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v. vale's newsletter January oh-six

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Jan 14, 2006, 6:47:42 AM1/14/06

Subject: v. vale's newsletter January oh-six
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 12:46:41 +0100

To: RE/Search eNews List:;
Subject: v. vale's newsletter January oh-six
From: RE/Search Publications <in...@researchpubs.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:58:18 -0800

WELCOME TO V. VALE's RE/SEARCH NEWSLETTER #44, January 2006. HERE'S
THE NEWS FROM SAN FRANCISCO... ALL READERS ARE INVITED TO SEND
CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK!

**Please note that the Sat Feb 11 SRL Benefit announced here last
month is being rescheduled for a later date--see more information
below**

CONTENTS:
1. Sat, Jan 14, 2006 San Francisco. CounterCulture Hour (RE-)airs
Sat, Jan 14, 6:30pm - with Lydia Lunch and Genesis P-Orridge. See
Explanation below.
2. Sat, Jan 21, 6pm: SRL show/performance in Los Angeles at Susan
Joyce's new gallery/parking lot
3. Fri-Sun, Feb 3-5: Beat & William S. Burroughs Celebration in So.
California desert
4. Fri Feb 3, 7pm, Charles Gatewood 40-Year Retrospective; V. Vale
introduces. CSE, S.F.
5. Sat, Feb 4: Mutants ('70s Punk Band) Reunion Show at Cafe Du Nord
6. Fri, Feb 10: Bay Area Premiere of Newest SRL Video at SF Indiefest
7. Punk '77 New Expanded Edition: Taking Pre-Orders
8. Web-site Recommendations from our pal PHIL GLATZ...
9. What we've been Reading, Listening to, etc.
10. Other coming events...
11. American Book Review reviews our J.G. Ballard Quotes book/Full
SRL Press Release

First, the commercial: if you want to give a rare gift to someone
special, we recommend our limited edition **AUTOGRAPHED** flexibind
J.G. Ballard Quotes book! (only 250 made)...not in stores. Order from
http://www.researchpubs.com Of course, you can also order the new
J.G. Ballard Conversations, too--paperback only. Our other rare
autographed RE/Search books include J.G. Ballard's Atrocity
Exhibition, and Daniel P. Mannix's Freaks and Memoirs of a Sword
Swallower.

Secondly, our classic William S. Burroughs T-shirt ("We intend to
destroy all dogmatic verbal systems") is now available in S-M-L-XL
sizes -- another great gift... not in stores; impossible to find
elsewhere.

1. SAT, Jan 14: CounterCulture Hour airs Sat, Jan 14, 2006, 6:30pm,
Cable Channel 29 (Sorry, San Francisco only, but watch for alternate
releases on our website.) We're airing this again because last month,
the final performance/live footage featuring Genesis P-Orridge was
mysteriously not shown (approx. 90 seconds). Worth a 2nd viewing if
you're one of the few who saw it the first airing -- INCLUDES
interview with the lengendary Lydia Lunch, first-generation Punk Rock
Original giving her wide world views, followed by an "inspired"
interview with GENESIS P-ORRIDGE, founder of Throbbing Gristle. See
it again with a friend!

2. Sat, Jan 21 6pm, SURVIVAL RESEARCH LABS (SRL)
exhibition/performance in Los Angeles! 6-8pm at Susan Joyce's Fringe
Exhibitions Gallery, 504 Chung King Court, L.A, CA 90012
213-613-0160. The "Art on the Walls" Exhibition will continue
Wed-Sat, 12-6pm. Taken from their press release below:

"Fringe Exhibitions is a new exhibition space dedicated to showing
cutting edge and experimental art projects that focus on
installation, video, new media art, and art that engages with
technology. Grand opening features the work of Mark Pauline, director
of Survival Research Laboratories (SRL). [Reportedly Mark will be
driving a "flatbed truck of machines" down to L.A. to do a small
performance in the adjacent parking lot.]

