WIP

One Minute Fly

I randomly found this youtube video...
As its name is already telling, the One Minute Fly has got a very limited lifespan. One minute in which it wants to experience everything that makes life worth living...

Weakness and Weaponry

Class-

I don't want to dissuade you or anyone else from making, but I feel like it's high time to point out the obvious irony at play:

When your class was introduced to my work and ideas you presented me with a number of challenging questions about community, self-reliance, and survivalists.

I recall some discussion about the slippery slope of self-reliance, the crazy gun nut survivalists, and the misplaced idealism that leads an individual to thinking that a stockpile of small munitions fire and a couple of AR-15s - or a stake and whip - will aid your survival.

While these tools may be useful for defense and self-preservation in a short term crisis (such as a riot), they can really only take you (and the human race) so far. They also threaten to undermine your survival as the act of creating (and using) such tools of destruction is incredibly seductive.

This seductive power is evidenced by the fact that many of you have now fallen into the trap of creating weaponry. It's too easy. It's also a reflection of one's desperate desire for self-preservation upon recognition of your own physical frailty. While this was one intended consequence of the self-assessment, I think the end result is a non-starter.

Self preservation by force does not equal self-reliance. Eventually your defensive skills will become your greatest asset, and when you get hungry you'll look to rely on those skills to fill your belly. The problem here of course is that the ultimate translation of those skills will move you to violence or the will to control others via the threat of violence.

There will always be someone with a bigger gun, longer whip, or more powerful crossbow. Hopefully, civility will not erode such that you will have to meet that person in a conflict. In the meantime, how practical a survival tool is your whip, or molotov cocktail, or bomb?

Focus on creation, preservation, and hope. What can you build today that will help us avoid the scenario I described above? Your exhibition objects will tell stories about who you are at the very core of your being. What story will you tell?

Don't get freaked out but...

So I had the initial idea to make a few stakes and crossbows for my project. I went to Lowe's and picked up a giant wooden stick. I mean I still plan on sharpening the edge to a point but the best part of this experience was using what I have at home and constructing something outrageous. In my room, there is a basket with rope-type material surrounding it. I decided to take the material out of the basket and make a whip. Yes a whip. And it's awesome. Whips can be used to intimidate people and animals. It can also do a lot of harm. Also, it can possibly strangle/ hold someone down if I am in trouble. After making the first whip, I wanted to make another one smaller in size. I am still working on that one. Pictures will be uploaded soon. Since I got help with the first one, I decided to make the second one by myself since this project is really about one's survival and the individual.

In addition to the two whips, I made a stake. Well, technically I just took a piece of wood, snapped it, and then sharpened it with a knife. The process was very very tedious and I have yet tried to use the stake. I hope it cuts through something, anything. Pictures will be uploaded soon as well.

I suppose my tactic is to try and intimidate my enemy and fight from a distance. If a vampire or zombie is close, then I have a stake. I have a screw on the back of the wooden stick so that I can throw the stick from a distance and get it back from the rope. I just hope that I can figure some way for the stick to retract quicker.

Until tomorrow, A

Sad...

http://ansblog.com/2009/12/saddest-picture-of-the-century-vulture-waiting-child-to-die/

Comments on the picture? Comments on the photographer and his actions?

There is no sound but this is the video I put together from Richard Misrach's exhibit in the New Orleans Museum of Art. He documented the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina... Thought you guys might be interested...

check this out!

http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/p/0001.html

Biuld a Shelter

Look what I found peeps

Something creepy, interesting, and volcano related.

http://obviousmag.org/en/archives/2008/08/photographs_that_shook_the_world_omayra_sanchez.html

and

http://www.oddee.com/item_96623.aspx (number 7)

yo, exploders!

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-improvised-explosives.html

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU42IZOqB2uBg5pEaaPYLKOZVe007GabHn7VlD7wnbPoBdM9J0cT7NS5AZbfpNJO7t7zZdD0jIaXOePltbJmc81jjP6LTBao_MHeLQfi4Uy-BrBqTwwYi4jI1bCh8BBBgHTJLCRUfpF9qr/s1600/itssmokey.jpg

proposal

My greatest fear of disaster is that I will be left with no place or resource to call my own. I do not want to live in a public shelter, again. I do not want to depend on a government to choose what I can do, what I can eat, where I can be, for my own, or the public's "good".

While these are important fears for myself, I have never truly camped for even a weekend. I do not even have a tent currently, I often rely on those of other's, either through renting or borrowing. I could easily be on my own with no help, in a time of crisis.

So I am going to make a yurt that I can live in out of found materials from my home. Yurts are portable, collapsible home-structures. They often take an extended period of time to make, but I will emphasize my necessity for immediacy and willingness to improve.
I can video tape the process, if necessary for the assignment, I can document a video and text/image diary for the sake of notation and collection.

