An exhibition titled "Eventually we'll Die - Yong Israeli Art in the Nineties" opened recently in Herzliya Museum of contemporary art. The exhibition focuses on the idea of "Youth" that took over Israel in the nineties.

The group exhibition will reflect on events, issues and phenomena that Israel dealt with during the 90's: The Oslo Accords, the Vision of a New Middle East, the Palestinian Uprising (Intephada), The Yitzhak Rabin murder, Identity Politics, Homosexuality, Feminism, Seinfeld, the Genome Project, Ecstasy, the First Gulf War, House, Britpop and Grange music, Demonstrations against the Globalization, Dana International etc.

Among the participating artists: Sigalit Landau and Nir Hod, two Israeli artists that in the last few years have had a successful career in New York, Adi Ness, Meir Gal, Avner Ben-Gal and Ohad Meromi.

Curator: Doron Rabina

Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat - 10am till 2pm; Tue, Thru - 4pm till 8pm; Sun - closed.

Additional Info: Herzliya Museum of contemporary art

Isragirl Presents : Untitled 1991, Work by Adi Ness ©

Nineties Art is Fine Art - Dont Let Anyone Tell You Other Wise

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Featured links and friends’ posts » Travel Israel: Guide, Tips, Photos and Videos, Plucked Ret Porn Art, Herzliya Travel Guide, Herzliya Bars and Pubs, Tel Aviv Galleries, Jerusalem Galleries
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CLEVELAND, Ohio—For one night only the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular was presented at the famous Playhouse Square Center at the State Theater with a mesmerizing performance.

"It was beautiful. It was absolutely breathtaking," said Georgia Young who works in PR and marketing for the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.

"Each time the curtain goes up… each section, each song, and each dance is more mesmerizing then the one before. Each time the curtain comes up we are more amazed by what we see. You think you have seen it all then… the curtain comes up and it's even more mesmerizing, more breathtaking. I heard the audience gasp at the beautiful scenes.

"I was most impressed by contra-alto Jiansheng Yang's performance of 'Awakening'. Her voice is just so rich, so beautiful. Also the music flow and the drumming were fabulous."

This is the first time the instruments from the east and west have combined to give the Spectacular its unique musical sound with a unique three-dimensional digital backdrop.

"I was actually hoping to hear more of the Chinese instrumentation. It was so beautiful, and the music was wonderful. The music and the backdrops were beautifully done, I liked the movement in them and how it helps tell the story, it all works together to convey the message."

Young also talked about the message and meaning of the show. "We can understand the meaning behind it. The stories are easy to follow and understand. Family friendly, we can all follow along with the story and see what's going on.

"What I am getting so far is related to the oppression of the Chinese people and struggling for freedom both in their religion and their thought. These are things we take for granted in the US. But it transformed you back in time to see the history in China and how it has progressed.

"People of all ages and people of all backgrounds would enjoy and understand this show. Fabulous, it's not to be missed. It was wonderful, definitely an unforgettable performance."

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-5-4/70195.html

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Thebrightpath's comment about the show:

The Chinese Spectacular show performed by Divine Performing Arts was a great show I had seen in my life. I was very impressed by the high artistic level and all the performances. Each performance had something to convey - The rich and profound values are Universal and good for people of all cultures. I really enjoyed the show - the beautiful heavenly dances and music, colorful and vibrant costunes, the heartpunding drums of the Tang court, the backdrops all present and tell the stories of 5000 years of China's rich and profound culture. 

To launch that institution, circus performances were held in the Caracas Polydrome. At the opening event, President Chavez announced plans to found a national circus company in Venezuela, perhaps inspiring a larger, continental one called the "Circus of the South." To read more about this three-ring affair, click here (in English) or here (Spanish).

The Corazón Adentro project begins with a national census to improve knowledge of different local cultural forms and traditions throughout Venezuela. Certainly, there is no shortage of talent. The playful painting above is by Juan Urbina, a native of Caracas who grew up in the poor neighborhood of Petare and whose work is now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California.

It never fails. I watch a great political movie like Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl (or Blood Diamond with Leo DiCaprio, or Syriana with Matt Damon and George Clooney), and I’m immediately inspired to do something. The courage and grace of French/Cuban journalist Mariane Pearl (as seen in this Oprah interview), during and in the aftermath of her American journalist husband Daniel Pearl’s murder in 2002 Pakistan, demands nothing less than some kind of concrete nonviolent action. I can’t watch these compelling stories strictly as passive entertainment. “I have to do something!”, I always end up saying.

And then it hits: the feelings of powerlessness, the frustration, even self-loathing; the sense that I’m a little dustmite, an annoying mosquito in the drawers of the powers that be. What can I, of all people, do?

Furthermore, what makes me think I have anything to say that anyone could want to hear, or any skills that are of use in the struggle against such powerful and entrenched warmongers? I’m just a pathetic little schoolteacher. I’m a blogger with a readership of about 12, most of whom probably feel as powerless as I feel, otherwise why would they be mucking about here on the internet instead of out in the streets actually doing something. (Yeah, why ARE you here, by the way? I never had the guts to ask before…)

But those feelings of powerlessness are exactly what the enemies of peace and justice want us to feel. That, and fear, are what keep the downtrodden down, and what keep the genuinely powerful but woefully misled majority silent. Therefore, refusing to give in to those feelings of apathy and fear is the first and most essential step in taking victory away from the perpetrators of violence, in dulling the power of the sword (and the bulldozer, in the violence they would do to our planet). This step does not bring me much closer to knowing what I can do to help, but it at least gets me out of that comfy little foxhole/prison they would have me fall asleep in.

Besides, where are the streets anymore? Does protest actually matter? Are these the streets, these electronic alleyways lined with dirty windows, through which we see silly dressed-up kittens, old instructional video footage of James Brown teaching us to dance the boogaloo and funky chicken, and dumpster upon dumpster filled with porn?

In a media-saturated society, it’s easy to shut down, to screen out, to remove ourselves from all this trivia and complicated mess that surrounds us. Yet we can do something else, from right where we are. We do it through real relationships, with real people, out living real life. The “streets that have no name” lead to our churches, our neighborhoods, our schools, our families. We can talk straight, do what we can to educate those whom we see every day, and hope that some of it sticks.

And yes, the Internet is The Street also. Furthermore, it’s as powerful a tool for doing good as it is for spreading, um, …fertilizer. We can use it to stay informed, or to publicize important information so that others are better equipped. We can donate money to some inspired project, like musician Peter Gabriel’s work with WITNESS providing hundreds of video cameras all over Europe, Africa and Asia, to document human rights abuses and bring to light what most abusers would prefer remain in darkness.

And last but not least, we can cry out ourselves --here in our little cul-de-sac blogs and boutiques of opinion-- believing that if even one more person is saved (in body or spirit) by our dozens of attempts, by our refusal to stop caring, then we’ve done what we could, and it was good enough.

Or, …we can choose to go where the action is. For example, today I went to Jesus Manifesto and found out that its founder/editor Mark VanSteenwyck is joining with Christian Peacemaker Teams. Which means he’ll soon be putting his own ass on the line to keep local journalists, lawyers, human rights workers and labor organizers safe, in one of the dozens of war zones throughout the world. Mark is a young man with a new baby… a baby he cares enough about to try remaking the world into a safer place for him to grow up in. Furthermore, Mark trusts Jesus with his life, and that of his family.

In Colombia, Palestine, Congo, Iraq, and other conflict zones, hundreds of regular Joes and Janes on Christian Peacemaker Teams act not as soldiers, uninvolved journalists or security contractors but as friends, layman ambassadors, and prayer warriors. They accompany the powerless. They teach conflict resolution. They are patriotic but peace-loving, believing it is just as important to change the hearts and minds of combatants on both sides as it is to preserve the lives of the oppressed, those caught in the middle of it all. As Westerners (mostly American and Canadian Mennonites, Brethren, and Quakers, with a few Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians and “Other” thrown in for balance) these teams really do show a Power to the People kind of courage and hope. They walk in the Spirit. They keep the conversation going, with the local Joachims and Juanas, while huge nation-states and mindless terrorist organizations prove every day that the way of the gun only results in more confusion and violence.

In Iraq Tom Fox, a CPT human rights worker, lost his life in the midst of that confusion and senseless violence. Tom was one of four CPT members kidnapped in March 2006. Though his colleagues were rescued, Tom was not so fortunate. But the witness that he presented to the world had an impact, and the CPT work in Iraq continues even now.

Last year, I met somebody here in Chicago who knew Tom Fox, who told me about something else Tom had done. There was a working collective of painters and artists in Baghdad that Tom had contacts with, and he acted as a go-between, helping set up channels for some of their remarkable and accomplished paintings to get out of Iraq. Those paintings are still coming over, to the Iraqi Art Gallery here in Chicago, in the Rogers Park neighborhood. This is not far from Living Water Community Church, where my own church (Reba Place) did a church plant in the early 1990s. The nonprofit’s director and curator, Chuck Trimbach (a former colleague of filmmaker Harold Ramis), is still plugging along after three years. But in the present political and economic climate he’s got to be scraping the bottom of the barrel by now. And it’s a shame, because the paintings are both excellent and affordable. More importantly, the artists who get the lion’s share of the profits need help, now more than ever.

Meanwhile in Iran, Mennonite delegations are practically the only Westerners that their president and more moderate religious leaders are willing to talk to or trust. And in a context of trust, even a controversial message (like “stop denying that the Holocaust occurred”) can be delivered face-to-face, which is precisely what those delegations have done. (“Speak the truth in love,” Jesus said. Right?) I know some folks, including my friend Dr. Tom Finger, who participated in these talks.

So I may never get to the front lines. But this is 2008. This is the internet. This is the worldwide church, established and empowered by Christ, which knows no national boundaries, and continues to dismantle the artificial boundaries of denominational division. This is the small world that they kept telling us was on its way. The battle lines keep moving, and they get more blurry every day. The battle to uncover and stand upon the truth is one we are all called to. So come on out of that foxhole now. We’re gonna need some help. Besides, you won’t be alone.

