Part three: Bikonomics

So im running out of ideas, so I figure if going to be writing a book on sustainabilty i need to stay on topic on the ability to sustain

Transportation.

In the world of fitness and also in the world of keeping an absolutely good time, the bike is my number one laison to these worlds. As my former art TA, Lacey, has once told me that it is the perfect transportation method and is also the most effient. But that was Maryland a whole different world, and I am talking about somewhere that is less humid, less compact, and somewhere that 330 days of sunshine has made my shoulders look like the dark side of the moon. In New Mexico especially around Albuquerque, being a bike commuter is very common and very practical, the roads were not meant for as many cars that are on it it so the best way to bypass this is simply zip around traffic like a drunken Italian man on a scooter. Albeit it is dangerous, but that is more the general consensus now.

So living in the United States, can be hard at time
So the bicycle is one of the most versitile tools ever craft by the hands of people. The simple ingenuity has made it completely versitile to go over

Here are some tips that can help make the bike riding experience more profound.

Have fun, realize where ever you are that your body is transporting you at the speed never attainable by walking or running. That in itself is a beauty of design. Also, it allows you to discover areas of town that would normally be overlooked in the gridlock or at the stoplight. ALso remember that every bicycle on the road is one less car on the road. Which brings about less road maintainence, less pollution, more healthy people.

Its low cost. upfront cost for a bicycle can seem daunting at first especially with price ranges from free to up to ten thousand dollars. First, evaluate the needs of a bicycle and what you would be using it for (size,recreation, commuting, exercise, etc.)
Then follow-up with what is available on the market, check classified or Craigslist first because someone is trying to get rid a bike, while you are trying to find one. If there is nothing avilable for your needs resort to a local bike shop or internet. Generally the bikes put together at department stores are not put together in the right way where the maintainance costs later will curb the higher costs of the products, which are generally higher quality. Also making sure that the bike is the right fit, will guarentee that you are making the most of your legs, and not injurying yourself in the process.

Its exercise, most people complain about all of the different diets that they have been on that never work, but simply by the fact of changing the commuting pattern from driving everyday to cycling every so often will cut many calories, many tour cyclists can burn up to ten thousand calories a day, making it a great way to lose weight but also a hard way to keep it on.
Many people don't like the the bicycle due to the danger of the roads, which is true. But there is as equally chance that you would get in a car accident as a cycling cras, the only set back is that there are no seatblets or airbags.

Tips to organize around the bicycle

There is a national cycle to work day where the whole country can stand together and said that they tried something new. But why stop at one day a year? When
In 2006 many different programs taking on the ideas of the Europeans and their already velo-friendly population

Part two of the novel writing process.

So im back after reading into insights from a rediscovered gem "recipes for disaster" that is currently defining what the importance of direct action and being an individual. Considering I don't want this project to be distributed, I will not regurgitate some of the ideas that I am reading but teak them in a way best suit my needs for the project. 2500 words down 47000 to go!
I like to think of myself as the guy that can't pronounce mountains because I feel that the 't' makes no sense.

Delegation: the leader cometh

Leadership is inspiring others to create something beautiful.


Charisma, is a special trait that is found by some people and revered by others. It is not matter, nor is it something that physically measured, but nevertheless exists. People say it is the best quality of a leader, it makes the public want to listen, and lets information reach a broader margin than what normal people. The word charisma according to the american heritage dictionary is "a divinely conferred gift or power." or literarily meaning the gift of the heavens has given you this power.
Always remember that you do have good ideas, that people do want to hear, you simply need to find them.

(Insert sketch of super Iain Deason)

But lets fast forward to the speed of now and away from the comic book adventure you are sitting down reading this line of text, or standing dictating to group of eager learners (which would be awesome) and let us say that you possess the same the same gift that many of history's greatests have also claimed to have. Now you need to spread this gift like if St. Nick had a giant butter knife, and all you need is an attentive audience. As stated earlier, most likely you are a member of some sort of community, whether it be a school, church, neighborhood association, or civil war reinating society, and there are people available to her your message loud and clear. But my mantra to this is remember that time has a direct correlation to opportunities. So more time being spend on this process can generally yield more
followers. Much like how the popular students at a high school spend most of their time at school being popular, this holds the same idea.

