ohmygulayoshkoshbehgoshness.

So, I love graffiti. Since the beginning of Senior year of high school, I forgot how much I appreciated this art form. After reading Moria and Caitlyn S's blogs and stumbling upon blogs about Banksy, one of the OG's of the graff/street art movement, all my past memories of researching, learning about and experimenting with graffiti came flooding back.

My love for this misunderstood art form started when I was a wee 4 year old or whenever I started to notice the scribbles on the NYC subway walls. It was more of an subconcious love for graffiti. I never really made much a fuss about it until 7th grade which was when I was out of the NYC element and in an area where graffiti was a rare site. Maybe it's the fact that I noticed there was no graffiti to notice at all in C'ville that got me really interested into it.

Actually, here's one of the short little essays that helped me get into UVA. The topic was: What work of art, music, science, mathematics or literature has surprised, unsettled or challenged you, and in what way? Please limit your response to half a page, or approximately 250 words.

It was the screeching sound of a gigantic metal snake concealed in ink scribbles and paint drips burrowing underground that enthralled my five year old senses. Out from a tunnel came an outburst of air and energy rushing past at fifty-five miles per hour, an industrial creature soon to slow down and transform into a stationary masterpiece gallery of urban bandit artistry. I approximately had 42 seconds to mentally photograph the unlawfully inscribed tags and paintings on the train. Start.

They were not unfamiliar to my eyes, for the station and aboveground walls were scrolled with thousands of aerosol tags, throw-up's and murals. Some of them read unusual adjectives that could have possibly been names. My young eyes could not decipher the complexity of some of the letters movements around each other.

At 42 seconds, the metal snake had gradually picked up to its prior speed, already entering back into the tunnel and leaving behind on the platform a dazed five year old.

One of the best ways I can describe my experiences with graff. <3

Like I said, 7th grade was when I really got into this stuff and so like a majority of people who get interested into the subculture tries to form their own identity with graff. I decided to mess around and doodle letter forms to make my own handwriting style. My sketchbook started to have pages filled with repetitive tags [a person's graff "signature"] and eventually leading to attempts at pieces. Looking back at my old stuff, I really was a toy [graff term for noob/newbie/amateur] and I still I am now.

I started out writing Little Kid. That was too long of a name and had repetitive letter forms, so I now write Weirdo. I'd post Little Kid tags but those were whack anyway:

As far as my own graffiti, my style is kind of awkward. Due to school work and just pure laziness/procrastination, I'm not into making "pieces" as I used to. That, and I can not call myself writer because I don't embody the lifestyle at all. I never was able to go out and hit up walls with a spray can. I have many sketches and drawing of what could have been potential pieces on walls but all my ideas stay in my sketchbook or mind. The only time I've done anything out in public was a few times with my jumbo marker but it was nothing significant. [my jumbo marker disappeared here at VCU =( ] I'm probably too much of a pussy to be a real writer since the pure essence of graffiti is in its illegality. It's not just the whole idea of defacing public property but it's also the acts of racking [stealing paint] and constantly being on the run. It's pretty dangerous to being able to get up [get your tag/pieces up on walls] unnoticed, cause from what i've seen, graffiti writers have some of the biggest cajones, painting down below on the subway lines to the top of billboard signs -- and to do that all in the dark? Cuh-ray-zee. To achieve that in the broad day light while going unnoticed? Eh-pic.

Though note, illegality does not mean grungy, ugly, unrefined, etc. with all those negative connotations to illegality. Most people make an immediate mental note that graffiti is the whack stuff, the "gang" tags and obnoxious obscenities that are found scrawled on walls. When I talk about graffiti, I'm talking about the murals, the burners [really bright, colorful graff pieces] that people take their time doing it, in the dark, unnoticed from the police. When I talk about graffiti, I talk about the intricate stencils that speak about political issues or for the sake of being pretty. There are stickers, wheatpasting, even acid wash. Graffiti can be visually appealing and have messages with substance that make you think. You just have to find it in the right places.

