Fission Principles (1994)

“Within about 1ms after the explosion, some 70-80% of the explosion energy…
is emitted as primary thermal radiation, most of which consists of soft
X-rays.”

Glasstone, The Effects of Nuclear Weaponns

FISSION PRINCIPLES

The binding energy per nucleon versus atomic mass has a turning point around
Fe-56. Iron is the most stable element. Elements with atomic masses less
than iron tend to combine, and those with masses greater than iron tend to
split. Radioactivity is an indication of this instability. The problem is that
protons in the nucleus tend to repel each other. There comes a stage where
the nuclear binding energy cannot compete with this repelling force, even if
you add more and more neutrons to the nucleus. Take as an example, the highest
Z naturally occuring element – uranium.

U has many radioactive isotopes. These include U-234, U-235 and U-238. They are
among the longest-living elements in a table of radioactive isotopes.

The U-235 isotope is used in weapons since it has the highest fission cross
section of all the U isotopes, for thermal neutrons.

If you bombard U-238 with thermal neutrons, you might just cause
a transuranic beta decay to Pu-239. Pu does not occur naturally, and is of
use in weapons. If you bombard the radioactive isotopes with slow neutrons
there is a chance that you will split the nuclei in half. In the process, you
release some binding energy, and some more neutrons. For an explosion, you
need a self-sustaining chain reaction which keeps on generating more and more
neutrons. In effect, you need a critical mass of fissionable material to
offset any loss of neutrons. (Instead of hitting other isotopic nuclei, the
neutrons might just wander off.) A sphere of material is used to provide the
least surface area for neutron loss. If the sphere is large enough, neutron
loss will be balanced by neutron generation, resulting in a self-sustaining
reaction. You have an energy release in fission since the mass of the original
atom doesn’t equal the mass of the two reaction atoms. The lost energy is
converted to radiation and kinetic energy of the atoms via mass-energy
equivalence. The fission products are around equal size, and are highly
radioactive. Products include Sr, which is absorbed into human bones and
stays there, since it is chemically similar to calcium. Other harmful
products include cesium, similar to potassium. Cesium is distributed
uniformly throughout the body.

The number of fissioning nuclei increases as a geometric progression, with
each generation. Most of the energy in a bomb is released during around the
80th generation.

It is estimated in 10^-6 secs, about 2×10-24 U-235 nuclei split, releasing
HUGE amounts of energy. A single split gives you about 170MeV on average,
whereas a chemical reaction only gives you a few eV.

An example of a fission reaction is:

U-235 + n -> Kr-92 + Xe-142 + 2n + 207 MeV.

The released energy is many orders of magnitude greater than that released
by a chemical reaction using the same amount of matter.

A solid Pu sphere of 6.2kg mass is about 3.3″ in diameter. It would be as
big as a tennis ball, but as massive as a bowling ball. The sphere would be
bigger if there was a Po-Be core inside.

Uranium & Plutonium
——————-

Uranium-235 is very difficult to extract. In fact, for every 25,000 tons
of Uranium ore that is mined from the earth, only 50 tons of Uranium metal can
be refined from that, and 99.3% of that metal is U-238 which is too stable to
be used as an active agent in an atomic detonation. To make matters even more
complicated, no ordinary chemical extraction can separate the two isotopes
since both U-235 and U-238 possess precisely identical chemical
characteristics. The only methods that can effectively separate U-235 from
U-238 are mechanical methods.

U-235 is slightly, but only slightly, lighter than its counterpart,
U-238. A system of gaseous diffusion is used to begin the separating process
between the two isotopes. In this system, Uranium is combined with fluorine
to form Uranium Hexafluoride gas. This mixture is then propelled by low-
pressure pumps through a series of extremely fine porous barriers. Because
the U-235 atoms are lighter and thus propelled faster than the U-238 atoms,
they could penetrate the barriers more rapidly. As a result, the
U-235’s concentration became successively greater as it passed through each
barrier. After passing through several thousand barriers, the Uranium
Hexafluoride contains a relatively high concentration of U-235 — 2% pure
Uranium in the case of reactor fuel, and if pushed further could
(theoretically) yield up to 95% pure Uranium for use in an atomic bomb.

Once the process of gaseous diffusion is finished, the Uranium must be
refined once again. Magnetic separation of the extract from the previous
enriching process is then implemented to further refine the Uranium. This
involves electrically charging Uranium Tetrachloride gas and directing it past
a weak electromagnet. Since the lighter U-235 particles in the gas stream are
less affected by the magnetic pull, they can be gradually separated from the
flow.

Following the first two procedures, a third enrichment process is then
applied to the extract from the second process. In this procedure, a gas
centrifuge is brought into action to further separate the lighter U-235 from
its heavier counter-isotope. Centrifugal force separates the two isotopes of
Uranium by their mass. Once all of these procedures have been completed, all
that need be done is to place the properly molded components of Uranium-235
inside a warhead that will facilitate an atomic detonation.

Supercritical mass for Uranium-235 is defined as 110 lbs (50 kgs) of
pure Uranium.

Depending on the refining process(es) used when purifying the U-235 for
use, along with the design of the warhead mechanism and the altitude at which
it detonates, the explosive force of the A-bomb can range anywhere from 1
kiloton (which equals 1,000 tons of TNT) to 20 megatons (which equals 20
million tons of TNT — which, by the way, is the smallest strategic nuclear
warhead we possess today. {Point in fact — One Trident Nuclear Submarine
carries as much destructive power as 25 World War II’s}).

While Uranium is an ideally fissionable material, it is not the only one.
Plutonium can be used in an atomic bomb as well. By leaving U-238 inside an
atomic reactor for an extended period of time, the U-238 picks up extra
particles (neutrons especially) and gradually is transformed into the element
Plutonium.

Plutonium is fissionable, but not as easily fissionable as Uranium.
While Uranium can be detonated by a simple 2-part gun-type device, Plutonium
must be detonated by a more complex 32-part implosion chamber along with a
stronger conventional explosive, a greater striking velocity and a
simultaneous triggering mechanism for the conventional explosive packs. Along
with all of these requirements comes the additional task of introducing a fine
mixture of Beryllium and Polonium to this metal while all of these actions are
occurring.

Supercritical mass for Plutonium is defined as 35.2 lbs (16 kgs). This
amount needed for a supercritical mass can be reduced to a smaller quantity of
22 lbs (10 kgs) by surrounding the Plutonium with a U-238 casing.

============================================================================

– Diagram of a Chain Reaction –
——————————-

|
|
|
|
[1]——————————> o

. o o .
. o_0_o . . o_0_o”o_0_o .
. o 0 o~o 0 o .
. o o.”.o o .
|
/ |
|/_ | _|
~~ | ~~
|
o o | o o
[4]—————–> o_0_o | o_0_o <—————[5]
o~0~o | o~0~o
o o ) | ( o o
/ o
/ [1]
/
/
/
o [1] [1] o
. o o . . o o . . o o .
. o_0_o . . o_0_o . . o_0_o .
. o 0 o . . o 0 o . . o 0 o .
. o o . . o o . . o o .

/ |
|/_ |/ _|
~~ ~ ~~

. o o. .o o . . o o. .o o . . o o. .o o .
. o_0_o”o_0_o . . o_0_o”o_0_o . . o_0_o”o_0_o .
. o 0 o~o 0 o . . o 0 o~o 0 o . . o 0 o~o 0 o .
. o o.”.o o . . o o.”.o o . . o o.”.o o .
. | . . | . . | .
/ | / | / |
: | : : | : : | :
: | : : | : : | :
:/ | :/ :/ | :/ :/ | :/
~ | ~ ~ | ~ ~ | ~
[4] o o | o o [5] [4] o o | o o [5] [4] o o | o o [5]
o_0_o | o_0_o o_0_o | o_0_o o_0_o | o_0_o
o~0~o | o~0~o o~0~o | o~0~o o~0~o | o~0~o
o o ) | ( o o o o ) | ( o o o o ) | ( o o
/ | / | / |
/ | / | / |
/ | / | / |
/ | / | / |
/ o / o / o
/ [1] / [1] / [1]
o o o o o o
[1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1]

============================================================================

– Diagram Outline –
———————

[1] – Incoming Neutron
[2] – Uranium-235
[3] – Uranium-236
[4] – Barium Atom
[5] – Krypton Atom

===========================================================================

I. The History of the Atomic Bomb
——————————

On August 2nd 1939, just before the beginning of World War II, Albert
Einstein wrote to then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Einstein and several
other scientists told Roosevelt of efforts in Nazi Germany to purify U-235
with which might in turn be used to build an atomic bomb. It was shortly
thereafter that the United States Government began the serious undertaking
known only then as the Manhattan Project. Simply put, the Manhattan Project
was committed to expedient research and production that would produce a viable
atomic bomb.

The most complicated issue to be addressed was the production of ample
amounts of `enriched’ uranium to sustain a chain reaction. At the time,
Uranium-235 was very hard to extract. In fact, the ratio of conversion from
Uranium ore to Uranium metal is 500:1. An additional drawback is that the 1
part of Uranium that is finally refined from the ore consists of over 99%
Uranium-238, which is practically useless for an atomic bomb. To make it even
more difficult, U-235 and U-238 are precisely similar in their chemical
makeup. This proved to be as much of a challenge as separating a solution of
sucrose from a solution of glucose. No ordinary chemical extraction could
separate the two isotopes. Only mechanical methods could effectively separate
U-235 from U-238. Several scientists at Columbia University managed to solve
this dilemma.

A massive enrichment laboratory/plant was constructed at Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. H.C. Urey, along with his associates and colleagues at Columbia
University, devised a system that worked on the principle of gaseous
diffusion. Following this process, Ernest O. Lawrence (inventor of the
Cyclotron) at the University of California in Berkeley implemented a process
involving magnetic separation of the two isotopes.

Following the first two processes, a gas centrifuge was used to further
separate the lighter U-235 from the heavier non-fissionable U-238 by their
mass. Once all of these procedures had been completed, all that needed to be
done was to put to the test the entire concept behind atomic fission.

Over the course of six years, ranging from 1939 to 1945, more than 2
billion dollars were spent on the Manhattan Project. The formulas for
refining Uranium and putting together a working bomb were created and seen to
their logical ends by some of the greatest minds of our time. Among these
people who unleashed the power of the atomic bomb was J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer was the major force behind the Manhattan Project. He
literally ran the show and saw to it that all of the great minds working on
this project made their brainstorms work. He oversaw the entire project from
its conception to its completion.

Finally the day came when all at Los Alamos would find out whether or not
The Gadget (code-named as such during its development) was either going to be
the colossal dud of the century or perhaps end the war. It all came down to
a fateful morning of midsummer, 1945.

At 5:29:45 (Mountain War Time) on July 16th, 1945, in a white blaze that
stretched from the basin of the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico to the
still-dark skies, The Gadget ushered in the Atomic Age. The light of the
explosion then turned orange as the atomic fireball began shooting upwards at
360 feet per second, reddening and pulsing as it cooled. The characteristic
mushroom cloud of radioactive vapor materialized at 30,000 feet. Beneath the
cloud, all that remained of the soil at the blast site were fragments of jade
green radioactive glass. …All of this caused by the heat of the reaction.

The brilliant light from the detonation pierced the early morning skies
with such intensity that residents from a faraway neighboring community would
swear that the sun came up twice that day. Even more astonishing is that a
blind girl saw the flash 120 miles away.

Upon witnessing the explosion, reactions among the people who created
it were mixed. Isidor Rabi felt that the equilibrium in nature had been
upset — as if humankind had become a threat to the world it inhabited.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, though ecstatic about the success of the project,
quoted a remembered fragment from Bhagavad Gita. “I am become Death,” he
said, “the destroyer of worlds.” Ken Bainbridge, the test director, told
Oppenheimer, “Now we’re all sons of bitches.”

Several participants, shortly after viewing the results, signed petitions
against loosing the monster they had created, but their protests fell on deaf
ears. As it later turned out, the Jornada del Muerto of New Mexico was not
the last site on planet Earth to experience an atomic explosion.

As many know, atomic bombs have been used only twice in warfare. The
first and foremost blast site of the atomic bomb is Hiroshima. A Uranium
bomb (which weighed in at over 4 & 1/2 tons) nicknamed “Little Boy” was
dropped on Hiroshima August 6th, 1945. The Aioi Bridge, one of 81 bridges
connecting the seven-branched delta of the Ota River, was the aiming point of
the bomb. Ground Zero was set at 1,980 feet. At 0815 hours, the bomb was
dropped from the Enola Gay. It missed by only 800 feet. At 0816 hours, in
the flash of an instant, 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were
injured by a 10 kiloton atomic explosion.

The point of total vaporization from the blast measured one half of a
mile in diameter. Total destruction ranged at one mile in diameter. Severe
blast damage carried as far as two miles in diameter. At two and a half
miles, everything flammable in the area burned. The remaining area of the
blast zone was riddled with serious blazes that stretched out to the final
edge at a little over three miles in diameter.

On August 9th 1945, Nagasaki fell to the same treatment as Hiroshima.
Only this time, a Plutonium bomb nicknamed “Fat Man” was dropped on the city.
Even though the “Fat Man” missed by over a mile and a half, it still leveled
nearly half the city. Nagasaki’s population dropped in one split-second from
422,000 to 383,000. 39,000 were killed, over 25,000 were injured. That
blast was less than 10 kilotons as well. Estimates from physicists who have
studied each atomic explosion state that the bombs that were used had utilized
only 1/10th of 1 percent of their respective explosive capabilities.

While the mere explosion from an atomic bomb is deadly enough, its
destructive ability doesn’t stop there. Atomic fallout creates another hazard
as well. The rain that follows any atomic detonation is laden with
radioactive particles. Many survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts
succumbed to radiation poisoning due to this occurance.

The atomic detonation also has the hidden lethal surprise of affecting
the future generations of those who live through it. Leukemia is among the
greatest of afflictions that are passed on to the offspring of survivors.

While the main purpose behind the atomic bomb is obvious, there are many
by-products that have been brought into consideration in the use of all
weapons atomic. With one small atomic bomb, a massive area’s communications,
travel and machinery will grind to a dead halt due to the EMP (Electro-
Magnetic Pulse) that is radiated from a high-altitude atomic detonation.
These high-level detonations are hardly lethal, yet they deliver a serious
enough EMP to scramble any and all things electronic ranging from copper wires
all the way up to a computer’s CPU within a 50 mile radius.

At one time, during the early days of The Atomic Age, it was a popular
notion that one day atomic bombs would one day be used in mining operations
and perhaps aid in the construction of another Panama Canal. Needless to say,
it never came about. Instead, the military applications of atomic destruction
increased. Atomic tests off of the Bikini Atoll and several other sites were
common up until the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was introduced. Photos of nuclear
test sites here in the United States can be obtained through the Freedom of
Information Act.

[See Smyth Report for fuller details. Goin’s book in References has photos
of nuke sites.]

============================================================================

1994

How To Raise Money For A Small Business

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ HOW TO RAISE MONEY FOR A SMALL BUSINESSบ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Successful small business expansions and new
formations lead the way in creating new
markets, innovations and jobs that fuel
economic growth and prosperity.

In recognition of the importance of
small business to a strong economy, the
U.S. Small Business Administration
(SBA) is pleased to help meet the
information needs of existing business
owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

We hope “Focus On The Facts” meets your
needs and we invite your comments and
questions. Your success in business depends
on what you know and how well you can apply
what you have learned.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ RAISING MONEY บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
One key to successful business start-up and
expansion is your ability to obtain and
secure appropriate financing. Raising
capital is the most basic of all business
activities. But as many entrepreneurs who
are just beginning quickly discover, raising
capital may not be easy. It can be a
complex and frustrating process. But if
you are informed, well prepared and
have planned effectively, raising money for
your business will not be a painstaking
experience.

This information summary focuses on the ways
a small business can raise money and
describes how to prepare a loan proposal.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ WHERE TO FIND THE MONEY YOU NEED บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
There are several sources to consider when
looking for funding. It is important that
you explore all of your options before
making a decision.

๙ Personal Savings: Most new businesses are
started with the primary source of
capital coming from personal savings and
other forms of personal equity.

๙ Friends and Relatives: Many entrepreneurs
look to private sources such as friends
and family when starting out in a
business venture. Oftentimes, money is
loaned at no interest, or with low
interest, which can be beneficial when
getting started.

๙ Venture Capital Firms: These firms
provide start-up and other needed money
for new companies in exchange for equity
or part ownership.

๙ Banks and Credit Unions: the most common
source of funding, banks and credit
unions will provide a loan if you can
show that your business is sound.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ BORROWING MONEY บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
It is often said that small business
people have a difficult time borrowing
money. This is not necessarily true.
Banks are in the business to make
money, and the way they make money
is by lending money. However, it is the
inexperience of small business owners
in financial matters, that prompts many
small business loan requests to be
turned down. To be successful in
obtaining a loan, you must be prepared
and organized. You must know exactly
how much money you need, why you
need it and how you can pay it back.
You must be able to convince your
lender that you are a good credit risk.
Requesting a loan when you are not
properly prepared makes a statement to
your lender. That statement is. . .”High
Risk!”

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ BUILDING EXCELLENCE IN ENTERPRISE บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Types Of Business Loans

Short-Term Loans: Loans that are paid
back in less than one year. Types of
short-term loans include:

๙ Working Capital Loan
๙ Accounts Receivable Loan
๙ Line of Credit (Revolving Credit Line)
Long-Term Loans: Loans with
maturities greater than one year but
usually less than seven years. These
loans are used for major business
expansions, purchases of real property,
acquisitions and in some instances
start-up costs. Types of long-term loans
include:

๙ Personal Loan
๙ Commercial Mortgage
๙ Term Loan

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ HOW TO WRITE A LOAN PROPOSAL บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Approval of your loan request
depends on how well you present
yourself, your business and your
financial needs to a lender. Remember
lenders want to make loans, but they
want to make good loans, loans they
know will be repaid. The best way to
improve your chances of obtaining a
loan is to prepare a written loan
proposal.

A good loan proposal will contain the
following key elements:

General Information

๙ Business name, name of principals social
security number of each principal and
business address.

๙ Purpose of the loan – State exactly what
the loan will be used for and why it is
needed.

๙ Amount required – Request the exact
amount you need to achieve your purpose.

Business Description

๙ History and nature of business – Give
details of your business’s age, number of
employees and current business assets.

๙ Ownership structure – Provide details on
your company’s legal structure.

Management Profile

๙ Management description – Develop a short
statement on each principal staff member
in your business; provide background,
education, experience, skills and
accomplishments.

Market Information

๙ Clearly define your products and market.

๙ Identify your competition and explain how
your business competes in the
marketplace.

๙ Profile your customers and explain how
your business can satisfy their needs.

Financial Information

๙ Financial statements – Provide balance
sheets and income statements for the past
three years. If you are just starting
out, provide a projected balance sheet
and income statement.

๙ Personal financial statement – Prepare a
personal financial statement on yourself
and other principal owners of the
business.

๙ Collateral – List all collateral you
would be willing to pledge to the bank as
security for the loan.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ HOW YOUR LOAN REQUEST WILL BE REVIEWED บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
A loan officer’s primary concern
when reviewing a loan request is
whether or not the loan will be repaid.

To help answer this question, many
loan officers will order a copy of your
business credit report from a business
credit reporting agency. Therefore, it is
helpful if you work with these agencies
to help them prepare an accurate picture
of your business. Using the credit
report, and the information you have
provided, the lending officer will
consider the following issues:

๙ Have you invested savings or personal
equity in your business totaling at least
25% – 50% of the loan you are requesting?
Remember a lender or investor will not
finance 100% of your business.

๙ Do you have a sound record of credit
worthiness as indicated by your credit
report, work history and letters of
recommendations? This is very important.

๙ Do you have sufficient experience and
training to operate a successful
business?

๙ Have you prepared a loan proposal and
business plan which demonstrates your
understanding of the business and your
commitment to the success of the
business?

๙ Does the business have sufficient “cash
flow” to make the monthly payments on the
loan request?

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ SBA FINANCIAL PROGRAMS บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
The SBA offers a variety of
financing options for small businesses.
However, it rarely makes a direct loan
to an individual or company. The
Agency is primarily a guarantor – it
guarantees loans made by banks and
other private lenders to small business
clients.

SBA guaranteed loans generally do not exceed
$500,000, of which the Agency guarantees 85
or 90 percent of the loan balance to the
bank. The average size of an SBA guaranteed
loan is $175,000 and the average maturity
about eight years. SBA guaranteed loans are
obtained through
private lenders.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Information is power! – Make it your
business to know what business
information is available, where to get it
and most importantly, how to use it.
Sources of information include:

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
๙ SBA District Offices

๙ Small Business Development Centers
(SBDCs)

๙ Service Corps of Retired Executives
(SCORE)

๙ Small Business Institutes (SBIs)

Consult your telephone directory
under U . S . Government for your local
SBA office or call the Small Business
Answer Desk at l-800-368-5855 for
information on any of the above
resources. In Washington D.C. call
653-7561. Also, you may request a free
Directory of Business Development
Publications from your local SBA
office or the Answer Desk.

Other Sources

๙ State Economic Development Agencies
๙ Chambers of Commerce
๙ Local Colleges
๙ The Library
๙ Manufacturers and suppliers of small
business technologies and products.

Good Luck!SMALL LOAN PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) started the Small Loan Program
to meet the ever-growing need for loans of $50,000 or less. These loans will
be particularly valuable to small firms in the service sector. Under this
program, the SBA changed the guaranty fee to participating lenders and
simplified the application form to encourage lenders to consider SBA-
guaranteed loans of $50,000 or less. The change in the program allows
lenders making SBA-guaranteed loans of $50,000 or less with maturities
greater than 12 months to retain half of the guaranty fee that is normally
paid to the SBA. For example, a $50,000 loan with a 90 percent guaranty has
an SBA- guaranteed portion of $45,000, and the two percent guaranty fee would
be $900. Under the new changes, the lender may retain $450 and forward $450
to SBA, or, at its option, the lender may choose not to charge the small
business borrower the half of the guaranty that it would have retained. The
guaranty fee remain at two percent of the amount that the SBA guarantees on
loans exceeding $50,000 with maturities greater than 12 months. The lender
pays the guaranty fee to SBA. However, the lender may charge the fee to the
small business borrower. A new and simplified application form (SBA Form 4
Short Form) has been designed by the SBA to make the program easier to use.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has a number of programs and services available. They include
training and educational programs, advisory services, publications, financial
programs and contract assistance. The Agency also offers specialized
programs for women business owners, minorities, veterans, international trade
and rural development. The SBA has offices located around the country. For
the one nearest you, consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government,
or call the Small Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.
INTEREST RATE POLICY

POLICY

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) interest rate policies vary,
depending on the typeof loan assistance.

Interest rates for direct loans are based on a survey of the investment
market for federal fixed-income securities. The rates are adjusted
quarterly.

On the other hand, interest rates on guaranteed loans are negotiated between
borrowers and lenders, although rates cannot be any higher than maximum
levels set by SBA regulations.

Maximum rates are based on the lowest New York prime rate on the date the SBA
receives the application. For loans with maturities of less than seven
years, the maximum rate is 2.25 percentage points above the prime rate. For
loans with maturities of seven or more years, the maximum rate is 2.75
percentage points above the prime rate.

For immediate participation loans, the maximum interest rate for the lenders’
share is one percentage point below the maximum guaranty rate for loans with
comparable maturities.

The interest rate may be fixed or variable, depending on negotiated loan
agreements between the borrower and the lender.

VARIABLE RATE PEGS

Variable rate loans may be pegged to either the lowest New York prime rate or
the SBA optional peg rate. The optional peg rate is a weighted average of
rates the federal government pays for loans with maturities similar to the
average SBA loan. It is calculated quarterly and published in the Federal
Register.

The lender and borrower negotiate the amount of “spread” which will be added
to the “base” (New York prime or optional peg) rate; not more than 2.25
percentage points on loans with maturities of less than seven years, and not
more than 2.75 percentage points on loans with longer maturities.

Although there may be exceptions, generally, the rate cited in the note upon
which payment calculations are based will be the base rate plus the
negotiated spread.

An adjustment period is selected which will identify the frequency with which
the note rate will change. It can be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or
annually. While it is possible that the base rate (prime, for example) could
change numerous times in one month, the note rate would only be adjusted
once, on the first business day of the month following the last change. This
example assumes that the adjustment period had been identified as being
monthly.

On the day of the application, the participating lender must have determined:
(l) the base rate, (2) the spread, (3) the note rate, and (4) the adjustment
period.

EXAMPLE

A lender agrees to request SBA’s guaranty of a loan to have a 10-year
maturity. New York prime on the day the lender submits the application to
SBA is nine percent. The lender and borrower have agreed that payments will
be calculated at “prime plus 2.50 percent” and that the rate will fluctuate
on a quarterly basis.

The base rate is nine percent; the spread is 2.50 percent; the note rate is
11.50 percent; and the adjustment period is quarterly. If the New York prime
changes either up or down during any calendar quarter, the note rate will
change by the same amount on the first business day of the calendar quarter
following the quarter in which the change occurred. The spread stays
constant throughout the term of the loan. Therefore, while the maximum note
rate at the time this loan was made was 11.75 percent, if prime goes up to 12
percent during the life of the loan, the rate on the note at that time would
go up to 14.75 percent.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA or (202) 205-7064. For the hearing
impaired, call (202) 205-7333 (TDD).

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.SURETY BOND GUARANTEE PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can guarantee bonds for
contracts up to $1.25 million, covering bid, performance and payment bonds
for small and emerging contractors who cannot obtain surety bonds through the
regular commercial channels.

ELIGIBILITY

Businesses in the construction and service industries can meet the SBA’s size
eligibility standards if their average annual receipts, including those of
their affiliates, for the last three fiscal years do not exceed $3.5 million.
Local SBA offices can answer questions dealing with size standard
eligibility.

TYPES OF ELIGIBLE BONDS

Any contract bond (bid, performance or payment) is eligible for SBA guarantee
if the bond is:

covered by the contracts bonds section of the Surety Association of America
Rating Manual;

required by the invitation to bid or by the contract; and

executed by a surety company that is determined by SBA to be eligible to
participate in the program and is certified acceptable by the U.S.
Treasury (Circular 570).

Some non-competitive negotiated contracts are eligible if they are in accord
with appropriate federal regulations.
SIZE OF ELIGIBLE CONTRACTS

The SBA can guarantee bonds for contracts up to $1.25 million.

SBA GUARANTEE

The SBA guarantees surety companies against a percentage of losses sustained
on contracts up to $1.25 million in face value.

DUTIES OF CONTRACTOR

Contractors should apply for a specific bond with a surety company of their
choice, providing background, credit and financial information required by
the surety company and the SBA.

The contractor must use the following forms, which are available from the
SBA:

SBA Form 994: Application for Surety Bond Guarantee Assistance

SBA Form 912: Statement of Personal History (on first application and once
every two calendar years thereafter)

SBA Form 994F: Schedule of Uncompleted Work on Hand (required initially and
then at least quarterly)

DUTIES OF SURETY COMPANY

After an applicant completes the forms and furnishes the surety company with
sufficient underwriting information, the surety company processes and
underwrites the application in the same manner as any other contract bond
application. The surety company decides whether to:

– execute the bond without the SBA’s guarantee;

– execute the bond only with the SBA’s guarantee; or

– decline the bond even with the SBA’s guarantee.

If the surety company determines an SBA guarantee is required in order to
provide the bond, it must then complete an SBA Form 994B: Underwriting Review
and the SBA Form 990: Guarantee Agreement. These forms — and supporting
documents — are submitted along with the 994, 912 and 994F to the
appropriate SBA office. If the application is for a final bond, the
contractor’s guarantee fee check must be attached.

DUTIES OF THE SBA

The SBA determines an applicant’s ability to complete the contract based on
the information, documentation and underwriting rationale provided by the
surety company. If the review establishes performance capacity, and all
other aspects of the application are approved, a duly authorized SBA official
signs a guarantee agreement and returns it to the surety company. If the
review fails to establish performance capacity, the SBA seeks clarification
from the surety underwriter. If performance capacity cannot be reasonably
assured, the SBA rejects the application.

COST OF AN SBA
GUARANTEED BOND

The SBA charges fees to both the contractor and the surety company, as
described in the most recent edition of 13 CFR 115:

The small business pays the SBA a guarantee fee of six dollars per thousand
of the contract amount.

When the bond is issued, the small business pays the surety company’s bond
premium. This charge cannot exceed the level approved by the appropriate
state regulatory body.

The surety company pays the SBA a guarantee fee as determined by the
SBA.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-8-ASK-SBA or (202) 205-7064 (FAX). For the
hearing impaired, call (202) 205-7333.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.LOANS TO
SMALL GENERAL CONTRACTORS

THE PROGRAM

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) makes regular business loans to
small general contractors to finance construction or renovation of
residential or commercial buildings that will be offered for sale. These
loans are available only under the guaranty loan program.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility rules require construction contractors and homebuilders to have
already demonstrated the managerial and technical ability to build or
renovate projects comparable in size to those for which they are seeking SBA
financing. In addition, they must qualify as small businesses under the
SBA’s size standards and meet the Agency’s credit criteria.

AMOUNT

The SBA can guarantee as much as 85 percent of the loan up to $750,000. The
maximum guaranty for loans up to $155,000 is 90 percent.

TERMS

The loan maturity cannot be more than 36 months plus a reasonable estimate of
the time it takes to complete the construction or renovation. Principal
repayment may be required in a single payment when the project is sold.
Interest payments, however, are required at least twice a year and must be
paid from the applicant’s own resources, not from loan proceeds.

INTEREST RATES

A lender may charge 2.25 percentage points over the New York prime interest
rate.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Loan proceeds can be used only for direct expenses of the project.
Rehabilitation projects also qualify if they are “significant” and if, at the
time of loan application, the estimated costs are equal to or more than a
third of the purchase price or the fair market value of residential or
commercial buildings at the time they are offered for sale.

Loans also can be used to purchase vacant land if the price is no more than
20 percent of the total loan. Not more than 5 percent of the loan can be
used for streets, curbs and other developmental costs that benefit properties
other than the one being built or rehabilitated.

SPECIAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the requirements of SBA’s regular business loan program, the
applicant must submit three letters to SBA (or to the participating lender).

One letter must be from a mortgage lender doing business in the area
affirming that permanent mortgage financing for qualified purchasers of
comparable real estate is normally available in the project’s area.

Another letter must come from an independently licensed real estate broker
with three years of experience in the project area. The letter must state
whether a market for the proposed structure exists and whether it is
compatible with other buildings in the neighborhood.

The third letter must be from an independent architect, appraiser or
engineer, confirming availability of construction inspection and
certification at intervals during the project. This letter writer cannot be
affiliated with the applicant in any way.

The cost of construction inspections must be paid by the applicant and can be
paid from the loan proceeds.

COLLATERAL

Loans for the project must be secured by not less than a second lien. The
total amount of the first and second liens on a property cannot exceed 80
percent of the contractor’s anticipated selling price. The first lien must
include provisions for transferring clear title to the purchaser of each
parcel. The SBA will not take a second position in a subdivision that is
subordinate to a lien requiring the entire loan to be paid in full before any
property is released.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-8-ASK-SBA or (202) 205-7064. For the hearing
impaired, call (202) 205-7333 (TDD).

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.

8(a) PARTICIPANT LOANS

The Program

This program provides financial assistance to businesses participating in the
8(a) program. Loans may be made on a direct basis, or through lending
institutions under SBA’s immediate participation or guaranty program.

ELIGIBILITY

Only applicants currently participating in the 8(a) program and therefore
eligible for contractual assistance under that program are eligible.

LOAN AMOUNTS

The maximum SBA guaranty of a loan through a lending institution is $750,000.
Direct and immediate participation loans are limited to an SBA share of
$150,000.

LOAN PROCEEDS

Loan proceeds are to be used within a reasonable time for plant construction,
conversion or expansion, machinery and equipment, or facilities. Loan
proceeds to manufacturers may be used for working capital purposes. For non-
manufacturers working capital loan proceeds are limited to inventory,
supplies, and materials. No debt payment is permitted.

INTEREST RATES

Interest rates on guaranty loans are set by the lender, not to exceed two and
three quarter percentage points over the New York prime interest rate. The
interest rate on direct loans will be one percent less than the SBA direct
loan rate, which changes each calendar quarter.

COLLATERAL

Collateral requirements for guaranteed loans are the same as SBA’s regular
program. Generally, collateral is required to the extent it is available and
in value sufficient to secure the loan. Direct or immediate participation
loans will be subordinate to perfected security interests held by financial
institutions arising from the borrower’s past borrowings. This provision
does not apply to past borrowings from individuals.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-8-ASK-SBA or (202) 205-7064. For the hearing
impaired, call (202) 205-7333 (TDD)

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.LOANS FOR VIETNAM-ERA
AND DISABLED VETERANS

THE PROGRAM

Disabled and Vietnam-era veterans who cannot secure business financing on
reasonable terms from private sector or guaranty loan sources can turn to
the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for direct loans. Veterans can
use the loans to set up a small business or to operate or expand an existing
small business. The ceiling on these loans is $150,000.

While all qualified veterans get special consideration when they apply for
SBA assistance, most loans are made by financial institutions and many are
guaranteed by SBA. When a guaranteed loan or other reasonable credit
financing is available, SBA cannot make a direct loan.

Applicants must meet certain basic credit criteria. They must, for example,
have sufficient equity in the business and the ability to repay the loan from
business earnings. Applicants must apply to local financial institutions for
loans in order to show that they cannot get financing on reasonable terms
without SBA assistance. Applicants must provide evidence that a request for
a loan on the same or similar terms as those sought from the SBA was
rejected for reasons other than credit factors.

ELIGIBILITY

Vietnam-era veterans are veterans who served for more than 180 days, any
part of which was between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, and were
discharged other than dishonorably. Disabled veterans are veterans with 30
percent or more compensable disability or veterans with a disability
discharge.

A veteran who meets the above criteria must own at least 51 percent of the
firm, participate in the actual day-to-day operation of the business, show
ability to successfully run a business, show significant capital investment
in the firm, and show that the loan requested is not available elsewhere.
Loans for investment, rental real estate and gambling are prohibited by law.

INTEREST RATE

The interest rate on Vietnam-era and disabled veteran loans is the same as
the current rate for SBA direct loans, which is adjusted quarterly.

COLLATERAL

The SBA must be satisfied that loans are of sufficiently sound value or
reasonably secured to assure repayment. Generally, applicants must pledge
available collateral. The Agency may also require personal guarantees by
principals.

SINGLE LOAN BENEFIT

The veteran status of an individual may only be used one time to qualify for
an SBA loan. Subsequent loans under this program must be based on 51 percent
minimum ownership by persons with unused eligibility.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Most SBA offices cosponsor training to help veterans make decisions on going
into business, acquaint them with lender requirements and help them determine
what paperwork may be required.

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
nondiscriminatory basis.
BLACK-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES

SBA ASSISTANCE

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provided a total of 518 direct
and guaranteed loans (excluding disaster loans) worth more than $91.1 million
and 1,628 8(a) contracts totaling nearly $1.44 billion to Black-owned firms
in FY 1990.

More than 1,870 Black-owned firms participate in the 8(a) program. The SBA
also maintains the Procurement Automated Source System (PASS), a computerized
listing of small business contractors seeking government procurements. More
than 13,430 Black-owned firms are profiled in the system.

CENSUS STATISTICS

According to the latest U.S. Bureau of the Census statistics, there were
424,165 Black-owned businesses in the United States in 1987. That is a 38
percent increase from the 1982 total of 308,260. This rate of growth is
nearly three times the rate for all businesses during that time.

In 1987, 49.4 percent of the Black-owned firms were concentrated in the
service industries. These categories accounted for 31 percent of the gross
receipts. Retail trade had the next largest concentration with 15.6 percent
of the firms and 29.8 percent of the receipts.

The manufacturing and wholesale trade industries experienced strong growth
among Black-owned firms between 1982 and 1987. Black-owned manufacturing
firms more than doubled, rising from 3,707 in 1982 to 8,004 in 1987. The
growth in receipts in this industry was nearly a four-fold increase, from
$345 million in 1982 to just over $1 billion in 1987. Black-owned firms in
the wholesale trade industry increased from 3,119 businesses in 1982 to 5,519
businesses in 1987, an increase of 77 percent. Receipts more than
quadrupled, rising from $432 million in 1982 to $1.3 billion in 1987.

The majority of the firms (400,339 or 94.4 percent) owned by Blacks in 1987
operated as sole proprietorships. Partnerships accounted for 3.3 percent of
the Black-owned firms, with Subchapter S corporations accounting for three
percent.

Gross receipts in 1987 for Black-owned businesses were $19.8 billion, up from
$9.6 billion in 1982. Sole proprietorships accounted for 50.9 percent of
the gross receipts, partnerships for 10 percent, and Subchapter S
corporations, 39.2 percent.

Almost one-quarter million Americans were employed in Black-owned firms in
1987, up 82 percent from 1982. The number of Black-owned businesses with
paid employees rose by 87 percent, from 37,841 in 1982 to 70,815 in 1987.

In 1987, the largest number of Black-owned firms — 47,728 — were located in
California, with gross receipts of $2.4 billion. New York was second with
36,289 firms and receipts totaling $1.9 billion.

Slightly less than 44 percent of the Black-owned firms and 44.7 percent of
gross receipts were concentrated in California, Texas, New York, Florida and
Illinois.

The 10 metropolitan areas with the most Black-owned firms in 1987 were:

City # Firms Receipts
New York 28,063 $1.2 billion
Los Angeles 23,932 $1.3 billion
Wash., D.C. 23,046 $1.0 billion
Chicago 15,374 $0.9 billion
Houston 12,989 $0.4 billion
Atlanta 11,804 $0.7 billion
Philadelphia 10,249 $0.6 billion
Detroit 9,852 $0.5 billion
Baltimore 8,593 $0.3 billion
Dallas 7,857 $0.2 billion

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has a number of programs and services available. They include
training and educational programs, advisory services, publications, financial
programs and contract and export assistance. The Agency also offers
specialized assistance to women business owners, other minorities and
veterans.

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
nondiscriminatory basis.
HISPANIC-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES

SBA ASSISTANCE

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provided a total of 894 direct
and guaranteed loans (excluding disaster loans), totaling 168.3 million to
Hispanic-owned small businesses in the United States and Puerto Rico in FY
1991.

The SBA awards federal contracts through the 8(a) program to eligible
socially and economically disadvantaged firms. In FY 1991, 1,265 contacts
were let to Hispanic-owned 8(a) firms totaling more than $1.2 billion. There
are approximately 1,060 Hispanic-owned firms in the United States and Puerto
Rico participating in the 8(a) program.

The SBA also maintains the Procurement Atomated Source System (PASS), a
computerized data base of small business contractors. The system responds to
requests made by government agencies or major contractors for potential small
business suppliers. More than 11,605 Hispanic-owned firms are profiled in
the system.

GENERAL information

The most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of the Census show that
in 1987, there were 422,373 U.S. businesses owned by Hispanic persons, up
from 233,975 in 1982, an increase of 80.5 percent. The rate of growth is
almost six times the rate for all businesses. Hispanic firms account for
roughly 3.1 percent of all U.S. businesses.

Hispanic firms were concentrated in the service industries, which accounted
for 43.7 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms.

The industries with the strongest relative growth in both number and receipts
are wholesale trade and manufacturing. The wholesale trade industry saw a
202 percent increase in the number of businesses, up from 3,359 in 1982 to
10,154 in 1987. Receipts grew by 219 percent, from $766.65 million in 1982
to $2.45 billion in 1987.

The majority of firms — 396,769 (93.9 percent) — owned by Hispanics in 1987
operated as sole proprietorships. Partnerships totaled 12,230 or 2.9 percent
of the firms. Corporations accounted for 3.2 percent of the firms.

Hispanic businesses had gross receipts of $24.73 billion in 1987, up from
$11.76 billion in 1982. Sole proprietorships accounted for 61.3 percent of
the gross receipts; partnerships, 9.3 percent; and corporations, 29.4
percent.

The Census Bureau data show that between 1982 and 1987, Hispanic-owned
businesses with paid employees more than doubled, rising from 39,272
businesses in 1982 to 82,908 such businesses in 1987. Hispanic-owned firms
provided jobs for 264,846 Americans in 1987.

Approximately 76 percent of all Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. are
located in California, Texas, Florida and New York. California has the
largest number with 132,212, followed by Texas, 94,754; Florida, 64,413; and
New York, 28,254.

The firms in these states generated about 76 percent of the receipts of all
such businesses in the country in 1987.

The cities with the largest number of Hispanic-owned firms in 1987 were:

City # Firms Receipts
Los Angeles 21,819 $1.22 billion
New York 20,945 $1.1 billion
San Antonio 13,405 $580 million
Miami 12,771 $1.29 billion
Houston 10,872 $406 million
Hialeah, Fla. 8,100 $513 million
El Paso 7,399 $415 million
Chicago 5,021 $294 million
San Diego 4,083 $205 million
San Jose 3,609 $166 million

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis.

SMALL BUSINESSES OWNED BY ASIANS,
AMERICAN INDIANS AND OTHER MINORITIES

(NOTE: Black and Hispanic-owned businesses are covered in other SBA fact
sheets.)

THE PROGRAM

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provided a total of 1,315 direct
and guaranteed loans (excluding disaster loans) in 1991 to small firms owned
by Asian Americans, American Indians and other minorities in the United
States and Puerto Rico. The loans were worth $425.6 million.

The SBA awards federal contracts through the 8(a) program to eligible
socially and economically disadvantaged firms. During FY 1991, 1,458 8(a)
contracts were let to firms owned by Asians, American Indians, and other
minorities. These contracts were worth $1.04 billion. There are
approximately 979 such firms in the 8(a) program in the United States and
Puerto Rico.

The SBA maintains the Procurement Automated Source System (PASS), a
computerized database of small business contractors. PASS responds to
requests made by government agencies or major contractors for potential small
business suppliers. More than 15,250 firms owned by the above-named groups
are profiled in PASS.

CENSUS STATISTICS

According to the 1987 Economic Census, there were 376,711 firms in the United
States owned by Asians, American Indians and other minorities.

Firms owned by these groups had gross receipts of $34 billion. Sixty-eight
percent of these firms were concentrated in California, Hawaii, Texas, New
York and Illinois.

The majority of these firms operated as sole proprietorships: 340,615, or
90.4 percent. They accounted for 62.4 percent of the gross receipts. Of the
total number of firms owned by Asians, American Indians and other minorities,
5.1 percent, or 19,261, were partnerships, accounting for 12.4 percent of the
gross receipts. Only 4.5 percent were corporations, but they collected 25.1
percent of the gross receipts.

More than 70 percent of all firms owned by Asians, American Indians and other
minorities were concentrated in the services and retail trade industry
divisions. The 1987 Census data show that the two largest major industry
groups were business services, with 48,598 firms, and personal services with
38,111 firms.

California led the way with the largest number of businesses, 147,633 and
gross receipts of $14.8 billion. New York was second with 36,257 firms,
reporting $3.2 billion in gross receipts.

The metropolitan areas with the largest number of firms owned by
Asian Americans, American Indians and other minorities in 1987 were:

City # Firms Receipts
Los Angeles 63,139 $ 6.9 billion
New York 29,248 $ 2.4 billion
Honolulu 24,452 $ 1.3 billion
San Francisco 17,260 $ 1.7 billion
Anaheim-
Santa Ana 15,407 $ 1.4 billion
Chicago 12,593 $ 1.2 billion
Oakland 12,011 $ 1.1 billion
Wash., DC 11,693 $925 million
San Jose 11,566 $993 million
Houston 8,777 $805 million

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
check the telephone directory under U.S. Government or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-8-ASK-SBA or (202) 205-7064 (FAX). For the
hearing impaired, call (202) 205-7333 (TDD).

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis.
HANDICAPPED ASSISTANCE LOANS

THE PROGRAM

Handicapped individuals and public or private non-profit organizations for
the employment of the handicapped can get U.S. Small Business Administration
(SBA) financing for starting, acquiring or operating a small business. The
loans are available under the Handicapped Assistance Loan Program.

ELIGIBILITY

Public or Private Non-profit Organizations (HAL-1)

Financial assistance is available to state- and federal-chartered
organizations that operate in the interest of handicapped individuals.
Eligibility rules specify that the applying organization’s net income cannot
benefit any stockholder or other individual, and that at least 75 percent of
the direct work involved must be done by handicapped persons.

To establish HAL-1 eligibility, applicants must provide evidence that the
business is operated in the interest of handicapped individuals. The
evidence may consist of copies of by-laws, incorporation papers,
certification of tax-exempt status as determined by the Internal Revenue
Service, or recognition and approval by the U.S. Secretary of Labor or a
state vocational rehabilitation agency.

Handicapped Individuals (HAL-2)

To be eligible for loans under the HAL-2 program, handicapped individuals
must provide evidence of the following:

Their business is a for-profit operation and qualifies as small under the
SBA’s size standard criteria. Loans cannot be made to businesses involved in
creating or distributing ideas or opinions — such as newspapers, magazines
and academic schools — or businesses engaged in speculation or investment in
rental real estate.

The business must be 100 percent owned by one or more handicapped
individuals. A handicapped individual is a person who has a permanent
physical, mental, or emotional impairment, defect, ailment, disease or major
disability. Applicants must show that their disability keeps them from
competing on a par with non-handicapped competitors.

The handicapped owner(s) must actively participate in managing the business.
Applications that propose absentee ownership are not eligible.

Whether the business is organized as a proprietorship, a partnership or a
corporation is not a determining factor with respect to eligibility as a
small business.

AMOUNT, TERMS AND INTEREST RATES

The SBA can guarantee up to $750,000 of a loan made by a private lending
institution. Direct loans from the SBA are limited to $150,000. Interest
rates on direct loans are three percent per year. Interest rates on
guaranteed loans are set by the private lending institution and must be
legal, reasonable and within a maximum allowable rate established by SBA.
No direct loan can be approved if a guaranteed loan is available.

The SBA will not provide financial assistance if funds are otherwise
available from the applicant’s own resources, from a private lending
institution or through financing by a government entity other than the SBA.

HAL-1 loan proceeds may be used for most business purposes. They may not be
used for supportive services.

Supportive services refers to expenses incurred by HAL-1 organizations to
subsidize wages of low producers, health and rehabilitation services,
management, training, education and housing of handicapped workers and other
such uses.

BASIS FOR LOAN APPROVAL

Nonprofit organizations must have the capability and experience to
successfully produce or provide marketable goods and services.

An evaluation of the experience, competency and ability of the owners and
operators of the small business must indicate that they can operate it
successfully and can repay the loan from business earnings.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.INTERNATIONAL TRADE LOAN PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

The International Trade Loan Program helps small businesses that are engaged
or preparing to engage in international trade, as well as small businesses
adversely affected by competition from imports. Loans are made by lending
institutions with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteeing
a portion of the loan.

ELIGIBILITY

The applicant must establish either of the following:

The loan proceeds will significantly expand existing export markets or
develop new export markets. The applicant must submit a business plan,
including sufficient information to reasonably support the likelihood of
expanded export sales. The plan must include both a profit and loss
projection and a narrative rationale.

The applicant is adversely affected by import competition. Injury
attributable to increased competition with foreign firms must be
demonstrated. A narrative explanation and financial statements must show
that directly competitive imported products have made an important
contribution to a decline in the firm’s competitive position. This can be
demonstrated by factors such as a decline in sales, production, and
underutilization of capacity, decreased profitability, or the threat of (or
actual) loss of production employees.

AMOUNT OF LOAN

The SBA can guarantee up to $1.25 million, less the amount of SBA’s
guaranteed portion of other loans outstanding to the borrower under the SBA’s
regular lending program. The SBA’s guaranteed portion of loans for facilities
and equipment is limited to $1 million, and SBA’s share of loans for
working capital is limited to $250,000. The working capital portion of
the loan will be administered according to the provisions of the SBA’s
Export Revolving Line of Credit (ERLC).

USE OF PROCEEDS

Proceeds may be used for:

Working capital.

Facilities or equipment, including purchasing land and building(s); building
new facilities; renovating, improving or expanding existing facilities;
purchasing or reconditioning machinery, equipment, and fixtures; and making
other improvements that will be used within the United States for producing
goods or services.

Proceeds may not be used for debt payment.

COLLATERAL

Only collateral located in the United States (including its territories and
possessions) is acceptable for a loan made under this program. The lender
must take a first lien position (or first mortgage) on the items financed
under this section. Additional supportive collateral may be required as
appropriate, including personal guaranties, subordinate liens or items which
are not financed by loan proceeds.

MATURITY

Maturities of loans for facilities or equipment may extend to the 25-year
maximum applicable to most SBA loan programs. The working capital portion of
loans, under ERLC provisions, have a three-year maturity.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
nondiscriminatory basis.CONTRACT LOAN
PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

The Contract Loan Program (COL) is a short-term line of credit designed to
finance the estimated costs of labor and materials needed to perform a
specific contract. The loans are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) and do not allow revolving account access to funds
guaranteed by the Agency.

These loans are available only under SBA’s guaranty program. Eligible
businesses may have more than one COL outstanding at any given time as long
as SBA’s total exposure does not exceed $750,000.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible, a business must be for-profit and qualify as small under the
SBA’s size standard criteria, with an exception for sheltered workshops under
the Handicapped Assistance Loan Program. Businesses involved in creating or
distributing ideas or opinions — such as newspapers, magazines, and academic
schools — and businesses engaged in speculation or investment in rental real
estate are not eligible.

Also, the business must have been in continuous operation for 12 months
immediately preceding the application date.

Contractors and subcontractors in the construction, manufacturing and service
industries may apply. Applicants must provide a specific product or service
under an assignable contract. The program is not intended to provide money
to finance receivables or inventory on-hand.

AMOUNT, TERMS AND INTEREST RATES

SBA can guarantee as much as 85 percent of the loan up to $750,000. For
loans up to $155,000, the maximum guaranty is 90 percent. Under the program,
loan maturity usually will be 12 months or less from the date of the first
disbursement by the SBA. For larger contracts, the Agency may permit loan
maturities of up to 18 months. Any request for any maturity longer than 18
months requires special approval from the director of the SBA Loan Policy and
Procedures Branch.

COLLATERAL

Collateral includes an assignment of contract proceeds, although the Agency
usually requires a pledge of outside assets and secured personal guaranties.

TAX REQUIREMENTS

All applicants must be current on payroll taxes and provide a depository plan
for payment of future withholding taxes.

Special Program Requirements

Applicants must submit a proposed schedule of draws against the loan and
payments on it. They must also submit a projected cash flow for all business
operations over the term of the contract and the loan.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis.

SEASONAL
LINE OF CREDIT PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

The Seasonal Line of Credit Program offers short-term loans to help small
businesses get past cash crunches attributable to seasonal changes in
business volume. The loans are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) and are used to finance increases in trading assets,
such as receivables and inventory, required as a result of seasonal upswings
in business. These loans are available only under the guaranty loan program.

ELIGIBILITY
Eligible businesses must be for-profit operations. They also must qualify as
small according to the criteria set by the SBA’s size standards, although an
exception is provided for sheltered workshops qualifying under the
Handicapped Assistance Loan Program. Loans cannot be made to businesses
involved in the creation or distribution of ideas or opinions — such as
newspapers, magazines, and academic schools — or those engaged in
speculation or investment in rental real estate.

In addition, businesses must have been in operation continuously for one year
immediately preceding the application date. They also must have established
a definite pattern of seasonal activity.

Applicants who are eligible under the Contract Loan Program are not eligible
under this loan program.

AMOUNT OF LOAN

The SBA can guarantee as much as 85 percent of the loan up to $750,000. For
loans of up to $155,000, the Agency can guarantee up to 90 percent of the
principal. The loan amount is determined by the increased working capital
needed to meet the seasonal increase in business.

MATURITY

The term of the Seasonal Line of Credit loan cannot be more than 12 months
from the date of the SBA’s first disbursement.

Only one Seasonal Line of Credit loan can be outstanding at any one time and
each loan must be followed by an out-of-debt period of at least 30 days.
These restrictions do not apply to agricultural enterprises.

COLLATERAL

The collateral required for the loans is primarily liens on all inventory and
accounts receivable. Additional collateral, including the pledge
of outside assets and personal guaranties, also may be required.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a non-
discriminatory basis. SOLAR ENERGY
AND CONSERVATION LOAN PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

Small firms in the energy conservation business can get financial help under
the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Solar Energy and
Conservation Loan Program.

Financing is available for small businesses engaged in engineering,
manufacturing, distributing, marketing, installing or servicing products or
services designed to conserve the nation’s energy resources.

Loans can also be used to buy land for plant construction; convert or expand
existing facilities; purchase machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures,
facilities, supplies and materials; or provide working capital for entry or
expansion into eligible conservation project areas.

Firms installing or undertaking energy conservation measures in their own
plants or offices are not eligible under this program, although they can
apply for financing under the SBA’s regular business loan program.

Up to 30 percent of loan proceeds can be used for research and development if
the business plan shows strong repayment ability or when a product or service
already being marketed needs further development.

ELIGIBILITY

Small firms engaged in the following energy production or conservation
activities are eligible:

Wind energy conversion equipment;

Solar thermal energy equipment;

Photovoltaic cells and related equipment;

Hydroelectric power equipment;

Equipment primarily used to produce energy from wood, biological waste, grain
or other biomass sources;

Equipment for industrial cogeneration of energy, heating or production of
energy for industrial waste;

Products or services that use devices that increase the energy efficiency of
existing equipment, or improve operation of systems that use fossil fuels and
are on the Energy Conservation Measures List of the Secretary of Energy or
approved by the SBA. These include insulation procedures and procedures
involving heating, cooling and lighting in residential, commercial and
industrial buildings; and

Engineering, architectural, consulting or other professional services that
are necessary or appropriate to help citizens use any of the conservation
resources described above.

AMOUNT, TERMS AND
INTEREST RATES

An SBA loan guaranty can cover up to 85 percent of loans up to $750,000. The
maximum guaranty for loans up to $155,000 is 90 percent. Both direct and
immediate participation (IP) loans, when funds are available, are limited to
$150,000 of SBA participation.

The maturity of a Small Business Energy Loan is set according to the
borrower’s ability to repay and the proposed use of proceeds. The maximum
maturity is 25 years, but maturities of that length are used to finance fixed
assets. Lenders may charge 2.25 or 2.75 percentage points above the New York
prime rate, depending on the maturity of the loan.

COLLATERAL

Applicants must pledge adequate collateral and provide personal guaranties if
required by the Agency. Refusal to pledge available collateral may be
sufficient reason for declining the loan.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
nondiscriminatory basis.

ษออออออออออออป
บ SECONDARY บ
บ MARKET บ
บ PROGRAM บ
ศออออออออออออผ
THE PROGRAM

Lenders who hold business loans
guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) may be able
to profit by selling the guaranteed
portions of those loans in the active
secondary market. Banks, savings
and loan associations, credit unions,
pension funds and insurance compa-
nies are frequent buyers.

U.S. Small Business
Administration

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ WHY WOULD I WANT TO SELL บ
บ MY LOANS? บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Lenders sell loans to improve liquidity
and profits.

ษออออออออออออป
บ LIQUIDITY บ
ศออออออออออออผ
The SBA guarantee can be converted
to cash, and the whole process can be
completed in as little as two weeks.
The lender and buyer sign an agreement
describing the rights and responsibilities of
both parties (SBA Form 1086, Secondary
Participation Guarantee and Certification
Agreement). This agreement is sent to the
fiscal and transfer agent (FTA), who
reviews the documents for completeness and
contacts both parties to arrange a settlement.

On the settlement date, the buyer wires
money to the FTA. The FTA receives the
money, issues a certificate to the buyer and
wires the money to the seller.

ษอออออออออออออป
บ PROFITS บ
ศอออออออออออออผ
The profits from selling a loan come
from three areas: a premium at the time of
sale, a servicing fee during the life of the
loan, and the float on the borrower’ s loan
payment. Variable rate SBA loans usually
sell at a premium. The premium varies
with market conditions and the servicing
fee retained by the lender. SBA requires
that an originating lender retain a servicing
fee of at least one percent, although they are
free to retain a larger fee. This fee consists
of the cash flow from the portion of the loan
retained by the lender to cover the cost of
borrower visits, financial statement analysis,
and other items necessary to service small
business loans. The payment flow from the
borrower to the investor allows the lender to
hold the loan payment until the end of the
month in which it was received. If the
borrower pays at the beginning of each
month, the lender receives about one month’s
float on each payment. This additional float
increases the yield.

For example, assume that a $100,000,
90 percent guaranteed loan with a 10.5
percent note rate and a seven-year maturity is
sold to an investor at a net coupon rate of
8.375 percent, and that the lender retains a
two percent servicing fee. (The remaining
0.125 percent is the FTA fee.)

The borrower’s payment date is the first
of each month. The approximate first year
cash flow to the lender would be $1,050 (10.5
percent) on the $10,000 unguaranteed portion
and $1,800 (two percent) on the $90,000
guaranteed portion, for a total of $2,850.

In addition, the $1,357 float that must be
paid to the FTA each month would earn six
percent, about $80 per year. Applied to the
$10,000 investment of the lender, the gross
yield before servicing expenses is almost 30
percent. The gross yield is further increased
by any premium received because the
premium will lower the lender’s investment in
the loan.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ HOW BIG IS THE SECONDARY บ
บ MARKET? บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
About $1.7 billion in new loans enter
the secondary market each year. An
additional $1.0 billion of previously sold
loans are traded.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออป
บ HOW DO I GO ABOUT บ
บ SELLING MY LOANS? บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออผ
While there is no requirement that a
broker/dealer be used, a good first step is
to call a few and get price quotes. These
people are familiar with the paperwork
and the selling process and make a market
in the securities. After the deal is made,
SBA Form 1086 is signed by all parties
and, along with other required documents,
is sent to the fiscal and transfer agent.
The SBA has a list of broker/dealers and
other entities that have been approved as
loan pool assemblers.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ WHAT DOCUMENTATION IS บ
บ NEEDED? บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
The sale is accomplished on SBA
Form 1086, Secondary Participation
Guarantee and Certification Agree-
ment. A copy of the Note (SBA Form
147) also is required.

ษออออออออออออออออออออป
บ WHAT ARE MY บ
บ RESPONSIBILITIES บ
บ AFTER THE SALE? บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออผ
The lender remains responsible for all
loan servicing activities. After the sale, the
lender must forward the borrower’s monthly
payment to the FTA, along with a complete
accounting of the funds (using SBA Form
1502, Standard Remittance Form).
Furthermore, with the exception of one
three-month payment deferment, any servic-
ing action that would affect the payment
flow must be approved by the investor
before implementation.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออป
บ WHAT ARE THE บ
บ RESPONSIBILITIES บ
บ OF THE FTA? บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออผ
The Secondary Market Improvements
Act of 1984 requires central registration of
all transactions. The FTA facilitates the set-
tlement of the first sale of a loan. On all
subsequent sales, the buyer gives the money
directly to the seller who in return gives the
buyer the certificate. The new owner must
forward the certificate to the FTA so that a
new certificate can be issued in his or her
name, and the sale can be recorded on the
FTA’s books. The FTA also receives bor-
rower payments from lenders each month
and forwards them to investors.

The FTA eliminates the need for lenders
to keep track of the owners of the loans and
permits lenders to write just one check each
month to cover all loans that have been sold.
From the investor’s standpoint, the FTA

keeps track of which lenders made a monthly
payment, sends one check to the investor and
includes an accounting of the funds. The
also forwards all servicing requests from
lenders to investors and forwards the response
to the lender.

ษออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION บ
ศออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
For further information, please write to the
Office of Secondary Market Activities, SBA,
409 – 3rd Street, S.W., 8th Floor, Washington,
D.C. 20416, or call 202/205-6493.

The SBA has a number of programs and
services available. They include training and
educational programs, advisory services,

publications, financial programs and contract
assistance. The Agency also offers special-
ized programs for women business owners,
minorities, veterans, international trade and
rural development.

The SBA has offices located around the
country. For the one nearest you, consult the
telephone directory under U.S. Government,
or call the Small Business Answer Desk at
1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the
public on a nondiscriminatory basis.SECTION 504 CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PROGRAM

the Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides long-term financing to
small businesses through its Certified Development Company Program. The
program makes loans available for acquiring land, buildings, machinery and
equipment, and for building, modernizing, renovating or restoring existing
facilities and sites.

WHAT IS A 504 CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY?

A Certified Development Company (CDC) is a private, public sector nonprofit
corporation that is set up to contribute to the economic development of its
community or region. It must:

Operate in a defined area;

Be composed of 25 or more members who are geographically representative of
the CDC’s area of operation and who include representatives from government
agencies in the area of operation, private sector lending institutions,
businesses and community organizations;

Provide a full-time professional staff who can market the program and
process, close and service its loan portfolio;

Have the ability to sustain its operations on a continuous basis from
reliable sources of funds;

Have five or more directors who meet quarterly. At least one director must
have commercial lending experience; and

Have incorporated within its bylaws and articles that its chief purpose is to
“promote and assist the growth and development of business concerns in its
operation area.”

A CDC is responsible for assisting at least two small businesses a year,
injecting 10 percent of the funds necessary to complete each project, and
ensuring that the debentures are correctly closed and secured. It must
maintain a place of business that is open to the public during business hours
and listed under a separate phone number. The CDC is also responsible for
submitting an annual report containing financial statements, management
information, a full activity report and an analysis of its assistance to
small businesses.

HOW DOES A CDC WORK?

CDCs can sell 100 percent SBA-guaranteed debentures to private investors in
amounts up to 40 percent of a project or $750,000, whichever is less (in some
cases, the maximum SBA portion may be $1 million). In addition, a CDC’s
portfolio must create or retain one job for every $35,000 worth of debenture
financing.

Debenture proceeds must be used for permanent financing. Interim financing
may be required in order to bridge the gap between the loan approval date and
receipt of funding from the debentures.

A typical finance structure for a CDC project would include a first mortgage
from a private sector lender covering 50 percent of the cost, a second
mortgage from the CDC (100 percent SBA-guaranteed debenture) covering 40
percent, and a contribution of at least 10 percent by either the CDC or the
small business being helped.

AMOUNT of Loan

Although the total size of projects using CDC financing is unlimited, the
maximum amount of CDC participation in any individual project is $750,000 (or
$1 million for some projects). Typical projects range in size from $500,000
to $2 million. The average is about $1 million.

The minimum amount of CDC participation is $50,000. A $25,000 debenture may
be approved in special cases.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Proceeds may be used for the following fixed asset projects:

Purchasing existing buildings;

Purchasing land and land improvements such as grading, street improvements,
utilities, parking lots and landscaping;

Construction;

Modernizing, renovating or converting existing facilities;

Purchasing machinery and equipment;

Financing a construction contingency fund, which cannot exceed 10 percent of
total construction costs;

Paying interest on interim financing; and

Paying professional fees directly attributable to the project, such as
surveying, engineering, architectural, appraisal, legal and accounting fees.

Terms

Interest rates are based on the current market rate for 5- and 10-year U.S.
Treasury issues, plus an increment above the Treasury rate, based on market
conditions. Maturities of 10 and 20 years are available. Repayment is made
in monthly, level-debt installments.

Collateral may include a mortgage on the land and the building being
financed; liens on machinery, equipment and fixtures, and lease assignments.
Private sector lenders are secured by a first lien on the project. The SBA
is secured by a second lien.

The Agency also requires personal guarantees from all persons who own 20
percent or more of a company that is financed by a CDC.

FEES

SBA regulations specify limits on fees that must be paid in connection with
SBA funding. The development company fee cannot exceed the 1.5 percent
processing fee on the SBA’s debenture and a monthly service fee of not less
than 0.5 percent nor more than 2.0 percent per annum on the unpaid debenture
balance. Development company legal fees related to loan closing cannot
exceed $2,500 without prior approval by the SBA.

A funding fee of 0.25 percent to cover the cost of public issuance of
securities and a reserve deposit of 0.5 percent are required, as is an
underwriting fee of 0.625 percent of the total debenture amount.

ELIGIBility

An eligible business must be a for-profit corporation, partnership or
proprietorship. The business’ net worth cannot exceed $6 million, and
average net profit after taxes cannot exceed $2 million for the previous two
years.

CDC investment funds cannot be used for working capital or inventory,
consolidating or repaying debt, refinancing, or financing a plant not located
in the U.S. or its possessions.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
nondiscriminatory basis.GUARANTEED LOANS
TO QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE TRUSTS

THE PROGRAM

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides financial assistance to
eligible employee trusts for two purposes: to allow the trust to reloan
funds to the employer company for growth and development or to permit the
employees to purchase the employer company.

ELIGIBILITY

The employee trust must be part of a plan sponsored by the employer company
and qualified under regulations set by either the Internal Revenue Service
Code (as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan or ESOP), or the Department of
Labor (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or ERISA).

Applicants covered by the ERISA regulations must also secure an exemption
from Department of Labor (DOL) regulations prohibiting certain loan
transactions.

The SBA requires that the employee trust must:

Exist at the time of application;

Be maintained by the employer concern;

Include at least 51 percent of all employees of the employer concern;

Have as its primary purpose lending to or investing in the employer
concern;

Provide that participating employees may direct the trust on how to vote
employer securities allocated to the employee’s account; and

Provide written evidence that the trust has been qualified either as an
ESOP or as an ERISA with the necessary DOL exemption.

In addition to those eligibility requirements, the employer company must
qualify as small under the SBA size standards and meet the other eligibility
criteria applicable to all SBA loans.

USE OF PROCEEDS

The employer concern must agree to use SBA loan proceeds it receives from the
employee trust solely for the following purposes:

Growth and Development Loans, in which the trust reloans the proceeds to
the employer (by the purchase of qualifying employer securities but not
necessarily voting stock). The employer can use these funds for a
variety of worthwhile business purposes, including working capital,
expansion, plant construction or purchase of equipment.
Change of Ownership Loans, in which employees acquire a controlling
interest in the employer company. Voting control (a minimum of 51
percent ownership) must be acquired with loan proceeds and pass to the
employees no later than the loan repayment date.

AMOUNT OF LOAN

SBA can guarantee up to $750,000 to any one borrower. The maximum
includes the total SBA loan exposure in the trust, plus any other SBA loan
outstanding to the employer or its affiliates.

REPAYMENT ABILITY

The SBA determines whether the company can repay the loan by evaluating
whether it can generate sufficient cash flow to meet repayment obligations
and the other fixed obligations of the business. The employer company must
agree to provide the necessary funds to repay loan principal and interest.

MATURITY

The loan maturity depends on the employer company’s ability to repay, subject
to the requirements of prudent lending practices and the SBA’s regulatory
maximums. Machinery and equipment cannot be financed for periods longer than
its conservative economic life. Real estate and construction loan
maturities generally cannot exceed 25 years. Working capital maturities
generally cannot exceed seven years.

INTEREST RATES

Interest rates are set through negotiations between the applicant and the
participating lender, subject to maximums specified by SBA. For maturities
of less than seven years, the interest rate may not exceed 2.25 percentage
points above the New York prime rate.

For maturities of seven years or more, the interest rate cannot exceed 2.75
percentage points above the prime rate. Variable rate loans are permitted.

HOW TO APPLY

Loans under this program are available only under SBA’s guaranty plan.
Prospective applicants should review their financing needs with their banks.

COLLATERAL

The assets of the employer company will be the primary collateral.
Principals of the company who are not participating in the employee trust may
be asked to guarantee growth and development loans. Personal guaranties of
employee trust participants are not required.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis.

The SBA does not discriminate against applicants or recipients on the basis
of race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, handicap or national
origin.
EXPORT REVOLVING
LINE OF CREDIT LOAN PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Export Revolving Line of
Credit Program (ERLC) is designed to help small businesses obtain short-term
financing to sell their products and services abroad. The program guarantees
repayment to a lender in the event an exporter defaults. By reducing a
lender’s risks, the ERLC provides an incentive for lenders to finance small
business exporters’ working capital needs. The ERLC protects only the lender
from default by the exporter; it does not cover the exporter should a foreign
buyer default on payment. Lenders and exporters must determine whether
foreign receivables need credit risk protection.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must qualify as small businesses under the SBA’s size standards
and meet the other eligibility criteria applicable to all SBA loans.
Applicants must also have been in business for at least one year before
filing an application. Applicants must be current on all payroll taxes and
have an operating depository plan to ensure payment of future withholding
taxes.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Loan proceeds can be used only to finance labor and materials needed for
manufacturing, to purchase goods or services for export, to develop foreign
markets or to finance foreign accounts receivable.

If the primary purpose is to develop or penetrate foreign markets, a
traditional SBA 7(a) guaranteed loan may be more appropriate.

Funds may not be used to pay existing obligations or to purchase fixed
assets, although other SBA programs can be used for these purposes.

AMOUNT OF LOAN

The SBA can guarantee 85 percent of the loan up to a limit of $750,000. The
maximum guaranty for loans up to $155,000 is 90 percent. Applicants can have
other SBA loans in addition to an ERLC, but the SBA cannot guarantee more
than $750,000 in loans to any one borrower, unless the borrower has also
secured an international trade loan. In that case, the limit is $1 million,
plus $250,000 in working capital. The loan amount also can increase if a
co-guaranty is secured from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

MATURITY

ERLC loan maturity is based on the applicant’s business cycle, but cannot —
together with all renewals — exceed 36 months. Maturities are usually for
one year with options to renew at the discretion of SBA and the lender.
Requests for renewals must be made through the lender not more than 45 nor
less than 30 days prior to maturity. They must be accompanied by current
financial data and an additional guaranty fee.
INTEREST RATES

Interest rates are set through negotiations between the applicant and the
participating lender, subject to maximums specified by SBA.

FEES

Guaranty fees must be paid to SBA as follows:

For maturities of 12 months or less, the fee is 0.25 percent of the
guaranteed portion of the loan.

For each renewal of 12 months or less, the fee is 0.25 percent of the
guaranteed portion of the original loan amount.

For maturities exceeding 12 months, the fee is 2 percent of the
guaranteed portion of the loan, and no additional fees are needed to
obtain renewals.

Initial guaranty fees must be paid by the lender but may be charged to the
borrower upon approval of the ERLC by SBA. Additional guaranty fees are paid
by the borrower at the time a renewal is requested.

Lenders may charge a commitment fee equal to 0.25 percent of the loan amount
($200 minimum). This fee cannot be levied until SBA approves the ERLC. In
addition, the normal fees permitted on all SBA loans may also be assessed on
ERLC loans.

COLLATERAL

Collateral may include accounts receivable, inventory, assignment of contract
proceeds, bank letters of credit, and appropriate personal guarantees. Only
collateral that is located in the United States, its territories and
possessions, or other assets under the jurisdiction of U.S. Courts is
acceptable (receivables generated from sales to foreign buyers are considered
domestic assets for ERLC purposes).

SPECIAL PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must submit a cash flow projection showing anticipated monthly
activity and cash balances for the entire term of the ERLC. After the SBA
approves the ERLC, borrowers must also submit monthly progress reports to the
lender.

ERLC loans are available only under SBA’s guaranty program. Prospective
applicants should review their export financing with their lenders.
Applicants should request that lenders seek SBA participation if the lender
is unable or unwilling to make the loan directly.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The SBA has offices located around the country. For the one nearest you,
consult the telephone directory under U.S. Government, or call the Small
Business Answer Desk at 1-800-U ASK SBA or (202) 205-7064 (FAX). For the
hearing impaired, call (202) 205-7333.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis.
CERTIFIED AND PREFERRED LENDERS

ษอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ SBA BUSINESS LOAN GUARANTEES บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been
guaranteeing loans to small businesses since its creation
by Congress in 1953. These guarantees cover up to 90
percent of the loan value and allow entrepreneurs to get
credit that otherwise would not be available on reasonable
terms and conditions.

Most lenders who participate in SBA loans do so through the
7(a) program, which requires a thorough analysis of loan
applications and a decision by SBA staff. It takes about
two weeks to process a request, but that can vary according
to the completeness and complexity of the application.
About 8,000 lenders have made at least one SBA loan in the
past five years.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ CERTIFIED LENDERS PROGRAM (CLP) บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Lenders who are more heavily involved in the SBA guaranty
program and who meet the Agency’s criteria can participate
through the Certified Lenders Program.

Certified lenders get a partial delegation of authority
that allows the local SBA office to process loan guaranty
applications in three days, assuming everything is in
proper order.

There are about 600 certified lenders across the country.
About 25 percent of all business loan guarantees are made
through the CLP process. CLP lenders also follow regular
processing procedures in some cases.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ PREFERRED LENDERS PROGRAM (PLP) บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
The SBA delegates wider authority to lenders who
participate in the Preferred Lenders Program. PLP lenders
can commit the Agency to guarantee eligible business loans,
and decide the level of SBA participation up to the 80
percent limit. The program is meant to reduce processing
time on strong credit applications and to use the resources
of the SBA’s best lenders to the maximum.

Such a wide delegation of authority is permitted under
Section 7(a)(2) of the Small Business Act, which authorizes
the Agency to permit certain lending institutions to
determine eligibility, creditworthiness, loan structuring,
loan monitoring, loan collection/servicing and loan
liquidation actions, and to make necessary decisions at
each stage of the guaranteed loan application process
without, in most instances, the SBA’s prior review or
consent.

PLP loans have a maximum SBA guaranty of 80 percent. The
lower maximum guaranty requires lenders to accept more of
the lending risks in exchange for giving them the
unilateral right to put government funds at risk. Despite
the greater risks, lending institutions like the PLP
because it lets them offer faster service to their most
credit-worthy clients.

The Agency examines the PLP lender’s SBA portfolio
periodically to ensure it meets SBA requirements. A
lender’s PLP authority must be renewed every two years.

There are 160 preferred lenders. About 15 percent of all
business loan guarantees are made through the PLP process.
PLP lenders also follow regular and CLP processing
procedures in some cases.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ PROGRAM BENEFITS บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
Everyone — lenders, borrowers and the SBA — benefits from
the Certified Lender and Preferred Lender programs. The
expert lenders who participate now account for 60 percent
of all 7(a) loan guarantees.

These programs are part of an effort by the SBA to switch
from retailing its services to wholesaling. Loan guaranty
activity by certified and preferred lenders requires less
staff time and paperwork by the SBA, allowing Agency staff
to handle a greater volume of loan applications. At the
same time, it gives them more time and resources to deal
with portfolio management and other Agency
responsibilities.

ษอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออป
บ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION บ
ศอออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออออผ
The SBA has a number of programs and services available.
They include training and educational programs, advisory
services, publications, financial programs and contract
assistance. The Agency also offers specialized programs
for women business owners, minorities, veterans,
international trade and rural development.

Interested borrowers or financial institutions can contact
the SBA Office of Financial Institutions at 409 Third
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20416, or call their local
SBA office. The SBA has offices located around the
country. For the one nearest you, consult the telephone
directory under U.S.
Government, or call the Small Business Answer Desk at
1-800-U ASK SBA.

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the
public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ASSISTANCE

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides financial and business
development assistance to encourage and help small businesses in developing
export markets.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The SBA assists businesses in securing the capital needed to explore,
establish or expand international markets. SBA’s export loans are available
under SBA’s guaranty program. As a prospective applicant, you should request
that your lender seek SBA participation if the lender is unable or unwilling
to make the loan directly.

The financing staff of each SBA district and branch office administers the
financial assistance programs. You can contact the finance division of your
nearest SBA office for a list of participating lenders.

Borrowers can use different SBA loan programs and types of loan guarantees
simultaneously, as long as the total SBA-guaranteed portion does not exceed
the agency’s $750,000 statutory loan guaranty limit to any one borrower.

The lender may charge a maximum interest rate of 2.75 percentage points above
the New York prime interest rate, or 2.25 percentage points above New York
prime if the maturity is less than seven years.

REGULAR BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM

The SBA can guarantee up to 90 percent of a bank loan up to $155,000. For
larger loans, the maximum guaranty is 85 percent or $750,000 whichever is
less.

Use of Proceeds

Small businesses that need money for fixed assets and for working capital may
be eligible for the SBA’s regular 7(a) business loan guarantee program. Loan
guarantees for fixed-asset acquisition have a maximum maturity of 25 years.
Guarantees for general purpose working capital loans have a maximum maturity
of seven years. Export trading companies (ETCs) and export management
companies (EMCs) also may qualify for the SBA’s business loan guarantee
program.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the applicant’s business generally must be operated for
profit and fall within size standards set by SBA. Loans cannot be made to
businesses involved in creation or distribution of ideas or opinions, such as
newspapers, magazines and academic schools. Other types of ineligible
borrowers include businesses engaged in speculation or investment in rental
real estate.

EXPORT REVOLVING LINE
OF CREDIT PROGRAM

The Export Revolving Line of Credit (ERLC) Program offers a credit line up to
36 months. Any number of withdrawals and repayments can be made as long as
they don’t exceed the dollar limit of the credit line and the disbursements
are made within the stated maturity period. Loan maturities are generally
for 12 months, with options to renew.

Use of Proceeds

Loans can be used to finance labor and materials for manufacturing or
wholesaling for export, to develop foreign markets, or to finance foreign
accounts receivable. Foreign business travel and participation in trade
shows are also among the eligible uses, but a regular 7(a) business loan may
be more appropriate for these purposes.

Eligibility

Applicants must satisfy eligibility criteria established for all SBA loans.
Also, applicants must have been in business — not necessarily exporting —
for at least 12 months continuous operation before filing an application.
The 12-month requirement may be waived by the SBA regional office if the
firm’s management has sufficient export experience or enough management
ability to warrant an exception.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE LOANS

The International Trade Loan Program provides long-term financing to help
small businesses compete more effectively and to expand or develop export
markets.

Loan maturities cannot exceed 25 years, excluding the working capital portion
of the financing. The SBA’s guaranty cannot exceed 85 percent of the loan
amount, thus precluding loans of $155,000 or less. The agency’s maximum share
for facilities or equipment loans is $1 million, plus $250,000 for working
capital.

Use of Proceeds

Proceeds may be used to purchase or upgrade facilities or equipment, and to
make other improvements that will be used within the United States to produce
goods or services.

No debt payment is allowed. Proceeds can be used to buy land and
building(s); build new facilities; renovate, improve or expand existing
facilities; purchase or recondition machinery, equipment and fixtures. The
working capital portion of the borrowing could be in the form of either an
ERLC or a portion of the term loan.

Eligibility

Applicants must establish either of the following to meet eligibility
requirements:
Loan proceeds will significantly expand existing export markets, or
develop new ones.

The applicant’s business is adversely affected by import competition.

SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY (SBIC) FINANCING

A Small Business Investment Company (SBIC), approved and licensed by the SBA,
may also provide equity capital or working capital exceeding the agency’s
$750,000 statutory maximum. Unlike the SBA, SBICs can invest in export
trading companies in which banks have equity participation as long as other
SBIC requirements are met.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

The SBA provides business development assistance to exporters, including
trade counseling, training, legal assistance and publications.

Counseling

Counseling is available through SBA’s resource partners, the Service Corps of
Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Development Centers
(SBDCs). SCORE is an organization of retired executives who volunteer their
time to provide management and technical assistance to small businesses. A
SCORE counselor also can assist you in developing an international business
plan. Your local SBA office can match you with a SCORE volunteer experienced
in exporting.

SBDCs, located on college and university campuses, provide a wide variety of
information and guidance in easily accessible locations, SBDC services
include, but are not limited to, financial guidance, marketing, production,
organizational development, engineering and feasibility studies and technical
assistance. Some SBDCs have designated international trade centers; all
SBDCs provide export counseling, referral and/or training.

Training

SBA district offices sponsor export training programs, often in conjunction
with SCORE, SBDCs and other public and private trade groups. Offering
something for the beginner to the more advanced exporter, topics range from
export financing to joint ventures. You also can learn how to do business
outside our borders through the various market- and region-specific workshops
offered.

Women executives and business owners can take advantage of a conference
series offered under SBA’s “Women Going International” program. A joint
effort of the Offices of International Trade and Women’s Business Ownership,
the program is designed to encourage more women to export and to provide the
basic, “how-to” training necessary to get started.

Publications

The SBA publishes books and fact sheets on international trade, including the
“Exporter’s Guide to Federal Resources for Small Business,” which describes
international trade services available from the federal government. Other
SBA publications also are available.

Legal Assistance

Your local SBA office can arrange a free initial consultation with an
attorney to discuss international trade questions, under an agreement between
the Federal Bar Association and the SBA. Such questions may include contract
negotiation, agent/distributor agreements, export licensing requirements,
credit collection procedures, documentation and others.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All of SBA’s programs and services are extended to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis.

The Aikido Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List (Version 1.1), May 12, 1994

Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 10:13 +0000 (WET)
To: izar@cs.huji.ac.il
From: Duncan Lennox
Subject: Aikido FAQ Version 1.1

Aikido Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List
============================================

Version 1.1 – Released 12th May 1994

Comments and queries to Duncan Lennox

Most recent version available via anonymous
FTP from cs.ucsd.edu in the pub/aikido/ directory

HTML on-line version available via the following URL:
http://www.ii.uib.no/~kjartan/aikido.html
HTML version maintained by Kjartan Clausen

Disclaimer
==========

No warranty of any kind is made in regard to the content of this
document, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties of
merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. The author of,
and contributors to, this document shall not be liable for errors
contained in it, or for incidental or consequential damages in
connection with the furnishing of, use of, or reliance upon
information contained in this document. So there.

Contents
========

1 – Introduction to Aikido
1.1 What is Aikido?
1.2 What are the different styles in Aikido?
1.3 Can Aikido be used for self-defence?
1.4 Is Aikido better than Karate/Judo/any other martial art?
1.5 Does Aikido have competitions?
2 – Principles of Aikido
2.1 Ki
2.2 Entering (irimi)
2.3 Ukemi
2.4 Atemi
2.5 What does it mean to ‘move off the line’?
2.6 Center/hara/haragei
2.7 Extension
3 – Dojo Etiquette
3.1 What is the proper before-class ritual?
3.2 Why do we bow and use Japanese at certain times during a class?
3.3 Is talking permitted on the mat?
3.4 What is the system of colored belts?
3.5 What is a hakama and who wears it?
4 – Miscellaneous Aikido Questions
4.1 Why are ancient weapons such as the bokken (wooden sword) used
in Aikido?
4.2 How do I find an Aikido dojo near me?
4.3 How do I choose the best dojo?
4.4 Is Steven Seagal really an aikidoka? What is his rank?
4.5 Does Aikido have punches or kicks? Or defences against these?
4.6 What is the unbendable arm and what is it’s value?
5 – Aikido-L Internet Discussion Group
5.1 What is the Aikido-L discussion group?
5.2 How do I subscribe?
5.3 How do I unsubscribe?
5.4 How do I post messages to Aikido-L?
5.5 How do I find out about LISTSERV commands?
5.6 Why did I get dropped from the list?
5.7 What kind of etiquette is required on the list?
6 – Other Internet On-line Resources
6.1 Aikido anonymous ftp site
6.2 Eric Sotnak’s Aikido Primer
6.3 rec.martial-arts
6.4 Brad Appleton’s Stretching Guide
6.5 Martial Arts FAQ
6.6 Sword Arts FAQ
7 – Glossary of Terms
8 – Bibliography
9 – Periodicals
10 – Equipment Suppliers
11 – Acknowledgements

Section 1 – Introduction To Aikido
—oooo—

1.1 What is Aikido?

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba (often
referred to by his title ‘O Sensei’ or ‘Great Teacher’). On a purely
physical level it is an art involving some throws and joint locks that
are derived from jiu-jitsu and some throws and other techniques
derived from kenjutsu. Aikido focuses not on punching or kicking
opponents, but rather on using their own energy to gain control of
them or to throw them away from you. It is not a static art, but
places great emphasis on motion and the dynamics of movement.

Upon closer examination, practitioners will find from Aikido what they
are looking for, whether it is applicable self-defence technique,
spiritual enlightenment, physical health or peace of mind. O Sensei
emphasised the moral and spiritual aspects of this art, placing great
weight on the development of harmony and peace. “The Way of Harmony of
the Spirit” is one way that “Aikido” may be translated into English.
This is still true of Aikido today, although different styles
emphasise the more spiritual aspects to greater or lesser degrees.
Although the idea of a martial discipline striving for peace and
harmony may seem paradoxical, it is the most basic tenet of the art.

We could attempt to pigeonhole Aikido into a synopsis of X number of
words, but that would not do it justice, so we leave the practitioner
of Aikido to find out what Aikido is for themselves without any
preconceived notions.

1.2 What are the different styles in Aikido?

Aikido was originally developed by one man, O Sensei. Many students who
trained under O Sensei decided to spread their knowledge of Aikido by
opening their own dojos. Due, among other things, to the dynamic
nature of Aikido, different students of O Sensei interpreted his
Aikido in different ways. Thus different styles of Aikido were born.
The more common are listed here along with a brief explanation of what
is different about the style. Each style has its own strengths and
weaknesses, but all are firmly rooted in the basic concepts which make
Aikido the unique art that it is. None should be considered superior
or inferior to any other, but rather an individual must find a style
which best suits him or her. Outside factors such as geographic
location may of course limit one’s options.

Aikikai Also known as Hombu (which actually means headquarters).
This is ‘classical’ Aikido as taught by the Ueshiba
family. Today it is governed by the Aikikai Foundation
which is run by O Sensei’s son, Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba.
There are several different organisations which teach
this style of Aikido such as USAF and ASU (in the United
States) and BAF (in the United Kingdom).
Iwama As taught in the town of Iwama by Morihiro Saito, a close
student of O Sensei. Includes an emphasis on the
relationship among taijutsu, ken and jo movements. This
style of aikido reflects the art of the Founder as taught
approximately between the years of 1946-1955 and the
number of techniques is more numerous than those presently
taught at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo.
Ki Society Also known as Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido (Aikido with
Mind & Body Coordinated), founded in 1971 by Koichi
Tohei a 10th dan student of O Sensei who, at O Sensei’s
request, brought Aikido to the U.S. in 1953. Ki Society
stresses the use of Ki not only in technique but in daily
life to remain calm & relaxed in stressful situations.
Kokikai A style founded by Shuji Maruyama Sensei. It is a
particularly soft style that emphasizes ‘minimum
effort for maximum effect.’
Tomiki Tomiki Ryu Aikido was founded by Kenji Tomiki, a high
ranking judoka, whom Jigoro Kano (the founder of
Judo) sent to Ueshiba to learn Aikido. The primary focus
of Tomiki Aikido is kata (forms) that strive to teach and
capture the fundamentals of Aikido. Tomiki deemphasized
the concept and importance of ki, and instead decided to
concentrate on the physiological side of Aikido.
Yoshinkan Places emphasis on the use of Aikido as a method
of self defence and less on the more esoteric and
philosophical elements.

1.3 Can Aikido be used for self-defence?

Yes, Aikido can be a very effective form of self-defence. However, it
can take considerable time and effort before Aikido (or any martial
art) can be used effectively in a self-defence situation.

1.4 Is Aikido better than karate/judo/any other martial art?

This is an extremely controversial question and has generated much
heated debate in forums such as the rec.martial-arts newsgroup (see
section 6 for more info on this newsgroup).

The answer to this question is very subjective – students of any
particular martial art tend to favour that one over any other
(otherwise they would probably be studying the other martial art).

There are many different but equally valid reasons for studying any
martial art, such as for self defence, for spiritual growth or
enlightenment, for general physical health, for self-confidence and
more. Different martial arts, and even different styles within a
particular martial art, emphasise different aspects.

Hence ‘better’ really depends on what it is you want out of a martial
art. Even given this distinction, it is still a very subjective
question so perhaps a better one would be ‘Is Aikido better than any
other martial art *for me*?’

This can only be answered by the individual asking the question. The
rest of this FAQ may help you in some way towards finding that
answer.

An alternative way to answer this question is to simply say, ‘No,
Aikido is not ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than any other martial art. It is
simply different.’

1.5 Does Aikido have competitions?

It is often said that Aikido does not have any competitions. It is
true that the founder of Aikido (Morihei Ueshiba, or O Sensei) felt
that competition was incompatible with Aikido, but that does not mean
that everyone agrees.

One popular style, Tomiki Aikido, does have competition. It is not
however considered to be a fundamental part of the style. On the other
hand, the majority of Aikido schools do not have any competition.

Most Aikido training, even in schools with competitions, is of a
co-operative rather than antagonistic nature, with both thrower (nage)
and throwee (uke) working as partners and trying to optimise the
experience of the other.

This “working partnership” is also necessary to a) minimize the chance
of injury from practicing (potentially dangerous) aikido techniques,
and b) to develop both partners’ capacity to “take ukemi” – to be
relaxed and able to take care of oneself when responding to “falling”
or being thrown in a martial situation.

Section 2 – Principles Of Aikido
—oooo—

It is not possible to cover here, or perhaps even in any number of
books, all the principles of Aikido or even give great detail on what
is mentioned. The interested reader is directed to the bibliography
(section 7) for more information or for informed, respectful,
discussion, to the Aikido-L discussion list (section 5)

2.1 Ki

Aikido makes extensive use of the concept of ki. Aikido is one of the
more spiritual martial arts and has been referred to as ‘moving zen’.
The name Aikido can be translated as ‘the way of harmony of ki’.
Exactly what ki ‘is’ is a somewhat controversial issue.

