I’m trying to write this before I pass out due to the strong paint vapor that’s filling the office. Stefan and Ryan are working on a mixed media art piece and I’m cranking on the new catalog. The fumes from the paint and varnish have consumed the office and I have resorted to a gas mask which we keep on hand for just such occasions. Make it happen.

According to designer Duncan Wilson, “Every object and surface in our environment has a whisper; subtle tremors and vibrations that are usually undetectable to the human ear, produced by the activity and movement of daily life.” He developed Otto to give you a glimpse into those secret whispers of objects. Otto uses suction cups and magnets to latch onto objects and amplify their sounds into ambient music for your listening pleasure.

street art we are diging  click next to watch ———    watch?v=fHGbJ_SbTcQ

Just because I’m a bunny doesn’t mean I’m not American, who doesn’t love a little football on Sunday. So a couple Sundays back I rallied on down Qwest Field and manage to jedi my way into the stadium, I told them Blitz was my second cousin.

The folks over at Redbull were nice enough to stash me in their fancy box, so in return here is a little product placement

Just two hard working dudes.

The best part was running into the Campbell’s Chunky Soup lady, I think her son plays football or something, anyway she thought I was cute.

After a long day of birds, seahawks and eagles, the last thing I needed to see was a chicken, but I let him have it, and I think he kind of liked it…

Look at what you can get for cheap at the Spacecraft office today.  Yep, we’re having a friends and family sale where you can shop for yourself or get all the X-mas gifts you need.  Look at all the sweet heardwear!!!

Eventually, if I ever get on the ball, we’ll have an online storefront that will feature cool collectables.  If you come early, you may be able to get the first available, ever.  Look at that spread.

Plenty of belts, tee’s, wallets and hidden one time proto treasure.  Check back later for the aftermath. Come on down and get some.  Here’s the details one more time.

New York artist Tara Donovan is a master of seeing. Not just looking, but actually seeing. Her sculptural, one-of-a-kind art is based on her ability to see, imagine and create forms, shapes and textures from ordinary objects that most of us don’t even notice. She creates art from rolls of tape, pieces of pencil, Styrofoam cups, paper plates, napkins. Her sculptural works evoke thoughts of nature. A perfect example is the “Untitled” cloud formation she created in 2003 from Styrofoam cups and glue.

The 38-year-old Donovan has recently accomplished several things many artists never achieve. This September, the first monograph of her work was published by visual book press, Monacelli Press (now owned by Random House). A couple of weeks later, on October 10, a traveling retrospective of her work opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

But perhaps the biggest deal is the extra half-a-million dollars that she will have to work with in the next few years. In late September, she received a phone call from the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation. She was informed that she had been made a Fellow of the Foundation and that she will receive a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant. It is a no-strings-attached support of her work over five years. She was selected as one of 25 recipients in 2008. Others include a physician, an astrophysicist, a violinist, a computer scientist and representatives of many other endeavours who were selected for their creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future. - Tuija Seipell

ParaSITE is an ongoing project by artist Michael Rakowitz (who we learned about via Charlie Todd’s blog, Urban Prankster)

The text below was nicked from Michael’s website. Be sure to check out not only this project, but his other one’s as well.

“ParaSITE: Custom built inflatable shelters designed for homeless people that attach to the exterior outtake vents of a building’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. The warm air leaving the building simultaneously inflates and heats the double membrane structure. Built and distributed to over 30 homeless people in Boston and Cambridge, MA and New York City.

PARASITISM IS DESCRIBED AS A RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH A PARASITE TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY EXPLOITS THE ENERGY OF A HOST.1

paraSITE proposes the appropriation of the exterior ventilation systems on existing architecture as a means for providing temporary shelter for homeless people.

