AliaK's blog

There's so many crazy things in the papers here in Delhi, and then there's so many that don't make the papers or are buried so deeply that people probably don't find them. Luckily I came across the independent paper Tehelka whilst staying in the other hotel on my last trip. The articles in this paper were heart wrenching. Most of the time I kept thinking, what year is this? how can these things be happening in this day and age. Here's an example - this notice arrived via the sarai reader list (www.sarai.net)

[quote]
National Association For Social Action (NASAindia) in collaboration with National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) is organising a protest programme and will pay tribute by lighiting 1000 lights of Dignity to demand justice for the Bhotmange Family and for entire dalit community. i am inviting you in the said programme. please be there to raise the voice of justice and light a candle in favor of justice. there will be more than 5000 activists from all over india will be there.

10th Nov 2006 at 7:00 pm in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
[/quote]

For more details on Khairlanji issue please go through following web site.
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main22.asp?filename=Ne111106Dalits_like.asp

today it's time for the Americans to vote, and I hope they turn out to the polls in droves, if not for themselves but for the other countries who are affected by decisions made in US politics.

as it's that time of year, there's been a few articles floating round the maillists. one which caught my eye was on google bombing, or link bombing as it's also known. the article in the New York Times called Gaming the Search Engine, in a Political Season describes google bombing as :

[quote]
"A GOOGLE bomb — which some Web gurus have suggested is perhaps better called a link bomb, in that it affects most search engines — has typically been thought of as something between a prank and a form of protest. The idea is to select a certain search term or phrase ("borrowed time," for example), and then try to force a certain Web site (say, the Pentagon's official Donald H. Rumsfeld profile) to appear at or near the top of a search engine's results whenever that term is queried."
[/quote]

The article goes on to mention that google bombs have been compared to Greenpeace's founder Bob Hunter's "media mindbombs" by Clifford Tatum, in a paper published in the online journal First Monday (www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_10/).

I guess time will tell if these techniques are effective - from what the article says they're definitely changing the search engine results. But I suspect the key to the campaign is finding the best search phrase to use. Personally I don't think I'd search google for "borrowed time" - I can imagine this being used in a viral email though like the ones in the past where people say type this phrase and hit I feel lucky into google. Perhaps this is a case of preaching to the converted though which is often the problem with activist and social protest issues.

Let's just hope the spammers don't get onto it as well. Hopefully there are algorithms to prevent this in the search engines, though I wouldn't be surprised if this were one of the SEO tools for spam sites!

last year I was asked (albeit last minute!) if I'd like to contribute to a book tentatively called Videoblogging Hacks so I wrote up the following rather quickly and sent it off. I'd been playing with creating html links and href tracks previously and I think I'd mentioned it on the videoblogging yahoogroups list. anyway, the book was published and is now available from various online stores.

the book is called Videoblogging and the authors names are Jay Dedman, Joshua Paul. I received a copy and had a quick look through it on my last trip home to Sydney - it's a very throrough book! so grab a copy if you get the chance.

my section was cut/edited quite a bit. I was surprised it made it all. so below is what I sent through - I need to find the images and post/links them also. it's a useful reference for me also, but most of the info below is already available on the internet.

I did find it hard to locate information at the time, so this was a way of bringing it altogether in one place as a reference.

attached are the doc and rtf versions - hopefully the images show up in them. I can't see them here on the mac but perhaps I don't have the correct viewer installed.

there's a couple of other good books on videoblogging also along with the one mentioned above :

Videoblogging by Jay Dedman, Joshua Paul

Secrets of Videoblogging by Michael Verdi, Ryanne Hodson, Diana Weynand, and Shirley Craig
( this one's available on safari techbooks online if you have a login there )

Videobloggin g for Dummies by Stephanie Cottrell Bryant

---

Creating Clickable Hyperlinks in QuickTime video movies.
-- Kath O'Donnell

Everybody knows that html links, or hyperlinks make the internet go 'round. Wouldn't it be cool to include clickable links in the video files you create and publish also. Think of the possibilities! Depending on what your video content is, the links could enhance the viewers experience whilst watching your video and allow them to gain more information or visit your homepage once they've finished watching your video. Clickable links turn your video file into an interactive video.

Including hyperlinks in your video using Quicktime is a simple step involving adding a text track and HREF codes or adding a HREFTrack, but surprisingly few people use this feature. More advanced options include being able to display the clicked link into specified html frames or windows, or even sending JavaScript code or parameters to JavaScript scripts on your website. SMIL movie files can also be used to create links, though if you decide to use this method, you need to be aware of the different ways SMIL files can be played on a computer ie it may be played in a non-QuickTime Player so could behave differently to what you expect. For this reason, this guide concentrates on creating clickable links using text tracks in QuickTime PRO.

sull posted on the videoblogging maillist about crowdfunding, which is a concept becoming more popular with the rise of social sites etc on the interweb. it's an interesting concept and I'd like to try it with some Australian arts/music projects to try raise money for them to complete their projects. the havemoneywillvlog project has been successful in raising money for people to work on various videoblogging projects ranging from a documentary / series, an artistic experiment with travel organised by the contributors, a research project on sustainability, a documentation of issues on immigration and it's social impacts from a selection of people's pov, and most recently raising funds to help convert 8mm films to video to give them a new lease of life.

since upgrading to drupal 4.7, I'll be testing the chipin and ecommerce modules to see if they are of use.

it would be great to be able to help people realise their projects. I think it could also help them to practice making grant funding applications to larger organisations and government bodies. anyway, it couldn't hurt to try. if the people make pledges to support the project, then only pay for them once the full amount of money is raised then it's less risk for them. I've pledged and donated money in this way. $10 a month (or less if I decide to skip a project) is not much for me to pay - it's less than the cost of a cd and is another way to help support a project when you can't attend in person. I figure I've spent more than that on less important things, so it's one way to help give back to the community! also, as these days I don't make it to events I'd like to in person, this could be another way of supporting them without being there.

