Saturday, June 20, 2009

Invader and WK Interact this summer at Jonathan Levine Gallery, NY

Invader is back in the States, so if you're in NYC, keep looking up.



JLG shows some interesting art ... the upcoming Houser and Dalek shows for example.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery | 529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor | New York, NY 10011 | Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm | 212-243-3822

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tats Cru x Obama x Won ABC

Labels: , , ,

Video roundup


Paris Graffiti Artists (JonOne) -- CBS Sunday Morning 4/5/09 (via Denz)


Faith47-The Cape Of Good Hope with music by Inge Beckmann, from Rowan on Vimeo.


Kaws


Graffiti Boss OBS Crew Hamburg Germany

Labels: ,

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Keath Sodapop



Keath Sodapop PRESENTS!

A look into the life of Keath Sodapop and the people who help inspire his work. The movie is 2hours and 30minutes long.

Featuring writers from the Southside of Chicago.

The movie drops April 28, 2009!
info: creativemindskombine@yahoo.com

Labels: , , ,

giant gay repellent umbrella



giantgayrepellentumbrella.com

This is a satire on a real advertisement running on US TV that tries to convince people that somehow something bad will happen to the quality of their marriages if other people marry -- which doesn't make any sense.

Because being gay is innate, rather than a "lifestyle choice," it makes no sense to fight against it. No change is possible except whether to pretend or not and whether to be prejudiced or not. Pretending and prejudice are not good lifestyle choices, no matter who is doing it. If people want to get married that's their problem, their business, who cares.

As a species, we really need to get over this and deal with reality.

Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, April 04, 2009

MacHeist Bundle - 3 more days only - Mac apps for charity

The MacHeist bundles are always a good deal, but this one is the best ever. Buy hundreds of dollars worth of new, full Tiger and Leopard apps for only $39 (Tiger apps also work on Leopard. If you're running Tiger, download the Leopard apps too for later on.)

No joke. $25 bucks from each sale goes to important humanitarian and conservation charities.

Things you may find interesting in the bundle include:

- iSale for making eBay pages (Tiger)
- Kinemac for making 3D animations (Tiger)
- PhoneView which lets you work with your iPhone or iPod Touch like a hard drive (Tiger)
- Little Snapper (Leopard) and Acorn (Tiger) image editors
- WireTap Studio (Tiger) which can record and convert any audio your Mac plays

There are also some games, a newsreader and other good stuff.

You get 12 applications today for your $39 and 3 more are possible, depending on how many people buy the bundle in the next 3 days. BoinxTV is the next one to be unlocked, a TV studio program that sells for $199 normally. These are full versions too, not demos.

You can download the 12 free and unlocked apps immediately after you pay. Everyone who buys the bundle is entitled to all the apps that unlock during the event, so there's no reason to wait until the end to buy them. Remember to print your receipt with your unlock codes and bookmark the receipt page so you can go back and get any apps that unlock over the next couple of days.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Cool Hunting Video Presents: Pixação


Thanks to Joker for the tip!

Labels: , ,

Sunday, March 22, 2009

This is Primal Rap

A review of the screening at Sundance

Labels: , ,

Monday, March 16, 2009

Apex Interview

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, March 13, 2009

Pose 2 and Chor Boogie

Labels: , ,

La Entrada Project Update


La Entrada Project - Wall1 from geraluzlove on Vimeo.



LA Frida Le Che from geraluzlove on Vimeo.


Documentation
Walls
Workshops

Artists Crol vs Werc

Labels: , ,

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Japanese experimental music - Sony Walkman CM


Taeji Sawai

Atsuhiro Ito

Both of them
via Cnet

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Rime and Persue in China

Labels: , ,

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Origins of Break Dancing, and a battle





via Kottke.org (who links to more of these), thanks to Andy


Battle of the Year 2003 Gambler (Korea) vs Fireworks (Japan) - some of the best moves happen after the 6 minute mark.

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Hilary Hahn vs Beardyman in Munich

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Hiphop with the Sims on YouTube

Too bad that some of these were pulled by short-sighted rights holders (not that web-deletion works, given everyone's diligence about reposting stuff - so it's probably still there if you look around a bit).

