OVO

Trevor Blake: Flowers [LINK-ZUM]

Flowers by Trevor Blake. Portland Oregon USA. 25 July 2008.

Trevor Blake: The Cyclists [LINK-ZUM]

A google search for "portland bike fight" will reveal a species of tension in my fair city. I know this tension personally, having relied on bike / bus / foot since 1992 yet now my preferred means of transportation is being besmirched by others. It seems that Portland is far from the only city where this tension is happening, and I am far from the only person who doesn't care for it. What can be done about The Cyclists?

Labels: portland, transportation, trevorblake

Trevor Blake on Books: Left for Dead by Beck Weathers [LINK-ZUM]

Autobiography. Beck Weathers was part of the climb of Mount Everest described in the popular book Into Thin Air. Weathers was moderately prepared for the climb, but found himself in far over his head. Through acts of physical strength and an iron will, he survived. He wrote a book about it and now gives lectures on setting priorities in this life. What I learned from this book is sometimes your team will let you down but you have to keep going or perish.

Labels: biographic, books, trevorblake

Trevor Blake on Books: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs [LINK-ZUM]

Some of the writing in this book is poor, and some of it has not aged well. There's nothing to do but state so plainly and up front. But.

Tarzan of the Apes contains one set of answers for some important questions. What is natural for men? What does civilization offer us, and what does it take away? How do we relate to others who are weaker than us? Who is fit to rule, how do they aquire and keep their position? Tarzan of the Apes also contains some fine fighting, between man and beast and between men. Tarzan acts in accordance with Nature. Tarzan doesn't have any religion or politics. When it is time to follow, he follows. When it is time to lead, he leads. When it is time to kill, he kills. No remorse, guilt, second-guessing, shame, anger - just doing what is Natural. Sometimes Tarzan takes what he wants, and the fact of his ability to do so is the justification for having done so. This, the first of many Tarzan books, is my favorite in the series.

Tarzan of the Apes.
Tarzan of the Apes annoted by Kenneth Fuchs.
Wikipedia entry.
Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.

Labels: books, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Chocolate Cake [LINK-ZUM]

Chocolate cake. Portland, Oregon USA. 22 July 2008. Five minutes from preparation to serving. Recipe.

Labels: food, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Steamagineer [LINK-ZUM]

An enraged steamagineer gives the business to a robot president. Public domain, as has been most of my work for more that twenty years. The difference between this idea / image and most of my work is that the option exists to purchase it on a mug or t-shirt.

Labels: art, commerce, fight, transportation, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Another Form of Expression [LINK-ZUM]

"All my life I have been acutely aware of a contradiction in the very nature of my existence. For forty-five years I struggled to resolve this dilemma by writing plays and novels. The more I wrote, the more I realized mere words were not enough. So I found another form of expression." - Yukio Mishima, in Paul Schrader's film Mishima. Collage by Trevor Blake.

Labels: books, fight, film, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: E-Mail 29 June 2008 [LINK-ZUM]

[From an e-mail message to a friend...]

I don't claim to have any answers on this one, specifically any always-applicable answers. But I have benefited from adopting a note of caution any time I find myself thinking of 'tipping points' in history.

Over and again I've thought 'there's no way that the bad guys can keep getting away with it, this time they've gone too far, the tipping point has arrived.' And I've been wrong every time.

When I apply that steady record of error to past events, I think it holds. It is easy to look back and say where tipping points where in history, but it is so easy that I wonder if it isn't me imposing a pattern that didn't really exist at the time. I can see the pattern in what you wrote about Mussolini and Hitler [they were supported by their nations but eventually there was a popular / middle class strike against them], but the pattern is so clear that I wonder if it is the filter I'm looking through rather than seeing something as it was.

Tipping point thinking fits in with my lefty/conspiracy background, something else I've grown to trust less. It came from a time when some part of me thought history was (a) going somewhere and (b) something I/we/someone could drive like a wagon train. Now I think history is going, but not going anywhere in particular. I want to to be going towards empowerment of the individual, but it isn't - it's just going where it's going. I want to think I/we/someone can nudge history a little tiny bit, but that's a far cry from seizing the reigns and plowing a path towards utopia.

Fascist Spain didn't have a turning point, as far as I know. It changed, but there wasn't a popular / middle class strike against it. The tyranny in North Korea and elsewhere goes on and on. This is evidence of another old belief of mine being in error - that oppression leads to rebellion. It doesn't, not consistently.

I have [fewer and fewer] answers as I get older. And less sense that my opinions have any influence in the world. What a relief!