I will not exceed a weekend in implementing it's construction. I will perform within it over the weekend prior to the exhibition. It will be a test of my capacity to be resourceful and independent. I will work with the scenario that my home has to be evacuated between noon and midnight on the Friday of that weekend. All of my materials will be carried out of my house, and brought behind houghton on foot or wheels (like a wagon or a skooter, not a car). I will prepare an amount of food and water appropriate for this period. If I cannot make a proper structure in time, I will sleep on the ground, or be forced to seek a shelter that is unlocked, and not my own home, supposing that I cannot return to my own established space. I will also eliminate Houghton as a possibility unless I can break into the space somehow, as my keycard lock would not work in a power outage.

Hopefully in this space I will be able to find a sense of peace, place, and agency over a weekend's time. If I can't manage that, I suppose I'm doomed.

Research will be conducted over the next two weeks. This weekend I will be speaking with a practicing expert, Jared Littlefield, who has been lived in more than one more temporary yurt, and has built his own, more "permanent" structure over this past Summer, which he currently still lives in, in coastal Maine. (I have not been to this yurt, but I have seen photographs, and it is decked out. I guarantee he can advise me on which found materials will help keep me warm, dry, happy, etc.

http://www.yurtinfo.org/yurtplans.php

Survival Weapon

Proposal

For my project I decided I wanted to create some weapons to either hunt, or protect myself from invaders who come to steal from me...

Idea 1: SLINGSHOT
Use a can and balloon with rope to create a substance I can use to shoot pebbles and other things

Idea 2: Nail-Bat
use a wooden bat and hammer nails into the edge of it (kinda like the evil guys in scary movies have)

Idea 3: Molotov Cocktail
Use vodka and a rag to create a death bomb

J Cerf survival reflective panel

Power of verbal communication Propsal

In my previous posting I expressed my interest in creating a piece about the mis-communication of a tragedy but I was stuck with a visual representation. I want to create a contraption that is installed in train cars that translates the messages of disaster. The conductor or train operatives will simple walk up to the box relay the message and an automated voice will play over the loud speaker; the communications will be in several mainstream dialects.

PROPOSALS

Proposals...

Alrighty, so here are my two ideas:


1) For Christmas, I bought my sister a book of office warfare weaponry. She is sending me the book in the mail, and I plan to either make two repurposes based off of that book or just one, depending on what I can find in there. If I only make one, my other idea is:

2) To make a backpack out of a laundry basket and masking tape.

Tom Sachs Lecture

Here is a lecture that Tom Sachs gave to an audience at Google.

If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, watch the beginning (the Chanel guillotine breakfast nook is fabulous) and then skip to the space program, especially when he takes questions at the end.

Video Artists Thursday October 21

Marc Horowitz

http://www.ineedtostopsoon.com/signature-series/

Tom Sachs

http://www.tomsachs.com/movies#

BUG OUT

Flugeldar

Jose's Bug Out Bag

Josh's Bug Out Bag

Bug Out Bag

BYOBugOutBag

Reading Response: Groupthink

What is "groupthink" as it applies to a disaster? How does "groupthink" apply to your survival odds? Can you think of a situation where you experienced groupthink (not necessarily in a disaster)?

Bug Out Bags

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bug-out+bag&aq=f

http://theurbansurvivalist.blogspot.com

http://www.bugoutsurvival.com/

http://www.shtfblog.com/

http://survivalblog.com/

risk assessment - reina apraez

These are videos of the potential damage due to a tornado-speed tropical depressions that occured in several upstate new york counties. We are due further west than Central New York, but it would be awful to re-experience the property and regional damage of the Labor Day Storm of 1998.

Another concern of risk is the potential damage due to hydrofracking in the Southern Tier of the Finger Lakes. The following link is an interview of a vineyard owner who fears the danger of agricultural damage, as well as her drinking water. Keuka Lake outlets into Seneca, which is Geneva's most vital resource.

http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2010/02/storing_hydrofracking_wastewat.html

file:///Users/reinapraez/Desktop/risk%20assessment%202.band/

physically, i can run surprisingly far, and at a steady pace. i'm not in the best shape and i'm a smoker, but i'm certainly not out of shape. I have a pretty decent endurance. I also have cpr and basic first aid skills.

Prof. Chin's Risk Assessment

SUMMARY:

Assessed risk: mostly low for large dramatic catastrophes, with the most likely being an extended power outage, or an extended disruption of cross-country transportation.

Personal Skills: Medical skills (out of date, but still knowledge... limited medical supplies), natural tendency to keep extra stuff around (like food, clothing, etc), some contact with neighbors that could be much improved, leadership and group facilitation experience, outdoor "adrenaline" sport experience which could translate into better response to stressful situations.

