did a couple of gun/pyro pieces at FLASHES ranch in Placerville during our annual 5 day Thankgiving Bachanal, looking at teaching a 1-week workshop through SF State next summer, finished the small piece "LOVER IN A VALICE", refitting STRETCH my large hydraulic arm as a carny ride in the series, building the raffle ticket chooser for the LAUGHING SQUID fundraiser on Jan. 13 '01, cleaning out the shop, ALMOST READY for the live webcam to start up, thanx to RUDY Rucker!! and Hugh of WRYBREAD, and then u can see it all live and eventually run a machine here in the shop! hopefully by new years and our annual partay.

i hjust finished Calvin Tompkins Bio on Marcel Duchamop, what a man, Duchamp that is, that was a visionary.

DEC. 8

Badlands Gallery

Ran a single HARLEY DAVIDSON THROAT SINGER bolted to childrensHOBBYHORSE,

i was trying to build something i didn't quite understand, i hadn't experienced totally,

then i got it, much later, i then knew how to build the piece, i had spent all of this time trying to build it, wasting time, but in a way it wasn't wasted time, there was no other way, it was a long road there,

Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first, and the lesson afterward.

HAUTED BARN, SF HALLOWEEN WEEKEND 2001. helped with: fog machine in basement where the grope hallways, don pauls regular guy battling theBIG BAD landlord. hallway with face smashing into steel grate. White trash room;barking. CORNHUSKERS in brothel, audio, mood, barker, incense, 4 "prostitutes" man (Carl) hangs self, Strap on Flamethrower on front porch.

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gadz, don't blame me, i voted for NADER, again.

Artists need to keep from being like a rat in a maze, to not keep going down the same path where the prize last was, afraid to try another,,,, to not want the same reward each time.

to find what makes you more human

French TV coming here Fri. for an interview, workin on the SPRING 2001 TOUR. Just finished up THE "ZERO-G" piece and "THE BRIGHT IDEA HELMET", i was thinking we need a more kids that think taking the lawnmowers' engine apart is more fun than playing nintendo. This is my job, i haven't done my job if people are just COPYING my art, (monkey see monkey do) my job is to inspire people to go on their own journey, whatever that is, maybe it isn't art, moonshiner, astronaut, eco-terrorist, scientist, chess player,,,,, not to do as i do, do not follow me to my demise,

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I'm really happy with the audience that go to my shows. My art seems to mean a lot to them. They're intelligent and have a pretty good understanding of it. I like that we can still perform in a small setting. We've definitely grown, but I like our connection to the audience. The larger you get the bigger the disconnect with your audience gets and that starts to get scary.

It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable. - Moliere

============================================================Day With(out) Art/World AIDS Day December 1 is the annual Day With(out) Art/World AIDS Day, during which artists, arts organizations and communities around the globe darken their spaces or present special events to call attention to the AIDS epidemic. THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE LAMEST RESPONSE TO A CRISIS, the same as the folks here in S.F. who are TRYING to organize an art strike cuz all of the artists are getting run out of the city, who is going to notice there is no art?? NO ONE. People ARE going to notice if there is 10 times more art or even 100 times more art. This is so incredibly misguided. ========================================================

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Home finally for a while/few months, enjoying life, going out a lot, tons of parties, Gardening, relaxing,,,, went white water rafting!, realized my art is so like this, I create these intense visceral feelings WITH the beauty, just a different kind of beauty, it felt good that I get to do this every time I do a show, and that I let people experience this. Building: KALI chair with 4 arms, almost done, spinning disorientation chair/ Harley Davidson throat singers pipes/ Human base for riding Icarus wings/ New smoke machine group show of machine/tech. Art at CELL Space in Oct./ Halloween show at THE HAUNTED BARN/ May do 3 shows in San Jose in Dec., Lots of gigs taking shape for SPRING 2000 TOUR http://www.seemen.org/booking.html ********************************************************

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

berkeley parade: 9/24/00

geekBOY, towed a trailer, i put the following in the trailer and in back of his truck.
large fire cannon (mushroom clouds)
burning BED
strap ON flamethrower
SPIKE
and the original strap on (mechanicalhands)
tanx to CARL, paul TROUTMAN, Michael M.,THE geekestBOY

the Bike rodeo http://cyclecide.com/
and INSECTAS float, band stage, DP'S ZOMBIES,
art CARS http://www.artcars.com/
and all KINDS of chaos were with us.
good lord, those peoples' eyes were gonna pop out of their over fed CRANIUMS
how does it feel
sometimes the machines represent the demons we need to conquer, the beasts inside us,

Isabel RUCKER stayed in the bed for the whole ride, truly heroic.

