Images of the Arab and Asian Worlds

Saudi Aramco World
Our imaginations regarding the Arab world have been bleached by images of dusty, wartorn cities, Central Asian wastelands and treeless stretches of mine-ladden no man's land. This periodical serves as a much needed dose of color for those of us who are weary of the drums of war. It is good to remember that the Middle East is the cradle of civilization, art, math, science, spices and even artists pigments.

With the US media pummeling us with images of burkas, car bombs and Humvees for the past four years, it was refreshing to run across this publication with articles on Arab women writers, handpainted Pakistani trucks, and the history of gum arabic (Volume 56, Number 2 March/April 2005).

Saudi Aramco World gives insight into the rich, complex and urbane artistic lives of the Muslim and Arab world which stretches from Indonesia through Africa, Asia, Europe and even the suburbs of North America.

All across Pakistan, this rolling folk art has turned village lanes, city streets and long-distance highways into a national gallery without walls, a free-form, kaleidoscopic exhibition in perpetual motion. The vast majority of Pakistan’s trucks, buses and motorized rickshaws are riots of color, bedizened top to bottom with eye-popping landscapes, portraits, calligraphic poetry, religious verses and wisecracking expressions of star-spangled banter. Only the biggest, blandest container freight trucks, the 18-wheeler rigs, escape decoration, looking naked by comparison.

~ from Master pieces to Go: The Trucks of Pakistan

An archive of free images from almost four decades of the publication are available on-line.

Asia Grace by Kevin Kelly
For a rich, saturated record of an overland journey from Afghanistan to Vietnam, check out this beautiful book.

From 1972 until 1979, Kevin Kelly was an independent photographer in remote parts of Asia, and roamed Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Burma, Thailand, Bengladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

RIGHT: RAJASTAN, INDIA--Rajastanis inspect ceremonial swords. India's desert warriors, much influenced by the Moguls, still breed and ride camels, and often still carry firearms.

Taking the thousands of photographs he took during the 1970s, Kelly took his years of experience in journalism and became a one-man production house. The former editor of WIRED magazine handled all the scanning, photo retouching, color proofing, layout, design, sales, and promotion for the book. He even flew to Italy to oversee the printing process.

Taschen picked up the book after Kelly drove down to the publisher's house in California and showed him the ink jet proofs in person. No agent. No design team. No meddling!

You can see everyone of the photos, and order prints, at www.asiagrace.com

The Next Frontier in Experience Design: Housework!

Ok. Imagine this design challenge: Make cleaning your house a stellar design experience.

UK designer Dyson has in creating the next generation of cyborg-like vacuum cleaners. Even the website is a stellar example in experience design with flash animations, games, high-tech graphics, a slick interface and even downloadable wallpaper celebrating the newest creation: The Ball.

Of course, you know that you have truly hit the big time when your commercials are lampooned on Saturday Night Live.

(The SNL version depicted the tall, reserved English designer demonstrating the powerful engineering of the Dyson toilet.)

For some of the best writing on experience design, check out ID Fuel, especially Domic Muren's recent post Design is: Experience.

To see the worst examples, visit Mark Hurst's This is Broken, a site where people submit photos and stories of products, signage and customer experience stranger than fiction.

Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig (and friends)

From IT Conversations:

AKMA asked, "Anyone feel like recording a chapter of Lawrence Lessig's new book?"

Joi Ito then said, "What a great idea!" In less than 24 hours, this idea mushroomed into a significant collaboration by a team of bloggers and others to record and publish all of Free Culture.

Scott Matthews has also compiled a convenient archive of the collected audioblogs reflecting the entire book.

Doug Kaye reads Chapter 1: Creators, a fascinating look at public domain and the culture of "rip, mix and burn" that existed in the 1920's when Walt Disney created "Steamboat Willie", the proto-mouse that became Mickey. The chapter then describes the Japanese practice of re-interpreting established works of art, a practice that sustains the entire Manga comics industry.

