The role of a celebrity is a strange one in our society. You see someone often enough, regardless of the context, and your mind gives them this celebrity role. Often I have been walking along some street or standing in line at a supermarket when I see one of the actors from the porn movies. For a moment I rack my brain, trying to figure out where I have seen them before. Are they a famous singer, actor or television personality? No, I don’t own a T.V. and couldn’t name one famous contemporary Czech singer. Is he some guy I met at the club or bar some weeks previous? It can’t be, he looks too well dressed and the places I usually frequent are somewhat lacking in dress code. Then I realize that his face is only part of a quivering memory, that if stripped down to his bare essentials in front of all these happy shoppers or pedestrians, then I would surely recognize him, looking as he did when we met, wanking away in front of the camera’s lens, making a sexy face and earning his keep as a gay porn actor.

Now, I am not gay, neither is my immediate boss nor most of the editors or webmasters. The same applies for these actors. Whether it is a role assumed to fulfill a niche market of “straight guys, gone gay” or if they are actually heterosexual and looking for excitement, cash or a chance to meet new people, who knows. I do however see these actors arm in arm with girlfriends, bickering playfully and doing all the things someone would do when in love.

In front of the camera however, things can go any way. Some actors relish the straight-guy persona, showing their discomfort and wincing through sets. While others transform, changing their mannerisms their smile and a whole host of other small details allowing them to play the part of a gay lover, if only for 40 minutes.

Porn is a strange and complex world. There are fetishes out there that I didn’t even know existed. I mean, I know rule 34 of the internet says: If it exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions. And we have all heard of the strange shit lurking behind every pop-up advertisement or blinking banner ad, but some of the things I have been told to write about, never even entered into consideration as mildly sexual. One evening while creating bizarre made up fantasies my friend named K. came up with “rape ghost” a man under a sheet who comes into a dimly lit room to find and fondle a sleeping man like an incubus. The next week I came to the office to see “Ambush Massage” not a man in a sheet going “oooooooooh” but a masseuse who convinces his client to receive a whole manner of things between his bottom during a massage. One fetish I can never seem to get my head around is foot porn. Feet are things purely utilitarian and void of sex to me, yet to others become the object of desire. The foot guy at my work occasionally gives me tips on what to write about in the text for his site. While I am struggling trying to describe the high arches or button like toes, he comes in and asks me to mention the crusty toenails or the whispy hair sprouting from beneath each one, things which I would usually find unsexy. But as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, successful porn lies in giving the people what they want and so I write of stinking, grotty feet, so close you can almost taste them.

Some aspects of the porn industry can get surreal. One time I was invited to a barbeque in the courtyard behind the studio. There amongst the producers and various other guests were some Slovak cameramen; former actors who still used their stage names when dealing with any part of their job. Today their role was waiter, stripped to the waist with stick on bow ties fastened to their oiled up chests, they served hors’d'oeuvres and had their bums pinched by these guests. Yet, come the next Monday were fully dressed and back to their position behind the camera. Nothing was said of this character they played that day and none was thought less of them for doing it. It seems that in an ever changing industry all you can do is keep up or fuck off, and these two were just doing what was asked. Occasionally when I think about that day I wonder how people can change their personality without hesitation. It may be empowering, a beating of fear or something else completely. Like an improve comedian battling against stage fright or a motorcross rider swallowing his fear being squashed under the growling motor of his bike as he flips around to land, these actors / cameramen must find some liberation in the shedding of old masks day in and day out.

And so, as I sit at my desk writing the conclusion to this diary I think about all the things I have seen and done during my time here. I don’t regret a thing, though I still won’t tell my mum what I do. There is something to be said about an industry that is resilient, wide spread and accepted into culture, but still lurks along its fringes, misunderstood by most and ignored by some.

author: Mailmen Itched

In most of the world they don’t even bother to try and dub each and every foreign language movie that has ever been shot. Strangely enough, there is a small country, in the heart of Europe, where people are believed to have the best dubbing on the whole planet. It might make sense if the language was spoken by a reasonable number of people. But Czech?

Czechs envy other nation’s language skills and most of all the ability to speak and understand English with little difficulty. Listening to the sound of the language helps the learning process a lot, of course. Watching movies is one of the best ways of getting used to the natural sound of the language if one cannot go and spend some time where the language is actually spoken.

Thus, ironically, being the best in dubbing goes hand in hand with losing the opportunity to be able to listen to a foreign language, not only English. The last time I got angry about this was about a Harry Potter movie. Even in the cinemas it was almost impossible to find an original version. I understand the film aims at youngsters who may not have mastered the English language so well yet, however, I want to hear Alan Rickman’s voice while watching his face! I am sure it is not just me.

