Women's Art Collective goes to Kenya

TRAILER " WOMEN ARE HEROES"
by JR

- photos by JR

SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION pt.4

Technology:


When we consider the relevance of our social structures and ideologies in society, very often we view governments, politicians and corporations as the guiding organizational and catalystic institutions responsible for the quality of our lives. This is, of course, true... but only to a certain extent. As time has moved forward, human beings have become more and more aware of nature, its processes, and thus have been able to derive inference about how to imitate nature in all its creative glory.

The result has been Technology, which is what separates us humans from the other species as far as functionality. We have the ability to create in very vast ways. If we don't want to clean sewers, we can devise a machine to do it for us.

At the beginning of the Industrial Age, a great majority of people worked in factories. Today, automation comprises 90% of nearly all factories. This has displaced humans and created a large, artificial "service" industry in order to keep humans in employment for money.

This pattern is very revealing. The implication is that machine automation is constantly challenging the role of general human labor. This doesn't mean that humans will have "nothing to do" as time moves on. Quite the contrary... this implication denotes the freeing of humanity from jobs which humans do not care to engage in, so they will have time to pursue what they choose to. As an aside, it is important to point out that society today assumes a very negative posture towards humanity, retaining the belief that if human beings were not "required" to do something, they would just sit around, be lazy, and do nothing. This is absurd propaganda.

The notion of "leisure" is a monetary invention, created because of the oppressive, fascist basis of the employment institution itself. Laziness is, in fact, a form of rejection of the system. It is a quality that only exists due to the oppression and required servitude.

In a true society, there would be no such thing as the separation of "work and "leisure", for humans should be allowed to pursue whatever they feel is relevant. To put it a different way, consider the curiosity and interest of a child. He or she doesn't even know what money is...Do they need to be motivated by money to go out and explore/create? No. They have a personal interest and they pursue it without reward. In fact, the greatest contributors to our society, such as Einstein, Newton or Galileo, pursued what they did without any regard to money. They did it because they wanted to. The act of doing and contributing was their reward.

The point here is that money is not a true incentive for anything and to think as such is to assume that humans are inherently lazy and corrupt. Laziness and corruption are products of the conditioning our social system creates.

Now, coming back to technology, we find that our quality of life, as far as functionality, has been increased greatly by the benefits of the technological tools we create. From a lawn mower to a pace maker, technology saves lives and decreases the amount of time we need to spend on mundane, difficult or dangerous activities. In fact, if one steps back far enough, it becomes clear that Technological development is the most important institution we have and the pursuit of socially helpful technology(not weapons) should be the highest priority of the culture.

At the same time, technological development is brought about by a particular train of thought, or process... this could be called "The Scientific Method". Carl Sagan was once quoted as saying something to the effect of "Society welcomes the gifts of science, but rejects its methods".

This is very true in the modern age, for what the public fails to understand is that science is not just a tool... it is a near universal functionality which can be applied to society in ways many would not think about.

It seems obvious that technology improves our lives and serves as the greatest liberator of human life in the material realm... so why aren't its methods applied to society as a whole?

Obviously, the scientific method is used constantly for isolated systems, but it has never been truly considered in the broadest ways. This is largely due to age old superstitions which battle the logic of science in favor of a dogmatic, outdated and highly romanticized world view.

If we had the option to rebuild a society from scratch, how would we do it to make it the most efficient, sustainable and humane? This is our perspective. Obviously, we cannot build a society from scratch but the point is clear. It is time we stop thinking about monetary concerns and limitations, and begin to think about the possibilities we have here on earth in the broadest sense.

It is this interest that has created the concept of a 'Resource Based Economy'. The Venus project has been working on this concept for a long time and its foundation is very simple. We survey, preserve and maximize our use of planetary resources in conjunction with open information and technological development.

In this view, little is left to subjective interpretation, for it is a scientifically derived strategy for social construction at the very core. From there, the scientific parameters work themselves out as far as possibilities.


www.zeitgeistmovement.com

Shepard Fairey

Creator of the now world renowned Obama poster, artist Shepard Fairy's originial composition will be hung in the National Portrait Gallery and has been named man of the year by GQ magazine.

Oh, and he was featured on the Colbert Report:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Shepard Fairey

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Finally we can call him president!

OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it).”
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.




WORD.

SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION pt. 3

Sociology is often defined as "The study of society; human social interaction".

This field considers social structures, both Cognitive and Material. An example of a Cognitive Social Structure is the established institution of religion and how its operation affects the collective awareness. For instance, Prolife Christians share a disposition that human"life" is a separate element of nature and that killing an unborn fetus is wrong. Concurrently, the competition based monetary system has proponents putting forth ideas such as how competition is the most productive social state that humans can engage in.

Material Social Structures, on the other hand, are very obvious and they exist in the form of corporations and governments, each having a strong influence on society. Of course, all Material Social Structures bleed over into the Cognitive realm, for they always have an ideology behind them.

Now, a common sociological issue has to do with "Human Nature" and its effect in a collective sense. For instance, most people have been taught that human beings are naturally competitive with each other, along with the assumption that social stratification or hierarchy is also a "natural human tendency".

This is a fallacy.

If you look to, say, a pack of lions, you will see social hierarchy and violent competition for food in most cases. This comparison is what leads people to think it is a natural occurrence in human society as well (war, greed, ego, etc.). What is overlooked however, are the Environmental Conditions present in each case. The pack of Lions exist in a world of Scarcity. They do not have the ability to create traps for food, nor is food accessible in an 'on demand' basis. They have to hunt and fight with each other. This creates competition naturally, for in order to survive, the lions MUST be aggressive with each other. In turn, hierarchy is developed for the strongest of these lions wins the most, and in turn exert their dominance in a stratified way.

Likewise, in our current Human Society, the exact same thing is going on. Humans have been living in the same sort of scarcity since the dawn of existence. However, as time has gone on, we have become more and more "civilized" due to our ability to Create. Unlike the Lions, humans are able to create tools and set in motion processes that free the human being from a particular chore or problem, reducing Scarcity.
Given this "insight" we then see that on a fundamental level that if scarcity could be eradicated, then human behavior would undergo a dramatic change, moving away from competition, dominance and stratification.

Likewise, outmoded ideologies that do not stand up to the test of time, such as theistic religion, compound this myth that humans/society are built a certain way. For example, the Catholic ideology states that humans are "born with sin".

This is absurd, outmoded and based on a primitive understanding of human behavior.

There is no difference between a Ghandi baby or a Hitler baby... it is the environment that shapes the person and hence the society (and vice versa).

Therefore, true Sociological change will come from removing the conditions that cause the aberrant behavior patterns which pollute our societies. Prison, Police and Laws are mere patchwork and, in fact, tend to make things worse over time.

Ultimately, it is going to take a redesign of our culture to change human behavior for the better.

- zeitgeistmovement.com

Enjoy

Btw, if you haven't seen Garden State or Tales of Manhattan,you need to

SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION pt.2

Psychology is often defined as "The science that deals with mental processes and behavior".

In the modern day, there are basically two prevailing schools of thought. 'Geneticists' and 'Behaviorists'... the old notion of "nature vs nurture."

The Geneticists are inclined to think that human behavior is derived from heredity and instinct. Often on the news, reports detail how some study claims to find the 'genetic predisposition' 'to being republican' or 'smoking cigarettes'. This supports the world view that we are 'hardwired' in some way and that even subtle nuances of behavior, such as an inclination for addiction, is genetic or "instinctual" in some way.

The Behaviorists, on the other hand, see the human being as a product of conditioning, as based on the environmental exposure of that person. Therefore, the actions of a person have a source that is derived from experience or a triggered train of thought, brought on by a learned understanding. The mechanism of action/belief therefore is sourced in learning, not heredity or instinct.

Which is more relevant? Obviously, both views are relevant in certain ways. Our interest in surviving and reproducing is imprinted/genetic in some way, as it is directly associated with fundamental survival. However, the means by which survival is obtained is entirely based on the social conditioning of that person. If a person grows up in a scarce, poverty stricken environment, with limited access to employment, they will have more of a propensity to engage in illegal activity to survive... more so, then say a middle class person who has basic needs met.
On the other side of the spectrum, if a person with great wealth has grown up in an elitist family and is thus conditioned into thinking that his or her wealth/class serves as a status symbol, they might often exploit those who work for them or perform illegal activities to conform to the identity and social arrogance they think is real.

