New England Freaks for Fun's topics - tribe.net

Official Cookieman Burning Man Scholarship!

2010-01-03T06:58:28Z

***PLEASE POST ON AS MANY BOARDS/THREADS AS YOU LIKE***
Attention!
Are you from the east coast?
Wanna go to Burning Man?
Don’t think you’ll get the $$ together?
Ever wish the Burning Man org would think of travel expenses when giving out their low income/scholarship tix?
Do you REALLY like to answer A LOT of ridiculous questions?
WELL THEN…..

Announcing the Official Cookieman Burning Man Scholarship!

This is NOT a joke or a prank!
i am very serious about my cookie...
i am very serious about my cookie scholarship...

Now accepting applications!
Here’s the scoop:
We are sending one super awesome east coast would-be-burner-artist to the Burning Man Art Festival.
Ticket, travel cost, & supply funds up to…but not defiantly $1000!
REQUIERMENTS:
-you must be from the east coast or from farther away from the playa than me.
-you HAVE to answer the scientifically selected 1000 question application (heehee).
-that’s it I think. Until I think of something else.

How do you start?
Email us at burntcookie2010@hotmail.com

We will send you the application very quickly!

TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR FRIENDS' FRIENDS!!!!
PASS THIS ON WHERE EVER YOU LIKE...

Any questions? Email at the above address… thanks!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

The synthetic dream foundation

2010-01-02T01:55:49Z

The Synthetic Dream Foundation's newest album "Mechanical Serpent" is currently finished and being manufactured as you read this. The album is a stylistic continuation of the sound created during the last two albums, with a deft fusion of industrial, IDM, electronica, and orchestral music. The album features guest vocals by Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion and The Gathering), Summer Bowman (the machine in the garden), Susan Siren, and Tamara Kent. The album is being released by Mythical Records, and will be shipping on Feb. 18th 2010. The album is currently in pre-order from both TSDF's and Mythical Record's websites for the price of $10. The full track listing is as follows:

1. Glittered Ripples from the depths (w/ Marcela Bovio)
2. Invoking the beast
3. Auf dem see (serpentine mix) (w/ Summer Bowman)
4. On whom the dreadful claw
5. The spectre's masquerade (w/ Susan Siren)
6. The one eyed maiden
7. Puzzlebox (mechanism mix) (w/ Tamara Kent)
8. Ascent to heaven's eye
9. A silvered freeze

http://www.tsdf.net/discography/mechanicalserpent.htm

http://www.mythicalrecords.com/

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

neat. 1000 people.

2009-12-03T09:29:21Z

new england is freaky.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 7 replies

DJ set link swap thread

2009-11-03T20:32:02Z

I had fun a while back swapping mix CDs with folks on here so I thought I'd try something similar. Reply to this posting with a link of your own to join in.

http://soundcloud.com/qa911nh/ion-2009-party-mix
77 mins 256K MP3

DJ Riko - P-Funk At My House
DJ Diva Danielle - Beat My Ass Red mix
DJ Kramer - Burning Man 2007
Treasure Fingers - Winter 2008 Mix
Lee Mayjahs? - To Be With You
Treasure Fingers - Cross The Dancefloor
The Crystal Method - Busy Child
Tripp - SuperHollaTricka
Doctor Booty - Supafunkinbootygroove
Fort Knox Five - Burning Man 2007

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Bassnectar! (crossposted)

2009-11-01T02:11:44Z

Anybody planning to go? Any other Bay Area to Boston transplants such as myself?

The Paradise Lounge Nov. 10 tix $18 online

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

Kiana Love coming to Boston THIS WEEKEND!

2009-10-21T13:38:36Z

For more info and to register to go: www.bhadrakalihealingarts.com/cla...html

INTEGRATED ENERGY THERAPY CERTIFICATION WEEKEND w/ Master Teacher Kiana Love
Learn to Heal with the Angels of the IET Energy Field!

Intro to IET: $20 in advance/$25 at the door
Basic IET: $195 in advance/$215 at the door
Healing with Angels: $155 in advance/$215 at the door

Unified Package: $350 (includes Free Intro & Karma Clearing)
Includes:
*Intro to IET ~ Friday 7:00-8:30p demo, powerful karma clearing process
*Basic IET~ Saturday 11:00-7:00p
*Healing with Angels ~Sunday 10:00-6:00

Transform your life over! You will learn IET, Integrated Energy Therapy, and become familiar with the Nine Angels and what each Angel can offer to you by way of healing. Bask in the light of unconditional love. Learn the IET Integration Points, the IET Cellular Memory Map and a host of other healing information. You will give and receive full IET sessions and learn the powerful heartlink process. This is a certification course and you will receive 2 certifications & training guides, an IET Basic Certification and a Healing with the Energy of the Angels.

If you want to learn the esoteric aspects and healing modalities of the Angels, this is the workshop for you. It's an amazing opportunity to go deeply into your inner self and heal aspects of yourself that you've never touched before. Don't miss this chance to get the issues out of your tissues for good.Below are the details for the weekend & individual classes which you can sign up for.

Intro to Integrated Energy Therapy (IET)
October 23, 2009
7:00PM-8:30PM
Price: $20 in advance / $25 at the door. Free with certification class!
Location: Vadalna Tribal Dance Studio
284 Amory Street
Jamaica Plain, MA
Includes: Overview, Demo, Heartlink & Karma Clearing Process
Learn how this system can help you!

BASIC IET CERTIFICATION TRAINING COURSE
(8 ceu's available for body workers)

October 24, 2009
11:00AM-7:00PM
Cost: $195.00/ $215 at the door
Class Materials: You will receive a fully illustrated 26-page Integrated Energy Therapy Basic Level Guide and an official Integrated Energy Therapy Basic Level Certificate
Location: Vadalna Dance Studio
284 Amory Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

HEALING WITH ANGELS
A one-day class to put you in touch with the Angels of the Energy Field

October 25, 2009
10:00AM-6:00PM
Price: $155/$215 at the door
Class Materials: Healing with Angels workbook and Certificate
Location: Private Residence
Jamaica Plain, MA
Address given upon registration

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Peaceful Co-Creating Emerging Visions #16 has emerged for your enjoyment

2009-10-16T23:01:07Z

Fall into the calm within the storm
Join the merriment of dancers
where love is a whisper
from which each breath expands
for sweet co-creation

Peaceful Co-Creating Emerging Visions visionary art 'zine #16 has emerged

http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

share and enjoy

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Earthdance for Peace

2009-09-25T20:50:58Z

http://www.earthdancelive.com/

Venus Guide Us to Peace

a meditative poem

Not just sweetness and light
There is a strength; there is conviction --
there is a vibrant dedication to true worth.
If we can but believe again
in all the humane virtues --
Love is sharing,
in kindness, understanding, supportive regard.
Love is forgiving and being forgiven,
when it is clear that malice was not intended
or malice has been exorcised
-- an acceptance of the positive power
of change, of growth in spirit.
Love is the assumption of "we."
We are doing being going having creating
We are able to exchange our labor, knowledge,
possessions, positions
We are able to take in more than I -- to synergize
our fortunes into wealth and integral well being.
Love is not just a song -- a pretty set of symbols
Love is a power and a glory
and an all encompassing truth.
Love is addition and multiplication,
not division or subtraction.
Love enriches and inspires us.
Love is not blind, not foolish.
Love is not denying the self or self interest.
Love is seeing clearly, knowing wisely,
understanding and expanding the self --
expanding outward to take in the universe
of interconnected, interdependent being.
Love sees the ugliness; and loves sees the beauty.
The ugliness saddens; the beauty invigorates.
Love is to peace as music is to harmony.
But how are we to love in a discordant world?
It is within us to pick out the true,
enduring melody
to which our essential selves are tuned --
If we but look to, listen to, open our selves to
Venus, the Goddess of Love,
Peace, Justice, Harmony
as she manifests within us all.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Fall Aerial Fabric classes at Flying Squirrel Consortium

2009-09-18T16:23:52Z

Fall 2009 Aerial Fabric classes are now forming

Aerial Fabric, also known as Aerial Silk, or Tissu, is an
acrobatic circus art form which takes place on two long ribbons of
fabric rigged from a single point. Acts typically involve graceful
climbs, dramatic poses made from the combination of body and fabric,
and heart-stopping dives and drops. In recent years it has become quite
popular amongst the new circus troupes touring the globe. You
too can learn this art form!

Classes are available for people with no fabric experience,
and also for folk with some basic experience who want to improve their
technique and add to their fabric vocabulary.

http://flyingsquirrelconsortium.com/classes.html for more information

See you in the air!

[feel free to repost anywhere you feel appropriate]

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Lon Milo Duquette back in the area

2009-08-21T17:47:03Z

Lon Duquette will be hosting some interesting upcoming classes in Salem, Ma. The author of numerous books on Tarot, Caballah, enochian magick and other magickal systems, his classes are not only very informative, but also very entertaining. Some classes can be participatory.Come get your copies of his books signed by the author.
You will learn a lot and come out of there with at least a few good belly-laughs.

1."Introduction to Enochian Magick" -$20.00
Friday September 11th, 2009 e.v. – 8:00pm-9:30pm

2."Advanced Enochian Workshop" - $50.00
Saturday September 12th, 2009 e.v. 10:00am-5:30pm

3."Sexual Alchemy of the Thoth Tarot"- $50.00
Sunday September 13th, 2009 e.v. 10:00am-5:30pm

4."Low Magick: Redeeming the Better Demons of Your Nature"
Tuesday September 15th 2009 e.v. 8:00pm-9:30pm $20.00

Package Deal: All 4 events only $120.00

These classes will be held at the KTO temple in Salem, Mass..

This and other event listings can be found on the KTO calendar at
http://www.kto.org
Trains run from Boston to Salem check
http://www.mbta.com

KTO is the local body of the OTO and is located
at 175 Essex St Second Floor on the right, Salem
Massachusetts.

Come have some fun and share an enlightening
experience.

-Bob

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Boston to Burningman Truck

2009-07-31T05:18:55Z

ok.
Here’s the news on the boston to burningman truck:
There is a second container started…but only 16 shares have been sold! One of which is mine!
If it doesn’t sell out then it will be cancelled and I will be sad 
The shares are $390… yes this is a lot BUT…. If you team up with your friends… then you can get your camping equipment out to the playa for WAY cheap.. I think like 5 people could send out basic camping equipment in one share!
This will be FAR AND AWAY, WAY CHEAPER than paying the d-bags at the airline the extra cash on checked baggage fees… AND you would be helping other burners get their projects out to the playa..
Seriously… this is prolly the only way that the second truck is gunna happen… so I am calling for ALL you friggin awesome people that were gunna just pack tight and bring your stuff on the plane- like I usually do- to pack it tight and throw in some extra ‘cool clothes’ and maybe a few other bits and pieces that you usually do without out there and buy up a share on the container!

It really isn’t that much of a pain in the asss… plus loading and unloading would be a GREAT way to meet other burners and would help bring the vibe home for you!
We can SO make this happen…
I’ll pinch each and every one of you on the ass if it does!
Thanks …. The jason

Linkage: http://burningtruck.chaoshacker.org/

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

BELTEK - Anyone Going?

2009-07-30T17:22:16Z

Hey there folks! This is your friend Eli from up in Portland. Due to some unforseen circumstances my ride to BelTek has had to pull out, and I am looking for a ride up and back. I would be happy to help pay for gas and supplies, and have a few fun supplies myself to share ;)
I live in Portland, which for anyone coming from the south of here is only a 10-15min detour to swing thru town to grab me. I also travel light with only one backpack, one tent bag, and my didjeridoo. If anyone is interested in helping out, grab me on here, or email me at risingatlantis@gmail.com. Thanks in advance!

Love and light,
M_J

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

natural springs in/near massachusetts?

2009-07-29T12:52:39Z

so i just finished watching Daniel Vitalis presentation on natural spring water and am now interested in finding a spring near me where i can bottle my own spring water.

Anyone know of any springs in the Massachusetts area? or NH perhaps?

i'm near cambridge mass.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

Need a ride to Firefly from Western Mass

2009-06-30T20:50:41Z

Hello all
My name is Craig and I am on a desperate search for a ride to Firefly for me and my small collection of stuff.I live in Northampton,can leave whenever, and will most certainly help with gas/tolls/ conversation.
Please call me,at
1 413 585 1021
as my computer is dead for the moment.
Looking forward to meeting all of you in the woods!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

looking to share creative space!

2009-06-26T03:39:00Z

Hello all freaky folks. My boyfriend and I have approximately 2500 sq ft of mill style space with high ceilings. 2 bathrooms and kitchenette. The space is currently broken up as 3 major zones and one smaller, private room with it's own heat control. Space can be reconfigured to suit our needs. Great location with plenty of parking. Would make a great artist cooperative.
We have it advertised on craigs list. go and check it out. contact # 603.930.5764 ask for Chris
http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/art/1224681339.html

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

Happy Solstice, EV#15 ~Shifting Perceptions has emerged

2009-06-20T20:45:55Z

Emerging Visions visionary art ezine #15, Shifting Perceptions ~ emerges with great good tidings for Joyous Solstice and beyond

http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

Shift
and all strict and sure
rearranged in light-swift display
hues of the every day
bending, twisting, flying
Leaping into play

share and enjoy

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Get a psi-hoop for your summer festival enjoyment!

2009-06-10T14:28:27Z

Festival Fun!!!

I am looking to do a little business this summer making bright, rechargeable, LED hula hoops! These psi-hoops look spectacular in dark rooms or outdoors at night. If you have never seen one in action, go to youtube.com and type in "led hoop". My hoops are solid, custom wired with care by yours truly, have built-in rechargeable batteries (NiMH) and come with an AC/DC (120V wall-outlet plug-in) charger. Charger jack and on/off switch are built in to the outside of the hoop so as to not be in the way of your hooping. Please note: these are permanently attached, not collapsible. I can make them to your preferred size (within reasonable limits), and with your preferred colors. If you need a car charger, that will be extra. Other custom extras, such as color-changing lights or UV lights are possible, and would also be more money. Please let me know what you want and we can talk about it.

Starting price:
Standard size hoop (35-40", more or less) with around 20 lights -- $150 includes 6-month repair warranty if lights stop working during normal use (i.e. hooping, not throwing into water or off of tall buildings). $10 extra if you want blue lights (they are more expensive). You pay shipping for initial delivery and/or repair delivery. I will only charge you for the actual cost of shipping, so that will depend on the size and weight of the finished hoop. Local pick-up is also available in the Groton, MA area. I need about two weeks time to make your hoop, because I need to order the LEDs. Most likely it will be ready in less than two weeks.

About me: I am a fourth-year electrical engineering student, and 37-year-old mom. My partner has been under and un-employed for over a year, struggling to get enough work to keep us going until I finish school. I am trying this as a creative business to help us make ends meet (and maybe eventually get on top of it all!). If you have any questions about me or my hoops, please ask!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

KY Needs PDF Ticket / Ride Offered from NYC Friday Afternoon

2009-05-21T06:32:33Z

I need 1 PDF ticket. I can PayPal immediately, meet in NYC, send cash or check, barter, etc.

To sweeten the deal, I can also offer a ride from NYC leaving Friday afternoon.

I'm a 7-time veteran of PDF, plus countless other burns, so you know I will bring it and contribute.

Please call/text for fastest response.

Much obliged,
Ky

ky_n_nguyen (at) yahoo (dot) com
917 547 1001

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Ending the War on Drugs

2009-05-15T19:33:29Z

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/ending-the-war-on-drugs-t_b_203768.html

Arianna Huffington

Posted: May 14, 2009 08:18 PM
Ending the War on Drugs: The Moment is Now

When it comes to addressing America's disastrous war on drugs, the Obama administration appears to be moving in the right direction -- albeit very, very cautiously.
On the rhetorical front, all the president's men are saying the right things.

In his first interview since being confirmed, Obama's new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, said that we need to stop looking at our drug problem as a war. "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs" or a 'war on product,'" he told the Wall Street Journal, "people see war as a war on them. We're not at war with people in this country."

He also said that it was time to focus more on treatment and less on incarceration.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would no longer raid and prosecute distributors of medical marijuana who operate in accordance with state law in the 13 states where voters have made it legal.

Holder has also said that his department intends to eliminate the outrageous and prejudicial sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.

And while on the campaign trail, President Obama called for repealing the ban on federal funding for anti-AIDS programs that supply clean needles to drug users.

All positive signs that we are ready to move beyond our failed war on drugs.

But when it comes to putting its rhetoric into action, the Obama administration has faltered.