HUGE party at JOHN LAW'S afterward, it is so gooood to have John drinkin again,

BM 2000:
WELL I WENT, SAID I WASNT, i did, i lied, well no, i changed my mind literally at the last minute, literally. Lets just say i was made an offer i couldn't refuse, DAMN-HELL I HAVE SPENT MONTHS THERE, MY SIXTH BM, 10thTRIP to that there desert, i had no resposabilities for the first time, wow, what a party, i had never JUST PARTIED THERE, what a freak show, i musta known 1000 peple there and another 2000 knew me. it is getting weird, i meet 1-2000 people a year i rekon, how can i keep track? i can't, people come up to me, yeah, i've met you like 4 times dude, so?, am i some kinda social register?, i am not, what the hell has happened? people flagging me down, tons who saw me on tour this summer. that feels good

some chump comes up to me and says he has built a version of my fireshower and is showing it in Detroit, people are scum, really, it rekon it was a matter of time. imatation is the best foerm of flattery right?, fuck that, come up with your own ideas fucker,

so i built an art car-THE BUCKET-Flynn and mines old car we drove out from TEXAS, can't believe it is still rollin, decked it out with 2 flamethrowers, 2 jet engines, train horn, tons of lights, full bar (all top shelf) food, on and on.............doin this again next year it looks like...............
ONE THING TRULY EXPERIENCED IS WORTH IT ALL
we were gods, many hours logged rollin. once we were cruisin around the festival and someone screams HERE COMES A WATER TRUCK! WE LOOK, ITS SPEEDING TOWARDS US, a chase ensues, its danny, we are doing loops, small, tight, he can't corner like us, but he can soak us down any time he wants, he has a huge water cannon, huge, i have flamethrowers, it goes on and on, Chris Radcliff is laying on the hood, sreaming out driving directions, we are in tears with laughtrer, literally, everyone is howling, theres like 10 people on board, dust flying, we finally get a good angle and i let off a blast from a propane cannon and danny and his passengers duck, the flames engulf the cab and go in side, he's fine but filled with vengence, tears are streming down our faces, , , , we scream with laughter, we can barely talk, everyones howling and the truck is really barrelling down on us and before we knew it we were soaked to the bone, it was cold, my pilot lights went out, we went dead silent, then a chuckle , a gasp, a moan, soaked to the bone, suddenly everyone starts screaming, ghees, .....................we bolt for a fire to dry off. Chris isn't done yet, he wants another pass at him, we can get him!!!! WE HAD HIM!!!! fuck that, dry offffff , it is too early in the night, the magic of being alive, we felt it then, this is but 10 minutes of one whole week of this, .it went on and on and on, we tapped 2 kegs a night, the second usually ended up on the bucket, the pulse jets sent a woman into an epeleptic seizure!! or so it was claimed.i didn't see it, sounds horriffic, gadz, if i had i would have freaked, i dunno know what to believe, but those jet engines can make you kinda nauseus if yer around them to much or to close, i had so much fun i could hardly wait to get in the bucket and roll, every day, every night, it was phenomenal, potassium nitrate-charcoal-sulfur, everywhere we went crowds followed, other art cars would get in line behind us, it felt like we were in a parade half the time, practicing my prom queen wave, drivin down a street lined with people, they came out of their camps, lining the street, wooo they go, like some kinda bird, wondering what that ungodly noise is we are making, it is me. there were times i would fall back laughing so hard i couldn't get back up, car with its fully stocked bar, drunk, did i say DRUNK, oh i thought so, i surrrender to it, it takes me on a ride, i am in awe of this life, it humbles and thrills me, every hour, we loved the cold, the storms, it made us stronger, it got us more free booze and whatnot as people streamed out, those flamethrowers are warm, i had my longJohns and leather coat, we were invinceable, we would drive 20 feet and someone would yell, HEY KAL!!, every 20', yes, we would usually just keep gallavanting along, pete behind the wheel, low ridin it, what a pro, we are pro's, really really good at what we do, we are now professionals, we can't miss next year-!3! art cars, i swear. More intentional applicationless engineering, this is what i love, this is what i am committed to. i am rapt with awe. BIG PROPS TO DPW AND THE WHOLE CREW THERE, FLYNN, WILL, PETE, JOHNNY BLUE EYES, JOHN JOYCE, ELENA, HEATHER, , , ,

