When we think of the sound of sports on TV or radio, it’s generally commentary. But sports broadcasts would be nothing without all the sounds that are behind the commentary– the crowds, the kicks, the thwacks, and the grunts.

Although I have never been a big sports fan I have, however, always been an avid watcher of the Olympic games and I had never realized how much sound created the drama and atmosphere that made the games so enjoyable to watch. I found it fascinating that the average Olympic games employs 350 sound mixers, 600 sound technicians, and 4,000 microphones and “The Sound of Sports” tells a great story of how sound is used to design the sports viewer’s experience.

Kehinde has a unique way of exploring the conventions of glorification, history, wealth and prestige by placing young black and brown men and women in poses historically reserved for the social elite, royalty, and Western ideals of beauty. Not one to shy away from the complicated soci-political histories conveyed in traditional Western paintings, Kehinde’s larger than life portrait paintings awaken complex issues that are striking and intriguing. What I find most compelling is how a simple pose can speak volumes and change the conversation around the subject matter.

Kehinde Wiley in his Bejing Studio (Photo: Matthew Niederhauser/Institute)

Here are some additional portraits that I found compelling:

Scenic: “Le Roi A La Chasse”

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An Economy of Grace: “The Two Sisters”

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Rumors of War: “Le Roi A La Chasse II”

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Take a moment to celebrate this milestone with me! My wish for my 30th birthday was to give clean water to those in need and through your generous donations you made my wish come true! I cannot express enough how incredibly thankful I am for your generosity and friendship! With approximately 800 million people still in need of clean water I am excited to know that we reduced that number by 150! Your donations will get sent to the field on May 8th and charity: water will be sending updates in the coming months. Thank you again making my 30th birthday one to remember!

My Wish For My 30th Birthday Is To Bring 150 People Clean Water

On March 8th 150+ of my friends and family came together to celebrate my 30th birthday and raise money for clean water projects in developing countries. With 800 million people without access to clean water I wanted to do my part by pledging my birthday and asked for donations to my charity: water birthday campaign instead of gifts for my 30th birthday. The night started off with a taco cart serving up tacos and Jarritos generously donated 300 sodas in support of our cause! A big thank you to Jarritos for their generosity and support!

No party is complete (at least in my family) without piñatas so we had three piñatas made in the likeness of the three birthday boys. They were a great hit (pun intended) although it felt weird to watch some of my friends beat my cardboard likeness – some with more force than was necessary to get the job done! I’m looking at you Jake Shaffer!

We encouraged extra style points for people to dress up from their favorite dance era and gave them glow sticks to get the party started.

We took a break in the middle of the night to share a video from charity: water’s September campaign to help give a greater sense of the real world impact of our birthday campaign. After the video I was able to share my heart behind the event and got a chance to express my appreciation for everyone in attendance (Thank you again to everyone who came!) and thank them for their influence in my life. We followed this up with signing “Happy Birthday” to the 3 birthday boys and cake which was generously made by my aunt. (As you can see it got a bit jostled in transit)

We Reached Our Goal of $3,000!

It has been such an encouragement to watch the donations come in over the past couple months! Through generous donors we reached our goal of raising $3,000! That’s incredible! A big heart-felt thank you to the 34 donors who helped us reach our goal! On May 8th our funds get sent to the field and put to work to bring clean water to people in need. I’m looking forward to posting updates in the coming months!

California is loaded. From Disneyland to farmland, we’ve got Scientology and superstars, Silicon and silicone, crips and bloods. The border. Krumpin’ Clownin’ Jerkin’. The surf and the turf. The boom and the bust. California is humanity run amuck and then packaged, branded and sold. California Cuisine, California Love, California Casual, California Gold, California Girls, and of course, California Dreams. If it exists in the world, it exists here and it does so with pizzaz.

Below is a taste from Oakland, CA. Watch more videos at californiaisaplace.com

Scrappertown

Here are a couple of my favorite stories.

The God or the Man

“Snap Judgment veteran Jamie DeWolf crashes against a towering family legacy with a breathtaking performance.”

Pen Pals

“Storyteller and artist Christy Chan is an American-born Chinese woman. She was confident in her identity until her family moved to a new town and she began getting letters from a mysterious, (possibly magical) stranger.”

J Dilla’s Lost Scrolls

“When record store owner Jeff Bubeck buys an old record collection out of an abandoned storage unit, he has no idea what he’s stumbled across. Jeff learns the collection once belonged to the late great J Dilla, one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. Along with the thousands of LP’s from Dilla’s personal collection, there is something else that is uncovered, something huge. . .”

The Northern Soul movement emerged in Northern England in the mid-1960’s during the peak of the Motown soul era. It tapered off in the 1980’s but made a resurgence in 2010 and its been great to watch it filter into mainstream culture a bit. I like to think that if I was a local that this would be my scene: 1) you listen to soul records all the time, 2) they play a lot of obscure releases that I have never heard of, 3) and there’s a chill social dance scene – yup, count me in.

Here is a taste for a typical all-night lock-in.

“Motion pictures have always been horizontal. Televisions are horizontal. Computer screens are horizontal. People’s eyes are horizontal. We aren’t built to watch vertical videos.”

In the words of Notorious B.I.G. “If you don’t know now you know.”

Watch more Glove and Boots videos» Puppets and pop-culture? Yes please. Watch for the ever changing celebrity portrait on the wall.

www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com will tell you in real time.

At the time of this post there were 6 people in space from the U.S., Georgia, and Italy.

via Big Spaceship Forward Thinking Vol. 139