"This exhibition will feature the newest addition to the SRL machine
family: the Sneaky Soldiers, near-life-sized, remote controlled army
of revolutionaries. Also included in the exhibition will be
large-scale documentary images, and the premiere of the video from
SRL's recent show in Downtown Los Angeles. This video features the
first invasion of the Sneaky Soldiers. The SRL commentary on the art
of war debuted a Sneaky Soldier emerging from an 18-foot tall wooden
Trojan horse to face danger from large-scale destructive robots
enduring the pain of flame and damage through a hail of sparks and
projectiles. After the fog of war was lifted from the field of battle
revealing mangled wrecks of machinery, the Sneaky Soldiers were
gathered to be repaired to fight again another day. Similar to a real
theater of war where battle takes place, these machines and props
engage in a struggle for survival. Both the machines and operators
expend intense energy creating an atmosphere of immediacy and
choreographed chaos. Each of the eight soldiers has an individual
number and distinct battle wounds from the performance."
www.fringexhibitions.com

3. Sun, Feb 3-5, 2006: There will be a Interzone Beat Festival and
William S. Burroughs Birthday Celebration. The WSB Birthday Party
will be Sun, Feb 5, 11-1pm, at The Beat Hotel, 67840 Hacienda Ave,
Desert Hot Springs, California 92240 760-288-2280
beat...@adelphia.net According to a press release: "Celebrating
the birthday of renowned American writer William S. Burroughs, The
Beat Hotel will present the First InterZone Beat Festival at the Beat
Hotel in Desert Hot Springs, California. (Burroughs's heir James
Grauerholz is slated to attend.)

"The Festival will feature in association with OMC Gallery an
exhibition of photographs of the original Beat Hotel in Paris by
Harold Chapman. This is a rare opportunity to see "behind the
scenes" during the formative years of the Beat generation. This will
also be the first exhibition of Chapman's work in America.

"For the First InterZone Beat Festival each of the rooms of the Beat
Hotel will be installed with photographs by Harold Chapman. A
variety of Beat-related videos will be shown. These will include
slide shows of images by Chapman, set to music; and interviews with
Chapman. Books and original photographic works by Chapman will be
available for purchase."

4. Fri Feb 3, 7-10pm, Charles Gatewood 40-Year Retrospective; V.
Vale introduces. CSC, 398 11th St/Harrison, 415-255-1155. Free!
Recommended!
From Charles' press release: "I will show highlights from my career
as 'family photographer of America's erotic underground.' The show
will include 45 silver prints, several large silkscreen images, and
recent collage work. There will be light refreshments, erotic
readings and a ritual performance. Books and photos will be for
sale... The show will be on exhibit February 3-28, during hosted
events, or by appointment. For more information, see
www.sexandculture.org and www.charlesgatewood.com, or call
415-267-7651.

"Charles Gatewood's striking photographs have been published in
numerous books and magazines, and in shown in exhibitions throughout
the world. His work has been supported by three fellowships from the
New York State Council on the Arts. He has also received the Leica
Medal of Excellence for Outstanding Humanistic Photojournalism, and
the Aphrodite Award for Sexual Service to the Community." "Charles
Gatewood's pictures are so scary. He may be the only person who can
make me feel nostalgia for the Hellfire Club."--John Waters. For
interviews, press photos, more info call 415-267-7651 or email
cgat...@earthlink.net. Website: www.charlesgatewood.com

5. Sat, Feb 4, 9pm, Mutants (70s S.F. punk band) plays a reunion show
at Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco. The Mutants were one of the best San
Francisco '70s "punk" bands, and it's a small miracle they will be
playing a live show at a great venue, Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market near
Noe St. Sat. Feb 4, along with the descendants of Frightwig (now
named Graywig). Vocalist Sally Webster will be flying out from NYC
for this, and hopefully Fritz from Colorado, too. Recommended you buy
tickets online: <http://www.cafedunord.com>www.cafedunord.com

6. **HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!** Fri Feb 10, 9:30pm, the SF Indiefest will
celebrate Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) with the San Francisco
premiere of the video of the SRL Los Angeles, April 2, 2005 Show,
followed by a conversation between RE/Search founder V. Vale, SRL
founder Mark Pauline, and filmmaker Dave Scardina. A Q&A, and small
party, will follow. Women's Building, San Francisco, 18th St near
Valencia, 9:30 pm. Half the ticket price will go to benefit the
forthcoming SRL move to new quarters.

"You will be treated to generous demonstrations of flame-throwing!
Prepare to witness much manic machine mayhem! Thrill to the
destruction of a Trojan Horse! Gaze in wonder at the unrehearsed
special guest appearance of the Los Angeles Fire Department! The
video shoot was directed by Dave Scardina and edited by Mark Pauline."

