Earlier this week London rapper Plan B released a video for his latest single, ‘ill Manors’, part of a wider project of the same name, including a forthcoming film, designed to explore and address the issues surrounding poverty and alienation in Britain, in particular examining the London Summer Riots of 2011.

It’s an aggressive assault on everything from people’s perception of the working classes (“Oi look there’s a chav, that means council housed and violent”), to the Olympics (“Built an entire Olympic village around where we live without pulling down any flats … Don’t bloody give me that”) to David Cameron’s softly softly approach to dealing with teenagers (“He’s got a hoodie on give him a hug, on second thoughts don’t, you don’t wanna get mugged”).

Couple of days ago Plan B also caught up with MistaJam to talk about the controversy surrounding the ill Manors project and the inspiration he had for this new track…

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Classic silly Symphony produced by the Walt Disney Studio and a slightly different MGM feature with them Three Little Pigs.

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You will be remembered for always looking at things.

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“We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists“ is an upcoming documentary on Anonymous and the history of hacktivism. Expect this.

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Kidult might not need an introduction for many, allthough I reckon for some he might be new. He has become an infamous (yet rec­og­nized) artist mainly because of his actions targetting several high end luxury brands’ stores (most recently Supreme in New York), which he considers ‘hypocritical in a society that predominantly lives under the poverty level’.

A while back the French graffiti artist released ‘ILLEGALIZE GRAFFITI‘, a video which documents his controversial activities in the streets of Paris & abroad. “Angered and frus­trated by the sud­den ram­pant com­mer­cial­iza­tion of graf­fiti into the main­stream, French street artist Kidult has taken to the streets of Paris to remind peo­ple of the impor­tance of street art as a counter-culture move­ment.”

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Faith47 is someone worth introducing time and time again … we previously mentioned her work a while back but the following three segments are also worht sharing. It features Faith47 during the making of her Freedom Charter series.

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Crossing Lines is a short film that documents Irish artist Conor Harrington trip to Tel Aviv, Israel and Bethleham, Palestine in May 2010.

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I first really read about JR with his 28mm project a couple of years back. Saw stuff popping up on the interwebs and loved the way it made people think about situations time and time again. Its that subtle form of social criticism that makes JR one of those artists that keeps drawing peoples attention and I reckon you ought to watch the clip below. Its an introduction on the TED prize winner.

and if you want to find out more I suggest you also read this piece in the NY Times on the man’s life & work. Or how one man has one wish to change the world.

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Regular readers probably do not need an introduction when it comes to Shepard Fairey. For many he symbolises part of the Obama presidential campaign as he gained global acclaim by altering the image above which was widely used throughout 2008-2009.

Fairey has been creating great iconic (street) art since the 1980s and can be considered an icon himself.

What follows is an interview with Obey at the end of last year. A great introduction for anyone who might not be that familiar with Shepard’s work.

through gestalten.tv

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For those amongst you who had not previously heard about POSTRmagazine, its a free quarterly magazine printed on an A1 size poster which then gets folded and distributed all over the world to selected art centres, concert halls, shops and certain restaurants as a free magazine. An authentic concept which comes as a poster because they would like you to put them up. On your front door, your kitchen window, your bedroom ceiling or even nailed to the door of your local city hall. You can read their extensive mission statement/about overhere. I suggest you do, as its something to ponder upon.

Now the latest issue, nº 8, has been published:

“This time we decided it was time to talk about design and who’s behind all those objects that surround us every day. Why, we hear you ask. Indeed, the dandy designer does not stand tall when placed amongst a line-up next to the international gunrunner, the money laundering politician and child-molesting arch bishop. He is a luxury problem, a man pilfering only from the pockets of those who don’t know what else to spend their hard-earned money on.
On the other hand, design might also be the field that holds the key to the creation of our future as it constantly raises our standard of living with every new idea that is conceived. In fact, when asked about who might be the ones to save us from premature extinction our thoughts go to designers like Jacques Fresco, visionaries who consider the design of something better as scientifically inevitable, a part of evolution, the next step towards living in the future. In that sense, design is the embodiment of our evolution as an intelligent species. That’s why these counter-culture Monkeys dived in, head first and talked to a few of these culprits to see what they had to say in their defense.”