PARASITES LIVE ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF A HOST OR INSIDE ITS BODY IN RESPIRATORY ORGANS, DIGESTIVE ORGANS, VENOUS SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS OTHER ORGANS AND TISSUES.2

The paraSITE units in their idle state exist as small, collapsible packages with handles for transport by hand or on one’s back. In employing this device, the user must locate the outtake ducts of a building’s HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) system.

FREQUENTLY A HOST PROVIDES A PARASITE NOT ONLY WITH FOOD, BUT ALSO WITH ENZYMES AND OXYGEN, AND OFFERS FAVOURABLE TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS.3

The intake tube of the collapsed structure is then attached to the vent. The warm air leaving the building simultaneously inflates and heats the double membrane structure.

†

BUT A HOST IS CERTAINLY NOT INACTIVE AGAINST A PARASITE, AND IT HINDERS THE DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION GROWTH OF PARASITES WITH DIFFERENT DEFENSE MECHANISMS, SUCH AS THE CLEANING OF SKIN, PERISTALTIC CONTRACTION OF THE DIGESTIVE APARATUS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODIES.4

In April of 1997, I proposed my concept and first prototype to a homeless man named Bill Stone, who regarded the project as a tactical response. At the time, the city of Cambridge had made a series of vents in Harvard Square “homeless-proof” by tilting the metal grates, making them virtually impossible to sleep on.

In his book, City of Quartz, Mike Davis describes a similar war on homelessness in Los Angeles. He lists a series of these hindrances throughout the city.

“One of the most common, but mind-numbing, of these deterrents is the Rapid Transit District’s new barrelshaped bus bench that offers a minimal surface for uncomfortable sitting, while making sleeping utterly impossible. Such bumproof benches are being widely introduced on the periphery of Skid Row. Another invention, worthy of the Grand Guignol, is the aggressive deployment of outdoor sprinklers. Several years ago the city opened a ‘Skid Row Park’ along lower Fifth Street, on a corner of Hell. To ensure that the park was not used for sleeping - that is to say, to guarantee that it was mainly utilized for drug dealing and prostitution - the city installed an elaborate overhead sprinkler system programmed to drench unsuspecting sleepers at random during the night. The system was immediately copied by some local businessmen in order to drive the homeless away from adjacent public sidewalks. Meanwhile restaurants and markets have responded to the homeless by building ornate enclosures to protect their refuse. Although no one in Los Angeles has yet proposed adding cyanide to the garbage, as happened in Phoenix a few years back, one popular seafood restaurant has spent $12,000 to build the ultimate bag-lady-proof trash cage: made of three-quarter inch steel rod with alloy locks and vicious outturned spikes to safeguard priceless moldering fishheads and stale french fries”.5

PARASITES RESPOND TO THIS DEFENSE BY ANCHORING THEMSELVES WITH HOOKS AND SUCKERS ONTO SKIN, OR DIGESTIVE MUCOUS MEMBRANE, AND BY DEVELOPING PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND SUBSTANCES WHICH LESSEN DEFENSIVE CAPABILITIES OF THEIR HOST.6

The system by which the device attaches or is anchored to the building is designed to allow the structure to be adaptable. The intake tube can be expanded or tightened to fit the aperture of the vent through an adjustable lip made possible by elastic draw-strings. Hooks are attached to the metal louvers for reinforcement.

THERE IS “TENSION” BETWEEN A HOST AND ITS PARASITE, SINCE THE HOST ENDEAVOURS TO GET RID OF THE FOREIGN BODY, WHILE THE PARASITE EMPLOYS NEW WAYS TO MAINTAIN THE CONNECTION WITH THE HOST.7

The connection of the inflatable structure to the building becomes the critical moment of this project.

——-

Since February 1998, over thirty prototypes of the paraSITE shelter have been custom built and distributed them to homeless individuals in Cambridge, Boston, New York, and Baltimore. All were built using temporary materials that were readily available on the streets, such as plastic bags and tape.

