I'm very guilty of ignoring my profile for eons - so I spruced it up a bit!!  Working on new music and shows..... been doing a lot of printmaking and video stuff - ready to rock into next year, perhaps take some trips to warmer climes.....  I miss those Florida shows!  Not to mention CA.....    talk to you soon!

Big year for Run, We Must Art and Apparel

Well, despite economic circumstances, Run, We Must's 3rd year has been its best so far! Together, we raised hundreds of dollars for Wind Energy non-profits and the general momentum brought RWM to many New England arts and music festivals, including this year's Community Wind Energy Conference in Albany, NY. Throughout all this activity I've been able make many new friends in the arts and alt-energy scenes and it's been a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone out there for interest and support... I suspect 2009 will bring many new opportunities!


Use coupon code: "snow09" for 15% off select designs!

So suddenly it's 2009, and now that the dust has settled post-Christmas, I'm realizing I have some extra supply, particularly the "Green Worker" and "Wind and Sun" tees. Consequently, I figured it might be a good time for a sale, so for a little while I have those designs available for 15% off! Just enter the coupon code "snow09" next to the shopping cart button and it will reduce the price for you.

Take care and keep a look-out for some new artwork in the coming weeks!
-Ben

Happy Holidays!

Just a quick note to friends in NH and MA... I'm swinging through to
play a few shows this Sunday, Monday and then the next weekend... a
couple of them with my pals Amanda Rogers and the Sketchy Indians -
show details below...

High 5's and good cheer to you all and have a great holiday weekend!!


-Ben

12/28/2008, The Sad Cafe, doors @ 7pm
148 Plaistow Rd., Plaistow, NH, 03865
Ben plays right at 7:00

12/30/2008, Dover Teen Center, doors @ 6:30pm
46 Locust St, Dover, NH 03820

1/3/2009, Greenfield Rockfest, doors @ 1pm
20 Sanderson Street, Greenfield, MA
Amanda Rogers: performing at 6:25
Ben Karis-Nix: performing at 7:15

 

Announcing "Making of" Videos for The Reverie of Ruby Star

The Reverie of Ruby Star is a story told in three mediums. With a little help from his friends, musician and artist Ben Karis-Nix has been tirelessly strumming, painting, and animating an exotic but troubled future, filled with poignantly rendered animals, humans and mechanical beings. Starting this Thanksgiving holiday, Ben's fictional story and real-life process of creating The Reverie of Ruby Star will be revealed in weekly snippets via the artist's new blog and video diary at http://www.thereverieofrubystar.com/.

At TheReverieofRubyStar.com and Ben's YouTube channel, audiences now have an opportunity to learn how he is creating this project. It's also a chance for Ben to get early feedback as he weighs creative decisions along the way. To follow along, please subscribe to Ben's YouTube channel or subscribe to this blog feed.

I listened to the second day of the Republican convention the other night and it's motivated me for the first time to share my political views with a larger audience. I hope some of you that are undecided might read what I have to say and be persuaded to vote for Obama with me. If you don't agree with me that's absolutely okay! I'm a "hope" guy. So here are my thoughts:

Hope is not something to laugh at.

Rudy G laughed that a message of "hope" isn't a strategy. It sounded to me that Rudy's strategy is cynicism. The American people and Obama shouldn't be made to feel ashamed of rallying around hope. When Obama says "hope," he is pushing against it's opposite, "fear," which is all I heard from Rudy when he gave his speech. Obama knows that there *is* strategy in hope. It illuminates possibilities, stimulates innovation, and rallies people together around goals and progress. In other words, you have to say, "we're going to land a man on the moon" before the first rocket is ever tested. I'm sure half a century ago people like Rudy laughed at Kennedy, too.

Hope is the banner that flies above all great men and women and their achievements. It initiates momentum and shines a bright light so we can see all the possibilities and navigate a safe course. Some people don't want an illuminated public but would rather keep you scared and in the dark, Carl Rove style. There's no strategy in fear other than securing power for the few over the many.

Obama and celebrity.

