Project Steev

Reflections on Programming

This is old (all of almost 10 years now!!!) but so accurate and informative to those who may be close to coders and don't understand. An excerpt:

People imagine that programmers don't like to talk because they
prefer machines to people. This is not completely true. Programmers don't
talk because they must not be interrupted.
This need to be uninterrupted leads to a life that is strangely
asynchronous to the one lived by other human beings. It's better to send
e-mail to a programmer than to call. It's better to leave a note on the
chair than to expect the programmer to come to a meeting. This is because
the programmer must work in mind time while the phone rings and the
meetings happen in real time. It's not just ego that prevents programmers
from working in groups - it's the synchronicity problem. Synchronizing with
other people (or their representations in telephones, buzzers and
doorbells) can only mean interrupting the thought train. Interruptions mean
bugs. You must not get off the train.

Immigration: The Human Cost

Great video from The Onion:

Immigration: The Human Cost

I'll probably show this as part of the opener for a screening of Gigante Despierta sunday night at Dry River.

Live From San Diego

I'm in San Diego for a few days to show my Juarez film. I'm staying with friends whose house is like a major waystation for activists, journalists, and other cool people passing through town. Right now there's a Peruvian who's been staying at the Cucapa camp in the Colorado River "delta" for the last 2 months and travelling with La Otra Campaña before that. He's going back to the camp today with a photojournalist from Brooklyn who just arrived last night to take shots of the last high-tide fishing outing the Cucapa will do for the season. Another photojournalist, from Germany, is here taking photos of the border wall. He just published a book of panoramic photos from The Occupied Territories called simpy "Wall". They are beautiful and of course disturbing.

The Brooklyn photog brought a copy of the latest issue of National Geographic that has a really great piece about the border Wall, with incredible photos from all along the U.S.-Mexico border and text by Charles Bowden. Most of Bowden's text is focused, as an exemplar, on Naco. It's too bad that he apparently wasn't aware, when he wrote it, that the cross-border fiesta was going to be happening again.

The screening of my film had an amazing number of students turnout at San Diego State yesterday. This morning I'm showing it at City College as part of a series of human rights films there sponsored by the local Amnesty International.

The ocean air is wonderful here in San Diego.

Video From Fiesta Binacional

As I mentioned as an upcoming event a couple weeks ago on this blog, a cross-border party happened in the tiny border town of Naco (Arizona and Sonora).
Here's the short video I made about the event:

You can also download the video here.

Sao Paulo Outlaws All Outdoor Advertising

I can't believe it. This is the best news I've heard in ages. More proof that Brazil is extremely cool. Hopefully other cities, worldwide, will gradually follow suit, and someday there will be no advertising, anywhere, for anything.

oh no! someone's stealing my stolen IP!

So I got an anonymous message the other day from the contact form on my website:

"www.myspace.com/simonparks seems to be using one of your images in order to promote himself/ his band."

When I looked up the IP address of the person that sent the message, it was a computer (dhcp80ffad72.residence-rooms.uiowa.edu.) in a dorm on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. Which is notable for only 2 reasons: I'm from Iowa, and Simon Parks, the supposed infringer, is an aspiring rock star based in Iowa CIty. Which would seem to mean that someone who knows him wants him to get in trouble for copyright infringement, and somehow found the image that Simon is re-using, and yet isn't aware of my pro stance about the recycling of culture.

The funnny thing too is that *I* couldn't even find the image at first, which I recognized as a collaborative collage that I made with friends at a collage party I threw years ago in Portland. In fact now that I've located it online, thanx to Google, in some little-visted directory on my site, I am reminded that this particular collage is probably mostly the work of my friend Seth Ladygo. So the image itself and its presence on my site is the product of many infringements of others' "intellectual property" anyway.

Really a beautiful and wonderful example of the complicated intertext that is modern creativity. And really a funny, ironic thing if this anonymous undergrad in Iowa hopes to get this other person in trouble over it.

Relax, dude. Are you jealous cuz this Simon guy makes pretty good music? Or maybe he stole your girlfriend? How about you sample his songs and make something better out of it, mash them up with some Peaches or something, and then sleep with his girlfriend. No, the one he's gonna have after he dumps yours, when he plays his next gig at Gabe's. or wherever kids in Iowa City are watching shows these days. But anyway like I was saying, relax. have fun. it's how culture works.

Showing My Film in San Diego

I'm going to San Diego to show my film again twice, once at SDSU April 24 and then the 25th at San Diego City College.

