NEW BOOK: "Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change"

ART FOR OBAMA
Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change
Edited by Shepard Fairey & Jennifer Gross

NOW AVAILABLE IN STORES

(Click Book Cover to be directed to Amazon.com)

In conjunction with the themes of hope and change,

all of the authors' profits from this book will be

donated to Americans for the Arts charity.

OBAMA EXPLAINS IT ALL: CAIRO SPEECH DELIVERS BOLD, AMBITIOUS VISION FOR WORLD PEACE AND PROSPERITY BY GETTING PAST THE PAST

The President, Clearly Striving to Improve America's Image in the Eyes of Muslims, Brings Message of Positive Change Overseas; Emphasizes Need for All Religions and Nations To Live and Work Together in Peace, By Finding Common Ground Rather Than Focusing On Differences and Discord

Commentary by Don Rose

President Obama seemed to be, for 54 minutes at least, the World President. While his inspiring speech at the University of Cairo made a special appeal to Muslims in several sections, Obama's message transcended nations, with words undeniable in their logic, delivered with a controlled passion that seemed to be saying, Wake up, world! It's me, Barack, and I believe we're ready for a new way of thinking. Our world can do better. He implored his audience to let go of status quo, and listen to what we know. That we can and should listen and learn from each other. That we all have basic human rights, and no one is more right than others. He gave examples from history showing how numerous nations and peoples have suffered injustices and pain, but we can and must move forward to write a new chapter in history.

Obama often sounded like a kind of world parent, implying that it is time to set aside childish things and grow up on a global scale. For example, he discussed how both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered terribly, but each side must change if there is to be lasting peace. Palestinians must abandon violence, Obama said (pointing out that it was peaceful resistance, not violence, which brought about change for blacks in America) -- but Israel must stop settlements and accept Palestine's right to exist (just as Palestine must recognize Israel). Our President, the man of mixed race, the American with the Muslim middle name, is the one American leader in recent memory who could make such statements with such conviction, imploring Muslims, Christians and Jews to go beyond painful history to a new, peaceful destiny.

Obama ended his exceptional speech with a reference to the Golden Rule, and this seemed to indeed summarize his overarching message. "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you" are words that transcend borders. The words are ancient, yet transcend time. They still apply here in the 21st century, and are more needed than ever. But perhaps the main accomplishment of Obama's speech was to show how an American President can set out a bold vision to the entire world and challenge all nations to live up to it, without sounding condescending, preachy or demanding. He knows that we are better than we have been.

Sure, some might call Obama's message pollyanna, or criticize him for stating too broad a vision. But that's what I find most endearing about this man who continues to break barriers -- his ongoing, passionate, unwavering Audacity of Hope. He is not afraid to lay out a vision that shoots for the stars. Now we need to build the (international-relations) ship to reach that stellar destination. I just hope the citizens of the world can become as audacious as Obama, because in this time of giant global challenges, audacious thinking may be the best (and only) way to envision the solutions we need to survive as a species.

BUSH, CHENEY PHOTO AT OBAMA INAUGURATION: IS BUSH WATCHING TV DURING OBAMA SPEECH?

by Don Rose

Love this image from the Obama Inauguration. The last picture of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney together in power, or should I say having just lost it. The Dastardly Duo are seen here sitting behind Obama as the new President delivers his Inauguration Speech. I must say, Cheney in the wheelchair and black hat looks part Snidely Whiplash, part Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life, with a dash of Dr. Strangelove. Meanwhile, Bush is in typical W mode, looking impatient with pursed lips and... what the... is he watching television? In the middle of Obama's historic speech? Sure looks like he's holding a smartphone here. Maybe it's streaming CNN, so he can see what he can't see live, since he's seated BEHIND the new Prez. Okay, that makes sense. Or is he texting? "I cnt b leev hw long ths is takng. I think Dik's asleep. Wish i was". Or maybe W's just holding Obama's Blackberry for him (or should I say Barackberry)...


FYI, this closeup was captured after zooming in on a longshot GIGAPAN image that is created by integrating many photos of a scene into a zoomable panorama. Start long and wide, then zoom in again and again; each time the image refocuses into sharpness. Quite fun to fiddle with. There are other similar technologies that also let you combine many images into one megaphoto or metaphoto or gigaphoto (pick your prefix) that you can pan and zoom. Microsoft's Photosynth is one such technology. Photosynth transforms a set of 2D shots into a kind of 3D navigable image. Their "Obama moment" megaphoto of the Oath garnered lots of attention (I'm sure Chief Justice Roberts has played with it many times, to relive that magic moment he made so memorable).

Final note: after zooming in for an even closer look, it seems the W-smartphone-holding theory may have been a bit premature. He might just be clapping and the "phone" may be a trick of the light and angle and that water bottle behind W's gloves. Guess we'll never know.

