Globeshakers 2005 Recap

As we approach the new year, we are looking forward to many new projects that combine a whole gaggle of interests and interfaces -- podcasting, videoblogging, graphic facilitation, social innovation, and on and on.

Along those lines, if you haven't done so, take time to check out the interviews Tim Zak, president of the Pittsburgh Social Enterprise Accelerator, has done as host of Globeshakers on IT Conversations.

Since August, we've been published five podcast interviews conducted with diverse observers and practitioners within the social sector [continue reading for a full list].

In 2006, we hope to expand this series to comprise an entire on-line podcast channel dedicated to bringing important conversations about the grand challenges facing the planet, as well as the innovators who are taking those challenges head on.

As series producer, I am very interested in your feedback and suggestions. As well as ideas you may have on who you would like to hear on the show and what issues you feel are most salient to social entrepreneurs on the ground.

Don Gould, Ceramicist and Industrial Designer -- Pure Water 4 All
When people ask Don Gould how he knows that his product works, he answers: "Because babies stop dying." As part of a social enterprise consortium, Gould, who is both a product designer and ceramicist, helped to design and deploy simple, effective water filtration devices to the developing world. He talks with host Tim Zak about both the traditional production techniques and the new economy models for collaboration. Together, they deliver simple, life-saving solutions that are as robust as they are elegant.
[runtime: 00:36:43, 16.8 mb, recorded 2005-11-03]
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail829.html

Darrell Hammond, KaBoom!
Play is a crucial factor in the overall well-being of children. It affects the level of quality of life they will enjoy. Yet, play in many communities, schools, and families has been pushed to the back-burner. Darrell Hammond, founder of KaBOOM!, envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 850 new playgrounds and skateparks and renovate 1,300 others nationwide.
[runtime: 00:26:01, 11.9 mb, recorded 2005-11-03]
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail824.html

Ethan Zuckerman, Berkman Center for Internet and Society
Ethan Zuckerman address the direct question: "Why should we care about Africa?" As a technologist, Ethan has spent much time on the ground working with the new generation of African entrepreneurs, programmers, organizers and young people who are hooking up the countinent to the web. These new netizens are changing the way that villagers and urban dwellers learn, organize, network and face the challenges of poverty, AIDS, political strife and making a living. [Globeshakers audio from IT Conversations]
[runtime: 00:29:23, 13.5 mb, recorded 2005-10-03]
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail753.html

David Bornstein, How to Save the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas
David Bornstein is a leading expert in the global rise of "social entrepreneurism". In this program, host Tim Zak asks how we would even know a social entrepreneur if we saw one on the street. More important, why should we even care? Who invests in social enterprise and what is at stake for our world if we don't?
[runtime: 00:27:10, 12.4 mb, recorded 2005-09-07]
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail701.html

Andrew Zolli, Z+ Partners
What are the major demographic forces driving the economies, the industries, the families and the ecologies of the 21st century? What emerging technologies hold promise in light of these grand challenges? Andrew Zolli, chief curator of Pop!Tech and prominent futurist, points to some key trends lurking over the horizon.
[runtime: 00:29:39, 13.6 mb, recorded 2005-08-11]
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail624.html

Mapping Influence

What do you think your personal sphere of influence is? What about your city's? If you live in a smaller community, what town or city has the greatest cultural influence on yours?

If you know any seniors in college, you may have already asked them the dreaded question: "So, where are you thinking of moving after graduation?"

Their answer to that question is based on soggy ground saturated with hope, fear, fact and pure emotional "guestimation".

The CommonCensus map project is a bottom-up, vote-driven mapping project in which citizens redraw their local cultural borders, ignoring state and local municipal boundaries, to reveal the cultural 'spheres of influence' that both unite and divide the United States.

This project is an intriguing attempt at emotional mapping, but the story it tells is a bit lopsided.

According to the project, which asks participants to vote on the greatest cultural influence in there region, Pittsburgh has a geographic halo reaching north to Lake Erie and south into West Virginia, and leaching over into Eastern Ohio and Western Maryland.

