Saturday, October 16, 2010
FINALLY!--Blood Orange InfoShop will open Nov. 4th!
Exciting news! The Riverside Blood Orange InfoShop will be opening on Nov. 4! We will be located in the People's Gallery: 3643 University Ave., Riverside, CA 92501 in Studio #2. Our big kickoff will be at Art Walk November 4th. We'll have art, music, and lots of food and subversive literature. See you all there!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturation Fest was rad! Lots of good people, and fun times. 
Here is some footage filmed by Plastic Water of Graf Orlock at the Forming record release show.
What's next? We're gonna be at the 2010 Riverside To-Do Fest!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturation Fest 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Quick Update
Fritz worked up this really awesome logo for us to use for the infoshop. We plan on having a couple more worked up as well, and use them all for different things so we'll have a really broad set of identity designs to use. So here it is (pretty badass looking if I do say so myself.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Buddha's Revolution
Destroying Your Negative States of Mind!
The Buddha's Revolution
Entry by MeditateAndDestroy
MeditateAndDestroy is a radical Buddhist blogger sharing the importance of non-violence, personal responsibility and self-reliance. Focusing on DIY meditation practices and other forms of radical self-transformation.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart."
"The Buddha's Revolution" by Sharon Salzberg
12 April 2010
When the Buddha taught 2500 years ago, the social structure in India was built on a rigid philosophical system. According to their prevailing view of the world, everything belonged to a category which had its own nature and its corresponding duty in life. The responsibility of every being was to grow into its own nature, and to conform to an ideal disposition specific to them. For example, it is the particular nature or duty of fire to burn, and of rocks to be hard, of grass to grow and to be green, and for cows to eat grass and produce milk. These characteristics were considered immutable truth.
Socially, this concept was translated into the rigidities of the caste system. People were born destined to fulfill a certain nature. It was the duty of certain classes or castes of people to rule, for Brahmans to mediate with divine forces, and for certain other people to be engaged in production of food and material goods. Within this worldview, actions conceived of as moral and appropriate for one caste or gender were considered completely immoral for another. It was proper and beneficial for the Brahman male to read and study the scriptures, while this was absolutely forbidden and considered abhorrent for someone who was an outcast.
Into this social context, the Buddha introduced his revolutionary teachings. What he taught in terms of ethics was radical then, and it is radical now. He stated that what determines whether an action is moral or immoral is the volition of the person performing it. The moral quality of an action is held in the intention that gives rise to the action. "Not by birth is one a Brahman, or an outcast," the Buddha said, "but by deeds." This teaching, in effect, declared the entire social structure of India, considered sacrosanct by many, to be of no spiritual significance at all.
The Buddha was declaring that the only status that truly matters is the status of personal goodness, and personal goodness is attained through personal effort, not by birth. It did not matter if you were a man or a woman, wealthy or poor, a Brahman or an outcast -- an action based on greed would have a certain kind of result, and an action based on love would have a certain kind of result. "A true Brahman is one who is gentle, who is wise and caring," he said, thus completely negating the importance of caste, skin color, class and gender in any consideration of morality.
The Buddha was clearly stating that we are not held to different standards, nor are we free to hurt others, because of any circumstance of birth or social status. The truth of suffering and the end of suffering, tied so intimately to our ethical behavior, is the same for all of us. No matter who is acting, the intention or volition behind the action is the karmic seed that is planted. The motivating force behind the action is thus considered the most important and potent aspect of the action. Essentially, our intentions are an expression of the power of our minds.
Transforming our motivations transforms our whole life: our happiness, our degree of connectedness, our freedom. None of this is fixed in the particular externals of who we are, it is all held in the universal potential of what we might become. By denying that spiritual authority and capacity were invested in one particular class of people, the Buddha was acknowledging that we do not need someone else to mediate with the divine, we don't need a special class whose duty it is to delve deeply into spirituality. It is in everyone's capacity to be spiritual; it is everyone's duty, everyone's role. We can all utilize the power of our awareness for our own liberation; our truth is a "self-witnessed " truth, our faith tested and tried by our own experience. The most powerful work is first done within the mind, because the mind is the forerunner of all elements of life. By pointing out to us the crucial importance of our own intentions, the Buddha was making clear that each of us is responsible for our own minds, and therefore for our own freedom.
In this one teaching on volition the Buddha burst the bubble of social class, of deflecting responsibility, of mindless deference to religious authority, and of defining potential according to external criteria. In this one teaching he returned the potential for freedom back to each one of us.
Sharon Salzberg is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and the Forest Refuge in Barre, MA. She has written and edited many books, including Lovingkindess: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness and Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience.
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MeditateAndDestroy is a radical Buddhist blogger sharing the importance of non-violence, personal responsibility and self-reliance. Focusing on DIY meditation practices and other forms of radical self-transformation.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart."
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Noah Levine on Anger
Destroying Your Negative States of Mind!
