Only four people showed up. It was pretty depressive. However, I am really glad I met Christoph Spear. He was the silver lining of the conference for me. I will have to start reading his book soon. I would suggest it to you'll but it is written in German. Maybe I will explain it when I read it, could be useful to all of you interested in free cooperation and collaboration.

Holly and I are I am hosting a workshop on Sunday at the UB CFA for the collaboration conference. We will be discussing using PHP and MySQL Databases for web collaboration. It is at 12:00ish in the CFA, come check it out.

I heard lots of people talking about htis yesterday. What is up with the massive paper waste with the Collaborative Network conference at UB? It makes me sick that no one had any environmental concerns during its production. I cannot believe the giant font and the many blank areas on 11 x 17 paper. It should have been so much smaller with the rest of it on the web. Especially considering that it is a new media conference.

And only a day after Earth Day!

Holly this one is for you. Hurry up and switch to painting. According to Reuters today ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Poets die young -- younger than novelists, playwrights and other writers, a U.S. researcher said Wednesday.

... "What I found was pretty consistent with the death finding actually, female poets were much more likely to suffer from mental illness (e.g., be hospitalized, commit suicide, attempt suicide) than any other kind of writer and more likely than other eminent women," he said.

Full story:

For once the weather on Elmwood is beginning to be pleasant. Befoer I went to bed this mornig at 5am, I noticed it was extremely foggy but without my classess I had mistooken it for heavy snow, so I was glad to see it was not when I woke up. I don't think I want to see heavy snow anymore, at least not till September.

I have so much stuff to do for other people on other timelines. I hope that I can manage it all. In the mean time Alias came out with the new version 6 of Maya .

I am beginning to question Digital Media Arts is a smart carrier choice. I mean, will I have to learn new stuff every year until I retire when Maya 75 comes out. I was kind of hoping to teach the history of Digital Media Arts as I get older. Seems like that could be safe.

I am also dying to work on more cell phoen features for the site and to read Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs, but the time is really hard to find.

I know this isn't very local but I think it is an important step in the wrong direction for the future of computers.

from CNET

---

Microsoft has hired one of its worst enemies, the SuSE Linux salesman whose efforts led the city of Munich to adopt Linux and open-source software instead of Microsoft's products.

. . . The new hire will be an asset at Microsoft, Governor predicted. "He's obviously a guy who well understands the dynamics of selling to European public sector organizations, and he understands the huge difficulties that the open-source community has had in delivering on the Munich contract," Governor said. "He will make a wonderful figurehead for Microsoft."

. . . Karl Aigner, formerly SuSE's account representative for Munich, is overseeing sales of Microsoft's data center products to midsize companies in Germany. He began his new role April 1, Microsoft said Tuesday.

The bush protest was crazy. At least 1000 people turned out to show support against Bush and his regime.

I took a lot of pictures which are all on the elmwood journal. This was my favorite.
They crossed at just the right moment.



I was amazed that the only pro-bush people I met were anti-abortion activists. I had an interesting conversation with one, when she told me it was not ok to abort babies, but it was ok to bomb them. With one catch - as long as they are the children of satan. Great!

Terry got into the pro-bush crwod and pretended to be a nazi supporter for bush. See the pic on the elmwood journal. It was really freakin hillarious because this one Bush supporter really looked liek a neo-nazi and he was right up in front of the news cameras. I think this could be a geeat future tactic to subvert the message of the Bush supporters.

Lots of people we knew showed up. Christoph seemed to have a good time and ended up with Tony Conrad and Stephanie (pricessbuffalo?) Stickboy was there, so was Robin, emily, kevin, theresa, Chris Outlaw, and Cyan. We even met a couple of new people that seemed pretty cool. At least they wern't afraid to really stick up for what they believe in. Those are the kind of people I like.

Tony and Stephanie took christoph out to brunch, which was nice. He seemd excited to talk about the conference with them.

What really freaked me out was the mass of Scientologists. I have a feeling they are up to no good, but I guess I do not know enough to judge them yet. Sounds like research time.

I had to do lots of paperwork today for various hoop jumping, beaurocratic stuff. We succesfully picked up Christoph from the airport and got him to our house.

We will all be attending the Bsh protest in the morning. I hope to see you'll there.

Julie, if you read this in time, please come to the protest so we can take pictures.

A German author and philospher is coming to stay at the 567 during the week before the collaborative networks conference at UB. It should be exciting to have a foreign visitor, especially, one that speaks German.