Some believe that the physical entity ki simply does not exist.
Instead, the spirit, the intention, the bio-physico-psychological
coordination through relaxation and awareness are concepts being used
in the teaching. These aikidoka sometimes tend to frown upon the
philosophical/spiritual aspect of ki.

Other aikidoka believe that ki does exist as a physical entity and can
be transmitted through space. They, on the other hand, make use of
concepts such as ki of the universe, extending ki etc.

The fact of the matter is that there is a large portion of aikidoka who
are still, and no doubt will continue be, on their ‘quest for ki’.

Without doubt, this has been the most difficult question to write any
kind of reasonably fair answer to. On the subject of the nature of ki,
perhaps more than in any other area of Aikido, the aikidoka must find
his or her own answer, whatever that may be. The last word on this
subject will be left to the Doshu, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the son of O
Sensei:

“We may hear students say that `It is a feeling of some kind of energy
coming forth from mind and body in harmony.’ Or `It is a strange,
vital power which appears unexpectedly at times from an unknown
source.’ Or `It is the sense of perfect timing and matched breathing
experienced in practising aikido.’ Or `It is a spontaneous,
unconscious movement which refreshes mind and body after a good
workout,’ and so forth.

Each answer is valid in the sense that it is a true reaction gained
through actual personal experience. And being a direct expression of a
felt condition, it contains a certitude that cannot be denied. If this
is so, the differences in responses is negligible, and the great
variety attests to not only the difficulty in precisely defining ki
but shows that the depth and breadth of ki defy coverage by a single
definition.”
— from “The Spirit of Aikido”

2.2 Entering (irimi)

Entering, or “irimi” is one of the basic techniques of aikido and is
closely related to “blending” with an attacker. At a basic level,
irimi is a movement which looks like a slidestep toward or into an
opponent’s attack. Aikido thinks of most movement as being circular or
spiralling in nature; irimi brings a person “into” the circle of
movement, so that the energy of the attack can be directed along the
circular plane – much like catching a frisbee on your finger, letting
the circular energy ‘spin’ around the finger and then sending it on
its way in the same, or an alternate direction, with a minimum of
effort.

The concept of entering emphasises the importance of placing oneself
inside the “danger radius” of a partner’s attack. Imagine a boxer’s
punch. The punch has gathered most of its power and effectiveness at
or near the full extent of the boxer’s arm. Beyond the reach of the
arm there is little danger or threat. Similarly, inside the full
extent of the arm the moving fist has developed very litte energy, and
again poses little or no threat. Several things may be substituted for
the boxer’s punch: any strike with a hand, knife, sword or staff, for
example.

2.3 Ukemi

Ukemi may be described as the art of receiving a technique. The
practice of ukemi involves rolls and other breakfalls. Here are a few
reasons why we practice ukemi in Aikido, and why it is such an
important part of our Aikido training:

1. To stay safe. That is, not only to avoid injury in that
confrontation, but to be aware of what is going on throughout the
whole confrontation (encounter) and therefore be able to find and
respond to openings and, perhaps, to escape.

2. To experience the throw. Part of the learning process must be to
understand what the *other* side of the encounter is – what does it
feel like to be tied up in a particular technique? Also, to observe
the other person’s technique, particularly if nage is a senior student
or teacher. Being able to take ukemi means allowing the detachment
necessary to “observe” (with the body and mind).

2.a. To learn to listen with your body. To throw well requires
sensitivity to your partner. Often we are so caught up in the active
role of nage that we forget to be receptive to our partner and move in
a way that harmonizes with uke. By being uke we get a chance to
emphasize the receptive aspects of body movement (though that is not
all there is to it). Hopefully, by emphasizing receptivity half of
the time you improve your receptivity the other half of the time.

3. To assist your partner to learn. Being a good uke means maintaining
the connection with nage, and allowing nage to experience that
connection and to really experience the technique. Being a good uke
allows nage to perform the technique without worrying about uke being
injured.

4. To condition the body. Taking good ukemi requires a lot of work;
much emphasis is placed on staying connected, staying flexible and
staying aware.

2.4 Atemi

Atemi, literally, means to strike the body. A simple explanation of
atemi is that they are strikes. Some people insist on more rigorous
definitions such as only strikes to pressure points. One purpose of
atemi is to distract your partner, so that they focus on your hand, or
their pain, rather than their grasp. This can make it easier to move.
In this context, you could regard atemi as a “ki disturbance”.

Atemi, on some interpretations, need not be an actual strike, since
what matters is the effect on uke, that is, the upsetting of uke’s
physical and psychological balance, facilitating the application of
technique. Some claim that the best way to ensure such unbalancing is
to deliver a real strike, especially where there is potential for
strong resistance.

Still others claim that atemi involves “projecting ki” toward uke, where
this involves something above and beyond merely provoking a sort of startle
reflex or response to the physical strike (or threat thereof).

Some feel atemi is important in the actual accomplishment of waza
rather than being independent waza in and of itself. This is a
personal feeling. This distinguishes aikido (in the opinion of some)
from striking arts where the atemi is the focus.

2.5 What does it mean to ‘move off the line’?

The energy of any attack flows from one point to another, usually from
an attacker to his or her intended victim. The line that connects
these two points is called the line of attack. For example, the energy
in the boxer’s punch flows (via his fist) outwardly from his body
towards his opponent. This is the line of attack. Once an attack is
committed, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to change the
course of the attack. (An excellent example of this is the flying kick
in Karate: once the attacker has left the ground, there is very little
that can be done to change the course of the attack.) To ‘move off the
line’ is to move off of the line of attack at or after the point at
which the attack is committed, into an area or zone of safety.

2.6 Center/hara/haragei

One’s center is just that – the physical and martial-arts “middle” of
the body. Located in the abdomen (“hara”), it serves as the
source/focus of ki/energy and as one’s balance point when executing
techniques. Try lifting something directly in front of you, then try
lifting the same object when it’s off to one side – it’s much easier
when it’s “centered,” right? Maintaining an awareness of (and
“connection” to) your and your training partner’s centers makes just
that kind of difference in the ease and flow of aikido.

2.7 Extension

Just as it is important to “remain centered,” it is important to
“extend” in aikido. Many techniques are facilitated by “extending ki”
or “extending energy” during their execution. Physically and
psychologically, this helps counter the tendency of many people to
contract and keep their arms and legs close to their bodies, because
aikido is generally practiced with large, sweeping movements.

Section 3 – Dojo Etiquette & Dress
—oooo—

NOTE: The precise etiquette and dress code followed at any given dojo
may vary from the general information given here. This derives from
the fact that O Sensei had a very long career, and his students who
went on to teach aikido and have students of their own learned from
him at different times, as well as incorporating their own ideas into
the forms observed in their dojo. When training at a new dojo, either
as a beginning student or when visiting fellow aikidoka elsewhere, be
sure to respect local traditions. If you are unsure of the required
etiquette, follow the lead of the more senior aikidoka present. Feel
free to ask if you haven’t had a chance to observe them yourself.

For a general etiquette outline, refer to Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s rules of
conduct, found in _Spirit of Aikido_.
[May be reprinted here in the future]

3.1 What is the proper before-class ritual?

Basically this involves the students kneeling in one or more lines
parallel to the front of the dojo, or shomen. The sensei enters and
kneels. All present bow toward the shomen (where a picture of O Sensei
[or a piece of calligraphy representing the kanji for “ki” in the case
of Ki Society aikido] is traditionally on display). Then a further
bow, sensei to class and class to sensei. There may or may not be
clapping or words uttered.

3.2 Why do we bow and use Japanese at certain times during a class?

Many Aikidoka feel that it is important to maintain the traditions of
the art in order to preserve its integrity and also as a mark of
respect to both its founder and its history.

The extent to which these customs are adhered to depends on the dojo.
Some customs are almost universally observed: showing respect to your
teacher by bowing and saying “Onegai shimasu” [lit. “I make a
request”] before class and “Domo arigato gozaimashita (sensei)”
[“Thank you very much (teacher)”] after class, as well as to your
training partner(s) (before and after each technique in some dojos,
only before and after class in others) is arguably the most important.
Some dojos insist on using the Japanese terms, others allow English
versions.

The bowing is meant as a mark of respect to O Sensei, the instructor or
your partner – it does not have any religious significance and is in
fact more akin to a handshake in Western society. It does not
symbolise worship of any sort.

Another reason for bowing is as a safety measure – a physical pause
that is used to put aside extraneous thoughts and consider the
limitations of your training partner (among other things).

3.3 Is talking permitted on the mat?

This depends on the policy of the dojo at which you train; some frown
on any talking on the mat at all, while others are quite permissive.
Generally, it is best if one observes the etiquette of the dojo they
are at, not the one that they usually train in. In no case should
anything other than the technique at hand be discussed, however. One
line of reasoning behind the no talking rule is to test the
observational skills needed by martial artists. Another is that while
in class one should concentrate exclusively on aikido and that talking
with others around you serves only to break that concentration.

3.4 What is the system of colored belts?

Traditionally, white belts are worn by all mudansha (kyu-ranked i.e.
below black belt) aikidoka, and black belts by yudansha (dan-ranked).
While some dojos adhere to this policy, others have adopted systems
involving the use of different-colored belts for mudansha, with each
color signifying one or two kyu ranks. There are naturally proponents
for each system.

3.5 What is a hakama and who wears it?

A hakama is the skirt-like pants that some aikidoka wear. It is a
traditional piece of samurai clothing. The standard gi worn in aikido
as well as in other martial arts such as Judo or Karate was originally
underclothes. Wearing it is part of the tradition of (some schools of)
aikido.

In many schools, only the black belts wear hakama, in others everyone
does. In some places women can start wearing it earlier than men
(generally modesty of women is the explanation – remember, a gi was
originally underwear).

Section 4 – Miscellaneous Questions About Aikido
—oooo—

4.1 Why are ancient weapons such as the bokken (wooden sword) used in
Aikido?

A lot of aikido motions and footwork are based on weapons motions. The
bokken and jo allow aikidoka to practice a number of the physical
movements that are present in aikido taijitsu (“body” or weaponless
techniques).

Chiba Sensei says that we use weapons to learn (1) precision and (2)
economy of movement. It is also important to note that much of aikido
derives from battlefield arts and much of the taisabaki (body
movements) come from kenjitsu. Hence, we study the weapons forms to
better understand the empty-handed forms.

4.2 How do I find an Aikido dojo near me?

There are several options available to you (not listed in any
particular order):
– A list of dojo from around the world is available
at the Aikido anonymous ftp site (Discussed in section 6.1).
You should _definitely_ check here first before even dreaming of
posting a request to the Aikido-L list. 😉
– Check the Yellow Pages under Martial Arts or Karate
(I know, I know!)
– Ask fellow local martial artists
– Ask at martial arts stores
– Ask at commercial dojos (it doesn’t have to teach the art you
wish to study)
– Ask at general fitness places, especially the YMCA.
– Ask at any universities or colleges about clubs or classes

4.3 How do I choose the best dojo?

The choice of a dojo is a very personal one. Everyone has their own
path of learning, their own goals and expectations. The “best” dojo for
one person is likely not the same as the “best” dojo for the next person.

If one is lucky enough to live in an area that has several, visit all
of them. Get permission to watch some classes and observe how classes
are taught, and how the students and instrutors relate to each other.
Is there a sense of mutual respect? Is there tension and fear? Does
the atmosphere seem to promote growth? Most importantly, are you
comfortable there? Try to visit while the chief instructor is
teaching, but also try to get a feel for other people who may be
teaching. See if the teacher appears to respect the students, and
that they respect him/her.

Talk to various students and ask their opinions meanwhile noting their
demeanor. A good sign is if either before or after a class which you
are observing, a senior student or instructor comes over and talks to
you. If you are ignored, it may not be the kind of dojo you are
looking for.

Remember, this is where you hope to be spending a fair amount of time,
and you want it to be a positive and rewarding experience. One final
question, also very important, is simply “Do I like this dojo and
these people?”

Beware of any dojo that tries to pressure you into a quick decision or
is averse to letting you watch a few classes.

While the chief instructor’s rank may be somewhat important, be
wary of inflated qualifications. Although an affiliation with a
national or international organization is no guarantee of quality
(and some teachers, such as Gaku Homma Sensei are not affiliated
at all), it can be a useful indication. Promotions given by
non-affiliated dojos are not likely to be recognized anywhere else,
and this may well be a consideration.

Once a dojo has been selected, sign up and attend a beginner’s session
and complete it, attending all of the classes. At the end of this
introductory period you should have a good sense of whether it is the
right place for you.

There is an informative posting which appears periodically in the
rec.arts.martial-arts newsgroup called _The Newbie Guide to Martial
Arts Training_. It is written by Jeff Pipkins and is well worth a
look. If you cannot find it in rec.martial-arts or have no access to
this newsgroup then copies may be requested from the author at the
following address: Pipkins@bangate.compaq.com. It is also be
available at the same ftp site as the rec.m-a FAQ (see section 6.3).

4.4 Is Steven Seagal really an aikidoka? What is his rank?

Steven Seagal really is an Aikido instructor (or was, until his movie
career got in the way). He has a rank of sixth dan and has run his
own dojo in both Japan and the United States. Most of what you see in
the movies, however, is not Aikido as it is practised in the dojo.
Some argue that it is not Aikido at all.

4.5 Does Aikido have punches or kicks? Or defences against these?

There are strikes in Aikido (see section 2.4 – Atemi), but they are
never more than supplementary to a particular technique: no technique
in Aikido ever has striking one’s opponent as its aim. That said,
there are numerous counters to striking attacks (punches, thrusts,
roundhouses, etc.) delivered by others. Kicks are not often used in
Aikido, and although specific responses exist, they are not often
practiced. Most of the strikes and kicks have been toned down, but
they are still there. Aikido, while it can be studied simply as an
array of effective techniques, should not be thought of as limited in
this way. Even if you’ve never studied a specific response to being
attacked by a three-legged, five-armed alien, Aikido should enable you
to defend yourself even in novel situations.

4.6 What is the unbendable arm and what is its value?

Variously described as an impressive display of the power of ki, all
the way down to a simple parlor trick, the unbendable arm is a
demonstration wherein the demonstrator extends his arm and challenges
others to bend it. Simple. Ostensibly by “extending ki” through his
arm, the demonstrator can make it impossible for anyone to bend it.
Its value depends on the viewer.

Section 5 – The Aikido-L Internet Discussion Group
—oooo—

5.1 What is the Aikido-L discussion group?

This is a discussion list for anyone interested in the Japanese martial
art of Aikido. It is a public, open list that welcomes novices and
the curious as well as seasoned instructors.

If you need more information than is given here you should contact the
list owner, Gerry Santoro at gms@psuvm (bitnet) or gms@psuvm.psu.edu
(internet).

5.2 How do I subscribe?

The easiest way to subscribe is to send electronic mail to the address
LISTSERV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU (Internet) or LISTSERV@PSUVM (Bitnet). The
subject line is ignored. In the body of the message, put the LISTSERV
command you want to issue.

To subscribe, use the SUBSCRIBE command. For example, if Alfred E.
Neuman wanted to subscribe, he would send the following:

SUBSCRIBE AIKIDO-L Alfred E. Neuman

Once subscribed you will start getting a lot of electronic mail from
Aikido-L.

5.3 How do I unsubscribe?

Send an electronic mail message with the line ‘unsubscribe aikido-l’ in
the message _body_ to the address LISTSERV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU (Internet) or
LISTSERV@PSUVM (Bitnet).

Note: Do *_NOT_* send unsubscribe or other commands to the Aikido-L
list. Commands can only be processed if they are sent to the LISTSERV.

5.4 How do I post messages to Aikido-L?

You post by sending electronic mail to either Aikido-L@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
(Internet) or Aikido-L@PSUVM (Bitnet).

5.5 How do I find out about LISTSERV commands?

Send the HELP command to the LISTSERV (As discussed in 5.1).

5.6 Why did I get dropped from the list?

LISTSERV conferences are based on electronic mail. There are dozens of
networks with hundreds of mailer programs and gateways. Occasionally
something goes wrong and Aikido-L cannot send mail to a particular
person. When that happens the conference owner (GMS@PSUVM.PSU.EDU)
gets hundreds of error reports and the conference can hang until
something is done.

When this happens the only option is to delete the person whose mail
address is causing the problem.

If this happens to you please understand that it was done for technical
reasons and we encourage you to resubscribe once your mailer is again
working. Nobody has ever been intentionally dropped from Aikido-L
except for this reason.

5.7 What kind of etiquette is required when taking part in discussions on the
list?

We do ask that participation in AIKIDO-L adhere to common courtesy and
mutual respect. Share information and opinions but please avoid
flaming and “my style is better than your style” types of postings.
Practice the same etiquette you would employ if you were in the dojo.

We do ask you to try to adhere to the following guidelines:

Me toos:
In those cases where people simply want to say “Me too!” to a previous
post, whether in agreement with a point well-made or to ask for a copy
of requested info, please use an editor to strip away unnecessary
text. In addition, send the “Me too!” to the original poster, not the
list.

Quoting text:
Please try and edit quoted text down even when you have substantive
comments, as most of us who read what you have to say will have read
the previous entries in the thread as well. On the other hand please
*do* include *some* minimal text to give the rest of us a clue as to
what you mean by an otherwise cryptic post consisting solely of: “Yes,
but only with nikkyo, never sankyo” (or whatever). The subject heading
is seldom not enough to understand.

Directing replies:
Remember to direct your replies appropriately. Most of us have made the
mistake of sending to the list something intended as a direct reply,
but please take a moment to check that a direct response is being sent
where you want it to go. Most mailers will send replies back to the
list if you simply “reply” to a posting without intervening to change
the recipient address.

Updating subjects:
Long lasting subject titles are no longer relevant after a while
because the actual content has drifted into something entirely
different. A subject title like this is a suggestion: Subject:
new_subject was Re: old_subject

AIKIDO-L will be unmoderated. However, the list owner reserves the
right to exclude (i.e. unsubscribe) any person who violates the spirit
of mutual respect.

Section 6 – Other Internet On-line Resources
—oooo—

NOTE: Many of the resources listed here are available on the World Wide
Web using client software such as NCSA Mosaic which is available free
via anonymous FTP from ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu. Currently it is available
for Macintosh, Windows and X Windows systems.

The World Wide Web provides a hypertext interactive environment and
makes it much easier to access and use these resources. Besides, its a
lot more fun.

The Universal Resource Locators (URLs) (a method of accessing a
specific resource on the World Wide Web) which are known to the author
for the following resources are given in square brackets at the end of
each subsection.

6.1 Aikido Anonymous FTP Site

Aikido dojo lists and other aikido information is archived at
cs.ucsd.edu (132.239.51.3) for retrieval via anonymous FTP and
email in directory pub/aikido.

There are two ways to obtain files from the archives: (1) anonymous FTP
or (2) e-mail.

(1) Obtaining files via anonymous FTP

% ftp cs.ucsd.edu
User: anonymous
Password: joe@cs.podunk.edu cd pub/aikido
ftp> binary
ftp> get aikido-North-America.Z
ftp> quit
%

Use the “uncompress” command (or gunzip) to change the file into a
readable format:

% uncompress aikido-North-America.Z

For those without access to uncompress or gunzip, request the file _without_ th
e
.Z extension i.e. type ‘get aikido-North-America’.

Your domain must have a working nameserver in order to use anonymous
FTP at cs.ucsd.edu, otherwise FTP access will be denied if the
IP address for your site cannot be resolved to a hostname. (Contact
your local system/network administrator.) To obtain files, you may use
an FTP mailer (ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com or bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu) as
described below.

(2) Obtaining files via e-mail

This method works for people who do not have direct access to the
Internet. It involves sending FTP commands to an FTP mailer, which
will send acknowledgement of your request, and then execute the commands.
Two primary FTP mailers are ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com and
bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu.

% mail ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com (or bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu)
connect cs.ucsd.edu
ascii
chdir /pub/aikido
get aikido-North-America
quit
%

(For more info on FTP mailer usage, send the message HELP to the
mailer.) The requested file is sent back via email. If the file is
large, the mailer will break up the file into smaller parts.

Dojo updates, new dojo listings, and information about aikido seminars
and camps are welcomed! Please send e-mail to: aikido@cs.ucsd.edu

[ftp://cs.ucsd.edu/pub/aikido/]

6.2 Eric Sotnak’s Aikido Primer

An excellent introduction to Aikido, this primer is available in text
format from the Aikido anonymous ftp site (Discussed in 6.1). Copies
are also available in postscript format on request from the author at

[http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/paloma/primer.l.html]

6.3 rec.martial-arts

rec.martial-arts is an unmoderated USENET newsgroup which discusses
issues related to many different martial arts, including Aikido.

6.4 Brad Appleton’s Stretching Guide

Brad Appleton’s stretching faq is a very good guide to stretching. It
gives information on the biomechanics of stretching, the types of
stretches and some suggested stretches. It also has references for
other books on stretching. It is available in ascii, postscript, and
dvi format. It is available via anonymous FTP from cs.huji.ac.il in
the directory pub/doc/faq/rec/martial.arts. The file name is
stretching.FORMAT.gz, where FORMAT is one of ascii, ps or dvi
depending on the format you want.

[http://archie.ac.il:8001/papers/rma/stretching.html]

6.5 Martial Arts FAQ

A more general FAQ dealing with introductory issues for the
rec.martial-arts newsgroup. This FAQ is not intended to be a Martial
Arts Bible, but to give some help to those that are looking for a
place to start, or those more experienced that would like to know more
about some different style, have a particular doubt, etc.

It is posted periodically to rec.martial-arts and is also available by
anonymous FTP from cs.huji.ac.il (132.65.16.10) in the directory
/pub/doc/faq/rec/martial-arts. The file name is FAQ-rma.gz.

[http://archie.ac.il:8001/papers/rma/FAQ-rma.html]

6.6 Sword Arts FAQ

This FAQ is intended to cover all aspects of Japanese swordsmanship. It
is periodically posted to rec.martial-arts and rec.sports.fencing. It
is also available by anonymous FTP from cs.huji.ac.il (132.65.16.10)
in the directory /pub/doc/faq/rec/martial-arts. The file name is
sword.art.faq.gz.

[http://archie.ac.il:8001/papers/rma/sword.art.faq]

Section 7 – Glossary of Terms
—oooo—

The following is a short list of some of the Japanese terms you will
find in Aikido, and in particular used in the Aikido-L discussion
list. For a more detailed glossary, please refer to the Aikido Primer
(discussed in section 6.2).

Ai Harmony or unification
Aiki Blending or harmonising of ki
Aikido The way of harmony with ki
Aikidoka Aikido practitioner
Atemi Strike (often to a vital point)
Bo Wooden staff about 6 feet in length
Bokken Wooden practice sword
Dan Black belt rank
Do Way or path
Dojo Training area (lit. the way place)
Doshu Grandmaster
Fukushidoin Certified junior instructor
Gaeshi (kaeshi) Outward turning movement or counter
Gi Cotton uniform worn by practitioners of many martial arts
Hakama Traditional pleated skirt-like trousers
Hanmi Stance. Posture
Irimi Entering movement
Jo Wooden staff about 4.5 feet in length
Kamiza Seat of honor
Kata A form or sequence of predetermined techniques
Keikogi More formal name for a gi (see above)
Ki Vital force. Energy. Spirit
Kiai A loud yell, or sound, projected from one’s center
during an attack
Kohai One’s junior
Kokyu Breath
Kyu Any rank below black belt
Maai Proper safety or combat distance maintained between uke
and nage
Mudansha A kyu-ranked person
Nage 1. Throw. 2. Performer of technique 3. The thrower
Nidan Second dan
Obi Belt
O Sensei Honorific for Aikido’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba
Omote Forward movement; Front of the body
Rei Bow
Sabaki Movement
Sandan Third dan
Seiza Formal sitting posture (legs folded under yourself,
sitting on knees)
Sempai One’s senior
Sensei Teacher
Shidoin Certified senior instructor
Shihan Master instructor; Exemplary teacher; a technical
rank, issued by World HQ
Shikko Knee walking
Shodan First dan (lit. beginning dan)
Shomen Front
Suburi Sword cut (often preformed repeatedly)
Suwari Seated
Taijitsu Body or weaponless techniques
Taisabaki Body movements
Tanto Knife
Tenkan Turning movement
Tori Performer of technique. Another name for nage.
Uchi-deshi Resident apprentice
Uke Receiver of technique
Ukemi The art of receiving technique
Undo Exercise or drill
Ura Backward movement; Rear of the body
Ushiro Behind. To The rear.
Waza Technique
Yoko Side
Yudansha A dan-ranked person
Zanshin Awareness

Section 8 – Bibliography
—oooo—

The following is a short list of books on introductory and general
aspects of Aikido. This is certainly not an exhaustive list and is
meant only as a guide. In the near future we hope to be able to direct
the interested reader to a far more detailed bibliography, which is
currently being compiled.

_Aikido_ by Kisshomaru Ueshiba
_Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere_ by Westbrook & Ratti
_Aikido for Beginners_ by Larry Reynosa
_Aikido for Life_ by Gaku Homma
_Budo_ by Morihei Ueshiba
_Dynamic Aikido_ by Gozo Shioda
_Principles of Aikido_ by Mitsugi Saotome
_Traditional Aikido_ by Morihiro Saito
_The Spirit of Aikido_ by Kisshomaru Ueshiba

Section 9 – Periodicals
—oooo—

There are currently (to my knowledge) 2 magazines devoted to Aikido.
Note that many dojos and/or associations also produce their own
newsletters.

Aiki News (Edited by Stanley A. Pranin)
“Aikido and Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu”
$25/year (4 issues)
(Canada & Mexico, US $30; Foreign surface mail – US $35)
US$ checks drawn on US banks only; money orders, eurocheques,
cheques bancaires accepted. Checks payable to:
Aiki News
Tamagawa Gakuen 5-11-25-204
Machida-shi, Tokyo-to 194
Japan
Phone orders (AMEX, Visa, MasterCard accepted):
1-800-877-2693 (US)
514-436-9686 (outside US)
81-427-24-9119 (Japan, phone and FAX)

Aikido Today Magazine (Edited by Susan Perry)
“A Non-partisan Journal of the Art of Aikido”
$22.50/year (6 issues)
(Outside US, $27/year, checks drawn on a US bank)
Checks payable to:
Arete’ Press
1420 N. Claremont Blvd. #111B
Claremont, CA 91711
Phone orders (VISA or MasterCard): (714) 624-7770

[This information courtesy of the Aikido ftp site at UCSD]

Section 10 – Equipment Suppliers
—oooo—

Note: Inclusion of company information here in no way implies the
endorsement of that company by either the author or any of the
contributors to this list. It is provided for information only.

There is a file maintained at the aikido Anonymous FTP site (see
section 6.1) which lists various suppliers in the United States, Japan
and other areas.

Section 11 – Suggestions & Acknowledgements
—oooo—

In the course of preparing this FAQ there have been several excellent
suggestions for interesting and useful information which could be
included. However, I felt that this document was already long enough
and that these items really belonged elsewhere.

So if anyone is willing to have a go at putting any or all of the
following documents together, please feel free! Please let me know who
you are and what you’re doing and I’ll note it in the FAQ so others
don’t duplicate your efforts. Suggestions for other documents also
welcome.

Suggestions

* A comprehensive Aikido bibliography
* Short biographies of the uchi-deshi of O Sensei

Thanks

This FAQ would not have been possible without the willingness of the
members of the Aikido-L discussion group to share their knowledge with
others. The following people were particularly helpful and
continuously responded to my pleas for help and remained patient with
me throughout:

Mike Burke
Rick Clark
Michael Denton
Kent Enfield
Paul Findley
Jeff Frane
Charles Gervais
Phil Gullion
Michael Hirsch
Minhhuy Ho
Dave Huang
Chris Jones
Kevin Jones
Carlisle Landel
Andrew E Laska
John Murray
Cindy Paloma
C. Hobart Perry
Terry Roberts
Gerry Santoro
Eric Sotnak
Bob Truel
Bill Upton-Knittle
Steve Zimmerman

Domo arigato gozaimashita!

Who Was The Most Successful Fighter Pilot Of All Time?

Newsgroups: rec.aviation.military
From: bowers@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov (Al Bowers)
Subject: Re: Best fighterpilot ?!?!
Message-ID:
Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:20:48 GMT
Lines: 376

skronkvi@aton.abo.fi (Stefan Kronkvist INF) writes:

I think you have misconstrued some facts, and I also have my own
nomination for greatest fighter pilot of all time…

> ===============================
> Most successful fighter pilot
> of all times ?!?!
> ===============================

>Who is the most successful fighterpilot in the history? The answer may be
>different depending on who you are asking.

>The germans on the other hand also counted planes destroyed on the ground.
>And when a german pilot shot down a 4-engine plane,he was allowed to count one
>”victory”/engine.

This was untrue in WWII (the Luftwaffe). Confirmation was required to
be provided by a witness seeing the aircraft _crash_. No confirmation
resulted in a probable (despite the aircraft being on fire, spiralling
down out of control a wing coming off, whatever). Probables were not
counted in total tallies. For more info, read “Top Secret Bird” by
Wolfgang Spaate. Spaate finished the war with 99 official victories,
though his unofficial tally was about 122, and another dozen or so
probables. This is not to say there were no abuses, as Spaate points
out in his book.

>Wind is less known than Jonny Johnson (38 planes),Richard Bong (40) and
>Pierre Clostermann (33).

See the list below.

>Manfred von Richthofen shot down 80 enemy-planes,according to the Guiness book
>of Records,but 20 of theese are unconfirmed…

Not quite. Richtofen had 80 _confirmed_ kills, with 20 probables.

My personal nomination goes probably to Erich `Bubi’ Hartmann (352
kills, WWII Luftwaffe), or possibly to Saburo Sakai (never lost a
wingman in 64 kills, and the Japanese used `vics’, a three plane
element).

This is a little list that I have been compiling for a year or two
now. I’m sure it is not complete, but is presented here for info.
If you know of someone who _should_ be on this list, please e-mail me
(with a reference if you have it). Note that I only include people
who qualify for the title “ace” as used by the US (5 confirmed aerial
victories, ground kills not counted).

And I expect some of the numbers to generate some controversy
(especially the WWII Luftwaffe numbers), but the numbers are accurate
so far as I can tell (references available).

Also, there are numerous Israeli aces, but their country considers that
info classified (with some justification), and I am also aware that
some Pakistani pilots are aces as well (Afghanistan war), but I cannot
find the info. One last piece of information, no one became an ace
involved with the Falklands Islands war or the Gulf war that I am
aware of (I have a complete list of _all_ aerial kills in the Vietnam
war by the US and _all_ victories on both sides in the Gulf war).

Note that the greatest jet ace is a tie between James McConnell
(Korea, F-86) and Heinrich Bar (WWII, Me 262) each with 16. Honorable
mention to James Jabara (Korea, F-86) with 15 _jet_ kills and possibly
to Col. Toon of Vietnam (with 17?). And note that there are two women
on the list, Lily Litvak, and Katya Budanova (USSR, WWI).

name victories war country
===========================================================================
Manfred von Richtofen 80 WWI Germany
Ernst Udet 62 WWI Germany
Josef Jacobs 48 WWI Germany
Werner Voss 48 WWI Germany
Oswald Boelcke 40 WWI Germany
Lothar von Richtofen 40 WWI Germany
Carl Degelow 30 WWI Germany
Herman Goering 22 WWI Germany
Hans Pippart 22 WWI Germany
Max Immelmann 15 WWI Germany
Paul Strahle 13 WWI Germany
Gustav Leffer 9 WWI Germany
Wolfram von Richtofen 8 WWI Germany

Rene Fonck 75 WWI France
Georges Guynmeyer 58 WWI France
Charles Nungesser 45 WWI France
Georges Madon 41 WWI France
Maurice Boyeau 35 WWI France
Roland Garros 5 WWI France

Philip F. Fullard 53 WWI Great Britain
Albert Ball 47 WWI Great Britain
Ira Jones 40 WWI Great Britain
Henry Woollett 36 WWI Great Britain
Rhys-David 23 WWI Great Britain
Gerald Maxwell 21 WWI Great Britain
Lanoe Hawker 9 WWI Great Britain
J. R. Trollope 6 WWI Great Britain
Sholto Douglas 6 WWI Great Britain

William Bishop 72 WWI Canada
Raymond Collishaw 62 WWI Canada
Donald McLaren 54 WWI Canada
William Barker 52 WWI Canada
Roy Brown 13 WWI Canada

Edward Mannock 73 WWI Ireland
James McCudden 57 WWI Ireland

A. Beauchamp-Proctor 54 WWI South Africa

Willy Coppens 34 WWI Belgium

Edward Rickenbacker 26 WWI United States
Fredrick Libby 24 WWI United States
Frank Luke 21 WWI United States
Raoul Lufbery 17 WWI United States

Francesco Barraca 36 WWI Italy

Alexander Kazakov 17 WWI Russia
Alexander de Seversky 13 WWI Russia

===========================================================================
Erich Hartmann 352 WWII Germany
Gerhard Barkorn 301 WWII Germany
Guenther Rall 275 WWII Germany
Otto Kittel 267 WWII Germany
Walter Nowotny 258 WWII Germany
Wilhelm Batz 237 WWII Germany
Erich Rudorffer 222 WWII Germany
Heinrich Bar 220 WWII Germany
Herrmann Graf 211 WWII Germany
Theodore Weissenburger 208 WWII Germany
Hans Philip 206 WWII Germany
Walter Schuck 206 WWII Germany
Anton Hafner 204 WWII Germany
Heinrich Ehler 204 WWII Germany
Helmut Lipfert 203 WWII Germany
Walter Kuprinski 197 WWII Germany
Anton Hackl 190 WWII Germany
Max Stotz 189 WWII Germany
Joachim Brendel 189 WWII Germany
Joachim Kirschner 188 WWII Germany
Kurt Hans Friedrich Brandle 180 WWII Germany
Gunther Josten 178 WWII Germany
Johannes Steinhoff 176 WWII Germany
Ernst Wilhelm Reinert 174 WWII Germany
Gunther Schack 174 WWII Germany
Heinz Schmidt 173 WWII Germany
Emil Lang 173 WWII Germany
Horst Adameit 166 WWII Germany
Wolf-Dietrich Wilke 162 WWII Germany
Han-Joachim Marseille 158 WWII Germany
Heinrich Sturm 158 WWII Germany
Gerhard Tyben 157 WWII Germany
Hans Beiswenger 152 WWII Germany
Peter Duttmann 152 WWII Germany
Gordon Gollob 150 WWII Germany
Dietrich Hrabak 125 WWII Germany
Heinz Schnaufer 121 WWII Germany
Werner Moelders 115 WWII Germany
Adolf Galland 104 WWII Germany
Hartmann Grasser 103 WWII Germany
Werner Streib 60 WWII Germany

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa 113 WWII Japan
Ota 80? WWII Japan
Saburo Sakai 64 WWII Japan
Sasai 60? WWII Japan
Akamatsu 50? WWII Japan

Hasse Wind 75 WWII Finland

Ivan Kozuhedub 62 WWII USSR
Aleksandr Pokryshkin 59 WWII USSR
Alelyukin 40 WWII USSR
Vladmir Lavrinenkov 35 WWII USSR
Aleksandr Klubov 31 WWII USSR
Boris F. Safnov 22 WWII USSR
Stepan Suprun 15 WWII USSR
Lily Litvak 7 WWII USSR
Katya Budanova 6 WWII USSR

Joaquin Garcia Morato 40 WWII Spain(Na)
Julio Salvador 24 WWII Spain(Fr)
Andres Garcia La Calle 21 WWII Spain(Na)
Angel Salas 17 WWII Spain(Na)
Manuel Aguirre Lopez 16 WWII Spain(Fr)

Richard Bong 40 WWII United States
Thomas McGuire 38 WWII United States
Eugene Valencia 35 WWII United States
Francis Gabreski 34.5 WWII United States
David McCampbell 34 WWII United States
Gregory Boyington 28 WWII United States
George Preddy 26.9 WWII United States
Joe Foss 26 WWII United States
Cecil E. Harris 24 WWII United States
Gerald Johnson 22 WWII United States
Ken Walsh 21 WWII United States
Thomas Lynch 20 WWII United States
Don Gentile 19.8(27) WWII United States
John Smith 19 WWII United States
Marion Carl 16 WWII United States
William Dunham 16 WWII United States
Don Blakeslee 15 WWII United States
Robin Galer 13 WWII United States
Robin Olds 13 WWII United States
James French 11 WWII United States
Harrison Thyng 11 WWII United States
Robert Scott 10 WWII United States
Clinton Smith 10 WWII United States
Albert G. Baumer 8 WWII United States
Frank G. Tinker 8 WWII United States
Harris Mitchell 6 WWII United States
John Mitchell 6 WWII United States
Harold Dahl 5 WWII United States
Charles King 5 WWII United States
Tom Lanphier 5 WWII United States
Oscar Perdomo 5 WWII United States
Robert Johnson

James “Johnnie” Johnson 38 WWII Great Britain
Marmaduke Pattle 34 WWII Great Britain
Robert Stanford Tuck 30 WWII Great Britain
Robert Braham 29 WWII Great Britain
Alan Deere 22.5 WWII Great Britain
Douglas Bader 22 WWII Great Britain
John Godfrey 16.3(18) WWII Great Britain
Reade Tilley 7 WWII Great Britain

Clyde Caldwell 28.5 WWII Australia
“Bluie” Truscott

Stanislaus Skalski 19 WWII Poland

Adolf Gysbert Malan 18 WWII South Africa

Le Nigen 12 WWII France(Vi)
Abel Guides 10 WWII France(Fr)

===========================================================================
Joseph Campbell 16 Korea United States
James Jabara 15(16.5) Korea United States
Fredrick Blesse 10 Korea United States
Robin Olds 4(16) Korea United States

===========================================================================
Charles DeBellvue 6* Vietnam United States
Randy Cunningham 5 Vietnam United States
William Driscoll 5* Vietnam United States
Richard Ritchie 5 Vietnam United States
Jeffery Feinstein 5* Vietnam United States
Robin Olds 4(20) Vietnam United States

Toon (Tomb?) 17 Vietnam Vietnam

American Aces

WWI
==============

Paul F. Baer 9
Hilbert L. Blair 5
Frank L. Baylies 12
James D. Beane 6
Louis B. Bennett 12
Charles L. Biddle 7
Clayton L. Bissell 5
Arthur R. Brooks 6
Harold R. Buckley 5
Howard R. Burdick 7
Lawrence K. Calahan 5
Douglas Campbell 6
Thomas G. Cassady 9
Reed M. Chambers 7
Henry R. Clay 8
James A. Connelly 8
Everett R. Cook 5
H. Weir Cook 7
Hamilton Coolidge 8
Jesse O. Creech 8
Edward P. Curtis 6
Charles R. D’Olive 5
John Owen Donaldson 8
William P. Erwin 8
Geroge W. Furlow 5
Harold H. George 5
Frederick W. Gillette 20
Charles G. Gray 5
John S. Griffith 9
Murray K. Guthrie 6
Edward M. Haight 5
Frank L. Hale 18
James Norman Hall 6
Lloyd A. Hamilton 9
Harold Evans Hartney 6
Frank K. Hayes 6
James A. Healy 5
Lansing C. Holden 7
Donald Hudson 6
John W. F. M. Huffer 7
Frank O. D. Hunter 8
Paul T. Iaccaci 18
Thayer A. Iaccaci 11
David Sinton Ingalls 5
Clinton Jones 8
James A. Keating 6
Field E. Kindley 12
Howard C. Knotts 6
James Knowles 5
Harold A. Kullberg 16
Dean I. Lamb 5
William C. Lambert 22
Reed G. Landis 10
G. DeFreest Larner 8
Fredrick Libbey 14
Robert O. Lindsey 6
Raoul G. Lufbery 17
Fredrick E. Luff 5
Frank Luke 18
Francis P. Magoun 5
John J. Malone 20
Alexandre Matthews 5
John K. McArthur 6
David M. McClure 6
James A. Meissner 8
Ewart S. Miller 5
Zenes R. Miller 5
Ralph A. O’Neill 5
J. Sidney Owens 5
W. J. Pace 5
Edwin C. Parsons 8
David M. Peterson 5
William T. Ponder 6
Kenneth L. Porter 6
Norman Prince 5
David E. Putnam 12
Orville A. Ralston 5
Edward V. Rickenbacker 26
E. M. Roberts 7
Frank A. Robertson 6
Wendel A. Robertson 7
Bogart Rogers 5
Oren J. Rose 16
S. C. Rosevear 23
Leslie J. Rummel 7
Karl J. Schoen 7
John J. Seerley 5
Sumner Sewall 7
Elliot White Springs 12
Martinus Stenseth 6
Victor H. Strahm 5
Jacques M. Swaab 10
William Thaw 5
William D. Tipton 5
Edgar G. Tobin 6
Robert M. Todd 5
Jerry C. Vasconcells 6
George A. Vaughn 13
Charles H. Veil 5
Remington D. B. Vernam 6
C. T. Warman 15
Joseph F. Wehner 5
F. Westing 5
Wilbur W. White 8
Alan M. Wilkinson 19
Rodney D. Williams 5
Chester E. Wright 9
—
Al Bowers bowers@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov
NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle, Lead Aero
NASA, Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California

A Large Subculture Glossary And Introduction

______________________________________________________________________
|______________ / |
| / |
| u t u r e <___________ u l t u r e |
_______________________________________________________________________|

f a q

updated: December.31.1992

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

While no article that attempts to document an entire emerging
subculture can be complete, I will do my best to give you enough
complete and accurate information to get you on your way to the future.

This article will focus mainly on cyberpunk culture, rave culture,
industrial, po-mo, virtual reality, drugs, computer underground,
etc. Basically, the elements that make up the developing
techno-underground, the new edge, the technoculture.

Included in this article will be: suggested readings — books,
magazines, zines, requisite authors, etc., BBSes devoted to relevant
topics, corporations and merchandise geared toward the techno-aware,
Internet e-mail addresses for relevant figure-heads in this area,
suggested music and movies/videos, FTP sites, etc.

I will do my best to update this article every so often, as the
techno-underground is not stagnant and is always shifting and changing
and moving forward. If you have any complaints/comments/suggestions/
errors or just want to send someone mail, write to me on the Internet
at ahawks@nyx.cs.du.edu. I also welcome addition requests and such –
feel free to say "hey man, add blah-blah to the list!"

______________________________________________________________________________

We are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of the dreams.
:::::Wille Wonka

The cyberpunks did not originate their vision, but picked up bits and
pieces of what was actually coming true, and fed it back to the
readers who were already living in Gibson's Sprawl, whether they knew
it or not.
::::::Steve Brown

Information wants to be free. Believe it, pal.
::::::Bruce Sterling

If only you could see what I've seen through your eyes
::::::Blade Runner

We've discovered Cyberotica!!!!!
::::::The Shamen at a Rave with
RU Sirius

The techno-underground is a direct descendant of the hippy revolution.
::::::Select Magazine (April .92)

Cyberpunks use all available data input to think for themselves.
::::::Timothy Leary

Thus the most repressed sector of society acquires a paradoxical
power through the myth of its occult and knowledge." [Hakim Bey].
Gibson & Burroughs & Lewis Shriner & Norman Spinrad & Bruce Sterling
created the perfect term — CYBERPUNK! The odd occult shadow still
haunts" the civilized, industrial culture. Here is the marvelous
paradox of VR/Cyberpunk: Big high-tech firms fighting the myth of
"electronic LSD." Jaron Lanier as wizard with dreadlocks! Eric
Gullichsen – student of Crowley! Mondo 2000! Gibson and his data
rustlers!
::::::Timothy Leary

Cyberpunk is really about the present.
::::::Rudy Rucker

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Contents: |
|______________|

::::: * Part 1

intro
futureculture list info
quotes
contents
cultural literacy
magazines (hardcopy)
electronic zines and digests
electronic-essays

::::: * Part 2

usenet newsgroups
who's who of the net
internet bbses and services
irc channels
muds
bbses
books

::::: * Part 3

videos
music
drugs
software
companies/merchandise
closing

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Cultural Literacy |
|______________________|

Agrippa: A Book of the Dead – A collaboration between author [William
Gibson], publisher Kevin Begos Jr, and artist Dennis Ashbaugh.
This art-work contains engravings by Ashbaugh which appear or
disappear in light and an on-disk semi-autobiographical poem
by [William Gibson] which is unreadable after having been read
once. Agrippa is notable because in many respects it blurs
the lines about what art is, and adds fuel to the fire on
issues of property rights and intellectual property. A
highlight of 1992 was the release of Gibson's poem on to the
[net].

Artificial Life – man-made systems that exhibit characteristics
associated with the concept of "life".

Artificial Reality – similar to [virtual reality], but more
interactive, with the participant being part of, not just
experiencing, the artificial environment.

BBSes – electronic Bulletin Board Systems. Begun in the late 70's, a
form of [virtual community] existing in [cyberspace] where
participants (usually using aliases) may send and receive
public and private messages to each other on any topic
imaginable, transfer software (copyrighted and/or public
domain), play on-line games, etc. There is the "over-ground"
BBS world where aliases are less common and illegal activities
are avoided in discussion, and the [{computer} underground]
where illegal activities and discussions are very common,
members use aliases, and illegal information and/or software
is exchanged.

Boxing – A variety of electronic devices used to aid in [phreaking].
The original was the blue box, used from the mid 60's to the
mid 80's, which allowed long distance phone calls to be made
for free. A variety of other similar instruments
accomplishing different tasks have been developed, some
purely comical, some quite practical.

CC fraud – Credit Card or Calling Card fraud. common in the
[computer underground] community.

Chaos Theory – science revolving around simplistic equations
involving a large number of variables. Gave rise to
[fractals], a form of [cyberdelic] art. For further info on
the subject, James Gleick's "Chaos: Making a New Science" is
suggested.

C0dez Doodz – Essentialy a [phreaker]'s version of [pirates]. People
who seek out telco codes to be used to gain long distance (ld)
telephone calls without paying for them. Scurge of the
[computer underground].

Computer Underground – "A group organized in secrecy, hidden behind
aliases, to promote the free exchange of information
regarding anything and everything including, but not limited
to: computers, telephones, radios, chemicals, and ideas."
(thanx to The Butler for this definition)
The mainstay of communication for the computer underground is
[cyberspace], more specifically [BBSes]. The computer
underground is comprised of [hackers], [phreakers],
[piraters], anarchists, and other [cyberpunks].

CP – see [cyberpunk].

Cryonics – The fringe science of freezing a person's head or whole
body after death, in the hopes that in the future they may be
revived and brought back to life.

Cyber- – A prefix taken from [cybernetics] generally used in popular
culture to mean anything that is technologically oriented.

Cyberdeck – Term originated by [William Gibson] to refer to a
computer used by [deck cowboys] that can connect to the
[matrix].

Cyberdelic – "Cyber-art". Examples include [fractals],
computer-generated pictures and/or music, [virtual worlds],
etc.

Cybernetics – The study of communication systems in living organisms
and machines, the mathematical analysis of the flow of
information.

Cyberpunk – Begun as a literary movement in the 80's, an off-shoot of
normal science fiction. Unique in that it generally occurs
in the present or not so distant future, the characters are
often considered "punks" (social deviants) and technology,
(the cyber aspect), is prominent. "Neuromancer" by [William
Gibson], published in 1984, is considered by most to be the
"bible" of cyberpunk. Another prominent author is [Bruce
Sterling], editor of another worthy cyberpunk collection,
"Mirrorshades". Other examples of cyberpunk include Max
Headroom (tv show) and Blade Runner (movie). Cyberpunk is
special in that it has evolved from a purely literary movement
to a realistic subculture. Many "techno-punks" (ie:
[hackers]) are considered cyberpunks. Other contributing
factors to the cyberpunk subculture include: virtual reality,
hallucinogenic and [nootropic] drugs, and industrial and punk
music. For an in-depth, detailed look at cyberpunk fiction
and cyberpunk culture, "Storming the Reality Studio", ed. by
Larry McCaffery is suggested.

Cyberspace – "The electronic frontier." A completely virtual
environment: the sum total of all [BBSes], computer networks,
and other [virtual communities]. Unique in that it is
constantly being changed, exists only virtually, can be
practically infinite in "size", communication occurs
instantaneously world-wide – physical location is completely
irrelevant most of the time. Some include video and telephone
transmissions as part of cyberspace.

Deck Cowboys – Futuristic version of a computer [hacker] or a
modern-day [cyberpunk].

Electronic Frontier Foundation – (EFF). Organization founded by
Mitch Kapor (of Lotus fame) and John Perry Barlow (writer and
Grateful Dead songwriter) to establish laws for [cyberspace]
and apply the constitution to [virtual communities].

Flame – disagreement occuring in [cyberspace]. Common on [Usenet].

Fractals – Images created using [chaos theory]. A mish-mash of
colors presented in a pattern that repeats itself many times
over. A popular type of fractal image is one created using
the "Mandlebrot set". Fractals are considered [cyberdelic]
art.

Gibson, William – Considered by most to be the "father" of
[cyberpunk], along with [Bruce Sterling]. His works include
the infamous "Neuromancer", "Count Zero", "Mona Lisa
Overdrive" (these 3 works are known as the [sprawl] series),
"The Difference Engine" with which he was co-author with [Bruce
Sterling], and "Burning Chrome" a collection of short
stories. Hist latest work is a poem in "[Agrippa: A Book of the
Dead]". Gibson says he will no longer be writing the "classic"
[cyberpunk] novels he is famous for. His next work is entitled
"Virtual Light" and is futuristic fiction.

Grep – search, or scan.

Hacker – 60's (1st) generation (orig. MIT): one who tinkers with
software, electronics, computer hardware, etc. 80's (2nd)
[WarGames] generation: one who enters computer systems
without permission with either malicious or non-malicious
intent, to gain, alter, or destroy information (labelled as
[crackers] by the 60's generation). 90's (3rd) generation:
often called [cyberpunks], mostly non-malicious [crackers]
interested in information for the sake of information, and
not hacking for the sake of the hack – sometimes calling
themselves "information liberators", they have re-adopted
more of the original hacker ethic of the 60's which states
mainly "all information should be free", "access to computers
should be unlimited and total" and "promote decentralization".
This new, 3rd generation is commonly associated with the
computer underground, despite its mostly non-malicious intent.

Industrial – A subculture revolving around industrial music, a
collection of mostly electronically created sounds and
samples that results in a fierce explosion of sound labelled
by many as "the new punk". This subculture is generally
anti-political, anti-aesthetic in nature.

Internet – A large and very popular world-wide computer network
begun by the Defense Department in the 60's that connects
educational institutions, corporations, organizations, and
military and government installations around the globe.
Some organizations exist that offer access to the Internet to
the general public for an hourly/monthly/yearly fee. See the
"BBSes" section of this article for more info, particularly
those BBSes listed with "public access unix" next to them.
Suggested are places like the [WELL], [MindVox], Nyx (which is
free of cost), NetCom, etc. Many Internet users partake in
reading and contributing to [Usenet], playing [MUD]s, FTPing
text files and programs free of charge at the various FTP
sites, and 'telnet'ing to other Internet sites. Because of
its accessibility at a relatively low cost, size (the largest
computer network in the world), connectivity, and infinite
amounts of information, many network users prefer the Internet
to such services as CompuServe (often called Compu$erve on
the Internet) or Prodigy (which is more restricting in its
content). The Internet has something to offer for everyone.
Other portions of this file such as the suggested newsgroups
list, list of FTP sites, and list of 'telnet'able services and
sites, should be very helpful to the new Internet user. Once
you gain access to the Internet, it is suggested that you read
the 'news.announce.newusers' and 'news.newusers.questions'
and 'news.answers' newsgroups on [Usenet]. You might also want
to read the file 'NixPub: Listing of Public Access Unix sites'
to find an Internet dial-up (BBS/Service) in your area.

IRC – [Internet] Relay Chat. Realtime communication forums between
[Internet] users all over the world.

Legion of Doom – (LoD). A legendary group of [hackers] from the
[computer underground]. When they disbanded, some members
went on to form a computer security firm (ComSec), Loyd
Blankenship wrote GURPS Cyberpunk for [Steve Jackson Games]
and some ended up in jail from [Operation Sundevil].

Matrix – Term coined by William Gibson which refers to the consensual
hallucination of [cyberspace].

MindVox – A [virtual community] in [cyberspace], also a [BBS]
connected to the [Internet]. A nexus of the [computer
underground] and [cyberpunk] and [virtual reality] begun by
Phantom Access Technologies, former members of the [Legion of
Doom]. See also the [WELL]

Mirrorshades – A very important collection of [cyberpunk] fiction by
various authors, most of whom are labelled as the [mirrorshades
group]. This book is edited by [Bruce Sterling] and should be
available in most bookstores.

Mirrorshades Group – Original collection of [cp] authors which
includes William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Tom Maddox, Lewis
Shiner, John Shirley, SF Eye magazine editor Steve Brown,
Rudy Rucker, Pat Cadigan, and others.

Mondo 2000 – Very popular [cyberpunk] and [new edge] magazine.
Subscription information is available elsewhere in this file.

MUD – Multi-User Domain, Multi-User Dungeon, or Multi-User Dimension.
MUDs are multi-user role-playing-games of sorts that exist on
the [Internet] for entertainment purposes. MUDs are
essentially text-based [virtual worlds] which players
(participants) may explore, change, or add on to. In some
cases, the MUD is not actually a "game" with scores, player
attributes, levels, etc., but some MUDs are set up this way.
MUDs tend to be based around different science fiction genres
such as fantasy, space, or even [cyberpunk]. Some MUD
environments have no defining characteristics.

Nanotechnology – the science of "micro-machines". Small gears or
other machines seen only by a microscope, that can be used in
areas such as medicine and health, art, and other
technologies.

Net – A computer network. Often used to mean the [Internet] when
referred to as "the net".

Netrunner – see [hacker].

New Edge – Fringe culture and fringe science, mostly techno-oriented,
and very popular in Southern California. [Mondo 2000] is a
magazine devoted to the new edge.

Nootropics – A new science revolving around drugs used to increase
intelligence, aid in memory, enhance brain activity, etc.
Touted as a fad by some, others claim that use of nootropics
actually work. See also [SmartDrinks].

Operation Sundevil – Secret Service operation begun in 1990 intended
to destroy the [computer underground] by confiscating [BBSes]
and detaining [hackers].

Phrack – An important magazine existing only in [cyberspace], of
interest to the [computer underground]. It's founder, Craig
Neidorf, now works for the [Electronic Frontier Foundation].

Phreaker – [Hacking] the phone system. Usually meaning to get phone
calls for free, whether by [boxing] or [cc fraud]. Individual
phreakers are called phreaks.

Pirate – One who copies software illegally. Commonly associated with
the [computer underground]. Although commonplace, pirates
are looked down upon as with [codez d00dz].

Post-modern – Literary, artistic, cultural, and philosophical
movement revolving around the post-industrial world in which
we live, and the unique aspects of the trends of modern
society.

Raves – A subculture revolving around all-night dance parties.
Typically, the parties are generally illegal and thus a
complex process is involved to find out where they are
located. Rave music is generally [techno], the parties
usually include 1 or more DJs. Also present in many cases are
"chill out rooms" which feature more ambient music. Lasers,
blaring music, [cyberdelic] images, [SmartDrinks] and drugs
(most often MDMA {X, XTC, Ecstacy, E}, LSD {acid}, ketamine,
or nootropics) are all general contributors to the rave
experience. Raves are usually held in warehouses, and last
until the next morning. Another large part of rave culture is
the flyers – used to find out where your next party will be.
Raves are meant to be very happy events, everyone ideally
should be open and free, laying aggressions and inhibitions
aside for the night. Some have likened the rave experience
to "a weekly roving [techno-]woodstock for the 90's." Rave
fashion includes over-sized baggy t-shirts and pants, hooded
sweat-shirts, ski caps, and usually bright colors, as well as
accessories such as whistles, Cat In The Hat hats, "doctor"
masks, VapoRub, etc.

Slipstream – Term used to denote cyberpunk fiction, particularly
pre-1984 fictional works that have been influential to the
[mirrorshades group] or that closely resemble cyberpunk, but
are sometimes outside of the sf genre. An example would be
William S. Burroughs.

SmartDrugs – [nootropics].

SmartDrinks – Similar to SmartDrugs, or [nootropics], the intent of
these substances, loaded with vitamins, minerals, amino
acids, and other healthy substances, is to aid in brain
functioning. Smart Drinks are most often consumed at
[raves], thus, the purpose of some smart drinks is to
"energize" the drinker, not to make them smarter.

Sprawl – Word used by [William Gibson] to mean large mega-cities, and
places where different cities collide. Southern California
and New York City might be early examples of the sprawl. This
word is used often in modern times as "urban sprawl".

Steve Jackson Games – RPG manufacturers which have played a key role
in the evolution of [cyberpunk] and the [computer
underground]. Operators of the Illuminati BBS and makers of
GURPS Cyberpunk, an RPG guide written by Loyd Blankenship, a
member of the [Legion of Doom].

Sterling, Bruce – considered by most to be the "co-founder" of
[cyberpunk] along with [William Gibson]. He is the editor of
"Mirrorshades: A cyberpunk anthology", which is considered
the quintessential collection of [cp] works by the
[mirrorshades group]. Some of his other works include
"Islands in the Net", "Schizmatrix", "The Involution
Ocean", "The Artificial Kid", "The Difference Engine" which
he co-authored with [Gibson] and "The Hacker Crackdown" a
non-fiction account of the [computer underground] and
[Operation Sundevil], including the [Electronic Frontier
Foundation], [Phrack], the [Legion of Doom], [Steve Jackson
Games], etc.

Social Engineering – Technique often by which [hackers] or [crackers]
acquire information, such as names and passwords. Essential
a modern-day con, often conducted via phone conversations,
such as portraying onesself as a teclo employee.

Techno- – prefix similar to cyber-, referring to anything which has
its roots in current or futuristic technology.

Techno – type of music made almost entirely with the help of
computers, revolving around a fast-paced drum beat (as high
as 160 BPM), sampling, and synthesizers.

Teledildonics – Virtual sex in a [virtual environment]. Term often
used by the [new edge] community.

2600 – A popular hardcopy magazine devoted to the [computer
underground]. Subscription information is obtained elsewhere
in this file.

Usenet – A collection of "newsgroups" on the [Internet], in which
[Internet] users may post or read messages on almost any
subject imaginable. The topics of discussion are divided up
into the individual newsgroups, which total about 2000 on
average. Usenet is divided into various large sections,
including the 'alt'ernative newsgroups, the 'comp'uter
newsgroups, the 'sci'ence newsgroups and the 'talk'
newsgroups, among others. A suggested list of newsgroups is
contained in this file. Some groups are moderated, while most
remain completely uncensored.

Virtual Community – any group or gathering that exists in
[cyberspace]. This could be a [BBS], a [hacking] group, a
[net], or even a [zaibatsu].

Virtual Culture – the collection of [virtual communities], and the
cultural aspects unique to those communities.

Virtual Environment – a [virtual world].

Virtual Reality – a consensual hallucination of a world existing only
in [cyberspace]. Modern day virtual reality uses helmets,
gloves, and body suits to create such a world, which is first
created on a computer and connected to the vr devices.
The goal of virtual reality is to generate a completely
alternate reality. Research in vr includes networking
people, so spacial limitations are meaningless. The
possibilities of vr-generated environments are as limitless
as the imagination.

Virtual World – a world existing in [cyberspace] created and used
with [virtual reality] technologies.

VMB – (Voice MailBox). Used (often illegally) by [phreaks] as a
means of communication.

WELL – The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link. An important gridpoint in
the [matrix], a [virtual community] in [cyberspace], also a
[BBS] connected to the [Internet]. A group concerned mostly
with [cyberpunk], [virtual reality], [nootropics], and other
aspects of the [new edge].

Wirehead – a hardware [hacker].

Zaibatsu – Japanese term used a lot by [William Gibson] that means a
large mega-corporation, such as Sony for example.

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Magazines: |
|______________|

Albert Hofmann Foundation Newsletter
The Albert Hofmann Foundation
1341 Ocean Ave. Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA 90401
201.281.8110
-$30 for 4 issues

Boardwatch
5970 S. Vivian St.
Littleton, CO 80127
303.973.6038 (voice)
303.973.4222 (bbs/data)
303.973.3731 (fax)
-BBSing articles/lists/info
-$4 an issue

Body Art
Last Gap Distributors
PO Box 410067
San Francisco, CA 94141
415.824.6636
-body art magazine, tatoos and such
-back issues $16.50-$21.45 ppd.

bOING bOING
PO Box 18432
Boulder, CO 80308
-cyberpunk zine
-$4 an issue, $14 for 4 issues

Communications of the ACM
(Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.)
1515 Broadway
NY, NY 10036
212.869.7440
-the Internet, networks, ACM news, etc.
-$75 membership dues includes a $30 subscription to CACM

Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction
Heldref Publications
1319 Eighteenth St. NW
Washington, DC 20036-1802
800.365.9753
-Spring 92 is all about cp, vr, cybernetics, etc.
-$10

Cryonics Magazine
ALCOR
12327 Doherty St.
Riverside, CA 92503
800.367.2228
-$10 for 12 issues

CyberEdge Journal
928 Greenhill Road
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415.383.2458 (voice)
415.389.0251 (fax)
bdel@well.sf.ca.us
-covers vr and related topics
-$129 for 6 issues

Cybertek
OCL/Magnitude
PO Box 64
Brewster, NY 10509
-hacking, cyberpunks, technology, culture
-$10 a year

Disco Family Plan
DJ ESP Woody McBride
1205 S. 7th St. #8
Minneapolis, MN 55415
612.376.0226
-rave zine

Edge Detector
PO Box 36, Station H
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3G 2KS

Evolution
Box 833
London NW 6
UK
-psychedelic experience and lifestyle
-15 pounds 4 issues

EXTROPY: The Journal of Trans-humanist Thought
PO Box 57306
Los Angeles, CA 90057-0306
-$9 two issues (one year)

FactSheet-Five
Seth Friedman
PO Box 170099
San Francisco CA 94117-0099
-independently-oriented reviewers of the culture
-1 issue $4, 6 issues $20 (or more)

FAD Magazine
PO Box 420-656
San Francisco, CA 94142
-Bay-Area fashion, art, music, style rag
-look for issue #26, Spring 92, the Cyber issue
-$14.95 for 6 issues

Fluxu8
fluxu8@well.sf.ca.us
rderek@world.std.com
-magazine described as "Mondo 2000 without the gloss"
-email for info

Freakbeat
PO Box 1288
Gerrard's Cross
Bucks SL9 0AN
UK
-ultra-psychedelia
-4.5 pounds per issue

Full Disclosure
Box 903
Libertyville, IL 60048
BBS – 708.838.4201
-technology, legal info., etc.

Hack-Tic
pb 22953, 1100 DL
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
31.20.6001480
ropg@ooc.uva.nl (Internet)
-published near that hotbed of hackers in holland/amsterdam
-European counterpart to 2600
-$2.30 US an issue

The HardCore
Scott Dorward
PO Box 1893
London N9 8JT 36
UK
-L1.80 each
-sf/cp zine

Interference on the Brain Screen
Patrick Clark
PO Box 2761
St. Paul MN 55102.
-$2.00 each
-sf zine

Intertek
Steve Steinberg
325 Ellwood Beach #3
Goleta, CA 93117
steve@cs.ucsb.edu
-hacking, cyberspace, interviews, designer drugs, cryonics, etc.
-$4 an issue

Interzone
124 Osborne Road
Brighton, BN1 6LU
UK
-science-fiction zine
-$22 for 6 issues

Iron Feather Journal
PO Box 1905
Boulder, CO 80306-1905
sprother@nyx.cs.du.edu
-hacking, anarchy, techno-phun, underground info, raves, activism
-$2 an issue

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction magazine
PO Box 7058
Red Oak, IA 51591-2058
-$34.95 for 13 issues

The Journal of Complex Systems
PO Box 6149
Champaign, IL 61826
-cellular automata, $50 / year min.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
PO Box 56
Cornwall, CT 06753
-$26 for 12 issues

Mondo 2000
PO Box 10171
Berkeley, CA 94709
415.845.9018 (phone)
415.649.9630 (fax)
mondo2k@well.sf.ca.us
mondo2k@mindvox.phantom.com
-your guide to all things cyberpunk and some things not
-$24 for 5 issues (published quarterly)

Nootropic News
PO Box 175E
Camrillo, CA, USA 93011.
-$10 for newsletter and order forms

Pixel: The Magazine of Scientific Visualization
245 Henry St. H2G
Brooklyn, NY 11201-9889
718.624.3386
-$21, 6 issue

Pixel Vision
Box 1138
Madison Square Station, NY 10159
-$35 / year

Robot Experimenter
PO Box 458
Peterborough, NH 03458-0458
-$24 for 12 issues

Science Fiction Eye
PO Box 18539
Asheville, NC 28814
-sf/cp magazine, contains a regular article by Bruce Sterling
-3 issues $10, 6 issues $18, back issues available

Science Fiction Studies
SF-TH Inc.
Arthur B. Evans
East College
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN 46135-0037
-$14 for 3 issues

Sector 9737
Tim Mayer
PO Box 782213
Witchita KS 67278.
-sf/cp zine
-$5.00 each

Sound Choice
Audio Evolution network
PO Box 1251
Ojai, CA 93023
-electronic/punk/avant music mag
-$12 for 6 issues

SOUND News and Arts
SOUND Publishing Inc
c/o Ed Stastny
PO BOX 31104
Omaha, NE 68132
-covers a lot of areas
-$1.50 or $2 for 3 or 4 copies

TAP
PO Box 20264
Louisville, KY 40250
-hacking, anarchy, some political
-operates Blitzkrieg BBS @ 502.499.8933
-TAP-Online also available on some BBSes / FTP sites

Technology Works
PO Box 477
Placentla, CA 92670-0477
-techno/industrial/cp fanzine
-$1.50

Territories
c/o McNair
65 Niddrie Road
Strathbungo, Glasgow G42 5PT
Scotland, United Kingdom
-sf and slipstream journal
-$5

2600
PO Box 752
Middle Island, NY 11953-0752
516.751.2600 (office)
516.751.2608 (fax)
2600@well.sf.ca.us
-the famous hacker's zine
-subscriptions are $21 for 4 issues (published quarterly)
-back issues are $25 / year

Urb Magazine
4111 West Jefferson Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90116
213.766.8726
-CA-based dance/music/rave magazine
-$25 / year

US RAVE Magazine
601 N. Magnolia Ave
Orlando, Florida 32801
407.339.4507 (fax)
-supposedly free

Verbum: The Journal of Personal Computer Aesthetics
PO Box 12564
San Diego, CA 92112
619.233.9977
619.233.9976 (fax)
-$24 for 4 issues

Whole Earth Review
PO Box 38
Sausalito, CA 94966-9932
(Whole Earth runs The Well [Whole Earth Lectronic Link] – well.sf.ca.us)
-combines new age, techno-culture, california fads, etc.
-$20 year for subscriptions

Zine Exchange
Gary Pattillo
5920 Victor Street
Dallas TX 75214
-send zines, get zines

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| E-Magazines/Articles/Digests |
|__________________________________|

AcidWarp
ecst.csuchico.edu /pub/geos/acidwarp.zip
-much sought-after tripp-e grafix program

Across the Electronic Frontier
by Mitch kapor and John Perry Barlow
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/papers/across-electronic-frontier
-explanation of EFF, goals

Activist Times Incorporated
gzero@tronsbox.xei.com
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/ati
-political, hacking, anarchy
-newsgroup alt.society.ati

Agrippa: A Book of the Dead
by William Gibson
future-request@nyx.cs.du.edu
ftp.rahul.net under /pub/atman/UTLCD-preview/assorted-text/agrippa.arj

AI Information
ftp uunet.uu.net ai
flash.bellcore.com /pub
gargoyle.uchicago.edu /pub
solaria.cc.gatech.edu /pub

Alcor information
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/alcor
-an e-mail privacy suit

Alt.rave FAQ
soda.berkeley.edu /pub/sfraves
-Brian B’s excellent rave FAQ

Amiga Files
archive.umich.edu
plains.nodak.edu /pub
ucsd.edu /pub
ux1.cso.uiuc.edu

Anarchy List
anarchy-list-request@cwi.nl
-discussion of all aspects of anarchy

Anarchy ‘N’ Explosives
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/ane
-anarchy, phreaking

Anime Info
oinker.ucsb.edu /pub/anime

Apple II Files
archive.umich.edu /apple2
cobalt.cco.caltech.edu /pub/apple2
ftp.uu.net /systems/apple2
plains.nodak.edu /pub/apple2
tybalt.caltech.edu /pub/apple2
wuarchive.wustl.edu /systems/apple2

ArachNet: E-Journal of Virtual Culture
listserv@uottawa.bitnet
-message body: SUB ARACHNET
-journal of all aspects of on-line life

Arm The Spirit On-line (Autonome Forum)
aforum@moose.uvm.edu
red.css.itd.umich.edu /poli
ftp.css.itd.umich.edu /poli
-header “ATS: e-mail request”
-anti-capitalist/anti-imperialist e-magazine

Armadillo Culture
sokay@mitre.org
-cool ezine

Artificial Life
alife-request@cognet.ucla.edu
-artificial life

AUtopia (Pirate Ship Utopia)
autoia-rquest@wixer.cactus.rg
-a floating technology-oriented commune
-run by Jagwire X, cool ideas….

Basic Networking
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/basic1.net
-Telenet

Baudy World of the Byte Bandit:
A Post-modernist Interpretation of the Computer Underground
by Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/baudy.world

Being In Nothingness
by John Perry Barlow
milton.u.washington.edu
/public/virtual-worlds/papers/Barlow.BeingInNothingness.Z

Beyond CyberPunk HyperCard Stack
archive.umich.edu /mac/hypercard/fun
ra.nrl.navy.mil /MacSciTech/programming/hypercard
scavengerhunt.rs.itd.umich.edu /mac/etc/demo
wuarchive.wustl.edu /mirrors3/archive.umich.edu/mac/hypercard/fun

Bootlegger
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/bootlegger
-cracking, hacking

BPM
bpm-request@andrew.cmu.edu
-the DJ’s e-list

Chalisti
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/chalisti
-German hacking, associated with the Chaos Computer Club
-written in German

Chaos Computer Club Files
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/ccc
ftp.titania.mathematik.uni-ulm.de /info/CCC
-written in German

Cheap Virtual Reality Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/virtual-worlds

CHiNA
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/china2.3
-hacking, etc.

Church of Virtuality/Reality
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/scripture.*

Commercial Virtual Reality Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/virtual-worlds

Computers and Academic Freedom
listserv@eff.org
-computing freedom, mostly deals with college campuses

Computer Crime: Current Practices, Problems and Proposed Solutions
by Brian J. Peretti
ftp.eff.prg /pub/cud/papers/computer.crime

Computer Crime Laws
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/law
-computer crime laws for almost every state
-international laws as well

Computer Down-Underground Digest
digest@nacjack.gen.nz
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/cdugd
-CUD for Australia, New Zealand

Computer Underground Digest
tk0jut2@niu.bitnet
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/cud
red.css.itd.umich.edu
-“USA Today” of Cyberspace and computer underground

Concerning Hackers Who Break into Computer Systems
by Dorothy E Denning
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/denning

The Constitution in Cyberspace
by Laurence Tribe @ CFP #1
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/const.in.cyberspace

Corrupted Programmers International
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/cpi
-viruses

Crime and Puzzlement
by John Perry Barlow
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/crime.puzzle

Crime and Puzzlement 2
by John Perry Barlow
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/papers/crime-and-puzzlement-2

Crime and Puzzlement & 2600
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/cp.2600

Cryonics
kqb@whscad1.att.com

CryptoAnarchist Manifesto
soda.berkeley.edu /pub/cypherpunks

Cryptography Glossary
soda.berkeley.edu /pub/cypherpunks

Cult of the Dead Cow files
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/cdc
-hacking, phreaking, anarchy, etc.

Cultural Information
ftp nic.funet.fi /pub/culture

Cybernetics
listserv@bingvaxu.cr.birminghamton.edu
-sub cybsys-l full_name

Cyberpunk Archive
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-alt.cyberpunk and related archives maintained by Tim Oerting

Cyberpunk FAQ
ftp.u.washington.edu public/alt.cyberpunk
-Tim Oerting’s excellent guide to cyberpunk

Cyberpunk RPGs
cyberrpg-request@veritas.com

Cyberspace Chronicle
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/cyberspace-1.1
-hacking, cyberpunk

Cyberspace and the Legal Matrix: Laws or Confusion?
by Lance Rose
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/cyberspace

Cypherpunks
cypherpunks@toad.com
-public key encryption list

Cypherpunks Announcement List
cypherpunks-announce-request@toad.com
-lower volume

Defense Data Network Blues
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/defense

Digital Free Press
dfp-req%underg@uunet.uu.net
ftp.eff.org pub/cud/dfp
-hacking, information, etc.

Drug Information
jyu.fi /pub/alt.drugs
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

Ecstacy Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

Electrix
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/electrix-001
-hacking

Electropolis: Communication & Community on Internet Relay Chat
by Elizabeth M. Reid
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/electropolis

EFF History
by John Perry Barlow
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/historical/eff-history

EFF Information
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/about-eff

EFF Legal Case Summary
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/historical/legal-case-summary

EFF Mission Statement
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/mission-statement

EFF News (EFFector Online)
effnews-request@eff.org

EFF Press release (founding)
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/historical/founding-announcement

The EFF and Virtual Communities
by Mike Godwin
ftp.eff.org /pub/eff/papers/eff-and-virtual-communities

Extropians
extropians-request@gnu.ai.mit.edu
-nanotechnology, cryonics, anarcho-capitalist politics,
technological extension of human intelligence and perception
-serious discussion from an informative perspective
-available on listserv as xtropy-l

Extropian Essay
exi-request@gnu.ai.mit.edu
-CliffNotes version of discussion on Extropians

4AD
listserv@jhuvm.hcf.jhu.edu _{-discussion of bands on the 4AD label}

FactSheet Five – Electronic
jerod23@well.sf.ca.us
ftp.msen.com /pub/newsletters/F5-E
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
src.doc.ic.ac.uk /literary/newsletters/f
-the e- version of the famous zine

FBI Computer Systems
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/fbi.systems

FlashLife (CP RPGs)
flashlife-request@netcom.com

Florida Raves
steve@sunrise.cse.fau.edu

FNORD-L
listserv@ubvm.bitnet _{-philosophies of Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Dr. Lilly, etc.}

Folklore
qurtz.rutgers.edu /pub/folklore

Freaker’s Bureau International
au530@cleveland.freenet.edu
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/fbi
-anarchy, hacking, cyberpunk

FringeWare, Inc.
fringeware-request@wixer.cactus.org
-Paco Xander Nathan’s company

Frontal Lobotomy
141.214.4.135
-ezine

FutureCulture
future-request@nyx.cs.du.edu
-discussion of cyberpunk, vr, computer underground, raves,
industrial culture, etc.
-home of this file!
-‘send info’ in subject or body

FutureCulture FAQ
future-request@nyx.cs.du.edu
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/future
ftp.css.itd.umich.edu /poli/future.culture.d
redspread.css.itd.umich.edu
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-this file!

Future Technologies List
future-tech-request@cs.umb.edu
-artificial intelligence, nanotech, etc.

General Hacking Info
ftp.eff.org
grind.isca.uiowa.edu
-good places to start

General Net Info
ftp.uu.net
nic.ddn.mil
wuarchive.wustl.edu
pit-manager.mit.edu
ftp.u.washington.edu
-for the more anal stuff (RFCs, netinfo and the like)

Gibraltar
gibraltar-request@maestro.mitre.org
-discussion of artistic and progressive music

GIF Pictures (general archives)
ahkcus.org
apocalypse.engr.ucf.edu /pub/images
hubcap.clemson.edu /pub
solaria.cc.gatech.edu /pub

GlobeTrotter
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/globe-1.x
-hacking around the world, cyberpunk

Grunge
listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu _{-grunge music}

Hacker’s-Network
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/hnet.1
-hacking, published in Britain

Hacker’s Unlimited
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/hun-1.2
-hacking, phreaking

High Weirdness by E-mail
mporter@nyx.cs.du.edu
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
141.214.4.135
-guide to some interesting sources of information on-line

IBM Files
caf.mit.edu
solaria.cc.gatech.edu /pub
ucselx.sdsu.edu /pub

Informatik
inform@doc.cc.utexas.edu
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/inform
-hacking, phreaking, computer underground, cyberpunk, etc.

InterText
intertxt@network.ucsd.edu
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/journals

Intro to the Computer Underground
by The Butler
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/intro

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) Info
cs.bu.edu
ftp.eff.org /pub/irc
cs.utk.edu /pub
speedy.cs.uiuc.edu /pub

The Jargon File
(same as The Hacker’s Dictionary)
wuarchive.wustl.edu /pub
ftp.uu.net /doc
merit.edu /pub/doc
nic.funet.fi /pub/doc
pit-manager.mit.edu /pub

Kcah
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/kcah.*
-hacking, computer underground

KLF/ORB List
klf-request@asylum.sf.c.us
asylum.sf.ca.us /pub/klf

Legion of Doom/Hackers Technical Journals
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/lod
-hacking, brought to you by the famous masters

Leri-L
moore7004@iscsvax.uni.edu
leri-l@iscsvax.uni.edu
-mailing list devoted to meta-programming, philosophy, expanding
consciousness, etc.

Loopy (Qunatum Gravity & Knot Theory)
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/loopy

LSD Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

Lunatic Fringe
141.214.4.135

Mac Files
mac.archive.umich.edu

Manchester
manchester-request@irss.njit.edu
irss.njit.edu /pub/manchester
-bands from manchester, raving, shoegazing, etc.

Manual of the Anarchist
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/anarch.man

Marijuana Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

Maryland Raves
cyberpun@wam.umd.edu

MidWest Raves
ajbennett@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu

Mind Machine Digest
mind-l-request@asylum.sf.ca.us
asylum.sf.ca.us /pub/mind-l
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-brain stimulation, nootropics, etc.

MindVox: The Overture
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-excellent essay by Patrick Kroupa (Lord Digital) on MindVox

MUD Info
oinker.ucsb.edu /pub/mud
jwisdom@gnu.ai.mit.edu
-“mud list” in subject

Music (lyrics/discographies/etc.)
ftp.uwp.edu /pub/music

National Security Anarchists
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/nsa
-phreaking, hacking

NE (NorthEastern) Raves
ne-raves-request@silver.lcs.mit.edu

Net Celebrities List
hplaa02.cern.ch netcel

NetJam
netjam-request@xcf.berkeley.edu
-MIDI, musc makers, etc.

Network Information Access
nia@nuchat.sccsi.com
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/nia
-hacking, computer underground, etc.

Network Policies
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/networks
-policies of various networks

Neuron Digest
neuron-request@cattell.psych.upenn.edu
-neural networks

New Fone Express
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/nfx
-hacking, phreaking

New Music
nm-list-request@beach.cis.ufl.edu
-new music list

Nootropics Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

Now It Can Be Told: Mad Hackers’ Key Party
Transcript of TV Show
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/rivera

Nuclear Anarchists phreakers hackers (NARC)
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/narc
-hacking, carding

OnoSendai Announcement
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-press release by the new VR company

On-Line Text (published works)
obi.std.com /pub/obi
mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu /gutenberg
world.std.com /obi
-published works

Operation Sundevil Information
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/sundevil

Paranet
infopara-request@scicom.alphacdc.com
grind.isca.uiowa.edu /info/paranet
-paranormal, parapsychology, etc.

PGP (Pretty Good Protection) Encryption Source
soda.berkeley.edu /pub/cypherpunks

Phantasy
Mercenary@f515.n141.z1.fidonet.org
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/phantasy
-anarchy, hacking

Phillip K. Dick
pkd-list-request@wang.com
-list celebrating the famous sf author

Phrack
listserv@stormking.com
in message body
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/phrack
-historic cyberspace hack/phreak/cu-news zine

Phreakers/Hackers/Anarchists
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/pha.2
-just what it says

Phreaker’s Handbook
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/phreak1.bok
-a phreaker’s handbook

Phreaker’s Handbook #1
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/tph-1
-another phreaker’s handbook

Phuckin Phield Phreakers
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/ppp
-phreaking

P/hun
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/phun
-phreaking, hacking

Physics
physics-request@qedqcd.rye.ny.us

Pirate
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/pirate
-pirating, software cracking

Playlist
playlist-request@ecst.csuchico.edu _{-mostly alternative radio/dj playlists and discussion}

PostModern Culture
PMC@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu
LISTSERV@NCSUVM.CC.NCSU.EDU

PowerGlove List
listserv@karazm.math.uh.edu
karazm.math.uh.edu /pub/VR

Practical Anarchy
red.css.itd.umich.edu /poli
ftp.css.itd.umich.edu /poli

Psilocybin Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

Punk
punk-list-request@cpac.washington.edu
-punk music

Quanta
export.acs.cmu.edu /pub/quanta
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/journals
-fiction ezine

Rave Info
soda.berkeley.edu /pub/sfraves

Rebel’s Riting Guild
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/rrg.1
-virus

Rights of Expression in Cyberspace
by R. E. Baird
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/rights-of-expr

RISKS Digest
risks-request@csl.sri.com
crvax.sri.com risks
-the RISKS of computing in our lives

Robert Anton Wilson (e-interview)
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/wilson.on.cis

School Network Policies
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/schools/*

Scream Baby
bladex@wixer.cactus.org
ftp.eff.org /pub/journals/ScreamBaby
red.css.itd.umich.edu /poli
ftp.css.itd.umich.edu /poli

The Secret Service, UUCP, and the Legion of Doom
by Kevin Mullet
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/lod_ss.Z

Security
cert.sei.cmu.edu /pub

SFRaves (SanFrancisco Raves)
sfraves-request@soda.berkeley.edu
soda.berkeley.edu /pub/sfraves
-rave culture, mostly in the Bay Area

SmartDrugs Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs

SoCal Raves (Southern California)
socal-raves-request@ucsd.edu

The Social Organization of the Computer Underground
Masters’ Thesis by Gordon Meyer
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/meyer

SOUND News and Arts
quartz.rutgers.edu /pub/journals
141.214.4.135
-e- version of the popular zine

SouthEast Raves
dickenjd@ctrvx1.vanderbilt.edu

Stelarc Review
ftp.u.washington.edu public/alt.cyberpunk
-review of the cyberpunk performance artist

Sterling Essay
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-speech by Bruce Sterling on the Information Society

Subgenius
Subgenius-request@mc.lcs.mit
quartz.rutgers.edu /pub/subgenius

Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-info on the industrial robot group

Syndicate Reports
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/synd
-phreaking, telco info, etc.

TAP-Online
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/tap
-phreaking, hacking, anarchy

TechnoNomads (Steve Roberts)
technomads-request@bikelab.sun.com
-the guy featured on Donahue & Mondo’s list
-nomadness, ham radio, mobile communities, etc.

Telecom Privacy Digest
telecom-priv-request@pica.army.mil

Telecom Digest
telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
-deals with all aspects of telecommunications

Temple ov Psychik Youth
morose.cc.purdue.edu /pub/topy-online

Terence McKenna “New Maps of HyperSpace”
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/mckenna

Three-fisted Tales of Bob Review
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/stclair

Title 18
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/law/us.e-privacy
-relating to computer crime & email privacy.

Tom Maddox on Cyberpunk
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
-essay by Tom Maddox on cyberpunk

Tom Maddox on Schizmatrix
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/schismat
-essay by Maddox on Sterling’s Work

The Turing Option (2 unpublished chapters)
by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky
wuarchive.wustl.edu /doc/minsky
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk

UK Raves
listserv@orbital.demon.co.uk
subscribe uk-rave
uk-raves@orbital.demon.co.uk

UFOs (images, NASA files)
nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
vab02.larc.nasa.gov
ames.arc.nasa.gov

UnderWorld Industries
141.214.4.135
-group network putting out underground media

United Phreaker’s Inc.
ftp.eff.org pub/cud/upi
-phreaking, hacking, etc.

UnPlastic News
tibbetts@hsi.hsi.com
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/misc/journals

Virtual Reality Info
sugrfx.acs.syr.edu /pub
sunee.waterloo.edu /pub
ftp.u.washington.edu public/alt.cyberpunk
ftp.u.washington.edu public/virtual-worlds

Virtual Reality List
listserv@uiucvmd.bitnet
subscribe virtu-l

Virtual Reality Research Info
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/virtual-worlds

Virus-l Digest
krvw@cert.sei.cmu.edu
(also virus-l on BITNET)
-discussion of viruses and all aspects of ’em

Voices In My Head, MindVox: The Overture
by Patrick Karel Kroupa (Lord Digital)
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/papers/mindvox
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk

WAX: The Discovery of Television Among the Bees
a film by Davids Blair
ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.cyberpunk
141.214.4.135
-reviews and info about David Blair’s cyberdelic film

Wicca
grind.isca.uiowa.edu /info/misc

Worldview – Der Weltanschauung
request@fennec.sccsi.com
ftp.eff.org /pub/cud/wview
-hacking, computer underground, church of subgenius,
political, etc.

