Photos by G.

Hotel Chelsea on 23rd Street in New York.

I’ve been to the Chelsea Hotel in New York many times.  There used to be a really fun club in the basement on Friday nights, I’ve had friends stay there and I’ve even done a photo shoot there.  I’ve heard so many stories about the incredible things that have taken place at the legendary hotel in New York.  To name a few things – Nancy Spungen was murdered in Room 100 (whether or not Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols killed her is a debate that will probably rage on forever); Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001 – A Space Odyssey here, Janis Joplin allegedly gave Leonard Cohen head and was immortalized in a song (Chelsea Hotel #2 by Leonard Cohen) here and countless artists and rockers have stayed at the hotel from Jimi Hendrix to Edith Piaf to Bob Dylan and Dylan Thomas to the Happy Famous Artists.  You can read all kinds of great information about the hotel and legends of the hotel here.  Last night was my first occasion to spend the night at the Chelsea Hotel and what an experience it was!

You definitely have to take a trip to the 10th floor and walk down the staircase to the first floor.  Artists that have stayed at the hotel have left behind paintings they’ve made in this building and the hotel has put them up on the walls.  To view the Chelsea Hotel art gallery, you have to be a guest, so definitely check in for at least one night for this experience. 

Fire Extinguisher that the Happy Famous Artists have visited.

The fire extinguisher pictured above was visited by and possibly used by the Happy Famous Artists as they left behind stickers to commemorate their visit.  I know they are big fans of this blog, so perhaps they can share the story of the night they used this fire extinguisher! 

Ghosts in the Chelsea Hotel?

As we walked from floor to floor, we were especially drawn in by the cold draft on the 5th floor and walking around that particular floor gave me the creeps in a way that I can’t really describe other than to say if the twin girls from the movie “The Shining” would have walked down the hall, it wouldn’t have shocked me one bit.  We also walked by Room 100 and to our surprise the door was open and people were living in there.  I did not ask for a private tour, but I did get to sneak a quick peek inside the room and I am happy to report, I didn’t see any heroin usage or blood as I scanned the room.  I cannot promise you’ll see ghosts or have crazy dreams or even get the inspiration to create your masterpiece from staying at the Chelsea Hotel, but if you want to connect yourself to some legends in the 6 degrees of separation game, staying at this hotel is a must!

Photo courtesy of Ignite Licensing.

Ignite your art collection!

IGNITE is an artist representation and consulting company which specializes in licensing, branding, fashion, merchandise design, publishing, limited editions and exhibitions.  They sell original artwork from legends such as Ron English, Scooter LaForge, Olek and Deryck Todd, just to name a few artists.  All of these works are available for extremely reasonable prices as well.  I’ve been a big fan of this site for a long time and with great pleasure and pride, I’d like to make a huge announcement:  3 photos I’ve taken of the legendary singer Grace Jones are for sale on IGNITE’s official website as limited edition 8×10 prints!  Each print is numbered and hand-signed by me and they look wonderful.  My arm is still tired from signing them all, but the results have been worth every second!  I’m not just saying that because I am the artist either.  One of the photos is already ranked on their top sellers list and once again, I am humbled and honored just to be included on a website filled with artists I respect and admire!  Christmas is coming up, so remember that while the rest of the world crashes and burns, the value of art never depreciates.  Take your art collection to the next level with IGNITE!

IGNITE! www.ignitelicensing.com

Photo by G.  Book by G.

Sketches of Verbal Alchemy by Geoffrey Dicker

Long before status updates and tweets, my book of abstract poetry Sketches of Verbal Alchemy existed.  From the opening play on words ”He told a story in seven words,” to the closing 6-line poem, “The red door opens / and it leads to a yellow door / and it leads to a blue door / and it leads to a green door / and it leads to a black door / and it leads to a red door…” this book has literally opened up so many doors that I never knew existed.

It’s hard for me to believe that Sketches of Verbal Alchemy turns 4 today!  I am so proud of this book and the worldwide reaction has surpassed any expectations I could have ever thought of in my wildest dreams.  A review on Amazon.co.uk compared my work with 2 of my heroes, George Carlin and William S. Burroughs, which  is one of the greatest compliments I could fathom!  I created a new form of punctuation, “./?” – period slash question mark – a statement that makes you question your answer and I devised new solutions to age old problems via my one to five line poetic sketches.  Readers have found themselves laughing on every page as well as giving them lots of food for thought.  Bringing smiles to peoples’ faces is probably the accomplishment I am most proud of.   This work was also one of the first books to be sold on the Kindle device and I’ve even seen the book on illegal downloading sites!  I’ve created a successful line of “G shirts” that feature abstract poetry from the book and I’ve been stopped in the street to sign autographs, which continues to blow my mind. 

I’ve recently completed my second book of poetry, Unfinished Lyrics, as well as my first coffee table book, Take It With Your Hand and I expect that both will be available either later this year or early next year. 

Thanks again to everyone who has purchased or downloaded Sketches of Verbal Alchemy (legally or illegally).  I am incredibly blessed to have been given the opportunity to make your life a little brighter, one sketch at a time.

Photo by G.

This 24K Gold Diamond Studded Vibrator could be yours!

I am not affiliated with the above company (aka they didn’t pay me in free merch to advertise their products), but since I loved the possibility at winning a 24 Karat Gold diamond studded vibrator, I thought I’d pass the contest details onto you, my dear readers!  The contest ends on September 1, 2010 and I am sure restrictions apply, so click hereat Babeland’s official website and win this baby!  Batteries are included.  The site may have images that turn you on or make you roll your eyes if you are a prude, so keep that in mind as you click!  Good luck!

Photo by G.

Muse.

Since we are on the topic of Independence Day and we are all celebrating a lot less freedom than we had last year, I would like to nominate “Uprising” by Muse as the new global national anthem.  Sing these lyrics over and over and over until the words sink in and maybe then, people globally will finally get off their asses, throw their I-phones in the gutter, unplug from all these distractions that are made to keep us numb and wake up!  This world has enough abundance for everyone. Not just the 1% of the population that are currently controlling it.  If you are a teacher, please teach these words to your kids!  That bullshit about dawn’s early light and pledging allegiance is archaic.  It’s 2010.   Come to the light!  Rise up!!!!

Uprising by Muse. 

Lyrics by Matthew Bellamy.

Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume
They’ll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down
And hope that we will never see the truth around
(So come on)

Another promise, another seed
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(So come on)

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
So come on

Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution takes its toll
If you could flick the switch and open your third eye
You’d see that we should never be afraid to die
(So come on)

Rise up and take the power back
It’s time the fat cats had a heart attack
They know that their time’s coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
(So come on)

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
So come on

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
So come on

Photo by G.

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies out there!

According2g would like to wish a Happy Father’s Day to all the the baby daddies out there!

I would also like to extend extra special greetings to my father, the coolest dad in the world and my brother who is celebrating his first Father’s Day this year!  Happy Dad’s Day Dads!

According to Entertaiment Weekly, the following songs were rated the best songs of 2009.  As a lyricist, I decided to do a brief analysis of these songs and what they mean to us.  See these thoughts after the jump.

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