In December 2001, Dean Kamen unveiled his latest invention, The Segway, a two wheeled battery powered scooter that can take people -umm- around the block and back? Not much more efficient than the other two wheeled invention called the bicycle. Many people still see them on the street or on TV and are befuddled by it’s awkwardness.

A couple of months before the Segway is released, American and British forces invade Afghanistan in retaliation for the Sept. 11th bombings, the day is October 7, 2001.

Two years later, March 20, 2003, with the war still being fought in Afghanistan, US decided to invade Iraq. The events that unfold still continue to change the course of world history.
Still the Segway slow to ship at with it’s hefty price tag, $6,000, where do you park it? At the end of 2003, Segway recalled the 6,000 units sold because of power/safety issues, a technological glitch that only made matters worse given that they company projected that they would sell 50,000-100,000 that year.

Fast forward 2008, we’ve been at war for 7 years now. The two wars are still raging, draining life from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from America, despite the lies and lack of progress. A conundrum, a pretzel. Can you fast forward war? I’m sure a great many Americans would love to tiVo the whole thing, fast forward and erase. I’m digressing -sort of, however remote these two diverging stories do eventually collide… in this CNN video report, Segway comes to the service of returning amputee veterans… On the surface technology seems to have saved the day again, but I don’t think that’s the end of it.

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Stories linked in this post:

“Amputee vets see eye-to-eye on Segways” by Paul Courson
May 5, 2008 CNN Video

“Segway sales haven’t transported maker” by Dawn Kawamoto
Sept 29, 2003, C|Net News

Browsing internet radios, we have been hooked on BBC’s The Forum. It’s a weekly 45min talk show hosted by Bridget Kendall that discusses various topics with guest of diverging minds: scientist, artist, writers, anthropologist, philosophers,  etc. and scholars thereof. It’s nice to get a big picture on various topics relate, both historically and contemporaneously, a clear indication they are all tugging on different threads of one cloth. The only issue I have with the show is that it isn’t archived, so you have to catch it weekly otherwise it’ll be gone next week. I discovered that after wishing to replay a show from 3 weeks ago which talked about time being “like a river”/time travel being possible in the future, and how, even going back as far as the Greek’s, we’ve been on the hunt for the theory of everything.

*Also at the end of the show they invite one of the guest to suggest in 60 seconds and idea to change the world. This weeks idea is one that relates to the of “power through individual consumption and choice”, a power that can start with vegetarianism. (May 4, 2008)

Bent Festival is back in NYC. This Friday through Sunday. Last year we caught Archangel Constantini (MX) bending it like a mad scientist. This year there is a whole new line up, including Aa (Big A Little a), who knew they were big on bending, either way they’re fun to watch.

For all those who don’t know what circuit bending is, here’s a primer:

Cambodia, 1974, photo by Dith Pran. Dith Pran/New York Times.

If you haven’t see the film “The Killing Fields” since it came out in the eighties, perhaps now would be an appropriate time. Dith Pran, the photojournalist and war prisoner who’s story is told by the film has passed away March 31st from cancer just as the Cambodian War Crime Tribunal gears up for a heart wrenching search for truth and justice. 5 top war criminals are being tried in the Khmer Rouge “Year Zero” genocide were an estimated 1.7 million people were killed.

After watching the DVD with bonus material I learned about the rather ironic death of Haing S. Ngor, the actor who played Dith Pran in “The Killing Fields”. Haing S. Ngor, who was a prisoner of war himself and found it difficult to reenact some of the scenes, eventually made a new life for himself in the US but in 1996 was shot to death in an attempted robbery. He escaped the grasp of the Khamer Rouge only to die in a country who still believes that we should be allowed to bear arms.

Sydney H. Schanberg, his partner is still alive.

New York Times article has many more photos of and by Dith Pran and a very recent interview at his bedside. “Dith Pran, Photojournalist and Survivor of the Killing Fields, Dies at 65″ by Douglas Martin, March 21, 2008

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Upsetting fact of living in the U.S.A.: If you attend a college in Utah you can now carry a concealed weapon, with the proper license of course. In 2006 Utah Supreme court allowed guns on college campuses. The opinion is guns in the hands of law abiding citizens can save lives. The CNN report Right to Bear Arms on Campus?

Laguna de San Gabriel, Los Angeles, California, May 16, 1965 opening day, by Eloy Zarate and Benjamin Dominguez family as appeared in this NPR article.