From Lessig's bio:

Lawrence Lessig is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the school's Center for Internet and Society. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, he was the Berkman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Lessig was also a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and a Professor at the University of Chicago Law School. He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.

Public Knowledge is a Washington DC based advocacy group working to defend your rights in the emerging digital culture.

Bono Rallies TED Technorati

Bono's acceptance speech at TED 2005 celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit of America and pleaded for a focus on the HIV/AIDS in Africa.

He acknowledged that "we are very good at charity. Americans, like Irish people, are good at it. Even the poorest neighborhoods give more than they can afford. We like to give, and we give a lot. Look at the response to the tsunami. It's inspiring."

The video is mesmerizing... not only in the power of the message and the honesty of the messenger, but in the Obe Won Kenobe-like hologram of Bono himself at the podium interacting with the audience in California (his likeness was beamed from a secret location somewhere in the world).

Bono's acceptance address (selections)
Bono's acceptance address (complete)
Transcript of address

Excerpt:

But justice is a tougher standard than charity. You see, Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice. It makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties. It doubts our concern. It questions our commitment. Because there's no way we can look at what's happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that it would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else.

As you heard in the film, anywhere else, not here, not here, not in America, not in Europe. In fact a head of state that you're all familiar with admitted this to me, and it's really true. There is no chance this kind of hemorrhaging of human life would be accepted anywhere else other than Africa.

Creative Commons reaches a Digital Tipping Point

As a producer of "content" and packager of ideas into tangible, reproducible forms (photos, illustrations, animations, video and music), the task of promoting viewership whilst retaining any sort of ownership over said content is daunting at best, boring at the very least. Kind of like that entire sentence.

Hurray for the heros of simplicity in our midst, namely Creative Commons and the evangelists of open source at Digital Tipping Point.

Creative Commons is the brainchild of legal expert Lawrence Lessig, an American law professor and author. A terrific article by Magnatune.com, founder John Buckman, describes the evolution of Lessig's idea in an article for Five Eight magazine:

[Lessig] realized that a large gap exists between Internet Culture and the Legal World. Internet Culture, with its emphasis on sharing, communications, and openness, has produced a variety of wonderful things in recent years, perhaps the greatest explosion of creativity in this century. Lessig's fear was that the Legal World, which doesn't automatically embrace these values, is endangering the future of Internet Culture. He endeavored to bridge Internet Culture and Legal Culture, and the Creative Commons is his creation. The Creative Commons licenses make it easy for creators of new works to support positive values, cheaply and legally, while still retaining rights that the creator wants to retain.

Not only can the creator use the license engine to determine what level of ownership to retain and how interested parties may use the work, but an incredibly creative subset of usage terms that reflect both the world of file sharing and the rise of open source solutions for emerging economies:

• Public Domain
• Developing Nations
• Sampling
• Founder's Copyright
• CC-GNU GPL
• CC-GNU LGPL
• Share Music

Digital Tipping Point

At conference in Cambridge sponsored by Monitor Group titled The Invisible Handshake , I met Christian Einfeldt, lawyer and passionate evangelist for Linux. He joined up with his fellow Miami University alum, Paul Donahue, to embark on a self-described "proof of concept" documentary recording the wide-spread adoption of Linux by artists, technicians, security guards and [gasp!] elected officials.

The film focuses not on computing, but on convergence of social networks with embedded technology.

Intervees include Gilberto Gil, the lively Culture Minister of Brazil, and Christian Ude, Mayor of Munich (who, in a priceless moment of translingual clarity refers to Microsoft "der Marktfueher").

A full list of interviews from the film are available here.

Art Spiegelman in Da Burgh

ART SPEIGELMAN: COMIX 101
Saturday, April 9, 2005, 8:00 p.m.
Byham Theater, downtown Pittsburgh, PA

From The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust:

Ever since 1992, when Art Spiegelman won a Pulitzer Prize for Maus, his masterful Holocaust comic book narrative, fans of adult comics have admired the work of this outstanding and provocative artist. In Maus and Maus II, by portraying Jews as mice and Nazis as cats, Spiegelman created an unusual and controversial context for his powerful narrative.

