Month: April 2008

Props

I know we’ve been bashing Banner in the “fix Midd’s interwebs” thread, but it didnt freeze on me once this morning and i was done by 7:01

interesting wiki

Here’s a wiki i stumbled upon.
http://www.imfdb.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

it’s a list of every gun used in pretty much every movie. Things like this wouldn’t be possible to do if one person was trying to research it all, but with tons of users (nerds) we gain access to this info.

Responses for 4/29

Today’s readings explore social networking sites, an area you’re all probably quite familiar with. As native “experts,” do you think these articles capture the appeal of Facebook, myspace, and the like? What drives you to participate or abstain from these sites?

(And remember to please add your thoughts to the thread on Midd’s internet presence.)

The Politics of Media Technology and Cultural Change

So through our readings and our class discussions, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the technological change we’ve been studying will effect the politics of our country and whether or not in will improve our democracy. I wrote a post on my blog that discusses how I believe technological change will probably be a good thing, but that we need a grassroots change in culture in order to really improve things. Yes, changes in fair use law, net neutrality and other measures we’ve discussed in class are necessary, but what do you guys think? Will the emerging media convergence and creation of networks ultimately improve our politics and sense of community? And on a deeper level, will it make people or autonomous and happy?

My personal opinion is that all this is a gradual step in the right direction. I’ll be really interested in hearing what you all think of social network sites next week, and whether they are actually creating more civic community (as Mark Zuckerberg claims).

peace,
-g

podcast update

Hey guys,
Since Jessie and I made our podcast featuring the song “Smell Yo Dick” the artists have recorded a music video. when we were capturing the video for our project, they only had a photo series, no actual music video. So, i present to you all, the official video to the song

[youtube uzgGUW__9Jo]

Flash Project Woes.

So, we’ve been ‘working’ on our flash project all night, and have not made a whole lot of progress.

Despite having put time into this for the past week, we haven’t gotten a whole lot done, and even the simplest task of making a frame not play to another is impossible, nevermind anything past that.

Unfortunately, the directions on the blog and on the sheet we were given aren’t quite specific enough, and the tutors, as nice as they have been, can’t help because they have very minimal knowledge with Flash.

Thus leaving us with a bit of a predicament on our hands.

I guess I was just curious if we’re the only ones having trouble with this?

Two weeks just doesn’t seem like enough time to create something even remotely substantial with a program we’ve had two hours of experience with. Especially with finals looming and term papers for other classes raising their heads, it’s hard to do four hours of work on something without producing any results.

Argh.

=/

-Elliot

Meeting for final projects

As mentioned in class, we can extend the deadline for the final projects if we can set-up a meeting time during exam week, preferably early in the week. There won’t be any class meeting on Thursday the 8th, and most of Tuesday the 6th will be open work time.

Please post any conflicts that you have for Mon – Wed, May 12-14, over the next couple of days and I’ll try to propose a time to meet for around 1.5 hours to share final projects, and celebrate the end of the semester.

And as inspiration for your final projects, check out this blog post about last year’s class, with a number of links to projects.

I want you to want me

I found this to be an interesting remix for online dating and socializing…

[youtube GZUaXDm4qik]

About:

“‘I Want You To Want Me,’ an interactive piece on the subject of online dating and relationships by perennial CH fave Jonathan Harris and his collaborator Sep Kamvar, and one of the standouts commissioned for MoMA’s recent Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit, is the subject of this m ss ng p eces produced video. For anyone who missed the show at MoMA, the short explains how the piece represents constantly-updated info collected from dating sites using a drop-dead gorgeous interface and the visual metaphor of balloons. ” (coolhunting.com)

Responses for April 22

Check out this article on transmedia storytelling & the “geek elite.” How do you see Jenkins’s ideas playing out in the contemporary media landscape? Does convergence culture serve as the “new normal” or is it still a fringe phenomenon for specialized audiences? How do you see such practices transforming the future of media production & consumption?

Brooklyn is Watching (us)

I just read a really interesting article about a “sandbox” space in second life that is being recorded and projected (in almost real time) to an art gallery in Brooklyn. The avatar who is doing the recording is being controlled by people walking through the gallery. I’m going to sign in and check the space out in a few minutes. Here’s the slurl if you would like to teleport.

Check out the article on the Not Possible in Real Life Site.

The Escher reference is tight.
e

Class Wiki. Shortage of info? Wii Fit!

I’ve been running through some of the keywords that already have entries, and I found that in my opinion, a great deal of them are lacking.

I’ve started to edit a few them, adding new material etc. It’d be awesome if we all got on this. Some of this stuff deserves a lot more time than was previously given to it.

In other news…

Anybody been reading up on the Wii fit? it’s a ‘game’ designed to function as a workout system by using a balancing board that registers data directly to the game. It sold a huge number of copies in Japan, and it’s already sold out in the UK.

Pretty cool idea I’d say.

Any thoughts?


Wii Fit