This week's news on Dinosaur extinction.
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Maker Faire Bay Area: Undersea Voyager Project Interview
17 MayMAKE Magazine
We’re merely two days out from Maker Faire Bay Area, the Greatest Show and Tell on Earth, with over 700 makers of all stripes coming out to the San Mateo Fairgrounds to show what they’ve made. One thing all these folks have in common is their immense sense of passion for whatever it is they make. Undersea explorer Captain Scott Cassell of the nonprofit Undersea Voyager Project (UVP) exemplifies this passion with his tireless love of the open waters of our planet and advocacy for the creatures who call it home. He’ll be bringing their salvaged and homebuilt submersible Great White to the Faire.
1. How did the Undersea Voyager Project get started and what is the main goal?
Undersea Voyager Project made its official debut on December 15, 2008, at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif. The Undersea Voyager Project is a nonprofit (501)(c)(3) public-benefit company for oceanic research and educational outreach. Founded by me, UVP is designed to utilize manned submersibles to take a physical look at the first 100—1,000 feet of seawater (which is the largest environment on Earth) on a continuing series of missions to explore the Earth underwater. UVP is privatizing ocean exploration and science by inviting the public — in other words, everyone — to participate! Our Youth Ambassador Program has had excellent success in training teens how to become submersible pilots, scientific observers, and oceanographer’s assistants. One student even co-discovered her own new species of life!2. Six years of work went into your home-built two-man submarine, Great White. How did acquire the original Kittredge K-250 submersible it’s built on and what modifications have you made?
In the summer of 2007 I was told about a little one-person sub in someone’s backyard. Soon thereafter an acquaintance introduced me to a retiring radiologist who owned the Kittredge K-250 submersible. The K-250 was designed by the honored Capt (Ret) George Kittredge. It’s a very successful design with a depth rating of 250 feet of seawater, although testing indicated the subs were very capable of going much deeper. The radiologist had the sub for over 20 years. During his ownership in the 1980s he successfully sank the sub once and had to mount a salvage expedition to recover it. He nearly killed himself a few times diving the sub improperly and recklessly, and then decided to store it outside for nearly two decades, allowing it to deteriorate.When I saw it for the first time I fell in love with it regardless of her poor condition. In my mind’s eye I saw the beginning of my dream of an oceanic exploration nonprofit. After first offering to donate the sub to me for my nonprofit, the radiologist suddenly had a change of heart and decided to sell it to us for $10,000! The old “bait & switch” trick (which became the radiologist’s nickname). Not having the money I became demoralized. My good friend and mentor, Tom Mix, became my sounding board, and after hearing my dilemma went off and made a plan with his wife Linda. Believing in me, Tom stepped up with a hugely generous offer. He committed to purchase the sub from “Old Bait & Switch” and donate it to UVP! The problem, he explained, is that it will take most of the year to pay for it with payments. I presented the idea to “Old Bait & Switch” and he accepted. Frankly, I was (and still am) awestruck by the selflessness and friendship Tom exhibited. After a Herculean financial effort of payments each month, on the 26th of January 2008, Tom finally purchased the Trilobite K-250 submersible.
The modifications we made are all based on proven technology and designs of operating submersibles. I have over 900 dives as Pilot in Command on the SeaMagine submersibles, so I used concepts applied to those subs simply due to their unrivaled reliability and toughness.
First, the ballast systems were changed from bow and stern open bottom tanks to closed variable ballast mounted inside pontoons tubes fitted on the port/starboard, giving much improved stability and safety over the original design. The aluminum ballast tubes were mounted on beautiful arms that resemble giant music notes.
Second, the “boat-tail” was added to give room for scientific instruments, then stuffed with syntactic foam to float the tail with nearly 200lbs of lift, allowing us to pack nearly 200lbs of instrumentation in the tail with “as-required” flexibility. To communicate the power and data feeds, a titanium circular plate was fabricated and mated to a 6″-diameter seal with five submersible plug sets that can be easily changed with the unique needs of the instruments used.
Third, the sub has 18″ longer skids to allow for larger batteries that double as emergency-releasable 400lbs weight. We kept the system 12V for safety and simplicity at the cost of some efficiency.
Fourth, we added a brand new, thicker acrylic 24″ dome, new heavier steel ring, new thicker bow, 16″ port and new side view-ports, increasing the safety and depth range of the sub to an excess of 500fsw (feet of sea water).
Fifth, the original port/starboard moveable thrusters have been changed to the more traditional three-axis configuration (Thruster One: forward/backward, Lateral Thruster: yaw (turning), Vertical Thruster: descending/ascending).