JAN 20: "ART OF CHANGE" OBAMA INAUGURATION PARTY AT THE MAYAN

Featured Event - Posted by Don Rose

Tuesday January 20, 2009 is a day that will make history.
Here in LA, that night should prove to be historic, too.

While D.C. will certainly be "Change Central" as we welcome a new President into office, we in Los Angeles have a great way to celebrate as well. It's an event called "Art of Change" -- the West Coast Presidential Inaugural Ball featuring The Mutaytor.

The Art of Change Inaugural Ball – Los Angeles celebrates a new spirit in our government. The producers of the Ball purposely kept ticket prices low (only $10!) to encourage an inclusive celebration.

Here is the official press release, with more info:

"Art of Change Inaugural Ball – Los Angeles” Featuring The Mutaytor at The Mayan, Presented by Wonderland adVentures - Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The “Art of Change Inaugural Ball – Los Angeles” brings artists and creative thinkers from all communities together to celebrate the swearing in of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The revelry will take place in Downtown LA at the beautiful Mayan featuring The Mutaytor as well as DJ Motion Potion, DJ Wolfie, a surprise special guest performer TBA, and others. Creative formal attire is encouraged! Located at 1038 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015, to learn more about the venue please call 213-746-4674 or visit http://www.clubmayan.com.

Doors open at 7:00pm and guests 21-years old or older are welcome. Tickets cost $10 and an advance purchase is highly recommended as the event is expected to sell out the Mayan’s 1,500-person capacity. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit http://www.wonderlandadventuresinc.com.

The time-line for the evening is as follows:-
7:00pm – Doors open, tunes provided by SF's DJ Motion Potion (www.motionpotion.com), dine on healthy, organic fare catered by Carbon Grill (separate cost), a farmers market favorite-
8:00pm – Rebroadcast of President Obama’s Inauguration Speech in HD on six BIG SCREENS. DJ Motion Potion spins until 9:30pm-
9:30pm – The Mutaytor (http://mutaytor.com) takes the stage for their celebratory theatrical extravaganza, hot off the heals of their San Francisco New Year’s Eve show (with Thievery Corporation and Bassnectar) with extra special musical and visual surprises to salute our new President-
10:30pm – An "Extra Special Guest Artist" takes the stage and rocks out until we cant stand up anymore (around midnight)-
12midnight – DJ Wolfie (www.djwolfie.com) brings it home for those who want to party into the wee hours (wrap up by 2:00am)

Visuals for the evening will be provided by VJ Victorious (www.myspace.com/evictor) from Visual Symphony (as seen at Coachella), who will be doing a commemorative audio/visual display unveiled for the first time at the Art of Change Inaugural Ball. Lighting designer extraordinaire Dan Reed, is on board to light the show for the evening. Reed lit the Democratic National Convention when Obama and Senator Joe Biden accepted their party’s nomination in Denver, as well as Obama’s acceptance speech on November 4th in Chicago. Reed has also worked in key theatrical lighting positions on the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys and so much more.

At the outset of our 43rd President’s term, he may well be labeled ‘The Artist’s President.’ As the author of two best-selling books – Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama uniquely appreciates the role and value of creative expression. Observing that our nation’s creativity has filled the world’s libraries, museums, recital halls, movie houses, and marketplaces with works of genius, he agrees that the arts embody the American spirit of self-definition.During Obama’s and Biden’s campaign they ran on a platform in support of the arts and pledge to:- Reinvest in Arts Education- Expand Public/Private Partnerships Between Schools and Arts Organizations- Create an Artist Corps- Publicly Champion the Importance of Arts Education- Support Increased Funding for the NEA- Promote Cultural Diplomacy- Provide Health Care to Artists- Ensure Tax Fairness for Artists

The "Art of Change Inaugural Ball – Los Angeles" celebrates this new spirit in our government. The producers of the Ball purposely kept ticket prices low ($10) to encourage an inclusive celebration.

