Two Crazy Ideas

1) Multi-DJ online mixing software - instead of mixing two tracks with two turn tables, imagine a network of listeners/DJs tuned to an interactive online/digital radio station where they can simultaneously mix tracks and listen to others mixing. As you listen to Daft Punk another user mixes in Black Eyed Peas while another mixes in Simon and Garfunkel and another mixes in Parliament. Instead of being organized by genres, "stations" will be organized by tempo. With a vast number of users, the sound would undoubtedly be cluttered to say the least, if not cacophonous. So there would have to be a selection process to curate what mixes were mixed into the main output. Philosophically, I'd have to advocate for a randomized software that switches between the sounds produced by different users at random. Of course, random is programmed by humans. So you could have one station that switches users every 20-30 seconds, whereas another station would switch every milisecond (to make an extra special kind of grindcore) and another station would be all over the place, maybe only changing users once every couple of days or every six minutes.


It's a multi-platform (video game, app, website, etc.), multi-player DJing software that allows for not just one DJ, but hundreds or thousands. Using this interface, you can connect music fans on every continent so that even the penguins in Ant-Arctica can enjoy your club event.

Imagine you are on the subway. On your train, there might be 5-20 other users, and a few of them might be logged in at the same tempo. You get off the train and keep listening to the mix as you walk to the event (it's SoulDub night at your local bar). And when you get there, the same mix is playing, but on a BOOMing sound system. No DJ - YOU are the DJ! You can mix or chat with friends as you have a drink, and when your Spearhead track fades into the mix you get an enthusiastic reaction from your friends. When you go home, maybe you switch to the 60 bpm station for some "lullabies" before bed.

I'm excited about this idea. This idea is cool. I have a feeling the technology is emerging, so it will happen soon.

2) [WARNING: This idea sucks.] Reading a book through tweets - instead of sitting down and reading, have a paragraph tweeted to you on a regular basis, say once every five minutes. I don't like the idea of reading and multitasking (it's pretty much the opposite of mindful media usage), but that is the direction our media environment is heading.

Inner Space - The Final Frontier

"Space: the Final Frontier" - I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and this message echoes in my ears. But as I explore the role of the blogosphere, social media and web 2.0 in general, I find that virtual space is the new frontier. Just as the American West was a frontier fraught with conflict and conquest, so too is the virtual world. So outer space is not the final frontier. Here are some other frontiers we are just beginning to explore:

1) The earth's deep oceans and caves.
2) The brain.
3) The quantum world and potential "multiverses."
4) Inner space.

I think of inner space as mind, the place where our thoughts dwell, which is implicitly related to our brain, heart, body and spiritual self or "soul." Exploration of our thoughts through deep contemplation is a frontier most have little time or energy to encounter in their daily lives. Recently, I've been finding it difficult to budget time for mindfulness exercises or contemplative reflection. The absence of this time manifests itself as boredom or mild depression. Finding new and creative ways to engage thoughts gives life a lot of meaning, so I hope to use a few of the tools below to explore transcendence:

1) yoga
2) sitting meditation/mindfulness exercises
3) DC Shambhala Center
4) All Souls Unitarian Church
5) walking mindfully

Finally, this blog often becomes a repository for politicized media. But I want mindful media to be more than that. Peace and justice are a natural extension of mindfulness, for as we build mindfulness of ourselves, we are disposed to build mindfulness of others (i.e. compassion). However, balancing (and ultimately transcending) the self/other divide is key to practicing mindfulness. So my desire to explore inner space is a selfish desire, but one which may help rebalance my life and this blog in favor of compassion.

Anti-Nuclear Movement Galvanizes Japanese Youth

April 10, 2011 - Koenji, Tokyo
Anti-Nuclear Demonstration

Republicans Ruin Cherry Blossom Parade?

"Let's hope Republicans don't ruin the Cherry Blossom parade, destroy DC's tourism industry, and distract from relief efforts to Japan."

