Emergency Assistance: Thank You Freya - Happy Birthday@me:)

Fuzzy logic

My week begins with $100 from Freya to help replace art supplies lost in my earlier arrest and police raid of my belongings and a reminder to all that I am still $250 away from being able to replace the Lumix camera, tripod and artists easel confiscated and miscataloged by the NYPD. During most days I spend the mornings networking the job scene, the afternoons supporting Occupy at Union Square and the rest of my time fighting the cops - yes, Mayor Bloomberg's self stated "personal army" who have taken up full-time residence against Occupy, the first amendment and anything that smells like it might threaten their boss' job.(Continued...)

This blog. aHBiNYC is now available as an eBook. It covers the writer's homeless experiences in New York City from September 11, 2011 through January 2013 in 245 pages and 50 chapters. To order simply use the PayPal button in the sidebar, send $10, and include your email address in the PayPal memo form. Thank you.

Emergency Assistance: Thank You Mary

Liquid Tide laundry detergent splatters into the puddle as the rain splashes down around the prancing homeless man, Jack, - his soggy shoes and clothing full of suds in scrubbing his hair and singing to the Occupiers under the awning of the Union Square subway. This is normal. But he is happy, if not a little warped in spirit. Sunday's New York Times had led with a story and photo of the blind Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, arriving in Greenwich Village whilst coverage of the thousands of American dissidents who had descended on Chicago to protest the NATO summit went unnoticed by the mainstream media in a New York weekend that revealed sunshine, a 30 million dollar NYPD overtime expenditure for Occupy Wall Street, and the introduction of Robert Lederman, the artist/activist who was arrested over 40 times in NYC for display and sale of his art - (Continued...)

This blog. aHBiNYC is now available as an eBook. It covers the writer's homeless experiences in New York City from September 11, 2011 through January 2013 in 245 pages and 50 chapters. To order simply use the PayPal button in the sidebar, send $10, and include your email address in the PayPal memo form. Thank you.

Emergency Assistance: Thank You Alex

Arrest me before I 
can speak freely. 

On 27 April I was arrested for being a participant in Occupy Wall Street. You can read that story here. As I was in police custody and working to secure my release, the NYPD raided the Occupy camp at Union Square and confiscated my personal rolling luggage as 'unattended' amongst other group property. That story is here. Inside that luggage was all the paint, brushes and supplies I use to make protest signs for the movement, and to collect donations that support my and the work of the movement. In one day, in a completely illegal arrest of an individual and theft of his personal belongings, a person was not only accused of crimes not committed, but denied the ability to support himself in his attempts to exercise his (and your) first amendment rights. And what's left of middle class America tucks in the kids and settles down to a hot cup of Nestle's cocoa, secure in the fact that the American dream is alive and well and the grass will still need cutting on Saturday. Or maybe not. (Continued...)

This blog. aHBiNYC is now available as an eBook. It covers the writer's homeless experiences in New York City from September 11, 2011 through January 2013 in 245 pages and 50 chapters. To order simply use the PayPal button in the sidebar, send $10, and include your email address in the PayPal memo form. Thank you.

Emergency Assistance: Thank You Melissa

On Wednesday, just hours after my post for emergency assistance, I received a PayPal notice of deposit for $50 from a woman I had not heard from in years. It was the first help I've seen since my illegal arrest and the confiscation of my property by the NYPD last Friday. The next day, I received the following note: 

"I've been keeping up with your journeys via your blog and various updates that you do such a great job of putting out across the social media spectrum. Bravo! Your journalism is both candid and captivating. I'm terribly sorry to hear of the arrest and loss of your of supplies. I hope that I was able to help in some way. What you're doing takes some real balls and I absolutely admire that."

Demand #4623

And Melissa and I have never met. A few years ago, while I was living in Vietnam, Melissa had been referred to me by a colleague for some assistance in helping her secure an internship at my alma mater, Leo Burnett - so my job was to be a virtual mentor of sorts. Melissa never got that job and I never became the President of America but we've both gone on to Occupations that suit our talents and places in life. Melissa occupies a 9-5 insurance job in Las Vegas and I occupy New York City in hopes of bringing positive social change to a world that greatly needs it. Yet our missions are the same. Contrary to many people's beliefs, the Occupy movement is not anti-capitalism,  but it is anti-irresponsible capitalism. And contrary as well to conventional wisdom, occupiers may not have conventional jobs, but they definitely have a collective Occupation. With well over 12 hours a day invested in Occupy over the last 8 months, my being arrested by the NYPD has signaled that I am so constant an Occupier and so resilient an artist that I have now become a threat. And generally, this is a good thing. That means that I am doing very, very well at my job. Rarely a day goes by at Union Square that I am not approached by the 9-5 class and given thanks for doing a job that they are not able to do. And that job is to raise awareness about the issues that affect humankind the most - Economic justice - The right to a job and home - and non-profit healthcare for all.

