Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

http://zitatheaerialist.com

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id=1602 w=320 h=240 float=left]Who: Monster Art and  Clothing in Ballard
What: http://www.monsterartandclothing.com
When: Saturday, Nov 14, 6:30 to 9:30
Where: 5000 20th Ave NW, Ballard

I’ll be performing aerial in this awesome little clothing and art store for the Ballard Art Walk, Saturday Nov 14.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

Last Chance! Sunday Nov 1 is the last evening I will be performing at Pink Door this year (as well as being the day before my 30th birthday)!

A recent review on Yelp commented “And then there’s the trapeze artist. I don’t know which was more impressive: her skillfulness, her costume, or just the fact that a restaurant would have such a thing with which to entertain the dining guests.  Very cool!”

My 3 Remaining Pink Door dates are:
Sunday October 25,
Monday October 26th
Sunday Nov 1.

[singlepic id=1596 w=250 float=left]Who: Zita at The Pink Door
What: http://www.thepinkdoor.net/
When: Mondays evenings, 6-9pm
Where: 1919 Post Alley, Pike Place Market

Treat yourself to a lovely meal and come see me strut my tailfeathers in the dining room of the famous Pink Door restaurant in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Reservations strongly recommended, ’cause this place is effin tasty, people.

This is a rare opportunity to see aerial performance in an intimate, close setting, simply for the cost of an amazing meal. Don’t miss out.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

I am on the weirdest schedule now. My feet are puffy and sore. My face is angry from 12+ hours in makeup for days on end. I need about 4 massages to work this weirdness out, and I keep tricking out my jaw when I yawn. I have about 17 projects to catch up on and no end in sight to the onslaught of new ones.  Ah, the glamorous life.

The super-secret shoot I’ve been working on since Sunday was worth it, however.  Even the day I plowed through a 5:30am call, 12 production hours and high tailed it to Pink Door to do my 4 aerial sets immediately thereafter. The best part I reckon are the loads of amazing, lovely and talented people I’ve added to my list of acquaintances. That tends to be a heartening occurrence for me. The food was a close second. They fed us very well, and there is a lot to be said for taking care of your people like that.

I’m listening to Cat Power and prepping for the days ahead, so scheduled and packed I’m not really sure how I’m planning to get it all done and stay standing. I always do somehow, and often get it all done and more, so I’ll just trust that I know what I’m doing somewhere and press on. It was nice to go filterless for a while on a project I wasn’t in charge of – now, though, it’s back to the measured responses of an Executive Director. I think that takes the most work of all, some days.

I’m almost 30.

Take care of you’s, people.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

Glass bottle candle holders

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id=1589 w=320 h=240 float=center]

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W.A.S.T.E.? - Week 5

I’m having to pan out quite a bit more to fit it all now, and I’m about on the track I thought I would be. My water bottle, containers for restaurant leftovers and heightened awareness have been making a huge difference in what I bring home with me. I’ve been very diligent about bringing home my trash from Qliance as well, though that won’t be as much of a concern now that I will be working from home again. *sigh*

Partially because of this project, I am eating out a lot less too. Generally when I’m hungry I will hit a produce section instead.

Even switching back to loose leaf tea has improved my waste output – and my quality of life. It’s such a more savory experience to make myself tea in the mornings or offer it to a guest.

During our Vita Arts meeting last week, we came up with the idea to use most of these plastic bottles as funnels for a project we’re doing – making juggling balls. Perfect.

I am thinking to glue all the layers of flattened cardboard waste together into a canvas.

Any other ideas on how to reuse this stuff?

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

My dad sent this along to me, I thought it was pretty spiffy.

—-                                                                           
                                                                            
 Dear Tech Support,                                                        
                                                                           
 Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and I noticed a    
 distinct slowdown in the overall system performance, particularly in the  
 flower and jewellery applications, which operated flawlessly under        
 Boyfriend 5.0.                                                            
                                                                           
 In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as
 Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable    
 programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.                     
                                                                           
 Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the 
 system.                                                                   
                                                                           
 Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems,  
 but to no avail.                                                          
                                                                           
 What can I do?                                                            
                                                                           
 Signed,                                                                   
                                                                           
 Desperate                                                                 
 ________________________________________                                  
                                                                           
 DEAR DESPERATE,                                                           
                                                                           
 First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while     
 Husband 1.0 is an operating system.                                       
                                                                           
 Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears   
 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application
 works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the          
 applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.                                 
                                                                           
 However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 
 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Please note 
 that Beer 6. 1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and   
 Snoring Loudly Beta.                                                      
                                                                           
 Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 
 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of  
 all your system resources.)                                               
                                                                           
 In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program.
 These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.            
                                                                           
 In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited      
 memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider      
 buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend
 Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.                                         
                                                                           
 Tech Support

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

I am turning 30. I am having a party. Are you confident I would not want to burn the house down upon your arrival, considering my guests collateral damage for wiping you off the planet? Then request an invitation from the facebook event to RSVP!