While this may be true in regards to attracting a regional workforce--plus all important tourists and fans of the Steelers, the Pirates and Penguins--it doesn't reflect the devastating brain drain of talent that occurs.

[See the article 'Brain drain' acute from Pittsburgh area in the Post-Gazette]

As with many once influential Rust Belt cultural centers (Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, etc.) the centers of excellence may still thrive (CMU in Pittsburgh, Cranbrook in Detroit, University of Buffalo) but the jobs don't.

More devastating, the venture capitalists aren't stepping up to fund and retain the talent and ideas streaming out of the region.

From Z+ Partners:

The premise underlying the project is similar to the "Nine Nations of North America" thesis first laid out by Joel Garreau in the book by the same name.

Half a Brain, Whole Self

So, what happens when you put a mirror in a room filled with chimpanzees?

At first, they do what I do in the morning when confronted with a reflection of my true self: They attacked it. Then they put their butts on it. Then they realize, "Hey! That crazy chimp is merely doing exactly what I'm doing!"

But what happens when a chimp who has never seen a mirror before, spots a dab of red paint on its own forehead on the forehead of the chimp in the mirror? Just like me and you, without a moment's hesitation, the chimp wipes it off!

This leads to playing in front of the mirror, primping and soulful gazing into the reflection of their own eyes.

In a great show on the Brain and the Self, the host of Radio Lab stares into the mirror with Dr. Julian Keenan, reflects on the illusion of self-hood with British neurologist Paul Broks, and contemplates the evolution of consciousness with Dr. V. S. Ramachandran. Also, the story of woman who one day woke up as a completely different person--an old man in Vietnam.

from New York Public Radio
Radio Lab
Who Am I? Friday, February 04, 2005

Looking into a mirror as a young child, Steven Johnson wondered, "How is that me?" We try to find that part of the brain that recognizes ones self with Montclair State University Professor Julian Keenan. Turns out: only half of your brain really knows who you are. Also, Independent radio producer Hannah Palin tells about her mother, who, after suffering an aneurism, woke up with a completely different personality. She looks the same, and has the same memories, but where did her old mother go? One possible answer: Vietnam. Later, Paul Broks continues the discussion on the fragility of the self.

Cassini Images of the Fountains of Enceladus

Carolyn Porco is an amazing person whose eyes have seen the distant visions of the universe. She is the leader of the Imaging Science Team on the Cassini mission presently orbiting Saturn, and a lead imaging scientist on the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt mission to be launched in early 2006.

I met Carolyn at this year's PopTech conference, where I had the pleasure of illustrating her story of humankind's travel to Saturn and her surrounding moons [see painting].

She sends us this message of geologic activity in the outer solar system.

November 28, 2005
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear....

In one of the most thrilling moments we have enjoyed in a mission filled with thrilling moments, fountain-like plumes of small icy particles emanating from the south polar region of Enceladus have been seen in recently acquired Cassini images of the small Saturnian moon.

These spectacular images reveal in glorious detail an array of individual jets close to the surface, as well as the enormous and faint plume of material extending far above Enceladus. Not since Voyager's discovery of volcanoes on Jupiter's moon, Io, and geysers on Neptune's moon, Triton, have we seen such fabulous visual evidence of present-day geologic activity in the outer solar system.

Visit http://ciclops.org to see for yourself.

Porco is a veteran imaging scientist of the Voyager mission to the outer solar system in the 1980's. She received her PhD in 1983 from the California Institute of Technology.

Carolyn is the Director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, where Cassini images are collected, processed and released to the public, and an Adjunct Professor at both the University of Colorado and the University of Arizona. She is also the CEO of Diamond Sky Productions, a small company devoted to the scientific, as well as artful, use of planetary images and computer graphics for the presentation of science to the public.

"Please,I feed monkeys for my family, not for me!"

from NPR's All Things Considered, November 14, 2005; part of the This I Believe series

Forget the cake and presents. Listener Harold Taw has his own unique birthday tradition -- one prescribed by a Burmese monk. By faithfully following it, Taw believes he's helped his family to prosper.

Trained as an attorney, Harold Taw is taking a break from legal work to complete his first novel, Adventures of the Karaoke King. He and his wife live in Seattle where Harold has special arrangements with a local zoo to feed their Goeldi's monkey on his birthday this year.

