Saturday, October 18, 2003

After doing the assignement, i understand more deeply what Marshall McLuhan said "the medium is the message". The media a method in order to transmit a certain message to viewer or audience. However, the purpose of the certain media is not just show what the content said, but is what the ideology of the media transmitted. Imagine, can you remember all the detail what the TV program shows last week? Every people just can remember what the style of the story shown in last week. This is the example to explain medium transmit a message for the viewer rather than the content for the viewer.
This idea apply to the progression technology, the desire of human of the technology increase day by day. Most of the thing in this decade can be done by technology. Therefore the human's valueable change with the progressive technology as well. Human is over dependence on the technology, that what McLuhan means "a danger of a over-extension". Therefore we need to use technologies carefully, dont let human follow the technology. Remember, technology is produced by human, so technology need to follow the direction of human.

posted by Anonymous at 11:02 PM

Katherine mentioned in her blog that these days, a home is filled with digital technologies. Well, think Digital Homes. Businessweek recently ran a special report on Digital Homes. In some parts of the world, and accessible to affluent consumers for now, some homes have not only been wired, but have turned into technological environments. And every part of the home is immersed in the environment. Bathrooms equipped with mirror TVs from Philips that not only show you your reflection, but also show you road conditions, the latest news, etc. How about a faucet that runs with the human touch, and fills up a tub in just 60 seconds? Now think about the living room. That whole integrated sound system is old news. Now, you can download music from the Internet or record TV programs, and all your entertainment can be seamlessly transferred and played on every entertainment equipment in the house. What about curtain blinds that rise and descend automatically when the sun rises and night falls? How about calling your oven from work to instruct it to begin cooking your home-made lasagna? Previously all these were dreams, and then later progressed into clumsy trials and separate chunks of technology that lacked compatibility. Now relevant companies are teaming up to make it seamless, connected, and compatible, using the Internet as a common platform.

It all sounds terribly 21st century, where our lives are immersed in technology. Don’t get me wrong. Last week I posted a blog on how I think sometimes I like to get away from the Net, and indulge in simple things in life that don’t require technology. That has brought about a swift response from one of the bloggers here, astutely pointing out that everything from my watch to TV is technology. Allow me to establish the fact that I do appreciate the technology that surrounds me and makes my life better. It is just that sometimes, I do want to get away from the Net. It is tiring to face a computer 24/7, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate other machines.

We have, become dependent on technology, or the raw term, “machines”. Imagine if you lived in a digital home. Your life would improve possibly because everything works at a click or a simple command from you. No more hassle. But what if it fails? What if the server hung? What if something went wrong with that wired mesh? Would your life fall apart? Would you be able to live and function properly as you did before you had everything seamlessly connected?

The fact that a huge part of our life hinges on whether the technology can function properly brings to light our vulnerabilities. If the server hangs, we are handicapped. We can’t email, can’t research, can’t connect with our friends, etc. If, in the digital home, some wire to the TV snaps, or the oven breaks down because of some setting, there goes our entertainment and our dinner. If the electronic faucet in the bathroom won’t dispense water because of some technical fault at 11pm at night, there goes our shower and water. Such an indispensable link to technology, in my opinion, is like a double-edged sword, We are made better because of it, but simultaneously, we could be handicapped by their malfunction. And this, I think, is the kind of tug-of-war that we would be engaging in, in the near future, when we are living in digital homes. And hopefully, by then, we wouldn’t have forgotten that once upon a time, living was possible without all that digi-gadgets.




posted by Anonymous at 10:05 PM

Is it possible to provide music legally? Why don’t the five major music record companies look for the way of legalization of downloading music through Internet rather than trying stopping music downloading. How much should the users pay for one song? It depends on how popular they are, I believe. We can buy CDs released long time ago with cheap price. The reason why people tend to download music is not only are they cheap or free but also people can organize the musics in the order of their preference and one CD can contain more than a hundred MP3 files. They also might have satisfaction with having a tiny cute gadget. I have a question that “should we approach in the same way for the matter of free downloading films?.” I think it will causes a bigger problem than music downloading because people are not likely to watch the same film more than three times. Eight major ‘mp3’ websites providing on-line music streaming service have not been able to provide users with maximum 90% MP3 music files from last first of October in Korea. It is expected that the users who have already paid to use the websites will appeal to the websites. The reason why the websites stopped providing on-line music streaming is ‘Korea Internet Music Service’ (KAIMS) they have failed to negotiate a fee with people who have the ownership of the music last 30th of September. It shows that the on-line music providers are trying to make their business legal even though they are not be able to provide on-line music streaming. As a result, they can not provide 90% music they have provided until they have permission. As the technologies and media culture change everyday, there are confliction between forms of old and new media and there should seem to be compromise between people related to their business.
posted by Anonymous at 9:00 PM

There have been a couple of posts recently regarding digital cinema. While movies like the new Star Wars films obviously use the technology for special effects, there are other advantages to using digital cameras to make films.
For example 28 Days Later (great film by the way) is shot entirely with digital cameras. This is why the movie has that grainy look. Luckily the low definition suits the film, but that isn't why the director chose to use DV cameras. He needed to film the scenes of deserted London very quickly because they had police holding back traffic in order to empty Piccadilly Circus, The London Bridge etc. Digital cameras are more mobile and require less set up time, thus allowing the crew to film scenes in a few hours that would have taken a day or more with conventional cameras.


posted by Anonymous at 8:38 PM

Blog Number Three - o yeah!
While attempting to research 'virtual' phenomena for my assignment I discovered some pretty crazy attempts at the art of simulation. I thought Id share my favorite with you now...
To begin with however, here is a quick definition Virtual Reality 'VR is the delivery to a human of the most convincing illusion possible, that they are in another reality. This reality exists in digital electronic form and is a way for humans to visualise, manipulate and interact with computers etc' (Harrison et al Experiments in VR 1996). VR simulators have their roots in flight simulators and computer arcade games. Flight simulators dates back to 1910 an were aimed at training pilots cheaply and safely. It was not until the development of the electronic computer in the 1950s, that simulators could be built around mathematical equations which modeled the characteristics of flight, or more simply, by using a computer, the numbers displayed on a pilots instrument panels eg height airspeed etc, could represent the effect of the pilot's control and movements on the aircraft.
Developer Morton Heilig then took this technology and produced an interesting 'immersive' simulator machine aimed at the entertainment industry. Now, to skip a couple of decades of development in VR and simulator technology,we find ourselves in the present. VR is a key technological growth area for now and in the future, with many applications in fields such as entertainment, architecture and even surgery.
It is in the medicine world that I've decided to focus, because it is all just so damn cool. Due to the enormous complexity of the human anatomy the ability to generate complete virtual replicas of the human body is still a little way off yet, but scientists have been able to replicate small areas of the body in virtual models. For example the abdominal area. The virtual abdomen provides a tool and a method of practicing surgical procedures. Instruments such as clamps and scapels may be grasped and manipulated, and anatomical structures may be evaluated from any angle, giving new perspectives and this also allows medical students a chance to study this area without actually performing surgery or dissecting a corpse!
Sounds like a more cleaner way to learn!

posted by Anonymous at 6:21 PM

Blog Entry #9:
(Just two more to go…)
Having been prompted by my 203 assignment on ‘virtual’ phenomena, in which I wrote part on the PS2 game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, I decided to use my second-to-last blog to tell you about an interesting internet marketing campaign I have discovered for the game Manhunt. And… it also kind of ties into last week’s topic on cybersex!

Manhunt is the latest game from video game developer Rockstar North (of Grand Theft Auto fame). Described by its makers as a game that “explores the depths of human depravity in a vicious, sadistic tale of urban horror,” Manhunt pits the player against a city full of brutal gangs, in which they must kill or be killed. Before any details were available for this PS2 game, Rockstar launched www.valiant-ent.tv, which appears to be an adult-orientated site for a company called “Valiant Video Enterprises.” Complete with a splash page warning of the site’s explicit material, and a sign proclaiming “MEMBERS ONLY” (to enter the site, you must first enter any username and password, and agree to the terms and conditions), the site is really just a means for presenting a few short, low res video teasers of Manhunt. In addition to this, there is a “member forum,” which offers a few more hints to the content of game, which, until the recent launch of the official site, was veiled in much secrecy. I just find it interesting how Rockstar, who used multiple mock-websites for their Grand Theft Auto games (see kentpaul.com, for example), use the internet as a marketing tool -- by situating their games’ diegeses beyond just the medium of the console.