I try and pick up each issue and really should take up a subscription #notetoself. So should you, so keep your eyes open in stores near you. I even heard they’ve found their way to Berlin, Amsterdam & Paris. Now go out and play in what remains of the snow

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So a documentary on Wikileaks was released by Sweden’s public service television SVT. This one-hour documentary takes us through the history of WikiLeaks. Besides this the Swedes also followed Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange for several months starting from the past summer. It gives us a great firsthand report on the inside story: Where is the secretive organization heading? Who is Assange: champion of freedom, spy or rapist? What are his objectives? What are the consequences for the internet? Stuff to ponder upon once you’ve seen the report above.

through StupidDope

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Amazon dropped some fresh stuff last week. Amongst several Christmas gifts some new books for yours truly. The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia is a nice addition to my bookshelf.

Fascinating stuff the Russian tattoo, especially the fact it goes hand in hand with criminal culture in which tattoos are codes one must learn to master early in life. I recently even read an autobiography on growing up amongst a Russian criminal community and how important they were as one knew his place within a group through them, recognising superiors. There’s an exhibit on the matter in London right now which looks pretty good btw.

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I’ve written about this in the past. Its an old fascination of mine: WWII and other animated propaganda from the 1940s onwards. Bored with the regular assignments at University and willing to do discover something unknown or at least have a good time while spending hours behind your typewriter doing research I even wrote a paper on the matter.

The following are a couple of those WWII and cold war propaganda films released by well-known studios. Household names which often are associated with fluffy clouds and gumdrop smiles. Kids stuff and nothing what you’d expect.  The “hidden messages” in them, the way the music plays an essential part, … is really interesting to analyse. I have spent hours looking at such animations and its surprising to see some well-known characters do their part for Uncle Sam.

Besides that its a discovery (for many), reading up on the matter, when you realise the big studios where able to survive the war by taking on these assignments.

Japoteurs, by Technicolor short films based upon the DC Comics character of Superman.

Hitler’s Children Education For Death, a Walt Disney production.

Even the Russians loved their cartoons.

Want to see more of this stuff, just run a search in YouTube on banned cartoons or cartoon propaganda and discover the dark side of animation throughout the 1940s to 60s.

Got any favorites of your own, please share

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Finished reading Siberian Education by Nicolai Lilin which in my opinion is a must read if you are into non-fictional books.

The small republic of Transnistria, which declared its independence in 1990 but has never been recognised, is a remote part of Russia in which a community of honest criminals settled years ago. It is in this (post)communist region that Nicolai grew up and the book gives us the story of his upbringing within Siberian criminal culture. By the age of six, Lilin was given his first pike knife by an uncle and by the age of twelve he has been convicted of attempted murder.

A confronting story of an underworld where he got some hands on experience running through the ranks as a kid and young adolescent as he lived according to the tradition of Siberian Education in which violence, crime and an unique code of honour play a central part of life.

Nicolai gives a mix of his story while drifting of into other tales of his grandfathers, uncles and important figures within his life. He gives us an idea of the stuff he would get caught up in and how at the heart lay a long tradition. 

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Detroit,  once the fourth-largest metropolis in America, is often called the Death of the American Dream nowadays. Today, the young people of the Motor City are making it their own DIY paradise where rules are second to passion and creativity. They are creating the new Detroit on their own terms, against real adversity. Palladium & Johnny Knoxville put on their boots and took us for a ride through MotorCity

The film takes Knoxville to visit a new generation of hopeful young creatives attempting to overcome the sense of despair left by the ailing American motor industry and turn around a reputation of a hopeless city. Contrary to expectation, it’s become a DIY paradise packed with artists, entrepreneurs and do’ers, a burgeoning class of young people seeing opportunities that others have overlooked.