Sixth, we added wheels to the sub! These solid rubber wheels allow us to push-launch our sub at almost any boat ramp so we can reduce our launch complexity. This opens up the entire coast to us! After we push-launch her, we can tow her out to the dive site with a vessel as small as a RHIB with a 25HP motor up to any size ship.
Seventh, we added a 72-hour life-support system including onboard emergency battery, CO2 scrubber, oxygen injection manifold, and O2 sensor.
Eight, Great White is bristling with cameras and lights so we can film our dives as well as surface-feed images and audio up an umbilical to the surface vessel so topside personnel can see what the sub sees. Soon we hope to be able to link our images of dives as they happen to our website so kids around the world can chat with the sub’s pilot during dives!
3. Tell us about yourself. How did you get interested in deep sea exploration and who are your inspirations?
As a child, I knew man should explore Earth’s inner space. And in my heart, I somehow knew that I would be among those explorers. One cold winter day when I was six years old, our family went to the movies. Little did I know this outing would set the course of my life. The film was Disney’s version of the Jules Verne classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I was enthralled by the action unfolded on the giant silver screen, to the point where I felt physically tired by the time the movie ended.The movie deeply affected me — especially during the scenes where the giant squid attacked the Nautilus. The next day I visited the school library and learned that giant squid were REAL! At that moment, I knew my life would revolve around submersibles and giant squid. After all, how many kids don’t like monsters or dinosaurs?! The difference was that my “monster” was real — living in the present and not impossible to encounter. My childhood imagination flourished and has not abated to this day.
I was inspired by my mentor and personal hero, Dr. Andreas Rechnitzer, who was the project manager and senior scientist of the Trieste Bathyscaphe and the Nekton Project (Man’s Deepest Dive and first to the Challenger Deep in 1961). Although very proud of his achievements, he wanted to perform trans-oceanic scientific transects to study the condition of the oceans and report it to the world. But 1970 budget cuts prevented the program. I promised him if I could figure it out in the current economic environment, I would execute the missions.
4. You’re driven to “make people explorers once again, instead of remote control vehicles.” Why is this important?
I am 50 years old. When I was only a few years old, I watched Apollo 11’s astronauts take the first step on the moon. It made the entire world stop in its tracks. When the seven Challenger astronauts died in the Challenger accident, the entire world mourned. When humans scale Everest, discover new life, see something for the first time, the world notices in a primeval way. In contrast, when the first pictures from the Mars Rover came back, people were amazed, but few, if any, can tell you the date, or exactly what they were doing the moment they heard the news.When people do incredible things in the name of science, people notice. We are a race of genetically predisposed explorers. We must know what is in the dark, the unknown. I am using that human trait to inspire the next generation of scientists, technicians, engineers, and mathematicians to pursue the sea as a way of life in order to get fresh new minds to untangle the global-wide extinction event previous generations (including mine, worst of all) have set. We are living at the time science fiction writers have expressed in their works for over a hundred years. The time when man faces extinction within a generation. What happens next? Do the unethical-money-motivated-extinction-causing human filth continue to win? Or, does the new generation of ethical science and technology make a radical and powerful change in humanity’s destiny?
Remote systems are critically important tools, but they inspire very few. We need explorers to become the heroes they are to our kids. Ask current scientists and engineers at JPL and NASA what inspired them. Most will say Star Trek and Jacques Cousteau.
5. How did you hear about Maker Faire and why did you decide to participate?
My VP and good friend, John Sanderson, learned about it, and since our sub is basically home-built he felt it was a good opportunity for UVP to get some public exposure.6. How will you be bringing UVP to life at the Faire?
UVP has a life of its own now. It has our little sub, access to another sub (SEAMobile), and an underwater habitat is under construction. During the Maker Faire we will bring our submersible Great White in its fully operational status and give guided tours around the sub.7. What new idea (in or outside of your field) has excited you most recently?
With our sub operational, I finally let in the possibilities of what she can accomplish. This fact has been suppressed inside me for years because the sub was not ready. Now we can do so much with research, exploration, and inspiring kids that I find it difficult to sleep at night.
8. Your passion for mystified (and often demonized) sea creatures, like the great white shark and the giant squid, is inspiring. What is your main message for the masses?
In the dark cold of the open sea live some of the most amazing creatures our planet has ever seen. They exist in a dark and often hostile world where man has only recently ventured, and with all of his technological mastery has seen just two percent of this vast and mysterious realm. We come from this! And, we are driven to re-explore it. What we find is amazing and incredible! Each time a deep submersible dives it has the chance of seeing something previously unknown. Mankind only loves what they are aware of. Discovery is the basis for all emotions we can apply to what exists in the sea. The more we know the more we can love and protect.
