#1 Posted by Conglomeration of Things on September 24th, 2009 11:19 pm | link

[...] of the really exceedingly excellent Freak Revolution Manifesto, which you don’t get to see until they release it on the 28th. Uh. Sorry. But it’s great. I can’t wait for you to see it! In the meantime, Pace and [...]

#2 Posted by Contest Entries are due Today! on September 25th, 2009 9:31 am | link

[...] Click here for more details, and submit those entries – before midnight! [...]

#3 Posted by Monday Heart Stuff #4 » Heart of Business on September 28th, 2009 10:12 am | link

[...] So read The Freak Revolution Manifesto. So become fans of Kyeli and Pace. So join the revolution. [...]

#4 Posted by Leah/DefytheBox on September 28th, 2009 12:01 pm | link

You Guys rock! I love the manifesto!
Thanks for the preview…I love getting to see stuff before everyone else ;-)

I look forward to talking about it tomorrow night on Defy the Box radio.
http://www.bostonwisdomcoach.com/fun-stuff/defy-the-box-radio/

Rock On!
Leah

#5 Posted by Freak Revolution: Manifesto Launch on September 28th, 2009 12:21 pm | link

[...] September I had the pleasure of designing the very exciting, very poignant Freak Revolution Manifesto, which was released today on the Freak Revolution website. You’ll notice that in addition to [...]

#6 Posted by Renee Christy on September 28th, 2009 1:01 pm | link

I saw a mention of this manifesto on Live Journal. Was very excited to read it and then forward to my thousands of freaky friends, but after multiple tries, I can’t get the PDF to open. Is posting an HTML version on site asking too much?

Thanks,
Renee Christy
Mistress of Merriment

#7 Posted by Chris Guillebeau on September 28th, 2009 1:03 pm | link

Congratulations on the launch of this important, world-changing document. I’m hugely honored by the dedication.

Both of you have so much to give to the rest of us, and I’m glad to see you doing that through this manifesto. Good luck on getting to one million readers. Sometimes these things take time, so be sure to allow a week or two for the first half. :)

cg

#8 Posted by Pace on September 28th, 2009 1:18 pm | link

@Renee,

Sorry you couldn’t get it to open! Here are 3 troubleshooting tips:

1. Try downloading it again. I once had a file be unreadable due to a dodgy download.

2. Try the latest version of Adobe Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

3. If all else fails, you can view it on SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/pace212/the-freak-revolution-manifesto

If none of those three tips work, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

#9 Posted by Azekeil on September 28th, 2009 2:09 pm | link

Thanks. This ties together a number of ideas that I’ve had jumbling around in my brain for a while. I’m fairly open in my life and despairing at the way the world is going. I plan on blogging about this soon.

Just so you know – others are sending the same or similar message, in their own ways. Have a look at, in order of similarity:

http://www.dark-mountain.net/
http://leg-iron.livejournal.com/
http://www.fmotl.com/

#10 Posted by scwizard on September 28th, 2009 4:01 pm | link

You know I strongly disagree about the growing foods in harmony with nature bit.

Food is an instance, where maxing yield is very important, and nature be damned.

#11 Posted by scwizard on September 28th, 2009 4:05 pm | link

Also very nice manifesto, better than I expected.

#12 Posted by Freak Revolution! on September 28th, 2009 8:38 pm | link

[...] chapter on healing the world – so we decided to do something special with it! So go get yourself a free copy of the Freak Revolution Manifesto, and enjoy this special piece I made for its release! You can also get yourself a desktop wallpaper [...]

#13 Posted by How To Be unNormal « Through The Illusion on September 29th, 2009 3:38 pm | link

[...] when I got my hands on The Freak Revolution Manifesto, I was pretty [...]

#14 Posted by Work Happy Now! » Blog Archive » How to be More Creative on September 29th, 2009 9:31 pm | link

[...] you ever feel like an outsider at work? Then join in the Freak Revolution. Check out their manifesto. It is all about helping you improve your life as well as the people around you. It’s so good [...]

#15 Posted by Lame on September 29th, 2009 10:36 pm | link

Boo. What “freak” would make their whole argument using the word “paradigm”.
You’re still in a box.

#16 Posted by Pace on September 30th, 2009 12:15 am | link

@Lame: Before the word “paradigm” became a buzzword, it was used by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. We’re using it in a more Kuhnian sense than a buzzwordian sense. (: It does suck that such a potent word has been robbed of its power, but I prefer to reclaim it rather than abandon it.

#17 Posted by Oliver Danni on September 30th, 2009 6:32 am | link

Isn’t it fabulous when you freak out the other freaks with your freakiness? :D

I too would prefer an HTML version. I greatly dislike PDFs, so I have not downloaded it yet (whereas if it were in HTML I would just click it and start reading right away!) If there’s any chance of an HTML version happening soon please let me know. Either way I’ll be excited to read it.

