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Andy Hawks Interview
Public Enemy - Interview: Andy Hawks, FutureCulture List, by Jagwire X
______________________________________
| |
| "So you can decide for yourself.... |
| Is it art or dangerous propaganda?" |
| -- Public Enemy |
|______________________________________|
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The Andy Hawks Interview Issue
October 12th, 1992
__________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Cyberlicious <tm> | Editor: Blade X | Note to self: don't |
| PO Box 4510 | bladex@wixer.cactus.org | forget to stick some |
| Austin, TX 78765 | WWIV : 46@5285 | thing in this space l8r |
|__________________________________________________________________________|
INDEX
Software Licensing Agreement
Subscriber information
Ediborial
Re:view of Public Enemy
Interview : Andy Hawks, FutureCulture List, by Jagwire X
______________________________________________________
| |
| THE GOLDEN RULE: He who has the gold makes the rules |
| -- cynical proverb |
|______________________________________________________|
SOFTWARE LICENSING AGREEMENT
Note: This is a non-standard distribution restriction, so please read
carefully. Also, this notice replaces any and all previous statements.
Please disregard said statements.
This file may participate in resource sharing and resource retrieval in any
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or unknown.
However, no CMC (computer-mediated-communication) may occur between the
hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. What this means is
that you are denied permission to read this file between the designated
prohibited time period.
Since this is a somewhat unusual explanation, let me explain my reasoning.
Lately I've been scraping against the idea of being *ACCESSED*, independent
of any personal control. The thought of being accessed makes me feel
uneasy, slightly sick to my stomach, and may account for this rash here on
my right bicep. My adrenaline system has been pumping 12% over normal
operating levels since the release of Scream Baby : The September 26, 1992
issue, and there is no end in sight. Naturally, these physiological effects
have a negative impact on my sleep patterns.
So, in essence, by restricting access during the designated prohibited time
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If you are currently reading this file during the proscribed time zone, exit
the file as quietly as possible. You are free to return at a later time.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
_______________________________________________
| |
| He who controls the information runs the show |
| -- Josef Goebbels |
|_______________________________________________|
It is a shame to admit this, but we live in an imperfect world. There are
some people who will attempt to ignore the distribution requirements as
described above, despite having to agreed to otherwise.
I apologize for any inconvenience, but please wait for approximately 2,242
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A list of violators of the distribution restrictions will be compiled for
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Subsequent violations will result in the permanent removal from the Scream
Baby subscription list.
________________________________________________________________
| |
| "My mind is wide, my thoughts are narrow. Send me Scream Baby" |
| |
| -- Subscriber Kip Moore |
|________________________________________________________________|
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
To be added as a Scream Baby subscriber, please send the following
information to bladex@wixer.cactus.org. All information must be complete;
all questions fully answered, or your subscription request will not be
honored.
Note: Because of the way my system displays the information, please make
sure that your e-mail address is included in the BODY of the text. Thank
you for your voluntary cooperation.
ESSAY QUESTION:
While walking on the campus of the University of Texas one Sunday, I found a
cassette tape whose film had been torn and the entire cassette thrown/wrapped
around a tree and the surrounding bushes. Curious, I picked it up.
Side A: Sexual Therapy Session I
Side B: What is Man? Mineral or Drug
In 100-200 words, describe what you think was on this tape, who made it, and
why would they rip it up and wrap it around a tree?
INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT :
"I have read the software licensing agreement and promise to abide by any
restrictions on distribution that may apply, as determined by the
publisher"
Again, both the essay question and restriction agreement statement must be
fully completed in order to be added to the Scream Baby subscriber list.
Thank you for your voluntary co-operation.