Labels: trevorblake

Trevor Blake at Technoccult [LINK-ZUM]

Labels: blog, portland, synergetics, trevorblake

Trevor Blake at Technoccult 4 June 2008 [LINK-ZUM]

"For even more on Buckminster Fuller, come to Esozone for Trevor Blake's presentation 'The Approximately Omnidirectional Ephemeralization of Richard Buckminster Fuller.'"

This is, I believe, the first public announcement of my lecture.

Labels: portland, synergetics, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: The Bleeding Head of Arnold Palmer [LINK-ZUM]

This photograph was made in 1985.

Labels: art, subgenius, trevorblake

OVO at esozone.com [LINK-ZUM]

"The new issue of Trevor Blake's OVO Magazine features many Esozone participants: Anonymous, Johnny Brainwash, Klint Finley, Vincent Al Ken, Wes Unruh, and Edward Wilson. Plus many other fine contributors. For those not in the know, OVO has been published by Trevor Blake since 1987."

Labels: blog, magick, ovo, periodical, portland, trevorblake, zine

Trevor Blake in Ritualized Combat [LINK-ZUM]

A typical Sunday.

Labels: fight, portland, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Legal Torrents [LINK-ZUM]

legaltorrents.com has long been a mirror of OVO, for which we give thanks. I am shocked and pleased to see that they have distributed 300+ gigabytes of OVO. Recently the site celebrated a re-launch and issued the following...

"We're happy to announce that we have launched the new and improved beta for LegalTorrents. The site is now designed to make top quality open-license content available and to provide a support system to content creators (you) through financial sponsorship by site members and visitors.

"The re-launch of the site includes two important new features:

"(1) An Online Community. We are building an online community to discover, evaluate and publish content, for networking and information exchange, and to promote the site.

"(2) Sponsorship for Content Creators. We now accept voluntary financial contributions towards your work. We distribute 100% of payments to you if they come from members of the community, and 85% if they come from visitors to the site."

Visit legaltorrents.com today, won't you?

Labels: ovo, periodical, trevorblake, zine

Trevor Blake: Metal Men [LINK-ZUM]

Trevor Blake, April 2008. Starting to frame some of my metal men, which I've been making for over a decade. This is the first one I made.

Labels: art, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Flower [LINK-ZUM]

Flower, Portland Oregon USA, 12 May 2005.

Labels: art, portland, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: OVO 18 Money [LINK-ZUM]

OVO 18 Money has been published. Featuring the work of Anonymous, Dmitry Babenko, Johnny Brainwash, Klint Finley, Witta Kelssling-Jensen, Vincent Al Ken, Ruggero Maggi, Mail Art Paul, Willi Melnikov, Thom Metzger, Emilio Morandi, No Institute, Wes Unruh, Carlos Valdez and Edward Wilson. Download as PDF here. Using OVO (public domain since 1987) in your own projects is encouraged, thus each page of each issue is available as a separate downloadable free image file here.

Labels: art, money, ovo, periodical, trevorblake, zine

Trevor Blake: Bird Nest [LINK-ZUM]

This sign, photographed on 11 July 2007 in Portland OR, is no longer there.

Labels: art, commerce, portland, transportation, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: At Every Turn in Its Thought... [LINK-ZUM]

On 20 January 2008 I linked to Ran Ran Ru. Nineteen days later, so did Xeni Jardin at boingboing.

On 15 March 2008 I linked to Ride Offers Thrill of Looping. The next day, so did Cory Doctorow at boingboing.

On 20 March 2008 I linked to Knuckle Tattoos. Eight days later, so did Mark Frauenfelder at boingboing.

On 22 March 2008 I linked to Labor of Love. Two days later, so did Mark Frauenfelder at boingboing.

On 24 March 2008 I linked to The Great Tantra Challenge. The next day, so did Cory Doctorow at boingboing.

They're catching up to me as I (in turn) harvest good links from other blogs! Mostly, metafilter and Dark Roasted Blend. As J. R. "Bob" Dobbs said, If you want to be known as a creative, original person, make sure you imitate the right people.