Crafting a message

Before you decide to make any rash decision to get your displines to follow you to your grave, you need to create a little something called a message
A messge is normally the best way to get the idea accross in a concise manner a message should be a well rehearsed showcase of values and asks. A message can be in the form of the
A slogan can be as simple as a few words (I think I can attest for Nike's success in "Just Do It")or as complex as a several well-streamed thoughts together.

Involving your allies
Normally the best way to approach an ally is to have te message well prepared for the audience who ever it may be, and be ready for anyone anything, in any situation, just remember the best way to judge the messge is making a generalizations of values of your audience, and start off slow. Don't rush and allow breathing room for the people you are talking to. Even though, you have the god-given power, if you ask them too much too soon you can hinder your effectiveness to

Training your Voluteers

Ownership is very important nowadays to have successful actions, as much as your message needs a slogan. Your group needs a name. Anything that can help you show off this power can be helpful: Charts, diagrams, agendas, and general organization, well persuade people that you are putting a good deal of effort into what you are talking about and are serious about making the world crafted into your image (Carbon neutral I hope...) Showing good signs of organization will also make you more of a resource to your organization. It may more than six days, but it can happen it just happens to the amount of effort put in. But the beauty of delegation is that these charts that you are showing, could actually be made by someone else. When trust of the organiztion grows, bigger responsibiltity can be shared

Follow up and Responsiblity
Mechanics of Group
Is equally as important as the create of the planning and inter-dependability, is having everything follow through the planning process well.

Remember that you aren't the only one in the world with the same views. It may be a very disconcerting feeling that when you are left out be yourself, like the crowd of kids had already picked teams or everyone got trophies but you but realize that the small setbacks can't stand in the way of the goal . If Konrad Adenauer would have given up after the the reunifitication the amount of effort. really does dicitate how much can get done.
(Benny the Icepick interview)
Here is an effective example of the implementation of new bike routes in albuquerque

Book Writing Process step one getting ideas on paper (internet paper.

So for me to make sense of the "novel" that I am writing, I am performing this piece within the confines of my blog. Nothing provides a more soft, and easy to compose view than staring at the very simple functions of its Word Processor. So to that, I say three cheers to the internet and the compisition that will be adding to endless spiral of complexity known as the world wide web.
On a side note of creativity, would the internet on mars be the mww or www? I must know because I will invent the internet on mars.

Communication is Key

So I like like most modern civilized human beings live in community, not only for necessity, but also logic dictates it. Many researchers time and time again, have have made heavy correlations between the effectiviness of working together and the. Some people call it delegation, but I think it is something else.

But outside of all of the utilitarian influences of living together I think it is fun. There is nothing in the world that can bemore fun than doing things with other people. Writing papers, turn into knowledgable codyediting sessions, learning turns into tutoring, dancing.. well, becomes a lot more fun with others. It seems that humans are wired to be together not physically of course, unless you are a set of conjoined twins. There is research that states that the more human interaction .......

With all of these interactions to do everything together, why do people face the common problems everyday. People can be much more conscious than you can think, the human mind is a sponge literally absorbing as much as it can until information oozes out in the form of speech and action.

I may not be a mathetechian, though one day I thouhght I would be (notice how I said "one day") but this formula, that I very vaguely alluded to, there are people and there are common problems. People love to talk to one another in anyway possible in trains, over the internet, on the street, on the run. this communication is fundemental to the formula.

There was a human psychologist, was trying to figure out why some many people had to deal with imaginary friends when they were growing up, and why certain traits always reoccured. And from there it hit him, like a pile of psychology midterms, problem solving most of the time people would allude to conversation as a form of problem solving; therefore, the children or adults talking to themselves were trying to solve problems in their lives. This doesn't take into account for people with Disassociative Identiy Disorder or Scchreoprenia, but thiswas at the turn of the century.

So with this link of a communication and problem solving, there is a huge red 'X' on every single person and problem. Maybe this is why strangers on the bus always want to talk it is releiving to rid a personal world of problems.

