Posts: 179

1. 

   Ricochet: Old Ugly Beauty

   07.Jul.08, 13:00 EDT
   
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   In Red Hook, Brooklyn, there is delight in decay
   
   Rusted and collapsing, this complex transport system used to run from a sugar factory out to cargo ships. Now, the factory is kaput, the cargo ships pass by, and day by day, this ruin changes shape. Hobbling on its knees, it falls deeper into the bay. Can you find a sweetness in this landscape?
   
   The concept for the video series, "Ricochet: Thought to Idea," is pretty simple. I shoot images and match them with my spoken-word pieces: funny stories about something that really happened, or an abstract concoction of things that bounce through my mind. They're little art videos that make you think. (By the way, what are you thinking right now?)
   
   Juliana Luecking, aka QueenJuliana, is a MOLI View videomaker and contributing editor for Life & Love.
   
   

2. 

   Street Diplomacy

   02.Jul.08, 13:00 EDT
   
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   Aw, c'mon, be nice!
   
   I was on my way to my office a few days ago, thinking about going to the bag store on Broadway and 10th Street while crossing the street. A few folks were ahead of me when a taxi horn started blaring. I jumped out of my skin because the taxi was so close to hitting me before it suddenly stopped. Then I was pissed off. We had the signal to cross and the taxi was making a right turn but needed to yield to pedestrians. I turned around to catch the driver's eye as he rolled down the window to yell at me, I'm sure. I shouted, with conviction, "Aw, be nice!"

   
   He looked at me and grimaced, then his passengers — having expected a fight —looked from him to me. He said nothing, but tilted his head and gave me a funny look. And then, I turned around to walk away. And, besides a few comments from the other pedestrians to me like, "He's crazy!" and "What was he doing?", that was the end of that. No name-calling, no cursing, no getting out of the taxi swinging a baseball bat — believe me, I've seen that happen more than once. I assume the driver then made his right turn down East 11th Street, and hopefully cooled his jets before he made his next right turn. Me? I continued down the block and bought a bright red messenger bag.
   
   I suppose what I just described can be seen as one of the simplest forms of disputes, but wouldn't it be a relief if we could resolve more things in that way? Simply put, when confronted by conflict, if we ask one another for a change of heart, and then we move on, we may find that a peaceful resolution is just around the corner, so to speak.
   
   There are times when you have taken matters into your own hands, right? What works best for you? (Please share your insights because, hey, you never know, maybe Zimbabwean President Mugabe could take your lead. Or maybe Robert Egan, a New Jersey BBQ joint owner and unofficial diplomat with North Korea, will chime in.)
   

   
   Juliana Luecking, aka Queen Juliana, is a MOLI View contributing editor for Life & Love.
   
   

3. 

   Ricochet: Decrepit

   30.Jun.08, 13:00 EDT
   
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   When the past and present merge
   
   Say you're eating your lunch in a historical building turned modern yuppie supermarket. Can you sometimes feel a ghostly presence of past events, right there in the cafe? Or, say you're walking along a pier, talking on your cellphone, but you stop in your tracks because you feel a wave of odd energy? Maybe it's just me, but I'm curious if it happens to you, too.
   
   The concept for the video series, "Ricochet: Thought to Idea," is pretty simple. I shoot images and match them with my spoken-word pieces: funny stories about something that really happened, or an abstract concoction of things that bounce through my mind. They're little art videos that make you think. (By the way, what are you thinking right now?)
   
   Juliana Luecking, aka QueenJuliana, is a MOLI View videomaker and contributing editor for Life & Love.
   
   

4. 

   People Are a Trip: Dynell

   27.Jun.08, 13:00 EDT
   
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   This gentleman speaks from the heart
   
   I caught up with Dynell at a street fair where he was handing out safe-sex kits. Soft-spoken and sincere, he talked with me about war and peace.
   
   "People Are a Trip" is a video series shot with a crew of one (me!) in New York City. I do spontaneous interviews with people on the street and with influential underground musicians. They answer my blunt questions with the truth of the moment. They are hilarious. No, poetic. Well, maybe quite philosophical.
   
   Juliana Luecking, aka QueenJuliana, is a MOLI View videomaker and contributing editor for Life & Love.

5. 

   Love and Boxes

   25.Jun.08, 13:00 EDT
   
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   Help! Where do we put it all?
   
   We came. We built. We destroyed. Well, actually, we sold stuff, cleared space, painted, packed, and our friends moved my lovely girlfriend from her apartment to mine. Yes, two tag sales bagged us $500., the fabulous lemon-icing paint looks great in the living room and, our sex-life is even better on a new mattress! But when we woke up groggy the morning after after moving day, after we threw away the pizza boxes and recycled the beer bottles, we looked around and what did we see?
   

   
   Eighty-five boxes of stuff to unpack. Sigh.
   
   Now, it's cool stuff: great art, funky dishes, major pots-and-pans, and heady books galore. Honestly, I know the place is going to be grand — someday. However, my BFF told me that it took her boyfriend a whole year for him to unpack all his boxes. Another friend suggested we unpack two boxes a night, every night after work. Gradually, the job will get done.
   
   Okay, right, but before we can unpack my GF's monstrous collection of kitchenware, we have to hang some cabinets and create more storage room in the kitchen. So, I'll be learning how to fasten objects to a wall, and the difference between a metal toggle bolt and a lead masonry wall anchor. Also, we have to reinforce the bookshelves and get some wood glue on the antique table. And, we really should paint the bathroom.
   
   Oy!
   
   Oh, and I've been searching Craigslist — a great resource —for used cabinets. (Bonus for buying used furniture: it's already assembled!) We'll also be checking out Brooklyn Flea for the first time this weekend. The Flea is a curated market in a gigantic schoolyard, and besides folks bartering and selling their wares, there are phenomenal Latin American vendors selling the most delicious tacos and huaraches. Sometimes there is a unique marching band trailing through the market, too.
   

   
   We'll be out there, but we should be unpacking all weekend, hm? What would you do?
   
   Juliana Luecking, aka Queen Juliana, is a MOLI View contributing editor for Life & Love.