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Posse: Nashville Predators
Registry: 45-18-6
Colloquium: 24-5-4
Model 10: 6-1-3
Bloggers and smoker radiocommunication:
The affirmative blogs.
Forsberg practices, could sternway gladly- The Tennessean

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... OWAIT! The authorities misrepresent't speak some! HURRRR! :-p

Have a look:

Read about it here on his website.

I was expecting something more "teen" + "action movie"... something more like Buffy, but with the romance played up a little more.

And what we got... was something that (in purely "look and feel") is overwhelmingly reminiscent of one of my favorite movies of all time - Donnie Darko.

Which is funny, because when I read the books, who I ACTUALLY pictured as Bella, was someone very similar to Jena Malone in Donnie Darko.

Just now watching the trailer, it totally clicked that THAT is who Kristen Stewart reminds me of. And it works. I saw her in the film Fierce People a while ago and I remember thinking "a few years ago Jena Malone could have played this part", before I even realized it was the same girl.

So yes. Just wanted to share my aHA moment. It reminds me of Donnie Darko. And I know its really too soon to say, but it makes me feel like the director Catherine Hardwicke, may have made exactly the right choices for this film. Its early, but to present us with a first vision of it that is so eerie and intense, is really controlling and therefore avoiding the "selling" of this franchise as "just another YA fantasy" thing. I really really appreciate that and continue to be nothing but excited about these films.

OK, I know I'm a bit biased because I'm crushing big-time on anticipating this movie right now - but the trailer is here and it might just be the best f'ng teaser I've EVER seen.

It it not at ALL what I expected. I thought they were going to heavily "teen" it up with some alternrock crappy music and show a lot of action shots. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see them regardless, but I didn't expect this.

It's really really REALLY focused on the connection between Bella and Edward and ONLY that. It's delicious and yes... it gave me the geek chills.

Don't know if its been leaked or what, since I can't find it on any official site, but its definitely for realz footage.

The blog Twilight Guy has it here.

ps. I had never seen Twilight Guy before and it's a good blog too, just about a guy who finally gave in to reading Twilight and is chronicling it, along with posting messages and stories from other Twilight guys. It's fun and funny and I recommend.

What does Venezuela sound like? The best answer to this question is perhaps provided by the band Los Vasallos del Sol (in English, "Vassals of the Sun"). This 25-member group interprets diverse musical traditions that speak of local heritage in many different parts of the country, from the Afro-Venezuelan rhythms of the Caribbean coast to the llanera ballads of the inland plains.

Formed in 1990, Los Vasallos have recorded five albums to date, most recently the 15-year anniversary disc, Quince años (2005). While in the past they were solely supported by the private sector, now they also receive government support and exemplify Venezuela's new vision of cultural inclusiveness. They are best heard live, for their drumming, dancing, and costumes will dazzle spectators and inform them about Venezuelan culture.

Luckily for us, Los Vasallos are taking their act on tour in the U.S. next week and will be performing in San Francisco, Washington DC, and Houston. For details on these concerts, visit the Venezuela in Your Town section of this blog.

For a sneak peek at Los Vasallos, watch a video here or listen to their song "Malembe de Mendoza" here.

It's beautiful. I'm excited.

However, I have to be honest that it didn't give me chills like watching the first full trailer that was released a few months ago. I don't know if that is because I think the first one is actually a stronger trailer or if it was just the first time really seeing Heath's Joker... hearing the first beats of the trailer as his voice (and this was even before his death)... just really really got under my skin. It was just instantly so brilliant.

Thoughts?

I mean... not that it really matters in the overall HOW F'N EXCITED I am to see this movie, but you know I just like to pick things apart and analyze.

The song "Handlebars" by Flobots and ridiculously beautiful illustration/animation =

Handlebars, the video

DALAM keletihan mengatasi deraan krisis ekonomi, hak atas kekayaan intelektual (HaKI) kembali digugat perannya dalam proses pemulihan dan pemberdayaan ekonomi rakyat. Sejauh ini, HaKI memang mempunyai insentif strategis untuk mendorong pertumbuhan ekonomi meski juga berkarakter monopoli yang mengundang resistensi.
Patut diakui, globalisasi telah menciptakan format-format interdependensi. Demikian pula rezim HaKI yang sarat dengan tatanan regulasi. Dalam kegiatan ekonomi dan perdagangan, HaKI telah sedemikian terkait dengan artikulasi pasar global. Pasar bebas yang mestinya steril dari berbagai intervensi, nyatanya memiliki kalkulasi sendiri. Ia terbukti tidak sepi dari kepentingan politik. Sanksi ekonomi, embargo dan retaliasi adalah sebagian contoh hukuman bagi tindak pencederaan terhadap HaKI.
Dalam area yang lebih kecil, yakni seni dan budaya, kedudukan HaKi dalam sebuah system industri budaya masih belum terbebas dari tindakan-tindakan eksploitasi beberapa kepentingan yang mengatasnamakan “legal matters”. Khususnya di Papua, HaKi menjadi semacam alat yang digunakan bagi sekelompok orang untuk mengeksploitasi sumberdaya seni dan budaya di Papua. Kita tidak dapat memungkiri kenyataan bahwa pemahaman terhadap HaKI yang hanya ada pada sebagian kecil kalangan intelektual dan pebisnis di Papua membuat system industri budaya di Papua lebih mirip sebuah proses pembodohan terhadap masyarakat Papua sebagai pemilik khasanah budaya Papua.
Menjamurnya Art Shop di berbagai daerah di Papua memperlihatkan kepada kita semua bagaimana Hak atas Kekayaan Intelektual orang Papua sebagai pemilik dan kreator tidak ditempatkan pada kedudukan yang seharusnya. Objek seni dan budaya berikut masyarakat Papua hanya menjadi pelengkap dari sebuah system industri budaya yang sedang berjalan di Papua ini. Modus yang paling sering dilakukan untuk menghindari tuntutan terhadap pengakuan HaKI adalah mengalihkan persepsi masyarakat dan terhadap benda seni dan budaya menjadi souvenir.
Dan meski kehadiran Art Shop ternyata memberikan dampak ekonomis yang cukup berarti juga bagi masyarakat di Papua, namun Art Shop seperti ini pada umumnya lebih bersifat sebagai “penadah”, bukan sebuah mekanisme pasar yang saling menguntungkan. Pengelolaan yang menggunakan manajemen tradisional (keluarga) mengakibatkan kedua pihak (art shop dan pengrajin) sama-sama tertutup matanya terhadap kedudukan HaKi dalam industri seperti ini.
Tulisan ini, sebagaimana judulnya bertujuan membuka wacana berpikir kita tentang perlunya perlindungan hak ekonomi bagi masyarakat Papua melalui kemungkinan penerapan dan pembangunan konstruksi hukum perlindungan kekayaan intelektual masyarakat adat dalam konteks sebuah proses pembentukan system industri budaya di Papua.

I. Konsepsi HaKI
Hak atas Kekayaan Intelektual (HaKI) secara sederhana mencakupi Hak Cipta, Paten dan Hak Merk. Namun jika dilihat secara rinci, HaKI merupakan bagian dari Benda (Saidin;1995) yaitu benda yang tak berujud.
Apapun interpretasinya, HaKI adalah konsep hukum yang netral. Namun, sebagai pranata, HaKI juga memiliki misi. Di antaranya, menjamin perlindungan terhadap kepentingan moral dan ekonomi pemiliknya. Di Indonesia, pengembangan sistem HaKI telah diarahkan untuk menjadi pagar, penuntun dan sekaligus rambu bagi aktivitas industri dan lalu lintas perdagangan. Dalam skala ekonomi makro, HaKI dirancang untuk memberi energi dan motivasi kepada masyarakat untuk lebih mampu menggerakkan seluruh potensi ekonomi yang dimiliki.

II. Industri Budaya Papua
Kebudayaan (seni dan budaya) semakin disadari sebagai sebuah fenomena kehidupan manusia yang paling progresif, baik dalam hal pertemuan dan pergerakan manusia secara fisik ataupun ide/gagasan serta pengaruhnya dalam bidang ekonomi. Karenanya banyak negara yang kini menjadikan kebudayaan (komersial atau non komersial) sebagai bagian utama strategi pembangunannya. Selanjutnya, dalam jangka panjang akan terbentuk sebuah sistem industri budaya. Dimana kebudayaan bertindak sebagai faktor utama pembentukan pola hidup, sekaligus mewakili citra sebuah komunitas. Di Indonesia, poros-poros seni dan budaya seperti Jakarta, Bandung, Jogja, Denpasar (Bali) telah menyadari hal ini dan mulai membangun sistem industri budayanya masing-masing. Meski dalam beberapa kasus, industri budaya lebih merupakan ekspansi daripada pengenalan kebudayaan, tetapi dalam beberapa pengalaman utama, industri budaya justru merangsang kehidupan masyarakat pendukungnya.
Industri budaya akan merangsang kesadaran masyarakat untuk melihat kembali dirinya sebagai aktor penting kebudayaannya. Mendorong perhatian masyarakat terhadap posisi dirinya dalam peradabannya. Selanjutnya diharapkan dapat berkembang menjadi ajang para seniman dan masyarakat untuk bereksplorasi dan berkompetisi dalam kreatifitas menerjemahkan tanda-tanda zaman. Dalam hal ini seharusnya industri budaya menjadi wahana masyarakat lokal untuk menegaskan identitas budayanya berhadapan dengan budaya global. Industri yang mampu menyerap interaksi antara seniman, budayawan, intelektual, pengusaha dan masyarakat secara luar biasa baik dalam intensitas maupun kualitasnya. Dalam hal produk material industri budaya, kasus industri musik bisa dijadikan contoh betapa terintegrasinya produk industri tersebut dengan pasar, telah membentuk industri budaya yang kokoh dan berkelanjutan.
Kebudayaan Papua merupakan salah satu kompleksitas budaya di dunia yang memiliki ciri dan karakter khas, dimana masyarakat menjadi elemen pendukung utama. Kebudayaan dengan sendirinya telah terintegrasi dalam tatanan kehidupan bermasyarakat, baik dalam pola hidup secara sosial, ekonomi, politis, pemerintahan tradisional dll. Bahkan secara umum, pengakuan terhadap hak-hak ulayat masyarakat Papua menunjukan adanya integritas tersebut. Meski demikian, dengan potensi budaya yang sangat potensial dan integritas masyarakat serta budaya dalam tatanan kehidupan bermasyarakat, ternyata sangat sulit sekali membangun sebuah sistem industri budaya yang akan berfungsi mendukung energi kreatif masyarakat pendukung kebudayaan tersebut

