Roses are red, violets are blue, the city is rockin’ and so should you! This week offers a number of romantic and erotic events to enhance your Valentine’s Day pleasure.  You can bring your date (or find a new one) as you embark on a Naked Scavenger Hunt, celebrate the power of magic at LoveSpell, dance to Voodoo-infused rhythms with Dances of Vice, or soak up some sensuality at the Steamy Russian Baths.  Remember to email your events to salma((at))souldish((dot))com.

Until next week,
Salma, Jonathan, Renee
http://souldish.com

)))))Souldish Featured Events(((((

===== Friday, February 13=====

Archaic Visions II at Seed Gallery Newark

Experience the archaic through video art, sound, and celebration. Video Art Screening by Mr. Domino, J.H. Miller, More The Chai, Kaliptus Aghori Christ, Lance Sells, and Yoshi Sodeoka. Drum&Bass, jungle, dubstep, electro and psytrance DJs including DJ element, Junglez, Tangled Lysergic Puddles on Celestial Threads, Banned Books, Sun Lotus, Mistress Jade. Sound Performance & Deco by Bioluminescence. Visuals by Archaic Revival with Animation Screenings @10pm. Afterparty until 6am. Doors open at 8p, animation screening at 10p, afterparty until 6am.

Newark Seed Gallery
239 Washington St, Newark, NJ; 917.607.4440
(8p - 6a, $5)
http://www.newarkseed.com
Directions at the newarkseed website
http://newjersey.tribe.net/event/74cc7214-5302-4a08-91c4-7f4b665b990d

=====Saturday, February 14=====

Apocryphon Prouctions Presents “Lovespell” at Yippe Cafe

Come out to the Yippee Museum/Cafe in the  East Village for  “LOVESPELL”, a Valentine’s Day party celebrating the power of love, with a touch of magic. Priestess, Tarot Advisor, Astrologer, and performer Courtney Weber hosts. She will explain the love compatibility of the astrological signs, give Tarot readings and lead a pagan ritual with her group Novices of the Old Ways.  Kiana Love, founder of Kakini Health & Be Wild Woman, will take us on Love Your Body Chakra journey.  Lower East Side art star and former Nerve.com columnist Rev. Jen Miller will discuss Tantric Sex and her new book.  World renowned percussionist Alessandra Belloni offers chants and tambourine stylings in honor of the Goddess of Love.  Other performances include a Heart & Womb dance with healer Diana Ferrante and Be Wild Woman Dancers, Soul Queen Joy Ryder and legendary Jimmy Buffett guitarist John Barlett perform classic rock love songs, and live worldbeat folk and jazz by Rene Collins and Sistermonk.  Organic, fair-trade coffee and juices are available for purchase. Media Sponsors: Reality Sandwich and Souldish.

Schedule of Events
6pm Doors Open - Courtney Weber Tarot Consultations
7:30- 8pm - Alessandra Belloni chants and tambourine in honor of the goddess
7:45-8:30pm - Courtney Weber introduction, stand up astrology and recipes for Love Potions (throughout the night)
8:30pm - Kiana Love healing chakras
9pm - 9:45pm - Rene Collins live folk worldbeat music performance
9:45pm -10:30  Diana Farrante healing dance
10:30 - Rev Jen on Tantra
11pm - Pagan ritual by Novices of the Old Ways
11:30pm -12:15 -  Sistermonk live worldbeat jazz music performance
12:30 - 1:30 - Joy Ryder and John Bartlett classic rock love songs

Yippee Museum/Cafe
9 Bleecker St. btw. Bowery and Elizabeth
(6p, $10 Single, $15 Couple) 18+
$10 Tarot consultations with Courtney Weber from 6-8pm.
http://www.yippiemuseum.org/

)))))Other Events this Week(((((

=====Thursday, February 12=====

Sacred, Symbolic and Creative Geometry

Sacred geometry constitutes a common ground between many of the world’s cultures and traditions. Its language of number and symbol can be used to express profound ideas about the nature of existence.  This course teaches the vocabulary and alphabet of sacred geometry, and shows participants how to use the circle, triangle, square and spiral to construct sacred space. We will draw on patterns from Morocco, the Vedic tradition, stone circles and medieval rose windows and examine the geometry of both living forms and the solar system. Please bring a compass, ruler, pencils and a pad of paper for the drawing exercises.

