Montag, 13. Dezember 2004

The Magic Christmas Tree This Christmas my mom opted for an ìEmergencyî Christmas tree. She purchased a rather cool Christmas tree from the Emergency Christmas Market here in Milan. The tree is made out of paper and will start growing after you will water it with ìmagic waterî. The growth-process will take half a day and the tree will only last for three days, so donít be too hasty and wait before you start the magic or it will be gone before Christmas day. Of course the Magic Tree is available elsewhere as well, for a much higher price (my mom was just asked 1 Ä for it, gizmos-uk asks 5 £). So for all of you who happen to be in Milan or Rome, please purchase this cute little gadget from one of the Emergency Christmas Markets, at least you will know that your money will serve a good cause. Emergency is a humanitarian association that was founded in 1994 to bring medical and surgical assistance to the victims of armed conflicts. Since then the organization has extended its activities to include treatment of debilitating diseases such as poliomyelitis and endemic diseases such as malaria, basic healthcare, and providing a response to the extreme social needs of the places where it offers medical and surgical care. You can also decide to use your wedding as a way of making donations to Emergency by purchasing your wedding invitations and favors from them. You can even set up a wedding registry, if you feel you can renounce having a conventional one. This way the money that would have otherwise been invested in one of the many household items, will be donated to Emergency. Image via www.gizmos-uk.com - camilla [Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women] 9:00:50 PM    comment []

Guest blogging on "Networked_performance". A few month ago, I discovered networked_performance, a blog about locative media, augmented reality, distributed performance, environmental theatre, pervasive play, immersive gaming, telepresence, etc. Add the word "chocolate" to the list and you'll have a good view of everything I like. Jo-Anne Green invited me to be guest blogger till Christmas. It's a fantastic opportunity for me because it means that I'll be able to write about projects and artists I don't have the time or space to talk about here. It's also a challenge since the last guest blogger was an artist I admire, Michelle Kasprzak. [we make money not art] 8:58:26 PM    comment []

Playing with one's own shadow. Mark Cypher's Biophilia * installation enables participants to interact with and generate organic forms based upon the distortion of their own shadow. The shadow resembles the participant and represents the relationship s/he has with the screen. At once reduced to a 2 dimensional image which menacingly begins to merge with other organisms in the same screen space without consent nor care for the sovereignty of the users concept of self and space. Have a look at the impressive video. The work will be shown at the John Curtin Gallery in February 2005 as part of the Perth International Arts Festival (Australia). * The word biophilia refers to the need of living things to connect with others [^] even those of different species. [we make money not art] 8:57:30 PM    comment []

Barcodes are Real World Hyperlinks?. I wrote an article over at Net Imperative about my increasing interest in Location - I was beginning to think that Location Based Services were about as relevant to real people as Shakespeare is to a cat. The NetImp piece argues that bar codes could be the real-world equivalent of a hyperlink - the break though thinking that gave us the web. Clicking on a physical hyperlink (bar code) can take you anywhere relevant in the cyberworld. And now we have camera phones capable of doing that "clicking", a new era could be arriving, as I write. An interesting idea, even though I say it myself. Read it here. [The Mobile Technology Weblog] 8:56:26 PM    comment []

duPont Registry Gift Guide. The duPont Registry has put together a list of gifts for the person with everything. Gifts include guard dogs, rims for your Rolls and customized Porsches and Hummers. My favorite is the fractional ownership of a Ten Motorsports racing team. For a $200,000 buy-in you can attend team meetings, visit pit row and talk to the drivers. Plus, it[base ']s an investment. If the team wins, you get to share in the prize (and the victory party). [Luxist] 8:55:09 PM    comment []

The Honda Rune. All chrome and curves, the Honda Rune combines the details of a custom bike with the reliability of a Honda engine. As Honda Motorcycles VP, Ray Blank says, [base "]Honda[base ']s greatest strength is its engineering ability.[per thou] Now, they have decided to create a show bike with aesthetic appeal. At 1832cc and 794 pounds it[base ']s powerful but also gorgeous. Price from $24,499 to $26,999 depending on paint, wheels and handlebars. [Luxist] 8:53:50 PM    comment []

Grand Theft Auto as security device. This is great. Some burglars broke into some poor old ladies house in Santa Fe. I won[base ']t spoil the story, but with all the talk of violent video games leading to the breakdown of society, moral decency etc, it[base ']s great to read a story like this one. [Joystiq] 9:20:19 AM    comment []

Moving grafitti in Mäori visual art. Rewiti Arapere, a student of the Mäori Visual Art programme, projects grafitti bombing to public spaces in Palmerston North (New Zealand). In the night, he projected images onto bus shelters, skate-park walls and the side of a train. The transient images, while they were there, fulfilled his ambition to put more Mäori language out there. He filmed the animated process of the bombing, for a documentary shown at the Te Tataitanga Matatau, an exhibition of Mäori Visual Arts students, being held at Palmerston North[base ']s Te Manawa Gallery (New Zealand)until February. Via artFUTURE < Massey News. [we make money not art] 9:18:39 AM    comment []

Invasion of the Pod People. A holiday company in Switzerland wants you to surrender yourself to the way of the pod. This eco-friendly accommodation on a mountainside near Villars offers ten guests hi-tech luxury and adventure in a remote natural setting. In addition to being pampered by the on-site staff, guests are also treated to the daily snow adventure of their choice: downhill, off-piste, snowboarding, cross country or snowshoeing. With all-inclusive rates starting from £240 per person per night, you might want to climb aboard the mothership. [See also: The Guardian] [Wanda Lust] 9:17:12 AM    comment []