Higgs

"The Higgs boson is the only Standard Model particle that has not been observed and is thought to be the mediator of mass. Experimental detection of the Higgs boson would help explain the origin of mass in the universe. The Higgs boson would explain the difference between the massless photon, which mediates electromagnetism, and the massive W and Z bosons, which mediate the weak force. If the Higgs boson exists, it is an integral and pervasive component of the material world."

via wiki, and of course this. Read More......

"Hi," said Hayduke, grinning. "I'm a hippie."

Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang: An incredibly sad old book, by the end of things. I wanted desperately to believe old Hayduke made it. Filled my heart with hope that he'd outfoxed them again. The book's free-heeled carelessness up until the butch-cassidy-style standoff was what really did me in, I loved those irreverent anarchists scrabbling at each other, trying to do the right thing, whatever that was. When they finally drop off, one by one, in the dusty canyons and against implacable, stupid greedy conservative militarism you really feel hopeless. The saddest thing about it is what an antiquated book it is, too. Abbey's grasp on the unstoppable industry machine was 35 years ahead of its time, and we're too shocked and awed by all the bullshit going on right now to get our heads around how to respond. It's a slippery world of uselessness and manipulated media out there all right, the damming of Glen Canyon seems like a petty trifle in comparison. We need a hundred Haydukes, some proper outrage. Read More......

Revelations, Destroy All Nations.

Two quick things:
It's pressing and apparent to me now more than ever how artificial and restricting national identities are in terms of jobs, freedom of location, and culture. Nations are on the decline, common ground as a currency of identity on the rise. Most rockin' case in point: fantastic music video of Gogol Bordello's "Immigrandia" and interview with lead singer Eugene Hutz.

In a tangential but very related note, XKCD has come out with a boggling comic mapping the amount of social time spent online and dividing it into 'nations.' Maps like these seem as relevant as the old fashioned ideas of a shared culture or nation in grouping human energy. Maps of belief, network, community, language fluency, skill set, and so on should serve as a counter-identity to the rigid box of 'American.' Those boundaries are as imaginary as they are based on convenient circumstance to enforce.

It must help that right now I'm applying to volunteer in a part of the world reduced to country-wide incarceration and war over abstract notions like statehood and deity worship. There's something terrifyingly disproportionate about the correlation of human-created categories and actual widespread human suffering. Read More......

Dad and Kid in Brooklyn send video camera into space

... And back again! So amazing:


These guys probably used a GoPro Camera, the resulting footage is spectacular. Read More......

Davey D, Hardest working man in Hip-hop.

Did you know?

I appear to be a respectable black journalist!
Check out Davey D's Hip-Hop Corner.

I'm going to jump ahead through the train-of-links that got me to this video, because if you watch one thing from this blog post it's going to have to be this little message of Cornell West's. I love this man:


But back to Davey D. He's not only got a great and distinguished sobriquet, but he seems to be fighting the good fight, as well. This clip particularly resonates with me, I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about messaging in mainstream hiphop and the lack of humanity in it.


Next, linking away, I found Mr. Davey D talking with aforementioned favorite eloquent brother of all time, Cornell West:
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Self-Taught

A year ago I met a fellow on my travels in Paris. He was American, working a fairly stable but uninspiring job on Berkeley campus, but was taking an extended holiday (or internship) in Paris. On one of his last days there we were out running around until late in the evening, he was jubilant, snapping pictures, buying things for people, and lamenting that he had to leave.

"Come back, Zach" I said. "You could live here. You speak the language, you've got everything it takes!"
He shrugged. "I can't just up and move. I have too many people relying on me at home, and nothing really set up here."
The night was fresh around us. People walking to and fro over ancient bridges, kebabs and snacks in their hands. "Seriously, my friend" I said, tossing a chip into my mouth, "It's as simple as wanting it."

He works here, now:





I need to learn to take my own damn advice. Read More......

Lloyd Kahn: Post Domes

Great little 16mm film about building your own home, working with your hands, why Geodesic domes suck, the privilege of the hippy movement, and longboarding in the suburbs.

SHELTER from jason sussberg on Vimeo.