Just a week after the Attorney General said there would be no more medical marijuana raids, the DEA raided a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in California.

Obama's '09-'10 budget proposes to continue the longstanding ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.

The current budget is still overwhelmingly skewed in favor of the drug war approach -- indeed, it allocates more to drug enforcement and less to prevention than even George Bush did.

Testifying today in front of the House Judiciary Committee, Holder, in his opening statement, called for a working group to examine federal cocaine sentencing policy: "Based on that review, we will determine what sentencing reforms are appropriate, including making recommendations to Congress on changes to crack and powder cocaine sentencing policy." A working group? Why? As a senator, Obama co-sponsored legislation (introduced by Joe Biden) to end the disparity. What further review is needed?

(To be fair, during questioning, Holder said he and the president both favored doing away with the crack/powder disparity and said that Justice would even consider doing away with mandatory minimums altogether. But why the initial equivocation and the use of the very familiar needs-further-review dodge?)

So the question becomes: is the Obama administration really committed to a fundamental shift in America's approach to drug policy or is this about serving up a kinder, gentler drug war?

And this at a time when the tide is clearly turning. Inspired by the massive budget crises facing many states, and the increase in drug violence both at home and abroad -- leaders on all points across the political spectrum appear more willing to rethink our ruinous drug policies.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for "an open debate" and careful study of proposals to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has also urged renewing the debate, saying that he isn't convinced taxing and regulating drugs is the answer but "why not discuss it?" Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, pointing to evidence that Mexican drug cartels draw 60 to 80 percent of their revenue from pot, suggested legalization might be an effective tool to combat Mexican drug traffickers and American gangs.

And, in a major shift in the global drug policy debate, a Latin American commission, headed by the former presidents Fernando Cardoso of Brazil, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, and Cesar Gavaria of Colombia issued a devastating report condemning America's 40-year war on drugs.

"Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked," the former presidents wrote in a joint op-ed. "The revision of U.S.-inspired drug policies is urgent in light of the rising levels of violence and corruption associated with narcotics. The alarming power of the drug cartels is leading to a criminalization of politics and a politicization of crime."

They called for "a paradigm shift in drug policies" that begins with "changing the status of addicts from drug buyers in the illegal market to patients cared for by the public health system."

And in Congress, Sen. Jim Webb has introduced legislation, with co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, to create a blue-ribbon commission to examine criminal justice and drug policies and how they have led to our nation's jam-packed jails -- now filled with tens of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders.

"With so many of our citizens in prison compared with the rest of the world," Webb wrote in a recent Parade cover story, "there are only two possibilities: Either we are home to the most evil people on earth or we are doing something different--and vastly counterproductive. Obviously, the answer is the latter."

I understand that drugs continue to be a political hot potato, fueled by what the Latin American presidents described as "prejudices and fears that sometimes bear little relation to reality." And I can easily picture some on the president's team advising him to keep the issue on the backburner lest it turn into his "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

But the cost of the drug war -- both human and financial -- is far too high to allow politics to dictate the administration's actions. Indeed, with all the budget cutting going on, how can anyone justify spending tens of billions of dollars a year on an unwinnable war against our own people?

Change won't be easy. The prison-industrial complex has a deeply vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Which is why we need to keep the pressure on the president and his team to follow through on their drug policy promises.

As with the regulation of Wall Street, real reform of our nation's drugs policies won't happen without someone in the administration making it a top priority.

The jury is still out on Kerlikowske. His law enforcement background could make him the drug war equivalent of Tim Geithner -- too enmeshed in the system he is tasked with overhauling.

Holder shows more promise. But he'll have to avoid the let's-have-a-working-group-review-decisions-that-have-already-been-decided approach.

As a reminder, I'm planning to send the Attorney General a few copies of This Is Your Country On Drugs, a book out next month on the history of drug use and drug policy in America by our HuffPost Congressional correspondent Ryan Grim. In it, he argues that the goal of U.S. policy should not be to eliminate drugs, but to prevent and treat the addiction and other problems that come with them: "As currently understood and implemented, drug policy attempts to isolate a phenomenon that can't be taken in isolation. Economic policy is drug policy. Healthcare policy is drug policy. Foreign policy, too, is drug policy. When approached in isolation, drug policy almost always leads to unfortunate and unintended consequences."

With three-quarters of the drug offenders clogging our state prisons there for nonviolent offenses -- and a disproportionate number of those young men of color -- the time has come to wage a full-scale war on the war on drugs.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Logo design Contest for Defy the Box ...help spread the word!

2009-05-14T15:25:39Z

Can You Create A Bad-Ass logo for Defy the Box .com ?

The winner gets $150 plus tons of free exposure.

Hey there you fine bunch of freaky creative individuals!

My name is Leah Shapiro and I am the founder of DefytheBox.com. Over the past year my website and vision have grown to the point where it is ready to have a kick-ass logo to represent it. My plan is to create a Defy the Box movement and build an empire from it.

I want a cool, powerful, sassy, unique image to represent my vision. What I hope is that you – or one of your equally out-there friends – will design it for me.

What I’m looking for is a fun, freaky, hot, edgy, hip perspective. (Think alternative-minded, Burning Man, firespinning, hooping, Anime, sexy, Steam Punk, tattooed, ex-raver types with a splash of yoga and spirituality thrown in.)

So what I want to know is just 2 things:

Do YOU hold that perspective?

Can you create a logo for Defy the Box that embodies the energy of someone who has thrown traditional ideas out the window and refused to be crammed into a box by society ?

If you are interested in getting in on this contest, go here to learn more and sign up:

http://www.bostonwisdomcoach.com/events/win-150-designing-a-kick-ass-logo-for-defy-the-box/

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Forest Folk Fest THIS WEEKEND!

2009-05-10T19:00:38Z

Last reminder Forest Folk Fest is this coming weekend May 14- 17. Don't miss out! All the details are on the web site.

www.forestfolkfest.com

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

5th Annual BOSTON BUNNY BARHOP

2009-04-22T06:22:19Z

Hey you! You are cordially invited to participate in the totally epic 5th Annual Boston Bunny Barhop! That's right, come spread springtime cheer whilst making a total ass of yourself!

WHAT: A good ol'-fashioned barhop in bunny ears. We will move together as a boisterous band of boozed-up bunnies, hopping from bar to bar to bar to bar to bar, grabbing a real-quick drink at each spot, giving out high fives, and just generally sticking it to the Man.

WHEN: Easter weekend, of course. Friday, April 10th. First drink of the night around 9 p.m!

WHERE: Cambridge, MA. Starting-line bar = Miracle of Science Bar & Grill, 321 Mass Ave.

WEB: Please visit www.bunnybarhop.moonfruit.com if you need further convincing!

------- THE SORDID DETAILS -------

GLOWINESS!: We like to establish as glorious a street presence as possible, so we encourage maximum GLOW-iness! Please deck your bad self out with glowsticks, LEDs, EL-wire, lasers, flamethrowers, or, like, whatever!

HOTLINE!: The Bunny Barhop Hotline will be open all night. Participants may call the number: (508) 265-9141 and get minute-to-minute updates on the current location of the 'Hop. Come join the rabble at any time (though we'd love to have you there for the whole ugly drunken affair, start to glorious finish).

ROUTE!: There's a planned route for the 'Hop, hitting hotspots (and freaking out squares!) down Mass Ave toward Harvard Square. Traditionally we get as far as The People's Republik (876 Mass Ave), so proactive designated drivers may wish to park around this area at the beginning of the night.

LOVE!: We welcome rabbits of all cliques, circles, & crews. Throw on your ears, come on down, and make a mass of instant new drunken friends!

RULES!: There is only one hard n' fast rule (say it with us, people): RABBIT EARS MANDATORY. Seriously seriously seriously. Fashion them out of construction paper. Grab them from the Easter aisle of your friendly neighborhood drugstore. Maim a stuffed animal. Just wear the frickin' ears.

Questions & suggestions may be directed to your friendly rabbit coordinators:
the people's jess: peepsjess *at* gmail
robtronic : spacecatSuperfly *at* aol

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

Green City Grower's Urban Intensive Workshop April 25th!!

2009-04-19T19:52:08Z

If you are interested in learning the skills that we are using to transform Boston into a Green City, join us April 25th for our hands-on full day Urban Intensive Growing Workshop. We will be exploring the principles of Urban Sustainability, and will be getting our hands dirty transforming an urban yard over the course of the day. Through discussion, games, and good old fashioned hard work, we will cover:

Site Design, Composting/Worm Composting, Organic Remediation Methods, Micro Farming, Market Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Micro Livestock, Urban Homesteading, Four Season Harvest, Natural Building, Urban farmer’s treasure hunt

10am-5pm

Lunch (Vegan friendly) will be provided

This Workshop will be held in the heart of Jamaica Plain at the HeartBeat Collective house, 35 Wyman St.

$90 payable in advance, $110 at the door
Contact us for more information: Greencitygrowers@gmail.com

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Find out how to use your voice to save your life

2009-04-13T22:41:27Z

What if you had a device that would reliably produce peace of mind, elevate your mood, and support your growth into who you most wish to be?
Good news: you have just such a device. It's your voice!
The ancients understood that our voice is the steering wheel of our thoughts and feelings. When you focus your attention on the sound of your own voice while repeating time-tested mantras ("mind-protectors"), you lead your mind and heart in an Ultimately True, Beautiful, and Healthful direction. And because we all live in the atmosphere of our thoughts, your quality of life will be dramatically improved.
Kailash (Kurt Bruder, Ph.D., M.Ed.) provides you with the tools you need to take up or deepen a life-saving practice of devotional chanting in his groundbreaking book & CD set, Following Sound into Silence: Chanting Your Way Beyond Ego into Bliss (Hay House).
To discover what several leading figures in sacred sound and spirituality have to say about this extraordinary resource, please use this URL link:

http://OmKailash.com/fsis_testimonials.html

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

massage in the seacoast NH area

2009-04-10T17:04:24Z

Hope this is okay to post this here. I have done massage for a long time, just because I enjoy it. No charge and not sexual, although I am a lot more comfortable doing that for women than for men. My home base is UNH and the seacoast. If a lady in the group and in the area might be intersted in a lengthy gentle massage, for free, you may contact. Thanks.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Vadalna Upcoming Events 2009!!

2009-04-04T16:06:35Z

Hello everyone!!!!

Wow...there is so much on the horizon and I've just been busting at the seams to share it with you all!! We're still working out the details but for now, here's a sneak peek at what Vadalna has up her sleeves for 2009. Mark your calendars!!! (Details will soon be coming...)

May 1-3 - Sproutwood Faeire Fest with Incus, PA

May 17th - PURE Benefit

May 23rd - Allyssum Pohl WORKSHOP and Boston's first Tribal Salon

June 12th - Vadalna presents Beats Antique (!!!! SQUEEL!!!!)

June 13th - Zoe Jakes WORKSHOP (DOUBLE SQUEEL!!!!)

(Summer dates still tentative...will get back to you ladies)

September 26th/27th- Asharah WORKSHOP (I'm running out of squeels!!!!)

November (weekend of) 6th - Kassar WORKSHOP (*Faint*)

December (weekend of) 4th or 11th - Winter Ball..with extra special guest.... :-)

(Menagerie will be on tour this fall to seven locations along the eastern seaboard....details coming soon!)

WOOP!!!! Hope to see you all there!!!
Blessings,
Naraya

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

cape cod drum & dance

2009-03-25T22:14:20Z

Calling all drummers, dancers, ratttlers & chanters.......join us on Saturday, March 28th. 7:30pm, Brewster COA,( council on the aging,big yellow building next to the fire station on Rt 6A) as we welcome SPRING.....join the COLLECTIVE GROOVE!!!!!!!!!!!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

PEX Summer Festival 2009

2009-03-18T16:51:30Z

Mark your calendars. It’s on!

The Philadelphia Experiment Presents:
PEX Summer Festival 2009 – An Experiment in Joyful Self-Expression through Music and the Arts

July 3-5 2009

The PEX Summer Festival is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional music and arts celebration! This will be a place for harmony amongst joyful adventurers in self-exploration. On July 4th weekend, we are looking forward to our largest collaborative effort to date in the gathering of like minds and compassionate spirits. We will be uniting for three days and nights of amazing music, art, education, dance, participatory shared experience and conscious connection on 200 acres of private land, just one hour south of Philadelphia.

Featuring:

200 Scenic Acres including a Spring-Fed Pond
Over 40 DJ’s, Live Bands & Performers
Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool w/ Daily Pool Parties
Dormitory Style Cabins w/ Showers & Toilets
4th of July Barbecue Before the Effigy Burn on Saturday
½ Mile of River Frontage
3 Sound Stages
Fire & Drum Circle
Labyrinth
Live Performance Art & Art Installations.
Outdoor Amphitheater
4,000 Square Foot Outdoor Pavilion
Basketball, Tennis & Volleyball Courts
Ropes Course
Canteen & Hot/Cold Beverage Bar
Lectures & Workshops Including Yoga, Aerial Silk, Fire Staff, Poi, & Capoeira
Meal Hall w/ Optional Standard, Vegetarian & Vegan Meal Plans Available
Therapy Sexploratorium
Tent & Car Camping
Free Drinking Water
Free & Secure Parking

Conveniently located one hour south of Philly.
(Only 45 minutes from Baltimore, 90 minutes from DC and 3 hours from NYC)

Tickets & Additional Information Available April 1st, 2009!

WWW.PEXSUMMERFESTIVAL.COM

WWW.THEPHILADELPHIAEXPERIMENT.ORG

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Wanted: Children's Wooden Building Blocks

2009-03-18T06:24:27Z

i am trying to find/collect as many children's wooden building blocks as i can get my little hands on!
i'll be needing them to build my art contribution to Playa Del Fuego this spring....
the theme of the project adresses childhood abuse so...yeah its a bit of a downer... but it means alot to me and i hope a space can be made for it at the event
i can use any and all shapes and sizes.. as long as they are made of wood... the idea is to burn it on sunday...
my math has me at roughly a thousand blocks.. but i may not need that many...
even wooden toys would work great to as well.. ie cars, trains whatever!
i live in NH so some of you are very far away... even if you brought them to PDF that would help in a huge way.. i will need MANY extras at the event.. and i mean MANY!
if you had only a select few but wanted to add them to the project for sentimental reasons you can ship them to me, obviously... you can PM me for my address...i will be sure to give them a special place...
if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask here or in a PM.
so start looking in all those old boxes and crates in the basement or attic! even just a few from each of you could make a huge differance!
thank you tons and tons...

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Scrying Phantom Seas ~ Emerging Visions #14 has emerged

2009-03-15T07:38:35Z

Welcome the Emergence of "Scrying Phantom Seas" Emerging Visions visionary art ezine #14

http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

Listen to the heart of bliss.
On open sand, feel
breeze, vibrance
under oceanic starlight.
Breathing eternity, open
inward to see intricately
expanding visions -- poetry:
thought in magical splendor.
All art is magical; all magic is art.
Yet they are not the same, and part
of a grander landscape, embracing
sky and sea.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Reiki Classes in Connecticut

2009-03-12T20:02:43Z

We will be presenting Traditional Usui Reiki classes on
Sunday, April 5 at the Growing Green Co-op in Hartford Connecticut 06106. Directions will be sent with registration confirmation.

The classes will be taught by Richard C. Fiallo, Reiki Master. Richard has been teaching and sharing Reiki with others since 1999 and has personally attuned over 700 different students. The classes are always fun, informing and include lots of hands-on experience.

The classes are all inclusive. At the end of the class you will leave
with your certificate. The fees include handout, attunement, and
certificate. The level 1 class ($75) will be from 10am-3pm and the
level 2 class ($85) will be from 3pm-6pm.

Please visit website for more info.
http://healingtoday.com/classes.usa.htm

Home study course are available. Please see website.
http://healingtoday.com/homestudy.htm

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Fire Rising

2009-03-04T17:11:56Z

Fire Rising @ Four Quarters Interfaith
May 29-31

This years experiment in the ongoing quest for Alchemical perfection begins with practical Alchemy.
A new lay out for us to experience transcendental Fire work in our open sky Fire Cathedral. Involving the Cosmos and Zodiac the attendee
will enter into the mytho-poetic realms and travel through the Karmic wheel to find more refined states of bliss and wellness.

On site demonstrations by Old World craftsmen, Blacksmithing, Art Glass Blowing, Metal casting, and Old World cooking. A Drum Master will be on site this year giving a demonstration of making drums. Included in this is an ongoing project to create a Tribal drum.
People coming to this years Fire Rising will be able to hand craft their own metal medallion which will be an heirloom and keepsake for years to come.