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I was born in Malta, raised in Belgium. Product of a Maltese father and a Maltese/British mother, with the British part being a remainder from my grandfather who served in the British army back in the days when we used to be part of Britannia (which still ruled the waves). And there you have it, the mindfuck one might have, as I used the figurative ‘WE’ referring to the Maltese (yes, its Maltese not Maltesers) before their independence from the British.

Its a fact, I usually refer to myself as being Maltese, as its an important part of my identity. Its my first love you see and gaining the Belgian nationality was one driven partially by practicality  besides the love for my adoptive homeland. Really, it just felt right at the time and still does Something that is hard to explain & understand for many who do not find themselves in the same situation.

You are probably wondering why the sudden change occurred? Well, it all came forth after having experienced trouble at a Croatian border control. I was 17 and travelling with friends when we got stopped for a ‘routine’ check and drug search. Afterwards (after I got a personal special treatment/screening by Interpol) I found out I was the reason we got picked out of the line. Seems (and I had already experienced this elsewhere while travelling) that a Maltese passport is not one a lot of people are familiar with and travelling amongst a group with a different nationality is sometimes considered suspicious for them.

After that experience (I had been considering the switch for a while) I swore I would apply for my dual nationality. Seemed more than logical at the time, as I had already lived here for over 12 years, I speak the language, went to school here and had the feeling I was/am more Belgian then Maltese to say the least.

The practical part, once I had figured it out, was rather easy I must admit. There had been a change in law that gave me the possibility to apply through a shorter/faster procedure and the hardest really was finding an official translator for my Maltese birth certificate and other official documents I had to provide. As it was in Maltese/English I was able to avoid that hassle though by hiring an English translator to make an official transcript. Handed in all the paperwork and that was that.

The following week a local copper came by to do a quick interview. He judged if I spoke the language, … and as I am perfectly integrated he saw no reason not to give me a positive review. His paperwork left for some parliamentarian commission review and a few weeks later I received a letter stating I had gained the Belgian nationality. Bureaucracy 0 – Andrew Vassallo 1

Years later, pondering on the matter, my mind still plays tricks on me. It feels like I am an immigrant in a certain way, as I am the product of import and the fondness for the motherland remains. My parents moved to Belgium (after having previously lived in Belgium & Scotland during the 70s/80s) for my father’s occupation. Having worked within the same company for years, he was asked to move to the main office in Belgium. Temporarily at first they thought, but with a trend of centralisation throughout the nineties, more of the companies departments moved to BE and they found themselves settling in just fine. I was 5 and to this day can hardly remember my first years in Malta, hence the Belgian connection.

Now the central questions remain, who do you support for during Eurosong? A question I can’t really answer as it differs from year to year. When it comes to football, I root for both teams, as both have a slight chance of wining or qualifying for any major tournaments. But when it comes to the more serious stuff, like serving for your country, … I would have a real hard time to chose as there are so may other factors mixed in amongst the pride.

All this to say I love my countries and sometimes it is hard to make choices.

Oh, look here, I actually wrote a real/serious blogpost for once

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We previously mentioned the following clip in our OFFF overviews (over here & the follow-up here) but happened to stumble upon it again and thought we should put it in the spotlight once again. A great clip which came forth from a wonderful collaboration: the coalition of the willing.

‘Coalition of the Willing’ was directed and produced by Knife Party, written by Tim Rayner and crafted by a network of 24 artists from around the world using varied and eclectic film making techniques. Among the collaorators are some of the world’s top moving image artists, such as Decoy, World Leaders and Parasol Island.

What the film tries to offer is a response to one of our major problems: how to galvanize and enlist the global publics in the fight against global warming. It explores how we could use new Internet technologies to leverage the powers of activists, experts, and ordinary citizens in collaborative ventures to combat climate change. Through analyses of swarm activity and social revolution, ‘Coalition of the Willing’ makes a compelling case for the new online activism and explains how to hand the fight against global warming to the people.

But if you really want to find out all about the project just visit coalitionofthewilling.org.uk/ and for now we’re out.

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Copyright law and what to do with it. A hard nutshell to crack. A discussion that has been going on for decades and one I do not really want to share my opinion on as different parties state different facts which make it hard to draw a line in it all.