Now celebrating his 10th anniversary as one of the cover artists for The New Yorker magazine, Art Spiegelman continues to challenge his public with illustrations and comics that are best known for their scratchboard, illustrative style and controversial content. In his lecture with slides, COMIX 101, Art Spiegelman takes his audiences on a chronological tour of the evolution of comics, all the while explaining the value of this medium and why it should not be ignored.

(purchase tickets here)

The New Map Game: Based on the work of Thomas P.M. Barnett

Alphachimp Studio Inc. and four of our top graphic facilitators, will be supporting the upcoming event:

THE NEW MAP GAME May 31st - June 2nd, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency Newport in Newport, Rhode Island details | register

Today's strategic landscape is dramatically changing. The forces of globalization have made the traditional calculus obsolete and a new map is being drawn in the process.

Please come and contribute to THE NEW MAP GAME, an exciting opportunity to explore first-hand the grand strategy of one of globalization’s leading cartographers, Thomas P.M. Barnett. His New York Times bestselling book, The Pentagon's New Map, is a provocative new blueprint for the future of defense, diplomacy and international competition.

Join Dr. Barnett in this three-day executive-level war game that will pit business leaders, military strategists and government policy makers against each other in a realistic, role-playing competition designed to provide players with an intimate understanding of how the near future could unfold.

Please note, due to game mechanics and the unique nature of this event, attendance is limited to the first 100 participants.

Learn more about this groundbreaking event at www.newmapgame.com!
Listen to an interview with Barnett on WHYY Philadelphia.
IT Conversations presents Barnett's speech on The Penetagon's New Map from Pop!Tech 8.

Andrew Zolli, the Fastest Italian in Brooklyn

We'd like to congratulate our friend Andrew Zolli: the Z in Z+ Partners.

Along with forty-nine other talented mongrels who work on the fringes of business, science and art, Zolli has been ID'd in the roster of FastCompany's Fast 50.

Listed as a "Peak Performer" by FC, this futurist, designer and author--who himself works at the intersection of culture, design, technology, and futures research--is actually the nicest superstar you'll ever meet.

His superpower as a human curator was responsible for the vast assembly of preternatural geniuses and fringe lunatics at Pop!Tech 8, themed as The Next Renaissance.

When conference host and co-founder Bob Metcalfe warned that this should not be confused with "that big Italian Renaissance," Zolli joked: "Actually, it is the Renaissance of Big Italians!"

We at Alphachimp would like to cheer this fast futurist from the sidelines, as he zips from Boston to Brooklyn and beyond: "Go, Zolli! Go!"

(check out Andrew's many interviews, articles and speeches, as well as the Z+ Partners blog.)

Yellow Arrow & DiVA (DIGITAL VIDEO & ART FAIR)

YELLOW ARROW PERFORMANCE AND PARTY FOR DiVA (DIGITAL VIDEO & ART FAIR)

Thursday, March 10th; 10 PM
Unity Restaurant at Embassy Suites
102 North End Avenue
New York, NY 10282
Battery Park City

Opening Night Party by the LMCC - March 10th from 10 p.m.: DiVA kicks off with an opening after-party on March 10th that will definitely be an event in itself. The party will feature a special performance by Yellow Arrow. In addition to the distribution of Yellow Arrow stickers and projections displaying the content of the Yellow Arrow Global Gallery, mobile Yellow Arrows will point out a series of live micro-performances staged throughout the party and announced via TXT messaging. Sign up for the mob online at http://www.lmcc.net/diva/

Seasoned turntable veteran Star Eyes will deliver a searing DJ set to create an atmosphere of modern chaos at Unity a bi-level space inside the Embassy Suites Hotel in Battery Park, which overlooks the Hudson River.