Wikipedia says: “Typography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. Type glyphs are created and modified using a variety of illustration techniques. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing), adjusting the spaces between groups of letters (tracking) and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning).”

Until the digital age typography was a specialized occupation, even royalty had special font designers to work on their brand. Digitization opened up this art to new generations of visual designers and lay users. By breaking fonts down to a few basic elements designers have been able to take simple fonts and customize them to suit their needs. Some web sites offer users customizable fonts, made by taking a photo, via webcam, of a printed out sheet, filled out in the users own handwriting: http://www.fontifier.com/. While other websites can determine through a selection process, which font best describes your personality: http://www.pentagram.com/what-type-are-you/.

Some different font attributes
- Bold – Thicker lines usually used in headlines or emphasizing a particular word
- Italic – slanted version of the font used to denote sarcasm, creative titles and prefixes.
- Sherifs – The little tails on letters.
- CAPSLOCK – I AM YELLING BECAUSE I AM ANGRY OR DON’T KNOW HOW TO WORK A KEYBOARD!!!

A brief look at some popular fonts?
Impact – A very popular font around speaking cats on the internet. It is known to decrease grammatical accuracy.

Bradley Hand ITC – A good font for showing your lightheartedness around the office. Just popped out for lunch? Let your employees know by leaving them a message in this casual font.

Helvetica – The superior designer’s font. Looks like Arial but it isn’t, ok. It’s stylish and, um, um, it’s not Arial!

Courier New – Use this font if you want people to think you are serious when you hand them your new script, or if you want them to think you own a typewriter.

Wingdings – An ancient text with inexplicable origins, first discovered by Microsoft Windows 3.1, it has continued to puzzle linguists to this day.

Times New Roman – The font of serious, sensible discourse, made by someone who has yet to discover the “change font” function.

Jokerman – You see, church newsletters can be fun!

Comic Sans – THERE IS NEVER A REASON TO USE THIS FONT!!!

It’s better to look at the fonts to our magazine. You can find it at the nearest bar or club.

It is with a solemn tone that we regret to inform our readership that during a recent trip Rudyard was found dead and will no longer be contributing to this column.

We are now printing the haunting memoir of a man who’s blind dedication proved to be his final downfall, in a piece we are naming.

Sitting behind this large block of cement I can hear gunshots ringing overhead, I am bleeding a lot and the smell is mixing with my expensive cologne, forming an overwhelming musk, quite unpleasant and foul. Luckily however my blue blood is proving a sturdy ink as I pen this final note on some scraps of paper I happened to catch flying by. How I ended up in such a predicament is beyond me. Packing a bag and flying off to an exhibition named “Invaze fest” I momentarily paused to give thought yet had no idea a military invasion what I would ultimately meet. What vile methods of trickery have been employed by the gods that would lead its’ people to reenact atrocities of war in such a realistic and brutal manner?

Upon landing I sallied forth, inquiring at the local tourist bureau as to the whereabouts of the exhibition space. Finding the first lady most bearded, even, unfriendly and want to be unhelpful, I journeyed off through the rubble in pursuit of my goal. Rounding a corner I was suddenly confronted with the show – a performance piece, highlighting, through reenactment worldwide political struggles between militarized government and guerrilla armies. Immersing my self in the spectacle I began documenting the event. Snapping pictures and scribbling notes, as is my want I was then struck by a sharp pain in my abdomen, and struck more so by admiration for the artist who insisted real bullets should be used in her show. Reeling back in a mixture of reverence and hemorrhagic shock I lay ensconced in the shadow this cement brick and began writing these last fading words. So as your eye flits across this sentence, past that comma, know that I, like many more before me, died doing what I love, that is, reporting contemporary art. I regret nothing and wish to send my congratulations to the curators of this splendid event. In closing I wish to impart some words to my only son Kevin. To you I pass the flame of knowledge and class. Go out, meet people and explore this world as best you can. The future is in your hands.

Eternally,
Rudyard

The 20–22nd of August saw the Trafačka and Chemistry galleries (Trafačka – Kurta Konráda 1, Praha 9 and The Chemistry Gallery – U Kanálky 4, Praha 3) play host to the Invaze Festival.

Brainchild of Darina Alister, the festival brought together artists, musicians and curators alike for three days of concerts, workshops, performances and exhibitions.

