IGNAL

/NFORMATION VIRUSES

Page 50

Z-V/NDERGROUND CASSETTE CULTURE

page 110

•!!^/fEROX AND MAIL ART

Pages 42 & 84

bUNTERESPIONAGE TOOLS

Page 61

YPERCARD SOFTWARE

Pagel02

NTELLIGENCE DRUGS

page 56 ^^iOLE EARTHI DEPARTMENTS/REVIEWS LANGUAGE 13 Chinese Word Processors 91 A Writer's Time

AUDIO MUSIC 19 Go Public! 109 Digital Samplers n Computers & Music n The Complete Manual of Pirate Radio 112 Cheapest Synthesizers 23 Tele-Recorder 150 n Cheapest Transcriber 113 Portable Studio n Composer/Performer n Panasonic Answering Machine 114 Homegrown Music 27 The Radio Papers n Uncle Van's Chord Book 29 Pacific Radio Archive 115 How to Build a Small Budget Recording • New Dimensions Radio Studio From Scratch VISUALS n Modern Recording Techniques 38 Cricket Draw/Adobe Illustrator 116 The Art of Electronic Music n CODA 39 Verbum n Boeing Graph 117 The Absolute Sound D Jam Session/Studio Session 40 Suterisms D MIX Bookshelf n The Anatomy of the Image Maps 41 Visual Anthropology n Instant Litter FILM AND VIDEO 45 Up To Your Ass in Alligators/Work Hard 121 Off-Hollywood D Canyon Cinema and You Shall Be Rewarded n Target Video D Canon PC-20 Personal Copier 122 Working With Video n Television Production Handbook n Deep Dish TV INFORMATION CULTURE 123 Sony Camcorder n The Bare Bones 59 High Frontiers a Reality Hackers Camera Course n Video Goals 60 Megabrain n The Three-Pound Universe BODY ART 69 Fund for Open Information and Accountability n Stockwell Reading List 124 Tattoo n The Tattoo Historian 125 The Decorated Body COMMUNICATIONS n Obsolete Body Suspensions 76 Share-Right n How to Look It Up Online GATE FIVE ROAD 80 Information Highways 134 Backscatter 81 The Media Lab 138 Gossip 87 Fax 140 Reader Services n Adopt a Library 97 Build Your Own IBM Compatible n Cheap IBM Clones 141 Masthead n Financial Report 101 The Tomorrow Makers 142 Unclassifieds n The River That Flows Uphill 144 Thank You 145 Hohday Gift Order

Whole Earth Review D Issue Na 57 O December 1, 1987 (ISSN 0749-5056) (USPS 077-150). Published quarterly by POINT, a California nonprofit corporation. Editorial office: 27 Gate Five Road, Sausalito, CA 94965:415/332-1716. Subscriptions $20 per year; single copies $5. Inquire for first class and international air rates. Second-class postage paid at Sausalito, California, and at additional mailing offices. Claims for missing issues will not be honored later than six months after publication. Back issues are available on microfilm and as xerographic reprints from University Microfilms International, Serials Bid Coordinator, 300 Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Whole Earth Review is indexed by Access: The Supplementary Index to Periodicals, Alternative Press Index, Magazine Index, Consumers Index, and Humanities Index. Copyright © 1987 by POINT. All rights reserved. Subscription circulation: 20,310. Newsstand circulation: 29,130. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Whole Earth Review, Box 15187, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Number 57 FEATURES Winter 1987 Introduction: 73 Computers and Nonprofits Information Takeover Easing the transition by Kevin Kelly by Steve Johnson I Want To Xerox My Dreams 11 Tlie Bulletin Board Proletariat by Jeanne Carstensen by Kevin Kelly Untranslatable Words Virtual Communities by Howard Rheingold The computer network as electronic watering hole by Howard Rheingold

14 Bio-Acoustics Habitat ambience and ecological balance by Bernard L. Krause, Ph.D. 16 Tools for Environmental Recordin; by Bernard L. Krause, Ph.D. 20 The Art of the Interview by Lloyd Kahn Look Ma, No Computer by Sallie Tisdale 24 No More Pissy Rock Stations Leaking Down On Our Heads 92 One Highly Evolved (But Cheap!) Community radio via satellite Personal Computer Toolbox by Lorenzo Milam by Art Kleiner Live Radio Art 98 If Software Companies Ran the Country ... by Bonnie Barnett by Jay Kinney 30 Sketchy Ideas 102 Whole Earth Hyperlog by Bill Ritchey Beginning a communication medium called Stackware 34 Visual Thinking by Kevin Kelly by Howard Rheingold 36 Fractals and Such 104 Bettered by the Borrower Shamelessly psychedelic The ethics of musical debt, computer graphics by John Oswald by Robert Horvitz 110 Cassette Culture 42 Xerox Art Home-recorded music by Tom Patrick thrives in the underground 46 'Zines: Your Right To Rave by JonPareles by Jeanne Carstensen 111 Cassette Activism 48 Information as an Artist's Material by David Ciaffardini by Judy Malloy 118 Virtual Reality 50 Memetics Computers encourage The science of information viruses substitution of by H Keith Hensen symbols for the world by Yaakov Garb 56 May You Never Sleep Intelligence-enhancing drugs 126 Dreamwork by R. U. Sirius by Howard Rheingold 61 An Intelligent Guide to Intelligence 128 Interactive Literature (of the espionage variety) by David Shaw by Robert Horvitz 130 Sharing the Uncertainty 70 H-Bomb Ti-uck Watch Health in the Information Age by Nathaniel Batchelder by Tom Ferguson, M.D. INFORMATION TAKEOVER

KITIXKLIIY "Ihe pnilitcralion and .:on\ei)|>enc« ideas become the voin of the realm, government and Ihe militarv-indus- at rommunication channels i» a tech­ and ideas can be multiplied and trial complex are amazed, contused, nical Kvolution. It'b also a political spread to the masses in the miracu­ and anxious because thev lan no revolution." lous way of tishes and loaves, then lunger lontrtil the course of inluriiia- paradoxes reign, and paradoxical will tion an) more than the little gov lan. Thaf s btcivart Brand's explanation of be the politics. The iii\.ui( has its own li!c. Ihe po- the sustained lervor intubing a loose Ittiial n-v ision begun by a comiiiuni- undeiground ot social visionarieb, ar- Almost every claim about Ihe inlor- latuiii undergniund like computer tists and maverick barkers. As our ination revolution is sleadfasll\ true. nelwoiks (see "Ihe Bulletin Kn.iul »ociet\ shifts from one governed by Small computris inevitably combine I'nilftarijt, p. 7") is to M kiio-\ I- materials to one regulated by infor­ into oppnessivv big bmlhers; small edge the htandint; ol Ihis olher Ihini; mation, those who contnil informa­ computers inevitably empower in­ now living ainoni; us the ciiiuit of tion have political power. Rut con- dividuals. Global communications inliiimation IrollinK information is a slippery make the wiirld smaller; global inloi^ thing. Ihe technologies uf camera, mation makes the universe bigger. Charting the current is partiall) what copier, computer dismantle the time- Art is btunted by machine; artists are Jeanne Carstensen (managing editor honnred notions ot ownenhip. When liberated b) machines. I'he paperless ol Ihe f ssi-n/ii./ Whoh I mil' Ciilalnf;) office in the baik woods generates and I have done in ihis issue. We've more tree-led paper than ever. All used the most veP'atile te<.hn»logt wc true. All contributing to a fluctuating have to date, paper and ink \ou II reality. notice gaps in our crude survev. The bugaboos about copvright and When (he cuircnt comes vour wav, who owns ideas (see ' Betteivd by the send a signal back with what we've Kormwer," p. 1II4I is one example ot missed. this oscillating signal. Being first New Vork publishing doesn't see with an ideji doesn't guarantee power. anvthing of this invisible uprising. Neither does being the laigest. Big We st-nl a couple uf proposals to l*ublisher's Kciw, and gut back a shrug. We're sitting on Ihive times the I amount we couM fit into 144 pages, l^rhaps il s time we slapped it all into a lOugh, home-brewed, reader^ WANT TO written, sell-published, lunky, oi-er- si/e (.Jtalog. Again. XEROX MY Krhaps we are whistling in Ihe daik. If the task of pnnidiiig at i ess to a knowledge econuim strikes you as DREAAAS necessarv, write us.

It's a new sfiLiel\ ot thf sonsos, a trre piiem ol lonlu-iiiin and all posiibili- Iv. I ars, liini;ues, eves, lingers, mist-s, hijins- (lur senstir\ ninite is strelihing into spair V\e re heaiin); miirr, see­ ing more. s,i\ iPt; iniiiv, tn more peo­ ple — >as!ri - across airtva\es. nireft the not of signaU (hat assault us wrrv and V reens. day'' \cw skills must bo learned and the ever-evolving context in which we Inmrnidtiiin travels so last that spare communiLale must be n'cviiluaied al- b (ibMileto, as Mi I uhan piiitiied out. musi dail^ We 'are' wheivwr iiui sensory extcn- sionti in awake - the London slock I'm a little afraid ot mv ow ii culture's discovers new surtaces. New contain- market, the war in the Btrsian C>ulf, love ^fiair with (ommiinications tech- en. \ew skin. It's bv 'pi iv ing" that the persnn nef>A fo us in bed. The trick nnlogy. The mediuin, atler all, is not artists ,ind other innovdlbis eventujily It not til lot>c oneself in the wires, not (he whole message. It's what we sav, oux the R.'al language > out ul media, to ^kip awai on the perpetually nill- and how well. It's Ihe soul we bring so thai 'nc-d:,i keep cm working on a iiig ai!wavcb. To alwavs ioel Ihe warm to our machines that will ihange ihe human stale. breath stretihipi; out lu vou tmm world. An old lesson'* Sif ^ik- Nil IS .ihou*. expinrition' in arrois the pillow the lonimii-ni- aliiins giasnoot' usen But there is much fun to be had in try to pertect ihei' unJ"istanding fat iiom making communiraliun ea- this I burning of Ihe senses. 1 want ot (heir tools, and s>i no! be used sieii the new media of the "informa­ t(i Xenix my dreams. And whv nof b\ them. tion age' demand moie work. Mow laih nieJiuni is a new language with can we make our^t Ivvi hoard thniut;h which b> understand ouiselvus. Xcnxi Hello. • nsL w 0

gVHO^VHiU)'"''-'^

HINKING ABOUT the right kind server in the face; on the contrary, the world is of untranslatable words led me to presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions an altered state of consciousness. which has to be organized by our minds — and It was like looking at the mundane this means largely by the linguistic systems in elements of everyday life through a our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into hew kind of lens, which revealed concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, to me dimensions in my familiar environment that I largely because we are parties to an agreement to simply had not seen before because I didn't know how organize it this way — an agreement that holds to look. That is precisely where the magic of naming throughout our speech community and is codi­ the world, as first practiced by Adam in the garden of fied in the patterns of our language. Eden, can exert a subtle leverage. Finding a name for something is a way of conjuring its existence, of mak­ The words quoted above were written by Benjamin Lee ing it possible for people to see a pattern where they Whorf, an expert on American Indian languages. This didn't see anything before. I gradually came to realize passage from Language, Thought and Reality' is the that the collective human worldview is far larger than heart of the theory that has come to be known as the any one of our individual languages leads us to believe. "Whorfian hypothesis," which asserts that the world After sifting through all the strange, delightful, horri­ is experienced in different ways by different linguistic fying and hilarious things that people use special words communities and proposes that the differences in lan­ to name, I became sympathetic to the idea that people guage actually cause the differences in the way linguistic think and behave the way we do in large part because communities think. In other words, Whorf claimed we have words that make these thoughts and behaviors that language is not just a neutral vessel for conveying possible, acceptable, and useful. thoughts, but is an invisible mold that actually shapes the way people think and perceive. If you want to change the way people think, you can educate them, brainwash them, bribe them, drug them As I looked at the way people around me used words, ... or you can teach them a few carefully chosen new and began to survey the anthropological and linguistic words. I believe that the memes and messages conveyed literature, I realized that certain words are like linguistic by the entries in these pages have the power to change viruses — patterns of meaning that seem to propagate the way you see the world (or, as the Germans would themselves throughout linguistic communities via mys­ say, these words might warp your Weltanschauung). terious, unofficial, ad-hoc channels, because a semantic Ultimately, I think, the foreign words collected and niche in that community is crying out for a precise discussed here have the potential for transforming the word. English is a hodgepodge of such words that have way our entire culture sees the world. This mind-altering found their way into the language. When enough time and culture-shifting side effect of adopting untrans­ passes, Hindi words like pajama or French words like latable words from other languages stems from a phe­ elite simply become acceptable English. nomenon that linguists call "linguistic relativity." There is an intermediate category, a kind of linguistic . . . We dissect nature along lines laid down by waiting room, consisting of words like deja vu (the our native languages. The categories and types French word for the feeling that one has experienced that we isolate from the world of phenomena we something before) or siesta (the Spanish word for a do not find there because they stare every ob­ mid-day nap), that are widely used by English speakers.

People who learn a second language often experience a new part of themselves, a personality or set of perceptions coaxed out of them by the inner nature of the new language. Howard Rheingold's collection of untranslatable words from 44 different languages shifts our perceptions from as many perspectives. His is a dictionary of both words and ideas. It works to reveal the cultural blinders with which we experience the world. Only 16 of the 170 untranslatable words in Howard's forthcoming book. They Have a Word For It, are excerpted here. (It'll be out in March 1988 from Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.) Howard is also author of three other books: Tools For Thought (Prentice- Hall, 1986), The Cognitive Connection (Prentice-Hall, 1987), and Higher Creativity (J. P. Tarcher, 1984). —Jeanne Carstensen

Copyright © 1988 by Howard Rheingoid. From the book They Have a Word For It, reprinted through special arrangement with Jeremy P. Tkrcher, Inc., Los Angeles. To be published in March 1988. ^ 27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 nS divorces the context and conse­ quences from individual actions. Politically, the word refers not to those who believe the end justifies the means, but to those who are so concentrated on the means that they don't even think about the ends.

Koyaanisqatsi (Hopi): Nature out of balance, [noun] The Hopi, who live in the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America, have a word that is appropriate to the kind of situa­ tion that technology often causes when it is misapplied. Koyaani­ sqatsi (koy-on-iss-COT-see) means seers, and laborers truly started "life out of balance." It also means although they are still considered specializing. "a way of life that is so crazy it calls to be "foreign." I was looking for Now that we're beginning to no­ for a new way of living." This word words that weren't yet part of the tice how many of the "miracles of does not necessarily imply an in­ language (or queued up in the Eng- modern science," from bug sprays discriminate condemnation of tech­ Ush-language waiting room), and to disposable diapers, are messing nology; if the Native American which described concepts that might up the system we all live in, usually tribes had been vaccinated against enrich our own worldview, or at because of a ghastly side-effect that smallpox, for instance, before the least offer us insight into the ways wasn't foreseen by the technology's first Europeans showed up, the the English language and Western inventors, investors, consumers and history of the New World might culture restricts the way we think boosters, the German word Fach­ have been written in Algonquin about ourselves and the world. And idiot (FAHKH-ee-dee-oat) is ripe instead of Spanish and English. that is the agenda of this project: for pancultural adoption. The kind But koyaanisqatsi is perfectly ap­ to make visible that which was of person who can pack the trans­ plicable to the kind of misuse of previously unnoticed, to help us to formers that hang on public power technology that creates ecological see new characteristics and possi­ lines with a wonderful insulator or human catastrophes. For exam­ bilities in ourselves, our friends, like PCB, without realizing that it ple, whenever DDT or other insec­ our coworkers. We all inherit a is extremely toxic to all the people ticides are used indiscriminately, worldview along with our native who might step in it when it leaks, the very pests they are intended language. Untranslatable words is only the most dangerous example. to eliminate come back in force help us notice the cracks between because the poison kills all but the worldviews. This word could be adopted globally those who are immune (thus help­ to refer to the way technicians can ing to breed an insecticide-resistant • The author is collecting more untrans­ mishandle affairs when they don't strain of insect), and also kills all latable words for a second edition. Send the insect's natural predators. The your suggestions to Howard Rheingold, c/o trust the concerns of nonspecialists. Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 9110 Sunset Blvd., The way the nuclear accident at hideous bustle of rush hour in Los Angeles, CA 90069. Chernobyl in the Soviet Union or megalopoU is koyaanisqatsi. the chemical disaster at Bhopal in India came about indicated that Antibiotics, which have saved mil- fachidiotic thinking was out of Uons of lives, have been misused to control. The designer of the dispos­ such an extent that there are now Fachidiot (German): Excessively able but nonbiodegradable device super-bacteria that are virtually narrow-minded technical expert, known as the styrofoam cup was a immune to all normal antibiotics. [noun] Fachidiot extraordinaire. But you Some paleontologists assert that don't have to be a technologist to technical and occupational specit- be a Fachidiot: the word is approp­ alization is as old as the human riate in any instance where a person's species, but did not truly thrive degree of specialization causes a until the birth of civilization: in radical narrowing of focus and an order to irrigate the fields of the inability to see "the big picture." A first agricultural communities in Fachidiot is the exact opposite of the Fertile Crescent, work crews a systems-thinker: a person who (and overseers) were needed to dig ditches. Then, when the agricul­ tural surplus allowed people to do something else besides scratching tii€ grouiiu and scouring tue coun­ tryside for enough to eat, came the first building projects: zlggu- rats, pyramids, monoliths. That's where the stonemasons, architects, tax collectors, accountants, over­

WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Hospitals have to be closed when if they are wielded by a skilled hyp­ aloud. People who share the same they become infected with these notist. Words have the power to language, nationality, kinship, clan­ supergerms, and all the linen and enthrall, when they are spoken by a ship, or other cultural heritage have the physical plant has to be steam- charismatic personality. And words special agreements about the mean­ cleaned. When artificial fertilizers have the power to put the most lively ings of words and symbols; they render land infertile, antibiotics person to sleep, when they fall into also have agreements about the breed killer germs, and unchecked the hands of that most dreaded meanings of unspoken words and growth of sunbelt cities uses up conversational specialist — the other symbols that are hidden or underground aquifers that took mil­ bore. Volumes could be written alluded to but never directly dis­ lions of years to accimiulate, the about the many varieties of bore to played. Within a family, the alco­ world is, unfortunately, koya- be found in small towns in Indiana, holism of a family member is an anisqatsi. villages in the New Guinea High­ ever-present unspoken truth, just as lands, or cocktail parties in Man­ the possibility of AIDS is an inevi­ hattan. Of the several differing table unspoken concern in a singles schools of bore theory, all the com­ bar. "Unwritten laws" of many Farpotshket (Yiddish): Something peting factions agree that the worst games, from the playground to the that is all fouled up, especially as of all is the doleful bore, the kind battlefield, govern the conduct of the result of an attempt to fix it. who buttonholes hapless acquain­ formal encounters. And in every [adjective] tances or total strangers who are speech act there is a dichotomy in One of the most important linguistic too kind and innocent to flee at the the mind of each participant be­ categories of the technological age first word, and proceeds to tell long tween pubUc utterances and private is the collection of terms that can be thoughts. At times, most of what used to describe all the ways tools, we say is what we don't say. machines, and systems can go wrong. Two terms that came from the military describe machinery or systems that have gone seriously awry: fubar and snafu. Apocryphal lexicography has it that fubar is an acronym for "fouled up beyond all recovery." and snafu is an acronym for "situation normal — all fouled up." Of course, it is probable that military men used a stronger word than "fouled." But these are rather general terms. Technology requires precise terminology. The Yiddish v/ord farpotshket (far-POTCH-ket, rhymes with "tar NOTCH set") has the degree of specificity required by modern, The old folk-story about "the em­ complex technology, for it refers to and pointless stories of misfortune, peror's new clothes" reveals that we something that is all fouled up, unhappiness, bad circumstances. in the West have long acknowledged especially through repeated failed The Italians have a word for this the power of unspoken truths. But efforts to fix it. If Rube Goldberg type. If you are trying to warn in EngUsh, we don't have a specific was a repairman instead of an in­ somebody to avoid even slight signs word to refer to unspoken truths. ventor, he would be a master of the of recognition, including eye con­ The Kiriwina tribespeople of the art. When something minor goes tact, tell your friend to "watch out Trobriand Islands, however, use the wrong with your car, for example, for the attaccabottoni" (rhymes word mokita (moe-KEE-tah) to and you attempt to repair it and with "a lot of baloney"). refer to the unspoken truths of cer­ turn the damage into something tain social situations that everybody major, you can say that your car is The word literally means "button- knows, but nobody talks about — farpotshket. In a political sense, holer," and can be used as a verb. directly. This distinction is a social the fall of Richard Nixon started When you are referring to the unu­ convention, but it is such a strong out as a "third-rate burglary" that sually aggressive bore who succeeded social convention that it literally got all farpotshket when the White in detaining you on the telephone alters the perceptions of the indivi­ House attempted to cover it up. The on your way out the door, you can duals within that society. Of course, word has a satisfying onomato- say you were attaccatoed. sly allusions and other forms of poetic ring to it, which adds em­ disguised speech can refer to those phasis: "That software was slightly unspeakable facts that everybody in buggy before your programmers a tightly-knit community tends to tried to fix it, but now it is royally Mokita (Kiriwina, New Guinea): A know — who cheated whom, who is farpotshket." truth everybody knows but nobody sleeping with whom, who is out to speaks, [noun] get who, and the specific historical In every culture and in many dif­ instances associated with each act. ferent kinds of social encounters The use of indirect speech is raised Attaccabottoni (Italian): A doleful from back-fence gossip to high- to a high art in cultures like that of bore who buttonholes people and level negotiations, the words that the Kiriwina, where direct speech tells sad pointless tales, [noun] are not voiced can be more impor­ about taboo topics can lead to Words have the power to hypnotize. tant than the ones that are spoken violent death. •

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 There are times when mokita helps We might consider using a word shield people from truths they would like rojong as a general-purpose rather not face, and there are times word for a variety of situations: when it is simply an act of kindness community gardens, urban neigh­ to recognize it. If your brother or borhood tree-planting committees, friend has a very slow child, or one block parties, PTA or church proj­ that closely resembles his best friend, ects, cooperative daycare centers, the whole subject is better left mo­ issue-centered political action kita. When people want to "get groups, energy conservation, health down to business." or to "stop practices — any activities in which beating around the bush," they individuals relate to one another often say: "but the bottom line is within a cooperative, community . . . ," thus referring indirectly to .framework. the unspoken religion of Western civilization (known as "worshipping the almighty dollar"). A heftier ver­ sion of "bottom line," one which fVabi (Japanese): A flawed detail refers directly to a situation that which creates an elegant whole, everybody knows about but nobody [noun] talks about would be: "let's get down to the mokita." The potency To many people who see the world of this phrase, if accepted into the through modern Western sensibili­ language, would be a matter of ties, beauty is represented by the qualitative difference as well as an kind of technological sleekness, increased emphasis: speaking about smoothness, symmetry, and mass- mokita can mean that you are produced perfection that is usually obligated to do something about it. associated with a sportscar or a Rojong (Indonesian): Mutual skyscraper. A highly prized Japanese cooperation, [noun] teacup, which might fetch tens of thousands of dollars from a collec­ This word is closely related to tor, might be very simple, roughly another Indonesian word (gotong) fashioned, asymmetrical and plainly Uovo di Co/omAo (Italian): A that literally means "to carry a colored. It would not be uncommon simple, obvious, idea that doesn't heavy burden together," but the to find a crack. The crack — the occur to the person who could use Indonesians use rojong (roy-YONG) beautiful, distinctive, aesthetic flaw it the most, [noun] to connote the relationship among that distinguishes the spirit of the A man once had a flat tire and a group of people who are commit­ moment in which this object was got out of his car to change it. He ted to accomplish a task of mutual created from all other moments in carefully removed the lugnuts and benefit. In the days when America eternity — might indeed be the very put them down inside the hubcap was a land of small farmers, the feature that would cause a connois­ of the flat tire. But the hubcap spirit of the "barn-raising" involved seur to remark: "This pot has wabi." tipped over and dumped the lugnuts the kind of mutual cooperation the into the storm drain. As it happened, Indonesians mean when they say To say that we don't have a word the car was parked in front of a "the villagers worked in rojong to for wabi in English is not to say lunatic asylum, and one of the build their new mosque." that we are incapable of appreci­ inmates, who had been watching ating this kind of beauty. Perhaps Perhaps we could use a word like more than any other major cultural through the fence, suggested to the this in the modern world, where hapless driver that he remove one belief system, aesthetics Is learnable; the need for some focused spirit of that is, people can be trained to lugnut from each of the other community cooperation has grown wheels, put the spare tire on, and recognize beauty where they used to so acute that some ecologists have see only flaws. Indeed, the idea of drive to a service station. Admir­ characterized the primary global ingly, the driver said: "I never deliberately introducing flaws into problem as a community problem works of art is deeply rooted in wodd have thought of that! How — "the tragedy of the commons." clever!" To which the asylum in­ Western traditions. Because of the mate replied: 'Well, I may be The term goes back to the days Biblical injunctions against graven crazy, but I'm not stupid." when small farmers used a "com­ images, all depictions of humans in mon" area in the center of town to ancient Jewish sculpture were de­ The point of this old joke is that graze their cattle or sheep. As long liberately flawed. When mechanical sometimes the simple, obvious so­ as no members of the community weaving machines came along, the lution to a person's problem doesn't decided to graze more cattle than distinctive imperfections of Persian occur to him until it is pointed out. their neighbors did, everybody got hand-woven rugs became hallmarks The Italians call this kind of idea along. But when the town grew of quality. Which leads to the point an uovo di Colombo (oo-OH-voh large enough so that people didn't of entry into Western culture. It isn't dee koh-LO -boh), which, for some relate to one another as members hard to foresee that wabi, or some­ reason, is a literal translation of the of a community, first one, then thing like it, will become increasingly phrase "Columbus' egg." The next many, and finally too many indi­ important as our economy changes time you wrack your brains for a viduals put their own welfare above from a "mass economy," in which solution that is right in front of that of the group and started grazing wealth is based on large quantities you, instead of excoriating yourself more cattle than the land could of material resources and energy, to or looking sheepish when you are carry. The common areas all over an "informative" economy based caught at it, simply exclaim "what the country became overgrazed and on the design and knowledge built an uovo di Colombo!" didn't do anybody any good. into products and processes.^

VI^HOU EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 As the economic conditions that some kind of dancing. When the act. In India, the land of a million created the "consumer society" people attending the party are single, gods and ten million ways of wor­ change, we seem to be changing the not-too-subtle overtones of shipping, there is a name for phallic our buying habits. One such change mating ritual are added. And then, obsession that takes on a religious is the shift from the goal of owning when the intoxicants have been cir­ intensity: Narachastra Prayoga or consuming a large quantity of culating, and the people have been (NAH-rah-choz-tra prah-YOE-gah) possessions or experiences to the laughing and dancing, and the is the Sanskrit name for the ritual goal of owning or consuming a jukebox has been rocking, people of religious masturbation. smaller number of higher quality who are ordinarily spectators in Alain Danielou, a scholar of the possessions or experiences. Some life suddenly get seized by the pre-Hindu Shivaite religion, quoting economists call this the "European- urge to perform. ization" of American buying habits. the ancient scriptures known as And one of the consequences of It can be assumed that the Bantu- Puranas, describes it thus: this change in what we perceive as speaking people of Africa must "Some Yogis worship their valuable is the return of what used have a respectable heritage in the own sexual organ, that is, the to be called "craftsmanship." That's partying department, since they god's presence in themselves. where wabi comes in. One-of-a- have a word, mbuki-mvuki, to 'The rite of Narachastra kind items will grow increasingly describe the act of shucking off all Prayoga (the casting of the more valuable than their mass- clothing that hinders one's party dart) [meaning the erection produced counterparts. If you want performance! At least one scholar of one's Own sexual organ] to ride the leading edge of the next believes that the Bantu term is the is carried out by using the inevitable aesthetic wave, look for direct precursor for the name that thumb and index finger. The slightly flawed, wobbly, rustic ob­ migrated up the Mississippi along votary rhythmically (japa) jects. And when someone remarks with the music it described — boogie repeats the mantra, Nanas about your old piece of pottery or woogie. If you simply pronounce Shivaya, and covers his organ slightly funky wall-hanging, just "boogie woogie" with a semblance with his hand while repeating smile knowingly and say: "Yes, it of a German accent, and say mmm the tatpurusha mantra... has wabi, don't you think?" with relish before each word: This is called The Hand of Shiva...'" This phrase can come in handy for persons of either sex. Women can use it as a pejorative term, to call a man's attention to his obsessive fix­ ation on genital pleasure. And men can use it as a rationalization for that solitary pleasure which they can't seem to keep themselves from indulging. For the serious meditator who can't seem to escape the tonds of carnal pleasure, it might be an authentic spiritual practice: say the proper words, put yourself in the correct spiritual position, and you can please your Creator as well as yourself.

Maya (Sanskrit): The mistaken belief that a symbol is the same as the reality it represents, [noun] "MMMbookie MMMvookie," you The word Maya is related to the Mbuki-mvuki (Bantu): To shuck can inform your friends about the English word "measure" because off clothes in order to dance, [verb] newest/oldest term for "I'm getting the root ma means "to measure One nearly universal characteristic in a serious party mood." or lay out," as in laying out the of human societies, no matter how plan of a building. It can be defined different they might be in other as "the creation of forms." All aspects, is the social ritual known the countless insects, goddesses, here as "having a party." Whether Narachastra Prayoga (Sanskrit): demons, and wise men are part of life is hard or easy, people seem to Men who worship their own sexual it, as are all the empires and plan­ relish the opportunity to gather for organ, [noun] ets and cycles of history. Those the express purpose of not working In the battle of the sexes, a nearly who know that the goal of Hindu and not acting in their normal universal phenomenon seems to pop theology is to achieve liberation manner. In most cultures, some up all over the world, in every era: from the bonds of illusion often form of intoxicant is used to loosen In every culture, there is a certain mistake Maya for a strictly nega­ inhibitions, because a party, by percentage of men whose actions tive label denoting the illusions that definition, is the kind of ceremony seem to be dictated by the needs of cause suffering. But this is also an where people try to forget all the their sexual organs. And a smaller illusion, for the deeper meaning of constraints and rules of everyday percentage of this group seems to the term is "existence." Maya re­ life, often with embarrassing re­ regard any action that brings them lates not only to the endless play of sults. And most cultures include genital pleasure as an almost sacred forms and the void from which it

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 springs, but to the dangerous at­ that show people slipping on banana Ohrwurm (German): A tune or tachments people tend to develop peels? What is so funny about the* melody that infects a population in relation to their conceptual maps way the Three Stooges bonk one rapidly, [noun] of the world. The founder of gen­ another? One of the peculiar defin­ If a meme is a cluster of semantic eral semantics, Alfred Korzybski, ing characteristics of the human symbols that propagates through a called this tendency to believe one's race seems to be related to our human population in a social man­ measurements are the thing that strange and sometimes sadistic ner — similar to the way a gene is a they measure "the illusion of mis­ sense of humor. Schaddenfreude combination of biochemical sym­ taking the map for the territory." (SHOD-en-froyd-eh) is the German bols that propagates through a word for the kind of joy or laughter An ancient Hindu myth tells of a human population in a genetic that is evoked by witnessing some­ semi-divine ascetic, Narada, who manner — a sudden, wildly popular, body else's pain or bad luck. It is was granted a boon by the god new addition to "the hit parade" one of those traits that sets us apart Vishnu, and who asked to be shown can be seen as a kind of meme. from the animals, but nobody has the secret of Maya. Vishnu, after When the medium of radio and the come up with a plausible reason for warning the seeker not to inquire recording industry that grew up explaining why we possess it. Al­ into this ultimate secret, told Narada alongside it created a system for though it is possible that the sight to dive into a nearby lake. Narada propagating musical themes through of another chimpanzee (particularly emerged from the water as Sushila, a population, a new phenomenon a rival) in distress can be a pleasur­ the daughter of a great king. In due became possible — the "overnight able experience even to nonhuman course, she married an ambitious hit." The idea of a "hit" isn't un­ primates, it takes a true human being king who fought many battles and translatable, since most cultures to think there is anything funny conquered a great empire. Sushila have a word for the winner of a about it. This trait is found among led an exciting life in her various competition. But the idea of a tune, Americans and Brazilians, Manhat- palaces, and bore many children a melody, a combination of musical tanites and Hottentots, and it isn't and grandchildren. Toward the end sounds that seems to be on every­ even confined to adults: any clown of her life, however, a terrible dis­ body's lips at the same time, that could tell you that the pratfall pute broke out between her husband spreads through a society as rapidly is the royal road to a toddler's and father, and they embarked on a as a respiratory infection, and seems funnybone. bloody war that took the lives of to invasively seize and occupy space Sushila's husband, her father, her in people's minds until they finally sons, and her grandsons. With a succeed in forgetting it, merits a heart-weariness that no mortal had word of its own. ever known, she piled the bodies of her loved ones onto a great pyre, ignited it, then dived into the flames. She emerged from the lake that Vishnu had pointed out so many years ago, dripping wet, transformed back to Narada, a male ascetic. "Who is this son whose death you are bewailing?" asked Vishnu, leading Narada out of the crystal pool of Maya. What Narada ex­ perienced, the god explained, was the surface of Maya. Not even the gods know its depths. Reality, by its ^ nature, is never what it seems, just as a word is not the object it sym­ Since this word strikes deep into The Germans use the word Ohr­ bolizes and a map is not the terri­ the mysterious heart of the human wurm (rhymes with "door worm," tory it describes. Sentient beings condition, nobody is quite sure where the "w" is pronounced like a must not lose sight of the void what the idea really means: because "v") to denote these cognitively when they perceive the world as it names the phenomenon but does infectious musical agents. Whenever form, and to see the world as void not explain it, Schaddenfreude can somebody complains to you that he is to lose attachment to the world be used as an all-purpose reaction, just can't keep the latest pop tune of forms. Maya is a word that is tailorable to your feelings at the from running through his head, tell ripe for adaptation here and now. time you see an opportunity to use him he can dispel it by calling it by The next time you see somebody in it. The next time somebody trips name and by thinking about the despair because of their cash-flow and spills his popcorn, and your original German meaning, which situation, or their love life, or even companion bursts into laughter, captures some of the mnemonically the world situation, you can remind then looks at you guiltily, you can parasitical connotations of the word, them of Maya, of Narada's grief, choose a world-weary but essentially for Ohrwurm literally means "ear and ask them "who is this (fill in sympathetic expression and say, worm" and is also used to refer to the blank) you are bewaiUng?" with a warmth tinged by sadness: a kind of worm that can crawl into "Ah. Schaddenfreude." Or you can the ear. • look condescending and say, coldly: 1. Language, Thought and Reality: "Ah. Schaddenfreude." Unless you Selected Writings of Benjamin Whorf Schaddenfreude (German): Joy select neutrality and shrug your (Ed. by John B. Carroll, 1956; MIT Press, that one feels as a result of some shoulders, adopt a puzzled facial Cambridge, MA). else's misfortune, [noun] expression and mutter, in a baffled 2. The Next Economy (Paul Hawken, 1983; Why do people laugh at cartoons tone: "Ah. Schaddenfreude." Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, New York).

8 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 ICH WITH SYMBOLISM AND what the dragon bones prove is that which means "person," resembles a an aesthete's delight, the over the centuries, written Chinese man, while the origins of ,tt» , meaning R. Chinese language has long has remained remarkably unchanged. "horse," can be traced to early pic- served as a national art form while It is easily the oldest living language tographs resembling a roughly sketched doubling as a calligraphic barrier to on the face of the earth, and like any horse. The roots of other characters, foreign Influence. In recent years, old-timer who has been through it all, though, are not so easily pegged, and though, with an eye toward joining the language seems hellbent on resist­ many have no pictographic story be­ the global marketplace, China has ing technological taming. hind them at all. In fact, the Chinese learned how to digitize her ancient language is properly considered ideo­ Unlike just about every other lan­ brush strokes onto floppy disks and graphic, since each character conveys guage, Chinese "words" are not the dot matrix printers, and the artistic a unit of meaning, that is sometimes product of a phonetic alphabet. There and cultural barrier is beginning to but not necessarily in picture form. are no constructions from basic vowel crumble. With an increase in com­ Moreover, since each ideogram has or consonant sounds; rather, Chinese puterization, however, is the highly no inherent pronunciation, the Chinese characters are independent, fully stylized language also destined to have spun off so many spoken dialects grown, meaningful syllables. Each crumble? that regional groups can understand character is composed of a pattern each other only in writing. Like all languages, Chinese is an evolv­ of strokes, often forming a sort of ing symbology; it has survived, after simplified picture of the character's Today there are more than 50,000 all, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and meaning. characters in the Chinese language. the Industrial and Cultural Revolutions. While only 5,000 to 8,000 are In every­ The character , for example. True, no Age before this one — the day use, that is still 250 times more Information Age — has so blatantly than the 26 symbols that together tinkered with l|anguage itself. But provide English with its working vo­ probably no other language has pre­ cabulary. This diversity explains the sented such an enormous challenge fundamental problem of getting Chi­ to those who would reduce It to bits nese "on line": there is no possible and bytes. way to work quickly and efficiently on a keyboard that requires a minimum The story of how programmers are of 5.000 keys. putting the Chinese language onto sili­ con chips begins in China's Honan Pro­ The problem has become acute in the vince with a tale about dragon bones. past ten years, in conjunction with a growing international interest in the Dragon bones — unusually smooth Chinese marketplace. Hugh Mah, skeletal pieces, believed to be per­ president of a Canadian high-tech iodically shed by dragons — were mineral exploration firm, remembers popular Chinese medicinals. Ground his first contract negotiating sessions into dust and simmered in a broth, in the People's Republic of China. It they were used to treat a variety of was 1980, and his company was on ailments. But dragon bones were not the verge of signing an agreement all that easy to find, and lucky the with the Chinese government. But farmer whose plow would unearth one with each improved draft a few words so he could sell it to an apothecary. were changed, and the entire docu­ Around the turn of the century, an ment had to be rewritten — by hand. observant customer at one of these "We went there thinking that some­ pharmacies noticed some curious body would hammer this out oh a markings on the surface of his dragon typewriter or a word processor and bone. Subsequent investigation by we'd get a document," Mah recalls, Chinese scholars showed that other "but in China you just can't do that." dragon bones bore similar inscriptions Mah is but one of many Western — inscriptions that proved to be some businessmen who. In attempting to of the oldest on earth, and that today My most personal computer, the one between penetrate the nascent Chinese market, provide a glimpse of the world's my ears, is still attempting to masver lite ran into a language barrier rivaling the earliest Chinese writings. Chinese language after two ^rs of study. country's Great Wall. In Mah's case, a Dragon bones, it turns out, are ac­ Chinese is easy. The difficult part ts forget­ contract was eventually crafted, but tually ancient ox bones and tortoise ting English. Whether China will forget Chinese the process took longer than he had shells, highly polished and apparently in order to master computers is the 800- ever anticipated. And the next con­ used as oracles by Shang tribesmen million-person question. I figure that if the tract, he realized, would not be any about 3,500 years ago. They heated hieroglyphic culture of the Pacific Rim can easier, because the difficulty was the bones over fire after making their squeeze itself intact through the looking-glass rooted in the language itself. For Inscriptions, and interpreted the re­ of computers, then it'll continue to gush although Chinese typewriters do sulting patterns of cracks as answers poetry and technology for a long, long time. exist, they are unwieldy contraptions to political or religious questions that with thousands of metal slugs — often Traveling in Asia for a year to study this shamans had asked in advance. requiring operators to use their feet metamorphosizing culture, particularly its as well as their hands. "Getting five Today, 35 centuries later, about half music. Rick Weiss wound up his apprenticeship or ten characters per minute is a of the roughly 2,500 characters found in China by circumnavigating Tibet. A major accomplishment," says Mah. It on Shang oracle bones are still trans­ medical technologist with a degree in journal­ was simply more efficient to compose latable into modern Chinese. Some ism, R/ck is staff writer for the handiest weekly by hand. characters have been dropped and science magazine in print. Science News. many new ones have been added, but —Kevin Kelly Even more frustrating in this high-

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 tech age, China's written language has An oracle bone used by soothsayers of the dozen pen strokes that are added to until recently remained unintelligible Shang period (I78«-I I3S BC), who interpreted the radical in variousipatterns. the meaning of cracks formed by red-hot rods. to computers and word processors The inscriptions record the occasion and There are 214 radicals in modern around the world. Recently, however, questions asked of the oracle by the king. a brand new field of Chinese-language Chinese, and these constitute the software has been pioneered by com­ major headings of every Chinese dic­ puter scientists and linguists from , tionary or code book. You might as well give up on such reference books both sides of the Pacific in an attempt •. ^?', to make the Chinese language more unless you can pick out a character's computer-compatible. A look at this radical — which is buried somewhere process of software development in a flurry of strokes. Having done so shows just how formidable the task and turned to the proper one of 214 has been. headings, you proceed to count the L number of additional strokes in your It's a simple matter with a 26-charaCter character and look for the subhead­ alphabet to touch-type a message, ing that matches that number. From have the computer encode it, and there, you must scan through the send It on its way as pulses of light. entire section until stumbling across Once a language is digitally encoded the exact character in question. into pulses of light, cultural and lin­ guistic differences are temporarily •h' To find the meaning, for example, of erased. Chinese poetry, American the character '^j, you first have to stock reports, and Soviet airline reser­ recognize the three-stroke radical, vations can travel together at the '-'». It is one of 35 three-stroke speed of light, through laser switches radicals indexed in the dictionary. '•yw that open and close a billion times Then, you must count the number of per second, and none will pick up its additional strokes (in this case, seven) neighbor's accent. Later, upon arrival and look under the dictionary sub­ at its destination, the message can be heading for characters with the radical decoded and almost miraculously that have seven additional strokes. As reinfused with all the subtlety and it turns out, there are seven different Itemperament that a written font number 0147, for example, represents characters with that radical and with lean contain. the character ;;(;^ ("big"), and 4891 seven additional strokes (all of them represents the character,Jv("smaH"). somewhat different in one way or But Chinese has a problem at the With only ten keys, numbered one another). After a while, you'll come "on-ramp" stage of this fiber optic through ten, the system can encode across the one that you want. freeway. With thousands of different close to 10,000 characters — more Tedious as this process can be, it is characters to choose from in each than enough for the average person the basis for a passable system of sentence, every system of Chinese In­ to say what he must in a telegram. put has been too slow to take advan­ typing Chinese using a 26-character tage of high speed telecommunication But suppose that you, like one billion keyboard. Such a system allows the and information processing systems. other people in the world, speak and typist or computer operator to ac­ write Chinese, and you want to type tually "build up" a character from its The input problem was first tackled a letter to a Chinese friend. The component parts. The keyboard op­ by early designers of China's enor­ four-digit system would be unwieldy erator first types in an alphanumeric mous telegraph system. The word at best. code for the desired radical, then "telegram" in Chinese is a combina­ types in a number of additional two- For starters, you'd need to consult the tion of two written characters: the to five-digit codes — each one rep­ code book for all but the most com­ character for "electric" and the resenting a pattern of strokes which, monly used characters, and already you character for "newspaper." A trip to when combined, will appear as a single, are confronted with a problem: for a the "electric newspaper" office is a complete character. writing system that is based upon pic­ must In China, as the place exudes tures and not letters, there can be no But you don't need a degree in com­ the atmosphere of exaggerated bu­ such thing as alphabetical order puter science to realize that a system reaucracy for which China has by like this wastes valuable time. When a now become so well known. If China To find the code for the picture- computer's abilities are measured in (as the president of a Silicon Valley character "horse," should you look millions of operations per second, computer company recently observed) before or after the page that has the you don't want to be poking around resembles an entire nation run by the picture for "man"? Where in the on a numerically coded keyboard, U.S. Postal Service, then the Chinese book — or in a dictionary, for that putting the final touches on the upper Post & Telegraph Office is the heart matter — do you look for the charac­ left-hand corner of your next Chinese and soul of the bureaucratic beast. ter f (meaning "down" or "under")? character. Would it be before or after, or even But despite the appearance of disarray anywhere near, the character'J;^ The tedious nature of keying in Chi­ — the jumble of paperwork, the (meaning "up" or "above")! nese is reflected in the word processing meandering queues, the pens invariably fees that are posted at the business out of ink — China's telegraph offices Happily, most of China's thousands executive center in Guangzhou's China are home to one of the most reliable of characters are structurally related, Hotel. A business letter in English is systems for transmitting Chinese making it possible to order them. four Yuan per page. In Chinese, the characters over the wires. Every Chinese character is made up fee is 18 Yuan — more than four of two main components — the so- times the cost, and an explicit indica­ Chinese telegrams are simply a series called radical or root picture that tion of the difficulties involved. Calligraphy by of numbers, in which every four digits determines the character's "family," Jean Long. represent a particular character The and an additional array of up to two Unfortunately, in this age of cost-

10 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 A print shop In Taipei, language. A novice may well manage Taiwan, 1987. Tlie to voice the desired syllable, but typesetter is selecting type from an entire chances are good that the tone will wall of characters. be wrong — so something entirely unintended is said. The word mai is a frequently cited example. When spoken with a dipping tone, it means "to buy." When spoken with a dropping tone, it means "to sell." It doesn't take much of an imagination to see how a tone-deaf visitor could get into trouble. Similarly, ma, when spoken with a dipping tone, means "horse." But say it with a cilfferent tone and it refers to your mother, and in a neutral tone ma takes everything you've just said and turns it into a question. The characters for these homonyms are written entirely differently, so benefit analyses, it Is difficult to for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet," there is no confusion in written script. justify hanging on to a language that adopted during the First National With Latin-alphabet Pinyin, though, Is more expensive to produce than People's Congress in 1958, spells out the words are spelled exactly the some foreign script. So in order to that new language — an official trans­ same, so it becomes necessary to join the age of laser disks and desktop literated version of spoken Chinese. include markings above each vowel to publishing, the Chinese have been The language, called PInyin, provides indicate the syllable's proper tone. forced to do something that in any a standard Latin alphabetized spelling This is not an insurmountable problem other age would be considered un­ for every spoken word in the Chinese for Pinyin touch-typists. In a number thinkable: surrender to the relatively language. of currently used systems, the typist artless but globally recognized Latin In fact, several different transliteration can either hit one of four shift keys alphabet, and learn to communicate systems have been developed over the to indicate first, second, third, or with the world through a standard decades, most of them devised by fourth tone, or type in a number (I, 26-character keyboard. Western scholars as an aid to trans­ 2, 3, or 4) after each syllable to in­ lation and pronunciation. But now it is dicate, for example, whether you Such a compromise may seem unfair the Chinese, not foreigners, who are meant "buy" or "sell." to the Chinese people, who, after all, taking refuge in the Western alphabet. invented the world's earliest moveable And after years of avoiding the con­ Once Pinyin is keyed in it's a very sim­ type. It Is the Chinese, too, whom troversial transition, the Chinese gov­ ple task for a properly programmed we can thank for developing paper, ernment Is now Insisting that PInyin computer to convert the Pinyin into designed In those days not for daisy- be taught in all of China's schools. characters. Contracts can be typed wheel printers, but for brushes and and processed in Pinyin on a standard inksticks that were themselves works According to China's most recently keyboard, then printed out moments of art. released foreign-language text, PInyin later in full-form characters. Later, if is being promulgated "to facilitate the Furthermore, In terms of the amount it becomes necessary to change a few learning of Chinese characters, help words, the Pinyin is easily word- and quality of information that they unify pronunciation, and popularize contain, there is really no comparison processed, and a revised copy can the common speech." PInyin, notes be printed in characters again. between phonetic and ideographic the somewhat polemical text, "has writing systems. Written Chinese, for years been used among foreign But in addition to the problem of especially when put to paper with its learners of Chinese, and has been written homonyms that sport differ­ intended Instrument, the brush, is a found much useful and helpful." ent tones, there is a second aspect richly emotional script full of nuance to the Chinese homonym problem — Useful and helpful as PInyin is. It still and movement. Indeed, It is not only a final linguistic monkey wrench that leaves something to be desired for due to the limitations of keyboards has caused a lot more frustration would-be softv/are developers. To un­ that the Chinese have been slow to than simply having to pay attention derstand the problem requires a little give up the brush. Penmanship and to differences in tones. calligraphy are matters of great pride background about spoken Chinese. In China, and the idea of a letter- Mandarin, the official Chinese dialect There are many Chinese characters quality printer making every -J- spoken in the People's Republic, has a that have entirely different meanings exactly the same is, for most Chinese, highly expressive sing-song quality, but which in spoken Chinese are pro­ beyond the pale of calligraphic good that is a more formalized part of the nounced exactly the same. In Pinyin taste. Even a computer-generated language than a foreign visitor might then, these are not only spelled the Chinese character, however, contains at first realize. The language makes same, but share the same tone as more information than the purely use of four distinct tones (in addition well. One estimate is that there are phonetic symbols that cover this page. to a fifth so-called "neutral tone"). roughly 25 different characters for Any given syllable may have four dif­ every Pinyin word with a given tone. Nonetheless, the Chinese govern­ ferent meanings depending on the ment has as one of its long-term goals The syllable yi is an extreme example. tone with which it is voiced. the gradual replacement of written When spoken in a dipping tone, yi can Caliigraphy Chinese with a Latin alphabet-based This is a matter of great frustration still have over 120 different meanings, by Professor phonetic writing system. "The Scheme to anyone learning Chinese as a second represented by 120 completely differ- Joseph La

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO CA 94965 il ent characters. The only way to tell (Left) Twelve passible just which yi a person intends to com­ ways of writing the character Shou — >m.^ municate is to know which yi makes "Long Life." sense in the sentence — something (Right) A typical we humans do automatically. Chinese typewriter — weighing 70 But what about the computer! When pounds. The typist the Pinyin word yi is typed into the must aim a strike computer (specifyirig with a number arm at one of two thousand character key that dipping tone is intended), slugs. Seven thou­ the machine has no way of knowing sand less frequently which of 120 dipping-tone yi's you used characters are kept nearby. The meant, and so has no way of knowing fastest Chinese which of 120 characters to print. As typist averages only twenty characters if it weren't bad enough having to per minute. transliterate and type in tone num­ bers for every syllable, the computer I is s^ll not quite sure which yi the typist desires. Of the many computer systems that convert Pinyin to characters, nearly all rely on a rather inglorious means of choosing the desired character: suppose you are using Pinyin to type a Chinese memo. Whenever (and it will be often) you type a word of Pinyin with multiple meanings, the computer will present you with a string of alter­ natives — a menu of characters all pronounced yi, for example — and m you must manually choose the char­ acter you'd intended before being allowed to go on to the next word.

Clearly, this is a labor-intensive method Chinese students to become tech­ acter ji you'd intended before allow­ for getting an otherwise intelligent nical interpreters. ing you to continue with your input. machine to print in Chinese. Indeed, "I was constantly in need of a tool to Becker, though, programmed his pro­ to some it was beginning to seem cessor to know that when ji follows that the Chinese language had been write efficiently In Chinese text," he recalls. After some research, he fei it's almost always meant to be completely dismantled in the name of "machine" ji, not "chicken" ji, and so progress — but to no real advantage. found there was no such thing, and decided to develop his own. automatically prints the character Enter Peter Leimbigler, a Ph.D. Sino­ that means "machine." Leimbigler was aware of work done logist and language teacher living in by Joseph Becker and others at Xerox Of course, the typist may in fact have Canada. Leimbigler saw the need for Corporation, that had partially solved been writing about a flying chicken, in a Chinese-language software that the homonym input problem. In de­ which case he'd have to go back and could take advantage of the Latin veloping a multilingual word processor correct the machine. But by looking alphabet, but that would more accu­ for Xerox, Becker's team dealt with at combinations of characters instead rately reflect the Chinese linguistic characters in groups of two or three, of individual ones, the Xerox system gesto/t. The problem with existing instead of translating single characters cut down on the number of manual software, he realized, was that it individually. Many Chinese words are choices, and made life a lot simpler broke the language down into byte- made up of two or more characters. for the computer operator. sized elements — but then failed to Alone, a character may have several re-integrate those bytes into larger Leimbigler went one step further. possible meanings, but when used units of meaning. In a sense, Western Instead of looking at small groups with another only one choice may software was too busy with the nuts of characters, he looked at entire 1^ make sense. and bolts of transliteration, and ig­ phrases — even sentences and para­ nored the overall blueprint of the living The Chinese word for "airplane," for graphs — and so began to teach his Chinese language that had evolved so example, is composed of two charac­ computer to "understand" context. subtly over its thousands of years. So ters: ^ , pronounced fei (voiced in Leimbigler started by picking one Leimbigler approached the problem in Chinese first tone) and ^J^, pro­ category of speech that seemed a more expansive way, and created a nounced ji (also voiced in first tone). important to Chinese translators: software program almost as elegant Literally translated, the two char­ business communications. He then as the venerable language itself. His acters mean "flying machine." fed 500 sample Chinese business software suggests that even the most But there are several different char­ letters through a traditional Pinyin- iE3 complex of languages can indeed be acters pronounced )/' (first tone). One, to-character conversion program very extruded through silicon chips without S" for example, means "chicken" instead much like the Xerox system, using dooming its integrity or the culture of "machine." Most Chinese word a standard 26-character keyboard. that it serves. processors, not knowing whether Every time the machine chose an in­ you meant "flying chicken" or "flying correct character, however, he pro­ In 1983, Leimbigler was working in machine" would insist that you stop grammed a new rule — based on British Columbia, training visiting typing and manually select the char­ sentence and paragraph context —

12 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 that would help the machine make operator's typing speed — although, Chinese student, after watching the the correct choice in the next similar later, as in any document, it's necessary computer correctly convert a linguis­ situation. to proofread and correct errors — tically challenging sentence he'd typed "I had a portable computer with me estimated to be about one percent. into the system. Soon the session all the time," Leimbigler recalls, "so turned into a game of "Beat the The system does have some inherent Machine," with students typing in each day when I was on the ferry weaknesses. It's impossible, for ex­ between Vancouver and Victoria I Pinyin puns to see if the system . ample, for the system to guess the would get the joke. would plug it in and have a one-hour correct written character for proper teaching session for my machine." names — but then, neither can a per­ Some challenges were beyond any After Leimbigler had spent a year son. One can't know, for example, machine's powers of intuition. One observing mistakes and patiently cor­ when meeting a Mr. Zhang, which student with a penchant for homo­ recting them, his system had "learned" one of 25 characters (all pronounced nyms typed, "You ren kan shu, you ten to convert any business correspon­ Zhang) the man uses to write his kan shu," meaning "some people look dence with a 99-percent accuracy own name. This is why, upon being at books, some people cut down trees." rate. Moreover, because the machine introduced to a stranger in China, With its database only aware that the was so good at recognizing context, one's immediate question is "Which word shu ("book") occurs more fre­ Leimbigler found it no longer necessary Zhang?" or "Which Li ?" To which quently in Chinese than the homonym to input tone marks — an advance Mr Zhang or Mr. Li replies by tracing shu ("tree"), and lacking enough con­ that eliminated one key stroke for the proper character on the palm text to differentiate kan ("to look every syllable. of his hand. at") from the homonym kan ("to cut"), the machine thought a moment Leimbigler later trained his machine in and made its decision — and printed less specialized areas of communica­ With the advent of systems like Tian­ the characters for "Some people tion, by typing in articles from the Ma (others are close to market), the look at books, some people look People's Oaily, China's official daily last major barrier to Chinese language at books." newspaper. conversion appears to be crumbling once and for all. A recent demonstra­ TianMa ("Heavenly Horse"), as the tion of the system at U.C. Berkeley's Everyone laughed at the machine's system has been named, never stops Institute of East Asian Studies drew a lack of logic. Nevertheless, there was to ask which character is intended. small but duly impressed crowd of something very satisfying — some­ Based on context, it makes its best Chinese and American scholars. thing close to pride — In seeing those guess and just keeps going. Input ancient Chinese characters alive and speed is limited only by the keyboard "Oh! Like magic!" exclaimed one well, glowing green on the screen. • j^ff ^m jiffl ^-g 0 Chinese Word Processors %^'SCW^ The complexifies of Chinese have been married to the 86Kn conveniences of personal computers. Of several Chinese 694K a MM. software programs I know about, the Kuo Chiao program and, of course, word processors) that might want to speak is the most affordable ($174). It allows four methods of Chinese. Called ZhongWen (Chinese for "Chinese"), it is entering words as characters: I) by Pinyin (Roman letters); currently available only from Hong Kong or Taiwan Apple 2) by Chinese phonetics; 3) by radical and stroke order; distributors, or through the Apple Programmers and De­ and 4) by creating your own. Each way gives you 10,000 velopers Association (APDA). —Kevin Kelly full-blooded Chinese cfiaracters (or newfangled simplified Kuo Chiao Chinese Characters: Version 1.0. $174 postpaid ones) ready to be word processed, left to right or up to from Key International, 834 Henderson Ave., Sunnyvale, down. Runs on an IBM compatible with a graphics card. CA 94056; 408/247-6220. Far more elegant is the program TianMa (Heavenly Horse). TianMa: Version 2.06. $615 postpaid from Pacific Rim It has similar input methods, but does sophisticated word Connections, 3030 Atwater Drive, Burlingame, CA analysis in which it will select the proper character based 94010; 415/699-0911. on the other words in a phrase (see preceding article). This semi-intelligence requires massive memory, so it comes with a dedicated RAM card for the IBM PC. You'll An original Con­ still need a graphics card. It will manipulate 9,000 char­ fucian proverb and acters, traditional or simplified. Costs $615. Its English trans­ lation using the The most graphic heavyweight Chinese word processor Kuo Chiao pro­ runs on the Macintosh. Called FeiMa (Flying Horse), the gram. Surrounding Confucius said" program boasts the usual way of entering characters as this review is the "Hlwn friends CM« froi afar, well as two others: pick one out of o scrolling dictionary, desktop screen of or type in the English word and it will translate. The the ZhonWen it is a pleasant thing. graphic superiority comes at the price of a smaller glos­ operating system When you review what yai have learr on the Macintosh. sary. The Mac Plus version ($400) comes with 2,400 words it is also a pleasant thing." (enough to write a newspaper story), with an additional 3,080 words in the hard-disc version ($590). You can get ^^^'•SB a limited version that allov/s only Pinyin entry of 2,400 FeiMa: S version $200; regular version $400; SE version words for $200. $590, all postpaid from Unlsource Software, 23 East Apple has recently written a Chinese operating system for Street, Cambridge, MA 02141; 617/477-8383. the Macintosh. It serves as a foundation for any kind of APDA: membership $25. 290 SW 43rd Street, Renton, software program (spreadsheets, file managers, games WA 98055; 206/251-6548. owl (BIO'J^COUSTICS fHaSitat amBience & ^cotogicai batanu

BY BERNARD I. KRAUSE, Ph.D.

£ i HE PURELY BIOLOGICAL AMBIENT to emulate the sounds of birds and land animals. They " m sounds of our habitat are extremely hard to had learned what animals instinctively knew. Their lives ^_ find these days. All but obscured by human- often depended on sound as well as sight. Even when there induced masking noise, these creature voices was Uttle or no light, a message could always be transmit­ are trying to tell us in their own way something we haven't ted through the air by sound. Aristotle was the first West­ yet learned. The message is subtle The theme is life, itself. ern person to write about sounds underwater. And 2,000 R. Murray Schafer, the Canadian sound environmentalist years later, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) found a way who worked on the World SoundScape Project during the to hear the sound of ships at a distance and very probably '70s, said in reference to the importance of sound in our the sound of marine mammals, too. The oceans were lives, "Everything that is ignored returns. And so progres­ much quieter then. We hadn't yet subdued the fish of sive society finds itself afflicted with noise pollution, that the sea. is, with all the sounds it pushed out the door into vehe­ It was about 50 years ago that the scientific community ment obscmty. Nature has thrown them back deliberately began to pay serious attention to the sounds of specific to force us to listen again. And this is happening. As liter­ animals and not until the past ten years that natural am­ acy passes — telephone instead of letter, radio instead of bient sound itself was thought to hold significant infor­ newspaper, disc instead of score, cassette instead of mation. Biological sounds were first captured, retained, typewriter — the visual-analytical world is pushed back and studied in the late 19th Century when the wire re­ into place and the sounding world moves forward. How corder was invented. But those early audio tools were many sounds are there in the universe? Precisely the all but impossible to handle in the field; their frequency number of things there are minus one. It takes two things response was limited and the sound quite distorted. It to make a sound, but paradoxically, when fwo things col­ wasn't until the 1960s that reel-to-reel and cassette re­ lide only one sound is produced. Another case of one corders compact and well-calibrated enough for field use plus one equals one." were manufactured. This event opened up the field of Hunter-gatherers knew well the importance of being able bio-acoustics.

Bernard Krause's acoustical-habitat theory is a scientific "Song in the Key of Life. " Drawing on years of environmental sound research, he finds that each place on Earth has a unique acoustic bio-spectrum — or sound key — that is an integral part of ecosystem communication. Bernard's audio achievements are impressive, to say the least: as an electronic musician he's recorded with 40 bands, from Jimmy Cliff to the Tubes, and worked on innumerable film and television scores; he has a Ph.D. in bio-acoustics and has recently been named Research Associate for the Cornell Library of Natural Sounds and Field Associate of the California Academy of Sciences. At the time of this writing Bernard is in Rwanda recording mountain gorillas. And with his "Tools for Environmental Record­ ing" (p. 16), you too can record bullfrogs, mallards, mosquitos, and the like. —Jeanne Carstensen

WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 It is very hard now to find any place on the planet quiet I recorded humpback whales in Hawaii and killer whales enough to just listen, let alone record. And when you find along the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska. And it, sadness will come to you as you begin to realize what I began to wonder just how these vocalizations fit into aural beauty has been lost to progress. In the most remote the entire bio-spectrum of audio events because they cer­ places of the Amazon Basin sounds from the logging tainly weren't the only sounds present. In listening to the camps cutting away the rain forests carry literally for miles. acoustical ambience on land and in the water night after After tracking a leopard for several days in Kenya we final­ night, the thought of an extended hypothesis occured to ly got close enough to record only to have our efforts me of another way of hearing these sounds — ways in thwarted by the strains of a Marvin Gaye music track com­ which the creatures themselves might be hearing them. ing from a ghetto-blaster somewhere over the horizon. Quite simply, it is based on the premise that every loca­ Some of us don't yet know that the sounds that creatures tion on earth has a unique acoustical bio-spectrum (as­ make hold a very special significance. But it's very late suming the presence of biological life) that provides in­ and we're just now learning to listen again. formation as to the dynamics of the ecosystem in that place. By sampling the bio-acoustics of a specific area There's been a vast amount of work over the past 30 years over periods of time and under different conditions, we related to species-specific recording — that is, single- might be able to find ways to predict how certain human- animal vocalizations — in an effort to understand what induced, biological or geological audio changes might it is they are using their vocalizations for. When I was affect the ecosystem as a whole. Conversely, when nor­ working on my doctorate in the late '70s and early '80s, mal audio patterns change, how they might be telegraph­ ing other significant alterations in the system, which Dr. Leighton Taylor of the California Academy of Sciences suggests is another manifestation of the "Gaia Hypothe­ sis" (originally proposed by Drs. James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis): where the ecosystem acts as an organic whole to influence the environment in which the organ­ isms coexist. We first conceived this acoustical habitat ambient theory during a trip in 1982 to the Amazon Basin where we dis­ covered, having recorded fifteen minute samples every hour in one location over a period of many weeks, that given weather, time of day and season, there appeared to be a measurably stable acoustical bio-spectrum quite unique to that particular place — no less than a sound key. What was so unusual about the spectrograna evalua­ tion of our recordings upon our return was very strong evidence that when one vocal creature ceased to reproduce sounds, it would soon be replaced by yet another in the same part of the audio spectrum, thus appearing to keep intact the special ambient sound key of that habitat. When we moved as little as 100 meters in one direction or another, the measurable ambient spectrum was different. When we recorded on different nights at the same loca­ tion but at different times, we got spectrogram matches for each habitat. We observed similar phenomena while recording in Kenya a year later. Again, in various loca-

The author at the Marin County Headlands recording waterfowl using the Nagra IVs recorder and Schoeps 541 microphones. See "Tools for Environmental Recordtaig" (next page) for details.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 9496S 15 fig.l i%.2 I:l!JJ?-iti

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14 MAY 1986, 2100hrs. 16 MAY 1966, OlOOhr tions in Alaska and British Columbia and in several ma­ each case, approximately 10 seconds. Figure 1, taken at rine environments as well. 9:00 PM on May 14th, shows pronounced horizontal pat­ terns in the 2kHz., 3kHz., 5kHz., and 6kHz. ranges. 31 The spectrograms shown in Figures 1-4 were taken from hours later at 3:00 AM, at the same location, the pattern a series of recordings made on Pic Paridis in St. Maar- is virtually the same (Fig. 2). However, when we moved ten in the Virgin Islands in mid-May 1986. The range less than 100 meters to another location where the vegeta­ from bottom to top of the spectrogram shows the fre­ tion appeared to us to be pretty much the same, the pat­ quency from lowest to highest. The darker portions in­ terns, recorded on the same evenings and time intervals, dicate those parts of the frequency spectrum which are Ukewi'se matched for that specific location (Figs. 3 and most intense or loud. The scale from right to left indi­ 4). Yet, probably because of regional similarities, the spec­ cates the amount of time represented on the page — in trograms in Figures 3 and 4 seem to retain some of the same lower frequency components at lower amplitude as Figures 1 and 2, while, at the same time, demonstrating

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, you can record a cide it was time to vocalize and simply taped whole lot of sound with equipment that costs the mike and recorder to a nearby wall. The as little as $110. But before you get in your quality of the recordings was not the greatest car and head to Radio Shack, consider these TooCsfor because there is a short time lag (40-50ms.) questions: between the time the recorder detects a sound and when it gets fully up to speed. So 1. What do I want to record? Specific ani­ "Lnvirontmntat you lose the onset of the activating vocal­ mals? General ambience? ization. However, you will get the ones that 2. Where do I want to record? Weather %tcording follow. With a little editing and signal pro­ conditions? Land-based environments? Marine cessing (filtering and gating) when you get environments? the tapes home, the recordings will be per­ fectly functional. 3. To what use will these recordings be put? jy Bernard L. Kmuse, Ph.D. Now, back to the first statement. $59.95 If you're going to seriously record birds or buys you a perfectly good mono standard whales, however, you'll need better equip­ cassette recorder at Radio Shack. It's called ment that won't have as much of a tenden­ the Minissette 15 and it's voice-activated cy to distort at higher frequencies. Sony which means that it starts when a signal is makes two viable stereo recorders: the loud enough to activate the "record' elec­ Walkman Pro and the TCD5M. For evening tronics and stops when there is silence for or dawn choruses and ambient sound in a certain period of time. This allows you to general, couple either of these recorders sleep in your tent knowing full well that you with a pair of Sony ECM 155 microphones, won't miss much vocal creature activity, at small wind screens to cut out puffs of ubi­ least for the duration of the tape length and quitous wind, clip them to your shoulders the life of your batteries. Radio Shack also and you're in business. The ECM l5Ss are sells a PZM (Pressure Zone Microphone) for omnidirectional, meaning that they pick up $44.95 that makes up a perfectly function­ signal from all directions. The last five minutes al system for recording evening and dawn of Noture (an album of mine released by The choruses and a few specific animals (if loud Nature Company) were recorded with my enough). I've used this system to record pen­ TCD5M and two ECM 155s clipped to the guins at the California Academy of Sciences windshield wipers of my rental car on a and gorillas at the San Francisco Zoo. I mountaintop in a St. Maarten, V.I., rain fo­ couldn't wait around for the animals to de­ rest. For me, the TCD5M has a slight edge in that it has a combination of Dolby B, switchable limiter, a little more dynamic and frequency range, more accessible metering.