III. Profil Masyarakat Papua Dalam Konteks Industri Budaya
Jika ditahun 70-an sampai pertengahan 90 Praktisi seni dan budaya Papua , bermasalah dengan karya seni dan budaya mereka yang ditiru motifnya dan desainnya oleh para pedagang (seperti ukiran Asmat yang banyak ditemukan di Bali, Gelang Wamena di Yogyakarta dll) , dewasa ini karya seni dan budaya masyarakat Papua bukan saja ditiru lagi tapi sudah diperdagangkan sebagai produk yang berlangsung dalam sebuah system industri.
Peniruan dan perdagangan ini selain memberikan keuntungan ternyata membuka peluang untuk bisa mengajukan paten atas desain yang mereka “ciptakan”. Mereka melupakan apa yang mereka “citakan” itu diilhami –jika tak mau dikatakan mencuri- oleh motif tradisional. Banyak yang mengedepankan nuansa etnik dalam desain mereka tanpa merasa perlu meminta ijin kepada masyarakat pemilik motif tersebut. Padahal, dalam budaya masyarakat Papua sendiri merupakan pantangan besar untuk meniru motif, desain ragam hias atau bentuk visual lainnya yang dimiliki oleh masyarakat dari kelompok budaya lainnya. Bahkan proses pewarnaan sangat berbeda satu dengan lainnya. Budaya saling menghormati dan menghargai karya cipta orang lain masih sangat kuat dalam diri mereka.
Pada tataran lain, jika kita berbicara pemahaman masyarakat Papua terhadap khasiat tubuhan obat-obatan masih pula dihargai rendah (under-valued) oleh masyarakat luas, bahkan oleh kebijakan pemerintah. Padahal, hanya sekitar 10% saja dari total masyarakat Indonesia ini yang bisa dilayani oleh fasilitas kesehatan dan medis. Dan sisanya masyarakatlah yang memelihara kesehatan mereka melalui obat-obatan tradisional. Jika pengetahuan mereka terhadap tumbuh-tumbuhan obat-obatan ini dikembangkan melalui perlindungan hak ekslusif, tentunya akan memberi semangat untuk tetap mempertahankan dan mengembangkan pengetahuan itu. Demikian juga pengetahuan masyarakat Papua dibidang sumber-sumber tanaman (plant resources), ini menyangkut 1) plasma nutfah (germplasm) dan pengetahuan petani tentang tumbuhan domestik, serta 2) produk-produk natural yang dihasilkan tanaman alam dan pengetahuan tentang tanaman dan produk-produknya (Brush : 1996). Masih pula dihargai rendah juga tidak mendapatkan perlindungan perlindungan yang layak.
Untuk itu perlindungan terhadap pengetahuan dan karya mereka perlu dipikirkan, salah satu caranya adalah dengan memberikan Hak Kekayaan Intelektual (HAKI) atas pengetahuan dan buah karya mereka. Namun, ide ini memerlukan waktu yang panjang untuk diterapkan, pertama karena hukum nasional kita belum mendukung. Seperti belum ada aturan yang mengakomodir apakah sekelompok kekerabatan bisa memperoleh hak cipta dan hak paten, atau tidak adanya pengakuan bahwa pengetahuan tradisional dianggap sebagai temuan (invention) sehingga bisa menjadi obyek hak cipta dan hak paten. Kedua, karena belum ada kesepakatan diantara aktivis pro kelompok budaya mengenai HAKI ini. Para aktivis pro kelompok budaya, misal :masyarakat Biak dan Supiori Biak Numfor mengenal lebih dari 1 corak dan motif Patung Korwar yang masing-masing dikuasai oleh klan yang berbeda.(SANRES ; 1998).
Kelompok budaya ini sendiri (baik dalam sebuah kekerabatan besar Biak Supiori atau dalam kekerabatan terbatas sebuah Klan) masih bingung apakah perlu untuk memperjuangkan HAKI bagi kelompok budayanya atau tidak. Pandangan bahwa HAKI adalah bagian dari system kapitalis yang tentangan dengan prinsip religiomagis yang banyak dianut kelompok budaya di Papua, serta bersifat individual karena hanya memberi hak pada seseorang atau sekelompok orang, bertentangan dengan sifat masyarakat Papua yang lebih menonjolkan kebersamaan. Pendekatan kapitalis dan individual tersebut dianggap tidak selaras dengan jiwa masyarakat Papua. Ini yang melandasi penolakan diatas. Sementara Patung Korwar sendiri telah diperdagangkan dan diproduksi secara massal.
Di Indonesia sendiri, belum ada pihak yang khusus mendalami aspek hukum HaKI bagi kelompok budaya. UU tentang HaKI sama sekali tidak mengatur hal di atas. Terbentuknya YKCI dan disusul dengan berdirinya masyarakat HAKI sebenarnya membuka peluang perdebatan tentang HAKI, namun isu HAKI bagi kelompok budaya belum pernah muncul ke permukaan. Sementara para pengacara/ahli hukum yang mendalami HAKI, tentu saja lebih memikirkan hak paten dan hak cipta merek-merek dagang terkenal. Pendek kata, berbicara tentang kelompok budaya masih belum mencapai platform bersama, apalagi berbicara tentang HAKI bagi kelompok budaya dianggap bukan isu sentral. Bahkan UU No 19 Tahun 2002 menunjukkan bahwa hal seperti ini masih dibawah kendali negara.
Padahal justifikasi ke arah sana sangat sahih, konvensi keanekaragaman hayati (biodiversity Convention) yang telah diratifikasi melalui UU No.5 Tahun 1994 mengakui tentang HAKI masyarakat adat yang berhubungan dengan keanekaragaman hayati, konvensi ILO 169 juga mengakui hak kolektif dan hokum kebiasaan bagi masyarakat adat (yang sayangnya belum diratifikasi oleh Indonesia). Sementara arus globalisasi perlahan tapi pasti akan terus melaju, salah satu yang terus berkembang adalah persetujuan TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intelectual Property Rights) yang disepakati dalam putaran Uruguay pada tahun 1993.

IV. Kedudukan HaKI dalam Industri Budaya Papua
Salah satu masalah krusial dalam upaya membangun sebuah system industri budaya di Papua adalah belum adanya pemahaman yang memadai tentang Hak atas Kekayaan Intelektual (Intelectual Property Right) secara bersama-sama dari para pelaku dalam industri budaya itu sendiri. Sementara, Hak Kekayaan Intelektual yang menjamin individu untuk mendapat perlindungan finansial dari sharing pengetahuan tradisional masyarakat dan memberikan kompensasi yang adil terhadap prestasi masyarakat dalam memberitahukannya ke pihak luar. Ini sudah selayaknya dan berdasarkan prinsip keadilan (equality) dan kegiatan timbal balik (reciprocal). Namun kompensasi dan kegiatan timbal balik macam apa yang cocok dan adil bagi masyarakat pemilik dan masyarakat diluar pemilik masih menjadi perdebatan para ahli dan pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan. Dewasa ini yang relatif berkembang adalah pembagian keuntungan (sharing benefit) dengan masyarakat pemilik dibidang industri obat-obatan , sementara dibidang lain seperti pengetahuan lisan, literature, musik, cerita rakyat, seni ukir, pahat, lukis dll adalah bagian dari kepemilikan budaya (cultural property) masyarakat yang mendesak pula untuk diperhatikan secara serius.
Ironisnya, forum-forum seperti ini kerapkali dibatasi oleh pemikiran anakronistik “salah zaman” dan eropasentris tentang kepengarangan seseorang, orisinilitas dan penemuan atas nama biaya yang mengikat dan modus produksi yang bersifat kolaboratif dan yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat sendiri, mewarisi warisan-warisan dari kebijakan lisan dan tradisinya. Penting untuk diingat bahwa warisan-warisan ini tidaklah dimiliki oleh kelompok perorangan manapun; warisan tersebut adalah milik keseluruhan masyarakat dan setiap saat bisa dinikmati oleh orang diseluruh dunia. Sayangnya, universalitas yang dijunjung tinggi kepercayaannya ini dalam memperoleh sesuatu untuk diri sendiri dilakukan secara kasar, sehingga warisan untuk manusia sebagaimana diwijudkan dan dirayakan dalam begitu banyak disiplin holistic, ritus dan upacara-upacara bisa dengan penyiasatan tertentu menjadi milik kelompok tertentu atau berbagai badan hukum yang ada. Bagaimana dalam keadaan terperas dan rendah diri, pemahaman budaya dari kebudayaan asli dapat secara demokratis dikenali dan diperkenalkan dalam domain publik tanpa dicincang oleh speculator dari industri budaya? Bagaimana kita membalas contoh-contoh serupa lainnya dari pembajakan budaya yang belum diakui? Seberapa jauh kita bisa bergairah untuk membicarakan hak milik budaya berkaitan dengan perbedaan dari orang-orang asli, masyarakat terasing, warga dunia keempat yang belum diakui, mereka yang bersumpah setiap pada praktek dan ritus pra-modern yang tidak selalu mewakili forum dunia dalam pemilikan “intelektual”?
Ada berbagai muatan dalam berbagai konteks dalam pertanyaan-pertanyaan tadi yang tampak kasar di masa depan. Namun ketika “masa depan” dalam pengertian ini sudah ada dalam proses kepemilikan baru (paten, merk, pembajakan dll) sikap sebelumnya yang berpotensi eksploitatif atas pemilikan intelektual tidak bisa ditegaskan secara memadai.