**And please note that the Sat Feb 11 SRL Benefit is being
rescheduled for a later date--the owners of the Hayes Valley Market
building precipitously closed the gallery on Jan. 10! Yes, it was a
shock! But we are looking for another venue. SRL has a HUGE move
coming up in the near future.**

7. Punk '77 New Expanded Edition: Taking Pre-Orders. We are just
sending the new expanded edition of Punk '77 to the Hong Kong printer
and are offering a special pre-order price: just $15. (List price
will probably be $19.99) We've added a 24-page appendix of yet more
photos, which includes a recent interview with photographer James
Stark, for this very limited printing. RE/Search books are hard to
find, and you would be advised to reserve your copy now. Order from:
http://www.researchpubs.com

8. Web-site Recommendations from our pal PHIL GLATZ--thanks, Phil!

() Citizen Kubrick:
<http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1177734,00.html>http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1177734,00.html

() wild instrumental party:
<http://reverendfrost.blogspot.com/>http://reverendfrost.blogspot.com/

() Guy gets a $49 talking santa bot from walmart, adds a new BASIC
controller, fun ensues. Nice prank material.
<http://members.cox.net/jmccorm/santa.html>http://members.cox.net/jmccorm/santa.html

() woomba: http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=u9isZY966wI

() great photos:
<http://www.margotknight.com/margot.html>http://www.margotknight.com/margot.html

() Science teachers present evolution as if it were a proven fact.
Education officials are so terrified of Creation that they won't even
admit that evolution is nothing more than a theory! This book, with
its thorough index, makes it easy to find answers to evolution's
outrageous claims.

<http://www.chick.com/catalog/books/1254.asp>http://www.chick.com/catalog/books/1254.asp

() Juanita Dale Slushe:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/arts/04barr.html>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/arts/04barr.html

() As for the obscenity law, he says he thinks it's "correct." "The
whole issue," says [Lennny] Bruce, "is not that the state should keep
its dirty hands off," as the liberal he visited had insisted. For
Bruce "the key word is 'prurient.' Don't get people horn-y." And he
says, insisting he is serious, that there should be a law against
getting people aroused because "it's bad for marriages."
<http://villagevoice.com/specials/0543,50thharringt,69171,31.html>http://villagevoice.com/specials/0543,50thharringt,69171,31.html

() Art the hard way:
<http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/04/D8EU2N6O0.html>http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/04/D8EU2N6O0.html

() Art for Robert Crumb - for those who love "big fine legs"

<http://www.quasi-modo.net/2005_August.html>http://www.quasi-modo.net/2005_August.html

this is a great [freaks] site
<http://www.quasi-modo.net/>http://www.quasi-modo.net/

old friend:
<http://www.quasi-modo.net/Retarded.html>http://www.quasi-modo.net/Retarded.html

() [Warhol "blog"] http://www.warhblog.com/ December 27, Monday,
1976 - Got the invitation to President Carter's inaugural. It was
addressed to (laughs) "Mr. and Mrs. Andy Warhol." Don't you love it?

() Museum of Menstruation:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/MDNEWmum.html

9. What We've Been Reading, Listening To, etc...

Our New Year's Resolution included a resolve to try to only read the
most important books ever written (!). A very intelligent scholar
named Amir M. telephoned us and in the course of a concentrated
conversation informed us of the existence of two books which we will
soon procure:
() The Edge of Surrealism: A Roger Caillois Reader (ISBN:
0822330687) Duke University Press May, 2003, 9x6" paperback.
() Little Anatomy of the Physical Unconscious (ISBN: 097120442X) by
Hans Bellmer. Dominion Press, 2004. Hard Cover. Hans Bellmer
(1902-1975) stands as one of the most important erotic artists from
the last century. An expert draftsman with a razor-sharp capacity for
detail and an obsessive, unfettered imagination, Bellmer quickly came
to the attention of Andre Breton and the Surrealists. In the 1950s
Hans Bellmer composed a small book with ten original illustrations,
in which he elucidated upon the psychosexual forces that provided the
impetus for his artistic works, featuring his illumination of the
"purely subjective" subconscious realm of our bodies which "finds
nourishment in feverish, often psycho-pathological states, including
that of sexual desire." This is the first English translation of
Bellmer's text. Presented in a deluxe three-part binding with cloth
spine, specially textured boards and endsheets, and gold stamping.
Mostly text, with a few b&w illustrations. Foreword by Joe Coleman.