You can't buy this kind of internet love.


M.I.A. - "Galang"


Lil Mama - Lip Gloss


Beyonce - "Irreplaceable


UGK (feat. Outkast) - "Int'l Player's Anthem"


Ice Cube - Down For Whatever

More Sims hiphop on YouTube

Labels: , , ,

Monday, January 26, 2009

BeatBearing Drum Machine

Labels: ,

Friday, January 23, 2009

NIN - Seattle show 2008


I saw Nine Inch Nails on this tour, and no recording technology of today could do the show justice. I sincerely hope NIN tried to capture it for us to see later on DVD anyway. So this youtube vid is just to give you a tiny little taste of the mind boggling things that concertgoers experienced. It was stunningly good and used technology I've not seen before, such as something that looked a lot like a mesh LCD screen (stage size) and some, well, interactive 3D visualization topographical mapping software merging recorded and live ... well have a look.

Thanks to Joker for digging up the video link.

Here's Wired's technical explanation and more photos of the hardware.

Official NIN site and tour info.

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Guia Rivera does "Graffiti"


Thanks to Breaker Ray for the tip!

Labels: , , ,

The Seventh Day Project - Persue

More time-lapse goodness from the Known Gallery, with Persue a special guest appearance by BunnyKitty.

Labels: , ,

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Blade, King of Graff


Check this graffiti gallery in Denmark for Blade's artwork from the show and other Danish graffiti delights.

Labels: , ,

Monday, January 12, 2009

Atom One - Tales from da Cans







Love that German hiphop. Not sure if we can get this in the US or not.

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, January 10, 2009

LWO light drawing


LWO calls this "graff video" but again, I think we need a new term. Anyone? Love the industrial hardcore music on this one by Tosaka and Brian, at the "Night of terror" party, at La Générale de Manufacture à Sèvres (France).
You can see more at LWO's site, which is devoted to this art form.

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Persue's new blog

Persué brings us news of his recent trip to the Wall Lords jam in China, and more.

pronunciation key: per-sway, not per-soo. 


Labels: , , , ,

Vimby graffiti videos

Vimby has a bunch of free online videos, interviews with writers and stuff.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Electrabel candle stop-motion production

This is insane and yet so cool. I'm glad the people doing it got paid (it's an ad apparently).

Stop-motion animation is so wonderful to consume and so mind-boggling to create. Amber Case tweeted about this one (link above, just do it), which took weeks, but here's a cool claymation she did recently with a family member in one day.

Anyone with a digital camera, tripod, and some time can make stop-motion now by sequencing photos using almost any modern computer, so that's pretty exciting. It's just a really fast slide show, technically, like a cartoon.

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Pixelator subvertising

Elegant, low-tech, visually pleasing solution to unwanted video advertising in public.

Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Jason Atomic sketches Rammellzee


(Music is from the CD "The Bi-conicals Of Rammellzee")

Labels: ,

Ash's new mural in Berlin

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Holiday humor break


Robin Williams, performing in the UK recently, riffing on politics and celebrities. Laugh, it's free.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Zedz


zedz.org (new stuff!)

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Definition of Hip Hop


directed by Konee Rok

"This 1998 piece was a preliminary concept originally intended to be part of my unreleased film How We Chill: The Incomplete Chicago Hip Hop Documentary."

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

TOPR - The Marathon of Shame CD+DVD

Topr's new project kicks ass. The Marathon of Shame has not only a full CD of music, but also a DVD with interviews, performances, graffiti slideshow, and time-lapse painting, and it's all covered in Alex Pardee artwork. Here are some videos from the 'tube to get you going.

The link above goes to the accesshiphop store where you can buy it.







Topr's MySpace

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Surfing St. Marks


Duncan Zuur?s wakeboarding stunt in Venice, Italy.
- via neatorama

Labels: ,

Friday, November 21, 2008

Berok and Chacon - underwater scene


Berok and Chacon, from Spain, painted this lovely 11 x 7 meter mural recently, which includes an amazing octopus. Lucky guys had a lift too.

