Here’s the original article saved from the Memory Hole.

So I wrote an e-mail. It will probably never be read by anyone who will believe that I am anything but a “tea-bagger” or whatever, but I think it’s an important point to consider for us supposedly enlightened, Obama-voting individuals.

Weapons of Mass Destruction Question:

Do you remember when the Bush Administration dragged us into a war in Iraq because of supposed Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Do you remember the people who highly doubted that? Would you have allowed a blogger to discuss this possibility, or would that have been a “Conspiracy Theory” because it questioned the official story of the powers at be?

I am appalled at your removal of the article written by an American politician that supposedly “promoted” conspiracy theories, yet you so happily posted an article about the dictator of Iran calling 9/11 a “Big Lie” without any thoughtful discussion on the matter… in which Jesse Ventura at least included in his post.

Hypocritical, short-sighted suppression of an article that actually references serious research being conducted is beyond me. Most of America doesn’t know these things are going on (conferences and research all across the world) and relegates “truthers” to back woods, right wing nut jobs. Why can’t we talk about how ALL walks of life are interested in re-investigating the circumstances of 9/11, including college educated, middle class liberal Americans like myself and what I would assume be a large portion of your audience?

Noël

The truth is, there has been so much independent research about 9/11, and so many people have invested so much time and energy trying to rally support for re-investigating. Whether or not the research that has been conducted is perfect or unshakable is beside the point… it’s more of an issue that we can’t even discuss its EXISTENCE in an open, high profile forum.

Iranian Dictators aren’t the only ones questioning the official 9/11 story, though I am sure its a convenient and calculated link to make when you want to paint 9/11 truthers as unreasonable fanatics. Thousands of AMERICAN professionals, including scientists, physicists, engineers, 9/11 Commission committee members, 9/11 victim families, senators, politicians, military leaders, ETC. A nice reference point is available at the site http://911summary.com

Not every one who doesn’t accept the official story agrees with everything “promulgated” by 9/11 truthers, with many people completely disagreeing about many points, including whether or not planes were used at all. THIS IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE INADEQUACY OF THE OFFICIAL REPORT AND INITIAL RESEARCH PUT OUT ABOUT 9/11… This, combined with a recovery of our common senses, intuition, and personal investigation will lead any open minded person wondering… if not out right demanding for an open, transparent, and independent forum to seriously contemplate the circumstances and events.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a term like “TRUTHER” is used pejoratively.

For liberals who banter about the idiots over on the conspiracy camps, PLEASE REMEMBER WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION and THE WAR IN IRAQ… and then pretend, like, it isn’t possible for a poorly funded Bush administration investigation to have been white-washed. Just because it doesn’t align with your convenient party line doesn’t mean it isn’t valid, or just because you can’t quip a witty one-line comment response.

EDIT:

GAWKER aptly points out another “conspiracy theory” promoted on the site and calls Huff on their hypocrisy… though they play it safe with a one-liner of their own.

I just read through the user comments on the Huffington Post… overwhelmingly positive and open compared to the obnoxious zingers that clog the Ahmedinejad article. I am still wondering HOW it got on there to begin with… if not to purposefully cause some sort of reaction when removing it? Is he an official contributing blogger normally?

Whether this was a publicity stunt or a way to attack the movement in a way… I don’t know. I hope it’s the former… I can’t really handle the possible reality of “media being controlled” idea at the moment.

I am seeking submissions for stop motion animation music video as a supplement to my thesis project and I need one roll of film shot by you!
Come again, you say?

I have been doing a year long research project about the material and experiential value of film photography. This project was not about film vs. digital, but about the value and importance of analog photography as an artistic medium that you can touch, handle, experience, and know.

Along with comprehensive research and lots of personal chemical photography/developing, I will be taking negatives and slowly deteriorating them, scanning them in at each step to create a stop motion effect and linking them together for the video. I will be burning, soaking, coloring, and whatever else I can think of.
Please see THIS example I did today:

Also reference a previous music video I did with a similar stop motion process of material manipulation of image: HERE.

I am seeking submissions from anyone, but mostly friends, family, and fellow artists who want to contribute to the overall sense of unique memories converging. If you would like to contribute, and I hope you do, please follow these steps:

1. Take one roll/disposable camera of 35mm film, any type, any expiration (preferably color), and expose it. Any slide film will be processed C-41.
2. E-mail me at animatednegatives@gmail.com to let me know that you are about to…
3. Mail the canister to the below address.

David Jones
attn: Noël Wells
6002 Dunbury
Austin, TX 78723
United States

or if you’re in Austin you can drop it off at the Digital Media Labs at the University of Texas.

4. Include all relevant contact information, including any special notes about your roll of film.
I will pay for developing and will upload OR send you back a CD of scans, whichever you prefer, from your un-distressed photos.