The First night saw a duel event, with American artist “Chase” exhibiting his latest works at Chemistry. A large crowd turned up and despite a couple of visits from the local constabulary, the event went off without a hitch. Meanwhile over at Trafacka, Michal Škapa aka “Tron” gave a talk on the history of Czech graffiti and DJ Steevie Weenie spun tunes all night long. Both events lasted well into the morning, a promising start to a great weekend.

The next day things began slowly but the bright sun soon burned off the morning haze. Another packed line up was scheduled with live spray painting demonstrations by some of Prague’s finest coinciding with the “Invasive Identity” exhibition, which included finalists of the recent AMU class. This exhibition really showed off the diversity of contemporary art with paintings, objects, video art, performance art and interactive audiovisual installations combining, in the area of two large warehouse spaces, to address the theme of invasion.

For its inaugural year Invasion fest came off with flying colors. I don’t know if there will be another one next year, or even if the building itself will still be standing, but I hope it will. I look forward to its’ future.

What the hell is Sealand? It’s a platform sunk into a sandbar situated 6 miles off the Suffolk coast of England. Built to guard the British river system during WWII it was abandoned by the army in 1956, along with dozens of others along the coastline and left to rot.

Enter Major Paddy Roy Bates
Now referred to by himself and other Sealanders as “Prince Roy”, with his family he squatted on the platform in 1968 hoping to broadcast pirate radio and succeed the platform from the British Commonwealth. The Principality of Sealand now prints its own currency, passports, has its own constitution, national anthem, flag, and claims to be a fully functioning “nation” boasting a citizenship of 27. The country claims also to excel in a variety of sports including: soccer, mini golf and pole dancing (True.)

Over the years Roy and his 27 fellow Sealanders defended their adopted home in vicious battles against British, Dutch and German invaders. But did this burst Prince Roy’s bubble? No-sir-ee. When the British expanded their international waters from 2, to 10 kilometers The Prince expanded Sealand’s zone too. Subsequently Sealand has claimed several square kilometers of England’s south east coast in a lengthy legal battle.

Despite the obvious perks of being an inhabitant of this flourishing nation it is currently up for sale. That’s right, you too can be the prince, the head honcho, the chief or the owner of your very own off-shore principality. Forget pacific islands that will only sink under the rising seas, for the princely sum of 750 000 000 Euro the illustrious principality can be yours today! But let the buyer beware. Like the Hutts in West Australia, Rainbow creek in Victoria or the politically charged gay Coral Sea Islands in Queensland (check out “Micronations” on Wikipedia.org), Sealand, the nation, is struggling; desperately in search of recognition and an accepted place in the world.

For more information you can check out http://www.sealandgov.org

Some airports are bigger than others but the decor, the ubiquitous plastic chairs, the prices are mostly interchangeable. There are “Wi-Fi” Hotspots and “No Signal” dead spots. Airport taxis are all similar big name brands and in London or Prague it seems their steering wheels are all confusingly misplaced.

The truth is that it is more difficult to feel like a foreigner than it used to be. British or Czech by nationality, basically you are European. Another brand or another bicycle, it is getting harder to tell us apart. The social environments are not so different now, aside, of course from the architecture.

But there are some important differences. In Prague I can still relax with a glass of wine in the corner of a quiet restaurant and have everyone ignore me completely. Some would find that annoying but personally I find it a relief. When I am in London and I forget an English phrase or idiom people usually assume I am French and simply don’t want to speak English, which is annoying. In Prague people assume I am German and can’t speak Czech, which is frustrating.

As I travel more I notice how sounds are important. In London I notice that people talk loudly in restaurants to drown out the sound of other people talking loudly. They seem to carry this habit out into the street proclaiming their political, religious and sexual preferences at the tops of their voices and generally they are not as interesting as they would like to believe. In London the sound of a bicycle bell ringing aggressively somewhere behind me makes me feel annoyed and I want to stand firmly in its way. In Prague this would have tragic results. I often wonder why Prague trams use what sound like bicycle bells instead of something more efficient, like cattle prods. Is that the Slavic sense of humour?

There is another tiny cultural detail I find bewildering. ČSA play gentle music to sooth passengers after landing. On arriving at Ruzyne it is always Smetana’s “Vltava”, which makes me think of tranquil forests, lakes and rivers.

On the other hand, after arriving at Heathrow, they play the theme music from the film of “Watership Down”, an epic odyssey of bitterly persecuted rabbits in search of a new homeland. If anyone from ČSA can explain I would love to know why.

author: The Penguin Bridge

Whether it’s down the road or around the globe, getting there is unavoidable. While we do not condone some of these methods and will not bail you out of goal if you are caught; scamming a free ride is something of an art. Here are some of the best ways to get around on the cheap.