In this years Fire Rising we incorporate the Old and the New. Fire Rising has evolved to what we are calling Eco- Alchemy. With it's focus on sustainable living, Community building, Earth friendly practices, Wellness, Alternative Spirituality. Alchemy itself is defined by Recycling. The Creation of something valuable (Gold) from that which is considered refuse (Lead). Whether on the practical level of learning to live green with a smaller Energy footprint, or personal evolution through the work/play of the all night Fire circles.

Also moving into the future.....Fire Rising will be creating a special Wellness Guild for people who have the calling to help others. Reiki practitioners, Energy Workers, and other Alternative medicinal arts will be lead by a Wellness Coordinator who is a certified Yoga instructor and Licensed practicing Therapist. Discussions on Ethics and Alternative healing will be held. Energy workers will have to be accpeted by the Guild in order to offer their skills on site :)

Our Music will take an interesting course as we are initiated into becoming Rhythm Elders, and learn to make Music as a Village.

I offer this here not as a promo....but rather to start getting it out there that cool things are happening this Spring and Summer :)
For info on pricing and all that... a web site will be up shortly.
or call 814-784-3075
www.4qf.org
peace

PS- There is a modern style Dormitory space now for those who dont like camping :)

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Queer(ing) History

2009-02-21T14:34:33Z

Hi everyone -- I'm an artist/activist in Northampton, MA. I just set up a new website with some artwork and essays about ancient LGBT/queer people. Some of the art is a little steamy, but it's all PG-13. Check out the site here:

http://www.queerlegendarylove.com

Let me know what you think -- I'm always open to constructive feedback. I'm also looking for more ancient queer folks to research and draw, so if you have suggestions, send them my way!

-Brandon

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

cape cod drum & dance....1/31

2009-02-09T01:49:37Z

Please pass it on!!

Calling all drummers, dancers, ratttlers & chanters.......join us on Saturday, January 31st from 7pm to 10pm at First Parish Brewster as we welcome the first stirrings of life from the frozen ground......dance the winter blues away.........celebrate Imbolc & join the COLLECTIVE GROOVE!!!!!!!!!!!
Cosponsored by First Parish CUUPS & The Creative Union

bring: drums, instruments, your groovy selves & a snack to share!

1969 Main St, Brewster, MA

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

for Brigid's day

2009-02-02T06:34:47Z

What did I learn about poetry?
Elderly, broken mule
bends upward along
icy mountain trail
twin hearts in utero
follow the rune

Grandmother's shawl
woven virgin wool
faded villages
ripe odors enlivening the countryside
ceremonies and celebrations
observed by
enjoying soft, strong yarn
woven in her early days

brought to you by Emerging Visions visionary art ezine
http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Creative & Cozy CO-OP has 2 rooms opening!

2009-01-28T03:06:01Z

Want to live in community?
We have a 3 story house with 2 rooms becoming available. One immediately, one in March.

Currently there is an art professor who's great with gagets! An activist who works with the younger generation as well as has her own consulting business (oh and they're married!), a spiritual, marketing jack of all trades and one kitty who's the prince of our palace. All in all we're a guy, two gals, and Mr. Noche'.

You'll find a spacous living room that subs as a dance area, yoga/meditation space or movie theater if you pull down the screen and plug in the projector, a cozy dinning room where many of our house plants reside off the huge kitchen where you can enjoy meals made by us or treat us to something you make yourself. A mud room that leads to the 'english garden' backyard with garage and driveway that heads out to the street that has ample parking!
We've also got an 'artific', this is a art room/ office on the second floor where you might find any number of craftiness taking place, a music room fully equiped with recording devices and much more, one full bath and one with a stylish shower. Oh and a full sized basement for storage and more rugged projects like wood working or fermination! Washer and dryer, dishwasher, a tv but we don't really watch it... We've got beautiful hard wood floors and some carpeting also. High speed internet througout the house as well. We join CSA's and use a chore wheel, we meet when we need talk about something. We believe in good communication as well as personal space.

The rooms available really depend on what you like best. We're willing to switch things up and put the music room up for grabs if you want to pay for your own private bathroom, or if you love closet space the 3rd floor, full of secret spots room is ideal. We've got a 'yellow' room with great light that's currently empty and other options as well. Rent is dependant on your preference of rooms, $600 to $800.

We're all in our mid 30's, eco-friendly and community minded. Noche' the prince is a doggish cat, playing fetch and going outside and he's content to be the only animal in this domain, cute and funny and very well mannered! He hangs on the front porch most sunny days!

You can walk to the arboretum and commuter rail. Parking is plentiful. We're fun to live with and looking for new roomies as soon as next week and then again in March.

Our neighbors are great as is our landlord. We share meals when we can and split up the utilities, if you've lived in community before you're fit right in, if you haven't maybe you'd like to learn what it's about. We don't smoke but if you happen to indulge Noche' would welcome you on the porch. We have ominvorous and veggie lovers, and almost vegans here too so whatever your likes are we're open to it.

write to us and tell as much about yourself as you care to share!

Namaste,
6 malverna.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

How IS Everyone???

2009-01-07T04:14:18Z

Hot Damn it's been SO long since I've seen so many of you. Too long. How is everyone doing??

We have this crazy presidential election going...As much as I hate to vote for an "establishment candidate", you can bet I'll be at the ballot box next Tuesday voting for Obama. And the stock market crash/revival/crash/revival. What the fuck is up with THAT? And how will it effect us ordinary freaks who don't take much stock in stocks?

As for myself, I have been involved in the complex process of putting up a homestead. Some of you may have heard that me and Kala went and bought ourselves a Yurt! If your wondering what a yurt is view http://www.yurts.com/gallery/photo-gallery.aspx for some pics (we'll have some photos of our own soon enough...my camera drowned a couple months ago). We raised it last month on some land in Nottingham, NH. It's fantastic! Very beautiful all over.....

It's a very small space though (450 sq ft) and we are adjusting to living in a small space like that. Luckily we also have access to a very small cabin next to us so we have that little escape hatch when we need to be alone. We do have electricity, but carry our own water...heat is by woodstove....we are literally "chopping wood and carrying water" as a matter of fact! We are very happy to be moving further and further off-the-grid. We hope to be all solar for our energy by the spring.

Unfortunately we can't have large parties here do to the size of the space...but we do hope to have some of you over from time to time. We are also closer to Boston so we hope to get a chance to see all you bostonians more...if you are so inclined please keep us on your party invite list!

A couple other things I'd like to mention:

Sextopia Films - Yes its still happening! Got a little sidetracked there through the summer, but I am starting to get into gear to get this going and we are looking to start shooting our first film very soon. I have an investor and willing to pay for *ahem* "models". If you think you might like to get all naked in front of a camera and get paid for your efforts please visit the site (htp://sextopiafilms.com) to see what its all about and write to me if your are vibing with it. I am aiming to create films that will portray the beauty of sexuality with emotion, honesty and of course fun!

Flowing Woman - I have had an idea for a few years to have a sort-of east coast style event that would be somewhat like burning man, though with a little more focus on respect for the land and nature. I am envisioning a more "unplugged" sort of event. Not so much like a Rainbow Gathering where nothing much happens, but a place where artists and healers can get together and have a great time out in nature without bright lights and loud music dominating the scene. I love those events too, but I'd like to put together something a little different. I've managed to come across a perfect piece of land for this event..not too far from Boston...just at the foothills of the white mountains...it can hold about 500 people...plenty big for a first year event... If you are interested in being in on the planning of this event please contact me. Or visit http://tribes.tribe.net/flowingwoman if you'd like to share ideas for it.

Alright well that is enough from ME...how are YOU? Inquiring minds want to know!!

~shiva

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 11 replies

Bye Bye Bushie Video

2009-01-04T01:42:29Z

Please check out a video we made on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1IaHT26Tg8

Thanks,
Jimi Two Feathers

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Sideshow, anyone?

2009-01-03T07:52:36Z

We are putting on a sideshow, and are looking for more characters! If you have any talents or tricks you want to share with others, let me know. The freakier, the better, but we accept all! And you do not have to be "professional" per say, just have some sort of act in mind, that's all. The actual show will be in a few months, so that is well enough time to practice. :-)

Message me if you are at all interested!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Dance Friday!

2009-01-01T22:28:01Z

Come barefoot boogie! Alcohol and smoke free, children welcome, every Friday 8PM to midnight at the Brookline Tai Chi Center, $8-$12 sliding scale, with work for admit opportunities. Great music, friendly people.

http://www.dancefriday.org/

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

Looking to meet new Tribe friends

2008-12-27T20:14:39Z

Still hoping to link up with some new people out here.
Anyone want to be my friend? LOL

Feels like I'm tyoing to know one. But in a way as we all work shop, and consume media that is how we exist.
We all think are interests are important. But really they are mirrors reflexing back the lies we choose to believe.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

Boston Santarchy 2008: 12/20!

2008-12-14T12:06:09Z

Another seriously disorganized, utterly chaotic, we-are-so-NOT-planning-this Red Felt Rampage commences December 20! Get yer megaphone wieldin spray-snow taggin Pine Sol chuggin ass in a Santa suit and show up!

go here for info: upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1378127/

or check for an event post to follow.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

80s Dance Party Fundraiser Friday 11/21

2008-11-19T16:34:44Z

The Big Bear Lodge in Brookline, NH is hosting an 80s dance party with DJ. Proceeds to benefit Andres Institute of Art (http://www.andresinstitute.org/)

Date: Friday 11/21/08
Time: 8:00PM
Place: Big Bear Lodge
106 Route 13
Brookline, NH
Cost: $5 at the door cash bar
Directions: http://tinyurl.com/5v7u4m

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Descent: Dances of the Dark Goddess dark fusion/ritual/experimental bellydance event, 11/16

2008-11-08T20:36:27Z

(Tomorrow's the last day for early bird prices!)

http://www.aeprilschaile.com/descent.htm

Descent: Dances of the Dark Goddess
Sunday, Nov 16
At the Julie Ince Thompson Theater at The Dance Complex
536 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA

Workshop:
"Creating and Destroying the Rules of Dance"
with Desert Sin
12-4pm
YouTube of Desert Sin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bee91p8xl_k

The Show:
A night of theatrical, ritual, experimental and dark fusion Bellydance
as an invocation, celebration, and expression of the archetypal "dark
feminine", with performances by
Desert Sin, Vadalna, Darshan, Aepril Schaile, Sabrina, Badriya, and
more...
7pm

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

PLANT MEDICINE APPRENTICESHIP - Begins late November!

2008-11-07T18:47:21Z

~ The Gaia School of Healing ~
www.thegreenwoman.com

PLANT MEDICINE APPRENTICESHIP 2008
Brattleboro, VT
and Cambridge/Boston, MA

Come journey with the sacred healing plants...

Join us for a 9-Month Apprenticeship in Herbal Healing, Shamanic
Herbalism, Plant Spirit Medicine, Earth-Centered Spirituality,
Holistic Healing, and Journeying with Plant Devas and Earth Spirits.

Apprenticeships are taught in Brattleboro, VT and Cambridge, MA,
running from November 2008 until the end of September, 2009.

The Plant Medicine Apprenticeship will focus on the Wise Woman
Tradition of healing, remembering the ancient traditions of plant
medicine used by village healers around the world. We will focus on
North American plants as well as plants used in Hawaiian La'au Lapa'au
(Hawaiian healing with plants), Ayurveda, and Chinese herbal medicine.

Certification for the 160 hour course will be given upon completion of
the apprenticeship. Classes will be held outside when the weather
permits and locations will be given upon registration. Please take a
look at our apprenticeship syllabus for a closer look at what this
course offers.

Apprenticeship classes focus on:

Medicinal Herbal Healing
Healing Plants of North America, Hawaii, & Asia
Plant Spirit Medicine
Wise Woman Tradition of Healing
Herbal Actions, Tastes, & Safety Levels
Systems of the Body & Herbal Energetics
Medicine Making - (tinctures, infusions, salves, and oils...)
Shamanic Herbalism
Guided Meditation & Journeying
Harvesting & Wildcrafting Plants
Magical Herbalism & Folklore
Plant Identification of North American Plants
Spiritual Ecology & Earth Spirituality
Communication with plant and nature devas
Plant Medicine Walks
Chakra healing with plants
Rituals with nature

Our Plant Medicine Apprenticeship is an intensive journey into
green medicine and traditional plant knowledge. The apprenticeship is
intended to be a spiritual journey as well as a course in medicinal
herbalism. Classes include lecture, ritual, guided journeying,
hands-on work with plants, medicine making, journeying with plant
spirits, tasting plant infusions and extracts, meditations with
nature, earth and body awareness, journal writing, and deep
exploration with the spirit of the earth. Students learn to identify
and use plants for medicine, form plant allies, and prepare medicinal
teas, tinctures, essences, infusions, oils, incenses, and salves with
plants from around the world. Students will learn to use the energies
of the moon, sun, earth and the elements in their practice and treat
imbalances in the body.

The course will be limited to 15 people. Please feel free to
contact Sage with any questions, at thegaiaschool@hotmail.com, or call
(617)-838-8094. At the end of the 9 month program, each student will
be brought into the inter-connected web of world healers through ritual
and celebration, given gifts of initiation, and will be certified from the
school in herbal healing and plant spirit medicine.

This Apprenticeship is open to anyone interested, regardless
of their gender, belief system, past experience, or knowledge of
plants. We have had both advanced students and beginners as
apprentices, and both men and women. Though the course does often
stress the energy of the Mother present in the earth, both yin and
yang energies present in all things is honored. Women tend to be the
majority in our apprenticeships but green men are welcome and greatly
appreciated in our circle.

For more information, visit our website at www.thegreenwoman.com.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Victory!!!!

2008-11-06T15:40:58Z

Ladies and Gentleman, all you lovely freaks, here's is to the 44th President of the United States....Barack Hussein Obama!!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

~sharing(secret)water~ ev13 has emerged

2008-11-05T08:45:39Z

Raising our glasses in celebration!

Opening fluid connections, ~sharing(secret)water~
Emerging Visions visionary art ezine issue #13 has emerged.

http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

Drink deeply.

share and enjoy!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Remember, remember this 4th of November to VOTE!

2008-11-04T17:21:58Z

Obama '08

We no longer want to hear
the old politics of fear
Won't you please vote for Obama
for us all
We refuse to be divided
by what corporate greed's decided
Won't you please vote for Obama
because you've heard the call
We can change the world
Re-arrange the world
We know we can do better
Working for real solutions
to violence, poverty, pollution
Obama's got the courage and the plan
The will to do what's right
and lead us in our fight
to regain our hope, our nation
-- Yes we can!
We can change the world
Re-arrange the world
All we need's a real leader
With Obama we will stand

Feel free to spread it around. No copyright. I sing it to the old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young "Chicago" tune.

Peace, and Remember, remember this 4th of November to VOTE!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

ballot question 2 on marijuana reform

2008-10-29T05:18:17Z

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/09/25/marijuana_vote_has_allies_on_both_sides/?page=full
Marijuana vote has allies on both sides
By John Laidler
Globe Correspondent / September 25, 2008
Georgetown lawyer Steven Epstein supports the November state ballot question on decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, seeing use of the drug as a matter of personal liberty.

"We formed the government to protect the individual in the exercise of their rights, amongst which is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Epstein said, adding that people should be free to exercise those rights as long as they do not harm others.

But Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes strongly opposes the ballot proposal, viewing it as a step backward in the fight against drug abuse.

"It definitely sends the wrong message to kids," he said.

"By decriminalizing this offense right now and making it basically the equivalent of a traffic violation, you are sending the message that it's OK, that it's not so bad."

As the decriminalization measure, Ballot Question 2, begins to stir debate around the state, voices on both sides are being sounded in this region.

The measure would replace the state's criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana with civil penalties enforced through citations.

Offenders would be subject to forfeiture of the drug and a $100 fine - for those under 18, the $100 fine would be contingent on their completing within a year a drug awareness program with a community service component. Otherwise, the fine could increase to as high as $1,000.

The offense would not be listed on the individual's Criminal Record Information System (CORI) record.

"People should vote yes on Question Two because it's a simple, commonplace reform based on successful laws from 11 other states," said Whitney A. Taylor, campaign manager for the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, the ballot group advocating a "yes" vote.

"We waste $30 million a year in police resources enforcing the current marijuana possession laws."

Taylor said her committee neither promotes nor condones marijuana use. Endorsers of the question range from the American Civil Liberties Union to lawyers, professors, police officers, and marijuana legal reform groups.