That’s me. Now, back to assignments…
posted by Anonymous at 4:34 PM

It is also a one-world philosophy. Not only because of the secret history of Afrika's primacy in early human cultural and physical evolution, but also because it is a sane alternative leading to a sustainable future. Afrofuturism is inclusive, yet it is very much aware that each thing, person, institution and body politic has its place and time and that each must fulfill its inherent purpose. This aspect makes afrofuturism more than a political or literary/artistic discourse since it approaches the metaphysical in its insistence upon realizing the fullest expression of each and every aspect of its existence. It becomes a way of life, a way of thinking holistically.

Chuffed:
I was searching for "Afrofuturism" on Google and it linked me to the class blog! Bad ass!
Reprise:
Other than Mandalorian, what race is Jango Fett?
posted by Anonymous at 8:37 AM

Yeah Arvid good example about the comparison between the old vs new star wars (and I enjoyed reading your blog - so eloquent - you're right, George Lucas is a jackass).
The debate between traditionalists and ... uh..'digital-lover-ists' goes on... this topic reminded me of a photography presentation I went to recently. The photographer... i can't remember her name but it definitely started with 'J'... anyway, she was just starting to experiment with digital photography. She decided she didn't want to sacrifice any quality, so she captured her images at a ginormously huge resolution. Then she printed them on huge paper too. The pictures were like, 4 times of A1 size, and even this big, she was convinced the quality was excellent.

And then this woman comes up and points at it, and goes 'hey - i can see the pixels!'

Miss J was really pissed off. She went quite defensive and said 'no you can't' and proceeded to ramble off the ginormous file sizes of her pictures. The interesting thing was, we'd just been looking at some of her other, just as big 'traditional' prints, and she was saying how she liked the effect of the 'grain' from the film that you can see when you blow prints up really big like that.
So, this guy asked her: "How come you don't mind people seeing the grain of the film, but don't want them to see the pixels on your digital pictures? Aren't they both results of the technology used to capture your images, and kind of the same thing?"
Miss J thought about it... and said: "Well... I guess because digital photography is still trying to prove itself as an artistic medium... and I just don't want people to see any flaws in it.... but you're right, they are the same thing. Interesting."

posted by Anonymous at 3:24 AM

Well, last lecture we talked about the digital cinema. As the consumers today, we are getting more and more amazing about the high technology in contemporary world and they are so fantastic ^_^

To say that due to digital technology, motion pictures are poised to make their greatest technological leap since the
introdution of sound is both true and obvious. However, the significance of digital tools goes beyond merely creating
cool morphs. They will have an even greater impact on film structure, aesthetics, and meaning. The accomplishments of today are just the beginning. For it is equally true, and less obvious as mentioned above, that in terms of digital technology, motion pictures are poised to make their greatest aesthetic and structural leap since D.W.Griffith invented modern film narrative structure with the creation parrallel editing. A new film form is being born and Digital Cinema is it's name. The goal of digital cinema is not to recreate reality, rather it is to communicate some view of reality. "Roger.B Wyatt: Welcome to digital cinema today."
posted by Anonymous at 3:13 AM

____________

Friday, October 17, 2003

Up to now, digitai camera is not a new things to us any more. But have you ever imagined that it can be installed in your cute watch on your wrist on day. Now this imagination has been realised.Remember how cool cartoon detective Dick Tracy was with his two-way wrist phone? Cell phone companies may not have anything like it very soon. But consumer electronics maker Casio has something almost as neat: a watch that doubles as a color digital camera.

Gary Schultz, a director of marketing with Casio's Mobile Information Products group, says the wristwatch has a little sensor that can capture images of objects about 6 to 10 feet away. The image appears on the watch face as a black and white picture, but the images can be seen in full color on a PC.

And Schultz says that getting it onto a computer isn't difficult. "You plug a little device into the side of the watch, and you plug that into your PC and it automatically syncs," he says.

Once the images are on the PC, "You can e-mail them to friends or family, you can use them as part of a presentation in PowerPoint, or you can send them to a printing service and actually have a standard glossy photo [made]," he says.

The wrist camera holds up to 80 images. In addition to keeping time, the watch will also store names, addresses and other personal data.


posted by Anonymous at 11:42 PM

Everybody knows internet games, many internet clubs earn profit by some people play want to internet games together, maybe in one team or maybe they can be adversary. Now the internet games are not just games, it includes in sport domain, some of the countries pay money to the players and let them play. Every year there are some matches in different countries from the world, some countries are already pay attention of these new area of sport, they pay all the fees for their countries players. The champion of one game(I forgot the name) he can click his mouse 6 times for second to build his backside and fight with his enermy at the same time, other people feel sick when they look at his screen. Win the champion does not only show they have good players, and also show they can control the most popular technologies in he world. So the internet games is the message which tell us the change of game quality and realism, maybe one the games are not games any more, who knows?


posted by Anonymous at 9:00 PM

The artical from QUALCOMM discusses what is meant by Digital Cinema, and states that:'The Digital Cinema system delivers motion pictures that have been digitized, compressed and encrypted to theatres using either physical media distribution (such as DVD-ROMs) or electronic transmission methods, such as via satellite multicast methods.'
I'd like rise an issue around the death of cinema because the emergence of digital technology. Movies on DVDs for example, has a large impact on cinema-going activities. In NZ, someone could argue it will cost out family(with five members) 12*5=$60+(candy expenses) to go for a single movie, however, it is only $29.95-$39.95 for a DVD copy, and we may watch it over and over, isn't it a 'massive saving'?! Modern technologies have virtually brought cinema into domestic in some sense. Recently, in my hometown Shanghai, theatre starts to become smaller(arround 300 people for each viewing room) in comparison to those large theatre before where has the capacity up to 1,000 people which leads to traffic jam after each screen. Such changes took place right after the emergence of digital recording technology.
posted by Anonymous at 8:09 PM

Well, guys it’s nearly the end of this semester:)
The lecture which was on Thursday talked about the digital cinema and it involves one interesting argument that is “cinema’s death”. Will digital cinema contribute to the death of the earlier art form--cinema?

As Lev Manovich points out in his book named The Language of New Media “As traditional film technology is universally being replaced by digital technology, the logic of the filmmaking process is being redefined.”

Certainly, digital cinema can bring some advantages on film’s production, distribution and exhibition sectors. Such as non-linear editing, ‘store-and forward’ distributing which can reduce the delivery and assembly costs. “In traditional filmmaking, editing and special effects were strictly separate activities. An editor worked on ordering sequences of images; any intervention within an image was handled by special-effects specialists.” But within digital cinema, editors do not need to follow the order of certain sequences of images. Moreover, the digital cinema system uses a "store-and-forward" concept to distribute motion pictures. Thus, digital Cinema will simultaneously meet the goals of distributors, exhibitors, the creative community and movie-going audiences. And Lev uses some short sentences to conclude the new principle of the digital cinema making, “reordering sequences of images in time, compositing them together in space, modifying parts of an individual image, and changing individual pixels become the same operation, conceptually and practically.”

Digital cinema is an advanced way to produce, distribute film. I think the purpose of the emergence of digital cinema is to find a new way to make the process of film making faster, cheaper and better. It offers more choices for audience. At the moment, I think from the aesthetic aspect, the quality of the traditional cinema is better than digital cinema. Maybe the coming of digital cinema will affect the traditional form of cinema making, but it will be good for the development of cinema making, and keep this earlier art form to catch up the development of advanced technology.

