I just got an email from Fight for the Future, the organizers of the widely publicized blackout of the internet (including this site which went black and hosted a “stop censureship banner and link in the upper right hand corner) to protest SOPA and PIPA and to mobilize people to contact their representatives before the January 24 vote of Congresss about these two bills: Congress  dropped SOPA and PIPA today which means the votes have been cancelled for now and hopefully forever.

Fight for the Future writes to say, “The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game.  You were heard.

On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday.  See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.

This was unprecedented. Your activism may have changed the way people fight for the public interest and basic rights forever.

The MPAA (the lobby for big movie studios which created these terrible bills) was shocked and seemingly humbled.  “‘This was a whole new different game all of a sudden,’ MPAA Chairman and former Senator Chris Dodd told the New York Times. ‘[PIPA and SOPA were] considered by many to be a slam dunk.’”

“’This is altogether a new effect,’ Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing ‘an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically’ in the last four decades, he added.”

We’re indebted to the people who helped in the beginning — you, and the sites that trusted us — Boing Boing and Mozilla Foundation! And the grassroots groups — Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Demand Progress and Fight for the Future. Press release is here: http://bit.ly/w4DYz0 and https://fightfortheftr.wordpress.com/press-releases/

13 million strong,

Tiffiniy, Holmes, Joshua, Phil, CJ, Donny, Douglas, Nicholas, Dean, David S. and Moore, Fight for the Future!

P.S.  China’s internet censorship system reminds us why the fight for democratic principles is so important:

In the New Yorker:  ”Fittingly, perhaps, the discussion has unfolded on Weibo, the Twitter-like micro-blogging site that has a team of censors on staff to trim posts with sensitive political content. That is the arrangement that opponents of the bill have suggested would be required of American sites if they are compelled to police their users’ content for copyright violations. On Weibo, joking about SOPA’s similarities to Chinese censorship was sensitive enough that some posts on the subject were almost certainly deleted (though it can be hard to know).
…
After Chinese Web users got over the strangeness of hearing Americans debate the merits of screening the Web for objectionable content, they marvelled at the American response. Commentator Liu Qingyan wrote:

‘We should learn something from the way these American Internet companies protested against SOPA and PIPA. A free and democratic society depends on every one of us caring about politics and fighting for our rights. We will not achieve it by avoiding talk about politics.’”

According to Gizmodo,  “The momentum behind the anti-SOPA movement has been slow to build, but we’re finally at a saturation point. Wikipedia, BoingBoing, WordPress, TwitPic: they’ll all be dark on January 18th. An anti-SOPA rally has been planned for tomorrow afternoon in New York. The list of companies supporting SOPA is long but shrinking, thanks in no small part to the emails and phone calls they’ve received in the last few months.”

So what is SOPA? or PIPA? At first, it sounds like a good idea–it is supposed to protect content providers. But Gizmodo argues that “SOPA is an anti-piracy bill working its way through Congress that would grant content creators extraordinary power over the internet which would go almost comedically unchecked to the point of potentially creating an “Internet Blacklist” while exacting a huge cost from nearly every site you use daily and potentially disappearing your entire digital life while still managing to be both unnecessary and ineffective but stands a shockingly good chance of passing unless we do something about it.”

So call. Or email. If you’re a subscriber, go see for yourself–there’s plenty posted today about ways you can show your protest. Then boycott the internet yourself.

After I post this and publicize this, by 9am I am planning on joining in as well and staying off the internet today. This site will be “dark” from 8am-8pm and post a flag and info about the issue until January 24, 2012.

How should you prepare for a Santacon? You need a SANTA SUIT!! You still have time to make yourself a Santa Suit! Get a red sweatshirt at a thrift store, buy some white fur from a fabric store, cut it in strips and use a hot glue gun to attach the strips to the collar, the sleeves and down the middle. Wear red sweat pants or black pants tucked into black boots (or a kilt!!) black belt around your waist and –Voila! Santa, you’re looking great!

Here’s another blog post with LOTS of TIPS on HOW TO PREPARE for a SANTACON.

Here’s today’s Santacon ArtRide plan–hope to see you!!

