Wishtank Magazine
The Commons
Regular department material refreshed with each issue
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fiction
The Man with Death in his Eyes
By: Kyle Tierce (aka Dr. Quandary)
We get a dose from the Doctor himself. A piece of fiction: scripted by Quandary, illustrated by Wassell. A couple young men question their adulthood and look for answers in a rugged arena. “One fine day in the middle of the night, two dead boys came out to fight.”
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interview
Peace Boat: A progressive form of travel
By: Astrid Lium
Peace Boat voyages around the world three times every year. While at bay, the 700–1,000 passengers refer to their environment as a “floating peace village.” With an educational curriculum and diverse itinerary, Peace Boat travels Earth in search of cross-cultural understanding. Wishtank takes a look at this NGO’s quarter-century history and interviews two former shipmates.
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visual arts
Banksy Unwrapped: A counter current to modern artistry
By: John Stevens
Bansky is a UK “street artist.” He’s recently “tagged” the wall segregating Israel and Palestine with nine murals. He’s painted a live elephant pink and gold for a Barely Legal exhibit in L.A. and auctioned three of his pieces to Angelina Jolie for a sum total surpassing ₤200,000. Wishtank exhibits some photography of his work and delves into the mental framework of the unidentified artist behind the stencils.
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essay
Ansar Burney: Pakistan’s Angel of God
By: Garrett Heaney
Ansar Burney International has freed over 700,000 wrongly imprisoned men, women and children. His work for human rights has gained Ansar Burney the title “Angel of God” among many Pakistani citizens and he was named an “International Hero” by the U.S. Department of State. Wishtank examines Burney’s work through a selection of stories reported in the international press and news media.
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visual arts
A Convo with GOMAR2, Graffitic Designer
By: Justin Boland
GOMAR2 is the leopard skin on your mom’s steering wheel. The new shoe outside the box. GOMAR2’s heart shaped brain has been nurtured for decades inside of young Michael James. With Dolemite as a father figure and bowling lane bumpers for guidance, GOMAR2 has grown to the man he now is through mere dedication mixed with desperation. We sit down to rap with our new friend and take you out to the train yard.
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essay
Indebtedness and the Possibility of the Gift
By: Dan Briggs
Our philosophy major from Bennington College explores the notion of the gift. What does the exchange of a gift mean to the giver and the recipient? Is altruism a myth? Does a gift bear a degree of obligation and burden that compromises the act of giving? Briggs gives us his personal understanding of the concept of gift giving, and examines the ideas of Marcel Mauss, Jacques Derrida and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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visual arts
The Art of Chase: Remember Who You Are
By: Garrett Heaney
Chase is a piece of work. Only, it’s hard to say exactly what piece that is. He moved to L.A. from Belgium in 1995 and has made a huge mark in the world of street art, graphic design, fashion, music and very soon — film. What impresses us even more than Chase’s immense success is his message of compassion toward his fellow human. Wishtank looks at Chase’s history, philosophy and raps with the artist himself.
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interview
Toubab Krewe: West African sounds from America
By: Garrett Heaney
Toubab Krewe is a group of five musicians from the United States. By citizenship, they are an American band. Their sound, however, is quite foreign and inspired by West African rhythms and instruments. In fact, “toubabou” means foreigner in Bambara, the native language of Mali. Wishtank talks to bassist Dave Pransky about the band’s trip to Mali, the nature of their music and a Sol Harvest Festivus in Vermont.
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essay
From schools to learning communities: A historic shift
By: Dr. Ron Miller
What is a modern education? Dr. Ron Miller will show us why a good answer is outdated. Over the past few decades, an increasing number of thinkers have been wising up to the weakening condition of the public education system and recognizing that its design is a dead model. Miller explores the flawed system, looks at educators who have offered better systems and poses optimism for an unfolding educational revolution.
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fiction
Black Pepper
By: Lee Clay Johnson
Lee Johnson is sitting in Mexico right now, playing jazz for tough looking men and their beautiful looking women. Lee wrote a book of short stories called The Silence We Share and was the Literature Editor of Silo, Bennington College’s journal of art and letters. In “Black Pepper,” Lee projects the voice of a child who is challenged with his older brother’s departure to war. This voice is incredibly strong, honest and compassionate — we appreciate that.