Noah Levine on Anger
Entry by MeditateAndDestroy
MeditateAndDestroy is a radical Buddhist blogger sharing the importance of non-violence, personal responsibility and self-reliance. Focusing on DIY meditation practices and other forms of radical self-transformation.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart."
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MeditateAndDestroy is a radical Buddhist blogger sharing the importance of non-violence, personal responsibility and self-reliance. Focusing on DIY meditation practices and other forms of radical self-transformation.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart."
Saturday, April 3, 2010
April 1st Riverside Art Walk
This past Thursday we were at the Riverside Art Walk, making a few bucks for the infoshop!
Literature distro!
Just being cool.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Hack This Zine
"The mission of HTZ is to research, create and disseminate information, tools, and tactics that empower people to use technology in a way that is liberating. They support and strengthen local communities through education and action. They strive to learn from each other and focus their skills toward creative goals, to explore and research positive hacktivism, and to defend a free internet and free society."
--.:[packetstorm]:.
cross-posted from http://insecuresystem.org
--.:[packetstorm]:.
#9: The Hacktivist Guide to the Internet
Download for Print: pdf
Download for Reading: pdf
cross-posted from http://insecuresystem.org
Infoshop News Feed
Infoshop Top Stories
The latest news, events and opinion from Infoshop News
Queer G20 Call Out
Wed, March 31st, 2010, 6:59 pm UTC - The G20 is invading Toronto from June 25th to 27th, 2010. This is a callout to militant queers everywhere; trans people, dykes, homos, faggots, coc...
Rene Riesel: Against vaccine propaganda
Wed, March 31st, 2010, 2:48 pm UTC - In addition to the letter you addressed to me on 18 August, I have also received your registered letter, with acknowledgement of receipt, dated 30 ...
ISC/IWW Solidarity Statement with Workers in Struggle in Greece
Wed, March 31st, 2010, 11:44 am UTC - The International Solidarity Commission ...
Iraq: The GFIW in Basra Celebrates International Women’s Day
Wed, March 31st, 2010, 11:38 am UTC - ...
Call for submissions: Fatphobia Zine
Tue, March 30th, 2010, 10:55 pm UTC - Hey everyone! I'm making a zine (or tryin' to) about being fat (phat)! Basically, I'm looking for submissions from people about how weight has e...
Chomsky: Cognitive Science & Anarchism
Tue, March 30th, 2010, 10:55 pm UTC - Cognitive science ought to be concerned -- should be just a part of biology. It's concerned with the nature, the growth, the development, maybe ult...
Extrajudicial Targeted Assassinations Not Included in State-Sanctioned Execution Numbers
Tue, March 30th, 2010, 10:45 pm UTC - Amnesty International documented 714 executions were committed in 2009 onto those formally sentenced to death. The report is clear that China&...
Racist, Nationalist Party on the Rise in Hungary
Tue, March 30th, 2010, 10:25 pm UTC - The far right and racist nationalist Jobbik seems poised to become a major power broker in the Hungarian government soon. The party has a chance...
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Learning to Serve
Destroying Your Negative States of Mind!Learning to Serve
by MeditateAndDestroy
Central to all social movements is self-less service. Its a call to go above and beyond our normal daily responsibilities and work without pay or reward. As we learn what is means to serve, we realize that to truly serve we must think outsides ourselves learning to overcome our often selfish attitudes. The drive to serve come's from a wish to benefit others and should arise from a heart of love and compassion. With these positive mental states we will find it easier to work for others as we have more energy and personal motivation to make the positive change we wish to see. The dangers of falling into negative states of mind are many and to serve to our greatest potential we have to avoid at all costs the minds of anger, discouragement, and selfishness.
Avoiding Anger and Discouragement
1. Anger divides: We've all dealt with someone who's upset or angry and our first reaction is either to completely avoid them or join them in their anger. Anger can divide the very bonds that are nessariry to make positive change, and is the fastest method to dismantle important social relationships that are central to make progress both as small groups and larger social groups. Anger is very much like holding a flame, its we who get the most burned.
2.Anger leads to discouragement: If we have no way of expressing or challenging anger we tend to internalize it, destroying ourselves from the inside out. We can't expect to make progress in the world if at the very core of our being exists a deep and unresolved conflict. We must liberate ourselves from discouragement, and move towards action, anger holds us back from productivity, creativity, and confidence three key elements to making positive social change.
Avoiding Selfishness
Any call to action is a call to transcend our selfish attitudes. Its a call to destroy our laziness, our indifference, and our apathy. Its a call to liberate ourselves from all personal obstacles that prevent us from making the change we wish to see both within ourselves and within the world. We must be able to tame our mind enough to avoid falling into the traps of laziness and inaction, for too long have we listened to our uncontrolled mind. For too long have we done nothing for the world or ourselves, its too easy to fall into bad habits, we must start our change from within abolishing selfishness and feeling the true freedom of self control and discipline!
A Practice
Actively watch your mind, any time a discouraging, angry or lazy state of mind arises counteract it!
