YouTube as a Subject

by Constant Dullaart

Im going to have to call you back

As many of you know, I work in Buenos Aires Argentina at a production company that makes TV commercials. We are working on a new campaign, for which I have been put in charge of buying some stock footage. We are buying stock footage from a company in Santa Monica. The world of advertising is a very interesting one. Stress levels are high. And even in the midst of an earthquake, we were managing a technical crisis. Below is a string of emails that took place today between me and the representative of the image bank in Santa Monica:

Ana,

I really need to speak with you. The post production people are having some technical difficulties with the video you sent us and it is not a problem with the codec. Please email me when you get this or call for me at the office 54 11 4854 90XX.

Thank you

Russ Finkelstein

At that point, Ana called me. We spoke for about 10 seconds, then she said, "Im going to have to call you back, we are having an earthquake-" then we were cut off.

I couldn't believe it. Then the correspondence continued:

Hi Russ -

Sorry about that. We just had what seems to be a 5.8 earthquake. My phone is down for the moment. Can you tell me in detail what seems to be happening, what have you tried? do you hear any sound? or see anything?

~Ana

Ana,

im sorry to hear about the earthquake. I hope everyone is okay.

Im not quite sure what the technical problem is that they are having at the post production house with the video you sent us, but I wanted to put you in direct contact with the person in charge over there. His name is Fabian and his email adress is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Please contact him directly.

Thank You

Russ Finkelstein

Thanks Russ -

Everyone seems to be ok - kind of shaken up, but ok. It was a pretty big one, 5.8 which is causing phone problems in the city.

I will email Fabian right now.

Thanks,

Ana

And from there the technical problem we were having with the video was able to be solved when Ana and Fabian spoke via email. Thank god for that. Its comforting to know that even in the middle of an earthquake, people are on their blackberries troubleshooting technical problems with stock footage of cheetahs. Once I had closed the deal I then called my parents to make sure everything was okay.

In case you are interested, below is a commercial we produced here.

New PP Muxtape

I recently put up all new songs on the Planet People Muxtape page.

Track List:
1.) R. Stevie Moore - Schoolgirl
2.) Plastic Burtrand - Ça plane pour moi
3.) The Vaselines - Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam
4.) David Bowie - In the Heat of the Morning
5.) The Elegants - Little Start
6.) Willie Colón - Ah-Ah/Oh-No
7.) Spacemen 3 - I Love You
8.) Sam & Dave - This Is Your World
9.) King Tubby - Real Gone Dub
10.) Claudette & The Corporation- Skinhead a Bash Them
11.) Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Some Velvet Morning
12.) The Gaylettes - Lonely Feeling

The Lonely Twenties/ Walking Through Fear

FEAR + BEER = ?²

Last night I was walking home from a bar with my friend, we'll call her...'Beth.' She had one too many cocktails, and then it happened, the alcohol induced outpour of self-doubt, vulnerability and admittance of wavering confidence. Perfectly natural I think, healthy even.

We are all balls of powerful chemicals that dictate every aspect of our lives. They're subject to ever changing variables, and even if you get them to work correctly with one another, tomorrow is another day. Russ and I once called this the tea pot effect. We are tea pots full of water, over a flame which is always changing size. You can't control the flame, and you can't control how much water you have, you can only decide how and when to let out the steam. Of course, if you don't remove the lid, what is normally a gentle trickle of warm air, it transforms into a violent scream of furious air, racing from the boiling water below.

Many times we don't know the steam is mounting. Other times we don't know how to lift the lid, or how long to hold it open, or that we ever needed to at all. Because of our fast paced lives, and our attempt at appearing confident and in control, we neglect the powerful chemicals in our bodies, allowing them to metastasize and manifest into a meriod of physical and emotional hardships, in this case, drunken outpours.

When Josh and I lived together, a frequent topic of conversation was the lonely twenties. A decade of limbo and uncertainty. We've left the nest, and are on a long, lonely voyage to piece together a nest of our own. The concept of home is subject to rental leases, roommates and a usually inadequate income. Our friends are changing and moving on, our families are growing older, and we have plenty of time to ponder the unknown. Will we be successful? Who will we share our lives with? Will we like who we become? Everything seems possible and impossible. We are forced to confront sobering questions all on our own. Chemicals, daily challenges and big questions are all managed in a clumsy juggling act that we learn as we go.