Have a good weekend:)
posted by Anonymous at 7:46 PM

Visit www.doodie.com 4 fun, (maybe, but not for me)

The new shit cartoon website and they've already got two series. All the flash cartoons very short but have the same topice: about the shit. Most of them are a little bit disguishing to me (especially with the sound) but I still found some interesting pieces like the fifth and the tenth in the series 2. Go and check for yourself. I just have one question, shall we call it art?
posted by Anonymous at 6:39 PM

posted by Anonymous at 6:38 AM

Well, I think most of us are quite often using Google to do the search. I just want to share some interesting and different versions of the Google's logo:)

{images removed}
posted by Anonymous at 2:40 AM

____________

Thursday, October 16, 2003

sorry for the images i'm just seeing if it works...i don't seem to be able over the battle of displaying an image in my blogs..here goes nothing.
posted by Anonymous at 11:34 PM

Hi all,

just been reading thru everyone's comments over the past few days, some crazy stuff. Now that i saw the picture of illustrating tentacle rape i totally get what Scott was on about...The legendary munga film 'legend of the overfend'....well for any of use out their out of the four sequels it doesnt get much better than the first and believe me it still disturbs me and i was drunk at the time i watched it...so i dare not watch it sober. Thanks Gareth for reminding me of the memorable image.....hehe Another good munga film if your into humans being modified to enable them to perform extraordinary superhuman stunts, a good film is Ghost in the shell...im pretty sure thats the title..i watch so many munga films due to the influence of my partner and i find them rather interesting, chinese, japanese animation is so detailed that its amazing what technology has enabled sketch artists and animation films to do...they look almost real.

My main point of conversation was actually to ask, has anyone been into the science department building?
As i ventured my way down to the statistics lab i noticed that the glass corridor on one side had been decorated. It has a time line that shows how techology has developed over the years. It has graphical images, colour and information about technology. For example it mentions the very first calculators that maths and stat students used until 1970, 'Multo-Calculator...Had glass cases displaying floppy disks and boy have they become a lot smaller, as well compacts disks. Then its got a caption near an apple computer stating how the University of Auckland used IBM 1620 in 1963. Through to pictures of web sites, film clips and a whole case dedicated to the development of cellular phones. Over all fields of technology whether computers or communication systems the common theme is that they have all shrunk in size but increased in function options. I thought that the University has really made 'Great Use of Space'...its really been used well....be gone with the dreary grey or brown walls of the maths and physics building.
posted by Anonymous at 11:32 PM

Official Blog Numero Ocho(8)

EFTPOS We all use it, well, at least we all know what it is. Ok, this isnt realy a new technology, but something happened today that I shocked the hell outta me.

Oh, just before i go on, no offence to anyone who works or knows someone who works at the new 'cafe-bar' called Slurp located at the bottom of the new commons building.

The shock, it be EFTPOS based tipping.

Tipping you say? Now, not literally turning the machine over. Upon the sales counter person swiping your card, the following blocky lettering comes up on the tiny eftpos screen.

PRESS CLR FOR NO OR OK FOR YES IF YOU WANT TO TIP

Now... I'm not cheap genereally, but I htink its safe to say that in NZ, tipping isnt a big deal anyway. I think its adopted more in the US than here(Can any1 back that up?) What bakes my noodle(or Chicken Panini in this case) is that a tip is generally given to the waiter/waitress that serves you. Since when do you give EFTPOSTIPS. If I was served well, and could afford it, I'd tip more often.
Whats even crazier is why would a Cafe in the university implement something like this. Dont they know that students are generally the most frugal of human species?
If anyone else has encountered this new EFTPOS Tipping technology at any other restaurants, speak up.

I'll never tip a machine, not unless it can do something more than ask for a tip. Oooo... take that outta context in the cybersex lecture week. Again, I allude to A.I., just cos it shows human and technology interaction so well.

"Hey Jo, whadda know"
"Hey Jane whats your game"
-explanation, I dont think so. Thats two technocultural Jude Law movies in just two weeks.

Essays done.........phewness

Try relax for a portion of the weekend peoples.

-Damo.

posted by Anonymous at 11:19 PM

Isn't she/it beautiful, hot or just disgusting? What if you can not see those electronic staff on her/its face, she/it is just your colleague or classmate around you? That's the main reason why some of us are against this kind of technology.
Of course, the impact of cyborgization on human seems still infinity. Personally, I think as long as the technology has the demand of serving our health, it should be moving on. For example, there is an article named Cyborgization Improves Lives, author uses a diving computer to illustrate how important the cyborgization in issues of health and safety. I totally agree with him because I went for a diving course just few month ago in Australia. What the diving computer does is to calculate how much nitrogen divers are actually breathing and work out the pressure group of divers after each dive. It also help to control the speed when ascent which is crucial. When diver goes up too fast, the computer will beep under the water to alert him/her to provent the nitrogen bubbles dissolved in diver's blood and tissues expanding in an unacceptable speed, causing serious decompression sickness. In this case, the dive computer becomes part of our human body to protect us from danger.
posted by Anonymous at 6:26 PM

Cyber Sex
I thought our lecture on Cyber sex was sexist because it only focused on women porn, and did not show male porn or any other form of porn. Don’t get me wrong its not like I really wanted to look at it, but when looking at cyber sex all aspects should be explored. Its not like female porn is not the dominating cyber sex form. Now lets talk about porn. I don’t know how people can be so addictive to porn to the extent that they would pay up to $6000 to have their dream doll created. There are many opportunities for people to have “real” sex in the world. I can see how chat rooms can become addictive because when in a chartroom you can become anyone you want. If your fat you can say your skinny, if your bald you can say you’ve got hair, there are so many identified men and women can create when there are exploring cyber sex. My personal opinion is that anyone that needs a computer to satisfy their sex urges should get out more often.

posted by Anonymous at 4:03 PM

Dumb puter didn't post the link, so here it is
http://xtramsn.co.nz/entertainment/0,,3909-2751192,00.html
posted by Anonymous at 3:27 PM

As a side note to sex etc, but keeping the the realms of oddness and what spins others nipples, is about one strange and fucked up man. But the dog makes it almost monty python-ish, bordering on completle weirdness.
posted by Anonymous at 3:19 PM

If Any:
Props to Scribe for being the fatest-selling New Zealand artist in history with his album The Crusader. 10,500 units in one day. Props to me for pre-ordering it about 3 week ago. It's a little scant at only 45mins (what is this, Illmatic?) but comes with the Chris Graham videos which are surely the best NZ has ever produced.
==========================================================
Hip Hop in Aotearoa as a Contemporary Art-form
Gareth Shute
An earlier version of this essay appeared in JAAM 19 (Nov 2002): 86-94
A nice essay from our very own English Department
Speakin' to dead poets by conjurin' up they spirits
From Shakespeare to Edgar Allen; Yo,
The whole Dead Poets Society couldn't mess around
With the talent; much less understand it
- Canibus, Wake Up Show Freestyle
==========================================================
While watching the "Stand Up" video in full rendered splendour guess who I should see in the background? The dude from No Artificial Flavours! Sweet Azz Bo'!
posted by Anonymous at 1:37 AM

____________

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

On Wed 's lecture, we talked about cybersex, it is a kind of exciting topic...actually not for everyone, hehe
I feel amazing what the high tech can provide to people nowadays even for the physiological needs. Of course these kinds of products are mostly targeting the male readers or consumers. the real doll and the virtual sex machine are wholly advanced and expensive. Yes you can buy part of real doll. What makes me astounding is that the sex machine makes the incredible consequence of the visual sense and the feeling using the combination with real world (the real feeling) and virtual world (the selected girls). However, love and sex are usually between two real people; now, one changes to machine. I am afraid that someday the machine will take place of human.

posted by Anonymous at 10:08 PM

Wow...
well.. while I surfing the net... I found the news (that updated today!) ... which is about the NEW-generation of sex toy....
which is we saw in the lecture today... that.. -0- woman appears on the screen and... you see?

anyhow... I think Movie 'Demolition Man is one of the first movie (You can see Sandra Bullock in this film~) that deals with Virtual Sex...

-0- well.. anyway i gotta go to bed... (2 late..)
Sweet Dreams (are made of this) everyone.. :)
posted by Anonymous at 5:52 AM

What would Freud say about Tentacle rape?
Sorry anyone offended by this but it's certainly less explicit than the lecture today.