Now for some must-know graffiti artists/writers:
Seen. Richard Mirando One of the OG graff artists. He's been around since the the movement's peak back in the late 70's/early 80's. His throw-up's [simple, quick, bubble letter tags] are one of the most recognizable in the graffiti community and one of the most respected. He's known to be one of the kings of the lines [a status dubbed to writers whose tags/pieces are seen all over the city or in NYC's case, on all subway lines --during the subway days-- or all just generally all over the city --more applicable for today]. His style and pieces are very distinct and he has one of the most developed styles among writers. He was a pioneer back in the day and he continues to influence the new generation of writers/artists. I'll have to admit though that partially why I favor this guy so much is that he resides like a few minutes away from where I used to live in the Bronx. But seriously, all biases aside, he is also a successful entrepreneur with his tattoo shop in the BX and his vinyl toy design career.

Cope 2. Fernando Carlo Another OG of the graffiti game. Cope's throw-up's are notorious for being everywhere, literally. He is one of the guys you want to admire if your goal with graffiti is like Cap said, "Not the biggest and the beautifulest, but more." Cap was a widely hated graffiti bomber [bomber's attentions are usually to just have more tags than others; less of pretty pieces, etc.] who went over lots of the big names and their burners. The only thing that separates Cap from Cope2 and makes Cope2 more respectable and one of the greats was that, he in return respected other's pieces -- unless of course someone decided to mess with his work or his crew's work. Cap didn't give a rats ass about the pieces he went over unless you were one of his friends. Anyways, back to Cope2. He's still strong in the graff world and does alot of galleries [I think]. I haven't updated my Cope2 knowledge, but I read recently on his own myspace page that he'll be having a graff gallery with a few other writers. Also, Cope2 has been active in making designs for shoes like Adidas and Converse while showing up in cameo's in various video games like Grand Theft Auto [his tags made the cameos, not him hehe] and Getting Up, a graff game for the PS2. [Said game also has Seen in it!] I happen to have one of the two designed chucks Cope made [and so does Moria!]:

Obey the Giant. Shepard Fairey. Obey is world renowned sticker/wheatpasting machine. Most of you should be familiar with his Obey the Giant stickers/Andre the Giant Has A Posse, whether it be the real Obey himself or the imitators. During the presidential elections, Obey or Mr. Fairey himself got alot of media attention for his very famous Obama portrait:

His stickers/wheatpastings bring bombing to a whole new level. Obey's work has been stuck and seen all over the world. Andre the Giant is truly an icon found in pop culture. Fairey successfully balances his street art work and his mainstream work which makes him all the more respectable. He knows how produce pieces in both worlds without "selling" out.

These are just 3 talented artists, well known in both the graff and mainstream worlds. There are other noticeable artists/writers that have just a bigger impact as these guys that you should check out:

Banksy [Moria & Cailtin wrote about him so I didn't bother], CES, REVS, DONDI, Lady Pink [the OG Graff Woman!], DEZ, DOZE, Taki 183 [the guy who started it all], DELTA, LEE.

If you want to know more about the old graff scene, when it was at its peak, I suggest watching "Style Wars," a documentary on graff in the late 70's and also the breakdancing scene. For a more mainstream friendly movie, try watching "Wild Style," a movie that focuses on all aspects of the hip-hop culture at its best. For just something to watch, try "Bomb the System," one of the better fictional graffiti movies. I've seen a handful of fictional graff movies and usually they are poorly made, but "Bomb the System" is definitely the one to watch. There are also a plethora of documentaries coming out about graff which I have not been able to watch because these documentaries are independently being produced. If anyone has the chance, check out "Bomb It" which is a new documentary that I've been wanting to see but haven't.

Haha, wow, I just realized, I haven't written this much about graffiti since my big research paper during my junior year of high school. I wrote 9 pages total =X Anyone want to read it?! :D

"It's an expression coming out of a simple can of paint.
Look, it's the easiest way for the average kid to paint things using himself as the meaning of it"

-- Blest, "Bomb the System"

Over the Thanksgiving break, I was able to hang out with one of my long time friends and his little sister/my godsister. I've known him since we were in diapers and I was basically around when his little sister was out of the oven. From the days of Catholic school back in the Bronx, to moving to Charlottesville and going through awkward stages of puberty around each other to going to college; we've really grown up. Not only us, but so has his little sister.

