New edition - discussion around theme - espionage?
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Bradley
May 16, 2012, 5:32:40 AM5/16/12
to New York Moon
Greetings Moonenites,
As I hope you all saw, we published a new edition of the New York Moon
about nostalgia and archaeology. The Moon is revived and we hope to
begin publishing more frequently (it's much easier now, because of
Zack's excellent redesign and migration of the site to Tumblr).
One theme idea we were thinking about for the next edition is
"espionage". Like nostalgia, it's a word fraught with meaning. We're
looking for ideas for novel articles, but also for unique multimedia
projects.
Here are some random ideas I had thinking about this:
1 Espionage and architecture - getting a designer to come up with a
building idea, with sketches, that somehow reflects a discussion of
the theme. Another idea would be an analysis of world spy
headquarters, based on what's available - how is their design
structured? Or a combination of the above.
2 A photography project, where a photographer takes "spy photographs"
of random people in a city in a way that imbues their meetings,
handshakes, etc. with subterfuge. We can blur out the faces
3 I discussed with Vadim the idea of writing a piece on espionage,
which could include a novel rereading of the Cold War (his specialty)
or an interview with a former top spymaster. This same idea could be
used by anyone else, or we could do several such interviews. I'd
really love a Moon-style interview with a former CIA guy, KGB guy,
etc. I think we could do something very different.
Of course, we'd entertain ideas for short stories, music, etc., but
I'd like to encourage everyone to stretch their imagination and come
up with new ideas for how to tell stories. The Moon is about using the
medium of a website to its fullest extent. If the idea requires some
technical expertise, we can bring in different people with skills to
do it.
We need a balance of good writing/narratives and innovative projects.
We should always be unearthing forgotten bits of history and posing
new ideas.
Lexi Atiya has also proposed a future theme of "Magic, Magicians and
Circuses", which I think is a good idea. I recently read Devil in the
White City about the Chicago World Fair of 1893, which made me think
we could somehow do an edition at some point that exhibited "works" on
our website.
Let's brainstorm.
Bradley
As I hope you all saw, we published a new edition of the New York Moon
about nostalgia and archaeology. The Moon is revived and we hope to
begin publishing more frequently (it's much easier now, because of
Zack's excellent redesign and migration of the site to Tumblr).
One theme idea we were thinking about for the next edition is
"espionage". Like nostalgia, it's a word fraught with meaning. We're
looking for ideas for novel articles, but also for unique multimedia
projects.
Here are some random ideas I had thinking about this:
1 Espionage and architecture - getting a designer to come up with a
building idea, with sketches, that somehow reflects a discussion of
the theme. Another idea would be an analysis of world spy
headquarters, based on what's available - how is their design
structured? Or a combination of the above.
2 A photography project, where a photographer takes "spy photographs"
of random people in a city in a way that imbues their meetings,
handshakes, etc. with subterfuge. We can blur out the faces
3 I discussed with Vadim the idea of writing a piece on espionage,
which could include a novel rereading of the Cold War (his specialty)
or an interview with a former top spymaster. This same idea could be
used by anyone else, or we could do several such interviews. I'd
really love a Moon-style interview with a former CIA guy, KGB guy,
etc. I think we could do something very different.
Of course, we'd entertain ideas for short stories, music, etc., but
I'd like to encourage everyone to stretch their imagination and come
up with new ideas for how to tell stories. The Moon is about using the
medium of a website to its fullest extent. If the idea requires some
technical expertise, we can bring in different people with skills to
do it.
We need a balance of good writing/narratives and innovative projects.
We should always be unearthing forgotten bits of history and posing
new ideas.
Lexi Atiya has also proposed a future theme of "Magic, Magicians and
Circuses", which I think is a good idea. I recently read Devil in the
White City about the Chicago World Fair of 1893, which made me think
we could somehow do an edition at some point that exhibited "works" on
our website.
Let's brainstorm.
Bradley
Alyssa Moxley
May 30, 2012, 9:46:14 AM5/30/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
Another intriguing subject!