Republicans blocking the passage of the federal budget could cause a government shutdown this week. Washington, D.C. would be disproportionately affected by this shutdown. That's because DC is a federal district, meaning its budget must be approved by Congress, despite the fact that the District has no representation in Congress. Actually, DC does have a Rep., but she can't vote... she's awesome. Today she told the Congress to "Go straight to hell":

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton Upset Over Treatment of DC During Shutdown Resolution Talks: MyFoxDC.com

How will the shutdown affect DC? Basic services such as trash collection will be lost. The DMV will be shut down. The Smithsonian museums, typically free to the public, will be closed. And the national monuments administered by the National Park Service will be closed, too. That means a HUGE blow to DC's tourism industry. The National Cherry Blossom festival is supposed to culminate Saturday with a parade, but the parade might be canceled because it crosses National Park services land. Luckily, the Japan America Society of Washington, D.C. plans to continue with its event, the annual sakura matsuri on Saturday, despite threats from Republicans and Rain. Proceeds will go to disaster relief in Tohoku.

The cherry blossoms reached their peak in D.C. last week. Here are some pics from the District.







Let's hope Republicans don't ruin the parade, destroy DC's tourism industry and distract from relief efforts to Japan. I hope everyone will enjoy the cherry blossoms this weekend anyway.

SOA Watch April Days of Action

Today marks the beginning of the School Of the Americas Watch April Days of Action. Let's take this opportunity to educate ourselves about the School Of the Americas (now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation or WHINSEC). Throughout the week, I hope to produce media which amplifies the voice of the protesters and activists calling for an end to the abusive curriculum taught at WHINSEC. Though the Institute claims it has made reforms to its education to include human rights education, groups like Human Rights Watch argue that these reforms are not substantive enough. From Wikipedia's article on WHINSEC:

Defenders argue that today the curriculum includes human rights,^[9] but according to Human Rights Watch, "training alone, even when it includes human rights instruction, does not prevent human rights abuses."^[11] U.S. Army Maj. Joe Blair, a former director of instruction at the school, said, "there are no substantive changes besides the name. [...] They teach the identical courses that I taught, and changed the course names and use the same manuals."^[10]

Indeed, how can training soldiers how to kill or police suppress non-violent resistance through violent means is a direct violation of the most basic principles of human rights.

In solidarity with Father Roy Bourgeois and the other activists fasting to demonstrate their hunger for justice, I will take the small step of skipping lunch each day this week. Instead, I will play freerice.com for one hour a day. With the intention of supporting the closure and reform of the School Of the Americas, I also intend to work against world hunger. The money raised from freerice.com will go to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti through the world food bank. And the more support there is for relief efforts in Haiti, the more I hope resources will be available for relief efforts in Japan. All struggles for peace and justice are interconnected.



This post reminds me that sometimes the forces that bring human suffering are natural phenomenon beyond human control. Though the commanders who taught abusive practices at WHINSEC should be brought to justice, the tsunami that hit Japan was beyond anyone's control or imagination. Though TEPCO should be held responsible for its negligent preparation and ill-managed response to the disaster, it did not create the earthquake and tsunami. Much like a tsunami, America's military-industrial complex has become like a force of nature. Our collective action as a nation, government and global citizens is responsible for the havoc and suffering created by war. In some small way, each of us must find how we can hold each other and ourselves accountable, say NO! to war, and strive for peace and justice in the face of incalculable odds.

SOA Watch Days of Action Kick-Off Event

April 1, 2011 - Washington, D.C. - SOA Watch and the Washington Peace Center teamed up to launch the April Days of Action, a week of grassroots events to close the School Of the Americas (SOA, a.k.a. WHINSEC). Musicians performed at Ras to raise funds for the Washington Peace Center and spread awareness about the School Of the Americas. This three-man band represents "a blend of musical traditions such as cumbia, salsa, and traditional Andean music. From three different countries in Latin America, the three make their music with instruments such as the homemade cajónes, the charango, and Andean pan pipes. Theirs is a hand-crafted, lively sound that will make your feet move." Ras is a relatively new venue, and every Friday they host fundraisers for social justice causes.

poster near Meridian Hill Park

buttons for sale!

