Art Events: Saturday-Monday, September 30 - October 2, 2006

New York Events and Exhibitions

Customs Anton Henning @ Zach Feuer Gallery LFL, New York, Tel: 212 989
7700, www.zachfeuer.com

Jeff Ono, Mamie Holst and Kinke Kooi @ Feature Inc. New York, Tel: 2121
675 7772, www.featureinc.com

Growing Up in Public, Tag Projects @ Repetti
Gallery, New York, 718.670.3226, www.repetti.org

Brian Kershisnik @ CODA Gallery, Tel: 212-334-0407, New York,
www.codagallery.com

"Disturbances," Marilyn Henrion @ Noho Gallery, New York, Tel:
212-367-7063, www.nohogallery.com

"Media Mirror," Liubo Borissov and Dana Karwas @ 56th St. Felissimo, New
York, Tel: 212-288-0503

National Events and Exhibitions

DaDa-Zurich, Group Art Event @ Cabaret Voltaire Art Center,
Poughkeepsie, NY, Tel: 845-473-1181

International Events and Exhibitions

Viale Santuario @ Il Chiostro Arte Contemporanea, Tel:+39 02 9622717,
www.ilchiostroarte.it

Paradise Lost, Biljana Djurdjevic @ galerie davide gallo, Tel: +49 (0)30
306 072 69, www.galeriedavidegallo.com

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Sunday, October 1, 2006

New York Events and Exhibitions

Fred Otnes at Reece Galleries, Tel: (212) 333-5830,
www.reecegalleries.com/

Self Serve, Group Show @ Broadway Gallery, Tel. 212 274 8993,
www.broadwaygallerynyc.com/

National Events and Exhibitions

Yamandu Canosa @ The Ben Maltz Gallery, Tel: 310-665-6909,
http://content.library.otis.edu/collections/maltzgallery.htm

International Events and Exhibitions

Young and British² Group Show @ JGM.Galerie, Tel: 331 43 26 12
05, www.jgmgalerie.com

How to Choose the Right Search Engine for Your Business

The value of effective site and intranet search is clear. Finding the most relevant document helps your organization identify and capitalize on opportunities, accelerate business cycles, and implement and execute effective strategies.

But whether you have a few thousand pages on your public website or a few million documents scattered across the globe, selecting the right search solution for your enterprise can challenge even the most seasoned technology buyer.

Not all site and intranet search is created equal. When considering different search engines, there are some essential elements you should be looking for. This white paper focuses on simplifying the decision-making process you face when evaluating enterprise search engines.

Read this white paper and learn more.

Google Talk Opens Up For All

Google Talk Opens Up For All
by: David Utter

No more Gmail account requirement - that was the biggest change to
the Google Talk registration process, as Google now feels confident
enough to open the service to anyone with a Google Account.

The Google Talk service debuted last year, and over time has been
integrated with Gmail. Google's latest change removed the need for
a Gmail account to sign up for its Talk, a change they announced on
the Official Google blog.

Mike Jazayeri, Product Manager, Google Talk, listed the reasons for
giving the service a try, besides the easier sign-up process:

* free and crystal clear voice calls to your friends and family
anywhere in the world
* transfer files and folders to others
* free voicemail messages
* IM from your BlackBerry

Podcast and Portable Media Expo by Jason Lee Miller

The first day of the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in Ontario, Calif., kicks off today with an all-star lineup of speakers and experts on the new media form of podcasting. WebProNews made the 2,100-mile trek to glean all we can from this emergent medium. Podcast and Portable Media Expo Day 1

Once I unfolded myself and got off the plane (thanks, Delta! Did you buy that plane from Japan Airlines?), I caught up with our videographer, Richard, Thursday afternoon and we hoofed it to the convention center to check out the set up, and to mingle with sponsors, speakers and exhibitors at the pre-show meet-and-greet.

WebProNews Video:

Podcast and Portable Media Expo

A casual and friendly Larry LaCost, of the Daily Journal, a small newspaper outside of Chicago, met us at the door. Larry has produced over 150 podcasts in conjunction with the newspaper, and will be speaking today, alongside other newspaper representatives, about how to intermix podcasts with print news.

The striking thing so far about the convention is the sheer variety of people and interests represented. A myriad of industries are utilizing the medium to further their companies' and organizations' presence on the Web, for interactive promotional purposes, for entertainment (or "infotainment"), or for educational purposes.

For example, one of the first to approach us was Kathleen Gilroy, CEO of The Otter Group in Cambridge, Mass. The Otter Group focuses on professional development through its blog, and has adopted the podcast as well. In our interview with Kathleen, she beams about the unexpected success of it. Expecting just a couple of hundred downloads, the podcast has reached the tens of thousands.

Over the course of the next two days, we'll hear from Ron Moore, executive producer of the latest incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, Leo Laporte, of the popular TWiT podcast, Andrew Baron (and if we're lucky, Joanne Colan) of Rocketboom. Also, stay tuned for video interviews with former Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble, who recently joined up with PodTech.net and launched the ScobleShow, and also Shel Holtz, of Holtz Communication.

In addition to a bevy of articles based on conference sessions, where the experts educate on the finer points of podcasting, tips and tools for those interested in exploring the medium, and what that means for e-business professionals, we'll also be chronicling the event via vidcast, with yours truly as the host.

It should be a very informative and fun weekend, so stay with us in the days ahead for the latest in the podcasting world.