I'm an urban media addict ie Flyers, The Fix free dinky dance mags etc. Nice to see this kind of thing acknowledged in Pulp's last issue.

This is the description from the Digital Punks flyer a while back. Just thought it accenuated the recent technoculture topics nicely. Digi punks is back this friday at WBC, always a good night.
Imagine a skanky little cyber-droid flashing her knickers at awell stacked guitar in a dirty ol’ house… they’d be steaming up the backdoor in an electro-flash… of course their bastard lovechild has already progressed into (im)maturity and swaggered into town, so O.B. and Shue are gonna be playin’_her ass – a thrilling spectacle indeed… Break it on down? Dirty beats ‘n gritty electronic funk – bring it.
posted by We're Not Floating at 3:19 AM

Due to assignments and needing an afternoon sleep, I missed out on the evidently interesting lecture today. But I couldnt tell if it was actually illegal or not to take a dump on someones chest. If it is illegal to take a dump on someones chest. I think that is a load of crap! If its consensual then it should be legal. But from not having anything to do with this, I think its mostly toilet homour. I mean if I was in class I probably would have found it hard to not squeeze out a little laugh. With some comments like 'guys its cheaper to buy the girl', or the classic line from Nick 'I've seen these activities', it would appear as though Cybersex is predominately aimed towards men. Nick you will have to tell me which video store you go to. I would like to follow through about cybersex. Not that I practice it, but I would have to say cybersex is okay, even if I am a guy. With a media saturated world and difficult women these days, it seems like its the way to go. You get the same pleasure pretty much without all the hassle.
Take the bold font in your own assumption.
posted by Anonymous at 2:18 AM

Forgive me if this has been said many times and I've missed it, but who knows where to hand in the essay on Friday? This is my first film paper at Auckland... do we go to the Film Office in the Arts Building??

Also, This is Love.


posted by Anonymous at 2:16 AM

I am no sure where this article originally from
I go this from internet community called "Au Revoir?B?B"
This community is at www.naver.com
If you want to pay visit you are welcome to do so...only if you can read Korean
Well..these kids are full of ideas, some so cute and some so surprisingly clever
I presume kids ,in the article, are Americans

A group of professional people posed this question to a
group of 4 to 8 year-olds,

What does love mean?


The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone
could have imagined. See what you think.

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on
shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
- Karl - age 5


"Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but
you don't yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings."
- Samantha - age 6


"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
- Terri- age 4



"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she
takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
- Danny - age 7



"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get
tired of kissing, you still want to be together and
you talk more. My mommy and Daddy are like that. They
look gross when they kiss."
-Emily - age 8



"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he
wears it everyday."
- Noelle - age 7



"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who
are still friends even after they know each other so well."
-Tommy - age 6


"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I
looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy
waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I
wasn't scared anymore."
- Cindy - age 8



"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."
- Elaine-age 5



"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still
says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."(I personally think Chris' mother's favourite actor is Robert Redford)
- Chris - age 8



"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you
left him alone all day."
- Mary Ann - age 4

....
Which one do you like the best?
I like the last one and Tommy's one
posted by Anonymous at 1:54 AM

Transform and Roll Out
hey man, people pay good money to stare at lifeless mannequins. Well, lifeless insofar as they come with "Real Sucking Action" - and stare insofar as as they try to bust one.
Anyone notice Scott's hijack of Not Another Teen Movie?
Two types of fetish:
Freud: Over-determined, displaced phallus
Marx: Over-valued commodity
It's in the blood, it's in the will
It's in the mighty hands of steel
- Stan Bush, You Got the Touch Theme from Transformers.
posted by Anonymous at 1:09 AM

thats the strange thing fran, i talked with scott after the lecture and he confirmed my deepest fears. dumping on the chest is illegal just like homosexuality used to be. it is impossible to enforce which is why i wonder why they bother making it illegal in the first place. i would have thought that having someone dump on ones chest would be punishment enough?
posted by Anonymous at 1:00 AM

Just in reference to Nick's blog, I was thinking that if it actually was illegal to 'dump on someones chest' then it would be pretty hard to enforce, I think what scott meant was that it is illegal to make it or sell it maybe? I dont know today's lecture really opened my eyes, well it would be pretty hard not to with the images that were flashed across the screen corrupting my innocent eyes!!! It shocked me quite a bit, I really want to know do any of you guys or girls spend much time on these sites, as I am in the low percentage of viewers in this area obviously I have never accessed a porn site. Probably the most interesting thing to me today was that techonology has enabled people to find love in a 'living doll' forget buying a flash car to get a girl, guys its cheaper to buy the girl.
posted by Anonymous at 12:39 AM

____________

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

I am a little perturbed by the fact that transformers are still a staple conversation piece for people of our age. Yea they were cool garath in the 80's, this sort of discussion is about as interesting as staring into the dead eyes of a lifeless manequin.
posted by Anonymous at 8:28 PM

Yes Nick. But as we have learned today, lifeless maniquins are a great comfort to many people.
And I'm not saying that Transformers are interesting, per se but it is their continued association with specific types of electronic music that intrigues me.
posted by We're Not Floating at 8:27 PM

Cybersex. Scott could have chosen higher resolution vitual girls to show, I mean look at quality of animation these days, Nemo, Final Fantasy. I must admit to finding the girls of Dead or Alive (xbox) just as sexy as any porn website.
I guess this comes from years of virtual immersion in video games, which makes me wonder if years of staring at animals (A farmer for example) would lead to a fetishizing of the farmyard creatures.
There is obviously some truth in this as it couldn't exist as rumour, I suppose.

Anybody back this up?

Does years as a janitor lead to a scat fetish?
posted by We're Not Floating at 8:27 PM

Lecture about Stelarc was interesting, because of his amazing thoughts and some of his practice, I think he need to continue until he gives us wings. The idea of being cyborg is kind weird because is better to be human and able to fly just temporary wear a particular machine and fly but I guess they are going to say that we have that already like aeroplanes etc but the real wings like a bird but mechanical as well as extra ear.

In the future things will change, is like many decades ago before telephone or computers and look now the world is used to computers and find them useful. The new invention of what human can do when joined with machine i am sure will be fascinating, although we have already started using fake arms and legs.
posted by Anonymous at 8:09 PM

Ahh! Jihyun, I think you have made such a good point! I was trying to get at some of that in class, and sat down now to hopefully convey myself better now that I have a delete key to carefully edit my very wordy words. Is it appropriate to think of enhancement differently whether it is done organically or not? Admittedly, Stelerac’s work is intended to shock a bit as that is the nature of his presentation as a performance artist, but I think I am not alone in having a gruesome response towards his ambitions no matter how splashy or mundane they may be. I feel there is an overall sentiment of absurdity when we hear of people having cell phone implants in their ear (I don’t know about here, but in the states this has been one of those someone knew someone who… phenomenon). To me, not only did his innovations, or aspirations to certain innovations seem unnecessary, but I think it can be widely agreed that they were/are disturbing in their attempt to remove -my favourite term I gleaned from this course- “some essence” of being an organically occurring, natural being. I am aware that the material of the enhancements being metallic and mechanical echoes of sci-fi horror films, colouring my/our disgust with their application outside of the contained screen where these materials integration into human bodies has been greatly affected through years of cheesy sci-horror, therefore aiding in my reluctant embrace of his ideas, but I wonder - how is there a consensus that these enhancements are considered gruesome, ridiculous, unnecessary etc., when similar goals are being aspired to in terms of genetic engineering to the applause of many in the empowered societies. I am basing this argument off many generalizations and my view of the consensus, so I am sure that my view of the world being anti-cyborg but pro-genetic enhancement, but if this is true even with a few individuals, is it not hypocritical to be alright with actively medaling with ourselves in terms of genetics when we wouldn’t consider it via cybernetics?
posted by Anonymous at 5:53 PM