Without the 9-5 Melissas and others out there, Occupy could never survive - but together we can continue to reshape and control the destiny that is our lives and the lives and futures of our children, grandchildren and beyond. Long live this Occupation. And thank you again Melissa.

Emergency: Donations Needed - After Arrest, NYPD Steals My Business, Belongings and Portable Home

Scene of no crime

As per my previous story on being arrested on the morning of April 27th, that day, while I was in police custody, officer Lombardo and crew raided the OWS (legal) encampment on 15th Street and confiscated not only our OWS donations box, but my personal belongings in the form of a rolling suitcase containing all my artwork, supplies, paints, brushes, clothing and a Lumix camera I had been given as a gift. When confronted by OWS supporters objecting to the removal of the luggage, the officer responded, "That guy was arrested this morning - so his stuff is 'unattended'. Haul it." So in the space of one day, the NYPD not only arrested me illegally, but confiscated both my business and my home in one rolling cart. Somehow, I'm sure America is safer for this:)

To restart my sign-painting business, replace my camera and regain my rolling home, I am again soliciting donations (many of you helped me with a phone earlier this year). Yes, I find it deplorable that our law enforcement officials are being actively aggressive towards the homeless and in my case, even taking the small supplies that I use to make my income. Denying a man a home is one thing. Denying him the right to work is quite another - that denies him the right to better his life.

Please help fight this injustice and contribute liberally to this cause. A recent comment to my post, "Arresting Developments" stated, "You make us all proud, David. We can't all be there, but you're a terrific surrogate." With that sentiment, please understand two things:

1) I have been homeless since September 11, 2011.

2) I am on the front line fighting against economic injustice every day with Occupy Wall Street in New York since September 18th, 2011.

Please use the PayPal donation button in the left sidebar and help me survive to fight again another day.

Arresting Developments

Street Graffiti 

On Friday, April 27th, I was arrested by the NYPD for essentially, being an Occupier. When asked why I was being arrested, officer Kevin Wahlig said, "I don't know, a couple of things. We'll discuss it on the way to the station." Not until much later in the day before my arraignment in court was I aware of the actual charges and I was never read my rights. Stated as (1) Disorderly Conduct and (2) Resisting Arrest, I found the charges interesting in that my conduct was one of sleeping on the sidewalk and my resistance to arrest was premeditated in the officer's mind, well before I was actually arrested. It seemed immediately that preparations for disrupting Occupy's May Day plans were underway.

According to a 2000 court order from the New York State Supreme Court, sleeping is protected as a form of "public expression", so I couldn't possibly being arrested for that, could I? Well, not legally, but if my sleeping was disorderly I suppose I could be cited (funny just thinking about that - "You hogged all the  covers so now you're under arrest!").

My Occupation

The police had come at 6:30am to wake up a host of Occupiers sleeping across the street from HSBC and helping Max in his vigil to highlight the plight of the homeless. I had awaken but fallen back to sleep due to a succession of rainy days and need of sleep. Waking me a second time no less than four officers were in charge of me with Wahlig taking the lead. As I prepared to collect my things and began putting on my shoes I was asked for my ID which I produced and continued packing up. Asking for my ID back was when I was told I was being arrested, so I immediately reached for a cigarette (knowing I wouldn't have one all day) and began to light it - but that set the four officers off in a flurry of trying to grab my hands to handcuff. Arms pulled behind me, entirely too much force was used to detain a 143lb man and the cuffs wrenched so tightly my left wrist was bruised and cut - my body pushed around and manhandled as if they needed to create a scuffle to make it look like something was happening. But nothing was happening except another routine illegal arrest of a member of Occupy Wall Street.

Sign of the times

Since the beginning of Occupy on September 17th, 2011 over 17 million dollars have been spent in NYPD overtime, policing a non-violent movement and over 2200 arrests have been made according to the National Lawyers Guild. I wonder how much it costs to arrest a homeless man for sleeping? Whatever the cost, it's too much taxpayer money that could be going to creating jobs and alleviating the homeless problem in the US, but in NYC it seems no amount is too much when it comes to funding the police department. Earlier in the week I overheard an officer say, "I hate Occupy but I love the overtime". Great. That's your tax dollars at work, harassing citizens, suppressing free speech and taking us yet one step closer to a police state - with officers just making up the laws as they go. At Occupy though, we see the NYPD overreaction as a measure of our success. Only if we are truly a threat to the status quo would they react with the brute force and numbers that they have.

