Posts from — June 2006

New World Notes:
buridan Simon helps with the mash-up by unleashing some storm effects from his inventory

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ooo, i made the papers…..

Sex Pistols Action Figures:
Via McChris, a pointer to two sets of Sex Pistols action figures by Japanese toy company, Kubrick Toys. One set features the best-known members of the band, and the second applies their aesthetic to a group of brightly-colored bears.

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everyone wants to be punk…. even if they are plastic….

The Croquet Project:
Croquet is…
…a new open source software platform for creating deeply collaborative
multi-user online applications. It features a network architecture that
supports communication, collaboration, resource sharing, and synchronous
computation among multiple users. Using Croquet, software developers can create
powerful and highly collaborative multi-user 2D and 3D applications and simulations.
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interesting project… didn’t work out of the box for me yet.

BANNED AND CENSORED!:
We’re rapidly coming to a point where far from being a treasure trove of openness and accessibility, the private island system is only perpetuating the “walled garden” or “country club” aspect of life that we were supposed to be getting away from by coming on the Internet in the first place! The Second Life Library 2.0 is a failure exemplifying the failure of the Lindens’ original Mainland vision of open and diverse space. They need to “control their parcel” and keep out people like Prokofy Neva who might not pay their library fines.
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i think profky is right in pointing out many of the problems of the private island system in sl and the issues with public resources or lack thereof.

EduTools Homepage:
WCET’s EduTools provides independent reviews, side-by-side comparisons, and consulting services to assist decision-making in the e-learning community

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a handy comparison.

I fear that I’m becoming a Luddite:
I still find that my best, most creative writing is done with pen and paper. The longer process forces me to think about each paragraph, each sentence, each word. When writing with a word processor I really have to force myself to slow down. It’s too easy too ramble. Obviously, my blogs are always written not by pen otherwise my postings would be much more concise. Also, with word processors it’s too distracting knowing that Firefox is so nearby.
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i think that there are explanations for this that have more to do with humans than the technology….

DAC 2007: Perth:

The call for papers for perthDAC 2007 is out. The theme of the 2007 Digital Arts and Culture Conference will be “The Future of Digital Media Culture” which, I presume, leaves plenty of room for electronic literature and other GTxA type interests. The conference will be held from 15 – 18th September 2007, during the Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth. There will be a double blind peer review process for papers. The deadline for 500 word abstracts is 14th August 2006, and the deadline for full papers is 4th December 2006. Although it’s a long, expensive way to go from just about anywhere else, Perth is a great city in a fantastic part of Western Australia, with great culture, food, wine, beaches, parrots, and Aussies. I was there for a couple of weeks last winter/summer and I’m looking forward to going back.

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I’ll probably submit something, they’ll probably reject it. but who knows, it really depends on what i submit. i suspect that i’ll submit something along the lines of my archives and situationism discussion, but … i might go for something more art oriented.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Batwoman hero returns as lesbian:
The series is set in a world in which established superheroes Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman do not play a part.

Reinvention

The new-look Batwoman is just one of a wave of ethnically and sexually diverse characters entering the DC Comics universe.

Others include Mexican teenager Blue Beetle – who replaces the character’s previous white incarnation – and the Great Ten, a government-sponsored team of Chinese superheroes.

Regular characters Firestorm and The Atom, meanwhile, have been reinvented as black and Asian heroes respectively.

The characters are part of a wider effort to broaden the make-up of comic-book creations in line with society as a whole.

Batwoman, who first appeared in July 1956, has not been seen since September 1979 when she was killed by the League of Assassins and the Bronze Tiger.
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the most popular post ever on this blog was the post on female superheros, which was a cfp. however he post above is actually a post to note that dc, once the purveyor of fairly waspish values, is breaking their mold and having a female, lesbian, superhero. i find this intriguing, but i suspect it is primarily market driven.