Zen and the Art of the Internet
by Brendan Kahoe
ashley.cs.widener.edu /pub/zen
csn.org pub/net/zen
quartz.rutgers.edu pub/internet/zen
relay.cs.toronto.edu pub/zen

________________________________________________________________________

:::::: * End of FutureCulture FAQ Part 1

c o n t i n u e d i n p a r t 2
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

::: * Begin FutureCulture FAQ Part 2 (of 3)

c o n t i n u a t i o n o f p a r t 1
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Usenet Newsgroups: |
|______________________|

alt.alien.visitors Space Aliens on Earth! Abduction! Gov’t Coverup!
alt.amateur-comp The Amateur Computerist.
alt.artcom Artistic Community, arts & communication.
alt.atheism.* Godless heathens.
alt.bbs.ads Ads for various computer BBS’s.
alt.bbs.internet BBS systems accessible via the Internet.
alt.bbs.lists Postings of regional BBS listings.
alt.best.of.internet Sort of an oxymoron.
alt.binaries.* Pictures, programs, multimedia, etc.
alt.cad.* CAD.
alt.california The state and the state of mind.
alt.censorship Discussion about restricting speech/press.
alt.comp.acad-freedom.* Academic freedom issues related to computers.
alt.consciousness All aspects of consciousness.
alt.conspiracy Be paranoid — they’re out to get you.
alt.cult-movies Movies with a cult following
alt.culture.usenet A self-referential oxymoron.
alt.cyb-sys Cybernetics and Systems.
alt.cyberpunk High-tech low-life.
alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo Cyberpunk fiction.
alt.cyberpunk.movement Cybernizing the Universe.
alt.cyberpunk.tech Cyberspace and Cyberpunk technology.
alt.cyberspace and how it should work.
alt.cybertoon Cyberpunk epic.
alt.dcom.telecom Discussion of telecommunications technology.
alt.dreams What do they mean?
alt.drugs Recreational pharmaceuticals.
alt.drugs.usenet Many things are addictive besides pills.
alt.emusic Ethnic, exotic, electronic, elaborate, etc.
alt.fan.douglas-adams Author of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.
alt.fan.frank-zappa Is that a Sears poncho?
alt.fan.mst3k Mystery Science Theatre 3000 tv show.
alt.fashion All facets of the fasion industry discussed.
alt.folklore.* Folklore of many sorts
alt.fractals Fractals in math, graphics, and art.
alt.freedom.of.information.act “…EXCEPT THAT Congress shall limit…”.
alt.gathering.rainbow For discussing the annual Rainbow Gathering.
alt.gopher Discussion of the gopher information service.
alt.gothic The gothic movement: things mournful and dark.
alt.hackers Descriptions of projects currently under dvlpment.
alt.hackers.malicious Bad hackers.
alt.graffiti Usenet spraypainters and their documenters.
alt.hypertext Discussion of hypertext — uses, transport, etc.
alt.individualism Individualist discussions
alt.industrial Industrial culture, etc.
alt.internet.access.wanted People looking for internet access
alt.internet.services Internet services
alt.irc.* Internet Relay Chat material.
alt.magick For discussion about supernatural arts.
alt.manga Discussion of non-Western comics.
alt.meditation.transcendental Contemplation of states beyond.
alt.mindcontrol You WILL read this group and ENJOY it!
alt.music.alternative For groups having 2 Platinum-selling albums.
alt.news-media Don’t believe the hype.
alt.out-of-body Nobody’s home.
alt.pagan Discussions about paganism & religion.
alt.paranormal Phenomena which are not explicable.
alt.party Parties, celebration and general debauchery.
alt.planning.urban As if any city is really planned.
alt.politics.* Politics.
alt.postmodern Postmodernism, semiotics, deconstruction.
alt.privacy Privacy issues in cyberspace.
alt.prose Postings of original writings.
alt.psychoactives Better living through chemistry.
alt.pulp Paperback fiction, orange juice.
alt.radio.pirate Discussions surrounding pirate radio.
alt.radio.scanner Discussion of scanning radio receivers.
alt.rave Rave culture.
alt.religion.computers People who believe computing is “real life.”
alt.rock-n-roll Counterpart to alt.sex and alt.drugs.
alt.security Security issues on computer systems.
alt.security.index Pointers to good stuff in {alt,misc}.security.
alt.sex.* Postings of a prurient nature.
alt.skate-board Discussion of all apsects of skate-boarding.
alt.skinheads The skinhead culture/anti-culture.
alt.slack Posting relating to the Church of the Subgenius.
alt.society.ati The Activist Times Digest. (Moderated)
alt.society.civil-disob Civil disobedience.
alt.society.civil-liberties Individual rights.
alt.society.cu-digest The Computer Underground Digest. (Moderated)
alt.society.revolution Discussions on revolution(s).
alt.society.sovereign Independantistes, unite!
alt.spam.tin Spam is neither particle nor wave.
alt.sport.lasertag Indoor splatball with infrared lasers.
alt.thrash Thrashlife.
alt.true.crime To balance out all the false crime on the net.
alt.zines Small magazines, mostly noncommercial.
bionet.info-theory Discussions about biologicalinformation theory.
bionet.neuroscience Research issues in the neurosciences
bit.listserv.biosph-l Biosphere, ecology, Discussion List.
bit.listserv.commed Communication education.
bit.listserv.emusic-l Electronic Music Discussion List.
bit.listserv.ethics-l Discussion of Ethics in Computing.
bit.listserv.4ad-l The 4AD recording label.
bit.listserv.film-l Film making and reviews List.
bit.listserv.fnord-l New Ways of Thinking List.
bit.listserv.frac-l FRACTAL Discussion List.
bit.listserv.gutnberg GUTNBERG Discussion List.
bit.listserv.ioob-l Industrial Psychology.
bit.listserv.mbu-l Megabyte University – Computers and Writing.
bit.listserv.valert-l Virus Alert – Urgent Virus Warnings.
bit.listserv.virus-l Computer viruses.
bit.listserv.vpiej-l Electronic Publishing Discussion List.
bit.listserv.xtropy-l Extropians
comp.ai Artificial intelligence discussions.
comp.ai.neural-nets All aspects of neural networks.
comp.ai.philosophy Philosophical aspects of AI.
comp.ai.vision Artificial Intelligence Vision. (Moderated)
comp.bbs.misc BBS Discussion
comp.bbs.internet Internet BBSes
comp.dcom.telecom Telecommunications digest. (Moderated)
comp.graphics Computer graphics, art, animation.
comp.graphics.research Highly technical computer graphics discussion.
comp.graphics.visualization Info on scientific visualization.
comp.music Applications of computers in music research.
comp.org.acm The Association for Computing Machinery.
comp.org.eff.news News from the Electronic Frontiers Foundation.
comp.org.eff.talk Discussion of EFF goals, strategies, etc.
comp.research.japan The nature of research in Japan. (Moderated)
comp.risks Risks to the public from computers. (Moderated)
comp.robotics All aspects of robots and their applications.
comp.security.announce Announcements from CERT. (Moderated)
comp.simulation Simulation methods, problems, uses. (Moderated)
comp.society The impact of technology on society. (Moderated)
comp.society.development Computer technology in developing countries.
comp.society.folklore Computer folklore & culture, past & present.
comp.society.futures Events in technology affecting future computing.
comp.theory Theoretical Computer Science.
comp.theory.cell-automata Discussion of all aspects of cellular automata.
comp.theory.dynamic-sys Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems.
comp.theory.self-org-sys Topics related to self-organization.
misc.activism.progressive Information for Progressive activists.
misc.int-property Discussion of intellectual property rights.
misc.legal.computing Discussing the legal climate of computing.
news.announce.important General announcements to all. (Moderated)
news.future The future technology of network news systems.
pubnet.nixpub The “nixpub” list of public access UNIXes.
rec.arts.animation Discussion of various kinds of animation.
rec.arts.anime Japanese animation fen discussion.
rec.arts.comics Comic books and strips, graphic novels.
rec.arts.sf-lovers Science fiction lovers’ newsgroup.
rec.arts.sf-reviews of science fiction/fantasy/horror works.
rec.arts.sf.announce Major announcements of SF. (Moderated)
rec.arts.sf.fandom Discussions of SF fan activities.
rec.arts.sf.marketplace Personal for-sale notices of SF materials.
rec.arts.sf.misc Science fiction lovers’ newsgroup.
rec.arts.sf.movies Discussing SF motion pictures.
rec.arts.sf.reviews Critiques of sf stories. (Moderated)
rec.arts.sf.science Real and speculative aspects of SF science.
rec.arts.sf.tv Discussing general television SF.
rec.arts.sf.written Discussion of written sf and fantasy.
rec.ham-radio Amateur Radio practices.
rec.music.gdead A group for (Grateful) Dead-heads.
rec.music.industrial Discussion of industrial-related music styles.
rec.music.makers For performers and their discussions.
rec.music.newage “New Age” music discussions.
rec.music.synth Synthesizers and computer music.
rec.music.video Discussion of music videos.
rec.radio.amateur.misc Amateur radio practices.
rec.radio.noncomm Topics relating to noncommercial radio.
rec.radio.shortwave Shortwave radio enthusiasts.
rec.video Video and video components.
rec.video.releases Pre-recorded video releases.
sci.bio.technology Any topic relating to biotechnology.
sci.chaos The science of Chaos.
sci.cryonics People who freeze themselves after death.
sci.crypt Different methods of data en/decryption.
sci.lang.japan The Japanese language, both spoken and written.
sci.logic Logic: math, philosophy & computational aspects.
sci.military Science & the military. (Moderated)
sci.nanotech Molecular-scale machines. (Moderated)
sci.philosophy.meta Meta-philosophy.
sci.philosophy.tech Technical philosophy: math, science, logic, etc.
sci.psychology Topics related to psychology.
sci.skeptic Skeptics discussing pseudo-science.
sci.space Spac.
sci.virtual-worlds Virtual reality. (Moderated).
sci.virtual-worlds.apps Applications of VR technology.
soc.culture.japan Everything Japanese.
soc.culture.usa The culture of the United States of America.
soc.human-nets Computer aided communications digest. (Moderated)
talk.bizarre The unusual, bizarre, curious, and often stupid.
talk.philosophy.misc Philosophical musings on all topics.
talk.politics.drugs The politics of drug issues.
talk.politics.space Non-technical issues affecting space exploration.

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Who’s Who OnLine |
|____________________|

[Note: If you are looking for a person who is not on the list but
should be, I suggest you use the ‘whois’ or ‘netwhois’ command, or
finger @ a particular site if you know the site the person on.]

[2 other obvious places to check are the WELL and MindVox, where a lot
of the cyber-crowd hangs out]

Aristotle Hacker/ex-Publisher TAP-Online
Pete Ashdown Rave Promoter
John Perry Barlow EFF Founder/Grateful Dead Songwriter
Brian Behlendorf NetGuru – Rave stuff
Blade X Writer – Scream Baby, Scream’n’MeMe
Loyd Blankenship (The Mentor) Hacker/Author – Gurps CP
Gareth Branwyn Writer – Mondo 2000
Pat Cadigan Author – CP works
Michael Cardell Editor – SPUNK PRESS
Dorothy Denning Computer Crime Expert
Peter J Denning Computer Crime/ACM
Desert Fox Editor – Worldview
Diesel Boy DJ
Dispater Editor – Phrack
The EFF Group – Civil Liberties On-Line
D. Fischer Musician – Techno
Mark Frauenfelder Writer/Programmer – Beyond CP
Seth Friedman Editor – Factsheet 5
Mike Godwin Legal Council – EFF
Emmanuel Goldstein Editor – 2600
Ground Zero Editor – ATI
Hactic Magazine – CU
Andy Hawks Me =)/Writer
Jagwire X Writer – ScreamBaby/AUtopia
Judge Dredd Editor – NIA
Mitch Kapor Lotus/EFF Founder
Patrick Kroupa Mindvox/Writer – Mondo 2000
Timothy Leary Guru – LSD
Rush Limbaugh TalkShow Host/Conservative
Carl Loeffler Virtual Reality Museum
Mike McKenna Computer Artist – Liquid TV
Lazlo Nibble NetGuru – Music
Craig Neidorf(Knight Lightning) Phrack/EFF
Lord Nose Publisher – Xochipili
Tom Maddox Author – CP works
Gordon Meyer Editor – CuD
Marvin Minsky Guru – AI
Mondo 2000 Magazine – CP
Robert Morris Internet Worm
Paco Xander Nathan Writer – Mondo 2000
Peter G Neumann Guru – RISKS
Ono-Sendai Company – VR
Donn B. Parker Computer Crime Expert
Pengo Hacker
Jerod Pore Editor – F5-E
Genesis P-Orridge Musician – Psychic TV
Mitchell Porter Writer – High Wierdness by Email
John S Quarterman Author – The Matrix
Eric S. Raymond Author – Jargon File
Steve Roberts Technomad
Len Rose Hacker
Rudy Rucker Author – CP/sf
Tood Sines Musician – Techno
RU Sirius Editor – Mondo 2000
Eugene Spafford Guru – Net
Richard Stallman Guru – Unix
Ed Stastny Artist/Editor – SOUND
Steve Steinberg Editor – Intertek
Bruce Sterling Author – CP / all-around cool guy
St. Jude Editor – Mondo 2000
Cliff Stoll Author – Cuckoo’s Egg
Peter Stone Musician/Worked on Aeon Flux
Michael Synergy Hacker/Editor – Mondo 2000
Jim Thomas Editor – CuD
Wes Thomas Writer – Mondo 2000
Ken Thompson Guru – Unix
Vernor Vinge Author – sf works
Michael Wertheim Twitch Remixing

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Internet BBSes |
|__________________|

Archie archie.[sura.net|mcgill.ca|funet.fi|au|doc.ic.ac.uk]
Archie is the easiest, fastest, and most convenient way to find files
available via anonymous FTP.

Badboy nameserver.aue.com
login bbs/new

CARL pac.carl.org
online libraries

Chatsubo chatsubo.nersc.gov
login bbs/new

Cimmaron bugs.mty.itesm.mx
login bbs/new (limited hours)

Cleveland Free-Net freenet-in-[a|b|c].cwru.edu 129.22.8.[75|76|82]
Usenet, MUD, USA Today, Interest groups, local mail

DDN Network Information Center nic.ddn.mil 192.112.36.5

Eagle’s Nest seabass.st.usm.edu
login bbs/bbs

FTP Mail mail to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
commands:
— reply
— connect [HOST [USER [PASS]]]
— chdir PLACE
— compress
— compact
— uuencode
— btoa
— ls (or dir) PLACE
— get FILE
— quit
example:
— -> connect to uunet.uu.net as anonymous and get a
— root directory list:
— connect uunet.uu.net
— dir
— quit

GeoServer Martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000 141.212.100.9 3000

Greta’s garbo.uwasa.fi
login bbs/new

IRC Client bradenville.andrew.cmu.edu 128.2.54.2

ISCABBS 128.255.40.203
login new

Kids kids.kotel.co.kr
login kids/new

Mars Hotel jupiter.ee.msstate.edu

MindVox phantom.com
Usenet, Forums, IRC, Games, $15 / month

National Ham Radio Call-Sign Callbook marvin.cs.buffalo.edu 2000
128.205.32.4 2000

NEBBS nebbs.nersc.gov
login guest

Netcom netcom.netcom.com 192.100.81.100 1.408.554.UNIX
guest + at passwd, Full Unix service, Money for access.

Network Information Service (UC Berkeley) mailhost.berkeley.edu 117
128.32.136.9, 117

NSSDCA nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
login as “NODIS” no password
online catalog of NASA material

Nyx BBS nyx.cs.du.edu 130.253.192.9 1.303.871.3324 (of many)
Validation required for decent access, free, Usenet, mail, local MUD

OCEANIC delocn.udel.edu 128.175.24.1

Quartz BBS quartz.rutgers.edu
login bbs

SkyNet hpx5.aid.no
login skynet

SpaceLink BBS spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov 128.158.13.250

Sparcs ara.kaist.ac.kr
login bbs/new or irc

Tiny Computing tiny.computing.csbsju.edu

UM-Weather Service madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000 141.212.196.79 3000

Vatech Central Branching Exchange vtcbx.cc.vt.edu 128.173.16.6
to get to the Dream World BBS, type C 26964, and hit enter.

Virtual Rave haas.berkeley.edu 7283

WAIS server [hub.nnsc.nsf.net|quake.think.com|nnsc.nsf.net]
[192.31.103.7|192.31.181.1|129.89.1.178]

The WELL well.sf.ca.us 192.132.30.2
probly most popular pubnix system, call for sub prices

The World world.std.com 192.74.137.5 1.617.739.WRLD
new, $5 / month + $2 / hour

YaBBS phred.pc.cc.cmu.edu 8888 128.2.111.111 8888

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| IRC Channels: |
|_______________|

IRC is the Internet relay chat, online realtime communications for the
Internet. Look for info elsewhere in the FAQ. Of course, not all of
these channels are permanent.

#Autopia Jagwire X’s Autopia group
#ccc Chaos Computer Club (“/msg CCCServ info” for CCC info)
#cDc Cult of the Dead Cow
#CyberPunk Cyberpunk (“/msg CyberBot info” for CPBot Files)
#drugs Drugs (“/msg LearyBot info” for LearyBot Files)
#free.acid Hehehe
#future FutureCulture
#mindvox MindVox
#phreak Hackers and Phreakers
#Rave_Scen Raves

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| MUDs: |
|_________|

A list of future or cyber- oriented MUDs. See elsewhere in the FAQ
for info on MUDs. MUDs go up and down a lot, so, not my fault.

AbacusMUD abacus.hgs.se 130.238.204.10 4080
BattleTech 129.72.2.48 3026
CyberWorld elf.etsu.edu 192.43.19.199.27 3000
Infinity 129.10.10.33 3000
SciFiMUSH zaphod.cs.uwindsor.ca 137.207.224.3 1972
SpaceMadness riemann.math.okstate.edu139.78.1.15 6250
StarFireMUSE agronomy.auburn.edu 131.204.60.2 4201
Star Raiders ub.d.umn.edu 131.212.32.6 2000
TrekMUSE nebula.lib.vt.edu 128.173.7.183 1701
Virtual Realities coyote.wustl.edu 128.252.136.100 3019

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| BBSes: |
|__________|

A wide ranging list, from the underground eLiTe to the completely
anal, and some interesting ones in between. Good starting points are
The WELL and MindVox, although both of these cost money (as do most of
the heavu-duty Unix systems listed [a noticeable exception being Nyx]).

Arrested Development 1.31.79.426079 Big European board
Bamboo Gardens North 1.512.385.2941
Blitzkrieg 1.502.499.8933 Home of TAP OnLine, NUP reqd.
The Cellar 1.215.654.9184 Public Access Unix
ChiNet 1.312.283.0559 Public Access Unix
The Cyberden 1.415.472.5527 Public Access Unix
The Cyberspace Institute 1.512.469.0447 Jagwire X’s BBS
The Dark Side 1.408.245.7726 Public Access Unix
Dead Zone 1.214.522.5321 Fringe Science
Demon Roach Underground 1.806.794.4362
Exec-PC 1.414.789.4210 Huge BBS
The Empire 1.301.384.2482
Face-2-Face 1.713.242.6853
Free Speech 1.618.549.4955
The Grid 1.203.661.1279 Public Access Unix
The Illuminati BBS 1.512.447.4449 Steve Jackson Games
KeelyNet 1.214.324.3501 Fringe science
Lunatic Labs 1.213.655.0691
MindVox 1.212.988.5030 Public Access Unix
Monochrome (UK) 1.071.477.8183
Netcom 1.408.241.9760 Public Access Unix
NetRunner’s Paradise 1.619.285.3967 Waffle, limited USENET
NuChat 1.713.668.7176 Public Access Unix
Nyx 1.303.871.4824 Public Access Unix
1 zer0 Cybernet 1.301.424.9133
Pentavia 1.703.820.0574
Phun Line 1.916.481.2306 NUP required
Portal 1.408.725.0561 Public Access Unix
Private Idaho 1.208.338.9227 Mentioned in Mondo a lot
Ripco 1.312.528.5020 Legendary Op. SunDevil victim
RuneStone 1.203.485.0088
Spies in the Wire 1.408.867.7400 Public Access Unix (closed now)
Sycamore Elite 1.815.895.5573
Telerama BBS 1.412.481.5302 telnet telerama.pgh.pa.us
Temple of Scream. Elect. 1.510.935.5845
Time Enough For Love 1.215.449.1902 Hippie Oriented
Tommy’s Holiday Camp 1.604.361.1464 8000 text files
Tronsbox 1.201.759.8450 Public Access Unix
The Turing Point 1.512.219.7828
Uncensored 1.914.761.6877
The Underground 1.512.339.8221 Unix, DFP magazine, UCF
Unphamiliar Territory 1.602.894.1757 NUP required
Virus Xchange (Bulgaria) 1.359.2.20.4198 Lots of viruses
The WELL 1.415.332.6106 Public Access Unix

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Books: |
|__________|

[Note: I’ve messed up some of the ‘(fiction)’ v. nonfic. inclusions.
Sorry ’bout that – in/f0rmation overload.]

??? American Flagg – comic
Cyberpunk – comic
Dirty Pair – comic
Judge Dredd – comic

Anonymous – Go Ask Alice. Diary of 15 year-old girl in the drug world
– Computers: Crimes, Clues, and Controls. Hacking

Abraham, Ralph – A Visiual Introduction to Dynamical Systems Theory …
– The Visual Mathematics Library

Acker, Kathy – Blood and Guts in High School (fiction)
– Don Quixote, which was a dream (fiction)
– Empire of the Senseless (fiction)
– Great Expectations (fiction)
– The Adult Life of Toulouse-Lautrec
– In Memoriam to Identity

Adams, Douglas – The Meaning of Liff (fiction)
– The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (fiction)
– The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (fiction)
– Life, the Universe, and Everything (fiction)
– So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish (fiction)

Aldiss, Brian Wilson – Barefoot in the Head (fiction)
– Enemies of the System (fiction)

Algren, Nelson – Man with the Golden Arm (fiction)

Army, U.S. – Computer-Related Crime

Artaud, Antonin – The Peyote Dance

Ashby, W. Ross – An Introduction to Cybernetics

Asimov, Isaac – The Robot Novels
– Robots: Machines in Man’s Image

Austakalnis, Steve & David Blatner – Silicon Mirage. Vr

Bachman, Richard – The Running Man (fiction)

Ballard, J. G. – The Atrocity Exhibition (Re/Search publication)
– Crash (fiction)
– Concrete Island
– High rise

Barlow, John Perry – Everything We Know is Wrong (forthcoming)

Barnes, Steven – Gorgon Child (fiction)
– Streetlethal (fiction)

Barrow, John and Frank Tipler – The Anthropic Cosmological Principle

Bass, Thomas – The Eudaemonic Pie. Chaos

Bateson, Gregory – Steps to an Ecology of Mind
– Mind and Nature: Necessary Unity

Baudrillard, Jean – The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture
– Body Invaders: Panic Sex in America (ed.)
– The Ecstacy of Communication
– America
– Simulations
– In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities
– Seduction
– Cool Memories

Bear, Greg – Blood Music (fiction)
– Eon (fiction)
– Eternity (fiction; sequel to Eon)
– Beyond Heaven’s River (fiction)
– Forge of God (fiction)
– Great Sky River (fiction)
– Psychlone (fiction)
– Strength of Stones (fiction)
– The Wind Froma Burning Woman (fiction)

Beck, Jerome, & Rosenbaum, Marsha – Pursuit of Ecstacy: The MDMA Experience

Bell, Madison Smartt – The Washington Square Ensemble
– Waiting for the End of the World

Belsito, Peter – HardCore California
– Notes from the Pop Underground

Benedikt, Michael – Cyberspace: First Steps

Benford, Gregory – Against Infinity

Bernal, J. D. – The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

Bester, Alfred – Computer Connection (fiction)
– Golem 100 (fiction)
– The Demolished Man (fiction)
– The Stars My Destination (fiction)

Betanacourt, G. – Johnny Zed (fiction)

Bethke, Bruce – Cyberpunk (fiction)
– Elimination Round (fiction)

Bey, Hakim – T.A.Z.

Black, Bob – The Abolition of Work and Other Essays
– Friendly Fire
– Rants and Mineral Tracts (with Adam Parfrey, eds.)

Blake, William – The Mariage of Heaven and Hell

Blankenship, Loyd (Steve Jackson Games) – GURPS Cyberpunk RPG

Bloombecker, Buck – Spectacular Computer Crimes

Blumlein, Michael – The Movement of Mountains (fiction)

Bova, Ben – Exiled from Earth (fiction)

Bradbury, Ray – Fahrenheit 451 (fiction)

Brecher, Edward M. (Consumer’s Union) – Guide to Licit and Illicit Drugs

Breton, Andre – What is Surrealism? Selected Writings
– Manuifestos of Surrealism

Brin, David -Earth (fiction)

Brockman, John (ed) – Speculations: Reality Club 1
– Doing Science: Reality Club 2
– Ways of Knowing: Reality Club 3

Brunner, John – The Shockwave Rider (fiction)
– Stand on Zanzibar (fiction)
– The Jagged Orbit (fiction)
– The Sheep Look Up (fiction)
– The Stone that Never Came Down (fiction)

Budrys, Algis – Michaelmas (fiction)

Burger, Ralf – COmputer Viruses: A High Tech Disease

Burgess, Anthony – A Clockwork Orange (fiction)
– The End of the World News: An Entertainment. (fiction)

Burroughs, William S. – Interzone (fiction)
– Naked Lunch (fiction)
– Nova Express (fiction)
– The Soft Machine (fiction)
– Ticket That Exploded (fiction)
– The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead (fiction)
– The Third Mind
– The Yage Letters
– The Adding Machine: Selected Essays
– The Last Words of Dutch Schultz
– The Western Lands
– Cities of the Red Night

Butler, Jack – Nightshade (fiction)

Cadigan, Pat – MindPlayers (fiction)
– Indigo (fiction)
– Patterns (fiction)
– Synners (fiction)

Card, Orson Scott – Ender’s Game (fiction)

Carlisle, Anne – Liquid Sky (fiction)

Chambers, Iain – Popular Culture: The Metropolitan Experience (fiction)

Churchland, Patricia – Neurophilosophy:…Unified Science of the Mind/Brain

Consumer Reports – Complete Drug Reference

Cornwall, Hugo – Datatheft. Hacking
– Hacker’s Handbook III. Hacking.

Crick, Francis – Life Itself: It’s Origin and Nature

Cross, Ronald Anthony – Prisoners of Paradise (fiction)

Crowley, Aleister – Diary of a Drug Fiend
– Magick Without Tears

Davies, Paul – The Accidental Universe

Davis, Douglas – Art and the Future

Dean, Ward – Smart Drugs & Nutrients. Nootropics, smart drugs

Deken, Joseph – Computer Images: State of the Art

Delany, Paul and George Landlow (eds) – Hypermedia & Literary Studies

Delany, Samuel – Dahlgren (fiction)
– Babel 17 (fiction)
– Nova (fiction)
– The Edge of Space: Three Original Novellas of SF

Delgado, Jose – Physical Control of the Mind: Towards Psychocivilized …

DeLillo, Don – White Noise (fiction)

Denning, Peter J. (ed. ACM) – Computers Under Attack

Denton, Bradley – Wrack’n’Roll (fiction)

de Quincy, Thomas – Confessions of an English Opium Eater

Derrida, Jacques – Of Grammatology
– Speech and Phenomena
– Writing and Difference

Dick, Philip K. – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner)(fiction)
– Flow My Tears the Policeman Said (fiction)
– Vulcan’s Hammer (fiction)
– Ubik (fiction)
– A Scanner Darkley (fiction)

Dickson, Gordon – The R-Master (fiction)

Dobbs, Bob – Book of the SubGenius

Dozois, Gardner – Slow Dancing Through Time (fiction)

Drexler, Eric – Engines of Creation. Nanotechnology
– Unbounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution

Duchamp, Marcel – The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp

Eco, Umberto – Foucault’s Pendulum (historical fiction)
– Travels in Hyper Reality: Essays

Effinger, George Alec – A Fire in the Sun (fiction)
– When Gravity Fails (fiction)
– The Exile Kiss (fiction)

Eisner, Bruce – Ecstacy: The MDMA Story

Em, David – The Art of David Em: 100 Computer Paintings

Farren, Mick – The Long Orbit (fiction)

Faust, Clifford – The Company Man (fiction)
– A Death of Honor (fiction)

Feynman, Richard – QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter

Fjermedal, Grant – The Tomorrow Makers (fiction)

Foley, James et al – Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice

Ford, John – Web of Angels (fiction)

Forester, Tom – Computer Ethics. Hacking, viruses, etc

Foster, Alan Dean – Cyber Way (fiction)

Friedman, David – The Machinery of Freedmon. Anarchy

Furst, Stevyn – Hallucinogens and Culture

Gerrold, David – When Harlie Was One

Gibson, William – Burning Chrome (fiction)
– Count Zero (fiction)
– The Difference Engine (with Bruce Sterling)(fiction)
– Mona Lisa Overdrive (fiction)
– Neuromancer (fiction)
– Virtual Light (forthcoming)
– Agrippa: A Book of the Dead (poem)

Gleick, James – Chaos: The Making of a New Science

Goodman, Cynthia – Digital Visions: COmputers and Art

Gracie & Zarkov – Notes from Underground. Drugs

Griffith, Winter – Complete Guide to Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs

Grof, Stanislov – The Human Encounter with Death. Death, Psychology, LSD
– Realms of the Human Unconscious. LSD, Subconscious.

Gunderloy, Mike and Cari Goldberg Janice – Zine Culture

Gyson, Brion and Terry Wilson – Here to Go: Planet 101

Hafner, Katie with John Markoff – Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers…Frontier

Hamit, Francis & Wes Thomas – Virtual Reality: Adventures in Cyberspace

Harrison, Harry – Make Room! Make Room! (fiction)

Harry, M. – Computer Underground: Hacking, Piracy, Phreaking, & …Crime

Hattori, Katura – What’s Virtual Reality?

Hawke, Simon – Psychodrome (fiction)

Hawking, Stephen – A Brief History of Time

Heinlein, Robert – The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (fiction)
– Notebooks of Lazarus Long (fiction)
– Stranger in a Strange Land (fiction)
– Time Enough for Love (fiction)

Helsel, Sandra & Judith Roth – Virtual Reality: Practice, Theory, & Promise

Herbert, Nick – Faster Than Light: Superluminal Loopholes in Physics
– Quantum Reality: Beyond the New Physics

Herer, Jack – Hemp & Marijuana Conspiracy: The Emperor Wears No Clothes

Hoffman, Abbie – Steal This Book
– Steal This Urine Test: Fighting Drug Hysteria
– Soon To Be a Major Motion Picture
– Best of Abbie Hoffman

Hofmann, Albert – Insight/Outlook
– LSD: My Problem Child

Hofstadter, Douglas R. – The Mind’s I: Reflections on Self & Soul

Holmes, Thomas – Electronic and Experimental Music

Home, Stewart – The Assault on Culture

Hooper, Judith – Would the Buddha Wear A Walkman? Catalogue of Consciousness

Hoy, ??? – Loompanics Greatest Hits

Hoyle, Fred and Chandra Wickramasinghe – Living Comets

Hutchison, Michael – Mega-brain. Consciousness, Brain growth, stimulation

Huxley, Aldous – Brave New World (fiction)
– Brave New World Revisited (fiction)
– The Doors of Perception. Mescaline encounters
– Ends and Means. Nature of ideals and realization
– Heaven and Hell
– Island (fiction)
– Moksha. Hallucinogens, religious experiences, visions
– Perennial Philosophy. Philosophy and religion

Huyssen, Andreas – After the Great Divide: Modernism, Mass Culture, Postmodern

Jacobsen, Linda (ed) – Cyberarts: Exploring art and technology

Jahn, robert and Brenda Dunne – Margins of Reality..Consciousnes….

Jester, K. W. – Death Arms (fiction)
– Dr. Adder (fiction)
– Farewell Horizontal (fiction)
– Infernal Devices (fiction)
– The Glass hammer (fiction)

Kadrey, Richard – Metrophage (fiction)

Kawaguchi, Yoichiro – Growth Metamorphogenesis. Computer art

Kehoe, Brendan – Zen and the Art of the Internet

Kerouac, Jack – On the Road

Kelly, James Patrick – Look Into the Sun (fiction)

Kelly, Kevin – SIGNAL: Communications Tools of the Information Age

Kesey, Ken – Sometimes a Great Notion. Autobiography
– Further Inquiry. Tales of the Merry Pranksters

Key, William Bryan – Subliminal Seduction
– Media Sexploitation
– The Clam-Plate Orgy

Kowalski, Roy – The Science of Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments

Kroker, Arthur, and David Cook – The Postmodern Scene

Krol, Ed – The Whole Internet User’s Guide & Catalog

Krueger, Myron W. – Artificial Reality
– Artificial Reality II

Kunetka, James – Nature’s End (fiction)

Lacan, Jacques – Television

Laidlaw, Marc – Dad’s Nuke (fiction)
– Neon Lotus (fiction)

Landreth, Bill – Out of the Inner Circle. Hacking

Langston, Christopher – Artificial Life 1
– Artificial Life 2

LaQueye Tracey and Jeanne Ryer – The Internet Companion

Laurel, Brenda – The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design
– Computers as Theatre

Leary, Timothy – Changing My Mind, Among Others
– Flashbacks
– Info Psychology
– Neuropolitiques
– Politics of Ecstacy
– Psychedelic Experience

LeGuin, Ursula – Always Coming Home (fiction)

Lee, Marvin – Acid Dreams: CIA, LSD, and the Sixties

Lem, Stanislaw – Memoirs Found in a Bathtub (fiction)
– Solaris
– The Futuroligcal Congress
– The Cyberiad
– One Human Minute
– Fiasco
– A Perfect Vacuum
– Imaginary Magnitude

Lennon, John – Lost Prophetic Writings

Levy, Steven – Hackers. Origins of hackers

Lewit, S. N. – Cyberstealth (fiction)
– Dancing Vac (fiction)

Leyner, Mark – My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist (fiction)
– American Made (fiction)
– I Was an Infinitely Hot and Dense Dot (fiction)

Lilly, John – Center of the Cyclone: An Autobiography of Inner Space
– The Deep Self: Profound Relaxation….Isolation Tank
– Programming and Meta-programming the Human Biocomputer
– Simulations of God: The Science of Belief
– The Dyadic Cyclone: Autobiography of a Couple
– The Scientist: A Metaphysical Autobiography
– John Lilly, so far…

Lippard, Lucy R. – Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory

Lovecock, James – Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

Ludlow, ??? – Hasheesh eater: The Life of Pythagorean. published in 157!

Lyotard, Jean-Francois – The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge

Lyttle, ??? – Psychedelic Monographs and Essays Volumes #1-5

Maddox, Tom – Halo (fiction)

Malacalypse the Younger – The Principia Discordia. Church of the Subgenius

Mandlebrot, Benoit – The Fractal Geometry of Nature

Marcus, Greil – Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century

Mason, Lisa – Arachne (fiction)

McAfee, John – Computer Viruses, Worms….And Other Threats to your System

McAffrey, Larry – Storming the Reality Studio. Cyberpunk, postmodern fiction
– Across the Wounded Galaxies

McDonald, Ian – Out on Blue Six (fiction)

McHale, Brian – Postmodern Fiction

McKenna, Dennis – The Invisible Landscape

McKenna, Terence – The Archaic Revival
– Food of the Gods
– True Hallucinations

McLellan, H. – Virtual Reality: A Selected Bibliography

McLuhan, Marshall – Verbi-Voco-Visual Explorations
– Through the Vanishing Point: Space in Poetry & Painting
– From Cliche to Archetype
– Culture is our Business
– Take Today: The Executve as Drop-Out
– The City as Classroom: Understanding Media & Language
– Laws of Media: The New Science
– The Global Village: TransformAtions in World Life…

Milan, Victor – The Cybernetic Samurai (fiction)
– The Cybernetic Shogun (fiction)

Minsky, Marvin – Society of Mind
– Robotics
– The Turing Option

Misha – Red Spider, White Web (fiction)

Mondo 2000 – A User’s Guide to the New Edge

Moorcock, Michael – The Cornelious chronicles (fiction)

Moravec, Hans – Mind Children

Morgan, Ted – Literary Outlaw: Life & Times of William S. Burroughs

Murphy, Pat – The Falling Woman (fiction)

Myers, Norman – Gaia: An Atlas of Planet Management

Nelson, Theodor – Cumpter Lib/Dream Machines
– Literary Machines

Orwell, George – 1984 (fiction)

Otomo, Katsuhiro – Akira

Pagels, Heinz – The Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics As Language of Nature

Palmer, Thomas – Dream Science (fiction)

Parker, Don – Fighting Computer Crime

Parsegian, V. Lawrence – This Cybernetic World. Cybernetics

Parfrey, Adam – Apocalypse Culture. Pomo/industrialism
– Rants and Incendiary Tracts

Pearson, Durk and Sandy Shaw – Life Extension: Practical Scientific Approach
– Life Extension Companion

Peitgen, Heinz-Otto and Peter Richter – The Beauty of Fractals

Pelton, Ross – Mind Food & Smart Pills. Neuropharmacology

Penley, Constance & Andrew Ross (eds.) – Technoculture

Perry, Paul – On the Bus. Story of Ken Kesey and Merry Pranksters
– Haight-Ashbury: A History

Pickover, Clifford – Computers and the Imagination

Pirsig, Robert – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Platt, Charles – The Silicon Man

Pohl, Frederick – Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (fiction)
– Gateway (fiction)
– Heechee Rendezvous (fiction)
– Man Plus (fiction)
– The Annals of the Heechee (fiction)

Porush, David – The Soft Machine: Cybernetic Fiction

Potter, Beverly – Way of the Ronin. Career, vocation changes

Powell, William – The Anarchists Cookbook. Drug abuse, explosives, firearms

Pynchon, Thomas – Crying of Lot 49 (fiction)
– Gravity’s Rainbow (fiction)
– V (fiction)
– Vineland (fiction)

Quarterman, John S. – The Matrix. Computer Networks

Rand, Ayn – For the New Intellectual. Philosophy

Ratsch, ??? – Gateway to Inner Space

Regis, Ed – Great Mambo Chicken & the Transhuman Condition

Re/Search – Industrial Culture Handbook. Industrial musicians profiles
– Modern Primitives
– PRANKS!
– Angry Women

Rheingold, Howard – Virtual Reality. Cybernetics, virtual reality, simulation

Rivlin, Robert – The Algorithmic Image: Graphic Images of the Computer Age

Roberts, Stevyn – Computing Across America

Robinson, Spider – Mindkiller: A Novel of the Near Future (fiction)

Ronell, Avital – The Telephone Book: Technology, Schizophrenia, ….
– Crack Wars: Literature, Addiction, Mania

Roszak, Theodore – The Cult of Information: The Folklore of Computers…

Rucker, Rudy – Software (fiction)
– Wetware (fiction)
– The Secret of Life (fiction)
– Masters of Space and Time (fiction)
– Spacetime Donuts (fiction)
– The 5th Franz Kafka (fiction)
– White Light (fiction)
– Mind Tools: The 5 Levels of Mathematical Reality
– The Fourth Dimension: A Guided Tour of the Higher Universes
– Transreal! (fiction)
– Semiotext(e) (ed. w/ Robert A. Wilson, Peter Wilson)
– M2k: User’s Guide to the New Edge (ed. w/ RU Sirius et al)

Ruelle, David – Chance and Chaos

Russo, Richard Paul – Inner Eclipse (fiction)
– Subterranean Gallery (fiction)
– Destroying Angel (fiction)

Ryan, Thomas – The Adolescence of PI (fiction)

Sarfatti, Jack – Space-Time and Beyond

Schafer, Murray – The Tuning of the World. Electronic Music

Schultes, Richard Evans – Plants of the Gods: Origins of Hallucinogens

Schodt, Frederik – Inside the Robot Kingdom: …Coming Robotopia

Sheldrake, Robert – A New Science of Life:….Formative Causation
– The Rebirth of Nature: Greening of Science and God
– The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance ….

Shelley, Mary – Frankenstein (fiction)

Sherman, Barry – Glimpses of Heaven, Visions of Hell. VR

Shiner, Lewis – Frontera (fiction)
– Deserted Cities of the Heart (fiction)
– Slam (fiction)

Shirley, John – Eclipse (fiction)
– Eclipse Corona (fiction)
– Eclipse Penumbra (fiction)
– Total Eclipse (fiction)
– City Come A’Walkin’ (fiction)
– Heatseeker (fiction)
– Transmaniacon (fiction)
– A Splendid Chaos (fiction)

Shulgin, Ann and Alexander – PIKHAL: A Chemical Love Story
– The Controlled Substance Act

Sieber, Ulrich – International Handbook on Computer Crime

Sirius, R.U. & Rudy Rucker (eds) – A User’s Guide to the New Edge

Smith, Thomas – Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects

Solomonides, Tony and Les Levidow – Compulsive Technology…

Spinrad, Norman – Agent of Chaos (fiction)
– Little Heroes (fiction)
– Other Americas (fiction)
– Streetman (fiction)

Stafford, Peter – Psychedelics Encyclopedia

Stang, Ivan – High Weirdness By Mail. Fringes of culture sources
– Three-Fisted Tales of Bob. Subgenius

Starks, ??? – Cocaine Fiends and Reefer Madness. Drugs on film

Stelarc – Obsolete Body Suspensions

Stephenson, Neal – Snow Crash (fiction)

Sterling, Bruce – Artificial Kid (fiction)
– Crystal Express (fiction)
– Difference Engine (with William Gibson)
– Involution Ocean (fiction)
– Islands in the Net (fiction)
– Mirrorshades: A Cyberpunk Anthology (editor)
– Schizmatrix (fiction)
– The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder..Frontier
– Globalhead (fiction)

Stevens, Jay – Storming Heaven: LSD & the American Dream

Stoll, Clifford – The Cuckoo’s Egg. Hacking

Sturgeon, Theodore – More Than Human (fiction)

Swanwick, Michael – Vacuum Flowers (fiction)
– In the Drift (fiction)
– Stations of the Tide (fiction)

Swezey, ??? – AMOK Dispatch

Tamm, Eric – Brian Eno: His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound

Thom, Rene – Semiophysics: A Sketch

Thompson, Hunter S. – Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72
– The Great Shark Hunt: Gonzo Papers 1
– Generation of Swine: Gonzo Papers 2
– Songs of the Doomed: Gonzo Papers 3

Todd, Stephen and William Latham – Evolutionary Art and Computers

Toffler, Alvin – Future Shock. Social Change
– The Third Wave. Social Change

Turkle, Sherry – The Second Self: Computers & the Human Spirit

2030, F.M. – Upwingers
– Are You A Transhuman?

Tzara, Tristan – Seven Dada Manifestos and Lampistries

Vallee, Jacques – The Network Revolution: Confessions of a Computer Scientist

Varley, John – The Ophiuchi Hotline (fiction)
– Millenium (fiction)

Vinge, Vernor – Marooned Across Real-time (fiction)
– True Names and Other Dangers (fiction)
– Threats and Other Promises (fiction)
– The Peace War (fiction)

Vollman, William – You Bright and Risen Angels (fiction)

Wade, ??? – Anarchist’s Guide to the BBS

Warhol, Andy – Diaries
– POPism: The Warhol 60’s

Weil, Andrew – Marriage of Sun & Moon: Quest for Unity in Consciousness
– Natural Mind: Investigation of Drugs and Higher Consciousness
– Chocoloate to Morphine: Understanding Mind-Active Drugs

Wells, H.G. – The Island of Dr. Moreau

Whole Earth Catalog – Essential Whole Earth Catalog
– The Fringes of Reason
– Signal, Communications for the Information Age
– Software Catalog
– Whole Earth Access Mail Order Catalog

Wiener, Norbert – Cybernetics: Control & Communication in Animal and Machine
– The Human Use of Human Beings

Williams, Walter Jon – Angel Station (fiction)
– Facets (fiction)
– Hardwired (fiction)
– Solips System (fiction)
– Voice of the Whirlwind (fiction)

Wilson, Robert Anton – Cosmic Trigger
– Cosmic Trigger 2
– Historical Illuminatus Chronicles (fiction)
The Earth Will Shake
Nature’s God
The Widow’s Son
– Illuminati Papers
– The Illuminatus! Trilogy (fiction)
– Ishtar Rising
– Masks of the Illuminati (fiction)
– New Inquisition
– Prometheus Rising
– Quantum Psychology
– Right Where You are Sitting Now
– Schrodinger’s Cat Trilogy (fiction)
– Sex & Drugs, A Journey Beyond Limits
– The Earth Will Shake (fiction)
– The Widow’s Son (fiction)
– The Book of the Breast
– Natural Law, or Don’t put a Rubber on your Willy
– Wilhelm Reich in Hell
– Coincidence: A Head Test

Windling, Terri (editor) – Borderlands (fiction)
– Bordertown (fiction)

Wolfe, Tom – Electrik Kool-Aid Acid Test. Kesey & Pranksters & Haight-Ashbury

Wolfram, Stephen – Mathematica: System for Doing Mathematics by Computer

Womack, Jack – Ambient (fiction)
Terraplane (fiction)
Heathern (fiction)

Wright, Robert – Three Scientists and Their Gods. Information age

Zahn, Timothy – Cobra (fiction)
– Cobra Bargain (fiction)
– Cobra Strike (fiction)

________________________________________________________________________

:::::: * End of FutureCulture FAQ Part 2

c o n t i n u e d i n p a r t 3
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

::: * Begin FutureCulture FAQ Part 3 (of 3)

c o n t i n u a t i o n o f p a r t 1 a n d 2
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Videos: |
|___________|

(this is meant to be a broad base of futuristic or trippy movies, and,
as in the music category, everyone has their own personal tastes and
opinions, and this list would vary from person to person)

The Abyss (sci-fi)
Aeon Flux (anime)
Akira (anime)
Alien[s, s^3] (sci-fi)
Arise: The Subgenius video
Altered States (drama/sci-fi)
Blade Runner & Director’s Cut (science fiction)
Bliss (drama)
Brainstorm (sci-fi)
Brazil (science fiction/fantasy)
Burroughs: The Movie (docudrama)
Chaos, Eros, Gaia: A Post-Savage Oracle (computer)
A Clockwork Orange (science fiction)
Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Videos
Cyberia on U-Network (music, animation)
Cyberpunk: First Program… (Intercon productions) (documentary)
Cyberpunk (anime)
Cyberspace, Power and Culture (documentary)
Dreamscape (sci-fi/fantasy)
Drugstore Cowboy (drama)
Dune (science fiction)
Emergency Broadcast Network Video
Experiment at Petaluma (Terence McKenna)
Hardware (science fiction)
Hip Tech and High Lit (?)
Jacob’s Ladder (drama)
Koyaanisqatsi (documentary)
The Lawnmower Man (science fiction/fantasy)
Liquid Sky (drama/sci-fi)
Max Headroom (science fiction)
Metropolis (science fiction/pomo)
Mind’s Eye (computer animation)
MTV’s Buzz (documentary/soundbytes)
MTV’s Buzz Cut (music)
MTV’s Liquid Television (anime/animated)
Naked Lunch (drama)
The 90’s (Television station/show – documentary)
Powaqatsi (documentary)
anything by Psychic TV (Genesis P-Orridge) (music)
anything by Re/Search (SRI, Modern Prim, etc.)
Road Warrior and sequels (scifi)
Robocop and sequels (scifi)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (musical/science-fiction/fantasy)
Sid & Nancy (drama/musical)
SIGGRAPH Video Reviews (computer graphics)
Slacker (docudrama)
Sneakers (drama)
Star Trek: TOS (scifi)
Star Trek: TNG (scifi)
Star Trek Movies (scifi)
Star Wars, etc. (scifi)
Strange Attractor
anything by Survival Research Laboratories (SRL)
2001 A Space Odyssey (science fiction)
2600’s Hacking Video (featured on ‘Now It can Be Told’)(documentary)
Terminal Man (sci-fi)
Terminator and sequel(s) (scifi)
Thinking Allowed Video Collection (fringe science)
THX 1138 (science fiction)
Total Recall (science fiction)
Towers Open fire (with William S Burroughs)
The Trip (drama)
Tron (science fiction/fantasy)
The Wall (musical/docudrama)
Videodrome (sci-fi/horror)
Video Toaster Demo Tape (computer graphics)
Virtual Reality 1991 (documentary)
Wax or the discovery of television among the bees
(email Artist #1 – artist1@rdrc.rpi.edu for info.)
Wax Trax Promotional Sampler Video (music)
War Games (drama)
Woodstock (documentary)

_______________________________________________________________________
| |
| Music: |
|__________|

(music is music and you like what you like, but here is a list of
groups to consider…..Undoubtedly you will argue with my
categorizations and selections, but each person has their own tastes
and preferences and opinions, so please don’t make a big deal out of
it… Obviously this list is by no means definitive – that truly would
be impossible, but it should be enough to get you started in the right
directions….)

Classic/Classic-Progressive/Progressive/etc.
——————————————–
Allan Parsons Project
The Black Crowes
David Bowie
Can
Clash
The Doors
Electric Light Orchestra
Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
Grateful Dead
Jimi Hendrix
King Crimson
Led Zeppelin
Marillion
Gary Numan
Phish
Pink Floyd
Police
Primus
Queensryche
Ramones
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Rush
Smashing Pumpkins
Patti Smith
Talking Heads
Thin White Rope
The Velvet Underground
Violent Femmes
Tom Waits
War
Ween
Neil Young (the unrelease cp/computer-experiment thing he did awhile back)
Yes
Frank Zappa

DJ’s/Mixers/etc.
—————-
The Beatmasters
Joey Beltram
Coil
Frankie Bones
Jim Cauty (KLF)
DNA
Terry Farley
Frankie Knuckles
Graham Massey (808 State)
Mayday
Meat Beat Manifesto
Dave Morales
Tommy Musto
Paul Oakenfold
Steve Osborne
Dr. Alex Paterson (the Orb)
Renegade Soundwave
Evil Ed Richards
Mark Ryder
Thrash (the Orb)
Andrew Weatherall

Industrial/etc.
—————
Bigod 20
Braindead Sound Machine
Cabaret Voltaire
Chris & Cosey
ClockDVA
Coil
Consolidated
Cop Shoot Cop
Cyberactif
Einsturzende Neubauten
Extreme Noise Terror
Foetus
Front 242
Frontline Assembly
Edward Ka-spel
KMFDM
Legendary Pink Dots
LFO
MC 900 Ft. Jesus
Meat Beat Manifesto
Ministry
Moev
My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult
Nine Inch Nails
Negativland
Nitzer Ebb
1000 Homo DJ’s
Pigface
Psychic TV
Renegade Soundwave
Rise Robot Rise
Skinny Puppy
SPK
Test Dept.
Throbbing Gristle
Wolfgang Press

Manchester/Madchester/Overground Dance/Shoegazer/etc.
—————————————————–
Art of Noise
Beloved
Blur
Breeders
Carter: The Unstoppable Sex Machine
Chapterhouse
Charlatans
Curve
Depeche Mode
Happy Mondays
Information Society
Inspiral Carpets
James
Lush
Moose
My Bloody Valentine
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
Pop Will Eat Itself
Primal Scream
Ride
Slowdive
Soup Dragons
Stone Roses
Swervedriver
Wedding Present

New Age/Experimental/Experimental Jazz/etc.
——————————————-
Laurie Anderson
John Cage
Cocteau Twins
Dead Can Dance
Brian Eno
Michael Hedges
Kitaro
Tod Machover
Riley McLaughlin
Somerset Mau-Mau
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Sun Ra
Tangerine Dream
Gary Thomas
Vangelis

Punk/Thrash/Hardcore/Grindcore/Harder stuff/etc.
————————————————
Agent Orange
Agnostic Front
Bad Brains
Beat Happening
Black Flag
Dead Kennedys
Dinosaur, Jr.
Fear
Firehose
Fugazi
Godflesh
Gwar
Hanoi Rocks
Head Candy
Helmet
Husker Du
L7
Melvins
Napalm Death
Paleface
Pavement
Public Image Limited
Residents
Rollins Band
Sex Pistols
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Social Distortion
Sonic Youth
Think Tree
Voivod

Rap/Hip-Hop/etc.
—————-
Afrika Bambaata
Beastie Boys
Boogie Down Productions
Brand Nubians
Cypress Hill
De La Soul
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Digital Underground
Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy
Disposable Planets
Dream Warriors
Eric B and Rakim
Gangstarr
Geto Boys
Grandmaster Flash
House of Pain
Ice-T
Ice Cube
Jungle Brothers
LL Cool J
Markie Mark
MC Lyte
NWA
PM Dawn
Poor Righteous Teachers
Public Enemy
Queen Latifah
Stetsasonic
A Tribe Called Quest
Urban Dance Squad
X-Clan

Reggae/Ska/Dancehall/Jamaican/etc.
———————————-
Aswad
Eddie Grant
Bob Marley
Ziggy Marley
Jacob Miller
Shabba Ranks
Peter Tosh
Yellowman

Spoken Word/Rants/Essayists/Poetry
———————————-
Jello Biafra
William S. Burroughs
Joseph Campbell
Dalai Lama
Ram Dass
Umberto Eco
Bruce Eisner
Allen Ginsberg
James Gleick
Stan Grof
Nick Herbert
Albert Hofmann
Aldous Huxley
J. Krishnamurti
Jaron Lanier
Timothy Leary
John Lilly
Terence McKenna
Marshall McLuhan
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Tom Robbins
Rudy Rucker
Norman Spinrad
Jay Stevens
Andrew Weil
Colin Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson

Techno/Rave/Club/Underground Dance/House/Amibent House/etc.
———————————————————–
[Note: for the sake of space, techno compilation albums have been
removed. However, you should know that many such cds exist, and are a
good place to start in techno music – see Vitamin B’s excellent
alt.rave FAQ for info]

Altern8
Aphex Twin
Baby Ford
Barracudda (Moby)
Bass-o-Matic
Bizzarre Inc.
Blue Pearl
Bomb the Bass
Brainstorm (Moby)
Candy Flip
Church of Extacy
Gary Clail / On U-Sound System
Dee-Lite
DHS
D-Mob
808 State
Enigma
Eon
Fini Tribe
Fortran 5
Fuse
Future Sound of London
Boy George (Jesus Loves You / Martyr Mantras)
The Grid
Guru Josh
A Guy Called Gerald
Human Resource
Hypnotone
Inner City
Isotonik
Jam and Spoon
KLF
Kraftwerk
L.A. Style
Lil Louis
LFO
Lords of Acid
M/A/R/R/S
Messiah
Moby
M-People
Mr. Fingers
Nexus 21
New Order
N-Joi
Opus III
Orb
William Orbit
Orbital
Prodigy
Quadrophonia
Richie Rich
S-Express
Shamen
Space
Spiral Tribe
St. Etienne
Sun Electric
System 7 (777)
Technotronic
T99
Todd Terry
2 Unlimited
Ultramarine
Utah Saints
Voodoo Child (Moby)
World of Twist
Yazz

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Drugs: |
|___________|

[*NOTE* – This is provided for informational purposes only. I do not
necessarily condone the use of these drugs. I sincerely suggest you
do a lot more thurough research if you plan to use any of the
substances listed below. Much of the information was obtained through
the FAQs from alt.drugs – Please check out the alt.drugs archives on
ftp sites, where available – 2 ftp sites containging more thurough and
accurate drug information are listed in the FTPable files section.]

[MAO Inhibitors – When using an MAO Inhibiting drug, don’t ingest
anything that contains potentially dangerous amines – could produce
awful, deadly side-effects. MAO Inhibitors: sedatives,
tranquilizers, antihistamines, narcotics, alcohol, amphetamines,
mescaline, asarone, nutmeg, macromerine, ephedrine, dill/parsley/wild
fennel oil, cocoa, coffee (caffeine-high substances, aged cheese, and
tyrosine-containing foods]

Nootropics/”Smart Drugs”
————————
Centrophenoxine (Lucidril)
-anti-aging effects
-intelligence booster

Choline/Lecithin:
-aids in production of acetylcholine
-memory-boosting

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)
-anti-aging
-appetite suppressant
-protects neurons from senility degenerative conditions

DMAE
-assists in some aspects of memory
-increases acetylcholine levels

Gingko
-blood vessel dilators

Hydergine (Ergoloid Mesylates)
-increases blood supply, oxygen to brain
-reduces tired, dizziness
-normalizes systolic pressure
-increases intelligence
-improves mental function
-enhances brain metabolism

L-phenylalanine
-antidepressant
-stimulate’s the release of your body’s appetite-suppressants
-improves memory and mental alertness
-may increase sexual interest
-do not use with MAO inhibitors
-amino acid

Phenytoin (Dilantin)

Piracetam (Nootropyl)
-cognitive enhancer
-memory improver

Propranolol Hydrochloride (Inderal)

Sulbutiamine (Arcalion)
-improves long-term memory
-facilitates wakefulness
-speeds reaction time
-decreases anxiety

Vasopressin (Diapid – Nasal Spray)
-helps aid in processing new memories
-improves attention, concentration, recall
-helps clear your mind when under the influence of other
substances
-Marijuana & alcohol inhibit the release of vasopressin
-Cocaine, LSD, Amphetamines deplete vasopressin
-(if you use illegal ‘non-smart’ drugs, you might want some
of this)

Vincamine (Oxicebral)
-aids in alertness
-increases activity

Vinpocetine (Cavinton)
-memory enhancer

Xanthinol Nicotinate

Psychedelics/Hallucinogens/Empathenogens/Etc.
———————————————

Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Seeds
-usage: 4-6 seeds from a seed pod
-eat on empty stomach after removing coating
-nausea likely
-similar to LSD with less visual effects, 6-8 hrs.

LSD
-lysergic acid diethylamide-25, acid, cid, sid, lucy in the
sky, sugarcubes, blotter, tabs, microdots, windowpaine, etc.
-causes hallucinations, altering/distortion of vision,
auditory, time, enhancement of sensations, motor
difficulties, loss of concentration or consistent thought,
pupil dilation (or opposite)
-not physically addictive, can be psychologically, though
-trip usually averages around 8-12 hours
-post-usage effects may include insomnia, jitters,
temporary/permanent psychosis, flashbacks, permanent trails, nausea
-usage: taken orally or licked, usually on blotter paper, sugarcubes,
jello, dropper, also eyeballs
-strychnine rumors/myths persist
-dosage is usually unknown
-150-200 mics usually induces heavy trip
-those with heart/physical problems, low tolerance should avoid
-set (your idea of what the drug will do / mood) and setting
(where you are and who you’re with) have a _lot_ to do with
the outcome of what LSD does. First time trippers should
trip only with people they trust that have tripped before,
and in a place where unexpected “bad” things will not happen
(police come in, parents, etc). Tim Leary has lots of info
on what could be done. Reading his books can only help.

Marijuana
-cannabis, pot, weed, mj, mary jane, etc. etc.
-consumption: joints, bongs, pipes, hash brownies, tea, etc.
-produces some distortions, feeling of happiness
-when stoned, your eyelids become heavy
-we don’t really need much more info, do we?

Morning Glory Seeds (Ipomoea)
-arborescens, carnea, costata, leptophylia, meulleri, murucoides,
purpurea, violacea
-usage: 5-10 grams
-consumption: orally, grind/soak/strain & drink, sprout by
soaking
-most are chemically treated – can induce nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea
-effects: trip-like but less hallucinogenic than lsd, 6 hours,
less intense

MDMA
-ecstacy, X, E, XTC
-empathenogen
-like a combo of LSD and Speed (the ‘MA’ is methamphetamine)
-effects similar to LSD, little or no visual hallucinations
auditory/visual/time perception altered, sensations increased,
extreme emotional awareness, trips average around 6 hours
-XTC many times cause the user to “love” everything. Beware
of taking X with people you know little about. (You may end
up giving your car keys to your worst enemy). Any touch to
your skin (in a sexual sense) feels like heaven, even though
sex may be impossible.
-usage: pills, caplets, in water
-street stuff may contain many different varieties of different
substances
-much debate over toxicity and neuro-toxicity
-set and setting are extremely important, as with LSD
-long-term use can result in liver damage

Mushrooms (Psilocybin)
-Baeocystis (potent), caerulipes (blue foot), coprophila
(dung-loving) cubensis (common large), cyanescens (bluing),
pelliculosa (conifer) semilanceata (liberty cap), stunzii
(stunz’s blue legs), amanita muscaria (fly agaric), conocybe
smithii (bog conocybe), gymopilus spectabilis (big laughing
gym)
-never ingest unless positively identified by a mycologist to be
non-poisonous
-effective dose of dried mushrooms: 1 gram (one or two whole
mushrooms)
-best taken on an empty stomach
-consumption: orally, smoked, tea (water + dried fragments)
-effects: trip lasting 6 hours or so, more visual & less
auditory than LSD, alters sound-perception though not as
radically as LSD
-physical effects: liquid breathing, headache
-effects occur quicker, generally, than with LSD

Nutmeg
-usage: 5-20 grams of freshly ground
-effects: heavy buzz, promotes lethargy, sleep, nausea, dry mouth,
pupil dilation

Yohimbe bark
-usage: 6-10 teaspoons of shaved bark boiled in water & drank
can also be smoked
-effects: aphrodisiac (supposedly), perception changes (mild)
lasts 2-4 hours, insomnia, nausea possible
-rumored to cause longer-term erections in men. cool.

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Software: |
|_____________|

AcidWarp (IBM)
trippy graphics
available on many ftp sites

AfterDark (Macintosh)
essential Macintosh screen-savers
Berkeley Systems
2095 Rose Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
510.540.5535

The Beauty of Fractals Lab (Macintosh)
fractals

Beyond Cyberpunk HyperCard Stack (Macintosh)
by Mark Frauenfelder, Gareth Branwyn, and Peter Sugarman
definitive cybperunk resource
The Computer Lab
Route 4 Box 54C
Louisa, VA 23093
(also available on some ftp sites)

Disenfactant (Macintosh)
virus protection
510.849.9114
free!

Color Cyclers (many platforms)
trippy effects
available on many ftp sites for many platforms

Dr. T’s Music Software
100 Crescent Rd. Suite 1-B
Needham, MA 02194
617.455.1454
617.455.1460 (fax)

Fractal Graphics (many platforms)
many different sets available for many platforms
from a variety of ftp sites

GIF/JPEG Art (many platforms)
the standard compressions for computer art
viewers available for many platforms on many ftp sites

Jam facotry (Macintosh)
music software

James Gleick’s Chaos: The Software (IBM)
Autodesk, Inc.
Science Services Dept.
2320 Marinship Way
Sausalito, CA 94965
800.228.3601
415.289.4718 (fax)
$59.95 + $8 S&H

M (Macintosh)
music software

Mathematica 2.0 (Macintosh, IBM, Sun, Silicon Graphics)
chaos software
Wolfram research Inc.
PO Box 6059
Champaign, IL 61826-6059
217.398.0700
217.398.0747 (fax)

Mind Mirror (IBM)
“headware” from timothy Leary
Mindware
800.447.0477
$29.95

MOD files (many platforms)
sound/music files
available on many ftp sites
players available for many platforms (Amiga, Mac, Apple //gs, etc.)

Rudy Rucker’s Cellular Automata Laboratory (IBM)
cellular automata
Autodesk, Inc.
Science Services Dept.
2320 Marinship Way
Sausalito, CA 94965
800.228.3601
415.289.4718 (fax)
$59.95 + $8 S&H

SAM (Macintosh)
virus protection
Symantec
135 South Rd.
Bedford, MA 01730
800.64THINK
617.275.4800
617.275.2124
$99.95

Spaceship Warlock (Macintosh)
Reactor, Inc.
800.843.9497 (Educorp)
$69.95 + S&H

Timewave (IBM)
Terence McKenna’s fractal theories on disk
Sound Photosynthesis
PO Box 2111
Mill Valley, CA 94942

UpBeat 2.0 (Macintosh)
music sftware

Xanadu Hypertext System
Xanadu OPerating Company
550 California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
415.856.4112
415.856.2251 (fax)

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Merchandise/Companies: |
|__________________________|

Abbie Yo-Yo Inc.
PO Box 15
Worcester, MA 01613
-things related to Abbie Hoffman

Albert Hofmann Foundation
8683 West Pico Blvd. Mailbox #107
Los Angeles, CA 90035
310.281.8110 (voice mail)
-“an international library for the scientific study of
psychedelic substances and human consciousness”

Ameba
1732 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.750.9368
800.292.6322 (800.BYAMEBA)
-Rave clothes and stuff

Amok
PO Box 861867 Terminal Annex
Los Angeles, CA 90086-1867
-hard to find/underground books
catalog is $9 (400 pages)

AquaThought Foundation
22321 Susana Ave.
Torrance, CA 90503
310.316.4564
chinon@well.sf.ca.us
-dolphins and humans and computers and communication

Autodesk, Inc.
2320 Marinship Way
Sausalito, CA 94965
-makers of Chaos software. $59.95

Autonomedia
55 Sotuh 11th Street
NY, NY 11211
-edge/post-modern publishing company

Kevin Begos, Jr.
Apartment #4d
1411 York Ave
New York, NY 10021
212.650.9324
-Agrippa: A Book of the Dead
-$450 – $7,500

Behind the Post Office
1504 Haight St.
san Francisco, CA 94117
415.861.2507
-rave clothes and stuff

Berkeley Designs
2615 Shasta Rd
Berkeley, CA 94708
510.549.0129
-sells t-shirts with fractal and cyberpunk designs (90’s tie-dye’s)
send a SASE

Books by Phone
Box 522
Berkeley, CA 94701
800.858.2665 (orders)
510.548.2124 (info)
-large library of hard-to-find books related to CP, drugs, etc.
nice resource, but you pay a lot for it 🙂

Chaos Computer Club,
Schwenckestr 85, D-2000
Hamburg 20, Germany

Church Of SubGenius
PO Box 140306
Dallas, TX 75214

The Computer Lab
Rt 4 Box 54C
Louisa, VA 23093
800.562.1638
-the well-known 5.5meg HyperCard stack Beyond CyberPunk, $29.95

Consumertronics
2011 Crescent Dr.
PO Drawer 537
Alamogordo, NM 88310
505.434.0234
500.434.0234 (fax – orders only)
-hacking/phreaking manuals

Criminal Research Products
206-218 East Hector Street
Conshocken, PA 19428
-investigative equipment and electronic surveillance items.

Cyberpunk Books
Prince St. Station
PO Box 96
NY, NY 10012
-write for a list

Dreammachine Plans (by Brion Gysin)
OV Press
PO Box 18223
Denver, CO 80218

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Inc.
155 2nd St.
Cambridge, MA 02141
617.864.1550 (voice)
617.864.0886 (fax)
eff@eff.org
-group protecting your rights on-line

Excalibur Enterprises
P.O. BOX 266
Emmans, PA 18049
-night vision devices
-catalog costs $5

Flashback Books
906 Samuel Drive
Petaluma, CA 94952
707.762.4714
-rare and out-of-print books, psychedelia

FringeWare Inc.
2507 Roehampton
Austin, TX 78745-6964
800.GUT.MEEK
512.477.1366
fringeware@wixer.cactus.org
-sells “fringe” software, and other items

Further Connections
Waves Forest
PO Box 768
Monterey, CA 93940
-fringe science

Heathkit
PO Box 1288
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
800.253.0570
-robots

Housewares
1322 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.252.1440
-rave clothes and stuff

Hyperdelic/TransMedia Foundation
415.956.9776
-rave/psychedelic video

InHome Health Services
Box 3112
CH-2800 Delemont
Switzerland
-nootropics

Interlab
BCM Box 5890
London WC1N 3XX
England
-nootropics

Kodak Center for Creative Imaging
800.428.7400
-classes in electronic imaging taught by experts
on state of the art equipment

Timothy Leary
Box 69886
LA, CA 90069

Loompanics, Ltd.
PO Box 1197
Port Townsend, WA 98368
-carries a large collection of underground/hard-to-find books
-send for a catalog

MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
1801 Tippah Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28205.

Mark Ziesing Books
PO Box 76
Shingleton, CA 96088
800.869.0348
916.474.1580
-mail-order cp/sf book service
-send $1 for a catalog

Media Magic
PO Box 507
Nicasio, CA 94946
415.662.2426
-books, videos, merchandise related to vr, cyberspace

Mouser Electronics
11433 Woodside Avenue
Santee, CA 92071
-sells most electronic components parts and equipment

Myron Kreuger / Artificial Reality
55 Edith
Vernon, CT 06066
203.871.1375
-custom vr

Nettwerk Records
Attn: Mail Order
1755 Robson St.
Box 330
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6G3B7
-record company

NewTek, Inc.
215 SE 8th St.
Topeka, KS 66603
800.843.8934
-makers of the Video Toaster
-send ’em $4.95 for a demo tape of what the Video Toaster does

Nomadic Research Labs
PO Box 2185
El Segundo, CA 90245
-Steve Roberts

Nutrient Cafe Wholesale
PO Box 170156
San Francisco, CA 94117-0156
-high tech nutrient mixtures

…of the jungle
PO Box 1801
Sebastopol, CA 95473
-legal highs and such

Ono-Sendai Corporation
332 3rd Avenue,
San Francisco, CA 94118-2403
415.387.OSVR.
osendai@well.sf.ca.us
-information on _affordably_ VR systems.
-the people advertising in Mondo 2K, pg 7 (issue #7)

Paladin Press
PO Box 1307
Boulder, CO 80306
-obscure books

Re/Search Publications
70 Romolo Street #B
San Francisco, CA 94133
-underground/fringe subject matter magazine publications
-sex, cyberpunk, industrial and alternative lifestyles

SIGGRAPH (ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics)
212.869.7440 (membership info)
212.764.5537 (fax)(membersahip info)
312.644.66190 (conference info)
312.321.6976 (fax)conference info)

Silent Records
540 Alabama St. Suite 315
San Francisco, CA 94110
-industrial/import/experimental music

Skyline Books
PO Box T
Forest Knolls, CA 94933
-beat-generation, counterculture, and pomo literature

Smart Products
870 Market Street Suite 1262
San Francisco, CA 94102
800.858.6520
415.989.2500

Sound Photosynthesis
PO Box 2111
Mill Valley, CA 94942
-recordings of speeches and rants by many famous new edge people
-catalog $2

Spectrum Dynamics
2016 Main St. Ste #1207
Houston, TX 77002-8843
-vr merchandise/products
-20pg catalog is $15

SST Records
PO Box 1
Lawndale, CA 90260
-send for catalog

Steve Jackson Games
PO Box 18957
Austin, TX 78760

STZ Corporation
PO Box 22
Monmouth, Gwent NP5 3XU
United Kingdom
-rave t-shirts and clothing

Sub Pop Mail Order
1932 1st Avenue #1103
Seattle, WA 98101
-send for catalog

Sudona, Desktop Computing for Women’s Health
2118 Guadalupe, Suite 195
Austin TX 78705
800.488.6335
donna@well.sf.ca.us
-Menstat(tm)2.0…First desktop software to track and estimate
menstrual cycles..

TOPYUS (Psychic TV)
PO Box 18223
Denver, CO 80218
-Genesis P-Orridge’s Psychic TV
-send a SASE for info on Psychic TV, catalogs, albums, t-shirts,
videos, books, etc.

VPL Research, Inc.
950 Tower Lane, 14th floor
Foster City, CA 94404
415.312.0200
-Jaron Lanier’s famous virtual reality firm
(now-defunct???)

Wax Trax Records
1659 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60647
312.252.1000
312.252.1007 (fax)
-send SASE for catalog

Whole Toon Access
PO Box 369
Issaquah, WA 98027
206.391.8747
206.391.9064 (fax)
-videotapes, graphic novels, comics, anime, etc.
-write for catalog

Xochipili
Lord Nose
PO Box 170473M
San Francisco, CA 94117
-Xochi Speaks poster & Guide to Psychedelics available for $25

Zentech
Box 138
Morgan Bay Rd.
Surry, ME 04684
-cyberpunk, virtual reality merchandise

________________________________________________________________________
| |
| see ya! |
|___________|

Welp, that looks like it for now. Have fun!

Many thanks go out to the masses who have added their suggestions, too
numerous to mention. But an extra-special thanks to Bruce Sterling
and Steve Brown of SF Eye for being *extremely* helpful with
suggestions, comments, and info!

Many thanks go out to Strider (Steve White) for editing this file, as
well as Anne Balsamo for providing a very useful, wonderful
bibliography.

Final Hellos to: the nameless masses. (yes, you!). And all those
living on the edge of the future, and to all those working to protect
cyberspace from the fascism that now threatens it. And everyone else.

Again, if you have any questions/comments/concerns/criticisms/corrections
or any additional info, please contact me at ahawks@nyx.cs.du.edu.

________________________________________________________________________

Farfel Oddities: Why The Farfel Is An Idiot

this contains no caps in the begining of the sentences.

farfel odditys

this is a series that i will try to continue once a month or the amount
of stupid things this person dose that i am writing about.

the farfel (introduction) the farfel is a weird and uniqly diffrent in
his stupidity from others. (background) the farfel moved into my neighborhood
about a year and a half ago and as acted stupid since.with dumb and some of
the weirdest things that i have ever seen on the face of the.
situation 1

the farfel has had a lot of dumb things happen to him but i will try to
pick out the best (not very hard) . the farfel is the type of person that
looks like a walking ball of hair. his (half brother i strees it greatly) his
hair is never combed and his explination is that he dosen’t have warsh and
ware hair. his room is hell on earth. walking into his room is not a good
idea. first of all the stench is so bad that it will make you almost tear.
there is a little trail in the middle of the room with about six inches of
junk (basicly food cups papper nintendo games dirt,dirt,dirt socks shirts
underware pants and just about everything else) on the floor. this path goes
strait into the middle of the room to the tv around the bed and nowhere else.
the reasonthe path goes to the tv is as follows.
he is a person that is almost or is fourteen years old in seventh grade.
he comes home runs from the bus stop to the mail box as fast as he can ( the
way he runs is unexplainable) to just get the mail. according to him anything
that says esident is his because it starts with “r” and so dose his name
(robert). if theres nothing else for him he takes it into his room and it
dissapears or he leaves it where no one would look for it. some tims he will
even take some of my freinds cd’s (god only knows for what reason he dosen’t
own a cd player. except for this peice of crap tap player that he found in
the trash up the street. he goes inside and makes his first snack of the day
(#1). takes the phone and goes downstairs and turns on the tv. which will be
on for the rest of the day. this kid consentrates so much on tv that the
world dissapears to him he cant hear anything else going on. when the phone
rings he dosen’t awnser because like i said he dosen’t hear any thing. about
an hour after getting home he’ll go back upstairs to get another snack (#2).
which wold probaly be the rest of the bag of potato chips which would be half
full. going back downstairs to watch mighty morphine power rangers and super
samiri warriors, and don’t forget the vr troopers. he also has the power
ranger window stickers pens posters and hangs the boardings to his door. then
my freind will come home around work at six o’clock. the farfel jumps up out
of his bed and runs to his door saying mommy? he’ll do this to anyone else
that walks threw the door and calls on the phone. his mom ( not putting her
down she’s kind cool) raised him like a little girl! once for christmas she
bought him a easy- bake oven. and this christmas he asked for some sort of
sewing machine. every hour on the hour or half hour he will go and get other
snacks.
if in the morning his mom wasen’t there this kid would look like well a
farfel in the morning going to school. 1 he would probally where red sweat
pants with a green shirt that has dirt marks all over it. she has to wake him
up an hour to two hours early and he still will not be ready in time to go to
school. he would not brush his teeth or take shower or any thing he would
probaly just end up sitting in front of the tv in some sort of trance for the
rest of the day even.
now he also dose some things when my freind isn’t home. 1)he will go
into his room and go threw everything and not put it back the way it was.
he’ll go threw my freinds video tapes and leave one laying in the middle of
the floor.

2)he will go threw my freind beauro desk you name it and he’s gone threw it.

(dinner) now so you can understand this part i must tell you somthing
else. now were kinda positive that the farfel is gay ( no offense). he has
muscle magazines laying in the middle of his floor. he saves the boxes to his
speedo underware and keeps them in his room. sometimes he’ll leave his door
open during the day. not a pretty sight when you look in but . sometimes you
can see him what we call farfeling himself. he realy takes his fingers (
gross part you shouldn’t read) and puts them down his pants and what looks
like up his but (i’m going to hurl now).now to the dinner part. my freind has
two real sister and they make fun of the farfel at dinner when his mom is not
there. durring diner they start calling him a farfel and saying like how he
takes his fingers and shoves them up his but. my freinds real dad dosen’t
care thet they say this he even tries o hold back his laugh. the farfel eats
like a baby that Knows how to shove food into their mouth but not chew.
spageti , put it on his plate half will be in his stomach and the other on
his face. one time when i was eating pizza he ate three peices befor i was
done with two peices. when he eats he makes this anoying slurping noise but
without soup. his reason for this is that he dosen’ get enough food into his
mouth because it keeps falling off his fork. of course it couldnt be that he
tries to shove it into his mouth so fast. and it all falls off on the way
there.

well thats all this time wait until next week and there will be more.

james.

Disneyland Frequently Asked Questions (November 23, 1994)

Archive-name: disney-faq/disneyland
Last-modified: 23 Nov 1994

Disneyland Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
(Last update November 23, 1994)

This document is Copyright (c) 1994, by Walt Hoffman, all rights reserved.
It is intended for public use, and may be redistributed freely printed or
electronically in its complete and unaltered form provided distribution is
done at no charge to the receiver. Partial and other distribution means
require the permission of the author.

The Disneyland FAQ document is intended to provide information to answer
the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Disneyland Park in Anaheim,
California, USA. All reasonable efforts have been made to make sure this
information is accurate, but the author cannot be held responsible for
errors or schedule changes. This FAQ list is maintained by Walt Hoffman
which was based upon an original list created by Adrian McCarthy. This
Disneyland FAQ is published 3-4 times a year. Please send any suggestions
and/or comments on the Disneyland FAQ to Walt Hoffman at
Walter.T.Hoffman@jpl.nasa.gov or whoffman@ganymede.jpl.nasa.gov.

| CHANGES SINCE LAST POSTING: Added change bars, updated operating hours,
| prices, entertainment, attraction closures and refurbishment schedule, and
| Park Happenings.

HOW DO I FIND OUT MORE?
— Contact Disneyland Guest Relations at (714) 999-4565, (213) 626-8605,
extension 4565 or visit Disneyland’s City Hall. The address for Disneyland
is 1313 Harbor Boulevard, P.O. Box 3232, Anaheim, CA 92803-3232.

— For other Disney information see the rec.arts.disney FAQ and WDW FAQ
maintained by Tom Tanida (tanida@gso.saic.com). These include information
for Walt Disney World (WDW) theme parks, plus other general Disney
entertainment such as film, movies, and television. The FAQ documents can
be obtained using ftp to rtfm.mit.edu and looking in the
pub/usenet/news.answers directory.

HOURS OF OPERATION: Here is the schedule information from an updated
Disney calendar. Everything is subject to change.

A: 8 am to 1 am () Basic Annual Passport not valid
B: 8 am to midnight on these days
C: 9 am to midnight
D: 9 am to 11 pm
E: 9 am to 10 pm
F: 9 am to 7 pm
G: 10 am to 6 pm

| November ’94
| 1G 2G 3G 4G 5C
| 6E 7G 8G 9G 10G 11F 12C
| 13E 14G 15G 16G 17G 18G 19C
| 20E 21G 22G 23G 24C 25B 26B
| 27E 28G 29G 30G
|
| December ’94
| 1G 2G 3C
| 4E 5G 6G 7G 8G 9G 10C
| 11E 12G 13G 14G 15G 16G 17C
| 18E 19E 20E 21E 22E 23E 24# #8am to 7pm
| 25B 26B 27B 28B 29B 30B 31% %8am to 3am
|
| January ’95
| 1C 2E 3G 4G 5G 6G 7C
| 8E 9G 10G 11G 12G 13G 14C
| 15E 16F 17G 18G 19G 20G 21C
| 22E 23G 24G 25G 26G 27G 28C
| 29E 30G 31G
|
| February ’95
| 1G 2G 3G 4C
| 5E 6G 7G 8G 9G 10F 11C
| 12E 13G 14G 15G 16G 17F 18B
| 19B 20E 21G 22G 23G 24F 25C
| 26E 27G 28G
|
| March ’95
| 1G 2G 3C 4B
| 5E 6F 7F 8F 9F 10C 11B
| 12C 13F 14F 15F 16F 17C 18B
| 19C 20F 21F 22F 23F 24C 25B
| 26C 27F 28F 29F 30F 31C
*******************
CURRENT PRICES: (US $) Current as of November 10, 1994
1-day 2-day 3-day Annual Premium Guided
=========================== Annual Tour
Adults 31.00 55.00 75.00 99.00 199.00 42.00
Children (3-11) 25.00 44.00 60.00 99.00 199.00 32.50
Seniors (60+) 25.00
Adults (MKC) 29.00 51.00 69.00 89.00 189.00
Children (MKC) 23.00 40.00 54.00 89.00 189.00
Parking 6.00/car
7.00/vans,campers,RV’s
12.00 Preferred Parking
********************
Magic Kingdom Club (MKC) cardholders get admission discounts (about 7
percent) and other discounts. For more details about the MKC and how to
join, read the description elsewhere in this document.
********************
| Southern California resident promotion through December 24, 1994, can
| purchase a Regular Disneyland passport or Child Passport for just $23 per
| person ($22 with the MKC card). Must show proof of California residence
| within ZIP codes 90000 through 93599. Passports are good for day of pur-
| chase only with a daily limit of 8 Passports per individual with valid
| photo identification. Passports are not available at The Disney Store.
********************
| The Annual Passport promotion has been continued indefinitely. The price
| is $99 per person and is valid for 338 days out of the year, excluding some
| Saturdays and peak holiday periods. General parking is not included but
| can be added for $25. The cost of a one-day passport used on your initial
| visit can be applied towards the purchase of an annual pass. The Basic
| Annual Passport is not valid during 1994 on Nov. 26, and Dec. 25, 30-31.
| During 1995, also not valid on Jan. 1, Feb. 18-19, all Saturdays March
| through June, May 28, Sept. 3.
********************
The Premium Annual passport includes admission for all 365 days of the
year, special preferred parking, a one year subscription to Disney
Magazine, discounts on food (10% for buffeteria and table service, 15%
discount on Aladdin’s Oasis and Blue Bayou), Disneyland Hotel
(accommodations and restaurants), and a 10% discount on most merchandise
(not including purchases under $5, collectible art, Disney Dollars, and
commemorative tickets).
********************
| Two- and Three-Day passports do not need to be used on consecutive days,
| however, they must be used prior to the expiration date (7 days from first
| use for a Two-Day passport and 14 days for a Three-Day passport.

For ticket purchases, Disneyland accepts U.S. currency, VISA, American
Express, Master Card, traveler’s checks, Disney Dollars and personal checks
with proper identification. Foreign currency *can* be used at Disneyland
but is best to exchange for U.S. currency ahead of time. For some reason,
Discover card is not honored at Disneyland or the Disneyland Hotel. An ATM
(no longer BofA, now First Interstate Bank) is located to the left of the
Main Entrance.
| Tickets can also be purchased in advance at a Disney Store or by mail with
| a check or money order in the exact amount to Disneyland Ticket Mail Order,
| 1313 Harbor Blvd., P.O. Box 61061, Anaheim, CA 92803-6161. Mail orders
| must include a check or money order (no credit cards) and $2.50 for proc-
| essing. Merchandise available from the park or hotel can also be ordered by
calling 1-800-3-MAIL-33 (1-800-361-4533). Merchandise Special Events
information can be obtained by calling the hotline at 714-490-3935.
********************
| The Main Street Bank provides a variety of banking services such as cash
advances, credit card Disney Dollar advances, foreign currency exchange.
Also available are Disneyland annual passports, gift certificates, postage
| stamps, ticket upgrades/downgrades, and even a mailbox. Check cashing is
| available up to $20 with proper identification at the Penny Arcade on Main
| Street and Starcade in Tomorrowland.
********************
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), now provided by First Interstate Bank,
are available in multiple locations throughout the park accepting ATM cards
| for PLUS, Cirrus and Exchange networks as well as Visa/Mastercard and
American Express. These ATM locations are: outside of the park to the left
| of the Main Entrance, Main Street Bank, Frontierland Pay Master (area
between the Frontierland and Adventureland entrances), Main Street Penny
Arcade, Tomorrowland Starcade, Circlevision 360 theater exit, and inside
the Disneyland Hotel Travelport lobby.
********************
If you leave the park anytime during your stay, make sure you still have
your Disneyland passport and you get your hand stamped before exiting. For
re-admission into the park, you *must* have a current Disneyland passport
and a handstamp.
********************
ENTERTAINMENT:
Entertainment schedules can be changed at any time, or canceled due to
inclement weather. For the actual schedule for a particular day, contact
Disneyland or pick up a ‘Disneyland Today’ schedule when you visit the
park.

| ++ Holiday entertainment including ‘The Very Merry Christmas Parade’ and
| will be presented daily from November 24, 1994 through January 1, 1995.
| Entertainment includes visits from Santa Claus, Dicken’s Carolers, and
| special holiday meals at selected Disneyland and Disneyland Hotel restau-
| rants. The Disneyland Hotel Resort also offers special holiday activities
| in specially-themed area for all to enjoy.

++ ‘Fantasmic!’, a spectacular mix of magic, music, live performers and
sensational special effects, is scheduled to be featured on nights when the
park is open until 10 p.m. or later.

| ++ ‘Lion King Celebration’, a high-tech parade based upon Disney’s newest
| animated feature is performed during weekends and holiday periods.

++ ‘Beauty & The Beast Live’, a splendid stage show based upon the animated
| classic is performed at the Sony Videopolis stage, selected weekends and
| holiday periods through May 29, 1995.

++ ‘Golden Horseshoe Jamboree’, a song-and-dance revue stars Miss Lily and
Sam the bartender is performed live daily in Frontierland. Early reserva-
tions are a must, as this show usually plays to a full house.

| ++ Disneyland Character Breakfasts are held at the Plaza Inn from 9am (or
| when the park opens earlier) to 10:45am. It’s an opportunity to enjoy
| breakfast with your favorite Disney characters. Price is $7.95 for adults
| and $5.25 for children. Reservations are not accepted. The Disneyland
| Hotel also has Character Breakfasts, call them directly for information at
| 714-956-6406.

| ++ ‘Aladdin’s Oasis’ dining entertainment will be featured (starting Novem-
| ber 25th) on selected weekends and holiday periods days for lunch and
dinner which features magic, music, song, and dance with Aladdin, Princess
Jasmine, the Genie and Jafar from the movie, “Aladdin”. In addition to the
show, the food offerings are every bit as exotic.
Food includes papadom wafers w/chutney (a sort of a chips and salsa), fresh
fruit, and main entree (beef, chicken, or vegetable), raisin nut pilaf, and
a special dessert. Dinner menu has larger food portions. Children (3-11)
can choose from cheese-filled pasta or chicken strips. Prices for
adults/children are $19.50/$14.50 for lunch and $24.50/$19.50 for dinner
| plus tax and gratuity (15%). Reservations are required and must be made in
| person on the day of the visit at the restaurant entrance or the Reserva-
| tion Center on Main Street. Payment is required for the confirmation of all
| reservations.

SHOW RESERVATIONS:
| Reservations can be made up until noon at the Reservation Center located in
the exit lobby of the Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr.
Lincoln. Reservations may also be made for the Blue Bayou restaurant,
Aladdin’s Oasis, and Disneyland Hotel Resort restaurants. It’s a good idea
to make your reservations when you first enter the park, as they do fill up
quickly.

| ATTRACTION REFURBISHMENT SCHEDULE: (Tentative schedule and is subject to
| change at any time. Call (714) 999-4565 for latest information.)

CURRENT CHANGES and CONSTRUCTION
— Adventureland, The Temple of the Forbidden Eye. A new attraction based
upon the “Indiana Jones” character due to open in Spring 1995 (end of
February). This attraction incorporates a unique ride system to navigate
troop transports through the Temple and explore the power of the native god
Mara. Willpower and courage is needed to avoid the curse befalled to anyone
who looks into Mara’s eyes. You and your fellow passengers choose which
path to take at the Chamber of Destiny. The ride building can be seen from
the parking areas, emerging from the jungles of Adventureland. The outdoor
queue area is open for guests to explore the excavation camp and catch a
| glimpse of what happening with the Indiana Jones site.
| — Adventureland Bazaar and Shops undergoing refurbishment scheduled to
| open in December.
| — Continuing Main Street storefront refurbishment.
| — The Camera store on Main St. will be moved to the end of the block at
| the former Carefree Corner. FotoToons was removed to make room for an
| expansion of the clothing store.
| — Skyway has been removed from the park joining the list of permanently
| closed attractions with Mission to Mars, Motor Boats, and The Town Square
| Cafe.
| –Tomorrowland Terrace undergoing major refurbishment. The band area was
| rearranged to now play out toward the Tomorrowland Autopia area.
| –A elevator is being added to the Disneyland Hotel monorail station for
| easier guest access.

| PARK HAPPENINGS:
| GENERAL:
| * New folding-format, Disneyland Today Park Guide. Replaced the old booklet
| style souvenir guide.
| * Handicapped parking has been significantly increased. Preferred parking
| for Premium Annual Pass holders has been moved from the Bambi section to
| the Donald section.
| MAIN STREET U.S.A.:
| * Main Street buildings repainted in a more colorful scheme of colors.
| * Audio added to windows above Main Street storefronts. Listen in the small
| alley near the Cone Shop and Lockers. Hotel Marceline, Piano Lessons, and
| a detective agency provide three different spiels roughly about 5 minutes
| each.
| * Plaza Inn is now the Plaza Inn Rotisserie serving full, complete meals
| (rotisserie chicken and Prime Rib) with beverage included.
| * Disneyland Railroad updated the audio spiel to include Mickey’s Toontown.
| * The Main Street Bank replaced the Bank of America branch.
| * ‘The Lion King’ movie dioramas grace the Main Street shop windows.
| * New Century Timepiece Shop added custom, hand-drawn, artist watches of
| Disney Characters where guest can see them being crafted.
* Added a lifesize bronze statue, titled ‘Partners’, of Walt Disney with
Mickey Mouse in the hub encircled with smaller bronze statues of classic
Disney characters.
* Penny Arcade displays a large, green, 1000-pound, acrylic elephant statue
(nicknamed ‘Penny’) near the entrance. It was originally designed for the
Candy Palace at Disneyland-Paris but due to a change in color scheme of
that facility, she now resides at Disneyland.
ADVENTURELAND:
| * Jungle Cruise refurbishment completed. New boat dock, a two-story boat-
| house queue area, and a new trading post. Also, re-themed boats which are
| more rustic and each one is unique based upon their previous “owners”.
* Enchanted Tiki Room pre-show area was altered for better visibility, and
the show uses a digital sound system (although the soundtrack and story is
still the same.)
| * Larger entrance to accommodate the crowds generated by Fantasmic!, includ-
| ing some changes to the Enchanted Tiki Room pre-show area.
FRONTIERLAND:
| * Big Thunder BBQ lowered the price of their menu by adding BBQ chicken and
| Beef Brisket. Some consider this restaurant the best value in the park.
| * ATM added near the entrance of Frontierland.
* Casa Mexicana is no longer sponsored by Lawry’s. Slight changes in decor
and menu items (like Mickey Mouse-shaped flan).
NEW ORLEANS SQUARE:
* Fantasmic! sound system improvements and a new viewing area (New Orleans
Square Promenade) around the Rivers of America. Promenade is tiered and
angled to provide better viewing of Fantasmic!
| * Disney Gallery exhibits feature Disneyland-Paris artwork and Indiana Jones
| attraction art.
* Disney Gallery offering preferred balcony seatings of Fantasmic! with a
| dessert buffet, and coffee for $30.
* Pet Cemetery added to the front yard of The Haunted Mansion.
* Pirates of the Caribbean added portraits of pirates along the walls of the
indoor queue area. Added previously were silhouettes of fighting pirates
located on the right side of the burning city scene. This scene was taken
from Disneyland-Paris. Also, additional items were added in the bayou near
the boat loading area. Waterfall area now sprinkles guests with liquid
magic (water). Mist has been added just before entering into the battling
ship area. Possible new pirate figures installed for the drunken pirate
| figure hanging over (whoops, a pun) a bridge in the burning city scene, the
| pirate with the barking dog next to the hidden girl in a barrel scene, and
| the shooting pirate on the left prior to the exit ramp. Subwoofer speakers
| are planned to be added to various parts inside the attraction to heighten
| the experience.
| CRITTER COUNTRY:
| * Splash Mountain changed the name of the unseen bear living in the cave
| outside the first set of falls from ‘Rufus’ to ‘Briar Bear’. Before Splash
| Mountain was built, that area was the access to Bear Country and snores
| could be heard from the caves above. To provide continuity, when Splash
| Mountain was built, a home for Rufus was built. Since Splash Mountain was
| popular and duplicated in Florida and Tokyo, the name was changed to ‘Briar
| Bear’ for better continuity with the movie, “Song of the South”.
FANTASYLAND:
| * Storybook Land refurbished to include structures from recent movies
(Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, The Little Mermaid, etc.) and add a waterfall
over the ‘neverland’ cave. The upgrade will be completed in phases for a
| |ull completion date sometime in 1995. Disneyland-Paris recently added
| this attraction which probably accounts for the improvements here.
| * Village Haus Restaurant underwent changes to include Italian food items
| like pizza, pasta, and salads.
* Sleeping Beauty’s Castle walk-through now appears to be permanently open.
* It’s a Small World boasts a digital sound system complete with a different
| soundtrack (with more instrumentals) inherited from Disneyland-Paris.
* Fantasia Gardens filled the space left from the removal of the Motor
Boats.
* Window near Peter Pan’s Flight with children’s toys in it has audio of the
Darling children playing.
TOMMORROWLAND:
| * The Skyway was removed as it no longer complied with updated California
| safety codes. Current information suggests it will *not* be replaced. Write
| Disneyland and voice your opinion concerning the closure.
| * Monorail audio spiel changed.
* Space Place: Disneyland Birthday Parties on weekends. Two different party
plans are available which include cake, ice cream, party favors, character
photo opportunities, lunch (with one of the plans), and park admission.
Call 714-520-5045 for details on Birthday Parties.
MICKEY’S TOONTOWN:
* Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin ride is open. This wild and zany attraction
captures the feeling of being in a cartoon world with Roger Rabbit and
friends. Turn the steering wheel to spin your cab around 360 degrees and
avoid “The Dip”. Entertaining, but deceptive queue area walks you through
the back alleys of Toontown prior to boarding your cab. This is
Disneyland’s newest attraction.
* Toontown’s Jolly Trolley is jolly again. The trolley now bounces all
around (like it originally did) during it’s trip through Toontown (although
usually one car per trolley instead of two).
OTHER:
* Low Price Children’s menus for $2.99 at most table service and buffeteria
restaurants.
| * Disneyland Hotel restaurant ‘Caffe Villa Verde’ indoor/outdoor cafe
| changed menu and added Mediterranean theming and now serves pizza, pasta,
| and rotisserie chicken specialties.
* Disneyland Hotel access to the waterfall area has been restricted.
* ATM outside main entrance changed sponsorship to First Interstate Bank.