The bottom line is that it is environmental conditioning that really affects 99% of our actions, and all diligent behavior studies have proven this time and time again.
People become alcoholics not because they have a genetic predisposition, but because of the influence of their parents or friends. If you abuse a child, very often they grow up to abuse other children. When the mass media promotes a certain idea in society, such as "terrorism", the public is conditioned into believing this is true and a real threat, regardless of reality. The fact is, we are emergent, vulnerable organisms and always undergoing influence, conditioning and change to a certain degree.
That 'degree' is largely influenced by the social/ideological identifications which many have been conditioned to think are immutable. This particular state of awareness is where paralysis comes in, for there is nothing in nature to support the conclusion that anything we think about today will not be outdated in the future, for one of the few patterns we can stand behind with a certain degree of confidence(so far) is the reality that all elements of nature are emergent. The 'identification' with a set understandings for the sake of ones integrity is a serious distortion in our world, for it is considered a 'weakness' when a person is proven wrong. This is, of course, absurd, for to be proven wrong is how most learn and it should not be a feared circumstance.

Fritz Pearls once said that "The human species is the only species that has the ability to interfere with their own growth". This is an important understanding, for our belief systems, which we think we must keep to support our identities, often stand in the way of new, changing understandings and personal growth.

The most dominant institutions which perpetuate this paralysis seem to be Theistic Religion and The Monetary System. Theistic religion promotes a fixed world view, with a "faith" based understanding that rejects logic and new information. The Monetary System ( in all countries) is based on Competition for Labor and thus Labor for Money. Very simply, the "competitive edge" can only be sustained through self-perpetuation, and self-perpetuation/self interest naturally leads to a static institution which prefers not to change, for it threatens the survival of that business, government or the like.

This is unsustainable.

- zeitgeistmovement.com

Fake New York Times

Steve Lambert was one of the artists who helped organize the fake new york times prank, and although this happened a couple of months ago i think it deserves to be mentioned. In this project, 1.2 million copies of a utopian version of the paper with the headline "IRAQ WAR ENDS" were given out across the city for free. Culture-jamming groups like the Yes Men, Code Pink, and Improv Everywhere claimed credit in a press release, but it is also known that many respectable journalists also to part in the event.




I don't understand why I never heard about any of this in the "news"

SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

" MY COUNTRY IS THE WORLD, AND MY RELIGION IS TO DO GOOD." - Thomas Paine


Synopsis:

Fluid social change can only materialize if two circumstances are met. One, the human value system, which consists of our understandings and beliefs, must be updated and changed through education and thoughtful introspection. Two, the environment surrounding that value system must change to support the new world view. The interaction between a person's value system and their environment is what influences human behavior.

For example, in our culture, "ethics" is really a matter of degree, for our social system promotes and rewards competition and self-interest. This perspective doesn't just "lead" to aberrant behavior... it creates it directly. Corruption is the norm in our society and most people do not see this, for since the society supports this behavior, it is considered right and normal... or as a matter of degree.

Given this understanding, there is a fallacy that has emerged where certain groups are deemed "corrupt" and everyone else is "good". This is the age old "us and them" world view which has no basis empirically, for it is, again, all a matter of degree.
For example, there is a large movement of people who constantly talk about "The New World Order" and this notion that there is an elite group of people who have been trying to take over the world for a long time and have manipulated society in various ways to further their goals.

This, of course, is true to a certain extent.

BUT, the failure of awareness is that this "group" is not a group at all. It is a tendency.

If you took out all the people at the top who are engaged in global hegemonic rule, it would simply be a matter of time before another group stepped in to seek the same ambition. Therefore, it isn't the individual people or groups that are the problem. It is actually the conditions upon which those people have been accustomed and indoctrinated by. Of course, many argue against this view with the escapist notion that it is "human nature" that causes this competition and need for dominance. This is unsupported by the facts. In reality, we are nearly clean slates when we are born and it is our environment that shapes who we are and how we behave.

Therefore, in order for TRUE change to occur, we must spend less time battling the products of this sick social structure and more time trying to change the root causes. As difficult and daunting as it may be to think this way, it is the only way our world will change for the better.

