#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.

#45 Posted by Savanni D'Gerinel on April 18th, 2010 9:53 pm | link

I downloaded it, started reading it, and then at one point got angry and deleted it. Then I undeleted it because I deleted it for the wrong reasons, and I finished reading it. Then I went and modified my embryonic business plan to more clearly characterize who I want to be doing business for, because this document helped me finally pin it down.

I want to disagree with you on “work”… but then I remember something I read elsewhere:

“Learn at first concentration without effort; transform work into play; make every yoke you have accepted easy and every burden you carry light.”

So, I think I still disagree with you about work. Even when I am doing what I am most passionate about, sometimes it just turns into a slog and sometimes the heavy lifting on any project gets burdensome. But all of the bigger problems I have worked on just seem to require annoyingly burdensome work in order to get everything else to hang together.

#46 Posted by sUze on April 19th, 2010 12:06 am | link

Jack said: “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.”

Right. You taught them….

Question is: What did they learn?

I don’t doubt that you were a breath of fresh air for kids stuck in school. But. You were still part of School. One little, teeny, tiny part of their yearafteryearafterdrearyyear of institutionalization. That they didn’t ask for.

A friendly jailer is still a jailer.

Do you not see the joke of “teaching them to think for themselves” when “I think I want to leave now” is #1 on the list of contraband thoughts???

But a friendly jailer is better than a mean jailer. Because those kids were stuck there whether you were there or not. Better you than some I can think of.

#47 Posted by Pace on April 19th, 2010 12:09 am | link

@Savanni: What exactly do you disagree with about work? It seems like you’re disagreeing with something that sounds like “If you’re doing what you’re passionate about, you’ll love every moment of it,” and I don’t remember myself or Kyeli writing that, so I’m a bit confused. I read through the manifesto to double-check and didn’t find the passage you’re replying to. So I remain confused. (:

And out of curiosity, who do you want to be doing business for?

#48 Posted by Passion Paralysis - Feel Familiar? | Scott Webb on April 22nd, 2010 11:00 pm | link

[...] ie Seth calls our times a revolution in Linchpin, and Pace and Kyeli call it one in their “Freak Revolution Manifesto” and more.Take a look at it from the perspective of a Renaissance. You can have interest in [...]

#49 Posted by How to Achieve Your Dreams on May 25th, 2010 9:05 am | link

[...] Freak Revolution Manifesto, The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself, The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web, The [...]

#50 Posted by Damn You facebook! Damn You To Hell! WAIT. Did someone just friend me? « In Pursuit of Happiness, Connection & Purpose on June 10th, 2010 1:37 am | link

[...] The Freak Revolution Manifesto pg. [...]

#51 Posted by Just a thought to get us started… : Sarah Marmoset on June 28th, 2010 3:48 pm | link

[...] of our determination, our tenacity, and our resilience could be channeled into opting out of the control paradigm, instead of endlessly repositioning ourselves inside [...]

#52 Posted by Do You Care About Being Normal? — Aliventures on July 7th, 2010 11:02 am | link

[...] Revolution by Pace and Kyeli Smith (the whole blog is awesome, but check out the Manifesto in particular) We think it’s normal to work all day every day at a dead-end job. It’s normal to [...]

#53 Posted by Christy on July 9th, 2010 11:03 am | link

it’s true many people are in this state of apathy. And it is true that our culture teaches us that this or at least some form of this (it isn’t after all supposed to be depressing like they frame it but supposed to be satisfying) is ‘normal.’ It could be happiness in some cases but with how messed up culture can be (racism, sexism, the economy, etc.) and how slanted our current culture is against the middle and lower classes (particularly to keep them down), it tends to lead to a negative, unhappy outcome for the majority of people in the middle & lower classes. And they say money doesn’t mean happiness but with money you truly have more freedom. Freedom for opportunities, to travel, to do things you never could have done without money. As someone in this position ages and realizes their dreams will not be achieved, they turn into this drone-like person who is frustrated and unhappy (but supposed to be happy living the ‘American Dream’ that has been fed to us). So these people turn to coping mechanisms they are able to obtain like entertainment, substances and drugs and usually use these things to the max. It’s truly dysfunctional.

#54 Posted by 10 Tips for Writing a Sticky Manifesto | Sticky eBooks on July 21st, 2010 8:05 am | link

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

#55 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 13th, 2010 10:26 pm | link

Um…hi… *nervous* Just read the manifesto. Not sure what to think. Overall you’re goal is admirable, and I’m certain you can accomplish it.

But some of the things in it……I dunno….I can’t seem to agree with them….