Have you heard about video sniffing? Using baby monitors and the like to pick up signals from CCTV cameras inside buildings? There have been some interesting art projects in London around this theme. A number of artists have made dramatic films from the found footage. It could be interesting to feature one of these. This group might have some interesting responses: http://www.ambienttv.net/content/index.php
This project is from a few years ago but I thought might be of interest anyway: http://www.seventeengallery.com/index.php?p=3&id=29
I know one of the artists involved so could ask if he had some ideas for the issue.
Also I thought it might be fun to have a "turn yourself into an undercover spy" interactive feature. Choose a wig, an outfit (style, frayed, crisp), equipment, an accent, a passport, tools, a destination, a mission - real items and techniques that people going undercover use. London's "leading spy shop", Spymaster could provide accurate examples.
I've also been working on an account (semi-fictionalised as much of his career history is classified/backed out and he was a total loner) of a great uncle (Chunky Webster) of mine, who was originally an RAF pilot contracted to test the U2 for the USA. He flew over the USSR several times creating photographic maps from the stratosphere. As he wasn't a US citizen the US could claim that they had not invaded the airspace... At this point the story needs more research. Of course all the pilots were not RAF. After the Gar Powers incident (USA spy pilot crashed in the USSR), the scheme was significantly changed and Chunky left US military projects and started testing planes and photographic equipment for Lockheed Martin at Skunkworks. He was a test pilot that lived long! But after years of flying in the stratosphere in a tiny cockpit he developed severe agoraphobia. He bought a stretch of desert next to the Edwards airbase to watch the planes take off but never went because of the agoraphobia. He retired to San Francisco, stayed inside mostly, built his own television sets, drank and listened to John Lennon and the Goon show. He left a lot of great photographic equipment and wonderful self portraits of himself in the cockpit.
Let me know if any of these ideas sound workable.
Cheers
Alyssa
Alexandra Atiya
Jun 3, 2012, 8:53:59 AM6/3/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
Hey,
A few ideas for espionage theme
1) An article about the Ashenden stories by W. Somerset Maugham. I've read that the Ashenden stories were the first spy stories to be written by someone who had actually been a spy.
W. Somerset Maugham went on missions in Geneva and in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution.
His stories are exciting, but also gloomy. They have this feeling that his work was tedious or maybe even pointless, or that he was just a cog in a machine, not anything heroic. It could be interesting to write something about how that influenced later spy stories.
2) A visual section showing different technologies originally developed for espionage purposes that have now branched out and have become common in everyday domestic life.
But the only examples I can think of are military technologies, not spy technologies. So I would need others' suggestions for this one.
3) Some kind of diagram showing the places in the day where you are watched, the amount of information about you that can be reconstructed from your everyday activities.
4) An essay on the difference between privacy and secrecy
A few ideas for espionage theme
1) An article about the Ashenden stories by W. Somerset Maugham. I've read that the Ashenden stories were the first spy stories to be written by someone who had actually been a spy.
W. Somerset Maugham went on missions in Geneva and in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution.
His stories are exciting, but also gloomy. They have this feeling that his work was tedious or maybe even pointless, or that he was just a cog in a machine, not anything heroic. It could be interesting to write something about how that influenced later spy stories.
2) A visual section showing different technologies originally developed for espionage purposes that have now branched out and have become common in everyday domestic life.
But the only examples I can think of are military technologies, not spy technologies. So I would need others' suggestions for this one.
3) Some kind of diagram showing the places in the day where you are watched, the amount of information about you that can be reconstructed from your everyday activities.
4) An essay on the difference between privacy and secrecy
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David Bauer
Jun 4, 2012, 11:21:28 AM6/4/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
How about great spies of NY? Ethel and Julius Rosenberg... And I'm sure there are stories of submarines in the east river and citizen lookouts on Breezy Point and around the Harbor.
David Bauer MSPT
David Bauer MSPT
Stirling Yoga
308 Main St
Greenport NY 11944
Ryan Hagen
Jun 4, 2012, 12:37:59 PM6/4/12
to New York Moon
I second all the ideas about surveillance and spying (esp. the
Rosenbergs).
Just a few other scattered thoughts:
1) The other obvious thing to do here, especially considering the
ongoing investigation by the AG's office (http://www.usatoday.com/news/
washington/story/2012-02-29/justice-review-muslim-spying-nypd/
53303560/1 ), is the NYPD's espionage against suspect groups here in
the city (political groups in the 60s, 70s and today, muslim groups,
etc). There is a Moon-y way of doing this. Interview an NYPD
undercover agent? Spend time in one of the spied-upon communities?