Labels: blog, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Art Exhibit April 2008 Portland OR [LINK-ZUM]

April 2008
Coffee Plant
724 SW Washington

Labels: art, comics, portland, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Books By or About Me [LINK-ZUM]

Book including work by Trevor Blake:

The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack by Ivan Stang. New York, Thunder's Mouth Press 2006.
The Journal of Ride Theory Omnibus by Dan Howland. Portland, JORT 2003.
Strange Creations by Donna Kossy. Los Angeles, Feral House 2001.
Revelation X by Ivan Stang. New York, Simon & Schuster 1994.
Kooks by Donna Kossy. Portland, Feral House 1994.
In Extremis by Bill Babouris. Athens Greece, Survival Kit 1994.
Killing for Culture by David Kerekes. London, Creation Books 1994. Co-author.
Anarchy and the End of History by Mike Gunderloy. New York, Factsheet Five 1991.
Killer Fiction by Sondra London. Atlanta, Media Queen 1991.
Three-Fisted Tales of "Bob" by Ivan Stang. New York, Simon & Schuster 1990.
Pozdravi iz Babilona by KRT. Ljubljana, KRT 1987.

Books including Trevor Blake:

Akashic Record of the Astral Convention by Hakim Bey. Portland, EsoZone 2007.
'Zine by Pagan Kennedy. New York, St. Martin's Press 1995.
The World of Zines by Mike Gunderloy. New York, Penguin Books 1992.
T.A.Z. The Temporary Autonomous Zone by Hakim Bey. New York, Autonomedia 1991.
Loompanics Greatest Hits by Michael Hoy. Port Townsend, Loompanics 1990.
High Weirdness by Mail by Ivan Stang. New York, Simon & Schuster 1988.

Also appearing in periodicals such as ReadyMade, Whole Earth Review, semiotext(e) and Maximum Rocknroll among many others.

Labels: books, ovo, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: One Laptop Per Pirate [LINK-ZUM]

Labels: art, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Milestones [LINK-ZUM]

Today, for the first time in my life, a person significantly younger than me offered me their seat on the bus. I was delighted and declined their offer.

Labels: portland, transportation, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Gallery and Museum updated. [LINK-ZUM]

The OVO Gallery and Museum have been updated.

Labels: art, fight, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Art Exhibit February 2008 [LINK-ZUM]

Sound Grounds Coffee House
3711 Belmont St Portland OR

Thirteen original works by Trevor Blake
February 2008

About Trevor Blake: Born 1 May 1966 Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Since 1992, living in Portland, Oregon USA.

Book including work by Trevor Blake:

* The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack. New York, Thunder's Mouth Press 2006.
* The Journal of Ride Theory Omnibus. Portland, JORT 2003.
* Strange Creations. Los Angeles, Feral House 2001.
* Revelation X. New York, Simon & Schuster 1994.
* Kooks. Portland, Feral House 1994.
* In Extremis. Athens Greece, Survival Kit 1994.
* Killing for Culture. London, Creation Books 1994.
* Anarchy and the End of History. Willimantic, Lysander Spooner 1991.
* Killer Fiction. Atlanta, Media Queen 1991.
* Three-Fisted Tales of "Bob". New York, Simon & Schuster 1990.
* Pozdravi iz Babilona. Ljubljana, KRT 1987.

Books including work about Trevor Blake:

* As a character in 'Zine by Pagan Kennedy.
* As a character in High Weirdness by Mail by Ivan Stang.
* In the acknowledgement to T.A.Z. The Temporary Autonomous Zone by Hakim Bey.
* As a character in Loompanics Greatest Hits by Michael Hoy.

Also appearing in periodicals such as ReadyMade, Whole Earth Review, semiotext(e) and Maximum Rocknroll among many others.

Labels: art, portland, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Self Portrait [LINK-ZUM]

Self portrait, circa 1987. Spray paint and stencil.

Labels: art, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: Kidney Stones [LINK-ZUM]

Photograph of three of the larger fragments of a kidney stone I passed on 27 December 2007.

Labels: art, science, trevorblake

Trevor Blake: The Psycholaedia of Slack at Boing Boing [LINK-ZUM]

I contributed to this book as "Rev. Dr. Uncle Onan Canobite."

Labels: books, subgenius, trevorblake

OVO blog at Mutato Nomine [LINK-ZUM]

Labels: blog, ovo, trevorblake

Trevor Blake in Willamette Week, 14 November 2007 [LINK-ZUM]

Thank you for Adrian Chen's article "Shifting Fortunes." I am glad that Portland has no laws against fortune telling. Fortune telling and psychic powers may or may not exist, and they may or may not be accurate, but even if they don't exist or consistently fail it does no good to outlaw what is wrong. People must be free to try new things, including things that might fail at their cost.

The psychics in your paper might be happy to learn that an easy one million dollars is theirs for the taking if they can demonstrate their powers to the James Randi Educational Foundation (www.randi.org). There are any number of charitable organizations who are in need of this money should the psychics in question not be in it for the money.

- Trevor Blake

Labels: magick, periodical, portland, trevorblake

Trevor Blake at boingboing.net [LINK-ZUM]