early Aug., 8 days in London:
i love this city, LOVE IT, and i love Cathy Rogers, she makes this crazy thing called life worth it, the shoot is grueling in an intense fun way, we goof with the crew all day, it rains, it downpours, our every word is mic'd, like 10 cameras on us all the time, those wacky Brits., we cuss, we burp, we make faux pas, i work on my Brit. accent, i piss off the "art" dept. by putting up Seth Malice's and Kubo's stickers EVERYWHERE, i make them take us out drinking, the RDF/BBC crew are great fun, I stayed in a Victorian park for a couple of days called HIGHGATE WOOD in Andy and Cindy's cottage, killer, i spend the night in an apt. on Lupus St., we sit on the roof all night talking, drinkin, and have tea on that there roof in the AM, valiant efforts to ward off the realization of our mortality, the new Tate Modern is mighty fine, huge, way better than America would dare to even try and do AND ITS FREE!!! Andy gives me a driving tour of the city, we go th the VOLCANO FESTIVAL, tons of good food, in a field, bands, DJ's, theatre, hip-hop, we eat, drink, we BB-Q with Andy's 84 year old grandmother, we go to see Andy's boat he is refurbishing. i get on the plane delirious, exhausted, sit next to ex-air force dude, he is blown away by my life. it is too easy. Now this is a city, this is life, i shall be back,

ON THE ROAD OBSERVATIONS:

LEATHER COWBOY IN OKLAHOMA:
i am in line to pay for our fuel in the middle of Oklahoma. Yet ANOTHER truck stop, they all blur together, sometimes i am in one and i look around and i have deja vu cuz damn-hell i have been in this one before!!, gadz, i know all the truck stops, how bad is that, ooohhh, lets stop at this one Jay!!, it's got all the POWER DRINKS and cool t-shirts and post cards AND a spot to pee outside, very important. anyways a "cowboy" walks in and gets in line behind me, i am all like thinking, hey cowboy whats you all up to????, he is in a full leather fancy cowpoke outfit, it says HOMO all over it and he is throwing down the look for all to drink in. I am loving His outness when i realize this a REAL cowboy all gussied up, not a dress up pretty boy from San Fransissco, ghees! i forgot i was in the middle of the west in a REDNECK truckstop. the world is made up of the people that San Franciscans play dress up after. I am out of my element. You look into the abyss Alone, that is when you find character,

COLLEGE GIGS:
the shit, students with WIDE OPEN minds, hungry, not shut off, my slide show is a gas, faculty and students love it, i mean shit, they have been studying PAINTING! academia. This helps pay for all of the smaller underground shows........... SUPER HUMAN EFFORTS BY MY PROMOTERS, Working way harder than normal for my gig!!
On a Quest (tour) we encounter demons. Our demons are our own limitations, which shut us off from the realization that everything and everyone is godlike deep inside, shit EVEN ME!. And as each of these demons is conquered, we become wiser, more capable to cope, learn and more of the world is encompassed. getting past your own limitations, which are within even as they appear to be without. They are symbolized in myth as monsters and demons, and in each age the characteristics change; because as a people changes, so do its limitations.

TRUCKSTOP IN MISSOURI:
it was like a David Lynch movie, i was asleep in the truck, woke up as we pulled into this truckstop, i stumble in to pee, something was off about this place, i didn't get it at first, everything for sale was weird, old or some off brand i had never heard of, everyone was inbred looking, terribly ugly, each were an extreme character, shockingly fat in grotesque ways, filthy dwarf mechanic dipping something fried and breaded in some sauce with his filthy grease covered hands, flirting with the grotesquely overweight cashier, really makin time with her, and eating at the cashiers counter, mudflap hairdo guy gabbing reading MAXIM magazine , weird huge black guy playin slots at the entrance, nasty shitty food for sale, people stumbling around in a daze at 4 am on a summer night in June, poor lighting, nothing was right, the place smelled like used motor oil and deep fryer grease, i couldn't figure it all out at first, then i realize! we were in SW corner of Missouri! they invented the term hillbilly for this part of the country, truly surreal and indescribable. Hicks. Freaks. But with no one to perform for except the oblivious truckers passing through. And us. Out there..........on the bleeding edge.