SOA Watch representative making a speech

crowd

band

DJ setting up to play after the band

Institutions like Guantanamo Bay, Abu Grahib, and the School Of the Americas are an embarrassment to U.S. policies and values. By sanctioning torture, summary execution and other human rights violations, these military bases have subverted the principles of democracy which the American government and military purportedly defend. Until these institutions are radically reformed to promote peace and justice, they should be closed and defunded. U.S. tax dollars spent on militarizing Latin America only threaten our national security. Rather than spending millions on failing wars, let's create educational programs aimed at tackling the most pressing global challenges, such as hunger, poverty, wellness and sustainability.

Take action here!

iPhone vs. Android: Technology, Identity and Mindfulness

As if there were any other choice. "I don't need a cell phone," is a notion likely to be met with skeptical stares implying insanity. And who wants an old-fashioned "cell phone" anyway? A slider, razor, flip phone, Blackberry, Palm? No - those aren't for me. I want an intelligent, high-tech, trendy, all-mighty digital device. I need a SMARTPHONE.

After returning to America last week, I was plagued with indecision about which phone to buy. A naturally indecisive person, the "bundle" of decisions about which carrier, contract, device, data plan, etc. to use to connect with friends, family and the omnipresent cloud has overwhelmed me to no end. As a wannabe techy and purported "mindful media" user, the choice was doubly complicated. Making a blunder on this technical frontier would be an embarrassing mishap for a savvy young urbanite like me (read yuppie).

As I pondered the delicate matter, I consulted a variety of resources. A plethora of smartphone comparisons and consumer buying guides are available online. It's gotta be the holy grail of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to get one's blog on the top page of Google's search results for "iPhone vs. Android." Handy flash applications, such as this mobile phone configurator, aim to simplify the decision-making process. Through a series of questions about a user's priorities, this survey recommends a phone based on reviews. This is software to help us decide about hardware, media to help us decide about media.

Burdened by the excitement and innumerable factors to consider, I put off getting my phone for well over a week. I sought advice. My partner suggested I get a refurbished phone. This appealed to the environmentalist in me - I would be "upcycling," reusing a product that another user had discarded. A potential employer told me she was leaning toward Android because of its tethering feature. My sister told me she was unhappy with the speed of her iPhone 3G. In the spirit of mindful media, I decided to take this as an opportunity to learn about the wireless telecommunications industry in America and did my own research (although I wish I had done much more.) I narrowed the choice down to a decision between a refurbished iPhone and one of two Droids with a dual-core processor that makes it more like a new computer than a simple phone.

In the end, I bought a Motorola Atrix through AT&T, the latest and greatest in Droid phones. The decision was based less on a comprehensive understanding of the technology involved, more an identity statement driven by emotion and intuition. (I would argue that most consumer decisions are made using this framework, a type of decision-making cultivated by advertising, marketing and PR.)

So what does buying and android say about me? Here's my perception:

1) Android = anti-Apple (which is the new Microsoft...omg, I would never even consider the Windows phone) I felt the need to offset my loyalty to Apple. As a consumer, I feel I increase my influence by varying the brands I buy.

2) Android is open source. If you learn a little about programming, you can do a lot more with this phone.

3) The device is powerful. The high speed processor and the 4G standard put the Motorola Atrix on the cutting edge of wireless technology (for now.) I want a device that is going to maximize my power in the information age.

4) The phone is sleek, and it looks like an iPhone. The iPhone caused the smartphone paradigm shift, and I maintain some sort of allegiance to the original elegant design. Apple is great at that.

5) I'm a geek. Spending so much time and money on my cell phone makes me seem smarter.

I think point 3 is particularly important. Technology is about power.

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Despite the self-deprecating tone of this post, I'm happy with my choice. I have a new toy! And I hope to cultivate the knowledge and wisdom to use it well.