Local Emissaries United

Local Emissaries United Looking Back

2008-02-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

This is me taking some time to think back about out trip and think out loud of plans for the future, as related to a troy resident and supporter.

The Troy Ambassador program as some may call it (Local Emissaries United) went pretty well! It was a pretty serious undertaking and I started planning too late. There were three of us traveling - we managed to visit 12 cities in 3 weeks, and talk directly to around 200 people about their cities and ours. We spoke a whole bunch about where we are from, but it also turned into a big focus group on where people live the places they do, and why they value that. Pretty cool. We took a lot of video footage, but upon returning, all us got involved in jobs, our education, and other serious things that have kept us from editing it down to a documentary record of our journey. We will do this at some point. Overall, we found it quite economical to travel and spread the word. Perhaps the greatest enabler of our journey was couchsurfing.com, which allowed up to connect with people who gave us free places to sleep, and gave us a venue to talk about our project. For the future, it would be nice to endow/put together a program (just a few thousand, or even just a couple hundred dollars per year), to sponsor people to learn how to benefit our area. Intrepid local people could put together travel plans, submit a proposal, and bring back word of the successes and failures of other cities, or we could enable people to come here to experience this area themselves. After this trip, it is my strong opinion that our area needs a more intimate relationship with the "outside world."

Detroit City Fest 2007

2007-09-15T23:16:00.001-07:00

IMG_3810.jpg - Canon ixus 700
Originally uploaded by Bert van den Bosch

Cullen and I have begun watching the footage from the first summer Local Emissary Tour. We've finally gotten to the task of narrowing down what we'd like to say with available footage.

1. This is footage that documents a project that began as an idea to promote the unique and positive qualities of the Capital District of Upstate New York, to becoming a project that invited many to discuss the status of American cities.

2. This footage often tells the tale of economic class. In different locations, different races occupy the urban middle class. And the social practices of the middle class are often similar. And without fail, it is the poor that are considered the persona non grata.

Reading the Ghetto-tech

2007-08-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

Stylus Magazine reports on Detroit:

Ass. Titties. Ass and titties. Ass, ass, ass, ass, ass and titties.” -- DJ Assault, “Ass N Titties” (1996).

Everyone loves “Ass-N-Titties,” And by everyone, I mean me, everyone I know, and a legion of YouTubers. DJ Assault’s magnum opus, easily the biggest novelty hit Detroit’s ghettotech scene ever produced, and probably ever will, pushes all the right pop buttons: the silly sex-talk over a bouncy electro throb anticipates (and bests) Fergie’s entire career by almost ten years.

Where did this irresistibly dumb sonic oddity come from? Detroit, of course: a city whose musical legacy continually strives to rehabilitate its image as a crime-ridden post-industrial wasteland. But ghettotech (a term of some contention) was not merely a sound from the Motor City; it was the sound of urban Detroit, a ubiquitous presence in clubs, cars, and local radio before it infected DJ playlists worldwide. The full story of ghettotech can’t be summed up in a simple place name, however. Especially for a locale as complicated as Detroit. Because while the music’s lyrics mostly stick to sex-talk, ghettotech’s story tells us much about the state of local music scenes, and their subsequent effects on the current delightful proliferation of mongrel hip-hop/dance genres.

---

It's like a state of music that is honest about how bored it is with itself and that's OK.

Returned to the Capital Region

2007-08-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

On Sunday July 29th, I made my return to the Capital Region after some separate activites. So far our fellow wilkinism has been accounted for, coming along with his own interesting stories of the return trip, and the days since. Our other fellow Brandon C-K, with whom I parted company in Richmond, VA (our last stop), has not been accounted for since our return. For all we know, he may still be out on the road, continuing the misson, or maybe just having a good time.

Life is different now that we're back. It's a slow process getting back in the old ways (and forming new good habits too!!) while catching up with everything that has happened in the meantime.