In addition, back by popular demand because you asked for it… wishlist for my 30th. See you guys on Nov 2.

Stuff I like..

• Lunches
• Massages
• Baths
• Tea (decaf or low caf)
• Travel
• Essential oils
• Art Supplies
• Music
• Gift Certificates
• Tall socks
• Lacy things
• Candles
• Blank greeting cards
• Handmade things
• Corsets
• Dark Chocolate

Stuff that’s crossed my mind recently…

• Donate to http://vita-arts.org
• I would really like to be able to see a friend play Carnegie Hall on Oct 24. If you’ve got airline miles, I got a use for them.
• UPDATE: I have chosen my ‘warm climate’ destination – Thailand. I’d like to go there to teach English to children for two weeks. The Cost is $550, plus airfare (~$1200).
• Plan a crazy awesome party for me Monday Nov 2.
• Allow my cat to come and go as she pleases http://www.moorepet-petdoors.com/Ideal-LCF-Window-Inserts-s/165.htm
• Swan #40 from Scott Radke – I <3 that man and his awesome wife so much. http://www.scottradke.com/12swan40.html
• Save my music and digital art from being wiped out again http://www.nextag.com/1-tb-external-drive/search-html
• I should probably have performers insurance…  ($200 per year) http://www.specialtyinsuranceagency.com/performer-insurance.html
• Aziz, lights! http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c07/p0701-14.php
• Would be awesome not to have to set my camera on a table or stack of books http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c11/p11-09.php
• Magnetic 6-Jar Spice Rack, from bed bath and beyond
• Herbal Infusions http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Products/Tea-of-the-Month-Club/Tea-of-the-Month-Club-6-Month-Subscription.axd
• Awesome tins http://www.teavana.com/The-Teas/Tea-Gifts/Tea-Lovers-Tea-Gift-Collection.axd?cm_sp=Recos-_-ProductPage-_-EGS%20TE%20LOVERS%2009
• Like this store http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Gift+Certificate
• Pleasink to be helping me pick up cat fur http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3203440
• A real camera with interchangeable lenses http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17499

A word about Money…

Money is a social necessity that becomes less and less of a priority as I age and develop my sense of what I find important in my life. I make very little, and generally do not have much left over after my modest monthly bills. One of my largest projects is a volunteer position as a founder of a non-profit, and often my performances are unpaid – I have chosen to do what fuels me, and have worked hard to reduce my financial footprint to where I can live how I want and not have to worry (too much) about making a lot of money or making my decisions based on that.

That said, money is a great gift for me. There are things I enjoy and/or would benefit greatly from that are difficult to acquire by means of trade or barter, and money is as versatile as my interests at the time. There is a stigma about money being a cop out gift, and in some respects I can see why. However, for me, money is great. I can use it to stroll the produce section and get my food for the day,  shoot myself into space, go see a movie with you, get some new paint colors, or pad the bank account for vita-arts.org. Neat stuff!

So if you’re stumped, strapped for time, across the country or whatever and a simple ‘happy birthday’ doesn’t float your boat, just send me a fatass check. I’ll totally dig it, and promise I will do something cool with it.

Here’s to making it this far!

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id=1584 w=320 h=240 float=left]A few weeks ago, Bev and I modeled for David Peterman, a photographer who is pursuing an interesting self censorship photo project. The idea behind the project is to give people the opportunity to censor themselves how they wish to, and to eventually create a print project of some sort. The “Censored” bars range from sad to ridiculous.

My view on the project is more political/social than the site, http://theyareonlypixels.com, talks about. I like how open ended the project is from the photographers point of view, it’s nice to see someone doing a community project for the sake of allowing others to express what they’d like out of it, rather than saying “This is meant to tell all the nude haters to screw off” or the like.

Strange. I just got deja vu.

[singlepic id=1585 w=320 h=240 float=center]

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id=1594 w=250 float=left]

Who: Myself and Dyno performing aerial throughout the evening
What: Flying House Productions: Just Art auction
When: Friday, September 25 from 6:00 to 10:00pm
Where: Fremont Studios, 155 N. 35th Street in Seattle

Tickets $75, at http://flyinghouse.org/specialevents/justartticket.asp

Elegant glass sculptures. Vivid watercolors. Oil on canvas. Stunning photographs. Delicate iron and wood carvings.

