http://afrological.com seeing the arts from inside, letting the 'fro blow posterous.com http://users.feedblitz.com/4985c1fb1ace79ef1bb4399e3673f8f9/Afrologica%20Investigation%20Unit.png http://afrological.com http://afrological.com/sustainable-dance-arts-manifesto Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:39:00 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/33836039/0/afrological~Sustainable-Dance-Arts-Manifesto http://afrological.com/sustainable-dance-arts-manifesto <![CDATA[<p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Emerge_reduced" height="392" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-09-12/FaxrDEHDFdvbkwEqltlpcyuzwxGanikppIlxJixAafHkjJJFAfGkfgGiunvb/emerge_reduced.png.scaled980.png" width="525" /> </div> <br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(adapted from The Manifesto for Agile Software Development)</span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Individuals and interactions </span><span class="s2">over wrote technique<br /> </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Working Riders/Web Site </span><span class="s2">over static documentation<br /> </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Audience collaboration </span><span class="s2">over contract negotiation<br /> </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Responding to change </span><span class="s2">over following a plan</span></p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: medium;">That is, while there is value in the items on<br /> the right, we value the items on the left more.</span></p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;"><strong>Twelve Principles</strong></span></p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><em>For embedded dance artists:</em></span></p> <p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our highest priority is to satisfy the human need for continuous exploration and experimentation through continuous delivery of acts of dance arts and valuable choreosation.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We welcome changing environments, not requirements, even late in development, as opportunities to delve deeper into the work. Agile processes harness change for the performer's competitive advantage.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Deliver working choreography frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale, to a community of “first followers” in order to strengthen the work and work flow over time.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Front office people and dancers must work together daily throughout a given project.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Build projects around and with invested communities. Create an environment of support and exchange, trust them to reciprocate. (No more stakes held in the hands!)</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation in the studio around the project at hand.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Working choreography is the primary measure of progress.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, choreographer(s), dancers and community should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely, with minimal impact on the biosphere and maximum impact on the cultural landscape.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams--trust your dancers; your adminstrative staff; your composer; your set, light, and costume designers; and your board.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.</span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/33836039/0/afrological~Sustainable-Dance-Arts-Manifesto">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/33836039/0/afrological~Sustainable-Dance-Arts-Manifesto#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Emerge_reduced" height="392" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-09-12/FaxrDEHDFdvbkwEqltlpcyuzwxGanikppIlxJixAafHkjJJFAfGkfgGiunvb/emerge_reduced.png.scaled980.png" width="525" /> </div> <br><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(adapted from The Manifesto for Agile Software Development)</span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Individuals and interactions </span><span class="s2">over wrote technique <br> </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Working Riders/Web Site </span><span class="s2">over static documentation <br> </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Audience collaboration </span><span class="s2">over contract negotiation <br> </span><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;">Responding to change </span><span class="s2">over following a plan</span></p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: medium;">That is, while there is value in the items on <br> the right, we value the items on the left more.</span></p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;"><strong>Twelve Principles</strong></span></p> <p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1"><em>For embedded dance artists:</em></span></p> <p class="p3" style="text-align: center;"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our highest priority is to satisfy the human need for continuous exploration and experimentation through continuous delivery of acts of dance arts and valuable choreosation.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We welcome changing environments, not requirements, even late in development, as opportunities to delve deeper into the work. Agile processes harness change for the performer&rsquo;s competitive advantage.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Deliver working choreography frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale, to a community of &ldquo;first followers&rdquo; in order to strengthen the work and work flow over time.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Front office people and dancers must work together daily throughout a given project.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">&nbsp;</span> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Build projects around and with invested communities. Create an environment of support and exchange, trust them to reciprocate. (No more stakes held in the hands!)</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation in the studio around the project at hand.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">&nbsp;</span> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Working choreography is the primary measure of progress.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, choreographer(s), dancers and community should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely, with minimal impact on the biosphere and maximum impact on the cultural landscape.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams--trust your dancers; your adminstrative staff; your composer; your set, light, and costume designers; and your board.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <br><span style="font-size: medium;">At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/sustainable-dance-arts-manifesto">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/sustainable-dance-arts-manifesto#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/33836039/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/project-52 Mon, 06 Aug 2012 22:21:55 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/32747059/0/afrological~Project http://afrological.com/project-52 <![CDATA[<p> <p>MIT Sloan Management Review<br /> <a href="http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2012-fall/54104/how-big-data-is-different/">http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2012-fall/54104/how-big-data-is-different/</a></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/32747059/0/afrological~Project">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/32747059/0/afrological~Project#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>MIT Sloan Management Review<br> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2012-fall/54104/how-big-data-is-different/">http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2012-fall/54104/how-big-data-is-different/</a></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/project-52">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/project-52#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/32747059/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/post-black-or-meta-black Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:44:00 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/29103445/0/afrological~Post-Black-or-Meta-Black http://afrological.com/post-black-or-meta-black <![CDATA[<p> <p class="p1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Patchpurple_flyer" height="564" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-02-05/sGDhHkxgByFfJHhdytncpAeepjmvypvCEzqlhvrzaktbkJreaxHvDxasxIFF/PatchPurple_Flyer.png.scaled980.png" width="746" /> </div> </p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;"><strong>Blue is the New Black Now. In the Future, It's a Patch.</strong></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1" style="font-size: medium;">Performance artist Anna B Scott explores the future of Black History with a madcap, immersive afrofuturistic dance theater piece. What happens when melanin becomes a cosmetic?</span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1">Los Angeles, California, February 3, 2012</span></p> <p class="p5"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s2">On Sunday, February 12th, Performance artist Anna B Scott will bring a few aliens from the future to an evening of site specific dance theater to report on the condition of blackness in her latest work, <strong><em>PATCH, A 'Bout To Get On Boogie</em></strong>. <em><strong>PATCH</strong></em> originally appeared on Scott's Twitter feed as a series of flash fiction pieces in 2009, each tweet being a complete story unto itself. Set at the dawn of the 22nd century, </span><span class="s1">PATCH unravels an encounter between the ori.Xas (transdimensional aliens of The One) with the main character, a young euro-distinct woman who undergoes one the latest trends in cosmetic cultural augmentation; she receives the Patch. The Patch imparts a dose of melanin that allows one to pas as Them (missing, presumed 'extinct' black people). It comes in various strengths, thus determining the depth of the skin change. Often delivered with temporary lip and buttocks enhancements, the Patch is a fun way to fully experience the latest VR immersive panel games. However, many abuse it, seeking to have changes that last beyond a few weeks. Such experimentation has been known to lead to hallucinations of Them and in some cases, transformation into Them.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Says Anna B Scott, “In almost every major city in the US, the numbers of black people are declining. The problem is so acute in places like San Francisco that special commissions have been charged with figuring out a way to retain and lure back black people. What will US cities look like in the near future?” </span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><em><strong>PATCH</strong></em> is set in the 22nd century where advancements in medical technology and video gaming architecture make it possible to play at being black, or at least at what designers believe black people must have once been like. The idea came to Scott after realizing that she recognized some of the bodies in the 2009 blockbuster, <em>Avatar</em>. “Suddenly, I realized that blue was the new black, not just metaphorically, but literally: Lula Washington Dance Theater (a celebrated black dance company based in Los Angeles) provided the movement vocabulary and bodies for motion capture. I mean, I <em>recognized</em> one of the dancers inside a Na'Vi warrior.” Rather than Na'Vi, Scott will re-introduce aliens of her own, the ori.Xa, to investigate these perplexing cultural issues, with a big dose of humor.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p8"><span class="s1">The ori.Xa first appeared in May of 2011 in Scott's site specific work,<em> 'Bout To Get On</em>. The work was an adaptation of the Yoruba creation myth. Coming down a chain of light instead of a palm tree, the ori.Xa, after crash landing their Ark into the Van Nuys FlyAway, try to get on the bus to catch up with their team leader, ori.Xa-LA. Updates from these interdimensional beings can be read at <a href="http://flyawaybus.tumblr.com"><span class="s3">flyawaybus.tumblr.com</span></a>, where Scott continues to update their travels.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p8"><span class="s1">The next installment of the ongoing saga of the ori.Xas will be in <strong>The Last Bookstore on February 12th at 7pm</strong>. The ori.Xas return from a chronoleap into the 23rd Tune with the e.X.u set for late 21st Tune, searching for the moment when blackness disappeared between the 41st and 10th parallels. Instead, they are pulled to mid 22nd, where The Patch is a fashion statement that has become a hallucinogenic for one very fortunate user.</span></p> <p class="p9"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p10"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Audience members for <strong><em>PATCH, A 'Bout To Get On Boogie</em></strong> are encouraged to engage the characters as they make their way through archives of blackness at The Last Bookstore. The show will include participation: dancing, singing, texting, image capturing, seeking, speaking. The event is scheduled for one hour duration, but may extend depending on level of engagement in this structured improvisation that is the PATCH. </span></p> <p class="p11"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p8"><strong><span class="s1">With the Participation of:</span></strong></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Amy Shimson-Santo</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Jahanna Blunt</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1"> </span>d. Sabela Grimes</p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Natali Micciché</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Maia</span></p> <p class="p12">A. Minor</p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Margit Edwards</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Judith Scott</span></p> <p class="p5"> </p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Part of Native Strategies “The Next Steps” Performance Series <a href="http://nativestrategies.tumblr.com/" title="Native Strategies performance art magazine" target="_blank"><span class="s3">http://nativestrategies.tumblr.com/</span></a>, tickets are on sale for $15 online through <a href="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ref/21821/event/226192">Brown Paper Tickets</a> or cash only at the door. Artist discount is available. </span></p> <p class="p13"><span class="s1">Please visit <a href="http://flyawaybus.tumblr.com" title="Bout To Get On performance" target="_blank"><span class="s3">http://flyawaybus.tumblr.com</span></a> for further instructions and advanced ticket sales. PATCH is a walking show in a digitally augmented space. Cell phones are welcomed. Hosts will be on hand to facilitate your engagement.</span></p> <p class="p13"><span class="s1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Lightmalfunction" height="333" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-02-05/iczseszJbgouabraBwczBcrvteybmEtApsgxvxCvlCjhzqAomusslDblnsId/lightmalfunction.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="500" /> </div> </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Anna B Scott as ori.Xa-Ian.I with Jahanna Blunt and Natalie Micché as SUT, links of light, May 23, 2011. Photo by Tim McGowen.</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/29103445/0/afrological~Post-Black-or-Meta-Black">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/29103445/0/afrological~Post-Black-or-Meta-Black#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p class="p1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Patchpurple_flyer" height="564" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-02-05/sGDhHkxgByFfJHhdytncpAeepjmvypvCEzqlhvrzaktbkJreaxHvDxasxIFF/PatchPurple_Flyer.png.scaled980.png" width="746" /> </div> </p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size: large;"><strong>Blue is the New Black Now. In the Future, It&rsquo;s a Patch.</strong></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1" style="font-size: medium;">Performance artist Anna B Scott explores the future of Black History with a madcap, immersive afrofuturistic dance theater piece. What happens when melanin becomes a cosmetic?</span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p4"><span class="s1">Los Angeles, California, February 3, 2012</span></p> <p class="p5"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s2">On Sunday, February 12th, Performance artist Anna B Scott will bring a few aliens from the future to an evening of site specific dance theater to report on the condition of blackness in her latest work, <strong><em>PATCH, A &lsquo;Bout To Get On Boogie</em></strong>. <em><strong>PATCH</strong></em> originally appeared on Scott&rsquo;s Twitter feed as a series of flash fiction pieces in 2009, each tweet being a complete story unto itself. Set at the dawn of the 22nd century, </span><span class="s1">PATCH unravels an encounter between the ori.Xas (transdimensional aliens of The One) with the main character, a young euro-distinct woman who undergoes one the latest trends in cosmetic cultural augmentation; she receives the Patch. The Patch imparts a dose of melanin that allows one to pas as Them (missing, presumed &lsquo;extinct&rsquo; black people). It comes in various strengths, thus determining the depth of the skin change. Often delivered with temporary lip and buttocks enhancements, the Patch is a fun way to fully experience the latest VR immersive panel games. However, many abuse it, seeking to have changes that last beyond a few weeks. Such experimentation has been known to lead to hallucinations of Them and in some cases, transformation into Them.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Says Anna B Scott, &ldquo;In almost every major city in the US, the numbers of black people are declining. The problem is so acute in places like San Francisco that special commissions have been charged with figuring out a way to retain and lure back black people. What will US cities look like in the near future?&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1"><em><strong>PATCH</strong></em> is set in the 22nd century where advancements in medical technology and video gaming architecture make it possible to play at being black, or at least at what designers believe black people must have once been like. The idea came to Scott after realizing that she recognized some of the bodies in the 2009 blockbuster, <em>Avatar</em>. &ldquo;Suddenly, I realized that blue was the new black, not just metaphorically, but literally: Lula Washington Dance Theater (a celebrated black dance company based in Los Angeles) provided the movement vocabulary and bodies for motion capture. I mean, I <em>recognized</em> one of the dancers inside a Na&rsquo;Vi warrior.&rdquo; Rather than Na&rsquo;Vi, Scott will re-introduce aliens of her own, the ori.Xa,&nbsp;to investigate these perplexing cultural issues, with a big dose of humor.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p8"><span class="s1">The ori.Xa first appeared in May of 2011 in Scott&rsquo;s site specific work,<em> &lsquo;Bout To Get On</em>. The work was an adaptation of the Yoruba creation myth. Coming down a chain of light instead of a palm tree, the ori.Xa, after crash landing their Ark into the Van Nuys FlyAway, try to get on the bus to catch up with their team leader, ori.Xa-LA. Updates from these interdimensional beings can be read at <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~flyawaybus.tumblr.com"><span class="s3">flyawaybus.tumblr.com</span></a>, where Scott continues to update their travels.</span></p> <p class="p7"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p8"><span class="s1">The next installment of the ongoing saga of the ori.Xas will be in <strong>The Last Bookstore on February 12th at 7pm</strong>. The ori.Xas return from a chronoleap into the 23rd Tune with the e.X.u set for late 21st Tune, searching for the moment when blackness disappeared between the 41st and 10th parallels. Instead, they are pulled to mid 22nd, where The Patch is a fashion statement that has become a hallucinogenic for one very fortunate user.</span></p> <p class="p9"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p10"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Audience members&nbsp; for <strong><em>PATCH, A &lsquo;Bout To Get On Boogie</em></strong> are encouraged to engage the characters as they make their way through archives of blackness at The Last Bookstore. The show will include participation: dancing, singing, texting, image capturing, seeking, speaking. The event is scheduled for one hour duration, but may extend depending on level of engagement in this structured improvisation that is the PATCH.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p11"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p8"><strong><span class="s1">With the Participation of:</span></strong></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Amy Shimson-Santo</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Jahanna Blunt</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">&nbsp;</span>d. Sabela Grimes</p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Natali Miccich&eacute;</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Maia</span></p> <p class="p12">A. Minor</p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Margit Edwards</span></p> <p class="p12"><span class="s1">Judith Scott</span></p> <p class="p5">&nbsp;</p> <p class="p6"><span class="s1">Part of Native Strategies &ldquo;The Next Steps&rdquo;&nbsp; Performance Series <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~nativestrategies.tumblr.com/" title="Native Strategies performance art magazine" target="_blank"><span class="s3">http://nativestrategies.tumblr.com/</span></a>, tickets are on sale for $15 online through <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.brownpapertickets.com/ref/21821/event/226192">Brown Paper Tickets</a> or cash only at the door. Artist discount is available.