My day proceeded with being handcuffed and thrown into a van, not able to take my rolling cart with all my artwork and clothing in it. So I left it with my fellow Occupiers, sure that they would keep an eye on things and I could pick it up later - but that would not be the case either. Once at the station I was relieved of my personal belongings, finger-printed, retnal-scanned and pitched into an empty cell. With no other customers that morning I was doing all I could to keep Precinct 13 alive and buzzing with the smell of a fresh kill. This crime fighting stuff is indeed a serious business.

An hour at the precinct and I was transferred downtown in a van to what is referred to as Central Booking. It's basically a city jail and as opposed to the rules at the precinct where I was required to remove my belt so I didn't hang myself from the shame of my charges, I kept my belt, wallet and ID and was put in a large cell with 10 or so other prisoners - and if one had to judge the state of criminal activity by this lot, it might be assumed that we were all living on Sesame Street. One guy was in for "moving cardboard" in an attempt to arrange a warm sleeping spot for himself. Another for DWI, of which he seemed totally capable, and yet another for short paying a cabbie claiming the guy ripped him off by driving a longer route. No axe murderers, armed robbers or drug dealers. Unless prisoners are arranged by the severity of their crimes it seemed this early morning crew of primarily black and hispanic customers were doing nothing but giving the cops a way to keep their operations budget and make the monthly arrest quota with just days to spare.

Hours passed and we were served dry bread with a piece of cheese on it for lunch at noon. Hours more passed and we were served another two pieces of dry bread with cheese on it for dinner at six - and by this time, very few people had been processed through to arraignment. So we were basically sitting around with our thumbs up our butts comparing charges - all misdemeanors. Finally, a number of us were moved to another cell to be able to speak with our respective attorneys. We were transferred by chain gang, all handcuffed together and began, one by one, to have short meetings with our public defenders. Outside we could hear both the police statements of events and the accused accounts. During the DWI guy's meeting we could hear the attorney speaking on the phone with the guy's wife who was downstairs posting bail for her husband. "She wants to know if there's a bar in the building", the attorney said, "While she waits for you to get out". Funny, this 'he and she' separated by phone and crossbars, seemed the perfect couple for the times.

My attorney had been arranged by the National Lawyer's Guild and came prepared to hear the trumped up charges. Representing the Legal Aid Society who had been retained by NLG to handle an overflow of cases (Of the over 2200 arrests made of Occupiers, nearly 700 from the Brooklyn bridge march back in October are now finally going to trial) currently going through the system, he recommends that we fight the charges instead of taking a plea bargain that would drop them after six months if I remained out of trouble. Now knowing the police can just make up charges whenever they want, I didn't feel confident that I could keep out of jail until then, and with any other arrests, even bullshit ones, I would be looking possibly guilty on the standing charge - and so I agree with my council and decide to fight. It's a no-brainer since we're now seven months into  the battle anyway. Methinks it's time to start winning.

Up In The Air

Arraigned and out before 9pm, I make my way back to Union Square only to find that the police had harassed and raided the Occupy tables there and confiscated my rolling cart with the rest of my clothing and all of my street art business (Signs illustrated in photos here). Eye witness reports of Officer Lombardo from the 7th precinct rolling away my cart are plentiful and I have photography and video of the heist. Now I was not only homeless, but jobless by nature of harassment and theft by the NYPD. It seems once one is down, the procedure is to keep them there and I can assure you, the police are doing their best to oppress the less well-armed. Today I was asked if I ever thought I would get the bag back. "I don't know", I responded. But I can guarantee you, once I get back in the business of making those clever protest signs, I have a whole new target to aim fun at. It's generally a bad idea to piss off those who can write and draw:)

It's time the NYPD is outed and rightfully disrespected for the childish and boorish organization they have become - arresting the developments of a society that has had quite enough of the rich getting richer while the poor become continually poorer. I have not yet begun to fight.

Occupy Wall Street Returns to Union Square

Photo: Julia Reinhart

Welcome drummers and clowns and street performers of all varieties - and yes, real activists and protesters too. And with the six month anniversary for OWS on March 17th at Zuccotti park, Occupy was back in business - until the cops kicked them out again on that Saturday night. The Raw Story covers things here with police violence marking the otherwise peaceful protests and bringing back to mind the government oppression of the last days at Zuccotti Park. And so after a full day on the 17th I left at midnight, only to see the protesters physically removed later on TimCast's livestream and an OWS move to Union Square. 