V. Peluang dan Hubungan HaKI Dengan Kelompok Budaya dalam Industri Budaya
Hak kekayaan intelektual dapat melindungi individu untuk mendapatkan perlindungan finansial dari pembagian (sharing) pengetahuan tradisional kelompok budaya dan memberi kopensasi yang adil atas prestasi kelompok budaya dalam memberikan pengetahuannya ke pihak luar. Ini sudah selayaknya dengan berasaskan prinsip keadilan (equity) dan kegiatan timbal balik (reciprocal). Namun kompensasi dan kegiatan timbal balik macam apa yang cocok dan adil bagi kelompok budaya dan masyarakat di luar kelompok budaya, masihlah menjadi perdebatan para ahli dan pihak yang berkepentingan. Dewasa ini yang relatif berkembang adalah pembagian keuntungan (sharing benefit) dengan kelompok budaya dibidang industri, obat-obatan, sementara dibidang lain seperti : ragam hias, folklor, motif, desain, ukiran belumlah begitu berkembang. Padahal pengetahuan lisan, literature, musik, cerita rakyat (folklore), area perkuburan dan situs arkeologi lainnya adalah bagian dari kepemilikan budaya (cultural property) kelompok budaya yang mendesak pula untuk diperhatikan secara lebih serius.
Dalam salah satu kasus, pemilihan WALHI dan SANRES untuk menjadikan tenun ikat tradisional di NTB dan NTT serta prosesnya sebagai salah satu contoh memperjuangkan Hak Kekayaan Intelektual dari Kelompok Budaya-Kelompok Budaya karena beberapa alasan:
1. Tradisi menenun adalah salah satu tradisi bangsa Indonesia
2. Seluruh proses produksi tenun tradisional sangat berwawasan lingkungan
3. Meningkatkan keadilan gender
4. peningkatan ekonomi rakyat

Alasan-alasan tersebut menunjukkan kearifan dari sebuah kelompok budaya yang merupakan sebuah pengetahuan intelektual yang harus dilindungi atau setidaknya diberikan penghargaan yang layak.
Dalam kasus tersebut, beberapa hal stategis dan perlu dalam telah dilakukan untuk mensinergikan kedudukan HaKI dalam pembangunan sebuah system industri budaya berkelanjutan sebagai berikut :
1. Pembentukan kembali citra industri budaya dalam konteks kelompok budaya yang baru.
2. Adanya strategi media dan promosi yang dibingkai dalam plomasi social budaya (cultural Social Diplomacy)
3. Menbangun infrastruktur dan suprastruktur yang menjamin terselenggaranya kehidupan masyarakat industri budaya baik secara eonomi, politik dan social yang kondusif untuk berekspresi mengaktualkan diri.
4. Program strategi dan segera yang mampu menghidupkan energi kreatif masyarakat umum dan masyarakat industri budaya antara lain :
a. Pertemuan antar daerah tentang masa depan kebudayaan lokal yang melibatkan pemerintah, masyarakat, seniman, budayawan, pihak swasta dan kalangan itelektual
b. Menyelenggarakan festival budaya/adat
c. Pendidikan dan pelatihan terpadu mengenai Managenen pengelolaan Sumberdaya Seni, Budaya dan Pariwisata.
d. Penelitian dan pengkajian secara intensif terhadap kearifan Kelompok Budaya dalam memperlakukan asset-aset budayanya.
Namun dalam konteks Papua, Program-program tersebut harus dilakukan dengan memperhatikan beberapa factor yang menghambat terakodasinya pengakuan Hak Kekayaan Intelektual kelompok budaya di Papua baik legitimasi dalam pandangan public maupun legitimasi dalam peraturan perundang-undangan.
Diantara factor-faktor tersebut adalah :

a. Penghargaan yang rendah (undervalued)
Penghargaan yang rendah (under-valued) dari masyarakat umum, terutama penentu kebijakan dinegeri ini terhadap eksistensi kelompok budaya berimbas dengan tidak terkomodirnya aspirasi mereka dalam kebijakan negara, apalagi dalam sebuah peraturan perundang-undangan.
Salah kaprah dan stigmasi masyarakat pemilik sebagai kelompok terbelakang dan primitif sehingga tidak mungkin memiliki kemampuan mencipta membuat karya mereka tidak terakomodir UU HAKI nasional.Dan meskipun telah terjadi beberapa perubahan dalam skala nasional, namun pemahaman pemerintah daerah dimasing-masing kelompok budaya masyarakat dalam mengimplementasikan dan melakukan penjabaran dalam bentuk-bentuk peraturan daerah masih sangat lemah terutama dalam menjalin komunikasi dengan masyarakat pemilik.

b. Belum ada keselarasan antara peraturan HaKI
Ketika Indonesia telah meratifikasi Konvensi Internasional di bidang HAKI yaitu Konvensi Keanekaragaman Hayati (KKH) dan Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) yang lebih dikembangkan oleh Indonesia adalah ketentuan yang termuat dalam TRIPs sementara KKH sama sekali tidak tersentuh.
Sayangnya, kedua konvensi internasional ini mempunyai tujuan yang berbeda dalam mendalami HaKI. TRIPs lebih cenderung mengembangkan aspek perdagangan internasional yang bersifat individual, seragam sementara KKH mengakui komunal, keanekaragaman dan budaya reliomagis dalam masyarakat. Keduanya memiliki ruang untuk potensi konflik jika terjadi penafsiran-penafsiran atas klausul-klausul yang termuat dalam kedua konvensi itu.

c. Tak mengakomodir reliomagis
UU HaKI nasional bisa dipandang belum mengakomodir/memahami sifat reliomagis`yang dicirikan oleh masyarakat Papua. Karena masyarakat Papua tidak semata-mata memandang suatu ciptaan sebagai komoditi belaka, tetapi sesuatu yang sacral yang merupakan anugerah.

d. Keanekaragaman masyarakat Papua
Sifat keanekaragaman masyarakat Papua sendiri sulit terangkum dalam suatu produk hukum, karena keanekaragaman tersebut bersifat dinamis tergantung pergerakan dalam masyarakatnya.

Tentunya bukan dimaksudkan adanya sebuah peraturan yang secara spesifik mengatur per-kehidupan peretnis di tanah Papua ini namun yang diperlukan adalah suatu wadah aturan yang meberi pagar-pagar atau kerangka berhubungan dalam masyarakat Papua itu sendiri serta antara masyarakat Papua dengan masyarakat lainnya.*

Most of these shows have one common feature: they put a person in the spotlight and then hurt or humiliate him or her in some way. Although modern reality shows have only been around since the late 1990s they have already been linked to a number of suicides and attempted suicides and other suspicious deaths:

• 1997: Sanisa Savija throws himself in front of a train after being eliminated from the Swedish edition of Survivor.

• 2005: Najai Turpin, shoots himself in the head shortly after appearing on The Contender.

• 2005: Carina Stephenson killes herself six months after appearing on The Colony.

• 2005: Danny Bonaduce (childhood actor in The Partridge Family) slits his wrists after participating in a show called Breaking Bonaduce (mission accomplished, I guess) but survives.

• 2005: TV producer Melanie Bell throws herself of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas. Although being a producer, the experimental show required her to be a participant as well.

• 2007: Cheryl Kosewicz kills herself after being eliminated from the show Pirate Master.

• 2007: Nathan Clutter jumpes off a tower after being on Paradise Hotel.

• 2007: Rachel Brown dies from a gunshot wound in her home (cause of death still under investigation) about a year after competing in Hells Kitchen.

It's only what I found searching the net a few minutes. So, this is probably far from all deaths, especially since the networks that air the shows also provide the news. For instance, Fox who air Paradise Hotel insisted that Clutter died in a climbing accident, but the police thought otherwise.

You could argue that the contenders were unstable to begin with, but I think that is all the more reason not to put them through these sinister games. In the 1960s and 1970s similar experiments were conducted by social psychologists, but they are no longer considered ethical. But you can still torture a consenting adult for the sake of entertainment. Where is the logic in that?

And where are all the moralists when you need them? The Parents Television Council rarely complain about reality shows, and when they do it's usually about foul language or nudity. Sadism is no big issue for them.

But most of all, shame on Douglas Tirola, Liz Gateley, Tony DiSanto and MTV for producing crap like The X Effect.

1. I realized that we are getting to see Twlight about two weeks after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That makes me a very happy. (Call me slow, but I didn't really register the dates until now).

2. MTV movies has a "getting to know the characters" series of little clip videos. Go here and watch this one. Its the best one.

3. The trailer is being released with Speedracer. I'm kind on the fence about seeing it anyway and I know the trailer will be on the internet very very soon... but I kind of want to see it on the big screen first, along with the Half-Blood Prince trailer, which may also be with Speedracer. (but also may be with Prince Caspian, which I definitely won't be paying to see). Hmmm.

ps. On a somewhat related note The Host is coming out in four days! Its at the top of my "Beach Reads" list.

When I first saw them, I thought "Oh no. Here we go... why must we put Stephenie Meyer up on a shelf with JK Rowling and analyze her?".

‘Twilight’ Author Stephenie Meyer Sees J.K. Rowling As Kindred Spirit

and

Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling?

First off... Let me just say that I hate the question. I hate comparisons such as this. Just as I hate discovering a new great song or band or cd and then hearing all the hipster bullshit blather of "this person is just the new (insert last year's "it" band)". It irritates me beyond belief.

