......subMedia

Nuclear Jihad

2008-01-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

This Week:
1. Pakistan mayhem
2. What if Bush died?
3. Nuclear Jihad
4. Gore in Bali-Wood
5. $100 Oil
6. R.E.M.
7. 2008 New Year's Revolutions
8. ACT Up's Queeruption

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes
support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

Peak Fish?

2007-11-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

This Week:

1. Double Fudge Spill

2. Grin and Bear it

3. Peak Fish?

4. Border Boar attack

5. Bicycle Clown Brigade

6. Shopocalypse

7. B-Boys

8. Molotov Chili

9. Go Veg

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes
support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

Miro 1.0

2007-11-15T10:17:00.001-08:00

I've been following these cats since they launched they launched DTV, and later Democracy Player. They are competing with some big boys who want to control the way you watch TV, but this is the only decent open source, cross platform (MAC,PC,LINUX) that plays every video format out there, Bittorrent RSS (for those who don't want to pay for fuckin cable) video player with loads of good shit like Al Jazeera, Link TV, the Real News, Democracy Now!, etc. etc.

GET IT!

Ron Paul: Who cares

2007-11-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

This Week

1. Trillionaire Debt
2. Almost $100
3. PetroChina
4. Food Riots
5. Buy Nothing Day
6. No Borders Camp
7. R.A.T.M.
8. Ron Paul, who cares
9. Ward Churchill

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes
support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

Cheney's Heart of Oil

2007-10-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

This Week

It’s our first annual pledge drive so if you have a few bux to spare, hook subMedia up.

1. WWIII
2. Famin and Fire
3. Sydnot
4. Hot-Lanta
5. Cheney's heart of Oil
6. The APC Strikes back
7. Dead Prez
8. Gore's Genocide
9. Buggin out

I want you to get MAD!

2007-10-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

1. Slappy head
2. Habeas What?
3. Martial Law
4. Plane Stupid
5. The Faint
6. More P.E. Please
7. Brother Ali

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes
support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

Emery Bin Tokin

2007-10-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

This Week

1. Meteor Vomit
2. Polluter do learns
3. Icecap Shinkage
4. Streaking Glaciers
5. Brother Ali
6. No More Nic Fit
7. Emery Bin Tokin

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes
support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

Remembering April 19th

2007-09-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

1. Less than 500 days of W!
2. OPEC cares
3. Summer 07, the heat is on
4. Bin Laden is back!
5. Tell the truth
6. We will never forget April 19th
7. The great toilet conspiracy

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes

support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

The Shock Doctrine

2007-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

If you haven't read Klein's "No Logo" do. Can't wait to get my hands on the new one.

The motherfuckin A.P.C.

2007-09-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

1. Climate Camp
2. RNC Welcoming Committee
3. Spot the Pig
4. Dubya too little too late
5. The Motherfuckin APC
6. Dissecting Direct Action

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes

support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

Escape from Suburbia

2007-08-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

This Week:

1. Global Financial Armageddon
2. Bin Ladin's Tornado Machine
3. Time to get Il
4. boemtjak vs soi
5. Garden Gossip
6. Gregory Greene's "Escape from Suburbia"

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

They Got You by the Balls!

2007-08-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

1. Busy Busy Bee
2. Noah Part Deux
3. Dummer
4. Bread Fuel
5. The Dark Side
6. Manu Chao
7. Molotov 2
8. GNN's Stephen Marshall

subscribe via Miro Player or iTunes

support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

iPood

2007-07-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

1. Mohawks paralyze Canada
2. It's Hell is LA
3. The Amazing disappearing lake
4. Coldcut vs Hextatic - Timber
5. iPhone, iPood
6. Zoe Blunt explains where asswipes come from

Put this clip on your page or blog

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

The Naked Episode

2007-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Warning: This Show WILL Contain Nudity.
This Week:

1. Nigeria's Power
2. US Senate likes SUV's
3. Trent Lott goes fishing
4. The Yes Men strike again
5. The Tourist
6. Michael Moore's 'Fatso'
7. World Naked Bike Ride

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

Put this clip on your page or blog

support this podcast by purchasing books and DVD's from our store.

The Letter P

2007-06-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

1. Putin's Plutonium
2. G8 Polluters
3. Protester Street Party
4. Still We Ride
5. NYC Critical Mass Arrest

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

Put this clip on your page or blog

Critical Bike Polo

2007-05-28T08:27:00.001-07:00

This Week:

1. Tony Blair's Legacy
2. Jerry Falwell meets Satan
3. Stopping Trains
4. Cows with Guns
5. Critical Bike Polo
6. You Never Bike Alone

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

Put this clip on your page or blog

Bye Bye Tony

2007-05-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

This Week:

1. Big Mac Dissent
2. Bye Bye Tony Blair
3. Al Gore's inconvenient past
4. Indonesia's World Record
5. Memories of Rodney King
6. Free Trade Agreements and MayDay

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

Beepocalypse

2007-04-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

This Week:

1. The end down under
2. Bee Apocalypse
3. Step it up
4. Derrick Jensen

Oh may GAO!

2007-04-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

This Week:

1. Oh my GAO!
2. Bag Hag
3. Dr. Ransom Myers RIP
4. PetroliUs
5. Van Bicycle CarCass
6. NYC Cops vs. Critical Mass
7. End of Suburbia

Big thanks to J. Roller for the news tips and Connarama for the DV Cam assist.

Machine Guns and Bananas

2007-04-02T08:43:00.001-07:00

This Week:

1.Bananas and Ak47's and talking cameras
2.Move on to Direct Action
3.NOT the Branch Davidians

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So Blogger wants me to type 200 characters to publish. I guess it doesn't matter to them that I typed at least that on the script to my VLOG. This paragraph is intended to fill that requirement.

24 hrs 4 H20

2007-03-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

March 22 is World Water Day - check it

Seven Dirty Words

2007-03-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

This Week:

1.Greed is good
2.Elevating the discourse
3.Recycling computers

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

$90 Bottled Water!

2007-02-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

This Week:

1.Save the whales, again
2.Learn to swim
3.Water, Water and more Water

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

TIMZ

2007-02-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

I finally found a new clip worthy of our front page. This dope and timely track comes from TIMZ, an Iraqi American rapper from San Diego. Go to our front page for a gorgeous MPEG 4 version that'll work in your iPod or PSP.

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

Meat is Global Murder

2007-02-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

This Week:

1.Yo no quiero Taco Bell
2.No Meat, No Gas
3.Hydrogen's absence

subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

Workers of the World: RELAX!

2007-01-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

This Week:

1.King George's yearly load of Bullshit
2.New Year's Revolutions
3.Work Less to save the world

OPEC: We're FUCKED!

2006-12-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

I go on vacation next week so no shows for most of Jan.
View at subMedia or subscribe via Democracy Player or iTunes

This Week:

Bush: "Go Shopping"
OPEC:"We're Fucked!"
s71m:"Don't Go Shopping"
Juanita:"What the fuck is critical mass?"
Ifny:"Critical Mass is a Bike Ride"

Big upz to D-Truck for the headz up on the OPEC story.
Feliz Navidad y prospero año nuevo Motherfuckers!

Carmageddon!

2006-12-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

Whoa we made it to episode #2. This one is all about cars.

The END is HERE!

2006-12-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

With winter here and the rainy season in full swing I am embarking in an idea that's been kickin in my head for some time. "It's the End of The World and I Feel Fine" is my new TV show damn it! Well vidcast or vlog or whatever else you want to call it, until it gets picked up by a public access channel somewhere in Utah.

I am going to try to crank this out about once a week, but cut me some slack 'cause I am still figuring this shit out. Let me know what you think.

Why do I even bother?

2006-11-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

I am still waiting from a call from Jim Webb. I believe Webb owes me for his victory big time. "Why" you would ask me "does Jim Webb owe you?" Simple math really. The video I created to lampoon his bigoted opponent George Allen got over 16,000 views by election day and Webb beat Macacawitz by 7,000+ votes. I figure a 50+% success rate is not too shabby. So Webb time to pay up.

But seriously, more than a phone call, what I really want is his ear. No I am not a cannibal, even though I love to nibble on my monkey's ear. But I could give him some radical advice that would make Jim really popular with a lot of folks. Yeah, abolishing capitalism would be nice, but realistically he would not even hear that. So how about... Impeach Bush!

Well as we heard on Tuesday, Pelosi (soon to be top Dem in da Hizsouse) said hell no. Now, what did Howard Dean tell John Stewart about this impeachment biz? Jim, come on, you gotta do something about the cowards in your team and encourage the Dems to acquire their pound of flesh. Impeach for kirssakes! You have a known criminal running the show, you got plenty of evidence, you got the votes, what the fuck are y'all waiting for?

Now the Dem leadership has been blowing a lot of smoke up our asses when it comes to Iraq. After all, this election was a referendum on Iraq. Wasn't it? And the referendum says "bring the boyz back to the hood". So here's an idea that would make you very popular, specially with the friends and relatives of all the peeps sticking their necks out in AeeRack. People vote for something, and once you are elected you give it to them. But no, Jim, your colleagues are already using Bush's language.

OK, ok, so you wouldn't want to do anything too controversial in your first year as a Senator. How about a gesture of good will. In January when the Dems take power of the senate, you could propose to ALL senators a surprise party for Dick Cheney. His Birthday is on January 30th. And as we all know the fucker ain't getting any younger, so this would be a gesture of good will. Here's what you do. You get a thumping sounds system and mic all the senators and set the volume to full blast. Get some strobe lights and firecrackers and hide under your desks in the chamber. When Dick walks in to preside, at the count of 3 (you can have the secret service warn you over walkie) well you know what to do.

As far as Rummie goes, well, I would be lying if I told you I didn't scream in joy at the top of my lungs. But don't get too excited, Robert Gates is quite a character.

That's all for now. I think I am going to ween myself of Washington politics and REALLY start looking as to how to start a revolution. Any ideas?

George Allen Don't Like Black People

2006-11-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah, you can call me a one trick pony, but this made way too much sense at the time. If you don't know who George "Macaca" Allen is and why he's defeat is so important take a looksy at this little politc... er viral video I just made. No, I usually don't meddle in electoral politics, but there's people I love in Virginia and I used to live there. If you know folks in Virginia, please pass this along.