"Marijuana remains illegal under Question 2," she said, arguing that the measure actually provides for more certain consequences for offenders under age 18.

While first-time offenders are rarely sentenced to jail, Taylor said inclusion of their arrest on their CORI report can "create huge barriers to getting a job, finding housing, and getting school loans."

Epstein, who as a lawyer has represented many clients charged with marijuana possession, said offenders are "labeled criminals for doing something that over half of us have done at least once in our lifetimes," a label that "follows you around" because of the CORI listing. He also said that enforcement of the existing law is arbitrary.

A founder and spokesman for Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, Epstein noted that advisory questions calling for decriminalizing marijuana have passed in all 31 legislative districts where they have been on the ballot.

But Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said the ballot measure "derails all the good and hard work we've done on behalf of kids and communities. . . . All the question does is provide another mind-altering substance on the menu of options for our kids to use. . . . It's a virtual certainty that if Question 2 passes, there will be an increase in marijuana use and it will happen amongst our kids."

Leone and his fellow district attorneys are members of the Coalition for Safe Streets, a group opposing the question that also includes police chiefs, local officials, and clergy members.

"We know it's a gateway drug, and we know kids who use marijuana use it in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and step up to other, more potent drugs," Leone said.

"We also know the strain of marijuana on the streets is now nine or 10 times more potent than it was a decade ago."

Essex lawyer Jonathan W. Blodgett agreed that Question 2 "absolutely sends the wrong message, particularly to young people."

"The question people have to ask is, who benefits from decriminalization. Do we really want kids smoking marijuana? . . . We are all promoting healthy choices in our lives today. This is just a major step back," said Blodgett.

"If this passes, we will see more car accidents and more industrial accidents because people will have absolutely no incentive not to smoke marijuana."

Blodgett also said the measure will not reduce police and court costs, noting that in most cases, marijuana possession charges are brought together with more serious offenses.

Also opposed to the ballot question is Amy Harris, clinical director of Chelsea ASAP, an outpatient substance abuse clinic in Chelsea, and coordinator of the Chelsea Mobilization for Change, a coalition that works on substance abuse prevention.

Harris said decriminalization would lead to greater availability of marijuana in the form of "blunts, the cigar-sized marijuana cigarettes now prevalent among young people.

She said such heavy consumption of the drug puts youth at risk for cancer and psychological damage. Decriminalization would also have the effect of "sanctioning the drug so youths can emulate what the adults are doing," she said.

But Ann Allen, a medical technician from Salem, supports Question 2, calling the proposal "long overdue."

"It's just very logical," she said, noting that it would eliminate the CORI records that now burden offenders, and save money for taxpayers.

Allen said she was introduced to the cause of easing marijuana laws when a friend with cancer - who has since died - had to risk legal sanctions to obtain marijuana to relieve chemotherapy symptoms.

"She felt uncomfortable doing it illegally, like every other person I know that has smoked marijuana as a responsible adult," she said.

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

Wendy Rule in Town!

2008-10-28T23:53:34Z

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to pass along the good news that our beloved Wendy will be in our part of the world for Samhain!

She will be playing in Hadley, MA on October 30 in Inspirit Common.

Then she will be performing again November 1 at the Witches Ball in Salem.

Lastly, a performance is scheduled for November 2 in Manchester, NH

You can check out her website for more details (wendyrule.com)

Hope to see you at a show!

Love, Kala

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Boston Santacon 2007! 12/22

2008-10-23T23:26:36Z

Boston Santacon 2007
It’s on! This is one seriously disorganized, utterly chaotic, totally last minute red-felt rampage! Get yer megaphone wieldin’, spray-snow taggin’, Pine Sol chuggin’ ass back in that suit!

Saturday, December 22 (confirmed).
Here’s the bullet points:
-> Faneuil Hall starting at 1:00, then
-> Harvard Square via the Million Santa March on Beacon Hill and through the Common (or via the T if weather sucks or Santa’s too wasted), and finally
-> falling down somewhere around Davis Square

Get your details as they come (and come and come) from BostonSanta@gmail.com

Bring the Ho’s!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

day of the dead celebration

2008-10-22T19:24:06Z

3rd Annual Day of the Dead Parade
Join us as we honor our beloved dead
Saturday November 1, 2008

Where: Starting at 238 Underpass Rd. in Brewster, then parading about 1 mile down the bike path to 71 Smith Lane.

When: Arrivals starting at 4:00PM to prepare,
5:30PM departure time.

Please feel free to wear costumes and masks, bring small instruments to play, and anything else you think will add to the parade!

**Bring children, family and friends**

There will be food from El Guapos, a bonfire, and drumming at the end of the parade.

Rain date: Sunday November 2, same time and place.

Other Details:
Please plan to donate a few dollars to pay for food.
Parking is at the post office next to 238 Underpass Rd.

Contact for more info between 8AM and 8PM: Liis Mckenna at liis.mckenna@comcast.net 508-255-6878, Or Jenna Wright at jenna6789@gmail.com 774-323-8605

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Zombie Rave at Lush, Everett MA, Thurs 16-Oct-2008

2008-10-05T19:21:33Z

A friend of mine runs a monthly night called "Lush" at Rob Jack's in Everett.
Show card at <a href="http://www.lush-boston.com/images/zombie_rave_print.jpg">http://www.lush-boston.com/images/zombie_rave_print.jpg</a>

He writes:
Looking for glow spinners/hoopers/fans
I'm putting on an event in the greater Boston area and I'm looking for people to participate!

There's a $100 prize pool and it's up for grabs if you are zombie enough. There will be makeup artists on hand to add some final Zombie touches as well as enough fog and UV to really get your glow on.

Doors open at 8pm and we will be showing "Zombie Strippers" on the big screen while the makeup artist are working. After the movie the floor opens up to the glowing zombie hordes.

Lush is every Third Thursday @
Rob Jacks
88 Main St.
Everett, MA

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Massachusetts Poetry Festival

2008-09-30T22:07:16Z

http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/wordup/archive/2008/09/30/talking-with-the-founder-of-the-first-ever-massachusetts-poetry-festival.aspx

Talking with the founder of the first-ever Massachusetts Poetry Festival

Organizer and businessman Michael Ansara had been clandestinely writing poetry for years when his friend (and former congressman, but not the guitar player) Chet Atkins encouraged him to start the Massachusetts Poetry Outrach Project, aimed at bringing poetry back into the mainstream (or at least out of the back of the bookstore). It wasn't long before a series of MassPOP roundtables, funded with a seed grant from the state's Foundation for the Humanities and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, birthed the idea of a statewide poetry festival, which will become a reality over Columbus Day weekend.

The first-ever festival will take place in Lowell from October 10-12, and will feature readings, workshops, performances, and more. I reached Ansara last week via email; here's an edited version of our interview.

PHX: What of the three-day festival are you most excited for?

MA: Frankly just that we are having it at all. There has been nothing like this – there have been bits and pieces here and there – but nothing that attempts to spotlight the deep talent of the poets in this Commonwealth; nothing that can grow and bring together not only much of the disparate poetry community from across the state but also, slowly and over time, bring families and younger people and older people and various communities together to celebrate and experience poetry. This year we have no idea how many people will attend this very first ever festival – 500? 1000? 1,500? We really do not know. But we are committed over the coming years to building this into an event that will draw first 2,500 people and then 5,000 and someday 10,000. The fact that we have made this first event happen – that we have launched this brand new Massachusetts Poetry Festival and gotten the participation of so many poets and poetry groups and raised $50,000 from so many donors and sponsors – well I think we are launched and that excites me no end.

The other thing that excites me is how much program content we have for so many different people – we have program for teachers, for high school students, for younger kids ( including a poetry detectives program) , for people who want to learn to write poems for the first time and for those who have been writing for years. We have poetry with music. We have a panel on spiritualism and poetry and poets who want to deal with the facts of our time. We have movies. We have performance and slam poetry. Readings in restaurants. We have [Phoenix writer] Lloyd Schwartz on [Elizabeth] Bishop. And we have XJ Kennedy and a group of poets reading humorous poetry. We have amazing headline readings with poets who all in their different ways will shake your spirit [including Nick Flynn, Robert Pinsky, and Marjorie Agosin]. We really have something for almost everyone.

PHX: Why was Lowell chosen as the location for the festival?

MA: We chose Lowell for two reasons. One is that we didn’t want the Festival to be in Cambridge or Back Bay, or even Somerville . No knock on any of those communities each of which I frequent often. But we wanted some place that was unexpected. Secondly and much more importantly, Lowell has an amazing, deep and collaborative set of institutions and organizations and people that really take seriously the notion of the “creative economy.” When you look at the Lowell Folk Festival, the Kerouac celebration, the Cambodian Opera, and the many other events and ongoing efforts, Lowell is right at the top of a place that is using the creative economy to drive real development. I think some places and Western Mass. and Lowell have taken the concept the furthest.

* * *

Published Sep 30 2008, 01:06 PM by Deirdre Fulton

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Children and thier bedtime stories.

2008-09-24T02:17:22Z

It is interesting to me that the stories (prophecies) have gotten into the heads of some and much of mankind has forgotten what our true purpose is. Life itself is more important than any epic battle of "Good" and "Evil". On any side that you think you have chosen to endulge your life and work and not to mention precious time, what has it really been for? To fight? To win? The only reason for anyone to say that a "story" (prophecy) has any importance, is that someone or even a large society for that matter, has saw to it into it's own being. If you look at these end times prophecies, and other dreadful foretellings of sort, it seems that the only ones that really make out greatly on the whole is the money handlers. War, destruction and rebuilding efforts afterwards end up turning serious profits to those behind the curtain. Why is it that suddenly, we are all expected to believe that the world is plummeting into disarray and mayham and we are expected to look to those who appear to have all the answers and plead on bended knee for saving. Get up people! Look around you! What do you really see? Is it an illusion of ideas being pushed into your mind? Does anything really match to what you are being told in these romantic storybooks? We are the difference. We are the backbone. They don't want you to know it. If you don't see it, look for it. The Christened Light is there in All! Life begets life, violence begets more violence (for you "Good and Evil" people"). Refuse to choose a side. Pick up your hands and make your life what you need it to be within the circle that you are confortable making. Some may have small circles, some may have large. Protect the life that is within your circle. We have no time to waste on petty back and forth. Look at the truth of what is. There is no need for crypicism. Secrets are a trick to get you to continue to empty your pockets to the ones you "believe" make a difference. YOU are the difference, my brothers and sisters! Stand upright within your Divine given right and protect the life within your circle with your Divine given gifts. Love through the golden mean is how we will survive our trying times and if we must return to whence we came, be joyful that we all will continue in our purpose in protecting life from the crashing of the void that surrounds existance. I love you all. I hope that you all find what it is that makes you truly happy within your hearts and minds together.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 18 replies

Roommate? Boston area.

2008-09-23T05:34:43Z

I'm going to make this short and sweet, since Tribe at my last post.

I'm a 24 year-old fire spinner from Boston going to school full-time, and works quite a bit. I'm a Buddhist, pretty laid back, and for music I like electronic with influences of middle eastern, and hip hop.

I'm a biology nerd. I love learning, and enjoy good conversationalists.

If you know anyone in the area who's looking for a roommate, and is intending on staying there for a while, please PM me with their info, or get mine to give to them. I'm pretty flexible as to where, as long as it's a place to call home, and somewhere I feel comfortable.

Thanks,

-Maggie

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

New England Freaks spreading across the land...

2008-09-12T18:38:19Z

like an amoebic force, oozing our way out of the tiny NE states to take over the USA!!! Hahahahha! Tell me, freaks, where are you headed? I am now in Ohio. Some of you have gone to California, Georgia, Arizona... where else are you going?

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 14 replies

Female herbalist needing a room to rent from Sept 4 - 11

2008-09-02T05:44:57Z

Kitchen is a must as I love to cook! :)

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

SALON GONE WRONG:: an evening of poetry & delinquency

2008-08-27T23:23:53Z

For immediate press release!
Address inquiries and pre-sale requests to
burlesque.poetess@gmail.com

myspace events page (viewable to public)
http://events.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&eventID=447465.35196

SALON GONE WRONG:: an evening of poetry & delinquency
brought to you by the burlesque poetess

Friday, August 29th, 2008. 8pm. (doors @7:30)

You are cordially invited to the party you always thought was going on
after you went to bed. The 'salon gone wrong' is a celebration of the
poetical in everything not usually classified as such. This
vaudevillian variety show of crooners, cabaret, comedy, jazz and
sideshow acts will features faces you know, and those you soon shall.
Writers include rising voices from the poetry community as well as
published authors TBA. The evening will be sure to have a lot of
finger and garter snapping, smelling salts & flasks being passed
about.

$10 pre-sale tix, limited time/amout
available via paypal
address requests to:
burlesque.poetess@gmail.com

august 29th, 8pm (doors @7:30)
@the amazing firehouse
160 hollis st, framingham, MA
www.amazingthings.org
beginning w.o.s. $15, $14 for students & seniors
508-405-ARTS (2787)

venue directions: http://www.amazingthings.org/venues-detailsID.asp?Venue_ID=16

---

the evening includes...

*musical guests:

Robby Roadsteamer (music. awesome.)
www.roadsteamer.com

The Outfielders (experimental thrash jazz, improv)
featuring members of Rev. Glasseye, Humanwine, Viva Viva
www.myspace.com/theoutfielders

Calycadenia (Lainey of the Steamy Bohemians' macabre Jane Austenesque
songstylings)
www.myspace.com/calycadenia

Walter Sickert & The ARmy of Broken Toys
www.myspace.com/armyoftoys
www.armyoftoys.com

*writers:

your comedienne hostess, jojo lazar, the burlesque poetess.
Boston's very own Betty Boopalike, salacious stage presence
sharing her underthings and the poetry that happens to pop out of it...

www.myspace.com/burlesquepoetess

select readings from Edrie (One of the broken toys)
www.myspace.com/edrie

Michelle Olney, The Lunchlady Poet of Brandeis University

author Joshua Dunton

poetry from Nimue, squid woman

Billy Swift, the poet offering his readers oysters & wine...

*other acts:

Odd Child Uprising (punk circus sideshow troupe extraordinaire)
www.myspace.com/oddchilduprising

kamikaze hula hooper, ashling

stay tuned for surprises surprises!
mystery guests TBA, audience inclusion/molestation, and more!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

About the circles we make.

2008-08-26T13:35:31Z

A part of the purpose that we have for Love, is the circles that we naturally make. Small Circles or Large Circles, the choice is yours to make within what you feel comfortable with. Small circles constist of self and maybe parents or pets. Whatever life is within. Other circles may be of the expanded family. The spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, ect. Within that circle could also be what you feel is your place of residence, caring for the ground and trees, plants and gardens, streams or ponds. Anything that is of life within. There are those that brave what some people don't, to include their entire community. This fact doesn't make them any more important than those with smaller circles, it just means that they are more comfortable with expanding the bounderies of their circle. Then you have those that take the entire planet into their circle. Even larger still, until the entire universe has someone who cares for the life with the love they have to offer. It does not matter where your comfort level is. Care and Love for the life that is within your circle. Protect it with all of your gifts. There is no more plain of a purpose that this. There is no need to waste the gifts that you were given on petty pocket lint. If everyone is feeding everyone, what more would you really need?

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

veggie oil bus for sale

2008-08-21T23:48:19Z

Have your own freak bus, with a storied history. Someone I know graduated from college this spring, bought Incus' big blue bus, and did a cross country trip with some friends to Seattle and back doing circus performances, running on waste veggie oil from restaurants. Now he has to move on to other stuff, so the bus is for sale...

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/787706266.html

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

in town and looking for fun

2008-08-09T13:34:00Z

I will be on Cape Cod from aug 18-22 and am looking for anythng fun to do in the conter-culture, so tell me whats happening?

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

Beltek This weekend

2008-07-30T17:52:06Z

Hello Everyone! Remeber Beltek Festival is happening this weekend friday thru sunday in Belmont, Maine. Fire, Djs, glowsticks, dancing and camping oh my!