I remember how when I was a kid tape and VHS cassettes used to be pirated on a large scale and were sold on local markets. I saw Napster and other services come up later on in life and I saw some of these services disappear as quick while others became larger than life. Evolution and revolution at the same time one might say and interesting times none the less.

Piracy, whether music/video or designer handbags, is something that will always be around in my opinion. What everyone must realise though is that creative people deserve to make a living. A liner note which our younger generations can hardly grasp as they never really grew up to value music for instance.They love music, they talk about & share it with their friends and they especially also download it. Logical in my opinion as they’re growing up in a digital environment with unlimited access to something with no value due to that reason.

Kids nowadays do not grow up in record stores. Flicking through hundreds and hundreds of records, looking for that one album cover to draw their attention, ordering limited edition releases from Japan, … They just can’t value the carrier which a CD or vinyl is for some older generations.

Now I do not want to blame everything on the kids, as older generations also download huge volumes. But I do want to explain  that current tactics fighting piracy do not work in my opinion. One must educate people and learn kids how to appreciate creativity. And that’s the hard part as one does not have the impression that they are hurting someone with a harmless download.

As stated, a long discussion and one with mixed opinions …

Now I stumbled upon the following clip. Its a clip in which director Simon Klose explains why he needs your support to finish the documentary called TPB AFK. This stand for The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard. Its a documentary on the notorious filesharing website The Pirate Bay, a long-standing enemy of the movie & music industry. In this documentary Simon follows the three founders of the site, and their reactions to being found guilty of being accessory to crime against copyright law and fined over 3.6 million dollars.

There’s already over 200 hours of footage saved up and there are plans to record more during the founders’ appeal against their previous verdict, which is set for less than a month from now, on 28 September, 2010. In three days, the director already raised over $30,000 on to pay for a professional editor and use of an editing suite in putting together the full length feature.

The court case, the political parties that have been started across several continents, the threats which get hilarious answers, … all interesting and something which many have been following up close for a long time now. All I can say: crazy Swedes. Hope they’ve got a stay out of jail for free card .

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Now that’s the problem right now, making the right choices. As you might know (for the foreign friends) this Sunday elections will take place in Belgium. Mandatory by the way. I have no issue with that, but making the right choice is a hard one this time as their is not a single party that seems to appeal. A feeling a lot of my peers have I might ad.

Strange feeling this, as I previously had never had this issue. I usually vote for outspoken personalities, people I believe would do the right thing. But, that’s were the problem rises this time. In my opinion there is not a single strong character I still trust and if there were they have not been able to reach me yet until this date.

I have followed debates, read the papers, done polling test, … nothing appeals what so ever and there hardly are any points on the agenda that really interest me. Strange, as they are on about my future pension, ‘saving the economy’, …

Right now I’ve got less then 5 days left to sort out this mess. I reckon it will become a last minute decision though. One of elimination as I already know which parties I will definitely not vote for! A decision funded by my gut feeling so and usually that does not disappoint. I wonder if it will be the case this time. Out.

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After I saw a part of the new M.I.A. video I knew it reminded me of another video. Just could not place the 9 minute long, graphically explicit & violent video though untill now. Seems it was directed by Romain Gavras, who had previously also directed Justice’s wicked Stress. So, viewer discretion is advised. Out.

video for Born Free by M.I.A.

video for Stress by Justice

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Kim Jong-il is North Korea’s commander in chief,  part-time resident evil and each time I hear his name I wonder who this mad man really is.

The Boston Globe often features great pictures sets its Big Picture category. Kimmy is the subject this time and might I say a nice example of some good old propaganda. An authentic Kimmy visiting the grocer in his short sleeve shirt while sporting a pair of sunglasses as true fashion icon. Very casual I might ad.  Kimmy in the army, Kimmy playing at the cotton plantation, Kimmy at the energy plant, and so on. Somehow sounds like a comic strip with a new adventure every day for our little Korean (It is said he wears platform shoes and favours a bouffant hairstyle in order to appear taller than his 1.57m), but really its a 31 piece photo set to exhibit their nations greatness.