What's more, these universal factors are compounded by our American dream. American teenagers leave the nest at 18 for college, and with the exception of an image tarnishing stint at mom and dad's, are expected to go off on our own to make something of ourselves. At a younger age than most children in the world, we are expected to spread our wings and find our nest. Perhaps, this is what gives us our ingenuity, our leadership, our entrepreneurialism. It is also however, commonly credited as the cause for the break down of the American family. We are encouraged to achieve our dreams and passions, allowing nothing to stand in our way. Extended family are brushed off as an obligatory annoyance, and within the immediate family, our self-interests force us to grow apart and resent the burden that we impose on one another. When traditionally, the stresses of daily life are evenly dispersed amongst grandmas, aunts, uncles and cousins, the weight is focused on a singular family unit, and more times than not, shatters the marriage and subsequently the previous notion of the family.

All of these factors define the twenty-something experience. We are successors to the most industrious generation in American history, and yet face challenges no other generation on Earth has had to consider. We're at an age of self discovery, questionable acts of promiscuity, excitement and fun. Lots of pressure, lots of reward. Sometimes it's all a little too much, and a few more drunken outpours from all of us is maybe just what we need to relieve the steam and stay sane.

100th Post!

This is the 100th post on Planet People. Monumental! You've got Independence Day, May Day and now, 100th Post Day... If this were China it'd be called "100th Post of the People." North Korea might call it "The Supreme People's 100th Post." I've gotten a lot of exciting feedback pertaining to this exciting day, though I must admit my surprise when Time Magazine contacted us for a cover feature.


Cool right! China was also generous enough to show us their support with a staged water show.


So beautiful! But I don't know, It's no coincidence the Olympics are coming up, and I think they're trying to butter us up to come out and cover the games. I'm with Spielberg though, there is no excuse for mass-displacement and a less than proactive role in Darfur. Sorry China, we'll be sitting this one out. Olympics or not, 2008 is rounding up to be an exciting year of posts, and we look forward 100 more!

Rolling & Spinning

Echo Park, LA


Eiffel Tower, Paris

Forgotten Lost Taco

I realized today I had forgot to include Lost Taco in my links page. Whoops, sorry Josh. Then it got me thinking. I spend a decent amount of time on this blog exposing the quirky nuances of my friends, yet have neglected to touch on perhaps the most neurotic and noteworthy of them all, ex-roommate, Josh Malmuth. Josh, for starters, is the most widely impersonated guy I know. Everyone has a Josh voice. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh..." You know the drill. So much so, Felipe proudly boasts of being the world authority on Josh impersonations. (Look forward to an explanation of this bizarre expertise from Felipe himself in the near future.) Josh owes this honor not only to the unique pitch of his voice, but also to the strict set of standards by which he unapologetically leads his life.

Josh and I lived together in LA for about three months before Josh moved to New York. In those short harmonious months, I was afforded an intimate glance into Josh's world of preferences, tastes and proficiencies. One, being his self-proclaimed sophistication in culinary critique. Dare I say..."foody?" To his credit, Josh introduced me to the city's best carne asada, Phở and taco trucks. The latter of which would be the hardest for Josh to leave. In fact, Josh's taco truck separation anxiety was so profound, it inspired Josh to launch the very popular Lost Taco blog.

"I recently moved from Los Angeles to New York, so this is a fairly emotional issue for me. I can't believe that there aren't any good tacos in this city. It just doesn't seem possible. Somewhere in New York there's a delicious stranded taco, waiting to be found. If you can help, let me know."

-Losttaco.com

Sorry for the negligence Josh.

What About That Internet Personae?

About a month ago, Russ published a post about his internet persona. If you're not familiar I encourage you to read it. The gist is an awareness of one's presence online as it pertains to romance, professional life and general self-interest. How do we balance who we really are, and how we are represented online to an expanding audience? Our ability to censor ourselves slips from our grasp everyday we keep our Myspace and Facebook profiles alive. Photos of us are tagged and shared without our discretion. Our interests, educational background, age, place of residence and network of friends are all public domain.