[singlepic id=1590 w=250 float=right]The silent and live auctions feature exquisite pieces by some of the Pacific Northwest’s premier talents, as well as pieces by gifted up-and-comers who have not shown in galleries or other usual venues. Proceeds benefit the Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus and the contributing artists receive 20 percent of the selling price of their work.

For more information on how to donate contact Murray McKay at murraym@flyinghouse.org or 206.388.1413.

The event will include one LIVE and two silent auctions, hosted cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and entertainment by Seattle’s best Burlesque and Circus performers.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id="1583" w="500"]

What: Circus of Dreams Guild (http://www.circusofdreams.org/) is a Children’s non-profit organization dedicated to bringing hope and joy to children with brain tumors.

When: I will be performing in the adult evening show Friday Sept 18th, 8pm ($25)

Where: Allen Theater at ACT Theater

Please join us on September 18, 2009 for the second annual Circus of Dreams benefit. This event features stunning performances by a collective of well known Seattle-area aerialists showcasing a variety of aerial arts including aerial hoops, silks, trapeze, and other amazing talent.

There will be three shows- an all ages evening show on Friday, September 18th ($25) and TWO Children’s matinees at 1PM and 4PM on Saturday, September 19th ($20 full/adult, $10 discount/child). Tickets are available at https://www.acttheatre.org/TicketsPlays/Play.aspx?prod=2337. Please note that the $10 child rate won’t be visible until the ‘checkout’ screen.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

So far, I have started carrying my water bottle around again, and am noticing that while TJ’s is a great deal, I’m not so keen on the packaging that their produce comes in.

On the lookout for a wide-mouthed metal bottle, so I can get smoothies and such put in it. Oh, and I am still trying to remember that I carry a tupperware for leftovers at restaurants. I am cringing from that styrofoam container from the indian place. Ugh.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

http://neevita.net/mp3mixs/20090910.m3u

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Carnival
Pink Martini – Que Sera Sera
Husky Rescue – New Light of Tomorrow
IAMX – Running
A Perfect Circle – Peace Love and Understanding
IAMX – Spit it Out
Waldeck – Fallen Angel
Inbar Bakal – The Bride
Peace Orchestra – Who Am I?
T.A.T.U. – How Soon is Now?
Naomi – White
Pink Martini – Veronique
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man – Romance
Electric President – Bright Mouths
Barcelona – Please Don’t Go
IAMX – This Will Make You Love Again

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

I suspect simply embarking on this experiment will produce an immediate decline in the waste I produce.

I’ve had it with consumerism, yet I’m neck deep in it. I’ve had it with plastic bottles, wrappers, packaging, waste. It pisses me off. It’s unnecessary. It bugs me. A lot. And it’s done so for a long time. I’ve been noticing again. From Sara’s glass jar that she takes to the smoothie place to get filled instead of a Styrofoam one, to the bag I saw on set today, I’m noticing what these things are saying.

Hilarious. And true.

I’ve got like 4 of those kinds of canvas bags around here and can’t recall one time I thought to take one with me to the store. Perhaps if mine said what this one does… (To be fair, most of the time I put my groceries in my backpack, which was full today when i went shopping. But still.)

I feel like a raging tool every time I take my garbage out and sort all the recyclables, and see how much stuff I’m still generating. As it should be. I’ve supposed that because i dont bag each piece of my produce in 17 different bags I’m like, better than people who do or something – meanwhile each cup of tea I drink has a wrapper associated, every smoothie I drink has a cup I toss, I have vitamin water bottles all over the place, I buy stuff in boxes and wrappers all the time…

Thankfully though, I don’t think about it often – perhaps once a week when I take out my trash, sometimes 2 weeks if I’m really conscious and careful. But maybe I shouldn’t be thanking myself for that. Maybe I should be embracing my wastefulness full hilt and welcoming what a hypocrite I am.

In a rush to get to work and need something quick, someone else bought it for me, I’ll reuse it a couple times – All things I say to rationalize the bottles, wrappers, plastic bowls and other random shit I throw away on a regular basis. Recycling is still close enough to garbage to urk me. It’s an energy and resource suck that I initiate with my thoughtlessness and being lazy, that just doesn’t need to happen.

I’ve decided to live with all of my trash (sans yard waste, which we already compost and reuse), for two months — 2 weeks longer than it takes to form a habit. The effort is to document the process, and in the end, form better consumer habits based on the experience. I’m focusing mainly on things like vitamin water bottles and single serving packaging, grocery bags and other such things.

I want to see how much of this stuff I really contribute to our world. I just went and fished all packaging I could find here from the last week or so out of the trash and collected the various bottles from around my room.