____________________________________________________________________
| |
| "Computers, video, fax, radio, printing presses, synthesizers, fax |
| machines, | tape recorders, photocopiers -- these things make good |
| toys but terrible ADDICTIONS" |
| |
| Hakim Bey, as quoted in the review of Talking Raven Vol II #1, |
| in Issue 9 of bOING-bOING, page 52. |
|____________________________________________________________________|
EDIBORIAL #2 in a series of "a whole lot"
There were several times where I attempted to go back and re-read The
September 26, 1992 issue. I failed miserably each time, never even getting
past the header. This has to be the most hideous thing created in the history
of electronic publishing. What the hell was I thinking? Hopefully the header
for *this* issue is more polcritudinous. <1>
[Knowing that there are at least three (3) factual errors,
not to mention the dozen or so errors in judgement,
doesn't help much either.]
Perhaps I should have, knowing that I would attend the bOING-bOING suite party
held at the Armadillocon. Several staff members [<waves at them>] personally
thanked me for the positive re:view in the last issue of Scream Baby, when,
quite frankly, I have no idea what I wrote.
Beyond "go buy it", that is. If you haven't done so, shame! shame! shame!
I may expand later on the "Armadillocon Schmooze News", but the key thing for
you to know now is that a film crew from Entertainment Tonight interviewed
Sterling for his book, The Hacker Crackdown. Allegedly it will air on
Saturday, October 17th, so get those VCRs a-humming. Keep an eyeball peeled
for footage of Bruce Sterling's animated QuickTime head, one of the most
popular items at the EFF-Austin information table.
Speaking of the future, let me ramble about Scream Baby. What do I want?
Besides world peace <2>, a sexy Mexican maid <3>, and someone to use their
fucking brains around here <4>, I want a really good all-encompassing-sub-
culture zine. Music, literature, art, television, film, weird space-time
kinks, events, information, news, humor, interviews, and re:views of "Stuff I
Think Is Cool."
Not all at once, of course.
Each issue of Scream Baby will come out whenever I can scrape together 25-30
kilobytes of really good stuff. The bulk of this issue is an interview with
Andy Hawks, maintainer of the FutureCulture FAQ <5> and mailing list. Jagwire
X <6> conducted this interview in August and while it starts a little slow, as
if each was asking the other to a high school dance or something, it really
starts to sizzle. More than one person has mentioned that Scream Baby has
more of a "personal feel" to it. They should enjoy this interview as well.
[Last Final Note: one guest editor slot has
been filled! Mike Wilk will be in charge of
issue 23. A member of Space Art Studios, Mike
creates experimental short films using
camcorders. From what he tells me, their latest
project involves re-creating the action
adventure scenes from Terminator 2 : Judgement
Day....with hamsters]
Notes:
<1> A subscriber called the first issue "polcritudinous". He claims it means
"aesthetically pleasing", which is the definition I use here.
<2> Ever notice that when politicians are asked what they want for Christmas
they always answer "world peace"? Maybe someone should get in their face
and ask daily.
<3> Red Hot Chili Peppers, _Mother's Milk_
<4> Negativland, _U2_
<5> If you don't have a copy, go get one. [future-request@nyx.cs.du.edu]
<6> Close personal friend of mine.
<7> Yes, this is a hoze.
____________________________________________________________________
| |
| "The remote channel selector is democracy's most powerful weapon." |
| |
| Walter Alter, "The List of Re-Calibrations" |
| Spring 1992 issue of FAD p. 45 |
|____________________________________________________________________|
Public Enemy, Greatest Misses
The latest Public Enemy EP, consists of six new songs and six re-mixes [by DJs
other than Terminator X] of previously released material. What is most
striking about these six news songs is that they are the most *ACCESSIBLE* of
any previous release. The music is much less aurally threatening, much less
of a sonic assault, much more of a pop-meme-meister creation than previous
Public Enemy efforts. It's also a Top 10 Retail Album as I write this and
should continue to be a popular effort, especially in view of the publicity
garnered from being the opening slot on U2's Achtung Baby.
The re-mixes don't deserve much mention. The best I can say about them is
that they made me remember Anthrax's cover of Bring the Noize. I dug
*that* tape out and listened to it 10 or 15 times.
But it did give me an idea. In deference to the B side of _Greatest
Misses_, I want to "re-mix" some of my old writings. I've selected about
four or five articles, that deserve a shot. If you want in on this, let me
know. First come, first served.