- For anger use the mind of love, try smiling even if its just physically at first you'll soon watch your anger dissolve.
- For discouragement think of all the other people in the world who don't even have the ability to serve, tell your self that you have no time for discouragement, there's too much work to be done!
- For laziness think of death, think of how limited our lifetimes are, think of how little time we have, push yourself to work!
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MeditateAndDestroy is a radical Buddhist blogger sharing the importance of non-violence, personal responsibility and self-reliance. Focusing on DIY meditation practices and other forms of radical self-transformation.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart."
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart."
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Investigate and Question Everything!
Destroying your negative states of mind!Investigate and Question Everything!
By MeditateAndDestroy
By MeditateAndDestroy
Investigate Everything!
Punk music and the political paradigms that follow it are founded on the belief that to truly be free we must learn to question authority, break down the social structures of injustice, and abolish authority. Yet within all of us exists an authority that most of us have yet to abolish, our own unconscious mind.
If you've ever tried sitting silently with your mind for a few minutes you'd realize how little control you actually have over it. The tangents and streams of consciousness it follows are often completely random and outside of our control. If your unconscious mind is authoritatively directing your thoughts, emotions and relations to your environment then we are but slaves to our own paradigms! To truly abolish the subtle power structures that we've allowed to developed in own minds there's only one solution.
Question Everything!
Part of taking on radical viewpoints is the ability to question everything! We all know the power of belief systems that close themselves off from all criticism. Fascist regimes throughout history have been know to indoctrinate their populace with a narrow and often backwards way of relating to other nations and peoples. So why do we allow our own paradigms to go on unquestioned? If we question authority, why not question the authority that so often dictates our reaction to our lives and environment? Does our anger control us or do we control our anger? Does our frustration control us or do we control our frustration? These are important questions every radical should ask themselves, because we can't hope to abolish authority if we haven't even destroyed the one that sits right inside our head.
True freedom comes from being free from our own destructive physical and mental habits! And the first step to liberation is liberating ourselves!
A Practice
(Duration 5 - 10 minutes)
(Duration 5 - 10 minutes)
1. Sit in a comfortable upright position, in which you could stay comfortably in for the next 5 - 10 minutes.
2. Gently close your eyes.
3. Become aware of your breathing, watching is rise up and fall down.
4. Become aware of your thoughts and flow of consciousness, actively try to silent or slow down this mental chatter. Are you in control?
5. Remain focused on this task for the next few moments, returning to the breath if needing to refocus.
6. Gently open up your eyes and return your awareness to the room.
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MeditateAndDestroy is a radical Buddhist blogger sharing the importance of non-violence, personal responsibility and self-reliance. Focusing on DIY meditation practices and other forms of radical self-transformation.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
Promoting the transcendence of the political spectrum and their corresponding ideologies, replacing it with the fundamental human values of love, virtue, and compassion.
"Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness, it is a revolutionary stance, from the inside out, for the benefit of all beings in existence." — Noah Levine
Saturday, March 20, 2010
infoshop.org News Stories
Infoshop Top Stories
The latest news, events and opinion from Infoshop News
Ft Lauderdale Food not Bombs organizes a Really Really Free Market
Sat, March 20th, 2010, 3:18 pm UTC - On Friday March 19th, the Food not Bombs collective in Ft Lauderdale organized a Really Really Free Market in the Stranahan Park. It all began l...
A Review of The “Tyranny of Structurelessness”: An organizationalist repudiation of anarchism
Sat, March 20th, 2010, 2:29 pm UTC - Not too surprisingly, whenever organizationalist, leftist anarchist tendencies cast about for justification for their amalgamations of anarchist...
Hundreds of Nestle chocolate workers fired in Russia
Sat, March 20th, 2010, 11:21 am UTC - Swiss confectionary giant Nestle is set to make hundreds of workers redundant in the Moscow region after announcing that it is shutting down one of...
Nestle Meltdown on Facebook
Sat, March 20th, 2010, 5:21 am UTC - Welcome to the biggest social media/PR disaster yet. This one is a DOOZER. Food giant Nestle, who is currently under pressure from environment...
Thessaloniki, Greece: Everyone To The Streets!
Sat, March 20th, 2010, 4:55 am UTC - On the one hand, society, the world of labour, the unemployed, who are suffering the effects of the harshest attack in recent years (wage cuts, ...
Announcing the First Ever London, Ontario Anarchist Bookfair
Sat, March 20th, 2010, 3:51 am UTC - Anarchists in London, Ontario are pleased to announce that we have formed a collective and are in the process of planning the biggest anarchist ...
Are anarchists against Nationalism?
Fri, March 19th, 2010, 9:51 pm UTC - Yes, anarchists are opposed to nati...