We met up at Circuit City before hanging out anywhere else. When I saw my friend and his little sister walk into the store, I was kind of shocked. The little girl I once knew as a spoiled little brat, and annoying as hell, was walking in like an average early teenage girl. That wasn't the part that shocked me. What shocked me was the layer of make-up apparent on her face. My godsister is only 13 mind you and she was looking a little like a 15 year old with the medium sized hoop earrings and the touch of black eye liner and mascara hanging on to her eyes.

I didn't know how to take it.

When I was 13, I never touched make-up. Come to think of it, I still never really put on make-up to this day unless it's for a special occasion or I randomly feel like dressing up one day. Sure, I experimented with eye liner when I was her age but by the looks of her appearance, she had liner application mastered.

Little girl, put that brush down!

Honestly, I think she's too young to be putting on make-up like she does. Girls her age these days are trying too hard to look cute and to look older. They're only 13 and that's barely even a teenager. I used to consider 13 to be the nothing age because when you're 12, you're a pre-teen and when you're 14, you're finally considered a teenager. 13 just kinda dangles there, being the awkward transition from tween to teen. But anyways, I never pulled out the hoop earrings and make-up combination till I was 15 or 16. Geez.

13 year olds are already going through the awkward puberty stage, they should at least let their body do the transforming before they put the ornaments and touch-ups. Appreciate their appearance before play up their best features ya know? Why even go to that extent. They shouldn't be worrying about trying to look cute for their solo photo shoots for their myspace profiles anyways. They're too young. Damn myspace.

Like good 'ole Adriel Luis said, "That's not make-up, that's make believe."

What do you guys think? What's the most appropriate age for a girl to start wearing make-up?

Going home is starting to feel weird. Most of the people that I hang out with would wonder why I could say a thing. Apparently I go home too often for my own good. Though, I realized, the very first night back at home for the Thanksgiving Break, that my house was changing. Well it's not necessarily changing, but it's progressing into our own house. Pieces of furniture is moving, big screen TV's are popping out of nowhere, etc. I would have never had noticed if it wasn't for my godsister who was in dire need of a band-aid and my brother and I were unable to assist her. We had no idea where the band-aids were or where they could be in the house. I guess I've been out of the house long enough now.

But anyways, my main concern right now is why everyone is basically hating on me for going home as much as I do. I promised myself the minimum interval I'd give between every visit home would be two weeks. So far, I've been sticking to that rule but because of important events happening back home and opportunities happening in the Charlottesville region have been coming up like crazy for the past few months, I've had to go home on consecutive weekends. But don't think it's all for fun. Mostly when I go home, I'm stuck in the garage working on a Space Research project or in my room doing work for Focused Inquiry, *cough*. Though, I see no harm in going home this often. It's not like I go home EVERY weekend and I don't do it on purpose just for the sake of going home; I have legit reasons.

Bye Mom, Bye Dad! *cries

I hate bringing up the topic of going home around my friends here in VCU. They start bitching and moaning about how much I go home and how I should stay at VCU and enjoy the college life. But really? Analyzing the situation and the people involved in this whole "don't-go-home-Cesley" blah blah, I've concluded that most of the people who make a deal out of announcements to go back home are people who are either A) an older/oldest sibling in their family or B) an only child. Unlike them, I am the YOUNGEST of the family and unlike them, there are no more kids my parents can baby. Don't get me wrong. I don't go home to fulfill my parents needs to see me and to see their little girl come home once again. Sure I feel bad sometimes that my parents are all alone in the house doing who knows what in there -- buying random BIG SCREEN TV'S?!, rearranging furniture, going through baby albums, etc. etc. I guess my mind is open to going often because I understand my parents loneliness so if the time calls for going home then I'll go home. I won't pass up an event I've been wanting to go to for the longest time but requires to me to go home just because I "shouldn't" be going home that often. Look you older siblings, you've got it good. Yes, you are the first child and your parental units have some unique love for you, but you have younger sibs who can keep their minds OFF of YOU. PLUS, you can come home to younger sibs and not just your parents. I go home to an empty house filled with my two parents while my older brother is an hour away on his own doing his own thing in life.

Anyways, it's kind of hard NOT to go home often. Unlike a majority of the people here at VCU, I live only an hour away from here. Alot of you guys are from NoVA. Then again, I have a fellow C'villian that rarely goes back home but her relationship with her parents is just plain suckage. Just give me a break you guys. So what, I go home? What's the matter with that? So I sympathize for my parents? That doesn't make me any less independent or any more dependent. I'll draw the line when they try to pull me back in on their rope, but for now, I know what I'm doing.