$5 suggested donation to support artists creating work in Lower Manhattan. For more information: http://www.lmcc.net/EventsandExhibitions/diva/index.htm

Alphachimp Studio Speaks on Enhancing Knowledge Capture

"Why do we recommend this event? This talented duo effectively enhances a presentation."
~ Techyevent

PRESENTATION: "Graphic Facilitation for Enhancing Knowledge Capture and Communication" with Peter Durand and Alicia Diane Durand, Alphachimp Studio, Inc.

Time:March 14, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Venue:Pittsburgh Technology Council Building, 2000 Technology Drive
Joint Meeting: Pittsburgh Chapter, Society for Technical Communication and Pittsburgh Regional Knowledge Management Consortium

CLICK BELOW FOR DETAILS

QUALIFICATIONS: Alphachimp Studio Inc. is a creative consultancy that specializes in Graphic Facilitation, Web Documentation and Information Graphics to improve the efficiency, energy and productivity of conferences, meetings and collaborative design sessions. To develop their unique approach, Peter and Diane Durand have combined backgrounds in theater, visual learning, systems thinking, web design, information graphics and storytelling with their experience as knowledge workers at the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Accelerated Solutions Environment.

WHY ATTEND: Enhanced understanding for effective communication.

IDEAL FOR: Anyone responsible for effectively communicating to large groups.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: Methods for Graphic Facilitation (Mind Mapping, Complex Systems, Shared Experiences), and Web Documentation (Electronic Invitations, Rapid Ideation, Information Graphics, Surveys, Web Journals, Blogs) will be illustrated. 

WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM? Alphachimp Studios enhances verbal presentations with realtime art to enhance audience learning. This presentation is based on case studies of their work and experience. Peter and Diane of Alphachimp will demonstrate what they do and how it dovetails with the information and knowledge needs of groups and organizations.

BOTTOM LINE BENEFIT? Grasp the subtlties of more learning/retention in less time.

FEE: $20 non-members/$15 members/$10 for students and unemployed

REGISTER: RSVP by March 9 to Darlene Mullenix
PHONE: 412-288-8676
EMAIL: dmullenix@federatedinv.com

Artists Embedded in War (Part II)

Steve Mumford, an embedded artist in Iraq, has a selection of his watercolors on display in this month's Harper's: "inspired by Winslow Homer's coverage of the Civil War for Harper's Weekly, Mumford made four trips to Iraq in 2003 and 2004 to chronicle military and civilian life."

His beautifully crafted watercolors depict every aspect of the occupation and insurgency: bound prisoners, soldiers on patrol and relaxing, protests, streetlife, landscapes marred by battle under a serene and cloudless sky.

More work can be seen on-line at artnet.com

Gunner Palace

Hitting theaters March 4th is this much maligned and much anticipated documentary, an inside look at daily life for the 400+ American soldiers operating out of one of Saddam's bombed out palaces in Baghdad.

Excerpt
GUNNER PALACE reveals the complex realities of the situation in Iraq not seen on the nightly news. Told first-hand by our troops, 'Gunner Palace' presents a thought provoking portrait of a dangerous and chaotic war that is personal, highly emotional, sometimes disturbing, surprisingly amusing ... and thoroughly fascinating.

Filmmaker Michael Tucker, who lived with 2/3 Field Artillery, a.k.a. "The Gunners" for two months, captures the lives and humanity of these soldiers whose barracks are the bombed-out pleasure palace of Uday Hussein (nicknamed Gunner Palace), situated in the heart of the most volatile section of Baghdad. With total access to all operations and activities, Tucker's insider footage provides a rare look at the day-to-day lives of these soldiers on the ground -- whether swimming in Uday's pool and playing golf on his putting green or executing raids on suspected terrorists, enduring roadside bombs, mortar attacks, RPGs and snipers.

~ from www.gunnerpalace.com

Baghdad Diaries

This diary, compiled by Gunner Palace directors Mike Tucker and Petra Epperlein, consists of notes from the production of the film in 2003-2004 and emails sent from 2/3 FA soldiers during their 410 day deployment to Baghdad and Najaf.