SKIN: An Exhibition Curated by Heide Hatry

2006-09-28 until 2006-10-28
Pierre Menard Gallery
Cambridge, MA, USA United States of America

Pierre Menard Gallery is pleased to announce SKIN, an exhibition curated by Heide Hatry.In this group show Hatry brings together work by seven emerging artists from the United States, South America and Europe, aligning certain practices and tendencies relating to an unusual and controversial art material.Skin has become the medium in which a small but thoughtful and obsessed subculture of artists has fashioned an expanding body of work in which fundamental existential and aesthetic questions are addressed, sometimes subtly, sometimes with all the force and immediacy to which the medium gives them access.

Displayed in the gallery's three spaces will be sculptures by EMILIA BURGOS and HERMINE ROTH together with photographic self-portraits of each exhibiting artist, exemplifying the ambiguous relationship between model and camera which becomes even more problematic when the artist assumes the role of object and so herself becomes a sculpture. Paintings and installations by CHRISTINE BOFINGER and HEIDE HATRY as well as photographs by PAULA EBANISTA, BETTY HIRST and LENA SCHERER will also be on display.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated text (more info at: HTTP://WWW.SKININART.COM) including essays by art historians and critics (MICHAEL AMY, New York, HANS GERCKE, Heidelberg, HEINZ NORBERT JOCKS, Duesseldorf/Paris, CORNELIA KOCH, Munich, VERONICA MUNDI, New York, SUSANNA PARTSCH, Munich, ELSBETH SACHS, Vienna, RENEE VARA, New York and CHRISTOPH ZUSCHLAG, Heidelberg/Berlin)

Heide Hatry is an artist, writer and curator based in New York and editor of the book SKIN.

Els Opsomer: Shadows and Snow

2006-09-28 until 2006-10-28
Galerie Erna Hecey
Brussels, , BE Belgium

Erna Hecey is pleased to present the exhibition Shadows and Snow, the first (solo) exhibition of Els Opsomer in the gallery. Els Opsomer travels around the world, updating an 'urban archive' of pictures that she keeps on expanding. The slide installation SNOW / today presented at Galerie Erna H�cey is a result of documenting her New York, Brazil and China sojourns. Opsomer photographs ordinary fragments of urban reality, elements we no longer notice. They are snapshots in the margin of an ever-changing world. In this respect, her observations bear some resemblance to phenomena defined by anthropologist Marc Auge as 'non-lieux': places characterised by a mono-functional use, leading to a high degree of anonymity. Examples of these 'non-places' are parking lots, highways, motels, airports, etc. These 'non-places' deny the specific uniqueness of a city while contributing to the likeness of all cities. The phenomenon of mutually exchangeable cities leads to what Rem Koolhaas has called 'the Generic City':

'The generic city is the city without history, without layers, superficial like a film studio, in a process of never ending self-destruction and renewal. This city is liberated from the captivity of the centre and of identity. In this city you see homogenisation, endless repetitions of the same structural module, still more varied boredom, redundancy, and d�j� vu, but also a city that is fractal, discontinuous, made up of enclaves, seemingly accidental and disorderly. (...) The generic city is also multiracial and multi-cultural, flexible diversity, aesthetic 'free style', and lots of mirrors. It may have mass tourism, but the streets are dead and the public realm has been evacuated in the favour of cars, highways and speed.' (Bo Gr�nlund about Rem Koolhaas' Generic City)

-Opsomer's universe is devoid of people and time seems to be suspended. Just like in _imovie [one]_: the agony of silence (2003), a movie that gives a personal view of the daily life in Palestine, there is an underlying threat. The series she presents here does not have a narrative course but evokes a cinematic atmosphere. The succession of the images, as presented in a slide show, creates a reinforcing effect that causes an indefinable feeling of melancholy. The anonymity evoked in Opsomer's work should not, however, be perceived as problematic, as it leaves options open for one's personal development. In her work, the city fulfils a utopian role; there is always the promise of new opportunities and the possibility of individual projections.

Other work presented in this show consists of a series of pictures in which the anonymous, urban character acquires a personal touch. In these works, we see the neck or back of people bearing a personal, tattoo-like inscription. The anonymity of the metropolis, where people and places are replaceable, gets an unexpected, intimate dimension. Whereas the slide show focussed on architecture and its physical impact on us, the emphasis in these pictures is on the human body. The body is functioning as a signifier among many others in the city: neon lights, advertisements, traffic signs etc. Opsomer does not, however, use language to transmit general information, but to communicate ambivalent feelings. The tension between public and private, anonymous and intimate, known and unknown is a recurring element in the work of the artist. The visual aloofness goes together with personal inscriptions, observations or meditations like in _[imovie 1-2-3]_ leading to a deliberate, hybrid genre.

The work of Els Opsomer has been exhibited worldwide at various museums, art centres and festivals. The artists has had solo expositions in MAC's in Grand Hornu (2006), Bergen Kunsthall in Bergen (2005), Witte de With in Rotterdam (2005), Mariantonia in S�o Paolo (2004), Badisher Kunstverein in Karlsruhe (2001), Centro Galego de Arte Contempor�nea in Santiago de Compostela (2000), the Soros Centre in Sofia (1998), Traf� in Budapest (1998), etc. She also took part in various group exhibitions including Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven (2005), MUHKA in Antwerp (2004), >Zugewinngemeinschaft

Art Events in New York by Zoey

Sunday, September 24, 2006

New York Events and Exhibitions


Gareth James Presents @ SculptureCenter, New York, www.e-flux.com

National Events and Exhibitions


The Language of Enchantment, Melissa Zink @ The University of New Mexico
Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, Tel: 505-758-9826, www.harwoodmuseum.org