Contents of my car:

I searched my car for useful stuff, and categorized them into 5 categories:

Warmth/personal mobility: Gloves (hiding the glovebox!), boots (were in the trunk, who knew?), sweatshirt, towels (no blankets, but the towels might provide some extra warmth), umbrella, sunglasses.

Food: Luna bar (glovebox find!), Emergen-C drink mix, can of sardines (was under a seat), half-bag of pistachios, mints (sugar free, so not much value there).

Water: about 1 liter total, with numerous other empty vessels that could be filled.

Car stuff: jumper cables, car jack and lug nut wrench, donut spare tire (not shown), belt spray. Glaring omission: oil. I found an empty container... which isn't good, since my car needs oil on a regular basis.

Other useful stuff: Box of garbage bags, numerous rolls of tape, 2 ice scraper/snowbrushes, shovel, box cutter, sharpies, books (entertainment/firestarter?).

No first aid supplies, no extra oil, nothing to start a fire with, no maps, no car manual or repair manual.

Power of verbal communication

To be honest, I am really stumped on a way of visually representing my disaster, at the point the only thing that can come to mind are words that would describe my feelings, reaction, and possible my coping mechanisms. As I was standing in between the cars, waiting for the conductor to announce the arrival of Secaucus Junction, I kept thinking about all the what ifs that could occur. Instinctively I kept thinking about all the acts of violence that could break out; someone stepping on another person' foot, someone getting their foot stuck in a crack while holding, someone's leg catching the gap in between the train, or their arm caught in the door as the train sped away. But for some reason I could not help but wonder what would happen if someone became violent on the train, what if the pulled out a gun, held the car hostage (would I be able to provide for myself and others on the train until the gunmen was ready to let us go, would I know how to handle myself in a situation like that, who could I trust, would I be willing to others to organize or lead the group, would I be able to remain composed and follow directions?) But then I thought that situation was too violence, too negative, almost too real for me to image, so I wondered what would I do it the train cars had separated, if I am standing in one car and the connecting piece became detached, what would I do, how would I react, would the conductor be able to gain control of dislodged car? If the train had come to a halt in a remote area, would I be mental, physically, or emotionally prepared to confront the situation. However I think my answer would be maybe, because when put into a situation I become stronger, more capable of handling a situation with grace even though there is chaos, I think that I would become more creative with the resources available, more willing to allow others to help, able to take a leadership role.
Maybe because I am unable to come up with a visual representation I think it would be interesting to play with the written and verbal forms of communication. How do our thoughts and communication skills become muddled when we are under stress or in a traumatic situation. Maybe make a film that just uses audio commands of instructions. This would be interesting because it is exploring the power of words, specifically written and verbal commands, but also makes social commentary on literacy, our ability to understand written and verbal communication, language, and dialect.

(sorry that this idea is kins of all over the place)

Jenny's Escape Routes

I chose Carr McGuire House, Houghton House and Carriage House because I spend most of my time at those places. In this animation, I mapped out most of the escape routes at those places. In emergency, breaking the windows will be considered as well. When I was shooting, I realized there are more fire extinguishers than I thought.

[What is in my backpack on a regular basis?]

A wallet: Some cash, HWS ID, Wegman’s Shoppers Card, art dept key card, Chautauqua Institution gate passes ‘09 and ‘10, credit card, a piece of paper with my contact info.

Sketchbook, notebook (a binder actually), Italian textbook;

Triplus fineliners, technical pens, iPod, Italian study cards, a thumb drive, hand cream, a watch, menthol, post-it, sunscreen lotion, mechanical pencils and leads, a cell phone; keys

A point ‘n shoot camera.

[Strengths and Weaknesses]

Cash, shoppers card, key card, and gate passes would not be very helpful when a catastrophe happens. With my sketchbook, pens, and a camera, I would be able to record what happens during the catastrophe. Whether I can survival or not eventually, I will have something for people who want to know what happened. Menthol is useful, as it helps relieve stuffy nose, insect bites, chapped skin, minor skin-burns, abrasion, sunburns and skin irritations.

Strengths are: calm; not afraid of death; always have snakes around; not selfish

Weaknesses are: I will freak out if I am alone; not an outdoor person

[Essential Survival Skills]

CPR certified; know how to start a fire with matches or a lighter; able to build some easy constructions; always wearing flip-flops will hurt me if I had to walk for a long distance

[Animation]

Anita Cheung

Anita Cheung October 13, 2010 Step 1: Assess your situation

Experience: While I was abroad, I traveled around to different countries by planes, trains and boats. When I was in Paris, a volcano erupted in Iceland causing ashes to be dispersed into the atmosphere and thus preventing any air traffic. My friends and I were essentially stuck in Paris, which was not a bad place to be stuck in but nonetheless we had to pay for another night at the hostel and our trip to Barcelona was canceled. I remembered specifically how all bus tickets were jacked up and tourists (mainly Americans) were panicking. I also remembered how little I cared about getting back home to Wales. I allowed my friends to figure out a plan to get home. I was too busy thinking about the rest of the day, enjoying Paris and hopefully going to Paris Disneyland. My carefree, all-things-will-work-out-in-the-end attitude made some people laugh and others very upset. Now, I am trying to picture how I would react if a volcano exploded near the states.

