Art in times of recession

In 1939 the Ministry of Information in England set up the War Artists' Scheme (W.A.S), devised by the then director of the National Theatre, Kenneth Clark. One of his tasks was to organize the safeguarding of the national collections. Paintings, like humans, were evacuated from the cities, taken away and hidden down the mines in Wales.

The state funded artists to paint and depict the war-torn landscape and photographers to document the war effort. The theatre was suddenly right at the heart of society, touring everywhere, with plays asking important questions about life, uncertainty, peace, community, humanity. Short trailers and documentaries were made and broadcast, to point out that ‘although we know what we’re fighting against, we sometimes forget what we’re fighting for: to be free to work, to play, to listen and look at what we want to’. There was a 'painting of the month' at the National Gallery, bringing a painting out of the mines and on show gathering queues of people to see it around Trafalgar square. Ballet shows were taken into the factories as an initiative of CEMA (the council for the encouragement of music and the arts). Free lunchtime concerts were given and documentary-makers, dancers, actors and photographers, were considered to be part of the national treasure (with the state giving them jobs in the country in order to keep them out of the forces because they were too valuable to expend!)

Art, in conclusion, became part of the national conversation and available to all (something that was of course always the norm in communist countries), its status radically changed forever. The idea was that even in the darkest days of the war people must prepare for peace and ‘make a better peace’ than they had before!

As history repeats itself in these tough recession times, cultural centres, theatres, operas, galleries etc. are falling like dominoes, all around the globe. As art depends on public sector, big private money (banks, millionaires, giant corporations) and audiences who now have very little money to spend, it is facing collapse and decline. Creative arts, music, crafts and so on are a big part not only of the economy but also of boosting low morale and playing a major part in recovering from hard times. But can the arts community rise through the current challenges, giving way to an incredibly powerful time and a changed post-recession society? Or will it (stupidly in my opinion) back away, become defensive (no need for pretty pictures in recession times) and disappear, leaving us even poorer?

(inspiration and quotes from Alan Yetob's wonderful BBC documentary Imagine 2009: Art in Troubled Times)

ps: i don't write often but when i do i can't shut up :o

Nirvana vs Rick Astley

"Ελλάδα 2010: Τα παιδιά των μεταναστών" μια θλιβερή ιστορία

Το συγκεκριμένο θέμα μου ανεβάζει το αίμα στο κεφάλι. Εν ολίγοις βαράω κόκκινα με την μαλακία που δέρνει ελληνικό κράτος καθώς και όλους τους ελεεινούς ανθρώπους που σφυρίζουν αδιάφορα για το συγκεκριμένο θέμα ή που ακόμα χειρότερα αντιτάσσονται σε αυτό. Όπως και να έχει όμως this is not about me αλλά για όλα αυτά τα παιδιά που έχουν μεγαλώσει -μεγαλώνουν- στην Ελλάδα ως παιδιά μεταναστών. Συνολικά 300.000 παιδιά που η ελληνική πολιτεία αρνείται να αναγνωρίσει ως έλληνες πολίτες παρά το γεγονός ότι αυτά έχουν περάσει όλη τους τη ζωή στην Ελλάδα.

Μια πολύ καλή ενέργεια έγινε από το Βρετανικό συμβούλιο στην Ελλάδα το οποίο έτρεξε το 2008 το project Imagine your Future. Το project περιλάμβανε νέα παιδιά που έχουν background σχετικό με μετανάστευση να λένε τις ιστορίες τους και τις προσδοκίες τους με ένα οπτικοακουστικό τρόπο. Ο στόχος ήταν να διπλός, από τη μία να εκπαιδεύσουν τα παιδιά στη χρήση νέων τεχνολογιών και συγχρόνως το τελικό αποτέλεσμα αυτής της ενασχόλησης να είναι ένα μήνυμα που ίσως να κάνει τη βαρήκοη κοινωνία να ακούσει κάτι.