New American Writing, Bret Easton Ellis reading @ Hammer Museum, L.A,
Tel: 310-443-7000, www.hammer-ucla.edu

International Events and Exhibitions


Zur Schau stellen und Zuschauen, Antonia Baehr @ Fabrik Potsdam, Berlin,
Tel: +4930-280-03-14


Group Show @ Tammen Galerie, Berlin, Tel: +49-30-69401245,
www.galerie-tammen.de

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Monday, September 25, 2006

New York Exhibitions and Events

Wall of Light, Sean Scully @ The Metroploitan Museum of Art, New York,
www.metmuseum.com


National Events and Exhibitions


Amherst Island, Susan Friesen @ The Douglas-Baker Gallery, Minneapolis,
Tel: 612-332-2378, www.douglasbakergallery.com

Merge XML and Java with XMLBeans in commerce

Combine XML, Java, and SOA to address real business problems

Combine XML, Java, and SOA to address real business problems

Learn how and why Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs), XML, and XMLBeans can play an important role in addressing real business problems, using the entertainment industry as a case study. This article isn't about code; rather, you'll learn how and why to use XMLBeans in any situation requiring XML.

Enterprise architects, faced with ever-increasing levels of software complexity, have zeroed in on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as a means of overcoming system integration problems. Fundamentally, SOA is about improving business results by enhancing the working relationship between the business and information technology (IT).

SOA uses the request/reply design paradigm for both synchronous and asynchronous applications. In this approach, the logic and functionality of business applications is presented as a service. Application developers or system integrators can build applications by composing one or more services without knowing the services' underlying implementations. This approach lets you integrate virtually all of your IT resources, including isolated data and previously incompatible legacy systems.

In the SOA paradigm, providers and consumers communicate through messages. The messaging interface must be platform- and language-independent. Therefore, messages are often constructed using XML documents that conform to XML schema. Of course, application data is frequently stored in XML format as well.

XML provides a basic syntax that you can use to share information between different kinds of computers, different applications, and different organizations without needing to pass through many layers of conversion. XML is important because it supports the enterprise application integration effort by providing a common, standardized platform upon which to build an integration infrastructure.

Why XMLBeans?

XMLBeans allows you to use Java™ programming language with XML. Java programming language is an object-oriented language based on open, public standards. It's portable, robust and reliable. Because of these characteristics, it has been widely accepted and implemented in many industries, including entertainment. However, XML is not compatible with the Java programming language. XMLBeans is the best option for overcoming this impediment.

XMLBeans is used for XML data binding. XMLBeans lets Java applications take complete advantage of XML. XMLBeans uses XML Schema to compile Java interfaces and classes that you can use to access and modify XML instance data. Using this technology, you can compile an XML Schema into a set of Java classes that can:

• Use XMLBeans for all of the schemas encountered
• Access the XML data at whatever level is required

XMLBeans provides the following application program interfaces (APIs) for data binding:

• XmlObject: When Java classes are generated from an XML Schema, the Java classes are derived from the XmlObject API.
• XmlCursor: The XmlCursor API provides low-level access to the XML Infoset. It represents a cursor position in the XML instance.
• SchemaType: The XML Schema object model for the underlying meta information.

The XMLBeans compiler generates an object representation of an XML schema. This object representation is a set of generic Java classes and interfaces that represent the structure and constraints of the schema. When the Java classes and interfaces are generated, an XML instance document that conforms to the schema is bound to them. The binding process involves using the XMLBeans API to access the data in the actual XML instance document in an object-oriented fashion.

With the power of XMLBeans, you don't have to write all the code to work with XML. Instead, you can simply use the XML in your applications. Without XMLBeans, you would have to write code to consume and leverage every part of the schema. Think about it: XMLBeans generates the classes for the schema. Imagine the number of one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships you would need to manage. And using XMLBeans is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Install XMLBeans.
2. Compile your schema to generate the Java Archive (JAR) file.
3. Write code to bind an XML instance to the Java types representing your schema. Listing 1 provides a simple example:

Listing 1. XMLBeans is easy and simple to use

File xmlEntertainFile = new File("c:\entertain.xml");
   // Bind the instance to the XMLBeans types that were generated.
      EntertainDocument entDoc =
        EntertainDocument.Factory.parse(xmlEntertainFile);
   // Get and then print pieces of the XML instance.
      Entertain ent = entDoc.getEntertain();
      Entertain[] entArray = ent.getEntertainArray();
      for (int i = 0; i <>


The entertainment world
   
So, how does all of this work in the real world? Well, computing power has taken an interesting shift. With the spread of SOAs, more computing power has moved from the traditional hub-and-spoke model, in which high-powered servers form the hub, to a more peer-to-peer model, where the edges of the network combined have more total computing power than the servers at the center. The servers at the center really become just nodes in a network. With the growth of the Internet and high-speed Internet connections, the entertainment industry is going digital. Most, if not all, the new products are and will be sold and distributed digitally. 
     
Believe it or not, the entertainment industry was one of the first to harness this shift in the computing paradigm with the infamous Napster. The entertainment industry continues to be in the vanguard, as demonstrated by the recent conference held by South by Southwest (SXSW, Inc.). SXSW is a private company based in Austin, Texas. They build and deliver conference and festival events for entertainment and related media industry professionals. Their recent conference (March 11-14, 2006) discussed the tools available for development and productivity employed by digital creatives and filmmakers. One of the panel discussions was dedicated to the developing use of XML in the industry: Looking    for XML in All the Wrong Places. As they stated in their conference material,    "Everyone wants to do everything with XML."
 
