has taken its toll due to their idiotic actions and moronic behavior.

As we gather here today, in memory of this year’s winner, let us take our hats off to those that have left us in the past. In 2001 Ismael, from Hillsboro Oregon, took the award for his lack of understanding of electricity.  After wrecking his car and knocking 7500volt power lines across the hood of his car, he attempted to free the vehicle by cutting the cables with a pair of pruning shears. (Darwinawards.com)  The 2002 winner: Gerald, from Colorado, graciously removed himself from the gene pool.  While running from police and firing a pistol over his shoulder, he accidentally shot himself in the head. (Darwinawards.com)  A brazilin truck driver taught us why in-depth job training is important.  In 2003 Manoel took the award for using a lighter to check the tank level in his gasoline truck. (Darwinawards.com)  Dianne naturally selected herself in 2004.  The 56yr old bus driver, after failing to properly engage the parking brake, attempted to stop a rolling 50ton bus with her own force. (Darwinawards.com)

Those poor unfortunate souls, they demonstrated how their lack of brain power and forward thought made them inferior.  After performing a final act of stupidity they stopped any further breeding by ending their existence.  They have sacrificed their lives with the hope that the human race will evolve intelligently.  This year’s winners have also showed their ignorance.

Honorable mention is given to a special individual.  In some way they have demonstrated utter stupidity.  However, unlike the winners, their behavior did not lead to their funeral but instead a long hospital visit. This years honorable mention goes to; a construction worker in Moscow, Russia.  While drilling with a huge auger he let go of the machine to pick up a shiny object.  His co-workers were unable to stop the machine before it had eaten half his leg. (Darwinawards.com)  Think about what you’re doing before trying to pick up the quarter.
 

And now to this years winners!

January 3rd in St. Maurice, Switzerland this 24 year-old second lieutenant attempted a lesson in surprise attacks to his battalion.  Immediately following live ammunition training he whipped out his dagger and lunged at a soldier.  The surprise attack lesson was learned.  The soldier, in an attempt to protect the rest of detachment and himself, raised his rifle and fired (Darwinawards.com).  Third place, may he rest in peace: Lieutenant Johnson!

Second place was close this year.  It came down to only a few votes. Let us give a round of applause for the memory of; Christopher from Missaukee, Michigan.  On March 19th after a night of heavy drinking, 19 year old Christopher found that some of his liquor supply had disappeared.  In a drunken haze he stormed over to his neighbor’s house to confront him about the missing brew.  He yelled and waved a knife but the neighbor denied the accusation.  After returning home he conceived a flawless plan of revenge.  Christopher retrieved his phone and walked to the bathroom, knife still in hand.  He dialed 911 and told the dispatcher that his neighbor stabbed him.  He then proceeded to impale himself on the knife.  The second stab sliced his left ventricle and he passed away 2mins later. (Darwinawards.com)

And now, the moment we have all been waiting for.  The 2005 Darwin Award, first place award goes to:  Nguyen from Vietnam.  This 21yr old found an old rusty detonator about the size of a twinky.  Nguyen insisted that the device was too old to work.  After a few beers he convinced his friends to plug the long wires coming out the end into a nearby 220volt outlet.  They plugged it in while he placed the detonator in his mouth.  The explosion that resulted successfully stopped his stupid gene from being passed on. (Darwinawards.com)

That’s all folks!  The 2005 Darwin Awards!

As we continue to change and evolve let us pray that none of the individuals in this room will incur a level of ignorance and stupidity and contribute to our evolution by participating in the cleansing of our gene pool. Remember think before you act.  If you have ever done anything stupid just for kicks, thought that natural selection was a kind of beer, or when I said “gene pool” you wanted to come over and swim, Watch out!  You may be eligible for an award next year!

