The Temporary Travel Office produces a variety of services relating to tourism and technology aimed at exploring the non-rational connections existing between public and private spaces. The Travel Office has operated in a variety of locations, including Missouri, Chicago, Southern California and Norway.
Is MySpace a Place?
Networked Performance pointed me toward an interview (download in PDF)with Networked Publics speaker Henry Jenkins and Networked Publics friend danah boyd about Myspace. The site, popular with teenagers, has become increasingly controversial as parents and the press raise concerns about the openness of information on the site and the vulnerability this supposedly poses to predators (Henry points out that only .1% of abductions are by strangers) and the behavior of teens towards each other (certainly nothing new, only now in persistent form). In another essay on Identity Production in Networked Culture, danah suggests that Myspace is popular not only because the technology makes new forms of interaction possible, but because older hang-outs such as the mall and the convenience store are prohibiting teens from congregating and roller rinks and burger joints are disappearing.
This begs the question, is Myspace media or is it space? Architecture theorists have long had this thorn in their side. "This will kill that," wrote Victor Hugo with respect to the book and the building. In the early 1990s, concern about a dwindling public culture and the character of late twentieth century urban space led us to investigate Jürgen Habermas's idea of the public sphere. But the public sphere, for Habermas is a forum, something that, for the most part, emerges in media and in the institutions of the state:
The bourgeois public sphere may be conceived above all as the sphere of private people come together as a public; they soon claimed the public sphere regulated from above against the public authorities themselves, to engage them in a debate over the general rules governing relations in the basically privatized but publicly relevant sphere of commodity exchange and social labor. The medium of this political confrontation was peculiar and without historical precedent: people's ...
SWITCH: Issue 22
HI everyone. Just wanted to announce the new issue of SWITCH:
SWITCH : The online New Media Art Journal of the CADRE Laboratory for
New Media at San Jose State University
http://switch.sjsu.edu switch@cadre.sjsu.edu
SWITCH Journal is proud to announce the launch of Issue 22: A Special
Preview Edition to ISEA 2006/ ZeroOne San Jose.
As San Jose State University and the CADRE Laboratory are serving as
the academic host for the ZeroOne San Jose /ISEA 2006 Symposium,
SWITCH has dedicated itself to serving as an official media
correspondent of the Festival and Symposium. SWITCH has focused the
past three issues of publication prior to ZeroOne San Jose/ISEA2006
on publishing content reflecting on the themes of the symposium. Our
editorial staff has interviewed and reported on artists, theorists,
and practitioners interested in the intersections of Art & Technology
as related to the themes of ZeroOne San Jose/ ISEA 2006. While some
of those featured in SWITCH are part of the festival and symposium,
others provide a complimentary perspective.
Issue 22 focuses on the intersections of CADRE and ZeroOne San Jose/
ISEA 2006. Over the past year, students at the CADRE Laboratory for
New Media have been working intensely with artists on two different
residency projects for the festival – “Social Networking” with Antoni
Muntadas and the City as Interface Residency, “Karaoke Ice” with
Nancy Nowacek, Marina Zurkow & Katie Salen. Carlos Castellanos,
James Morgan, Aaron Siegel, all give us a sneak preview of their
projects which will be featured at the ISEA 2006 exhibition. Alumni
Sheila Malone introduces ex_XX:: post position, an exhibition
celebrating the 20th anniversary of the CADRE Institute that will run
as a parallel exhibition to ZeroOne San Jose/ ISEA 2006. LeE
Montgomery provides a preview of NPR (Neighborhood Public Radio)
presence at ...
Art & Mapping
The North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) has released a special issue of their journal, Cartographic Perspectives:
Art and Mapping
Issue 53, Winter 2006
Edited by Denis Wood and and John Krygier
Price: $25
The issue includes articles by kanarinka, Denis Wood, Dalia Varanka and John Krygier, and an extensive catalogue of map artists compiled by Denis Wood.
[-empyre-] Liquid Narrative for June 2006
Christina McPhee:
hi all, I am not sure we got this message out to Rhizome!
Please join our guests this month, Dene Grigar (US), Jim Barrett
(AU/SE), Lucio Santaella (BR), and Sergio Basbaum (BR) , with
moderator Marcus Bastos (BR), for a spirited discussion of "Liquid
Narratives" ----- digital media story telling with a dash, perhaps,
of 'aura' .
Here's the intro from Marcus:
The topic of June at the - empyre - mailing list will be Liquid Narratives. The concept of 'liquid narrative' is interesting in that it allows to think about the unfoldings of contemporary languages beyond tech achievements, by relating user controlled applications with formats such as the essay (as described by Adorno in "Der Essay als Form", The essay as a form) and procedures related to the figure of the narrator (as described by Benjamin in his writings about Nikolai Leskov). Both authors are accute critics of modern culture, but a lot of his ideas can be expanded towards contemporary culture. As a matter of fact, one of the main concerns in Benjamin's essay is a description of how the rise of modernism happens on account of an increasing nprivilege of information over knowledge, which is even more intense nowadays. To understand this proposal, it is important to remember how Benjamin distinguishes between an oral oriented knowledge, that results from 'an experience that goes from person to person' and is sometimes anonymous, from the information and authoritative oriented print culture. One of the aspects of this discussion is how contemporary networked culture rescues this 'person to person' dimension, given the distributed and non-authoritative procedures that technologies such as the GPS, mobile phones and others stimulate.state of the planet infographics
a small collection of beautiful information graphics documenting the current state of the planet.
see also gapminder & 3d data globe.