Το project έτρεξε και σε άλλες χώρες και μπορείτε να δείτε μερικά επιλεγμένα βίντεο στο site του British council.

Δείτε το βίντεο της Γιάννας που ήρθε από την Τασκένδη, του Χρίστου, του Vini που περιμένει να βγει από τη φυλακή για να βρει την Besa, και του Albert που είναι δυστυχώς και αυτός στη Φυλακή.

Επίσης ένα trailer από ένα ντοκιμαντέρ που πολύ θα ήθελα να δω και όποιος έχει πληροφορίες για αυτό plz share!

"2nd Generation" Documentary trailer from videoguerra on Vimeo.

Alice in Wonderland

Have never been a big fun of Alice in Wonderland however after watching the trailer I got very excited. The downside of this is that we have to wait until next March 2010. I hate this bloody teaser concept. Dont fucking give us a teaser, give us a film we can watch in the next 2 weeks!!!

Ο καφές φάρμακο κατά του διανοητικού εκφυλισμού

Χα!

Το σχετικό άρθρο της ελευθεροτυπίας εδώ

Why low cost airlines are so cheap?

In case you ever wondered how come they are so cheap here's the answers to your questions. Nothing that we didnt really know but a nice way to visualise this

We choose to go to the moon

As this week is the 40 year anniversary of landing on the moon (or from the day we were told that we landed on the moon-for all the disbelievers) here's one of the inspirational speaches from JFK. Below is the short version but if you want the big version you can click here. Now if you'd like to feel the full experience of Apollo enter this site and go through the 11 stages that will take you to the moon. Enjoy!

Economist: Thinking Spaces

In an attempt to attract younger audiences that are more tech savvy the Economist has commisioned this very cool website. The idea is to navigate through the "thinking spaces" of various interesting/inspiring? people and ultimately as a means of engagement upload your "thinking space". Havent tried this yet but I reckon it follows the same principle of social networks but ina smaller scale.

Have a go with the website here. For sure a great web design job...

Blazed & Confused

Here's the Heineken version which is pretty funny

and here's the Snoop Dog version announcing his summer tour :-P

Summer is Short. Read a story

The best short fiction is only small in terms of word count. The form's true practitioners place a premium on concision even as they allow their imaginations free rein. That tension between control and freedom is where the short story lives.

—Richard Russo

- 52 stories -

Hamas says Israel dumping aphrodisiac gum on Gaza (!!!)

The original text follows... it is a good illustration why although I don't believe that Israel wants a solution, I consider Hamas a real threat to Palestinian society...


GAZA CITY (AFP) — Hamas suspects that Israeli intelligence services are supplying its Gaza Strip stronghold with chewing gum that boosts the sex drive in order to "corrupt the young," an official said on Tuesday.
"We have discovered two types of stimulants that were introduced into the Gaza Strip from Israeli border crossings," Hamas police spokesman Islam Shahwan told AFP.
"The first type is presented in the form of chewing gum and the second in the form of drops," he said.
The Islamist movement that has run the densely populated and impoverished Palestinian territory for the past two years said it has detained members of a gang that helped to bring in the products.
"They admitted during the investigation they were linked to the Zionist intelligence services," he said.
One suspect said he had received the products from an Israeli intelligence officer at a cut-rate price "with the officer saying they did not want money, but to distribute the products among the young people of Gaza," Shahwan said.
"The intelligence services are aiming to corrupt the young generation by distributing these products among students."
The story came to light after a Palestinian man filed a complaint that his daughter had experienced "dubious side effects" after chewing the offending gum, Israeli media reported.
The Israeli military declined to comment officially on the allegations, which one military source termed "absurd."

The operation system wars

The battle between google and microsoft's second front. Google is trying to do the unthinkable: beat microsoft in its own game by targeting Gate's battleship -the windows.

Google announced that by the second half of 2010 its new operation system "Chrome" will be on sale with new pc's around the world. It will be for free and have all the necessary office-like programs for a user to start up. Will Chrome achieve something that neither linux nor macs have managed to do, break MS's empire?

