Vrij Amsterdam

"xxx" Factor v. Sex Factor

Here are two exemplary online publications that express the tensions surrounding liberal and tolerant identifications with the cultural landscape of Amsterdam. While the first is a more general overview of the tourist gaze upon the city (from about a half a year ago), the second addresses the ongoing transformations that are occurring, largely due to the city's plans to reconfigure the historical center (specifically the areas surrounding the red light districts in the heart of the city). In both, the important points to consider are how Amsterdam's cultural identity as a liberal, tolerant city is being navigated and negotiated- especially in light of the recent policy reforms and subsequent reformulations within the cityscape.

Amsterdam: An Amazing Place

v.
Amsterdam's War on Sex

Pecha Kucha Amsterdam # 9

12 participants, 20 slides, 20 seconds

22 April 2009, door open 20.20 hr

Inflatable cushions are fun -

Cocky Eek showed her work on inflatables and entertained the audience with some great examples of 'inflatables culture' during the Pecha Kucha Night Amsterdam Vol. 8

• Tag people in this image
  

Another joyful evening full with a dazzling range of speakers, images, new projects, new ideas and inspiring topics in the course of one evening. Presentations from Wheels of Steel, Sid Lee, Ekene Ijeoma, Yasmine Parodi, Dadara and others. Some talks in Dutch, others in English.

Breaks will be filled with drinks, deep tunes and video. A film crew from Germany will be making a report for European culture channel Arte.

Evening organized by Pecha Kucha / Golfstromen and hosted by Mediamatic

www.mediamatic.net/page/79035/en

Location

Mediamatic BANK, Vijzelstraat 68, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Admission 7 euro.

I Amsterdam

"XXX" factor v.
Sex Factor

The tolerance that has gained prominence in the socio-political identity of the Netherlands can be traced back to the 17th century, during to the period that is referred to as the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic. At this time, prostitution was illegal, yet paradoxically brothels flourished into luxurious gambling houses in order to accommodate a wealthier clientele. The brothels and the women were not penalized unless they disrupted the public sphere or noticeably impinged upon social morality or ideology. It was a compromise that accounted for the indispensable nature of prostitution, especially in terms of its economic benefits. A comparable compromise was deemed pragmatic, or it appeared to be the case with the recent lifting of the brothel ban, less then a decade ago. It is surprising and disconcerting that the parallels have been disregarded or overshadowed so rapidly, in the context of the current transformations in Amsterdam’s sexual spaces. Certainly, the Netherlands’ unique approach to sex work has not failed so fast, for since the lifting of the ban, the organisation and regulation of the industry has only just begun. If the law was intended to prompt the re-institution and re-structuring of this professional industry in the context of a social world and a historical narrative rife with stigma, an essential question is begging for our serious consideration: What values have been taken into account in the act of reverting to reputation resuscitation through a citywide branding campaign that subversively reinforces the pathological perceptions surrounding sex workers and their industry?
From the representation of Amsterdam’s red light district, the tourist today still imagines a virtual reality of the tolerant, liberal Amsterdam that existed throughout the history of the Dutch, who have always prided themselves on their unique, non-confrontational cultural identities. The interesting issue at hand, in relation to images of the red light district today, is that media representations of Amsterdam suggest that city officials and administrative organisations appear to be clinging to signs and symbols that convey ideals of Dutch liberalism and tolerance; simultaneously, however, they enact policies and reforms that prompt transitions for the city. The red light district that is revealed through contemporary visual media and citywide publicly disseminated representations presents a partial frame through which to view this cultural re-visioning of Amsterdam. What has remained concealed behind the spectacle of tolerance and liberalism surrounding Amsterdam’s red light district has [co]incidentally remained the social stigma that will mark the prostitute as pathological and define the industry as foundational to societal dysfunction.

XXX Factor v. Sex Factor

The Fee/at of the Toms

• Fact #1: In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to food, clean water and to seek medical help.
• Fact #2: Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.

• Fact #4: In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
• Fact #5: Podoconiosis is 100% preventable by wearing shoes.

Michael Arlen (1895-1956) "She not only expects the worst, but makes the worst of it when it happens." More quotations from Michael Arlen

Digital Arts and Culture 2009: UC Irvine

Call for Papers/Proposals

DAC09: Themes

• Embodiment and performativity
• After mobile media
• Software/ platform studies
• Environment/ sustainability/ climate change
• Interdisciplinary pedagogy
• Cognition and creativity
• Sex and sexuality
• A Space-Time of Ubiquity and Embeddedness
• The Present and Future of Humanist Inquiry in the Digital Field
• Call for VaRiEtY Night presentations

At DAC07, an informal show and tell night for attendees was deemed a desirable inclusion in the program. At DAC09, we will continue this tradition in an informal 'pub' atmosphere at the UCI Anthill Pub and Grille. This is an opportunity to show documentation of projects and present other material.

