After Guangzhou, Lu and I flew from Hong Kong to SFO and then onto Missouri where we have been spending some time with my parents. Unfortunately, my Mom’s parents haven’t been doing so hot, so we wanted to spend some good time with them and our other family members like Brad, Tracy, Andy, Joe and my cousin Brittany’s new baby, who has my name!

Throughout this trip, we have been making many notes about post-economic-disaster living in America, noting all the highway adverts that are blank, how much midwest folks are consuming, and the huge amount of food served by restaurants.

Lu has documented this on her blog in Chinese and English. Here is an enticing one we took in a Walmart near where my grandparents live I will call “Lu Big Pants and I’m not talking about Koolhaus’ CCTV building”:

We are having fun here and its been a nice change of pace from the freezing dry weather in Beijing. Also, I don’t want to sound negative about American culture in the midwest. I’m trying to understand this place from a different vantage point now after living in China in order to offer comments, criticism and hopefully contributions to make it better — most of my family still lives here!

Today, I’m with my mom in the basement of my parents house going through old things, applying the kinkade principle to my parent’s old stored goods, and revisiting past memories. From nathan:

less is more. Do you want to uncomplicate your life? Start divesting yourself of material possessions, stem consumerism, live as consciously as possible. Live free

I’m still thinking about this last year. It has been an interesting year which I will post more about tomorrow and talk more about 2009 plans. Be safe tonite and see you in 2009 my friends. Also, watch out and not get to into some party like this (via Ian:

With great people like Christopher Adams and Joi Ito releasing this fabulous free culture powered project under CC Attribution license, one can go and download most of the content and have some form of experience for free (as long as they give attribution back). I can go and download the images and essays right now and make my own images or my own book called FREE LOLS. I just started it. Check out the first image!

Original Photo by Joi Ito of Lessig

I received this nice email today from the editors of the book:

Dear Jon ,

It pleases us very much to announce that an exceptional new book, <FREESOULS captured and released by JOI ITO> has just come out. We would like to inform you that a limited quantity of books are being made available directly from the publisher.

We wanted to send you this important message right away, because your portrait is featured in Joi’s new book.

First of all we invite you to browse the FREESOULS book:

http://freesouls.cc/thebooks/

Then please consider ordering a copy or two:

http://freesouls.cc/order/

We also have a way for you to spread the word to your friends, family and admirers! Below is a link to your portrait, with more information about the book:

http://freesouls.cc/pic/463728390/

Thanks for being a part of our community, and for making this project possible.

Kind regards,
The FREESOULS Editors

There still is nothing like having a high quality limited edition book in your hands made by your friends that supports shared ideals. Thus, not only is it good to have one of these books, buying products that support the FREE CULTURE ethos further underlines that giving gives you more.

Go buy the book, and I challenge anyone out there to take the content from the book and make a remix, a new book, or even help on the FREE LOLS book We could use the tag, freelols

I had to read back through my bio and cv and see if my output and quality of output is down. The jury of peers in my mind is still out. I took the time to update my biography to be extensive and add in some new notes about Laoban, Cantocore, PDwiki and some other things. I’ve focused a bit more on overall direction. I must admit that sounds quite cheesy, but after devoting myself to other causes so heavily for 3-5 years, I knew that these last three months I needed to wander around and get lost a bit to connect up the way past, recent past, and present to get to the future.

I’m often asked why do I contribute to *Open* projects and I have to say I didn’t get into these mostly free projects for altruistic large scale society issues. It is fun and I really wanted to learn about software culture and how to build a successful global project (even beyond software). The “helping the world” view for my participation in FLOSS really is bolt on to what I’ve done previously in consideration of high level contribute-to-society goals. So, when assessing future goals and direction, I took into consideration the big picture of society and what these types of skills and projects can do.

Also, in considering things about my sister’s life, living in Beijing, re-connecting with old friends like Matt Hope, and concluding so many past projects, I asked myself, “Hey, why can’t I have fun? Why do I always have to limit myself to doing bigger projects and keeping so many old projects alive? Why do I have to take on the world’s problems directly?”

Whether the projects are a new soundsystem, an art exhibition pulling concepts from Cantonese culture or consolidating desertification in CaoChangDi, as an artist, I have to keep making projects or die. Oh, and I do have the large scale goals behind these projects, I’m just not going to take what I have done or myself so seriously anymore. I am who I am.

CC China Mainland Live PS Remix, originally uploaded by rejon.

I am at CC China Mainland event and I just did this live remix in front of people and Zafka standing over me.

