My first Change.org guest blog

I'm going to be guest blogging once a week at GlobalWarming.Change.org, basically on behalf of Greenpeace, but also more broadly on the topic of global warming activism. It's a pretty exciting time to be part of the movement, so I'm stoked to be writing about it on this new venue.

My first post actually doesn't have anything to do with Greenpeace, it's about Tim DeChristopher, the guy who bid on and won over 22,000 acres of Utah land that was being auctioned off in a fire sale at the end of the Bush Administration. Some of the land being auctioned off — to companies who wanted to drill for oil and natural gas, the absolute worst kind of corporate looters and pillagers — was close to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. So DeChristopher stepped up and did the only thing he could to stop the shameless looting: he messed up the whole damn auction, winning several parcels he wasn't going to buy, driving up the price on others, and basically calling attention to what a horribly crass move this was by the Bush Admin.

The good news is that Obama's Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, basically invalidated all of the leases won that day, because the process used by the Bush Admin to select and lease off the parcels was so shady. The bad news is that DeChristopher is still, incomprehensibly, being charged with two felonies and slapped with over $800,000 in fines — for messing up leases that are no longer valid anyway. Pretty bizarre, and rather unconscionable.

But this is a huge opportunity for the grassroots movement in this country to show how strong we are. We'll step up and defend what's right, and we'll deal with the consequences. When brave activists like DeChristopher stand up, we'll get their back. We're determined not to let the powers that be continue to rape and pillage this planet. The best way to demonstrate that determination right now is by supporting DeChrsistopher and his legal defense fund. Go to his site now and donate.

Imagining a clean energy future

I really dug this action pulled off by my colleagues in Chicago yesterday. They affixed six fake wind turbines to a bridge in downtown Chicago, as a way of helping people image a clean energy future. Really cool idea, I think. This is what our cities will look like in the future, and to me it's beautiful. Hopefully more people saw that yesterday.

Outside Lands, I may attend you again despite myself

Last year's Outside Lands was pretty great — I mean, Radiohead played the first ever night-time show in Golden Gate Park to open up the fest. Know what I mean? That can't be bad.

Except, it sucked. It was SO damn packed. It was madness. I almost got in a fight with this fat dude just for walking past him — I mean, he tried to lock his arms out to his sides and prevent any more people passing him, so I pushed past him, which is what pissed him off. But still. It was way too fuckin crowded. And of course the sound cut out all together — more than once — during Radiohead's set.

Despite all this, it was an experience I'm glad to have had. I mean, Radiohead, in the park, at night, as I mentioned. But I didn't want to go back this year, cuz, man, I hate crowds.

Then I saw the lineup for this year...


I mean, damn. Sure, you got a vanilla headliner again (Dave Matthews Band; Tom Petty headlined last year, as did Jack Johnson, which I found less than impressive), but Pearl Jam and Beastie Boys are pretty solid, if way past their prime.

And of course the headliners aren't even who I'm excited about. TV on the Radio, Mastodon, Deerhunter, and Silversun Pickups are easily four of my favorite bands out there right now. Throw in old stalwarts like Ween, The Mars Volta, Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, and Q-Tip, and shit, you've got one hell of a solid show.

Damn you Outside Lands! I don't want to spend another $200+ on you!

Luckily, I don't have to. If I learned anything from last year, it's that you can hear just fine from outside of Outside Lands. Sure you can't see, but I couldn't see shit from inside either. So I'll be catching all these sets, and I won't be dealing with those crowds or blowing a couple hundred smackers.

Take this survey

I attended an event at City Hall last night, and it made me pretty nervous to lock my bike up in Civic Center. I thought to myself, "In this day and age, why the hell can't we develop a better lock, one that isn't easily snipped by bolt cutters or unlocked with a Bic pen?"

Well, turns out someone is doing just that. I got this in an email from the SF Bicycle Coalition:

A team of graduate students at the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco (one of the world's only schools dedicated entirely to environmental and social sustainability) is working to combat the ongoing scourge of bike theft by developing a hi-tech bike security product that goes beyond the traditional bike lock approach. Your survey information will be used in the design phase of this new bike security device.

Take this survey and help them design the bike lock mechanism of the future! Based on the questions in the survey, it looks like they're considering some sort of system that integrates with your cell phone to alert you when your bike is moved without your authorization. Cool!

Teabagging: The sensation that's sweeping the nation

R.I.P Tom Kennedy

I didn't know anything about Tom Kennedy until this morning when I read this Laughing Squid post. But it turns out I basically was there when he died.

Me and Genevieve were having a picnic on the beach with a couple good friends when we noticed the commotion over by the water. We saw people carry a guy out of the water, and then the EMTs arrived. That was about all we witnessed, in truth. Of course a huge crowd gathered, but we elected not to join them. Glad we didn't. Not sure I could live with knowing I treated a man's death like a spectacle.

Turns out he was a real cool guy. Fuckin sad, man. R.I.P Tom Kennedy. Looks like you had a lot of people who loved and looked up to you, so I'm sure you're being mourned in high style.

George W. ice cream flavor

This is good shit (h/t AMERICAblog):

Ben & Jerry created "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for Obama. They then asked people to fill in the blank for the following:


For George W. they created "_________".