5. Please put film in the mail by MARCH 15th! PLEASE! The sooner, the better.

PLEASE NOTE:
-Limit yourself to one roll of film. I am not a photolab, so don’t take advantage of the free picture development/CDs.
-You will not get your negatives back, so don’t take pictures of your daughter’s wedding.
-By sending in your film, you have agreed to let me use your images for this project and agree to no monetary compensation.
-This is a University of Texas at Austin thesis project for Plan II Liberal Arts supervised under the Radio-TV-Film department.
-Every photographer, whether your images are used or not, will receive credit at the end of the animation or it wil be available in the info section.
-This animation will be sent to a variety of film festivals and will be put online.

What should you take pictures of? Anything really…things you’ve taken pictures of a thousand times! I want EXPERIENCES, MOODS, and MEMORIES. PORTRAITS, of kids, you, your dog, cat, your pretty girlfriend. LANDSCAPES. Your house. The beautiful ditch across the street. PARTIES. SXSW. anything that may be happening within the next few weeks and don’t mind foreiting the actual negs for.
STOP MOTION sequences of 8-12 frames. You running. Doing a pirouette. Something specifically for this!

REMEMBER, PLEASE MAIL BY MARCH 15th.

If you have any questions, e-mail me: animatednegatives@gmail.com or at my flickr address.
Thanks!
Noël

PS: The song is Urgent Serpent Merchant by Watch out for Rockets and you can listen to it at

I’m doing a photography thesis for Plan II, which means that I have to make it all smart and shit, and I don’t really care to. So basically, I haven’t done much but take pictures and outline a bunch of qualities about film history and film as a medium and I’m trying to figure out where to go from there. It may be really lame, and if it is, that will suck. I’m just not good at focusing on anything to really make this worthwhile and pop.

Plans for the semester: Self developing & self printing pictures. That’s not that big of a deal. I want to do some stop motion 16mm… gotta get my hands on that bolex. I want to make two music videos for Watch our for Rockets, an 8mm to the song Loretta off their EP they will be releasing late spring and maybe a 16mm stop motion for a song off Beasts with Heart of Gold. I would love to finish Beard War, but… eh. I don’t know.

We’ll be screening Black Jesus Knocking on March 6th I think at the United States Art Authority, then it will go online. I’m excited about that.

I want to release the Fritzl Babies EP. We have, I don’t know, five songs? Six? Seven? I really want to tour so we have an excuse not to work for two weeks and drive across America, so we have to make these performable too, which is kind of scary and takes more work. I’m not much of a musician but I want to be. We just wrote a song called Three Queens of the Sea and I am singing it in my head right now because I like it. I think we may get an omnichord.

I have three jobs now, which sucks to have so many and be torn around between so many things. I can’t get the energy to do all of them and school and my own life. My happy job is at Enspire Learning doing just a bunch of AV and computer stuff which is cool. I like learning stuff about stuff.

I like these pictures I took last week:

I took tons of film with Monica and I’m going to develop them Caffenol style. I did a test with coffee and not instant coffee grounds, and the pictures were only half developed. Glad I did the test.

FINALLY, I am so obsessed with Weezer right now. It’s so painful. I wake up singing Weezer songs in my head every morning. Why are you so good Weezer? And why are half your albums so horrible?

____________________________________

PS: This happened 10 years ago.. TEN! The episode of Talk Soup aired January 1st 2000. Weird. I’m so old. And still awkward and weird. I still have that shirt. I was really really pissed off about doing this interview; the news anchor sat outside our house trying to convince me to do it for like 20 minutes but it’s really funny now so thank you step father for embarrassing me. Seriously though, 3000 views!

The Fritzl Babies will have an EP out late spring featuring seven songs, each one jam-packed with my off beat pan pounding and filled with allusions to dungeons, gods, and epic fights to the death.

For now, I have uploaded two of our songs for your listening (and if you’re saavy enough I guess downloading)

I Saw the Sky:

Asleep in Cozumo

Things to Make: Cover Art
Things to Do: Drum lessons

Totally inspired by this awesomely bizarre Eartha Kitt video:

I would have loved to have a higher production value, but I’d like to think it’s just delightfully YouTube-y complete with bad green screen and an after effects snow generator.
Also, thanks to Esther’s Follies for letting Dave and I perform this. It’s all for fun.

And my most favoritist picture I’ve taken of Mr. Feeny!!!

Did I mention there was blood and violence?

We’re called The Fritzl Babies. (Yes, as in Josef/Elizabeth Fritzl’s children)
Themes include among the obvious: Make believe, captivity, found instruments, creepy relationships, and children. Influenced by dungeons and darkness.

We have a MySpace (HA!)
And a song (on the myspace)

Now available to play children’s birthday parties!