I hope you all like my mad Photoshop, or as its called in 中国, PS.

Jon!

Over on Fabricatorz site, I just did a quick wrap-up of the event. Check it out!

I could go on and on. CC is quite an amazing .org and community. Please donate money to CC now!

舞在山乡 优秀奖 作者：秦启胜

Also, if you can, go check out or have your own CC birthday party in whichever city you are in. I’m here in Beijing right now so I get to celebrate Creative Commons birthday with my friends at Creative Commons Mainland China. If you are in Beijing come check their 2nd Annual photo competition winners and meet others interested in the commons in China:

We are going to have a party to celebrate the 6th birthday of CC licenses on CAMP club, near the south gate of the Workers’ Gymnasium in Beijing on Dec 14th at 3PM local time (7AM UTC).

There will be an award ceremony for our 2nd photograph contest, and drinks, music, remixing…

In Chinese here is the time and location:

 

每年一度的CC环球生日会就要到了，知识共享CC中国大陆项目将在12月14日组织主题为“共享北京·2008”的CC六周年环球生日会庆祝活动，这也是广大喜欢CC的朋友互动交流沟通的平台。

此次活动邀请了来自法律、教育、文化艺术、网络IT等各领域嘉宾，届时将举行第二届CC摄影大赛颁奖仪式、摄影作品幻灯放映、现场互动Remix创作等活动内容。本次活动免费向所有关心和支持CC的朋友们开放，有意参与活动的朋友请于12月12日之前进行报名，所有活动参与人员均有CC宣传印刷品及小礼品赠送。

活动时间：2008年12月14日（周日）下午15：00－18：00

活动地点：侃谱俱乐部 朝阳区工体西路8号楼6层（工体南门）

联系人：朱捍东 13601136018 郑毅 13811857821

电子邮件：info@cn.creativecommons.org

I hope to see you there with a million business cards in hand. We can talk about CC, Laoban, or any other topic under the sun like why there are too many drops in hiphop mixtapes right now all the way to why running Gentoo is good for your health

Please spread the good will in your blog: Happy Birthday Creative Commons. Support CC!

老板音响系统1.0， CPU:798圣诞Mixing活动

12月12日星期五，晚上8点到12点，免费

我们邀请大家来参加“老板音响系统1.0” 的启动活动，一次在 CPU:798 画廊的圣诞Mixing 活动。这是一个新的媒体活动尝试，欢迎大家带上你们的手提电脑、摄像机、播放器或其它录制设备来参加活动。我们的目的是混合媒体，并了解艺术家、DJ、音乐家、设计师、建筑师正在进行的工作和项目，无论是成功的、失败的还是未完成的项目。计划的最终目的是通过媒体的混合，以及通过在纪录的内容（照片，视频等）上添加“老板”的标签（tagging) 并上传到 twitter.com, flickr.com 和其它地方，从而使消费者成为生产者。

时间：2008年12月12日，8点到12点

地点：CPU: 798 (map: http://cpu798.com/contact)

地点：CPU: 798 (map: http://cpu798.com/contact)，798内优伦斯对面时八书店的小路尽头就是 CPU:798，将有“老板”标记。

参加者：艺术家、音乐家、软件/网络发展人，朋友

标签：老板、北京、实验、艺术、音乐、媒体、dubstep、共享、免费啤酒

This Friday, December 12, 8 PM - 12 Midnight, Fabricatorz and CPU:798 hosting the launch of the Laoban Soundsystem 1.0 with a free and open to the public event at
CPU:798 (map) in DaShanZi/798, Beijing

We invite all to come out to the launch of version 1.0 of the Laoban Soundsystem for a special Holiday Mixing Event at CPU:798. This is a new type of media event where all are welcome to join, bring media, laptops, video players, cameras, and other recording devices. The goal is to mix media, explore what artists, DJs, musicians, designers, and architects are working on RIGHT NOW — successes, failures, and rough edges are welcome at Laoban events! The ultimate plan is for consumers to be producers by both mixing media, and by tagging any recordings they have with “laoban” when posting onto twitter.com, flickr.com, or other places.

参与人包括 Participants Include：

• 何龙 long2，声音视觉艺术家, Audio Visual Artist
• 任林啸 Ren Linxiao，录像艺术家 , Video Artist
• 蔡凯 Cai Kai, VJ
• 雷磊 RAYDESIGN (RAY + PENNYsound system)
• 方鹿 Deer Fang, 录像艺术家 Video Artist
• Jon Phillips and Matt Hope, Upcoming Laoban 2.0 Soundsystem Open Speaker Plans
• Matt Hope will DJ late night
• 特殊嘉宾 Famous Special Guests To Be Announced
• 我们希望你的参与 ！WE WANT YOU! Bring what you are working on and put it into the MIX!