The Mutaytor is part hip-grinding techno-retro-funk, part audience-interactive post-modern circus. The act takes drastically advanced elements of the Grateful Dead, Parliament-Funkadelic, the Crystal Method, Louis Prima and Blue Man Group and throws them directly at the audience as riotous surreal entertainment notable for "turning Civilians into Rockstars." The sound is tight, the show manic, the vibe all-inclusively friendly. They are on stage, above the audience, IN the crowd. There's nothing like the Mutaytor in show business today and they'll probably have to spin off parts of itself in order to have any competition in the future.Motion Potion aka Robbie Kowal is one of the Bay Area's hardest working, most innovative, and versatile DJs. Alternately called the DJ for people who hate DJs (SF Weekly) and the "Swiss Army DJ," he seems to have something for everyone. Funk impresario, mashup enthusiast, and live collaborator with such bands as Parliament-Funkadelic, the Mutaytor and Galactic, his career has been defined by an attempt to break down genre and scene barriers, playing every conceivable kind of music in the course of a night, a set, or a seven-minute mash-up. His own mix CD's range wider than most label's catalogs; live mixes that range from underground hip hop to electronic breaks to world fusion to rare southern rock. Legends such as Isaac Hayes, Dr John, and Maceo Parker have all called upon “Mopo” to open their shows and rock their set-breaks.DJ Wolfie headlines parties from coast to coast, both in mainstream venues and the underground circuit. In 2008 he played at Coachella Music Festival on the bill with Prince and Roger Waters, at The Optimus Alive festival in Portugal with Rage Against the Machine, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young, and at The All Points West Festival in New York with Radiohead, Underworld, and Jack Johnson. His music features a broad range of funky tunes with ass shaking beats. He throws some of the wildest invitation-only events in Los Angeles, regularly packing in 1000 or more people to artistically fueled musical extravaganzas.

Recap: The Mayan is the location for the Art of Change event.
Downtown - 1038 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
http://www.clubmayan.com/ 213-746-4674 $10 21+.
Some event highlights:
- Re-screening Obama's Inauguration Speech on the BIG SCREEN
- Healthy food from Carbon Grill (a farmers market favorite)
- SF's DJ Motion Potion (http://www.motionpotion.com/),
VJ Victorious from Visual Symphony
(as seen at Coachella -http://www.eyepscience.com/),
The Mutaytor (http://mutaytor.com/),
DJ Wolfie (http://www.djwolfie.com/) and an
"Extra Special Guest DJ".
Tickets:
http://inaugural.beticketing.com/

A TO Z OF VICTORY: 26 REASONS FOR OBAMA'S ASCENDANCY TO THE PRESIDENCY

Commentary by Don Rose

A: Audacity of Hope. Not just a Barack book, but a brand, a message, that millions believed in. After eight years of fear, hope prevailed. Yet think back to early 2007. Imagine the audacity of a young relatively unknown first-term Senator of African-American descent to hope he can beat the odds and become leader of the free world. Yes he can.

B: Bush. Yes, baby, Bush begat Barack. Yin begat Yang. One can argue that Bush devolved so deeply into a fear-mongering Constitution-shredding neo-Conning rightwing idealogue that the nation snapped back with a vengeance to the intelligent, erudite, anti-Iraq pragmatist candidate -- Obama -- who seems to be above ideology. Out of fear, hope.

C: Clinton. Hillary's hard fought battle against Obama made Barack a tougher, wiser candidate, and got almost all the dirty laundry out in the open early. Remember when Rocky and arch rival Apollo Creed team up to beat Mr T? Okay, not a perfect analogy, but I still love that movie.

D: Dean. Howard Dean was Net Candidate 1.0 way back in 2004. Smart and tech savvy, the first true Internet grassroots candidate. While Obama's version 2.0 was superior to the original Dean model, the Vermont visionary and his network guru Joe Trippi pointed the way. Howard's other influence on Obama's win came as DNC head. In that role, Dr. Dean championed the "50 State Strategy" that kept GOP strategists scrambling and helped Obama expand his base to "traditionally non-Democratic states" -- even win several of them.

E: Economy. No con on me! That's how many felt, and still feel -- like the $700 billion bailout revealed a con going on, causing collapse of a broken system and then, like poisonous icing on a stale cake, using gobs of taxpayer money to bail out fat cats. Yes, it is always "the economy, stupid". Voters vote their pocketbook if it's getting lean. Bad economy helped Obama, big time. But it wasn't just that, it was Bad Men. Constant bailout news made it look like those in power (GOP) had taken advantage, then wanted to do even more damage (taxpayer bailouts) that might not even work (wanna buy some toxic financial instruments?). Also helping Obama, ironically, was that his relatively light experience made him look even more like an outsider, hence one who could come in and clean house.

F: Fairey. Shepard Fairey's graphics gave the Barack brand its ubiquitous face. His iconic HOPE posters were copied, mimicked and parodied ad infinitum, which only helped spread the brand further.

G: Gore. When Al didnt run, the best non-Barack brand in the bunch went bye-bye, leaving Obama as the leading "CHANGE" agent.

H: History. Millions wanted to make it, and they did. In fact, I think history's call led to a kind of "reverse Tom Bradley Effect", where voters on the fence jumped more to Obama in order to be part of history. Also, African Americans voted in record numbers. Call it the "being black bump". It helped the Change wind grow to gale force.

I: Iowa. First Obama victory, surprising Clinton and the pundits, foretold the future. Most momentum-al moment. I know Obama must be thinking, "I owe a lot to Iowa." (Okay, maybe not Obama, but Iowans.)

