Author: Jon Lebkowsky

Co-wrangler of Plutopia News Network, cohost Radio Free Plutopia. Podcaster, writer, dharma observer, enzyme. Former editor/publisher, FringeWare Review; associate editor at bOING bOING and Factsheet Five; writer at Mondo 2000, 21C, Wired, Whole Earth Review, Austin Chronicle; sub-editor at Millennium Whole Earth Catalog; blogger at Worldchanging. Digital culture maven, podcaster, writer, dharma observer, enzyme. On The WELL, Cohost of VC (virtual communities), Media, and Civil War (.ind) conferences.

Water Spirits

This caught my eye, and I was wishing I could drop everything and head for the National Museum of African Art.

It’s as rousing as a drum roll, as piquant as a samba, as sexy as Césaria Évora’s voice. It’s about glitter and tears, bawdy jokes and baskets of flowers, miracles and mysteries, money in hand and affairs of the heart. It’s about standing at the edge of the sea at dawn and watching a world re-born. In that world no one walks; everyone dances and swims; everyone, that is, who has taken the plunge into Mami Wata’s realm.

Who is Mami Wata? She is Mother Water, Mother of Fishes, goddess of oceans, rivers and pools, with sources in West and Central Africa and tributaries throughout the African Americas, from Bahia to Brooklyn. Usually shown as a half-woman, half-fish, she slips with ease between incompatible elements: water and air, tradition and modernity, this life and the next.

Amsterdam Meets Chicago

The Ab Baahrs trio will be in Austin next Friday. [Link] (Thanks to Pedro Moreno for the pointer!)

A highly distinctive voice from the fertile Dutch jazz scene, Ab Baars brings an idiosyncratic creativity into combination with skill and knowledge of his music’s roots. Though his music has been described as “joyfully obstinate”, it has an undeniable and colorful catchy-ness that stems from its stripped essence. As an instrumentalist, Baars has been influenced by (among others) American Jazz greats like Roscoe Mitchell and John Carter (both of whom he has worked with). As a composer/improvisor/band-leader Baars displays all of the musical characteristics that have come to define the Dutch creative music scene: open forms, varied improvisational strategies, wacky use of juxtaposition, and an unwillingness to treat jazz—or any music—as a fixed art form. Ab Baars is an important member of The ICP Orchestra, the defining group of Dutch jazz.

NY Times: Twitter is haunted

The New York Times just discovered that there are ghost tweeters on Twitter. That was common knowledge in the Twitterverse, of course; part of the fun is figuring out whether a celebrity persona on the system is a spoof, a ghost, or the real thing. Spoofs already made news via Shaquille O’Neals decision to tweet as “The Real Shaq” after he learned there was a spoof account, and the more recent outing of a fake Dalai Lama. We all suspected other celebrities were using ghost tweeters, and some have been pretty transparent, like Britney Spears, who shares her account with others on her staff – they’ve been identifying who’s posting in the posted tweets.

I’m realizing how weird this all must sound to those of you who haven’t drunk the Twitter Kool-Aid quite yet. It’s really pretty irrelevant to the experience current adopters are having – scads are following these celebrities, but I suspect they’re getting a tiny slice of the overall commitment of attention.

The Times article outs Guy Kawasaki, who currently has over 94,000 followers, as “an unabashed user of ghost Twitterers.” He is “is full of praise for the two employees who enliven his Twitter feed, often posting updates while he is on stage addressing a conference.” In response, Kawasaki told publisher Tim O’Reilly (via Twitter) “2 people supplement my posts. They only do links to cool stuff. I do all responses.”

The “ghosts” raise the question of authenticity, but where celebrities are concerned, has that ever really been an issue? The cool thing about Twitter is that it can accommodate bogus PR posturing and completely authentic personal sharing, all in the same virtual “room.” Put your attention where it does you the most good – and if you’re getting useful intelligence from Kawasaki’s feed, you probably don’t care whether it’s him or his ghost that’s posting.

Purpose of America

Roy Spence and Haley Rushing say, at Huffington Post, It’s Time to Renew the Purpose of America. This resonates well with me – I’ve been doing a lot of work defining and organizing around purposeful thinking and setting goals lately. The clarity in that kind of work is powerful.