UPDATE: Here are a couple more people mixing into the event!

• Delboy (dj)
• D4Q1N (VJ & font designer www.dudesign.org)
• Xu Tao (dj), http://www.myspace.com/vervexu
• granier benoit, http://www.granierb.com (composer, artists, professor)

Today marks the day that 5 years ago my hero, my sister, Charis, passed away from kidney cancer. I still can’t believe this and each day becomes a bit more abstract.

I must admit the images get foggier and the guilt for that fog hurts. The prevailing memories are crystal clear greatness. Any painful memories that I documented on this webpage, can’t compare with the great thoughts of growing up with my best friend in Illinois, Missouri, summer vacations to Florida with my family, and my sister coming out no matter her condition to rock shows when I played in bands. She always stood in the front row.

Today I looked in the mirror and I realized that I feel the same age as that day 5 years ago, but the wrinkles are a bit deeper. I have to ask myself the question? Have I lived as much as she did with her life cut so short? Have five years since really brought me closer to life and living? Do I have better friendships? Is my relationship with my wife better now than even a year or two ago?

My family is so blessed that we spent the last two months of my sister’s life together helping care for my sister, share stories, and generally live as when Charis and I grew up together in a loving home. Those were some of the best days of my life.

5 years later, like I do each year on this day, I look at my sister’s life. I enjoy the great life she had, but hurt for the daily things we haven’t been able to share. Its the simple things like talking to her, celebrating thanksgiving, and joking about silly family stuff. Damn, Lu never even got to meet my sister. Charis never visited this strange and wonderful land I’m in now. Even though she wanted to, she didn’t get a chance to have kids.

But, it doesn’t help dwelling upon what didn’t happen, but rather on what we can do while we’re still here. After looking in the mirror a bit longer, I realize that its not about the wrinkles and lamenting, but how we live life each day with the people around us just as my sister did so passionately each day.

Please read the page I put up for her which is working well again and documents some of the days leading up to her passing away.

UPDATE: I just had another thought. I took a quarter off in graduate school in order to stay by my sister’s side. At that time I got into Open Source, helped launch Inkscape, and generally started being the public me. While here in Beijing with extra time to think about living, catch up on projects, and get some distance from the familiar, I feel that I have integrated the pre-nov-2003 self with the post-nov-2003 self. I can honestly say that I’m quite happy once more to wake up and keep hacking away on the things I love and not feel so guilty to carry the world on my shoulders or to live the life my sister didn’t get to live. I’m still processing some of these thoughts and apologies if I’m being too honest. I felt like I needed to say this out loud. It is just who I am.

Also, thoughts to TVOL right now as his grand father passed away very recently.

This Friday, December 12, 8 PM - 12 Midnight, Fabricatorz and CPU:798 hosting the launch of the Laoban Soundsystem 1.0 with a free and open to the public event at
CPU:798 (map) in DaShanZi/798, Beijing

We invite all to come out to the launch of version 1.0 of the Laoban Soundsystem for a special Holiday Mixing Event at CPU:798. This is a new type of media event where all are welcome to join, bring media, laptops, video players, cameras, and other recording devices. The goal is to mix media, explore what artists, DJs, musicians, designers, and architects are working on RIGHT NOW — successes, failures, and rough edges are welcome at Laoban events! The ultimate plan is for consumers to be producers by both mixing media, and by tagging any recordings they have with “laoban” when posting onto twitter.com, flickr.com, or other places.

To kick off the first event, we have seeded the night with a few solid mixes including:

• long2, Audio Visual Artist, http://www.youtube.com/pulpozone, http://www.flickr.com/photos/dogbee/
• Ren Linxiao, Video Artist, http://www.youtube.com/user/linxiaoren
• Cai Kai (VJ), http://www.reel1981.com/blog/article.asp?id=155
• RAYDESIGN (RAY + PENNYsound system), http://www.raydesign.cn
• Deer Fang, Video
• Jon Phillips and Matt Hope, Upcoming Laoban 2.0 Soundsystem Open Speaker Plans
• Matt Hope will DJ late night
• Famous Special Guests To Be Announced
• WE WANT YOU! Bring what you are working on and put it into the MIX!

There will be the Laoban Soundsystem 1.0 to plug sound devices into, a projector for any videos, and free beer to provide the social lubricant for the evening.

