Our good friend and colleague Scott Beibin (Scott recently flattered me that my early punk rock documentaries were what infected his mind when he was a teenager and caused him to become a filmmaker much to his parents consternation) is screening his wonderful Lost Film Fest in Los Angeles Sunday and Monday of this week – check it out:

June 1 Sun  Los Angeles, CA (Echo Park) @Showcave – 1218 1/2 Temple St. | 8pm | $5-10 sliding scale | www.showcave.org

June 2 Mon  Goleta, CA @ UCSB – Storke Tower (Outdoor Screening – Bike In Theater) | 8:30pm (Dark o’ clock) | Free | myspace.com/ucsbinsomniaccinema | http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6760953206 | sponsored by Insomniac Cinema + KCS

LOST FILM FEST hosted by vj Scott Beibin

If corporations and politicians make you want to puke, and you’d like to see them getting pied and pranked, you’ll love the LOST FILM FEST cinema laboratory hosted by vj SCOTT BEIBIN. It’s a fun mix of live performance and rare short films featuring pranks by culture jammers like THE YES MEN, (more…)

Check out graffiti artist DAIM “spray digital graffiti into empty space”.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“Internet gives graffiti vandals a global audience”

The arrest of one of L.A.’s most prolific taggers reflects a growing trend for photos and videos of the vandalism to be posted online.

By Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 28, 2008

The arrest of a man authorities describe as one of Los Angeles’ most prolific taggers underscores a growing phenomenon on the Internet: graffiti vandals who videotape their handiwork and place it on the Web for the world the see.

Detectives said they are increasingly dealing with tech-savvy vandals who use blogs, social networking and photo and video sharing sites to advertise their vandalism. Experts say the so-called “bombers” compete for the most outrageous tactics. “Buket” became an Internet star for tagging a Hollywood Freeway overpass, with cars zooming by 20 feet below.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Devin Vanderlaan, the investigator who arrested Cyrus Yazdani, a.k.a. “Buket,” said he believes the explosion in graffiti in the Los Angeles area in the last few years has been driven in no small part by the Internet, which not only is a convenient way to show off your tags but pushes its boundaries.

“The whole reason they do this is for the not only for the thrill but for exposure, for the recognition by other taggers,” Vanderlaan said. “Now, by taking pictures or video, their homies don’t have to walk, drive or take the bus to see their tags. They go online.”

Indeed, Yazdani’s alleged videos have gotten more hits since his arrest. Yazdani was booked into the L.A. County Jail on suspicion of felony vandalism and could not be reached for comment.

Roger Gastman who has written several books on graffiti tagging, said the Internet has, in effect, helped to democratize graffiti.

“Social networking sites and the Internet have helped spread every culture and subculture to every nook and cranny possible and graffiti is no exception,” Gastman said. “Social networking sites have absolutely helped graffiti’s popularity. It’s everywhere. Graffiti doesn’t have economic or race rules anymore. When people think of graffiti years ago they thought of black urban and hip-hop. Now, graffiti is not defined by race or tax bracket.”

Tim Kephart, founder of Graffiti Tracker Inc., which catalogs tags for law enforcement, said he’s seen no evidence to suggest Internet posts have worsened the graffiti problem.

“It’s just another audience for these tagger to brag about what they are doing,” he said.

But officials worry that the daredevil tactics could get out of hand.

“Throwing up a bomb here or a bomb there isn’t going to do it anymore,” Vanderlaan said. “They are going for something crazier like hanging off a sign or building or doing it in volume.”

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

From the Los Angeles Times:

Man believed to be graffiti tagger in YouTube video is charged

By Andrew Blankstein
May 30, 2008

A man described as one of Los Angeles’ most prolific taggers, whose daredevil antics were featured on YouTube, was charged today with 32 counts of felony vandalism. The charges come after what authorities called a yearlong graffiti spree that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.

Cyrus Yazdani, 24, a professional graphic artist known on the street as “Buket,” faces a maximum sentence of 10 to 14 years in state prison if convicted of all counts, authorities said. Yazdani, who was arrested Tuesday, was on probation for a 2007 felony vandalism conviction.

His “Buket” moniker has been splashed across hundreds of area freeway overpasses, concrete walls and transit buses, authorities said. He was also known as a “bomber,” a tagger who favors big, bold letters that can be seen from long distances.

Yazdani is unusual in the graffiti world, said Sheriff’s Deputy Devin Vanderlaan, not only because he is a college graduate and worked as convention planner in Las Vegas but also because of his “in-your-face” style that ostensibly dared authorities to come after him.

“Buket” became an Internet sensation because of a video, posted on YouTube and numerous tagger-related blogs, that shows him applying his tag to a Hollywood Freeway overpass as traffic speeds by below.

Another daylight attack, also posted on the Net, appears to show “Buket” applying his moniker to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus amid surprised onlookers.

Still, authorities say, it’s unclear whether a conviction would result in significant jail time.

This year a prolific tagger, Gustavo Romero, was sentenced to a year in jail for etching his “Guser” moniker on dozens of Metro buses. Romero, of South Los Angeles, caused at least $108,000 in damage to property over a two-year period. He pleaded guilty to 49 felony charges.

Bomb It’s LA Premiere! 6/6 – 6/12 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theater

BOMB IT screens 6/6- 6/12 at: 1:00pm 3:15pm 5:30pm 7:50pm 10:10pm

**Limited Edition Bomb It Ipod Gela Skins for the first 100 people
at each of the Friday night screenings 7:50 & 10:10

Laemmle’s Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, 90046
323-848-3500
www.laemmle.com

To celebrate the LA premiere of Bomb It at the Laemmle Sunset 5 there will be a premiere party on June 6th at The VineBar in Hollywood. Both Garth Trinidad and Jeremy Sole from KCRW are DJing!!! There will be free goodie bags too with stuff from All City NGR, Tribal Gear, and Sticky Rick’s stickers! A ticket from any of the movie screenings will get you into the party.

Premiere Party 10pm – 2am
The VineBar
1235 N. Vine St
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 871-4060

To buy tickets go here and click on the “Bomb It” banner