1:30 EAT DRINK & BE MERRY
Meet at the Jolly Oyster at the Ventura State Beach on Harbor at San Pedro.
BYOB bubbles, you can buy oysters etc

2pm RIDE & BE MERRY!
Ride along the beach and the river trail to Main, possibly stopping by the Pier to play on the swings etc. or Aloha for a drink or AUG for art. Hook up with the Rockin Riders on the bike path

2-3:30 or so RIDE, DRINK & BE MERRY!
Ride up and down Main, stopping at the CA & Santa Clara mini-park for holiday foolishness, play in Plaza Park (how many Santas fit on the head of a canon? you’ll see when we post photos!) and Palermo’s for hot coffee & cocoa. Santas in suits who bring their own cups can get drip coffee for $1!! Ride to Art City & up Ventura Avenue

4:30p EAT DRINK & BE MERRY!
Ride back to downtown for beers at Anacapa or Winchesters or Bernadettes–whoever will give Santa a break & has room for us to gather & lock our bikes.

445p SUN SET –LIGHT YOUR BIKE–
it’s dark by 530pm!!

Happy holidays!

love,
Santa, Zanta, Mrs Claus and Little Red Claus

According to Wikipedia, Dobie Gray (July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011)^[1][2] was an African American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop and musical theater.

His hit records included “The ‘In’ Crowd” in 1965, and “Drift Away“, which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, sold over one million copies, and remains a staple of radio airplay.^[1]

Here’s a guest post about Dobie Gray and “Drift Away” from Ron Wells:

Dobie Gray has passed away. I can’t honestly say I was a big fan, though I guess I heard “The In Crowd” about a million times as a kid.

But I will always remember Dobie Gray for his version of Mentor William’s great pop song, “Drift Away.” Oh, there are a whole lot of singers who’ve covered this song wonderfully, but it’s Dobie’s version I always hear in my head.

I liked it when it first came out, but as I grew older it meant even more to me. The lyrics became more than just words, they became a statement of belief. A reason to believe. The sum total of why I listened to so much music by so many different bands and singers.

The lyrics just jump out at you:

“Day after day I’m so confused
Yet I look for the light
through the pourin’ rain.”

You understand the sentiment immediately.

And Dobie’s voice just carries that longing, that hope behind the pain. Even when the world outside “looks so unkind,” there’s the music.

And the beat.

“Give me the beat boys and free my soul.”

Exactly. The melancholy giving way to a heartbeat leading to freedom. A favorite singer. A favorite band. The way the music comes through when the needle hits the spinning 45 vinyl disc. When the cassette locks into place. When the compact disc slides into it’s tray. When the ipod begins to play. No matter the year, the time of day, it frees your soul.

Thanks for the joy. And how many things are always there for you in your time of need to bring you some joy. Some measure of celebration. Some relief from life itself. Then listen for the beat, and hear Dobie sing

“I wanna get lost in your rock and roll
And drift away.”

His voice carrying your hopes and dreams. His voice lifting your soul.

It‘s always the music that I can count on. It frees my heart and soul and spirit into a wonderful and mysterious place that transcends this earth. It goes beyond understanding.

Until I just drift away…Into the beauty of music. Into the mystical heartbeat. Into the infinite wonder.

Dobie’s voice caught all of the heartache, melancholy and unbridled joy of the life. Everything I ever thought and felt about music is in this song. Thanks to Mentor William’s for capturing what so many of us feel. And thanks to Dobie Gray for capturing the divine essence of the song.

Dobie Gray is gone. Or maybe he just drifted away. On the wings of rhythm, and rhyme and harmony. To the strains of a guitar that soothed him.

After helping me along. After making me strong.

Thanks for your song……

—————–

Here’s Dobie Gray singing “Drift Away” again, this time with the lyrics:

You might live in part of the world where you’ve had enough of the white stuff already, but for us coastal Californians, snow is a rare treat! Fortunately for our groves of citrus–avocados, oranges, lemons, and tangerines–as well as for our abundant agriculture including fresh local strawberries all year around, it rarely gets below freezing around here.

But this Saturday night, it will in fact be snowing in downtown Ventura in a special event during the Winter Wine Walk following the Ventura Street Fair which starts at 11am. During this popular event, downtown Main Street is filled with vendors and music.

The Winter Wine Walk starts at 4pm; at 6pm Ventura will light its holiday tree by the San Buenaventura Mission. Holiday festivities include caroling by local church groups, Santa Claus riding into Downtown Ventura on a fire engine, and snow falling from about 645-8pm! The event is free and open to the public.  For more information, call 805.641.1090 or visit www.downtownventura.com.

Participants in the self-guided Winter Wine Walk from 4-8pm can sample fine wines and delicious appetizers: $42 gets 12 sample tickets. Learn more www.venturawinterwinewalk.com or by calling (805) 765-4294. NOTE: You have to check in before 6:30pm.

While a number of my favorite local wineries are participating (guess which ones?), several central coast wineries will be pouring as well as a some from farther afield including a Champagne house.