#18 Posted by Quiet Lives of Desperation | Nathan Hangen on September 30th, 2009 11:36 am | link

[...] out resumes as if they have nothing to offer the world. My take on that is wake up! I read a great manifesto yesterday by @kyeli and @pacesmith that speaks from a similar perspective and after experiencing [...]

#19 Posted by Guest Post: Sacred Communication | Goddess Guidebook | Your Guide for living a Creative & Soulful Goddess life... on September 30th, 2009 1:35 pm | link

[...] Kyeli Smith is a freaky geeky tattooed pierced hippie lesbian witch. She’s also an unschooling mom, a writer, a wearer of long stripy socks, and a singer of silly made-up songs. She co-leads the Freak Revolution, a community for alternative people who want to set their hearts free of society’s cages. Read the Freak Revolution Manifesto here! [...]

#20 Posted by links for 2009-09-30 « that dismal science on September 30th, 2009 2:34 pm | link

[...] The Freak Revolution Manifesto (tags: writing community philosophy reading lifehack organization manifesto) [...]

#21 Posted by quonsar on October 2nd, 2009 1:43 pm | link

they had to use adobe pdf to fit in.

#22 Posted by Kurt von Finck (mneptok) 's status on Friday, 02-Oct-09 18:57:04 UTC - Identi.ca on October 2nd, 2009 1:57 pm | link

[...] http://freakrevolution.com/manifesto/ a few seconds ago from Gwibber [...]

#23 Posted by Torley on October 2nd, 2009 2:04 pm | link

So it begins, my fellow freaks. I arrived here from MetaFilter. Pace & Kyeli, am reading the booklet on my other monitor. Design is nice, your positivity is admirable. I’ll learn more over the course of the next block of time.

Why settle for mediocrity when you can be awesome?

#24 Posted by Acrylicist on October 2nd, 2009 5:11 pm | link

You need to conserve some of that bandwidth and NOT use PDF–you’re freaks remember? Here’s a Djvu version of the manifesto, a 1MB download instead of 6MB.

#25 Posted by Pace on October 2nd, 2009 6:25 pm | link

@Torley: Thank you!

@Acrylicist: Thanks! The only difference I noticed in the lossy compression is that the nice gradients became all blocky. Still, I wonder why that takes 5 MB.

#26 Posted by Pace on October 3rd, 2009 8:25 am | link

@Acrylicist (& @quonsar, I guess): I hosted the DJVU version on our server and made it another option for folks to download. Thank you!

#27 Posted by Celebrity-Gossip-Inside-Out.com » Blog Archive » Carousel — Week Ending 2nd October 2009 on October 4th, 2009 12:35 am | link

[...] The Freak Revolution Manifesto! [...]

#28 Posted by Blade on October 8th, 2009 1:50 pm | link

Found this on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/08/social.networks.connected/index.html

Seems to suppor tthe Connection Paradigm.

#29 Posted by Pace on October 8th, 2009 2:30 pm | link

@Blade: Hmm, both we and the CNN article are talking about connection, but I don’t think the article is actually supporting a connection paradigm at all. The CNN article talks about friends and acquaintances in social networks. We (the Freak Revolution) are talking about heart-based connection and empathy with others. There is some overlap, for instance the concept of the monkeysphere, but the CNN article is still coming from a control-based perspective. It talks about how we can control obesity and control epidemics by taking advantage of social networks, and that’s control paradigm, not connection paradigm.

#30 Posted by You Can’t Measure Happiness With Three Thingy-Things « Through The Illusion on October 9th, 2009 8:48 pm | link

[...] to change the world through personal development and connection. Today marks the launch of the Freak Revolution Manifesto. It’s worth a read, go check it [...]

#31 Posted by Starting Where I Am « Sarah Marmoset on October 20th, 2009 10:25 pm | link

[...] I have waxed poetic about in pretty much every entry so far) is the Freak Revolution. They have a Manifesto!  Seriously, how awesome is that? I love their manifesto. I love what they stand for. I love how [...]

#32 Posted by Join the Revolution- Odd Angel Studios on October 26th, 2009 4:41 pm | link

[...] what you’re doing, click on this link, then download and thoroughly read the PDF file to be found [...]

#33 Posted by Let Us Compare Mythologies on October 28th, 2009 3:54 am | link

[...] been a lot of talk around the internet lately about manifestos and life lists, and I love that stuff. Seriously. Big life lists are sensationally exciting to me. [...]

#34 Posted by Dominic on November 3rd, 2009 2:31 pm | link

Came across this place via a link to The Usual Error. It’s awesome to see that I’m not quite alone in my small-scale optimism.

