Crack the BioDaVersity Code

Our clever friends at Free Range Studios have a new movie parody online. This time the Da Vinci Code is used to talk about the issue of decreasing biodiversity. Watch the Bio DaVersity Code here.

Back in Black

Rising Phoenix Design has created the Blackback logo and information page as a way to spread the word about using black (and other dark colors) to reduce energy use by websites.

Lead Lined Lunchboxes

The Center for Environmental Health has obtained documents that show that the Consumer Product Safety Commission hid evidence that some children's vinyl lunchboxes contain dangerously high levels of lead. Read the details here.

Lead testing kits are available, but why not just skip vinyl altogether.

via Organic Consumers Association

Omnivore's Dilemma

I finally finished reading Michael Pollan's excellent new book The Omnivore's Dilemma. It tells the story of 4 meals: Modern Industrial, Industrial Organic, Non-Industrial Organic, and Hunter Gatherer, from their source to the plate. As always Pollan presents the spectrum of modern food issues in an accessible and entertaining way, especially since he is not coming at it from the perspective of an animal rights or organic activist (though he is definitely a food connoisseur). Anyone interested the relationship we have to our food (and really that should be everyone) should pick up this book. Look for it at your local library or independent bookstore.

And for more from Michael Pollan check out this PBS Frontline interview about modern meat production and his recent article on nutrition.

Public Domain Space

Don Davis, space artist extraordinaire, is offering free public domain digital files of the works he created for NASA. In his words "You paid for them, they're yours"! Check em all out here.

via Boing Boing

Free the Graphics!

This year's Libre Graphics Meeting will be on May 4th - 6th in Quebec...

Building on the overwhelming success of last year's Libre Graphics Meeting in Lyon, France, key Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) graphics projects are pleased to announce the second Libre Graphics Meeting (LGM), to be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada, May 4—6, 2007 at École Polytechnique de Montréal.

This year's LGM provides a venue where FLOSS graphics application developers, users and professional artists from all over the world meet to discuss collaboration, outline the future of the projects together, with the goal of increasing interaction between developers, professional graphics artists and print professionals to improve the steadily expanding FLOSS graphics' application ecosystem.

...

LGM 2007 is putting out a call for participation, sponsorship, and discussion. The call for participation includes the submission of at most 2 paragraph presentation abstracts by interested projects and individuals. All types of presentations will be considered, including topics as diverse as collaboration, power-user art techniques, engineering talks, graphics business best practices, and other relevant topics.

Find out more at the official website here.

Service Works micro-grants

Josh Greene wants to help you make art. Once a month his Service Works foundation offers grants based on the amount of money he has made in tips on one night at his job as a waiter (usually between $200-$300). Anyone is welcome to apply, though he says he is "most interested in funding small projects that may involve exchange, interaction, story telling and problem solving."

His site lists the previously funded projects, not only describing what happened, but also his evening spent earning the tips.

The $256 project, in which a speech was written for Bush by grade school children and then read by an impersonator and the $450 project, in which a retroactive insurance policy is created for a person made homeless by hurricane Katrina, are great examples of how well this money is used.

Homelessness Radio Marathon : Feb 20-21

The Homelessness Marathon, which is a 14 hour radio broadcast featuring the voices and stories of homeless people across the US, will be airing tomorrow and Wednesday (Feb 20-21). You can find a station broadcasting the Marathon near you here.

In my hometown of Richmond, VA the broadcast will be on the independent low power FM station WRIR. If you are unable to find a local station to listen to you can listen to it on WRIR online (m3u stream).

Gratitude Grants - Deadline May 1

Socially Conscious marketers Free Range Graphics are once again offering their Gratitude Grant: an opportunity to win up to $15,000 worth of free services. In 2003 the grant resulted in the highly successful Flash animated web ad The Meatrix. Interested organizations should submit their applications by May 1st.

Yellow Card

As a person who uses a bicycle as a primary form of transportation, the issue of bicyclist safety is rather important to me. So I greatly appreciate artist Peter Miller's magnetic Yellow Card as a way to draw attention bicyclist safety. You can even download a PDF to make your own here.

via Social Design Notes

Hook Calendar

It's almost the end of February, but there's still a lot of 2007 left to promote your cause, so go grab the SPIN Project's Editorial Calendar (PDF). The document gives a list of events, holidays, etc. which you can use as hooks to pitch your issues to reporters throughout the year.

Thanks Margot!

Shopdropping Redux

If you missed the recent shopdropping workshop in NYC, you can check it out via Travelistic, which has a nice video showing the event and the resulting actions.

Thanks Jessica!

