Slick, Extended Conversation

in URB: Culture, by Michael Vazquez

Estria interview

There's a great interview with Estria (San Francisco) in Nichi Bei Times.

See his paintings at estria.net and screenprinting at SamuraiGraphix.

New Web development course - Free

The best thing about this is that it's put out by Opera so it's committed to the standards. If your site is built on standards, it just works for everyone. It's been a long time since some good courseware appeared, and this is new, so check it out.

Catalog from the Street Art show at Tate Modern

For sale, the book.

Book publishing: the lowdown, by Mark Hurst

If you ever think about writing a book, know this first.

Interview with EAST

Games: online, free, and likely even fun - a list

There are tons of free, online games listed, many of which would also be good for kids, even educational. Plenty of shootemups of course and games for improving big-keyboard skills with those digital letters. Strategy, puzzles, old favorites ... I'm not sure about the "strangely compelling cat-tossing game" though. Gotta be something wrong with that.

(Might want to check out the blog there too if you're designing things for a living or running a business. )

A time to look back at how far we've come

"Racism and sexism have not taken their leave. But
the fact that Barack Obama is the presumptive
nominee of the Democratic Party, and that the two
finalists for that prize were a black man and a
white woman, are historical events of the highest
importance. We should not allow ourselves to
overlook the wonder of this moment."

[...]

"This election year has been a testament to the
many long decades of work and sacrifice by men
and women - some famous, most not; some still
alive, many gone - to build a more equitable and
just American society.

"When the night riders were fitted for their
robes, when Wallace stood in the schoolhouse
door, when lowlifes mocked and humiliated those
who were fighting for women’s rights, they were
trying to forestall the realization of this type
of moment in history.

"We’ll see whether Senator Obama gets elected
president. But whether he does or not, this is a
moment of which Americans can be proud, a moment
the society can build upon.

"So a victory lap is in order. Not for Senator
Obama (he still has a way to go), but for all
those in every station in life who ever refused
to submit quietly to hatred and oppression. They
led us to a better place."


Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

There's more. Go read it for yourself.

Laser-etched decks

Refill magazine, which focuses on our kind of artists, has curated some laser-etched skate decks. The one by Aaron Horkey (Abuse) is spectacular.

via BoingBoing

Illegal Only magazine from Poland

Another great graffiti magazine has recently come out of Poland, Illegal Only. It is free, downloadable, Mac/Windows - Flash. This format is really cool, because the pages turn quickly and it has some music and video also.

But the best thing is the photography.

Issue 3 features Odessa, Ukraine, and it's something you've got to see. Here is a taste:



Of course they want your artful bombing photos too.

Blek le Rat - new book

Blek le Rat - Getting Through the Walls, published by Thames & Hudson.



Blek le Rat is one of the most influential figures in the world of street art, who is said to have inspired Banksy.

Also, photos of his installation from May 7 at The Conran Shop, Fulham Road, London, by Paul Jenkins.

These look to be pasted up stenciled material of some kind.





Thanks to Mark and Amy.

Copyright for artists, in a nutshell

I get a lot of questions about copyright. This blog article at emptyeasel.com explains the basics and links to the US gov site for copyright details and forms.

Copyrights are for individual expressions. Trademarks are for goods and corporate identity. Some copyright law is international and some is for your own country only. This info pertains to the US but might also apply somewhat to you if you live in another country.

Tip: If you are printing your name on products, you need a trademark also to protect against other people using your name or making counterfeits, but it's $$$$$ to do it, and you might need one trademark per country of interest. If you need a trademark, you probably need a trademark attorney, if only because they can do the big database searches for you.

Parallel Strokes - New book by Ian Lynam

"Parallel Strokes is a collection of interviews with twenty-plus contemporary typeface designers, graffiti writers, and lettering artists around the world. The book is introduced with a comprehensive essay charting the history of graffiti, its relation to type design, and how the two practices relate in the wider context of lettering.

Interviews within include conversations with pan-European type design collective Underware, Japanese type designer Akira Kobayashi, American graffiti writer and fine artist Barry McGee/Twist, German graffiti writers Daim and Seak, American lettering artist, graphic designer and design educator Ed Fella, among others. Parallel Strokes is an enquiry into the history, context, and development of lettering today, both culturally approved and illicit.

Softcover, 244 pages, printed in glorious Canada First 100 orders ship with a limited edition 17 in. x 20 in. two-color Parallel Strokes poster
us $25 + Free shipping worldwide.

