March 31, 2006

Simultaneous Games of the 20th Century


This is the web site of an interactive, animated CD-ROM named 20th Century Simultaneous Games -- a personal view of Europe of the twenties, upset and devastated by World War I, revolutions and ideologies, depicted with absurd humor, and lashed by the provocative actions of avant-garde art; dadaism, futurism, constructivism, surrealism...

Hugo Ball and Marcel Duchamp in a serious conversation

 March 29, 2006

FlipClips

Make a Flip Book out of your Home Video with FlipClips

My good pal Jesse spotted this one the other day -- a very cool little thingamajig that lets you turn your videos into a little paper flipbook you can carry around with you, give as gifts, create art and such with, etc... If I end up getting more into shooting video again I might have to try this out, but I think it's a creative use of technology and paper, not to mention fairly affordable lo-grade entertainment.

VIEW CLIP

 March 26, 2006

Feelin' quite peachy...

Some of you out there who've been reading Olla since last Spring might recall the post about the peach tree that sprouted up in my backyard, unannounced, in the area that dAS and I have tossed all of the various pits and seeds as compost for years and years. Last year, the tree bore its first fruit-- little tiny, delicious and sweet-smelling/tasting beauties-- about 32 total. This year, the blossoms are absolutely gorgeous-- nearly knocked me off my feet when I saw them after all the rain we've had for months on end.

Here's a quick pic I snapped before work the other day, the colour is quite accurate even though the lighting from a very cloudy morning made me second-guess my shutter speeds quite a bit:



Click the pic to see a larger view of the entire tree.

Happy Springtimey Greets!!

 March 25, 2006

No Other Radio audio archives (3/21)

LIVE SPOTLIGHT
FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN
performance + interview in the KPFA STUDIOS



hosted by dAS
(co-host Ninah Pixie)

Check out archived audio from the show 3/21/06:

http://157.22.130.4/data/20060322-Wed0000.mp3

Playlist is available at the No Other Radio blog

More photos of the live performance can be viewed here.

 March 24, 2006

PBS Now

Show on PBS at the moment, we're catching the end of, but it's powerfully informative and I feel, important to watch. If you get PBS check in at their site for more info on this show called NOW (link)

While you visit the site, check down to the lower right column and vote for their poll:

Should the Defense Department be allowed to spy on anti-government activists?

eeek. Just checked in to vote and see 41% say YES. This is looney. Please go vote, so we can end up with a percentage that makes sense.

 March 23, 2006

Noise cookies...



Just a word from your friendly-neighborhood noise-pixie to say that I'm still at it, working my leetle fingers to the bone, adding more squint lines to my face and taking years off my life (probably) with each sniff of flux from the soldering pen. Thought I'd send a snapshot from behind my worktable (me holding up a prototype of the finished packaging). If you look you'll see the module inside is being held together with electrical tape, wheeee- the real ones will actually be hot-glued and much more aesthetically pleasing.

I'm soooooooooo frakkin' tired but I have to admit, it's soooo worth every hour of sleep I've lost, knowing that I'm one noise-cookie closer to finishing this crazy thing! A little meaningless trivia for you: "noise-cookies" are what I've nicknamed the little sound modules before I assemble them onto the boards that fit in the packaging. The little round speaker is just too cute, and with all the other riff-raff poking out and hundreds of them in a row like that, it's just reminded me of baking cookies. The packaging comes in four colours-- neon pink, glowey violet-purple, turquoisey-blue and tangerine. The flower is part of the gadget that you touch to make "the NOISE". And yes, Virginia, there is a JACK.

More soonly!!!!

I totally promise-- I have stuff queue'd up to post here, but I'm probably in trouble now wasting my time with this update when I should actually have been putting up the No Other Radio archives and playlist from the other night. Sigh. It was a really great show, and once I get the mp3 up here (if you listen) you'll hear for yourself. Ferrara Brain Pan played a human thigh bone during part of his set (described in detail in the short interview after the performance). Really worth hearing. Ok, I promised myself I'd do a few more noise-cookies before bedtime, so off I go.

