This week (monday 2 – friday 6) the Barcelona International Climate Change Talks are happening, five days of formal negotiations, in the lead up to COP 15. Since Saturday there have been a series of actions in the cities streets as well as at the conference centre to raise awereness, to unite eco movements and to try to force change during this window of opportunity in the conference centre at the far side of Montjuic. But will it be enough to get us out of our AGE OF STUPID? Perhaps not, news has just come through today that African countries have abandoned the talks. Talks Timeline
How to do stuff on the cheap, be creative, be funny and then become legends…
“Revelate”, is the top tune from Irish group the Frames. The music video for the song was made for £2, about 5 years ago, and was mostly done by the lads acting the bollix in front of security cameras and then asking for the footage…. legendry. Enjoy. PS, the singer Glen Hansard, won an oscar for best musical for the film ONCE last year, heres top tune
The Gracia community garden radio documentary trilogy and accompanying article Springtime in Europe and the Earths life’s cycle is in bloom again. The 3 parts of the radio documentary capture magical moments in the recent history of one of the most exciting projects in Barcelona at present, our community garden in Gracia. This article was written after a lovely Valentines weekend of much open, shared and participative activity; the highlight of which was our collective mural day in the garden. It is hoped that some of the life, current ideas, projects, tools, spaces, bargains, oddities, dreams, passions and goings on of the city and her peoples are communicated here-in.
Friday… Thinking about winning
Saturday… Painting pictures and feeling like we are winning
Sunday… Sharing passions, playing and doing, Remembering the South.
An experiment with streaming audio, projecting video and the interaction between real and virual worlds took place in Dublin’s new social centre
Back in 2005 we made a short 4 minute documentary video after our succesful streaming experiment to connect the Digital Hub with the Dublin social centre, seomra spraoi (room of play in Gaelic / native Irish) as part of the “future of digital media”. The film is viewable on Archive.org
Although it was a successful stream, it did cause some contreversay within the Indymedia Ireland collective, but we were trying to push the boundaries of communication limits in the Network Age
(very) DIY poster announving the communication action
For some time here in Barcelona, and globally via email etc, many of us have been talking about an inititiave that is simple, practical, ecological, cheap to do and can be a massive benefit to healthy urban communites. Some precedents exist already: New York City is perhaps the best that I have heard of. Perhaps Erik might be able to provide links for this. Some say it is impossible to do it here, I disagree, I think it is not only possible, but that it is feasible, and as the “eco awareness” grows and the city looks for answers to its eco problems, this is a simple, small, nice step.
This mail is to propose the idea to you, see what you think, seek support, seek your knowledge, ideas etc. Its also an invite to learn about, visit, share experiences and learning with us in the existing catalyst and example of this idea, that is alive and growing as I type: the new community garden in Gracia, Barcelona.
This article is in regard to the Zero Carbon Caravan(ZCC) and related ideas in lead up to COP15, in Copenhagen December 2009,which will be one of the most important times in our collective human story. The creator of theZCCidea is Chris Keene, supporter of CAT (centre of alternative technology) in Wales. CAT are responsible for the ZERO CARBON BRITAINproject.
The article written here, arises from email to Chris and it will change as our ideas do. This very exciting project, of critical value, simply adresses the pressing issue of our time…. Adapt or Die
In Brazil, more than one hundred thousand people are gathering for the ninth World Social Forum. A crowd of some fifty thousand kicked off the event Tuesday with a march through the Amazon city of Belem. The World Social Forum gathers social movements from around the world under the theme of ‘another world is possible.’ It’s timed to coincide with the gathering of corporate leaders in the Swiss town of Davos.
Watch latest vids from WSF TV. Listen to AMARC live radio broadcasts.
All infos on main site: WSF 2009 @ Belém – Pará – Brasil: 27 jan – 1 feb
Els espais buits no fan Gràcia : The empty spaces are not funny
So read the new banner that now hangs on the end wall of the new Hort Comunitari, or community garden in Catalan, that was opened in Gracia on Saturday morning. From just being another quite and dry street, theres now a hive of activity in Caller Banyoles; people, laughter, color, sounds, music, dancing, kids playing. Being there one knows that Patcha Mama smiles again in Gracia.
Well over a hundred people entered a site that had been left derelict for the last 5 years. The concrete ground was smashed apart and the soil underneath was broken open with pics, forks, spades and hoes. People arrived in with recycled large construction bags with soil inside, once inside these bags had young plants put into them and were watered. that was lovely and brown and full of nutrientsdue to having horse manure mixed into it. Other soil was added to the freshly broken red earth and new plants were inserted here too. a large heap of soil at the end wall gave endless hours of healthy mucky enjoyment to kids who dug tunnells and rolled around, laughing and shrieking with delight as they did so.
The advent of Peak oil and solutions to it are perhaps one of the most critical issues we are facing today. A recent movement has exploded in Britain, transition towns. It began in Kinsale in Ireland with Rob Hopkins who set up the Permaculture college there. They set up the Kinsale Energy descent plan, looking at how their town could make the transition to less oil dependancy over a 20 year time frame. From there Rob went back to Witness in the UK and from there the model has exploded. You can find out whats going on on their WIKI (with translations) and they have set up a fantastic website Transition Culture.
Here is an excellent short video made by —- as part of the Lewes Transition town movement. It was shown in the local cinema of Lewes before all the films. It starts by asking the townspeople what are the causes of climate change and finishes with a rap about how oil is now used for the production of nearly everything we use
Rob Hopkins elaborates on the origins, the growth of and the future of the transition towns movement
Posted by fuspey 
Posted by fuspey 
Posted by fuspey 
The Gracia community garden radio documentary trilogy and accompanying article
An experiment with streaming audio, projecting video and the interaction between real and virual worlds took place in Dublin’s new social centre
For some time here in Barcelona, and globally via email etc, many of us have been talking about an inititiave that is 
So read the new banner that now hangs on the end wall of the new 
The advent of 
