• Duplex Planet, where David Greenberger has been asking questions to the elderly for over 25 years. A sample:

    WHY IS MUSIC IMPORTANT?

    FRANK KANSLASKY: (Laughs) Not to me it ain’t!

    LEO GERMINO: Because it’s very, very outstanding. It’s important to make
    people feel better, too.

    FRANCIS MCELROY: Because it’s the run of the country, and it’s very
    popular among all people.

    BILL NIEMI: Well, it sort of relaxes a person’s mind.

    CHARLES SHEA: Without it there’d be no happiness.

    ABE SURGECOFF: It brings melody to the people.

    HERMAN SEFTEL: It tunes up the system.

    DORA GURKEWITZ: We’re lonely people and we live alone, so we like to have
    music.

    HENRY TURNER: It soothes the nerves. And it keeps you from getting bored
    too. Of course my radio was stolen from me.

    HOWARD SHERWOOD: Well, I think it’s a great day starter, starter of the
    day. Most people put their radio on and it brightens up the day. If we had
    a lot more music and less arguments things would be a lot better – all over
    the world. In a lot of these countries you aren’t allowed to put music on.

    (from Duplex Planet issue # 97)

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  • From the New York Times:

    When Erno Nussenzweig, an Orthodox Jew and retired diamond merchant from Union City, N.J., saw his picture last year in the exhibition catalog, he called his lawyer. And then he sued Mr. diCorcia and Pace for exhibiting and publishing the portrait without permission and profiting from it financially. The suit sought an injunction to halt sales and publication of the photograph, as well as $500,000 in compensatory damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages.

    Here.

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  • From the New York Times:

    In the windowless, jet-black garage-size room, some soldiers beat prisoners with rifle butts, yelled and spit in their faces and, in a nearby area, used detainees for target practice in a game of jailer paintball.

    Here.

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  • From the New York Times:

    In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down.

    Here.

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  • From Juxtapoz:

    A preview of the work from Shepard Fairey’s upcoming show at White Walls in San Francisco.

    We got these examples of the work that will be on display next month. The show opens April 1st, 2006 at White Walls in SF. He’ll have a total of 50 pieces in the show plus a huge wall mural installation. See you there?
    Here.

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  • From we make money not art:

    Ge Jin, a PhD student from UCSD, is working on a video documentary about the gold farming phenomenon. His observations from his meetings with Chinese workers in various gold farming workshops:

    When I entered a gold farm for the first time (tietou’s gaming workshop in the preview), I was shocked by the positive spirit there, the farmers are passionate about what they do, and there is indeed a comraderie between them … I do see suffering and exploitation too, but in that place suffering is mixed with play and exploitation is embodied in a gang-like brotherhood and hierarchy. When I talked with the farmers, they rarely complained about their working condition, they only complained about their life in the game world.

    Here.

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  • From PDN:

    The New York Civil Liberties Union says transit police have been trying to stop photographers from legally taking pictures of the Long Island Railroad.

    In response, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the railroad, says it will remind its officers that there is no photography ban on the LIRR.

    Here.

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  • Documentary by Jeremy Mack on one man’s attempt to break the high score on the classic arcade game Missile Command:

    One quarter. Two Days. No Pause Button.

    Here.

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  • From Punknews.org:

    As far as a new record, the band had this to say: “the new record is coming along great! All we need to finish it is …songs. As soon as we write some, we are SO going to record that bad boy!”

    The band is also working on a new project called Yo Gabba Gabba which is aimed at pre-schoolers. They will be writing music, acting and directing the show.
    Here.

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  • From Magnum Photos, David Alan Harvey’s Nairobi portraits:

    Nairobi has grown from a sleepy, pretty British outpost twenty years ago to a bustling metropolis of four million people today. Kenya’s leaders are often accused of corruption, but nevertheless, the country shed it’s military dictatorship five years ago.
    This is a portrait portfolio of a cross section of the powerful and the not so powerful. The eclectic mix makes up the colorful population of one of Africa’s most vibrant but problematic cities.
    Here.

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  • From the BBC:

    Mr Taylor is accused of selling diamonds and buying weapons for Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front rebels, who were notorious for hacking off the hands and legs of civilians during a 10-year war.

    Here.

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  • From Rob Galbraith:

    Canon has posted updaters or installers for several of its digital SLR software applications. Available for download are Digital Photo Professional (DPP) 2.1, EOS Utility 1.0, CameraWindow DSLR 5.3R2 (Windows), ZoomBrowser EX 5.6.0 (Windows) and ImageBrowser 5.6.1a (Mac).

    Here.

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  • From Wooster Collective:

    Here.

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  • From Wired:

    The plot doesn’t make much sense, either. V blows up a building, liquidates a bunch of high-powered enemies and threatens to overthrow the powers that be. The government’s response? To send two cops to track him down. Two cops! Some police state.

    Here.

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  • Here.

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  • From Christopher Morris of the photo agency VII:

    This is my personal look into the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in March 2006.

    Here.

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  • From DPReview:

    Epson Japan has today announced a subtly improved version of its unique R-D1 Digital Rangefinder Camera. Just like the R-D1 the R-D1s features the a six megapixel APS-C size sensor and supports Leica M and L mount lenses. New features include a ‘Quick View’ record review function, RAW+ JPEG support, Adobe RGB color space, image parameter control, long exposure noise reduction and higher playback magnification.

    Here.

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  • From PDN:

    The two journalists were among at least eight foreigners abducted by Palestinian gunmen in response to an Israeli raid on a Palestinian prison in the West Bank city of Jericho, according to various news reports.

    Here.

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  • From we make money not art:

    The artist has parked six cars outside the synagogue and attached their exhaust pipes to the building using plastic tubes. It is then filled with deadly gas. Visitors are invited to go inside one by one wearing a gas mask, escorted by a firefighter. Before being allowed in, they have to sign a disclaimer stating they realise the room is full of carbon monoxide.

    Here.

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