[seedmagazine.com]
FWD: COME TO THE CONTEMPT HEARING
Hearing RE: Holding NYC in Contempt: 9/27/04 9:30 am
COME TO THE CONTEMPT HEARING
Mon., 9/27/04, 9:30 am (arrive no later than 9:00 am!)
Criminal Courthouse
100 Centre Street, 13th floor, Room 1306 (Judge Cataldo)
Come pack the courtroom for the hearing at which the lawyers for the
City of New York must show the judge why it should not be held
incontempt for holding people arrested 8/31 for two days.
Fwd: OTHER AMERICA - Exit Art Call for Proposals
> From: Exit Art <matthew@exitart.org>
> Date: September 24, 2004 3:29:08 PM PDT
> To: grifray@yahoo.com
> Subject: OTHER AMERICA - Exit Art Call for Proposals
> Reply-To: Exit Art <matthew@exitart.org>
>
> If you can't see this email please click here
>
EFF Releases Quick Reference Guides to E-voting Machines
San Francisco, CA - EFF has released the results
of research conducted jointly with the Verified Voting
Foundation and American Families United into the
strengths and weaknesses of the most popular
models of electronic voting machines. Organized into
one-page quick reference guides, this research gives
voters critical information about widely deployed machines,
such as the Diebold Accuvote TS and the ESS iVotronic.
In the guides, EFF takes users through a step-by-step
process for using each model properly and lists
problems people have had with the machines in past
elections. The reference sheets represent one of the
nation's first "Consumer Reports"-style analyses of
several different types of e-voting machines.
"It's extremely important that people vote, despite any
concerns that they have about new voting machines,"
said EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "The more
people know about the voting machines they'll be using,
the better prepared they'll be on election day."
It's estimated that one-third of the country will be
using e-voting machines in the upcoming presidential
election.
For this release:
< http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_09.php#001921 >
"E-Vote Fears Soar in Swing States":
< http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65044,00.html >
Register to vote to today:
< http://www.yourvotematters.org/EFF >
Colloquium on Art & Biotech (Montreal)
insights into various fields of knowledge in the near future: new
medical treatments, improvements in agriculture, the mapping of the
genomes of various species, the customized reconfiguration of bodies.
Such potent promises are both fascinating and disquieting, raising many
uncertainties and posing questions difficult to resolve. During this
colloquium, international theorists and artists will explore these
issues by presenting research and artworks situated at the intersection
of art, science and artificial systems.
http://www.colloquebioart.org/english.html
NewGenics
Modified mosquito genes to beat malaria
Coming soon to a jungle near you — mosquitoes genetically engineered so
they cannot give people malaria. But this time scientists want to do it
right.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040923/asp/atleisure/story_3792302.asp
More on Gene Flow of GMO Crops
Biotech grass 'gene flow' underscores growing concern
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/9732892.htm
Gene flow' underscores growing concern over biotech crops
http://www.yougenics.net/
'Gene%20flow'%20underscores%20growing%20concern%20over%20biotech%20crops
Gene-Modified Grass Spreads Far, US Study Finds
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/27287/story.htm
Biotech grass breeding raises concerns manufacturers can't control
pollen
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2004/09/22/639421-ap.html
Genetic traits spread to non-engineered papayas in Hawaii
http://www.newfarm.org/news/0904/0913/papaya.shtml
Horizontal Gene Transfer
http://www.geo-pie.cornell.edu/issues/hgt.html
Advances in genetic testing challenge doctor-patient confidentiality
Normally, under medical ethics, doctors are obligated to keep a
patient's health information confidential - even after the patient
dies. This duty is central to the doctor-patient relationship.
http://mediresource.sympatico.ca/
health_news_detail.asp?%20channel_id=7&news_idH44
Human genome hits halfway mark
They have just published a detailed run-down of a 12th chromosome -
known as chromosome five - which means there are just 12 left to
complete.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3658386.stm
Poplar DNA code cracked - a step in combating global warming?
Gaining knowledge of the poplar DNA is an important step in the
research into aE˜tree-specific genesaE™, which can be used to make
trees even better air purifiers, to have them grow more quickly, or to
make them easier to process into paper. NOTE: check the sponsors
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/
%20agricultural_sciences/report-33893.html
China achieves major breakthrough in transgenic cotton
The Transgenic Tech System of Cotton Commercialization was declared a
success. Based on this system, 8 new cotton varieties have been
developed and more than 32 million mu of land have grown
insect-resistant transgenic cotton.
http://www.seedquest.com/News/releases/2004/september/9973.htm
Wind carries GM pollen record distances
Pollen from a genetically modified grass has blown on the wind and
pollinated other grasses up to 21 kilometres away, says a new study.
This distance is "much further than previously measured", say the
authors, and is thought to be a record for any GM pollen.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996421
Californians to Vote on Stem Cell Research Funds
The federal government spent $25 million last year on studies involving
human embryonic stem cells. But California, in an act of political and
scientific rebellion against limits on stem cell research imposed by
the Bush White House, may be on the verge of spending $300 million a
year in each of the next 10 years on such research.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/national/20stem.html?th
Bio-Blurb Show
The subject of the Bio-Blurb Show centers around aspects of the growing
trend between art and science, and most particularly the biological and
genetic sciences. Hosted by Suzanne Anker, the show features a
roundtable discussion of the social issues that are affected by genetic
engineering, forensics, new reproductive technologies, the patenting of
life forms and related "Art-Sci" subjects.
http://www.wps1.org/include/shows/bio_blurb.html
YOUgenics: art interrogating genetic technologies
http://www.yougenics.net