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="p13"><span class="s1">Please visit <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~flyawaybus.tumblr.com" title="Bout To Get On performance" target="_blank"><span class="s3">http://flyawaybus.tumblr.com</span></a> for further instructions and advanced ticket sales. PATCH is a walking show in a digitally augmented space. Cell phones are welcomed. Hosts will be on hand to facilitate your engagement.</span></p> <p class="p13"><span class="s1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Lightmalfunction" height="333" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-02-05/iczseszJbgouabraBwczBcrvteybmEtApsgxvxCvlCjhzqAomusslDblnsId/lightmalfunction.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="500" /> </div> </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Anna B Scott as ori.Xa-Ian.I with Jahanna Blunt and Natalie Micch&eacute; as SUT, links of light, May 23, 2011. Photo by Tim McGowen.</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/post-black-or-meta-black">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/post-black-or-meta-black#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/29103445/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/longnian Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:59:00 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28942385/0/afrological~Lngnin http://afrological.com/longnian <![CDATA[<p> <p><span style="color: #3e6ea9; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left; font-size: large;">Gōngxǐfācái! May you be prosperous!</span></p> <p>The black water dragon asks you to flex your creative muscle and use your gifts to get above the flood line. Bring your best, Afronauts!<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-01-23/EssmjuoDFdCzmomIFDkbwIAAfghGpGdtAyFpeyklzjaHHqyzICyjDlhHjgDc/year_of_the_water_dragon_by_naryu-d4l75fq.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Year_of_the_water_dragon_by_naryu-d4l75fq" height="757" src="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-01-23/EssmjuoDFdCzmomIFDkbwIAAfghGpGdtAyFpeyklzjaHHqyzICyjDlhHjgDc/year_of_the_water_dragon_by_naryu-d4l75fq.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://lotuslion.tumblr.com/" title="Narumi, vector and fine art" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">art by Narumi of Lotus Lion</span></a></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28942385/0/afrological~Lngnin">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28942385/0/afrological~Lngnin#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p><span style="color: #3e6ea9; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left; font-size: large;">Gōngxǐfāc&aacute;i! May you be prosperous!</span></p> <p>The black water dragon asks you to flex your creative muscle and use your gifts to get above the flood line. Bring your best, Afronauts!<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-01-23/EssmjuoDFdCzmomIFDkbwIAAfghGpGdtAyFpeyklzjaHHqyzICyjDlhHjgDc/year_of_the_water_dragon_by_naryu-d4l75fq.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Year_of_the_water_dragon_by_naryu-d4l75fq" height="757" src="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-01-23/EssmjuoDFdCzmomIFDkbwIAAfghGpGdtAyFpeyklzjaHHqyzICyjDlhHjgDc/year_of_the_water_dragon_by_naryu-d4l75fq.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~lotuslion.tumblr.com/" title="Narumi, vector and fine art" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">art by Narumi of Lotus Lion</span></a></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/longnian">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/longnian#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/28942385/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/stop-sopa Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:41:00 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28869946/0/afrological~Stop-SOPA http://afrological.com/stop-sopa <![CDATA[<p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_http7mshcdncomw_mjjgf" height="425" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/gbfpvkqFeHBJtcjqgpCpxjBzruGbAIbtHHAqhjczGinhmrGHJkaCIvhaeald/media_http7mshcdncomw_mJjGF.png.scaled980.png" width="616" /> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://americancensorship.org" title="Stop SOPA">http://americancensorship.org</a></p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1p-TV4jaCMk" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28869946/0/afrological~Stop-SOPA">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28869946/0/afrological~Stop-SOPA#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_http7mshcdncomw_mjjgf" height="425" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/gbfpvkqFeHBJtcjqgpCpxjBzruGbAIbtHHAqhjczGinhmrGHJkaCIvhaeald/media_http7mshcdncomw_mJjGF.png.scaled980.png" width="616" /> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~americancensorship.org" title="Stop SOPA">http://americancensorship.org</a></p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1p-TV4jaCMk" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/stop-sopa">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/stop-sopa#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/28869946/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/keyboards-saxes-at-world-stage Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:18:29 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28796545/0/afrological~Keyboards-amp-saxes-at-World-Stage http://afrological.com/keyboards-saxes-at-world-stage <![CDATA[<p> <p>Tonight is getting chilly in Los Angeles, but you could come and warmup with some live jazz music in Leimert Park. First set has just begun. Second set promises some original tunes with quite a bit of electronica.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_audio_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28796545/0/afrological~Keyboards-amp-saxes-at-World-Stage"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <span class='p_id3'>World Stage Jan 7, 2012.amr</span> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28796545/0/afrological~Keyboards-amp-saxes-at-World-Stage">Listen on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/OKzHFuHFUBRBvz0g4i5Q28KUikCQNtwwSYrRnLP1HA8ydHUNvhFV4IiioZ3m/IMAG5121.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag5121" height="649" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/3QlIF0sM67pjkyQqMBV3DPyMiA1Rf6YvfRxPboSGPrtBpnRHFkqI4ww642H5/IMAG5121.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28796545/0/afrological~Keyboards-amp-saxes-at-World-Stage">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28796545/0/afrological~Keyboards-amp-saxes-at-World-Stage#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>Tonight is getting chilly in Los Angeles, but you could come and warmup with some live jazz music in Leimert Park. First set has just begun. Second set promises some original tunes with quite a bit of electronica.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_audio_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/keyboards-saxes-at-world-stage"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/unknown.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <span class='p_id3'>World Stage Jan 7, 2012.amr</span> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/keyboards-saxes-at-world-stage">Listen on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/OKzHFuHFUBRBvz0g4i5Q28KUikCQNtwwSYrRnLP1HA8ydHUNvhFV4IiioZ3m/IMAG5121.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag5121" height="649" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/3QlIF0sM67pjkyQqMBV3DPyMiA1Rf6YvfRxPboSGPrtBpnRHFkqI4ww642H5/IMAG5121.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/keyboards-saxes-at-world-stage">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/keyboards-saxes-at-world-stage#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/28796545/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/fela-at-the-ahmanson-theater Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:02:41 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28701868/0/afrological~FELA-At-the-Ahmanson-Theater http://afrological.com/fela-at-the-ahmanson-theater <![CDATA[<p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xgrJ9A7jHaP8SGScCnmYSM4ycTFIa7Hd1yCqfblsP9lCFAGRRJuaghYNTg4D/IMAG5113.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag5113" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xBenRZyRRljLbFE1WjB8q7mfm1fkjED7CXw0k0U9uipEbtzrFePvXZDmdflA/IMAG5113.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> <p>Just settling into my remarkably good Gold Star seats. The band has fired up and the projections are already struggling with the architecture. Thankfully, the music is not.<p /></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28701868/0/afrological~FELA-At-the-Ahmanson-Theater">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28701868/0/afrological~FELA-At-the-Ahmanson-Theater#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xgrJ9A7jHaP8SGScCnmYSM4ycTFIa7Hd1yCqfblsP9lCFAGRRJuaghYNTg4D/IMAG5113.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag5113" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xBenRZyRRljLbFE1WjB8q7mfm1fkjED7CXw0k0U9uipEbtzrFePvXZDmdflA/IMAG5113.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> <p>Just settling into my remarkably good Gold Star seats. The band has fired up and the projections are already struggling with the architecture. Thankfully, the music is not.<p></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/fela-at-the-ahmanson-theater">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/fela-at-the-ahmanson-theater#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/28701868/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/les-twins-master-class Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:42:03 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28554311/0/afrological~Les-Twins-Master-Class http://afrological.com/les-twins-master-class <![CDATA[<p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Imag4902" height="1280" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/RhaNX8xhj3fX59jPtd0eC0unfZBT1cLJyi7iGabBxItrnaTPGV12I3h3zqoS/IMAG4902.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> </div> <p></p><p>One of Les Twins has a moment with a minidance monster. Class is a challenge for those unaccustomed to expressing a range of emotion while hippin' their hop.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28554311/0/afrological~Les-Twins-Master-Class">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28554311/0/afrological~Les-Twins-Master-Class#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Imag4902" height="1280" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/RhaNX8xhj3fX59jPtd0eC0unfZBT1cLJyi7iGabBxItrnaTPGV12I3h3zqoS/IMAG4902.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> </div> <p></p><p>One of Les Twins has a moment with a minidance monster. Class is a challenge for those unaccustomed to expressing a range of emotion while hippin&#39; their hop.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/les-twins-master-class">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/les-twins-master-class#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/28554311/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/dissedplace-occupation-cooperation-and-public Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:53:00 -0800 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28124848/0/afrological~OccupyWallSt-DissedPlaced http://afrological.com/dissedplace-occupation-cooperation-and-public <![CDATA[<p> <p>Occupation, Cooperation and Public Space became grounds for combative police response in New York City, even though they were once a method for providing an art and leisure buffer for rich developers.</p> <p>We could vilify <a href="http://brookfieldofficeproperties.com/Default.aspx" title="Brookfield Properties" target="_blank">Brookfield Properties</a> and other real estate developers all we like, but we urban dwellers have to admit that we sold our commons for a neat way to increase tax revenue and "protect" art funding in the process, neither of which occurred. Where we do have green "open space," it is tied up with ordinances designed to vilify the precursor to the "99%:" the so-called homeless. The clearing away of the OccupyWall St. encampment showcases our fears at their worst and makes it difficult to point fingers.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/yvwslgjJthgukbFozqHkxDsCfucuwAtrkHiwtebtjddAEzEjarjGFzCIfEwc/Zuccotti-Park.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Zuccotti-park" height="652" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/yvwslgjJthgukbFozqHkxDsCfucuwAtrkHiwtebtjddAEzEjarjGFzCIfEwc/Zuccotti-Park.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Our fears from decades past,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoning_in_the_United_States" title="zoning laws on Wikipedia" target="_blank"> in the form of zoning laws and ordinances</a>, made it possible to attack the citizens in every major city where an Occupy___ is occurring. Though some of the spaces were in fact clearly still "in the commons," a number of others ride in a nebulous zone buttressed one side by civic pride, and on the other by a gambling mentality. In the 1980s, when the last big economic bust dramatically increased the number of people who were finding it challenging to pay rent, eat, and meet other obligations, once pity ran out city ordinances cropped up around the country virtually making it illegal to be without a home inside the boundaries of a municipality. Tied as these rules were to crime and "blight" reduction, they met weak challenge and, in numerous cases, such challenge was mollified by the promise of eventual economic and cultural improvements. Each city fancied itself a "world class destination" in the making, thus entering into deals with major national and transnational real estate developers.</p> <p>Enter Redevelopment Agencies.</p> <p>In the state of California, the Redevelopment Agency was founded in 1945, however, the full force of Redevelopment Agencies as weapons of mass construction was not <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/governingcalifornia/2011/02/21/the-backstory-on-redevelopment/" title="KQED gives background on California Redevelopment Agency" target="_blank">fully realized until the 1990s</a>. Cities desperate to keep their streets clean, beautiful, and without provisional human housing on them instituted policies to encourage either homeownership (cheap exotic loans anyone) or strengthen the use of imminent domain. Police departments were instructed to <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/04/homeless_lapd_lawsuit.php" title="Is LAPD throwing away the homeless' property" target="_blank">enforce obscure laws</a> like jay walking and public nuisance with a vengeance in a hope to stabilize communities that typically surrounded city halls across America.To prepare the way for wealthy new neighbors, indigent denizens <a href="http://ceo.lacounty.gov/sib/pdf/Los%20Angeles%20County%20HPI%20Status%20Report_July2010.pdf" title="Los Angeles County Homeless Prevention 2010 Status Report" target="_blank">were pressured to move on</a> or be moved deeper into poverty while forced to wade through the red tape of incessant "lifestyle" tickets.</p> <p>Redevelopment Agencies were heroic. Creating enterprise zones to salvage inner city communities, they also championed draconian public use ordinances that were meant to bring peace and quiet to otherwise terrorized zones of the metropolis. <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/analysis/2011/realignment/redevelopment_020911.pdf" title="LAO Policy Brief on California Redevelopment Agency" target="_blank">These same rules were eventually enlisted to support major developments in the exact same areas, pushing mostly low income residents out with increases in noise, pollution, and property tax hikes during unimaginable building booms</a>.</p> <p>This was a good thing, remember?</p> <p>Those ordinances and tax breaks and redevelopment zones generated cultural caché and became tied to <a href="http://www.pps.org/articles/artfunding/" title="How to fund art in the city" target="_blank">art funding</a>. In some cities, it is known as the 1% tax, or a percent-for-art ordinance. In others, the money comes from something called the Hotel Tax. In all cases, overdevelopment of public lands (even the Broad Museum is being developed on city-owned land and its <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/01/jerry_brown_redevelopment_aler.php" title="Broad Museum get 52 Million dollars of Redevelopment money for sidewalks" target="_blank">sidewalks were funded with Redevelopment money</a> meant for housing) is presumed to be offset by providing funds for art and leisure to the citizens of the affected area in the city.</p> <p>Those funds are typically tied to the zip code in which the damage/redevelopment is occurring, so very quickly huge disparities in art funding develop since not all areas of the city are under development. Further, in the affected areas, major swaths of common space used for art making disappear or come under control of a developer--like walls for murals, plazas for music and dancing, or empty lots for pop-up street theater. Street performances are more easily policed, when cities partner with developers to create faux promenades where licensed "street art" can occur between specific hours. The process for receiving the permit to perform insures that the art supports the retail spaces which surround it.</p> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/realestate/streetscapes-the-pedestrian-loses-the-way.html?scp=1&sq=roadbed&st=cse" title="How pedestrians lost the street" target="_blank">Pedestrians</a> and now, ironically, car users also loose out on these deals. Streets are wider, sidewalks are not, and now storing a car on a city street in a redeveloped zone is more likely to cost three times as much as it does to store same car in a residential area. Regulation increases as people seek ways to continue having and using public space in these zones where public/private endeavors have hybridized the value of space.</p> <p>Art Walks and Art Districts are faring no better. Wonderful DIY demonstrations of fiscal ingenuity, the Art Walk is eventually overtaken by developers simply by affording artists hungry for space a locale in which to showcase, make, or perform their art during the evening. These nights create a certain type of freedom for certain socioeconomic swaths of the citizenry, but for others, the early police sweeps and parking closures spell havoc.</p> <p>In this complex mix--of pedestrians, art makers, real estate developers, civic pride cheerleaders, marketing mavens, art funders and consumers, people looking for low-cost leisure/entertainment, business owners, and residents (housed and without)--"public space" is populated with conflicting motivations, giving an aura of a semi-private event that has been crashed by undesirables. Add public protest, the right of every citizen of the United States, to this social conflagration and the need to exact swift and uneven application of the civil code becomes apparent from a law and order perspective.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 99 percenters are nothing if not a conflation of competing roles and assumptions that have finally coalesced around a single proposition: occupy together. And since this has been roundly rejected as a "real" platform, a "real" reason to exist, this makes them nothing better than a mob, if perceived through the appropriate set of ordinances and Redevelopment postures of decorum.</span></p> <p>In 19th Century Bahia, Brazil, slaves were not permitted to make Carnaval with everyone else. There were very stringent rules about who could go where and at what time. There were also rules about who could "play" together and under what circumstances. Old style Carnaval in those days included tossing perfume filled wax fruit at people, or shit-filled cow and pig bladders. Artisans of any ethnicity could throw fruit at each other, but not at plantation owners. It was considered in bad form for an upper class man to throw fruit at another, but quite alright for them to toss at unmarried upperclass women. Children could toss among themselves. Kitchen help could not toss at Artisans, but could pummel slaves, as could Artisans and upperclass children. Day laborers and vagabonds were more likely to participate in entrudo in their slum, tossing those bladders as pranks. The African population could make Carnaval in their own shanty areas, on rickety small streets, tossing fruit and other items at each other. But they were forbidden from parading.</p> <p>The planter class deemed it too confusing to have a mass of Africans and "mulattos" being loud, moving their bodies in unison to percussion on the main avenue. There was no way to insure that the revelry was not rivalry waiting for a signal to become an uprising, sparking a revolution. No small wonder that Africans developed pretty sophisticated and unique styles of playing Carnaval which eventually became more popular than the highly controlled one. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fala-que-Words-that-Work/dp/3639235126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321479594&sr=8-1" title="A Fala Que Faz book on political protest in Bahia " target="_blank">Styles that always already include protest and political action</a>.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Policerefusezucotti" height="364" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/zAwBisJJIbptzopdadfxlzeonIItmathctfgvJtdmdEbkgmxtBiwsuriElmA/policerefusezucotti.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="485" /> </div> <em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/judge-rules-city-bar-occupy-wall-street-tents-tarps-zuccotti-park-evictions-article-1.977674" title="Judge rules no tents in Zucotti park, just protestors" target="_blank">image by NY Daily News</a></span></em></p> <p>Flimsy laws that most of us consider "rules of decorum" were the basis for attacking people who were legally exercising their right to free speech, albeit in a way that had not been seen since anti-Apartheid movement (and even then, those were mostly relegated to college campuses). Under different circumstances, spitting on the sidewalk, scratching your butt in public, even tucking your shirt into your pants would not get tickets. Eating food on sidewalks is a culturally acceptable action in NYC, though food preparation on a street or in a park requires a permit. Many of us have eaten at non-permitted food stands across the country, even recommended them to friends.