But asides from that, and back to the formula, there is a link between people and places based on need. There is a link between people and communicaiton based on need. and there is a basis of communication and problem solving.

So if this makes any sense it seems like people love to solve problems, and thats why the crossword industry makes a fortune every year. That can be a reason why so many people don't enjoy being retired. People that are involved with politics deal with civic problems dealing with citiznes trying to make the world a free place to communicate. Firefighters, police and other community officials use communication to solve the problems of everyday citzizens, leaving the commoners with little worry or effort.

Which brings up another problem of worry and effort. If no ones worries about the problems of everyday life, who will then deal with them, the police? Fire department?

Everyday Problems
Well when these problems don't get solved that can cause a lot of collective worry from everyone, just like the awkward feeling you get when you aren't prepared for a test that you haven't studied for. Your blood is rushing through your temple and into your head, and you can get the feeling of hopelessness or utter frustration.

Hey thats great but what about the planet
And what about in the regard to the climate change. The planet is something that we all share and that is 100 percent fact, there is no theory that can be hypothesised that will disprove that one. And, like it or not, we share the same spaces and resources as everyone on the planet. Just think a potato that you can cook, could be cooked in the same way as thousands of people at the same time, I think it's pretty cool to think about. But this is a problem involving everyone, and something that can seriously be worried about, considering everything we have today is derived from the Earth.

Here is a quick list of planet problems that can be discussed with people.
Climate change
Peak Oil
Reducing of Open Space
Potable Water
Food Quality
This was a list for lists' sake some don't feel that I am leaving problems.
Now having the conversation about climate change can be a hard one to start with everyone, people can be very denfensive about issues, and most people no not like to get into arguements especially over beliefs (huhmm.. the Crusades...) But those who do simply disincline the invitation or become aggressive (there are two different style of speech that can be used that will be outlined later) remain resolute and tactful and thank them for their time. The beauty and curse of communication is that it is also consenting.

A good rule to go by is that a conversation is considered seven exchanges, so if you can't get to that level at the first time keep practicing, it is hard to keep consersations with strangers but everyone has a wealth of knowledge within them so be brave experience the world and all of the beautiful things that are hidden in the cafeteria lines and airports. For everyone that is able it is always great to bring a friend for support if the converstation reaches an awkward pause


Try this,
Talk to anyone (and I mean anyone but use good discretion) and see what problems that they might have not to be nosey or looking for a good, juicy piece of gossip, but just to be a friendly face that someone can share the communication process with. Even if the problem, may be too big for you to handle or might not encompass your expertise, just think that you helped this person get one more step closer to solving his or his problem, and helping someone on the personal level feels great!

Talk to your neighbor, if you haven't introduced yourself go for it they probably love to know who is sharing the same part of the world as they are. A food gift is a great idea, people often think with their stomaches.

Cranberrry Muffin recipe:

Ask them if they need any help with anything, or mention something that you may be involved with, and ask.
When formulating your ask remember that they could possibly not percieve the same amount of worry as you do, so be crafty when thinking about it. You something about the neighborhood condition, or just any other commonality someone living next to you that you might share.

Solving the Activist' Questions:

The room is drenched with the smell of frustration and stressed personas. Many peoples heads have hit the table out of exhaustion or to check on their mobile device: Sweet escape from the endless white walls and slashes on a flip chart. This is activism in its purest grace, the most pure refined form of dedication available to people and hearts. Their causes and passions for these causes have brought these peopel to rant together, feeling the emotions building off one another, and hoping that all of these ideas will reach a consensus with a handfull of people just as eager to see societies make the changes that are line with these passions. As people have spilled their hearts out so many times that the lack of blood makes their lips course and dry,

But is it us helping ourselves to be leaders? Is it leadership to have a collect of leaders to take control of leadership, like it is a tangible wild stallion. Is it this desire that cause these people to have their heads ground against wooden planks as they sleep? Is it these beliefs that give people the power to endure an alabaster prison for a dozen hours. Is this what the power of communication has given people to create what is new in society. Did the founding fathers endure the same experience, sitting in a sultry conference room in Pennsyvania. Was their passion so great that it caused their bodies to go beyond discomfort. The activists machine may be fed on the grassroots but it is still a machine: complex, calculated, sterile.