Labels: , ,

Monday, November 17, 2008

"Don't Talk to the Police" by Professor James Duane


Even if you're innocent and not under suspicion, you can be jailed for things you say to police. Just don't talk to them without a lawyer by your side. Even when you're just a witness, even when you are the one who called the cops, you can be arrested or prosecuted later for things you say.

Don't talk to the police without a lawyer, because [paraphrased]:

1. It can't help you. They can arrest you no matter what you say -- and probably will. What you tell police can't be used to help you at trial. Save it for court. Don't try to talk your way out of something after the police show up.

2. It's possible to admit you're guilty or say something incriminating, even by accident. Save it for court.

[It also doesn't help to admit guilt when the cops insist that they will go easier on you if you confess. So many kids fall for this one! It's just a lie they tell you in order to get you to self-incriminate so they won't have to prove anything. Cops can lie to you, but it's easy to get thrown in jail merely for lying to them (ask Martha Stewart). This is particularly true for the Feds. Some people would also get off on bad busts except for the fact that they admitted they were guilty to the police.]

3. Even if you are innocent, if you make a mistake when telling your story -- even by accident -- you could get convicted later as a result.

4. Even if you are innocent and tell the truth and only the truth, you might still give the cops information that could get you convicted in court. Prosecutors need to convict someone, so they look hard for someone no matter how far fetched the case may be. The 5th Amendment protects you from incriminating yourself, but only if you don't do it. Keeping your mouth shut is the only way to be sure. Innocent or guilty, the 5th protects you. Don't waste what little protection you have by talking.

5. If you talk to the police, regardless of what you say, they could easily remember what you said badly, exposing you to the possibility of being wrongfully convicted in court.

6. Even if you are videotaped.

7. Especially if the authorities then turn up someone with even mistaken or unreliable evidence that contradicts your statements.

[Tip: Television has nothing to do with real life and it may be entirely misleading about police and court procedures.]

[And last but not least, the big lie that will not die: Undercover police and informants can lie when you ask them if they are the police. There is no magic police deactivation phrase!]

: Thank you very much officer, but I can't talk to you without my lawyer here.

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, November 15, 2008

BBC - Election night in Chicago USA

This video is the best one I've seen so far from that hopeful night.

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, November 13, 2008

LULZ: Onion satire on YouTube


YouTube Contest Challenges Users To Make A 'Good' Video
via Boing Boing

Labels: ,

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Rezine69 Light Graf Exhibition

Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Video the Vote

A great idea: Put an army of citizen reporters out there with video cameras and thus monitor the voting irregularities online. It might not protect against the ballot boxes that get dropped in Florida swamps, but at least we'd get that license plate number.

Labels: , , ,

Pop Lockin'



via BoingBoing

Labels: , ,

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Bill Moyers speaks truth at National Conference for Media Reform


"... We're not alone and we know what we need to say. So let us all go tell it on the mountains and in the cities. From our websites and laptops, the street corners and coffeehouses, the delis and diners, the factory floors and the bookstores. On campus, at the mall, the synagogue, sanctuary and mosque, let's tell it where we can, when we can and while we still can.

Democracy only works when ordinary people claim it as their own." - Bill Moyers

Media matters. Media variety matters. Media ownership (and its ugly other side of purchasability) is what's wrong. Control of information always serves the state and not the people. When all people know is what they are told, it matters a lot how many people can speak.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Chor Boogie on his color theory and his work

Labels: ,

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Video Roundup





Crayone movies





Labels: ,

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

NSA Spying, Winter Soldier, Impeachment, ACLU, IVAW


A good 10 minutes. You are not alone.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Friday, October 10, 2008

John McCain's Rage is a National Security Concern



Scary stories.

Labels: , , ,

Monday, October 06, 2008

Olbermann: Palin's own anti-American associates (her husband, for one)


In case the mainstream media forgets to mention it ... here's a little concrete. This woman who would be president is looking scarier (and more desperate and out of control) by the minute.