Excerpt

September 14, 2003: An Adult Paradise

My driver took me to Adhamiya today. Ironically, he lives across the street from the Palace, so he promised to check in on me to make sure that I'm OK. Only in Iraq: he's worried about me.

It feels good to be out of the hell called Central Baghdad. It feels like I spent the last week waiting in traffic.

Without any fanfare, I was let into the Palace and given a tour. It's amazing--you couldn't build a better location. The main building, a gaudy monstrosity with massive columns, was bombed during the "shock and awe". One JDAM went in through an elevator shaft and imploded half the building. The other half is where 2/3 has their Tactical Operations Center.

Operation Truth

By and for vets of OIF/OEF (Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom), this where you can hear first-person accounts about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan from the people who were there. The site posts stories written by Servicemembers who have a first-hand perspective about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's mission is to help us understand issues facing our troops and how these issues influence both the safety of the troops and the situation back home.

Excerpt
From I was in Iraq for a year and lived in an old cigarette factory called Camp Marlboro in an area of Baghdad called Sadir City. After hearing how progress is being made each day and then watching on the news about insurgents and militants are out of control in Sadir City makes me think how far we brought that city up and running and then to look on the news and see how much of what we did went to Hell.

In the beginning we would get ambushed a few times in Sadir City. Over a period of time we established several police stations and worked closely with the Iraqi Police to get them out and about to enforce the law. It was a lot safer when we left than it was when we first got there. It is worse now than before we even stepped foot in Baghdad.  About the insurgents: Most of these insurgents we always hear about are nothing more than outraged Iraqis that are up in arms about our occupation. I am all for getting the Iraqis back on track but to sit here and see everything we did go to pot does not tell me that we are making progress.

Homeland Security Index

Harper's January '05 Index lists some intriguing facts reguarding suspected terrorists in detention, Iraqi mortality rates, the G.I. Rights Hotline and Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

Posted on Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Years since the Justice Department last released the number of U.S. terror suspects taken into "preventive detention" : 3

Estimated number of people who have been taken into such detention since then : 4,000

Minimum number of Al Qaeda suspects from overseas whom the United States has now "disappeared," by legal standards : 11

Percentage "more intelligence" given up by prisoners in Iraq since coercion of them was banned, according to a U.S. general : 25

Factor by which an Iraqi is more likely to die today than in the last year of the Hussein regime : 2.5

SEE FULL INDEX

graphicfacilitation.com

Our studio has launched a site to promote the field of graphic facilitation.

Here you can find links to helpful software, learning tools, tips and techniques, methods and processes for collaboration to illustrate ideas and make the intangible both visible and actionable.

The site shares stories illustrating how groups have used graphic facilitation to solve real world problems, ranging from product design to disaster recovery. Find dates and rates for training workshops provided by companies around the world.

We invite anyone to contribute who is interested in using visual learning as a powerful tool in critical thinking, problem solving and strategic planning for business, education, governance and social enterprise.

If you have an idea for an article or just an interesting link, please forward them to Executive Editor, Peter Durand, peter@alphachimp.com.

VISIT www.graphicfacilitation.com

Mapping Pain

TIME magazine addresses the issue of chronic pain and the benefits -- and hazards -- of COX-2 inhibitors.

Those who suffer chronic hip, back or joint pain due to injury or illness; those who are crippled by re-occuring migraines; those who can't explain the shifting, ghost-like symptoms of fibromyalgia know the frustrations of seeking help from traditional medicine.

TIME has a great on-line interactive map of target areas and holistic healing methods used to ease the pain.

Pittsburgh's Grassroots Progressives

Jason Simmons, intellectual muscle behind the on-line community www.thishappening.com, has spearheaded another virtual (and physical) gathering. Progress Pittsburgh is a group of like-minded people driven to change the way things are done in Da 'Burgh.

Using the power of on-line co-ordination, ala the Dean campaign and MoveOn.org, Simmons has developed both an organizational model and a simple, yet robust technology to serve as a vessle and vehicle for social change.