I found an interesting book called "Psychology and the Internet". It talked about the advantages and disadvantages of online therapy which is in a way changing the nature of the therapist-client relationship. The patient and client don't meet face-to-face so the therapist misses all the nonverbal gestures and tone of voice. This could cause the client to be misinterpreted easily. Also since there's no sense of distance on the Internet, the client could be located anywhere. Their problems could stem from something geography sensitive such as natural disasters, political problems or economic problems. It's up to the therapist to be knowledgeable about such problems in their client's location.
Another problem with this set-up is that the therapist may advertise fake credentials and many times the client does not take the time to check it out.
But some people who suffer from severe social phobias benefit from the Internet therapy because they don't have to go out and meet the client or a group. Of course, meeting with people could help alleviate the phobia but most of these people probably would not seek therapy if they did have to go meet the people. Seeking therapy online gives them a chance to build a relationship with the therapist and is a good stepping stone.
posted by Anonymous at 3:11 PM

Have you ever seen a film, Gattaca?
The film is about DNA modification of unborn baby. Before they born, their fate already decided.
If the baby's DNA modified, they can live along with a dominant group of people(they are genetically perfect, heathy, clever, no violent potential and so on). If the baby is not, so called god's child, they have to live as social minority. Latter group of people are prevented from doing "elite" kind of job. It is story abot God's child, Vicent Freeman(see his name) tries to fulfil his dream, to get an "elite" job

I watched this film when I was in high school..I never understand this film, really I just sat there and saw it.
I watched this film quite recently for my assignment. I kinda like this film.
I never liked sci-fi films, because I don't like special effect in the sci-fi films. Somehow, such effect disrupt me from viewing the film.
I like Gattaca, because it is sci-fi without special effect.
And guess what? I found Jude Law from my recent viewing of the film.

I think those DNA modified people are no different to cyborgs(even they are organic).
DNA modifies humans are more like "priduced" than made.
One thing that unique human quality is "making a mistake" and the other is hidden potentaol ability.
Firstly, DNA modified people never makes mistekes(they are desined to do so), and secondly, all DNA modified people(at least in the film) was not stronger than real human. DNA modified people strongly believe, they are the best. However, they did not cosider the power of human will.


posted by Anonymous at 3:49 AM

____________

Monday, October 13, 2003

This is my second attempt at this...
Official blog entry 2

While sitting in the quad the other evening I noticed that 4 shiny new cameras had been errected over my head. This got me a thinking about issues with surveliance and the ever increasing threat to our privacy. Theorist David Lyon in The Surveilance Society states that ' today, routine, mundane surveilance, ussually mounted by agencies and organisations that are geographically remote from us is embedded in every aspect of life'. This is true for major cities around the world and even here in New Zealand. In London for example, 24 hour surveilance cameras are placed in 'notorious crime hotspots' (bbc.com), and even here in Wellington and Auckland, cameras are emerging around the CBDs to watch the streets and keep its inhabitants safe. But does this added security make you feel safe?The notion of privacy is one of my major objections to this installtaion of cameras, but with the developement of new media technologies such as cellphones with cameras and didgital cameras ( eg the Casio exilium which is the size of a credit card), are we now living in a 'big brother' society?And if yes can we stop it?
Digital traces have always told the stories of our lives, from eftpos transactions to shopping loyality cards, which keep keep record of our spending and purchasing habits, as well as placing our exact location at the time of purchase. Although this create a 'fear of being watched' for me , my ulitimate fear is people taking photos without my knowledge and doing 'devilish' things with them!
For example, during a conversation between myself and a friend, another friend of ours stood behind us and took photos on her nokia phone of us. Thus demonstrating the ease at which photos can be taken, and also proving my absent knowledge of sitautions around me. This stood as a wake up call to me, and although I am in no way suggestions I know live my life in fear of being 'snapped', Im just cautious of people with digital cameras etc. Although these developements are adding to our vouyeristic society I d rather stick to me trusty still camera than take photos on a digital camera and place my friends faces on the internet!!

ON a much happier note, I just want to jump on the 'props' wagon and just add my two cents about the Roots concert. O my it was off the chains!!Good too see so many 203ers there too including you Nick yeow!!Wicked night, guess the next big one is 50 cent in Decemebr ... then again maybe not?!
posted by Anonymous at 11:31 PM

Here's a question for you kiddies, What the hell happened to Optimus Prime's Trailer when he transformed from a kick ass truck to a robot?? He even used it on occasions, but it just randomly appeared.... Being the age I was I know it wasn't drugs on my behalf that made it disappear.

Also, on a slightly different tangent, I've heard rumors that they intend to re-make " The magic round-a-bout "!! That will be a dollop of oddness!!
posted by Anonymous at 12:57 PM

Well done Gareth, You Got the Touch!
However in your jack move for subject matter you have neglected emerging Wellington rap team Optimus Prime who were at the summit, the appearance of Soundwave in Aoteafuturist Che Fu's Top Floor music video (also feat. Galactus), and the recent visit of Illadelph's second son DJ Jazzy Jeff - inventor of the Transformer scratch.

As for the Deceptikonz local counterparts, well...

there are worse ways to spend your time - blogging for instance.
- Dan: Automated
posted by Anonymous at 5:22 AM

Transformers & the Future.
I loved Transformers as a young'n. I always liked the percieved limitlessness of their abilities in playtime battles compared to say GI Joe, of which I never owned any.
I also enjoyed the cartoon more than most of that era. I only recently saw the very rare "Great War" Transformers movie where Optimus Prime and Megatron die, along with many others of the old skool crew. It was interesting in the use of the matrix theme and is quite morbid for a kids cartoon.
My Transformers collecting/playing stopped sometime in the early nineties but recently I notice them reappearing (not the soldout Armada series but the originals) in the coolest places.

1. The main reappearance. Deceptikonz the band. New Zealand's answer to Wu Tang. The appropriation of name and logo connotes something about them being on the dark side of the force, as it were. I'm not sure which do gooding Autobots they are fighting but they are one of our "coolest" musical groups I suppose.

Are they Transforming? Like the Transformers that fitted together to form a larger more powerful robot, The Decepikonz do express more power as a performing group but also show high component strength (Mareko) when talking about sales and popularity. The transformation theme was certainly present at their Hip-Hop summit show on saturday where their performance was introduced by a very slick and expensive looking projected video about the Dawn Raid catalogue of performers.

2. Dj Digital @4:20. A Detroit DJ and proponent of the Nu Skool Ghetto Tech (Miami Bass/Hip hop/Electro/Techno) sound. He was very different and very good. The very nice Electro remix of Pharoah Monch-SImon Says was a reaccuring highlight of his set.
Why bring up Transformers? Well he was wearing this flash az Megatron shirt and the musical style seemed to fit the theme of robotics very well.

3. Drum & Bass. Dillinja's "Cybertron" album had many references to Transformers like the title. Optimus Prime and Piledriver are also names of D&B producers.
4. The Irresistible Force. A group on the Ninja Tune label. When specifically asked to produce some tracks that were supposed to sound like they were robotically created they used transformer sounds and vocal samples throughout the songs.

Transformers have intriguing associations for me at least. I think in some cases the names just sound cool but there are definite cultural attachments as I've discussed. The cartoon was interesting because it portrayed a future where robots helped humans battle other bad bots. It didn't feature any cyborgs except in the form of Quintessons who were an enemy of both Autobots & Decepticons & humans. The whole transforming theme is another issue entirely which I will hopefully cover in my cyberspace essay.

Did you know that the Transformers movie was Orsen Welles' last movie, he died during production. He was the voice of the planet Unicron.
posted by We're Not Floating at 4:04 AM

Damo you second prize, you've sent our off-kilter lad even further off-kilter with your off-kilter cinemascope pic. On with the kilters I say.
Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbour
- Dan
posted by Anonymous at 3:35 AM

Tell me about being in a stupor...
neways, i'm truly running dry here in terms of what to blog..its such agony...!! I'm getting migranes trying to figure out whats next to blog really.....
ahh well..so what I do finally just want to look at now, is something that might not have been touched or going to be in class.And it is technology and educaton.I think that there is incredible efforts everywhere in trying to incorporate new media and technologies into the use in the education system everywhere. I mean, one dont have to look far to see this.Here in UoA, many a things are getting put online.But I have already touched on this aspect long ago in few blogs b4.so skip tt.

