Editorial: nisar keshvani

This comes to you from a tourist bus heading to Singapore from Malaysia's Genting Highlands (pilgrimage ground for casino high-rollers). I'm surrounded by folk who firmly believe in figures and numbers. To them any sign could mean a field day at the stakes.

According to Chinese belief, the figure 2002 is 'shuan shuan dui dui' or in English - 'correct double pair'. For them, the digit two and it appearing twice in our reversible year, 2002, is an auspicious sign for union. So matrimony queues in Asia seem to stretch for miles now.

At fAf, we aren't gamblers but auspicious signs can't hurt :)

With this issue, we announce fAf's alliance with the Leonardo Electronic Almanac (LEA). Both publications have a rich history, and were linked since its earliest days. fAf was founded by Ray Lauzzana in 1987, and from 1988, it was published by the Leonardo network. In 1992, Australian Paul Brown took fAf over under the auspices of the Art, Science and Technology Network (ASTN).

"Leonardo then kicked off Leonardo Electronic News edited by Judy Malloy. In 1993 LEA was founded by Craig Harris. Under his editorship, LEA established itself, with the support of MIT Press as an important peer reviewed e-journal," said Roger Malina, Leonardo Executive Editor.

Meanwhile, I came into the fAf picture in 1998 and have seen it grow very quickly in three years. From 2002, I take on the LEA hotseat and am delighted the fAf-LEA paths converge exactly ten years after.

We intend to hold true to Leonardo founder Frank Malina's vision to aid the cause of artists, scientists and technologists and the LEA advisory panel; Roy Ascott, Michael Naimark, Craig Harris, Paul Brown, Julianne Pierce and Seah Hock Soon will guide us.

From here, fAf will focus on news and be ASTN & Leonardo's news outlet while LEA concentrates on original peer reviewed content.

We welcome international fAf-LEA corresponding editors: Ricardo Dal Farra, Young Hae-Chang, Fatima Lasay, Jose-Carlos Mariategui, Marcus Neusetter, Fion Ng and Marc Voge who will feed us latest information from their unique geographic locations improving our coverage from the world over.

Through this alliance we aim to balance news and critical content via the fAf-LEA publishing channels. We are on the lookout for writers, artists, and curators to publish essays, reviews, and commission online exhibitions. If you have ideas, please do email lea@mitpress.mit.edu We'd be happy to hear from you.

We aspire to build east-west bridges exposing upcoming communities to the established and enhancing opportunities for exposure through the fAf - Leonardo networks and resources.

Our mission for the Art, Science and Technology Network from here, is to build a resource for global art, science & technology organisations and to become the first stop for newcomers to this field.

Back to this edition, fAf's text section includes a swag of texts by new writers. Our feature is Pia Ednie-Brown's essay Diagramming Innovation-scapes, reprinted from the recently released fibreculture reader, Politics of a Digitial Present: An Inventory of Australian Net Culture, Criticism and Theory. Architecture and Science is reviewed Teri Hoskin and David Cox reviews New Babylonians: Contemporary Visions of a Situationist City. Jane Turner responds to Unlocking the Clubhouse, a study of women in the computing industry. Olliver Dyen's Metal and Flesh: The Evolution of Man: Technology Takes Over is considered by Glen Wetherall and Linda Carroli takes a look at the Australian Network for Art and Technology's publication, Arcadia: Writings on Theology and Technology.

Here's to this new 'auspicious' alliance, and to better things yet.