Who is Chris Davis?
"I am Chris Davis, and Chris Davis means me," to paraphrase a certain wizard who goes by the name of Gandalf The Grey.
So who am I, exactly? Good question.... even I don't know. I can, however, tell you WHAT I am.
I am a photographer and artist. An information broker, media reporter and denizen of The Underground. An enthusiast of cryptocoins and other alternative currencies. A psychonaut and explorer of other realms. An anarchist, voluntarist or neo-abolitionist (whichever term you prefer). And a wizard (ie. an occultist and practitioner of arcane magicks). In short, just a normal, everyday kind of guy.
About This Website
This site is here to act as a hub for links to things I am involved in, to promote a few things here and there, and generally just for the hell of it. It's also here for me to learn and practice HTML, CSS, Javascript and other web coding. I will be altering the design and adding interesting, exciting and even dark and frightening things to it over time, as this is an ongoing project and it will be perpetually morphing into something new. Check back often and enjoy what you discover here...
Photography & Art
I have been an artist and graphic designer for over 15 years, and a photographer since March 2008 (about six and a half years as of this writing). In that time, I have created a LOT of works, some of which the world will never see (because I am probably my own most severe critic). I am pleased with quite a bit of my work, however. Some of that work can be seen below....
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There are times when I am prolific with my artisitic endeavors, and other times when inspiration escapes me and I produce nothing noteworthy for extended periods. It would seem that the arts can be an elusive discipline (either that, or my mind is elusive and I can't get a grasp on it long enough to create. Take your pick....)
Illicit Underground - The once and future underground media...
Illicit Underground was the name of a short-lived underground magazine, or "zine," published in 1996. A collaborative effort between myself and J Stekervetz, the intent behind Illicit Underground was very much the intent of the entire "zine revolution" of the 1990s, which was to bring about that which we have seen occur with the creation of the Internet... opening up "the media" to the masses at large and ripping the power of such away from the traditional gatekeepers to that realm. As such, it was an attempt to stir things up, bring to the fore new political, cultural and social ideas, and act as a platform and sounding board to give a voice to the voiceless. Thus, the catchphrase... "Subverting the dominant paradigm since 1996."
While the magazine may have been short-lived (as indeed the entire run of the "zine revolution" was cut short due to the emergence of the power of the Internet, and physical hard-copy zines gave way to blogs, videos, podcasts and social media), the name continued to lurk in the Underground, waiting for the day when it could emerge, needed by humanity once more.....
Subverting the dominant paradigm since 1996
A few years ago, it was perceived that the stars were once again aligned, and like a Lovecraftian terror to the privileged, the abusers of power and the so-called "elite," Illicit Underground awoke from its slumber, no longer "dead but dreaming."
Illicit Underground exists today to bring you perspective and commentary on news, issues, culture and society from a voluntarist / agorist / anarchist / liberty perspective. We also bring you art, photography, music, humor and more.
For now, the Facebook page is the headquarters for Illicit Underground's efforts. Plans are in the works to create a non-Facebook web presence via one of the popular blogging platforms. Our activities include aggregation of news and other information on our Facebook and Google+ pages, and acting as the umbrella organization for the "Vertcoin Update" podcast and the forthcoming Illicit Underground podcast. We are also looking into publishing once again in a magazine-style format... certainly as an "e-book" document, and likely as a hard-copy print edition as well.
Stay tuned to Illicit Underground's Facebook and Google+ pages for announcements as these plans come to fruition.
Cryptocurrency - Bitcoin, Litecoin & More
A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a decentralized peer-to-peer payment network and medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and to control the creation of new units of the currency.
The first cryptocurrency to be created was Bitcoin. In 2008, pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto published a whitepaper to the Cryptography Mailing list at metzdowd.com entitled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," and in 2009, he released the first Bitcoin software that launched the network and the first units of the Bitcoin currency, which were also called bitcoins.
Bitcoin is comprised of well established Internet technologies such as peer-to-peer networking, encryption, and digital signatures to enable global money transfers. There is no central authority that governs the issuance or transaction of the currency. It is truly the world's first democratic money system.
Since 2009, numerous other cryptocurrencies have been created. These alternate cryptocoins are collectively referred to as "AltCoins."
In April 2011, Namecoin was created as an attempt at forming a decentralized DNS, which would make internet censorship very difficult. Soon after, in October 2011, Litecoin was released. It was the first successful cryptocurrency to use scrypt as its cryptographic hash function instead of Bitcoin's SHA-256.
I know... at this point you are saying, "Huh? Cryptographic hash function?" As I understand them, cryptographic hash functions are a kind of algorithm or mathematical operation run on digital data, and by comparing the result of the "hash," or the execution of the algorithm, to a known and expected hash value, a person can determine the data's authenticity. It is in this way that currency units and transactions are verified within a cryptocurrency network.
Back to AltCoins... other notable AltCoins include Peercoin, Ripple, Mastercoin, Primecoin, Dogecoin, Darkcoin and Vertcoin. Each one has sought to bring some improvement or innovation to the world of cryptocoins. Currently, there are over 100 Altcoins in existence, with new ones being created on a weekly basis. Some succeed to some degree or other. Many fail and fall by the wayside.
Only time will tell which cryptocurrencies will dominate and become the next paradigm-shattering technologies. One thing is certain, though.... the concept of cryptocurrencies themselves and the blockchain technology on which most of them are built are ALREADY shattering the dominant financial paradigm. A cryptocurrency is in YOUR future... right now, it's just a matter of determining which one.
Agorism, Anarchism & Liberty
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