We will continue to post blog entries here for some time based on the notes that we had been taking as we traveled. A final count of all the people we spoke with will be forthcoming too. Our hours of video footage will be reviewed as we prepare to put it all together in a narrative of what we've seen, where we've been, how we've felt, who we've spoken to, What impressions people have of our area, what we've learned about each city, and cities as a whole, what can be applied to our own localities, and why this all matters to us, and to the world at large. A wholesale written account will be turned out. Our remaining photos will be made public. Our "artifacts" and material references will be brought to light. The work of the emissaries will yet continue on.

The Many Localities of Chapel Hill

2007-07-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Well we've been here in Chapel Hill for two nights at the luxurious accomidations of Brandon's college friend Ryan. The area has a nice college town feel, and the land is beautiful - tall trees, hills, windy roads - it reminds me of our beautiful upstate NY home.

The cities here seem to blend into each other geographically, yet they each seem to retain a distinct identity. There is no zone that I could distinguish as an interim between Carrboro and Chapel Hill, but speaking to the residents of each, they have different things to say about the character of each.

Chapel Hill: liberal, somewhat "preppy", college influence
Carrboro: More liberal, somewhat more "hippy"

this being based on center's of the towns being 10 minutes or less WALKING distance from each other. Also Durham, which apparently has more of an urban feel is about a 10 minute drive away. It feels more like different neighborhoods than separate towns or cities. Very often I feel that way about Albany, Troy, and all the cities in between. I wonder what parallels can be drawn or lessons learned...

perhaps that it's helpful for separate cities to maintain their own identities as places, but also useful for them to be closely and comfortably connected. Hmm...

Hey Brandon...

2007-07-22T09:34:00.001-07:00

Austin is not ostentatious! but I like the play on words. Maybe Austintacious is just a great word to describe the city though it doesn't mean the same thing as the more established word that shares it's sound, it just describes everything that's great about that city!

citysuburbscountry

2007-07-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

From a discussion between Brandon and I during our last ride up into the hills of central North Carolina...

We both agree that there are many things we find attractive and comfortable about the city and the country, but the suburbs always seem to be lacking in the things we find sustaining, enjoyable, and pleasant.

to cite an extreme quote of an experience from a person is is also a guest of our current host: (DC suburban area Bethesda, Maryland...) "the streets are clogged at noon with trophy wives dressed to the nines, in SUVs and luxury sedans, shuttling around designer boutiques - it took 45 minutes to get 1.5 mile down the road just to get to a simple thai restaurant"

...Not that I really disagree with what it says about these strange inter-areas known as suburbs.

What does each have as an advantage?

City - critical mass of people for sharing culture and intelligence, efficient means of sustaining many people.
Suburbs - um I'm not sure, A great place to watch TV?
County - wide, open, beautiful landscapes, close to nature, starry nights, free from the consensus of other people so you can live your own way.

This conception of suburbs doesn't count the small town feel where life is sweet and you can walk to the supermarket, school, or bar - we're talking about places with tract housing, 6 bedroom houses on 1 acre lots, no sidewalks, plenty of auto-strip developments, franchise architecture, and the could-be-anywhere USA feel. The small town seems to have some sense of a community, while the suburban as we are thinking of them here just seem to me to be cold. Big difference.

We were trying to think of a snappy, glib bumper sticker etc to capture this feeling (that seems to be pretty widespread) we have about these areas The closest we've been able to get is:
plow the suburbs...

What can we do about these places? Is there any option besides the current form to moderate between the extremes of urban community and rural freedom?

Maybe we're giving the suburbs a bad rap or defining them too narrowly... what do you all think?

the most unique city in america

2007-07-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Arrived late in New Orleans just in time to crash a gathering of young volunteers working to improve conditions in this colorful city. In the morning we checked out Bourbon street, briefly, and then headed over some bridges into the lower 9th ward.

Many of the displaced citizens of the lower 9th are still in exodus in Houston and elsewhere. These people largely (65%) owned their own homes and these properties have been passed down in families for generations.

