Ocean on my tongue. Small boatssuccoring on the gristle of ocean. Dark brine. They're dragging the nets up from the sea [...]

Directions for being Colored, Asian/FemaleSample Dialogues & Exercises Levels: Beginning to Advanced

1. Basics (Repeat as many times as necessary.)

* “Where are you from?” “L.A.” “No, where are you really from?” “L.A.” Note: The inquisitor wants and expects answers like Taipei, Shanghai or Hong Kong. Any American city confuses them; not that they are really interested in any of the locations. They cannot wrap their minds around the notion that you could be from anywhere else less foreign [...]

I first met Ben Ruttner (DJ B-Roc) through my sister at our high school in New Hampshire. He was a freshman who wore big t-shirts and sold mix tapes out of his backpack. At the time he was the only DJ in our school. He was also probably the only serious entrepreneur. (All the drug dealers I knew smoked way more than they sold, and everybody else mostly just worked at a bagel shop or hung around the parking lot at the video store.) From his personal mix tape circuit, to packed talent shows, to being a junior DMC finalist, Ben had way more hustle then your average 14 year old dude. He’s 21 now, and living in New York City. The hustle hasn’t stopped, and the music has only gotten better. B-Roc is like Rick Rubin and Russell Simons all at once, a gifted music maker with a mind for the business that I know must go way beyond his years. If in 20 years we’re all downloading Chinese Reggae to an invisible chip in our third ears, I bet B-Roc will have something to do with it.

You just opened up a studio in Chinatown, right?

Yeah. It’s exciting, man. “Heavy Roc Music.” I’m in here every day, and the place is fully operational now [...]

I am sitting with Ilana Shamoon on the fifth floor of the Fondation Cartier, one of the major Parisian centers for contemporary art. For over twenty years, Cartier has been developing a highly individual style of patronage through his Foundation. Since moving to Paris in 1994, the Fondation Cartier has been housed in an airy building filled with light that was designed by the legendary architect Jean Nouvel. In this unique setting, exhibitions, conferences and artistic productions come to life. At once a creative space for artists and a place where art and the general public can meet, the center is dedicated to promoting public awareness of contemporary art. Each year, the Foundation organizes a program of exhibitions based on either individual artists or themes and commissions work from artists thus enriching their important collection[...]