Self-declared attack dogs like Rudy and Palin like calling Barack a celebrity. Well, he is a celebrity! But Obama's success isn't based on celebrity, his celebrity is based on his success. To call someone a celebrity is to celebrate them. Is he being celebrated because he's an heir to a fortune? Or because he's a rock star? Or an athlete? He's being celebrated because of his ability to triumph over incredible odds his whole life, and then to rise as a thick-skinned but compassionate leader, taking the high road, rallying around common sense, vision, and a much needed appeal to our better natures. Hardcore Republicans over and over again use fear to distract people from the fact that they are the elite! Honest, trusting Americans are the first to be victimized by the fear-mongering that has typified hard liners of the Republican party for decades. Their tactics and policies have led us to the extreme difficulties our nation currently faces. Don't let them trick you. Reexamine the facts for yourself.

Obama as executive.

At the Republican convention they chanted "zero," arguing that Obama has had zero executive experience... but what about Obama being the executive of a successful and sweeping campaign for the presidency? ...even as an underdog even within his own party? How did he do it on the very first try? Because he's smart. He understands how to lead. He rides the ups and downs with a cool head. He strategizes. He mobilizes. He consults and then makes his own very good decisions. He allocates money to where it's needed most and spends wisely. Remember when McCain's campaign nearly ran out of money due to "mismanagement?"

Voting for the war.

Obama is one of only a handful in government who opposed a war founded on deception, despite the unpopularity of that decision.

Iraq and terrorism.

Do the "terrorist" win if we "lose" in Iraq, as the Republicans say? This is not a war about our freedom. And it only became a war against terrorism after we invaded and started creating more of them! The Republicans, and even Democrats, allowed Bush to trick the American people into destabilizing Iraq in their pursuit of influence over an oil-rich state. They let Bin Laden escape and severely underestimated the war in Iraq, transforming it into a terrorism factory which has led to the deaths of *thousands of innocent people.* I repeat, that Bush and all the Republicans who chided people critical of invasion *tricked* the American people and *thousands* have died, many of them American soldiers. Our soldiers are doing a brave job of trying to fix Bush's massive miscalculations and deceptive actions. But how were we tricked? By scaring honest Americans into believing a false threat, just as the Republicans are doing now in this campaign.

Just recently, Bush, conceding his error, is trying to squeeze troops out of Iraq and put them in Afghanistan to tackle what has been the real threat all along, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. If we really want to protect our freedom, as Republicans say, we should have many more resources in Afghanistan.

I feel that we still really need to stick it to the Republicans for letting this all happen - it's not something we can dismiss for a long time - even with the prospect of Bush being out of office. The war was a neo-con agenda and they are McCain's backers, so I will not choose their candidate and give them any more power.

Obama's background.

Rudy G tries to paint Obama as an Ivy League elitist, then he literally laughs at Obama having been a community organizer to fight inner city poverty after law school. That's classy. I'm sure community organizers all over the country - including faith-based ones - really appreciated that. How much money do you think Obama earned working with the poor and disenfranchised? Obama lived modestly when he could have been making the big bucks. That's no elitist. *McCain married a beer heiress!*

Oil drilling and global warming.

"Drill baby drill" they chanted at the convention, but all I could hear was "melt baby melt." Will an extra few feet of ocean water contribute to our national prosperity?

Big government.

Huckabe decried big government at the convention. But there are some things that government ought to do to preserve the health and productivity of the country. Or at the very least, come to citizens' aid when a massive hurricane submerges a major American city. Should those poor victims of Katrina have pulled themselves out of the water by their own bootstraps? Luckily those unfortunate American citizens had health insurance to take care of their injuries and illnesses post-Katrina - or maybe not? It was a funny coincidence that mother nature whipped up another storm on the first day of the Republican convention.

Flip-flopping and back-sliding.

They talk about Obama readjusting his positions on certain issues, but who's changed positions more than McCain? His sudden abandonment of moderate and "maverick" views that I once admired (on immigration, for example), is unfortunate. Now he must appeal to a super-conservative base he probably in his heart of hearts doesn't even agree with, or at least he didn't seem to few months ago. These sudden changes don't bode well for a moderate McCain as president.

Who do the Republicans represent?

