Alex Gibney's haunting and harrowing Winning Best Documentary at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival "Taxi to the Dark Side". The film opens in theaters on Friday.
Lessons of Darkness (Lektionen in Finsternis)
Dir. Werner Herzog, 1992
Werner Herzog's epic, highly visual documentary, sometimes referred to as a science-fiction film, concentrates on the disaster of the burning Kuwaiti oil fields in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. Herzog gracefully presents this hellish landscape through smooth truck-mounted shots and soaring aerial panoramas, seldom providing any sense of scale and giving the blazes a hauntingly majestic, unearthly feel. His narration, delivered from the perspective of a spectator from another planet, is sparse, more poetic and detached than informative; as firemen reignite jets of oil shortly after stopping the fires, he describes them as creatures motivated by madness and a desire to perpetuate the damage they were sent to fix. David Douglas' Fires of Kuwait, also released in 1992, is another more conventional look at the same subject.
Control Room
Dir. Jehane Noujaim, 2004
Following Startup.com, her acclaimed documentary investigation into the perils of the dot-com boom, Egyptian-born filmmaker Jehane Noujaim turned her attention to the ways reality is managed and constructed through the media. Her focus here was Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera's relationship with and coverage of the American military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and how claims and counterclaims of media bias and propaganda underscored the ongoing tug-of-war between the Western and Islamic worlds. The film premiered at Sundance in 2004, and later helped Noujaim win the prestigious TED Prize, enabling her to organize Pangea Day, an international event this May that aims to unite the world through film
My Country My Country
Dir. Laura Poitras, 2005
Laura Poitras' Academy Award-nominated documentary is a unique insider's glimpse into Iraqi life under US occupation. Poitras spent over eight months alone filming in Baghdad, where she followed Dr. Riyadh, a Sunni physician who practices at the Adhamiya Free Clinic. When the US government attempts to institute democratic reforms in Iraq, Dr. Riyadh—himself an Islamic Party candidate for the Baghdad Provincial Council—is torn between supporting the popular boycott of the elections and joining them to support the democracy that could help stabilize his country. For a variety of reasons, including her inexplicable presence filming on a rooftop during an ambush, Poitras was assigned the highest rating on Homeland Security's watchlist after completing the film.
The Dreams of Sparrows
Dir. Haydar Daffar, 2005 First-time Iraqi director Haydar Daffar and his team of American and Iraqi contributing directors (known as the IraqEye Group) spent two years creating The Dream of Sparrows. After Saddam Hussein's capture, Daffar and his crew braved extreme danger to explore the occupation of Iraq through the eyes of those who witnessed it firsthand. Beginning with painters, writers, and filmmakers, the film delves into the arts and culture of Baghdad; later, interviews begin to veer towards the politics of occupation and resistance. The filmmakers are suddenly drawn much further into the subject when producer Sa'ad Fahker is killed during the battle of Fallujah, an event which dramatically impacts the crew's outlook on the situation in Iraq. The first feature documentary project from the IraqEye Group, The Dream of Sparrows was made with the goal of revitalizing Iraqi cinema within the worldwide film community.
No End in Sight
Dir. Charles Ferguson, 2007 On March 19, 2003, forces from the US and other allied nations invaded Iraq, seeking to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Major combat operations were supposed to take only a few months to complete, and just two months later, President George W. Bush declared that they were over. But by the end of 2006, American troops remained deeply involved in a splintered Iraq that was sinking into civil war. The directorial debut of political scientist and former software entrepreneur Charles Ferguson, No End in Sight concentrates on the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and the decisions that led up to the 2003 invasion, highlighting flawed plans that have not only destabilized Iraq's new government but also turned Iraqi civilians and soldiers against American "aid." The film includes interviews with numerous people who were directly involved in the initial Iraqi occupation, some speaking on camera about the war for the first time. No End in Sight premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
Occupation: Dreamland
Dir. Ian Olds and Garrett Scott, 2005Following a unit of soldiers from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division, directors Ian Olds and Garrett Scott traveled through the city of Fallujah as soldiers patrolled the community—searching for weapons, interrogating women, and listening to the complaints of locals in their effort to ferret out supporters of Saddam Hussein's regime. In the camp where they are stationed, nicknamed "Dreamland," many soldiers confess to doubts about the mission, wondering if they're any good, what purpose their presence serves, and why they are acting as peacekeepers when they're trained as soldiers. This last concern becomes moot when violence explodes in the city, more than a year after major combat operations were supposed to be over. The film was initially criticized for being too sympathetic towards American soldiers and not critical enough of the war, but it has since gained a following among filmgoers, intellectuals, Iraq veterans, and military families. Scott died of a heart attack in 2005, just days before the film won the Independent Spirit Award.
Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi, 2004
The first film made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Turtles Can Fly takes place in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of the US invasion. Thirteen-year-old Satellite—so named for his ability to install satellite dishes for villagers desperate for news—is the leader of the village children, organizing minefield clearing operations and arranging trade-ins for unexploded mines. He falls for an orphan girl named Agrin, who is traveling with her apparently clairvoyant brother, both of whom are caring for a mysterious three-year-old whose connection to them becomes apparent as the war draws closer. Like the Kurdish director's previous films, A Time for Drunken Horses and Turtles Can Fly, this film is a powerful testament to the continued oppression of a people. It won more than a dozen prizes at various film festivals in 2004 and 2005.
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Dir. Rory Kennedy, 2007
Built by the British in the 1960s, the prison in the Iraqi city of Abu Ghraib became a torture center for interrogating and murdering political dissidents under Saddam Hussein's Baathist government. After the US invasion in 2003, the American military began using the facility to detain prisoners of war and suspected terrorists. The following year, journalists exposed widespread abuse there, adding a new chapter to the prison's dark history and significantly impacting international attitudes about the war. Through interviews with perpetrators, witnesses, and victims, director Rory Kennedy seeks to reconstruct the stories behind the now-iconic abuse photos that emerged from Abu Ghraib. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO a month later, subsequently winning an Emmy.
The Situation
Dir. Philip Haas, 2006
While covering the invasion in Iraq in 2003, American reporter Anna (Connie Nielsen) finds herself caught in a love triangle between a CIA operative (Damian Lewis) and an Iraqi photographer (Mido Manada), whose differing perspectives on the war challenge her loyalties. But when an American soldier throws an Iraqi boy off a bridge (a scene inspired by actual events), it sets off a scandal that polarizes the nation, putting Anna in grave danger as she rushes to cover the story. Nothing is as it seems in the conflict that has become so incomprehensible that the Iraqis only refer to bitterly it as "the situation." The story was written by journalist Wendell Steavenson, based on her experiences covering the war in Iraq for Slate.
Gunner Palace
Dir. Michael Tucker, 2004
One of the very first documentaries to present a nuanced view of what was happening on the ground in Iraq, Gunner Palace advertised itself as "the war you haven't seen on the news," and it delivered on the promise. Director Michael Tucker spent several months in 2003 and 2004 embedded with an Army artillery unit that had taken up residence in the bombed-out remnants of one of Saddam Hussein's son Uday's pleasure palaces, offering a sympathetic but frank perspective of American soldiers trying to contend with circumstances they'd never anticipated, such as training Iraqi soldiers, keeping peace among warring factions, and most of all, surviving to see another day.
Iraq in Fragments
Dir. James Longley, 2005
Director James Longley's three-act documentary is a tapestry-like exploration of Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish responses to the first two years of the American occupation, told from the perspective of ordinary Iraqis. Iraq in Fragments' structure highlights the country's sectarian tensions, but the film resolutely avoids editorializing, instead seeking to capture the voices of regular human beings living in an endlessly wartorn land. The film was widely praised for its visual richness, winning multiple awards at Sundance and receiving a nomination at the 2006 Academy Awards, where it lost to An Inconvenient Truth.
Three Kings
Dir. David O. Russell, 1999
Marking a significant shift in direction from his earlier quirky comedies, director David O. Russell's Three Kings offered a strikingly strange and original take on America's role in the first Gulf War. The story of three American soldiers (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube) seeking to seize a cache of looted Kuwaiti gold from an Iraqi bunker after the end of the war, the film also serves as an indictment of American policy in the region. As a result of its unusual subject matter and experimental techniques, not to mention the salacious stories that emerged from the set, Three Kings was prominently featured in two gossipy histories of the indie film "revolution"—Peter Biskind's Down and Dirty Pictures and Sharon Waxman's Rebels on the Backlot.
Other Features
Diving DeepFunny and frank, Julian Schnabel’s latest film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, avoids sentimentality while plunging in on the furthest edge of life. » Read More
Second DraftThe United States has maintained an all-volunteer army since 1973, but what if the draft were reinstated? Bryan Gunnar Cole's Day Zero (TFF '07), starring Elijah Wood, Chris Klein, and Jon Bernthal, imagines how three different New York guys would respond to the call. » Read More
The Reelist: Iraq on Screen
While Americans are increasingly preoccupied with domestic issues, the war in Iraq is now rapidly approaching its fifth anniversary. With that dubious date in mind, we compile a list of films that depict the turmoil in the country during and after the two American-led invasions. » Read More
12 More
The War Tapes Dir. Deborah Scranton, 2006
Secret Ballot Dir. Babak Payami, 2001
Divine Intervention Dir. Elia Suleiman, 2002
West Beirut Dir. Ziad Doueiri, 1998
Kippur Dir. Amos Gitai, 2000
Wedding in Galilee Dir. Michel Khleifi, 1987
JiyanDir. Jano Rosebiani, 2002
Zaman, The Man from the Reeds (TFF '04) Dir. Amer Alwan, 2003
Through the Olive Trees Dir. Abbas Kiarostami, 1994
Osama Dir. Siddiq Barmak, 2003
Jarhead Dir. Sam Mendes, 2005
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World Dir. Albert Brooks, 2005
Check out:
www.iraqiscope.org to view and share films and clips from Iraq!
www.niqash.org the place to debate Iraq and www.mict-international.org
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Human Activity Patterns by Albert-Lazlo Barabasi
The quantitative understanding of human dynamics is one of the most under-explored area of contemporary science. We are witnessing rapid changes, however, thanks to the emergence of detailed datasets that capture human behavior, which allow us to follow specific human actions in ultimate detail. Our interest in the subject is driven by a need for a general understanding of complex systems. Currently social systems offer some of the best mapped datasets on the dynamics of any complex system, when the action of each component (individual) can be followed in ultimate detail.