An interesting war to follow... more here

(Long live Mac OS!)

Google Vs Bing

Microsoft's new search engine is here to challenge Google's empire. Its the first time that a decent rival comes up and it looks like it has the teeth to grab a big share of the pie. For all of you that doubt it, go on, test both search engines at the same time here!

Twitter Stats

Νεα στατιστικά για το twitter παρουσιάζουν μια διαφορετική εκδοχή σχετικά με το πόσο γρήγορα εξαπλώνεται. Τα πιο ενδιαφέροντα στοιχεία είναι ότι το 53% δεν έχει followers, το 56% δεν ακολουθεί κανένα ενώ το 55% των χρηστών δεν το έχει χρησιμοποιήσει ποτέ! Προφανώς το hype οδήγησε πολύ κόσμο να εγγραφεί αλλά αυτό που βρήκαν δεν κατάφερε να τους κρατήσει. Ακόμα πιο ενδιαφέρον το γεγονός ότι μόλις το 10% των χρηστών ευθύνονται για το 90% των tweets που και μειώνει ακόμα περισσότερο των αριθμό των πραγματικά ενεργών χρηστών.

Παρόλα τα στατιστικά όμως έχει το twitter παρουσιάζεται ίσως ως η καλύτερη πλατφόρμα που υπάρχει σήμερα για γρήγορη ενημέρωση όταν κάτι σημαντικό είναι σε εξέλιξη. Τα πρόσφατα παραδείγματα της τρομοκρατικής επίθεσης στη Βομβάη, των δεκεμβριανών αλλά και του Ιραν ανάμεσα σε άλλα δείχνει το πόσο χρήσιμη είναι αυτή η πλατφόρμα. Και φυσικά η επιτυχία βασίζεται στην ελεύθερη χρήση από τους πολίτες που μπορούν να αναμεταδώσουν πληροφορίες από σημεία που ο παραδοσιακός τύπος και πηγές ενημέρωσης δεν μπορούν καν να εισχωρήσουν.

Για περισσότερα stats από την έρευνα της Hubspot εδώ

paidikoi iroes pidiosasan

my friends are the best 2

3 birds for ever...

Anger Management

Understanding anger

It's important to realise several things about anger before you start tackling it. First, anger is a normal process that has allowed humans to evolve and adapt. It isn't a bad thing in itself, but problems occur if it isn't managed in the right way.

Anger is also a mixture of both emotional and physical changes. A big surge of energy goes through your body as chemicals, such as adrenaline, are released.

Once the cause of the anger is resolved, you may still have to deal with the physical effects - all that energy has to go somewhere. This can be taken out on another person, such as a partner, or an object - by punching a wall, for example. This last option can lead down the road to self-harm.

The other alternative is to suppress the energy until the next time you're angry. This may mean you release so much pent-up emotion that you overreact to the situation. Realising this can lead to feelings of shame or frustration when you reflect on your actions, and to further repression of your feelings.

On the other hand, just letting your anger go in an uncontrolled fashion can lead to a move from verbal aggression to physical abuse - don't forget, the other person is probably feeling angry with you too.

But there is a flip side to anger. Because of the surge of energy it creates, it can be pleasurable. This feeling is reinforced if becoming angry allows the release of feelings of frustration, or if a person's response to your anger gives you a sense of power.

It's important to acknowledge and keep an eye on this side of the problem - it can have an almost addictive element.

Resolving the issues

If your anger is not resolved by this, make sure you've given enough thought to what exactly you’re angry about. It will usually involve a person, but not necessarily the one who's the target of your anger in the situation and this is the person you need to work the situation out with.

You need to be sure exactly what you're angry about before you can resolve it. It will usually involve a person, but not necessarily the one who's the target of your anger in the situation and this is the person you need to work the situation out with.

To do this, find a time to raise the problem when you feel more in control of your temper. It may be a good idea to agree a time in advance.

