Cultural Event: file under socio-reengineering

I don't want to give too much away, but I urge you all to consider unlocking the secrets of Jejune.  It's a mysterious city-wide interactive game that begins with a scavenger hunt.  I haven't finished it yet (not sure how deep it goes ..pretty deep I think); but it's fun and very well produced.  Good way to discover the city and change your perspective.  To paraphrase the creator's intent: it's a way of overlapping narrative, consciousness, and genuine space in an attempt to redefine public space.  Oh, and they even have a pirate radio broadcast.  Prepare to have your natural psyco-sensual abilities enhanced.

http://nonchalance.com/trailer.html

PICKED: Street Artist JR Wins 2011 TED Prize

Just saw this. His work is really powerful. So glad that he is being recognized.  Follow the link and watch the second video.
PICKED: Street Artist JR Wins 2011 TED Prize

Culture Jamming: response to Mark Dery writings

Dery wrote this article in the mid 90's when this concept was still fairly new.  Though I think the web has taken the lead of influence over the TV, it is still a good reference for early developments of the movement.  15 years later it is, as Paula suggests, difficult to "see the forest through the trees," but not because we simply accept our culture, probably the opposite actually.  I think the reason this movement has been so adaptable is because of the collective mental shift that has taken place.  Because more and more people view mainstream media skeptically, we are less apt to simply trust what advertisers are telling us.  I think now everyone is somewhat leery of being sold.  Rather than taking the former, anarchist approach, which is simply a rejection of the system of oppression, we realize that it is more effective to work within the system to implode it on itself.  You could call it Post-Structuralist Anarchism.  

Since the late 70's, when graffiti started to become prominent in America, this new approach/aesthetic entered into our conscious.  Gradually we've changed our minds about graphic public statements, their purpose, and who can make them.  As commercial tactics infiltrate so do our reactions against them.  It's a co-evolution.  At this point even the advertisers are using guerrilla marketing tactics ..meaning culture jammers will only continue to up their game.

Here is a good example from Las Vegas where someone successfully undermined McDonald's billboard messages.  I think it's pretty ballsy and effective I also think McDonald's is a horrible institution, so I'm into it.  And, by reporting on it, the news media does a great job propagating its influence that much more.  Well done Dave and Kathy.  Now a word from our sponsors:

Chance Project

Randomness Recipe by Nova Barton

- Look up tide info for San Francisco
- Find hightide, lowtide, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset.
- Record this timetable for reference however many days you’ll need.
- Use the schedule. Whenever possible, take a video clip of your surroundings in conjunction with the times – wherever you are, whatever you feel like capturing, however long.
- Label the videos according to their time and significance (e.g., 4:15/high tide)
- Some of the times are in the wee hours of the morning, naturally you can skip these; but, if you are awake and can take video, do.
- If you forget or if you miss a cue because you just cannot do it, go or look outside and shoot skyward as soon as possible. If possible capture the sun or the moon.
- Do this until you have 12 video clips.
- Edit together in imovie (free mac software) or whatever video software you have/prefer.





Randomness Recipe by Kevin Koleckar

- Take your favorite picture of yourself and import it into photoshop. Create a file with six copies of
  your photo laid out in a grid. Each copy of your photo should be it's own layer. The first copy you
  should put in the upper left of the document. The rest will get altered in the following way:

- Press 'command U' to bring up the hue/saturation dialogue box. alter the Hue levels as follows:

- 2nd copy- age

- 3rd copy- age oldest grandparent

- 4th copy- number of sexual partners

- 5th copy- add the age you are now to the age you were when you had your first kiss and enter that  

  number as a negative number

- 6th copy- the number of devices you own that tell time, multiply by ten and enter that number as a negative number.

Stolen Identities and Alter Egos: An exercise in Internet Profiling, Data Mining and Personal Privacy

For this assignment I conjured a 17 year old boy.  The original impetus for the age was my own tendency to slide by at the minor rate on MUNI ($2.00 is just ridiculous!)  I figured if I could come up with an ID stating that I'm 17, I'd never have a problem.  Criminal tendencies along with my general immature mentality manifested Manny.  The boy part I just thought would be an entertaining outlet.  I probably don't need to point out the multiple aptronyms here.

I was to create as much evidence of this person's existence as possible - virtual and otherwise.  Using Photoshop, I created Manny's ID from a scanned copy of my own.  Since no 17 y.o. is complete with out a fake ID, I made one of those too.

But the funny thing about the world today is that real proof of life is primarily found thorough virtual means, that is, social networking.  Manny can be found on both Facebook and Myspace.  I also tried to get on OK Cupid, unfortunately this is one area where minor status did not serve me.. I mean Manny. Besides the virtual world, MLK is also visible on the streets. As a tagger, Manny writes.. well, MANNY. You'll see some flicks on his facebook page.

Originally from Fresno, CA., he currently resides in San Francisco.  Full bio along with some other photoshopped images of Manny can be found on
Facebook. Manny Koga




Email: manny9three@gmail.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/550560864

For this cultural event I went to the White Walls opening of Augustine Kofie's exhibit "Retrofitted & Other Forms of Vintage Futurism."

The artist is otherwise known as Kofie One and is a well-known muralist and graffiti artist.  This work was on a smaller scale than that by which I know him, which gave it a very different sense.  The show was really beautiful and it was interesting to see it in a gallery, translated to another medium and scale.

The extended body - cyborgs

Here's an example of artists working with the extended body. In this concept, the skin is adapted as the user interface. The computer would adhere to the skin's surface and run on body heat. It uses the DNA code to identify the user and determine settings. It remains solely conceptual at this point, but the technology is not that unfeasible. Unfortunately, neither is the person who will wear something so ridiculous and allow themselves to be tracked on a genetic level. I suspect this same person is currently wearing a bluetooth earpiece. http://news.discovery.com/tech/dattoos-body-art-melds-dna-computing.html

I make fun, but know that my view is antiquated. Maintaining anonymity as well as web presence is an impossible equation. Still the idea of being physically plugged in is just creepy. I already spend too much time with my computer.

Captured by Robots!

Speaking of cyborgs, if you haven't already heard of Captured by Robots, you have now.  Go see them!  It's a band consisting of one human and maybe five robots.  The human, "Jay-bot," builds and programs all of the robots and controls them on stage (speaks for them via his mask etc), though as the story goes: he's been captured by robots and they are controlling him.  Either way they're amazing.. if not from a musical standpoint, from a technological one.  Pretty sure he's local bay area, but I first discovered them years ago in SLC where they have a dedicated following - I guess the "stepford wives" there can relate.

http://capturedbyrobots.com
This interviewer is kindof a nightmare, but this video gives you a good overview of the band.