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essay
Yoshiro Nakamatsu, We Salute You
By: Justin Boland
With over 3,000 patents and plans to live to age 144, Dr. NakaMats is well on his way to achieving his goal of 8,000 inventions. He says the key to successful innovation is the freedom of intelligence and would like to see the United States become a more creative world leader. Our Director of Research, Justin Boland, author of Brainsturbator dot com and Skilluminati Research, sheds some light into the creative mind that is Doctor Yoshiro Nakamatsu.
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essay
Sir Salman Rushdie: Literary knight of expression
By: Wythe Marschall
Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses was knighted on June 15. His controversial novel gained Rushdie a fatwa of death from the Ayatollah of Iran. In congratulation of his knighthood, The New York Times likens the protection of free speech to religious acculturation. Bennington College alum Wythe Marschall examines this statement and offers authentic tribute to the author.
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memoir
Volunteers For Peace - Vermont non-profit serving the world
By: Mimi Cheng and Gabriel Rincón-Mora
Volunteers For Peace is a Vermont non-profit organization that sends approximately 3,000 volunteers a year to over 100 countries. A member of UNESCO’s Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service, VFP dedicates service to programs that support education, peace and the environment. Wishtank brings you accounts and photography from two former volunteers who served in Africa and China.
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interview
Words with Wombat — Questions for Quandary
By: Garrett Heaney
The martyr, the trickster, the designated sinner… he’s got a thousand faces but he’s never late for dinner. We talk to lyricist Thirtyseven of Wombaticus Rex about nature, the People’s Republic of Vermont and seeing through the imaginary lines we know as borders. Plus: We sit down for a side interview with Boston producer Doctor Quandary — the second half of the algorhythmic equation.
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essay
The Prickly Mountain Gang: Freedom in architecture
By: Stephen Morris
In 1965 David Sellers and Bill Rienecke, freshly graduated from the Yale School of Architecture, came to Vermont looking to build. The opportunity to build without the restrictions of zoning or planning commissions was attractive to them. The two discovered 450 acres that they were able to buy for $1,000 down apiece. The name came when another architect friend, John Lucas, sat down on a raspberry bush and — ouch!— Prickly Mountain was born.
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visual arts
Lichiban: a borderless beauty of portraits
By: Garrett Heaney
A few months ago we began communicating with the folks over at the Boston-based arts project Simply Outstanding. Steve Osemwenkhae, the founder of that Site, recommended that we contact an artist by the name of Lichiban. Osemwenkhae is a trustworthy-sounding name, so we followed his advice and could not have been more pleased with the gold at the end of the rainbow. We hope you enjoy the wisdom and beauty as much as we have.
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essay
Visions and Ideals: an excerpt from “As a Man Thinketh”
By: James Allen
The object of this essay (the result of meditation and experience) is to stimulate man and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that: “They themselves are makers of themselves.” By virtue of the thoughts which they chose and encourage; that mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.
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fiction
In Christmas Colored Silence
By: Lee Clay Johnson
Last year, Lee Johnson sent us the short story Black Pepper and it blew us away. Written in the unique and honest voice of a young boy whose brother is headed off to Iraq, Black Pepper was the beginning of a journey for this character, who we now know carries the name Hero. We recently received this follow-up to Black Pepper. Big thanks Lee, and congratulations on your acceptance to University of Virginia’s MFA program. They will be as fortunate to have you there as we are to have you in the Wishtank fam.
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essay
The Evolution of the Humanist Manifesto
By: Garrett Heaney
Although much of our literature is humanist in nature, we have never made the clear assertion that we accept the lifestance of humanism. It is important that the Wishtank community maintains an openness in regards to our motivations and principles. With this in mind, this essay will serve as both an educational article on the evolution of humanism, as well as a notice to our readers that Wishtank is, and has always been, a humanist journal.
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essay
Transhumanism (1957)
By: Julian Huxley
As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future. This cosmic self-awareness is being realized in one tiny fragment of the universe —in a few of us human beings. Perhaps it has been realized elsewhere too, through the evolution of conscious living creatures on the planets of other stars. But on this our planet, it has never happened before.