So my answer, of course is always going to be "No." There can never be another JK Rowling, for reasons too long to go into. And Stephenie Meyer did something different. So wonderfully different. So compellingly (and I say this as a LONG-time Buffy fan), she has given us something really special - a new vampire story! Something that shares mythos and yet has a fresh and consistent-within-itself spin on the "ways" we know vampires to be and behave. Something that works both in the ways that it pays tribute and nods to other works within the "vampire" genre AND other works within the YA style. Something inspired by a lot and unique in her own vision. Something true to its own characters.

Now that I got my little rant about the question out of the way, I want to say that I loved both of these little news items. In the first one, she answers the question like this:

“The interesting thing about the comparison is that I think you can compare my fans to her fans more easily [than me to her]. I do think that we both have people who are just really really enthusiastic, and will come miles to see you and be involved, and everybody really cares about our characters. But the [’Harry Potter’ and ‘Twilight’] stories are just so different.”

“J.K. Rowling’s audience is everybody, so that means we all have a piece of her audience,” Meyer laughed. “It’s terribly flattering to be compared to her, but there’s never going to be another J.K. Rowling; that’s a phenomenon that’s not gonna happen again.”

She's very cool. She's almost too humble in some ways and yet I like how she turned the question around on itself. The only real reason this question is asked is because of the similar fan response to her books and the Harry Potter books. And so she answered with that, she went right to the fans response.

This got me thinking about why I believe that this is. Its not just because people who like fantasy like fantasy or any genre for that matter. I don't go out and read just any book involving dragons, wizards etc. I never have. And I've read VERY VERY many that I didn't like. I also don't move just with the trends. I tend to enjoy YA fiction and (loosely) sci-fi, fantasy and mystery genres. However, I tried reading the Artemis Fowl books and it just didn't work for me... I would have loved them when I was 10 years old, but they didn't translate. I missed the Lemony Snicket trend too, just couldn't get into them.

The Twlight books have come up in conversation more than once recently, both on Mugglecast and Pottercast. There is obviously a HUGE fan overlap and I feel like the appeal is similar, if not identical for many many of us who immediately felt a strong pull towards both series'. And I have a lot of personal theories to why I am attracted to what I am attracted to, but wondered what happens on a larger level. To whole masses of fans. Because so much of what I relate to, has to do with my life experience... so what makes so many of us reach out and relate to the same things (we are not all so much alike).

The answer to that question - on its most basic level - was absolutely NAILED in the second article I listed above. Lev Grossman writes:

Meyer and Rowling do share two important traits. Both writers embed their fantasy in the modern world--Meyer's vampires are as deracinated and contemporary as Rowling's wizards. And people do not want to just read Meyer's books; they want to climb inside them and live there. James Patterson may sell more books, but not a lot of people dress up like Alex Cross.

There's no literary term for the quality Twilight and Harry Potter (and The Lord of the Rings) share, but you know it when you see it: their worlds have a freestanding internal integrity that makes you feel as if you should be able to buy real estate there.

(emphasis mine)

So there it is. I mean, its not a NEW idea or something that I haven't recognized in some form about many things I love. But I have not heard it put that simply and directly before.

And so I had to analyze it and consider it in light of my own examinations of "self as fan" and "self interaction with fandoms". This gets long, so I'm going to cut it here and you can read more if you would like after the jump.

I always think its about the characters. I joke about how re-watching my favorite movies and shows, re-reading my favorite books and even sometimes listening to my favorite musicians or radio shows or podcasts is -to me- like "visiting with some friends". I'm not delusional, I don't see myself within these worlds or even dress up like them, write stories about them or role play. (even though I understand that compulsion and all those activities are fine... I just don't do that).

However, when I read that line "their worlds have a freestanding internal integrity that makes you feel as if you should be able to buy real estate there", I realized that its not only about characters. Like how I interact with the real world, I fall in love with places and descriptions and phrases and fragments and ideas and elements of those entire worlds. The histories and intricacies and stories and fabric of those worlds.

And the structures of any given fandom... and why it makes me happy, but also sometimes feels crazy overwhelming and sometimes even a bit oppressive... provide other people who sit there and notice the same kinds of things, want to discuss what they are attached to and relate to and what resonates with them.

We all bring our "real estate" and look for neighbors. Sometimes those neighbors are unlike you for a variety of reasons. They may make you uncomfortable. Or you just don't click.  Like real neighbors.  Very often I've seen or found several smart, kind and open people.  Sometimes I've found friends, but other times, like in a neighborhood, you might walk by and chat and then never see them again.  We are talking a LOT of people and they can't all be lumped into one category of what it means to be a fan.  You may have a lot in common with other fans and you may not, but thats not the point - its the fact that the neighborhood exists that is comforting somehow.

How I interact with Fandoms or any communities really is a very personal and subjective thing.  I like a great many "geeky" things and anyone who knows me can tell you that when I like something, I REALLY engage. I'm a person who has been called "obsessive" a great many times and it ALWAYS hurts me. But I can't really argue against it, because people give me that look.

Especially lately, I've been getting a lot of that look when it comes to Harry Potter. And it pisses me off. I listen to podcasts. I reread the books and rewatch the movies. I envelop myself IN it when I'm in that place. But I don't write fanfic or draw fanart. I don't post on forums and I don't generally do the conference things.

Please Note - I'm not saying these distinctions set me apart from people who are TRULY OBSESSED.  Just that they are distinctions.  Fans are not all the same and there is no progression at which some are "crazier" than others because of how they choose to engage in communities of like-minded individuals.  I really resent that there is this SCALE of "fan obsession" that we are all being forced to check ourselves "against".

I guess you can say that I have a LOT of respect for Fandom communities, but without ever feeling like I really "belong" to any given one. I enjoy spending time there. I enjoy interacting, but I rarely get "involved". With the "real estate" metaphor... I guess you can say I enjoy timeshares? Or I'm a frequent traveler... maybe a vagabond?

The reason I am trying to identify it is because, I think even people who know me well sometimes fail to see that its not The Harry Potter Obsession or now The TWILIGHT Obsession.... because to be obsessed is to have some Object or Objective pull you away from your life. Pull you to the point of distraction. Does that ever happen to me? It has... but this pattern of behavior with my many things that I engage with - its really just the "how I fucking am about everything" deal. I just am. This is how I interact with life.

When I fall in love or become attracted to people, places, things, ideas, characters, stories, art, etc.... I DO in a big way. Always have. Probably always will.

I mean, seriously, I started a blog just to have a home for my compulsive lists and commentary about the things that I am currently ALL about. Its just what I do.

And I guess I've gotten a little tired of many people in my life rolling their eyes and laughing (even sometimes in a loving way) with the "Here she goes about Harry Potter" - as if its SO absurd. When I know a lot of people who get addicted to following some pop culture magazines/blogs and care what happens to celebrities they've never met, or are work-a-holics or are literally depressed for days after "their" sports team loses...

I mean... are any of these so different? I think they are all ways of engaging/disengaging based on choices and parallel worlds.  I think they are all acceptable if you look at the person, instead of the box or "line" that you stick them in or next to ("I'm not obsessed... but that guy over there... he's crazy").  I find it offensive to consider and label people this way.  I don't do it for myself by using other people as an example and I think we should all stop doing it to each other.

And there are people who cross lines of obsession and addiction even in ALL fields of work, ALL forms of entertainment (some illegal and dangerous) and ALL parts of our society.  Does it happen?  Of course, but the stigmas of "being obsessed" get placed on entire groups of "geeky" or "nerdy" people unfairly.

I don't think people should have to share the things that make me happy, or even completely understand or relate to them in order to respect what I like and what I do.   I don't need to "get" the intense LOVE of a sport to enjoy a baseball game once in a while and have fun with the energy of the fans in a crowd.   I don't know what they know, or feel what they feel there, but I respect them.

Some will read this and say "oh... look at this obsessed fangirl on a soapbox."  I guess that can't be helped, because if I look around in the back of my head and see the list of things that really get me all fired up - I really LOVE those things.  If that makes me a fangirl, amongst the other MANY words and labels that describe me, then FINE.  I'm a fangirl also.   But don't use that to trivialize me.  I engage in what I love for a reason.  It is not at the expense of my "real" life and relationships, it is a part of what I do and what I love all woven in.

Some of the most real and deeply profound statements about the real world - my real world - I heard echoed in the monologues of My So-Called Life, and the dialogues of Buffy, and the hyperreality of Douglas Coupland's books and the surreality of Neil Gaiman's books, comics and stories.

Lorelei Gilmore is the comfort food of TV.

If they allowed me to purchase the Serenity set and live in it (and I could afford it), it would be sitting in my backyard and I would go there, daily, to meditate and paint and write and be my best self.

I go to sleep these days thinking about LOST. As if I can figure it out if I try hard enough. And I get really meta, thinking about the writer's devices and choices. I'm in awe these days (Season 3 is where its at!)

I could go on and on and on and list TV shows, books, movies, music - even one particular high note or guitar riff that makes my pulse quicken... and plays too... theatre was one of my first GREAT loves.

I mean, seriously, Angels in America is possibly what I believe to be THE greatest masterpiece of my lifetime. It's this total alien hypnotic insane perfection of a play. It reminds me of everything I've ever learned, everything I am and everything I aspire to be and the best and worst aspects of human beings and our societies. I watch it (the SIX HOURS of the miniseries version on DVD) absurdly often. Sometimes it makes me hopeful for the future and full of love. Sometimes it makes me frustrated and bitter and deeply deeply anguished at the state of the world RIGHT NOW. Its new and striking and amazing EVERY time. We even went through a phase last summer, of playing Scrabble and watching it at the same time.

Oh and I play Scrabble a lot too. Several games simultaneously. Online. I take one set of turns at least everyday.

Is this all obsession? All of these things. All of the hundreds more I could share? You tell me... is it possible to be obsessed with everything? To be infatuated with a brand/flavor of tea so much that I almost do a happy-dance, everytime my tea kettle whistles, like its a ritual. Like its a FUCKING gift from the universe, just for me, that I get to drink Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea AGAIN, this morning?