Check out this event: BelTek Arts & Music Festival : 2008
Hosted By: Rick Kidson
When: Friday Aug 01, 2008
at 6:00 PM
Where: Chateau Psydways
24 Lincolnville Road
Belmont, Maine|20 04952
United States
Description:
The 6th Annual Free Arts & Music Festival

MySpace URL:

http://www.myspace.com/beltekfestival
www.beltekfestival.com

Friday Night Lineup (6 pm - 5am)

DJ Duran
JonEk@t - Digital Mercenaries, Drunk n Bass
Marshall Law - Sounds Of Pleasure (S.O.P.)
Gestalt - Gestalt Productions, Barrelhead,
Murder at the Disco
Illogik & STRYKNYNE - Digital Mercenaries,
Soundbox Presents, Jungletrain.net
Tcorrey & Manafest - Gruvtrybe,
Scene Orlando, Drop Shop
Jen “Popgirl” 23 - Mamma’s House
Alchera - Subsurfaced.net, Digital Emissions,
Boston Breaks
Joy Ride
Vik 44 - Hardreset, Brick City
Media, Milled Pavement
Elusid - Digital Mercenaries

Saturday Lineup (Noon - 6 am)

Dreamosaic
Mosart 212 - Brown Jacket Media,
Mosart212 Presents, The Enormous
Room Crew
Secret Weekend - Brick City Media,
We Push Buttons, Milled Pavement
Rok Finestt - Preetha, Cold One City NM,
Norrath The Spinnificent
Marquard - The Databass, WERU, BelTek
Dj Hydrator - WERU, The Databass, drumandbass.ru
Metris - Brick City Media
Psydways - BelTek Mastermind, WERU,
Digital Emissions
Unity - Norrath the Spinnificent, Datapants
DJ Bookum - EnfeKt Productions, DILYSI,
Nocturnal Vybz
Nocturnal - Nocturnal Vybz, Digital
Mercenaries, One Luv
Seratto - Subsurfaced.net, Digital
Emissions
Jason Keith & Matty.T - Brick City
Media, Brown Jacket Media
Legal Limit - Synthetic Sounds, Harmonic
Productions, Ugroove.co.uk
Lenore - Elements, Lost Girl
Productions
Dj D.C. - Boston Breaks
Mizeyesis - Threshold, Awake, NERU,
Team Ewok
Trixie - Vinyl Technicians
Illux - E.C. Army, Pressure Sessions L.A.

The BelTek 2008 Official Lineup

NOTE: Recently added- Moshe & Knowledge to replace Mosart 212 and Hydrator respectively. Sorry you guys couldn't make it, and thanks to Moshe & Knowledge for filling in!

Visual, Display & Performance Artists
Molotov Fire Cirkus - fire dance/poi
Suzanne Campbell Anderson - YIKES! Studio, polymer and sterling silver art jewelry
Norman Tinker - metal sculptor
Tranzpiel - mime/dance performance
Kelly Ufkin - oil paintings and drawings
Carol Putnam - acrylic/oil paintings
Hutch Hats - clothing and accessories
Magnus Johnstone - acrylic/manga
Belmont Motorcycle - custom bikes
Richard Knox - oil paintings
Eben Larner - designer/cartoonist/grafitti
Dudeman Foo/Joshua Gates - multimedia support
Kait-Ma - fire dance/poi
Katrina Napolitan - Amphitrite Studio, photography and artistic framing
Mary Kearns - henna body art
Laura Tasheiko - realism, abstract/watercolor, oil

And many more! Check back often for updates!

We welcome any and all: Artists, Vendors, Performance Artists, Dancers, Fire Performers Jugglers, Stilt Walkers, Puppeteers, etc.

No vendor/artist fees!
Email beltekfestival@mail.com to sign up today.

Don’t forget to bring your paint!
The community canvases will be back this year.

Join us for the 6th annual free arts and music fetival in beautiful Belmont, Maine. Experience 2 nights of music, art, and groovy people.

BelTek’s organizers bring you a safe, comfortable and fun enviroment for you, your family and friends to party. Don't be left at home. Mark your calendar now!

Attend and camp for free!

Everyone is welcome.

Activities and games for kids.

Private Property: Carry in/Carry out

Fresh water and porta-johns on-site

14+ acres to party

Donations Welcome & Appreciated
Questions? Email beltekfestival@mail.com

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Jung @ Heart, Emerging Visions #12, has emerged (featuring Kala Snowflower)

2008-07-26T20:04:24Z

Celebrate the Jung-star in us all with

Emerging Visions visionary art ezine #12 - "Jung @ Heart"

http://emergingvisions.blogspot.com

~ share and enjoy ~

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

energy supplements?

2008-07-17T11:58:23Z

what's a good supplement for morning energy? i can't drink coffee.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

Burning Man Tally-Ho!...

2008-07-11T00:18:21Z

..I see the man burning! but have yet to find my way to him :D
Recently relocated from the west coast in the last few weeks - so I get to find a new path to Burning Man this year!
Preferably looking for any beautiful souls who would be traveling that way by bus, van, etc. Eco Eco Eco
...or if you have any suggestions to find cheaper flights, let me know (right now they are averaging about $450)
Love Love Love to all of you MUAH!
~Christina~

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

Rideshare to Festivus

2008-07-09T19:18:20Z

Hey guys,

Any of y'all going to Festivus this weekend and looking for a way to save on gas? BioTour is running a shuttle on Saturday morning from Boston to the event - suggested donation of $30-60 round-trip, depending on how much stuff you have (this is for the environment, so be generous people!).

If you know of anyone looking for an eco-friendly ride, send them my way.

Love,

-=KB=-

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Affordable Rooms at "The Ark" (in Western Mass) Available

2008-07-08T20:31:55Z

Hello all. I know this belongs as a "listing" and I'm going to put it there too but since many people don't even look in there I thought I'd post it here too. Me, Kala and KB are all moving out of our house at the end of this month. This leaves our rooms and others available. Below is the ad that I just put up at Craigs List. For a rather fanciful rendition of the place rendered by me visit http://organicdigital.com/the_ark.jpg

If you're interested contact me. Thanks!!

~shiva

There are multiple rooms for rent at "The Ark" which has been a community house for over 20 years. Prices range from $200 for a small room up to $500 for a larger space (2 rooms and a loft). It is located on a dirt road in Shutesbury directly across the street from Sirius Ecovillage. It is a 10 minute drive to Amherst and a 25 minute drive to Northampton. The whole neighborhood is very nice and friendly with a strong eco-conscious vibe. There are often community meals at Sirius on Wednesday nights where the people from the neighborhood gather. There are also quite a number of other events that happen there. It is surrounded by forest with some trails in the back. There is garden space available. Heat is by wood (bought by the residents...usually $200-$300 each winter).

Each resident has there own room(s) and share the living room, bathrooms, (large) kitchen and other common spaces. Though this is by no means a commune there is a sense of community in the house. There are even plans in the works for some of the residents to attempt to buy the house as a collective. The current residents are friendly and agreeable. Everything runs pretty smoothly with little of the drama that sometimes comes with a shared house. Any decisions that effect the house and residents are generally agreed upon by consensus (including taking in new residents). In addition to humans there is a fun cat on the premises.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

why does it seem like all the good parties

2008-07-07T20:50:48Z

get schedduled for the same night?

Has anyone noticed this recent trend?

grrrrrr.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 13 replies

Freaky fun in the Sun

2008-07-06T19:31:57Z

So I am just curious as to what all the freaks are doing for fun this summer? anything local going on that we should know about?

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

New Tribe for Northeastern Bi Ladies (Xpost)

2008-07-01T02:04:50Z

tribes.tribe.net/northeastbiladies

If you're from PA to ME, and looking to meet someone new, join us here. Did I say it's for ladies? Yes, I did...

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

The Tempest

2008-06-20T03:00:02Z

I am performing in a production of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" July 9-13 in Providence, RI. For more info on the theater company and how to get tickets, go to: http://www.ristage.org/

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

McCain to Campaign Burning man.

2008-06-13T17:04:01Z

Seriously

Life just doesn't get any weirder.

http://www.burningman.com/news/080401_mccain.html

"McCain's transportation team is working with his AV crew to retrofit the Senator's "Straight Talk Express" bus to accommodate the largest state-of-the-art speaker stacks ever seen at Burning Man, and will be parking the bus on the 2:00 radial street with other sound camps. "We're putting in a set of Technics SL-1200 turntables on the roof, and recruiting the hottest international Republican DJ's to work the wheels of steel," said Dosenberner. "The Senator looks forward to personally making grilled cheese sandwiches for revelers 'rolling in' from surrounding raves each night, and maybe taking a turn on the decks himself ... you should expect some slammin' big band favorites, should that happen."

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 5 replies

March with Good Vibrations in Boston Pride!

2008-06-10T22:14:19Z

Good Vibrations, the legendary destination for sex-positive products, is proud to be marching in Boston's Gay Pride Parade this year! Please join our contingent and show your support for sex positivity. For over thirty years we have provided access to sex-positive products and accurate sex information through our clean and comfortable stores, catalog, and web site in order to enhance our customers' sex lives and to promote healthy attitudes about sex.

So join the fun and let's march! Meet fun people and get a goodie bag!

Call the store for more details: 617-264-4400

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Liber OZ Fest in Massachusetts

2008-06-07T15:56:33Z

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR OASIS
Proudly Presents
The 8th Annual Liber OZ Fest
An Adult Overnight Camping Celebration Of
“The Rights of Man”
Also known as
LIBER OZ
The Book of the Goat
Saturday- September 13th 2008 e.v.- Sunday September 14th-
What you get: An out of doors camping experience- A fire- A Feast- The Gnostic Mass-
A Rite of Baphomet and “Disney land on Acid”
Secret info including Date, Place and Price:
warengine718@yahoo.com
Have Header: OZ FEST 08
To Frater Alephomen

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Circle Summer 2008!

2008-06-05T23:20:24Z

Yes Kitties!

Circle is hosting some summer parties.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Circle parties. That's
right... 10 years of good people, good music and good times.

Circle and thee Gnomefatty Kollectiv would like to announce (save the
dates!) TWO dates for the summer.

Outside at the American Legion Marsh Post:

Friday, July 11th .... (the weekend after Firefly, so be ready!)
Satyrday August 9th. (10th anniversary party - may be an all-day event.)
****we tentatively have a September date that will be announced later***

More details to follow, this is just a heads-up, to make sure all of
our beautiful party people have a date in their heads.

Don't miss it!

The music sounds better with you!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

And the winner of the Democratic Presidentail Nominee is....Barack Obama!!

2008-06-05T01:49:23Z

Yes yes it's absolutely true, for the first time in the history of this country, we have an African American Presidential nominee that is at the head of a major party!! Yes it's been a long, rather uphill battle but it's been worth it. Remember when Senator Obama announced his candidacy back in Feb. 2007? Everyone said was too inexperienced, and the most formidible candidate seemed to be Hillary Clinton. Alas, we have prevailed! The question that remains is who will be his running mate? Although Hillary Clinton said she wouldn't pass up the VP, personally I'd rather see John Edwards fill that slot. Just imagine, the two democratic candidates on the ticket for 08 took no lobbyist money, who want out of Iraq ASAP, and who want renewable energy. I could go on, but in a nutshell, I feel that Hillary has a bit too much baggage, but none-the-less I like her and it would certainly kick ass to have a woman on the ticket too. Bottom line, John McCaine is only going to bring about more of the same Bush Administration policies that have destroyed our countries credibility(and it goes without saying that at 71 he should retire) so we are all ready for a change and Obama is "Change we can believe in!" The months between now and November will be quite exciting, I hope you are all as pumped as I am!!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

home

2008-06-03T22:49:33Z

I miss it!!!!! Oh Boston how I long for you....

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

Looking for a place for a while

2008-06-03T21:52:38Z

I am loosing my lease after 6 years of living in Southborough, and will be looking for a new place around the Rt. 495/ Rt. 9 area. I would like to pay about the same that I currently am (about $600) and would appreciate any suggestions for places that are either open or will be by July 1st. I am poly, freaky, and a fireworker/player. Please message me directly.

Thank you,
Cwellan

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 2 replies

Fire's Rising Carpooling

2008-05-30T15:03:16Z

Hey Folks

Anyone thinking of going to Fire's Rising, might you decide to go, last minute, knowing a ride is available?

Know anyone who is looking to carpool?

My planned riders are heading down early, so I am looking for 1 or 2 people who might want to share driving/gas with me.

Burning Brightly!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

Red Tent in Seacoast NH - Wed June 4

2008-05-30T14:10:16Z

Wednesday June 4, 2008, 4pm-9pm
Please feel welcome to come for the entire time, part of the time or just for the formal circle at 7pm.

The Red Tent Temple Movement was started as a way to create sacred space for women and is spreading internationally. All women are welcome, bleeding and not. We create a space to heal and be heard. Come and drop into yourself. This is a place where women can serve women in a voluntary way and where giving and receiving happen naturally in a place that is open to all women. The Red Tent will have space for resting, journaling, connecting with others, being creative, making music, meditating, drinking tea, or just breathing. A circle will be held at 7pm, but the rest of the time is unstructured to allow women's needs and wants to develop and be nurtured organically. Donations are welcome, but completely optional. If you feel called to wear a little red, please do. Please feel free to also bring any instruments or other sacred objects you wish to share.

This Red Tent Temple will be held in Rye, NH and will be a monthly event. For more information or to RSVP to join us, please call 603-498-2735 or email crystal@gypsymoonlounge.com. We will then supply the exact location. This is an open event in that you can come and go at any time that you wish.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Liber OZ Fest

2008-05-22T17:37:38Z

The Knights Templar Oasis has announced that the 8th Annaul Liber OZ Fest can and wil Occur the weekend of September 12th 2008 e.v.
Fro details contact
warengine718@yahoo.com

The Theme this year is: BAPHOMET

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Looking for a roommate!

2008-05-20T23:38:24Z

My roommate is moving out of our apartment near Tufts University on July 1st and I'm looking to fill the space, preferably with someone who shares some of my interests. Rent is $725, utilities around $150, laundry for free in the basement, quiet dead end street, one huge marshmallow of a cat in residence. I'm a geeky freaky poly fire obsessed 30 year old woman who works too much. Message me if you are interested!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Firefly call for atists, performers, and theme camps

2008-05-12T00:02:06Z

this is the tale of an enchanted land that was never quite the same place twice*

the land of ampersandy, was built by a firefly,
who was very fond of rain and people - so that when she went burning,
she could take the people with her thru her dazzling razzamaTAZ!

doot doot doot doot - da doot da doot da do-oo

if i may spout about the land of ampersandy....

don't worry, it won't hurt
now you are under the spell of the green man's ginger...

this firefly has quite the acumen,
holding unconditional love for every type of human
although she tends to be practically illusive
to those not prepared to be radically inclusive

the first of ten insightful thoughts she holds dear
when dazzling the razzamaTAZ we do our best to adhere
we come best prepared and rely on ourselves
to charm the pixies, the sprites, & the elves
so that they may befriend us and instead pranks
they may bless us with the everlasting joy of spanks
we know stress to impress is illusion of oppression
and get down and dirty with the radical self-expression
we water our plants with just as much care
as we would each others', as we collectively share
immediately with the moment & every happenstance
we deconstruct our barriers as we prepare to dance

the firefly sends you this transmission - in order to burn she request your ignition

by drawing & dancing, sculpting & spinning,
painting, projecting, writing & singing,
silk flying & screaming, building & breathing
jamming & spanking, glitching & beating,
stringing & stretching, hooping & humming
mixing & mash uping, teaching & strumming,

spread the good word! for art she calls! - be fine or unfinished the bug welcomes all!

a tip from the luna moths; they say there's a buzz
on getting prepared over what the moon does
this year the land will be shown the new moon
of this they warn we may wish to attune

while new beginnings are born on this night
it remains the darkest; we aim to be bright!
let our art shine & blink & radiantly glow
enlightening our nights as we reap what we sow*

______________________________________________

Please forward to someone whose art makes you happy:
_________________________________________________

Firefly happens July 3-6, 2008. TICKETS GO ON SALE MONDAY, MAY 12!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>+<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please visit http://www.fireflyartscollective.org/ticketing/
- They may sell out quickly! -
Everyone needs a ticket, including performers and organizers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>+<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Firefly is a community of some of the most creative people in New England and beyond. Each year we come together to be inspired by the woods and by each other. Making and sharing art is central to our collective vision.

If you are an experienced artist, we would love for you and your work to join us. If you are just beginning to explore your creativity, Firefly is an ideal environment in which to experiment. Here the strange is welcomed, and art does not need to make money to be valuable or impress anyone to find a home
and an open-minded audience.

Creating art for Firefly is one of the best ways to participate!

INSTALLATION
Firefly creates a unique relationship between the
natural and the artificial. Some of our favorite
memories are of works of art placed in special natural
environments where they suddenly seem to belong. In
past years Firefly explorers have come across a rose
garden in the woods, a glowing galaxy in the meadow,
disco balls hung from trees, and a winged frog sitting
above a brook. We would love to see more sculpture and
installation art, and we have plenty of space for it.