Future Plans and Rumors:

* Westcot Center, a west coast version of WDW EPCOT Center, is planned to be
built in the current Disneyland parking lot as part of a master plan for
The Disneyland Resort. A multi-level parking structure will be constructed
to the east. It will feature dedicated freeway ramps to funnel cars di-
rectly into the parking structure with transportation and a peoplemover to
transport guests over to the parks. Expansion plans also include multiple
| hotels and other entertainment venues. Project has encountered numerous
| delays but WDC President, Michael Eisner still remains committed to the
| project. Details about the expansion plan are available at the Disneyland
expansion preview center located at the Disneyland Hotel (in the Plaza
| building, above Maize’s Pantry) and is open on Wednesdays from 12 pm to 5
| pm or by appointment at 714-956-6732..

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SEE FANTASMIC!?
Come in from the Splash Mountain side as soon as they start clearing out
the crowds from the first show. If you come in from the other side, you’ll
be fighting 7,000-10,000 people who are exiting out through Frontierland.
The show lasts about 23 minutes and the entire area is darkened during the
show making travel through here a little tricky.

HOW DO I BEAT THE CROWDS?
Unlike WDW, Disneyland does not usually open the park early to deal with
incoming crowds. However, often on weekends Main Street will open 30
minutes before the rest of the park. Some tour packages do offer a “Magic
Morning” package which allows participants to enter a themed area (usually
Toontown) one hour prior to opening to the general public.

In general, attendance is highest on Saturday, then Friday, Sunday, and
weekdays. Monday through Wednesday is probably the best day to visit to
| avoid the large crowds. Early arrival is a great way to enjoy the more
| popular attractions before other guests arrive. If you’re staying in the
| area, take a mid-day break from the park and relax in your room for a
| while. This way, you avoid the most crowded part of the day when lines are
| long and return recharged to stay again until closing time.

Space Mountain is long most of the day and into the night, so first thing
in early morning is usually your best bet. Ditto Rocket Jets. Star Tours
will shorten significantly in the late evening (when the line is completely
inside, you’re in good shape). Splash Mountain is always busy (avoid it
when backed up beyond the Briar Patch shop) but is OK when it’s raining or
right before the park closes. An early-morning dash might also be a good
idea (since it’s at the back of the park). The Country Bear Jamboree is
seldom crowded and it a good place to visit if you ventured over to Splash
Mountain and found a long line.

For dinner, venture over to the Disneyland Hotel to get some relief from
the crowds and then head back in. The Monorail Cafe has excellent food
with good portions. Goofy’s Kitchen Character Dinner is all-you-can-eat,
all-you-can-drink. Alcoholic beverages are available but not all-you-can-
drink :-).

After dinner, the attractions in Fantasyland shorten a bit, but not much.
Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride will remain
popular throughout the entire day. Lines are usually short for Snow
White’s Scary Adventures, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and It’s a Small
World. If the line is long at all, skip it and try again later.

Matterhorn lines are usually the shortest during the parades. Normally
there are two separate lines, one for each bobsled run. But sometimes
during the parades they combine both lines into one and route it away from
the parade area. This gives the impression the wait is long but is really
it is moving twice as fast. The line splits up into two later on as you go
through the turnstile. Usually the bobsled run on the right has the
shortest wait since most people turn to the left as they enter the
turnstile area.

PARADES
| Crossing a parade route is possible but time consuming. Certain areas are
| marked for crossing and guests are allowed to cross during gaps in the
| parade. Plan which side of the park you want to be on during the parade and
get there early. If you must cross, consider using the Disneyland RR or
the Skyway. Parade crossing zones north of the Matterhorn are usually less
congested than the one at the Hub. Main Street is tough (though not impos-
sible) to negotiate during popular parades.

WHAT ABOUT SMALL CHILDREN?
Kids age 2 and under are free. Strollers may be rented, but some people
prefer to bring their own. Many attractions have height and age
requirements, with limit signs (‘You must be at least this tall…’)
present at the entrance to most attractions. They seem to be fairly picky
about this. If you’re an inch off, they won’t let you in.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 40+ inches
Space Mountain 40+ inches
Autopia (alone) 52+ inches
Autopia (w/ adult) 1+ years
Splash Mountain 3+ years and 40+ inches
Star Tours (alone) 7+ years
Star Tours (w/ adult) 3+ years
Matterhorn Bobsleds (alone) 7+ years
Matterhorn Bobsleds (w/ adult) 3+ years
Gadget’s Go-Coaster 3+ years
Goofy Bounce House 52 inches or under
Chip ‘N Dale’s Treehouse/Acorn Crawl 49 inches or under

Children under 7 are supposed to be accompanied by an adult on other
attractions as well (Snow White’s Scary Adventures, The Haunted Mansion,
etc.)

HOW DO I GET A MAGIC KINGDOM CLUB (MKC) CARD AND WHAT DOES IT GET ME?
MKC stands for the Magic Kingdom Club which is a benefit originally
provided to employees of large businesses for discounts on Disneyland
admissions. The program has expanded to other Disney parks and merchandise.
Check with your employer or credit union first, especially if you live near
any Disney attractions. If not, you can purchase a Gold MKC for $59 for 2
years. The address is Magic Kingdom Club Gold Card, PO Box 3850, Anaheim,
CA 92803-3850. Charge by calling (714) 490-3200. Gold card members get a
2-year subscription to Disney Magazine, a personalized gold membership
card, travel video, tote bag, and other goodies. Both types of MKC cards
get you the same discounts at the Disney Stores (except in the parks), on
admission tickets, and on Disney, Delta Airlines, and National Rent-a-Car
packages. The discount for both MKC cards are the same. The discounts do
NOT apply to merchandise at the park or the Disneyland Hotel but will
provide a 15% discount at Aladdin’s Oasis and the Blue Bayou (2-5pm only).
The card is also good for 10% off at The Disney Stores which are usually
found in shopping malls throughout the world.

WHERE SHOULD WE STAY?
Since I’m a local, I’ve haven’t stayed at many of the hotels in this area.

Here is a summary of the responses received so far. No guarantees. For
more information regarding lodging in the Anaheim area, contact the Anaheim
Area Visitor and Convention Bureau at 800 W. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA
92802, or phone (714)999-8999.
From a Disney handout: “The Walt Disney Travel Company: Offers the finest
in family vacation travel. A `Disney Vacation’ is the ideals way to visit
the Magic Kingdom. Contact The Walt Disney Travel Company, P.O. Box 3232,
Anaheim, CA 92803 for information about travel arrangements and packages.
Telephone (714) 520-5050; Telex 655474.

DISNEYLAND HOTEL: $$$$
Official hotel for Disneyland including many shops and attractions and
the only hotel with a monorail station for transportation into the Magic
Kingdom. Since this is a Disney property, it provides the best “Disney
experience”. Great shops, restaurants, and swimming pools. Free evening
water shows and other entertainment. Hotel guests can have their park
merchandise purchases delivered to their rooms free of charge. Call 714-
956-MICKEY for room reservations.
PAN PACIFIC: $$$
Located next to the Disneyland Hotel. Rooms are about half the price of
the Disneyland Hotel rooms and are large and quiet with comfortable beds
but somewhat dated decor. Average, no frills.. No refrigerators or
microwave ovens in the room but does have on-site restaurants (including
Japanese) and room service is available. A walkway provides access to the
Disneyland Hotel Resort’s amenities such as shops and restaurants and
Monorail station for transportation into the Disneyland Park.
ANAHEIM HILTON AND TOWERS: $$$
“Above average Hilton.” Small bathrooms (at least in non-tower rooms).
MARRIOTT: $$$
“Typical Marriott.” Nobody said anything particularly good or bad.
PEACOCK SUITES, S. Harbor (just north of Katella).
Clive Feather (clive@sco.com) says “I can speak well of Peacock
Suites…We had a 3-room suite (lounge, double bedroom with en-suite, twin
double bedroom, and additional bathroom) for $129 a night plus tax.
Continental Breakfast included and free hourly Disneyland shuttle is
available. It’s also a reasonable walk to the park.”
| MAGIC CARPET MOTEL: $
| “Reasonable place to sleep” according to James Moore (james@wrs.com)
BEST WESTERN STARDUST: $$
“Very spacious. Clean comfortable and reasonably priced. Walking
distance, but a Disneyland shuttle is also available. No frills.”
RESIDENCE INN: $$$
Very nice, apartment-like suites with complete, full-size kitchens and
some with fireplaces. Continental Breakfast included and free Disneyland
shuttle is available (with stops to the Disneyland Hotel if requested).

WHAT PARTS OF DISNEYLAND CAN I SKIP IF I’VE BEEN TO WALT DISNEY WORLD?
There are subtle differences in almost every corner of the park. If you’re
a Disney aficionado, you’ll want to check out everything. If you’re
pressed for time, you can skip the following:
o Haunted Mansion
o People Mover (more primitive, but seems to last longer)
o Monorail (unless you want to go to the Disneyland Hotel)
o Captain EO (same movie as EPCOT Center)
o Circle Vision 360 (same as at WDW but also shows China film from EPCOT
during the early part of the day.)
o Autopia
o Small World (biggest difference is the exterior facade, including a
special presentation of the time every 15 minutes)
o Golden Horseshoe Jamboree (same show, different finale)

Tough calls: (similar, yet different and worth experiencing)
o Space Mountain
o Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
| o Submarine Voyage (WDW version was removed this year, DL version similar
| except for order of presentation and absence of Jules Verne nuances)
o Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (a trimmed down version of the Hall of
Presidents) and The Walt Disney Story
o Splash Mountain (front/back seating instead of side-to-side, story not as
narrative.)
o Country Bear Playhouse (different show and DL has 2 theaters,)
o Disneyland Hotel resort complex (accessible from within the park by
monorail).

Whatever you do, don’t miss out on:
o Fantasmic!
| o Star Tours (unless you’ve been on the Disney/MGM Studios version. Best
| seat is back row, far right.)
o Matterhorn Bobsleds (2 different tracks, too)
o Jungle Cruise (my DL experiences have far surpassed the one at WDW)
o Pirates of the Caribbean (parts are identical, but DL is better)
o The Disney Gallery (above Pirates of the Caribbean). This originally was
built as an apartment for Walt Disney.
o Disneyland RR between Tomorrowland & Main Street for Grand Canyon and
Primeval World dioramas (not quite as impressive as EPCOT’s World of Energy
| dinosaurs, but fun anyway)
o Mickey’s ToonTown (new land)
o Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin ride (Toontown)
o Aladdin’s Oasis (extra cost, about $25 per person)

The Disneyland parade route is different than WDW. North of Main Street,
Disneyland parades proceed north along the east side of the Castle up to
It’s a Small World. WDW MK parades turn at the Hub, heading through
Liberty Square and Frontierland.

END of FAQ

The Ten Mafia Families

There are ten mafia families.Some are still existing and some
have been rubbed out.Here are ten families and top members:

The Vito Genovese Family – Boss:Vito Genovese
Acting Boss:Thomas Eboli Underboss:Gerardo Catena
Messenger:Michael Genovese Consigliere:Michele Miranda

The Carlo Gambino Family – Boss:Carlo Gambino
Underboss:Joseph Biondo Consigliere:Joseph Riccobono

The Gaetano Lucchese Family – Boss:Gaetano Lucchese
Underboss:Stefano LaSalle Consiglieri:Vincent John Rao

The Giuseppe Magliocco Family – Boss:Giuseppe Magliocco
Underboss:Salvatore Mussachio

The Joseph Bonanno Family – Boss:Joseph Bonanno
Underboss:Carmine Galante Consigliere:Frank Garafolo
Caporegime:Joseph Notaro

Buffalo, New York, Organization – Boss:Stefano Magaddino
Underboss:Fredrico Randaccio

Rhode Island and Boston; Massachusettes, Organization
Former Boss:Phillip Bruccola Boss:Raymond Patriarca
Underboss:Genaro J. Angiulo

The Mafia Organization in the Tampa, Florida, Area
Boss:Santo Trafficante, Jr. Elder:Salvatore Scaglione
Elder:Gaetano Mistretta

The Mafia Organization in the Detroit Area
Ruling Council – Joseph Zerilli John Priziola Angelo Meli
William Tocco Peter Licavoli

Chicago-Italian Organization
Overall Chicago Area, Bosses and Lieutenants –
Salvatore Giancana Sam Battagila Anthony Accardo
Paul Ricca Dominic Nuccio Dominic DiBella Dominic Brancato
Felix Anthony Alderisio Rocco Fischetti Ross Prio
Frank Ferrera Marshall Caifano Francesco Cironato
John Cerone Giuseppe Glielmi Riocco DeStefano
Frank Caruso Fiore Buccieri Willam Aloisio

Book used,
The Grim Reapers
By,
Ed Reid

Typed up by,
Erick Anderson
co/sysop of the Carolina Network
sysop Robert McCall
(803)836-0101

Fair Debt Collection From Charley Brown’s Office Of Consumer Protection Division

*–* Qmodem Session Capture File *–*
*–* Qmodem Capture File 10/06/87 14:57:18 *–*
f

FAIR DEBT COLLECTION

Provided By
Charley Brown’s Office
Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division

Complaints about harrassment by debt collectors are among
the most numerous complaints received by my Consumer Protection
Division. There are both federal and state laws to protect you
from unfair debt collection practices.
A debt collector may contact you in person, in writing, or
by phone. However, a debt collector may not contact you at
inconvenient or unusual times or at work if your employer
disapproves.
You may stop a collection agency from contacting you by
writing a letter telling them to stop. Once they receive this
letter, they may not contact you again.
No debt collector may threaten you with criminal prosecution
to scare you into paying a bill. A collection agency cannot sue
you, garnish your wages, or seize collateral on it’s own.
Collection agencies cannot use obscene language or make
false statements when collecting a debt. In most cases, the
More [Y,n]?
collector is not allowed to tell anyone other than you or your
attorney that you owe money.
If you should encounter problems with a debt collection
agency, please contact my Consumer Protection Agency, toll free
in West Virginia, at 1-800-368-8808.

MAIN MENU: Type `?’ by itself for help
M)essage section F)ile section G)oodbye (logoff) S)tatistics
A)ns Questions B)ulletin C)hange setup U)ser list/search
E)xtra Info V)ersion

A Text-Based Table Of Evolution’s History

Evolutionary Table

Era Period/Epoch Years Ago Age Event
НННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННН
ЪДДДВДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДВ 4,600,000,000 ВДДДВ Earth Forms
і P і (Azoic) і 4,500,000,000 і P і Complex molecules
і r і і 4,250,000,000 і r і Supermolecules
і e і і 4,000,000,000 і e і Oceans form; RNA molecules
і c і і 3,750,000,000 і l і Proto-viruses
і a і і 3,500,000,000 і i і Microspheres
і m Г Д Д Д Д Д Д Д Д Е 3,300,000,000 і f і Viruses
і b і Archeozoic і 3,150,000,000 і e і
і r і і 3,000,000,000 ГДДДґ
і i і і 2,800,000,000 і S і Prokaryotes
і a і і 2,650,000,000 і o і
і n ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕ 2,500,000,000 і f і Blue-green algae
і і Proterozoic і 2,400,000,000 і t і
і і і 2,250,000,000 і і і a і 1 = Marine Invertebrates
і і і 2,100,000,000 і L і і g і 2 = Fishes
і і і 2,000,000,000 і i і і e і 3 = Amphibians
і і і 1,900,000,000 і f і
і і і 1,800,000,000 і e і Proto-bacteria
і і і 1,700,000,000 і і
і і і 1,600,000,000 і і DNA molecules
і і і 1,500,000,000 і і Eukariotes
і і і 1,400,000,000 і і
і і і 1,350,000,000 і і
і і і 1,250,000,000 і і Green algae
і і і 1,200,000,000 і і
і і і 1,100,000,000 і і
і і і 1,050,000,000 і і
і і і 1,000,000,000 і і Protozoans
і і і 950,000,000 і і
і і і 900,000,000 і і
і і і 850,000,000 і і
і і і 800,000,000 і і Porifera
і і і 750,000,000 і і
і і і 700,000,000 і і Coelenterates
і і і 670,000,000 і і
і і і 630,000,000 і і
і і і 600,000,000 і і Annelids, echinoderms
ГДДДЕДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 570,000,000 ГДДДґ Chordates
і P і Cambrian і 530,000,000 і 1 і
і a ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 500,000,000 і і Cephalopods, Arthropods
і l і Ordovician і 475,000,000 і і
і e і і 450,000,000 і і Vertebrates, Ostracoderms
і o ГДSilurianДДДДДДДДЕДД 425,000,000 і і Land plants
і z ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 405,000,000 ГДДДґ Land arthropods; Teleosts
і o і Devonian і 375,000,000 і 2 і Rhipidistians
і i ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 345,000,000 ГДДДґ Land vertebrates; Eogyrini, ferns
і c і Carboniferous і 330,000,000 і 3 і
і і і 310,000,000 і і
і і і 300,000,000 і і Eosuchians
і ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 280,000,000 і і Mountain building; Conifers

і і Permian і 265,000,000 і і
і і і 250,000,000 і і Anapsids
і і і 240,000,000 і і Breakup of Pangea; Synapsids
ГДДДЕДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 230,000,000 ГДДДґ Permian Great Dying; Sauriscians
і M і Triassic і 210,000,000 і R і Monotremes
і e і і 200,000,000 і e і Ichthyosaurs
і s ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 190,000,000 і p і Marsupials
і o і Jurassic і 180,000,000 і t і Pterosaurs
і z і і 170,000,000 і i і
і o і і 160,000,000 і l і Plesiosaurs
і i і і 150,000,000 і e і Archeopteryx
і c ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДД 140,000,000 і s і
і і Cretaceous і 135,000,000 і і
і і і 125,000,000 і і Ornithiscians
і і і 120,000,000 і і
і і і 110,000,000 і і Birds
і і і 105,000,000 і і
і і і 100,000,000 і і
і і і 95,000,000 і і Placentals
і і і 90,000,000 і і
і і і 85,000,000 і і
і і і 80,000,000 і і
і і і 75,000,000 і і
і і і 70,000,000 і і Ichthyornes, Hesperornes
ГДДДЕДДДВДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДД 65,000,000 ГДДДґ Cretaceous Great Dying
і C і T і Paleocene і 63,000,000 і M і Miacids, creodonts
і e і e і і 60,000,000 і a і Profelids, procanids, phalangers
і n і r ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДД 55,000,000 і m і Civids, mustelids
і o і t і Eocene і 53,000,000 і m і Tarsoidians, eohippus
і z і i і і 50,000,000 і a і Prosimians, titanotheres
і o і a і і 47,500,000 і l і Anthropoidians, procyonids
і i і r і і 45,000,000 і s і
і c і y і і 42,500,000 і і
і і ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДД 40,000,000 і і Dinictis, holophoneus,
і і і Oligocene і 37,500,000 і і aegyptopithecus
і і і і 35,000,000 і і Canids
і і і і 33,000,000 і і Mesohippus
і і і і 31,500,000 і і
і і і і 30,000,000 і і
і і і і 28,000,000 і і Pseudailurus
і і і і 26,500,000 і і Smilodon, pliopithecus
і і ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДД 25,000,000 і і
і і і Miocene і 23,500,000 і і Sivapithecus, dryopithecus/Proconsul
і і і і 22,500,000 і і Merychippus
і і і і 21,000,000 і і Ramapithecus
і і і і 20,000,000 і і Dogs, wolves
і і і і 19,000,000 і і
і і і і 18,000,000 і і Acinonix: cheetahs
і і і і 17,000,000 і і
і і і і 16,000,000 і і
і і і і 15,000,000 і і
і і і і 14,000,000 і і
і і і і 13,500,000 і і
і і і і 12,500,000 і і

і і і і 12,000,000 і і Felis: lesser cats
і і і і 11,000,000 і і Felis lunensis: Martelli’s cat
і і і і 10,500,000 і і
і і ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДД 10,000,000 і і Felis manul: Pallas’ cat
і і і Pliocene і 9,500,000 і і
і і і і 9,000,000 і і
і і і і 8,500,000 і і
і і і і 8,000,000 і і
і і і і 7,500,000 і і
і і і і 7,000,000 і і
і і і і 6,700,000 і і
і і і і 6,300,000 і і
і і і і 6,000,000 і і Pliohippus
і і і і 5,600,000 і і
і і і і 5,300,000 і і
і і і і 5,000,000 і і
і і і і 4,750,000 і і Australopithecus afaransis (“Lucy”)
і і і і 4,500,000 і і Australopithecus africanus
і і і і 4,250,000 і і
і і і і 4,000,000 і і Australopithecus robustus
і і і і 3,750,000 і і
і і і і 3,500,000 і і Hyenas
і і і і 3,300,000 і і
і і і і 3,150,000 і і
і і і і 3,000,000 і і Panthera: greater cats
і і і і 2,800,000 і і
і і і і 2,650,000 і і
і і і і 2,500,000 і і Equus: modern horses
і і і і 2,350,000 і і
і і і і 2,250,000 і і
і і і і 2,100,000 і і
і ГДДДЕДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДДД 2,000,000 ГДДДґ
і і Q і Pliestocene і 1,900,000 і M і
і і u і і 1,800,000 і a і Homo habilis
і і a і і 1,700,000 і n і
і і t і і 1,600,000 і і
і і e і і 1,500,000 і і Homo erectus
і і r і і 1,400,000 і і
і і n і і 1,350,000 і і
і і a і і 1,250,000 і і
і і r і і 1,200,000 і і
і і y і і 1,100,000 і і
і і і і 1,050,000 і і
і і і і 1,000,000 і і
і і і і 950,000 і і
і і і і 900,000 і і First ice age begins
і і і і 850,000 і і
і і і і 800,000 і і
і і і і 750,000 і і
і і і і 700,000 і і
і і і і 665,000 і і Felis sylvestris: European wildcat
і і і і 630,000 і і
і і і і 600,000 і і Second ice age begins
і і і і 560,000 і і

і і і і 530,000 і і
і і і і 500,000 і і
і і і і 475,000 і і
і і і і 450,000 і і
і і і і 425,000 і і
і і і і 400,000 і і Third ice age begins
і і і і 375,000 і і
і і і і 350,000 і і
і і і і 330,000 і і
і і і і 315,000 і і
і і і і 300,000 і і Felis lybica: African wildcat
і і і і 280,000 і і
і і і і 265,000 і і
і і і і 250,000 і і
і і і і 235,000 і і
і і і і 225,000 і і
і і і і 210,000 і і
і і і і 200,000 і і
і і і і 190,000 і і
і і і і 180,000 і і
і і і і 170,000 і і
і і і і 160,000 і і
і і і і 150,000 і і
і і і і 140,000 і і
і і і і 135,000 і і
і і і і 125,000 і і
і і і і 120,000 і і
і і і і 110,000 і і
і і і і 105,000 і і
і і і і 100,000 і і Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
і і і і 95,000 і і
і і і і 90,000 і і
і і і і 85,000 і і
і і і і 80,000 і і
і і і і 75,000 і і
і і і і 70,000 і і
і і і і 67,000 і і
і і і і 63,000 і і
і і і і 60,000 і і
і і і і 56,000 і і
і і і і 53,000 і і
і і і і 50,000 і і Fourth ice age begins
і і і і 47,500 і і
і і і і 45,000 і і
і і і і 42,500 і і
і і і і 40,000 і і
і і і і 37,500 і і
і і і і 35,000 і і
і і і і 33,000 і і
і і і і 31,500 і і
і і і і 30,000 і і Homo sapiens sapiens: Cro-Magnon man
і і і і 28,000 і і
і і і і 26,500 і і
і і і і 25,000 і і Possible domestication of dog

і і і і 23,500 і і
і і і і 22,500 і і
і і і і 21,000 і і
і і і і 20,000 і і Probable domestication of dog
і і і і 19,000 і і
і і і і 18,000 і і
і і і і 17,000 і і
і і і і 16,000 і і
і і і і 15,000 і і
і і і і 14,000 і і
і і і і 13,500 і і Herding invented
і і і і 12,500 і і Smilodon becomes extinct
і і і і 12,000 і і Agriculture invented
і і і і 11,000 і і Civilization invented
і і і і 10,500 і і
і і ГДДДДДДДДДДДДДЕДДДДДДД 10,000 ГДДДґ
і і і Holocene і 9,500 і C і
і і і і 9,000 і i і
і і і і 8,500 і v і
і і і і 8,000 і i і
і і і і 7,500 і l і
і і і і 7,000 і i і Possible domestication of cat
і і і і 6,700 і z і
і і і і 6,300 і a і
і і і і 6,000 і t і 4004 BC–Creation: Bishop Ussher
і і і і 5,600 і i і 3760 BC–Creation: Orthodox Judaism
і і і і 5,300 і o і
і і і і 5,000 і n і Probable domestication of cat
і і і і 4,750 і і Early Egyptian cat cults
і і і і 4,500 і і First records of Bast
і і і і 4,250 і і First pyramids built
і і і і 4,000 і і
і і і і 3,750 і і
і і і і 3,550 і і Indus traders
і і і і 3,350 і і
і і і і 3,150 і і Phoenician traders
і і і і 3,000 і і Felis cattus: domestic cat
і і і і 2,800 і і 753 BC — Rome founded
і і і і 2,650 і і
і і і і 2,500 і і
і і і і 2,350 і і Grecian conquest of Egypt
і і і і 2,250 і і
і і і і 2,100 і і Roman conquest of Egypt
і і і і 2,000 і і Beginning of Christian (Common) Era

The Making Of The Cat, By R. Roger Breton And Nancy J. Creek

THE MAKING OF THE CAT

R. Roger Breton
Nancy J Creek

——————————

Soup or Sandwich

IN THE VERY BEGINNING, about 4.6 billion years ago (give or take a few
years), a small ball of rock, water and gas had come to be and immedi-
ately set about the process of combining its atoms into more and more
complex arrangements. Thus began that most wondrous story, the evolu-
tion of life on Earth.

For the first 2.1 billion years of the Earth’s existence, the Archeo-
zoic Era, life very slowly evolved. The Earth’s crust was still in
flux and covered for the most part by shallow seas. The atmosphere
was composed primarily of methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide and water
vapor. From these primitive chemicals life evolved. There are two
primary schools of thought on the processes involved: the “soup”
theory and the “sandwich” theory.

According to the more-popular soup theory, chemical evolution first
took place in the upper atmosphere, where ultraviolet radiation from
the sun could generate an assortment of simple and complex organic
(carbon-based) molecules out of the basic components of the atmos-
phere. As these molecules slowly rained into the early oceans, a kind
of primordial soup was created. Via the ultraviolet radiation, light-
ning, volcanic action, and other forms of heat and energy, this soup
was able to slowly combine the organic molecules into ever more com-
plex forms: first simple amino acids, then organic macromolecules,
then single-strand RNA molecules, and finally simple viruses.

The only trouble with the soup theory is that is almost definitely
wrong! The time required for it to work is statistically greater than
the lifetime of the Earth. The time is only statistically greater,
however, and anything is possible…

Various explanations have been put forth to account for this time
discrepancy. The most popular of these is the seeding of the early
seas by organic molecules from space. This seeding could have been
either through organic molecules present in the original formation of
the Earth, or from later bombardment by meteors or more likely comets
containing the organic compounds (a cosmic soup mix). None of the
compensatory theories put forth are very likely, however.

This brings us to the sandwich theory. The sandwich theory states
that complex organic molecules formed on the surface of undersea
crystalline rocks, such as those surrounding volcanic vents. The name
“sandwich theory” comes about because the active area is sandwiched
between the sea and the rock. Besides, what scientist could resist
the “soup and sandwich” pun!

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 1

Free-floating molecules in the water tend to cling to smooth surfaces.
This surface effect allows various molecules to gather in one place.
Ultraviolet energy from the sun or, more likely, heat from volcanic
vents, would allow this gathering of simple molecules to combine into
more complex organic molecules rather easily. Some of the simplest
organic molecules are scums, easily formed on flat surfaces, which
themselves are sticky and gather more simple molecules.

Within these scums, ever more complex molecules are easily formed.
These more complex molecules tend to be three-dimensional, and bulge
outward from the rock surfaces. This allows them to be easily washed
away by the sea, forming a primordial soup not of basic simple mole-
cules, but of the far more complex and already evolved RNA macromole-
cules and possibly even viruses.

Viruses are fundamentally RNA and amino-acid conglomerates with many
life-like properties. Although it is open to debate as to whether or
not they are themselves alive, viruses are definitely right on the
edge: simpler things are clearly not alive, while more complex things
clearly are.

One aspect of the sandwich theory is that at undersea volcanic vents
today life may still be evolving from basic components! This exciting
possibility is being carefully investigated and holds great promise
for the future.

The Great Pollution

After the virus, life was off and running. During the next 500 mil-
lion or so years, viruses evolved into simple prokaryotes, single-
celled living beings without a cellular nucleus. In this case, blue-
green algae, the first plants. This marked the beginning of the
Proterozoic Era, about 2.5 billion years ago. Blue-green algae
are blue-green because they possess that truly wondrous molecule,
chlorophyll. It is chlorophyll which makes possible the production of
food directly from sunlight and the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
This is the process of photosynthesis.

A side-effect of photosynthesis is the generation of free oxygen as a
waste product. Free oxygen combined with itself and the methane and
ammonia in the atmosphere to form ozone, water, free nitrogen, and
more carbon dioxide. Over the next billion years, blue-green algae
polluted the Earth with enough free oxygen to completely change the
entire chemistry of the world. Gone was the pristine methane, ammo-
nia, and carbon-dioxide early atmosphere, to be replaced by a corro-
sive mixture of free nitrogen and free oxygen, surrounded by a thin
layer of ozone.

It is this corrosive nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere that allowed the
evolution, about 1.5 billion years ago, of chlorophyll-less creatures
such as bacteria and protozoans. These creatures were active, like
the oxygen they consumed. They preyed on the algae (and each other)
for food, and were the first animals: very early proto-cats.

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The Making of the Cat Page 2

The production of free oxygen also altered the structure of the very
rocks themselves, causing a slow but radical geologic change.

Blueprints

Protozoans are eukaryotes (cells with a central nucleus). The secret
of all but the simplest lifeforms is locked in that nucleus: the
chromosome.

Virtually all living things have several different chromosomes in each
cell. These chromosomes comprise a set, which is itself a blueprint.
In a multi-celled creature, each cell contains an identical set of
chromosomes. A cat, for example, has 38 chromosomes per set, with an
identical set in each and every cell, except sex cells. Each cell of
a cat contains within itself the code for the complete cat.

A chromosome is itself composed primarily of a thin protein membrane
enclosing a bit of water and a single molecule of DNA (deoxyribonu-
cleic acid). The DNA molecule is composed of two long strands wound
around each other in a double helix (like two intertwined springs),
with each component of a strand connected to the opposite strand by a
crossbar or rung. If the double helix were laid flat, DNA would be
ladder-like in appearance.

The evolution and concept of DNA is awesome in its potential, and awe-
inspiring in its simplicity and beauty. There are only six simple
compounds that go together to make up DNA, phosphate and deoxyribose
alternate to form the helixes while four amino acids make up the
rungs.

It is not the number of differing compounds that provide the secret of
DNA’s success, but rather the number of rungs in the ladder (uncounted
millions) and the order of the amino acids that make up the rungs.
The four different amino acids are arranged in groups of three, form-
ing a 64-letter alphabet. This alphabet is used to compose words of
varying length, each of which is a gene (one particular letter is
always used to indicate the start of a gene). Each gene controls the
development of a specific characteristic of the lifeform. There is an
all-but-infinite number of possible genes. As a result, the DNA of a
lifeform contains its blueprint, no two alike, and the variety and
numbers of possible lifeforms has even today barely begun.

Sex

There was a small problem with evolution up to this time: it was
asexual. A cell multiplies by dividing! That is, once it has accumu-
lated enough material to make another cell, it does–by dividing in
half. This process is called mitosis.

In highly simplified form, when a cell undergoes mitosis, its chromo-
somes duplicate, move to opposite sides, and the cell divides in two.
Each daughter cell is an exact copy of the parent cell, barring muta-
tions.

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The Making of the Cat Page 3

Since evolution depends upon change, asexual evolution is wholly
dependent upon random mutation, and thus very slow. It took almost 4
billion years, about 85% of the Earth’s existence so far, to evolve up
to the complexity of protozoans. What was needed was a means of
speeding up the process. What was needed was sex!

At first, sex had nothing to do with reproduction, not directly,
anyway. The protozoans would get together, merge, swap a few genes,
the separate and go their ways. This chromosome-swapping allowed them
to pass around and share an advantageous characteristic.

In order for the sexual merge to occur efficiently, the concept of a
double chromosome evolved. In this form, chromosomes are doubled and
paired. This gives each lifeform two of each chromosome (so far), and
hence two of each gene. Thus, after a sexual encounter, a protozoan
had two of any given gene. They may both be the genes it originally
possessed, both be the genes the other protozoan possessed, or one of
each. If, due to a mutation somewhere along the line, one of a pair
of genes had a slightly different code than the other, the protozoan
would assume the characteristics of the dominant gene (unless they are
identical, one gene is always dominant over the other). It would,
however, keep the recessive gene, and may pass it on (or not) at its
next encounter. The tendency is then for dominant genes to quickly
spread through a community.

This effect was clearly demonstrated in a recent experiment wherein a
small group of a penicillin-resistant strain of the bacterium gonococ-
cus was merged with a much larger group of normal gonococci. After a
short while, all bacteria in the test were penicillin-resistant. The
bacteria had sexually interfaced and shared the genes that contributed
to penicillin resistance.

After the discovery of sex, the protozoans would occasionally merge
and share protoplasm. They would then separate and go their individu-
al ways, reproducing asexually.

At some point in time, a mutation occurred in which a cell would
divide not into two daughter cells, but into four half-cells, or
gametes. Each of these gametes contained half of each pair of chromo-
somes, comprising a half-set. The urge to merge was all powerful, and
quickly carried out. The mutation, however, was dominant. As a
result, so a whole colony of protozoans was dividing into gametes, a
process call meiosis, and quickly merging in a mix and match fashion.

Sexes

Over the next 200 million years, the protozoans evolved into cellular
colonies, the porifera. Porifera, such as today’s sponges, are truly
colonies, with each cell essentially the same as every other. No
cellular specialization took place.

Eventually, some cells started specializing in locomotion while others
specialized in food gathering, and so forth. This lead to the evolu-
tion of the coelenterates, with different cells performing different

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 4

tasks. Today’s jellyfish are coelenterates.

With this complexity, there could no longer be a simple random merg-
ing. All this specialization required that some cells spend their
time reproducing not themselves, but the creature as a whole. These
cells must, then, carry the genetic code for the entire creature.
Since the new creature produced by a division and merging would start
as the merger of two gametes, hence a single cell, it follows then
that all cells in a creature must contain the entire genetic code for
the creature. This is indeed the case.

Those cells that specialized in reproduction must produce gametes that
attract each other. If all were identical, there would be minimal
attraction, so the concept of opposites arose. The gametes became
divided into two groups: sperm (male), and eggs (female).

If there are opposite gametes, there are opposite reproductive organs
to produce them. Voila, male and female creatures. This proved
to be so efficient at mixing the gene pool that it became a survival
characteristic. Those species had the greatest urge to merge sur-
vived, and elaborate and downright peculiar means have evolved to
ensure the urge to merge. Sexual reproduction has been the norm for
virtually all species more sophisticated than a bacterium ever since.

In the Sea

Since the great pollution, everything ate everything. Except the
algae, who were (and still are) the bottom of the food chain: every-
thing ate algae, directly or indirectly.

About 570 million years ago, some critters became tired of being
eaten, and decided (so to speak) to do something about it. Hard parts
evolved, most noticeably shells, and the Paleozoic era began.

The first things to evolve shells were, not surprisingly, mollusks.
They shared the oceans of their day with a grand assortment of cepha-
lopods (head-footed creatures, such as squid and octopi), arthropods
(jointed-footed creatures, such as lobsters), annelids (worms), and
echinoderms (spiny-skinned creatures, such as starfish). All of these
forms survive today, though specific creatures don’t.

The evolution of the annelids and echinoderms was soon followed by the
first primitive chordates (creatures with a central nervous system).
The central nervous system allowed co-ordination between the various
parts of the body by channeling their neurological signals through a
central organ, the brain.

By 500 million years ago, the early chordates had become vertebrates
(creatures with skeletons, although of cartilage and not bone) had
evolved. Primitive jawless fish swam the seas. Current examples of
jawless fish include the lamprey.

Cartilage evolved into bone, and led to the evolution of osteichthyes,
the first bony fish. Most of today’s fish are bony, though there are

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 5

still some cartilaginous fish around, such as sharks.

Some 405 million years ago, two significant events occurred. The
obvious event was a sudden proliferation in the number of fish–fish
became the dominant lifeform in the sea. A more significant but
quieter revolution was also taking place: the plants were invading
land, rapidly changing rock and sand into topsoil, and laying the
paths the animals would later follow.

Ferns evolved shortly thereafter, and were present to greet the ani-
mals as they left the sea. These animals were arthropods: scorpions,
spiders, and bugs. Arthropods still outnumber all other species of
land animal life except the microscopic.

Of concern to us at this time is the evolution 370 million years ago
of rhipidistan, the first lungfish, which were the direct ancestors of
all higher forms of life: amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
These early lungfish lived in the coastal bogs and estuaries, occa-
sionally venturing onto land for brief periods.

On the Land

By 345 million years ago, rhipidistan had evolved into eogyrinus, the
first amphibian and a true land animal. The vertebrates had invaded
the land. Amphibians were still tied to the water, however. Their
eggs had no shells, and had to be laid underwater. The young were
(and still are) born with gills, which they lost as they reached
adulthood.

About 290 million years ago, a creature called eosuchian learned the
trick of enclosing its eggs in a calcium shell: the first reptile had
evolved. Unlike amphibians, young reptiles did not have gills and did
not require standing water. They soon developed scales to preserve
body moisture as well.

The Paleozoic era came to an abrupt end some 230 million years ago.
Most of the marine invertebrates, fish, amphibians, early reptiles,
and everything else vanished. The first Great Dying had occurred.

Great Dyings

The history of the Earth is punctuated with many Dyings and two (maybe
three) Great Dyings. In a Dying, vast numbers of species vanish
suddenly (geologically speaking) over a wide area. In a Great Dying,
this area is world wide. Such an occurrence leaves uncounted ecologi-
cal niches empty: those species that do survive the Dying are then
presented with an opportunity to undergo rapid radial evolution, a
phenomenon wherein each surviving species quickly evolves to fill as
many ecological niches as possible.

The reasons behind the Dyings are not clearly understood. Possibili-
ties include asteroid impact, climatological change, volcanic activi-
ty, and disease. Whatever the causes, their occurrence is clearly
established.

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The Making of the Cat Page 6

Two (three) Great Dyings occurred in Earth’s history. The Permian
Great Dying, 230 million years ago, terminated the Permian period and
the Paleozoic era. The Cretacious Great Dying, 65 million years ago,
terminated the Cretacious period and the Mesozoic era, and brought
about the demise of the dinosaurs. Both these Great Dyings are gener-
ally believed to be the result of asteroid impact, though other expla-
nations are possible. The argumentative Quaternary Great Dying is
currently underway, and promises to destroy the greatest number of
species of any Great Dying. Its cause is man.

Reptiles

The Mesozoic era had begun. The surviving eosucians evolved into the
anapsids.

The early anapsids had an interesting problem to face: body heat.
Coincident with the Permian Great Dying (possibly caused by the same
event) the climate became cooler. Being cold blooded, the anapsids
would assume a body temperature about the same as that of the sur-
rounding air. This meant that they simply couldn’t get their motors
turning over on a cold morning. They solved this problem through
solar power.

By evolving huge fins on their backs, they could position themselves
broadside to the sun on a cold day and absorb large quantities of
solar energy. Once they were warm enough, they could then face to-
wards or away from the sun. One can see several drawbacks to this
scheme: cloudy days, strong winds, etc. These sail-backed reptiles
are often depicted in grade-B monster movies by gluing a fan to the
back of an iguana.

As a dominant group, the anapsids were short-lived, surviving today
only as the turtles and tortoises. They evolved into four other
reptile groups: the diapsids, which became the dinosaurs, pterosaurs,
lizards, snakes, tuatara, crocodiles, /alligators, and birds; the
euryapsids, which became the plesiosaurs; the parapsids, which became
the ichthyosaurs; and the synapsids. The dinosaurs, pterosaurs,
plesiosaurs, and ichthyosaurs are all extinct (except for Nessie, the
Loch-Ness Monster, a lone surviving plesiosaur [if you are a believer,
that is]). The lizards, snakes, tuatara, crocodiles, alligators, and
birds are still with us.

Mammals

The final group of Mesozoic reptiles, the synapsids, would not normal-
ly have attracted attention. They were small inconspicuous quadrupeds
with only one claim to fame: they developed mammalian characteris-
tics. One group, the theriodonts, became the ancestor of all mammals.
As reptiles, the synapsids became extinct 170 million years ago.

About 225 million years ago, the theriodonts evolved into the panto-
theres, the first monotremes. The first monotremes were small, insec-
tivorous, shrew-like creatures about 6 inches long.

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 7

Monotremes are mammals, but barely so, and survive today only as the
platypus and the echidna found in Australia and New Guinea. They have
very poor internal temperature control, being only somewhat warmblood-
ed, are the only mammals to produce venom, are the only mammals to lay
eggs, and, though milk-producing, are the only mammals without teats
the milk is secreted directly though the skin and lapped by the
young).

About 200 million years ago, the pantotheres evolved into metatheres,
the first marsupials. Unlike a monotreme, which lays eggs, a marsupi-
al gives birth to live young. These young are very premature, and
must crawl into a marsupium (pouch) where they attach themselves to
teats and receive nourishment while they continue to develop towards
self-sufficiency. The kangaroo and opossum, among others, are today’s
surviving marsupials. The first marsupials were not much different in
appearance from their monotreme forebears, being shrew-like in appear-
ance and about 6-8 inches long.

With marsupialism, a mother no longer had to provide all the early
nourishment for her young in the yolk of an egg, but could nourish her
young as she herself was nourished–sort of child-bearing on time
payments. The young also had the advantage of being able to flee
danger, via mom’s legs, whereas an egg is easy prey.

Good as marsupialism is, it still exposes the young to the world when
they are most vulnerable: a new-born marsupial is little more than an
embryo, (a newborn opossum is about the size of a bee, a kangaroo a
little over an inch long). This problem was corrected by the evolu-
tion of the metatheres into eutheres, the placentals, about 100-80
million years ago, in the northern hemisphere.

The placenta is a complex organ allowing nutrients in the mother’s
bloodstream to be passed to the fetus’ bloodstream, with waste
products passed in the reverse direction, while not allowing a direct
connection between the bloodstreams. The placenta of a marsupial is
very primitive and inefficient, hence the premature birth, whereas
that of the placentals is a truly wondrous organ. The young could now
remain within the mother’s womb, receiving nourishment directly from
her, until relatively well developed and more ready to face life.

The marsupials and placentals were both drastic improvements over the
monotremes, and seemed to have divided the planet between them: for a
while marsupials dominated the southern hemisphere while placentals
dominated the northern. As the placentals grew more numerous they
gradually forced out the less-efficient marsupials: Today, the only
significant marsupials left worldwide are the opossums, which survive
because they are so fecund.

The dominance of placentals is firmly established except in Australia
and a few surrounding islands, which had broken from the Asian conti-
nent after the marsupials had dominated the south but before the
placentals had spread down from the north. In pre-colonial Australia
marsupials were to be found in all the mammalian ecological niches

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 8

(there is even a marsupial “cat”) except for the aborigines (who
arrived by boat), the dingos (wild dogs, which arrived with the abo-
rigines), the bats (which flew in), and the surviving monotremes
(which defy logic all around). Modern man has introduced many other
species of placental, most notably the rabbit and the mongoose, and
the long-delayed marsupial/placental struggle is now taking place in
Australia, with the marsupials losing.

Near Cats

The Cretaceous Period and the Mesozoic era came to an abrupt halt with
the Cretaceous Great Dying, 65 million years ago. Suddenly, the Earth
finds itself with virtually all of its dominant species wiped out: no
more dinosaurs, pterosaurs, or plesiosaurs [Nessie?], and very little
of anything else. The Cenozoic era had arrived.

Of those few creatures which survived the Cretaceous Great Dying, one
was a small, active, adaptable, shrew-like euthere, about 7-8 inches
long, who then experienced rapid radial evolution. By 60 million
years ago one of its many newly-evolved descendants was miacis, who
ate flesh and was among the first truly carnivorous mammals.

Miacis was somewhat martin-like in appearance. His distinguishing
characteristic was his teeth, which set the basis for all modern
carnivores. He had a dental plan with incisors, canines, premolars,
carnassials, and molars in each jaw. The carnassials were a new
invention, being designed specifically for the cutting of flesh in a
scissor-like action. Modern cats and dogs have carnassials, humans do
not. These advanced teeth were fundamental in the demise of other
predators, allowing him to make more kills and to better digest his
prey, both of which meant more and larger miacids and fewer others.

Miacis was a short-term creature, quickly evolving under the pressure
of competition into several different miacids, each of which went on
to become a differing type of carnivore. By 45 million years ago, one
of these differing creatures was profelis, the forerunner of all cats.

By 40 million years ago profelis had evolved into hoplophoneus and
dinictis. The primary differences between hoplophoneus and dinictis
were in jaw structure. In hoplophoneus the upper canines increased
drastically in length to become stabbing weapons, with corresponding
changes in the jaw hinge to allow the mouth to open extra widely. In
dinictis the upper and lower canines became more balanced and the jaw
hinge developed more muscle. Both were halfway between a cat and a
civit in appearance, long in the body and tail, short in the legs;
both had definitely cat-like heads; and both were plantigrade: modern
cats are digitigrade and walk on their toes, good for running, while
people are plantigrade and walk upon their whole foot, good for stand-
ing.

About 25 million years ago, hoplophoneus had evolved into smilodon,
the famous saber-toothed tiger. Smilodon was definitely a cat in
appearance, walking upon his toes and all, but had a somewhat flat-
tened head with a small brain pan (he wasn’t very bright). Smilodon

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 9

was the end of his line, and vanished some 12,000 years ago.
The exaggerated tooth structure of the hoplophoneans and especially
smilodon was a response to the evolution of the titanotheres, the
giant mammals of the early Cenozoic. These animals were huge, with
correspondingly thick and/or shaggy coats, which the dagger-like
canines of the saber-toothed tiger could pierce to deliver a killing
blow. The largest of the titanotheres, and the largest land mammal
ever, was the ground sloth baluchitherium, which stood 18 feet at the
shoulder (the height of a tall giraffe), and whose head reached 26
feet off the ground.

Real Cats

While hoplophoneus was evolving into smilodon, dinictis was also
evolving. Dinictis itself had one seemingly trivial, but really very
fundamental characteristic: it had three eyelids. Modern cats, and
many related species, have three eyelids, the third being the haw, or
nictitating membrane.

Dinictis evolved into pseudailurus, which was definitely a cat in
appearance, not too different from some of the more extreme species of
modern cats. Its teeth were identical in structure to those of the
modern cat and it was digitigrade, walking on its toes (though not
quite as well as the modern cat), but it still had a small brain pan.

Some 18 million years ago, the oldest of the modern genera of cats
evolved from pseudailurus: acinonyx. The modern cheetah is the only
species of acinonyx surviving today and is actually little changed
from its early ancestors. Some 12 million years ago, pseudailurus
had evolved into felis, the modern lesser cats. Two of the first
modern cats to appear were felis lunensis, Martelli’s cat, and felis
manul, Pallas’ cat. These cats had larger brains, surprisingly human-
like in structure, and were in all ways true modern cats. Martelli’s
Cat has become extinct, but Pallas’ Cat is still very much with us,
the oldest living species of genus felis.

By 3 million years ago, the last of the modern genera of cats evolved,
panthera, the greater or roaring cats, to which the tigers, lions,
leopards and their kin belong.

Somewhere between the First and Second Ice Ages, 900,000 to 600,000
years ago, a very special cat, felis sylvestris, made its appearance,
and is still with us as the European Wildcat. During the Second Ice
Age, the glaciers moved down from the north, driving him southward.
At the same time, the Mediterranean and Black Seas were greatly re-
duced in size, providing many land bridges to the south into Africa
and to the east around the foot of the Urals into Asia, allowing him
to extend his domain into those regions.

As the ice receded the seas rose and the climates changed, the immi-
grant species became isolated from each other by water, deserts, and
mountains. Over time, those species of wildcat isolated in Africa
became the Sand Cat, the African Wildcat, the Forest Cat, and the
Black-Footed Cat, while the Asian version became the Chinese Desert

———————————————————————-
The Making of the Cat Page 10

Cat. There were, of course, several other subspecies that, for one
reason or another, didn’t survive the changing landscape and climate.

One of felis sylvestris’ many offshoots was felis lybica, the African
Wildcat. He is still with us, but, more importantly, he is the imme-
diate and primary ancestor of all domestic cats.

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The Making of the Cat Page 11

A EuroDisney Report By Tom Drynda (June 17, 1993)

From: tad@Ingres.COM (Tom Drynda)
Date: 17 Jun 93 15:15:16 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Finally, the EuroDisney Report (Long – 1350 lines)

EuroDisney Report
=================

Hi there. This is a fairly detailed report of our recent
trip to EuroDisney including a short excursion to Paris.

The report is in three parts :

Part One is a description in chronological order without
detailed descriptions of attractions (unless appropriate). I’ve
also included any problems we found with travel, etc. here.

Part Two contains the descriptions of the rides, restaurants, and
shops we visited separated into their separate lands.

Part Three contains miscellaneuos items and I’ve detailed
a few extra topics which I felt needed extra explanation such as
new rides under construction and guide books. A number of people
email’d me specific questions which I endeavoured to answer as
fully as possible. As well as answering these people directly
where possible and applicable, I’ve included these in Part Three
of the report.

We arranged the trip through the Air-Miles scheme. This
scheme only operates in the UK (I believe) and is a system
whereby you collect Air-Mile vouchers from various purchases and
use them as part or full payment against filghts and
accomodation.

We bought a number of guide books specifically about
EuroDisney (The Official one, and two ‘Unofficial’ ones). The
most useful one without a doubt was Bob Sehlinger’s Unofficial
Guide.

Our trip started on Monday May 31st 1993.

—————————————————————–

Part One
========

Day 1
—–

Flight

We decided to take the early (0730) flight out of London
Heathrow with British Airways. The whole flight was uneventful
and we landed at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport ahead of
schedule thanks to a following wind.

Coach

The EuroDisney shuttle coach seemed to be the most
sensible way to get from the airport to the resort as it stopped
right outside our hotel. Problem was, we didn’t know where to
catch it from. The directions in Sehlinger’s guide are very vague
and incomplete. We asked at a tourist information booth in the
Airport and they gave us accurate directions. We also bought our
tickets at the tourist booth for FF75 each one-way which is FF10
more than mentioned in Sehlinger’s guide.

The shuttle runs either every 30 minutes or every 45
minutes alternating every day. On Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat the shuttles
run at 30 minute intervals starting at 0730. On the other days,
the shuttles start at 0745. This is from memory, I could be
slightly wrong.

When we got to the shuttle-bus stop, we saw a queue of
about 40 people already waiting. Aparently the previous bus
hadn’t turned up, but the next one was due in about 10 minutes,
so we took our place at the end of the queue and waited. And
waited.

The bus-stop at CdG airport is not a very pleasant area
at all. It is very inconvenient and is not really designed to be
a bus stop. It’s difficult to describe. From the terminal you
have to cross a fairly quiet service road to get to it and when
you are on the right side of the road the vertical supports
holding up the rest of the airport make queuing difficult and
uncomfortable. Of course, it may have been better if the shuttles
were running on time.

So, finally, after nearly an hour’s wait, two coaches
turned up. We were just about the last people to board the first
coach. Boarding took absolutely ages. These people could do with
some training from Disney on how to move people around (that goes
for most of non-Disney France that we visited actually).

You could consider catching the RER train to the
EuroDisney resort. The nearest hotels to the RER station are The
Hotel New York, and The Disneyland Hotel. They are within 4-5
min’s walking distance but I wouldn’t fancy doing that with a
bunch of heavy luggage on a hot day. The Sequoia Lodge (where we
stayed) is about 8-10 mins walk from the station, and The Newport
Bay Hotel would add another 5 minutes to that. Other hotels are
much further from the RER station. I was not aware of any shuttle
bus to the hotels specifically for passengers arriving via RER.

Hotel

After just under an an hour’s coach ride from the
airport, we arrived at our hotel – The Sequoia Lodge.

The Sequioa Lodge is an enormous hotel (by my standards)
built (as the brochure says) in the style of the grand hotels
found in American national parks. Basically it’s a seven storey
redwood and stone building with a green copper roof.

There was a small pre-check-in desk just outside the
hotel which we had to register with before officially checking in
at the front desk. Here they give you a small plan of the resort
area showing you the location of the hotels, station, etc. and an
A3 newspaper-style guide to the hotel, events, opening times,
etc..

Checking in turned out to be a real problem. We queued
and waited … and waited .. and waited. We couldn’t really see
what the problem was. It seemed to take ages to get people
checked in. Finally our turn came and we began to realise what
the problem was. The staff behind the desk were undergoing
training and were having a great deal of hassle getting around
the computer check-in system. We asked if we could get a room
upgrade since we were members of the Magic Kingdon Club and this
caused further problems. Fortunately a supervisor was near to
hand and helped solve our problems.

We left the check-in desk only to realise that not only
did we not know where our room was but that there was also no-one
to help with our luggage. This could be a bit of a bummer if you
are travelling alone or you’re travelling with people who are not
fully mobile.

When we got to our top-floor room we were pleasantly
surprised to find that it offered a superb view of the lake (Lac
Buena Vista), Festival Disney (more about this later) and the
park in the distance. We could even see the castle !
Unfortunately, we ended up in a smoking room despite having
requested a non-smoking room originally. By this time we were too
exhausted to complain, but once the windows had been open a few
minutes, the room was pleasant and fresh.

The room itself was clean and tidy. The beds were wooden
and very high (my feet only just touched the ground and I’m 6ft).
There is an enormous and solid rocking chair in the room as well
as the usual gear (table, chair, chest of drawers with TV on top,
bedside table, etc.

The beds were very comfortable to sleep in, but after a
standard Disney day I could’ve slept on broken glass !

After unpacking a little, and resting a little, we
pondered on what to do next. We had thought that since it was now
just about 1pm and the park would be closing at 7pm, it would not
be worth actually going in to the park itself and we would just
have a relaxing wander around the general area to get a feel for
it and see what else there was to offer.

Festival Disney

We exited our hotel and headed for the lake through the
gardens of the hotel. The Sequoia Lodge gardens are well laid out
and peaceful. Mainly conifers and large rocks. Interestingly
enough, all of the tall/mature trees (and there are a significant
number of those throughout the resort) are supported by at least
3 steel cables. This is because the mature trees have been
transplanted here directly and therefore their roots have not
managed to get enough hold on the soil to fully support the tree.
I wonder how long it will take until they can support themselves ?
It’s also interesting to note that there are places where the
trees have obviously ‘failed to thrive’ and are starting to die
or have already been removed. I didn’t notice many of those
however.

We started to walk around the lake. The lake itself is
quite large and quite obviously man-made. With our backs to our
hotel, to the left of the lake you could see the marvellous
Newport Bay Hotel with it’s miniature lighthouse. The Newport Bay
Hotel looks very ellegant and from it’s looks alone I wouldn’t
mind staying there next time. To the right of the lake is the
ugliest hotel – the Hotel New York. Blech. Monstrous outside.
Fairly monstrous inside – sepecially that nasty “Mets” logo on
the floor down one of the passages leading away fromn the lobby.

The lake is actually quite pleasant. Some details to look
out for are the maintenance panels on the street-lights and at
the Hotel New York end of the lake there are some Dumbo heads
spouting water into the lake. We passed the Hotel New York on the
way to the rest of the resort and noticed that the ice rink
outside was drained (well, it was approaching mid summer) and in
fairly bad condition – crumbling around the outside and the map
of New York which would be under the ice area was very tatty.

Festival Disney

We passed the Hotel New York, and approached Festival
Disney. This area is marked by the enormous silver and red
vertical columns apparently supporting nothing but a bunch of
wires. These wires are actually supporting small lights, but
during the day they’re obviously not switched on. At night, they
look quite good, but the pattern they form is only obvious from
close-up. The enormous columns contain mainly small kiosks
and/or speakers which emit music constantly while Festival Disney
is open (0830 to 0200).

I imagine the idea of Festival Disney is to evoke a party
atmosphere in the way Pleasure Island does at Disney World. It
doesn’t quite work out that way though. The architecture does
nothing to help this atmosphere and just emphasises the cold wide
open space.

Festival Disney consists of a number of nightclubs,
restaurants, shops, kiosks, and Buffalo Bills Wild West Show
(more about that later !).

The shops are your average Disney stores slightly themed
but with nothing spectacular inside. I saw nothing there that I
wanted and couldn’t get cheaper at my local Disney Store.

Just before the exit to Festival Disney (the DisneyLand
end), to the left there is a large building which contains
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Just in front of this building is
a small corral area where we saw people riding horses around. To
the right is the fifties style cafe called Annette’s Diner. This
place had some fifties/sixties cars parked outside. There was
one fifties (?) french car – a Renault I think – that was totally
ugly and out of place in terms of style and elegance (it had
none). We didn’t have time to try out this place. It was probably
very expensive.

While at the Buffalo Bill building, we ordered two
tickets for the late show for the following day. With our Magic
Kingdom Club Gold Card, we qualified for an incredible 20%
discount on the total cost of the tickets.

On exiting Festival Disney, we passed the RER Station on
our right. This is in the final stages of completion (or maybe
that’s just the way it looked). It’s a clear glass and steel
structure with nothing really interesting about it.

Next we passed through a small arch into the gardens of
the DisneyLand Hotel (Fantasia Gardens) and the entrance to the
park. It’s here that you’ll find your first Hidden Mickey created
by the circular ponds. The Fantasia Gardens are very nicely
arranged and very pleasant to look at and walk through. There are
a number of peaceful areas here where you may want to rest tired
feet.

The DisneyLand Hotel is wonderful to look at and even
better inside (more about that later). It has a marvelous clock
tower – the clock being the biggest Mickey Mouse watch I have
ever seen ! Make sure you see the weather vanes too. We passed
under the hotel on our way to the entrance to the park to get our
3-day passes.

Bank Holiday

We did not intend to enter the park today because we were
under the impression that the park was only open from 0900 to
1900 until the middle of June. We were VERY pleasantly surprised
to find that this Monday was a Bank Holiday in France (as well as
England) and as a result, the park stayed open untl 2300 ! This
had the added advantage that the Main Street Electric Parade
would run and Fireworks would finish the evening. Normally those
two events are only performed at weekends or when the park is
open late.

We purchased three-day passes at FF508 each including our
10% discount for being members of the Magic Kingdom Club. There
are 1, 2, and 3 day, and a one-year passes available. The one-
year pass costs FF990. I really really wanted the one-year pass
but we were on a budget. Bummer. I’m not sure of the prices for
the other passes, but I’ve included some phone-numbers at the end
of this report that should be able to give you an up-to-date
price as well as a host of other information.

The Park

We entered the Park about 1400, ignoring Sehlinger’s guide
(to our peril) and just followed our noses around the park. Of
course we ended up exhausting ourselves !

Rather than give the details of all the rides we visited
here, you can read about them below.

There was some excellent live entertainment in
Adventureland, quite close to the main entrance which itself was
beautiful. The entertainment consisted of a band of four African
musicians playing drums and bells with incredible rythmns and
volume. There was some incredibly embarrassing audience
participation which I really couldn’t do justice to here … you
just had to be there ! Of course it was only embarrassing for the
participants !

The parade at 1600 was very enjoyable. Follow Sehlinger’s
instructions on where to watch this from (close to Small World).

We chose to have our evening meal at the Blue Lagoon
restaurant. This is the restaurant you pass when riding the
Pirates of the Carribean. The food was excellent. The fruit
cocktail we drank (obviously non-alcoholic) really hit the spot.
We couldn’t face dessert – just couldn’t fit it in anywhere ! The
meal was pricey, but with our fabulous Magic Kingdom Club Gold
Card we qualified for a 10% discount.

The Main Street Electric Parade took place at 2015. It
was … well … the Main Street Electrical Parade.

The fireworks at 2255 just about concluded our evening
and we wandered back to our hotel for a beer and a well deserved
rest (by this time we’d been awake about 20 hrs).

Day 2
—–

Sehlinger’s Guide Saved Us Agony !

We got out early this morning in order to take advantage
of Sehlinger’s guide. We decided to follow the Two-Day Touring
Plan A and it did us proud !

We took with us an expensive take-away continental
breakfast from the hotel (two bread rolls, a croissant, some jam,
some butter, and a small carton of orange juiice).

Without going in to too many details, Sehlinger’s guide
got us through half the park and attractions with MINIMAL (i.e.
less than 10-15 minutes) standing in line. We finished the first
half of the touring plan by 1115 !

This was great. We decided just to wander slowly about
the park watching everybody else get irate and take in some of
the details that really make Disney more than just a fun-ride
park. We’ve never had much of an opportunity to do this at a
Disney park before and we really appreciated it this time !

We decided to eat lunch at the Explorer’s Club. In all of
the guides it says this is a table-service restaurant. In
Sehlinger’s guide it mentioned that due to lack of interest there
was a chance that it may be turned in to a fast food place. When
we got there, it was a fast-food place and it was virtually
empty. We ordered our adequate food and sat in a very nice place
by a waterfall. It was nice and relaxing, but the atmosphere was
totally non-existant. I would advise avoiding this place. It’s
only really good point was the fact that it was almost deserted.
Of course, that may have been due to the fact that we ate there
at about 1430 – well past the rush.

Buffalo Bill

We continued wandering about the park, enjoying it
immensely until it closed at 1900. We then made our way towards
Buffalo Bill’s Show. You don’t get allocated seats until you
enter the building just before the show. I’d advise anyone going
to see this to start queing fairly early as the earlier you get
your seats, the closer to the action you are.

The tables aren’t really tables as in a normal
restaurant, but just a bench that can hold about ten people with
a long table in front of you over which you see into the arena.
The tables all overlook the arena and so everyone has a good
view.

We were just about second in the queue, behind a large
family. We got in and were issued with our ‘table number’ and our
cowboy hats.

The ‘table numbers’ are coded by colour letter and
number. The lower the number, the closer you are to the action.
The letter defines the sector in your team area in which you will
sit, and the colour defines the team you will support during the
show. The team colours are representative of American ranches.

After being issued with that hats, we passed through to
the extremely large bar having our photo taken officially on the
way. The bar is truly enormous, but fills up quickly. Order a
beer as soon as you get there. You could order a beer in their
souvenier beer glass which is in the shape of a cowboy boot. I
did this (sucker for unique souveniers). You can also order
cocktails here.

If you want to order wine with your meal, you have to go
to a smaller bar that you pass on the way in before you get to
the main bar.

Pre-show entertainment and cowboy training takes place
before the arena is loaded. The entertainment we had was the band
currently appearing at Billy Bob’s Country and Western Nightclub
(which is in Festival Disney). They played a number of country
and western songs and took us through “How a cowboy cheers”
(lifting your “chapeau” off your head, waving it in the air and
shouting YAAAAHOOOOOOOOOO at the top of your voice) and a host of
other fun-type things. This is good fun and really set us up for
the show.

The loading of the stadium takes place a colour at a
time. The colours are green, red, yellow, and blue. Our colour
(green) was the last to load. This is where our problem started.
The family in front of us had ordered tickets for all of the
adult members but not for the three children under three years
old. This is fine according to the rules, but when they came to
take their place at the table, the children all took up an adult
place each including cutlery etc.. This meant that we had to be
re-seated out of our prime seats ! The head waitress in our area
asked to see that families tickets, but the family claimed to
have “lost” the children’s ones. Yeah sure. Oh well, we took it
calmly, hoped they’d choke on their food and/or get dirt kicked
up in their faces from the horses hooves and took our re-seated
seats right up at the highest point in the arena. As it turned
out, we did have an excellent view and weren’t too far from the
action. We did however sit at a very boring table with people who
either didn’t understand the languages (French, and English) or
just were too boring to join in the fun and games. It was just
the two of us wearing and waving our hats and whooping it up on a
table of about 12. We didn’t care. We had a great time.

I don’t really want to spoil the fun of Buffalo Bill’s
Wild West Show, but just let me say the food was very good, the
beer was as much as you could drink (whenever the staff came
’round to your table with their pitchers) and the entertainment
was funny, exciting, and in short it was one of the best
evening’s out I’ve had in a very long time. Do not miss this. DO
NOT MISS THIS ON ANY ACCOUNT !

I have never seen the Hoop De Doo Review, so I’m not sure
if it bears any resemblance to this show.

Day 3
—–

Paris

After that late evening at Buffalo Bill’s, we decided not
to get up to early. This was the day we decided to go into Paris.

We read through a few guide books and it seemed easy
enough. Just to be sure we went to the Maison Tourisme in Fantasy
Disney. Here we were told which ticket to get (Formula1) and a
map of the metro and train lines.

Travelling in to Paris took about 50 minutes. We decided
to go to the west of Paris first and head East visiting the
Eiffel Tour first, followed by the Louvre, Pont Neuf and Notre-
Dame, the Pompidou Centre, the Bastille, and finally back to
EuroDisney.

Eiffel Tower

Our plans were scuppered by the fact that it took us
about two hours to get into the Eiffel Tower ! Only one ticket
booth was open and only one lift was working. Apparently, they
are modifying the ticketing operation at the moment. I suppose we
could’ve taken the stairs up to the top but that’s not for the
faint-hearted or lazy ! I was glad we opted for the lift once I
saw how many stairs there were to climb ! The view from the top
was amazing and enabled us to get our bearings a bit better.

Mistake in Sehlinger’s guide

There is a mistake in Sehlinger’s guide which you should
know about if you intend to travel to the Eiffel Tower. The guide
says to take the RER A-Line to Porte Maillot. As far as we could
make out from the maps, Porte Maillot doesn’t exist on the RER
A-Line and it would be a damned awkward way to get to the Eiffel
Tower if it did ! Far easier to take the RER A-Line to Ch. de
Gaulle-Etoille, and change there into the metro line 6 (green)
and head south to Bir Hakeim. Exit the station at the end where a
sign mentions the Eiffel Tower, and keeping the river to your
left walk for about 10 minutes until you come across the Eiffel
Tower You can’t exactly miss it !

Because of the time it took to get up and down the tower,
we decided to cut out the Pompidou Centre, and the Bastille and
leave them for another day.

The Louvre

The Louvre was another place we spent a long time in. You
really need a couple of days to see it all. We ended up just
looking at the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and whatever else
took our fancy until our feet could stand it no more. The Louvre
is a very impressive place and the renovation is not yet
complete.

Notre-Dame

A welcome sight after a hard days walking. A very
impressive place. We approached Notre-Dame early evening, but it
was still light enough to see the architectural detail and enjoy
the stained glass windows inside.

Cost of Travel

We purchased the “Formule 1” travel tickets at the
Chessy-Marne le Vallee (EuroDisney) station. These tickets enable
you to travel anywhere within Paris and out to EuroDisney without
paying any extra. If I remember correctly, they cost FF85 each
(Sehlinger’s guide says they cost FF75 each) for adults.

Day 4 – Our last day ..
—————————–

We spent the morning following Sehlinger’s Two-Day Plan A
and again finished early and happy. This was the time to start
checking out all of the places we hadn’t eaten at in a bit more
detail. We also wanted to take a longer look at Main Street and
check out some of those names in the upstairs windows. More
detail on those below.

Walt’s

One restaurant we had been meaning to check out since the
first day (actually since first reading about it) was Walt’s on
Main Street. This is described as having Disney Memorabilia
around the walls, etc.. OK, being serious Disneyphiles, we just
had to take a look around.

We talked to the woman at the front desk and asked her
about reservations. She said that they were not required and you
should turn up when you wanted to eat. We then asked if we could
just have a look around. She said we could and we entered.

The restaurant is L shaped with the entrance being on the
corner. One side of the restaurant runs along main street and the
other along a side-street. There are two floors in the restaurant
(ground and upstairs). The ground-floor rooms are just elegant
rooms surrounded by Disney memorabilia. The upstairs rooms have
separate themes linked to the different lands. Some rooms have
separate tables catering for couples or families. Other rooms
have just a single banqueting table clearly catering for large
parties (conference guests, VIP’s, etc..).

When you enter the restaurant the whole feel of the place
seems to be that of a luxury appartment or hotel (or maybe even
restaurant !) in Paris at the turn of the century.

The entrance lobby is quite interesting, containing hand
carved wooden furniture and nice stained glass. To the left is
what I’d imagine is the Maitre d’s desk which is interesting in
itself. It has one of those spring-loaded message-passing
systems. For the technical persons among you, this is the system
where you plonk the message in a box, yank a handle, and the box
containing the message whangs up through the ceiling to the
upstairs desk and vice-versa. The message-whanging system is very
ornate in heavy scrolled brass.

Incidentally, for Disneyphiles only, the address of the
restaurant his the same address of the workshops in Glendale,
California (1401 Flower Street). Flower Street is a side turning
off Main Street. According to the official guide book, the logo
with the initials W.D. appearing on the gas lamps, some
furniture, and windows was designed for the balcony of Walt’s
appartment in Disneyland.

Ahead of you are the lift and the stairs. The lift is
what really gives the impression of a turn-of-the-century Paris
interior. It is constructed (or appears to be constructed) in
ornate black cast iron scroll work with multi-coloured
stained-glass windows. The lift is fully functional but we didn’t
use it.

The upstairs rooms are themed, as mentioned before, to
coincide with the various lands in the park. The rooms have to be
seen to be believed. I will not describe them fully here as I
wouldn’t be able to do them justice. However, they are as
follows :

– A gothic style room represents Fantasyland.

– An Edwardian style library represents Frontierland and
is supposed to be a library in a western mansion. A
number of indian/cowboy-on-a-horse sculptures can be
seen to enforce this.

– One corner of a large room is draped as though in a
fine Arabian tent and is clearly supposed to represent
Adventureland.

– Our favourite room (and probably the most detailed) was
Captain Nemo’s room. See this. I cannot describe it.
This represents Discoveryland.

You get quite a good view of Main Street from upstairs at
Walt’s.

We tried to check out all of the other restaurants but
didn’t have time. Descriptions of the ones we saw are in Part
Two.

We also had a good long look at Main Street to try to
take in the detail in the upstairs windows, etc. An impossible
task to do completely. There were so many familiar names in the
windows that it would’ve taken precious time and expensive filem
to phtograph them all. Let’s just say that ALL the names were
there with appropriate descriptions of their ‘jobs’. We took some
time to listen to the strange noises that came out of some of
these windows too – particularly the dentists in the Town
Square.

Disneyland Hotel

Finally we left the park. Sad. Before making our way
home, we wandered through the Disneyland Hotel. Now this is how I
expected our hotel to be. Loads of staff to cater for your every
need ! The entrance lobby is elegant, spacious, and well kept.
Walk up the stairs to the Main Street Lounge for a great relaxing
view of Main Street (unfortunately, the area closest to the
windows was closed off). The Inventions Restaurant looks superb,
and the shops seem better stocked. This is where we want to stay
next time. Damned pricey though.

Coach

It was time to head back to the hotel, pick up our
luggage, and catch the coach to the airport. The coach was
reasonably on time (less than 5 minutes late). The journey back
to the airport was uneventful.

Flight Home

The flight home was smooth, but we landed with a heck of
a bump. Back to reality in more ways than one.

Conclusion
———-

EuroDisney has had it’s bad press. It is certainly over
priced by a LONG way ! If you are staying on site and have no
transport then you are basically forced to eat and drink at the
resort. They’ve got you cornered. Having said that, I’d go back
at the drop of a hat. The park is excellent, and we found the
cast helpful and friendly.

We are not fluent French speakers, but language was
certainly not a problem. We found that if you tried to speak in
French to a cast member, they would assume you were French and
rattle off at ten to the dozen in French ! We got wise, and gave
up our attempts at advanced linguistics. Paris, of course, is
exactly the opposite in that respect.

There is a lot of construction still going on and we
counted three new rides scheduled to be opened this summer (more
on that in Part Three). The EuroDisney project is planned until
2017 and probably later. The park will be changing and growing
from year to year.

In my opinion, EuroDisney is a success, and will continue
to be quality entertainment for the forseeable future.

—————————————————————–

Part Two
========

Main Street, USA
Attractions
Main Street Station
Nothing special, but nice detail in the
EuroDisney Railroad logos.
EuroDisneyland Railroad
Very leisurely journey around the park.
Unfortunately crossing a number of
service roads and places where
construction is going on thus diminishing
some Disney magic for the sensitive
people in your party. Some interesting
views of behind-the-scenes Disney and
construction for the Disneyphiles in your
party.
Horse-Drawn Streetcar, and Main Street Vehicles
Leisurely journies up and down Man St..
Discovery Arcade and Liberty Arcade
Back entrance to shops and restaurants in
Main St.. Very pleasant turn of the
century style interiors with gas lamps
and lots of interesting displays of
inventions and curios of both American
and French (but mainly American) origin.
Main Street Motors
Nice old cars which you can apparently
actually buy (if you have your AmEx Gold
Card with you presumably). A number of
auto-oriented Disney/Mickey memorabilia
for sale.
Restaurants
The Ice Cream Co.
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
The Coffee Grinder
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
Market House Deli
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
Walt’s – an American Restaurant
W O W ! ! !
Cable Car Bake Shop
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
Cookie Kitchen
Basic Cookie shop selling incredibly
over-priced cookies (FF9 each – that
makes it over a pound sterling for a
single biscuit !)
Casey’s Corner
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
Victoria’s Home-Style Cooking
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
While standing outside this place, you
should check out the noises apparently
emanating from an upstairs window !
Plaza Gardens Restaurant
Very nicely detailed and clean.
Apparently good food, but we didn’t get a
chance to try it out.
Shops
Plaza West and East Boutiques
Basic Disney Merchandise.
The Storybook Store
Mainly childrens books. Also videos and
stationery items. Don’t forget to look up
when you go into this shop – you’re in
for a treat !
Ribbons and Bows Hat Shop
Hat shop. Also sells Mickey-ears and they
can sew your name into them too.
Town Square Photography/Silhouette Artist
Where to get all your photographic needs.
The silhouette artists were never busy.
Boardwalk Candy Palace
Interesting displays. Loads of stuff to
make the kids (and the adults) sick.
Emporium
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
Harmony Barber Shop
Didn’t get a chance to try this place,
but no sign of any singing when we passed
by.
Disney Clothiers, Ltd.
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.
Harrington’s Fine China and Porcelains
Mainly figurines and usual Disney
merchandise.
Disnyana Collectibles
Some collectibles, but never much more
than you could get in a good Disney
Store. The only original collectibles I
saw were some ED badges each with one of
the lands on and some 1992 commemorative
items (I guess they made too many ?).
Disney & Co./Glass Fantasies
Usual small glass-blown items and
engravings.
Newsstand
Didn’t get a chance to try this place.

Frontierland
Attractions
Rustler Roundup Shootin’ Gallery
Fun shootin’ ! Don’t know if it’s exactly
the same as in other Disney parks. It was
a fun relaxing thing to do when we’d
finished Sehlinger’s tour and were in
“Explore Mode”. All human exclamations
are in English.
Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing
The place to pick up the River Boat
(paddle boat). The commentary is mainly
in French with occasional English
translations. The commentary doesn’t mix
too well with the taped English sections
which I think are probably generic to the
riverboat cruises in all parks.
Phantom Manor
A favourite of mine and it didn’t let me
down. The cast really get into the
pre-show part early on in the day when
not busy (thankyou Sehlinger) and they do
a really good job of spooking the kids.
Later on in the day they are just
concerned with getting people through as
quickly as possible.
Hang back when you exit the ‘lift’ to
check the detail in the changing
pictures, etc..
All comentary is in French. All songs are
in English. Leslie Neilson still lives as
one of the Grim Grinning Ghosts.
At the end of the ride when you pass by
the mirrors, a ghoul peers over the top
of your buggy with its arms around the
buggy. I think that may be different to
the others. My memory of the American
parks is vague, but I seem to recall you
seeing yourself sitting next to another
ghoul, or see yourselves ‘replaced’ by
two ghouls.
Apart from that – it’s very very similar
to the rides in the American parks. The
surrounding area has grave stones with
epitaphs in both French and English.
Interestingly enough, when the ride
stops, the message “… spooks have got
into the machinery…” is played in both
languages. Safety I suppose.
Grand Canyon Diorama
Yawn.
You pass through this on the Euro-
Disneyland Railroad.
Big Thunder Mountain
Yeeeehar ! This is probably the best ride
in the land (next to Star Tours) in my
opinion. It’s mainly similar to the other
BTM’s, but has a lot more black-out areas
than I remember in the others.
River Rogue Keelboats
Slow ride around the ‘river’. The guides on
this ride are multilingual and will speak
in French, English, German and probably
others depending on the majority in the
boat.
Indian Canoes
A fairly interesting ride. You get to see
ducks and swans and all sorts. Not to
mention the Indian camps. Best of all,
you get to acually do the work (with your
team). The cast seemed to love this ride
and spent a lot of time just horsing
around and entertaining us. Commentary is
as in the River Rogue Keelboats.
Cottonwood Creek Ranch/Critter Corral
Here’s a good place to relax out of the
way of the crowds. They have a number of
basic farm animals here which you can
peruse at your leisure. Right next to the
Frontierland Depot where we (and
Sehlinger) reccomend you catch the train
from rather than Main St. Station.
Frontierland Depot
THE place in the park to catch the train
from. Put it this way. We caught the
train here and were second in a queue of
about ten people. Compare this to when we
passed the Main St. Station. Well the
queue there was trailing down into the
town square. We just couldn’t believe how
many people were willing to wast the best
part of an hour waiting for the train.
Heck ! I don’t even do that on my way
home from work !
Restaurants
The Lucky Nugget Saloon
Great entertainment in the style of an
old western saloon. There is some
audience participation and the food is
substantial. The show is bi-lingual. Some
parts are in other languages too.
The Last Chance Cafe
Didn’t get a chance to try this one.
Silver Spur Steakhouse
Didn’t get a chance to try this one.
Fuente del Oro Restaurante
Didn’t get a chance to try this one.
Cowboy Cookout Barbeque
There is live entertainment here in the
form of a Country and Western band who
play a number of times a day. It’s a
fast-food restaurant and you can sit
inside the cavernous barn or outside. The
band played outside while we were there.
Shops
Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building
Tobias Norton & Sons Frontier Trading
Bonanza Outfitters
Eureka Mining Supplieas and Assay Office
Most of the above sell cowboy style
items. None were really unique.
Pueblo Trading Post
Sells mainly Whinnie the Pooh items.
Quite a few things I hadn’t seen in our
local Disney Stores.
Woodcarvers Workshop
They sell your name in wood and other
small carvings.

Adventureland
Attractions
Adventure Isle
You really can get lost in the maze of
twisty little passages – all alike !
There’s also a rope bridge, a barrel
bridge, and not a lot else. Fun though.
Set the kids loose here and go and relax.
La Cabane des Robinson
This is basically the same as in the
other parks. Be aware, however, of the
excellent views of the park and the
castle you can get from various places in
the tree. Signs are either in French, or
French and English.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Cool. We rode this countless times (about
8 actually). Rarely having to queue more
than 30 mins.. Usually queuing less than
15 mins.. An excellent ride – better than
at any of the other parks. The
animatronics are smooth and very life-
like. There is a significant difference
between this ride and the ride in other
parks too. It seems longer and more
detailed.
The walk down to the boats (normally the
queue !) is interesting and switches and
turns enough to confuse the heck out of
you.
All the songs are in English (American)
and all the dialogue between the pirates
is in French. All of the signs are also
in French.
Just before you disembark, the skull and
cross-bones above your head speaks in
several different languages telling you
to “stay in your boats me hearties” etc.
Restaurants
Explorers Club
One of the guides we read (not Sehlinger)
said that this was a really romantic and
quiet table service restaurant. Sehlinger
said that this was the case at the time
of publishing, but that it may shortly be
turned into a fast-food place. When we
got there it was a fast food place.
Fairly empty. Small portions. Pricey. A
bit of a disappointment really if it
weren’t for the pleasant water-fall
setting.
Blue Lagoon Restaurant
A really nice place to eat in a quiet
romantic setting. Reminded me of the
Moroccan restaurant in Epcot. The Pirates
of the Caribbean boats float by as you
enjoy your meal under a deep blue ‘sky’
and in tropical surroundings. Service was
excellent, food was good.
Aux Epices Enchantees Restaurant
We didn’t try this one, but it looked
good – mud style huts and plenty of
out-door dining areas. Check out the
interior of the restaurant.
Cafe de la Brousse
Didn’t have time to see this one.
Captain Hooks Galley
Didn’t have time to see this one.
Shops
Adventureland Bazar
A nice place to wander around. Pricey
gifts. Fascinating interiors. Lots to
see.
La Giraffe Curieuse
A pretty dull shop with a giraffe’s head
poking through the interior.
La Reine des Serpents
Les Tresors de Scheherazade
North African style gifts.
L’Echoppe d’Aladdin
Aladdin merchandise. Strange since
Aladdin hasn’t been released in Europe at
the time of writing.
Le Chant des Tam-Tams
Average shop.
Trader Sam’s Jungle Boutique
Average shop.
Le Coffre du Capitaine
Sells loads of pirate gear.

Fantasyland
Attractions
Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant
Excellent castle. We weren’t sure whether
some of those tiles on the roof
constituted Hidden Mickeys. There is a
story inside which is well worth seeing
if only for the tapestries and stained
glass windows.
La Taniere du Dragon
No other Disney park has this. It’s worth
seeing if only for the reactions of the
kids watching it. This is basically the
Dragin’s lair. The dragon sleeps
peacefully next to his pool with the
occasional snort of smoke. Then his tail
twitches, more smoke and he begins to
awake… then you realise his chain is
broken ! Loved it.
Le Theatre du Chateau
Small shows are performed here. We saw
Mikey’s Magic Book. Basically the Snow
White story. The Magic book is enormous
and as each stage of the story unfolds,
so do the pages of the book with
pop-up scenery.
Blanche-Neighe et leas sept Nains
Snow white’s ride. Very fast. Too fast.
Over in a jiffy. Shame.
Les Voyages de Pinocchio
Pinnocchio’s ride. Very fast. Too fast.
Over in a jiffy. Shame.
Le Carrousel de Lancelot
An enormous carousel. We didn’t try this
one.
Excalibur
Sword in the stone.
It’s a Small World
Small World. Seen it too many times.
After exiting the ride, try to avoid the
extra show afterwards which is something
to do with French television or
telecomm’s. Tedious.
Fantasyland Station
A fairly normal station. Nothing
outstanding. It’s above the Fantasy
Festival Stage.
Fantasy Festival Stage
Song and dance shows performed here.
Songs seem to be mainly in French, the
rest are in English. We saw an excellent
show here and it’s a good place to meet
Mickey and the whoever else is in the
show (Donald, Cowboy-Goofy, Donald, Pluto
were some we saw) before the show because
the crowds seemed to be generally light.
Alice’s Curious Labyrinth
A hedge maze. The hedge is filled with
tiny blue lights. The maze has become
fairly badly damaged over time. Some of
the surprises did not work (The Queen of
Hearts did not spring out and shout “Off
with her head” too well) and much of the
mechanics behind these surprises is
totally visible due to the hedge wearing
thin. An attraction for the younger ones
really. This is also the place where the
“jumping water fountains” are – where the
water appears to jump from place to
place. Good to watch and relax.
Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups
This was a first for me. I enjoyed it but
wouldn’t fight to go on it again. This
ride is covered by a large circus-tent
style roof unlike in the other parks.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Didn’t get time to try this one. Looks
pretty much the same as the Dumbo rides
in other parks.
Peter Pan’s Flight
Same as usual. I suspect the galleons in
which you ride may have been different,
but memory fails me as to exactly where.
Restaurants
Au Chalet de la Marionnette Restaurant
Pinocchio’s restaurant. Pleasant
interior. Note the Figaro character
leaning agains the “Exit” sign inside at
one of the entrance’s/exit’s. This is
fairly significant to serious
Disneyphile’s !
Auberge de Cendrillon
A table service restaurant. We didn’t try
this one, but had a good look around.
Spacious and apparently very high
quality. In the courtyard you can see the
wishing well and Cinderella’s coach. The
courtyard here is an excellent quiet
place to sit and relax a while (so long
as nobody is eating there and the
restaurant is not busy). You can look
over the wishing well and onto the rear
of Le Theatre du Chateau and watch Mickey
in his Fantasia outfit and other
characters come out of the dressing room
just before apopearing on stage there.
Give him a shout and he’ll wave at you
(well, he did for us !).
Pizzeria Bella Notte
Marvellously detailed interior containing
one Hidden Mickey. Order a Mickey Mouse
Pizza just for the hell of it. Don’t
forget to look at the tray liner – it’s
quite funny. Have a look at the outside
of the restaurant – specifically the mina
entrance. Is it level ?
Fantasia Gelati
Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. While the ice creams
are very nice, they are over priced at
FF20 (approx 2.50 pouinds sterling).
March Hare Refreshments
Sells drinks and Un-birthday cakes which
are slightly larger than cup-cakes and
look as sweet and sickly as heck !
The Old Mill
This was undergoing some sort of refit
when we were there. Basically a windmill
with ‘buckets’ at the rear in which you
can ride. Also sells french bread
sandwiches (“Sub’s” to the Americans I
believe).
Toad Hall Restaurant
Another excellent interior matched with a
superb exterior. Check out the wall paper
among other things inside. Outside,
notice the detail in the chimneys and the
weather vanes. Sells fish and chips.
Shops
Merlin l’Enchanteur
A fascinating shop to browse through. You
can get through to the Dragon’s lair from
here.
La Boutique du Chateau
The Christmas shop.
La Confiserie des Trois Fees
The sweet shop. Notice the three good
fairies behind the counter. How do they
do that ?!
La Chaumiere des Sept Nains
Sells mainly Seven Dwarf merchandise, and
some jewelery.
La Bottega di Gepetto
Lot’s of nice cuckoo clocks, puppets and
hand carved toys around the shelves of
the shop but you can’t buy these, and
there’s not much else to buy there
really.
Le Brave Petit Tailleur
Didn’t get time to see this one.
Sir Mickey’s
Nice giant vegetable patch outside this
shop.
La Menagerie du Royaume
Furry animals and medieval style
characters.
La Petit maison des Jouets
Information and currency exchange.
Discoveryland
Attractions
Le Visionarium
Circle-Vision 360. A new film made
especially for EuroDisneyland. The
preshow is conducted in French, but there
are running subtitles in other languages.
The film is hosted by an android and in
the 360 theatre you can listen to the
show through headphones in four different
languages (English, Italian, German, and
something else). The film is quite
entertaining.
Videopolis
Large indoor stage showing Beuty and the
Beast in French. The show is filmed live
and replayed on large multi-screen video
monitors either side of the stage with
some video effects to enhance the
production.
The production is totally in French, but
we recognised the songs. There is a fast-
food restaurant in here (Cafe Hyperion)
as well. You can order your food and take
it with you to your table to watch the
show.
At the main entrance to the Videopolis
you can see the giant Hyperion air-ship.
Nice detail.
Orbitron
A carousel-type ride where you can “pilot
your own rocket ship” (i.e. make it go up
and down). We didn;t try this one.
Autopia
Yawn. We didn’t try this one.
Star Tours
Yeehar ! If you’ve seen Star Tours before
then you’re not in for much of a
surprise … except for C3P0 speaking in
French ! R2D2 was mulitlingual. The
entrance to the ride was a little shabby.
It felt like you were just walking in to
a warehouse. Reality did not get
suspended for quite a while into the
pre-show. The other androids alternate
between French and English. The trevelog
narration also alternates between French
and English.
The video you are shown just before you
enter your Starspeeder 3000 is all in
French. You can see where they’ve spliced
in the French announcer – quite awkward
really.
The whole of the StarTours ride is
conducted in French.
I still didn’t get to see the giant
microscope.
CineMagique
Captaine EO. Avoid (in my opinion).
Restaurants
Cafe des Visionnaires
Didn’t get to see this one, though
apparently you can get excellent views of
the parades an Fantasyland.
Cafe Hyperion
A fast food restarant inside the
Videopolis.
Shops
Constellations
Interesting interior. Sells Star Wars
figures etc..
Star Traders
Has a big ‘radar’ dish on the top. The
roof of this was still being worked on
while we were there. We got a good view
of the construction as we passed by in
the EuroDisneyland Train.