Capt. Ray Lewis

Monday I arrived at Union Square to a more than festive atmosphere. It was like the police had given OWS a gift - a new park to haunt. Befuddled park rangers and police tried their best to deal with a morning crowd, much more spirited than they might have been used to, but somehow in their eyes, you could see they were just waiting for word from above to drop the hammer yet one more time on the Occupy movement. Captain Ray Lewis, a retired Philadelphia police officer was there, just as he had been at Zuccotti, and a whole new generation of New Yorkers seemed to delight in the idea that the fun had finally reached their neighborhood. Occupy was back. At least in spirit.

Throughout the week, police presence had increased and on Tuesday night, the ritual of barricading the place, a Zuccotti staple of American freedom, had returned. But this time, it was the police barricading themselves into a small portion of the park and forcing the protesters onto the sidewalk, a legal sleeping area in NYC, to look back on the cops and taunt them from the outside. A video of protesters "Cop fishing" with a donut shows the Occupy movement has still not lost its sense of humour. Later in the week, I designed the logo above, based on the idea that people were trying to Trademark the Occupy Wall Street concept but didn't have a logo. I thought this solved the problem nicely - to sort of occupy the legal concept of owning intellectual property. It seems things will just get more interesting as this American spring gets under way.

Thank You All and Joyeux Noël

Last weekend I put up a post looking for holiday donations and it would be safe to say that the reactions were mixed. A good number of you were gracious and generous and one was just unhappy and downright mad at me - even mean spirited. And I have the comments to prove it. But in any case I am thankful to those who have contributed thus far.

1) Camera:     

On loan, a lovely Lumix SLR w/case (Kim)

2) Phone:       

iPhone with cracked screen but possibly repairable (Marsha, CO)

3) Phone:       

Possibly one used HTC wildfire running Android (Thomas)

4) Computer: 

Still looking for used Mac. Ask around. May be able to buy cheap

5) Cash:         

$100 (Thomas)

6) Cash:        

$35 (Marsha NY) by helping me turn food stamps into cash (Cash is important because I  still need to be able to open a bank account with minimum balance and pay for phone and travel). 

As for the person who is not happy, they are not happy because I am asking for seemingly expensive items - and new, they could be - but since landing in New York three months ago, I've seen everything from iPods to $4000 living room sectionals thrown into the trash or placed at curbside for pickup. You never know.

Starbucks throws out all those bistro boxes at the end of every day and Occupiers dumpster dive on a regular basis for some pretty high end chow. The standard of normal is different here and so even begging takes on a different set of financials. I see people just sit with a sign that says, "Homeless, please help" and make $100 a day or more. And they do much better than minimum wage. One guy with a dog makes more than a hundred because people feel sorry for the dog. 

But I won't sit on the street and beg. To do that takes all day and there's no time to write, to do Occupy work, to apply for jobs, to do anything but beg. And in time, you'll get good at it. So good at that, and living the successful homeless life, that it becomes a goal in itself - and not where I need to be.

For this effort, I was encouraged by someone I respect to not be so proud, and to ask for help because I needed it. It its working. So thank you everyone. And have a blessed Holiday. 

Another Week In Occupied New York - Keep Shopping, Everything's Fine

My OWS 'un-logo'

This is a story about a frog. They say if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, he will instinctively jump out. Because it is fucking hot. But if you put the frog into a pot of cool water and turn on the flame, he will sit patiently as the water warms, then heats, then boils - until he dies. This is what happens when little changes are made over time, instead of all at once. This week progressed with President Obama passing the NDAA (National Defence Authorization Act) legalizing detention of American citizens on American soil without charge, indefinitely, which in reality, could be forever. Nobody blinked. Whilst Bradley Manning, a young military officer, who allegedly blew the whistle on the illegal and immoral war in Iraq. He exposed what the Pentagon and the Bush administration did in creating this evil and did so by allegedly leaking documents and footage to Wikileaks. Many of these documents dealt not only with Iraq but with how we prop up dictators around the world and how our corporations exploit the poor on this planet. Saturday was his birthday and 570 days in military detention. Nobody blinked. 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Earlier in the year, the original Pentagon Papers were released (photo). Blinking was not an option.