I kept a few things I know are older to balance out the stuff I know I don’t have, like some clifbar wrappers and at least one paper to-go carton from my Pink Door gig last Sunday. I’m calling my official start date Sept 1. From now until Nov 1, the day before my 30th birthday, I will pack-out all of my consumer packaging waste and bring it home with me. If you’re someone who’s chosen a lifestyle that includes creative ways to be conscious of waste, I’d love to hear your advice.

Week 1 - sans the 4 plastic bags I forgot to put in the photo.

Looking at the word brought an acronym to mind – Why Always Soil The Environment? I hereby dub thee, the W.A.S.T.E. project.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

http://www.hackernews.com/?p=303

Send feedback and story ideas to courtnee@hackernews.com

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id=1580 w=320 h=240 float=left] Woke up at 8 to an email, got an idea, spent an hour and a half.. and viola! The elusive and mythical HNN t-shirt, courtesy of my Singer Quantum – not meant to embroider.. but, who is?

And then the rest of the day, I installed some dreads I’ve been making on Becky, and watched a lot of movies. Big Fish, Son of Rambo, Lucky Number Sleven, The Three Amigos and Snatch.  We also drank way too much tequila. Anyway – PICTURES..

[nggtags gallery=becky]

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My baby dreads, without extensions. Just took them out tonight.

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[singlepic id=1572 w=320 h=240 float=left] Been super into sewing lately. I’ve had a machine for quite a few years but rarely used it. In the last two weeks I’ve broken all 4 of the sewing needles I had laying around here, and spent countless hours/dollars on projects. Mostly costumes. And there’s a fair bit more to go in that department.

Here’s a picture of the long brainstormed light aerial costume, allbeit a terrible one with some really bad photoshop on the background. This is more of a perchy costume, it has little bits on it that would get mangled pretty easily. The bodice is almost completely converted, and upside down. My friend Sara Sparrow made me the shorts from a shirt I had, and the cute veil. I’m finishing up my dark version but am having issues with the bodice collapsing, so no pictures yet. If you want to see that one, come to the Pink Door when I’m performing. :)

[singlepic id=1573 w=320 h=240 float=right] Also got some dread action going on. One of my coworkers wants dreads, and ordered some from me just before I moved. This friday is the install. Woo!Need about 10 more dark ones and it’ll be done.

In other news – I have a real bed again! Like, with a head/foot board and everything. The last time I had more than a frame, I was 6, and I’ve only had a mattress for about 2 years now, so I could prop the bed up to set up a massage table. I’m enjoying nesting.

Hm. both of these pictures are pretty awful quality. I wonder if my lens is dirty or something..

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

I’ve been trying to say “yes” more when opportunities come my way, partially to get out of my funk and partially because it’s adventurous and kinda the only way to live, really. I met some cool cats at my Pink Door gig last Sunday, and they invited me to come out and try climbing once for free. So, of course, I said “yes!”.

[singlepic id=1562 w=320 h=240 float=left]

I went on wednesday, up in ballard at Stone Gardens. It was really fun, and challenging for me. Much harder on my forearms and hands than I expected. They are still quite tired and cramping now and again.

I’m not sure how much I will continue to go, but it was enjoyable. I am getting better about enjoying doing things I’m not actually good at, but it still helps to catch on quickly, which I did.

I kinda look like a freakin spider or something. :)

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[singlepic id=1564 w=320 h=240 float=right] Inspired by Sara Olson, costume and clothing muse, I spent a couple hours tonight converting some pantaloon things I got at Value Village for $2 into cuteass pants.

The crotch of these were originally way too low, and the lace hems at my ankles. I cut the top off and deconstructed another pair of little shorts which had a white elastic waist to comebine them. To color match I stained the white lace with tea (Bengal Spice bitchez!). They are still kinda damp. :)

They are rad, and crazy comfortable. The seam in the butt is a little off center, and when I try to straighten it the pants wrap around me funny, but I totally don’t give a shit. I am right crap at sewing things, so I’m happy with these.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

This is a super cool concept spearheaded by a very good friend of mine who is doing something similar to what Vita Arts is up to - Tell your friends with kids! The event is seriously undersold and it would be a real shame to let the opportunity go to waste.

Little Red Studio : : Center Stage, or “What’s going on at LRS!”
Source: www.littleredstudioseattle.com

Empowering artistic self-expression….stimulating the senses. This is a chance for kids of all ages to explore creativity in a community of passionate and energetic players. Drop off your child for the day or stay and join in the fun!

Activities will include:
  - Paint dancing and guided drawing
  - Spinning poi and hula hoops
  - Juggling and bubbles
  - Improv skits and theater games
  - Creating tastes at the flavor bar
  - Decorating pinatas
  - Singing songs and drum circles
  - Making new friends

  AND MUCH MORE

Age Restrictions
This event is specifically for solo kids or kids and their parents. Children must be age 6-18. Adults must be at least 19 years of age and accompanied by a child to participate.