The Best Argument Against Global Warming ... Oh Right, There Isn't One
Fri, March 19th, 2010, 9:22 pm UTC - Here is the best argument against global warming: Oh, right. There isn’t one. The Best Argument Against Global Warming ... ...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Headed Home from the Anarchist Bookfair
Hey everyone. This is Justin. I have been on the road the past week, touring infoshops, social centers and hackerspaces, as well as taking in lots of lovely events such as Hackblocs Anti-Authoritarian hacker night at Noisebridge in SF, The Anarchist Bookfair, and the BASTARD Conference.
I am in Portland currently and have been checking out the Red and Black Workers Co-op, Black Rose and a place called Free Geek that was very inspiring to me in regards to our Hacklab.
I will be returning home to Riverside very soon with over 45 new zines for the library, a new book rife for pilfering to make new zines, a stack of copies of After the Fall to distribute, several new titles to get for the distro,and about a dozen ideas burning holes in my skull. I can't wait to see you all again and get back to work!
I am in Portland currently and have been checking out the Red and Black Workers Co-op, Black Rose and a place called Free Geek that was very inspiring to me in regards to our Hacklab.
I will be returning home to Riverside very soon with over 45 new zines for the library, a new book rife for pilfering to make new zines, a stack of copies of After the Fall to distribute, several new titles to get for the distro,and about a dozen ideas burning holes in my skull. I can't wait to see you all again and get back to work!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Help Riverside get a free fruit tree orchard!
You all may have heard word of the garden we have up by UCR (Crest Community Church, Mt. Vernon Ave). So, basically, we've submitted a grant proposal to the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and are now in a web-based competition with other places across the US to receive 25 fruit trees, assistance with planting and irrigation, and a workshop hosted by a Master Arborist.
If you wanna help out, you can vote for our garden here: http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index
We're Father's Garden at Crest Community Church, by the way. Thanks!!
Oh, and if you're interested with helping out at the garden, email me at oolascoola@aim.com. There's plenty of space available and we seriously could use more volunteers.
If you wanna help out, you can vote for our garden here: http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index
We're Father's Garden at Crest Community Church, by the way. Thanks!!
Oh, and if you're interested with helping out at the garden, email me at oolascoola@aim.com. There's plenty of space available and we seriously could use more volunteers.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Infoshop News Feed
Recent top news articles from infoshop.org
European Anarchist Has to Cancel Trip to the U.S.
Fri, March 12th, 2010, 7:14 pm UTC - The anarchist author Gabriel Kuhn was planning on visiting the United States in early March and staying until May. He had speaking engagements s...
Worker co-operatives: from hippy fringe to economic mainstream
Fri, March 12th, 2010, 7:01 pm UTC - Athan Rebelos works with Green Cab, a company that operates a fleet of fuel-effici...
Baltimore Worker Center Says Tourist District Shouldn't Grow on Poverty Jobs
Fri, March 12th, 2010, 6:52 pm UTC - Baltimore needs a jolt. Poverty conditions for workers in the city’s Inner Harbor, a premier tourist and entertainment district, are threa...
Compete with the Northeast Clusterfuck at the Anticap Games, IMF/WB Summit, DC, April 23-25
Fri, March 12th, 2010, 4:36 pm UTC - The Northeast Clusterfuck is stoked to descend on DC again this April! We’re all out in our cities and rural towns across the northeast US of Ameri...
Addendum to My Original Rebuttal...by Melissa
Thu, March 11th, 2010, 10:51 pm UTC - One of the reasons I found it important to write my rebuttal was that I encounter a lot of assumptions not backed up by anything more than specu...
Jew vs. Jew? Protests, Threats Reach Fever Pitch over Israel
Thu, March 11th, 2010, 9:16 pm UTC - This week, New York City's Jewish community is riven by protests, counterprotests, and now, Jew-on-Jew threats over the question of Israel and the ...
Pushed by the Violence of Our Desires: a statement regarding March 4
Thu, March 11th, 2010, 10:04 am UTC - Over the past few days, dozens of communiqués, letters, and statements have been circulating regarding issues of race, gender, and disrespect on M4...
Chicago: Support the lowercase collective squat! Fight evictions!
Thu, March 11th, 2010, 5:55 am UTC - A few weeks ago we posted a call-out asking for support in lieu of our pending eviction. After receiving many questions concerning logistics and th...
Free Video Time
First two parts of "The Code", 2006 documentary on open source software and its use around the globe.
Hooray for more publicly available documentaries.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Hacklab Inspiration
Hey all, lots of exciting developments on the horizon! With every week that passes, we become more ambitious, and more certain that we can meet the goals we're setting for ourselves. I thought I'd post some links to some really inspiring projects in the Hacklab vein to show what kind of stuff fellow hackers are up to, and what some of the upper limits of a project like this can reach. And what's great is the Lab will only be one part of what will make the infoshop so invaluable and fun. So here we go:
Noisebridge- A really fun looking lab in San Francisco with all kinds of equipment for experimenting with technology, workshops and classes, and a pretty heavy emphasis on art. They are hosting the yearly Digitial Security for Anti-Authoritarians talk this year to coincide with the bookfair in San Francisco. They also seem pretty ambitious about their projects too.