16 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 fig. 3 fi£. 4

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14 MAY 1986, 2130 hr 16 HAY 1986, 0345 hr: a significant difference in the higher frequency compo­ Once again, we appear to be in a race with a biological nents because of local habitat bio-spectra. clock to get information before it disappears forever. It In that regard, we continue to develop and gather base- is our strong impression that there exists not only spe­ Une data on this research project that we hope will have cies-specific voices but a unified chorus of biological significant implications. Among the questions that need voices that each day and night reaches out to convey its to be considered: In what ways (if at all) do animals uti­ special message. While large electronic scanner dishes lize these bio-acoustical spectra as beacons? Are there search the planets for signs of life, we desperately need regional and local bio-acoustic habitat grids through to focus a few on the very bio-acoustic rhythms and which they travel to help them orient to one place or themes from which we draw ancient knowledge of our another? What happens when there is an acoustical im­ sustenanca s ' balance such as human-induced masking noise or a biological change in a given habitat?

and, in general, offers better human- ite.) Since most of my work involves both vest in Schoeps Cut 1 filters .. . about $400 engineering for field work. the recording of large fields of ambient sound a pop. These are necessary to attenuate the and specific creatures, the hypercardioid (or very low frequency wind material that would But the DC-3, the worlabout 35 'mph, you will machine which, with certain factory modifi­ Now for the serious part; the price. A Nagra need Rycote Zeppelins: large plastic-netted, cations, takes 7" reels of 1/4" wide tape. IVs (stereo) will set you back somewhere be­ zeppelin-shaped protectors that tend to With the right combination of tape and in­ tween $4,200 used and $8,300 — $10,800 disperse the force of the wind. On top of put transducer (microphone or hydrophone), new depending on what features you get with these go Schoeps Windjammers. These look one can cover pretty much the entire range the machine. And the Schoeps 541 combina­ like furry slippers and fit oyer the Rycotes. of human hearing (20Hz. - 20kHz.). The tion begins at around $930 per unit. Because And so with an additional $580.00, you're machine has three speeds: 3.75, 7.5 and 15 of their extreme sensitivity to wind, you will ready to REALLY record! Well, almost. Be­ ips. An additional noise reduction feature, at least need to buy a combination of foam cause the mikes are extremely sensitive they Nagra Master at 15 ips., gives the recordist windscreens . . . about $l50/set. This will will need to be mounted on some kind of a dynamic range of 84dB ... a factor of work well in winds up to 5 or 6 mph. For tripod (I bought a very light aluminum ver­ about six beyond the best portable cassette more extreme weather, you will need to in­ sion at a garage sale) and a shock mount. recorder with Dolby B. About eight years An extra $IOO-plus. ago, while working on a film, I dropped my Nagra from a helicopter hovering 40 feet If you're going to record specific creatures (about five stories) above a beach. Except for a slightly cracked plastic cover, it was still working when we landed and required hard­ ly any adjustment to bring it back to perfec­ tion once again.

The quality of the Nagra is so good that you will want to use excellent microphones. For the most part, I immediately eliminate the shotgun type because they tend to "color" the sound. I prefer Schoeps CMC5 mike amplifiers and the |4I capsule, otherwise called the 541. (This is also Lucasfilm's favor­

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 I? you can use it as a regular mike under cer­ your equipment serviced properly and keep tain circumstances. your field components light and compact. My Nagra, TCD5, mikes, cables, accessories, As digital recorders become more available, tripod, batteries and tape for a week's worth more and more recording will be done in that " 1"^ ^J of field work all fit into one small Dolt sea format. The Sony F-1 series used for the past bag (in addition to the Nagra carrying case). couple of years offers some dynamic range Just go do it and you will quickly discover and lower frequency response advantages. what works and what doesn't. Everyone I However, in the field, it takes a torj of bat­ know claims to have a secret methodology teries to run the F-1 and ejther the Beta or down pat. Don't believe it. Nature recording VHS recorder it requires to store the Infor­ is full of surprises. Your ingenuity will be mation. Even then you will only have about tested every time you go out into the field. 20 minutes of battery life with each charge And let us know what you find. • unless you have brought along a 12V car bat­ tery in your knapsack. But keep your eye on the R-DAT series on the verge of release from Japan. They will be in the $l,300-plus range from Matsushita, Sony, Aiwa, Sharp and others.

Over the years there has been considerable discussion about the kinds of tape to use for in a fairly noisy ambient flsld, you might want analog recording. The folks at the Library of to use a parabolic dish. It looks lil(e a plastic Natural Sounds, Laboratory of Ornithology, bowl and, when pointed in the direction of Cornell University, did sortie investigation and a vocalizing bird or other animal, tends to found that, for their reel-to-reel purposes, sharply focus and gather in the sound pick­ Scotch 806, 807, 808, and 809 was superior ed up only in that narrow field. The micro­ in that it offered less print through (a phe­ phone is mounted on the dish facing into the nomenon whereby the signal is transferred center. And the Schoeps 541 works just fine from layer to layer at some detectible level for this purpose. The dish is primarily suc­ when audio tape is wound onto a reel). For cessful in mono and tends to "color" the audiophile uses, however, more in line with Minisette IS and PZM: $S9.95 and $44.95 sound slightly in addition to severely limiting the kinds of results I'm after, I prefer Ampex from Radio Shack (all hamlet-size and larger frequency response. Sony's Model PBR330 456 or 457 Grand Master (or the Scotch communities). sells for around $80. It is 13.625" in dia­ counterpart 226). While there is some print- Nature and The Equator: $9.95 each (plus meter, which means it will only respond well through problem.with certain kinds of signal $3.25 postage and handling for one or both to frequencies of about lOOOHz and above. (the trade-off), in general the tape gives more tapes) from The Nature Company, P. O. Perfect for white-crowned sparrows (3.8kHz extended frequency and dynamic range, less Box 2310, Berkeley, CA 94702. -^ 4.2kHz). However, if you're not keen tape hiss and distortion. When combined with Sony Walkman Pro $379; TCD5M approx. about approaching a lion too closely, you'll Nagra Master or Dolby SR noise reduction $550 (discontinued; superceded by TCDS need a dish 6 to 8 ft. in diameter! With systems, the recorded signal on Ampex 456-7 Pro 2 - $870); ECM 155 $79.95; PBR330 parabolics, the lower the vocal frequency of, or Scotch 226 stock will often equal or sur­ approx. $80 (discontinued; see below). your subject, the greater- diameter dish you pass the dynamic range of current digital Nagra cassette recorders $8,300 — will require. equipment. Cornell and I agree, however, that $10,800 (still about $4,200 used). Maxell UDS-2 and Maxell XLI-S are the cas­ Schoeps CMC5: $425; 541 (CHC5 with For recording underwater, you'll need a spe­ sette tapes to use. 141 capsule): $930; Windjammers: $80 cial mike called a hydrophone. Generally, they ea.; Cut I filters: $410 ea. come in two parts: the hydrophone and cable, There has been no intent here to be com­ Rycote Zeppelins: $215. and a pre-amplifier. For the industrious, buy prehensive or greatly detailed about the vast Sony, Nagra and Schoeps equipment is avail­ the basic hydrophone element (a little cap­ range of available equipment. Several other able from authorized dealers including Audio Services Corporation, 4210 Lankershim Blvd., sule with two wire leads) for $9.95 from kinds of very fine cassette recorders and a North Hollywood, CA 91602 (818/980-9891), Edmund Scientific of Barrington, N. J. Then whole host of microphones will do the job. from whom most of these prices were ob­ you'll have to attach a long enough cable to Don't worry too much about whether or not tained. Attempts at direct contact with Sony go from the capsule underwater to your re­ you have exactly the right machine. Keep should only be undertaken by hyperpatient corder, seal the cable and capsule, add a adults. connector to the end of the wire, build a pre-amp and plug it in to a tape machine. It A parabolic dish comparable to the Sony has a frequency response of from 10 Hz. to PBR330 (which is still in stock at some dealers) Is the Dan Gibson Parabola: $150 6kHz. Spartan Electronics (2400 E. Ganson from Geleco Electronics, 2 Thorncliffe Park St., Jackson, Ml 49202; 517/787-8600) sells Drive/Unit 28, Toronto, Ontario M4H IH2; the complete package (stock #110-8158-002) 416/421-5631. for about $500 each, and the same item in Hydrophone Element (141759): no longer quantities of 1000 for less than $30 each! listed in catalog, still in stock. $10 from Go figure that one! But the best is B&K Edmund Scientific, 101 E. Gloucester Pike, (Bruel & Kjaer) Instruments, Inc. Their 8103 Barrington, NJ 08007; 609/573-6260. sells (without pre-amp) for a little over Hydrophone (ifSIOS): $1,144 frOm Bruel & $1,000 and it's worth every penny. The fre­ Kjaer Instruments, Inc.. 185 Forest Street, quency response is well beyond 100 kHz. and Marlborough, MA 01752; 617/481-7000. The price of imported equipment is subject to unbelievably frequent change. It is probably unwise to place an order without checking.

18 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Go Public! The most comprehensive, informative, downright useful guide to noncommercial radio in the U.S. I've seen. Author McClendon profiles more than 1,100 stations that are "non-commercial, controlled by nonprofit organizations or government agencies, and are funded by the public, either through taxes, direct listener donations, or private donations." (She excludes religious non-commercial stations.) Spiral-bound for handy glove-compartment stashing, and organized by geographical regions. Go Public! details each station's frequency, wattage, signal radius, format (by daypart), and even indexes many of the most nationally popular programs, such as "All Things Considered," "MonitoRadio," and "New Dimensions." Perhaps most useful is the plotting of each station's signal area on state maps. Need a hit of "spacemusic" in Johnson City, Tennessee? How about "Dr. Demento" in Manhattan, Kansas? Or a program in Laramie "for the shortwave radio hobbyist"? (My current favorites are the "Bad Film Update" and "Unexplained Phenomena" programs on KZUM-FM, Lincoln, Nebraska.) Go Public is the place to look. KALA 88.5 FM Davenport 100 w. Local —Phil Catalfo • Soul, Jazz • Traditional Jazz, local perfonnances. Sun 6-7p. Go Public! 9 M-F: 5:30a Soul • 9a RK • I2n Soul • 6p Jazz • 12m-3a Soul • SAT: 9a Spanish • 3p-3aSoul • SUN.'9aGospel • IZnJazz • 9p-12m Oiristian RK. Natalie McCiendon 1987; 219 pp. KBBG 88.1 FM Waterloo 10,000 w. SO mi. • Sher • Black,Jazz • Local Talk Show, FrilOa-Bladts in Qasslcal Music Wed 9a. $12.95 » DA[lY.-530a-12in Black/Jazz. ($14.95 postpaid) frc KCCK 883 FM Cedar Rapids 10,000 w. 25 mi. • NPR, APR Waicerobin • Jazz Communications • New Age Music, Sat 9p-12m. 611 N. 26th Street » M-r.-SaME • 9a Jazz • 4p ATC • Tpjazz • SAT.-6aJa2z • 7a WE • 9a Jazz • 4p ATC • Spjazz • 7pPHC • 9pNew Age • lip Space • 12in Jazz • SUN; 7a Jazz • Lincoln, NE 68503 10a PHC • 12n Folk/Jazz • 4p ATC/PA • 6p Jazz • 8p Talk • lOp Jazz. 402/435-0963

The Complete Manual The Complete of Pirate Radio Manual of Pirate Radio A cynic once said that freedom of the press belongs to Zeke Teflon those who are rich enough to own one. The author of this 25 pp. booklet, who goes by the nomme d'aire of Zefee Teflon, $2 postpaid from: feels the same way about freedom of broadcast and the Bound Together transmitters required for the operation. His refreshingly Book Collective anarchistic attitude is that the air belongs to everyone, 1369 Haight Street and he gives us a formula for reclaiming it from the San Francisco, CA 94117 media conglomerates. 415/431-8355 The fact that most of Zeke's schemes are illegal and could land you in the pokey must be kept in mind, but that very risk adds to Zeke's zest for the venture. He gives us an overview of the possibilities — AM, FM, shortwave, avail­ ^ Cart Machines/ • Cassette Decks—Stacked ability of used equipment, antenna needs, the pros and <5 cons of fixed, remote and mobile operations, plus cost estimates, which are surprisingly low. A few hundred dollars could launch a small outfit. —Dick Fugett Work o • Area Piracy is illegal. If you're busted the government can seize your equipment, drag you through the courts, fine you !'] o hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and theoretically, throw you in jail, although I've never heard of that hap­ When designing a studio you need to keep one thing in mind: pening to anyone. So, it makes sense to take every possi­ operator convenience. Everything should be within easy reach ble precaution to avoid The Knock (on your door from of the operator. A typical design would look something like the FCC). this one. The ideal situation — in terms of maximizing listenership pie of blocks, that would be the route to go. In fact, in — for a radio station is to broadcast 24 hours a day, on cities with high population densities such as San Francisco a set frequency, with high power, from a fixed location. and New York, such an approach makes a lot of sense. Attempting such operations as a pirate, however, would @ be suicidal. Mobile operation is basically pretty simple — it consists On the other extreme, you could go on the air with an of broadcasting from a moving vehicle. That vehicle can extremely low power (under lOOmw) transmitter which be a car, van, truck, or even a bicycle or motorcycle. would be legal under FCC rules and regulations. If you Because of antenna size considerations, mobile operation would be satisfied with a broadcasting radius of a cou- is most practical at lower frequencies.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITD, CA 94965 19 THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW

Dan Yakir: Writing sometimes means BY LLOYD KAHN editorializing instead of actually exper­ iencing things. In that respect, perhaps It s less than a full life. Perhaps actinq isn't all that different. T'S HARD not to form opinions years (including an uneasy few years of public figures through the when then-editor Bob Colacello devoted Jodie Foster: Maybe you're right. I media. Movie stars, politicians, a lot of space to cocktails, canapes, guess it all depends on your compul­ top athletes, successful entre­ limos and jet-hopping to de-vine parties sions. I'm someone who, if I like what Ipreneurs — those who for one reason I m eating, will immediately tell myself, around the globe, and to interviewing God, I like what I'm eating!" I syn­ m or another are at the top of their fields ultra-right conservatives in politics and thesize and analyze at the same time. I and in the public eye — are constantly beyond). Yet even then InterDiea; seemed have to appreciate it somehow. At the under the media spotlight. Newspapers, unique in its mix of excellent interviews same time, maybe it does stop you from magazines, and TV paint their portraits and imaginative design. Since then, having the actual experience, because in the relentless pursuit of human- the magazine has improved and in you get out a lot of things on screen interest stories: their personalities, addition to the interviews often repro­ and you may think. Now I don't have lifestyles, attitudes, romances, even duces photos and paintings by contem­ to do it in life anymore. moral character. In addition, public porary artists good enough to cut out I feel that way about books I've read. relations specialists often successfully and hang on the wall. The ads alone The other day, I was telling a story manipulate clients' images. are worth the price of admission, and in about something that had happened to Through all this, we feel we krum Joe the 20 years Interview has been around, me when I stopped and realized, I read Montana or Joan Collins or Don John­ one can see its influence on other jour­ that in a book! But for me, I had done nals and periodicals. (Rolling Stone It somehow. Unlike writers, actors are son. Yet when we chance to read an interview with these same people, they periodically seems to attempt emulating middlemen. You can't just experience one or another of Interview's stylistic things as an actor. You have to interpret often seem surprisingly different from their media image. On a one-to-one design features, generally with disas­ them and make them accessible to the trous results.) audience. . . -Interview basis they often come out more intel­ • ligent or decent or perceptive than the • • • In the '80s we find ourselves in the mid­ broad-brushed (and often preconceived) The question-and-answer format is the dle ot an incomplete revolution, where media portrayal. Conversely, others classic and most familiar type of inter­ society is still structured for the benefit may appear dull and mundane com­ view. Another approach, seen increas­ of men. But women, including mothers pared to a dashing, intriguing media ingly frequently, is the monologue style. ot young children, ore in the workplace characterization. Here the person appears to start talking in record numbers. Basically we have a and goes on uninterrupted to the end. An interview is a chance for the inter­ society that is matriarchal, but it is func­ This is a hybrid of an essay and an in­ viewee to circumvent preconceptions, tioning on a patriarchal plan. If we terview, and obviously a lot of editorial misunderstandings, and, at times, ill wouldTrecognize the reality of the fact cutting and pasting go into making a will, and more or less address the public that the majority of women are mothers readable and cohesive whole. Only the and that the majority of women work directly. "More or less" because the interviewee and interviewer know how outside of the home, we could organize interviewer's attitude, questions, editing faithful the end product is to the ori­ our society to suit their needs. and closing note all have enormous ginal discussion, but in the hands of a bearing on the final product and, there­ Time and again in history, feminism has fairminded and skillful interviewer, the fore, the impression made. made tremendous advances — in the result can be finely crafted and reveal­ 20s, at the turn of the century, in the My favorite place to look for famous- ing. "The interviewer cuts and splices 18th century, in the 17th century - and people interviews is Interview magazine, to emphasize the quality and dynamism then the gains are taken back, because of the exchange, which has depended u C^"* generation that comes along, an oversize tabloid originally started by the beneficiaries of these feminist re­ Andy Warhol in 1967. Interview has as much on what is implied as on what volts, don't understand that they have undergone some changes through the has been articulated. The finished in- to keep on working. They can't let male- dominated society take away the gains Shelter Publications (Domebook 2, Stretching) editor Lloyd Kahn recently finished Over We cannot let fenninism be taken back. the Hill, But Not Out to Lunch (WER #49), a book of 49 interviews with people over 40 —Erica Jong (Interview) who manage to stay in top physical condition. —Jeanne Carstensen

•*W WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 terview strives to deliver the complete experience of the encounter."* We saw Montagnards. They was all A fairly recent example of the mono­ dead except these two kids that run logue-style interview is the book DV, away. I found them hidin' in the woods, which reads like a chatty autobiography 'cause this little girl, about three years but was obviously tape recorded and old, started cryin.' her brother was about five, and he was wounded in assembled by editors George Plimpton the stomach. and Christopher Underbill. The reader feels he is sitting across the table from This little fella reminded me of myself Diana Vreeland, former fashion editor when I was small. 'Bout the same com­ of Harper's Bazaar and former editor-in- plexion. Big head full of curly hair. I just chief of Vogue, as she joyously weaves could not kill him. So I brought him and in and out of past and present, discus­ his sister back. sing her rich and colorful life. Here at I grabbed the little boy, and I put him the end of the book she starts wrapping against my body. He bled all over me. it up: "Did I tell you about the zebras From the time I left from the helicopter lining the driveway at San Simeon? You pad to the first-aid station, everybody believed that, didn't you? Did I tell you was talkin' 'bout, "Kill the little mother­ that Lindbergh flew over Brewster? It fucker." could have been someone else, but who cares — fake it! Did I tell you about I said, "Now, you ain't gon' kill this one. He gon' live." the elephants at the coronation? Of Gene Woodley, It- —Bloods course I did. What about hitting Swifty They took me directly to this officer, Lazar in the nose? Well, I never did and he told me I will not bring another that, you know why, it would break duties. Bosses includes "leaders who Vietn'ese living body into that unit un­ my arm! It would never heal..." keep things running." Most striking less I am specifically told to bring pri­ among these people, who include a soners. If it happened again, I would be * • , • • head nurse, a missile silo commander, court-martialed. Celebrities and public figures have massage parlor operator, air controller —Gene Woodley, Jr. (Bloods) always been well covered by the media. and mosque leader, are some very real But another category of interviewee, bad dudes: a hit man, a heroin dealer, Do you have to lie sometimes? often more interesting, is the person an armed robber, talking surprisingly openly about killing, crime and the Oh sure, you have to lie for other peo­ who is not a public figure. People who ple. That's another thing: having to are not famous and therefore have little otherwise normal details of their make up stories for them if they don't access to the media, nor to writers with everyday lives. want to talk to someone on the tele­ the skills of written communication, I'm sure there are other books of similar phone. At first I'd feel embarrassed and generally have no way to address the nature. The art of the interview seems I'd feel they knew I was lying. There was public. Studs Terkel mined a rich vein to be well understood now by many a sense of emptiness. There'd be of humanity with his book Working, a silence, and I'd feel guilty. At first I journalists and is being used with ef­ tried to think of a euphemism for "He's published in 1972. Still the best of Ter- fectiveness and insight. The books of kel's several books of interviews. Working not here." It really bothered me. Then I real-people interviews give us a chance got tired of doing it, so I just say, "He's consists of monologues of men and to hear from people we'd never other­ women living in Chicago — a switch­ not here." You're not looking at the wise meet and to listen in on a broad person, you're talking to him over the board operator, a garbage man, carpen­ cross-section of life. I tend to remember instrument. (Laughs.) So after a while it ter, proofreader, pianist, supermarket some of these people years later, like doesn't really matter. The first time it checker, welder. It's refreshing to hear the carpenter in Working who talked was live. The person was there. I'm sure from real people — what they think, eloquently about the art and craft of I blushed. He probably knew I was lying. care about, how they live, struggle and carpentry and the rhythm of building, And I think he understood I was just the fantasize. Studs unlocked streams of or the nurse in Bosses who explained instrument, not the sourco. thoughts, visions, anguish and tender­ how much more in tune with patients' —Receptionist [Working) ness that would otherwise never have neec^s are nurses than doctors, or the been articulated. • black combat paratrooper in Bloods What amazing attitudes those marvelous Three other books, all in the monologue who came home: people the English can conjure up! Especially when they're in trouble. Think genre and all of non-famous people, One day I'm down on Oliver and are Bloods by Wallace Terry, Cops by of the Marquess of Bath, who owned Milton Avenue. Go in this grocery Longleat. He went through the whole Mark Baker and Bosses by Jim Wall. store. In my neighborhood. Bloods is a stunning account of the Viet­ war with a duck on a lead, praying for This Vietn'ese owns the store. bombs to fall so that his duck would nam war by black soldiers — "bloods" hove a pond to swim in. —DV — who formed a disproportionately He say, "I know you?" large share of America's fighting forces I say, "You know me from where?" • there. The viciousness and senseless­ "You Vietnam?" The best meat, the best eggs, the best ness of the war are brought home dra­ "Yeah, I was in Vietnam." fruit, and the best vegetables are all matically by these finely crafted and "When you Vietnam." found in the markets of Paris. St. Ger­ often poetic interviews. " '68, '69." main was once a boulevard with many "Yeah, me know you An Khe. You places to shop for food, but now it's Cops is a bleak and depressing picture be An Khe?" much more chic than it once was, which of big-city cops and the almost unbear­ "Yeah, I was in An Khe." I don't like. Now it's filled with bou­ able pressures they face in their everyday tiques with one willow tree in the win­ "Yeah, me know you. You Mon- dow, which I think is so tacky. What / tagnard Man." * Conversations with American Writers, by like is to look at sixty-five thousand Charles Ruas (Alfred A. Knopf, 1985). Ain't that some shit? (continued) brown eggs. —DV

27 GArt FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO CA 94965 21 I'm buyin' groceries from him. Recording: We're doing some deals with some pretty I ain't been in the store since. I'm Microcassette recorders are small, high-level organized crime figures in the still pissed off. unobtrusive and have been greatly state and around the country. For in­ improved in recent years. A good place stance, I would fly to Florida and hove He's got a business, good home, to get these recorders, as well as mikes, lunch with them. Pretty big-time guys, drivin' cars. And I'm still strugglin. the kiss on the cheek and the whole bit. earphones, transcribing equipment, Interview Technology etc. is Martel Electronics, Inc. in Ana­ In undercover work you come from this It's best if the person you're interviewing heim, CA (mail order). A workhorse world of black and white into a world is as relaxed and natural as possible. microcassette model that has been of "We don't give a fuck and whatever Usually youll go out to do the inter­ around for some years and is depend­ happens, happens." You're living like able is the Olympus Pearlcorder S810, that ciMil it' view, start talking, everything going ; (.r.3i.' ! never carried o gijn which has one-finger slide control, cue v,hen I ^••'j'. ornJei.'cver. You only crjrried smoothly, and when you take out the a gun w!ien you wontc-d to do business tape recorder, things suddenly get stiff mark function, two speeds and an end wifh if. Thai's a very disrespectful thing and formal. For a while I gave up the alarm. Olympus also has a great new to do, carry a weapon into a meeting. recorder for this reason and used a Pearlcorder, the model L200, that is Among criminals, they have their own stenographer's hand book to take notes. very small (fits in shirt pocket) and has code of ethics. If you and I are going to This made for a more relaxed conversa­ extras like variable control voice actu­ sit down and do a deal of stolen mer­ tion, but unless you take shorthand, ator, double-time fast-forward or rewind, chandise or dope and we're just in the you'll obviously only be able to get the cue marking (you can put cue marks in talking stages of it, why do I need to highlights. (If you do forego the tape between interviews and the tape will have a gun at the table? I am either a recorder for this method be sure to go stop at each mark, or you can use this cop or extremely paranoid about my function like underlining paragraphs own survival or I'm out to do something home right afterward and reconstruct the conversation while it's fresh in your on a page — to emphasize good parts of to you. Then nobody will deal with me the interview). You can get four hours' and how am I going to make my money? mind.) I've since gone back to the ma­ So that's the reason you don'f carry chine and in doing more than a hundred recording time on a 90-minute cassette. that weapon. —Cops interviews in recent years, have ended Martel lists some 25 microcassette up with the following techniques. recorders, from Olympus, Sony, Sanyo, • and Norelco. From what I understand, I make most of my money killing. I do Olympus recorders are the best. They some, then others do some for me. I apparently invented the microcassette, know most of the other hit men. Here's their warranty and service departments the way it is. Most hit men know each are excellent and they do not change other, and there's an honor among hit men. So I know about a dozen, and if I models often, as does Sony. got a killing — say I meet the people who want the killing in Michigan, but Microphone: the person they wants killed lives in All the recorders have a built-in mike, Texas, Arizona, or anywhere. So I just but I also have a small mike (Olympus call up one of the dudes, say the Grim Ultra Sensitive ME-7) for noisy places Reaper, in that area, and I say, "Hey, I got one out there, blah, blah, blah." like restaurants; it will record either omnidirectionally or can be set for a And he might say, "I got one back that narrow band of reception. I also have a way. You take care of him for me, and phone mike that fits over the telephone I'll take care of this one for you." That earpiece, but there's an intriguing new way it's less conspicuous. If I had to Sony miniature mike that you put inside drive out there or fly out there, then your ear and it will not only record anything could happen. They could pick up on it. And it don't make no difference over the phone, but will also record how the money is going. He's getting your own voice — model MDR-E140C. $50,000 and me $35,000; a few thou­ sand dollars don't make me no differ­ Power: ence. So we'll exchange photos, names, I have an A.C. adapter so I can run off addresses, then we do the jobs. Pec=rlcorderl200. an outlet when not using the 1.5-volt Olyinpus —Bosses batteries. I always put in new or nearly

MARTEL ELECTRONICS: catalog $2; V'.^U-D Interview: Gael Love, Editor. $20/year (12 Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46219 (or Whole East Orangethorpe, Anaheim, CA 92801; Issues) from Interview, 19 E. 32nd Street, Earth Access). 800/331-5231. NewYork, NY 10016. Cops (Their Lives In Their Own Words): SONY: BM-17 microtranscriber $300 - DV: Diana Vreeland; edited by George Mark Baker, 1985; 371 pp. $4.50 ($5.50 $350; MDR E140C headset/microphone Plimpton and Christopher Hemphill. 1985; postpaid) from Pocket Books/Simon & $12; MC-60 BM tape $3.50. Prices ore sug­ 258 pp. $3.95 ($4.95 postpaid) from Ran­ Schuster, Attn.: Mail Order, 200 Old Tap- gested retail; products are frequenliy dom House/Attn.: Order Dept., 400 Hahn pan Road, Old Tappan, NJ 07675 (or cheaper locally. Sony sells th'-ough author­ Road, Westminster, MD 21157 (or Whole Whole Earth Access). ized local dealers — check the Yellow Pagt- >. Earth Access). Bloods (An Oral History of the Vietnam OLYMPUS: Pearlcorder S810 discontinued; Working: Studs Terkel, 1974; 784 pp. $4.95 War by Black Veterans): Wallace Terry, superceded by S907 ($64) and S911 ($84). ($5.95 postpaid) from Ballantlne Books, 1984; 311 pp. $17.95 ($18.95 postpaid) Pearlcorder L200 $240; ME-7 microphone c/o Random House, 400 Hahn Road, West­ from Random House/Attn.: Order Dept., $75. Olympus also sells thiough author­ minster, MD 21157 (or Whole Earth Access). 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD 21157 ized local dealers. Alferiiatively, you cat^ (or Whole Earth Access). order directly from Olympus Corporation, Bosses: Jim Wall, 1986; 268 pp. $17.95 Ciossv/ays Park, Woodbury, NY 11797; 516/ ($19.95 postpaid) from Lexington Books/ 364-3000. Add $4 per Item for handling. D. C. Heath & Company, 2700 Richardt new batteries when doing an interview day who had a Sony microcassette with I generally have someone else type up or series of interviews. There's nothing this feature. And I watched the needle, the interview but I then go over it like getting home and discovering I knowing the conversation was being while listening to the tape and invari­ missed the good stuff because of low recorded. ably make a lot of corrections that only batteries. I also talse out the batteries I know about (because I was there and whenever the recorder is not in use. It's good to get completely comfortable know the interviewee's accent or man­ with your recorder so you're not fid­ ner of speech). Transcribing: geting around with switches making If you're doing a fair amount of record­ someone even more nervous. With If there is time to do a series of inter­ ing you'll want a transcriber with a practice youll be able to manipulate views, I will tell the person that I may foot switch. I use a Sony BM-17 micro- things without looking. use the recorder over the phone but transcriber with a foot switch, so you won't say each time I call "I've just can stop and back up either an auto­ I like Sony tapes best (MC-60BM — turned the recorder on." Some of my matic number of words or as far as you "for business use only"). The cases clip best material has come over the phone wish. Martel's catalog lists a variety together conveniently and it's easy and when the interviewee is at home (or of transcribers. clear to write in names and dates on workplace), comfortable and relaxed. the outsides. One thing the Olympus recorders do The more interviews I do, the less in­ not have and that I like is a needle that Even with the recorder I still use a clined I am to let the interviewee go moves in response to high volume. steno notebook and take notes. I put over the finished product. They often This lets you know you're picking up the recorder under the notebook or fuss unnecessarily or try to make it into the conversation and allays the ner­ place it as unobtrusively as possible. an essay or testament, or add in things vousness that invariably arises when Taking notes focuses attention on your they forgot and in so doing eliminate wonderful things are being uttered and notebook and the conversation, rather the spontaneity and candor. However, you wonder if you're getting them on than the machine. Also, in constructing if they make a point of having final ap­ tape. A few weeks ago I sat in on an the interview your notes point out proval I will go over it with them prior interview done by a reporter for News- highlights. to printing the interview. B

Tele-Recorder ISO just get a "duplex adaptor jack," available from DAK for only $2), does the job. Most hand-held cassette recorders will connect to it. My interest in buying what DAK Industries refers to as a The recordings I get from phone interviews are now more reliable "phone tap" is not so much spooking, but getting a rea­ than the tapes yielded from face-to-face sessions, particularly when sonable cassette-tape record of a phone interview once my subject is a mumbler. my subject has agreed to let me tape the conversation. My previous experience with one of those suction-cup Incidentally, this was my first experience in dealing with DAK, whose mikes was dismal. But the Tele-Recorder 150, which simply direct-mail ads you have probably plugs into the phone jack (if you don't have an extra one. seen. Service was prompt, and since the product worked, I didn't get a chance to test their "30-day Cheapest Transcriber risk-free trial." Their catalog is full of fascinating audio, phone, video Manufactured by Radio Shack, it costs the do-it-yourself and computer equipment, and is price of $2.99. This "transcriber" is only a foot pedal a thoughtful addition to your that plugs into the remote connection of a cassette re­ bathroom to enteriain gadget- corder/player It requires a machine with a remote plug. freak visitors. —Steven Levy Even though it doesn't back up, it does the job. I've used one for years, though I've wished I had a fancier one. Tele-Recorder 150 (order #9232): —Kevin Kelly $27.40 postpaid from DAI< Indus­ tries, 8200 Remmet Ave., Canoga Realistic Cassette Remote Foot Pedal (order #44-6100): Parle, CA 91304. 800/325-0800 $2.99 from Radio Shack (everywhere). (orders); 800/423-2866 (inquiries).

Panasonic Answering Machine Location of Controls Instant assistant. Doesn't mop floors, but does take messages, reads them to you KX-T1622 Record Button when you call in, records conversations on cue, and performs numerous other ® ICMtape OGM-Slart/Stop secretarial duties. No bigger than a Button (2) Answer/Calls paperback book (it uses tiny microcas- indicator

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 23 NO MORE PISSY ROCK STATIONS LEAKING DOWN ON OUR HEADS WaSB^^^EB BY LORENZO W. MILAM

THE UNITED STATES HAS 521 SAT- ellites floating around somewhere over our heads — taking pictures, transmit­ ting military information, generally snooping on The Enemy, whoever that may be this year. Most are owned and operated by what we used to call, in a more honest and scenic age, the War Department. Of the forty or so satellites available for non-ruination purposes, twenty-one are ^m-: of interest to us here. These are called C-band satellites. They carry 150 or so television signals aimed at the United States, Canada, and Mexico. A majority of these are broadcasting twenty-four hours a day, some with scrambled sig­ nals. The rest are part-timers, on a demand basis. Each of these "networks" can carry up to eight voice-and-music audio services on subcarrier. A subcarrier is a hidden channel snuggled atop the video chan­ nel. You have to search for these — Baster-egg style — but the newer satel­ lite receiving equipment is making it easier and easier for the dish owner to do so. Right now, there are over 75 radio services up there, and the number is growing. We figure there's room for at least another thousand stations, broad­ -^ •n«HHMHiMHNN

24 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 on six different subcarriers of Anik-D, As a potential broadcaster of interna­ as $2,500 for both uplink and transpon­ the Canadian satellite. tional satellite radio, it is essential that der space, but that was last month: god you become a consumer. Receiving knows what they are doing today. Satellite transmission, more than any equipment (called TVRO in the trade) broadcast medium we can think of, is If you are able to get the necessary is getting cheaper and cheaper. I have pure Adam Smith. Anyone who has the agreements, you will have to set up a recently seen complete systems for be­ money, or the smarts, or both, can be studio to handle your announcing, rec­ tween $500 and $900 for those who are transmitting from satellite. It's cheaper ords, disks, and cassettes. There are willing to install them on their own. to estabUsh than terrestrial broadcast­ already some folks who are doing satel­ There is much fascinating stuff going on ing (the transmitters and antennas are lite radio, although their programming up there with the birds. Watch every­ already in place). And it falls into what definitely leaves something to be desired. thing, even the awful (and sometimes the government terms "common car­ There's American FM radio in Salt Lake very funny) religious programming. You rier." This means there is no censorship City, and K-SAT in Gilroy, California. have much to gain by learning the differ­ over what is broadcast. You might call them and ask how much ence between Galaxy 1 and Galaxy 3, it costs, and where their uplinks are. and by going from transponder to trans­ (American Exxxtasy Network, for one, But for god's sakes, if you are going to ponder, viewing the wonderful diversity broadcasts endless, shameless, lubri- program from satellite, try to do some­ being beamed down on us. In sound, cious and lascivious sex-juice programs thing original. We really don't need you can experiment with leaving the from SpaceNet 1, 'tonsponder 2. [Even another pissy rock station leaking down standard 6.8 mHz audio channel and the scrambling system can't hide all the about our heads now, do we? ham and cheese involved in these esca­ running down to see what is going on pades.] Satellites, like much of our tech­ around 5.4, 5.76, 5.94, 6.2, 6.3 mHz nology, can be unwittingly democratic. — the most popular audio frequencies. Exxxtasy rolls around up there cheek- Listen to what those who are already by-jowl with the Christian Television there are doing, and why. Charting the Satellites /C Ban< Network, next transponder over, and Bonneville International — the Mor­ By watching and listening, you can mon Church — next to that one. All of locate the eleven satellites and twenty- nine transponders that already carry them conjoined in the heavens, slosh­ S ing about on the biggest waterbed of independent radio. They are the most s* -S—^- them all.) obvious for renting piggyback space. To 'B-^^ find the home office of the network, IH' Until recently, this whole radio pie-in- you can call any of the satellite maga­ H' the-sky scheme was too expensive for us zines and ask them to supply you with to even consider, but it is a buyer's mar­ their network list. The location of the ket and prices are coming down, and network offices, whether it's CNN or they will continue to do so with each C-SPAN or A&E, is not necessarily the new satellite that is launched. It reminds uplink location. And the uplink loca­ me of the old days of FM when you and tion is vital: if you are going to piggy­ I could just pop an application into the back atop a video service, you have to mailbox, get a permit from the govern­ deliver your song-&-dance to the point ment for free, and go on the air. You where they are transmitting to the satel­ may remember those days — it was call­ lite. If you live in Dogbone, FL, and rent ed free speech, and it was grand. space on an uplink in Porkpie, UT, you have to get your signal some 2,500 miles The prospect of satellite radio is excit­ across country. This will probably dou­ ing, but it's also chancy. As with all ble your monthly cost. You can't afford other real estate — and radio frequen­ that. Find out what's going on in your cies are real estate — it's a matter of own city. One of the best places to start location, and of timing. You have to do is in the Yellow Pages under "Satellite lots of searching through magazines and Communications Services — Common OUTSIDE OF SATELLITES, THERE FCC releases and telephoning to find Carrier" or (confusingly, junked to­ are still radio and television facilities up the owners of transponders, or of exist­ gether with your local satellite home for grabs which make it possible for in­ ing video networks. You have to talk the dish installation companies) "Satellite terested media freaks to get on the air. network and the uplink people into let­ Equipment & Systems." It just may be ting you use their space for not too that an important, full-time network has much money (uplinks squirt the broad­ an uplink in your area. cast signal skyward, to be picked up by the satellite for retransmission back If you have found one nearby, you have Non-commercial FM to Earth). to negotiate not only with the network, ^^s^^m To get started, you have to find out who but with the uplink service, too. Uplink is already up there. Of the satellite mag­ should cost about half of the piggy-back The most inexpensive way to become a azines, there's Westsat, which is accurate space itself, but it depends on what broadcaster is to put a noncommercial if brief. You could look at a copy of one agreement they have with the network. FM station on the air. This will only of the three home consumer satellite I would quote some prices here, but the work if you are out in the boondocks magazines: Orbit, Satellite Dish, Satel­ situation is so weird and fluid it has all (at least 150 miles from the nearest ma­ lite TV Week. 1 recommend the last the characteristics of looking for an jor city). It might cost you $10,000 to because it is the most up-to-date and apartment in Beirut. I have heard quotes begin broadcasting, but it will be less comprehensive. They have 450,000 sub­ as high as $45,000 a month and as low if you are smart, careful, patient, wily, scribers, all over the western hemisphere, and know how to steal FM transmitters 70 percent of them in rural areas. (All under cover of darkness. Make contact of the magazines Ust the active trans­ with the National Federation of Com- ponders, audio and video.)

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 25 Lorenzo in his "satellite garden." '^^fu>

m *-Ji» I m^ munity Broadcasters at 1314 14th NW, of the kid's birthday party from last with the permit holders. If th^ have lost Washington, D.C. 20005 (202/797-8911). summer, footage from NASA [all space their permit, you can perhaps pick up They will give you a step-by-step on how shots are in the public domain], and the transmitter site option, and file your to apply for such a station. You will home movies collected from all the own application, using some of the in­ need an engineer, a nonprofit corpora­ neighbors. We'd play some bizarre and formation from their (successful) appli­ tion, a transmitter site; a frequency, and wonderful music on the sound channel cation. If they still have the permit, but lots of time. — gagaku from Japan, Balkan folk are running into difficulties building the singing, songs of Henry Purcell, Blind station, you might be able to negotiate Lemon Jefferson. What a way to spend with them. In return for your helping an evening, no? Launching into space to get the station on the air, you might with the Monkey Chant, landing on the be able to share the ownership. At worst, moon to "Sound The Trumpets," walk­ you can learn a great deal by talking ing the Mare Incognito with "The A- with the people involved, and reading In 1980, the FCC opened the door for to-Z Blues." Under the LPTV program­ over the applications that have been fil­ "low power" television station (LPTV) ming rules of the FCC, it's all legal.) ed, gone into lottery, and been granted. Even those that have lost out will teach applications. The rules permitted new What I have told you about Low Power television stations in most markets. The you what is available in the way of Television is worth a mere pickle. The equipment and sites. This is basic FCC Commission was deluged with applica­ real kicker is how you can get close to tions, and has only recently cleared away form school; how to put an application going on the air with little or no effort in the hopper and (perhaps) how to win. most of them. Periodically, they open on your part: doors — called, naturally, "windows" (To do all this, you need a copying ser­ — for further applications. These are Because of the first application rush, the FCC was forced to set up a lottery sys­ vice in Washington, D.C. that special­ announced in the trade magazines like izes in FCC Releases. A good one is Broadcasting (which is too expensive to tem so they could process them all. In the last three years, the Commission has Berry's Best, 1705 DeSales Street NW, subscribe to, but which you can find at Washington, D.C. 20036. You can hire your local public or university library). made over 4,000 grants of LPTV sta­ tions all over the country, including them to dig up any filing at the FCC Channel 2-13 (VHF) LPTV is really Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Vir­ that you might want to see. I would ask low power (ten watts maximum, which gin Islands, Guam, and Micronesia. for copies of the winners' names from might not carry more than half a mile). However, many of the people who got the last two years' worth of lotteries.) For UHF (Channels 14-69), you are permits aren't building. There are no allowed transmitter output power up to more than 250 LPTV stations on the air 1,000 watts. With a clever antenna sys­ right now. tem, and multiple transmitters, you HjgBgg^aaaaagggEgg might be able to cover a fairly major The Commission doesn't take kindly to Commercial AM Stations service area. grantees who hold onto the permits and never build. Unless they have very good The VHF stations are cheap, but the excuses, they are forced to surrender A subtle and largely unnoticed pheno­ UHF transmitters can cost at least them a year from the date of grant. This menon over the last few years is the $25,000, and the antennas another can be a bonanza for you. What you drastic drop in the price of AM stations. $10,000. The rules on the programming have to do is to find out what permits With the onslaught of FM, Cable, and and operation are quite lax — the FCC have been granted for your area, or the other electronic spaghetti, these stations gives you enormous latitude on what city or cities you're interested in. From are losing their listeners. At the same you can program. this information, you can make contact time, almost every home and car has an (We thought of getting an LPTV station AM radio — and it is our contention on the air, running continuous slides that someone doing some truly original

26 WHOLE EARTH REWKW WINTER 1987 programming on AM could attract a call. The advantage of short wave is that NOTES horde of listeners. Broadcasting if you are in one part of the U.S., such The key satellite reference book is the newest magazine regularly lists stations for sale. as Florida, and aim your signal directly edition of World Satellite Almanac by M&rk If the listed prices make your eyes turn across the U.S. at, say. Moose Jaw or Long. It contains a list of communications to pinwheels, remember (1) radio sta­ Chilliwack, you will hit most of the U.S. satellites, with a description of which trans­ tions are like real estate — the asking I think there are more American short ponder is doing what to whom (and where!). It's $34.95 ($41.95 postpaid) from MLE Inc., price is not necessarily what they will wave Usteners out there than anyone Box 159, Winter Beach, FL 32971. take, and (2) there is always the famous suspects. They listen, consistently, for E-Z Squeezy process, where you come news programs from overseas because Although it's somewhat out of date, the best general introduction is Jeff Keating's The up with 10 percent down and the bal­ they believe them to be more honest, ra­ World of Satellite Television. It can be ance over the next seven to ten years. tional, and information-filled than the ordered for $10.95 from Quantum, Box 310, local TV low-budget bludgeon-and-rape Mendocino, CA 94546. piddling that you and I have been suf­ Satellite TV Week is available from Box 306, fering with for so long. Fortuna, CA 95540 for $48 a year. Westsat New Commercial FM Stations Satellite Communication Chart costs $24 a year and can be ordered from Box 434, HOW NICE IT WOULD BE to hear Fleasanton, CA 94566. sopie ethnic music from out there in The FCC continues to announce new hyperspace, Ravi Shankar floating down John Schwartz — who founded the only frequencies available in smaller com­ over the Galapagos, the sound of tabla community television station in the country (KBDI, Denver, CO) — has organized a munities for commercial FM outlets. and sitar cascading down on the backs group to lease transponder space for full- The problem with applying for one of of the Pacific turtles, and the blow- time alternative video programming aimed at these is that everyone and their brother fish, and us — covering some 2,000,000 the entire United States. Those interested has the same idea. I have seen frequen­ square miles of land and sea and air should contact him at Box 6060, Boulder, cies in Dinkwater, OH — pop. 655 — with music and talk that's fresh and CO 80306. with eight or ten applications filed. It's honest and distinctive for a change. B The author can be reached at Box 3490, San a crap shoot. If you apply, and if you Diego, CA 92103. can talk the other applicants into drop­ ping out (horse-trading is encouraged by the Commission) then you can get a free permit to build. However, if even one The Radio Papers other applicant stays in, you get to go We see our function at KRAB as one through a nut-crushing comparative A collection of reflective essays taken of filling the gaps. ... In other hearing which will impoverish your wife mostly from his fertile years of station- words, we play the material that and drive your children to drink. The spawning, The Radio Papers expresses would be suicide on the commercial best source of information on frequen­ Lorenzo Milam's worsfiip of "The stations but which is sheer delight cies opening up is the FCC release ser­ Great Aether God," the alchemical, for us. vice Berry's Best (see above). Ask spe­ disembodied medium which holds cifically to be sent releases about new him — and us — in its thrall. By turns bemused, polemical, and absurdist, We have always been convinced of FM frequencies opening up in your the ability of radio to create a pic­ area. If you decide to apply, you will the essays are at root the prayers of an idealist who sought not only to ture for exceeding that of television. In the latter, one's vision is only 21 need a broadcast engineer and an at­ revolutionize broadcasting but also inches across. Everything is laid out torney. All hcensed ones are Usted to awaken a culture from its brutal­ for the senses, and there's no chance alphabetically in Broadcasting Year­ izing sleep. That he didn't completely for the game of unreality to creep book, which should also be at your succeed explains the exhaustion and local library. in. We like to remember that good bittersweetness of the last few pieces; radio, with a word or an effect, can but by reissuing these musings, Milam create a world in the imagination seems to be proclaiming anew his that is at once unreal and yet in­ faith in the idea that human-centered MHMNiMEii4BHHii3HiiMfajHHi9b^b3Bi9K^Ei^BuHM tensely personal. Short Wave electronic media is not only worth doing, but do-able. —Phil Catalfo ^^l^^^^^l^^^t^^' o Coal The FCC will license any fool, thief, miner We see radio as a means to the old listening I charlatan and/or fundamentalist min­ democratic concept of the right to ii ister to own and operate a short wave to the dissent: the right to argue, and radio, station. All one has to do is fill out the differ, and be heard. 1928. s appropriate form — Form 309 — stating ' m^ ^ location of site, transmitter, owning en­ As long as this country has existed, ' m^ tity, and target country — and send it this right has been more or less ac­ •r.A"•.r"*** - cepted. The only problem is the dif­ Sjji*^V.<, \ off to Washington. Licensing is fairly !,V/ ,/i ficulty of circulation of these different v¥-KU-. VrV easy. There are two major problems. (1) opinions. ' ? The transmitters sell for $250,000 to 'W4 $500,000; and (2) the power bills are The Radio Papers hideous (costing, every year, a third Lorenzo Wilson Milam again as much as the transmitter — 1986; 166 pp. the minimum poop required is 50,000 watts). If you own a power company (or $9.95 ($11.45 postpaid) from: a foreign country) this might be just the Mho & Mho Works ticket for you. Otherwise, it's a tough P. O. Box 33135 San Diego, CA 92103 619/488-4991 or Whole Earth Access

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 27 r. V '

>•'•:''/ -

IVE RADIO ART BY BONNIE BARNETT

H Gi>i'' Hum-A>»"« the elevator bells add a unique counterpoint; and a drainage more strongly than the others. tunnel in a suburb of San In a casual way, I Identify Diego, located in a rural ca­ and other such spaces greatly this as the resonant frequen­ nyon, complete with white cy of the space, and try to ONE OF THE AVENUES "new amplify or enhance sounds rocks and a little water. arrange to have the Hum per­ music" is tal

28 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 listeners all over the New 1983 to produce Tunnel Hum , Cisco signal In the satellite capitalized upon in order to York area. USA, which linked live singers room at KQED-FM. The San keep the three groups of sing­ In San Francisco and New National Public Radio's now- Francisco signal got to the ers In tune with each other. York and fed the live mix satellite room via special local defunct Satellite Program The next step for me is clearly to six participating public phone lines. My assistant Fund made me aware of the a Global Hum, linking live radio stations. was In the satellite room ease with which events In singers in several cities world­ monitoring the levels of the more than one location can be In both cases, San Francisco wide and broadcasting the various signals coming in. All mixed live via satellite tech­ was the home site. The stereo live mix to many more cities these signals were mixed nology, as well as the ease signal from each other city for a truly worldwide partici­ down to a stereo mix in that with which programs can be was sent up 23,000 miles to patory sing. I am at present satellite room, and immedi­ fed live to the over-400 public bounce off two channels of developing the network of ately sent back up to two radio stations dotted across NPR's Westar IV, and bounced people necessary to carry this more channels on Westar IV, the U.S. I received a grant in down to meet the San Fran- project out, and may in fact where It became available to be able to produce a first- the participating stations for stage effort Involving two the live feed. countries sometime in 1988. I it takes one-fifth of a second also confess to fantasizing to bounce a signal up to Westar about an Intergalactic Hum, IV and back down, and another which would obviously need a fifth of a second to send the lot more outreach than per­ live mix back to the partici­ haps is possible at this time. pating stations. One intriguing Any ideas, brainstorms, or and, indeed, almost magical networking possltilllties point about this delay was related to the Global Hum that if people In New York, for would be welcome, and can example, had on their walk- be sent to the author c/o Im­ persons, they could sing aginary Landscape, KPFK- along with their voices of FM, 3729 Cahuenga Blvd. two-fifths of a second earlier. West, North Hollywood, In fact, this happy event was CA 91604. • Bonnie Barnett and Jon English (bass). Susan Herzog

Pacifica Radio Archive New Dimensions Radio Public radio brings us programs we'd never hear on com­ New Dimensions Radio bounces its programs off a satellite mercial radio. Poetry, international issues, voices of to 140 stations in 30 states, and features excellent inter­ minorities and live history confront us over the airwaves. views with everyone from Bucky Fuller and Paul Hawken If you missed the original broadcast, Pacifica National to Wendell Berry and Ram Dass. For a counterculture Archive probably has it on cassette. The current catalog first, they'll soon go ouf on shortwave to the entire danged lists over 300 selections from their collection of over hemisphere via a transmitter in Costa Rica. A postcard 22,000 recordings that date back to 1949. (A complete will bring you programming info as well as a catalog of listing of material is available on microfiche, as well.) 1,000 cassettes that are available. —Dick Fugett So if you're curious about what Marcel Duchamp has to say about Cubism, or would like to expand your horizons MAY 3,1987 with Dr. James S. Pickering's History of Astronomy, it's AFGHANISTAN: ANOTHER HOLOCAUST? there for the hearing. —Kathleen O'Neill with ROBERT CABOT AND BOB FULLER. The Afghan-Soviet War could be called the "invisible war," since it is largely unnoticed in the west Yet more than 5 million Afghans Pacifica are refugees and estimates of the dead range from 1 to 2 million. Pacifica Radio Archive Here two principals of the Mo Tzu project, a dtizens diplomacy en­ Radio Archive deavor, who have recendy visited Catalog free; Educational Service the Afghan refugee camps on the 5316 Venice Blvd. Afghan—Pakistan border, report Microfiche Los Angeles, CA 90019 the facts as they have dbeerved them. What emerges is an astound­ $26 postpaid from: 213/931-1625 ing story of chaos and courage, wtuch may offer a unique opportu­ The Philippines nity for bruieing the super powers A program that traces political developments in the Philippines from 1946 to 1975, and closer together. Robert Cabot is a MAGIC WORDS points out how the U .S. Army and the CI A had become deeply entrenched in the Phi- former diplomat and Bob Fuller is with ROBERT BLY. lippino government, leading up to the declaration of martial law. The material is taken past president ol Oberlin College and We take our title from an Eskimo poem recit­ from the writings of William J. Pomeroy, who fought in the Philippines in World War II ' founder of ttie Mo Tzu project and who fought with the HUK guerilla movement from 1950-1952. Produced by Jim ed by Bly during this extraordinary dialogue BerlandandTimMcGovern. KPFK, 1975. (Tape #2044 1 hr. $9.95) with one of Ameri­ Catalogue No. BC2268 53tninutes $13 ca's greatest contem­ porary poets. Bly Grenada: The Fall of the Revolution Networic News brings us in touch E Based on the recordings of two reporters living in Grenada since 1982, this program chronicles the events leading up to the invasion by U.S. military and life Justine Toms, Editor with the deeper under the U.S. occupation. Also described is the difficulty that one of the producers chords of conscious­ experienced trying to get out of Grenada. The program contains many on-the-spot 935/year ness residing in us recordings of events such as Prime Minister Maurice Bishop's release from house all. He is the author arrest and interviews with many government leaders about events there. Amina (6 issues; membership fiassan and Don Foster, 1983. Winner NFCB Award. of nine books, includ­ Catalogue No. S20224 60 minutes $13 includes discpunt on ing Light Around the products, etc.) Body (Harper & Row 1967), which won the Black Woman Artist National Book Award. In this interview, Howardina Pindell discussed the difficulties of Black artists, women Sample issue free from: artists, and, in particular. Black women artists. Clare Spark, 1973. New Dimensions (Tape #1678 1 hr. $9.95) CatalogueNo.BC1986 62 minutes $13 Foundation Changes P. O. Box 410510 Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg discuss LSD, art, and life. 1967. San Francisco, CA 94141 CatalogueNo.BB1849 71 minutes $15 415/563-8899

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 The hand and eye can easily record complex relationships that no computer model exists for. Intuitive, casual drawings, like the earliest cave People are embarrassed to sketch. It takes a toto f energy paintings, were actually drawn by the least to sketch. Applying that understood and niost sophisticated computers - energy causes you to fc)se touch the human brain. with the concrete Intellectual world that reinforces your A fascinating thing about the human ability sense (rf being. SketcNng feels like a trmce, you feel unusual, to draw accurately is the apparent lack of data vulnerable, entbarrassed. The rtiythm of Picasso's input required for the system to work. One just Tarot and sketohing both deal stroke is a personal tool for looks and sketches and the relationships are whh the visual and the intuitive locating spatial relattonships and nefther is legitinryzed as by trial & error. Each of us described pretty accurately on the paper. Most rattonal Jn western society, if has ou-own rtiythm stroke. To people require little instruction to be able to you consider the amount of draw a ine, modly the part of sketch (Dramng on the Right Side of the Brain computing power the brain your stroke that fits, or build must utilize to sketch the line with many small by Betty Edwards, (EWEC p.322),is the classic intuitively it will not suprise strokes laced together in a manual) and even the most severely limited you that sketching feels like a chain. Solid areas aebuMin trance. A benevolent frame of with tiny strokes. Most people individuals can draw objects and illustrate mind helps overcome make a figure eight stroke, the spatial relationships. embartassment. sign d infinity.

Article wril^n, deldff^e<^ illustrateds Sketching as interpersonal communication andpasted^ipby allows us to tap the resources of universal B.mMtey. understanding. Two or more people sketching together can become a think tank, their ideas and contributions producing a synergism. Laypeople can interact creatively with experts. It's a universal tool for clarifying and communicating ideas we already have but haven't expressed, ideas that are sometimes visionary. Sketching is so simple and natural that it is often disregarded in our over-complicated I prompted a friend to make this sketch for me. Sandra was society. It seems to have no practical value in a describing a giraffe made of live Ivy and I asked for a drawing sea of words and numbers. But there are some showing the texture of the Ivy in relationship to the size of the giraffe. I couldn't picture It In my mind's eye without that obvious uses for sketching when describing the information and that is a toto f information to express with words. tactile and the mechanical. This little sketch is part of a eonvereation. It prompts memory and thought differently than a video tape of the conversation woukJ. Almost anytime you are trying to The sketch of the house, also by Sandra Miller, was drawn on grid communicate the appearance, shape, texture, paper to M communicatton with paintera, craftpersons, etc. location, proportion, process, operation, Although the two sketches look very different both contain a construction or assembly of something physical common freehand pattern and you find yourself gesturing wildly or sculpting the object out of air, you could probably explain it better with a crude sketch, a few words and gestures. How can we best take advantage of this user friendly system that's portable and requires no power supply, cash outlay, or phone line? To make sketching commonplace, to make visual and spatial illustration part of everyday common language, we just need to sketch more and use that information by showing our sketches to

30 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 one another. To make this happen, the sketch book needs to become commonplace like appointment books, desk calendars, and briefcases; and we need to understand that sketching is part of our everyday language. The easiest way for most of us to begin, sketching is to buy a sketch book. Go to several art stores so you have an idea of what's available and get a few books that you like the feel of. I recommend getting more than one because you need to scatter sketch books throughout your life if you want to get the full advantages of being a free sketcher. Also it's good to have sketch books of varying sizes and paper types. You can own for instance: a small pad of high quality technical drawing paper for your wallet or pocket book, a larger pad for your desk or briefcase and at home you might enjoy a monster sketch pad hung on the wall. Having sketch books of different sizes will do more than Theauthor/des^ner sketched the headline, the ti^pogrenher identified the size ana style. Describing the headline with words and nunijere would have talcen more time and without the sicetch, would have required the designer to guess or calculale. Most graphic designers can comnunicale in \^ typographiciri terms, but they often sl(etch their Ideas for better clarity.

Tracing paper allows you to store, expand and improve the just allow you to keep a book in each of your information contained in your sletch vnthout changing the sintch. organizational spaces. It will allow you to vary nuMichawhUe When you've woited on a sketch unti you can maitt it no better, you tatUngabouther are ready for tracing paper. the scale of your drawings and this is an geograpMe ideal of Slide your sketch into a trackig pad ant' draw out everything you important technique for increasing the amount of home. The aketch want to i(eep and begin again. You can F ib graphite on ttie bmx of information you can capture and express. For wasdanecnabH^U this tracing and transfer the clean draw' tg onto any paper you like. gold mono pad from With tracing p»ier you can produce v Iriatlons of your sketch and some reason, sometimes, you can't draw your idea aSaxicon9any,She reeenifymooedioa coirpare them side t^ sUe, an advsnlae« you k»e when you erase. on a big piece of paper, but moments later you can landu^wmffie Designers and animators often begin sketching at the rear d a draw it just the way it should look on a Potvenbbxmin tracing pad and wori( to the front, producing a movie of thought golden meadaumoB process. matchbook cover. yearUmg. I can give you a good example of how drastic the importance of scale can be. When I was teaching mentally handicapped children, I had a student who couldn't print the alphabet because he didn't understand that some of the characters were made with diagonal strokes. He did fine with Os, Hs and Ts but was stumped with Ws, Ys and Zs. This was despite years of training with lettering templates and one-on-one demonstration. The diagonal printing stroke is a little subtle in handwriting but it's not when you're making letters three feet high. I stood behind the student, both of us facing the blackboard and gripping a piece of chalk. We stood like the person in the famous Da Vinci sketch and drew circles and squares with our whole bodies. Then we drew circles and squares 1. Rough sketch made on as small as possible at eye level. We divided drawing paper. the square horizontally, vertically and 2. Tracing nnade from sketch. diagonally at both scales and then began writing the alphabet. We made a letter with our bodies 3. Finished dnming made from tracing. and then at the size of normal handwriting. By

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 >«l, the time we reached letter K, the student for organizing topical understood how to make the diagonal stroke and infornntlon in one book. The has had no problem since. Most normally spine has a pocltet and a nice label so you can remember functioning humans would experience the same whd's inside. profound level of improvement if they would experiment with sketching at different scales. So you really do need to surround yourself with several sketch books of different sizes.

The feel of your sketch book is as important Artists i(eep their drawings as the size so don't buy a book of paper that in portfolios, expensive books with expensive see-through doesn't make you feel like sketching. I can't offer pages. Now there Is an 3Vi)o

feel that big visualizing machine revving up in Glue a calendar card into the cover of your sketch book and the right side of your brain you may be holding a use it as your central record­ sketch book you need to own. The same advice keeping and appointment book. holds true for all drawing tools. You might The graphic rnodules in most appointment books restrict remember how easily a new box of crayons could you to a specific and break colorer's-block; a problem, by the way, predetermined organizatkm of that never gets the literary attention it deserves. time. With a calender and a sketch book you can design your own visual reminders as While you're at the art stores looking at the need arises. sketching books (and pencils, pens, conte, etc.) you should look at the sheets of paper in those big thin flat drawers. This is where they keep The sketch bek>w was made to determine how tal a basket shouU be. The drawing represents the thought process of discovering the good stuff. which human dimension te relative. In the process of thinking and sketching a scale drawing was created, other dimensions have been You should look through all those flat revealed without conscious thought. Merely thinking about how tall drawers for two important reasons. The first will produce a couple of dimensions; this sketch illustrates at least reason is that you can learn more about paper by ten. looking through all the paper drawers in a well stocked art store than you can by reading a book y'hfhr about paper. (The tactile can be more n informational than a thousand textural adjectives.) Hot press, weight, tooth, rag, rj deckle, color, calendering, filler, bulk, opacity, hold out, etc. will make more sense to you when «i you are right there looking down at wide flat drawers containing thousands of dollars worth of pa human achievement and heritage in the flat pi*— white form of ancient art and modern science called paper. While you're looking at this r living museum of world class paper from around S-- the globe realize that you could make all of the r= fine paper you could use right at home in your tr,-

32 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 own little kitchen. Don't be intimidated by 1 W'^^gM paper. The second reason why you should look through all those drawers is because someday 1 '.«'.• »«tS^5>AA^t,' 1 you might not be able to find a sketch book that JilpeeettmgBy 1

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 33 VISUAL

CBS ev w-$ouxu,Ny. ISN'T IT STRANGE THAT who latch onto the new visual com­ emerged from the work with inter- HEAmY •ituce A^r mi. conscious visual communication is munication media early on are go­ hemispheric differences in the brain ExrfBMeLy mm gecc&uiTioN not a common language outside ad­ ing to be glad they did. — the "right-brain/left-brain" SBCMise OP BxpoiUKB fmtumxx vertising agencies and art schools? Those old prejudices have been dichotomy we've heard too much ot^B OP sesT tMmu Mwa m us. Eyeballs, after all, are precisely jogged out of their tracks by sever­ about. Despite the hype and hoopla where minds meet ttie world. West­ al recent discoveries. One was the about "right-brained" this and ern civilization in the late twentieth discovery of the influence of visual that, it does appear to be true that century, by virtue of our electronic thinking on our reasoning proces­ all of us use several different modes mass media, is the most visually ses; experiments by perceptual of thinking in our daily tasks, de­ saturated society in history. We are psychologists revealed that our per­ pending on what task we are tack­ bombarded every second with im­ ceptions, particularly our visual ling, and which part of the task we agery from billboards, magazines, perceptions, structure the way we are involved in. newspapers, television sets — even think about the world. And the use graffiti — all flowing through our of visual imagery for communicat­ The dominant mode of thought in nervous systems unhindered by ing abstractions, the way artists our society is "linear" thinking, in­ conscious awareness, lil(e so many and designers do, seems to involve volving words, logic, sequences, neutrinos zipping silently through a specific mode of thought, a cer­ and numbers. The other mode of WOOLMtKK gf FKANCeSCO the planet. Despite this incessant thought involves imagery, nonse­ i^noeoA, iTAiy. sit/ce »6V tain set of mental skills. Recently, quential thought, intuition. The vast HAi eesot^B one OP rm storm of visual symbols, very few a few specialists have dared to sug­ ti/ORU^ MOST R»Miu/^ swsas. of us in this high-viz culture con­ gest that just about anybody can majority of the population depends ABsmtcreo snem ep^ntgN, sider ourselves capable of express­ learn visual thinking skills, just as on the linear mode most of the time. ifIKE FU*/fOPr/CAL WIENSTH. ing ourselves visually, or of using we learn to type or write a letter. But during those moments when we "mOL-tLBUb MAt^ ITS'CHIU). images to communicate. We go to It's all a matter of knowing the right are thinking in pictures instead of professionals for that. words, looking for subtle patterns —Notes on Graphic Design and exercises and having the right tools. Visual Communication Advocates of visual thinking exer­ rather than generating logical ar­ Nobody ever calls it by name, but cises claim it can improve the way guments, or are being particularly we are a visually illiterate culture. you think. creative or intuitive, we switch in­ Everybody knows how to tall<, most to the other mode. Artists appear people know how to write a sen­ Rudolf Arnheim's classic Visual to be able to dip into the visual tence, many seem to believe they Thinking used examples from art mode at will. William Katavolos and Ms students could write a book, but the almost and psychology to demonstrate that are fully enveloped In, and have universal prejudice is that only ar­ we derive our ideas and language full visual access to, a collective When educators and psychologists tists and illustrators are capable of graphic memory of Ideas gen­ itself from our perceptual respons­ began to look into the possibility of erated on a design problem. communicating visually. All that es. Then new knowledge about training non-experts, they made a -Experiences in Visual Thinking seems to be changing. And those the mind's use of visual thinking startling discovery that was popu­ larized by Betty Edwards in her books Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and Drawing on the Ar­ tist Within (EWEC p. 322): not on­ ly can non-artists learn visual think­ ing skills, but the act of using a pencil or a pen to sketch, doodle, or visualize an idea is a tool for switching the brain into the "other" mode of thought — the non-linear, imagistic, intuitive, "creative" mode. If you have a problem, you can use a pencil and paper to doo­ dle in a structured manner while you are thinking about your pro­ blem. By unlocking your other mode of thought at the same time you are concentrating on your pro­ blem, you may come up with solu­ tions you would not have thought about otherwise. Simply stated, conscious doodling can put you in a more flexible, creative state of mind.

