tonight I watched the clouds above the city, instead of watching the ARIA awards on tv (as they were pretty bad this year unfortunately - from the first few minutes I saw before switching over). we had some clear skies instead of all the rain clouds we've been having lately. this morning was the first day I smelt heat on the blinds when I woke up, so maybe summer / spring is finally on its way!
a drive through the city from inner west to inner east. music is "Down city streets" by Archie Roach. the footage is sped up x10 times so it came out more like a photo slideshow - I need to practice this a bit more (original filesize was 400+Mb so I had performance issues)
some of the Aus hip hop MCs are taking part in #rappertag - it's like an online cypher / circle, where one rapper takes their turn then tags the next person in. then that person uploads their video & this repeats. it's getting/is (?) quite popular, so for today's #vlomo10, I'm mixing the twitter memes a bit and made a quick video showing you some of the #rappertag clips & details. check it out if you're interested. today's #rappertag #14 by Suffa from Hilltop Hoods got a great reaction, so we're waiting for the next installment now. (anyone else thinking a little along the lines of William Gibson's (@greatdismal) pattern recognition video-on-the-net-footage? not exactly the same, but along similar lines?)
we've had a lot of rain this spring (& winter). today there was a downpour in north sydney but by the time I went to the city, there was hardly a drop & the gutters were clear.
the song is part of "I hear Motion" by Models - a tribute to James Freud, the singer & guitarist from the band who died today
sometimes you're standing there (in life) and things are going past you in a blur.. but sooner or later you need to jump on the train and keep moving along with everything else. enjoy the journey
today was Melbourne Cup day which means my work office goes to lunch and watches the race. this year we went to a place in the city with harbour views. tiny meals, but tasty. I love how excitied everyone gets during the last leg of the race. my horse came 18th. I drove through the city later to meet some friends and saw plenty of people in their race-wear outfits. it's a big day
new love on the 470 bus #vlomo10 day1 video - November is videoblogging month, which means I and other videobloggers / video makers (attempt to) post at least one video per day in November. join in! any theme, any format, any length. just tag it #vlomo10
here's my first videoblogging month video:
I wanted the video images to be very distracting like the technology we use today is. to distract the viewer from the text messages (or the visual cues from other people)
on the bus this morning: man2 hops on, takes a seat, starts playing with smart-phone. man1 unplugs earphones & leans around to look at him to catch his attention. man1 does this a few times but man2 doesn't look up. man1 gives up & puts headphones back in & faces forwards again. then man2 looks up, sees man1 and tries to catch his attention. so they do know each other. gives up after a while. man2 goes back to phone. and I wonder how many people have missed each other due to technology these days. this repeats a couple of times during the ride to the city. their morphogenetic fields are strong, but misaligned! finally man1 presses bell & stands to hop off bus. man2 now sees him & stands also. they stand at the back stairs of the bus looking at each other. finally man1 starts to talk, they both still have that new love glaze & smile on their faces. brought tears to my eyes. ahh, new love on the 470 morning bus! u know that look..
The Headman (EN) - directed & produced by Andrew Garton
On the 23 October 2007 Kelesau Naan, the Headman of the Penan village, Long Kerong, left his wife at a rest area in the forest to check on his traps. He never returned. Two months later his remains were found scattered across the Segita River, deep in the Ulu Baram, Sarawak.
Presented by his son, Nick Kelesau, The Headman explores the events leading up to his disappearance. Kelesau Naan sought only to protect his people and their native customary right to the land they have lived in for centuries. His struggles may well had been his peril, but as Nick and his fellow Penan explain, his legacy endures.
Help engage media spread this story and raise awareness of the issues facing Sarawak - download the videos from http://www.engagemedia.org and add to your blog / website, or host a screening night of the films
Sarawak Gone is an open licensed micro-docs series raising awareness to the persistent decline of indigenous life and culture in Sarawak, Malaysia. The series is produced and directed by the Australian media artist and musician, Andrew Garton, agarton.org, in collaboration with Sarawak Access (SACCESS).
