Meet Go Go!

she's my baby and favorite companion
(second only to my '81 ladies schwinn back home)

thanks, marc!

xoxo

Food Not Lawns

read this book. I own it. you can borrow it.

I bought vegetable and herb seeds this week. planting next week. thrilling! I would love to have a seed swap this season. free seed sharing = ideal.

also: chickens would be great. fresh eggs every day. and they're kinda like pets. the yard is big enough... it's perfectly legal. and maybe bees? we'll see how far the landlord lets me go.

have you heard this prediction? it better happen. elected officials need to step it up as role models towards sustainable best practices in their daily lives - for the sake of everyone's daily life.

I firmly believe that many of society's problems are caused by our disconnect from food. food not lawns!

xo
'la

City From Below!

"The city has emerged in recent years as an indispensable concept for many of the struggles for social justice we are all engaged in - it's a place where theory meets practice, where the neighborhood organizes against global capitalism, where unequal divisions based on race and class can be mapped out block by block and contested, where the micropolitics of gender and sexual orientation are subject to metropolitan rearticulation, where every corner is a potential site of resistance and every vacant lot a commons to be reclaimed, and, most importantly, a place where all our diverse struggles and strategies have a chance of coming together into something greater. In cities everywhere, new social movements are coming into being, hidden histories and herstories are being uncovered, and unanticipated futures are being imagined and built - but so much of this knowledge remains, so to speak, at street-level. We need a space to gather and share our stories, our ideas and analysis, a space to come together and rethink the city from below."

THEMES TO BE CONSIDERED

* Gentrification/uneven development
* Policing and incarceration
* Tenants rights/housing as a right
* Public transit
* Urban worker's rights
* Foreclosures/financial crisis
* Public education
* Slots/casinos/regressive taxation
* Cultural gentrification
* Underground economies
* Reclaiming public space
* The right to the city
* Squatting/Contesting Property Rights
* Urban sustainability

Read more - get excited - submit proposals!

Active in Oakland

Tuesday morning I went with my housemate Gabriel, the Campaign Director for Colorofchange.org, to the District Attorney's office in Oakland to hand in about 21,000 signatures demanding an explanation why not all offending officers in the Oscar Grant murder case have been charged (or at least investigated).

There was a great amount of media coverage, and those who participated in the action feel that it was very successful. Scope us these two videos:

ABC 7 KGO-TV

KTVU

I met some great people during this action (CAPE, Ella Baker), and I hope to become more involved with social justice organizations during my time in the Bay Area. I miss being out and about organizing and participating in actions - fighting the good fight. Hopefully some sort of internship could turn into some sort of paid job over time...

xo
Carla

More Art

Nick has done it again - made his way into the Argentine press. Read the article and then check out his stuff. I'm a big fan.

Not only because this dude is super talented and amazing, but also because the doll-making project in Providence he talks about was when we worked for English for Action's arts and literacy based child care program, NuestraEscuela! I took the photo above from that day working with kids painting the dolls that Nick had carved. The dolls were later part of a larger exhibition of works. Nick's skinny arms can be seen in the photo.

Word up.

the arts

xo
carlita do parlita

8 Years in 8 Minutes

Is it Tuesday yet?



We've got a mess to clean up, people!

Thanks for sharing, Aaron.

xoxo
Mrs. Olbermann

The Fierce Urgency of Now!

"Now is the time to make real the promises of Democracy!"

Let the good Doctor move you...



remember: today is not a day off, it's a day on!

xoxo
carla

Sex and Candy

new blog added to the blogroll:

Sugar Daddy Blog

very interesting blog from a dating website for you if you are (or want to be):
a sugar daddy, sugar mama, or sugar baby

check it out!

xoxo
carla

Tranqui Yanqui

Nick is doing some more great work in Argentina.

Support my starving artist friend and send him hot dogs, paper, paint, or purchase his art. It's amazing.

Watch his video.

Send him love and support!

xoxo
Carlita

Portland!

