A month ago, Hummer announced it’d sell a branded laptop computer that would be nearly indestructible. Able to survive being dropped, getting doused in a rainstorm, and having coffee spilled on it (these things happen when off-roading between Starbucks and home), the computers should appeal to an “aspirational and exclusive” target market, one that would happily afford a pricetag of between $2988 and $3329. In delightful contrast, the MIT Media Lab, led by visionary Nicholas Negroponte, has announced its plan for a nearly indestructible computer to be distributed to needy kids around the world--a $100 laptop running an open-source Linux operating system, with a crank that allows its user to generate power when no electricity is available. The machine will be WiFi ready, have an AC power cord that’ll double as a carrying strap, a screen that’ll switch from color to glare-resistant black-and-white for outdoor uses, and a rubber casing that’ll snap shut to keep out dust or moisture.
Negroponte says that within a year his nonprofit One Laptop Per Child will produce between 5 and 15 million machines, which he plans to begin shipping to children in Brazil, China, Egypt, Thailand, and South Africa. Othe specs include a 500 mhz processor, flash memory (instead of a hard drive), and four USB drives. A huge salute to MIT for envisioning a humbler, more human laptop that targets a market drawn to the “inspirational and inclusive.”
Those who think Harry Potter or The Chocolate War (the book most often slated for censorship at libraries last year) don’t belong on library shelves seem to disagree with the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Manual, which states, in part: "Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate; and second, that society makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used, the content of the work, and the viewpoints of both the author and receiver of information.” This week is the ALA’s Banned Books Week, an annual tradition since 1982. Visit their site to learn more about how prevalent book banning (and challenges) are, how you or your library can participate, and to find a list of most-challenged library books (a bizarre list that includes titles from Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to Heather Has Two Mommies, the Goosebumps series, and Martin Hanford’s Where’s Waldo? (2004’s most-challenged here).
Our friends at the Prometheus Radio Project (who were involved with Radio Re-volt last summer) are taking their fight for lower-power, community FM into a place where it’s needed most, the survivor’s camp at the Houston Astrodome. Prometheus has petitioned the FCC--and been granted, with almost unprecedented speed--the right to build a 30-watt radio station in the dome to provide critical information to people displaced in the area. An audio bulletin board, of sorts, it’ll broadcast news and logistical information about finding resources and reuniting with family members, etc. One stumbling block: a Harris County official is requiring that volunteers provide 10,000 radio recievers before they are allowed to begin setup of the station equipment. Click here to learn about donating radios or to donate funds.
Hear Prometheus’ Hannah Sassaman discuss the project on Democracy Now!
Update: BoingBoing reports that somebody, possibly a government agency, is scrambling radio frequencies inside the Astrodome. I wonder why…
Jefferson Davis’ historic home in Biloxi was “virtually demolished” by Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Art Museum lost one sculpture (a modernist work by Kenneth Snelson was “reduced to a twisted mess in the lagoon”), and an in-progress Frank Gehry-designed wing of Biloxi’s Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art was smashed by a runaway casino barge. The AAM runs down the status report on cultural institutions in the path of Katrina. Not on the list is New Orleans’ cultural treasure, Fats Domino: he’s safe.
(I wonder what happened to the home of NOLA outsider artists and post-flapper-era “international dancers” Nita & Zita.)
Please remember: give.
More on Katrina and the arts at ArtsJournal and MAN.
The Los Angeles Times reports that attempts to have books pulled from library shelves increased by 20% in 2004. A new American Library Association survey shows that book-banning attempts were made 547 times last year, compared to 458 in 2003. But the survey only counted formal challenges, defined as a”written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness,” so the figure is possibly much higher. Three books with gay themes topped the list, including Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
(Via SpeakSpeak.)
The loss of life, the destruction of property, history and architecture in Gulf Coast states today is almost unbearable. And from my vantage point in Minneapolis, it’s almost unfathomable. It may be just beyond my power to comprehend, but it’ s not beyond my power to pitch in. If you’d like to as well, here’s a list of legitimate relief organizations, as well as a next-of-kin registry, and other key resources. If you’d like to direct your giving to help hurricane-struck cultural institutions, here’s an update from the American Association of Museums:
The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) is assessing needs; identifying available freezer space, storage facilities, and triage areas; receiving donations of cash, goods, and services for distribution to affected museums.Checks should be made payable to SEMC with Hurricane Katrina Fund noted in the memo field. The mailing address is SEMC, P.O. Box 9003, Atlanta, GA 31106. The SEMC board will make decisions regarding distribution of the funds.
To offer use of space or equipment, donate salvage supplies, or volunteer for salavge and recovery, contact Richard Waterhouse, SEMC executive director, at 404-378-3153 or director@SEMCDirect.net.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has established the 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund. Since much of the Gulf Coast’s economy is tourism based — especially historic travel — historic places will play a critical role in the region’s revival. Donations will support assessment teams, assist small businesses through the National Main Street Center, and disperse critical grant monies to organizations on the ground in affected communities.
The American Red Cross (800) HELP NOW (435-7669) is accepting donations for the overall recovery effort.
(Via NEWSgrist.)
Update 9/2: Tyler Green at Modern Art Notes is keeping an expanding list of arts-related relief links.
