Friday, July 16, 1999

The Cyber Scene in LA ~ a party recap and history by Fixer

Fixer, from the DMZ (Digital Militarized Zone -- http://www.la-dmz.org) had another party at his house where people from the web/internet, cd-rom/videogame and film visual effects fields come to get crazy. He filled me in on the history of the naming of the Digital Coast and his parties. His recap follows:
"The party was a little smaller than usual, but apparently a lot louder. We had three different complaint calls to the cops from three different neighbors and the last time they showed up, at midnight, they brought 6 cars and 8 cops. In addition to the fine we'll have to pay, we also have to pay for the cops too. Guess the Digital Coast Roundtable is starting to make their moves against the DMZ! If you made it, thanks for coming. We're not sure when the next party will be, but since we have annoyed neighbors now, we'll probably rent a building somewhere and have something huge. Maybe we could charge an annual membership and get sponsors?
Some background: "The DMZ was a protest a bunch of people in LA came up with when the mayor announced the naming of the "Digital Coast." We weren't too happy with it, so decided to fight back and define the West Side as a splinter group known as the Digital Militarized Zone. No one asked us, the people in the industry doing the work, what we should be called. They only asked the big boys who have corporate offices elsewhere but a Wilshire District banking address. They sold seats on the Digital Coast Roundtable advisory board, all but guaranteeing the average person won't be part of it."