Oh a request--- if anyone has some good online stuff (streaming or downloadable) to throw my way (audio!) so I can listen to some fresh meat without having to continually throw cd's onto the player (I am still sans mp3-player-pod-thing at this point), I'd greatly appreciate it!

xoxo
happysquintynoizeepixie

 March 21, 2006

Tuesday 3/21: KPFA 'No Other Radio Network'

11:59pm (PST) ::: RADIO: 94.1 FM / Berkeley CA

:::: NO OTHER RADIO NETWORK ::::

listen to KPFA ONLINE (live internet stream)

LIVE SPOTLIGHT:
FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN
Live performance in the KPFA studio

hosted by dAS (co-host Ninah Pixie)

FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN is the musical nom-de-guerre of San Francisco multi-instrumentalist Ferrara Brain Pan.

Ferrara Brain Pan is a windplayer whose instrumental abilities range from the more familiar woodwinds such as flutes, saxophones, bass clarinet and recorders to such non-Western wind instruments as yidaki, shakuhachi, and kang ling or thighbone trumpet. In addition to these and other wind instruments, Ferrara also performs on the bowed psaltery, harmonium, glockenspiel, and Tibetan singing bowls (typically augmenting and/or treating all of these with electronic signal processors, loops and devices).

Ferrara Brain Pan's checkered musical career includes early collaborations with noise music pioneer Boyd Rice (1970s), the mercifully short-lived goth-damage fiasco Bad Alchemy (80s), ambient dub project 23 Degrees (early 90s), and a recorded appearance on 1994's Rien by Krautrock legends Faust (produced by Jim O'Rourke). More recently the artist was co-founder (with Ure Thrall) of dark ambient duo Darmstadt Pharmacy. Ferrara's past and present creative endeavors extend to the media of visual arts, notably Mail Art and photomontage.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN: http://formsofthingsunknown.com

Station call line: (510) 848-4425

Since 1981, KPFA's NO OTHER RADIO NETWORK has pioneered and provided a forum for underground, noise, electronic, industrial, psycho acoustic and many other genres of music, in addition to featuring live interviews and performance over the airwaves.

We welcome artists to send us their works.

Archived playlists from all UBUIBI-hosted N.O.R.N. shows are available at the No Other Radio Network blog

MP3 Archives NOW AVAILABLE (in case you can't listen live)

 March 14, 2006

Metaversal Airweek Forecast (Mar 14-Mar 20)

Brought to you by Johannes Ayres...



THE METAVERSAL LIGHTCRAFT
HYPER-ABYSSIC ASTROLOGY FORECAST
AND LIGHT SPECIFIC YOGA PLATFORM
THE METAVERSAL AIRWEEK FORECAST

YETZIRAH
THE WORLD OF ACTIVE AIR
THIRD QUARTER MOON
-AIRWEEK-
March 14th to March 20th

TUESDAY, MARCH 14
Greetings to you, my fellow Immortals, you lightcrafty citizens of the Metaversal dream. In the transparent March air, an angel appears, flattened against a dividend of reality so temporal, so variegated, you'd be consumed by the blank empire of its shadow. With Mercury now retrograde, you may also see the ghosts of your words, painful, beautiful, pluck at the swollen sides of this Full Moon, it's light illuminating the carcass of a fish lying on cement near the entranceway to a tavern. Down the road, a young elf boy approaches slowly until he reaches the spot where the fish skeleton rests. There, he glances downward then stoops over the peculiar sight. Momentarily, ecstatic, he lifts the piscine remains by the tail and runs off into night, as the angel lovingly smiles at being the sole witness. This Full Moon peaks with an Eclipse. Each month we have a Full Moon but only every 6 months do the Sun, Earth, and the Moon align so precisely that we get an eclipse a chance to see through our fears and find new truths shining there in the dark. There is no reason for you to feel disillusioned or disappointed if love has seemingly let you down or passed you by. Those who bitterly declare that their lives are without love are mistakenly looking to someone or something outside themselves for love. Begin realizing now that love is first within you and can be released through your thoughts, feelings, words, and actions, as you begin developing love from within outward, you are truly proving your method to be spiritual scientific, and satisfying. You'll no longer feel at the mercy of people, situations, and conditions. Then like the little elf boy and his fishbone, you become master of your world and free from hurt, fear, disappointment and disillusionment.

Venus trines Jupiter like soothing angel voices on the breeze, dreaming the dream of a new reality - restructuring our experience of life through the sacred geometry of the Metaverse, as a time translation where Heaven and Earth unite. In just a few days we have the spring equinox, so we are ready for new growth, new life. Enough of us are already working around the clock to tear down the brutal vision of misery, the current temporal quotient of suffering, despondency, and total abject dread. The least you can do is be magnificent. With Uranus and Neptune in mutual receptivity, the Pisces Lunar cycle is a time for seeding conscious acts of revolutionary art. Research indicates that acts of poetic terrorisim benefit not only the person who receives and the person who gives it but also anyone who happens to witness it. As an American artist in the early part of 21st century, it is my job to make the inevitable revolution irresistible.