NY Open Center
83 Spring St. (212) 219-2527
(8p, $80 full program, $22/session)
http://www.opencenter.org/content/view/2268/5/

=====Friday, February 13=====

The Naked at the Met Scavenger Hunt

Join Watson Adventures on a unique, nudity-infused scavenger hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You’ll scrutinize paintings, sculptures, period rooms, sultry sirens, a literally bronzed Adonis, a medieval codpiece, an incontinent Cupid and a randy reveler who’ll make you exclaim, “I never sausage behavior!” No previous experience with art, or nudity, is required. This hunt is for adults only. Advance purchase is required via http://www.watsonadventures.com. Questions? Call 877-9GO-HUNT, but please do not contact the museum directly. Other hunts at 02/14/2009 @ 2pm; 02/14/2009 @ 5:30pm.

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Watson Adventures
1000 5th Ave
(6p, $40.50 students w/valid id $32.50)
http://www.watsonadventures.com

=====Also on Friday=====

Film Screening: Trashed

The American waste stream is fast approaching a half billion tons annually. What are its effects on the environment? Why is so much produced? Who is the most affected by the waste? Informative and thought-provoking, this film investigates the garbage business, showcasing the individuals, activists, corporate and advocacy groups working to change the current unsustainable model.

The Community Church “The Gallery” at John Holmes Haynes Community House
28 East 35th St
(7p - 9p, $5 donation)
http://www.trashedmovie.com/)
http://www.tristatefoodnotlawns.org

=====Also on Friday=====

Alladin Group Presents: Rastaliens Live

Psytrance Line Up:  Rastaliens live, Braincell live, Odieseo, Orbit, Steve-O, Between Devices aka Rafael. Electro Room lineup: Omer Barnea, Cris , Luis & Matias, Mayur. Directions:  Take the L train to Bedford stop and transfer to the 61 bus go down in Greenpoint Ave. Or, take the G train to Greenpoint Ave. 18 to enter 21 to drink with valid ID

Club Exit
149 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn
(10p - 6a, $25 adv $30 door)
http://www.alladinproject.com

=====Also on Friday=====

Bushwick’s “Bounce That Beat”

J. Andrew + Norte Maar are pleased to present Bounce that Beat: Bushwick Art Spaces Stay Open Late. An art stroll of sorts, selected art spaces will stay open late welcoming the public to see real art in real time, This event is sponsored in part by Artcal: The opinionated guide to New York Art Galleries.  We invite all to join us for this event far from the ‘Art World,’ where the art is real and people making it are too.

Participating Brooklyn Art Spaces Include:
Ad Hoc Art, 49 Bogart St, Unit 1G, Buzzer 22
Centotto, 250 Moore St, #108
English Kills, 114 Forrest St
Factory Fresh, 1053 Flushing Ave.
Norte Maar, 83 Wyckoff Avenue, #1B
Pocket Utopia, 1037 Flushing Avenue
Privateer, 476 Jefferson Street, Suite 211
(6p - 10p, Free)
http://www.Nortemaar.org

=====Also on Friday=====

Sweet and Sublime: Kirtan with Damaru and Friends

When spirit enters one’s hands, body, and voice, drumming, drawing, singing, and creating automatically come easy. When a bad day leaves you in your temple praying and asking, “What’s next Lord? How can I make a difference?” this is when answers come! Mine was to sing the Name in that sacred space. Kirtan is that space.  Join us for another special Friday night Kirtan with Damaru and Friends. Delight in Damaru’s sweet melodies and soulful voice accompanied by talented vocalists, percussionists and other musicians.