</p> <p>Playing music, singing, and even dancing on occasion in public is nothing special in NYC. Busking is celebrated in the subway system and parks. Standing on a street corner and preaching is also not all that unusual, and rarely gets the person a ticket if they stay on that soap box and don't gesticulate too wildly. Reading a book in public, no problem. Talking in groups, no problem if you are not a young person of color under a gang injunction zone (quite the topic for another article). But all of these things typically do not happen on the wide avenue known as Wall Street at the same time, among different classes of people, practically in unison. That coordination provoked another, perhaps more insidious one: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/top-news-in-minneapolis/were-occupy-crackdowns-aided-by-federal-law-enforcement-agencies" title="Did moayors around the US collude with the Department of Homeland Security" target="_blank">mayors across the US meeting and strategizing with Homeland Security to develop "best practices" for dealing with the Occupy Movement</a>.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Because when the public shows up and actually uses its portion of a public/private space, it is very hard to tell the difference between an uprising and a mob.</span></p> <p>Oakland Mayor Kwan has been <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/uprising/entry/12303/mayors_dhs_coordinated_occupy_attacks/" title="Did Oakland Mayor Kwan and other Mayors decide to evict Occupy in unison" target="_blank">put on the hot seat</a> as she let slip that she has participated in these conference calls. That a division of the federal government has provided guidance is disturbing, but not chilling. Instead, it is more likely that Occupy will disperse into smaller networked groups, still functioning in public. It would be a disaster to take these conversations "underground," since Homeland Security is obviously looking for ways to declare participants of the Occupy Movement as domestic terrorists. The NYPD eviction did not happen until their fear of actual action was triggered by <a href="http://occupywallst.org/action/november-17th/" title="National Day of Action for Occupy Movement November 17th" target="_blank">a call on November 14th</a> to disrupt business as usual.</p> <p>Brookfield Properties has finally inserted some of their own security into Zuccoti Park. This has interesting ramifications for Redevelopment Agencies across the country and is particularly of interest to Public Art funding. Among developers, Brookfield is a leader in <a href="http://brookfieldofficeproperties.com/content/corporate_responsibility/public_arts_and_events-3203.html" title="Brookfield Supports Public Art Performance" target="_blank">public art and public performance art support</a>. Artists of public performance can expect some rough riding ahead as more developers in early stages of planning opt out of providing uncontrolled space and perhaps opt into buying fixed pieces that can only be viewed inside buildings. <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44708191#.TsVCfVZSmiY" title="Forget about stocks, the ultra-rich turn to art" target="_blank">Just as the plastic arts are enjoying a surge in value right now due to the "1%" investing in art rather than the stock markets</a>, it would seem likely that developers of large multi-use real estate projects would opt into tangible, fixed art work.</p> <p>It could also be possible that a barrage of lawyers will descend on city councils nationwide demanding that certain funding schemas be removed from development licensing. Art funding suffered when <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3467" title="State and local governments seek to close tax loopholes for online hotel purchases" target="_blank">states saw their Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues severely decrease due to discount brokerage firms</a> like Hotwire and Expedia selling hotel rooms but not paying the tax on the exchange. They claimed that the hotels were responsible for paying the tax. The hotels hired lawyers. State Attorney Generals brought suit. <a href="http://bitly.com/rJXUmL" title="Hotel Tax and the percent for art" target="_blank">Some won (like San Antonio, TX), but a particular loss in Anaheim, CA gave pause to both industries and municipal governments</a>. Everyone "kinda sorta" lost; the law is still in flux. Right now, hotels do not pay that tax when we, the consumers, buy a discounted hotel room; and art funding shrinks, too. </p> <p>It is time to Occupy Ordinances. For too long the majority of citizens in urban areas have pushed the difficult work of managing our public spaces onto the shoulders of a few. If we want to use it, then we have to take responsibility for making rules about what to do to enjoy a public space. For too long public space has been put in the service of upselling, turning everyone into a consumer at the moment we least expect it or want it. Yes, we cannot play samba at all hours of the night, but we can engage each other in public about what justice means, what democracy means without being accused of dumping shit all over each other and turning the main avenue into a slum.</p> <p>In response, #OccupyLA asks: How Clean Do You Want It?<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Howcleandoyouwantit" height="1269" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/GxdgcawCxccsEufBrarxfHBICJIrryzFCaEyznIobxqvFhaDEqybjCurfAas/howcleandoyouwantit.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /> </div> </p> <p>Get your buckets ready.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>update 11/17/2011 9:51 AM: the time for the action has been changed to 4 PM to insure daylight and to participate in the scheduled cleaning of the occupyLA site.</em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28124848/0/afrological~OccupyWallSt-DissedPlaced">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/28124848/0/afrological~OccupyWallSt-DissedPlaced#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>Occupation, Cooperation and Public Space became grounds for combative police response in New York City, even though they were once a method for providing an art and leisure buffer for rich developers.</p> <p>We could vilify <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~brookfieldofficeproperties.com/Default.aspx" title="Brookfield Properties" target="_blank">Brookfield Properties</a> and other real estate developers all we like, but we urban dwellers have to admit that we sold our commons for a neat way to increase tax revenue and "protect" art funding in the process, neither of which occurred. Where we do have green "open space," it is tied up with ordinances designed to vilify the precursor to the "99%:" the so-called homeless. The clearing away of the OccupyWall St. encampment showcases our fears at their worst and makes it difficult to point fingers.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/yvwslgjJthgukbFozqHkxDsCfucuwAtrkHiwtebtjddAEzEjarjGFzCIfEwc/Zuccotti-Park.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Zuccotti-park" height="652" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/yvwslgjJthgukbFozqHkxDsCfucuwAtrkHiwtebtjddAEzEjarjGFzCIfEwc/Zuccotti-Park.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Our fears from decades past,<a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoning_in_the_United_States" title="zoning laws on Wikipedia" target="_blank"> in the form of zoning laws and ordinances</a>, made it possible to&nbsp;attack the citizens&nbsp;in every major city where an &nbsp;Occupy___ is occurring. Though some of the spaces were in fact clearly still "in the commons," a number of others ride in a nebulous zone buttressed one side by civic pride, and on the other by a gambling mentality. In the 1980s, when the last big economic bust dramatically increased the number of people who were finding it challenging to pay rent, eat, and meet other obligations, once pity ran out city ordinances cropped up around the country virtually making it illegal to be without a home inside the boundaries of a municipality. Tied as these rules were to crime and "blight" reduction, they met weak challenge and, in numerous cases, such challenge was mollified by the promise of eventual economic and cultural improvements. Each city fancied itself a "world class destination" in the making, thus entering into deals with major national and transnational real estate developers.</p> <p>Enter Redevelopment Agencies.</p> <p>In the state of California, the Redevelopment Agency was founded in 1945, however, the full force of Redevelopment Agencies as weapons of mass construction was not <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~blogs.kqed.org/governingcalifornia/2011/02/21/the-backstory-on-redevelopment/" title="KQED gives background on California Redevelopment Agency" target="_blank">fully realized until the 1990s</a>. Cities desperate to keep their streets clean, beautiful, and without provisional human housing on them instituted policies to encourage either homeownership (cheap exotic loans anyone) or strengthen the use of imminent domain. Police departments were instructed to <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/04/homeless_lapd_lawsuit.php" title="Is LAPD throwing away the homeless' property" target="_blank">enforce obscure laws</a> like jay walking and public nuisance with a vengeance in a hope to stabilize communities that typically surrounded city halls across America.To prepare the way for wealthy new neighbors, indigent denizens <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~ceo.lacounty.gov/sib/pdf/Los%20Angeles%20County%20HPI%20Status%20Report_July2010.pdf" title="Los Angeles County Homeless Prevention 2010 Status Report" target="_blank">were pressured to move on</a> or be moved deeper into poverty while forced to wade through the red tape of incessant "lifestyle" tickets.</p> <p>Redevelopment Agencies were heroic. Creating enterprise zones to salvage inner city communities, they also championed draconian public use ordinances that were meant to bring peace and quiet to otherwise terrorized zones of the metropolis. <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.lao.ca.gov/analysis/2011/realignment/redevelopment_020911.pdf" title="LAO Policy Brief on California Redevelopment Agency" target="_blank">These same rules were eventually enlisted to support major developments in the exact same areas, pushing mostly low income residents out with increases in noise, pollution, and property tax hikes during unimaginable building booms</a>.</p> <p>This was a good thing, remember?</p> <p>Those ordinances and tax breaks and redevelopment zones generated cultural cach&eacute; and became tied to <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.pps.org/articles/artfunding/" title="How to fund art in the city" target="_blank">art funding</a>. In some cities, it is known as the 1% tax, or a percent-for-art ordinance. In others, the money comes from something called the Hotel Tax. In all cases, overdevelopment of public lands (even the Broad Museum is being developed on city-owned land and its <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/01/jerry_brown_redevelopment_aler.php" title="Broad Museum get 52 Million dollars of Redevelopment money for sidewalks" target="_blank">sidewalks were funded with Redevelopment money</a> meant for housing) is presumed to be offset by providing funds for art and leisure to the citizens of the affected area in the city.</p> <p>Those funds are typically tied to the zip code in which the damage/redevelopment is occurring, so very quickly huge disparities in art funding develop since not all areas of the city are under development. Further, in the affected areas, major swaths of common space used for art making disappear or come under control of a developer--like walls for murals, plazas for music and dancing, or empty lots for pop-up street theater. Street performances are more easily policed, when cities partner with developers to create faux promenades where licensed "street art" can occur between specific hours. The process for receiving the permit to perform insures that the art supports the retail spaces which surround it.</p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/realestate/streetscapes-the-pedestrian-loses-the-way.html?scp=1&amp;sq=roadbed&amp;st=cse" title="How pedestrians lost the street" target="_blank">Pedestrians</a> and now, ironically, car users also loose out on these deals. Streets are wider, sidewalks are not, and now storing a car on a city street in a redeveloped zone is more likely to cost three times as much as it does to store same car in a residential area. Regulation increases as people seek ways to continue having and using public space in these zones where public/private endeavors have hybridized the value of space.</p> <p>Art Walks and Art Districts are faring no better. Wonderful DIY demonstrations of fiscal ingenuity, the Art Walk is eventually overtaken by developers simply by affording artists hungry for space a locale in which to showcase, make, or perform their art during the evening. These nights create a certain type of freedom for certain socioeconomic swaths of the citizenry, but for others, the early police sweeps and parking closures spell havoc.</p> <p>In this complex mix--of pedestrians, art makers, real estate developers, civic pride cheerleaders, marketing mavens, art funders and consumers, people looking for low-cost leisure/entertainment, business owners, and residents (housed and without)--"public space" is populated with conflicting motivations, giving an aura of a semi-private event that has been crashed by undesirables. Add public protest, the right of every citizen of the United States,&nbsp;to this social conflagration and the need to exact swift and uneven application of the civil code becomes apparent from a law and order perspective.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 99 percenters are nothing if not a conflation of competing roles and assumptions that have finally coalesced around a single proposition: occupy together. And since this has been roundly rejected as a "real" platform, a "real" reason to exist, this makes them nothing better than a mob, if perceived through the appropriate set of ordinances and Redevelopment postures of decorum.</span></p> <p>In 19th Century Bahia, Brazil, slaves were not permitted to make Carnaval with everyone else. There were very stringent rules about who could go where and at what time. There were also rules about who could "play" together and under what circumstances. Old style Carnaval in those days included tossing perfume filled wax fruit at people, or shit-filled cow and pig bladders. Artisans of any ethnicity could throw fruit at each other, but not at plantation owners. It was considered in bad form for an upper class man to throw fruit at another, but quite alright for them to toss at unmarried upperclass women. Children could toss among themselves. Kitchen help could not toss at Artisans, but could pummel slaves, as could Artisans and upperclass children. Day laborers and vagabonds were more likely to participate in entrudo in their slum, tossing those bladders as pranks. The African population could make Carnaval in their own shanty areas, on rickety small streets, tossing fruit and other items at each other. But they were forbidden from parading.</p> <p>The planter class deemed it too confusing to have a mass of Africans and "mulattos" being loud, moving their bodies in unison to percussion on the main avenue. There was no way to insure that the revelry was not rivalry waiting for a signal to become an uprising, sparking a revolution.&nbsp;No small wonder that Africans developed pretty sophisticated and unique styles of playing Carnaval which eventually became more popular than the highly controlled one. <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.amazon.com/Fala-que-Words-that-Work/dp/3639235126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1321479594&amp;sr=8-1" title="A Fala Que Faz book on political protest in Bahia " target="_blank">Styles that always already include protest and political action</a>.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Policerefusezucotti" height="364" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/zAwBisJJIbptzopdadfxlzeonIItmathctfgvJtdmdEbkgmxtBiwsuriElmA/policerefusezucotti.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="485" /> </div> &nbsp;<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.nydailynews.com/new-york/judge-rules-city-bar-occupy-wall-street-tents-tarps-zuccotti-park-evictions-article-1.977674" title="Judge rules no tents in Zucotti park, just protestors" target="_blank">image by NY Daily News</a></span></em></p> <p>Flimsy laws that most of us consider "rules of decorum"&nbsp;were the basis for attacking people who were legally exercising their right to free speech, albeit in a way that had not been seen since anti-Apartheid movement (and even then, those were mostly relegated to college campuses). Under different circumstances, spitting on the sidewalk, scratching your butt in public, even tucking your shirt into your pants would not get tickets. Eating food on sidewalks is a culturally acceptable action in NYC, though food preparation on a street or in a park requires a permit. Many of us have eaten at non-permitted food stands across the country, even recommended them to friends.</p> <p>Playing music, singing, and even dancing on occasion in public is nothing special in NYC. Busking is celebrated in the subway system and parks. Standing on a street corner and preaching is also not all that unusual, and rarely gets the person a ticket if they stay on that soap box and don't gesticulate too wildly. Reading a book in public, no problem. Talking in groups, no problem if you are not a young person of color under a gang injunction zone (quite the topic for another article). But all of these things typically do not happen on the wide avenue known as Wall Street at the same time, among different classes of people, practically in unison. That coordination provoked another, perhaps more insidious one: <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.examiner.com/top-news-in-minneapolis/were-occupy-crackdowns-aided-by-federal-law-enforcement-agencies" title="Did moayors around the US collude with the Department of Homeland Security" target="_blank">mayors across the US meeting and strategizing with Homeland Security to develop "best practices" for dealing with the Occupy Movement</a>.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Because when the public shows up and actually uses its portion of a public/private space, it is very hard to tell the difference between an uprising and a mob.</span></p> <p>Oakland Mayor Kwan has been <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~inthesetimes.com/uprising/entry/12303/mayors_dhs_coordinated_occupy_attacks/" title="Did Oakland Mayor Kwan and other Mayors decide to evict Occupy in unison" target="_blank">put on the hot seat</a> as she let slip that she has participated in these conference calls. That a division of the federal government has provided guidance is disturbing, but not chilling. Instead, it is more likely that Occupy will disperse into smaller networked groups, still functioning in public. It would be a disaster to take these conversations "underground," since Homeland Security is obviously looking for ways to declare participants of the Occupy Movement as domestic terrorists. The NYPD eviction did not happen until their fear of actual action was triggered by <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~occupywallst.org/action/november-17th/" title="National Day of Action for Occupy Movement November 17th" target="_blank">a call on November 14th</a> to disrupt business as usual.</p> <p>Brookfield Properties has finally inserted some of their own security into Zuccoti Park. This has interesting ramifications for Redevelopment Agencies across the country and is particularly of interest to Public Art funding. Among developers, Brookfield is a leader in <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~brookfieldofficeproperties.com/content/corporate_responsibility/public_arts_and_events-3203.html" title="Brookfield Supports Public Art Performance" target="_blank">public art and public performance art support</a>. Artists of public performance can expect some rough riding ahead as more developers in early stages of planning opt out of providing uncontrolled space and perhaps opt into buying fixed pieces that can only be viewed inside buildings. <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44708191#.TsVCfVZSmiY" title="Forget about stocks, the ultra-rich turn to art" target="_blank">Just as the plastic arts are enjoying a surge in value right now due to the "1%" investing in art rather than the stock markets</a>, it would seem likely that developers of large multi-use real estate projects would opt into tangible, fixed art work.</p> <p>It could also be possible that a barrage of lawyers will descend on city councils nationwide demanding that certain funding schemas be removed from development licensing. Art funding suffered when <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&amp;id=3467" title="State and local governments seek to close tax loopholes for online hotel purchases" target="_blank">states saw their Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues severely decrease due to discount brokerage firms</a> like Hotwire and Expedia selling hotel rooms but not paying the tax on the exchange. They claimed that the hotels were responsible for paying the tax. The hotels hired lawyers. State Attorney Generals brought suit. <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~bitly.com/rJXUmL" title="Hotel Tax and the percent for art" target="_blank">Some won (like San Antonio, TX), but a particular loss in Anaheim, CA gave pause to both industries and municipal governments</a>. Everyone "kinda sorta" lost; the law is still in flux. Right now, hotels do not pay that tax when we, the consumers, buy a discounted hotel room; and art funding shrinks, too.