Research: So, with a little research I found out that there are two active volcanoes in the states, Mount St. Helen in Washington and Mount Shasta in California. Let’s say these two volcanoes erupted and completely wiped out the population of both Washington and California. With a little more research, Washington has the population of (estimate from 2009) 6,664,195 people. California has a population of 36,961,664 people. The total population in USA is 307,006,550. With a little quick math, wiping out the state of California and Washington would eliminate 43, 625, 859 people leaving the total to be 263, 380, 691.

Situation: Let’s say that each state has one deadly wiper-outer, volcano, earthquake, flood etc. It takes one full day for the disaster to occur, taking out all the inhabitants of the state. The disasters begin on the west coast and end on the east coast. So, in less than two months, the states would be wiped out. What would you do? What would I do?

Assess: I would head home from Geneva after saying goodbye to everyone I love here because it’s probably the last time I will see him or her. I would pack exactly one suitcase and hitch a ride home or worst case, greyhound. Once I get home, I will decide with my family what to do next. The logical thing to do would be to move, right?

- Nothing in pockets at the moment, few hundred dollars in my purse.

- Since I don’t much on a daily basis, packing should be a breeze.

- Tools I would want- cell phone, flashlight, chargers, adaptor for Europe and iPod and toiletries. Clothes would be jackets, sweats (if I die, I am dying comfortably).

Strengths- not high maintenance, rational (sort of), logical (sort of), can walk long distances, caring for others, love to build and construct things?

Weaknesses- picky eater, really hate grass to the point where I am afraid, very city-like. Really dislike taking orders normally but I do sometimes. I like to take charge or situations.

Survival Skills- Great packer, I can fit a lot in a very little compartment. Up for challenges- helping doctors or police. Very caring- cannot turn away from someone or something in need of help, if I can’t help then I will find someone who can. Not afraid of dying. I believe everything happens for a reason, so if my situation occurs, then there’s a reason why.

Pictures and/ or video to come.

ELIZABETH PERRY

CATASTROPHIC EVENT:

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

This is going to be based on my knowledge of zombies without doing research since, should zombies suddenly take over, I wouldn’t magically know anything about their behavior.

What I know about zombies already is that they have tattered clothes, they’re not dead or alive, and they bite humans and turn them into more zombies. That’s literally all I know. I don’t know how to kill them or fight them off, and have no idea how strong they are, so I’m going to make a few assumptions as I create my plan of what I would actually do if a zombie apocalypse happened right now as I sit in my second floor Sherill single where I’m an RA.

I would probably stay put in my dorm room. My first plan of action would be to barricade the door and windows. For the door, I’d use a chair and a short dresser. For the windows, I’d use a tall bureau and a tall dresser, since the windows are quite tall. I might also take apart my bed frame and use the pieces, other than the mattress, to make the barricade stronger. I can’t imagine leaving my room since I wouldn’t know the first thing about fighting off zombies. I wouldn’t answer my door, and I wouldn’t let anyone in unless they could prove that they weren’t a zombie and that they wanted to create a team…and not kill me/take my stuff. (Inevitably, I would probably end up withering away, but I’m just trying to be realistic here).

FOOD-In my room I have:

-two boxes of cereal

-raw rice pilaf

-raw venison

-ice

-a small amount of water

-a small amount of milk

-three boxes of raw instant oatmeal

-raw egg noodles

-and dry onion soup mix

OTHER STUFF-In my room I have-

-toiletries

-clothing

-blankets

-mattress

-stapler

-scissors

-writing utensils

-paper towels

-a rug

-garbage cans

It seems that I have a ton of useless junk that would get me absolutely nowhere in a zombie apocalypse. I have no skills, no trust, and no tools. I would maybe last for 2 weeks maximum if I failed to leave my room. If I did leave my room, it’d be an entirely different story.

Disaster Map

National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications

A world disaster map. Active now... the environmental sludge accident in Hungary (see the flashing icon in Eastern Europe... and video on the Lede Blog if you want to know what it is about) and tropical storm Otto in the Atlantic.

Scroll down to see lists of seismic activity, active volcanoes, and "earth approaching objects."

Tom Sachs

Tom Sachs: A Film About the Space Program

Tom Sachs Website

Andrea Zittel

A-Z Enterprises

An Institute of Investigative Living

I just thought

we might all like this.

this is worth a postcard to a younger you, if nothing else.

http://thewildernessdowntown.com/

and a new reference for the capacities of interactivity.