One of the ironies, however, is that this is not a "let's take the battle to the Republicans" campaign. Instead, it focuses on challenging the long-term Democratic power structure that has traditionally held sway over the City.

One of the primary objectives of Progress Pittsburgh include creating a bloc of 10,000 to 20,000 informed voters that can be effectively mobilized to change the shape of local politics.

The plan involves bringing a broad coalition of progressive organizations together under the Progress Pittsburgh umbrella, including: Everybody VOTE, Ground Zero Action Network, MoveOn Pittsburgh, thisishappening, Pennsylvania Hip Hop Political Convention, Democracy For America Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh League of Pissed Off Voters.

CONTACT: Jason Simmons, jason@gradientlabs.com
VISIT: www.progresspittsburgh.org

Progress Pittsburgh's Principles

Transparency

We believe that it's time for a new kind of democracy, one that empowers citizens rather than leaving decisions in the hands of a political process distorted by cronyism and patronage. It has become the government's duty to make the process of governance (and all of the related facts and information) transparent and accessible to its citizens. We need a more participatory democracy, in both physical interactions and online. We need an “operating system” for a new democracy.

Creativity

We believe that our collective creativity is the future. To make our region competitive on the national and international level, politicians need to intelligently harness the collective talent of the region and challenge the traditional boundaries of political practice to forge new working partnerships and collaborations. We need leadership that actively engages citizens in a deep dialogue about the future. We need creative approaches to local and regional policy-making and methods of engaging citizens in the democratic process: understanding the issues, evaluating candidates, voting, working for change, and running for office. From creative dialogue, better, more informed solutions to the region's challenges will emerge.

Integrity

We believe that integrity and ethics are progressive values. We need informed leaders with integrity and vision to acknowledge the lessons of the past and depart from failed and ineffective practices when it best serves the future of our city and region. Our elected politicians need to communicate personal conviction and sincerity of purpose, and be dedicated to the public good rather than party politics. To nurture a sustainable voting constituency (and true democracy), our leaders must actively demonstrate why they should be entrusted to serve in public office.

Diversity

We believe in fostering a diverse region and promoting inclusiveness. Our communities should welcome the differences of all people, including, but not limited to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, orientation,disability, age and marital status. Even beyond that our leaders should continually work to make our region more diverse. There is evidence that the cities which are welcoming to diversity have stronger economic and population growth than less diverse areas. Recognizing the importance for our region to grow, we understand diversity is not only important socially, but paramount to Pittsburgh's future viability. We believe diversity should also include access to opportunity and representation in government and business leadership. It is proven in the world of business that diversity enhances creativity, productivity and innovation. Promoting diversity will enhance our region's competitiveness in an increasingly diverse world, improve relations between members of our regional community, and increase our cultural richness.

Sustainability

We believe our region's policy decisions should be guided by the common sense ideals of sustainability. Sustainable public policy balances economic, social, and environmental consequences with a long-term perspective in the decision making process. Our leaders can no longer view our region's economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental quality as separate, unrelated parts of our community. The communities we live in and the region as a whole is only truly strengthened when positive growth occurs in all three areas. Given the myriad of challenges our region faces, we must redesign, improve and rebuild by developing new industries that offer quality paying jobs, ensuring access to affordable housing and creating a regional land-use/transportation plan. For our region to move forward we must have a sustainable vision that builds self-supporting communities and provides a healthy, productive, and meaningful life for all community residents, present and future.

Rationality

We believe that we should be governed by elected officials who make measured decisions based upon careful thought and deliberation. Through creative acts of policy, diplomacy, consensus-building and leadership, our leaders should always demonstrate common sense. But now more than ever, with the long-needed restructuring of our region at hand, we cannot afford to passively coast through these changes. We need proactive, informed leaders who will exercise sound logic and broad-minded thinking in shaping the future of our City and region.