But this sense of ownership has brought a great pride to our group, like an group of artist creating something beautiful, but the question is whether the audience will think it is as beautiful.

Project Wikipedia: Success but at what cost?

Well lucratively, it cost me nothing unless, if you put a dollar amount next to what the worth of my time. Between juggling my ideas through different operating systems, encrypted firmware, and just general frustration, I probably spent more time on this project then I should of. But hey isn't that what learning is all about.

In the process of making this project I could fell the frustrations of many people in our modern technology driven society, trying to keep up with the amount of new technologies that are put into play almost every day. Luckily for me I am relatively good at adjusting my learning practices into a new mode of information. It is easier for me to learn a new program versus learning how to wrangle cattle.

The Internet being a larger and larger source of communication it is bringing a new level of literacy into the masses, learning has gone technical and very indirect. Instead of seeing the consequences for your actions unfold before your eyes an error message appears. The blue screen of death could be making a mistake as big as death itself. As new problems occur new modern solutions also appear and bring the level of communication and problem solving to happen.

According to Social Psychologist, George Herbert Mead, communication is a tool for problem solving. With the speed of communication increasing very quickly the amount of problems that humans can accomplish may increase, but there is still only a certain amount of information that can occur.

is this the end...

With much deliberation and research done on the internet, i am finding it impossible to put Linux on my ipod. Forever it will be a tool to the Apple system. according to many sources and comments and hatred by people.

In the 6th edition ipods, or also more commonly known as ipod classic were uploaded with firmware that could only be updated by apple products. This includes the infamous IpoLinux that would Project which allowed older ipods to do things like play videos. I found this out through the project's website.
http://www.ipodlinux.org/wiki/Project_Status

There was also specific how-tos to put wikipedia on the ipod with a special installer package made. It showed the the static dump for Wikipedia (which is done every six months, just to make sure that all of the information isnt lost. there is also a larger file that contains all of the different pictures that are used and where they appear on each page.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-install-wikipedia-on-your-ipod/

If i make any progress trying to accomplish this project i think i would need to become more familar with the coding language of linux and how to use the

The journey to a mobile all-knowing device: a path best through apple and linux

It has been attributed many times in pop media of a all knowing device that is both all knowing and also to be the source of all information ever created. Examples are the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy in the book with the same name and also the PokeDex in the game Pokemon. Wikipedia is the first step in this direction providing the amount of information that can be available anywhere at limitless amounts. The only problem is the none portable nsture of this application. Outside of the Smartphone industry, which provides a very small version of Wikipedia and you ned access to either a wi-fi or 3g connection, there is no way to access this resource outside the confines of humanity. With the WikiDex, yes I know its a terrible name, there will be no confines, except of battery life.

=>Tentatively I will put linux on the Ipod replacing its already existing GUI and=

=>From there I will put on a program that is able to capture the text of wikipedia and convert it to files.

I will upload the files onto the ipod, find a flashy interface, and viola the WikiDex

Wikipedia wiki-What

Sapere Aude! Thats exactly what the world of wiki and encyclopedia have brought us.

now to open a new chapter of the lovely space on the Internet known as my weblog, which actually pops up as #6 on google when I searched 'deliciousmix' (Hooray metatags!!!!).

Now wikipedia is quite a unique conglomeration of information in the current Internet setting, which I believe is also a moderator in preventing the Internet from becoming a cesspool of pyramid schemes and pornography. Wikipedia is for the people that don't know or haven't done a research paper recently is a free online encyclopedia, with a simple goal of sharing the world's collective knowledge in a mass, forum-like, dialectical archive. All articles have been written by people of various ages, races, languages, educational backgrounds from all corners of the globe, (or at least the corners on a map). Wikipedia can serve as an altas in serving the comntinuum of knowledge letting the power of hypertext, anable the user to set the flow of knowledge to their own liking, if you would like to see a more primiative form of