PERFORMANCE
DJ's, bands, and performers of all types are essential
to Firefly. The festival is full of opportunities for
jamming and imporvised performance. Scheduled
performances with amplified sound are also possible
when a performer collaborates with a camp that is able
to provide a sound system. If you are a performer, you
can turn your camp into your ideal venue, or use the
discussion lists to find another camp to host you.
___If you need help finding a place to
play, contact our music coordinator at:
performance@fireflyartscollective.org

FIRE
Fireflies love fire performance and all types of fire
art. These things happen in designated areas with
respect for safety, of course.
For more information write to:
fire@fireflyartscollective.org.

DANCE
For many insects, dancing is an important form of
communication. For many humans, it is a reason to
exist. Come dance with us.

VIDEO
VJ art and video screenings are also an important part
of Firefly. In the past theme camps have provided
projectors and screens. If you have something to show,
use the discussion lists to find a camp that would
like to screen it.

GLOWING ***note note- it's a new moon!***
Of course Fireflies' favorite activity of all is
glowing. At night our village lights up with lasers,
LED's, EL wire, glow sticks, and blacklight painting.
Glowing art is always welcome.

COSTUME
This is your opportunity to dress how you feel, or
become a character from your own mythology.

CAMPING
You need a home at Firefly, and your home can be your art, or a home for your friends' art. For more info see:
http://www.fireflyartscollective.org/tiki-index.php?page=Themecamps

GIFTS
Firefly is a gift economy-- you may want to make
something special to share. Gifts of food and drink
are always appreciated.

WHATEVER
If you make art that does not fit into any of the
categories on this page, we'd especially like to
experience it.

SPACE
Your creativity can turn a clearing in the woods into
a perfect place for meditation, ritual, dancing,
performance, chilling, teaching, or partying. Wide,
flat, open spaces are rare at Firefly. However, if you
design your project to fit among the trees, you will
have many beautiful sites from which to choose. There
is no official system for assigning or reserving
sites. As long as you show respect for your neighbors,
your project can go wherever you choose.

POWER
Electricity is available in limited areas. If your
project requires it, write to dpw@fireflyartscollective.org,
or use the discussion lists to find a camp with a generator.

PLANNING
Firefly is a Leave No Trace event. This means your
project should be planned to have minimal impact on
the land, and you will be expected to remove it
entirely at the end of the event. Often nature puts
Firefly to the test with rain, mud, and cold. Don't
let this scare you, but be prepared for an adventure.
Shuttles are generally available to move supplies from
the parking area to the event and back, but shuttle
service can be interrupted by unforeseen
circumstances. If your site does not happen to be near
the main road, you may need to move your gear quite a
ways on foot. If you're new to Firefly and you're
planning something big, use the discussion lists to
network with experienced Firefly artists and learn
what to expect.

HEAD-STARTS
If you would like to start setting up your project
before the event, you are welcome to join us for the
Work Weekends. We ask that you and your crew also
devote some time to infrastructure projects that are
necessary to the entire event. When planning, remember
that gear you bring in over several days may be
difficult to remove in one day at the end of the
festival.

CONTACT
You don't need permission to bring your art to
Firefly, but if you're planning something, we'd love
to hear from you. Send a brief description of your
project to art@fireflyartscollective.org and we can
add it to the web site. Also feel free to write to
that address with any questions for Firefly planners.

POSSIBILITY
Anything is possible at Firefly with collaboration
between participants. If you have an idea but need
volunteers, advice, or resources to make it happen,
posting to the Discussion Lists and Tribe is the best
way to find them.

http://www.fireflyartsollective.org
http://chaoshacker.org/mailman/listinfo/fireflyblink
art@fireflyartscollective.org

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

time for cape cod d & d again!!

2008-05-07T01:18:09Z

it is a beautiful time of year here on the cape (isn;t it always??) so come join us at CAPE COD INTENTIONAL DRUM & DANCE
come get your groove on...join the collective wave of sound
the second & last saturdays of each month
Brewster Council on the Aging
Rt 6A in Brewster....big yellow (awesome) building next to the fire station
7:30pm to 11pm
www.thecreativeunion.com
next date...5/10

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Red Tent Temple in NH - Wed May 7

2008-05-06T16:21:41Z

This is a monthly gathering I'm helping to organize and facilitate in the seacoast NH area. I know this is short notice, but it's our first time and we're still a bit unorganized. If you are interested in joining us, please contact myself or the folks listed below for more information and directions. This event will be held monthly on the Wed night closest to the New Moon (this is the 1st Wed of the month for at least the next few months).

Peace,
Amanda

***

Red Tent Temple

Wed May 7, 4-9pm
Rye, NH
* Women Only *

We are having our first Red Tent Temple event in seacoast NH. The Red Tent Temple movement was started as a way to create sacred space for women and is spreading internationally. All woman are welcome, bleeding and not. We create a space to heal and be heard. Come and drop into yourself. This is a place where women can serve women in a voluntary way and where giving and receiving happen naturally in a place that is open to all women. The Red Tent will have space for resting journaling, connecting with others, being creative, making music, meditating, drinking tea, crying, or just breathing. A circle will be held at 7pm, but the rest of the time is unstructured to allow women's needs and wants to develop and be nutured organically.

Donations are welcome, but completely optional. If you feel called to wear a little red, please do. Please feel free to also bring any instruments or other sacred objects you wish to share.

For more information or to RSVP to join us, please call 603-498-2735 or email crystal at gypsymoonlounge.com. We will then supply the exact location. This is an open event in that you can come and go at any time that you wish.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

the evolution will be televised

2008-05-05T14:45:10Z

Just wanted to let everyone know something is going down here on Martha's Vineyard. I want to make sure everyone who wants to know knows and anyone who wants to be a part of it all can be.
Myspace.com/JunkyardMcGraw

Myspace.com/theopenjamshow

Let me know if you are passing by our way.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Smart cars

2008-05-05T04:58:21Z

they opened a smart dealership round the corner from me in east smrvl so i went over and had a look. i was kinda disappointed -- i thought they were electric but they're hybrid. and the mileage is not that special -- 33 mpg city. that's no big woop and it runs on premium.

it will do 90 but i'd be scared shitless to take one on the highway w/ so little between you and anything oncoming.

http://www.smartusa.com/smart-car-fortwo.aspx

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 8 replies

air-powered car!

2008-05-05T02:20:07Z

the smart car is stupid, THIS is the shit!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html?series=19

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Albert Hoffman

2008-05-04T16:29:45Z

Sad news of this great man's death at 102: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/29/state/n193020D35.DTL&hw=albert+hofmann&sn=001&sc=1000

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 1 reply

5/14 -- Free Burlesque TIx

2008-05-01T15:16:54Z

Hey you cool cats and hot kittens!

The Boston Babydolls are offering free tickets to their show on Wednesday, May 14 at The Boston Billiard Club (126 Brookline Ave.,
Boston MA -- around the corner from Fenway Park). This is the kick-off event for our new monthly showcase, and we'd love to see you all
there! There's going to be all sorts of media coverage, goodies, and surprises -- as well as the fabulous Boston Babydolls, so don't miss it.

We're doing two performances of the same show -- one at 8 p.m. and one at 10 p.m. So whehter you've got to work late or get up early, there's a show for you.

To get your free ticket, visit http://thedollhouse.eventsbot.com/

What's the catch? There is none -- but if you reserve a free ticket, please show up (if you don't reserve a free ticket, admission is only
$5.00 at the door).

Hope to see you all there!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Sextopia Films

2008-04-29T20:27:32Z

Hello all. I'm finally within reach of one of my lifelong goals to become a pornographer..um... I mean a film maker. ;-)

Last winter I felt like I needed a change in my career..I had been doing web development for too many years. I came up with the idea of becoming a film maker which I've always wanted to do. But how does one make money at that? Why porn of course! And thus the idea Sextopia Films was born. We've done some test shoots and found we can create pretty good film-like quality video with the equipment at hand and we're ready to shoot some movies for real!

So check out the site and please share it with any friends that may have an interest in what we're trying to do. We are looking for collaborators..."models" certainly, but other things (such as music and beautiful locations) as well. Drop me a note if you'd like to talk about the possibilities.

http://sextopiafilms.com

~shiva

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 5 replies

any BTWs coming up???

2008-04-29T17:12:18Z

Does anyone know of any body transformation workshops happening before the end of May? I want to do something special for my graduation...
let me know!

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 5 replies

Just moved back to the boston area

2008-04-27T17:33:48Z

can any of you freaks tell me what to do for fun? I have been living out in the country for the past few years IN. Now I get lost in the area I grew up in, any advice would be great.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

rainbow gathering, art, love, spanish

2008-04-27T17:24:11Z

hey everyone
ok
lots to say
i am currently studying in guatemala and mexico and i will be comming home to Rhode Island for about 20ish days. I want to go to the gathering on the 20th and get back around the 10th because i have to go to my job at Omega Institute! Does anyone want to come along. Also, does anyone out there speak spanish and want to get together and talk with me! haha i dont want to lose what i Know while im back in the states. ALSO, i love drawing and people watching and dumpster diving and going on adventures. anyone want to participate with me while im home_? also, haha, anyone have any good place to sell my jewelery or know of any other way to make some quick money_¿ im up for anything. mwah
Yosefa

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

New Pentagon e-mails obtained by NY Times give hard evidence for the propaganda war on america- chilling reading!

2008-04-22T05:49:53Z

This is stunning-lengthy article in NY Times with terrible new proof about the deadly campaign of lies- from newly discovered emails, and interviews- and interviews with some of the people who did the dirty work, but are finally talking, their conscience overcoming them, in some cases- it's amazing.

Long, but worth sharing-because it is so detailed, and hard to refute- an important piece of journalism, that will cause much talk, and hopefully further twisting in the wind by the ever further disintegrating Bush reign of terror- this article will not make them happy in the White House today.

:P

Sorry, this is not a fun entry about fun stuff and parties, but- a few of you will be eager to read this.

I put in some paragraph breaks manually, (missed a few).. it reads much more easily now.

Grim satisfaction to hear/see this too, a parallel piece called " The Generals Revolt"- here is multimedia link:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/04/20/washington/20080419_RUMSFELD.html

============

MESSAGE MACHINE:
Behind Military Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden Hand

============

By DAVID BARSTOW
Published: April 20, 2008
New York Times

In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure.

The Media Battleground

The administration’s communications experts responded swiftly. Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo.

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.

Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.

Analysts have been wooed in hundreds of private briefings with senior military leaders, including officials with significant influence over contracting and budget matters, records show. They have been taken on tours of Iraq and given access to classified intelligence. They have been briefed by officials from the White House, State Department and Justice Department, including Mr. Cheney, Alberto R. Gonzales and Stephen J. Hadley.

In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.
A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis.

“It was them saying, ‘We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you,’ ” Robert S. Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and former Fox News analyst, said.

Kenneth Allard, a former NBC military analyst who has taught information warfare at the National Defense University, said the campaign amounted to a sophisticated information operation. “This was a coherent, active policy,” he said.

As conditions in Iraq deteriorated, Mr. Allard recalled, he saw a yawning gap between what analysts were told in private briefings and what subsequent inquiries and books later revealed.

“Night and day,” Mr. Allard said, “I felt we’d been hosed.”

The Pentagon defended its relationship with military analysts, saying they had been given only factual information about the war. “The intent and purpose of this is nothing other than an earnest attempt to inform the American people,” Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said.

It was, Mr. Whitman added, “a bit incredible” to think retired military officers could be “wound up” and turned into “puppets of the Defense Department.”

Many analysts strongly denied that they had either been co-opted or had allowed outside business interests to affect their on-air comments, and some have used their platforms to criticize the conduct of the war. Several, like Jeffrey D. McCausland, a CBS military analyst and defense industry lobbyist, said they kept their networks informed of their outside work and recused themselves from coverage that touched on business interests.

“I’m not here representing the administration,” Dr. McCausland said.

Some network officials, meanwhile, acknowledged only a limited understanding of their analysts’ interactions with the administration. They said that while they were sensitive to potential conflicts of interest, they did not hold their analysts to the same ethical standards as their news employees regarding outside financial interests. The onus is on their analysts to disclose conflicts, they said. And whatever the contributions of military analysts, they also noted the many network journalists who have covered the war for years in all its complexity.

Five years into the Iraq war, most details of the architecture and execution of the Pentagon’s campaign have never been disclosed. But The Times successfully sued the Defense Department to gain access to 8,000 pages of e-mail messages, transcripts and records describing years of private briefings, trips to Iraq and Guantánamo and an extensive Pentagon talking points operation.

These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.

Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who could be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.”

Though many analysts are paid network consultants, making $500 to $1,000 per appearance, in Pentagon meetings they sometimes spoke as if they were operating behind enemy lines, interviews and transcripts show. Some offered the Pentagon tips on how to outmaneuver the networks, or as one analyst put it to Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, “the Chris Matthewses and the Wolf Blitzers of the world.” Some warned of planned stories or sent the Pentagon copies of their correspondence with network news executives. Many — although certainly not all — faithfully echoed talking points intended to counter critics.

“Good work,” Thomas G. McInerney, a retired Air Force general, consultant and Fox News analyst, wrote to the Pentagon after receiving fresh talking points in late 2006. “We will use it.”

Again and again, records show, the administration has enlisted analysts as a rapid reaction force to rebut what it viewed as critical news coverage, some of it by the networks’ own Pentagon correspondents. For example, when news articles revealed that troops in Iraq were dying because of inadequate body armor, a senior Pentagon official wrote to his colleagues: “I think our analysts — properly armed — can push back in that arena.”

The documents released by the Pentagon do not show any quid pro quo between commentary and contracts. But some analysts said they had used the special access as a marketing and networking opportunity or as a window into future business possibilities.

John C. Garrett is a retired Army colonel and unpaid analyst for Fox News TV and radio. He is also a lobbyist at Patton Boggs who helps firms win Pentagon contracts, including in Iraq. In promotional materials, he states that as a military analyst he “is privy to weekly access and briefings with the secretary of defense, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other high level policy makers in the administration.” One client told investors that Mr. Garrett’s special access and decades of experience helped him “to know in advance — and in detail — how best to meet the needs” of the Defense Department and other agencies.

In interviews Mr. Garrett said there was an inevitable overlap between his dual roles. He said he had gotten “information you just otherwise would not get,” from the briefings and three Pentagon-sponsored trips to Iraq. He also acknowledged using this access and information to identify opportunities for clients. “You can’t help but look for that,” he said, adding, “If you know a capability that would fill a niche or need, you try to fill it. “That’s good for everybody.”

At the same time, in e-mail messages to the Pentagon, Mr. Garrett displayed an eagerness to be supportive with his television and radio commentary. “Please let me know if you have any specific points you want covered or that you would prefer to downplay,” he wrote in January 2007, before President Bush went on TV to describe the surge strategy in Iraq.

Conversely, the administration has demonstrated that there is a price for sustained criticism, many analysts said. “You’ll lose all access,” Dr. McCausland said.

With a majority of Americans calling the war a mistake despite all administration attempts to sway public opinion, the Pentagon has focused in the last couple of years on cultivating in particular military analysts frequently seen and heard in conservative news outlets, records and interviews show.

Some of these analysts were on the mission to Cuba on June 24, 2005 — the first of six such Guantánamo trips — which was designed to mobilize analysts against the growing perception of Guantánamo as an international symbol of inhumane treatment. On the flight to Cuba, for much of the day at Guantánamo and on the flight home that night, Pentagon officials briefed the 10 or so analysts on their key messages — how much had been spent improving the facility, the abuse endured by guards, the extensive rights afforded detainees.

The results came quickly. The analysts went on TV and radio, decrying Amnesty International, criticizing calls to close the facility and asserting that all detainees were treated humanely.

“The impressions that you’re getting from the media and from the various pronouncements being made by people who have not been here in my opinion are totally false,” Donald W. Shepperd, a retired Air Force general, reported live on CNN by phone from Guantánamo that same afternoon.

The next morning, Montgomery Meigs, a retired Army general and NBC analyst, appeared on “Today.” “There’s been over $100 million of new construction,” he reported. “The place is very professionally run.”

Within days, transcripts of the analysts’ appearances were circulated to senior White House and Pentagon officials, cited as evidence of progress in the battle for hearts and minds at home.

