nevermind the bricolage

Digital Read?



Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

In the New Year I will be teaching a class on theology and media culture. It centers principally on television, mainly because I wanted to address the theological disparity between film and other forms of electronic/digital visual media--plus I think television is really way more interesting socially and culturally for the most part. But another aspect of the class concerns new media technologies and one of my particular fascinations in that arena is with digital reading devices--e-book/kindle etc. Berg, a design consultancy firm based in London, explored the potential for digital magazines in a recent research project. The Vimeo piece is their presentation of some ideas--could be useful in a class discussion I am thinking.

Evolution of Storage

 

Curtiss Spontelli's infographic offers a vivid look at changing technologies and their effect on or ability to save information. The transition from wax cylinder to digital music devices in the music column is a great example of how the digital expands our capacities. No comments obviously about less is more or quality over content. I remember packing up my portable record player and a box loads of albums and taking the bus to a friends house for an evening of listening and now I carry more songs on my iPhone than I ever could back then

Reflect

One of digital media's most interesting artists, Joshua Davis, has created a cool iPhone app called Reflect. Working with a set of shapes and colours designed by Davis and his partners, you can create your own pieces and play with them in a reflective kaleidoscope.

Information Is Beautiful

David McCandless tries to make sense of the digital blur in which he lives.

Sputnik Observatory

Jonathan Harris is at it again. On the heels of We Feel Fine and Universe comes Sputnik Observatory for the study of Contemporary Culture, a lens through which we can observe what is happening in the culture. The site features hundreds of video interviews with all kinds of thinkers offering up numerous perspectives about the world around us. Harris himself says,
"The central premise of the Sputnik project is that everything is connected to everything else, and that topics and ideas that may seem fringe and even heretical to the mainstream world are in fact being investigated by leading thinkers working in fields as diverse as quantum physics, mathematics, neuroscience, biology, economics, architecture, digital art, video games, computer science and music. Sputnik is dedicated to bringing these crucial ideas from the fringes of thought out into the limelight, so that the world can begin to understand them."

Irantweets

Apparently the US State Department asked Twitter to suspend it's regular site updating in order to allow Iranians to continue tweeting about the hotly contested elections that were held last weekend. It is another example of a new technology allowing communication to happen outside of other, more formal, and more likely censored or monitored, communication channels. It is amazing how far communication has come in the past couple of decades. The Chinese student uprising in 1989 was spurred on by fax-machines--it seems so impossible and yet, that was the least monitored and most accessible technology at the time. Social networking is making huge inroads into our cultural lives and have been adopted by quite diverse age demographics, not simply 'young' people. And the usage of something like Twitter extends from the mundane--'I'm sipping my soy latte,' to galvanizing allies, supporters and protesters in an election. It is easy to dismiss an 'unnecessary' technology like Twitter, which many do, but then circumstances emerge in which it seems to be a perfect tool for change.

I don't really play computer games but this looks pretty cool.

Mr Hockney Shows The Way

I have been playing around with scribble, an iPhone app for a bit, and then I came across a couple of articles about David Hockney's artistic forays into various forms of digital media, including iPhone apps. His pieces are so much better than mine, but it is always good to have something to aim for. He seems to have access to a broader colour palette as well-a little more muted.

Kindle

A friend of mine just got the new Kindle from Amazon, a device I coveted upon sight. Now don't get me wrong, I am attached to the physicality of books--love book shops, paper, binding, graphics--the whole deal. But the possibility of accessing a vast library wherever and whenever suits my rather quixotic personality. I also played around with my friend's new toy for a while and was impressed with the readability as well as the portability of it. Lacking the necessary $300+ to buy a Kindle I decided to download the iPhone Kindle app(for free). But let's face it, the iPhone is pretty small, how good could it be? I waited for a couple of days, but today I jumped in and downloaded a book. I started with something I wasn't too bothered about possessing in the material sense and went with the digital version. The funny thing is, I found myself going through a strange litany of emotions about it all--a sense of loss, a little guilt, some trepidation, and a big feeling of betrayal--of a medium I love, funny because I didn't have the same feeling when I switched to digital music and I hardly ever buy a physical cd or album anymore, but we're talking about books.
And? You ask. Well, I love it. I find it really easy to read on the phone and the way the book becomes less linear--no page numbers and you can jump around and back with ease, potentially switch books in a flash, I'm loving it.
There was an article in last week's Los Angeles Times about the loss of tangible stuff that comes with digital technology--no need for bookshelves, record racks, cd towers, DVD holders etc. just a computer or an external hard-drive--ones whole world of media entertainment and information stored away on data containers. The author expressed a certain dismay about it all, while, at the same time, applauding the lack of space necessary to hold all this stuff--makes us feel less cluttered or bogged down trying to find physical space to put everything. The advent of TV completely re-shaped the way we plan our homes and how we interact in them, I imagine that we are transitioning into a new phase even as I write--it will be interesting to see where it all ends up. Until then, I am going to read...if I have enough battery left in my phone!!

Funky Thru-You

Kutiman lays down the funk courtesy of You-Tube