But tts more of using the technology merely to help n more in administrative matters not in the teaching or the currilum iteself.
And that will be what I hav to say here.There are many experimentations of really truly creating a "new form" of cyber class.This has ranged in different forms.From the emergence of what is called, 'distance' learning. Where students half way across the globe may be tuned in and studying in a couse held by some other institutions else where.Others have taken a more safer yet amateurish steps, by incorporating "online turorials" instead of real ones, such as an example that has been done in National University of Singapore.However, that particualr form did not receive much fans, due to the students unable to figure out why such a thing was ever needed when tradional means was so much more convenient.And of cos, this very class is an example...this blog which i'm feverishly writing..!

But there is one case that i found interesting to share. Which is the move taken by a particular polytechnic called the Republic Polytechnic, again based in Singapore(apologies,but as they say,local knowledge is still best)
What happen's there is that the whole school currilum work around a Wireless network.Every single student has a laptop and is able to get onto the school network and access internet practically in all parts of the campus...canteens,carparks, under a tree...toilets even....yes seriously..becoz its wireless technology, as long as there is a signal detection in the area u r standing on, u can get onto it. though why one would need or want to log on in toilets...escapes my knowledge...!But i was told that pple do and have been seen doing juz tt! which actually was very interestg to me, becoz after talking further w the some of them there, it is evident how things and the environ in that campus is different to the environments that u will normally find in other campuses who are not as connected as this one.
From what I've been told, students there do spend Hugeee amounts of time on the internet and on their laptops.n its everywhere.their breaks are often merely a change of scene, where instead of working on the laptop in the classroom, they move to the canteen.And they use extensive chatting applications amongst themselves, even when the person is right next to them i've been told.Merely becoz out of habit,since they 'secretly' do that when in class.This certainly changed from my days of 'sneaky' note passes back in secondary sch.

The common mode of exchange is thru' this chattg applications like msn etc.So instead of exchanging phone numbers,pple exchange their ICQ numbers for example,at the very best, they would use the closest kin to these which is by SMS or mobile txting.& tho' this is normal u say, but its that Its become a sort of norm social-school culture.
this networked campus changes the manner they interact,work,the way they spend their time.those i spoke to braved to guiltily admit that they constantly get distracted becoz they would surf,download n chat almost constantly all the time.It is like 2nd nature to them.
the peer interactions changed,think of the teacher n student interactions.
the curriculum uses the Problem Based Learning which is basically project and problem solving centred.Class work & activities are all posted on the network..so too is submissions and markings....and it makes one think of the vulnerability of such a network-dependancy.The thought that,of the main network were to fail, massive class and curriculum disruptions will inevitably happen. ...hmm it seem like an invitation for any of their budding student hackivists to precisely try n do...tho' i dont think tt would happen in Singapore...! :)

posted by Anonymous at 2:55 AM

Blog Entry #8:
Being up to my neck in assignments (not least being the FTVMS 203 essay) I decided against making any sort of inspiring comment on the issue of the cyborg. However, in keeping with last week’s theme of cyborgs, and incorporating my love of movies, I thought I would just analyse the flash website (both flash-looking and Macromedia Flash designed) for the movie Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

What most interests me about the site, is the way in which it masquerades as the SkyNet mainframe from the Terminator films. If you haven’t seen any of the films, you won’t know what I’m talking about, but basically, SkyNet is the computer system that goes ballistic and threatens the survival of mankind. Upon entering the site via the splash page, the user is confronted with a loading screen, before coming to the “core” of the site. The T3 site is very busy -- suggestive of a large and active database -- with sounds, animations, numerous links and blocks of information filling out every space. Despite this, the site is surprisingly easy to navigate, with the primary navigational interface consisting of a menu down the left side of the page. The most interesting feature of the site would have to be the way in which parts of it often succumb to failure, resulting in a message explaining “ALERT! Sorry, the SkyNet uplink has failed…” -- evocative of the technical difficulties that the SkyNet mainframe has in the movie…

…I don’t want to ruin T3 for those who haven’t seen it yet, but check out the site here.
And for anybody who’s in the mood for some more scholarly cyborg material, here are a few good links:
Donna Haraway article, ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’
Kevin Warwick Wired magazine article, ‘Cyborg 1.0’
Hari Kunzru Wired magazine article, ‘You Are Cyborg’

See, I did do some thinking.
posted by Anonymous at 12:44 AM

i gonna do for my essay which is no4. "cyberspace"

it is quite hard to understand term of cyberspace..~~~

am.....when i seach for resouces, found one of image which show u down



William Gibson mentions using word "cyberspace" for the first time.
this word is from the "Neuromancer, 1984"
'...reconstructs the mentality of Gibson’s characters, especially the cowboy Case. For Case, cyberspace is a field of dreamlike dissolution, wavering mental abstraction, and drug-like intensity.'from gibson's novel

how it is interesting??????
to tell the truth, it is quite complicate to definite the meaning of cyberspace.
i'm really having confusian of this topic, and i'll try to read more readings and searching some materials for that...

you guys all are fighting!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Luck for your essay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Anonymous at 12:39 AM

____________

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Hi, everyone:

How is the assignment going?
I'm reading some books about VR these days and being introduced to a website called The Wirtual Wall . It contains personal remembrances of letters, photographs, poetry, and citations honoring those women and men named on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. To those who involved in the war and their next generation, it's another place (virtually) to recall their memories or to memorize their heroes. To us, who are outside the disaster, it's a good way to know something about the war or take a lesson. I wonder if there is such site set up for the September 11. The terrorism needs to be comdemned, so is the war!!!

posted by Anonymous at 8:22 PM

I'm going to allude to Hermione's post. Man is but a biological machine, you say you dont want to be dependant upon one? You are one, and you are dependant upon a great many. Watches, radio, microwaves, ovens, T.V, computers, the internet... we are ALL dependant upon machines in some way. I think if you say you dont want to become dependant upon these things, unless you are a bush man, its too late. Even to pass this course we are dependant upon machines, in fact to even enroll in this institution you are dependant upon a machine. Our very existance depends upon the existance of these little mechanical helpers we have developed to make our routine lives, even easier, even more routine, even more mundane and boring.

Of course disconnecting from the net, and hanging with friends or whatever, provides you with some solice and time to 'get away from it all'. But your still connnected, if your mobile phone is on your still hooked up to the communications network. Work can still ring you up and demand that you come in. I think in todays world it is nearly impossible to escape from technology and just get back to basics. Even if you go on a holiday, go camping for a while, within a couple of weeks your allready craving a sweet dose of a little technology. A meal cooked in a proper oven. A nice comfy couch and 50 tv channels.

Ever since man got the brains to invent tools and fire, we have become obsessed with making life easier, end we become ever more dependant upon machines and technology. And it is dangerous. Because as soon as the plug is pulled, so to speak, we are all going to be up shit creek without a paddel. I would love to not have to rely upon my PC, I would love to not require some form of electronic entertainment, be it CD, video games, DVD or movies. But the fact is digital, electronic entertainment is the shit. Its a drug, probably the most influencial drug in the world, sinse everyone is hooked on it. There is no escape, and if you try and kid yourself into believing otherwise then you need to wake up and smell the roses...technology is both everything and nothing. We are simultaniously its master and its servant. And its depressing.
posted by Anonymous at 6:58 PM

micheal jackson ... cool?
posted by Matt at 6:33 PM

OK, I give up. Can anyone tell me which image currently on this page is responsible for stretching the thing width-ways? Can't find the culprit to downsize, and I hate reading so wide across a screen.

posted by Technoculture and New Media at 6:11 PM

No, honestly, my body really is obselete now.

Just wanted to share one of life's little ironies (and some important information about assignment guidance).

A few hours after Thursday's session on Stelarc, my views (which were never really my own anyway if you follow him) on the man were subject to sudden biological modification. Having previously thought his ideas were crazy, but usefully provocative and entertaining (and certainly not dangerous), I was then forced to confront the fact that evolution really had sold me a pup. I'm not referring to the somewhat unnerving realisation, provided by a recent blog entry on this site, that my eyebrows are subject to involuntary (and perhaps telematically controlled) "raising" (I apologise for this and any other facial expressions of which I am not the true author).