We can continue to stomp on the ants coming out from under the refrigerator, but until we remove the spoiled food behind it, they are just going to keep coming.


- I can't begin to put in words all I've started to learn and realize by just watching the two videos on this website and opening up to what they have to say

Artivist Film Festival winners in California in 2007 for the first one and
2008 for their second.

it can't hurt to google it yourself

http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/home.html

New York Street Photography Restrictions

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS!?



The Mayor’s Office of Film deals primarily with big film shoots (ie.commercials, features, t.v.) is where permits and insurance are, obviously, given.

However, many photographers and filmmakers carry on an equally important tradition in which spontaneous documentation of the urban environment is at the very heart of their work.

to photograph on the street you probably need to wait for the right activity, the right light, the break in the traffic; the countless other unpredictable factors that need to fall into place to make a shot worthwhile

… other than that it's just another dumb picture an teenage girl could take with her new Nikon D40 her daddy bought her

but now permits would have to be obtained for specific dates and times and exact locations, and the insurance would be out of reach for many.

The fact is that no one can simply PREDICT where, when, and how long they are going to film or photograph;

they probably can't afford expensive insurance policies, etc.

(The regulations would, for example, effectively rule out a great deal of time-lapse photography which depends on tripods and cannot possibly be done with time limitations of 10 to 30 minutes, as well as the use of large format still cameras and long lenses)


If these regulations go through, it would invite if not require police to harass or shut down both professional artists and amateurs.

New York is a city that welcomes and inspires art-making (and historical documentation)

This is a part of a ever growing number of attacks against civil liberties and free expression that seem to be ignored by the rest of the public


If you are a photographer, film maker, or just someone who loves
good underground art, no major mainstream labels attached

Please contact the following person immediately and express your concerns to:

Julianne Cho
Associate Commissioner
Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater & Broadcasting
1697 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
jcho@film.nyc.gov
ph: 212.489.6710
fax: 212.307.6237

You Appointed Who!?

It's been a while but I think it should be said that I was very disappointed by Obama’s appointment of Rick Warren to deliver his invocation during Obama’s inaugural address. Rick Warren is against gay marriage and reproductive rights, and he does not believe in evolution (maybe he offers himself as proof of lack of evolution). I still think Obama is the best choice for president, but I can’t condone Warren’s involvement in Obama’s inauguration, no matter how insignificant it is. I understand that Obama is trying to appeal to conservatives and evangelicals, but this move is symbolically a slap in the face to many people. Warren is not a uniter, but a divider… he is intolerant in many of his views. I think it is important to speak one’s mind, but also to not let the narcissism of petty differences sabotage our unity and progress.

Beautiful Losers

Paint a Deck with Ed Templeton from BlackLake on Vimeo.


Inspired by the DIY culture film, beautiful losers, the MAKE SOMETHING!!workshop is a series of workshops presented by NIKE sportswear.

Artists such as Ed Templeton, Aaron Rose, Tobin Yelland, Money Mark, Jesse Spears, Mike Mills, and more went to schools in New York and Los Angeles to lead workshops on everything to making zines or skate graphics to poster art or video editing.

The 9 webisodes feature artists from the film, their contemporaries, as well as the filmmakers teaching high school kids in NY and LA the DIY aspects of art-making

Aminals

No, I didn't misspell the title to my blog. Aminals is a website I stumbled onto when I was looking for a band that I like on google.

http://www.aminaldolls.com/

apparently they got kids to draw what ever they liked and made them into
soft puppets made from organic material. The idea was coined by the designers
at Dreaming Lion LLC. I thought is was pretty nice how they help kids interest
in art flourish from such an early stage, allowing them to be proud of something they made by just being themselves.


Oh, and they also seem pretty proud that their product is made from
organic material:


" There is a solution! Organic farms are free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, keeping their soil and water protected and usable for many, many years to come. Before a farm may be certified organic, the fields must be free of synthetic chemicals for three years!

Organic farms rotate crops to replenish and maintain the soil’s fertility, and control pests and weeds naturally, using insect predators, traps, or botanical pesticides that are broken down quickly and simply with oxygen and sunlight. Growing cotton organically also benefits small-scale farmers who don’t have the funds to buy expensive, toxic pesticides. Organic cotton farming also uses significantly less water and electric power than conventional cotton farming techniques.