Encuentro Intergalactica Zapatista en Julio

I'm thinking about the summer, can you tell? I want to go to Chiapas at the end of July... Well details about why are right here.
I'm pasting this bit specifically, mostly so it's easier to find, because every time I go looking on the EZLN websites it takes me forever to find anything.

Communiqué from the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee—General Command of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation

Mexico

Intergalactic Commission—Sixth Commission

October 2, 2006

To the peoples of the world.

To the adherents of the Zezta International of the five continents

Compañeros and Compañeras:

The EZLN, through its Intergalactic Commission and Sixth Commission, convoke: encounters of the Zapatista people with the peoples of the world.

The first will be held December 30-31, 2006 and January 1-2, 2007, in the Caracol of Oventik with the following objectives:

One: That the different organizations, groups, collectives, and individuals from other countries who struggle and resist on the five continents for humanity and against neoliberalism get to know the experiences of struggle of the Zapatista indigenous communities and how they organize their governments by talking directly with the five Councils of Good Government.

Two: That the Zapatista communities and their authorities get to know the histories and experiences of struggle of other countries on the five continents that struggle and resist for humanity and against neoliberalism, in their own voice.

Three: That the Zapatista communities and the organizations, groups, collectives, and individuals from other countries that struggle and resist in the whole world against neoliberalism and for humanity relate directly to each other, without intermediaries, in order to offer mutual support and solidarity.

Four: To propose and agree on means, modes, and forms of communication between the organizations, groups, collectives, and individuals that struggle and resist on the five continents.

Five: To give a message of encouragement to the struggles that, against the power of money, currently sustain communities in diverse parts of the planet.

Sixth: To make and discuss proposals for the next Intergalactic Encounter, including dates and places.

The second Encounter will be held July 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 of 2007.

To be celebrated in the five caracoles, with the same objectives.

July 21st in the Caracol of Oventik, Inauguration.
July 22nd Work.
July 23rd Transfer to Caracol of Morelia.
July 24th Work.
25th Transfer to Caracol of Roberto Barrios.
26th Work.
27th Transfer to Caracol of La Garrucha.
28th Work.
29th Transfer to Caracol of La Realidad.
30th Work and Closing.
31st Return to San Cristobal.

In each Caracol the authorities of the MAREZ and the Council of Good Government, compañeras comandantas, and compañeros comandantes will participate in order to tell of the experiences of struggle in their autonomous governments, but above all in order to discuss proposals for the next real Intergalactic Encounter, including dates and places.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast

For the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee—General Command of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation.

Lieutenant Colonel Insurgente Moisés.
Intergalactic Commission of the EZLN

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos.
Sixth Commission of the EZLN

Remix Culture

The record industry is going to have to accept the fact that the words "copyright infringement" don't mean much to today's aspiring artists. Musicians have always had influences, now we just hear them in a more direct fashion. They want to take what's old and fashion it into something new. Reinterpret, re-imagine, reconstruct. Those are the key terms for a new and different type of artist, one that latches onto pop culture like never before and thinks about it in ways never conceived. The future is democracy. The future is access. The future is the ability to use whatever we want, however we want. The music industry has just seen the beginning with "Rock Band." The next steps will be brought about by people like Girl Talk [labelmate of mine on Illegal Art] who reinterpret what they have seen and heard into something new. But then again, isn't that an old-fashioned definition of art?

Well, duh. That's what i've been saying for over 10 years.

stuff

another monday. another headache forming as i sit staring at my monitor.

interesting and fun weekend. Saw Yaqui tribal easter rituals, pretty fascinating stuff, amazing syncretism (mixing of catholic and native spiritual traditions) with crazy costumes, sacred clowns, fire, fireworks, music and dancing and parading, godparents beating off evil spirits with sticks, Judas burned at the stake in a pyre of garbage bags (yuk!), girlfriends crushing on teenage boys who dance like deers all night, old women chanting, water drums and scrapers.... and I have no photos or video or audio of any of this because recording, even sketching at these ceremonies is forbidden...

Earth First Journal annual pie party last night. yum. people/socializing overload.

amazing friendships. art, music, food, drink, dogs, love, lovemaking; coffee and juice. virus hoaxes. missing spreadsheets. need to go get groceries really badly.

and i would write more and more cleverly and clearly than this cursory stream-of-concious acccount if i could just not have this headache right now. sigh.