&nbsp;</p> <p>It is time to Occupy Ordinances. For too long the majority of citizens in urban areas have pushed the difficult work of managing our public spaces onto the shoulders of a few. If we want to use it, then we have to take responsibility for making rules about what to do to enjoy a public space. For too long public space has been put in the service of upselling, turning everyone into a consumer at the moment we least expect it or want it. Yes, we cannot play samba at all hours of the night, but we can engage each other in public about what justice means, what democracy means without being accused of dumping shit all over each other and turning the main avenue into a slum.</p> <p>In response, #OccupyLA asks: How Clean Do You Want It?<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Howcleandoyouwantit" height="1269" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-16/GxdgcawCxccsEufBrarxfHBICJIrryzFCaEyznIobxqvFhaDEqybjCurfAas/howcleandoyouwantit.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /> </div> </p> <p>Get your buckets ready.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>update 11/17/2011 9:51 AM: the time for the action has been changed to 4 PM to insure daylight and to participate in the scheduled cleaning of the occupyLA site.</em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/dissedplace-occupation-cooperation-and-public">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/dissedplace-occupation-cooperation-and-public#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/28124848/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/bus-blessings Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:15:34 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27909233/0/afrological~Bus-blessings http://afrological.com/bus-blessings <![CDATA[<p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xCx1YoM8i1PbZwev12KRlZLdThASTTZHBZwWidHbJcAscixvwr6bKKn7H7n3/IMAG3652.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag3652" height="649" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/GZAN1VJF6uHrAQQf3UcodOrUakg0nOsxmBUEKumNdVUkkFDnPWStdKXaZKAJ/IMAG3652.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> <p>I am gratefully riding the bus this morning, hurtling towards Venice. Of course, I panicked and got on a local when I could not see a cherry red express behind it. This bus, however is definitely MY bus.<p />There's this gorgeous woman smiling at me when I get on. I needed that cheer. I already know I am late. She kept looking at me. She had a small baby strapped on. She stood up and moved toward me. Then I realized: this woman I danced for. She was pregnant with a baby born to die. I am looking at this beautiful baby. How amazing is it to know I gave energy to help her stay with us a not longer? <p />Daré Community in Topanga is a powerful healing gathering. I am summoned from time to time to dance for a healing. How wonderful is this one? The baby is 2 months old.<p />Yes, I caught the right bus.<p /><br /></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27909233/0/afrological~Bus-blessings">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27909233/0/afrological~Bus-blessings#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> &nbsp; http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xCx1YoM8i1PbZwev12KRlZLdThASTTZHBZwWidHbJcAscixvwr6bKKn7H7n3/IMAG3652.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag3652" height="649" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/GZAN1VJF6uHrAQQf3UcodOrUakg0nOsxmBUEKumNdVUkkFDnPWStdKXaZKAJ/IMAG3652.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> <p>I am gratefully riding the bus this morning, hurtling towards Venice. Of course, I panicked and got on a local when I could not see a cherry red express behind it. This bus, however is definitely MY bus.<p>There&#39;s this gorgeous woman smiling at me when I get on. I needed that cheer. I already know I am late. She kept looking at me. She had a small baby strapped on. She stood up and moved toward me. Then I realized: this woman I danced for. She was pregnant with a baby born to die. I am looking at this beautiful baby. How amazing is it to know I gave energy to help her stay with us a not longer? <p>Daré Community in Topanga is a powerful healing gathering. I am summoned from time to time to dance for a healing. How wonderful is this one? The baby is 2 months old.<p>Yes, I caught the right bus.<p> <br></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/bus-blessings">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/bus-blessings#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/27909233/0/afrological"> </div> &nbsp; http://afrological.com/heidi-ducklers-expulsion-glendale-installatio Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:28:22 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27692616/0/afrological~Heidi-Ducklers-EXPULSION-Glendale-installation http://afrological.com/heidi-ducklers-expulsion-glendale-installatio <![CDATA[<p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Imag4300" height="1280" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/y0CBGdMAcbHxm1nNKJW23bRQNutEVKqQlQedD55QTKXumn0k45hDGXZhn9tx/IMAG4300.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <a href="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/e2B1fotfrAubiGDUgtGHcnyIV6a8Ib9GNcv2HFfI2H158f62OqCPiBaIVY32/IMAG4301.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4301" height="649" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/DJrftOok6eNsYX7tMW4okGHh8GL700HhCxnGTHokBfEjlgwoGyg4xPqxSrlj/IMAG4301.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <img alt="Imag4319" height="1280" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/uCgWxZXWvTplDrFNNrLPHJVNWNPpLw02eESPiAUQZmXiFcC6WX4pME3I5e41/IMAG4319.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <a href="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/QiYDgc6TI3iYa3dlOXAkFWvQvM4L5XeI86DhAj6W31J8sCq8NbJ6Y57CbNXr/IMAG4321.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4321" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Mwu2sZ6pOz69RcMdgoKcsjA0NjYC9VonpyEAfCPWqAfSh48Zjn6eahO4HDEu/IMAG4321.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/sC1rpoww0m1Dalk6ZG6JvhS1mGx2HndnWMJhQPsBE0iKcPWwfaXlJzAy5Ocg/IMAG4322.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4322" height="649" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/2f9YVPjxwrGWfqPVmaCsqJOl5h9aCSKMrfbD3udejUZ9J5p02Krj1SxV2km2/IMAG4322.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/DWjxQloYUyBjxZ6LxLx1Z6ZpKKajC0OzSHDMHjt7AOUWKY1d7IXjqDoBb5QT/IMAG4328.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4328" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/fKjVl0wFYCppTzWFiwgnEP2hrgrWeSdYtD8MhUKfGIybuVUkSMxZXsnXLClD/IMAG4328.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/BVyxlVI4bY5TdcfIuJFOLFvF8qkbNf9mQ8IuUyAvzEWHt0UEH3klFuzSK3Ps/IMAG4329.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4329" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/yk6wep5uZhPcWhCOvSO5MTlnQZCbLrSygaC2LxgXCdYlEE5aqRlhNUgzPT5K/IMAG4329.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/XBHW3T5yMDYGmyQbkWrh9fDaCMKX41cjNhmURxEhslrD4FEA7qoRhrXaAcgv/IMAG4331.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4331" height="649" src="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/tB4Z941yzIUybzn9WsxGNmJOwK46T8L3z0dltA7g3lgAOrPUSnol2mRLIdzj/IMAG4331.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <img alt="Imag4334" height="1280" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/QM0neOO5OkjIgByNw7IFNEN1FBefw1NqRTGPY99tPH4ISOmQ88Xyj46Xh9q7/IMAG4334.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <img alt="Imag4335" height="1280" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/vtL9HMx082IzabyUkljbphIcGn6LbQGDoy3HWk1Ehw3Hnl9rgyfMSZnDCfRG/IMAG4335.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <a href="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/6vR6opF0QWoYwOVtpeuAv5I0ebyq1R6RvRHPZCe64tsOrCe2D0YpEFzpdLVJ/IMAG4339.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4339" height="649" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/xajmzwGzqkcsRGtms3jo2quT4dl9ll2KSWJrWE150G9ZhCij0jAbRm1Mqqr5/IMAG4339.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/q8smVuUb3Xz1Np1bz7IGBquCHRmemLSl71oX70e0iDojWFisRAeBd0UAiCz3/IMAG4340.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4340" height="649" src="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/3Ra5NsXd1McwEbvtxmDoqdwi4Vq1DMvcvDwR4a7DFCUC2bEv6IxLvp9iYpqM/IMAG4340.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/ct4b9HGTy0l8tbnlB7ne8pYTb9uiJDDf1bI9X34nRPbs8oROB0pNtRODPkC2/IMAG4343.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4343" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/2nBAO1Oy31kIAKnPXyA1YaWAe1DOPvHr9HA7gaFMypTyDXzSVEjDaSX9ljuy/IMAG4343.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/STJtgxLDhQUyasqkPRsRScpePaTH7buEtXQ7lo8wwmVnqyLyJuryvxJHG1fp/IMAG4344.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4344" height="649" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/9QDhWRizhVXQIS55yY1vviDckkKsO1xpaA5tDsXOgtGVCAhvbkF7NAo3rjL3/IMAG4344.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <img alt="Imag4348" height="1280" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/7ELhaMOqezLe8goirCgzZeV3G2anTkAIGq6PPmhtVI9pEZ9VCCqew9IKbbiy/IMAG4348.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27692616/0/afrological~Heidi-Ducklers-EXPULSION-Glendale-installation">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27692616/0/afrological~Heidi-Ducklers-EXPULSION-Glendale-installation">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27692616/0/afrological~Heidi-Ducklers-EXPULSION-Glendale-installation#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Imag4300" height="1280" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/y0CBGdMAcbHxm1nNKJW23bRQNutEVKqQlQedD55QTKXumn0k45hDGXZhn9tx/IMAG4300.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <a 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src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/fKjVl0wFYCppTzWFiwgnEP2hrgrWeSdYtD8MhUKfGIybuVUkSMxZXsnXLClD/IMAG4328.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/BVyxlVI4bY5TdcfIuJFOLFvF8qkbNf9mQ8IuUyAvzEWHt0UEH3klFuzSK3Ps/IMAG4329.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4329" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/yk6wep5uZhPcWhCOvSO5MTlnQZCbLrSygaC2LxgXCdYlEE5aqRlhNUgzPT5K/IMAG4329.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/XBHW3T5yMDYGmyQbkWrh9fDaCMKX41cjNhmURxEhslrD4FEA7qoRhrXaAcgv/IMAG4331.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4331" height="649" 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src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/2nBAO1Oy31kIAKnPXyA1YaWAe1DOPvHr9HA7gaFMypTyDXzSVEjDaSX9ljuy/IMAG4343.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/STJtgxLDhQUyasqkPRsRScpePaTH7buEtXQ7lo8wwmVnqyLyJuryvxJHG1fp/IMAG4344.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4344" height="649" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/9QDhWRizhVXQIS55yY1vviDckkKsO1xpaA5tDsXOgtGVCAhvbkF7NAo3rjL3/IMAG4344.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <img alt="Imag4348" height="1280" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/7ELhaMOqezLe8goirCgzZeV3G2anTkAIGq6PPmhtVI9pEZ9VCCqew9IKbbiy/IMAG4348.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/heidi-ducklers-expulsion-glendale-installatio">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/heidi-ducklers-expulsion-glendale-installatio">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/heidi-ducklers-expulsion-glendale-installatio#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/27692616/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/expulsion-set Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:12:29 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27690720/0/afrological~Expulsion-set http://afrological.com/expulsion-set <![CDATA[<p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/iPidlhmljTwokkWSiYhbtpAwNtdftTQURbYuXMU7eoH1IipAWAKlC9gzRELF/IMAG4296.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4296" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Mkaq2nM9yisZLYKrgspgjAIYfyPttv3E4emvBqGgeFLbi4HaS3M4wIn5Vo0J/IMAG4296.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> <p></p><p>Gettng ready for Heidi Duckler's piece.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27690720/0/afrological~Expulsion-set">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/27690720/0/afrological~Expulsion-set#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/iPidlhmljTwokkWSiYhbtpAwNtdftTQURbYuXMU7eoH1IipAWAKlC9gzRELF/IMAG4296.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4296" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Mkaq2nM9yisZLYKrgspgjAIYfyPttv3E4emvBqGgeFLbi4HaS3M4wIn5Vo0J/IMAG4296.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> </div> <p></p><p>Gettng ready for Heidi Duckler&#39;s piece.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/expulsion-set">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/expulsion-set#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/27690720/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/afropos-blogging-in-the-disinformation-age-pt Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:18:48 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040906/0/afrological~Afropos-Blogging-in-the-Disinformation-Age-Pt http://afrological.com/afropos-blogging-in-the-disinformation-age-pt <![CDATA[<p> <p>I am all about <a href="http://masterconduit.tumblr.com" title="Conduction Tumblr of Anna B. Scott" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> these days. I love the brevity, the quick wit of the folks I am following, the artistic rush and buzz; I am in a netherworld of art over there. The <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/afrological" title="Afrological Investigation Unit Newsfeed" target="_blank">newsfeed</a> needs feeding and posting a Tumblr entry is a great way to get content out on a daily basis without the pressure of the long form blog, like, er, this one. I'll be honest, I have 7 lengthy articles in draft, responses to current events that are not so current now, because the psychosocial terrain kept shifting under my fingertips.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">What mean she?</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Well, if you have read most of my work, you will know that I am working to connect the dots between political rumblings and goings-on and their impact into the world of the art maker, in particular, the dance art maker and other physical performance artists. To do that requires quite a bit of research and a lot of links; some explanatory of just the topic, others to show the arc of the topic, still others to get my entry to trend and increase the trust of the readership. I do not like to publish bullshit. I do not like to link to crap. I do not like to write stuff then have to retract. It is just me for the time being, so suddenly finding myself off balance like that just means I loose gobs and gobs of readers rather quickly.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Typewriter-fire" height="180" src="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-09-19/ggdFDfHksvEnBbbAzArzsgpezzhoiHvqfBaldiArGrBBJxfikuiadxBwpCyy/typewriter-fire.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="237" /> </div> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">So it has been no accident that a long blog entry has not appeared here for a bit. I am tired of reading excessively long blogs, that verge on the conspiratorial in their tone, in an attempt to make an iron clad point (AlterNet, Common Dreams, YahooFinance, CounterPunch, FSN). I am also leery of the extreme amount of "news" and "fact" that is circulating which are in point of fact, opinion and civically disrupting ones at that (odd ball memes that have no originating point i.e., there is no news outlet that said what it is rumored to have said). Linking to these items do not serve what is left of my audience and boy does it suck my time.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I am exhausted from "listening to my gut." It is damn near operatic these days. Afrologica has staked out an interstitial space between civic minded art making, policy analysis, political forecasting and social engineering. If that feels like a lot for a blog about dancing, be aware that it is not. The only issue is that I am not being paid for this work. There are <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/09/12/the-koch-whisperers/" title="Koch Brothers Pay Bloggers" target="_blank">several bloggers who are paid to socially engineer</a> your day to day in ways that do not serve our democracy, our economy, let alone you directly dear reader. I have always been upfront about wanting to change the world, but it has been under the assumption that we were doing this together.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Like politics, there is simply too much money in blogging and social media to keep pretending that it is an alternative space. We can certainly carve out and create alternative forms and modes of communication here, generate communities and facilitate goodwill. However, after three years of WTF, major media outlets, political operatives, not-for-profits intent on being able to beg rather than thrive, tech giants weary of not stopping the next big thing in its tracks before it stops them, have shaken off the daze, <a href="http://adage.com/article/adagestat/calculating-roi-social-media/228399/" title="Calculating ROI for social media" target="_blank">found some metrics</a> and are now redirecting this wild digital game to insure their profit margins are not toyed with. That is kinda boring, yet exhilarating in a disturbing way if one is seeking to become a middle agent that does the new found work of “pacifying” social networks.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">We all need that pacifier, that filter, that nozzle on the end of the hose. Perhaps we are too reliant on someone else's "best practices" for our daily bread? Dry, stale or even too perfectly moist, filled with artificial dough enhancers, fabricated news circulating through socially mediated networks has become an obvious tool against democracy. I'd rather traffic in the grapevine rumor of good old fashioned people to people chatting than try to comprehend and analyze the obvious lies that are distracting from coherent and cogent communication. That's pretty difficult now that fewer of us are willing to talk to people who disagree with us. We are "liking" ourselves out of a government right about now.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here are few stories that actually are not partisan issues, but health and human survival issues, blotted out by a self-referential mediascape:</span></p> <ol> <li><span class="s1">Texas has been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/texas-fires-2011_n_851507.html#s267087&title=Texas_Wildfires" title="Texas burned since April 2011" target="_blank">on fire</a> since April</span></li> <li>The Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plants are <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365781/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-All-3-Fukushima-nuclear-plant-reactors-meltdown.html" title="Japanese Reactors melting down" target="_blank">melting down</a> in Japan</li> <li><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/201138152955897442.html" title="After a year workers and residents dying and sick from BP Oil spill" target="_blank">Workers</a> & <a href="http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-baby-dolphins-dying-oil-soaked-gulf.html" title="Dolphin calves dying in Gulf of Mexico" target="_blank">dolphins</a> in the Gulf of Mexico are very sick and dying after the large oil spill</li> <li>A <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/aug/08/hunger-pains-famine-horn-africa" title="Famine sweeps across Horn of Africa avoidable" target="_blank">famine</a> is sweeping across the Horn of Africa</li> <li>Rather than rent them, a <a href="http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=19580208" title="Bank demolishes incomplete housing development in Southern California" target="_blank">troubled bank tore down homes</a> to force the market to rebound</li> <li>The proposed oil pipeline from Canada to Gulf of Mexico <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec11/oilpipeline_08-29.html" title="Tar Sands pipeline on PBS" target="_blank">goes through sensitive farm land</a></li> </ol> <p>Many would have us believe that these are partisan issues. Staying alive is a human issue. It is difficult to make art in times of crisis. That is called shamanism. It is more difficult yet to make art in times of fabricated calamity. That gets called insanity by those intent on surviving from and through the fabrication. They both feel like madness when it comes through you. Hear that aria? Not coming from my mouth.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Shaman3l-238x300" height="300" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-09-19/otzaiBAdgDECapiBttElAkrzzJugDzuDftwklnsrerscIqxdxdlEfjByuyJq/shaman3l-238x300.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="238" /> </div> </p> <p class="p1"><a href="http://skylark-psychic-healing.com/gallery/galleries/the-shaman-suite/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Shaman III by Carol Skylark</span></a></p> <p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">Tomorrow in part two, I'll look at 3 monkeys tearing democracy limb from limb and eventually think about in part 3, what that means for artists stepping over the gore.