Integral Yoga Institute
227 West 13th St (btwn 7th & 8th Ave) (212) 929-0586
(8p, $10 suggested donation)
http://www.iyiny.org/workshops_events/kirtan_with_damaru_and

=====Saturday, February 14=====

Dances of Vice: Valentine Voodoo Rhythms

This Valentines Day, take your sweetheart to Dances of Vice (or bring your wistful self), where special guests Ragwater Revue direct from San Francisco are prepared to deliver “a lethal concoction of booze-fueled swamp lust” for this one-night exclusive east coast show with their signature medley of raunchy voodoo-alligator-carnival love songs.  Also featuring devillish New Orleans voodoo jazz from the Stumblebum Brass Band and sensational 1920s tap-dancing pair The Minsky Sisters! Local goth night “SALVATION” will take place directly after Valentine Voodoo Rhythms.  Dress Code: 1920-50s vintage, glamour, film noir, femme fatale, ruffian, circo, decadent, dandy, or evening attire.

Don Hill’s
511 Greenwich St,  @ Spring St
(7p - 11p, $10 with flyer, $15 without flyer) Please mention Souldish…
http://www.dancesofvice.com

=====Also on Saturday=====

Valentine’s Day JourneyDance w/ Trinity at The Barefoot Boogie

On the day of Love- Dance & Celebrate love for yourself and all the beautiful people in your life! Trinity’s contagious enthusiasm will support you in uninhibitedly dancing your full out passion, power, love, sensuality, and bliss.  JourneyDance is a lightly guided transformational & improvisational dance experience through the chakras. It utilizes movement, breath, music and vocalization. The music Trinity plays has hands - it grabs you, possesses you and makes you dance like crazy! Continue the journey with DJ  Doug E. Fresh (aka- Doug Larson). Doug will be spinning an electric mix of high energy and luscious dance music.

The Insight Meditation Center
28 W 27th St. btwn 6th & 7th Ave, 10th flr (Buzzer #27)
(8:30p-10p. Sliding Scale $10-$15)
http://www.thedancingpath.com
e-mail trinitydances@gmail.com

=====Also on Saturday=====

#$@K Off! Warehouse Party @ Refuge

This Valentine’s Day, join Refuge NYC, Sam Black and Newmindspace for a Valentine’s Day Riot at our Brooklyn Refuge as we celebrate the legendary massacre with lust.  Join Baltimore Club legend Scottie B on the 1s and 2s, electro rocking duo Designer Drugs, Brooklyn’s own Theophilus London live, the sexy Roxy Cottontail and the totally rad Dances With White Girls as they bring you UPFRONT dance music all night. Come dressed to titillate and excite as you explore Refuge’s intimate space, an enticing kissing booth, live performance art and installations, and dirty prizes and naughty giveaways. Open Vodka Bar 10 - 11 (http://myspace.com/lowbrowsocietyforthearts)

Refuge NYC
1532 Decatur St. (bet. Irving & Wyckoff Ave.) 516.312.0693;
(9p - 6a, $10 before 12/$15 after) 18+
info@refugenyc.org

=====Also on Saturday=====

Celebration of the Sacred Self: Yoga, Dance, Love & Chocolate fondue at Jivamukti

Celebrate the most important relationship you will ever have in your life: the relationship with your own sacred self. David Life will begin the evening with an opening talk. Luis Davila will lead us in a heart opening 45 minute Jivamukti Yoga class, then we will experience a Chakra rockin’ Journey Dance with Jeanine T. Abraham.  With open hearts and minds, we will transition to the JivamukTea cafe to experience 3 mini-salons and enjoy delicious chocolate fondue & fruit and sweet dippers and non-alcoholic nectars.  For the body: Jofia Ross will share her knowledge of beauty-care, natural products, and give tips to both genders on how to pamper our divine bodies.   For the mind; Jeanine T. Abraham will guide us thru a non-romantic mini eye gazing session, and we will experience the gift of direct eye contact without words with world music playing in the background.  And for the spirit:  AleXandra Phipps will facilitate an open conversation on the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine aspects in us all. We will discuss spiritual transformation, relationships, and how to experience genuine love for your own sacred self.  DJ Ayinde Howell will be spinning world beats to complete the evening.