For example, when I saw Jaws I was terrified of the water based on the lies of a stupid movie that depicted great white sharks as plotting man-eaters.Now, after 20 years of diving with many great white sharks, I can tell you that they are individuals with personality! I have swam with 3,500lb sharks and tickled their bellies, ridden on their backs, and petted them. I have learned to love them and see them much like folks see family dogs. They are nothing but animals and most of the time, harmless. More folks die from family dog attacks than white shark attacks.
We must leave our preconceived notions behind us and grow up! The only true monsters are men. Over 73 million sharks are killed just for shark-fin soup. That is over 200,000 per day! Last month a shark I loved for 20 years was murdered for her fins and jaws. Her 60-year long life ended for $1,800. Her 3,000lb body rots on a Baja beach, and I miss her.
9. Tell us about your outreach program in collaboration with Global SchoolNet.
The Global School Net program is yet to be plugged in but it is anticipated to be a real-time outreach program to kids in classrooms as well as a series of YouTube mini videos for kids and adults alike.10. What advice do you have for young makers who are inspired by your project?
If you are comfortable, you are wrong! If you have a dream fueled by passion, build it! Don’t take no for an answer — find a way to make it happen. Sit down away from distractions and imagine. Imagine in great detail. Make well-thought-out designs and write it all down. Never stop imagining your dreams. That is reserved for when you die, just like comfort. Great people have gone past comfort and made events happen — often against all odds and against normal thought. Don’t be normal. Use imagination as a discipline to create. The greatest opportunity in the history of mankind exists today. Save the oceans to save ourselves. My god, human, invent!Thank you Capt. Cassell! For folks who want to come see Great White in person and connect with thousands of like-minded makers, check out the Maker Faire website for all the information you need. See you there!
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China's transparency laws: a death sentence for the Yangtze sturgeon
13 Maywww.guardian.co.uk
The Yangtze's latest dam construction shows the hollowness of China's 'breakthrough' FoI legislation
In March, as the Chinese city of Chongqing reeled from the ousting of its charismatic party secretary Bo Xilai, the Three Gorges Corporation began preliminary construction work on the Xiaonanhai dam – a project upriver of the city that Bo had strongly advocated in the face of environmental opposition, and the last in a series of 12 new dams along the Yangtze river.
Green campaigners were dismayed. Although some still hold out hope that the construction can be halted, many fear that the dam will ruin a crucial reserve for rare and endangered fish species, including the Chinese paddlefish and the Yangtze sturgeon – a "living fossil" that has survived since the time of the dinosaurs.
The construction work "basically means a death sentence for these endangered species", said Chang Cheng, a campaigner for Friends of Nature (FON), China's oldest NGO.
But it not only sounds a possible death knell for an ancient species, it is also a bad portent for access to information in China.
Four years ago, China's Regulations on Open Government Information (OGI) legislation became effective. A year earlier, Hu Jintao publicly endorsed greater government transparency, saying: "Power must be exercised in the sunshine to ensure that it is exercised correctly."
Hu's statement may seem surprising when contrasted with the recent crackdown on free expression after Bo's downfall – censors have deleted online "rumours" about the country's leaders and Bo-supporting websites have closed. Article 1 is at least true to the spirit of his words: it states that the purpose of the regulations is to "ensure that citizens, legal persons and other organisations obtain government information in accordance with the law, enhance transparency of the work of government, promote administration in accordance with the law, and bring into full play the role of government information in serving the people's production and livelihood and their economic and social activities".
However, environmental information is still tightly controlled in China. Last year it took the State Oceanic Administration an entire month to confirm an oil leak in the Bohai Sea, off China's north-eastern coast, which polluted around 4,250 sq km of sea. In 2010, a mining company managed to suppress media reports for nine days about a massive leak from a copper mine into the Ting river in Fujian province, south-eastern China.
How is this still the case? First, as with transparency laws in other countries, there are clauses in the regulations that provide exemptions from disclosure, such as if the information endangers state security, economic security or social stability. Second, as with much regulation in China, the existence of the legislation doesn't mean that it is being properly enforced.
China's ministry of environmental protection has implemented the regulations as a specific decree, but so far local environmental protection bureaus have not responded well to information requests from citizens. More sensitive data, often the most crucial for campaigners – say, on environmental impact assessments, or the disposal of hazardous waste – is still almost impossible to obtain. Officials frequently reject disclosure requests without a proper legal basis.
In the case of Chongqing's Xiaonanhai dam, green campaigners from FON used open government information laws to ask the ministry of agriculture to release an onsite investigation report and details of the boundary change at the endangered fish reserve. But the ministry refused on the grounds that "procedural" information was not covered by transparency legislation. Chang told me in an email: "This is like a catch-22 situation for the public who wish to supervise and participate in the government's decision-making."