On a sad note. Brad Will, a journalist I met in New York was shot dead by 'unknown' shooters in Oaxaca, Mexico. He was covering a teachers strike there, that has been going on all summer. He came by my place before he left to pick up a DVD of photos of Lebanon my roommate Andy Stern had taken. We chatted about the situation in Mexico and why it was so important he be there covering it. I don't know, it just feels strange just having talked to a person and then they are not there anymore. I didn't know him well, but loosing a dedicated fighter is a loss to us all. My condolences to his family and friends.

On a happy note I am back in Canada with my monkey. I have to admit I already miss my peeps at Democracy Now! Last Saturday I went to see Amy Goodman speak at the Vancouver Public Library. It was a sold out appearance and about 100 people were turned away for lack of space. I went back stage to say hi, and everyone looked exhausted. When she finally came out, she was a different person. She received a standing ovation at the beginning and at the end. She spoke off the top of her head about a myriad of historic events, with exact dates and names for a solid 90 minutes. Everyone, including myself, hung on every word. Then I thought to my self, "I used to work with Amy Goodman, Wow".

Yeah I know it sounds silly, but sometimes I lost perspective working in the tiny studio in Chinatown. Glad I could be a part of it even if it was for a short time.

That's all for now. Have a safe weekend.

Anniversary

2006-09-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids, if you live in the ATL here's a few things happening.

Doctors Without Borders - A series of events and exhibits highlighting some of the bravest men and women in the planet.
Click here for more info - http://www.hushbox.com/html/dwb.html

Much Ado About Nothing - A fresh take on Shakespeare’s lively comedy about love in war times!
Go here for more info http://www.pushpushtheater.com/

If you live elsewhere, my boss lady is traveling all over W land promoting her new book 'Static' If you haven't heard her speak, go to one of these events and be prepared to be blown away.
For a 'Static' event in a city near you go to http://tour.democracynow.org/

As usual, this is the point in which you can either delete this message or read on and get really pissed at me.

First of, I need to clarify something. 'An inconvenient Truth' is a good movie. But I caught a lot of shit from a few readers that thought I was being heavy handed in my criticism of Gore. Well I just gotta call bullshit when I smell it. So in order to not drag this out any longer, go see the movie, but watch where you step.

And talking about global warming...

Hurricane season is upon us again. The memory of hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath on the population of New Orleans is still fresh in my mind. After losing everything in a fire a few weeks before the levees broke, for the first time in my life I could relate to the TV images of a far away catastrophe. Prior to this, images of war and destruction did outrage me and drove me to action, but not in the same way as the events of last year. Losing your home to an event you have no control of is no small thing. But the one thing I can't relate to, is how the residents of the Big Easy must feel knowing their catastrophe could have been prevented. Knowing that you are part of the richest, morst technologically advanced country in the history of humanity, and your house, street, neighborhood, entire city is allowed to drown. To add insult to injury, right now, almost exactly a year after Katrina, Hizbollah, a 'terrorist' organization acoording to the US Department of State, is rapidly mobilizing a massive rebuilding effort after the wrath of Israel's U.S. made F16 fighter jets and cluster bombs. Many folks in New Orleans still don't have homes. A lot of them are not even in Louisiana. Thousands of them may never return to their home. God Bless AmeriKKKA.

If you haven't heard, Spike Lee has done a tremendous of job in his 4 part HBO doc 'When the Levees Broke'. Thanks to the magic of Al Gore's internet you don't need HBO to watch it. I highly recommend everyone to check it, because when you need a reminder on how bankrupt our system is, this will do the trick. Just remember, when November comes and you vote out the Republicans, that our system will remain as ineffectual with the incoming Democrats. At least this is something we can count on.

Finally, with much regret I must inform you I am leaving Democracy Now! The old lady and I have decided to lay down roots, and Vancouver won over New York City. The decision is bitter sweet, because my experience with Amy Goodman and Co. has been invaluable. Gigs like these are few and far between and tight crews like Democracy Now's are one in a million.

With that said, I will continue with my work with subMedia but not before making a brief visit to my old stomping grounds in Atlanta. I will be speaking at the Bioneers Conference on two occasions, and visiting with friends, so holla!

That's all for now

much love

the_stimulator

A convenient film

2006-08-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

So, summer is here with a vengeance and things are heating up all over the fuckin place.

Europe and the western US are experiencing record temperatures and even though summer in NYC has been mild, (until today) thousands of people are without power due to increased power usage. I am nervous every time I enter the subway for fears the power is going to cut out in the middle of a tunnel.

And unless you live under a rock you know how hot things are in the Middle East. My workload at Democracy Now! has increased dramatically due to all the fresh footage of destroyed Lebanese cities, Israeli aerial attack video (you know, the video that looks like 1980's video games), westerners boarding cruise ships in order to escape the violence, and of course the dead.

Yup, everything seems pretty much hopeless. And just when you think things couldn't get worst, I paid $10.75 for Al Gore to tell me how much MORE fucked things are.

I went to see 'An Inconvenient Truth' a few weeks back. I must admit I went with very low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised by a well produced informative presentation on Global Warming.

BUT (insert paragraphs of hate)

Yes, you knew that was coming. The film fails in several ways so let me articulate.

First of all, is this a film about Global Warming or about our almost president? Gore uses this film to redeem himself and his family in several ways. One is his almost presidency. If he felt so strongly about how he got cheated, why didn't he stay and fight? If only Mexico's López Obrador had been around earlier to set an example. But to come out and talk about it now. Well Al, this is just sour grapes, and even though I didn't vote for you, you let us all down. Just watch the opening scene in 'Fahrenheit 9/11' when Gore shut down all the complaints coming from Florida. What a wuss.

But it does not stop there. Gore continues to pat himself in the back. After you watch the film, you might come out believing he came up with the term 'Global Warming' just like he invented 'The Internet'. What Gore 'Conveniently' leaves out is that Occidental Oil funded his dad's and his own political career. Oil, you ask? Isn't that the substance that once refined and combusted in an automobile engine produces the gas most people (including Gore) blame for the before mentioned 'Warming'. Now why leave that our worldly saviour? It's time you come clean like solar power.

OK - let me hate some more on Gore's film.

So you finish the film and you think to yourself how lucky you are because, since we are so fucked you just might get laid. Not so fast, your date says. Before the movie ends, Al lays out a whole bunch of solutions. IN THE CREDITS!! Apparently Gore felt that even though Global Warming is a looming global disaster, that will take more than a World War II era type effort in order to save our sorry butts, that spending 25% of the film talking about himself was ok. The other 74% explaining Global Warming and about 1% on solutions. Of that 1%, 99.9% of the solutions presented are market based solutions. I.e. Buy a hybrid car (he owns a Lexus hybrid, NICE!) buy energy efficient appliances, and the list goes on.

Wait a minute, isn't the problem directly related to our voracious appetite for widgets and fast cars? Isn't capitalism what got us here in the first place? This is the one issue that no one wants to talk about. We need a complete lifestyle change. It's not about buying ourselves out of this mess, it's about making some hard motherfuckin life changes, and for starters we need to throw out capitalism. I'm sorry if I sound like a damn commie, but there's not nice way to say it. And for the record, I am not a commie.

But in the end Al and the so called progressive film studio that put out the film, Participant Pictures are capitalists at heart and 'Truth' is a profit driven endeavor. If it was truly an altrusitic act, the parties involved which include millionares such as Laura David (aka Seinfeld creator Larry David's wife) ex-Ebay president Jeffrey Skoll and Gore himself, would give the film away as a public service. I mean, if enough people don't see this film, we're screwed, right?

Well, I decided to something I knew from the get go wouldn't work, but I had to waste 30 minutes on something. It was either that or do my laundry so I decided to go commando for an extra day. I wrote Participant almost exactly what you read above without all the hate, curse words and sarcasm and they just passed the buck to Paramount, the distributor.

And by now you are sick of my negative ranting, so you better watch for yourself and decide. If you don't want to pay $10.75, you can download it through the magic of Al's own internet. But I highly recommend David Attenborough's BBC special 'Can we save planet Earth' Part 1 and Part 2.

On the bright side of things, I am officially hired as a TV producer at Democracy Now! SUCKERS!! haha, just kidding. I am lucky to be accepted into such a team of smart, talented and committed individuals. TV Land, watch out!

have a great weekend

love//the_stimulator

MAYDAY MAYDAY!

2006-04-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

Since I work for a legitimate news outlet, I'll preface this by saying that my opinions are mine and not of my employers. Damn, I'm starting to feel like a Viagra commercial.

So my new job doesn't leave much time to do much else, and when I'm off the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a screen and type. But I feel a certain responsibility to spread the word about May 1st as far and wide as I can. I'll also take this opportunity to update all the folks who've emailed me in the last month and I haven't had a chance to catch up with.

But first a mini history lesson. (If you know about May Day, skip the next paragraph)

If you enjoy your weekends, you have the labor movement to thank for that. In a time where workers have less and less rights, it's important for us to re-visit history. The first day of May or May Day is celebrated worldwide as the day to celebrate workers struggles, namely the 8 hour day. A lot of Americans don't know that the 'first' May Day took place in 1886 when "more than 300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses across the United States walked off their jobs" This struggle was driven partly by immigrant workers from Eastern Europe.

Which brings me to the latest fuckup by our great Emperor and his cronies. Why would you want to fuck with the folks who do all the shit you don't want to do. I know I don't have to go too far into this, but jeez. 30% approval ratings are in the horizon , Rove is about to learn to appreciate soap on a rope, and gas prices are skyrocketing. So after the two largest mass demonstrations in the history of our country, Bush and Co. are doing a lot of back pedaling concerning the new (anti)immigration law. And then what does he do? Appoints pill popper Rush Limbaugh's standby shit talker Tony Snow. I can't hardly wait to hear what that idiot is going to say after tomorrow's bitch slap. Yeah you heard me.

The Neo-Cons are about to get smacked upside the head tomorrow when millions of immigrants and their supporters don't show up to work, don't buy a fuckin' thing and take to the streets. So you're not an immigrant, so what do you care. Well you should , and you should join them and here's why.