The movie industry 
    
The movie industry, in particular, is enthusiastically embracing XML. The movie industry, having taken major steps towards standardizing their approach to the packaging and distribution of digital products to theaters and other entities, has included the use of XML as part of the process. In July of 2005, in an effort to standardize the digitalization of cinema, the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) group, working in conjunction with members of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standards committee, published a system specification for digital cinema that was agreed upon by the major studios. The standard includes the use of XML in areas such as packaging, file format, frame rate and timing, composition playlists, and packing lists.
     
Today, many new movie-industry-oriented applications are coming online, such as Apple's award-winning software, Final Cut Pro, which supports an open, standards-based XML Interchange Format. In Final Cut Pro, the XML Interchange Format describes every aspect of a project. Starting with clips, bins, and sequences, and moving on to edits, transitions, and effects, as well as color correction settings and keyframes, Final Cut Pro provides an avenue for developers and programmers to access the fine points of a film's design. The use of XML in Final Cut Pro provides an open, transparent, plain-text format that you can read and manipulate with a wide array of tools. Using the XML Interchange Format means the Final Cut Pro users can share comprehensive information about their projects with any application or system that supports XML, including database systems, network servers, HTML-based Web authoring tools, and graphics applications. It also means that Java-based applications can readily access this data using XMLBeans. It is now possible for developers to create Java-based applications that can be fully integrated with Final Cut Pro or build customized post-production conduits that can save significant time and money, all thanks to XMLBeans.
 
XMLBeans and industry distribution 
    
Of course, after post-production, the most important consideration is distribution, without which there is no profit. The Internet, through agents such as Amazon.com, has become a critical component in the distribution of various forms of media products, such as DVDs, music of all types, and, of course, books. Amazon.com, although usually considered a book vendor, is in fact part of the entertainment industry's distribution network. Amazon Web Services (AWS), consisting of XML-based protocols, provides functions for directly accessing Amazon's technology platform and product data, ranging from retrieving information about a set of products to adding an item to a shopping cart, enhancing the performance of your application, or adding better search capability. Using AWS, you can directly access Amazon's powerful platform to enable and enhance your applications. 
    
 Amazon.com is not the only Internet distribution source for the entertainment industry. Entities such as Netflix.com are also part of the distribution network. Netflix uses Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds to provide access to their content. Developers can use the RSS feeds to create new and interesting ways of displaying the information that Netflix provides. And, of course, RSS feeds are not limited to Netflix. You find these XML-enabled documents on many sites, from news agencies to content providers.
     
As you can probably imagine, in addition to the huge benefits this new approach provides, this shift also brings to light significant issues surrounding Digital Rights Management (DRM) and piracy. As new distribution channels open, movie makers (studios, independent production houses, and the like) must be able to interact with all the parties that will buy their product, including theaters, television stations, rental providers, and pay-per-view providers. Several members of the industry are currently in discussions with e-commerce entities searching for profitable and secure ways to distribute their products using the newest and perhaps one of the most cost-effective distribution methods: the Internet. This interaction compounds DRM-related problems. 
     
The key to using XMLBeans on a wide scale is establishing open XML standards that are adopted across the entertainment industry. (See Resources for more information about XML standards that are in the works for the industry.) However, if you do some development work in this space and have an XML standard that you code to (even if it's your own XML schema), you can leverage XMLBeans. As long as you use XML (standard or not), you can use XMLBeans to speed up your development, reduce the code that you must test and maintain, and generally achieve looser coupling and greater service orientation. As XML standards emerge in the DRM space, you can also leverage XMLBeans to enforce and work with the standard. Among the several technical benefits of XMLBeans listed in this and other articles, you'll see a consistent approach to the application of the DRM standard, thus helping streamline your deployments and the exchange of rights data with your partners, distributors, and customers. One upcoming standard in the DRM space is the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL). You can download the XML schema from the ODRL site (see Resources). 
     
To download the XML schema from the ODRL site, perform these steps: 
  
 
Download and install XMLBeans and a container into which      you can deploy the code. (See Resources for articles      that show you how to do this.)
Retrieve the Expression Language Schema and the Data Dictionary Schema from the ODRL site, and then save the files into the container you created.
Go to the XMLBeans Web site and generate the XMLBeans from the XML schema file. Select the option to keep the Java source files. The xmlTypes.jar file that's generated contains the classes that you'll need as you work with ODRL and XMLBeans.
 
   
Using XMLBeans has several other benefits. XMLBeans is probably the most mature XML-object-binding technology on the market today, and it's free. Overall, XMLBeans is definitely a tool you should consider when working with XML. With the rapid development of XML usage in the entertainment industry, one can readily see the advantages of XMLBeans in making XML content available to Java-based applications.
 
Summary
   
The entertainment industry uses XML at many levels and for many applications. Because Java programming language is the world standard object-oriented programming language, and XML has become the data format of choice, XMLBeans will quickly become the preferred Java-binding tool. Its ability to create the classes for Java development avoids duplication and saves time and money. Together, they provide an effective means to develop customer and vendor applications.
 

New York Fashion Week "Swag"

Entrance to the Tents (Photo Isabelle Erb)

Olympus Fashion Week always brings an interesting assortment of sponsors to the Bryant Park Tents and last week was no exception. Once past the throngs gathered around the entrance, fashionistas could enjoy munching on the brownies offered by UPS (I guess that's what Brown could do for us) and then quaff Moet & Chandon champagne, or Aquafina for the tea totalers among us.