America’s clear purpose was already articulated, they say: To be a nation of the people, by the people and for the people, always moving forward without leaving anyone behind.

The first pillar of our nation’s purpose was originally, eloquently and prophetically spoken by our 16th President on the battlefield at Gettysburg. On the political battlefield of our day, with its own deep divisiveness, let us all come together behind the sacred purpose in those words. It does not say of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, for the lobbyists. And it does not say of the bankers, or by the Democrats, or for the Republicans. It says that in our nation, the people are in charge. We are responsible and accountable for our deeds. And we are the beneficiaries of all we achieve.

The second pillar of our purpose is about progress itself. Always moving forward without leaving anyone behind. We are a nation of doers and dreamers and it’s that drive, that purposeful pursuit of what’s next that has taken us to places we could never have imagined. Let us never waver in that conviction to achieve. Now is the time to redouble our ambition, to look up from the circumstances we’re in and toward the place we want to be. And then let’s go there. All together.

They go on to say that “in times of great turmoil, purpose is your anchor.” And in a period of calm, “purpose is also your north star.”

Rod Bell, who was my undergraduate government professor almost 40 years ago, said “to solve big problems, you have to have big confusion.” Problems and confusion have both been growing, where are the solutions? Spence and Rushing include an Abraham Lincoln quote: “Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life.”

BarCamp Austin 2009

From its first year, I was committed in principle to BarCamp Austin but couldn’t quite seem to get away from SXSW Interactive long enough to make the scene. This year I made 100% commitment to go. Steve Golab of FG Squared wanted me to join him in a talk about Austin’s potential as a hub of the social media world. We grabbed a slot, but Steve had an emergency and had to leave before we spoke, so my friend Tom Brown stepped in to help, and I changed the presentation to something more general: how do you make a scene that involves diverse cultures and communities – the Open Source geeks, the Chamber of Commerce suits, the Bootstrappers and all the people brewing businesses from ideation through valley of death to growth? We talked a lot about the potential of coworking to bring voices from all these communities together in synergistic conversations. We were getting close to thoughts about solutions (with contributions from Sherry Lowry, Julie Gomoll, and others) but a half hour’s not along time. I’d love to continue that conversation somewhere.

Bands, Burgers, and Beer

Tantalizing free music minifest jamming during SXSW, at the great Fran’s Hamburgers, 1822 S. Congress, March 19, 3pm-6pm… assembled by my friend Joe Rae Di Menno of Hard Pressed Publicity, sponsored by Santa Fe Brewing.

Give your ears a break from the Fender Strats and your bellies a reprieve from the all-you-can-stomach chili con queso to unwind with your friends at Green Light Go and Hard Pressed Publicity. Located in the heart of South Congress, and right around the corner from Jo’s Coffee Shop and the Continental Club, not only does Fran’s Hamburgers dish up the most noteworthy burgers in town (we hear the Homemade Hickory Burger with a touch of BBQ sauce and dill pickles is to die for!) The food, of course, is just the appetizer to the main event.

Bands, Burgers, and Beer will feature acoustic performances by:

3:00-3:20pm – The Handsome Family – Albuquerque’s husband and wife duo, Brett and Rennie Sparks have hit the pavement running. With alt-country swaggers and dark, haunting melodies, The Handsome Family celebrate their 20th anniversary with bittersweet love songs that travel like tumbleweeds through the chambers of our hearts.
http://www.greenlightgopublicity.com/clients/?client=thehandsomefamily

3:25 – 3:45 – Ben Mallott – Recently releasing his first solo CD with dustwind melodies and straight to the heart lyrics, Look Good, Feel Good, was coined by Austin Monthly as “as one of the top nine to watch in ‘09” while Austin Chronicle’s Austin Powell named him “one of 9 locals poised to breakout at SXSW this year.”
http://www.myspace.com/benmallott