Works Cited:

Darwin Awards Website

Introduction: Attention:  I was at an old friend’s house the other day, when he pulled out a blunt.  When he offered me a puff I declined.  He looked at me in surprise and said: “Yo… Dude, man… I like, uh the other day read… that this stuff makes you smarter… man… and if you… uh… like smoke it all the time and stuff, your brain gets bigger!”  I just looked at him and laughed.  “Naw, man… its for real… man, I read it on the internet.”  “Dude, you can’t even remember my name, and you’re trying to tell me smoking pot makes you smarter?  I think you smoked yourself retarded.”

Credibility:  So I went home, and did some research on the internet.  Sure enough, the old hippie wasn’t just blowing smoke.  Apparently two Canadian Universities have been studying how cannabis affects the brain.  The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary have both done extensive research. (American Society for Clinical Investigation)

Thesis:  What I want you to understand today is how synthetic drugs created from marijuana are being used to create neruogenesis in the brain.

Importance: This is important not only because of the benefits of marijuana based drugs but also because further research in America is restricted due to its legality.

Preview: So today I am going to explain to you what neurogenesis is, how marijuana affects it and what the test results were when lab rats were injected with a marijuana derived compound.

I. What is hippocampal neurogenesis?

  A. Neurogenesis is the creation of neurons.

      1. Neurons are what our nerves and brain cells are composed of.

      2. Neurons allow our brain and nervous system to coordinate with each other. 

      3. Memory and motor function cells in the brain are also composed of neurons.  (Behavioral and Brain Sciences)

  B. The hippocampal part of the brain is the center of motor skills and memory.

      1. Inside the hippocampal region are neural stem/progenitor cells also known as NT/PC’s

      2. Neural stem/progenitor cells are what create neurons in the brain. (American Society for Clinical Investigation)

II. How does Marijuana affect hippocampal neurogenesis?

  A.  Drugs affect the hippocampal part of the brain.

      1. Cocaine, opiates and all other illicit drugs are known to have a negative effect on the hippocampal region with one exception.

      2. Cannabis is the only illegal drug that doesn’t affect neuron growth.

         a. THC is the active chemical in Marijuana that makes you high.

         b. THC reacts with CB receptors in the brain.

         c. The hippocampal region has been found to contain CB receptors.  (American Society for Clinical Investigation)

  B. A synthetic THC called HU210 was created for use in this study.

       1. Synthetic means it was grown in a laboratory.

       2. HU210 is 100 times more potent than THC itself.  (MedPage Today)

       3. HU210 reacts to the CB receptors in the same way as THC does. (American Society for Clinical Investigation)

III. What happened when lab rats were injected with HU210?

  A. Lab rats were injected twice a day over a 10 day period.

      1. Neurogenesis did not occur immediately.

      2. Changes were seen after chronic injections over a few weeks.  (American Society for Clinical Investigation)

  B. The neural stem/progenitor cells that create neurons showed increased activity

      1. New neurons were grown due to HU210 reacting with the CB receptors stimulating the NS/PC to increase neuron growth.

      2. The new neurons are unchanged compared to those that were created naturally.  (American Society for Clinical Investigation)

Closing:  Does marijuana make you smarter?  No.  The study is using a synthetic THC compound that was injected into lab rats.  There is no proof of smoke or ingested THC having the same results.  However this study does show that there is a possibility of marijuana being used to cure: nausea, depression, anxiety, obesity, lung cancer and skin cancer. It also may give us new ways to better manage pain. (MedPage Today)  But before you go running home to smoke a joint remember: Marijuana is still illegal, and by using it you are breaking the law.  Denver, Colorado legalized marijuana shortly after this study was released.  Will Austin be next?

Sources Cited:

American Society for Clinical Investigation – Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects
J. Clin. Invest. 115:3104-3116 (2005). doi:10.1172/JCI25509.

MedPage Today – Marijuana May Grow Neurons in the Brain
Michael Smith.  October 14, 2005

Behavioral and Brain Sciences – Two functional components of the hippocampal memory system. 17 (3): 449-517.