Safety Information
For the safety of everyone, this event will be monitored by numerous adults (many of them parents). To drop off your child you will be required to fill out and sign a release form and, if pertinent, an allergy form. If your child has allergies, please bring any necessary medications to the event and be prepared to brief an event coordinator on their use.

Pricing Details
Online prices are available until Sunday, July 26 at 12:00 midnight. After that, prices will increase and tickets must be purchased at the door, where both cash and credit will be accepted. No checks, please. Lunch is included in the ticket price; however, snacks and beverages also can be purchased at the Little Red Bistro.

Child: $20 online / $30 door
Child + Parent: $30 online / $40 door

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

[nggtags gallery=pinkdoor]

Sundays in August, Mondays in September.

The Pink Door
1919 Post Ally
Seattle

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

“No matter how enlightened you are, as long as there are people suffering, you still have plenty of work to do.”

Who: Levity, Chimera, Dyno, Zita, and more fabulous aerial talent!

What: The first fundraising event for Vita Arts, my new non-profit arts organization

Where: Versatile Arts, 7601 Greenwood Ave, Seattle

When: Saturday, July 25, 2009 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Why?

Seems to me, many people spend a long time building their lives into something they can be proud of,  something comfortable for them, in order to be safe to accomplish another something that’s bigger than themselves.

I have done my fair share of struggling, trying different configurations, playing small and dreaming big. Over the last few years, I’ve contemplated what the bigger thing might be, for me. Sure, I sometimes make people happy with my art. I make money helping other people do cool things, I volunteer, and my financial/geographical footprint is about 15% of what it used to be when I worked for Microsoft. I even turn the water off when I brush my teeth most of the time. But what can I REALLY do to make a difference in life?

When it came time for me to serve the world somehow, I found that I wanted to create a non-profit organization to help perpetuate the transformative capabilities inherent in expressing ones self, artistically. To make a space for people to experience the healing opportunities I have had through art in a more tactile, kinesthetic way than I have with my personal offerings of performances, music, paintings and that sort of thing.

I know art saves lives, because it saved mine. I’ve seen the results, and heard the stories of others, about the power of artistic expression to heal and transform. Whether it be from seeing it, appreciating it, facilitating it, being it, creating it, failing at it, living it - I maintain that art has the power to touch absolutely everyone.

I’ve also seen how sharing myself artistically often effects and inspires people to action. How the experience of art opens people up to expressing life, to telling their once-quiet stories through a medium, helping discover courages and strengths we so often convince ourselves we don’t, or can’t, have. How art helps people face their fears, release difficult emotions, grieve, find direction and purpose.

Perhaps most importantly, I have seen how, no matter how bleak and helpless a situation may seem, one small, brave action creates a chain of them. Every time.

It’s never too late to choose to make a difference.

Vita Arts is sharing the power of art with the disadvantaged and transforming lives.

Our performances offer the public a chance to see our skills, and to be moved by the human spirit.  Our shows  also serve to fund and publicize our outreach efforts, working with individuals in small workshops, giving them a chance to experience creating art for themselves, perhaps for the very first time.

We are starting local, with two public performances and a workshop being planned in 2009 alone. We look forward to expanding our efforts in the coming years by collaborating with other organizations (such as disaster relief orgs, loss support groups, and those helping reform the incarcerated) to offer transformative art experiences to the disadvantaged of all ages, around the world.

Come find out more about who we are, what we’re doing,  see a great show, and best of all, help make a difference.

Please note: If you are unable to attend this event and wish to support us, we are gratefully accepting donations. Provisional 501(c)(3) status is in the works, and will backdate once approved for tax deduction purposes. You may send donations to Vita Arts, PO box 20233, Seattle, WA 98102.

Thank you, so much, for your support.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

I feel fortunate and full today. I am going to DEFCON this year. I just received my itinerary from whitetras and it’s official. I’m bringing someone important to me to show him vegas for the first time.

I first went in 1995, when I was 15 and neck deep in linux, drugs and Marlboro Reds, and I’d recently discovered this thing called the web, and frequently picked fights about Slackware being superior to RedHat. I recall, during a recent move, finally throwing away my Slackware 2.7 CD which I had been keeping for posterity.

I went to defcon religiously for a time, my entire social network of people living inside a computer. I didn’t know most of their real names. I spent night after late night online tinkering, listening to music for the jilted generation (come to think of it, I think someone I talked to used ‘jilted’ as a handle..) and waiting for the next defcon, so I could see all these people in person again - and hardly remember most of it.

