"A Speakeasy was an establishment that was used for selling and drinking alcoholic beverages during the period of United States history known as Prohibition (1920-1933)when the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol was illegal. The term comes from a patron's manner of ordering alcohol without raising suspicion - a bartender would tell a patron to be quiet and 'speak easy'." Conversely, the Speak Hard celebrates critical exhange and encourage the raising of voices.

The Speak Hard is a platform that provokes dicussions on the subject of the future of fuel, and invites scientists, moonshiners and policy makers to discuss their research with the public. Spirits produced by the Sunshine Still are served along with a range of spirits from other micro-producers. Upon entering, one must take an oath to speak hard or be kindly asked to leave.w




September 16th 2010
Guest: Lee Palleschi, local distiller

12.00pm - Screening: Moonshine and Taxes (12mins)
Moonshine and Taxes- A 1956 informational film made by Internal Revenue Service about moonshine and its history.

12:30pm - Introduction and Drinks
Grain alcohol from a variety of distillers from the region and beyond.

01.00pm - 03.00pm - MASH HUNT
Special Guest Lee Palleschi presents his beer and washes. Then we set off in our Sun Runner and on foot to gather fruits, grains and food waste from the surrounding area. In search of the ways in which scavenging can provide fuel to power our future.
Return to the Speak Hard to make a traditional Sour Mash in our bath tub.

03.00pm - Presentation by special guest Lee Palleschi
Lee presents a small glass distillation set, beer and wash for distillation. Lee demonstrates how ethanol is made + implications relative to renewable energy, ethanol, biofuels etc.
Q + A / Speak Hard!

September 17th 2010

12.00pm - Film Screening: Our Mr. Sun (40mins)
A 1950's educational film about our relationship to the sun as harvester of its energy.
Speak Hard to follow.

01:30pm - Making SunCakes
Based on a scene from "Our Mr Sun", we will mix and bake a 'sun cake' in our solar oven.

03.00pm - PLaying with the Continuum
How can Jason Moreno's "continuum" be used to look at our lifestyle in relation to others. How can we reconfigure the continuum to revolve around the sun? By drawing a grid on the floor we will map the social spectrum based on a series of questions.

September 18th 2010
Guests: Jonathan Meuser, Elliott Campbell, Lee Palleschi

12.00pm - Screening: Moonshine and Taxes (12mins)
Moonshine and Taxes - A 1956 informational film made by Internal Revenue Service about moonshine and its history.

01.00pm - Blindness!
What would the world be like if you were blinded by the shine? How would social dynamics be influenced by the lose of sights, perhaps you would speak harder in anonymity or create hyper local social microcosms. We will reenact a scene from Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World (2007) by placing buckets on our head and holding discussion blind

02:30pm - State of the Algae Addres by Moderator Jonathan Meuser
Jonathan sets the stage for our Panel Discussion.

03.00pm - Panel Discussion
Join Lee Palleschi, Elliott Campbell, Eugene Cordero and more in a panel discussion on the future of Energy! Moderated by Jonathan Meuser.

September 19th 2010
Guests: Dr. Eugene Cordero

12.00pm - Screening: Moonshine and Taxes (12mins)
Moonshine and Taxes- A 1956 informational film made by Internal Revenue Service about moonshine and its history.

01.00pm - Dr. Eugene Cordero presents the Carbon Footprint Game
Dr Eugene Cordero, author of Cool Cuisine, takes his carbon footprint game on the Sun Runner! A game in guessing which food or drink has the largest carbon footprint by speculating the journey our food takes to get to our mouths.

03.00pm - Carbon Mapping
Return to the Speakhard to Map out journeys that food take, and with Dr. Corderas help, understanding our impact through the movement of goods related to consumption. Using chalk, the floor, the chalkboards and the sunrunner, we will map our movement, the movement of electricity, movement of food, the way regions influence alcohol distillation and lifestyles.

Commissioned by Zero One, San Jose, 2010