Reef Madness

Do yourself a favor and go see the "Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef" exhibit curated by Margaret and Christine Wertheim at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica. It's one of those rare exhibits that is powerful, accessible, fun and at the same time relevant social commentary. The exhibit curated by the sisters was conceived to heighten awareness of the environmental crisis threatening the Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of northeastern Australia. The world’s biggest structure made by living organisms, the Great Barrier Reef covers an area of 133,000 square miles and can be seen from outer space. Climate change is taking a severe toll on the reef, and is affecting available habitat of much of the sea life there.

The surprising inspiration for the concept is the Hyperbolic forms that appear throughout the natural world — in kelp, anemones and coral reefs, for example. Though mathematicians had long believed this space impossible, nature has been working with hyperbolic space for hundreds of millions of years. In 1997, Dr. Daina Taimina (a Cornell professor) realized how to make models of this geometry using crochet, a discovery that blew the minds of the mathematical world.

The Wertheims consider the Crochet Reef produced by the efforts of hundreds of contributors to be mostly complete and have shifted their attention to the "Toxic Reef". Initiated in response to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a mass of plastic debris located in the north Pacific that’s twice the size of Texas and 30 meters deep, the Toxic Reef is made of yarn and plastic trash.

According to the sisters "The Woolen Reef is done because we simply can’t handle anymore, but the Plastic Reef is still growing. We’ve been working on it for two years and it probably needs another year of development. Far fewer people have been interested in working with plastics, but there’s certainly an abundance of raw material. We’re using plastic shopping bags, cassette tape and a monumental amount of videotape. I’ve been making out of videotapes giant kelps that are amazing. Many people hate the plastic reef. It’s much less popular than the Woolen Reef."

Crochet Reef is on view at Track 16 Gallery from January 10 through February 21. On Saturday, January 17, 2-4 p.m., the Wertheims host a workshop on crocheting plastic bags, followed by a lecture, 4-6 p.m., on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Captain Charles Moore. Reception at 6-9 p.m. Track 16, Bergamot Station C-1, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 264-4678.

Trudell Poetry Reading

John Trudell will be in Santa Monica tomorrow (Saturday, November 8)
at 6pm to do a poetry reading. The theme is "Intelligence As An Alternative Energy Source". If you haven't seen JT speak or are just
looking for a great ride tomorrow night, you can't go wrong. Always amusing, always insightful and guaranteed to provoke.
Pico Youth and Family Center 715 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, 90405

The JAMES gang

What a joy seeing the criminally underrated band "JAMES" at the sold out El Rey Theater last night. The band recently reunited in what they are calling a 'second coming' rather thank comeback and it really felt that way last night. There new album 'Hey Ma' is getting some good write-ups (I was shocked to see it reviewed in Entertainment Weekly with a 'B' grade no-less!) and this was the 2nd show on their tour.

JAMES has ostensibly been around since the 80's and was another band touched by the genius of Tony Wilson (who pushed for them to open for New Order back in the day)and has had albums produced by Brian Eno. They're best known in the States for their single "Laid" which was their closing song of the night that included literally half of the audience joining the band (trumpet and violin included) onstage for a good old fashioned sing-along.

They played several tracks on their new album including the title track that features some pretty strong imagery about falling towers and "dust in the air" and includes the chorus 'Hey ma, the boy's in body bags,' and is more shocking for the jaunty way in which it is delivered. Frontman Tim Booth declared 'even our protest songs are uplifting.' That's what I've always loved about this group. Their raw, observational lyrics are always optimistic and honest, often a rare combination.

The press has never been able to categorize JAMES which is part of why they haven't reached the kind of popularity that seems like a no-brainer. The internet has once again given the ability to people to find out about this great band. I was kind of surprised that the show was sold out given most times when I mention them I get the standard 'who'? I was even more surprised and encouraged to see a well-rounded crowd of young hipsters, ex-pat brits, and old-guard music freaks like myself on hand. It was one of the more enthusiastic crowds I've witnessed in LA in quite awhile.

If you haven't heard them, definitely give 'em a try if you like genre-busting bands. They're writing songs now and promise another album to come as the second coming continues.