When I got a little older, I started playing with music, and joined mp3.com in 1997. The internet was still like the wild west and we were changing everything. My hacker friends helped me choose my juno 106 (thanks tfish) and hooked me up with equipment to make recording easier (tip of the hat to you whiteknight). After I created my first original song in 1999, on the floor of my living room, juno fresh out of its shipping box, paid for with my job breaking software at Microsoft, I started making a little money with CD sales and streams on mp3.com.

I was interviewed with ABCNews for an article on female hackers, and later about my music being online, based on a recommendation from Jeff Moss, assuring the reporter (Sascha, another person I’ve kept in touch with) I was definitely not a scene whore. I’m not sure how accurate that assurance was, but it sure felt good at the time. I still boast that Jeff pierced my navel, under mild duress in my studio apartment, sometime in 1999. That sounds pretty scene whorish to me, but who am I to say. Maybe we were just, you know.. friends.

Countless things have happened since my first defcon, and my introduction to the hacker community. My first website complete with a blue satin background and ripped off animated fire gifs was created in 1995, hosting a splattering of terrible teenage poetry. In 1997, Lars from the IRC channel #suicide sent me a black and white quickcam, and the neecam was put online, one of the first webcams during the era of Jennicam and Anacam, both of which were more popular, active and racy.

I’ve occasionally contemplated what my life would have been like had I never discovered the internet and been part of a revolution. I can’t fathom it. I can’t fathom how I could have possibly found another pool of socially awkward, skinny, pale, wide-eyed geniuses to have sloppy, dysfunctional teenage relationships with either. One of many reasons I am very thankful that my life turned out how it did.

I happened upon this awesome article about some of my friends. The L0pht is a fine example of what’s happened with this culture of misfits and criminals, but this is something that’s happened all over the landscape we built 10 years ago and long before that. I remember writing a rant about the difference between the hackers, my friends, and the script kids that were getting all the bad press, writing worms and breaking websites for attention. The hackers meant for what’s described in this article to happen from the beginning. They were out to change the world.

LOpht in Transition
04/01/2007
Michael Fitzgerald/CSO
http://www.csoonline.com/read/040107/fea_lopht.html

Brian Oblivion. Kingpin. Mudge. Space Rogue. Stefan von Neumann. Tan. Weld Pond. That’s how the hacker group called the L0pht appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on Government Cybersecurity on May 19, 1998. They said, among other things, that they could take down the Internet in 30 minutes. The senators listened closely and afterward praised them effusively.

It was a landmark moment for hackers, shunned, derided and loathed by the technology industry. And it was a landmark for the L0pht too. Though the group was already known for its vulnerability disclosures, for the Hacker News Network, for tools like the hash cracking tool L0phtCrack, now “everybody [in the hacking community] wanted to be the L0pht,” remembers Jeff Moss, founder of the Black Hat and Defcon security conferences.

Not bad for a group that got its start when someone’s wife said it was time to get his computers out of the bathtub.

The L0pht shaped the way disclosures are handled and helped force vendors like Microsoft to change the way they address software security flaws. There’s no question, either, that by raising the visibility of security problems, the group spurred companies to begin paying more attention to security. “You knew you’d better rattle your own doorknobs before the hackers did,” says John Pescatore, a longtime information security analyst at Gartner.

Some think, though, that visibility has hurt software security. “They were the Led Zeppelin of gray hat hacking,” says Marcus Ranum, who is credited with creating the first commercial firewall product and is now CSO at Tenable Network Security. “By releasing gray hat tools and techniques they were able to get a tremendous amount of attention. And they opened the floodgates for all the bottom feeders that followed them.”

Ironically, it was Ranum himself who helped give the L0pht credibility. As CEO of NFR, which made software to find intruders on corporate networks, Ranum used the L0pht’s vulnerability research to strengthen his product, and hired the L0pht both to do a code review and to write modules for his product, giving the group a legitimate corporate client to tout. He says he considers the L0pht members his friends and says they are “great guys.” But he thinks those who have followed them find vulnerabilities almost as a way to blackmail corporations. He blames the L0pht, saying, “They have changed the industry for the worse.”

Nothing in the L0pht’s emergence from Boston’s bulletin board community in 1992 suggested it would achieve any more notoriety than other hacker collectives of the day. Brian Oblivion, a hacker with strong interests in radio communications, founded the group. Oblivion declined to be interviewed for this article, saying via Space Rogue that he was too busy. Chris Wysopal, who joined the L0pht in late 1992 as Weld Pond (a handle chosen by pointing at random at a map of the Boston area, because the bulletin board The Works forbade members to use real names), says that Oblivion “had so many computers in the bathroom that his wife couldn’t use it anymore.” She gave the group space in the South End artist’s loft where she made hats. And for several years, the L0pht was just a place for Oblivion and his friends to hang out after work and store their growing collection of computing equipment.