How do you re-mix an article? I'll tell ya when I'm done.
___________________________________________________________________________
| |
| "It's a thought I have quite frequently, actually. You know, when you're |
| walking down the street and you feel everybody is against you. You |
| haven't got a friend in the world. You feel ill, you can't walk at the |
| speed you want to walk, and for a split second you think, "God, it would |
| be so much easier if I just pulled out rifle [sic] and starting [sic] |
| blowing these people out of my way." |
| |
| guitarist/vocalist Mat Flint, from Revolver, quoted in Alternative Press,|
| page 21 October 1992 issue. |
|___________________________________________________________________________|
Looking to the Future
An interview with Hawkeye, creator
of the FutureCulture File
by Jagwire X
(jagwire@wixer.cactus.org)
What follows is an online chat interview with Andy Hawks (Hawkeye).
If you haven't figured it out by now, he is responsible for the
Future_Culture Mailing list on USEnet and the Future_Culture FAQ that goes
along with it.
[send requests for subscription to future-request@nyx.cs.du.edu]
When Blade first asked me to do this interview I was a bit wary as I
didn't get a positive impression from some of Andy's posts on USEnet. I
decided to do it anyway and try to find out more about what Andy thinks of
the 'New Edge'.
I had a great time chatting with Andy and hopefully the interview
will reflect his thoughts on the 'New Edge'.
---
These bits of info were snagged off of the User Registry on my own
board, the CyberSpace Institute.
[Phone # : (512) 469-0447]
Information on Hawkeye :
What other aliases do you have? : none
What is your gender? : Male
About how old are you? : 18
What's your sign? : Virgo
What kinds of music do you like best? : Techno/Industrial
What's your favorite color? : Blue
If you were a tree, what kind would you be? : Dying slowly, tormented by the
solemn silence in knowing my
existence.
What do you do for a living? : hang around
Describe physical appearance. : 5' 10" brown hair thin luke-perry-esque-
sideburns blue-eyes
Describe your mental attitude : individualistic existential free-thinking
post-modernistic
What BBS's do you call? : my own (TKB: 303.438.1481) MindVox, Pentavia, hang
on the INTERnet
What are your interests? : writing, philosophizing, poetry, technoculture/new-
edge, cyberpunk
---
Chat Mode begin
JAGWIRE X > You there? got time for a chat?
ANDY HAWKS > Umm, yeah, I guess....Sure- if you wanna do the interview
thing now, that'd be cool....I didn't have to work tonight so I didn't
crash out early and have time to mess around...
JX > Cool..man you type fast. Lessee... I didn't figure on you calling so
as usual I am unprepared to do an interview but as usual I guess I can wing
it. I'm terrible about these things.
AH > Hehehe, that's cool....If you want, you could just go ahead and e-mail
me like you planned, if it's easier on you....If you e-mail me, I might be
able to give some thoughtful responses rather than whatever-comes-to-mind
BS that I might give you now....
JX > Hmm... I guess I'll do that. Seems strange to do an interview via E-
mail Whatever. I enjoyed your Future-Culture thang quite a bit. Why did
you decide to do that?
AH > Hehehehe...is this the interview?? :)....Well, I decided just got
bored and frustrated with the mass media...It seemed to be just
barely keeping with the times, let alone have any sense of direction
towards the future....The only publications really worth reading these days
seems to be things like Mondo, Intertek, umm, SF Eye, and a bunch of other
underground 'zines...Other than that it's mostly bullshit, so what I wanted
to do was to combine what I saw as the "technoculture edge" into one
resource-guide, where people could find out what resources carry the sort
of information they might be interested in...It caters to that new-edge /
cyberpunk / technoculture crowd, ....(whatever-comes-to-mind BS example #1
:)
JX > Great! I know Blade X is gonna have a cow when he sees the end result
of this thing, but that's what he get for asking me to do an interview. So
I guess I should ask you what you do and who are in meat reality.