Arnheim's book is chock full of analysis and examples, and is ponderous reading. Betty Edwards'

34 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 BY HOWARD THINKING RHEINGOLD

books are both based on exercises, WHATismeetsp- • THB 6RIPISA sKeiemL are filled with quotes and examples, ••••••• ufjpeissmucToeB TO aiit^ and are fun to read even if you don't ODHBSIVeAIBSS TO A ^SVAI-PIBCE. ITt AM omW/OSH follow the exercises. My mother, a MD TMSSAVeH AUt> HEI-K BUItP COUnWlTf. lifelong art teacher (now a chil­ •6IVBHA FoeMATS/ZE, dren's docent at San Francisco's LAYOUT A 'iFKm>(mO OF&J IVIuseum of Modern Art: Hi Mom!) Fxees). AHALns iNfoemW heartily endorses Drawing With mmseivHS, HEADS, ewi^s, Cliiidren: A Creative Teaching and me. gBS/uiKso. Learning IVIethod That Worlts for Aduits, Too. She's been reading it and playing with my three-year-old •P£6mi A 60:JO. APPLY IT TO daughter Mamie, and they are both DD TUB SPmAO- WS li A HX an um 6f^o. IT DETSsmi/es having a high old time. It isn't one • MA/ief^,scrTefis, Au£rs,ejv- of those books on how to turn your • D nn THIS IS it:eL£V>N mLAmur. infant into a genius. Just a lot of fun • D • • with a system for helping you notice things. The before-and-after draw­ •FIMALLr, POSITION ELEMEm ings In black and white and color on mS 6lil[>:HEAPLweS, do a great job of showing the read­ = • TEXT TfPe, FH0TOS,EK. THE Inverted drawing. Forcing the cognitive er exactly what the book is talk­ 6^t> IXFIVeSj HBLATSS, Wl? shift trom the dominant left-hemisphere ing about; after as little as an hour ^flJiWSS m/AL/^E^BAL mode to the suhdominant right-hemi­ 11 sphere mode. of exercises taken from the book, lUn^MATKN- children as young as four create -Notes on Graphic Design and Visual Communications —Drawing on tlie Right Side of the Brain compositions of astonishing sophis­ tication. Sketches, the fundamentals of typo­ higher level because the computer It's happening in colleges as well graphy, the use of marks, symbols, takes care of lower-level tasks like as nursery schools. Recently, a logos, and pictograms, the ele­ moving paragraphs and recalculat­ team of designers, psychologists, ments of page design. The words ing equations, computer paint pro­ computer scientists, and engineers describing these techniques are grams make it possible for people has been teaching a course in vi­ surrounded by illustrations that get to think and communicate more sual thinking. "Viz-Think,"asthe the points across graphically. easily with Images. The user can now Incorporate graphs, maps, dia­ Stanford course is called, has be­ It's great to know that we can all come increasingly popular. Ex­ grams, flow-charts, and other visual learn to think visually, and this Is devices in written documents. periences in Visual Thinl(ing by Important if you want to find novel Robert McKim, one of the teachers, solutions or create something new, The evolution of visual thinking is a book of exercises organized but does that mean millions of peo­ tools continues to accelerate, with into a complete curriculum for ple are going to rush out and learn no end in sight. With a Macintosh learning visual thinking strategies how to think visually? In the sense user base in the millions, and mil­ and techniques. that Betty Edwards' books are sell­ lions more IBM-compatible compu­ ing hundreds of thousands of co­ ters converting to graphics-based While visual thinking is a process pies, there is a growing population Intertaces like Windows, the per­ of using images to generate and of "visual literates" out there. This sonal computer world Is more and communicate ideas, graphic design curriculum for learning new ways more becoming a world where peo­ Is a discipline by which visual to think and express ourselves ple aren't afraid to use graphs, thinking techniques are applied to might signal an important shift in charts, and even drawings to com­ specific communication tasks. Vi­ the way people will think about municate their thoughts and feel­ sual literacy is at the tactical level. many things. Especially when you ings. Look for more visual expres­ Graphic design is strategic. Once consider the enormous amplifica­ sion and visual thinking in docu­ again, we've left this to the special­ tion of these effects that is now ments and even casual communica­ ists, who have come up with all possible through the creative use tions like memos In the coming kinds of handy tricks for influenc­ From the author's computer sl(etchbook. of personal computers. months and years. • ing opinion and conveying Informa­ Left and right brains are reunited at last. tion through visual imagery. Anyone With the advent of computers like can use them. You don't need a the Macintosh, where the user can VisualThinking: Rudolf Arnheim, 1969; Notes on Graphic Design and Visual license: all you have to do is know use software tools to create and 345 pp. $12.95 ($14.45 postpaid) from Communication: Gregg Berryman, 1984; about them. Gregg Berryman's control images on the screen, com­ University of California Press/Order 48 pp. $4.95 ($6.45 postpaid) from Dept., 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, William Kaufmann, Inc., 95 1st Street, short introductory book. Notes on puter users can think visually with CA 94720. Los Altos, CA 94022. Graphic Design and Visual Commu­ more sophistication. Just as word nication, shows as well as tells the processors and spreadsheets make Drawing With Children: Mona Brookes, Experiences in Visual Thinking: Robert 1986; 211 pp. $10.95 ($12.20 post­ H. McKim, 1980; 183 pp. $23 ($25 key tricks of the trades: stuff like it possible for people to write and paid) from St, Martin's Press, 175 5th postpaid) from Wadsworth Inc., 7625 how and why to make thumbnail analyze numerical information at a Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Empire Drive, Florence, KY 41042.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 35 Al any given placa, the sea­ horse motif is tol(en through an infinite number of varia­ tions. This is shown in the enlargement series in the "sea-horse valley," which up to a magnification of one mlliion shows ever new con­ stellations of "tail" and "eye" of the sea-horse. —The Beauty of Fractafs

manmade design. Since making the cover ofSelentlflc American, FRACTALS the Mandelbrot Set has acquired something of a cult following, as people explore the minute worlds- & SUCH within-worlds at its margin. The M-Set is a particularly spec­ BY ROBERT HORVITZ tacular example of a "fractal" — that is, a form with edges that are unsmooth at any magnification. HE AUGUST 1985 Seien- (Perhaps not surprisingly, the set's tifle American had a discoverer, Benoit Mandelbrot, was gorgeous, mysterious T the primary developer of fractal picture on its cover: a black disk geometry.) Fractals are not just an rimmed with smaller disks, sur- eye-tickling family of irregular rounded by Kirlian halos of multi­ U = -i» = k Jk= -kj ki =-ik'BJ shapes; they are a new tool for colored flame. A. K. Dewdney —The Journof of Chaos and Graphics analyzing and modeling natural explained, in that issue's "Com­ phenomena that have eluded de­ Self-terminating hereditary information takes a com­ puter Recreations" column, that scription in more traditional terms. pletely autonomous shape as the spiral covering the the image represented part of the In addition, the technique used to outer skin — the ascending and descending spiral com­ edge of the Mandelbrot Set, one generate the M-Set, "iterative pletely covers the outer skin with a firm husk. Thot is, of the most complex mathematical furthermore, like the properties of a highly acid creature. mapping," has applications in the forms ever devised. His article was —Growth Morphogenesis simulation of "chaotic" processes illuminated with close-ups of other that have only begun to be tapped. regions on the edge of the M-Set. Deliriously detailed, all were gen­ The beauty, versatility and descrip­ erated on a computer by repeating tive power of fractals and iterative a simple calculation on a field of mapping have inspired a new kind reoi oow imaginary numbers. Yrhen of graphic research flouri'^hip^ this is done many times, the plane between art and science. Here are around the Mandelbrot Set erupts a few gateways into this field: in convoluted symmetries and fluid- crystal swirls, as the algorithm drives points outside the set to in­ The Beauty of Fractals finity. This explosive turbulence can Some seventy dazzling color pic­ be made visible by assigning colors tures, and many more in black and to the speed at which each coor­ white, make this a seductive intro­ dinate "flees." The resulting image duction for those not mathematically is mathematically rigorous yet inclined. At the same time, it's shamelessly psychedelic — wilder packed with enough advanced but more highly ordered than any mathematics to keep a grad student

36 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 busy for years. Capping it off, Growth Morphogenesis a movement combining a semiorganic ionized tftere are tfioughfful essays on the colloid personality with the arbitrariness of the Yoichiro Kawaguchi's work makes impact of fractals on the way we living body. use of fractals, but he's not just a view nature, science and art, as —Growth Morphogenesis finder of fruitful equations, he's a well as a personal account of the brilliant inventor of visual worlds. • discovery of the M-Set and a review Colorfully patterned biomorphs, Topological paradise — a resonance with intricacy of the evolution of fractal geometry resembling sea creatures from and confrontation between influence and assertion by Mandelbrot himself. another planet, grow, writhe, float fuse, so that an emotional perspective appears. and evolve in his video animations, This is the emergence of a world of words polished The Journal while the surroundings, the ob­ through living body rhythms and the weaving of server's viewpoint and the light brocade. This is probably reflected screen in the of Chaos and Graphics source all move. The dynamism of human mental world. It forms a celestial image A new occasional journal covering these forms is partly captured in surpassing the pain of existence bespoken by all sorts of mathematically based sequences of stills in this amply colors and common sayings. visual wildness, edited by one of illustrated book, with texts in Jap­ This may well be the most sublime image that the leading researchers. Brief, in­ anese and English. Some of the computer graphics can achieve now. spiring reports with barely ade­ chapters seem to be transcribed —Growt/i Morphogenesis quate black-and-white graphics. lectures by Kawaguchi; the hal­ The seed of future glory. lucinogenic flavor of his thinking • is somewhat heightened by the Why is geometry often described as cold and difficulty of translation. Amygdala dry? One reason lies in its inability to describe the Other chapters are descriptions of shape of a cloud, a mountain, a coastline, or a Newsletter for people interested in method and purpose by some of tree. Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not the Mandelbrot Set. Short articles his collaborators, interspersed with cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not (including some "math-fi," a new short testimonials from his fans. smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight fiction genre related to sci-fi); The computer system (64 minis line. . . . Nature exhibits not simply a higher de­ reviews of fractal-generating soft­ linked in parallel) and the pro­ gree but an altogether different level of complexity. ware and algorithmic shortcuts; gramming concepts he uses are The number of distinct scales of length of patterns is for all purposes infinite. and a running bibliography of im­ described in the appendix. This is portant fractal publications. Two some of the most exciting computer- kinds of subscriptions are offered: The existence of these patterns challenges us to graphic work I've ever seen. study those forms that Euclid leaves aside as being you get either 10 issues of the news­ • letter, or 25 color slides of the M-Set formless, to investigate the morphology of the released over the same time period. The original character which is amorphous. Mathematicians have disdained this Or you can get both the slides and dispatched and harmonized — the challenge, however, and have increasingly chosen the newsletter. cell-like trait, which grows while sent to flee from nature by devising theories unrelated out in liquid-state from a husk closed to anything we can see or feel. By the way, "Amygdala" is Latin within a kernel, self-materializes a —Benoit Mandelbrot, for "almond;" "Mandelbrot" is definitely hereditary character within The Beauty of Fractals • Yiddish for "almond bread;" and "amygdaloid" is an igneous rock with rounded cavities filled with (Right) Fractal Image mineral crystals. B3BAAAB/21. —Art Matrix (Below) The mimesis in the ^ The Beauty of Fractals: Heinz-Otto Art Matrix level of transparency — the « Peitgen and Peter H. Richter. 1986; mimesis which has melted in- " 199 pp. $35 ($37.50 postpaid) from visibly within the light, seems The leading vendor of high-reso­ Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 44 lution M-Set color graphics — to be an ort of seclusion within the bounds of human visibility. Hartz Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094 (or videos, slides, photoprints, and The living body is purified, Whole Earth Access). postcards. You gotta love a com­ and its transparency is gauged The Journal of Chaos and Graphics: pany whose motto is "A Fractal in at the point at which it can no Clifford A. Pickover, editor. Published Every Paw." Also produces work longer hold impurities inside irregularly; subscriptions free from on commission, and develops and the body cavity even by using Clifford A. Pickover, Journal of Chaos sells software. all its might. and Graphics, IBM Thomas J. Watson —Growth Morphogenes/s Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NJ 10598. Amygdala: Rollo Silver, editor. $15/ year (10 issues or 25 color slides); $30/year (both) from Amygdala, Box 219, San Cristobal, NM 87564. Art Matrix: catalog free from Art Matrix, P. O. Box 880, Ithaca, NY 14851. Growth Morphogenesis: Yoichiro Kawaguchi. 1985; 212 pp. $29.95 ($32.95 postpaid) from JICC USA, 3540 Wilshire Blvd./Suite 406, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (o; Whol« Forth Access). '%

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 37 Once an image has been drawn in Illustrator It can be stratched, flopped, and alterad in many other ways. Laser type eon also be modi­ fied with great precision.

Adobe Illustrator lets you trace from a digitized image In one win­ dow while watching a "preview" window showing how your drawing will look when printed.

# File Edit Hrrange Uiem Style

Cricket Draw • Adobe Illustrator Three and a half years since its introdudion, the Macintosh is still the easiest-to-use (and in some configurations, most powerful) personal computer around. Graphic artists are especially fond of the Mac and the LaserWriter, Apple's high-resolution printer. Both Adobe Illustrator and Cricket Draw provide the tools for producing professional graphics using the PostScript language that is built into the Laser­ Draw but it has a user interface that is twice as complex. Writer and an increasing number of other printers. This With Illustrator you usually start with a scanned paint- has made them an immediate favorite of daily newspaper image (such as a digitized drawing or photo from Thun- art departments and graphic design studios. derscan or MacVision) which serves as a template. This is then traced on-screen with Illustrator's tools, most often Cricket Draw is the most immediately accessible of the the "pen" which enables you to connect a series ofbezier two programs. On the surface it resembles Apple's Mac- curves and straight lines. Draw, but underneath, Illustrator also gives you Cricket Draw adds a whole extensive control over laser new range of powers for fonts, including stretching, creating and manipulating angling, and grey-screens. images. Grey-scale "foun­ Some of Cricket Draw's tains" (shaded areas that snappy tricks such as foun­ smoothly flow from dark to tains and text arcs are not light grey), controlled sha­ easily duplicated in Illus­ dowing behind objects and trator, although PostScript type, and the ability to provides the means to make laserfont text follow achieve them. On the an arc or path of your other hand, once you get choosing are just three of the hang of its interface, Cricket Draw's unique Illustrator lets you produce abilities. You can also Trc cxrcR STILL VIBRATES the most nuanced art of customize rulers, grids, any graphics program parallel lines, starbursts, as for the Mac. well as control the place­ Cricket Draw's 'Transfer Mode" lets you take shaded areas and transform them with lines or dots in dimen­ ment and duplication of sions of your choice. . If you are a professional objects you create, re­ artist with a Macintosh, sulting in a highly defined Illustrator is worth serious graphics environment. consideration. Cricket Draw Cricket Software, who have also produced the popular also provides graphics power, but because of its ease of use Cricket Graph business-charting software, have a repu­ its potential audience includes everyone with access to a Laser­ tation for producing powerful, easy-to-use software at Writer. —Jay Kinney reasonable prices. One caveat: Cricket Draw's rather breezy handbook introduces the program adequately but Cricket Draw: Version 1.01; not copy-protected. Macintosh not thoroughly. A series of post-release "technical notes" 5T2E required. LaserWriter suggested. $295 from Cricket help plug some of the holes, but a program this good Software, Inc., 3508 Market Street #206, Philadelphia, calls for better documentation. PA 19104; 800/345-8112 (in California: 800/662-2444). Adobe Illustrator: Version 1.1; copy-protected (registered Adobe Illustrator comes from the same company that users get non-copy-protected disk). Macintosh Plus and wrote the PostScript language itself. Not surprisingly, it external drive recommended. LaserWriter suggested. gives even more access to high-resolution image $495 from Adobe Systems, Inc., 1855 Charleston Road/ manipulation. However, this access comes at a price: not P. O. Box 7900, Mountain View, CA 94039-7900; only does Illustrator cost almost twice as much as Cricket 415/961-4400.

38 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Theybrmgupthefelings This sketch shows the dexterity of line oflostknowlegeand in MacCalligraphy 2.0. Although it has a heavy Oriental \^^- Influence, the ex­ pressiveness of the have control of the "Ink" works equally Svidual grains of s.Wer well for Western that make up the image- images.

VERBUM Remember the sort of graphics you fantasized would be possible when you first heard of person­ al computers? They can finally be done. Artists are grabbing the cursor and spawning a distinct design sense, which this classy journal explores. "It looks like computer art" is the first thing you are cured of. -Kevin Kelly VERBUM Michael Gosney, Editor $28/year (4 issues) from: Verbum Subscriptions P. O. Box 15439 Son Diego, CA 92115 619/463-9977 ^7^-

Boeing Graph drives plotters and will use dot-matrix and laser Numbers sfun; pictures printers. illuminate. If you have ever tried to present nu­ If you present scientific merical information visu­ or financial information to ally, you know how difficult people, this is an exquisite it can be. tool. It's also a lot of fun to play with. This program turns tables —8/rre/l Walsh of data into exquisite three-dimensional graphs. You can choose among 32 Boeing Graph: Version different types of three- 4.0; IBM compatible, 512K dimensional graphs, 15 required. Will run on B/W types of two-dimensional or CGA monitors or with graphs, and almost end­ Hercules or EGA graphics less points of view. Graphs adaptor. $395 from Boeing can be rotated, moved Computer Service, P. O. vertically and horizontally, Box 24346/Mail Stop 7W- repainted, and labeled as 05, Seattle, WA 98124- you choose. The program 0346:800/368-4555.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 Suterisms David Sufer's visual mind-benders appear regularly in national publications such as The New York Times, Har­ per's, and The Progressive. Like the famous optical illu­ sionist M.C. Escher, Suter melds foreground and back­ UK ground in drawings that inherently express contradictions in our political unconscious. His images are so natural they seem obvious. Their SO »• simplicity and elegance are consistently captivating. —Jeanne Carstensen fi Suterisms '—"^"^ David Suter ! 1986; 97 pp. .» S3 I $4.95 ($5.95 postpaid) from: ', .. "" -"'.. iifilliiiiii Ballantine/Random House 400 Hahn Road i " .£ '/I -• Captured (1983) Westminster, MD 21157 800/638-6460 or Whole Earth Access WmX&til^^

The Job (1980)

The Anatomy of the Image Maps Bonnie Gordon has investigated a single halftone photo­ graph of an unknown man (found in a junk store in Santa Monica), and a single book (Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged), for a decade, stretching their structures and contents to reveal unexpected connections between lan­ guage and the human body. All the marks, lines, dots and words in her work are taken from the photo and the dictionary, via an elastic gelatin photoemulsion. Her work is summarized in this classy paperback. —Robert Horvitz The Anatomy of III! IM\l' \1 M''' the Image Maps Bonnie Gordon 1982; 48 pp. 9I 2 postpaid from: Gordon 797 Potomac Ave. Buffalo, NY 14209 y

40 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Visual Anthropology The great 19th-century American photographer Matthew Brady felt he was morally obligated to record for the future the events, places, and people of his time. Since Brady's time, with the exception of the Roosevelt administration's documentation of the Great Depression, the public face of photography has shown more consistent attention to aesthetic achievement. Brady's plea for recording has been answered by the Col­ liers, who show how. For the anthropologist, geographer, or sociologist, the authors present the photograph (film and video are also thoroughly discussed) as a rich source of both qualitative and quantitative information about human behavior and culture. As a photographer, I was struck by the methodology of "intenfiewing with photographs," in which photographs are cycled back to their subjects, who are asked to inter­ pret and expand on what is going on in the picture. The research period included the major saints day for the village during which a number of ceremonial activities took place, including an ex­ Surely broadening for the photographer as well as a quisite deer dance. At the request of the village governor both the valuable tool for the social scientist. —Don Ryan deer dance and some foot races, involving mainly older men down by the river, were photographed. The field team considered themselves Visual - -"^^ exceptionally lucky to be invited to photograph the deer dance, often Anthropology r m.ai:'-'" ' considered to be the central ceremonial activity of this summer fiesta. (Photography as a Research Method) When Siegel carried out interviews using the photographs, to our John Collier, Jr. amazement, only cursory comments were made on the deer dance; and Malcolm Collier "We just do that for the Spanish people. . . ." But when the photo­ 1986; 248 pp. graphs showed the crowd moving down the hill to the foot race the interview tone changed; "Now the solemn time begins. . . ." and in­ $14.95 tense commentary followed. Running was more of a central ceremonial ($15.95 postpaid) from: mystique than the elaborate deer dance. This revelation suggested University of changes in classical beliefs regarding ceremonialism at both Picuris New Mexico Press and its larger neighbor, Taos Pueblo. Both had excelled, historically, in Albuquerque, NM 87131 long-distance running, but it was the drama and pageantry of the 505/277-4810 deer dance that had always captivated the attention of outside ob­ servers in the past.

Instant Litter instant Litter The ultimate disposable art: xerox posters for garage (Concert Posters from bands, stapled to telephone poles. Art Chantry of Seattle Seattle Punk Culture) „o« «»"»'"" , was so struck by a phenomenon he calls "more a com­ 'S Art Chantry munity primal scream than advertising" that he began 1985; 112 pp. to collect and research the posters of the Seattle punk $10 music scene. ($11 postpaid) from: The result. Instant Lifter, is strange and wonderful and The Real Comet Press disturbing, filled with the manipulation of innocent middle- 3131 Western Ave. #410 class images to display the frank and explosive energy of Seattle, WA 98121 middle-class fugitives. Whenever possible the posters are •—•• j,^ 2.1/oM 206/283-7827 deciphered by source and the history of the band; over 150 reproductions —Sallie Tisdale

Go^"£J'S''

$3

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" l.Al E FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 41 Performance, xerox, and mail artist Tom Patrick — fie says "posturban artist" — has taught }^rox art at U.C. Beri

XEROX ART It's a quick way of visual thinking, and your inspiration need only last seconds. As a reproductive tool, the xerox machine is fast, cheap, and versatile, making freedom of expression possible instantaneous­ ly. It's creativity at the push of a button. You can make posters, books, mag­ azines, postcards, to name just a My favorite B&W copiers are the few possibilities, and multiply your Kodak 9400 and 9500; they are effi­ original designs to unlimited cient and give bold, clean copies. quantities. But sometimes I want my copies softer and grayish — that's when I seek out an old, funky Savin copier or one of its equivalents. These machines still use the original "wet" process to make copies, which produces the softer look. MATERIALS Pictures from magazines, pho­ Many black & white copiers let you reduce (down to about 40 percent i^66^ tographs, cloth, feathers, paper scraps, found objects, your elbow; of the original size) or enlarge (up any material you want to arrange to 400 percent) in one shot. on the copier window. Panels, posters, and even billboards are possible with multiple enlarge­ ments. Doing enlargements can be expensive, though, anywhere from THE MACHINES 50' to $7 per copy. Reduction costs about 20° per copy and regular Understanding how the copier copies range from 2.5 to i 5' each. works will help you fulfill your Shop around. creative act. The copy machine has two basic parts: the camera and the printer. The camera is basically a lens and a light source. It takes an "elec­ tronic" picture of the object being copied and sends that information to the printer. The printer uses an electrostatically charged drum (a large metal cylinder) to attract the fine black powder of the dry toner which is then rolled onto paper and heat-fused.

The toner is a kind of plastic that works well on paper, acetate and 64% transfer sheets. You can also "trans­ REDUCTION fer" copy imagery using a solvent, or even some brands of markers.

*>:• XEROGRAPHY. WHAT ARE YOU GOOD FOR? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS BY GERTRUDE MYRRH REAGAN

BLACK AND WHITE 4. Copying my l(id's best drawing '^'^XC''^J 7. Experimenting! For instance, • v 1. iUalcing letterhead stationery before he mails it away. *"* * by malting acetate xeroxes of In exactly the quantities needed. 5. Cheaply enlarging or reducing drawings and laying them over Z. Copying careworn phone lists (Kodal( copier recommended). either the original or another onto strong paper. 6. Culling images I need for art design, moires and delightful jux­ 3. Moving and editing text without projects without having to tear tapositions can be generated. Or,

a computer (cut and paste!) up large numbers of books and combine several sizes of the •_• • t • « magazines. same image. py.^'S:''*?'. SOME TECHNIQUES After you arrange your materials on the copier glass, experiment with different ways of reproducing what's lying on the glass. CHOICE OF COPIER - As men­ tioned above, some copiers produce crisp, bold images while others come out soft and grey. Know your machines. ONE-OF-A-KIND COPIES - Un­ COPY MOTION - Moving the particularly well, humorously elon­ predictable "actions" and events image on the screen while the gating the image. Also works with may leave you with an original, the camera is working. Older machines color machines since they use the image that only you have a copy with a slow-scanning light bar work same scanning light bar technology. of. "Mistakes" often lead to new techniques and discoveries about the machine.

COLOR Each of the color copiers available today — Xerox, Canon, Minolta, and Sharp — has its own unique qualities. The Xerox is more hard- edged, more print-like, whereas the Canon and Minolta copiers are more photo-like and softer.

The color cOpier uses three color toners — magenta, yellow and cyan — to simulate full-color reproduc­ tion. Or you can choose two colors to work with, or just one, depend­ ing on what you want to do. Think of the possibilities of overlaying colors or separating colors — com­ pletely changing around the colors within one picture.

The imaging gets even more inter­ esting when you find out all the materials that you can copy on. Besides several types of paper, you can use transparencies and transfer sheets. By copying on transparen­ cies you can make your own slides. It's also possible to get copies on paper from photographic slides. Photographers use this technique to cheaply see a print of a slide before having it printed the expen­ sive, traditional way. You can also make T-shirts by copying onto transfer sheets.

(As an experimental copy artist I find transfer processes the most FOCAL DISTANCE - Play with fun on color machines. I use trans­ holding items you're copying at fers to make larger prints on nice different distances from the glass. rag paper and combine this method The glass is the focal plane, so items with other traditional art media flush against it are in perfect focus. like paint, spraypaint, pencils, They get blurrier the farther away etc., with surprising results.) from the glass they are. •

A Thtrmofax copier (at many 10. Outrageous art! like collage, KAr«!«!v-''6fltM.'Jv*M»X'I*.*«M" ''^- """""fl **"'' "* "^ children a ItjCCvJ* schools) with special coated cloth yet it allows 3-D objects and copy of the childhood photo album. [^^«J»J can make small silk screens of manipulations while the machine :-:'S:-v-- Expensive, but invaluable. ^*X4*I* these xeroxes. slowly scans each color. All this, without the computer VJC*^ COLOR (Canon copier 11. Copying old color photos user's up-front capital expense. [Vi\"I*r recommended) •:•:•: 8. Sharing a sketch with a friend — even If it's a watercolor. 9. Instant photography of small XEROX ART MAGAZINES False Positive: Editor Donna Kossy uses a high-quality copier and takes full Look at xerox art maigazines for art and design ideas and for a dreamlike glimpse advantage of it with good paper and into the events of the artist's uncon­ superb color-xerox covers. This mix of scious, love life, or neighborhood. Here Kossy's collages and "black humor, off­ is ample inspiration for your own xerox beat ideologies, and anomalous art" is publishing efforts — on a one-time or actually coherent, unlike many other ongoing basis. These highly eclectic per­ 'zines that might be described the same sonal expressions, are difficult to evaluate v/ay. Oh she's sarcastic. I love it. for an audience greater than one. So False Positive: Donna Kossy, Editor. $10 (4 vifhen reading through the reviev^s in issues) from Out-of-Control Data Korpor- Fact Sheet Five (p. 46), Sound ation, P. O. Box 432, Boston, MA 02258. Choice (p. Ill), or other magazines, Photostatic Magazine: A collection take note of what sounds fun and order of xerox art broadsides of every possible away. Experimentation is the rule here, style with short notes about the artists. for readers and publishers alike. Vaguely related by theme. Here are three I like. Photostatic Magazine: Lloyd Dunn, Editor. $6/year (i Issues) from 330 South Box of Water: Distinct, bold images, Linn Street, Iowa City, lA 52240. many of them xeroxed drawings rather —Jeanne Carstensen than the ubiquitous collages, on heavy grey paper Also with "textual exper­ imentations." Contact addresses for all contributors, 'zine reviews, and infor­ mation on current xerox art compila­ tions and mail art catalogs. More elegant <^%^^^ than the usual fare. Box of Water: Stephen Perkins, Editor. $5 (2 issues) from I3S Cole Street, San yifo ^ f^* •i.»?«s>>»? "i,**® Francisco, CA 94117. i^ oi&t ^a^ ifiii%i Sp> if

(Top left) "The Message and "^^ the Messenger" by Lil Dunn \f (Photostatic Magazine).

(Left and right) Images from False Positive.

(Below) Innages from South Af­ rica (available from Box of War).

"SjiviaHath introduced me to white rum and arsenic."

44 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 tvo^e^ t\0

io\> Work Hard When You're no and You Shall Up To Your Ass Be Rewarded in Alligators Alan Dundes Alan Dundes and Carl R. Pagter and Carl R. Pagter ress 1978; 223 pp. 1987; 272 pp. $6.95 $9.95 ($8.45 postpaid) from: ($11.95 postpaid) from: .bo'ne -Up To Your Ass Indiana University Press Wayne State no -P 10th and Morton Streets University Press Bloomington, IN 47405 Detroit, Ml 48202 Work Hard and 812/335-5429 313/577-4603 You Shall Be Rewarded or Whole Earth Access or Whole Earth Access • When You're Up To Your Ass in Alligators Every office / have ever been in fias at least one corner plastered w/f/i cartoons, doggerel, and folk art mode possible by the xerox machine. Taped on walls and bulletin boards, circulated by friends, these half-serious postings are galleries for a national communications channel that touches nearly everyone. Like all folklore, they are un­ examined messages from the culture's subconscious. The material which gets passed around the most is often racist, pornographic, or anti-bureaucratic — soc/a//y acceptable ways of confronting the tabooed and the feared. These two collections, accurately subtitled "Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire," relay the quiet shift from an oral folklore to an inked folklore, driven by the inventions of typewriters, copy machines, and instant printers. —Kevin Kelly

JrAm" Hi/^vy/hmi'y

-Work Hari

Canon PC-20 Personal Copier machine doesn't enlarge or reduce or collate or work at high speed, but who cares? I can cart it around (with a fVe come to believe that a personal copier is as important little puffing), and its feed tray eliminates hand-feeding of OS a personal computer for doing research, writing, paper. Not a cheap appliance, but its value is enormous, almost any intellectual activity. Having one vastly accel­ way more than I expected. —Stewart Brand erated a book project for me — / copied notes from my Canon PC-20! Suggested retail $1,095; actually available notebooks and quotes from books and taped them onto 5 for far less (Whole Earth Access sells them for $699). X 8 cards, and those cards became the handy coin of the Check local Canon dealers and discount office-supply book's realm. I share information more now, because it's outfits. Cartridges containing toner in assorted colors, so easy to knock out a copy for someone, and I file stuff drum, and developer are about $80. more reliably in multiple versions. A copier is even inval­ uable around the home — copy the recipe from a bulky cookbook, copy the portion of the map you're driving on today, make a copy of Auntie's postcard or Junior's theme for Mom. The great thing about the small copiers that have much of their high-tech in disposable cartridges is that they so seldom break down or even need fiddling with. In over a year of intense use I've had zero problems with my Canon. Limitation for artists and jokers: because the platen moves, it's hard to make copies of your body parts. The tl^^^'',^s^t^ .-^o^SS^^^

; \)ee(\ ^ j6?aN-

,6'o\•-^nSiSSi-« .o\aw* . lV\e5e con\a*^' DEEP DOWN, I THINK WE ALL BE- The thousands of (mostly xeroxed) ,s\W lieve we're the smartest hunks of flesh 'zInes published in this country con­ eaot^ WW .«^^%;s<^*\. to ever walk the planet. stitute a raucous wave of underground exploratory publishing: highly per­ Admit it, You know the real truth and sonal and idiosyncratic expressions, want to publish It. You are destined visual and/or written, distributed for to write, edit, design, draw, and car­ free or very cheaply to small but loyal toon your ideas into the psyche of this WS^ a(V groups of "subscribers." It's a world jape? .^^^^ raging nation (this nation's raging of staggering diversity and varying ^^^S'^i ;a^<^r,r>'^ \0Q'* psyche?). If only you had access to quality. tSS^i^tSs ^r^^ -...^ the presses . . . we ,,.6SNf,>0. 'Zines are highly specialized, that's So start your own magazine. Engage cavjs® \>sMa-\ the point; their audience may be only the best writers and artists (you and v^r 25 people. So if the following reviews your friends) and distribute it to the 'tyo^*^-;;«aw' don't happen to Interest you, don't most influential opinion leaders (you give up. tiiere are thousands of 'zines and your friends). Exercise your right out there on every topic Imaginable. to rave. After all, that's what profes­ V^^f't^^'^' I just happen to like the art-oriented 'i:^^-^' sional writers do. They just get paid 'zines; they bring nonlinear relief to for It. You can do It too. my work as an editor. Subscribe to '"ZInes" are wildly partisan small FACTSHEET FIVE (below) and order magazines of the fanatic, or devoted, 'zines in your particular area of In­ depending on your view of the sub­ terest. Or, of course, start your own. ject matter. They're unabashedly non­ commercial — true labors of love — and don't seem to conform to any standard of quality except their own. 'Zines rave about special interests: hobbles like play-by-mall games, sci­ ence fiction, "fringe" political groups, punk bands, comics, mall and xerox art, underground cassette music dis­ tribution, or that most special of special Interests — the writing and art of one editor/writer/artlst/deslgner.

Sometimes the raving is obnoxious, petty, or mediocre. Self-importance and incompetence can come together with unfortunate results in a 'zine with no criticism to monitor it. The art can be bad, the writing worse. But at least it's the raving of people who are dedi­ cated to their concerns. It could also be called "passion." And sometimes passion joins with competence In an unusual way no mainstream publica­ tion would publish.

J: $15/year (3 issues) from Art Police, 3131 1st Avenue S., Min­ neapolis, MN 55408.

WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 ^M^lSSfH^SJS s«

«j^^^:,5^eK*#i«s; i>WS5

JIM: by Jim .VOonrinc, S2.75 ejch (postpaid) from Faiuagiaphn-s riooka, Mike Gunderloy's alternative/under­ Jim Woodring is a surrealist artist and Inc., 4359 Cornell Road, Agoura, ground 'zine review is the best single writer who puts out his own maga­ CA 91301. For information on self- source of 'zine information. Milce zine I liked his drawings so much I published JIMs, send SASE to Jim sometiow manages to write tiundreds asked him to illustrate an article for Woodring, P. 0. Box 10075, Glend.He of short, helpfui, funny reviews each this issue of WER (see "Memes," p. CA 91209. issue on 'zines of confounding vari­ 50). Strange juxtapositions of animals ety. He calis FACTSHEET FIVE "the and objects in eerie environments 'zine of crosscurrents and cross- skillfully illustrate the poetry in Jim's poilination." One 30-minute browse head. My own dreams seem boring '1 of the anarchistic, evangelical, xerox- in comparison. and mail-art, bioregionai, libertarian Fantagraphics Books, publishers of animal-rights, and music 'zine re­ LOVE AND ROCKETS and many other views (to name only a few kinds) quality comics, have just started spreads around a iot of strange pol­ publishing JIM. 1 would still recom­ len. Don't miss this 'zine of 'zines. mend contacting Jim directly to see cPTSHEET FIVE: Mike Gunderloy, what back issues of the xeroxed JIM ^Ss/vear (4 issues) tromFact- and other booklets he has available. 3

selaer, NY 12144-

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NSStioninform.SLAMBOOKf Ua xeroxed booklet of a questionnaie C put out at a concert or party. Peopl answer questions like Who do you k Sd'likethemost7Whoisyourl ^»f M ,avomeband,9uitarplayerandacl 3 1 tor'What is your favorite club, res •'y- THE BAG #19 (SASE tcoa Buddah Worthwice, 1223 yaBhlogton, taurant, beer, radio station and rec J KaUaaioo, HI 49001): Nonsensical rawbllngs froa aoMOoe vho ha* bunwd hiaaelLff out by thinking too auch about too little. I store? and What is your name, ad THIREEE. SHBAGUR !•lIaK» »nsdnou De ivpB oflff short ahershort storiestorlcas and thoughtthou s that ofteenn enda 19 withn nasty tvlsttwists or non saqultlrssequitirs. There'inecc s a xloi t I dress, and occupation? tnargy hare, but It's dlrectisd towards tunning in circles going bdeah-lideah-Weah tather than to aaking a point. II like SLAMBOOK mainly because I've I _^ I l"L.«pn anything like it before. 1

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St., , "y Old '^S., w "liT, ^^1;^ 'ty fir -""1 Dh ""«<• !WIJ - 27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 47 Irtfwma9Son Ftorfi s Siorias

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UNCLE ROGER - FILE 1 A PARTY IN WOODSIDE BY JUDY MALLOY cc^e*tj rtA^>^

KEYWORD SEARCHED! MEN IN TAN SUITS

Ai(z<^ \^r-^&ai^ 4- +++++4-+++4-++++4-+++++++++++ ON A LARGE GLASS TABLE WERE WHITE T^cacc^A. "^^^ PLATES FULL OF WARM MUSHROOM SANDWICHES. ON THAT SAME TABLE WERE BOTTLES OF RED ^^^CC^jf^oCifi gg^^^^ AND WHITE WINE AND STACKS OF PLASTIC GLASSES.

^i^^ntyj^ THREE MEN IN TAN SUITS WERE STANDING OVER THE TABLE, EATING MUSHROOM C^C£4/)., gyyg SANDWICHES AND TALKING. I •^S^ POURED MYSELF A GLASS OF RED WINE. ^^^^^^W* "250 6IGAHEARTS," SAID ONE OF THE MEN. AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT HE SAID. y^r£Mg<^^

•* ^-^g»g»-/^^ I WENT TO THE GLASS TABLE AND FILLED UP ..^^ MY PLASTIC GLASS WITH RED WINE. ¥- THE MEN IN THE TAN SUITS WERE STILL c/'^f€j9'^Jf%jrji>y TALKING. /lUe^ li^Cgg^jt^a^' "I HATE ALL THAT TOGETHERNESS SHIT," SAID THE ONE WITH THE PINK STRIPED M^^, ^ cf^^n- SHIRT.

HE REACHED FOR A MUSHROOM SANDWICH. HIS ^ K^ig^tf«^ HAND COLLIDED WITH MY HAND. "HI THERE." itf'fe^rgfgg^. HE SAID, "I'M JAKE." .y^^^i^j^

TOM CAME OVER. "THE YIELD IS DOWN. I THINK I LOST THE PROCESS," SAID JACK. I PICTURED A WHOLE LINE OF MEN IN TAN SUITS SCAMPERING AROUND A STAGE SINGING, "THE YIELD IS DOWN. I THINK WE LOST THE PROCESS." THE CHORUS WAS "WE LOST IT IN <^?l ^ /-yti^gfctftf^ -'^r^lVr<1»-^f*^ J THE SUBMICRON AREA," WHICH IS WHAT JACK SAID NEXT. ^ '^^^ I ATE SOME CHEESEBALLS. {'Z*09y^j'^.^/tJdf. "CALL DENNIS AND TELL HIM TO GET OUT 48 HERE RIGHT AWAY," SAID TOM. OK GENETIC ENGINEERING As President of OK Genetic Engineering, 1983-198S, I collected i nformati on about geneti c engi neering research and development. HLIV - Huaan Lust Inducing I used that information to make a series of reports and products - small reproducible combinations of words and images which were Virus - developed by OK distributed as free handouts at art events and through the mail GENETIC ENGINEERING to art network. pj cr solve an inportant world W^ gtr^gtf / (/I O rt X problea - what to do when "If you arG young, " J.D. Watson said, "there is really no option -> he/she just wants to be JmdSKU itJ^r^ &azu. but to be A molecular biologist." (Nature 305:383-384, 1933) Kj n friends. IMPORTANT - OK Wearing a name tag that said "OK GENETIC ENGINEERING - J-P. KJ O GENETIC ENGINEERING has MftLLOY, PRESIDENT", I went to a trade show where genetic O 3 engineering equipment was displayed. 1 was deluged by salesmen no idea hox this product wanting to know where my facility was. (-)• will effect the ecological 65 balance in Northern Cali­ I drove a company car. The company car was a 1973 Chrysler 3 fornia. DO. NOT OPEN THIS station wagon with "OK GENETIC ENGINEERING - QUALITY CLONES SINCE BOX without reading the 1984" painted on its side panels. Typical reactions were: "Can 0) warning on the back! 'OOtVTP^^ they rally do that?"; "What's that stuff you do that begins with 3 a ^c">"\ "Do you have any jobs?" i-v" x^.>a^H^' t^^, I wrote a lot of letters on OK Genetic Engineering stationary requesting information on things like DNA Synthesizers. Although the stationary said "GO ALL THE WAY WITH DNA" at the bottom, there were no questions from vendors. I got most of the information I requested. RARNING - OK GENETIC ENGINEERING has not received permission to Using that information as a kind of raw material, I put out 3 .^i^M^OP^ OKGE products and 5 reports. The products were HLIV (Human Lust release this organism from NIH. Inducing Virus); SH gene (Shrinkage Hormone Gene); and NFD Ne used a Stanford patent without (Nuclear Fuel Devouring Bacteri a). 3 paying the liscense fee, and \tt do not know how to file an I passed out over 400 copi es of Human Lust Induc i ng Vi rus. HLIV Environmental Impact Statement. 4 was meant to weigh environmental concerns against immediate We are distributing HLIV free. personal needs. Only two people didn't open the box which had Please make your own decision di re warn!ngs on the si de. One, a rock musi ci an didn't open i t for environmental reasons. The other, a gentlemen in his whether or not to ^®l©sse thsse eighties, said he was old enough to know when he had had enough organisms. of a good thing. jF'-'v

My new company, Bad Information (1986- ), is producing a series of databases about the impact of computers and the information explosion on our soc i et y. Bad Information Base no. 1 is a computer database for Apple computers, made up of quotations from "computer literature." It is meant to descri be the effects of computers on our soci ety.

Bad Information Bases 2 and 3 &.r^ databases of wrong, misleading, i nappropriate i nformation which were made online on Art Com Electronic Network (ACEN) on the WELL. Anyone who logged onto ACEN could enter ^oA Trt-for morf 1 o g bad informat i on in these databases. They now contain over 400 pi of very bad information!

Besides creat ing art with infermation, pop conceptuai artist Judy Mai loy works as a professional " inf or r,at ion specialist" — or research librarian — at U.C. Berkeley and flatrecon, a private research and development firn. Her online artworks (Uncle Roger and The Bad Information Base) can be viewed on The Well (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, 415-332-6106 ) in the Art Com Eiectroni Network Conference. --Jeanne Carstensen

27 GATE FIVE ROAD , SAUSALITO. CA 94965 49 develop an understanding of why we are susceptible For a vivid example we can hark back a few years to "infectious information," both the benign and ago to Reverend Jim Jones and the People's Temple the deadly. incident, where 912 people, including Jones, died of complications — poison and gunshot wounds — in­ "Meme" is a word coined in purposeful analogy to duced by an information disease. The Children's "gene" by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book. The Crusades of the middle ages were larger and more Selfish Gene. To understand memes, you must have a lethal; only two of 20,000 returned from one crusade. good understanding of the modern concepts of evo­ The mass suicide in the first century by the Jews at lution, and this is a good source. In the last chapter Masada is a clear example of information patterns in of Dawkins' book memes were defined as replicating people's minds having more influence over their information patterns that use minds to get them­ behavior than the fear of death. selves copied much as a virus uses cells to get itself copied. (Dawkins credits several others for develop­ A more seductive example of a social movement set ing the concepts, especially the anthropologist F. T. off by a lethal meme comes from South Africa. In Cloak.) Like genes, memes are pure information, the 1850s, a meme (originally derived from a dream) whether the sequence is coded in DNA, printed on led to a great sacrifice by the Xhosa people during paper, or written on magnetic tape. which they killed their cattle, burned their grain, and refrained from planting in the belief that doing Humans are not the only creatures that pass memes so would cause their ancestors to come back from y^x about. Birds can learn variations of songs. The songs the dead and expel the whites. At least 20,000 and of whales are also replicating information patterns perhaps as many as 60,000 people starved when the that fit the model of a meme. So is the termite-catch­ predicted millennium of plenty failed to arrive. Known ing technique that chimps pass from generation as the Cattle Killing, it was not a unique response to generation. for a primitive society being displaced by a more

Meme is similar to "idea," but not all ideas are technically advanced one. f ..f »'*-*..^ * memes. A passing idea which you do not communi­ cate to others, or one which fails to take root in others, Memes that bring about suicidal behavior are, at falls short of being a meme. The important part of least, self-limiting. Those which induce one group J>W«%MiiI'l^li*!^'- * the "meme about memes" is that memes are subject of people to kill another are much worse, and the to adaptive evolutionary forces very similar to those social movements they induce are often much larger. that select for genes. That is, their variation is subject The scope of the social movement known as the Inqui­ to selection in the environment provided by human sition is seldom mentioned in history textbooks, but: minds, communication channels, and the vast col­ "The number of victims claimed by the witch­ lection of cooperating and competing memes that hunts, which lasted for three hundred years, is make up human culture. The analogy is remarkably reckoned by historians to be between five and six close. For example, genes in cold viruses that cause million people; it therefore caused more deaths sneezes by irritating noses spread themselves by this than all the wars waged over the period. . . . route to new hosts and become more common in the gene pool of a cold virus. Memes cause those they "It is only when one takes into account the have successfully infected to spread the meme by brutal, pitiless, expression of mass mania, and both direct methods (proselytizing) and indirect that a belief in the devil, his traffic with witches methods (such as writing). Such memes become and warlocks, was constantly being fanned anew inore common in the culture pool. by the Church . . . that it is possible to gain any measure of understanding . . . ."^ The entire topic would be academic except that there The depredations and brutality of the Inquisition are two levels of evolution (genes and memes) in­ were typical of deadly memes stemming from reli­ volved and the memetic level is only loosely coupled gions or closely related social movements, such as to the genetic. Memes which override genetic sur­ Marxist-Leninist communism. In the last decade, the vival, such as those which induce young Lebanese people of Kampuchea were infested with an anti- :.-r^ Shiites to blow themselves "into the next world" intellectual, agrarian Utopian meme clearly mutated from the front seat of a truck loaded with high ex­ (in the minds of Pol Pot and his close associates) plosives, or induce untrained Iranians to volunteer from the communist meme. They were Eric Hoffer's to charge Iraqi machine guns, or the WWII Kamikaze "True Believers" of the most extreme stiipe. The "social movement" in Japan are all too well known. I resulting social movement was a massive self-geno­ have proposed the term "memeoid" for people whose cide. Over one-third of the population of Kampu­ behavior is so strongly influenced by a replicating chea, including almost all of the city dwellers and information pattern (meme) that their survival be­ the educated, died before the Vietnamese (embar­ comes inconsequential in their own minds. rassed by news stories of rivers closed with bodies)

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 51 way mobile genes contribute to the virulence of the influenza viruses. Nazism was not the only fanatical movement growing and evolving in the fertOe social media of Germany between the wars. The Marxist-Leninist meme was a visible competitor in the early period. Even though most of those infected with the Nazi meme were con­ quered or killed, and Nazism became a suppressed meme, it cannot be said to have died. As a replicating information pattern that has gone through a great deal of evolutionary honing, it still infects suscep­ tible people today. A fascinating footnote to the horrors of the German experience with Nazism happened in 1969 when Ron Jones, a teacher in Palo Alto, exposed a high school history class to an intensive, five-day exper­ ience with the ideas that made up the Nazi meme. The experience of that week was originally published as "Take as Directed" in The CoEvolution Quarterly (CQ #9, p. 152), and a few years ago was made into a TV movie. The Wave. Over four days, Jones introduced and drilled his students in concepts of Strength Through Discipline, Community, Action, and Pride. (The fifth day was devoted to showing them how easily they had started to slip into the abyss.) The enthusiasm with which most of the class adopted the memes and spread them to their friends, swell­ ing a 40 student class to 200 in five days, made it one of the most frightening events the teacher had ever experienced. Given the track record of the Nazi meme, the mini-social movement his experiment set off is no more surprising in retrospect than the medi­ cal effects would have been if the teacher had sprayed smallpox virus on the class. An empirical characteristic of large, long-lived reli­ gious movements or related social movements (at least in the West) is a scripture or body of written material. This may function to standardize the meme involved or at least slow its evolution as the number of people infected with it grows. From Scientology right back to the Hindu Vedas, I can think of no counterexamples. Social movements involving more invaded and put a stop to the kflling. Many more than a few thousand people or lasting more than would have died had the social movement run its a few years may have been rare before writing course without interference. Kampuchea will take came along. decades to recover. I have noticed several features of social movements History classes have made us more aware of the derived from dangerous memes. One is self-isolation genocidal depredations resulting from the "master of the infected group or at least of new recruits, from race" meme that was part of the Nazi meme complex. the rest of society. This need not be an "intelligent" Considered from the viewpoint of memes. Hitler action taken by the "leaders." There may be no more was less a prime mover than a willing victim of this thought involved than the evolution of white moths particularly nasty and pervasive variety of informa­ into dark in grimy industrial England. The "fanatic tion disease. Had plague struck Germany in the '30s cult" memes which incorporate isolation are the ones instead of Nazism, we would have understood it in we observe; those which do not incorporate isolation terms of susceptibility, vectors, and disease organ­ are like light moths, gone and not observable. isms. What did happen may soon be modeled and In the case of the Soviet Union, the communist understood in terms of the social and economic dis­ meme survives in a society largely isolated from the ruptions of the time increasing the number of people rest of the world. In recent years the isolation may susceptible to fanatical beliefs, just as poor diet is have resulted from reasoned considerations about known to increase the number of those susceptible the fragility of the communist meme in open com­ to tuberculosis. Communication in the form of per­ petition with other memes. A more parsimonious sonal contact, the written word, radio, and amplified view would note that without originally having a voices are substitutes for disease vectors. A pool of strong isolation component, the communist meme "sub-memes," many of them ancient myth, contri­ would have had no more social influence in the buted to the syncretic Nazi meme in much the same USSR than it has had in, say, France.

52 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Isolation makes possible exposure to a single meme evolved in the intervening seventy thousand years or (or meme set) many times a day for months or years so. It should not be surprising that the survivors of without much contact with other memes. Exclusive this process, like astrology or religions, are so effec­ exposure to one meme (also known as brainwashing) tive at inducing their hosts to spread and defend induces a "dependent mental state" in some people. them. It is also plausible that in the tens of millennia since memetic evolution became a major factor there Thankfully, most of us have not experienced the dependent mental state firsthand, but we have all seen such people on the news programs boarding buses for the front in Iran, or been harassed by them in airports, or had them knock on our doors and try to infect us. It is clear that the people who suffer from extreme cases of "information disease" have lost much of their ability to take care of themselves or their children. Truly dedicated people often fail to replace themselves, since too much of their life energies are channeled into propagating the infecting meme. One example comes from the largest sub­ division of Christianity, where celibacy among its most dedicated has long been institutionalized. The Rajneesh cult practiced the opposite of celibacy, but discouraged births to the point of sterilizing the barely pubescent female children of its resident members. Given that memes have been interfering with our reproduction for a long time, one must wonder why humans are still so susceptible to information dis­ eases. The answers to such questions are starting to come from research in artificial intelligence, neuro- science, and archeology. It is becoming apparent that our vulnerabilities are a direct consequence of the way our minds are organized, and that organ­ ization is a direct consequence of our evolutionary history. Marvin Minsky (a principal founder of AI) and Michael Gazzaniga (one of the major workers in split brain research) have independently come to a virtually identical model of the mind. Both view minds as vast collections of interacting, largely parallel (co-conscious) modules or "agents," or a "Society of Mind."* The lowest level of such a society of agents consists of a small number of nerve cells that inner­ vate a section of muscle. A few of the higher-level modules have been isolated in clever experiments by Gazzaniga, some of them on patients whose right has been biological co-evolufion. The parts of our and left hemispheres had been divided by trauma brains that hold our belief systems have probably or surgery. undergone biological adaptation to be better at de­ tecting dangerous memes and more skeptical about One surprise from this work is that we seem to have memes that result in death or seriously interfere our mental modules arranged in a way that guaran­ with reproductive success. tees we will form beliefs. What we believe in depends, at least in part, on what we are exposed to and the This type of co-evolution is known as an "arms race" order in which we are exposed. Gazzaniga argues to biologists. One such biological arms race has re­ that we slowly evolved the ability to form beliefs sulted in almost perfect egg mimicry by the cuckoo because the ability provides a major advantage in and in correspondingly sharp visual discrimination surviving. Being able to infer, that is to form new, in the birds it parasitizes. By analogy, while we get beliefs, and to learn, in the sense of acquiring such better at spotting dangerous memes, the memes may beliefs from others, was a major advance over learn­ be evolving to be more effective at infecting us. Ad­ ing by trial and error. Being able to pass the rare vancing technology (which itself is an improving new ways our ancestors found for chipping rock or collection of memes) changes the environmental making pots from person to person and generation conditions where memes survive or fail as well. The to generation was vital in allowing humans to modern telephone system and the tape cassette spread over the Earth. player were major factors in the takeover of Iran. It has been argued that the rise of the Nazis depended But as this ability became the norm, communicating strongly on radio reaching a previously unexposed human minds formed a "primal soup" in which a and unsophisticated population. new kind of non-biological evolution, that of repli­ cating information patterns or memes, could get I have picked dangerous examples for vivid illustra­ started. A wide variety of competing memes has tions and to point out that memes have a life of their

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 53 uifiuiv UNION mmt jUSTCt NOW!

I

Social movements involving more than a few thousand people or lasting more than a few years may have been rare before tvriting came along.

own. The ones that kill their hosts make this hard to religious memes. In an amusing twist, the "godless" ignore. However, most memes, like most microorganisms,communis t meme is the more religious in tenor of are either helpful or at least harmless. Some memes the two in its battle for nund space with secular . may even provide a certain amount of defense from Western culture! the very harmful ones. It is the natural progression of parasites to become helpful symbiotes, and the Reviewers of an earlier draft of this article objected first such behavior that emerges in a proto-symbiote to my description of Soviet memes. Words like "tol­ is for it to start protecting its host from other para­ erant" and "intolerant" have acquired a great deal of sites. I have come to appreciate the common religions positive/negative connotation in the Western world, in this light. Even if they were harmful when they but in describing memes, I am using them in the started, the ones that survive over generations evolve same way we would say that a mold colony is in­ and do not cause too mUch damage to their hosts. tolerant of a bacterial invasion. With respect to the Calvin (who had dozens of people executed over belief system that dominates the meme pool of the theological disputes) would hardly recognize Pres­ other superpower, I am trying to be descriptive, byterians three hundred years later. Contrariwise, not partisan. the Shaker meme is now confined to books, and the If anything, I would think that understanding the Shakers are gone. It is clearly safer to believe in a memetic nature of religions and related movements well-aged religion than to be susceptible to a po­ like communism would defuse the emotional connec­ tentially fatal cult. tions and substitute something closer to dispassionate History doesn't change, but our interpretation of understanding of the parasitic-to-symbiotic memes it can. For example, the contemporary "causes" of behind such social movements. It has had that effect historical epidemics (such as the miasma theory) on me. Even the most gruesome features of com­ have been totally supplanted by germ theory expla­ munism are what they are simply because those nations. Before gGrm theory came along, memes of features were (and are) necessary for the meme to causality for epidemics were remarkably stable. The exist in a world of competing memes. Isolation, for "explanation" for the Black Death of 1348 was still in example, is a common feature of virtually all suc­ use for the Philadelphia Yellow Fever epidemic of cessful religious-type memes while they are in the 1796. Similarly, various "explanations" for wars have cult stage. Anyone who has studied history knows been with us for hundreds of years. that suppression of competitive memes by the power of the state is a common experience once a meme of Memetics provides a new way to analyze recent wars this class has infected the leaders or they have been and the roots of current disputes. In this view, the replaced by those infected. And if the Christian re­ ultimate (though unaware) protagonists of World ligion was a mainstay of the aristocracy, serving to War II were memes such as the Nazi "master race," keep the peasants in place, Soviet Communism is no and the Marxist-Leninist meme (MLM). The current less supportive of its own hereditary elite. As a suc­ clash between the Soviets and the Western world can cessful and persistent meme, that has appeal even to be viewed (in a grossly simplified way) as a meme people who know the realities of its practice. It conflict for space in minds between the religion-like, commands a certain grudging respect. competition-intolerant mono-meme of communism and the western tolerance meta-meme. While it is From a meme's viewpoint, tolerance of other memes not a religion by any reasonable definition, the is not a virtue. It is, in fact, a fatal characteristic for a Marxist-Leninist meme is clearly in competition particular meme, as memes inducing intolerance to for the "belief space" in minds usually occupied by other memes would soon displace it. On the other religious memes. It, and its more cultish offshoots, hand, a meta-meme of limited toleration, or even have the typical virtues and excesses of cult-stage cooperation among memes, is possible. The Western

54 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 meta-meme of tolerance seems to have emerged from meme-induced behavior might also lead to the reali­ an ecosystem of memes in much the same way that zation that the percentage of people susceptible to cooperative behavior has been modeled as emerging abusing most drugs is not all that large. (Cigarette from an ecosystem of individuals.^ In the area of smoking is an exception.) For example, most of the meme tolerance the Western world may be unique. people I know who have tried cocaine don't care for We think of censorship as evil; where but in an ad­ it. Not liking the effect, they wouldn't use it if it vanced ecosystem of memes could such a strange were free. People who really like opiates aren't that idea have emerged? common either.