To want to wear a camera around my neck so that I can take a picture when I see color combinations that I like while I'm out somewhere or a font or design or a beautiful plant or a lake or a tree or a house or a car .... or a "whatever" that I can't stop looking at... that I'm afraid of forgetting because its so beautiful or interesting.

Maybe I'm just crazy.

But I love it. I feel really alive when I'm this engaged. I used to be depressed and engaged in only myself and loathing and I cared about nothing.

Never again. I'll take the madness with a side of "endless supply of things to geek out about". Every day.

Oh and while I'm at it... I always have the *best* "neighbors".

"Go see EDDIE IZZARD!  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Magnetic Fieldy Brilliance + Neil Gaiman Brilliance = My head feeling like its going to explode from all of the Brilliance.

Details here.

And yes, here's one more check in the column of giving credence to my Neil Gaiman: Hub of All Awesomeness Theory.

In which I believe (and someday may have enough data to prove) that he is secretly the "hub" through which all the world's "awesome" moves. It just passes through and surrounds Neil, wherever he goes and he attracts the awesome and interacts with it. He may collect the awesome. He may disperse the awesome.

I have no idea how deep it goes.

All I know is that he is somehow connected to everything and everybody that I geek out about. Someday, I'm going to make a map. A big diagrammed webby network thingie. Neil will be in the middle and then I will write everything that I geek out over and chart it all around the periphery. And then I will figure out a way to track it in a certain amount of moves. (and serious moves.. not like "I like peanut butter and he once wrote about a PB and J on his blog.... this isn't a fangirl thing, this is research).

I know I'm not alone. CityBeat contributor Justin Roberts told me last night he listens to at least a show a day.

So what exactly do we nerdy hipsters like about it? It's complicated, but the first and most obvious answer is the humble genuineness. Perhaps it is formulaic, which CityBeat associate editor Kelly Davis pointed out to me yesterday, and maybe all it is is narrative journalism at its best -- the kind of stuff I'd love to have time to do myself -- but, in the end, the show makes me feel less alone. It introduces me to quirky humans across the country, and after they tell their very personal stories I feel like I get them--I really get them.

Aaaahhhh. I know, you're thinking I'm a sap. You're really gonna think I'm a sap when I tell you that I'm not going to the simucast of his live show/preview of his new Showtime show tonight because I don't like the idea of my little show leaving the intimate radio waves for the whorish television waves. I was fine sharing Ira with the NPR crowd -- I get those people, too -- but now I have to share him with people who have cable? I don't like it one bit. My own personal strike against the television show won't make any bit of difference, but if Ira starts slipping on the radio show, you can be sure I'll be the first to publicly call him out.

Certainly there have been questions that have been raised as to why the popularity of an issue such as global warming has taken an international focus, but more and more of it is directly related to media coverage. Images of receding glaciers and polar bears becoming endangered have aroused the worries of environmentalists and celebrities alike. Documentaries produced by former Vice President Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, entitled An Inconvenient Truth and The 11^th Hour, respectively, helped to bring the seriousness of climate change to the forefront.

Changes to the economy have helped Western society realize the need for conservation, with soaring oil and grain prices, and the increasing lack of natural resources such as fresh water. Measures taken by the Canadian government include, but are by no means limited to,  a carbon tax and participation in the Kyoto Accord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other alternatives receiving more publicity are the creation of bio-diesel fuel, using corn, vegetable and peanut oil, as well as “carbon scrubbing”, the action of capturing carbon emissions from factories and using them as fertilizer for farming after cleaning.

However, there are problems with the ‘green’ initiatives still to be addressed. Bio-diesel, while environmentally friendly, is not feasible for any vehicle other than trucks at least ten to fifteen years old. Carbon “scrubbing” although gaining popularity, has yet to be accepted by the Canadian or American governments. The creation of the electric Smart Car saved money on fuel consumption, yet still faces controversy on how often the battery must be recharged. However, the implementation of hybrid vehicles seems to have quieted the controversy, at least on the subject of vehicle emissions and climate change.

Even the fashion and food industries are capitalizing on the ‘green’ craze. Clothes are being sewn using organic fibers such as cotton, and marketed as being homemade. In the food industry, organic and fair trade items are making their way from specialty food stores such as Capers or Choices onto Safeway and other supermarket shelves, though for a higher price. Health concerns linked with eating genetically modified foods has the general public turning more and more to organic ingredients, believing them to be beneficial health-wise and free of pesticides. Organic food has also been embraced and promoted by vegetarians and vegans alike, although with alternative grains such as kashi and spelt flour to promote healthier living.

Organic and fair trade food is targeting people of younger demographics, starting with vending machines in elementary schools stocking healthier alternatives such as dried fruit chips. The restaurant scene has also expanded both on the main campus of my school as well as in the general public. Restaurants such as Nature’s Garden on campus serve fair trade coffee and organic, fresh food, with prices for coffee much lower than your average Starbucks, while The Naam on the West side serves up vegetarian and vegan meals to lineups on a daily and nightly basis.

Controversy has also hit the subject of organic and fair trade food, due to the advertising. Stricter rules have been implemented by the Food Inspection Agency to impose limits on the amount of organic ingredients or elements a food must have. Along with the questions raised about organic food, there is also the question of the re-useable cloth bags, now being implemented by specialty supermarkets such as Capers, and other supermarkets such as Superstore. Although implemented to reduce the use of plastic bags, which take hundreds of years to properly disintegrate in landfills, the question of how food would be frozen and protected from freezer burn should plastic bags be eradicated has yet to be answered.

More than restaurants and supermarkets, there has also been events and companies created specifically for the promotion of a sustainable lifestyle. Just a few weeks ago, the Epic Sustainability Expo was held in my city, promoting clothing, transportation, food and everyday household items used in an eco-friendly lifestyle. Leading this current worldwide promotion is the use of household cleaners with eco-friendly ingredients to preserve the environment. Fresh Squeeze, an organization with both Chicago and Seattle chapters uses its website and blog to promote the news of green initiatives in both cities before reaching mainstream media.

Although the phenomenon began over fear of losing natural resources and our sources for transportation, industry and the economy, it has evolved into being much more. Companies such as Nike, previously branded for unethical practices in sweatshops have been given the opportunity to redeem themselves through sustainability. Mountain Equipment Co-op, previously known for all matters of outdoor and camping gear has grown in popularity thanks to Western society’s ‘green’ lifestyle. In truth, if ever there was a need to group decades together by color, the color of the new millennium would be green.  

Jorge Orozco	Usama Bin Laden
Jason Brown	James J. Bulger
Emigdio Preciado Jr
Victor Manuel Gerena	Glen Stewart Godwin
Jon Savarino Schillaci	Alexis Flores

Will there be no outcry from black leaders about blacks being underrepresented on the FBI's Most Wanted Top 10 Fugitives list? While I'm not sure what it is, there's a subtle message being suggested when blacks commit the most number of violent crimes in the US but "ain't gettin' 'dey props on 'da' FBI's Top 10.
While African Americans comprise 12% of the U.S. population, 45% of all murder victims in 2002 were African American, 91% of whom were killed by African Americans. Nationally, homicide is the leading cause of death for black men and second leading cause of death for black women ages 15-24. There have been over 250 homicides reported over the last 5-6 years in Pulaski County. United States spends an average of over $4.5 billion on emergency and physical/occupational therapy associated with crime-related injuries/deaths.

Nationwide, blacks were six times more likely to be murdered and seven times more likely to commit homicide than whites, according to 2000 statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“We have a problem in Arkansas… greater than the AIDS epidemic,” said coalition member Michael Steele, brother of the North Little Rock senator. “That problem is black-on-black crime. We need to create an environment where it’s not tolerated in our community.”

“What’s not being reported in the many studies analyzing black on black crime is that while many blacks who kill blacks ultimately express sorry they have taken the life of someone of their own race, the case is not the same with whites who kill whites,” says racial psychologist & researcher Dr. Louis Sidney Jacobs. “While whites claim to have a sense of nationalism, typically, they don’t show any additional remorse for killing someone of their own kind.

“More significantly, however, our findings demonstrate that while blacks who kill blacks are less likely to kill another black, if they kill again; whites who kill whites are equal as likely to kill whites again and, in some cases, more likeley.

Jacobs also notes that the ‘type’ of crime is more significant than number of crimes committed.

“Our research concludes whites are more 9 out of 10 times more likely to commit the more heinous crimes types and be the more heinous criminals. Society attempts to distort this. But white people are the monsters in this society.?

FBI TOP 10 FUGITIVES VS GHETTO'S TOP 5 CARJACKERS

Rob Pursley set out for dinner and to meet friends in his $54,000 BMW. He ran into Cincinnati’s Bonafied Hustler, Lonnie Webster! Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation Lonnie Webster, is charged with shooting Rob Pursley, 28, … 2006 Police believe the crime was random and Webster was attempting to steal Pursley’s BMW. …

Eve Carson was sporting her 2005 $41,000 Toyota Highlander Police Release Photos of Suspect in UNC Student’s Slaying :: WRAL.com Mar 5, 2008 … Related Links. WRAL.com Archive: Eve Carson Homicide … who saw Carson’s blue 2005 Toyota Highlander on Wednesday or Thursday to call them. …

Channon Christion sported the pricey ($39,475.00) Toyota 4Runner met Sexy Lemaricus & Letalvis Davidson. Letalvis is featured below: Murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom - Wikipedia … Christian’s parents found her abandoned Toyota 4-Runner two blocks away from the …. “Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian Brutally Murdered As The …

Lauren Burk was only driving a 2001 Honda Accord… Lauren Burk: All that Glitters isn’t White Privilege « digitalmonkeys She wasn’t a bombshell blond, she drove a 2001 black Honda Civic and, … Days later on March 4th, Auburn University student Lauren Burk was killed. …

“While, historically, blacks tend to commit crimes out of necessity, white people commit them due to a hereditary psychological disorder, says racial psychologist and researcher Dr. Louis Sidney Jacobs. This is why there are so many blacks incarcerated for quick money crimes like selling drugs and stealing cars, over 80% of serial killers and mass murderers are white.