This webpage summarizes our attempts to understand the nature of time in complex systems. When do things happen in a complex system? When do we send an email, receive a phone call, and check out a book from the library? While traditional models have assumed that the timing of human actions is random, we are finding increasing evidence that they are not. Instead, the statistics of human activity patterns have a bursty character, which can be predicted by simple models.
more: http://www.nd.edu/~networks/HumanDynamics_20Oct05/human_dynamics_.htm
Center for Complex Network Research http://www.nd.edu/~networks/
The Sound of Many Hands Clapping-the Rythmic applause http://www.nd.edu/~alb/Clap/index.htm
http://www.nd.edu/~alb/
This webpage summarizes our attempts to understand the nature of time in complex systems. When do things happen in a complex system? When do we send an email, receive a phone call, and check out a book from the library? While traditional models have assumed that the timing of human actions is random, we are finding increasing evidence that they are not. Instead, the statistics of human activity patterns have a bursty character, which can be predicted by simple models.
more: http://www.nd.edu/~networks/HumanDynamics_20Oct05/human_dynamics_.htm
Center for Complex Network Research http://www.nd.edu/~networks/
The Sound of Many Hands Clapping-the Rythmic applause http://www.nd.edu/~alb/Clap/index.htm
http://www.nd.edu/~alb/
Monday, January 14, 2008
Flight Paths - A networked novel by Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph
“I have finished my weekly supermarket shop, stocking up on provisions for my three kids, my husband, our dog and our cat. I push the loaded trolley across the car park, battling to keep its wonky wheels on track. I pop open the boot of my car and then for some reason, I have no idea why, I look up, into the clear blue autumnal sky. And I see him. It takes me a long moment to figure out what I am looking at. He is falling from the sky. A dark mass, growing larger quickly. I let go of the trolley and am dimly aware that it is getting away from me but I can’t move, I am stuck there in the middle of the supermarket car park, watching, as he hurtles toward the earth. I have no idea how long it takes – a few seconds, an entire lifetime – but I stand there holding my breath as the city goes about its business around me until…He crashes into the roof of my car.”
2
The car park of Sainsbury’s supermarket in Richmond, southwest London, lies directly beneath one of the main flight paths into Heathrow Airport. Over the last decade, on at least five separate occasions, the bodies of young men have fallen from the sky and landed on or near this car park. All these men were stowaways on flights from the Indian subcontinent who had believed that they could find a way into the cargo hold of an airplane by climbing up into the airplane wheel shaft. It is thought that none could have survived the journey, killed by either the tremendous heat generated by the airplane wheels on the runway, crushed when the landing gear retracts into the plane after take off, or frozen to death once the airplane reaches altitude.
3
‘Flight Paths’ seeks to explore what happens when lives collide – an airplane stowaway and the fictional suburban London housewife, quoted above. This project will tell their stories.
4
Through the fiction of these two lives, and the cross-connections and contradictions they represent, a larger story about the way we live today will emerge. The collision between the unknown young man, who will be both memorialised and brought back to life by the piece
http://flightpaths.net/blog/
2
The car park of Sainsbury’s supermarket in Richmond, southwest London, lies directly beneath one of the main flight paths into Heathrow Airport. Over the last decade, on at least five separate occasions, the bodies of young men have fallen from the sky and landed on or near this car park. All these men were stowaways on flights from the Indian subcontinent who had believed that they could find a way into the cargo hold of an airplane by climbing up into the airplane wheel shaft. It is thought that none could have survived the journey, killed by either the tremendous heat generated by the airplane wheels on the runway, crushed when the landing gear retracts into the plane after take off, or frozen to death once the airplane reaches altitude.
3
‘Flight Paths’ seeks to explore what happens when lives collide – an airplane stowaway and the fictional suburban London housewife, quoted above. This project will tell their stories.
4
Through the fiction of these two lives, and the cross-connections and contradictions they represent, a larger story about the way we live today will emerge. The collision between the unknown young man, who will be both memorialised and brought back to life by the piece
http://flightpaths.net/blog/
Electronic voice phenomenon (EVP)
Rorschach Audio: Ghost Voices and Perceptual Creativity Joe BanksLeonardo Music Journal, Vol. 11"Rorschach Audio - Art and Illusion forSound" Strange Attractor Journal volume 1, Strange Attractor 2004.
"Rorschach Audio" is COPYRIGHT Joe Banks.
Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sections of static on the radio or other electronic recording media that are interpreted by paranormal researchers to be actual voices speaking words. Some advocates attribute these noises to ghosts or spirits.[1]. Skeptics of the paranormal attribute the voice-like aspect of the sounds to auditory pareidolia, and other well-documented phenomena.[2] According to parapsychologist Konstantin Raudive, who popularized the idea,[3] EVP are typically brief, usually the length of a word or short phrase.[4]
more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomenon
http://www.spookme.com/evp.htm
Friday, January 11, 2008
"FROM HERE TO AWESOME"
NEW DISCOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION FESTIVAL
For more information visit http://www.fromheretoawesome.com
For more information visit http://www.fromheretoawesome.com
Brent Green performs his film "Carlin" live
with Sin Ropas and AndyCoppinger at the Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland. Filmed by Liz Cohen,edited by Rodney McLaughlin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjK6NSgDo6I
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/summer2005/features/25_faces1-5.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjK6NSgDo6I
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/summer2005/features/25_faces1-5.php
Thursday, January 10, 2008
ISTANBUL: Roma, Roms, Gitanos NEED URGENT INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT!
Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 21:30:13 +0200
From: "Pelin Tan" mailto:Tpelintan@gmail.com>
To: aslikiyak aslikiyak@celikdizayn.com>
Subject: ISTANBUL: Roma, Roms, Gitanos NEED URGENT INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT!
The historical Romani district of Istanbul, Sulukule, is to bedestroyed under the name of "urban renewal" and the Roma living thereare to be expulsed out of the city. Please react and show your supporturgently!...
Sulukule PlatformLe quartier historique des Roms d'Istanbul, Sulukule, sera demoli souspretexte de "renovation urbain" et ses habitants gitans serontexpulses en dehors de la ville. S'il vous plait reagissez et montrezvotre soutien en urgence!...
La plateforme de Sulukule
El barrio historico de los gitanos d'Istanbul, Sulukule, seradestruido con el pretexto de "renovacion urbana" y sus habitantes vana ser expulsados fuera de la cuidad. Por favor protestar y manifestarvuestro apoyo de urgencia!...
La Platforma de Sulukule
Istanbul'un tarihi Roman mahallesi Sulukule, "kentsel yenileme" adialtinda yikilmak ve mahalle sakinleri kentin disina surulmekisteniyor! Lutfen acil olarak tepkinizi ve Sulukule sakinlerinedesteginizi gosterin!...
Sulukule Platformu
URGENT CALL FOR SULUKULE ROMANI COMMUNITY
Your support urgently needed against exclusion of Roma from historic Sulukule!One of the oldest Romani communities in the World, the Sulukule Romani population is being forced to leave their historical neighborhood.The Sulukule neighborhood, situated in the Historic Peninsula of Istanbul is being depopulated through a gentrification project implemented by the Metropolitan and Fatih municipalities of Istanbul. As it stands, the project, promoted as an "urban renewal" is in its last phase. In February 2008 the demolishing of the houses will be started.Despite the efforts of the local people, of the Sulukule Association for the Enrichment of Roma Culture and for Solidarity, of the academicians from several universities, and of the NGO's, the project is developed by local authority under non-transparent conditions, without consulting the community and without considering their demands, needs and feedback.The alleged "urban renewal project" is a reconstruction plan which involves the complete demolition of the current neighbourhood, home to more than 3000 Roma, and its replacement with housing which is unaffordable for most of the original inhabitants. The Roma will be forcibly moved from their 1000 year-old historical neighborhood to an area 40km outside the city. Moreover, as the municipality wants them to pay for the public housing they will receive, this forcible move is accompanied by a debt obligation that they will not be able to meet.Because it will evict the Roma of their home, annihilate and assimilate the Roma culture in Istanbul, the project needs to be stopped. Your support is crucial to carry out this feat.The 1000 year-old home of the RomaThe Roma first came to Istanbul from India in the 11th century when the city was still the capital of the Byzantine Empire. And they spread around the World from here. Following the conquest of the city by the Ottomans in 1453 and with the permžssžon of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, they were settled near the city walls in the Sulukule as well as in the nearby Ayvansaray neighborhoods. For hundreds of years, Sulukule acted as a pilgrimage location for Roma from all over the world. It is one of the most important cultural centers of Roma music and dance as it continues to be a crucial worldwide resource for training musicians and dancers.Your support is needed for the cessation of the "urban renewal project"Because;The Sulukule urban renewal project is a non-transparent non-participatory project.It is against the clauses of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.It is implemented in the buffer zone of the ancient land walls of Istanbul, which are on the World Heritage list. As such, it fails to abide by the principles of the Vienna Memorandum and the Convention regarding the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