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Physical Reality






Congratulations to all the particle physicists in the world! Some have been waiting 30 years to do their experiments on CERN's Large Hadron Collider, which was switched on for the first time September 10. The real party though, is for the many engineers who designed and built this incredibly large and complex machine in France and Switzerland over the last 10 years. It's the biggest, most ambitious and complex engineering project ever undertaken by humans.
"The LHC was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and lies underneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland. It is funded by and built in collaboration with over eight thousand physicists from over eighty-five countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories. The LHC is already operational and is presently in the process of being prepared for collisions. The first beams were circulated through the collider on 10 September 2008, and the first high-energy collisions are planned to take place after the LHC is officially unveiled on 21 October."

The first video, above, explains why this machine is interesting, but you have to watch the whole 15 minutes to get the story. The second video is just silly, but it has footage from the inside of the LHC and it's bound to make you feel great about your own MC skills.

Physicists aim to explain how the universe works, and in the process, they ask some very interesting questions. A good book on the topic is A brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, which lays it out in words and pictures for everyone to understand.

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Against the System - trailer

Labels: , ,

Monday, August 18, 2008

Ron English: Take America back, Obama

Labels: , , , ,

Writers in Republic of Georgia protest Russian invasion



The scene in Georgia is very young still, and these Tbilisi writers are only 50 miles or so away from the Russian occupied area.

Labels: , ,

Rough videos


Rough at Tate Modern - UK history


Stormie and Rough brighten up Perth Australia

Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Slick, Extended Conversation

in URB: Culture, by Michael Vazquez

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, July 12, 2008

the restless debt of third world beauty


Faith47 from South Africa

She's in Berlin this August with the show of the same name.

It opens August 8 7pm at ATM gallery

Labels: , ,

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Mare139 in the UK

Mare139 is in Brighton England doing some metal sculpture and stuff. You can see what he's up to on his blog. Don't miss the West profile at the bottom too.

Labels: , ,

Tom14 and Martha Cooper Interviews

Barcelona-based street artist Tom14

Photographer Martha Cooper who has documented the old school NY graffiti scene for many years. (Lots of great photos!!)

on SubmarineChannel

Labels: ,

Friday, July 04, 2008

From Russia


Ykor


Razvod

Labels: ,

Monday, June 30, 2008

DJ Qbert on YouTube - Thud Rumble


Qbert, king of turntablism, is up for best DJ of 2008. You can find the place to vote and a whole lot more from Thud Rumble's YouTube page.

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Graffiti in Shanghai

Labels: , ,

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Erik DeBat "Risk" - Chicago - Time-lapse mural

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Blu: Muto - Buenos Aires - graffiti animation


Blu has released parts of this before, but this is a much more involved version than I've seen previously. Mind boggling technique.

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Time-lapse Slick/Persue/Brisk/OG Able


fun in Southern California

Labels: ,

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

The Gateway project: Crol and Werk with Victor Ochoa

Labels: , ,

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Twist (Barry McGee) interview





via Rory Ahern - VICE/VBS.tv

Labels: , ,

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Another article about graffiti innovations

Breakthroughs? You be the judge. Some cool stuff in there for sure, but plenty to get riled about as well. As a commenter put it, graffiti is usually associated with "a certain demographic" but apparently when people of other demographics do it, it's cool. Can you smell the racism there?

Labels: , , , , , ,

Friday, April 18, 2008

Benelux B-Boy Battle Winners

See the link above for all the available videos from the battle. Here's a taste:

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The war that lasts another 6 months, then another 6



MoveOn is a political action committee that is antiwar, pro-environment and active on progressive issues. They make it easy to send email to your Congresscritters and they buy advertising to help educate Americans on important issues. They endorsed Obama this year by popular demand (landslide) from a majority of their members, even though they normally don't pick a candidate. And best of all, they'd rather have your signature on petitions than your money.

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Ronald Jenkees - YouTube musical superstar


Disorganized Fun. Tons more at the link above. CD and iTunes available.

Labels: ,

Do schools kill creativity?
Sir Ken Robinson - TED 2007


For the ADHD kid in all of us. You'll be glad you watched it.

