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13th to 31st August 2004

In Sicily, Napoli and Munich. Climbing up volcanos, watching them explode, sitting on the beach, visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum etc...

8th August 2004

Erkki Kurenniemi is a early computer and electronic music pioneer from Finland, which seems to produce a disproportionate number of cool and interesting people. Mika Taanila's film about him is currently showing at the Ikon Gallery (Sundays only, on the hour, until 12th September 2004). The film includes some rare (I guess!) footage of early computers and electronic music devices, including many made by Erkki himself. Some of his ideas include: an instrument played by four musicians at once, one whose interface is the skin of 3 or 4 participants - they play by touching each other, very much in the "hippy aesthetic". Other fun things include music created from video (in a similar manner to http://www.seeingwithsound.com/javoice.htm ), a film performance piece in which people act out the roles of parts of a computer processor, and his idea of capturing as much of a person's life as possible in order that their souls can be re-created in a future quantum computer (note to the skeptical: (i) he's an artist, (ii) he's very 1960's influenced, (iii) he doesn't mean that sort of Quantum Computer). c.f. my idea for Conversational Gravestones.

By the way, the film is called "The Future is Not What it Used to Be", and runs for 52 glorious minutes.

• More info on Erkki and the film, plus links to more cool "Finn Stuff" - http://www.phinnweb.com/early/erkkikurenniemi/
• Interview with Erkki Kurenniemi and a little more info on some of the instruments - http://www.frame-fund.fi/news/dimi.html

I also saw "A Tale of Love Gone Wrong for Pandaman", which follows the court trial of Chinese artist Zhao Bandi to protect the copyright of his SARS parody poster, which was reproduced without credit by several publications. His intense boredom and distration during most of the case, his ever present panda and the final statement in which he reads a "dear john" letter to the court make it well worth watching.

5th August 2004

Went to The MAC to see a couple of very good Indy Media films on the Zapatistas and Indy Media Argentina. Afterwards, a couple of mexican people from the audience came forward and spoke very well about their experiences and the situation in Mexico.

3rd August 2004

Saw the two films, Suits And Savages and Baked Alaska at The MAC, with speakers from various local green / environmental organisations. Baked Alaska showed the effects of climate change in Alaska, which is warming 10 times faster than the average due to the albedo effect - snow melts, leaving a darker surface which absorbs more energy from the sun. This is leading to a melting of the permafrost, radically changing the local environment and causing houses to sink into the ground!

The other climate change related issue in Alaska is of course the proposals to extract oil from the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.

Suits And Savages follows the World Bank's Global Environment Fund (GEF) and it's impact on the people of one particular region of india. Great cinematography, contrasting the forest and ourdoor scenes in India with the carefully manicured folliage in the GEF building.

1st August 2004

Visited Avebury Stone Circle, the largest stone circle in the world, and the location of the 1980's children serial, Children Of The Stones.

• Avebury Stone Circle:
  

• Stone at Avebury Stone Circle:
  

• Stone at Avebury Stone Circle (2):
  

• Stone at Avebury Stone Circle (3):
  

• The Red Lion Pub, Avebury:
  

Also saw West Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill, the Uffington White Horse and a couple of other white horses.

• Broad Town White Horse:
  

• Silbury Hill:
  

• West Kennet Long Barrow:
  

• Shrine at Swallowhead Springs :
  

• Shrine at Swallowhead Springs (2):
  

• Crop Circle Sign:
  

• Crop Circle Sign (close up):
  

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