This is bigger than than any bullshit law. You think because this law doesn't affect you, that these poor excuses for public servants are not going to fuck with you. Well they have been fuckin with you, lying to you, spending all your tax money, destroying the environment, spying on you, increasing national debt and making gazillions for their buddies.

The other day a good friend of mine wrote to me that he feels helpless, that nothing he can do can possibly make a difference. Well Don, here's your chance. Call in sick to work tomorrow. Take the leap. Leave at lunch if you have to. Feel what it is like to stick to the man and next time take a step further and after that take it even further. Forget voting and forget the Democrats. Direct Action baby.

OK, calm down Frank. Never drink coffee at 9pm again. So since y'all are going to grant my wish on May first go here for local info.

On the job front, I've been training, shooting, editing, training, shooting, etc. etc. I hate to sound like I'm gloating, but I love it at DN! The other day I got to videotape Roger Toussaint's march to jail. Toussaint is the president of the NY Transit Worker's Union and led a strike last December that paralyzed the subway for several days. He gave an amazing speech right before turning around and walking into jail. The next day we broadcast a portion on the show. Shoot, edit, and the next day a million people see it, WOW!. Believe me, I feel the weight of the responsibility of what it means to work for national TV show. There's no fuckin around and there's no cursing on TV. Needless to say, the national media largely ignored the Toussaint story, because the last thing they want is workers inspired to walk out of their jobs. Too late. Tomorrow. SMACK!

This weekend I went to the Energy Solutions conference on Peak Oil. To my surprise, the doom and gloom factor was minimal. A lot of great speakers gave a host of solutions and some even called for revolution. YEAH! Since a lot of you couldn't make it, here's two of my favorite speakers for your listening pleasure on high fidelity MP3. First Mike Ruppert of From the Wilderness, but the one I that took me by surprise was Derrick Jensen. Hosting these files on my server will probably generate a new FBI file for me, but fuck it.

Finally, the May issue of WIRED magazine included subMedia.TV in their list of the best sites to watch videos online.

OK, that's it. More in a month, hopefully...

love//the_stimulator

Start spreading the news...

2006-03-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Holy fuckin month of March. Wow. Was it as hectic for you as it was for me?

It all began with a cryptic message on AIM from a someone not on my buddy list: "Wanna move to New York?" then a job listing for a video producer for Democracy Now. What the? Who, I mean, I just got confy in Vancouver. Confusion and indecision set until I saw my wife. Not moving, now way, done, next! The next day I mentioned it to my wife in passing. "Are you crazy? go apply" she says.

After 5 minutes of consideration, I came to the realization that women are way smarter than men. For God's sake Frank! When's the next time this show would have an opening. How many times in your life do you get to work with one of you heroes.

My resume had not been updated in 10 years and I've only had like 2 jobs in my life. Everything else has been subMedia, Vj'ing and freelancing. So I got to work. I produced a 3 page document that reflected what I've done in Atlanta and my brief time in Vancouver. to: jobs@democracynow.org >>send

'I'll never get it, but I'll never forgive myself if I don't try' a few days passed then the email. Can you be here on Monday for an interview? Well, If I can get a plane ticket that quick. The person in charge of the hiring was not aware I was 3,000 miles away. The next day, I set up my camera on I-Chat and within minutes I was talking to Amy Goodman, and producers Elizabeth Press and John Hamilton. Surreal.

A week passes and they ask me to go to New York to try out. I fly out on a Monday and spend 5 jam packed days seeing how the show is produced, editing and shooting video, setting up satellite uplinks, visiting with friends and getting very little sleep.

Last Thursday I got the call. 'Can you start April 3rd?' Excitement, fear, happiness, sadness are just few of the emotions I experienced after I hung up the phone.

To sum up, on Friday I fly to New York to begin a 3 month probation period, after that they either they hire or send me packing to Vancouver. Whatever happens, I'm honored and humbled to be given this opportunity. If you are not familiar with the Democracy Now, check them out. They are doing very important work, covering the news and asking hard questions. You can audio or video podcast it from their website or listen or watch in a number of different TV channels and radio stations.

The hardest part about this whole deal is being away from my wife. She'll be going to school for a year while I toil in the world of independent media, and I'll be racking up frequent flier miles flying back and forth as much as possible. Ironically, the day before I was offered the job, I got my Canadian immigrant visa.

OK, now that the big news are out of the way, here are some highlights from this month in no particular order.

V is for Vendetta - go see it... twice
Meeting Winona LaDuke, Ralph Nader's running mate in 2000 and biodiesel enthusiast and handing here a copy of Veg My Ride.
Flash Mob Pillow Fight - tip, take of your glasses before engaging in this type of activity.
Data Exchange Pot Luck - read Nerd-Out-Supreme
Watching American Blackout and hanging out with GNN'ers Anthiny Lappe and Ian Inaba
Massive Antiwar March in Vancouver and meeting American war resister Kyle Snyder
Video taping a panel that included Matrix philosopher Cornel West

OK - gotta pack, get ready and maybe squeeze in a nap. NY, peeps, send me your contact so we can get together, oh and 'Join the Resistance: Fall in Love!' screens at the Imaginasian Theater on 239 East 59th on April 6th - spread the word!

love//the_stimulator

Veg My Ride

2006-03-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Everything seems to happen all a once. The same day I finished 'USE' we got a call from our DVD manufacturer that Veg My Ride was ready to be picked up. So now I have 1,000 DVD’s blocking the way to my office. In a nutshell, its an instructional DVD on how to convert diesel vehicles to run on Veg-Oil. Here’s the ‘official’ press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Franklin Lopez
subMedia
http://vegmyride.tv
frank(at)submedia.tv

Vancouver, British Columbia, February 22, 2006

subMedia and VegEnergy produce Veg My Ride DVD.

“Veg my Ride” is a D.I.Y. Instructional DVD that teaches how to convert a diesel vehicle to run on waste fryer oils for pennies a gallon.

In this DVD, VegEnergy’s Robert Del Bueno walks you through the process, step by step, of converting a diesel passenger car (mid 80’s Mercedes Benz) to run on straight vegetable oil.

The DVD covers the components, parts, tools, and methods required to install a successful conversion. Everything is covered including heated tank installation, heated fuel line installation, heated filtration, valve installation, wiring, and more.

The system installed on this DVD is not brand specific, and covers the options and components from most conversion kit manufacturers including Greasecar, Greasel, Frybrid, Neoteric/Plantdrive, Vegenergy, and more.

The knowledge contained on this DVD is easily applied to other diesel vehicle conversions, and is a must for those considering making the switch.

“With the price of gasoline skyrocketing and because of environmental concerns, people are looking for an affordable alternative to fossil fuels” said del Bueno

Commenting on hybrid vehicles Lopez added “A lot of folks can’t afford a $20,000 car. Buying and converting a used Mercedes can cost as little as $2,000”

The Veg My Ride diesel to veg-oil conversion DVD is available at VegMyRide.TV

Veg My Ride was shot on location in Atlanta, Georgia by Franklin Lopez of subMedia, a Vancouver based video production company.

VegEnergy is a bio fuels company based in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Veg My Ride DVD is available at VegMyRide.TV.
For more information contact frank(at)submedia.tv

Erasing Eminem

2006-02-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

So it rained for 40 days and 40 nights in British Columbia. I spent the time in my basement studio, wearing nothing but my robe and slippers (my wife loved it), erasing Eminem. OK, let me rewind. Around the new year, I came across a design collective called ForkScrew and they had done these kick-ass posters using the IPOD style from the ads Apple has been plastering everywhere but replace the shilouettes with images from the Iraq war, replaced the Apple logo with a grenade and instead of IPod it became IRaq. There are so many statements these ads make, that you could write a thesis about them. Fuckin brilliant.

So building on that idea I searched for IPOD TV ads. Thankfully apple.com had the newest Eminem/IPod ad at pretty high resolution. I downloaded it, called few conspirators back in the ATL and got to work. The task at hand was to delete Eminem and the sillouettes, frame by frame, and replace them with Iraq war imagery. Don Clark did a lot of the erasing, Alex Rambaud of Black Mona Lisa re-wrote the lyrics and added nasally Cypress Hill style delivery, Nav and Johnny re-mixed the track and DJM mixed it all together.

So here you go. We are calling it USE.
Quicktime 7 Version - Flash Version - IPOD Version

I will put a page on how we did it and links to my sources for any non-believers out there in the next couple days. If you want to include this clip in your blog or page, click here.

In other news, we got a generous donation from Dictatorchic T-Shirts and with the money we bought a year of dedicated server space. So if you have been having trouble getting me by email this week it's because we were in transition. By next week, it should be AOK. I am also testing a new interface for playing videos at subMedia, so if you have a second check it out and give me some feedback.

So now the sun has come out, and I am ready to get on my bike and talk to human beings. I wish I could go to Atlanta to catch Black Mona Lisa this weekend. In case you didn't know they play tonight (friday the 17th) at Lenny's

That's all folks. Have a safe weekend.

love//the_stimulator

Guerrilla Films

2006-02-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

About 5 years ago, well to be more more exact, September 2001 I read an article by Gore Vidal about the Oklahoma City bombing. In it it explained how anti-terror legislation that raped the bill of rights sailed right through Congress under auspices of the so called liberal administration of Bill Clinton, AKA, cigar boy.

A week later I got a call shortly after 9 am from a good friend. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. It didn't take long for me to realize that the world would never be the same. I knew there and then that the freedoms we had enjoyed so far were about to be a thing of the past.

At this point I made a choice to change the focus of my life. From one of just being a promoter of local art and a career filmmaker to full time activist, promoter of local art and career filmmaker.

Through this deviation of my life's pre-planned route, I protested the popular attack on Afghanistan, visited my congressmen and senators, went to DC, New York, Fort Bening, joined Indymedia, organized anti-War multimedia events, and met amazing people from all different walks of life and political beliefs: Greens, Commies, Anarchists, Socialists, New Age freaks, Old School Hippies, Rich Dot-Commers, Theater folk, Vegans, Freegans etc. etc.

One of these people became one of my best friends. He had decided to drop out of society, but before he left he left, he gave me my first copy of 'Days of War, Nights of Love' by CrimethInc. I say my first copy, because every time I buy one, I give it way just as fast.

