first attempt at a more content oriented layout, nothing
fancy and some html glitches here and there, but we'll
survive. ladies and gents medical school has kept me
quite occupied, looks like it will continue to be more
pictures... good news is I have three weeks off in
december to catch my breath...

bicycle ride through Harlem- a chunk between 125th and 135th, Adam Clayton Powell and Lenox Avenue

looking back at things when they are looking at you

This picture, taken from an installation I did in 2005, reminded me of David Lynch for some reason. The guy is ridiculously prolific. Wikipedia will explain more if you are interested. I found out he does a daily weather report on youtube (And why the heck not). Maybe I can do something more specialized, like a daily barometric pressure report.

Central Park
Harlem
Midtown
D.U.M.B.O.
Hudson River
Union Square

A small group of musicians play on a busy street corner in Harlem.

There was a small box for donations, of course, but these folks seemed to have a dedicated local audience bobbing their heads to the rhythms and mellow trumpet. A lot less contrived then the two-bit guitarists strumming sappy love songs in central park, that's for sure. I could not resist the opportunity to join them when one of drummers had to go take care of something. I figured I had nothing to lose and politely asked the trumpeter if I could sit in. He said yes, but understandably with a sort of reluctance. Once I actually started playing I could tell he hadn't regretted his decision. These guys obviously had been playing for years, but they were also free and communicated in that way great jazz musicians do when playing together. It's not always about how well you can play the notes or perfectly you play, it's about how you talk to the guy next to you by using your instrument. I was definitely thrilled to take part, even if for just a few minutes. The drummer eventually came back...
-------
Every Saturday there is a large gathering of musicians in Marcus Garvey Park. If the weather holds up like it has been, I am sure it will be happening again this weekend. I found an interesting article that provides some history as well as some comment on the conflicts the informal event has faced in an increasingly gentrified Harlem.
"Marcus Garvey Park: An Old Sound in Harlem Draws New Neighbors' Ire"

big apples and oranges

currently living in nyc...too much input...planning tons of output...

track listing

click to see the track listing

funrise

official cover art for "funrise"

new work (finally) /// and BOOK

I have begun work on new work it's been way too long i know but such is life. I also finished editing and have published a book by my Uncle that recalls his life's experiences and includes poetry and research work. We had been meeting weekly for the last year or so on this project, it feels good to be finally done (for now). A deluxe edition of the book will come in the future (currently paperback, hardcover full color jazzed up edition with photographs would be nice).

below is a sample for a video installation idea, more on that next time I promise (for real)
and also a link to the book...

Untitled from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

"A Beautiful World, by Ghassan Berry"

interview in NYC

interviewed here

talking into computers

Well a random prose post might do this neglected site well.

(?)

I drive down Ford Road fifteen minutes to get to the Edsel B. Ford freeway, past Fordson Highschool which is a castle and also Ford Wyoming drive-in theater.

Detroit is so racially (socio-economically) divided it is unacceptable.

It is not my cause, with all due utmost respect.

However, silent accomplices as we all are, this whole thing, your confusion, is naturally a convenience.

naturally a convenience.

a natural convenience, readily seized upon.

naturally seized conveniences.

readily seized conveniences (we are)

That's where we wanna go....

Well I'm in the thick of finals week at UofMichigan, but I can't complain. I am looking forward to the break, finishing up work on those pesky music projects that are very close to completion, picking up extra hours at the hospital I work at (I'm an E.R. Technician at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit), and visiting upstate New York for new years.

My friend Ben is in a new band called Kokomo, yes that's a reference to the Beach Boys song. They just started up, I recommend checking them out. They have a live recording excerpt posted at the moment, but I believe they'll be releasing something in the near future. Can't wait to hear it.

some samples of my animation work. they are not meant to be linear pieces, more like prints or drawings.
Untitled from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

Untitled from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

Spider Amazingness!

I documented some prey-capture behavior of giant orb-weaving spiders native to Tawain. It is part of research conducted by Dr. Anne Danielson-Francois of the University-Michigan Dearborn, I mentioned this some posts back about a month or two ago. Here's a rough edit of the footage, set to the music of Philip Glass.
I also give the link to a piece done by the Detroit Free Press on Dr. Francois' research, it's a nice video-summary of her research of the spiders.
Enjoy!


Spider Amazingness. from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.


check out the Detroit Free Press video

Flag Man

On the drive home from work this morning I passed by something a little different and almost surreal. A man in army fatigues and pack was walking down the street with a huge american flag waving in the air. The flag must have been atleast 8x10 feet. He was just walking steadily, not too fast, with his shoulders hunched forward as if he were charging in slow motion. I couldn't help but be reminded of the image of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima from World War II for some reason.

Who is this flag man? What sort of quest was he on, to cut through the middle of Dearborn, Michigan? Is he some sort of missionary dispatched by his patriotic fervor, perhaps feeling uneasy about the nature of the community he was traveling through?

The expression on his face was of one who is in a foreign country but not interested in acclimating to his own surroundings. Rather, he is adamant and unbent in his own views and conclusions.

to be continued.....

looking in to look out.

Little horse on a grasshopper

I've always had a fondness for texture.

volume 3

circa 2005

Find a way to bring cash, with lots of men, before 5 PM, thank you.

I've been scouring craig's list and the like to find used pianos for sale. So far I've found a few that have potential, I'm going to try and go check them out.
Some of the listing descriptions I came across were pretty entertaining/weird.
The following is, hands down, the winner of them all. You can't make this stuff up!

"I have a very old piano that my grandmother left in her basement. I don't know anything about them so I do not know if it works. It probably cost like 75 Dollars new. I will sell it to you for 10,000 Dollars. Please bring like 10 men because if it scratches my walls, you will have to pay for repairs. Also, this needs to be done today because I am having family over later and I don't want it in the way. I know that piano people are very smart, so find a way to bring cash, with lots of men, before 5 PM. thank you"

Volume 2

"Our Mountains Will Succeed"
special performance, December 2007

Nephila pilipes

I've gotten this great opportunity to document the Giant Wood Spider Nephila pilipes, a native of Southeast Asia. A batch of them was studied for the last few months at the University of Michigan, and next week they will be returned to Thailand.

The documentation will be used as part of the research being done on the animals, specifically their prey capture behavior. I was able to witness this behaviour in lab last week, and let me tell you if you are a lover of crickets, you will not be happy about this.
I'll post a "highlight" reel soon.
stay tuned...
-AA

Image Mixer (volume 1)

(paper pulp to atlas)

each volume is a selection of pictures and images that will be included in a book that I am self-publishing. More on this later...