Yet another post about free speech? Where are the technovikings? They are coming up, no worries.
It started with an art project by a man named Frank Warren. It was supposed to be fairly local. Random postcards sent to people or left lying around where others could find them. On the postcard was an invitation. Do you have a secret? If so, send it anonymously to Frank Warren. A simple concept, to be sure. It was just an art project, so it wouldn't matter much if nothing came of it. 4 books and 250,000 postcards later, PostSecret can be deemed a success.
But, you ask, what is it?
It's just what I said - people draw or pull an image or postcard and use that as a background, while they write, type, or use cut-out magazine print to form a deep, dark secret of theirs. There has been rape, betrayal, love lost and found, funny, sad, and moving secrets.
The website for PostSecret can be found here, and it's updated every Sunday. Be warned, there is the occasional nudity (as of today, there is an image from a movie were Kate Winslett appears in the nude - you have been warned.)
Secrets that have been on the website, along with those that have never been seen (Warren obviously receives too many each week to put them all up), have been collected into four books, comprised of an introduction and postcards, with the occasional email thrown in.
Warren is also touring the country, mostly visiting colleges, with an exhibit on both the postcards and how and why people keep secrets.
Also of note, DeviantArt tried to do something similar, to limited success, but was noted as being somewhat of a "copycat." However, for DeviantArt, it being a website where the user uploads their art, the secrets were not just limited to the size of a postcard. Rather, they could be as large as the user wanted.
Either way, this is expression of free speech in its finest form - being able to give away a secret, saying whatever you want, with no repercussions - everything is anonymous.
Also of note, the band All American Rejects used postcards from PostSecret in their music video for "Dirty Little Secret." That's some exposure, right there.
And one more thing...MySpace awarded $10k to PS for their awesomeness and helping society (there is usually a suicide prevention hotline at the bottom of the PS blog, along with a story of someone who used it and thanks PS). They put this towards a suicide prevention society. Yeah, Frank Warren is pretty badass.
Next time...well, I don't know what I'll talk about just yet. Perhaps memes or something.
Can't stop the signal.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Blowing Up Parliament is Fun for All Ages!
-
- Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
- The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
- I can think of no reason
- Why the Gunpowder Treason
- Should ever be forgot.
- Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
- To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
- Three-score barrels of powder below
- To prove old England's overthrow;
- By God's providence he was catch'd
- With a dark lantern and burning match.
- Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
- Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
- That, my friends, is the Guy Fawkes Rhyme.
Fawkes was subsequently hung for crimes of treason and attempted murder of the King.
That's all well and great, but who cares?
Well, Fawkes and his co-conspirators were all Catholics, and the King and his Parliament cronies were Protestants. They didn't exactly have the most...cordial...of relationships. So, in a desperate attempt to get religious freedom, the Catholics took matters, and gunpowder, into their own hands.
Well, that turned out to be an epic fail.
Guy Fawkes, however, became a cultural icon.
On November 5th every year, Britain celebrates his attempt at free speech (and a bit of anarchy) with fireworks.
In America, he's mostly known as "That V For Vendetta Dude," as V wears a Guy Fawkes mask.
This directly ties in with my last post on Anonymous, as when Anon shows up for protests, many wear Guy Fawkes masks, as they represent everything Anon stands for - free speech with a touch of anarchy.
Hope you all found this informative.
Next time, we will look at PostSecret.
Can't stop the signal.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Anonymous
Anonymous. Who are they? You, me, him, her, us, them? The point is to not know. This allows for freedom to say whatever you want, without retribution (and hey, I named this blog because I'm going to talk about free speech, so here you go). Some abuse it. Others use it wisely.
And then there is the so-called "Internet Hate Machine." The old wave was just a green man, but now they have a face: The Guy Fawkes mask, best known for V's face in V for Vendetta.
Just as V stood up for his rights in the graphic novel and the movie, so is Anonymous, or, as they are known among themselves, Anon, so called for being able to post in certain forums anonymously.