Among those friends were Space Rogue and a teenage hacker and skateboarder named Joe Grand, who went by the handle Kingpin (named for the bolt that runs through the truck, or axle, of a skateboard).

Grand calls from the road. He’s often on the road, literally—he is a triathlete good enough to have a sponsor. He’s 31 now and runs his own San Diego design shop, Grand Idea Studio, which has designed RFID and GPS modules for Parallax, an in-game videocamera for Gamecaster, and his best design yet, a video game accessory that he has licensed but can’t talk about.

Grand, an electrical engineer, has also written two books on hardware hacking and is a technical adviser to Make magazine. If all goes well with a pilot he’s recently shot, this fall we’ll see him on an engineering show on the Discovery Channel. Yet he’s nostalgic about the L0pht.

“I’m having a really hard time with realizing that I’m twice as old as when I joined the L0pht,” he says. “We did so many great things—what can I do to top that?”

The L0pht originally built a network so they could play Doom against each other. But they got more serious in 1994 and 1995, shedding some members and adding others with specific technical skills that complemented the group. They moved to a larger space in Watertown, Mass.

Excepting Grand, who was still in high school, all of the L0pht held various day jobs, often working together at places like Comp­USA, Massachusetts General Hospital or BBN Technologies, the fabled research lab (Weld Pond, Brian Oblivion, Mudge and Silicosis all worked there at some point). They kept their identities hidden, in part to keep their day jobs. Everyone in the hacking community knew Dan Farmer had been fired from his job for releasing the Satan network analyzer. But the group wanted to turn the L0pht into a day job.

The charismatic, long-tressed Peiter “Mudge” Zatko had emerged as the group’s public face, if not its de facto leader. He developed, along with Wysopal, L0phtCrack, a tool that revealed weak passwords. Released in 1997, it’s still available on some websites today. “Back then, the companies would pretend [vulnerabilities] weren’t real,” says Bruce Schneier, the noted cryptographer and CTO of BT Counterpane. Schneier says the L0pht’s ability to build tools like L0phtCrack forced vendors to address security problems. “That’s the reason we have more secure software today. If it wasn’t for that, Microsoft would still be belittling, insulting and suing researchers,” he says.

By late 1998, the L0pht was actively trying to attract venture capital and turn itself into a real business—it had pushed out Stefan von Neumann and a couple of other short-lived members, and hired Christien Rioux (known as Dildog) and Paul Nash (known as Silicosis) to support L0phtCrack and do custom work for companies like NFR. The L0pht was not the first group of hackers to offer professional services or tools, but even in the giddy late 1990s, hackers still had an unsavory reputation. Finally, @stake, a security consulting firm, came to the group with $10 million in VC money and told the L0pht it could continue its research. The members voted to join it.

Even so, that merger, announced Jan. 10, 2000, marked the symbolic end of the L0pht. Over the next few years, its members were fired or drifted away, and @stake itself was gobbled up by Symantec in 2004. The only member of the L0pht still there is Nash. The transition was particularly difficult for Zatko, who spent six months on disability and left @stake after just two years.

Today, Zatko’s office at BBN is a rest area for sundry things. There’s a dead computer on a chair, and a working circa-1940s polygraph machine on a table. In a corner are two fishing rods and an antenna, part of an impromptu communications experiment. There’s a guitar signed by one-time porn stars Barbara Dare and Jamie Summers. A bound copy of the L0pht’s testimony in front of the Senate is on a shelf. On one wall hangs a picture of him with President Bill Clinton and Vinton Cerf, in which Zatko’s light brown hair is still rock-star length. It’s short now, parted in the middle. He has a goatee and wears glasses. He’s sore from a boxing workout the night before, a reminder that he’s in his late 30s.

Zatko says he can’t talk about what he does at BBN, other than to say it’s security-related and for some unmentionable three-lettered government agencies. He also says he returned to BBN, which employed him in the 1990s, before the L0pht was his job, in part because BBN told him there could be no publicity about the projects he was working on. “That was attractive as hell,” he says.

But Zatko can’t seem to stay out of the spotlight. He is the obvious model for “Soxster,” one of the main characters in former cyberczar Richard A. Clarke’s new novel, Breakpoint (the L0pht itself appears as “the Dugout”). And he acknowledges that he still “wants to make a dent in the universe,” the old motto of the L0pht.

After an hour of talking about the L0pht, Zatko suggests a tour of the older parts of the BBN laboratory in Cambridge, dating from when it was an acoustics consultancy. He shows off the silent room, the amplification room, the sonar tank, the place where it developed Boomerang—a technology being used in Iraq to help find snipers—and he talks about how much he likes the variety of the cool ideas BBN pursues.