Hitchhiking
Stick out your thumb and wait for someone to pick you up. Hitchhiking can lead to lifelong friendships or road side bloody rape scenes. Be careful to always keep your wits about you and carry something sharp in the need of an emergency. Usually though in Czech Republic you will have no problems and meet some bloody cool people as you thumb around. Travel tips: wash, make a sign and be friendly and agreeable. It helps when someone directs a 4 hour long pro diatribe at you to learn to nod and smile while sleeping.

Work on ship – cruise – container
While this one technically isn’t free since you are working as you go, it is still a pretty good way to get from A to B and with a little bit of cash in your pocket once you get there. Usually ships require you to have some kind of training or experience which in Czech Republic means goofing around in a massive swimming pool for two months before. But of course there are some less scrupulous captains that will let any peg legged, eye patched bozo on board, avoid!

Theft
One sure fire way to avoid having to deal with ticket collectors, hiding in toilets or shipping containers is stealing. Hot wire that Škoda and hoon off into the sunset as the trail of police sirens follows like a bridal gown. Once at your destination be sure to destroy the evidence. The last thing you want after a long journey is some nosey parker coming asking questions, if they do, shoot’em.

Box-car
Back in the day when you mentioned free travel, chances are some hobo would spit on the ground grumble about prohibition and point his bindle in the direction of the train lines. Riding the rails was the standard for free travel back then, but still, fraught with danger – do expect rape, drugging, folk music, and possibly murder.

Crying
When I was going over this list my friend told me I was missing one very important method in the art of free travel. Bursting into a hopeless mess of tears will apparently get you far if you’re a cute little Danish girl. For the rest of you non-prescription glasses wearing, unshaven folk out there maybe there is more chance of tying your nutsack to a kite in a violent storm.

And so, you cheap skates “on the lamb” I wish you bon voyage as you set across this land of possibility in search of whatever the hell you guys search for. There are possibilities galore to those who don’t need to be anywhere soon and these are by no means the limit of how you can get there, but do be sure to remember that along with all the romantic ideals of burning across the countryside with the wind in your hair and a song in our heart there is also the pointless hours standing freezing in the rain waiting for that opportunity to show itself.

You cannot talk about fetish without at least mentioning planet earth’s number one leader on the subject. Japan has it all when it comes to this stuff. When you hear about the suppressed fart sniffing Brits or the pain junky Germans they pale in comparison to the fetish capital of the world.
We have all seen the baby doll culture, the people who marry body pillows and the guys who get together for a game of soggy human. But it is the extreme stuff that keeps Japan at the forefront of the fetish game.
We talked with some of Japan’s weirdest fetishists to try and peer through those epicanthic folds and see what makes them tick. Yakumi Muramasa runs a brothel and production studio in the Yoshiwara district if Tokyo. Moto Watanabe is the doorman / barman / go-to-guy and is the first guy you talk to when you come in. When we arrive he tells us to sit and that Yakumi will be with us shortly. He makes us drinks and shows us a yellowed laminated folder showing all the highlights of the club. Somewhere between the extra large “gaijin” sized beds and something that looked liked someone ordering from a deli in a sauna we asked him about some of the things people ask for when they came to a place like this.

M: We get all kinds, mostly businessmen come to us, but occasionally comes one guy who wants to be treated like a baby. He wears the nappy, sucks the thumb and even poops himself. He has to pay excess to have it cleaned up.

Why are the Japanese so uninhibited with their fetishes?
M: I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do in our history. We have always been warrior culture. The idea of role play and hierarchy is inbuilt to our everyday life. When a man comes to here he doesn’t want to be the boring guy on the subway he is everyday, he wants to be something special, a modification of the mask perhaps.

And the women, how do they deal with always being on call to a guy’s every wish?
M: They like it. You see, in Japan the girls are supposed to be very servile. When a man comes in here the girls know that sex will be something different, maybe she will be in leadership, perhaps she will even do what she wants, but that rarely happens with the pigs we get in here.

That is a bit harsh. They really have no say over what they like to do?
M: Hey! Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t the girls who sit quietly with you at home, the girls we have love sex. If not, they wouldn’t be here.

At this time Yakumi comes over, swiftly tells Moto to fuck off, fills our glasses and asks us what we think of his establishment.

It’s a classy place. How many girls do you have working here?
Y: Between 10 and 15 on any night. For special weekends and holidays we have more girls. It depend when those arseholes have time to spend.

Yeah? You think these people are pretty low, huh?
Y: You should see some of the pigs we get in here, “kusu”. Sexual spastics who can’t get it up unless it is tied up and charged with 1000 volts. We try and keep those men out and stick to the main fetish, like baby doll, bukkake and bondage, but some of these freaks really want some strange things to them. Did Moto tell you about baby man?

