Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Things Taken

Wallet (metal card case) contents:
Silver Screen Video frequent renter card
AAA membership card
debit card
credit card
debit card
credit card
debit card
debit card
Costco card
Calif Drivers License
Kaiser Permanente Med Ins.card
Artist and Craft Supply receipt

Back pack (light green Northface Recon II day pack) contents:
Beanie
pair of black Mountain Hardware gloves
pair of black heavy duty work gloves
coin pouch - $15.00 worth of quarters
2009 planner notebook
2010 planner notebook
mail - some retrieved
color wheel - retrieved
set of walkie talkies in package
clip
bandaid
toothbrush
DVD Blockbuster - Twilight
Samsung phone charger
Walking Through the Bible book
Bible
flat head screwdriver

this is the list I sent the OPD.

I'm consistently looking for things that I realize later were in the backpack, just today I realized that the screw driver and the fancy notebook that was a gift to me were in the back pack. There were some notes in there that I wanted. In the end I only want certain sentimental things back. Like the notes and my planner.

Oh yeah Twilight-don't ask. It was horrible anyways, so bad it elicited some anger. They did waive the lost fee after I showed them that I'd been robbed. Blockbuster definitely gets points for customer service.

The reason some of the items say 'retrieved' is because after calling all my banking institutions and finding out exactly what ATMs they went to, I drove out there in hopes of finding something. We got there saw nothing initially then underneath the wheel of the car I see a color wheel, familiar but out of context, takes me a sec to realize that we parked on the very spot they did - a little bit eerie at first but exciting like Sherlock Holmes. And then around the corner at the next one I found some of my mail twirling in a mini cyclone on the sidewalk. That's it.

Oh and a few days later the cops called to tell me they found some homeless dude with my Kaiser card, claimed he was me. That's the funniest part, black dude saying he's David Young Kim. Adopted perhaps. Let him have it, it's replaceable.

Top 5 Things I'd like back:
1)2009 planner
2)Bible
3)Beanie
4)Backpack
5)Cellphone

Now I only carry my drivers license and one debit card on me wrapped in a rubber band maybe 20 bucks in cash on a good day but probably closer to 10.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

NYE in tahoe

Sorry guys, you guys are some of my closest friends but I can't do it. I needs to be this way. I want to go with you guys but i know myself too well, this is one area of my life where I absolutely know myself. I haven't gotten drunk in 2 years, maybe longer. This past November I took a trip back to Davis and got wasted. The thing was it wasn't a surprise. I didn't plan on but it wasn't surprising at all, and that's exactly what it is. So I'll just stay back and you guys go ahead.

Imogen Heap

I like this. I was first introduced to Imogen Heap by an old friend of mine, she had discovered her at the concert her friend took her to. I still have the CD that belongs to her. If you haven't heard of her she did that song called "Let Go" as Frou Frou from the movie Garden State. Anyhow I just got a chance to listen to her latest album and it's pretty sweet, I was reminded. I like the images in the CD booklet and the lyrics are good too. I remember her description of the concert; she pretty much does it solo with recorded beats, live recording which she plays back right then as part of her song and synthesizer machines and maybe occasionally someone would join in to provide some additional background. I've seen someone do that once live..it's amazing. I don't usually splurge on shows but I think I would for one of hers.
Oh, she's self produced, writes her own stuff and self promotes...which makes it even better.






Sunday, December 27, 2009

Road Kill

I was driving home today and I saw two squirrels dead in the middle of the road. Normally I would dismiss it as road kill but for some reason there being two side by side made it really sad. Like two kids, brothers perhaps, running across the street together, laughing talking about something, video games or something like that and then all of a sudden a car comes and hits them.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

LiNK - The Hundred

It's pretty rad group, we had these guys over last summer to screen their movie and promo their merch and they have some sweet tech guys doing their web and video, impressive stuff.

LiNK's Mission

LiNK exists so that one day the crisis in North Korea will not. We operate under a mandate that does not allow us to remain silent about the human rights and refugee crisis that is a result of this emergency. We educate, protect, advocate, provide and empower the North Korean people so that one day they will have the opportunity to live in true freedom.