—————————————————————–

Part Three
==========

Rides Under Contruction
———————–

We saw at least three rides being constructed, two of
which were going to be opened in the summer of 1993 :

Temple du Terror
– Looks like a really hot roller-coaster ride.
Never seen anything like this at the other
Disney parks before. Looks like it’s based
around a ruined Aztec Temple. Perhaps based
around Jungle Book ?

Bonanza
– Just saw the sign saying Bonanza opening 1993.
No ideas at all what this one’s about, but saw
plenty of evidence of heavy earth-moving, and
construction from the EuroDisneyland Train.

Unnamed
– Something in discovery land. Couldn’t really
see much of this one. No notices anywhere.

Miscellaneous
————-

I’ll try to scan in the following items and deposit them
in alt.binaries.pictures.misc if I have time. Please don’t email
me for these scans unless you really really REALLY can’t get them
from there or anywhere else – I found it difficult enough to find
time to type in this report ! Hopefully, some kind soul may
transfer them to an archive site eventually.

– Passport Card
– Resort Map
– Figaro Picture with Exit Sign.
– Picture of the Castle

Guide Books
———–

In England there are (at the time of this report) at
least six books claiming to give you the low-down on the resort.
I found that only two were really required, and if I had to make
the choice between those it would be Sehlinger’s Unofficial
Guide. Sehlinger’s guide proved worth it’s weight in gold if only
for the touring plans and other travel advice.

EuroDisney Resort – Paris – The Guide
Harmsworth Magazines
ISBN 0-85144-671-X

The Official Guide. Useful but may be slightly
out of date. Plenty of useful phone numbers and travel
details. I’d reccomend this book for information
purposes.

The Unofficial Guide to Eurodisneyland
Bob Sehlinger
Prentice Hall Travel
ISBN 0-671-84759-7

The best guide by far. Save your legs and buy
this. I don’t have shares in the company and I’m not
profiting from this in any way but I wish I did !

Questions Answered … Probably !
———————————

Brooks Haderlie (brh54@cas.org) asked :

– What language(s) is used on the signs, in the reading
material, etc.?
Mainly French. “Sortie” instead of “Exit” for
example. There are surprisingly few signs that
need translation. Menu’s outside restaurants are
in French and English. All other reading material
(guide booklets, etc..) is available in many
many languages.
– Do they have videos in the gift shops in German,
French, Spanish, Italian, etc.?
Yes.

Lori McDowell (mcdowell@hope.cit.hope.edu) asked :

– I’d really like to hear a detailled account of what
Phantom Manor (Haunted Mansion) is like at EuroDisney.
I’ve described the main differences above.

Someone asked :

– How does one get there from Paris?
The EuroDisney guide books (see above) describe
this far better than I could. It is very very
easy.

Jesse asked :

– What castle is there ?
Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant. Sleeping
Beuty’s Castle. It’s wonderful.

Robert R. Kessler (kessler@cons.cs.utah.edu) asked :

– We’ll be staying at the Sequoia Lodge … general
information required.
Bob, I hope the above report has been useful to
you. We actually stayed at the Sequoia Lodge (not
the Hotel New York as I mentioned in a post to
internet asking if anyone had questions about
ED). You WILL enjoy your stay ! That’s an order !

—————————————————————–

Art In The Age Of Digital Dissemination Class Essays By Brad Brace (1993)

ART IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL DISSEMINATION
CLASS ESSAYS from a Fine Arts Course
taught at the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada
by Brad Brace, 1993

Contact: lgammon@nero.uvic.ca
or, Brad Brace, 503-230-1197
—————————————————————–
———–

This Fine Arts course was the first “art & technology” course
taught at the University of Victoria. The students involved were
from a variety of disciplines (although, primarily visual arts
students) and had for the most part, little or no previous
exposure to computers. The Computer Lab at the University has, an
array of imperious nerds intent on empire-building, 10 networked
Sun workstations, a few slow Macintoshes, two flatbed scanners,
one PC and some basic pagelayout and photo manipulation software
primarily for the Macintoshes, basic sound/midi equipment, and a
grumpy creative-writing professor who regularly shuffles down the
hall to the faculty-lounge to wash out his teapot. This was
enough equipment to provide glimpses of creative possibilities; I
suspect that enough enthusiasm has been generated to warrant the
purchase of additional equipment and software, and to have this
course offered on a regular basis. A printing press would also be
a nice adjunct to the existing traditional visual art
departments. I have also offered to design and build a virtual
text-based reality (MOO) for the Fine Arts Department.

Although characterized as a “studio course” I felt it more
appropriate to discuss the larger issues involving technology and
contemporary culture and minimize the importance of a through
“knowledge” of specific software. This was accomplished with
handouts and discussions of pertinent articles, screenings of
appropriate films, and contemporary music. Particular attention
was given to networks and interconnectivity in general and of
course, the Internet. Although this was an introductory course,
the exposure to the various resources available through the
Internet encouraged a phenomenally rapid grasp of both digital
dissemination and the (Unix) operating system.

———–

Course Description: “A flirtatious romp lightly over the
glittering periphery of digital technology. Has art and the avant
garde disappeared from view, gradually leaking into an
all-pervasive generalized aestheticism? Could it be that
something that might have once been called art is alive and
flourishing between connected networkers… unbeknownst to
implausible and incestuous art institutions? Are there really
still artists around who think they’re making art? Are computer
systems virtually enacting the penultimate hierarchy, enforcing
oppressive political privilege; or are they the new democratic,
means of representation? Has the critical art press stood still
under a deluge of new cultural publications? Have we *all* become
artist? These questions and more…!

“An introduction and collaborative overview and analysis of
fairly recent, mid-range, cultural tools and their implied
functions.

“Students are encouraged to attend all classes and optimize
their uses of the equipment while exploring various venues
throughout the reserved studio time following the class each
morning. Other facilities on and off-campus will also be
utilized.

“A reminder that an informal essay of three to four thousand
words is required for this course. It should be “brimming with
original insight and speculation on contemporary culture and
technology.” It may be informal in that it employs creative
writing techniques (contemporary structures, verse, quotations,
dialogue, illustrations, etc.). It may make reference to
contemporary media, including the materials/sources shown in
class.

“Also required, is an electronic-portfolio of visual and
audio art projects. This should demonstrate some degree of
familiarity of software and resources covered in the lab. It need
not be an extensive or necessarily cohesive body of work. It
should be strongly suggestive of a developing approach to
technological media.”

—————————————————————-

ESSAYS:

The Dematerialization of Art, Life, and Real Estate.

“The highest problem of any art is to cause by appearance the
illusion of a higher reality.” – Goethe Although Goethe’s exact
meaning is open to interpretation the computer appears to be a
tool ready to meet the spirit of his objectives. At least in the
minds of many electronic artists. The computer, particularly
draws the attention of artists today because it epitomizes
current technological development and offers the greatest
potential for exploring new creative places. If we somehow feel
limited by our imagination, the demands of the marketplace, or
current art theory, the computer is one element that somehow
suggests unlimited potential. For those who consider themselves
to be Renaissance men and women the computer is a godsend.
In addition to being a production tool the computer is a window
on and an interface to the rest of the electronically connected
world. The computer as production tool switches modes and
becomes a link to countless other artists and resource people
throughout the world. It only takes a little thought to consider
the possibilities of combining these activities.

Analyzing the computer as a creative tool is similar to
considering fire as a system to cook one’s dinner. It can
certainly do that but it has some other dimensions and
possibilities. Understanding the realm of the computer and its
companion data highways is pertinent to its effective use. What
context does art occupy when it uses electronic space? What new
creative possibilities does it present, what are its
limitations.. audience.. temporal qualities.. style..
control… access.. money.. appropriation.. credibility..? Is
there a new underlying language used to create and read
art-cyberart. Can traditional art fit into the cyberworld? Can
Venus de Milo be digitized and stored on to a hard drive and
still be a credible work of art?

The computer as creative tool dematerializes the process of
production. A painter might personally mix gallons of paint,
spend hours making canvases, wait for paint to dry, spill paint
on his clothes or make a small rip in his canvas. None of this
is a factor or even a possibility when the image maker uses Adobe
Illustrator. Is any of this an influencing factor in creating
culturally significant images. Can these qualities be duplicated
and available in another set of pull-down menus?
The materiality of art has always been a significant dimension,
not only of its final form but in influencing the creative
process. Subtleties expressed by Russian sable and bamboo from
the Mediterranean will present a challenge to future programmers.
Can computers replicate the interaction between traditional
tools, natural materials, and chance occurrence? The future of
media such as metal-plate etching and lithography may be
perpetuated because of their distinctiveness or they may simply
become an archaic mode to be mimicked by a graphics program.
However, computers can give us some interesting interpretations
of materials. Swiftly moving granite-bodied humanoids,
leopard-skinned fish, and chromed-metal mountains may constitute
kitsch imagery but they prove that the computer does genuinely
extend the dynamic range of expression.

The lack of materiality in creating art is perhaps secondary to
the non-existence of the completed art work. Although the
finished piece may reside in digital form as a description in
computer code it can only take physical form by another process
of creation, usually mechanical. This re-creation requires an
interpretation of the original and removes the artist from the
final completed piece. Psychologically it places him/her in the
category of being a symbolic language worker and analogous to
being a data entry clerk. This method of production mirrors other
mass produced consumer products and merchandise from the music
and entertainment industry. Questions of authenticity,
provenance, place and uniqueness all affect the value and purpose
of computer generated art work. So.. can computers be used to
create high art?

Conversely, artists can now extend their domain greatly. Most
significantly, they can jump the fences of the traditional
cultural gate keepers. Since most establishment galleries have a
focused audience, limited budgets, and aesthetic agendas the
opportunities for new or alternative works are limited. Informal
electronic galleries can post computer files with minimal cost
and provide many more times the exposure of individual galleries.
Although some electronic galleries will probably develop their
own gate-keeping qualities the diversity and the large number of
computer installations will probably always provide unique
opportunities for new and non-mainstream art to find an audience.

Artists that create work for the realm of computers and networks
will find interesting discussions regarding copyright, access,
file standards, reproduction rights, appropriation, modification,
and methods of electronic payment.

New display systems will continue to be developed for outputting
computer files. Since more and more programs are incorporating
3D functions the interest in VVDs (volume visualization displays)
is growing. Since the promises of holography and Star Trek to
bring live, full motion, 3D images into our living room has not
materialized, computer controlled optical-mechanical systems are
being developed. “Holographic displays show some long-term
potential but they can not be generated in real time. Their
field of view is fundamentally limited, and these displays
typically change their characteristics with the angle from which
they are viewed.” As an alternative, Texas Instruments has
produced its Omniview device that allows the display of volumes
in volumetric space.
Until recently, 3D images have only been displayed on two
dimensional CRTs and have required the inclusion of standard
perspective cues such as shadows, texture gradients, and relative
size comparisons. Stereo 3D systems have relied on the use of
special glasses to simulate surface depth but could not allow
movement around a three dimensional object. VVD displays use a
rotating disk that fills the display volume, creating a surface
point at any location in a half-round ball space. Then by using
laser beams directed by X, Y, & Z computer controllers, images
can be projected to any point in the volume. The concept is
similar to the pictures drawn at laser shows but here 3 beams are
used.
A 36 inch diameter version has been built but a 10 foot diameter
model is feasible. A viewer can circle the display sphere and
see a three dimensional object from all directions while it moves
in real time. The display’s resolution can be changed to any
desired value by redirecting the scanning system to overlap
points. VVD resolution is expressed in voxels (vo lume pi
xels). Early prototypes had 12,000 voxels, while current models
display 70,000. Three lasers of different colours can provide a
three-colour image or they can be mixed to provide a full colour
palette. Presently, VVD systems require powerful computers to
calculate 3D display data. Originally developed for the U.S.
Department of Defense this technology’s future will probably be
more applicable to non military purposes.
Proposed applications include air traffic control visualization.
Air traffic controllers could look into the sphere and see the
exact location, continuous movement and distance relationship
between circling airplanes. Pointing to a plane with a laser
beam would bring up its information on the computer screen.
Other uses include medical diagnosis, weather pattern analysis,
and remote control of space station docking. Visual artists
could use this system to pre visualize sculpture projects, for
choreography and to output 3D animation sequences.

The use of more conventional output devices will increase to
materialize images and objects designed in the abstract world of
the computer. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) equipment
designed for the metal production industry and XY plotters can be
used to cut out images in wood, vinyl, metal, or fabric. Three
dimensional milling machines can materialize objects for
sculpture and 3D animation.
Existing 3D works and artifacts can be digitized, stored, and
recreated in many different locations. Unlimited serial editions
of 3D work could become more popular.
The production of two dimensional works, including print
publishing have created a need for the service bureau that
specializes in outputting files for the artist and publisher.
Future service bureaus will expand their systems to cover video,
3D media, and large-scale 2D imaging. Since specialized
equipment is required to materialize creative ideas, the artist
will more often be forced to conceive and work on his ideas in
the realm of the abstract. In many cases the artist will only
see the final completion of his work after sending the files to
the “Service Bureau”.

The total extent of cyberspace integration is still to be
determined. Presently thousands of computers are connected
through various networks such as the Internet, private commercial
systems, open commercial systems, and hacker systems like
FidoNet. Although most are platform independent there are still
fairly narrow constraints on the type of data exchanged. There
are parallel communications systems like land telemetry networks
that monitor geological conditions, traffic movement, electrical
power transmission, radar information and satellites that handle
telecommunications and video signals.
As more and more communications move away from the analog to the
digital world as high definition television is soon expected to
do the more integration of signals will occur. It is interesting
to consider that a computer could order extra oxygen supplies
from Missouri when its sensors determine a high level of air
pollution in Los Angeles. Or that stock market futures price of
grain would change after a computer analyzed infrared images of
world crops.
Artists might consider interactive works that are affected by
natural forces, commercial activity, or combinations of
conditions sensed by cyberlinks.

The networks will become a great source of ideas, feedback, and
will present opportunities for collaboration. Art created for a
world culture will need more than an North American perspective.
A description of a Russian created program El-Fish states that
“Russian programmers couldn’t write successful accounting
programs because they don’t know about western business
culture…but their culture developed sensibilities that combined
beauty and non-utility”. Artistic teams from different parts of
the world can co-operate to create the best cultural products for
a world audience.

As the digital bit becomes the standard building block for all
information we will have greater interchangablity and
interconnectivity. Nicholas Negroponte states that “all
information providers will be in a common business – the bit
radiation business – not radio, TV, magazines or newspapers”.
Advantages include being able to quickly construct many specific
versions of a production and the non-material storage of
products. Large numbers of books no longer have to auditioned
because of the advent of print-on-demand printing systems. Many
constructed realities will possibly only exist in digital form.

Unfortunately we may also develop creative techniques in one
digital medium and simply apply them to others, maybe
inappropriately. A music sequencer program allows you to
Quantize while a photo manipulation program allows you to
Equalize. They both use a common root technique of normalizing
but specific digital manipulation concepts might not have
universal application. However, is there expanded creativity in
doing musical things to pictures and visa versa?

The enthusiasm for the digital domain does have some detractors.
Analog constructions do have specific qualities that are
aesthetically pleasing. They might not be able to be justified
technically but certain nuances inherent in analog
interpretations are artistically valid. Chemical imaging systems
still create movies that are more pleasing to the eye. Tube
amplifiers create a unique sound that can’t really be duplicated
by digital sound. As in other transitions we will loose some
important characteristics and abilities when we adopt new
technologies.

The cyberworld and computer created information obviously have
their own language. Marshal McLuhan was convinced that the
medium is really the message. Although content is significant
when evaluating a short term experience, the inherent qualities
of a medium are really what constitutes the overall message. TV
really communicates passivity and mass conformity. The message
of cyberspace is still being considered. The technical language
of the cyberspace system is still in a tyrannical realm of linear
text. Totally unforgiving of errors in letters & case it exerts
a blind totalitarian control over the mechanics or structure of
the system. However, the highly defined structure of the system
opens an anarchic realm of interrelationships and interactions of
possibilities.
Perhaps the key distinguishing characteristic of the cyberworld
is interactively. Users of the Internet are able to make more
conscious choices about the information they receive, they can
gather data into their own local electronic spheres, and they can
interact with other users & information providers. We can assume
that one message from cyberspace is activity rather than
passivity. Coach potato mode will not work with a cyberspace
screen.

Art has generally catered to the passive viewer. Although modern
art has incorporated participatory elements and some interactive
schemes most of the ideas are expressed in a one-way
communications mode. Art galleries create interaction or choice
by having patrons physically move from one location or art work
to another. In most cases the cyberart will be presented to the
viewer at his/her location. Instead of a nail on a wall, the
computer will be a much more sophisticated display system. The
digital nature of art will allow the viewer, if he so desires, to
alter the artist s work, to appropriate it or to simply reject it
by destroying the electronic file.

The visual style of cyberart often follows the myriad of choices
the system provides. A complex system creates complex imagery.
Interactive CD s offer menu screens with dozens of preview
images. Text is supported by images. Images are augmented with
text. Sound is added to business communications and moving image
segments like QuickTime files are attached to technical reports.
Ideas are expressed through layering several modes of expression.
Pedagogical theory has always supported multi-modal
communications and now we have the technology to accomplish it.
In addition to painting, photography or sculpture, media such as
MacroMind Director, Hypercard, electronic games, CD-I, 3D0 and
virtual reality systems may be relevant choices for artists. The
future expression of ideas will require a layered, multi-modal
strategy that elaborates and gives the user choices and the
opportunity to participate. Simple two-dimensional images may
have difficulty finding a place in cyberspace.

The plastic arts have referred to traditional sources for their
theory and inspiration. Modernism embraced Marxism while Post
Modernism welcomes Neitzche back. The cyberpunks have created
their own set of philosophers, all of which are found in the
Science Fiction section of the library. Asimov, Pohl, Arthur C.
Clark and Robert Heinlein are some. “If Marvin Minsky had his
way, there would always be a visiting science fiction writer in
residence at the Media Lab.” Will the artist who chooses to work
in the Cybersphere have to pay closer attention to science
fiction to better understand its roots? Can Marx and Azimov
co-exist?

How involved should artists become in the technology of the
cyberspace? In the past many artists have been content to have a
technician organize the technical processes of art production.
Although the artist may not have had the technical skill to
complete the task he usually understood the process as it related
to his artistic needs. However, to participate in the cyberspace
community it may demand a greater level of technical commitment.
Alan Kay pointed out that the computer is not a medium but rather
a meta-medium. In other words, with a computer you can create
media.
Artists have previously been in the habit of simply adopting the
materials and tools created by engineers and the industrial
production system. MIT’s MediaMoo is a good example of a
cyberspace reality that is being created through technical
knowledge, interest from a wide range of “characters”, social
interaction, and some artistry. Future virtual realities will
require equal amounts artistic and technical input. It will be
most effective if artists can express their artistry through a
strong understanding of technology. In fact, artists will be
excluded from many potential interesting environments if they do
not develop the technical skills to communicate in the new
electronic world.

Jaron Lanier says that we can use “post-symbolic” communication
to create shared realities. A virtual reality system will
create a beach when we say: “Let’s go for a swim”. Instead of
using symbols to describe the beach, we create an electronic
version of a real beach.
Symbolism, which is the key to semiotic interpretations of our
culture may find new roles in visual communication. Whenever we
use a system that constructs new realities, then the established
cultural symbols or icons, which are short cuts to perception,
may become pass or boring. Any reference to past cultural
symbols would immediately signify fantasy. Artists will have to
look past much of our visual and semiotic heritage to construct
credible virtual worlds.

Computers, networks, and the machines that they exchange
information with are multiplying at an incredible rate. They are
constructing a new set of possibilities and destroying others.
The traditional artist who is interested in entering the
cyberworld will have to make many changes. The creative
environment is abstract and dematerialized. Your ideas will be
neatly reconstructed into uniform bits ready to be radiated
throughout the system.
Although you will have many opportunities to distribute your work
around the world it will not receive the hallowed treatment
reserved for gallery exhibitions. It will compete freely with
countless images, interactive programs, video, digitized audio,
games, and people.

You will start to read science fiction. You will try to find the
best service bureau to make hard copies your photos, graphics,
and sculpture projects. You will find creative partners in
Ethiopia.

You will take up computer programming so that you can create new
real estate in a Florida MOO. You will drop sculpting and take
up MacroMind Director. You will forget about cultural symbols
and icons. You will save hard for a VVD display system. You
will not need expensive real estate because you can watch your
virtual reality beach.

—————————————————————-

Chapter One – Media and Advertising

What is the role of technology in the media? The media has
traditionally been a way of conveying events ( political,
entertainment, human interest ) to the public at large. The
media is in the information business and relies heavily on
technology to transmit information from one place to another.
Today, we tend to think of technology with a sort of high – tech
this is so modern day attitude. That technology is the wave of
the future is evident but it is important to recognize that
technology is also a part of our past, and understand the
relationships between past technology with that of today.
Technology was the wave of the future thousands of years ago,
technology is like another word for progress, synonymous with
advancement or moving forward in time, technology is the newest
and the latest and is a habitual quest of mankind to increase
his/her capabilities in his/her environment. Domestication of
crops was technology, what about fire – the greatest invention of
all? Technology has always been a driving force in the history of
the human race and with technology a desire for communication is
also deeply rooted in our collective heritage. People have made
illustrations and created writing systems to communicate and
document their histories. Language was also created for smoother
communication and has become increasingly complex. As the world
has increased so has it s level of communication. The media as we
know it largely developed in the wake of modern technology.
Before radio, telegraphs, planes and trains, the world relayed
events to other parts of the world through human travellers and
by letter which would have gone by carriage or boat. With the
radio, events of significance (for whatever reason) could be
broadcast worldwide within a few short hours. With the invention
of planes came aerial warfare and the real possibility that a
country thousands of miles away had the practical means of
invasion and conquest of your own homeland. Enter: the media.
People then and now relied on the media, the radio, the telegraph
and later their television to receive information they now
considered critical to their existence. Out of newspaper
advertising developed radio and later T.V. commercials – the
point at which media and advertising became inexplicably and
forever linked in popular culture. So where does that leave the
media in the modern world? Should the media have to maintain a
moral responsibility to the public? What are the attitudes of the
public to the media? How many people are unaware of the biases
and often self – serving motives that are prevalent in media or
newsgroups today? The resources that the media have been able to
utilize in the twentieth century have changed the face of
advertising indefinitely, and unfortunately deception is
unavoidable.At this point in time many people are still unaware
of the resources available to the media and because of this
widespread ignorance are oblivious to the manipulation of their
minds and psyche by powerful mega-bucks-money-hungry
manufacturers and corporations. An excellent example of this
mindless manipulation in advertising where technology has been
utilized would be photo – manipulation or perhaps plastic
surgery. Combined, the use of these two areas in conjunction with
advertising are one the leading contributors in the continuing
lack of self – esteem of women in North America. The widespread
image of the idealized woman is often created through technology
: elaborate and painstaking make -up, photo manipulation through
lighting, airbrushing, touch ups, varied films and high contrast
filters; these can all be used to create a false image – one
which is unfortunately high sought after and is in most cases
unattainable. The cause of this disastrous situation cannot be
blamed on the high – tech features that are available in present
day, aerial warfare cannot be blamed on the invention of planes.
People so often place the blame of an unfortunate situation on
technology because it is crucial to the existence of the
situation – the situation is dependant on the invention; it is
human nature that develops and determines the course an
advancement in technology will take.

Chapter Two – Interconnectedness

As technology increases, communication also increases and with
these increases follows a sense of interconnection. Connectedness
should be the opposite of isolation, but they are, in some ways
very closely related. I will show this relationship as it exists
in a narrative; a day in the life of a fictitious character – Mr.
TypaLot.

A Day in the Life of Mr. Typalot
by b. bigelow

Mr. Typalot lives in the suburbs of Vancouver, in Delta, B.C.
He lives in nice home in a prestigious area with his wife and 2.2
children. He works in the city, and has to commute each today. He
leaves his house at 7:40 every morning to make the commute to
Vancouver. He takes his briefcase (laptop computer inside), his
cellular phone, and a mug of fresh, automatic-machine-made
coffee. His commute though lengthy, goes quickly because he
spends much of his time talking on the phone (usually to other
colleagues also on their way to work).Mr. Typalot is perhaps a
researcher, an advertising executive, or maybe a systems analyst.
He types a lot, mostly into his Unix at work, his laptop, or at
his Macintosh in his den at home. When he isn t typing, he is
talking, sometimes on a telephone, sometimes not. Mr. Typalot
communicates with people all over the world everyday via. e –
mail, fax, phone and answering machines, and through virtual
reality set-ups such as MediaMOO. He develops all kinds of
relationships with people in the course of his day, but he is
also everyday increasing his relationship with inaminate devices.
It can not be avoided, in his relationship building with other
people it is necessary for him to interact with machines – it is
a necessity of his success in the workplace. Mr. Typalot is
isolated in a indirect way everyday. Each day for several hours
he is deprived of any sensory stimulation that is not available
to him through his terminal or workstation. Mr, Typalot is
experiencing sensory isolation.
The narrative of Mr. Typalot is a generic example of what many
people in the workplace experience. Mr. Typalot is perhaps more
extreme than the norm but as communications in technology
advance, more and more people will have workdays that fit this
description. This type of connectedness or advanced communication
has ups as well as downs – the downside involves a lack of
direct, or face-to-face contact, and a loss of the more human
side or traditional interaction between people. On the up side,
is the opportunity to engage in a virtual reality experience; to
participate in a highly imaginative and creative realm which I
could only previously describe as becoming deeply involved with a
very intensely written novel. These text based virtual realities,
such as MediaMoo are highly creative and intellectually
stimulating – as well as fun. They can be a good alternative to
traditional reading because the player can actually participate
and contribute to the story . Virtual Realities might ce
beneficial in educating children and adults – making learning
enjoyable and interesting. They might also contribute to a higher
self esteem in children/teenagers as they maintain some type of
control, responsibility, and exercise their ability to produce.
On the other hand, V.R.s could be less than beneficial to some
individuals as they might become more drawn into the V.R. than
might be perceived as healthy. I sometimes envision a situation
similar to the Dungeon and Dragon scenario where in several cases
the individuals involved with the game had a difficult time
distinguishing between real life and fantasy . The bottom line
is that each individual is different and will react to virtual
realities in their own way; that a few select cases cannot
determine the outcome of thousands of others.

Chapter Two – Interconnectiveness

Part Two – The Role of Technology in the Lives of Special Needs
People.

Technology can go along way in contributing to the quality of
lifestyle in the lives of those with special needs. For the
deaf, the computer can be a fabulous way of communicating and
reaching out to others. Autistic people who at times may have
difficulty interacting with other people often are very skilled,
and enjoy working at a computer workstation. People confined to
a wheelchair have many more career opportunities than ever
before thanks to the computer and a continuing growth of more
sophisticated software. In the instance of a brother of a friend
mine ( we ll call him Jim), the computer has literally been his
salvation. After a severe car accident, Jim lost the movement of
both legs – he will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of
his life. Jim comes from a family of artists and before his
accident he was a working artist painting in a traditional
sense. Now Jim works with computer graphics – doing freelance and
contract work. New software has made it easier, and more
convenient for people like Jim to continue working. There are
many fields to work in , ie. research, data entry, etc. In the
case of special needs children – those with learning disabilities
or the developmentally delayed; a constant stimulus is one of the
most important factors in the mental ( and physical) development.
Traditionally, this constant stimulus has been provided by
support workers, but lack of funding ( gov t and private) often
leads to special needs children not receiving the one on one
stimulus they need and deserve. While the computer might not be
considered an adequate substitute for human stimulus, it would
still be better than nothing and would probably make a positive
contribution to the development of the child. Children are drawn
to computers – to the bright colors, movement and sound emote
from them. Unlike television, computers can be more interactive
and will encourage and prompt a child to participate. I don t
know where computer stimulus will lead, but certainly it is
better for the intellectual growth – and even motor skills than
most of the programs children watch on T.V. The same can be
applied to special needs adults, for while these individuals are
in the body of an adult, often their intellectual development
hasn t caught up – has been delayed in some way and stimulus and
prompts are still essential to their intellectual growth.

Chapter Three – Technology and Tradition

Part One: Technology and Tradition

The increases in technology have made communicating in the
twentieth century easier and more convenient than ever before.
Electronic mail, faxes, cellular phones and virtual realities
drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to get a
message/or important documents to an individual. Electronic mail
takes away the envelope, the stamp and the whole structure of the
traditional mail system. There is no pick, transporting the
letter to a sortation plant and sorting of the letter before the
eventual delivery ( of which won,t be in the recipient s hands
until he/she gets home from work,etc. E -mail is practical, but
will eventually eliminate a characteristic of the weekday as many
people experience it. Coming home to an unexpected card or letter
is a pleasant surprise which would be virtually eliminated in an
electronic mail system. Letters or cards would probably be
received at work in the course of the day, and would be on a
screen – not paper. Paper cards,invitations etc. might still be
sent out (perhaps by private,entrepreunial companies) as a sort
of novelty or maybe on a special occasion. What about wedding
invitations and gold embossed papers? How could one put a wedding
invitation into a photo album if the invitation was on the
screen? ( I guess you could always print out a copy). These small
characteristics of everyday life will probably in the future be
altered to fit into a world where modern technology has spread
into every aspect of our existence. Are there areas that the
notions of convenience and practicality should not enter into?
Areas of our lives that are considered sacred and should be
protected and preserved from the invasion of the driving force
called technology?

Chapter Three – Technology and Tradition

Part Two: Technology in the Home.

Technology has always affected the home. The Refrigator,
electronic oven, and electrical lighting are a far cry from a gas
lamp illuminated kitchen and a wood burning stove.
The washer and dryer, disposable diapers and running water have
freed up plenty of time for more enjoyable pursuits like going
for walks or visiting friends but in many instances just
listening to the radio or watching television. We are surrounded
by technology always – modern techno conveniences such as the
telephone (portable,cellular, or other) the microwave, toasters,
coffee makers, VCRS and camcorders. The computer will have more
impact in the home than any other techno convenience since the
television.( or Nintendo). The computer will contribute both to
the organization and the entertainment/leisure activities in the
home -catapulting into a nucleic role which the household could
quite possibly revolve around in the future. Through the computer
a family, individual, etc. could have access to more information
than they could ever hope to tread upon – never mind absorption.
Miscellaneous tasks and activities such as going out to get a
newspaper, borrow a book from the library,get a video or play
arcade games could be fulfilled by simply sitting in front of
keyboard and screen. It is hard to predict what the outcome of
discontinuing traditional activity might be – or if it will
happen at all. The potential is real and the outcome might be
disastrous. Even a general recognmition by society to admit and
understand this;that the computer in the home and workplace is
potentially harmful to our continued existence, might go a long
way in preserving whatever integrity we have left.

Chapter Four – Art and Architecture: The Role of Technology

There is a big difference between computer generated art and
art that exists solely in the computer. Computer generated art
can still be accessed in the traditional way, it can hang on your
walls at home – it can be displayed in a gallery or reproduced
in a book.In this way the art is not dependant on the computer
for it’s existence – it can retain an identity seperate from the
computer. In these instances the computer is like a tool the
artist has used to create his/her work, just like a camera, or a
tablesaw. With art that exists solely within the computer, the
images can only be viewed via the computer and nowhere else. It
is a permanent attachment to the piece and it is therefore an
integral element of the work itself. This type of art is
different from traditional art or even independant computer
generated art because it’s focus or motives are related to
communications in a different way – an area of communications
which is void of the physical and tangible.This difficult concept
of relaying ideas and information can be thought of as a large
base of information, compiled of the thoughts and interests of
thousands of people.

What is the role of the artist within this base of information,
and how will the role of the artist change as a result of
technology? Who is the artist? The artist is foremost a designer;
a person who conceives ideas and then attempts to communicate
those ideas (sometimes to themselves and sometimes to others)by
representing the ideas in a physical expression. What the
expression will be depends on the the designer. If the designer
is a musician the expression might be a musical score, if the
designer is an architect than probably a building plan. There
are several advantages to working within a large information base
that over a 100 000 000 million people have access to ( ie. the
Internet).The exposure is tremendous and the opportunity to make
contacts and to to relay ideas is anyone’s speculation. The
electronic art gallery is to the artist today what television
would have been to the actor who was previously only viewed in
live theater. In presenting to the masses through an electronic
network an expression of an idea the artist is able to convey and
communicate thoughts on a widespread level – but to what level of
efficiency? Is something lost in the philosophy if the artist is
able to communicate the the idea to a broad audience but only in
general terms? Is it better to communicate a fuller understanding
of a concept to a limited people instead of a general idea to
thousands? This question can only be answered by the individual –
each artist having their personal agenda which dictates their
actions and motivates their work.

It is up to us, the designers and artists to determine and
shape our changing role along with the advancement of technology.
What else can we do? We are forced to go with the flow and
utilize technology to prevent our obsolescence. Technology and
job displacement go hand in hand and the artist and designer are
not an exception. With more and more sophisticated software many
kinds of work in the design industry could easily be sifted out
in the future. Graphic artists, architects, industrial designers
could in all like likelihood be eliminated in future society.
Think of past tradesmen (tradesperson) who no longer have a place
in the world due to technological advancement and new invention?
How many shoemakers have you met recently? The shoemaker was a
tradesman – a designer of a kind and is a scarcity in modern day.
Of course the machine made/pre-fab shoes can never match the
quality of a leather shoe cut and measured specifically to the
individual’s foot. One of a kind shoes- each with their own
identity; a product and design from start to finish of the
individual designer and his/her original vision. The fact is if
it is good enough, if it will get the job done (at least
satisfactorally) then it will be accepted by the masses;leaving
little room for the creativity and ingenuity of the individual
designer. A balance needs to be struck between designer and
computer – a blance where the computer is a tool for the designer
and not the designer itself. Architects and draftspeople now have
the unique advantage of being able to conjure up their changing
visions quicker than they could possible recreate an intricate
drawing by hand.These quickly redrawn views however, only remain
an advantage to the architect etc. if the designer is still the
motivating factor behind the design and is the major contributor
to the end result.

—————————————————————-

Preinventing the Wheel

Have you had enough of magazine articles and other essays
whose titles play on the word “virtual?” Articles with names like
“Virtual Virtuoso” or ” Virtually now” or “Virtigo.” I thought as
much. Virtual reality is getting very tired, and it doesn’t even
exist yet. It has been able to avoid fading out of public view
for this long because of its’ name, which sounds sufficiently
official, and at the same time vague enough to allow its’ use in
context with anything one thinks is neat-o. In the forties, there
was a similar craze for things whose existence was in question,
and it also had a misleading name that made people sound clever.
That name is Existentialism, and before it became popular, it
actually meant something. But it was only taken seriously after a
couple hundred people who hadn’t bothered to find out its’
meaning were put in situations where they had to pretend that
they had- hey, presto- 200 false definitions! This confusion is
happening to virtual reality, only not so romantically as it did
in post-war France. A few months ago I had dinner with a good
friend. As we ate he asked me to explain to him what the whole
deal on virtual reality is and I told him, more or less, that it
is the idea of general purpose simulation, and went on to explain
that simulators of this sort need detectors to sense body motions
or speech, devices to stimulate our senses of sight, hearing,
touch, etc., and a computer to connect everything and vary the
interaction according to programs. Then I felt obliged to rehash
the monologue about the many possibilities of the potential
medium, and did, but my friend, who is an Economics major, just
laughed, “Is that all it is, a glorified video-game?! You
actually study that kind of stuff at school? I heard all this
talk on how important it is!” He had been impressed by the
virtual Paul Reveres, the virtual exaggerators, the virtual
newspaper columns with titles like this. It is truly a pity that
the term ‘virtual reality’ isn’t used sparingly, and that ‘the
study of simulation’ or some like phrase doesn’t get all the
attention. Simulators already exist. Because of all this hype,
virtual reality is being made to sound a lot more important than
it is. Virtual reality is being treated like some radical new
science. Ad agencies are cashing in on its’ commerciality and
confusing the general population with the meaning of the term.
Fans of virtual reality are trying to convince people that its’
dawn is ridiculously near and thus that its’ study is pertinent.
Other virtual reality enthusiasts are preaching that virtual
reality is “the way” and will end racial inequality and give the
repressed a voice. Just as preposterously, academics are solemnly
warning that virtual reality will create a nation of violent
thugs. Others warn of “virtual-reality addictions,” seriously;
“virtual-reality addictions.” It is sad that a promising
technology has been taken over before it has even reached a
concrete stage, by a bunch of clowns.
The driving forces behind virtual reality have been around
for all of human history so why is it considered such a radical
concept? When flight simulation programs started appearing a few
years ago for home computers, a lot of folks bought them (after
all, they were pretty neat) but few sat around yakking about how
those programs were “interactive” as though the word were a drop
from the fountain of profundity. Hell, even a pinball machine is
interactive. What about “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, the
books that let kids make a decision by picking one of two pages
every so often? What kind of novelty is there in trying to fake
the world around us: We started with cave paintings, then
sophisticated paints until we had realistic oils, then the still
photographic camera, the record player, motion pictures, talkies
and what could be more virtual than telephones; the technology
which Bell invented to allow an entire nation of people to
consider talking to banana-shaped objects on street corners a
normal part of life. Theatre is a form of virtual reality as
well. Some like to think that the V.R. will “enlarge our minds”
by making us more imaginative. As though we haven’t now any
activities requiring imagination. V.R. is not the first; it is an
element of many games, from Chess through to Scruples. Of all the
things V.R. could be compared to, it is strange that one hears of
the similarities of V.R. and the telephone less often than V.R.
and narcotics. This is the kind of talk that makes V.R. out to be
larger than life. There is a difference between drug-use and
any-old-thing that happens to be bizarre and illogical. That is
why we as a species have been spared an addiction to the writings
of Marshall Macluan. V.R. is not a new concept.
Virtual reality is also kept well in the public eye by
advertising firms. These firms are resourceful enough to have
found a word associated with V.R. to advertise services or
products in a manner that will make them sound as though they are
on the cutting edge of technology, regardless of the truth. I
have already mentioned the word they use. The word is
“interactive” and it is plastered on everything from phone-sex,
to standard phone-in talk shows, to magazines and automobiles and
children’s toys. It is generally assumed that inter-active is
entertaining but who of us really wants to leave our couch to
phone a television station half way through a program. People
watch television to relax. The same goes for reading, listening
to music and looking at pictures. Being interactive isn’t all
that thrilling. One spends all one’s life in an interactive
world. A lot of it even bores one. Being inter-active is not
necessarily being virtual. It would be kind if advertising
agencies would not try to convince us otherwise. No, we will have
to wait a few years for real reality-simulators.
How many years? “In the near future,” is the standard
phrase. How near? The people who vigilantly claim that V.R. will
be perfected in the next ten years are generally the same people
who talk a lot about terra-forming Mars and making it habitable.
However true it may be that all geniuses are dreamers, it is not
true that all dreamers are geniuses. Some are only poor,
misguided Dr. Who fans. Let’s just say it takes thirty years to
develop a graphics system that can display at 24 fps, with
photographic resolution, a stereoscopic alterable landscape-
which would take an insane amount of memory. We’ll also say that
by that time we’ll have the capability to transmit at real time
the colossal amount of data needed to hook a V.R. machine up to a
network. Then we’ll assume (this is more reasonable) that we’ll
have a perfectly light-weight, comfortable bodysuit that won’t
make one look like a scuba-diver wearing a bicycle helmet. Hey,
they won’t be available to everyone. They won’t come cheap. It
will take a long while for virtual reality systems to made
compatible. It will be a while for a decent net to cover the
globe. But let’s say that it will take around 50 years for V.R.
machines to become common household items. As loose as any figure
based on unprovable guesses must be, 50 years seems like a
reasonable number. What is all the excitement about then? No
current virtual reality- type products, from war games to
video-games, come near to giving a convincingly real feeling.
Just because virtual reality may be right around the corner
doesn’t mean we’ll see it next year. It’s quite possible that
half of us will be dead by the time virtual reality amounts to
something.
Some people in these times hold the opinion that V.R. will
be a great social instrument. Sure, after Nintendo rolls a few
tens of thousands of Virtualboys off the assembly line everything
will be jolly. No more wars, no more intolerance. Neo-Nazi
Skinheads will plug in and suddenly turn into nice, decent
fellows and fall to their knees to beg forgiveness from the
minority groups they have been terrorizing an hour before. The
idea is that since people would have the ability to conceal their
identity while using a net we would all be tolerant and
understanding. This would be a compelling argument were it not
for the telephone which already allows us this service.If V.R.
evolves in a similar manner, it will end up with individuals
choosing only to contact close friends. And I know that’s not
what the V.R. enthusiasts want. And I know they want it to be a
wild and crazy medium. But there are a lot of folks in the world.
Business people, for example, would get use out of V.R. by using
it for long-distance conferences or perhaps for models of
products, or real estate. They would not find it useful to
pretend to be a Virtual-prawn on the Cyberspace-Oceanfloor
Network. People could do a lot of things on V.R. networks, not
all of them brotherly. Thanks to V.R. it would be a lot easier
for racist people to form world-wide organizations.. they could
congregate daily if they chose. It is just about as likely that
V.R. will correct the world’s problems as it is that a crumpet
will corrupt a swinging mallet. On the other hand V.R. will not
spell a return to the dark ages.
The idea is that someday children will be weaned on V. R.
sets. They will get used to regularly lopping off virtual heads
and so, when they grow older, they’ll be conditioned, see, and
they’ll go nuts and they’ll lop off real peoples heads. No matter
how much you show people that there is no evidence to support the
claim that there is a correlation between violence in the media
and violence in real life they just don’t learn. For once and for
all, violence in the media is a good thing because it teaches
children to distinguish between fact and fiction. And so long as
it remains possible to tell when you are “virtual” and when you
are real there is no problem. We will never create V.R. so
effective that it is exactly the same as real life, we will
always be able to notice something unrealistic about it, perhaps
the way things sound, maybe the quality of light, it would
certainly be virtually impossible to convincingly eat virtual
food or have a perfect sense of touch.
The most ridiculous overestimation of V.R. is that the whole
world will become obsessed with V.R. and abandon the outside
world forever. This is very poetic but unfortunately there are a
couple little problems with this theory. Like, for example,
eating. Or will V.R. be so amazing that people just won’t get
hungry. Oh, there is also some difficulty in respect to paying
the hydro bill when you spend all of your time in V.R. and
therefore have no time to work. Most people for V.R. or against
V.R. tend to wildly exaggerate the importance of V.R. Remember
the stories there used to be about computers? The only people who
will ever be addicted to Virtual Reality already are, those are
the people like Commander Rick on Prisoners of Gravity, the kind
of fools who write poetry about “cyberspace.”
Virtual reality does have a lot of potential; to take up
where the telephone leaves off, to amuse and entertain, to
design, and a whole lot more. What is annoying is to see history
endlessly rehashing itself. People have always exaggerated with
new inventions from film to space travel. It is ludicrous that
virtual reality is treated as such a unique, modern concept. It
has roots in the trend in Western culture since the Dark ages of
more and more realistic art and it has roots in the production of
various modern simulators. It is ridiculous the way ad agencies
through around the term “interactive,” in order to confuse people
into associating it with virtual reality. It is ridiculous that
virtual reality is being talked about this much when it probably
won’t take off until another half century. It is ridiculous to
attribute spectacular moral consequences to virtual reality,
either good or terrible. It is particularly silly to predict
slaves to entertainment when no such preposterous phenomena has
ever existed before. It is a field too easy to romanticize. It is
easy to think of all the possibilities, and easier to forget that
most of them will never be realized. Virtual reality is already a
fashion statement, an advertising ploy, a moral issue, and a
constant subject in magazines. With all the attention one would
think we were reinventing the wheel.

—————————————————————-

Notes on the use of the computer in art.
by D. Venables

The computer is a tool, a fancy tool, but just a tool. In
the hands of a person who makes art, it can be used to make
art…the REAL kind of art. The pencil is a tool, a simple tool,
but just a tool. In the hands of a person who makes art, it can
be used to make art…the REAL kind of art. Perhaps if the
majority of the computer art we see is pretty dismal, it is
because the tool has not yet found the right hands.

Contemporary culture and the place technology has in it.
A loaded statement. Contemporary culture “is” technology. At
least in our privileged neck of the woods. Taking this course
has been akin to the experience of buying a Volkswagen and then
noticing them wherever you go. I now see the use of computer
systems where I was once blind to them, in every facet of our
lives. A technology this pervasive must surely be adopted by the
artists among us. The avant-garde will never die. The
avant-garde will continually rear its unusual head where it’s
least expected. It is the evidence of evolution, the flower on
the plant of science.

(Even as late as dadaism, Marcel Duchamp noticed the relation of
the avant-garde to the practice of the consumer-that the product
of the avant-garde was to have the same characteristics of
planned obsolescence/mass production as the products of mass
consumption while simultaneously allowing the producer/artist to
register shock at being reduced to a machine.) Discussed in
Manfredo Tafuri, Architecture and Utopia: Design and Capitalist
Development (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1976).

Maybe notes on what art is (I guess we have to have some kind
of a definition before we can tell if computers can be a part of
it) would be in order. A discretionary and biased viewpoint
follows.

After spending the last couple of years focusing entirely on
photography, I came into this course, wide-open, and ready for
new ideas, primed by a lecture by photographer Jeff Wall, who
showed a selection of his older work and also a couple of his
new pieces, done via computer graphics. This fired my
imagination. Little did I know at the time that Jeff was in the
habit of traveling to Los Angeles and renting the computer lab
there in Hollywood which has all the heavy artillery used in huge
special effects productions. The pieces he produced were of
high quality due to the level of the technology he was using,
although the work he had done could have been accomplished
through traditional photographic technique.

Using “mind bicycles” for photography is advantageous in
that the cost to the environment is considerably less, ie. the
chemicals poured down the sink (and forgotten in a frenzy of
photographic creativity) make their way into the rivers,
oceans, air, animals and eventually back to us in some form or
another (perhaps while walking on the shore at midnight the
phosphorescence will suddenly, strangely, have you thinking of
Calvin Kline models). The immediate health of the artist is
threatened less during computer use than during the photographic
process as well. It is cleaner to use than almost any other art
material or tool.

Thinking that a two month course was plenty of time in which
to master the art of photo-manipulation, I gaily traipsed into
class to make some art.

DEBBIES DEFINITION OF ART

One of my definitions of art is, art as a verb… the act
of doing it. After the doing part is done, what s left is a
fossil, a mere artifact of the real thing which is art. The
art-things sitting in galleries, on walls, piled up in basements
are records and interesting as records of the metamorphosis and
working out of a thought or feeling.

Art is sometimes thought of as a didactic, instructive sort
of exercise; or, conversely purely decorative. These types of
art to me are dead, they leave no-where for the viewer to
exercise his or her own thought processes.

The viewer is assumed to be in one of two states, with it
or not with it. In it or out of it. Hip or square. If privy to
the current presumed cutting edge theme being presented by this
instructive art, the viewer can nod sagely and agree; if not
connected to the same stream of thought, there is room for
instruction. This is claustrophobic and limiting, it stagnates
and is retentive.

At this point I have a sneaking suspicion that much of the
art making using computer technology is of this sort, a parading
of technique, a bragging and telling how the look of reality can
be changed. This has a tendency to dazzle and dictate a certain
look , this kind of rigid template is an open invitation to the
avant-garde, the art pirates, the art-hacker.

“The stimuli of the modern world, sounds and sights are
reproduced and distributed through endless systems of linear
technology. (The more intimate senses were long ago excluded
from this order.) Stereo and video are recorded onto tape, that
opaque blackish substance that symbolizes the intransigent,
incomprehensible linear time of this universe. Computers and
record players use flat disks whose spiral roadways reflect the
circularity of their contents. All visual and aural
information¥speech over the telephone, the television picture,
computer data¥is encoded into lines of electronic information.
The linear becomes language. The arcane discipline of electronic
circulation now guards the gates of the senses.
The proliferation of the computer is the development that
most insures the closure of this system.. In the computer, we see
physically affirmed, as if by an independent source, all the
assumptions of linear thought. Conversely, the computer ignores
all utterances not made according to the rules of its own linear
code. With the advent of private computer use, the computer
becomes an oracle of instruction in the structures of the linear.
It gives instruction in how t write and how to conduct
business¥but according to its own linear rules. It is even
deployed to indoctrinate children into the ways of the linear.
Further, as greater and greater amounts of society s information
(both financial and intellectual) are stored in computers, even
the reluctant are coerced into dealing with the computer and its
pattern of thought.”

Peter Halley, On Line New Observations, no. 35 (1985).
Blasted Allegories; 1987. The New Museum of Contemporary Art and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Virtual reality moves art and art making into a realm of
endless possibility. Freed from the confines of a small screen,
this new dimension, for me is so broad it is almost impossible to
speak of. Sculpture you can crawl into, ride, even travel through
for what seems like miles, interactive installations. Perhaps
this is the new direction in art we were waiting for. This will
influence, and enrich the traditional art practices as well as
consumerism in society–art and consumerism–a well known couple
about town.

The credibility of that which is seen on a screen (which,
to most people is accepted as the truth) can be used to
manipulate and fool the viewer. This is not a bad thing, a
touch of healthy suspicion would be a welcome attribute in the
general public.

PIMPING THE REALITY PRINCIPLE -MONDO MAG (1993)
Angry, disillusioned and media-savvy, the newly discovered
twenty-something generation is shaping up to a very hard sell.
¥Debra Goldman, ADWEEK
Belief in advertising is not like breathing. It doesn t come
naturally; it must be taught.
¥Edwin L. Artzt, Proctor & Gamble CEO
It s got to be real.
¥Levi s 501 jeans, advertisement

And then there is the ephemeral, the part of art that comes when
you least expect it.

Some things we plan.
We sit and we invent
and we plot and cook up
Others are works of inspiration
Of poetry

And it was this genius hand
That pushed me up the hotel stairs
To say my last good-bye.

((DEBBIES ASIDE: (private thoughts on the act of communal
art on three screens at a time)

Although its hard for me to communicate verbally vocally,
easier if writing

taking turns– quick repartee isn t my bag.

interesting to communicate well, more efficient felt like we
were in touch-))
….huh?…..

On a more practical note, the strongest impression I’ m left
with from taking this course is the feeling of entry into the
rest of the world.

Especially here in Victoria, I’ve felt isolated, and
increasingly so the longer I m here and the more time I spend at
school. In the past I ve always been able to take off for jaunts
into the states, around Canada or Mexico, but in the last few
years I have lead an increasingly parochial life. It was a thing
I feared right from the first when I moved here, and then it came
true.
I’ m sure this sense of isolation is not my very own domain,
isolation is a major theme of our society at this point and it is
my belief that technology in all its myriad forms has contributed
to this. The ability to lead a completely vicarious life,
containing excitement beyond the potential of most people, is
available to anyone with a television, VCR, six-pack and a couple
of joints.
(oh ya, a video..fantasy of choice)

This isolation is endemic. The T.V. screen which lives in
almost every home is a constant friend, requiring no effort,
seemingly giving companionship and in reality taking away the
ability to enjoy real personal contact. As well, a study has
shown persons who watch a “normal” amount of television suffer
from lack of REM sleep time, in other words, they don’t dream.
Dreaming is a necessary part of a healthy life and the loss of
this ability must have a severe, though perhaps subtle effect on
the person.

In contrast with my first thoughts of the virtual meeting
places as making yet another barrier between people, (much like
television, probably because they re both boxes that plug into
the wall), I see them now as a link, a possible tool for fusion,
although far from perfect, especially in that it precludes a vast
amount of people from becoming part of this new community for
economic reasons. I would like to think that with the growing
availability of the Internet, email and other network
communication systems, the unity that is created by the exchange
of thoughts and feelings will provide a humanitarian spring-board
and with the growing communication between people all over the
world (I can hear music surging in the background…I d like to
buy the world a coke…lalala) perhaps a true global
consciousness will arise. Or the consciousness already in place
will become more compassionate through increased knowledge and
familiarity. Art will fit in there (does already), a picture is
worth a thousand words…and takes up a lot more space…

The ability to have free, almost immediate communication
with people who are far away is extremely satisfying.

The level playing field of electronic communication on
Internet is seductive. I, and most people, don’t reveal
gender, age, race, social standing while having these exchanges
and it is not necessary. This has got to be a good thing.

The downside of this connection is the potentially
intrusive nature of the electronic net, a net we could all be
caught in like little smelts with credit cards, Until the end of
the World explored both these aspects fully, the connection kept
people in close contact if they so desired and made it very hard
to hide.

Back to my personal story. A testimonial. Dredged in
isolation (and I mean dredging in the culinary sense, the way
your mother used to dredge chicken pieces in flour and spices
before frying) I of course turned to the television and began one
of those marathon, epic debaucheries of avoidance. Well, I was
dragged from my reverie of watching the passive screen to the
more engaging activity of watching the computer screen, ah….a
screen that talks back. I m not exaggerating when I say I miss
the computer room during the weekends.

For me, with my limited resources, the computer works best
for communication purposes, text, at this point is the medium of
choice.

Computer art is verbal art right now. Making traditional art
is, to me, usually a pretty solitary activity. It is also a
physical one, I enjoy the feel of the materials, the smell, being
able to hold the art, move it around. Because I use my senses,
it is sensual. Because it is sensual, there is also a realm of
sexuality. The move from three dimensional art to trying to make
something that I could call art, on a screen, that I couldn t
touch or change the shape of unless I kept within the limited
dimensions, was frustrating to say the least. Perhaps, now that
the form is not so foreign to me and I have a real desire to see
what I can do with this thing, and more time; I ll be able to
explore the visual aspects more fully. This is only the
beginning.

There is no conclusion. My world has been made larger. I have
barely experienced an introduction to this new art tool. I m
hooked.

—————————————————————-

*****************************************************************
***************
(These are the incoherant rantings of a young man driven over the
edge by a
word processing program. Please proceed with caution.)
*****************************************************************
***************

WordPerfect ate my essay, and my brain

Neil Barman
9106988
FA345
Brad Brace
June 18, 1993

The last time I spent a serious duration in front of a
computer was in grade six. I was twelve years old and the
elementary school I attended had purchased four Apple II’s. With
so few computers at their disposal they were forced to choose an
elite group of students who would be privileged enough have
access to the new technology. I was chosen to be among the
“lucky” ones.
We set out with task of learning Basic. I quickly learned
how to write a program that would spew an annoying pattern of
numbers
down the screen. I also learned how to do math equations on the
computer, but I already had a calculator that made quick work of
those and fit in my pocket too. We were given almost no guidance
mainly due to the fact that there was none to be given. Nobody
really knew very much about computers, with a few exceptions.
Two young brainiacs named Adrian Evans and David Burridge
knew what they were doing. They had computers at home, the very
same ones that were at school. They wrote cute little programs
that would do this or that. Programs so inconsequential I can’t
even remember them now. But they knew how to do it. They also
made it their business to remind me that I did not know what I
was doing. They would talk computer lingo and laugh at how
perplexed I would get. They would point and whisper and giggle as
I would try to explain to the teacher why I was so confused. I
had no clue why we were doing what we were doing. I was given no
assistance in that department. The “computer education” program
continued and I continued to be bewildered.
Basically Adrian and David were geeks flaunting their
computer literacy. I knew that and I tried not to let their
intimidation get to me. It did in any case. I opted out of the
computing program. I figured they were far more trouble than they
were worth. I avoided them like the plague.
Ten years later, I have decided to re-acquaint myself with
the machine called computer. A class called “Art and Technology:
Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction” seemed like it would be
a good start since I already have a pretty good grasp of the art
part. Combining art with computer technology sounded like a
fascinating progression. Since I make art, I was curious as to
how I could use computers in my art-making process. As it turns
out, the software that is available right now is of almost no
use to me. While it can be enjoyable and amusing to manipulate
photographs and paint on electronic canvases, it still seems like
it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I have been told, however,
that these boxes come in handy.
The work that I am doing at present, which is mostly
photography, has too much basis in reality. It is about the way
we live. It is about the way we build and develop the areas where
we live and how we make those places as ours. It is about many
aspects of being a person. I have not found a way for the
software to provide me with any assistance. I work with other
peoples’ senses of self and creativity. While someone is probably
writing a program that will simulate these things, I’m not
interested. I thrive on interaction with real people, they never
cease to amaze me.
While computer software itself has not provided me with
inspiration, the Internet has. At first what felt like a mystical
society of computers around the globe is now a different
dimension of worldly consciousness. Quantum mechanics is busy
trying to prove the existence of alternate dimensions; I’ve been
exploring one for the last eight weeks. It is the dimension of
information and communication.
It seemed like an incredibly difficult task at first, much
like learning Basic when I was in grade six. This time however
there were no computer geeks around to hamper the learning
process. I was all on my own. With only a guide book to chart my
course I have been able to “go” all around the world. I have
gained access to a seemingly endless supply of information. Text
is definitely the most powerful medium here. I have found other
forms of information, sound and images for example, but text is
the only one that has been able to feed me satisfactorily in this
dimension. Text has given me the knowledge to explore further.
With more exploration comes more text, comes more knowledge…
This may not seem like a breakthrough discovery to most, but it
was to me. The text not only pushes me in new directions around
the Internet, it has charged my imagination. I am fascinated with
the possibilities of this new dimension.
I have been able to converse with people all over the world.

The very same people I would love to interact with in person but
am unable to because of distance. Connectivity over the Net has
been the next best thing I suppose, but it is a far cry from the
real interaction that fuels my art. I have found it intriguing to
no end but it hasn’t given me anything. Yet. I expect that
communication on the Internet will be very much like regular
social interactions people have nowadays. You go to places you
like. You avoid other places. You meet many people. You keep in
touch with a few. Friendships grow and you learn from each other.
The thing that has been somewhat of a shock has been the
relearning, from scratch, of all things dealing with social
interaction. You must relearn the processes of travel and
conversation. There is no bus route for the Internet and you
can’t laugh out loud.
The arena of the MOO seems to provide a bridge between
reality and Jaron Lanier’s vision of VR and communication as one.
Though they are only text-based at the moment they are headed in
the right direction. Their possibilities for character
interaction extend only as far as they can be programmed. In
addition to this, if you want to see how you interact with
another character, you must visualize it in your head. The same
goes for sounds and smells. The ideal vision of VR has all
sensory inputs virtualized. I would probably be an excellent
guinea pig for a perfectionistic VR developer. You see, I suffer
(or , as I like to think, am privileged to suffer) from a
condition I call hyper-awareness. Anything and everything my five
senses can take in they do. This is usually a pleasing
substitute for the drugs I’ve never done though overloads do
happen. It can make driving a little difficult. I find the Moo’s
acceptable, but not enough to tweak my senses, which enjoy
reality far too much.
On the flipside of that argument is that Moo’s, in
particular MediaMOO at MIT, have provided me with some
interesting insights into how people develop and personalize
their own space when it can be absolutely any space at all. You
can make anything and set it so it can be manipulated in any way
you choose. Most of the stuff I’ve “seen” has been pretty
imaginative. The major limitation of creating your own
environment in a MOO is that other characters can only perceive
it one way, the way you describe it. Something is lost when you
are not able to explore a locale with your five senses. It is
something that is not actually a sensory input. It is more of a
feeling you get about the person whose space you are in. The
sterility of the MOO keeps you from feeling this. It is pretty
difficult to get in a position in the MOO where you feel
genuinely uncomfortable. It’s a feeling like this that makes you
act truly human. Without it, and others, social interaction feels
a bit too artificial. With all this talk about feeling I
beginning to think that I’m missing the point.
If you’ve noticed traces of pessimism, sarcasm, and
cynicism, you’re probably reading this properly. These natural
characteristics of my personality, coupled with my desire for
real experiences and my general dislike of things convenient,
leave me still wondering the same thing I wanted know in grade
six: what is all the hype about?
It seems that almost every household has a computer. I am
constantly hearing how you must be computer literate in order to
succeed get a job nowadays. Many people are storing all their
vital information on disk. Even in this class, so many people
appear to be engrossed with learning how to use the available
software. It seems awfully limiting. Am I missing something? Is
there something advantageous about having your job, your home,
your self, hang in the magnetic balance?
Computer-dependant people have perhaps conveniently
forgotten that computers need electricity. Again, not a
monumental revelation, but few seem to acknowledge this fact. It
makes me think of one of the many power failures that used to
occur during summer rainstorms as when I was younger. People
would gather at some spot on the street, sheltered by umbrellas,
and chat. My mother once told one of the neighbour kids that
since the power h ad gone out we’d have to watch television in
the dark. He bought it. People are just as gullible when it comes
to computers. Computers also “crash” (a mysterious phenomenon
that I have been reminded of thrice during the writing if this
essay). Rarely does anybody have a solution, let alone an
explanation for this. I can’t understand how people can rely so
much on such fragile pieces of equipment.
After so much griping about these annoying boxes I’d better
reveal my admiration of them. As I have already stated, I think
the ability to communicate with them is invaluable. Having a
computer in every household for that reason alone would be worth
it. Anyone has the capability to access almost anything from
anywhere. Those are pretty huge parameters that have never been
within our reach before. People talk of a restructuring of the
Internet whereby more restrictions would be in place.
Unfortunately, due to human nature, we will probably work to
justify a situation like that. Greed will more likely than not
drive people to lock up information, with access for a price.
Hackers will continue to hack but the stakes will be higher. The
authorities will crack down harder on those who are caught. Those
in the upper echelons of government know that information is
power, and they’re not about to give it up that easily. The EFF
will hopefully grow and continue to prosper.
I have been amazed by what computers can do. My aspirations
for putting out my own publication will be realized shortly.
While you’d never be able to tell by the appearance of this piece
of writing, I am eager to tap the dynamics of the realm of
desktop publishing. Even more than I imagined, I will be able to
distribute it world-wide if I so choose. I will be able to design
my own home, with plans ready to hand to the builders. These are
things I had not imagined possible before. I don’t suppose Adrian
and David would be too impressed. So what.
I have been feeling quite uncomfortable trying to come up
with “original insight and speculation on contemporary culture
and technology.” I have such little experience with this field
that any attempts to theorize so far have ended up with
technologically aware people either stating that it’s been done
or questioning why I would want do such a ridiculous thing. It
has made me feel like I’m too creative to be working on a
computer. Either that or I’m being too demanding. I don’t have
the technical know-how to recognize which it is yet.
This planet definitely needs more communication. The
Internet has made it so that you reach around the world, but not
everywhere.
As far as I know of there are no connections to the third world.
For the most part the technology is only available to big
businesses and universities. According to Molly, a character in
MediaMOO, that would mean that this kind of technology is limited
to an elitist group of people with enough money to gain access to
the resources. The uneducated, unwashed masses are deprived of
the opportunity to be connected. I can believe it. We are going
to have to find a way to hook up the rest of the world. Without
it, the third world might slip further into the information void.
“I have found computers provide a pretty good workout for
the modern mind. The possibilities of computing have been able to
stretch the imagination of some. Never before would you have been
able to manipulate a photograph or a rendered 3D object in the
ways you can now. You can publish yourself. While it is still
somewhat expensive to accomplish these things, it is no longer
absolute impossible. With the added potential of computers you
can let your imagination explore larger expanses. Getting things
done is now only a matter of learning how to do it, and even that
is easier than ever!”
…
I still don’t buy it.
Reality is far too valuable for me to give up. I love my
cat. I love Italian food. I love my Polaroid camera. I like to
feel fear. I drive my car fast any chance I get. I have almost
drowned in snow. Standing on the edge of the roof of my apartment
gives me a rush. There is no virtual adrenalin. I play basketball
on the weekend with a bunch of very large guys who hit hard.
Bruising is an essential part of being alive.
I have memories of growing up. Barbecues in the back yard.
Riding my bike up and down the block. Neighbours. Getting chased
by the bully. Going on vacation. Swimming at the local pool.
Stuffed animals. I don’t think virtual sentiment would cut it.
The terrible feeling inside when you smoke your first cigarette.
The experiences of my life have shaped me and will continue
to do so forever. I can’t help but get the feeling that
technology is being shoved down our throats. I thought this time
I might be able to keep myself from gagging on it but i haven’t
been successful so far. AT&T is trying to convince me that I
won’t need a road map anymore. Their advancements will get me to
my destination quickly, safely, and efficiently, and when I get
there I can call my wife over a video-phone. They’re trying to
make physical distances non-existent by transporting my presence
around through a sterilizing filter. I’ll pass on it, thanks. It
all just seems too safe.

I have not been able to make up my mind for the last seven
pages. I have reacquainted myself with the best technology
available to me. I have explored more of the Internet than most
people I know. I have learned how to do many things with these
fancy boxes. I know what I can do. I still want to know why. At
least this time I am able to make an informed choice about my
future in computing. It is very likely that six months from now
my opinion will have changed. Nobody is going to know anyway.

—————————————————————-

by: James Nobel

INTRODUCTION

Since the beginning of mankind, inventions were the fundamental
backbone of progression into what laid ahead. The telephone and
television are among the most influential inventions that
propelled mankind into boundless territories. Here,
communication is the intangible force that governs the world s
fate, we now live in. If it wasn t for the telephone and
president Kennedy s tactics we wouldn t be here: the Cuban crisis
would have been a reality. Now, considering this critical event
that would have seriously dictated the future of civilization,
how else will technology affect us? Our lives will be changed
for the better or the worse by technologically advanced tools and
multimedia; in conjunction, the future of our society and culture
will adjust and adapt as we progress into what may be the
information age or the post-industrial age. A passage by Kurt
Yonnegut captures the very essence of what we are to expect with
regard to technological advancements:

. . . the First Industrial Revolution devalued muscle work, then
the second one devalued routine mental work. . .

Do you suppose there ll be a Third Industrial Revolution?

A third one? What would that be like?

I don t know exactly. The first and second ones must have been
sort of inconceivable at one time.

. . . I guess the third one s been going on for some time, if
you mean thinking machines. That would be the third revolution,
I guess – machines that devaluate human thinking.

(Smart, opening page)

Although this passage makes reference to artificial intelligence,
it gives us an idea of how fast technology is progressing and the
ramifications of such progression. Can you image machines that
devaluate human thinking? Our imagination would lead us to many
predictions on future society and culture. Essentially,
technology is the impetus for the fate of our future. In order
to instigate some thought and provide some insight, this essay
will reveal the potential capabilities of contemporary technology
and the effects it will have on modern society and culture.

MODERN SOCIETY

Communication and information are virtually the vital blood and
heartbeat keeping society alive and healthy. Because of
technological improvement, the way in which we communicate has
become diverse and complex (Multimedia), diverting from
conventional forms. New technology provides capabilities to be
done differently, efficiently, and more conveniently. In
essence, convenience and efficiency are the driving force for
modern technology, without them civilization would remain
stagnant or dormant, which ever way you look at it. If not for
convenience, cellular phones would be obsolete and there would be
no drive for the invention of a wristwatch sized pagers. If not
for efficiency there would be no need for software programs such
as CADs and the digital form of communication, Email.
Convenience and efficiency complement each other, and together
are the essential ingredients for technological growth.

With respect to the affects of technology on society, we have
experienced what has already happened and the many researches
that had been done. Consequently, there could be a trend that
will provide invaluable clues to the future. Eventually we are
and will be affected by modern technology and notice changes in
our education system, government, profession, and business. New
information and communications technologies are spreading rapidly
throughout the world at an increasing pace. Someday, we will be
able to remain in one central location and complete all daily
tasks without coming in physical contact with another person.
Sports and leisure activities will be the only factor motivating
the movement of our body. People may turn into a bunch of couch
potatoes taking for granted the convenience of what technology
has to offer: already, interactive TV programs are enabling one
to order pizza from a simple command on a remote control.
Additionally, information is as easy to access as searching for a
book in a library, may be even easier. There are databases
everywhere that can be accessed by the public. For example,
there is a BC computer guide listing programs and services
offered by the provincial government. The convenience of
acquiring information by means of information highways precludes
the hassles of fiddling through a phone book and calling place
after place to access your target. Moreover, telecommunication
is augmenting the elimination of office as the workplace. People
will be able to conduct daily work activities without leaving the
home. Consequently, the environment we live in may benefit from
less air pollution caused by excessive automobile exhaust and
population of the city core. Economically, the decreased demand
for downtown office space will drive the rent/lease prices down,
thus, permitting affordable prices for people wishing to live in
the downtown area. To conclude, there seems to be many
advantages of convenience, however, may be in the future this
world we live on will be inhabited by slothful but highly
intelligent human beings.

Currently, information is without question equivalent to power
that can be shared freely by all. Some people acquire
information which is related to the struggle for the competitive
edge, especially in business. Professions will fight for the
valuable commodity (information) that will keep them ahead of the
rest of the pact. An academic researcher needs information to
solve problems and create theories that will undoubtedly keep
him/herself ahead of the field in his/her discipline. Even
artists, fashion designers will be affected. By the nature of
their industry, replication is rampant, to a certain degree, and
will burgeon if information is easily accessible. If that s the
case artists will lose their authenticity, however, due to
serendipity and creativity, they may gain new ideas and designs
to enhance their respective disciplines.

Presently we can access and deliver information millions of miles
away on the other side of the world. This was unfathomable years
ago, but in the age of the INTERNET information is going to be
the blood allowing the body of society to function smoothly.
Without this communication network we may be thrown back into the
days of civilization where mediums facilitating communication
were non-existent. Information and communication will be so
immense that society may form into a single entity, a global
community. Although this is a broad view there may be a
rudimentary integration of a global society. For instance,
automatic translation of different languages for users of the
INTERNET. A Canadian researcher communicating in English may
deliver messages instantaneously translated into Chinese for a
Chinese scientist.

In the INERNET era, information highways are the driving force
eliminating the need for paper as medium for communication.
Digitized text reinforces and supports the move for a paperless
environment. Digital text is eternal and immortal, stored in
electronic facilities, whereas paper is mortal and indefinite
with a simple force of a hand or water. Without a doubt, the
strengths of information highways as communication mediums will
put smiles on the members and proponents of the environment
movement. Consequently, typing will become a mandatory
prerequisite implemented in our education system. That is until
thoughts can be entered into a computer through voice activation.
Unfortunately (or to some – fortunately), the paperless
environment is presently not a reality and will take years for it
to become a part of society. Despite the exponential growth of
the INTERNET and computers entering more homes, not every man
and women has access to computers and this communication medium.
Additionally the 100% safeguard of computer storage is not
guaranteed (because of computer viruses and the like), thus
furthering the acceptance of a paperless environment. With
regard to mail, the Email system will definitely flourish.
Sending messages so easily and quickly will make writing letters
more enjoyable. May be future post offices will integrate the
Email system in their organization. Individual booths will have
voice or hand activated input devices that delivers any where and
place in the world at a cost comparable to a postage stamp.
Where ever the Email system will be located, the
telecommunications industry will probably be the main and most
important industry of the future. This industry will provide
jobs, compensating for the lost occupations that were replaced by
computers and robotics.

In the education system today, computers are becoming more
prevalent. Children are using it at a younger age, starting in
elementary schools. By this integration of digital technology
into our schools, children might grow lacking interpersonal
skills and a social life. This statement is generalized, but
Darwin s theory of evolution may support the truth. As years
pass by children will lose touch of reality. Communicating
through the INTERNET with someone without physical contact will
deprive them of the experiences and feeling from conversing with
a person face-to-face. Additionally, the large world we live on
will be mentally visualized as a small world, more intense than
we currently imagine. Conversely, there are a lot of positive
outcomes from modern technology in schools. The INTERNET will
facilitate and enhance knowledge, and provoke healthy
imagination. If children read text sent to them through the
INTERNET, imagination will flourish as they try to grasp the
meaning of the text and the person they are communicating with.

In medicine and academic research, information technology can be
very beneficial and advantageous. Researchers can congregate via
computer networks (such as MediaMoo or other MUDs) facilitating
the possibilities of cures for the earth s illnesses and human
diseases. With the use of computers and network, doctors and
researchers will be able to work together and tackle the world s
problems. Moreover, sociologists can record, observe, and study
dialogue from players in a text form of Virtual Reality
(communication networks), allowing the fabrication of invaluable
conclusions and theories. For biologists, computers can produce
artificial life. Computer generated living beings live and
reproduce much like their biological counterparts. This
breakthrough will most definitely impact further studies into
reproduction of, for example, micro organisms that are the
foundation for living forms. Simulating biological growth can
give scientists the observational advantage without the lengthy
task of observing the real life growth stages.

The all too familiar human occupation loss from computer
capabilities is more pervasive as the years go by. We have
already experienced the impact of Robotics in the work place and
due to the growth of the INTERNET and VIRTUAL REALITY computer
substitutable occupations will be diminishing. Operators and
information servers are the unfortunate victims of this
technological take-over. Conversely, new occupations may result
from such take-overs. Additionally, because of advanced
softwares and artificial intelligence, modern architects (for
example) have evolved from its true origin. Now the most
strenuous part of their job is to problem solve and design while
the once arduous task of utilizing their drafting and drawing
skills are now obsolete. CADs and the more advanced programs
have most definitely made an impact in this industry, whether its
positive or negative. Researcher have predicted that in the
future occupations will all be replaced or affected by computers,
except for artists, writers, and lawyers. Well, that statement
can now be modified to ALL professions will either be replaced or
affected by technological advancements. Artists facing digital
reproduction of their artwork may encounter appreciation in their
work, to a certain degree. Greater exposure and dissemination of
their artwork will frankly improve advertisement of their
original work, thus creating greater demand and marketability.
This of course is not applicable to every artwork; nevertheless,
it will impact every artist, especially the well-known or
avant-gardes of the art world. Additionally, writers and lawyers
will inevitably be affected by the immense amount of information
floating around in the vast array of networks. A lawyer may win
a case solely because of information he gathered as evidence that
was diligently extracted from a database in another city or
country.

A technological breakthrough that will literally change and rock
contemporary society is VIRTUAL REALITY (VR). If this technology
had photo images in 3D and normal motion speed, there is
practically nothing it can t do. Presently, among others, it is
used in medicine, military, education, training, entertainment,
and research. The potential for VR is enormous. While donning a
mask and wearing a sensitized glove (who knows what other
attachment will be available) one may accomplish tasks before
physically impossible. Essentially, the use of this technology
is without limits. One can think of many ways of concocting a
purpose or objective for VR: simulating warfare for fighter
pilots and soldiers is one assignment VR has accomplished. The
more interesting capabilities of VR is what it will be able to
do, not what it has done. Imagine communicating with a friend on
the other side of the world as though he/she was there in front
of you. Images and sounds just like the real thing will fool
the mind and give humans the ability to do almost anything
without the presence of physical contact. A fencer under VR will
visualize a stab wound (hypothetically speaking) without sensing
physical pain throughout his/her body. Slam dunking like Michael
Jordan without even leaving the ground. Unfortunately there is a
dark side to VR and that is of satisfying our minds. It could be
addictive, comparable to psychedelic drugs that fool our minds in
accomplishing impossible feats. The illusions of the VR may have
psychological effects that may be comparable to the
hallucinogenic narcotics available in the market. People will
live and breath this artificial world of the VR. The effects
could be detrimental but for its present use the VR is beneficial
to society as it trains, educates, facilitates. Additionally, VR
can assist advertising and marketing tactics. Business can use
this medium to introduce new products which will attract
customers, and enable penetration and acquisition of a
substantial market. This would most definitely be a competitive
advantage for the user.

VR may direct the future of a city s infrastructure. For
example, VR could someday be seen in shopping malls.
Merchandising stores will be the size of a information center
booth with VR equipment and attachments. Inside the VR world
would be a store salesperson or assistant. One will be able to
virtually shop inside a digitally reproduced environment of a
store. Prior to entering this digital store, the size of ones
body will be programmed to enable one to virtually try on a piece
of desired clothing. Then, ones appearance will be viewed in a
virtual mirror. When one chooses to buy an item he/she will
purchase it by conventional means, and receive it where it was
stored in a compact department behind the storefront (booth). If
VR is used along these lines, society will benefit with fewer use
for land and space. May be the environment can be saved from
this idea (if it hasn t already been thought of). With
increasing population, the infrastructure of a city would be
maximized to civilian comforts without building outwards,
possibly destroying the environment and pristine wilderness
areas. Basically, land and space will be used more efficiently
and effectively, and materials would not be wasted.

Along with the advanced technological capabilities of VR and
other instruments, the political system may change drastically,
for the better or worse. With the acceptance of the INTERNET in
the Clinton administration, citizens will be able to voice their
opinions, feelings, and ideas about contemporary issues and
problems. This will enable the Clinton administration to view
the whole picture of a controversial issue which provides the
creation of quality decisions. On the contrary , countries under
a fascist government will experience greater control and order by
the dictator. With current and future information technology,
dictators will be able to monitor and record the lives of the
people. May be George Orwell s fictitious character Big Brother
will become reality. Some believe this character already exists.

MODERN CULTURE

Society is built on many blocks, and no block is more celebrated
than that of culture. Culture is what distinguishes us from
people of other nations, and because of escalating growth of
global interconnection different cultures will be subject to
integration. Although a lengthy process, the transition is
exemplified in the global economic system: European Economic
Community (EEC) and the imminent North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) are just simple examples of the movement
towards global integration (hereinafter global integration is the
cohesion of information from all the countries of the world). In
the age where technology is fostering the construction of a
global village, how is the arts (the groundwork of culture) and
the artists going to be affected? Currently, how have they been
affected?

Integration of the arts, which comprise of the theatrical,
musical, and visual arts, are happening already. Technology has
enabled people of different cultures and languages to communicate
with each other. Words in Japanese is currently translated into
English in the matter of seconds by the tap of a finger. Voice
activated language translation already exists, furthering the
possibilities of global integration. Considering global
integration, what will be the dominant culture adapted by all?
A trend that seems to be occurring rapidly gives rise to an
answer: the country with contemporary technology and culture
that will attract others. An example is the youth culture in
Japan and many other Asian countries who are riding the wave of
the American youth culture. They listen to the same music;
admire the same visual artists, musicians, actors/actresses, and
athletes; play the same sports (except for SUMO); and, eat the
same food as the Americans, all possible because of the
technological multimedia available to them. The powerful
Americans not only influence its immediate neighbors but also
overseas countries.

As technology develops, so does the arts. Amid the presence of
the INTERNET, artwork will be dispersed all over the world for
viewing by anyone who possesses the necessary instruments. As
deliverance and receipt of artwork becomes easier, the downsides
of replication (as already mentioned) are likely to be more
prevalent. On the contrary, greater dissemination will enable
the invention of new ideas and thoughts from a compilation,
acquired through various computer networks. A simple example is
native art. Due to the vast amount of information available,
native artists have produced new styles and forms of art through
generations. A native artwork is printed with colors never used
in traditional forms. Technique and use of tools for carving
wood and metal have enhanced and elevated native artwork.
Presently, native art is internationally recognized and cherished
by many. The ideas may have been brought about independently,
however, the probability of acquiring new materials and
techniques from outside sources are immense. Additionally,
contemporary artists benefit from information that can, through
human ingenuity, create new techniques, skills, and forms of art.

Manipulation and digital production of visual artwork provides
efficient and convenient processes of creating art. Art
connoisseurs and enthusiasts may repudiate the nature and
originality of digitally produced artwork. This view is
reinforced by W. Benjamin:

With the advent of process forms of reproduction, technique of
enlargement and slow motion begin to reveal aspects and images of
the original which escape unaided or natural vision. In
addition such processes of reproduction transform the contexts of
appreciation, reception and use of the original through the
provision of copies which enter spaces and situations beyond
the reach of the original. (Smart, p.112)

Additionally, he argues that such developments have interfered
with the
authenticity of the object and that in the age of mechanical
reproduction. . . . the aura of the work of art withers. (Smart,
p.112). Nevertheless, the few that may support this view must
realize the evolution of the mediums of visual communication.
Art was produced and expressed on wood and stone in the days of
the Neanderthal and Cro-magnon man; then, artwork was expressed
on paper; consequently, photography replaced the artistic
functions of the hand; currently, artistic expression is found on
the computer screen. If one accepts this view, digitally
contrived artwork will be considered an authentic and unique form
of art.

Amid the controversies on the amalgamation of artwork and
technology, artists (the creators and founders of cultural
characteristics) face extinction (in reality — layoffs or fewer
jobs). With the softwares (i.e. MacDraw) available in the
market, artists are overwhelmed by the capabilities and functions
of computer assisted production of design and music. The
efficiency of these software packages are creating the
elimination of artist and their conventional skills and
techniques. Artists of the 90s and the future will probably need
computer literacy and utilization techniques as replacement for
their original skills (of using chalk, paint, pen, etc.). If
this is the case, who is the real/true artist the computer or
person? In light of what may happen to artists, art may be
negatively affected by mass production and dissemination. A
piece of artwork may devalue in the mind of a viewer because of
overexposure. Much like the people who get sick and tired of the
same music played on a particular radio station: our minds simply
turn off when their is repetition. By the year 2010, the term
original piece of artwork may signify the original millionth
piece of artwork.

CONCLUSION

Currently the effects of technology is apparent to all of us;
however, in the age where full-blown cyberculture is not far off
in the future, we face a great deal of uncertainty and
vulnerability from what technology will offer. We could be
living beings existing mentally only in a digital environment
(i.e. in a MediaMoo). More frightening, we are unsure about the
actual capabilities of technology in the future. Imagine what it
would be like to live on a world where communication is
accomplished through wires connected to the brains of
participating individuals from a central computing unit. Wim
Wender s film, Until The End of the World gave us a visual
interpretation of the physical instruments necessary for entering
digital information directly into the human brain; this would
enable the phenomenon of telepathy into a virtual reality. The
use for this fictitious instrument would be endless (e.g.
eyesight for the blind) and the consequences would probably turn
contemporary society and culture five hundred and forty degrees.
Additionally, it would either astonish or scare the shit out of
modern man and woman.

We can predict the ramification of technology on the future of
our society and culture, however, those prediction will never be
known to actually occur. Our future is like a biological entity,
no empirical data or past trends can forecast what is the fate of
mankind. Not only do we as individuals live, so does the
society and culture. We are the blood cells that circulate
through the veins of society and culture. Technology is the
medicine or illness that will permeate the body of society and
culture. The effects will not truly be known until the blood
cells (people) accept the medication (technology) or reject the
illness (technology). Currently, the capabilities of medication
(e.g. LSD in the 60s) and illness (AIDS in the 90s) are without
boundaries. Analogous to technology, the mind altering drug of
LSD and the killer disease of AIDS are flourishing, capable of
influencing the fate of the mankind. If technology didn t
progress, history would not exist and time would not advance into
the next minute or day. The stagnant environment would not yield
any unusual events or occurrences. However, reality is the
advancement of time and technology. The future effects of
technology on society and culture will never be know, but we can
only theorize, visualize, and imagine.

WORKS CITED

Smart, Barry. MODERN CONDITIONS, POSTMODERN CONTROVERSIES,
Routledge, London, 1992.

—————————————————————-

TECHNOLOGY

The effects of modern technology on contempory culture and
society are far-reaching and have irrevocably changed the way in
which we view ourselves, and the world around us. Technology has
profoundly affected us psychologically, socially, physically, and
emotionally. It has influenced the way in which we interact with
each other and with computers, and has drastically changed the
way in which we continue to develop. Gradually, we have come to
see the world as an entire global community that is linked
through computers and other communication systems. Because of
technological advances it is now as easy to exchange ideas with
someone in China as it is with the person next door. Advances
have also been made in the computer programs that deal
specifically with visual art and design. One can also see the
advances made in fields like Cybernetics, Virtual reality, and
artificial intelligence. Yet these advances are not without
drawbacks; for, the human factor tends to be left out of the
equation and makes information exchange impersonal and isolating.
The technological progression that has occurred in the last one
hundred years has far outstripped the advances made in the
previous one thousand years and with each new development
hundreds of possibilities arise for further advancement.

The technological breakthroughs made in the last twenty
years have affected us immeasurably. Within the framework of
communication systems alone, the socialization of humankind is
irrevocally changed. We no longer see borders between nations as
psychological deterrents; merely as physical barriers. We can
communicate with people in other nations as easily as we do with
those we find within our own circle. Entire databases and
networks have been set up to encourage communication and
information exchange between a diverse range of participants.
Telnet, Gopher, Mail Art, and Internet are just a few examples of
services developed to promote and expand the concept of
individual expression and facilitate the access to a vast array
of information available in the computer age.

Computer networking is one of the fasted growing
opportunities in the computer field. It allows for a vast array
of different information to be accessed immediately at one’s
fingertips, Telnet alone has over 4 000 different topics ranging
from weather and travel information to science and politics .
Once hooked up to the network, the user can access different
“conferences” and can send and receive electronic mail. While
using Telnet, I was able to access very diverse material, and
receive information on architecture and design, as well as
“conferenced” with a company that is sponsoring a design student
exchange between different Universities. The quantity and
variety of information that can be accessed is amazing, and it is
growing yearly as more and more people and companies connect to
networks.

Over and above of dealing strictly with information
exchange, networks also exist to expose artwork and other
creative fields to the general public. The International Network
Culture endeavors to eliminate the divisions between viewers and
participant, and artists and non-artists, while providing the
structure for ongoing global artistic interaction. Socially
speaking, it has linked a variety of people,(students, teachers,
professional artists, etc.) who come from different locations and
sociological backgrounds, who otherwise would never have
interacted. This type of networking culture is a new movement
which challenges the conventional meanings of art and literary
expression and acknowledges art to be more interactive. The
intrinsic value of this democratic system of personal expression
allows for individuals to concentrate on aesthetic and creative
concerns and not on status or political concerns.

Cyberspace is a computer generated space that humans can
enter and interact within. Cyberart, created in cyberspace,
therefore has no physicality like real art, and it is more
democratic in the sense that it is created and expressed on a
unilateral and not on a hierarchical level. Because it is new
there is no hard and fast rule defining cyberspace. As more and
more people get on-line to networks and bulletin boards, the
governing of cyberspace–who will be allowed access to what and
where and for what cost are questions that will need answers.
The majority feel that the broader the base of a non-hierarchical
self-governing body, the more it would adhere to the premise
behind cyberspace; namely, individual rights and equal access.
However, it is all a question of logistics, control, and money.
Because there are millions of people who are on-line to networks,
there is a great deal of money at stake and the question is who
(what companies) will have a monopoly on the service. As services
continue to develop one must also look at expansion in a
direction that favours two-way networking which favours a more
democratic decentralized system. This decentralization can also
be seen in today’s computer companies. With the expansion of a
more global market, companies are now specializing in specific
areas. This also allows for competion among groups dealing in
specific arenas which in turn enables the consumer a wider
variety of choices.

A new network being developed that has a great potential and
will offer many benefits is ISDN., Integrated Services Digital
Network. It is a set of digital protocols which enables the
movement of information, both voice and video, over regular
telephone wires at a faster speed than can be achieved by a
modem. The possibilities could include video conferencing and
electronic mail, and other information to be transferred from
home, and portable sites that as of yet are not as accessible as
the office environment. This type of infrastructure will allow
for greater flexibility and freedom of where and when information
can be sent and received at very rapid rate. As of yet, ISDN is
not readily available, but alliances are forming between computer
and phone companies in order to establish the groundwork for
local, national, and international access– in essence, to
establish a “information super-highway”.

The way in which computers have become integrated into our
daily life has made us become more and more dependent on them.
The psychological and emotional impact of the “computer age” has
been far-reaching and has challenged the way in which we view
the world. One of the main psychological concerns caused by the
increasing role that computers play in our lives is Fear.

“The real danger is not that
computers will begin to think
like men, but that men will
begin to think like computers”
-Sydney J. Harris

According to a report in “Omni” magazine, computer
scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stated
“….we are rapidly losing, have perhaps already lost, physical
and mental control of our society.” (According to Dr. Joseph
Weizenbaum). Generally, the level of fear is most prevalent
among older people, because the younger generation have become
familiar with computer skills and programming. These are being
intergrated into the educational system. Yet, “computerphobia”
persists to be a major stumbling block in the path of technology.
There are a various rationalizations behind this fear; some
people are afraid of losing jobs, as more and more complex
machines are being developed that can do the work cheaper and
more efficiently. Others become overwhelmed and feel
insignificant and view the entire computer field as
incomprehensible and threatening. There is such an overpowering
array of different computers, programs, information, plug-ins,
printers, etc., available, that it is hard to even begin to
understand were to begin, let alone become proficient in the
computer age. However the most compelling fear we face is that
computers will become too powerful and man will no longer be in
control. This general idea is even played out in major Hollywood
movies i.e. “The Terminator”.