Not only is organic farming healthier and safer for our farmers, our fieldworkers, and our communities, organic cotton is free from synthetic poisons that are absorbed into our bloodstream through skin contact. Products manufactured from certified organic ingredients are the safest for your kids!

Only low impact and natural vegetable dyes can be used in certified organic cotton production, unlike the toxic, synthetic dyes used in conventional cotton manufacturing. "


-Aminals

SUPER SIZE ME

I had gotten home today and was watching That's 70 show like i always do after school. It seemed that every food commercial had to do with big food though. Big macs, Big man microwavable food, mega sized pizza at Pizza Hut, etc. What the hell ever happened to normal size? Actually, what about the quality of the food we buy? I know that you shouldn't ask for much when you're getting fast food, but come one, I'm not going to pay 10 dollars for something a dog wouldn't touch. I mean, I've heard Taco Bell's meat is only 10 percent away from being dog food, that's just disgusting. So when it comes to food, I prefer either my mom's home cooked meals or just some good sushi, that beats a cholesterol covered fast pass to health problems any day.

Our Word Is Our Weapon

A Question from Rowan on Vimeo.

" In the light of recent attacks in south Africa, WE respond to the questions, WE take to the streets...And like our brothers in the Zapatista National Liberation Army, We believe a word is a weapon. This war is not a statement, it is a question, which comes from a place in our hearts in where we believe that every person has a right to Equality, Freedom, and Life."



"Those who have suffered understand suffering and therefor extend their hand."is a piece done in Cape Town, South Africa deep inside the Hazendal community.

This graffiti message was written by FAITH47, an artist who resides in
South Africa and who is renowned for her political statements through her
pieces worldwide.



Eventually someone realizes that there is injustice in the world. Eventually someone is bound to wake up. But it is the by product of humanity when it is cornered that amazes me. We don't feel a need to express our selves unless emotionally awakened, a need to fight unless pissed off, and a need to speak of peace until there is hate.


So what happens when the ideal society is created? Will there not arise dissent in the perfect government? Is not the idea of "world peace" an impossible daydream we like to imagine to keep our destructive souls company? Instead of trying to change the world we should first change ourselves, then maybe things would mold themselves into something more livable.


I remember hearing in my philosophy class about an experiment were thousands of people meditated in front of the Washington Monument as part of research on the power of our minds. The crime rate in the state of Washington D.C. dropped 33% in the following year.


If you could just take a minute of your time to wish everyone well, to dream of inner peace and the welfare of your family and friends, then maybe you would reduce the grip of hate and animosity in the world. With a little more breathing space, maybe we would be able to think more clearly about how our actions affect every spec of dust around us.


It takes courage to tell others that you were wrong, it takes maturity to
understand what the best reaction should be before you go off on someone about how much of a jack ass they are. For all these things a person needs to have wisdom, something vital that seems to be missing from many politicians...maybe that's why there's so many wars and starving minds, maybe we've been picking our leaders based on a more fact based point of view? We pick men and women to lead us because of the school they went to and the laws they voted on, but never on their morals, no, political parties have taken the place of that. If you're conservative you love money if you're liberal you're a leftist, and that's the end of that.

Obama is going to be kicked out?

I just heard on a Hispanic news channel that because Obama is apparently not
an American since he was born in Indonesia, there has been investigations into
his origins. A tribune is being set up to decide if he should be allowed into the Presidency or not, because it seems as if he forged documents to make it appear as if he were American, when in reality he is of Indonesian nationality.

His birth mother mentioned this while she was being interviewed
which sparked the interest of those opposed to his political party.


Now I don't know much on this and would really appreciate to get comments
from people who have heard about it.

I can't believe that these people have decided to start looking at this kind of stuff just now, after his election by American voters.

Would we be forced to look for a new president?

would we have to go through elections once again?


or is this just a scheme from right wing conservatives who can't accomplish their corporate goals with such an open minded mine as the new leader of a free country?

If this does become a serious issue, I believe any attempt at dethrowning Obama and the people who chose him would cause discontent and maybe even rioting.

