Close up of new shoot of Phyllostachys irridescens coming up in my yard.
Phyllostachys irridescens new shoot.
Beauty of bamboo
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Fluffy bunny meets lolcat
Because everyone likes a lolcat pic to lighten up the day.
I’m not the first one to live here.
Pulling up weeds today, I found this in the dirt clinging to the roots, covered in dirt. I recognized it immediately, even without my glasses on, since I’ve got a large can full of similar ones. Still, finding a new artifact always makes my day.
Small arrow point I dug up in my garden.
dig deeper and read the rest
“Participant reporter”
Another topic that came up at Sunday’s Commie J-School, mostly as people introduced themselves, was that of the roles and labels we choose for ourselves. “Advocacy journalist,” “citizen journalist” and “citizen reporter” are some of those used. A major network reporter once derisively called us “iPhone journalists,” a term I find quite apt and endearing.
For the first time ever, the tools to report facts, opinions and analysis using print, video, photography and graphic art, both recorded and live, are in the hands of virtually anyone with a modest income. This is revolutionary and is an integral part of both the open, transparent character of Occupy and a harbinger of the emerging hyper-networked democratic society. The means prefigure the ends.
Commie J-School in Oakland
Last Sunday, I was one of 11 people who attended what got nicknamed “Commie J-School” in Mosswood Park in Oakland. Initiated by two of Occupy Oakland’s most active reporters, journalist and cartoonist Susie Cagle and journalist and journalism teacher Justin Beck ( @susie_c and @pixplz respectively on Twitter), it was billed on the Facebook page as
A workshop on journalism law, ethics, best practices, tips & tricks. We’ll cover livestreaming, tweeting, blogging, photographing, interviewing, investigating, and the tools needed/best used for all.
That, of course, sounds like a couple years’ worth of journalism school curriculum, not a two-hour workshop. Nevertheless, quite a bit of ground did get covered as it applies to amateur, citizen and freelance journalists covering topics like, but not limited to, Occupy Oakland.
Timber wars ephemera wanted
As I described in my previous post, Scott Brown, co-owner of Eureka Books in Old Town Eureka, is looking to preserve artifacts and ephemera from the forest protest movement.
If you have action flyers, meeting announcements, photographs, diaries, meeting minutes, banners, stickers or whatever, he’d like to talk to you about it. These are the kinds of objects that we rarely think to keep at the time, but which provide texture and depth and personal touches to written histories. I brought my old Portaledge, the one I used in the first tree-sit in 1985 up there a few weeks ago (see post below). As I go through more boxes, I’ll be saving the flyers and things I know I still have stashed away. The timing is perfect for me, since I’m trying to lighten the material load in my life.
The postcard and the portaledge
Life moves so fast sometimes that keeping perspective beyond the needs of decision-making in the immediate present becomes difficult or requires more energy than I have available. I find it a useful exercise from time to time to stop and reflect on the current moment from an imagined future. What will I think of this moment, looking back on it from that future then? What will be important? Will it even matter at all?
Let me tell a story about a postcard that changed my life. In 1984 I was in Boulder for a land surveying job that never materialized. I met another rock climber and we did a climbing tour around the Southwest in October, traveling in his VW bus named “E.m.m.a.” While I’ve long since forgotten the origin of the acronym, “Emma” was also named in honor of anarchist Emma Goldman. The sides were covered with anarchist and anti-militarist political graffiti, getting frequent and mostly-positive comments from passers-by. We were probably just a bit too out-there for rednecks to even know what to say.
Read the rest of this story
Occupy (almost) Everywhere.
Everyone not living in a cave has heard about Occupy Wall Street and most are probably aware of Occupy Oakland. If you live in Seattle, L.A., Chicago, Denver and other big U.S. cities, you’ve probably at least heard passing mention of Occupy encampments or actions in your town. But, until now, who knew about Occupy Vacaville (California) or Occupy Bemidji (Minnesota) or the hundreds of other Occupy locations around North America and the world?
If you’re looking for the nearest Occupy center, now it’s easy to find out with this user-generated Occupy map.
Gone BANANAS!* over free speech? Support an independent filmmaker who took on a giant and won.
While I was at Sundance Film Festival in January, I had the pleasure of watching the U.S. premier of BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!*, which I then blogged about.
The crew is now raising money via the crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter in order to fund their U.S. release of the film. Check out their official site and their trailer and if you’re inspired, make a pledge on their Kickstarter page.
This is an important (and fun!) film that needs to be seen, especially by U.S. audiences. Dole’s attempted censorship of the film BANANAS!* took place here in the U.S. with the full participation of the mainstream media. In director Gerten’s home country of Sweden, in contrast, Dole’s outrageous behavior attracted major press attention.
We’ve got serious problems in this country when giant corporations decide what we can watch and read about. Here’s an easy way to support feisty independent filmmakers doing something to expose it.
The internet will be my “Downfall”
First I got a Facebook page, then a blog, then a Twitter account. Then I started setting up blogs for organizations I’m part of. Then I started another blog of my own and two more Twitter accounts and a Google+ page and a Yelp profile and an online dating profile. I’ve got some other profiles on sites where I can’t remember the username or password. But, doesn’t everyone have all that and more these days?
But you’re just not a real person online until you’re named in an internet meme.
Apparently, I’ve arrived.
Click here to see what I mean by that