Here are some of their favorite responses:


Grape Depression
Abu Grape
Cluster Fudge
Nut'n Accomplished
Iraqi Road
Chock 'n Awe
WireTapioca
Impeach Cobbler
Guantanmallow
imPeachmint
Good Riddance You Lousy Motherfucker... Swirl
Heck of a Job, Brownie!
Neocon Politan
RockyRoad to Fascism
The Reese's-cession
Cookie D'oh!
The Housing Crunch
Nougalar Proliferation
Death by Chocolate... and Torture
Chocolate Chip On My Shoulder
You're Shitting In My Mouth And Calling It A Sundae
Credit Crunch
Mission Pecanplished
Country Pumpkin
Chunky Monkey in Chief
George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate
WMDelicious
Chocolate Chimp
Bloody Sundae
Caramel Preemptive? Stripe

My favorites include "Cluster Fudge," "WireTapioca," "Impeach Cobbler," and "Good Riddance You Lousy Motherfucker ... Swirl."

Ars Technica is spying on me

I kid, I kid.

But seriously, this post might as well have been written for me.

First off, it's called "Prepare for ludicrous speed: Ars reviews the 8-core Mac Pro." They titled a Mac review with a Spaceballs reference (you can watch a video of where the reference comes from here). This appeals to the Mac fanboy in me, as well as the 10-year-old in me (because the real 10-year-old me watched Spaceballs like 50 times).

Then the writer goes and mentions Greenpeace while discussing the green credentials of the 8-core Mac Pro! Here's what he had to say:

You've probably noticed Apple's new-found love of green. Their ads and new hardware are all touting the reduction in PCBs and other harmful materials, all of which is intended to keep them off of Greenpeace's naughty list. Say what you will about Greenpeace dogging Apple the way they did, but it's clear that consumers care about the environment. If Apple's going to retain their position as a computer for those who care about more than pinching a few pennies, then they are going to need all the bragging rights they can get. The new Mac Pro box reflects this position...

Mac fanboys have been pretty harsh on Greenpeace for going after Apple. They pretty much think Jobs is God, and they won't stand for any criticism. But this quote is telling: The writer acknowledges the widespread Mac fanboy disdain for Greenpeace's targeting of Apple, but also signals that Greenpeace was essentially right to pressure Apple into going green. (Which, of course, we absolutely were.)

Thanks, Ars Technica, for a stellar review! Now if only I could afford the 8-core Mac Pro on my Greenpeace salary...

"Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter"

This is just cool. I don't mean to condone the violence or anything — far from it — but I love the fact that web tools like Twitter and Facebook are being appropriated as means for organizing in the 21st Century.

Flash mob protests = Brilliant. The web has changed everything, including how we get our news. It's about time it changed how we protest too. The street protest is pretty much dead, or at least it was. In the 60s and 70s when it was guaranteed to get you on the nightly news &mdash and people still actually watched the nightly news to get their news — it was a useful tactic. Bush dismissed tens of thousands of war protesters across the country as a "focus group," and the news media basically let him get away with that. That's because these protests were your typical, predictable street protests and the media saw nothing else in them that was worth reporting on.

The protests in Moldova, like the Ukrainian Orange Revolution and the massive immigration protests here in the US in 2006, used Twitter, Facebook, and SMS heavily as organizing tools. And they seem to have made a far deeper impression than they would have had they not used these tools. Flash mob protests aren't predictable. In April 2006, thousands of immigration protesters took to the streets in places where you would not expect it to be a hot-button issue: Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota. That certainly was not predictable either. These tools allow us to widen our reach and distribute our message like never before, and they're reshaping the street protest and keeping it relevant.

Teabagging party!

As a really clever way of protesting Obama's stimulus spending (cuz, you know, how dare he use our tax dollars to help Americans instead of waging imperialist wars and invading foreign countries?), conservatives are holding "Teabag parties." I won't try to explain their logic (actually, I'm not sure there is any logic behind it, just blind hatred and bigotry), but suffice to say the conservative leaders orchestrating this Teabag movement think they're carrying on in the fine patriotic American protest tradition of the Boston Tea Party.

Ah, conservative movement in America. You're so adorably out of touch.

Anyhoo, you have to watch this video. Andy Cobb is responding to their call:

Radio appearance to promote the Wiretap comp/release party

I'll be on Pirate Cat Radio around 7:00PM PST tonight!!! If you're in the Bay Area you can tune in at 87.9 on the FM dial.

Not in the Bay Area? It's cool! Tune your browser to PirateCatRadio.com!

I'll be spinning some tracks from the Wiretap Music Presents Covers Compilation and promoting our CD release party this Thursday.

A message to world leaders

"Genre" fiction my ass

I think sci-fi is one of the most important literary forms around. It's often pejoratively termed "genre" fiction, and thus lumped in with the likes of bodice-ripping romance novels (read: very low on the artistic merit scale). But to me, in this day and age, any work of art that helps us envision the future of mankind and the role of technology in that future is a service to humanity.

As proof that sci-fi is intellectually and scientifically valuable, witness: Nine Words You Might Think Came from Science but Which Are Really from Science Fiction

. From the Oxford University Press blog, no less. Some dude even wrote a book all about it, Brave New Words. You can check that out at the above link as well.

Fossil Fool CEO gettin punked

This story, the NYC part, made me laugh.