Hey! Sorry about this, but the videos are down for a sec. I've been in the process of upgrading them to a higher-quality than what Mexican internet cafes could really handle when I was in the shit, a year back. And just when I got them all finished and half of them uploaded to Virb, my home internet connection crashed, and then I noticed that they don't embed properly here anyway. So, it's being sorted out, and they'll be back shortly. Apologies!
I first encountered Harj after the Feds had rather ceremoniously hauled him out of a Jello Biafra talk a few years back (on charges related to dodging their questions about a series of property attacks related to the war, if I recall). He was contacting his favorite punk bands to see what help they could offer in raising funds for his defense, and... Well, a beautiful friendship has resulted from our contact. Having since spent a good deal of time in each other's presence since, in our respective transcontinental jaunts, his recent addition to the board of the IAS means we're now poised to pass utterly juveinle notes back and forth during board meetings in NYC/Montreal. Arguably one of the rising stars of north american anarchism, Harj recently sealed his status as someone to watch in a panel (in somewhat hostile territory, even) on Prefigurative Politics at the Left Forum, and totally wrecked house. Definitely check out the video below, and follow his writing at Planes for Baskets (he's far better about staying on top of this blog business than I could ever hope to be).
Anyway, somewhere in all of this, we thought it might be interesting to document some of the more recurrent themes in our conversations, and see if any of our babble proved useful. The results are after the jump. As this exchange evolves, it could potentially see print publication, but for now it's here. Enjoy.
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So Joshua, we’ve talked about this quite a bit informally over the last few years, from cafes to your couch, and let’s try to make this happen in a more together way, possibly for publishing, and see if we can get these dialogues going more regularly and maybe deepen the level to which anarchists discuss this. I think I pull anarchists specifically because my socialist comrades tend to be quite versed in what we discuss, and at least take them seriously. But I think we are in a unique moment where seriously considering capitalism and how we resist it/organize a movement against it is really our work, and somewhat our obligation to the rest of the world. I want to start off with two points briefly, and see where you take them.
A new set of tenants recently moved into the office next to ours (at Brighter Days); a space that had been empty since we moved in, and housed the kitchenette for the entire suite. Coinciding with the arrival of the newbies was the disappearance of the mini-fridge in which we'd stored a 5lb bag of what was the last of the Human Bean's Zapatista coffee. I shit you not when I say that heads nearly rolled. Things were thrown out the window, toward 19th Street, Boston Tea Party-style.
I've since located the mini-fridge (and the coffee), but I just popped over to the Rebel Imports site, and am outright ecstatic to report that they are once again stocking Zapatista-grown coffee, through another company. It appears it's only available in Dark Roast, but there's an espresso blend that is half-sourced with coffee produced by a Zapatista collective (also available in bulk, wooo!). I'm kinda stupid-excited about this.
COG Magazine ran a piece on Circle A Cycles in their most recent issue. I've been a huge fan of these folks for a number of years; in part because Chris is one of the downright nicest people I've ever come across and he and his partner were two of the most mature, thoughtful folks I encountered at Renewing the Anarchist Tradition a few years ago, but also in part because they're a fellow self-managed workplace with a no-bullshit, witty-as-hell articulation of their politics. Their FAQ on anarchism was an inspiration for the proverbial "voice" of the Brighter Days website, and is something I've actually directed people to who wanted to get their heads around the concept.
Aside from all of that, they build bikes. Nice fucking bikes. In the heyday of the classical anarchist tradition of the 19th century, watchmakers in the Jura region of Switzerland were a major inspiration to anti-authoritarian workers movements all over, and maybe it's the beard I've been farming out (turned overly-sentimental gaze in Kropotkin's direction), but I've got a similar appreciation for people who've honed a low-scale craft in this way. Usually, this manifests for me with regard to coffee and food. But I've also got friends who do bodywork, low-scale agriculture, information technology production, etc. And more and more, especially in the midst of a potential collapse of modern capitalism (and what that'll mean for communities), I'm drawn to the liberatory potentialities of locally-situated, highly-caibrated skillsets. Part of that is about asessment and provision of basic social needs (and not seeing us alienated from those processes), but another part of it is a fascination with the point at which life carried out as an artistic medium collides with pedagogical strategies in the practice of self-determination. Each one teach one and all that business. The Circle A folks discuss some of this in the COG article, but it's a conversation that ought to be happening on a larger scale.
Meanwhile, I picked up Jeff Mapes'sPedaling Revoution, yesterday. I haven't dug into it, yet, but it looks promising. I'm prepared to be let down, but I'm going to remain optimistic.
The new issue of Foucault Studies appears to have launched during my time abroad; this one carrying a rather timely theme. For the record, I asbolutely love this journal, and plan on reading this cover to cover (as it were; meaning PDF) on the bus ride back to DC tomorrow. As academic publications go, these folks do a fairly decent job at keeping things relatively accessible and useful to readers in a variety of disciplines.
Also, the folks over at Movimento Fisso have seemingly launched an English branch of the site. I've used them for brushing up on my Italian, while geeking out over the content there, in the past. Now that it's available in English, I strongly recommend spending some time with it. Some of the translation/grammar is still a little shaky, but it's a killer read, nonetheless.
A new set of tenants recently moved into the office next to ours (at 
The new issue of 