I am a Radiohead

Radiohead wrapped up their North American Tour this past week. I've seen them 6 times and just realized that it was over 10 years ago that they had me at 'Meeting in the Aisle' (an obscure B side) on a dreary NYC night at Radio City Music Hall. They've been sacred to me ever since and I don't use that term lightly either. They've been with me through relationship and life struggles and were my soundtrack to navigate through 9/11 where I had a front row seat. 'Life in A Glass House' repeatedly danced through my brain with the deeply relevant message 'Once again, we are hungry for a lynching/That's a strange mistake to make/You should turn the other cheek/Living in a glass house.'
I felt compelled to travel great distances to see them including a trip to Dublin in October 2000 to see them in Kildare, Ireland on Thom Yorke's birthday which was quite a treat. I recall it as being a big internet astonishment moment where I realized that I could press a bunch of buttons on a keyboard and walk up to this little booth I'd traveled so far to get to and they had a ticket waiting for me. Radiohead was in the midst of a five-week tour with custom designed big-top tent and state of the art sound, lights, laser and big screens. No corporate branding or logos to be found either at these generous and fan focused series of shows. As I looked around the hyper-enthusiastic European crowd during 'Exit Music' I realized the shamanic abilities of this truly special band. Thom Yorke had literally cast a spell over the thousands of us who were completely still and seemingly out-of-body.

Sing us a song,
a song to keep us warm,
there's such a chill, such a chill.

And you can laugh a spineless laugh,
we hope your rules and wisdom choke you.

And now we are one
in everlasting peace.

R'head has played 'Exit Music' in all 6 shows that I've seen (I have to mention seeing them in Florence, the home of the Rennaissance and the eery Dantes Inferno thread the show had!) Ten years later 'Exit Music' still had that same mesmerizing effect at the Inaugural SF Outsidelands Festival where Radiohead was the first band EVER to play at night at Golden Gate Park. Quite an honor and a perfect druidic night with the fog rolling above us. Thom and the gang performed another magical sermon replete with poetic dissonance of the horrors and joys of life framed by a dazzling light and video accompaniment.

It was an epic show and this Tour was clearly a meaningful one for the band and fans. 'In Rainbows' released digitally in a groundbreaking 'pay what you want' format, beautifully ties all of their previous work together. It's sound and lyrics seem particularly timely delivered with a sense of urgency and guided by a steady, mature hand. Hearing all of the songs on the new album live was glorious including one of my favorite moments of the show where the power went out on the band and forced the crowd into a sing-along during "All I Need"--

You are all I need
You are all I need

I'm in the middle of your picture
Lying in the reeds

Rumor has it that Radiohead is going to cut back on their touring due to their environmental concerns about their sizeable footprint. Yorke has become a big spokesman for the Big Ask which is pushing for greater legislation by the EU to combat emissions that cause climate change.

I'm grateful to have seen them on this tour in such a magical surrounding and no matter what they do from here, their influence and inspiration will carry great value for many, many years to come.

BLADE your ride

I just co-created and produced a launch party for a fantastic new product called BLADE from a company out of Austin, Texas named Sabertec. BLADE attaches to your tailpipe and reduces emissions of greenhouse gasses and air pollution, and it improves fuel economy to potentially save hundreds of dollars per year on gas. According to the company founder Bill O'brien, the fuel efficiency increase was a complete surprise benefit of the technology. They set out to capture harmful particulates with the BLADE and it actually makes the engine perform at a more efficient rate, thus improving fuel economy. I could see as much as a 34% fuel efficiency improvement on my 4-cylinder Prius--I just got one on the car so we'll see how it goes! Most importantly though, a $200 up-front investment that helps reduce emissions seems like a no-brainer (major distribution outlets for BLADE will be forthcoming). A recent German study convincingly shows that auto-emissions cause significantly higher rates of asthma, skin rashes and allergies in children.

The invite only party to create awareness about BLADE was a great success. 400 people showed up in what proved to be a very cool and eco-savvy crowd. The Crystal Method played for an hour and a half dipping way into the library with my fave of the night "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. We served organic wines from Organic Vintners and Parducci, organic chocolate from Theo and lovely hors d'oeuvres from the always amazing M Cafe de Chaya. Art was provided by Timothy Williams and Jennifer Hart Biagiotti. More pix can be found here.

Bon Voyage to "Junk"

On June 1st, Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation set sail from Long Beach to Hawaii on Junk, a raft they built on 15,000 plastic bottles. Why? To alert the world to the growing problem of plastic fouling our oceans. If you don't know about the Pacific Ocean Garbage patch, please get to know this gnarly floating plastic island TWICE the size of Texas. Yes, Texas! For the last 50-odd years, every piece of plastic that has made it from our shores to the Pacific Ocean has been breaking down and accumulating in the great Pacific Garbage Patch (more of a continent than a patch).

It's a huge problem and shameful how much of our plastic has been dumped and swept out into our seas. Unlike naturally occurring compounds, plastic in the ocean does not photo-degrade, it simply breaks up into ever-smaller pieces and lingers in the environment as an invisible toxic dust. Sea turtles and birds are ingesting it and even worse--tiny fragments of plastic act as sponges for persistent organic pollutants such as DDT and PCB’s, oily toxins that don’t dissolve in water. Plastic pellets in the POGP region have been found to accumulate up to one million times the level of these poisons – and they are entering the food chain from the filter feeders up. One day it is we who will be ingesting these toxins (sushi is sounding pretty good right now, huh?).