AH > "Meat reality"...that's interesting...Don't know if there is such a
thing....Well, (wait- hold on -the lights in my room just got real dim and
I can't see)...Ok...Sorry bout that...Can't type in the dark...I'm 18
years old, a high school student (senior for the second time in a
row)...Umm, I consider myself a poet (written about 300 poems and trying
to get some of them published however I can)....I like to consider myself
an existentialist...Like, whenever I'm talking to someone, I may be
talking to them on some level like "dude, let's go hang out tonight", but
in my mind I'm always thinking about the nature of reality and shit like
that...Right now I'm into going to raves - techno music, ecstasy, and the
whole scene....And, I'm always into the latest technology, and futuristic
(or actually near-futuristic) literature and shit like cyberpunk....
JX > I see that we are actually very similar in a lot of ways. Do you
think that the luke-perryesque side sideburns are a fashion trend? Curious
because I too have them.
AH > Hehehe...I dunno...I don't watch the show anymore, although I do
sometimes when I have nuthin else to do...I heard on MTV or something that
he's shaving them off....I dunno personally got tired of that no sideburns
look that seemed to be around for a few years, so I just started keepin'
'em when I heard about 90210 and all that junk....I thought 'cool', I can
grow 'em back now...:) :)
JX > I've noticed that when I am on INTERnet and looking through the sub
echos I like that there seems to be a whole lot of 'arguing' and very
little creative discussion. In fact it disturbs me. I think of INTERnet
as a place in which ideas can be tossed about and expanded upon but I find
that there is a lot of belittlement going on (people saying I'm right and
you wrong etc.) Do you think this is true or am I missing something?
AH > No, you're right on target...This has bothered me since day one of
being on the net...It's like, everything you post to a newsgroup, someone
feels compelled to post the opposite just for the sake of keeping with the
political structure on the INTERnet (USEnet, actually)...I remember Bruce
Sterling once said in an interview that his main problem with USEnet is the
people are so damn uptight...I couldn't agree more, and it's sad to see
since the majority of sites are universities which are supposed to be places
where free-thinking abounds, but it sure as hell doesn't on USEnet...Everybody
conforms or non-conforms in keeping with the "unwritten laws of USEnet"...I
often find myself falling into the same trap, just because it's the only way
you can communicate with these USEnet addicts who've been on the net for a
decade and it's like the discussion has to be their way or no way...It bothers
me a lot, too...That's what's great about BBSes - for the most part, the
"real" BBSes seem to be immune to that conformity and bitching and shit...
JX > Yeop. That sums it up pretty much. I have only posted a few messages
to USEnet and one of the replies I got back was from you. (Hey double
speak)... And it was (I thought) rather confrontational. At first I was
really pissed but then I thought... because I really liked and respected
your FutureCulture Article(?) FAQ(?) whatever it is, anyway I was kinda put
off by you. I decided though that that was probably not the attitude I
wanted to but into and just let it pass. I think that the same problem
that plagues USEnet also is inherent in the "New Edge" movement (whatever
that is). I feel it lacks direction. I myself try to give direction to
it, not control, but expand upon things and not to criticize. Have you had
a similar experience?
AH > Well, with my mailing list on the net, yeah, I've had a lot of similar
experiences. I get mail all the time saying what a dick I am for how I
interpret things, and, when I post a message about, like, "cyberpunk
culture" or something, people treat it as if it's law...And that's
certainly not my intent, I mean, I really in the end know just about as
much as everyone else, so, it's like, who really knows what is true and
what isn't, so who really has the right to control where a movement is
going, for example....I know I've been accused so often of trying to
control some section of "new edge" or "technoculture" or "cyberpunk" (I
throw the terms around a lot in the hopes that people will realize just how
futile such terms really are in the end) and, it's like, "well, I'm sorry
that you see that I'm trying to control the direction of this, but please
understand that my opinions are no more or no less valid than yours"...