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interview
Douglas Rushkoff Interview
By: Tim Boucher
Wishtank has been a fan of DIY Self Mastery Guru Tim Boucher and media expert Doug Rushkoff for a good while. When we discovered Boucher’s interview with Rushkoff on timboucher.com, we were very happy. When we discovered that Tim had turned the entire contents of his Website over to Creative Commons License, we were blessed. It meant that we could share the conversation, and host it right here for you. We’d like to offer our thanks to Tim for his work in this truly amazing interview.
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interview
Fifth Generation Warfare
By: Garrett Heaney and Justin Boland
About a month ago, Justin Boland, our Director of Research, introduced us to a phrase we had never heard before — Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW). In fact, he dedicated one of our Sister Sites (Skilluminati.com) to its research. When Justin started writing about tactical military manuals, it made me a little nervous. Knowing his heart is good, I decided it would be best if I contacted him for an interview. I think the resulting discussion is a good primer on Fifth Generation Warfare and the direction Skilluminati Research is moving.
The Well
Feature essays updated frequently to hydrate the masses
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mixtape
Wishtank Spring Mix (Tape)
By: Editor's Choice
Gillian Welch
Matt Costa
Jack Johnson
M. Ward
K-os
Mos Def
Jaymay/Dr. Quandary
Otis Redding
The Beatles
Van Morrison
Tinariwen -
mail
Heretics Anonymous Talks Tank
By: Carol Price
Recently, our discussion group, Heretics Anonymous, discussed your two-part essay on mindful living. It was the perfect springboard for the sort of dialogue we aim to generate at our monthly meetings. We discuss philosophical concepts and matters of meaning because these topics rarely arise spontaneously in everyday life. Your essay was rich with important, reflective questions which gave us much to run with: What is the human potential? How does culture influence my decision-making…
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mail
A message from Dan Briggs, Philosopher
By: Dan Briggs
We recently received this mail from our friend Dan Briggs (philosophy author). We wanted to share his ideas and encourage you to write us with any feedback you may have. He poses some important questions that we think you could help us answer. We appreciate interaction of this sort with our readers and authors — consider this an open invitation for dialogue. We will continue to publish your mail through the Editor’s Blog, so know that your voice will be heard.
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essay
Mindful Living
By: Editor
When I left you with the “Five Pages From Fromm” article, I promised an optimistic second part to this series. If you haven’t read that post, you can find it here. If you have, then you know I was discussing both an internal dilemma and an epidemic among the well conditioned citizens of the world. This epidemic is a learned passivity of mind, or — to fulfill my promise of optimism — an absence of mindfulness. Now, I say this perspective is optimistic because an absence, as it is, leaves room and opportunity for fulfillment.
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mail
a message from i’m
By: Editor and i'm
yo man, eyewalls sounds dope, of course, thanks for the invitation. i’ve been wicked busy of late, in the lab, trying to blow the lid off my local street art scene. i’m trying to push my community to make great street art and push it forward, i may have threatened some of the locals, it’s all love but, f*&# em’. a local crew has been posting over my work. why? that’s an excellent question, but who knows. they can’t keep up with me. the more people posting, the better, it just makes me work harder…
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resources
Five pages from Fromm: The Revolution of Hope
By: Editor and Erich Fromm
Humans host the single most developed pieces of cognitive equipment on the planet (i.e. our brains). Why then, do so few know how to operate this equipment to its potential? I’m not taking a shot at the human race, or insinuating something stupid (and false) like “we only use 10% of our brains,” I’m posing a very real question, as to why the majority of Earth’s population fails to live up to its potential, given the advanced nature of our minds. . .
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mixtape
WISHTANK: THE OFFICIAL MIXTAPE
By: Editor's Choice Awards
FREE ALBUM FROM THE REELS OF WISHTANK:
Humpasaur Jones & DJ Squid
Talib Kweli & Madlib
Alaskan Fishermen
Ghostface Killah
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
The Beatles
DJ Multiple Sex Partners
Edan
Dr. Quandary
Algorhythms -
memoir
Love is supreme: An excerpt from the Dalai Lama
By: Editor and Tenzin Gyatso
A few years ago I picked up a book that changed my angle on life for good — i.e. for the better, as well as forever. The book was called An Open Heart: Practicing compassion in everyday life and was written by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th and present Dalai Lama. This was my introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and its embrace of the concept of compassion. I word it like that because this school really holds compassion as the primary motivator in the minds of its students…
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visual arts
Banksy plays in traffic
By: Editor
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today.