Yes.
Y: Well there are more, this one guy who came in every other month and would spend a full weekend tied up. Nobody was allowed to touch or feed him; he would just hang there in the corner all day and night. He would pay a lot of money to do it too.

How much would something like that cost?
Y: Let me tell you, I have this business for 22 years and not once have I had to worry about paying rent or staff. Fetish market is something that will survive the worst of recessions. When people are down they want cheap thrills and this is where they come to escape their shitty worlds. I believe this game is one of the first and will be one of the last.

Do you ever think people go too far with what they want?
Y: We had to turn away one guy recently who wanted to cut himself and bleed on one of the girls, simply for health reasons. She was ok with it but we run a clean business and can’t have the risk of disease any more than we need too. That said, all of our girls are guaranteed clean and the best you will find anywhere in the city.

There´s still a place on the other side of the world where nature looks the same as it did a thousand years ago. However, there have been more different factors that  have affected the New Zealand culture.

Main Cultural Trends in New Zealand

The culture of the islands stands on a variety of traditions that have combined together to build up today‘s cultural environment. The first one, embedded in history, is the indigenous Maori culture. Althought the Maoris are not the original inhabitants as many people think. They are said to have come to New Zealand in 14th century most probably from the Pacific Islands. Despite the fact they had to overcome bloody fights against the Europeans in the 19th century, they have kept their culture alive. Nowadays there are many sites where people can experience Maori culture, of course without any fees – it is an important part of the education. The Maoris themselves have traditionally gathered in so called „maraes“, wooden-curved buildings which serve as cultural centres. They use only natural materials such as wood (curved sculptures), stone (mainly the greenstone or jade), bones and shells (shiny blue paua shell is unique for the Maoris).

The other cultural influence which has affected the culture of New Zealand today comes from the Pacific Islands and is comparable to the Maori one. Thanks to the massive immigration from Asia numerous Asian communities, mainly in the bigger towns on the North Island, have developed, and they still preserve their own culture.

Roots of the Independent Art Scene

The Europeans, mainly the British, came to New Zealand in the second half of the 19th century and brought their habits and customs with them. However, they didn´t have the means to create professional arts and the artists weren´t able to make a living from their work. So they had to find other ways. They were influenced by the nature around them and of course by the Maori culture. And they started to reflect it in the style of their work.

Globalisation reached New Zealand in a massive wave in the 1960´s. The hippie style came from Australia and US and started a brand new lifestyle. Farmers left their homesteads, hopped in vans and busses and travelled around the country. They cultivated hand crafts and shared their products on flea markets. This tradition is still very much living even today. People sell their hand made products for minimum prizes or trade them. There are big hippie communities which not only share food, work or houses, but also open their galleries for free to whoever wants to come. Although some New Zealanders might seem conservative or even prudish but the hippie style with all its atributes is still seen strongly in the society.

How is the Government Involved?

The government treats these varied culture as the heritage of mankind and donates big financial support to the cultural sphere. Entry to all the important galleries and museums (including the national museum Te Papa in the capital, Wellington) is free of charge and a lot of concerts and festivals are government sponsored. To put it frankly, there have also been some problems, expecially alcohol. Because of the „drinking problem“ alcohol (even beer or wine) is usually prohibited on all the events, together with smoking (ironically some natural drugs are allowed). Therefore young people arrange a lot of „free parties“ in natural surroundings.

As religion and charitable sentiment is deeply rooted in the nature of New Zealanders, people give books and magazines for free to those who appreciate them.  Needless to say public libraries with access to the internet are open to everyone. There are some free magazines as well but because of the liberal press law the quality may vary considerably and may range between from art reviews to radical and even anti-domocratic subcultural sheets.

How does free culture look like in your city/country?
„Abertura.“ It is a one-day event which presents VJing and realtime audiovisual performances, presentations and installations by national and international artists.  We explore a variety of approaches people are using to make an impact on their immediate and global surroundings in the making of „live performance“, and its related expression and dissemination. The event has a strong experimental component, and brings to Portugal a large international palette of people and work.  You are invited to plug yourself in, turn on and do with that information what you will…

Web:
http://www.visual-agency.net/abertura
www.visual-agency.net/abertura2/index.html
http://www.visual-agency.net/abertura3/index.html
Contact: roguewaves@earthlink.net

What do you think about „free culture“?
As a practitioner and proponent of free culture, for me it is the irreversible future of digital media production and dissemination.