Everybody's got opinions on where this thing ("new edge") is going, and the
scary thing is that everybody's got an opinion but nobody seems to be
really taking any action on it...I think once the technology that the new
edgers are into (VR, fiber optiks, etc.) becomes more practical, then this
will all make more sense, but as it stands right now new edge is so new,
and so directionless, that it really is difficult to make any sense of
it...BTW - sorry for pissing you off - I know that I piss a lot of people
off, but, like I said before "it's just my opinion, everyone's got one, and
in my mind no one person's is more or less important than anyone else's-
they're all equally "....You should see the responses I get from
alt.suicide.holiday -I try and defend suicide as, like, a personal choice,
and people get really, really pissed and send me mail, and I just say 'hey,
that's just my opinion, don't write it down as law"....
JX > Whew. Lets see. Grade-A curmudgeon "Opinions are like assholes,
everyone has one and they all stink." I see the New Edge as having a
thousand directions and all of them moving at the speed of light. There's
so much information out there and it is impossible to keep up. I rely on
my 'network' to keep me informed much the same as a nest of ants works
together and communicates. Perhaps I have a bit too much of a Learian
aspect to my view of New Edge but it seems perfectly valid to me. Needs
more quantum physics (like salt). Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle runs
rampant in the movement. You can either tell how fast you are moving or
where you are but the more you know one the less you know the other.
AH > Hmm....That's pretty cool....And I liked your analogy about the
ants...That was really good-that's the one thing that networks are full of
is information- whether it be a master's thesis or mindless dribble,
there's tons of information on the networks and BBSes...Seems everyone is
that has a modem is an info-holic of sorts....By 'Learian' you mean Timothy
Leary, right?
JX >Yeah, he and Robert A. Wilson pretty much turned my life upside down at
the age of 14. In case you are wondering I'm 25 as of Thursday [Aug 6].
Interestingly I was born on the anniversary of Hiroshima.
AH > Woah...I wonder what that means....Hmm...I was born on the anniversary
of the pardoning of Nixon....Anyway, happy birthday!!!.....Can't really
sing to you, but, anyway, happy birthday....I haven't read much of Wilson
(not much at all, actually- every time I'm in a bookstore a look through
the Illuminatus Trilogy or that new book he has ..something 'reality
something)....But, I'm a big fan of Leary as well....I think it's great
that he's involved in the new edge shit...People may not like him or his
beliefs, or the way he comes across, but at least he's a unique individual
not afraid to voice his opinions...He always uses the word 'cybernaut', and
always talks about cyberpunks are basically 'reality pilots', which I
really think is true, and I place a lot of faith in that...Some people may
think 'reality pilot' is just his new 'tune in turn on...' keyphrase, but I
think it is an important phrase that'll have a lot of meaning in whatever
the new edge becomes....
JX > I couldn't agree more. I fact that's what the whole posting thing was
about that I got pissed off with. More the other guy than you, I must
say. Just goes to show how people manage to misunderstand each other. I
feel that the majority of the people involved in the New Edge don't
understand that we are creating the future now. And that we must be aware
of what we are doing. It is as if they don't follow through with the
cybernetic definition of intelligence (Receive, Integrate, Broadcast (I
know that's kinda loose))
AH > Yeah, the Integrate part certainly seems to be lacking in the
movement...I agree with you completely about "we must be aware of what
we're doing" - one prime example of this is Queen Mu from Mondo, who,
basically, just seems to be one of those people who to me who just jumps on
the latest bandwagon, prances around all over the culture like the US on
some poor third-world nation, and then gets off (almost literally) the boat
whenever she wants to....Her articles in Mondo (which in general doesn't
seem to have much concern over the impact it has) are usually about
teledildonics, or virtual-sex, and shit like that, and it's like, c'mon,
whatever we're doing here is a whole lot more than that, please don't
reduce it to virtual-sex!....I really get frustrated with that....One
opposite example, in my mind, is Storming the Reality Studio...Larry
McCaffery's excellent 'casebook' of cyberpunk and postmodern fiction-he
brings up all these wonderful postmodern essays and equates them with c
yberpunk literary and cultural a criticism, and puts it together in a very
intelligent manner that attempts to make some sense of what cyberpunk is
really all about, at a very basic aesthetic and substantive level....Really
cool...