Hole-in-the-Wall

Hole-in-the-Wall is an Indian initiative that gives disadvantaged kids (in rural India and now South Africa, Venezuela and Cambodia as well) free access to computers. Rather than wait for affordable technology (like the $100 laptop) to become available, the group just builds super sturdy computer workstations into outdoor walls which are remotely monitored and allow kids an unsupervised learning experience about computer technology and the internet. A recent article in Ode describes the experience:

Walking the streets of Madangir, I run into Ruvina, a 14-year-old girl with long braids who walks to the kiosk nearly every day. “I pushed buttons and just looked to see what happened. Sometimes another screen appeared and I learned as I went along. Now I read English texts too, which is something we hardly ever do in school.” Tarif, the same age, says he mainly looks at maps of different countries, which he memorizes.
...
A lot of shouting and pushing among the kids can be expected. But the amazing part is that within hours the kids always find a way to organize themselves. An older child usually takes a leadership role and proclaims that it makes more sense to take turns using this new attraction because they simply can’t all work with it at once. And when it becomes clear that screaming disrupts the user’s concentration, the bystanders keep quiet.
Within a matter of days, the kids have established their own rules without any interference from adults—which is even more remarkable in a country where children are accustomed to strict rules and hierarchy at school and are not generally encouraged to be creative or take initiative.

Read the entire article here.

Learn more about Hole-in-the-Wall here.

Worldstudio: Design Ignites Change

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time talking with Mark Randall of Worldstudio and Worldstudio Foundation earlier this week. Mark works as a graphic designer via the studio, and channels his creative activism through the non-profit foundation he helped found (and sometimes the two merge with projects like the Urban Forest Project).

Worldstudio doesn't go the anti-corporate route that some (like myself) have choosen, but rather they often make use of corporate money (like Tibor Kalman did) to reach larger audiences than they normally could about social issues; sometimes even alienating the corporation in the process (like when they produced the controversial "Wish You Were Here" issue of their magazine Sphere in 2001).

One of the most powerful things Worldstudio Foundation does is offer mentoring and scholarship opportunities to art and design students (with a particular interest minorities). Mark explained his work through the foundation as an attempt to "act more and comment less" (something many activist designers have a hard time doing).

Recently the Worldstudio Foundation has partnered with the AIGA to work on larger projects such as the creation of a set of Mentoring Guidebooks.

*Students interested in applying for a scholarship have until April 13 to send in an application.

Candy Ads To Kids Under 12 Cancelled

UK based Masterfoods is voluntarily ending advertising to kids under 12 for their products, which include candy bars like Mars and Snickers, be then end of 2007. According to BBC News the move came following an announcement by Ofcom, an independent TV regulator, that they plan to ban televised junk food advertising to children under 16.

Read the entire article here.

Cancer Donation from Exotic Dancers Refused

According to a CBC News article the Breast Cancer Society of Canada refused a donation of thousands of dollars from the organization Exotic Dancers for Cancer because their other major donors did not want to be connected with the group. The group will be having another fundraiser this year (March 4 in Vancouver BC) and are now looking for a new charitable organization to whom they can send their donation. Find out more at The Naked Truth.

No Commercials On TV On The Radio

The new issue of Arthur includes an interview with Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio talking about the band's response to finding out that the Marines were being promoted at some of their shows:

But at some point in Texas a week and a half into a three-week stint, me and Jaleel (TVOTR drummer/multi-instrumentalist) were walking past one of the big screens and they had a commercial running for Army or the Marines. Jaleel pointed it out to me and we were both aghast—what the fuck is that about? We walked out into the crowd and found the Marines were recruiting kids at the show. On the grounds. Right next to beer and taco stands and ice cream—the Marines! They had a contest: ‘Come on! Let’s see how many pull-ups you can do!’ I couldn’t believe it. I felt sick to my stomach.

Why did you feel sick?

Kyp: Because I don’t want to be a commercial for the death machine. I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t think that there’s any place at all in our creative community for that bullshit. It’s anathema to what I believe in and to what I’m trying to do. So I got really uncomfortable. I called management to say if this is anyone’s idea of a good idea then we can’t be on this tour. Trent [Reznor] freaked out. He didn’t know [the Marine recruitment stations were there]. No one knew. It was actually in the contract that the Marines COULDN’T be there. But the Marines offer so much money to promoters that the promoters think maybe they can just slide it by and no one will call them on it. So Trent had them kicked off. And the venues were charged $20,000 apiece to give to a non-profit working-for-peace organization, which is a pretty awesome way to handle it.

The the entire article here.