</span></em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040906/0/afrological~Afropos-Blogging-in-the-Disinformation-Age-Pt">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040906/0/afrological~Afropos-Blogging-in-the-Disinformation-Age-Pt#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>I am all about <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~masterconduit.tumblr.com" title="Conduction Tumblr of Anna B. Scott" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> these days. I love the brevity, the quick wit of the folks I am following, the artistic rush and buzz; I am in a netherworld of art over there. The <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~feeds.feedblitz.com/afrological" title="Afrological Investigation Unit Newsfeed" target="_blank">newsfeed</a> needs feeding and posting a Tumblr entry is a great way to get content out on a daily basis without the pressure of the long form blog, like, er, this one. I'll be honest, I have 7 lengthy articles in draft, responses to current events that are not so current now, because the psychosocial terrain kept shifting under my fingertips.</p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">What mean she?</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Well, if you have read most of my work, you will know that I am working to connect the dots between political rumblings and goings-on and their impact into the world of the art maker, in particular, the dance art maker and other physical performance artists. To do that requires quite a bit of research and a lot of links; some explanatory of just the topic, others to show the arc of the topic, still others to get my entry to trend and increase the trust of the readership. I do not like to publish bullshit. I do not like to link to crap. I do not like to write stuff then have to retract. It is just me for the time being, so suddenly finding myself off balance like that just means I loose gobs and gobs of readers rather quickly.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Typewriter-fire" height="180" src="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-09-19/ggdFDfHksvEnBbbAzArzsgpezzhoiHvqfBaldiArGrBBJxfikuiadxBwpCyy/typewriter-fire.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="237" /> </div> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">So it has been no accident that a long blog entry has not appeared here for a bit. I am tired of reading excessively long blogs, that verge on the conspiratorial in their tone, in an attempt to make an iron clad point (AlterNet, Common Dreams, YahooFinance, CounterPunch, FSN). I am also leery of the extreme amount of "news" and "fact" that is circulating which are in point of fact, opinion and civically disrupting ones at that (odd ball memes that have no originating point i.e., there is no news outlet that said what it is rumored to have said). Linking to these items do not serve what is left of my audience and boy does it suck my time.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I am exhausted from "listening to my gut." It is damn near operatic these days.&nbsp;Afrologica has staked out an interstitial space between civic minded art making, policy analysis, political forecasting and social engineering. If that feels like a lot for a blog about dancing, be aware that it is not. The only issue is that I am not being paid for this work. There are <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.counterpunch.org/2011/09/12/the-koch-whisperers/" title="Koch Brothers Pay Bloggers" target="_blank">several bloggers who are paid to socially engineer</a> your day to day in ways that do not serve our democracy, our economy, let alone you directly dear reader. I have always been upfront about wanting to change the world, but it has been under the assumption that we were doing this together.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Like politics, there is simply too much money in blogging and social media to keep pretending that it is an alternative space. We can certainly carve out and create alternative forms and modes of communication here, generate communities and facilitate goodwill. However, after three years of WTF, major media outlets, political operatives, not-for-profits intent on being able to beg rather than thrive, tech giants weary of not stopping the next big thing in its tracks before it stops them, have shaken off the daze, <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~adage.com/article/adagestat/calculating-roi-social-media/228399/" title="Calculating ROI for social media" target="_blank">found some metrics</a> and are now redirecting this wild digital game to insure their profit margins are not toyed with. That is kinda boring, yet exhilarating in a disturbing way if one is seeking to become a middle agent that does the new found work of &ldquo;pacifying&rdquo; social networks.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">We all need that pacifier, that filter, that nozzle on the end of the hose. Perhaps we are too reliant on someone else&rsquo;s "best practices" for our daily bread? Dry, stale or even too perfectly moist, filled with artificial dough enhancers, fabricated news circulating through socially mediated networks has become an obvious tool against democracy. I&rsquo;d rather traffic in the grapevine rumor of good old fashioned people to people chatting than try to comprehend and analyze the obvious lies that are distracting from coherent and cogent communication. That's pretty difficult now that fewer of us are willing to talk to people who disagree with us. We are "liking" ourselves out of a government right about now.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Here are few stories that actually are not partisan issues, but health and human survival issues, blotted out by a self-referential mediascape:</span></p> <ol> <li><span class="s1">Texas has been <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/texas-fires-2011_n_851507.html#s267087&amp;title=Texas_Wildfires" title="Texas burned since April 2011" target="_blank">on fire</a> since April</span></li> <li>The Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plants are <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365781/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-All-3-Fukushima-nuclear-plant-reactors-meltdown.html" title="Japanese Reactors melting down" target="_blank">melting down</a> in Japan</li> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/201138152955897442.html" title="After a year workers and residents dying and sick from BP Oil spill" target="_blank">Workers</a> &amp; <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-baby-dolphins-dying-oil-soaked-gulf.html" title="Dolphin calves dying in Gulf of Mexico" target="_blank">dolphins</a> in the Gulf of Mexico are very sick and dying after the large oil spill</li> <li>A <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/aug/08/hunger-pains-famine-horn-africa" title="Famine sweeps across Horn of Africa avoidable" target="_blank">famine</a> is sweeping across the Horn of Africa</li> <li>Rather than rent them, a <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=19580208" title="Bank demolishes incomplete housing development in Southern California" target="_blank">troubled bank tore down homes</a> to force the market to rebound</li> <li>The proposed oil pipeline from Canada to Gulf of Mexico <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec11/oilpipeline_08-29.html" title="Tar Sands pipeline on PBS" target="_blank">goes through sensitive farm land</a></li> </ol> <p>Many would have us believe that these are partisan issues. Staying alive is a human issue. It is difficult to make art in times of crisis. That is called shamanism. It is more difficult yet to make art in times of fabricated calamity. That gets called insanity by those intent on surviving from and through the fabrication. They both feel like madness when it comes through you. Hear that aria? Not coming from my mouth.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Shaman3l-238x300" height="300" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-09-19/otzaiBAdgDECapiBttElAkrzzJugDzuDftwklnsrerscIqxdxdlEfjByuyJq/shaman3l-238x300.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="238" /> </div> </p> <p class="p1"><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~skylark-psychic-healing.com/gallery/galleries/the-shaman-suite/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Shaman III by Carol Skylark</span></a></p> <p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">Tomorrow in part two, I&rsquo;ll look at 3 monkeys tearing democracy limb from limb and eventually think about in part 3, what that means for artists stepping over the gore.</span></em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/afropos-blogging-in-the-disinformation-age-pt">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/afropos-blogging-in-the-disinformation-age-pt#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040906/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/olokun-prophecy-at-leimert-park-music-fest-20 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:33:30 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040915/0/afrological~Olokun-Prophecy-at-Leimert-Park-Music-Fest http://afrological.com/olokun-prophecy-at-leimert-park-music-fest-20 <![CDATA[<p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/JoJW1ZdHnGpMLK9tDTFBCsCobE5VX9YTgRAmOOM45v45pTXzM2cRFXNVFHrZ/IMAG4049.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4049" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/TGZzldMLeOUhJeR27PzvJfQ7AP9rUk3IRSAlqgvtxPXpiareDhTryCcN6NZX/IMAG4049.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/av0nBAwAcVeVltXkpaPoHWhKEtmFxgE9Tp7moVbJwcec6F7vDbLsT1y4k8XA/IMAG4047.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4047" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/KA9HuCyIJPvjWNvRo9WUqC1RJXGlXfMwhKbXZLrlzMySH8Sn9kv67X0oGIwH/IMAG4047.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/ascRPZAej2C6RU0JMyxfffdi1M5PSWIEO4JvQXvCaYsomMyhuN3kMQFvpuMu/IMAG4046.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4046" height="649" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/oQd2QyZIyknmkWL2lEf3GtUoFrZ6Lm0EZoJA9FOOzG0Rp6DlN5g93mH6yT0s/IMAG4046.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Msu8ArFBk5rAv0C8UPeKe2inU2KppbgT4XemVkYdFaPTIUTrgYRualui0S2h/IMAG4042.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4042" height="649" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/WJfgn1dddfvtQXasmRkLB3I24pIbPJTU0f3f9amgRV04ftKDzpQzvrxL7ovV/IMAG4042.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <img alt="Imag4041" height="1280" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/AkdMmF52DuLRPnh2MLUZr7u37sswkcT1dCPHGwnYidckhqL98WSoNNL4BuQe/IMAG4041.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <img alt="Imag4040" height="1280" src="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Ign7kTeCgVTJDMpVjDHhLt3EbjxOREH4SX2sLJFTLnykNNzQhyPS2VxekJID/IMAG4040.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <a href="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Y2QTP2sdG0izNvWB1k1zSToFIaD0CzeMvgE32W3CKOPxS6qlPLT3nZYX0HIz/IMAG4035.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4035" 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Posterous</a></div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040915/0/afrological~Olokun-Prophecy-at-Leimert-Park-Music-Fest">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040915/0/afrological~Olokun-Prophecy-at-Leimert-Park-Music-Fest#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/JoJW1ZdHnGpMLK9tDTFBCsCobE5VX9YTgRAmOOM45v45pTXzM2cRFXNVFHrZ/IMAG4049.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4049" height="649" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/TGZzldMLeOUhJeR27PzvJfQ7AP9rUk3IRSAlqgvtxPXpiareDhTryCcN6NZX/IMAG4049.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/av0nBAwAcVeVltXkpaPoHWhKEtmFxgE9Tp7moVbJwcec6F7vDbLsT1y4k8XA/IMAG4047.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4047" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/KA9HuCyIJPvjWNvRo9WUqC1RJXGlXfMwhKbXZLrlzMySH8Sn9kv67X0oGIwH/IMAG4047.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/ascRPZAej2C6RU0JMyxfffdi1M5PSWIEO4JvQXvCaYsomMyhuN3kMQFvpuMu/IMAG4046.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4046" height="649" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/oQd2QyZIyknmkWL2lEf3GtUoFrZ6Lm0EZoJA9FOOzG0Rp6DlN5g93mH6yT0s/IMAG4046.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <a 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href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/Y2QTP2sdG0izNvWB1k1zSToFIaD0CzeMvgE32W3CKOPxS6qlPLT3nZYX0HIz/IMAG4035.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="Imag4035" height="649" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/e5KQAgErD2sDUN5cPrsTGQr8SK7kq45f2JurX9NClxvVWANuebV3VhkRhtAs/IMAG4035.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="980" /></a> <img alt="Imag4032" height="1280" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/w4DnR5fMKmsREajXRuakgt280pKvfYDRx2P0axKsotBcvyHJW2lzy5HGFmYO/IMAG4032.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <img alt="Imag4033" height="1280" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/EM8EGmqtS9NnhtFuRCL1J3SVI5QjhnZ564A1V1VRtO1lNIPjT71k2tje9ok8/IMAG4033.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <img alt="Imag4034" height="1280" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/FFYqkad0UGD6Cdlhjse71cMNYrRRCh5TyQrvHhG4ao4ZZFd1uV6TMaCpdQw1/IMAG4034.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="848" /> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/olokun-prophecy-at-leimert-park-music-fest-20">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/olokun-prophecy-at-leimert-park-music-fest-20">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/olokun-prophecy-at-leimert-park-music-fest-20#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040915/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/the-afrofuturist-kitchen-ancient-to-the-futur Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:34:00 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040924/0/afrological~The-Afrofuturist-Kitchen-Permission-to-Innovate http://afrological.com/the-afrofuturist-kitchen-ancient-to-the-futur <![CDATA[<p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Need_a_permit" height="121" src="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-25/wEItmhldvnvqwzJFmoAIpvsrwABiwnzsjrHofuylJqAtmrqvAtwhpCCtsrcq/need_a_permit.png.scaled980.png" width="109" /> </div> People from all types of political persuasions have begun to question the most present form of governance most of us experience: the permit. Permits allegedly provide a mechanism for controlling or spurring growth in a city, allowing planners to plot a course for success for the comptroller's office. Permits also are intended to promote fairness, leveling the playing field by placing certain requirements in a specific order so that everyone knows the rules. However, because permits cost money, the net effect is that those who can afford to pay them, tend to get their way. Permits in some cities, like Los Angeles, can appear rigged to favor a particular activity/industry over another, thus effectively rendering the civic good of permits null and void. Though this article will ultimately be about a fabulous idea for raising food for those experiencing "food insecurity," we could just as easily call it, "Citizen Entrapment Tools for the 21st Century: or How to Make Your City Officials Look Stupid."</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>It's Lemonade for Chrissakes!</strong></span></p> <p>I came across this video circulating on Face Book and instantly realized that it was the same group of "protestors" from a now-famous "dance-in" at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Take a look.</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/04MNf1YdNxI?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="345" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>As I watched, I was struck by a few things:</p> <ol> <li>Those were not children selling lemonade</li> <li>If, according to their description children were being forced to take down their stands in D.C., why were they on federal property and not city?</li> <li>This is an orchestrated moment of "police state."</li> </ol> <p>There are clear rules for and when one can vend a product in the City of Washington D.C., and as the officer states in the video, there is a clear rule about vending on federal property. The protestors, for their side, failed to make a clear case for the children who were being denied "the right" to sell lemonade, insisting that it was absurd to stop their own sales given the current economic crisis. At ten cents a cup, I fail to see the financial purpose. It would seem, instead that the goal is to pander to "common sense" about "rights" to sell.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>The Art of the Permit</strong></span></p> <p>In Los Angeles, I have participated in round tables and think tanks aimed at discovering ways to promote innovation in art funding. Each time, the conversation came around to artists not really being able to practice their craft--regardless of discipline--due to <a href="http://lacity.org/submenu/permitslicenses/index.htm" title="Permits and Licenses City of Los Angeles" target="_blank">permitting issues</a> in the neighborhoods where they lived and attempted to work. To fix that, there is a tendency to herd art folks into "art districts" that have no relationship with being human: there are no grocery stores, not very much green space, often very poor public transportation, poor lighting, busted up sidewalks, no banks, no schools, no library...unless of course you head <a href="http://www.ladad.com/" title="LA Arts District" target="_blank">downtown</a>. Artists are leveraged now for "<a href="http://masterconduit.tumblr.com/post/2690965833/soooo-by-their-own-admission-the-100-000-given" title="NEA talks about Our Town Grant" target="_blank">placemaking</a>," which should be wonderful for the artist, but it is not, since the permitting process coupled with the zoning process makes it nigh impossible, at this juncture, to be anything other than an entertainment. Take Watts Towers, for example.</p> <p>A series of community collaborations and innovation ran afoul, several times, of the city permitting process when an art project around creating sustainable and alternative housing resulted in fines for attaching "unpermited additions to existing structures." Or using materials not previously coded (perhaps since a number of them did not exist as materials at the time the code was written). Director Arcenaux figured some things out, but he is a loud advocate for developing special zones for innovation and experimentation that will allow artists to hack a sustainable future for a community. So far, no dice on that one,<a href="http://www.fordfoundation.org/issues/freedom-of-expression/supporting-diverse-arts-spaces" title="Ford Foundation Diverse Spaces" target="_blank"> even though the Ford Foundation, at least in principle, agrees that art needs to make appearances in non-traditional presentational spaces</a>. That was .early 2010.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpwwwwattstow_phvcz" height="199" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/EcyBzbGsFvtozrbbnFahDzrohplfoxtzFDHhhJEDwjogwClqoAmIyBIfrbqi/media_httpwwwwattstow_phvCz.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="163" /> </div> </p> <p>In early 2011, <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/07/nea-watts-towers-willowbrook.html" title="NEA Fuds Watts Tower despite skate park controversy" target="_blank">to the horror of Watts Towers supporters, staff and community who managed to pull in a $350,000 NEA grant throught "Our Town" placemaking grant, Councilwoman Janice Hahn decided to pull permits to place a skate park</a> at one of the most famous folk art pieces in the country. While the artists themselves struggled for years to save the towers, then create a coherent social design through the arts, Hahn has mistakenly collapsed "art" with "leisure," under the guise of "helping the youth." Youth focused projects are a central component of Watts Towers. Now the former council woman (she has since been elected to US Congress) finds herself (along with <a href="http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/tony-hawk-watts/" title="Tony Hawk crowd source fundraiser for Watts Skate Park" target="_blank">supporters like Tony Hawk</a>) and her plans forced through a massive loop of environmental reviews and economic impact sessions. She and her council buddies are not being permitted to decide the fate of a common green space all by themselves.</p> <p>Fast forward to now, when the <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/08/sunset_junction_officially_can.php" title="Sunset Junction Canceled" target="_blank">City Board of Public Works just denied Sunset Junction a permit for its (over)use of public works for the annual "community street festival."</a> After 31 years, this festival has been terminated because organizers figured out (or so they thought) how to game the permitting system, putting on the event for at least 2 years with back fees owed to the City. Not only were they leveraging public space for unknown ends--a gate fee was implemented for what had traditionally been a street fair about 3 years ago--but they were constantly at odds with, or ignoring "the community" in which they held the event. The fair had been allowed to grow exponentially because of the perception of using the arts to bring people together, even while the community was saying that they were being left out. It did not become an issue until Sunset Junction owed the city $400,000 dollar in back fees.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">We Just Want To Eat</span></strong></p> <p>On August 20th, the LA Times reported on an ever evolving story about an artist who decides to become a gardner and feed his community. <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/20/local/la-me-0821-lopez-garden-20110818" title="Weeds of Bureaucratic Insanity" target="_blank">Ron Finley planted what turned out to be a luxurious and robust garden</a> in the space between the sidewalk in front of his home and the street. This space is known as "parkways" and apparently not only do you need a special permit to plant in them, but there is an ordinance about WHAT you can plant. This struck me as odd.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpbloggroorga_htdbi" height="200" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/jdiendmtywdicbpbvFqwtysDscznIGyqeBnxDowzlswrsrjEkteskBuxeElx/media_httpbloggroorga_htdbi.