I am so poor, but what better thing to do than take a trainride with my bicycle to Portland, Oregon for a springtime vacation!?

I'm actually considering touring from Oakland to Portland, or maybe part of the way - but we'll see...

The first or second week of APRIL I am going to Amtrak my way up to your neck of the woods to kick it before I dip back to Providence for Zombie Jesus festivities. Then it's back to Oaksterdam where I've built my nest.

Do you live in Portland?
Will you be around in the beginning of April?
Can I sleep on your couch or in your bed?
Would you like to have a friend-date and show me all the fun things in your city?

Big giant smooches (they're free!),
Carla

Excellent Blogs

These two blogs are my new favorites:

Letters from Johns

Letters from Working Girls

It's been a while since I've posted about the sex industry. One of the main reasons I moved to California was to become more involved in sex workers' rights movements that are kicking ass here in the Bay Area.

I've been making contacts that will hopefully prove valuable. I'm just so broke now that I've had to put the social justice issues on the backburner while I try to find work to pay the bills (without working the red light).

love to love to love ya
'la

Updated: Providence Music

I miss it, and I want to share some of it with you...



CAROLINE COTTER
My best friend since childhood who is a world traveler and folk musician. Her music is raw, unadultered, and honest (trust me). Her voice is gorgeous. And she's super nice. Her CD makes a great holiday gift, if you're into supporting indie arts.



MAHI MAHI
Two foxy dudes who get everyone dancing. I love these men (for many reasons, including Julian's and Ziggy the cat) and I love these heavy electro tunes. Just enough creepy and dark to keep it standing apart from a lot of other electronic music.



VVLTVRE
These two former coworkers of mine lay it on with layers of filth / creep / dark. They would be paid to work on the soundtrack for my film (if I were ever to make one). Listen to it, and if you like it, come do scratch tickets with me and Anna Purna during my visit home.



HOWL
Three dudes and a badass chick who are blowing up step by step... They tour often (CA soon?) and party with the best of us. Catch them around PVD working in your local Grocery or Corporate Chain Eatery, or boozin' at the favorite spots.



SAINT JUDE
Self-described as "metalheads playing hardcore with a punk drummer." They throw a mean show (Vincent has a nice scar to prove it). Brendan just got a The Big Lebowski tattoo. Vegans and Athiests and Cyclists and Babe Magnets. I love these boys so much it hurts! Get in there and throw some loving punches.




WHAT CHEER MARCHING BRIGADE
Do you ever get the feeling that you just wanna jump into the street and start dancing? Thanks to the WCMB, summertime in Providence now means spontaneous parades, tree climbing musical merriment, gorilla costumed percussionists, and huge motherfuckin' dance parties in the city streets past midnight. Support their touring! Support the marching bands! (R.I.P. Decatur Lounge)




POORLY DRAWN PEOPLE
Independent hip hop collective. Tight as that rope on which the industry is walking. They don't perform as much as they used to, but don't miss the tunes which are well-produced and intelligently written. Delivered correctly. Fresh. My BFF Lara and I (and some spiced whiskey) did some of the back up on "Storm Davis Fucks Like a Puma," which has turned into a cult classic (of mine and Lara's). Catch them hanging at Providence's local taprooms and strippys.

Miss you / kiss you.

xoxo
la la la

Providence People

Go to Local 121 tonight to see a documentary about the local food movement!

6:00 speakeasy doors open
6:30 optional dinner for $12 (made with local foods, silly goose!)
7:00 'Tableland' plays on the dope a/v system, discussion following

Tableland is a culinary expedition in search of the people, place and taste of North American small scale, sustainable food production. Director Chris Noble argues for the re-location of North American food systems and a return to fresher, healthier ways of feeding ourselves. From the orchards of British Columbia, the inner city gardens of Chicago to the Napa Highlands and everywhere in between, Tableland celebrates the successful production of tasty, local, and seasonal food from field to plate.