Freeside Atlanta- A HUGE lab out of Atlanta. They boast a number of classes and have lots of fun equipment. Not to mention that their space is 5500 sq ft!
23b Shop- A lab closer to home, in Fullerton California. Their membership dues are pretty steep, but hey it gets you access to a lathe and tig welding equipment and plenty else.
Create:Space- Create:Space is based out of Seattle, Washington and has a lot of really cool equipment and projects going on and is open 12 hours a day! Hackers and their caffeine.
Alpha One Labs- A really inspiring space out of Brooklyn. it just opened last summer and already hosts a really impressive array of projects and classes.
The Geek Group- Probably the very upper echelon of this sort of space, and probably out of the scope of what we can do with the hacklab sharing a space with the infoshop, but still very inspiring and good to draw ideas from. This lab is based out of Michigan and has been so successful that they're actually trying to expand to an even larger facility as a permanent campus.
Hackerspaces.org also has a fun wiki on Design Patterns for starting a Hacklab. For those of you not geeky enough to know what Design Pattern refers to, read this:
Design Patterns
And while we're daydreaming, why not raise some funds with a couple fun 8-bit dance parties in the space? We could even get the music freely licensed
CLICK
Noisebridge- A really fun looking lab in San Francisco with all kinds of equipment for experimenting with technology, workshops and classes, and a pretty heavy emphasis on art. They are hosting the yearly Digitial Security for Anti-Authoritarians talk this year to coincide with the bookfair in San Francisco. They also seem pretty ambitious about their projects too.
Freeside Atlanta- A HUGE lab out of Atlanta. They boast a number of classes and have lots of fun equipment. Not to mention that their space is 5500 sq ft!
23b Shop- A lab closer to home, in Fullerton California. Their membership dues are pretty steep, but hey it gets you access to a lathe and tig welding equipment and plenty else.
Create:Space- Create:Space is based out of Seattle, Washington and has a lot of really cool equipment and projects going on and is open 12 hours a day! Hackers and their caffeine.
Alpha One Labs- A really inspiring space out of Brooklyn. it just opened last summer and already hosts a really impressive array of projects and classes.
The Geek Group- Probably the very upper echelon of this sort of space, and probably out of the scope of what we can do with the hacklab sharing a space with the infoshop, but still very inspiring and good to draw ideas from. This lab is based out of Michigan and has been so successful that they're actually trying to expand to an even larger facility as a permanent campus.
Hackerspaces.org also has a fun wiki on Design Patterns for starting a Hacklab. For those of you not geeky enough to know what Design Pattern refers to, read this:
Design Patterns
And while we're daydreaming, why not raise some funds with a couple fun 8-bit dance parties in the space? We could even get the music freely licensed
CLICK
Hugs!
My friend "found" this, and I don't know the origins of this image, but I thought this was a really fun idea. How can you not smile to this? I'm never gonna unzip my zippers again!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Free and Open Software
Here's a short list of open source software that we'll be using, helping people learn about, and promoting. These were chosen specifically because they all have ported versions for all common operating systems, even though we are strong advocates of Linux, all computer users can benefit from the open source movement.
For more info on FOSS software, checkout:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open_source_software
http://www.fsf.org/
http://creativecommons.org/
- Firefox - Open Development web-browser started by the Mozilla foundation, standards compliant and cross platform. It's a more secure web browser than Internet Explorer or Safari, and has a huge number of contributor built plug-ins.
- Open Office - A free and Open alternative to Microsoft Office, provides a powerful word processor, presentation designer, and spreadsheet program. Open Office will read almost any other office system's documents, acting as a sort of universal translator for file formats.
- ClamAV - One of the best AntiVirus programs available on the net. It's unobtrusive, can be set to scheduled scans, and automatically updates. There is a plugin for firefox which triggers ClamAV to scan any file you download for viruses before you open it.
- GIMP - Gnu Image Manipulation Program, It's a very powerful image editor capabale of most of the functions that programs like photoshop provide.
- Pidgin - Universal Instant Message and Chat program, lightweight and accompanied by a host of nifty plugins, including some neat encryption tools.
For more info on FOSS software, checkout:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open_source_software
http://www.fsf.org/
http://creativecommons.org/
Sunday, March 7, 2010
We have a zine library!
Yes, yesterday we collected zines from many of the folks who frequent our meetings. We have over 100 zines on topics ranging from Poetry, Feminism, Anarchism, Queer, DIY, Prisons and Criminalization, and a whole bunch more. If you have zines you wanna give to us to photocopy, we can return them after we're done, so come to a meeting or get in touch with us.
We also have a Yard Sale/ Bake Sale coming up on March 27th. All the proceeds go to the Infoshop. We're gonna have clothes, books, records, vegan donuts and other baked goods. So come and hang out with us, grab some stuff, and eat some donuts. We'll also be having our next meeting after the event, so if you stick around you can help us continue to push for this space to become a reality. Here's a flier, post it far and wide.