J: JFK. The similarities between Obama and John Kennedy are many. Even JFK brother Ted acknowledged it. Both men: young in age, two young kids, young attractive wife, picked experienced Senator as running mate, and broke barriers (JFK was first Roman Catholic President, and of course Obama is first President to check email regularly).

K: Kerry. Democrats learned from the mistakes of 2004. GOPers tried to Swift Boat Obama like they did Kerry, but the Obama camp was ready. Every attack was immediately and strongly rebuked or counterattacked. It worked.

L: Love. Young people were definitely showing the love for Obama, in droves, and were relentless in getting out the vote, calling people in swing states, holding rallies and parties in support of Obama, and more. With Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004, Democrats may have been satisfied with their candidate, even admired them, but twasn't love.

M: Moveon.org. Their more-than-daily emails kept Obama on the brain, whether you liked it or not. They relentlessly informed of urgent needs for funds and house parties/events where one could help the cause. Kept essential info coming to an ever expanding base of net-savvy supporters. Got the word out, kept the brand afire. (But be honest, aren't you kinda glad the flood of messages is finally over? Even The Onion acknowledged how often these emails were flying round the net with their headline, "Obama Deletes Yet Another Unread Moveon.org Email").

N: Negativity. McCain seemed negative in the debates, and his ads were overly negative. This turned off many, even his longtime friend and GOP honcho Colin Powell, who cited this negative tone as one reason he backed Obama. Plus, McCain's negativity was in such stark contrast to Obama's endless optimism.

O: Oratory. Obama's oral outpourings? Outstanding.

P: Palin. Pitifully poor pick. Pretty person. Petty prattle.

Q: Questioning assumptions. Who says a Dem can't win red states? Who says a black Dem can't win GOP voters and endorsements? Who says record dollars can't be raised via millions of small donations averaging under $100? Not he.

R: Republican Right. The GOP keeps assuming you must appease or energize the rightwing and/or religious wing and/or nutjob wing. Here's a maverick idea: why not cow tow to the needs of millions of MODERATE Republicans? Nixon used to talk about the "Silent Majority" and my guess is there is now a new generation of Silent Majority folks who are GOP but in the middle of the political spectrum. In 2008, McCain tried so hard to court the right, Obama could go full court press in the middle and win lots of GOP moderates (Colin Powell), even some conservatives (Bush's former press secretary and even the son of William Buckley). Obama, post-Hillary, moved right to win over middle ground -- and, amazingly, McCain gave it up as he slid right. Huge tactical mistake by McCain. He handicapped himself. With Republicans reeling, rife with rifts and ripped apart riffs, this seems like RIP GOP (at least for two terms). With the new powerful left, there' s not much left of the right that's right. Right?

S: Stephen Colbert. His performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner was a warning shot across the neo-Con bow that a mighty wind of change was coming. It got people thinking. And talking. And it was funny as hell. Blistering satire is one thing, but to do it right in front of all the people you are mocking, who also happen to be the most powerful people on the planet, is quite another. Yet Colbert pulls it off masterfully. The room didn't roar with laughter (for fear of firing, perhaps), but millions streaming on the Web did. I think it was an Emperor's New Clothes moment, which set the stage for millions to accept a new brand like Hope-Change-Obama. See Colbert's redhot roasting of Bush here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879.

T: Texting Obama's VP pick. The text message announcing VP Biden was another brilliant stroke, not only giving mass attention to Obama's "Change" brand again (e.g., this guy is with it, tech savvy, etc), but brings in tons of funds and emails and cell numbers in order to be part of the early select millions getting the early word (which leaked big time anyway, but who cared, the point was to expand further the huge Obama network, who then kept getting constant emails and texts about Obama events, donating reminders, pleas to phone swing states, reminders to vote, chances to win things like "be backstage with Barack" -- if you donate, of course, and so on).

U: Unflappable. Obama always kept things on an even keel, especially during the debates. The people liked that.

V: Vice President Biden. First major decision for Obama, he hits a home run. Showed superior judgment to McCain, who chose a much inferior VP when it was his turn. Veep is crucial in a tight race; Barack knew it, McCain blew it.

W: Winfrey. Oprah's Obama endorsement certainly didn't hurt. Especially in the campaign's earlier days.

X: X-Factor. The late George Plimpton wrote a book on it. That certain something. Surely Obama has it.

Y. Yes We Can. The 3 most empowering words since I Love You and We Shall Overcome.

Z. Zebra. Half black and half white, like Obama, and symbolizes... ...oh, forget it. Isn't 25 reasons enough, people?

OBAMA AS SUPERMAN (BARRACUDA STORE ON MELROSE, 11/7/08)