Pay Attention, Worker, Be Efficient, More Productive, You're Costing Us $650 Billion a Year

NY Times article about how multitasking is not a very good idea, and you should avoid interruptions and distractions. (via philo's blog) It also says young people are actually worse at multitasking than older folks.
“We are under the impression that we have this brain that can do more than it often can,” says one researcher.

duh. Yes. Buddhists have been teaching this for about 4 millenia. And I multitask or attempt to a lot but also fight it a lot. But of course this talk of focusing and not letting yourself be distracted from the task at hand takes on a dark cast when in the context of business efficiency. The article mentions that we have yet to have our Frederick Taylor of the information age. Y'know, the guy that worked on turning factory workers into scientifically optimized mechanized cogs? Oh I can't wait for his modern equivalent. yay.

I always remember the J.G. Ballard story "Chronopolis", in which a wise man in a future world where clocks are outlawed tells the hero, "Once someone measures how long it takes you to do something, they can try to make you do it faster."

Fiesta Binacional en Naco

I'm excited about going to this event in a week and a half:

I plan to take a camera and document it. I like that it's been going on for years and that it's a smaller (and perhaps less "radical") but very real version of my vision of what the No Borders Camp in November could be like.

twitter is a big thing i guess, for now.

funny and interesting (sort of) tv talk show segment about Twitter, and then Rex, one of the 'experts' on the show, blogs about it, and there's some interesting comments too. social networking fads, trends, next big things....

wtfait, meanwhile people are still starving to death in bolivia and haiti and hell, new orleans for that matter, and polar bears are drowning and and and...

Newt Gingrich calls Spanish "the language of living in a ghetto"

Former speaker of the House of Represetatives Newt Gingrich (what is he now, just a racist hatemonger on the lecture circuit?) gave a speech decrying bilingual education and calling Spanish "the language of living in a ghetto". He received cheers from the crowd of members of the National Federation of Republican Women.
(via Mun2 Daily Dos)

Featured on Some Assembly Required

I'm the featured interviewee this week on the blog of Some Assembly Required, a radio show in Minneapolis about sample-based music, sound collage, etc. I think this interview happened via email at least 6 months ago if not more. But anyway, it's interesting to read because it talks about the personal experience of the host of the show, Jon, meeting me online about 10 years ago.

In other news, I had just about the worst headache i've ever experienced today, to where I was basically incapacitated most of the afternoon. It was so horrible. I'm still feeling crappy but the pain has ebbed. I don't know what's going on. Maybe a combination of not treating my back right, flirting with caffeine, dehydration, and allergies.

My Debut in Europe 7 Years Ago

Latest addition on Phonophilia.com: a recording of a speech and performance I gave in Brussels in May 2000. This was the first time I'd been invited outside of my local geographical area to present my work as an artist and as "evangelist" of "cultural recycling" - and as founder of Detritus.net. It also happened to be the first time I travelled abroad, other than brief trips into Canada. And it was the beginning of my continuing project to make field recordings in odd or interesting places.

The presentation I made is still pretty interesting, content-wise, though my speaking style leaves a bit to be desired - but I will provide as an excuse the fact of jet lag and that it was about 10 pm and I'd arrived in Brussels at about 6am that morning on my flight from San Francisco. And I was nervous as hell to be one of only 2 north americans there.

More about this trip (photos, email bulletins, etc) is at http://www.detritus.net/steev/europe2000/

YAB Season 2

I'm psyched that the 2nd season of Young American Bodies has begun. In fact, it's up to the third episode already. It continues to be extremely interesting and fresh and real, I think.

Hmm, I could have sworn I blogged about YAB before, but now I can't find it. maybe i just delicioused it? Anyway, briefly, it's a really smart, modern, intelligent and realistic web-based tv show about several 20-somethings in Chicago and their love/sex lives. It's featured content on nerve.com, but there's also a myspace page for it and its own web site: http://youngamericanbodies.com (new episodes appear on the nerve site first)

However there's 2 things I don't like about it: I'm disappointed that there's an ad one has to watch before each episode now, and I'm disappointed there's no RSS feed for the series. I can't be bothered to rememeber to look at episodic web content unless I can subscribe to it in my feed reader! wwaaaaaah.

Google Funny

Great April Fool's joke from Google. Even more beguiling that they left it up today - well, at least for a little while... the link from their front page is now gone.

Another somewhat funny internet-based fool's joke was an announcement that 4 teachers from the spanish school i went to in Guatemala went on a surprise vacation to New York City. Complete with clever photoshopped snapshots.