Monday: The week began for me at Spokes Council, a roundtable discussion of OWS topics for the week. After Spokes Council many issues are forwarded to the General Assembly (GA) in the form of motions to be voted upon. Discussions ranged from Diversity to the focus on being a world movement vs. just a city franchise to housing eventually 400 people here in New York alone. An argument rose on the legality of independent film makers to film during the meeting. Live streaming is common in an effort to encourage transparency (like Cspan coverage of congress) but journalists are not allowed in closed OWS meetings. I made the point that independent film and documentary film makers are essentially a business. They enter film festivals in order to gain distribution for their products. It was decided that independent film makers would not be allowed to shoot - although one woman, just ignored it and kept on filming. 


A Racial Justice framework was encouraged and I was encouraged to speak with Tech Ops and Media regarding work on our website. On this day my old computer died, like I needed something else to work on. Good time to talk to Tech Ops. A man from the Finance group stands up and tells everyone that OWS has $375,000 in the bank, but this number doesn't make any sense to me - not without knowing what it costs per day to exist, how much we have coming in per day in donations and how much of a horizon we have on that money. Another woman stands up and rails against the Spokes Council for not investigating an estimated $350,000 in unaccounted for cash from media. For an organization that espouses transparency there is nowhere anyone can go to see a proper balance sheet, or projections for the future. Maybe we don't have them. In any case, transparency and spending, remain ongoing and thorny issues.

Tuesday: I spent the day in the office at OWS and briefly had the opportunity to go to Washington to meet with the Congressional Progressive Caucus - until that meeting was canceled due to a media leak in Washington. That caucus is primarily Democratic and the decision was made to abort, wanting to keep our affiliation, and the press reporting of such, with any party neutral. Tuesday ended with my weekly meeting with Dr. Kim Hopper and Cindy. Always interesting, I arrived in a flurry of new clothing and clean shaven exuberance due to an early Christmas gift from Freya. We talked of OWS' dealing with homelessness as a factor in the Occupation and how OWS handles the various medical and psychological issues that present themselves when 500 people with different agendas try to live and form global policy together (is that funny or what?).

Wednesday: The morning began as the first 'sleep in' we've enjoyed thus far. That meant we were able to sleep past 8 and ready ourselves for a 10am meeting with Starhawk, a facilitator from the west coast. Starhawk's focus was intended to be a primer to consensus decision making but the gathering quickly turned into more of a support group meeting. A man cried, on his admission that he felt he had found a home, a common ground, a family. "Finally I am in a room full of people I can share with", he said. There are more than one of us like that. Zeke read letters he had collected from participants at the park and the irony of the phrase, "Liberty and justice for all". Don talked about being arrested for skateboarding. A woman railed against people with NYU degrees and proudly called herself a ghetto bitch just getting her 2 cents worth in - which was more like two bucks. Later she was supported by another woman who related that sexual abuse as a teen and young woman had made her rant in public as well. And think. And grow. And aim for strength in confidence. So much to feel.  Is it hard to do things with so much personality crisis in the way? But everyone does. Just here, it comes out in the open.

Thursday: Ben Cohen is mostly know for being the Ben of Ben & Jerry's. But when he's waiting for the coffee pot at the OWS office and I'm the barrista, he's just another customer. He talks fundraising with another member. We all thank him for serving ice cream in Zuccotti park as he did on so many days during the physical occupation. He has life experience we can use. Everyone knows that. Young, overeducated and underemployed the occupiers have been called. That's not entirely true. Ben occupies with us.

The Guggenheim NY

Friday: I had been told that Friday was the day at the Guggenheim where you could enter for a "suggested donation". You could suggest a penny, as opposed to the $18 they normally ask. I am reminded that art is a business and not a public service. Michelangelo did not paint the Sistine Chapel for free. Leaving the church early for my walk across Central Park to the museum I found it a glorious morning - light filtering through trees, bouncing off east side cornices to light a path for the runners. I have no camera so I can only see with my pen. Something good about that. The exhibit today is Maurizio Cattelean and it is called All. I arrive early and talk to a street artist outside. He bemoans the fact that you don't need a license to sell art on the street in New York and says it has resulted in tons of shit hitting the streets. He talks of a woman buying his art, and then photocopying it to sell in Midtown. Thieves. 


Everybody steals everything in the creative arts - but in museums, stealing is called 'appropriation'. That's when one artist takes an idea from another artist and uses it. That's how Andy Warhol was able to appropriate a soup can and call it art. People who design soup cans and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) labels are artists too. But they are called 'commercial' artists - something, somehow less than real artists because they admit they are paid for the work, or it is an industrial service, or some such thing. Maurizio Cattelan is a real artist - but I'm sure he licenses his work so the Guggenheim can make posters, t-shirts and coffee mugs from it - yes, which would make him commercial. But let's not talk about that now. Let's see what he's All about.