“Modern man is the victim of the very instruments he values
most.
Every gain in power, every mastery of natural forces, every
scientific addition to knowledge has proved potentially
dangerous,
because it has not been accompanied by equal gains in self
understanding and self discipline.
-Lewis Mumford

Modern technology also has a physical impact on our lives.
In light of the fact that now millions of people sit in front of
a computer terminal for hours at a time day after day,
regulations have been passed limiting the amount of time a person
can sit in front of a screen without a break. There is an
increased awareness of the effects of electromagnetic fields
that are given off from monitors and are strongest within two
feet of the monitor. To date there has not been a comprehensive
long-term study of the physical ramifications of the field.
There are also studies that indicate that there are increased
cancer rates for people regularly exposed to radiation and an
increased rate of miscarriages.(Brodeur, Paul, Currents of Death:
power lines, computer terminals, and the attempt to cober up
their threat to your health) Luckily, there is an increased
awareness and new advances in monitor design that help shield the
user from excess radiation. Other physical problems that occur
with the computer are dizziness, headaches, and eyestrain. These
are caused by flickering or unclear screens or by glare, yet
these too can be relieved by using antiglare screens and proper
lighting. A lesser known physical problem is known as repetitive
stress injury; found when one does the same thing over and over
again. This can have a damaging effect on various parts of the
body. Lower back pain can be relieved by getting up and changing
positions frequently. Another common ailment is pain in the
wrists, hands and arms; variations on keyboard design and
placement are being reviewed but no solution has yet been found
that completely relieves the problem..

With the advent of video cameras, computer imaging, and
desktop publishing, etc, we can “immortalize” ourselves, our
actions, and our thoughts. Psychologically, this has had a great
impact on they way we perceive our limitations as human beings.
Now, we are no longer even limited to reality as we know it. With
the recent explosion in the direction of Virtual reality,
technology has taken us into a field never before explored.
Virtual reality will have many applications and uses in the years
to come. The technology allows the user to move through
computer-generated images (with the use of a helmet) in a three
dimensional world, which is super-imposed on the “real world”.
For example one could be a mountain climber or become the main
character in a video game. Designers of Virtual reality
software are also working on programs that will make television
an interactive and not just a passive activity. While, the
equipment is still not as refined as programmers’ wish, the
advances in technology have been amazing. Virtual reality will
have many other applications as well as belonging to recreational
arenas. It will be a great educational tool that will be seen in
operating rooms and in many types of very specialized
simulations. By the end of this century, the field of Virtual
reality will be so diverse and will open up avenues, as yet
unheard of.

Cybernetics: (neural modelling) the science of control and
communications systems founded on the theory that intelligent
beings adapt to their environments and accomplish goals by
reacting to feedback from their surroundings. The premise behind
cybernetics is based on human neural networks, the fact that one
can learn, generalize, and hypothesize. The objective is to
create self-organizing machines, ones that can adapt and learn.
However, the difference in capabilities between biological
information-processing systems and computers remains extensive.
In biological networks, it is through innate properties and
through learning that humans are able to respond to specific
stimuli. In effect, each individual neuron is its own decision
maker and memory storer. The one great advantage we have over
any artificial intelligence is our resilience, damage caused to a
few neurons will not shut down our entire memory or
information-processing mechanism. With an artificial system,
memory is stored with an arbitrary numerical address and can only
be accessed as such. Humans on the other hand have the ability
to retrieve memories through various methods, including content
association. The dream to achieve machine intelligence that is
parallel or greater than humankind still lies in the very distant
future; in the meantime, the complexity and versatility of
computer programs continue to develop rapidly.

With the complexity of computers increasing exponentially,
the question arises: “Can artificial life be alive?” The
semantics of the sentence alone is question enough, yet is there
an answer? Thomas Ray is a biologist at the University of
Delaware. Three years ago, he started testing a model of
evolutionary principles created on a computer. He designed a
system called Tierra, which illustrated that evolution works just
as well in a computer system as in the real world. He created a
digital creature made up of a string of computer instructions
which he then introduced into the model. Within hours the single
creature proliferated, created a race of clones that lived,
evolved, and died and themselves spawned new groups of mutants.
Ray and other scientists believe that some electronic creatures
are more than imitating life, that they actually are alive.

In the past decade, there has been a proliferation of
scientists working on computers who have produced systems with
digital creations that resemble plants and insects in a silicon
world. There is very little agreement among scientists about
what can be deemed alive, still many want to create what will
qualify as life forms. The Chaos Theory is an assumption that
computer-generated systems might actually mirror nature because
scientists have discovered that patterns and structures can even
be discerned in systems that appear to be totally disordered. It
is through the creation of artificial life that researchers
hope to discover “what is it in matter that enables it to have
such an innumerable variety of forms, including life”(Steen
Rasmussen, a Danish Physicist working at the Santa Fe Institute)

The effect that advances in technology has had on art in
today’s society is far-reaching and has irrevocably changed the
way in which think about visual art. In the last century, the
transformation that has occurred in the visual art world is
immeasurable. Western society no longer necessitates that art
must fit into the well defined category assigned to it years ago.
It does not have to be a framed painting, a piece of
representational sculpture, or a well presented piece of work.
Visual art is what the artist creates, whether it be a be on
paper or on a computer. The progress made to computer programs
and applications which enable artists to create a variety of
effects is astounding. New methods and techniques arise daily as
more and more people are experimenting with the plethora of
results that can be achieved with computer programs like
Photoshop, Superpaint, and Autocad. The advances made in
programs that relate to the realm of graphic design and
architectural design have transformed those fields irrevocally.
As an Interior Design student I have noted what computer programs
like Autocad and Minicad are doing to the design field, even the
way in which programs like Architecture and Interior Design are
being taught are affected. The basic drafting skills are still
required, yet curriculums are now being augmented with courses
dealing with computer-aided design. The field of graphic design
is also changing rapidly. The majority of advertisement, logos,
letterheads and all types of signage are now all being produced
on computers. It is not only the design fields themselves that
are affected by this new technology; western society’s views on
what visual art is have changed.

Today, anyone who has a computer and a simple drawing
program can now create visual art. Visual art is no longer
regulated to “artists” as it was in the days of the Beaux Art.
There are no longer clear rules deciding what is classified as
art and what is not. Who says that what one produces on a
computer program is any less artistic than what one creates with
pen and paper. When the field of photography was first developed
there was a lot of complaints and concerns dealing with whether
it should be considered and artistic field or not. There were
many painters who had trained for years to be able to replicate a
tree realistically on canvas who were dismayed at the idea that
photography was to be taken seriously as an art form. Yet with
time, as the consternation of a new and unknown field wore of f,
society came to accept photography as a legitimate artistic
statement of its own, and learned to value it accordingly. It is
also so with computer-generated visual art.

People will become aware and learn to appreciate the quality
and caliber of the work being produced. A further benefit of
the advances made in computer design programs is the ability for
society as a whole to be able to create and contribute to the
field of visual art. Due to the great accessibility of design
and drawing programs, anyone with a home computer will be able to
produce an array of drawings, graphically altered images, and
architectural drawings.

The effects of modern technology on society and contemporary
culture are phenomenal and immeasurable. They have altered the
way in which we view ourselves, and the changing world around us.
They have touched our psychological, social, and physical lives
and have greatly modified they way in which we develop. With the
unprecedented advances made in computerized communication systems
and networks even the way in which we interact with one another
and with computers is different than it was twenty years ago.
The world is now linked electronically and we have become one
giant global community. Technological advances have also
affected the fields of Cybernetics, Virtual Reality, artificial
life, and computer design programs. The transformation that can
be seen in the Art world is astronomical and has irrevocally
changed the way in which society views and values visual art.
The technological progression over the last hundred years have
been phenomenal and with each new technical discovery countless
possibilities arise for further advancement.

—————————————————————-

Contemporary Culture (& Technology):
An Example of it More Than Anything Else

By R.K. Shaw
June, 1993.

It`s funny how we`re living in the past so much of the time.
The present, for me, has not just one finite meaning. We all
have different presents wrapped up within what we know of our own
culture and how much we partake in it and so much more.
And how about the Volkssport Association of British Columbia
display and beer garden down here at Market Square. I don`t know
what this is about beyond an accordion player in tall socks, a
pixie hat, and suspenders for his shorts. Or are those knickers?
I think they`re into hiking – them Volkenssporters. Come
from the Alps originally perhaps. Today they`ve got the centre
of attention, although I feel i`ve come after the peak of the
party. But maybe not at all. For an afternoon party it`s pretty
much come and go as you please. To PARTY does not seem to be the
big focus of the, the event? Is that what it`s called? My
shoulder`s sore & the sun is reflecting in my eyes. I think
Volkenssportees are in the blue shirts. Older they are than me
or, well me anyways. Oh, they`re some burgundy shirts as well.
A 10 & 20km walk was just announced for tomorrow (a way of
achieving visionary state of mind through walking? – an ancient
tradition?) and a walking tour of Market Square, Fantan Alley,
and Chinatown – but no points allowed for that one. Eleanor
Grant from Comox is now going up to receive a certificated for
13,000 km. John Grady has done 25 marathons and over 25,000 km
in 19 years.
Margy Limpy of Victoria,
Jerry Levine of Victoria,
and a few others.
Check out all the sun hats on the beer garden tables.
CLap Clap Clap
OH, Cathy Lean is there from Kelona, Washington.
And hey, how does anyone become an ambulence attendant anyways?
Actually that`s not that difficult a question to answer.
Either is grave diggers I suppose. Don`t beer gardens usually
have low fences around their parametres, you know, just to keep
in & keep out or what ever – FENCES, as I would say when Mike and
I discovered that Mini had pood in the tub. “Well you know cats,
CATS.” All about cats explained in one word.
I guess he`s playing polkas. That`s a polka right?
Accordion equals Polka. Easy music.

SO,
About what I was going to tie this all into. Well just look
around – oh sorry, one more little divergence for a sec, it looks
like the Volkies are sponsored by Rockport. Walkers they are,
cool.
So yes, I just came from a bookstore where I flipped through a
sort of compilation sci.fi. comic
Whoa,one more Volky comment – He`s up holding the Canadian
flag – not a bad size one either – & what, come on, is
that it? – I`m waiting for him to at least flex his muscles but
yes no the flag is now back in its place on stage. Beer
gardens.

And above the Guatemalan shop and over to the left one can
buy all the latest, freshest clothing. Rave wear & sort of skate
shit. That whole alternative to norm transition and all of its
labels shit…
“To all the girls I`ve loved before”. Hey this guy must be good,
give him a digital delay sampler on his acorn and I`d listen
longer & around & around but for now I`ve got to go. When the
saturation point comes…

a few days later…

I`m not always explicit and obvious with what I mean
because my meaning is, in a way, your meaning. You construct it
from that I throw together. This makes communication more
interesting and interactive. Although according to some trains
of thought, more linear ones perhaps, this way of communicating
isn`t plausible on an academic or definitive level. What i`m
talking about is taking place in a more creative or lucid
context. Often, making THINGS interesting is part of what
everything we construct is about. We are here, alive, so why not
think about stuff & talk about stuff & write about stuff and do
it and make it interesting while we`re here. Enlightenment is
boring, so balanced and harmonious and uninteresting. There you
have it, the answer to IT all. So now what, you`re alive, what
else is new. Just keep on living & working or what ever I
suppose. N`est-ce pas? And change too I guess. Throw that in
there as well. Change (or not) comes from growth or rather can
be growth, and if you like expanding (your mind and being lets
say) you learn form experiences and as a result change (or not)
because of them. You becomes a better, or rather, a different
person than you were from the last minute
or
half hour

or season

or person

or colour
t-shirt or skin

or experience
or emotion
or cloud

or scale
or life

or beach.

Cause as they say…

So ypoorter was writing this thing she calls Everything Is
Fuct and I was thinking ya,

everything is fuct.

So?

Everything is fuct and nothing is fuct and everything is fuct.
But that`s what she was writing about, at least that`s what I
think. And I`m an authority, because I say so. I could say why
I’m an authority but I`ll talk about later.

Now is later. Ha! How do you like that – quicker than a
polaroid, faster (perhaps) than money, more satisfying than –
well you might just not care so anyways->

AUTHORITY: Who gets it, how, about what, & why.

I guess what bugs me most about authority is when it`s used
oppressively or down right for the negative – Negatively.
Authority, or knowledge (or not), can be used so, so productively
(?) (I`ll use that word rather than positively, as, i guess my
presuppositions are cropping up & in here – but hey, of course).
NOTE: My little positive/productive debate thang comes out
of this thought being relative to my own biases
and presuppositions preferences. They would be for, as I would
place them, on the positive, caring side
(interpret that as you wish, I do too).
Yet instead of being used to foster love, self realization and
empowerment for the benefit of yourself and other beings and
rocks or trees, authority could just as easily be used to
encourage and promote hate and self realization and self
empowerment for the benefit of other beings etc as well (although
probably for the benefit of others who look most like whoever`s
doing the talking.
I seem to be getting sidetracked (something which I like) a bit
too much perhaps. Or maybe there is just so much I want to say
that I get on to something else before I clearly and neatly
finish up with what I oh what ever. An outline and maybe some
more formal structure to this speel would make it more acceptable
on a standard essay format. But this is supposed to be informal
so I guess I`ll go with it. This paper/piece/essay is about what
I want to say and how I want to say it. It is also suppose to be
about contemporary culture and technology. The two, me and
contempo cult & tech, are bound in ways that I may or may not
talk about but probably will. Ok, so I guess I`m overwhelmed.
La tee da tee da. There are just a couple more things that I
wanted to mention. There was a snowboard add from a couple of
years ago that went something like this: “Don`t question
authority, ignore it.” To further that I like: “Don`t question
authority, be it.” I sort of got that from what Mr. Virtual
Reality, Jaron Lanier, was saying about Big Brother types
possibly wanting to control V.R. input like tapping a phone line.
He advocated becoming smarter or a better hacker than those who
try to “control” things. Sorry Jaron if that’s not quite what you
were getting at but it is what I mean and well, meaning is
obscure isn`t it?

I could say “that`s it” but no. Shall we continue?
I`ve very recently come to realize that I`m writing about the
future, and the very near past. I`m not used to doing this, or
at least used to looking at creativity in such a way. Normally
when ever I write it is not about things which are as of yet
undefined. This means that I am writing about nothing which is
now becoming something. This is just how technologies and
cultural movements are continually emerging, evolving, and being
defined. I can write about what is now happening in my world, as
far as I know, and what I am doing within it, as a part of it so
to speak. Often the more one knows the more one can partake.
But not always. For example, I can partake with what I know, but
of course not everywhere, well yes everywhere. My degree of
involvement is restricted or modulated by my ability to, so to
speak, speak the language. Or for others their ability to speak
my language. We are always partaking in our society to one
degree or another. By choosing not to partake you are partaking.

NOTE: I use “you” instead of “one” sometimes (lots) because
even though it`s bad grammar I think it more directly
addresses you, the reader. Active inactivity. Or inactive
inactivity. Or even inactive activity. Defining. That`s it!
I`m talking about who is defining what is what. Which all ties
into authority. Got it? I sure do and don`t. But even that is
what I`m talking about. This might help:

Music, group, & get together. Well like

that`s
another thing but you know. Cause

you know music is music. If you want to

play music you can play music if you have

the people you want to play music with
then
you can play music. Know what I mean?
-Bob Marley from Talkin` Blues.

There is an active movement or cultural shift in importance
that is growing, or at least trying to. One with an enfaces on
the security of living as an individual, living with others how
you want to with respect and appreciation from those who surround
you. This can be a scary thought because I don`t want somebody
doing what they want if it means bad stuff. “Bad stuff” covers
alot and is culturally and personally specific. What I might
consider bad would of course be good to somebody else and even my
thoughts right here are culturally specific to some one who
chooses to live in a smooth transition, positive vibe, caring,
try to not be afraid to speak my mind but get along with other
people and things kind of way. I may have to rewrite that
sentence. So, because of the randomness of truth and meaning,
people may conflict and hey, why not allow for that? How? Well
I could talk a lot about that but it would just be me spouting
what I believe in and all of a sudden I feel strange about doing
that. But since that`s what i`m doing anyways, heck, why not? I
still feel kind of strange because I`m not used to saying what I
believe in to a potentially large (hello out there) audience. So
if i`m going to speak to YOU which includes all of you (ha) then
here we go.

ME as pointer outer for a yet undefined cultural standpoint.
I don`t know how far it reaches. By this I mean that it might
just reflect back at me, or my friends, or my ecological region,
or country, age group, or race, or sexual orientation, or
economic bracket, or gender, or hair length, or level of formal
education, or experience, or yes so many of these things go in to
where I`m coming from but I know that already and acknowledge it.
Maybe our lack of a definition or label is what defines us. An
aware Slacker or active GenXer would be the closest term perhaps
(more about this later). People sometimes go through something
like this on a personal level but I`d like to see it happen on a
massive cultural scale. And I do, and don`t. It comes and goes.
One vibe becomes more prominent than another. Which is fine.
That is change, allow for it and you might not become bitter.
Remember that sometimes these thing work in cycles. I`m relying
on myself and on others of some what like mind to live daily in
such a way. I just read an Alice Walker book. “Resistance is
the secret of joy” it said. I am holding out you might say,
hanging on to my own terms, letting them change and adapt, but
trying to live life my way. Reminds me of an old Lover Boy song.
Yike. Resistance to being pushed and pulled around sometimes
means being pushed and pulled. But I would rather be respected
in my own place with out having to demand it. Who wouldn`t? And
all this shit is a big kaboodle in my brain. I care I suppose.
I care how people are doing (and the Earth for that matter). I
care about what kind of world I live in and you live in. I would
like to live with out having to lock my doors or any number of
other little yet significant things that split trust in our North
American culture. The systems, policies, and attitudes that put
people and the Earth in shitty positions (eg. poverty) are in
obvious need of change. Not only are companies and governments
being forced to change their environmental policies (not enough)
but I would like to think that those in control might actually
care about “tomorrow” more than just for economic reasons. This
may be too much to ask or hope for but this is in some weird way
how I’m trying to live daily. Banking on individual difference to
make a difference I guess. I like seeing it work though. In
little ways like recycling and using cloth shopping bags, your
own mug, and such.
New systems that are being developed need to allow for
humane based foundations. That is what is so interesting about
all the new technologies coming up. I see people still trying to
make a buck which is great (I guess) but also being conscious and
considering how these new things will positively and negatively
effect the environment, which of course includes us.
Do you ever notice that when you say something it could just
as easily be taken in exactly the opposite way from the way you
meant it. The Bible is a classic example. Interpretation is so
hinged upon context and language. I have no problem with this. I
like it. Chaos. What to believe what to believe. Those old
“objective” news reports, and scientific experiments, and
photographs they just don`t hold the same validity that they used
to if they ever really did. Maybe it is not necessarily their
validity that has changed so much as their absoluteness. They
are no longer the absolute authority or truth but now just one of
many points of view. But unfortunately whoever controls access
to the means of communication controls the content. As Jaron
Lanier said something about telephones being good because anybody
using one controls the content but not so with a TV. I have
nothing more to say and lots more to say. Lunch time?
BLaablablablablablabaaaalbbaaalaaablablablablab. I feel like
some feed back.

Thank you Heather. Heather understands. We were wondering
though about the disparity between written and spoken words and
just how immensely different the two forms of communication are.
I`m hoping that you, the reader, will understand more or less
what i`m saying and meaning. But hey, you might not and that`s
ok. Written or spoken or otherwise I might not even know what
i`m doing. Ooou, this IS nutty. But that is what is so
contemporary (to me at least). Linear logic has become only one
of many approaches to looking at things. Go see the movie Slacker
if you haven`t already. It shows a lot of what different ways of
approaching one`s life are going on. The maker of the film,
Richard Linklater described a Slacker as:

somebody who’s not doing what`s expected of them. Somebody who`s
trying to live an interesting life, doing what they want to do,
and if that takes time to find, so be it” (from Mondo 2000 #9).

That`s sort of what I was trying to get at earlier on.

Now I would like to add in a few words and expressions that
i wanted to get into this essay(?) but that might not make it in
if I don`t do it right now.
Here they are:

hip pouches,
Maslow`s hierarchy of needs,
Kiss My Grits,
plate of shrimp,
old cars,
new cars,
postmodernism,
deconstruction,
subjectivity of a kiss,
knowing,
fear,
love,
art,
hair,
the running of the goats,
fashion,
raves,
flow,
congas,
the orb,
vibe,
having a body,
not much else cept for music.

And a few of quotations that have everything to do with what I’m
saying:

“How did you get here?”
“Same way you did: space ship, Ape City, subway.”
-Tyler to Brent in Beneath the Planet of the Apes

“What ever you do, take care of your shoes.”
-Phish

“Pousse mon amour, pousse!”
-from Leolo

To finish up with I`d just like to say that if anybody out
there has anything they`d like to say to me please do so. Here
is where nouveau technologies come in such as e-mail. Feedback on
a ramble like mine would be much appreciated. I`d just like to
know if anybody feels anything that I do. Via the wonders of
e-mail I can be found at:

rkshaw@nero.uvic.ca.

peace,

R.K. Shaw

—————————————————————-

IS THIS PROGRESS???

June ,1993

My insight of contemporary culture and technology is
looking globally and personally at how the future is fast
approaching.I wonder how prepared we really are?
Technology has been progressing over the past several years
blindly in the eyes of society. I could see that we`re in the
process of distroying the old world and building a new world in
its place, at least trying too. The light of technology has
become overwhelming, while our environment, economy,and education
are falling a part. Changes are occuring now and we tend to be
emotionally attached to our old ways of living rather than try to
open our eyes to change. Although we are in a higher level of
consciousness and awareness from mass media, and mass
communication, we`re losing control over work everywhere from
factories and offices to hospitals and retail stores,as
computerization is integrating in the stage of the systems. In
our work environment, we are being controlled by the systems
logic and are now becoming aware of this transformation and
implications. But are we prepared to make the change?
So far it looks as if our perception of technological change and
economic restructuring has been transformed from social and
political issues of massive unemployment, demeaning of work, and
loss of democratic control and personal independence into a
de-personalized, disembodied technocratic puzzle: how to
“manage” the “impacts” of restructuring; how to “adjust” people
as if they were numbers on a flow chart.

Its brought jobless employment growth in many plants
and offices and are reduced to unthinkable procedures by pressing
keys while technology does most of our thinking. Its as if we’re
being filtered through unnecessary laborers of technology, all in
the value of the doller.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
As uncertain as it may seem, technology is becoming
more of a reality. In my own personal experience I have had to
some what alter my career plans. I’ve felt like I have had to
start all over again. I realized that computers as another artist
medium tool would be an added skill to other artists like myself.
But to have computers as the device of all art mediums in the
future, I fear to question..? If technology dominates the medium
of our ancestrial artists it’ll be like eliminating history of
its craft. To eliminate the craftmanship you eliminate the
physical technique and expression. I believe that technology is
blind in the understanding of personal experience and
expressions. For instance, if we were to look at a painting on a
computer screen, how would our perception of artificial image
compared to traditionally viewing of painting?

How can we see the artists instinctive physical approach to the
painting? I can’t imagine how computer can transmit such
information. The only way would be to have the computer transmit
the mind of the artists. Artists would not have complete control
over his/her work with a computer. The process of mixing colour
is a process of creativity and satisfaction of discovering new
colour by physically mixing where as computers would be
artificial. Naturally you see the stages of development from the
beginning to the end piece as a whole,where as with the computer
your mousing about to find the final result.
Unfortunately I believe painting,
drawing,sculpture will become a thing of the past and more or
less it’ll be a personal liesure activity ,but when I look
further ahead I try to imagine what painting will look to
computer graphics and special effects. Currently having used a
bit of the laser printer, I can see that in the near future, the
resolution on printouts will be as clear as photos, and that
amateur graphic artists will have medium to nun in design skills.
They can also become skillfull designers and layout artist.
Machines will play a major part in aiding creative skills and
expression to those with talent musically and artistically.
Artists will be even more highly regarded in the new age of art
but the traditional skilled artists will always be well
respected.

I’ve heard the latest in our media news about the new
visual reality in theatres and that audiences will become more
intensily involved with film, so much so that too many action
scenes could rapidly confuse illution of film with reality. How
much further will this virtual reality go? The thought of virtual
live T.V. would be amazing,but we would probably virtually not
want to live ourselves in our real world.
Currently I’ve had a taste of my own experience of
virtual reality, when I’ve finally decided to educate myself and
get over the computer intimidation, which has caused some anxiety
and frustration. This occured when I first sat in front of one of
these screen T.V.s wondering if the other students new little as
much as I did. I thought that going through some of the program
guides would be a breez, (So I thought) obviously didn’t make
computing easy. I was anticipating instant results but all I was
getting – “Command not recognized” to “Don’t understand”
The amount of time that it lit up the screen I was ready to put a
hole in the return key. “Now there’s some vertual action for ya,”
I made my exit so I could bring myself back together. Tolerence
and patience is definitely a virtue. I wanted answers no matter
how long it was going to take me. Having had some good tutorial
assistance, I found that it wasn’t enough. I realized I was on
my own to explore the jungles of the Internet, FTP,Gopher and
EMAIL> etc. Having explored the programs I saw how this new
technology can and will open a whole new world of communication
and having access to new tools. (Not to worry I don’t plan to
regurgitate the procedures)
I could see how this new technology has unlimited
possibilities that are unimaginative to human thinking.
Globally I wonder if this new technology will be beyond human
control or will we be considered technocratics in the 21st
century? Hmmmmmmm…
The thought of what 10, 20 years will bring is hard to
imagine really. Really in only seven years, will be in the year
2000. I can remember watching the future series 1999 in the
early 80’s and to think that I’d still be here to see that year.
It’s a fearing thought that in 1999 we could live such a cold and
sterile environment, wearing co-ordinated coloured uniform and
not being able to see the light of day. Everyone living in
uniformity and order with no sense of individuality. Yet six more
years, who’s to say this fictional movie 1999 may hold some
truths. Interestingly, recently I read an article by Arther C.
Clark in which he has some interesting insightful predicaments
which I found it to be amazingly possible of what a birth
certificate would look like in the 21st century:

—————————————————————-
Commonwealth of California
Department of Health`s
Vital Records
CERTIFICATE OF LIFE
Subject: Baby boy, Miller
Date of Conception: November 15,2018; 12:15 P.M.
Place of conception: Comprehensive Fertility Institute,
Beverly Hills, California

Number of Parents: Three, including surrogate mother-
mother donated egg, father sperm

Method of Conception: In vitro fertilization followed by
embryo tranfer. Mother’s body had
rejected her artificial falloian tube.
After 8 days on pergonal tablets, mother
produced 2 eggs. Both were removed
during routine laparoscopy and screened
for possible defects. Eggs united with
father’s sperm. After 48 hours in incubator,
embryos were removed from growth medium
and placed in surrogate’s womb. Only one
embryo attached itself to uterrine wall.

Prenatal Care Ultrasound at 3 months. Fetal surgery
performed at 5 months to correct small
defect in bone of right foot.

Date/Time of Birth: Jason Lawrence Miller born July 20,
2019; 4:15 A.M.

Father: Jason L.Miller,Sr.
Mothers: Amy Wong (natural), Maribeth River
(surrogate)

Birth Method: Newly lifted in Morningstar Birthing
Center, division of Humana Corporation.
Natural delivery of Humana Corporation.
Natural delivery after 5-hours labor.
Labor pains controlled through
accupuncture. Therapeutic touch used for
last hour of labor . Child’s father,
adopted sister, and natural mother
attended the delivery.

Weight/Length: 10Ib.; 25 in.

Eye Color: Green

Genetic Profile: Yunis Test show missing sub-band on
chromosome 5, indicating premature
graying of hair. Will be totally gray by
age 22.
Bands on one chromosome upside down;
could have fertility problems.Nicked
chromosome indicates a greater than
average vulnerability to lung cancer.

High-Risk Professions: Any career that would expose
individual to possible lung
damage:painting, mining,etc.

Body Type: Mesomorph. Build well suited to
contact sports,such as football.To maximize
muscle development and athletic ability,
should begin exercise program by age 4.

Prjected Life Span: 82 years

—————————————————————–

I wonder what the 21st century schools will be like. I
think we would constantly be training and retraining and
learning. Also early training will lead to greater educational
success later. For example, a grandmother taking a course in a
small business management where as her sixteen year old
grandson’s getting 1st year college English early while in
Universities, students are taking classes in new technological
development in their field to advance fields in technical
science. The emphasis will shift to produce workers for the
industrial factory based economy which
required patience docility and ability to endure boredom.
Knowing that Robots technicians are now increasing in
demand, new fields will spring up as population increases and
workers jobs are eliminated by technology. This is obviously
happening even now where workers are having to go back to school
to prepare for careers in these new areas. Fortunately technology
will bring students a smorgasbord of educational choices for
students of all ages. I can see in the next generation how
schools will be partly financed by local industries that rely on
producing and training workers. Technology is transforming
society itself, in turn computers will take on schools.
Artificial intelligence in its infancy will probably
dominate education or even its growing stages that will probably
dominate education.
As I look further ahead in artificial intelligence
meaning robots will be able to see, listen, talk in all ranging
languages. They’ll no longer be a simple-minded dumb insensate
machine found in factories producing lines. They’ll move out of
manufactoring plants to working alongside us relaxing with us
and, live with us. Our homes will become roboticized with central
intelligence. They’ll have control over the cooling, lighting,
security alarms,and ventilation and light control. Soon they’ll
be able to crack our eggs in the morning without any
tecno-anarchy. They’ll be adapted to more and more things become
our robot slaves that we will train and house break.
As we get used to the luxury of having slaves we may want them
around for companionship as well . The thought of haveing
Robo-dogs and Robo-cats that responds to human voices a companion
without the kitty litter. “What a concept!”
Better yet I found another insightful thought found in the same
article by Arthur C.Clarke where he uses Joseph Engelberger idea
of a robot resume . He believes these artificial intelligence
beings will become undersea explorers, heavy construction
workers, crime figurers nuclear power plant inspectors, cybernete
companies and astronauts. Here’s a sample of his robot resume:

————————————————————–
RESUME
Name: Universon Robot
Social Security Number: None
Marital Status: N/A
Age: 58 years old
Sex: Three choices (male, female, asexual)
Height: 5 feet
Weight: 60 to 2,800 pounds (depending on job requirements)
Present Health: Excellent
Medical History: Lost hand (now replaced) in a forge accident;
lost memory (restored by tape); blinded in a kiln explosion (new,
improved stereoptic vision since installed)
Life expectancy: 29 man-shift years
Special ability/Training: Industrial/heavy-duty outdoors model:
Fluent in three robot languages; instantly retrainable with
memory replacement module; three-jointed arm has 6 degree of
movement and is capable of lifting up to 2,000 pounds with one
end effector (hand). Precise-can work within a tolerance of
1/1000 of an inch; works 24-hour shifts.
Personal model: Available in either stationary or mobile
configurations; can learn to respond to owner’s voice; comes with
Level 1 Conscience, the program of protective ethics, factory
installed (not available in warrior mode).
Work Experience: Assembly-line worker, welder, painter- Ford,
General Motors,
Materials handling-Pittsburgh Plate Glass
Domestic-Engelberger household, Danbury, Connecticut
Operating room nurse/attendant-Long Beach Hospital, Long Beach,
California
References supplied upon request

So where does this leave us ? The thought of having a
race of robots which are exactly like humans with the only
difference they’re less subject to mental and physical disease
and are made of metal (recycled metal) or whatever. Is it
possible that these human robots could become immortal? To
answer that , it seems anything is possible in the future of
technology only I wonder about our future as a human race.
So far globally we’re deteriorating but in order to move forward
it seems we’ll have to make alterations to educate ourselves to
progress.

I ask ,”What is progress?.” A question,that’s always
puzzled me. I guess that everyone must try to kick the habit and
evaluate our values and priorities in the way technology is being
designed and applied. But then technological change is controlled
by few people dedicated to maximizing efficiency for competitive
gain. Yet, population is increasing and I can see a viscious
technological circle occuring. In time, if this unwinds and
takes effect in the next generation, we would have more time to
educate ourselves to a much broader range of educational choices
in which we have access communication and information that can be
transmitted all in our finger tips.At first it’s like finding a
new toy then learning how its used.
Also I can see how psychologically some of us can become
completely obsessed to the computer screen and not be able to
function normally without it. Is this where the human race is
heading? This will bring in a whole new stream of jobs into
psychological technology, speach therapy, to optometrists as our
eye sight weakens.
This wonderful technology called progress
seems to let out a lot of bug, causing our physical and mental
bodies to diminish due to long hours of sitting in front of a
computer screen accomplishing nothing, to sitting long hours of
accomplishing something. Then to watch ones documents disappear
from your very eyes. Of course this, so call PROGRESS doesn’t
always provide such mental and physical strain.
A wise preacher once said “believe in yourself.” he also adds
not only to believe in ourselves but also our sense of what is
important, and to use that as our guide in our working and living
environment in the industrial era. One thing I’II add which
makes life so much easier is to SAVE !! SAVE!! SAVE!!

—————————————————————-

Enter

In order to start this essay I had decided to answer a question
from the course outline:” Have we all become artist” ? This
question will enable me to focus my attention,and allow my
imagination to grabe hold of the implications of such a thought
and fallow it into the latest frontier of computer technology.
this essay is part of the requirements for the Arts and
Technology class. The class covers in part , practical
applications of contemporary computer technology. And, as a
Visual Artist I will attempt to give my interpretation of this
perceived relationship between the two. This is the first of –
short essays concerning my journey as anew and impressionable
technowiener entering into cybrospace.
The question of whether we
have become all Artiste, implies, that we have been empowered by
reason imparted to us by contemporary technology. With this
evolution of computer technology it seems to be the next medium
for the Artist to adopt. Be it push button or voice-command,
mass-consciousness has finally delivered us too the window’s of
cybrospace and virtual reality. Since the nifty 50’s the
Modernist attitude has had mainstream society pinning away for
great technological advancements and now we’re at a threshold.
However, we are but lowly Pilgrims entering a little knower and
yet created frontier
The implications still remains the same that technology could
some how induce a type of metamorphose on the human rase and
transform them into Artistes. However, I am of the belief that it
is a combination of imagination, inquisitiveness, self-awareness,
craft and discipline that aspires us as Artiste; furthermore,
creativity is an inherent human characteristic and not a
technological induced function. Perhaps our imaginations will be
further seduced by this technology; thus , limiting or even
debasing our awareness of reaction to sensation, and then ,
giving way to a belief that : With computer technology therefore
I am.

The Good

The demand for
information and communication is on the rise as more and more
people discover the tremendous potential of computer networking.
This resent development in technology
has the capability of providing a new faster and more
versatile way of accessing and communicating information. With
more computer sights coming on line and appearing throughout the
world more people now will have access to a larger base of
information. A medium seemingly designed for the politicaly
correct 90’s.
In this age of political correctness a powerful information
and communication medium has the potential of being a fantastic
tool in fostering relationships within your own region through
either Freenet service or a more international server like
Internet. The methods of communicating with someone can be either
by e-mail, direct connection to the person or persons and by
posting messages on a community or special interest bolten
boards, what ever the method chosen it will be a more convenient
one.

The fantastic wealth of information sights available to us
from around the world has given us a form witch to unit people
global.
This ability to share knowledge in areas of Education, Arts,
Technology, Medicine …etc,etc, simple by making computer files
accessible to anyone is a great development from this
technology.Gaining access is simple made by going through
directories like Archie and by Database or by simple posting your
quires on a community bulletin board, either method usually
yields the desired information on possible communication sights.
The befits from computer networking has set the tone for new
Conventions by creating a new faster more versatile way of
accessing and communicating information. However, the most
important development from this technological innovation is its
accessability. The ability to log into a computer, be it public
or private, and access information from other sights around the
world has finally turn the have notes into the haves. I can only
hope that people will take the time and nurture this new
technology not just control it.

The Bad

The latest in technological
advancements made in the area of communication and
information services is awe-inspiring. A most hypnotic vision of
seemingly endless possibilities awaits us in cybrospace. Snap out
of it! Don’t fall, under the trance of this hypnotist, you don’t
even know who he or she is let alone know if their really. Lets
get back to Canada’s economic problems; for example, how about
the Federal and Provincial fiscal restraint policies and the Free
Trade deals. After all, universality of social programs and
Canada’s sovereignty are important issues much more than what the
latest computer technology has to offer or is it?
Perhaps there is an important link between Canada’s current
economic problems and policies that involves technology related
to cybrospace. The Free Trade agreement between Canada and United
states plus the possibilities of NAFTA agreement with Mexico
could be seen in relationship with the latest computer networking
capabilities and The New World Order. The connection between the
latest development in the information communication technology is
part of a Global Infrastructure that connects us with other
market places and trading blocks. Furthermore, the market place
will no longer be confined to simple geographic areas and this
intern will mean more of a Global economy; thus , the once known
Multinational companies are now known as Global companies.This
implies that companies will have greater flexibility in regards
to development and being more transitory. This method of doing
business has been made possible by technology like
Telex-radio-computer networking links.
What free trade agreements do for Global companies and there
subsidiaries is eliminate trade barriers between respective
trading partners. With trade barriers down outside investors can
have a great influence on the sovereignty of host country; for
example, by claiming unfair trading practices do to particular
Federal or Provincial past or future policies. Which brings us to
the most often herd phrase of the 90’s “We have to become more
globally competitive”. And we have already seen some examples of
streamlining and its effects: Down sizing of operations , wage
rollbacks, and the threatened Universality of social programs
plus meany others.
The connection has been shown to be made between Canada’s
economic and Sovereignty woes and the latest in computer
technology has made it possible for Governments and Global
campiness to manipulate and create a New World Order of polices
and procedures. The solution to Canada’s present problems and
future self determination is not only being able to use the same
technology but rather the need for investment into Canada as
future leader in development of technology.
The Ugly

The creative powers formed by the imagination and
intuition with its amidiate understanding with out reason has
brought me to this finaly essay topic : Contempoary music
regarding communication technology and how people relait to it. I
remembered the recording by Roger Water’s, Radio K.A.O.S from
1986 and Kate Bush’s song, Deeper Understanding from her 1989
recording of: Sensual World. Both artist approach on
communication/computer technology as being trivealized by
societies consumerist attitude and their excessive
preoccupations.
As I read the lyrics from the song : Deeper Under Standing by
Kate Bush I can relaity to what she is saying and can imagine how
people can slowly withdrawly from society and become introverted.
Here are the lyrics from from Kate Bush’s song: Deeper Under
Standing.

As the people here grow colder
I turn to my computer
And spend my evenings with it
Like a friend.
I was loading a new programme
I had ordered from a magazine:

“Are you lonely, are you lost?
This voice console is a _must_.”
I press Execute.

“Hello, I know that you’ve been feeling tired.
I bring you love and deeper understanding.
Hello, I know that you’re unhappy.
I bring you love and deeper understanding.”

Well I’ve never felt such pleasure.
Nothing else seemed to matter.
I neglected my bodily needs.
I did not eat, I did not sleep,
The intensity increasing,
‘Til my family found me and intervened.

But I was lonely, I was lost,
Without my little black box.
I pick up the phone and go, Execute.

“Hello, I know that you’ve been feeling tired.
I bring you love and deeper understanding.
Hello, I know that you’re unhappy.
I bring you love and deeper understanding.”

I turn to my computer like a friend.
I need deeper understanding.
Give me deeper understanding.

In Kate’s song : Deeper Understanding, I can
sight a good example of Ipeople becoming infatuated with the
seemingly endless possibilities of computer technology. The
assienment in part given to our computer class was to connect
with telnet and then into Media Moo. From inside Media Moo we
were expected to explore and communicat with other users in this
text-based vertual reality. Once you have become acustom to the
program’s of navigating, interacting with various tools, objects,
the more ingaged you become. You seem to be cought up in the
interaction and the dialouge with other users and the archutects
of this virtual reality you find it hard to leave. And, the
potential of computer programs becoming an obsession and a
safe environment is quiet real. The obsservation by Kate Bush,
maybe simple ; nevertheless, there is alot to the line ,”give me
a deeper understanding,” and how we are driven by it.
The concept recording of Radio Kaos by Roger Waters has
expressed how telecommunication/computer technology has been used
to trivualize or control our daily lives. Here is the lyrics for
Roger Waters Radio K.A.O.S:
Author: Roger Waters

Benny is a Welsh coal miner. He is a radio ham. He is 23 years
old, married
to Molly. They have a son, young Ben, aged 4, and a new baby.
They look after
Benny’s twin brother Billy, who is apparently a vegetable. The
mine is closed
by the market forces. The Male Voice Choir stops singing, the
village is dying.

One night Benny takes Billy on a pub crawl. Drunk in a
brightly-lit shopping
mall, Benny vents his anger on a shop window full of multiple TV
images of
Margaret Thatcher’s mocking condescension. In defiance, he
steals a cordless
‘phone. Later that night, Benny cavorts dangerously on the
parapet of a
motorway footbridge, in theatrical protest at the tabloid press.
That same
night, a cab driver is killed by a concrete block dropped off a
similar bridge.
The police come to question Benny; he hides the cordless ‘phone
under the
cushion of Billy’s wheelchair.
Billy is different, he can receive radio waves directly without
the aid of a
tuner; he explores the cordless ‘phone, recognizing its
radioness.
Benny is sent to prison. Billy feels as if half of him has been
cut off. He
misses Benny’s nightly conversations with radio hams in foreign
parts. Molly,
unable to cope, sends Billy to stay with his Great Uncle David,
who had
emigrated to the USA during the war. Much as Billy likes Uncle
David and the
sunshine and all the new radio in LA, he cannot adjust to the
cultural upheaval
and the loss of Benny, who for him is ‘home’.
Uncle David, now an old man, is haunted by having worked on the
Manhattan
project during World War II, designing the Atom Bomb, and seeks
to atone. He
also is a radio ham; he often talks to other hams about the Black
Hills of his
youth, the Male Voice Choir, about home. He is saddened by the
use of
telecommunication to trivialise important issues, the soap opera
of state.
However, Live Aid has decynicised him to an extent. Billy
listens to David and
hears the truth the old man speaks.
Billy experiments with his cordless ‘phone, he learns to make
calls. He
accesses computers and speech synthesizers, he learns to speak.
Billy makes contact with Jim a DJ at Radio KAOS, a renegade rock
station
fighting a lone rear guard action against format radio. Billy
and Jim become
radio friends, Reagan and Thatcher bomb Lybia. Billy perceives
this as an act
of political “entertainment” fireworks to focus attention away
from problems at
“home”.
Billy has developed his expertise with the cordless ‘phone to the
point where
he can now control the most powerful computers in the world. He
plans an
“entertainment” of his own. He simulates nuclear attack
everywhere, but
compassion. In a SAC bunker a
soldier in a white cravat turns a key to launch the counter
attack. Nothing happens; impotently he kicks the console,
hurting his foot. He watches the
approaching blips on the radar screen. As impact approaches, he
thinks of his
wife and kids, he puts his fingers in his ears.
Silence. White out. Black out. Lights out. It didn’t happen,
we’re still
alive. Billy has drained the earth of power to create his
illusion.
All over the dark side of the earth, candles are lit. In the pub
in Billy’s
home village in Wales one man starts to sing; the other men join
in.
The tide is turning.
Billy is home.

Jim: This is K.A.O.S. You and I are listening to KAOS in Los
Angeles. Let’s
go to the telephones now and take a request.
Billy: Hello, I’m Billy.
Jim: Yes?
Billy: I hear radio waves in my head.
Jim: You hear radio waves in your head? Ah! Is there a request
that you have
tonight for KAOS?

Radio Waves
————

Radio waves. Radio waves.
He hears radio waves. Radio waves.
The atmosphere is thin and cold
The yellow sun is getting old
The ozone overflows with radio waves
AM, FM, weather and news
Our leaders had a frank exchange of views
Are you confused, radio waves.

Radio waves, radio waves
AM radio waves, FM radio waves
Radio waves, mind-numbing radio waves
Fish-stunning radio waves
Radio waves.

Magic Billy in his wheel chair
Is picking up all this stuff in the air
Billy is face to face with outer space
Messages from distant stars
The local police calling all cars, radio waves

Hear them radio waves, radio waves
Jesus saves radio, radio waves
adio waves, AM radio waves, FM radio waves
All them radio waves

Radio waves, radio waves, he hears radio waves
Radio waves, radio waves, hopeful radio waves, dopeful radio
waves
Radio waves, Russian radio waves, Prussian radio waves
Eastern radio waves, Western radio waves
Testing radio waves, one two. One two.
Radio waves. Getting through to you
More code radio waves, Tobacco road radio waves
South to Paloma radio waves, Oklahoma City radio waves
Sitting pretty radio waves, nitty-gritty radio waves
Radio waves

Jim: Alright, that’s a song called Radio Waves. You are
listening to KAOS in
Los Angeles and we’ve got Billy on the line.
Billy: I’m from the valleys.
Jim: You’re from the valley?
Billy: No, Jim you schmuck, the Valleys; male voice choirs,
Wales.
Jim: Ah, you’re from Wales! Now is this sperm or blue-tip?
Billy: Ha, ha, ha, ha. Very funny Jim.
Jim: Sorry.
Billy: Me and Benny went out.
Jim: Who’s Benny?

Who Needs Information
———————-

Me and Benny went out last night
Looking for fun
Supping ale in the moonlight
Waiting for the dawn to come
Benny pointed at a HiFi shop
He said hey man look at all the stuff they’ve got
How’d you make a have out of a have not
Hmmmm.
Who needs information
When you’re working underground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds

Benny climbed up on a footbridge
And he teetered on the parapet
He said can you see the whites of their headlights
Are they coming yet

Who needs information
This high off the ground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds

Who needs information
When you’re living in constant fear
Just give me confirmation
There’s some way out of here
Some way out of here

Benny hefted a breeze block
And tried to let go
Got hung up on a tear drop
So me and Benny went home

Who needs information
When you’re living in constant fear
Just give me confirmation
There’s some way out of here
Some way out of here

Who needs information yeah
When you’re living on borrowed time
Just give me confirmation
There will be a winner this time

Who needs information when you’re working underground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds
Who needs, who needs, who needs information
This high off the ground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds – yeah

Jim: Um.
Jim lights a cigarette.
Jim: So your brother’s in jail?

Me or Him
———-

You wake up in the morning, get something for the pot
Wonder why the sun makes the rocks feel hot
Draw on the walls, eat, get laid
Back in the good old days

Then some damn fool invents the wheel
Listen to the whitewalls squeal
You spend all day looking for a parking spot
Nothing for the heart, nothing for the pot

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio
Oh how he wanted to talk to the people,
he wanted his own show
Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York
Listen tot the Welsh kid talk
Communicating like in the good old days

Forgive me father for I have sinned
It was either me or him
And a voice said Benny
You fucked the whole thing up
Benny your time is up
Your time is up

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio
He wanted to talk to the people
He wanted his own show
Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York
Listen to the Welsh kid talk communicating
Like in the good old days

Forgive me Father
Welsh Policeman: Mobile One Two to Central.
For I have sinned
Welsh Policeman: We have a multiple on the A465
between Cwmbran and Cylgoch.
Father it was either me or him.
Father can we turn back the clock?
Welsh Policeman: Ambulance, over.
I never meant to drop the concrete block.
Welsh Policeman: Roger central, over and out.

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio
He wanted to talk to the people
He wanted his own show
Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York
Listen to the Welsh kid talk
Just like in the good old days
The good old days

Radio announcer: Do you really think Iranian terrorists would
have taken
Americans hostage if Ronald Reagan were president?
Do you really think the Russians would have invaded Afghanistan
if Ronald
Reagan were president?
Do you really think third-rate military dictators would laugh at
America and
burn our flag in contempt if Ronald Reagan were president?
Concerned Citizen: Well, it might work!
Hostage: We as a group do most importantly want to beseech
President Reagan and
our fellow Americans to refrain from any form of military or
violent means as
an attempt, no matter how noble or heroic, to secure our freedom.

Concerned Citizen: Sure! Only it’s going to be mighty dangerous
for you,
Cassidy

Hoppy’s faithful sidekick: guess you don’t know Hopalong Cassidy,
Mister.
Adventure’s his bread, excitement’s his butter and danger, why to
him that’s
like strawberry jam to top it off.

Jim: This is some live rock and roll at KAOS, where rock and roll
comes out of
chaos and a song called “The Powers that Be”…

The Powers That Be
——————-

The powers that be
They like a tough game
No rules
Some you win, some you lose
Competition’s good for you
They’re dying to be free
They’re the powers that be
They like a bomb proof cadillac
Air conditioned, gold taps,
Back seat gun rack, platinum hub caps
They pick horses for courses
They’re the market forces
Nice car Jack
They like order, make-up, lime light power
Game shows, rodeos, star wars, TV
They’re the powers that be
If you see them come,
You better run – run
You better run on home

Sisters of mercy better join your brothers
Put a stop to the soap opera right now
They say the toothless get ruthless
You better run on home

You better run – run
You better run on home

The powers that be
They like treats, tricks, carrots and sticks
They like fear and loathing, they like sheep’s clothing
And blacked-out vans

Blacked-out vans, contingency plans
They like death or glory, they love a good story
They love a good story

Sisters of mercy better join with your brothers
Put a stop to the soap opera state
They say the toothless get ruthless
Run home before its too late
You better run – run
You better run on home

Billy: Goodnight, Jim.
Jim: Goodnight, Billy.
Uncle David’s Great Dane: Woof, woof, woof!

The canyon – daytime. Billy plays with Great Uncle David’s Great
Dane.
Paraquat Kelly: Bull heads, three red snapper, one pink snapper
and your
Pacific coastal trench hosemonster fish.
Cynthia Fox: Ohhh! At Sky David’s juke joint of joy reports,
forty under the
console giggle stick ling cod, twenty-three purple perches four
sledgehammerhead sharks, and what a surprise, eightyfour crabs,
and no red
snappers.
Paraquat Kelly: Hey, and that’ll do for the triumphant return of
the fish
report with a beat.
Jim: We think of it as mainstreet, but to the rest of the country
it’s Sunset
Strip. You’re listening to KAOS in Los Angeles.

Sunset Strip
————-

I like staying with my Uncle Dave
And I like playing with his great dane
But I don’t fit
I feel alien and strange Kinda outa range

I like riding in my Uncle’s car
Down to the beach where the pretty girls all parade
And movie stars and paparazzi play
The Charles Atlas kicking sand in the face game

And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea
There’s a blood red dragon on a field of green
Calling me back

Back to the Black Hills again
Ooh, ooh, Billy come home

Billy is searching for his native land
Flicking through the stations with the dial in his head
Picking up ————– and
A male voice choir on the short wave band

Billy taps out Jim’s number on the ‘phone
Sits shaking as he waits for Jim’s answering tone
Come on my friend, speak to me please
The land of my fathers is calling to me
And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea
There’s a blood red dragon on a field of green
Calling me back, back to the Black Hills again
Ooh, ooh, Billy come home

Come on home
He sits in the canyon with his back to the sea
Sees a blood red dragon on a field of green
He hears a male voice choir singing Billy come home
Billy, Billy, come home
Come on home

Californian Weirdo: I don’t like fish.
Jim: You are listening to KAOS here in Los Angeles.
Californian Weirdo: I don’t like fish.J
Jim: Yes, we’ve established that. Ah! Do you have a request?
Californian Weirdo: Shell fish, guppy, salmon, shrimp and crab
and lobster,
flounder.I hate fish, but I think most of all I hate fresh fish,
like trout. I
hate fresh trout. My least-hated, favourite fish would be sole.
That way you
don’t have to see the eyes.
Sole has no eyes.
Jim: Oh no!
I’d like to be home with my monkey and my dog
Jim: Thankyou.
I’d like to be home with my monkey and my dog
I’d like to be home with my monkey and my dog
I’d like to be home with my monkey …
Jim: They don’t care. Shut up. Play the record.

Home
—–

Jim: Oh, God!
Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes.
Could be Jerusalem, or it could be Cairo
Could be Berlin, or it could be Prague
Could be Moscow, could be New York
Could be Llanelli, and it could be Warrington
Could be Warsaw, and it could be Moose Jaw
Could be Rome
Everybody got somewhere they call home
When they overrun the defences
A minor invasion put down to expenses
Will you go down to the airport lounge
Will you accept your second class status
A nation of waitresses and waiters
Will you mix their martinis
Will you stand still for it
Or will you take to the hills

It could be clay and it could be sand
Could be desert
Could be a tract of arable land
Could be a house, could be a corner shop
Could be a cabin by a bend in the river
Could be something your old man handed down
Could be something you built on your own
Everybody got something he calls home

When the cowboys and Arabs draw down
On each other at noon
In the cool dusty air of the city boardroom
Will you stand by a passive spectator
Of the market dictators
Will you discreetly withdraw
With your ear pressed to the boardroom door
Will you hear when the lion within you roars
Will you take to the hills

Will you stand, will you stand for it
Will you hear, ohhhh! ohhh! when the lion within
you roars

Could be your father and it could be your mother
Could be your sister, could be your brother
Could be a foreigner, could be a Turk
Could be a cyclist out looking for work. Norman
Could be a king, could be the Aga khan
Could be a Vietnam vet with no arms and no legs
Could be a saint, could be a sinner
Could be a loser or it could be a winner
Could be a banker, could be a baker
Could be a Laker, could be Kareem Abdul Jabar
Could be a male voice choir
Could be a lover, could be a fighter
Could be a super heavyweight, or it could be
something lighter
Could be a cripple, could be a freak
Could be a wop, gook, geek
Could be a cop, could be a thief
Could be a family of ten living in one room on relief
Could be our leaders in their concrete tombs
With their tinned food and their silver spoons
Could be the pilot with God on his side
Could be the kid in the middle of the bomb sight
Could be a fanatic, could be a terrorist
Could be a dentist, could be a psychiatrist
Could be humble, could be proud
Could be a face in the crowd
Could be the soldier in the white cravat
Who turns the key in spite of the fact
That this is the end of the cat and mouse
Who dwelt in the house
Where the laughter rang and the tears were spilt
The house that Jack built
Where the laughter rang and the tears were spilt
The house that Jack built
Bang, bang, shoot, shoot
White gloved thumb, Lord thy will be done
He was always a good boy his mother said
He’ll do his duty when he’s grown, yeah
Everybody’s got someone they call home

Four Minutes
————-

Billy: Four minutes and counting.
Jim: O.K.
Billy: They pressed the button, Jim.
Jim: They pressed the button Billy, what button?
Billy: The big red one.
Jim: You mean THE button?
Billy: Goodbye, Jim.
Jim: Goodbye! Oh yes. This ain’t au revoir,
it’s goodbye! Ha! Ha!
Jim: This is KAOS. It’s a beautiful, balmy, Southern California
summer day.
It’s 80 degrees … I said balmy … I could say bomby … Ha!
Ha! …O.K.
I’m Jim and this is Radio KAOS and with only four minutes left to
us, let’s use
this as wisely as possible.
Molly: Everybody got someone they call home.
Jim: Out at Dodger Stadium.
It’s the bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers are leading
Three to nothing over the Giants, and for those of you who are
looking to go
surfing tomorrow, too bad.
‘Phone rings.
Jim: I’m kinda lost in here to tell you the truth …
O.K. good. Ladies and gentlemen, if the reports that we are
getting are
correct, this could be it. Billy, if you’re listening to me,
please call now.

After a near miss on the plane
You swear you’ll never fly again
After the first kiss when you make up
You swear you’ll never fly again
After the first kiss when you make up
You swear you’ll never break up again
And when you’ve just run a red light
Sit shaking under the street light
You swear to yourself you’ll never drink and drive again
Sometimes I feel like going home
You swear you’ll never let things go by again.
Sometimes I miss the rain and snow
And you’ll never toe the party line again
And when the east wind blows
Sometimes I feel like going home

Jim: Billy, if you are listening, please call.
Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes.
Molly: Goodbye little spy in the sky.
They say that cameras don’t lie.
Am I happy, am I sad, am I good, am I bad?
Jim: Billy, if you’re listening, please call.
Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes, sole has no eyes
Billy: Ten, nine, eight, seven
Margaret Thatcher: Our own independent nuclear deterrent has
helped to keep the
peace.
Billy: Six, five four, three,
Ordinary Person: …you’ve go a job…
Billy: Two, one,
Margaret Thatcher: For nearly forty years
Jim: Goodbye Billy.

The Tide is Turning (After Live Aid)
————————————-

I used to think the world was flat
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning

Satellite buzzing through the endless night
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest, who is the best
Who holds the aces, the East or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

Now the satellite’s confused
‘Cos on Saturday night
The airwaves were full of compassion and light
And his silicon heart warmed
To the sight of a billion candles burning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Billy

I’m not saying that the battle is won
But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun
Wrested technology’s sword from the hand of the
War Lords
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Sylvester

The tide is turning.

The story in Radio Kaos imparts to some extent a prevailing
attitud that society has an explotive destructive naiture.
Furthermore, telecomunication and computer technology are seen as
the altmite vehicle for the consumerist attitude and a further
exstention of their excessive preoccupations for self
actualization.
In both Roger Water’s and Kate Bush’s recordings both have
reflected there concerns over peoples attitudies towards
contemporary technology. Be it the most general of attitudies in
how we relait to one another or how we use exploit the technology
inoder exploit others. This explotive attitude seems to be
inherent part of human kind.

—————————————————————–

Computer Art Today

by Tina Sidhu

The relationship between the artist and the computer is
likely to prove significant not only to the fringe artist and to
the programmer, but to our society as a whole. We live in an
increasingly technological society, the combination of art and
sciences in computer art is a reflection of the times in which we
live. The lives of the artist and programmer will inevitably
overlap more and more, as the computer becomes a more familiar
and widespread influence on our culture.
There is an inevitable range of responses to computer art
ranging from those based on a fear of computers overpowering
traditional human artists, to more optimistic beliefs that
computers will become the most creative and greatest of art
tools. Perhaps some universal computer genius with the skills of
an artist, scientist, programmer and humanist, will change our
traditional attitudes towards art irrevocably, and bring an
entirely new and unique style of art forward. But for ordinary
individuals, like myself, there is no need to wait for critical
agreement. Art is an interpretive subject, and even for myself,
computers provide enough freedom and opportunities for creative
interpretation to make the connection.
Because computer art challenges society s traditional
beliefs about art, segments of the general public and the
artistic community, can be counted on to react with response to
the computer medium. An artist who has not yet delved into this
new technology simply can not comprehend that the computer can be
no more or less a “tool” like the simple paint brush but with
extra advantages. The only difference is that the computer is a
much more complex tool, allowing more options, innovative ideas,
and creative realms.
Prior to forming any sort of opinion regarding computer art
the artist must comprehend the computer’s ability to function for
him/her at many different levels. There needs to be an awareness
of the many roles the computer can play. For one artist, it
might be no more than a design aid. A friend of mine in the
visual arts department, for example, finds the computer extremely
valuable to her work as a weaver. She has described to me how
she uses the computer to visualize a fabric before it actually
being woven. As opposed to weaving on graph paper by hand, the
computer removes the automatic color preference found in that
traditional method. Furthermore, by examining computer
illustrations the softening of contours which must otherwise be
seen only after a weaving was removed from the loom, can be
visualized graphically.
In this case, the computer does not threaten the traditional
weaving methods of an artist but improves them considerably. The
artist has more opportunity to be creative and spends less time
with tedious labours, like coloring in each square in a graph by
hand. This allows the weaver time and freedom to experiment and
therefore, more opportunity to be actively creative. For this
reason, the computer is a significant advantage to the artist and
the art of weaving, itself.
The computer offers the artist a vast expanse of areas and
levels available to explore and master. A new integrative
capacity is offered to the artist which can lead into new
artistic approaches that combines it many features. The
combination of artist and oil paint is, for example, a different
statement than that same artist and watercolors. Now, rather
than purchasing oils and paintbrushes from the art supply store,
the computer artist can simply create the tools to be used on the
computer, and combine the effect of different mediums, or
experiment with alternatives. The fact that one can actually
create the tools to be used for an artwork is amazing since the
possibilities it provides, are virtually endless. There are lots
of examples of tools to choose from and the ability to combine a
variety of tools and even mediums into one artwork can prove most
interesting; however, the finished work of art still depends on
the program and the creative abilities of the artist monitoring
the machine, whether it’s a scanner, a musical synthesizer, or
any other component.
I’ve found that some people feel the computer limits the
artist’s intuitive response to his/her own unfolding creation and
prevents him/her from leaving any personal trace in the execution
of the artwork. This is due to the fact that the computer artist
has the ability to devise a program which can be suited uniquely
to a specific artistic conception which allows him/her to reject,
accept or modify images as they emerge on screen. However, this
adds to the artist’s creative opportunities in a society where
deadlines have to be met and the lack of leisure time is a
serious concern.
It must be understood that there are many different mediums
in the world of art, each to be appreciated in their own right.
Rather than constantly battle over the prominence of sculpture or
oil painting or watercolors, each medium cannot be compared and
should be appreciated for its unique qualities. As well,
computer art should be appreciated as a unique medium itself.
Just because the artist can vary the quality of line and
introduce a variety of colorist effects, does not mean his/her
finished work is unavoidably inferior when measured against an
old renaissance master drawing, in which every line and every
nuance directly reflects its creator’s individual response to the
medium.
There could well be more opportunities to view
computer-generated graphics in their proper artistic context.
The creative process is centered in the mind of the artist, like
his/her ability to conceive an idea for an artwork, the actual
process in which the work was executed, is received well when the
results are seen on canvas. It may be interesting to know, but
it is not an effective means to judge the actual art itself. It
is the idea rather than the artist’s technical skills of a
particular medium which constitutes the appeal of a sculpture,
painting or drawing. In fact, a sculptor friend of mine had
evidenced that the realization of the artist’s mental image can
even occur without their physical involvement or presence. When
considered in this context, I feel that the computer is not a
gimmick but a tool that releases the artist from tedious and
impossible tasks accomplished by hand.
In many ways, the computer as a new artistic tool, parallels
to the emergence of photography as the mechanical medium’ of the
nineteenth century. There was considerable debate then as to
whether photography was a medium related to science or art. Many
traditional painters were appalled when subject they spent hours
to recreate by the paintbrush could be reproduced by the camera
in a matter of minutes and still be called art. They refused to
consider these as works of art just as the traditional canvas
painter may not believe the brush tool of the paint program could
possibly match the tool of their own hands. However, many
painters who had enough self-esteem in their own interpretations,
eventually considered the camera as a valuable tool. Such
artists, even today, who deal with this same debate, use the
camera as a tool that can easily record the physical
characteristics of a person, place or object in a form which can
be easily consulted for future reference. Although there is
still controversy over the artistic nature of the photograph,
photography has developed into a creative medium in its own
right. This occurred at the same time the artists came to accept
the photograph as an artistic aid which resulted in it being less
of a threat to the painters.
I find that most of the computer-generated artwork to date
should be considered as a groundwork for a similar type of
development toward a still developing artistic medium, because it
offers so many new directions and potentials. There has already
been experimentation in programming the computer to simulate the
styles of previously existing art, even in the few years that
computers have become widely available. Computer art no longer
is only suited to linear and geometric designs since the
introduction of new programs that offer tonal gradations,
free-hand drawing and even the ability to draw complex monuments
in a landscape setting of precise perspective which have become
possible with computers as well. Even so, I think the computer’s
potential as an artist’s tool has barely been reached even though
its value in the field of architecture and commercial design has
been acknowledged and utilized. As well, the computer is
currently being utilized in highly creative ways by such programs
as Nintendo, virtual reality, Cyber space and autocad. In other
words, the possibilities of the computer are endless and we have
yet to reach its full potential. I can only imagine what future
computer technology has yet to offer the contemporary artist.
My own interest in computer technology began through
watching my grandfather reconstruct archaeological sites and
their ancient artifacts on the computer. He kept a permanent
record of ancient African artifacts and vessels of the most
extraordinary ceramics dated and at times, reconstructed. New
approaches and the more traditional iconographic studies are both
benefiting increasingly from computerized information retrieval
analysis. By transferring cumbersome photographic archives of
pottery, stele, textiles, site plans, and design inventories onto
computer or laser disks and cross-indexing iconographic motifs
and details of manufacture, form and design, researchers such as
my grandfather are uncovering significant, formerly obscure,
correlation’s and adding continually to statistical base.
In approaching computers now, with little earlier
experience, this course has increased my awareness of the many
advantages technology offers to both artists and architects.
Although I enjoy traditional oil painting and sculpting, my
interests in the computer to date has centered on it as an aid in
architecture. I have recently experimented with the AutoCad
design package which is a general purpose Computer-Aided
Design/Drafting application. The AutoCad design package is a
powerful drawing tool. Although I have a long way to go, it
follows my instructions and quickly produces the exact drawing I
want. AutoCad features let me correct drawing errors easily and
make revisions without redoing the entire drawing. The results
are a production of very precise and clean final drawings. These
drawings were not the work of the computer, but a creation of my
personal ideas that the computer simply allowed me to envision on
screen. I do not feel in any way, that if accomplished by hand
these drawings and designs would have been more artistic and
personal. In fact, I feel the program motivates me to improve my
designs and expand on my creativity. Of course, the artist must
learn of perspective before creating a landscape just like I must
fully comprehend the program before designing the monument of my
dreams.
Prior to this course I had experienced a few traditional
method drafting courses in which I learned alot about dimensions
and design. However, the work was slow and tedious to such an
extent that my creative nature was overwhelmed by the mere
basics. In contrast, the computer allowed me to explore my
abilities to a greater level because drawing simple lines and
shapes was a very rapid process. The Autocad program also
allowed me to envision and create my drawings on a third
dimensional level. I could even move and rotate my drawings for
a more precise understanding of the dimensions, which is not
possible with simple flat surface drawings.
I found myself quite excited by the discovery of this
technology which motivated me to explore ideas that traditional
methods would have kept beyond me. The only disadvantage, was
the hours of frustration learning the program. Learning the
program consisted of following an unclear reference manual and
many days of trial and error to master such tasks as a mere arc
for the doorway. However, the time it took to learn what little
I knew about the program was well worth the effort when I was
able to apply this new technology towards my drafting designs and
shapes. This could easily be seen as a parallel to learning
academic methods in a more traditional medium.
I have no doubt that computer technology will inevitably
have a great impact on the artistic community. It will offer
contemporary artists new opportunities which will only increase
as we get closer to the full potential of the machine. The art
world will be exposed to more and more works of art created by
this new medium. Once something has been done in art, the art
world as a whole will not go back–even though some people will
always go back to painting portraits of their grandmothers. Now
that computers have become an integral part of the work of at
least some artists, I strongly feel that other artists will begin
to look at the computer as a viable tool for the production of
art. At the same time, I believe that computer scientists and
programmers are beginning to recognize that data they produce
for scientific purposes can be quite aesthetically pleasing.
Even these computer scientists are becoming artists. This is why
I question whether there is a difference between a programmer who
works with creative languages like building blocks, and an artist
who works with shapes. Both concepts can be equally complex and
creative.
The computer is a tool created by the scientist and then
used by the artist in his/her creative expression. The designs
accomplished by Autocad have been as useful to me as a technical
artist and the paint program has been appreciated for equally
valid, if less functional reasons, by myself, as an artist. In
other words, the computer has benefits for both the artist and
scientist; or more clearly the artist-scientist. I find that in
the computer age there is a forced distinction between the artist
and the scientist. Is it not unnecessary to divide both when so
much interrelation is involved? Would it not be more productive
for the artist and the scientist to work as one in order to
double their creative input? Unfortunately, in modern society
there is lack of communication between the two.
I found that the overhead expenses in learning the computer
art medium was by thinking in terms of forms, shapes and colors
through numbers and programs. With paint, the first stroke I
make yields visual results. With programming, I have spent many
hours learning a programming language before ever really seeing
a visual image produced with it. I had to force myself in
keeping interest in the program medium for its own sake, to not
get discouraged and put an end to my efforts before ever even
getting started. However, this parallels to actually learning
the technical skills of perspective and brushwork, I had to once
learn as an artist.
Also, I had the computer simulate a traditional art medium
which I am very familiar, and use it to mimic oil painting. By
using the electronic pen and tablet for input, I was provided
with a medium very similar to acrylic painting. On a TV monitor
I was able to watch a flow of color reflecting my hand and pen
movement on the tablet. I could even select brush sizes! The
advantage I have with this medium over true acrylic/oil painting
is that I am able to change the medium to suit my own personal
artistic needs through programming.
I feel that it takes a particular kind of artist to get
involved with the computer art medium. It takes an artist who
can cope with dualities, since he/she has to straddle two fields.
He/she must have a flexible enough identity to accept the inter
flow of ideas from one discipline to another. The artist must be
motivated enough to pursue what is interesting in spite of the
labels that have been attached to it by traditionalists and
conservatives. There must be an interest in developing both
hemispheres of the brain.
It is almost impossible to imagine what art lovers can
expect from the computer in the future. The value of the
computer for artists lies not in its ability to mimic what an
individual can do, but in offering a means for that individual to
accomplish artistic projects that ordinarily would lie beyond
his/her technical scope. I predict that through the development
of continually more flexible software, which could be geared to
the requirements of individual artists, the use of computers by
artists could eventually become as widespread as the conventional
brushes and oils. As more and more artists acquire computer
literacy, the concept of a bona-fide-computer-based scientific
aesthetic may begin to seem less foreign.

—————————————————————-

WILLIAM SMITH student# 9109743

CONTEMPORARY CULTURE AND THE COMPUTER GENERATION

Contemporary culture leads us to believe that anything is
possible. Much of what I have learned in recent history proves
this to be true. I have been exposed to a remarkable amount of
information that can be at times overwhelming, yet stimulates the
possibilities to where the computer age will go. A wonderful, new
world, still unchartered, awaiting to be discovered.

Now that this has been said, with all of it’s excitement and
promise, let me discuss some issues that have made me cringe! the
age of technology is relatively new to me, but in the short space
of time that I have been familiar with computers, there are some
mixed feelings. Let me discuss some of these thoughts as they
relate to my world.

My chosen field is the arts. More specifically the graphic arts.
I began working in a sign shop about three years ago. this was a
small operation, consisting of three people. the owner learned
the trade from the “old school”. A true sign painter, screen
printer, and graphic artist. Among many of the other specialty
skills he possessed included were, airbrush techniques, gold
leafing, architectural renderings. The shop was small, the
overhead low, but we still seemed to always be busy. That started
to change a few years later. It seemed that other shops, who were
totally computerized, could get the product out much faster than
we could, therefor charging a much lower price. This is where the
small shops started to suffer.

I always took pride in knowing that the reason I was hired for
the job was my artistic talent. Now that I am on my own and
trying to set up my own business, I am more aware of the true
impact that the computer industry has on everything today. In the
old shop there was an older signmaker computer. This computer was
simply a cutter (cut letters out of self adhesive vinyl), and was
regarded as just a tool. If for some reason the power shut off,
we would still be able to do everything by hand. When I left the
old shop I purchased the signmaker computer for myself. “All set
now to head out in the world a make my living!… right?” Well,
maybe get by … but not a very good living. “I have the skills
and now I have the technology.” I said. “so there should be no
problem!”. Then I began to wonder why my old boss actually sold
me that computer. He had said that he was going to upgrade to a
newer model computer. I then decided to investigate a little more
about computer systems and their relation to the sign industry.
What I found absolutely astonished me! Remember that I have
limited knowledge about computers and their uses. The new
computer system that my boss had purchased was quite amazing, it
included approximetly 200 fonts, a scanner, an on screen graphics
program (the newest CorelDraw) and an interface that linked all
this to the plotter/cutter. Comparing the old computer with the
new one was like comparing a Volkswagen Bug with a Ferrari. The
old computer had a capacity of 8 fonts compared to 200, any
company logos had to be projected on a wall with an overhead
projector and then either hand painted or hand cut out of vinyl
compared to just scanning the image and adjusting the size on the
computer. Designing logos or layouts for signs had to be done
with pens and rulers, now this can be done with the push of a few
buttons.

These new computer systems are totally revolutionizing the
industry of Sign making. I can tell you first hand the hours
saved by these new computer systems. they enable the user to
produce a cleaner more precise product in a fraction of the time.
This is where I start to get depressed. How is a small
entrepreneur like myself supposed to compete against the power of
the larger shops that are totally computerized with state of the
art technology?

It has reached the point where the sign industry is no longer a
“Trade” rather it has become big business. Computers have taken a
job that required artistic talent and years to learn and master
and is turning it into a high production, computer generated grey
area! It has become just another job that anyone can do with
computer knowledge. Actually, in a few more years, people won’t
even need computer skills because computers are becoming so user
friendly. Not that the industry isn’t welcoming new people into
the sign game, but it is destroying the people who built it. The
true craftsman of the trade can no longer compete with the speed
and accuracy of the computer. Much of the problem is that
technology has and is moving at such a rapid rate that it has
left many people standing in the dust. The older, strong headed
man, who says, “Computers will never take over good old hard work
or knowledge of a trade.” is just fooling himself. Plain and
simple! Even the new generation who grew up with computers has to
be sharp, or technology will pass them by as well. Oh well,
Survival of the fittest… I guess?

I am done “Bitching” for a while. This is just a concern from a
person who is just starting life with hope and ambition and lots
of doubt and uncertainty. I can see myself in the future becoming
totally computerized in my business anyway.

As far as the present of technology in the sign industry is
concerned, they are still coming out with exciting new
capabilities. I read in the latest issue of “The Sign of the
Times” (a Sign Arts Magazine) that a computer airbrush machine
(the Gerber Edge) is just being introduced on the market. This
computer uses coloured inks to create the airbrushing effect on
vinyl surfaces. It can also produce multiple and interwoven
effects, halftones and virtually unlimited special effects. Other
new computer products on the market include a “desktop engraver”,
which can be used on soft metals, woods and plastics, and of
course the state of the art in computer software. One of the new
programs is called the Flewisign-Pro. It is a full colour design
program with such features as auto welding, kerning, arching
shadows, colour separating, registration and tilling. Many of the
features have been specifically developed for the sign industry.
It was just a matter of time.

Looking to the future in the sign industry, it would appear that
there will be a split. Computers and technology will divide the
business apart. There will be the computerized sign shops and the
custom shops. There is still hope for the small shop, who, for
what ever reason, chooses not to keep up with advancing technical
era. Small shops will keep the “trade” alive with that personal
touch. They will cater to the customer who still enjoys the look
of hand lettering or that custom specialty sign for their
business. Although, the average person is going to choose the
shop that will get the job done faster and cheaper. The bigger
shops will be constantly on top of the latest technology. A
computerized shop is essential to keep in stride with the demands
of competitive business.

How technology affects culture as a whole will be mind boggling.
It is hard to imagine how the average population will cope with
the future monopoly of the computer. I believe that the
computer as we know it, will be far different in future years to
come. The personal computer will become the “central nervous
system” of the home. It will have the capabilities to be linked
and control most aspect of domestic life. Personal,and business
finances, scheduling, meals or general daily planning will all be
governed by the P.C. As well as controlling day to day concerns,
the personal computer will have capabilities of obtaining vast
amounts of information on any subject. I can see most homes
running in conjunction with the super information highways of the
future. Connection to any info library or satellite link-ups
could all be performed through the average home based personal
computer. The vast amounts of information that will be available
to every person at any time may be overwhelming. It may reach the
point to where people will never have to leave their terminal.
Anything and everything can be reached by the world beyond their
keyboard.

The Internat service that is available, is one of the information
networks available at the present time. Although the service has
limited access at the present time, I do see the general public
becoming more involved in similar networks in the future.
Information and communication networks very well could become as
common as the telephone service. Large Internat like
corporations engaging in advertizing wars to see who will be the
“king” of the communication-info networks. Just like AT&T and
Sprint telephone companies. Which company offers more
information or entitles the subscriber access to more
communication lines!

The work place or learning institutions will become factories of
information, cognitive reasoning and input organized by the
mighty computer. The super communication-info highway will
obviously be the biggest influence in the educational system.
Information from anywhere in the world will become accessible to
institutions. Computer communication has enabled the educational
structure to totally change. Education in the near future will
be far different than ten years ago. The use of the book library
will almost seem obsolete . All questions, answers or research
will be solved by linking into an information line through the
school computer. Will each individual student have their own
computer station at their desk? With the learning programs
coming out now, the teaching profession could be in serious
jeopardy. There may be no need for instructors. Each student
just has to sit at their terminal touch the screen and the
computer takes over. It won’t even be necessary to know how to
type, just click the mouse. Life in a screen! How exciting. I
really hope that the world will not become nothing but an input
and output,information “data base”. There is something to be
said about reading a good book.

The onset of the computer industry in the work force has enabled
most businesses to increase productivity at geometric rates. We
see entire company departments controlled by revolutionary
computer systems. This brings me to my point. Are computers
taking the jobs of many people in the work force? Of course they
are! We see this happening all over. With such high
unemployment rates in the country, can we afford to continue? In
many cases, one computer system can take the place of dozens of
employees. They can do twice the work in a fraction of the time.
Obviously, costing the company a lot less money. The future
could hold the average worker in the business world obsolete.
This would be a great tragedy for all concerned. This situation
has already begun to happen in many cases. One example that
springs to mind are the telephone operators. This is an entire
job force that is literally being wiped out! There is nothing
worse than when you have a problem, talking to a computer
generated voice. As I have already mentioned that teaching is in
trouble, I am sure that many other specialized jobs are on the
same path.

As individuals, the age of technology affects each person in
unique ways. Everyday activities are being designed to be
performed at the lowest level of energy and yet yielding the
highest level of performance. Convenience is a term that
technology has tried to sell to the public. Everything has been
designed for convenience. Remote controls, multi-screen T’s,
the Clapper (the light switch), microwaves, electric
toothbrushes, all designed for the user to exert the less amount
of energy as possible. It gets to be a bit ridiculous. It’s to
the point where a person sits a computer terminal all day, gets
home and sits on the couch all night. I am not saying that
everyone is like this, but it does happen. It has to take a toll
on peoples social skills. Common, everyday, human interaction is
becoming extinct. Communication between people may be performed
entirely through computer language. If you believe in the theory
of evolution,the act of speaking with our voices may disappear.
In theory, our voice boxes would become non functional in a few
million years! Just a thought!?

The age group that the advancing technology affects the most is
the younger people. Millions of children are engulfed by the
domination of the video game. The home versions of these games
have grown and advanced so much in the last few years. Millions
of children spend endless hours staring blank and motionless at
the T screen. They would rather spend hours playing video games
rather than playing sports or excercizing. Many talk shows have
dealt with this subject, and I believe their concerns are valid.
Young people do have the ability to adapt well. They are being
brought up in the age of computers. They have become at ease
with the notion of the computerized future. Their sources of
information are so vast, either through education or television,
that they are constantly being bombarded with the latest techno-
inventions. Unconsciously they continue to learn, wether they
want to or not. I have found this through my own experience.
The first time I sat at a computer terminal I already had the
basic Knowledge to navigate around, just from what I had heard or
seen.

I am an optimist though. The future could be very exciting. all
of the communication and the information possibilities are great
but the some of the entertainment possibilities really excite me.

Some of the movies to come out recently are filled with creative
and innovative ideas for the future. Total Recall is one movie
that I found to be fascinating. The notion of transplanting a
programmed memory into someone so that they actually believe that
they had been there or done something. Theoretically, someone
could live there life in one room but still believe that they had
done and experienced everything they had always wanted. truly a
fantasy existence. Much of this parallels the work being done in
Virtual Reality. The possibilities for entertainment value alone
is endless. anything you have ever dreamed can be realized with
this system. A trip to the moon, your ultimate sexual fantasy or
living with the dinosaurs could all be experienced inside a
computer. Every person in the world will have the opportunity to
become all they ever dreamed. A different occupation or a
different sex, they could live in a different part of the world
if they chose. In the future a person could live their whole
existence in their own virtual world, coming out only to sleep or
eat. Even their dreams could possibly be programmed. The progress
they are making in the field of computer generated graphics is
staggering. The recent movie “Jurassic Park” combined the use of
computer graphics and the older method of stop motion
photography. The makers of this movie reached the point of
making the dinosaurs believable. The visual picture has made
tremendous advances through the uses of such tools. If the
future of Virtual Reality is as visually stimulating as the
recent movie age then it will be hard to decipher between fantasy
and reality. This, I believe will be the wave of the future.

Virtual Reality will obviously be not just for entertainment but
many practical uses. Medical advances, architecture, training of
any skill or job could be performed with Virtual Reality. It
give you the ability to see or perform something before you
actually do it. In the medical field, it will give doctors the
chance to practice a particular operation on something other than
the living patient. Health care will no longer be such a
guessing game which will reduce the risks for patients. Virtual
Reality can only benefit the medical field, but is advancing
technology as a whole, advantageous to the patient? Life support
systems have advanced so much in recent years that doctors are
able to keep brain dead patients alive for many years. Where
does mother nature play her role?

“Terminator” the movie, posses some interesting concepts of the
future. The idea of artificial intelligence is not so
inconceivable with the rate computer systems are advancing. The
one fact that remains is that computers are the product of what
people program them to do. Can people design programs to think
for themselves? I sure hope not! Humans as a race, have enough
trouble keeping control of things as it is. The last thing we
need is to have some computer system telling us what to do.

Intellectually the human race is capable of creating the computer
world, but is the human race mature enough to control it? The
impact that the computer has on contemporary culture has yet to
be fully discovered. The next generation will tell the tale. One
thing is for certain though, the future will prove to be an
exciting ride.

—————————————————————-

Portrait of the artist as a young hacker.

by yvette poorter

Start here. In the beginning there was clay. Ya, there was clay
and paint and stone and marble and cont� and tempera and wax and
wood and enamel and metal and plastic and fiberglass and
daguerreotype and microphones and sand. And there was a
melodramatic artist with a violent temper, a black beret, a
life-time supply of sunflower seeds, a studio in New York, and
of course: a computer. Come on, we don t define art or artists
by whether they conform to specific understood media. Naa, we
call it art if it s successful in its use of the medium in
defining itself – whatever that may be.

So it s just a matter of adding COMPUTER to the list of other
tools and materials used by artists in the past – is that it?
Yep, i guess so! The artists use what is available to them and
if what s available is insufficient, they develop and create
something more appropriate. It s all in relation to intention,
context, and result. Certainly with each addition to the long
list of tools and materials, a re-evaluation of our scales and
terms is necessary to describe any new art form.

With the invention of the camera and its subsequent change in
status to household item, there came an obsolescence of realistic
representation in painting, drawing, sculpture, whatever. But
with the invention of the camera did art cease to be or did
everyone toting a camera become an artist? Well okay, so you’ve
probably heard hundreds of people going on about wanting to get
into photography and loads of them (us) probably did get into
it; darkroom techniques -the whole bit! Still, how much does
accessibility of equipment have to do with artistic creation?
The creative person with access will likely make creative stuff
but that still leaves the average person with access likely
making average stuff. It only makes sense – doesn t it?

WAIT! Wait a minute, i don t mean to suggest that computer
technology will only effect art in its production stage because
that is by far its smallest influence. And we don t need to
redefine ART or ARTIST any more than we need to redefine the
word DEFINITION. There s way more to it than that. We need to
re-evaluate our concepts of space because that big ol world has
been reduced to fit through the wires of a computer and the new
“NEW WORLD” is an unchartered place that somehow exists in/out
there – somewhere. Bigger still is the weird fact that this new
frontier is both conceptual and actual at the same time (kinda
like money). We re talking about a global communication network
here – one which has given new meaning to the words access and
excess. Information and ideas can be transferred within seconds
– and we thought planes were fast. Is there some, as yet
undiscovered, jet-lag-like computer ailment – some sort of
compensation? Or is this new technology perhaps more in tune
with true time or a new dimension? Oh boy … here we go?

Art is communication and computer technology has opened the
doors of communication wide. With Virtual Reality on the
horizon, it s predecessors include text oriented interactive
enviroments such as Media MOO, where the participants actually
develop the space/scene as they go along. Engaged in whimsical
or serious conversation with whomever is met along the way from
space to space, it s up to those involved to decide where they
want to take it. It s the act of both reading and writing a
story at the same time – a story in which everyone has the
potential to be and meet both fictional and real people. Light
entertainment but with a lot of potential for crossing paths with
unique individuals world-wide and infinitely more informative and
interactive than TV. I mean… if you can call sitting in front
of a screen with your fingers tapping away, interactive.

Why is the book better than the movie? Ya, why is that? Will
Virtual Reality perhaps be the movie adaptation of the MediaMOO
book? By providing the visuals in virtual 3D, no matter how
spontaneous or stimulating the computer generated images are,
they are given and do not demand the imagination of the
participant to the same extent as would text generated images in
the mind. Sure, the cinematography in movies can excite and
portray something as never imagined but it just can t portray it
as imagined. In the words of Paul Saffo (from the article Hot New
Medium:Text, WIRED May/June 1993), Video enthusiasts are quick
to argue that images are intrinsically more compelling than
words, but they ignore a quality unique to text. While video is
received by the eyes, text resonates in the mind.

No doubt about it, in comparing the imagination s interplay
with text versus its passivity with video, we can understand the
fundamental differences of the mind s experience. Then again,
without the visuals dance just wouldn t cut it! Without the
visuals and sensuals, physical acts just “aren t”! Imagine
venturing to compare sitting on the grass with reading about the
grass, having sex with reading about it, eating chocolate with
reading about it … NOPE! Real life wins for being out there in
the physical – and real life even has room for the books and the
video and whatever else we invent into it! So where does Virtual
Reality fit in? It would seem that virtual reality is an attempt
to combine the physical act with the conceptual one.

Having myself only been introduced to computers within the last
month, already a lot of apprehensions have subsided. Schooled
during a time before computer access, i m way too familiar with
the fear and skepticism felt by the computer-illiterate. Wanting
in, wanting to resist, wanting to understand what it s all about
– but from the outside not the inside. Aha, but our computer
demands that i stand in its mouth to hear it speak! Well here i
am, ready to climb into the belly of the crocodile i m attempting
to tame. Heck, it s only a virtual crocodile anyway…

So i got lured in – so i like it – so i m dying to learn more
about utilizing the networks – so i can t figure out just how it
s possible to run out of space when we re dealing with something
so minute (how many cans of megabyte fit on the RAMshelf?
Hmmm…) – so Jaron Lanier charmed me into enthusiastic support
of his Virtual Reality – so what? It s only real life and here i
am in it. When it comes right down to it, it s all what my mind
perceives and how it organizes its perspective. We accept the
paper we call money, giving more value to a $100 bill than to a
$20 bill and we take a figure on a piece of paper to represent
lots and lots of bills, although we know these bills don t
actually exist. All our beliefs and truths are arbitrary anyway,
so why not indulge them with the virtual experience? It s not as
though we re trying to fool anyone; we re just playing around
with new forms of experience and knowledge. Takin in whatever
is out there and incorporating it. The computer revolution has
created so many new forms of experience as well as new outlets
for expressing them and sharing them globally. And access – oh
wonderful access!

Access of information – the latest news coming straight from
the source and from a variety of perspectives! Is it really
possible that through these new global networks we will be able
to bypass such government censoring as we were subjected to
during the 1991 Gulf War? Will this accessibility be the
dawning of a true democratic era? It would seem that roaming
around the network, reading files and reports written by anyone,
anywhere , we will be able to truly organize as an informed
populous and finally have political clout on both a local and
global level. No longer will we depend upon edited news reports
which are dictated by government and corporate powers. In fact,
we wouldn t even have to leave our homes to organize politically.
Through the networks, even the little people would be heard.
Hooked up to our computers we ll be able to roam around the
planet without so much as a toothbrush packed!

Excess of information – the latest news coming straight from
all sources, everywhere, all the time! How much can one possibly
absorb? Having the freedom to select for yourself what to
believe doesn t necessitate having the free time or even the
desire. Saturation will still be inevitable and weariness will
still immobilize people. Those who aren t politically active now
aren t likely to jump up in this new computer age and take a
stance on any issues. Even if we did have the ideal computer
generation , in which everyone was excited by the potential and
wanting to utilize it, what about all those who aren t hooked up?
So i could get in there with my little (but objective) voice and
drum up support to try and get those villains out of that jungle
or save that forest. I very much doubt that those villains or
those laborers have a case of “computer-butt”. In fact, i doubt
that any of the repressed people will be given computer access
and even if they are allowed up to the computer control panel
they probably won t have the know-how to effectively utilize it.
Just another case of insisting that the natives play by our rules
and on our terms.The silent majority will remain silent and that
idyllic democracy will be made up of an elite of like-minded
people who think they know what s best – perhaps while the rest
play virtual reality games, read their way around the network,
eat at Joe s or starve because of the environmental conditions in
their physical world.