Jivamukti Yoga School
841 Broadway 2nd fl, at Union Square btwn 13th and 14th St.; (212) 3530214
(7p - 11p, $45 adv - $50 dr, $25 w/valid student’s id)
htp://www.jivamuktiyoga.com

=====Also on Saturday=====

Steamy Valentine’s Night @ Russian Baths

This is the kind of party you always imagine, but can never quite find in real life…and may be the only one where you’ll come out cleaner than when you came in. Gemini & Scorpio, “Online Dating Eminences” and Offline Party Mavens invite you for a steamy Valentine’s night at the Russian Baths. This will be a steamy dance night at a real Russian Banya with live gypsy music, dancing and free vodka and pierogies for all. Whether single or coupled, straight or gay, you can have the steamiest bikini-clad dance party night of your life. We will have the newly remodeled & sparkling clean baths to ourselves, with every steam room and sauna ready to please, plus a few hand-picked professionals on hand for the optional platzas and massages. There are three levels and multiple rooms to the space: Russian, Turkish and Swedish steam rooms, jacuzzi and cold plunge pool; the poolside lounge and the dance floor; hookah lounge and energy healing room upstairs; plus the rooftop smoking deck.  Admission Details:  VIP admission: $75 - Early admission to the baths starting at 7pm with access to your own locker and a full-blown multi-course Russian feast at 8pm, plus the vodka open bar.  Regular admission: $55 - Full admission to the baths starting at 9pm with access to a shared locker, plus the vodka open bar.  Discounted admission: $35 - Late admission to the baths at 11pm with coat check only.

Banya
602 Coney Island Ave, Kensington, Brooklyn
7p -  2a, $35 - $75 please read listing for details)
http://www.geminiandscorpio.com/events.html

=====Also on Saturday=====

Big Valentine’s Day Date with Wigs and Car Parts (School of Rock, NJ)

Wigs and Car Parts is a stunning musical collective of teens from North Jersey who surprised everyone @ last year’s EVOLVEFEST by playing one of the hottest sets at the festival. W&CP met at the School of Rock in Bergen County, New Jersey, a program that has given them the opportunity to open for many famous bands such as Leslie West and Mountain, Peter Frampton, and Grand Funk Railroad. W&CP are bringing their well-studied rock n’ roll to the Gristmill Cafe on Valentine’s Day. Find that someone who rocks your world and together come out to enjoy The Big Valentine’s Day Date. Hosted by Dave Bryson of Evolvefest

Gristmill Cafe
4a Lenape Rd.
Andover, NJ; 973-786-6400
(7p - 12a, $6)

=====Also on Saturday=====

Valentine’s Day Partner Yoga Workshop

Explore, connect, move & breathe through partner yoga! Moving through yoga postures, pranayama breath work, chakra energy balancing and meditation, you will open up to experience a deeper connection to your physical and energetic body. Playing with acro yoga and learning hands on adjustments, you will support one another in poses to develop trust and cultivate a new way of communicating.  Partner yoga is a wonderful way to enhance your relationship with a friend or partner.  This workshop will be accessible for all levels. It is a great opportunity to get your boyfriend, wife, parent or best friend to try out yoga. Preregistration required.

Westbeth Art Loft ~ West Village
55 Bethune St. Loft H215 (2nd floor) at Washington St. (480) 233-8528
(1p - 4p, $70/couple suggested donation)
RSVP at AbbyPaloma@gmail.com or tammy@getselfcentered.com

=====Also Saturday=====

Lovefest ‘09

We really do love you. We want to throw you a party, a really good one! This is a gift to our friends, and a gift to the community. Won’t you come out and dance with us? With DJs Velour, Friar Tuck, Jon Margulies, Butterface, Paul Diggs, and Dee Bass.

Smoochdome’s Secret Spot
(10p - 6a,
http://www.smoochdome.org/lovefest/

=====Monday, February 16=====

“Better you Life” classes with Peter Roth

These classes are designed to help see how our lives are patterned and dominated by unconscious limitations. Techniques will be offered for students to tap into their hidden agendas and decipher the constraints to their success.  Our shadows are what we are uncomfortable with yet they play an important role in our personalities. The class will help you identify your shadows to be able to heal them. Peter can use his computer to identify your shadows as revealed in the Divine Design system based on your birth data. For him to do this, you’ll have to call at least 24 hours ahead of time in order to make this happen.  Come to a class that will show you how to reach inward to the vast stretches of the Universe and the greater consciousness of your soul. Please visit his web site for a schedule of Monday night classes.