You can also download their anti-war track Dry Drunk Emperor here.

Thanks Charlie!

Animated Hightower

The acerbically entertaining liberal Texan commentator Jim Hightower can now be seen in his own weekly animated feature. This week's is about "Brandalism" and lambasts the increasing corporate branding of sports teams. Previous episodes include issues of meat production and sweatshop labor. Watch them all here (office warning: sound starts immediately).

Send The Dead To Your Senators

TrueMajority.org wants to help your senators remember the cost of continuing our war in Iraq. To that end they have provided a short downloadable memorial, for each of the soldiers that have died from your state, that you can easily print out and mail to your representative. They recommend sending one a day until the point is taken. Find your state's representative and memorials here.

Mark Your Calendar: March 17-19 Iraq War 4th Anniversary

The 4th anniversary of the start of the current Iraq war (our longest military engagement) will be on March 19th. In response United for Peace and Justice is calling for a "massive outpouring of opposition" in the form of locally based, decentralized actions throughout the US March 17-19th. Add your own event here or find out what's already scheduled here.

Be My Child Laborer?

The Organic Consumers' Association wants you to know the reality behind many Valentine's Day gifts...

FACT: One-third of Nestle's chocolate is from West Africa, where over 286,000 children are working in slave-like conditions on cocoa (chocolate) farms.

FACT: Dole is the largest distributor of cut-flowers in the world, the majority of which are imported from Columbia and Ecuador, where farmers and flower workers (often adolescent girls) are exposed to 127 different chemicals, including neurotoxins and carcinogens.

FACT: The three private owners of M&M/Mars Inc. are each "worth" $10.4 billion, while the West African farmers growing the cocoa for M&Ms chocolate are paid an average of $108 annually.

FACT: Despite record profits in 2006, Hershey's has been accused of buying from contractors who utilize child labor and child slavery on cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast.

If that makes you mad enough to want to take action, the OCA has set up a page to help you contact the offending parties and ask for some change.

Sustainable Business: Craigslist

Craigslist is a breath of fresh air at the intersection of business and the internet. The privately held company goes against the grain and doesn't make maximizing profits top priority...and is still successful! A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor explains it's non-traditional approach:

... Craigslist refuses to "monetize" itself. It leaves money on the table that's there for the easy taking, analysts say. If they ran related text or display ads next to listings, for example, they could add untold millions to their balance sheet.

...

Why doesn't Craigslist take advantage of these opportunities? Because its customers aren't asking for them, says Buckmaster in a telephone interview. "Our users, up to this point anyway, have not been requesting text ads or banner ads or any of those things. So that's why we haven't been adding them."

Becoming as profitable as possible isn't even a company goal, he says. "The average business operates to see what's the maximum amount of money that can be made, even if that involves taking an adversarial role toward their users or customers. We're not interested in entering an adversarial role with our users."

Read the entire article here.

Call of the Rainforest

The Brazilian aid group Cidade Movel is raising money for the Xavante Indians who live in the Amazon rainforest by selling ringtones based on their traditional chants. According to a Reuters article tones like "the hunt song" and "the healing dance" have already garnered tens of thousands of dollars for the impoverished community.

The group has also created ringtones for two other regions as well: Praia da Pipa and Ponto de Cultura Flutuante.

Creative Review vs The Sistine Chapel

Design Observer has an interesting article about the latest issue of UK magazine Creative Review which the ad agency Mother was allowed to edit for a large sum:

Mother approaches the subject with a knowing wink. As they note in their introduction: “Does the presence of money diminish our creativity? The Sistine Chapel was a commissioned work. Was Michelangelo less of an artist for taking the Vatican’s money? Some would argue painting the Pope into a fresco is more noble then putting a Ford in your Bond movie. Some wouldn’t. We’re not here to decide. After all, ‘We sold our soul and it feels great.’”

Read the entire article here.

Chain of Connections

This elegant HIV awareness ad from the Japanese Ad Council makes great use of the web interface. Just put your cursor over the ad (PC and MAC) and see what happens.

via Houtlust

Captain Copyright is Dead!

Yep, the ridiculous educational cartoon mascot of a Canadian copyright agency, which launched the character last year, has had an untimely demise. According to the Captain Copyright website:

...we have come to the conclusion that the current climate around copyright issues will not allow a project like this one to be successful. It is difficult for organizations to reach agreement on copyright issues at this time...

via Boing Boing

Just Seeds Benefit Thursday in Brooklyn

I just found out that activist art publisher Just Seeds was nearly a casualty of the collapse of Clamor magazine and is struggling to stay afloat. To that end Visual Resistance and others have put together a benefit art show tomorrow night in Brooklyn:

Thursday, February 8, 2007, 6-10pm
Ad Hoc Art (www.adhocart.org)
49 Bogart St., Brooklyn NY 11206

For more details go here.