In this large collection of information, the Wikimedia Foundation, the overseeing despot that contains many people and have conventions just to increase the the power and the usefulness of this tool. Earlier any person could change the text of any article, which in turn brounght about large amounts of cyber-graffiti, useless information that is unpertainent to the subject area, which can include personal or racial attacks, mislabeled facts, or personal, vanity articles, all of which do not contribute to the acceleration or sharpening of knowledge, but rather drop the world into a black dark spiraling pit of entropy. Now a hierarcal system of contributors, verifiers and editors has been created to increase the longetivity of the project and reduce redundancy. All of these people are volunteers and are very open to new helpers that wich to donate their time (and potenially money). And each language has their own metaorganization, that is in charge of their languages' pages, currently English is winning boasting an impressive near 3 million articles, German is coming in a close second with near a milion. Maybe in Czech they do not have as strigent of standards

My goals are to enter this community and document my interactions with the community and how the workload compares to normal clerical work.

Pop Quiz

What is the concept as told by Kraut et al?

A. Metaverse Theology
B. Internet Paradox Theory
C. Gingerbread Houses

Fish Game Raction Paragraph

After playing the Fish game and having the results of the game juxtaposed against the populations of real fisheries made the game more effective. More than a just a game of Monopoly with fish rather than property. As in real life, the competition in humanity has wiped out populations of fish to settle the market demand of the product. Though the game was very simplistic on its basis(only having two available areas for fishing and only one type of boat,) the game still accomplished decisions that firms must make according to the population growth and competition.

State Overview: Maryland

Maryland is a state on the East Coast of the United states that has a population of 5.6 million people and contains about 6.4 percent of the total population of the country. A large portion of the economy is based on the Chesapeake Bay, which is the major harbor for the East portion of the state. On the Eastern Half of the state is: Baltimore, which is the largest city in the state with a population of 628,670, Annapolis, the state’s capital has a population of about 36,178, and Washington DC, the countries capital is bordering the Northeast portion of the state. About one million people live on or around the bay making the health of the bay crucial to the industry of the state. The annual federal spending is about 6.4 Billion.

Maryland as a total land area of 9,773.82 square miles, and has a population density of 541 persons per square mile. It contains about .003 percent of the nations total landmass and has above average population density compared to the national average of 79.5 per square mile.

Of the state’s population about 2.9 million are actively enrolled in the workforce therein. The unemployment level of the state is 12.8 percent with 111,536 citizens, where the national level of unemployment is 8 percent. The mean income per capita is about $25,614 with 9.2 % of the population is under the poverty level. The amount of the population that has high school degrees past the age of 25 is 83.3 percent.






The city of Baltimore is the largest and yet one of the most problematic in Maryland. The decade between 1990 and 2000 the city experienced a loss of 11.3 percent of the population, whereas statewide the population grew by 10.3 percent. Other reasons for this can be attributed to the poor economy in the city compared to the rest of the state. The high school graduation rate is 68.4% and the college graduation rate is only at 19.1 percent. Also the poverty rate is twice as high the rest of the state (22.9 percent compared to 9.2 percent,)and mean income is $16,978.

On the other hand Rockville (population 55,213) is quite different compared to Baltimore. In the two year period between 2001 and 2003 the city's population grew at 16.5% The education standard is higher with a high school graduation rate of 89.1 % and a college graduation rate of 52.4%. The amount of people under the level of poverty is 7.8% and the mean income is 30,518.

National Geograghics view of Mountian top removal

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature5/index.html

In the article, "When Mountains Move" by John G. Mitchell, the author exposes the atrocities committed by the Energy and Coal Mining industries that have corrupted a picturesque portion of Americana. Mountain top removal, which is the process of using high explosives to boar into a mountain and sifting the debris was first used in the 1970's as a quicker and more efficient way of extracting the bituminous coal from the Appalachian mountains in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. Although this is a major portion of the economy for these rural areas, on the other hand they are causing more harm to the locals than the benefits. Residents describe constant blasting shaking their homes and no stop traffic of convoys overladen with coal, but worse are the floods, sterile landscapes, and lagoons of black slurry as a bi-product of washing the coal.