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="300" /> </div> </p> <p>I attended a workshop this Spring on April 7, 2011 run by California Lawyers for the Arts on the issue of artists the the environment. Deborah Deets, a landscape architect working for the Department of Public Works told us of parks that could become public art projects to help dwindling resources to maintain them. She also happens to be the person who set "Green Streets Standard Plans" in 2010 for "preapproved street construction designs available to the public and contractors so that they build landscaped storm water elements that filter and or infiltrate runoff int he public right-of-way." In other words, parkways can be used for landscaping. The discussion turned specifically to parkways as a matter of fact, with Deets telling us that the city is over "400 square miles with over 8,000 square miles of street" of which the city can barely maintain. We discussed demonstration projects, like gardening in drought resistant plants and perhaps even edibles; sculptural accents were even a possibility. We were inspired.</p> <p>Ron Finley and his gardening coach have established a demonstration art-as-cultural-stimulator garden on Exposition. His garden feeds the needy in multiple ways. Cultivating food has created a community bond and eased the risk of neighbors going hungry and resorting to "the informal economy." Ron Finley is being forced to pay a fine and pull a $400 permit, unless he can get a City Council member to intercede on his behalf. Meanwhile, Deborah Deets needs his help bringing environmental art to the city. Which one is it?</p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Permitting Innovation</strong></span></p> <p>Well, you can't really give people a license to innovate. Herein lies the problem for all three scenarios. The public permit has become a cudgel against social change and entrepreneurial innovation. It has also become a tick sucking the fiscal lifeblood out of the city through ever-expanding review offices, compliance officers, etc. But we NEED ordinances and we NEED permits to make sure that we do not get injured by overly ambitious parkway embellishments or shoddy construction. We want to protect open spaces, such as they are, so we force individuals to get permits to participate in commerce on our Commons. However, these desires can easily be twisted into "role creep," turning the permitting process into policing.</p> <p>Had Sunset Junction organizers come up with the money, the community annually held hostage by it would have had to endure yet another year of trash, lewd public behavior, and no trickle down economics (yes, the festival does not bring in revenue for local businesses, quite the contrary). The permitting process only worked as a policeman for them because the organizers had no money. Kids with lemonade stands is considered an American right of passage. There is no reason for any city to go after "lost revenues" from these "enterprises." However, can citizens decide that they will sell whatever they want wherever they want simply because of the economic climate? Most have. They just don't bring along video cameras to make the point.</p> <p>Finally, lost in the race to "equally enforce the rules," is a <em>GEM</em> of an idea suggested by August Finley in the <em>Times</em> article: he would like to see parkways turned into grocery aisles. Each street would specialize in a different produce, so that block by block, you would have an incredible variety of foods. How brilliant is that? Can we get Deborah Deets to review the <em><a href="http://eng.lacity.org/techdocs/stdplans/Pdfs/Green%20Street%20Standard%20Plans%20FAQ%20Sheet_091010.pdf" title="PDF of Los Angeles Green Streets Standard Plan" target="_blank">Green Streets Standards Plan</a></em> and create an emergency clause that talks about food deserts and the need to provide means for self-reliance for food and cooperation between neighbors for larger health benefits? Can we get Watts Towers to host such a meeting where, <a href="http://www.sfuaa.org/news.html" title="San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance" target="_blank">like San Francisco, we not only allow residents to raise their own foods but eventually sell them</a>?</p> <p>It is time to stop pretending that all permits are created equal and that all people with a vision are out to rob us of our money. Collaboration and zones of innovation with arts practice and process driving the transformation are what all cities need right now. Yes, we need some rules; no, those 19th century ones will no longer suffice.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040924/0/afrological~The-Afrofuturist-Kitchen-Permission-to-Innovate">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040924/0/afrological~The-Afrofuturist-Kitchen-Permission-to-Innovate#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Need_a_permit" height="121" src="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-25/wEItmhldvnvqwzJFmoAIpvsrwABiwnzsjrHofuylJqAtmrqvAtwhpCCtsrcq/need_a_permit.png.scaled980.png" width="109" /> </div> People from all types of political persuasions have begun to question the most present form of governance most of us experience: the permit. Permits allegedly provide a mechanism for controlling or spurring growth in a city, allowing planners to plot a course for success for the comptroller's office. Permits also are intended to promote fairness, leveling the playing field by placing certain requirements in a specific order so that everyone knows the rules. However, because permits cost money, the net effect is that those who can afford to pay them, tend to get their way. Permits in some cities, like Los Angeles, can appear rigged to favor a particular activity/industry over another, thus effectively rendering the civic good of permits null and void. Though this article will ultimately be about a fabulous idea for raising food for those experiencing "food insecurity," we could just as easily call it, &nbsp;"Citizen Entrapment Tools for the 21st Century: or How to Make Your City Officials Look Stupid."</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>It's Lemonade for Chrissakes!</strong></span></p> <p>I came across this video circulating on Face Book and instantly realized that it was the same group of "protestors" from a now-famous "dance-in" at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Take a look.</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/04MNf1YdNxI?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="345" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>As I watched, I was struck by a few things:</p> <ol> <li>Those were not children selling lemonade</li> <li>If, according to their description children were being forced to take down their stands in D.C., why were they on federal property and not city?</li> <li>This is an orchestrated moment of "police state."</li> </ol> <p>There are clear rules for and when one can vend a product in the City of Washington D.C., and as the officer states in the video, there is a clear rule about vending on federal property. The protestors, for their side, failed to make a clear case for the children who were being denied "the right" to sell lemonade, insisting that it was absurd to stop their own sales given the current economic crisis. At ten cents a cup, I fail to see the financial purpose. It would seem, instead that the goal is to pander to "common sense" about "rights" to sell.</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>The Art of the Permit</strong></span></p> <p>In Los Angeles, I have participated in round tables and think tanks aimed at discovering ways to promote innovation in art funding. Each time, the conversation came around to artists not really being able to practice their craft--regardless of discipline--due to <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~lacity.org/submenu/permitslicenses/index.htm" title="Permits and Licenses City of Los Angeles" target="_blank">permitting issues</a> in the neighborhoods where they lived and attempted to work. To fix that, there is a tendency to herd art folks into "art districts" that have no relationship with being human: there are no grocery stores, not very much green space, often very poor public transportation, poor lighting, busted up sidewalks, no banks, no schools, no library...unless of course you head <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.ladad.com/" title="LA Arts District" target="_blank">downtown</a>. Artists are leveraged now for "<a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~masterconduit.tumblr.com/post/2690965833/soooo-by-their-own-admission-the-100-000-given" title="NEA talks about Our Town Grant" target="_blank">placemaking</a>," which should be wonderful for the artist, but it is not, since the permitting process coupled with the zoning process makes it nigh impossible, at this juncture, to be anything other than an entertainment. Take Watts Towers, for example.</p> <p>A series of community collaborations and innovation ran afoul, several times, of the city permitting process when an art project around creating sustainable and alternative housing resulted in fines for attaching "unpermited additions to existing structures." Or using materials not previously coded (perhaps since a number of them did not exist as materials at the time the code was written). Director Arcenaux figured some things out, but he is a loud advocate for developing special zones for innovation and experimentation that will allow artists to hack a sustainable future for a community. So far, no dice on that one,<a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.fordfoundation.org/issues/freedom-of-expression/supporting-diverse-arts-spaces" title="Ford Foundation Diverse Spaces" target="_blank"> even though the Ford Foundation, at least in principle, agrees that art needs to make appearances in non-traditional presentational spaces</a>. That was .early 2010.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpwwwwattstow_phvcz" height="199" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/EcyBzbGsFvtozrbbnFahDzrohplfoxtzFDHhhJEDwjogwClqoAmIyBIfrbqi/media_httpwwwwattstow_phvCz.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="163" /> </div> </p> <p>In early 2011, <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/07/nea-watts-towers-willowbrook.html" title="NEA Fuds Watts Tower despite skate park controversy" target="_blank">to the horror of Watts Towers supporters, staff and community who managed to pull in a $350,000 NEA grant throught "Our Town" placemaking grant, Councilwoman Janice Hahn decided to pull permits to place a skate park</a> at one of the most famous folk art pieces in the country. While the artists themselves struggled for years to save the towers, then create a coherent social design through the arts, Hahn has mistakenly collapsed "art" with "leisure," under the guise of "helping the youth." Youth focused projects are a central component of Watts Towers. Now the former council woman (she has since been elected to US Congress) finds herself (along with <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.globalgiving.org/projects/tony-hawk-watts/" title="Tony Hawk crowd source fundraiser for Watts Skate Park" target="_blank">supporters like Tony Hawk</a>) and her plans forced through a massive loop of environmental reviews and economic impact sessions. She and her council buddies are not being permitted to decide the fate of a common green space all by themselves.</p> <p>Fast forward to now, when the <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/08/sunset_junction_officially_can.php" title="Sunset Junction Canceled" target="_blank">City Board of Public Works just denied Sunset Junction a permit for its (over)use of public works for the annual "community street festival."</a> After 31 years, this festival has been terminated because organizers figured out (or so they thought) how to game the permitting system, putting on the event for at least 2 years with back fees owed to the City. Not only were they leveraging public space for unknown ends--a gate fee was implemented for what had traditionally been a street fair about 3 years ago--but they were constantly at odds with, or ignoring "the community" in which they held the event. The fair had been allowed to grow exponentially because of the perception of using the arts to bring people together, even while the community was saying that they were being left out. It did not become an issue until Sunset Junction owed the city $400,000 dollar in back fees.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">We Just Want To Eat</span></strong></p> <p>On August 20th, the LA Times reported on an ever evolving story about an artist who decides to become a gardner and feed his community. <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/20/local/la-me-0821-lopez-garden-20110818" title="Weeds of Bureaucratic Insanity" target="_blank">Ron Finley planted what turned out to be a luxurious and robust garden</a> in the space between the sidewalk in front of his home and the street. This space is known as "parkways" and apparently not only do you need a special permit to plant in them, but there is an ordinance about WHAT you can plant. This struck me as odd.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpbloggroorga_htdbi" height="200" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/jdiendmtywdicbpbvFqwtysDscznIGyqeBnxDowzlswrsrjEkteskBuxeElx/media_httpbloggroorga_htdbi.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="300" /> </div> </p> <p>I attended a workshop this Spring on April 7, 2011 run by California Lawyers for the Arts on the issue of artists the the environment. Deborah Deets, a landscape architect working for the Department of Public Works told us of parks that could become public art projects to help dwindling resources to maintain them. She also happens to be the person who set "Green Streets Standard Plans" in 2010 for "preapproved street construction designs available to the public and contractors so that they build landscaped storm water elements that filter and or infiltrate runoff int he public right-of-way." In other words, parkways can be used for landscaping. The discussion turned specifically to parkways as a matter of fact, with Deets telling us that the city is over "400 square miles with over 8,000 square miles of street" of which the city can barely maintain. We discussed demonstration projects, like gardening in drought resistant plants and perhaps even edibles; sculptural accents were even a possibility. We were inspired.</p> <p>Ron Finley and his gardening coach have established a demonstration art-as-cultural-stimulator garden on Exposition. His garden feeds the needy in multiple ways. Cultivating food has created a community bond and eased the risk of neighbors going hungry and resorting to "the informal economy." &nbsp;Ron Finley is being forced to pay a fine and pull a $400 permit, unless he can get a City Council member to intercede on his behalf. Meanwhile, Deborah Deets needs his help bringing environmental art to the city. Which one is it?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Permitting Innovation</strong></span></p> <p>Well, you can't really give people a license to innovate. Herein lies the problem for all three scenarios. The public permit has become a cudgel against social change and entrepreneurial innovation. It has also become a tick sucking the fiscal lifeblood out of the city through ever-expanding review offices, compliance officers, etc. But we NEED ordinances and we NEED permits to make sure that we do not get injured by overly ambitious parkway embellishments or shoddy construction. We want to protect open spaces, such as they are, so we force individuals to get permits to participate in commerce on our Commons. However, these desires can easily be twisted into "role creep," turning the permitting process into policing.</p> <p>Had Sunset Junction organizers come up with the money, the community annually held hostage by it would have had to endure yet another year of trash, lewd public behavior, and no trickle down economics (yes, the festival does not bring in revenue for local businesses, quite the contrary). The permitting process only worked as a policeman for them because the organizers had no money. Kids with lemonade stands is considered an American right of passage. There is no reason for any city to go after "lost revenues" from these "enterprises." However, can citizens decide that they will sell whatever they want wherever they want simply because of the economic climate? Most have. They just don't bring along video cameras to make the point.</p> <p>Finally, lost in the race to "equally enforce the rules," is a <em>GEM</em> of an idea suggested by August Finley in the <em>Times</em> article: he would like to see parkways turned into grocery aisles. Each street would specialize in a different produce, so that block by block, you would have an incredible variety of foods. How brilliant is that? Can we get Deborah Deets to review the <em><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~eng.lacity.org/techdocs/stdplans/Pdfs/Green%20Street%20Standard%20Plans%20FAQ%20Sheet_091010.pdf" title="PDF of Los Angeles Green Streets Standard Plan" target="_blank">Green Streets Standards Plan</a></em> and create an emergency clause that talks about food deserts and the need to provide means for self-reliance for food and cooperation between neighbors for larger health benefits? Can we get Watts Towers to host such a meeting where, <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.sfuaa.org/news.html" title="San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance" target="_blank">like San Francisco, we not only allow residents to raise their own foods but eventually sell them</a>?</p> <p>It is time to stop pretending that all permits are created equal and that all people with a vision are out to rob us of our money. Collaboration and zones of innovation with arts practice and process driving the transformation are what all cities need right now. Yes, we need some rules; no, those 19th century ones will no longer suffice.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/the-afrofuturist-kitchen-ancient-to-the-futur">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/the-afrofuturist-kitchen-ancient-to-the-futur#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040924/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/afro-alert-tis-is-a-test Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:43:11 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040933/0/afrological~AFROLOGICS-NEWSLETTER-This-is-a-test-of-your-will-to-dance http://afrological.com/afro-alert-tis-is-a-test <![CDATA[<p> <p>AFRONAUTS!</p> <p>Okay. Who out there is ready to just fire everybody in Washington and install <a href="http://www.chrisgates.net/irv/" title="Instant Runoff voting animation" target="_blank">instant runoff</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CEMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpewresearch.org%2Fpubs%2F1761%2Fcell-phones-and-election-polls-2010-midterm-elections&ei=48I4TsDVD8jiiAKzpvDSDg&usg=AFQjCNEvwYnh656WatuqB-VICIofHsuUIQ" title="Cell Phone Only voters hard to poll" target="_blank">cellphone polling</a> for ALL issues affecting our common destiny? I have been rather silent, getting to know myself better while watching the meltdown around me. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/" title="Telegraph on Libya" target="_blank">The morass in Libya</a> was the tipping point. We all know the phrase, "tail wagging the dog." Lately, the fleas have been walking the dog. How are we to make wonderful things governed by parasites? <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/the-president-surrenders-on-debt-ceiling.html?_r=2&src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB" title="Obama's Latest" target="_blank">Obama's latest "strategic move"</a> once again has me very concerned about what he is seeing that we aren't allowed to see. Again, we need more transparent governance, funding decisions, planning meetings, redistricting, post office scheduling, school auctioning, prison purchasing than we have had these last 10 years. Actually, than we have ever had. Is there something inherently flawed about running representational governance beyond 100 years and over a specific population threshold?</p> <p>Feels like its time to get back to some cheerleading and a lot more instigating.</p> <p>It has been two years since I transitioned into funemployment. Some crazy awesome things have happened for me: a book published by an international press, helping to shape the guide for One Day on Earth, a commission by Public Art at DCA, a performance at REDCAT and another at LACE to name a few. And you folks who still click and read these ever dwindling posts. I miss my KPPC readers, but the Freeway is closed for business. If you have been savvy and signed up for the entire news feed, however, you have not seen much of a drop off. I thank you. I am workin' it over on Tumblr. If you sign up for the news feed, you'll hear from me more regularly. Give it a try.</p> <p> </p> <form method="POST" action="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?AddNewUserDirect"> <input name="sub" type="hidden" value="722877" /> <strong>Enter your Email</strong><br /><input name="EMAIL" size="25" type="text" /><br /> <input name="FEEDID" type="hidden" value="722877" /> <input name="PUBLISHER" type="hidden" value="24347529" /> <input name="subcf" type="hidden" /> <input type="submit" value="Subscribe me!" /> <br /><a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?previewfeed=722877">Preview</a> | Powered by <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com">FeedBlitz</a> </form> <p> </p> <p>Sign up so that you can also get the returning email newsletter. Check your inbox September 5th. It will link to an array of sites where I publish my thoughts as well as sites where other publish their theirs on dance arts in particular. A few well chosen events will accompany each newsletter. You will also see some offers and suggestions from myself and other sponsors. If you would like to sponsor, do let me know.</p> <p>So here is the test.</p> <p>I wanted to get you guys a few listings by Thursday, but discovered a cool functionality in my Goldstar account.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpimagesgolds_cniiz" height="260" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/mCqxgfpfFvIwllBbwArbnaphJbphIAcbHdieIiamByEanDvBnGwqCvtukumB/media_httpimagesgolds_cniiz.