To help prevent the forced exile of the Sulukule Roma,
To protect the historical and cultural values of Istanbul, which are on the World Heritage List,
Please express your objection to this project by writing to the following officials,
Abdullah Gül
President of Turkey
Mail Address:T.C. Cumhurbaskanligi
Cankaya-Ankara
Turkeye-mail: cumhurbaskanli_i@tccb.gov.tr
Recep Tayyip Erdo_an
The Prime Minister of Turkey
Mail Address:BasbakanlikKžzžlay
Ankara
Turkey
Ertu_rul Günay
Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey
Mail Address:T.C. Kultur ve Turizm Bakanligi
Ataturk Bulvari No. 2906050 Opera
Ankara
Turkeye-mail: ertugrul.gunay@kulturturizm.gov.tr
Kadir Topba_Mayor of Istanbul
Mail Address:Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediye Baskanligi
Sarachane Istanbul Turkeye-mail: baskan@ibb.gov.tr
Mustafa Demir
Mayor of the Fatih district of Istanbul
Mail Address:Büyük Karaman Cad.No. 53
Fatih Istanbule-mail: mustafademir@fatih.bel.tr
Contact Persons:Hacer Foggo (hacerfoggo@gmail.com)
Derya Nüket Özer (deryanuket@gmail.com)
Viki Ciprut Izrail (vikichco.@hotmail.com)
Pelin Tan pelintan@gmail.com
Ph.D cand. / research assistant
Institute of Social Sciences
ITU Architecture Faculty, Taskisla 34437 - Istanbul phone: +90 2122456631
http://www.tanpelin.blogspot.com/
http://www.slowfood.com
http://www.sulukule.org/
From: "Pelin Tan" mailto:Tpelintan@gmail.com>
To: aslikiyak aslikiyak@celikdizayn.com>
Subject: ISTANBUL: Roma, Roms, Gitanos NEED URGENT INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT!
The historical Romani district of Istanbul, Sulukule, is to bedestroyed under the name of "urban renewal" and the Roma living thereare to be expulsed out of the city. Please react and show your supporturgently!...
Sulukule PlatformLe quartier historique des Roms d'Istanbul, Sulukule, sera demoli souspretexte de "renovation urbain" et ses habitants gitans serontexpulses en dehors de la ville. S'il vous plait reagissez et montrezvotre soutien en urgence!...
La plateforme de Sulukule
El barrio historico de los gitanos d'Istanbul, Sulukule, seradestruido con el pretexto de "renovacion urbana" y sus habitantes vana ser expulsados fuera de la cuidad. Por favor protestar y manifestarvuestro apoyo de urgencia!...
La Platforma de Sulukule
Istanbul'un tarihi Roman mahallesi Sulukule, "kentsel yenileme" adialtinda yikilmak ve mahalle sakinleri kentin disina surulmekisteniyor! Lutfen acil olarak tepkinizi ve Sulukule sakinlerinedesteginizi gosterin!...
Sulukule Platformu
URGENT CALL FOR SULUKULE ROMANI COMMUNITY
Your support urgently needed against exclusion of Roma from historic Sulukule!One of the oldest Romani communities in the World, the Sulukule Romani population is being forced to leave their historical neighborhood.The Sulukule neighborhood, situated in the Historic Peninsula of Istanbul is being depopulated through a gentrification project implemented by the Metropolitan and Fatih municipalities of Istanbul. As it stands, the project, promoted as an "urban renewal" is in its last phase. In February 2008 the demolishing of the houses will be started.Despite the efforts of the local people, of the Sulukule Association for the Enrichment of Roma Culture and for Solidarity, of the academicians from several universities, and of the NGO's, the project is developed by local authority under non-transparent conditions, without consulting the community and without considering their demands, needs and feedback.The alleged "urban renewal project" is a reconstruction plan which involves the complete demolition of the current neighbourhood, home to more than 3000 Roma, and its replacement with housing which is unaffordable for most of the original inhabitants. The Roma will be forcibly moved from their 1000 year-old historical neighborhood to an area 40km outside the city. Moreover, as the municipality wants them to pay for the public housing they will receive, this forcible move is accompanied by a debt obligation that they will not be able to meet.Because it will evict the Roma of their home, annihilate and assimilate the Roma culture in Istanbul, the project needs to be stopped. Your support is crucial to carry out this feat.The 1000 year-old home of the RomaThe Roma first came to Istanbul from India in the 11th century when the city was still the capital of the Byzantine Empire. And they spread around the World from here. Following the conquest of the city by the Ottomans in 1453 and with the permžssžon of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, they were settled near the city walls in the Sulukule as well as in the nearby Ayvansaray neighborhoods. For hundreds of years, Sulukule acted as a pilgrimage location for Roma from all over the world. It is one of the most important cultural centers of Roma music and dance as it continues to be a crucial worldwide resource for training musicians and dancers.Your support is needed for the cessation of the "urban renewal project"Because;The Sulukule urban renewal project is a non-transparent non-participatory project.It is against the clauses of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.It is implemented in the buffer zone of the ancient land walls of Istanbul, which are on the World Heritage list. As such, it fails to abide by the principles of the Vienna Memorandum and the Convention regarding the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