When the coal companies first used the process of mountaintop removal, it was a method that was able to boost the production of coal in the area and keep money in the economy flowing. However, this caused an initial loss of over 100,00 jobs in the area. Mountaintop removal is bringing more money to the states' economies but it is taking away from the local economy. Another example is when the slurry lagoons have been breeched due to excessive rainfall or poor design. Without accounting for the hundreds of people that have been killed, the runoff of this substance caused miles of stream bed to be ecologically hazardous. All of these instances happened after the Clean Water Act which created the impounds of slurry in the first place. The only real bonus of destroying the mountains is the land available for development after the mine is empty

The externalities raised the production and amount of revenue, but it also caused societies' benefits to be outweighed by the costs. With all of the health hazards, damage to property, and ecological damages to the areas; the process of mountaintop removal is a burden to the Appalachians economies.

Economics 203 movie time

With a new class comes a new section of information flood my log on the web. The Economics 203 class is something required for my UNM Sustainability studies minor.
Without further adieu, I exclusively present the Natural Resource Theater bringing the cost of American Black gold.

Hidden Destruction of the Appalachian Mountains

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jGqwQm0jJo


Though I am not from the East Coast nor have really any connection to that side of the country, I find the process of mountain topping, or literally striping off the entire top of a mountain to mine for coal and other minerals , appalling. it truly shows that American industry does not give any regard for the fragile sense of of an ecosystem. by eliminating any part of it can disrupt the balance of nature by killing certain species or overpopulating another. Since coal mining is such a large portion of the Appalachian economy little action is done to reduce or stop the terrible act. One of the acts that helps their community the most is also a something that hurts their lifestyle as well.

Attack Decay Sustainablity Release

Now that I have returned from the Atlantic Ocean to the Southwestern wastelands, thus begins a new year of projects and projections.
The Sustainability program is using different ideas for an idea to use for the next project for campus and community. In the frame of UNM and Albuquerque, there is a great sense of activism and activity. A project supporting a brighter future will be easier to pull off than in the deepest forests of Appalachia.

I am trying to start again with the bikes always with the bikes. This time the generator can be more easily construction with the aid of transportation and other resources. This generator could be a centerpiece of the campaign of making cycling more popular, and making people think about going to ride their bike before they turn the ignition. While they are doing public demonstrations the generator can show the effect ant effort of a bike generator.

The project can be cheap or very expensive depending on the support of UNM. I cant drop a $1K on a salary of odd jobs and handouts.

David LaMotte, Art and Activism

David LaMotte was a speaker unlike the others I had seen this semester. He seemed to have more of a fine tuned since of purpose inhis line of work through his music, charity, and activism. some of the other artist, simple porposed their work but did not express the emotional dichotomy of the art for the world they are creating. David LaMotte has used his unique style of music to continue his lifestyle and maintain/advertise his charity for Guatamalan schools called Pegs Patnership.

His Pegs Patnership, that he showed a video to explain the workings of the organization, provided educational need to children where it was unavailible due to lack of ample schools and funding. He would raise money directly for the support of these areas and cause a change for good in the world.

He all empathesized the importance of causing a change which is actually very simpe, it is just a matter of finding the right thing to focus on.

The Mandrake

I saw the Mandrake this evening, and what made it even better was half off tickets night. Megan did a good job with the opening self-mocking Niccolo Machiavelli and his position in intellectual society society. I like the costumes mix of the Italian harlequins along with formal garb mixed with masks that fit their character traits. I especially liked the boner costume. The was confusing at firs bad made more sense as the plot came into fruition. The humor and cunning kept this comedy going. The student that played Brother Timothy fit his character perfectly. I would have liked to see more interactions with set.

Must we learn: the Armenian genocide lecture by Pr. Richard Hannisian

Richard Hannisian is the director of the Near East studies at UCLA, he has authored and edited many books in the field and collaborated an article on Armenia in National Geographic. His father was born in Armenia. When he started the lecture he started with the mysteries of genocide; why a race or government tries to selectively eliminate a race or tribe of people. Though he is not a genocide scholar, he addressed the many other infamous genocides that have occurred over the 20th century. During the year of 1915 the Turkish government killed 1.5 million Armenians by the newly established order of the Young Turks, who were Turkish college students that brought down the Sultan. There was no blood shed in this coup.