After Russ' insightful post, I couldn't help but take this more seriously. Perhaps because Russ, more than anyone, has sacrificed his public image for laughs. Before online communities, almost nothing was off limits. Public nudity, outrageous outfits and social self-sabotage were all fair game. Nude/incriminating photos were freely shared amongst friends, and why shouldn't they be?

Well ladies and gentlemen, the pendulum has shifted. We can no longer rely on the honor system to conceal our more vulnerable moments, and with the internet as our audience, future employers, girlfriends/boyfriends and grandparents are in the front row.

For instance, Facebook just alerted me that my name was tagged on a photo Felipe took:

This photo takes on a new dimension when my little cousins search for cousin Andrew, and find me with a pissing clown. My cover is blown when the pretty jewish girl who raises money for Africa I was trying to impress finds out I'm just a jokester. But what's the alternative? De-tag and lose face? Or worse, censor my real life experiences to save myself the trouble of damage control after the fact? Oh brother.

Well Russ, you've planted the seed of self-consciousness. I used to never care about my internet personae, do I now? I'd like to think not, but ever since your post it's been in the back of my mind. Today when I saw this photo of myself, ironically with the two of us in it, I couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. Now, Liz has the photo saved to her desktop, and god knows who else is rolling around laughing at our expense.

Even Sam, a famous self-effacer, drunkenly mumbled "Russ...don't make a movie" as you filmed him trying to take his pants off with his shoes on in his kitchen. Would Sam have ever said that before he thought it might come back to haunt him on the internet?

So many uncertainties, so little online forgiveness. I guess the real question is, how far a reach does our Facebook/Myspace account have in our day to day life? The fear of course, is finding out.

Goldfrapp rips off Norman Greenbaum

Goldfrapp sucks

Norman Greenbaum rules

Download Time: Trina

Trina (Katrina Laverne Taylor) is a rapper from my home town of Miami. Her debut record Da Baddest Bitch came out in 2000 and went gold. She's put out three records since then. Trina is maybe the raunchiest female rapper I have ever heard. "Look Back At Me" from her new record Still Da Baddest falls nothing short of crude and uncomfortably vulgar, if you're into that sort of thing. Killer Mike does the male accompaniment in a de-tuned bedroom voice.

Download Time: Trina - Look back At Me (Dirty)

Musca domestica

Summer is here and the house fly has arrived, one of the few downsides to the season of fun. What this means for most of the world is a slight annoyance and an intensified diligence in kitchen sanitation. They buzz, we swat and life goes on as usual, especially in southern California where we don't have a candle to hold to the rest of the world's bug problems. But for Felipe Lima, it's so much more.

Felipe's world was rocked Wednesday morning when he awoke to flies buzzing tyrannically around our kitchen. He woke me up, as usual, this time in an episode of panic. He had removed all of the screens in the apartment, taken all of our plants outside, done his damnedest to exterminate the invaders with his compressed oxygen dust cleaner and, to my dismay, fastened a gallon ziplock bag half filled with water above our front door. I suggested that perhaps the root of our fly problem was our open door policy during the day. This suggestion was met with outrage. Closing the door during day light hours was not on the table for discussion, nor did it have any relevance to the problem at hand. The flies in Felipe's view were indicative of a greater issue. He would hear nothing of it.

It's been a few days, the bag is still there, and so are the flies. I wanted to be wrong, and for a second I thought I might be, but the bag has proven no match for the determination of the little guys. Sorry Fil.

The house fly as we know it today has been buzzing around for 65 million years. It's survived ice ages, mass extinctions and countless swats from elephant tusks, horse tails and hands alike. Modern inventions like the fly swatter haven't quelled the issue, and god knows if anything ever will.

Look, if you squint you can see a fly to the right of the mammoth buzzing around causing a scene. They even say that Abraham Lincoln's favorite songs was "Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me," which is as relevant then as it is now.

We'll keep the bag for now, maybe it's working its magic as we speak and I'm too blind to see. Maybe Felipe has stumbled onto a solution to the world's oldest annoyance and his genius has gone unappreciated. Like Socrates or Galileo before him, his findings have been denounced by a world not yet ready for the scope of his discovery.

Maybe, Felipe was never meant for this cruel unforgiving world.