It may feel like a tall order to discuss the issue without getting angry, but following a plan may help. Professor Richard Nelson-Jones has developed a good structure to use, called CUDSAIR. This stands for:

• Confront
• Understand
• Define
• Search
• Agree
• Implement
• Review

First, it's important that you confront the problem and not the person. State the nature of the problem and how it makes you feel. Be clear that it's the problem - not the person - that makes you feel like this. This way you'll develop a joint definition and ownership of what's going on.

Next, it's important to understand each other's view of the situation. It may help to agree that each person should be able to say what they think about the problem without being interrupted by the other. After this, identify areas where you disagree. Don't discuss the disagreements yet, just agree that you disagree. This is how you define the problem.

The next step is to search for solutions. Here, be as outrageous as you like - but again, don't make personal attacks. Generate as many possible solutions as you can - at the moment, it doesn't matter how unrealistic they seem.

Finally, you have to agree on a solution. This is probably the most delicate part of the whole process. It's important that you both make concessions and acknowledge those that the other person has made. It's also important not to have unrealistic expectations - it's likely that the final solution won't be ideal for either of you, but the resulting compromise will probably be better than the problems the anger generated.

It's important that you both keep to the agreement. It's also important not to overreact to any breaches. Point them out, but there's no need to get angry. You have the agreement to back you up.

However well you both stick to the agreement, it's worth having a review some time in the future to go through the CUDSAIR model again and see if things can't be improved further.

Recommended reading: Human Relationship Skills by Richard Nelson-Jones, ISBN 0415385873.

available here

If you want to become a lecturer in the UK you'd better be white and male

According to an article in the Times, in 2004 there were only 10 female black lecturers in british Academia.
Also, "people from non-white backgrounds make up 17 per cent of researchers, just under 9 per cent of lecturers, 6 per cent of senior lecturers and 4.4 per cent of professors". The american researcher was shocked by white male predominance in academia.
The article is very well written and revealing

This shows that the so-called 'multiculturalism' and 'openess' of british society is superficial, it is just a discourse meant to conceal their good old elitism and racism...

Michael Collins

Following up a conversation when the 3 birds reunited in HK, I have found more quotes by Michael Collins, as presented in the 1996 Movie

Michael Collins (to the brits): Give *us* the future, we've had enough of your past. Give us back our country, to live in , to grow in, to love.

Michael Collins: There was a man in west Cork who proposed to five sisters.
Kitty Kiernan: I suppose they all refused.
Michael Collins: Then the father died and he proposed to the mother.
Kitty Kiernan: Are you trying to tell me something?
Michael Collins: I was working up to a proposal.

[Michael Collins arrives at the ceremony to take down the British flag]
British officer: You're seven minutes late, Mr. Collins.
Michael Collins: You've kept us waiting 700 years. You can have your seven minutes.

[as the British flag comes down]
Michael Collins: So that's what all the bother was about. (!!!)

Michael Collins: There is one weapon that the British cannot take away from us: we can ignore them.

Michael Collins: I hate them for making hate necessary, and I'll do what I can to end it.

Soames: The problem with the Irish is that they'll sing at the drop of a hat, but ask them to talk and they won't.

[Collins and his men have just intercepted an intelligence report from the Royal Irish Constabulary]
Michael Collins: Jesus, these bastards know more about us than our own mothers.

Tovbekarlar Yarisiyor - Penitents compete

The Turkish TV station Kanal T announced that in September it will launch a new reality show.
"Who cares" would be the normal answer, but wait to read about its content.

The new reality show instead of human trash like Jade Goody and other spineless celebrities, will feature 4 priests (muslim,
orthodox, jewish and buddhist) that will try to convert ten atheists to their dogmas! Those atheists who will eventually
convert will win a trip to a holy destination of their new religion. Apart from the business part of it (we can all imagine how popular the reality show will become), Kanal T's director said that "Petinents compete" will familiarise the turkish viewers with other religions...

In any case it will portray the most basic truth about organised faith, that it is only a show...