As almost a dialectical reaction to being informed of these two
relatively recent publications, we immediately got out the most basic
Surrealist text written: Andre Breton's Manifestoes of Surrealism
(1969, U. Michigan, paperback) and rediscovered its importance as one
of THE most inspiring books published in the 20th Century. Surrealism
was really a "scientific" project to try to discover, collate and
consolidate all the possible ways humans can be creative,
imaginative, inspired and insurrectionist. It never was a mere
literary or artistic movement; it was a new way of looking at the
world (against "realism" or "naturalism.")--almost an alchemical,
transformative adventure. Emphasis was on The Imagination, Dreams,
Fantasy, Creativity and Revolt. Surrealism was all about the mapping
of "freedom/liberty" and the exploration/realization of "desire."

Here are a few quotes from Andre Breton's FIRST SURREALIST MANIFESTO
(1924):

"The mere word 'freedom' is the only one that still excites me..."

"To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery...is to betray all
sense of absolute justice within oneself. Imagination alone offers
some intimation of what CAN BE."

"Our brains are dulled by the incurable mania of wanting to make the
unknown known, classifiable."

"We are still living under the reign of logic...but logical methods
are applicable only to solving problems of SECONDARY interest..."

"I have always been amazed at the way an ordinary observer lends so
much more credence and attaches so much more importance to 'waking
events' than to those occurring in dreams."

"Perhaps my dream last night follows that of the night before, and
will be continued the next night, with an exemplary strictness. It's
quite possible..."

"I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and
reality, into a kind of absolute reality, a SURREALITY..."

"Saint-Pol-Roux...used to have a notice posted...before he went to
sleep, which read: THE POET IS WORKING."

"Fear, the attraction of the unusual, chance, the taste for things
extravagant..."

"Amid the bad taste of my time I strive to go further than anyone
else."

"We really live by our fantasies when we give free rein to them."

"...concentrate attention on the more or less partial sentences
which, when one is quite alone and on the verge of falling asleep,
become perceptible for the mind without its being possible to
discover what provoked them."

"Each of us has within himself the potential of an orator..."

"Words and images are only so many springboards for the mind of the
listener."

"The mind which plunges into Surrealism relives with glowing
excitement the best part of its childhood."

"It is perhaps childhood that comes closest to one's 'real life.' "

"Surrealism...asserts our complete NONCONFORMISM..."

"Living and ceasing to live are imaginary solutions. Existence is
elsewhere."

And from "ON SURREALISM IN ITS LIVING WORKS" (1953):

"[Surrealism focuses on] the region where desire arises
unconstrained, a region which is also that where myths take wing."...
[It intends} to bring language back to true life."

"Carnal love is at one with spiritual love." (against soul/body
dualism)

"The poetic image [may be obtained] most often under conditions of
complete relaxation of the mind rather than complete concentration."

"Common sense may be the most uncommon thing in the world." [end]

10. Coming Events:

**First of all, please note that the scheduled Feb 11 SRL Benefit at
Hayes Valley Market has been postponed -- the owners of the building
closed down the Gallery precipitously on Jan. 10. We are looking for
another large venue, and welcome any assistance from our readers.

() Tue Jan 17, 9:30pm, Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk/Post, SF. Joe
Donohoe, who wrote the introduction to our J.G. Ballard Conversations
book, will be reading at Hemlock Tavern, with Harmon Leon, Bucky
Sinister, et al. $6. This group is "viciously talented"--Hiya
Swanhuyser, S.F. Weekly

() Besides the SRL Video Premiere Fri, Feb 10, 2006 at SF Indiefest,
we are giving notice of the upcoming event organized by Ethan Port
and friends:

() Mobilization presents HOW TO DESTROY THE UNIVERSE, PART 5
Featuring: BLIXA BARGELD, JARBOE, and others... Jan 26 - Feb 6, 2006.

JARBOE has an amazing new CD coming out on Atavistic. Blixa also
appears on this new CD, so there may be some collaboration at the
festival shows. The SIXTEENS are a haunted guy/girl post/synth-punk
due visiting from Berlin. Their new CD is due in Feb. F-SPACE is
Ethan Port from Savage Republic with Aleph from Chrome.

BLIXA BARGELD (htp://www.blixa-bargeld.com) is performing a rare solo
vocal concert entitled "Rede/Speech"... Blixa has his vocals
processed live by long-time Neubauten sound engineer Boris Wilsdorf.
Although hard to categorize, this technique allows for a "real time"
interplay of vocal ideas with patterns and rhythms produced by the
audio effects themselves (similar at least in concept to Diamanda
Galas)... This is the US debut of his mesmerizing performance that
has appeared throughout Europe for over a decade.