If you have trouble playing this video, go to the link above and download the video for smoother playback.

Labels: , ,

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Speaking of Obama: The Mac's print

Nicely done, as are all The Mac's pieces. Sadly the limited editions were all gone instantly.

In related news, Move On is having a contest for voter-created Obama video ads.

Labels: , , , , ,

Faux "News" smears Obama in desperate disinformation campaign


FOX: all hogwash, all the time

And that's not the only site of disinfo about Obama. The link goes to an Alternet article with more.

Labels: , ,

Friday, February 29, 2008

California teen killed for being gay

Another way that fear destroys us.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

How to create your own viral videos on YouTube

Wired how-to wiki has the nitty gritty.

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Live action train footage wanted for music video

"I am looking for a train or metro-graffiti for a music video clip.

"At the following link, you can see two examples:
[youtube]

"I pay $ 1000 and do not need a finished video, only the material that I can edit.

"If you are interested, send a message to :
klausgcb@live.de

Labels: , ,

Molotow TV

From Australia. Currently featuring W4G and Whole Train.

Labels: ,

Friday, February 08, 2008

Artist interviews - original videos from On Point

Delta, Martha Cooper, Sozyone Gonzalez, Stak, and more.

Alex has some podcasts on this site too.

Making original content is so much better than chopping up someone else's videos. Yay Alex.

Labels: ,

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Style animation, political satire



This is supposedly by IGT/Phase2. Nice styles in any case.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Story of Stuff

A quick and engaging overview about the state of the world, who profits from our destruction, and what we can do about it.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Anonymous vs Scientology

Vigilante hacking crew goes after dangerous cult: awesome manifestos on YouTube. Plotting continues at Project Chanology.

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, January 18, 2008

Slick painting a low rider in LA


"Slick and Danny D combine the world of graff with custom low-rider culture on this paint scheme for Ford's pre-production prototype of their latest model 'Flex' due to drop summer '08 (paint scheme not included!!)"

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Jazi paints Jesse Al Malik promo wall



Jazi is one of the most famous writers from Switzerland and he's got some new stuff here.

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Chris Jordan's "Running the Numbers" - Why you matter

Labels: , ,

Green jobs for all - Van Jones and GreenForAll.org

Van Jones explains on video the important relationship between minority kids in places like Oakland and the coming "green-collar" job needs.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Did you know ... Shift happens


Mind blowing facts about the rapidly changing world we live in.

via Todd Warfel

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

German Christmas Calendar

Here's a modern interpretation of the traditional German Christmas calendar. You are supposed to open one day at a time in December.

Made by Malte at GRACO (artist agency) in Berlin

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Why pay attention to the threat of climate change?



There's no debate among climatologists about whether or not global climate change is happening. It is. The only debate is between those who hope humans didn't cause it and those who hope humans can change it. That debate is meaningless. If we might be able to change it, we have to try, because it's our survival as a species that's at stake. The only smart thing to to is to try to curb the changes before life on Earth becomes difficult or impossible for humans.

We're the last generation of people who have a chance to try before it becomes too late, because the changes are not going to be gradual or incremental. Climate changes happen when conditions tip into a new dynamic and then become inevitable.

Don't let the wishful thinking of the anti-science people lull you into a false sense of security. Climate change is not something in the far future, it's something that will make our own lives and the lives of our children very different and difficult indeed. The earlier we act to curb human pollution the less expense and disastrous results we'll have.

The first step is to get everyone on board. Spread the word.

Thanks to Roger for the heads up on this video.

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, December 07, 2007

Write and Unite

"Write and Unite" will be shown starting this Friday evening at microcinema.imeem.com

"Write and Unite" presents some of the world's greatest graffiti artists live in action. From subways to huge productions, street bombing to organized events, never before has there been such a complete, global documentation of today's top aerosolists and their work.

ATOM, CAP, CODEROCK, COPE2, DASH167, DENZ, FX CREW, GOAL, GREY, JUST195, KACAO77, KENT, MAC CREW, MEAR, MOAS CREW, RISKY, SABE, SABER, SEEN, SKETCH, SMASH, SWET, T-KID, TOOMR, ZEBSTER, AND MANY, MANY MORE.