Anon's main target in the fight for free speech is the Church of Scientology (CoS). On January 14, 2008, a video of Tom Cruise talking about how wonderful the CoS is was leaked onto YouTube, whereupon the CoS demanded it be taken down under threats of litagation.
Anon was displeased at the censorship, and so what is known as Project Chanology began. Name after such sites as 4chan.org, popular anonymous-posting forums, the operation began 2 days later, on the 18th.
It began with less than legal means, as Anon is a collective everyday people, including many hackers (or, as the CoS labeled them, "internet terrorists"), although, contrary to popular belief, is not made soley of hackers. Denial of service attacks, which crippled the CoS's local and global websites, were followed by black faxes and prank calls. A video was released to YouTube declaring the mental war on the CoS by Anon. Anon "Google bombed" the search terms "dangerous cult" to have Google display the CoS's main website as the first item shown.
Phase 2 of Project Chanology began on February 2nd, with about 150 protestors standing outside the Orlando, Florida branch of the CoS. This was only the beginning.
On February 10th, starting in Sydney, Austraila (due to the Internation Date Line), more than 7,000 people protested in over 100 cities worldwide, many disguising their faces, in an effort to keep themselves Anonymous. Many wore the aforementioned Guy Fawkes masks. More protests would follow in the coming months.
Finally, Anonymous launched a campaign to stop the CoS from being exempt through taxes, claiming that the "Church" is nothing more than a "cult" and thus is not exempt. During the protest in Sydney, the chant of "Church on the left, cult on the right" rang down the streets, in reference to the CoS's building being next to the Catholic Church.
So, what was Anon fighting for? According to Anon themselves, they fight for religious freedom and against internet censorship, in an attempt to preserve their right to Free Speech.
For more information, go here. Or, here. Ok, maybe not that last one, but it sure was funny, wasn't it?
As Anon says: We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.
Can't stop the signal.
And then there is the so-called "Internet Hate Machine." The old wave was just a green man, but now they have a face: The Guy Fawkes mask, best known for V's face in V for Vendetta.
Just as V stood up for his rights in the graphic novel and the movie, so is Anonymous, or, as they are known among themselves, Anon, so called for being able to post in certain forums anonymously.
Anon's main target in the fight for free speech is the Church of Scientology (CoS). On January 14, 2008, a video of Tom Cruise talking about how wonderful the CoS is was leaked onto YouTube, whereupon the CoS demanded it be taken down under threats of litagation.
Anon was displeased at the censorship, and so what is known as Project Chanology began. Name after such sites as 4chan.org, popular anonymous-posting forums, the operation began 2 days later, on the 18th.
It began with less than legal means, as Anon is a collective everyday people, including many hackers (or, as the CoS labeled them, "internet terrorists"), although, contrary to popular belief, is not made soley of hackers. Denial of service attacks, which crippled the CoS's local and global websites, were followed by black faxes and prank calls. A video was released to YouTube declaring the mental war on the CoS by Anon. Anon "Google bombed" the search terms "dangerous cult" to have Google display the CoS's main website as the first item shown.
Phase 2 of Project Chanology began on February 2nd, with about 150 protestors standing outside the Orlando, Florida branch of the CoS. This was only the beginning.
On February 10th, starting in Sydney, Austraila (due to the Internation Date Line), more than 7,000 people protested in over 100 cities worldwide, many disguising their faces, in an effort to keep themselves Anonymous. Many wore the aforementioned Guy Fawkes masks. More protests would follow in the coming months.
Finally, Anonymous launched a campaign to stop the CoS from being exempt through taxes, claiming that the "Church" is nothing more than a "cult" and thus is not exempt. During the protest in Sydney, the chant of "Church on the left, cult on the right" rang down the streets, in reference to the CoS's building being next to the Catholic Church.
So, what was Anon fighting for? According to Anon themselves, they fight for religious freedom and against internet censorship, in an attempt to preserve their right to Free Speech.