Pluto, who opposes Juno and squares Sun and Moon, conjoins the Galactic Center, heart of our galaxy as Sun is heart of our solar system. The Mayans consider that all of creation stems from this pivotal location in the galaxy. We have now a special opportunity to align with cosmic consciousness. This is exactly what our retrograde Mercury wants us to do. Whatever the shock or the change catalyzed now, it can push us off our habitual track and allow us to adopt a new perspective. In fact, eclipses tend to do that.

The Sabian Symbol for 25 Virgo is:
“A FLAG AT HALF-MAST IN FRONT OF A PUBLIC BUILDING. The social acknowledgement of a job well done and a destiny fulfilled. This symbol implies the ability to carry any task to its ultimate fulfillment, provided the task is carried out with reference to the need of a collectivity. The end result of an individual’s service to humankind. His personal failings may be forgotten but his achievements remain. They are given PUBLIC RECOGNITION.”

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15
The Moon enters the relationship sign of Libra before sunrise, increasing our awareness of others and our desire for peace and sharpens our social and diplomatic skills. However, the need to objectify emotions can limit spontaneity and cause us to lose our way in our attempts to please people. Libra represents the period from 23 to 42 years old, when partnerships are made and balance is sought between others and oneself. On the World scale Libra is between 400 and 1100 AD, when division of the church and state took over, and the Dark Ages swept over Europe and Asia. The opposition is symbolic of the fact that in order to emerge from the unconscious, internal conflicts must be brought out into the light of day. Marriage was the primary process through which opposing countries where integrated into a whole. With the Moon in Libra we are aware of our communal relations, law, justice and balance. The 7th house (Libra) has been called the house of marriage. The key to the New Aeon of MA'AT is figuring out the new symbol for Libra, as the institution of marriage was originally designed as a tool by the Church to secure it's future domination. Those that cannot find this new symbol and perform these symbolic rites on themselves and their tribe, and the whole fabric of material being, will inherit only the blues, decay, and husks. Think more in terms of partnership and remember, your heart must be light as a feather. Take this time to be good to your Libra ruled kidneys. These amazing organs filter some 400-500 hundred gallons of blood a day. Lemons, beets, cranberry juice and cabbage and leafy vegetables are all healing to your kidneys. Connect tonight with the zero point between Metaverse and Lightpilot through a moment of folded compassion. That timeless feeling that occurs when ones focus is completely in the present encompassing the folded space of the past and futures. As an iceskater who brings in her arms to speed up and have more spin, the thought tentacles that are brought from past and future to present and centered, concentrate intense spin AND AWARENESS. Here in the center of the lightening of spirit lies the infinite information hook-up which living cells require to survive. This electric fractal information con-centricity whispers the meaning and direction of a "long-wave" context. The long wave connection to all that is.

THURSDAY, MARCH 16
We are the I, A, O., we are the central shaft, and we are here to let you take advantage of our little craft: Certain streets have certain corners. Sooner or later, we'll turn yours. Moon continues in peacemaker Libra. It is easy to do what we want to do today-or at least talk about it. Vibrations are excellent for negotiation and compromise today. Do it early, for power conflicts are in the air beginning early tomorrow morning. Disturbing images may, unbidden, well up from the depths of the subconscious tonight.We are at the junction of love and fear, and if we stay on the all-too-familiar path of ScareCity - we're totally forked... we can do the same old same old and get the same old results, or... we can try something different for a change. Instead of ScareCity, we can go for ABunDance. That is when we get up off of our assets, move our buns, and dance together in rhythm and flow. Can it work? Well, consider what hasn't worked. There are two reasons to do this.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17
We are the 801, we are the central shaft and thus throughout two years we've crossed the ocean in our little craft (Row! Row! Row). Now we're on the telephone, making final arrangements (Ding! Ding!) Sun squares Pluto at 3:05 a.m. PST to mark the first turning point in the annual Sun-Pluto power cycle. This cycle began last December 15-16 when, in the U.S., there was a multitude of actions clamping down on rights. But at the same time, information began to emerge about the extent of the Bush Administration’s secret surveillance activities. And Latin American countries began to assert their independence from the IMF. Moon sextiles Pluto, so power shifts now should have a fairly smooth road.Moon goes VOC at 9:31 a.m. PST, and enters Scorpio at 3:59 p.m. This can be a receptive, introverted time. With Moon in Scorpio, we may be contemplating the whole complex of power, which we have seen displayed in many of its facets this month. Tonight will be intense, with libidinous behavior likely to be flowing freely. Be careful on the road. We can now copulate delicately amongst the Mesozoic ferns at the Sovereign Botanical Gardens, or ride a queer squadron of tiny black horses through the shopping mall with our minds at peace and moving forward. Quality over quantity wins hands down!