It's winter time and I'm ridiculously dry and itchy. If some of you haven't noticed the disgusting raised red splotches of dry peeling skin on my forearms, then well I'm glad you haven't seen it. For those who have spotted the little buggers and the additional flaky flakes on my shoulders and maybe even the same said red splotches on my legs during the summer, I'd like to inform you of the terrible things invading my epidermis.

Psoriasis. Soh-rye-uh-sis. It's a genetic autoimmune disease where my immune system is overly active in regards to my skin cells, thus attacking them like crazy for no apparent reason. So basically, you lucky ones without Psoriasis have skin that grow on an average of 30 days -- the normal 30 day cycle, grow & shed unnoticed. Since my immune system attacks my skin cells like crazy, my skin cycle is minimized down to 4-5 days and the unnoticed skin shedding that should be happening is now blatantly piling up into little plaques over the irritated site. Le sigh.

I've had Psoriasis all my life but it finally decided to show up during 8th grade. It started from an itchy spot on the back of my head that grew across my scalp like an invading monster like no other. It was terrifying parting my hair to reveal a thick layer of white, dry, flaking skin. Soon after, the flaky spots showed up on my back then to my legs. The itchyness brought on by my psoriasis was unbearable so I ended up scratching areas of skin to the point of spreading the plaques to those area. I regret not having resisted to scratch because I am currently still trying to tame a big Psoriasis spot on my right shin that once blanketed the whole front area of my leg during my freshman year in High School but has now shrunken to the circumference of a golf ball.

They ways I have tried to settle the flares of Psoriasis on my skin has been a consistent use of MANY topical medications. During the earlier stages, I actually took oral medications in hopes to calm it down. The pill I used to take was actually a pill that doctors had given to liver cancer patients. Because of its strength, I was required to get blood works every week which was a total pain the ass. We finally decided to quit the pill and began using oils, most importantly for my scalp. The downside to oils was that they were filled with steroids. The steroids sadly thinned out my hair and most likely my scalp which to this day I still "mourn" [pfft :P]. Not only was it steroid filled but the whole process and mess that I had to go through sleeping with oil in my hair was just too much. Today, I stick with a liquid I apply to my scalp after taking a shower and an ointment that sadly contains steroids but has been helping greatly with my psoriasis and a cream version of an ointment that used to work wonders on my skin but has been discontinued. Le sigh. On top of that, I slab layers of oil-based lotions and vaseline. Still messy but not as messy as before.

Anyways, just wanted to put that out there because not many know about Psoriasis. It's like the distant cousin of Eczema but with a worse attitude. Hmmph. Plus, people tend to judge, especially if my scalp psoriasis is being way angry on some days and will be spewing flakes everywhere. I promise it's not contagious and I do take showers and wash my hair! Just a heads up, ya know?

Going through Circuit City, my brother surprisingly pointed out the Hills DVD sitting on the shelves for sale. For the pop culturally unaware, the Hills is a reality TV show on MTV that follows the lives of fashion student Lauren C. [I forgot her name] and the social butterflies fluttering in her social circle. It's drama-filled, brain cell-killing but most importantly, addicting. I'm not an avid watcher, and I'm not one to call myself a Hills fan but I was once caught up in the story line during my senior year. Good thing it was the end of the season because I ended up just watching the last few episodes before the new ones came out. I had a road block to prevent me from getting swallowed by the blond, rich Californian abyss known as "the Hills". Though, at the time I was able to tune into this show, it was during the time when Lauren and her ex-best friend Heidi were completely ignoring each other. Heidi was fighting with Spencer, Spencer's little sister was beginning to hang out with Lauren, Heidi and Spencer got pissed, yadda yadda yadda. Then there's that one guy that Lauren doesn't know whether or not they are an item blah blah blah..

So back to Circuit City.

My brother points to the Hills DVD and out of nowhere throws a little bit of Hills knowledge on me.

"They got married."