Planet Person @ 120fps

Planet Person @ 120fps from Felipe Lima on Vimeo.

And as a special bonus for my Planet Peoples:

'Temporary Secretary', Paul McCartney

Lemonade Weblog.

That's kinda cute, aint it?

Yes, it's true. Lemonade has a web-log.
How does one spell "WEBLOG" anyway?

LEMONADEHASABLOGSPOT

....and here's our...
MUXTAPE


Mostly friend's groups and friendly groups.
wooooooot.

More Future Arts

As a follow up to my last post about internet art and Felipe's interests, you should look at Rafael Rozendaal's website. Rafael makes flash animation, flim and other forms of visual art. His art is associated with NEEN. Here is an excerpt from the NEEN Manifesto on their website:

"Neen stands for Neenstars: a still-undefined generation of visual artists. Some of them belong to the contemporary art world; others are software creators, web designers, and video game directors or animators."

I'm sure if you check in on Felipe's blog he too will be updating us on the exciting developments of internet art.

Lotus Free

This weekend was the Lotus Festival in Echo Park. It was the 31st annual celebration of the Lotus bloom in Echo Lake. This year however, the Lotus didn't bloom. A no show from the honored guest. What's more, this was the first time in 31 years the Lotus failed to appear. What gives? Maybe we need more Hybrids.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to share with you. On Friday my camera was lost/stolen at a party in San Diego. I left it on a couch, and no one gave it back. It's a blurry distinction, but either way there are no pictures of no Lotus. I quickly licked my wounds and have decided to spring for another camera. If you have my camera, I have an extra battery and a charger collecting dusk that I'm giving away. Hit me up.

Lotus or no Lotus, attendance was high and the kids had fun.

Future Arts

wwwwwwwww.jodi.org don't be afraid

This morning i was sleeping when Felipe came into my room, which he's gotten in the habit of doing, and woke me up to internet art. Felipe gets all giggly about this shit and apparently it couldn't wait, so together we explored the bizarre world of Jodi.

Go to the link below the picture, right click and 'view source,' here you will find diagrams of hydrogen and uranium bombs illustrated in the HTML source code. Don't stop there, there is more to be found in the weird world of internet art.

Jodi's Blog

Sam's Magic Movie

Sam makes funny videos, this is his newest one. Sam shows us that everything is not as it appears, and that people who are slow and have speech impediments are fun to laugh at. We love you Sam, keep plugging away.

What Sam's other videos.

Basement Party in San Diego Tonight!

Tonight! Basement party at 2220 Front St. in Banker's Hill (San Diego). Our friends Lemonade (SF) and Glasser (LA) are playing and members of Lemonade are DJing. I saw them play last night at The Smell in LA and it was spectacular. Must See! No homo.

Margas and Vodka Crans selling for $2 (While supplies last....)
MONEY GOES TO TOURING BANDS!!
Starts at 9pm.

Download a Lemonade song here.

Mux Tape for the Poeple

I've started a Planet People MuxTape! On it are songs that we've offered for download on the blog, and some other choice numbers. I'm going to update it pretty consistently. If you don't know what MuxTape is check it out, and make your own, it free and awesome. Spread the joy of music with your friends and family.

Buenos Aires, June 2008

Arik Einstein - Kshe At Boha

I'm sorry for the You Tube music post. I never watch You Tube videos on people's blogs, however, lets agree that Arik Einstein is a worthy exception. A friend I made in Tel Aviv, Achinoam, showed me a bunch of Israeli pop music on You Tube, and Arik Einstein was one of them. Problem is, no one in the world speaks hebrew except Israelis so their media has a tough time beyond their Hebrew speaking borders. Regardless Arik Einstein along with Shalom Hanoch and a cast of smart, funny Hebrews were making some pretty solid jams. Arik Einstein was also a Comedian. Thanks Achinoam for enlightening us.

Cumbia Is Cool/ Download Time

About a year and a half ago Russ who was (and is) living in South America, predicted that Cumbia was going to become hip. Good ears Russ. In a way, the wheels were already in motion, but I don't think Russ knew that. Like Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace drafting similar theories of natural selection at the same time separate from one another? Yeah. Lo and behold, glossy magazine as gospel, Fader is spreading the word of Cumbia.