Accountability

We believe that government is to be "of and for the people". By definition, our elected leaders are answerable to us: the tax-paying citizens. Elected officials must recognize that they do not have a wholesale mandate to operate in a vacuum, governing by whim. Decisions affecting all citizens cannot continue to be made on the basis of special interests, personal agendas, and blatant self-promotion. We need mature leaders who will put an end to finger pointing, take responsibility for their decisions and actions, and be able to intelligently communicate why exactly it is that they do what they do.

The Littlest Engineers

Almost as grand as our friends at MCG Jazz winning a GRAMMY, our cousin, Lindsay Durand (age 8) has placed second in the Boeing Engineering Week Art Contest!

Yeah, Lindsay! [Last year her sister Halle won First Place in her age group.]

Congrats to MCG Jazz!

We at Alphachimp Studio, Inc. would like to celebrate our hardworking friends at the Manchester Craftsman's Guild and their jazz label, MCG Jazz.

(Way to go, Marty and Renee!)

This year's grammy for best jazz vocal albumn went to Nancy Wilson for R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)

In an age when the entire state of the music industry is in flux, it is inspirational to watch these craftspeople work.
We have been motivated in our own artistic and business pursuits by witnessing the patience and sense of duty that the team at MCG Jazz brings to their art form--jazz--one of the very few 100% bona fide American art forms at that!

ABOVE: The pristine sounds of Nancy Wilson were recorded and produced here, in MCG Jazz studios on Pittsburgh's North Shore.

PRESS RELEASE:

February 13, 2005 (Pittsburgh)

MCG Jazz congratulates Nancy Wilson on her GRAMMY® Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) (MCGJ 1013) was recorded at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild(MCG) in Pittsburgh, PA.

The 47th Annual GRAMMY® Awards aired live on February 13, 2005, at 8:00pm EST on CBS. Marty Ashby, Executive Producer for MCG Jazz, is available for comment. R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) and photos of Nancy Wilson are also available through MCG Jazz. You can place your order today by calling 412-322-1773 ext. 140 or click here to visit our online store.

The other nominees in the 2005 Best Jazz Vocal Album category are American Song by Andy Bey, Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum, Accentuate The Positive by Al Jarreau and The Dana Owens Album by Queen Latifa (host of this year's GRAMMY® Awards ceremony). Miss Wilson won her only other GRAMMY® Award in 1964 for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording for How Glad I Am.

MCG Jazz has received an unprecedented about of critical acclaim. Of the 10 CDs MCG Jazz has released nationally, R.S.V.P.'s win marks MCG Jazz’ third GRAMMY® Award and fourth GRAMMY® nomination. MCG Jazz won its first GRAMMY® Award in 1996 for Best Large Ensemble Performance for the Count Basie Orchestra with the New York Voices Live at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCGJ 1002) album. The second win came in September 2003 when Brazilian Dreams (MCGJ 1010) featuring Paquito D’Rivera and New York Voices won the Latin GRAMMY® Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.

R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) has ranked in the top 25 on the Billboard Jazz Chart for 23 weeks, peaking at #7. Additionally, R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) has remained at the top of the Jazz Week chart for 15 weeks, peaking at #2. (Billboard tracks record sales; Jazz Week monitors radio air play in the U.S. and Canada).

MCG Jazz is a division of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, a non-profit arts and learning center on the North Side of Pittsburgh, PA. This multi-discipline, minority-directed center provides hope and life skills to youth and adults in urban environments through jazz, visual arts, vocational training and business partnerships.

R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) epitomizes these values, with all of the proceeds from the sale of this CD going to support the MCG Jazz program. MCG Jazz, a specialty recording label, captures the magic of many of the jazz artists who perform at the center every year. R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal) is available at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and may be purchased online at www.mcgjazz.org.

Mariko Takahahi's Fitness Video

Um.... this is by far one the most bizarre and hypnotic videos I have ever seen.

The description should be a haiku, something like:

Japanese legwarmers,
Standard poodles,
Let's push it,
Until it burns!"

(via OBTTV)

Windy City 'Zines, Bloggers and Artists - Oh, My!