#35 Posted by Dominic on November 3rd, 2009 6:11 pm | link

Hm, should’ve read first, then posted. I’m still glad to see that I’m not the only optimist of my kind, without a doubt. After reading the manifesto and browsing the site a little I’ve found that I don’t quite agree with everything I see around here. I’m not sure I’d be quite comfortable here, but I might just have another look after next week (terribly busy for school, but I promise you this is by choice ;). If I don’t show up, I wish you all the best as I definitely support your cause. Rest assured that I’ll do my part to make my bit of the world an awesome place, too.

#36 Posted by Pace on November 3rd, 2009 6:14 pm | link

@Dominic: We like it when people don’t agree with us. Follow your heart! (:

#37 Posted by Patty K » Blog Archive » Best article of 2009 on December 3rd, 2009 7:23 am | link

[...] Freak Revolution Manifesto [...]

#38 Posted by Can Business Itself Be Truly Healing? » Heart of Business on December 23rd, 2009 9:05 am | link

[...] their work directly, I have a deep intuitive feeling about what they are doing. And their Freak Revolution Manifesto is right there where you need to [...]

#39 Posted by Kharmin on December 23rd, 2009 11:44 pm | link

Thank you, Mark @ Heart of Business!!!

Pace and Kyeli ~ Have you considered submitting this (the Manifesto) to *Change This*?
This is from their quarterly email:

“ChangeThis is a vehicle, not a publisher.
We’re here to spread great ideas.
If you have any, let us know.
http://www.changethis.com/submit ”

Bright Blessings!

#40 Posted by Pace on January 4th, 2010 10:16 am | link

@Kharmin: Yes, I asked ChangeThis if they accept already-published manifestos (as opposed to manifestos specifically written for ChangeThis) and they have not gotten back to me yet…

Bright blessings to you too!

#41 Posted by A Departure From The Norm | AMancuso.org on January 27th, 2010 6:23 pm | link

[...] two self-professed freaks, Pace and Kyeli. They were trying to get a million people to read their Manifesto. I downloaded it, read it, and promptly spread it among my friends. You already know I’m not [...]

#42 Posted by Jack on February 26th, 2010 1:51 pm | link

I guess I’m one of those eye-rollers. You talk about breaking free of stereotypes, and in the same document you stereotype everything. You take complex situations and boil them down into easily digested but not very true tidbits. It’s a good sales technique, and sure to get the blood of some people pumping, but not very genuine. I consider myself a bit of a freak and an outsider, and though I admire your spirit and enthusiasm, I found this document to be a bit self-important, very judgmental (odd, since it is in support of those who are often judged unfairly), and more like a self-empowerment seminar than a revolution. You get points for not asking for money.

Here’s what I am asserting: negativity is not always a bad thing. Life involves balance, and if you surround yourself with those who jump up and down incessantly, you aren’t living in reality: you’re George W. Bush. You surround yourself with people who only agree with you and support your ideas, of course you’ll be happy. But you won’t grow. Trees kept out of the wind have weak trunks. Children kept in germ-free environments don’t develop immunities. So have some eye-rollers in your group of friends, and learn to argue. Who knows? Maybe there’s good reason for the eye rolling.

As for the evils of TV and public schools, I was a teacher and I taught my students to think for themselves, to love reading and art, and to play chess. TV is just a conduit – be aware of what’s coming through and make smart choices. There are poor teachers and poor TV shows. Again – part of life is learning how to deal with adversity. Wrap yourself in padding and hide in a tree, or live bravely and learn.

I’m sure you will get a lot of needy people to give you a thumbs-up. This freak says “meh.”

#43 Posted by Jack on February 26th, 2010 4:23 pm | link

Oh, and just so that I’m not overwhelmingly negative, I really like the design work! The character drawings are first rate. And the whole thing has a charm and whimsy to it that was initially appealing. I think that’s why I was more disappointed in the content. Sorry if it came off all jerky. Just my opinion, which is worth as much or as little as whatever weight you care to assign to it. :)

#44 Posted by Pace on March 1st, 2010 2:36 pm | link

@Jack: *nods* I see what you’re saying. What you’re calling “not very genuine”, I call “writing boldly rather than precisely. It’s a tough tradeoff we purposefully chose when writing the manifesto, and this is the down side.

And I actually agree with you about balance. What we’re advocating in the manifesto is to diversify your monkeysphere as much as you can without being brought down by unhelpful naysayers. Naysayers are super if they’re constructive and help you learn and grow; the unhelpful naysayers we advocate letting go of are the ones who simply bring you down without any benefit. I realize we didn’t express this point very clearly in the manifesto, and I’m sorry about that.

Thanks for your comments, Jack. I appreciate you taking the time to write.