Lycra Lounge (Photo Isabelle Erb)

WE furnished us with their give-away bag of the season, but there was no candy this time around (a blessing for all of our waistlines). MAC had cappuccino at the ready, and in the Denim Lycra Lounge, a small group was always gathered to enjoy refreshments, and for the lucky ones, free jeans.


Delta Booth (Photo Isabelle Erb)

Delta, the travel partner of Project Runway, offered service with a smile. Their flight crew, clad in their Richard Tyler uniforms, served an endless supply of vanilla ice blended coffee. The fashion weary crowds were invited to enjoy this frozen concoction, while snacking on designer cookies, and lounging in first class or economy seats, complete with 'in-flight' entertainment.

Since most of us have a weakness for new shoes, who could resist the opportunity to design your own flip-flops' Havaianas offered what had to be the swag item of the season, allowing us to mix and match seven strap colors with five limited edition printed soles to create an endless array of colorful footwear.


Dave Sengstakan (Photo: Isabelle Erb)

According to Dave Sengstakan, President of Style West, the company that sponsored the promotion, Havaianas are now more popular on the East Coast than they are on the West Coast. They're durable (I bought my first pair four years ago and I still have them) and if they become dirty, you can just rinse them off. Judging from the lines, which stretched from one side of the tent to the other, many of us walked away with more than just one pair. What was the most popular color combination? Mr. Sengstaken said that with fall just around the corner it was definitely brown soles with gold straps.

-Rhonda Erb

This Week in Tech on mondomedeusah

this WEEK in TECH - MP3 Edition
Your first podcast of the week is the last word in tech. Join Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, John C. Dvorak, and other tech luminaries in a roundtable discussion of the latest trends in digital technology. Winner of the 2005 People's Choice Podcast Award for best overall podcast and Best Technology Podcast. Released every Sunday at midnight Pacific.

TWiT 69: You're On The List Hosts: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, and Patrick Norton

The brown Zune, HP's board disaster, and the Microsoft enemies list...

Show notes to follow...

Thanks to AOL Radio for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 58:39

click here to tune in and iPodyourmondo today...

ALMA NYC - october 6 - nyc

Nothing seems to be able to stop this party from laying it down. As if those two
bad-ass Brazilians, DJ True & Miller Cruz, don’t do enough on their own, they
continuously bring in musicians and DJs that are guaranteed to rise to that next
level with them, as none have disappointed thus far. The soulful sounds of Brazil
have never been so sweet and the Sullivan Room has never been sexier.

This will surely be the case when producer/DJ/artist/label owner MKL takes to the
decks to join ALMA for a night of ‘all things tropical’. The international flare of MKL
stems from his birthplace of Belize and his upbringing in New York City. With over
20 years of spinning under his belt, he has graced the decks both as a resident
and guest DJ at many of NYC’s top venues including: Nell’s, Body & Soul, Joe’s Pub,
APT, Cielo, Giant Step, Love and Central Park’s Summer Stage to name a few.

MKL regularly tours Russia, Turkey, Japan, Europe, Canada, Dominican Republic
and all across the US. In 1998, the duo, “MKL Vs. Soy Sos” was formed and turned
out several hits including “Skin” and “Slavery Days”, which can be heard on
compilations like “Buddha Bar Vol. 1”, Fabric 12, South Port, Trip Do West & Phil
Asher’s “Jazz in The House 2”. They both later formed “3 Generations Walking”, and
their debut album introduced a unique sound blending Reggae, Blues, Creole, Dub,
Electronica, Jazz, Samba, Soul and Deep House all into one. MKL's new releases
can be heard on his record label Lion1music, which includes is latest album: "MKL
presents Suits & Dashikis", a joint venture between Lion1music & R2 records.

Expect all of his roots to serve as extra helpings at this smorgasbord of always-good
grooves. Joann Jimenez and Manchildblack will typically be on hand to keep them
burners piping hot for y’all. So arrive early to start things off totally twisted on
2 for 1 drinks and stay late because you love the music, you love to dance and
most of all, you LOVE the ALMA sound of BRAZIL!

Friday, October 6th
$5 before 11pm
$10 All night w/RSVP to
joannjimenez@almanyc.com
$15 At the Door

Sullivan Room
218 Sullivan Street
Between 3rd St. & Bleecker
A,C,E,B,D,F to West 4th Street

For more information on MKL, please visit:
Lion1music or MKL's My Space

STAND UP Against World Poverty...

Launched by the Millennium Campaign, STAND UP is an innovative and exciting challenge to set an official Guinness World Record - the greatest number of people ever to STAND UP Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals - on October 15-16 2006. The purpose of this action is to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to publicly demonstrate to policy makers the growing global support for the achievement of the MDGs and for the strengthening of development policies in both Northern and Southern countries.

STAND UP is a mobilization initiative designed to coincide with global mobilizations around the International Day of Poverty Eradication and the White Band Day of the Global Call to Action against Poverty. It relies fully on citizen participation in that it mobilizes all individuals, everywhere, to take part in local, group events around the world through which they use their bodies (rather than their voices) as concrete symbols of MDG advocacy. To ensure the inclusion of those not physically able to stand up, a symbolic act of raising a hand, wearing a white band (the symbol of the global fight against poverty), or holding up a banner with the "Stand Up Against Poverty" message will also be counted.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Monitored by Guinness World Records the STAND UP challenge will take place between 10.00am (GMT) 15 October to 10.00am (GMT) 16 October. During this time thousands of people will be standing up all over the world. In schools, universities, offices, churches, town halls and at sporting events and concerts. Either join one of these events or gather your friends, colleagues and family and create your own STAND UP event.