We also have a Yard Sale/ Bake Sale coming up on March 27th. All the proceeds go to the Infoshop. We're gonna have clothes, books, records, vegan donuts and other baked goods. So come and hang out with us, grab some stuff, and eat some donuts. We'll also be having our next meeting after the event, so if you stick around you can help us continue to push for this space to become a reality. Here's a flier, post it far and wide.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Putting together a Hacklab...
Being sort of the unofficial techie of the group so far, I'm putting together some info on what we need to build a decent lab when space becomes available. Our best hope at the moment is to put together as many donated machines and spare parts as we can so that the cost can be kept under control, we'll have enough to worry about when paying for some of the network and server side of things.
So here's what we need, any computer parts or entire machines made in the last 6 years. This includes:
We really don't need cd/dvd/floppy drives, these days usb drives are cheap and effective. If anyone wants to donate usb drives, we would be more than happy to put them to good use.
Obviously, any fully working tower is amazingly appreciated since we don't have to resort to building a Frankenstein machine. However, building machines from spare parts is an awesome way for people to learn about how computers work and to get familiar with the components.
The network side of the lab is going to need lots of Ethernet Cables, or Wireless Cards. We plan on having both a Wired and Wireless network so either option will help keep everything connected. We'll also need a few small routers/switches.. the cheapo netgear/linksys variety will do nicely.
The core/border router, wireless AP, and the server(s) will be the larger price-tag items, and we'll worry about those once there is location to start setting up at.
So, If you have machines, parts, or anything you'd like to donate. Toss an email to the Google group and we'll see about getting a place to start putting everything together and testing equipment.
So here's what we need, any computer parts or entire machines made in the last 6 years. This includes:
- processors, and motherboards which support them, of chip-sets Pentium 4 and better. P3's are just not up to the task I'm afraid. I haven't worked much with AMD processors, but if that's what you've got then we'll do our best to see if we can make it work too.
- Memory, DDR2, any clock speed.. faster is better, but we aren't worried about bleeding edge.
- Hard drives aren't crucial, we actually don't need much storage to start, but they'd be nice. SATA will be more useful that PATA.
- Cases/Power supplies, as many as we can get, any quality.
- Monitors, dido, though Id like to avoid CRTs.. we'll take what we can get.
- Keyboards/mice are cheap, if we get them donated its great, but buying them isn't going to hurt us.
We really don't need cd/dvd/floppy drives, these days usb drives are cheap and effective. If anyone wants to donate usb drives, we would be more than happy to put them to good use.
Obviously, any fully working tower is amazingly appreciated since we don't have to resort to building a Frankenstein machine. However, building machines from spare parts is an awesome way for people to learn about how computers work and to get familiar with the components.
The network side of the lab is going to need lots of Ethernet Cables, or Wireless Cards. We plan on having both a Wired and Wireless network so either option will help keep everything connected. We'll also need a few small routers/switches.. the cheapo netgear/linksys variety will do nicely.
The core/border router, wireless AP, and the server(s) will be the larger price-tag items, and we'll worry about those once there is location to start setting up at.
So, If you have machines, parts, or anything you'd like to donate. Toss an email to the Google group and we'll see about getting a place to start putting everything together and testing equipment.
We have a wish!
Or a wishlist, plenty of wishes aside yes, but if you are looking for a way to help out the project, especially as we get nearer to opening consider donating good books to our lending library, or buy us one of your or our favorites from Amazon. We have a wishlist up that will grow, and if you'd like to purchase one of the books (or better yet, purchase it from an independent bookseller and donate it), it will be a great help to us.
http://amzn.com/w/2NZHZS4TBT6R7
We have a number of great events coming up, at least 4 in the next month that will help us to raise funds for opening the space. Movement is steady and energy is high. We've also added some additional authors to keep everyone up to date on what they've been doing to help the space open. So keep your ears pricked for more news from us.
http://amzn.com/w/2NZHZS4TBT6R7
We have a number of great events coming up, at least 4 in the next month that will help us to raise funds for opening the space. Movement is steady and energy is high. We've also added some additional authors to keep everyone up to date on what they've been doing to help the space open. So keep your ears pricked for more news from us.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Riverside Infoshop Project
Hi all! This is the introductory post for the Riverside Infoshop Project Blog. We were holding off on starting a blog until we knew what the name of the Infoshop was going to be, but we discovered we can just import our posts to a new blog once we choose a name, and so here we are.
Things have been going great so far and we're making a lot of progress towards opening the space. We have a lot of fundraisers and events coming up so keep your ears pricked for more info on those. For our first post, here's three project briefs that describe the bulk of what the space will be involved in hosting early on. This may grow, some projects may develop that aren't in the briefs, some part of the briefs may be different from what we expected, but the majority of what's laid out here is already coming to fruition in anticipation of the space being opened. So without further adieu.