Chang has a point: if the government isn't willing to disclose how its decisions are made, and if its procedures aren't being correctly followed, it's difficult to see how freedom of information laws can be used to hold the government to account at any time other than after the event. It won't be much help to find out that procedures were carried out incorrectly after the Yangtze sturgeon is declared extinct.
Today a number of China's green campaigners face the same hurdle. It means the OGI regulations have "little use for many citizens who want to get involved in government decision-making", said Chang.
Four years after the introduction of this breakthrough legislation, particularly for those activists caught in a thicket of censorship and obfuscation, sunshine governance still seems a long way off in China.
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The Weekly Wrap
12 MayThe Daily Dish - By Andrew Sullivan
Friday on the Dish, Andrew recounted his own attempt to date a woman, compared his school pranks to Romney's, and tracked some right-wing panic over Mitt's bullying incident. We kept up with the discussion of the hair-cutting attack, figured running on foreign policy wasn't Romney's best move, opened up an "empathy" gap between Mitt and Barack, bet marriage equality would help Obama in the fall, placed Obama in the gay rights pantheon, speculated on the future of gay politics, checked on the downticket races, lauded an impressive move towards filibuster reform, knocked Jonah Goldberg down a peg, and brought out the popcorn for a Barney Frank smackdown.
Video games prepared the next generation of warriors, TSA profiling seemed wrong, and an alien invasion of New York (a la The Avengers) would cost $160 billion. We predicted digital brains were impossible, taught you how to fight robots, wondered if parrots understood language, prioritized statistics in the modern economy, examined online scams, spotlighted the live-tweeting of brain surgery, and debated attachment parenting. The top .5% took all the cash, the recession sucked away trillions, and visiting America was too hard. Fish stocks were depleted and America went gluten-free. Ask Maggie Gallagher Anything here, Malkin Nominee here, Hathos here and here, Quotes for the Day here and here, Tweet of the Day here, Chart of the Day here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
Halong Bay, Vietnam, 12 pm
Thursday on the Dish, Andrew reflected further on the evolution of the president (yesterday's NPR segment here, third round of blogger reax here), while gay GOP activists somehow reverted to partisanship and disdain. We sorted through the politics of Obama's historic shift, Andrew owned up to a Von Hoffman nomination, and Bristol Palin stood by traditional marriage. The president sent a signal to the courts and to the Democratic leadership, readers could relate to his "evolution," and the fight for marriage equality is deeply-rooted. It turns out that the pre-election announcement was probably predetermined, and North Carolina was worse than we thought.
We checked in on the civil unions bill in Colorado, were confronted by sunflowers, and remembered those who didn't live to see the day. Romney exuded caution in response, and his actual position became increasingly unclear. As a high school bully, the presumptive Republican nominee targeted the weak and marginalized, he had a hard time apologizing, and a clear choice emerged between the future or the past. Those on the wrong side of history huddled around an NRO symposium, marriage has been "redefined" before, and in reality marriage equality strengthens marriage.
Meanwhile, the shrinking of the public sector dampened the recovery, ordinary Americans were fine with deep cuts to defense, the UN mission in Syria didn't stand a chance, and Islamism lost steam in Egypt. It might be a good time for house-hunting, silents are wondrously demanding, occupational licenses are unnecessary, and the obesity epidemic is going to make us pay.
Ad War Update here, Ask Maggie Anything here, VFYW here, FOTD here, and MHB here.
By Getty Images
Wednesday on the Dish, Andrew broke down over Obama's public evolution on gay marriage, recanted his claim that Obama's shift wouldn't matter, took stock of the thinking that motivated anti-equality crusaders (follow-up here), looked in vain for Democratic hit men, and gagged at the Obama campaign's emails. We grabbed reax to Obama's big shift here and here, picked out the Christian heart in Obama's defense of equality, discovered a GIF tumblr about the event, tackled some terrible arguments against the President's position, picked out an apt historical comparison to North Carolina's retrograde vote, assessed whether Obama was sticking his political neck out, and looked at the tough position Romney was stuck in now. Romney was trapped on immigration as well, Ron Paul crept up on the GOP, the election wasn't over, and the radical right ate Lugar. Ad War Update here.