Pretty dope footage of L.A. too:

"All of Us" TheHundred Holiday Campaign from LiNK Global on Vimeo.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Oakland Crime

So I've been living in Oakland, just on the east side of the lake, Oakland has it's rep but this neighborhood is supposedly up and coming, working class, but we do have our share of crime.
Let's take a look at all that I've encountered since I moved here in Sept 07:

-caught two teenage kids sneaking out from our backyard, didnt get it at first but later went back and saw a used condom on the ground.
-got my laptop taken from inside my place.
-got my camera taken from the movie theater, but this was in Emeryville.
-Tim got his car jacked and totaled.
-Nate got his radio stolen from his civic.
-someone walked in stole Daphnes purse.
-Someone took Elaines wallet out of her bag inside the cafe.
-black dude in suit got beat and mugged in the parking lot.
-Ritch got his catalytic converter taken right off the bottom of his car.
-got hit by taggers, all toys by-the-way.
-one of the neighbors got her car shot twice, but that was down the street.
-Madalyn got her car broken into.
-Sasha got her house broken into.
-a bunch of laptop snatchings from inside of Woodys cafe.
-Asian kid got shot in the Luckys lot 2 blocks over.
-and the Finale, I got mugged at gunpoint in the lot 2 days ago.

This is life in Oakland.

They Got Me

This is so ironic, but an important part of the journey.

I got mugged last night, Dec 15, (about 10:50pm) at gunpoint by some dudes in the Regen parking lot.

I had just gotten out of my car completely distracted trying to manage the backpack and other things in my arms when about 30 secs into it 2 young guys approach me asking for my wallet. They were black males, 18-23 maybe, black hooded sweat shirts with the hood up over their heads, welding a semi-auto 0.22. Before I could even respond they started going through my pockets and pulled out my cash and wallet. They ended up running off with my backpack, wallet, cell phone, cars keys and about 5 bucks in cash, but only after a brief debate about whether or not to take my car. And he did hit the car alarm to verify which car the alarm belonged to making me suspicious that they might come back for it. We got it on tape but there's no way to make out faces. Also another suspicious thing is that there was a car in the lot waiting that pulled off just as I parked, the police believe this was the get away vehicle that probably waited for them around the corner.

There wasn't any physical violence, I'm okay, learned my lesson and it's more just a huge inconvenience (tons of phone calls and unplanned errands). And again I was tempted to dismiss Oakland as hopeless and be off but I think now this just motivates me to want to do more to transform this place. It's going to continue happening, it might happen to me again, I just have to make sure I carry less on me and am alert. This was for a reason, it changes my perspective on things and allows me to have empathy that only comes from experience.

The OPD was amazing, by-the-way, they were here even before I got off the phone with the 911 operator. Oh and 4 people got hit earlier that night and 2 more as the officer was taking my report. They apparently work in maybe 4 groups of 2-3 hitting simultaneously, taking advantage of the fact that OPD can't be omnipresent.




The whole thing went down in less than a minute.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Firsts

These are my very first oil paintings, I did them in a class I took in junior high at the Torrance Civic Center, I was 13 or 12 I forget, I remember my mom would drop me off and pick me up in her old school limousine caddy. I remember I was the only kid in the class. Anyhow this is when oils first entered my life.





Just like that except a darker shade of gray. Everyone wanted to buy it. It's a classic. We did eventually trade it in, I saw it randomly on some residential street. Same faded hood, it was her for sure.

Help

Man, how do you make it so that the website links connect directly to the site upon clicking?
And how you make it so that i could embed the weblink into the name in the text?
i think the latter would be better. former seems repetitive.
not too tech savvy, as you can see. you can usually determine how intuitive these website apps are if i can figure them out. so weve now determined that blogspot isnt so much. i think I'm a good example of an in betweener for those that are high tech and low tech. you have to cater to all, you know.
and how do you make the degree sign, i cant find it anywhere on the keyboard.

Batman Gotham Knight

A pretty sweet version Batman Gotham Knight by the Japanese studio Studio 4 (degrees) C


Videos tu.tv


http://www.studio4c.co.jp/english/

Monkey Goes West

Here's dope one from Jamie Hewlett (the guy who created the Gorillaz) and Passion Pictures.



http://www.gorillaz.com/
http://www.passion-pictures.com/flash.html#page=d3

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

We're Doing Better.