I really just wanted to smile today. -
resources
The White Album: What’s it Mean?
By: Editor
Forty years after the Beatles released their White Album, I finally got around to picking up my own copy and adding to the album’s 19-times platinum sales ranking (making it the 10th best selling record in American history). Just kidding… I downloaded it like everybody else this millenium. Regardless, the music defines the word timeless and I fell in love with the album for the second time after watching Across the Universe with friends at the theater this fall ...
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research
RZA, Chess and the HHCF
By: Garrett Heaney
A few days ago, I posted a Blog with links to four Josh Waitzkin interviews and his book The Art of Learning. At the tail end of one of these interviews, Waitzkin talks about RZA and compliments his creative thinking and his chess game. This prompted me to do some digging on RZA as a chess player, and I found some interesting reading materials and a video of RZA, Josh and Adisa Banjoko, founder of the Hip Hop Chess Federation.
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resources
Four Interviews with Josh Waitzkin (think Bobby Fischer)
By: Garrett Heaney
"There’s this wonderful buddhist story, an ancient Indian story, and basically the parable is this: If a man wants to walk across the Earth, and the Earth is covered with thorns, he has two answers, he has two possilbe solutions: He can cover the entire Earth with leather, which will take a lot of time — that’s the external solution — or he can make sandals, that’s the internal solution. And I really believe in making sandals.” — Josh Waitzkin in interview with Ben Mack
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interview
Get it Together (part two)
By: Justin Boland
A few days ago we released an inside conversation between Wisthank‘s Director of Research (Justin Boland, aka Thirtyseven) and myself on the topics of productivity, art and business. I fielded five questions from Boland and promised to publish them here and NOW. We truly can’t thank Justin enough for his resolve as a scholar, and the art that he produces in the field of hip hop. We hope you find value in this dialogue, as we found value in creating it.
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interview
Get it Together (part one)
By: Garrett Heaney
I wanted to publish a conversation I recently had with Justin Boland (Wishtank’s Director of Research) about his productivity as a musician, author and marketing entrepreneur. It turned out that Justin had some questions of his own for me, so we’ll publish that segment of the conversation in part two of this Q&A. Please feel free to join our conversation and send any questions to . We’ll address these in a future mail column.
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research
Victor Axelrod’s Don’t Trip Studio, Antibalas and more
By: Garrett Heaney
Brooklyn’s Victor Axelrod, aka Ticklah (dub reggae producer behind Easy Star All-Stars and keys player for Antibalas Afropop Orchestra) is opening Don’t Trip studio in Brooklyn. The Village Voice published a quality article about the studio that offers a wealth of information on the musicians in Axelrod’s tribe. They suggest “The next great reggae studio may have finally sprung up… in Gowanus.”
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memoir
Humor is a higher cognitive function — Demitri went to Yale
By: Garrett Heaney
Humor is a higher cognitive function. The first time I thought about this was during a staff meeting at Bennington School, a boarding program for troubled youth (where I was a counselor, not a student… surprisingly). The Residential Director told us that we needed to be careful when joking with students. He pointed out that while some children in the school were quick witted, others were not… and others still, were highly medicated and emotionally unstable…
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research
Brainsturbator’s First Birthday
By: Justin Boland
Our sister publication Brainsturbator recently celebrated her first birthday. We find value and grow stronger from the literature produced in this house. We are incredibly lucky to have Justin Boland (a.k.a 37), Brainsturbator’s dedicated author serving as Wishtank’s Director of Research. Check out the Brainsturbator Year-in-Review below, and please familiarize yourselves with this resource.
All materials published on wishtank.org are under the shared copyright protection of Wishtank magazine and the original authors, photographers and artists who created them. For contractual reprint or copy permission, contact Garrett Heaney at editor@wishtank.org. Wishtank likes to share, but looks out for our contributors. ©2007 and beyond