Chicago's public radio station, WBEZ, produces the reknowned series This American Life.

Tucked away on the general WBEZ site is a great collection of on-line interviews and audio diaries by Chicago bloggers, ziners and alternative artists featured on the Chicago-focused show, Eight Forty-Eight.

RIGHT: The late Hip Hop artist Biggie Smalls as painted by James "Casper" Jankowiak. This artist was born in the neighborhood of Back of the Yards on Chicago's south side and his work has been displayed around the world. HEAR CASPER'S STORY

Featured Links

Punk Planet. Widely considered the foremost authority on punk music, culture, and politics, the bimonthly zine Punk Planet is celebrating its tenth anniversary. www.punkplanet.com

The2ndHand. Drawing his inspiration from rock 'n' roll, Chicago writer Todd Dills started The2ndHand, a zine featuring short stories and experimental pieces. Host Steve Edwards sits down with Dills and The2ndHand Web editor Jeb Gleason-Allured. www.the2ndhand.com

Zulkey.com. Named Best Local Blog in Newcity Chicago's Best of 2004 issue, Zulkey.com is the brainchild of Chicago writer Claire Zulkey. www.zulkey.com

Lumino Magazine. The October 2004 edition of Lumino is devoted to famous nerds, including interviews with the cast of Revenge of the Nerds. And as publisher Nick Powills tells us, the online magazine attempts to marry pop culture with local happenings.www.luminomagazine.com

sixosix magazine. The Chicago-based magazine sixosix attempts to capture the stories and feel of the city. www.606mag.com

TENbyTEN. The Chicago-based magazine TENbyTEN has covered the city's flourishing visual arts scene since 1999. Founder and editor Annette Ferrara says the idea emerged from the dearth of publication outlets for visual artists. www.tenbyten.net

This is Grand. The online literary journal This is Grand collects stories about the CTA. Founder Jonathan Messinger says he was inspired by his belief in shared space and by Chicago writer Stuart Dybek's short story, "Pet Milk." www.thisisgrand.org

A Stitch in Time

Nellie Durand, master quilter and fiber artist, writes:

"I've been sewing with machines for over 50 years and never knew how the stitches were made. This website has an animated illustration of how the upper and bobbin threads interlock (scroll half way down). Amazing! Now I know how all those little parts I'm so familiar with actually function. Yeah!"

Check out HOW A STICHING MECHANISM IN A SEWING MACHINE WORKS by MIT student Jonah Elgart

Robotic Gallery Crawl

Intriguing happening in Pittsburgh via ThisHappening.com.

Wood Street Galleries presents Amorphic Robot Works

by Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works

January 28-March 19, 2005



Opening reception on Friday, January 28, from 5:30-10 p.m. as part of a FREE Gallery Crawl featuring music by Shade and Wizard Fight. Artist talk by Chico MacMurtrie on Saturday, January 29, at 1 p.m.



PITTSBURGH--Wood Street Galleries, a project of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, presents Amorphic Robot Works by Chico MacMurtrie and the collective Amorphic Robot Works. The show opens on Friday, January 28, 2005, as part of the free Gallery Crawl with music by Shade 5:30-7:45 p.m. and Wizard Fight 8-10 p.m. The exhibit closes on Saturday, March 19, 2005. An artist talk with Chico MacMurtrie will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 29. WDUQ FM is the proud media sponsor of this exhibit.

SEE VIDEO of robot checking his watch.

In conjunction with this exhibit, kracfive will present on Friday, February 4, at 7 p.m., i (heart) my robot--featuring colongib (electronic, live), octopus inc (downtempo, live), wwcarpen (electronic, live), slinky (all kraftwerk dj set). Admission for this special event is $4.



Wood Street Galleries (601 Wood Street above the T-Station) is free and open to the public Tuesday and Thursday, noon-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon-10 p.m. For more information, call Wood Street Galleries at (412) 471-5605 or visit www.woodstreetgalleries.org .