____ like you give a damn.

Machine Project’s 2009 Benefit (this Saturday) is going to...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:33:00 -0600

Machine Project’s 2009 Benefit (this Saturday) is going to be crazy!

What to expect? Opportunities to steal art from a laser-protected, action movie-style set, wager on microscopic slime mold races, try your hand at gold panning to prospect for real gold nuggets, stay late to huddle around the firepit to make ‘smores, partake from the amply stocked wine and beer bar, have a wood-fired pizza from an on-site brick pizza oven, enjoy music from four different acts, replace your old Getty Museum fake ID, participate in head-to-head speed soldering contests and eat noodles supplied by Kwong Dynasty Noodle Cart.

Inspiration! More information on Dinosaurs & Robots.

So, who wants to go to L.A.?

Building With Whole Trees in Stoddard, Wisconsin.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:28:07 -0600

Building With Whole Trees in Stoddard, Wisconsin.

Another temporally green bridge, this one in Budapest.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:22:00 -0600

Another temporally green bridge, this one in Budapest.

Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour Bridge About 45,000...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:19:00 -0600

Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour Bridge

About 45,000 people applied for tickets to the breakfast for which people brought their own food but were able to taste samples from some of the state’s best producers.

Incredible! (photo)

Troy and I have been working on this lil’ event with some...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:49:00 -0600

Troy and I have been working on this lil’ event with some really smart dudes at the University of Minnesota (one of which was a favorite professor while I was at school there) for the past month or so and I’m now super excited to unveil to you….

Oil: A Love Story
Thursday, November 12th
Doors & Drinks @ 6:30PM
Free & Open to the Public
@ Intermedia Arts

The topic? Oil. Rich, dark, beautiful oil.

Oil: A Love Story will trace the historical origins and political consequences of our love for oil, and the prospects of falling out of love into a post-petroleum future. Join us for a thought-provoking and surprising evening filled with entertaining insights into how and why things are the way they are, and what people are doing to change them.

See the full flier here. RSVP on Facebook to let us know you’re coming!

David Goldes

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:15:09 -0600

David Goldes

wbsc: Crystal Liepa took these wonderful photos at our...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:09:00 -0600

wbsc:

Crystal Liepa took these wonderful photos at our Halloween rent party. In the mix are Colin & Miranda experimenting with ectoplasm. What fun!

GPOYW // Ectoplasm Out of My Ear Edition

Google Earth (lower case) Alphabet - The Netherlands

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:04:09 -0600

Google Earth (lower case) Alphabet - The Netherlands

The Age of Persuasion.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:55:12 -0600

The Age of Persuasion.

Theatre Arlo: “It was started as a joke; the idea being to...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:30:44 -0600

Theatre Arlo: “It was started as a joke; the idea being to do all the shows the Guthrie was doing, at the same time, with a budget of $50 a production. We’re not sure why we’re doing Theatre Arlo, or what’s going to happen. Enjoy!”

Now this is theater I can get behind! (via freshmn)

Dear Zachary: A letter to a son about his father. This...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:54:00 -0500

Dear Zachary: A letter to a son about his father.

This documentary absolutely destroyed me. As heartbreaking as it is, it’s also quite life-affirming. I really can’t recommend it enough.

It’s streamable on Netflix.

Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart (featuring Eloisia) A...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:36:00 -0500

Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart (featuring Eloisia)

A little Joy Division, by way of French bossa nova, for your Friday lunch break.

Come ghost hunting at the West Bank Social Center! This month’s...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:11:34 -0500

Come ghost hunting at the West Bank Social Center!

This month’s rent party just happens to fall on All Hallows’ Eve, so we’re exploring the space and exposing its supernatural elements. We’ll also be presenting results from a smaller, all-night paranormal inquiry that took place last Saturday.

You can participate by swapping real-life ghost stories, practicing divination techniques, making ectoplasm, and snapping spirit photos with photographer Crystal Liepa.