It is extremely difficult to return periodically to their houses to perform the state-mandated upkeep required for their properties. If windows are not intact or boarded up, damaged dry wall remains, or even if the lawn is not mowed, the government demolished the house and seizes the property. Residents are officially given 30 days once the notice/"warning" has been posted on the home's door to meet these requirements, but no effort whatsoever is made to contact the homeowners directly. Residents (countless) have returned to find only their home's foundation, all their possessions destroyed, and their land "claimed" by the government.

Who benefits from this plan of action? Obviously the government stands to make a great profit from the sale of seized land to developers. Home owners paying relatively low taxes will be replaced by light industry, casinos, and "mixed income" housing that can only support a small fraction of the original housing.

A group of volunteers/activists calling themselves the Common Ground Collective provides a spark of hope. Based in the shadows of the still-inadequate levees in the lower 9th, this group is providing services where no other relief is provided. Among many other projects, displaced citizens can contact CG and request help in keeping their lawn mowed, gutting houses, and boarding up windows, in order to stave off property seizure. Their promotional video can be found here.

Learning against the levee and gazing out on what used to be a bustling neighborhood and is now mostly open field is an indescribable and overwhelming experience. In a way, it feels like this space is already a memorial to the natural/human tragedy that began two years ago and continues to this day. But I would be overjoyed if someone took it upon herself to paint a mural honoring the citizens of the lower 9th and drawing attention to a desperate situation that is, for all intents and purposes, completely ignored by big media.

Finally, the music. A night on Frenchmen St. gave a glimpse into the fabulous hybrid culture that is still thriving in N'Orleans. From one point, you can hear four incredible groups performing, all free. The highlight for me was Vavavoom, which synthesized the New Orleans jazz sound with the French Gypsy tradition of Django Reinhardt and his ilk. They perform weekly at the Spotted Cat. Originally planning to sleep in the airport, we lucked out and met two great humans in front of the venue that invited us to stay with them in the garden district.

More to come on New Orleans in a flash...

The austintacious city, in brief

2007-07-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

My biggest complaint about the Austin trip is that it was faaaaar too short. Austin has a vibrant activist/artist flavor, small anarchist book stores like Monkey Wrench, the myriad projects under the Rhizome Collective umbrella, a world-class music scene, great places to swim, 2-step dance parties, and widespread open-mindedness.

Angel and M. Conti were both wonderful hosts/guides with fantastic senses of humor. It's so great to be making connections all over the U.S., taking advantage of the community building potential of the 'net and fostering good ol' fashioned face-to-face communication.

Statistics...

2007-07-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this statistic with you all...
Not counting Savannah yet we have had substantial conversations with 190 people about the local emissaries project in the various cities that we've visited, and in the process, 265 people (including those we spoke with) have heard of us and what we're doing. This is so exciting because all of this has been face to face. I just think that's great!

Update...

2007-07-20T09:43:00.001-07:00

So we've just been doing some more serious traveling - 8 hours from Austin TX to New Orleans, and 10 hours from New Orleans to Savannah, GA where we are today - and we just parted ways with our esteemed compatriot Wilkinism who caught an early flight back to our home region to get a head start on some personal business. Brandon and I continue on today to Chapel Hill.

Oh Omaha..

2007-07-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

<><><> Written 7/12 <><><>

News from the state that looks like a fish:

After driving all night from Minneapolis, we arrived in Omaha around 9 in the morning and grabbed a greasy, greasty breakfast at the 11-Worth Diner. With full bellies, we found a golf course which provided a scenic venue for some much-needed naptime.

Omaha generally seemed rather run-down, but it was sprinkled with a certain vibrancy in some areas. Through the ever-amazing couchsurfing.com, we found the dozen-or-so lovely guys and gals at Hotel Frank. The house boasts a non-stop rotation of Omaha's best and brightest (and friendliest) musicians, artists, students, short-order cooks, and other ne'er-do-well-ers. Hell, Bright Eyes even lived at Hotel Frank for a while.