ART GALLERY PERFORMANCE SPACE
The Infoshop will house an all ages, volunteer run art gallery and space that is collectively organized to act as an outlet for DIY performance, music, and art. As a drug and alcohol-free safe space, we aim to promote social justice, free of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression. Our goal is to cater to creative expression that is constructive and empowering for the community. The exhibitions and performances we host will be supportive and indicative of this commitment.
Art exhibitions
The space will host national and local artists with a quarterly rotation of exhibitions, and provide public space for artists wishing to showcase their work in a more informal arrangement than an exhibition to hang their work. The space will also take part in Art Walk and host events, exhibitions, performances and more in conjunction with it.
Film screenings
Screenings of documentaries, art films and films permissively licensed or in the public domain will be regular occurrences. The space will also aim to make alliances with local students and professors studying film to showcase the work of those fledgling creators in our own towns and will also draw on the art community or the larger Southern California region and beyond to host screenings of films and film festivals not usually available to the general public.
Live performance
Regular performances from local, regional and national musicians and performance artists will take place at the space from many different genres and communities but with a focus and commitment on DIY and independent cultural endeavor. We also intend to provide an outlet for youth cultural organizers, artists and performers to gain access to a space that is safe and free from drugs and alcohol.
Kid's Programs
To insure the space is reaching the broader community, the space will host consistent children's events to include the very young and their parents and make them feel a part of the space. Events of this nature will include but are not limited to a weekly Story Time, Skits and performances by and for children, film screenings for kids and puppet shows.
EDUCATIONAL CENTER & FREE SCHOOL
The educational portion of the infoshop is dedicated to the creation of educational opportunities for community members of all ages through the creation of a free school and additional educational programs. All such classes and programs will be run horizontally by educated facilitators and will be based on collaborative learning and participatory education, as opposed to the traditional teacher-student relationships. Free school classes, guest speakers and other programs will be completely free of charge, non-compulsory, open to the public and devoted to student enrichment more than grades and certifications. By drawing on the experience and expertise of the community, the space will be engaged in a consistent dialogue with the public regarding what individuals want to teach and what they intend to learn.
Free School
The Free School will be a project run primarily out of the space that features classes for adults and children on a variety of subjects. The classes will all be facilitated and taught by volunteers and members of the community, free of charge to the public and will be non compulsory. All classes will be organized in such a way as to challenge the dynamics of the traditional classroom and teacher-student relationships. This will be done with the intention of inspiring students to become their own educators and harbor a love of learning.
Homework Help
The Space will provide regular events during which children and young adults can come and receive help with their homework or tutoring on subjects they find difficult. This will be accomplished by building alliances and relationships with teachers and college students willing to volunteer with the space. This will be coupled with the Free School to provide consistent classes and tutoring on subjects important to a child's growing intellect.
Guest speakers and lecturers
The Infoshop will engage with National Academic Institutes and Organizations as well as touring authors, artists and intellectuals to provide engaging guest lectures on a variety of subjects.
Public access to open courseware
A Local Area Network housed in the space will broadcast a wifi signal that will allow anyone with a laptop and a wifi connection, or a thumb drive to download the ample Open Courseware material being released by educational institutions as prestigious as MIT, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Notre Dame, and the Mathematical Institute of Oxford. In addition to this courseware, the network will provide access to Public Domain and permissively licensed cultural works all available for free and legal download.
MULTIMEDIA RESOURCE CENTER
The Resource Center will a community defined space; it is what the community puts into it. We wish to collect and provide information to our neighborhoods and communities, and hope to extend our efforts to those who share common ideas of equality. We believe sharing a collection of information and often inaccessible resources locally is one of the many ways to inspire change and promote equality globally. To this end we will provide free computer access, a lending library, as well as a space for donated items to be taken by any who want them.
Computer Lab
Through alliances with local computer science students and teachers, the space will start and steadily grow a laboratory of computers which will be available to the public for use free of charge. All computers will be run on open source software in order to support community based software projects and also to avoid any and all legal licensing issues common to commercial software. Educational materials will also be available on local network accessible while in the space through either the lab or through a wifi connection from a personal computer. Classes will also be held in conjunction with the Education Center on the subjects general usage, office software, computer art and 3D modeling, web and computer programming and general maintenance.
Freecycle Center
The space will also house a “Free Store” or what is known in a more modern sense as a Freecycle Center where people can donate certain unwanted items such as clothes, works of art, household items, books, etc. and can likewise take items free of charge.
Lending Library
The space will house books on a number of topics from fiction, non-fiction, gender and ethnic studies, history, philosophy, spirituality, children's literature and comic books. We will strive to offer materials that cover issues which are often neglected in commercial bookstores and even public institutions and will be open to donations of books from the community.
Things have been going great so far and we're making a lot of progress towards opening the space. We have a lot of fundraisers and events coming up so keep your ears pricked for more info on those. For our first post, here's three project briefs that describe the bulk of what the space will be involved in hosting early on. This may grow, some projects may develop that aren't in the briefs, some part of the briefs may be different from what we expected, but the majority of what's laid out here is already coming to fruition in anticipation of the space being opened. So without further adieu.