By the way, did not know Adidas had a factory in Korea? Oh right, they are North-Korea’s interpretation of the iconic 3 stripes At least we know Kim can dig a good pair of sneakers! We also get to learn that they got corn, apples, fish, … in the land of nuclear threats it seems. Amazing I might ad.

Anyways, the guy has always fascinated many as there are a lot of legends/rumors surrounding him. I once read he has the biggest movie collection in the world for instance. A true Hollywood addict it seems. It is also rumored that he is a vain & paranoid womanizer who guzzles down cognac like no other.

The cult & legends really become marvelous when you dig into those surrounding his birth. According to official North Korean accounts, he was born in a log cabin at his father’s guerrilla base on North Korea’s highest mountain Mount Paektu back in 1942. This was reportedly marked by a double rainbow with a bright star in the sky!

The unoficial version is rather dull, as his birth is placed somewhere in Siberia in 1941 when his father Kim Il-sung, was in exile overthere. Strange how stories can differ dependig on the source All I can say is: whatever?! For as long as I live, I’ll always be reminded of his part in Team America. Wonder if his collection has a copy. If not, send me his address and I will be more then happy to send him a copy. Out.

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For a while now I’ve been following Ross Kemp on Gangs over on Discovery (needles to say one of the greatest channels on the digital screen). As the subject has always fascinated me I also started reading his books on the matter. Fascinating!

For that reason I have also been meaning to blog about this other documentary I recently watched, namely “Crips & Bloods: Made in America“.

Narrator Forrest Whitaker (indeed, Mr Ghostdog himself) will take you through the history of American gang culture and uncovers the true root of this phenomenon. Now I often make funny remarks about this gangsta matter, but when push comes to shove, I can not imagine growing up in such an environment. Judge for yourself and educate yourself

You can check parts one through four overhere or ask your local torrent grocer for a fresh delivery. Also google & YouTube Kemp’s program also by the way, as it will take you into a world you can hardly grasp. You can also check his episode on San Salvador overhere. Out.

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Last night I found myself at NTGent, spending an evening with Henry, Henry Rollins that is. Now for those of you who are not familiar with this 40-something pissed off tattooed hardcore punk-rock icon on Vans, Google and YouTube him as you might learn a thing or two. You might then find out you know him as the face for Black Flag. Yes, the band that never before sold as many t-shirts as the passed years as hipsters worldwide embraced them

Now I have always been fascinated by Mr Rollins and since he was in the neighborhood I thought I could not miss out on him. Having spent all day painting the new house I definitely was up for some good old fashioned entertainment. Am I glad it was Henry who had the honors to do so, as what I witnessed was a verbal machine like no other. A missile on speed, telling his stories and experiences at such a rate I have never witnessed before, and this for almost 3 straight hours (without even drinking a sip of water!!).

From his experiences traveling the world, to his new acting adventure playing a skinhead in Sons of Anarchy to his involvement in the US presidential elections. It all got a place in his storytelling.

If there is one element that remained stuck in my mind, it was his rant on “Freedom of Speech” and how important this is for him. A pillar of the American institution and the essence of spoken word I might say, although he walked a fine line with certain statements there. Out.

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Artwork by Shepard Fairey aka Obey

So the world stood still (did it?!) once again today as the Swiss voted against minarets in a referendum. Now I must admit I hardly know anything about the country. I grew up learning how Switzerland was a haven of peace and neutrality. I’ve been in Zurich in transit travelling with SwissAir. I know they are the country of the Alps, cows and cheese. I know they’ve got more banks than anyone else in the world (just guessing here) and that probably Roger Federer, who’s the best know Swiss guy right now, likes dropping big bags of cash in their volts.

Now reading certain publications and hearing debates across media today, I must also consider it a harbour for new extremism as it seems throughout the passed years Switzerland (as many other European countries) has held many debates on the integrations of the Muslim community within their borders. The most recent being the discussion on whether the construction of minarets in Switzerland should be banned or allowed.  Bare in mind that the country right know only has four minarets.