Some of the best touring bands frequently stop in Omaha, but the locals complain that the ticket prices are rising rapidly. One Omahanian complained fervently about having to pay ten bucks! for a show recently. In fact, many of the bigger aritsts that used to sell out shows are having a hard time filling up even very small venues because the Omaha kids will boycott shows that cost more than a couple dollars.

Another alternative to the rising ticket prices is to DIY. As we saw in Detroit, warehouse spaces in Omaha are being appropriated by young, creative people for use as art/music/party zone spaces. This makes us very happy. To a degree, these venues seem to embody Hakim Bey's concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone. The loft party in Detroit was overflowing with spontaneity, conviviality, and immediacy that is rarely seen since the so-called death of the festival. "The [freely organized loft party in a post-industrial city] is already 'the seed of the new society taking shape within the shell of the old' [...] these are already 'liberated zones' of a sort... the party is always 'open' because it is not 'ordered'; it may be planned, but unless it 'happens' it's a failure. The element of spontaneity is crucial."

Also, shout out to the house dogs, two of the most lovable animals we've seen on the trip so far.

Up Next: Austin, TX. (!)

A Des Moines City Brief - 7/12

2007-07-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Written on the beautiful morning of thursday 7/12:

Yeah so the sunrise was really incredible today in Des Moines. We drove all night from Minneapolis, which was an awesome city, but we had no place to stay, the spot we planned fell through because we miscommunicated among ourselves on the dates. We're now in Omaha, but the travel brought us through Des Moines, which has some really interesting architecture, much of it seems very new. Minneapolis actually as well seemed to be developing all these new contemporary styled condos with cables, stained wood, and metal panels. Des Moines though was sort of a strange city, in fact I'm discovering that most cities are. It seems cleaner than Omaha, but just laid our flat, like a peddler laying out his wares on the streets. So many of the buildings have this great new feel to them, even if there are sort of modernist from the 1960's, and the whole vernacular of the cityt seems to fit together, though in a bizzare eclectic way for sure. I experienced next to no life there, but the built environment and the sky really spoke to me and it was beautiful.

Dispatch From a Brooklyn Field Representative on Separate Assignment

2007-07-16T13:04:00.002-07:00

So we've been traveling pretty intensely over the past few days, and haven't got a chance to really update the blog or anything, but we've been keeping our paper journal, and should have some good stuff to report shortly.

In the meantime, I would like to pass on a letter that I received from one of our esteemed agents in the field. If any of you have reports of great things going on in your area that we all may be interested in, feel free to send them to:

info@local-emissary.org

Ambassador Kasunic,

I've been reading your blog sir - good work my friend, the people of the Capital Region and their friends thank you for you good deeds and sharing of the capital of our great state... I went to this thing last night that was fucking amazing and perhaps your good people could organize something similar in Albany...it was a spontaneous party/parade with hundreds of fire dancers/stilt walkers/marching band performers/drummers marching through the streets and subways of brooklyn - it started at brooklyn bridge and ended on coney island. Crazy fun...ran into some kid i didn't really recognize but who said he knew me from the EDMS parties back in the day.. the organizers of this parade... www.thedanger.com

Hope you're having fun and promoting the greater Capital Region. Storm the sports bars!-- turn the "solid mindless party scene" into a "fluid mindful party scene".

Peace and enlightement
- Albanian Expatriot O'Brien

All You Can Eat French Toast

2007-07-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Madison, WI and the Great Expanse of Territory North of Madison In Wisconsin

Options when dining include BOTTOMLESS FRIES and French Toast Supply that will outlive you. Long live America. Sophia The Car's tire blew up today, (nonviolently), give thanks to the sky, and we had it repaired in a timely manner at BLAIN's FARM and FLEET. In the meantime, we journeyed into Chippewa Falls to catch a look at the Leinenkugel Brewery and mysterious ferris wheel running behind it with no passengers.