1a) Could we finally do the definitive profile on the Hipster Cop?
2) Something more subtle would explore the infiltration and
eavesdropping we all must conduct every day as city dwellers. What
would "Overheard in New York" look like if it were filtered through
the eccentricity filter of the New York Moon?
3) There's an amazing and terrible story in Tim Wu's "The Master
Switch" about how David Sarnoff, then-president of NBC and RCA, based
here in New York, suppressed the introduction of FM radio and
television, swindling and backstabbing his friends and collaborators,
pushing one of them to suicide. It's a kind of espionage -- stealing
and corrupting information. Does anyone remember this specifically? I
don't have my copy of Master Switch handy. But can pursue it if
there's interest. It's exactly the kind of forgotten history I'd want
to read in the Moon.
4) All kinds of corporate espionage happen every day in New York.
Surely we could ferret out one of those stories. A profile, say, on a
park Wall Street traders go to trade secrets; a food truck where young
tech entrepreneurs go to steal each others' ideas; stories of media
folks stealing each others stories/properties. Something along those
lines.
R
Rosenbergs).
Just a few other scattered thoughts:
1) The other obvious thing to do here, especially considering the
ongoing investigation by the AG's office (http://www.usatoday.com/news/
washington/story/2012-02-29/justice-review-muslim-spying-nypd/
53303560/1 ), is the NYPD's espionage against suspect groups here in
the city (political groups in the 60s, 70s and today, muslim groups,
etc). There is a Moon-y way of doing this. Interview an NYPD
undercover agent? Spend time in one of the spied-upon communities?
1a) Could we finally do the definitive profile on the Hipster Cop?
2) Something more subtle would explore the infiltration and
eavesdropping we all must conduct every day as city dwellers. What
would "Overheard in New York" look like if it were filtered through
the eccentricity filter of the New York Moon?
3) There's an amazing and terrible story in Tim Wu's "The Master
Switch" about how David Sarnoff, then-president of NBC and RCA, based
here in New York, suppressed the introduction of FM radio and
television, swindling and backstabbing his friends and collaborators,
pushing one of them to suicide. It's a kind of espionage -- stealing
and corrupting information. Does anyone remember this specifically? I
don't have my copy of Master Switch handy. But can pursue it if
there's interest. It's exactly the kind of forgotten history I'd want
to read in the Moon.
4) All kinds of corporate espionage happen every day in New York.
Surely we could ferret out one of those stories. A profile, say, on a
park Wall Street traders go to trade secrets; a food truck where young
tech entrepreneurs go to steal each others' ideas; stories of media
folks stealing each others stories/properties. Something along those
lines.
R
David Bauer
Jun 4, 2012, 4:38:56 PM6/4/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
All good!!! I like the corporate angle but it should be NY centric and also moon centric as well. I like the idea of surveillance NY style, whether its Bin Laden or binoculars in high rises.....the definite undercover cop like Serpico was mined successfully a few years ago in the NYTimes, but the hipster cop sounds like fun.
Charlie Sneath
Jun 4, 2012, 10:23:01 PM6/4/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
I wonder if there's something worth exploring with an angle ala Rear Window? It might be an interesting idea to consider the idea of "domestic espionage," as experienced from an apartment looking across the way, peaking down from a rooftop, etc.
PK
Jun 5, 2012, 1:57:51 PM6/5/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
how does everyone in this group define "espionage"
it ultimately works towards death and self-preservation... not as lighthearted and innocuous as pop culture conveys and history books withhold.
da...@stirlingyoga.com
Jun 5, 2012, 4:15:23 PM6/5/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
Obtaining information secretly. How it is used is debatable.
Rose Fox
Jun 5, 2012, 3:36:17 PM6/5/12
to newyo...@googlegroups.com
I find the idea of an espionage-themed issue really disturbing,
especially when one of the first items proposed is taking photos of
people without their consent. Spying, of any kind, isn't funny or
cool.
--Rose
especially when one of the first items proposed is taking photos of
people without their consent. Spying, of any kind, isn't funny or
cool.
--Rose
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