3:50 – 4:10pm – The Motion Sick – When The Motion Sick aren’t tuning their Rickenbackers, they’re busy picking up “Band of the Month” and “Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen” titles from Spin Magazine. After taking notes from influences such as Nick Cave and Modest Mouse, lead singer Michael Epstein taught a Hearing Science course at Northwestern University, before laying down a few tracks of his own. While still on campus, The Motion Sick decided to shoot a video for their single, “30 Lives”, which was added to Dance Dance Revolution, sending feet into a frenzy over the surf pop hit. Class is in session!
http://www.greenlightgopublicity.com/clients/?client=themotionsick

4:15 – 4:30pm – Graham Wilkinson and the Underground Township – are releasing Yearbook due out this April 2009. With his core, bass and drums, lead by Wayne Dalchau and Matt Morris, they’ve shared the stage with Regina Spektor, Hayes Carll, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Kimya Dawson, legendary Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, as well as friend and mentor Alejandro Escovedo (will guest on new CD.) Hayes Carll says “Graham is like no other musician on the scene with charisma in spades and the songs to match.”
http://www.myspace.com/undergroundtownship

4:35-4:55pm – Static of the Gods – Fusing melodic indie rock with sweet-yet-sultry vocals, Jen Johnson (voice, guitar, & keyboard), Mike Latulippe (drums) and Ben Voskeritchian (bass & guitar) have all the right moves. The trio’s innovation and ability to reinvent the musical wheel prevents critics from putting a finger on them, while fans continue screaming for more. Be sure to catch the Boston natives before Metric can swoop them up for an opening slot.
http://www.greenlightgopublicity.com/clients/?client=staticofthegods

5:00 – 5:15pm – Aimee Bobruk –Austin’s own songbird, Aimee Bobruk, collides dreamy indie pop with ambient folk rock, presenting listeners with rich orchestral melodies, crisp lyrical images, and creative instrumentation. Recently performing at the Folk Alliance and chosen as one of 12 Regional Finalists for the nationally acclaimed NPR show Mountain Stage New Song Contest, Bobruk will release her Darwin Smith produced CD, The Safety Match Journal (Darwin Smith)nationally on April 28, 2009.
http://www.myspace.com/aimeebobruk

5:20 – 5:35pm – Golden Bloom – Golden Bloom combines the crisp vocals of Shawn Fogel with driving hooks to create pop songs that would turn Jeff Tweedy green with envy. Handling all of the instruments on his upcoming album, while sharing the stage with the likes of Michael Azerrad during traditional live performances, Golden Bloom recently earned the title of SPIN Magazine’s “8 Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen.” Be sure to catch Golden Bloom and watch these golden boys who are winning the heart of America faster than you can say “record deal”.
http://www.greenlightgopublicity.com/clients/?client=goldenbloom

5:40 – 6:00pm – Robert Harrison (Future Clouds & Radar) – Listing Peoria as Blurt’s 5th Best Record of 2008, Future Clouds and Radar’s latest offering finds the band focusing their kaleidoscopic vision into a single cinematic narrative about the illusory nature of mortality. Harrison stays true to his genre-hopping eclecticism, leading the journey through a maze of fuzz-box vocals and ethereal keys. The band released their self-titled double-disc debut in 2007, and Harp Magazine named the band “Debut Artist of the Year” and called the release 4th Best Record overall.
http://www.myspace.com/futurecloudsandradartx

Green Light Go earned their stripes within the ranks of the entertainment publicity world. With over fifteen years of experience working in the music industry for BMG Distribution, representing such clients as Morrissey, Belle & Sebastian, Ray LaMontagne, and The White Stripes; Green Light Go founder and CEO, Janelle Rogers, combines her library of industry knowledge with an innate level of creativity, integrity, and passion. Green Light Go emphasizes the motto “quality over quantity”, focusing their efforts on an integrated approach of working with traditional media of today and the internet media of tomorrow.
http://www.greenlightgopublicity.com

If there were such a thing as a royal family of Austin’s music scene, Jo Rae Di Menno of Austin’s Hard Pressed Publicity would certainly be a member. In addition to spending 10 years as director of publicity for the world-famous South By Southwest Music & Media Conference (which included escorting and organizing press conferences for keynote speakers Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, Carl Perkins, Nick Lowe and Bob Mould), Di Menno has conducted successful media campaigns for Alejandro Escovedo, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan of the Faces, the True Believers, Trish Murphy, Bernard Allison and many others. For nearly 20 years, she’s represented some of the world’s top musicians (and trendy record labels like Rough Trade and Fat Caddy) – both at home and overseas.
http://www.hardpressedpublicity.com