The Republicans sure made a point of putting a diverse group of speakers up on the podium, but did you look at the audience? Who does the Republican party really represent? Rudy G declares proudly that the Republicans were the party that ended slavery. He's right, of course. Lincoln, a Republican of the 19th century, preserved the union and abolished slavery. But the Democrats were instrumental in ending racial segregation just a few decades ago. And those in the south who opposed ending segregation went mostly Republican. It's a big stretch to characterize the Republican party as the party of equality in historical terms. Remember George Allen and his use of the term "Macaca?" Trent Lott had to issue an apology over his comment that the United States would have avoided "all these problems" if then-segregationist Strom Thurmond had been elected president in 1948.

Obama's character.

If you're voting for character, vote for the much-needed intelligence and sound judgement that is Obama's. It's like a pocket of warm water rising to the surface of a cold murky ocean of corporate interests, deception, big money, and fear-based elite-oriented ideology. Obama's sudden buoyancy illustrates the power of hope vs fear, high road vs low road, cooperation vs division, peace vs war, change vs entrenched interests. It's warm against cold, and like a law of nature, his candidacy has risen swiftly by its own power, as can our nation with him.

Your family.

If you're voting for your children's future, entrust your family to the life experience of a man like Barack Obama's. He was once a kid that had the decked stacked against him and his family, but he succeeded by his wits *and*, as he proudly admits, by the mobility and opportunities that a country like America offered him. He knows first hand that he must preserve those opportunities for our nation's youth. He knows that government must place a high priority in our children's education.

Obama's experience.

If you're voting for experience, vote for the fresh perspective. Sure, McCain has a lot of experience as a senior senator of the party that has led us to all our current problems. But is that the experience you want to vote for? Study Obama, the man who is now chief executive of one the most historic campaigns in the last one hundred years. He used his wits and experience to emerge on top as the underdog in an incredibly difficult primary race. He *is* the chief executive of this amazing moment in history. Obama's life experience illustrates how he has counted on his wits, wisdom, and compassion to bring him to success every step of his life. He's led a life of service to those in need and aspires to serve the free world with policies crafted under the authority of his intelligence and innate sense of justice for all people. He's as smart and as good a human being gets in politics.

So are you in? I say let's have a break from Republicans spooking people to protect their interests which have nothing to do with ordinary Americans or our safety and stability in a changing world.

All this being said...

... it's just politics, after all - and I believe very truly that we're all more alike than different... see - that "hope" thing again, right? So, remember, any lines I'm drawing are just words written for sake of giving a guy I really believe in a little breathing room from what was a lot of cynicism and unfairness. So in the spirit of hope, can we change America and the world for the better? With Barack Obama, Yes We Can!!!

Dear Ladies and Gents,

1. New shows & events in VT, NY, MA
2. "Run, We Must" clothing sale
3. New Facebook band page and my role in society
4. "We Are Giants Now" on Amazon Mp3 and more...

1. Hi there, how's it going? Got some cool new shows on the books in
VT, NH, & MA... one of them is a show at a place called Radio Bean in
Burlington - hopefully we can perform for VT folks we met at Solar
Fest this summer! Dates are pretty up to date here on MySpace - take a look!

2. There's a sale for the end of summer at my clothing site, "Run, We
Must" - get 20% off all tees by typing the code: "aug08" at
www.runwemust.com... there's a new one there called "Green Worker" -
it's pretty cool!

3. Facebook band page: my campaign to rule the internet from an
underground base is one step closer to completion - that being, I
finally got a Facebook profile up and running, complete with special
pages for both BKN music and "Run, We Must" Art & Apparel:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1029658280

If Facebook is not your style, MySpace or old school email is just
great. Facebook seemed intimidatingly complex to me but I'm coming
around - I'd even venture to say that electronic correspondence has
been improving on my end as the latest front of my campaign to
"function in society."

4. Speaking of the internet and functioning in society, for those who
like to buy music online, my EP "We Are Giants Now" is now up on
Amazon Mp3, and also on iTunes, emusic, Napster and a bunch more -
just search for "Ben Karis-Nix" at any of these sites or go to:

www.wearegiantsnow.com

Please leave comments or stars if you don't mind - 4 or more stars
increases the chances of a stranger taking a chance on an unfamiliar
artist!

Thanks everyone - keep in touch and take care! -Ben

Hey, my friends, I have a little record coming out at the end of the month called, "We Are Giants Now!"