Charting the Campaign
By early 2002, detailed planning for a possible Iraq invasion was under way, yet an obstacle loomed. Many Americans, polls showed, were uneasy about invading a country with no clear connection to the Sept. 11 attacks. Pentagon and White House officials believed the military analysts could play a crucial role in helping overcome this resistance.

Torie Clarke, the former public relations executive who oversaw the Pentagon’s dealings with the analysts as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, had come to her job with distinct ideas about achieving what she called “information dominance.” In a spin-saturated news culture, she argued, opinion is swayed most by voices perceived as authoritative and utterly independent.
And so even before Sept. 11, she built a system within the Pentagon to recruit “key influentials” — movers and shakers from all walks who with the proper ministrations might be counted on to generate support for Mr. Rumsfeld’s priorities.

In the months after Sept. 11, as every network rushed to retain its own all-star squad of retired military officers, Ms. Clarke and her staff sensed a new opportunity. To Ms. Clarke’s team, the military analysts were the ultimate “key influential” — authoritative, most of them decorated war heroes, all reaching mass audiences.

The analysts, they noticed, often got more airtime than network reporters, and they were not merely explaining the capabilities of Apache helicopters. They were framing how viewers ought to interpret events. What is more, while the analysts were in the news media, they were not of the news media. They were military men, many of them ideologically in sync with the administration’s neoconservative brain trust, many of them important players in a military industry anticipating large budget increases to pay for an Iraq war.
Even analysts with no defense industry ties, and no fondness for the administration, were reluctant to be critical of military leaders, many of whom were friends. “It is very hard for me to criticize the United States Army,” said William L. Nash, a retired Army general and ABC analyst. “It is my life.”
Other administrations had made sporadic, small-scale attempts to build relationships with the occasional military analyst. But these were trifling compared with what Ms. Clarke’s team had in mind. Don Meyer, an aide to Ms. Clarke, said a strategic decision was made in 2002 to make the analysts the main focus of the public relations push to construct a case for war.

Journalists were secondary. “We didn’t want to rely on them to be our primary vehicle to get information out,” Mr. Meyer said.
The Pentagon’s regular press office would be kept separate from the military analysts. The analysts would instead be catered to by a small group of political appointees, with the point person being Brent T. Krueger, another senior aide to Ms. Clarke. The decision recalled other administration tactics that subverted traditional journalism. Federal agencies, for example, have paid columnists to write favorably about the administration. They have distributed to local TV stations hundreds of fake news segments with fawning accounts of administration accomplishments. The Pentagon itself has made covert payments to Iraqi newspapers to publish coalition propaganda.

Rather than complain about the “media filter,” each of these techniques simply converted the filter into an amplifier. This time, Mr. Krueger said, the military analysts would in effect be “writing the op-ed” for the war.

Assembling the Team

From the start, interviews show, the White House took a keen interest in which analysts had been identified by the Pentagon, requesting lists of potential recruits, and suggesting names. Ms. Clarke’s team wrote summaries describing their backgrounds, business affiliations and where they stood on the war.
“Rumsfeld ultimately cleared off on all invitees,” said Mr. Krueger, who left the Pentagon in 2004. (Through a spokesman, Mr. Rumsfeld declined to comment for this article.)

Over time, the Pentagon recruited more than 75 retired officers, although some participated only briefly or sporadically. The largest contingent was affiliated with Fox News, followed by NBC and CNN, the other networks with 24-hour cable outlets. But analysts from CBS and ABC were included, too. Some recruits, though not on any network payroll, were influential in other ways — either because they were sought out by radio hosts, or because they often published op-ed articles or were quoted in magazines, Web sites and newspapers. At least nine of them have written op-ed articles for The Times.

The group was heavily represented by men involved in the business of helping companies win military contracts. Several held senior positions with contractors that gave them direct responsibility for winning new Pentagon business. James Marks, a retired Army general and analyst for CNN from 2004 to 2007, pursued military and intelligence contracts as a senior executive with McNeil Technologies. Still others held board positions with military firms that gave them responsibility for government business. General McInerney, the Fox analyst, for example, sits on the boards of several military contractors, including Nortel Government Solutions, a supplier of communication networks.

Several were defense industry lobbyists, such as Dr. McCausland, who works at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, a major lobbying firm where he is director of a national security team that represents several military contractors. “We offer clients access to key decision makers,” Dr. McCausland’s team promised on the firm’s Web site.

Dr. McCausland was not the only analyst making this pledge. Another was Joseph W. Ralston, a retired Air Force general. Soon after signing on with CBS, General Ralston was named vice chairman of the Cohen Group, a consulting firm headed by a former defense secretary, William Cohen, himself now a “world affairs” analyst for CNN. “The Cohen Group knows that getting to ‘yes’ in the aerospace and defense market — whether in the United States or abroad — requires that companies have a thorough, up-to-date understanding of the thinking of government decision makers,” the company tells prospective clients on its Web site.

There were also ideological ties.

Two of NBC’s most prominent analysts, Barry R. McCaffrey and the late Wayne A. Downing, were on the advisory board of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, an advocacy group created with White House encouragement in 2002 to help make the case for ousting Saddam Hussein. Both men also had their own consulting firms and sat on the boards of major military contractors.
Many also shared with Mr. Bush’s national security team a belief that pessimistic war coverage broke the nation’s will to win in Vietnam, and there was a mutual resolve not to let that happen with this war.

This was a major theme, for example, with Paul E. Vallely, a Fox News analyst from 2001 to 2007. A retired Army general who had specialized in psychological warfare, Mr. Vallely co-authored a paper in 1980 that accused American news organizations of failing to defend the nation from “enemy” propaganda during Vietnam.

“We lost the war — not because we were outfought, but because we were out Psyoped,” he wrote. He urged a radically new approach to psychological operations in future wars — taking aim at not just foreign adversaries but domestic audiences, too. He called his approach “MindWar” — using network TV and radio to “strengthen our national will to victory.”

The Selling of the War

From their earliest sessions with the military analysts, Mr. Rumsfeld and his aides spoke as if they were all part of the same team.
In interviews, participants described a powerfully seductive environment — the uniformed escorts to Mr. Rumsfeld’s private conference room, the best government china laid out, the embossed name cards, the blizzard of PowerPoints, the solicitations of advice and counsel, the appeals to duty and country, the warm thank you notes from the secretary himself.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Mr. Allard said, describing the effect. “You’re back. They listen to you. They listen to what you say on TV.” It was, he said, “psyops on steroids” — a nuanced exercise in influence through flattery and proximity. “It’s not like it’s, ‘We’ll pay you $500 to get our story out,’ ” he said. “It’s more subtle.”

The access came with a condition. Participants were instructed not to quote their briefers directly or otherwise describe their contacts with the Pentagon.
In the fall and winter leading up to t
he invasion, the Pentagon armed its analysts with talking points portraying Iraq as an urgent threat. The basic case became a familiar mantra: Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, was developing nuclear weapons, and might one day slip some to Al Qaeda; an invasion would be a relatively quick and inexpensive “war of liberation.”
At the Pentagon, members of Ms. Clarke’s staff marveled at the way the analysts seamlessly incorporated material from talking points and briefings as if it was their own.

“You could see that they were messaging,” Mr. Krueger said. “You could see they were taking verbatim what the secretary was saying or what the technical specialists were saying. And they were saying it over and over and over.” Some days, he added, “We were able to click on every single station and every one of our folks were up there delivering our message. You’d look at them and say, ‘This is working.’ ”

On April 12, 2003, with major combat almost over, Mr. Rumsfeld drafted a memorandum to Ms. Clarke. “Let’s think about having some of the folks who did such a good job as talking heads in after this thing is over,” he wrote.

By summer, though, the first signs of the insurgency had emerged. Reports from journalists based in Baghdad were increasingly suffused with the imagery of mayhem.

The Pentagon did not have to search far for a counterweight.

It was time, an internal Pentagon strategy memorandum urged, to “re-energize surrogates and message-force multipliers,” starting with the military analysts.

The memorandum led to a proposal to take analysts on a tour of Iraq in September 2003, timed to help overcome the sticker shock from Mr. Bush’s request for $87 billion in emergency war financing.

The group included four analysts from Fox News, one each from CNN and ABC, and several research-group luminaries whose opinion articles appear regularly in the nation’s op-ed pages.

The trip invitation promised a look at “the real situation on the ground in Iraq.”

The situation, as described in scores of books, was deteriorating. L. Paul Bremer III, then the American viceroy in Iraq, wrote in his memoir, “My Year in Iraq,” that he had privately warned the White House that the United States had “about half the number of soldiers we needed here.”
“We’re up against a growing and sophisticated threat,” Mr. Bremer recalled telling the president during a private White House dinner.

That dinner took place on Sept. 24, while the analysts were touring Iraq.

Yet these harsh realities were elided, or flatly contradicted, during the official presentations for the analysts, records show. The itinerary, scripted to the minute, featured brief visits to a model school, a few refurbished government buildings, a center for women’s rights, a mass grave and even the gardens of Babylon.

Mostly the analysts attended briefings. These sessions, records show, spooled out an alternative narrative, depicting an Iraq bursting with political and economic energy, its security forces blossoming. On the crucial question of troop levels, the briefings echoed the White House line: No reinforcements were needed. The “growing and sophisticated threat” described by Mr. Bremer was instead depicted as degraded, isolated and on the run.
“We’re winning,” a briefing document proclaimed.

One trip participant, General Nash of ABC, said some briefings were so clearly “artificial” that he joked to another group member that they were on “the George Romney memorial trip to Iraq,” a reference to Mr. Romney’s infamous claim that American officials had “brainwashed” him into supporting the Vietnam War during a tour there in 1965, while he was governor of Michigan.

But if the trip pounded the message of progress, it also represented a business opportunity: direct access to the most senior civilian and military leaders in Iraq and Kuwait, including many with a say in how the president’s $87 billion would be spent. It also was a chance to gather inside information about the most pressing needs confronting the American mission: the acute shortages of “up-armored” Humvees; the billions to be spent building military bases; the urgent need for interpreters; and the ambitious plans to train Iraq’s security forces.

Information and access of this nature had undeniable value for trip participants like William V. Cowan and Carlton A. Sherwood.
Mr. Cowan, a Fox analyst and retired Marine colonel, was the chief executive of a new military firm, the wvc3 Group. Mr. Sherwood was its executive vice president. At the time, the company was seeking contracts worth tens of millions to supply body armor and counterintelligence services in Iraq. In addition, wvc3 Group had a written agreement to use its influence and connections to help tribal leaders in Al Anbar Province win reconstruction contracts from the coalition.

“Those sheiks wanted access to the C.P.A.,” Mr. Cowan recalled in an interview, referring to the Coalition Provisional Authority.
Mr. Cowan said he pleaded their cause during the trip. “I tried to push hard with some of Bremer’s people to engage these people of Al Anbar,” he said.

Back in Washington, Pentagon officials kept a nervous eye on how the trip translated on the airwaves. Uncomfortable facts had bubbled up during the trip. One briefer, for example, mentioned that the Army was resorting to packing inadequately armored Humvees with sandbags and Kevlar blankets. Descriptions of the Iraqi security forces were withering. “They can’t shoot, but then again, they don’t,” one officer told them, according to one participant’s notes.

“I saw immediately in 2003 that things were going south,” General Vallely, one of the Fox analysts on the trip, recalled in an interview with The Times.
The Pentagon, though, need not have worried.

“You can’t believe the progress,” General Vallely told Alan Colmes of Fox News upon his return. He predicted the insurgency would be “down to a few numbers” within months.

“We could not be more excited, more pleased,” Mr. Cowan told Greta Van Susteren of Fox News. There was barely a word about armor shortages or corrupt Iraqi security forces. And on the key strategic question of the moment — whether to send more troops — the analysts were unanimous.
“I am so much against adding more troops,” General Shepperd said on CNN.

Access and Influence

Inside the Pentagon and at the White House, the trip was viewed as a masterpiece in the management of perceptions, not least because it gave fuel to complaints that “mainstream” journalists were ignoring the good news in Iraq.
“We’re hitting a home run on this trip,” a senior Pentagon official wrote in an e-mail message to Richard B. Myers and Peter Pace, then chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Its success only intensified the Pentagon’s campaign. The pace of briefings accelerated. More trips were organized. Eventually the effort involved officials from Washington to Baghdad to Kabul to Guantánamo and back to Tampa, Fla., the headquarters of United States Central Command.

The scale reflected strong support from the top. When officials in Iraq were slow to organize another trip for analysts, a Pentagon official fired off an e-mail message warning that the trips “have the highest levels of visibility” at the White House and urging them to get moving before Lawrence Di Rita, one of Mr. Rumsfeld’s closest aides, “picks up the phone and starts calling the 4-stars.”
Mr. Di Rita, no longer at the Defense Department, said in an interview that a “conscious decision” was made to rely on the military analysts to counteract “the increasingly negative view of the war” coming from journalists in Iraq. The analysts, he said, generally had “a more supportive view” of the administration and the war, and the combination of their TV platforms and military cachet made them ideal for rebutting critical coverage of issues like troop morale, treatment of detainees, inadequate equipment or poorly trained Iraqi security forces. “On those issues, they were more likely to be seen as credible spokesmen,” he said.

For analysts with military industry ties, the attention brought access to a widening circle of influential officials beyond the contacts they had accumulated over the course of their careers.

Charles T. Nash, a Fox military analyst and retired Navy captain, is a consultant who helps small companies break into the military market. Suddenly, he had entree to a host of senior military leaders, many of whom he had never met. It was, he said, like being embedded with the Pentagon leadership. “You start to recognize what’s most important to them,” he said, adding, “There’s nothing like seeing stuff firsthand.”

Some Pentagon officials said they were well aware that some analysts viewed their special access as a business advantage. “Of course we realized that,” Mr. Krueger said. “We weren’t naïve about that.”

They also understood the financial relationship between the networks and their analysts. Many analysts were being paid by the “hit,” the number of times they appeared on TV. The more an analyst could boast of fresh inside information from high-level Pentagon “sources,” the more hits he could expect. The more hits, the greater his potential influence in the military marketplace, where several analysts prominently advertised their network roles.

“They have taken lobbying and the search for contracts to a far higher level,” Mr. Krueger said. “This has been highly honed.”

Mr. Di Rita, though, said it never occurred to him that analysts might use their access to curry favor. Nor, he said, did the Pentagon try to exploit this dynamic. “That’s not something that ever crossed my mind,” he said. In any event, he argued, the analysts and the networks were the ones responsible for any ethical complications. “We assume they know where the lines are,” he said.

The analysts met personally with Mr. Rumsfeld at least 18 times, records show, but that was just the beginning. They had dozens more sessions with the most senior members of his brain trust and access to officials responsible for managing the billions being spent in Iraq. Other groups of “key influentials” had meetings, but not nearly as often as the analysts.

An internal memorandum in 2005 helped explain why. The memorandum, written by a Pentagon official who had accompanied analysts to Iraq, said that based on her observations during the trip, the analysts “are having a greater impact” on network coverage of the military. “They have now become the go-to guys not only on breaking stories, but they influence the views on issues,” she wrote.

Other branches of the administration also began to make use of the analysts. Mr. Gonzales, then the attorney general, met with them soon after news leaked that the government was wiretapping terrorism suspects in the United States without warrants, Pentagon records show. When David H. Petraeus was appointed the commanding general in Iraq in January 2007, one of his early acts was to meet with the analysts.

“We knew we had extraordinary access,” said Timur J. Eads, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Fox analyst who is vice president of government relations for Blackbird Technologies, a fast-growing military contractor.

Like several other analysts, Mr. Eads said he had at times held his tongue on television for fear that “some four-star could call up and say, ‘Kill that contract.’ ” For example, he believed Pentagon officials misled the analysts about the progress of Iraq’s security forces. “I know a snow job when I see one,” he said. He did not share this on TV.

“Human nature,” he explained, though he noted other instances when he was critical.
Some analysts said that even before the war started, they privately had questions about the justification for the invasion, but were careful not to express them on air.

Mr. Bevelacqua, then a Fox analyst, was among those invited to a briefing in early 2003 about Iraq’s purported stockpiles of illicit weapons. He recalled asking the briefer whether the United States had “smoking gun” proof.
“ ‘We don’t have any hard evidence,’ ” Mr. Bevelacqua recalled the briefer replying. He said he and other analysts were alarmed by this concession. “We are looking at ourselves saying, ‘What are we doing?’ ”

Another analyst, Robert L. Maginnis, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who works in the Pentagon for a military contractor, attended the same briefing and recalled feeling “very disappointed” after being shown satellite photographs purporting to show bunkers associated with a hidden weapons program. Mr. Maginnis said he concluded that the analysts were being “manipulated” to convey a false sense of certainty about the evidence of the weapons. Yet he and Mr. Bevelacqua and the other analysts who attended the briefing did not share any misgivings with the American public.

