Ufological deriving report
by A.A.A. Bologna

The text that follows is a summary of "A.A.A. Bologna's ufological deriving report" . The author - autonomous astronaut Riccardo Balli - decided to cut off all the complex ufo sightings things and to put more emphasis on AAA Bologna activities. After all, this is what the AAA Intergalactic Confrence in Vienna is all about: updating each AAA group activiies, I guess.

A DAY WITH A.A.A.

"We don't think that ufo and aliens are of the same nature. We believe that what has been seen in the skies is part of this planet story. A story that we're ready to tell" 103 Squadra Vril*1

What follows is a report of 23 April 1997 ufological deriving organized by AAA Bologna to celebrate the second AAA anniversary of the Five Year Plan. The ufological deriving was guided by mr. Alessandro Zanotti, AAA Bologna ufologist.

San Giovanni in Monte square (Bologna) 3.30pm

The day was sunny end clear. A wonderful day of April.

autonomous astronaut: There you are, a wonderful day, isn't it?

a.a.: Yeah, have you got the AAA t-shirts?

a.a.: Yeah, the guys from London sent five of them. This one is for you.

A group of 5 or 6 people arrive.

pubblic: Is it here the thing about ufos?

a.a.: Yeah. How did you know about it?

p.: From the newspaper. Have a look at this fucking cool article on the "Unità"*2 entitled " Here comes the space revolutionaries". But what's going to happen?

Other people arrive.

a.a.: An ufological deriving.

p: What the fuck is that?

a.a.: Well, the deriving practice was a strategy of urban subversion played by the situationists at the end of the 50 in Paris...

p.: Leave it! are you doing a lecture or what? I just want to fucking know what is going to happen!!

a.a.: Easy my friend. This is going to happen: a bloke named A.Zanotti, who is the AAA Bologna ufologist, will guide us through some Bologna'ufological sites.

Other people arrive, between them a radio journalist.

p.: What an ufological site is ?

a.a.: It's just place where someone has seen an ufo.

Luther Blissett arrive.

Luther Blisset: Hy guys, where is Zanotti the druid?

a.a.: He's late!

l.b.: He thinks he is a rockstar, doesn't him?

a.a.: aaaahahahah

a.a.:ahahahah

radio journalist: Hi, I'm a radio Onda d'urto*3 journalist. Can you tell something about AAA? what is that?

A RAI*4 tv journalist arrive.

a.a.: The AAA is an international association that wants to organize indipendent space explora- tion programme...

j.: Cool, I know what you mean. You are neo-situationists, aren't you? I do media pranks as well. I'm a conceptual artist who lives on being a journalist, you know how is it like with art, fucking difficult to live on it...

a.a.: Just a second Zanotti is coming!

Zanotti: Hy guys, I apologize for being late. Cool the AAA shirts, gimme one of them immediatly.

l.b.: Hy Zanotti!

Another group of people arrive.

a.a.: He's the ufologist that will lead the deriving!!!

Rai j.: Hy, I just come to do some filmings for the local tv news programme. I'll follow you with the camera, you are the association of astronauts, aren't you?

a.a.: The Association of Autonomous Astronauts, triple AAA, please. O.k. you're allowed to do the filmings.

Zanotti: We'll wait other 5 minutes then leave!!

j.: You were saying that AAA is an international association, isn'it?

a.a.: Yeah, at the moment there are AAA groups in England, Scotland, Wales, France and in Italy. But it's getting bigger everyday!!

j.: So what are you doing at A.A.A. Bologna at the moment?

a.a.: Many things. The AAA is a network of groups that move in several directions and each group has his own specific interest. Personally at the moment I'm working to an anthology of AAA text called "A taste of lunar dust: the Association of Autonomous Astronauts" to be released for an italian pubblisher. Nothing is sure at the moment, but I hope to succeed in this project.

j.: Tell me about your cultural influences. The situationists in particular, I guess?

a.a.: Look, without any doubt we're influenced by the situationists, but actually dada is very im - portant for us...

Zanotti: The dadaists have done everything in art that has to be done at the beggining of the century!!!