“Our family has prospered in America. I believe that I have ensured this prosperity by observing our family ritual and feeding monkeys on my birthday. Do I believe that literally? Maybe.”

Workshop with the Pittsburgh Regional Knowledge Management Consortium

This was the second speaking engagement with the Pittsburgh Regional Knowledge Management Consortium (PRKMC).

[ download mindmap: 8x11 PDF | 11x17 PDF | 11x17 JPG ]

Participants included practitioners involved at all levels of knowledge management: from a VP from a national insurance company; to a data analyst from an international think tank; to start-ups focused on data mining, security, workforce development and human capital management..

The workshop focused on cerebral issues (literally!) around brain function, the definition on "mind", mental maps, collaboration and innovation.

We also covered manual skills such as mind mapping, graphic facilitation and the use of visual learning for strategic planning, problem solving and critical thinking (eg. how to be more effective facilitators and visual modelers of concepts and strategies).

For more detail about Alphachimp Workshops, contact us.

[see large view]

Workshop Outline:

• The Brain
  
  • Definition
    
    • storage device
    • determined by DNA
    • homeostasis
    • processor
    • distributed
    • complexity
    • connections
    • neurons
    • source of emotions
  • Exploration
    
    • Antonio Dimasio
      
      • Book: "The Feeling of What Happens"
• The Mind
  
  • definiton
    
    • higher functions
      
      • subjective consciousness
      • ethereal
      • intangible
      • distributed
      • complex
      • self-aware
    • source of feelings
      
      • environment
      • sensory input
      • data
      • emotion
      • thought
      • feelings
      • memory
      • knowledge
  
  
  • Maps
    
    • definition
      
      • representation of 3-D and 4-D data
      • navigation
      • limited
      • scaled
      • perception changes over history
    • examples
      
      • Nuremberg Chronicles
      • National Geographic
      • Rand-McNally
      • NASA satellite images
      • Google Earth
  • Tools
    
    • NovMind
    • MindJet
    • Inspiration
    • The Brain
    • OmniGraffle
      
      • OmniOutliner
  • Resources
    • Edward Tufte
      
    • The Center for Graphic Facilitation
      
    • Alphachimp Studio Blog
      
    • Visual Being
      

Studio Set-Ups, North and South

Most people who visit galleries and museums have no idea how the objects of interest were created; they are merely floating in a nice, clean, sterile space.

The reality is, however, that most works are created in an environment of rich chaos: half finished bits, photos of strangers and loved ones, reference materials strewn about, tools of the trade on every surface and shelf.

A working studio is as alive as a tidal pool, constantly churning with material and color, the final works are almost like cast off shells, beautiful, but removed from the environment that gave life to them.

Check out Nellie Durand's two studios--North in Michigan and South in Tennessee--as she describes the balanced chaos that contains the energy and passion she brings to her work.

From Nellie's blog:

When I reorganized a year ago, I took the doors off the storage cabinets and way too many books out of the bookcases. My friends and the local library benefited from that task. Now most of my fabric stash is visible. My philosophy is, " If I can't see it, I don't have it". The silks, wools, etc. are in clear storage boxes stacked under the cutting table and sewing desk. I don't use those often, but I can still see and get at them.

The futon is my major "designing tool". I lay there studying whatever piece is on the design board. It's amazing what can be seen or realized in those moments of waking up or falling to sleep. Although, I'm thinking of replacing the futon with a stratalounger chair so there will be space to set up a table area just for fabric painting.

The important thing to remember is the "studio trap": many creative people (and I am one) spend a great deal of time deluding themselves that they will only truly be creative once they sink enough time and money into designing and building the perfect space.

It is important to remember that consistency is more important than complexity: you need to show up at the same place at regular intervals and focus on your work.

My studio has taken many forms in cities and dwellings ranging from apartments in St. Louis and Chicago to office spaces in Chicago to a 6' by 6' room in a private house in Poland.

Currently, it resides in a brick firehouse on Pittsburgh's North Side. But more important than the space, is the habit.

The habit of showing up and getting down to the business of creating.