To help prevent the forced exile of the Sulukule Roma,
To protect the historical and cultural values of Istanbul, which are on the World Heritage List,
Please express your objection to this project by writing to the following officials,
Abdullah Gül
President of Turkey
Mail Address:T.C. Cumhurbaskanligi
Cankaya-Ankara
Turkeye-mail: cumhurbaskanli_i@tccb.gov.tr
Recep Tayyip Erdo_an
The Prime Minister of Turkey
Mail Address:BasbakanlikKžzžlay
Ankara
Turkey
Ertu_rul Günay
Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey
Mail Address:T.C. Kultur ve Turizm Bakanligi
Ataturk Bulvari No. 2906050 Opera
Ankara
Turkeye-mail: ertugrul.gunay@kulturturizm.gov.tr
Kadir Topba_Mayor of Istanbul
Mail Address:Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediye Baskanligi
Sarachane Istanbul Turkeye-mail: baskan@ibb.gov.tr
Mustafa Demir
Mayor of the Fatih district of Istanbul
Mail Address:Büyük Karaman Cad.No. 53
Fatih Istanbule-mail: mustafademir@fatih.bel.tr
Contact Persons:Hacer Foggo (hacerfoggo@gmail.com)
Derya Nüket Özer (deryanuket@gmail.com)
Viki Ciprut Izrail (vikichco.@hotmail.com)
Pelin Tan pelintan@gmail.com
Ph.D cand. / research assistant
Institute of Social Sciences
ITU Architecture Faculty, Taskisla 34437 - Istanbul phone: +90 2122456631
http://www.tanpelin.blogspot.com/
http://www.slowfood.com
http://www.sulukule.org/
MTAA (MT Enterprises World Wide)
Artists M. River and T. Whid formed MTAA in 1996 and soon after began to explore the internet as a medium for public art. The duo's exhibition history includes group shows and screenings at The New Museum of Contemporary Art, Postmasters Gallery and Artists Space, allin New York City, and at The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.International exhibitions include the Seoul Net & Film Festival inKorea and Videozone2 - The 2nd International Video Art Biennial in Israel. http://www.mteww.com/
To Be Listened To…
http://mtaa.net/2bl2/
http://panoplie.emakimono.org/index.php/projets/voir/16
To Be Listened To…
http://mtaa.net/2bl2/
http://panoplie.emakimono.org/index.php/projets/voir/16
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Literature and Statistics
STATISTICAL STUDIES OF LITERARY TEXTS
http://www.textodigital.ufsc.br/num03/veronica.htm
KAFKA'S REPETITIONS: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
http://www.textodigital.ufsc.br/num04/veronica.html
http://www.textodigital.ufsc.br/num03/veronica.htm
KAFKA'S REPETITIONS: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
http://www.textodigital.ufsc.br/num04/veronica.html
Interdisciplinary Master in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media
Projects
MEDIATE is a multimodal and interactive space conceived for children with severe autism. Through visual, sonorous and tactile interaction, MEDIATE wishes to give the child the opportunity to have fun, play, explore and be creative in a predictable, controllable and safe space, by the action of the child’s own body.
MEDIATE is a multimodal and interactive space conceived for children with severe autism. Through visual, sonorous and tactile interaction, MEDIATE wishes to give the child the opportunity to have fun, play, explore and be creative in a predictable, controllable and safe space, by the action of the child’s own body.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Books To know
Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion by Oliver Grau page 164.
http://books.google.com/books?id=7OYaXjE5_lcC&pg=PT181&lpg=PT181&dq=milton+cohen+%22space+theatre%22&source=web&ots=YCM9bu5uaq&sig=zCcitK0n06DyYzBx_KWC95gNERo#PPT18,M1
Movement, Manifesto, Melee: The Modernist Group, 1910-1914 by Milton A. Cohen
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=gtSzgZrq4cUC&dq=milton+cohen&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=qfLZp44Ba4&sig=IeQqqXTvvbQ5u1-BTC5MkYzwOa0#PPA271,M1
Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition by Thomas B. Holmes page 188.
http://books.google.com/books?id=RsvdGY9VFLUC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=the+space+theatre+of+milton+cohen&source=web&ots=L8UXLT1cJg&sig=uwmTR1c2KgsNn2ONpcx6ydWaiXo#PPP7,M1
Film in Space Theatre Milton J. Cohen
The Tulane Drama Review, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Autumn, 1966), pp. 62-67doi:10.2307/1125265This article consists of 6 page(s).
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0886-800X(196623)11%3A1%3C62%3AFIST%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X
The Uses of Film in the New Theatre Michael Kirby
The Tulane Drama Review, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Autumn, 1966), pp. 49-61doi:10.2307/1125264This article consists of 13 page(s).