Call or email for location and reservations 212-222-7748 or peter@heartriver.org
Upper West Side
(7:30 - 9p, $25)
http://www.heartriver.org

=====Tuesday, February 17=====

Sex Ed Master Class w/Playgirl’s Jamye Waxman - Double Your Pleasure

Join other ladies with Moxie for a fun Girls Night Out. Sorry boys, women only. Enjoy great drink specials while you mingle with other ladies.  You can attend just to network and meet other women and make friends or stay for our sexy Master Class Sex Ed Salon. The Master Class includes: Moxie’s handjob handjive lesson, positions to improve and increase your pleasure, the G-spot & how to increase and improve your orgasms, dirty talk, STD’s & how to ask for his sexual history.  Admission includes drink specials and the master class.

Solas
232 E 9th St
7:30p sharp -9p, $25 pre-paid)
Register and Pay Here:  http://moxieinthecity

=====Also on Tuesday=====

Shamanic Film Festival  Featuring Walkabout (1971)

Nicolas Roeg’s mystical masterpiece chronicles the physical, spiritual, and emotional journey of a sister and brother abandoned in the harsh Australian outback. Joining an Aborigine boy on his walkabout-a tribal initiation into manhood-these modern children pass from innocence into experience as they are thrust from the comforts of civilization into the savagery of the natural world.  No reservation required.

Anne-Katrin Spiess Home
622 Greenwich Street, Apt 6A (bet. Leroy & Morton Sts)
For more info call Tom Donley 917.686.4385 or Itzhak 212-533-0909
(7p, $ )
http://www.nyshamaniccircle.org/

=====Also Tuesday and Wednesday=====

Medeski Martin & Wood

This wonderful trio will play three highly exclusive engagements in New York City. It’s been awhile since MMW have played in Manhattan and they are excited to be back.  Come witness their downtown tour. February 17 at the 92Y TriBeCA and an acoustic night on February 18 at Le Poisson Rouge.

More details:
http://www.medeskimartinandwood.com

=====Friday, February 20=====

Sizzling South America

Get sloshed while exploring the richest of South American culture. Enjoy Chilean and Argentine wine and a special behind the scenes viewing of Colombian artist Alexis Duque’s stunning new exhibit El Dorado.  Duque will be on-hand to respond to questions about his thrilling oeuvre and Praxis gallery staff savant Jodie Dinapoli will give us the skinny on South American art.  At 8pm we’ll head off to Triangulo, another Chelsea jewel with its classic bar and mirrored dance floor. John Keller will give us a demonstration on how to make caipirinhas and caipiuvas. We’ll drink a few, of course, and then settle in cozily for a tango demonstration by the talentosa Carina Moeller.  This is the perfect event for couples, singles and friends looking to meet new people and heat things up. Advanced tickets only.

Meet at Praxix International Art
5 E 73rd St  3rd Fl
Tickets available at www.citydusk.com
http://www.citydusk.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=73

)))))Upcoming(((((

=====Sunday, March 1=====

Sacred Warrior Training with Jonathan Phillips

A sacred warrior is one who walks in harmony with the divine force of the universe, leading from the heart on our journey to remember universal oneness.  This workshop will teach you how to sense and work with the body’s electromagnetic fields (aura) and manifest more confidence, health, love, and abundance in your life. We will incorporate the wisdom of yoga, Reiki, shamanism, and the ancient Gnostics to access our own divine energy as we become conscious creators bringing about personal and spiritual transformation in our world. Exercises include polarity work, kundalini meditations, chanting, and interactive heart openings. We will also journey into the shadow self, acknowledging its lessons for overcoming our own fears, then take that knowledge to let in our own divine power and grace.  This workshop is ideal for people who are feeling held back or want an added boost toward reaching the next step in their lives.

This is the first class in a series.  The next Sacred Warrior Training will be Sunday, April 19.

Jonathan Phillips is a Reiki Master and Founder of the NYC Gnostics.  He is the Community Director of Evolver.net and Reality Sandwich, as well as the Executive Editor of Souldish.com.  He hosts “Electric Jesus” podcasts, discussing energy, healing, and transformation.