We cleaned the entire house and finally even the refrigerator. Then we went grocery shopping and bought a billion groceries.

Here is a link to something written by him.

This is somehthing written by him that was sent to the mailing list for the conference.

---

"Grab the rules, play it hard. Basic rules for free cooperation" by Christoph Spehr

from:
"On Rules and Monsters. An introduction into free cooperation."
Video by Christoph Spehr and Jörg Windszus (to be shown at the conference)

WOMAN (off) -
So on one hand, cooperation doesn¹t seem to make us free. On the other hand,
living without cooperation doesn¹t make us free, either. How can we stay
free in cooperation? What is free cooperation?

To learn about free cooperation, we first must understand the three basic principles of forced cooperation.

The first principle of forced cooperation is: KEEP OFF THE BASIC RULES!

(The Time Machine) The big gate is slammed shut. GEORGE trys desperately to
open it again.

MAN (off) -
Forced cooperation is not tyranny ­ or, more precisely: it is not something
that looks like tyranny at first sight. But the basic rules will not give
way to anybody. They are not negotiated between the members of the
cooperation ­ be it the workers of a factory, the employees at an office,
the women and children in the patriarchal family, the people affected by the
decisions of a given institution. The basic rules are kept behind iron
gates. People and positions may be changed; some distribution of value may
be negotiated; smaller rules may be changed and altered or even accepted to
be refused. But the core of the cooperation, its basic rules, are not to be
tackled by the real members of the cooperation.

WOMAN (off) -
The second principle of forced cooperation is: NEVER STOP THE ENGINE!

(The Trollenberg Terror) The group is sitting in the gondola of the cable
lift and is taken up the mountain. They see the >cloud< floating into the
valley, closing in the houses. The >cloud< enters the downward station and
freezes the cables. The gondola stops, goes on, stops again.


MAN (off) -
Forced cooperation doesn&sup1;t turn people into robots &shy; or, more precisely: it
doesn&sup1;t turn people into something that looks like robots at first sight.
You may talk. You may quarrel while working. You may make proposals or even
hand small protest notes. Some forced cooperations even allow you to vote or
take part in participatory systems or in so-called >speech situations< where
you may argue that some rules are irrational and that you could work better
without them. But never, never must you use material power to push your
interests. Do not freeze the cables. Do not stop the gondola. Do not go on
strike, do not withdraw your workforce while talking. This is doomed and
criminalized as monstrous behavior. If you try, you will get bombed for.

WOMAN (off)

The third principle of forced cooperation is: SERVE OR PAY!

(The Day the Earth Stood Still)

KLAATU

I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run
your own planet. But if you threaten to extend your violence, this earth of
yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder.

Your choice is simple: join us, or pursue your present course and face
obliteration. We&sup1;ll be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.

MAN (off) -
Not every forced cooperation uses
the w
hi
p
&shy; or, more precisely: not every
forced cooperation uses a whip that looks like a whip on first sight. In
many forced cooperations, we are not forced openly to do what we are told.
Only that it doesn&sup1;t really make sense to deny. Because if we don&sup1;t
cooperate, if the cooperation splits, or gets spoiled, we are the ones to
pay. If we disagree with our boss and split, he still keeps the enterprise,
while we leave with empty hands. It&sup1;s serve or pay: that makes choices so
simple in forced cooperation.

WOMAN (off) -
Having understood how forced cooperation works, we can now articulate the
three basic principles of free cooperation.

The first principle of free cooperation is: GRAB THE RULES!

(Attack of the crab monsters) A man is walking down the dunes to the beach.
Out of nowhere, a huge crab appears and grabs him. He cries.

MAN (off) -
In a free cooperation, all rules can be changed. Every member is free to
challenge any rule, and the members of the cooperation decide about their
rules. There are no >holy rules< that are barred behind iron gates and
cannot be changed by the members of the cooperation.

WOMAN (off)

The second principle of free cooperation is: PLAY IT HARD!

(The Time Machine) While GEORGE is fighting a Morlok and gets attacked by
more Morloks, one of the Eloi is considering his hand, deep in thought.
Suddenly he makes a fist and knocks down the Morlok.


MAN (off) -
In a free cooperation, all members have the same power to influence the
rules. This power is not given by any formal structures of decision-making:
talking or voting is not enough. Real power comes from the freedom and
ability to withdraw one&sup1;s cooperative activity, to hold back, to quit, to
give limits and conditions to one&sup1;s cooperative activity. To say or to
signal: >No, if not.<

(World Without End) The commander comes in from the negotiations. He is
angry.