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0886-800X(196623)11%3A1%3C49%3ATUOFIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y
EXPANDED CINEMA
http://www.vasulka.org/Kitchen/PDF_ExpandedCinema/ExpandedCinema.html
http://www.freelists.org/archives/dance-tech/12-2007/msg00018.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=7OYaXjE5_lcC&pg=PT181&lpg=PT181&dq=milton+cohen+%22space+theatre%22&source=web&ots=YCM9bu5uaq&sig=zCcitK0n06DyYzBx_KWC95gNERo#PPT18,M1
Movement, Manifesto, Melee: The Modernist Group, 1910-1914 by Milton A. Cohen
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=gtSzgZrq4cUC&dq=milton+cohen&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=qfLZp44Ba4&sig=IeQqqXTvvbQ5u1-BTC5MkYzwOa0#PPA271,M1
Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition by Thomas B. Holmes page 188.
http://books.google.com/books?id=RsvdGY9VFLUC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=the+space+theatre+of+milton+cohen&source=web&ots=L8UXLT1cJg&sig=uwmTR1c2KgsNn2ONpcx6ydWaiXo#PPP7,M1
Film in Space Theatre Milton J. Cohen
The Tulane Drama Review, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Autumn, 1966), pp. 62-67doi:10.2307/1125265This article consists of 6 page(s).
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0886-800X(196623)11%3A1%3C62%3AFIST%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X
The Uses of Film in the New Theatre Michael Kirby
The Tulane Drama Review, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Autumn, 1966), pp. 49-61doi:10.2307/1125264This article consists of 13 page(s).
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0886-800X(196623)11%3A1%3C49%3ATUOFIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y
EXPANDED CINEMA
http://www.vasulka.org/Kitchen/PDF_ExpandedCinema/ExpandedCinema.html
http://www.freelists.org/archives/dance-tech/12-2007/msg00018.html
"From Milton Cohen's Space Theater to EMPAC"
Abstract by Franck Ancel
In 1957, a few years after the famous performance in the United States at Black Mountain College (1952) called "Untitled event", Artist Professor Milton Cohen created his "Space Theatre". In Ann Arbor - and mainly in his loft until 1966 - he experimented with a 360-degree form of theatre construction, presenting visual, light and sound shows in collaboration with other artists. These events eventually led to the creation of the "Once Festival" (1961-66) and later the "Once Group". The founding members of this group are the composers Robert Ashley, George Cacioppo, Gordon Mumma, Roger Reynolds, Donald Scavarda, and Bruce Wise; the architects Harold Borkin and Joseph Wehrer; the director George Manupelli; the painters and sculptors Mary Ashley and Milton Cohen.Some of the problems of future multimedia performances when dealing with electronic music arose here. (1)
Ten years after the official inauguration of the Centre for Art and Media Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany, this concept was continued in the USA with the construction in Troy, situated halfway between New York and Montreal, of a theatrical venue unique in the world: EMPAC, which became the first type of theatre to turn entirely towards our digital era, while maintaining a "traditional" layout. For its official inauguration during the first weekend of November 2008, one of the key projects was a 360-degree immersive environment especially created by a theatre company, The Wooster Group. (2)The conference was animated with visual documents (some never seen before), sound documents and interviews (in English) carried out or discovered during a research trip to Ann Arbor, Cambridge, New York and Troy, in November 2007, and was sponsored in part by the ARIAS Laboratories, CNRS (National Committee for Scientific Research).
One year after the conference held on the French scenographer "Jacques Polieri: beyond theatre", this historical and current study aims for a better understanding of the challenges of contemporary creation in the making.
(2) Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center http://empac.rpi.edu/
Monday, January 7, 2008
"Brilliant Noise" by Semiconductor
Brilliant Noise takes us into the data vaults of solar astronomy. After sifting through hundreds of thousands of computer files, made accessible via open access archives, Semiconductor have brought together some of the sun's finest unseen moments. These images have been kept in their most raw form, revealing the energetic particles and solar wind as a rain of white noise. This grainy black and white quality is routinely cleaned up by NASA, hiding the processes and mechanics in action behind the capturing procedure. Most of the imagery has been collected as single snapshots containing additional information, by satellites orbiting the Earth. They are then reorganised into their spectral groups to create time-lapse sequences. The soundtrack highlights the hidden forces at play upon the solar surface, by directly translating areas of intensity within the image brightness into layers of audio manipulation and radio frequencies.
FATCAT RECORDS http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/mediaItem.php?id=43
YOU TUBE VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz5wHsGhjtg
The one that "represents" and the one that "interprets"
I think there is always a distance, and this distance is - the difference between how we perceive the world and the way our instrumens do- the fact that we embed a cultural frame on top of our strict perception, in other words there is no perception that is not frame by an interpretation.
I have been working on Art in Extreme Environments for a while now, and recently focusing on art at the Poles with a huge emphasis on art in Antartica. Antactica creates conflict between perception and cognition, what William Fox calls cognitive dissonance (same as in weightlessness actually).
He writes at lengh in his book "Terra Antarctica" (by the way : a big thank you to Lisa Roberts who has mentioned this book on her blog and made me discover it) about the different systems of representation of Antartica : from the maps, to the cartography, to scientific imaging, to art of various kind (the one that "represents" and the one that "interprets" in his wording). He stresses upon the fact that in order to look "true", representational art has/had to "cheat" = what we feel being a bit different of how a true drawing would be. He also emphasizes how our scientific imagery is datas transformed into pictures that are heavily reworked (by illustrators and artists and not the scientists themselves) in order for us to be understandable and to match our understandings (like having red for hot spots for instance). This is well known, and has been the core of Semi-Conductor "Brilliant Noise" film (absolutely a great work of art).