This book became a reaffirmation of the struggle ahead, but it also held dangerous ideas, ideas that I wanted to spread. My films 'Join the Resistance: Fall in Love!' and 'Why I Love Shoplifting From Big Corporations' came directly from this text.

So why do I feel I need to tell you all this? Because yesterday I found out that CrimethInc compiled a two DVD set that encapsulates these last 5 years of my life. No, it's not a biographical film about me, but a time capsule of what me and thousands of there people have been involved in.

CrimethInc. Guerrilla Film Series, vol. 1 is: three documentaries, 5 short films (including the two above mentioned), music on MP3 and texts on PDF for $10 including postage. If you need some inspiration for your next act of rebellion, get this set and share it with your friends. Sorry for the long intro, but I am just giddy that my work is included in this package.

Stuff to Do:

NYC - D.R.E.S. Tha Beatnik - The amazing beat boxer from the ATL via Philly performs at the Bowery Poetry Club on Feb. 9th starting at 10:30 PM

Aight y'all, thanks for reading. Happy year of the dog and all that

love//the_stimulator

Ch ch changes

2006-01-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

It might be a little late but happy fuckin new year. Like many new years of the past we make resolutions and promises of change. Once again, I am attempting to kick some nasty ass habits (picking my nose), exercise, but more importantly, to go where no Puerto Rican has gone before, Snow Shoe-ing! Yep I am convert and eagerly looking for a pair of second hand snow shoes. Now, the technology for snow shoes has advanced, so they don't look like oversized tennis racquets which was kinda of a let down. Regardless, it was a very enjoyable experience and one that I hope to have more often.

So far this year has been off to a great start. Got my first Canadian paid gig of the year, and a video I produced last year went on the air last Wednesday. This one deals with prominent marijuana activist Marc Emery and how the DEA is trying to extradite him to the US and give him a life sentence for selling pot seeds. The clip plays on Current TV, so if you have cable look it up, but fuck it, TV is a dead medium anyway, so here, instant gratification.

On the politcal quagmire front, really enjoying the barrage of scandals plaging the Republicans. Not that you should be happy for the misfortunes of others, but let's be real, this Abramoff scandal, HAHAHAHAH! Speaking of congressmen last week I wrote to my congressman John Lewis and to my surprise he or someone in his office wrote back.

On the 'get out of your house and do something cool' in Vancouver, the Work Less Party is having a screening of their film 'Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams' tonight (Jan 10) at 8pm at the Pacific Cinematheque.

I have not fuckin idea what's happening in the ATL so would someone please give me clue.

Finally our new website address is http://submedia.tv and my new email addy is frank(at)submedia.tv

That's all for now y'all

love//the_stimulator

Response from Congressman Lewis

2006-01-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I emailed my congressman back in Georgia. Alas, Mr. Lewis is man of the people, but a cautious man to say the least. Here it is

Dear Mr. Lopez:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the controversial domestic eavesdropping program that was secretly authorized by President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. I appreciate your interest in this issue and am glad to have the benefit of your views.

I, too, am extremely troubled by the revelation that President Bush authorized secret domestic surveillance operations without warrants and beyond the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). As you may know, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service issued a report in early January which concluded that the Administration’s justification for warrantless eavesdropping conflicts with existing law and hinges on questionable legal arguments, a conclusion that is shared by a number of notable Constitutional scholars.

I believe strongly that this matter deserves a thorough Congressional investigation, and if the Administration’s actions are found to be illegal, President Bush must bear the appropriate consequences. You may also be interested to know that in addition to calling for Congressional hearings, I, along with several of my House colleagues, have sent correspondence to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility requesting that they do an internal investigation into the role played by DOJ in the domestic surveillance program.

Make no mistake, terrorism is a serious threat and I believe that our government must do all that it can to protect our citizens from additional terrorist attacks, however I believe we can do so without abandoning the principles that have guided our nation for more than 200 years. The freedoms and protections guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights have made us the envy of the world. We must restore and protect those freedoms lest we forever change our system of government into something the framers of the Constitution tried desperately to avoid.

Again, thank you for taking the time to weigh in on this issue. I hope you will continue to contact me on issues of importance to you.

Sincerely,

John Lewis
Member of Congress

Faith in the system

2005-12-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

I've said a bunch of times, I have no faith in the system to create positive change. Well maybe that's a bit too broad. But anywho, today I sent a letter to my congressman John Lewis, because it would be so gratifying to see the Dems grow some balls and start talking about impeaching the idiot and Co. Bush admitted that he did spy on Americans and will continue to do so as a 'So whachoo gonna do about it' taunt. So behold the first letter to a congressman I've sent in over 4 years, let's see if I get a bit more than the automated response. If you want to find out who your congressperson is go to http://www.house.gov/

Hon. Congressman Lewis,

I recently relocated to Canada, but as a US Citizen and since you were my last Rep. when I resided in College Park, I feel I need to direct this communication to you.

As much as I admire you, first as a Civil Rights leader and second as an effective Congressman, I have to tell you I've lost all faith in the Democratic Party.

Let's be frank. George W. Bush is getting away with murder and the Democrats' inaction makes me believe that the party I had sworn my loyalty to when I was younger, has been bought out by the military industrial complex.

I applaud your opposition to Bush's spying on American citizens. One thing I have not heard you or anyone else talk about is the fact that the NSA also spied on UN diplomats on the build up to the war with Iraq.

Let's get real here. Clinton got impeached for getting a blow job! The word impeach should be thrown around a bit more liberally in the halls of Congress. When Nixon walked around with his bravado on how he could not break the law because he was president, he got smacked down and put in his place. If the Democrats want folks to put their faith back in the system, they need to start acting tough and not worry so much about offending the people who pay for their campaigns, because without votes those contributions will be meaningless.

Much Respect

Franklin Lopez

Merry Kuanaka

2005-12-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

So I lied about the last message of the year, but yes Bush did piss me off but I am not writing to about that. Instead I wanted to spread some Christmas butter.

Here's a little quickie of some Christmas fun we had last saturday at Canada's second largest mall. For the third year in a row, subMedia has organized a Buy Nothing Christmas action and each time it gets a little bit better. We named this action, Operation Santattack.

This time, Santa Claus was accompanied by a crew of carolers and we passed hundreds of coupons that give people gift ideas that don't cost anything while singing some anti-shopping carols.

Check out the clip - here for Quicktime Player and here for Windows Media Player.

So I know a bunch of y'all are stressed out doing some last minute shopping. I say DON'T! Give yourself and your wallet a break. Take that time to relax, or just be creative and think of a gift that won't cost you a penny and that might be more meaningful than some cheap piece of plastic made by kids in China. Jesus would have wanted it that way.

Finally Big Upz to my girl Montine for getting some much deserved recognition.

Merry Kuanaka!

love//frank & hoa mi

More proof damning the Dems as a solution

2005-12-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's right, I will make my mission to try to convince as many folks as possible that the electoral system is damaged beyond repair. Not only because the GOP can steal the election whenever they damned well please, but because the only other alternative, the Dems are as fucked as the Republicans. Check this out...

There was a hearing this week concerning the issue of race and Katrina requested by congressional maverick Cynthia McKinney. Listen to the archive on Democracy Now. The shit these people were saying happened is un-fuckin-believable. A beautiful opportunity to further fry Bush and Co. Well "The Democratic leadership has instructed us to boycott this panel, because we can't trust the results or the report of this panel." said Congress Woman McKinney. I mean what gives. If this is does not make it obvious on where the Democrats stand I don't know what is.

Finally, I urge all artists with a political consciousness to listen to yesterday's Democracy Now! honoring John Lennon. Your art can make a difference.

have a great weekend

love//the_stimulator

signing off for 2005

2005-12-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all,

This might be my last message for 2005, but you never know, Bush might piss me off again. I just heard him speak about why we need to stay in Iraq. A few of the reasons for the supposed US success in Iraq were reported by no other than the biggest Democratic warmonger, president wannabe and all out sell-out Joe Lieberman. According to Lieberman (and Bush), the success in Iraq can be seen by the amount of cars and satellite dishes. Also the fact that Iraq's stock market is trading and the virus of a free market economy is infecting Iraqis. It's funny, if it looks like America it must be successful. Really, Mr. Bush.

More cars = more car bombs.
More TV's = Iraqis can be more informed about the car bombings
Stock Market = Terrorists have new ways to funnel money into Iraq

Yeah, I am swimming in cynicism, but not without reason. In the last couple of months the lies of the Bush administration have been surfacing like grease in water. And as public consciousness about peak oil and what really happened in 9/11 grows, the Neocon house of cards is going to crumble. Muahahah!

Ahh sorry about that.

Speaking of grease, I've been touting the benefits of running cars of veggie oil for some time. I even owned a grease car at one point. Well I am proud to say the ATL veggie oil meister and longtime Man or Astroman? bass player Rob Del Bueno and I have created a DVD to instruct folks how to convert diesel cars into grease cars. We call the the DVD 'Veg My Ride'

This DVD is a step by step instructional video on converting a car to run directly on vegetable and waste fryer oils. The conversion is generic, in that the method can be applied to most diesels. The DVD covers conversion kits, parts, and components from companies including Greasel, Greasecar, Frybrid, Plantdrive/Neoteric, and more. So if you are handy with tools and want to get ahead on next year's oil crisis, get one of these babies.

We are now accepting pre-orders via the website www.vegmyride.tv

Alright folks, signing off for the rest of the year. Don't over-consume this holiday season and don't forget to hug somebody at least once a day.

love//the_stimulator

Random Winter Stuff

2005-11-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

As I write this snow is falling heavily outside my window. So it's time to find a hill and a piece of cardboard and ski ATL Style.

Speaking of which I heard the song that Dallas Austin was hired to produce to promote my adopted city and WTF??

So I know the Push Push Theater had been showing the new Walmart movie, but if you missed it Indymedia is showing it for free this friday at the L5P community center. I have not seen the film yet, but what excites me about this is not he movie itself but, the fact that Greewald (the Director) has been able to have worldwide venues without the support of any studio or major distribution company. Little by little the dinasours of the industry become irrelevant and eventually extinct.

