GALFROMDOWNUNDER UPOVER

All in a day's work: Former gravedigger and now cemetery historian Donato Daddario demonstrates the key that releases the two rosette-shaped screws and releases the marble faceplate from a compartment. "THE boiler would come by with his two big cauldrons, disinter (dig up) the bodies and boil 'em up to remove any remaining meat. He'd then chop up the body at the joints, box up the bones and they'd be loaded on a ship bound for China ..." In case we needed a better visual, the ebullient Donato Daddario whacks a cleaver-shaped hand against his elbow and knee. "We used to say, they used the broth to make chop suey!" We happened to stumble across Donato during a personal tour of the  Evergreens Cemetery  led by distinguished historian and über sailer  John Rousemaniere , author of   Green Oasis in Brooklyn: The Evergreens Cemetery 1849-2008   Heading over the Brooklyn Bridge with galpals Pamela Talese and Cathy Eatock (from downun...

Remember, a few years ago, when they told women to start wearing sunscreen daily, or end up a wrinkled old prune ?  It was the era of PABA , or para-amio benzoic acid. This was the most common sunscreen ingredient at the time, at least Downunder. Sometime later, it fell out of favor due to allergic reactions.  I was one of those unfortunate "reactionaries."  I remember putting Hamilton Sunscreen on my face - a popular pharmacy brand - and within a few days my cheeks started itching. Then it got worse - little fluid filled bumps and a redness that spread across my face.  The usual thing we do, of course, is try all manner of salves and lotions in our medicine cabinet "just to see what will happen." It usually it makes it worse. It's like trying to experiment with putting too many fruits in a smoothie or ingredients in a soup and ending up with something ashen-gray in hue with a "something not quite anything" flavor. A dermatol...

I popped up in Athens to face a phalanx of police riot shields. In LA, Stephen Spielberg's mother showed me her wall of fame to her son (it's on the way to the restroom). Then there was Occupy London ... and the $10/night Kung Fu hostel in Hong Kong with its Changi prison aesthetics and crazed woman who refused to budge from my bunk bed … SPOT PLANKING: One of the funnest things you can do in Geneva at the Gagosian Geneva gallery. Thanks to Johan @Gogo for being a great sport! My latest escapade was a complete departure from anything I've done before - the Damien Hirst Spot Challenge - a kind of global scavenger hunt where you had to dash around visiting 11 galleries showing his Spot Paintings (NY-LA-London-Paris-Geneva-Rome-Athens-HK), and as a reward, receive a print personally dedicated to you by the older YBA himself. It was one of the stressful and exhilarating adventures I've ever undertaken. The full spot-by-spot journey is thrashed out on my art s...

90 SECOND TRAILER (Vimeo) Watch in VIMEO 90 SECOND TRAILER (YouTube) WATCH on YouTube DVD Sleeve. Click on image to read it.  UPDATE: A DVD of this tour is available Feb 2012 from Lon Haldeman, haldeman@pactour.com (Original 2004 DVD : 16,000 Feet on a Friday ) Currently, this DVD is an important fundraiser and not sold as a separate item, but given as a gift for donations of $100 or more. Donations for these Peru Projects (administered by FPC Global Outreach) are always welcome and appreciated. As you can see, they are put to good and immediate use! To donate, contact Lon Haldeman, haldeman@pactour.com   ABOUT THIS TOUR | LON'S BLOG Delivering books to remote schools along the Amazon. I'M JUST BACK from my second expedition in Peru with cycling legend and tireless philanthropist  Lon Haldeman of PACTOUR . The 17-day, non-stop itinerary involved several charitable projects:  a shopping trip for a home for abused and homeless girl...

I'm suddenly the lucky owner of this homage to Mr Sulu/George Takei - since it's about art, go forth and read about it on my ChelseaGallerista blog .

The Cat Attack: A little remote controlled mouse with skittish attachment keeps cats on their toes  (shot on my iPhone, a bit of drumming by the Greenpoint Marching Band in Hudson, 2010) Let's face it: it's generally more fun to watch a white elephant gift exchange than a traditional Christmas gift opening. Same ole, same ole, given and received with gracious grimaces - sox, books, TJ Maxx gloves, scarves (OK I was guilty of gifting a few from my recent Peru video shoot ), tins of mass produced shortbread butter cookies ... oh wouldn't I kill to see someone gift a black velvet flocked painting to a serious art lover! But this year, after teaching a Christmas Day yoga class, I was generously invited by a student to a wonderful gathering and saw a particularly fresh stocking stuffer: It's called a CAT ATTACK: a remote-controlled toy with convincingly twitchy, skittish mousey moves. Three laser-pointer-blasé cats - a tuxedo, a tortoiseshell and a cali...

A Galfromdownunder Traffic Cone Bag in a pear tree! (More shots of this on my Traffic Cone Blog ) Avagoodone, as we say Downunder! Thanks to artist  Pamela Talese for taking these shots, and loaning me her silver Nutcase helmet.