Message Body: An agent requests your immediate response; transmission located at http://www.reverendcoyote.com – transmit in kind.

- This mail was sent via the anonymous tip form on High Contrast Review http://highcontrastreview.com/anonymous

These images were included in the tip.

What do you make of all this? When we followed the link, we were met by a transmission. A very interesting transmission… I recommend you listen to it. It could be very important.

After you listen, scroll down and if you dare, click on the image slide show, it looks like the one above. The file name is “Psychomantium”. Many people and some scientists believe that if you create a psychomanteum- a dimly lit room, lamps/candles strategically placed behind you as you sit in a chair and stare deeply at your reflection in the mirror (this can go on for hours), you will begin to see past your reflection, into another dimension. Psychomanteums are used by the grieving to contact loved ones who have crossed over. Many psychomanteum users claim to have spoken with their deceased loved ones, resulting in closure and a new found clarity. Others may see visions from the past, present or future. Some hear voices, songs, chants. If you are interested in experiencing a psychomanteum and would like to document your adventure, contact us.

Photo by Shannon Driscoll, High Con Lab Specialist.

Please don’t be alarmed.  Sure, High Contrast Review has been attacked by malicious and really sneaky hackers.  If you know them, please give them up.  Not so we can kill them, however, but instead to buy them lunch.  The result of their petty onslaught was that the site, as it existed, had to be rebuilt almost entirely.  Rather than fix the old design and continue on, however, we took the opportunity to bring in a whole new look altogether, something that in most opinions was long overdue.  Thank you, Hackers.  You little angels.

Despite the fresh paint and shiny bell, this new incarnation of High Contrast Review is still your favorite old-timey artsy spy magazine your mother used to feed you when you were a baby.  Only now it’s slicker, with easier access to even more content.  We didn’t just polish the dashboard or grab one of those little tree shaped air fresheners, no sir.  We began from the inside and before we even touched the look of the site, we took apart the engine and have secret plans already in action that are designed to carry you from a place of boredom and complacency to a frontier filled with art and entertainment.  We have some new staff and a new commitment to keeping the quality of our content High.  If you don’t like what you see, please drop a line and let us know what would actually make you happy.  If you have some writing or a visual series you think would look neat in these rectangles, send it on down.

Beyond the web, there are currently two new print projects in the works – the details of which are so secret that even your new awareness of their existence could put your life in danger.  Shhh.  And we are considering throwing some parties.  See you soon.

-The Editors

This is a response to S. Ray’s recent entry about Augmented Reality and the evolution of human consciousness. Many questions are posed- you are invited to respond to these questions, as public discussion is the festive and appropriate next step.

As information's accessibility increases, does it simplify or complicate our social conectedness? Photo by Mike J. Burke

Augmented Reality has allowed us to modify our individual perspectives of the world. Because of our access to the world via the internet and our cell phones, blackberries, IPhones, etc. we are able to “see” or be connected with the rest of the world in a more intimate manner. As a result, we are able to see the world in a way that I, as many other observers, like to call “global localism”. This phenomenon will forever change a connected individual’s perception.

Not only are we more in tune with local issues and trends in our own towns, we are more in tune with what’s going on around the world on a more local level. We have more access than ever to news, history, trends, and culture in the smallest of villages around the world. On top of that, we can access our own local news from anywhere in the world, as long as there is a phone line or internet connection. It is surprising how accessible phones and internet are. Who isn’t connected these days? A sattelite phone provides a signal from even the most remote of places.

Does this enable us as citizens of the world to all be closer to the same wave length? Is this the telekinesis and telepathy that is realistically possible across cultures so we can be on the same level? Maybe it will allow us to relate to each other on a higher level. For example, look at the current discrimination situation (what a rhyme!) in the U.S. with same sex marriage. Same sex marriage is a regular, accepted idea in many countries around the world. In many places, it would be taboo to forbid it! Our connectedness to the world could enhance social views and quell the unfortunate stigma that many people attach to same sex marriage.

On the contrary, does this make humanity more complex due the profound abundance of information? Does this accessibility create more opinions?

What is it going to be like for the humans who are born in 2010? How are the new technologies (including the technologies that are yet to come) going to shape this generation? I wonder if the next generation of children will miss out on the wonders of building blocks and tree forts; perhaps they will be more intent on connecting with peers, being network-driven. Perhaps this Augmented Reality will forever change the concept of (non-political) socialism.

I know many people who worry that this is a regression, but I believe that it is up to us to treat Augmented Reality as an advancement rather than a regression. We can allow the habit of Augmented Reality to become a vice, or we can use it as a tool to further improve our quality of existence.

We are evolving especially thanks to technological advances and its affect on our access to information. Global consciousness is an ocean that we have merely dipped our toes in. We just need to make sure that we use it as a tool, as opposed to a toy.

Since our inception nearly a year ago, High Contrast has gone through a lot of changes in terms of who we are and what we bring to you. I took a little while the other day and browsed through our archives from past to present to get an idea of the general arc that makes this review whatever it indeed is, and I feel comfortable saying that our content has definitely carried us as far as we are. Exemplary of that is the fact that you are even reading these words. Thank you!

That being said, a lot of emails and phone calls have come in over the last six months suggesting some layout tweaks. And at the same time an equal number of people expressed a certain nostalgia for our look. So, not wanting to throw anybody for a total loop, we have spent the last month developing what you see now. Kind of “same same but different” is we were shooting for. Because content and meaning are key to this project, we were shooting for a way to make it a lot easier for readers to access our the full breadth of our archives and recent articles without having to dig around too much, and at the same time keep our open feel. One of the three laws of performance states that how something occurs to you will dictate how you preform. So, we want to occur in a way which helps you perform the thought acrobatics you most desire. If you have any ideas on how we could make it smoother or more, well, more whatever you want to see when you come here, please write a comment or shoot an email.

In this fall wind, when things are pulled to the air, you can have a gift if you simply draw a deep breath of it and meditate briefly on your true identity. That which withstands any antagonism, doubt or sudden change. That which stays with you even in the storm.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to a brother, a poet and an old friend who passed away last week. He had agreed to submit a batch of poems for the review, and when a week went by without a word, I knew something was off. We all age a little quicker now Cameron. A moment of silence please, hats off.

…

Now onward through the storm. -SK

Illustrator & graphic novelist Theo Ellsworth submitted this rendition of a portrait of drunkboarder Ben Wilson the other day.  If you have a great idea for a High Contrast Review ad, or a portrait of an other agent, please send it to us.  In the mean time, check out more of Theo’s work and writing at his brand spankin’ new website, the Thought Cloud Factory.

East Berlin Kiss. Photo: SK

There is a man who busks in Bra, Italy with his violin. Two musician friends questioned him to see if he makes any money because they were thinking of doing something similar. The man claimed that he made around 800 Euros a month through his street music, which comes as a surprise considering that he does not actually know how to play the violin. Seriously.

He practices tuning it, or simply plays the same two notes in alteration to no apparent rhythm, often without any resin on the bow. He has also been seen strumming one A minor bar chord on the guitar for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. And he is a success.

During the month of August, the majority of High Con’s staff will be out on assignment, gathering material, or on vacation to New England, London, China, or elsewhere. But do not fret, we have arranged for a solid lineup to run in our absence, notably a pair of historical documents on loan from the Kern Valley Transients’ Entity, a photo essay on a wheelbarrow tour of the Netherlands, & a tasty recipe for Elderberry Cake. Caroline McCarty will serve as the acting Chief Editor, & all submissions for the month of August may be directed to her.

There are also times when the man simply sits with his violin on his lap and does not play. The world goes on just the same.