To change someone we have chosen to such a high political position on technical
idiocies seems to be a new bureaucratic low.

The Big Red

Communism:

An economic and social system envisioned by the nineteenth-century German scholar Karl Marx.


~In theory, under communism, all means of production are owned in common, rather than by individuals (see Marxism and Marxism-Leninism).


~In practice, a single authoritarian party controls both the political and economic systems. In the twentieth century, communism was associated with the economic and political systems of China and the Soviet Union and of the satellites of the Soviet Union.



I know that I might called out on this issue by some of you, but that's fine with me, and I would like to hear your interpretations of the issue. First off I would like to say that I'm not communist at all, to be honest I believe that any ideals, pertaining to politics and religion have lead to the deterioration of the human spirit and resulted in our base history of murder, drugs, and sex; blinding us from any real purpose in our lives.

So now on to the real reason why I wrote this blog. I remember when I was smaller, I would go out shopping with me mom and occasionally we would see people wearing the typical Che Guevara shirt, his stare off into the distance resembled a stone of sorts, strong and determined. I wanted a shirt with the face of this man who i realized I didn't know anything about, just because I believed him to be someone strong who probably did something pretty amazing to have so many young kids admiring him. I went up to my dad and asked who he was, and my dad told me he basically slaughtered people in Cuba in order to achieve his goals, and then became greedy alongside his close friend Castro, a simplified version for even a 12 year old to understand. Well I still wanted the shirt, so I tried my best my dad to let me get it, but he told me to do some investigating first. So i went on line and I found my self captivated by this man's thoughts on equality, but then followed the nasty history that preceded him. Death seemed to abound, as i learned on all the injustice that had been caused because of one man, I was angered by how stupid I had been.

But to this day I still believe that if it were not for people's selfish thirst for money and conflict, the theory of communism could work. I'm not looking at this from a financial aspect, but a personal one. People are grumpy because their house is smaller than their neighbors, well what if all the houses were the same? Why couldn't there be a section for people who want this house and a section for that house, and they all cost the same price? Why can't all the products that we make be of high class and stylish, why do we need to make crappy things that break and fall apart?


Isn't living in a common society, with common objects better than living in our present day, separatist culture. Individuality is pushed constantly, "I don't care about them, I want you to have a bright future", " It's my problem, not yours".

We are all the same species, yet because we're born under different nationalities, given different sounding names, brought up on different sides of that little line on the map that says you're in a different country or state, well then you become different. You begin to believe that because someone worships a different god or speaks a different language, then they must be from a completely different world.

I do not see social individuality, the pushing away of ourselves farther and farther from other people, as something good. I think that major companies have fed off of this idea to make us believe that the more different, the more apart from others, the better for them.

Mrs. Stocklosa spoke of sharism, the idea that we all should communicate in order to advance as a culture.

Well Capitalism is an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations

as a contrast to cooperatively.

Yes it has helped us grow, but into what? What has the American nation become?
Isolated from the world events and occurrences, i have only read on how the government did things to improve itself, but not the world. If we had tried to make things better for everyone, instead of a select elite that seems to have no limitations to what they can do and what beliefs they may impose, we would be better off, and of that I have no doubt.

Anarcho Punks...

As I shuffled around my brain on what to write for my blog tonight
I was listening to my iTunes and one of my favorite songs,
Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious by Against Me!,
started to play.






