Stuff I'm doing this summer: a poetry series, computer dance, and lots of weddings!

Experiments in Revision: Poetry

You know how it feels to write or make a first draft of something, then rework it until it shines like the top of Chrysler Building? You know how you kind of want to burn that first draft, so that no one will ever know the embarrassing wreckage of over-obvious, trite, and self indulgent ideas you have put down to the page only to be edited out? Well imagine that that first draft gets published online for everyone to read. That's the foundation of The Splinter Generation's Experiments in Revision series. Seeing as no one else was self-effacing and brave enough to undergo this grueling process they chose me! Over the months of June and July they are publishing a series of poems I have written, which culminate in one final (hopefully) awesome poem, which demonstrates that I did learn something after all. Apart from my own scattered first poem attempt I explore my Tanka, List Poem, and hybrid poem styles.  You can read the latest poem here. Keep your eyes on Splinter Generation, who will be posting the follow up poem and my process post over the summer. When I'm not writing poems I also write articles for Shamonica Magazine on music, tech, and design.

She Was a Computer: Play

She Was a Computer is a super funny tech-rich theater/dance piece from the masterful mind of Cara Rose DeFabio. I can't tell you what I'll be doing exactly, except to say that I think I am having a conversation WITH a computer on stage. Here is a bit on the piece: Drawing text from obsolete operational manuals, cyborg feminist theory and artificial intelligence programs, She Was A Computer looks for historical perspective on our current online identity issues. Record players, rotary telephones, and even the audience’s cell phones will be used for this interactive investigation of how technology affects our social selves. @ Counterpulse Theater in SF: JUL 20-22, FRI-SUN at 8PM, JUL 22 matinee at 2PM

 Lots of Weddings!

The funny thing about my thirtys is it seems like EVERYONE is getting married now and whats more, it seems like they all want to get married this year. Maybe its the whole Mayan Calendar thing or the Global Warming crisis, but whatever it is, it seems like people are eager to tie the knot before we say farewell to 2012. What does that mean for me? I get to drink free wine and make a lot of wedding mix tapes and DJ the receptions. Well the DJing thing is really just this weekend, so far, but there is some serious celebrating that is going to have to happen between now and December. Since not all my friends are invited to every wedding, I am DJing in the everyday world for the rest of you. Check out me and DJ Lady Bacon at Bacon/Styxx at St Mary's Pub every third Saturday of the month.

Nailzz

I'm also getting weirdly way into nail art. Inspired by this tutorial from Taylor Watson of Party Nails I took to painting my nails like a bat out of you know. Anyway, below are a few designs I have painted recently.

That pretty much sums up the fun stuff about my summer. So drop me a line, email, or Facebook if you want to connect!

The Long Walk: An Invitation to Explore A San Francisco Food Desert

Unequal access to healthy food based on income and specifically within low-income neighborhoods is a huge problem in America. 2.3 million Americans live over a mile away from a grocery store without access to a vehicle. This has created something known as a “Food Desert” where entire low-income neighborhoods are under-served in access to the basic human right of healthy, unprocessed food. People living in low-income areas spend significantly more time (19.5 minutes) traveling to the grocery store than the national average (15 minutes) according to the USDA. The USDA has also created this Food Desert Locator, albeit somewhat inaccurate as it does not take into account corner stores with fresh fruit and vegetables, it is still a step in the right direction.

To examine these inequalities I am creating a performance walk and interactive mapping project. “The Long Walk” will focus on the Hunters Point Food Desert that exists on local level, within the San Francisco community. This piece will combine a two and a half mile walk and shopping trip from the center from Hunter’s Point Hill to the Super Save Market and back, combined with an interactive web map recording the experience. At the market, which is the closest market to the center of Hunter's Point, I will purchase enough food for three days meals and carry the groceries back on foot.

You are invited to walk with me. 

The walk will act as metaphor for labor and duration. I want to express the labor and work it takes residents of low-income neighborhoods to access healthy food, that is so much more accessible to those that live in better serviced neighborhoods. While we walk I will document the  four mile walk with geo-located photography and journaling. I will also record the number of steps we take and create step markers every 500 steps on the map. Our pictures, thoughts and memories will be captured and mapped the published on the web.

Meet me at 12 noon on Sunday April 29th @ Kirkwood Ave @ Earl Street

The Long Walk starts at 12:20 and we should be back to the Hunters Point starting point by 3pm.

Bring comfortable shoes, a cellphone or camera and water.

For more info email niki@nikiselken.com  or call 415.692.1322