Bart van Poll, Amsterdam, Netherlands

How does free culture look like in your city/country?
Free music and dance events mostly from the lively squatting community, in places like De Nieuwe Anita, OT301 (Bart Verbunt wrote about these on Amsterdam cityblog). It’s usually very friendly, and open.

Web:
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/amsterdam/ot301
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/amsterdam/cinemanita-de-nieuwe-anita 

Free art: mostly in office buildings in Amsterdam that are currently not rented because of the economic crisis. Heavily subsidized by Amsterdam government in places like Volkskrantgebouw (http://www.spottedbylocals.com/amsterdam/canvas-op-de-7e)

What do you think about „free culture“?
Love it! My partner is going to a free concert in De Nieuwe Anita tonight, I’ve been dancing like crazy on a free dance night at OT301 last Friday. 

Herrmann Königs, Berlin, Germany

How does free culture look like in your city/country?
There’s a website specialised on helping with free cultural happenings.
http://www.freeguide-berlin.de/. There are probably numerous sites for every city out there if you search the net, but this is one of many that one of my friends actually uses (though I usually don’t). Most of the stuff described is not sooooooo rocking but ok.
Reflecting my cultural life, there are a few places that I actually do visit; only thanks to you I now remember that they were free. For example, I love to visit Jazz Clubs/Bars that offer free Jam Sessions or entry free concerts on some days of the week:

Web:
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/berlin/a-trane
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/berlin/bflat-jazzclub-jam-session 

A very interesting monthly event, which I have been to yesterday, is the CUE:
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/berlin/cue-berlin-improvisation-plat…
I think the article gives you a clear picture of what it is.

Next, there is a monthly open screening in the cinema sputnik:
http://www.sputnik-kino.com/index.cfm?id=1164&as=14145
Where everyone is free to bring independant (short) movies with discussion about the films afetrwards. Very interesting, often funny.

What do you think about „free culture“?
Can be good. But it’s not what I look for for going out. I rather think this way: „Quality comes with the price“ – though I know that can be stupid.

Franziska MK, Vienna, Austria

How does free culture look like in your city/country?
In Vienna free culture is seen in streetart, free cultural events where consuming and participating is free and open to everybody (like share vienna, pecha kucha night), online platforms/networks like tagr.tv and transforming freedom, a part of public foundings of the City of Vienna is distributed via netznetz that provides a basic democratric form of decision making, the more and more off spaces for art open, and so on…

What do you think about „free culture“?
Free culture depends on individuals who decide to support and live free culture in what way ever… so don’t talk about it, do it!

Web:
http://www.tagr.tv
http://netznetz.net
http://www.myspace.com/sharewien
http://www.transformingfreedom.org/
http://www.pechakucha.at/ 

Shifting the cultural paradigm from what to get to what to give

“A free culture is one where all members are free to participate in its transmission and evolution, without artificial limits on who can participate or in what way.”  (http://freeculture.org students for free culture)

We are not Gandhis.  We cannot be; we are intoxicated by 55 years of complex military-industrial indoctrination. Nevertheless, some of Gandhi’s teachings can be applied within the framework of the new types of networks springing up all over the world and indeed, in my view, are necessary if there is to be sustainability for the individuals acting within these networks as well as for the collective whole.  For instance, the ideas of Self Rule, Self Determination, Self Control, Choice not Domination, Mutual Service, Courtesy and Industry.

We live in a time when the individual warrior-martyr no longer has an effect on the policies that shape our world, rather the individual has been replaced by the collective in affecting change – not the communist model of the imposed, and subsequently controlled, collective, but the often formless, voluntary, self determined collective; not ruled or dominated by any regime, by any fashion, by any specific ideology – a collective of free and open networks currently developing on a global scale. It is these networks that are leading the way towards a new paradigm in not just how we think but how we DO. Re-defining what it is we get when we engage in the act of sharing.

Though there is a wealth of such networks and communities, (fortunately there are so many that they cannot all be included in this context; however, please see the additional recommended references list for a partial sampling), I have focused this article on a specific global network called SHARE (http://share.dj).