JX > Yeah. I see that too. McCaffrey's book is very illuminating. My
mind is hurling along at a million MPH. Any other comments you'd like to
throw in that I haven't hit upon?
AH > Umm, not really that I can think of now....I like rambling on about
this type of shit...Oh, BTW, you mentioned you were a fan of Leary's, umm,
are you on the Leri-L list???
JX > Nope. Is it a USEnet maillist?
AH > Yeah, it's a mailing list , in the way that mine is like..But, umm,
the list is all about 'metaprogramming', which basically means 'piloting
your own reality' (like Leary said)....they talk about Leary and Wilson a
lot (as does the Extropians list, which is kinda similar I think)...But,
anyway, the reason I mentioned it was because they talk about Leary, and
also because they have these pretty cool 'net trips' every so often, where
they get as many list-subscribers as they can to get dosed on acid and call
the net while dosed, and they all send mail to each other and chat and shit
while fried... It's really pretty cool....
JX > Wow. sounds cool. I'll definitely check it out. You know I've been
trying to get onto your maillist and yesterday I realized I was sending my
request to the wrong net address. Duh. Wait. I remember. I was told the
the idea of getting a self supporting off coast New Edge commune was being
tossed around a while back and then sort of died out. Now that's an idea I
really like. I would seriously like to get a high-tech self sufficient
group out on the seas in like an oil tanker and where they canna do
anything about it.
AH > Haha, sounds real cool...Probably not too realistic, didn't Leary try
something similar down in Mexico? I 'm not too up on Leary's history, but
I remember reading something about that in ummm, shit, Storming Heaven or
something like that - a book about acid...good book...But, yeah, anyway,
that 'roving new edge commune' sounds pretty cool...I'd definitely sign up
for it as well! I've always wanted to get my own island, like, off the
coast of Washington or Oregon, and, kinda like, secede from the US and just
make my own little, like, Plato's Academy with all my friends and shit,
where there wouldn't be any laws or anything unless there really needed to
be...
JX > I am working on putting together a 'zine called SunDog. I understand
that you too are publishing a 'zine. Tell me about that.
AH > Well, it's called The Infinite Edge. The first issue, which is all
I've done, is basically just a restructuring of the Future_Culture FAQ file
into a magazine format... Umm, my intent with the magazine is to offer
something more to what little of "new edge" focused magazines are out
there....My hope is to make something like Mondo, but a little broader in
scope, and a little more readable and intelligent in nature.
Each issue is divided up into 11 categories:
Genesys editorial/notes from me
Listen! notes from the readers
Moderns cultural observations and commentary
Republic philosophical and political commentary
Visions fiction and poetry
CyberPlace life in cyberspace/what's new in modem-land
Altered drugs and virtual reality
Eyes magazine and book reviews
Ears music
Live on Tape movies and video
Mobius closing words
Right now, I'm working on the second issue...When I finish that one, and
figure out how/where/who I can get to print this thing out in a magazine
type format, I'm going to send people who're interested both issues, so
they can have an idea of what my intent is with the thing....Hopefully,
with all the great attention that my FutureCulture mailing list has gotten
(Bruce Sterling, Tom Maddox, Steve Brown of SF Eye, St Jude of Mondo, the
Ono-Sendai people, to name a few, have been pretty interested) I can use
the people on the list and the net in general as a platform to get this
thing going....
Some articles I'm working on for the second issue include a commentary on
the rave scene, cyberpunk culture - if it exists or not, a review of
storming the reality studio, the possible futures of practical vr-tech, and
hopefully I'll be able to print an article of mine that is going to be
appearing in issue #8 of Mondo, entitled "there's a rave in cyberspace"
which is all about the current state of the computer underground and new
advancements like MindVox.
AH > Well, I really enjoyed the conversation - don't get to talk about
stuff like this everyday, and I'll be sure and call back sometime soon and
check out the board!!!
JX > Cool. Thanks. I enjoyed it much myself. Take care and I'll drop you
e-mail soon. via con dios amigo.
AH > later...!
Chat mode over.