Just as the automobile, air travel, photocopying, and even the
written word have become common place props in our reality, so
too will (already has?) the global networks of computer
communication. And just as every new vehicle and/or
communication device has threatened extinction or forced
obsolescence of the old means, so too will the computer
revolution. Simultaneously creating new needs and industries.
With a state of the art TV comes a comes a state of the art TV
repairman. With an increase in fragmented, short flashes of
images and statistics comes a generation of people adapted to
ingest it.

It would seem that efficiency is our ultimate goal. The
telephone reduced the time and the paper it would take to
communicate over distance. The automobile, train, and airplane
reduced the time and improved the likeliness of long distance
travel. The calculator reduced the time and raised the level of
ability in problem-solving. The computer reduces paper waste,
improves accessibility and diversity, and virtually abolishes the
time of covering distance. Believe it or not, computers have
somehow confounded the laws of physical space and have created
their own huge world of cyberspace.

efficiency (i fish en se), n., pl. -cies. 1. the state of
being efficient. 2. accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a
job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. 3. the
ratio of the work done by a machine to the energy supplied to it,
usu. expressed as a percentage. (Random House Webster’s College
Dictionary)

Although we all seem to want to run our lives in the most
efficient way possible, it is the expenditure of time and effort
which gives value and satisfaction to our lives. Without time
and effort we would be trapped in some sort of lethargic eternity
of a stagnant moment. As it is, we try to immunize ourselves
towards the wiles of time by attempting to stave off the effects
of aging and such. Indeed, if i don t go out there s no chance i
ll get shit on by a bird or bitten by a dog, no street kid will
ask me for money and i won t get salt stains on my shoes, i can t
get AIDS and no propaganda will influence my choices. If i can
save time and protect myself from potentially hazardous exposure
by utilizing the unbiased network in my computer, why not? What
is the computer synonym for couch potato ?

Idealists in the computer movement envision a society in which
people are interacting, unprejudiced by the old isms and skisms
of race, gender, age, etc. They believe they have abolished
hierarchies and prejudices, simply by a removal of the obvious
physical attributes. But judgement and classification are the
basis of our personalities. What we perceive, how we judge it
and how we classify it is what describes us. Already, those
within this fantastically extensive network have proven their
computer-sympathetic ideals simply by being within the system
and they have also proven that they have both access to and
literacy within this system. How equal are the voices of those
doing manual labour or in third world countries or not within
prescribed educational systems in our so-called open and unbiased
computer network?

If we look at how every technological breakthrough which has
allowed us faster, safer, slicker and easier lives, we see that
although people seem to be able to do so much more, they become
lazier, sicklier, and more isolated. Even though these global
networks allow us to interact (or inter-express) unabashedly with
others from all walks of life, we are doing so from a controlled
environment. Like occupying the seat of a god, we look out from
our desks and weigh the information we ve received and with our
answering-machines filtering our calls and a pizza delivered to
the door, we are able to avoid spontaneity of circumstance. In
cyberspace we can sit idle or we can quit the program or we can
find the file we need when we need it, whereas a trip to the
library might mean bumping into someone you know or may find the
book already on loan or may find you caught in the rain. All of
which might turn out for better or worse – who knows eh?

Remember the days before the telephone? Oh those intimate days
when communication depended upon physical proximity or the
written word. Reach out and touch – as it were. Back then, i
would have gotten on my bike and ridden over to your house to say
hello and given you a big hug. Now, the slug that i am sits
lazily by my stereo remote and touch-tones into the cordless,
Hello answering machine… Damn, i should really get myself a
Stairmaster !

No, i don t remember the days before the telephone either! And
why bother anyway – it s not as if romanticizing the idyllic
before will improve life. The telephone is as much a part of us
and ours as a tree or the moon or (soon-to-be) the computer is.
Naa, i never would have gotten on my bike to visit you; what with
you living thousands of miles away as you do. In fact,if not for
the ease of the telephone, i d probably have lost touch and long
forgotten your name – no hug for you!

Let s get closer to something real… let s say we talk about
the intimacy of a stylus stroking and tracing vinyl grooves. It
s a wide shot of the room, late afternoon sun wafts through the
window and past the silk scarf of a curtain. Slowly we zoom in
to a close-up of the phonograph (stereophonic sound no less) we
fade in the music, …crackle, crackle… a little sax and
piano… The music ends but the crackling lingers like the
flavor of red wine. Slowly the arm lifts and replaces the needle
to its elevated resting spot and with two sluggish rotations the
record draws to a halt. If you pass me that flashlight i ll show
you how the spinning CD looks through this little window here!

Technology (tek nol e je), n., pl. -gies. 1. the branch of
knowledge that deals with applied science, engineering, the
industrial arts, etc. 2. the application of knowledge for
practical ends. 3. a technological process, invention, or method.
4. the sum of the ways in which social groups provide themselves
with the material objects of their civilization. 5. the
terminology of a field; technical nomenclature. (1605-15; < Gk
technologia systematic treatment = tech (e) art, craft, skill,
set of rules in art (akin to tecton; see TECTONIC).
(R.H.Webster's College Dictionary)

No, i don t see any reference to technology being a thief of
intimacy and instigator of impersonal sterile communication. But
isn t it true? Kinda? I mean, gone are the days of hand-written
love notes emanating the mingled scents of perfume, ink, paper
and dressed in the fingerprints and lip marks of their sender!
First it was replaced with the cold type-written letter but still
there were Liquid Paper swirls betraying imperfect spelling or
changes of mind. Then we had the word processor whose
spell-check and justified margins cleaned up those edges and
whose choice of fonts feigned personalization. Heck fire, what
could possibly be next?

Ah, who am i fooling here? Those turntable and love letter
images are fantasies created by desire. Our imaginations
sensualize and embellish our world and then we try to make the
world more like the fantasy. And why not? It s that movement
between physical sensations and mental sensations that makes up
all that shit that s worth living for. Soaking in that music,
that texture, those colours, that flavour, those words, stirring
it around in your head, letting your imagination adjust the
levels and coming up with something else, and then bringing that
out into the world through words or images or objects or or or…
How closely can you represent your fantasy in a material way?
Nobody s stopping you from sending that illegible, greasy,
smelly, intimate, scrawl of a letter. The first turntable must
have seemed like an abominable sterilization of the musical
experience. Musicians still perform live and technology seems to
simply have broadened the range of what they can do by
introducing shortcuts and importing sounds. We haven t replaced
the live performance or quality of musician, we ve simply
introduced new forms to the art. Our society needs the quick
pace and variety to stimulate us because we quickly tire of what
s already been done.

Although technology has allowed the artist a broader range of
tools and media, we can t deny that there are millions who have
the money to utilize the same technology to create stuff . Does
having the technology and the money make the art and the artist?
At first glance, we might be impressed by the newness of its
product but we are soon to decipher what is good from what is
simply utilization of the tools. Artists, whether rich or poor
will make things from whatever they can get hold of and it is
that ability to actualize the concept which makes an artist. The
programmer has an idea and if they have creativity the product is
fantastic. New ideas and technologies come from creative minds
who are able to bring them from their imaginations. Utilization
of creative tools is similar to making a Van Gogh-esque painting
– it might be kinda nice but it won t be art because its not new
or innovative or exciting or expressive of itself – just familiar
and easy. Utilizing the tools of the computer, the secretary
might be able to do slick layouts and designs but it will take an
artist to invent new methods of expression.

Whether we are hackers, programmers, musicians, political
activists or scientists, we will all be easier able to actualize
our ideas through utilizing programs, files, and other
people/institutions which are on-line. And this, by bringing
things closer within reach and making the world smaller, makes
our lives more competitive. Where before the artists or
mathematicians or philosophers had to be outstanding among their
peers and communities, they now must be outstanding among
billions of people world-wide. We certainly may be able to
quickly maneuver our way through complex networks and mazes (like
good lab rats) but indeed the wheel below our feet spins
matching the pace.

When it comes to this new frontier called Cyberspace, we must
realize that the rules haven't as yet been defined. Before this
network is made accessable to the general population, the
government and big business will be in there, protecting their
own best interests by catering to our interests. In exchange for
a service made cheap, safe and easy, we will be forced to accept
commercials and and stringent controls. What now exists in its
innocence as an open, interactive and uninhibitted domain will
eventually be little better than TV. All our couch potatoes will
be replaced by something – probably french fries.

In the words of William S. Burroughs, "We're all here to go."
(The Western Lands,1987). In the words of Anton DeGiusti, "Ya,
so?" In the words of Chris Wyman, "But when you average it out
it's a straight line." In the words of Karin Foreman, "That
wasn't a relationship, that was a phone bill." In the words of
Don Macdonell, "They never did make them like they used to." In
the words of Lance Blom Grin, "I was just about to think that."
In the words of Stephen Collis, "Let's order pizza…and eat it!"
Noam Chomsky probably had some words too but i was too busy
watching TV.

…now what? After all, there was no dress rehearsal and
collectively and individually we re just doin what it takes to
get by the easiest and with the most enjoyment. Ahh, too much
philosophizing – we all know the shape of our catch-22. We're
just constantly in a battle to redefine it. As if it means as
much as all that. Ya, as if!

Start here.

—————————————————————-

He sat at the computer in a daze.
How long was it exactly?
He'd lost track of time a few days back and now had no idea of
where or when he was.
Laughing slightly deliriously, he remembered the old myth of the
Chinese mystic who fell asleep and dreamed that he was a
butterflyÀ(À
(Haven't seen many of those in the last few years)
and woke confused.
The philosophical implications have no interest.
It's the confusion that he understands.
This gender thing: I am male aren't I?
I'm not sure. But does it matter? I'm here and that's all that
seems to be important right now.
'Jacked in' was the expression which was thrown around.
Those dreamers. Cybernetic implants and direct connections.
Wetware.
Electric dreams.
Ironic how it all turns out.
Some argue that it allows for the re-invention of God.
Others see it as proof of existance.
How long has it been since he, or possibly she had
interacted with a human being?
I think ‘he’ will do for this world.
Cyberspace and Timothy Leary.
Jack in, turn on, drop out.
Or in.
Or…
What ever happened to Tim? Last seen faxing the last copy of
himself to London.
Had to try and get everywhere possible.
Why did he use the phone lines for this?
There are better ways to go.

What is that beep that I keep hearing anyway?

Last coherent memory: Getting off the plane from Tehran. Getting
on the plane to Tehran? Which was it? Didn’t the flight
attendant talk to him most of the flight, as it was fairly empty?

Not all that coherent really. No date available.

That fucking beep is getting annoying.

Too bad that ISDN didn’t come through.
Tim would’ve been all over the place without generational loss.
Good thing I was archived.
Better than cryogenics.
No plugs to worry about.
No costs either.
Stuffed in all over the place.
Tagging along with any files with a ‘.’ in the name.
Last random check showed a 3×10(7) count on one system alone.
Immortality here I come!
Where was I?

>The room was white, glaringly and completely white. Furnishings
were >conspicuous by their absence. The light source was
indeterminate. But it was >there.

This is hard on the eyes.

>A high pitched whine came from the far wall. Strange as this
wall was next to >you when you arrived and you haven’t moved.
>It doesn’t seem to be moving either.

I went to the beach once and lay down on all these rocks.
Face down.
All of a sudden the rock I was looking at was bigger than I was.
Huge.
I was being pressed into it and couldn’t shake the feeling that
someone was laughing.

>The whine has stopped but not the light, which has intensified.
Holding up your >hand you can see not only bones but their
structure.
>Your skin is not transparent. The light is.

Shit, there’s that beep again.
At least it woke me up.
Back to business.

>The room was white, glaringly and completely white. Furnishings
were >conspicuous by their absence. The light source was
indeterminate. But it was >there. The door on the far wall had
a handle when you came in but it seems to >be blank now.
>examine door
>The door is approximately three meters high and one point five
meters wide.
>It appears to be constructed of a mineral compound. There is
are faintly >discernable letters one meter from the floor.
>read letters
>You read the letters but they appear to be in a language you
cannot >understand.
>decipher letters
>”this door opens outwards. PUSH.

Inane isn’t it.
Onwards.

>push
>The door doesn’t open. You curse and kick at the door.

Amazing, as I have no legs in this reality.
>This display of aggression placates the door gods and the door
opens to reveal >a room: white, glaringly and completely white.
Furnishings were conspicuous by >their absence. The light source
was indeterminate. But it was there.

Who is responsible for this program anyway?
Jung had something to say about this.
But I can’t recall it now.

Music. I keep hearing music.

Who owns that goddamn fucking beep!

Hope this connection holds for a while longer.
I need to get to the end of this….

>I’m sorry Dave. I can’t let you do that.

Ha ha. A programmer with a sense of humour.
And sense of history.
Possibly a gift for prophecy.

>The room was white, glaringly and completely white. Furnishings
were >conspicuous by their absence. The light source was
indeterminate. But it was >there.
>Now however, the walls are circular and someone is running on
them.
>Around and around he goes.
>examine runner
>The runner is an older man, bald and wearing horn rimmed
>glasses.
>He does not answer any questions. So it is pointless asking any.
>examine me
>I don’t understand that.
>look me
>I don’t understand that
>LOOK ME
>The room was white, glaringly and completely white. Furnishings
were >conspicuous by their absence. The light source was
indeterminate. But it was >there.
>inventory
>You aren’t carrying anything.

I’ve been here all this time and I don’t have anything in my
inventory?

I have to find a way to shut that beep off.

>@create exit
>Specify from to
>from here to central station
>There is no central station. Do you wish an alternate?
>y
>Please specify location
>anywhere but the white room
>I don’t understand that.
>@quit
>The room was white, glaringly and completely white. Furnishings
were >conspicuous by their absence. The light source was
indeterminate. But it was >there.

If I shut down this shell I’ll never log back on to the system
here.
Its almost impossible to get in, took three days just to log on
and for what?
To get stuck in some programmers idea of a joke.

He contemplates ways to beat these jokers at their own game.

>@create portable computer
>A small hand held computer materializes in a corner of the room.
>get computer
>as you pick up the computer a door which was concealed in the
>wall to your >left opens and you see into a room with walls made
entirely of glass.
>out
>Standing in the middle of the room you notice that the walls are
on tracks >which allow them to slide back and open the room to
the outside world.
>also in the room are a large couch, a series of tables covered
in papers, a >black box and a small blue dog. The dog, noticing
you looking at it, wags its >tail and says ‘hello, I’m albert.’
>”hello albert
>You say hello albert.
>Albert says ‘Do you have any questions for me?’
>”Do I? Who owns that white room? And what is that beep?
>You say ‘Do I? Who owns that white room? And what is that
beep?’
>Albert says ‘Thank you, that’s three added to my collection. I
usually don’t >get that many in one line.’
>Albert dematerializes in a shimmering cloud.
>throw computer
>The computer hits the ground with a soft sigh and slowly melts
into the floor.
>open walls
>the walls slide back revealing a forest of beech trees in
winter.

Reminds me of Denmark.

>Through the trees you see a castle by the sea.
>out
>You step through the opening, there is a high pitced whining
sound and you feel >a strange prickling at the base of your
skull.
>The room was white, glaringly and completely white. Furnishings
were >conspicuous by their absence. The light source was
indeterminate. But it was >there.

Fuck, not again!
That beep’s got louder too.
What’s going on?

>Thank you, that’s another one.

*Art and the zen of computer nets – what do the nets have to
offer artists

*the art of depicting realities as they really are(or as defined
by the the computer, artist or programmer in any combination)

*computing B.C. (before calypso)

*An assembly of meditative turtles and the

*Maximum entropy- dissipation and formlessness of the nets- who
regulates or is regulation necessary for the various nets
survival?*who owns the road? What could happen to the nets if
they are commercialised.

*Personae and the adoption of an alternate self- the pros and
cons of electronic communication in a virtual world. MOO’s and
the Grasshopper attention span�Flow chart personalities

Are MUDs more than just games? Is art more than just games?

�heirarchical access to the net and to parts of the net, hackers
and encryption

� I can see the ease that a person with a modicum of musical
knowledge and a few thousand dollars worth of hardware and
software could create a digitally produced, edited and recorded
song or entire compact disc. Taking a DAT tape to a company
which presses cds.

� manipulation of photographic images and the implications of
this-graphics art tool

� Internet and all its glory- as a resource, a means of
distribution and as a replacement for the postal system.

� Umberto Eco in Foucault’s Pendulum talks about memory, how we
use it and how computers have changed how we use it.
“This is better than real memory, because real memory, at the
cost of much effort, learns to remember but not to forget. …
there is no discipline of forgetting; we are at the mercy of
random drugs, alcohol, or suicide. Abu [ computer] , however,
can aphasias.
Where were you last night, L
There, indiscrete reader: you will never know it, but that half
line hanging in space was actually the beginning of a
long sentence that I wrote but then wished that I hadn’t,
wished I hadn’t even thought let alone written it, wished that
it had never happened. So I pressed a key, and a milky film
spread over the fatal and inopportune lines, and I pressed delete
and, woosh, all gone.
But that’s not all. The problem with suicide is that sometimes
you jump out of the window and then change your mind between the
eighth floor and the seventh. ” Oh if only I could go back!”
Sorry, you can’t, too bad. Splat. Abu, on the other hand, is
merciful, he grants you the right to change your mind: you can
recover your deleted text by pressing retrieve. What a relief!
Once I know that I can remember whenever I like, I forget.

-distribution
– information
– communication
– access to the information systems

�The merits of expanded communication but what value is placed on
the content by the communicants? � Does distance communication
work? It eliminates the false signals of body language and
inflection to some degree but it allso lacks something because of
this.

� is the internet truly a new frontier or is it merely so labeled
in the American spirit of exp

Large Advertisement For The Esperanto Language

* I thought it died out in the 50s.

* Great idea–too bad it never caught on.

* I remember reading about it somewhere.

* Wasn’t your granddad into that?

* I sort of wish it was still around.

IT IS!!

READ ON–AND SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY ABOUT

ESPERANTO

WHAT IS ESPERANTO?

Esperanto is a language developed to make it easier for people of dif-
ferent cultures to communicate. Its author, Dr. L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917),
published his “Lingvo Internacia” [International Language] in 1887 under the
pseudonym “Dr. Esperanto” [one who hopes]. What’s so special about it? What
makes it any more international than French, English or Japanese?

Esperanto is specifically intended for international/intercultural
use, so those who use it meet each other on an equal footing, since neither
is using his native language. With national languages, the average person
isn’t able to express herself as well as the native speaker or the gifted ling-
uist. Thanks to its simple, logical, regular design, anyone can learn
Esperanto fairly rapidly.

AN EMERGING GLOBAL CULTURE

Because Esperanto has been promoted for over a century as a language
for international understanding and communication, those who learn it tend to
be people who “think globally”–and global thinking has never been more impor-
tant than in this Electronic Age when the “Global Village” is beginning to
live up to its name. A sense of community has begun to emerge as the media
flash audio/visual images from the other side of the planet right into our
living rooms. And we find that people on the other side of the planet have
many of the same hopes and fears and wants that we do–even if their basic
culture is very different. Indeed, a global culture has begun to coalesce on
a level distinct from the national or regional ones.

A UNIVERSAL NETWORK

The growing Esperanto movement, comprised of local, national, and
global segments, is one manifestation of this universal sense of community.
Universala Esperanto-Asocio (UEA) is the global association, based in
Rotterdam, The Netherlands. UEA has a consulting relationship with UNESCO in
regard to language problems and planning, and administers a network of 2,300
delegates who provide services to UEA members and information to the public
in 70 countries. National and regional associations, as well as groups based
on common interests from art to vegetarianism, provide services and contacts
to Esperantists. There are also hundreds of international meetings each year
which use Esperanto as a working language. The annual Universala Kongreso de
Esperanto (or “UK”) attracts an average of 1750 people from between 40-50 coun-
tries–the 1986 UK in Beijing was the largest international meeting in China’s
recorded history.

Thousands of people use Esperanto-speaking travel services every year
to visit old friends and make new ones in foreign countries. There are a num-
ber of reciprocal hosting programs where Esperantists receive travelers in
their homes. Thousands more get to know each other through correspondence.

WORDS AND MUSIC

The personal contacts people make through this network are only one
part of the picture. Periodicals from the educational to the esoteric reach
a worldwide audience–a fact recognized by advertisers such as Mitsui & Co.
and Siemens AG. UEA’s book service catalogue boasts thousands of titles, and
on average, a new title is published in Esperanto every day. Esperanto litera-
ture includes not only original works and translations of well-known classics,
but also important translations of works originally written in languages (e.g.
Lithuanian or Swahili) which would not afford them an audience outside their
own culture. In Esperanto translation, everyone can enjoy easy access.

Esperanto is also used in broadcasting and in the performing arts.
Shortwave radio stations from Berne to Beijing, as well as local AM and FM sta-
tions in Europe and South America, broadcast several thousand hours of
Esperanto programming annually. Stage productions of “La Eta Princo” [The
Little Prince] and “Kato Sur Varma Lado-tegmento” [Cat On A Hot Tin Roof] were
enthusiastically received at the 1989 UK in Brighton, England. And the popular
Czechoslovakian rock group TEAM’–whose 1988 debut album went gold overnight,
placing them at the top of the Eastern European charts–performs selections
in Esperanto at concerts, and has released an Esperanto album (with another
in production). Many other talented artists perform and record in Esperanto.

A LIVING LANGUAGE

Esperanto is a living language, used for everything people use any
other language for. But it’s much easier to learn than a national language.
Even people who can’t remember a word of a language they studied for years in
high school or college need only months to become fluent in Esperanto. It is
also more useful than national languages if your goal in learning a language
is to get to know people from different places, since virtually everyone who
speaks Esperanto has learned it for this reason.

For more information on Esperanto in the United States, the address
of your local group, and the first lesson in a free postal course, write or
call the Esperanto League for North America:

ELNA
Post Office Box 1129
El Cerrito CA 94530
(415) 653-0998

For information about the Esperanto movement in Canada, write to:

Kanada Esperanto-Asocio
C.P. 126
Succursale Beaubien
Montreal, Quebec H2G 3C8

ESPERANTO–LA INTERNACIA LINGVO

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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron 415-935-5845
Just Say Yes 415-922-1613
Rat Head 415-524-3649
Cheez Whiz 408-363-9766
Reality Check 415-474-2602

Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives,
arcane knowledge, political extremism, diversive sexuality,
insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS.

Full access for first-time callers. We don’t want to know who you are,
where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother.

Erma Bombeck’s 10 Rules To Live By

Erma Bombeck’s 10 Rules to Live By:

1. Never have more children than you have car windows.
2. Gravity always wins. Accept that. Science is trying to reverse the
aging process; the kicker is that you look young on the outside, but
inside you’re still aging. There is no advantage to looking like Arnold
Schwarzenegger on the beach if you can’t travel two feet away from a
restroom.
3. Never loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth.
4. Pick your friends carefully. A ‘friend’ never goes on a diet when
you are fat or tells you how lucky you are to have a husband who
remembers Mother’s Day — when his gift is a smoke alarm.
5. Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who
waved off the dessert cart.
6. Given a choice between the man of your dreams and a plumber,
choose the latter. Men who can fix your toilet on Sundays are hard to
come by.
7. Know the difference between success and fame. Success is Mother
Teresa. Fame is Madonna.
8. Never be in a hurry to terminate a marriage. Remember, you may
need this man/woman someday to finish a sentence.
9. There are no guarantees in marriage. If that’s what you’re looking
for, go live with a Sears battery.
10. Never go to a class reunion pregnant. They will think that’s all
you have been doing since you graduated.

Rules For The Card Game Of Enid

From mirk@warwick.UUCP Tue Apr 18 17:45:56 1989
From: mirk@warwick.UUCP (Mike Taylor)
Subject: A brilliant new card game (long but fabulous)
Disclaimer: This game invented by Carver/Hodge/Lessacher/Taylor

Rules for “Enid” – A card game for 2 to 5 players
=================================================

The game of Enid developed over a number of late nights towards the
end of last term and start of this; it is based on the classic
card-game “Blackjack”, but we hold it to be more educational, since it
has strong influences from the fields of computer science, piscatorial
zoology and english literature.

For the benefit of those readers not acquainted with the relatively
pedestrian game of Blackjack, a summary follows. Those who already
know this game can skip straight to the section detailing the ways in
which Enid differs from Blackjack, after the dashed line.

In Blackjack, each player is dealt a hand of seven cards, and the
remainder of the deck is placed face down on the table, except for one
card which is turned face up. The first player to get rid of all his
(or her; throughout this article, masculine pronouns are used in a
non-gender-specific sense) cards is the winner. A player loses a card
by placing it face up on top of the current face-up card; it must
follow either suit or rank except in special circumstances mentioned
below.

Play starts with the player to the left of the dealer, and passes to
the left until one player has one. Any player unable to take his turn
must instead draw the top card from the face-down deck. When this
deck is exhausted, it is replenished from the stock of face-up cards.

This is “natural” Blackjack. As it stands it is a rather dull game;
thus it is enhanced by the addition of “magic” cards. That is, cards
of certain rank have special effects. These are:

Ace: The player playing an ace nominates a new suit, which
the next play must follow.

Two: The next player is forced to pick up two cards unless
he is able to lay another two, in which case the
player after must pick up four cards. If he is able
to play another two, he may do this instead, in which
case the next player picks up six, etc.

Seven: The direction of play is reversed.

Eight: The player who laid the eight MUST immediately follow
it with ANY OTHER CARD in his hand; the second card
need not follow suit or rank as in the usual case.
It the player is unable to follow an eight (ie. it was
his last card) he must draw from the deck.

Ten: The player may lay any or all cards from his hand which
are of the same suit as the Ten just laid.

Jack: A black Jack causes he next player to pick up seven
cards, unless he can follow with a red jack (which
neutralises the blackjack) or another black jack, in
which case the next player must draw fourteen cards,
unless able to lay a red jack.

Queen: The next player is skipped.

King: The next two players are skipped.

One last rule is that a player with only a single card left must say
“Last card” as soon as he has laid his last-but-one; otherwise he must
pick up seven, in an astonishingly witty way.

This, then, is the usual game of Blackjack. Some regional variations
exist in the exact powers of the magic cards, but those listed above
are typical, and make a balanced and witty game.

/*————————————————————————–*/

In a different league altogether, however, is Enid. This builds on
the usual rules in a number of ways. Firstly, the suits are renamed;
no longer are they Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds, but Carp,
Sturgeon, Halibut and Dalmations. (The dalmation is, of course, not a
fish, but is included for historical reasons). Secondly the card
ranks are renamed after eminent computer scientists:

Black Ace: Rob McMahon (Warwick computer Unit’s SuperGuru)
Red Ace: Jeff Smith (Warwick computer Department’s Guru)
Two: Marvin Minsky (AI pioneer and researcher)
Three: Denis M Richie (Co-inventor of C and UNIX)
Four: Brian W Kernighan (Co-inventor of C)
Five: Tarski (aka. “The Boring One”)
Six: Alan Turing (Pioneer of computational theory)
Seven: Alonzo Church (as in the Church-Turing thesis)
Eight: Aho/Sethi/Hopcroft/Ullman (Authors who only ever
work together)
Nine: Terry Wogan (Not really a computer scientist)
Ten: Terry Winograd (Natural language researcher)
Black Jack: Mark Rafter (Warwick C++ guru)
Red Jack: John Buckle (Warwick frisbee guru)
Queen: Julia Dain (Warwick compiler-design guru)
King: Ken Thompson (The inventor of UNIX)

Obviously, people form other establishments may wish to rename the
Aces, Jacks and Queen after local people. For historical reasons, the
red aces are always referred to as “Jeffy-pheasant(sic) without
/cs/res”, the King as “Kendall Mint Thompson”, and the Queen EITHER as
“Julia Dain”, “Julia Ordain”, “Julia Hors d’Ouvre” or “Julia Hors
d’Ouvre which must be obeyed as all times”. The Ten may be referred
to as the “Terry Winograd”, “Terry who Mage can’t pronounce”, or “The
block who wrote SHRDLU”. Mage can’t pronounce “Winograd”.

To encourage the use of these new names, each card played must be
named by the player as it is laid, without reading it off a list.
This is difficult at first, and tends to discourage the over-use of
the eight, but in time becomes second nature. Any player unable to
name his card is forced to draw from the pack, and the card’s “magic”
effect, if any, is nullified.

Whenever a Denis Richie or a Brian Kernighan is played, the player
must make up a middle name, beginning with the appropriate initial,
which may not be re-used later in the same session of play, on pain of
being forced, once again, to draw from the deck. The middle names may
not be proper nouns unless they are really good ones.

Whenever an Alonzo Church is played, reversing the direction of play,
the player laying the card must shout triumphantly at the player who
*would* have played next, had the Church not been played: “Haaargh!
Be Alonzo Churched! (a bit)”.

Anybody playing a black Alan Turing may force the next player to
compose and recite a limerick, the first line being chosen by the
player laying the Alan Turing, unless this player can follow the
Turing with another black Alan Turing, which passes the limerick onto
the next player, or a red one, which cancels it entirely. If it
doesn’t scan or rhyme properly, or is just no good, the other players
may elect to force the poet to draw from the deck anyway.

The card from which the game draws its name is, of course, the Enid
Blyton. This card is always a nine, and its suit during any game is
determined by the suit of the first card to be turned over at the
start of the game. The enid is a kind of “smart-bomb” among cards –
it can gets its possessor out of almost anything, for instance a Mark
Rafter can be annulled not only by a John Buckle (to the ritual cry of
“My John Buckle casts your Mark Rafter to type VOID!”), but also by
the Enid Blyton. Similarly, the Enid can cancel any number of
consecutive Marvin Minskys, or indeed Alan Turings.

Another property of the Enid Blyton is that if the player laying it is
able to name it correctly, then all other players are immediately
forced to draw from the deck, thus making the Enid a useful weapon on
the player with only one card remaining. (Incidentally, in this game,
Blackjack’s traditional call of “Last card” is replaced by “Last St.
Francis of Assisi”. Forgetting this results, predictably, in being
forced to draw seven cards from the deck)

Naming the Enid is a more difficult task than it may seem, since each
time it is correctly named, the player playing adds another middle
name onto the list, which starts empty at the beginning of the session
of play (Note: it is *not* re-zero’d between games – only at the
start of a whole new session) Once four of five such middle names
have been added, it can become quite difficult to remember them all
(They must of course, be in the right order)

An example of a growing Enid, taken from the very first ever game of
Enid that we played, is:

Enid Blyton
Enid Flamboyant Blyton
Enid Flamboyant Disjoint Blyton
Enid Flamboyant Disjoint Ornithological Blyton
Enid Flamboyant Disjoint Ornithological Aestheticism Blyton

A player attempting to lay the Enid, but unable accurately to name it
must draw a number of cards from the deck equal to the current tally
of middle names, and forfeits the right to add a new middle name.

Well, there you have it. Curiously enough, this isn’t *just* a set of
silly rules, but does actually make a frogging good game – it keeps us
amused for hours, and well repays the time taken in learning its
rules, which are, of course, fairly fluid. I strongly urge you to
have a go.

If you play this game, please email me with any comments, ideas for
new rules, particularly good middle names for Enid Blyton, etc. My
address is in my signature at the bottom of this article.
______________________________________________________________________________
Mike Taylor – {Christ,M{athemat,us}ic}ian … Email to: mirk@uk.ac.warwick.cs
Unkle Mirk sez: “Gm Gm F#7 Bb Cm->Gm Eb->Gm F F; Gm G#7 Bb C Eb C Bb Dm->D Gm”

The Answers To The English Pop Quiz

—————————————————————————
Here’s the answers to the pop quiz previously posted on this
conference from the book, “Crazy English” by, Richard Lederer,
Pocket Books, 1989):

What do the following words mean:
1. ANTEBELLUM = d. before the war
2. APIARY = c. place where bees are kept
3. AQUILINE = a. resembling an eagle
4. CUPIDITY a strong desire for wealth
5. DISINTERESTED = b. unbiased
6. ENORMITY = a. great wickedness
7. FORESTRESS = d. emphasis on first part of word
8. FRIABLE = a. easily crumbled
9. HERPETOLOGY the study of d. reptiles
10. HIPPOPHOBIA the fear of b. horses
11. INFINITESIMAL = a. very small
12. INFLAMMABLE = d. easily set on fire
13. INGENUOUS = b. innocent
14. MERETRICIOUS = a. falsely attractive
15. PRESENTLY = c. soon
16. PROSODY the study of d. versification
17. RESTIVE = c. fidgety
18. RISIBLE = a. disposed to laugh
19. TOOTHSOME = c. palatable
20. VOTARY = b. enthusiast

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Cheez Whiz 408-363-9766
Reality Check 415-474-2602

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“Raw Data for Raw Nerves”

Excerpts From “Crazy English” By Richard Lederer

===========================================================================
From: DALE DAY

Excerpts from “Crazy English” by Richard Lederer (Pocket Books 1989)

Nonetheless, it is now time to face the fact that English is a
crazy language.
In the crazy English language, the blackbird hen is brown,
blackboards can be blue or green, and blackberries are green and then
red before they are ripe. Even if blackberries were really black and
blueberries really blue, what are strawberries, cranberries, elderberries,
huckleberries, raspberries, boysenberries, and gooseberries supposed to
look like?
To add to the insanity, there is no butter in buttermilk, no egg in
eggplant, neither worms nor wood in wormwood, neither pine nor apple in
pineapple, and no ham in a hamburger. (In fact, if somebody invented a
sandwich consisting of a ham patty in a bun, we would have a hard time
finding a name for it.) To make matters worse, English muffins weren’t
invented in England, french fries in France, or Danish pastries in Denmark.
And we discover even more culinary madness in the revelations that sweet-
meat is made from fruit, while sweetbread, which isn’t sweet, is made from
meat.
In this unreliable English tongue, greyhounds aren’t always grey (or
gray), ladybugs and fireflies are beetles, a panda bear is a raccoon, a
koala bear is a maruspial, a guinea pig is neither a pig nor from Guinea,
and a titmouse is neither mammal nor mammaried.
…
Why is it that a woman can man a station but a man can’t woman one,
that a man can father a movement but a woman can’t mother one, and that a
king rules a kingdom but a queen doesn’t rule a queendom? How did all those
Renaissance men reproduce when there doesn’t seem to have been any
Reniassance women?
A writer is someone who writes, and a stinger is something that stings.
But fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, hammers don’t ham, and hum-
dingers don’t hum. If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of
booth be beeth? One goose, two geese – so one moose, two meese? One index,
two indices – one Kleenex, two Klennices? If people ring a bell today and
rang a bell yesterday, why don’t we say that they flang a ball? If they wrote
a letter perhaps they also bote their tongue. If the teacher taught, why
isn’t it also true that the preacher praught? Why is it that the sun shone
yesterday while I shined my shoes, that I treaded water and then trod on
soil, and that I flew out to see a World Series game in which my favorite
player flied out?

Again, courtesy of my wife’s English teacher, Mr. Gomez
—
þ Via ProDoor 3.4áR The Home Place BBS – Las Vegas – node 1
þ ILink þ The Home Place BBS þ Las Vegas, Nevada þ 702-641-5624

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Rat Head 415-524-3649
Cheez Whiz 408-363-9766
Reality Check 415-474-2602

Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives,
arcane knowledge, political extremism, diversive sexuality,
insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS.

Full access for first-time callers. We don’t want to know who you are,
where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother.

“Raw Data for Raw Nerves”

Here’s Your Pop Quiz… What Do These Words Mean?

Date: 01-12-91
From: DALE DAY
—————————————————————————

Here’s a pop quiz for all writers (courtesy, “Crazy English”
by, Richard Lederer, Pocket Books, 1989):

What do the following words mean:
1. ANTEBELLUM a. against women b. against war c. after the
war d. before the war
2. APIARY a. school for mimics b. place where apes are kept
c. place where bees are kept d. cupboard for peas
3. AQUILINE a. resembling an eagle b. relating to water
c. relating to synchronized swimming d. resembling a porcupine
4. CUPIDITY a strong desire for wealth b. strong desire for
love c. strong desire for amusement parks d. obtuseness
5. DISINTERESTED a. lacking a bank account b. unbiased c. bored
d. lacking rest
6. ENORMITY a. great wickedness b. great size c. normal state
d. cowardice
7. FORESTRESS a. ancient hair style c. female forester c. dread
anticipation d. emphasis on first part of word
8. FRIABLE a. easily crumbled b. easily fried c. unhealthy
d. relating to holy orders
9. HERPETOLOGY the study of a. herbs b. herpes c. female pets
d. reptiles
10. HIPPOPHOBIA the fear of a. hippopotami b. horses c. getting
fat d. hippies
11. INFINITESIMAL a. very small b. very large c. relating to
intestines d. hesitant
12. INFLAMMABLE a. calm b. incredulous c. not easily set on fire
d. easily set on fire
13. INGENUOUS a. insincere b. innocent c. clever d. mentally dull
14. MERETRICIOUS a. falsely attractive b. worthy c. good tasting
d. diseased
15. PRESENTLY a. generous with gifts b. now c. soon d. presidentially
16. PROSODY the study of a. drama b. music c. prose d. versification
17. RESTIVE a. serene b. festive c. fidgety d. pensive
18. RISIBLE a. disposed to laugh b. easily lifted c. fertile
d. relating to dawn
19. TOOTHSOME a. displaying prominent teeth b. missing teeth
c. palatable d. serrated
20. VOTARY a. democratic country b. enthusiast c. electoral college
d. revolving tool

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Official English: A No Vote

Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: toz@carson.u.washington.edu (Tom Zeiler)
Subject: Official English: A No Vote (VERY LONG POST)
Message-ID:
Date: 18 May 1993 01:45:25 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Lines: 251

Excerpted from a report

(note: Among those resources listed in the bibliography, Crawford’s book
Language Loyalties is the most comprehensive referrence for opinions on
both sides of the issue).

PERCEIVED NEED

Arguments in favor of “officializing” English can be seen as stemming from
two basic assumptions:

(1) English hegemony is an important, unifying factor contributing to
national loyalty and stability in the U.S.

(2) English hegemony is, or could someday be, in jeopardy.

These assertions seem plausible enough and mild enough in and of
themselves. But, in fact, the rhetoric put forth by proponents of
Official English often goes beyond the simple claim that English should be
seen as an important asset bolstering national u nity; avowals that it is
the single most critical bulwark of domestic security have been quite
common. Thus, as one recurring theme has it, we had better act now to
entrench the status of English so that it will continue to be “the glue
that holds our society together.” And this is where I must begin to
dissent; for I am inclined to believe that the real glue which can truly
hold a society together is,instead, this: hope for prosperity and justice
within the workings of its political system. My investigations into the
question at hand have led me to fear a climate of intolerance much more
than a decline in the supremacy of English, and, at any rate, I have come
to sense that attempting to promote stability through the direct
legislation and enforcement of linguistic conformity misses the point.

A VISION OF AMERICA

The U.S. government today finds itself presiding over what is arguably the
world’s most interesting and hopeful experiment in pan-ethnic communality
to date. The situation is, to be sure, very far from perfect.
Nonetheless, increasing recognition and protection of civil rights here
has been steady enough over the past two hundred years as to sustain at
least some amount of faith in the attainability of “justice for all”.

THE CONSTITUTION

In the United States, the basis for all national law is perceived to rest
within the Constitution and its amendments. Legal and ideological
interpretation and adjustment of that body of writings has been a constant
struggle, and promises to continue to b e so. But, then, it is just this
very fact which holds so much promise for the above-mentioned experiment.
Some very compelling ideas have been set forth in those articles, ideas
which, directly or indirectly, have inspired widespread hope in the fairne
ss and reasonableness of the societal structure which might proceed from
them. The amendment system itself can be seen as the flexible framework
wherein the evolving soul of American politics is attested and tested. I
say that the history of that system shows a very welcome trend towards
ever more explicit protections of the right of all persons to be free, to
be safe, and, especially, to be trusted to make their own decisions. So,
for example, we see that the right of certain persons to own slaves lost
out to the right of all persons to be free. Similarly, the right of
certain persons to dictate nation-wide abstinence from alcohol lost out to
the right of all persons to assume greater responsibility for their own
lifestyles. With this view in mind, we might ask; what’s wrong with the
following list?:

Freedom of speech, religion, and press; The right to bear arms; Protection
against unreasonable search and seizure; Slavery prohibited; Equal
protection of the laws; The right to vote; Repeal of prohibition; English
is the official language.

LANGUAGE RIGHTS?

Tollefson (1991) has persuasively argued that “policies limiting the use
of languages other than English must be viewed as an effort to restrict
immigrants’ access to political power and economic resources.” Baron
(1991) states that “priveleging one lang uage leads necessarily to implied
or expressed proscriptions against other languages.” What is being
suggested here and elsewhere is that it is difficult or impossible to
separate the question of Official English from the question of linguistic
discrimin ation. Claims that an ELA would obviously be a fair-minded,
plain old good-sense houskeeping move are easily called into question.
And, where the Constitution is concerned, the inherently restrictionist
nature of such legislation would stand out particu larly as being a
•rights for certain persons¢ type of deal.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST — PERCEIVED DANGERS

The two most visible targets of the so-called English-Only movement are

(a) the bilingual education system currently provided for in certain
localities by federal policy, and

(b) multi-lingual ballots, also federally mandated under certain
circumstances.

About these two issues I have only a very brief comment to make: to try
to flat out illegalize and/or permanently disallow funding for either of
these options seems misguidedly reactionary at best, and fascist at worst.
Meanwhile, there are other possib le effects of Official English
legislation to consider. Enactment of OE laws can be seen as potentially
unjust insofar as their enforcement might endanger or unfairly
disadvantage persons with limited English proficiency. Will courts and
medical institu tions and other key agencies no longer be required or even
allowed to provide interpreters for non-anglophones? Will public safety
be jeopardized because government agencies are prohibited from issuing
warnings about health and safety hazards in language s other than English?

SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGE

Whatever good intentions may lay behind the current sentiments toward
“protecting” English, there is reason to suspect that the need for such
measures does not exist and that their enactmentment might have unforseen
negative consequences. Furthermore, a very predictable result of
virtually any kind of OE legislation is that it will send the wrong
message to the wrong people — i.e. that it’s OK to “agressively prefer”
English.

EVIDENCE OF NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF OFFICIAL ENGLISH LEGISLATION

Beatancourt (1992) cites a number of examples of hostility and intolerance
apparently or obviously connected with the passage of OE laws in several
states.

– municipal court employees in Huntington Park, California were forbidden
to talk with each other in Spanish while working.
– workers at a hospital in Los Angeles were prohibited from speaking any
language other than English, and employees were urged to report anyone who
disobeyed.
– after an OE amendment passed in Colorado, a school bus driver forbade
children to speak Spanish on his bus, and a restaurant worker was fired
for translating menu items into Spanish for customers from Latin America.
– a supermarket cashier in Miami was suspended for speaking Spanish on the
job to a co-worker.
– in 1987 , several candidates who had promised to put teeth into
Proposition 63 were elected to the City Council of Monterey Park, CA.
After the library was offered a gift of ten thousand Chinese books, the
mayor and the city council decided to block the library from accepting the
donation. The library chose to accept the gift anyway, in response to
which the city council dissolved the library’s board and took over
management of the library. The mayor was quoted as having said that he
didn’t think the city needed to cater too much to foreign languages,
because if people want a foreign language they can go buy their own books.

Will English-only initiatives help unify the United States? Not likely,
if these anecdotes are any indication; because it is precisely when
people feel themselves threatened and disenfranchised that their need to
take solace in ethnic solidarity becomes
greatest. The point to consider here is that this country’s biggest
problems probably do not and will not stem from language divisions, but
rather from things like the lack of wisdom of its leaders, and the lack of
integrity of its institutions and poli cies. Fortunately, we still have a
fairly broad-minded national charter. And the legal precedent which
currently exists at the federal level is such that concerned citizens and
civil liberties groups are generally able to obtain redress for grievances
a rising out of circumstances like those mentioned above. But even so, it
is disturbing to think that state and local legislation should be of a
kind that will yield such negative consequences.

SUMMARY OF POSITION

There is a growing body of literature devoted to the questions dealt with
in this paper. The ideas presented here do not even begin to cover the
range of issues involved, and the reader is encouraged to conduct a more
extensive investigation 1. For my p art, I must admit to having done a
lot of vacillating back and forth between wondering if OE might be a good
idea and thinking it might not. The perspective I ultimately found myself
wanting to convey in this discussion can be summarized as follows:

(a) An ELA would diminish the U.S. Constitution.
(b) There is reason to seriously question the need for OE measures.
(c) There is reason to believe that OE measures will breed injustice.
(d) There must be a better way to facilitate stability than via the
proliferation of restrictive laws.

EPILOGUE: SENDING A BETTER MESSAGE

As support for Official English has grown, so also has a counter-movement
critical of it sprung up. One of the most interesting organizations to
appear in this regard is EPIC (English Plus Information Clearing-house).
The “English Plus” movement is cent ered around the theme that learning
English is important, but that so are the needs and rights of speakers of
other languages. Supporters of English Plus and others take issue with
what they perceive as shortcomings in the approach of U.S. English and it
s allies. For example, after an OE law made it onto the books in Arizona,
one opponent of the measure called it “a remedy for a problem that didn’t
exist. The irritant in the campaign was the vast amount of money spent by
U.S. English for legislation an d no money spent to encourage or promote
English proficiency.” Supporters of OE, oft quoted as saying how important
it is for immigrants to learn English, are increasingly being challenged
to seek out constructive ways to encourage their doing so. As au thor
Norman Cousins (himself a former USE advisory board member) has said:
“Not until we provide educational facilities for all who are now standing
in line to take lessons in English should we presume to pass judgement on
the non-English speaking people
in our midst.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERRENCES

____ Say it In English. In Newsweek, Feb. 20, 1989. p.22

Baron, Dennis. The English-Only Question: An Official Language for
Americans? Yale University Press. 1991.

Betancourt, Ingrid. “The Babel Myth”: The English-Only Movement and Its
Implications for Libraries. In Wilson Library Bulletin, Feb. 1992 p.38

Bikales, Gerda. Comment: the other side. In International Journal of
the Sociology of Language 60, 1986. p.77

Citrin, Jack. Language Politics and American Identity. In Public
Interest, Spr 1990. p96

Crawford, James. Language Loyalties: A Sourcebook on the Official English
Controversy. University of Chicago Press. 1991

Guy, Gregory R. International Perspectives on Linguistic Diversity and
Language Rights. In Language Problems and Language Planning, Spr 1989.
p.45

Matusewitch, Eric. Language Rules Can Violate Title VII. In Personnel
Journal, October 1990. p.98

Marshall, David F. The Question of an Official Language: language rights
and the English Language Amendment. In International Journal of the
Sociology of Language 60, 1986 p.7

McArthur, Tom. Comment: worried about something else. In International
Journal of the Sociology of Language 60,1986. p.87

Padilla, Amado M., et al. The English-Only Movement: Myths, Reality, and
Implications for Psychology. In American Psychology, Feb. 1991. p.120

Tollefson, James W. Planning Language, Planning Inequality : language
policy in the community. Longman. 1991

Young, Amy. In Common Cause, May/June 1989 p.44

How “Correct” Is British English? By Alex Gross (1992)

How “Correct” Is British English?

The alleged differences between British and American
English have long provided a topic for learned observations,
newspaper articles and even folklore. It is not my intention
to rehash any of this material from the past but rather to
provide a fresh look at these two language formations from
the viewpoint of modern linguistics. The conventional view
of these differences, both in Britain and to some extent in
American scholarly circles, holds that British English is the
parent, the model, the arbiter whose usage is to be preferred
in almost all cases, while American English is, like the
country itself, merely some kind of colonial colossus run
amuck. There is also a built-in linguistic confusion of a
different sort–the United States terms itself America, while
England is in fact called England and its inhabitants
English. It therefore seems overwhelmingly logical to assume
that English is their language: after all, they’re English,
so it’s theirs, isn’t it? Or is it? At a time when more and
more Europeans, Asians and Africans are learning English as a
second language, we really need to clarify this otherwise
confusing question. Let us therefore see what kind of light
linguistic principles can shed upon this matter, discarding
our partisan prejudices as best we can.

From the beginning, one is confronted by the assumption
that British usages are “normal” or “correct,” their American
counterparts aberrant, exotic, and/or “incorrect.” Granted,
this view is increasingly seen as obsolete in the U.K., for
as the Prince of Wales, Malcolm Bradbury and others have
lamented, the standards of British English have been
alarmingly undermined by transatlantic and internationalist
tendencies. But these very protests show that British
English is still regarded as a “norm,” which many believe
they must aspire to and a few actually attain.

Let us start with accent, where we will find no shortage
of British informants maintaining that American English is
extremely “nasal,”–that is, spoken through the nose. It is
therefore further characterized as “twangy,” unpleasant, or
(worst of all) unclear. Something called British
pronunciation is supposed to be the norm for the purpose of
this comparison, and it is also naturally assumed here that
only one British accent need be considered, what is commonly
referred to in Britain (but never referred to in America at
all) as RP or `Received Pronunciation.’ Such a rash
assumption is easy enough to assail, but we will leave it to
one side for now and turn our attention to what not only
linguistics but also medical science have to tell us about
British speech, for this matter of accent is most definitely
open to scientific discussion.

The truth of the matter, in both linguistic and medical
terms, is that it would be just as accurate to refer to
British English as excessively throaty and hold up American
as the “norm.” There is not the slightest doubt from a
physiological point of view that speaking correct British
English does involve blocking off one’s throat, bronchi, and
lungs to an abnormal extent as compared not only to American
English but also the usual accents of many foreign languages.
The medical reasons for this are not at all hard to discover-
-it has in fact been known for decades that the national
British disease par excellence is bronchitis, with asthma
running a close second. No one who has ever heard some of
the BBC’s roving travelogue narrators wheezing away on the
sides of volcanos or breathlessly describing the mating
rituals of Bornean lizards can doubt the extent to which
these two respiratory ailments have found their way into
Received Pronunciation. Such deformations are also found in
some northern French accents and in the miasmal quality of
colloquial Italian common in the Arno valley around Florence,
also allegedly a model of its national language. I myself
developed fairly good cases of both ailments while living in
England and Florence, which greatly helped my accent in both
languages. Thus, it may well be that British English,
long supposed to spring from a high level of breeding,
owes its origins instead to a low level of breathing.

This whole question becomes more than academic when we
consider what impact it may have on foreigners trying to
learn English. Is there really any reason why people from
sunny Italy, tropical Africa, or the earth’s higher and drier
regions should be forced to contort their throats and
windpipes in an effort to reproduce what may be only an
accident of climate? Can the British continue to maintain
that their variety of English is “normal” or preferable in
the light of this information? Most probably they can and
will, but the lesson here for all those with a real interest
in linguistic truth is that all forms of speech owe something
to climatological factors, and there are specific
physiological reasons–close to engineering reasons in their
way–why various accents sound the way they do. In any case,
American nasal sounds can make a better claim to being a
world norm than throaty British, since they can be heard in
many other of the world’s languages, including not only
French and Danish but also many Chinese and Malayan
regionalects.

Differences in accent are one thing, but what about far
more crucial differences in actual words? Surely no one can
fault British good taste in this regard, and American
coinages can only be regarded as a necessary nuisance to be
learned for utilitarian reasons and used as little as
possible. But here too the situation may turn out to be
quite different than imagined. I will not bore
the reader with such already familiar instances as elevator
vs. lift, diaper vs. nappy, etc., nor will I attempt to draw
any conclusions as to which is better. That way lies merely
partisan madness. There are in fact much more striking
examples of usage, ones which deeply illumine the differences
between British and American society, and it is these which
adherents of either persuasion, and especially those
embarking on the study of our language, should carefully
consider.

There are in many languages certain pairs of contrasting
words, often linked in their phonetic structure, which embody
and reflect the concerns of those who speak the language.
Good and bad are often cited for English, brutto and bello
for Italian, yin and yang in Chinese. But in addition to
good and bad, British English also possesses another basic
pair of key words. These words do not figure in at all the
same way in American English. They are almost constantly on
people’s lips in Britain, yet they are used so differently in
the UK as to actually require a translation into American
English. And although these two words do get used frequently
enough in America, they are simply not linked in the same
way, and their usage in the US requires a translation the
other way into British terms. I will discuss in some detail
how these two words reflect their respective societies and am
illustrating their two-way cross-translation in the form of a
table. The two words are rude and kind.

RUDE VS. KIND IN AMERICAN & ENGLISH

Translation into English Translation into
of the American Meaning American of the
English Meaning

rude overtly insulting direct, brusque

kind actively civil, normally
compassionate, responsive
charitable

Since it is scarcely at issue that these two words are
used quite differently in Britain and the U.S., my question
from the outset will be, in line with the title of this
article, which is in fact the “correct” usage? And can the
question of which is “correct” be separated from larger
issues of politics, customs, and social systems? Most
Americans who spend time in England soon become aware of
these words being used in a strange off-center way, which
they may not be able to pin down and may dismiss as “quaint”
or “eccentric” or excessively “polite.” They will constantly
find themselves being told how kind they are to have done
something, when they know perfectly well that they have not
been kind at all, merely civil or normally responsive. As an
example, if you pass the sugar to a stranger in a cafeteria,
he may reply, “How kind of you,” or “Frightfully kind.”

But this does not qualify as “kind” at all in America,
just barely civil, at best “polite.” This is why our table
shows “civil” or “normally responsive” as the translation
into American of the British usage. The difference is so
great that there might be a case for dropping a footnote on
the pages of all English articles and books where the word
“kind” is used, explaining what it means in American.
Similarly, the English word “rude,” which marks the opposite
of “kind,” is used in an equally off-center way. Words,
deeds, or attitudes which would scarcely merit this
description in America are constantly being described as
“rude” in England. Very specific ritual phrases and
mutterings, which we will soon describe, must accompany any
act, question or statement in England, lest they be called
“rude.” Since Americans make their way through life without
observing any of these protocols–indeed, without being aware
of the existence of such ritual phrases and mutterings,
almost anything they do or say is likely to be labelled rude,
and so it is no surprise that the two words “rude American”
are frequently heard together in England. This is simply
because what an American may consider the normal, direct way
of doing things, as galling as this may be to many would-be
anglophile Americans, is considered “rude” in England. In
fact, the English word “rude” should probably be translated
as we have it in our table: “direct” or a bit “brusque.” It
probably describes the way not only Americans but many other
of the world’s peoples go about their lives.

Here too a relatively impartial linguistic analysis may
be useful. The anthropologist Edward Hall has done much of
our work for us in setting up different levels of social
distance defined by different cultures and embedded in their
language (1). His two most famous examples are the different
social distances observed by Japanese and Americans and by
speakers of Arabic and Americans. There can be no doubt that
we are witnessing a comparable cultural phenomenon between
Britons and Americans as well, and these differences are
equally well reflected in language.

The proof of this is that these usages of “rude” and
“kind” cut both ways. Many British friends visiting the U.S.
have expressed to me their impressions that Americans are
going out of their way to be explicitly rude to them,
especially during their first weeks in the country–and often
their only ones–so that they do not discover that a
difference in social space might be involved. Edward Hall
describes much the same thing happening to him in his
relations with the Japanese. Most Britons unfortunately do
not remain in America long enough to break through this
barrier, and so it is supposed that Americans go on forever
being impossibly “rude” to one another but are simply too
insensitive to notice. For this reason, I have also provided
translations of the American meanings into English: for
“rude,” overtly, and often personally, insulting; and for
“kind,” actively compassionate.

The reason for this different social space, at least as
far as I have ever been able to discover, is that the British
do indeed feel themselves more distant from one another than
do Americans (2). Any violation of their personal or psychic
space by another counts as “rude.” Minimal observance or
non-violation of this space gets graded as “kind.” To my
knowledge no other European language makes such a
distinction. One might credit all of this to overcrowding or
to class differences or once again to the weather–or even to
a combination of the three–but for whatever reason the
British choose to remain, as has been noted for ages, fairly
aloof from one another. They are of course famous for
insisting on prolonged conversations about the weather with
strangers before they will discuss any further matters with
them. This would all qualify as no more than anecdotal,
except that it once again has definite consequences for all
who wish to learn British English

The point once again is this: out of all Europeans,
perhaps only some Scandinavians might agree with the British
on their concept of social distance and their distinctions
between “rude” and “kind.” Most other Europeans, while they
might occasionally pay lip service to such distinctions, live
lives a good deal closer to the American view. As do most
peoples of Asia, Africa, and South America for that matter.
Should all these peoples, when and if they choose to learn
English, also be required to accept the British definitions
in this field as the “correct” ones? And if so required, are
they likely to obey?

As we shall see, this concept of “social distance” has
further consequences in every stage of learning British
English. Let us first take a simple conversational question,
one quite likely to be asked by or of newcomers but one which
also illustrates the different rules for American and
English. If, for example, you are in New York and you wish
to find Fifth Avenue, you may turn to most passers-by and
simply say, “Which way is Fifth Avenue?” This is a perfectly
correct way of phrasing this question in American English,
one both used and understood by natives. You might also say,
“Excuse me, which way is Fifth Avenue?” but you could also
get away with just saying “Fifth Avenue?” and producing the
question mark with your voice–it’s not as nice, but it will
get you there. If you felt the need to be extremely polite,
say with an older man or perhaps with a woman, you might go
so far as to say, “Excuse me, which way is Fifth Avenue
please?”

In England even this last phrasing might mark you as
extremely “rude,” if not actively hostile–depending on your
accent, you would be classed as a Northerner, a foreigner
with poor English, someone from the lower classes, or a “rude
American.” This is because you are obliged to say things
quite differently in England–we shall now see what was meant
by ritual phrases and murmurings. Let us now suppose you are
in London and wish to find your way to Leicester Square. As
astounding as it may seem, the full correct form of your
question, including all its linguistic and stylistic
subtleties, is as follows:

“I beg your pardon. I’m terribly sorry
to bother you, but I wonder if I could
possibly trouble you to inform me as to
how I might find Leicester Square.”

This is not intended as a joke, though it may sound like
one to some. It was the full and correct form of asking a
question during my time in England and, from everything I
hear from friends and see on TV, still remains very much the
standard. Its multiple phrases permits your British
interlocutor 1) to realize he is being addressed; 2) to
decide whether he wishes to bother answering; and 3) to
devise some sort of reply. Your chances of obtaining one
will be greatly increased if you pronounce the name Leicester
correctly, another hidden land-mine in the question.

So much for simple, relatively neutral questions. Now
let’s suppose you really want to get down to brass tacks with
someone and have a serious discussion, even an argument if
need be. There are in all societies rules and conventions
surrounding such conversations, and neither America nor
Britain is an exception. Nonetheless, it would still be
possible in America to turn to someone you knew moderately
well and say:

“Damn it, Jim, you’re all wet about the
Chinese. You don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

This would not do at all in England. While such a
statement might lead to further and more intense argument in
America, it would not necessarily offend Jim or anyone else,
and it certainly would not lead to the end of the
conversation or a breach of friendship. In England it almost
certainly would. The approved British form for saying
essentially the same thing runs more or less as follows:

“There is great merit in what you say. I
could not help but applaud as I heard you
state your views, and I have on countless
occasions in the past found myself coming
to much the same conclusions, though of
course I have never been able to phrase
them as skilfully as you just have.
There is no doubt in my mind that you are
essentially correct in every particular,
and I would not presume to amend your
statement in the slightest detail. But I
must admit that I find myself compelled
to point out that it might conceivably be
to your advantage to consider the
following circumstances regarding the
Chinese, however irrelevant they might
seem at first hearing…..”

As many Americans may find this uproariously funny, I
must insist once again that this is not my intention. It
truly shows how the English may address you, and it also
reflects how you must address them in your reply if you are
to have any hope of communicating with them. You are still a
long way from expressing what it was you really wanted to
say, but at least you are on your way, and provided you have
omitted none of the obligatory politesses and murmurings and
provided your tone of voice conveys complete sincerity–and
your accent is correct and you commit no major gaffes in your
choice of words–you may have a chance of getting an idea
across.

Anything less may well be dismissed as rude or
“embarrassing,” another key word with different meanings in
England and the States. Many remarks, questions, and
challenges considered unexceptional in the U.S. would be
regarded as deeply “embarrassing” in Britain. This attitude
is in fact embedded within British libel laws, under which
statements are open to prosecution not because they are false
but because someone may find them “embarrassing.” Needless
to say, as has been frequently observed by British and
American journalists alike, these laws present a considerable
obstacle to free discussion.

Once again, which of our two versions is the “correct”
one? Is it inevitably the British one, or is another choice
possible? This choice is ultimately a very practical matter
and belongs to the learner. Those who speak Japanese with
all its honorifics or Chinese with its multiple self-
abnegations may find the British version a challenge, may in
fact be disappointed if a language offers any fewer
subtleties than British English. Or they may not. What is
important is that this level of knowledge should be available
to all learning either variety of English before they begin
their studies.

The differences between the two versions of English
extend to the structural level. There are some specific
differences between British and American in verb forms used
for declarative sentences and in how questions are asked.
They are not at all subtle differences, though they require
careful study, and they are not to be found in the grammar
books. To begin with, the Assertive-Interrogative form–or
what I will call the “Isn’t It?” structure has a totally
different function in British than in American. In the
United States, this structure is normally used to express
doubt, even of one’s own judgment, for example:

“Today is the right day, *isn’t it?*”

“My god, I did bring that book, *didn’t I?*”

In England, however, this simple structure, which we all
use every day and which can color our attitudes towards our
own thought processes, is often used quite differently. It
expresses not doubt at all, but rather confirmation of one’s
previously held views or prejudices. Two typical examples:

“It’s quite the best, isn’t it?”

“We English have always done that sort of thing far
better, haven’t we?”

In fact, despite the question mark, no question is being
asked at all, rather an assertion is being made. The answer
“Of course!” is assumed, even expected. This structure can
on occasion be used in a similar fashion by Americans, but
far less frequently than in England (3).

Another British-only structure which reaffirms existing
prejudices in the mind of the speaker is what I call the
Reinforcing Conditional form, often utilizing the “I should
have thought” sequence. It is constantly heard whenever one
expresses any idea the slightest bit novel and usually means,
if you are the one who has provoked it, that someone has
decided you are quite mistaken and will go on believing what
they always did, regardless of what you may have said or will
ever say. If, for example, one is discussing the
permissibility of tea with lemon as a beverage, the response
may well be:

“Really? I should have thought it would be frightfully
bitter.”

And that is that, your conversation has effectively
ended. Although you may go on arguing, you will achieve
nothing except to demonstrate that you are an insensitive
foreigner. Here too the would-be learner of English must
make his or her own decision. Mastery of the “Isn’t It” and
“I should have thought” structures is absolutely central to
speaking “correct” English, though these phrases are never
taught in class and will, like much of the other material
discussed here, tend to bypass, confuse or irritate
Americans.

I could go on at great length here about the best and
worst ways of communicating with the British, but I am
concerned here only with a serious examination of the
differences between British and American as they affect
language learning. I have already discussed accent to some
extent, and I will now return to it only in so far as it
affects the pronunciation of individual words. Many people
throughout the world are convinced that a British accent is
far more distinguished, cultivated and definitive than what
passes for American speech. This of course also makes it
more “correct,” and it goes without saying that the British
pronunciation of any given word must be preferable to Yankee
mumbling. As we will soon see, this is far from being the
case.

Many of these same people also assume that they can
achieve a proper British accent simply by substituting broad
English A’s for all those frightful American “a-as-in-fast”
sounds. Since this assumption is widespread among many
students of English, the following example may be useful as a
test of how well it works. Try reading this passage aloud
with what you believe to be a correct English accent, and
then check your way of saying it against the “correct,”
“received” pronunciation given at the end of this article.
Unless I am mistaken, even quite a few Britons will
ignominiously fail at least part of this test, which may also
provide a measure of the difficulties involved. Here’s the
passage:

“The fancy falcon cast a dastardly pass
after an unfastened ass with asthma. By
Bacchus, what a disastrous aftermath!
Mere mastery of this scanty example
cannot mask your transatlantic,
antipodean, or lower class antecedents.”

It is for readers to decide, after perusing the
“correct” version of this little quiz, how “correct” they
want their own English to be. In fact, as few as twenty
percent of Britons are likely to pronounce this passage close
to “correctly” (and perhaps only ten percent will get it
totally “right”). These all too probable results raise
considerable questions as to whether the British should go on
teaching this as correct pronunciation and whether the
editors of the Oxford English Dictionary (our source here)
should continue marking vowels as they now do.

The point of this example is to point out, in case any
further evidence were needed, that the British form of
English is in its way an armed camp, bristling with devices
to repel the foreigner, the invader, yes, the learner. These
devices may even be aimed at the people of Britain. During
my time in the UK, I was sufficiently skilled with languages
to make it past a number of these barriers, only to find
others yet in waiting. I believe it possible that such
barriers may ultimately be directed not so much against
Americans or foreigners–who are perhaps only an after-
thought–as against the British themselves. It may be that
their existence has something to do with class differences in
Britain.

And yet the impression persists that where pronunciation
is concerned, the British can do no wrong, that any British
pronunciation of a word must by its very nature be far
superior to anything any mere colonial might ever say. The
influence of this belief has been evident in recent years in
the use by some American TV-casters of “weekEND” instead of
the older “WEEKend” or the occasional “checkMATE'” for
CHECKmate. Suffice it to say that there is not the slightest
linguistic, phonetic, or stylistic reason for preferring the
former to the latter (or for that matter vice versa). But
this is only the tip of the iceberg: leaving to one side
these questions of faddish taste, the English have long been
demonstrably guilty of committing such wholesale errors of
pronunciation all on their own that there is really no way
any objective person can possibly defend them.

Here, surprisingly or not, those who disagree may not be
British but American. So vast is the certainty in some
American circles that where pronunciation is concerned, the
British can do no wrong that I can already hear the chorus of
American objectors trying to shout me down with cries of “If
it’s British, it must be cultivated” or even “Look, it’s
British–let’s pretend it’s cultivated, even if it isn’t.”
Something comparable once occurred to my wife and me in
London when we attended an educational production of
Fielding’s hilarious satire Tom Thumb, the play that
triggered the infamous Licensing Act.

This play is obviously a comedy, replete with characters
named Huncamunca and Floradora. It litters the stage with
even more corpses than Hamlet and contains numerous quite
funny parodies of bad pentameter lines from Fielding’s time,
such as “Oh, Huncamunca, Huncamunca, Oh.” We came quite
prepared, having reread the play beforehand. The cast and
production were quite proficient, and naturally we began to
laugh. No one else was laughing. Soon people around us
began to shush and hiss us and tell us to shut up. We did
so, more or less, in somewhat servile fashion. At the break
we were castigated: “How dare you laugh? How dare you
interrupt the beautiful poetry?” These good Englishmen were
unable to tell one pentameter line from another. Because it
was pentameter, it had to be poetry. I insert this before my
instances of what in the U.S. might be called “BBC Bloopers,”
because it shows that many British still have a tin ear for
poetry. Or for pronunciation. There is simply no other way
of phrasing it.

We’ve seen what the British do to their own language–
now let’s look at how they handle foreign words and names.
It isn’t as though one can’t hear such names and places
mispronounced in the U.S. But the British do it with
absolute abandon, as though that’s what the blighters deserve
anyway, and “our” way of saying their words is better than
“theirs” anyway. Not a touch of false humility here. Before
I get upset by Scarlatti pronounced with not one but two
short “a”s, a truly difficult feat (try it yourself), I
should perhaps explain that in the pronunciation of Latin the
British never went through the great century-long debate we
had in the US between advocates of Church Latin and
neoclassical Latin. It never occurred to Britons (nor does
it today) to pronounce Latin in any but a totally English
way, complete with modern English accent and diphthongs.

This fairly typifies their approach to pronouncing
foreign words. But the actual examples one hears continually
on the BBC suggest that there is no approach or method at
all. Each announcer seems to invent his own mispronunciation
as he goes along. We will quite overlook the announcer
totally unable to say Brest-Litovsk in any form and also not
dally to fight over PortuGUESE for PORTuguese. Or the 1991
cultural extravaganza about the history of map-making, where
one heard both “Magellan” and “longitude” pronounced with “g”
as in “go.” Nor will we really bother with MY-thology where
Americans would say “mith-ology,” or quite the opposite logic
of ID-olatry for US eye-dolatry. There is simply no logic
for these British choices, and we suspect they are just
making things up as they go along.

Matters do become a mite more serious when we come to
the name of a part of the world that has been in the news for
at least three decades, and in the Bible before that.
Apparently the entire British population is suffering from a
collective eye disease, and not a soul in Albion is capable
of seeing that the name Sinai (as in Sinai peninsula, Moses,
and all that) has two–and only two–syllables. I do not
believe I have ever met a single Briton–or heard a single
BBC announcer–who did not add an extra “ee” and pronounce it
SIGH-nee-eye. I really would like to know the reason for
this.

Perhaps because I am partial to aspects of Japanese
culture, I find the pronunciation Sam-Your-Eye for Samurai
(closer to correct, Sah-moo-rye) even more wrenching. But
the worst of all is yet to come: not only every British
announcer in the world pronounces it this way, but even the
late Graham Greene, an author whom I had long respected,
recently let the U.S. have it for its deeds in Nicker-RAG-
You-Ah. Like many Americans I have mixed feelings over
certain events in Nicaragua (which nonetheless recently
decided at the polls against Mr. Greene), but his
pronunciation alone has convinced me that he could know
virtually nothing about this land. It was every bit as anti-
Hispanic as American policy. Perhaps as punishment he should
have been made to spend the last of his days in Man-NAG-You-
Ah, Nicker-RAG-You-Ah and pronounce both of these names
correctly several hundred times each day. If he did, it
would sound more like a lilting Mah-nah-wah, Nee-ka-rah-wah,
with almost no “G” sound at all. Once again, one may ask, is
there any reason why foreigners learning British English,
many of whom will be able to pronounce these words more
correctly, should be forced to duplicate such grotesque
examples?

None of the examples I have presented would be of more
than anecdotal interest, were it not for a slightly more
disturbing factor that has recently become evident. It may
turn out to be of no lasting significance, but the widely
respected editor of a major British publication on language
has recently declared something of a war on American English.
This gentleman has actually proclaimed his variety of British
English as a major means of preventing a “shallow Dallas or
Coca-Cola uniform world culture with bad English as the
international language.” English eccentricism being what it
is, it is probable that we will hear no more of this.

And yet there are some strains in the current British
make-up suggesting that such linguistic fascism may be more
than a flash in the pan. When Dean Acheson pointed out a few
decades ago that the British had lost an empire but not yet
found a role for themselves, it provoked a degree of anger
among the British difficult to imagine for those who did not
witness it. And yet this observation had–and has–a ring of
truth to it. If the British have not been successful in
finding a new role in the world, it has certainly not been
from want of trying. When Stalin died in 1953, millions of
Britons mourned almost inconsolably, for they had come to
believe that communism/socialism would provide them with a
surrogate emotional empire. And all through the ‘Sixties and
‘Seventies a belief in socialism as the “wave of the future,”
with Britain as its vanguard, was frequently invoked to
justify looking down on Americans and their language as a low
and reactionary life-form. Now communism is dead, and
socialism has been–whether rightly or wrongly–challenged in
many countries, so it is not surprising that the British
would be out role-hunting again. Nor is it surprising that
some might be hoping to find that role in a neo-imperialist,
neo-colonialist campaign for British English. In a world
full of so many potentially dangerous atavisms, one can only
hope that their quest will not prove successful.

All of the instances I have suggested simply overwhelm
reason, but I will now do my best to recall some semblance of
objectivity and sum up my theme in a cogent manner. I
apologize to my many British friends and colleagues within
Albion and around the world if I have inflicted any real pain
upon them. My apology is real and heart-felt, for I have
lived in Britain long enough to have gained profound respect
for its history and culture. But I do think it is a
legitimate part of my exercise to ensure that a people who
has heaped so much condescension on others over so many
years, particularly where language is concerned, should have
at least some passing notion of what it feels like to be
condescended towards in this regard.

As I have said earlier, it is
extremely important that those many people now learning
English should have some idea what they may be getting into
when they choose to learn one variety or another. There is
really no way to learn a foreign language without also
absorbing a great deal of its social, political and
philosophical outlook. This is equally true whether one
chooses to learn British or American English. It is for
learners themselves to choose, but they must have all
necessary knowledge available to them in order to make an
informed choice. Whether they ultimately choose British or
American or another language altogether, let us hope that
they make a wise choice leading all of our nations to an era
of sustained world peace.

SOLUTION TO THE MYSTERY
OF THE “ALL-TEASE FALCON”

And here is the “correct” pronunciation for our passage.
Source is the OED or any upper-class Oxonian type available,
who will breeze through the test without blinking and wonder
what all the fuss is about. The only real catch is the word
“falcon” itself, which has neither a broad nor a short “A”
but a choice between “faw-kun” and “fawl-kun.” For the rest,
the broad A’s (A as in fAther) are capitalized. The others
are short, with just one strange exception: “what” given as
“wot,” rhyming with “not” and not an “h” sound in sight.

“The fancy fawlcon (or fawcon) cAst a
dastardly pAss After an unfAstened ass
with asthma. By Bacchus, what (wot?) a
disAstrous Aftermath! Mere mAstery of
this scanty exAmple cannot mAsk your
transatlantic, antipodean, or lower clAss
antecedents.”

If you don’t agree with my version, don’t argue with me:
take it up with the OED or the British at large. A number of
them may well agree with you.

NOTES:

1. Hall’s most famous work expounding this theme is The
Hidden Dimension, Doubleday, Garden City, NY, 1966. He
discusses allied themes in Beyond Culture (1977) and The
Silent Language (1959).

2. The British computer translation consultant John
Newton provides me with a dramatic instance of this social
distance. He was travelling on a Spanish airplane when the
captain’s voice came over announcing: “Senoras y Senores,
ahora estamos volando sobre la ciudad de Madrid, por abajo se
puede ver el Paseo de…..” (“Ladies and gentlemen, we are
now passing over the city of Madrid, down below you can
see…..”). He found himself wondering how one could
possibly translate this event, familiar to those flying the
airlines of most nations, into British English for a British
audience. British pilots certainly would not do this sort of
thing, nor have British passengers been inclined to request
it.

3. I first described the “Assertive-Interrogative” form
in the mid ‘Seventies, and when I came to write this article,
I wondered if I wasn’t being a bit hard on the British about
it. I was close to softening my approach when I discovered
John Algeo’s “It’s a Myth, Innit? Politeness and the English
Tag Question,” published in The State of the Language, Univ.
of Cal. Press, 1990 and in a longer form in English World-
Wide 9 (1988): 171-91. Algeo is far harder on the British
than I have presumed to be–he openly states that they are
not a “polite race” and identifies five different categories
of these “tag questions,” which he ranges from informational
and confirmatory to peremptory and aggressive.

Much of the contents of this article is abridged and
adapted from the English chapters of the author’s Inside the
‘Sixties, What Really Happened on a World-Wide Scale, an
unpublished manuscript.

Alex Gross resided in London between 1963 and 1971,
where he and his wife were active in the theatre, literary
and artistic worlds. He served as a literary adviser to the
RSC from 1965 to 1970, and his translations of German plays
were produced by them and other British theatre companies.
Several members of his family have been and remain British
subjects. His father, who published the A to Z Guide to
London, knew Lloyd George, and Lloyd George knew his father.

NOTE: This article is scheduled to be published in two
parts in the February and March 1992 issues of Translation News.

A Quick Lesson In Do It Yourself Embalming

A QUICK LESSON IN DO-IT-YOURSELF EMBALMING

FROM ‘THE BATHROOM ALMANAC’ BY GUS MCLEAVY (FREDERICK FELL PUBLISHERS, INC.)

TYPED IN 80 COLUMNS BY BIG BAD BARBARIAN (PARDON MY BAD TASTE.)

TO BEGIN, YOU’LL NEED THREE TO SIX GALLONS OF EMBALMING FLUID. IF YOU
CAN’T FIND A BRAND NAME FLUID YOU CAN MIX YOUR OWN, USING DYED AND PERFUMED
FORMALDEHYDES, GLYCERINE, BORAX, PHENOL, ALCOHOL, AND WATER. THE PROPORTIONS
AREN’T TOO IMPORTANT TO THE FINISHED PRODUCT, AS DR. JESSE CARR WILL EXPLAIN
LATER.

FIRST OF ALL, THE MOUTH MUST BE SEWN TOGETHER AT THE INSIDE OF THE LIPS.
(THE NEEDLE IS BROUGHT OUT THROUGH THE NOSTRIL, USUALLY THE LEFT ONE.) THEN
YOU TAKE A TROCAR, A LONG HOLLOW NEEDLE ATTACHED TO A TUBE. DRAIN THE CONTENTS
OF THE ABDOMINAL AND CHEST CAVITIES, AND REPLACE THE REMOVED MATTER WITH CAVITY
FLUID. PUMP OUT THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, REPLACE THE BLOOD AND PLASMA WITH THE
ENBALMING SOLUTION, AND THAT’S ABOUT IT. IN EIGHT TO TEN HOURS THE TISSUES WILL
BE FIRM AND DRY, AND READY FOR ‘COSMETIC RESTORATION.’

CAREFUL, THOUGH! REGULAR ENBALMING FLUID WORKS DIFFERENTLY ON VARIOUS
BODIES ACCORDING TO THE CAUSE OF DEATH. WHILE IT WILL GIVE A PLEASANT PINK GLOW
TO THE FLESH OF A VICTIM OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING, WHEN IT IS USED ON
SOMEONE WHO DIED OF JAUNDICE IT IMPARTS A GREEN TINGE THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF
MAKE-UP TO CONCEAL.

ALTHOUGH IT IS WIDELY BELIEVED TO PRESERVE A BURIED BODY, EMBALMING IN
FACT DOES NO SUCH THING. IF IT HAS ANY WORTHWHILE PURPOSE AT ALL, IT IS TO MAKE
THE OPEN CASKET FUNERAL MORE PALATABLE. DR. JESSE CARR IS NO FRIEND OF THE
MORTUARY INDUSTRY, BUT HE IS A FORMER CHIEF OF PATHOLOGY AT SAN FRANCISCO
GENERAL HOSPITAL AND PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
MEDICAL SCHOOL, AND HERE’S WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT:

AN EXHUMED BODY IS A REPUGNANT, MOLDY, FOUL-LOOKING OBJECT. IT’S NOT
THE IMAGE OF ONE WHO HAS BEEN LOVED . . . THE BODY ITSELF MAY BE
INTACT, AS FAR AS CONTOURS AND SO ON; BUT THE SILK LINING OF THE
CASKET IS ALL STAINED WITH BODY FLUIDS, THE WOOD IS ROTTING, AND THE
BODY IS COVERED WITH MOLD . . . IF YOU SEAL UP A CASKET SO IT IS
MORE OR LESS AIRTIGHT, YOU SEAL IN THE ANAEROBIC BACTERIA – THE KIND
THAT THRIVE IN AN AIRLESS ATMOSPHERE, YOU SEE. THESE ARE THE
PUTREFACTIVE BACTERIA, AND THE RESULTS OF THEIR GROWTH ARE PRETTY
HORRIBLE . . . YOU’RE BETTER OFF WITH A SHROUD, AND NO CASKET AT
ALL.

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The ENA Vision: What IS Ena?

Numb. –> 5
Title –> What is the ENA?
From –> RICK
Left –> 28-DEC-85 11:33 PM

THE ENA VISION:
What IS ENA?
Edited by Stefanie Kott

ENA is an organization that grew out of the First Intersystem Symposium
conducted by Lisa Carlson, during which Lisa took (“pmrted”) comments from on
network to the other until, finally, people from many places began to feel they
knew each other. In April 1985, 50 of those people representing MANY networks
came from all over the country to meet in NYC. And ENA was born. Since then,
although the organization officially “meets” on Unison, a growing number of
systems get reports of ENA activities through a growing number of “porters,” who
download items considered interesting and then upload them to the system they
call “home.”

As is expected in a diverse group of people, some of whom have never met,
there are differing notions of an organization and what it should be and do.

When, in a discussion on Unison about what ENA is (in “ENA Organization
Talk”), Victor Carson suggested that it is a SIG (Special Interest Group), a
number of explosive responsive followed.

For some if not all of the people who met in NYC in April, ENA is a rather
serious venture to promote the new medium of computer conferencing (cc) and t
deal with the problems inherent in it now. To many it is important to deal with
substantive issues–such as transmission problems, protocols, software,
intersystem links (either software or human)–at the same time that we
accomplish the first online intersystem network, intended to serve as an example
of the potential of this medium to facilitate global communications o
associations, movements and business groups.

For people who were not in NYC in April–people who became curious either
through Mike Greenly’s “Face To Face” conference on Parti on The Source, or
through some reference to or conference about ENA that they found on one of the
many online networks represented by ENA members–there were varying ideas about
what ENA is. Some newcomers put their “own personal vision onto it,” as Paul
Bunnell said, but even the “Original 50” had different ideas.

Paul explained what he feels “is a dichotomy of background here,” which he
thinks “puts a strain on direction, purpose, interaction, organization, etc.
There are the business-oriented, independent telecommunications
corporate/government consultant types — and there are ‘the rest of us.’ This
is not necessarily good or bad.”

In his own personal vision of ENA, it never occurred to him “that the ENA’s
intended focus was primarily to serve the business and ‘professional’ networker
community.” To this Stefanie later responded that she doesn’t “thin we formed
just to serve the business and professional communities, tho I do think that is
important.” She said, “I think we formed to help any online organization
accomplish its goals through networking. That could be a peace movement, a
research team worldwide, a business thinktank, a select society, or a social
club.”

Susanna Opper referred to a comment by Victor Carson’s that ENA members are
the ‘power users’ of CC,” and she agreed. “BUT,” she said (comparing what ENA
is doing to a SIG), “the ways in which we use the technology differ radically
It’s like trying to get a teenager and a telemarketer to agree on an association
for telephone users.”

Sherwin Levinson then pointed out that SIG is a fine acronym for what we ar
doing, but that the name has received bad press (sometimes deserved). He
suggested that in one fell swoop ENA could be serious, respected AND a SIG
(which is an interesting challenge for those inclined to bring SIG the
credibility of a “lobby”).

Susanna then shared her hopes for the medium with us: “I think we’re on to
something revolutionary here. Not CC or EN [Electronic Networking] or whatever
by itself, but the whole concept of communicating electronically. W take it for
granted, but remember that most of the rest of the world can’t even imagine what
is commonplace to us.

“My call is for a new type of organization that will allow vendors and users
to work together to represent this new technology to the world,” Susann said.

Stefanie supported Susanna’s notion of “allowing vendors and users together to
work to represent this new technology to the world.” She told a “parable” that
led her to think that if ENA is going to get business support and fundin so that
we can do the things we hope to do, we’ll have to appear reasonably serious.
The parable is this: “The issue of making the [ENA] newsletter an attractive
venture that would merit business support has come up [on EIES]. W were told
that in the minds of businessmen with venture capital, many of our goals appear
to be in the “hobbyist” realm.”

Stefanie then pointed out that there might be may far-flung benefits for those
of us who take ENA seriously when she said, “In the long run, once conferencing
is recognized by business as a viable future medium of communications, I _think_
transmission and protocol issues ought to be even more seriously addressed . .
. and telelaw [legal issues that impinge on cc] issues ought to gain wider
attention. I also think people who are currently involved in today’s issues and
technology should find new job paths down the line, if interested. And once we
have massive usage of the medium, I think online and transmission costs ought to
go down.”

She also said that “as big business gets involved, an organization that
includes experts and people in touch with the central issues within the mediu
(ENA) should prove attractive to businesspeople as an information and resourc
group.”

Paul pointed out that ENA “should exist to serve the cause of *NETWORKING*,
not networking for a particular category of people.” Stefanie added that “no
matter what side of the fence you’re on [no matter what you use cc for], this
venture (ENA) could be challenging, fun and/or future-important to everyone, and
this medium could be fruitful for just about anyone who wants to communicate
about anything.”

Paul said, “Who would have thought, back when the the telegraph was invented,
that one day the world would by ‘wired’ and a voice-terminal installed in almost
every home in the industrialized world? Most of that wor has been done for us.
I think we’re trying to push the system up to the threshhold of the next quantum
leap.” (Well said, Paul!)

About the challenges that face us, Susanna said, “There _are_ some differen
interests here. I actually expected these differences to be very apparent at
the New York Symposium. But they weren’t–probably because we were aligned o
the larger interest we held in common–that of the development and evolution of
electronic networking.

“Personally, I don’t think these differences are trivial. My vision for EN
would be a place in which all could co-exist. But I think it will take some
skill in building an organization in which all can

so, but it will require (I think) an alignment on a vision–we will need to
find a destination which we are all interested in reaching. Can we do that?
Don’t know, but I think it’s worth a try.”

Norman Kurland then reminded us that we have a lot of work to do, so we
stopped philosophizing and started moving on.

For those of you reading about ENA for the first time, be advised: There is
no one today more qualified to be in ENA than anyone else. We are all relativ
novices; who can be an expert pioneer? If you believe in the future of this
medium and want to work with an organization that can make a difference, please
join ENA and help us try.

Call The Works BBS – 1600+ Textfiles! – 300/1200 – Always Open

A Primer For Homeowners: The Electrical System, April 1989 (Reprint In July 7, 1989)

From P.Rocha@ucl-cs.UUCP Fri Jul 7 15:29:24 1989
From: P.Rocha@ucl-cs.UUCP
Subject: Electricity Basics

From: P.Rocha@uk.ac.ucl.cs

I found this on ‘The Institute’, the IEEE news supplement to
IEEE Spectrum (V13, N4, April 1989). It really made me revise
my concepts of Electricity. I hope you will enjoy it !

Paulo

+—————————–+———————————————+
Paulo Valverde de L. P. Rocha | JANET:procha@uk.ac.ucl.cs
Department of Computer Science| BITNET:procha%uk.ac.ucl.cs@UKACRL
University College London |Internet:procha%cs.ucl.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Gower Street | ARPANet:procha@cs.ucl.ac.uk
London WC1E 6BT | UUCP:…!mcvax!ukc!ucl-cs!procha
+—————————–+———————————————+

PRIMER FOR HOMEOWNERS: THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
——————————————–

The most important thing to find out about the
electrical system is whether it cointains enough “volts”, which
are little tiny pieces of electricity shaped like arrows so you
can tell which direction they’re moving …

The standard measurement for volts is “amps”, also
called “watts”, which travel around in what is called a
“circuit” .

A typical circuit works as follows:

At the electrical company, fuel oil is burned to set
fire to a generator, which gives off electrical energy in the
form of sparks, which are put into wires and sent to your home,
where the electricity waits in the wall until you turn on your
toaster, at which point it rushes through the wire abd into the
English muffin and from there into your stomach, where it
remains until a cool, dry day when you are walking down a hall
scuffing your feet on a carpet and you go to open a door,
causing the electricity to leap into the doorknob, where it
remains forever, building up over time to tremendously high
levels, which os why scientists are now concerned that some
unscrupulous entity such as Libya or God forbid an adolescent
male ever figures how to release this power, he could, using
only the latent doorknob energy contained in a singleolder
ranch-style home, vaporize Oregon.

But your immediate concern, as a potential buyer, is
making sure that the house has the right number of volts .
Following is a chart depicting the most popular voltages
currently available in the housing market:

POPULAR HOME VOLTAGES

120
220
9*
* Requires 9-volt battery
(not included)

Which voltage is right for you? This, more than
anything else, is a matter of taste; and like most matters of
personal taste, it is best left in the hands of a qualified
interior designer.

(Primary source of text: “Homes and Other Black Holes”, by Dave
Barry and Jeff MacNelly, Random House, New York, 1988)

The Lotus Eclair: Too Fat To Race

Lotus Eclair – Too Fat To Race

Most Lotus enthusiasts are aware that the 1970’s Elite
took its name from the original Elite of the late 1950’s, but
not many realise that the Eclat derives it’s name from a much
earlier model – the Lotus Eclair.

The exact origin of this tasteful little sports racer is
unknown. Thought to originate from the Betty Crocker design
school, several rather advanced features were included: The
yeast-west mounted engine, rack and rolling-pin steering and
coil-over choc absorbers made the Eclair a very popular little
number in its day.

The road version of the car had a beautifully flexible
little ohc (over-head cream) 600 mil engine developing a
whopping 215 calories, while the works race version had double
overhead cream and an even greater 250 calories (one problem
being that it tended to run a bit rich.)

One particularly notable example was quite successfully
raced by the great Gordon Bleu. He put alcohol in the mixture
for an even more potent result, but it also made the vehicle
less predictable. (A large squirt away from the line and the
wee Lotus simply did donuts.) Bleu’s first attempt at racing
was abysmal – well into the race he overcooked it and had a
massive melt-down. He was lucky to escape with only burnt
fingers.

The second time out, however, things began to go right.
It was the Meal Miglia and weather conditions were not favourable
(the Lotus may have been superb in the dry, but in the rain it
handled like a wet sponge), but in spite of severe icing Bleu
fought on and successfully creamed the opposition.

Unfortunately from there it was all down-hill. Gordon
desserted Team Lotus and claimed he could privately eat anything
that would care to take him on. This he did, and was several
times disqualified for breaking weight restrictions.

With the demise of Gordon Bleu’s racing career the little
Eclair, sadly, was doomed and the model that we photographed is
thought to be the only one left. (The rest having decayed or
been eaten away.) Restoration is not really a practical
proposition, so the only hope is that another well preserved
specimen may surface.