"But wait," some might ask, "didn't you already release something called 'We Are Giants Now' in January?" Right on, good call. The original "We Are Giants Now" was self-released at the beginning of 2008 and included 3 songs and 3 silkscreened poster prints I made in over the winter (which are still available for those who want the art, too!) but this new release is a traditional EP featuring 6 songs - the new tunes being an instrumental song called, "Bugs in the Garden," a trance-like reggae-ish song (replete with singing crickets) called "Explosions Underground," and another quasi-electronic version of a Ben Karis-Nix standard, "Steal Me". Not only that, but my venerable friends at Collar City Records will have whole thing up on iTunes, emusic, and Napster! It all goes down on June 24th!!!

To learn more about the release and how to get a copy, please stop by www.wearegiantsnow.com where you can listen to some of the music, get info on the release party, and learn how to order music!

Thanks folks! More music and other fun stuff on the way this summer and fall - that may involve Mars. And windmills. And robots.

Take care! -Ben

Just a few minutes ago Olivia described to me a piece of child-rearing hardware I was unaware of: the breast-pump. I found myself alarmed at how mechanical the process of pumping milk from a human could be. Then I quickly remembered that all us creatures on Earth are just baby-making machines. Sure, humans have big heads and we busy ourselves with a lot of complicated thinking, so we forget that in many ways our bodies are built for baby production and nurturing. But saddling up to a breast pump is a quick and easy reminder.

After discussing breast pumps and stewing amid subsequent minutes of existential musing I strolled over to my cat stretched out on the couch. She’s beside me right now and looks like a tube. Her name is Athena, but right now she appears to me as a long, tubular machine that turns chipmunks, chickadees, and moles into cat. A chipmunk processing unit, or C.P.U. She’s expertly programmed, that’s for sure - it’s pretty amazing. One day she showed up at the door with a hummingbird and the red flower it was drinking from all in her mouth! Horrifyingly impressive!

Conclusions: this evening I’m perceiving that we live in an amazing world of roaming, interacting machines with little ghosts inside them. These ghosts of our "selves" seem to be the symphony of our body cells harmonizing together, singing a marching song as we parade along our creature-specific destinies, bound for baby-making but having adventures along the way.

So I had my birthday recently and when questioned by my wife and family members as to what I would enjoy for a present, I hemmed and hawed for quite some time. In 2008, I realized more acutely than ever that this is my annual, over-my-own-budget-chance for something deliciously awesome. (Over my budget means like, a pencil. Or munchkins from Dunkin Donuts. Chocolate glazed.)

So, wow, what will it be this year? Though in years past, I felt I needed nothing more than what I already had, apparently I’ve become more materialistic, for no sooner was the question proposed than I was overcome by an instantaneous and profound thirst for goodies, unquenchable by a tidal wave of Hershey Syrup, and filling my head with such wonderful things!

The first item I pined for was something I needed very badly, as in a carnal craving "badly." I could see it clearly in my mind’s eye. Fresh-from-the-factory. Black. Sleek. I imagined walking up to the door. I clutch the handle and - oooh - I’m startled by how smoothly it opens. Wow, every human interface on this thing... so well engineered it just feels good. I lean in and put my face inside. Mmm, smells new. Lots of room, too. Yet compact, light. This sweet, sweet filing cabinet is all I really need.

But wait, wasn’t there some other stuff, too? Don’t speak to soon, I warned myself. Wouldn’t I like something..... fast? Yeah, things have felt a little logy lately. I’ve been working indoors on my computer a lot. I could use something that could just tear through, well, all those video and music files use up a lot of RAM. Yeah, some extra RAM for my Mac would be awesome!

Yet, hmmm. A filing cabinet and RAM - as wonderful as they are - don’t address some deeper needs I’ve been feeling this past year. Maybe I can think of a gift that provides me with an opportunity for insight - some wisdom to penetrate those nagging existential quandaries I’ve been feeling. Didn’t I see some good new Buddhist books on Amazon? Or maybe a spiritual retreat would be a good present? Or better yet! Maybe *I * should give a present - do something less about me and therefore provide myself with the gift of a warm heart and satisfied conscience? I could volunteer someplace! Oh, but I’m still going to die someday. Nevermind, I’ll do that later. So, ahhh, what does it all mean?!?!

After pondering these possibilities for several seconds, on a lark I said, "how about a past-life-regression hypnosis session?"

I did it today! More on that later....