Andrew also compared the US and European approaches to recessions and austerity, defended a pundit's right to mock black studies and not get fired (critical follow-up here), and reissued the call for Dishterns: The Next Generation. We discovered the best gene, worried about the growing need for geoengineering, debunked the notion that dinosaurs farted there way to runaway climate change and extinction, and weighed the evidence that e-readers were good for the climate. Slideshows killed websites, Mark Zuckerberg delayed gratification ad infinitum, people bought (more or less) cardboard furniture, TSA profiling produced complex feelings for one reader, and raccoons boned. Ask Maggie Gallagher Anything here, Quotes for the Day here and here, Headlines of the Day here and here, Yglesias Nominee here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
By Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images
Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew read the polling evidence that the heinous Amendment 1 would pass in North Carolina (as it did), laid bare the bigoted view that underpins the Amendment, explained why those who support its ban on civil equality are out of step with America, gave an explanation for what made them tick, and compared Obama's record on gay issues to Romney's awful one. A despairing gay reader planned to leave North Carolina if the Amendment passed (responses offering support poured in here and here), Romney might have gained more supporters than current polling suggested, business experience (debatably) helped Mitt, minority voter registration dropped off (follow up here), and Obama embodied an optimistic sort of populism. The Julia Obama ad met with mixed reviews, Wall Streeters disliked the Administration, and Mormonism embraced Zionism. Ad War Update here.
Andrew also defended himself against an attack in Jonah Goldberg's new book and castigated an old-new Israeli policy. We grabbed reax to Netanyahu's spectacular new coalition deal, dug deeper on the implications of a leftist government in Greece, and sampled the exquisitely inauthentic adaptations of "American food" abroad. A reader spoke up for a more moderate atheism, our brains treated God like a person, we all believed in magic, and daydreams popped up all the time. We linked marriage to class, explored the truth about emergency care in the US, cast our iPhone contracts in an (unfavorable) international light, and learned about the nation's biggest company, ExxonMobile. Cities inspired and chairs killed. Ask Maggie Gallagher Anything (with reader comment) here, Hewitt Nominee here, Quote for the Day here, VFYW here, VFYW Contest Winner here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
Monday on the Dish, Andrew assessed the implications of Sarko's loss and the rise of the European left and explored a deeply disturbing proposal for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from Rep. Joe Walsh. We compiled reax to Hollande's victory, delved into Greek coalition negotiations, psychoanalyzed Britain's Foreign Secretary, noticed the guarantee of marriage equality in the UK by 2015, profiled Salaam Fayyad, listened to an insider account of the Chen Guangcheng affair, compared the European labor force to its American equivalent, debated the ethics of foreign adoption, reminded ourselves that we were still at war, and aired a poignant message to KSM.
Andrew also apportioned some blame to the states for our marijuana debacle and mocked Mark Levin's wafer-thin understanding of the history of political philosophy. We also pooh-poohed the idea that swing state polls mattered, guessed about the kind of job creation Obama needed to keep his own job, figured Obama couldn't be swift-boated, noted Obama's problem with Wall Street, counted Ron Paul's delegate gains, bet Romney would push for some kind of stimulus, and debunked "Big Government Obama." An Obama official clearly endorsed marriage equality and put up a debate on TSA profiling. Ad War Update here.
We also called for a challenge to college football, examined the links between American diet and health, opened up to the idea of giving addicts a place to shoot up, and worried about social jet lag. An argument about Jesus' existance was weak and agnosticism was compatible with atheism. The internet rewired your brain (like everything), an app replaced greeting cards, figured AI beings would really be our children, recycling incentivized consumption, and the internet created new image copyright images. Pregancy resulted in carrying cells for years, psychology explained argument, and the Scrooge dive required an extraordinary amount of gold. Ask Maggie Gallagher Anything here, Hewitt Nominee here, Quotes for the Day here, here, here, here, and here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
- Z.B. (Thursday by M.A.)
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This week's new theatre and dance
12 Maywww.guardian.co.uk
Tender Napalm, On tour
One of the best plays of 2011, Philip Ridley's Tender Napalm is like much of his work, a play about the violence of love. A two-hander that requires ferocious honesty, commitment and energy, it offers a couple telling each other stories as they are shipwrecked on an island of love, a place from which you worry there can be no survivors. The language is both sensual and sweaty, the allusions are to Greek myth and The Tempest and if the play doesn't easily yield up its meanings, it washes over you in great bruising waves of love and pain. If this revival is as good as the original production, it's an experience that shouldn't be missed.
Curve, Leicester, Sat; Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne, Wed & Thu; Hull Truck, Fri to 19 May
Lyn Gardner
Ragtime, London
As well as being one of the cultural highlights of a London summer, the Open Air Theatre has built up an expectation for its big musical show. Following the successes of Hello, Dolly!, Into The Woods and Crazy For You comes Ragtime, based on the novel by EL Doctorow. Written by Terrence McNally, and set at the turn of the last century, its epic tale links several characters – a white mother, a Harlem musician and a Jewish immigrant – in themes of race and destiny. Opening next month (2 Jun-5 Sep) is the theatre's other big show, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Matthew Dunster, who has Children's Children (see below) opening this week, directs.