• WHEN Friday, December 12, 8 PM - 12 midnight
• WHERE CPU:798 (map: http://cpu798.com/contact), DaShanZi/798 in Beijing. Once inside DaShanZi/798, head to UCCA. Across from UCCA is Timezone8 Bookstore/Cafe. Walk towards Timezone8 and down the street until the very end where you will find CPU:798 at the end of the street and the Laoban Logo/Sound.
• WHO Artists, Musicians, Friends, Software/Web
• TAGS laoban, beijing, experimental, art, music, dubstep, media, sharing, freebeer

CPU:798
798 Art District
2 Jiuxianqiao Lu
Chaoyang District

100015 Beijing
P.R. China

Mobile: +86 1.360.282.8624
Email: info@fabricatorz.com

老板音响系统1.0， CPU:798圣诞Mixing活动

12月12日星期五，晚上8点到12点，免费

我们邀请大家来参加“老板音响系统1.0” 的启动活动，一次在 CPU:798 画廊的圣诞Mixing 活动。这是一个新的媒体活动尝试，欢迎大家带上你们的手提电脑、摄像机、播放器或其它录制设备来参加活动。我们的目的是混合媒体，并了解艺术家、DJ、音乐家、设计师、建筑师正在进行的工作和项目，无论是成功的、失败的还是未完成的项目。计划的最终目的是通过媒体的混合，以及通过在纪录的内容（照片，视频等）上添加“老板”的标签（tagging) 并上传到 twitter.com, flickr.com 和其它地方，从而使消费者成为生产者。

时间：2008年12月12日，8点到12点

地点：CPU: 798 (map: http://cpu798.com/contact)

地点：CPU: 798 (map: http://cpu798.com/contact)，798内优伦斯对面时八书店的小路尽头就是 CPU:798，将有“老板”标记。

参加者：艺术家、音乐家、软件/网络发展人，朋友

标签：老板、北京、实验、艺术、音乐、媒体、dubstep、共享、免费啤酒

Announced

• Facebook (arg!)

I added a bit more gloss at Fabricatorz. Check out the announcement and then the Laoban 1.0 downloadable plans.

When I started working at Creative Commons, I realized my time to really work on my Open Source projects and spend any real time on my site was going to be neglible. I quickly installed wordpress with an easy theme and blogged with some amount of regularity.

rejon.org 5.0 screenshot

However, since I have lots more time to work on more of what I want, I really knew that from past habits, it is crucial for me to organize my brain by updating my website. Also, it helps in mapping out the next 10-30 years of projects (I don’t have that roadmap up on the site … yet!). And furthermore, its like -10 Celsius outside here in Beijing right now — ts a good time to rock out websites.

At first glance, you’ll notice I tried to take into account three streams of information: more focused blogging/textual area, a quick view of the main content of the website (projects, writings, and teaching), and then the now all important, lifestream — featuring Identi.ca, which I post to way more than my blog.

So, please check out my updated website, and if you find bugs, please comment on this post. I built a fair amount of code to handle project management, make connections between my wiki, tagged content, and getting posts and pages all to work well together. I’m releasing all this code through the fabricatorz wordpress plugin, all AGPL’d. The code is documented, but I haven’t documented how to get the lovely project categories running with various metadata available about each project. The system also uses as many built-in wordpress media management and tagging systems.

I have input much data about my various involvements into this site now and am tracking start and end dates, the status of projects, sub-projects, links to the projects, collaborators, affiliations, tags, and wiki pages. If you see information that is not there, then please do send an email to get that information updated — especially if I accidentally left off a name or two on the collaborators information about any of the projects posted up.

You can view this entire system being exposed on the right hand menu in the Projects page. If you navigate to this page, there are various controls for filtering views of the list of items categorized as a project. Then, this same approach is applied to the Writings and Teaching pages.

My goal in creating this management system is to make it easy to document any of my involvements, and to not have to maintain lots of websites and project spaces externally, especially for quick projects.

Finally, in a similar thinking to this system, I nuked all versions of my past resume and CV, and now just have a comprehensive CV listing out all of my involvements and more. The information on the CV is still not complete, but I have to just launch this sooner rather than later (especially in the press section).

I would say the same thing about the projects, writings and teaching sections. The basic information on these sections is posted, but I still need to over time add more images and other media to increase the level of documentation on all projects (and hopefully get more people involved too). Regardless, the big hurdles are out of the way.

Because of this “personal” development, I also have been delaying blogging and launching some other fun news items in favor of just getting this complete. Look for some more juicy posts in the next few days particularly in the realm we all love, generating income!

I now present rejon.org 5.0