Wishing to react to the phenomenon of proliferation of Biennales, we decided to create the concept of the 'Emergency Biennale', without funds and on an emergency footing. The first Emergency Biennale, in collaboration with the FIDH (International Federation of Human Rights Leagues), was conceived in a geopolitical context which has become so complex that it seemed necessary to mobilize the artists.
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All kinds of information on Chechnya will also be presented. Mylene Sauloy's and Manon Loizeau's films on daily life and culture of Chechens since the beginning of the first war in 1994 will be screened.
In addition, an internet post with webcam and direct access to the website created for the occasion - WWW.EMERGENCYBIENNALE.ORG- will do its utmost to connect with Chechen partners, to receive images and information on the suitcase and the organization of the exhibition in Grozny. A discussion forum will also offer an opportunity to react and exchange on the subject across and beyond all borders.
A publication is in preparation. It will comprise texts on the situation of human rights, some theoretical articles on art, political and social sciences as well as images of the various artistic projects.
The flyer for the King Tut show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art came in the mail last week. I have been wondering when it would come ever since I renewed my membership through a LACMA membership representative about a couple of weeks back. I must say that I have been irked by LACMA's frequent rental of its galleries to these blockbuster shows. Since 2003, I believe there were something like four special ticketing events. This means that instead of paying the normal charge for the museum admissions, one has to pay a higher price to see these "wonderful, special shows". The Egyptian government need hundreds of millions of dollars in order to build a new museum near the Pyramids for their archeological finds. A private, for-profit company has stepped in and proposed an internationa tour of the Tutankhamun artifacts, in hopes of repeating the huge success of the first King Tut show, which gave birth to the very phenomena of the museum blockbuster. [from Edward Goldman's Art Talk]
And unlike their previous blockbuster shows of the past couple of years, LACMA does not allow its memberships to view the exhibition free of charge [two tickets per member], unless one is a patron level card holder.
A variant of the first mobile phone virus, Cabir, which was placed into the wild last June, has been found on deivces at a store in Santa Monica. The virus infects the Symbian OS equipped mobile devices with Bluetooth support. The virus utilizes the Bluetooth capability of the phone to spread itself to other mobile phones. Once infected, Cabir blocks all Bluetooth connectivity as well as draining the device battery.
From F-secure:Cabir is a bluetooth using worm that runs in Symbian mobile phones that support Series 60 platform.
According to internetnews.com, Symbian phones are not as yet commonplace in the United States; however, it has a market share of 80 percent of global market, with an estimate of 20 million units.
Cabir replicates over bluetooth connections and arrives to phone messaging inbox as caribe.sis file what [sic] contains the worm. When user clicks the caribe.sis and chooses to install the Caribe.sis file the worm activates and starts looking for new devices to infect over bluetooth.
When Cabir worm finds another bluetooth device it willstart sending infected SIS files to it, and lock to that phone so that it won't look [at] other phones even when the target moves out of range.
Mobile Phone Virus Found In United States
Cabir Hits U.S.
I ran across this article in the New York Times about a fishing village in the Southern Thailand. It makes one realizes how difficult and heartbreaking it is for the survivors to deal with the lost:Nam Khem is now a haunted place, echoing with the last moments of terror of the people who died here.
Pharpa Chanmuang [Lost six of 11 family members. She outraced the wave on her motorbike, carrying a child. Her mother, who was also on a motorbike nearby, was pulled under the wave to her death]: "My father just sits and stares. One day he asked me for a suitcase. I said, 'We don't have a suitcase.' He said: 'Go buy one. I want to get away from here.' I don't think he is really leaving, though."
Some of the dead appear in the dreams of those they left behind, or even in their waking moments, and the villagers say some of the survivors have collapsed with grief.
Prayun Chongkraichak:Most of the men fish, and only half a dozen of some 300 boats survived the waves. "Our real problem is we have no way to make a living," said Prayun Chongkraichak, 38, who runs a small collective of surviving fishermen.
Am Changkraichok [a 68 years old fisherman]:
The men busy themselves weaving hundreds of new fish traps, but even if they had boats, they fear that any catch would be contaminated with waste. "We have lost our trust in the sea," Mr. Prayun said."It was fate. If you were meant to die, you died. People visiting here to see friends, or foreigners here on holiday, all were here because their time had come to die. I've lived here all my life but I was spared. How do you explain that? My time had not yet come. When I think like this, it makes me feel better. Nature decides. Things come and things disappear. If you just don't let go, it can make you crazy."
Mr. Changkraichok's sentiment reflected those of mine during the time immediately following the disaster. Everytime when someone asked me how I felt about the disaster, all I could tell them was that it was just a part of the natural cycle of life. Like Mr. Changkraichok mentioned, nature decides, and no one could have predicted how the events could have unfold. It may seems like a very easy way to brush aside such an enormouse event, but one must also understand that it is a very Buddhist way. Everything is part of life, and one has no way of controlling it. The simplest way is to let go.
Saengarun Pholasen:Every evening now, on an empty beach at the southern edge of Nam Khem, Saengarun Pholasen, 50, a metal worker, brings three cans of beer and sits on the patio of a ruined restaurant. He takes two cans for himself and pours the third into a plastic cup for his best friend, Somsak, one of the victims of the wave.
The U.S. media may no longer cover the disaster in urgency the way they did immediately following the event does not mean that things simply stop happening in those parts of the world affected. My parents read the local Thai newspapers frequently, and there are always items regarding the Tsunami weekly. Most of these news source are in a foreign language, so many may not be able to read the articles. Many good thai newspapers are available online such as The Bangkok Post or The Nation.
"Four or five nights ago, I saw him standing by my bed and he said no one was caring for his soul," Mr. Saengarun said. "It wasn't a dream. He was standing there. So I come out here now where we used to drink together after work."
Mr. Saengarun calls out to his friend, "Somsak! Somsak!" to let him know his beer is waiting for him. Then he sits alone watching a huge red sun sink into the sea, one beer in his hand, the plastic cup untouched, as cicadas buzz in the pine trees, the daylight fades away and the entire world around him grows dark.
For centuries a small number of writers were confronted by many thousands of readers. This changed toward the end of the last century. With the increasing extension of the press, which kept placing new political, religious, scientific, professional, and local organs before the readers, an increasing number of readers became writers-at first, occasional ones. It began with the daily press opening to its readers space for "letters to the editor." And today there is hardly a gainfully employed European who could not, in principle, find an opportunity to publish somewhere or other comments on his work, grievances, documentary reports, or that sort of thing. Thus, the distinction between author and public is about to lose its basic character