There are historical traces for the development of the F most conflict in the world is an indirect effect meta-meme of tolerance. This particular character of memes, memetics holds as much potential of our ecosystem of memes has been d^releping at ifor reducing human misery as the germ theory least since the writings of the Greeks and Romans I of disease. Just being able to model the interactions were rediscovered during the Renaissance. Studying among the Soviets, the West, and the Islamic groups inactive pagan religions may have been the first step may make the world a safer place. Widespread un­ in developing a tolerance for a variety of religious derstanding of hard-to-avoid human susceptibilities memes. The fragmentation of the dominant religion and an ecosystem-like model of replicating informa­ during the Reformation led to a series of largely in­ tion patterns that have no short-term interest in their decisive religious wars in most of the major countries host (and indeed no consciousness at all) may lead of Europe. Sheer exhaustion may have been one of to the development of meme evaluating "mental the most significant factors in developing a grudging health practices" just as knowledge of disease has tolerance, which in these later times has taken a pa­ changed our behavior in regard to drinking ditchwater. tina of virtue in the division of our culture known as "liberal." If this article has succeeded in infecting you with the meme-about-memes, perhaps it will help you be In this view, Western culture is a vast ecosystem more responsible about the memes you spread and where memes of many classes engage in "fair" com­ less likely to be infected with a meme that will petition with each other. Attempts to subvert fair harm you or those around you. • competition by changing laws or education (such as introducing "creation science" into schools) draw 1. p. 163, Five Thousand Years of Medicine, Gerhard Venzmer opposition from defenders of a wide variety of memes (trans, by Marion Koenig); Taplinger Publishing Co., which have evolved within this environment. This New York 1968. model may provide testable explanations for both 2. The Society of Mind, Marvin Minsky, 1986; Doubleday, Western culture's tolerance of intolerant memes (such New York. (See also "Society of Mind," WER #51, p. 4). as creation science and the MLM) and the hostility 3. The Evolution of Cooperation, Robert Axelrod, 1984; Basic Books, New York. these memes evoke from various segments of the culture. David Brin's "Dogma of Otherness" in the fit ^ 1 < lit III ii i^t April 1986 issue of Analog is recommended for those who want to consider the origins of such peculiar ambiguities in our culture. Several current social movements are obvious can­ didates for examination with memetic theory. Given the available data, we may be able to predict the re­ maining course of the "non-literate graffiti epidemic," which has spread in the past 15 years from New York City to remote corners of the country. There are substantial financial reasons (such as the cost of mark-resistant walls) to want to know if scribbler behavior will be a limited epidemic, or will this behavior become an endemic part of our culture? Drug use, clearly a replicating pattern of behavior passed from person to person, is another "social movement" where the similarity to epidemic waxing and waning has been widely used by reporters, and noted without much explanation in a number of learned journals. If it were formally considered as an epidemic with memes as the infecting agents, the ways by which the behavior spreads might get more attention. Antidrug programs might be evaluated in terms of how well they induce reasonable behavior. Some efforts in the past, especially those which wildly exaggerated the dangers of a drug such as marijuana, may have increased the behavior of taking other drugs. These efforts may have immunized those exposed against believing any official pro­ nouncements about drugs. Formal consideration of drug use as an epidemic of

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 HAT ONE WOULD REALLY like for a drug is an ally that tuould make healthy minds perform better. Quicker. More memory-re­ Wliable. Increased concentration. Since our medical paradigm has no mandate {= no funds) to heal the healthy, fiddling with brain improvement chemicals is going to be illegal these days. Hence the pseudonym of the author, who is active in the persistent sub­ culture of psychedelics and mind-affecting bioche­ mistry. He edits an uncategorizable publication call- edHlgh Frontiers/Reality Hackers (seep. 59). The current drug hysteria has pushed promising research in this field into rough, personal eaaluations like the folloiving. I bet there is a reputation to be made by a scientist who could lift this out of the outlaw realm \ti9 into controlled lab science. —Kevin Kelly * .• 1ft..- MAY YOU NEVER SLEEP COGNITION ENHANCING DRUGS

INTELLIGENCE-INCREASING DRUGS MIGHT BE LA- This survey deals primarily with the short-term experi­ belled "Cognitive Enhancers," "Memory Enhancers," or, ential effects of these compounds, since I only have the in some cases, "Psychic Energizers." What many of these experience of a relative and imprecise ongoing use of one drugs and nutrients have in common is that they produce drug. Pemoline, and no scientific proof of any intelligence effects similar to the effects people are seeking from pop­ increase on my part. Besides, a three-hour play can be ular stimulants such as caffeine, amphetamines and co­ realistically reviewed. Reviewing a life is a somewhat more caine. These popular drugs temporarily enhance cogni­ dubious prospect. tion and memory, and amp up the user's energy levels In consideration of all this, I hereby present a review of only to leave the user depleted. Cocaine and ampheta­ intelligence-increasing drugs. May you never sleep. mines might properly be labeled as short-term intelligence- increase drugs and long-term intelligence-decrease drugs. Vasopressin — Definitely the most euphoric of the memory- However, the drugs and nutrients discussed in this review enhancing intelligence-increase drugs outside of the one are all believed to create long-term improvements in mem­ being called "Euphoria" (more on Euphoria later). ory and cognition. Some of them also provide the short- Vasopressin is marketed as Diapid, a prescription drug term high-energy states associated with the stimulant made by our old friends at Sandoz. It can also be ordered drugs. Also, there is virtually no tendency towards the as Vasopressin through chemical supply houses by those kind of weirdness and darkness of the spirit which so often who know the ropes. I had five squirts of Vasopressin out accompanies even the occasional speed or cocaine high. of a nasal inhaler. I was surprised by how strong the ef­ It seems that while the illicit stimulants cause short-term fects were. I had that charged-up hyperconfident rush that release but long-term depletion of norepinephrin, many one experiences with cocaine, but combined with much of the memory-enhancing drugs and nutrients work on clearer ideation and without the numbing and discom­ the noradrenergic nervous system in a different way, ap­ fort or the strange and disquieting hard edges which often parently modulating nerve cell control mechanisms so that accompany even the more euphoric coke highs. It didn't the cellular response is neither too great nor too little. This last very long, about two hours, most of which were un­ is a gross oversimplification. More precise information on fortunately spent riding the BART and walking. By the each of these cognitive enhancers is easily available to the time I got home, the experience had pretty well dissipated. serious researcher. Accurate and concise information for I did not have an opportunity to experience Vasopressin the layperson is easily available through as a work/writing drug. It was clear, the popular written works of Durk Pear­ however, simply from reading (I was re­ son and Sandy Shaw who, whatever one reading Gravity's Rainbow at the time and might think of their bucket-of-pills-a-day BYR. U. SIRIUS I consider that a fairly challenging test personal regimen, do carefully monitor of comprehension) on the BART ride all of the research in this field. home, that Vasopressin is an excellent

56 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Cys-Tyr-Phe-Gln-Asn- •Cys -Pro-Argr-GlyNHg to technophilic reality hackers, most of these easily avail­ able cognitive enhancers have a substantially perceptible VASOPRESSIN Other names: beta-hypophamine; Leiormone; effect. Lecithin seems to be the exception. Even at "Durk Pitressin; Tonephin; Vasophysin. An anti­ and Sandy" dosage levels there was no noticeable en­ diuretic hormone. hancement of focus, recall, etc. Choline and Inositol, at about three grams each, produce mild but definite results lfS«SS»«MMS«SSSSSmM«^^ with no discomfort and can be used daily. I did this once for about a month and found myself losing my sense of tool for rapid learning and comprehension of complex humor. However, if you're already humorless you might systems of thought. just as well give this a go. Phenylalanine is quite speedy. While it can be used for creativity and focus it tends to The only other time I had Vasopressin, it was in the form make one irritable. For emergency use only. of Diapid. I had only two squirts at a party late at night on top of fairly substantial amounts of marijuana and Deaner — This is getting really popular with the "health alcohol. It didn't noticeably cut through the depressant food set." Experientially, the effect is very subtle but effects of those drugs. However, I did experience an in­ noticeable. I've tried this a few times and what I've found tensified and prolonged orgasm! is that if I already have a task to do, I will do it and, in retrospect, I will realize that I sus­ Hydergine — The invention of msms%^mmsmmmmsmmms$^: tained my attention for an unusual­ one Dr. Albert Hofmann of San- ly long time without flagging or . doz laboratories. I know of many needing a break. However, if I use people who got their hands on this (as I often do with other buckets of this stuff and 1 know cognitive enhancers) without a of nobody who continues to take HYDERGINE precise sense of what the task at it. The effects are said to be Other names: Ergoloid Mesylates; hand is, it doesn't clarify and help cumulative rather than immedi­ Dihydroergocristine; Dihydroergotoxine to motivate activity. This is an im­ ate and everybody seems to lose Mesylate; Dihydroergotoxine Methanesul- portant point. Drugs such as Vaso­ interest. "I forgot to take my Hy­ fonate; Circanol; Deapril-ST; Niloric; Trigot. A cognition adjuvant. pressin, Pemoline, Euphoria and dergine" is a term which one THA can actually cut through con­ often hears from chagrined "in­ fusion and enriui and help invoke will. My guess is that telligence agents," fully cognizant (even without Hyder­ most of these substances also work, to varying degrees, gine) of the ironies involved. This probably says more on the pleasure centers of the brain, provoking one's na­ about the people that I hang out with than about Hyder­ tural joie de vivre and thereby provoking enthusiasm for gine as an intelligence increase agent. creative and organizational activities. Incidentally, Dr. Hofmann told a friend of mine that one can get exactly the same effects one gets from daily mega­ Pemoline (usually combined with Magnesium) — The doses of Hydergine by using 25 micrograms of LSD daily. COOH I have not experimented with subthreshold acid as an IQ information most fre­ substance so I cannot comment. quently passed around in reference to Magnesium •HOCHgCHgN(013)2 Lecithin, Choline with Inositol, Phenyalanine (with vitamin C Pemoline was published and B6) — While perhaps less intriguing and glamorous by the Church of the Tree of Life some years ago in NHCOCH3 WW#WW-tJ±mj their publication Bark Leaf. CH,OCOR DEANER It recommends taking Other names: Deanol CHOCOR "Mag-Pern" at 50-100 mgs. Acetamidobenzoate; 4-(Ace- I / tylamino)benzoic acid with CH2O -P —OCH2CH2N(CH3)3 every day for two months in order to substantially 2-(dimethylamino)ethanol; Diforene. An antide­ increase your I.Q. OUCH! pressant. LECITHIN This program is a sure Other names: Phosphatidylcho­ H OH ticket to severe headaches %%«$X^««X«%««S»«S^^ line; Lecithol; Vitellin; Kelecin; and extreme nervousness. Granulestin. Often used as an CHOLINE WITH However, in the 20-30 milligram range, I've found that this emulsifying agent. INOSITOL Other names can be used twice weekly with excellent results. The lift (Choline): Bili- is very substantial and noticeable. 1, and several of my neurine. A consti­ friends, find it particularly good for writing, both creative tuent of lecithin. and functional. For rapid-fire associations and grand syn­ (Inositol): Hexahy- thesis just combine it with moderate amounts of cannabis droxycyclohexane; (Sativa if possible). It lasts about twelve hours, coming on cyclohexanehexol; slowly and having its greatest effect at around the fifth cyclohexitol; through the tenth hours. Clarity and verbal acuity are the PHENYLALANINE phaseomannite; strong points here. At times, the sheer mass of informa­ Other names: alpha- dambose; meso- aninohydrocinnamic acid. inosite. A vitamin. tion, new thoughts and connections can overwhelm and An essential amino acid put one into a rather confused state, particularly if one for humans. is not applying oneself to something. When this occurs. mmmm»Bmmmmva 27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 57 I find that I can slow down my thoughts to a point where of effects at about there is coherence simply by verbalizing them or writing one-third the inten­ c/Sc \ them down. Unlike its close cousin"Euphoria," Pemoline sity. There was no c is emotionally bland. It is not a pleasure drug. WARN­ burnout at all in '=-^^' / ING: From my observations, approximately one in every aftermath. ten people get nothin' but headaches from even smaD EUPHORIA doses of Pemoline. Subsequent exper­ Other names: 3,4-Methylene iments have shown Dimethoxy Methamphetamine. Euphoria — Well, someone took Pemoline, twisted it Euphoria to be pre­ A designer drug stimulant, around a little bit and put a whole lot of pleasure into the dictable as an effec­ chemically related to MDMA, equation. This might be a tive tool for organ­ Ecstacy. ess«Mis;8M8«««8!!SS;i;5S:ss;5;28iS dangerous drug! There are a izing binges, brain­ lot of different things that storming sessions s»M®S'M««««4;«««««E«««*M««c«4:'S«» seem to happen with Eu­ and radio talk-show appearances. It also seems to induce phoria. The first time I took ongoing personal growth in terms of clarity of personal it (40 milligrams — I've learn­ will. (I've received three other testimonies in this same PEMOLINE ed since that 25 mg. is con­ direction.) As a writing tool, I've found Euphoria to be Other names: 2-Amino- sidered your basic dose) I got variable. It seems that verbal acuity comes on strong but 5-phenyl-4(5H)-oxazolone; really charged up. This is de­ the verbal circuits burn out quickly from intensity of use phenoxazole; phenyliso- finitely a high and it comes and one has to move on to less verbally oriented tasks. hydanoin; azoxodone; on suddenly (about 45 min­ In other words, this is generally good for creative flashes Azoksodon; Cylert; Dan- tromin; Deltamine; Endolin; utes after ingestion). My first and outlining grand syntheses but not too good for ac­ Hyton; Kethamed; Nitan; response upon coming on to tual completion of written work. It gives one an impatience Notair; Pioxol; Pondex; it was an experience of an in­ for minutiae and the kind of careful faceting that it takes Ronyl; Sigmadyn; Sisral; tense rush of perceived per­ to bring a work to completion. In terms of appreciation Sofro; Tradon; Votital. sonal power. I found myself and comprehension of aesthetics and information, this A stimulant. goosestepping down the bu­ seems the opposite of its close cousin Pemoline. The ac­ sy Berkeley streets thinking cessing mode favored is visual. One wants to explore a about how good I felt, how successful I was destined to painting or photograph or watch a movie rather than read be, and knowing that the world was my oyster. After about a book. 15 minutes of this as I found myself leaping down the BART escalator, I had to tell myself to slow down for fear My only complaint about Euphoria is that it lasts 16 hours, that I would be completely drained later on. Although I which feels about four hours too long. In two of my five didn't really slow down at all during this experience, I did experiences, the last four hours were spent feeling slight­ bring myself into a somewhat more humane mindset and ly "headachy" and weary, although there was still no I spent the subway ride having almost methoxilated am­ burnout following sleep. I would say, at this point, that phetamine (MDMA, MDA etc.)-type ideations. In other Euphoria should not be used more often than once a week words, I Wasn't just feeling good about myself, I was feel­ since it is so powerful and so much energy is expended ing good about most everybody else. The world was in the experience. This is easily the most fun of the intel­ everybody's oyster. ligence increasers and, as such, is probably most likely to be abused. Arriving at my office, I immediately found myself doing PRL-8-53 — Untried by your reviewer at this time. organizational work at about three times the normal rate However, Durk Pearson is quoted in High Frontiers as say­ with far more self-assurance and fewer mistakes than ing that "PRL-8-53 is a terrific memory enhancer. Nor­ usual. Simultaneously, I was entertaining perspectives on mally you can memorize about seven or eight digits just the nature of my true will and making important phone by looking at them for a second. PRL-8-53 gives the aver­ calls which I had put off for some time. I did about thirty age person a memory span of about 21 to 22 digits." He hours' worth of work in about ten hours. I literally could also reported that one amnesia victim was cured with one not stop. I tried to make myself take a break for about ten dose. minutes. Within a minute, I found my hand going into a drawer to pull out another file which needed reorgan­ THA — Untried by your reviewer at this time. Again, Durk izing. Believe me, this is very unusual behavior. I hate Pearson, this time in High Frontiers Reality Hackers Newslet- organizational work. ter:' In combination with arecoline, THA has been found to be remarkably effective as a me­ This all might sound like the first blushes mory improver . . . it's important of an amphetamine high, but the emo­ that the dosage be individualized tional overtones and the mentation under . . . too much will actually impair this substance is of a softer and more in­ memory and produce sweating, ex­ wardly whole (less alienated) quality. As cessive muscle tone and mouth­ I've already indicated, the Euphoria high watering." The standard dosage is seems to have a slight methoxilated am­ "1 to 2 mg." However, Durk recom­ phetamine quality to it. All in all, this was THA mends that you start with a quarter a very powerful experiencing of clarity, Other names: of that every two to four hours and self-assurance and cognitive ability. The l,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-9-acridin- work up — if you get those side ef­ following day, I experienced the same sort amine; Romotal; Tacrine. A respiratory stimulant. fects, back off. •

58 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 High Frontiers/Reality Hackers I know that many people who have shared the chemical Frontiers as in: life extension, cryogenics, hallucinogenics,min d experiences of the past may be surprised or even biofeedback, new age consciousness, artificial intelligenceshocke d when I suggest that electrons are the next evo­ and anything else on the brink of understanding. This lutionary step in turning yourself on, booting up your is the most electrifying periodical I read. Funky, home­ mind, activating new circuits in your mind. I don't see brewed, refreshingly unpredictable in content and format,ho w you can use psychedelic drugs and not want to talk they'll try out anything. Whole Earfh Review is often stuffyin electrons . Anyone who's had profound LSD experiences . by comparison —Kevin Kelly knows that the brain operates in clusters of flash on/offs, the so-called vapor trails. The clarity of atomic vision High Frontiers/ you get when you're very high on LSD or peyote or psilo- cybin is a sheer tuning in to the way the brain actually Reality Haclcers operates. ... —Timothy Leary, R. U. Sirius, Editor High Frontiers 930/year (4 newsletters, 2 magazines) from: 4fa^ ^ Haile Unlikely 1^%^^ r\ Communications 1 * r*iw i 1 A .ijHMln P. O. Box 40271 J 1 t Berkeley, CA 94704 • • «"^^ m 1 • 415/861-5825 « •I 1 ^>>^^^ • 1' * i-*- Hl^ii-i^iiite^^ I'm very nervous right rt.M now because I have no WHFBH^|BJ^^ backups of myself. I back "^ yV //^^ III ^^m up my disks quite often \ ' ''J vioi S^y'.^a^^^^^^B but I've never once had ^«^^Al^ iVOt**~ ^ '' a backup of myself. So v ir ^WA ^Tij^'fl^l I'm very interested in any technologies that might H|H emerge in the future that will allow backing up the essence of a human. Therefore, JFK: Ameries's first psyshsdelic prasUhntl I'm interested in life extension and computer-human interface. —Reality Hackers Newsletter

vanced human operating systems equals a total transmutation of the human condition into a higher level of ecstatic func­ tioning. And we want access. NOW! While the frontier scientist hacks into the information of universe, the evolutionary media artist hacks the information transfer technology and transmits the infonnation being re- deved by the frontier scientist. The unimpeded sharing of in­ formation accelerates the rate of human evolution by increas­ •Welcome to Reality Hackers, the newsletta for those con­ ing peoples' intelligence and personal power allowing us to cerned with Access. The reality hacker hails the individual- build upon and synergize one other's efforts and saving us right-to-know ethic and endorses the notion that information from each having to personally reinvent the wheel. Convers- shotild be shared. She uses whatever tools are available to cir­ V/, secrecy keeps people "in the dark", disempowers them, and cumvent, break through or transform those programming creates information elites. glitches, bureaucratic obstructions and proprietary voodoo that limit the individual in her quest. The quest can b« anything at At the present time, secrecy, paranoia and proprietary atti­ all which the situation of being an embodied human being tudes are pandemic from Washington D.C. to Silicon Valley. might have to offer. Embodiment connotes the reversal of en- In the post-Reagan era, we will see a very rapid and sudden re­ tropy.As such, the reality hacker is in the front lines in the versal of this trend. Disinformation and information hoarding battle against entropy. But don't let it stop there! Legendary will be considered sociopathic behavior. Seen from an evolu­ Berkeley-based reality hacker Severe Tire Damage is believed tionary perspective, disinformation and information hoarding to have coined the popular and instructive slogan: "Reversing are the major crimes against the species. In this context, the re­ entropy is everybody's business." Here are the systems we will ality hacker is an Information Age Robin Hood whose pleas­ be accessing: ure and duty it is to make certain that the latest breakthroughs and the hottest new information not be the exclusive property of authoritarian structures and information elites. Reality Hacking the Hunun BioComputer hackers promote self-government and self-determination by Reality hackers are out to access, optimize and maximize the hacking the information grid and sharing that information intelligence, energy, pleasure states, health and healing possi­ with everybody. bilities, visions, play and creativity, longevity, wisdom and hu­ mor residing in the brain, the mind, the nervous system, the senses and any other more subtle dimensions of the human Hacking Better Tools To Hack With biocomputer. Hardware: Brain technologies, vitamins, nutrients and chemicals, computers and other high technologies. Software: Methods for thinking creatively and with clarity, Hacking the Infomution Grid methods of overcoming destructive psychological program­ This concept actually requires a multilevel approach. There ming, books, films, videos, networks, workshops, THE HIGH are those who are hacking the information of universe using FRONTIERS MONTHLY FORUM, friendly, loving and com­ the extensions of human knowledge we call technique and passionate interaction. technology • our frontier scientists, mathematicians and phi­ We want to hear from you! Add your intelligence to the losophers. We believe that the sum totalo f all of the bits of in­ transmission. Get in on the BIG HACK. The human species is formation currently being received and processed by highly ad­ about to get a major upgrade. Don't get left behind! n

-ftaaiUy Haek»n Newtleffsr

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAIJSAUTO. CA 94965 59 The opaque goggles of the Tranqullite give the user o stylish "human fly" look appropriate for oil occasions. Indirectly lit from within, the goggles present a featureless visual field called a ganifeld, while the compact pink noise generator provides a steady auditory stimulus that drowns out ejtternal sounds. The device thus serves as a sort of portable sensory isolation chamber.

(Below) Joseph light's simple TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) device is made from "about nineteen dollars' worth of parts from Radio Shack." Many users report that at certain frequency settings, the instrument can increase alertness and concentration, and produce mild euphoria.

Megabrain m •"hi A gee-whiz reporter for Omni magazine travels around ^w^!' the country trying out various gizmos claimed to elicit altered states of awareness, looking for action beyond biofeedback. Most of the inventions he examines apply weak electrical currents to the skull. One machine is reputed to emit "love waves" — frequencies that would churn up cheery hormones in the user's cortex. Do they work? Well, they do induce changes in the brain's activity, and the literature he digs up on each device indicates they produce some kind of mind molecules (the appro­ Megabrain priate ones?). His own direct experiences suggest that the Michael Hutchison contraptions, in general, tend toward instilling "alert 1986; 347 pp. relaxation." Some would call that simply daydreaming $4.95 or meditation. ($5.95 postpaid) from: Too bad his reporting is so uncritical. On the other hand, Ballantine/Random House he deserves attention for his heads-on experimentation. 400 Hahn Road He also supplies manufacturers' references for second Westminster, MD 21157 opinions. It's the only comprehensive foray into the flaky 800/638-6460 world of do-your-own brain tuning, and so may be worth or Whole Earth Access a look. —Kevin Kelly • sand: the electrical circuit was completed, the patient The ancient Egyptians apparently used natural electrical got zapped, the pain was alleviated. stimulation quite frequently, zinging themselves with the © Nile electric catfish, which can be seen on Egyptian tomb Monroe found that by dropping the body into a state of reliefs. Some two thousand years ago a Greek physician, profound sleep and then triggering a wakeful awareness Scribonius Largus, was known for his "seashore treat­ with a combination of extremely rapid beta signals, he ment," which he prescribed for sufferers of pain (par­ was able to induce the body vibrations and other sensa­ ticularly gout). The patient was advised to put one foot tions that led, for many of his subjects, to those mysterious on an electrical torpedo ray and the other foot on wet mental events known as out-of-body experiences.

The Three-Pound Universe to make sure the procedure was safe. Heath injected the taraxein fraction into nonpsychotic prisoner-volunteers Man, with arm around graduating son-in-law, pointing to (using a comparable serum fraction from normal people the future. "I have one word for you, son: Brain Juices." for controls). Like characters in a mad-scientist horror This lucid book constitutes the necessary orientation to the movie — and, as a matter of fact, these experiments flow of neuro-transmitters from the mind to the soul. were filmed, like a kind of neuropsychiatric film noir — —Kevin Kelly the men who received the taraxein injections were plunged into instant psychosis. "Some hallucinated and had de­ The Three-Pound lusions and thought disorders," Heath recalls. "Some Universe became severely anxious and paranoid. Some were with­ Judith Hooper drawn and catatonic. An hour or so later, they went and Dick Teresi back to being entirely normal." 1986; 410 pp. * $12.95 In the 1940s MacLean became fascinated with the "limbic ($13.70 postpaid) from: storms" suffered by patients with temporal-lobe epilepsy. Dell Publishing Co. "During seizures," he recalls, "they'd have this Eureka 6 Regent Street p*'!' feeling all out of context — feelings of revelation, that Livingston, NJ 07039 this is the truth, the absolute truth, and nothing but the 800/626-3355 truth." All on its own, without the reality check of the or Whole Earth Access neocortex, the limbic system seemed to produce sensa­ tions of deja-vu or jamais-vu, sudden memories, waking dreams, messages from God, even religious conversions. Back in the mid-1950s Robert Heath, chairman of the psychiatry department at Tulane Medical Center in New "You know what bugs me most about the brain?" Mac- Orleans, found a mysterious protein in the blood serum Lean says suddenly. "It's that the limbic system, this of schizophrenics, which he baptized taraxein (from the primitive brain that can neither read nor write, provides Greek for "madness"). After experimenting with monkeys us with the feeling of what is real, true, and important."

60 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 AN INTELLIGENT GUIDE BY ROBERT TO INTELLIGENCE HORVITZ

WITH INFORMATION already past Intelligence agencies that operate in events can not only be reported, they the glut stage, we don't need more in­ secret are politically problematic. can be caused. formation so much as better ways of Those that operate openly, such as the finding and using what we want and U.S. Census Bureau, usually are not. Whatever your feelings about the need to know. What we need is more Intelligence agencies that seek secrecy ethics of espionage, there can be no intelligence. often argue that this is necessary either doubt that all national leaders look to because what they want to find out intelligence agencies for answers and Intelligence con be defined as the isn't public, or because their sources guidance in important matters of state. means by which information is pro­ would surely protest, dissemble or dry They are thus quite influential, and in cessed to bring out its use-value. It can up if they knew they were being moni­ a crisis our fate may hinge on their also be the product of that process. In­ tored. The problem is that no matter work. We need to understand them. telligence can be as simple as passing how well-justified, secrecy also makes Plus, even without security clearances, on a clipping to someone who might oversight, external direction, and con­ we can all make use of some of their benefit from reading it (connecting a trol difficult. Moreover, a covert net­ sources and products, and adapt pro­ need with a source), or as complex as work for information-gathering pro­ fessional techniques to good noncovert a team-written study projecting the vides an all-too-handy infrastructure purposes. Government agencies have world 25 years into the future. for carrying out secret interventions: no monopoly on intelligence. The two most common vernacular meanings of the word "intelligence" are personal smarts and espionage. This survey deals mainly with the latter. INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINES

THERE'S A GROWING NUMBER OF terspy), but is not as slick or as well- periodicals available to the public documented as CAIB. reporting on intelligence work. They Germany has a history of state-spon­ run the gamut from rabidly hostile sored domestic surveillance, and is to sycophantic, from thoroughly re­ now a major arena for East-West spy- searched to merely polemical to just sparring. The West German magazine plain fluff. When the stance is critical Geheim (Secret] boldly spotlights this and the focus is on agencies of the murky business. It seems especially in­ country where the publication is bas­ tent on breaking the covers of Amer­ ed, an intelligence magazine may be ican and Soviet agents (they have a operating at the edge of that society's "Naming Names" column almost tolerance for journalism. every issue), and is very critical of its Among the better critical journals. In- own government. (All articles in felllgence/Parapollilcs provides a con­ German.) cise monthly overview of recent press lobster is a British newsletter on intel­ reports about covert activities world­ ligence, "parapolitics" and ''state wide. Most articles are summarized, research," published somewhat irre- others are reprinted whole. Emphasis gulariy, with no love for British intel­ is always on facts rather than polemics. ligence, the right wing, or international Published in Paris, it comes in "full" conspiracies. (Content varies quite a and "summary" editions, both avail­ bit from issue to issue, so it's not easy able in either French or English. By all to characterize.) means get the "full" version. Big Sister is a little newsletter publish­ Philip Agee and Norman Mailer help­ ed by OASIS (Organisation to Abolish ed the Covert Action Information the Security Intelligence Service), Bulletin get started in 1978. CAIB which reports on domestic spying and used to make d point of revealing the foreign involvements of New Zealand's names and covers of currently active SIS. CIA agents. Since passage of the In­ telligence Identities Protection Act in The British newsletter Counferpoinf 1982, they've shied away from nam­ and the U.S.-based NIghtwaich are ing names, concentrating instead on likewise specific in their focus: Soviet more general detective work, piecing propaganda and disinformation. But together incidents and relationships to where Counterpoint is analytical, try­ adduce U.S.-backed covert operations ing to deduce the goals of specific pro­ or disinformation campaigns. Often paganda projects by close study of the assembled into theme issues, CAIB ar­ products (or suspected products), ticles ore opinionated but based on NIghtwatcb indulges in a lot more free- substantial research. floating paranoia and Cold War spe­ culation. The National Reporter has similar pre­ CIA agent Ziaodin Mohmoud. —Gehe/m occupations (it used to be called Coun­ Military Intelligence may be the only

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 periodical published by an intelligence The biweekly Access Reports /FYI may cation. According to one of their sub­ agency about their work that offers not be affordable by most people, but scription ads, it's "the only interna­ subscriptions to the public. Ml occa­ its detailed coverage of legislative ac­ tional espionage magazine in exis­ sionally has interesting articles, but its tivity, federal regulations and court tence!" Which should give you an idea main purpose seems to be to dissemi­ cases concerning privacy, freedom of of the quality of journalism it offers. nate innocuous bureaucratic news and informotion, and security classification Actually, it's mainly short fiction pieces promote careers in Army intelligence. is without peer. and reviews of spy novels, with re­ Published by a school that trains sol­ hashes of last year's newspaper spy diers in tactical intelligence for the bat­ Lost and least, we have Esp/onage, a sensations mixed in for "realism." tlefield, the feature articles tend either relatively new Guccione-backed publi- Definitely NOT recommended. D to be very general, or case-studies with parable value.

The Internaflonal Journal of Intelli­ gence and Counterintelligence reads nerujoRK mfiRCK'^?. a bit like an academic journal whose inT€LLIGenC£ reason for existence is to help its au­ thors inch closer to tenure. In this in­ stance, the authors are mostly either retired from or aspiring to intelligence agency employment. We can only hope the CIA's classified journal. Stu­ dies in Intelligence, is more trenchant.

Somewhat livelier, though no less aca­ demic, is Intelligence and National Se­ curity, published in England. It em­ phasizes historical scholarship rather than current events, and while many articles concern British activities, its scope is worldwide. Not as rabidly critical as, say, GeheJm or CAfB, the editor nonetheless hopes "to lift some of the official veils which still point- lessly conceal the past history of in­ telligence." focuses on people and their motives. In an effort to reduce anti-nuclear sen­ —/nternoh'ona/ Journal of Livelier still, though much thinner, is the timent in the South Pacific, the USA has Intelligence and Counterintelligence Intelligence Quarterly, edited by offered Nevada nuclear test sites to the Michael Speers and Rupert Allason French government several times (In- • (a.k.o. Nigel West). Mostly book re­ ternat. Hero/d Tribune, Paris, 870622). A Trojan Horse of sorts is slowly edg­ views by writers who are themselves But France has always refused. The ing its way into the Black community well-known authors in the field, it in­ French press has mentioned the pos­ in the U.S. By political and religious means, the far Right is attempting to cludes a set-the-fur-flying column sibility that the Kerguelen or Crozet islands could be used as French nu­ curry Block support for its causes. De­ which reviews the reviews of intelli­ clear test sites and that this may be ception and misrepresentation are the gence books in other publications — why the Australian trawler Southern main tactics being employed in this "a new art-form which might make Raider was sunk by the French navy noxious endeavor. By addressing issues some small contribution to keeping for spying in the area. of concern to Blacks, such as abortion, such reviewers more honest — or at —Intelligence/Parapolitics school prayer, starvation in Africa, mi­ least forcing them to read the book in nority rights, and political empower­ question all the way through." ment, a number of Blacks are being Give an analyst a paper with sentences duped by far-right forces into support­ IQ's chief competitor is the Foreign In­ of information on it and he will imme­ ing causes that are diametrically op­ telligence Literary Scene, which, with diately do three things: check it for posed to their interests. a change of editorship in 1986, seems accuracy; evaluate its place in the con­ —Covert Action to have lost whatever independence it text of his own knowledge of its sub­ may have had from those running the ject matter; try to exploit it for produc­ U.S. agencies. Book reviews fill most tion of a finished report or study. of the page-space; there's also a Now give the same paper to a field regular listing of recent intelligence- case officer. He will also do three related articles in the establishment things, but they are different. He will press. examine it to identify its source; at­ tempt to intuit, learn, or guess the First Principles (reviewed in CQ 39:58) source's motive for promulgating it; fights the impulse to use the legitimate grope for a way of using it to influ­ need for secrecy in intelligence work ence somebody, usually a prospective Roy Innis, founder of the Congress of Ra­ to conceal illegal activities and thwart agent. cial Equality (CORE), shakes hands with public oversight. Published by the Cen­ Kernhord Gootz. —Covert Aefion In other words, the analyst's habit is ter for National Security Studies, an to react ad causam, the case officer's active FOIA litigator, it feature^s "op­ ad hominem. The analyst focuses on The New York Times has won an im­ ed" type opinion essays, policy ana­ subject matter and its relevance to portant FOIA victory against NASA, lyses, and condensed coverage of re­ understanding recorded events; the which circumscribes the limits of per­ cent court cases and news articles. field case officer, on the other hand. sonal information in the wake of the

62 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 national affairs, and history." Agency officers soon perceived that the Presi­ dent seemed to think that CIA might be out to undermine him. Ranelagh points out that during his campaign Carter had portrayed CIA as a "na­ tional disgrace." Whether or not he believed this. Carter failed to realize that the CIA, by legislation and prac­ tice, had always been loyal first and foremost to the President. —Foreign Intelligence Literary Scene

According to the authors of Disinfor­ mation, halting the SDI program has become the Soviet Union's top active i^mmm^m^is^i^^$^^^^>^*^i^i^m>» priority of 1987. The reason for this is the Soviet perception that if they can stall the SDI now, it will die "of its own Manzlone and a fellow SEAL were called upon to lead the raid on Hon Me Island — a accord." Thus, mission that served as a trigger mechanism for a pre-planned series of events designed to provoke the North Vietnamese "attacks" in the Gulf of Tonkin.—The Hailonal Reporter From the Soviet point of view, 1987 ... is a goal line stand. If they can prevent a touchdown in the Supreme Court's decision in Depart­ ated." And CIA employees, used to a next few plays, they will be at a ment of State vs. Washington Post. role of responsiveneiss to the President, decided advantage for some time learned this quickly. When Carter took to come. After NASA recovered the Challeng­ office, they figuratively stood, saluted, er's voice recorder last year. The Times and said — Where do we go from To prevent the U.S. from "scoring," requested a copy of the tapes. NASA here? They found that President Car­ Disinformation believes that the Soviet released a transcript, but refused to ter, to use Ranelagh's phrase, "was a active measures apparot will target provide a copy of the tapes, citing Ex­ profoundly ignorant (though by no two politically vulnerable institutions: emption 6 (invasion of privacy). The means unintelligent) American, espe­ the Congress, and the Atlantic Alli­ agency claimed the tapes were per­ cially in the areas of economics, inter- ance. —Nightwatch sonal in that they were closely identi­ fied with the Challenger astronauts and that their release would invade the privacy of the families.

Without reaching the issue of the fami­ Access R«ports/FYI: Harry Ham- year (3 issues) from Frank Cass & lies' privacy rights. Judge Norma Hol- mitt, editor. $250/year (24 issues) Co. Ltd., Gainsborough House, 11 loway Johnson has ordered NASA to from Monitor Publishing Co., 1301 Gainsborough Road, London Ell release the tapes, finding that they do Pennsylvania Ave./Ste. 1000, Wash­ IRS, England. ington, D.C. 20004. not qualify for protection under Ex­ Intelligence/Parapolitics: Olivier emption 6. . . . —Access Reports/ Big Sister: $5/4 issues from OASIS, Schmidt, editor. $25/year (12 issues) FOI Newsletter Box 1666, Wellington, Aotearoa NZ. from Association pour la Droite a Counterpoint: Stanislav Levchenko I'Information, 16 rue des Ecoles, Covert operations breed a disrespect and Peter Deriabin, editors. $35/ 75005 Paris, France. for the truth. One starts out lying to the year (12 issues) from Ickham Publi­ Intelligence Quarterly: Michael enemy, then to the public, then the cations Ltd., Westonhanger, Ickham, Speers and Nigel West, editors. Congress, then other agencies, and Canterbury CT3 1QN, England. $30/year (4 issues) from Michael then to the person in the next office. Speers, P. O. Box 232, Weston, Covert Action information Bulletin: One starts out lying about the essen­ VT 05161. $I5/year (3 issues) from Covert Ac­ tials and then discovers how easy it is tion Information Bulletin, P. O. Box International Journal of Intelligence and how effective and starts lying 50272, Washington, D.C. 20004. and Counterintelligence: F. Reese about other aspects of the operation Brown, editor-in-chief. $10/issue Espionage: Jackie Lewis, editor/pub­ and then about many things. If it is (quarterly) from Intel Publishing lisher. $21/year (6 issues) from Leo okay to lie about aid to the contras, Group, P O. Box 188, Stroudsburg, 11 Publications, P. O. Box 1184, why not about arms for hostages, or PA 18360. an imminent invasion of Grenada? If Teaneck, NJ 07666. the extent of the lie spreads inexorably, Lobster: Robin Ramsay, editor. $14/ First Principles: Sally Berman, editor. year (4 issues) from Lobster, 17C so do the targets of the lie. The need $15/year (6 issues; $10/year for to know principle justifies lying not only Pearson Avenue, Hull HU5 2SX, students) from Center for National England. to the public and to the Congress but Security Studies, 122 Maryland Ave. to others in the Executive branch and NE, Washington, D.C. 20002. Military Intelligence: Capt. William even in the CIA and on the staff of the A. Purciello, editor. $14/year (4 National Security Council who are not Foreign intelligence Literary Scene: issues) from Superintendent of Docu­ within the circle." —First Principles Marjorie W. Cline and David L. ments, U.S. Government Printing Thomas, editors. $25/year (6 issues) Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. from National Intelligence Study The National Reporter: John Kelly, Center, 1800 K Street NW, Wash­ editor. $13/year (4 issues) from The Ranelagh's description of the relation­ ington, D.C. 20006. ship of CIA to the Carter administra­ National Reporter, P. O. Box 21279, tion is succinct, accurate, and telling — Geheim: DM 90/year (4 issues) from: Washington, D.C. 20009. probably the best in print to date. Lutticher Strasse 14, 5000 Koln 1, Nightwatch: free (12 issues/year) "With a President so limited," writes Federal Republic of Germany. from Security and Intelligence Foun­ Ranelagh, "the CIA had little chance intelligence and National Security: dation, 1010 Vermont Avenue/Ste. of being properly used or appreci­ Christopher Andrew, editor. ^£22/ 1020, Washington, D.C. 20005.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 ^e# FOREIGN NEWS MONITORS a thousand pages a day. That may be one reason why more people don't make more use of these collections: DURING WORLD WAR II, THE U.S. for others. Some of the more delec­ it can be like trying to sip from a Government began systematically table JPRS periodicals are Japan Re­ fire hose. monitoring foreign radio broadcasts port; Woiidwide Reports (Arms Con­ Another reason may be fear that since and news publications. The Foreign trol; Epidemiology; Nuclear Develop­ it is the CIA which translates and dis­ Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) ment & Proliferation; Telecommunica­ tributes the material, it could be com­ and the Joint Publications Research tions Policy, Research & Development); promised. This is a legitimate concern. Service (J PRS) are nov/ run by the CIA. U.S.S.R. Reports (Cybernetics, Com­ One cannot ignore how easy it would With thousands of print browsers, and puters & Automation Technology; Mili­ be for the Agency to use these reports listening posts worldwide, much of tary Affairs; Space Biology & Aero­ to publicize, suppress, alter, or even what they cull from open sources is space Medicine). plant stories to suit their own purposes. quickly translated, sorted and repub­ In addition to the serials, JPRS also lished. Since the sources are public, so A more serious problem is self-decep­ publishes one-time reports based on is their selection. FBIS and JPRS reports tion. In The CIA arid the Cult of In­ unique documents: Vietnam's current ore gold mines — the most concentrat- telligence (Knopf/Dell, 1974), Victor Five-Year Plan, a cache of papers cap­ edly rich and diverse news sources I've Marchetti and John Marks claim that tured from a guerrilla group, a Soviet ever encountered. And since your tax since the Clandestine Services are "re­ radar textbook, etc. dollars pay for them, you can read luctant to reveal their propaganda them free at most Government Docu­ As wondrously vast and eclectic as operations" even to FBIS editors, ment Depositories. (There are Govern­ JPRS and FBIS are, they do pose prob­ "texts of programs actually originating ment Document Depositories in libra­ lems for the user. First, even though from the agency's secret stations" were ries in most major cities and universities they filter and sift for the most signi­ "frequently" picked up and passed on in the U.S. All of them are open to the ficant items, the quantity of text they to CIA, State Department and acade­ general public, even if housed in a li­ publish is still staggering — roughly mic analysts as hard intelligence. Since brary that limits admission to card­ holders.) These reports enable you to read (in NEWS FROM ABROAD VIA English) African press coverage of the AIDS epidemic; the latest issue of Solidarnosc; transcripts of Iranian ra­ dio programs; news of nuclear-free- zone proposals and peace demonstra­ COVERAGE OF EVENTS outside the Agency, TASS, etc. tions (JPRS's coverage is probably the U.S. by the U.S. mass media is inade­ quate at best. Fortunately, you don't Does "teletype" conjure up an image most extensive published anywhere); of bulky, clacking machines churning editorials about trade policy in the have to settle for what they offer. A shortwave radio gives you direct ac­ out rolls of yellow paper in the back leading Japanese dailies; items from office? Be advised that electronics has "Vremya," the U.S.S.R.'s evening TV cess to broadcasts from foreign coun­ tries, and if it's of sufficient quality, it transformed it into a medium that's news show; and a zillion other things quiet, compact and computer-compa­ you never even thought to look for. can pick up much more than music and voice. With the proper accessories, pa­ tible. Originally, FBIS monitored broadcasts tience, and practice, you can also use Any shortwave radio capable of re­ and JPRS covered print media. Their it to tune in and read news-text ceiving RTTY has that feature indicated domains aren't defined by the source transmissions from foreign press on its "mode" selector. By itself, all the medium any more, but rather by the agencies. radio con do is detect the tones carry­ time-sensitivity of the information. ing the information. To convert the FBIS's through-put is rapid, so their This is NOT as simple as clicking burbling tones into readable charac­ Daily Reports are for short-shelf-life around the TV dial. There are many ters, you need one of the following: news — crises and coups, travels by variables that can reduce a distant sta­ heads of state, political and economic tion's signal to gibberish, and you 1) An old teletype printer. This is the announcements, military activity, etc. quickly see that English is a minority cheapest but least desirable option. FBIS is essentially an overnight transla­ language. Even with the best equip­ They're getting harder to find, but you tion service for news from abroad that ment, monitoring radioteletype (RTTY) can still pick one up at a hamfest (a might affect U.S. foreign policy. signals is a challenge, but it's also the flea market for amateur radio oper­ ultimate bypass: world news, unfil- ators) for $25-$75, depending on con­ JPRS doesn't move quite so quickly, but tered, from a Babel of perspectives. dition. Enough are still in use that, with the texts they go after are relevant over a bit of research, you can find sources a longer time period. Like FBIS, they The major Western agencies distribute for paper, ink ribbons and replacement quote from broadcasts and newspa­ their news by wire and satellite now, parts. (Parts for many mechanical tele­ pers; more characteristically, JPRS but many of them also use RTTY in the printers are still available from the Te­ draws material from magazines, spe­ shortwave band for redundancy and leprinter Corporation, 550 Springfield cialized journals, books and printed backup. Dozens of smaller agencies, Avenue, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922; ephemera: commentaries, position including most that are located in less- 800/526-3662 - in NJ, 201/464- papers, local-color and think-pieces, developed countries, use RTTY as their 5310.) However, note that not all news analyses of current trends, scientific primary means of distribution. Under agencies use the same RTTY tones and and technical articles. Instead of the Electronic Communications Privacy data speeds; a mechanical tele-type­ following a strict schedule as FBIS Act, these channels are not illegal to writer may or may not be compatible does, JPRS publications come out as monitor if they are not scrambled. If with the specific transmissions you want source material becomes available — you're a news junkie, RTTY is the fast­ to receive. as often as several times per week for est — often the only — way to get some serials, as seldom as once a year reports straight from the Saudi News 2) An electronic RTTY reader. These

64 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 this assertion was made in the past get the FBIS Daily Reports. If you don't ordered (this is not true of FBIS pub­ tense, one hopes the Agency has re­ have free access through one of them, lications). Subscriptions to JPRS serials solved this problem, for its own ana­ but do have d pile of money, subscrip­ vary widely in price, depending on the lysts, at least. tions are available from the National page count and frequency of publica­ Technical Information Service (NTIS), tion. Contact NTIS or UMI for par­ Having read these reports regularly 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA ticulars. since 1980, my gut feeling is that one 22161 (703/487-4630). Published can usually count on the translation UMI also publishes thick monthly and Monday-Friday, each Report series being accurate, though editorial deci­ annual indices covering all JPRS publi­ costs $125/year on microfiche, $290/ sions about which items to include oc­ cations: Transdex. This directory makes year on paper. In either format there casionally seem arbitrary or political­ it easy to look up tables of contents, are large discounts for subscribing to ly influenced. Despite the opportunity specific items, keywords, authors and more than one series at a time. to manipulate, the Agency's primary subjects. Because of the time needed aim in these services must be to quote Most government document deposi­ to compile each issue, Trar)sdex lags real sources accurately and spot po­ tories get some of the JPRS publica­ a few months behind the serials in­ tentially important developments long tions, but only a few get all of them. dexed, but it's absolutely indispensable before they're common knowledge, If yours doesn't get the series you want and stimulating to use. Too bad the regardless of how politically inconve­ to read (a complete listing can be FBIS collection has nothing nient they might be. This they seem to found in Transdex, reviewed below), comparable. do quite well. But as with any interna­ you might try to persuade them to start tional news service, readers of JPRS subscribing. Otherwise, all JPRS docu­ Subscriptions to Tnansclex are prohibi­ and FBIS reports outside the CIA must ments are sold through NTIS (address tively expensive. Fortunately, most in­ judge for themselves the accuracy and above), and by University Microfilms stitutions that archive JPRS publications authenticity of particulor texts. International (UMI), Old Mansfield also get Tronsdex, so if you have ac­ Road, Wooster, OH 44691-9050. cess to a local collection, this essential, Many local libraries, and virtuolly all time-saving finding aid will likely be government document depositories. Single copies and back issues can be available there, too. • vary greatly in design, price and so­ tie up their main machine, many moni­ ented magazines and computer BBSes phistication, from little boxes that tors buy a used Vic 20 or Commodore for leads). The maker of the CP-100 display the text as characters shifting 64 just for RTTY. offers a nice Commodore program along a row of LEDs, to elaborate mi­ called SWL TEXT for $99.95; able to croprocessor-based units with text buf­ If you can solder a decent joint, you read the Cyrillic as well as the Roman con build a sirhple RTTY/computer in­ fers, video displays, automatic tone- alphabet, it comes with ROM car­ terface for under $50 (many radio shift and speed matchers, etc. Prices tridge, cable, keyboard overlays and magazines have published circuit dia­ range from about $200 to $900, and manual. grams). Off-the-shelf units are gener­ this is one market where you get pretty ally more expensive, with a "cadillac" For a lively, informative, but not-very- much what you pay for. model like the CP-100 Computer Patch technical overview of RTTY as trans­ 3) A computer interfaced with appro­ interface listing for $329.95 (from Ad­ formed by modern electronics, get priate software. Since RTTY is similar vanced Electronic Applications, Inc., RTTY Today by Dave Ingram ($10.45 in concept to the codes used in modem R O. Box 2160, Lynnwood, WA 98036; postpaid from Universal Electronics, communications, with the appropriate 206/775-7373). Inc., 4555 Groves Road/Ste 13A, Co­ software a personal computer can lumbus, OH 43232; 614/866-4605). read RTTY through a moderately pric­ Software to translate the Baudot code ed modem-like interface to a short­ used in RTTY into digital code that Press agencies change their transmis­ wave receiver. Not much "brain" is computers understand is available free sion schedules and frequencies fairly needed for this task, so rather than or at low cost (check ham radio-ori- often, so no published guide can be completely current. WorW Press Ser­ vices Frequencies, compiled and up­ dated every few years by Tom Harring­ ton, covers the basic how-to's, and gives you an idea what to look for and where ($10.15 postpaid from Univer­ sal Electronics — see above). Finally, send for a copy of The DX- ers Guide to Computing, by George Wood ($3 from Radio Sweden Interna­ tional, S-105 10 Stockholm, Sweden). It's an excellent collection of tips and pointers for people interested in using computers with their shortwave radios — uses like schedule/frequency data­ bases, RTTY reading, propagation pre­ diction, automated monitoring, etc. Beware that most computers emit quite WtK raader Don Muusll (Whilmbury, KY) sayt of hit RTTY lotup: "I don*l Ilk* computora a bit of radio noise, and can interfere much (oxeopl for tho vary practical pockot calculator) ond never contlderod buying one with signal reception. While this is until I low that you can uto one to chock out propaganda balore It's edited down for usually not an insurmountable prob­ mots consumption. I already had a shortwave radio, so I spent $180 and was ready to lem, it can lead to grounding and go. I used a Vlc-20 computer ($40), AEA-SWl TEXT ($8$), and on MFJ-1225 Interface ($iO, from P. O. Box 494, Mississippi State, MS 397i2) hooked up to my shortwave as shown." shielding the computer, moving the Don suggested some of the Items mentioned In this article. antenna, or rearranging the office, n

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 65 COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TOOLS

domain. Lots more simple build-it Monitoring Times projects, too. U.S. Military Radio Bob Grove, editor. $15Ayear (12 • Communications issues) from Grove Enterprises, Inc., An electronic security specialist In P. O. Box 98, Brosstown, NC 28902; Michiel Schaay, editor. 1985; 259 the Maryland area (name withheld pp. (3 volumes). $33.95 postpaid 704/837-9200. on request) sent in his company's from Universal Shortwave Radio, catalog along with a figure display­ 1280 Aida Drive, Reynoldsburg, ing his winning entry for the smallest OH 43068. antenna ever: a tiny ring around a SMOI' .25 Inch diameter capsule to be car­ TmES' ried by executives or political figures who run some risk of being captured. When swallowed, the pill-transmit­ ter's battery activates by action of the stomach's own acid and sends a signal from this mighty-mite of an antenna which is reported to allow tracking from three to five miles away!

This monthly tabloid, aimed at short­ wave listeners, hams, scanner enthu­ .OlS 01* IHN6 ANT. siasts and satellite dish owners, tells \ how to receive virtually any radio signal in the air. Its frequency data, The most comprehensive, uriclassified international broadcasting news, and monitoring guide to U.S. military equipment reviews are much fresher radio communications, in three soft- than Popular Communleaflons (CQ naZ'PILC WITH bound volumes. If trouble starts any­ WORLD'S SMALLEST #42, p. 115), which covers a similar ANTENNA. where in the world, and you have a shortwave receiver, a decent antenna, and these books, there's a chance you won't have to wait until the evening Tom Davis Boolcs National intelligence news to find out what's happening. Catalog fr«e from P. O. Box 1107, Book Center Focusing mainly on voice and radio- Aptos,CA 95001. teletype channels. Volume 1 is Catalog $i from N.I.B.C., 1700 K organized by both region and ser­ Mail-order specialist in muckraking vice, covering Air Force, Army, and political and conspiracy books, manyStree t NW/Ste. 1007, Washington, D.C. 20006; 800/624-2232 ext. 350. Navy bases worldwide. Volume 2 looks concerning intelligence agencies, at affiliated agencies, like the Coast bankers, royal families. Masons, A bookstore and mail-order service Guard, Federal Emergency Manage­ organized crime, etc. All points of for unclassified books and videotapes,ment Agency and NASA. A compo­ view, all shades of credibility. Stuff apparently aimed at intelligence pro­ site frequency-order list of stations not generally found in bookstores — fessionals and amateurs with a yen to starts in Volume 2 and concludes not even in the National Intelligence know. Many manuals, case studies in Volume 3. Book Center. and histories; extensive selection of Note that in the U.S. as well as many 1970 IHE VAU. STKOrr JUMGU ity GROVE (Stock mxket Mnipu^xtlOM on 11/22/63) U 4.93 books on cryptography, investigative 1979 rmVimOttma Homed KBU BOOKS IN FOCUS (Mor + Inflktlon •ncleh btokon) KC 1((.95 other countries, it is legal to monitor 1962 HCB3 or FOUER lUunr HM (Tho Mln Intsnwtioml eartela doscrlbod, VIUI) HC 15.9g^,j3 techniques and "comsec" (communi­these channels, so long as you don't cations security). Stock is mainly fromdivulge or economically benefit from commercial publishers, but a few what you hear. The military is perfectly government documents are sprinkled able to protect any transmissions it in. They also buy and sell out-of-print needs to, and even on unscrambled books. Their current catalog doubles channels, they make extensive use of as a nS-page bibliography that's a codes and jargon to conceal content. pretty good introduction to unclassi­ WE SEOicr covnmEWT u, SECSECT. DECEPTIOH. JUID TUB HATIOHAL SEclwrrif SilTiahiGB An AWACS plane might radio to 1900 THE AGE OP SUnVElUAHCEr AKISICA'S RLITICAL imELLICEHCE Donnar VINTAGE IS 6.95 fied intelligence literature, with an 1966 THE CAjnve t>UBLICi NOV HASS OPINIOX IDOMOnS STATE lOHBI Glratais BASIC HC 16.95 ground control, "I'm painting bogeys 1977 CIEAUK THE AOI Duiol Schorr HM (Chaptei* on CIA- Cul»-HBfl* links} KCS 5.95 emphasis on anti-KGB material and 198i» MKIHSTfATIOH EUWriOHSi OS STACB) E1£CTI0BS IM DOH. SEP., VIBTHAH, SALVABOB SE 7.93 at 5 o'clock," when he means his 1961* ItmPIHG AHHICA tWIWOHHEDi GOVT. SEOIECT IH THE 1960'S Oeiac PIlCBDl (rigtaw) 8.95 "tradecraft." "Due to the hectic hours 1976 niE UVIESS STATEt THE CRIMES OP THE U.S. IMTELLICENOE AGENCIES Halperln PEICUIN b.95 radar is showing unidentified aircraft 1973 THE lOLITICS Of-LIINGt COVBIWlENr DECEPTION. SECBECr, lOHEB NlBO VIOTACE U 3.95 of many of our customers, t/ie Center coming from the east-southeast. Such 1978 SniIC ON AMERIOAHSt POLniCAL SUBVEXLUHCE ThcoharU TEXPIE UHIV. IR. HCS 8.95 hos a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week elec­ 1976 TECHNOSPIESi THE SECRET NBTHOnR THAT SPIES ON TOU...A TOU. RoHsn PUTNAHS HCS 9.95 verbal camouflage is, for some peo­ 1966 1TLL1NC LlESi A HON 11} GUIDE FOB ALL THOSE MtO VAHT 10 DETECT LII9 EhMn BDUOET 3.95 tronic order line at 202-797-1234." THE SECTET OOVERWlENr 5i METHODSt TIIRTT TRICKS". ARMS 3AIJ8, BRIBERT. SUBViaSIOH. MURDER ple, part of the allure. 1961 AGRICIDEi THE HTDDEH CRISIS THAT APTECT? US All. Pox SOIOCKEH (inferior food) 7.95 1960 ASSASSINATION ON D1BASST RON Dlr«aa Jt L«ndKU H-H (OIA flmncad hit oqmda) J.9J 198U THE BR CHIUi REAGAN * COHSISVATIVES ABE SUBVHITIIC FREE SPEECH Poll BEACON 10.95 1979 COUP D' ETATi A IDACriCAL HANDBOOK Lottaok HARVARD (How to ovorthrow tho gorl.) 6.95 1983 DEADLY BUSINESSi BAM CIBWIICS. INTtauRIQ, * THE ARI6 THADE B»«sn NORTON HCS 5.95

[Some unusual catalog listings:] Applied Surveillance Photography, ntOTECnNG by Raymond P. Slljander (C. C. Tho­ youii mas, 1975), 120 pp. hardback, $14.50 BUSINESS SECRETS Find'em Fast: A Private Investigator'sSHADOWIN G AND SURVEIL­ PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS HOW TO BE A HOSTAGE AND LANCE— A COMPLETE GUIDE­ SECRETS by Michael Saunders, UVE: AN IN-DEPTH GUIDE TO Workbook, by John D. McCann (Pal- BOOK by Bun Rapp. Manual for industrial espionage gains new AVOIDANCE AND SURVIVAL by ladin, 1984), 168 pp. paperback, $12 instituting or detecting^ practitioners everyday. The author Capt Frank Bolz. Collection of sunwillances: from tailing on loot, outlines the techniques used by oints on ways to survive a to disguises and decoys, to professionals and how these risks Roslage situation. For high-risk Low Profile: How to Avoid the Privacy electronic and wireless tech­ can be managed through airtight occupations (anyone receiving niques. Avoidance methods are policies, protective measures, me NIBC flyers) it is essential. Keep Invaders, by William Petrocelli (Mc­ also carefully discussed. Contents fatest equipment and, careful with your luggage and review Graw-Hill, 1982), 261 pp., $5.95 akin to some of the coursework staffing. 128 pp before each tnp abroad. It may from The Fami. 134 pp. $2S.MHB* Shipping. save your life. 128 pp. $>.9SPB 4. Shipping. SS.95PB 4. Shipping.

66 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 PeaceNet Power Structure 3228 Sacramento Street, San Fran­ Research Database cisco, CA 94115; 415/923-0900. 4 floppy disks. $35/$IOO from Micro This computer messaging service Associates, P. O. Box 5369, Arling­ hosts over a hundred online confer­ ton, VA 22205. ences for peace and social activist For the past ten years, Daniel Brandt groups: the National Freeze Cam­ has been compiling a "power struc­ paign, the Christie Institute, the Cen­ ture research" database with its own tral America Resource Network, the easy-to-use, search-and-sort software Center for Innovative Diplomacy, In­ designed to run on a microcomputer. stitute for Security and Cooperation It presently contains the names of in Outer Space, etc. It's worth joining nearly 30,000 individuals and groups not just for the news-postings and identified in 55,000 Citations from calendars of events (e.g. American books and articles about the intelli­ Peace Test's schedule of nuclear blasts gence community, big business, the at the Nevada test site), but because ticabk and involving. (The system has U.S. foreign policy establishment, participating groups often use Peace- limited-access sections and electronic domestic spying and political infiltra­ Net to administer Hiemselves. It's a mail facilities, too.) tion, assassination and conspiracy treat to follow discussions of internal Reachable in larger cities through theories, and right-wing organizations. issues, goals, strategies and tactics, Telenet, after a sign-up fee of $W, and most times kibitzers can add their the cost is $10 per month, plus $5 Each name-entry is linked to as many two cents. Openness is an important per hour (off-peak) and .005 cents as 50 published sources. Names as­ principle for many of these groups; per kilobyte for disk storage in excess sociated with a foreign country at a PeaceNet makes that ideal boffi prac- of 100k. Groups get discounts. certain time can be identified by spe­ cifying the place and time span of interest. For example, if you want a printout of all the names in the The Notional Seorch For Security database connected with Chile from 1970 to 1973, along with citations of Security Arciiive 1985; 281 pp. $45 postpaid from publications describing their activities, Access, 1755 Massachusetts Avenue 1755 Massachusetts Avenue NW/ a few simple commands will do it. NW Ste. 501, Washington, D.C. Ste. 500, Washington, D.C. 20036; 20036. The database is available as a set of 202/797-0882. three double-sided floppy disks, with This fat, spiral-bound guide to philan­ Former Washington Post reporter programs on a fourth floppy. The thropic support is designed to help Scott Armstrong's initial idea was to software provides phonetic and lead­ projects on war prevention and im­ create a public depository for docu­ ing-letter search capabilities for names proving national security find and get ments concerning U.S. national se­ whose spelling is uncertain. Purchas­ grants. Over 70 foundations are pro­ curity, foreign policy, military and ers receive update announcements filed, including their funding criteria, intelligence activities obtained via every quarter, and are entitled to deadlines and contact addresses, plus Freedom of Information Act requests. buy later editions at discount prices. lists of gronfs awarded. Also includes Acquiring documents turned out to The cost of a four-disk set is $35 for a survey and analysis of groups that be just the start. Most of what the individuals and nonprofit organ­ succeeded in getting these grants. A National Security Archive does now izations, $100 for all others. An out­ well-done, time-saving reference. is assemble and index topical collec­ standing example of political!infotech Nothing else quite like it. Compiled tions from primary sources to provide activism. Anyone curious or concerned in 1985, the people who d/stribute "as complete a documentary record about the web of influences oper­ it believe most of the information of recent and contemporary policy­ ating behind the surface of demo­ IS still reliable. making as possible within the con­ cracy should have a copy. When straints of security classification." ordering, be sure to specify the type of computer it'll run on. Versions are Current projects range from the his­ currently available for devices running tory of U.S. military uses of space to CP/M, DOS 2.0 or 3.0. the evolution of U.S. policy toward A quarterly Journal of National Se­ South Africa 1960-87. The Archive curity Documentation will publish sells such collections and ^eir indexes especially significant finds, and an­ as microforms, primarily to libraries. nounce new products and services. Secret Department of State cable, now declass­ ified but heavily excised, Secret Department of dated January 6,1981, State cable, now declass- Kj :^j "•/• from the Deputy Chief of ified, dated November 9, ' "'' Mission in El Salvador, 1978, from Ambassador to Jerrold Mark Dion. Titled Iran William H. Sullivan. "MiUionaires' Murder Inc.?" Nine weeks before the the cable discusses his Shah fell, it is titled conversation with a "Thinking the Unthinkable' Salvadoran official which and discusses the first identified "six Salvadoran registered, official concern millionaire emigres in that the Shah might not ^ Miami" as responsible for survive the growing tur­ directing and financing moil in Iran. right wing death squads and probably the murders of American citizens.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITD. CA 949SS mmm TjTT«??9is»»aK;rt5r s^i'^

-PwrtA-m-Ai'-T^ itta^t^Sa^imiHtpnUBa'aia'Vrj.-rdJ- ^ A SHORT LIST OF INTELLIGENCE BOOKS

THE OPEN LITERATURE ON COVERT became an important source of public intelligence is extensive, ranging from information in the 1970s. Most don't declassified documents, memoirs and concern intelligence-gathering per se, exposes to histories, case studies and but rather clandestine acts intended to spy fiction. For a broad, expert survey push other societies in directions favor­ of what's worth reading, check your able to U.S interests, or to suppress library for George Constantinides' (n- criticism and dissent in the United fe//igence and Espionage: An Analy- States itself. fical Bibliography (Westview Press). The record compiled in 1975-6 by the Senate Select Committee on Intelli­ Among the "classics," my favorite is gence (a.k.a. the Church committee) probably Strategic Intelligence by continues to be a milestone as the most Sherman Kent (out of print; Princeton vigorous, authoritative investigation of University Press, 1949). Kent's prose is crimes committed by U.S. intelligence timelessly lucid, and his three-part agencies in the name of national secu­ analysis (intelligence as knowledge, as rity. Purchasable copies of the testi­ organization, as activity) is said to Vosili V. Averyanov, a Soviet employed by mony and reports released by the have influenced the development of the United Notions Secretariat in New Yorl( Committee are now quite rare, but they the U.S. spy agencies. The word "stra­ City, clears a drop in Westchester County, can be read at your local Government NY, in September, 1977. —KGB Today tegic" in the title points the discussion Document Depository. The most illu­ toward ways to identify and acquire minating and thought-provoking of the "knowledge which is vital for national exposes by former agents is still Philip survival." Anyone wanting to under­ Agee's Inside the Company: CIA Diary. stand why nations have intelligence Intelligence and Espionage: An The naming-names aspect made this agencies, and how information-needs Analytical Bibliography: George C. book notorious, but far more impor­ structure their activity, should read it. Constontines, 1983; 559 pp. $71 tant is the demythifying insight Agee from Westview Publishing Co., 6065 rhe U.S. Intelligence Community by gives into the bureaucratic details of Mission Gorge Road/Ste. 425, San Jeffrey T. Richelson is uniquely com­ agentry, as well as the CIA's entire role Diego, CA 92120. in international relations. As he climbs prehensive in its description of dozens The U.S. intelligence Community: the clandestine career ladder, moving of federal agencies, bureaus and sys­ Jeffrey T. Richelson, 1985; 381 pp. from one Latin American country to tems presently engaging in this line of $16.95. Sword and Shield: Jeffrey work. It is especially valuable for its another in the 1960s, Agee's gung-ho T. Richelson, 1986; 297 pp. $16.95. sketches of lesser-known units like the patriotism gradually turns to confu­ Both from Bollinger Publishing Co., National Reconnaissance Office, the sion, revulsion, then militant opposi­ 54 Church Street, Cambridge, Foreign Agriculture Service, and the tion. There's a deep, tragic irony in that MA 02138. the social assessments he learns to per­ Nuclear Detonation Detection System, KGB Today: The Hidden IHand: John form in his job eventually turn him as well as cooperative arrangements Barron, 1983; 257 pp. $4.95 between the United States and its against his employer and "American ($5.95 postpaid) from Berkley Books/ capitalism" generally. Order Dept., P. O. Box 506, East Rutherford, NJ 07073. Richelson has compiled a similar study "The Clandestine Service of the Cen­ tral Intelligence Agency," by Hans Bibliography on Soviet Intelligence on the U.S.S.R., Sword and Shield: and Security Services: Raymond Moses, offers a brief explanation/de­ Soviet Intelligence and Security Appa­ G. Rocca and John J. Dziak, 1985; fense of covert action. Published by the ratus. This may be the best scholarly 203 pp. $19.50 from Westview Pub­ Association of Former Intelligence Of­ treatment available, but perhaps not lishing Co., 6065 Mission Gorge surprisingly, it is less detailed and more ficers, this inexpensive pamphlet is part Road/Ste. 425, San Diego, CA 92120. speculative than his volume on the U.S. of a recent effort to counter the flood of harsh criticism unleashed in the inside the Company: CIA Diary: It's also much drier than the defectors' Philip Agee, 1975; 640 pp. OUT 1970s. The centerpiece of this effort is accounts that have provided much of OF PRINT. Penguin Books, 299 a most interesting seven-volume series what is known about the Soviet agen­ Murray Hill Pkwy., East Rutherford, of book-length studies under the col­ cies. Among the latter, John Barron's NJ 07073. KGB Today: The Hidden Hand stands lective title Intelligence Requirements The Clandestine Service of the out for its vivid recounting of the ca­ for the 1980s. Based on topical semi­ nars at which former intelligence offi­ Central Intelligence Agency: Hans reers of Stanislav Levchenko, Rudolph Moses, 1983; 24 pp. $1.25 post­ cials. Congressional staffers, acade­ Herrmann, and other recent former paid from the Association of Former mics and businessmen discuss covert Soviet spies. For a good annotated Intelligence Officers, 6723 Whittier guide to other books on this subject, collection, analysis and estimates, Ave./Ste 303A, McLean, VA 22101. see Bibliography on Soviet Intelligence counterintelligence, domestic spying, intelligence Requirements for the and Security Services by Raymond G. etc., it is probably the most in-depth, unhostile, unclassified review of the 1980s: Roy Godson, editor. Seven Rocca and John J. Dziak. volumes; $7.50-$11.95 ($55/set) general issues facing U.S. intelligence postpaid from the National Strategy today. Unfortunately, some volumes Exposes of the seamy side of U.S. in­ Information Center Washington, telligence by Congressional Commit­ predate important policy changes in­ D.C. Call for titles and individual tees and disillusioned former agents stituted by the Reagan Administration. prices: 212/838-2912. •

68 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Fund for Open Information and Accountability © SoulhwMlcm Beti Ever wondered if Big Brother has you in his files? Why not SEP 1« Bl DETAIL OF ITEMIZED CAllS PAGE <) il« 2«7 mo •—• find out? The procedure is simple. Fill out some basic MO.. DATE TIME PLACE EAJJLJtB AREA UUHfiLR m MIN AHDyjlI forms and mail them to the government agency of your 1 0( 10 52PH EL SALVDOR 503 2&2 300 C 12 '-OH' Jr z ?» 07 12 10PM EL SALVDOII 503 253 »51 A 2 \.Da' choice. They should notify you within a month whether or 3 » 07 12 18PM CAP1T0LHT5 MD 301 Sta 00

Stockwell Reading List and in the process read practically everything printed that dealt with the "other side" of the political spectrum. John Stockwell joined the CIA with the same gung-ho From this research he compiled a'50-page reading list of thought pattern that he'd had as a Marine Corps officer the best books he'd found. They cover everything from — he was fighting our nation's holy war against the Red Vietnam, the CIA and cold war economics to Latin Amer­ Menace. After a tour of duty in Vietnam with the agency, ica, nuclear war and the Kennedy assassination. Each he was promoted to station chief of the entire Angola comes with a capsule review. I like to think I keep up with operation, reporting directly to the National Security the literature, but Stockwell's list puts me to shame. Council, much like Ollie North would do a few years later. Stockwell was thus able to observe the covert Stockwell's original book freaked out the CIA so thoroughly Angola operation from planning to execution, and what that they took him to cdurt in the name of "national he saw grossed him out. So after 13 years with the agency security" and creamed him. Thus it is that for every volume he quit and wrote In Search of Enemies (W. W. Norton), sold today, the author's 65' royalty goes to the agency, telling his own story and in the process becoming the not the author. This is not the case with his reading list, so agency's highest-ranking defector. feel free to order a copy. —Dick Fugett

Stockwell also began a personal journey of investigation Selected "National Security" Reading List: $5 from with the same energy he'd given to his earlier assignments, WECAN, P. O. Box 1030, Elgin, TX 78621.

3. A PEOPLES' HISTORY OP THE ONITED STATES. by Howard Zinn. Harper Colophon 1979. Audio cassettes of Stockwell's The exploit ation of weaker peoples for profit didn't begin with thf fornatl on of the CIA or the Atoaic Energy Coaaission lectures, and many other topics af te r Wc rid War II. It began when Coluabus landed in Barbados in not covered in the straight 1492 (u r hlsto rles traditionally Recount events as they media such as talks by Noam affe ctec the int erests of our nation and Big Business. Zinn re- Chomsky, Desmond Tutu and exan ines those e vents in terras of the peoples' interests--quite a the entire Christie Institute's dlff erei t storyl "secret team" and Contra- As a reprie ve to those concerned individuals whose busy drug-links suit, are available sche dull s leave insufficient tiae for extensive reading, the from two independent groups: firs t sc ctlon su aaarlzes the twelve books I consider especially lapo rtar t. If yo u read thea, or even only the first three ( Jonath { n Schell s PATE OP THE EARTH, Toa Gervasi's authoritative Other Americas Radio: cata­ and det£ lied THE MYTH OP SOVIET MILITARY SUPREMACY and Howard log free from P, O. Box 85, Zinn s A PEOPLES HISTORY OP THE DHITED STATES) you will have a Santo Barbara, CA 93102. good ise of th e problea that now faces the Aaerican people, est of the huaan race. Add to those readings David Barsamian: catalog alon g w th the THE CIA. A PORGOTTBH HISTORY, and you will also free from 1415 Dellwood, Will iaa Blua's, have 'eeling f or the nature and extent of CIA destablllzations. Boulder, CO 80302. And fin illy, Llo yd Duaas's, THE OVERBURDENED ECOMOMY, shows how the ! race is breaking the United States econoay.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 69 ^^^l^^^^.N^^^ KH^'

»Vflf^ ^* yrt M

NTERSTATE 40 runs the breadth of the United States, from California to the East Coast. It connects Flagstaff, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City; Little Rock, Ar­ kansas; Memphis, Nashville and Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and rolls on into North Carolina, where it feeds into other interstate highways. This is the main artery of nuclear weapons transportation in I the United States. , The Department of Energy (DOE) has a fleet of 44 unmarked semi-tractor-trailer trucks, 18-wheelers. They're actually high-security mobile vaults that carry nuclear weapons — up to eleven per week — and parts for nuclear arms, to and from the factories which produce them all over the United States.