• Can you swallow your cellphone, or juggle remotes?
• Do you play telematic tennis, compose epic poetry about database structures?
• Do you have a robot that does card tricks or DJs, or an AI system that composes and performs poetry?

Email DAC09Dir@uci.edu with DAC09Variety as subject line.

• The multi-talented Perry Hoberman will open the event singing some of his cycle of media-arts ballads, including the soon-to-be smash hit 'Motion Capture'.

We are also issuing a call for Artists for the Electronic Literary Arts Performances for DAC 2009. Available technology will be audio, projector, and wifi. Please email Jessica Pressman (Yale University) and Mark Marino (University of Southern California) [Subject: DAC Literary Arts] at DAC09LitArts@gmail.com with your proposals for first-round selections by May 15, 2009.
Volunteer!

• Ideas regarding events, geographically and temporally local tie-ins, sponsorship, constructive suggestions and offers of assistance gladly received.

Send to DAC09Dir@uci.edu with DAC09volunteer as subject line

Like Mother/Father Like Daughter

As I was excited about this new blog, I was happy to show and tell it to any and everyone who I could convince to check it out.

Of course, my Mother was among the few individuals who I knew would indulge in my casual, yet pivotal (from where I stand) ramblings.

I was not only pleased to find her quite amused by my postings, but even more interesting, decidedly, was the fact that we seemed to be cruising the same wavelength to more than just a coincidental degree.

This came to the surface when my Mother read my inquiry regarding female sushi chefs, and I heard her nearly choke herself as she caught her breath, mid-gasp for air.
I ran into the kitchen to see if she was o.k- and to see what on Earth- and what on my blog had caused such a stir!

She could not believe that out of the blue I had asked the question that she would introduce to her 6th grade class through their next assigned reading, as they worked through the wonderful book that she had selected for her students.

The Facts of Wife

Today in my shower, Herbal Essences offered me an interesting piece of information in the form of what is referred to as "herbal head games." These tidbits of information appear on the back of their shampoo/conditioner bottles in the form of questions, which are then answered slightly below- perhaps to give you a minute's pause...a chance to ponder and indulge in their headgame.
Thus, indulge i did, and I want to ask you to do the same, for I found the question and answer that confronted me interesting on numerous levels, which is why I thought it pertinent to present here:

How much older is the average groom than the average bride?

ANSWER:
5.3 years

I would like to ask you to ponder another question, in light of this fact, and in order to prompt another headgame:

Approximately How much longer does the average woman live than the average man?

ANSWER:
Approximately 6 years

So Sue-She!

Food For Thought:
Have you ever seen a female sushi chef?

Giving is Natural, Flowers for Everyone

This morning I woke up thinking of tissue paper flowers-- do you remember making those for your Mother's when you were younger? Perhaps you were in nursery school, summer camp, primary school, day care, or in an art class; maybe it was Mother's Day, or Valentines Day, or some other Day, and some other reason for making tissue paper flowers.

All of us sitting on the floor, with the desks (or tables) pushed to the side, and the pile of squares upon squares of rainbows of tissue paper appearing like stained glass windows, tempting us with infinite blends for our petals to achieve perfection.

I remember having trouble selecting only three colours for each of my flowers- only three? imagine the possibilities that open up when we use four...Oh and five! I remember (only once) asking if I might be allowed to use an extra pipe cleaner and an extra piece of tissue paper to attempt the task of leaves on my flower, but of course, I was precocious, at a mere six years old: did I really think it was possible to accomplish?

I do NOT remember ever making tissue paper flowers for my father on Father's Day; yet, I will never forget the I first time I saw his reaction to flowers that my Mother had sent him, just because. I know he would have loved my tissue paper flowers too.

Flowers can brighten any room for anyone on any day

Little Miss Dissed

She's ready to subjectify herself in each moment & situation brought on by popular cultures, current trends, & ongoing tensions they stir. This time she's body surfing the waves. Thus begins a quest for insights into the ideals we will find in embracing the uniqueness & differences that appear when we embrace ourselves for these qualities that we find in our subjective selves.

Don't "Object" yourself:
self-reflexercise.