Life's been interesting lately and although I haven't updated this blog in a while, I have been very busy. Home Free Organization is moving right along and in fact, will be the cover story of the newest College of Charleston Magazine "Alumni Issue" in the following weeks. In addition to this, I've been working hard with the Loftninja on some commercial space and taking a LOT of photos, now that I'm back in NYC. My good buddy Ras Dave, reggae/roots/dancehall vocalist extraordinaire has been visiting Brooklyn and we've been taking quite a bit of photos for is new album. Ras Dave has a new social network that I encourage all reggae and dancehall lovers to join. If this isn't enough, I've been working close with M. Sayyid of Anti-Pop Consortium with imagery and video for some upcoming projects. You can check out SayyidAirborn blog for the latest updates.
[above: Ras Dave of Dub Island Soundsystem/below: M.Sayyid]
Home Free Organization is my latest endeavor and although I haven't posted to this blog in some time, you can see that I've been working hard elsewhere in the blogosphere on Home Free Org Blog and helping the Loftninja with Ninjalist a little bit here and there. With that said, I thought that it is about time to share some information about the new initiative with my readers on this blog, as you guys are a bit more familiar with my background in anthropology and real estate and might like to know where all of this came from. A new nonprofit initiative such as Home Free is a difficult thing to not only orchestrate, but to create as well. That is why it took me this long (since the original idea back in 2006) to put into action. Nevertheless, ending homelessness on some real level is one of the most important issues plagueing the country and the world today, thus my motivation for not only doing my part but hopefully something far greater.
What is Home Free Organization?
Home Free Organization is a non-profit initiative to eradicate homelessness in urban environments through the provision of free wireless internet, social networking and resource allotment. We take donated bread trucks which have come off route and add donated computers and hardware to create mobile wireless access hubs for homeless individuals to utilize for finding family, jobs, resources and ways off the street. The goal is simple: Provide a resource for the homeless which will allow them to find ways off the street. Of course there are many who prefer the streets to a 9-5 and home life, but for those who are stuck and cannot find there way, Home Free will provide the tools to try. We give every visitor an email address to be used for networking and contact. We provide a focused set of search engines geared toward geneology, people searching, available jobs and other resources available to homeless individuals. Finding the Home Free Truck will be easy, as we will be providing the streets with an 800 number that can be called from any public phone to give the exact location of the truck. It could be at Union Square in Manhattan or Downtown Brooklyn. (via our Facebook Page)
First of all, Home Free is unlike any other nonprofit dedicated to the cause of helping the homeless. Let me preface this explanation with the fact that using the word 'homeless' when referring to those who live in the streets makes me cringe. That is why I officially changed it to "home-free" in the dictionary a few weeks ago. Just yesterday, the Loftninja had another word, "home-o-phobic" published.
One of the biggest reasons why I feel most ideas and projects who address this issue miss the mark is due to the fact that rarely can you find one that meets those who it seeks to help on their own terms or even somewhere in the middle. First, you must not intimidate those who you are trying to help or you will never see them up at the plate. Second, you must be sensitive to their real needs and concerns (such as privacy and security). And third, you must be willing to go a step further than what your organization specializes in so to offer actual assistance and support. What do I mean by this? Well lets see...
Home Free Organization uses 100% donated materials that are largely preowned and previously used. For example, we only utilize used bread trucks as our support vehicle as opposed to big shiny new trucks that might otherwise intimidate a person living on the streets. No one in that position would be keen on the idea of seeking help from a resource that appears to be created and supported by a government entity- and surely would not like the idea of having officials of any sort sifting through thier personal information and search data. As for the computers that we use, they are and will be donated, formatted and reappropriated as well in order to preserve the privacy of both the donar and the user. Home Free visitors will be given their own personal USB thumbdrive which can be used each time they visit one of the Home Free Trucks and once they leave, all of their data will be erased from their visit, insuring that the next visitor will not have access to the personal information of the person before them.
Home Free Organization is an entirely extensible nonprofit initiative. A friend told me the other day that HFO "is like Firefox and every other nonprofit in the world is like its add-ons." We are in the process of recruiting professionals from many different fields such as psychology, drug and alcohol treatment and social sciences such as sociology and of course anthropology. In addition, many volunteers that have stepped up have backgrounds in hair styling, fashion and culinary. When an individual comes to us in need of help finding a job, we not only teach them how and where to search, we find them clothes to wear to an interview, cut their hair for them, take headshots and help them actually get that job. We provide them with a mailing address and an email address and in many cases, connect them with one of the services that are offered for providing phones and voicemail.