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Some kind of Madness

The 25th and 26th of this month'll be fun.
First, I'm taking the Art Truck up to Ogden for 8 hours or so, then traxing/riding back. Next I'll be involved with this:


I have no idea what it is, but I do know it's 48 hours of straight performance art, and I'll be working at the art center 9pm to 4 AM (!!!) The night of the 25th to 26th. Further, knowing Gary Vlasic's antics and looking at the flier art, I'm expecting something equestrian and ritualistic, like the climactic scene of Equus slowed down 500 times:


wow. All I can say is wow. Then, it's up the next day to race in Chris's Techtastic Alleycat, Happening at 2:00 PM on the 26th on the U campus, somewhere. I'll get the specifics on that forthwith.

All in all, sounds like fun! Read More......

Technomadism and Sense

I've found a movement that immediately appeals to me: technomadism and neo-minimalism, the move from many things you don't need to a few things that do everything at once, in order to be comfortable and productive anywhere, anytime. A quest that for me began with my bicycle began shaping my choices of luggage, computers, camera equipment and clothing. Cameras must be smaller and more portable, justifying their presence in cross-continental journeys but still delivering high-definition footage. Pants should never wear out, and be versatile enough that one can get away with carrying one pair. Everything should fit easily in a bicycle saddlebag or small backpack.

Boing-boing's released an excellent special feature by Sean Bonner, an account of his own adventures and a bit of a manifesto on throwing away the excess crap that slows you down: Neo-Minimalism and the Rise of Technomads. Sean also has a cute little tumblr site with zen tidbits and general decluttering advice to go with the movement.

This is great and all, this striving to travel light as a feather while still maintaining your link to the glowing webs. But as a featherweight chronic traveler I also know where there's danger in going too far. Bouncing from place to place is glamorous, sleek-designed objects give the appearance of solving all problems. But there is tons of hard, concrete work that supported the creation of those i-whatsits and allowed for easy travel to all points on the globe. Not all of that work was done in ethical or environmentally sustainable circumstances. Further, Sometimes all the digital extensions of an online individual seem just as cluttered as a house full of junk, but with a variety of accounts, interests, spin-off avatars, instead of spare tools, knicknacks, lotions and extra clothing. Sometimes bouncing between digital interests and forums and blogs makes my head swim, and I wonder how productive we're actually being.

Take for example Sean's 12-Hour trip to Dublin. Highlights include patronizing an art museum, a veggie Kabob shop, and drinking 10 cups of coffee. I wonder if this frantic nomadism is justified when the end-result is just some intercontinental dilettantism. Having the tools to get things done quickly is great, and being able to spread the results over a variety of outlets equally validating, but it's important to focus on... staying focused. Don't let the digital pace overwhelm your ability to spend time on deeper contributions in your area of fascination. Read More......

Alphabet Soup

My favorite boing boing post today comes from a reader, who compiled a zeitgeist alphabet based off of Google's new insta-search feature. Know what the world is thinking about, in all its crummy glory!

A is for Amazon, to get all your books.
B is for Bank of America, which holds all your crooks.
C is for Craigslist, no services adult.
D is for Dictionary, to define your result.
E is for eBay, to spend all your cash.
F is for Facebook, web pages like trash.
G is for Gmail, world domination ambition.
H is for Hotmail, Gmail's competition.
I is for Ikea, for a lamp named Bljampäjese.
J is for Johns Hopkins, where they cure your disease.
K is for Kohl's, a store that's old-school.
L is for Lowe's, to buy your tool.
M is for MapQuest, for the place you go to.
N is for Netflix, to add to your queue.
O is for Orioles, a Baltimore obsession.
P is for Pandora, an audio digression.
Q is for QVC, for goods without esteem.
R is for Ravens, another Baltimore team.
S is for Sears, appliances and more.
T is for Target, a Wal-Mart like store.
U is for USPS, where mail you submit.
V is for Verizon, Steve Jobs should use it.
W is for Weather, for forests in flames.
X is for Xbox, a console for games.
Y is for Yahoo, a home page for Chrome.
Z is for Zillow, to value your home. Read More......

Urban Gallery All-Star Face Off

Mark off some time next weekend to check out the 337 Project's Urban Gallery All Star Face Off, a mural painting competition that's the best thing since last year's. The list of artists looks great and I can't wait to see what comes up, especially from Rachel Domingo and Kier Defstar. Yeah!
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Trespass

Yoinked from the soon-released Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Street Art. I'm very excited about this. It looks like an excellently curated compendium of permissionless work with some very good text too. I'll be getting it post-haste as it book-ends with my current writing project quite nicely. Read More......