After the Balkan Wars, the Ottoman Empire suffered grave lost of their most valuable territories in Eastern Europe. However, they still had their territories in Asia Minor which consisted of several different ethnic groups: including Armenians, Kurds and Arabs. The big division between the Armenians and the rest of the Empire was religion. Armenians were primarily Catholic while the rest was Islamic. And after the Russo-Turkish War and the Treaty of Berlin, The russians announced that they were the protectors of the Christains in the Ottoman Empire. This automatically gave the government the impresssion that all Armenians were PRo-west, Pro-Russian and against Russian ideals. Over the years during, WW1 the armed forces participated in rounding up Armenians for forced evacutions and had mass murders done. It didnt take that many people to kill alot of people.The Turkish people could not speak against the strocities without harsh punishment or even death. Even After so many years and many people speaking out the turkish government still denies the event even occured. So does texas.

Jusst as promised the concept statement with sketches

I am going to go ahead with the Bicycle Party Barge, this idea will incorporate many things that I consider unique to St. Mary's- Parties, Bikes, Boats and Sustainability. The craft will contain some mini projects that will come together to create the single installation. The planned area of the project will be on St. John's pond behind the library. Details and progress will be posted vigorously.

I. Several bicycles converted into either a power generator for the necessary party necessities such as lights, music and a fridge filled with drinks (soda of course). This all depends on the power output of the bikes and the needs of the appliances. The other bike will be put into the power of a paddle wheel to propel the boat. I came foresee this will be the most frustrating and time-consuming facet of the project, but also he most important.

II. The second part will be the the platform of the raft. A way to incorporate reused materials would be to use interchanging coke bottles which will be tied together like a net. This will make the boaat bouyant and lightweightThe demonsions are unknown for now until I find the estimated amount of weight that could hold at least 6 to 7 people plus the bikes and appliances. Also, a material needs to be found that is lightweight, cheap and can be drilled into.

III. The third portion will be the paddlewheel attached to the back. Two bike rims will be used for the frame and a material will be attached to push the water. Another lone bike will be used to power the wheel.

IV. The fouth portion will be the building of the pontoons on the sides. I figure this is the easiest way to keep the boat afloat. I don't think they will have to be too tall because the heaviest part of the boat will be the people standing upon it.

When I was doing research for this portion of the project, I stumbled upon a man in Maine how did infact create a pontoon boat using Coke bottles as the source of floation, however he used electric motors, shopped at home depot for his materials and probably had a large amount of time and money to invest.

Here is the link http://www.instructables.com/id/ENIT5DJRCVEPYT3RE9?ALLSTEPS

Or, if pontoons do not work, I could create bubbles around the sides of the vessel that would keep the boat stable in the water.

V. the fifth portion of the project would involve the steering and the manuevabilty of the barge. Two rudders will be attached to the back of the boat and attached to a steering wheel in the center of the boat. The wheel will definitely be a bike wheel. The rudders will be of a mater ial unknown.

Or. If there were two paddle wheel constructed then the rather than having a steering system there whould be two people peddling. One would drop out in order to make a turn.

VI. The sixth step would be the finalization stage, to make it really look like an official party barge. A canopy will be constructed. ( I might FIND some bamboo for that) or some sort of material. Railing would be installed and bike furniture would be welded together. Also, Painting and stuff.

All of this can happen if the right materials are present, the location is secured, and all of the plans mentioned above go smoothely.

The Idea generation

Part 1: Hot Topic (no not the lame store that conforms the fashion sense of non-conformists.

My original intention for this installation is it to be outside, as well as it to quite large. Since my time at this college will be relatively short ( I will only be here for about one more month, I really wanted to create something that was uniquely St. Mary’s in an inside joke kind of way. A large amount of material will be scarce to find, have decided on the medium of bicycles. Bikes are everywhere, and almost everyone has one. When the school first announced the Free Ride Program (R.I.P.) it made national news for the next step of a college campus to go green.
The SMCM area is literally covered with old and neglected bikes that area just rusting on the sidewalks and looking like large pieces of garbage. Since this week is Campus awareness week, could contribute be helping pick up some the bike corpses around campus. Risky, hardly.

Part Deux: Artist Andy Goldsworthy“I have often found that apparently ordinary places yield extraordinary things.”