We finally have also reached the area of the country where people leave their doors unlocked to their houses. Our lovely unlocked house hosts in Madison, WI: Levi and Chris, and their friends Steven, and Sylvia entertained us and told us stories of Wisconsin meth and necrophilia.

Later on in the night I was able to attend Madison's version of Club Phoenix, CLUB 5. Theatrical smoke and mirrors and 18 yr olds let in for their weekly special night unfolded in a stripmallish area that probably shared Ponderosa. People seemed a little more eager to define who was queer or gay and who was not. The party of strangers I was with also told stories of coworkers who were gay and were troubled to cope with it because of religious beliefs. So, queerness seemed a tad bit more fringe in Madison even though Madison came off as a queerer than average town. Where is my city of transvestites? Maybe it's still Albany?

We've been alternating between RELEVANT RADIO and Dr. Laura in the car.

Playing Catch Up: Play by play - Chicago

2007-07-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

Affectionately known to us as Chi-tonw, the city, its residents and it's vistors, have treated us well. We were graciously hosted by Wilkinism's Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ted, and 17 yr old cousin Frannie in their fine abode nestled in the first ring suburbs of the city. Frannie is Hysterical! The first night we got there we were pretty tired, but we were up laughing for hours because of all her funny stories and her friends that she was telling us about.

Earlier this first night, we met up with a friend of mine, Laura, who has lived in Chicago for 8 years and is moving out in less than a week, and also my friend nancy, who just moved to Chicago last week, and whose boyfriend Anthony is moving in on the same day my friend Laura is moving out... Whoa! We ate lots of spicy thai food. Afterwards, Laura went home and we all went to go to another warehouse party (after the one in detroit), but it didn't feel right, plus the courtyard smelled like stinky fish. We were pretty tired, but when we got back to the home in suburban Brookfield, we didn't feel it because that's when we were all cracking up together with frannie.

The next day, we got a lot done in the "office" but that meant that we got a later start than we wanted to, so that by the time we got on the street to gather people's feedback about their city, it had started raining. We hung out under the tracks, out front of the Damon Street stop on the CTA blue line, though not many people were interested in talking. Perhaps we can chalk that up to the fast paced nature of Chicago. After that we met my friend Monica, Laura's friend, and also another friend Billy at the Skylark bar, where we drank boilermakers. From there we went to see an icelandic band called Benni Hemm Hemm at a bar in Ukranian Village called the Empty Bottle. We interviewed a couple of guys who were in Chicago, but from Tennessee, out front, then I spoke with a Chicagoan, and his friend visiting from China. We had some fun and interesting conversations with each of them, all documented on our video tape.

Madison and Albany

2007-07-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here in Madison, we’ve been noticing many similarities to Albany. First level: both capital cities for the respective states. First level, pt2: Both cities with a large university presence: in Madison, the major state university, in Albany, SUNY and all the other multitude of colleges in the area. These similarities that you can see lead to some similarities that you can feel, like the sensation of being in a small town and a big city at the same time, or the atmosphere of the large number of sports bars that cater to the college student population, just like in Albany.

This is Madison, which has a strong liberal community (though could be true in the political sense, I am referring more to the intellectual sense, i.e. liberal arts), that I know is there and saw elements of, but I certainly didn’t see when we were out last night. Maybe this is because we didn’t go to the right places – very possible and quite likely. Nonetheless though, this is another similarity that I noticed between our two cities – a solid mindless party scene. Anyway I may be too critical of both areas now. To know this situation is shared in Madison, a place renowned for being a beacon of intellectualism, gives me some more hope for Albany and the rest of the capital region, that we too can develop a strong, broadbased reputation as leaders in thought.

Games!

2007-07-11T11:02:00.001-07:00

So we’ve begun a new game called “find the three prong plug”. Nothing goes on without the three prongs.

Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI

2007-07-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

Detroit, burn my heart out.

