Under the Radar - Branscombe beach

This struck me as particularly Ballardian.
From a Boing Boing post.

LONDON, Jan. 22 — Ignoring health warnings and threats of prosecution, hundreds of people foraged among containers washed from a stricken cargo vessel on the southern English coast on Monday, hauling off booty that included BMW motorcycles, shoes, diapers, beauty cream and carpets. (NYT. More...)

One of those...

..who are you quizzes. To a degree, I'll agree. Probably whose character's do you identify with in this case.

I am: William Gibson The chief instigator of the "cyberpunk" wave of the 1980s, his razzle-dazzle futuristic intrigues were, for a while, the most imitated work in science fiction.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Radiation - Alvin Toffler

When I talk of those that have particularly influenced my thinking, I've chosen the keyword radiation as their metaphor. Information is all about us, radiating energy like the product of the weak force, mutating our beings. Alvin Toffler is one of the most influential on my meta-political understanding. When using his models, such as Third Wave, War/Anti-war, and Future Shock, individual incidents seemed to fall into place in the bigger picture. I felt I was an infinitely better intelligence analyst having read his works.

Third Wave is the post-industrial society. Toffler would also add that since late 1950s most countries are moving away from a Second Wave Society into what he would call a Third Wave Society. He coined many words to describe it and mentions names invented by others, such as the Information Age. (Wikipedia. More...)

One of the prepositions made by Toffler that struck me when I read Third Wave in the 80's, was that the transition to Third Wave socio-economics would usher in a new "Dark Ages" during the transition. Toffler estimated that within twenty years we would see an increase in religious and tribal style violence as people's increasing anxiety about changing economies drove them towards increasing xenophobia, lashing out at the "other." His view was that this gnashing of teeth period (my phrase) would last around twenty years as cultural change has increased exponentially due to the modern speed of communications.

Toffler Associates - Corporate Website
Alvin and Heidi Toffler {Futurists} - Personal Website

Fallout & Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow

First...
I don't play a lot of computer games, but when I do it's got to be worth it. One of the most beautifully designed games, it had the most atmosphere of any game I've played. Very moody, dark sense of humor, and a good story. I actually cared for the characters in the game.
Venture out of the fallout shelter 80 years after the nuclear conflagration and travel the wastelands.
Check out this flick from the opening of the game.Hone your post apocalyptic skills...
Fallout
Fallout II
No Mutants Allowed



Sky Captain actually came out in 2004 however, to help establish some of my aesthetic taste, here's a quick review. Visually brilliant, but in trying to be a little too camp, dragging out the implausible scenarios, the razor's edge escapes, and a multitude of settings, it gets lost. No, one doesn't have to throw in the kitchen sink to make a robust film. They should have stuck with what it really promised... an old fashioned serial. Keep the first story simple and then keep good stories coming ala Indiana Jones. I won't go into the plot much, you already know the story. Again, the issue was a lack of time to really give a shit about the characters.
Here's what you do. It's the 21st century, you make a retro style movie that would have had two dimensional characters, but in a hip ironic twist of the modern era you make them more real. Trust me, anyone who's gonna appreciate the style will be sophisticated enough to enjoy actual characters.
So much promise...It was too young to go. A shame.
If you've got a damp, rainy afternoon to kill and you're stuck on the couch with the flu, this could be just what the doctor ordered.
Trailer here.
The Wikipedia entry here.

Under the Radar

Ok...my intel analysis is working over time. I won't tell you what to think, but I'll put up two big, easy dots to connect.

Today:

4 troops abducted, killed in Iraq attack (Yahoo News - AP)
In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and then shot them to death.

The U.S. military confirmed a report earlier Friday by The Associated Press that three of the soldiers were dead and one was mortally wounded with a gunshot to the head when they were found in a neighboring province, about 25 miles from the compound where they were captured. A fifth soldier was killed in the initial attack on the compound. (More...)

Ok. Now does anyone remember this from 11 JAN?

US Iraq raid draws Iranian anger (BBC News)
US forces have stormed a building in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil and seized six people said to be Iranians, prompting a diplomatic incident.

Iranian and Iraqi officials said the building was an Iranian consulate and the detainees its employees. (More...)

Under the Radar

I don't know if I'm particularly qualified having served as an intelligence analyst with the U.S. Army, however I do see articles that alarm me and am often surprised that they are either disregarded by society, disregarded by the media, or both.

Georgia and US foil uranium plot (BBC News)

A Russian man who tried to sell a small piece of weapons-grade uranium has been arrested in Georgia, officials say.
The Russian was carrying 100g (3.5oz) of uranium, but had offered more. A US test confirmed it was highly enriched.
The man was able to transport it in a plastic bag in his pocket, the Associated Press reported, because uranium has a low level of radioactive emission. (More...)