Below are some inspirational books on both the spaces and processes a selection of artists have evolved over the years. My favorite is the work of Dan Eldon, who turned his journal into a vibrant, raw studio in its own right while he traveled in Africa, Europe and the US.

Nellie responses:
I'm honored that you featured my studios in your blog. I'm pleased with my spaces and how workable they are. Of course, it's possible to work in any, or no space if the desire and urge are present to do so.

I wanted to remind you of Hundertwasser's philosophy about studios.

"I found that the bigger the studio is, the bigger the windows, the worse the painter and the paintings. The smaller the studio, the smaller the windows, the better the paintings. When you have big windows you tend to look outside, and if you have small windows you tend to look inside - which is better." - This from the Harry Rand book; page 155.

Trunk Monkey

Ever wish you didn't have to get your hands dirty in dealing with an irrate driver?

Do you need a new auto anti-theft service? How about a negotiator for those annoying state trooper conversations? Need help delivering a baby in the back seat of your sedan?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might want to check out these on-line adds for Trunk Monkey.

[Thanks to Don Gould.]

A Rebel Yell for Yee Haw Industries

Congrats to our friends at Yee Haw Industrial Letterpress!

Knoxville, Tennessee artists Julie Belcher and Kevin Bradley of Yee Haw were awarded a Merit Award for their letterpress prints at the 2005 Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Northport, Alabama, October 15 and 16, 2005.

The Festival's showcase of 300 artists, musicians, and scores of food vendors drew thousands to the two-day outdoor event. Judges for this year's festival were Kim Cridler (Arts Coordinator for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI) and Richard Gruber (Director of The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of New Orleans, and a member of the University of New Orleans faculty).

Is the Rust Belt Prepared for an Attack? By the Undead?

I do not know why, but all my best buds from high school in Knoxville, Tennesse have migrated to Rust Belt Cities: Buffalo, Cleveland, Dayton and I'm in Pittsburgh.

The Cleveland transplant, aka "Donkey Top", has alerted me to this disturbing alert on Pittsburgh's status.

Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack
October 19, 2005 | The Onion | Issue 41•42

PITTSBURGH—A zombie-preparedness study, commissioned by Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and released Monday, indicates that the city could easily succumb to a devastating zombie attack. Insufficient emergency-management-personnel training and poorly conceived undead-defense measures have left the city at great risk for all-out destruction at the hands of the living dead, according to the Zombie Preparedness Institute.

read full article>>

I just hope that a Congressional inquiry addresses the disturbing lapse in the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.

Upcoming Event: Mindmapping at the Pittsburgh Regional Knowledge Management Consortium

PRKMC Meeting | Thursday, November 10, 2005, 5:30 P.M.
Please join Pittsburgh Regional Knowledge Management Consortium at the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania facility, 337 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh for the second of this program year’s applied Knowledge Management events.

Peter Durand, Creative Director of Alphachimp Studio, Inc. will lead us in a mind-mapping workshop.

Mind, or concept-mapping, has applicability in facilitated discussion groups, such as brain storming sessions, as well as in better everyday structured and organized note taking. Please bring paper and multicolored writing utensils for this event.

Networking and cocktails will begin at 5:30 with dinner at 6:00, followed by the evening’s presentation and discussion. Cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members, including dinner.

For more information, please check the website at www.pittsburghkm.org

RSVP’s must be received by Monday, November 7th 5:00 P.M.

Please contact:

JoAnn Matthews
Knowledge Discovery
412-544-2397 direct dial
412-544-2429 fax
joann.matthews@highmark.com

Eden Unvanquished: Photos from the Gulf

Photographer, Clayton James Cubitt, aka Siege, has been cronicling his native Mississippi's slow emergence from disaster. His blog, Operation Eden is described as "a personal chronicle of what hurricane Katrina has done to my poor proud people."

In describing the process of finding and photographing the survivers, Siege writes:

"I normally shoot fashion and portraiture for magazine and advertising clients. I'm often called upon to make celebrities look heroic. Celebrities aren't heroic. These survivors are. I wanted to make portraits of them that showed their pride, and dignity, and strength, even in such low circumstances. I wanted to show my respect, and love."