SELF DETERMINATION
(Cultural)
According to the New York City node’s description, on a basic level, SHARE (founded in 2001 by Barry Manalog, geoffGDAM and Newclueless) “is an open jam, not just for digirati, but for all new culture lovers. Participants bring their portable equipment, plug into our system, improvise on each others’ signal and perform live audio and video. We furnish the amplification and projection…providing an open forum, in real life, for data exchange and media performance.” http://www.share.dj/share/

For my „on the field“ investigating, I spent quite a bit of time picking the brains of the participants of SHARE. This free and open audio and video jam is one of a plethora of currently recurring „happenings“ but it is unique in a couple of ways. 
Firstly, there is no stage area so the recurring jam consists of people sitting around the room playing with their laptops and or whatever other technical gear they choose to bring with them. In other words, you never really know who is doing what unless you poke your head behind their screen to spy their programs. I use the word spy very ironically, given the fact that the vibe around SHARE is one of openness: open-source; open information in general. Everyone seems eager to share whatever information there is to be had, and there is plenty. Another unique aspect to it is the fact that, at least in New York City, it takes place on a Sunday night, normally the time and day reserved for the masses to rest. This in itself places this event in the underground arena, but what makes it a truly revolutionary event is its openness and connection to digital arts movements and events throughout the world. Some weeks there are visitors that perform individual live sets and they come from all corners of the globe.

CHOICE NOT DOMINATION
(Political)
The freedom to collaborate and participate on a voluntary basis. “Patrons are encouraged to show and exchange ideas freely, giving each other feedback, catalyzing development of techniques and philosophies in new media.” http://www.share.dj/share/credo.php

All you need to do to play at SHARE is to let them know you’d like to, and when you’ll be in town. That’s it. No screening process, no voting on whether this one is good and that one is bad, no politics and no hierarchy involved.  The nature of the structure (or lack of one) of these events points to a consistent movement towards more freedom and less control or “oppression”. The only two aspects of a SHARE event that are not negotiable is that they are always free and open.

MUTUAL SERVICE
(Economic)
“…The current financial crisis has shown the severe limits of some previous models…”

http://fcforum.net/ CHARTER FOR INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE Citizens’ and artists’ Human Rights in the digital age.

Though SHARE nodes have in the past applied for and received travel grants for attending festivals and events outside of their home bases, for the most part they run on a purely volunteer basis and depend on generosity. Since SHARE events are always free and open to all, there is no income besides an occasional percentage from the bar, depending on the host space and bar intake. Otherwise everything is contributed by individuals or friendly organizations, which donate time, space and resources.

SELF CONTROL AND COURTESY
(Social)
“Share is the place to: preview that video project you’re working on, learn about new software developments, sing a new pop song you’ve written, join an open jam of digital artists, form an impromptu collaboration, hear how your new songs sound on a big system, meet co-conspirators for art projects, spin some mp3s…or relax and have a Sunday drink with interesting people.” http://www.share.dj/share/credo.php

At SHARE there is no policing, everyone is responsible for him or her self.  When someone needs assistance there is always someone else who can provide it; however, while everyone is expected to be aware of each other, no one is expected to tell others how to behave.  Rarely has there been an incident when someone needs to be told that their behavior is unacceptable; in those instances when someone’s behavior has somehow caused discomfort to others, the person is usually encouraged to just relax and listen and if not able then perhaps to return another time.

INDUSTRY
(Technical)
“Digital technology has bridged the gap, allowing ideas and knowledge to flow. It has done away with many of the geographic and technological barriers to sharing. It has provided new educational tools and stimulated new possibilities for forms of social, economic and political organization. This revolution is comparable to the far reaching changes brought about as a result of the printing press…”

At SHARE,  “in addition to enabling file servers and a number of peer2peer A/V apps to be easily utilized by multiple users, the wireless connection has, coupled with the Natural Sphere broadband connection, given SHARE the ability to have an interactive online presence, capable of collaboration with global partners”. http://www.share.dj/share/faq.php

SELF RULE
(Morality & Ethics/Justice)
“…the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love…he or she must combine a passionate spirit with a cold intelligence and make painful decisions without flinching…one must have a large dose of humanity, a large dose of a sense of justice and truth in order to avoid dogmatic extremes…so that this love of living humanity is transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force.” Guevara, Che, Global Justice: Liberation and Socialism, Ocean Press, Melbourne, 2002

If you have a group of individuals all working to transcend their own boundaries within a community of like-minded individuals, also working to transcend their own boundaries, then a common vision begins to slowly take shape, increasing the resolution of the revolution (sorry, couldn’t help myself). 

So, is there an ideology in the digital underground today? Yes and no. There seems to be no consistent group view, but there does seem to be a very definite unifying energy focused on the idea of freedom; freedom from established legal and political constraints, free exchange of ideas, free participation and contribution, and the freedom to be oneself within the group as one struggles to become free of one’s own bullshit.

In closing, to quote Gandhi: “Cease to fear one another” making your intent the “renunciation of the fruits of one’s action…” Only then can you embody the paradigm of giving, opening up the possibility getting much more than you actually bargained for.