Last year I was a bit disappointed in the event. One way I am going to address that is to bring my own reusable Govino plastic “glass.” Your wine would taste better in a jelly jar than it would in the plastic cups that most places were serving and all those plastic cups are so wasteful!

So start your Ventura Winter Wine Walk at Palermo on Main near Palm. You can taste Michael Meagher’s superlative syrah in a Govino glass: $3 for one or you can buy a box of four. They come in red, white and flute. You can use them for cocktails too.

Want more wine news for this weekend? Read here to learn about the special tasting on Sunday up at Ojai Vineyard, the Champagne tasting at the Cave, and for folks in the Bay Area, tomorrow is the Winter Wine Wonderland at Rock Wall in Alameda!

The first Santacon is tonight, December 2, during the monthly First Friday Arts Open House that occurs in downtown, the Westside, and this month on Laurel at Upfront Gallery as well.

Meet at Aloha Steakhouse at 5pm and ArtRide around after 6pm.

Santa may or may not show up for the First Friday ArtRide so when you’re ready to roll, you should go! Read more about that at Bikergo Gal.

Some of the highlights for the December First Friday include the ceramics sale at Bell Arts (432 Ventura Ave) and the under $100 show at Project 643 (643 Ventura Ave.) I imagine WAV artists (corner of Ventura Ave and Thompson) will have plenty of holiday gifts for you to take home too. And be sure to say hi to Carolyn at Upfront on Laurel over by the Jiffy Lube on Thompson!

The second Ventura Santacon is next Saturday, December 10. Suited Santas will roam California and up and down Main Street. I’ll post more details soon.

The third Santacon in Ventura is Sunday December 11. The plan is to meet at The Jolly Oyster at the Ventura State Beach, ride around, possibly stopping at Art City (197 Dubbers) and elsewhere as we please then return to the Jolly Oyster for a potluck. Vons is a quick bike ride away for anything we might need or have forgotten and we can cook clams on the BBQs there and shuck our own oysters.  It’s a BYOB kind of place so bring yours!

Help get the word out–print out and distribute the Santacon flyer by Zanna pictured above: Santacon version 2.

Hitler and everybody else is a buzz and stressed about getting a ticket to this year’s Black Rock Arts Festival aka Burning Man  (you know that thing out in the desert that’s really hot and dusty during the day and can be cold and windy at night? where there’s a loud crazy parties going on 24/7 and where everyone gets around by art car or bicycle? yes, that Burning Man…)

Anyway, every year for about 10 years or more now people have been stressing about getting their ticket for Burning Man.

And every year there’s drama and crashes and people paying more than they want for their ticket adn some people buying them to sell them.

But 2011 was the first year Burning Man sold out. And what this meant was a whole new way to sell tickets had to be considered and invented.

What the Burning Man Organization came up with is a lottery. That’s not really a lottery because thousands of people will win, not just one person.

And what that means is newbie Burners, virgin Burners, and long-time Burners have been asking me what that means.They want to know whether they need to buy tickets NOW??

NO! You don’t have to get your ticket for $420 NOW!

Even if it’s your 10th Wedding Anniversary and you want to take your wife and leave the kids with your parents!

What this means is, if you have the $420, if you can afford it, or if you want to put something extra special in someone’s Christmas stocking (or thong or ?), you can buy your ticket NOW until December 9th at midnight (PST). So if you want to buy some tickets to gift folks for the holidays, this is your chance.

According to Jack Rabbit Speaks, Pre-Sale tickets are “the most expensive because we wanted to discourage people from using the Pre-Sale to “game the system” … we really do want to serve people who want to gift tickets for the holidays, and can afford to pay for more expensive tickets to subsidize our lower-cost tickets.”

Visit http://tickets.burningman.com to register to buy up to 4 of 3,000 tickets at $420.

So what do you do if you’re not in a position to pay for the most expensive tickets at $420?

Will Burning Man 2012 sell out before I get my ticket?

Probably not! If you buy before the end of March you WILL get a ticket because there are AS MANY OR MORE tickets for sale in 2012 than in 2011.

Register at http://tickets.burningman.combetween January 9 and 22 to buy one or two of  40,000 tickets which will go on sale at various levels:

• $240: 10,000 tickets
• $320: 15,000 tickets
• $390: 15,000 tickets

In March, another 10,000 or more will go on sale for $390. Yes, they will be more expensive. But you will have more time to save your money up and make plans to go. You can also buy up to 4 tickets.