Operating out of his rental car, transformed into a mini-production studio, this fashion photographer and writer for Nerve.com has been bringing us images of nobility and grit emerging from the rescue, recovery and now clean-up.

(Click here to see what mold can do to a home in these conditions.)

Clayton is tied directly to the disaster. His mom is one tough lady and made it through the hurricaine and the looting that ensued, with a pistol grip pump shotgun on her lap at all times.

From Operation Eden, On Location in the Gulf:

Here's how I worked on images I was shooting down in The Gulf. Conditions are basically 19th century, the only light cast by candles and hurricane lamps, so my rental car became my time machine back to the future. It was a glowing and humming and cooling cocoon. It was my rolling generator, converting gas to electricity. That red box on the floor is a DC inverter that plugged in to the lighter and provided me with two normal AC outlets. I was able to run my laptop off of it, and charge camera batteries and cell phones with it. It was the single most useful tool I had there.

That's a trackball I'm working with, and a CF-card reader rests on the seat next to my leg. I shot about 3GB of data each day. That glowing knob on the door handle is a Powermate, and I can't use Photoshop without one. On the dash is my cell phone, which worked decently when I first arrived and got progressively worse, strangely. It was my only lifeline out. Next to that are more CF cards waiting to be copied, and a notepad with all my shooting notes, the names and ages of people I shot, and phone numbers (including the infamous FEMA 800 Line Of Oblivion)

I was only able to get net access twice, in order to post what I posted. Once, when I drove three hours to a Jackson motel, and once when a nice National Guardsman let me borrow their connection. I already had images and words ready, and would set them all up to drop over a few days ahead.

Celebrating Pittsburgh Murals

Join The Sprout Fund this Friday, September 30th, to kick off a great weekend full of art activity with the dedication of the Downtown Sprout Public Art mural, The Two Andys, and the opening of the Static Free art showcase.

The mural dedication begins at 5:30pm at the corner of Strawberry Way and Smithfield Street, above Weiner World downtown.

Join community partner Steel City Media and enjoy live music from singer/songwriter Quilla. Listen to words from local leaders and remarks from the artists themselves, Thomas Mosser and Sara Zeffiro, on the impact of this landmark mural.

See map of all murals around Pittsburgh.

For more information about Sprout Public Art, including the schedule of other dedication events, please visit www.publicart.sproutfund.org.

After taking in the new mural, walk a quick block to SPACE Gallery to revel in the sights of Static Free, a contemporary fine art event showcasing the best and most renowned international and regional artists whose works have been directly influenced by urban street culture. See artwork from Calma, Stephen Powers, Tim Kaulen, Other, Delta, Jerry "Joker" Inscoe, Maya Hayuk, Michael D. Walsh, Seak M.A.C., Henry Chalfont, Pablo Aravena, Kwest, Dan Bergeron, Nicholas Ganz, and more.

Opening night will feature performances by Bobbito aka DJ Cucumberslice (Host of ESPN2's "It's the Shoes", VIBE Magazine, Bounce Magazine) and Miguel's Mariachi Fiesta. Throughout the month of October, Static Free will also feature an exhibition of regional artists at Future Tenant Gallery, a symposium of urban-influenced speakers and filmmakers, and a live mural painting on The Eliza Furnace Trail. Visit www.static-free.com for a complete events schedule and information.

Stay late in the Cultural District with the Cultural Trust’s Gallery Crawl until 9:00pm featuring 16 galleries and locations. More information on these free events can be found at www.pgharts.org.

This Friday night is just the beginning of an exciting fall season for The Sprout Fund! We look forward to seeing you taking part in this incredible weekend of public art, urban street culture, and cultural happenings for young people.
Support for Sprout Public Art and Static Free

The 2005 season of Sprout Public Art is funded in part through the generous support of the Laurel Foundation, The PNC Foundation, Citizens Bank Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Multicultural Arts Initiative (MCAI), Novum Pharmaceutical Research Services, PPG Industries Foundation, Henry J. Simonds Foundation, and Juliet Lea H. Simonds Foundation. Support for the Static Free gallery exhibition was provided in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund. Other leading supporters and sponsors of Static Free include the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the A.W. Mellon Trust of the Pittsburgh Foundation, the Multicultural Arts Initiative, Scion, Pabst Brewing Company, and the American Eagle Outfitters Foundation.