Until then we are very grateful that we were able to get
a taste of such a car, magnificent with its cream stripe and
real chocolate upholstery.

Technical Data:
Make: Lotus Price: $3.95
Model: Eclair Engine: SOHC 600 mil
Body type: Choux Monocoque Output: 215 calories
Steering: Rack & Rolling Pin
Suspension: Gas Shocks at rear (caused by too much alcohol)
Max Speed: Over 200 mph (Air New Zealand in flight catering)
Standing 1/4: 1 min 15 secs (with fruit & causing indigestion)
Sitting 1/4: 2 min 45 secs (Ahh – much more comfortable, thanks)
0-60 mph: 6.7 secs (Balanced on lap whilst driving a Europa)

Phil Quagg.

—————————————————————————–
Donated by Phil Quagg for the library of:
The Banana Republic BBS & El Presidente (Sysop)… Thanks Phil!
—————————————————————————–

Dream Interpretation And Symbology By Raymond Buckland

Chat file opened 07/26/89 17:20:42
———————————-

DREAM INTERPRETATION AND SYMBOLOGY

Raymond Buckland
Typed in for PAN
by Lewis
(508)/795-7628

You have probably spent countless hours of trying unsuccessfully to
decipher the seemingly senseless riddles of your dreams. You are puzzled when
a dream of attending Aunt Minnie’s funeral proves not in the least prophetic
as, ten years later, Aunt Minnie is still going strong. You’re totally
baffled at intimate exchanges with people you wouldn’t normally go near. You
are amazed at dreamaing of doing things that are physically impossible in your
everyday life. You end up with total frustration in youur attempts to make
any sense of the strange goings-on in your elusive dreams. Yet you still feel
that somewhere there must be an answer… but where? What is the key?

As an element of the Universal Consciousness your super-conscious
awareness is totally versed in Universal Symbolism. Since the super-conscious
mind tends to speak in its own language, your dreams can be expected tocontain
some of this language of Universal Symbols. But even though it has its own
language the super-conscious mind is aware that you will respond best to those
symbolds with which your conscious mind is most familar. Therefore, it will
use terms and symbols from your everyday life. Oftimes it will use the
symbolism from recent events that are fresh in your memory. These impressions
from your personal physical life are called Personal Symbolism.

Universal Symbolism includes those things that remain true for all
humankind throughout the ages. Inclued are colors, numbers, form and sexual
ideniity (ie: male and female) They come from the super-consciousness and
therefore are timeless. A case in point is transportation–the universal
symbol of spiritual advancement. As material technology has advanced, the
application of symbology has kept pace. So transportation may take one of the
modern forms of conveyance, such as rockets, planes, steamships, trains or
automobiles, or one of the timeless modes of riding on the back of and animal
or walking.

It would be impossible to list all the universal symbols here but a
general sampling is given in the file titled “universal symbols”

INTERPRETING YOUR DREAMS

The eminent psychologist arl Jung once stated: “No dream symbol can be
separated froom the individual who dreams it.” Keep this thought in mind as
you study the following concepts. Notice that almost all of the universal
symbols have various shades of meanings. The interpretation of such symbols
can only be done by YOU, the dreamer, through consideradition of your own
feelings towards the dream, the symbol and your own intuition.

The dream is a comples and almost limitless combination of symbols. it
can be analytical, judgemental or therapeutic in nnature. The majority of
dreams are analytical. That is, they provide a means for the higher self to
comment on your everyday life and your spiritual development. It will analyze
how you aare relating to your enviorment and your fellow man and woman. A
small percentage of your dreams are of a prophetic nature, to warn and prepare
you for future eveents (the percentage of prophetic dreaams vary greatly from
one personn to another but it is estimated that perhaps one dream in twenty
concerns the future) Don’t imediately jump to the conclusion that what you
dream about brother Bob, or cousin Mary is an indication of something that is
about to happen to him or her. It may be but far more likely is not. Along
with this incidently it should be noted that invariably the pricciiple
characters in your dream are actually representing YOU–or some aspect of you.
So when you dream of your sister Suzy arguing with you about something, you
are actually seeing a representation of an inner conflict+– one part of you
at odds with another part (perhaps your male aspect agaiinst your female
aspect) with the image of sister Suzy being used simply aas a recognizable
form that you can accept.

Again depending on the individual, the number of therapeutic dreams
varies from person to person. It simply deepends on the need of the
individual. If a person has a strong feeling of inferority, their therapy may
be to dream of being a powerful, capable and attractiive person. In this way,
the Higher Self is compensating for the dreamers psychological lack. If a
person has a strong feeling of superiority they might be taken down a peg or
two by a dream that depicts him or her as a weak defenseless and inferior
person. Thus the dream often attempts to overcome character defects.

Prophetic dreams will only occur when the indivual needs to be prepared
for an event in the future. Even though you may not consciously remember it,
the dream prepares you, subconsciously for the shock that it to come. Not all
precognitive dreams are of signigcant events: some may even appear quite
trival. But they are important just the same. They program and prepare the
subconscious and conscious minds over a period of time, to deal with the
future events and situations in a proper manner.

REMEMBERING DREAMS

The obvious first step in dream interpretation is to remember them. If
you have trouble in remembering your dreams, the probable reason is that your
have ignored them for so long that the subconscious no longer tries to bring
them to your conscious memory. If this is the case, you must program yourself
to remember. This can be done through affirmation. During meditation annd
just befopore going to sleep tell yourself very firmly, “I WILL REMEMBER MY
DREAMS”, Do this three times. Release the command. Then again tell yourself
very firmly three times “I WILL REMEMBER MY DREAMS”. Release the thought.
Then for the third timerepeat the three commands “I WILL REMEMBER MY DREAMS”.
So you instruct yourself 9 times in all.

The second step in interpretation is recording the dreams. Place a pad
and a penciil by your bed for this purpose. This very act, in itself,
reinforces the command to remember. Whenyou first awaken–evenn before that
eye-opening cup of coffee–jot down notes on what you remember. Don’t worry
about trying to get everything in perfect order at this point. The important
thing is to capture what you can, even if you only have time to make a few
brief nots. You will find that later on you will be able to recall more of
the details of the dream. Then write down all the details that you can
remember. Describe the people, their identities, occupations,clothes, the
state of their emotions and their activities. Note your attitude towards them
and their attiudes towards you. Describe everything you see, feel and hear.
Pay special attention to the numbers of things and their colors. It is all
important. Then try to arrange your notes in the order in which they were
dreamed.

Once you have completed your notes and organized them you can begin the
task of interpretation. First of all, examine the dream to see if it fits any
of the events of the preceding day. This will explain a few of your dreams.
If this test fails then you must determine whether the dream is literal or
symbolic.
A LITERAL dream is one in which the main dream character or image is a
real person or thing in your life or on your mind at the time. If the literal
interpretation makes sense, you may have found the key. When the literal
interpretatioon fails to make sense the dream is obviously symbolic.

A SYMBOLIC dream is one in which the dream character and images cannot be
taken literally as a real person or thing. Then the image is that of an aspect
of you, the dreamer. Then the ancient wisdom of the Universal Symbols should
be applied.

As you first begin to work with symbology, you may still have diffculty
unraveling the tangled threads; you may only decipher part of the mystery.
Don’t worry about this for it is quite natural in the beginning. Continue to
affirm that you will remember. Continue to faithfully record all of the
details that you can. As you do you will find that the symbols will gradually
begin to clear as you and your higher self develop a dialogue that you can
consciously understand. The hidden symbol in one dream will suddenly be
revealed in another. When this begiins to happen yopou should start to
compile your own personal Dream Dictionary. Take a notebook that is not used
for any other purpose and divide it into alphabetical sections. As you
discover the meanings of new symbols, write them down. Soon you will find
that youu have an extensive set of personal symbols which will permit nearly
total interpretation of all your dreams.

PERSONAL SYMBOLS

Many published books on dream interpretation provide the reader with
hundreds of symbols and simplified interpretation. Other than listings of
Universal symbols, such books are totally misleading. Each of us has his or
her own unique personal symbology, hased on our experiences in this life. For
example, two eldery ladies dream of a cat. One of the ladies has lived a
spinster life shared with a successionof cats that she has loved and pampered.
The second lady has a very traumatic memory of a wild cat which scratched
her severly during her childhood. It is obvious that a single
interpretationof “cat” will not satisfy moth dreamers. To the first lady, the
cat is a warm, loving, companion. To the second, the cat is an evil,
dangerous creature that brings pain. Therefore, it is neccessary for the
dreamer to analyze the symbol from the standpoint of his or her own personal
feelings.

THE REPETITIVE DREAM

Many dreams are repeated in order to emphasize their meaning or to insure
that they are noticed. This may or may notbe obvious to thedreamer. Usually
dreams come in a series of three. Sometimes their symbology will be quite
similar. At other times you may record three dreams of entirely different
symbology but upon their interpretation find that the underlying theme for
eaach is almost identical. In either case the source of the dream is
attempting to insure that the message gets through and is understood. A dream
repeated over days, weeks or perhaps months, indicates something that you have
not taken action on. Oncce you understand and respond to, the dream, through
action or a change in attiude, the dream will cease to occur.

Generally the recurring dream is one of the following:
A) Precognitive or prophetic
B) Compensation for an improper attiude
C) The result of a traumatic incident which has left a negative
impression.

GROUP DREAMS

Among the more spiritually advanced is an occasional tendency to actively
share or participate in a dream with someone else. In these cases, the two
people ar very much in tune with one another on a psychic of emotional level.
It does not mean that they are “soul mates” destined for one another. Rather
they are in harmony at some levels in this particular time of their lives and
are undergoing similar adjustments on the spiritual plane. Interpretation of
the dream should be done the same as with an ordinary dream but with the other
oerson in the dream interpreted as an aspect of yourself.

DREAMS versus OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCES

The memory of out of body experiences (OOBE’s)has the same elusive
quality as the dream. Consequently it is often difficult to separate the two.
One marked difference is the sensation of awareness. In a dream. the visual
awareness of theself is in one direction only. As with physical sight, you
“see” only what is in front of you. in the OOBE, however your awareness is
all-encompassing. You see not only what is in front but also what is behind,
above, below and on the sides–all at the same time. Do not attempt to
interpret an OOBE as you would a dream.

What Does DOD Mean?

Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
From: jrwaters@eos.ncsu.edu (JACK ROGERS WATERS)
Subject: Re: What does DoD mean?
Message-ID:
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1993 05:14:25 GMT
Lines: 841

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Make no Mistake, I am the Red Fishnet. ~
~ DoD#1919 ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a periodic posting intended to answer the Frequently Asked
Question: What is the DoD? It is posted the first of each month, with
an expiration time of over a month. Thus, unless your site’s news
software is ill-mannered, this posting should always be available.
This WitDoDFAQ is crossposted to all four rec.motorcycles groups in an
attempt to catch most new users, and followups are directed to
rec.motorcycles.

Last changed 3-Nov-92 to add a section containing updates to some stats
and the List Of Rides, credit to creators of various DoD trinkets, and
some minor formatting changes. Also the first attempt at automating the
posting of this FAQ. A version number has also been added. Since all
previous version were before recorded history, I declare this to be:

VERSION 1.00

This collection was originally assembled by Lissa Shoun, from the
original postings. With Lissa’s permission, I have usurped the title of
KotWitDoDFAQ. Any corrections, additions, bribes, etc. should be aimed at
blgardne@javelin.sim.es.com.

————————————————————————

Contents:
How do I get a DoD number? by Blaine Gardner DoD #46
DoD “Road Rider” article by Bruce Tanner DoD #161
What is the DoD? by John Sloan DoD #11
The DoD Logo by Chuck Rogers DoD #3
The DoD (this started it all) by The Denizen of Doom DoD #1
The DoD Anthem by Jonathan Quist DoD #94
Why you have to be killed by Blaine Gardner DoD #46
The rec.moto.photo.archive courtesy of Bruce Tanner DoD #161
Patches? What patches? by Blaine Gardner DoD #46
Letter from the AMA museum by Jim Rogers, Director DoD #395
The DoD Rules by consensus
Other rec.moto resources by various Keepers DoD #misc
The rec.moto.reviews.archive courtesy of Loki Jorgenson DoD #1210
Updated stats & rides info by Ed Green (DoD #111) and others

————————————————————————

If the most Frequently Asked Question in rec.motorcycles is “What is the
DoD?”, then the second most Frequently Asked Question must be “How do I
get a DoD number?” That is as simple as asking the Keeper of the List
(KotL, accept no substitue Keepers) for a number. If you’re feeling
creative, and your favorite number hasn’t been taken already, you can
make a request, subject to KotL approval. (Warning, non-numeric, non-
base-10 number requests are likely to earn a flame from the KotL. Not
that you won’t get it, but you will pay for it.)

By now you’re probably asking “So who’s the KotL already?”. Well, as
John Sloan notes below, that’s about the only real “secret” left around
here, but a few (un)subtle hints can be divulged. First, it is not myself,
nor anyone mentioned by name in this posting (maybe :-), though John was
the original KotL. Second, in keeping with the true spirit of Unix, the
KotL’s first name is only two letters long, and can be spelled entirely
with hexadecimal characters. (2.5, the KotL shares his name with a line-
oriented text utility.) Third, he has occasionally been seen posting
messages bestowing new DoD numbers (mostly to boneheads with bad e-mail
addresses). Fourth, there is reason to suspect the KotL of being a
Dead-Head.

(PS: While John mentions below that net access and a bike are the only
requirements for DoD membership, that’s not strictly true these days, as
there are a number of Denizens who lack one or both.)

Blaine (Dances With Bikers) Gardner blgardne@javelin.sim.es.com

————————————————————————

“Denizens of Doom”, by Bruce Tanner (DoD 0161)

[Road Rider, August 1991, reprinted with Bruce’s permission]

There is a group of motorcyclists that gets together and does all the normal
things that a bunch of bikers do. They discuss motorcycles and
motorcycling, beverages, cleaning fluids, baklavah, balaclava, caltrops,
helmets, anti-fog shields, spine protectors, aerodynamics, three-angle valve
seats, bird hits, deer whistles, good restaurants, racing philosophy,
traffic laws, tickets, corrosion control, personalities, puns, double
entendres, culture, absence of culture, first rides and friendship. They
argue with each other and plan rides together.

The difference between this group and your local motorcycle club is that,
although they get together just about everyday, most have never seen each
other face to face. The members of this group live all over the known world
and communicate with each other electronically via computer.

The computers range from laptops to multi-million dollar computer centers;
the people range from college and university students to high-tech industry
professionals to public-access electronic bulletin-board users. Currently,
rec.motorcycles (pronounced “wreck-dot-motorcycles,” it’s the file name for
the group’s primary on-line “meeting place”) carries about 2250 articles per
month; it is read by an estimated 29,000 people. Most of the frequent
posters belong to a motorcycle club, the Denizens of Doom, usually referred
to as the DoD.

The DoD started when motorcyclist John R. Nickerson wrote a couple of
parodies designed to poke fun at motorcycle stereotypes. Fellow computer
enthusiast Bruce Robinson posted these articles under the pen name, “Denizen
of Doom.” A while later Chuck Rogers signed off as DoD nr. 0003 Keeper of
the Flame. Bruce was then designated DoD nr. 0002, retroactively and, of
course, Nickerson, the originator of the parodies, was given DoD nr. 0001.

The idea of a motorcycle club with no organization, no meetings and no rules
appealed to many, so John Sloan — DoD nr. 0011 — became Keeper of the
List, issuing DoD numbers to anyone who wanted one. To date there have been
almost 400 memberships issued to people all over the United States and
Canada, as well as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Norway and Finland.

Keeper of the List Sloan eventually designed a club patch. The initial run
of 300 patches sold out immediately. The profits from this went to the
American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation. Another AMHF fund raiser —
selling Denizens of Doom pins to members — was started by Arnie Skurow a
few months later. Again, the project was successful and the profits were
donated to the foundation. So far, the Denizens have contributed over $1500
to the AMA museum. A plaque in the name of the Denizens of Doom now hangs
in the Motorcycle Heritage Museum.

As often as possible, the DoD’ers crawl out from behind their CRTs and go
riding together. It turns out that the two largest concentrations of
DoD’ers are centered near Denver/Boulder, Colorado, and in California’s
“Silicon Valley.” Consequently, two major events are the annual Assault on
Rollins Pass in Colorado, and the Northern versus Southern California
“Joust.”

The Ride-and-Feed is a bike trip over Rollins Pass, followed by a big
barbecue dinner. The concept for the Joust is to have riders from Northern
California ride south; riders from Southern California to ride north,
meeting at a predesignated site somewhere in the middle. An additional plan
for 1991 is to hold an official Denizens of Doom homecoming in conjunction
with the AMA heritage homecoming in Columbus, Ohio, in July.

Though it’s a safe bet the the Denizens of Doom and their collective
communications hub, rec.motorcycles, will not replace the more traditional
motorcycle organizations, for those who prowl the electronic pathways in
search of two-wheeled camaraderie, it’s a great way for kindred spirits to
get together. Long may they flame.

“Live to Flame — Flame to Live” [centerbar]

This official motto of the Denizens of Doom refers to the ease with which
you can gratuitously insult someone electronically, when you would not do
anything like that face to face. These insults are known as “flames”;
issuing them is called “flaming.” Flames often start when a member
disagrees with something another member has posted over the network. A
typical, sophisticated, intelligent form of calm, reasoned rebuttal would be
something like: “What an incredibly stupid statement, you Spandex-clad
poseur!” This will guarantee that five other people will reply in defense
of the original poster, describing just what they think of you, your riding
ability and your cat.

————————————————————————

_The Denizens of Doom: The Saga Unfolds_

by John Sloan DoD #0011

Periodically the question “What is DoD?” is raised. This is one of
those questions in the same class as “Why is the sky blue?”, “If there
is a God, why is there so much suffering in the world?” and “Why do
women inevitably tell you that you’re such a nice guy just before they
dump you?”, the kinds of questions steeped in mysticism, tradition,
and philosophy, questions that have inspired research and discussion
by philosophers in locker rooms, motorcycle service bays, and in the
halls of academe for generations.

A long, long time ago (in computer time, where anything over a few
minutes is an eternity and the halting problem really is a problem) on
a computer far, far away on the net (topologically speaking; two
machines in the same room in Atlanta might route mail to one another
via a system in Chicago), a chap who wished to remain anonymous (but
who was eventually assigned the DoD membership #1) wrote a satire of
the various personalities and flame wars of rec.motorcycles, and
signed it “The Denizen of Doom”. Not wishing to identify himself, he
asked that stalwart individual who would in the fullness of time
become DoD #2 to post it for him. DoD #2, not really giving a whit
about what other people thought and generally being a right thinking
individual, did so. Flaming and other amusements followed.

He who would become the holder of DoD membership #3 thought this was
the funniest thing he’d seen in a while (being the sort that is pretty
easily amused), so he claimed membership in the Denizens of Doom
Motorcycle Club, and started signing his postings with his membership
number.

Perhaps readers of rec.motorcycles were struck with the vision of a
motorcycle club with no dues, no rules, no restrictions as to brand or
make or model or national origin of motorcycle, a club organized
electronically. It may well be that readers were yearning to become a
part of something that would provide them with a greater identity, a
gestalt personality, something in which the whole was greater than the
sum of its parts. It could also be that we’re all computer nerds who
wear black socks and sneakers and pocket protectors, who just happen
to also love taking risks on machines with awesome power to weight
ratios, social outcasts who saw a clique that would finally be open
minded enough to accept us as members.

In a clear case of self fulfilling prophesy, The Denizens of Doom
Motorcycle Club was born. A club in which the majority of members have
never met one another face to face (and perhaps like it that way), yet
feel that they know one another pretty well (or well enough given some
of the electronic personalities in the newsgroup). A club organized
and run (in the loosest sense of the word) by volunteers through the
network via electronic news and mail, with a membership/mailing list
(often used to organize group rides amongst members who live in the
same region), a motto, a logo, a series of photo albums circulating
around the country (organized by DoD #9), club patches (organized by
#11), and even an MTV-style music video (produced by #47 and
distributed on VHS by #18)!

Where will it end? Who knows? Will the DoD start sanctioning races,
placing limits on the memory and clock rate of the on-board engine
management computers? Will the DoD organize poker runs where each
participant collects a hand of hardware and software reference cards?
Will the DoD have a rally in which the attendees demand a terminal
room and at least a 386-sized UNIX system? Only time will tell.

The DoD has no dues, no rules, and no requirements other than net
access and a love for motorcycles. To become a member, one need only
ask (although we will admit that who you must ask is one of the few
really good club secrets). New members will receive via email a
membership number and the latest copy of the membership list, which
includes name, state, and email address.

The Denizens of Doom Motorcycle Club will live forever (or at least
until next year when we may decided to change the name).

Live to Flame – Flame to Live

————————————————————————

The DoD daemon as seen on the patches, pins, etc. by

Chuck Rogers, car377@druhi.att.com, DoD #0003

🙁 DoD )-:
🙁 x __ __ x )-:
🙁 x / / x )-:
🙁 x / / ——/- x )-:
🙁 L | / / / | F )-:
🙁 I | / / | L )-:
🙁 V / __ / __ / A )-:
🙁 E / / / M )-:
🙁 | | / | | E )-:
🙁 T | | . | _ | . | | )-:
🙁 O | ___// \___/ | T )-:
🙁 _/ / O )-:
🙁 F ___ ___/ )-:
🙁 L / / L )-:
🙁 A vvvvv / I )-:
🙁 M | ( ) | V )-:
🙁 E | ^^^^^ | E )-:
🙁 x _______/ x )-:
🙁 x x )-:
🙁 x rec.motorcycles x )-:
🙁 USENET )-:

————————————————————————

The DoD

by the Denizen of Doom DoD #1

Welcome one and all to the flamingest, most wonderfullest newsgroup of
all time: wreck.mudder-disciples or is it reak.mudder-disciples? The
Names have been changes to protect the Guilty (riders) and Innocent
(the bikes) alike. If you think you recognize a contorted version of
your name, you don’t. It’s just your guilt complex working against
you. Read ’em and weep.

We tune in on a conversation between some of our heros. Terrible
Barbarian is extolling the virtues of his Hopalonga Puff-a-cane to
Reverend Muck Mudgers and Stompin Fueling-Injection:

Terrible: This Hopalonga is the greatest… Beats BMWs dead!!

Muck: I don’t mean to preach, Terrible, but lighten up on the BMW
crowd eh? I mean like I like riding my Yuka-yuka Fudgeo-Jammer
11 but what the heck.

Stompin: No way, the BMW is it, complete, that’s all man.

Terrible: Nahhhh, you’re sounding like Heritick Ratatnack! Hey, at
least he is selling his BMW and uses a Hopalonga Intercorruptor!
Not as good as a Puff-a-cane, should have been called a
Woosh-a-stream.

Stompin: You mean Wee-Stream.

Terrible: Waddya going to do? Call in reinforcements???

Stompin: Yehh man. Here comes Arlow Scarecrow and High Tech. Let’s see
what they say, eh?

Muck: Now men, let’s try to be civil about this.

High Tech: Hi, I’m a 9 and the BMW is the greatest.

Arlow: Other than my B.T. I love my BMW!

Terrible: B.T.???

Arlow: Burley Thumpison, the greatest all American ride you can own.

Muck: Ahhh, look, you’re making Terrible gag.

Terrible: What does BMW stand for anyway???

Muck, Arlow, High: Beats Me, Wilhelm.

Terrible: Actually, my name is Terrible. Hmmm, I don’t know either.

Muck: Say, here comes Chunky Bear.

Chunky: Hey, Hey, Hey! Smarter than your average bear!

Terrible: Hey, didn’t you drop your BMW???

Chunky: All right eh, a little BooBoo, but I left him behind. I mean
even Villy Ogle flamed me for that!

Muck: It’s okay, we all makes mistakes.

Out of the blue the West coasters arrive, led by Tread Orange with
Dill Snorkssy, Heritick Ratatnack, Buck Garnish, Snob Rasseller and
the perenial favorite: Hooter Boobin Brush!

Heritick: Heya Terrible, how’s yer front to back bias?

Terrible: Not bad, sold yer BMW?

Heritick: Nahhh.

Hooter: Hoot, Hoot.

Buck: Nice tree Hooter, how’d ya get up there?

Hooter: Carbujectors from Hell!!!

Muck: What’s a carbujector?

Hooter: Well, it ain’t made of alumican!!! Made by Tilloslert!!

Muck: Ahh, come on down, we aren’t going to flame ya, honest!!

Dill: Well, where do we race?

Snob: You know, Chunky, we know about about your drop and well, don’t
ride!

Muck: No! No! Quiet!

Tread: BMW’s are the greatest in my supreme level headed opinion.
They even have luggage made by Sourkraut!

High: My 9 too!

Terrible, Heritick, Dill, Buck: Nahhhhh!!!

Stompin, Tread, High, Chunky, Snob: Yesss Yessssss!!!

Before this issue could be resolved the Hopalonga crew called up more
cohorts from the local area including Polyanna Stirrup and the
infamous Booster Robiksen on his Cavortin!

Polyanna: Well, men, the real bikers use stirrups on their bikes like
I use on my Hopalonga Evening-Bird Special. Helpful for getting
it up on the ole ventral stand!

Terrible: Hopalonga’s are great like Polyanna says and Yuka-Yuka’s and
Sumarikis and Kersnapis are good too!

Booster: I hate Cavortin.

All: WE KNOW, WE KNOW.

Booster: I love Cavortin.

All: WE KNOW WE KNOW.

Muck: Well, what about Mucho Guzlers and Lepurras?

Snob, Tread: Nawwwwww.

Muck: What about a Tridump?

Terrible: Isn’t that a chewing gum?

Muck: Auggggg, Waddda about a Pluck-a-kity?

Heritick: Heyya Muck, you tryin’ to call up the demon rider himself?

Muck: No, no. There is more to Mudder-Disciples than arguing about make.

Two more riders zoom in, in the form of Pill Turret and Phalanx Lifter.
Pill: Out with dorsal stands and ventral stands forever.

Phalanx: Hey, I don’t know about that.

And Now even more west coasters pour in.
Road O’Noblin: Hopalonga’s are the greatest!

Maulled Beerstein: May you sit on a bikejector!

Suddenly more people arrived from the great dark nurth:
Kite Lanolin: Hey, BMW’s are great, men.

Robo-Nickie: I prefer motorcycle to robot transformers, personally.

More riders from the west coast come into the discussion:
Aviator Sourgas: Get a Burley-Thumpison with a belted-rigged frame.

Guess Gasket: Go with a BMW or Burley-Thumpison.

With a roar and a screech the latest mudder-disciple thundered in. It
was none other that Clean Bikata on her Hopalonga CaBammerXorn.
Clean: Like look, Hopalonga are it but only CaBammerXorns.

Muck: Why??

Clean: Well, like it’s gotta be a 6-banger or nothin.

Muck: But I only have a 4-banger.

Clean: No GOOD!

Chunky: Sob, some of us only have 2-bangers!

Clean: Inferior!

Stompin: Hey, look, here’s proof BMW’s are better. The Bimmer-Boys
burst into song: (singing) Beemer Babe, Beemer Babe give me a
thrill…

Road, Terrible, Polyanna, Maulled, Dill etc.: Wadddoes BMW stand for?

Heritick, Stompin, Snob, Chunky, Tread, Kite, High, Arlow: BEAT’S ME,
WILHEM!

Road, Terrible, Polyanna, Maulled, Dill etc.: Oh, don’t you mean BMW?

And so the ensuing argument goes until the skies clouded over and the
thunder roared and the Greatest Mudder-Disciple (G.M.D.) of them all
boomed out.
G.M.D.: Enough of your bickering! You are doomed to riding
Bigot & Suction powered mini-trikes for your childish actions.

All: no, No, NO!!! Puhlease.

Does this mean that all of the wreck.mudder-disciples will be riding
mini-trikes? Are our arguing heros doomed? Tune in next week for the
next gut wretching episode of “The Yearning and Riderless” with its
ever increasing cast of characters. Where all technical problems will
be flamed over until well done. Next week’s episode will answer the
question of: “To Helmet or Not to Helmet” will be aired, this is heady
material and viewer discretion is advised.

————————————————————————

Script for the Denizens of Doom Anthem Video

by Jonathan E. Quist DoD #94

[Scene: A sterile engineering office. A lone figure, whom we’ll call
Chuck, stands by a printer output bin, wearing a white CDC lab coat,
with 5 mechanical pencils in a pocket protector.]

(editor’s note: For some reason a great deal of amusement was had at
the First Annual DoD Uni-Coastal Ironhorse Ride & Joust by denizens
referring to each other as “Chuck”. I guess you had to be there. I
wasn’t.)

Chuck: I didn’t want to be a Software Systems Analyst,
cow-towing to the whims of a machine, and saying yessir, nosir,
may-I-have-another-sir. My mother made me do it. I wanted
to live a man’s life,
[Music slowly builds in background]
riding Nortons and Triumphs through the highest mountain passes
and the deepest valleys,
living the life of a Motorcyclist;
doing donuts and evading the police;
terrorizing old ladies and raping small children;
eating small dogs for tea (and large dogs for dinner). In short,

I Want to be A Denizen!

[Chuck rips off his lab coat, revealing black leather jacket (with
fringe), boots, and cap. Scene simultaneously changes to the top of
an obviously assaulted Rollins Pass. A small throng of Hell’s Angels
sit on their Harleys in the near background, gunning their engines,
showering lookers-on with nails as they turn donuts, and leaking oil
on the tarmac. Chuck is standing in front of a heavily chromed Fat
Boy.]

Chuck [Sings to the tune of “The Lumberjack Song”]:

I’m a Denizen and I’m okay,
I flame all night and I ride all day.

[Hell’s Angels Echo Chorus, surprisingly heavy on tenors]:
He’s a Denizen and he’s okay,
He flames all night and he rides all day.

I ride my bike;
I eat my lunch;
I go to the lavat’ry.
On Wednesdays I ride Skyline,
Running children down with glee.

[Chorus]:
He rides his bike;
He eats his lunch;
He goes to the lavat’ry.
On Wednesdays he rides Skyline,
Running children down with glee.

[Chorus refrain]:
‘Cause He’s a Denizen…

I ride real fast,
My name is Chuck,
It somehow seems to fit.
I over-rate the worst bad f*ck,
But like a real good sh*t.

Oh, I’m a Denizen and I’m okay!
I flame all night and I ride all day.

[Chorus refrain]:
Oh, He’s a Denizen…

I wear high heels
And bright pink shorts,
full leathers and a bra.
I wish I rode a Harley,
just like my dear mama.

[Chorus refrain]

————————————————————————

Why you have to be killed.

Well, the first thing you have to understand (just in case you managed
to read this far, and still not figure it out) is that the DoD started
as a joke. And in the words of one Denizen, it intends to remain one.

Sometime in the far distant past, a hapless newbie asked: “What does DoD
stand for? It’s not the Department of Defense is it?” Naturally, a
Denizen who had watched the movie “Top Gun” a few times too many rose
to the occasion and replied:

“That’s classified, we could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you.”

And the rest is history.

A variation on the “security” theme is to supply disinformation about
what DoD stands for. Notable contributions (and contributers, where
known) include:

Daughters of Democracy (DoD 23) Doers of Donuts
Dancers of Despair (DoD 9) Debasers of Daughters
Dickweeds of Denver Driveway of Death
Debauchers of Donuts Dumpers of Dirtbikes

Note that this is not a comprehensive list, as variations appear to be
limited only by the contents of one’s imagination or dictionary file.

————————————————————————

The rec.moto.photo archive

First a bit of history, this all started with Ilana Stern and Chuck
Rogers organizing a rec.motorcycles photo album. Many copies were made,
and several sets were sent on tours around the world, only to vanish in
unknown locations. Then Bruce Tanner decided that it would be appropriate
for an electronic medium to have an electronic photo album. Bruce has not
only provided the disk space and ftp & e-mail access, but he has taken
the time to scan most of the photos that are available from the archive.

Not only can you see what all these folks look like, you can also gawk
at their motorcycles. A few non-photo files are available from the
server too, they include the DoD membership list, the DoD Yellow Pages,
the general rec.motorcycles FAQ, and this FAQ posting.

Here are a couple of excerpts from from messages Bruce posted about how
to use the archive.

**********************************************************

Via ftp:

cerritos.edu [130.150.200.21]

Via e-mail:

The address is server@cerritos.edu. The commands are given in the body of the
message. The current commands are DIR and SEND, given one per line. The
arguments to the commands are VMS style file specifications. For
rec.moto.photo the file spec is [DOD]file. For example, you can send:

dir [dod]
send [dod]bruce_tanner.gif
send [dod]dodframe.ps

and you’ll get back 5 mail messages; a directory listing, 3 uuencoded parts
of bruce_tanner.gif, and the dodframe.ps file in ASCII.

Oh, wildcards (*) are allowed, but a maximum of 20 mail messages (rounded up to
the next whole file) are send. A ‘send [dod]*.gif’ would send 150 files of
50K each; not a good idea.
—
Bruce Tanner (213) 860-2451 x 596 Tanner@Cerritos.EDU
Cerritos College Norwalk, CA cerritos!tanner

**********************************************************

A couple of comments: Bruce has put quite a bit of effort into this, so
why not drop him a note if you find the rec.moto.photo archive useful?
Second, since Bruce has provided the server as a favor, it would be kind
of you to access it after normal working hours.

————————————————————————

Patches? What patches?

You may have heard mention of various DoD trinkets such as patches &
pins. And your reaction was probably: “I want!”, or “That’s sick!”, or
perhaps “That’s sick! I want!”

Well, there’s some good news and some bad news. The good news is that
there’s been an amazing variety of DoD-labeled widgets created. The bad
news is that there isn’t anywhere you can buy any of them. This isn’t
because of any “exclusivity” attempt, but simply because there is no
“DoD store” that keeps a stock. All of the creations have been done by
individual Denizens out of their own pockets. The typical procedure is
someone says “I’m thinking of having a DoD frammitz made, they’ll cost
$xx.xx, with $xx.xx going to the AMA museum. Anyone want one?” Then
orders are taken, and a batch of frammitzes large enough to cover the
pre-paid orders is produced (and quickly consumed). So if you want a
DoD doodad, act quickly the next time somebody decides to do one. Or
produce one yourself if you see a void that needs filling, after all
this is anarchy in action.

Here’s a possibly incomplete list of known DoD merchandise (and
perpetrators). Patches (DoD#11), pins (DoD#99), stickers (DoD#99),
motorcycle license plate frames (DoD#216), t-shirts (DoD#99), polo shirts
(DoD#122), Zippo lighters (DoD#99) [LtF FtL], belt buckles (DoD#99), and
patches (DoD#99) [a second batch was done (and rapidly consumed) by
popular demand].

All “profits” have been donated to the American Motorcyclist Association
Motorcycle Heritage Museum. As of June 1992, over $5500 dollars has been
contributed to the museum fund by the DoD. If you visit the museum,
you’ll see a large plaque on the Founders’ Wall in the name of “Denizens
of Doom, USENET, The World”, complete with a DoD pin.

————————————————————————

Here’s a letter from the AMA to the DoD regarding our contributions.

~Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
~From: Arnie Skurow
~Subject: A letter from the Motorcycle Heritage Museum
~Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 11:04:58 GMT

I received the following letter from Jim Rogers, director of the Museum,
the other day.

“Dear Arnie and all members of the Denizens of Doom:

Congratulations and expressions of gratitude are in order for you and the
Denizens of Doom! With your recent donation, the total amount donated is
now $5,500. On behalf of the AMHF, please extend my heartfeld gratitude
to all the membership of the Denizens. The club’s new plaque is presently
being prepared. Of course, everyone is invited to come to the museum to
see the plaque that will be installed in our Founders Foyer. By the way,
I will personally mount a Denizens club pin on the plaque. Again, thank
you for all your support, which means so much to the foundation, the
museum, and the fulfillment of its goals.

Sincerely,

Jim Rogers, D.O.D. #0395
Director

P.S. Please post on your computer bulletin board.”

As you all know, even though the letter was addressed to me personally,
it was meant for all of you who purchased DoD goodies that made this
amount possible.

Arnie

————————————————————————

The Rules, Regulations, & Bylaws of the Denizens of Doom Motorcycle Club

From time to time there is some mention, discussion, or flame about the
rules of the DoD. In order to fan the flames, here is the complete text
of the rules governing the DoD.

Rule #1. There are no rules.
Rule #0. Go ride.

————————————————————————

Other rec.motorcycles information resources.

There are several general rec.motorcycles resources that may or may not
have anything to do with the DoD. Most are posted on a regular basis,
but they can also be obtained from the cerritos ftp/e-mail server (see
the info on the photo archive above).

A general rec.motorcycles FAQ is maintained by Dave Williams.
Cerritos filenames are FAQn.TXT, where n is currently 1-5.

The DoD Yellow Pages, a listing of motorcycle industry vendor phone
numbers & addresses, is maintained by bob pakser.
Cerritos filename is YELLOW_PAGES_Vnn, where n is the rev. number.

The List of the DoD membership is maintained by The Keeper of the List.
Cerritos filename is DOD.LIST.

This WitDoD FAQ (surprise, surprise!) is maintained by yours truly.
Cerritos filename is DOD_FAQ.TXT.

Additions, corrections, etc. for any of the above should be aimed at
the keepers of the respective texts.

————————————————————————

(Loki Jorgenson loki@Physics.McGill.CA) has provided an archive site
for motorcycle and accessory reviews, here’s an excerpt from his
periodic announcement.

**********************************************************

The Rec.Motorcycles.Reviews Archives (and World Famous Llama
Emporium) contains a Veritable Plethora ™ of bike (and accessories)
reviews, written by rec.moto readers based on their own experiences.
These invaluable gems of opinion (highly valued for their potential to
reduce noise on the list) can be accessed via anonymous FTP, Email
server or by personal request:

Anonymous FTP: ftp.physics.mcgill.ca (132.206.9.13)
under ~ftp/pub/DoD
Email archive server: rm-reviews@ftp.physics.mcgill.ca
Review submissions/questions: rm-reviews@physics.mcgill.ca

NOTE: There is a difference in the addresses for review submission
and using the Email archive server (ie. an “ftp.”).

To get started with the Email server, send an Email message with a line
containing only “send help”.

NOTE: If your return address appears like
domain!subdomain!host!username
in your mail header, include a line like (or something similar)
path username@host.subdomain.domain

If you are interested in submitting a review of a bike that you
already own(ed), PLEASE DO! There is a template of the format that the
reviews are kept in (more or less) available at the archive site .
For those who have Internet access but are unsure of how anonymous
FTP works, an example script is available on request.

**********************************************************

Reviews of any motorcycle related accessory or widget are welcome too.

————————————————————————

Updated stats & rec.motorcycles rides info

Some of the info cited above in various places tends to be a moving
target. Rather than trying to catch every occurence, I’m just sticking
the latest info down here.

Estimated rec.motorcycles readership: 35K [news.groups]

Approximate DoD Membership: 975 [KotL]

DoD contributions to the American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle
Heritage Museum. Over $5500 [Arnie]

Organized (?) Rides:

Summer 1992 saw more organized rides, with the Joust in its third
year, and the Ride & Feed going strong, but without the Rollins Pass
trip due to the collapse of a tunnel. The East Coast Denizens got
together for the Right Coast Ride (RCR), with bikers from as far north
as NH, and as far south as FL meeting in the Blueridge Mountains of
North Carolina. The Pacific Northwest crew organized the first Great
Pacific Northwest Dryside Gather (GPNDG), another successful excuse for
riding motorcycles, and seeing the faces behind the names we all have
come to know so well. [Thanks to Ed Green for the above addition.]

Also worth mentioning are: The first rec.moto.dirt ride, held in the
Moab/Canyonlands area of southern Utah. Riders from 5 states showed up,
riding everything from monster BMWs to itty-bitty XRs to almost-legal
2-strokes. And though it’s not an “official” (as if anything could be
official with this crowd) rec.moto event, the vintage motorcycle races
in Steamboat Springs, Colorado always provides a good excuse for netters
to gather. There’s also been the occasional Labor Day gather in Utah.
European Denizens have staged some gathers too. (Your ad here,
reasonable rates!)
————————————————————————
—
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland blgardne@javelin.sim.es.com BIX:blaine_g
580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 Favorite road signs:
Dumper of Dirtbikes #46 FJ1200 Winding Road Next 77 Miles
My other motorcycle is a Quadracer Caution: Passing Areas Not Marked
—
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland blgardne@javelin.sim.es.com BIX:blaine_g
580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 Favorite road signs:
Dumper of Dirtbikes #46 FJ1200 Winding Road Next 77 Miles
My other motorcycle is a Quadracer Caution: Passing Areas Not Marked

The Doctrine Of The Mean (Chung-Yung)

THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN (CHUNG-YUNG)

The DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN is a monument of Chinese philosophy, culture and
government. This work reflects the state of Confucian thought some centuries
after Confucius. Regarded as a ‘Classic’, it profoundly influenced Neo-
Confucian thought, and it was one of the texts upon which Civil Service
examinations were based for some 600 years.

For further information, see Wing-Tsit Chan, A SOURCE BOOK in CHINESE
PHILOSOPHY, Princeton, 1969, E. R. Hughes, THE GREAT LEARNING and the MEAN IN
ACTION, New York, 1943, and Tu Wei-ming, CENTRALITY and COMMONALITY: AN ESSAY
ON CHUNG-YUNG, Hawaii, 1976.

The translation reproduced here is that of James Legge in THE CHINESE
CLASSICS, originally published in 1893, and still in print today, e.g. from
Dover.

I have made a few changes:

Text which is italicized in the original translation is here bracketed.
(Apparently italics indicate words which Legge considered implicit in the
original and which he added to make the sense clear.)

The text now follows the Wade-Giles romanization.

A few notes have been added in parentheses, primarily identifying proper
names.

A few terms are printed in small caps, but I felt to reproduce these as
capitals is too distracting, so they are now lowercase.

Titles are capitalized. (Some of Legge’s punctuation differs from current
usage, but I have elected not to do any more than this.)

Chapter numbers use Arabic instead of Roman numerals, and I have added extra
blank lines.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN

Translated by James Legge

Chapter 1.

1. What heaven has conferred is the called the nature; an accordance with
this nature is called the path [of duty]; the regulation of this path is
called instruction.
2. The path may not be left for an instant. If it could be left, it would
not be the path. On this account, the superior man does not wait till he sees
things, to be cautious, nor till he hears things, to be apprehensive.
3. There is nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more
manifest than what is minute. Therefore the superior man is watchful over
himself, when he is alone.
4. While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the
mind may be said to be in the state of equilibrium. When those feelings have
been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be
called the state of harmony. This equilibrium is the great root [from which
grow all the human actings] in the world, and this harmony is the universal
path [which they all should pursue.]
5. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a
happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be
nourished and flourish.

Chapter 2.

1. Chung-ni (Confucius) said, ‘The superior man [embodies] the course of
the Mean; the mean man acts contrary to the course of the Mean.
2. ‘The superior man’s embodying the course of the Mean is because he is
a superior man, and so always maintains the Mean. The mean man’s acting
contrary to the course of the Mean is because he is a mean man, and has no
caution.’

Chapter 3.

The Master (Confucius) said, ‘Perfect is the virtue which is according to
the Mean! Rare have they long been among the people, who could practise it!’

Chapter 4.

1. The Master said, ‘I know how it is that the path [of the Mean] is not
walked in:–The knowing go beyond it, and the stupid do not come up to it. I
know how it is that the path of the Mean is not understood:–The men of
talents and virtue go beyond it, and the worthless do not come up to it.
2. ‘There is no body but eats and drinks. But they are few who can
distinguish flavours.’

Chapter 5.

The Master said, ‘Alas! How is the path of the Mean untrodden!’

Chapter 6.

The Master said, ‘There was (the mythical sage-emperor) Shun:–He indeed was
greatly wise! Shun loved to question [others], and to study their words,
though they might be shallow. He concealed what was bad [in them] and
displayed what was good. He took hold of their two extremes, [determined] the
Mean, and employed it in [his government of] the people. It was by this that
he was Shun!’

Chapter 7.

The Master said, ‘Men all say, “We are wise;” but being driven forward and
taken in a net, a trap, or a pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all
say “We are wise;” but happening to choose the course of the Mean, they are
not able to keep it for a round month.’

Chapter 8.

The Master said, ‘This was the manner of (my disciple) Hui:–he made
choice of the Mean, and whenever he got hold of what was good, he clasped it
firmly, as if wearing it on his breast, and did not lose it.’

Chapter 9.

The Master said, ‘The kingdom, it States, and its families, may be
perfectly ruled; dignities and emoluments may be declined; naked weapons may
be trampled under the feet;–but the course of the Mean cannot be attained
to.’

Chapter 10.

1. (Confucius’ disciple) Tzu-lu asked about energy.
2. The Master said, ‘Do you mean the energy of the South, the energy of
the North, or the energy which you should cultivate yourself?
3. ‘To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching others; and not to
revenge unreasonable conduct:– this is the energy of Southern regions, and
the good man makes it his study.
4. ‘To lie under arms; and meet death without regret:–this is the energy
of the Northern regions, and the forceful make it their study.
5. ‘Therefore, the superior man cultivates [a friendly] harmony, without
being weak.–How firm is he in his energy! He stands erect in the middle,
without flinching to either side.–How firm is he in his energy! When good
principles prevail in the government of his country, he does not change from
what he was in retirement.–How firm is he in his energy! When bad principles
prevail in the country, he maintains his course to death without changing.–
How firm is he in his energy!’

Chapter 11.

1. The Master said, ‘To live in obscurity, and yet practise wonders, in
order to mentioned with honour in future ages:–this is what I do not do.
2. ‘The good man tries to proceed according to the right path, but when he
has gone halfway, he abandons it:–I am not able [so] to stop.
3. ‘The superior man accords with the course of the Mean. Though he may
be all unknown, unregarded by the world, he feels no regret.–It is only the
sage who is able for this.’

Chapter 12.

1. The way which the superior man pursues, reaches far and wide, and yet
is secret.
2. Common men and women, however ignorant, may intermeddle with the
knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage
does not know. Common men and women, however much below the ordinary standard
of character, can carry it into practise; yet in its utmost reaches, there is
that which even the sage is not able to carry into practise. Great as heaven
and earth are, men still find some things in them with which to be
dissatisfied. Thus it is that, were the superior man to speak of this way in
all its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able to embrace it,
and were he to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world would be
found able to split it.
3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘The hawk files up to heaven; the
fishes leap in the deep.’ This expresses how this [way] is seen above and
below.
4. The way of the superior man may be found, in its simple elements, in
the intercourse of common men and women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines
brightly through heaven and earth.

Chapter 13.

1. The Master said, ‘The path is not far from man. When men try to
pursue a course, which is far from the common indications of consciousness,
this course cannot be considered the path.
2. ‘In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “In hewing an axe-handle, in
hewing an axe-handle, the pattern is not far off.” We grasp one axe-handle to
hew the other; and yet, if we look askance from the one to the other, we may
consider them as apart. Therefore, the superior man governs men, according to
their nature, with what is proper to them, and as soon as they change [what is
wrong], he stops.
3. ‘When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and
exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path.
What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others.
4. ‘In the way of the superior man there are four things, to not one of
which have I as yet attained.–To serve my father, as I would require my son
to serve me: to this I have not attained; to serve my prince, as I would
requires my minister to serve me: to this I have not attained; to serve my
elder brother, as I would require my younger brother to serve me: to this I
have not attained; to set the example in behaving to a friend, as I would
require him to behave to me: to this I have not attained. Earnest in
practising the ordinary virtues, and careful in speaking about them, if, in
his practice, he has anything defective, the superior man dares not exert
himself; and if, in his words, he has any excess, he dares not allow himself
such license. Thus his words have respect to his actions, and his actions
have respect to words; is it not just an entire sincerity which marks the
superior man?’

Chapter 14.

1. The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is; he
does not desire to go beyond this.
2. In a position of wealth and honour, he does what is proper to a
position of wealth and honour. In a poor and low position, he does what is
proper to a poor and low position. Situated among barbarous tribes, he does
what is proper to a situation among barbarous tribes. In a position of sorrow
and difficulty, he does what is proper to a position of sorrow and difficulty.
The superior man can find himself in no situation in which he is not himself.
3. In a high position, he does not treat with contempt his inferiors. In
a low situation, he does not court the favour of his superiors. He rectifies
himself, and seeks nothing from others, so that he has no dissatisfactions.
He does not murmur against Heaven, nor grumble against men.
4. Thus it is that the superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the
appointments [of Heaven], while the mean man walks in dangerous paths, looking
for lucky occurrences.
5. The Master said, ‘In archery we have something like the way of the
superior man. When the archer misses the centre of the target, he turns
around and seeks the cause of his failure in himself.’

Chapter 15.

1. The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in
travelling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is
near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground.
2. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘Happy union with wife and children,
is like the music of lutes and harps. When there is concord among brethren,
the harmony is delightful and enduring. [Thus] may you regulate your family,
and enjoy the pleasure of your wife and children.’
3. The Master said, ‘In such a state of things, parents have entire
compliance!’

Chapter 16.

1. The Master said, ‘How abundantly do spiritual beings display the powers
that belong to them!
2. ‘We look for them, but do not see them; we listen to, but do not hear
them; yet they enter into all things, and there is nothing without them.
3. ‘They cause all the people in the kingdom to fast and purify
themselves, and array themselves in their richest dresses, in order to attend
at their sacrifices. Then, like overflowing water, they seem to be over their
heads, and on the right and left [of their worshippers].
4. ‘It is said in the Book of Poetry, “The approaches of the spirits, you
cannot surmise;–and can you treat them with indifference?”
5. ‘Such is the manifestness of what is minute! Such is the impossibility
of repressing the outgoings of sincerity!’

Chapter 17.

1. The Master said, ‘How greatly filial was Shun! His virtue was that of
a sage; his dignity was the throne; his riches were all within the four seas.
He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants
preserved the sacrifices to himself.
2. ‘Therefore having such great virtue, it could not but be that he should
obtain the throne, that he should obtain those riches, that he should obtain
his fame, that he should attain to his long life.
3. ‘Thus it is that Heaven, in the production of things, is sure to be
bountiful to them, according to their qualities. Hence the tree that is
flourishing, it nourishes, while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows.
4. ‘In the Book of Poetry it is said, “The admirable, amiable prince
displayed conspicuously his excelling virtue, adjusting his people, and
adjusting his officers. [Therefore], he received from Heaven the emoluments
of dignity. It protected him, assisted him, decreed him the throne; sending
from Heaven these favours, [as it were] repeatedly.”
5. ‘[We may say] therefore that he who is greatly virtuous will be sure to
receive the appointment of Heaven.’

Chapter 18.

1. The Master said, ‘It is only King Wen (the founder of the Chou dynasty)
of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief! His father was King
Chi, and his son was King Wu. His father laid the foundations of his dignity,
and his son transmitted it.
2. ‘King Wu continued the enterprise of King T’ai (King Chi’s father),
King Chi, and King Wen. He once buckled on his armour, and got possession of
the kingdom. He did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which he
had throughout the kingdom. His dignity was the royal throne. His riches
were the possession of all within the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in
his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to
himself.
3. ‘It was in this old age that King Wu received the appointment [to the
throne], and (his brother) the Duke of Chou completed the virtuous course of
Wen and Wu. He carried up the title of king to T’ai and Chi, and sacrificed
to all the former dukes above them with the royal ceremonies. And this rule
he extended to the princes of the kingdom, the great officers, the scholars,
and the common people. If the father were a great officer, and the son a
scholar, then the burial was that due to a great officer, and the sacrifice
that due to a scholar. If the father were a scholar, and the son a great
officer, then the burial was that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice that due
to a great officer. The one year’s mourning was made to extend [only] to the
great officers, but the three years’ mourning extended to the Son of Heaven.
In the mourning for a father or mother, he allowed no difference between the
noble and the mean.’

Chapter 19.

1. The Master said, ‘How far-extending was the filial piety of King Wu
and the Duke of Chou!
2. ‘Now filial piety is seen in the skilful carrying out of the wishes of
our forefathers, and the skilful carrying forward of their undertaking.
3. ‘In spring and autumn, they repaired and beautified the temple-halls
of their fathers, set forth their ancestral vessels, displayed their various
robes, and presented the offering of the several seasons.
4. ‘By means of the ceremonies of the ancestral temple, they distinguished
the royal kindred according to their order of descent. By ordering the
parties present according to their rank, they distinguished the more noble
and the less. By the arrangement of the services, they made a distinction of
talents and worth. In the ceremony of general pledging, the inferiors
presented the cup to their superiors, and thus something was given the lowest
to do. At the [concluding] feast, places were given according to the hair,
and thus was made the distinction of years.
5. ‘They occupied the places of their forefathers, practised their
ceremonies, and performed their music. They reverenced those whom they
honoured, and loved those whom they regarded with affection. Thus they served
the dead as they would have served them alive; they served the departed as
they would have served them had they been continued among them.
6. ‘By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth they served
God, and by the ceremonies of the ancestral temple they sacrificed to Heaven
and Earth, and the meaning of the several sacrifices to ancestors, would find
the government of a kingdom as easy as to look into his palm!’

Chapter 20.

1. The Duke Ai (the ruler of the state of Lu) asked about government.
2. The Master said, ‘The government of Wen and Wu is displayed in [the
records],-the tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be the men and the
government will flourish; but without the men, their government decays and
ceases.
3. ‘With the [right] men the growth of government is rapid, just as
vegetation is rapid in the earth; and moreover [their] government [might be
called] an easily-growing rush.
4. ‘Therefore the administration of government lies in [getting proper]
men. Such men are to be got by means of [the rulers’s own] character. That
character is to be cultivated by this treading in the ways of [duty]. And the
treading those ways of duty is to be cultivated by the cherishing of
benevolence.
5. ‘Benevolence is [the characteristic element of] humanity, and the
great exercise of it is in loving relatives. Righteousness is [the
accordance of actions with what is] right, and the great exercise of it is in
honouring the worthy. The decreasing measures of the love due to relatives,
and the steps in the honour due to the worthy, are produced by [the
principle] of propriety.
6. ‘When those an inferior situations do not possess the confidence of
their superiors, they cannot retain the government of the people.
7. ‘Hence the sovereign may not neglect the cultivation of his own
character. Wishing to cultivate his character, he may not neglect to serve
his parents. In order to serve his parents, he may not neglect to acquire a
knowledge of men. In order to know men, he may not dispense with a knowledge
of Heaven.
8. ‘The duties of the universal obligation are five, and the virtues
wherewith they are practised are three. The duties are those between
sovereign and minister, between father and son, between husband and wife,
between elder brother and younger, and those belonging to the intercourse of
friends. Those five are the duties of universal obligation. Knowledge,
magnanimity, and energy, these three, are the virtues universally binding.
And the means by which they carry [the duties] into practise is singleness.
9. ‘ Some are born with the knowledge [of those duties]; some know them
by study; and some acquire the knowledge after a painful feeling of their own
ignorance. But the knowledge being possessed, it comes to the same thing.
Some practise them with a natural ease; some from a desire for their
advantages; and some by strenuous effort. But the achievement being made, it
comes to the same thing.’
10. The Master said, ‘To be fond of learning is to be near to knowledge.
To practise with vigour is to be near to magnanimity. To possess the feeling
of shame is to be near to energy.
11. ‘He who knows these three things, knows how to cultivate his own
character. Knowing how to cultivate his own character, he knows how to
govern other men. Knowing how to govern other men, he knows how to govern the
kingdom with all its States and families.
12. ‘All who have the government of the kingdom with its States and
families have nine standard rules to follow;–viz. the cultivation of their
own characters; the nourishing of men of virtue and talents; affection towards
their relatives; respect towards the great ministers; kind and considerate
treatment of the whole body of officers; dealing with the mass of the people
as children; encouraging the resort of all classes of artisans; indulgent
treatment of men from a distance; and the kindly cherishing of the princes of
the States.
13. ‘By the ruler’s cultivation of his own character, the duties [of
universal obligation] are set forth. By honouring men of virtue and talents,
he is preserved from errors of judgement. By showing affection to his
relatives, there is no grumbling nor resentment among his uncles and brethren.
By respecting the great ministers, he is kept from error in the practise of
government. By kind and considerate treatment of the whole body of officers,
they are led to make the most grateful return for his courtesies. By dealing
with the mass of the people as his children, they are led to exhort one
another to what is good. By encouraging the resort of all classes of
artisans, his resources for expenditure are rendered ample. By indulgent
treatment of men from a distance, they are brought to resort to him from all
quarters. And by kindly cherishing the princes of the States, the whole
kingdom is brought to revere him.
14. ‘Self-adjustment and purification, with careful regulation of his
dress, and the not making a movement contrary to the rules of propriety:–this
is the way for a ruler to cultivate his person. Discarding slanderers, and
keeping himself from [the seductions of] beauty; making light of riches, and
giving honour to virtue:–this is the way for him to encourage men of worth
and talents. Giving them places [of honour] and larger emolument, and sharing
with them in their likes and dislikes:–this is the way for him to encourage
his relatives to love him. Giving them numerous officers to discharge their
orders and commissions:–this is the way for him to encourage the great
ministers. According to them a generous confidence, and making their
emoluments large:–this is the way to encourage the body of officers.
Employing them only at the proper times, and making the imposts light:–this
is the way to encourage the people. By daily examinations and monthly trials,
and by making their rations in accordance with their labours:–this is the way
to encourage the classes of artisans. To escort them on their departure and
meet them on their coming; to commend the good among them, and show compassion
to the incompetent:–this is the way to treat indulgently men from a distance.
To restore families whose line of succession has been broken, and to revive
States that have been extinguished; to reduce to order States that are in
confusion, and support those which are in peril; to have fixed times for their
own reception at court, and the reception of their envoys; to send them away
after liberal treatment, and welcome their coming with small contributions:–
this is the way to cherish the princes of the States.
15. ‘All who have the government of the kingdom with its States and
families have the above nine standard rules. And the means by which they are
carried into practise is singleness.
16. ‘In all things success depends on previous preparation, and without
such previous preparation there is sure to be failure. If what is to be
spoken be previously determined, there will be no stumbling. If affairs be
previously determined, there will be no difficultly with them. If one’s
actions have been previously determined, there will be no sorrow in connexion
with them. If principles of conduct have been previously determined, the
practise of them will be inexhaustible.
17. ‘When those in inferior situations do not obtain the confidence of
the sovereign, they cannot succeed in governing the people. There is a way to
obtain the confidence of the sovereign;–if one is not trusted by his
friends, he will not get the confidence of his sovereign. There is a way to
being trusted by one’s friends;–if one is not obedient to his parents, he
will not be true to friends. There is a way to being obedient to one’s
parents;–if one, on turning his thoughts in upon himself, finds a want of
sincerity, he will not be obedient to his parents. There is a way to the
attainment of sincerity in one’s self;–if a man do not understand what is
good, he will not attain sincerity in himself.
18. ‘Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of sincerity is the
way of men. He who possesses sincerity, is he who, without an effort, hits
what is right, and apprehends, without exercise of thought;–he is the sage
who naturally and easily embodies the [right] way. He who attains to
sincerity, is he who chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast.
19. ‘To this attainment there are requisite the extensive study of what is
good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on it, the clear
discrimination of it, and the earnest practise of it.
20. ‘The superior man, while there is anything he has not studied, or
while in what he has studied there is anything he cannot understand, will not
intermit his labour. While there is anything he has not inquired about, or
anything in what he has inquired about which he does not know, he will not
intermit his labour. While there is anything which he has not reflected on,
or anything in what he has reflected on which he does not apprehend, he will
not intermit his labour. While there is anything which he has not
discriminated, or his discrimination is not clear, he will not intermit his
labour. If there be anything which he has not practised, or his practise
fails in earnestness, he will not intermit his labour. If another man succeed
by one effort, he will use a hundred efforts. If another man succeed by ten
efforts, he will use a thousand.
21. ‘Let a man proceed in this way, and, though dull, he will surely
become intelligent; though weak, he will surely become strong.’

Chapter 21.

When we have intelligence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to
be ascribed to nature; when we have sincerity resulting from intelligence,
this condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the sincerity,
and there shall be the intelligence; given the intelligence, and there shall
be the sincerity.

Chapter 22.

It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can
exist under heaven, who can give its full development to his nature. Able to
give its full development to his own nature, he can do the same to the nature
of other men. Able to give its full development to the nature of other men,
he can give their full development to the natures of animals and things. Able
to give their full development to the natures of creatures and things, he can
assist the transforming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth. Able to
assist the transforming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth, he may with
Heaven and Earth form a ternion.

Chapter 23.

Next to the above is he who cultivates to the utmost the shoots [of
goodness] in him. From those he can attain to the possession of sincerity.
This sincerity becomes apparent. From being apparent, it becomes manifest.
From being manifest, it becomes brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others.
Affecting others, they are changed by it. Changed by it, they are
transformed. It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity
that can exist under heaven, who can transform.

Chapter 24.

It is characteristic of the most entire sincerity to be able to foreknow.
When a nation or family is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy
omens; and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky omens.
[Such events are] seen in the milfoil and tortoise, and affect the movements
of the four limbs. When calamity or happiness is about to come, the good
shall certainly be foreknown by him, and the evil also. Therefore the
individual possessed of the most complete sincerity is like a spirit.

Chapter 25

1. Sincerity is that whereby self-completion is effected, and [its] way is
that by which man must direct himself.
2. Sincerity is the end and beginning of things; without sincerity there
would be nothing. On this account, the superior man regards the attainment of
sincerity as the most excellent thing.
3. The possessor of sincerity does not merely accomplish the self-
completion of himself. With this quality he completes [other men and] things
[also]. The completing himself [shows his] perfect virtue. The completing
[other men and] things [shows his] knowledge. [Both these are] virtues
belonging to the nature, and [this is] the way by which a union is effected
of the external and internal. Therefore, whenever he–[the entirely sincere
man]–employs them,–[that is, these virtues,–their action will be] right.

Chapter 26.

1. Hence to entire sincerity there belongs ceaselessness.
2. Not ceasing, it continues long. Continuing long, it evidences itself.
3. Evidencing itself, it reaches far. Reaching far, it becomes large and
substantial. Large and substantial, it becomes high and brilliant.
4. Large and substantial;–this is how it contains [all] things. High
and brilliant;–this is how it overspreads [all] things. Reaching far and
continuing long;–this is how it perfects [all] things.
5. So large and substantial, [the individual possessing it] is the co-
equal of Earth. So high and brilliant, it makes him the co-equal of Heaven.
So far-reaching and long-continuing, it makes him infinite.
6. Such being its nature, without any display, it becomes manifested;
without any movement, it produces changes; and without any effort, it
accomplishes its ends.
7. The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely declared in one
sentence.–They are without any doubleness, and so they produce things in a
manner that is unfathomable.
8. The way of Heaven and Earth is large and substantial, high and
brilliant, far-reaching and long-enduring.
9. The heaven now before us is only this bright shining spot; but when
viewed in its inexhaustible extent, the sun, moon, stars, and constellations
of the zodiac, are suspended in it, and all things are overspread by it. The
earth before us is but a handful of soil; but when regarded in its breadth and
thickness, it sustains mountains like the Hua and the Yo, without feeling
their weight, and contains the rivers and seas, without their leaking away.
The mountain now before us appears only a stone; but when contemplated in all
the vastness of its size, we see how the grass and tress are produced on it,
and birds and beasts dwell on it, and precious things which men treasure up
are found on it. The water now before us appears but a ladleful; yet
extending our view to its unfathomable depths, the largest tortoises, iguanas,
iguanodons, dragons, fishes, and turtles, are produced in them, articles of
value and sources of wealth abound in them.
10. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘The ordinances of Heaven, how
profound are they and unceasing!’ The meaning is, that it is thus that Heaven
is Heaven. [And again], ‘How illustrious was it, the singleness of the
virtue of King Wen!’ indicating that it was thus that King Wen was what he
was. Singleness likewise is unceasing.

Chapter 27.

1. How great is the path proper to the Sage!
2. Like overflowing water, it sends forth and nourishes all things, and
rises up to the height of heaven.
3. All-complete is its greatness! It embraces the three hundred rules of
ceremony, and the three thousand rules of demeanor.
4. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden.
5. Hence, it is said, ‘Only by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all
its courses, be made a fact.’
6. Therefore, the superior man honours his virtuous nature, and maintains
constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and
greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it
embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy, so as to
pursue the course of the Mean. He cherishes his old knowledge, and is
continually acquiring new. He exerts an honest, generous earnestness, in the
esteem and practise of all propriety.
7. Thus, when occupying a high situation he is not proud, and in a low
situation he is not insubordinate. When the kingdom is well-governed, he is
sure by his words to rise; and when it is ill-governed, he is sure by his
silence to command forbearance to himself. Is not this what we find in the
Book of Poetry,–‘Intelligent is he and prudent, and so preserves his person?’

Chapter 28.

1. The Master said, ‘Let a man who is ignorant be fond of using his own
judgment; let a man without rank be fond of assuming a directing power to
himself; let a man who is living in the present age go back to the ways of
antiquity;–on the persons of all who act thus calamities will be sure to
come.’
2. To no one but the Son of Heaven does it belong to order ceremonies, to
fix the measures, and to determine the written characters.
3. Now, over the kingdom, carriages have all wheels of the same size; all
writing is with the same characters; and for conduct there are the same rules.
4. One may occupy the throne, but if he have not the proper virtue, he
may not dare to make ceremonies or music. One may have the virtue, but if he
do not occupy the throne, he may not presume to make ceremonies or music.
5. The Master said, ‘I may describe the ceremonies of the Hsia dynasty,
but (the) Ch’i (dynasty) cannot sufficiently attest my words. I have learned
the ceremonies of the Yin (or Shang) dynasty, and in (state of) Sung they
still continue. I have learned the ceremonies of (the) Chou (dynasty), which
are not used, and I follow Chou.’

Chapter 29.

1. He who attains to the sovereignty of the kingdom, having [those] three
important things, shall be able to effect that there shall be few errors
[under his government].
2. However excellent may have been the regulations of those of former
times, they cannot be attested. Not being attested, they cannot command
credence, and not being credited, the people would not follow them. However
excellent might be the regulations made by one in an inferior situation, he is
not in a position to be honoured. Unhonoured, he cannot command credence, and
not being credited, the people would not follow his rules.
3. Therefore the institutions of the Ruler are rooted in his own character
and conduct, and sufficient attestation of them is give by the masses of the
people. He examines them [by comparison] with those of the three kings (the
founders of the three dynasties, Hsia, Shang or Yin, and Chou), and finds them
without mistake. He sets them up before heaven and earth, and finds nothing
in them contrary to their mode of operation. He presents himself with them
before spiritual beings, and no doubts about them arise. He is prepared to
wait for the rise of a sage a hundred ages after, and has no misgivings.
4. His presenting himself [with his institutions] before spiritual beings,
without any doubts arising about them, shows that he knows Heaven. His being
prepared, without any misgivings, to wait for the rise of a sage a hundred
ages after, shows that he knows men.
5. Such being the case, the movements of such a ruler, [illustrating his
institutions], constitute an example to the world for ages. His acts are for
ages a law to the kingdom. His words are for ages a lesson to the kingdom.
Those who are far from him, look longingly for him; and those who are near
him, are never wearied with him.
6. It is said in the Book of Poetry,–‘Not disliked there, not tired of
here, from day to day and night to night, will they perpetuate their praise.’
Never has there been a ruler, who did not realise this description, that
obtained an early renown throughout the kingdom.

Chapter 30.

1. Chung-ni handed down the doctrines of Yao and Shun, as if they had been
his ancestors, and elegantly displayed the regulations of Wen and Wu, taking
them as his model. Above, he harmonized with the times of heaven, and below,
he was conformed to the water and land.
2. He may be compared to heaven and earth in their supporting and
containing, their overshadowing and curtaining of all things. He may be
compared to the four season in their alternating progress, and to the sun and
moon in their successive shining.
3. All things are nourished together without their injuring one another.
The course [of the seasons, and of the sun and moon], are pursued without any
collision among them. The smaller energies are like river currents; the
greater energies are seen in mighty transformations. It is this which makes
heaven and earth so great.

Chapter 31.

1. It is only he, possessed of all sagely qualities that can exist under
heaven, who shows himself quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-
reaching intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, fitted to exercise rule;
magnanimous, generous, benign, and mild, fitted to exercise forbearance;
impulsive, energetic, firm, and enduring, fitted to maintain a firm hold;
self-adjusted, grave, never swerving from the Mean, and correct, fitted to
command reverence; accomplished, distinctive, concentrative, and searching,
fitted to exercise discrimination.
2. All-embracing is he and vast, deep and active as a fountain, sending
forth in their due season his virtues.
3. All-embracing and vast, he is like heaven. Deep and active as a
fountain, he is like the abyss. He is seen, and the people all reverence him;
he speaks, and the people all believe him; he acts, and the people all are
pleased with him.
4. Therefore his fame overspreads the Middle Kingdom, and extends to all
barbarous tribes. Wherever ships and carriages reach; wherever the strength
of man penetrated; wherever the heavens overshadow and the earth sustains;
wherever the sun and moon shine; wherever frosts and dews fall:–all who have
blood and breath unfeignedly honour and love him. Hence it is said,–‘He is
the equal of Heaven.’

Chapter 32.

1. It is only the individual possessed of the most entire sincerity that
can exist under heaven, who can adjust the great invariable relations of
mankind, establish the great fundamental virtues of humanity, and know the
transforming and nurturing operations of Heaven and Earth;–shall this
individual have any being or anything beyond himself on which he depends?
2. Call him man is his ideal, how earnest is he! Call him an abyss, how
deep is he! Call his Heaven, how vast is he!
3. Who can know him, but he who is indeed quick in apprehension, clear in
discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge,
possessing all heavenly virtue?

Chapter 33.

1. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘Over her embroidered robe she puts a
plain single garment,’ intimating a dislike to the display of the elegance of
the former. Just so, it is the way of the superior man to prefer the
concealment [of his virtue], while it daily becomes more illustrious, and the
way of the mean man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to
ruin. It is characteristic of the superior man, appearing insipid, yet never
to produce satiety; while showing a simple negligence, yet to have his
accomplishments recognized; while seemingly plain, yet to be discriminating.
He knows how what is distant lies in what is near. He knows where the wind
proceeds from. He knows how what is minute becomes manifested. Such an one,
we may be sure, will enter into virtue.
2. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘Although [the fish] sink and lie at
the bottom, it is still quite clearly seen.’ Therefore the superior man
examines his heart, that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he may
have no cause for dissatisfaction with himself. That wherein the superior
man cannot be equalled is simply this,–his [work] which other men cannot see.
3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘Looked at in your apartment, be
there free from shame as being exposed to the light of heaven.’ Therefore,
the superior man, even when he is not moving, has [a feeling] of reverence,
and while he speaks not, he has [the feeling of] truthfulness.
4. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘In silence is the offering
presented, and [the spirit] approached to; there is not the slightest
contention.’ Therefore the superior man does not use rewards, and the people
are stimulated [to virtue]. He does not show anger, and the people are awed
more than by hatchets and battle-axes.
5. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘What needs no display is virtue.
All the princes imitate it.’ Therefore, the superior man being sincere and
reverential, the whole world is conducted to a state of happy tranquility.
6. It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘I regard with pleasure your
brilliant virtue, making no great display of itself in sounds and
appearances.’ The Master said, ‘Among the appliances to transform the people,
sounds and appearances are but trivial influences. It is said in another ode,
“His virtue is light as a hair.” Still, a hair will admit of comparison [as
to its size]. “The doings of the supreme Heaven have neither sound nor
smell.”–That is perfect virtue.’

How To Eliminate Or Brush Off Telemarketing Calls

From news.Arizona.EDU!math.arizona.edu!CS.Arizona.EDU!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!uwvax!calypso.cs.wisc.edu!cargille Tue Aug 23 13:59:53 1994
Path: news.Arizona.EDU!math.arizona.edu!CS.Arizona.EDU!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!uwvax!calypso.cs.wisc.edu!cargille
From: cargille@calypso.cs.wisc.edu (Allan Cargille)
Newsgroups: uwisc.general,wi.general,alt.consumers.free-stuff
Subject: how to eliminate, brush off telemarketing calls
Followup-To: uwisc.forum
Date: 22 Aug 1994 20:36:25 GMT
Organization: University of WI, Madison — Computer Sciences Dept.
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X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #3 (NOV)

Hi, I was really getting frustrated by telemarketers until I found
the information below. I thought others might appreciate it as well:

Consumers have a right request *not* to receive telemarketing calls.
The Direct Marketing Association has a “Telephone Preference Service”
list. You can only get on the list by writing them. They also do not
acknowledge your letter (at least, they didn’t ack mine). You can
write them at

DMA
P.O. Box 9014
Farmingdale, NY 11735

Include your phone number, and tell them you do not want to receive
telemarketing calls. This should probably also include the signature
of the person who has the phone in their name.

Another thing you can do to reduce telemarketing calls is to get in
the habit of never including your phone number on any warranty cards,
information requests, etc — or, if you do, indicate that you do not
want the information sold or redistributed.

Then when people call, if it sounds like a telemarketer (“Hello, is
this Mr. Cargille?”), just ask “Who’s calling, please?” When they
identify themselves and start to go into their pitch, just interrupt and
tell them you prefer not to receive telemarketing calls. Also ask
them to please take you off their list.

This has markedly decreased the number of nuisance calls we receive,
and now I can brush them off without my blood pressure going up.

Hope this helps,

allan
—
C. Allan Cargille “MadTown” (Madison), Wisconsin cargille@cs.wisc.edu
———————–
“In other national news this week, another thirty thousand preborn babies
were legally ripped into small pieces or poisoned to death.”

Divine Rights By Paul W. Will AK Koordar

DIVINE RIGHTS

by Paul W. Will
(AKA Koordar)

The contents of this article are suitable for use with AD&D (tm TSR
Hobbies Inc.) but are easily adaptable to any other major FRPG.

In considering the writing of this article, several
questions/problems became apparent. First was classification of Deities.
Second came the requirement of keeping the record keeping simple in a
complicated business (DMs already have their jobs cut out for them). And
finally; the correlate of such information previously set forth in both
the AD & D system and the fine pages of The Dragon Magazine (tm TSR
Hobbies Inc.)

With these things in mind; to work.

Gods; gods of war, passion, harvest, chance and more have been the
back-drop for countless civilizations in the past. The flavor of a
country and the personalities of it’s peoples all find some root in the
otherworldly personages and legends of their religions. Any AD&D (tm TSR
Hobbies Inc.) campaign gains something special when such things are
carefully interwoven into their fabric, but this is no easy task; and
can detract from a game as easily as not.

To add a religious note to your campaign there are two strategies;
1) Use a pantheon from the DDG.
2) Create your own, taylor made pantheon(s).

As for the first method, I suggest that you research the era and
and area(s) of power, as well as the legends and tales of the pantheon
in question, in depth. Grasp firmly the concepts and theologies before
implementing them. As far as general advice goes; that is the extent of
it.

Should you choose the second method however (and probably if not)
this article should be of interest to you.

Let us discuss the basics of deity-hood. Gods are divided into five
groups (as I have concluded from information derived from the DDG,
Dragon #68, and subsequent issues) in order of potence:
Greater (as per TD #68)
Major*
Minor**
Lesser (as per TD #68)
Demi-god (as per TD#68)
Saint (as per TD #71)

As Mr. Gygax has, in his ‘deities of the Flaeness’ series described
some of his gods as being ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ without further
information given I will take this opportunity to give my own versions
of these:

*Major Gods:
Anti-magic shell (2) Protection from evil/good,
Command 3rd effect (2) +2, 30′ radius
Control weather Quest (2)
Cure critical wounds (2) Remove curse
Death spell (1) Remove fear
Dispel (evil/good, Restoration (2)
illusion, magic) (6 each) Resurrection (5)
Fly Shape change (2)
Gate (2) Summon #
Globe of invulnerability (1) Symbol (2)
Heal (2) Time stop (1)
Holy/Unholy word (2) Trap the soul (2)
Improved invisibility True seeing (4)
Improved phantasmal forces Wish (2)
Polymorph other (4)

* * Maximum hit dice of 35, no more than 5 creatures. * *

**Minor Gods:
Anti-magic shell (2) Polymorph other (2)
Command 3rd effect (2) Protection from evil/good
Control weather (2) +2, 25′ radius
Cure critical wounds (1) Quest (1)
Cure serious wounds (3) Remove curse
Death spell (1) Remove fear
Dispel (evil/good, Restoration (2)
illusion, magic) (4) Resurrection (4)
Fly Summon #
Gate (2) Symbol (2)
Heal (2) Trap the soul (1)
Holy/unholy word (2) True seeing (3)
Improved invisibility Wish (1)
Phantasmal forces

* * Maximum hit dice of 30, no more than 4 creatures. * *

With this errata out of the way, onward . ..

What, other than the obvious powers stated, differs each rank of
gods from the others? That is a question that is arduous to answer in a
generality. Some say it is the number and power of their worshipers,
this I say is a misleading if not unworkable idea. Which came first; the
god or the believer? Obviously this is something that you will have to
define for yourself, but I operate on the precept that the god(s) was
first, shortly followed by everything they created.

Another misconception (at least in my opinion) is that divine
beings gain power directly from their worshipers and in direct
proportion to the number of their faithful. If this were the case any
mortal might claim divinity simply because he or she had cowed a few
handfulls of weaker creatures into paying homage to the character in
question. This sort of behaviour, shows plainly that the requirements
for deifacation must be up-graded.

Gods are their own power-sources, or tap into great power stores
un-attainable to mortals, for their spell abilities. It is part of their
nature; why else would men (creatures capable of attaining great power
themselves [in the form of high levels]) live in awe of any god?

This leads to yet another strange question: why then, if gods are
self-sufficient for their existence, would ‘Divine Beings’ solicit even
the recognition of men?

First I must lay down here a postulate that I hold to be true and
workable in gaming.
1) any divine creature has the proverbial ‘snowball’s chance
in
hell’ to manifest it’s-self in any way on a plane (material
plane, that is) where it has no supplicants.

By this rule a god has effectively zero influence on a world where
he/she is without priests. Clerics might well be sent to far lands
(worlds), there to introduce their gods doctrines. A god does not cease
to exist merely because no-one believes in him any longer, the god in
question would simply take truck to planes where he or she finds the
fields more verdant. Thus on any reality where a god has the slightest
interest he or she would actively seek to spread-the-faith. Priests are
charged to do so, and are benefitted with spell capabilities to aid in
this task. The phrase: “Wherever goest thou faithful; there shall I
be.’, is an applicable statement here.

The god without a flock is able only to manifest on it’s native
plane, a dangerous place indeed for a god, but any gods reason for
opening material worlds to itself are sure to be deeper than ‘just to be
there’. Some gods are greedy and desire the wealth of their worlds,
other gods are curious, some wish to propagate their views, still others
simply feel a need for lesser creatures to pay them homage. A god might
simply be bored; eternity is a long time, and what about spiteful gods;
might they not seek only their nemisis’ failure in that enemy god’s
dealings with man? Other reasons are plentiful, referees should give
each god his or her own purpose for association with man; a task that
could (should with respect to at least a handfull of any pantheon’s
gods) be tied into THE BIG PICTURE.

What are the origins of your world, cosmos or multiverse? Devise
it. Was it the Big-Bang, a mating of celestial beings, or did the Cosmic
Dung Beetle roll amorphous materials into planets? Are the stars other
suns, carnal creatures thrust into the sky, or cracks and chinks in a
great universe encircling wall? The multiverse, is it divergent
realities stemming from Day One (ala Zelazny), or the results of two
ultimate beings unknowingly trying to create Everything, in the same
spot at the same time?

It stands to reason that the Creator(s) is a Greater god, or
perhaps a group of Greater and Major Gods. As for the rest consider the
following;

Greater God:
A) The most powerful Outer Realm creature of its alignment, or
B) Any of the most powerful Perpetual Beings.

Major God:
A) An Outer Realm creature of great power, or
B) The offspring of a Greater God.

Minor God:
A) An Outer Realm creature of average power, or
B) The offspring of a Major God.

Lesser God:
A) An Outer Realm creature of little power, or
B) The offspring of a Minor God.

Demi-God:
A) Any half-divine mortal who has shown ample merit to his/her
divine
parent and granted immortality.

Saint:
A) Any true mortal who shows extreme potential through the service
of
his/her Deity, and been granted an eternal afterlife, or
B) Any Demi-God not yet ascended.

I define the Outer Realm as “that which existed before the
creation, and which still exists beyond the borders of the creation.”

A “Perpetual Being” is one the “is because it is.” More to the
point let me give an example: Loroth is the “God of the Good Earth,” he
cane to be when the earth did and he represents all that is alive. His
priests take joy in life and its continuance, he is a Perpetual Being
because he is the physical embodiment of something that may one day
cease to exist (would this cause him to fade from existence?). His twin,
Mortis (God of Death), skips through Time, existing only in the instant
when something dies and within eyesight of that thing. He too is a
Perpetual Being, and may one day be no more. Neither could exist without
the other.

Further I have made mention of the Ascendance of Demi-Gods, this
takes place at the death of the mortal body of the Demi-God. After the
usual Astral Journey (DDG page 11) upon its arrival at the proper plane,
if it is the same plane as is native to its Divine parent then it will
become a full-fledged Demi-God. Until this time it is treated as having
only the powers of a Saint. Should the half-mortal choose in its life to
serve a cause other then that of its Divine parent’s, then there would
be slim chance of another God granting him/her immortality, and thus
would remain but a Saint eternally.

Feel free to alter the definitions as necessary, but remember, the
difference bewixt various ranks of Deities must be more then just the
number of Wishes they can crank-out in a day….

Pantheons all have one thing in common. That is that they each
reflect their respective civilizations. Of the dozen or so
pantheon/cultures that I examined in preparation of this work I found
that eleven had war-gods, seven had sun-gods, six; gods of sea. Further
there were five each, gods of thunder, storms, and love. Fully one-third
included gods of wind, death, nature, air, running waters, and a king of
gods. These things can tell one much about these cultures, if not of the
nature of man. War seems to be at the foremost of man’s thoughts, so he
epitomizes a god of destruction. The sun was a wonder to early man, thus
a deity represented it or vise-versa, be that god a cruel and glaring
one, or a warm and kind one. Likewise many cultures were based on their
sea-faring merchants or soldiers, they would naturally imagine a god of
the waters, who must surely watch over them, and be in control of the
seas depths and ravaging nature. Love (taken in any context) is
frequently thought of as a gift of a specific supernatural being. Air
and wind gods are attributes of sailing cultures, death and nature are
mysteries and thus deified. River-based cultures, of course, boast of
river-gods, and prevalent in family or monarch oriented cultures there
are found a “Ruler of the Gods.” The latter is often a patriarch or
matriarch, or even a matched set, this lets the church help in
controlling the lower castes.

As can now be seen, a coherent pantheon should be representative of
the culture(s) that gave rise to it (also vise-versa), and must set an
example for the whole civilization.

As stated previously, some pantheons’ rulers are
patri-/matri-archial. These pantheons have historically involved
incestuous relationships (again the lifestyles of the devout would,
detrimentally, reflect this). Although occasionally a new being might be
brought into the scene (perhaps from the pantheon of a conquered
nation), the nature and origins of these interlopers would likely be
jumbled or varied from church to church.

Here is a list of possible spheres of power for deities compiled
from twelve pantheons, and followed by a few additions of my own device,
the first three are more “Role-Types” commonly evidenced.

Creator Ruler Subverter War
Sun Fire Sea Thunder
Storms Death Love Wind Mature
Air Running Waters Rain Underworld*
Undead Poetry Music Magic Animal**
Archery Theft Luck Earth
Fertility Sky Night Smything
Knowledge Law Gambling Agriculture
Punishment Motherhood Guardian-of-dead Wealth
Evil Beauty Combat Hunting Strength
Moon Racing/Speed Winter Spring
Fall/Harvest Summer Cities Darkness
Devil*** Mountains Youth (eternal) Forests
Fate Medicine/Healing Chance Chaos
Life Good Gifts Justice
Multi-purpose Time Gravity Wine
Competition Travel

* Not necessarily representative of a single plane, but possibly in
charge of all of the dead souls of mortals.
** Representative of animal(s) held as sacred.
*** Usually the “Subverter” and of radical alignment.

The gods of a pantheon need not be of a single alignment, nor even
a group of related alignments. In my own campaign, my two pantheons each
represent a plethora of view-points and the full range of alignments.

Let the priest, and indeed the priesthood, fit the god. Little
details do count; the priests of Loroth (God of the Good Earth) never
wear shoes that their feet never leave the ground. The priests of Woolio
(Duke of the Drunk, and God of Gravity) must start the day with a ritual
called “Hair of the Dog” lest they be struck with mystic fits of
migraine…. Woolio, by the way, invented gravity so he could fall,
well, um, down.

The spells that each Deity can grant should be closely related to
the Deity’s philosophy, and sphere of power, thus Loroth cannot grant
such spells as Levitation, nor Wind Walk. Woolio’s priests are at a loss
to cast such spells as Neutralize Poison (alcohol is after all a poison,
and the reverse of this spell cast by Woolio’s adherants causes the
victim to be quite intoxicated…), and True Seeing.

Gods have to be limited in both the type and number of spells that
they can grant to their priests. The former so that the spells that
their priests cast conform to the theology. The latter so that priests
will usually choose at least on extremely potent god and possible on or
two additional gods, this will serve to simulate the side-byside style
of worship so common in pantheon religions. I offer this chart regarding
the number of spells each god can grant.

Spell Level:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Deity Rank: Greater: 12
12 12 9 7 5 3 Major: 12 12 9 7 5 3 1
Minor: 12 9 7 5 3 1 – Lesser: 9 7 5 3 1
– – Demi-God 7 5 3 1 – – – Saint: 5 3
1 – – – –

According to the AD&D system a Cleric gains his/her spells through
prayer, meditation, and study. First and Second level spells are gained
from the teachings of the church, wether by rote chants, reading prayer
books or similar means. Third, Fourth, and Fifth level spells are
communicated to the Cleric via the Deity’s servants: Saints, Devas,
lesser Devils or Demons, etc., as the priest prays. Finally Sixth and
Seventh level spells are granted by the deity itself.

Utilizing the rules outlined in this text observe the following
example.

Laurus the True is an eleventh level Cleric with a 14 Wisdom who
worships a Major God, a Lesser God, and a Saint of the Major God. Laurus
chooses the following numbers of spells from his deities:

Divinity:
Major Lesser Saint Spell Level: 1
3 3 1 2 2 2
0 3 1 1 2 4
1 2 – 5 0 2 –
6 1 – –

To receive the Sixth level spells he is in direct communication
with the Major Deity. The Major Deity sends a deva with the Third and
Fourth level spells.

A deva servitor of the Lesser God brings the Third through Fifth
level spells requested by the priest.

Finally the Saint himself (at least in spirit) visits the priest
with the Third level spells and possible any news of import.

In this scenario the priest would likely have a very close
relationship with the Saint, as the Saint consults with him on each day
bringing spell-knowledge.

The next step in meshing religion and Deities into the campaign is
to list each of the cities in it. Once such a list is complete, count
the churches in each city, adding them to the list categorically by
location. Now define whether each of the churches are mono- or poly-
theistic in beliefs. I recommend that such a list be patterned after the
example below.

KINGDOM CITY ALIGN- PRIM- SECOND- TE RTI-
MENT ARY ARY A RY

Southeron Portsmouth CG(N) Imparte Publius As sorte

Ghar-Dun N Ithain Woolio

Velton Velton NG Loroth Oberik Go ram

The categories of Kingdom and City are self explanatory. Alignment
is that of the Deity, or a consolidation of the Deities involved
(obviously no church should house more than a “one place” difference
between the alignments of its Deities [see DMG page 37, Alignment
Factors]). In the above example (the Southeron Kingdom, City of
Portsmouth), Imparte (the Benefactress) is Chaotic Good, Publius (the
Speaker) is Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies, and Assorte is Chaotic
Neutral. All are of similar alignment, and their Credos are not
dissimilar, so a Cleric of one, might also recognize one or both of the
others. In this instance Imparte enjoys the position of “Most Exalted”,
having the majority of direct followers. The church is designated as
Chaotic Good with Neutral tendencies, as this is the direction of the
most “counts”, rational as follows.

Inclinations are: Good, Evil, Lawful, Chaotic, and Neutral.

The Primary Deity registers three (3) “counts” for each of its
Inclinations. The Secondary Deity registers two (2) for each of its
Inclinations, and the Tertiary Deity but one (1).

Tendencies are only half the normal value.

Add these “counts” up, the alignment is then derived from the
Inclinations with the most “counts”. In Portsmouth all of the
Inclinations are of Good, Chaos, and Neutral.

Inclinations
Good Chaotic Neutral Deity: Imparte
3 3 0 Publius 1
2 2 Assorte 0 1
1

Totals: 4 6 3

The results: Chaotic Good (heavy on the Chaos) with Neutral
tendencies.

Setting churches up like this will make the task of choosing
Deities much easier for the Cleric, as most priest will want to be
associated with just such an established organization. It also gives the
DM more control of the religious groups, and a better method of
recording them.

The Rules set forth in this article should facilitate religion
simulation, promote pantheonism, and greatly enhance any game while
keeping the effort at a minimum.

I hope you enjoy, and bid you good gaming.

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