All is a retrospective of the artist's work. To have a retrospective at the Guggenheim while still living is quite the accomplishment. So I enter the ticket line. Once meeting an attendant I inquire about the 'suggested donation' plan and am told that that program has been moved to Saturday from 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm. Imagine that - letting the poor people in when the museum is the least busy and people who can afford $18 are busy having dinner before the theatre. Best to keep those two groups apart - so the rich people don't feel poorly about being rich and the poor people don't feel richly about being treated like society at large.


But with no ticket at all I am still allowed to stand at the base of Frank Lloyd Wright's inverted ziggurat and view, what for this exhibit, is all of the artist's work. Rather than hang the pieces on walls or keep sculptures on the floor, Cattelan has chosen to use the negative space of the interior as his canvas and hung all of the work, suspended in time, so to speak, with nothing on the walls or floor at all. That alone is impressive at least. But aside from that are the looks of the kids who are part of a school tour of the facility. They gape wondrously at all the images hung precariously from the ceiling - pigeons, donkeys and carts, a shopping cart that is three times longer than a conventional one, hanging male mannequins, a reclining Pope. Who knows what it's all about. That, I guess, is what one learns when they are able to see the entire show, from top to bottom as gravity will encourage at the Guggenheim - scheduled for another day.


Walking through Central Park afterwards an a Capella  group sings in the tunnel of Bethesda fountain. The light there through the archway is magical in the day growing towards noon and the music matches. Out of the park I veer to the west side towards the Apple store on 67th and on the way is Lincoln Center. I can remember the last time I was there in 1991 for the CLIO awards, advertising's version of the Oscars. I had been to Lincoln Center the year before for the same event and our hosts were Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) and Nipsy Russell (unfunny comedian). With that unlikely pair as hosts I should have known things were going south for the show in short order.


"The 1991 ceremony is referred as 'The Most Bizarre Event in Advertising History,' because it was a complete debacle. Attendees who had paid the $125 admission price did not have tickets waiting at the door, as promised. Also missing were Clio officials and Clio President, Bill Evans. The event did not start on time; in fact, people stood around drinking, schmoozing and trading rumors about Evans and the Clio organization for over two hours. Finally, the lights dimmed and the band started playing. A man walked up to the microphone and began to speak. He identified himself as the caterer and announced that the master of ceremonies was a no-show, but that he would give it a shot. It started out well, but after being informed that there was no script and no winners list, he gave up and walked off. A second fellow walked onstage and began talking, but was not a polished speaker; it was obvious that he was inebriated. Print ads were the first awards, When the last award in the category was dispensed, the band began playing an interlude, and the emcee began singing. The audience began booing and throwing dinner rolls, and the drunk staggered offstage. Several minutes passed, but no one took his place. As the people began to leave, one man mounted the stage, strode to the table of remaining statuettes, snatched one up, and waved it as he left the stage. Two other individuals claimed their own awards; then suddenly, the stage was stampeded by a feeding frenzy of advertising executives, intent on grabbing the Clios that remained."


Due to the disorganization of the event I have no idea if I won anything or not. I had had five works shortlisted that year - twenty years ago. One has to ask themselves what had gone wrong in the intervening years. As far as the Clios went, owner Bill Evans had allegedly become a coke-head and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1992. I myself missed the drug habit and have yet to file for bankruptcy. For that, one needs to have had at least had enough money to have run up a debt to be forgiven. Still debt free, I am also job free and house free these days, so going into chapter 13 doesn't really seem to be an issue.


I realize that I write this blog always from a point of view that I will not be jobless nor homeless forever. I realize that that belief taints the POV. What if I never rise from this station. What if this is permanent? If you look at the facts and figures regarding poverty in the US the one thing sure is that we are making more poor people and the rich people are getting richer. Thinking positive and being hopeful are always ways we tell ourselves to be - but what if the mathematics just simply don't work? What if it is statistically impossible to beat poverty? I see the way our government and our society are not working at all towards a more equal distribution of wealth - and I protest that fact at OWS - but that job doesn't pay either. 

Bloomscrooge & me

Saturday: D17, Occupy Wall Street's 3rd Anniversary was billed as a grand reoccupation of a not so grand piece of ground - a Trinity Church property adjacent to Duarte Square at Canal and 6th St. Trinity, being both a church and the third largest land holder in NYC had been encouraged by clergy citywide to 'deed' an occupation site to OWS thereby showing their firm commitment to the movement. Trinity has been both praised and derided since the start of Occupy for at once, supporting the movement through their community center, Charlotte's Place whilst secondly, not doing much to help since the early morning police raid of Zuccotti Park on November 15th. In the end, OWS's attempted reoccupation of a private park, against church wishes, didn't do much to help the movement and whilst the day was spirited and fun in many ways, helping to get OWS back together for a public gathering, things ground to a slow trickle by 6pm once the requisite number of arrests had been made, obligatory photographs of supposed police brutality made and a pretty damn fun puppet show featuring mayor Bloomscrooge staged - but more generally"Much ado about nothing in the end", the bard proclaimed.