The Sprout Fund
4920 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224-1609
(412) 325-0646
(412) 325-0647 fax
www.sproutfund.org

Phillipe Jacinto Valesquez Exhibit

LOCATION: Bosa Nova, 123 7th Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, 412-952-9652
DATE: October 1,2005

Similar to his hero and namesake, Velasquez is a a master painter deadicated to capturing realism and authenticity. After years of studying the Old Masters, Jacinto has produced a new crop of large scale oil paintings incorporating personal themes and mythology.

From Jacinto: "Hope you can make it. You don't need to buy any of my art, but it is a good excuse to come into the city on the weekend and buy a $10 dollar martini...LOL there will be live jazz music and lots of people. So come down and enjoy one of the last warm evenings of the year."

MacArthur Fellows

From Nikki Wise:

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fund (which we've all heard of ad-nauseam, I think) have a yearly fellows program, and the 25 recipients receive $100,000 each for the next 5 years. The recipients are shown on the foundation's website.

Some of the things these people are doing are fascinating, and of special interest to me because one of the 2005 recipients is Julie Meheretu, an artist whose work was displayed at the Carnegie International this year.

It's nice to see the cream of the crop getting recognized for a job well done, even if it's for fishing.

Another recepitent is Teresita Fernandez, a sculptor who...

"integrates architecture and the optical effects of color and light to produce exquisitely constructed, contemplative spaces. In her sculptural environments, Fernandez alters space to create illusions, subtly modifying the physical sensations of the viewer and dramatizing the role architecture plays in shaping our lives and perceptions.

Below: Fire
Silk yarn, steel armature, epoxy
In collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia
SIZE: h: 96 x w: 144 in / h: 243.8 x w: 365.8 cm

Afghani Mobile Mini Circus for Children (part 3)

Previous letters:

• Wednesday, June 29, 2005
• Monday, July 25, 2005
• See slideshow

This is Zach Warren's email from Kabul.

Dear Friends,

Since I last wrote you, there have been at least three kidnappings (one British, two Japanese), three politically motivated assassinations, and over two dozen American and Afghan soldiers' lives lost in guerilla fighting. Closer to the circus, the father of Mujeeb, one of the unicycle boys featured in the picture I sent last time, died of a heart attack. And yesterday morning, a six year old boy and neighbor of one of the circus teachers died after he fell into a pot of boiling milk and suffered fatal burns.

At a glance, especially in news reports, life in Afghanistan walks a capricious tighrope over the gravity of death. The people seem to survive in the liminal space between stability and uncertainty, between hope and despair. But focusing on the dilemmas and dangers overlooks the heart of Afghanistan, the spirit and potential of the people.

In the past week, thousands of Afghan men and women with access to world news have expressed concern and said prayers for the survivors and families of victims who suffered in the New Orleans tragedy. O ver 100k has been donated from Afghanistan to New Orleans relief efforts -- a notable sum in this part of the world, with so many other needy projects at hand. With the spread of televisions and radios, the world is more connected now than ever. The level of international concern I've encountered among Afghans with the most basic means of connection -- sometimes just a radio on a push-cart selling radishes or peppers or popcorn -- inspires me.

It's kite season here, and the sky is filled with colorful paper shaped like diamonds. Hints of winter come in gusts, and my Afghan friends shiver at the suggestion of cold. I do too, but winter in Afghanistan is notably worse than winters in Boston.

In a few hours I leave for Delhi, then Bangkok, finally arriving in Boston on September 14. I'm going to miss the heck out of Afghanistan -- not only because of my close friends and teachers and students here, but also because of the sights and smells and sounds and sensations unique to my daily life, like the backdrop of the daily calls to prayer... the daily pleasure of riding the circus bike through herds of goats on the dusty streets of Karte Seh... waking up and shaking a dozen hands before I reach the bathroom... practicing the tabla drums in the afternoon... playing soccer with neighborhood kids at sunset in the local park... or bargaining over the price of a tarbuza, or yellow mellon, in the bazaar.