And because hunting ghosts is hard work, there will also be music. Tunes from DJ Jonathan Ackerman and ritualistic dancing to commence at 11:30pm.

That’s next Saturday, October 31st, 9pm-2am at the WBSC. There will be a $5 cover at the door, costumes are not required.

RSVP to the Facebook event!

(photo: “A Seance” by spirit photographer William Hope)

Schwarzenegger Gives California Legislature A Hidden Finger

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:50:29 -0500

Schwarzenegger Gives California Legislature A Hidden Finger

Zombie Season plays the West Bank Social Center Library for...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:15:00 -0500

Zombie Season plays the West Bank Social Center Library for MPLS.TV.

Some Thoughts on Eating Together

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0500

wbsc:

Last night we welcomed a small group of new and old friends to West Bank Social Center for dinner. The menu was simple: we ate soup that had been made the day before by five of our friends, and leftover focaccia that Miranda had brought from work. The soup-makers had designed an activity to place us at the table next to people we didn’t know, and as you might expect, the conversations meandered.

I was seated across from a woman named Amanda who works for KFAI and produces a podcast about local food issues. By the end of our conversation we were swapping thoughts about the future of agriculture, and the world-changing possibilities of cookbooks. Next to me were two professors from the University who teach a course about art spaces and community engagement. We talked about food and politics, food and art, about the simple pleasures of cooking together, and strange fruits from faraway places.

At one point, I was asked why we decided to do this project, to have this soup dinner in this space we’d created?

I didn’t have a definitive answer, in part because I have had no time to think of one. I realized as I meandered my way through the idea that we’d never really thought about soup as a project so much as an anti-project, that one day each month when we would simply share the company of interesting people.

“Because we’re hungry.” I told her. “And because we like to spend time with other people.”

In some ways, West Bank Social Center is the same story. We never really talk about it as a project so much as a space for things to happen. Since we began last summer it’s been a laboratory and a retreat, a noisy mess and a conversation. We struggle to pay the rent, we swap a lot of big and small ideas, but at the end of the day, it’s really about being hungry and being together.

- Shanai

WBSC is taking November off to reflect, rest, and re-energize.* I can’t think of a better way to kick that off then Shanai’s thoughts on dinner last night. Also, a big thank you to Sara, Chris, Paul, Stephanie, and Nate for making soup. It warmed me up and made me feel good.

So many exciting things are happening.

* We still have a few events on the books, most notably Mr. Sturdevant’s 30th Birthday Party on the 7th!

Freedom

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:29:18 -0500

Freedom:

Freedom is an application that disables networking on an Apple computer for up to eight hours at a time. Freedom will free you from the distractions of the internet, allowing you time to code, write, or create. At the end of your selected offline period, Freedom re-enables your network, restoring everything as normal.

Click. Install.

Cosmic Duo by Rachel Budde.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:24:21 -0500

Cosmic Duo by Rachel Budde.

Sad but true: I should probably get this tattooed inside my...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:02:08 -0500

Sad but true: I should probably get this tattooed inside my eyelids.

(via Shanai, and my sister, and, and… )

A seriously classy note I got from 20x200. If you’re...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:53:00 -0500

A seriously classy note I got from 20x200. If you’re unfamiliar with them, here’s a bit more:

As we see it, there are a lot of people out there who want to sell their art and a lot of people who’d like to buy it. They just have a hard time finding each other. The internet is the perfect place to bring those people together, and we’re exactly the right people to make it happen.

We introduce two new pieces a week: one photo and one work on paper. Most images are available in three sizes. When we first launched, the smallest size was reprinted in the largest batch – an edition of 200 – and sold at the lowest price – $20. Hence the name 20x200.

Browse their archive. Get their newsletter. Support these people and buy some art. (This is what we got.)

Also, check it out, they just got a boatload of VC funding. Isn’t it cool when good projects do well?