When the last article we read (the really boring one by Nick Hayes) really addressed that an installation needed to have a real incorporation of space- why was the object chosen to be put there and only there- I remember reading/watching a documentary of Andy Goldsworthy. I put some more research into his methods and also picked up a copy of his book, Time from the library. His writing from the introduction was exactly what I wanted to hear for my line of potential work.
He states: “Time and change are connected by place. Real change is best understood by staying in one place.”

Hearing that really makes me think of the first time I got here to about now months later.

Most of Goldsworthy’s work involves ephemeral matters of nature, nothing best shows the time and change of a piece by seeing it naturally decay from erosion or the tide. Ice, Snow Sticks, Mud, Moss, Leaves, Peat, Rocks, Ash, Sand, Clay, Flowers are all in the palette of this artist.

I will focus more on the broad concepts of Goldsworthy’s installations and his ideas as an artist rather than a single piece. In the work sand extending the roots of trees it clearly shows the facets the natural curvature of nature and how it breaks itself down. Another piece the rock structure taken up by the tide shows the resistance of the material compared to the tide of change. I also shows how in a short time of a day, the space of the beach can be completely transformed by the tide.




Just to help out my initial medium he did mention the bicycle within his book. ”[I] Traveled by bicycle which is unusual for me. On the bicycle it was difficult to stop.”

Bold words Mr. Goldworthy. Bold Words.

Part Three: I made the connection.

I have decided to embrace the landscape of our beloved college bestowed to the Saint of Mary. I have realized what places show the uniqueness of the school, the college, the way of life…………………………………………….The trees.

Yes it may sound hokey, but the trees in this area, really do define the region, if there was no forest to be protected would the on campus group SEAC be as aggressive; probably not.

So thus far the equation is Bikes + Trees + Art=?

Not that simple of a problem, so lets see how other people have addressed it.

This is a website for modern way of storing bikes in Geneva, Switzerland called bike tree, it is solar-powered and uses state of the art technology. Kind of a techologically adavaned tree.


Here is a picture of a bike that used resources from trees, kind of a commensalist relationship between the two.

Here is what happens when nature especially trees ( more the parasitic worm infection in the tree) get angry at bikes

Here is another idea someone put out there. I could put a record player out of the bike.

Or even have the bike create power so I can have lights or any appliance the possibleities are endless.

Idea one: THE BIKE TREE

I will weld many parts of bikes together to make it look like a tree. I will weld all of the pieces together, as well as place it in the forest somewhere. This idea spurs from the aspect of nature in Goldworthy’s work however I will not be using nature materials as a medium. I will go the opposite direction by using metal and other manufactured materials. This will say that natural materials are just as ephemeral as non-natural ones.

Idea 2: THE BIKE ROOM

I will want to have several bikes attached to generators and power converters than have any appliance possible to make the conditions more comfortable like fans, music, anything . the more people inside the more comfortable they will be, These are based on another artist Virginia Valdes whose installation Wasteland is based on clean energy and recycling. The link is here if you are interested.

Idea three: PARTY BIKE BOAT,

Off my original idea of a party barge discussed several weeks ago, I would get two bikes and convert them into paddle boats, Then I will attach a stage around it and paddle around the pond on a Friday evening. This has not too much to do with Andy Goldsworthy’s work.

Sketches will be soon...

What happened when I saw Mark G. Cooley

Mark G. Cooley was a guest lecturer at the college recently, and he was able to show some of the pieces that he had been working on recently and his background as an artist.

Most of his pieces were against the capitalist nature of the US: from the wat to rampant consumerism. In his collaboration with another srtist, they took on the atrocities of bottled water companies hold on pocket books by selling tap water for 1000 times more than before. Another one of his pieces at a Chicago gallery contained glass cases with three peices of Sara Lee cheesecake and gloves allowing the viewer to touch the cheesecake if they wish. Sara Lee was a sponsor of that event.

Another project was one called White Flag which was drawing from Jasper Johns'Flags. These flags though had to do more with a political agenda rather than a showing the what Johns pictured in a dream.

A lot of his worked was surrounding events that went with the war, and showed disdain for thse events.