This Is Not Art 2010 festival - I only made it to a couple of events / sessions on the sunday this year, but once again it was a great day. learnt a lot at the AbleYOUton workshop and the teacher (Toby Burvill??) from 104 collective was so nice. he even introduced me to a new music genre - wonky (type of hip hop?). loved the Splinter Orchestra! a nice quiet, introspective performance inside in the China Club venue and then crazy uninhibited fun outside the gates in the Hunter mall once the venues closed. even heard one guy next to me talking to his friends on the phone saying, "hey you've got to come here right now, I'm watching the most amazing thing!". zine fair was great once again and I spent way too much there (luckily I'd saved up a bit for it this year).
I'm new to machine knitting - I just collected my singer 321 today (ebay win) and put it together tonight and did my first test swatch. I think it's pretty cool that on the box it says "the knitting computer" and the man I bought it from said his Mum bought it in 1974 (I know there's earlier ones around). which I think could mean that it's possible women had the first 'home computers'? - running off punchcards etc, creating 'real'/'physical' products/outputs rather than 'virtual' ideas (software programs/outputs) - there were also punchcard sewing machines but I'm not sure what vintage they were originally. the Chart of Knitting Machines: Main Beds & Ribbers website tracks the various knitting machines and lists their production/release years - my Singer SK-321 was made in 1972 (original price $329.95) as was the matching Ribber (original price $124.95). punchcard computers were mostly room sized at that time and most 'personal computers' weren't released until around mid-late 1970s or more commonly in 1980s. wikipedia does mention there were a few tape based computers in the 1970s, so perhaps it's a tie :)
some articles I've been reading today, and I must admit most of this is new to me, so it's good to hear different viewpoints.
:::
Redefining the Great Wall - this article mentions that the "Great Wall" term in the English translation is not correct - rather it should refer to a town, not a wall.
[quote]Returning from a research trip to the Changcheng, I had the intense feeling that its English name, “The Great Wall,” is incorrect. This translation to a large extent not only affects the appreciation of China’s Changcheng on an international level, but also directly influences our own preservation, development, and utilization of the Changcheng.
"But I stood in the middle of my room doing absolutely nothing except respiring, and, of course, keeping other normal processes going. Maintaining my physical side while my mind was focussed on the radio."
from "Confessions of a crap artist" by Philip K Dick. he's lived in hotels at times then? ;)
I started reading this book tonight. thank goodness for the "PhilipKDick-45books" file - it's saved boredom in hotels on work trips many a time.. usually in each of his books, there's a sentence or phrase that sticks in my mind after I've read it. it's amazing how such few words can change your life - a moment, a few words and suddenly everything is different (sometimes better, sometimes worse - though most change seems to be for the better after a period of time and with some hindsight)
from the introduction to the book (introduction written by Paul Williams)
I tried out the dim sum at the Cafe Zen restaurant in the hotel today. very tasty. I think it's the best dim sum I've ever had. they didn't have little carts though - it was a dim sum buffet. there was a clown entertaining the children. I made a field recording and tried out audio mulch tonight and processed it a bit. first attempt! it's called Shenzhen dim sum clown. I don't really know what I'm doing yet. it's patching software - similar to max/msp - though it seems easier upon this first attempt. here's the audio - it's ~ 5 minutes ~11.75Mb mp3 (320kbs). I added some delays & effects to warp the voices. I like the click click sounds that appeared. will have to try some more. I've been using my binaural mics here but I forgot to bring the adapter for line-in recordings, so have been using mic input on my minidisc which is not good for the low level / bassy sounds of the city with all it's traffic noise and sounds of construction. I emailed Rolf @ soundman and he was nice enough to reply & confirmed I'll need the adapter, so I'll try this once I return home. the recording below was made on my Nokia N95 cameraphone (camera - I cancelled the phone sim a few weeks back, so it's a camera / note taker now).