The referendum was held. The people spoke and minarets are out of the question. For a country that pretends to be neutral, this seems to be a strange decision (considering other forms of religious symbols and buildings are still allowed).

Although the Swiss constitution will add the law, people have started speaking out against it. Just as them I question the legality of the referendum initiative with the European Charter for Human Rights.

Anyways, we haven’t gathered here to discuss politics, as we definitely are not a political blog. What I will tell you though is that this post grew from the taught that a situation as presented today, usually brings forth some forms of street art/rebellion as a result of the public debate. That’s why I started digging and this is all I was able to find. Out.

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The Disney Studios were one, amonst many others to make propagandic shortfilms for the US government & army throughout the war. During my studies at the Ghent University I wrote paper on the subject and did some research into the themes they touched. An interesting subject, that has always drawn my attention.

Between 1942 and 1945, good old Walt set out to produce a bunch of films for the US government. It was a means for him to survive an economic harsh period, but people have also always written that Walt had a darkside himself. These films were mainly anti-German and anti-Japanese cartoons, both for soldiers as the general public. The most famous ones are Commando Duck (’44), Der Fuhrer’s Face (’42) and Education of Death (’43), pro-American war propaganda in an effort to increase war bonds sales and overall support for the war.

I suggest you check out the clips below and let us know what you think about them as I really don’t know  what other people think about it all. They’re pieces of art in a certain way (especially when you consider they that they’ve been made entirely by hand), but on the other/darker side they contain anti-racial messages that remain to shock people up till today. This is also why they have been more or less banned and hardly are mentioned nowadays. Also bare in mind that in those days, these cartoons would be screened in cinema’s throughout the country and I can only wonder what peoples reactions were afterwards.

“Education for Death- The Making of a Nazi” takes on the perspective of Hans, a young German boy. As the movie progresses and Hans is exposed to Hitler youth and the Nazi culture, his value of human life decreases.

In “Der Fuehrer’s Face,” Donald Duck breaks down after experiencing a nightmare where he has to make do with eating disgusting Nazi food rations and experiences a day at a Nazi artillery factory.

In “Commando Duck”, Donald destroys an entire Japanese airbase.

The last clip I added is one from the MGM Studios. It’s my alltime favorite and brings us the three little pigs and the big bad wolf (Hitler) as we’ve never seen them before. If there’s one clip you should see its this one.

If you like to find out more on this story I suggest you drop me a line or hit your local library and try and get your hands on “Mou$e Entertainment”. This book, by Rein van Willigen, gives you the history of Disney throughout the years. Google & YouTube can also help you off course. Search queries containing the words ‘propaganda, cartoons, Disney & World War II’ will give you enough content to fill an evening. Out.

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I’m a huge fan of Gregg Michael Gillis, who most of you might know as Girl Talk. I first head his album NightRipper about two years back and was sold as soon as I heard the first tracks. This guy produces mashups/remixes like no other, in which he blends over a dozen tracks through each other matching vocals and samples. It like crazy how hard he can rock a laptop. What makes his tracks so dope is that you keep rediscovering differents tracks and loops within each track everytime you listen to them.

With the Piratebay trial just finished I must recommend you check out Good Copy, Bad Copy which is a documentary about copyright laws, peer-to-peer filesharing, pirating,… It features interviews with many people with various perspectives on copyright, including copyright lawyers, producers, artists and also the guys from PirateBay who tell us their side of the story.

Head on over to On-Point.be if you’re interested in checking out the entire documentary, as it was featured overthere a while back.

After having seen the documentary I got interested in the whole discussion concerning copyright and open source. What really caught my eye was the trailer for RiP!: A Remix Manifesto (2008). The concept is rather simple, its the first open source documentary about the changing concept of copyright. I just discovered you can check out the different chapters overhere. The film is directed by Brett Gaylor who founded the Open Source Cinema project which brought us this documentary containing the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the website. The project keeps encouraging people to create their own remixes from this movie, using all available media on the website or YouTube.

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