New Communication Technologies - 17-04-08

Scott of the Antarctic....I mean Wikipedia.

I like to think of myself as an explorer. Infact, my parents named me after one - However, I am not to be confused with those great explorers, you know the masculine and fearless souls who throw themselves into the depths of the unknown armed with bravery and valour. The ones who are prepared to lose their lives amongst the midst of discovery.

I am more like the random guy who sleeps on the couch at one of your friend's houses. The guy who is walking through Kings Cross yet clearly not aroused by the flaunted temptations of the underworld. The guy that attempts to stretch the boundaries of conversation and makes you feel as if there is nothing that cannot be discussed. These are my methods of exploration and chances are if you know me I report my small discoveries back to you - and because of this you probably know me as the guy who will tell you something so outrageous you will assume its bullshit but more often than not its true.

It's in this nature that I explored Wikipedia. I wanted to get my cyber hands dirty and leave a trail of fingerprints. Out of curiosity I became a wiki-vandal and so you don't get as curious as I did here is some of my 'work' and the time in which it took the wikipedia bots to paint over my vandalism.

This was 'true' for - 1 Minute

This was 'true' for - 15 minutes

This was 'true' for - 30 seconds.

As you can see Wikipedia is far from a reliable academic resource, infact it is more like the back of the door in a public toilet - sure there is some weird and interesting stuff on there but you are not going to quote that in your assignment right?

New Communication Technologies - 10-4-08

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Production

It seems that often the perception of 'art' is closely linked with the notion of beauty - the inherent aesthetic quality. The most 'beautiful' colours coupled with the most 'beautiful' landscape setting, delivered by the most 'beautiful' and aesthetically flawless brush technique - this is what constitutes 'art' to many.

However to me this is the 'Mc Donalds' of art, the kind of bun-burger-cheese formula served with a smile sort of deal. This art is a lot more like fast food then you may think - It requires little to no thinking on your behalf and it feeds your hunger only for the moment. Its rare you think about how amazing 'Mc Donalds' was days later and it leaves you with no great deal of nutritional value.

In a similar fashion the forementioned art achieves just this - it places us within a strange space, we are entertained but in no way thinking about what we are consuming. Its what christians call ‘purgotory’ seperated from hell yet not in heaven either – this art is the background music at the party you last attended. Do you specifically remember it?

Personally, the art does not lie within the medium for me but rather the feeling associated. I am likely to enjoy music that makes me feel uncomfortable, inspired or in any shape of form ‘different’ to how I felt before pressing play. I like to associate with various perspectives within my gaze and think about the multitude of identities created around the music. In my opinion it takes alot more skill to make somebody feel something than it does to create something that is palatable which is only to be forgotten seconds later.

Isn't it the job of artists to open the mind of society?

Digital or Analogue, New or Old, Sampled or Performed – regardless if it was The Beatles or some kid in his bedroom on the other side of the world who calls himself ‘DJ Val Valiant Four’ I want a sonic rollercoaster equipped with the faulty parts the carnies have neglected to fix – The ferris wheel void of all ‘safety’ equipment. I’m over the ‘oh oh oh touch my body’ music heard on the radio. Sex is no longer dangerous unless you're unprotected...

Give me something my ears aren't conditioned to...
Give me music that sounds human...
Give me real - dont give me fake.

New Communication Technologies - 2-4-08

Utopian Societies - Could human kind ever become so boring?

Seriously? I understand why 'Hollywood' love it. But isn't it their jobs to fill our minds with concepts, notions and stories that are to be perceived to be more interesting than what is outside our front doors. Surely some find comfort and or hope in the glitz and glamour message of 'All is well that ends well' but unfortunately our lives cannot all be sunshine and flowers without torrential rain and an overgrown garden bed ridden with weeds (Not the medicinal kinds).

Existance is a binary battle - Creation & Destruction, Yin & Yang, God & Devil, Life & Death, Black & White, Saint & Sinner, Love & Hate, Male & Female...these binary oppositions run deeper than the Pacific Ocean and to be honest drowning has never felt so good.

How are we able to define creation without destruction? Good without Evil?

Without the percieved 'negative' how would we know when we had encountered the 'positive'?

I personally feel a Utopian society would be like a spoilt teen queen - After never hearing the word 'No' she is no longer ready to hear it, yet she is no longer that satisfied by hearing 'Yes' either.

And what is this fanatical obssesion about 'living forever'. Death is just a deadline (pardon the pun) we are all working towards - If I knew I was immortal I would binge drink, never sleep and spend all my time sitting around in my boxer shorts reading conspiracy theories and fantasizing about Krystal from Big Brother - ahh hang on a second....

It seems that for as long as we all think and act as 'individuals' a Utopian society seems more unrealistic than the movies it is potrayed in. The Utopian dream is the note the singer cannot hold and the joke we told and told until it got old.

Tutorial Exercise.

1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?

Onel de Guzman of the phillipines in the year 2000.

2. Who invented the paper clip?

Samuel Fay in the year 1867

3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?

The virus gets its name from the Ebola river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?

9.5 earthquake in Chile in 1960

5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?

1073741824 kilobytes equates to 1 terabyte

6. Who is the creator of email?

Ray Tomlinson

7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?

One and a half million computers were infected by the storm worm virus.

8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of australia directly, what is the most efficient way?

Post:The Hon Kevin Rudd MPPO Box 6022House of RepresentativesParliament HouseCanberra ACT 2600

Phone:Ph (02) 6277 4022

Fax (02) 6277 8495

Email:Kevin.Rudd.MP@aph.gov.a

9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of? The Black assasins.

10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?

Web 2.0 is an encompassing term for the second wave of the World Wide Web.