Press and ticket information is available at
http://www.mobilization.com. Tickets are on sale now at
http://www.BrownPaperTicket.com A limited number of advance discount
tickets and festival passes are available now. (Note that at press
time some dates were already selling quickly and are expected to sell
out.)

11. American Book Review's Davis Schneiderman reviewed our J.G.
Ballard Quotes book in their Jan/Feb 2006 issue.
http://www.litline.org/ABR "The signature obsessions of J.G.
Ballard's long career--the elucidation of linkages between modernity
and atrocity, the exteriorization of human consciousness through the
development of the technological, the extemporization of a popular
culture seemingly unaware of its own implications--not only
predominate the new RE/Search volume, J.G. Ballard Quotes, but they
populate its four-hundred-plus pages to such an extent that the
effect is similar to finding oneself inside the unsteady cylinder of
a Ballard novel...[there is] the necessity of an almost Surrealist
de-realization of the world.

"First, there are the sudden delights, as when it is asserted that
the American President "bears about as much relationship to the real
business of running America as does Colonel Sanders to the business
of frying chicken."... Then, the clever metaphors: "If the sun is the
ultimate TV station, then the beach is its most popular program, and
life at a holiday resort resembles a chaotic rehearsal for the last
great sitcom, a fusion of Baywatch and Armageddon.

"Before long, we reach the more sinister juxtaposition of man and
machine, science and imagination... [Some Ballard quotes:] "The
ragged skyline of the city resembled the disturbed encephalograph of
an unresolved mental crisis"...or "Working in an office for a great
many years can be one of the most crucifying experiences. You are
forced to repress your biological need to kill everyone around you."
The review ends with "this book, a place of wondrously dangerous
diversions."

We thank Davis Schneiderman, co-editor of Retaking the Universe:
William S. Burroughs in the Age of Globalization (excellent
compendium of essays by various folk) for his thoughtful review.

**IF YOU GOT THIS FAR, YOU SHOULD GET THE JGB QUOTES BOOK (MSRP
$19.99 or available in a **rare autographed flexibind edition
**--yes, signed by the U.K. visionary himself... There's also a rare
unsigned Library edition available ($35). Email us at
in...@researchpubs.com or telephone 415-362-1465 to order!

JAN 2006 RE/Search eNewsletter written by V. Vale & contributors.
Newsletter and website powered by http://www.laughingsquid.com

DISCLAIMER & PROMISE -- V. Vale's eNewsletter is a free service to
our esteemed customers, comrades and critics. If you're receiving
this email, it's because you or someone you know has sent your
address to us here. We will NOT trade your address, sell your
address, or in any way make your address available to anyone else,
EVER.

SRL - January 21 Los Angeles show PRESS RELEASE STARTS HERE:

The Sneaky Soldier has been a recurring character in many SRL
performances. The new Sneaky Soldier is a major technological
improvement with a steel torso enclosing a battery powered, chain
driven mechanism to create a crawling action.

SRL engages new vocabularies by integrating machines, theatrical sets
and props, with dramatic, visual metaphors bringing to life,
large-scale mechanical performances for audiences... By taking things
to extreme ends, SRL attempts to create new levels of sensory and
emotional intensity. Using diverse disciplines such as performance,
literature, and engineering, in concert with artistic expression,
ideas are transformed into visceral experiences. Employing technology
to the fullest and breaking new ground by trying to build
collaboration between art and electronic culture, the creative work
of SRL is constantly evolving as advances in new technologies are
being developed. With the assimilation of machine to technology,
cultural transformations take place. The evolution of electronic
culture is a change in the dynamics of society, representation and
experience. And we are just beginning to scratch the surface on
understanding the potential of technology and its relationship to
contemporary art.

Survival Research Laboratories was conceived and founded by Mark
Pauline in 1978 as an organization of creative technicians dedicated
to redirecting the techniques, tools, and tenets of industry,
science, and the military away from their typical manifestations in
practicality, product, or warfare. SRL has staged over 50 mechanized
presentations in the United States, Europe, and Japan that consist of
a unique set of ritualized interactions between machines, robots, and
special effects devices, employed in developing themes of
socio-political satire. Since its inception SRL has operated
as a not-for-profit organization producing its own live mechanical
performances.

For more information contact Fringe Exhibitions at 213-613-0160.
in...@fringexhibitions.com
<http://www.fringexhibitions.com>www.fringexhibitions.com

-----------------------
RE/Search Publications, 20 Romolo Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94133.
Tel (415) 362-1465 Email: in...@researchpubs.com website:
http://www.researchpubs.com
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