A group of marginally scary back-to-the-earth apocalyptic new agerspublish this prospectus outlining their plan to create a self-sufficient agro-community, (or as they say, community) in Idaho, a state also chosen by "populist" ultra-rightist Bo Gritz and his ilk for their apocalyptic back-to-the-earth enclave, Almost Heaven.

The KaniKsu nation will have its own money--"trinified money", which will be "worth three times as much as ordinary money". Get that. At the center of the nation will be located the Crystal Cathedral, built to sacred geometric specs. Impossible to read in many places for all the spiritual rhetoric, but a fascinating way to keep up with the progress of a real (?), live large-scale cult nation. Perhaps we can get ourselves a copy of Bo Gritz's newsletter, do a little compare and contrast... ( from --C.S.

(review date: 5/17/97)

Cut-and-pasted recombinant psiber-zine from Austria, mostly in German (much to my typical-American-monoglot chagrin) but about 15% in good old English, including such choice texts as Paul DiFilipo's "Ribofunk Manifesto", a Critical Art Ensemble screed on VR, some of DJ Spooky's alleged sci-fi, and a maddening, pidgin English "interview" with everyone's favorite cybernetic doll, Crystal (By-onik Burn Bar-bee). The German portion looks cooler still with an essay on dystopias, tons of media reviews, and various chunks of text I wish I could read. Very reminiscent of Iron Feather Journal's print GUI. Nice extra-long glossy pages in stark black & white, perfectbound. --K.S.

(review date: 7/29/97)

In obsession for style, the English are only bested by the Californians, so--as a British journal--Mute does a pretty good job of demonstrating its uniqueness and flair. For one thing, it is printed on enormous, heavy pink newsprint. For another, the content itself is surprisingly intellectual. Issue #1's editorial theme is Johann Huizinga's Homo Ludens--"Man At Play"--as it relates to electronic media. (Part of Mute's humbling charm is that they fail to mention this has also been one of pioneer cybernaut Tim Leary's favorite themes for the last 20 years.)

Mute hails itself as "the first publication to focus on the uses of digital technologies within contemporary art and creativity". Which may be true. Highly ambitious, Mute is an interesting read and an eye-catching publication--one that probably better serves the upscale tech-art community than existing pubs, and certainly better than corpo-dreck like the e-cafe. Unfortunately its cover price here in the states is pretty stiff for us regular folks. --C.S.

(review date: 5/17/97)

Many of us have been Tiki enthusiasts for years, living in a vacuum, unaware of others sharing our passion. Withcocktail music exploding on the scene recently, it seemed a matter of time until devotees of Tiki phenomena would find a similar network. And lo, Tiki News is now available to connect us with the latest Tiki events and offerings from around the globe.

Produced in the exotica hot-spot of LA, editor "Otto von Stroheim" unearths--like a post-modern archeologist--Tiki goods from around the US and Pacific Rim. TN reviews Tiki pogs, matchbooks, mugs, music, neighborhood Tiki statues, restaurants and bars. Printed in digest form, the layout and format is uncluttered, readable and full of excellent graphics--though I would like to see better output from the scans (especially of record covers and matchbooks), for art and imagery is central to the aesthetic of the Tiki world. 

Does this new inter-networking spell the end of Tikiness as an underground phenomena? Case in point: at a recent trade show, MTV incorporated Tiki statues into their booth design. But like world peace, you can never have enough Tiki culture. --E.T.

(review date: 5/17/97)

last update 7/30/97


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