[Check the link for sample pages and a full list of interviewees.]

A rare dose of truth about the terrorized USA

It's rare to find anything true in the current sea of propaganda, advertisement, disinformation, and Britney. But here is something both true and provocative. Years from now, when people reflect back to this time of eroding civil rights and growing xenophobia in America, they will say what Zbigniew Brzezinski said in this article. As he says, somehow we need to elect a president who will turn things around before they get completely out of hand.

Fuzz One needs our help: Buy his book now

Sadly, Fuzz One's mother just passed away and he is trying to raise funds to cover her funeral costs. So if you were thinking about buying one of his new books, this is the best of all possible times to do that. Here's the info:

Fuzz One
The Last of the Old School
by Vincent Fedorchak

This one you have to buy directly from Fuzz because it's not available anywhere else.
Info: myspace.com/fuzzone
djfuzzone@yahoo.com

Fuzz says:
Book is 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Heavy and almost 400 pages. All raw text of hardcore NY history.

US customers: No PayPal at all. Only checks allowed from a U.S. bank. Check or money order only. For one book only and extra artwork, the total to send is $40.00. All shipments get sent with Priority Mail and include new artwork I am doing. If you want more than one book, e-mail me for prices.

Any other country: No personal checks. Only International Money Order or U.S. dollars in cash. No Euros or other currency for now. This gets you one book and Priority Mail shipping (airmail). You can send it certified mail so you know I got it, but that is an extra expense for you. It's US$ 50.00 for one book to get sent to England. I have had a few customers from there already. It should be close to that for other European countries but I ask that you e-mail me first from where you are in order to determine if it will cost more. Send inquiries to djfuzzone@yahoo.com

I will sign each book and in most cases will add my own graffiti artwork by doing something for you and include it with the book. No other authors do that.

More than one book: If you want more than one book, send me a note to tell me how many you want and where you are. New shipping prices will be given to you.

Not doing business with any bookstores or distributors. Write your name and address neatly so I can read it when sending your payment.

Send any payments here:

Vincent Fedorchak
PO Box 111
Port Jervis NY 12771
USA

Cool Tools

The brilliant Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools site has some great things on it. Recently I saw

Book on HDR photography
Motion Mountain Physics / Art book - free PDF download

He also has some interesting realtek on his Street Use site. Check out the painted trucks from Pakistan.

How to recognize and counter a bad argument

Learning to identify faulty reasoning will help you over and over in life as media and authority and politicians come at you with bogus arguments. This material was the most valuable stuff I learned in college. It looks boring on the surface but it's actually fascinating because it helps sort out the truth from the BS.

Transit Maps from Around the World

Book available at Amazon

Bombing Modernism: Graffiti and its relationship to the (built) environment

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

New book, some how-to videos online too.

Iraq situation report, by 7 US soldiers

This is the most believable and coherent account I've read so far of the situation on the ground in Iraq. Comments are interesting too.

Two of this NYTimes op-ed piece's authors died September 10. Sgt. Omar Mora and co-author Sgt. Yance T. Gray died along with 5 other soldiers and 2 detainees in a vehicle accident, but it would be just as fair to say they died of executive privilege.

GWB gave a feel-good speech tonight about how everything is going so well in Iraq. He should just declare victory and bring the troops home then. And there's more heroin coming out of Afghanistan than ever, so either that was the objective of that war or else it's failed to produce positive results as well. I sure hope we can get him out of office before he starts another war with Iran or Eritria.

The DC protest is coming up on the 15th. I'm sure Alternet will cover that event and so will the streams of images at YouTube and Flickr.

Kaws laptop/book sleeve with Arkitip #41

Gear alert!

Arkitip is a great short-run art mag made by people like us for people like us about art and design, and of course there's not much that's more collectible than a Kaws.

Hand packaged and numbered ltd. edition of 2000

Ten Politically Incorrect Truths about Human Nature

Fascinating article from Psychology Today on how reproductive strategies and mating habits cause more boys, more blonds, more suicide bombers, younger criminals and geniuses, and more red sports car buyers.

The good news is that most of these strategies are obsolete in the modern world, and once you understand what's going on, you might be more in control of your life choices.

Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual 7th ed. - Columbia University

Hope you never need this, but it looks like a handy reference.

Bluetooth Shoes

Forget LEDs, here come the shoes that authenticate you.

From Threat Level, which often warns about real threats that are worth fighting against. Bluetooth shoes may not be one of the worrisome things -- that is until they start broadcasting your identity or exhibiting other promiscuous or spoofable behavior.