Some questions one should ask.
Where'd he get the nukes? How much did the nukes cost? Why are they loose?

US woman fights off lion with pen (BBC News)

A 65-year-old Californian woman has saved the life of her husband, 70, by fighting off an attacking mountain lion with a small log and his pen.
Jim and Nell Hamm were walking in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park when the cougar wrestled Jim to the ground.

These stories are becoming more and more frequent. The real story here isn't that someone beat back a cougar, it's a story about our encroachment into nature and that nature's pushing back in a last gasp.

The park, 320 miles (515km) north of San Francisco, was closed after the incident and wardens tracked down and killed a pair of lions near the trail where the attack happened.

THEY are diminishing another species.

The dead cougars are undergoing tests to determine if either was responsible for the mauling. (More...)

Links #1 - 01/07

While I work on more substantial pieces, I'll try and provide some interesting reading links in the interim.
This week's theme, Conspiracies or A Little Bit of Paranoia Might Save Your Ass:

Illuminati Conspiracy Archive
The word conspiracy, as it relates to this site, will be defined in the context of a scheme: to act in harmony toward a common end. As it has been known for centuries, "alchemists conceal in order to baffle the vulgar." This site exists for the sole purpose of penetrating the veil.

To quote Robert Anton Wilson "I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions."

Alex Jones's Prisonplanet.com
"A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny"

Alex Jones seems to have been stirring the pot since the mid-90's (probably after Waco). Looking at his other site Infowars.com, he had a lot of vitriol for the Clintons. However, it seems he's come around to the Patriot Act, Wiretaps, 9/11, etc. Snake oil or prophetic - check it out and decide. If you've got two hours (I didn't so I haven't watched it all) click for his Police State 2000.

Lastly, a man who's quite open about his quest for world domination, Dr. Steel.

Inventor. Entertainer.Visionary.
Dr. Steel is a man of many talents with one, simple goal: To make this world a better place.
Through entertainment, Dr. Steel feeds the hungry masses who starve for happiness.
"It all comes down to having fun. We spend our lives working so hard, when all we want to do is play. So, let the people play! Let toys fill every moment of our lives!"
-Dr. Steel

Creator of World Domination toys, interesting internet artifacts, videos, live music performances, and his private army of Toy Soldiers.

See me!
Stare into my eyes you’re getting sleepy
Feed me!
And then I’ll feed the hungry and the needy
TV
Is the loving eye of education
Free me
I’ll drag a burning smile across this nation.
-"Back and Forth"

In the interest of transparency, I have joined Dr. Steel's cause and become a Toy Soldier (Toy Soldiers Unite dot Com).

Brass Goggles

While I'm more of a mid-twentieth century meets future dystopia man myself, I appreciate the aesthetic of Steam Punk and the efforts made by the site Brass Goggles.

Steampunk is a genre of fiction set somewhere in the 1800’s during the Victorian Era. The fictional part comes in that technology has gone a bit skewed - though the exact methods vary, generally steam-powered devices that would have been impossible or unfeasible at the time are found to exist. Examples include steam-robots, flying castles, under-water bases, moon rockets, time machines etc. - Brass Goggles FAQ

Reality is a toy. Play with it before time runs out.

Brutal

Latitude: 42.36008400
Longitude: -71.05875500
The wind was cold. Downtown is almost right on the waterfront so it's that much colder, but the light was good for shooting my cesspool. I also wanted to capture the Brutalist architecture of city hall.
I thought it interesting that one of the more progressive cities in the U.S. would have such an Orwellian structure at the core of its administration. Its design was supposed to be open and inviting to the public with the idea that the first levels have wide access to the average Joe, but its function seems more in line. The first few tiers are for the public, then the representatives like the councilors and mayor. It's the least accessible, most on high that the bureaucrats and their function resides.
The looming building itself might be acceptable on its own, but the plaza design surrounding the structure insures that one doesn't want to be out on it for very long. Surrounded by other sterile, Logan's Run type structures it makes a person anxious for cover lest a sniper's round finds its mark.