Click here for more information

What is Fabric8?

fabric8, established in 1995, features unique, quality goods by urban independent designers. Based in San Francisco, CA, we work directly with over 100 companies from 16 North American cities and ship to destinations all over the world.

fabric8 has received numerous accolades and publicity in over 10 years of business online and recently opened a satellite store in San Francisco.

The company was founded by Olivia Ongpin and Antony Quintal, who perceived the Internet as an ideal medium for building a community that supports creative, independent design. fabric8 has grown to represent many aspects of independent, underground fashion, music, art, and culture, and will continue to promote genuine DIY business.

fabric8 can be reached at 888.554.4321 (10AM-6:30PM PST) or 415.657.5888 and via email.

A Question of Mind Over Matter

MIT assistant professor Hugh Herr is an advanced prosthetics researcher and a bilateral leg amputee, two conditions that have allowed him the rare experience of testing his gadgets on himself.

"You know how it feels when you're at the airport and you hit the moving walkway? It's kind of like that," he said of a new foot-ankle system he's developing with colleagues at MIT, Brown University and the VA Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

The so-called biohybrid system sports a power pack and computer all contained within the prosthesis and uses sensors to allow more realistic movements than static, strap-on devices. The first systems have noninvasive sensors attached to the prostheses. In about two years scientists will implant sensors into study volunteers' nervous systems, Herr said.

Motor Heads

The New Bionics
The prosthetics of the not-so-distant future are intertwined with muscles, nerves … even neurons. By Rachel Metz. [ You are here ]

Interactive Bionics Tour:
See applied prosthetics research in action.

DIY Prosthetics
Amputees who can't find the right prosthetics on the market build their own -- sometimes out of Legos. By Quinn Norton. [ Coming Sep 21 ]

Grow Your Own Limbs
Scientists are learning how amputees might eschew the prosthetic and grow back missing limbs. By Kristen Philipkoski. [ Coming Sep 22 ]

I Want My Bionics
What if bionics get so good that we want them even if we don't need them? By Chris Oakes. [ Coming Sep 25 ]

"I've been an engineer-designer for a long time, but this is the first system (from which) I can benefit personally," he said. "It's kind of fun. I don't know why I waited this long."

Herr's enthusiasm is perhaps understandable, given his disability. But, in light of the immense strides scientists have achieved in prosthetics in the past decade, it is also well grounded. Improvements in materials for comfort and performance are part of the story. Of equal significance, scientists are probing the limits of mind-body interaction, developing tools that use artificial intelligence, muscle and neuron sensors -- and even plugging directly into the brain -- to achieve unprecedented results. Some patients need only to think to make a machine do their bidding.

The aggressiveness of the research has taken some people aback. "I would look under the hood and make sure the technology is as developed and is as good as they say it is," said Andrew Imparato, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Even so, he added, further research could yield enormous benefits. "I think there's a lot about the human brain we don't fully comprehend. So if scientists are tapping into the brain to let people do things we haven't been able to do before, that's exciting," he said.

A breakthough could transform the lives of millions of people. The Amputee Coalition of America estimates between 1.8 and 1.9 million people in the United States live with some type of limb loss.

So just how close are we to a seamless blending of man and machine? In this four-part series, we take a look at some of the most promising -- and astonishing -- recent developments, from cutting-edge research labs to do-it-yourself garage mechanics that are changing our ideas of the body and its boundaries.

The Bionic Arm

In 2001, Jesse Sullivan, a high-power lineman, was nearly electrocuted and so badly injured that doctors had to amputate both of his arms. In 2002, he became the poster boy for the bionic arm when he appeared on national television wielding a computerized, biohybrid arm created by scientists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. On Thursday, Sullivan and the first woman to test the bionic arm, Claudia Mitchell, demonstrated their new abilities with the arm. Sullivan told reporters he can now trim hedges and mow the lawn. Mitchell, who lost her arm in a motorcycle accident, said the arm allows her to carry a laundry basket and fold clothes.

The researchers implant sensors within the pectoral muscles, attaching them to nerves that controlled elbows, wrists and hands before the amputations. The arm takes advantage of the fact that the brain can imagine moving an arm that isn't there -- a sometimes-unwelcome phenomenon for amputees known as "phantom arm" that can even involve pain in the missing limb.

Since the brain is still sending signals to the arm, the device can hijack messages telling muscles to move, or to feel touch or temperature. The researchers attach sensors from the device to the nerves, which attach and become intertwined with the nerves over time as the patient thinks about moving the arm.

When the prosthesis is strapped on, electrodes line up with the sensors to control the computer and motors in the bionic arm to operate the hand -- and all the user has to do is think.

The rewiring can causes minor side effects: "If you touch Jesse on his chest in certain places, he can feel it like it's his hand," said Todd Kuiken, director of the institute's Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs, which developed the technology.

Five more amputees, including Mitchell, are now testing biohybrid arms. In the lab they use fancier arms with six motors, while the take-home version has three. Four of the volunteers are unilateral amputees, while one, like Jesse, has lost both limbs. All have received nerve implants, and the system is working for all but one patient, Kuiken said. The National Institutes of Health has provided $2 million of the $3 million Kuiken's lab has spent developing the arm.

A bionic leg is next on Kuiken's to-do list -- as prosthetic companies develop motorized legs, Kuiken hopes to adapt his technology to control them.

The Mind Reader

Cyberkinetics' brain-computer interface, BrainGate, is a breakthrough device for people with spinal cord injuries. Plugged directly into the brain, the device allows paralyzed people to control a computer, flip switches and move a robotic hand -- by simply thinking.