The only immediate solution is to drastically cut down on our use of plastic - NOW - plastic shopping bags and bottled water must be phased out as soon as possible. Of the 15 billion pounds of plastic the US produces each year just 1 billion is recycled. [Greenpeace] Recycling is only part of the puzzle as many complex products like cell phones and computers have so many different plastic components that sorting out the various types has been prohibitively expensive. Since the 1950’s plastic usage has increased tenfold every decade so that in 2001 the average American used 223 pounds of plastic. By the end of the decade it is estimated that our average yearly use will be 326 pounds. [Los Angeles Times] Every hour Americans use and discard 2.5 million plastic bottles, totaling 22 billion a year.

This is going to take a yeoman's effort to dismantle our global plastic addiction (and let's not forget about our friend and gateway drug OIL), so start your own personal plastic elimination commitment by coming to wish the crew of Junk a safe and media crazed "bon voyage" on Sunday June 1st, from 2:00-3:00 at the Long Beach Aquarium. Wave them well on their monumental 6-week journey, and take a stand to help solve the plastic plague.

NAU you see it...

Sad news about the demise of NAU, a sustainable fashion/outdoor clothing company who recently announced its intent to close. Just 14 months after launching, the Portland based retailer claims a "combination of less than ideal market conditions and lack of venture funding."

I was one of it's many fans who loved their sleek designs with great attention to detail (including no logo), performance and sustainable textile use. I was actually excited to venture to their new Beverly Center (my first trip there in 2 years, mind you!) store to attend the grand opening and witness the green ethic extended into its store interiors which featured displays made from reclaimed wood and dressing rooms with curtains made from recycled material. I somehow missed the cancellation email and the store manager told me that they had called an emergency meeting at their headquarters. The next day, they're done. What happened? Good question. First year's sales expectations were exceeded and plans for four other locations in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, and a second Portland store were in the works and Nau planned to open 140 stores by 2010. Previews of the Fall '08 collection were set to be released, as well.


My guess is that they may have jumped to expand too quickly into to many retail outlets. I've learned that it took $35 million of capital to get through its first year of sales. In the midst of a scary economy especially for retail, they struggled to find new investors and were forced to cut back its planned number of store openings this year from 20 to 5. The Beverly Center location couldn't have been cheap although they did have an inspired model of keeping inventory in stores at a minimum, offering 10% discounts to customers who had their purchases shipped to them. That fit Nau's concept for a smaller, lower-cost store footprint albeit a risky one due to the emotional nature of purchasing apparel. In a mall-setting and an instant gratification culture, that's a tough ask. Though the apparel was extremely well conceived, it wasn't cheap as a pair of jeans cost $138.

Regardless, they are to be applauded for their pioneering efforts including offices and stores built to LEED Gold standard and 5% of purchases given to non-profit organizations. In less than a year Nau was able to donate $223,000 through its customer-directed giving program, they tagged "Partners for Change." Their fierce loyalty (myself included) and a mantra of 'unfuck the world', will be sorely missed. A now haunting elegy to the company can be found as part of Sundance Channel's 'Big Ideas For A Small Planet' series with a great segment on the idealogy of the upstart company.

What's left to be appreciated is their pioneering spirit as eco-fashion and sustainability march forward in the messy process called evolution. Here's some of the amazing standards Nau put upon themselves that will undoubtedly inspire others to follow:

• Apparel that adhered to the credo of ‘Beauty, Performance and Sustainability’
• Multipurpose apparel equally suited to weekend in the hills or a night on the town
• No external logos or branding on apparel
• Impressive tailored designs and construction detailing
• No paper catalogues
• LEED Gold standard offices and retail shops
• Purchase of Forest Stewardship Council certified timber for fittings
• Third Party verification of workers rights and conditions through Verite
• Restricted Substance List of materials not to be used in products
• Over 30 custom designed fabrics, using only recycled polyester, certified organic cotton, PLA corn, lambswool or merino wool
• Purchase of equivalent yield conventional corn to offset any GMO corn that might be in their PLA
• Use of high grade componentry like RiRi zips and Prym fasteners
• 5% of purchase price donated to customer-directed not-for-profit organisations
• Webfront retail stores promoting direct-from-warehouse-to-customer shipping
• Recycled content flat pack shipping bags, instead of space wasting boxes
• Carbon offsets for shipping and corporate travel
• Renewable energy certificates (wind and solar) for office and shops
• Acting as an agent for change through their blog
• Sponorship of environmentally and socially oriented online videos.
• Customer prizes and Flickr postings for photos of the clothing in action.