Here's a fun project to make yourself heard!

I recently posted about my afternoon of anti-war demonstrations in San Francisco. Across the street from City Hall, I saw a really cool use of an iPod: a mobile protest broadcaster. Of course MPB isn't a real term, but maybe it should be. If you can get your hands on the equipment, and your legs are up for the task, it looks pretty easy to do.

Annonymous, unsung hero with an MPB.

This cool, innovative guy, whose name I didn't get (we were both in a bit of a rush), rigged and iPod to his bike's handlebars and blasted sound-bytes of bushisms over techno beats through two booming speakers. We didn't get to discuss the details of his project, but he probably used something like Marware's ipod Bike mount along with some iPod stereo cable. Put the speakers onto a bike trailer that you've attached to your bike, secure your precious equipment with some tape and bungee cord, and you're ready to start a movement! Here's a close-up of the handlebars.

The MPB console

It was brilliant and full of energy. He had a stage that could move with the marchers. This would be perfect for someone like me, who likes to makes noise at protests, but isn't for always in the mood for the hooting and hollering.

Disclaimer:When questioning authority, especially with a bike, one should be prepared for unfair legal consequences like the good folks at Bikes against Bush.

Sometimes we think no one can ever see eye to eye with us. Other times, we clearly see the thousands who always do.

Last Saturday was the second anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq. San Francisco was one of many cities worldwide where demonstrations were organized. I made it out last year in New York, and I'm glad to say I made it out again this year with my brother for my first taste of Bay Area civil disobedience.

It was a much different vibe than similar events I've been to in New York. For example, on Saturday I swore I smelled marijuana in the air. Last year in NYC, I could've sworn I smelled tear gas. Seriously, people were very organized, and the police were on good behavior. We didn't have to rough any of them up. They looked like they were having too much fun on there dirtbikes. That's right, dirtbikes, and they seemed much more fun than those vehicles that resemble golf carts that so many NYPD officers use.

I really liked this sign so I waited long enough for the owner to stop waving it to get a shot. I posted a gallery of this and more photos from Saturday here.

I'm not as much of the activist that I wish I were, but events like these matter a great deal. Effectiveness (and deserved attention, unfortunately) is often measured by attendance. I actually felt more compelled to take the drive down highway 101 because of the predicted inclimate weather rather than in spite it. People on the margins can be shied away by the silliest things like a little rain. I guess I didn't want to be marginal last weekend.

And what did the people who came out get in return for staying true? A beautiful, warm, (mostly) rainless afternoon in the city. I hear it rained more in my neighborhood that day, and it got chilly only after we passed the Golden Gate Bridge around 4pm that day. Karma's cool, if you believe that sort if thing.

Even that day, however, I still wasn't much of an activist. No real picketing or chanting for me (or dancing -- those people smell like hippie, but that's another conversation) but more listening and watching as I marched to City Hall with my brother and tens of thousands of strangers, all of whom had something so fundamentalli in common with me: we all knew that this war is wrong, and staying home wouldn't help anything.

In my listening and watching, I hid behind my camera a lot. Nothing fancy, it's a just a consumer grade Sony Cyber-shot, but I think it accomplished the task of capturing the experience. Of what it captured, I thought some was almost decent. Of that bunch, I'm sharing a few that I like here.