Matthew Nagle, who was paralyzed from the neck down after being stabbed in 2002, was the first patient to try BrainGate. Sitting in a wheelchair with a plug protruding from his head he amazed everyone who saw him control a computer cursor or beat them at Pong.

Cyberkinetics scientists now say that BrainGate can even pick up brain signals from "locked-in" patients who are completely without movement or speech.

"They're desperate to communicate," said Cyberkinetics CEO Tim Surgenor.

The researchers recorded cortical activity from an ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) patient. Another study volunteer who can't speak after a brainstem stroke used the BrainGate to type.

The brain implant sends signals to an external amplifier, which sends the messages through software that generates cursor movements or other electronic activity. The test system is wired, but the company's scientists say the final product will be wireless.

Surgenor hopes BrainGate will be FDA-approved in about four years.

The Second Sight

Blind patients were granted sight earlier this year in exchange for participating in a clinical trial testing a wireless retinal implant.

Researchers at Intelligent Medical Implants and IIP-Technologies in Europe created the Learning Retinal Implant System with hopes of returning sight to patients with damaged retinas. They successfully tested the device on four patients rendered blind by retinitis pigmentosa -- a disease that causes degeneration of the retina and leads to complete blindness in just a few years for one-third of those diagnosed. It affects 1 million people worldwide.

"If you talk to those people, even one single dot makes a difference," said Hans-Gurgen Tiedtke, CEO of IIP-Technologies.

The system includes glasses featuring a wireless transmitter and a mini-camera to pick up images. The glasses connect by cable to a processor pack worn at the waist that analyzes the information like a retina would, then send the image information to a chip implanted in the retina. The chip electrically stimulates the retina so ganglion cells can pick up the images. From there, the process continues like it would in a healthy eye: the information goes to the optic nerve, then to the brain and visual cortex where the information is reassembled as a picture.

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Yin Zhi Xin - Solo Exhibition

2006-09-21 until 2006-10-09
Art Scene Warehouse
Shanghai, , CN China

Yin Zhi Xin's sculptures, which he creates out of smooth, white or black material (both fiberglass and bronze), are voluminous, rounded and whimsical. Even the heads of the figures and hair (if any) do not have any roughness whatsoever. The smoothness of the skin and human parts contrasts with the rugged, rippled texture of the female ballerinas� dresses, emphasizing the delicateness of the human body. But Yin�s works, despite the fact that the figures do not conform with modern "standards" of beauty, are appealing, and many people feel a sense of joy when they view the sculptures.

The influences on Yin Zhi Xin are clear: classical French artist Degas painted and sculpted ballerinas; Colombian artist Botero painted and sculpted oversized figures; and yet Yin's figures are still Chinese. Perhaps it is the slits for the eyes, which Yin uses, or the small Chinese noses. It seems that Yin Zhi Xin is poking fun at such classical and famous Western artists in his works, by pointing out that even oversized girls can be beautiful ballerinas! The artist combines his oversized figures with sport, namely dancing, which does not seem to be a natural fit. Yet, somehow a kind of beauty emerges, which perhaps points to the fact that it is not purely the physical beauty that attracts us to the ballerinas, it is the grace and the mental discipline and effort that the ballerinas display. Are Yin Zhi Xin�s figures really �out of shape�, or are they just a different shape from our own standards? Yin�s work forces viewers to question their own mentally programmed takes on ! beauty. Indeed, historically, larger sized women were seen as attractive.

Yin Zhi Xin's latest works can be seen exclusively at Art Scene Warehouse in a solo exhibition starting on Sep 21st, 2006.

Call for Artists: ATTENTION fine art photographers working with HOLGA cameras

2006-09-21 until 2006-11-11
Photomedia Center
Erie, PA, USA United States of America

In December 2006, the Photomedia Center will be featuring artists who have been invited through an open submissions process to exhibit their photography which was created with the assistance of the Holga toy camera. This plastic miracle has produced a track record unexpectedly beatuiful results in the hands of skilled image-makers. Artists are welcome to submit up to 8 images for consideration for inclusion in the show. Final decisions will be made by the Photomedia Center staff and board of directors. Accepted images will be shown online at www.photomediacenter.org as the featured exhibit of the month and archived online in our "previous exhibitions" section of the site thereafter. There is no cost to enter your work, but if your work is selected, we ask that you donate a print of your image to the Photomedia Center for its permanent collection.

HOW TO ENTER

By email: Send up to 8 JPEG or TIFF images at 72 dpi, no greater than 800 pixels on each image's longest side. Attach all 8 images in ONE email to info@photomediacenter.org with your NAME and HOLGA ENTRY in the subject line.

By post: Send a CD with up to 8 JPEG or TIFF images at 72 dpi, no greater than 800 pixels on each image's longest side. Send your CD to Photomedia Center, 12 Lewis Rd, Belmont, MA 02478. Label your CD with your NAME and HOLGA ENTRY.

For BOTH email and postal submissions, you must include the following information: your name, contact information (address and email), a list of works included with complete titles.

CDs will not be returned, and all notification of acceptance or rejection of submissions will be delivered via email no later than November 25, 2006. While all due care will be taken with submissions, the Photomedia Center is not responsible for lost or misdirected entries, unreadable CDs, and the like. Entry implies that you have read the above terms and agree to them. Contact info@photomediacenter.org with any questions about the application process.

DEADLINE: All entries MUST be received through email or post by November 11, 2006.