A law of evolving patterns in living systems

Constructal law can predict patterns in living sysems. [Link]

“Our finding that animal locomotion adheres to constructal law tells us that – even though you couldn’t predict exactly what animals would look like if you started evolution over on earth, or it happened on another planet – with a given gravity and density of their tissues, the same basic patterns of their design would evolve again,” [Penn state biologist James] Marden added.

The law, which [Adrian] Bejan started describing in 1996, is the principle that flow systems evolve in time to balance and minimize imperfections, reducing friction or other forms of resistance, so that they flow more and more easily in time. He is fond of using illustrations to make his point. For example, he has used images ranging from the branching symmetries of the lungs, river basins and trees touching top-to-top.

Credit where credit is due

James Suroweicki explains the logic that drives credit card companies to strangle consumers.

…credit-card companies have created a strange business, in which there’s a fine line between good and bad customers. Their best customers aren’t those who dutifully pay off their balance every month; instead, they’re the ones who charge a lot and pay only a little every month, carrying a sizable balance and racking up interest charges and late fees. These are the “revolvers,” and the credit-card business feeds on them. Credit-card companies don’t necessarily want revolvers to pay off their debts; if they did, there’d be no interest or fees to collect. They want their loans to be, in the words of a banking regulator, “a perpetual earning asset.” And they’ve thought a lot about how to keep those interest payments coming. For instance, they used to keep minimum payments relatively high. But, over time, companies started lowering minimum payments, sometimes to just two per cent of the balance. The lower the minimum payment the less people pay off each month and the longer they stay on the hook.

Just busy

Been working on a number of projects, especially getting Social Web Strategies launched and working on the Plutopia-produced EFF-Austin party, possibly the biggest party at SXSW this year. Also revived EFF-Austin, ramped up Austin350.org, created a new Bootstrap subgroup focused on community… I’ve been pretty busy. This is by way of apology for starving the blog. Getting back to it now, just days before SXSW Interactive kicks off. I’ve organized a panel called “Using the New Digital Social Media to Accelerate Sustainability.” I should be working on slides for that now, and not blogging.

Darwin and Buddhism

Darwin Fish
Psychologist Paul Ekman believes that Charles Darwin may have been inspired by Tibetan Buddhism. Says Ekman,

The Buddhist view, like Darwin, said that the seed of compassion is in mothering, global compassion: focus on others as mother. When I see you suffer it makes me suffer, and that motivates me to reduce your suffering so I can reduce my suffering. The Dalai Lama says compassionate acts help me more than the person I help. That’s identical in Buddhism and in Darwin’s explicit writings

Darwin knew something of Tibetan Buddhism, but there’s no established link between his views and Buddhist thinking. However “his view on the nature of commpassion is identical in almost the exact words to the view of Tibetan Buddhism.”

Algae Biofuels Summit

Here’s a conference for “communities in the algae biofuels value chain,” including “power plant operators, industrial carbon generators, algae technology developers, algae equipment suppliers, algae project developers, biofuels refiners, financiers, carbon market players, oil companies, airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers.”

…the goal of the Summit is to provide a forum where the algae community can discuss and learn how to build the links within the value chain that are necessary to make the algae biofuels industry a reality.

Big Mind and Evolution

Foremost integral thinker Ken Wilber discusses the Bodhisattva vow (to liberate all sentient beings) and it’s relationship to Big Mind, or revelation of true self.

What evolutionary awareness does is reveal a second dimension of the Enlightenment process that must now be a part of how a bodhisattva functions in the world, because although pure nondual Emptiness does not evolve or change, sentient beings do. With each new structure of consciousness, Spirit has a new way to understand itself, which is not simply recycled samsara dressed up to look like something new, but a stunning and grand act of emergent creativity on a Kosmic scale—one which you are invited to participate in, if you really want it.

Interesting high-level thinking (maybe too high-level – I think it’s a bit more complicated.)