The components converge at the Pantex plant in Ama­ are such that transport of nuclear weapons supercedes rillo, Texas, which is the final assembly point for all of regulation by the states. America's H-bombs and atomic warheads. From there The trucks are unmarked, to attract as little attention they're trucked to missile silo fields, naval stations, and as possible. The DOE says this is for national security weapons depots, where they are deployed. This traffic protection. Of course, it is also an easy way to conceal has been on our interstate highways for 40 years, one of the most common and tangible manifestations though very few people seem to be aware of it. of the nuclear arms race. Soviet surveillance satellites Nuclear weapons convoys log about four million miles probably have no trouble identifying these convoys. a year, passing through 48 states. They stop regularly The absence of markings is mainly to hide them from at restaurants, gas stations and truck stops along the the American public. way. You might have been one of the thousands of peo­ In August of 1984, Sam Day, director of the national ple who have unknowingly sipped a coffee or eaten office of NukeWatch in Madison, Wisconsin, went a Big Mac a few yards from an H-bomb. down to the annual Pantex Peace Camp, which con­ All states have public health offices that are supposed venes just outside the gate of the plant around the time to monitor radioactive cargo and toxic waste on the of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorials. Sam was state's highways. They are not notified when the DOE aware of nuclear weapons transportation, and had trucks are in transit. Many of the states through which some pictures of the trucks. After the encampment the trucks pass have made strenuous efforts to get that ended, he invited some of the other participants to stay Information. But the prerogatives of national security on at Pantex and watch the gates for departing con-

Nathaniel Batchelder, 41, is a Vietnam vet with a degree in biology. Formerly a publicist with the Omniplex Science Museum in Oklahoma City, he has been a full-time lay staff member of the Benedictine Peace House since 1985. There he coordinates one of the most daring and commendable amateur intelligence operations I know of, using nothing more exotic than telephones, cars, cameras, CB radios and a network of dedicated volunteers. H-Bomb Truckwatches are co-sponsored by NukeWatch and the National Mobilization for Survival Iryformation kits, including vehicle identification aids, are available from The National H-Bomb Thickwatch, Benedictine Peace House, 2912 N. Robinson, Oklahoma City, OK 73103. Their hotline number for reporting sightings is 405/524-5577. —Robert Horvitz

70 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 voys. When the spotters saw a convoy leave, heading We have followed the trucks from coast to coast. We east on Interstate 40, they telephoned us and we went have tracked as many as 17 convoys in one week, from out to the highway and followed it through Oklahoma different facilities around the country. Each time we City. Another convoy was followed up to Denver, Col­ have a sighting, we stick a pin in our national map. orado. This was the beginning of the semiannual Each time we follow a convoy, we can draw a line. H-Bomb Truckwatch. Thanks to a committed group of activists, willing to Since 1984, once in the fall and once in the spring, get up at three a.m. and follow a truck for a hundred for a week at a time, volunteers go to nuclear bomb miles, or camp outside the gates of Rocky Flats and facilities around the country — to Pantex, the Y-12 eat cold pizza for a week, we've been able to amass plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the Rocky Flats plant in hundreds of photographs and hours of videotapes Denver, Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque, etc. They of the trucks and their guard cars passing through stake out the gates of the plants 24 hours a day. When various communities. a convoy leaves, a phone call is placed to the Benedic­ While Truckwatch weeks are nationally coordinated, tine Peace House in Oklahoma City, where, during the local groups are responsible for planning and carrying week of the Truckwatch, someone is always by the out activities on their own. Those who are prepared to telephone. go out to the highway when a convoy passes, set up a From this national telephone hotline center, contacts roadside vigil or demonstration, or follow the trucks, in communities along the roads ahead of the trucks are often invite the local news media to come along. Jour­ notified that a convoy is on the way. If one was seen nalists participate on the basis that they not announce heading east from Amarillo on Interstate 40, we know the event to the public before it occurs. We don't want from experience that in six or eight hours it should be hundreds of people to show up and create an unpre­ in Oklahoma City. Since this is a familiar route, we dictable situation. The convoys are heavily armed would not have a car follow it all the way. We would (no pun intended). simply contact some Oklahoma spotters to go out to So long as we do not threaten or physically impede the the interstate and pick it up as it arrived. movement of a convoy, our activities have been looked If we get a report of a convoy setting out west from upon as legal. We've always contacted the Department Amarillo, then we immediately call people in Albu­ of Energy to announce the dates of the Truckwatches querque to let them know that it will probably reach and advise them of our plans. They seem to want to their community in six or seven hours. We would also know as much about us as they can find out. They alert other communities farther ahead — in Flagstaff, especially want to know what we intend to do when Arizona, Barstow, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada — to let them know a convoy might be coming their way. If a spotter sees a convoy headed into new territory, where we've not tracked one before, we try to have a *:as vehicle stay with it until it reaches its destination. There are now some 200 telephone contacts in 35 states who participate during Truckwatch weeks, and who are prepared to respond if a convoy is headed their way.

°" ^"^ 'eft rel"""' /-ave t«, "rikin we're following the trucks. We've met with DOE repre­ ing photographs of the DOE trucks and their guard sentatives on a number of occasions, and even shared cars, so people can easily recognize them. The other our contacts' names and addresses with them. I'm sure side of the sheet is a request for information: if you that some security agency has done quite a check on spot a convoy like this, write down the date, time of all of us. day, what highway, what direction were they headed, DOE acknowledges that we have the right to drive on how many trucks, how many guard cars, what colors highways near their trucks, as well as the Constitutional were they, the licence numbers, etc. The sheet asks right to express our concern about the arms race by people to phone in or mail us this information. publishing and broadcasting pictures of their convoys. In this way we hope to expand the information- But they try very hard to discourage us from following gathering network and keep it active throughout the the vehicles. When we first began tracking them, they year. There are a lot of people on the highway. The would often speed up and take evasive action, such more that know about the nuclear bomb convoys, the as suddenly exiting the highway, in the hope that the more often they'll be noticed, and the more discussion tracker would not make the exit. They have sent out there'll be about the implications. decoy trucks, and convoys that split apart, heading in different directions. Last May, a truck I was following The H-bomb Ihickwatch's purpose is to call attention released sand onto the highway from the mechanism to the continuing arms race and the threat of nuclear they use for extra traction when driving on ice. The destruction as a reality in daily life. The arms race sand clattered off the highway and bounced onto my seems very abstract and remote to most people. The windshield. Eventually, one of the trucks and a guard DOE trucks bring it to virtually every state in the nation. car boxed me in while the other vehicles sped off. When They are, moreover, an essential part of the weapons the convoy got far enough ahead, the vehicles along­ manufacturing process^ The passage of the trucks, and side and in front of me turned back to the Y-12 plant. pictures of them in a local community, inevitably leads to questions like: how many times a month do these Oklahoma's location along Interstate 40 ensures that a trucks come through here? What are they carrying? large proportion of the DOE fleet regularly transits our How many bombs a week pass across our state? How state. We estimate that on average, two or three con­ many were there in (say) 1980? Is the flow increasing? voys cross Oklahoma per week. As more communities learn of the passage of these However, because there were li-uckwatch demonstra­ convoys through their area, they realize that their roads tions in four Oklahoma cities along the interstate in and their truckstops are part of the bomb production 1985, no convoys have crossed through Oklahoma during cycle. This comes as startling and discomforting news the last three Truckwatches. Instead, for those weeks for most people. As disturbing as it might be, it is trucks from Pantex skirted south of Oklahoma, through important to know, as you eat lunch at HoJo's or Mc­ Dallas/Fort Worth, and then back up to Little Rock. Donald's, that three of the trucks parked outside may Nationally, during the May 10-17,1987, ll-uckwatch, be loaded with thermonuclear warheads. When the we found only seven nuclear weapons convoys, many arms race is that close, you can't ignore your respon­ fewer than in previous years. We're convinced that the sibility. The H-bombs you paid for are being delivered. Department of Energy reduced the number of convoys Would you like to change your order? • on the road during the week we were spotlighting the traffic. We recently published a legal-size sheet of paper show­

^. "7 / \

72 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 COMPUTERS & NONPROFITS EASING THE TRANSITION

BY STEVE JOHNSON track of things like donors, members, Some other considerations with fi­ contacts, and volunteers. A business nancial consequences: keeping up market devoted to providing "non­ with the newest technology; good or profit software" has appeared to bad relationships with vendors; in­ " U HERE ARE OVER 800,000 meet some of these needs. In the compatibility problems; work at I nonprofit organizations In nonprofit sector, more than anyplace home (including employees buying I this country — ranging in else, the drama of social issues is compatible machines for home use); size from fronts for busy people with acted out as individuals and organ­ what to do about benefits; work­ typewriters in attic offices to univer­ izations grapple with issues about man's compensation. sities like Stanford. Self-help and computers in the workplace, com­ other ad hoc organizations are said puters and the disabled, etc. To be good and careful you might to number over five million. The over­ want to try a needs assessment or all budget of the nonprofit sector This section explores the state of requirement analysis. The Informa­ ($129 billion) exceeds the budget of nonprofit computing, the earliest tion Technology Resource Center in all but nine nations of the world in stages of the automation of social Chicago (below) has developed a dollar terms. Philanthropic organi­ change. Like a therapist in Peyton good model for this with their 300 + zations employed 5.6 million persons Place, I feel like I've heard it all. In nonprofit member organizations. in 1980, exceeding industries such the last eight years I have spent ten hours a day grappling with com­ as construction and automobile PRINT RESOURCES manufacturing. puterization issues, helping people learn computer application pro­ 1 Five years ago fewer than 10 percent grams, and nearly going off the Computer Resource Guide for Non­ of nonprofit organizations owned deep end with yet one more printer profits (Volume I: Software Direc­ computers; now it is estimated that problem. I view computers as a gift, tory; Volume II: Funding Source over 50 percent of the organizations a real open-ended gift like a box of Directory) have access to small computers. Small Tinkertoys. We can do anything we $95 each ($175/set) from Public computers have brought on a new want with the gift. It's a lot up to the Management Institute, 358 Brannan era for nonprofit work in this country. nonprofit sector to come up with Street, San Francisco, CA 94107; humane, just, and interesting ap­ The computerization of the nonprofit 415/896-1900.* plications for computers. You con sector has not come without some Volume II describes computer-related counter the increasing militarization disappointments and disasters. Peo­ giving programs of 200 corporations, of computer technology through ple have learned the hard way that foundations, and government agencies. peaceful applications. If the every­ computer technology — unlike the In the introduction, the editors sum­ day applications don't quite fit your other office technology of typewriters marize what they consider to be the needs, lobby the computer industry, and copier machines — doesn't emerging trends in computer funding. or create your own software (which always come easy or cheap. In a re­ Volume I describes client-services soft­ doesn't mean you need to learn cent study, 20 percent of the non­ ware for tracking client costs, client computer "programming"). If you profit sector indicated a complete demographics, client history; events think v

Steve Johnson is a long-time editor at RAIN magazine, the exceHent appropriote-techno/ogy and bioregional quarterly which has a new focus on information technologies and nonprofits ($l8/year from II35 S.£. Salmon Street, Portland, OR 97214). RAIN has recently joined forces with the Center for Urban Education (p. 75). —Jeonne Corsfgnsen

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 73 the analysis as described in the guide­ What To Look For During Automation book is a list of specifications for soft­ ware and hardware that may be used will face increasingly complex ques­ for obtaining bids for computer systems There may be shifts in power to those tions about benefits. The management from vendors. One section details the who have skills with a computer. of the nonprofit organization must overall process, and another section Management or clerical staff may be flexible, able to change job de­ goes into more detail about word gain power: management by doing scriptions creatively, and be willing processing, database management, more of their own work (e.g. word and able to change staff pay scale spreadsheets and accounting. Plenty processing, etc.), and clerical by reflecting changing responsibilities. of worksheets make the book more handling more complex tasks. than worth the price. Decisions may become more struc­ The Women's tured, and less flexible. Decisions Computer Literacy Hondbook may also become more interdepart­ Deborah L. Brecher, 1985; 254 pp. mental as sharing information is $9.95 ($11.45 postpaid) from Plume/ easier. New American Library, P. O. Box 999, Bergenfield, NJ 07621; 201/387-0600. This excellent handbook is an offshoot from the Women's Computer Literacy Project in San Francisco. It covers his­ tory, basic computer concepts, ethical choices, and much more. One of its strong points is Ms. Brecher's won­ derful use of analogies. [Like: a program is a recipe the com­ New positions may be created to puter can follow, and a computer is a deal with automation, system design cook that can follow many different and maintenance. It might be a full- recipes by doing two things well, add­ time role, or a role divided among ing and comparing. I'd recommend several staff. One of the most signifi­ Training staff will take on dimensions this book to any beginning compu­ cant differences between successful you never dreamed possible. It's not ter user. —JC] and failed automation is the presence like training to use a typewriter or of a key staff, entirely responsible copier. It will never stop. It is also for all of an organization's com­ In addition to the shelves of mass- important to distinguish between the puterization efforts. media computer journals, there is a need for training and for technical assistance. growing number of specialized jour­ Organizations may also end up us­ nals — and with desktop publishing in ing more independent consultants, There are staff anxieties to deal with, full swing there are likely to be many and more part-time staff. Some staff­ like losing data, that computers might more — that cover specific areas of ing needs, such as computer pro­ replace jobs, that worker initiative nonprofit computing. I always look for­ gramming, can't be met internally might be lessened, client relationships ward to the Computer Use in Social and will be dealt with through con­ might become dehumanized, that Services Networic Newsletter: with its tracts with consultants. Organizations reader-based contribution format one staff will have less time to deal with con find out about unusual and useful applications of computer technology to the social services. RE:SET, published by Mike McCullough, is a real gem, full of information about grass-roots profits. Currently there are centers in skills inventory of staff and resources of and public-interest computing that you Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los An­ the centers, and other information on can't find out about anywhere else. geles, Dallas, Portland, Oregon, and the programs of each center for dis­ Out of Los Angeles comes a small but New York City. Their primary services tribution to dozens of organizations in handy newsletter for nonprofit man­ are education, a wide range of classes, unserved areas. It has also developed agers: each issue of Managing Witli and training opportunities; access, a software evaluation process aimed at Computers covers a special topic such availability of a computer-lab environ­ evaluating nonprofit software such as as desktop publishing, nonprofit fund ment for testing and using computer membership management, grants accounting, etc. equipment; and technical assistance, management, client tracking, fund ac­ providing inexpensive assistance for counting, etc. Most recently the TRC CUSS Network Newsletter: $10/year nonprofits in purchasing equipment evaluated membership management from Dick Schoech, UTA, P O. Box or further developing their com­ software. The reviews hove been com­ 19129, Arlington, TX 76019. puter systems. piled and are available from the Public RE:SET: $1 /issue from 90 East 7th Street/ Interest Computer Association for $25 Last year the computer centers, with #3A, New York, NY 10009. (address below). assistance from the Benton Foundation lUanaging With Computers: $24/year and Apple Computer's Community Af­ Through the TRC (c/o the Public Inter­ (6 issues) from Lodestar Management/ fairs Program, formed the Technology est Computer Association) or the local Research, Inc., T052 West 6th Street/ Resources Consortium (TRC) to pro­ computer centers, nonprofit organiza­ Suite 714, Los Angeles, CA 90017. mote the effective use of information tions can find out about individuals technology by nonprofit organizations and organizations that can help them TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT through the enhancement of existing with computer needs. Similar computer 1 centers, and by supporting the deve­ assistance programs are being formed lopment of other programs in areas in many cities nationwide. In 1983, nonprofit information tech­ not served by the present centers. The Members of the nology resource centers began to TRC has collected vital information Technology Resources Consortium: appear in response to the education from each of the participating pro­ Computer Help and Information Program. and technical assistance needs of non­ grams including training material, a Southern California Center for Nonprofit

74 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 clients, and the clarity of decision­ computers may drop to one-third gram, which has provided support to making may decline. of normal. the nonprofit computer resource cen­ There are health issues including ters; the Partnerships Program, which has provided computers to larger non­ Confidentiality and privacy are im­ aches and pains, radiation, and profits to distribute to their constitu­ portant issues. In most nonprofit stress. Stress may increase as staff encies, including United Way, Volunteer: organizations there is low physical has more workload with less job The National Center, and Private control; repetitive tasks; machine security awareness. With computer­ Agencies Collaborating Together ization information is more finished pacing of work; lack of time for (PACT); and the Education Program, and refined, and more mobile. Data training to acquire new skills; com­ which provides computer grants to exchange via phone or other tele­ peting roles; electronic monitoring public and private elementary and communication links is very vulner­ as supervision and task feedback; secondary schools and to colleges and able. By doing more information higher expectations versus computer universities. The Special Education Pro­ processing, less sophisticated staff delays; social isolation with main in­ gram provides assistance to the dis­ can make more mistakes, thus raising teraction being with the computer. abled and groups which support, the risk of inaccurate information. the disabled. Documentation. One way or another we're all going to end up talking Apple Computer Co., Corporate Grants Program. 20525 Marian! Avenue, Cuper­ about documentation. With com­ tino, CA 95014; 408/973-4475. puters it becomes a critical function. Did you document that last bug, or With the exception of Apple, the computer will you remember that document industry has not gone out of its way to provide assistance to nonprofit organiza­ format that worked perfectly? tions. However, the following companies Don't get caught up in thinking have provided some support. Write about computers as an end, instead for information. of a means. Digital Equipment Corporation, Corpor­ ate Contributions, 111 Powdermill Road, If you only go into computers to Moynard, MA 01754; 617/493-7161. save time or money, you may get Kaypro, Dept. of Public Relations, 533 the short stick. Creativity and control Stevens Avenue, Solona Beach, CA 92075; Think about your office environment, are more likely ways to determine 619/259-4509, has been fairly generous the ergonomics. Workstations should the level of computerization your in its support of nonprofit organizations include: lower than regular desk and has a strong interest in international organization deserves. The payback height (adjustable); adjustable chair, development uses of computers. may only come as your organization back support; tilt screen, adjustable Lotus Corporation, The Philanthropic develops new services or products brightness, etc.; detachable key­ Committee, 55 Cambridge Parkway, not possible without automation. board. The work area shouldn't Cambridge, MA 02142; 617/577-8500, has a loaned executive program and have exposed cables on the floor; It is important to decide what it other support for nonprofit organizations pay attention to reducing noise makes sense to do internally. Just (currently, Boston area only). levels (especially printers); larger because you can do it doesn't mean work area may be needed; heating you should. Do you really want staff For more information on corporate sup­ and cooling requirements will change; to maintain mailing lists, or be re­ port, see: Computer Resource Guide for and lighting needs for working on sponsible for all aspects of publishing? Nonprofits (Printed Resources, above). c Nonprofit Software 1 If you want to find out more about Management, 315 W. 9th Street/Suite 1100, cating Today: Serving Nonprofit Needs nonprofit software, contact the non­ Los Angeles, CA 90015; 213/623-7080. with Technology ($3 each, postpaid profit computer resource center in your Information Technology Institute. Center from Benton Foundation, 1776 K Street area, get hold of one of the periodicals for Urban Education, 1135 S.E. Salmon, N.W./Suite 605, Washington, or books reviewed in this section, or Portland, OR 97214; 503/231-1285. D.C. 20006). write to one of the following: Information Technology Resource Center. Directory of Fund Accounting Software. 57th Street and S. Lake Shore Drive, Corporate Support Donald Will, 1984. $24.95 postpaid from Chicago, IL 60637; 312/684-1050. L 1 Center for Local and Community Research, Nonprofit Computer Exchange. 419 Park Apple has done more than any other P. O. Box 5309, Elmwood Station, Ber­ Avenue S./16th Floor, New York, NY keley, CA 94705; 415/654-9036. 10016; 212/481-1799. corporation to support the automation of nonprofit work. Implicit in the pro­ Directory of Microcomputer Software in Public Interest Computer Association. the Human Services. Joseph A. Doucette. gram's philosophy is that nonprofit 2001 O Street N.W., Washington, D.C. $26.50 postpaid from Computer Consult­ organizations need to become more 20036; 202/775-1588. ing and Programming Associates, 7553 businesslike in order to survive and Technoiogy learning Center. Center for Canal Plaza, Portland, ME 04112; Nonprofit Management, 2820 Swiss accomplish their mission, while cor­ 207/774-8242. Avenue, Dallas, TX 75204; 214/826-3470. porations need to balance their mission Donor & Membership Software Review. to make money with social conscious­ $25 postpaid from Technology Resources The Benton Foundation ness. Apple's Corporate Grants Pro­ Consortium, 2001 O Street N.W., Wash­ gram has eloquently accomplished Another good source of information ington, D.C. 20036; 202/775-1588. about how nonprofit organizations are both goals. There are several programs Guide to Software for Nonprofits. $79 using new electronic communication within the Corporate Grants Program; postpaid from NPO Resource Review, and information technology. The Foun­ the Community Affairs Program, which Box A-6 Cathedral Station, New York, dation has supported many innovative provides computer grants to nonprofit NY 10025. organizations with an emphasis on programs and has published summaries Fund Accounting Software Review. 1031 of activities in the area: Communi­ groups working together using com­ 3rd Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 (con­ cating in the '80s: New Options for the puter communication to build networks; ducting review of fund accounting soft­ Nonprofit Community and Communi­ the Computer Learning Center Pro­ ware; distributes its own package). •

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 75 SHARE-RIGHT 1987 You may reproduce this material if your recipients may also reproduce it.

OMETIME IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO, area of information transmission in the "blink" S announcements like the one above were between screens on cable TV broadcasts. It would being attached to computer network mes­ bounce news off a satellite, down to distant pickup sages. Unlike communication in the public sites, and into local computers again. I'll let Erik domain, which anyone can use for whatever com­ Fair, a USENET engineer, tell the rest of the story: mercial purpose, share-right limits its benefits to "Stargate as originally envisioned was a cheap those willing to shore the bounty in the same way way to send USENET news everywhere by true they received it. Users can take it only if they pass broadcast. Unfortunately, the communication le­ it on with the same promise, As Jack Powers, one galities were such that they could not claim to be a of the network riders, says, "I like this idea of rights common carrier (like telephone companies), and which travel together with the merchandise." Al­ this led directly into Stargate becoming a subscriber though share-right was born on the networks, I service instead (like a publisher). Stargate has an envision it taking root in other decentralized, highly agreement that prohibits their subscribers from replicating communications, like xerox publishing, redistributing the articles they get from Stargate or tape duplicating. Howard Rheingold, a host on because, of course, it would erode Stargate's sub­ The Well, calls it "a self-reproducing word virus scriber base if they did. that eats intellectual property." "Naturally, this caused a bit of a stink on the net, As far as I know, the share-right concept first ap­ and the result was the copyright notices which you peared at the junction of USENET and Stargate, see on some people's articles. ("You can redistri­ two network systems of different politics. USENET, bute only if your recipients can"), preventing Star- one of the most libertarian networks running, dis­ gate from transmitting those articles unless their tributes and redistributes messages in an ad hoc subscribers can." style of complete non-ownership. You don't post something in USENET without expecting it to be You, reader, ore encouraged to duplicate this mes­ copied all over the country, or the world. Stargate sage, but only if your readers may also duplicate it. is a privately run network which beams netnews —Kevin Kelly (f) Share-right 1987 into space by hitching the messages to an unused

How To Look It Up Online cations program to dump to disk or do whatever else is necessary to put the machine in "record" mode. You There's a slippery oceon of online information services out can always go back into the file and delete the portions there. We recommend that you hire Sir Alfred, the wisest you don't want with a word processor. In addition, a old salt sailing on the sea of information, to guide you to record of a complete online session can be a wonderful fruit-laden islands. He knows all the shortcuts for navigat­ self-teaching tool, since you can review it to see where ing through the invisible realm of databases, what you'll you went wrong, the number of hits on a term that you find when you land, how to set your course, and how to did not follow up on, etc. If you have a hard disk, tell unravel the knotty question of how much it costs. He has your system to capture to it, since less time is required earned his medals (previous books of his we've recom­ to write to a hard disk than to a floppy. mended: How fo Buy Software, The Complete Handbook • of Personal Computer Communications), and is uncom­ Dunn & Brodstreet credit reports may not be available monly trustworthy. —Kevin Kelly from the database vendors just yet, but reports from • TRW are. The TRW Business Profiles™ database is avail­ "Document delivery" is the industry's term for the service able via NewsNet, and it is remarkable in that it represents of sending you a photocopy, facsimile, or actual copy of the first time business credit information has been avail­ the source document from which an online abstract or able "on demand." TRW has been offering credit bibcite was derived. It is no exaggeration to say that if reports online since 1975, but an annual subscription fee you are willing to pay for it, you can obtain a copy of of between $1,000 and $2,000 has usually been required. anything that is referenced online. That includes The cost per report is $29, plus the applicable NewsNet magazine articles, conference papers and proceedings, connect-hour rate. Reports typically include 3O7 60; and video and audio tapes, patents, complete books, chap­ 90-day payment histories, public report data (UCC filings, ters from books, maps, monographs, charts, architectural tax liens, judgments, bankruptcies, etc.), and company diagrams — if it exists anywhere in North America, you background and business information supplied by Stan­ can have it in your hands tomorrow morning. • dard & Poor's, Trinet, and Harris Publishing. StepJ. Set your computer to capture incoming information. How To Look This is so important that it's worth the emphasis of mak­ ing it a separate step. Generally it doesn't pay to keep It Up Online your printer toggled on during on online session. Printers Alfred Glossbrenner slow things down and thus eat up connect time. During 1987; 486 pp. your search you may want to dump a screen to the printer $14.95 for easy reference. So leave it on and enabled, but don't ($16.45 postpaid) from: toggle the printer echo on from within your communi­ St. Martin's Press cations program. Cash Soles Dept. Floppy disks are cheap and erasable, however, so it defi­ 175 5th Avenue nitely makes good sense to capture your entire online New York, NY 10010 session. Open your capture buffer or set your communi­ or Whole Earth Access

76 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Virtual Communities

by Howard Rheingold

illustrations by B. S. Beaver

New communities of physically remote people are forming in the copper and optic cables that wrap around the globe. Ideas are exchanged; busi­ ness is executed; information is passed; and, sometimes, relationships develop: online friendships. All through words on screens. Freelance writer Howard Rheingold is particularly qualified to write this article. He doesn't just tvork on computer networks, he dwells there. Log onto The WELL (415/332-6W6) and meet him as host of several conferences and all-around participant. He's a nice guy. -Jeanne Carstensen

A virtual community is a group of "What will on-line interactive I B used to spend my days people who may or may not meet communities be like?" Licklider JLi^^ alone in my room with one another face to face, and who wrote, in 1968: "In most fields my typewriter, my words, and my exchange words and ideas through they will consist of geographically thoughts. On occasion, I ventured the mediation of computer bulletin separated members, sometimes outside to interview people or to boards and networks. Like any grouped in small clusters and find information. After work, I other community, it is also a col­ sometimes working individually. would reenter the human com­ lection of people who adhere to a They will be communities not of munity, via my neighborhood, certain (loose) social contract, and common location, but of common my family, my circle of personal who share certain (eclectic) inter­ interest ..." My friends and I and professional acquaintances. ests. It usually has a geographically are part of the future that Lick­ But I was isolated and lonely local focus, and often has a con­ lider dreamed about, and we can during the working day, and my nection to a much wider domain. attest to the truth of his predic­ work did not provide any oppor­ The local focus of my virtual com­ tion that 'life will be happier for tunity to expand my circle of munity. The Whole Earth 'Lec- the on-line individual because the friends and colleagues. tronic Link (aka "The WELL") is people with whom one interacts the San Francisco Bay Area; the most strongly will be selected For the past two years, however, I wider locus consists of tens of more by commonality of interests have participated in a wide-rang­ thousands of other sites around and goals than by accidents ing, intellectually stimulating, the world, and hundreds of thou­ of proximity." professionally rewarding, and sands of other communitarians, often intensely emotional exchange linked via exchanges of messages I work with a computer now, in­ with dozens of new friends and into a meta-community known as stead of a typewriter, so it is easy hundreds of colleagues. And 1 still the Usenet. for me to drop into my electronic spend my days in a room, physi­ watering hole without leaving my cally isolated. My mind, however, The existence of computer-linked chair. My community is both a is linked with a worldwide collec­ communities was predicted twenty sacred place, in the sense that I tion of like-minded (and not-so- years ago by J.C.R. Licklider, who visit it for the sheer pleasure of like-minded) souls: My virtual set in motion the research that communicating with my new­ coihmunity. If you get a computer resulted in the creation of the first found friends, and a practical and a modem, you can join us. such community, the ARPAnet: instrumerit in the sense that I use

78 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 •?:rr,~-—S;;«rd SV»**"'" "and SrJ ."".'"l"™ "«>«»S. we special- 79i3^670-8"=-':"n'haud. Me^' TIW Live WIro. (415) 540-0529. d8V0tedJ^-"'* *° "so.^ . Ca>-O'^race f i°P^- We are not a software LgeWd '°'^"^sfed in ao- i!J^^5»S^nS5itoirBis~M^ 1300/1200 24 hours. A digital facin,ug weekend. - LogioQ-on...f»,.,- HolW-. 9f ange. (415) 651-9496. 24 t!S anyone uteresFree« . j.p,„ J magazine for the graphic-arts twirs. 300 baud Vb Tanv^:VC evefV ^° Santa hrs., 300/1200 baud Atari Pira,e'74«)l9l?^"» ['communitcommunityy (printers, typesettypeset- data '"' ; -nd iters self publishers, artists). xNOod *3; dad^,ed*,o*!!;*Tchl,^^5 sSi^^^ grree Sysop: Rick Hepting, jOftoall, horse racing -• BW comto relief and thin^lS'^on"' *gs Feminist BBS. (312) 225-9138. 09f'n a new age of conscious- 8 N 1 24 hours, 300/1200 baUd. Feminism women's issues, gen- eral talk Sysop: Susan B I Anthony Flnnoll. o^\ aeitv*; «oo ading .<

ti^^^S^-space

CO"* ?fiB.6l01. San ;'^hinese (415 668 61 board. <-" ^W-

culture, h'sw''^' discuss.on. |tc

start, a BBS usually becomes a hassle to maintain over /\ VOUUNTEER PROLETARIAT MAINTAINS ONE OF the '^^f Joseph P"'9 ^"^ ^ most invisible communication undergrounds going. Linked the long stretch. While it's up and running, though, it's Chen. ex- by phone lines, a web of computer bulletin board systems promoting a new brand of conversation. BBS sysops j'« ""•'''ws (BBSs) work night-duty collating messages and electronic (system operators) keep them going because of the un­ Mos'Cia"* SP*f°„,.h>>c '?«".-,vaU•"'av--"-- mail for free. Regulars patronize small-time BBSs because surpassed advantages of having people from all over the change. aJdc^^f^^nV^o t,u«etins on Fid' they can feast on immediate gossip about very specialized country calling in at their own expense to post amazing aWe. B^^ft bits, n° g^m Fn- subjects. Name a topic and there is almost certainly a messages on the very subject one cares about. S°'rt;,eeKendsohj*,fsv»oP- BBS dedicated to it somewhere. BBSs are a gathering medium, not a broadcasting channel. eamWof^v To get onto a BBS, you dial a phone number with your The ones that work sculpt a comfortable visiting space computer, and after reading the welcome message, you to welcome comments. Dave Hughes, the pioneer tele­ follow a menu of choices until you arrive at a topic you communications visionary, says the acid test for a BBS is like. You can then read messages left by others (the bul­ if it averages one posted message for every two calls in. letin board aspect) and post some of your own by typing Any fewer messages and it will fade rapidly. them in. The result is a public answering machine, on which anyone can read all messages. Comments are To start your own home-based BBS, you'll need a com­ '°°d and es,aJ«";;';P'°>""«"'. puter, modem, and one of these recommended software served to you intelligently so that you read only the ones s='-fi, PolilicTi Si T"^"'- posted since you last checked in, no matter how long packages. For the Apple, we suggest GBBS. It's easy to and manvmn„f?A'?'.'°^ sate that's been. If you've been gone two weeks, you read two set up in less than an hour, takes customized modifica­ weeks' worth, and then you're caught up lo the center of tions superbly, and tends to be crash-proof Consensus in what is being said. It'll seem to the other callers that you the Macintosh world is that Red Ryder Host is the ticket were there all along, keeping quiet. The sum is a collec­ for a home-based Mac BBS. Since it doesn't matter too -"emblrsWp'^'^tous^ No-fee, tive conversation that continues for weeks or months, much what computer you use, the most efficient way is and which happens at your convenience. In theory they to run your BBS on an IBM clone. The choice for IBM "sers. Member sVsFr; *:?'">' stick to one topic. In practice there's enough continuity and compatible is TBBS. It's programmable by amateurs, Candy Van, (408(lo8)^L°"^'y) 247:481a' « to keep it informative, and enough diversity to keep and has been around a long time. There are two flavors. It alive. Single phone line (about $300). Multiline, which will product take up to eight phone lines ($895), and mail to the '"formation Cp^^^'"'"'''"-''lies, photo Any old computer Will let you in. You fit it out with a free-forwarding FIDO service linking up BBSs at night telephone adapter, called a modem (about $100), and Shops. 356"l^d"'^-^^'"«™ ($100). With both FIDO mail and 8 lines in, a souped-up (415) 439- plug it into the phone jack. You'll find listings of public BBS approaches the capabilities of a local teleconferencing BBSs in the back of Computer Shopper ($l8/year from system like the WELL. In fact, having both public and o(»i-Tv«' "— 7 days, •3WI Patch Publishing, P.O. Box F, Titusville, FL 32781), in private access to your personal answering machine is the 1200 bfV^, "^ ^ unique regional tabloids like California's Computer Currents innovation brewing here. A BBS may be part of the 1 The ordinal |2" ^Sine sln» and Microtlmes, and at user-group meetings. Once you friendship BBS. i^ ^„^ household furniture someday. — Kevin Kelly October «S-.^"messages find one, it'll lead you to many others, board hopping as allows you «f »*™ long-distance as you care to. Pirate boards, the truly across the "='V__——-=- TBBS: Version 2.0. For IBM and compatibles; needs underground BBSs where teenage hackers boast of their V'*'"""" ^d Uooney, sysops. 384K and hard disk. Copy-protected. S300 for single Nancy and Todd i.o«^^,j^ exploits, appear and disappear so fast they can only line, $895 for multiline, $100 for FIDO mail; from Dedicated to !^°,rtends. Good be found by hopping. eSoft, 4100 South Parker Road/Box 305, Aurora, wives, lovers, an« ,^ fgfar- 1 rendlycon^«'^^^&. 23 Propelling much of the drive in regular use of BBSs is the CO 80014; 303/699-6565. raisandc^^^^«"V08) 293- superhighway of PC Pursuit (800/336-0437). Run by Telenet, PC Pursuit lets anyone call BBSs located in most GBBS: Version 1.3. For Apple family; needs two drives. Not copy-protected. $!28 postpaid from cities for a flat $25-per-month fee, unlimited time, as (9i6)6M-4«ro;^N;^ clothing long as it's in the evening. Without PC Pursuit many L & L Productions, P. O. Box 5354, Avada, CO 80005; notable BBSs would be out of reach for half the country. 303/420-3156.

No one knows exactly how many bulletin board systems Red Ryder Host: Version 1.4. For Macintosh; Amiga T'"''' •y^^tt ?»'«"=' there are. The best guess is that there are about 7,000 needs 5I2K. Not copy-protected. $60 postpaid from operating at one particular time. They come and go with FreeSoft, 150 Hickory Drive, Beaver Falls, PA 15010; the irregularity of phone line static. Immensely easy to 412/846-2700. • ^IpTaarrnwa??,. mm^M^'t^y'ViM but nice. ™fi%|\wd tov8 it to scan and gather information In a virtual community we can go This social contract requires one on subjects that are of momentary directly to the place where our to give something, and enables or enduring importance, from particular interests are being dis­ one to receive something. I have childcare to neuroscience, technical cussed, then get acquainted with to keep my friends in mind and questions on telecommunications those who share our passions. In send them pointers instead of to arguments on philosophical, this sense, the topic is the address: throwing my informational dis­ political, or spiritual subjects. It's You can't simply pick up a phone cards into the virtual scrap-heap. a bit like a neighborhood pub or and ask to be connected with It doesn't take a great deal of coffee shop: I don't have to move someone who wants to talk about energy to do that, since I have to from my desk, there's a certain Islamic art or California wine, or sift that information anyway in sense of place to it. It's a little like someone with a three-year-old order to find the knowledge I a salon, where I can participate in daughter or a 30-year-old Hudson; seek for my own purposes. And a hundred ongoing conversations you can, however, join a computer with twenty other people who with people who don't care what conference on any of those topics, have an eye out for my interests I look like cr sound like, but who then open a public or private cor­ while they explore sectors of the do care how I think and commu­ respondence with the previously information space that I normally nicate. And it's a little like a group unknown people you find in that wouldn't frequent, I find that the mind, where questions are an­ conference. You will find that help I receive far outweighs the swered, support is given, inspira­ your chances of making friends energy I expend helping others: tion is provided, by people I may are magnified by orders of mag­ A perfect fit of altruism and self- have never heard from before, nitude over the old methods of interest. For example, I was in­ and whom I may never meet face finding a peer group. vited to join a panel of experts to face. who advise the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. Virtual communities have several The subject of the assessment is advantages over the old-fashioned "Communication Systems for an communities of place and profes­ ^Online interactive Information Age." Before I went sion. Because we cannot see one communities will to Washington for my first panel another, we are unable to form meeting, I opened a conference in prejudices about others before we be communities The WELL and invited assorted read what they have to say: Race, not of common information-freaks, technophiles, gender, age, national origin and and communication experts to physical appearance are not ap­ location^ but of help me come up with something parent unless a person wants to to say. make such characteristics public. common interest." People whose physical handicaps —J. C. R. Licklider By the time I sat down with the make it difficult to form new captains of industry, government friendships find that virtual com­ advisers, and academic experts at munities treat them as they always Virtual communities can help the panel table, I had over 200 wanted to be treated — as trans­ pages of expert advice from my mitters of ideas and feeling beings, their members cope with informa­ tion overload. The problem with own panel. I wouldn't have been not carnal vessels with a certain able to garner that much knowl­ appearance and way of walking the information age, especially for students and knowledge workers edge of my subject in an entire and talking (or not walking and academic or industrial career, and not talking). Don't mistake filtra­ who spend their time immersed in the info-flow, is that there is it took me (and my virtual com­ tion of appearances for dehuman- munity) six weeks. The same stra­ ization: words on a screen are too much information available and no effective filters for sifting tegy can be applied to an infinite quite capable of moving one to domain of problem areas, from laughter or tears, of evoking anger the key data that are useful and interesting to us as individuals. literary criticism to software or compassion, of creating a evaluation. community from a collection Dreamers in the Artificial Intelli­ of strangers. gence research community are Virtual communities have several trying to evolve "software agents" drawbacks in comparison to face- In traditional kinds of communi­ that can seek and sift, filter and to-face communication, and these ties, we are accustomed to meeting find, and save us from the awful disadvantages must be kept in people, then getting to know them. feeling one gets when it turns out mind if you are to make use of In virtual communities, you can that the specific knowledge one the advantages of these computer- get to know people and then needs is buried in 15,000 pages of mediated discussions. The fUtra- choose to meet them. In some related information. In my virtual tion factor that prevents one from cases, you can get to know people community, we don't have soft­ knowing the race or age of a par­ whom you might never meet on ware agents (because they don't ticipant also prevents people froni the physical plane. In the tradi­ exist yet), but we do have infor­ communicating the facial expres­ tional community, we search mal social contracts that allow us sions, body language, and tone of through our pool of neighbors to act as software agents for one voice that constitute the "invisible" and professional colleagues, of another. If, in my wanderings but vital component of most face- acquaintances and acquaintances through information space, I come to-face communications. Irony, of acquaintances, in order to find across items that don't interest me sarcasm, compassion, and other people who share our values and but which I know one of my group subtle but all-important nuances interests. We then exchange infor­ of online friends appreciate, I that aren't conveyed in words mation about one another, share send the appropriate friend a alone are lost when all you can and debate our mutual interests, pointer to the key datum or see of a person is a set of words and sometimes we become friends. discussion. on a screen. This lack-of-commu-

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 79 nication bandwidth can lead to up a telephone or addressing a misunderstandings, and is one letter. It can be much more re­ of the reasons that "flames" or warding, however, and there are heated diatribes that normally always people willing to help, wouldn't crop up often in normal which leads to the key advice for discourse seem to appear with building and using a virtual com­ relative frequency in computer munity: don't be afraid to ask conferences. questions, and don't hesitate to answer questions. Once you learn Other disadvantages stem from the your way around, don't be afraid asynchronous and one-to-many to pose new topics of discussion: nature of online communications. plant informational seeds and When you talk to somebody on watch discussions grow around the phone, you know your au­ them, and study the ways knowl­ dience is getting your message edge emerges from discourse. Use right then and there. Electronic pointers to data or discussions mail eliminates telephone tag, but % ^0 that might interest others — send adds a degree of uncertainty. them and ask for them. Use all the When you send someone elec­ communication tools available to tronic mail you are never sure your community: private electronic when your intended audience mail for one-to-one commu­ will get your message, and when nications and for making arrange­ you post a response in a computer ments to meet people face-to-face, conference, you are never sure public computer conferences for who is going to get the message. The way to bufld a virtual com­ one-to-many questions and dis­ Another advantage that can turn munity, and to use it effectively, is cussions, planfiles and biographies into a disadvantage is the un­ to spend time to make time. At (your own and others) can help predictability of responses: it is the beginning there are unknown you and your community discover refreshing and fun to find all the commands to learn, and new pro­ what kind of person you are and unexpected angles and digressions cedures and customs to absorb. where your interests lie; and don't people can come up with in re­ This is the steep part of the learn­ forget that telephones and face to sponse to a question or statement; ing curve, and many people simply face meetings are still appropriate it is frustrating when the specific give up, because computer confer­ ways to cement and extend the you seek is lost in "item drift." encing is not as simple as picking friendships you make online. •

Information Highways iFiber-Optic Applications |

We know shamefully little about the nature of information. ATIT U.8.TilKn Hlgn Spasd DIgllal Narwork Ffbar Optk: Nslwork Try to buy a map that shows how information flows in all 'Swltcfi W Kbp*' > Cad/Cim its varieties around the world. Bet you won't find one. > BulND«U > Full Motion VIdso Talaconl. One small corner has been done. Compiled by astute librarians in Oregon, this self-published monograph traces the regional information paths in the Pacific North­ west. The overlapping networks of electronic, transporta­ tion, and paper information delivery routes are collated into an arias of communications. Wisely, the writers in­ clude airlines and overnight couriers as communication channels. Emphasis is given to the remarkable freeways of interlibrary loans. (Libraries pass books among them­ selves, so that patrons can borrow books that a small branch doesn't have on its shelf. In effect you can get nearly any book you want, if you're willing to wait for it.) The larger theme of the book is the cartography of intangibles. —Kevin Kelly [Suggested by Mike Leibhold]^ Information FIBER-OPTIC NETWORK Highways ..... Lawrence E. Murr, RH. OriK «^ MliUM ui. wtew HO nMMn... James B. Williams ,-„ ;;;_j_~^_,._„_ and Ruth-Ellen Miller 1985; 78 pp. ^ $25 ff^'^fr ^ff^SS: postpaid from: Hypermap/LIRN ^zzrrzt'zT P. 6. Box 23452 SIKIIHM Plbw Optic* ^fSSfuTr" Portland, OR 97223 1 *UDW«rH ^ »n >M ll ."Ksa 1 503/241-2212 1 "«>-" 1 "gr-saa ff^'fifSzirr'^ |MttMun«i l^m.1 1 -r, i ••"'' [SKKSKS" ir^srr? II !S=-~I

80 The Media Lab The Media Lab (Inventing the Future As we speak, the once-separate galaxies of computers, at MIT) publishing, and bmadcasting are melding into each other Stewart Brand with a great deal of muttering, armwaving, and hustling 1987; 285 pp. of new hardware. At the confluence is MIT's radical tech­ nology department, the Media Lab, which is betting $20 multimillions that it can steer the collision into a cohesive ($22 postpaid) from: whole: perhaps a mega-combo of telephone/video/audio/ Viking Penguin Books, Inc. simulation/newspaper that is uniquely tailored to each 299 Murray Hill Parkway individual. The goal, as the Media Lab sees it, is to let the E. Rutherford, NJ 07073 800/631-3577 audience take over. At stake is the major source of wealth in the future — entertainment/news. or Whole Earth Access

Sounds like an exciting place to visit. Trouble is, the Media Lab's work is spread vexingly thin since its range is styrofoom or something because it hod some wrong so wide. When I was there I came away with unfocused theory about how the cosmos needs a shock absorber." glimmers of vague, half-understood somethings. Stewart Suddenly I saw a Vivarium as a swell place to work out Brand, publisher emeritus of WER, spent a year hanging some of those problems, rather than in the woHd. out there, writing the ultimate tour of the Lab that every­ • one would like, but can never get. As you might expect If, OS alleged, the only real freedom of the press is to from Stewart, there is a meta-level to the booh the media own one, the fullest realization of the First Amendment is laboratory that our world has become. He envisions su­ being accomplished by technology, not politics. premely individualized connections with appliances that would "know the user so intimately that the dialogue between machine and human would bring about ideas |^&s§v •••' I " \ unrealizable by either partner alone." Stewart's astute and rigorously researched insights are the only aerial pp^P&jjS..' - - ~' »' • 1 iiiiiiimiiiiniipnini"•'i" • -<;-#y«»^™||B view of this uncertain landscape so far.J view the book as philosophical documentation for the practical examples paraded in this issue. —Kevin Kelly

® bfii^ *T«li|iit«, ,-I^^BWHHHHI Students and professors at the Medio Laboratory write ||ili|||i|j||B||jj^^ A N papers and books and publish them, but the byword in this grove of academe is not "Publish or Perish." In Lab parlance it's "Demo or Die" — make the case for your IIIIJIBI^^ nil ''i''^'?^*TriilririflHBtillli^ idea with an unfoked performance of it working at least once, or let somebody else at the equipment. • Want to know where the action in a culture is? Watch where new language is turning up and where the lawyers collect, usually in that sequence. • Me: "Do you have a standard timeline for when machine intelligence catches up with humqn intelligence and goes The first creatures created for the Vivarium were radio- and computer-controlled bliifips that pretended to be fish, swimming rolling on past?" around in the Media Lob's atrium. The blimps had rudimentary Minsky: "Yeah. Between TOO and 300 years. Intelligent sensors that helped them orient in relation to walls, each other, evolution is unprecedented. Nobody's ever seen one. So and "food" (electricity). With the help of some blue light a in a few hundred years it could do trillions of years of classroom was spectacularly transformed Into an ocean where ordinary slow evolution." Me: "And make enormous child and "fish" became collaborators in a shared experiment. mistakes." Minsky: "That's the trouble. There's no time to iron out the bugs. It might fill up the universe with While computers probe and imitate the "society of mind," they are also shaping the mind of society. Computers and communications have already blended so for that they are one activity, still without a verb to express what it does. We don't even hove a word for the nervous ac­ tivity in the body — it's not "thinking," "sensing," or "talking." All the chemical and energy activities in a body (or a society) have a word for their sum action — "metabolism" — but there's no equivalent word for the sum of communications in a system. The lock of a word signals a deeper ignorance. We don't know what con­ stitutes healthy communications. • When I mentioned to Jerome Wiesner that I was shifting my work environment from one kind of personal com­ puter to another, he commiserated, "I think that nobody Th» original "Talking Haod," circa 1979, had gimbals to replicate should have to learn a new machine after the age of head movemenl. It would enable five people, In widely sepa­ twenty-seven." It's not just what you have to learn, it's rated location!, to meet around a highly Intimate "virtual" con­ what you have to teach the machine. More powerful ference table. At each of the five locations there would be one machines require more teaching. That's something the real person and four video faces representing real people, glancing at each other, nodding or shaking their head, able to Media Lab would like to reverse: more powerful machines converse with a high degree of nuance. should be able to learn from you on their own.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 81 UNHURRIED By Am V"^'' VJOMMUNICATION

DISCUSSION GROUPS that meet the next deadline, copies the letters, sends the editor a deposit, usually by mail are a cheap, accessible and sends a set to each member. $5 at a time, to be used for their means of group communication. Now comes the fun part: by the own postage and copying costs. The They're computer conferences with­ next deadline, each member writes editor keeps track of the money and out the computer, available for the another letter that includes com­ lets the participants know when price of a postage stamp. We call ments and responses to the letters they need to send more. Depending them many-to-manys. people wrote before. So it becomes on the number of people who write each time, and how cheaply the The simple recipe goes like this: a an ongoing, participatory, inter­ editor can get copying done where many-to-many usually has from active group conversation by mail. he or she lives, many-to-manys can twenty to fifty members. One person And each person appears in their range in cost from 50' to $1.50 per is the "Organizing Editor." By a own typeface — even in their own person per issue. A lot cheaper given deadline, each person writes a handwriting if they want — be­ than computer conferences! letter about the same topic and cause the pages are copied as is, no sends it to the editor. The editor editing. It's easy to add pictures, But other than cost, how do many- adds his/her own letter and a cover sketches, diagrams. to-manys compare with computer page listing the members and setting Who pays for this? Each person conferencing? We've found that a lot of people still don't have com­ puters, or if they have computers they don't have modems. If even one person in a group doesn't have a modem, that group can't com­ municate by computer. But it can communicate by many-to-many. „.===-;;=-, org.""'"* V." '"°^"" ^ 5«rt*«'; this mont*^^ Other advantages of a m'any-to- many compared to a computer: it's SSS easier to send "right brain stuff:

PO B0» 'f,,. W^ ".rt fw* ^ IOCS"" '•'• pictures, diagrams, sketches, hand­ writing. Not everyone's page looks alike. You can even pick up a sense of personality from typewriter styles! Also, there are advantages (and dis­ advantages) to the monthly rhythm of a many-to-many. A computer conference is continuous. Any time you look there may be more of it. But a many-to-many has one dead­ line that everybody writes by. Then you get one packet in the mail and

».!>8 that's all of it for the month. You can hold it in your hand, get a feel of the whole of it, respond to that wholeness. ("The June pages felt very interconnected.") Computer conferences are praised for being asynchronous: one person can write in the afternoon, and another at 3:00 A.M., and it's all part of the same thing. Well, many-to-manys are asynchronous, too. You can «« -"•^'S*^'*"' .your •=>"""' write your page in your own time, in your own way, as long as it shows up in the editor's mailbox by Typical accountingsheet the deadline. for a many-to-many. Many-to-manys grew out of APAs, the amateur press associations used Just for fun, Ann Weiser puts out five sonal copiers become commonplace, so by science fiction fans to trade ama­ newsletters, each desktop-published with will personal group letters. teur magazines and discuss every the Macintosh. No stranger to computers, She is the coordinator for Action Linkage, subject under the sun. APAs have she finds they pale in effectiveness to an a network of activists teasing out ways to intensely cultivated network of active enhance group brainstorming. You can get Organizing Editors or OEs, and friends. I agree. the booklet "Letter Croups" for $5 post­ members publish their own amateur The enabling technology for the unhurried paid from Action Linkage, 5825 Jilegraph magazines (called "apazines") and group conversations she describes here is Avenue #45, Oakland, CA 94609. send a given number to the OE for the cheap quick Xerox machine. As per­ —Kevin Kelly distribution in a "mailing."

82 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 . ^ho inserts I had been a science fiction fan and had belonged to several APAs when I went to a conference led by Robert Theobald called "Values and the Future." Fifty of us were frustrated to find that at the end of two days of »lost art f ojm ^g com- there was so much left to say about \ettet, ado a n the subject. I described the APA y«n circle. ,.,^„^ad«pt««*'Su format and talked about how, unUke a newsletter, it would allow "many- to-many" communication rather than "one-to-many." Someone seized on that phrase and that's how the many-to-many (M2M for short) got its name. Futurist Robert Theobald joined and participated in that first M2M. When he saw the results, he asked me to help start more M2Ms as '•"r^^,. part of his fledgling organization Linkage, now called Action Linkage. The history of M2Ms has been bound up with the history of Action -«'tt"\' Linkage ever since. Our purpose is to encourage people to talk to each other about the rapid changes going on in the world — what they are, what they mean, and what we can do to meet the challenges they pre­ sent. We don't push solutions, and we prefer to try to see the whole '"*mo,> ,phy-SoftvN'are picture rather than focusing on • Os^H ).\siro-Gr'' single issues. But when people do come up with win-win local solutions to the problems of rapid change, we try to get the word around. Basically we work by creating "open space" for people to share ideas about the future and to link for action to help j create the future. J^ nrH^ngsiKV Binq ! So M2Ms are ideal for us. People "BOMUS are Cti often join Action Linkage because \.Z *n" „.. •>" '•'•r',',to'.r.".:u» they've been hungry for contact with others thinking about new ideas. When they join us, they can rd »M " ^Lrtlclpttlon- _ ™. to thoM p«opl* immediately talk with other people all over the country (and some in t other countries) through M2Ms on topics ranging from Designing New Civilization to Libraries/Learning. k..*. One thing I love about many-to- manys is their variety. They come ..J-^' in all kinds and sizes, with all kinds „•(!-•. . ^. of social structures, almost like .J- •*• HiHi miniature societies. In one, the editor sets a question each time for the members to respond to the next time. of the participants are involved in gether, develop topics, and create In another, the editor spends two or computer conferencing elsewhere, consensus on issues. And we're three pages at the beginning of every but contribute to the Computer just beginning. issue summarizing the contents, M2M for the benefit of those who which gives a sense of orientation. want to talk about the impact of Altogether, Action Linkage has The editor also writes personal computers on society, but don't yet about fourteen M2Ms. I've heard notes in red ink on each person's have computers and modems. We that at the time of the American copy, another way of encouraging also have The M2M on M2Ms, Revolution there were Committees involvement. which discusses ways to improve of Correspondence, which operated We even have a Computer Many-to- the M2M form. There are lots of through the mail in round-robin Many, showing that computers and ideas for improving the ability of letter format. I'd Uke to think of us M2Ms can coexist peaceably. Many M2M groups to focus on tasks to­ as their communicational heirs. •

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITD, CA 94965 83 MAIL

BY JEANNE CARSTENSEN Mairart is probably as old as mail itself, but it's only been called mail art since the early sixties, when New Yorl< artist Ra/ Johnson estab­ ranging from elegant to haphazardhaphazara,, lished the New York Correspon­ original postcard:ards and $""«>«stamps•, an»"Tiv.«_l, sstatementsi . first mail art exhibition at the . H *i Whitney Museum in 1970, there's meant to be hung on the wall, ot been plenty of time for the move­ article- saved, or thrown away — what­ ment to either trickle away (nto to ever. Others were invitations to postal obscurity, or die at the participate in ongoing mail art pro- Reading»° and aesthetic sweaty, overanalyzing hands of the than iects. This incredible stream of art establishment. Mail art is no your t© worldwide visual imagery into my longer an avant-garde art move­ mailbox was like participating in a ilartin8»^*^„^ement, ment; too many books, articles, mail collective postal dream. Having and manifestos have been written '"""' a^dcate8ori»'*'°"enveloP« images from all these people I'd about it. But talented artists, in­ -production*"^ aistan«P».;„^ges. never met from countries I'd never cessant communicators, and nice ...Kher stamp , ,,,e aho^ _ . visited placed me in a new kind of people still flood the post with community. An English mail artist their mailable art. Why? Because and ^"^tll^ » ""f of the sweaters said it best for me with a stamp, mall art satisfies a basic need for as inters**'"* t san^P'*?,°rt o" '»'*P'*^' "Worldwide Friendship," with two communication. Mail art is the '«'^'rd"v:^^*«-^.:iorcontextirep- hands emerging from envelopes to flowering of the postal system, outside it*'°^j,e„ai resented oy <• grasp each other (fig. I). its creative fulfillment. And wh Mail art needs to be experienced. doesn't lust after mail? Although mail art is shown in small galleries and artists' homes, the The mail art network, or /ust "The BRAIN CELL - 12 "OK«t cminuji real gallery is your mailbox. When Network" as it's often referred to, UCX TiJUSUl i aauxat v ran Arrun AATS mi LCNS • you receive a batteredDattercu, w..colorfu^ l m ooirr ?}< KlXTia 00.90$» USA is a grassroots, global association iroiuji UT work of mail art plastered with 15265 MxnmonA wn aranaru icimi.5534'. of artists who communicate via 'on Bu n, 1903 HOUUJUr AII.IOOII VO.I DALLAS 7^,^^K^ foreign stamps and original artist's ciaoL smsu 56 OAfiua A2.M443 DSA mps ana orig.." the post. If the medium is mail­ JUKU 4066 CARaai cxfr pr.S9T02 DSA •moo eZMNU able, it can be mail art; xerox art, JXAm euamsEN wSfSE^ •»--'- :rt;-Thrt'^t^rctr n^^^^^^ Mm oou artist's books, postcards, audio and ua ulou 5?r|".SA£s "^^""J^ "•" Itt the mutual exchange, the com- video art, original postage stamps, uum tuffmu. BUCI MS JSL™««^r!S.'i£{J'»",-'S'»- ^|.„iStlCn between two artists. language art, recycling art and •naxtas. nin '"zines" all qualify. Every mail \ ROCOU Thsenet crudenesout to begis onf thresearce P°»t«^h for^ th.' s artist has a LIST, the canvas of geo' article is vivid testament that any graphically remote names and addresses upon which she or he works. They're culled from mail art 'zines, friends, and from the mail art the artist receives from vo! get back as much as you put being on someone else's list. into it, just like in other com- Xerox and mail artist Tom Patrick rnlties. Since mail art is abou (see "Xerox art," p. 42) got me communication more than the ^n started in the mail art network dividual artworks, you don t have with a list of about 30 names and to be an experienced artist to take addresses. One wall of my office is part: just willing. Belgian mail art^ now covered with the art I received Ut Guy Bleus writes about mail art in response to my humble postcard critidsm: "How to judge mail art? (right). From European countries, T^TnTwer is clear and obvio- Poland, Czechoslovakia, japan and P03TBUS X038S 5000 33 flVOOtta HOUAn mail art cannot be lodged! Para around the United States artists phrasing an expression of Gunther U6i A IUII?UStS AVK.9CU BOMOCH OrTASIO MXL XXL CA sent me original collages, xerox art 307 that ifm AT. TMrcoana B.e.f5r sz CAJTAJU Ch. I would say.'There IS no "A«t PAVSOI I ROUT BUX CBEBRT LAH ITIM CKESaKE HAXJ OHT OOl

:::^4800 AIUPAtJIAIU-SP HUSIl, '—- ' —«TJB R MA3IL 84 WHOLE EARTH R/ O)^* ^^KS-,^^'^ GEL/ This is the traditional gallery good or bad mail art. There is mail system tipped on its head. Mail art Fingerprint File. Like Cohen, art or no mail art.'" You will like is inclusive rather than exclusive, "Dott. Laboratories" compiles the and dislike mail art, and your art and participation is for enjoyment fingerprints that artists send him will be liked and disliked by otiier and contact with other artists rath­ and then sends everyone a copy. artists. But anyone can join in. er than for money. Here artists Each of these projects becomes a can flourish, artistically if not finan­ random snapshot of the network Many artists say tlieir main reason cially, outside the gallery system of which each participant has a for participating is to communicate that threatens to stifle creativity copy: the network equivalents of with other artists; mail art is a and sacrifice individual integrity. slick gallery or museum catalogs. low-tech, inexpensive way of avoid­ Many mail artists also work in the My one wall of mail art is a tiny ing isolation, as any mere letter greater art world and hope for suc­ sample of what you can collect writer can understand. Another cess there like anyone else. It's from the network. I've peered into almost universal motivation seems often pointed out in the network the dusty Tiles of mail artists who to be that it's fun. And indeed, that mail art is not as pure as all have saved ten years of work that most mail art has a light, almost its good intentions declare. But they've received. Personalities spill gamelike quality. despite the internal bickerings, I out of the files on the different found the basic ideals to be true. assemblages, of people they've

?!« fig.3 Because the* never met from countries never •iwign ongoi„l"''r''"y artists visited, and of old friends, too. Collaborations often form from '"^.teco^ea^ctua'""'"^"'^"^ Participatec. For hl'^!'"?^ of who associations begun in the network. Pi^o/ect (fig. 2) ,-„"'* B'-ainCell" A mail artist I know in San Fran- suke Cohen afer »'-«st Hyo. :isco recently hosted a group of , nixth Walk Lwito, SEU ENGLAND, Japanese performance artists, peo­ , sen ENGLAND fte-l ple he met through mail art. Other °'- stickers. Evervl'- u ''*'• "'mp mail artists have told me of having "'ved (usuallv^r *"°"* he's re- fellow mail art freaks to visit in Which isn't to say that thought -pastes theS on "o"! T '"" P'-ts every country in Europe. and purpose don't go into muc^ fo'orful hodgepore^r/^^^'h-yVe mail art. Tucked between the [;°'" around the woWd, """""'^ Mail art is still the ultimate of the sheets of visual material I found •SO copies. He th7 ^' ""' makes interactive communication arts. numerous mail-art manifestoes r" « "-nplete 1" r"* > ^heet Certainly telegraphy, telex, telefax, and statements of purpose. Being ."« *» «veryo„: ?"^'^'P»"t address ^ telephones, and computers have able to write a manifesto if you « « great ^ay to -Hr"*^*'- O-his unique communication qualities feel like it is part of the fun of par network. Seve«i* .**'•*««''" the for artists to explore. But the ^^IKccary post ticipating in a decentralized, anti- '"a'lartbeca...ri^'^'"*sent world's communication common art-establishment movement. A me denominator is still the post. It's common foundation does seem to °" ""e of Cohe^v'^f ^ ^".^ •"/ name cheap, it's easy to use, and every­ connect all mail artists: an anti- ^''en sent th« '***• ' hadn't J^T ;n7haone hass access. Besides, you can'». t mass-media devotion to free ex­ '''*creatl^'aTo„T''*"«'>cX ^. %mmdL ^"^imail a brick via computer mail (a pression and one-on-one exchange - semi-famou«mi-famous mail artwork), or '•"''berstam;comm''''^'"«»4 i between artists based on mutual raU.nted.eaves_fromyouspraypainted leaves from yourr trust. Not everyone would express block in New England, or even it in exactly those words, but the :°""-«''4^lpre?rv?'»"'' is weird rubber stamp designs. Some­ unspoken laws of the network — photos. Which he ^i^°*°''°«h day we may all have computers that the recipient of mail art ^^asse^btes to c'elte";"*' "P '""" with printers fancy enough to con­ should give in return, and samples people's faces ffil ,,V"'*'°"s vey richness and variety — maybe from everyone who submitted — but for now nothing can beat must be included in any mail art the regular old envelope/postman/ show — maintain these ideals.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALiTO, CA 94965 *»«* (my excuse is that I'm a bus/ edi­ tor) i only receive an Accasional inv»* c* And doo' postcard now. But I've heard from oost- in the J»»'^S active mail artists that the mail .we«>;:.rn*«^e* o<««' tends to avalanche; your name will sue- spread to more and more lists. *.-tfr:^'-:^"^"^'^ y#orVc a" T- , to »""-„diog.»»: ; That's the natural tendency of a networtc. My next mailing will be a copy of this article to everyone wiio has sent me mail. So the flow *»me Way t J >r»* may begin again ... r:^vo« >de

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toetegan^ j«rreo"rv^h"^'>=,jeanne atalogshere. H,,. i952E«re« tf»n*^^\M\e,iStamP»«^y StreamP „ , MYWMONT - Ha North Street "^^^-^

Correspondence Art Yes, I know I said mail art books stink. Yet should /ou want to gaze back on Network activity through 1983 expertly frozen in an anthology of primary documents, Correspondence Art is more than just competent. Here Is the international art-scene view of mall art in DETAIL, as told by the Network's more famous participants In manifestos, short art-history-type articles, and ex­ amples of their mall art. —JC Correspondence Art: Michael Crane and Mary Stofflet, Editors. Sl5.9S ($17.95 postpaid) from Contemporary Arts Press, P. O. Box 3123, Rincon Annex, San Francisco, CA 94119.

Ruggera Maggi be the answer. Good resolution, and some Freedom to Fax of the machines can even be used as copiers! FAX Recent events in Panama have shown that —Dave Brook facsimile equipment (Fax) has become an Fax (facsimile machines) send copies of important part of the free press. When documents across town, or around tlie A corporate chairman I know refuses to the Panamanian government closed the world, the same way you would make a deal with computers, yet enjoys the bene­ opposition press, the local and interna­ regular phone call. Because they send a fits of computer telecommunications. tional business community organized an copy of whatever is on the page (including Whenever he travels he carries a portable independent free press. Overseas offices text, graphics, and signatures) Fax machines Fax machine. To communicate he writes will Fax important news clippings to a list have replaced much of the worldwide his notes on legal pads, flops the notes of Panamanian businesses. The overseas Telex and some of the overnight express down on his Fax machine and lets it dial offices are coordinated to avoid duplica­ traffic. Fax has become increasingly com­ headquarters. They'll get his handwritten tion so that within minutes dozens of mon, and is now a reasonable product messages and send back whatever docu­ Panamanian offices get each article. The for most businesses (large and small) ments he needs in a matter of hours. It's local offices then use office copiers and to consider. like putting a telephone Into the heart of distribute the news locally. The estimated a xerox machine, which is almost what To meet this need, several manufacturers equivalent print run is somewhere between Faxes are. are making desktop Fax machines for 30,000 and 50,000 issues. under $2,000 which include telephones, I talked to Whole Earth Access, who keep autodialers, and auto-answer features. up with practical electronic gear at dis­ The government cannot disable facsimile These machines are capable of sending a count prices. Here is what they are selling: machines and copiers without effectively page in 20 seconds to a compatible machine severing their ties to the Western economy. Northwestern Bell Fax — has built-in on the other end. There are many avail­ This would destroy the country, too high a phone with speed dialing, stores five able, including the FAX 110 from Canon price for the government to pay. Since vir­ documents, has autoreceiving. $1,395, (about $2,000 list price, under $1,700 tually all international businesses have the plus UPS shipping. from discounters). —Michael J. Kleeman needed equipment, selective confiscation PacTel Fax — similar to Northwestern or monitoring is also impossible. In Hong Kong, Fax machines are so hot Bell's Fax, "looks like a Canon FAX 110 they are putting bicycle messenger services Printing presses and copiers have long been inside." $1,495, plus UPS shipping. out of business. They have the highest per- restricted by totaliurian dicntorships. capita use of Fax anywhere in the world. Panasonic Fax — superlative quality; Now facsimile machines must be added to Hong Kong Telephone says there is more also has a built-in answering machine for their lists. People have conjectured in the Fax traffic between Hong Kong and the voice messages. The one Whole Earth past about the impact of computer com­ USA than voice traffic. Wave of the future! Access uses between their stores. $1,695, munications, but have not mentioned fac­ I'm so tired of trying to figure out prob­ plus UPS shipping. (See p. 140 for order­ simile. With an estimated 500,000 machines lems with my computer modem, Fax may ing information.) —Kevin Kelly installed in the United States, they are significantly less common than computers. But facsimile can be both computer-gen­ erated, and handle pictures, handwritten, and printed material. Most important, they can distribute international news. —Rob Horn

On the left is the original document, a page from the Table of Contents of the last issue of WER. On the right is the trans­ mitted Fax document, warts and all. In this case we used a PacTel machine set on the "Fine" setting. You can see that It duplicates text faithfully, but smudges pic­ tures into blackness. Overall the quality is comparable to a low-grade copier. The same test, using a Northwestern Bell machine to transmit the Fall '87 issue cover, shows that you CAN send graphics by choosing settings and machines. 'The Northwestern sent the clearest graphics; the Panasonic the sharpest text. Berserkers uJill Be Drnpping fv PB.6. an Vaur Planet fodati ^& arE snrrjj, But uje nJeatl Hi

PLAY-BY-MAIL GAMES

BY KEVIN KELLY lots of codes to enter on your turn- sheet, and games where you write mi out long essays detailing what you want your character to do. ^m HESE were my instructions: at least 35 crew members of rank 7 ^B "You are a religious fanatic. or higher, they have to be paid in "After processing your turn, the game IH Your purpose is to convert Celestran Credit (Form CC), and they company will send you between one- the entire galaxy to your particular can only be hired at a designated half and ten pages of information point of view. Each of your converts colonial base, as per starfleet manual. about your turn. Most likely it will has a 10-percent chance of converting Rick Loomis, who invented this genre come back as a computer printout the whole of that planet. Other players of game-by-mail in 1970 and now that will tell you what happened, may win back your converts by un­ runs Flying Buffalo, the most reliable either in code, in English, or some­ loading consumer goods on them." play-by-mail commercial service, thing in between. Then you fill out There were 200 other characters describes the general procedure: another turnsheet based on these battling for the same worlds I was, results, and send it back to the game "The concept is simple: you send and I had to have my next move in company for another round. The written instructions for each turn to the mail, postmarked by tomorrow. usual cycle is every two weeks, or the game company. The company every month if you live overseas. (You Play-by-mail games are widespread, processes and plots out the results. It also can request slow or fast modes but hidden by the privacy of first reports back your new position, and of the games.) The company charges I class envelopes. The first play-by- acts as moderator and referee. about $3 for each turn. Many have a j ll mail games were probably unfinished "Your role in the game will vary credit accounting system, and debit games of Chess or Go extended by according to the game setting. Thus, you each play. You can also buy a messages between two players. Then you might be a feudal baron, a chief­ lifetime "play" for about $500, as other strategy games came along, tain of a nomadic tribe, or — in f/ie which allows you to keep scheming ones which demanded careful moves case of llluminati — the wise and forever. that could be easily relayed on paper, crafty leader of a great conspiracy it was natural to try them by post. "Games vary a great deal in terms to take over the world. By the seventies, entire stores were of the amount of inter-player commu­ devoted to room-size strategy board "For $2 or so, you get a rulebook, nication. Players in "no-diplomacy" games, a few of which might be background materials, and instruc­ (or "anonymous") games compete, played by mail. The stores were also tions for filling out your turn sheets. but are not allowed to communicate incubators for the peculiar teenage At this point, games begin to differ in or make deals with each other out­ .^^ phenomenon of role-playing games, what they demand of you. There are side the game. At the other extreme, like Dungeons and Dragons. games where you have to remember the biggest "full-diplomacy" games

A young generation of kids obsessed I with role-playing games grew up Access to Play-By-Mail Games and found a place for multiplayer, ^J$ multilevel games in computerland. Role-playing games by mail are They are empowering. In a role- The elaborate complexity of spells, everything television is not. Rather playing game your actions are sig­ weaponry, rules, and plot was per­ than making you a passive spectator, nificant and make a difference fectly suited to the arcane logic and they make you the central actor in an in the world. aloof fairness of the computer. Early ongoing fantasy. You are the hero. computer adventure games carried They are mythic. Most games en­ the vocabulary of role-playing games Games-by-mail can be competitive gage our hidden archetypes. The onto the screen, awarding players for and at the same time extremely co­ most common themes and forms finding a way through the maze, but operative. Players work together to reflect forgotten archetypes involving not encouraging creative pretending. overcome adversity, solve problems, rites of passage. and explore the world created and \ \\ \\\ A Games-by-mail today combine the PLAY-BY-MAIL GAMES controlled by a more-or-less-neutral It takes a long time to ploy a PBM game: logical challenge of the computer game master. months, years. I have played in three with the intrigue of role playing. They gomes, each very different from another, are amazingly detailed scenarios They are interactive. Players are and recommend all of them. played out by an army of long-distant offered a chance to be creative and FEUDAL LORDS (Groof Slmuiatlont): gamers submitting their turns to a clever. Game masters create chal­ Feudal Lords is a game of economic central game-master computer, to be lenges and players must think their development, diplomatic intrigue, and weighed and calculated, then tabu­ way through. military adventuring set in a medieval lated into a printout sent by return society, England in A.D. 801. You begin as They are shared group experiences. mail. It's a little bit of bureaucratic a Baron of one of 46 fiefdoms and as one The players engage in a creative of 15 players. The computer controls the warfare. By the middle of the game I endeavor to which all individuals other 31 fiefs. Your job is to build up your have to keep in mind that before I contribute, making a well-played fief and acquire control over other fiefs. leave a planet I must have on board session like a shared dream. Each fiefdom has basic economic re-

88 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 hove elaborate alliances, player-run organizations, and often their own newsletters. Many play-by-mail alli­ ances span continents, and occasion­ ally generations, and last for years. The games have their own histories as well. StaiWeb, one of the most successful play-by-mail games, has completed over o thousand cycles of its interstellar contest.