The Rai journalist starts to film.

Zanotti: It's 4 o'clock. Shall we wait a little more?

l.b.: No, let's go, there are 38 of us, a fucking big pubblic, let's go!

a.a.: The ufological deriving starts, let everybody follow us.

j. What do you think about ufology?

a.a.: It's a fucking popular end of the milennium subject. Just think about those mainsteam movies like "Indipendence day" and "Mars attack" or the tv series "X-files". Ufology is just a branch of AAA interests. We chose it, because we wanted to do something popular. We're fed up with some avant-garde elitarism. We're interested in using (and subverting) mainstream codes.

l.b.: I have already heard about this!!!!

j.: So you are not interested in ufology?

a.a.: Yes and no. But if you want to speak specifically about ufology, have a chat with mr. Zanotti.

j.: I got your "A day with AAA" flyer here. Is AAA also a musical group?

a.a.: Yeah, it's another A.A.A. Bologna project, the AAA Bologna sound system.

j.: What kind of music you play?

a.a.: Hard to say, let' say electronic experimental. We're very interested in what is happening in the german end finnish electronic scene. In Helsinki there' s a fucking cool electronic scene with real experimentators, indipendent labels and great raves. There tecno music still has a revolutionary content. Not like in Italy, where it's all shitty coommercial stuff or stupid al - ternative cliche.

j.: You are interested in organizing raves in space, aren'you?

a.a.: Yeah, we're fed up with raves in squats or in the wood. We're organising a rave in space for the year 2000.

The AAA group arrive to the first ufological site, Gates Maggiore.

Z.: This where I've seen an ufo for the first time. I was only five. I used to live in that flat overlooking Gates Maggiore. It was a hot night of August. Suddenly I woke up and felt the need to open up the window. I started to look at the sky and I saw a formation of coloured rhoumbus. I started to stare at that object as if I was ipnotized by it. Since then I've started to read books and magazines of ufology, to meet people that share the same interests and so on. As I used to say I made an alliance with ufo*5

The AAA group leaves Gates Maggiore and direct to Trento Trieste square (Bologna).

j.: Is AAA into New Age culture?

a.a.: Not at all! Frankly I think that this new age trend is just a market or a fashion thing. The AAA hasn't got anything to do with new age, instead it has got a lot to do with the possibility of leaving this millennium behind.

j.: Can you be more explicit please?

a.a.: The AAA is a narrative game, a logic disconnection, a political perspective, a dada blurp, but above a project to escape the millennium.

j.: Can you please be more clear?

l.b.: prprprprprp!

The group arrive in Trento Trieste square. The Rai journalist seems fucking tired of hanging around with such a heavy camera on his shoulder.

Z.: This is the second and last - for today's deriving - ufological site. It happened in July 1991. It was 8 pm, I was heading myself to a friend's house, when I saw a very big square very high in the sky. Never could explain what it was?

p.: How big was the square?

Z.: Impossible to say it, it was too high in the sky.

p.: You didn't take any drugs or alchool, didn't you?

Z.: Everyone who knows me knows that I'm straight-edge.

p.: What do you think of Centro Ufologico Nazionale*6?

Z.: I respect their scientific approach to the subject, but AAA works in a completely different way.

p.: Is this all a prank?

Z.: It's up to you.......


*1 103 Squadra Vril is a fake documentary made by some AAA's Bologna members about the Nazi research on ufo.
*2 "Unità" is an italian newspaper. Founded by Antonio Gramsci, it's now the biggest governative "left-wing" newspaper.
*3 Radio Onda D'urto is an alternative radio in Milan.
*4 Rai is the italian radio and tv broadcasting company.
*5 As I wrote at the begginig of the text, this is just a summary of the ufolgical deriving report.
Here the original text goes on for long quoting bizzare esoteric-urbanistic references that explain the Zanotti's ufo alliance. I didn't mention this part because I think it's innapropriate for the Intergalactic conference (and fucking difficult to translate!!!!!)
6* Centro Ufologico Nazionale is the italian centre for scientific ufos studies.

Riccardo Balli for Association of Autonomous astronauts Bologna