“It’s always exciting when underprivileged, black males strike out in anti poverty social action protest statements against the larger society and race who oppress them.” says Ghetto Bragging Rights publisher Kirkland Perkins. “It is instutionalized poverty they are striking out against. As many of them are destined to the penitentiary anyway, it is always better when the protests they engage in have social merit so they can get their honorable recognition too.”

What’s your carjacking dream ? There only four listed here. Get published & earn Ghetto Bragging Rights! From either the perspective of the carjacker or carjackee, submit your fantasy carjacking dream and be our 5th virtual victim or jacker! If your submission is the best, you’ll earn $25.00 worth of Ghetto Bragging Rights Credits!

DEVELOPING…

White Trash VS White Privilege in Black on White Crime: Are Thugs Seeking $$$, Bragging Rights or Protesting Poverty?

Ballet performances are being featured at the massive Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas. It was built in the 1970s and since then has housed Venezuela's Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, the group recently brought to world attention by conductor Gustavo Dudamel. The theater gets its name from one of Venezuela's most famous female musicians, Teresa Carreño, a gifted classical pianist and composer who began at an early age by tickling the ivories at the White House of Abraham Lincoln when she was only ten.

Here are some highlights from ballet performances at the Teresa Carreño Theater:

Lingkungan seni dan budaya semakin dipengaruhi oleh globalisasi. Kita semakin menyadari implikasi globalisasi terhadap perkembangan seni dan budaya Papua sehingga harus memiliki sebuah komitmen terhadap diri sendiri bagi perkembangan dan pembangunan system industri budaya di Papua sebagai sebuah filosofi praktis yang menghubungkan seni dan budaya kepada fakta-fakta kualitas keragaman khasanah seni dan budaya Papua. Dibutuhkan sebuah kebijakan kolektif dari para pelaku dalam system industri budaya di Papua untuk mewujudkan komitmen ini.
Selama kurun waktu 1998 – 2000, penulis telah melakukan serangkaian penelitian terhadap organisasi/kelompok seni budaya di 13 Kabupaten di Papua (sebelum pemekaran). Penelitian ini dilakukan dalam rangka pembuatan Direktori Organisasi Seni dan Budaya Indonesia 2000 atas prakarsa Yayasan Kelola dan bantuan dana penelitian dari The Ford Foundation. Hasil penelitian ini sudah diterbitkan dalam Buku “Direktori Organisasi Seni dan Budaya Indonesia 2000”.
Laporan Analisa Hasil Penelitian Organisasi Seni Budaya Indonesia 2000 yang dilakukan penulis, mengidentifikasikan bahwa pekerja seni budaya, administratornya dan lingkungannya di Papua memiliki sejumlah masalah dalam pembangunan sikap profesionalisme yang dibutuhkan. Laporan ini menggunakan 3 metode, penyebaran kuisioner (125 dikirimkan kembali dari 147 yang dikirimkan), 24 wawancara dan diskusi kelompok di Jayapura, Manokwari, Biak, Sentani dan Timika dengan organisasi seni dan budaya formal dan informal, institusi pemerintahan, LSM, pekerja seni dan budaya serta pelaku bisnis. Laporan analisa ini dibuat dalam 4 bagian ; 1. Background, 2. Problems, 3. Project approach and description , 4. Theme and Activities. Namun dalam kesempatan ini penulis hanya memaparkan bagian pertama dari keseluruhan hasil analisa.
Hasil utama yang tergambarkan mengindikasikan dibutuhkannya penguatan kapasitas, baik secara individu maupun kelembagaan, terhadap respondent yang dirancang dengan fokus-fokus yang mencerminkan isu-isu kontekstual seluas-luasnya dengan pola-pola sederhana yang efektif, efisien dan tepat sasaran.

A.Pengamatan Internal
Pengalaman nyata dari para pelaku seni dan budaya serta organisasi yang bergerak dalam wilayah seni dan budaya di Tanah Papua menunjukkan bahwa sangat dibutuhkan pola-pola pengembangan kualitas dan kapasitas teknis demi menjaga keberlangsungan partisipasi aktif dalam mengkreasikan keragaman seni dan budaya praktis. Keprihatinan tetap ada untuk mengefektifkan apa yang telah mendapat dukungan pemerintah, terutama sekali dalam konteks perubahan struktur sebuah organisasi seni dan budaya yang bersifat dinamis dalam konteks yang disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan local namun berwawasan global dan pencitraan baru dari pengalaman selama ini yang menunjukkan perbedaan antara pendapat masyarakat dengan pemerintah mengenai khasanah seni dan budaya Papua.

External
a.Perluasan pengertian industri budaya
Ada kecenderungan industri budaya dinegara-negara berkembang mengartikan kebudayaan sebagai produk material (dagangan) dan atraksi belaka dengan mengabaikan masalah dan dinamika internal masyarakat pendukungnya. Karena itu diperlukan pengembangan pengertian kebudayaan yang lebih luas dan dinamis dengan mengaitkan persoalan industri budaya dalam konteks social ekonomi yang lebih luas. Termasuk dalam hal ini, kondisi industri budaya dengan jaminan hidup, kreativitas kolektif, kebijakan yang merangsang bagaimana mengintegrasikan kehidupan industri budaya dengan pasar atau menemukan kembali festival budaya sebagai kekuatan budaya.

b.Pengembangan industri budaya berkelanjutan
Kesadaran mengambil peran dalam peradaban telah menjadi gaya hidup internasional. Tidak terkecuali industri budaya. Industri budaya negara-negara maju telah menularkan beragam corak gaya hidup dari yang bernuansa ekologis, konsumtif, agraris, futuristis dan lainnya yang berkaitan dengan transformasi budaya dari tahun ketahun. Namun senatiasa mementingkan daya dukung (caddying capacity) dalam pengembangan industri budayanya. Karena itu perlu dilakukan serangkaian kajian terhadap industri-industri budaya dan budaya industri serta proses pembentukan lembaga pendukungnya. Juga menyusun cetak biru (master plan) tentang pembangunan industri budaya berkelanjutan yang memiliki visi kedepan, yang mampu mengakomodir energi kreatif masyarakat pendukungnya dari berbagai jenis pengucapan.

c.Kebijakan Media & Promosi
Dilakukan upaya kajian terhadap proses globalisasi dan strategi pengembangan media dalam pengembangan industri budaya sebagai media diplomasi kebudayaan dalam interaksi kerjasama internasional. Mempertimbangankan peranan cultural resources sebagai broker budaya yang dapat memperantarai dan memberikan penafsiran terhadap kerja industri budaya yang lebih seimbang. Serta melakukan promosi dan kampanye pola terpadu dan berdimensi budaya dengan mengintegrasikan fungsi-fungsi strategis unsur-unsur yang berkaitan dengan industri budaya.

B.Pokok-pokok pembangunan sikap professional
Pelaku seni dan budaya di Papua yang telah teridentifikasi dalam pembangunan system industri budaya di Papua membutuhkan pengembangan kualitas dan kapasitas teknis dalam bidang bisnis, komunikasi, pemasaran, berorganisasi dan membangun audience/apresian dalam komunitas seni dan budaya. Analisa SWOT mengkonfirmasikan prioritas utama dari pengamatan lapangan dan memberikan gambaran dua hal penting untuk pembangunan system industri budaya di Papua yang kondusif dan produktif adalah (1) materi yang dibutuhkan dan (2) strategi menyampaikan materi tersebut. Kepercayaan membangun strategi, setelah mendukung dan menginformasikan jaringan kerja, akan timbul sebagai sebuah prioritas antar wilayah budaya.
Untuk mengetahui yang diperlukan, membutuhkan pembangunan jaringan kerja pembelajaran bersama yang bisa menopang keputusan bersama, gambaran dari material program sabagaimana sebuah materi baru yang timbul dari lapangan dan memastikan sebuah aturan untuk pembelajaran yang berdasarkan pengalaman sebelumnya. Lingkungan pembelajaran baru yang bersentuhan secara langsung akan membantu proses ini. Pembangunan profesionalisme akan menghasilkan bagian dari dukungan yang tersedia bagi seluruh sendi kehidupan pekerja seni budaya dan administratornya.