"There are about 10,000 players involved in games at the moment. Although there has been a big push for the last five years urging peo­ ple to send their turns via computer networks like CompuServe or MCI Mail, only about 10 percent do so. The computers which run the games are invisible, and don't interest players. Play-by-mail gamers like mail. They can forward a message to other players with their move, swapping addresses. Pretty soon they hove o mailbox full of personal, passionate mail.

"One of the fascinating things about play-by-mail games is that the back­ grounds of the players are so diverse. Your allies may include a student, a Diplomacy by Mail peace while attempting to stab some­ county sheriff, a physicist, and a body in the back to gain your foot­ Shakespearean actor, but you won't / am in the midst of a play-by-mail holds elsewhere. Every month of play often know, or care. Diplomacy game; in fact I just got time corresponds to a three-month my current update today. Diplomacy "The hardest thing to describe about season in which a move fotes place. is an old board game; it's been play-by-mail gaming is the intensity There's often a lot of telephone con­ around since 1953. It's a recreation of the experience. You start out won­ versations and negotiations with other of pre-World War I Europe. Each dering why any sensible person would players before a move deadline, and player leads one of seven different pay three dollars to play a game, sometimes face-to-face meetings with countries competing for control of but within weeks you are haunting people if they live locally. One guy most of the continent — England, your mailbox, waiting for your next coordinates all of the moves by mail, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, turn. When you are under attack, or and sends out little packages with Italy, Turkey, and Germany. Everyone you have just sent off a tricky maneu­ maps that compile everyone's most starts out in their home country and ver, and you are waiting to see what recent move. It's a very elegant, tries to expand and acquire other happened, the suspense is tremen­ simple system for playing lots of stuff. This is a very difficult game to dous. Will you survive? Will your hard-core political military negotia­ play, because you have to continually plan work? Where's that lazy tions. Our current game will probably negotiate with your neighbors for postman?" • take two years to play out. There are magazines and books devofed to reporting the results and strategies of build spaceship fleets, explore connecting sources consisting of gold, food, peasants, postal Diplomacy games. I'd start systems, capture worlds, locate other and townsmen, and you may invest in with these: other economic activities such as agri­ players and negotiate with them. Try a culture, livestock, forestry, mining, fishing, slow game and you will probably meet Diplomacy (the game): $19.80 postpaid. and foreign trade. You must carefully people worldwide. Cost: rules $2. Setup The Gamer's Guide to Diplomacy (has all develop your economy while building $S. Deposit $5, Turn fee $4. Turn frequen­ the tactics): $5.50 postpaid. Both from your military and political strength. Diplo­ cy every three weeks, once a month (slow Avolon Hill Game Company, 4517 Hartford macy is essential if you want to survive game), or once a week (electronic moil). Road, Baltimore, MD 21214; 301 /254-5300. and thrive in this excellent simulation of a PLAY-BY.IHAIL COMPANIES feudal society. Cod: rules $2.50. Setup Diplomacy World Mlagazine: $l5/year Play-by-mail game masters come and go $10 (includes three turns). Turn fee $3. (4 issues) from P O. Box 8416, San Diego, with great irregularity. For a list of reli­ Turn frequency every three weeks. CA 92102. —David Show able companies, send a self-addressed, HEROIC FANTASY (Flying Buffalo): Design stamped envelope to Play-By-Mail Asso­ a team of adventurers and send them into ciation (PBMA), 8149 E. Thomas Road, the labyrinth. Guide them as they explore, Scottsdale, AZ 85252. overcome adversity, contend with the Clemens S Associates, P. O. Box 4539, labyrinthian guardians, search for fame, San Clemente, CA 92672. glory, and treasure, treasure, treasure. HF Flying Buffalo, Inc., P. O. Box 1467, has a little of the flavor of a "kill and Scottsdale, AZ 85252-1467. loot" role-ploying gome, but without the Graaf Simulotlons, 27530 Harper, social interaction. Cost: rules $2.50. Setup St. Clair Shores, Ml 48081. $S. Turn fee $2.S0. Turn frequency every Palace Slmulotlons.P. O. Box 743, two weeks, once a month, or once a Madison, NJ 07940. week (eleetrenk mall). Superior Simulations, P. O. Box 505, Fairfield, ID 83327. STARWEB (Flying Buffalo): This is the World Campaigns, P. O. Box 321, classic PBM game. StarWeb is a strategic Epping, NH 03042. space game in a network of 255 star systems. You begin knowing only one. —Sofa Albrechf

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 LOOK MA, NO COMPUTER EYSALLIE TISDALE ILLUSTRATION FT JAMES DONNELLY

'VE COME TO THINK OF IT AS THE MICRO- wave problem. When people ask me why I don't I write on a computer, I often find myself explain­ ing by way of the microwave absent from my kitchen. It's not that I don't wish for the obvious con­ venience of either tool. It's that I'm too aware of the price of that convenience, and money is only a small part of it. The virtues of creative writing on a computer have been extolled to me by many people, often in long, ramb­ ling dot-matrix letters on computer paper, the choppy words barely grey against the serrated pages. Cross- referencing, indexing, deletion and insertion in a few very well. The shimmery green blocks of type looked moments' time: a writer's dream. The elimination of so important, so complete, so publishable. I spent many a certain drudgery at the heart of writing, a built-in hours seduced by the machinery, trying to ignore the organization. Streamlined. Clear-cut. Simple. slow shift of kinetic pages. My words were fine words, and in the same instant of wanting to continue refin­ I had owned a Smith-Corona electric typewriter for ing them forever, I found them just perfect as they were. many years, and found it a delightful thing, as any good tool can be: doing exactly, and only, what it was de­ It was only later I saw them clearly. I had to fiddle with signed to do, never needing repair, simple to operate, a messy printer, and tear hair over a chapter missing accepting of mild abuse. It had no fat. But I finally began (and, it turned out, gone forever) in the electronic void. to outwrite it; my self-taught, six-fingered typing had I saw the run-on sentences and misguided thoughts, finally grown too fast for the old-fashioned type bar the digression and lack of clarity of any first draft. That keys to handle. It was time to shop around. green screen could have made the alphabet look good. It blindfolded my writer's eye. Sabotage. I found myself feeling a little guilty, out of step, without a computer. I'd heard nothing but good about them, I had become friends with a man who couldn't write and in spite of gulping at the prices, found the idea personal letters without a computer, whose time-period appealing. I'm no stranger to the delight of technical reference frame had shrunk to seconds. He spent his competence, that gleeful pleasure in feeling my finger­ time chasing obsolescence, trying to whip the chronic tips in control, managing a complex machine. Com­ ignorance in a changing technology. His letters went puters looked sleek, clean, fun. I was tired of cut-and- on and on, streams not so much of consciousness as paste, manila folders full of torn notes, alphabetizing of association. His letters, much of what I read in reference lists by hand. magazines, my own error in judgement about my work: I could see the computer as a toady, a flatterer. So much I gave it a try, revising chapters of a book. So neat, so of writing is self-conscious — self-referencing. I need quick — no blurry tape borders, no mismatched mar­ the critic of my own scribbled comments and crossed- gins or troublesome cutting. Just keys and tiny arrows out phrasings as much as I need an editor. and sudden electron bursts of words appearing and disappearing across the screen. Just me alone and in It has taken me painful years of writing to learn the charge of the small, shining, framed world of my own single most important lesson of the craft: revision. A writing, newborn and true. I was, I thought, writing writer's task is at least as much to withhold as to tell.

Writers seem to love or hate computers, with a vengeance. Advocates beam with stories of increased productivity; dissenters scowl and say something like — "It just doesn't feel right." It's a serious literary debate. Author (and Whole Earth guest editor and contributor) Sallie Tisdale is a thoughtful and experienced dissenter. She says good writing is slaw, hard work. No computer can change that. —]eanne Carstensen

90 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 It requires paring away what is not necessary almost immediate what has always been slow, what had seem­ more than revealing what matters. This is the secret ed to be slow by its nature. That's why people love them to illumination: carefully cast shadows, the proper em­ and why I find them so irresistible when around. Ah, phasis of line and angle. This is never easy; our words speed. And why, health concerns and curious little are all we have, our babies, and vastly significant in minds aside, I won't buy one. Microwaves make fast their labored appearance. Part of my work is figuring what shouldbe slow, a process of preparation and con­ out what portion of that might be significant to anyone sideration and savor. Good cooking requires as much else. paring down and parcelling out of the unnecessary as good writing. Why in the world would I want to cir­ I have learned over ten years that a first draft often looks cumvent that process? My goal in cooking is not simp­ nothing like the final one. Throwing out is almost al­ ly food, but good food well and carefully prepared. ways hard, and almost always good; sometimes I keep There is something weak and unfinished about micro­ little more than a word or phrase. The computer screen wave food; hot, but not crunchy; cooked, but not done. plays an insidious trick on that process — it makes each I like the crunch and bite of slow-roasted meals, and word look done. Those flickering letters, so participa­ I want crunch and bite and deliberation in my writing. tory and alive, look already set in type. Printed, beyond change. So how do I write? I want typing speed, if not speed There is more than appearance here. The computer in preparation. I want ease in correction, but not ease seems to interrupt a process. It lends a false importance of revision — the ability to catch and correct spelling to the individual (called, so admiringly, the operator) errors, typographical mistakes. My compromise is a — and to the page itself, at the expense of a breadth tentative step forward into the brave new world, but of vision. It actually interrupts the process of vision, with limits. I bought another Smith-Corona, an XD7000 of seeing thoughts become notes and evolve into a story, electronic, and moved from type bars to a daisy wheel and only very eventually into type and print. The for speed, and a four^word crystal display for catching drudgery of writing is not an unfortunate thing, but errors (and the ability to type directly when I want, writing itself, essential, the heart. Drudgery is a mat­ as I often do). My words are still in my hands. It cost ter of attention to detail in the service of the whole. me less than $400, has needed no repair, and even seems able to take a little abuse. This machine should This is the heart of the microwave problem. They make last me for years, and the software never changes. •

A Writer's Time A Writer's Time Kenneth Atchity There I was with a nice advance from a New York publisher 1986; 194 pp. to write a book, and Hiere was only one tiny problem, which I did not discuss with the publisher. I'd never written $12.95 a book and didn't know how. I knew how to write, to edit, postpaid from: even to publish, but authoring? Helpl W W. Norton 500 5th Avenue Help came in the form of a little book (read if in an New York, NY 10110 evening; read it again the next evening) that spelled out or Whole Earth Access precisely the task at hand: how to write a book. I got innumerable good things from Atchity's counsel, but the ifenjwSt-*'^' main three probably were these: • Time is everything in the labor of writing. Organize your time, and the writing will have a chance to organize itself. I used most of Atchity's tips except the taking of many m/ni-vocaf/ons (/ didn't have time). You can edit objectively after three days have passed • Use 5 X 8 cords/ Salvation. Every idea, every separable and you cannot edit objectively after three minutes have quote, every item from the literature I was researching, passed. So the attempt to edit instantly is negating the each went onto its own card. Organizing the eventual natural process, not allowing time to do its job. 1,800 cards into piles was defining the chapters; subpiles • defined the sections; sequence within the subpiles defined No time is more important than the time ysed to ex- the sequence of the day's writing. This was THE handle amine and schedule your time. without which I would have floundered for months. • • Define in a sentence what the book is about. Searching Don't sit down to write without knowing what you're for thai sentence organizes your thinking; using it organ­ going to write. Never waste writing time deciding what izes your writing. Revising consists of removing everything to write. Writing time is for writing, not for the gestation that isn't in support of that sentence. In my case fTh» of writing. Media lob, 1987, Viking) the sentence was a quote, • "How will we directly connect our nervous systems to f/ie global computer?" Sf you're wondering whether you're experiencing End Time, you're not. True End Time displaces all other If H)is review sounds like a buihle of gratitude, that's thoughts. because it is. —Stewart Brand In Middle Time most writers have problems maintaining perspective toward their work. Middle Time's greatest Always head for drama at this point in the process [first pitfall is exhaustion, and its most common side effect is draft]: choose the more dramatic alternative at every confusing that exhaustion with depression or with a crossroads. Writing yourself "into a corner" guarantees dismal reevaluation of the work at hand. . . . During drama as much as it does anxiety: the r«ader will relish Middle Time you need vacations, as many as you can watching you write yourself out of the corner. fit into your schedule.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 m pa^' ONE HIGHLY EVOLVED . PERSONAL COMPUTER TOOLBOX

illlllliillllill liiiili^

BY ART KLEINER When you buy a computer, you auto­ make sense. Programs that wouldn't matically become a designer, like it or accept each other's data, or simply ILLUSTRATED BY not. That's because the computer cannot froze up and stopped working when I help becoming, over tinie, a behind-the- tried to use them together. I was spend­ JAY KINNEY screen representation of the patterns of ing too much time mastering the intri­ your own mind — through your projects, cacies of my computer's demands instead documents, letters, budgets, plans, of doing the writing or planning for Dedicated to J. Baldwin, whose doodles, and dreams. Ultimately, you which I needed the machine in the highly evolved toolbox (of the want to arrange the structure of that first place. mental environment to reflect your About a year and a half ago, I bought a physical world) inspired this creative and clerical habits, just as you new computer and resolved to take that version (of the mental world). design your home and rearrange the opportunity to set up a system which furniture to reflect your habits of would adapt itself to MY needs, instead day-to-day living. of shoehorning my habits to fit the

Until he took up teaching at New York University, All too often, though, organizing a computer. An Kleiner was the person around here you asked if computer environment requires wading My design goals were, I thought, simple. you had a computer question you wanted answered through cryptic manuals and mental I wanted to put together hardware and in English. He now teaches university courses on origami; so computer owners rearrange telecommunications and desktop publishing. In the software which would help me manage their own mental habits to match the manner of Galen, the great classical Greek doctor of all the work of my one-person business: anatomy. Art often describes elements of the infor­ design of the machine, instead of the writing, making automatically addressed mation body for the ftrst time. His ethereal accounts other way around. That's about as un­ mailings, keeping a budget, conducting of computer networks eventually awakened Whole comfortable as wearing the wrong size Earth to the realm of personal electronic journalism. research by computer network, dialing shoes. I struggled with the bad fit for —Kevin Kelly phone numbers (and remembering when several years on several computers and I made the calls for my expense ac­ noticed quite a few irritating effects: counts), calculating my tax estimates. filenames that were difficult to remem­ ber. Command sequences that didn't

92 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 and keeping track of notes and ideas on even a little, from the tasks I use the which you use them, and with which a dozen different projects at once. My computer for. you link different programs together. machine had to be inexpensive, yet It took me a year to evolve my system I think my system is about as inexpensive reliable — no unexpected breakdowns to its current status. Along the way, I as I could get and still have a computer when I used a new program. It had to learned one of the best-kept secrets of which meets me and my needs more be self-evident — in other words, I did the computer industry: Once you nar­ than halfway. I tested that theory re­ not want to remember too many com­ row your choices to a few recommended cently when I helped a friend put together mands. I vjQnted the screen to signal contenders, it doesn't really matter a similar system for himself. Based on me, whenever possible, with my next much which particular word processing that shopping trip and my own year's move. It had to pop back and forth or data management packages you buy. worth of fine-tuning, I estimate this rapidly between different tasks. And it They all pretty much work the same total cost, if I were buying everything had to be easy to use; I didn't mind way; the differences are cosmetic. Much new in mid-1987: about $1300 for hard­ hassling with configuration schemes to more important are the techniques with ware, $400 for software, and $100 for set it up (though I drew the line at learn­ a few necessary books and publications. ing any programming language), but Not bad for a machine that has made it once I got down to business I didn't possible for me to survive financially as want the computer itself to distract me, an independent writer and consultant.

iiiiiiiiiiiyiiiiiiiiii •r w 5 ill HARDWARE THE BASICS

Listening to computer journalists talk making it easier to instantly distinguish about their machines is like hearing wine between different types of text or image critics discourse on fine vintages; a cer­ •* on the screen. In a writing program, for tain snobbishness inevitably creeps in. instance, normal text can be white-on- Me, I use the Gallo of computers — a blue while text you've marked to move so-called "XT/compatible," also known Choosing the hardware is not easy; elsewhere is white-on-red, and the com­ as an MS-DOS machine. Several hundred there are as many variations in XT/com­ mand menus are black-on-cyan. Makes it manufacturers make these, all imitations patible hardware as there are customers. easy to instantly get your bearings. Is and refinements of what is probably the But there are a few essentials that apply that worth the $600 higher cost? Not most popular computer ever made — to nearly everyone buying this type for me, right now; maybe someday . . . IBM's PC-XT, until recently IBM's main­ of computer: • At least one 20-megabyte (or larger) stay personal computer. Compared to • Eight expansion slots. Mounted in hard disk drive, for storing programs newer models from IBM and Apple, the the innards of your machine, these slots and documents. XT is a bit outdated, and somewhat hold accessories which computer people slow; but it's far less expensive and still Hard disks are different from those call "cards" — plastic circuit boards the viable for most everyday office and floppy squares which you push into and size of keypunch cards. Slots give you information-gathering tasks. My com­ out of the computer. They live per­ flexibility — the more slots, the more puter is a "generic clone," assembled manently Inside (or in a box outside) ability to add new types of cards. without a brand name by a two-person your computer A 20-megabyte hard company called Sky-High Computers in • 640 kilobytes ("640K") of random- disk holds as much data as S6 floppies. a small office above a photocopy shop access memory (RAM) — the computer's Because they're so large and immovable, in Berkeley. internal "attention span" for programs they become the underlying support and documents that it is working on. for a metaphorical landscape — what There is no need to buy a brand-name The more RAM, the more programs computer people might call a "virtual computer (IBM, Compaq, Commodore, and documents you can interweave. landscape" — of documents, files, and Tandy, etc.) — unless you get a good The "desk accessories" I will shortly programs, divided into areas of interest. deal. The best approach is to find, by describe depend on having as much You use your computer as a vehicle word of mouth, a local retailer who is memory as possible. across the mental terrain on your hard trustworthy and offers good prices. disk — not much different from using • A monitor which can display clear Many of these shops are too small to an automobile to navigate the country­ text and pictures. There are two afford­ advertise in the Yellow Pages; check ads side out in the physical world. in your local newspaper with the best able such systems (of the many possible computer section (in New York, that ones): "Hercules-compatible" (for One can operate a computer without a means the Tuesday New York Times; in monochrome) and "Enhanced Graphics hard disk. Indeed, most people used California, it means two small tabloids Adapter (EGA)-compatible" for color. only floppies until a couple of years called MicroTirr\es and Computer Cur­ If you use monochrome, as I do, I ago, but that is a much-diminshed use of rents). To help you shop, the IBM XT/ recommend amber. the machine. Hard disks offer you any Clone Buyer's Guide (W£R #52, p. 99) program or document in your library, Why consider color? Because personal is still invaluable. instantly; floppies requjre you to devote computer users often find the hardest far too much attention to which disk part is getting their bearings — figuring out where they are in what program and what to do next. Color helps, by

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 has which programs and files. You're not tant documents stored away from your good non-technical introduction for spending your tirne getting your work computei— so that, say, if your com­ novices who want to know how every­ (or play done); you're operating your puter is caught in a fire, you won't thing works, and why. A new edition computer. lose all your work.) this year should fix its slight out-of- datedness. The MS-DOS Bible by Steven With my computer budget, I had a • A book about how to use it all. Even Simrin and the Waite Group (1985, choice of an XT/compatible with a hard the smoothest computer setup will take Sams) offers quick reference to a wide disk, or a Macintosh without. Even a few months and a half-dozen tries variety of commands; and Managing though I preferred the Macintosh overall, before you finally get it just the way Your Hard Disli. by Dan Berliner and the benefits of a hard disk are worth you want it. These books speed the Chris DeVoney (1986, Que), focuses on much more than the benefits of any process. MS-DOS and PC-DOS by Peter detailed strategies for doing just what specific machine. (You also need one Norton (1984, Brady) is an especially the title says. floppy drive — to insert new programs into your computer, and to keep impor-

SOFTWARE:

Get as little softvrare as possible. Not hasn't, and why we invited some people for reasons of economy, but because in the first place). Keeping track of my IIIMIIIIt expenses, for tax purposes. Keeping really using a software package means becoming so intimately familiar with it iJli grades lists for the courses I teach. that you meld it into your synapses. I T'T Most data managers work roughly the divide my choices into three groups, same way: First you design a form with based op the way that they are set up. WRITE, adding comments in italics so the types of data you want to enter; Heavy-Duty Tools are big programs like my accountant instantly knows the im­ then you pull out selected subsets of my word processor, spreadsheet, data portance of any particular number. I that information, organized in the order manager and telecommunications pro­ could add comments within Reflex, but you specify. Reflex excels at reshaping gram. My computer can only handle one only by bending the program against its and reshuffling its data, important be­ of these at a time. Desk Accessories grain; it's better to work with free- cause you usually don't know beforehand are smaller programs which I can in­ form text in a program that's designed how you'll want to set up your final stantly bring forth by hitting the right specifically to handle free-form text. report. Reflex also excels at allowing key. And a few programs and commands • PROCOMM: my window on the you to set up databases that meet you act as Underlying Support, mostly invi­ world — a terminal program, managing halfway. Short, cryptic codes, for in­ sible but making things much easier and the connection of my computer to stance, are hard for human beings to more effective behind the scenes. other computers through the telephone remember — but they're better for computers, because they allow less • PC-WRITE: not just the best all- lines. Having used a variety of terminal chance for error. In Reflex, you can around word processor I've seen, but programs, I settled on Procomm for establish formulas that convert short also the most successful single example three reasons. First, being shareware, codes to long words and back again — of "Shareware," or user-supported it keeps evolving along with the fast- to remind you which code to type, then software. (PC-WRITE's author Bob changing panoply of telecomm services. check to make sure you typed it right, Wallace discusses Shareware eloquently Second, it excels at helping you keep then convert it to a long word that in W£R #46, p. 49; also see Alfred track of the documents already on your will appear in your final report. When Glossbrenner's definitive book, How to computer — important because so I enter a gasoline receipt in my tax Get Free Software.) much telecomm revolves around shunt­ ing documents back and forth. Finally, records. Reflex automatically converts People are usually impressed with Procomm is intuitively correct — it the date to the day of the week — and writing programs because they shuffle feels right. Windows zoom open on the I know whether my excursion v^s a text so flexibly that they make writing screen and sound effects beep and boop weekday work trip or a non-deductible much easier. All writing programs do — not randomly, but to help you in­ Sunday drive. that well, but not many know how to stantly understand what you're doing Data management is so complex that handle presentation: in other words, at any moment. (You can, if you wish, how well and how easily can you make turn the sound effects off.) you have to really know how to plan your words look just the way you vjrant ahead with this type of program. I them on the printed page! PC-WRITE's • REFLEX: data manager of choice. I recommend the extra help in Reflex; formatting commands are easy to un­ use it to enter large quantities of linked Tips, Tricks, and Traps by Ron Person derstand. That's especially useful — not information for a surprising variety of (Que, 1986). just for printed files, but also for files tasks: Keeping our wedding list (with • PC-CAUC — a living ledger page. Called from other programs. When I send my sublists to tell who is invited to which a "spreadsheet" program (after accoun­ annual expense record to my accountant, events, who has confirmed and who tants' spreadsheets), this manipulates for instance, I don't print it directly columns and rows of numbers. It's per­ from the data-management program. I fectly set up for keeping a budget — save it as a text file and edit it with PC- for looking ahead to next year's prob­ able income and expenses. (Quick cal­ culations are better served by SideKick, a desk accessory revievifed next page.)

94 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 DESK ACCESSORIES

People work at a lot of different things ability to tag a paragraph with a one-line all at once, shifting rapidly between heading, and then browse quickly just them — and a computer is at its best through the headings, makes complex when it helps a person navigate instantly research and writing jobs immeasurably through a variety of tasks. For this easier. I transcribe my notes in PC- reason, I keep my computer on all day. together well, and my goal is to meld OUTLINE, marking them with appro­ At any moment, I may need to quickly them into one seamless system. Here's priate reminders and keywords as I go remind myself of my things to do, take what I use: along; then, when I write an article notes on a phone call, add a quick sum, based on those notes, I mix and match • TURBO LIGHTNING - a computer- or jot down an idea. Desk accessories headings between several different files based spelling-checker and thesaurus. make it possible to do this without until I find exactly the notes I want. Lightning has far fewer synonyms avail­ losing track of where I v^s before. able than any book thesaurus, but it's This is a Shareware refinement of Dave Every time I turn on my computer, it far more convenient: just press a key, Winer's READY!, which invented the automatically loads up my preferred and Lightning replaces the word on the genre. But PC-OUTLINE handles text group of desk accessories. (I enter the screen with a synonym that it has sug­ and multiple outlines more effectively. commands for loading these desk ac­ gested and you've approved. Reviewed At any given moment I have SO to 75 cessories in a file named AUTOEXEC, in WER #52 (p. 99). different outlines on my computer. BAT; when it starts up, the computer Some are temporary — this article • PC-OUTLINE — a pop-up list and looks for that file and follows its in­ started as one — while others, like my outline manager. Its purpose is arranging structions.) Then, at any time, I can directory of phone numbers or (sigh) all the text in a writer's or manager's press a particular combination of keys list of things to do, last forever. life so you can instantly find one needle to call forth any desk accessory: Con­ of meaning in a haystack of trivia. I can • SIDEKICK — a collection of tools. trol and Backslash for PC-OUTLINE, enter in notes, sort them, rearrange The first popular memory-resident pro­ Control and Alt for SideKick, Control them, dial any telephone number within gram, SideKick is also one of the most and Fl for Turbo Lightning, and Alt and them using SideKick (see below), enter reliable. I use its calculator and calendar, Backslash for SuperKey. Suddenly, a new the time or date automatically within and especially its phone dialer — which menu is superimposed over whatever them, and hide whole paragraphs until can pluck a number from any other pro­ was previously on my screen. I use the I'm ready to deal with them. The gram and dial it. A new version of Side- Desk Accessory, then return to the Kick coming this year promises a built- previous screen. There are dozens of in outliner. possible desk accessories available for XT/compatibles, but I limit myself to a few, because they don't always work

UNDERLYING

The preceding seven programs help me disk. This frees you to organize the rest do fny work. The rest of my software Ililll^plil of your hard disk thematically. For in­ has only one purpose: to help me use '' '* ' stance, all the files dealing with my the preceding seven programs more upcoming nuptials are in a subdirectory easily and effectively. I also list some which I named WEDDING; another general techniques for using MS-DOS according to type of softvwire — to put subdirectory, called ARTICLES, has here, because they're as important to the word processor and all writing files all my writing-for-hire; within it I've me as any softvwire I've paid for. together under a directory called WRIT­ created sub-subdirectories, each with ING, for instance. But that method of • the name of a different magazine I write • PATH — an essential program for for. Another subdirectory, NOVEL, organizing hard disks, included free with organization serves the computer's ar­ bitrary distinctions — not your own contains my notes for an extended the computer's operating system. Nor­ piece of fiction, and still another named mally, PC/compatibles only allow pro­ needs to keep different projects sepa­ rated, or to use a variety of programs NYU contains material for the courses grams to work with documents in the I teach at New York University. same section (called a "subdirectory") on one document. of the hard disk. Thus, novices are PATH allows you to set aside a small And my Heavy-Duty Tools? They're all tempted to organize their hard disks section of your hard disk, keep all your in a subdirectory called TOOLS. The programs there, and use them with any PATH command turns that TOOLS sub- documents anywhere else on your hard

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 95 directory into a sort of dashboard con­ you may ever learn about your com­ the screen; you can use almost any pro­ trol panel. As I navigate the terrain of puter: you can redesign almost anything. gram with any file, without typing In my various projects, the programs in SuperKey has helped me redefine com­ any file names. TOOLS travel v/ith me. mands in PC-OUTLINE, PC-WRITE, Re­ There are many progranfis of this type flex and Procomm so that they all work • MARK and RELEASE — used to mix — called "DOS Shells" or "DOS En­ more or less the same. The goal of this and match different groups of Desk hancers" in the trade. I prefer IDIRPLUS somewhat obsessive project: peace of Accessories without having to restart because It gives each user more com­ mind. I won't have to remember four the computer. I have too many Desk plete control over what menus are sets of commands, or stop to remind Accessories to use them all at once; available, and what each menu looks myself which program I happen to be they don't fit in my computer's working like. Plus, it's speedy and works reliably using at the moment. memory. So I load Mark first, before with ALL your other programs. One loading any other Desk Accessories. • PC-SWEEP — Quick, simple help on a great feature: Type CTRL-T and a chart Thereafter, when I type Release, it lot of tasks like copying files, erasing pops up showing all your subdirectories. strips avi^y all the Desk Accessories. files, finding a particular file, etc. You can instantly move to any point on Then I have several commands, which the chart. This eliminates the need to • FASTBACK — A wonderful, albeit I've written myself, to load different type long subdirectory names, and pro­ expensive program, used for quickly combinations of Desk Accessories, vides an overview of the landscape of copying all the files on your hard disk depending on my immediate needs. If I files and subdirectories on your hard disk. onto a series of floppy disks. Then, if get more working memory, I might not something bad happens to your hard need these; but for the moment, I do. disk (they're notoriously prone to sud­ Mark and Release are part of a public CONCUU^ION den crashes), you have a copy of your domain program called The TSR Utilities. work elsewhere. A more recent, cheaper As prices come down, the next-level- • NORTON UTILITIES - sort of the program called PC-Fullbak may be just higher clone becomes more and more softv^re equivalent to keeping a spare as good, but I haven't tried it. attractive — a so-called AT-compatible. tire and jack in your car. When some­ • IDIRPLUS - Makes them all work By the time this appears, such compu­ thing goes wrong, you can often use together. ters will be available for under $1000 these to fix it. The most commonly with hard disk. They run faster than used part of Norton Utilities Is UN­ The normal XT/clone shows you a cryp­ XT-compatibles, and have more storage ERASE, which recovers a file you acci­ tic prompt that looks like this: C)-. To room — but they are an interim step. dentally erased. Version 4.0 is a vast use Reflex, you must remember to type The ideal personal computer should improvement over previous versions. Reflex; to use PC-WRITE, you must embody the essential dream of anyone remember to type its command name • SUPERKEY — a program that lets who uses a computer regularly: a men­ (ED, short for "edit"). IDIRPLUS you make up your own commands. It tal servant that mirrors your working replaces this arduous system with a takes some time to learn and use, but it habits and performs any task instantly. series of menus that you design your­ teaches you the most important lesson PC/compatibles are a compromise self, menus which include all your other towards that goal, but a good com­ programs. IDIRPLUS also keeps a list of promise. For people on a budget, they all your documents and other files on should continue to be a good com­ promise for at least 3 or 4 years. •

MicroTimes: Dennis Erokan, Editor; $l2/year PC-WRITE: Version 2.71. $16 shareware; PC-OUTLINE: Shareware; list $89.95 from (12 issues). BAM Publications, Inc., 5951 $89 with registration. Quicksoft, 219 1st Ave. Brown Bag Software, 2155 S. Bascom Ave./ Canning Street, Oakland, CA 94609. #224, Seattle, WA 98109; 206/282-0452. Ste. 114, Campbell, CA 95008; 408/559-4545. Computer Currents: David L. Needle, Editor; Reflex: Street price $99.95; list $149.95 SideKick: Street price $59.95; list $84.95 $l8/year (25 issues). Computer Currents/ from Borland International, inc., 4585 Scotts from Borland International Inc. (see Reflex). Subscriptions, 5720 Mollis Street, Emeryville, Valley Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066; TSR Utilities: Shareware; $10 from Turbo CA 94608. 408/438-8400. Power Software, 3109 Scotts Valley Drive/Ste. MS-DOS & PC-DOS User's Guide: Peter Nor­ Procomin: Free download from B-board for 122, Scotts Valley, CA 95066; 408/438-8608. ton, 1984, $18.95 ($20.95 postpaid) from trial purposes; complete package $50 from Norton Utilities: Version 4.0. Street price Datastorm Technologies, Inc., P. O. Box 1471, Simon & Schuster/Attn.: Mail Order, 200 Old $69.95; list $100 from Peter Norton Com­ Columbia, MO 65205; 314/449-9401 (BBS), Tappan Road, Old Tappan, NJ 07675. puting, Inc., 2210 Wilshire Blvd. 1186, Santa The MS-DOS Bible: Steven Simrin/The Walte 314/449-7012 (humans). Monica, CA 90403; 213/453-2361. Group, 1985. $18.95 ($21.45 postpaid) from PC-Calc: Version 3.0. Shareware; $64.95 SuperKey: Street price $45.95; list $99.95 Howard W. Sams, 4300 W. 62nd Street, with registration from Buttonvrtire, P. O. Box from Borland International, Inc. (see Reflex). Indianapolis, IN 46268. 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006; 206/454-0479. PC-SWEEP: Shareware; contact Sandi and Managing Your Hard Disk: Don Berliner, 1986. Turbo Lightning: Street price $69.95; list Shane Stump, 1321 Klondike, San Antonio, RePex: Tips, Tricl(s and Trops: Ron Person, $99.95 from Borland International, Inc. TX 78245; 512/670-8835. 1986. Each $19.95 ($21.75 postpaid) from (see Reflex). Fastback: Version 5.15. $179 from Fifth Que Corporation, 7999 Knue Road, Indiana­ Generation Systems, 800/225-2775 (in CA: polis, IN 46250. 714/553-0111). How to Get Free Software: Alfred Glossbrenner, 1984. $16.20 postpaid from St. Martin's Press, IDIRPUJS: Version 2.01. Street price $59.95; 175 5th Avenue, Nevn York, NY lOOIO. list $100 from Bourbaki, Inc., P. O. Box 2867, Boise, ID 83701; 208/342-5849,

96 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Build Your Own ^•A ^4" . IBM Compatible (And Save A Bundle) Aubrey Pilgrim 1987; 208 pp. 'fc*'^ $14.95 postpaid from: TAB Books, Inc. P. O. Box 40 Blue Ridge Summit, Tools needed to build an XT. PA 17214 717/794-2191 Build Your Own IBM Compatible or Whole Earth Access clones for sale at very cheap prices. They are often sold You may be ready to save a bundle, buf are you ready by hobbyists who successfully put together an IBM com­ for an adventure? The scheme is to take cheap parts from patible for themselves and then, seeing a market, charge Asian manufacturers which are advertised in the backs of a minimal amount to assemble another You pay for the computer magazines and assemble them into an IBM few tricks that they learned the painful way. That's the knockoff. A lot can go wrong in an instant. I recommend way I'd go. —Kevin Kelly that you read this book first. It'll either convince you that you don't have the needed electronic common sense, or Ports and components else if you do, it will provide you the key tips for successful needed to build an XT: construction. Besides becoming the proud owner/builder 1. A case, flip top or of a cheap, versatile machine, you'll probably use it more slide on. effectively since you know how it works. Your warranty, 2. A mother board though, is your fix-it abilities. with components in­ An equally wise (though less exciting) choice is to con­ stalled (would recom­ mend a turbo board sider the ever-blossoming varieties of already assembled with 640 K of memory). 3. A power supply, 130 watt minimum. 4. A floppy disk drive controller card (or board). 5. One or two floppy disk drives. 6. A monitor card (or A floppy diskette that has adaptor), should be monochrome or color, depending on the been taken apart. Lines type of monitor you buy. representing tracks and sectors have been drawn 7. A monitor. on the surface. 8. A keyboard.

Cheap IBM Clones

Buy a PC clone locally if at all possible, so you benefit from local servicing on problems. If you need to shop by mail, one of the best buys is from the burgeoning computer company. Whole Earth Access (once again, there's no financial tie to us). They assemble their own line of clones from cut-rate parts, and guarantee the result. Their XT clone, with built-in 20-meg hard disk and monitor, goes for $895(!) postage paid. This is a small-business bargain. Edwin Rutsch, author of The IBM XT Clone Buyer's Guide (WEK #55, p. 99), examined Whole Earth's IBM AT clone, which is a generation better and about twice as expensive as their XT. His comments follow. (Edwin is compiling The IBM AT Clone Buyer's Guide and Handbook. It'll be $21.95 postpaid from Modular Information Systems, 431 Ashbury Street, San Francisco, CA 94117.) —Kevin Kelly

The Whole Earth Computer Systems 286 (AT clone) is a close copy of the IBM AT, mimicking not only its power, but also its plainness. A lot of the other clones sport "bells and whistles" which this lacks. However, it is reliable and operates 30 percent faster than IBM's newest computer, the Personal System 2 (PS/2), Models 50 and 60. It is a good-quality product for a clone, at a reasonable, com­ petitive price. A main advantage is that unlike some clone Whole Earth Turbo XT-20: IBM compatible; 640K; 20MB packagers, the company will probably be around for a hard disk plus single floppy disk drive; B/W monitor. while to honor their one-year parts and labor warranty. $895 postpaid from Whole Earth Access. —Edwin Rutsch

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 97 If Software Companies by Jay Kinney Ran (he Country...

THE SHMOO IS COPYRIGHT ©1948,1959 BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

HE SHMOO has returned. both commercial software (which of corporate socialism, perhaps, but OYou remember the Shmoo, often retails for hundreds of dollars) it probably beats having stereo-cops don't you? It was a cute little white and the file disks that store all the busting through our doors in search colored, squash-shaped cartoon information and writing produced of home-recorded audio cassettes. character created by Al Capp in his by the computer user. That these The advent of affordable VCRs comic strip "Li'l Abner," in 1948. arrays of bits are easily copied from on a mass scale introduced this now- Shmoos bred like rabbits and could disk to disk — with a copied disk familiar dilemma into the realm of produce any object at the drop of a being virtually indistinguishable video. The Supreme Court con­ hat. Since they loved to please hu­ from the original — is one of the cluded in this case that folks at home mans, they would willingly pump much-touted selling points for the could legally make personal video­ out milk, eggs, filet mignon, caviar, personal computer revolution. tapes of programs and movies that or anything else if requested. Where the shmoo-factor comes were broadcast over the air. How­ At first glance Shmoos seemed in and software executives begin to ever, making unauthorized dupli­ to herald the arrival of Utopia. Un­ grit their teeth is when a PC user cates of commercially produced fortunately, a plethora of Shmoos decides to make a copy of a commer­ video tapes is a violation of copy­ meant that people quit their jobs, cially-produced program for a right and punishable by law, as big stopped paying taxes, and civiliza­ friend. Suddenly there are two pro­ FBI notices at the start of most movie tion as we know it began to degener­ grams where there once was one, and tapes remind us. (That this, in effect, ate quickly — or so Al Capp sought there's a good chance that the recipi­ makes the FBI into an enforcer for to demonstrate in his mildly didactic ent of the copied disk will never the Mafia which is reputedly knee- way. In other words, there is such a break down and buy his own legiti­ deep in the video-porn business is thing as too much of a good thing. mate copy. This scenario, which is just one of life's little ironies, I sup­ The great funnies-reading pub­ repeated daily all over the world, is pose.) lic was not so sure. Shmoos were the bane of the software industry, With software the issue at hand enormously popular and thousands which contends it is losing millions is hazier still, since there is no single of Shmoo products were bought and of dollars in potential sales through agreement on matters as elementary sold before the Shmoo fad ran its this penny-ante thievery. All sorts of as defining exactly what software is. course. Al Capp supposedly became copy-protection methods are in use On the one hand, most software so sick of Shmoos that he killed them to prevent software customers from programs consist of thousands of off and banished them from the strip. making illegitimate copies, but lines of coded instructions which tell They popped up again for another nearly every protection method can one's computer to perform in a cer­ short appearance in "Li'l Abner" ten be circumvented with some pa­ tain manner. This code, which is years later, were killed off again and tience, cleverness, and one of nu­ written by programmers and con­ this time were gone for good. merous commercially available sists of a mixture of words, letters, copying programs. Or so it seemed until recent and numbers, is covered by the same rumblings about software piracy in When similar concerns over copyright laws that apply to other the computer trade press convinced rampant copying tore through the published material. me that the Shmoo has snuck back— music industry a few years back the On the other hand, the words, in real life this time. solution that developed was the letters and numbers that make up The source of the rumbling is the levying of a tax on the sale of all software code are generally com­ simple fact that most computer soft­ blank cassette tapes. The proceeds bined into algorithms that describe ware is nothing more than an array of from this tax are distributed amidst mathematical procedures. Consid­ bits magnetically recorded on thin, the record companies in compensa­ ered separately each algorithm can plastic floppy disks. This is true of tion for lost income. A bizarre form no more be taken as private property than can phrases like "2+2=4" or Jay Kinney, contrary to superficial appearances, does not advocate soft­ "E=mc^." Among programmers an ware piracy. He just likes to stir things up. —Kevin Kelly. elegant algorithm or set of algo-

WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 rithms that address common pro­ gramming tasks are likely to become In making copies of software programs for community property, and justifiably their friends, thousands of normal citizens so. Definitive mathematical answers to recurring questions have tradi­ have not suddenly become moral tionally become the property of everyone since they represent an degenerates and lawless nihilists. advance in general human knowl­ edge. Be that as it may, unique se­ Rather, they've been resisting the quences of coded algorithms have encroachment of a new form of tended to fall under the rubric of intellectual property fostering their property relations which runs controlled dissemination and retail­ ing by the individuals or corpora­ counter to common sense and tions that own them. In an informa­ the best human instincts. tion economy it is information that becomes the most precious com­ modity. Where things begin to get weird, "Well, that sounds pretty im­ return to trimming bushes that have however, is with the subtle redefin­ pressive. How much are they?" begun looking like mutant growths ing of both economic and wider "Just $450.00, sir!" from Venus. Within an hour or two social relations that the present soft­ "Hmm. A bit pricey perhaps. I the job is done and you are about to ware situation introduces. This re­ presume they have a good war­ go hang up the clippers in the garage definition, which is subtle yet far- ranty?" when your neighbor, Joe, stops by. reaching, is almost never acknowl­ "The best, sir! You'll be excited "Hey hey! New clippers I see!" edged by the software industry or to know that their warranty offers "Don't ask." computer press despite the fact that it absolutely no guarantee that they "Eh? I was thinking that I ought is at the root of the so-called software will perform as described. But that's to trim those shrubs of mine that piracy problem. not all! Should you be dissatisfied have been hanging over onto your In making copies of software with these clippers you cannot get driveway for months now. If you'll programs for their friends, thou­ your money back! And best of all, lend me your new clippers I ought to sands of normal citizens have not you cannot legally resell these clip­ have them polished off in a jiffy. suddenly become moral degenerates pers to anyone else! In fact, your Okay?" and lawless nihilists. Rather, they've $450.00 merely buys you a license to "Sorry, Joe. But it says in my been resisting the encroachment of a use these clippers. Should you vio­ clipper-owner agreement that went new form of property relations late any of the other terms of the into effect the moment I began using which runs counter to common sense warranty contained in this sheet of the clippers that these clippers can't and the best human instincts. In their tiny print, ownership of the clippers be used by anyone besides me. If I let desire to have their cake and eat it will revert to the manufacturer and you use them we'll both be taking too, software companies are actually you will be liable to prosecution." food out of the mouths of the com­ lobbying for a new form of legalistic "By jove, that sounds like the pany that makes these clippers and capitalism whose overt operating best deal I've been offered since I turning ourselves into felons in the principle would be Caveat Emptor. purchased the Brooklyn Bridge a process!" few years back! I'll take them!" "Gee, sorry I asked! But, hey, ^]^hat would life be like if soft­ Back home again you set out to what if I buy the clippers from you ware companies ran the country? trim the bushes. Things are going for five cents and when I'm done Perhaps the following little drama along smoothly until the clippers let with them sell them back to you for may offer a clue: . out an unexpected series of beeps five cents? Surely there's no harm in Having recently noticed that the and collapse in upon themselves. that?" bushes outside your living room Consulting the 100-page manual "I'm afraid there is, Joe. Any window have grown unruly you which you had been hoping to ignore change in ownership violates the decide to trim them. Your old hedge- up 'til now you discover that you warranty and I'd never be able to clippers having long since suc­ may have run into a "bug" which obtain a future update if the clippers cumbed to rust, you decide to run resides in this series of clippei's. unexpectedly collapse. Besides, I over to the nearest hardware store Phoning the manufacturer you dis­ don't really "Own" these clippers I and buy a new pair. At the store the cover that by sending back the clip­ only have the right to "use" them and following dialog ensues with the pers along with an additional $25 that right is non-transferable. eager salesman. they will send you an updated pair of C'mon, be a good American and buy "How are these hedge-clippers? clippers without the "bug". Allow 6 your own pair!" Pretty good?" to 8 weeks for delivery. "Thanks for setting me straight, "Oh yes sir! They are the best on This is less than thrilling but you pal! If it weren't for honest citizens the market. They are twice as sharp have little choice it seems, so you like you I can see how we'd rapidly as any other clippers and are greased send in the clippers along with a slip into a state of criminal anarchy at the joint to work faster than any check and wait a couple of months. with uncontrolled sharing of com­ clippers ever made!" Once the new clippers arrive you modities! Well, I'm off to the hard-

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 WW making dozens of copies for clerks in dozens of departments, who then When was the hist time you saw use the program daily. This does represent a significant loss of in­ Maytag wringing their hands over come in a context far from that of friendly disk-sharing over the back­ how many washing machine yard fence. sales have been lost due to the While the computer industry may cast itself in the roll of staunch prevalence of laundromats? protector of private property — par­ ticularly its own — it has few mis­ givings about profiting from other kinds of unauthorized copying. The ware store to get my own pair of — of programs is a new wrinkle in burgeoning growth of image digitiz­ these $450 beauties!" the evolution of capitalism. The ers and OCRs (optical character advent of private property at the readers) which allow anyone to cap­ m beginning of capitalism's reign ture the pictures or words of some­ l^m hile most software companies tended to gobble up pre-capitalist one else onto disk, regardless of may howl about the illegality and forms of property such as the village copyright, is one Instance. Commer­ injustice of unauthorized copying of commons or peasant communal cial on-line databases that are acces­ programs — a complaint that is not land, but it still allowed for numer­ sible froqi any modem-equipped entirely without merit —- they are ous grey zones of shared property computer represent another. This simultaneously engaged in an anti- use. Laundromats, taxi companies, immediate access to others' infor­ consumer campaign of guerrilla mass transit, furniture rental firms, mation is the stuff with which recent warfare worthy of the Contras at the and many other enterprises are all dreams of an amazing computerized Nicaraguan border. Computer soft-^ predicated on the assumption that it future have been spun. And it does ware (and hardware) warranties are is both socially valuable and person­ have its allure. among the least protective in the ally profitable to provide access to As our culture increasingly marketplace; in fact, they are mostly products and services that people moves from print to electronic media legal documents designed to disen­ might not be able to afford indivi­ — with computers as central proc­ gage the companies from any but the dually. essing and distribution channels — most minimal responsibilities to all writing, images, coding, or other their customers. When was the last time you saw forms of "information" will begin to The disjunction between the Maytag wringing their hands over shift to a new realm of social owner­ claims of most software advertising how many washing machine sales ship where old concepts of property and the terms of the actual license have been lost due to the prevalence and copyright will be turned inside agreements is almost total. Note the of laundromats? And despite the ap­ out. This trend is inherent in the following verbatim quote from a parent fact that a Hertz car that is technology itself. typical agreement: "Limited War­ rented out to one hundred patrons in ranty: The program is provided "as the course of a year has, in effect, Attempts to enforce the old is" without warranty of any kind. been "copied" a hundred times, there forms of ownership and profit- The entire risk as to the results and have been no overt moves by GM to extraction in the face of this techno­ performance of the program is as­ shut down Hertz. However, firms logical drift entail retooling corpora­ sumed by you. Should the program that rent software are coming under tions into autonomous intelligence prove defective, you (and not [Soft­ increasing fire from software com­ agencies while simultaneously rede­ ware company name] or its dealers) panies whose new model for con­ fining the better human impulses assume the entire cost of all neces­ sumption seems to be "one person such as generosity and sharing to be sary servicing, repair or correction. per commodity." criminal acts. One recently devel­ Further, [company name] does not My observations have led me to oped copy-protection scheme which warrant, guarantee or make any conclude that most unauthorized illustrates this mentality at work representations regarding the use copies of programs are made on the would cause destructive software of, or the results of the use of, the spur of the moment between friends "worms" to be released into one's program in terms of correctness, and more often than not are tried a computer if one tried to make an accuracy, reliability, currentness, few times out of curiosity and put on unauthorized copy of the protected or otherwise; and you rely on the the shelf to gather dust (or simply disk. These worms could pop up program and results solely at your erased altogether). Since this is the unexpectedly at later dates randomly own risk." moral equivalent of taking a friend's destroying other unrelated data and Were most of us to be handed new car out for a spin most people software. Welcome to the era of such a "limited warranty" for any don't think twice about it. Estimates software publisher as sniper! other product or industry we'd con­ of massive software sales losses in Yes, the Shmoo has returned and sider ourselves the victims of a crass such cases are largely specious. is turning Silicon Valley into the practical joke or worse. Yet this is Where software publishers may Valley of the Shmoon, despite the the norm with software companies. have a legitimate gripe is in the prac­ loud protests and desperate schemes In similar fashion, the compa­ tice at some of our biggest corpora­ of the software companies. For, you nies' heated opposition to shared tions of buying one copy of a pro­ see, software is shmooware and it ownership — or just plain sharing gram, such as Lotus 1-2-3, and loves to reproduce. •

100 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 The Tomorrow Makers The River That Flows Uphill Deep robotics, deep shivers. Neurob/o/og/st William Calvin was part of several rafts full of scientists on a boat trip down the Colorado River Fjermedal has done the formidable footwork of staying through the Grand Canyon. Their conversations — relaxed, up countless nights working, scheming and speculating witty, skillfully rendered — teach as much about river raft­ with most of the cutting-edge robot fanatics in the labs at ing. Southwest anthropology, and respect for Nature as Carnegie-Mellon, MIT, Stanford, Thinking Machines Corp., about neurophysiology, biology and evolution. The Grand and on and on — a fine comprehensive sweep. His report Canyon almost forces a broad, long-term point of view: on work in Japan is a scoop and fittingly closes the book, the marks of geological evolution are everywhere. since it proves that some of the wilder speculation he begins with is already stalking about in Japan, like some The concept of the evolutionary ratchet is a common ominous, humorous Transformer toy, just barely still a thread throughout the book: geographic isolation causes plaything. speciation, conserving new traits. Something new and dif­ ferent results. Particularly tasty are the incidental benefits For grasping what technology is rapidly bringing by way of natural selection that survival traits have made possible. of exploding human bodies and minds into new config­ Feathers let birds fly, though the feather's warmth would urations. The Tomorrow Makers blends nicely with Eric have been sufficient to give them an evolutionary edge. Drexler's Engines of Creation (WER #53, p. 83) and my In people, the evolution of the brain (learning sequencing own The Media Lab (p. 81). This stuff is even more in­ operations to hunt and throw, for example) lets us laugh, teresting than gene-splicing, and more thrilling, both make music, and produce complex arguments — of which for promise and menace. For example: serious immor­ this book is a fine example. It's good science, well pre­ tality, soon. —Stewart Brand sented. Most importantly, it illuminates that peculiar func­ • tion of the human brain: to be conscious of consciousness. Will the robots recall that we were their creators? —Matthew McClure And if they do, how much will we be able to trade on this? Will there be a sentimentality about this sense of The River That origin? Initially we could program this in, but later, as Flows Uphill the robots begin propelling their own evolution, will this William H. Calvin be a memory deemed worthy of retention? Will they not 1986; 528 pp. remember who taught them to play, who blessed them with the need to frolic? $12.95 • ($15.95 postpaid) from: Tachi has succeeded with his vision system. It truly gives Sierra Club Store Orders you the feeling that you are inside the robot, looking at 730 Polk Street the world from within its body, not your own. This is pos­ Son Francisco, CA sible because the operator isn't just looking at a television or Whole Earth Access monitor; his head is encased in a black-velvet-lined box. Within this box are two television receivers, one for each Our whole civilization is one of those changes in kind, eye. The receivers are gauged so that the image that is not just the genetic-engineering aspect of it. The dangers reflected against the retina of each eye is exactly the of genetic farming are very much those of our whole same as if you were looking at the world unaided. Fur­ farming and pharmaceutical industries: namely, that we ther, every movement of your head is duplicated on the don't know what will happen down the road as the new robot, where two precisely placed video cameras trans­ pesticides and drugs perturb the system, because our mit a human range of what is seen. culture is still so ignorant of ecology, of how the elements The result of this is that when I went into the laboratory of the environment hang together and buffer one another. and strapped my head inside the black box, it was as if I Unless we somehow limit our pollution and our population were seeing with my own eyes. The depth and scope of growth, the earth may fall apart on us as we ruin one human vision was so completely reproduced, and the carefully-wrought ecosystem after another. color was so clear, that it was at first unsettling and then a wild visual delight. ... "We neurobiologists want to know not only what the Someone in the laboratory went over to the robot- 'brain programs' are, but how the brain machinery op­ mounted cameras and swung them around so that they erates them. The Artificial Intelligence folk figure that if focused on me. The walls spun during the maneuver, and they can postulate a program that seems to do the trick, then when the motion stopped and I was looking at my­ then they can build a hardware computer that will mimic self, the out-of-body experience began. It was as if I the actions of the mind, running the same program using were standing a few feet away in another body looking silicon chips rather than wet and unreliable nerve cells," at myself. I moved my head to look up and down and I replied, pausing for a drink from my canteen. even to look away. And when I looked away from that person who was me, it was as if that body were just "We neurobiologists work up from the bottom much of another passerby. ... the time, trying to fathom the computation processes of the building blocks. We're constantly coping with parallel "Are you here?" Tachi laughed. "Or are you there? processing, a notion which is still novel in Al. I happen Where is your body?" to think that the Al types are missing the boat, by trying to ignore the unreliable nature of the individual cells, the The Tomorrow Makers real brain's computing elements. Instead of trying to Grant Fjermedal work around jittery cells by using reliable pigeonhole 1986; 272 pp. computers, unreliable cells should be seen as the essence of the brain's way of doing things, just as sex's institu­ $18.22 tionalized randomness is the essence of how evolution postpaid from: has done more and more elaborate things. But philo­ Macmillan Publishing Co. sophically, both neurobiologists and the A| folk start Front & Brown Streets from the premise that the mind can be explained, that it Riverside, NJ 08075 isn't beyond understanding. And most of us would assume 800/257-8247 that mind is going to emerge from a lucky combination or Whole Earth Access of more elementary 'dumb' processes."

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 101 WHOLE EARTH HYPERLOG: BEGINNING A COMMUNICATION MEDIUM CALLED STACKWARE NE AFTERNOON IN EARLY WINTER, 1986, we got a phone call from a project evangelist at Apple Computer, Inc. Seems they had an exciting new technology nearly perfected, and would we like to join them in trying it out on the Whole Eartii Catalog? We arranged a meeting, saw what they had, and decided It matched something we had wanted to do for a while. We set up a large design meeting a few weeks later. Present at the brainstorming were Bill Atkinson, HyperCard oStewart Brand, Kathlee n O'Neill (our Bowlmaster, at product's roll-out. graphic designer), Fabrice Florin (video artist who filmed "Hackers"), Alan Kay the kind of serendipitous learning the (Apple Fellow and computer visionary). Whole Earth Catalogs promoted. Hyper­ Bill Atkinson (inventor of MacPaint, the Card was the first computer utility that granddaddy of personal computer graph­ looked like it could handle that. ics programs), the enthusiastic Apple Softwarewlse, HyperCard has two faces. "Multimedia And Beyond" research On one side, It Is a versatile method to gang (Mike Leibhold, Tim Oren, Ted and construct a database that you can navi­ Carol Kahler, Steve Wyre and Andy gate through visually. That makes it Poggio), and myself. The goal of the reasonable to construct large encyclo­ project vi«s modest: to advance 500 pedias of wildly various information, like years of book evolution, and improve an electronic Whole Earth Catalog. On 19 years of Whole Earth Catalog fine the other side, HyperCard holds a sub­ tuning, by using a new kind of software set wonder called HyperTalk. Co-written masterminded by Bill Atkinson, called [rww?W!r?wwPT 7!T?!?WW?fWW? yi;*y;»q7"i;y7;T;t"^;tyffyffffy"y;ffiff?*ffff?ffffff^ WHOLE SYSTEMS

i:l:l:iH:|:i:iH:isisiN:lH::::UUU:n::U:UiU:H::::::::::U:i:::H:Ms:U:^ HyperCard (it was actually named to interesting details, which might them­ by Dan Winkler, HyperTalk Is a brilliant, Wildcard at that time). selves have footnotes which are foot­ almost conversational programming noted, and so on. Any date might bring language that makes creating Macintosh The model for HyperCard is the 3-by-5 you to a fuller account of what else was programs possible for ordinary mortals. The basic card. card. A card is represented by a Macin­ happening then by clicking on It, or a HyperCard, then, provides amateurs the tosh screen. As you flip through screens name might summon a biography. Com­ tools to fiddle under the hood of the (cards), you read them one after mentaries, references, citations could all elegant Macintosh Interface. another, as if they were In a stack. be connected to appear when needed. Cards can hold any kind of information Even so, the brief time we had to grow This vision is called hypermedia. you want, in any format you want. In­ the Catalog on hypermedia demanded cluding pictures. Rather than rest inertly, Hypermedia as theory is not very new, professional expertise. There was no as on a Rolodex, information on a and even as fact has several antecedents one expert on HyperCard; we were the HyperCard can be actively linked to any Including a legendary working version guinea pigs. Half of the project's goal other point on any other card. Those known as Xanadu, hatched by maverick was to measure how well HyperCard linking spots can be a word, a bunch of Ted Nelson (author of Computer Lib/ did on a really large scale. The scope of words, or a picture. When your cursor Literary Machines, an underground com­ the Catalog, and Its natural card-size touches that spot. It brings forth the puter classic In 1974, about to be re­ chunkiness, made It the Ideal trial from card (screen) that It Is linked to. The printed by Microsoft Press). Atkinson's Apple's viewpoint. So Apple funded links form a thread through a "stack" HyperCard genius Is its card metaphor us to tell them what we could learn ^ of cards. You weave through a stack, and Its compression into the visual en­ putting the Whole Earth Catalog into jumping from card to card. Idea to idea, vironment of Everyman's Macintosh. HyperCard. We had one month. We choosing your own path by touching on Like the Swiss Army knife, it's a tool were to demo It at HyperCard's the Items you are Interested in, endlessly with low threshold, high celling — easy premier in Boston, at the huge Mac- discovering new levels, or deliberately to learn, hard to outgrow — a new World Expo. aiming tovrard a desired card. instrument that will muster new applications. Our Compugraphic typesetting files Your HyperCard Rolodex, for Instance, were translated into Macintosh text by might have one card for every Individual. The obvious application to all of us was a local typesetting outfit. The text of You could link their telephone number to try a new kind of book, and a better two thousand Items In the Essential so that it dials the number. You could link kind of catalog, that would reward both Whole Earth Catalog vras reduced to a their address to a small map on another browsing and searching, thus reinforcing fistful of 3'/i" disks. Tim Oren, a crack- card to show how to get to their house. And the map of that town might be linked to several other names as well. You would then have an interactive Rolodex giving you as much Information as you wanted each time. Computer nerds Another vray to Imagine it would be to get art lessons think of a book that had footnotes that from K. O'Neill, appear only when you clicked (touched art director of the the cursor) on a passage you wanted to Learning Disc. know more about. It would carry you

102 WINTER 1987 J: erjack programmer from Apple, devised a topic called "What can you do with a HyperTalk script to cruise along the HyperCard!" text file in the manner of RNA and clip Some of the things I imagine are: off each item as an individual unit, while incredibly complex adventure games, removing the old typesetting codes. Using self-directed classroom courseware, two other jigs he dubbed "Scaffolding" interactive shopping catalogs, pictorial and "The Dismantler" he automated spreadsheets, and ultimate clip-art files. much of the process of dishing out the Enough, anyway, to get going. • Catalog text into cards. HYPERCARD We used a Sony Pro 8 8mm camcorder Skinny Macs, even Fat Macs, won't quite (p. 122) connected to a MacVision box do for this musclebound program. You'll to digitize illustrations from'the items in need a Hunk Mac (a Plus or better) Assembly (on-)line: Hank Roberts, the Catalog. MacVision (Koala Tech­ with at least I meg RAM to run things Pat Oren, Tim Oren, computing. nologies, 269 Mount Herman Rd., smoothly Very best is a setup with a With no margin Scotts Valley, CA 95066; 408/438-0946) hard disc. There are two official sources for error, any flak The conclusion will be a massive converts a video scan into MacPaint for HyperCard. It's bundled free with all floppy disks were databank that will fit onto a plastic files. Once in MacPaint format, they were new Macintoshes, or it can be bought for pinned to the CD-ROM — a compact disk that will pasted into "cards" by a small team of $49 from a local Apple dealer. Floppy Graveyard commune with your Macintosh. It'll be rapidly experienced cardpasters. -Kevin Kelly released when there is hardware to run Music and sounds are one way the it (there's none yet). At this point we're Whole Earth hyperlog is better than the calling it the Whole Earth Learning Disc. paper Catalog. In our reviews of music- It will be a periodical of sorts, thriving by-mail catalogs we include pictures of on a circuit of feedback and suggestions albums they carry. Click on the cover from users. I imagine that some of this and a ten-second sample of music erupts traffic will come via The WELL's tele­ out of the Macintosh. (The built-in Mac conferencing system (415/332-4335 speaker is so-so, but if you plug a larger for info). external speaker in the back, you'll get fair sound.) In the field guide reviews we HyperCard will be a medium of com­ excerpt samples from Peterson's guide munication. Within a week after it was to birds and bird songs. Click on Peter­ introduced. The WELL had a raging son's drawing of a Mountain Chickadee conference on the topic. A prime func­ and you'll hear its call. Compare that to tion there is the Stackware Exchange, the similar-sounding and -looking Black- where user-written stacks of cards are Capped Chickadee? Okay, do it again. swapped, showcased, and improved upon. Early stackware will have some of Bird songs, music, and book readings the untamed innovation that early were recorded on tape cassettes. A BASIC computer programs had. The software/hardware duet called Soundcap WELL confronts the possibilities with (software) and MacNifty (hardware) captured the playback from a tape deck The Complete and deposited the sound into a Hyper­ THE COMPLETE HyperCard Handbook Card stack. (Sound eats up bytes. You HYPERCARD HANDBOOK Danny Goodman can only fit about one minute's worth Some software programs have all 1987; 695 pp. of sound onto a Macintosh i'A" floppy.) the luck. On the day HyperCard was $29.95 The music and Kathleen O'Neill's soft released, an equally groundbreaking art design sense provide a richness to its guidebook to it was published in tandem. ($31.45 postpaid) from: operation that makes it almost feel like Like HyperCard itself, it is thorough and Bantam Books it's NOT on a computer. deep. It's a massive, hefty tome of 700 414 E. Golf Road pages, completely fluff-free. DesPlaines, IL 60016 It was a hit at the MacWorld show, eliciting brief but prominent mentions in It exhaustively treats the mechanics of What the Author Sees the major papers and trade journals making cards; assembling them into (Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times, Mac- "stackware;" creating links; and writing World, Infoworld). Much credit goes to instructions in HyperTalk. Even if you others I haven't mentioned yet. Keith don't usually use paint programs, you'll Jordan, Whole Earth's circulation direc­ find yourself creating graphics in Hyper­ tor, was exactly the organized personality Card regularly. The paint options are we needed to keep all the linked parts therefore covered in depth. As we from becoming a mess of spaghetti. worked on the Whole Earth Learning Chief Stackmaster Hank Roberts (usually Disc we picked up a number of tips from the Handbook we hadn't known proofreader on the magazine) made a What the Browser Sees religion of backing up everything twice, about. Not a reference book per se, the Handbook does its best job illustrating always to our benefit. David Burner, grams which stick with me if I don't the conceptual innovations introduced Elaine Richards, Robin Ramsey, and Pat ever open the manual. But HyperCard, by HyperCard. Notions like "stackware" Oren became the world's first card- with its tools-for-making-tools structure, (stacks of cards that are exchanged), pasters. Other staff pitched in on the is simply one Macintosh program that "buttons" (linking hot spots), and "back­ laborious process of digitizing photos: you won't be able to unfold fully with­ grounds" (the layers of information on Don Ryan, Dick Fugett, James Donnelly. out a supplemental help book. For the a card) are all illuminated into clarity. By the day of the demo we had re-created immediate future, this is the book about one-fifth of the old Catalog, some I prinnarily use those Hacintosh pro- to get. —KK several thousand completed cards.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 103 BETTERED BY THE BORROWER

T"E ETHICS ^^ MUSICAL QEB^

USICAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCE sounds. Composers pro­ duce music. Musical instruments reproduce music. Tape record­ BY JOHN OSWALD ers, radios, disc players, etc., reproduce sound. A device such Mas a wind-up music box produces sound and reproduces music. A phonograph in the hands of a "hip hop/scratch" artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, pro­ duces sounds which are unique and not reproduced — the record player be­ comes a musical instrument. When tape recorders, basically designed for documentation and reproduction, became available in the '40s, a few indivi­

These notes were delivered as at] address dualsbe­ , like Pierre Schaeffer in France, began transforming the recordings, dis­ fore the Wired Society, art electronic musi­torting them into something new; producing music through them as if the cians'convention in Toronto, February 1986.tap e recorders were magnetic violins. Even earlier, composer John Cage v«s They were also printed in the journal Music- specifying the use of radios and phonographs as musical instruments. works (1087 Queen Street W., Toronto, On­ tario M6] IH3) as "Plunderphonics." Com­ muting between Toronto and Los Angeles, Quite often the sounds found emanating from phonographic and radio musi­ John Oswald directs the Mystery Laboratory,ca l instruments have some prior ownership. These previous creators (includ­ a music exploratorium and sound studio thatin g those who give credit to a divine source) have copyright: a charter of is currently undertaliing research in robotic control over the commercial and moral implications of reproduction. But some musicians, alien music, invisible instrument metaphors, and an atlas of quiet places. Eachsource s continue to maintain a "finders-keepers" ethic. of these Inquiries presses the question Oswald asks here: "What part of rhusic is created by humans, and what part by the THE RIGHT OF COPY Instrument?" In 1976, ninety-nine years after Edison went into the record business, the U.S. Copyright Act vi«s revised to protect sound recordings for the first time. Before this, only written music was considered eligible for protection. Forms • A record of "plunderphonics" — l>latantlyo bor­f music that were not intelligible to the human eye were deemed ineligible. rowed music and sounds — will be available soon. For more information, contact the author atTh Boxe traditiona l attitude was that recordings were not artistic creations, but 727, Stotiofi P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Zi. "mere uses or applications of creative works in the form of physical objects."