Click here to download a PDF of the issue for free.
In the spirit of Proselytism, download a classic:

Gabriel Romero y Su Orquesta - La Piragua

Crisis del Campo

read more

Happy 4th of July

232 years ago today, the Declaration Of Independence was passed by Congress. We kicked the oppressors from our shores and to this day light off fireworks and drink beer before noon to rub it in their face. I like that. As a teenager I always looked forward to getting drunk at the beach with my friends on the 4th. Everyone we knew was there, girls wore bikinis and you could swim in the ocean drunk. I suppose any expectations I have now for a good Independence Day weekend would be measured to those days of innocence. Though time must tick on, and as 9/11 becomes a more distant memory, the level of hilariously embarrassing displays of patriotism are waning. However i'm sure if you keep your eyes peeled and your cameras perched, a FUCK OSAMA sticker or an oversized THESE COLORS DON"T RUN shirt is just around the corner. Ah, the good old days.

Lil Wayne Video: A Milli

Here, Ladies and Gents, is the unofficial looking official video for the better of the 2 singles released so far from The Carter III, "A Milli." Props to Lil Wayne for shedding 1,536,000+ records in the first week. Son of a! 99% of the most popular things in the world are the most head-scratchingly stupid. High School Musical, 50 Cent, Friends and McDonalds are usually the only things we can all agree to like. Then, ever so often you get a Beatles or a Seinfeld or a Lil Wayne, and the most popular thing in the world is actually the best thing in the world. There is hope.

Needless to say the PP constituency are huge Lil Wayne supporters, namely, Liz who put her money where her mouth is.

Planet People Mix Tape

I posted a download version of the summer mixtape about a month ago, but now I've got these slick looking CDs. Want one? They're free. Just in time for the 4th.

If the idea of downloading the mp3 doesn't boggle your mind, you can download it here, or just ask for the CD. I've made about 20 so far, and the supply far out weighs the demand, so get 'em while they're hot.

Betancourt Rescued, an Important moment for Colombia

Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by the FARC 6 years ago on her way to visit her dying father in the Jungle in Colombia. She also happened to be campaigning for the presidency. She has been the highest profile captive of the FARC for a myriad of reasons, for being a woman, for being a presidential candidate, and also for having her cause taken up by new French president Nicolas Sarkozy who has adamantly campaigned for her rescue since his election to office last year. She is a dual French-Colombian citizen.

Betancourt was rescued with other hostages amongst which were 3 Americans who were taken by the FARC 5 years ago after their plane crashed on a informational recognizance mission. They were the longest currently-held American hostages until their release yesterday.

The rescue mission was in effect an undercover operation by the Colombian military to infiltrate the FARC. After years of careful preparation, they landed a helicopter in a FARC camp decked out in Che Guevarra t-shirts to pass themselves off as another rebel group supposedly aiding in the transfer of the captives. The hostages themselves were unaware that they were being rescued at the time and were combative at first, figuring that they were being moved to another camp. It seems like some shit out of a bad action movie. Hear Ingrid tell it herself at the press conference she gave shortly after arriving in Bogota.



It might be hard for non-Colombians to imagine the importance of Ingrid Betancourt's rescue. And I figure thats mostly because its hard for non-colombians to imagine a situation where rebel groups and drug cartels are just as powerful if not more powerful than the government. It gives the people there a self-deprecating national image and a pessimistic outlook on a resolution to the long-standing problems. To sum it up, Colombia is at a pivotal point where it seems for once that the government and the military are capable of combatting the rebels. The fact that the rescue was made without firing a single shot gives the people there new hope that maybe there will be a peaceful solution to the armed conflict once and for all.

Home Sweet Home

I've been out of the blog loop now for a few weeks. I posted some pictures from Israel but thats about it. I've been back in LA for a few days and have been wearing shorts and sandals everyday, extending my vacation mindset beyond the parameters of my trip. I heard today on the radio that a Palestinian driving a bulldozer barreled down Jaffa St. in Jerusalem where i was staying a week ago killing 3 people, injuring 40. This is a view of Jaffa St. from the roof of my hostel a few block from where the driver was shot and killed by an off-duty Israeli solder.





Nasty business i'll say.