You can also help by donating directly to Just Seeds here.

Peace Pix

If you couldn't be at the big anti-war march in DC on the 27th of January, and your local news meadia didn't do a stellar job of covering it, you can get an eyewitness view via the photos of activist Garrie Rouse.

Free Shopdropping Workshop in NYC this Saturday

If you're going to be in the NYC area this weekend you should definitely take advantage of the FREE workshop on Shopdropping (activist reverse shoplifting, made famous by Banksy and others) from The Anti-Advertising Agency . The event will be at Eyebeam 540 W. 21st Street this Saturday the 10th from 12-6pm. More details and info about dates in NC and OH here.

Banksy art photo via Sharl on Flickr.

Stand Up for Peace

A Jew and a Palestinian walk onto a stage...it's not the set up to a racist joke, it's the premise of Stand Up for Peace a performance by two comedians trying to affect positive change through their work. Check out a video here find where they're performing next here.

Social Marketing University - DC March 28-30

Nedra Kline Weireich of Spare Change will be offering the training/seminar Social Marketing University in Washington DC March 28-30. Readers of this blog have even been offered a special deal $75 off, just use code ALR75 when registering!

At Social Marketing University, you will move beyond the usual educational approach to changing health and social behaviors. Using social marketing, you will learn how to persuade individuals to take action for change by addressing the values, needs and desires that motivate them. It's about understanding and connecting with your audience by applying the same effective marketing tools that companies like Nike and Apple use.

You Should Attend if You Are:

• Someone who wants to create health or social change
• A professional at a nonprofit/NGO, public agency or other organization working on health or social issues
• A commercial marketer who wants to apply your skills towards changing the world for the better OR
• A student interested in the field of social marketing (special student rate available!)

You Will Learn:

• How social marketing uses commercial marketing tools to create behavior change
• How to think like a social marketer
• How to segment and understand your audience
• How to develop a strategy using the 8 Ps of the social marketing mix
• How to follow the social marketing process to develop an effective program
• How to use audience research techniques to build and test your strategy, including an in-depth discussion of focus groups
• How to design effective messages and materials
• How to work with the media to get your message out through news and entertainment programming
• How to use cutting-edge technologies to put the new media to work for you
• How to get the most out of your social marketing budget -- even if it's small

For all the details about the training agenda, registration, fees and hotel accommodations, go to the Social Marketing University information page or email training_AT_social-marketing.com for more information.

More Kudos to Christo and Jeanne-Claude

I went to hear Christo and Jeanne-Claude speak the other night and I couldn't have been more impressed. The 72 year old artists were thoroughly entertaining as they told the story of their art. I was already impressed by their refusal to accept corporate support, and my admiration only increased when I learned:

• All of their works are recycled when they are taken down and the recycling plan is always included as part of the initial planning/creation process.
• Very often their work leaves the locations in better shape than how they found them. For instance they cleaned up the island and river where the Surrounded Islands were located.
• It often takes years (if not decades) to get the permissions to make their works that ultimately only last for a few weeks.
  

Here's a quote from an interview where Jeanne-Claude explains why their work is temporary:

Throughout the millenniums, for 5000 years, artists of the past have tried to input into their works of art a variety of different qualities. They have used different materials, marble, stone, bronze, wood, paint. They have created abstract images, figurative images, religious images, profane. They have tried to do bigger, smaller, a lot of different qualities. But there is one quality they have never used, and that is the quality of love and tenderness that we human beings have for what does not last. For instance, we have love and tenderness for childhood because we know it will not last. We have love and tenderness for our own life because we know it will not last. That quality of love and tenderness, we wish to donate it, endow our work with it as an additional aesthetic quality. The fact that the work does not remain creates an urgency to see it. For instance, if someone were to tell you, “Oh, look on the right, there is a rainbow.” You will never answer, “I will look at it tomorrow.”

If you ever get a chance to see them speak, don't miss it!

Molly Ivins RIP

The venerable and highly entertaining political commentator/spitfire Molly Ivins passed away yesterday. She will be missed...even by frequent target George ("Shrub") Bush who said:

"I respected her convictions, her passionate belief in the power of words, and her ability to turn a phrase. She fought her illness with that same passion. Her quick wit and commitment to her beliefs will be missed."

Read the AP article here. And a commentary from The Nation here.

Thanks Melinda.