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="460" /> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://www.goldstar.com/user_profiles/1431271/user_lists/862354" title="Doctoradancer's Goldstar List" target="_blank">http://www.goldstar.com/user_profiles/1431271/user_lists/862354</a></p> <p>How's that for down and dirty listings? Let me know what you think. I was hoping it would actually unfurl here in the blog, but you can look forward to that type of action come September. I will continue to list events not otherwise afforded press, but look out for an agreement of how that will go. </p> <p>Know that I was serious about that instigation part. Check me out on <a href="http://kineme.blogspot.com/" title="The Gesture and The Citizen" target="_blank">The Gesture & The Citizen</a> where The Dance Oracle is housed. Laying the floor for dancing for the common good.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040933/0/afrological~AFROLOGICS-NEWSLETTER-This-is-a-test-of-your-will-to-dance">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040933/0/afrological~AFROLOGICS-NEWSLETTER-This-is-a-test-of-your-will-to-dance#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>AFRONAUTS!</p> <p>Okay. Who out there is ready to just fire everybody in Washington and install <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.chrisgates.net/irv/" title="Instant Runoff voting animation" target="_blank">instant runoff</a> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0CEMQFjAB&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fpewresearch.org%2Fpubs%2F1761%2Fcell-phones-and-election-polls-2010-midterm-elections&amp;ei=48I4TsDVD8jiiAKzpvDSDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNEvwYnh656WatuqB-VICIofHsuUIQ" title="Cell Phone Only voters hard to poll" target="_blank">cellphone polling</a> for ALL issues affecting our common destiny? I have been rather silent, getting to know myself better while watching the meltdown around me. <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/" title="Telegraph on Libya" target="_blank">The morass in Libya</a> was the tipping point. We all know the phrase, "tail wagging the dog." Lately, the fleas have been walking the dog. How are we to make wonderful things governed by parasites? <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/the-president-surrenders-on-debt-ceiling.html?_r=2&amp;src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB" title="Obama's Latest" target="_blank">Obama's latest "strategic move"</a> once again has me very concerned about what he is seeing that we aren't allowed to see. Again, we need more transparent governance, funding decisions, planning meetings, redistricting, post office scheduling, school auctioning, prison purchasing than we have had these last 10 years. Actually, than we have ever had. Is there something inherently flawed about running representational governance beyond 100 years and over a specific population threshold?</p> <p>Feels like its time to get back to some cheerleading and a lot more instigating.</p> <p>It has been two years since I transitioned into funemployment. Some crazy awesome things have happened for me: a book published by an international press, helping to shape the guide for One Day on Earth, a commission by Public Art at DCA, a performance at REDCAT and another at LACE to name a few. &nbsp;And you folks who still click and read these ever dwindling posts. I miss my KPPC readers, but the Freeway is closed for business. If you have been savvy and signed up for the entire news feed, however, you have not seen much of a drop off. &nbsp;I thank you. I am workin' it over on Tumblr. If you sign up for the news feed, you'll hear from me more regularly. Give it a try.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <form method="POST" action="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?AddNewUserDirect"> <input name="sub" type="hidden" value="722877" /> <strong>Enter your Email</strong> <br><input name="EMAIL" size="25" type="text" /> <br> <input name="FEEDID" type="hidden" value="722877" /> <input name="PUBLISHER" type="hidden" value="24347529" /> <input name="subcf" type="hidden" /> <input type="submit" value="Subscribe me!" /> <br><a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?previewfeed=722877">Preview</a> | Powered by <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.feedblitz.com">FeedBlitz</a> </form> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Sign up so that you can also get the returning email newsletter. Check your inbox September 5th. It will link to an array of sites where I publish my thoughts as well as sites where other publish their theirs on dance arts in particular. A few well chosen events will accompany each newsletter. You will also see some offers and suggestions from myself and other sponsors. If you would like to sponsor, do let me know.</p> <p>So here is the test.</p> <p>I wanted to get you guys a few listings by Thursday, but discovered a cool functionality in my Goldstar account.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpimagesgolds_cniiz" height="260" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/afrological/mCqxgfpfFvIwllBbwArbnaphJbphIAcbHdieIiamByEanDvBnGwqCvtukumB/media_httpimagesgolds_cniiz.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="460" /> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.goldstar.com/user_profiles/1431271/user_lists/862354" title="Doctoradancer's Goldstar List" target="_blank">http://www.goldstar.com/user_profiles/1431271/user_lists/862354</a></p> <p>How's that for down and dirty listings? &nbsp;Let me know what you think. &nbsp;I was hoping it would actually unfurl here in the blog, but you can look forward to that type of action come September. I will continue to list events not otherwise afforded press, but look out for an agreement of how that will go.&nbsp;</p> <p>Know that I was serious about that instigation part. Check me out on <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~kineme.blogspot.com/" title="The Gesture and The Citizen" target="_blank">The Gesture &amp; The Citizen</a> where The Dance Oracle is housed. Laying the floor for dancing for the common good.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/afro-alert-tis-is-a-test">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/afro-alert-tis-is-a-test#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040933/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/chase-bank-oblivious-to-what-matters Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:25:00 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040942/0/afrological~Chase-Bank-Oblivious-To-What-Matters http://afrological.com/chase-bank-oblivious-to-what-matters <![CDATA[<p> <p>The Consumerist is <a href="http://consumerist.com/2011/07/chase-gets-man-thrown-in-jail-for-fraudulent-check-except-the-check-is-legit.html" title="The Consumerist investigates Chase Bank" target="_blank">circulating a news story surfaced by KING5 News</a>, a local channel in Auburn, Washington. One Ikenna Njoku walked into a Chase Bank, with a Chase official check to have it cashed, only to discover that the branch manager did not think he mattered all that much, and was falsely accused of forging a check and went to jail for it.</p> <p><br /><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Jail2" height="296" src="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/CffydrCnHAoFIewIyFdgJsurpHatqIrxArytjznbcHowjBmndGlmticAlEfb/jail2.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="405" /> </div> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Choices on the Chase</span></strong></p> <p>Njoku was among the unlucky percentage of <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/free-checking-and-rewards-programs-poor-subsiziding-the-rich/" title="Free Checking Is Not Free" target="_blank">people who ALWAYS overdraw their account</a>, and was so far <a href="http://blog.checkadvantage.com/2010/11/08/bouncing-checks/" title="Bouncing checks is costly" target="_blank">in debt to the bank</a> ($600) that they closed his account. His group of fellow cash flow suffers used to make it possible for WAMU, among others, to offer free checking "to everyone." Well, the story does not go into it, but WAMU customers were absorbed by Chase, which earlier this year eradicated Free Checking. I know; I am former WAMU, current Chase customer. And I know other things, too, about Chase, its services, and Mr. Njoku.</p> <p>But first, a story:</p> <p>The chief diviner in all Yoruba land was Obatala. Shango, king a of a vast empire, was going through what amounted to some merger and acquisition troubles, so he determined that he needed to consult with the best. He sent word to Obatala that he was needed at the royal compound waaaay across the kingdom and should make haste. Unfortunately, he did just that and neglected to consult the oracle to make sure that he should even go and offer his services. Typically, a client goes to the diviner, but Shango was not just anybody.</p> <p>Obatala was full of pride at being summoned to help in such matters. He dressed in his brightest whites and received a beautiful steed that was sent for him to gallop at top speed to his destination. On his way, he met Potential or Eshu. Eshu owns the crossroad, the decision making process, and receives payments whenever the oracle is consulted. He is not fond of being cheated his due; which was the case this time since Obatala had not divined before traveling. So here was Potential, dressed as a weak old man, carrying a very heavy earthenware pot. Obatala came upon him and demanded that he move to the side of the road since he was in a hurry on a very important mission for the king. Potential asked for help. If only he could get that heavy pot on his head properly, he could walk faster, but carrying in his arms was tiring and slowing him down.</p> <p>Obatala got off the horse.</p> <p>Obatala went to lift the pot onto the old man's head and "splash!" the old codger tripped him, causing the contents of the pot, red palm oil, to spill all over Obatala's white robes. Obatala demanded to know why he would do such a thing. The old man laughed and said he was just weak and unworthy so he tripped. He went off laughing. Obatala was suspicious.</p> <p>Fearing he was late, Obatala jumped back onto the horse and forced it into a gallop. Soon he met Potential again. This time, it was an old woman carrying a bundle of hay on her head. She was slow. She was in the middle of the road. She was not moving. Obatala was outraged. She asked for help in transporting the hay. Obatala complied, but the dust and seeds from the hay became stuck in the palm oil when he took it from her. Potential laughed. Obatala was suspicious.</p> <p>After failing one more test like this and being covered in who knows what from head to toe, Obatala was spotted by a local chief riding one of the king's horses. The chief was suspicious and got a posse together to have the beggar arrested for stealing the king's horse. Obatala protested, showed his divination tools, which caused great laughter: surely this was not the high and mighty Obatala. The mad man was thrown into a very small cage for being a beggar, a thief AND a liar.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Shango's merger and acquisition was failing, and bad luck, loving its own kind, invited more hard luck to besiege the kingdom. It was becoming epic, this hard time. Years past. Not a peep was ever heard from Obatala, but the horse was back in the stable. A local diviner was finally summoned who said that all the problems lead to Obatala being in jail in the kingdom. A great search was launched among the fiefdoms. Finally, after more than a decade of rough imprisonment, Obatala was found and released. The bad luck spell was broken. The kingdom began to flourish and business was booming. Obatala was awarded a section of the kingdom as compensation.</p> <p>This Yoruba tale comes from what we call modern day Nigeria. So does Mr. Njoku's family name.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">False Belief in Live Action Phising</span></strong></p> <p>I am knowing a few things.</p> <p>A black man with a foreign name goes into a bank with a very large check from the bank issued to him. He has no checking account there, but does have a home loan...and a paid car loan...and a NIgerian sounding last name. "Dear Beloved, I am Ikenna Njoku and I am the son and sole beneficiary of a great oil man who has recently died leaving me all his accounts abroad. I need your help in cashing the checks from his British accounts as I do not trust the banks here..." You got that letter right? <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/one-hack-of-a-crime-wave-or-so-they-say-20110625-1gkrf.html" title="Phising and cybercrime overestimated" target="_blank">Well, the customer service rep in charge of large deposits at the bank thought she had</a>.</p> <p>When does a black man walk into a Chase bank in Auburn, Washington with an official Chase Bank check made out to him for $8463.21, and ask to CASH it? When? The day that Mr. Njoku did. The day before he was arrested for forgery and trying to pass a bad check.</p> <p>I know some things about Chase Bank. For example, it matters which branch you use. It matters a lot. I recently deposited a very large check into my personal account that was made out to me and my DBA name because, surprise surprise, my <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/05/13/bank-overdraft-fees-still-plague-american-consumers/" title="The Plague of overdraft fees" target="_blank">business account was overdrawn...by a few dollars, which turned into a $125</a> expense as payments were honored and fees piled high. It was a classic timing scenario compounded by moves my credit union was trying to force me into. So, in classic Steel Magnolia form, I just got quiet and sat, as we say back home in Mississippi, to see what the right road would become.</p> <p>I deposited said check, and HALF of it had an immediate hold on it. It was a Thursday, close to closing time, just like the day Mr. Njoku inexplicably decided that his errands were more important than waiting for the bank teller to clear his check and identity through Chase Corporate; the day he left the check at his bank. Oh. I forgot to tell you that he was at HIS branch, the SAME branch that had cut the check which they were now saying was not legit. But unlike Mr. Njoku, I decided not to get so exasperated that I could not see a possible resolution. I asked the teller if anything could be done and he said no, the money would be available on Monday. I did not believe him.</p> <p>I carefully took my receipt and thanked the teller, got in my car and broke into a panic. I had to pay 13 other people the amount exactly equivalent to the hold on the deposit. So, I got on the phone. I went no where. I called friends for reassurance. I called friends for explanations. I called friends for jokes. I did not get on the road because bad luck loves its own kind. I told myself to accept responsibility for not going to my PO Box earlier in the day, thus causing my transaction to happen in the future even though I was there right now. I acknowledged that Potential was asking me to choose projects: I chose my people, my show. Potential was asking me which choices was I willing to see. One friend told me to celebrate. "Be grateful that you just deposited a huge check!" Yes. Another told me, "That shit happened to me, too, you just have to call the central admin and they'll release it right then." Yes, okay. Another friend told me 3 jokes that made me cry laughing.</p> <p>Then I got on the road with a plan, a time table, a goal, a mission: 13 people would be paid on Saturday.</p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Haste Makes Waste</strong></span></p> <p>Inneka Njoku had to run some errands. They were important to him. However, to the teller, it was cause for suspicion. Who walks away from an $8463.21 check to run some errands? By the time he returned, the bank was closed. When he called customer service asking what to do, they told him to come back the next day, which was a Friday. On my next day, also a Friday, I went to a different branch. A big one, a pretty one, one where they meet you at the door and say hello and ask you what you need. I pulled out my receipt for the deposit, gave my card, my ID, my loveliest smile, and made my request. I am not a black man. I do not have a Nigerian-sounding last name. </p> <p>Even though the accounts had wildness--I am newly self-employed in LA in an undercapitalized business--the customer service rep waited and punched code after code. It took almost 30 minutes for her to get a reply back that the bank of the check I had deposited had closed for the day, but that Chase was willing to verify available funds at open of business on Saturday. It was a check from the City, drawn from an out of state account. The hold was put on by the branch, not by any central Chase policy.</p> <p>On Njoku's next day, also a Friday, he went to pick up what he thought was cash, and instead was arrested. After 4 pm, close of banking business, the branch discovered that he was not lying, it was his check and they had issued it to him. They left a message with a detective who had gone home for the weekend.</p> <p>Njoku sat in jail for 3 days. Njoku was suspicious. No one believed him. Njoku lost:</p> <ol> <li>His job</li> <li>His car</li> <li>His check, temporarily, as it was IMPOUNDED as evidence</li> </ol> <p>Because bad luck loves its own kind, the impounded check, which was more than enough to get his towed car out of the impound was not available so the car went to auction. It had been parked "on the street," (I am guessing in a very short time zone) when he was arrested. He had already paid for the car. He is an at-will construction worker, so he lost his job the moment he did not show up for it on Friday. And that check was direct deposited into his non-existent checking account, a refund from the federal government since, among other things, Mr. Njoku is a 28 year old first time home buyer who took advantage of <a href="http://bitly.com/qQYMRI" title="Home Buyers tax credit options" target="_blank">President Obama's tax relief for home owners</a>.</p> <p>Potential met Mr. Njoku so that we could really meet our banking system.</p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Chaste Decision Making or Are We All 'Just Doing Our Jobs?'</strong></span></p> <p>It is awful what he went through last year. It is repugnant that Chase has yet to fix their error. That teller kicked over his dominoes. At least he still has his house. After all that he has been through Potential sent one of his sons, a lawyer, to speak on his behalf. Next Potential sent <a href="http://www.king5.com/news/125105599.html" title="Njoku Tells his story on KING5 News" target="_blank">KING5 News to report on the story</a>. Then Potential sent The Consumerist to post the story, where Potential had Aimee Allison of <a href="http://rootsaction.org/" title="RootsAction" target="_blank">RootsAction Network</a> read it. Next, Potential asked me to call my dear friend Aimee to check to see if she was really awake at almost midnight. Then Potential asked Aimee to ask me to write on this story after I told her that folk tale about Obatala. Now Potential is asking you to see your choices. Potential tossed around Ikenna Njoku who now stands as yet another stark example that forces us to recognize that <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/free-checking-and-rewards-programs-poor-subsiziding-the-rich/" title="Excessive Overdraft Fees on the poor support free services for wealthy clients" target="_blank">our banking system exists as a way to extract the majority of their customer's money, to support the gambling habits of the bankers and subsidize the rich</a>. We are now forced to question what a good neighbor is, what (or who) funds Chase Community Giving, and to reflect on the catch phrase "chase what matters."</p> <p>I know some things about Chase Bank: each branch can set its own policy with regards to high amount deposits based on the community it serves. This reeks of redlining. Central administration can intercede and change the decision if you persist. Further, the way you string your accounts together and the frequency with which you use them determines the monthly fee you pay, as low as free. This must be done in consultation with a banker. If you do not ask, they do not tell and you. That is just short of fraud. In essence, if you think you do not have time to spare to figure all this out because your quality of life is in danger of collapsing week to week, then be prepared to meet Potential on the road. It is best to accept responsibility first before you do. Things might resolve more quickly.</p> <p> </p> <p>Will you Chase what matters? Or take your time to create what works?</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> <object height="264" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="470"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <param name="cachebusting" value="true" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> <param name="movie" value="http://media.bimvid.com/designvideo/bimvid_player-3_2_7.swf" /> <param name="flashvars" value="config=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252F%253Fj%253D125105599%2526ref%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252Fnews%252F125105599.html" /> <embed src="http://media.bimvid.com/designvideo/bimvid_player-3_2_7.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="264" flashvars="config=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252F%253Fj%253D125105599%2526ref%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252Fnews%252F125105599.html" width="470"></embed> </object> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040942/0/afrological~Chase-Bank-Oblivious-To-What-Matters">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040942/0/afrological~Chase-Bank-Oblivious-To-What-Matters#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>The Consumerist is <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~consumerist.com/2011/07/chase-gets-man-thrown-in-jail-for-fraudulent-check-except-the-check-is-legit.html" title="The Consumerist investigates Chase Bank" target="_blank">circulating a news story surfaced by KING5 News</a>, a local channel in Auburn, Washington. One Ikenna Njoku walked into a Chase Bank, with a Chase official check to have it cashed, only to discover that the branch manager did not think he mattered all that much, and was falsely accused of forging a check and went to jail for it.