“Originally, the L0pht was meant as a microcosm of here,” he says, with a wistful expression.

The spirit of the L0pht lives on most directly at Veracode, the security software company started by Wysopal and Rioux after they left Symantec in 2005. The company launched at the RSA Security Conference in February.

Wysopal post-L0pht helped codify responsible disclosure policies and establish the Organization of Internet Safety, and while starting Veracode he also managed to be lead author of The Art of Software Security Testing, published in December 2006.

Wysopal, at a rangy 6 foot 2 inches, was the tallest member of the L0pht and the oldest (he’s now 41). Rioux (whose handle Dildog was the original name Dilbert creator Scott Adams gave to Dogbert) was the shortest and youngest (now 29).

In early January, sitting in the conference room at Veracode, the two play Click-and-Clack about their time at the L0pht, and the purpose of Veracode, which in a real sense extends the L0pht’s mission: to make software more secure, in this case by offering a Web-based service that automatically checks software for security flaws, via a clever—and patented—technique for data flow modeling and modeling control flow analysis developed by Rioux.

Told of Ranum’s comments, Rioux makes a slight grimace. “The days are over when we should be flinging mud over the Internet about vulnerabilities,” he says.

Veracode has pulled in $19.5 million in capital from Polaris Venture Partners, Atlas Venture and .406 Ventures. While it has competitors, such as Coverity, Fortify and Ounce Labs, Veracode’s approach is “a cool spin” on existing security technology, according to Gartner’s Pescatore.

Both Wysopal and Rioux believe Veracode is ready to sharply reduce the world’s total number of software vulnerabilities.

The L0pht, then, are all now unquestionably legitimate, and their evolution serves as a metaphor for the security business, which is now mainstream. Companies like Microsoft and Oracle have developed methods to take care of vulnerabilities, and the L0pht deserves some credit for that turn of events. While the disclosure wars are again raging, thanks to bug-a-day campaigns and other ploys by the hackers of today, the L0pht’s overall impact on corporate security has been positive, say many, including Howard Schmidt, who knew the L0pht both in his role as a computer forensics investigator at the Air Force and as CSO at Microsoft.

Still, some vendors continue to try to shove security issues under the rug, and there is no question that more of the Internet is under attack today than ever before. So what of that?

Peter Neumann (no relation to the L0pht’s Stefan von Neumann) is 74 and still a principal scientist at SRI, working on security issues. He also testified before the Senate subcommittee on that day in May 1998. He says security vulnerabilities are a part of a much bigger set of problems that have existed for 40 years and probably will exist 40 years from now. But he chuckles when asked about the L0pht, saying, “They were pointing out that the emperor has no clothes on, and nobody wants to hear that, but they did it in a tasteful way that made people listen. They made a difference.”

I’m so very proud of my friends, and feel fortunate today to have had these people in my life as examples. Hell, just today I discovered a hacker friend of mine, Josh Klein (who I met after handles weren’t quite so important to ones safety, so I don’t know his) was not only the speaker in a TED talk, some of the most amazing presentations on the planet, but was in Oprah fucking magazine talking about his passions and experiments. My peeps are DOING something.

I, too, am out there doing my part to make a dent in the universe. I support a company I believe in as I make my base living to earn the stable springboard life situation I’ve built to do my more risky work. I’ve found a way to channel my compulsion to express and tell vivid stories, and the skills I’ve picked up along the way, toward a non-profit that matters. I have done some meaningful things, and I am growing, expanding, discovering new routes and possibilities nearly every day. I’ve come a long way from the girl who was found passed out under a van before defcon 6 had even started.

For a time, I wondered if my life choices, and the people I spent time with, were the reason I seemed so fucked up and constantly struggling. I wonder 15 years later, if they’re a part of the reason that, right now, I’m not.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

Who: I will be playing an aerial siren as part of a beautiful love story
What: The aquamarine show at LRS
When: July 18, 9pm and Aug 15, 9pm
Where: Little Red Studio, 400 Dexter Ave N

Tickets can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets or reserved

by calling (206) 328-4758

Join us as Little Red Studio explores the exotic underwater experience of The Aquamarine Show! This summer we will transform our sumptuous theater into a wet, sensual oasis, complete with mermaids, nymphs, sailors and pirates. Come dive into one of the most alluring elements on earth, Water. Lets splash around together in this world of sensory profusion, relaxation, healing, and spiritual reconnection.

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

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I’ll be stylin’ when we blow up the world. Assuming of course we happen to blow it up while I’m doing a photo shoot.

Hair by Fiercelocks
MUA/Modeling/Styling by Courtnee Papastathis
Photography by Donald Holman

Originally published at Neevita.net. You can comment here or there.

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