26 July 2011

West Papua

Papua New Guinea in Indonesia is one of the most heterogeneous nations in the world. In a population of less than seven million, there are more than 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies. The majority are from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region from the African continent tens of thousands of years ago. Many remote Papuan tribes still have only marginal contact with the outside world.

It has long been a land of mystery, as it's people were not always welcoming to foreigners. It was only in the 20th century that headhunting and cannibalism were finally outlawed. Much of the interior has never been explored by outsiders.

Infamous anthropologist Margaret Mead did extensive research on primitive societies here whose lifestyles remained largely unchanged since the Stone Age.

Michael Clark Rockefeller, youngest child of NY State Governor and US Vice President, Nelson D. Rockefeller, was lost on a Harvard expedition to study a tribe here, and is thought to have drowned or been killed by natives in West Papua.

It is around the Rockefeller mythos that the story of artist AK Rockefeller originates. The fictitious artist's story is that he and four other of Michael's children were raised in West Papua in a tree house and did little outside the village. In later years, AK studied Western cultures and attempts to reach them today to explain the plight of West Papuans through music.

Indonesia has a terrible human rights record in dealing with the native cultures of the islands. AK Rockefeller gives away his music in hopes that you will join the cause to protect tribesmen from government torture. Learn more at his website.




License for AK Rockefeller's website music: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

This is our second post regarding Indonesian culture this month.

25 July 2011

Are You Living Your Life to the Fullest?


Live your life. Love your life. Help others. Love others.

Two years ago today, the world lost Michelle to leukemia. She was an inspiration and a fighter. Here's hoping her love of life is passed on to all who learn about Michelle.

Before she passed, Michelle's cancer coach asked her to create a video about all of the things that she loved and was proud of in her life. This video was played at the beginning of her funeral service on August 1, 2009.



Thank you to all who joined the bone marrow registry. You can still join via a link at Project Michelle.

This documentary was produced by Lauren Rudser, a graduate student at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Lauren contacted us in September 2008 and was interested in sharing our story through a documentary. We hope it provides a glimpse into the life of patients looking for a donor for a bone marrow transplant.



20 July 2011

Dr. Frankenstein Hits the Waves

Certainly must have promoted Portuguese rockers Dr. Frankenstein before in Blogio. Summertime is such a great time for surf music, so here's a reminder of how great this instrumental surf group is!

Grab the entire album and all the other fantastic free albums from the You Are Not Stealing Records label on their blog or at the Free Music Archive.

Surf's up!

12 July 2011

New from Axial

Brand new free album from Axial (São Paulo, Brazil) just released!

Axial are long-time favorites at Oddio. Axial are Brazilian artists who blend soft vocals, organic sounds, synth beds, and electro glitches with gorgeous results.

License: Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

11 July 2011

William Blake Goes Indonesian

Just in case you have forgotten your history lessions, William Blake (1757 – 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. He was a real revolutionary who lived in the time of the American and French revolutions.

Arrington de Dionyso
has translated selections from Blake into Indonesian and incorporated them into his group's songs. Where else would you expect find William Blake in Indonesian but at WFMU's Free Music Archive? Enjoy!

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) License