SATURNSDAY, MARCH 18
Intense energy continues, as Moon in Scorpio squares Saturn in Leo, and then all of the bodies in Aquarius. Challenges today can feel overwhelming, mainly because Scorpio has an emotional need to control and dominate. Quarrels with loved ones can develop, perhaps due to willfulness. This evening Mercury squares Mars. This is like having a chip on the shoulder. We are supersensitive to anything said to us, and ready for an argument. Hold your tongue now, for in a few hours communication can be smoothed out, and all is well.

SUNDAY, MARCH 19
We are the table, the captain's table Let's get it understood, let's get it understood We are the diners, the final diners Let's get it understood, let's get it understood Most of us tinkers, some of us tailors, Moon continues in impenetrable Scorpio, keeper of secrets. This morning we can touch the mysteries of life and death, and view life from a wide and deep perspective. Channels are open to intuition, and to psychic phenomena. Our openness to emotional depth gives us feelings of pleasure in our strengthAnd we've got candlesticks, and lots of cocktail sticks We can resonate to the ocean now, and if possible a trip to the seashore would be very satisfying.

MONDAY, MARCH 20
Moon in restless Sagittarius makes fine aspects, and we can complete something this morning. Just afterwards, we make a fresh start, for Sun enters Aries to begin the spring season. For many in the world, this is the first day of their new year. For all of us, Spring Equinox is a very big power gateway. The day force has finally won out over the night force. Sun enters Aries at 11:26 a.m. PST, and as suddenly as this we shift from an emphasis on water to an emphasis on fire. Fire is the Light of Life. It is the spark which animates our spirits, and warms our hearts and bodies. A new hope now moves through us, as light bursts forth, and we feel empowered to start new projects. This Equinox is a very fiery time indeed. We have a grand trine in early degrees of fire-Sun who conjoins Aries North Node, Moon in Sagittarius, and Saturn and Ascendant in Leo. In the chart set for Washington DC, the midheaven, the outlet for expression into the world, is also in Aries. Here all of the basic energies necessary for manifestation are in the element of fire, and supporting one another. There is no one to put out or even dampen down the flames when they get out of hand. In fact, the next most common element now is air, which is exactly what fire needs in order to burn. Each of the fire signs is, in its own way, a born-again sign. This means fresh starts are not only encouraged now, but mandated. Old ways have suddenly become obsolete. How did we do things yesterday? Who cares. This is today, and we want to focus on the now.

Ideology and fanaticism can blossom with the push of fire, which burns everything in its path. So can ruthlessness. Do not look for a kinder, gentler world from the government of the United States. Fire and air are the major elements in the chart of GW Bush, and he will feel empowered to move right ahead with his juggernaut of world domination. But so will all of us feel empowered to move ahead with our own agendas. Fire rules the heart. What fires us up? What are our heart’s desires? This intense heat and passion infuses all of us, and we can put our hearts and souls (water) into something that is dear to our hearts. An example is the people of Latin America working and organizing to create a better world. Another example is those New Orleans people who are putting their hearts into rebuilding their neighborhood for the people. Examples abound everywhere. Ideas are also important in the fire world. It is ideas that spark movement. Ideas can spread quickly, as does fire.

This Equinox portal opens to a period of a great dissemination of ideas, some of which suddenly catch people’s enthusiasm.Fire also means literal fire-like burning up the ancient forests as we run through the world’s oil, like weapons, and warfare, and scorching earth with radioactive toxins which endure for billions of years, like global warming. Is this the meaning of the U.S. North Node (a destiny point) in fire sign Leo? We do have one set of brakes. Mercury is still retrograde in Pisces, a water sign, and we’ve had almost three weeks to think about the world and about our lives. However. Mercury, as it turned, was programmed with Pluto, a planet of destruction now in fire sign Sagittarius. This did, in fact, encourage insight and deep thinking about life and death. What are some of our conclusions? As we plunge ahead into this period of action, we will be greatly tested. But the fire element gives us courage.