Here in Vanvouver, Blim is having a benefit at Video In. Blim is a killer little art studio that acts as a gallery and workshop space in East Vancouver. They offer screen printing and knitting classes and do video nights about once a month.

My friends here in Vancouver suggested that I take a winter project, since it rains a lot and it's dark at 5pm. Somebody gave me an old PC and I've been turning it into a Tivo using Ubuntu Linux and Freevo. I've had varying dregrees of suceess and faliure and has made me appreciate the work of programmers. What a pain in the butt.

As I said, lately I've been spending a lot of time inside. My parents gave me an Ipod for my birthday and I can finally test the subMedia video podcast. Let me tell ya, if you are a news junkie like me, podcasting is the way to go. I can listen to programs that I usually had to listen on the times that they were broadcast, whenever the fuck I want. ATLien's Eve and Motomasa have a radio show that I can never listen because I am in bed by 11 PM. That's all changed now.

One of the things that I've been following on the news and on podcasts is downward spiral of the Bush administration. Bob Woodward's bombshell a couple of weeks ago and Bush's wish to blow up Al-Jazeera are more exciting than any episode of 24. Indymedia has a nice podcast with a plethora of news shows that follow these stories.

Finally, I am putting an official call for media for the second issue of 'Molotov'. The issue will focus on intellectual property and I am looking for films, music, digital art and articles that are associated but not limited to the following words, phrases and acronyms: bittorrent, MPAA, P2P, Mash-Up, Re-Mix, Bar Code, RIAA, podcast, vodcast, copyleft, Linux, GNU, GMO, Biotech, css, etc. etc,

On top of that I am giving away an IPod video for the best MPAA parody video, so go to subMediaTV.com for more details.

That's all for now, thanks for listening.

love//the_stimulator

Oh what a wonderful day

2005-10-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

I really don't like feeling happy about the misfortunes of others, but this Lewis Libby situation has me giddy. Oh if only Rove and Cheney were indicted... Sigh.

As a celebration, I let go of all my responsibilities and instead of working for a living like a good American (or Canadian) I remained glued to the radio talk shows while learning about how to podcast video.

So, I give you a new way to watch our content without having to come back every month or so. Simply add this url minus the brackets to your you preferred blog reader or in the new iTunes go to Advanced>Subscribe to Podcast and paste the url. If you have one of the new Ipod's you'll be able to take the video with you and shock your coworkers.

Finally, if you live in Vancouver, you should know that subMedia is bringing the Lost Film Fest to Video In Studios this Thursday Nov. 3rd at 8pm. Woo Woo!

that's all for now

the_stimulator

Sleep time

2005-10-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

What whirlwind the last three months have been. House fire, tumultous trip to the ATL to DC back to the ATL back to Canada, then to Philly and now back to Canada hopefully for a good couple of months.

The Lost Film Fest was a tremendous experience. Saw some fantastic films and met a lot of like minded filmmakers. Believe me when I tell you that the alternative media revolution is on!

The highlights:

East Van Porn Collective: This crew decided to make a mokumentary about a group of young adults who didn't like the quality of porn so they made their own for their eyes only. In the process they actually made porn for their eyes only and made the East Van Porn Collective a reality. Probably the best explanation of concensus decision making process I've seen.

Star Slyderz: This stuck out in a world of political and socially concious films. If you like He-Man, Voltron, Star Trek and hair metal, this movie has it all. Probably the first true Cult Classic B-Movie of the new milenium.

George Bush Don't Like Black People Part Deux: I got to meet The Black Lantern, creator of the other George Bush meets Kanye West video. It just so happens that he live in Philly and we played our vids back to back at the festival. Strangely enough he recived a cease and dessist letter from Jib Jab for using 8 seconds of their popular animation 'This Land is our Land'. Ironically, Jib Jab got a cease and dessit from the Arlo Guthrie for using his father's song without permission. So without a doubt I've lost all respect for the hipocrits at Jib Jab. Fuckin sell-outs.

...and (self explanatory use your imagination).... Vegan (Cheese Steaks, Cakes, Turkey, Hot Dogs) Bike Jousting, Ball Fights, Ethiopian food, dirty shower, 1 towel for 7 people, grease cars, crazy hippies, donuts, no sleep, Punk Rock Islam, Photoshop Wormhole, dumpster diving, cockroach magic....

Now I am settling into my new digs, getting a lot of sleep and prepping for two months of heavy editing before I return to the ATL for some work. Before I leave you guys for a few weeks, I wanted to give big ups to Alex and Jacob of POP films for their first worldwide DVD release of 'Last Goodbye' If you haven't seen it at festivals or screenings, you can now own a copy. So go to Amazon or rent it from Netfilx.

That's all for now. Expect radio silence for a few weeks unless something amazing happens.

much love//the stimulator

Corporate Media Whore

2005-10-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I am back in the great white north, looking at an empty apartment and pondering if I really want to get a bunch of useless shit or just leave it empty. Hmm.. It's up to the boss (my wife) to decide.

To keep you updated on the 'George Bush Don't Like Black People' mania, the corporate media caught on. It started with an article in the Sunday New York Times. That was then followed by the Washington Post, MSN Video Downloads, and a request to air the video on BET, Albuquerque Public Access TV Channel 27, and Current TV, which is Al Gore's new cable venture. Ain't revenge sweet Al? All in all the video has reached more than 500,000 folks and more once it hits the national airwaves. To quote the legendary Bubb Rubb - WOO WOO!

The hate mail has kept me entertained and in stitches. The scary part is what happens when people hide behind a screen name and can type away in total anonymity. Oh, the racism that these fuckers spew would make David Duke blush. Now I expected the defenders of Dubya to come out in droves, but the racists did their best to make sure I knew they existed. No, people, we are not evolving, and that's a theory anyway...

So I have much to do so I'll keep this short.

Tomorrow (Sunday Oct. 2) at 8 pm the Push Push theater in Decatur will be showing a retrospective of my films.

Friday Oct. 7 at 7:30 pm the Atlanta IMC is presenting a screening of Winter Soldier and on again Sunday Oct. 9th at 3 pm the Push Push

All next week I'm in Philly for the Lost Film Fest 10. I'll be screening 'Why I love Shoplifting...' and 'George Bush...' If you have friends in the area or are able to make the trek, this film program is worth it.

that's all folks

love//the_stimulator

subMedia VS Mr. T

2005-09-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal. As Dubya was addressing the nation in the most cartoonish incarnation of himself (did anybody notice how big his head looked compared to his body?) the video 'George Bush Don't Like Black People' was being uploaded into cyberspace. Little did I know that this hurried piece of anger and frustration might become my most watched film to date.

First Guerrilla News Network picked it up and a slew of Blogs followed. By Tuesday night I-Film placed it on its front page and late yesterday named it 'Clip of the Day'. At the time of this writing the video had been downloaded over 117,000 times in I-Film alone, outranking 'Paris Hilton Flashes Camera' and second only to 'Breakdancing with Mr. T' for a good reason. That clip is fuckin hilarious.

I know, I know, the timing, subject matter, the song and the association to Kanye's comments play a big role in the success of the clip. But I'd like to believe that what Mr. West said, regardless weather it was self serving or heartfelt, spoke to many of us non-whites or should I say minorities.

Some people find this outrageous, but we live in a racist country. Bush is merely the face of this and Katrina/Kanye a catalyst to bring out the issue. If Clinton was in office, it would go 'Slick Willie don't like Black People'. Believe, I have no love for him either. This is not to say that anybody who's in the White House is a racist. Just read Molly Ivins' 'Bushwhacked' and you'll see that his racist policies and his lynching of many black men started when he was Governor of Texas.

So what do I expect from all this hoopla. I really just hope to make a few people think. It's hard to imagine of this country being racist when you are not on the receiving end. But take from a Puerto Rican, it is. Or just look at our wonderful history.

Anyway, even though over 100,000 folks have viewed this, in the end it's a tiny blip on the media screen. I have placed a broadcast version of the clip on subMedia's Bit Torrent server and have called on Progressive Indy TV producers to download the clip and broadcast it on their shows. I have also put out a call to radio DJ's to download the MP3 and play it on their stations.

To tell you the truth I have had the worst luck running a Bit Torrent server, so if any of you have a decent tracker or know somebody who would want to serve this, please contact me.

With that said, I pray that Rita is gentler on the people of Louisiana and Texas and that we don't see a repeat of what we all witnessed two weeks ago.
ok I'm out

love//the stimulator

George Bush Don't Like Quicktime

2005-09-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yo Yo!

Like my friend Kris just said, Apple is too far ahead and the sweet new H264 codec in which the 'George Bush Don't Like..." video is encoded in does not work with Windows machines, go figure.

So here is a Windown Media Version for all you PC folks.

BTW, big ups to Guerrilla News Network for putting a link to the vid on the front page.

love//the_stimulator

Katrina Angst

2005-09-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

Unforeseen circumstances and new opportunities have kept me and my monkey in the Dirty South for a few extra weeks. In a weird way, I am glad I was here to be witness to mayhem that ensued once rumors of an oil shortage got out. Mark my words, this is just a glimpse of things to come, so be prepared.

I am also saddened by the events following Hurricane Katrina's arrival. I am not going to go into a long trade about it, because if you have been glued to the tube like me, you're sick of hearing about it. But in short, after having my own personal disaster, I feel it does' compare to what the folks in the deep south went through. Not only did they not have neighbors to help them out, because their neighbors were in the same boat, definitely no pun intended, but the government, the stack of elected and appointed officials that are supposed to take care of you when the shit goes down, were not there when they needed them the most.

Like most, I was impressed with Kanye West's courage in denouncing this on live TV and going as far as saying, 'George Bush doesn't care about black people'. I nodded my head in agreement. If you have been paying attention the past 5 years, you would know the statement to be true. Following Kanye's Lead, The Legendary K.O. dropped a tracked entitled 'George Bush Don't Like Black People'. I first heard about the song at a BBQ last Sunday, and I was so floored by the immediacy and raw anger of it the I felt I needed to keep the ball rolling and help make the chorus a mantra for all to sing, and sing loud for Dubya and his cronies to hear.

I picked up the phone and called my friend Kris and asked to record as many newscasts as possible. I knew that timing would be essential and if I wanted to cut a video to this song, it would have to be done quickly. As always, I wish I had more time to spend on this little piece, but here it is in all it's rawness.