(This article builds upon an earlier paper entitled: “Is It A One Or Is It A Zero: Ideology In The Digital Underground” which can be accessed for free online at: http://vjtheory.net/web_texts/text_vieira.htm)

Author bio:
Elsa Vieira (a.k.a. MonkeyFish) – Film/Video/Live Visual Processing
Elsa divides her time and work between New York, Lisbon and Prague. Currently, as MonkeyFish, she is exploring multiple modes of visual communication, primarily through digital video and live visual processing, using coded language, movement and sound, and how they affect and are affected by the nervous system. In addition to her own work, Elsa is deeply involved in bringing digital and intermedia art to the global community as part of her vision for RogueWaves, a company she founded in 2002, the goal of which is the furthering and evolution of counter-current, revolutionary ideas around the world through artistic experimentation and/or collaboration.  Sometime in the summer of 2010, Elsa plans to host the second edition of SHARE Media Cirkus in Prague as part of her vision for RogueWaves.

http://www.monkeyfishfilms.net
http://www.roguewaves.net
http://www.share.dj

Sources:
-MAHATMA – Life of Gandhi, 1869-1948 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8859891538096241080&ei=X9VtS_SrFJju2AKmmNDZBg&q=documentaries&view=3&emb=1&dur=3#

-SHARE
http://SHARE.dj

-VJTheory
www.Vjtheory.net

Audiovisual multichannel experience for two 35mm projectors, 4 turntables and as many audio channels as possible.

Reach Your Hapiness

Birds Build Nests Underground decided to attack traditional cinemas by using the venues‘ normal equipment differently and employing primitive repetitions and rough minimalism. Martin Ježek has created more than 40 three-second film loops using a simple half frame camera ČAJKA II of Soviet provenience and unique characteristics that augments the regular movie camera. (the standard length of a 35 mm film reel times two = 72 frames). All of the loops will be played on both projectors of the Cinda while Petr Ferenc and Michal Brunclík will route their turntables into the multi-channel amplifiers of the venue’s DOLBY system while and making sure their artistic efforts will not be limited by the presets of the in-house sound chain. Various meticulous preparations of the record grooves will create loops of sound and all three band members will respond to the dynamics of the images and vice versa. As with such endeavors there always remains a possibility: that nothing will happen, which can also be interesting.

An elegant live mix of ethnopoetic visuals, chants and music

Urban Space Epics evolved out of a series of projects and adventures, including work with San Francisco psychedelic light show artists, 20th century composers and street music in North Africa and Spain.  For 2 decades the ultimate goal of Urban Space Epics has been to improvise projected visuals, sung-poetry and music on epic structures, with an urgent expressionism fueled by urban experience and animist imagination. Sometimes perceived as a non-musical project Urban Space Epics efforts have been directed towards live performances that stay and reside in the viewers mind differently from what is usually on the bandstand. Hypnotically chanted narratives, gamelan like sounds generated from electrified Kalimba’s, jazz inflected electronic keyboards, and music-concret passages are all part of the Urban Space Epics sonic mix.  The upcoming performance includes digitized experimental film footage filmed in central Mexico and Southern Spain for the ethnopoetic expressions of Urban Space Epics. Visuals will be sublimely mixed live by visual artist and VJ Jakub Grosz. Now based in Prague, variations of the Epics can be heard sporatically in conjunction with projects by Extraterrestrials, Birds Build Nests Orchestra, Pronefoal and other forward looking artists.

Jdi za štěstím
Bio Oko
Františka Křížka 15,
Praha
16. 2. 2010
od 20:30

Waiting to exhale

Terry McMillan

First published in 1992 in the USA

Terry McMillan is African-American woman famous in the USA and Waiting to Exhale is her fourth book. It’s said that the book aims to black folks. In some issues a white “folk” will not feel familiar; but Terry’s women are cynical, ever-hopeful and relentlessly funny. And this has nothing with the color. Bringing up a child being single mother, managing life in a marriage and getting divorced realizing the man you married is a stranger, dealing with the job, moving, “mamas”, men … A lot of issues to be revealed.

“I mean, I have my days and I have my nights, but I haven’t gotten to the point where I’ll take whatever I can get. There’s a big difference between being thirsty and being dehydrated.”

Terry says that everything what she writes is about empowerment, and it does breathe off the page. Terry’s women believe future is bright. So it shall. What counts is now. What do you already have? Some woman has great child, some great job, and this matters. It is possible to be living of that. And, of course, remember your background, your family, your friends. They are who can really empower you.

Waiting to Exhale is a book worth reading. Every woman can read the story of Savannah, Bernardine, Robin and Gloria with liking.