C.Pandangan Kontekstual
Lingkungan seni dan budaya Papua telah mengalami peningkatan perubahan oleh kenyataan globalisasi, hal ini merupakan dampak dari semakin cepatnya perkembangan lintas batas dari pekerja seni budaya, ide-ide budaya dan produktivitas. Globalisasi memberikan tantangan dan terbuka untuk setiap kemungkinan baru. Ini bisa menguatkan budaya local atau memfasilitasi interaksi kreatif antara sumberdaya seni dan budaya local dengan dunia. Mau tidak mau, hal ini telah menjadi bagian dari produk globalisasi dengan segala kontradiksinya.
Dalam 15 tahun terakhir telah menandakan pendewasaan dan pengakuan sumber daya seni dan budaya masyarakat Papua, yang didalamnya seni budaya memainkan peran penting sebagai tawaran solusi perubahan cara pandang terhadap masyarakat Papua dengan peluang dan tantangan dari kompleksitas masyarakat Papua sendiri; yang menempatkan seni dan budaya sebagai representasi Papua terhadap dirinya sendiri dan kepada dunia. Tentu saja dengan catatan bahwa penguatan seni dan budaya dikemudikan oleh pengakuan terhadap nilai keragaman budaya. Peran yang kritis untuk dimainkan oleh praktisi seni budaya yang secara cultural berbeda dalam praktek revitalisasi. Tugas kita disini adalah memastikan bahwa pengenalan ini diubah secara efektif kedalam produk seni dan budaya.
Perubahan lingkungan yang sangat cepat dipengaruhi oleh kebijakan utama pemerintah daerah dan satu rangkaian komitmen penting dari para pembuat undang-undang/peraturan. Keseluruhan efek prakarsa ini untuk membangun suatu kerangka lebih kokoh dalam mendukung pengembangan seni dan budaya Papua dan demikian seharusnya mengimbas kedalam masyarakat seni dan budaya. Khususnya perencanaan strategis yang dikerjakan oleh para pembuat Undang-Undang dan peraturan daerah telah menetapkan dimensi dan arah yang luas untuk perubahan paradigma bahwa pemerintah saat ini telah bergerak untuk memberikan dukungan.
Dalam konteks nasional, beberapa kalangan yang berkecimpung dalam wilayah seni dan budaya telah mengajukan kepada pemerintah agar memberikan dukungan pada konsep-konsep pembangunan system industri budaya nasional. Sebagai bagian dari proses ini, kalangan ini juga memperkenalkan peranan produksi budaya sebagai unsur kompleks dalam komunikasi antar masyarakat, suatu posisi yang secara formal diterima oleh pemerintah. Sehingga pemerintah meski memberikan kesanggupan juga menyatakan kondisi yang sangat kompleks ini sulit memberikan jaminan untuk implementasi kebijakan dalam seni dan budaya.
Informasi dari riset sosial dan industri yang luas telah memperkuat tujuan-tujuan yang dilakukan pemerintah terhadap seni dan budaya. Pemerintah telah menyatakan komitmennya dalam konteks riset tentang keseniannya dan masyarakat. Studi itu mengusulkan bahwa "' seni dan budaya Papua' semestinya mewakili suatu arah kebanggaan bagi semua guna mengenali bakat kolektif mereka.". Lebih jauh studi ini mengargumentasikan bahwa citra kesenian semestinya dipromosikan " sebagai bentuk toleransi dari perbedaan-perbedaan antar seluruh masyarakat Papua", dengan melaporkan bahwa faktor terpenting kedua, tempat orang-orang teridentifikasi karena membuat mereka merasa lebih positif terhadap seni ( 67%), adalah akan berupa “acara-acara dan kegiatan-kegiatan yanglebih bersifat multikultural . Laporan itu menciptakan perhatian yang spesifik tentang perlunya ' mempromosikan ekspresi melalui seni budaya asli Papua, dengan memperhatikan bahwa masyarakat berlatar belakang bahasa nusantara mengekspresikan pandangan-pandangan yang lebih positif terhadap seni secara keseluruhan.. Aktivitas-aktivitas kesenian " semestinya terlahir bersama konteks dan isi yang relevan untuk menarik perhatian orang-orang dengan latar belakang yang bervariasi".

D. SWOT Analysis
Secara umum, terdapat Lima materi pokok 'yang paling utama' dari pengematan ini :
•ketrampilan komunikasi
•manajemen program
•manajemen diri dan organisasi waktu
•ketrampilan lintas budaya,
•pengembangan dan pelatihan
Ketrampilan komunikasi dalam hubungannya dengan ketahanan dan pengembangan organisasi muncul sebagai pokok utama bagi pengembangan profesionalisme, sementara kapasitas orang-orang akan mengarahkan situasi ini kepada ketrampilan komunikasi lintas budaya. Hubungan komunikasi ini -suatu lingkungan eksternal yang sukar dan sikap bermusuhan yang dipahami- akan dilakukan pendekatan dengan ketrampilan lebih relevan terhadap masyarakat local, memberikan suatu tatanan terhadap analisa tentang kekuatan, kelemahan, ancaman dan peluang/Analisa SWOT kepada lingkungan tempat analisa itu berlangsung.
Sementara analisa SWOT lebih merupakan perangkat-perangkat kasar, memungkinkan pengembangan parameter-parameter bagi perencanaan strategis dalam pengembangan profesionalisme bagi khasanah seni budaya Papua. Data dari riset ini memungkinkan rancangan dari unsur-unsur ini.
“Pasangan” pertama ( strength /weakness) mengaplikasikan persepsi-persepsi di dalam organisasi, pasangan kedua (opportunities /threats) mengacu kepada lingkungan tempat proses berlangsung berlangsung.

Strengths
Praktek-praktek dan organisasi-organisasi seni budaya Indonesia sudah mengalami sejumlah dekade perubahan dan reformulasi, sejak keterlibatan pemerintah pusat pertama kali di akhir tahun 1970-an dalam konteks seni masyarakat. Lalu berkembang ke dalam daftar Seni untuk suatu “kepentingan” melintasi semua bentuk kesenian di akhir 1980-an dan awal 1990-an, dan kemudian menjadi “pengaruh utama” kebijakan mulai sekitar akhir 90-an. Namun tidak demikian dengan perkembangan praktek-praktek dan organisasi seni budaya Papua. Sejumlah factor seperti minimnya SDM, minimnya informasi, referensi dan trauma telah menyebabkan praktek dan organisasi seni budaya Papua mengalami penurunan kualitas dan kwantitas baik dalam produk maupun aktivitas.
Para praktisi telah membangun ketrampilan mereka lewat kerja bermasyarakat dan sukarela, pendidikan-pendidikan formal, dan interaksi yang sedang berjalan dengan para rekan kerja. Kekuatan pemahaman diri mereka yang utama terhadap aktivitas-aktivitas profesional mereka—mayoritas mereka adalah ‘para amatir’, orang-orang yang bertanggung jawab terhadap aktivitas-aktivitas kreatif pendewasaan dan produksi program dan acara. Mereka melihat kekuatan mereka sendiri terbentang dalam ketrampilan-ketrampilan lintas budaya dan komunikasi, dalam kapasitas mereka untuk membantu di dalam pengembangan dan pelatihan dari para pekerja ( dan anggota masyarakat) yang lain, dalam bekerja dengan tim bentukan dan seniman lain, dengan organisasi sendiri, dengan klien dan jaringan masyarakat. Tentu saja wilayah kemampuan dari kapasitas relatif yang paling kuat terhadap pentingnya peran, adalah pengembangan dan pelatihan. Sementara mereka menghabiskan banyak waktu dan energi padanya dan mengembangkan keahlian mereka dalam peran ‘amatir’ mereka, mereka tidak memikirkan peran ini sekrusial ketahanan organisasi sebagai penghimpun dana.
Gambaran yang muncul kemudian merupakan bagian dari komitmen para praktisi, kebanyakan mereka tidak hanya bekerja di bidang ini untuk organisasi-organisasi mereka, tetapi juga sebagai para partisipan dalam badan-badan dan struktur-sturktur manajemen dari organisasi lain. Mereka merepresentasikan sejumlah komitmen dan bakat pada ' energi permukaan”.

Weaknesses
Meski demikian orang-orang yang bekerja dalam wilayah seni dan budaya memiliki energi dan komitmen, mereka menyatakan perhatiannya terhadap lingkungan keuangan yang sulit, dan mengidentifikasi kinerja pemerintah daerah yang mengubah dan membiayai sebagian organisasi sebagai masalah kritis. Singkatnya mereka menyatakan kepercayaan dan sikap yang sesungguhnya menunjukkan bahwa mereka kurang percaya terhadap diri sendiri. Mereka bekerja sendiri, terisolasi dan merasa tak ada pendukung.
Perluasan pasar bebas mengharuskan pemerintah daerah dalam kebijakannya memberikan dukungan menyangkut seni dan budaya, serta memberikan tekanan pada organisasi yang dibiayai untuk membangun mata rantai dengan sumber pendukung lainnya. 'Sponsor' menghadapi kebanyakan praktisi (terutama dalam peran managerial) lebih sedikit yang mampu menunjukkan prioritas pada diri mereka. Sedangkan dalam beberapa hal “suatu kelemahan' individu, juga mencerminkan bahwa sesuatu dengan cepat mengubah lingkungan eksternal. Ada sedikit pendukung jaringan kerja dan sedikit sumber daya atau energi yang tersedia untuk membangun jaringan itu.
Tantangan untuk tetap bertahan bagi sebuah organisasi seni dan budaya dicerminkan di dalam kesulitan-kesulitan penting yang dihadapi. Banyak organisasi kecil dan praktisi harus melakukan banyak tugas-tugas yang tidak bisa ditinggalkan, bahkan ketika individu tersebut sedang melakukan latihan lanjutan.
Koresponden dalam penelitian ini mengenali potensi teknologi media baru untuk menawarkan sebuah solusi terhadap tantangan yang mereka hadapi, sekalipun begitu mereka menyadari bahwa mereka tidak selalu bisa secepatnya menguasai teknologi baru tersebut'. Ada pengertian tersendiri tentang kurva belajar' jika dihubungkan dengan teknologi baru. Sebagai tambahan, teknik perencanaan dan pengendalian berbagai hal keuangan- yang semakin diintensifkan dalam aturan-aturan perpajakan baru- merupakan sebuah “gangguan” bagi mereka yang intensitasnya semakin meningkat., Sebab mereka hanya memiliki sedikit pengalaman strategi yang cukup untuk menerapkan teknik ini secara efisien dan efektif.

Opportunities
Dengan energi dan pengetahuan dalam bidang dan pernyataan untuk memberikan dukungan agar memungkinkan seni praktis di Papua menjadi lebih efektif, suatu program pengembangan yang fleksibel dan inovatif sebagai sebuah pilot project pantas dipertimbangkan. Program seperti ini memerlukan fleksibelitas, masyarakat pengguna yang belajar strategi, menawarkan potensi sebagai panutan untuk dillanjutkan di luar periode dan wilayah dari segla kursus spesifik , dan menggunakan teknologi informasi. Kurikulum ini akan membawa bersama-sama perencanaan strategis ketrampilan, pengembangan komunitas dan pengetahuan budaya, dan strategi pembelajaran secara fleksibel. Program akan meliputi pelajaran work-based, kapan waktu memulai dan mengakhiri sebuah pekerjaan sehingga tanggung jawab kerja lain tidak terlupakan. Dengan kritis, program akan membangun model jaringan pendukung, dan memudahkan proses lanjutan dalam kelompok yang belajar hubungan setelah periode yang formal telah disimpul