Showed up to Detroit Cityfest on a whim to see Yo La Tengo for free and Dan Deacon later in the evening at Scrummage University. Inhibitions existed at first, I guess some of Detroit's reputation precedes itself as being extremely racially segregated, dangerous, and likely to catch fire.

At Cityfest, it was apparent that there was a much larger presence of a non-white middle and upper class, which is much different from Albany. Segregation appearing along lines of class appears more readily traveling from different cities seeing the common practices of the higher and lower and recognizing these lines of division are not along race or sex, (which play roles also), but along class.

Interviewees said that at Cityfest you're more likely to see the middle class than the poor. People called Detroit "THE 'D'", one man told us about his gig giving tours of abandoned buildings in Detroit, we met an opera singing hotdog salesman, and we slept in an inflated bouncy castle in Scrummage.

Stop the Detroit Devil's Night Arsons!!

2007-07-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

This was a sign that we saw when driving through Detroit. The city was truly so different from what we expected - absolutely a beautiful, spirited, strange city. More to come on Detroit.

Detroit Ahoy!

2007-07-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

we're going to detroit today because I've been hearing some strange and interesting things about it. I read an article in Harper's Magazine that was talking about how this city is becoming the first "post-american" city and how it's getting turned inside out with people developing their own sorts of farms within city limits, while the suburbs continue to incorporate into each other and distance themselves from the center city. Apparently some places in the city are nice set up in the fancy downtown way that has become so popular lately, but so much of the rest of the city will have brand new condos, which might be next to a completely abandoned block, or a block with a couple houses and rows of organic staple crops. Strange.

Cleveland and Ann Arbor: The Book Killed the Building

2007-07-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Right now we're staying with Lauren and Matt in Ann Arbor, MI, and they've been taking good care of us; they made us naan and some Indian food last night and then took us out and about Ann Arbor and Kerrytown.

On our way out of Cleveland we stopped at the MOCA in Ohio City. Olga Ziemska's work relating nature to human biological construction was on display. Recent bio art initiatives, Steve Kurtz, and the Critical Art Ensemble seemed to be in each of Ziemska's plaster fingernails.

Last night a woman exclaimed, "TAKE that jacket off it looks so Summer '99!"

Back to MOCA, they also had a large exhibit from OPEN, a variegated groups of architects, artists, advertising firms, indoor lighting consultants, and mad scientists designing new forms of public space around the globe. Challenges to reinvigorate dying "downtowns" are addressed in many of these OPEN exhibits, and concurrently we have been discussing these situations of drying up urban centers in Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Cleveland with the people we've been staying with. Has the information superhighway killed your street yet? Anri Sala had these great plans to turn Cleveland into a rainforest.

Stop fighting in Little Italy!

Sitting in an Ann Arbor living room...

2007-07-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

city #2 of our trip. Last night we explored the city and saw parks and bars and restaurants and people and streets and the farmer's market where people were just getting set up at 3am. We noticed some strange contrasts similar to some that we see in Albany, with the interactions between the various groups of people that compose a university community though are into verry different things and have verry different backgrounds.

Photo Page Active

2007-07-06T09:34:00.002-07:00

We've just set up a page on flickr to keep track of the photo's we gather on our journey.

visit our main page www.local-emissary.org and click photos!

We've only got a couple there now, but we are taking more pictures as we move along.

Also should get set up with some feeds to local Albany/ Troy/ Mass/ Capital District/etc. stuff - check our favorites too for some other good shots!

Enjoy!

LEU has left the county

2007-07-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Cleveland, OH

Cleveland, OH, another member of the manufacturing-cities-in-decline, has been treating us well. We are staying with Noel, Brandon, and Nate.

Rockefeller Park, along another Martin Luther King BLVD, boasts cultural gardens for Ukraine, Latvia, India, and at least 10 others.

The house we're staying in has some sort of collective living arrangement: they have communal chores, house meeting minutes, and food sharing. And this situation/attitude seems to be implemented by either a landlord or a college.

I just made them a capital district mix; it definitely has a song on it from E. Tobin's senior project at St. Rose.