http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/jul/25/belgrade-music-serbia-gypsy-techno?page=2

Dancing on the Danube
Belgrade's clubs offer everything from Gypsy folk to Balkan bling, but whichever one you end up in, you're guaranteed a good time
Garth Cartwright
The Guardian, Saturday 25 July 2009
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Pushing the boat out ... Belgrade's waterways are home to cafes, restaurants and clubs on floating rafts called splavovi. Photograph: Image Source/Corbis

Novi Sad Free PlayNovi Sad Free Play Novi Sad Free PlayNovi Sad Free Play: game at the stadium cultureExpeditioners recreating at the site of the proposed Stadium Culture - Centre for Recreation and New Media in Danube park, Novi Sad

At the "End of the World" II: Stop on Danube between Novi Sad and Belgrade.for August 7, 2006; On the Danube, on the shores of Kovilj, 15 km off the highway Novi Sad - Belgrade there is a place called "At the End of the World".

Iz pamfleta kafane:
U koviljskom ritu je i nadaleko poznata čarda "Na kraj sveta" porodice Varenika. Riblja čorba iz kotlića, prženi som, dobro vino i sremački becarac. Ukoliko ste odvažni, možete unajmiti camac i upoznati koviljski rit. [SIC]

That is because the prefix Balkanized has neither a negative nor a positive meaning, it depends on the situation. In sport, culture, food, or self-esteem the general meaning of the Balkans has taken on a positive tone; take basketball or water polo. In fact, Balkanization has a potential as inherently a neutral term, like a Swiss neutralizing machine of difference, but more exciting. It does not necessarily connote a better or worse condition, only a stronger, amplified, enhanced lifestyle. The question is not how much Balkans are going to capitalize on the advance of Europe. The question is to what extent Europe will be able to capitalize on the potential of Balkanization.

Balkanization can be seen both as architecture of politics and architecture of cities. We can learn with Balkanization by mapping emerging difference, borders, islands and pixels. We can turn Balkanization into an architectural strategy as a tool for difference by learning parameters of adaptation and translating them into scripting and software. We can then Balkanize monotonous and ugly corporate architecture and design better working space. We can Balkanize European suburbia by highlighting cracks and building creative borders and islands of exciting lifestyle. We can lower European standards of boredom to make better results and small and beautiful adaptations.

More than anything, Balkanization is a source of difference. Difference is the source of city fragments. It fragments cities into pixels, blurs its borders, makes city islands and makes them grow in parallel speeds. The result is a city of difference against sameness, a city of dynamism against staleness, a field of growth against shrinking. Balkanization’s main product: difference, is what makes it potential as a strategy. We can use it to depict positive effects like the polycentric difference of territory, most notably in the expanding European Union. There are also attempts to use Balkanization in a positive way equating Balkanization with the need for sustenance of a group or society.

If you lose yourself in Europe where fragmentation is a source of fear and instability, find yourself in the experience of the Balkans, where fragmentation is normal. Balkanization used to be seen as hostile, but recent usages of the term show the potential of Balkanization vis-à-vis democracy. Originally negative, its meaning, emerged in response to small scale independence movements in the Balkans, breaking of unity and forcefull fragmentation. The term has also expanded to connote a varied tableau of scenarios involving fragmentation, such as "The Balkanization of the Internet", privatized public knowledge and as the racist: “The Balkanization of America” accusing non-white immigrants of splintering the unity of the US.

If taken positivelly, Balkanization is the source of the funny city. It fragments cities into pixels, blurs its borders, makes city islands and makes them grow in parallel speeds. The result is a city of difference against sameness, a city of dynamism against staleness, a field of growth against shrinking. Balkanization’s main product: difference, is what makes it potential as a strategy. We can use it to depict positive effects like the polycentric difference of territory, most notably in the expanding European Union. There are also attempts to use Balkanization in a positive way equating Balkanization with the need for sustenance of a group or society.

Tasks for the week:
everyone send our mailing lists to Dubi
everyone play around with the website, keep posting!
Respond to people involved in Jan meetings to thank them and get them to post on site. Kyong will write this letter next week.
Srdjan talk to Florian about Vanja's pixellation imagery being used as navigation for website.
Kyong will put in text of LHE ELF and Centrala and any/everyone can edit

Discussion:
Dubravka is central communication coordinator
we all send Dubi our email lists, and she can set up main email list for all mailings etc.

Needs for website content:
letter of invitation