Fox writes (about the comparisons between paintings from the "naked eye", photographies and data imaging from various instruments including satellite images) : What "is" is not exactly what we see, while what we see is not exactly what we represent, and neither of these two images, one a piece of "representational art" and the other a "scientific graphic", is necessarily more accurate or complete a view than the other. Aesthetic choices have been made in both cases; indeed, they are as rampant in scientific imagery as in fine art".
Annick
Sunday, January 6, 2008
"Prisoners of Beckett" by Michka Saäl, Director
"Prisoners of Beckett," a film by Michka Saäl, is a true account of a group of inmates in a Swedish prison who stage a performance of Samuel Beckett’s black comedy, Waiting For Godot, both inside and outside the prison walls. Inspired and guided by their exuberantly passionate director and producer, Jan Jonson, the men embark upon an experience that not only opens their world to Beckett...
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http://www.formatlabor.net/
Collective Subjectivity – On the way to new manners of working and distribution formats in audiovisual media.
Janus von Abaton / Till Nikolaus von Heiseler / Sophia Nabokov / Andres Fuentes Cannobbio / Schlomo Uhlenspiegel
1. About this Text Together with the camcorder revolution and with the digital possibilities of post production and distribution an immense technical space of feasibility was opened. The actual possibilities of realisation however are restricted by the network of standardized production and distribution, by traditional methods which still date from the time of classical film and by our ideas which are formed by cinema and TV.
This text invites video artists, film-makers, film-editors and actors to reflect and to develop together a method for developing non linear and polyphone narrative ways for the area of audio-vision and of other...
Read article
Janus von Abaton / Till Nikolaus von Heiseler / Sophia Nabokov / Andres Fuentes Cannobbio / Schlomo Uhlenspiegel
1. About this Text Together with the camcorder revolution and with the digital possibilities of post production and distribution an immense technical space of feasibility was opened. The actual possibilities of realisation however are restricted by the network of standardized production and distribution, by traditional methods which still date from the time of classical film and by our ideas which are formed by cinema and TV.
This text invites video artists, film-makers, film-editors and actors to reflect and to develop together a method for developing non linear and polyphone narrative ways for the area of audio-vision and of other...
Read article
Friday, January 4, 2008
QANTARA-Dialogue with the Islamic World (1)
Jesus in Islam
Rasul Allah – The Messenger of God
There are many differences between Islam and Christianity, but also similarities; Jesus has a significant role for Muslims too. Aiman Mazyek on the Islamic prophet known as Isa in the Koran...
The Pomaks
Caught in a Three-way Tug-of-War
The Pomaks are Bulgarians who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation of the country. In the course of the 20th century, they have been used as pawns in the conflicts between Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. According to political scientist Emil Mintchev, the solution to their problem lies in the EU...
Muslim Superheroes
The Arab Hulks
In the comic book The 99, Muslim superheroes fight for a better world – and offend conservatives...
Rasul Allah – The Messenger of God
There are many differences between Islam and Christianity, but also similarities; Jesus has a significant role for Muslims too. Aiman Mazyek on the Islamic prophet known as Isa in the Koran...
The Pomaks
Caught in a Three-way Tug-of-War
The Pomaks are Bulgarians who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation of the country. In the course of the 20th century, they have been used as pawns in the conflicts between Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. According to political scientist Emil Mintchev, the solution to their problem lies in the EU...
Muslim Superheroes
The Arab Hulks
In the comic book The 99, Muslim superheroes fight for a better world – and offend conservatives...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Visual Foreign Correspondents presents Sharam Entekhabi from Iran
In Iran Haji Firouz is a clownesque character in blackface, traditionally heralding the Persian New Year: Nowruz. With song and dance he spreads good cheer and inaugurates the festive season. Set within a busy shopping street in West-Berlin, Entekhabi enacts his own version of Haji Fairuz. However, his continuous efforts and increasingly exaggerated gestures to attract attention and become included within a...
http://www.visualcorrespondents.com/
http://www.entekhabi.org/
http://www.visualcorrespondents.com/
http://www.entekhabi.org/
The Koran
Simple Searches: Single word and phrase searches throughout the entire Koran
Proximity Searches: Find the co-occurrence of two orthree words or phrases.
Boolean Searches: Find combinations of two or three words in a given verse
Browse the Koran: Select individual chapters
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/koran/
http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/HolKora.html
http://i-cias.com/e.o/koran.htm
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/
Proximity Searches: Find the co-occurrence of two orthree words or phrases.
Boolean Searches: Find combinations of two or three words in a given verse
Browse the Koran: Select individual chapters
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/koran/
http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/HolKora.html
http://i-cias.com/e.o/koran.htm
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/
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