Open Air Theatre, NW1, Fri to 8 Sep
Mark Cook
Losing The Plot, On tour
Mikron is a unique theatrical company that tours along the country's canals via vintage narrowboat. Celebrating its 40th birthday this year the company is out and about with two new shows, including this love story written by the excellent Deborah McAndrew. Centring on a group of gardeners at the Thistledale allotments, the story tells how the group put their differences aside and dig deep (within themselves and the soil) to save their beloved plots after a threat of extinction from the local council. Expect pitchforks at dawn and distinctively loamy storytelling from a company that's certainly like no other.
Netherton Moor Road Allotments, Huddersfield, Sat; Southern Allotments, Wintermans Road, Manchester, Sun; Grimesthorpe Allotments, Sheffield, Wed; Scarcroft Allotments, York, Thu; Park Lodge Lane Allotments, Wakefield, Fri
LG
Children's Children, London
Two of the most in-demand chaps in theatre are involved in the latest show at the Almeida Theatre. After his successful new version of Saturday Night Sunday Morning in Manchester earlier this year, Actor, playwright and director Matthew Dunster sees the opening of his new play Children's Children. It's directed by fellow hot talent Jeremy Herrin, who is hoping to follow up on a terrific run of recent productions in Absent Friends and South Downs. Dunster's play finds two friends from drama school in very different situations 20 years on: one is Mr Saturday Night TV, the other an actor in dire financial straits. The latter's request for a loan from his pal sets off a surprising chain of events.
Almeida Theatre, N1, Thu to 30 Jun
MC
Norwich & Norfolk Festival
William Galinsky's first programme as artistic director of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival includes the usual colourful mixture of theatre, circus and outdoor events. Let's hope the weather holds for today and tomorrow's Garden Party on Millennium Plain which includes the Dinosaur Petting Zoo, Leslie Hill and Chris Dobrowski's installation Vanishing Point and plenty of street arts. This week's contemporary theatrical highlights include Time Circus' AirHotel at Holt Hall, billed as a crazy theatrical experience in a treetop B&B; National Theatre Scotland's border ballads show, The Strange Undoing Of Prudencia Hart; and tried and tested crackers including The Oh Fuck Moment and Quarantine's delightful Susan & Darren.
Various venues, to 26 May
LG
Mayfest, Bristol
"Adventurous theatre for playful people" is the come on from the brilliant Bristol festival, Mayfest, and it's hard to resist the invitation when the theatre is this good. From tried-and-tested shows such as Kieran Hurley's immense Hitch, and Gary McNair's Crunch, to new work from rising Bristol artists including Jo Bannon and Stand + Stare Collective, there is something for everyone here. John Moran's The Con Artist will definitely be worth a peek, and I like the sound of Mercurial Wrestler's Magna Mysteria, a show that turns its audience into magicians, and Chris Goode's process-led piece, Open House.
Various venues, Thu to 27 May
LG
Rambert Dance Company, London
Mark Baldwin has always maintained a clever directorial balance between celebrating history and new creation. Commemorating his 10th year as the innovative artistic director of Rambert, he revives the company's singular staging of the seminal Nijinsky ballet L'après-midi d'un faune, set to Debussy's hot, luminous, dreamy score which has not been seen in London for the last 30 years. And in the same programme he gives the London premiere of his own take on the Faune legend, What Wild Ecstasy, set to a new score by Gavin Higgins. Completing the programme is a revival of Siobhan Davies's work The Art Of Touch And Sub, a high-powered, multi-layered work created by Itzik Galili.
Sadlers Wells, EC1, Tue to 19 May
Judith Mackrell
Matthew Bourne's Early Adventures, On tour
Long before Matthew Bourne became famous as a re-inventor of ballet classics, he was making some of the most inventive little vignettes of experimental dance. Some of these date back to when Bourne formed his company Adventures In Motion Pictures, and in celebration of 25 years of the company Bourne is reviving three early works. Spitfire is an ineffable fusion of Romantic ballet and male narcissism. Town And Country is a loving pastiche of an older, more innocent Britain. Finally, The Infernal Galop is Bourne's love letter to France, his dance equivalent of Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris.