My eyes widen. WHO GOT MARRIED? My brother points at the Lauren and says "her and Spencer" I refused to believe it because on the show they are enemies. Things cleared up when I reinformed my brother that the woman Spencer had eloped with was with Heidi, etc. etc. I'm not gonna lie. I was really excited knowing about this. I wasn't necessarily happy it happened because I could care less who these people marry in their real lives. In my mind, I was thinking back to the show and the storyline that got me hooked. It was like reading a future plot to a book series after dropping the series awhile back. Sure it ruined the future book but I knew alot must've happened since my last look at the show.

My excitement was contained and I wasn't jumping for joy. I was just interested and amused by the news. I say this, because my friend interrupts and condescendingly asks why I watch that kind of show and why anyone would want to watch the lives of others.

All I could utter was "shut up" because I didn't feel like defending myself. The Hills, although addicting, was not worth defending myself and my relationship with the show. But I started to think about the question: "why would anyone want to watch the lives of others?" I mean, I love the Real World. It's a classic reality show. I love watching Jon & Kate Plus 8, a show about a couple who has a pair of twins and a set of sextuplets, and how they raise their children. It's an adorable show and it's one of my favorites. Little People Big World: a show about little person couple and their family, four kids that consist of a set of twins where one is a little person and the other is normal sized. That was a favorite for awhile. I watch them because they're lives that I know I'll never experience and they're lives that is not typical. Why not watch it?

Walking through the aisles of DVD's of movies and TV shows, everything we watch revolve around other people's lives. Most are fictional yes, but they are other people's lives. Why would we watch that? Those lives are fictional, fake and unrealistic. We watch them because they depict a reality we idealize as adventurous, humorous, romantic or horrific. We can't live in those lives so we make them up, pretend to be in those lives, film it, and then watch it. It's kind of a ridiculous concept if we were to look at TV Shows and movies in that manner.

I wanted to seize my kill joy friend and throw my short analysis of his question. I had mentioned it to my brother before looking for my friend but he stopped me. "The conversation is over. You're beating a dead horse."

Le sigh.
At least I got to get it out here.

Illdoc's little schpeal about his little hater.

With a mix of my own little hater and just flat out writer's block, I've been lagging behind on the whole blogging thing. It's been awhile and now that's basically my last full day of Thanksgiving Break at home, I think I'll try to get the ball running again on my blog.

I've always detested Thanksgiving. Maybe because I've fallen into the cynical mindset of a pessimist, thinking that Thanksgiving embodies the idea of a "Hallmark" holiday and that the celebration of thanks that America is doing is based of the fact that we killed off all the Indians in return of their teachings that benefited the pilgrims in retrieving food. I think I adopted this attitude towards Turkey Day when I was in middle school but before that, Thanksgiving was all about making paper turkeys out of hand tracings. I can't recall significant Thanksgiving dinners in the past until 2005 but gradually throughout the years, Thanksgiving has gotten boring and just another, typical big dinner but instead of Filipino food, my mom's attempt at making American classic dishes. Keyword attempt.

My Thanksgiving 2008 experience was expectantly not full of excitement but surprisingly boring in an enjoyable, laid-back manner. I enjoyed my night with my immediate family even though my mother was only present to enjoy the food till 10:30 PM, and a few close family friends. The night's activity was filled with well-cooked Turkey, a decent green bean casserole and lots of Guitar Hero 4. The laid-back feel during my Thanksgiving I think was influenced by this new enlightened view I have on Thanksgiving.

Before the "big" dinner, I was flipping through the TV and ended up on the History Channel. Apparently the pilgrims and Indians have been overly credited for this whole Thanksgiving deal. Thanksgiving wouldn't be a national holiday if it wasn't for Sarah Josepha Hale, a woman who genuinely believed in the ideals of Thanksgiving. This was during the pre-Civil War era when tensions of the North and the South breaking apart was nearly a reality. Every year, Hale persistently wrote a letter to the president [I think it was, I don't remember], explaining her thoughts and the benefits of initiating Thanksgiving into America's calendars officially. She felt that despite the tensions between the North and South, abolitionists and slave owners, America would come together on things they knew they'd share like love of family, etc. Finally, good ole Abe Lincoln passed Hale's idea of a uniting holiday into a reality and Thanksgiving in America was born.

After watching this tidbit, I changed the channel with amusement. So Thanksgiving isn't as a random concocted holiday for greeting card companies.