#56 Posted by Pace on August 13th, 2010 11:01 pm | link

@Alena_Ryu: Well, one of the main themes of the manifesto is that there is no one right way, so it’s perfectly fine with us if you don’t agree with everything in it. More power to you! (:

#57 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 13th, 2010 11:06 pm | link

*smiles* Thanks. ^^ Already feeling better about this group. Erm….do you mind if this turns into a conversation of sorts? I don’t wanna flood your comment board if you don’t want me to.

#58 Posted by Pace on August 14th, 2010 7:49 am | link

Go for it! It’s very considerate of you to ask.

#59 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 14th, 2010 10:11 pm | link

*nods* Ok…..here goes.

Um…hi. I tend to go by Ryu on the internet, Alena when when my avatar is female. (Which is more often then my brother declares as normal.) I’m an ADD, oddly feminine, heterosexual, Christian male, who still manages to believe in magic.

I found out about this group through Kalastina’s journal on Devientart. And since then, have read the manifesto. It left me with mixed feelings, so now I’m trying to get to know the people here, before I decide weiather or not to join the Revolution.

So…..care to tell me a bit about yourselves?

#60 Posted by Pace on August 15th, 2010 9:10 am | link

Sure thing.

I’m Pace. I’m an idealistic spiritual entrepreneur. I’m a bi poly trans kinky pagan gamer geek. I was born male and transitioned to female in 2003-2004. I met Kyeli in 2005 (or so), we fell in love, and had an illegal Texas wedding. I believe that the best way to make the world a better place is to take part in a paradigm shift of ideas, because most other plans will only address the symptoms, not the underlying causes. So Kyeli and I founded the Freak Revolution, to empower people like us to change the world.

As for Kyeli, she’s currently recovering from surgery and can’t sit up for more than 10 minutes at a time, and I don’t want to put words in her mouth, so you might want to read what she wrote about herself. (:

#61 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 15th, 2010 2:09 pm | link

Ouch….I’ve had my own surguries numerous times in the past. >_< Not fun. Well, aside from getting out of school. XD (I used to go to public school. Long story.)

I'm noticing alot of similarities between you, me, and Kyeli. Particularly in the belief in magic.

………..

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm transexual or not….there's alot of things to consider…..but my particular problem comes with figuring out wieather I should truly be female, or if its just my fetish talking…..

#62 Posted by Pace on August 15th, 2010 10:04 pm | link

Here is some more about Kyeli’s and my spiritual beliefs, if you’re interested.

And as for knowing whether you’re transsexual or not, the way I figured it out was to experiment in a safe way. I asked one group of my online friends to treat me as female, and I saw how that felt. It felt good and… right, so I asked a group of my IRL friends to treat me as female. It felt even more good and right for me. So eventually I transitioned publicly. If you could find a way to experiment in a safe and non-fetish-related context, maybe that would give you more information about what’s best for you?

#63 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 15th, 2010 10:24 pm | link

Nya….thats gonna be awkward to bring up….The online thing should be pretty easy to pull off though. I’d just have to introduce the concept a bit more…

Ok, plan achieved. I need to slowly introduce the concept….talk about it….probably with Cas……*ish planning out loud at this point*

Publicly this’ll be a much bigger issue. I can honestly think of no rl friends who would even be remotely accepting of such an issue. Especially not my brother or mother. Mom’s paranoid about every strange thing out there, while my brother is the most judgemental person on the planet……

My Dad might understand, but I’d have to wait a year. As is, I only get a month with him each year. And if I tried moving in with him, it’d break my mother emotionally. Seriously……I can’t do that to her……

*smiles* Thanks Pace. ^^ And I wish Keyli well!

#64 Posted by Pace on August 16th, 2010 8:49 am | link

I wish you well too!

#65 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 20th, 2010 12:45 am | link

Allright…..I just had a very insperational pep talk from the oddest of places: My brother.

How do I sign up?

#66 Posted by Pace on August 20th, 2010 7:32 am | link

http://freakrevolution.com/join/

(:

#67 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 21st, 2010 1:16 am | link

Oh *bleep*. >_< I'm 17. Sorry….don't wanna get ya'll arrested. Or something along those lines.

#68 Posted by Pace on August 21st, 2010 10:43 am | link

Yeah, I hate that rule. ): You could sign up for our newsletter if you like, though.

#69 Posted by Alena_Ryu on August 21st, 2010 11:25 pm | link

What exactly does the newsletter talk about?

#70 Posted by Pace on August 22nd, 2010 11:54 am | link

It’s a mix of news (about our projects and sometimes people in our community) and tips on changing the world, being awesome, and that sort of thing. Not too different from the blog.

#71 Posted by Let Your Freak Flag Fly « Adventures without a Destination on August 28th, 2010 10:21 am | link

[...] Pace and Kyeli rock. When I feel beaten down by the world, I read their manifesto and dust myself off. [...]