104 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 equivalent to literature's quotation marks. Jazz musicians do not wiggle two fingers of each hand in the air, as lecturers sometimes do, when cross- referencing during their extemporizations.

For instance, Charlesjves' Symphony No. 3 was publish­ unauthorized Mickey mice by taping TV broadcasts on ed and copyrighted in 1947 by Arrow Music Press Inc. That videocassette. the copyright was assigned to the publisher instead of the The dubbing-in-the-privacy-of-your-own-home controver­ composer was the result of Ives' disdain for copyright in sy is actually the tip of a hot iceberg of rudimentary relation to his own work, and his desire to have his music creativity. After decades of being the passive recipients distributed as widely as possible. He at first self-published of music in packages, listeners now have the means to and distributed volumes of his music free of charge. In the assenable their own choices, to separate pleasures from postscripts of 114 Songs he refers to the possessor as the filler. They are dubbing a variety of sounds from around the gentle borrower. the world, or at least from the breadth of their record Later in his life Ives did allow for commercial publication, collections, making compilations of a diversity unavailable but always assigned royalties to other composers. from the music industry, with its circumscribed policy of only supplying the common denominator Ives admired the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson who, in his essay "Quotation and Originality," said. What you Former Beatle George Harrison was found guilty of an owe to me — you will vary the phrase — but I shall still indiscretion in choosing a vaguely familiar sequence of pit­ recognize my thought. But what you say from the same idea, ches. He was nailed in court for subconsciously plagiariz­ will have to me also ti)e expected unexpectedness which be­ing the 1962 tune "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons in his longs to every new work of Nature. song "My Sweet Lord" (1970). The real headache for the writers of copyright has been Yet the Beatles are an interesting case of reciprocity be­ the new electronic contrivances, including digital samplers tween fair use and the amassing of possession and wealth. of sound and their accountant cousins, computers. The "We were the biggest nicliers in town. Plagiarists extraor­ electronic brain business is cultivating, by grace of its rela­ dinaire," sa.ys Paul McCartney (Musician, Feb. '85 p. 62). tive youth, pioneering creativity and a corresponding con­ He owns one of the world's most extensive song catalogs, niving ingenuity, "the intimate cultural secretions of elec­ including a couple of state anthems. John Lennon incor­ tronic, biological, and written communicative media.'" porated collage techniques into pieces like "Revolution #9" which contains dozens of looped unauthorized fragments "BLANK TAPE IS DERIVATIVE, taped from radio and television broadcasts. NOTHIKG OF ITSELF'"

While the popular intrigue of computer theft has inspired THE COMMERCE OF NOISE cinematic and paperback thrillers, the robbery of music is restricted to elementary poaching and blundering Inno­ The precarious commodity in music today is no longer cence. The plots are trivial. The Disney cable channel ac­ the tune. A fan can recognize a hit from a ten-millisecond cuses Sony of conspiring with consumers to let them make burst. One studio-spawned mass-market recording firm called the Art of Noise strings atonal'arrays of timbres 1. This is Chris Cutler's poignant phrase, from File Under Popularalon g an alv/ays inevitable beat -- the melody is often (November Bool

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 9496S 105 the music — the rhythmatists, timbralists and mixologists under various monikers — have rarely been given com­ positional credit. I found this comment on PAN, a musicians' computer net­ work bulletin board, during a forum in January '86: "Various DX7 programmers have told me that they 'bury' useless data in their sounds so that they can prove owner­ ship later Sometimes the data is obvious, like weird key­ board scalings on inaudible operators, and sometimes it's not, like the nonsense characters (I seem to recall some­ one once thought they were Kanji) in a program name. Of course, any pirate worth his salt would find all these things and change them . . . Synth programmers are skill­ ed craftspeople, just like violin makers, so if they go to the trouble of making new and wonderful sounds that other people can use, they should be compensated for their efforts. Unfortunately it's not as easy as just selling the damn violin."

THE CROSS-REFERENCING BUJES

Musical language has an extensive repertoire of punctua­ tion devices but nothing equivalent to literature's " " quotation marks. Jazz musicians do not wiggle two fingers of each hand in the air, as lecturers sometimes do, when cross-referencing during their extemporizations, as on most instruments this would present some technical dif­ ficulties.

Without a quotation system, well-intended correspon­ dences cannot be distinguished from plagiarism and fraud. But anyway, the quoting of notes is but a small and not I expect that before long we'll have marketable expert significant portion of common appropriation. tune-writing software which will be able to generate the Am I undercstim?'!";' "•^•P "III;" '^f ••n'^i'-:d" •vri*.' banalities of catchy permutations of the diatonic scale in endless arrays of tuneable tunes, from which a not- necessarily-affluent songwriter can choose; with perhaps Within an environmentally a built-in checking lexicon of used-up tunes which would imposed limited repertoire advise Beade George not to make the same blunder again. of possessions a portable In his speculative story Melancholy Elephants', Spider Rob­ inson writes about the pros and cons of rigorous copy­ disco may have a folk music right. The setting is half a century from now. The story centers on one person's opposition to a bill which would potential exceeding that extend copyright to perpetuity. In Robinson's future, composition is already difficult, as most works are being of the guitar. deemed derivative by the copyright office. The Harrison case is cited as an important precedent.

"Artists have been deluding themselves for centuries vv/th the notion that they create. In fact they do noMng of the sort. They discover Inherent in the nature of reality are a number of combinations of musical tones that will be perceived as pleasing by a human central nervous system. For millennia we have been discovering tiiem, implicit in the universe — and telling ourselves that we 'created' them."

HANDS-ON LISTENING

Sounding utensils, from the erh-hu to the Emulator, have traditionally provided such a potential for varied expres­ ^.i*<^ v'/?,^r sion that they have not in themselves been considered

3. From Melancholy Elephants by Spider Robinson (Penguin Books, ^" — 1984).

106 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER i98? STARTING FROM SCRATCH

As a listener my own preference is the option to exper­ iment. My listening system has a mixer instead of the one-choice-only function of a receiver; an infinitely var­ iable-speed turntable, filters, reverse capability, and a pair of ears. An active listener might speed up a piece of music in or­ der to more clearly perceive its macrostructure, or slow it down to hear articulation and detail more precisely. One might trace "the motifs of the Indian raga Darbar over Senegalese drumming recorded in Paris and a back­ ground mosaic of frozen moments from an exotic Holly­ wood orchestrjition of the 1950s, a sonic texture like a 'Mona Lisa' which, in close-up, reveals itself to be made up of tiny reproductions of the Taj Mahal.''" During World War II concurrent with Cage's re-establish­ ing the percussive status of the piano, Trinidadians v/ere discovering that discarded oil barrels could be cheap, available alternatives to their traditional percussion instru­ ments which were, because of the socially invigorating potential, banned. The steel drum eventually became a national asset. Meanwhile, back in the States, scratch and dub have, in the eighties, percolated through the black American ghettoes, for perhaps similar reasons. Within an environmentally imposed limited repertoire of posses­ sions a portable disco may have a folk music potential exceeding that of the guitar. Pawned and ripped-off elec­ tronics are usually not accompanied by users' guides with consumer warnings like "this blaster is a passive repro­ musical manifestations. This is contrary to the great pop­ ducer." Any performance potential found in an appliance ularity of generic instrumental music ("The Many Moods is often exploited. of 101 Strings," "Piano for Lovers," "The Trucker's DX- 7," etc.), not to mention instruments which play them­ Referring to DJ Francis Grosso at the Salvation Club in selves, the most pervasive example in recent years being New York in the mid-seventies, Albert Goldman writes preprogrammed rhythm boxes. Such devices, as found in in Disco that "Grosso invented the technique of 'slip- lounge acts and organ consoles, are direct kin to the juke cueing: ' holding the disc with his thumb whilst the turn­ box: push a button and out comes music. J.S. Bach pointed table whirled beneath, insulated by a felt pad. He'd locate out that with any instrument "all one has to do is hit the with an earphone the best spot to make the splice then right notes at the right time and the thing plays itself." release the next side precisely on the beat. ... His tour The distinction between sound producers and sound re­ de force v«s playing two records simultaneously for as producers is easily blurred, and has been a conceivable long as two minutes at a stretch. He would super the area of musical pursuit at least since John Cage's use of drum break of 'l.'m a Man' over the orgasmic moans of radios in the Forties. Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' to make a powerfully erotic mix . . . that anticipated the formula of bass drum Just as sound producing and sound reproducing technolo­ beats and love cries . . . now one of the cliches of the gy become more interactive, listeners are once again, if disco mix." not invited, nonetheless encroaching upon creative ter­ Thus the sound of music conveyed with a new authority ritory. This prerogative has been largely forgotten in re­ over the airv/aves is dubbed, embellished and manipulated cent decades: gone are the days of Mvely renditions on in kind. the parlor piano. Computers can take the expertise out of amateur music- AURAL WILDERNESS making. A current mus/c-minus-one program retards tempos and searches for the most ubiquitous chords to support The reuse of existing recorded materials is not restricted the vranderings of a novice player. Some audio equipment to the street and the esoteric. The single guitar chord geared for the consumer inadvertently offers interactive occurring infrequently on Herbie Hancock's hit arrange- possibilities. But manufacturers have discouraged compati­ bility between their amateur and pro equipment. Passivity 4. Quoted from Jon Hassel's essay "Magic Realism," this passage is still the dominant demographic. Thus the atrophied refers in an evocative way to some appropriations and transforma­ microphone inputs which have now all but disappeared tions in Hassel's recordings. In some cases this type of use obscures the identity of the original and at other times the sources are re­ from premium stereo cassette decks. cognizable.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 17 ..•.-..'.•,; 'Rocket" was not radically influenced our struck by an in-studio union perception of Jim's piece. guitarist but was sampled Fair use and fair dealing are directly from an old Led Zep­ respectively the American pelin record. Similarly, Mich­ and the Canadian terms for ael Jackson unwittingly turns instances in which appropri­ up on Hancock's follow-up ation without permission clone "Hard Rock." Now might. be considered legal. that keyboardists are getting Quoting extracts of music instruments with the button for pedagogical, illustrative for this appropriation built and critical purposes has been In, they're going to push it, upheld as legal fair use. So easier than reconstructing has borrowing for the pur­ the Ideal sound from oscilla­ pose of parody. Fair dealing tion one. These players are assumes use which does not used to fingertip replication, Interfere with the economic as in the case of the organ viability of the initial work. that had the titles of the songs from which the timbres In addition to economic were derived printed on the rights, an artist can claim cer­ stops'. tain moral rights to a work. Elvis' estate can claim the Charles Ives composed in an same rights, including the era In which much of music right to privacy, and the right existed in the public domain. to protection of "the special Public domain is now legally significance of sounds peculiar defined, although it maintains to a particular artist, the uni­ a distance from the present which varies from country queness of which might be harmed by inferior unauthor­ to country. In order to follow Ives' model we would be ized recordings which might tend to confuse the public restricted to using the same oldies which in his time were about an artist's abilities." current. Nonetheless, music in the public domain can My observation is that Tenney's "Blue Suede" fulfills Mil­ become very popular, perhaps in part because, as This ton's stipulation; is supported by Stravinsky's aphorism; Business of Music' puts it, "The public domain is like a and dees not contravene Elvis' morality. vast national park without a guard to stop wanton loot­ ing, without a guide for the lost traveler, and in fact, HiTTSNG BACK THE PARADE without clearly defined roads or even borders to stop the helpless visitor from being sued for trespass by private The property metaphor used to illustrate an artist's rights abutting owners." is difficult to pursue through publication and mass dissemi­ nation. The Hit Parade publicly promenades the aural floats Professional developers of the musical landscape know of pop. As curious tourists, should we not be able to take and lobby for the loopholes in copyright. On the other our own snapshots ("tiny reproductions of the Taj Mahal") hand, many artistic endeavors would benefit creatively rather than be restricted to the official souvenir postcards from a state of music without fences, but where, as in and programs? scholarship, acknowledgement is insisted upon. All popular music is (as is all folk music by definition) es­ THE MEDIUM !S MAGNETIC sentially, if not legally, existing in a public domain. Listen­ ing to pop music isn't a matter of choice. Asked-for or Piracy or plagiarism of a work occur, according to Milton, not, we're bombarded by it. In its most insidious state, "if it is not bettered by the borrower." Stravinsky added filtered to an incessant bassline, it seeps through apart­ the right of possession to Milton's distinction when, he said, ment walls and out of the heads of Wo/kpeop/e. Although "A good composer does not Imitate; he steals." An ex­ people in general are making more noise than ever before, ample of this better borrowing is Jim Tenney's "Collage fewer people are making more of the total noise; specific­ I" (1961) in which Elvis Presley's hit record "Blue Suede ally, in music, those with megawatt PAs, triple-platinum Shoes" (itself borrowed from Carl Perkins) is transform­ sales, and heavy rotation. Difficult to ignore, pointlessly ed by means of multi-speed tape recorders and razorblade. redundant to imitate: how does one not become a pas­ Tenney took an everyday music and allowed us to hear it sive recipient? differently. At the same time, all that was inherently Elvis As oceanographer Bob Ballard of the Deep Emergence Laboratory described their plan to apprehend the Titanic 5.1 have been unable to relocate the reference to this device which once it had been located at the bottom of the Atlantic, had, for example, a "96 Tears" stop. According to one source it may have been only a one-off mockup in ads for the Roland Juno "You pound the hell out of it with every imaging system 60 synthesizer you have." • 6. This Business of Music, Sidney Schemel and William Krasilovsky (5th ed. I98S; Watson-Guptill, New York). • See also "Down By Law" by Robert Christgau, Village Voice, 3/25/86.

108 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Digital Samplers One of the most astonishing musical innovations in decades is the digital sampler. A sampler records any sound — say, a clang of pots, or a cough, or a guitar strum on ah old 78 — and lets you play that sound across a keyboard in several octaves. You probably wouldn't want to, but it's possible to play Bach on the cough. Yqu can tweak the sound in the usual ways synthesizers do, by adding harmonics, distorting frequencies, until it's hardly recog­ nizable. Anything — streetcars, insects, the whish of wind — con become on instrument, so that, in a sense, one con now play the whole Earth. What's the best way to get into the fray? The cheapest route is the Casio SK-1 for $99. It has an adequate built- in microphone and tape input terminal. You can walk around the house recording found sounds, or tape stuff off TV commercials. It'll capture a second and a half's worth of noise at about AM-radio quality. Then you play the miniature keys up and down across two and a half oc­ taves, and it squeaks out the "notes" through built-in speakers. m\m\\%\%\\%^ A more serious model like the Casio FZ-I (about $1,800) will digitize and store up to 64 sounds on a built-in 3'A" floppy disk, and play them back over five octaves on a full-scale keyboard. Sound segments up to 14 seconds long can be captured. Most importantly, it sends the signals out in MIDI standard, which allows the sound to be reproduced by any piece of professional electronic recording or music-processing instrument. Affordable music samplers like these are dismantling the boundaries of sound. —Kevin Kelly [Suggested by Richard Kadrey] Casio Samplars are available from authorized dealers in most megalopoli. Check your Yellow Pages. • The FZ-1 features an 8-stage Loop function which allows THUNCATE j 1 TrtUNCATE START END the insertion of up to 8 loops in the sampled sound. These 1 LOOP 4 ' loops can be inserted at any point in the sampled sound's |AH« B B •• [ rrF .IT G F G r 0 ... 1 waveform, using loop "Start" and "End" parameters. LE. .1.; ,;.. 1 1' .|E F E F E p 1

In addition, a Cross Fade Time parameter allows smooth CROSS FADE TIME transition from the end of one section into the beginning LEVEL of another. Trace and Skip parameters allow tracing -•••'' of one specified loop pattern or skipping to the next LOOP' 1 .___- LOOP LOOP LOC START )P LOOP LOOP specified loop. . . . START END-START END-S TART END^STA IT END-START

Computers & Music Comments This system is awesome compared to what was available SOFTWARE SWALLOWS MUSIC, read all about it! fallow in our last issue. The CZ and FB give you 16 Multi-timbral the action in this homespun newsletter from a musician voices and they both sound great. The CZ keyboard has crazy about homespun music on personal computers. velocity and ortertouch to send to the FB and the Roland Use it to keep up in a field that is accelerating faster TR505 has both straight and Latin percussion. You have every second. —Kevin Kelly about 100 bucks left over to buy cables with. . . . [Suggested by Ramon Sender Barayon] The Computers System a Price: $5,000 & Music Macintosh 512k w/Ext Drive Quarterly Report Performer • Joe West, Editor Austin Development interface ' $20/ye ar Oberheim Matrix 6 synthesizer • (four issues) from: Yamaha TX-7 module Computers & Music Roland JX8 module 1989 Junipero Serra Blvd. Yamaha FB-01 module Daly City, CA 94014 Roland TR707 or Yamaha RX-11 drum machine Casio TB-1 MIDI thru box # Sysfem I Price: $3,000 Comfnents IBM Clone w/640k 2 disk drives This is closer to $5500 but I couldn't help myself. This Voyetro OP-4001 interface was designed for composition, but could be used quite Sequencer Plus effectively in a performance environment also. The whole Casio CZ-1 synthesizer system was selected for the ability to take core of just Yamaha FB-01 module about all sonic requirements. You could score most Roland TR505 drum machine movies with this system easily.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 109 CASSETTE CULTURE

by Jon Pareles Electronic music, acoustic music, industrial noise, poetry, audio plays, religious and political propaganda, found sounds, and strange unclassifiable combinations of f/ie ECORDED music is thriv- obove: it's all hearable by mail order on Ing outside the record independently produced cassettes. especially the advent of inexpen­ R business. The best survey we found on this cassette sive multitrack recorders, has made underground came from John Pareles, A new underground of musicians it possible to turn a bedroom or a writer for the not-so-underground New is composing, performing and kitchen into a studio for less than York Times. We reprint it here. But for the releasing its music on cassettes, $1,000. And unlike LPs, which are story on ordering tapes, we went to insider trading and selling them in a loose economical only when pressed in David Ciaffardini, editor of the indepen­ dent music magazine Sound Choice. network that extends across North quantity, cassettes can be dupli­ America and from Australia to cated on home equipment, one Here come the sounds. —Jeanne Carstensen Yugoslavia. The artistic freedom, at a time. low,cost, privacy and spontaneity of cassette recording have encour­ "Cassette recording is a venue aged thousands of performers to that has never existed before," bypass the music business and do said Robin James, who plays cas­ it themselves. settes on KAOS-FM in Olympia, WA, and is working on a book called The Cassette Mythos. "With a homemade cassette, you can get your work heard on interna­ tional radio and be a citizen of the world." In the mainstream music business, a homemade cassette is generally regarded as a rough draft, an trade for audition tape or a demo tape. But cassettes from others, so many musicians have begun to that no money changes hands. treat the home-recorded cassette Others, as Calvin Johnson of K as a finished product. Cassettes in Olympia, WA, put it, "eke out a vague living" by sell­ Some musicians "The stuff that we put out as ing cassettes and performing live. have used cassette- cassettes is all the same quality only releases as a stepping stone that I'd put on a record, abso­ "It is a huge subculture, and one toward making albums; such groups lutely," said the creative director that makes a lot of noise," said OS the Psyciones, who run their of Endemic Music in Denver, Bob the executive editor of the Los An­ own Ladd-Frith cassette label, Drake of the band Thinking Plague. geles-based Option, Scott Becker, established strong reputations in "Instead of saving up our money whose publication reviews about the cassette underground before to make one record, we decided 60 cassette-only releases in each signing with independent record to put out a catalog of all this issue. "Here at the office, we have labels. music on casse.ttes." Cassette a closet overflowing with cassettes, sales may number only in the hun­ To many others, working outside and we get 50 to 75 more every dreds, but the musicians can reach established categories, cassettes month, from all over." a potential audience — through are a medium unto themselves, radio programs, cassette compila­ lovingly pockaged and sold to The cassette underground even tions and tape copying — in the active cassette collectors who has stars of a sort, among them tens of thousands. might be as far away as Belgium the California composer Minoy, the guitarist Eugene Chadbourne or Japan, two hotbeds of home For these musicians, cassettes are (who also makes occasional al­ recording. Cassette-only releases virtually art for art's sake — a non­ bums), a British pop band called range from rock bands recorded commercial, small-scale enterprise the cleaners from Venus, and the live to sonic snapshots to archival closer in spirit to small-press generally acknowledged father of recordings to what devotees call poetry or experimental filmmaking the home-recording underground, "ambient-industrial" music. than to the mainstream entertain­ R. Stevie Moore of Montclair, NJ. ment business. Many cassette Affordable recording technology. makers offer their own music in "A few artists are really putting Copyright © 1987 by The New York Times Company Reprinted by permission. out consistently creative stuff,"

110 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Mr. Becker said. "These are people for the big recording companies who are pursuing a vision and to tap them on the shoulder and doing it within a structure that's give them the right to communi­ very kind to them. They never cate with the rest of the world. have to listen to people saying, Doing this, you're not going to 'No,' or 'We can't afford it,' or get 10 million people to hear you 'Don't call us, we'll call you.' All — but you can do what you wont." they have to do is make music and Mr. McGee said he had a collec­ put it on tape." tion of cassettes by 1,300 other performers. "This is a true cottage industry," The cassette form, which can hold said Hal McGee, whose Indiana­ up to 90 minutes of music without polis-based company. Cause & sacrificing sound quality, encour­ from quirky pop Effect, has a mail-order catalog of ages some performers to write songs to noise collages. 65 tapes, 35 of them by Mr. McGee longer pieces than would fit on an or his partner, Debbie Jaffe. "I'm not just putting out cassettes album. And its portability has becouse they're cheaper, or be­ made it a medium for interna­ "I record on a cassette and copy cause American record companies tional collaborations by mail. Al on cassettes — the whole means are ignoring me," Mr. Moore said. Margolis, who runs Sound of Pig of production stays in my hands," "My cassettes are a diary of sound, Music, reported thot he col­ he said. "And I have reason to a very personal kind of thing; this laborated on one cassette with believe there are thousands and is what I do, writing songs and musicians from Germany, Japan thousands of other people doing building soundscapes. It's almost and Spain. it, too. They're not a kind of sickness. You know, I just waiting around Dedicated cassette musicians tend did a whole instrumental album to be more prolific thon those who yesterday, on a whim. How else make albums. "Where a major could an unknown have 180 label or record artist will come out releases in print?" with at most a couple albums a "There are so many interesting year," Mr. Margolis said, "there musicians and poets and artists out are cassette artists who will come there who just aren't interested in up with six 60-minute tapes a year, the mainstream," said Don Cam- and they're trying to do some­ pau, whose "No Pigeonholes" thing different on each one." radio program on KKUP in Cuper­ Mr. Minoy has released more than tino, CA, features home-recorded 50 cassettes of his electronic music, cassettes. "I'rn trying to give them while Mr. Moore has a catalog of exposure. It's all about fun — and 180 homemade tapes, everything a little bit of art, too." •

CASSETTE ACTIVISM by David Ciaffardini

APPING into the cassette ploring the many tunnels of the scene requires activism. cassette network. All of the names T You'll have to write letters below will lead to addresses of PUBLICATIONS if nothing else. Try to explain your other important cassette-culture Anti-lsololion (c/o Xexoxiai Editions, 1341 interests or at least where you ob­ participants. It will be up to you to Williamson Street, Madison, Wl 53703). tained their contact address and sift through them to track down Mail art and cassette culture embrace request more information about the particular aspects of cassette warmly in this high-spirited quarterly networking primer guided by the love- what they have to offer. Although culture you are most interested in. it-and-live-it dynamic duo of Liz Was some cassette artists will barter for Send a letter and SASE to every and Miekel And. their work, don't expect to get any­ address below and the next month CoMelte Mythot Audio Olg««l (P. O. Box thing for free. Include a stamped, js bound to bring some very inter­ 2391, Olympia, WA 98507). Robin James self-addressed envelope or an in­ esting mail — and that will be guides this international cassette network­ ternational reply coupon if nothing just the beginning ing project, which will eventually produce else. And be patient. Most of these an encyclopedic book on cassette culture called Cau«tt« Mylhos. In the meantime, people work for the love of it and there is the Audio DIgoil, an irregularly don't hove legions of office help published postal handshake welcoming to answer the mail. But when you your further involvement with the book do get your reply, it is liable to and many other aspects of the cassette be thoughtful and personal. lifestyle, networking and progressive, peace-loving uses for the cassette. Because the cassette scene is so CLEM (c/o Alex Douglas, P. O. Box 86010, individualized and multifoceted, it North Vancouver, BC Canada V7L 4J5). would be impossible to list every CLEM stands for Contact List of Electronic source for independent cassettes. Musicians, and these days that leaves a lot of room for lots of eclectism. This is In compiling the following contact updated semiannually or so and is always list, I picked contacts that offer thick with enthusiastic commentary and good starting places to begin ex­ contact addresses. ^

SAUSALITO, CA 94965 I #- x^^

Funhouie (c/o Lang Thompson, 2111 Uni­ NETWORKING-ORIENTED CASSETTE versity Blvd. Easf/apt. 33, Tuscaloosa, AL LABELS AND INDIVIDUALS 35404). A list of names and addresses Sound of Pig (c/o Al Margolls, 28 Belling- that will lead you to a brotherhood of ham Lane, Great Neck, NY 11023), basement-taping musicians who are en­ Possibly the most prolific cossette label in gaging in most of the activities described the world, SOP releases approximately in the accompanying article. one new cassette a week from musicians Udderaound* (c/o Richard Franecki, P. O. throughout the world exploring the ex­ Box 27421, Milwaukee, Wl 53227). In­ treme reaches of musicality. Nothing spired by Lang Thompson's Funhoute, this fancy but done in the networking spirit is another straightforward networking list and made available from two to four introducing the names, addresses and dollars each. The Subeiacktrick Institute (475 21st Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121). Unusual songs current projects of various audio-artists. Ladd-Frlth (P. O. Box 967, Eureka, CA and musical approaches from several Muslcworks (c/o Music Gallery, 1087 95502). A small, energetic label, nearly a groups and individuals. Queen St. West, Toronto, Canada M6J vanity press for the various projects of 1H3). Subtitled Th» Canadian Journal o< musicians Brian Ladd and Julie Frith. But Tellu* (c/o the Hon^est Works, 596 Broad­ Sound Exploration, it lives up to its title as they branch out by offering nicely pack­ way #609, New York, NY 10012). Each a serious, polished but adventurous tri- aged, powerful and edgy electronic- bimonthly Tellus cassette covers a par­ annual magazine available with a cassette oriented compilations and releases from ticular audio theme — ranging from the of audio examples of the sounds dis­ others around Tango, to Radio, to Power Electronics — cussed in print. the world mode up of submissions from a variety of contemporary new-music artists. Don't let Option (P. O. Box 491034, Los Angeles, the slick packaging fool you — always lots CA 90049). The most mainstream of the of adventure inside. publications here. Option is published bimonthly and seems to be getting far­ Greg Taylor (602 Russel Street, Madison, ther away from cassette coverage as Wl 53704; 608/246-9621). Gt«g is a they learn that cassette artists don't do talented musician and composer, very much advertising. Nevertheless a lengthy experienced and open-minded about the cassette column remains, reviewing the cassette scene, who loves sharing his first­ more traditionally packaged independent hand knowledge to help people get ac­ cassettes. tively involved. He welcomes your call. Sound Cholea {P. O. Box 1251, Ojai, CA Radio Art Foundation (Alexander Boers- 93023). My own quarterly publication, it straot 30, Amsterdam, Holland; telephone offers by default the most comprehensive [0]20 792 620). This is a great source coverage of cassette art activities, but for some of those mind-bending radio it is by no means all-inclusive. ploys as well as many other avant-garde approaches to the cassette. Offers very inspiring, thought- and action-oriented newsletters. •

Cheapest Synthesizers

The standing rule of thumb in electronic music is that hav­ ing many really cheap synthesizers is better than having a single expensive one. Richness and diversity in sound comes by the different ways in which each synthesizer computes a signal. Yamaha uses FM (as in the radio broadcast) for its synthesizing function. Casio uses a choppy digital process. Others use an "additive" algo­ rithm. Take a multitude of sources, blend them together, and you'll get sound textured in the way real-life sounds are — impure, uneven, rich. Combining sound generators, there's no reason to have a keyboard on each, so the cheapest synthesizer module doesn't. It is the Yamaha FB-OI (about $350), roughly the size of a hardback book. Some music stores that cater to electronic musicians have these keyboardless units stacked on the floor. Composers walk out with three or four of them. Each one they add is another layer of grain in their music fabric. To use them you'll need at least one synth with a key­ board and the usual MIDI paraphernalia. The by-now- old standard at the low end is the Casio CZ-101 for around $300. It has a mini-keyboard which feels cramped, but you can link it to a hi-fi tape deck and revel in a variety of built-in sounds. If touch sensitivity is important (the harder you hit the keys the louder the sound is) you'll have to get a velocity-sensitive keyboard. Currently the Casio CZ-1 ($600) is a good choice. The next step up from that is a used Yamaha DX-7 (about $T,000), the music industry workhorse. An alternative option for a professional tool is to combine the CZ-1 with the nifty FB-01 box. You get two flavors of sound generation (FM and digital) for better variety. —Kevin Kelly and Ramon Sender Barayon

Cheap Synths: Yamaha and Casio dealers are so numer­ ous as to be almost unavoidable. Prices are approximate. •^jf^^'^f^i^ei^^vyr^if^-

Portable Studio The heart of home recording is an inexpen­ sive editing setup. There is an increasing number of mixers for sale that are based on cassettes. Fostex has a popular one called a "portastudio." I recommend another brand, the TEAC roscom Porto One for $450 (street price; $549 list). It's easy for a beginner to use. You can record 4-tracks onto one nor­ mal cassette tape. By carefully sweeping three tracks onto one, you can get a poor man's 7-track mix in only two generations. Perfect for adding orchestration to a one- person band. All micro-multitrack equipment is more awkward to operate than the large pro machines, but, hey, you can do it all with cassettes. —Ramon Sender Barayon [Suggested by Ethan Gold]

Toscam Porta Ono: Information free from TEAC, 7733 Telegraph Road, Montebello, CA 90640; 213/726-0303.

Composer • Performer Wouldn't it be lovely to noodle around on a keyboard and, when you had a little tune you liked, capture it into a musical score which could be altered or printed out? Or maybe do if the other way around. Noodle around with notes on a score, and then have it played out in sound, perhaps with a full choir of instruments? Two software pieces, working in tandem, make this a home ;ob. Composer lets you write out a score, mod­ ify it, store it, and print it out via your Mac­ intosh. You can also "monitor" a piece you composed through the Mac's dinky speak­ er, which plays a simplified version of the melody. Performer lets you capture the digital foot­ print of sounds from any MIDI-standard synthesizer and send it to Composer to be scored or stored. Working in reverse, it takes a score from Composer and directs it through the MIDI inlets of any synthesizer module, fo be played, amplified, or transfigured. In short, if you're into serious music-making, this is simply the best music- processing software on any computer. —Ramon Sender Barayon

Composer: Version 2.0; copy-protected. $495. Performer: Version 2; copy-protected. $395. Both from Mark of the Unicorn (call 617/576-2760 to find local dealer information); also available from CODA (p. 116).

Performer.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 9496S 11

MUSK wifhout computers. This is the backwoods approach to music on the cheap Folksy directions for getting music out of odd things like bamboo-root oboei and wild-oat- straw shepherd's pipes. I like then holy mission of rescuing instruments out of people's attics and garage sales. —Ramon Sender Barayon

Homegrown Music Marc Bristol 1982, 129 pp. $8.95 ($9.95 postpaid) from: Madrono Publishers, Inc. P. O. Box 22667 Seattle, WA 98122

(Top left) Tod Porks of Snohomish, Wash­ ington. Notice the thimbles glued to the ends of the glove fingers.

(Left) lorry "Mr. jug" Von Over demonstrates the proper technique for playing the |ug. That's why I took up playing the wash­ board, mandolin, banjo, bongos, pocket change, and washtub bass. Not only do I find the music at one of our pickup sessions more pleasing when a percus­ sion instrument (or anything that has a different tonal range from a guitar) is added to the blend, but I also avoid the sinking feeling you'll reap another bonus too: There'll always be some­ one gets wondering whether there's really room for yet thing handy for the musicians who drop in unexpectedly, another guitar in a six-guitar band. or the folks who've never tried to make music before, to pick up and play. You'll be surprised at the amount of The problem of competition and redundancy of sound entertainment, satisfaction, and downright fun such need never arise if everyone who arrives brings along unexpected additions can add to your hoedown. an extra instrument or two or three. And if they all do.

Uncle Van's Chord Book Uncle Van's Chord Book A beginner's introduction to jazz chords on the guitar, Van Rozay ability to read music unnecessary. In fact, there's not a 1987; 46 pp. note on any page until you reach an appendix on theory. After discussing particular chords demonstrated on normal $10>95 postpaid from guitar diagrams, chord names are listed above the words Canyon Books of a given song. It might have made more sense to stay Room 200R with the chord diagrams, but otherwise a good start-up 1000 Redwood Highway book for anyone previously terrified by the guitar Canyon, CA 94516 —Romon Sender Barayon

Now, to prove that jazz can be easy and fun, here's a nifty trick, Osing a three- note version of a ninth chord — the sliding ninth. In blues songs, or pop, folk or country tunes which go from the I to 17 to IV and later the V, this trick can be used to enhance all those sections. You probably know the country standard "Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams. If not, you're culturally deprived and should learn it immediately. Playing it in Uncle Van's favorite key, C, we first a i) 3( ) 61 play d plain old C chord, as we sing (or mutter, or say) "your cheatin' heart . . ." Now, here, just after "heart," play the notes shown here in the fifth fret, and slide the position down, first to the fourth, then to the third fret. Neat, huh?

14 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 How To Build A Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch

Frequently a home-based composer forgets to cor)sicler the enviVonmenta/ impact of his art unh7 the ne/ghbors begin poundirtg on the walls. If you need complete acous­ tical isolation, this detailed manual covers everything you need to construct a recording studio. Good discussion of preferred acoustical characteristics, although the writing style is that of a stiff, elderly English gent. Designs for a home studio, garage multitrack, control room servicing two studios, and many more. Even if you live in a rented space, this information could prove useful for isolating your studio from the neighbors' ears. —Ramon Sender Barayon PAD SUBFUOOB How To Build A INSULATION Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch GYPSUM DRYWALL F. Alton Everest RESIUI 1979; 335 pp. CHANNEL 24-O.C, $14.95 postpaid from: Tab Books (Above) Two methods of protect­ P. O. Box 40 ing a studio from noise from the Blue Ridge Summit, floor above with frome construc­ PA 17214 tion: (A) with normal gypsum 717/794-2191 board ceiling and (B) with re- siliently mounted ceiling and insulation In the air space. After seeing and hearing of numerous horror stories concerning attempts to treat studios acoustically at min­ imum cost (egg cartons come to mind), the importance (Right) Plastic nursery trays may of truly budget absorbing modules is emphasized. . . . be used as holders of dense glass The molded plastic trays nurseries use for small bedding fiber and used as absorbing modules which can be mounted plants offer some promise. . . . These could be fitted with in any desired pattern on walls. pads of glass fiber of 3 pounds per cubic foot density, Tray A offers an area of about 1.7 square feet with a depth of V/i inches thick and mounted to wall or ceiling surface 1-5/8 inches, and a perforation percentage of 55 percent. Tray B with a few screws in the lip. The high perforation per­ will occommododate gloss fiber pads of 2-1 /2 inch thickness centage means that this 1.7 square foot module would and has about the same area as (A) with a perforation per­ give the some absorption as Vh inches of glass fiber centage of only 10 percent. These must be carefully selected without the plastic support. to fit the job.

Modern Recording Techniques Modern Recording Arcane technical knowledge is not easily accessible when Techniques you start out trying to record something in high fidelity. (Second Edition) You can wade through the wisdom in this manual and Robert E. Runstein come out with a stretched understanding of recording and David Miles Huber principles. The book helps you do live recordings, or set 1986; 362 pp. up a studio. I learned how to correctly place mikes for a $18.95 live recording, and how discs are "cut" and "pressed." ($21.45 postpaid) from: For serious recorders only. —Ramon Sender Barayon Howard W. Sams & Co. 4300 W. 62 nd Street Indianapolis, IN 46268 800/428-3602 isolating on Instrument amplifier by covering or Whole Earth Access it with 0 sound- absorbing blanket. rr

Preventing leakage from getting into a piano mike.

Distant and close miking of a solo instrument with a distant microphone at point a and an accent mike located at either point b or point c.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO. CA 94965 115 The Art of Electronic Music of that sort — and recorded them to use for the alien voices. Then we had to catalogue the sounds by emotional Anyone who wants to get involved in electronic music content — this is an angry sound, this is an unhappy should both research its roots, and locate the leading noise, this is pathetic — to build a library of phonemes, edge. You'll get a brief history of the development of the basic elements of speech. . . . equipment in this book, and interviews with pioneer syn­ thesizer designers (Moog and onward) and current major I have a tape version of the movie with no sound effects artists (Jan Hammer, Vangelis, Brian Eno, etc.). The field or music, just the original out-of-the-camera sound. is in such healthy ferment, it's good to hear how key per­ What was said on the sets Is all you hear. It's hilarious, formers actually do things. —Ramon Sender Barayon because Threepio's voice was like a hmm-hmm-hmmm from behind the plastic mask, Darth Voder's was com- ' pletely different, all the floors sounded like wood, the [Dominic Milano]: What kind of sounds did you collect? storm troopers were crinkling like big bags of cellophane [Ben Burtt, Star Wars sound-effects specialist]: I searched because they were in plastic suits, Artoo was making no continually for material to use. I went through factories sound at all, and there was an occasional stage direc­ and listened to motors. I went to places where they test jet tion like, "Okay, turn your head to the left." It's really engines. I went to missile testing sites. I was looking for funny. Sound effects really do contribute a lot to making things that people wouldn't recognize, things that weren't a film come alive. readily identifiable. But I wanted things with real power. They had to be visceral sounds, sounds with dramatic impact. . . . We rented animals — bears, walruses, things ^ CODA An extraordinarily comprehensive mail-order source for music software. Every conceivable program, interface, or '•»' -I" electronic music package I've heard of, they have. Don't know about their service. The catalog is a visual knockout — coffee-table quality — and a steal for the price. Order two because you will give one away. —Ramon Sender Barayon

WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 The Absolute Sound Among the many types of fanatics in the world, the most maniacal by any measure are sound fanatics. To a member of this species, "good enough" is a dirty word. It smells of moderation. The only essential thing in the world is perfect sound reproduction. Sound fanatics are on on eternal quest for technology that records, stores, or broadcasts human voice and music in absolute fidelity. Nothing less will satisfy. And price is not an issue. Some of the systems described in this The Absolute dense, intense journal cost more than a sports car. Sound But the soundl . . . Harry Pearson, Editor For those of us without unlimited budgets, this bi-monthly $33/y ear is both a peek at craftsmanship for its own sake, and a (6 issues) from: very critical, meticulous review of any kind of sound equip­ The Absolute Sound ment or recordings. (There's a whole page each issue on P. O. Box L "how to read" the ratings in the magazine.) Sea Cliff, NY 11579 —Kevin Kelly 516/671-6342

What electrostatic headphones offer is arguably the highest level of fidelity attainable from any transducer. Mix Bookshelf Generically, they have lov/er distortion and less colora­ tion than other transducers. As a group, they impose less A wide-ranging mail order source for every aspect of indigenous, spurious character on the music than, say, electronic music that's in print. They have an unbelievable microphones, cartridges, or speakers. At its best, head­ selection, and are really on top of the whole field. Pick phone listening offers an intimate, private, close-up ex­ your level, from professiorial to experimental hobbyist. perience with music that allows the listener to hear every —Ramon Sender Barayon subtle shading and detail of the performance. This can be exhilarating for those who love music and want to get Mix Bookshelf: catalog free from 2608 9th Street, Ber­ as close as possible to the essence of the recording. keley, CA 94710; 800/233-9604 (in CA: 800/641-3349) Headphones, by their nature, banish the idiosyncratic aberrations of the listening room from the reproduction 5150C) MELODY WRITING One of America's top songwriting chain, thus eliminating a major cause of coloration. teams, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhom, discuss why people remember tunes, rhythmic prosody and melodic prosody, comparisons made of bridge and verse, compounding the melody, the importance of intros, hooks, sub-hooks, range, intervals, the different ethnic flavors in it File Edit Selection Insertion Plirases lUindouis melodies, minor and major chords, bass figures, progressions and more. 90 minutes $10.00

"4 Studio Session allows you to print out the score of music you just played and hear the music of a score you just wrote. Pause to let the computer draw the EDITOR screen. After it is coinpletely displayed, look it over quickly. This is your "blank slate," which this chapter will quickly teach you to use. stead of getting a single note, it sends you a quick riff of notes that are perfectly syncopated to the beat, even if 3S your touch wasn't. Even more liberating, the program's logic reaches for the nearest notes that would be in key, i^'i^Rvjij « t # bringing a harmony that would ordinarily come from many years of practice. It plays a rapid sequence of the s s right notes at the right time, freeing music-playing from T^lfsTopI DBQ B^ BEQ HCQ BEQ SQ3 strict handwork. Someone like me, who is all big toes on most instruments, can use Jam Session to improvise lyrical music that is immensely satisfying for long periods. Jam Session • Studio Session I think of it as a set of training wheels: I can steer, but I / became o p/iotogropfier because / was fascinated by won't fall flat on my face. painting yet never had the disciplined drawing skill that a One can define the riffs a certain key will play, giving good painter requires. I discovered that photography gave further personalization. If you are particularly impressed me the technical means to do what painters do — play with your jamming, you can save the file to its companion around with compositions, moods, visual details, and paint piece. Studio Session, and have it printed out as a score with light. I could do the same with a little black box. for real musicians to play from. Undisciplined fingers have kept me from mastering any I suspect that computer-assisted musical instruments will musical instrument as well. Yet recently, for the first time in redefine music, as the demanding manual dexterity for my life, I played something that actually sounded like playing an instrument is taken up more and more by improvised music. I owe my glory to Jam Session, a re­ thinking machines. What's left for the musician to do? markable computer-assisted instrument run on the Macin­ Vision, framing, sequence, and form — the familiar tosh. This kind of little black box lets me enjoy the emotion domain of artists. —Kevin Kelly of creating and releasing sounds that are truly pleasing to the ear. I can easily imagine a better device that would Jam Session: Copy-protected; Macintosh. $49.95 from follow my lead more accurately and pour forth angelic Broderbund, P. O. Box 12947, San Rafael, CA 94913- choirs of sound, but Jam Session is a fun place to start. 2947; 415/492-3500. Jam Session sets up a basic rhythm (your choice of coun­ Studio Session: Version 1.2U. Not copy-protected. try, rock, jazz, classical, etc.) which you hear on the Macintosh 512K, Plus, SE. $89.95 from Bogus Pro­ Macintosh speaker. When you depress a key, though, in- ductions, 415/332-6427.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 17 VIRTUAL REALITY

1 ' I E CAN INTERPRET A BY YAAKOV GARB HA I new tool as we would W \l a dream, for what it tells us about the psyche of Its creator. For with all their osten­ sibly practical aims, tools are also displays of fantasy, tangible lii Gregory Bateson points out, one metaphors — poems. They are hemisphere of our brains does not the stories we tell ourselves maice the distinction between sym­ about who we thini< we are, or bols and the reality symbols repre­ wish to be. And the scary thing sent. Our logical mind must con­ is that they help these stories tinually remind its renegade other half that '1he map is not the ter­ to come true. ritory, and the name is not the thing With this perspective, I have named." Yaaiiov Garb's "Virtual begun to examine the images of Reality" Is a shadowy warning of computers in advertisements. how computers can encourage that These media representations are very confusion. Are we, as a culture, loquacious about the dreams substituting symbolic realities for the world? our culture has inscribed in silicon; they reveal in no un­ This article is excerpted from his certain terms some of the West's wori<-in-progress, "Western Dreams: fondest hopes and longings, Towards a Hermeneutics of Com­ which the computer is engin­ puter Technology." Yaakov Is work­ eered to achieve. ing on his Ph.D. in math and science education at U.C. Berkeley, where We see in these images, for ex­ he Is an assistant teacher in envi­ ample, an uninhibited celebra­ ronmental ethics and philosophy. tion of the separation and tran­ He's also a computer programmer. scendence of mind over body: His article, "The Use and Misuse of a disembodied intellect hovers the Whole Earth image," appeared over a barren and regular land­ inWER#45. —Jeanne Carstensen scape, the clear light of thought being all that is necessary to create and control.

We see the computerized of­ fices and classrooms of the future hovering in a cold, color­ less, silent, lifeless void; pure "ALL GREAT SIMPLE IMAGES Euclidean expanses, empty of REVEAL A PSYCHIC STATE." all but the grids of Cartesian —Gaston Bachelard geometry with their promise of the utter translatability of phy­ sical reality into mathematical abstraction. The only thing that moves here is the mind; the only thing vital — the flow of data, the transmission of pure light. Enter We see the substitution of sym­ bolic realities for the world, the Earth becoming merely one more peripheral device con­ nected to our i

118 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 understand one of the primary contained symbolic worlds ways in wiiicli computer tecli- encourages us to masl< from noiogy enables, mimics, and ourselves the actualities of its Descartes: "I am encourages these illusions — sources, consequences and a being whose through its creation of virtual uses in the world. Filtered whole essence or nature is to realities. aspects of the world are gath­ ered, translated into nominal think, and whose Virtual: That which is so In symbols, manipulated with being requires essence or effect, although not freedom and impunity, and no place and depends on no actually; practically; to all translated back into the world. material thing." intents; as good as. All we see of this is logical IVIuch of the real power of com­ space, the pliant ciphers at our In this celebra­ puters, and the source of much command: an illusion of vast tion of Cartesian of the myth which they weave, power and control. dualism, pure Mind (a detached is achieved through multiple This increasing ability to repre­ cerebrum lacking masldngs, the creation of "vir­ sent (and in some significant even hair — the tual realities." One on top of sense substitute) portions of last vestige of our another, levels of symbols are our world with the virtual real­ animallty) hovers built. Each level self-contained ity of compact, easily mani- above a barren in its internally consistent logic. pulable visual symbols — landscape. The Each level further simplifying through texts, maps, tables, clear light of the material intricacies which charts, and diagrams — Is a perfect Thought crackles down through the computer underlie and support it. large part of what modernity is to become printed text. "A word processor should all about. Places and things far be an extension of your mind ... and let you put Assembly language is a first your thoughts down quickly, almost effortlessly. away in space and time can be veil over the machine language It should have automatic everything ..." which directly controls the accumulated, presented synop- physical architecture of the tically to the eye, compared, machine (the electronic gates, reworked, amended, archived, voltage levels, and connections re-presented, and distributed of the microchip). It masl

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 119 — and how ethereal the links help power our pristine alpha- between pure mentation and numerics. (And who plants the material consequence. Today, soybeans. Gentleman Farmer with computer technology, that Russell, who feels the sun on leverage Is huge and the Illusion their backs and the dust in their of ethereality is almost achieved. throats, and where does the The easy turn of a key, flick of irrigation water come from?) a switch, or gentle push of a ^BHK , jp^HK^^^B It is in these ways that the button are enough to move huge -"PI creation of virtual realities — masses, to shake, grind, and H^H^^^^Hul^^^fflK^' nn- which is at the very core of explode. And the ads Jiere tell what computers do — gives us we are approaching that m~- us the appearance of having ultimate and apocalyptic ^ji willing ^ V achieved some of the basic leverage usually reserved for goals of western modernity. An gods: "whole universes are at i^KKKKmBkMS'r ,**^ achievement boldly heralded our fingertips." "Nebraska soybeans in these Images. • are Richard Russell's Through computers, more and business. But he rarely I want to defuse accusations of more of our life enters Into this gets there. Richard Manichean naivete by noting that abstract information-space, the manages his farms from this was composed on a Macintosh logical realm where "the only a Victorian flat in San Plus using Microsoft Word. thing that moves is pure data." Francisco. And he The following works have influenced It's easy to forget that someone, does It with little my thoughts on this topic and are somewhere is scurrying to sup­ more than a telephone worth looking at: port our virtual reality. That our and a SELECT word Bruno Latour, 1986. "Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes machines are fed a tremendous processor." and Hands," in Knowledge and amount of Life so that they may Society: Studies In the Sociology of whisk symbols around with the Culture Past and Present, Vol. 6, tapping of a keyboard. The JAI Press. labor of lr,iwanec>e women in Donna H.. ijwaj '9hS 'A Man- miciochiu factories, the toxins itt:i;i') LjUuri^b Socialist flushed into ou'' rivers the Review >80 Zor S&fii Lxtei ninating Fetuses: dams mines, ano factories all •".. Oi'ioi r --..rri ai- un' and the Sf-M-i SuiniotiLS i\ Lxt'j'errestrial-

120 V>/HOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 I IPHERE (1969) 16mm 10 min. cotor/sound $25 rental al Lady with the orbital head moves through the carnival of life in a Surreal adventure. A classic. Show novies. elv mystical exercise."-Howard Thompson,/Vew York Times SPHERE-perhaps Jordan's most exquisitely perfect creation-is a color collage of roccoco imagery '•I its of the space age. The images metamorphosize, transmute, interpenetrate and otherwise change with of bubbles rising out of water, punctuated by sudden flashes of light, alarm buzzers and abrupt visual cal, jewel-like creation, like a Joseph Cornell box come to life."—Thomas Albright, San Francisco

Canyon Cinema I can think of no better antidote for another seoson of Jaws IV and Rambo XVII than the independent movie fare offered by Canyon Cinema. Their selection of over 2,000 movies is as diverse and unorthodox as most Holly^ wood blockbusters are formulaic and commercial. Any filmmaker can list films with Canyon Cinema; they Our lady of fhe Sphere, by Larry Jordan. —Canyon Cinema write their own film descriptions, set the rental price, and receive 65 percent of the rental fees (Canyon only gets 35 percent). Not only is their catalog reeling with filmmakers Off-Ho»ywood you've never heard of, but the more well-known (such as Les Blank and James Broughton) seem to list all the films OH-Hollywood tells the stories behmd the making of they've ever made. It's a virtual textbook of the history of eleven American independent features, with an emphasis independent film, written by the filmmakers themselves. on distribution and marketing. Compiled by the Sun­ dance Institute and the Independent Feature Project, it's Canyon distributes nationally. Rental rates run from $10 designed to increase filmmakers' savvy in promoting their for a ten-minute film to $175 for Les Blank's color' feature. films. The documentation of the financing, production, Burden of Dreams. Most are between $30 and $70. The distribution, marketing, and promotion of the films is catalog is worth the price. —Jeanne Carstensen thorough and specific. Filmmakers tell what worked, what didn't, and why. Canyon Cinema: Catalog $8 (donation) from Canyon Ci­ nema, 2325 3rd Street/Ste. 338, San Francisco, CA 94107. The logistics of making a feature film are daunting. Off- Hollywood wants independent filmmakers not just to suc­ ceed, but to excel. The quality of American filmmaking is at stake. —Jeanne Carstensen [Suggested by Gail Silva] Off-Hollywood DIHNm David Rosen wim and Peter Hamilton 1987; 298 pp. ANmm A New Vorker Films Release c IMI $30 Available frtxn Grove Press in papertaclt postpaid from: tween the idea and the audience. Yet, in a general sense, The Independent its expected audience was the art-film moviegoer, par­ Feature Project ticularly one who would be attracted to a work directed 21 W. 86th Street by Louis Malle. New York, NY 10024 The success of Andre invites a consideration of the rela­ tionship between the great influence of the major critics Andre succeeded despite the minimum amount of and the functioning of word-of-mouth. Most of the prin­ predetermination of its future audience. It is an example cipals agree that without an accolade from Ebert and of a concept which drove its creators Siskel, My Dinner With Andre would and its producer to complete a work have failed to attract enough of on because of the power of the idea, audience at its New York opening run rather than of any supposed fit be- to allow word-of-mouth to develop.

Target Video Founded by award-winning video Flagg, Joanna Went, and the Dead artist and director Joe Rees, Targef Kennedys, some taped live in Tar­ Video is a great source for video get's own performance space. Many recordings of punk bands and un­ of the performances in Target's 'm DUMAHDA GALAS: "THE LHANIES OF derground artists. One of Target's nSATAN" catalog are intercut by Rees with most recent assaults on what it calls ^M ^° Min.-Color—Supersound. existing documentary and industrial ^^ Available in VHS and BETA Format "gibbering disco complacency" is A West Coast premiere, based on trie poem tjy Baudeiaite, footage to create images that are a stunning and violently beautiful Diamanda Galas is the diva of electro-acoustic music, as funny and brutal as they are praised by critics around the world fa a performance video documentary of five machine style inspired tsy extreme emotional states as her entire politically charged. In all. Target beins becomes a physicalization of voice. This is Diaman- performances by Survival Research da's first video, captured before a se!l-out crowd at San has some five hundred hours of Laboratories called Virtues of Ne­ Francisco's l-Beam in July 1985. Her unforsettable incarna­ video tapes to choose from. tion of forbidden psycholosica! realms immerses the gative Fascination. Other Target audience in an explosive jungle of aural shapes and fre­ —Richard Kadrey quencies. Dexribed bv the NEW yORK TIMES as "undeni­ recordings include performances by ably virtuosic," John Gil of London's TIME OUTconcutB: Diamanda Galas, Iggy Pop, Throb­ '^Wiorc, saint, demon, kNZi, madwoman or angel, there is no other voice in rocK jazz or the avant-garde with her vio­ lorga'! Video; Catalog free from bing Gristle, the Sex Pistols, Black lence, consuming passion and pure elemental force" Target Video, 678 S. Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94110.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 I ^b I Working With Video U -" .# WW". "The illusion is tofal," the aufhors say. "We confuse the realism of f/ie image w/f/i reality." And so begins a book- length lesson on the century-old language of moving pictures. All the important aspects of video production are covered — planning, equipment, actors, budget, shooting and lighting techniques, editing, promotion and distribution — always through principles designed to help you under­ stand the medium, not rigid rules. This guide to visual Working literacy will help you make better videos, and also under­ With Video stand the visual language of our culture. Brian Winston A superb beginner's manual. —Jeanne Carstensen and Julia Keydel • 1986; 256 pp. It can be argued that, because there are so many choices $19.95 involved in the video process, objectivity in practice be­ ($21.95 postpaid) from: Acommwnity-vldeogroup Amphoto comes a fairly meaningless term. You decide, for instance, records a demonstration in P O R '}(]'i^ who shall be filmed and who shall not; what shall be asked and what left unsaid. You decide on the lens and blcomw'^orJxtMs'ontf Ujkewood, NJ 08701 the camera angles. Even the lighting can affect how a basic civil rights. or Whole Earth Access person appears to the audience, and it is you, the pro­ ducer of the message, who decides on that, too. You such as M.A.S.H., through a VCR at a fast scan speed. decide where the materia! is to be cut. The sum total of Notice how the shots move from long to close and back these decisions is that your intellect is molding and again in a varied way, but, at the same time, always manipulating the material. As a result, the finished tape maintaining an even pace. Also take note of the way enshrines your point of view. that the action of the characters and the movement of the camera aid the sense of flow. You will also be able to A sense of flow see that the actions carried over a cut from one shot to A good way to get a fairly clear idea of what the final another are without irritating jumps or gaps. Finally, you mainstream product should be like can be gained by will observe that the action is punctuoted by deliberate running an episode of a well-made television program. visual pauses.

Television Production Handbook THE textbook on professional television production since 1961 has been completely revised to reflect advances in broadcast equipment. Still the best comprehensive technical guide available. With 900 illustrations. —Fabrice Florin

^^—^sr 13.39 Periscope The mirror periscope, consisting of two adjustabie mirrors hung in s movable frame, permits a variety of overhead shots of fairly static scenes. The mirror image is corrected by the second mirror

13.40 Cubist Effeet with Mirrar A cubistlike effect can be obtained by reflecting a scene or an object oft a mirror mosaic. Simply break a mirror into several large pieces and glue them onto a sheet of plywood or masonite. When the camera shoots into this mirror mosaic at an angle (so that the camera cannot be seen in the reflection), the reflected scene takes on a startling, cubist effect. These folks are the hrst to coordi­ nate distribution of public-access

\uil III '^'~ television via satellite, and their excellent Deep Dish Directory is the best resource guide available for grassroots television producers, Television programmers, and activists. The Production listings of access centers, cable Hondbooic systems, and producers can be Herbert ZettI xeroxed directly onto mailing 1961, 1984; 614 pp. labels and are in zip-code order; if you've ever worked for a small $44.75 nonprofit organization you know ($46.75 postpaid) from: what a practical gift that is. Wadsworth, Inc. Attn.: Order Dept. Satellites are the public-access 7625 Empire Drive frontier of the '80s that cable was Florence, KY 41042 Use of reflector when shooting against the sun: When in the early '70s. Deep Dish TV shooting against the sun, go to an extreme close-up (ECU) 800/354-9706 will get you started. and reflect sunlight back to talent with a simple reflector. or Whole Earth Access —Jeanne Carstensen

122 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Sony Camcorder Continuing the trend to dose the gap between professional and hobbyist tools, we now have technology for home­ made TV. High-quality, low-cost videos can be taped with a camcorder, a combination of CAMera and video cas­ sette reCORDER bundled into a lightweight unit small enough to wield with one hand. It uses new 8mm cassettes (which, by the way, can also record 24 hours of digital music). The model we have been using is the Sony Pro 8 CCD-VllO, not the cheapest one on the shelf, but one with all the features (autofocus, mike options, built-in rechargeable battery) that you'd need to make a respect­ able documentary or art video. I found the quality of resolution startling. Like Kodachrome film, it seems to enhance the vibrancy of colors. There were very few lighting situations (fluorescent mall light, dim overhead bulb, gray overcast day) where the camcorder camcorder's fade and dissolve features. But until a reason­ didn't perform excellently without auxiliary floodlights. able editing machine comes into the consumer market, Stewart, who is using one to document his conferences on there will be no commercial desktop 8mm films. learning, says he finds the quality better than broadcast —Kevin Kelly TV. I know of one filmmaker who sneaks short segments made with the Sony Pro 8 into nationally syndicated TV Sony Pro 8 Camcorder (CCD-VllO): Full-featured pro­ programs. Viewers don't notice the difference. fessional model. List price $1995; available for $1495 from Whole Earth Access. You don't need a VCR to play back the videos you make. There's a wire that connects the camcorder to your TV so Sony Auto Handycom {CCD-V3): Low-end version; more the camcorder itself becomes a VCR. Unfortunately it's no compact, with fewer features. List price $1500; $899 from good for editing. Worse still, there's nothing currently Whole Earth Access. made that will let you edit a camcorder video gracefully (Sony dealers are everywhere, and prices vary consider­ and cheaply. Simple on-site editing can be done with the ably. Check the Yellow Pages.)

The Bare Bones Camera Course VIDEO (For Film and Video) Tom Schroeppel (50ALS: 1982; 89 pp. Video Goals With PJctares (Getting Results with BEGIN AND END EVERY MOVE WITH A WELL-COMPOSED STATIC SHOT Pictures and Sound) Tom Schroeppel 1987; 116 pp. The Bare Bones Camera Course $6«95 each • Video Goals ($7.70 postpaid) from: Tom Schroeppel Oh simplicity. Tom Schroeppel's two clearly written and 4705 Bayview Avenue clearly illustrated books tell you everything you need to Tampa, FL 33611 know to get started. No fat. Just like a good video. or Whole Earth Access —Jeanne Carstensen

The "public" space of access is particularly important in a nation, that unlike most nations, provides very little state or government support for television production or dis­ tribution. The little support the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gives the independent video maker is quickly being eroded. PBS is loathe to program tapes that reflect points of view that are inimical to the Reagan Adminis­ tration and the corporate sponsors who underwrite PBS programming. MEANWHILE AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL people continue to make provocative videotapes about issues that the networks dare not touch. Public Access is an important outlet for this work. Some access coordinators have expressed the concern that a satellite network in some way undermines the pur­ Deep Dish $5 postpaid from: pose of public access, which is to provide community Directory DDTV television programming. But as access pioneer George Paper Tiger Television 339 Lafayette Street Stoney points out, "Access is aimed at functioning on q and the Boston Film New York, NY 10012 community level, but in this culture, our sense of com­ & Video Foundation 212/420-9045 munity is not limited to geographical areas. The idea of 1986; 96 pp. community also extends into broader areas of interest."