Cafe Culture: Art and Society in Early 20th Century Austria and Germany

2006-09-19 until 2006-11-25
Galerie St. Etienne
New York, NY, USA United States of America

The Galerie St. Etienne opens the fall season with an exhibition exploring the impact of the caf� on the development of the visual arts in fin-de-si�cle Austria and Weimar-era Germany. CAF� CULTURE: Art & Society in Early 20th Century Austria and Germany, scheduled to run from September 19 though November 25, will feature artifacts relating specifically to caf�s (such as furniture, posters and artists� depictions of the caf� and cabaret milieu), as well as works more loosely documenting the creative interchanges that this institution inspired. Among the artists to be included are Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Erich Heckel, Josef Hoffmann, E.L. Kirchner, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Adolf Loos, Jeanne Mammen, Emil Nolde, Hermann Max Pechstein, Christian Schad, Egon Schiele and Bruno Voigt.

The caf� and its nighttime counterpart, the cabaret, were meeting grounds for all members of society in early twentieth century Austria and Germany, fermenting artistic movements and influencing artists� subject matter. The cross-fertilization that existed among figures in various disciplines, all of whom rubbed shoulders at the leading coffeehouses, contributed in many ways to the rapid and simultaneous emergence of avant-garde movements in art, literature and music. So august were the personages who frequented the leading coffeehouses that no fewer than three were known by the nickname �Caf� Megalomania�: the Caf� Griensteidl in Vienna, the Caf� des Westens in Berlin and the Caf� Stefanie in Munich. It was here that the Secession movements in each of these cities gained impetus, cementing artistic alliances while at the same time sowing the seeds of future rivalries. The German variant of Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, was based in Munich, where contributors to the popular journals Jugend and Simplicissimus gathered at the Stefanie and other coffeehouses in the Bohemian Schwabing district. The Viennese Caf�haus �home away from home, office, letter drop and lending library�was the birthplace of the Jung Wien (Young Vienna) literary movement and the nexus for artistic factions that included both the elegant architect Josef Hoffmann (co-founder of the Wiener Werkst�tte) and his arch-enemy, the iconoclastic Adolf Loos. It was in the Caf�haus that Jugendstil gradually ceded the ground to Expressionism.

The heady atmosphere of the fin-de-si�cle coffee house was to some extent dampened by the impact of World War I. Hereafter, caf�s and, especially, cabarets came to epitomize desperation and decadence. If the prewar caf� had been chaste and largely intellectual, its later incarnation was often blatantly sexual�a marketplace of bodies, not ideas. Particularly in Weimar-era Germany, artists such as Otto Dix, George Grosz and Jeanne Mammen used the caf� and cabaret locale to capture the less savory vicissitudes of urban life. Poverty, loutishness and licentiousness abound in their treatment of the subject. Yet the Weimar-era caf� was also the home of the �new woman,� free for the first time to work outside the home, and at least some of the images suggest the emergence of a newly liberated, liberal society.

IMAGE
George Grosz
At the Pub, 1917
Ink on paper
13" x 8 1/4" (33 x 21 cm)

mondomedeusah

SANAA: Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa

2006-09-20 until 2006-11-20
Bauhaus Archiv, Museum f�r Gestaltung
Berlin, , DE Germany

Founded in 1995, the Tokyo architectural bureau of SANAA (an abbreviation for Se-jima and Nishizawa Associated Architects) is among the most innovative architectural firms worldwide. On July 31, 2006 their first project in Germany, the Zollverein School of Management and Design in Essen, was opened to great media fanfare. In particular, SANAA has enjoyed success in the area of museum construction. In Japan, the firm built the Kanazawa Museum of 21st Century Art. At the end of August, the Glass Pavillion of the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo/Ohio opened; and next year will see the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In 2005, SANAA emerged as the winner in the contest to design a branch of the Louvre in the city of Lens in northern France. The project is due to be completed in 2008.

The designs are captivating in their resourcefulness, offering subtle solutions for complex challenges. The language of form is minimalist and clear; the preferred ma-terial is transparent and light. The structures fit well into their environment, corre-sponding with existing elements � buildings, green spaces, nature.

In 2005, SANAA was one of six international architectural firms to submit a design proposal for the expansion of the Bauhaus Archive. The high-caliber jury unani-mously recommended that SANAA's proposal be implemented. Our building project will form a central part of the exhibit. The Bauhaus Archive is the only place in Ger-many where this exhibit will be seen on its European tour.

On the occasion of the exhibition, the Bauhaus Archive is presenting workbook_1, a publication that introduces both the future building and the possibilities it offers for our work.

Sky + Merz - Live at the Jazz Cafe

SKYE
+ MERZ

Live at the Jazz Cafe

Wednesday 20th September

doors 7pm

£15 advance

Jazz Cafe
5 Parkway
Camden Town
London NW1 7PG

The voice Of Morcheeba launches her debut solo project.

Everybody Loves Skye. As the voice of Morcheeba she sound-tracked our lives on albums such as Big Calm, sold five million records and graced stages all around the world. We knew her voice. But despite her success, we didn't really know much about the real Skye - until now.

Skye's first solo album, Mind How You Go, is not so much a leap into the dark as a step into the light. Yet it was also a journey into the unknown and she didn't know where it would take her.

Mind How You Go is her emphatic answer, a sublime album of vivid songs that present Skye in an entirely new light. Of course, there is much that is familiar. The beguiling quality of her voice. The potent melodies that bury themselves deep inside your brain. The cool elegance of her delivery. But this is also Skye, as you have never heard her before.

With Morcheeba, she was usually singing someone else's lyrics but Mind How You Go finds Skye singing her songs, telling her stories and finding her own way on an album that is both personal credo and a realization of her inner strength.

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