OFFICER - How was it?

COMMANDER - They won&sup1;t cooperate!

WOMAN (off) -
The third principle of free cooperation is: STAY ONLY WHERE YOU CAN LEAVE,
AND WHERE YOUR LEAVING IS MEANINGFUL.

(The Time Machine) GEORGE notices the Eloi for the first time. Suddenly
there are cries: Weena is drowning in the river.

GEORGE - What are you sitting by?

As nobody moves, GEORGE leaps into the water and pulls her out.

GEORGE - You&sup1;re alright?

Without a word, Geena gets up and leaves him.

MAN (off) -
In a free cooperation, the >price< of the cooperation being split up, coming
to an end, somebody going away, the cooperation becoming looser or being not
fully working, is similar (and bearable) for all members of the cooperation.
Only under this condition, withdrawing one&sup1;s cooperative activity is not
blackmailing the others. Only under this condition, all members of the
cooperation have the same bargaining power. That means: each member can
actually leave the cooperation, without paying too high a price; and the
leaving of each member will have an actual effect on the others, will be
experienced by them as some price they are paying, so that this negative
prospect may trigger new negotiations. Because you do not only wish to be
allowed to do this or that; you also want to make others do this or that, or
do this or that not. For this, you need equal bargaining power. Without
bargaining power, they will just let you drown.

(The Time Machine) Weena and GEORGE are sitting on the stairs.


GEORGE - I did it to save your life. That doesn&sup1;t seem to mean much to you or anybody
else around here.

WEENA - It doesn&sup1;t.

GEORGE - Do you realize there were about 20 of your friends watching you drown, not
one of them so much as lifting a finger to save you? Ain&sup1;t tha
t a curio
us

attitu
de?

Very curious world. Aren&sup1;t you the least bit interested in who I am? Where
I&sup1;m from?

WEENA - Should I?

Getting bargaining power usually means getting organized, too. Without the
solidarity of others, you cannot level bargaining powers in many cases. In a
free cooperation, there has to be a constant re-arrangement of rules,
individual appropriation and solidarities to keep bargaining power equal
between the members of the cooperation. Making bargaining power equal &shy;
through changing rules, individual appropriation, solidarity &shy; is the core
business of any emancipatory politics, and the basic definition of what is
left politics. It is also the core definition of being someone, of being
amongst others who really recognize you.

(The Time Machine) GEORGE comes from the rotten books and addresses the
sitting Eloi.

GEORGE - You! All of you! I&sup1;m going back to my own time.

I won&sup1;t bother to tell anybody about the useless struggle, the hopeless
future.

But at least I can die among men! You ... ah!

He runs out.

WOMAN (off)

Doing free cooperation means no less than taking off the mask, and demanding
the others to bear that. Because most cooperations look okay as long as you
are wearing the mask that was designed for you; as long as you fit into what
others think is appropriate for you; as long as you do what others want you
to do. But you only see what a cooperation is worth when there is conflict,
when you demand change, when you take off the mask.

(Queen of Outer Space) A spacewoman with a mask on her face and an earth
woman are sitting on a couch.

SPACEWOMAN - You&sup1;ll have to suffer the consequences for your planned attack.

EARTHMAN - There is no plan of attack!

She goes to a monitor and turns it on.

SPACEWOMAN - Let me show you what happens to those who oppose.

Look, Captain! The disintegrator.

EARTHMAN - This is what destroyed the space station!

SPACEWOMAN - And it will destroy the Earth, too.

EARTHMAN - The people! The lives of those countless billions! I admit that men on earth
have been ... quarrelsome and foolish in the past. But we&sup1;re no harm to your
work! I swear!

He takes her at her shoulders.

I understand you better than you do yourself. You&sup1;re denying man&sup1;s love,
for that hatred and for that monstrous power you have.

SPACEWOMAN - Monstrous?

EARTHMAN - You&sup1;re not only a queen, you&sup1;re a woman, too. And a woman needs a man&sup1;s
love.

Let me see your face!

He takes off her mask.

EARTHMAN - I&sup1;m sorry. I didn&sup1;t understand!

SPACEWOMAN - Radiation burns. Men did that to me. Men with their wars. - You told me that women need love. Now that you know, would you give me that love?

She offers him a kiss. He turns away.

EARTHMAN - I &shy; I didn&sup1;t realize.

SPACEWOMAN - You didn&sup1;t realize!

- Guards!

The (female) guards enter and take the earthman with them.