To viwew the clip click here and for Windows users click here.

With that off my chest, and since I am here in the ATL, check out what's happening this weekend and beyond.

The Edukators - I hope Landmark doesn't take this film down tonight, because it's a must see. If I were to make a feature film this is what it would look like. Also, I've finally seen a film that Felcia Feaster and I can agree on : )

The Seagull - Tim Haberger of the Push Push Theater is one of my heroes. He directs The Seagull, a play by Chekov, another example on why the Push Push and Co. are one of the best undiscovered secrets of this city. Through October 1 at the Push Push Theater.

Women in War - I was privy to watch the dress rehearsal of this heartbreaking and often funny take on women's roles during armed conflict. Don't fuck around and catch this one. September 17 - October 9 at Seven Stages.

Finally, Alex Rambaud, who acted in my film 'Join the Resistance: Fall in Love' and sang as part of Black Mona Lisa in 'Why I Love Shoplifting From Big Corporations' is in need of a drummer and a guitar player for his pop-punk ensemble. If you are interested email him here.

That's all folks, have a great weekend and be safe.

love//the_stimulator

Reboot

2005-08-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Alright, gotta put this fire thing behind me so let's wrap this up. The last two weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions, but I'm happy to say that the good ones outweigh the bad ones. Check this out.

The kick ass folks of the ATL raised a couple of grand and had a kick ass party on Saturday.

1-800-GOT-JUNK is donating all the furniture and appliances we need and delivering to...

Yes, we found a place to live, half a block from our ex house, still a short walk to the beach.

We now have clothes, a roof and some seed money, plus the feeling that there's a ton of people out there who give a shit. But wait there's more.

'Why I love Shoplifting from Big Corporations' debuted on I-Film last week subverting over 2,000 minds and holding steady on the top 20 of the shorts category.

'From the Fry Daddy to your Car' debuted on Current, a new cable TV channel, and getting paid for it to boot.

AK Press, our distributor for 'Join the Resistance, Fall in Love' sold out of the first shipment and has ordered another bunch.

'Molotov' will now be distributed in Japan by Irregular Rhythm Asylum.

And finally Giant Magazine interviewed me for an upcoming article about media distribution via Bit Torrent.

This all happened last week, I shit you not.

I'll touch down in the ATL this week for a ton of work and a ton of fun. I'll be VJ'ing at the Tabernacle this Saturday with Aerial and BT and at the East Side Lounge next Saturday with Johnny Ether, but more on that next week.

Again, thanks for all the support y'all have give us in the past two weeks.

Finally, for some cathartic fulfillment, here's two newscasts that aired the day after the fire. One in English and one in Mandarin for our Far East subscribers.

love//frank

'9 questions with Mark Achbar'

2005-08-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Words can't explain

2005-08-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Holy fuckin' shit! I can't find the words to thank everyone who has offered to help or simply sent helpful and kind words of encouragement. I promise I will reply to every single email, but as you can imagine my plate is full at the moment.

Many people have asked what they could do to help. Well first off, get yourself some insurance. We feel awful that we have become a burden to our friends and family in helping us get back on our feet. There's no excuse.

If you are still interested in helping after reading that and you live in Atlanta read on. Fellow filmmaker Dan Bush of Psychopia Films has gotten the forces together and organized a benefit for Hoa Mi and I this Saturday. Details on the attached e-flyer. May folks have offered to send clothes and housewares. Unfortunately, it is not practical to send things through the mail, because we get charged duty for things coming across the border and right now we are counting every penny.

On the Canadian side of things, the neighborhood were we lived has organized yard sales and collected clothes, appliances, furniture etc. for the 24 or so affected people. ATLiens Justin and Osha Roller have taken us in and treated us to some amazing southern hospitality. Our new found friends set up a website and have collected goodies for us. Strangers have looked for apartments for us. If I had lost any hope in humanity, let me tell ya, I got it back tenfold.

To wrap this up, I am so lucky to have married Hoa Mi. This experience doesn't feel that bad knowing that there's somebody that has my back 24/7. On Sunday we will celebrate our first anniversary, and toast to all of the kind people that we know and don't know, to life and to a new beginning.

Thank's Y'all

love//the_stimulator

A visit from Tyler Durden

2005-08-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

It was about 3 a.m. Hoa Mi whispers, "what the fuck is that?" as we were both awakened by what sounded like a hailstorm. From our bed we could see a bright orange glow coming from outside our window. I get up and look out and sure enough 'The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on Fire!' Hoa Mi and I go for our robes. Hoa my tells me to call 911 and then says 'But is it 911 in Canada?!?! What is 911 in Canada?!?' Hoa Mi runs outside, and I run to my office to make the call. Phone's dead. I grab my camera and hastily unplug everything that's hooked up to my computer. Once I close my laptop and realize one cable is sandwiched between the screen and the keyboard. I panicked and almost rip it off and then as calmly as I can, open the laptop back up and remove the offending wire. The 'CRASH!' My office window explodes and the smoke alarm starts to yell. That's when I decide to get the fuck out of dodge.

I knock on my downstairs neighbor's doors and Shelley is already outside. I knock on the basement neighbor's window and he comes out. We run across the street and the entire house is now ablaze. The houses to the left and right have already caught on fire. I go to my neighbor Lena's door and bang on it. She's already outside. I see Rachel, the neighbor behind our house and she says, 'Oh my God you guys, this is terrible, you can totally stay with us' She looks back and the fire had spread to her house.

All in all 4 houses were burned. All that's left from our house is a pile of burned wood. Just notice the empty space to the right of the picture. I can say without a doubt that we are lucky to be alive. Five more minutes inside and we would have been toast. Needless to say we lost everything except for my camera, my laptop and the robes we wore that morning.

But don't fear, my work with subMedia will continue. This little media hub will be rebuilt and the next issue of 'Molotov' will be out by the end of the year. I am looking for copies of my films that my be circulating around the Atlanta indy film community, preferably in DV format.

With that said, I leave you with my latest piece. I luckily uploaded my it before the drive it resided in burned down. I will link to it from subMediatv.com later this week. For now go to - this link - I encoded this with quicktime 7 so you will need it in order to view the clip - Quicktime 7 Download. People with windows machines will have to use the preview version of Quicktime 7.

love//the_stimulator

General Busyness

2005-07-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Month 2 in Canada has been amazing, but more on that next week. There are more pressing matters in the rant below and a few announcements.

No more Cheap Oil. When we had our 10 and half anniversary party back in February, we managed to scare the shit out of everybody there with the documentary 'The End of Suburbia'. Unfortunately we didn't have copies for sale, and the requests for DVD's was overwhelming. Now you can get a copy through the subMedia Webmart. We guarantee you will share this one with all your friends.

Molotov Sells out! Our initial run of 500 copies is gone. We managed to mail copies to people all over the world and now we up the ante. We are offering the entire DVD as free Bit Torrent download. If you haven't heard about Bit Torrent, you have been living under a rock. Don't worry, go to our download page and we'll update you.

Shoplifters of the World Unite!! subMedia's last film 'Why I Love Shoplifting from Big Corporations' has been s screened several times during the G8 summit as part of the 'Lost Film Fest' and it has been accepted to the Atlanta Underground Film Festival, so expect to see me around the dirty south in August.

George Bush, still Evil. Back in 2002 we put this little masterpiece by Atlanta experimental arts duo Figure 1.1 on our site. We felt we needed to bring it back as a friendly reminder.

Code Orange

2005-07-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Just what we needed. Another fuckin terror attack. I feel very selfish saying this. After all, people died. Innocent people. But innocent people die all the time, in Iraq, in our inner cities, in car accidents. But British people are definitely more valuable than Iraqis. Well at least that's the way it seems in the media. I mean,
this type of attack happens in Baghdad every day and we don't get the amount of news and analysts we're getting today. I wish I was a terrorism expert, that way I could get paid to talk a bunch of bullshit on TV. Brace yourselves...

But innocent people dying because of terror attacks means something completely different. It means that Dubya and their neo-cons can find validation for their awful actions. To quote Bush's reaction to the London attacks 'The War on Terror® goes on'. What can we expect from this. Beefed up Patriot Act, more people disappearing, hate crimes on muslims everywhere. Brace yourselves...

Yes, there are people who hate 'The West'. But to narrow it down, these people hate America and the UK by proxy. Ward Churchill got crucified for something I am about to say. When you fuck with people for an extended period of time, shit's bound to blow up in your face. There, I said it. These acts of terror, as unjustified as they are, are merely retaliation for 'The West's' meddling, i.e. US' policy of invading, assassinating and manipulating in order to keep your tank full, your fridge stocked, and your Fruit of the Loom cheap. Well our privileged lifestyle won't last forever. Brace yourselves...

So to recap my mad-rant. 1. Terrorism Sucks. 2. But it's going to keep happening. 3. Because our government keeps fuckin with people 4. So we can be fat ignorant consumer fucks.

'Molotov' Joins the swarm

2005-06-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

'Sold out!' That's what I yelled last week as I got the last order of our DVD/ZINE 'Molotov'. 500 might not seem like a lot, but that was 500 Zines photocopied, trimmed, stapled and inserted into 500 DVD cases, that have 500 DVD's burned on laptop that have 500 labels etc. etc. And who the fuck do you think put these together? You guessed it. But in all seriousness, we are very happy to have sold out of this first printing. We have enough cash for 'Molotov' #2 which should come out by December. I certainly didn't feel like making another 500 DVD's so I'll be making them as orders come in. But for geeks out there who use Bit Torrent and have DVD burners, enjoy this gift from your pals at subMedia. Once you download, please seed for a day or two. Thanks to the folks at blog torrent for making this possible.

Enron and why the fuck haven't people risen up

2005-06-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

My wife and I went to see 'Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room' last night. Like 'the Corporation', this is another film that goes to the heart of the problem in the world today and doesn't just blame everything on Bush, like 'Fahrenheit 911' did.

In short, this film does a great job at showing how our culture's validation of greed and the capitalist system made a huge group of people accomplices in one of this century's greatest crimes. By mid movie I was so angry that I wanted to scream every time I saw Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling. These fuckers, along with many other cocksuckers, encouraged people who worked in the company to invest their retirement funds into Enron, while they sold their stock because they knew the shit was going down.