Home Free Organization Donation Flyer (please print and pass along):
You can find Home Free Organization on your favorite social
networks such as Facebook, Myspace,
Behance Network and yes, Twitter.
Please be sure to visit us there and drop your thoughts for
the world to see.
Last night, under the fullest moon of the year 2009, I ventured into the woods of Charleston, SC in search of White Boy Crazy and a place called Fantasy Place- what turned out to be the best 1000 square foot cardboard castle i'd ever been in.
I managed to find both and here are my thoughts on the matter: You gotta hand it to White Boy Crazy, an underground-ish rap group comprised of a few of my homies (who will go nameless in this post) echoing the sounds of pre-rap Beastie Boys, mixed with persona switching styles only matched by the likes of Kool Keith and uh.. and Kierkegaard? In any case....label this what you will. If you like hardcore rap mixed with glorified stupidity and chop-your-ass up killer (original) lyrics, with beats pumping from the fingers of a Giant Gorilla and a demonic bird man topped off with lyrics from a Micheal Myers-like rapper spewing words that could only come from hell...you will love White Boy Crazy.
These guy are definitely among my favorites to see these days...I would love to say that its just "good clean fun" but its not. Its dirty fun. Who knew it was possible to have a blast such as this in Charleston, SC? Rap terrorists, oysters, cardboard castles, beer and love...what more could you ask for? I just wish i could have a Fantasy Place built in NYC...any ideas?
White Boy Crazy creates a uniquely original fusion of punk, rap, halloween and well...um..let's just say it was interesting. Watch the videos and tell me what you think. I was reminded of how the other day i saw a button that said "Punk isn't dead..it just sucks now." I thought of this last night as i watched White Boy Crazy rip up the stage and tear through the crowd, all within the confines of a 40+ foot cardboard castle, affectionately called "Fantasy Place." If you could find the place you were lucky...and must have been pretty resourceful to do so. Charleston folk sure know how to throw a party...
In any case, without further ado, I give you some of the videos i shot from the show.
While going through archives, I stumbled across quite a few really interesting shots that I've taken around Brooklyn in reverse negative. They make for some pretty haunted looking photos. A few of these are just flat out creepy looking. Here are a few examples:
"closed"
Police Precinct near BQE in Williamsburg
Haunted Loft Building
Off Morgan Avenue...i actually took this photo in 2004
Brooklyn is a wild place to photograph and over time I have shot quite a few panos (previously mentioned here) and stitched landscapes. In an album that I call "Space" you can see many places that no longer exist, lofts that have been destroyed to make way for condos and entire buildings that have been sacrificed to gentrification. I've seen a lot of interiors and too many exteriors to count and lucky for you, prints are available. Take a look at the album and if you see something that you would like to have as a high res print, follow the instructions at the bottom of the first page. If you would like more information about the location of any image in particular, drop a comment below. Let's remember Brooklyn of yesterday together...
Obamarama will be the next "not to miss" event in NYC! On October 17th, there will be a party and silent auction at the The Bell House in Brooklyn and it will feature such acts as Dragons of Zynth, TAKKA TAKKA, Cassettes Won't Listen (DJ) and my buddies, the newly reunited Anti-Pop Consortium (their myspace page). The event is being held to benefit the efforts of Barack Obama and his upcoming election. This is what Create Change NYC had to say about the nature of the auction:
A silent auction of fine art, photographs, fashion, design goods and
services will be held throughout the evening. Bid on items from Albert
Watson, Art Streiber, George Pitts, Lewis Cho, Patrick Ervell, Inhabit,
Mike Perry, Rachel Mason, Mariah Robertson, Other Music and many others.
NOTE: A donation of $25 or more to the Obama campaign is required to attend
this event. Donations will be accepted at the door, or can be made in
advance through our group's fund-raising page.(more information on site). Personally, i think its worth $25 just to see Anti-Pop....but that's just me. The Bell House is located in Gowanus, Brooklyn at 149 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Take F, R, M to 4th Ave/9th Street stop.
Artvertisements and Real Estate Art by the original NYC UNrealtor, The LoftNinja Visit http://ninjalist.blogspot.com for listings and other real estate madness in Brooklyn. 862-438-5638
Various places in space with faces we chase
wasting time like lime wires and square tires flat-
look at where you're at-
now grab that.
all images are exclusive copyright of Justin Farrow 2002-2006
for prints or licensing, please write to me
justinycgmailDOTcom
Jon Brownstoner The ultimate go-to blog for the latest news on Brooklyn real estate developments and property gossip, hosted by my good buddy "Jon Brownstoner"