Oakland man fatally shot outside downtown club
By Sean Maher and Harry Harris
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 10/25/2009 08:28:15 AM PDT
Updated: 10/25/2009 07:55:40 PM PDT

OAKLAND — A 42-year-old Oakland man was shot to death early Sunday outside a downtown after-hours club, police said.

Vershawn Baskom had been visiting the club for the first time, and was with his wife, Sgt. George Phillips said.

The couple had only been there a short time when the shooting happened about 2:45 a.m. on the sidewalk a few doors from a club in the 300 block of 12th Street, around the corner from the Tribune Tower building.

With his wife nearby, Baskom got into a confrontation with someone else on the sidewalk, Phillips said. Police said they don't know what the fight was about, but that it ended when the other person drew a gun and shot Baskom several times.

Baskom was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital.

He had been married since 2001, police said. The couple did not have children.

A nearby building was damaged by gunfire, but no one else was injured.

Police searched a building in the same block and arrested two suspects and recovered firearms.

The killing was Oakland's 93rd reported homicide of the year. Last year at this time, there had been 109 homicides in Oakland.

Monday, September 21, 2009

10,000 Unread

The heading in my yahoo account reads 10000 unread. I rarely use my Yahoo anymore, I mean I do but I only sift through for bills or old friends. That's where all my junk goes or anything that requires me to fill out my info and give out my email. It's my junk yard, full of spam and who knows what. But all my bills go there too, I don't trust the corps not to give my email out to their "partners". We'll just wait and see how many unread emails until my inbox explodes.

Oh and I got 2 parking tickets this morning, one for my car and the other for the church van. Forgot to move them back to the lot last night. Damn it!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Day In The Life

So I work for a Church.

I guess I never really thought about what that meant, well, I have but it truly stood out today because Tammie was coming by and I realized before we got to painting the walls I had a lot of stops to make, it was like a police ride along, she'd be there to see firsthand exactly what I do.

So here it is, this isn't everyday but it's definitely one of them:

6:45am Prayer Meeting in the Cafe

Immediately after, or after some pancakes (really, dry and hard) and chatting we start our staff meeting.

Elaine, needs to get to work so we go mobile, hop into the church van (a beat up old, green Mercury Villager..I did some of the beating) and finish the meeting en route.

We get back and have a post meeting meeting about certain things that wouldn't count as official business.

Reply to a few emails, start work on my bio for an art show, I need to figure out how to embed a photo of myself in the top right corner of a Word doc. I also wish there were a way to reply to all when in the original I BCC'd everyone. I guess it's copy and paste.

11:00am Sergio and I drive over to Laney (the local community college) to pass out flyers to the Friday event, blood drive, games and movie: Slum Dog Millionaire. It was super easy, just having another person there with you makes it so much easier. Students were very receptive (why not, free food and movie) and we found out they even get extra credit if they donate blood. Ran into a two people I knew, one from a mural class I took last year and Jess, our neighbor, who happens to be a TA and asked if she could make copies to pass out in class, for the extra credit. Sweet.

12:20pm I go to pick Kev up for a lunch meeting at Taco Bell. I was a little early, waiting too long out front so the security guy came out and asked me to move forward out of the main area but let me stay. I saw Leonard walk by on his way back from lunch. Kev works for Urban Grace, a small church on the border of Emeryville and Oakland. We're trying to figure out ways to outreach, partner.

Get back and still try to mess with the email and get the picture on my word doc. I'm a computer idiot. Those yellow how to books for dummies, that's for me. And I send Jess the e-file for the flyers.

2:10pm Tammie gets here. We grab some flyers, not the quarter sheet but the full page ones and walk over to Rose of Sharon, assisted living facility. I run into the Pastor, I think his name was John but I don't want to risk it so I just call him Pastor. He's part owner of the facility and cool. I meet his associate Cozy. I ask if Ana Lew is around, he says in fact he's waiting on her now for a meeting. Now, the thing about Ana Lew is I've been very persistently trying to reach her for months, sometimes calling multiple times in a week. And never has she called me back. So she arrives and I finally meet her, she doesn't really look at and me and when I ask if she's gotten any of my messages she replies, "I actually tried to call back once and the number didn't go through." So that's the impression I get of her. I ask for an email address, she wants to leave, late for a meeting or so she claims, "Call me and leave a message." I will but will you call me back. Hopefully this time.