The film builds suspense, and the fact that we all know what happens in the end, I found myself at the edge of my seat for the second half of the film. One of the most memorable moments of the film was when Ken Lay is addressing the employees of Enron as the stock is plummeting, and CEO Skilling has jumped ship. Ken asked the crowd to ask questions and pass them to the front, and this dumb motherfucker (Lay) read this question in front of a packed room and rolling cameras. "Are you on crack? If you are that might explain a lot of things. If you aren't, maybe you should be." Holy shit! I nearly piss my pants!

On the downside, the film which remained rather impartial the whole way, when it should have taken a stand. 'Overthrow the corporate state!' LOL, if I had turrets syndrome that's what I would have yelled. Anywho, this is my point. We are seeing how these greedy fuckers manipulate the markets to rob us, their workers, take us to war, exploit children, so forth and so on. Their friends live in the White House and steal elections, so one of our only legal recourses is gone. And the courts, Skilling gave 23 million of what he stole to his attorneys as a retainer. Anyone, out there can match that?

To recap, don't fuck around and watch it.

Fuck Apple

2005-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Since the 80's I've been a hardcore Apple user. I admit I was attracted by the fact that they were and are the underdog. They also made and still make great computers. But all this loyalty to a company is a bunch of bullshit. They should be loyal to me. I'm the one who gives them all this money and defends them in heather Apple VS Windows debates.

So why all this rage. Well, it's been a long time coming so if you care to listen, read on. I owend a Lombard G3 Powerbook that I paid about $3K for at the time. About two years later I decided to upgrade it, so I bought a G4 processor upgrade, extra ram a MPG Decoder PC card and a fire wire PC Card. I wanted to edit video on it and run DVD studio pro on it. Well I just couldn't. The software wouldn't support the hardware. Now Apple charges so much for their shit that they should make the extra effort and support hardware upgrades. It's not like there's a ton of third parties making upgrades like in the PC world.

Anywho I gave up on the Lombard and a year later bought a G4 Titanium 17" Powerbook. I gotta admit it, best machine I've ever had. I edit video on it, make DVD's, mix live video, have a gazillion apps open at the same time and it hardly ever crashes. Then Apple comes out with Motion, the After Effects killer. As a video geek, I was salivating over this one only to find out that the video card that came with my $3,400 not even 18 months old machine does not support Motion!!

Do you see a pattern here, these motherfuckers charge you an arm and a leg for hardware that's not upgradable and then develop the apps that don't run and fairly recent hardware. So you are 'forced' to buy new gear every couple of years.

Next up: The Ipod. What a shitty piece of overpriced hardware. And hear the horror stories from people. A friend of mine is so thankful he bought the Apple Care extended warranty, because he has gone through 6 Ipods in 2 years. My wife bought me one as an engagement gift a year ago and the drive already went on it. The battery never lasted as long as they claimed. Yes, recently they lost a class action lawsuit but they want a receipt for items that are over a year old. My motherfucking IPOD is the receipt!

Last but not least, last week's announcement that Apple was going to suck Intel's dick. If you've been using Apple for a while or, just following their ad campaings, it always has been showing performance tests between Intel and Power PC. Apple claimed that even though the Megahertz on the PPC chip were lower than intel, it processed much faster than Intel. So what now, 'We were never at war with Eurasia'!, 'Ignorance is Strenght'!

Yeah, yeah, bitch, bitch, bitch, what the fuck am I going to do about it. I really can't believe it has taken me this long. I mean I switched my car for a vegetable oil car, withdrew from the corporate world, and try to live as far away from consumer culture as possible. You guessed it. I am going to make a slow but steady jump into Linux. Fuck you Apple.

Adium

2005-06-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you on OSX and who have friends on multiple chat services, check out Adium. Comparable to Fire, but has more of the I-Chat prettyness to it. Thumbs up.

Netflix Killer?

2005-06-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

I love the decentralized idea of Peer Flix. I don't like that I have to pay per trade, but I guess someone always wants to make some money. Check it out.

ET Phone Home

2005-06-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a month and a day since we've been in Vancouver and we couldn't be happier. This city is a dream and I highly recommend for all of you to come visit to see what I am talking about. The weather has been lovely and the atmosphere inspiring.

I've been doing some 'work' for Good Company Communications, makers of the documentary 'The Corporation'. They are promoting a great cause while running a business successfully. WOW! Here's one of the projects I did for them.

I've also been talking with the folks from Adbusters and visited an artist run video collective called Video In. Their model is something that I would love to see implemented in Atlanta. They have 3 Final Cut Pro Edit Suites, a TV Studio, 1 Avid Suite and a Pro Tools Suite, plus a venue for screenings, and a distribution arm called Video Out. They rent out their studios and suites from $5 to $15 an hour or you can volunteer and earn video bucks which you can use towards renting the facilities. What a dream!

There is a nice ATL contingency here. Some of you might remember Eve and Motomasa. They have established themselves nicely in the DJ scene and also have a radio show.

Finally, I went surfing for the first time in my life last weekend. I gotta say I'm hooked. The water is fuckin cold, which explains the wet suit, but the scenery is spectacular.

Oh and before I forget, Big ups to UNDO Corp. the designers for subMediaTV.com for winning the Silver Seed Award for best lLash Website. Also big Ups To Alex Motlagh, whose video Bush Boys was selected for the Norwegian Short Film Festival.

That's all kids, stay tuned for more

love//the_stimulator

Canada or Bust

2005-04-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Yep, the rumors are true. Me and my monkey are heading up to the land of maple syrup and hockey strikes. In about 10 days we'll catch a plane and start a new life in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.

With everything going so well with us in Atlanta, you may ask why? Well, one because we can. Two, because of the free healthcare. No, but seriously, both my wife and I have been wanting to live abroad for some time and Canada interested us and in all honesty, would be the easiest since my wife is Canadian.

We visited Vancouver during our honeymoon and absolutely fell in love with the city. So now we join several ex-atliens, and thousands of avid snowboarders and pot smokers, to swim in the icy waters of the Pacific and pay really high taxes.

So with that said, what's to happen to subMedia. I consider the move an expansion of our operations. My partner in crime Don Clark will continue to hold it down in Atlanta. So for all my current or future clients who may need video work done, hit Don up (404) 509-6809 or shoot him an email don(at)submediatv.com.

Web Madness

2005-03-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

Gad I love the internet. As I sit in the club waiting for my job to start I ponder, how else would indy filmmakers from back in the day, who chose non-mainstream subject matters, were able to get their shit seen by the masses. As messed up as things are, I am glad I live in the time we are in and would not wish to live in any other era. My experience last year with 'Join the Resistance' was amazing. Thousands and people from all over the world got experience my work. My peers have also benefited from this network. 'Bush Boys' from POP films' Alex Mothlagh, has been downloaded over 100,000 times since subMedia first put it online in 2003. Now it is featured on GNN's front page and was one of the top picks on I-film last year.

Well once again, the web has proven effective. Two weeks ago I got a call from Scott Beibin, the curator from the Lost Film Fest. He had stumbled into my newest film 'Why I love shoplifting from Big Corporations' and wanted to add it to the already impressive roster of 'culture jamming' and political films. I was in shock! I have been trying to get my work on that festival for some time now and had been unsuccessful. It turns out that Scott is a pretty down to earth guy and we shot the shit for an hour. I bitched at him for never bringing his festival to the ATL. He replied that he had no contacts in this city. Long story long, subMedia is bringing his ass and his collection of amazing flicks to Atlanta this saturday.

Among the films, a never before seen prank by infamous 'Yes Men' and all the Fensler G.I. Joe PSA's your brain will be able to tolerate. Read below for more details.

Shock and Awe

2005-03-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

About 2 years ago this punk ass mother fucker we like to call Mr. President, straight out lied to my face and told me that Saddam was holding a gigantic cock laser and that he was pointing it at my face. I called 'bullshit' on it, and so did you. Remember all those fuckin 'Move On' emails you sent me. Well here we are, 2 years later and Bush continues to shit on the Iraqi people while laughing at us and at the rest of the world.

Well I sure hope that you are still as appalled at the whole war thing as you were back then. So for Chrissake, don't just express your distaste for armed conflict by forwarding me another 'move on' email. Move on out of your house and be warm body among thousands who oppose this bullshit. There are protests all over the conuntry so just google it or go to the radical calendar.

Why I love Shoplifitng from Big Corporations

2005-03-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

In December 2003 we produced a short called 'Join the Resistance: Fall in Love' inspired by a book called 'Days of War, Nights of Love' by CrimeThinc. If you haven't read it already, by all means pick it up. Anywho, never in our wildest dreams did we think this film was going to be accepted the way it did. In the span of a year the short was dowloaded over 100,000 times via our website, bit torrent etc and impromptu screenings popped up all over the world.

We are following this one with 'Why I Love Shoplifting From Big Corporations' also inspired by the book. We busted ass making this one, and we hope you enjoy it. This film is part of our first effort at making a compilation mixed with a 'zine we like to call Molotov. So if you like our work, consider purchasing a copy and then making a copy to give to your friends.

The Yes Men

2005-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

The Yes Men is finally out on video. Netfilx just shipped mine. I can't wait!

Now get off your ass

2004-11-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

The discussion last week went great. From what I gather is that most people could agree that electoral politics is not were it's at for creating change. One of the things that created change during the 60's wasn't voting. It was people giving their time and sweat to the cause. Folks went to sit-ins, marched and got their heads bashed by the police. But hey, by doing this the nation caught a glimpse of all the bullshit that was going on in the south and things did begin to change. So to us this would mean personal sacrifice. Cutting out a few hours of your TV time and giving it to a group or organization that needs volunteers. Building a community garden. Marching and getting your head bashed in by the police. Now, this doesn't mean sending fucking emails or signing petitions. Fuck that. And while I'm at it, don't send me any of that shit. Thanks.

