Leonardo Electronic Almanac Discussion (LEAD)
"Wild Nature and Digital Life"
Moderated by Marcus Bastos and Ryan Griffis

This issue, we introduce the "Leonardo Electronic Almanac Discussion" (LEAD) accompanying our "Wild Nature and Digital Life " special. LEAD will have two components, a live chat session with our authors and artists and a moderated discussion list for readers to engage with the special issue authors (see below for access information).

What is the LEA Wild Nature and Digital Life Special?
Guest edited by Dene Grigar and Sue Thomas, the issue features Peter Hasdell, Tara Rodgers, Dave Burraston, Andrew Martin, Jennifer Willet, Adam Gussow, Dr Kathryn Yusoff, Jeremy Hight and Brett Stalbaum. The essays are packaged with a small but powerful gallery of two works, exhibiting Karl Grimes, Elisa Giaccardi, Hal Eden and Gianluca Sabena.

If you miss the chats and forum, fret not, an abridged version of the discussions will be made available with the next issue of LEA.

Chat Schedule:
:: Jeremy Hight & Peter Hasdell - 1 February 2007 @ 1700hrs EST
:: Sue Thomas & Giselle Beiguelman - 29 January 2007 @ 1700hrs EST
:: Jennifer Willet - 17 January 2007 @ 1700hrs EST
:: Dene Grigar & Tara Rodgers - 10 January 2007 @ 1700hrs EST
:: Brett Stalbaum & Kathryn Yusoff - 3 January 2007 @ 1700hrs  EST

How to participate in the live chat?
Live chats will use the Writing and the Digital Life Discussion Room:
http://jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/discuss.cgi?WRITING-AND-THE-DIGITAL-LIFE

* To acess the WDL discussion room, it is necessary to subscribe to the list, by chosing "
Join WRITING-AND-THE-DIGITAL-LIFE" from:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=writing-and-the-digital-life&A=1

Use your subscriber email and JISCMAIL password to log into the discussion room (using the first link above).

If the online interface does not start, it is necessary to download and install the most recent Java version (http://www.java.com)

How to sign up to the DigiWild Moderated List?
Email: LEAdigiwild-subscribe@googlegroups.com
LEA NMP URL: http://groups.google.com/group/LEAdigiwild

About the moderators
Marcus Bastos is PhD in Communication and Semiotics. He teaches at PUC-SP. His most recent projects are the interactive video "Shapeless Interface" and a series of banners for the web and video for electronic panels developed on the context of the "Filler" project.
(http://netart.incubadora.fapesp.br/portal_en/Members/filler/index_html/).
He is the editor of the Arte.Mov online magazine (http://www.artemov.net).

Ryan Griffis is an artist and sometimes amateur writer, curator and tour guide. He currently writes reviews regularly for ArtUS magazine and has written for Rhizome.org, New Art Examiner and various other zines and journals. Ryan's art practice centers around an interest in
the critical potential of tourism and a quasi fictional travel agency called the Temporary Travel Office. His curatorial projects include YOUGenics, an exhibition exploring the social implications of genetic technologies and most recently, Under Fire an exhibition based on artist Jordan Crandall's multidisciplinary and collaborative discussions around organized violence. He currently teaches Art and Design at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
http://www.yougenics.net/griffis/