fuck it dog, life's a risk

Unarmed Black Man With Hands Up Shot By Police.

Charles Kinsey, 47, a behavior therapist from South Florida was shot in the leg three times by the police in North Miami while laying on the ground with his arms up and trying to help his patient with autism who had run away from a group home.

It all started when someone called 911 and said there was a man walking around with a gun. However it was Kinsey’s patient who was sitting on the ground cross-legged, playing with a toy truck.

Charles got shot by police despite telling them he was only trying to help his patient.

The police shot him, handcuffed him and left him on ground bleeding.

North Miami police have not released much information at all. They haven’t released the officer’s name, they haven’t given us an update on the investigation. However, they did say that the state attorney is now a part of this investigation.

#CharlesKinsey   #BlackLivesMatter 

ZARA stole a ton of my friend Tuesday Bassen’s art, and when she hired a lawyer to contact them, they sent her a really shitty response (see above).

As this is happening, we’ve also noticed over a dozen other artists whose work has been reproduced without permission on other products this summer, including my own. 

All of this is happening at once. This is not a collage of alleged theft over several years. This is all June/July 2016. ZARA is telling independent artists that they don’t matter.

Never. Too many have died for the way they have loved. That needs stop now. 

It is a thin little book.

When I first opened it, I wondered why it was so thin.

Why there wasn’t other books like it.

Other first hand accounts.

Train Hopping Isn’t Dead.

In 2003, Mike Brodie, aged 18, left home to hop freight trains across the USA. Freight-hopping – a form of travel that is equal parts illegal and romantic – is thought of by most to be a dead means of transport that belonged exclusively to the early part of the 20th century.

In 2004, with a Polaroid camera in hand, Brodie would call into question what is typically labeled as only being possible “back in the day.”

Brodie spent the next four years riding the rails and photographing the motion-sick American landscape from the iconic perspective of an old freight interior.

Brodie’s ultra-candid photography features an assortment of gritty vagabonds caked in their own filth and grime. I’m not sure if these photographs are the 21st century rejuvenation of the American spirit, or the struggling remainder of a culture long decayed – the remnants of train oil and blood.

The strange thing about Brodie’s career in photography is that it largely doesn’t exist. “I have mixed feelings about the photographs being in an art book and on the walls of art galleries,” Brodie says in an interview with The Guardian.

Despite receiving critical acclaim from American art critic Vince Aletti – a feat that would make most photographer’s careers -  Brodie claims to be “not really that big on photography.”

Brodie has since given up photography to settle down and pursue a modest life as a car mechanic.

Oh well, in the spirit of true intentions and the road less travelled….

disclaimer: this is general advice, and you know best what’s possible for you. don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do one of these things, you can still get through this. I know they’re hard too, but try.

focus on basic needs. { For neurotypicals, a skipped breakfast here and there, and a allnighter might not do much damage. For us, it’s way more important. Eat something, (preferably something high-calorie if you’re not able to eat much), keep yourself and your surroundings to the standard you prefer, and get enough sleep (For some that’s more than 8 hours. It sucks, but it is how it is.) }

find a way to unwind. {Long showers. Drawing. A quiet room (Prayer room/Library/Bathroom with a locked door). Ugly dancing to loud music w/ or w/o roommate. Gym. Etc. }

find a time to unwind. { Schedule this, not your homework. How much time you’ll need for your homework will vary too much to really schedule it proper. }

focus on what’s necessary. { You don’t need perfection. You don’t need outstanding. You just need it done. Make that your goal instead. }

let bygones be bygones. { If you end up not able to do an assignment, don’t carry that weight for the rest of the year. Forgive yourself, and focus on what you’ve got assigned now instead. }

talk to your classmates. { Look for people to share notes with and do homework with. If you struggle approaching others, see if you can put effort into seeming approachable.

talk to your teachers. { Their goal is to have you pass too. Tell them about your problems (be it focusing around many people, attendance, the workload, etc), and they might just be able to make accomodations for you }

Science shows school should start much later