On a similar note, some video cameras are being hooked up to software that attempts to identify people by their gait (how they walk). This type of mass surveillance may turn out to be more evil in the long run than shoes that let you into your workplace without a keycard.

Kurt Vonnegut, RIP

A member of my artificial extended family and the author of the world-view altering books:

Cat's Cradle
Sirens of Titan
Breakfast of Champions
Slaughterhouse-Five

has left us. His point of view will always remain, though, to remind us what kind of species we might have been, had we put a bit more thought into it.

The NY Times said: "His last book, in 2005, was a collection of biographical essays, "A Man Without a Country." It, too, was a best seller.

In concludes with a poem written by Mr. Vonnegut called "Requiem," which has these closing lines:"

" 'When the last living thing

has died on account of us,

how poetical it would be

if Earth could say,

in a voice floating up

perhaps

from the floor

of the Grand Canyon,

"It is done."

People did not like it here. ' "



... and so it goes.

Heroes, Guards, and Prisoners

Ordinary people become great, evil, and passive, depending on how they react to what's going on around them. This article explains how easy it is to fall into the prison mindset and how anyone can be a hero. This essential info will help you throughout life, so don't skip it.

Bystander's Dilemma - The Banality of Heroism, by Zeno Franco and Philip Zimbardo, Berkeley.edu

Poetic Terrorism

Hakim Bey, from TAZ

How to be more creative

This cartoonist gives excellent advice to artists. His cartoons are great too.

Understanding Delusion

In these strange days when misguided people think they need to burn buildings for god (and perhaps against god), it's important to look at what we believe and consider the big questions. Like Buford said, "it's been a long long time since wars were fought in the name of the Devil."

Noam Chomsky: There is No War on Terror

"Well, the first thing that should be done in Iraq is for us to be serious about what's going on. There is almost no serious discussion, I'm sorry to say, across the spectrum, of the question of withdrawal. The reason for that is that we are under a rigid doctrine in the West, a religious fanaticism, that says we must believe that the United States would have invaded Iraq even if its main product was lettuce and pickles, and the oil resources of the world were in Central Africa. Anyone who doesn't believe that is condemned as a conspiracy theorist, a Marxist, a madman, or something. Well, you know, if you have three gray cells functioning, you know that that's perfect nonsense. The U.S. invaded Iraq because it has enormous oil resources, mostly untapped, and it's right in the heart of the world's energy system. Which means that if the U.S. manages to control Iraq, it extends enormously its strategic power, what Zbigniew Brzezinski calls its critical leverage over Europe and Asia. Yeah, that's a major reason for controlling the oil resources -- it gives you strategic power. Even if you're on renewable energy you want to do that. So that's the reason for invading Iraq, the fundamental reason.

"Now let's talk about withdrawal. Take any day's newspapers or journals and so on. They start by saying the United States aims to bring about a sovereign democratic independent Iraq. I mean, is that even a remote possibility? Just consider what the policies would be likely to be of an independent sovereign Iraq. If it's more or less democratic, it'll have a Shiite majority. They will naturally want to improve their linkages with Iran, Shiite Iran. Most of the clerics come from Iran. The Badr Brigade, which basically runs the South, is trained in Iran. They have close and sensible economic relationships which are going to increase. So you get an Iraqi/Iran loose alliance. Furthermore, right across the border in Saudi Arabia, there's a Shiite population which has been bitterly oppressed by the U.S.-backed fundamentalist tyranny. And any moves toward independence in Iraq are surely going to stimulate them, it's already happening. That happens to be where most of Saudi Arabian oil is. Okay, so you can just imagine the ultimate nightmare in Washington: a loose Shiite alliance controlling most of the world's oil, independent of Washington and probably turning toward the East, where China and others are eager to make relationships with them, and are already doing it. Is that even conceivable? The U.S. would go to nuclear war before allowing that, as things now stand.

"Now, any discussion of withdrawal from Iraq has to at least enter the real world, meaning, at least consider these issues. Just take a look at the commentary in the United States, across the spectrum. How much discussion do you see of these issues? Well, you know, approximately zero, which means that the discussion is just on Mars."

.... and other stuff worth reading as always. Noam brings it home. Check it out. Search out some of his online audio also. It's great.

Edge World Question 2006: What is Your Dangerous Idea?

There is some very interesting stuff in here. Last year's Edge answers were worth reading also. Pace yourself. I like a page per day, but one idea per day would probably be better.