</p> <p> <br><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Jail2" height="296" src="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/CffydrCnHAoFIewIyFdgJsurpHatqIrxArytjznbcHowjBmndGlmticAlEfb/jail2.jpg.scaled980.jpg" width="405" /> </div> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Choices on the Chase</span></strong></p> <p>Njoku was among the unlucky percentage of <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.outsidethebeltway.com/free-checking-and-rewards-programs-poor-subsiziding-the-rich/" title="Free Checking Is Not Free" target="_blank">people who ALWAYS overdraw their account</a>, and was so far <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~blog.checkadvantage.com/2010/11/08/bouncing-checks/" title="Bouncing checks is costly" target="_blank">in debt to the bank</a> ($600) that they closed his account.&nbsp;His group of fellow cash flow suffers used to make it possible for WAMU, among others, to offer free checking "to everyone." Well, the story does not go into it, but WAMU customers were absorbed by Chase, which earlier this year eradicated Free Checking. &nbsp;I know; I am former WAMU, current Chase customer. And I know other things, too, about Chase, its services, and Mr. Njoku.</p> <p>But first, a story:</p> <p>The chief diviner in all Yoruba land was Obatala. Shango, king a of a vast empire, was going through what amounted to some merger and acquisition troubles, so he determined that he needed to consult with the best. He sent word to Obatala that he was needed at the royal compound waaaay across the kingdom and should make haste. Unfortunately, he did just that and neglected to consult the oracle to make sure that he should even go and offer his services. Typically, a client goes to the diviner, but Shango was not just anybody.</p> <p>Obatala was full of pride at being summoned to help in such matters. He dressed in his brightest whites and received a beautiful steed that was sent for him to gallop at top speed to his destination. &nbsp;On his way, he met Potential or Eshu. Eshu owns the crossroad, the decision making process, and receives payments whenever the oracle is consulted. &nbsp;He is not fond of being cheated his due; which was the case this time since Obatala had not divined before traveling. So here was Potential, dressed as a weak old man, carrying a very heavy earthenware pot. Obatala came upon him and demanded that he move to the side of the road since he was in a hurry on a very important mission for the king. Potential asked for help. If only he could get that heavy pot on his head properly, he could walk faster, but carrying in his arms was tiring and slowing him down.</p> <p>Obatala got off the horse.</p> <p>Obatala went to lift the pot onto the old man's head and "splash!" the old codger tripped him, causing the contents of the pot, red palm oil, to spill all over Obatala's white robes. Obatala demanded to know why he would do such a thing. The old man laughed and said he was just weak and unworthy so he tripped. He went off laughing. Obatala was suspicious.</p> <p>Fearing he was late, Obatala jumped back onto the horse and forced it into a gallop. Soon he met Potential again. This time, it was an old woman carrying a bundle of hay on her head. She was slow. She was in the middle of the road. She was not moving. Obatala was outraged. She asked for help in transporting the hay. Obatala complied, but the dust and seeds from the hay became stuck in the palm oil when he took it from her. Potential laughed. Obatala was suspicious.</p> <p>After failing one more test like this and being covered in who knows what from head to toe, Obatala was spotted by a local chief riding one of the king's horses. The chief was suspicious and got a posse together to have the beggar arrested for stealing the king's horse. Obatala protested, showed his divination tools, which caused great laughter: surely this was not the high and mighty Obatala. The mad man was thrown into a very small cage for being a beggar, a thief AND a liar.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Shango's merger and acquisition was failing, and bad luck, loving its own kind, invited more hard luck to besiege the kingdom. It was becoming epic, this hard time. Years past. Not a peep was ever heard from Obatala, but the horse was back in the stable. A local diviner was finally summoned who said that all the problems lead to Obatala being in jail in the kingdom. A great search was launched among the fiefdoms. Finally, after more than a decade of rough imprisonment, Obatala was found and released. The bad luck spell was broken. The kingdom began to flourish and business was booming. Obatala was awarded a section of the kingdom as compensation.</p> <p>This Yoruba tale comes from what we call modern day Nigeria. So does Mr. Njoku's family name.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">False Belief in Live Action Phising</span></strong></p> <p>I am knowing a few things.</p> <p>A black man with a foreign name goes into a bank with a very large check from the bank issued to him. He has no checking account there, but does have a home loan...and a paid car loan...and a NIgerian sounding last name. &nbsp;"Dear Beloved, I am Ikenna Njoku and I am the son and sole beneficiary of a great oil man who has recently died leaving me all his accounts abroad. I need your help in cashing the checks from his British accounts as I do not trust the banks here..." You got that letter right? <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/one-hack-of-a-crime-wave-or-so-they-say-20110625-1gkrf.html" title="Phising and cybercrime overestimated" target="_blank">Well, the customer service rep in charge of large deposits at the bank thought she had</a>.</p> <p>When does a black man walk into a Chase bank in Auburn, Washington with an official Chase Bank check made out to him for $8463.21, and ask to CASH it? &nbsp;When? The day that Mr. Njoku did. The day before he was arrested for forgery and trying to pass a bad check.</p> <p>I know some things about Chase Bank. For example, it matters which branch you use. It matters a lot. I recently deposited a very large check into my personal account that was made out to me and my DBA name because, surprise surprise, my <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.dailyfinance.com/2011/05/13/bank-overdraft-fees-still-plague-american-consumers/" title="The Plague of overdraft fees" target="_blank">business account was overdrawn...by a few dollars, which turned into a $125</a>&nbsp;expense as payments were honored and fees piled high. It was a classic timing scenario compounded by moves my credit union was trying to force me into. So, in classic Steel Magnolia form, I just got quiet and sat, as we say back home in Mississippi, to see what the right road would become.</p> <p>I deposited said check, and HALF of it had an immediate hold on it. It was a Thursday, close to closing time, just like the day Mr. Njoku inexplicably decided that his errands were more important than waiting for the bank teller to clear his check and identity through Chase Corporate; the day he left the check at his bank. Oh. I forgot to tell you that he was at HIS branch, the SAME branch that had cut the check which they were now saying was not legit. But unlike Mr. Njoku, I decided not to get so exasperated that I could not see a possible resolution. I asked the teller if anything could be done and he said no, the money would be available on Monday. I did not believe him.</p> <p>I carefully took my receipt and thanked the teller, got in my car and broke into a panic. I had to pay 13 other people the amount exactly equivalent to the hold on the deposit. So, I got on the phone. I went no where. I called friends for reassurance. I called friends for explanations. I called friends for jokes. I did not get on the road because bad luck loves its own kind. I told myself to accept responsibility for not going to my PO Box earlier in the day, thus causing my transaction to happen in the future even though I was there right now. I acknowledged that Potential was asking me to choose projects: I chose my people, my show. Potential was asking me which choices was I willing to see. One friend told me to celebrate. &nbsp;"Be grateful that you just deposited a huge check!" Yes. Another told me, "That shit happened to me, too, you just have to call the central admin and they'll release it right then." Yes, okay. Another friend told me 3 jokes that made me cry laughing.</p> <p>Then I got on the road with a plan, a time table, a goal, a mission: 13 people would be paid on Saturday.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Haste Makes Waste</strong></span></p> <p>Inneka Njoku had to run some errands. They were important to him. However, to the teller, it was cause for suspicion. Who walks away from an $8463.21 check to run some errands? By the time he returned, the bank was closed. When he called customer service asking what to do, they told him to come back the next day, which was a Friday. On my next day, also a Friday, I went to a different branch. A big one, a pretty one, one where they meet you at the door and say hello and ask you what you need. I pulled out my receipt for the deposit, gave my card, my ID, my loveliest smile, and made my request. I am not a black man. I do not have a Nigerian-sounding last name.&nbsp;</p> <p>Even though the accounts had wildness--I am newly self-employed in LA in an undercapitalized business--the customer service rep waited and punched code after code. It took almost 30 minutes for her to get a reply back that the bank of the check I had deposited had closed for the day, but that Chase was willing to verify available funds at open of business on Saturday. It was a check from the City, drawn from an out of state account. The hold was put on by the branch, not by any central Chase policy.</p> <p>On Njoku's next day, also a Friday, he went to pick up what he thought was cash, and instead was arrested. After 4 pm, close of banking business, the branch discovered that he was not lying, it was his check and they had issued it to him. They left a message with a detective who had gone home for the weekend.</p> <p>Njoku sat in jail for 3 days. Njoku was suspicious. No one believed him. Njoku lost:</p> <ol> <li>His job</li> <li>His car</li> <li>His check, temporarily, as it was IMPOUNDED as evidence</li> </ol> <p>Because bad luck loves its own kind, the impounded check, which was more than enough to get his towed car out of the impound was not available so the car went to auction. It had been parked "on the street," (I am guessing in a very short time zone) when he was arrested. He had already paid for the car. He is an at-will construction worker, so he lost his job the moment he did not show up for it on Friday. And that check was direct deposited into his non-existent checking account, a refund from the federal government since, among other things, Mr. Njoku is a 28 year old first time home buyer who took advantage of <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~bitly.com/qQYMRI" title="Home Buyers tax credit options" target="_blank">President Obama's tax relief for home owners</a>.</p> <p>Potential met Mr. Njoku so that we could really meet our banking system.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Chaste Decision Making or Are We All 'Just Doing Our Jobs?'</strong></span></p> <p>It is awful what he went through last year. It is repugnant that Chase has yet to fix their error. That teller kicked over his dominoes. At least he still has his house. After all that he has been through Potential sent one of his sons, a lawyer, to speak on his behalf. Next Potential sent <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.king5.com/news/125105599.html" title="Njoku Tells his story on KING5 News" target="_blank">KING5 News to report on the story</a>. Then Potential sent The Consumerist to post the story, where Potential had Aimee Allison of <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~rootsaction.org/" title="RootsAction" target="_blank">RootsAction Network</a> read it. Next, Potential asked me to call my dear friend Aimee to check to see if she was really awake at almost midnight. Then Potential asked Aimee to ask me to write on this story after I told her that folk tale about Obatala. Now Potential is asking you to see your choices. Potential tossed around Ikenna Njoku who now stands as yet another stark example that forces us to recognize that <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~www.outsidethebeltway.com/free-checking-and-rewards-programs-poor-subsiziding-the-rich/" title="Excessive Overdraft Fees on the poor support free services for wealthy clients" target="_blank">our banking system exists as a way to extract the majority of their customer's money, to support the gambling habits of the bankers and subsidize the rich</a>. We are now forced to question what a good neighbor is, what (or who) funds Chase Community Giving, and to reflect on the catch phrase "chase what matters."</p> <p>I know some things about Chase Bank: each branch can set its own policy with regards to high amount deposits based on the community it serves. This reeks of redlining. Central administration can intercede and change the decision if you persist. Further, the way you string your accounts together and the frequency with which you use them determines the monthly fee you pay, as low as free. This must be done in consultation with a banker. If you do not ask, they do not tell and you. That is just short of fraud.&nbsp;In essence, if you think you do not have time to spare to figure all this out because your quality of life is in danger of collapsing week to week, then be prepared to meet Potential on the road. It is best to accept responsibility first before you do. Things might resolve more quickly.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Will you Chase what matters? Or take your time to create what works?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p> <object height="264" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="470"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <param name="cachebusting" value="true" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> <param name="movie" value="http://media.bimvid.com/designvideo/bimvid_player-3_2_7.swf" /> <param name="flashvars" value="config=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252F%253Fj%253D125105599%2526ref%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252Fnews%252F125105599.html" /> <embed src="http://media.bimvid.com/designvideo/bimvid_player-3_2_7.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="264" flashvars="config=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252F%253Fj%253D125105599%2526ref%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.king5.com%252Fnews%252F125105599.html" width="470"></embed> </object> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/chase-bank-oblivious-to-what-matters">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/chase-bank-oblivious-to-what-matters#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040942/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/fourth-of-july-2011 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:07:00 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040950/0/afrological~Fourth-of-July http://afrological.com/fourth-of-july-2011 <![CDATA[<p> <p>Happy Birthday USA! Now let us point out some of the most incredible ironies: how do we celebrate the birth of nation that meant the death of so many others and the imprionment and enslavement of entire ethnic groups of people from the Western Coast of the Continent of Africa, large swaths of Scotland and all of Ireland? Imagine, if you will, a nation facing its history of conquest and crimes, seeking reconciliation and seeking a present, not only a future, but a present, a nownow, that was inclusive and dismissive of the amazing variety of people that we call "Americans." Would that not be one nation under a groove?</p> <p> </p> <p><object style="height: 390px;"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/pNoj-PZbcO8?version=3" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/pNoj-PZbcO8?version=3" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="390" width="640"></embed></param></param></param></object></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040950/0/afrological~Fourth-of-July">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040950/0/afrological~Fourth-of-July#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>Happy Birthday USA! Now let us point out some of the most incredible ironies: how do we celebrate the birth of nation that meant the death of so many others and the imprionment and enslavement of entire ethnic groups of people from the Western Coast of the Continent of Africa, large swaths of Scotland and all of Ireland? Imagine, if you will, a nation facing its history of conquest and crimes, seeking reconciliation and seeking a present, not only a future, but a present, a nownow, that was inclusive and dismissive of the amazing variety of people that we call "Americans." Would that not be one nation under a groove?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><object style="height: 390px;"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/pNoj-PZbcO8?version=3" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/pNoj-PZbcO8?version=3" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="390" width="640"></embed></param></param></param></object></p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/fourth-of-july-2011">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/fourth-of-july-2011#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040950/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/we-are-royalty Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:58:00 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040957/0/afrological~We-Are-Royalty http://afrological.com/we-are-royalty <![CDATA[<p> <p>Another song to know! The Youth from Crenshaw area schools have learned this song. Put your ancestor into the mix at the call!</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_video_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040957/0/afrological~We-Are-Royalty"><img alt="" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/video.posterous.com/temp-2011-06-24/hcEsuqjuAmxEhiwCfuxbjJFIseqDEHnHHlsndecnmqdrlGiwdyusvpjejCbb/frame_0000.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>VIDEO0076.3gp</strong> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040957/0/afrological~We-Are-Royalty">Watch on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040957/0/afrological~We-Are-Royalty">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040957/0/afrological~We-Are-Royalty#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>Another song to know! The Youth from Crenshaw area schools have learned this song. Put your ancestor into the mix at the call!</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_video_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/we-are-royalty"><img alt="" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/video.posterous.com/temp-2011-06-24/hcEsuqjuAmxEhiwCfuxbjJFIseqDEHnHHlsndecnmqdrlGiwdyusvpjejCbb/frame_0000.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>VIDEO0076.3gp</strong> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/we-are-royalty">Watch on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/we-are-royalty">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/we-are-royalty#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040957/0/afrological"> </div> http://afrological.com/learn-this-for-festival-of-the-mask Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:40:00 -0700 http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040965/0/afrological~Learn-this-for-Festival-of-The-Mask http://afrological.com/learn-this-for-festival-of-the-mask <![CDATA[<p> <p>This Sunday, June 26, 2011 in Leimert Park in Los Angeles,CA the procession begins at 3pm. This event by Najité, who is leading the song in the video.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_video_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040965/0/afrological~Learn-this-for-Festival-of-The-Mask"><img alt="" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/video.posterous.com/temp-2011-06-24/mCnIzHydouBBtoxgzjsfhvalJlopBhbhxfeHbzDyEIplwcpzmxFJCwgDCuem/frame_0000.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>VIDEO0074.3gp</strong> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040965/0/afrological~Learn-this-for-Festival-of-The-Mask">Watch on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040965/0/afrological~Learn-this-for-Festival-of-The-Mask">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/30040965/0/afrological~Learn-this-for-Festival-of-The-Mask#comment">Leave a comment »</a> </p>]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/882524/AnnaBScottLectures.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGgJgBOsYkV Anna B Scott Vita Vibrare Anna B Scott <div style="clear:left"><p> <p>This Sunday, June 26, 2011 in Leimert Park in Los Angeles,CA the procession begins at 3pm. This event by Najit&eacute;, who is leading the song in the video.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_video_embed'> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/learn-this-for-festival-of-the-mask"><img alt="" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/video.posterous.com/temp-2011-06-24/mCnIzHydouBBtoxgzjsfhvalJlopBhbhxfeHbzDyEIplwcpzmxFJCwgDCuem/frame_0000.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>VIDEO0074.3gp</strong> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/learn-this-for-festival-of-the-mask">Watch on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/learn-this-for-festival-of-the-mask">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/t/0/0/afrological/~afrological.com/learn-this-for-festival-of-the-mask#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><Img align="left" border="0" height="1" width="1" style="border:0;float:left;margin:0;padding:0" hspace="0" src="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/i/30040965/0/afrological"> </div>