For more information, go here. Or, here. Ok, maybe not that last one, but it sure was funny, wasn't it?
As Anon says: We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.
Can't stop the signal.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The *REAL* First Post!
Whooo! Alright! Let's get this proverbial party started! Yeahhhh!
Now, to kill the enthusiasm, I'd like to tell you all that we are all doomed. That's right, we are all going to die horrible deaths. How, you may ask?
Jellyfish.
Yes, the denizens of the ocean, jellyfish. Sure, they are scary (having been stung by one), but why, you ask, are we all doomed? That seems silly! Well, yes, perhaps. Until the big reveal.
Big reveal?
Yes. The big reveal. There is a strain of jellyfish that is immortal. See? Told you we are doomed.
Well, ok, not doomed, per se, but we will be outlasted by brainless creatures. That's a comforting thought.
According to National Geographic, the jellyfish are able to reverse their cells to an earlier state. In other words, the cells themselves change. Nerve cells can become muscle, etc. In that way, the jellyfish reverts itself to a polyp colony, the first stage of the jellyfish. From there, it asexually reproduces - no need for a partner. From there, the polyp colony spawns hundreds of genetically identical jellyfish.
And it continues to do this, over, and over, and over.
There is good news, though, friends and readers:
The jellyfish is as big as your pinky finger's nail.
So, in short, we are all going to be outlived by a race of small, genetically identical blobs of goo.
To arms, readers! Death to the immortal jellyfish of doooooom!
...Well, ok, maybe not, but it sure sounded funny, didn't it?
Also, I'd like to point out the irony in the picture and title of this blog. This blog is meant for my free speech class, and so I'll try to throw as much free speech-y-ness into the posts as possible. The irony, you ask? Well, look at the picture of the Almighty Technoviking. It says "Obey." Free Speech. Obey. Geddit? It's not free speech. Anyway, yeah. I'll post funny links (along with my highly satirical look at them), interesting articles and the like. I'll be sure to point out the shreds of truth in between my satire (I kind of have to, but it's probably for the best, anyway).
In the next post, we shall talk about Anonymous. See you then!
Can't Stop The Signal.
Now, to kill the enthusiasm, I'd like to tell you all that we are all doomed. That's right, we are all going to die horrible deaths. How, you may ask?
Jellyfish.
Yes, the denizens of the ocean, jellyfish. Sure, they are scary (having been stung by one), but why, you ask, are we all doomed? That seems silly! Well, yes, perhaps. Until the big reveal.
Big reveal?
Yes. The big reveal. There is a strain of jellyfish that is immortal. See? Told you we are doomed.
Well, ok, not doomed, per se, but we will be outlasted by brainless creatures. That's a comforting thought.
According to National Geographic, the jellyfish are able to reverse their cells to an earlier state. In other words, the cells themselves change. Nerve cells can become muscle, etc. In that way, the jellyfish reverts itself to a polyp colony, the first stage of the jellyfish. From there, it asexually reproduces - no need for a partner. From there, the polyp colony spawns hundreds of genetically identical jellyfish.
And it continues to do this, over, and over, and over.
There is good news, though, friends and readers:
The jellyfish is as big as your pinky finger's nail.
So, in short, we are all going to be outlived by a race of small, genetically identical blobs of goo.
To arms, readers! Death to the immortal jellyfish of doooooom!
...Well, ok, maybe not, but it sure sounded funny, didn't it?
Also, I'd like to point out the irony in the picture and title of this blog. This blog is meant for my free speech class, and so I'll try to throw as much free speech-y-ness into the posts as possible. The irony, you ask? Well, look at the picture of the Almighty Technoviking. It says "Obey." Free Speech. Obey. Geddit? It's not free speech. Anyway, yeah. I'll post funny links (along with my highly satirical look at them), interesting articles and the like. I'll be sure to point out the shreds of truth in between my satire (I kind of have to, but it's probably for the best, anyway).
In the next post, we shall talk about Anonymous. See you then!
Can't Stop The Signal.
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