Rachel gives a fairly grim view of our own social networks, bringing conversation inside and to a screen rather than outdoors and face-to-face. She seems to ask if we are we really all that far from Wall-E’s floating humans who’ve forgotten what it is to be human. Source: Wall-E George provides a funny anecdote on being ‘stuck’ […]
Month: September 2014
‘kernel’-ing
Raymond Queneau’s sonnet work Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes (Hundred Thousand Billion Poems) Source: goodreads One structure, thousands of combinations. A silly sonnet: One’s left with only sorrow and disease enough to spur on any picaro the Turk you see was deeply mired in sleaze across the hillocks comes a steady blow Just one was right and not […]
Manovich – database as symbolic form
The Manovich reading seemed to bring be a full circle back to one of Adrian’s first lecture’s where he spoke about stories not requiring a beginning, middle and end to exist and that our narratives or recognisable forms are the merely the result of the mediums we use to share them. Manovich notes that media objects have […]
Anderson- The Long Tail
This reading is about online algorithms as an economic model. Using the example of Touching the Void sales on Amazon.com, Anderson explains how algorithms can show service providers like Amazon, what is trending and how best to influence audiences and their purchasing. Amazon brought the book Touching the Void back from obscurity by placing it next to […]
culture jamming
Thought i’d like to share this fabulously funny exchange between culture jammer Jonah Peretti and Nike. Culture jamming is basically subversive advertising. Culture jammers tweak media campaigns and advertising so that the original message is subverted and made to say almost the opposite, putting forth often a social or environmental activist type message. shey.net feature […]
technological determinism
“the belief that technology is the agent of social change” – Andrew, Murphie and John Potts Whether one supports this position or not, as culture we almost passively subscribe to it through our use of language. Potts makes the example of “the computer age” and I would expand on that with phrases like “the digi-age”, […]
the thoughts of 3
Sam attempts to make sense of the collage reading and explain how certain things make sense in isolation whilst others require more context to be understood. He delves into the idea that absence of plot leaves room for other things, particularly the detraction of music! Kudos Sam, I think music association is great way for remembering […]
Watts – the connected age.
“No amount of inventiveness or energy is excessive if it results in the creation of leisure, the increase of personal freedom, or the provision of physical comfort.” Brilliant introduction to this reading that is a discussion for our undeniable reliance on electricity. It succinctly describes a western lifestyle in which we prefer to work smart instead […]
Policemen or ‘pigs’? #phonepost
It always seems strange to me that every time I see a Police car or police officer, be it walking on the street or driving on the roads, that I feel pangs of fear. […]
Hot yoga #thelatestcraze
Since starting back at uni in July, I have enjoyed may new beginnings. Blogging is one, a new part time job moving from hospitality to retail is another. However, the ‘new’ thing I have perhaps delighted in, is Bikram Yoga. In case yoga with all its twisted position, strength hold and back bends wasn’t hard […]