-PDD

Personally, I feel that a lot of unrest and displeasure in this society is caused by how we consume food instead of nourish ourselves. I lot of life change can happen when one begins to eat with (personal and global) mindfulness. When a lot of lives change, we get a community shift, and then a societal trend, no?

Forget having the status symbol of a pristine green lawn... Grow food in that plot of land and cook with the fruits of your labor!

Eat, drink, think local!

<3
Former Local 121 Employee

Starbucks, GOOD, and Consumption...

Oh, hi there!

On Sunday afternoon I was walking around downtown San Francisco with two friends. One wanted Starbucks brand coffee (no other coffee would suffice), so we stopped in one of 6 Starbucks within a 5 block radius, and while he was up at the counter I stumbled upon a free publication called GOOD SHEET. It's a small folding leaflet that is created by the consumer zombie machines (I mean editors) at GOOD.

GOOD is a total facade for a group of greenwashed lying corporations that appease both the zombie consumer and the not-so-harsh critics for being edgy, trendy, hip, and eco-friendly (hey - it's published on 45% post-consumer recycled paper, and the offset their emissions!). It is self-described as "a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn."

The GOOD SHEET No. 011 (Nov 20-26, 2008) was a post-election look at the US holiday economy. It states:

"The winter holidays: a time to join with family and friends, give thanks, celebrate, and get out the plastic and cash. We are a nation of consumers and we consme the most in November and December - in those two months, the retail profits come rolling in."

It has a bunch of great receipt-inspired graphics that give facts about what consumers are consuming in the holiday season (131 million pounds of eggnog, 67 million turkeys...) and the amount of debt it causes the consumer (12.8 billion in new debt in 2007).

But it treats it as normal, and beyond that - as a great way to stimulate the economy in these uneasy times of recession.

How long can we continue to support this failing system of beg, borrow, and steal? I know I'm the paranoid idealist anarcho-feminist conspiracy theorist who is always struggling with living in a world full of contradictions... but I know I'm not alone in feeling like I want to watch it all crash and burn!

Maybe...
...I read too much.
...I'll build my off-the-grid hut in the woods, be a farmer, and make bicycles and babies.
...I should become a barista at Starbucks, or work at Whole Foods (ha!)
...You should help me light some fires to get this crash-and-burn started!

xoxo
'la

through rose-colored lenses

I was reading Jesse's blog and was simultaneously impressed and horrified by his latest post about Sekai Camera, which is a mind-blowing app for iPhone.

I was on a date the other night (hubba hubba) and the dude's friends kept checking their phones and looking up directions to a place around the corner (literally around the corner). I kept turning their phones over and telling them to enjoy life (real life) because we only get one (in my opinion).

But I guess very soon "real life" will be considered one through rose-colored lenses, brought to us by some techno wizards for a pretty penny.

<3
carla

p.s. now I have 'send me an angel' stuck in my head...

Jesus <3s Fools

Yet another reason why I don't subscribe to organized religion, despite the importance it holds for my Armenian culture.

Participate by actively not participating in all foolishness.

Example.

Thanks to the PDD for the Armo video.

xoxo
Sarkis Diarbian
(aka Carla)

Too $exy for PA

Woman teaches dance classes.
People in charge hate on her sexy moves.
Read on...

“This is in every way a dance studio,” Mr. Walczak said. “The only reason they don’t want her here is the township commissioners just don’t like some of the dances she teaches."...even though the dance instruction did not involve nudity and there would be no audience, the dance styles were “provocative” and involved sexual “innuendo.”

I'm really getting pumped about moving to the Bay Area and working with places like BaySwan, SWOP, and St James.

xoxo
'Lita

Wake Up, America!

The video below made me cry not only because it's a powerful speech, but also because it made me really worried about the future.

What if McCain wins? I'll probably need to renounce citizenship and move far far away. Seriously.

What if Obama wins? Will things change? It's all such a game and I'm sick of it.



xoxo
c

Bike Hippies

I love bike hippies.



I also love the Bay Area.

xoxo
c

thanks, nick!