Also peopl agreed that the corporate media is partly to blame for where we are now. So what to do you may ask. Well, make your own fucking media I say. And many people have said it before, from Jello Biafra to Indymedia. If you've been on the list for a while you've probably heard me rant about how great Indymedia is. So what is Indymedia? Indymedia is YOU! That's right, you make the news. Seriously. Indymedia was born during the Seattle WTO protests and came out of the need for activists to have the events at hand reported fairly. At that time the corporate media was focusing on the few people breaking windows and failed to show the amazing coalition of activists and union members who came together to fight against globalization. Now what is globalization? Ask me next week. In the meantime, the Atlanta branch of Indymedia is having a party on Saturday. I will be there doing some visual xaos and Nav will be on the decks. So come and support a truly independent media outlet right here in your community. And for all you media makers out there, come out, see what its all about and volunteer. In the rants section I will list a number of organizations that need your time.

Disgruntled Emailer

2004-11-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

The following is a heart felt email from a friend who will remain unnamed. He/she said eloquently what I've been feeling for some time.

"oh my god, what happened?!" have we not been paying attention!?

yeah, it's horrible (and half the country is in the same boat, so we're not all idiots). i'm not saying the outcome of this election doesn't matter.it matters tremendously. and the next four years is likely to be a serious and potentially dangerous historical turn. but all this wailing and gnashing of teeth is not going to get us anywhere. especially not the email volleys. we've spent 4 years forwarding anti-republican humor and diatribes. did wonders, didn't it? hitting "send" is not the end (barely the beginning) of positive political action. it's a drug that makes us feel as if we've done something, contributed, like watching MTV and donating a few bucks to bob geldof in the 80s gave us the illusion we had solved world hunger. (hear much about that anymore? shit, did i miss the exciting final episode or did they just cancel the world hunger show without shooting the series finale?)

a true movement for progressive social change is not built around a once-every-four-years crap shoot. we put so much into the president, like a movie star, messiah, and repository for all our hopes and fears, and if "our side" wins we breathe a sigh of relief, assume it's all better now, and return to our consumerist stupor. yes, a great point can be made that if kerry had won, things would have taken a big step toward the good at least in terms of public discourse (there may have been less of this lethal god in the air, in the white house anyway, for the next four years anyway), protection of the environment (or the illusion of it) and stemming the tide of a right-wing-packed supreme court. but neither political party is going to fix it all for us. we have to make a stab at that ourselves. we're going to have to live with the after-effects of this administration for a
long time to come (as surely as we're still living with johnson and nixon and reagan - anyone remember them? anyone know what happened then?) and those effects aren't going to disappear with the "right" candidate. not under our system as it stands.

let's educate ourselves and each other - with real facts and analysis, not assholes, er i mean, opinions (everyone's got one). does anyone out there know what the imf is doing in the third world? how coke is contributing to the slaughter of the labor movement in columbia? what aids is doing to the population of russia? why there has been armed rebellion in mexico? and
whatever happened to afghanistan? (i think my cable company dropped that channel.) it's a world folks, a whole big fucking globe, and it's not all about one american and what the rest of america thinks about him. this all didn't begin with W. this won't end with democratic victory. history didn't start when you became aware of it a few years ago.

join a peace and justice organization and give them your time and hard work; organize and participate in boycotts; use your art to agitate, inspire, unite; keep track of every vote your elected officials (even your goddamn city councilmembers) cast and inform them immediately of your approval or opposition and threaten them with your vote; shit, run for office yourself;
chain yourself to the desk of a halliburton executive; tap into some news sources outside cnn/fox/daily show or whatever else is handiest at the end of a remote control. don't assume one vote every four years is going to keep the world on track and one politician is going to fix it all and one branch of essentially the same corporate-global-economy political party,
even the most "liberal" and apparently sane branch, is going to do the right thing. yes, we are fucked. now what are we going to do about it? wait for the democrats to come up with a savior in 2008? sure...start holding your breath. it might happen. if we make it to 2008. like my friend dan says, it's going to take tremendous sacrifice. the kind of sacrifice
people all over the world make every day but americans rarely have to face. the kind of sacrifice that pushes us on, even when we see little or no change in our own lifetimes. are we prepared to give up that great american sense of instant gratification: push a button-out comes your cash, push a button-your candidate gets elected?

i know we need to voice our frustration and rage to each other right now. but i've been dealing with these events and subsequent feelings for 35 years or more, and it's exhausting. you need to vent - but for god's sake, don't just second-guess the election, or shout opinions at each other, don't merely focus on how awful everything is. try to talk about what can be done. try to find a place to put this rage that's going to really turn it on those who deserve it. try to come away from it with one step to take together. even in our immediate local area, our neighborhoods, while maintaining the fullest
possible sense of our place in the whole big world. the tiniest little thing, you know, like the beat of the butterfly wings in the amazon that causes a typhoon in japan.

but please, take me off the Chicken Little email list.

i don't know what the answer is. even as i write all this, it's hard to convince myself that anything makes a difference. like i said: 35 years, i'm freakin' tired. maybe my friend dan answered his own question for us: stay and fight.

AND keep your money and passport in your shoe.

peace?

'Never' Comments

2004-10-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Post your comments about the 'Never' music video

'National Voter Education' comments

2004-10-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

What do you think about this short film?

'What Barry Says'

2004-10-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Hell-A or an indy filmmaker's adventures in the 'OC'

2004-09-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles is the City you love to hate. The weather is perfect, there are beaches all over and the Mexican food rocks. But the joint but it feels like collection of the worst parts of Buford Highway multiplied by a million. Traffic, strip malls and dirt brown air make it such an unattractive place, that it makes you wonder why so many fucking people live there. Half of the people I know that live there say they 'fuckin' hate it'. But I must admit there is a strange appeal to the city. Maybe I just can't find the words to describe it, so I'll shut up now.

The screening went like gang busters. It was packed with people from all age groups, the youngest person was 16 and the oldest 70, and every political affiliation except Republican was represented. The ulterior motive for the screening as told to me by the organizer was to "plant the seeds of love in our activist community." Apparently the community in Orange County is plagued by divisions and factionalism. Not to mention increased harassment from the police due to their expanded powers under the Patriot Act.

So I was handed an awesome responsibility, one that I was not mentally prepared to take on. I was told all of this while in traffic on the way down to Santa Ana. I must admit I was a bit overwhelmed. When I arrived to the venue, these divisions became very apparent. People were hanging out in their mini groups and I found it hard to start conversations with folks.

After the film got rolling and the discussion was flowing, the mood in the room was turned around. New allegiances were forged, love was spread and I was able to see a glimmer of hope in most of those present. It was a very powerful moment. I made new connections with underground distributors and it even spawned an email conversation with a Universal Pictures exec. Weird!

I am not saying that my film changed all of these people, but sometimes it takes someone from the outside, or a different perspective to make you reconsider that way you view the world or deal with people. I wish I could put this in a bottle and give it away. In the meantime, pick a room in your house and stand on your head (use a pillow for God's sake).

Big ups to the ATL LA Exodus (Ben, Tim, Dan, Randy and Thomas) for your amazing hospitality.

love//the_stimulator

"National Association for Voter Education" comments

2004-09-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Post comments on the short film "National Association for Voter Education"

"Strikes Agaist Corporate America Part I" Comments

2004-07-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Post comments on the short film "Strikes Agaist Corporate America Part I"

"Bush Boys"

2004-07-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

Dean Vs. Nader

2004-07-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ooh what great fuckin year this is!

Why do I say this? Because it's so fuckin exciting. I'm getting married, been traveling and will continue to do so all year, and it's an election year. What more could I ask for? But seriously, I like a good debate as much as the next guy, but I am so perturbed by all these Democrats who keep attacking Ralph Nader for running. This has escalated to efforts to legally block Nader ballot access. Now is this how the "Democratic" party promotes democracy? I mean, what are y'all afraid of? Give me a break, this man has the right run.

The first time I came across these attacks was a cyber squatter that owns the name Nader2004.org. Ok so this person comes very close to blaming Nader for the war in Iraq. Check it out for yourself. He has an email link in which I proceeded to rip him/her/them a new asshole for being so ignorant and uninformed. I'll get to that later.

I came across the site while looking for an audio link to the Dean/Nader debate. Dean, who was the most popular anti-establishment candidate (the best one was Kucinich but I believe Sharpton was a close second) has become Kerry's bitch and has been given the job to destroy and discredit Nader. Depending on how you look at the debate, the winner of the debate can be Nader or Dean. Nader is old and not as quick as Dean, but Nader had better points to make. Especially when he quoted statements Dean made during the primary against Kerry. Simply brilliant.

Anywho, the making of a new anus.

1. The War Argument. Yep, we've all heard it. There would not be an Iraq war if Gore was president. Simple comeback. The bombings on Iraq did not end with George Bush I. Under Clinton, the US continued to bomb Iraq and killed countless innocent civilians. In any event, the economic war Clinton waged on the world via free trade agreements is as bad if not worse than 'real war'. So do you really think Kerry is going to pull out the troops if he gets elected just because he is Democrat? Democrats have gotten us into many bullshit wars, so this does not differentiate them with Republicans. Remember Vietnam? In any event Kerry voted for the war and has not said he regrets the decision. Even after new information about the lack of weapons of mass destruction and no Al Quean link.

2. Oh but Bush has tramples our civil liberties! Kerry voted for the Patriot Act. Next.

3. But Bush is the Candidate of Big Business. Kerry has accepted campaign contributions by Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley among others. It's also interesting that these companies also gave money to the Bush/Cheney ticket.

4. Nader cost Gore the Election. Listen, 250,000 Democrats voted for Bush in Florida alone, and 8 million nationwide. Instead of blaming Nader for their misfortunes, the Dems should look at themselves and see why they lost 8 million folks to Bush! How embarrassing! Not to mention that 100,000 people that didn't show up to the polls.

Should I continue. I have more, where that came from and I will go toe to toe with anyone who wishes to meet for beer and heated political discussions.

Finally, I want to say how disappointed I am with Michael Moore. He had the power to expose the larger problem that plagues America, but like Dean, he has become a mouth piece for the Democrats and his film a way to further polarize America.

Ok, time for nap. Take care and have a safe weekend.

love//the_stimulator

"YETI TOUR DAY 1" Comments

2004-06-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Post comments or thoughts on the short video "YETI TOUR DAY 1"

"From the fry daddy to your car"

2004-06-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

"Join the Resistance: Fall in Love"

2004-06-17T09:51:00.000-07:00