Blank Maxine and I arrived around 13:30 and made our way from Faneuil Hall to the plaza. Along the way I was snapping shots and learning the very basics of photography. When we made our way to the top, the cesspool was gone. I was crest fallen. One piece of evidence of the fall of western civilization was filled in and paved over, the expanse of concrete marking the place of the disused fountain/wade pool sunken beneath the brick walking/sniper target level. THEY covered the body, but THEY didn't disguise the grave.
We made due with the late twentieth century monoliths to bureaucracy collectively known as government center, our faces slowly numbing in the arctic wind. After getting some shots that I felt were satisfactory for a first time photographer, I had Blank Maxine take portrait shots of me. After giving her a multitude of goofy instructions, she got her shots.
"I'm looking for something that captures a sort of WWI pilot meets Thomas Dolby with a touch of Mad Max" I told her.
"Um...yeah."
So we knocked out a few more shots in the wind swept plain, feeling the shadows that lay across the public space. With a bright, cold sun and modernist buildings chilling our psyches and the final arrival of winter in New England getting to our flesh after this year's greenhouse gas delay, we called it quits for the day.
Rather than reviving the area the mayor (a good guy, although I think he may be a bit beholden to developers), who's often affectionately known as Hizzona or Mumbles in that distinctly Bostonian way, has proposed that they abandon the structure and build a new hall in one of our southern neighborhoods, conveniently named South Boston or Southie for short. After a couple of hours with the behemoth, I think I would miss it. It has become part of the Boston landscape and probably most offends the senses of the 495ers.
Just before I got into the car, some of the old vaudeville/strip club district known as Scollay Square, peeked out at me from slow Disneyfication of the Revolution's birthplace.

Some further reading about Boston City Hall:
Boston City Hall @ Wikipedia
Brutalized in Boston - Boston City Hall

Purpose

My muse is not with me today, so this is going to be a bit terse and matter of fact.
Complex 39 (look it up) is a place where I (Snag) can organize my dispatches regarding the state of the world. "Why the fuck would anyone want to read this, when there's so many other sources of information?" one might ask.
Well, I'm operating on a few principles I think might be unique:

• Complex 39 is an attempt to blend Art, Journalism, and Commentary in a multitude of media types.
• Complex 39 isn't an attempt for the absolute truth. As A. Korzybski has said "The map is not the territory." This is only a map. However, this map is an attempt to rip off the routine of daily existence that have dulled our senses and see the seething, froth of humanity as we apes interface with technology. Hopefully a closer look at the pornography of violence, the ever pervasive agents of social control, the transmogrification of civilization, the underground technological pirates...
• Complex 39's stylistically somewhere between Post-war America and cyberpunk.

So who the hell is Snag?
Hopefully that will be fleshed out overtime. Here's a quick run down to this point:
Born in the industrial north of the U.S. just before Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins made contact with another planet. Born shortly after the Kennedy assassination and cover-up. Born shortly before the Neo-Con's first major criminal enterprise known as the Nixon administration and subsequently Watergate.
I grew up nomadically, moving every couple of years across the U.S. My single mother was always searching for something unknown. Intellectual challenges I suppose. Spiritual quests maybe?
My brother is a drummer in a band and a pretty cool guy. He majored in Art History and works for a prestigious museum in Boston. He would like to move into curations.
I've done everything from roofing to working in an industrial laundry to managing a restaurant to salvaging demolition sites.
I spent 11 years in the U.S. Army. Most of it part-time. First as a medic, then administration, then intelligence/security management. For six years I was an intelligence sergeant with the military police. I was adept at the M16, M60, and grenades. While I served these things happened:

1. The Tanker War - "Operation Earnest Will"
2. U.S. Invasion of Panama
3. Second Persian Gulf War - "Operation Desert Storm"
4. "No-Fly Zone" War
5. U.S. Intervention in Somalia
6. NATO Intervention in Bosnia - "Operation Deliberate Force"
7. U.S. Occupation of Haiti
8. U.S. Embassy bombings and strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan (The bin Laden War)

I've built and raced a 1963 Fairlane 500 with a modified 315 cubic inch "Windsor" motor. I'm self-taught. I'm interested in grease cars. My good friend and the lead singer of the Kings of Nuthin', Torr, has been a big help in my automotive knowledge.
I was a punk rocker/bootboy in my adolescence. I was a fan of Fear, Black Flag, The Exploited, and Dead Kennedys. I drank beer with Colin of G.B.H. around a fire, in a corn field, at a show in Kansas. I spent many years hanging out in a place called the Outhouse.
Along with Schroedinger, Feynman, Heisenberg, et al, Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash are my spiritual advisers.
I'm currently a criminal investigator in the private sector. I'm good at understanding intention from behavior. I can beat people up. I'm good at investigating financial based crimes. I think it's odd and a little depressing that THEY (society...the law...the corporate powers...) allow me to hurt people if needed in the course of my job.
My gal Blank Maxine of twenty years is a brilliant photojournalist (that's her work in sidebar).

Out for now...