Mr. Bevelacqua and another Fox analyst, Mr. Cowan, had formed the wvc3 Group, and hoped to win military and national security contracts.

“There’s no way I was going to go down that road and get completely torn apart,” Mr. Bevelacqua said. “You’re talking about fighting a huge machine.”

Some e-mail messages between the Pentagon and the analysts reveal an implicit trade of privileged access for favorable coverage. Robert H. Scales Jr., a retired Army general and analyst for Fox News and National Public Radio whose consulting company advises several military firms on weapons and tactics used in Iraq, wanted the Pentagon to approve high-level briefings for him inside Iraq in 2006.

“Recall the stuff I did after my last visit,” he wrote. “I will do the same this time.”

Pentagon Keeps Tabs

As it happened, the analysts’ news media appearances were being closely monitored. The Pentagon paid a private contractor, Omnitec Solutions, hundreds of thousands of dollars to scour databases for any trace of the analysts, be it a segment on “The O’Reilly Factor” or an interview with The Daily Inter Lake in Montana, circulation 20,000.

Omnitec evaluated their appearances using the same tools as corporate branding experts. One report, assessing the impact of several trips to Iraq in 2005, offered example after example of analysts echoing Pentagon themes on all the networks.
“Commentary from all three Iraq trips was extremely positive over all,” the report concluded.

In interviews, several analysts reacted with dismay when told they were described as reliable “surrogates” in Pentagon documents. And some asserted that their Pentagon sessions were, as David L. Grange, a retired Army general and CNN analyst put it, “just upfront information,” while others pointed out, accurately, that they did not always agree with the administration or each other. “None of us drink the Kool-Aid,” General Scales said.

Likewise, several also denied using their special access for business gain. “Not related at all,” General Shepperd said, pointing out that many in the Pentagon held CNN “in the lowest esteem.”

Still, even the mildest of criticism could draw a challenge. Several analysts told of fielding telephone calls from displeased defense officials only minutes after being on the air.

On Aug. 3, 2005, 14 marines died in Iraq. That day, Mr. Cowan, who said he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the “twisted version of reality” being pushed on analysts in briefings, called the Pentagon to give “a heads-up” that some of his comments on Fox “may not all be friendly,” Pentagon records show. Mr. Rumsfeld’s senior aides quickly arranged a private briefing for him, yet when he told Bill O’Reilly that the United States was “not on a good glide path right now” in Iraq, the repercussions were swift.

Mr. Cowan said he was “precipitously fired from the analysts group” for this appearance. The Pentagon, he wrote in an e-mail message, “simply didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t carrying their water.” The next day James T. Conway, then director of operations for the Joint Chiefs, presided over another conference call with analysts. He urged them, a transcript shows, not to let the marines’ deaths further erode support for the war.

“The strategic target remains our population,” General Conway said. “We can lose people day in and day out, but they’re never going to beat our military. What they can and will do if they can is strip away our support. And you guys can help us not let that happen.”

“General, I just made that point on the air,” an analyst replied.
“Let’s work it together, guys,” General Conway urged.

The Generals’ Revolt

The full dimensions of this mutual embrace were perhaps never clearer than in April 2006, after several of Mr. Rumsfeld’s former generals — none of them network military analysts — went public with devastating critiques of his wartime performance. Some called for his resignation.

On Friday, April 14, with what came to be called the “Generals’ Revolt” dominating headlines, Mr. Rumsfeld instructed aides to summon military analysts to a meeting with him early the next week, records show. When an aide urged a short delay to “give our big guys on the West Coast a little more time to buy a ticket and get here,” Mr. Rumsfeld’s office insisted that “the boss” wanted the meeting fast “for impact on the current story.”

That same day, Pentagon officials helped two Fox analysts, General McInerney and General Vallely, write an opinion article for The Wall Street Journal defending Mr. Rumsfeld.

“Starting to write it now,” General Vallely wrote to the Pentagon that afternoon. “Any input for the article,” he added a little later, “will be much appreciated.” Mr. Rumsfeld’s office quickly forwarded talking points and statistics to rebut the notion of a spreading revolt.
“Vallely is going to use the numbers,” a Pentagon official reported that afternoon.

The standard secrecy notwithstanding, plans for this session leaked, producing a front-page story in The Times that Sunday. In damage-control mode, Pentagon officials scrambled to present the meeting as routine and directed that communications with analysts be kept “very formal,” records show. “This is very, very sensitive now,” a Pentagon official warned subordinates.

On Tuesday, April 18, some 17 analysts assembled at the Pentagon with Mr. Rumsfeld and General Pace, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

A transcript of that session, never before disclosed, shows a shared determination to marginalize war critics and revive public support for the war.

“I’m an old intel guy,” said one analyst. (The transcript omits speakers’ names.) “And I can sum all of this up, unfortunately, with one word. That is Psyops. Now most people may hear that and they think, ‘Oh my God, they’re trying to brainwash.’ ”

“What are you, some kind of a nut?” Mr. Rumsfeld cut in, drawing laughter. “You don’t believe in the Constitution?”

There was little discussion about the actual criticism pouring forth from Mr. Rumsfeld’s former generals. Analysts argued that opposition to the war was rooted in perceptions fed by the news media, not reality. The administration’s overall war strategy, they counseled, was “brilliant” and “very successful.”

“Frankly,” one participant said, “from a military point of view, the penalty, 2,400 brave Americans whom we lost, 3,000 in an hour and 15 minutes, is relative.”

An analyst said at another point: “This is a wider war. And whether we have democracy in Iraq or not, it doesn’t mean a tinker’s damn if we end up with the result we want, which is a regime over there that’s not a threat to us.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Rumsfeld said, taking notes.

But winning or not, they bluntly warned, the administration was in grave political danger so long as most Americans viewed Iraq as a lost cause. “America hates a loser,” one analyst said.

Much of the session was devoted to ways that Mr. Rumsfeld could reverse the “political tide.” One analyst urged Mr. Rumsfeld to “just crush these people,” and assured him that “most of the gentlemen at the table” would enthusiastically support him if he did.
“You are the leader,” the analyst told Mr. Rumsfeld. “You are our guy.”

At another point, an analyst made a suggestion: “In one of your speeches you ought to say, ‘Everybody stop for a minute and imagine an Iraq ruled by Zarqawi.’ And then you just go down the list and say, ‘All right, we’ve got oil, money, sovereignty, access to the geographic center of gravity of the Middle East, blah, blah, blah.’ If you can just paint a mental picture for Joe America to say, ‘Oh my God, I can’t imagine a world like that.’ ”

Even as they assured Mr. Rumsfeld that they stood ready to help in this public relations offensive, the analysts sought guidance on what they should cite as the next “milestone” that would, as one analyst put it, “keep the American people focused on the idea that we’re moving forward to a positive end.” They placed particular emphasis on the growing confrontation with Iran.

“When you said ‘long war,’ you changed the psyche of the American people to expect this to be a generational event,” an analyst said. “And again, I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job...”

“Get in line,” Mr. Rumsfeld interjected.

The meeting ended and Mr. Rumsfeld, appearing pleased and relaxed, took the entire group into a small study and showed off treasured keepsakes from his life, several analysts recalled.

Soon after, analysts hit the airwaves. The Omnitec monitoring reports, circulated to more than 80 officials, confirmed that analysts repeated many of the Pentagon’s talking points: that Mr. Rumsfeld consulted “frequently and sufficiently” with his generals; that he was not “overly concerned” with the criticisms; that the meeting focused “on more important topics at hand,” including the next milestone in Iraq, the formation of a new government.

Days later, Mr. Rumsfeld wrote a memorandum distilling their collective guidance into bullet points. Two were underlined:
“Focus on the Global War on Terror — not simply Iraq. The wider war — the long war.”

“Link Iraq to Iran. Iran is the concern. If we fail in Iraq or Afghanistan, it will help Iran.”

But if Mr. Rumsfeld found the session instructive, at least one participant, General Nash, the ABC analyst, was repulsed.
“I walked away from that session having total disrespect for my fellow commentators, with perhaps one or two exceptions,” he said.

View From the Networks

Two weeks ago General Petraeus took time out from testifying before Congress about Iraq for a conference call with military analysts.
Mr. Garrett, the Fox analyst and Patton Boggs lobbyist, said he told General Petraeus during the call to “keep up the great work.”
“Hey,” Mr. Garrett said in an interview, “anything we can do to help.”

For the moment, though, because of heavy election coverage and general war fatigue, military analysts are not getting nearly as much TV time, and the networks have trimmed their rosters of analysts. The conference call with General Petraeus, for example, produced little in the way of immediate coverage.

Still, almost weekly the Pentagon continues to conduct briefings with selected military analysts. Many analysts said network officials were only dimly aware of these interactions. The networks, they said, have little grasp of how often they meet with senior officials, or what is discussed.

“I don’t think NBC was even aware we were participating,” said Rick Francona, a longtime military analyst for the network.

Some networks publish biographies on their Web sites that describe their analysts’ military backgrounds and, in some cases, give at least limited information about their business ties. But many analysts also said the networks asked few questions about their outside business interests, the nature of their work or the potential for that work to create conflicts of interest. “None of that ever happened,” said Mr. Allard, an NBC analyst until 2006.

“The worst conflict of interest was no interest.”

Mr. Allard and other analysts said their network handlers also raised no objections when the Defense Department began paying their commercial airfare for Pentagon-sponsored trips to Iraq — a clear ethical violation for most news organizations.

CBS News declined to comment on what it knew about its military analysts’ business affiliations or what steps it took to guard against potential conflicts.

NBC News also declined to discuss its procedures for hiring and monitoring military analysts. The network issued a short statement: “We have clear policies in place to assure that the people who appear on our air have been appropriately vetted and that nothing in their profile would lead to even a perception of a conflict of interest.”

Jeffrey W. Schneider, a spokesman for ABC, said that while the network’s military consultants were not held to the same ethical rules as its full-time journalists, they were expected to keep the network informed about any outside business entanglements. “We make it clear to them we expect them to keep us closely apprised,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Fox News said executives “refused to participate” in this article.

CNN requires its military analysts to disclose in writing all outside sources of income. But like the other networks, it does not provide its military analysts with the kind of written, specific ethical guidelines it gives its full-time employees for avoiding real or apparent conflicts of interest.
Yet even where controls exist, they have sometimes proven porous.

CNN, for example, said it was unaware for nearly three years that one of its main military analysts, General Marks, was deeply involved in the business of seeking government contracts, including contracts related to Iraq.

General Marks was hired by CNN in 2004, about the time he took a management position at McNeil Technologies, where his job was to pursue military and intelligence contracts. As required, General Marks disclosed that he received income from McNeil Technologies. But the disclosure form did not require him to describe what his job entailed, and CNN acknowledges it failed to do additional vetting.

“We did not ask Mr. Marks the follow-up questions we should have,” CNN said in a written statement.

In an interview, General Marks said it was no secret at CNN that his job at McNeil Technologies was about winning contracts. “I mean, that’s what McNeil does,” he said.

CNN, however, said it did not know the nature of McNeil’s military business or what General Marks did for the company. If he was bidding on Pentagon contracts, CNN said, that should have disqualified him from being a military analyst for the network. But in the summer and fall of 2006, even as he was regularly asked to comment on conditions in Iraq, General Marks was working intensively on bidding for a $4.6 billion contract to provide thousands of translators to United States forces in Iraq. In fact, General Marks was made president of the McNeil spin-off that won the huge contract in December 2006.

General Marks said his work on the contract did not affect his commentary on CNN. “I’ve got zero challenge separating myself from a business interest,” he said.

But CNN said it had no idea about his role in the contract until July 2007, when it reviewed his most recent disclosure form, submitted months earlier, and finally made inquiries about his new job.
“We saw the extent of his dealings and determined at that time we should end our relationship with him,” CNN said.

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

CAPE COD INTENTIONAL DRUM & DANCE

2008-04-18T17:39:37Z

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 3 replies

CD mix swap

2008-04-17T15:45:25Z

It's time for.... a CD swap! It's been too long since we did one of these, and I need some new music. :)

Lets make the cutoff at ten, so... I'm #1, and we've got nine more spots to fill. Same as the last time, you can go anywhere with this as you want. You can create one mix and give it out to everyone, you can make an individual personalized mix for each person, you can go minimalist and just write down the track names or get wildly creative with the cover art. Have fun! :)

Once we get our ten people, I'll get everyone's addresses and we can send out our mixes, OR we can have some kind of a CD swap party to exchange them, whatever folks want.

Have a beautiful day....

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 46 replies

A MESSAGE FROM PROF. PHILIP RUBINOV JACOBSON REGARDING ANIMAL CRUELTY AS ART! PLEASE READ AND PASS ON TO EVERYONE:

2008-04-13T22:14:20Z

Dear Friends,

I am sending this to key people in the fields of art, consciousness, humanitarian efforts, and animal activists...that you may pass it on.

In my next book, PROMETHEAN FLAMES, I use the term "deadstallation" to describe the vacant and dead art of "installations" today. I did not expect my term to become literally TRUE. In 2007, the so-called 'artist', Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery, and starved him to death.

For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors to the exhibition watched, emotionless, as the shameful 'masterpiece' based on the dog's agony, eventually killed him. The walls were decorated with words made of dog food.

But this is not all... the prestigious Visual Arts Bienniale of Central America decided that the 'installation' was actually art, not only calling it "art" but AWARDING him the prestigious FIRST PRIZE. Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the Biennial of 2008.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzFBD-LgKV0&feature=related

PLEASE HELP STOP HIM.

sign the petition to stop this asshole by going to;

http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html

It is no wonder that genuine artists who are deeply involved in expressing an integral and spiritual vision are beset with great challenges in the business of contemporary art. All in all, deep works of art are not likely to be found in the modern art museums, galleries and Bienniales, which are the contemporary counterpart to the palace in the fairy tale The Emperors New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson. Contemporary museums prefer to literally buy
and exhibit Manzoni's canned shit, piss aquariums with Christ inside, blood and guts on the floor, morons muttering nonsense on a video screen or peuk-filled bottles lit up from behind.

David Lee, editor of Art Review magazine:

Last years Turner Prize winner, Chris Ofili, used elephant dung in his painting. Damien Hirst won the prize in 1997 for displaying the severed halves of a cow and calf in formaldehyde and artist Tony Kaye tried to submit a homeless steel worker for the prize. The judges bluster about Epoetry and the other all-purpose drivel they trotted out in defense of their choice is unhelpful to those of us who remain bewildered. It would have been educative for the entire nation to be flies on the wall of the Tate directors office when the judges were deliberating. We would have learned the criteria used for judging such work and not have had to take on trusting the mindless paeans, more drivel uttered by those snake oil salesmen from the Tates Department of Interpretation. As it is we are none the wiser. Is it art? It might be but it does not look like it to me . . .

With little or no change, just a few years ago, the Tate Gallery in London once again held its annual Turner Prize Awards, a cultural event that supposedly presents what is considered to be the highest and most valued art being created today. It is the very latest, what is on the cutting edge of the contemporary art scene and in their mounting of this exhibition they revealed their conniving and irresponsible behavior yet again. The exhibition consisted of works composed of bones, blood and guts, absurd assemblages and installations of garbage, virtually all of it vile and grotesque. To this, on the other side of the world, now we can add the murder of a dog as an exhibition in 2007 with a scheduled re-appearance in November, 2008.

Oy vey, if I could only get my hands on this bastard-excuse for a human being, and make him part of my next exhibition....now what would that look like???

Love
Prof Phil

website: http://www.rubinovs-lightning.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/oldmastersnewvisions

website: http://www.rubinovs-lightning.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/oldmastersnewvisions

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies

Ammon EP @ The Enormous Room

2008-04-10T03:57:19Z

Hey Ya'll
I wanted to put the word out that I'm DJing at The Enormous Room next Wednesday the 16th. I haven't played in that room in a while so I'm very much looking forward to it. It would be marvelous to see some familiar smiling faces.

I'll be playing a range of Neo-Soul, Jazz, Hip-Hop and Deep House.

If the crowd is strong they might even ask me back to play again;)

4-16-08
The Enormous Room
567 Mass ave in Cambridge
9:30pm-1am
21+

Cheers
Ammon:)

posted in New England Freaks for Fun - 0 replies