Jivamukti Yoga School
841 Broadway, 2nd Fl
(4:30-6:30pm, $35adv, $40 door)
http://jivamuktiyoga.com/fms/event_fm.html

=====Saturday, March 7 & Sunday, March 8=====

Shamanism and the Family Constellations

Transform the destructive patterns that bind you and unlock your true potential.  Workshop with Danuta Jirik, Ph.D.  The hidden dynamics behind many of our problems are rooted in our family history. The unconscious family patterns determine how we think of ourselves, how we choose to live, who we choose to live with, how we relate to others, and how much happiness we allow ourselves. The unresolved traumas and suffering of our parents and ancestors continue to live in our bodies and become our symptoms. Viewed in this light, failed relationships, addictions, emotional pain, illness and lack of success can all be forms of unspoken family loyalty.  As you participate in your own or someone else’s constellation, you will experience deep movements of the spirit-mind that bring together what has been separated, include what has been excluded, and restore wholeness. These movements arise from the “knowing field” and are guided by divine love. You will listen to and trust and move with the inner promptings of the great soul, and be in service of healing for each other and for the ancestors and for the world.  To register, contact Elizabeth Blake Brackbill at 914-980-4800.

New York West Village, 55 Bethune St.
(SW corner of  Washington St) (apt h215)
(10a - 4m both days, $240 suggested donation)
(914) 980-4800 lizzblake@gmail.com

)))))Ongoing(((((

=====January 28 - March 11=====

DreamLab

A Seven Session Workshop Exploring the Alchemical Process of Turning Dreams and Visions Into Reality.  Clarify your vision.  Elevate your power.  Energize your field.  Learn tools and practices to align your life with your vision and to attract what your heart yearns for through experiential exercises, ritual, and meditation drawing on Shamanic, Eastern, and Western traditions. Weekly on Wednesdays (7 Sessions) January 28th - March 11th, 2009.  Joey Levine is one of the leaders of the New York Shamanic Circle; founder of Earth Spirit Walks, outdoor shamanic workshops reconnecting people to the cycles, rhythms and energies of the Earth; and founder of DreamLab.

Downtown Manhattan
Joey Levine (917) 548-7073; RSVP earthspirit@optonline.net
(8p-10p, $200)
http://www.nyshamaniccircle.org/

=====Mondays/Fridays=====

FluidForm - Breathing, Movement & Sound for Transformation,

FluidForm is an integration of breath awareness, vocal release and organic movement that originates from ancient practices, Hawaiian and Egyptian Temple dances, and Yoga postures. This will assist individuals in moving through life with greater ease and with conscious awareness. You will be guided to explore and express your inner wisdom and to deepen into each movement according to your own particular needs. Breath and sound will carry you into your unlimited potential to be your magnificent self as we share and create joyful connection with our bodies and each other. Sign up in advance as class size is limited to 8 participants.  Mondays, February 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd: Time: 7 - 8:30 pm.  Fridays, 6th, 13th, 27th & March 6th: 11am - 12:30pm.

Location: META Center NY
214 W. 29th St (btwn. 7th & 8th Aves.) 16th Flr. 212-736-0999 x 1
(Mondays 7-8:30p, Fridays 11a- 12:30p, $18)
http://www.metacenterny.com

=====Mondays=====

Etsy Craft Night

Dust off your crafty pants and come join Etsy for their weekly Craft Night at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. Each week the Etsy Labs organize a skill-sharing project, providing supplies, tools, snacks, and know-how. Participants are also welcome to bring their own project to work on. Craft night is a time to make things, learn new skills, and hang out. This week they’ll be embroidering cards. Create thank you cards for all those thoughtful friends who spoiled you this holiday season or get started on your valentines!

Etsy Labs Brooklyn
325 Gold St., 3rd flr, Bklyn
(4p - 8p, Free)
http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/

=====Tuesdays=====

Yoga at Seed Gallery

Yoga comes from a sanskrit word that means yoke or union.  Joni Wellness will share her experience and guide the class. Joni is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor with special expertise in hands-on assists, yoga therapeutics, Pre-Natal, and more. She has been practicing and teaching yoga in the lyengar system since 1970, and apprenticed with Master Yoga Instructor Aadil Palkhivala, one of Iyengar’s longtime students from India.