As we walk back to Regen to replenish our flyer supply we see a bunch of young Asian thugs sitting on the porch of their house. So I approach them and ask who lives here, one dude walks up. I ask his name. "Jimmy." He's studying business at Alameda City College. Full time student. He's actually my back neighbor I can see and hear Jimmy and co from my window. I've never spoken to him in 2 years. I always felt weird about that but finally we've made first contact, many more to come.

Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay. We walk a block and half over. Step in the door and Diep is on the phone in the back, she sees us. She called me the other day to ask if I wanted to come by and pick up some flyers for a tutoring service they provide for free. Anyhow, a voice from the back yells out "Dave Kim, back here!" So we walk back. Glen, the director just got done with his very late lunch, he apologizes for not having some taco truck burritos for us. Anyhow we stand and chat for maybe 15-20 minutes. Then he gets a call and we shake hands as he talks to the guy on the other line. As we walk back I explain how this kind of stuff makes my life hard, because it's difficult to ever plan anything, I always need at least a 30 minute buffer in between any appointment because you just never know. I mean this was supposed to be a quick flyer hand off, 2 minutes max, but it turned into a 20 minute conversation. I don't remember what it was about but it was important none-the-less because I'm developing a relationship. All the conversations that aren't supposed to happen are important. So that's how I live always uncertain of how schedule things.

We walk back, get in the car and drive 1 block down and 5 blocks down to the Intertribal Friendship House...we'd walk but we were on our way to the store. The building is a Native American community center. We park and walk up to it see nobody so as I'm peering in the window a lady walks over and unlocks the front door. Her name is Carol, she's the exec director for the center, we chat for a bit and then she invites us in. The place is huge; 2 pretty big sized event rooms and tons of classroom or offices, there was even a screen printing room which I requested to see. After the tour and getting the history of the place we finally left. She said if I go on the website and email her she'll email back and we'd be on touch. I've always had a special interest in Native Americans, ever since I was a kid. I've love to partner with them somehow. Most the events are open to the public too. All the classes are free, I really want to take the native dance class.

We get to the dollar store looking for lots of cheap chalk to no avail, but we do find two little boys with plastic gladiator helmets on running around with their swords.

So we go to Ace on Grand. Find the thin teachers chalk but decide to skip because we know teachers and they may have some. But we do pick up on can of chalkboard paint.

Get back and paint a big strip of black paint on the wall, barely covering the area we set out to do. During which one of our neighbors Tina comes by to talk and then Bao the 11 year old stops to see whats up as he walks the little dog given to him by Double D, the BBQ guy down the street. Now Duane (Double D) knows a lot of people, that's what happens when you run a store front and like to talk. He actually hooked me up with Glen at the Viet Center. Anyhow so we make an "Cafe Open" sign and another large "Give Blood" sign and then I leave to pick up paint.

Drive over to Sashas, the neighbor down the street and go through their house into the backyard to grab a ton of gallon paint cans that Matlena put back there for a project we were going to do. We need the paint for Friday, I got a guy committed to bringing his delivery truck in our lot so that we can paint a mural on it. After that I get into Elaines car and go to Berkeley for the weekly book club at Cafe Milano. Thank God Elaine got me tacos, I'd forgotten to eat.
After reading and discussing C.S. Lewis I ask Ken if the can drive me home. He agrees so we talk in the car on the way back. He crashed his car 2 days before, which I think is great because that's how it's supposed to be, he hasn't had the car more than a month and his license only a month more than that and he was learning how to drive up to the very day he got it. So I think it's always expected but it never happens except this time it did.

I get home finish placing that photo in my bio (thanks to Justin) and then go across the street to sleep. I want to read a little before but I don't think I made it.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

The Bible Answer Man

I heard on the radio today that the Bible Answer Man will no longer be due to lack of funding. I didn't listen to him all the time but I liked him when I did. He really knew his stuff.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Kaiser Robot

Today a robot from Kaiser Permanente called me to ask if everything was okay.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Harmony


She changes everything. Hands down, my all time favorite little person.