The Sabian Symbol for the Moon at 6 Sagittarius is:
“A GAME OF CRICKET. The development of skill in group situations testing collective goals. GROUP SOLIDARITY.”
Solidarity is, in fact, the key to effective action now.

 March 13, 2006

Back and forth a bit...

Hello "out there"...

Apologies for the blankness lately at Olla. My noise compilation project has has sort of taken over my free time the last couple of months. I am working every night until the wee hours, soldering and putting together tiny bits of wire and such. The dayjob has gotten busier and busier due to the increasing political battle between evolution and creationism and all the idiots who are responsible for the fact that I still have a job -- phones ringing more than ever, plus frequent visits by reporters, camera crews and the like to film and interview my boss, who is on her way to reaching "rock star" status in the world of science. I used to actually get a lot more free time during work hours to have a little "me" time, which allowed me the freedom to keep up with blogging, but lately I've had to even announce my bathroom breaks. Thank thee goddzz that my head has somehow stayed screwed on during all of this, although I can't be too sure about the brains within not becoming altogether scrambled from the sheer pace of things.

On top of everything, I've finally been able to move my dad out here from Chicago (something we've been working on for the last year or so). It's great having him so close now-- he's only a 10 minute drive from my house. It's been a ton of work getting him all moved in, but thankfully my younger brother Adam was able to help out a bunch last weekend when he flew out from Phoenix. I'm very excited to have my dear sweet poppa nearby after so many years spent with too much distance between us and not a lot of extra cash to spare toward airfare for visits. I will definitely be sharing more here about my dad in the months to come-- he's always been a big part of my life and there will undoubtedly be many blog-worthy moments to document here in the near future.

Anyway, I just wanted to drop some text here, even if no one is paying attention ;) I've actually been reading a bunch lately and finding some interesting stuff, so I've been saving it all up in email and getting ready to do one of those sessions where it all comes tumbling on through, so stay tuned for that.

Is it just me, or does it seem to anyone else that since the calendar clicked into 2006, the pace of LIFE has just zoomed up about a thousand notches?? I know there are a lot of metaphysical theories going around about the rate of time increasing or some such thing, as we get closer to the year 2012, so maybe, just maybe, there is something to that. I'll leave the pondering to those with a bit more free time than I have at the moment.

Oh, by the way--- this month we've got two kinda cool planetary activities of note:

TUESDAY, MARCH 14th - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 6:47pm EST (and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to dAS!)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29th - Total Solar Eclipse 5:11am EST

Bises,
xoxo
the pixie

Bush "on trial" in New Jersey...

Yet another fabulous jab to "Mr. High-and-Mighty" and his pals, from more high school kids, this time in New Jersey-- check it:

High school students stage mock trial of president

via American Samisdat

 March 08, 2006

UB Radio #10 (DRONE GNOME) mp3 & pics

Many thanks to Shirley & Spinoza
for making mp3 archives available of all UB RADIO broadcasts....


DOWNLOAD the entire show HERE

DRONE GNOME
3 hours of drones with occasional spoken word bits (provided by real-live gen-u-ine gnomes!) plus our usual hand-selected, theme-oriented tunes in between...

More photos here.

ARCHIVE page from Shirley & Spinoza for all UB Freeform radio
(excerpts and full mp3s)
http://ss.2inches.com/archive.php?numsongs=6

 March 05, 2006

Ub Radio (Sunday, Mar 5th)

TONITE:
uBradio #10: DRONE GNOME

3 hours of drones with occasional spoken word bits (provided by real-live gnomes!) plus our usual hand-selected, theme-oriented tunes in between...



Sunday, March 5th
8:00-11PM (US Pacific Standard Time)


... and continuing first-Sundays each month ...

LIVE from the s&S studios (and the hallways in between)

The "uB radio players" for the evening will be:

Ninah Pixie
dAS
Fausto
Cliff Neighbors
Jesse Burson
Andy Way
Russ Kent

LISTEN LIVE!

SHIRLEY & SPINOZA
Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. PST. (California Time)
Live streams beamed directly from the catacombs of Oakland.

MP3 audio archives (and excerpts) now available!

*contact us directly using AIM or iChat during live webcasts!

screenname: shirleynspinoza