The day finished out with the first attempt of an OWS film festival at 56 Walker. Having seen literally hundreds of videographers and filmmakers during our occupation of Zucotti Park it was refreshing and enlightening to see the events from distinctly different POVs. My prevailing thoughts during the screenings 

were that the world needed to see these images, as mainstream media (MSM) doesn't at all seem to represent the movement at it's finest. These films did. Thanks to all the filmmakers and I hope this library and screenings grows as the movement progresses.


Sunday: Sunday featured an OWS 'unconference' at Pace University where skeletal presentations are featured but the conference grows as participants are encouraged to make spontaneous presentations on whatever they want, time permitting. I had become familiar with the unconference format from the Barcamp tech gatherings in Saigon and thought it was a worthwhile format for OWS - a sort of 'think as you go' format. More of these can certainly work to our advantage.


Monday: Monday ended after I had just cooked dinner at the church and did all the dishes for sixty by being told by one of the mangers that I didn't get a weekly Metrocard. Whilst knowing me as a resident of the church, he was not aware that I had spent 48 days in the park and accumulated all the media you see in the right sidebar under AHBINYC Media for OWS. Now I've been told that only work for official working groups is regarded as work worthy of the organization paying for all my transportation to work I am not paid for. So what I read from the organization is that the work I do individually for them is not valued - nor is the work people do by occupying Zuccotti Park, going on marches or other activities - unless of course, it is sanctioned by an official working group. 


Seems oddly like we are moving to a structure much like the one we are protesting - and just like that frog, mentioned at the beginning of this post, we may fail to realize that until we are summarily boiled in our own process - nickel and diming ourselves to death while the rich get richer.

And You thought I Was Kidding? No, Occupations Need Donations to Exist

Last year, I put a post up to solicit funds to travel and see a rock concert. I received $800. This week I put up a post to solicit funds and equipment  for job hunting and Occupation existence. So far, I've received nothing. Thank you. Or no thank you. For all of the lively comments I receive on this blog, it's amazing to see what happens when people are actually asked to act on their convictions. "Oh, involved? No, I just make comments on blogs and forums - and I Tweet", speak the conventional wisdoms "And I like, stuff on Facebook", they say. And if I get another Farmville or Mafia Wars invite, I'm gonna spit.

And this goes on inside of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) as well. For all the paper activism and armchair quarterbacking I witness at OWS meetings, it's amazing to see who doesn't show up when it's time for the rubber to meet the road at rallies and demonstrations. Occupiers - name the three most vocal and most disruptive people at OWS meetings...tick tock, tick tock...that took a 1/2 a second. Now, tell me if you saw them at Saturday's D17 reoccupation exercise in Duarte Square. "Nope", me neither.

And that tends to happen here as well. All sorts of people want to tell me what a lovely public service I'm providing, but when it comes to them joining in and helping, silence seems to be their loudest cry. "We'll support, so long as it doesn't cost us anything". The road to nowhere is indeed paved with excellent intensions.

So to restate: To continue Occupying and continue working to change the system from within the system, I need your support. Support in the form of donated equipment and cash. Please take a look at the hit list here and see if you can contribute. Hopefully you can.

1) For the complete pitch, click here.

2) To donate a laptop computer, click here.

3) To donate an unlocked iPhone, click here.

4) To donate cash, click here.

This week is Christmas. I live in a church on W. 86th St. and there's certainly no shortage of holiday shopping going on in that neighborhood. I see the bags as I work on a display computer at the Apple store on 67th. The bags are very full. Please know that your friendly neighborhood Occupier is hard at work as well this holiday season and help insure that his week is as merry and bright as the future can hold.

#DONATE: Support Your Friendly Neighborhood #Occupier This Holiday Season!

"That's funny, he doesn't look homeless", said the folks at the TV station when they queried me about doing a story. "And he doesn't look like an Occupier either",  I thought.

Thanks to a very good old friend, I was the proud recipient of a new set of clothing this week sent all the way from Wisconsin. Shoes, a hat, shirt, gloves, sweater, pants and socks all made their way here and onto the runway at our Occupied church on the upper east side. "You clean up well", said my fellow Occupiers. "Quite the entrance", said those I had a meeting with on Tuesday night.