Can’t afford it unless you can get a low-priced (subsidized) ticket? Watch for information about when, where, and how to apply for a low-income, scholarship tickets. I hear there will be more of these offered than before. But apply right away! Last year they ran out of all 3500 tickets months before the deadline.

What if I get a ticket and then can’t go?

Burning Man is working on a system that will help you buy and sell them more safely.

Take your questions or concerns to Ticket FAQ: http://bit.ly/vQ25T9 or check out this ePlaya thread: http://bit.ly/tcXWEW .

Check out these Burning Man 2011 photos by LensCap aka S.N.Jacobson.

PS Happy Anniversary to Harmony & Mike! Have fun at Burning Man 2012! Yes, you WILL get tickets!!

Looking for a film to watch this holiday season? Check out this movie review of The Descendants by Ron Wells; maybe it’s what you need to be even more thankful for what you have…and to remember that the grass is not always greener even if it’s on George Clooney’s side of the fence beside his pool in Hawaii…SPOILER ALERT The trailer above and the review below might give more away than you want to know.

With Hawaii as a backdrop and Hawaiian music playing throughout, director Alexander Payne once again takes a close and textured look at imperfect human beings who are this time living in “paradise” in the new film, The Descendants. If you’ve seen any other of Payne’s movies such as Election, Sideways, or About Schmidt, then you will understand what you are in for.

George Clooney as Matthew King is excellent as the father, the “back-up parent,” who is seemingly unaware that his family is coming apart, and gives an Oscar worthy performance that anchors the film. When his wife, Elizabeth, is suddenly put in a coma, Matthew comes to realize that his family is like an “archipelago slowly drifting apart.” This includes his two daughters, 10 year old Scottie (Amara Miller) and the teenage Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). Woodley is especially notable as the angry, rebellious daughter who will have to learn to grow and become her father’s confidant and helper if this family is going to make it.

While the mother is in a coma, these three descend into a whirlpool of pent up anger and misunderstandings as they lash out at others, as well as at each other, in sometimes graphically explicit language, and yet try to grab hold of one another lest they sink into the abyss.

All of these characters are beautifully drawn as are the minor characters played by Nick Krause, Robert Forester, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard and Judy Greer. Everyone of them, no matter how large or small their part, adds something to the story as they circle around and near the King family.

What unfolds is a story that does not let you assume anything about anybody. These are complex characters entangled in a plot where good and bad, anger and love, are all intricately intertwined.

Add to all of this the fact that there is a huge land deal in the works as Matthew meets with his close relatives about selling a part of Kauai that will bring them millions of dollars, plus there’s an extra marital affair that brings even more pain into this volatile mix.

What we get is a family dealing with a possible death, marriages imploding, and a contentious business deal all pulling and tearing them in ways none of them could have foreseen.

And yet in the midst of all of this, there are humorous moments that come from the characters lives and not from some joke machine, for the humor is as real as the tragedy which is playing itself out. In one scene Matthew is running down the street and we have no idea where he is running, as it appears he may be running as much to something, as he is running from something. It’s alternately funny and a bit frightening since we don’t know where he’s headed and what he might do when he gets there.

This is a story where someone may begin by saying how truly sorry they are about something going on, and then just as quickly have that sorrow turn to ugly hateful words. It’s that kind of film.

The cast is first rate from top to bottom, inhabiting characters whose lives we come to care about, though everything they’re going through is a bit messy and uncomfortable. It is not a movie to go and see if you want to escape. On the contrary, it’s a film as complicated and surprising as life itself. From Kaui Hart Hemmings novel, Payne and co-writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash invite the audience to take a sideways look at life and watch how these characters fight to find their way through a maze of conflicting emotions that is not easy to get out of.

Don’t be fooled by the beautiful Hawaiian backdrop and music. This is a film in which human beings in all their complexity try and come to some understanding of each other and of their own lives. It’s a world in which sometimes sitting on the couch, watching tv, and sharing ice cream may as be as close to paradise as any of us can hope to get. Seeing the film is like watching the ever changing ocean surrounding the illusion of paradise with all of it’s anger, sadness, and beauty.

H

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Shout-out

to my subscribers

to wish you all a

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thank you for subscribing to Art Predator! I am grateful to each and every one of you!

So what wine should these women in this photo (from the collection of Charles Phoenix) be serving with that holiday bird?

Check out these recommendations over at Wine Predator for wines to serve with turkey and ham!

Holiday Wine Challenge Part 1: Turkey? Ham? Red? White? Rose?

Holiday Wine Challenge Part 2: Turkey & Red Wine? Yes! Try These

Holiday Wine Challenge Part 3: Ham & Zin!