embracing apparent contradictions, diversity and change
An experiment, a (net)work in progress, a meta-level solution, a work of art…
Another Geomagnetic party at the Gingerbread House, and then Arjuna at a downtown venue I haven’t been before … time to take a quick break from the infowar and civil disobedience for a weekend of psytrance in San Francisco!
Olli Wisdom was good, Mad Maxx was better, and Saturnia, Witchdokta, Michael Liu, Sausee and of course Spook all rocked. It wasn’t real crowded so the density on the dancefloor was perfect all night long. My glow-in-the-dark nails got rave reviews and my brand new pink Golas proved quite comfortable for dancing. Yay!
The first time we saw Olli was at the DNA Lounge in January 2004 and I’ve probably listened to that set 100 times since then. Last August’s Five years later reflects on my path since then … a lot’s happened in the last fifteen months and now my world is Tales from the Net and diversity and innovation, all a natural evolution of what I learned and experienced back then and the goddesses I’ve been hanging with ever since.
A conversation on Facebook reminded me of another psytrance party in 2004, Halloween weekend at Somarts, and the Dia de los Muertos exhibit there. When I went back and read my journal, I remembered that we had gone out three times that weekend: (((thump))) at Barnevald, Somarts, and then dinner at Ma Tante Sumi and hangin’ in the hood. Those were the days….
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I eased back into things slowly after our vacation, visiting LA to see my brother and his family and then San Diego to meet a Facebook friend and hang out with D, who was launching PrivacyActivism’s graphic novel Networked: Carabella on the Run at ComiCon. How cool is that? By the end of July, it was back to full speed ahead. We’re making great progress on Tales from the Net, I’m really excited about the innovation work I’m doing volunteering with NWEN, and I’ve been meeting some incredibly interesting people online and off.
Sounds like a good time to psylebrate! It’s a birthday bash for Dr. Spook, so should be lots of fun.
And with the summer wrapping up and the year almost exactly 2/3 over, it’s a fine opportunity to see how I’m doing on my New Years’ Resolutions.
It’s another Geomagnetic.tv party, this time at the Gingerbread House — which is open for business again, apparently having gotten its permits in order. San Francisco’s “War on Fun” has even gotten coverage in Reason magazine; as Lois Beckett asks in SF Weekly, is it enforcement or harrassment? Hopefully it’ll all be copacetic tonight …
Okay, it might be stretching it a little to call it “underground” … still, Infinite Connections’ parties at the Pacific Science Center are always great fun. Promoters Amanita and Osiris Indriya are also the guys behind Hotwired, Seattle’s psytrance monthly, and know how to create a great vibe. The setting is amazing … Insect Trance, Dinosaur Downtempo, D&B in the Playground. What’s not to like?
It’s such a different experience going out in Seattle than it is in San Francisco. In SF, we usually cab; here, it’s driving — meaning hassles with parking, being careful not to drink too much, etc. etc. In SF, we have bunches of friends who are into the darkwave and psytrance scene, so often are meeting up with people … here, well, let’s just say our friends tend to have different interests and schedules, so we’re usually on our own.  We’ve been semi-regulars at some of the SF clubs and parties for years and so always see a lot of familiar faces; in Seattle, we’re not really part of the scene, so it’s much more the two of us hanging out. It’s all good, just in a very different way.
So tonight, and the rest of the weekend, I’ll be choosing desire over fear, trusting my intuition, trying not to analyze things too much, falling through the limitations of intelligence into pure and simple creativity, and bringing inner ecstasy back into my consciousness. And hopefully that’ll set the rhythm up for the entire year — and decade.
— A blue moon and an embarrassement of riches, December 31 2009
Good advice indeed, if I do say so myself! Six weeks later, looking forward to Psybertribe’s Warmth (and Dutch!!!!!) and then a dinner tomorrow with Deborah at Delfina, it’s a good time to take stock. How am I doing so far on my new year’s resolution to have more art, beauty, and fun in my life?
Not bad at all. Â And the trend is definitely positive 🙂
So my appreciation to the goddesses and muses I am so lucky to know. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the art, beauty,and fun you bring to my life. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend and your year is off to as good a start as mine is.
And to the anomaly I worship … will you be my Valentine?
This’ll be the first time we’ve been to Seattle’s psytrance monthly HOTwired since it moved to Waid’s a couple of months ago.
Aminata and Osiris Indriya, Lara, Blue Spectral Monkey … and it goes to 4 a.m.
w00t!
Time to dance!!!!!
… keep your eyes open for a river, once you pass the river, the driveway will be the first right after the river. There is a Scarecrow on the mailbox at the edge of the driveway. Follow the driveway to your destiny 🙂
— from the direction to Goa Gil’s birthday party
Stop me if you’ve heard this one already: I’m in the midst of a social network activism campaign — and looking forward to a psytrance party.
As the sample Olli Wisdom started his set with phrased it, “To infinity – and beyond!” [At the set’s climax] a song built around the guitar part from Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” (with a minor change in the only lyric: “I want my LSD”) had the whole crowd playing air guitar.
“You gotta be able to ask yourself … hey man, is this a dream?”
When Olli played a song with a sample “Let’s all travel at the speed of light!”, it seemed remarkably plausible.
— January 10, 2004; posted on e-luminatus
Wow, that was a long time ago.
Listening to that night’s (((thump))) on my iPod takes me back to the frame of mind I was in, just starting out on an amazing journey from a technologist at Microsoft Research to a writer/strategist/activist workingon Qworky, Computers Freedom and Privacy, diversity.
Last week’s Psylebration, rescheduled after permitting problems, debuted the cool new Sera Phi Healing Center. Tonight, it’s Rastaliens — psychedelic trance from Switzerland!
From Pyramind’s announcement:
Beat University is a non-profit partnership between San Francisco institutions Pyramind, LoveFest and Supperclub to raise money for the only dedicated electronic music scholarship fund in the entire U.S. The quarterly series of electro, house, and trance parties at top dance venue Supperclub will donate all of its proceeds to help up-and-coming electronic music producers fund their education at Pyramind, the city’s leading digital audio and music production training facility.
Supperclub’s a great venue, and the DJs didn’t disappoint. In the main room, Digital Paradigm had the floor packed by the time I got there at 11:30, Frost Raven followed on with a psytrance set, and Liam Shy rocked as always, with a lot of unreleased stuff. Unsurprisingly it was a very young crowd, and interestingly almost nobody was drinking. The vibe was happy and casual. Good stuff!
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