ART GALLERY PERFORMANCE SPACE
The Infoshop will house an all ages, volunteer run art gallery and space that is collectively organized to act as an outlet for DIY performance, music, and art. As a drug and alcohol-free safe space, we aim to promote social justice, free of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression. Our goal is to cater to creative expression that is constructive and empowering for the community. The exhibitions and performances we host will be supportive and indicative of this commitment.
Art exhibitions
The space will host national and local artists with a quarterly rotation of exhibitions, and provide public space for artists wishing to showcase their work in a more informal arrangement than an exhibition to hang their work. The space will also take part in Art Walk and host events, exhibitions, performances and more in conjunction with it.
Film screenings
Screenings of documentaries, art films and films permissively licensed or in the public domain will be regular occurrences. The space will also aim to make alliances with local students and professors studying film to showcase the work of those fledgling creators in our own towns and will also draw on the art community or the larger Southern California region and beyond to host screenings of films and film festivals not usually available to the general public.
Live performance
Regular performances from local, regional and national musicians and performance artists will take place at the space from many different genres and communities but with a focus and commitment on DIY and independent cultural endeavor. We also intend to provide an outlet for youth cultural organizers, artists and performers to gain access to a space that is safe and free from drugs and alcohol.
Kid's Programs
To insure the space is reaching the broader community, the space will host consistent children's events to include the very young and their parents and make them feel a part of the space. Events of this nature will include but are not limited to a weekly Story Time, Skits and performances by and for children, film screenings for kids and puppet shows.
EDUCATIONAL CENTER & FREE SCHOOL
The educational portion of the infoshop is dedicated to the creation of educational opportunities for community members of all ages through the creation of a free school and additional educational programs. All such classes and programs will be run horizontally by educated facilitators and will be based on collaborative learning and participatory education, as opposed to the traditional teacher-student relationships. Free school classes, guest speakers and other programs will be completely free of charge, non-compulsory, open to the public and devoted to student enrichment more than grades and certifications. By drawing on the experience and expertise of the community, the space will be engaged in a consistent dialogue with the public regarding what individuals want to teach and what they intend to learn.
Free School
The Free School will be a project run primarily out of the space that features classes for adults and children on a variety of subjects. The classes will all be facilitated and taught by volunteers and members of the community, free of charge to the public and will be non compulsory. All classes will be organized in such a way as to challenge the dynamics of the traditional classroom and teacher-student relationships. This will be done with the intention of inspiring students to become their own educators and harbor a love of learning.
Homework Help
The Space will provide regular events during which children and young adults can come and receive help with their homework or tutoring on subjects they find difficult. This will be accomplished by building alliances and relationships with teachers and college students willing to volunteer with the space. This will be coupled with the Free School to provide consistent classes and tutoring on subjects important to a child's growing intellect.
Guest speakers and lecturers
The Infoshop will engage with National Academic Institutes and Organizations as well as touring authors, artists and intellectuals to provide engaging guest lectures on a variety of subjects.
Public access to open courseware
A Local Area Network housed in the space will broadcast a wifi signal that will allow anyone with a laptop and a wifi connection, or a thumb drive to download the ample Open Courseware material being released by educational institutions as prestigious as MIT, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Notre Dame, and the Mathematical Institute of Oxford. In addition to this courseware, the network will provide access to Public Domain and permissively licensed cultural works all available for free and legal download.
MULTIMEDIA RESOURCE CENTER
The Resource Center will a community defined space; it is what the community puts into it. We wish to collect and provide information to our neighborhoods and communities, and hope to extend our efforts to those who share common ideas of equality. We believe sharing a collection of information and often inaccessible resources locally is one of the many ways to inspire change and promote equality globally. To this end we will provide free computer access, a lending library, as well as a space for donated items to be taken by any who want them.
Computer Lab
Through alliances with local computer science students and teachers, the space will start and steadily grow a laboratory of computers which will be available to the public for use free of charge. All computers will be run on open source software in order to support community based software projects and also to avoid any and all legal licensing issues common to commercial software. Educational materials will also be available on local network accessible while in the space through either the lab or through a wifi connection from a personal computer. Classes will also be held in conjunction with the Education Center on the subjects general usage, office software, computer art and 3D modeling, web and computer programming and general maintenance.
Freecycle Center
The space will also house a “Free Store” or what is known in a more modern sense as a Freecycle Center where people can donate certain unwanted items such as clothes, works of art, household items, books, etc. and can likewise take items free of charge.
Lending Library
The space will house books on a number of topics from fiction, non-fiction, gender and ethnic studies, history, philosophy, spirituality, children's literature and comic books. We will strive to offer materials that cover issues which are often neglected in commercial bookstores and even public institutions and will be open to donations of books from the community.
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