No, my latest performance piece took place in central Auckland, and took the form of a very public demonstration of why pneumatic limbs are desirable. As I fell gracefully into the pothole, and the ligaments so evocatively removed those flakes of bone from my ankle, as if to underscore the inevitability of a post-human future, I was already imagining a new exoskeleton for my cyborgian renaissance.

Actually, the exoskeleton design remains a little rudimentary (basically a couple of aluminium poles that turn two arms and two legs into one leg and two less than dextrous but impressively lengthy "leg-arms"). As I work to refine this new mode of metal-flesh symbiosis, my mobility is somewhat restricted. In fact, the funding body for my performance art (known by the acronym ACC) have made their continued support conditional on the artist staying at home with his ankle elevated for a week.

What this means is that I'm available to discuss and offer advice on assignments virtually (i.e. via email), rather than physically, this week. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. But luckily, Nick intends to maintain a corporeal presence around campus, so make an appointment with him if you'd like to discuss your assignments face-to-face. Please don't ask him (or me) to mark rough drafts (as refusal sometimes offends and all that), but either of us is happy to discuss essay plans.

Scott Wilson and Jo Smith will be giving the lectures on Weds and Thurs respectively. Then it'll be exam-talk the following week.

posted by Technoculture and New Media at 2:34 PM

Hey I'm so late with blog number 8, so caught up in essay writing. I hope everyone's is going well.
So i'm know I'm a bit behind with the digital music topic, but hey I like living in the past. So I was reading this article from Time magazine called "How to go Legit", which is basically about how recording companies have put the fear into consumers who were illegally downloading songs free from the net. "Hundreds of file-sharing consumers found themselves slammed with law suits from the recording industry". How scary would that be? Now you may say only in America, but the truth of it is you are cheating the artist from a royalty, as well as the song writer, producer etc, so there are alot of people whose face you don't see losing out. The article mentions how the migrations in music from CD sales to downloadable music is costing the business $700 million dollars a year.
I think while we can complain about big media corporations like Sony who can afford to let you have one song free, the truth is if you download one song you are going to download others and it could be from a band or an artist who is not so big, where every 50c royalty counts.
Apple introduced it's pay per-song service called iTunes just over six months ago. Each song cost 99c US per song which if there in reality is not that much. A quote on the article says "If you had Coke coming out of the faucet - what would you pay for a bottle" but it now looks like the coke is going to be cut off and we are back to consumers pay but only for a glass if you were not wanting the whole bottle.

Any way have a great day!!!
posted by Anonymous at 12:35 PM

I agree with chris. i just wanna try to explain something supernatural, which is never really explained in the movie, In my view, god is not someone, and not something, but everything. Then, what is everything? Everything is energy. there is no supernatural, no death, no alive, but energy. Energy is a wave, and flowing. Our body is just a part of god, a form of energy. If somebody died, it means his body as one form of energy is changed into another form. And the memory, or the sole, also a kind of energy, leaves the physical body, and forms ghost. Ok, supernatural, someone can feel and understand the theory i talked, and even can control the flow of the energy more stronger than others. So compared with others, this person has a supernatural power.

Actually, every one has the power of controlling energy. For instance, if someone is looking at you and thinking of something without saying anything, you might understand he is thinking of kissing you. Another situation, if someone is also thinking of something but hundreds of kilometers away. You are hardly to know what he is thinking of. That means energy is flowing from the person to you by his looking, and thinking. Just in the first situation, the energy is much stronger than that in the second situation.

Now back to the media, i wanna say, information is the energy. watching a horrible movie makes people feel scary. Why? because the information the media produced and transferred into you through your eyes, ears. Also, the information as a kind of energy afected your environment, and the atmosphere around you. You might feel cold and chilly. The real temperature around you is actually not changed, but the scary information (energy) mixed with the air and your body made you feel cold.

So it is interesting, media has more power and various ways to control energy. Telephone, mobile, TV, computer, radio, CD, etc. All of these are transferring energy to us, can we escape? or do we need? because we are just a form of energy.

posted by Anonymous at 5:58 AM

Don't Forget: It's Man vs. Machine

Since about two months ago I've had plans for a post on hip-hop and approximation of the robot in the mechanical movements of breakdancers. Also, had this idea about beatboxing opposing the hyper-real in its celebration of imperfect simulation, as a result of the pre-modern post-human experience. Then it started contrived and I lost interest.

But yeah... Beatboxing: it's not meant to replicate the drum machine, at the art's highest level the imperfection of human simulation is still cherished and celebrated. Beatboxing has a pretty strong lineage in black music: witness Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake... in the absence of formal production training Michael Jackson used to beatbox the lines he wanted for his track then have Quincy and band play compose, arrange, perform and record it for him. Beatboxing is cool and so is Michael Jackson.
Breakdancing approximates the movement of machines.. something about historic division of labour... discourse of the post-industrial... movement of capital inwards but labour outwards... taming the uncanny by controlling the presence of the machine... yada yada etc. Note the pioneer efforts of Puerto Ricans in this form (because they got a knife).

There's this Roots freestyle with DJ Scratch and Black Thought where Scratch does the intro to Planet Rock. It goes "Trans - Euro - Express bum-pa-pikka-pish-pum-ba-pakka-ish Trans - Euro - Express". Keep an ear out for Rahzel's seminal If Your Mother Only Knew where he spits the beat and sings the chorus at the same time.

Here's Man vs. Machine by Rahzel the Godfather of Noyze
The full track also features DJ Skribbles, DJ Slinky and Kenny Muhammed The Human Orechestra



But you're still not ready for the 4 Elements
- Rahzel, Man vs. Machine
In Rahzel's track the mechanical is a match for the natural but not its master.
posted by Anonymous at 3:58 AM

If you think that when you’re off for a business trip in the future, and you can chill out and perhaps catch some sleep or a movie on the plane during the long-haul flight, think again. If broadband Internet gets hauled up onto planes, there’ll probably be no escape from work, even on the plane. The Economist just reported that Connexion by Boeing (CBB), an aviation-internet firm, plans to upload its broadband Internet service in Lufthansa Airline from March next year. Other airlines will soon hop on this bandwagon.

It does seem like the Internet and its ‘virtuality’ has penetrated our daily lives so much so that it sometimes borders on being irritating. So much of our daily activities are now conducted over the Internet – office communications, coursework, banking, purchasing, etc. It doesn’t even seem like we can function a day without hooking up to the Internet. It has become part of an everyday routine. On the one hand, we can process things more efficiently, and simplify routines, but on the other, for some, the Internet has become associated with ‘work’ and serious stuff that there is a subconscious to ‘escape’ from it all. Previously, weekends were meant for people to get away from the office and take a breather, as the office is usually closed on weekends. Now, even weekends could be consumed with work because the Internet made it possible for people to telecommute and work from home. The line between work and non-work hours have been blurred so much so that some people I know complain that half their lives seem to be hooked up with the machine. This raises the question of whether the notion of “time”, will one day, become technology or net-dependent? Will we plan our lives around the availability of a certain technology?

I personally wouldn’t want half my life to be hooked up or dependent upon a machine, or the virtual network that the machine would connect me to. Don’t get me wrong. I find the Internet useful and so far, its done quite a bit of good in my life, in terms of allowing me to keep in touch with my friends and to conduct some of the necessary functions. Call me old-fashion, but for me, the times when I don’t need to be hooked up onto the Net for work, or the times when I don’t wish to hook up to the Net even for ‘play’, are the times that I can really ‘get away from it all’ and focus on other aspects of my life, and these aspects don’t really require a machine.

posted by Anonymous at 3:55 AM

Hey Guys,
I was watching the video "The Ring", the other night, and I was interested in how reliant on media the plot was. The basic plot (for anyone who hasn't seen it) is based around the mysterious deaths seven days after watching a video tape, and the 'race against time' to uncover the reason before the main character (Rachel) dies as result of viewing the film.
It is interesting in the scene where Rachel is scanning across the windows, of an apartment block, with everyone watching television. This is used to imply the potential danger the tape could cause, as television has such a major role in our society. Apart from ideas of 'intertextuality' (of course the movie would make no sense if you weren't familiar with the idea of a video), and the obvious parallel between the people in the movie watching the video, and us at home watching the movie as a video, I was interested in the way it portrayed the new 'ghost' or enemy as a part of the media. The evil terminator has been replaced by a video tape, and due to our cultural practices this is perhaps far more dangerous.