While these shelters were being used, they functioned not only as a temporary place of retreat, but also as a station of dissent and empowerment; many of the homeless users regarded their shelters as a protest device, and would even shout slogans like “We beat you Uncle Sam!” The shelters communicated a refusal to surrender, and made more visible the unacceptable circumstances of homeless life within the city.

For the pedestrian, paraSITE functioned as an agitational device. The visibly parasitic relationship of these devices to the buildings, appropriating a readily available situation with readily available materials elicited immediate speculation as to the future of the city: would these things completely take over, given the enormous number of homeless in our society? Could we wake up one morning to find these encampments engulfing buildings like ivy?

This project does not present itself as a solution. It is not a proposal for affordable housing. Its point of departure is to present a symbolic strategy of survival for homeless existence within the city, amplifying the problematic relationship between those who have homes and those who do not have homes.

The issue of homelessness is of global proportions and it is foolish to think that any one proposition will address all the issues associated with this problem. There are many different types of homeless people. The mentally ill, the chemically dependent, those who are unable to afford housing, men, women, families, even those who prefer this way of life are included among the vast cross section of homeless people in every urban instance. Each group of homeless has subjective needs based on circumstance and location. My project does not make reference to handbooks of statistics. Nor should this intervention be associated with the various municipal attempts at solving the homeless issue. This is a project that was shaped by my interaction as a citizen and artist with those who live on the streets.”

i put this togheter for mr reed silberman in colorado, all around amazing human rabbit and siko , he printed it out as one big sticker and put it on his board… love up

team photo

This is a story about a friend of ours down in California, really funny and really disturbing, I thought people had changed there narrow-minded ways, we have almost rid ourselves of the bush legacy; obham is coming…  and now this.

\\\\
Some of you know that I played on a dodge ball team consisted of only gay men and we called ourselves Fine Active Gentlemen’s Society (FAGS). We are the only gay team in the league and went unnoticed last season since we did not win a single game. This season, however, we went all the way to the championship and we played at Staple center, the city’s main sport arena, also the home court of the Clipper, professional basketball. We played after the Clipper game, so there was a lot of audience that were not there to see us. In the aftermath of the passing of Prop. 8, the constitutional ban on gay marriage in California, there are a lot of anger, debate and general bewilderment among those who care. In truth, we were just a bunch of gays out to have fun and have no intention to make any political statement.

Lovely Pim made these amazing jersey and shipped them all the way from Bangkok for us. The jersey has a big o FAGS in front in gold with glitter. Throughout the whole process of getting the jerseys made, the thought never crossed my mind that it would solicit such strong reactions both from our supporters and opponents. I guess I took it for granted from the somewhat insulated world of WEHO and Silver lake, that there is still homophobia in a liberal city like LA. In short, I thought the jerseys were fun, ironic and show we could take a degradatory word and owned it, taking the power away from its hateful meaning.
 
My first encounter was wearing it to lunch and getting strange looks and snickering from people. I was a bit surprised, but it hit me that some people were not okay with this. At Staple, everyone got a lot looks, partly people were not sure what they were seeing, but then came the dirty looks once they realized who were, etc. We got a couple guys yelled out Yes on Prop 8. A few of the team members got harassed in the bathroom where guys were banging on their doors, yelling faggot. The moment that got me was when we were surrounded by security guards, asking us to cover up as they said we were offending the audience and that they are concerned about our safety. Our team was silent, a few covered up and a few of us were ready to put up a good fight for our freedom of expression. I looked around and sensed a bit of fear, and that made me angry as no one should be fearful to be who they are. It was a loaded feeling that I could only guess the root of it.

At any rate, there was a sweet moment when we were running into the stadium and random Clippers’ fans were cheering us on and followed us. That was a bit emotional as I realize there were people who with us, on our side too. The best part is that we emerged victorious and won the championship! It was a great night at the Staple! 

Thought I share this special moment with you all. Attached see our team photo (the guy in the middle is our maskscot, a peacock).
 
Robin S.

Robin S.