I'll miss the daily sights and landmarks of my neighborhood, Karte Seh -- like the King's Palace a mile away on Salake Darlemond, a majestic building painted with bright yellows and the craters of an army of mujaheddin bullets. Closer to the circus is Maktab Habibia, the high school where Karzai and most of the current government were educated, recently renovated with Indian government funds. Two blocks away is the enormous Shi'a madrasa being build with Iranian government funds, a hulk of a structure that will train the minority branch of Afghanistan's Islamic mullahs. Within sight, perched on a nearby mountaintop, is Zumburak Shah's mud brick palace. Zumburak literally means "little bee," and according to one of my taxi drivers, this one-time harsh Kabul ruler was also known to have a bit of a Napoleon complex.

I'll miss the interactions here -- like dancing the attan, the national dance, with the circus kids, or play-wrestling with Samir, one of the circus teachers, or joking with Fahim, my research assistant, about the phenomenon of "shosh kardan," a Farsi word for when people go to the bathroom just to sit and 'hang out.' The bathroom seems to be one of the only private spaces in Afghan daily life.

I'll miss the stories. In the last two days, I listened to stories from members of the underground Afghan Christian network, a story from a Canadian intelligence officer who proudly described the time he singlehandedly captured an armed Taliban leader in Khost, all the while posing as a Pashtun Afghan, and the story of Tony, a man who won the "Mr. Afghanistan" bodybuilding contest in 2001, during Taliban times. (Tony's now a security guard at Coco Cabana, Afghanistan's first and very controversial night club for foreigners.) I even like the stories that are obviously stretched and elaborated (there's a word for the Afghan tendency to exaggerate in storytelling -- in Farsi, it's 'laaf')

I'll miss the winding passages of the bazaars, the crowded streets and bustling markets, the taste of a spicy kebab, the lengthy customary greetings... More than anything, though, I'll miss the circus community, the kids and the teachers that make it a magical, creative, and hopeful place for children to grow. The experience of living and working at this circus gives me a rational hope for a peaceful and stable future for Afghanistan.

If you have any questions about my experiences in Afghanistan, or the Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children, or just want to catch up and swap stories, feel free to contact me after September 15th. I'd enjoy hearing from you. My (new) Cambridge cell phone number is 617-710-4121.

Shao ba hush (good night),
Zach

PS
Photos attached:
Smiles and laughter in Afghanistan... one from the MMCC's journalism class (the kids run their own radio program in Kabul)... one from a recent theatre education piece... two of Fahim, an Afghan researcher on laughter with me

Kabul, Afghanistan
Mob: (from US) 001-93-079424338

"One Wheel, One World"
www.Unicycle4Kids.org

Mattress Factory Sculpture Project

July 19, 2005
Originally uploaded by AlphachimpStudio.

Alphachimp Studio participated in summer programs for local kids at the Mattress Factory, a world-renowned museum and gallery space for installation art in Pittsburgh.

One class is working with sculptor, Tim Kaulen, to create a large-scale structure for a local playground. Kaulen works with found and salvaged material including discarded vinyl sheets, back-lit gas station placards and old billboards.

Another class created quilted banners and totem poles to serve as gateways to a children's garden in the inner city.

As part of the design process, each young artist creates a journal to capture ideas and artifacts that may inspire them. A collaborative design process involved determining the themes, interviewing neighbors and refining details of the sculpture.

The final pieces were built from large recycled signs.

ABOVE: The Mattress Factory installation art museum and performance space.

ABOVE: Sculptor Tim Kaulen shows kids at work in the Learning Lab.

ABOVE: Results from a brainstorming session.

Got Monkey Butt?

This must be a real product; they even have their own van!

What does it do? I don't know, but the website claims Anti Monkey Butt Powder is specially formulated...

To absorb excess sweat and reduce frictional skin irritation.

Ideal for butt busting activities such as truck driving, motorcycling, bicycling, horse back riding, and extreme sports. May also be applied inside footwear, under sports pads, and other areas prone to chafing. Indoors or outdoors, work or play, or on occasions when you sit on your butt all day, don’t let your buns get red, use Anti Monkey Butt Powder instead!