But the feeling one gets in putting on brand new clothing after months of wearing the exact same set is incomparable to anything I have ever known. For the first time in three months I felt like an actual human - and I didn't feel like I had been checked out of the 30th St. men's prison (shelter) to get there. So now I'm all spit shined and ready to rock. Almost.

Over the next few weeks the holidays will pass, the 2012 job market will start to come into focus and that's where I need to be. The life of an Occupier is all well and good, but it's not a full-time gig,  doesn't pay the bills and whilst it does provide me with a more than curious place to live and at least a meal a day, it's far short of a real life - and moreover, well into the stats that determine poverty levels in the US  where 1 in 6 Americans live. Many Occupiers receive Food Stamps ($200 per month) and cash assistance ($47 per month) and so do I - but some quick math will tell you that you cannot eat 1 Big Mac meal a day on that. And so that's where this post is going. I am asking for your support in terms of equipment and finances.

 Tools of the Trade 

Computer: On Monday, this week, my old HP computer died. Dead, kaput, finis. The thing is history - and it's not coming back (I am currently working at the Apple store). And so I need a new computer. I have seen simple Dell laptops go recently for $150 new at Best Buy but would prefer a Mac to execute design, film editing and portfolio work. My uses for job hunting, consulting and Occupation work are extensive and reasonably complex. If anyone has an outdated MacBook Pro, MacBook or even PowerBook G4 and is upgrading, please consider donating your old machine to me. Used Macs are also available on Ebay or at resellers starting at $200. This is very important. I don't know anyone who can get a job today without a computer. Please consider. I am working to see if I can provide tax-deductible status (through another institution) to those who donate so I may be able to provide receipts.

iPhone (unlocked): "Yeah sure. Occupiers and the homeless need an iPhone". But then again, it doesn't hurt to ask and the need for an Internet compatible phone is extremely high in the job hunting market today - and even the Occupation market. My phone, an old Motorola Razor works but the battery is dead. Cost of a new battery will be the same as some very cheap phones so that makes little sense. If there are any old iPhones out there, please think about sending one here. 3Gs are fine and it would be best if the phone is unlocked and can take a SIM card. I won't be able to get an AT&T or Verizon contract because I have no credit record or US address for the last 16 years. If anyone is in Vietnam, these phones are plentiful there and cheap. Cost of 3Gs start around $200 for an unlocked phone. Do consider please.

Along with any Internet connected phone, I also need to spend around $50 a month for Internet service and unlimited calling. Currently I buy $10 recharge cards and they charge 30 cents a minute for calls. That's insane. I am constantly upset by the way the poorest people in this country need to pay the most for all kinds of things. It's a guaranteed lock that they will stay poor and never be able to rise from poverty - and that includes me now as well.

Digital Camera: Should I be lucky enough to get an iPhone or other smartphone, my need for a digital camera will go away - but such a large part of my work requires that I be able to document things digitally and use them in blog posts and other projects. If you have an old digital camera, any make or model, please send it this way. I'd love to put it to good use and maybe even use it to catch some cops doing bad things with pepper spray. You never know what's going to happen on the front lines of an Occupation.

 Expenses 

Expenses for a month at even basic levels can be surprising. Currently lodging and some food are handled by Occupy and I am able to buy grocery food (but not hot meals) at stores, but other expenses are not.

Metrocard (1 mo)......................... $120

Phone charge (1 mo).................. $50

Misc. @ $10 per day (1 mo).....$300

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Total (per month)                  $470

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So that's the story. If you are able to donate a computer, phone or cash over the next three months it will help support an Occupier and in time, help that Occupier find full-time, meaningful work.

 How to Support 

Donations: Let's talk. You can email me here, or leave a comment in the comment box below with details (If you wish to remain anonymous, just say so and I will not print the message). One talking point for instance: I am not able to accept PayPal right now because I do not have a US bank account. $150 is needed to keep an account at no-fee and I am not there yet so I even need cash donations before I can have a bank account. But there are other ways currently to transfer and accept money. Click here for Western Union.

Will Work For Stuff: I would prefer to work for my money. If you donate any of the above items or cash, please don't forget my professional services in advertising, marketing and journalism. I am able to write and prepare plans with some design over the Internet. Please let me know your business needs and I'll be pleased to provide in-kind services for donations of equipment or cash.

I wish you all a very nice holiday and hope to be doing better in the new year.

In holiday cheer and Occupied solidarity, thank you all.

Peace,

:David