Jasen Rolfe is alive and well in NYC. He took some time out to drink cobra blood in Bali this summer which is the new “it” thing to do. Now he’s the lead singer of a death metal band. Here’s the proof.

Where

If you are in Seattle, then you need to come to one of the best pre-season parties of the year. Come out to the Red Door in Fremont for Alpine Huts, “Pray For Snow” party. Check out the flyer.

We did this last spring and had an overwhelming success, now we want to do one last push to get these kids the gear they need to shred.

If you have ever been to Stevens Pass then you might have noticed the little town they call Skykomish, just 17 miles West of the summit. What you may not know is there is a single school there (K-12) and they need your help.

The town of Skykomish is quite small with a couple restaurants, motels, and a single gas station. Most of the people who live there are on a limited income and because of this, many of the kids there have never experienced the treasure that lies in their very own backyard.

We need for the 08/09 season:

SKIS
POLES
SNOWBOARDS
BOOTS
BINDINGS
PANTS
JACKETS
GOGGLES
GLOVES
HATS
SOCKS
LONG UNDERWEAR
HOODIES
BACKPACKS / BAGS…..

Got unused HAND WARMERS or a snowboard LEASH? We’ll take those too! Every little bit helps. And remember, what comes around - goes around.

Creativity in communication comes in many forms.  You don't always have to pay a bunch of money for good press.  You just have to come up with a different and creative way to get your point across.  This is what Ogilvy Action's clever public awareness campaign for MTV Switch in Amsterdam.  What better way to create viral attention inexpensively about the rising sea levels, but to us the canals?  Eerily realistic-looking inflatable hands stick out the the water, holding up a sign with a simple question and the website address.  It's pretty brilliant.  Creative communication, breaking through all the noise.

Scott Sullivan and the Criminal Saints have wrapped up their new album and will be playing their opening show in Port Angeles WA. Port Angeles is the new frontier for music movements, cord wood and trailers converted into porn and novelty stores.

Scott and the rest the band are great humans that create amazing music in the sound studio aka basement of Matt Remine’s, (bassest) home in the outskirts of PA. The outskirts of PA runs deep country…

We thank Scott, the band and his family for making us smile, living real and sharing their talents.

Go check out the show, or pick up the album at:

www.scottsullivanmusic.com

Our good friends at Mt. Hood Meadows have created a Spacecraft shrine to help bring on the snow. We hope it works… Thank you for making good snow year after year Hood.

This Saturday, November 8: BETA UNIT presents VIDEO HOLE.

Beta Unit is hosting a video art show at Swiv Tackle Circus Gallery in Oceanside, California to launch our Fall Winter 2008 Collection. Featuring side projects and video works from the creatives within the snowboard film industry. Music provided by DJ Gabe Vega. They’ll have goodie bags for the first 50 people. Hope to see you there.

it’s been years in coming, but its finally occurred, he has chased this cock across so many back yards, disrupted numerous bbqs, been arrested.. The list goes on, but congratulations are now in order!!

Make it happen, believe, coming from the streets of indo to the communities of chi town, Obama crushed it, I cried, we all did.. We screamed and jumped, I now believe in democracy again. thank you for restoring my hope and dissolving my suspicions of an already purchased country, in one swift move the world has taken notice and the dark days of past hatreds and judgment were evaporated and there is a new dawn.. and the people have spoken with a roar … 

A Canggu sunset just a block from the Spacecraft office

I just came back from a visit to our bali office for a quick adventure of showing a few lucky retail bros from Zumiez around the Island and it’s many magic elements… We saw Lions, we rode scooters through the jungle and we soaked up 6 days of fun and culture. Here is the first of a string of posts. Thanks Made and Eric for setting the stage, and thanks to Frank and Paul for being willing to do “whatever”. More to come… Ryan

baby lion at the Bali safari

Here is a White Tiger we were able to get very close to

Unridden waves still pass through

Eric shows me that sharing is caring

Ryan and Paul on the way back to Bali