[We carry this DVD in the Art Crimes Store for only $17.50, and we'll match anyone else's price to earn your business.]

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Slick/Dissizit in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles - time-lapse video

Labels: , , , ,

Monday, November 19, 2007

Atlas CBS

Video interview and action with Atlas on pingmag. Thanks to Ian.

Labels: ,

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Berok - Barcelona, in action

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, November 16, 2007

Those other writers and their beef -- let's hear it for the WGA


If online content is worth arresting grannies over, the corporations need to pay the people who create the material. Otherwise, it's all youtube.

Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Google Sketchup (free 3D drawing program) has a get-started book now

New book, some how-to videos online too.

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Mark Klein vs Big Brother



* US spooks tap the net illegally (not just tapping terrorists, they hoover as much as they can get of everybody's business into storage)

* Mark Klein blows the whistle

* Telecoms want immunity from prosecution

* Congress, White House, (spooks), and newspapers want the story to go away

If only the truth would set us free...

Meanwhile, there's no reason to think the tapping has stopped.
Every time you talk about bombing trains in email or in a forum, think of the fascinated audience you'll have.

Thanks, Mark! This is what heroes do.
If only we had people like him in office instead.

Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Midwest Teen Sex Show

Sex ed by and for teens. Video podcasts. Also available on iTunes. Watch theirs, make your own. Scholarship prizes.

"Young people (15 to 30) are invited to submit new digital videos showing how they envision the sex ed experience. The grand prize winner will receive a $3500 scholarship or cash equivalent."

Labels: , ,

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Street art: Orion and Blu


Ossario : Alexandre Orion


Blu

Labels: , ,

Saturday, August 25, 2007

PowWows.com live webcast

Another reason I love the Web.

I'm really grateful that the Native American tribes have shared some of their traditional celebrations in this way.

Labels: , ,

Friday, August 24, 2007

All Writes Reserved - Seventh Letter Artists

From the current NYC show of LA superstars: Retna, Revok, Saber







The powerHouse Arena
37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
For more information please call 212-604-9074 x101
until September 2, 2007

Labels: , ,

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Maywa Denki



The link goes to more info and pictures about this interesting musical group, called "the first to use a true robotic vocalist." I like everything about this, but I'm especially fond of the guitar-replacement instruments.

via BoingBoing

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Finally some good news about seed patents

Monsanto has had 4 patents rejected, finally.

This is excellent news, because their patents were putting honest traditional farmers out of business and creating new dependencies and weaknesses that threatened the world food supply.

Before Monsanto tried to own all the food we eat, all farmers saved and traded their seeds, but Monsanto tried to make them buy and plant sterile seeds, so they would have to buy seeds every year. Some farmers can't afford to buy seeds every year, and many didn't understand that free sample seed would lead to them going out of business before it was too late.

Other farmers were vigorously and cruelly sued out of business when Monsanto's genetically modified crops pollenated their fields accidentally via the wind.

GMO contaminated crops could not be exported to some other countries, ruining the farmers' ability to sell their crops.

Monsanto's farming practices also lead to dangerous mono-cultures, where only one genetic strain of corn or wheat, etc., is planted in most plots, paving the way for killer diseases to wipe out a whole year's crop at once.

Profit today, while the world starves tomorrow. Brilliant.

The article talks about US farmers, but Canadian farmers were also hurt, and the most damage was likely done in India, Africa and poorer countries. I sure hope this patent rejection has a positive effect on the worldwide Monsanto problem. What we need is some unbought politicians to make some better laws around patenting food crops and the GMO contamination of traditional foodstocks. Mexico's traditional maize crop's genetic heritage is now under serious threat from the GMO cross pollination.

Related food facts here:

Future of Food documentary (Bittorrent)
Harvest of Fear (PBS documentary)

More info: Google search for Monsano Terminator

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Sirena Huang - Virtuoso at 11 years old

I don't generally even like violin music, but Sirena brought tears to my eyes with her incredible musical skill.

Labels: , ,