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO. CA 94965 123 Tattoo Tattoo: Pigments by Dave of Imagination Ross, Chris Wroblewski U.K., 1987; 128 pp. 1985 $15.95 ($17.45 postpaid) from: Harper & Row 2350 Virginia Ave. Hagerstown, MD 21740 or Whole Earth Access Tattoo: Pigments of Imagination roftoos winding up bocfa, fw/s/;ng aiound legs and amis, or curling up in some'small curve oi skin, dragons, eagle-, cats, exotically dressed humans, and lots of other tattoo motifs writhe off the pages in Chtis Wioblenski's book of dramatic color photographs «m,mmx,CMkK<0Ti^i,mT-u useffle souwxjF American and English tattoo art isfeatuied, mainly ex- woRK&ASKTo*f5oMep«oTosa=-weiK amoles of the more outraaeous, abstiact desian of the TIOY.WnH'AMMirogAVE rO'.SlHilUMTiol!! '70s and '80s. Not too many anchors and "I love mom" tattoos, in other words. The introductory text is brief and perfunctory; look elsewheie for detailed histoiy of the art This is a fun visual introduction to the multicultural sym­ bols of modern tattoo art and the various characters wf choose to wear them. —Jeanne Caistensen The Tattoo Historian roftpos by over sixty artists from every continent e\cept meinrrsT SHIM BE mmmmarrm Antarctica cover Lyie Tuftle's body. The intricate patterns DtWrKSCARBTOASKOOeSriONSIFHeJi m BUS! WITH AasiDMH;- If Hi IS. cling to his body like multicolored long underweai. But OBSERVE MM AT WORK,,. Tuttle is humble about his body of tattoo ait, which has been photographed and displayed around the woild. "I'm just an old hodgepodge of tattoos," he said to me offhandedly. It's this combination of firsthand experience ^UK^^t^ THEWAr^^^ and matter-of-factness that Tuttle bungs to The Tattoo THIS ONE lOOIS® Historian. ?iauK.mm,m 8ll«l Each issue reads like a w.'i. •hi..u^,i 2u^ zs^ti^r. a! IXIS FOR He..: •• BUT WHAT I H |H^' i^l^Er^s Tuttle's Tattoo Art Museum in downtown San Francisco. \f

.is^ Md^.-t A South-eastern Nuba youth brilliantly painted with a The Decorated Body whole body design to ac­ centuate faclol features Anthropologist Robert Brair) examines the universal human and the form of the need to transhrm the body. One of his principal aims is body. The painting to diminish the traditional gap between how "primitive" stresses values as­ and "civilized" body art is understood; our need to ex­ sociated with the press group belonging or rebellion through hair style, young mole body - clothing, and cosmetics is as urgent as that of the Sene­ physical strength prowess, and galese, who stretch their children's skulls in infancy to beauty. ensure their beauty as adults. This book not only wanders through the social, ritual, sexual, and symbolic roots of body decoration in cultures around the world, it cajoles you into experiencing the power and mystery of the primary human language — that of the body. We// illustrated with color and black-&-white photographs. —Jeanne Carstensen [Suggested by Martin Robson] The Decorated Body Robert Brain 1979; 192 pp. $18.95 ($22,35 postpaid) from: Spalding and Rogers Route 85/New Scotland Rd. Voorheesville, NY 12186

In the West we still pierce our ears, straighten our noses, and deform waists and chests by corsets. Our purpose would seem to be to draw attention to certain parts of the body. West­ ern women have commonly accentuated the mouth with a slash of red, the ears with ear­ Obsolete Body Suspensions rings and the eyes with black, blue or green make-up. Other peoples wear ear-plugs, lab- I've never actually seen Sielarc perform a body rets, lip-plugs, nose rings, penis sheaths or penis suspension. I'm not sure I'd want to. The stretched rings. 1 only want here to insist that the propensity landscape of his skin as he hangs from hooks through his to deform or alter the natural shape of the body flesh is difficult to look at even in a book. is a universal one. Yet images ofStelarc hanging — above water, surrounded by rocks, from granite slabs, or from wooden poles — lomura Gallery, Tokyo — 3 April, 1977 have floated in my mind's eye ever since seeing his book. The body was suspended horizontally at eye-level by the insertion As I stare into my computer, delving into the mindspace of 18 hooks into the front of the body aligned with the concrete of the networks and electronic drawers where I store and slot in the ceiling. After a static suspension of 15 minutes the manipulate my ideas, Stelarc haunts me. Disembodiment body was swung porollel to the slot. The suspension was ter­ has for me become one of the resounding themes of the minated when the swinging stopped. Total event time — V/A hours. Actual suspension time — IS minutes. This event com­ information age; his images reharness mind to body with pletes a 180" rotation of the body in space. the fierceness of a whip cracking in slow motion. And then slice them apart. The body is left suspended somewhere in mind, an obsolete carcass, empty, meaningless. This book documents Stelarc's performances from his first suspension in 1976 through 1984. The large-format black- and-white photography makes you feel closer to the real events than you may care to get. Stelarc claims the sub­ ject of his work is not the hooks. It's worth looking at and beyond them to his bizarre, disturbing Vision of physical submission to technology. And frightening. —Jeanne Corsfensen Obsolete Body Suspensions Stelarc 1984; 160 pp. $16.95 ($18.95 postpaid) from: Contemporary Arts Press P. O. Box 3123 Rincon Annex San Francisco, CA 94119 AJ^J^Ml^^

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 125 Dreams and / Spiritual Growth

Louis M. Savory, Patricia H. Berne and Strephon Kaplan Williams, 1984; 252 pp. DRbAM r. WORK $9.95 ($11.70 postpaid) from Pouilst Press, 997 MacArthur Blvd., Mahwah, NJ 07430; 201/825-7300. The authors take a Christian ap­ proach to dreamwork, but the book is a resource for anyone who is in­ terested in the spiritual aspects of dreamwork. One of the nice ecumen­ ical aspects of dreamwork is the fact that you can find it endorsed by the BY HOWARD RHEINGOLD scriptures of the Jewish, Christian, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, DREAMWORK consists of remem­ gift or talent but a skill, like tying and Animist religionsi The authors bering your dreams and seeking to your shoelaces, reading a book, include 37 dreamwork techniques understand them. There's nothing or driving a car. for spiritual growth. esoteric or psychologically danger­ • Your basic tools for dreamwork are a ous about it. It's simply a matter of pad of paper and a pen with a small Establishing relationship to God is taking a look at what's right in front flashlight taped to it, or a tape re­ a keynote of the Western spiritual of your mind's eye, and using what corder, to record dream impressions, tradition. In doing dreamwork we you see to improve your life. We all are acknowledging the Source of images, plots, and keywords in the know how to turn on televisions, ride our healing and wholeness, and we middle of the night; a larger sketch­ elevators and open pop-top cans, are also building a relationship to book or notebook to expand, amplify, but nobody teaches us how to dream. that Source. In dreamwork, as in and interpret those midnight jot­ This situation is changing rapidly, meditation and contemplation, we tings; and some knowledge of what however, because the most important are strengthening our relationship to do with your dreams once you've "secret" of dreamwork is becoming to God. learned to recall and record them. more and more well-known: anyone Fortunately, the secrets of the ages who has tried to remember their Who is willing and able to look God are now out in paperback. dreams and understand their mean­ straight in the eye, and for how long? ing has discovered that the ability to Here are the books that helped And yet to be seen by God is to begin really to see ourselves. We obtain valuable knowledge is not a me learn: must be seen in order to see. We are invited to look into the dark night and remember what we have seen. The dream is the potential, the Creative Dreaming visualizing them may trigger asso­ beginning. In ciation to your recent dream. our devotion, we can make Patricia Garfield, 1976; 256 pp. $2.95 When dream recall is complete in one ($4.95 postpaid) from Ballantine Books/ the eyes of body position, move gently into other Random House, 400 Hahn Road, West­ God more minster, MD 21157; 800/638-6460. sleeping positions to see whether real for our­ you have additional dream recall in selves and My first and sfill one of my favorite these positions. Always move gently the world. introductions to the hows and whys of into any recording position. dreamwork. It gives a compelling, Record your dreams whenever they And still all lucid history of dreamwork through­ come to you, immediately, later in is mystery! out the centuries and around the the day, or several days later. world, introduces several different approaches to self-analysis, touches on the highest aspects of dreamwork Living Your Dreams Symbols of '— lucid dreaming and other methods Gayle Delany, 1979; 242 pp. $8.95 ($9.45 of altering dreams as they happen — Transformation postpaid) from Harper & Row, 2350 Vir­ and offers practical advice on keep­ ginia Ave., Hagerstown, MD 21740; in Dreams ing dream diaries and developing 800/638-3030. Jean Dolby Cllft and Wallace B. Cllft, dream control. Learn the "mind movie" approach: 1986; 159 pp. $9.95 ($10.95 postpaid) dreams are internal scenarios, and from Crossroad Publishing Co., 18 E. 41st we are the producers, directors, and St., Nev/York, NY 10017; 212/532-3650. The best time to begin developing audiences of our own nightly shows. The best short, nontechnical account skill in dream recall is during an un- We can learn how to interpret and of Jungian ideas about dream sym­ pressured time in the morning when even consciously direct the action. bols as harbingers of psychological you awaken naturally (it will be from The author's orientation toward the and spiritual transformation. Jung a REM period). If you have trouble more mundane but personally impor­ saw dreams as snapshots of the psy­ recalling your dreams, plan a time tant aspects of dreamwork — what ches, and he and his followers have when you can spontaneously awaken we can learn about our personal and combined knowledge from the world's and be unhurried. business relationships, for example — collection of mystical symbology (such When you awaken from a dream, can prove the value of dreamwork to as alchemical texts) with the exper­ lie still and allow the dream images people who aren't interested in crea­ iences of thousands of analysands, to flow back into yOur mind. If no tivity or spiritual growth but are very and have shown how those people images come, let yourself run through interested in why they aren't getting who don't have gurus or who aren't the important people in your life; along with their spouse or boss. initiates of one spiritual tradition or

126 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Dreams, Illusion Lucid Dreaming that they take for external reality. As long as they perceive themselves and Other Realities Stephen LaBerge, 1986; 304 pp. $3.95 ($4.95 postpaid) from Ballantine Books/ contained in this world, they are Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, 1984; 382 pp. Random House, 400 Hahn Road, West­ sentenced to a virtual prison with $13.95 ($15.20 postpaid) from University minster, MD 21157; 800/638-6460. walls no less impenetrable for the of Chicago Press, 11030 S. LongleyAve., fact that they are made of delusion. Chicago, IL 60628; 312/702-7740. An account of the most exciting realm of dreamwork — the ability to A thick book, quite readable, about In contrast, lucid dreamers realize awaken in your dreams and control the central role of dreams in the my­ that they themselves contain, and their outcomes as you participate in thus transcend,/the entire dream thology, epistemology, and theology them! Author Stephen LaBerge is a world and all of its contents, of the Hindu and Buddhist religions. scientist, long associated with Stan­ because they know that their ima­ Since both the Hindu and Buddhist ford's Sleep Laboratory, and an ac­ ginations have created the dream. doctrines contend that the waking complished "oneironaut" (his word So the transition to lucidity turns conscious state is an illusion, and for those of us who explore the dreamers' worlds upside down. that the goal of life is to awaken from dream realm). Rather than seeing themselves as the illusion, the idea of learning to • a mere part of the whole, they see confro/ your dreams has particular im­ Non-lucid dreamers perceive them­ themselves as the container rather portance in these spiritual disciplines. selves as being contained within the than the contents. Thus they freely • experiential world of their dreams. pass through dream prison walls Do all cultures make the same radical Whether they play starring roles or that only seemed impenetrable, and distinction between "appearance" ore only pawns in the dream game, venture forth into the larger world and "reality" which ours has inher­ they are still contained in a dream of the mind. ited from Plato? Are their hierarchies the same? In other words, do they necessarily accept the demand that The dream mediates contradictions must be ironed out between the worlds of and that all perceptions that clash matter and spirit, time with beliefs must force us either to and eternity. In Jacob's change our views of the "objective dream the ladder with world" or declare the perception to angels ascending and have been a subjective experience descending it symbol­ — an illusion? Even in our rationalist izes the ease of tran­ culture we don't often live up to this sition between these logical precept. We try to evade it, levels of reality in the especially when our emotions are mind of the dreamer. involved. —Sir Ernst Gombrich Time is abolished, and analogous incidents of past and future ore Dreams, Visions perceived simultane­ ously as the dream of the Night opens the way from one world to another, David Coxhead and Susan Hiller, 1976; establishing a relation­ 96 pp. $9.95 ($10.95 postpaid) from A. V Crossroad Publishing Co., 18 E. 41st Street, ship between mundane New York, NY 10017; 212/532-3650. and spiritual realities. p^' (Jacob's Dream, from Besides containing morve/ous infor­ the Lambeth Bible, '.•^ mation about the ancient and esoteric England, 12th c.) history of oneirology, this book has marvelous illustrations, gathered from the art of every culture, illustrating The entire world may key points about dreams. be understood as the dream of an awakened dreamer. In dreams of this order there is, liter­ another can use their dreams as a ally, no distinction be­ guide to inner growth. tween levels of reality. The creative principle of the world grows out When the symbols themselves are of the navel of the allowed to live, their meaning can dreaming god in the continue, and Jung says they have mythical instant of the strong power to do so: creation of the universe. This concept is present Luckily for us, symbols mean very much more than con be in the shamanic tradi­ known at first glance. Their tion, perhaps as old as meaning resides in the fact that human history, in which they compensate an unadopted the individual adept attitude of consciousness, on at­ assumes the role of titude that does not fulfill its conscious creator. purpose, and that they would (Krishna acting out enable it to do this if they were the role of Vishnu in understood. But it becomes his sleep, gouache, impossible to interpret their India, 18th c.) meaning if they were reduced —Dreoms, Visions to something else. of the Night

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 127 INTERACTIVE LITERATURE { BY DAVID SHAW The popular misconception that scientists have no appreciation of the hunnanities is comf>/ete/y ass-bacl^ward. In fact, scientists are far more often involved in music, art, vrriting, history, etc., than English majors are involved in science. This artistic vigor is particularly evident at MIT, the Parthenon of science education. While Stewart Brand was lecturing there last year, he came across a recent innovation: interactive literature. His accounts of this new participatory drama prompted me to contact the creators. I called Dave Shaw, a graduate of MIT and now a research biochemists who is president of the Society of Interactive Literature. We met in the lounge of the Lafayette Hotel in Boston, i taped our conver­ sation, which I abridged severely, and Dave confirmed for accuracy. —Kevin Kslly

Y FRIENDS AND I will play Dragons because you can decide exactly By encouraging characters to wear almost any kind of game. We what you want to happen. But we costumes, it becomes immensely involv­ often home-brew new rules wanted a better role-playing system, ing. Past games have had thieves who Mfor old games. We'll take an where characters could interact face to wore black with leather gloves, and a off-the-shelf board game and add Inten­ face in some sort of real space, in real king with red cape and jewelled crown. sity and unpredictability. Stores sell a time, where they could actually put a For a game called Watergate, everybody game that's a world superpower/nuclear lot of depth into the portrayal of the was running around in three-piece suits, weapons game, where your ability to characters. There are groups all over except the character Hunter Thompson, buy things is based on the stock market. the country now that stage murder- who had the Hawaiian shirt and the bag We thought the stock market function mystery weekends. It's almost inter­ of drugs. In Sundown, we've had mutant was dumb, so we wrote our own. Now active literature but not quite. You go characters who went so far as to create the game plays just great. Some games and you watch a bunch of people act prosthetic makeup. One guy had bits of you play once and realize that a certain something out for you, which is not wires and chips hanging out of his jaw; kind of situation will always produce a much different from watching a play. another one painted half of his face win. We abandon those. Or, you get sort of written into the green, and had stuff rotting off his game, but either way, what you do is hands. Costumes help enforce a sense We'll play Monopoly, but only with very channeled. We wanted a game of reality. You tend to forget that our rules. One of the rules in regular where you decide reality. you're in the lobby of the Best Western Monopoly is, if you land on a property Inn in Danvers, Massachusetts. and you don't want to buy it, it just I found the beginning of what we were goes unbought. When we play it, if you looking for while I was working at a don't want to buy it, it goes up for auc­ biology lab. One week during a critical tion immediately. The effect is that it lab experiment my co-worker, Walt becomes a very fast, vicious game. A Freitag, disappeared for an entire week­ lot of money goes flying around, people end. 1 asked where he was, and someone go under a lot faster. There's even more said he's turning a hotel into another negotiating. (You'll find even further planet. When he came back, by way of new high-octane rules for Monopoly in explanation he droped a compendium a new book called Beyond Boardwalk*.) on my desk. In a hundred pages or so it outlined a scenario, rules and characters The games we love have a certain for a whole other world — a process amount of diplomatic negotiation going now called Interactive Literature. I on. A player tries to influence the out­ jumped in. come of the game by interacting with other players. That's why chess doesn't A good example of a successful inter­ interest us much. Chess is one of those active literature game is called Shadows games where the better player will of Sundown. The scenario is a post- always beat the worse player, no matter nuclear-holocaust gathering in which all how hard one tries, to talk him out of it. the characters meet at the World Trade Center, or what is left of it, to decide By games, we really mean conflict what they are going to do about putting games, negotiation games, and com­ the country back together again. Dif­ puter games. The element that ties ferent factions of players plan, scheme, them all together is the ability to per­ and plot for very different goals. The sonally influence the outcome. In most object of the game is to see where it games there's only one correct way to ends up. The largest single game we do anything. You may have choices, or played had two hundred people in It. decisions, to make, but they will lead up Games at RECON 3, a The games tend to run in hotels small fantasy scenario in Boston. a decision tree to the same ends, game enough where we can take over the after game. We became interested in whole hotel. What we try to do, as game masters, is role-playing games like Dungeons and provide detailed information as to what The first interactive fiction game was kind of character you are — your abi­ called Recon, played in 1983. The basic lities, power, and goals — but then scenario was that everyone playing the allow you as much freedom as you want game was at a convention (the players as to how you portray yourself. You're were all actually at a science fiction given a character packet that has a convention), and everyone was an emis­ sheet or two describing who you are, sary from different places in the galaxy. what you know, and what you have. The Earth was about to be accepted These "blue sheets" contain the back­ into a federation of planets and each ground you should know pertinent to person was trying to negotiate one your character, the history of your par­ * Beyond Boardwalk & Park Place by Richard way or the other, until they reached ticular neighborhood, and what's going Hutton and Noel Gunther, 1986 (Bantam, a galactic consensus. on in your planet, political faction, or New York).

128 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 corporation. This is where the literature aspect of interactive literature comes in. The beginnings of these games derive from v/riters interested in storytelling. The literature is in v/riting characters creatively, something that you vsrould delight in reading as well as playing. Instead of just saying you are X, we put

'"'•<" Character

Reading character sheets pletely different place — for a whole in a hotel lobby. weekend. It sounds vague to say it's a lot of fun, but it's a lot of fun. The way it works is that you stop some­ We're writing a new game called Fast one in the hall. "Ah, I've been meaning Forward. It's based within the cyber­ to talk to you. Come with me." You punk science fiction genre. In that pull them aside and say, "A friend of scenario everybody is at some indeter­ mine tells me that you have some radio minate time in the future in a small parts that I could use for building a chunk of what's left of the metropolitan transmitter." And she answers, "Well, axis on the East Coast called the Sprawl. maybe yes, maybe no. What's it to There are youth gangs, there are com­ you?" You say, "Well, I have some panies doing corporate warfare, and chemicals you might need in order to there's a bunch of kids hacking a bjg finish the recipe of that large project I computer network. In the game we'll know you're working on. Perhaps we have our own PC computerized bank in can arrange some sort of a deal." the hotel, a kind of a credit-card system, Everybody has something that some­ where all the credit transfers for the Ouse. body else wants. Sometimes it's a simple game will occur. It'll be very susceptible aer- exchange of one thing for the other. to players' hacking. In fact some players But there are other, more exciting will HAVE to hack around, if their char­ levels. You can be double-crossed, acters are hackers. Some characters will or encounter any of the cliches that play artificial intelligences, devoted solely you see in detective movies and to a particular corporation's interest. suspense movies.

Cheating is okay, if your character is a cheat. But there are also impossibly good characters in games who must tell the truth, and who have to do the right thing all the time. For example, in one game we wrote a character named a convincing, even enjoyable, story Siegfried who was big, stupid and in­ behind it. credibly good. This is a very difficult character to play. Every character starts out with "items," which are usually represented by index We have no real idea how a game is cards. These are powers, instruments, going to end up. All we know is at what or resources. You may have an index point the game will stop. A game may card that says "one .45-caliber auto­ be designed to conclude after players matic, two shots spent already." Real- have elected the new hierarchy for the world physical combat is against most of local galaxy. But up until then what hap­ There's a book by Larry Niven and our principles, so in combat you don't pens is only hinted at in the character Steve Barnes, called Dream Park', which actually touch the person at all. It's all sheets. The characters have a life of envisions a giant fantasy park. When conceptual. If you're shooting at a per­ their own. To keep things from getting you fight the monster in its lair, sure son, bullet and laser beam wounds are completely chaotic, there are game enough this giant dragon comes out of represented by a little stick-on dot which masters who act as arbiters. When the cave. And if you're going to shoot it you put on the opponent's shoulder. things are getting a little out of hand, with energy bolts, well, energy bolts then they step in and tweak the game. come out of your gun. We don't have Information exchanging is really what In the case of too many murders happen­ that kind of technology yet. But we do happens in these games. You use infor­ ing, they introduce police. (Incidentally, have a friend in Connecticut who's been mation to manipulate events toward police get played very well, because it's experimenting with running interactive your particular end. Every character has the best vray to find out what's going literature outdoors in big parks, and a series of goals. Maybe your goal is to on. You arrest people, you ask them that's something we'd like to explore find who has two ounces of platinum. what's going on, and you have the ab­ next. Contact us at the Society for Sooner or later you'll find the guy with solute power to just drag anybody in Interactive Literature, 130 Morrison two ounces of platinum, but then you for questioning. Great!) have to cut some sort of deal to get Avenue, Somerville, MA 02144; 617/623-0133. • him to give it to you. Other goals are Interactive literature requires personal more difficult, like; make sure that they interaction and the ability to be a bit * Dreom Park by Larry Niven and Steven decide they're not going to arm the flamboyant. It's a chance to be some­ Barnes, 1982 (Ace Books/Berkeley, nuclear arsenal. body completely different, in a com­ New York).

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 129 BY TOM FERGUSON, M.D. to — solutions to all my patients' problems. Such an attitude, my instructors advised, inspired patients' N HIS BOOK Megatrends, John Naisbitt writes: confidence.' "It always surprises me that so many people As beginning medical students, my classmates and I passionately resist the notion of an economy learned to ignore the dark side of modern medicine. built on information, and, despite a wealth of Abusive treatment of patients by some instructors was Ievidence, deny that the industrial era is over." accepted without comment. A good number of the deaths and injuries due to negligence or incompetence Nowhere is this denial stronger than in the realm of were simply ignored. Injuries resulting from medical health care. treatment were rarely discussed. There are medical Yet in ^pite of such resistance, we're moving from an journals on virtually every specialty under the sun, but old Industrial Age health care system (built around the there is, to this day, no Journal of Iatrogenic (Doctor- physician) to a new Information Age system (built Caused) Disease. around the layperson as primary provider). We were encouraged to think of the human body as an It is important to note that the shift from the old to intricate and complex machine, to speak in terms of the new health care system will be a long-term process, lab values and test results, not of human suffering. and that we are still in the early stages of this shift. We were actively discouraged from demonstrating too ! The Old Health Care System! much interest in the patient as a person. We spoke of The two key metaphors of the industrial age were the the gallbladder waiting in room 703, or the uterus in factory and the assembly line. Thus, under the old 1044. And it was always taken for granted that for any health care system, sick people were seen as the "raw case there was one and only one proper treatment — material" which passed through the health care "fac­ the "one ill, one pill" hypothesis. tory." Patients who stepped onto this medical assembly ^^^^^^^^^ The New Model ^^^^^^^^^* Une were subjected to a standardized medical routine, In the old physician-centered system, health care begins and were expected to comply with their doctor's direc­ when a person enters a doctor's office. The new self- tives. Those who attempted to seek detailed information care-centered system realizes that professional care is about their condition, consider unorthodox treatments, only a small part of the whole health care picture.^ or question the safety and effectiveness of conventional The new system assumes that self-care — the process therapies were typically dismissed as "troublesome" by which we all gather health information, seek health or "uncooperative." advice, choose healthy or unhealthy behaviors, diagnose Under the old health care system physicians — myself and treat our own ailments, and make use of profes­ included — were trained to behave as though their sional services when necessary — is the very foundation authority and knowledge were virtually boundless. I of health care. According to this view, health care is no was, on more than one occasion, told in so many words longer just something doctors do. It is something we that I should act as if I had — or at least had access all do. And we do it every day.

Tom began reviewing health books for this magazine in 1976. Whole Earth could never fit in all the great stuff he came across, so while still a Yale medical student, he founded the bimonthly Medical Self-Care ($12.97/year from P. O. Box 1000, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956). MSC has grown from an ambitious student project into a worthy, national journal that advocates direct participation. Likewise this article. Readers are invited to send comments to Tom Ferguson at 3805 Stevenson Avenue, Austin, TX 78703 (512/472-9902). —Kevin Kelly

130 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 This new self-care-based system assumes that when they would require an additional 292 million doctor's people first become conscious of a new health problem visits per year, a 62-percent increase in office visits." or concern, they immediately begin to seek information The implications are immense: if self-care information and advice and to consider tools they might use to solve and tools can even sUghtly increase laypeople's ability the problem themselves. The vast majority of health to care for themselves, the demand for costly profes­ problems are never seen by a professional. sional services will decrease dramatically. In one of the most interesting studies of self-care, I Medical Information Flow! English medical student Christopher EUiott-Binns sat Under the old health care system, people were frequently in a general practitioner's office and interviewed 1,000 forced to seek professional care simply because they patients who had come in with new problems. He asked had no other way of obtaining the information they each one (1) if they had sought or received information needed. The new system suggests that a doctor's visit is or advice about their problem, and (2) if they had used a singularly inefficient way to communicate medical one or more self-care treatments before coming to see information. the doctor. The primary goal of health professionals should be to Ninety-six percent answered yes to one or both ques­ supply layfolk with the health tools, skills, information, tions: eighty-eight percent said they had obtained in­ and support they need. Within this new health care formation from friends or family members. Fifty-two system, all the people who provide health information percent had used at least one form of self-treatment. — TV doctors, newspaper columnists, health magazine Many had also sought information in books, magazines, editors, health journaUsts, authors of health books, or other media. The subjects frequently received infor­ medical librarians, etc. — are all considered health mation from multiple sources: One patient, a boy with workers. acne, had consulted eleven different sources. But if writers and journalists and librarians are to In the opinion of a panel of physicians, the information become health workers, what will be left for the and advice the subjects obtained was quite sound. The doctor to do? best advice of all came from pharmacists, nurses, and Plenty. Health professionals become advisors. Lay- relatives. Among family members, wives provided the people with a health problem or concern will generally best advice. continue working within the self-care sector until they EUiott-Binns concluded: "It is most interesting that have exhausted their available resources. They can then 96 percent of patients had received advice or treatment choose to consult a professional clinician in order to before coming to the physician. Is it justifiable to call avail themselves of the professional's tools (e.g. CAT the family doctor the source of primary care?" Clearly scanner, x-ray machine, prescription drugs, etc.), skills it is not. As this study makes dramatically clear, the (to remove a foreign body from an eye, sew up a serious real primary care is self-care.' laceration, remove an inflamed appendix, perform a colonoscopy, etc.), advice (essentials of diagnosis and •HHHH^H A New Map of Health Care HBHHHHH treatment alternatives, etc.), or emotional support. As Figure One indicates, health care has traditionally been divided into three levels: primary providers (who Informed, motivated laypeople understand that in have first contact with the patient), secondary care some cases (e.g. an auto accident, a brain tumor, or an practitioners (specialists), and tertiary care (highly inflamed appendix) it may be appropriate to work in specialized care usually provided in large medical cen­ partnership with a health professional. Thus under the ters). But this "map" completely ignores self-care, the new health care system, the main role of the primary foundation of all health care (see Figure 2). clinician is to support — and provide backup to — The new health care system considers laypeople the self-provided health care. primary providers of health care. All professional care 59B!The Protestantization of Health Care ^^^^ is seen as secondary or tertiary. The self-care sector is What's happening in health care today bears a striking many times the size of the professional care sector. resemblance to what happened in religion around the Economist Simon Rottenburg has estimated that if only time of the protestant reformation. Before Luther's two percent of over-the-counter drug consumers chose time, there was only one Christian Church, and access to visit physicians rather than using self-medication. to God was available only via the priests. Those who refused to go along with the priests' interpretations faced the threat of excommunication. The protestant revolution saw the demise of this old, closed religious system and the birth of a new, open system, under which laypeople were were given the final authority to interpret the evidence themselves and to deal with God in their personal lives without the mediation of the priesthood. The priest's role in healing in the early church is well captured in the following passage by a visitor to a fifteenth-century healing shrine: The priests and postulants who serve the shrine are organized into many echelons, each having its own clear insignia of rank. They communicate with one another in a special language, unintelligible to the lay­ man, and prominently display on their person healing amulets and charms. ...

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSAUTO, CA 94965 131 HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN SELF-CARE Planetree Health Resource Center: 2040 Webster Street, San Francisco, CA 94115; 415/923-3680. • Public libraries. Libraries provide BY TRACY COSGROVE access to basic medical reference books. The Center For Medical Consumers: 237 of Planetree Health Resource Center Examples include Encyclopedia of Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012; 212/674-1705. CONSUMER INFORMATION con­ Associations, a national directory that cerning most significant (and even rare) lists health organizations, and the Con­ • Self-Help Clearinghouses help callers diseases is available from many public sumer Health and Nutrition Index, locate a support group for their specific and private organizations. Other re­ which provides references to the latest health problem, or can assist in the for­ sources include: articles in the growing area of consumer mation of a group when none is available. health literature. Publicly funded medical The Mational Cleannghou«e will refer school libraries are another important source of health information and can •^V. provide access to Index Medicos, an index to international medical literature. I "jiiiwftmiiitanwiftiiiiniimiBM Some public and medical school libraries offer computerized literature searches of medical databases. • Consumer Health Information Centers: These are an excellent source of health and medical information since they are designed to provide consumer access. As the self-care movement grows, more centers like these will open. Staff at Planetree Health Resource Center assist clients In doing in-depth research. Trained volunteers at the AIDS Foundation Hotline give con­ fidential AIDS inforn-.anon and The shrine itself consists of a complex series of cham­ referrals to 7-IO,OC0 callers bers. The outermost sections of the shrine are kept per n'i5P«"f open to the uninitiated. But even the high priests them­ selves may not enter the inmost chambers, the holy of holies, until they don special costumes and undergo Ed's database includes listings of thousands of support purification rituals. For it is here that the most dra­ groups around the state — and hundreds of model matic and difficult healing rituals are conducted. So groups elsewhere. If there's not an appropriate group Jealously guarded are the mysteries here revealed that nearby, they ask callers if they'd like to join with others the uninitiated are admitted only after being rendered to discuss forming a group. If so, they keep the caller's unconscious. name and phone number and pass it on to others with similar concerns. They also offer continuing telephone I've been pulling your leg. The passage above (edited consultations to help get the new group up and run­ for clarity and conciseness) is by Jerome Frank of the ning. The clearinghouse has helped callers form more Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is intended as than 400 new groups.' a description of the modern teaching hospital as it might appear to "an anthropologist from Mars.'" "Calls for groups on specific subjects seem to come in Contemporary physicians may not be totally unhke waves," Madera observes, "frequently as the result of fifteenth-century priests in their susceptibility to ar­ stories in the media. We've recently been flooded with rogance, self-importance, and an ill-founded sense inquiries for groups for young widowed persons — of infallibility. mostly the result of a piece in the New York Times. We're getting a lot of calls about Epstein-Barr virus A movement toward therapeutic diversity is an impor­ right now — most of them saw the recent Newsweek tant part of the movement toward a self-care-based story. A number of new groups have been formed by system. Just as rehgious layfolk can now freely choose women who have read Robin Norwood's book, Women to be Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, or Buddhist, respon­ Who Love Too Much. And two other groups have sible health consumers should feel free to draw upon roughly doubled in popularity within the last year — bioscientific medicine, surgery, pharmacology, psycho­ groups for manic-depression and for the adult children therapy, Chinese medicine, homeopathy, body therapies, of alcoholics." yoga, and other healing traditions in deciding which health "package" is right for them. There is frequently Such "waves" of health interest can travel quickly. It's more than one right way to do things, and under the striking to remember that it was only three years ago new health care system, the belief system of the client that gay leaders were in despair because AIDS had becomes more important than the belief system of received so little media coverage. An article in the May the clinician. 1, 1987 issue of Publisher's Weekly lists more than 140 recent pubhcations on the subject. The article was ! Conquering Disease Through Knowledge ! titled "Conquering Disease Through Knowledge." One of the biggest contributions to self-care knowledge may come from an unexpected direction. I recently had Dorothy in the Information Age occasion to interview self-help pioneer Ed Madara, Let me conclude by telling you about a 68-year-old director of the New Jersey Self-Help Clearinghouse. friend I'll call Dorothy. Three years ago, Dorothy devel­ Working from this crowded office overlooking New oped mysterious pains in her legs and shoulders. Still Jersey's Interstate 80, Ed and his coworkers help 10,000 operating on the old model, Dorothy visited her doctor callers a year find — or start — the self-help groups and accepted the prescription he gave her without they need. question. But the drug produced unpleasant side ef-

132 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 you to groups in your own state. times provide access to computerized National Self-Hetp Clearingliouse: information systems. Information centers 212/840-1259. like Planetree also offer this service. • Government-Sponsored National Types of information sponsored by the Health Organizations: Tlie Office of National Library of Medicine include: Disease Prevention and Healtli Promo­ DIRLINE: an online directory of national tion operates tlie National Health Infor­ health organizations and associations, mation Clearinghouse (NHIC). NHIC research centers and support groups. provides a vast information and referral MEDLINE: a database of recent articles network to disease-specific health organ­ in medical literature. izations and publication sources. Another component of NHIC, the National In­ PDQ: a database of the latest cancer formation Center for Orphan Drugs and vides information and referral services information supplied by the National Rare Diseases, gathers and disseminates for rare disorders: Cancer Institute. information on these topics specifically. The National Organization for Rare Contact the MEDLARS Management Information Clearinghouse/National Disorders: Fairwood Professional Build­ Section, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Information Center for Orphan Drugs ing #100, Rt. 37/Box K, New Fairfield, MD 20894; 800/638-8480. and Rare Diseases: P. O. Box 1133, Wash­ CA 96812; 203/746-6518. The Combined Health Information ington, D.C. 20013-1133; 800/336-4797. This organization informs and educates Database (CHID) provides references, • Specialized Health Coalitions: As both consumers and professionals about journal articles, books, and audiovisual individuals and organizations, consumer patients'-rights advocacy. materials on arthritis, high blood pres­ health groups are forming coalitions to • Online Sources of Medical Informa­ sure, health education and digestive address the need for information and tion and Referral: Consumer access to diseases. CHID information is accessible self-care. computerized health and medical infor­ through Bibliographic Retrieval Services. This coalition of voluntary health mation is becoming more common. For Combined Health Information Database: organizations, support groups, research­ people without^xpertise or equipment, 2115 East Jefferson Street #401, Rock­ ers, physicians and private citizens pro­ public or medical school libraries some­ ville, MD 20852; 301/468-2162. • fects. Her doctor substituted another medicine, which This time her medical expenses looked Uke this: Physi­ produced a different set of side effects. A third drug cian's visits — $45. Acupuncturist — $60. Aspirin — produced similar results — some relief, accompanied $4. Self-care information (three books, two magazine by annoying side effects. After three months of medical subscriptions, one information packet, one cassette treatment, Dorothy's condition was still undiagnosed, tape) — $71. Self-care tools (heating pad) — $36. although her pain was markedly reduced. Her medical Total — $216. expenses for that period looked like this: Doctor's At the end of three months her symptonjs had im­ visits — $225. Medical tests — $92. Drugs — $86. proved remarkably. And Dorothy had entered the Total — $403. information age. Earlier this year the pain returned. But by this time The upside of the shift from the old physician-centered Dorothy had become a self-care enthusiast. She resolved health care system to the new self-care system is that not to leave things totally up to the doctor. She was we get to be responsible for our own health. The down­ ready to take her health care into her own hands. side is that we will have to be. She began, again, by visiting her physician. "We're still We will have to give up the illusion of having an all- not sure exactly what it is," he told her. But when he knowing. Godlike physician on 24-hour call at all times. reached for his prescription pad, Dorothy held up her The new system forces the self-caring individual to share hand to stop him. the burden of uncertainty we physicians have carried "Please write down what my choices are," she told all along. There are many, many cases in which physi­ him. "I want to consider all my options." cians simply do not have all the answers. Laypeople won't either. Those who choose to follow the self-care Her doctor wrote down the names of three drugs, the path must give up the false security of the professional­ same three she had taken before. Dorothy went to the ized medical model and accept all the fragile beauty and library and read up on each of them. She was surprised the unavoidable uncertainty inherent in human life. • to learn that aspirin often produced equal results at considerably less cost and with fewer side effects. She began treating herself with aspirin. References 1. While it is true tliat some patients may have more confidence in a A friend suggested acupuncture. She visited an acu­ doctor who pretends to be all-lcnowing, such an attitude induces need­ puncturist and had a short course of treatments, with less dependence by undermining laypeople's confidence in their ability to manage their own health affairs. good results. However, the improvement lasted only a 2. Williamson, John D., and Kate Danaher, Self-Care in Health, Croom few days after each treatment. She subscribed to two Helm London, 1978, p. 39. Demers, R.Y., et al., "An Explojration of the health magazines and began taking a multiple vitamin/ Dimensions of Illness Behavior," Journal of Family Practice, 1980; mineral formula. A cousin loaned her a relaxation/ Vol. 11, pp. 1085-1092. Levin, Lowell S, and Idler, Ellen, The Hidden Health Care System, Ballinger, Cambridge MA 1981. healing tape. She listened to it every night at bedtime. 3. EUiott-Binns, Christopher P., "An Analysis of Lay Medicine," Journal It eased the pain and helped her get to sleep. of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Vol. 23, pp. 255-264, 1973. 4. Rottenberg, Simon, "Self-Medication: The Economic Perspective," in At a friend's suggestion, Dorothy began an early- Self-Medication: The New Era ... A Symposium, March 31, 1980, The morning exercise class at the local municipal swimming Proprietary Association, Washington, Washington D.C. 5. Frank, Jerome, "The Faith that Heals," The Johns Hoplcins Medical pool. It seemed to help. She ordered a book on rheu- Journal, Vol. 137, 1975, pp. 127-131. Quoted in Ornstein, Robert, rnatism and an information packet on rheumatic con­ and David Sobel, The Healing Brain, Simon & Schuster, New York ditions from a consumer health information center. 1987, pp. 75-76. 6. The Self-Help Clearinghouse: Ed Madara, Director. St. Clares-River­ Another friend recommended a heating pad that sup- side Medical Center, Pocono Road, Denville, NJ 07834; 201/625-9565. pUed moist heat. Dorothy found it extremely helpful. In New Jersey, call 800/367-6274.

27 GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 133 BACKSCATTER: pfS-S fiTRse.fALL/Mi-AloAJe-./P A fC^HSSr MAKE AOy SoOriD^. echoes from readers back to Whole Eorth ReWew (27 Gate Five Road, Sausalito, California 94965)

Wanted: a soul Tliere is an esoteric teaching tliat says man Is not born with a soul, only the possibility of one. He Is given also potential characteristics that if rea­ lized through constant choice & deci­ sion, bring about something real & time-transcending — a Being of per­ sonality. Perhaps it is not appropriate to make an analogy between man & a magazine, but I'm feeling genuine sadness & some perplexity at the spires, touches, & moves. We are call­ haps because of the contribution of state of Whole Earth Review & I think ing out to each other, let us not be epidemic European diseases, which It has something to do with the soul. deaf to our depths. makes it difficult to distinguish violent deaths from more "natural" demises. The mind-embracing, heart-transcend­ I have chosen not to renew my sub­ Regardless, I am appalled. ing soul eludes easy definition, but of scription not out of anger, but for it this can be said — it can be recog­ those reasons written of above — The problem Is not with Mr Brecht; nized by other souls, & it can't be of perplexity & sadness. I am sure his Intentions were good, failed to genuine souls. Over the Evan Roberts and his list Is a valuable resource. years you've received letters or occa­ Ashland, OR However, the very fact that the vio­ sionally printed articles (the man who lent conquest of our own continent returned every issue you'd ever printed by our own ancestors could be over­ because of an article on Muktananda; When lefties are victims looked in compiling such an article is the Russian Orthodox priest who was disturbing. Since the end of the "Indian Though Greg Brecht denies a "bias incensed at your clever Ameruss flag) Wars," white America's attitude to­ against communism" in his "World's wfsere the passion of the writer was wards Native Americans has alternated Worst Massacres" (WER #56, p. 74), so genuine, his soul so obvious, that it between mindless romanticism and certain omissions make one wonder. Immediately delineated the limits of a malign neglect. Neither is acceptable. magazine dedicated to the prolifera­ Estimates of the number of Indonesian Mark McDonough tion of Ideas for ideas' sake. communists killed after the downfall Providence, Rl This proliferation of ideas without of Sukarno range from .5 million to I roots, of information unconnected to million. Though he Includes mention meaning or experience, & of lives of the 6 million Jews and .5 million Inflating the menace devoid of significance. Is the curse of Gypsies who died in the camps of our Age. If It is true that we are only Nazi Germany, he leaves out the 1.5 Re: the "500,000" victims of the on the brink of the Information Age, million German communists and other "Hanoi Red Terror" . . . That number then the curse is just beginning too. leftists who also died there. The total began as 50,000 in a 1969 Nixon figure for the Holocaust Is usually speech, and by 1971 had become a As we Americans know nothing about estimated at II million. half million. Noam Chomsky analyzes freedom & much about license, I feel the event in his book The Washington that our press knows a great deal Brecht's compilation is useful and sad­ Connection (CQ #41) and concludes about license & little about respon­ dening, but it would be stronger if he the actual number was between sibility. To continually print the sensa­ included leftists when they are the 3,000 and 15,000. tional, the bizarre, the weird, & the victims, in addition to when they are mind-numbing catastrophe (I'm think­ the perpetrators, of massacres. The quality of Brecht's scholarship ing of Whole Earth Review, too) just Jim Gasperini and his "Red Terror" labeling are gives more credibility to a superficial New York, NY certainly on a par with current White world dominated by a superficial man. House disinformation events, and deserves equal treatment. I would not have continued my sub­ Malign neglect Dick Fugett scription for these years had I not WER Distribution felt something important was trying I hope this is one of a flood of letters to be born. You've certainly gone pointing out that Greg Brecht's "The through some major transitions, & World's Worst Massacres" in WER Editorial typo always the specter or impending 56 includes the Spanish conquest but financial doom loomed overhead, but leaves out a massacre closer to home I assume that the reference to "West you were striving for something. — our own genocidal v«r of attrition Iran" in "The World's Worst Massa­ against Native Americans. Perhaps cres" was actually intended to be a What; Mr. Brecht passed over this episode reference to "West Irian," I.e. West ... I think it is the soul in man, or due to the difficulty of estimating Papua (or "Irian Jaya," as the Indo­ even his potential soul, that wants to aboriginal population levels, since nesians call it). be Inspired, touched, & moved, & I Native Americans were killed faster Walt Noiseaux think it is the soul of man thot In- than they could be counted. Or per- Syracuse, NY

134 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Author responds

The 1965-66 events in Indonesia I'll stick by my guns on the Hanoi Red that for the region from Sonera north, should have been on the list. 750,000 Terror. I've looked at the claims it is a all the way to Greenland and Alaska, is almost certainly too high a figure, lie, a disinformation campaign. There's about a million is a credible figure. though I've seen ranges from a hun­ no doubt the Right cheerfully lies The totals massacred, killed, taken dred thousand to a million. The item every chance it gets and happily makes for slavery (some thousands were was on a rough draft and v^as lost in such claims. But it looks to me like sold into slavery in the West Indies, preparing final copy, t do not accept the truth. I happen to think the right like the Carolina Yamassee people) the view that the killing was with U.S. side won that phase of the war. I hap­ would probably be in the low hundred approval, though undeniably we were pen to think the Vietnamese are better thousands. What killed the Indians involved. Ethnic animosities run deep, off under the current regime than was European diseases. We stole the and much of it was a mass pogrom under the French or under the South­ continent from the native people at against ethnic Chinese — such ani­ ern rulers. But it seems to me that the same time the Russians stole Si­ mosity exists most notably in Malaysia crimes by the side I agree with are no beria from it$ native people. The Rus­ right now, where it could boil over less criminal than those committed by sians killed some thousands of natives into large-scale massacre soon. the other side. That figure [500,000] too, but disease killed far more. My seems to me to be credible. There intent was to list paroxysms of vio­ WER made an error, though a small are ranges, usually highly partisan lence. In terms of killing ferocity, the one. "West Iran" should have been ones, from a few to a million. Spanish in Peru, Mexico, the Indies "West Irian." Sallie [Tisdale] said she and against the Maya were, I think, "corrected" it to read "Iran." West I left out the American Indian inten­ far more deadly. In the end, the re­ Irian is the Indonesian name for the tionally. I would take Zinn's figures sult has been the same — dispossession former Dutch half of New Guinea with a grain of salt. There are ex­ from the land. , . . where the Indonesians are cornmitting tremely wide-ranging estimates of the Greg Brecht ecocide and pushing aside the native pre-Columbian population for all the Green Bay, Wl , Melanesians in a small but bloody little Americas. I've looked at these figures war with genocidal overtones. in some detail, and it seems to me

Felt marker morality

In issue '•5& you published a 'ctior trom someone in S.iudi Arabia who complained aoout the ccnsoiship thoic I tiiouglit that pcrh.ips you migh[ like to sec an example of chis cciisoiship I have a friend who has been working in Saudi Arabia foi the last few years Rccciitly he sent mo some examples o< censorship, p,»t of rhc daily faic that he is sub|cci to I have enclosed some of these ex­ amples for youi amusement 1 and disgust) Pctci S.ibatiiii h /M-i" r A

Mathematical proof of Murphey's Law

Basic Murphey's Law as stated "If a thing can go wrong — it will " The proof Assumptions - A There is only one way a thing can "go right." every othor way is wrong B There are an infinite number of ways a thing can occur

Therefore — the chance 't T.^-'Mr'g .. 00 , going wrong are -p, or mnnity divided b/ one Tips proof occur . . -- ' '••• • -.e on a 70 ft (continuedi

• 1. li-l K. liU S-M.l2A.r •) 135 ^> i;iV tower, when the second piece of mineshafts in small cages. If the "Soundoff" has become a community scrap pipe I tossed down cut my canary keeled over there was poison­ forum. People dialogue back and power cord for the second time. ous gas around.) In other words if forth with each other, referring to Hubert Beach herons are refusing to reproduce we what they've previously read. My wife Saline, Ml should follow suit: serious danger and I sit around the kitchen table exists. The environmental study, sometimes chuckling, sometimes naturally not yet released, suggests roaring and once in a v/hile crying The heron test that dioxins are being released from over the comments. I write a weekly There are two small towns on the both the pulp & the sawmills, con­ editorial column for the paper and east coast of Vancouver Island about taminating the marine food chain. "Soundoff" is where I look for fifteen miles apart, Chemainus with a Apparently the study is being released feedback. pulp mill and Crofton with a sawmill. in September & I shall follow it up, Ted Braude The former uses a multitude of che­ but meanwhile do any of your readers Royal Oak, Ml micals, the latter employs fungicides have any similar information? on wpod to be exported, to retard Roger, Wanda & the children Getting off our asses rotting. Between these two sites, the Duncan, BC habitat of many birds, it was found in Eminent idea — what if our desk­ the course of a (Canadian) Federal Letters to the bound workforce were to lift its Department of the Environment study collective rear end? that sixty herons had nested this year. answering machine John Benecki They collectively produced 167 eggs, Portland, OR every one of which they destroyed The local paper in southeastern Oak­ land County, Michigan, "The Daily spontaneously. Our Desk.. .still stands alone Tribune," has a very popular section STAND-UP DESKS handcrafled to Now herons have a very high percen­ called "Soundoff." People phone in your height In oak, mahogany or walnut. tage of successful "reproductions;" comments about anything whatsoever For free broctiure: around 90% compared to 30-40% to an always available answering ma­ The Stand-Up Desk Company 5207 Saitimore Avenue for most other avian species. This chine. The paper prints them without Belhesda, (Maryland 20816 (301) 657:^630 action seemed unprecedented, and names, just their location or an alias. ominous for humans. A Vancouver Popular topics have included Jim and wildlife biologist compared the rela­ Tammy Bakker, the mail delivery, tionship between herons & man to barking dogs and roaming cats, mail Sweepstake crossovers that of the canaries & the miners in carriers walking across lawns, parking About 18 months ago here in Atlanta, the nineteenth century. (The miners on the street, and local political a string of phone-related accidents would tal#i\ way after leaving the mold, nor even inspected by anyone in the health digit different from the call-back provider chain, for that matter number Through no fault of their own they got one call every 20 \ •,i.„{-wSit Lest women feel they have been sing­ \4|!lS«i^«||jf seconds all that day. led out by the medical establishment, my finding a lot of rough edges on Reducing the risk of this repeating cardiac pacemakers while working at itself could take place at any step: Duke medical center leads me to feel Legislation limiting "computerized"

Effects of mofd altgntnent cm tfie shape of lUDs are not the only devices subject sales pitches (this hasn't been done); a moiaed spfiere to this sort of abuse. a security code on the emergency fl) hcild perfectly aligned &) MolO slightly out of alignment tinife edg Alex Funk phone number (this has been done) Durham, NC and for the poor lady getting the

136 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTEVINTWR 198I 7 on nightmare), and then he blames everybody and everything else: the agents of the system, Plato, Calvin — Paul Hawken Predicts Collapse anybody at all, but not him, boy — for "absorbing" his children. The quintessential Yankee bargainer, he can't resist telling us the abortion of Some of the most popular stories tober, 1983, or October, 1987." I the third child cost $125.00. The we have ever run have been Paul talked to Paul on October 19, 1987, question is not whether he's had a Hawken's sterling economic ana­ after the Dow-Jones index fell 500 tough time. The question for me is lyses. They invariably prove to be points in one day, and he said whether he has confronted the moral dead on. l-le scored a bullseye that his prediction was not a mat­ questions of his own behaviour Judg­ recently with his earlier predic­ ter of psychic telepathy as much ing from what he's written, Gatto has tion of 0 credit collapse. In an as calculations based on the cycle neither the courage nor the honesty article seven years ago (Summer theories of the Austrian economist to recognize that he has been, 1980 CQ, p. S3) titled "What's Eco­ Kuznet. Interested readers may throughout, his own and his chil­ nomical?" Paul described the find further prophecy in the le^ead dren's worst enemy. coming credit collapse in detail. article of the Fall 1985 issue ~ When pressed he said, "If I were which Paul wrote, "We're In A I know why my birth mother gave me to predict a date, I would say Oc­ 1920s Economy." —KK up. As a woman, now, cognizant of the pressures and moralistic restric­ tions of the society she lived in, I can understand, love and forgive (and moreover, be glad and grateful for wrong numbers, not much. If readers ization called Lovers of the Stinking the love of my adoptive parents). 1 do are unfamiliar with the design pro­ Rose c/o Aris Books, 1621 5th St., not understand Gatto. And, while cess that went into the design of the Berkeley, CA 94710. A lifelong mem­ shame is, I suspect, not within his Touch-Tone (TM) keypad, it makes in­ bership in this club (which is not an vocabulary. Judging from his article, it teresting reading. The designs were a Aris Books advertising gimmick, but a damn well should be. Not, perhaps, speed vs. accuracy trade-off. The lady real club with chapters & meetings) for being the selfish flake he was, but could only wish that The Labs had put costs just $25 and includes the above- for being the self-aggrandizing flake a higher priority on accuracy. mentioned book, along with a 2-year he still is. subscription to the newsletter, "The This was sort of an information-age Garlic Times" (quarterly), & special Pat Mayne Ellis Orson Welles "War of the Worlds." discounts on various mail odor (sic) Vancouver, BC Brent Laminack items. To continue receiving the Atlanta, GA newsletter after 2 years, order a mail Homebal

n GATE FIVE ROAD SAUSALITO, CA 94965 B7 Gossip By the fifth game, experienced center of the universe, or the teams would advance in packs of Whole Earth. "The Whole Earth War Games three, alternatively creeping and But since I'm in the center of a are ON. All combatants will muster pouncing, covering their partners conversationally transparent office, at 0800 at Whole Earth HQ to in the distinctive camaraderie I've been taking up former editor work out troop transport and other infantry is famous for. Anne Herbert's habit of collecting logistics. Bring personal mess gear fragments. Some recent goodies. for picnic-style lunch. Dress for It was hard to tell who the heroes Don, referring to cosmic physics, combat under valley conditions, that day were. On this large range, "They used to think that infinite daytime," read the announce­ a skirmish could happen at one was as big as you could get." ment on the bulletin board posted end without the other end knowing Kathleen and me talking about a by Stewart. about it. Even though there were only sixteen of us, I never ran into picture of a robot pointing a gun Inspired somewhat by last issue's Stewart on the field. We did meet at a car. Me, "That's the future." article, "War Games" (p. 78), once in "heaven," the shaded Kathleen, "I'm glad I'm dying." Stewart arranged for a platoon of area you go to when you are dead. Don, looking at the Brookstone Whole Earth crew and friends to When I got there Stewart was al­ catalog, — "Susan, do you have invade a dry, hilly ranch about an ready collapsed in a rigor-mortis- undercar fatigue?" Susan — "I hour and half south of San Fran­ like rest. He had a fresh red splat don't know." Don ~ "Well you cisco. Four of us with a dozen other right in the middle of his forehead. don't need to worry 'cause here's friends made a troop of sixteen. It was like a soggy Hindu dot, a a creeper to stop it." Divided into two teams, we would bull's-eye centered so perfectly it By the looks of our financial report, splat each other with grape-size looked silly. He noticed my grin. I'm at last free from having to whine balls filled with paint. "Patty got me. And boy, did she about money. Relief came from enjoy it." It was an extremely hot day. The three directions. I sent around a field was pure slope. Down into Dick Fugett couldn't make the War query to a small selection of char­ scrub oak thickets, or up steeply Gomes because of inescapable itable people and foundations through dusty, scratchy grass to two babysitting duties. He was home soliciting funds for Whole Earth's hills, a flag on each. None of us with newborn daughter Kerry. For long-term growth. An early, anon­ had ever played before. The enemy much of her short life, Kerry has ymous Maniacal supporter (you would be the terrain and heat. wriggled and napped in the offices know who you are) lent us $20,000 In the first game everyone rushed at 27 Gate Five Road, where baby­ interest-free, to be paid back in pell-mell into enemy lines, charged sitting privileges are often passed two years, so that we could com­ up hills recklessly, and got shot around during the work day. Three pound our direct mail efforts. This quick. The second game, slowed days a week Cindy (bookkeeper), was in addition to a $10,000 inter­ by exhaustion or caution, was half Dick (newsstand sales) and Kerry est-free loan for a year from a new over before the first round was fired. (potential intern) commute an hour supporter responding to Stewart's south from their mini-farm "Narrow call for philanthropic advisors. The Acres" near Santa Rosa. Says Dick most heartwarming letters were gleefully as he considers their new from readers replying to my ser- i3p- family of three, "Now we can drive monefte last issue asking for con­ in the fast carpool lane." tributions toward a direct-mail out­ reach. Gifts totaling about $2,000 Office babies have been a life- came in, ranging from tens to hun­ saver for Whole Earth, too. Without dreds of dollars, always accom­ encouraging parenting on the job, panied by a significant personal we would have lost more than one note. A collective thanks from us to of our bookkeeper/office mana­ individual yous. Please stand by as gers, and have had to suffer the we launch into the industrial world wrenching transition from part-time of direct marketing. efficiency to full-time financial con­ fusion. Our office architecture is of Sevenfy-one thousand pieces of the style called "overhearing con­ junk mail are now headed toward versations" so if a crying baby was likely candidates for Whole Earth a real problem, I'd know about it readership. We are testing small since I overhear dialog in Cindy groups of names from lists such as: Fugett's adjacent office and she in Utne Reader (they use our list mine, and father Dick's office is often and successfully). Mother well within crying distance. An Jones, Harrowsmith, Rain, the office baby brings nothing but Sierra Club, the Planetary Society, seven pounds of good. I am re­ the Institute of Noetic Sciences, minded by the presence of Kerry New Options, In These Times, that 34-year-olds are not the Parabola ond seven others. To op­ timize the response, we're offering the choice to "bill me later." Some time in October the respondents will receive a bill, and their first Dead on arrival, issue. The cover? You guessed it. Stewart Brand and wife Patty "Doing Drag," the gal/guy with Phelan wait out the last stages the hairy chest. Our hope is that of a game. they'll open it up, find themselves more informed than titillated, and

138 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Changing diapers like a pro, Dick Fugett uses a momen­ tarily vacant desk as the nursery room.

programmers subscribe to WER as "the one magazine I get good programming ideas from." I think their wide interests are reflected in the wide appeal of their invention, the Macintosh. When I'm asked "What computer should I buy?", I have a ready answer, with no qualifications: Get a Mac. It's the only computer that both novices and professionals fall in love with. We have seven of them on loan from Apple, and unlike the dull and clumsy (but cheap!) PC clones, they're finding their way into almost everything we do. As Fabrice Florin, our video reviewer, said, "Ain't it great to be in a PC-free environment?" What he meant was, ain't it great to have computers without having to think like them? Not quite, but we're getting close.

Ken Conner, our former copy editor, was in charge of the care and feeding of the weekly Whole pay up. No publishing expert worth continuing to gatheir material for a Earth Column in the San Francisco his $100,000 a year would endorse Fringes book, while we explore Chronicle for the last couple of a cover like that to be sent as di­ alternative publishing avenues. years. The Chronicle wooed him rect mail. And that's what we are It's probable that our next publi­ away to help care and feed the selling — o magazine that ignores cation won't even be a book. It rest of the paper. Now he's working expert dogma. Those newcomers will be an electronic version of the 3/4-time on their Sunday maga­ who perceive that will sign up to Whole Earth Catalog pressed into zine supplement "This World." be very loyal readers. (To hedge plastic as a compact disc. Com­ He turned the Column over to that cocky boldness, we're also pact disc readers, playing digital Jeanne Carstensen, who will hop sending them the next issue — this music and computer software and right onto the job as soon as she one. If they don't go for either, "books" like the Encyclopedia finishes the little matter of co-editing we're out of luck.) Britannia, will supercede VCRs os this issue. Ken's copyediting job is the next consumer gadgetry to still up for grabs. It fuses a bunch The commercial discipline of the covet. If all goes well, the Catalog of other duties into a managing marketplace continues to keep us Disc may be released within a (details) editor role. Serious in­ honest and perplexed. Our fortune year. "Well" means that the soft­ quiries only. —Kevin Kelly is pegged to the Hollywood maxim ware publisher we are negotiating that "you are never any better with remains convinced there is a than your last film." The last two market, and that the standard features we produced, the Whole technology stays standard. We're Earth Software Catalog and the betting it will be Apple's Macintosh. Stewart Brand's Essential Whole Earth Catalog, were not bestsellers. Our proposal As I have been working with Apple The Media Lab for a book enlarging the weirdness Computer, Inc., a very corporate (Reviewed on p. 81) and fun of "The Fringes of Reason" corporation at this point, I've been $18 postpaid fWER #52) has met with enthu­ surprised at the number of fanatical siasm, but no money. The experts whole Earth subscribers I've met. ($2 off list price) say it needs to be a New York Mike Leibhold, a manager in the from WER Times bestseller to cover the cost of Advance Technology department 27 Gate Five Road making it. Either we've priced our­ and our liaison with the HyperCard Sausalito, CA 94965 selves out of the publishing game project (see p. 104), told me he was (possible), or they've priced them­ turned on to technology by Co- (Add $2 for UPS and selves out of the publishing game Evolution Quarterly #76 (Winter have your order to by not accepting solid, even sales, '77), the Broadcast special issue. us by Dec. 10 if you instead of boom-or-bust hit parades Earlier he contributed to the Space want it for Christnnas.) (probable). Ted Schultz, editor of Colonies issue (#9, Spring '76). our special issue "Fringes," is Many of Apple's chief Macintosh

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140 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW WINTER 1987 Point/Whole Earth Consolidated Report: Third Quarter (July-September) 1987

EARTH INCOME Direct distribution 1,018 Subscriptions $ 129,299 Dell (national newsstand) 1,401 Stewart Brand Bacl< issues 1,064 Mailing list rental 740 Publisher Mailing list rental 7,966 Fulfillment: EWEC 356 Kevin Kelly Unclassifieds 676 Purchases: EWEC -302 Direct distribution 22,502 WESC 235 Editor Dell (national newsstand) • 13,447 Syndicated column 6,330 Jeanne Carstensen Sales: EWEC 3,114 Computer networks 227 Guest Editor/Whole Earth Column WESC 252 Apple project 13,032 Best of CQ 106 Insurance: 2,756 Richard Nilsen Syndicated column 7,700 Taxes: Assistant Editor Royalties 405 Payroll PICA 6,251 Contributions 6,657 Other 556 Kathleen O'Neill Interest 734 Supplies/research 3,141 Design Miscellaneous 586 Equipment rent/maintenance 587 Apple project 35,000 Telephone/networks 1,209 Donald Ryan Postage 1,334 Total Income: $ 229,508 Camera, Pasteup Auto/travel 0 EXPENSES Rent/maintenance/utilities James Donnelly 10,201 Salaries: Editorial $ 15,322 Legal/professional services 412 Typesetting/Copy Editor Production 10,360 Interest/bank charges 1,581 Susan Erkel Ryan Circulation 12,589 Miscellaneous expenses 396 Office 5,178 Production Manager Total Expenses: $ 169,264 Research 2,811 Hank Roberts Outside production services 852 PROFIT/LOSS: 60,244 Proofreading " • Writers/contributors 9,400 Magazine printing 26,664 Jonathan Evelegh Subscription fulfillment 12,262 i Proofreading Circulation promotion 22,365 1 ^^^^ ^"'"^ QUARTER IS 1 • usually the nadir of our Susan Crutchfield 1 m finnnrinl honlih. Which Pasteup POINT FOUNDATION BOARD makes our current profit an unusual event. Subscription revenue remained Steve Lipke strong as a result of strong renewals Pasteup Stewart Brand, Doug Carlson, (three-year subs continued to come Robert Fuller, Huey Johnson, in OS a result of our Best of CQ offer); Cindy Craig Fugett contributions increased as a result of Kevin Kelly Bookkeeper Kevin's letter in issue #56; we collected some past-due accounts receivable David Burnor Mailing Services: from several of our nev/sstand distrib­ Subscriptions, Librarian utors; and we completed a successful American Press, Columbia, MO; project for Apple Computer All con­ Dick Fugett Subscription Fulfillment, tributed to improved results. Far-Ranging Factotum Santa Ana, CA. I should note that we do have two Keith Jordan, Richard Schauffler Mailing List Brokers: loans totaling $30,000 that are being Circulation/Subscriptions/ Pacific Lists, Mill Valley, CA; used for our direct mail campaign. Mulling List Triplex Direct Marketing Cor­ That money doesn't appear in this poration, San Rafael, CA. report (since it isn't income), but some Paul Davis of the direct-mail expenses have been General Purpose Clerk Stats and Halftones: incurred. The financial results of our Marinstat, Mill Valley, CA. campaign should appear next issue. Peggi Oakley In the meantime, we're trying to keep Transcriptions Printing: a fund set aside to pay back the B. S. Beaver, James Donnelly, American Press, Columbia, MO. loans with. Larry Gonick, Jay Kinney, Let's hope this positive trend continues. Jim Woodring, Fei Yang The WELL —Cindy Fugett, Bookkeeper Illustrations Cliff Figallo J. Baldwin Director Soft Tech and Nomadics The WELL Financial Statement Richard Nilsen, Peter Warshali John Coate INCOME Marketing Director Sales $ 71,630 Land Use EXPENSES Art Kleiner Robin Gail Ramsey Payroll 25,213 Communications Accounts Manager Office 4,461 General/Administrative 10,879 Robert Horvitz Elaine Richards Computer 20,730 Art System Administrator Sales 1,067 Other 1,589 Planetree Health Resource Center Andy Beals PROFIT/LOSS: 7,691 Medicine Technical Consultant

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The UNCLASSIFIEDS are a reader-to-reader service available to WER subscribers only. They're de­ signed to provide a cheap communications network for WER readers and mild financial assistance to the magazine. COUPLE, FORTIES, FLEXIBLE. Trilingual. Academic and fashion backgrounds. Seeking next project anywhere. Builder decorator. Skipper chef. Write Box 5, Javea, Alicante, Spain. 1596 Vista Clarldad, La Jolla, Cali­ fornia 92037. LIVING FREE newsletter. Forum for debate among freedom-seekers, homesteaders, suf- vlvalists, libertarians, anarchists, outlaws. Lively, unique. $8.00 for 6 Issues, sample $1.00. Box 29-WER, Hller Branch, Buffalo, CHAIR CANING AND BASKETRY supplies. NY 14223. BEI SHU SHAKUHACHI have been used in Catalog $1.00 (refundable). Caning Shop, concert performance with the Berlin Phil­ 926 Gllman, Dept. WER, Berkeley, CA 94710. harmonic, the Boston Pops, the Cleveland Symphony, etc. Bel Shu shakuhachi are also SEXUAL TOYS AND BOOKS. Tasteful, ^ suitable for blowing Zen anywhere, as adver­ honest, feminist, fun catalog. $1.00. Good tised through (and used by) a dealer reviewed VIbratlons/WER, 3492 22nd St., San Fran­ in Whole Earth Catalogs. See WER, Spring, cisco, CA 94110. 1987, Unclassifieds. When ordered direct, ScheMACtics! Innagewrlter, Macintosh (and any Bel Shu shakuhachi will be repurchased other) diagrams facilitate servicing. Free list. if returned in good condition at any future ALF, 648 W Club Blvd, Durham NC 27701. time for full original purchase price to be credited against the purchase of a more ex­ LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE on your pensive Bel Shu shakuhachi. Free catalog own! Comprehensive oassette/home-study ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EXPLORITORIUM. upon request. 4505 Ikuta, Matsukawa Cho, courses used by U.S. State Department. Free Real Goods has the largest selection and Nagano Ken, Japan 399-34. Bel Shu catalog, 130 courses in 47 languages. lowest prices on alternative power systems Shakuhachi. ' Audio-Forum, Dept. 326, Guilford, CT 06437. in the world. Solar Electric, hydro, water pumping, 12 volt appliances from food pro­ cessor/blender to butane iron. Sample prices: Arco M-75, 47 watt solar panel... $305. Paloma PH-6 tankless water heater ... $249. Sibir propane refrigerator... $850. Send $5.00 for complete 175 page 1987 catalog/sourcebook to Real Goods, 3041 Guidiville St., Ukiah, CA 95482. 707/468-9214. ORGANIC GARLIC BRAIDS, Herbs, Spices, Sundried Fruit & Vegetables, Backpacker Mixes and more. Free Catalog. Marin SOFTWARE FOR THE BODY - We are a Organic Network, R O. Box 7037W, Corte cottage industry handcrafting a uniquely IS SERIAL MONOGAMY like a soap opera Madera, CA 94925. simple yet elegant oollectlon of cotton you can't turn off? Change your channel at clothes for women and men. Offerings in­ Syntropy Institute's free communal living clude comfy pants, jackets, shorts, skirts, discussion groups. 408-993-2857. dresses and more. Gentle prices and Incredi­ ble versatility keynote our selection. Send $1 YELAPA-PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, cross for our catalogue and fabric samples. DEVA, cultural health seminars and fitness adven­ Box WEN7, Burkittsvllle, MD 21718. tures, socially conscious travel. Certification and CEUs. Brochure: Center for Traditional WORLDWIDE ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS and Medicine, Box 1526, Cambridge, MA 02238. magazine-of-month club. 65 countriesi 617-489-3806 V/tty. Sampler: 4/$2.98. Free brochure. Multi- newspapers, Box DE-WF, Dana Point, Cali­ NUDISTS BED AND BREAKFAST Directory, fornia 92629. $15.00 per copy. Order from: KIB Com­ munications, R O. Box 1676, Dept. I, Humble, POWER READERS get volume discounts on TX 77347-1676. Flatland Distribution's selection of small MOBILES FOR THE OUT-OF-DOORS. Brass, press periodicals and books. Free catalog: ACCREDITED NONTRADITIONAL Bachelor's, stone, and fishing swivels; see them in the FD, 1844 Foothill Blvd., Oakland, CA 94606. Masters and Doctorates — get professional Goodfellow Catalog of Crafts (Home and Of­ assistance towards home-study degrees fice) or write me for a flyer. $90 and up (men­ WE NEED YOUR HELP to help the planet. from the experts. Degree Consulting Services, tion WER); tiny to tremendous. Hank Roberts Collective land purchase for Permaculture R O. Box 3533SC, Santa Rosa, CA 96402 (Mobiles), R O. Box 231, Berkeley, CA 94701; Teaching Center. Permaculture Pyrenees. (707) 539-6466. 415/549-2766. 11300 Bouriege. France.

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