After reading and listening to a few accounts of new Hamas-made hole-in-the-wall that separates Gaza and Egypt, I couldn’t help but notice the many flexible uses of concrete in the area, depending on which story you read in the New York Times…

Here Steven Erlinger reports the brighter more optimistic uses…

Muhammad Mowab, 22, a student and barber, bought a cartload of cement for $5.40 a bag, compared with $81 now in Gaza, where Israel has banned importing cement except for specific humanitarian projects. “I’ve been waiting a year to get married, so I can build a house,” he said, then laughed. “Now there are no more excuses.” - “Palestinians Topple Gaza Wall and Cross to Egypt”, By Steven Erlanger, New York Times, January 24, 2008

Next day, he sites the mournful uses…

And many Gazans simply wanted to buy fresh milk and feta cheese and fill canisters with diesel fuel, gasoline, motor oil and cooking oil. Some bought the cement needed to make concrete for sealing the graves of their loved ones, which they have had to try to protect with paving stones, metal and boards. “More Business Than Pleasure for Hurried Palestinians”, By Steven Erlanger, New York Times, January 25, 2008.

Later that same day, he sites the criminal uses for cement, this view not his own or from an interviewee, but a statement from Israel.

Hamas gunmen could be seen quietly taking delivery of hundreds of bags of cement. Israel has sharply restricted cement imports to Gaza, even for aid projects, because it says Hamas diverts the supply to build fortified tunnels and emplacements for use against any major Israeli military action. -“Tens of Thousands More From Gaza Enter Egypt Seeking Consumer Goods”, By Steven Erlanger, New York Times, January 25, 2008.

I began to wonder if Steven Erlanger was the only guy reporting from the Gaza?? A couple of days later, on January 28th, I heard a radio report on the BBC that was similar to his Steven Erlanger’s first report, it had an interview with a Palestinian, in the interview the Palestinian was excited about purchasing cement from Egypt to repair his home, again stating that it might attract a wife. (I couldn’t find the link to the story because the BBC’s website has the WORST search capabilities, but if you heard it too, email us the link)

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Image above, a more innocent use of concrete at the Laguna de San Gabriel cement playground in California, circa 1960. Even here, American’s have found a danger to this use…(read rest of that report on NPR “Residents Unite to Save Concrete Animal Park” by Jennifer Sharpe)

“Towards a Critical Faculty” reader compiled by Stuart Bailey aka Dexter Sinister

I was pleasantly surprised to find Stuart Bailey listed as one of the artist to be included in this years Whitney Biennial 2008. I’m curious as to what he will be offering to the show. From what I gather, his work is without form, or if in a tangible sense then in book form, that is, ideas put into print.

Stuart Bailey is Dexter Sinister (the occasional bookshop) is Dot Dot Dot (the design + culture musings magazine). I’ve read a few bits here and there, specifically his “Towards a Critical Faculty” lecture notes (pictured on left), which gave me, among many other things, ideas on how to move away from an object/skills-centric course and it also gave me the impetus to modify the existing design thinking process by making it more active, despite it being discouragingly labeled overly optimistic and un-pragmatic. I also learned that he taught at the Rietveld Akademie in Amsterdam at some point, before my student days there (1995). Back then, I might have not taken his course anyhow since I was in the sculpture department which was a good hop skip and a jump away from the main “practical” arts building.

On the topic of the biennial’s selection, a few weeks ago I was talking to a friend of mine who mentioned that many artist he knows will be in this years Biennial, he and I had this I-don’t-know-why feeling that some how this year’s selection seems different: Not not so much “noise”, or at least not yet. Which is a good thing, Stuart Bailey/Dexter Sinister should fit right in.

More Dexter Sinister PDF publications can be found in the Library… enjoy.

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UPDATE 03/11/08:

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Paper Mag has this scoop:

” […] Stuart Bailey and David Reinfurt […] invited 25 other artists to write press releases, to be distributed at the Park Avenue Armory.”
-All In The Family by Alex Gartenfeld, PaperMag March 4, 2008

It happens. Just didn’t think it would happen to our benign little corner of myspace. I still don’t know why they removed our entire profile, I emailed them a couple of times and they wrote me this response:

Hello,

We do not keep records of removed profiles or images. If it was removed by Myspace, it was because of a violation of our terms and conditions - which can include a number of issue (inappropriate images, spam, cyber bullying, underage use, etc). Please review our terms for further assistance:

[URL SCRUBBED]

Please note that once an account has been deleted, there is no way to re-activate the account or retrieve any of the information.

If this does not answer your question, please click:

[URL SCRUBBED]

Thank you,
MySpace.com

For a while I thought that maybe it was the post: Cowboy Swordfight Slips by Censorship. Whatever~! They could’ve just pulled that and be done with it. And I thought I was doing them a favor by actively reporting fake profiles, phishers, and other sorts of shenanigans on their site… Ha! Zero tolerance, zero love.
…So until I roll up my sleeves to work on the code, our myspace link on the right and where ever else it resides is going to be broken.