Punk Planet dot com - DIY

Getting home on time

Nora Rocket — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:16:10 -0400

When faced with your transit line being on fire, proceed directly to your second-best option. Do not think, "oh, I'll try something new this time" or "maybe they'll get the shuttle buses sorted out real soonish-like." You shouldn't, and they won't, and you will be either 2 1/2 hours late getting home or an hour late getting to work, rushing to someplace you don't even want to be anyway.

In other,not unrelated news, our Boston exit strategy is shaping up more quickly, which pleases me.

This summer I am getting back on the blog wagon. I hope it's drawn by a team of clydesdales.

I'm also making stuff around the house. I just topped an old desk with a layer of cork and hung 9 small line drawings of the wildflowers of North America.

Seeking your thoughts and ideas - DIY Culture, progressive politics, and independent artists - film, zines, etc.

Ben Tanzer — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:04:21 -0400

I recently joined the writing staff of Wonka Vision magazine and have been given the chance to help them expand upon their bi-monthly music news section by writing 1000 words on the things that I thought they were missing (especially in light of Punk Planet and Clamor closing their doors) and that I find interesting - DIY culture, progressive politics, and independent artists of all stripes - film, zines, etc.

So, if you any thoughts or ideas here you think I should take a look at, please let me know. I don't know what this will look like or what will get in there, but if this is of interest to you, let's see what shakes out. And if you are open to my giving you a shout again in a couple of months let me know. If not, that's cool too, though ideas in general are/will always be welcome.

Deep South #3 - Cave 9 ... the DIY way

mw — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:00:57 -0400

most punk-rock place in birmingham

Cave 9

Cave 9: This place impresses me. Cave 9 is a non-profit, all-ages music venue at 2237 Magnolia Ave., roughly two blocks from Five Points. A guy named Aaron runs the place, and he's like the patron saint of Birmingham underground rock, because before his little club came along, venues for all-ages shows were few and far between. But for several years now, he and the rest of his all-volunteer staff have sacrificed hours/days/weeks of their time to make sure the kids of Birmingham have a place to see, hear and play rock and roll. It's the first place a high-school garage band wants to cut their teeth. And its DIY-friendly reputation has made it the top spot for many punk, metal, hardcore and indie bands to play when they tour through the region. The place has really got the feel of a tight-knit community, very friendly, inclusive and tatooed. The place has art shows and potlucks, too. If you're a touring band, this is the club you want to book at -- but do so well in advance. they get swamped with requests.... www.cave9.com

D.I.Y... in slow motion

Chicago Underground Library — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 22:17:33 -0500

D.I.Y is usually something we think of when we look at a zine or a really pretty hand-felted wallet; things that are finished. Things that were Done._.Yourself.

A large part of the enjoyment I get out of other peoples' D.I.Y projects, though, is getting to imagine the process of Doing. As in, how the hell did they do that? Even the simplest stitch has to be learned. Someone has to teach us how to un-jam the copier at Kinkos. And in that process, it's inevitable that things don't always work right the first time. Or the second.

Let's say you wanted to start a library. And you wanted that library to have a website. Let's say that you were neither a librarian nor knew the first thing about web design.

First thoughts on Yaris DIY

anne elizabeth moore — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:58:59 -0500

A month or so back I was asking about the Yaris DIY campaign, so I thought I'd share a part of the essay I happen to be trying to edit RIGHT NOW, AS THIS GETS READ ON THE INTERNETS. (In a few weeks, hopefully, I'll be able to share my crazy-ass findings about who planned the damned thing and what people got out of it. Hint: not as much as they should have.)

This is from my upcoming UNMARKETABLE, due out from The New Press whenever it gets done being written. It's the first sixth, maybe, of chapter five, and mostly concerns the non-DIY portion of the Yaris campaign.

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It is difficult to imagine anything less politically radical than a brand-new midsize foreign vehicle appearing on the market during a seemingly never-ending war over oil that raised gas prices to ridiculous highs. The team behind the Toyota Yaris nonetheless linked their latest model with do-it-yourselfiness anyway during the late summer 2006 promotional campaign Yaris DIY: Drive It Yourself. Borrowing a page from the Starbucks playbook—not to mention several of my compatriots in Chicago-based independent publishing and the national DIY crafting community along with it—the Yaris version of doing it yourself meant having cool kids from the underground show you how to do what they do, albeit in the context of the corporate-sponsored workshops: make hats, comics, and lampshades at home for very little cost. This is supposed to be the primary parallel: the low cost of their brand-new mid-size vehicle. And while the Yaris is surprisingly inexpensive compared to other cars (starting at a little over $11,000 MSRP for the 2007 models), as several Yaris workshop instructors may or may not have been willing to point out, buying one still costs more than a bike you can make from parts found in the garbage. The connection to the do-it-yourself community doesn’t end there, however. Like the hand-made wares you could purchase directly from their creators at the Renegade Craft Fair or DIY Trunk Show, this car is customizable, crafty, and hip. The Yaris Web site enthuses, “At YarisWorks DIY (Drive It Yourself) events there will be test drives (duh), hot music from indie artists cranking from the PA, and the opportunity for you (yes, you!) to decoupage a Yaris . . . quirky but fun!” (1) The links to crafters don’t end there, though. Actual links to DIY merch, made and sold by tried-and-true members of the DIY community, are all available here—just a few clicks away from the Toyota main page.