As always, another helpful link from our friend Jarrell McAlister of DonkeyTop.

Not Your Grandma's Quilt

In our talented family, we have many creative artists on all sides. Jeanette Jancius Durand of Oak Park, IL, will have one of her fiber works displayed in the upcoming show, A Fine Art Quilt in Memphis, TN.

The image at left is from Jeanette's piece titled, Growing In Rasnov (24" x 24"), inspired by Gustav Klimt and her sister, a Peace Corp. Volunteer.

"This quilted wall hanging is inspired by my sister's travels to Romania as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her first letter home was post marked Rasnov; her correspondence was about a new culture in Eastern Europe and her gaining acceptance with the people of Romania."

READ press release from Jay Etkin Gallery (which also represents photographer Kemper Durand)
VISIT Jeanette's site and blog
SEE Jeanette's studio

Jay Etkin Gallery
Fine Art Quilts 2005
August 19 - September 10
Reception: August 19th from 6:00-9:00 pm

(Memphis, Tenn.) - A “Fine Art Quilt” is definitely not your average grandmother’s bed quilt. With the growing national interest in collecting textile art, these highly collectable works truly meet the definition of “fine art.” In a first for Mid-South art lovers, a major contemporary art quilt exhibition opens in Memphis in August.

Fine Art Quilts 2005 is a national juried competition and exhibition showcasing the best of contemporary art quilts. These original works of art are created from dyed, painted and printed fabrics, using colorful imagery, elaborate threadwork and different textures. The exhibit, which features 30 quilts from 30 different nationally known textile artists, runs August 19 through September 10 at the Jay Etkin Gallery at 409 South Main in Memphis. The public is invited to a Gala Artists Reception scheduled for August 19th from 6:00-9:00 pm. All works in the exhibition are for sale and will also be available in an exclusive on-line gallery at FineArtQuilts.org.

Fine Art Quilts 2005 is co-curated by Arlene Blackburn of Millington, Tennessee and Michele Hardy of Mandeville, Louisiana. “We are delighted to bring this incredible juried exhibition to Memphis and the Mid-South,” said Blackburn. “It’s a great opportunity for novice and experienced art collectors to have first-hand access to this quality of work. For those who are not familiar with fine art quilts, seeing these pieces in person is an incredible experience. We have the best new works from the very best textile artists in the country represented at this show.”

Valicenti's Book of Thirst

Fellow creative director and longest-time friend, Bo Maupin, sends us word of Emotion as Promotion: A book of Thirst, edited by Rick Valicenti, self-described as "a contemporary commentary on the state of contemporary communication design as evidenced in the professional practice from both Rick's public and personal realms."

From John "Bruno" Maupin:

Here’s a PDF [Suburban Maul] from a project Rick Valicenti, a designer who lives outside of Chicago – Barrington none-the-less, did a couple of years ago. I saw him speak at a design group function here in Columbus this spring. He’s a very good designer with a mind for how design affects our culture, and how our culture influences design. For better or worse.

This PDF is from a project he did with two of his interns (see the story that is in the article) about the large “Mac” mansions that were built near his studio in the 90’s “dot com” boom. He had his students take pictures of the houses and then find retail signage that seemed to fit the design of each house.

Kind of funny, a much deeper social commentary in reality. His article at the end of the PDF is nice with some good links to other information about the evolution (or de-evolution of architectural design) in suburban America.

Since I have drunk quite a few Leininkugels in a quaint cape cod in Barrington that was built long before Levittown was realized, and long before Leininkugel was considered a micro-brew (I think we paid $4.95 for a case of longneck, plus bottle deposit), and most of all, since one of my best friends grew up in Barrington – I really enjoyed this piece.

Peter – you should be able to use this on your site if you want. I included the links, there is no longer a site just for Thirst Type. Rick has a site that has most of his book “Emotion as Promotion” at rickvalicenti.com.

I hope every one is doing well. I must get back to my mindless job of turning PDFs into EPS files. Maybe a I shall go in search of a Leininkugels NA at lunch, for old times sake.

Bo