Theatre Royal, Bath, Sat; Lighthouse, Poole, Tue, Wed; Theatre Royal, Brighton, Thu to 19 May
JM
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Danger High Voltage: More Electronic Acts for Exit Festival
11 MayAltsounds
The impressive Dance Arena line-up gets even bigger and better with it's eclectic line up. Critically aclaimed act Knife Party are first up and will be performing on July 15th. A side project from Pendulums Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, this Australian electro-house-dubstep duo launched to stratospheric heights after remixing Swedish House Mafia, pumping their high octane fuel injection to the public sonisphere, they are smashing dancefloors worldwide, and will for sure be tearing up the fortress walls in a similar fashion. Jacques Lu Cont, a man with many names - Les Rythmes Digitales, Paper Faces, Man With Guitar and Thin White Duke, gained the current super-popularity mostly thanks to his decade-long collaboration with Madonna, and whose renowned album "Confessions on a Dance Floor" was produced by none other than him. Jacques Lu Conts splendorous career has been crowned with three Grammys up to this date, thanks to his original scores as well as his remixes and will be performing on Thursday July 12th. Thursday will also feature Eats Everything, the British producer who has recently exploded in the underground house scene, made his mark on the famous Essential Mix on BBC Radio1, and is currently under Hot Creations, dirtybird, Hypercolour, Greco Roman to name a few labels. His tour bus will have to make another stop at this years Exit Festival along with label mate American producer Claude Von Stroke, whose tracks "Deep Throat", sold in over 10,000 copies, and "Who's Afraid Of Detroit", turned him into a touring machine. His label, symbolically named "dirtybird" became the primary exporter of electronic music in the United States, with over 50 EPs released since the foundation in 2005. The same night Saturday 14th July, Benoit & Sergio start the proceedings with their inimitable take on house and techno, expect a juxtaposition of pristine production and lyricism which will prove why they are one of the most unique and interesting outfits in dance music today. They will be joined by German and London underground stalwarts, Tobi Neuman b2b Geddes. Stemming both from the uber cool underground scenes in Germany and London respectively, Tobi Neuman resident of Berlins Watergate and Weekend and Geddes heading mulletover, Londons biggest and longest running underground warehouse party. Both mix a myriad of music that develops its own soft, dark gravity, balancing on the fine, almost irrecognizable line between house and techno: sexy and friendly, finishing off the Saturday night perfectly.DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE : MORE ELECTRONIC ACTS ON EXIT FESTIVAL!
Knife Party, Claude Von Stroke, Jacques Lu Cont, Eats Everything, Tobi Neuman & Geddes, Benoit & Sergio on Dance Arena.
Netsky & MC Dynamite, Goldie & SP:MC, Borgore and Drumsound & Bassline Smith feat MC Dynamite on Main Stage After 2AM.
Space Dimension Controller, George Fitzgerald , Sigha and Locked Groove on Happynovisad.
Thieves Like Us, Nikonn, The Tapeaters, DAT Politics, Franz + Shape, Detachments, A Terrible Splendour and Christian Strobe on Elektrana
This July, Exit Festival will be overloaded with electricity, as the ever expanding eclectic line up is joined by some of the most progressive electronic music performers making EXIT the number one festival destination for decerning party people and dance music lovers.
After 2AM program traditionally welcomes some of the greatest Drumn Bass and Dubstep scene. The second day of our festival features one of the leaders of the new dnb talents in Europe, and a star for Hospital Records, Netsky. We have enough time to prepare for his second studio album, starting with his latest single Come Alive which is due May 21. Drumsound & Bassline Smith, will also present their work at the festival on the second day. The British production team, consisting of Andrew Wright, Benjamin Wiggett (Drumsound), and Simon 'Bassline' Smith, who release their work under their very own Technique Recordings are BBC Radio 1s favourites. They released their single Close in August last year, which won the award for the Best Song and Best Video at this years Official Drum & Bass Awards. Both acts are featured by MC Dynamite, a globetrotter and the jungle, drum'n' bass, hip hop, dubstep and reggae dancefloor preacher. On July 14, After 2AM program hosts the Israeli Dubstep producer and DJ, Asaf Borger, hiding under the alias Borgore. A self-proclaimed young man following big dreams, a private beach and the olsen twins. classifies his musical genre, a mixture of drum beats with Heavy Metal influences as Gorestep. The last, but not the least, we welcome Goldie, on the last day of the festival. Goldie is an English musician, DJ, visual artist, actor and a celebrity, who will be accompanied by one of the most innovative and wanted MCs of the world, SP:MC.
The second-biggest Exit electronic music stage, Happynovisad, hot spot for the alternative electronic acts, is preparing this years programme for the fans of the most progressive musical genres. Friday, July 13 welcomes performers from the highly influential, top quality Hotflush Recordings label. The British producer, currently residing in Berlin, Sigha, is one of the leading techno producers of the label. Alongside these two icons, Happynovisad stage is, on Friday, also hosting Tim Van de Meutter a.k.a. Locked Groove, who carries his own signature an explosive blend of industrial techno and a melancholic deep house which assign a star-status to him. Finally, another Hotflush baby, George Fitzgerald, famous for his original house-garage-techno-dubstep cocktail will make Friday 13th on Happynovisad unforgettable! Saturday, July 14 will see the dawn of a young Belfast-based producer Jack Hamill, who gained his popularity under the alias Space Dimension Controller. Claiming to be born in the 24th century, he returned through time, accidentally crashing his Electropod to be stuck here with nothing but presenting his funky electro sound. He will just have to stick with our outdated airplanes and dancefloors before he gets back to 2352.
