my reply to a post on the "Writing the Extraordinary" MLA class I'm taking - Erik Davis is leading the class. this week we're reading & discussing fever induced writing. one of the class members posted a quote from "Black Elk Speaks, the account of an Sioux "holy man." In this context "holy man" meant that the person experienced vivid hallucinations caused by severe childhood fevers."
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thanks for this. I love the quote you highlighted "Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that world."
I'm running out of ideas to share (for class - we've been sharing links, readings, videos, music for the past week+). my brain is shutting down with the heat and upcoming holidays. so here's a few links for Pandora - the world in the movie Avatar. I saw the movie last week in 3D and was amazed - I really want to go live on Pandora and explore the flora & fauna and colours.
song for today : Orbital "Halcyon" since they're playing in the bush in 2010 - Playground Weekender at Wisemans Ferry, 18-21 February 2010. Orbital are one of my alltime favourite bands. I'm not sure if I want to go see them with 12000 other people though! am hoping there'll be a small sideshow, but I know that's asking too much!! staying in a teepee does sound like fun though...
I heard this for the first time on a rainy day in London when I was a little lost and ended up in a little record store and this was the song playing in the store. I had to ask them what it was and buy the album. perfect tune for the day. then I left and found my way and went to meet some friends at a little bar/cafe. and ended up seeing someone I knew from sydney (I'd been living in brisbane at the time) - small world.
yeah I love all the FSOL & Amorphous Androgynous too! PNG is on youtube. I was thinking of the old parties with the neon toadstools and forest themed chillrooms like in Avatar's Pandora (just saw it last night) & thought of FSOL & found this one.
we used to play it at home too - just up the road from the dome, and in the car overlooking brisbane from mt coot-tha watching the sunrise. (& The Beloved's album plus some others)
Shannon O'Neill has started uploading a SAD - Sound A Day - different sounds he's made or recorded or found. it's very inspiring, some of the sounds are quite quirky, and ambient, and experimental and different. he explains what the sounds are and how he made them too which I find useful. so I asked if others could join in. I've been posting a Song for the day to share with my friend Ray and anyone else who sees it, and also with the share this course/book crew. I've just noticed how many friends on facebook have been sharing songs - often youtube videos of the songs, so they can be played/embedded in the post - it's great to see! and hear. and doesn't even feel too promotional. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do a Sound a Day - as in an original sound - as I don't really make music, but I do record a lot, so maybe I'll try post a sound a week - usually a found sound or something I've recorded.
here's my SAD-k001 : birds at herzog st jerusalem
it's about 10 minutes long, so best listened to in the background. it's recorded using my Nokia N95 phone. I was sitting out on the little balcony at the back of the studio apartment I was staying in - the one with the green gate - and thinking about Starhawk's "Earth Healer" class I was taking at MLA. I was reading a book called "Homesick" by Eshkol Nevo - I was a bit homesick for Australia at this time, and it wasn't long before I moved back home. and I was looking up at the Jerusalem stones on the building next door - so sturdy and strong they seemed. all the buildings in Jerusalem are made of jerusalem stone (limestone) and it gives the city character and makes it glitter in the light at times. there was one bird sitting on the wires chatting to me, then some others came and joined in. there were long grassy weeds with pretty little white flowers in the small shared backyard, which were later removed - one week they were there and I had a verdant backyard, then I went to Istanbul for a work trip and checked afterwards and the yard was barren. It was such a lovely relaxing day, I wanted to record the sounds to help trigger my memories of it.
backyard at Harav Herzog (St), Jerusalem, Israel 16/05/2008
What: “People doing strange things with electricity”.
Where: Black & Blue Gallery, 302/267-271 Cleveland Street Redfern
When: Friday 4th December, 5:30 - 6:30
Cost: FREE!
Dorkbot will be having a special presentation by Japanese electronic artist Daito Manabe in conjunction with the opening of Spooky Action at a Distance, a show curated by Amelia Groom at Black & Blue Gallery. The show hosts a selection of ten experimental video works by Japanese artists including the work of Daito Manabe.
After working as a system engineer and a programmer, Daito Manabe graduated from IAMAS (International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences) in 2004.
Redefining the existent media and technologies from unique angles, he has been active in various fields, such as art, design, and even research and development. He produces sounds, images, and light by analyzing and transforming numerical values gained from various sensors and input devices.
He is internationally active as a Turntablist and a Sound Artist using surround/oscillation/super low frequency technology and pursuing sensual peculiarity, commonality and interaction.
my friend john (foaf) converted a warehouse into a performance / event space called Lightspace in Brisbane. it looks so beautiful. he's done so well! http://bit.ly/4V5AeS I've always wanted to do that. am so jealous! oh the performances he's going to have there. studios upstairs too & coffee. I'd add music & book library. in fact I'd prob just move in upstairs and live there too. might be a bit noisy when the gigs are on though. anyone got a spare couple of mill? & I'd add a little private cinema / projection space - like third-ear in jerusalem http://bit.ly/6ngzGf (they're upstairs in a dvd store) but other than that it'd look like lightspace. perfect. maybe less glam as I have no $ ;) I have notebooks full of little drawings of a space and the things it'd have. one day maybe... I hope he does well with it - he deserves it. good luck! so if anyone needs a nice space for an event in Bris, let him know..
I started a new Maybe Logic Academy class called Share This Course! by/with Mark Pesce. the outcome of the class is to learn more about sharing and to write a collaborative book called Share this Book. so far it's week1 and the discussions have been great. there's a amazing range of talented people who've joined up so it'll be interesting to see what comes of the project - there's academics, IT/computer people, writers, students, artists. we're reading related articles & having discussions. feel free to join in if you like? this class is using a new (for me anyway @ MLA) pay-what-you-like model.
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here's the info from the Share this Course site's About page : Share This Course! is an experiment in creative collaboration. We're working together to understand how the sharing technologies and culture of the early 21st century can be applied to the specific task of creating a book which talks about this new world of shared culture, knowledge and power, a book titled Share This Book.
this afternoon I watched some of the 1939 Buck Rogers series. I saw lots of similarities with the sci fi movies from the 1980s - current day. I love the older methods of making sci fi movies - using the models & filming miniature sets. when I saw Moon I had the feeling that they'd done some of this but I haven't googled to check if this is correct or not. Buck Rogers has the tilted title text like Star Wars does, and the transporter beam like Star Trek, as well as the communications panel and tv screens zooming in on different locations - everywhere under surveillance like today's world. also I loved how the end of each episode had a slide saying the next episode would be seen at your local theatre - I think it'd be cool to have series shown this way again instead of the instantaneous methods we have today where you can download on demand or goto the video/dvd store or watch on TV in your lounge room. also I thought it was interesting that the leaders in 2440 were wearing capes and outfits that would fit in in feudal England or Rome. and the silver bathing caps and headphones that the modern people wore as protection and communication devices. and I loved the kaleidoscope effects behind the closing titles on some of the episodes. I saw so many things that seemingly influenced modern sci fi films. and the large spot lights reminded me of war movies where people escape from concentration camps or jail break films. I filmed my tv, so there's lots of flickering - buy or hire the series & take a look for a clearer view.
Sydney's had a heatwave over the past few days. today reached 41 degrees in my area. I didn't feel it at home but once I went outside it felt like someone had opened the stove door and put Sydney in front of it. I went in search of air conditioning for lunch - along with the rest of the people in Western suburbs. it was like Christmas shopping parking conditions - long queues, available parking spots were quite rare. even when I left there were long delays. but it was better than walking - I would have melted had I tried this.
