Wow, another month has passed already and it is time for another Netpunk column. Life is moving really fast for me right now, which is strange, because I'm not really doing that much. Still trying to get settled in Santa Cruz, doing various odd jobs and selling old 12" records of bad 80's bands I've managed to accumulate over the years, and the like. Anything to keep myself to busy to even look for a job. Which brings me to the partial focus of this months column. Yep, that's right -- websites devoted to the ANTI-work ethic - an ethic that says you don't have to slave 40+ hours a week working for "the man" in order to have a fulfilling life. Mykel has certainly covered this topic in his column a lot over the years, and now you can use the net to find out more about this lifestyle choice.
Most things I've read about the anti-work movement mention Bob Black's essay The Abolition of Work, and so I might as well too. You can find a text version of the essay online at http://www.unicorn.com//lib/abolition.html (yes, there is supposed to be a double // in there) and you should definitely go read it if you haven't had the opportunity. You can also get to some other interesting texts from this page, so be sure to click on the link at the very bottom.
Another anti-work article is located at the Democratic Socialists of America website. The article is Workers Have Nothing to Lose but Work Itself! written by J. Hughes. The article details why slaving away under the present capitalist system is stupid, and gives a bit of history of the anti-work movement, as well as proposing some changes for the future. Also a definate must read, you'll find that article at http://www.dsausa.org/ESR/Work.html .
Of course, another place you can look to for information against the work ethic is just about any anarchist resource on the net. I've given you quite a few of them in the past, but one I don't believe I've mentioned yet is An Anarchist FAQ Web Page (FAQ = frequently asked questions), which has a ton of information about anarchy. You'll find it at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/ .
Yet another excellent anarchist resource is the Anarchist Yellow Pages 1997 (http://www.dorsai.org/~agony/ayp.html). This is a worldwide resource guide to anarchist organizations and "radical spaces" such as bookstores, collectives, etc. If you are serious about anarchism, or want to know where to find the cool bookstores when you go to the big city, then this is the place for you. Lots and lots of places to write to for info, though not many of them have e-mail addresses or web pages.
A final site dealing with anarchism and anti-work issues is Liberty for the People, which has a list of texts that, as they put it, concern "the goal of liberty and freedom for the working class individual." Lots and lots of links here to specific articles on other peoples pages. You could literally spend hours at your computer, just from visiting this one page of links. You'll find it at http://www.tigerden.com/~berios/liberty.html .
Okay, enough about politics! Let's talk about music and food! The first site I wanted to mention this month was by those wacky fun-punks YOUR MOTHER. They've put together a web page that, while it doesn't capture the insanity of their live show, does capture perfectly their geeky personalities. They've really gone all the way on this one, because, believe it or not, they have their own domain name. Their web pages are at http://www.yourmother.com . And definitely check out the band pin-up section - it is very scary.
Another good band site is for SWITCHEROO, from South Carolina. They have pictures, sounds, lyrics, etc. and everything is simple and easy to read. I'm not sure I understand why they used a graphic of an adding machine for all their links, but maybe some things are better left unexplained. Anyway, you can find out more about SWITCHEROO at http://members.aol.com/geek4000/switcheroo.html .
Vital Music out of New York is putting together a website that, at the current moment, contains mainly their catalog, but if you're in the market for some new punk stuff at a good price, it is a good place to check. Plus, they say they are going to expand their website in the near future - we'll see if it happens before this gets printed, but somehow I doubt it. Anyway, even though the page is eye-blinding green and ugly cyan, you can read the catalog at http://www.panix.com/~grape/ .
I should admit here and now that occasionally I steal some of the ideas and/or links for columns from people on the punk-list. If they happen to mention something they've found, I'll go and check it out, and if it appeals to me, then I'll let you know about it. One such site is the Live at the Masque page, which has photos and text about all of the early bands from the LA punk scene. You'll find the pages at http://www.wavenet.com/~jenlens/masque/ , and I thank Flesh for the tip, even if he didn't know I was listening.
If you were wondering about punk rock in the state of Alaska, you need wonder no longer. Rex's Stupid Web-Page (http://www.alaska.net/~rextreme/) proves that it does, indeed, exist. Actually, there isn't that much in the way of music here, other than some sound files from a band called Liquid Bandade, but there is a ton of fun stuff to look at and read, including articles from Rex's zine PTBH!. Rex also owns the only punk store in Alaska, so you know he's gotta be hardcore for sticking it out. Enjoy.
I got email from the Rev. Norb the other day (that's right, Norb has an e-mail address now, and NO, I WON'T give it to you, so don't either bother asking (unless of course, Norb gives it in his column, in which case I will feel free to give it to everyone who asks (I guess))), pointing out that I fucked up the web address for the Shredder records web page when I was mentioning columnists web pages a couple issues ago. The actual Shredder page is at http://www.tweekitten.com/shredder/ , not wherever I said it was before.
Okay, the final site for this month is about - you guessed it - food! Bri over at Nervecore is constantly doing stuff that makes me want to mention his pages, and the latest is a nifty vegan recipe database which is searchable by recipe type. It's actually not directly on bri's pages, but instead can be found at the pages of his SO, Kat. She also has a vegan chat area, so if you are looking for good eats, you'll find them as near as http://nervecore.com/kat/vegan/ .
Okay, so that's enough for this month. I hafta go re-read why I shouldn't find a job. I am getting used to all this leisure time (though being broke ain't what it use to be). You can continue to e-mail me at hanford@primenet.com, or write me at PO Box 8059; Santa Cruz, CA 95061. That is all.
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