UrbanDictionary defines God’s Basement as the hottest underground rave venue in Philadelphia. Twice a month, in the basement of Bible Way Church, in crime-torn West Philly, there is a massive all-ages underground techno party, which has attracted a loyal following over the last ten years. People come from NY, NJ, DE, MD, and DC to hear diverse sometimes-international DJs spin in the two rooms of God’s Basement from 10 until morning. What’s more, the party organizers regularly organize food and toy drives for the community as well partner with Walk For Life. In a world that’s gradually commercializing everything, the legendary clubs (Twilo, Space) giving way to international chains (Pacha, Avalon) just as the hip music spots of yester-century have been replaced by well Starbucks, and in a sparsely populated part of a city with about a murder a day, you’d think they would let some people dancing in a church basement slide…

Well, NBC10 recently published their undercover investigation report on God’s Basement, blowing the lid of what used to be a pretty decently kept secret, and thus threatening one of the tristate’s last renegade venues. Armed with hidden cameras, NBC’s Lu Ann Cahn (and her flying monkey) infiltrated the underground party and captured footage of young people dancing, smoking pot, and drinking alcohol, and sucking lollipops (always a sign of ecstasy use and liking candy). Her story paints a lurid picture, labeling it an ‘underage rave party’ held ‘inside the school’, which has mothers outraged, though in fact the school rents the basement from the church, just like God’s Basement. You may remember Lu Ann for her 2005 Emmy for “Dirty Little Secret,” which revealed elected borough leaders (gasp!) drinking in the ‘dry’ town of Colwyn, PA, making this just another step in a long crusade against drink and merriment everywhere. The investigation was sparked by an anonymous mother’s concern over her daughter’s ecstasy use, but the story lists no other initial causes for concern.

Persecution is nothing new to ravers though, and in the catacombic setting of God’s Basement it vaguely echoes the rituals of the early Christians. Back then, before Medieval feudalism brought worship to its knees, seeking forgiveness for the dirty little secret, people used to pray standing up with hands outstretched upwards, singing and dancing for joy. Couple that with the fact that sacramental wine back then would have been much stronger fortified, and you have a pretty good party, provided the Romans don’t crash, they do, run. God’s Basement has developed a sympathetic relationship with the church, getting everyone to pitch-in to support the community in exchange for the privilege of throwing epic parties twice a month. After years of growing separation between church and state, schools in the northeast are no longer influenced by organized religions (no creationism, no prayer), but in this case you have the school seeking to affect the church and how it conducts its business. The divide should hold both ways. The next party is scheduled for tomorrow night, wonder what will happen.

‘God’s Basement’ rave takes over church hall, school cafeteriea, NBC10.com

Researchers, including Dr Anirban Bandyopadhyay of the International Center for Young Scientists, Tsukuba, Japan, have created a chemical ‘brain’ capable of remotely controlling multiple nano-machines. The ‘logic device’ composed of 17 molecules of the chemical duroquinone, is only two and a half nanometers in size. It looks like a ring with four spokes, which can be rotated to four different states. One duroquinone molecule sits in the middle, surrounded by the other 16, connected by hydrogen bonds. The state of the molecule in the middle can be switched using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), a standard issue nanotech tool. Since instructing one molecule simultaneously activates 16 others, there are four billion different possible combinations of outcome. Researchers say the idea was inspired by the communication of glial cells in the human brain. They tested the logic device by hooking it up to eight nano-elevators, which can be commanded to move up and down about one nanometer, and were able to make all eight function successfully. This development could have big implications for computer technology. Whereas a typical CPU only carries one instruction at a time, one modeled on the logic device could carry 16 simultaneously. The researchers they have already completed faster machines that are capable of 256 and even 1024 concurrent operations. Of course, such a computer’s application is limited, because it relies on STM to work, still, soon these molecular brains may be integrated in other nanobots to bring significant advances in nano-assembly and targeted drug delivery.

Chemical brain controls nanobots, BBCNews.com

An 81-year-old Australian man killed himself using a suicide robot built with plans off the internet. The machine was attached to a .22 semi-automatic pistol, which fired four bullets into the man’s head after being activated. According to his note, he decided to die after demands from his interstate relatives that he move out of his house, where he lived alone, and into care. He set up the death robot in his driveway around 7 a.m. Wednesday, so that nearby workers would hear the gunshots and find his body, which was what happened.

Granted, suicide machines are nothing new to Australia. In 2002, Dr. Philip Nitschke launched a machine that would allow people to die peacefully by breathing in pure carbon monoxide through a face mask. In fact, Nitschke successfully campaigned to have a legal euthanasia law passed in the Northern Territory, which helping four people to kill themselves before the law was overturned by the Federal government. Nitschke also designed an ‘exit bag’, a plastic bag with an elasticized opening used to commit suicide through suffocation, and last year published The Peaceful Pill Handbook, which was banned in Australia and New Zealand quickly after its release, supposedly not so much because of its stance on euthanasia but its instructions on making drugs and committing other crimes.

Suicide-assisting robots are nothing new to scifi, from I, Robot to the suicide-booths on Futurama, machines continue to make difficult decisions simpler. So we continue towards a hyperreal future where even life-death decisions can be made at the push of a button. The growing death-toll of people killed by robots may also be a point of concern for those who dismiss the possibility of a violent robot uprising. Fortunately, so far they only kill us when we want them too.

Australian Man Gunned Down in Driveway by Killer Robot, FoxNews.com 
Nitschke launches suicide machine, SMH.com.au