Elektrana stage, the place of all jovial electro lovers, announces its marvellous and abundant line-up for this year, alongside the already announced Sneaky Sound System and When Saints Go Machine. Thursday, July 12 will see the appearance of a dancefloor favourite, Christian Strobe, an 80s music baby, who ended up as a child of indie music, cosmic house and nu-disco. A day later, Elektrana stage welcomes Thieves Like Us, a five-piece band who manages to combine post-punk, new wave, italo disco, synth pop, and yet sound so electro-poppish that it makes you wan to dance all night! The same day, the stage welcomes Greek musical genius Nikkon, whose opus is described as a chill-out Electro sound paired with dreamy female vocals who give his music an additional, deep and refined note.
The striking festival day, Saturday, will be reserved for Tapeaters. A Russian Electro-Pop/Funk duo formed in 2009 features a sound created by warm vintage synths, funky vibe and a vocal polyphony all in one big emotion. The same day, something completely different strikes the fortress - DAT Politics, one of the most important electro-exatic bands on the planet. They are characterized by a precisely-sharpened turbo pop mood, while their computers create some of the catchiest melodies you have ever danced to.
Franz + Shape, Detachments and A Terrible Splendour will crown the festival on the last day, Sunday, July 15. The unique sound of Franz + Shape is created from a mix of acid wave and electro music. Their live performances are packed with a great electro sound combined with synths, drums and samplers, and the crowded dancefloor is their natural habitat! The Detachments, led by a creative mind an artist, graphic designer, DJ and actor hailing from Lancaster, Bastien Marshal, is an interesting post - post- electroclash specimen. Currently, they are preparing a new album which will be mixed by none other than Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order). Finally, tales of blackmailing, desperation, cruelty and hopelessness will be told by Londons MM Lyle and Martin Block, who are served together under the name A Terrible Splendour. They call their genre new romantic cabaret, and are inspired by the artistic creations from the likes of Automelodi, Fisherspooner, Visage and Gina X. It shouldnt take a long time to figure out their sound under a dark and gloomy synth pop veil.
LINE UP SO FAR:TICKETS:
Guns N Roses, Duran Duran, New Order, Erykah Badu, Plan B, AVICII, Richie Hawtin, Gossip, Wolfmother, Luciano, Laurent Garnier LBS, Knife Party, Miss Kittin, Hercules & Love Affair, The Toy Dolls, Skindred, Little Dragon, Felix Da Housecat, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Azari & III, Buraka Som Sistema, Sneaky Sound System, Claude Von Stroke, Netsky & MC Dynamite, Goldie & SP:MC, Jacques Lu Cont, Art Department, Maceo Plex, Borgore, Reboot live, Thieves Like Us, Brodinski, Kenny Larkin, Drumsound & Bassline Smith & MC Dynamite, Robert Dietz, Citizens!, D.R.I., When Saints Go Machine, Eats Everything, Tobi Neuman b2b Geddes, Benoit & Sergio, Maayan Nidam, Street Dogs, Space Dimension Controller, George FitzGerald, Sigha, Lone, Pariah, Teengirl Fantasy live, The Chain, Locked Groove, Nikonn, The Tapeaters, DAT Politics, Franz + Shape, Detachments, A Terrible Splendour, Christian Strobe
Early Bird Tickets: £85 plus booking fee SOLD OUT
Loyalty Club Tickets: £89 plus booking fee
Standard Tickets: £95 plus booking fee
Camping Tickets: £25 plus booking fee
VIP Tickets: £220 plus booking fee
Buy tickets from EXIT direct via etickets.to and our ticket partners; See Tickets, HMV, Resident Advisor and Skiddle. http://eng.exitfest.org/
TRAVEL & ACCOMODATION:
Getting to EXIT has never been easier, faster and cheaper! The nearest airport is Belgrade, with direct flights from the UK with JAT and Wizz Air. Belgrade is one hour from Novi Sad, you can get a taxi or take a pre booked shuttle bus. EXIT Trip is the Official Travel and accommodation for EXIT Festival with the lowest price guaranteed! Offering huge discounts on direct flights, accommodation and local transfers in one package, look no further than here www.exittrip.org/eng
ABOUT EXIT:
Taking place from Thursday 12th Sunday 15th July, in the magical Petrovaradin Fortress overlooking the river Danube, EXIT continues to deliver the most adventurous and value for money festival experience, with a diverse and cutting edge line up, cheap food and drink onsite and the best campsite entertainment whilst bathing in the hot Balkan sunshine. For more info http://eng.exitfest.org/