I personally think this song has a wonderful message. I think that it flat out spells out modern anarchistic thought and does it better than any book ever could. We, as anarchists, envision a society of, by, and for the citizens of the society. A world in which the governed are able to directly govern themselves. And most importantly a world where the people of the society are able to focus and work together towards a common goal with others of a like mind.
When people walk down the street and see an anarcho-punk teenager they see a kid who's angry at their parents and who will grow out of it. That teenager may have the right goal but no clue how to get there and may think that random vandolizations and angry actions work towards his goal. Any one who has a brick thrown through their window is going to harbor ill feelings towards whoever did it, regardless of intent or purpose. Not withstanding actually having possibly targeted an institution which is in dire need of an overthrow like a wal-mart or a starbucks.
The point is that throwing bricks accomplishes nothing but creating ill-will towards the movement. And the truly sad part is that the kid throwing the brick does it with all the best intentions in the world, but those kinds of people don't see how they're sabotaging themselves in the process. That's the song. It makes all the difference in the world how we conduct and present ourselves.
I can guarantee that I'm the best neighbor that the people who live around me have ever had. And because of it when the topic comes up in conversation and I express my dissatisfaction with the current social, economic, and political system in America they might actually listen. The may agree or not, but the fact is that without a little respect for them as individuals regardless of their willingness to buy into a system I personally hate.
Not to say that direct action isn't a necessary part of the anarchist movement. It is. And it works. There's a time and a place for direct action and I'm firmly of the opinion that it has to be a last resort if anarchists are to be taken seriously. And even then, it should only be used against the powers which are directly doing the oppressing and not on the people who would allies in the struggle.
Like all art, songs are subject to opinion. I hear this song and I hear what I want to hear. But I'm very comfortable with that and I think that as many people as possible should hear it and form their own opinions. And then use those opinions to have a discussion, because a discussion about our future is something that has been sorely missing from everyday conversation for a great many years.

Turkey Day

American's have come to celebrate thanksgiving as a time for thanks and giving
instead of what it originally stood for, the destruction of a civilization
that had survived for centuries in harmony. Well there are pros and cons to this
holiday I guess. Yes, it can be argued, "survival of the fittest", or hey look at the
amazing country that resulted from all those battles with the Native Americans. But then why is our present day government, who chooses to hide all the ugly little stains it has earned a long it rule, choose to keep immigrants out of it's borders? If you ask me there shouldn't even exist the word "immigrant", I mean it's not like Americans actually own this country. Just because they killed and enslaved people to get here doesn't make things right. The fact that different races such as African American, Latino's, etc, will make up most of the American population in a couple of years makes me smile. I see it as Karma, you take of their country, okay, cool, then we'll come and take over yours. Oh and I'm not saying we shouldn't have thanksgiving at all, I'm just saying remember the holiday as what really happened. Some crooks and murders lead by a guy who wasn't supposed to find anything stumbled onto some nice little patch of land on which he decided to claim for his own. He brought with him the precious gifts of disease and death, then proceeded to destroy the nature and people without pity. May I remind you that history books have actually made the Native American seem like a mindless savage, even though they were far more advanced than Europeans. There is evidence that the Native Americans had communication with one another, had medicinal technology beyond that of Europe, and never had wars on the scale of those going on in the "civilized" world.


Thank you mass media, pseudo politicians, and simple minded folks who
uphold beliefs based on faith that there fantasy
world doesn't need to be explained. We couldn't of dumbed down my generation
without your generous contributions.

The Beauty of Slow

We're often told by our peers how we're a lazy generation of kids that do nothing but lay around and soak up the sun like some withering plant in it's little cramped pot. So grunting and with little trails of steam pouring out of our heads we trudge towards our tasking, inhaling with drudgery filled lungs.

Well I don't see anything wrong in taking your time, in living up every moment that you can. I see all these so called "adults" scrambling around worse than bee's at a hive. I mean at least BEES, insects with brains smaller than our pinkie's, have the capability of stopping to smell the flowers every day.


What has humanity created for itself? It seems to me like every day that we make bigger buildings, more intricate roads, and more dastardly ideas of what seperates us from the general natural world. Who ever gave us the right to consider ourselves better than other living things?

We go about our lives, squishing the bugs that get in our way. I think if anything
we're the lowest life forms out there. We have all this power, to make the world better not just for our children and for ourselves, but for every organism. It seems like we've made it common to believe that if you don't have a voice, it doesn't matter what the world decides to do to you.


I cringe at the idea of speeding up my life so it can fit into yours. But I also understand that it must occur for this is what my society demands from me in order to be a valuable member in it's ever growing sticky little web. The thing is, if everyone keeps trying to catch up to that moving car that is slowly picking up the miles it travels in an hour, well, someone's bound to trip and fall towards pain and suffering.


I just hope it isn't me.

So, please take time out of your day to see how when you stare up at the clouds it seems like the world stopped moving. Or take the time to raise up your arms as a cool breeze wraps itself around you. Trust me, the feeling of knowing your alive instead of hearing about it on some television screen is oh so gratifying, euphoria galore if you ask me.