Seed Gallery
239 Washington Street
Newark, NJ; 9176074440
(7:30p - 9p, $)
seedgallery@mac.com
http://www.newarkseed.com

===3rd Thursdays=====

Handmade Music

Part party, part mixer, part Science Fair, and part performance, this is an informal chance for geeksters and the geek-curious to come together, relax, and discover new sounds. The evening is a gathering of inventors of new instruments & music technology. Featuring circuit-bent toys, custom software and patches, interactive digital & visual instruments, custom electronics, electricity-powered noisemakers, DIY robots and new acoustic instruments. And it’s open to everyone from hard-core hackers & newcomers to music lovers who want to learn about the DIY music scene.

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Ave. at the corner of Stagg St. in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
(7:30 - 10:30, varies)
http://www.3rdward.com/about/operation

)))))Artists(((((

Special Message from Allyson and Alex Grey:

Everyday Alex and I say a list of affirmations for all our many wishes and desires.   One of these affirmations for the past year has been: “Art Psalms is a great success selling 5,000 copies in the first six months of release.” The book is a great success. It’s beautiful, profound and flying off the shelves this Christmas.  It makes a great gift book to share with deep like-minded friends.  Random House took 80% of the first edition off our hands to sell. Everyday an average of 5,000 people visit cosm.org and alexgrey.com.   Everyday. If each visitor inspired enough to seek out the website bought just a single Art Psalms book for themselves from the alexgrey.com or cosm.org online store, signed by the author, how many days would it take to raise enough money to build the Chapel, a sacred site that represents love and inclusiveness?  You might be interested to know that for $25 per person, the cost of one book, at an average of 5,000 per day, in just 100 days CoSM would have $12,500,000.  Twelve and a half million dollars — more than enough to build the actual chapel and own the land on which it stands. In just 100 days. Let’s give it a year — three and a half times that. Buy an Art Psalms book for yourself and one for a friend or family member whom you feel might resonate with this work.  Damn — buy a case if you can afford to.   It will be a special bond and a bridge with every person you give it to.  It takes a community to build a Chapel.   Join us in this historic outreach to build a legacy.

Alex and Allyson Grey

=====Support Figment 2009=====

Plans for 2009
The 2009 FIGMENT event has been scheduled for June 12-14. Please help us to expand FIGMENT and our summer-long programs next year, so that we can reach even more people, and showcase the work of even more artists. Here are a few ways that we are hoping to expand in 2009:

* Increase the size of the FIGMENT event, accommodating more artwork and a larger volunteer staff
* Provide more sound equipment for bands and performers
* Provide clearer signage and wayfinding (more visible maps, etc.)
* Expand the City of Dreams Mini-Golf Course from 9 to 18 holes
* Increase the number of summer-long installations and exhibits
* Invest in our website and our arts management database

Since we do not accept corporate sponsorship, FIGMENT and our summer-long programs can only happen if we receive support in the form of grants and individual contributions from supporters like you. The FIGMENT event and our programs will scale in proportion to the support we re2ceive.

Please make a donation and help us sustain and grow FIGMENT and our programs! Follow this link to donate: http://figmentnyc.org/donate.

)))))Links(((((

http://www.horizonsnyc.org
Horizons is a annual forum for learning about psychedelics. It is hosted by Judson Memorial Church in New York City. Its goal is to open a fresh dialogue about psychedelics and rethink their role in medicine, culture, history, spirituality and art.

http://www.archive.org/details/Horizons2008
The Horizons talks are now available in audio format online

http://www.tristatefoodnotlawns.org
I hear it all the time, from many quarters, that magic word “hope.” Indeed, we stand at the brink of a new administration in Washington, one that explicitly promotes hope along side another favorite buzzword, change. “Hope” was even in the title of our new president’s book, “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.” But an even stronger word hovers just out of range, barely below the surface, but suggested so forcefully by that very title. That word is denial. -wburke