Monthly Archives: November 2004

How I Drew One Of My Pictures

The concept of value, as bestowed by authenticity is only inherent when a work is unique and (mostly) irreproducible in it’s native medium. Think of a famous painting: only the original canvas can demand such high prices.
In a new, digital medium, the final work is generally not valued in the same way. A stretch of video art can be copied infinitely [2] – how can one place a value onto it? Instead, the process becomes valued. We consider the process of creation and creativity to be valued in the place of authenticity.
We might consider net.art to be valuable, only because we can appreciate the value of the process that went into making it.
So it would be a logical conclusion that the complexity or “authenticity” of the process bestows value upon the resulting work. The process must be artistically rigorous and intricate.
How I Drew One Of My Pictures

Wireless iPod patent

wifi-ipod.jpgFrom Apple Insider comes the news that a patent was published on Thursday that talks about a wirelessly-enabled handheld player that can beam music and information to multiple other media devices, a docking station for communicating with other devices, and something about wirelessly transmitting

Manifesto of Futurist Musicians

“I, who repudiate the title of Maestro as a stigma of mediocrity and ignorance, hereby confirm my enthusiastic adhesion to Futurism, offering to the young, the bold and the reckless these my irrevocable conclusions:

  1. To convince young composers to desert schools, conservatories and musical academies, and to consider free study as the only means of regeneration.
  2. To combat the venal and ignorant critics with assiduous contempt, liberating the public from the pernicious effects of their writings.
  3. To found with this aim in view a musical review that will be independent and resolutely opposed to the criteria of conservatory professors and to those of the debased public.
  4. To abstain from participating in any competition with the customary closed envelopes and related admission charges, denouncing all mystifications publicly, and unmasking the incompetence of juries, which are generally composed of fools and impotents.
  5. To keep at a distance from commercial or academic circles, despising them, and preferring a modest life to bountiful earnings acquired by selling art.
  6. The liberation of individual musical sensibility from all imitation or influence of the past, feeling and singing with the spirit open to the future, drawing inspiration and aesthetics from nature, through all the human and extra-human phenomena present in it. Exalting the man-symbol everlastingly renewed by the varied aspects of modern life and its infinity of intimate relationships with nature.
  7. To destroy the prejudice for

The House of Wigs

Funny and true. I’m adding this site to my daily reads.
“When the boss from the company that’s taking over our company came in and gave the “Hello I Am Friendly!!”? speech which I’ve heard on several occasions before (seeing as every company I’ve ever worked for has been bought out by somebody), he described himself as an “insecure overachiever

IC Radio Interview

線上聆聽Clark在IC之音廣播電台談他在工研院的工作與生活
I have no idea why I was chosen – if you follow the link you will find smart people doing cool research. I think my ideas are interesting and fun but the other interviewee’s are kings among kings. Anyway, interviews never turn out the way you hope and this one was no exception. Here is a text copy of my recent interview with IC radio. The links to the radio version are in Windows media format – I might put them up here as more acceptable mp3’s in the future but I doubt there will be much demand.

工業技術研究院-新聞-「工研院地球村」系列報導(2) (Interview text in Chinese).
Audio part 1 and part 2.

Historical result for the wrong reasons

I would have bet money years ago that Bush would remain in power. This conviction came not because he is a great leader or possesses a brilliant mind but simply because the people who brought him to power completely control the framework of debate. These people could bring anyone to power. Bush has been derided for his lack of intelligence and experience from the beginning. His language, geared towards those with less than high school education, was deliberate – not only superficial and easy to understand – it’s almost comforting in it’s simplicity. It among other things, outside of the issues, obviously struck a chord with the American populace.
This election is an absolutely amazing phenomena. Such almost religious conviction surrounding a political party. This man can do no wrong. It’s hard to say exactly what this says about the majority of Americans. Does this mean that Americans support mobilising a gigantic war machine to invade a country at their leaders whim? Anyone who would give the war a moments thought would realise that the reasons for invading Iraq all proved wrong and many were outright lies. Is that ok for the American people? It’s all rather astounding.
Even if the world survives another four years of George Bush I’m afraid that the precedents started with him now will have an irrevocable effect on their country and the world for years to come. The lines separating corporate, theocratic, and political government has blurred and bleed. The decline of a great country may well have begun.

Use of Narrative in Interactive Design (BA)

“By making a conscious effort to integrate narrative into our work, we are better able to support creative learning, problem solving, and task completion by the people who use the things we build. At the very least, the experiences we create will be more engaging, both for the project team creating the experience and for the end users.
Seeing the narrative potential in interactive design is nothing new

Culture of fear and blindness

I’ll be saying a little prayer tonight that Americans have abandoned their political zealotry, done some thinking, and decided that the last four years were a mockery of their country.
I wanted to record my thoughts about this event but somehow now words escape me. The US isn’t my country and yet no country or person can escape the effects of this election. How a man such as this could have such popular support and can get away with such obvious lies is a mystery. One must just open their eyes and see. Perhaps that is one of the gifts of the power base that surrounds him. The ability to frame all thinking around the context of their choosing. They must be the most masterful of propagandists.
Bush once said something to the effect that he will be remembered in history, let’s hope he is remembered as a hiccup, a mistake, and not a representative of what America believes. I had a feeling from the beginning that he would be a two term president, I hope that I was wrong, for the sake of America and the world.