The 'ghost' is a combination of media, and something far more supernatural (which is never really explained). Telephones are used as another connection between 'media' and people.

However it does lead me to question the possible implications of so many people using computers, which are far more interconnected than VCR's and perhaps even telephones..........
I'm waiting in anticipation for the movie to come out portraying the 'attack of the killer computer virus' - arnie for the role????

Chris


posted by Anonymous at 3:47 AM

Today i would like to talk about programme archive on the internet. I m staying in new Zealand for study, but i also need to know what's going on in my home country. The programme archive are upload the radio programe on the net, so i can listen the radio in my home country for updating the news in my home country.

http://pshweb01.881903.com/framework/pccs.gateway?url=jsp/archive/archivePage.jsp&menuID=7&progID=295&k=4

you can listen what you want to listen on the net.

Indeed, internet are importance most of the overseas to keep contact with their home country. We can get news from the internet, we can communicate with our friends even there is a long distance between us such as net meeting on the net, we are not only can talk with other, but also see each other on the net immediately. Although some people said that internet decrease the chance for people communicate face to face, we cant deny that internet obviouly increase the chance for people communication to each other in some way.
posted by Anonymous at 2:53 AM

Blog #8,
Whilst watching the rugby world cup opening ceremony the other night i was surprised to see that of all the light and sound technology that had been used to create the ceremony the coolest thing by far was when 711 children came together to form a rugby player as seen from an aerial view. They (all dressed in colours to make up the guy and the ball in his hands) ran in sync to the movements of him running and scoring a try. It was by far the coolest part of the ceremony and just goes to show that technology isn't everything in todays techno age. Tried to find a pictureof this but couldn't sorry, its on the front of Sat morning herald anyway if you saw that.

posted by Anonymous at 1:45 AM

Hi, all.
8th entry: Cyborgs, cyborgs, cyborgs.........
As a Japanese, when I think about cyborgs or robots, the first thing that comes up in my mind is the image of a cute robot Atom, which is a character of Japanese famous and popular animation, "Astroboy". This cartoon was firstly created by the famous cartoonist Osamu Tezuka in 1951, and it has been the ideal figure of robots for Japanese since then. The story is about the little cyborg boy Atom, which was created by a genius scientist as a substitute for his dead son, but sold to a circus group because of its disability to grow up. Later on, Atom is rescued by another scientist and fights against evils to be mediation between robots (cyborgs) and human beings.

Atom is a cyborg and has heaps of abilities and powers that human beings cannot have. But he goes to a primary school, studies hard, and also has the ability to express his feelings as human beings do. This is one of the points that we talked about in the last Wednesday’s lecture. Where the boundary line would be to classify human and cyborgs if they are able to do things that human do and have various feelings that human have. Or by considering these aspects of cyborgs, how we define ‘human being’ today.

As I said before, since the birth of Atom, he has been the ideal figure of robots for Japanese, and this cartoon actually has been influencing some people who are working on robot or cyborg projects in Japan. I talked about Sony’s pet-robot product, AIBO, in the previous blog entry and the project leader of AIBO comments that his image of robots has been influenced by the cartoon he read when he was little, Atom. He says that the reason why he aimed AIBO to be an autonomic robot rather than a control robot is because of the image of Atom.

If the cyborgs are able to have their own personalities and express their emotions in the future, how will the issues of their rights, responsibilities, etc be treated? Will they maintain useful, helpful and friendly all the time as the innovators imaged, or will they turn to enemies and become out of control, just like some SF movies?



posted by Anonymous at 1:42 AM

I once met this guy (not sure of his name so will call him DAVE) who had a disorder which I can't recall the name of but it meant that he was unable to control/create his own facial expressions. He instead would mirror the expressions of the person he was looking at.
This may sound cute but was infact quite, quite disconcerting.

I remembered this meeting in the lectures about cyborgs and how they might interact with humans. I guess I find this situation interesting because it makes me think about how a simple reaction like frowning is seems an intrinsic part of human nature but may just a part of our "wiring" that can be messed up and possibly copied for use in a machine.
It also makes me think how complex a simple facial reaction to a comment when you take into account the context of conversation, tone of voice and history off the people talking.

Could anybody ever programme so many reactions into a robot to make it seem realistic? I'm thinking the most realistic we could ever expect in terms of a fully robotic/electronic entity would be close to someone similar to DAVE. Someone with automated reactions, who isn't really listening to you but may appear to be from a spectator perspective, which is strangley similar to many social situations i've been in already ;)







posted by We're Not Floating at 1:20 AM

Hey a post on broadband if you didnt already know about it. Broadband is basically an internet connection that is way faster. So some benefits are faster downloads for everyone that needs their music in a hurry. Plus you can surf the net and talk on the phone at the same time. So if you have a phone line free you could download movies without family members complaining about you getting off the net. Which brings me to my next point which is most people talking about burning CDs and ripping off the artisits etc, but what about the people who rip off movies by copying them. And who would the rights go to about getting ripped off? the director, actors, producers?
Just another quick blab about Digital Music, one cool thing about it is with shock absorbers. So if you`re running or have a portable CD player in the car then some players will have shock absorber so you wont get the annoying skip, unless the CD is scratched.
posted by Anonymous at 1:03 AM

Hey

Well I'm guessing it's been a crazy week for everyone with all the assessments happening about now- well in light my limited time I'm going to summerise some of the main points about cyborgs.
Cyborgs refers to a wide range of real and fictional hybrids of the human and machine such as the use of medical implants for instance pacemakers to technologically manipulated individuals of science fiction seen in the movie terminator. The cyborg to put it simply is the conjunction of biological and technological elements. The ideas surrounding cyborgs have a long history stretching back to the first century A.D. as technology has always been intimately involved with a fascination for the possibility of creating life. Cyborgs raise the issue of whether humans remain in control of machines or do machines control us with our heavy reliance upon technology for day to day activities. It's pretty scary sometimes when you think about it.

I was reading Marie Clare the woman's magazine today and there was an interesting article on how with websites like trade me people in a way are selling there identities. Random people who were not celebrities are selling of many of their possessions as a way to make some money and have a bit of fun one guy was trying to sell his sideburns which he had cut of and another was trying to sell mini cocktail umbrellas and many had sold a lot of their odd possessions. It gets crazier and crazier.
posted by Anonymous at 12:57 AM

For a kick off, I want to re-state my belief that we should of used Futurama in class. I mean, how many times have we be told that some fantastic invention is around the corner, for it so never really come into being?? I think the show is a fantastic piss take of the often over imagined future. Bender is the perfect pariody of that annoying knob of a driod, CP30. Metalic version of captain carrot.
I personally believe that the rise of the cyborg is a long long way off. I have heard the same old line for ages now, " In a few years we'll have a prototype of the cyborg". Now call me what ever, but I've yet to see anything that comes even close to looking humanish. Not even when compared to some of life's really unfortunate ones.
This fixation we have on robots etc is rather odd really. We build them, then spend hours fretting over a percieved threat they may cause, ala The Matrix, Buck Rogers and Dr Who.
Weeeeeeeeeeee
On a different note, the G.E. march on sat was massive. I ain't seen nothing like that before. Queen street was packed from top to bottom. Twas nice to relax afterwards at the Hip Hop summit. Good music, fantastic bombing and a stupidly wicked crowd. Cheap Mini Dougnuts too. Rock on!!!
And now for a bit of Bachman Tunner Overdrive........
posted by Anonymous at 12:47 AM

oooh Ryan, you're getting your flava wasted... you sent us all there in the beginning right?
posted by Anonymous at 12:30 AM

This is pretty funny!!!

Smack the Raver

The Hawkman with Chuck D at a publicity shoot while on tour in support of A Brief History of Rhyme.


Mc Steven Hawking
posted by We're Not Floating at 12:29 AM

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