I wonder if others think this way also. it's hard to convince people to spend their hard earned cash. just as it's hard to get people to come along to gigs. an interesting experiment nonetheless. hopefully some of the projects would be able to offer something extra, an incentive if you will, to the financial contributors. drupal groups modules might be useful for this..

I was thinking of using these systems to help raise money for people to work on projects - small budget amounts. maybe to do a promo cd or put on a gig or get a small book published or attend a conference & report on it etc. the donators would be given credit in the project and maybe get special previews on how the project is going. I could put the documentation on my site.

the project would get to practice applying for grants, so would need to be professional about it, have a definite timeline to work towards, and there would have to be a final outcome they could report on and document so people who donated knew their money went towards something real and was not just lost.

the system could also be used to raise money for charities, or if you can't decide on a charity, then think of the artist as your target for giving.

anyway, here's some sites useful for research about this or showing examples of currently working systems :

http://havemoneywillvlog.com/ = funding site for videoblog projects

http://crowdfunding.com/ = research blog on crowdfunding

http://www.sellaband.com/ = raise $50000 towards funding your band / your fav band's promo/album costs

http://fundavlog.com/ = pay per view / raise money for vlogs

http://fundable.org/ = raise money for any projects, payment site

http://chipin.com/ = raise money for any projects, payment site

http://www.netribution.co.uk/2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id... = article on crowdfunding for independent films

http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2006/09/19/a_swarm_of_ange.html = a UK film being made via donations

I've been reading the Nomadology book and blog posts lately. it's an interesting concept. I've found myself travelling more in the last few years but I'm not sure that my mode of travel could be classed as nomadic.

eg from Encyclopedia Britannica - searching on nomad / nomadism
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9373574

[quote]
"Way of life of peoples who do not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or periodically."

"It is based on temporary centres whose stability depends on the available food supply and the technology for exploiting it. A hunting and gathering society is a type of nomadic group. Pastoral nomads, who depend on domestic livestock, migrate in an established territory to find pasture for their animals. Tinker or trader nomads, such as the Roma (Gypsies; see Rom) and the Irish and Scottish Travellers, are associated with a larger society but maintain their mobile way of life. Nomadism declined in the 20th century as urban centres expanded and governments sought to regulate or eliminate it."
[/quote]

or nomadism on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomadism

[quote]
"Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. Many cultures have been traditionally nomadic, but nomadic behaviour is increasingly rare in industrialised countries. There are three kinds of nomads, hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads, and peripatetic nomads. Nomadic hunter-gatherers have by far the longest-lived subsistence method in human history, following seasonally available wild plants and game. Pastoralists raise herds and move with them so as not to deplete pasture beyond recovery in any one area. Peripatetic nomads are more common in industrialised nations travelling from place to place offering a trade wherever they go."
[/quote]

currently I'm a cross between Perpetual Traveller, expat or perhaps even a touch technomad. for the moment I have given up the sedentary lifestyle. living in different place whilst on work projects gives you a great opportunity to see how other people live and to realise how little you actually need to be happy and to live a good life yourself. it definitely makes you appreciate the life we lead in Australia.

there's a whole other world out there and some people are taking advantage of it. in doing a couple of quick html hops whilst googling nomadism, I came across microship.com the website of Steven Roberts who left suburbia behind to travel in teched up vehicles such as Winnebiko and BEHEMOTH. Now he's decking out a catamaran to do some more leisurely and comfortable sailing. but wow! what an adventure. his site mentions he's had help from numerous people on places to stay and go. there'd be a few books worth of stories to tell!

http://summit.airjaldi.com/home/program/

notes

Day Three, Tuesday – October 24
09:00 – 09:10 Greetings and logistics updates
09:10 – 10:00 Keynote Address:Dr. Eric Brewer
10:00 - 10:30 Break

HelloWorld! squeak file

visit squeak plugins page if you can't see the app below

or click here to open hello world squeak test app if you can't already see it. once the page opens, scroll to the toolbar at bottom of page and add things to the test page - you won't be able to save though!

hrmm... that didn't work at all :(

useful links to docs / info :

http://www.squeak.org : one of the main squeak sites

http://guzdial.cc.gatech.edu/squeakbook/ : book on squeak "Squeak: Object-oriented design with multimedia applications" by Mark Guzdial

http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/cs2340/ : uni course using squeak that the "Squeak: Object-oriented design with multimedia applications" book was based on

http://www.iam.unibe.ch/~ducasse/Videos/ : video tutorials - don't seem to have sound in all of them though! screencasts

http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak : Squeak Swiki

http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak/2983 : documentation

http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak/82 : a self study course in squeak

http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak/20 : other squeak websites

http://www.univ-savoie.fr/Portail/Groupes/listic2/membres/Stephane.Ducas... : pdf books on squeak

record player playing records after the Nomadology book launch @ this is not art festival, sat 30/09/2006 newcastle, australia

http://www.thisisnotart.org

http://www.thisisnotart.org/Members/http://www.thisisnotart.org/nicolas/...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Tx53KljoY

I tried converting an existing video to 3gp format - here's a shorter 3pg version of the People watching at Saket PVR video :

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

and also made a new one after taking a few 2 second video clips and some rough edits.

this is the original version :

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

and this is the .3gp version

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

---

general notes

http://www.graffitiresearchlab.com/

grafitti research lab - led projections onto screens/walls - throw the led devices up and they project onto a wall. they stick to the wall via a magnet

http://www.instructables.com/id/E9D2ZJ3FG0EP286JEJ/

introLED Throwies
Developed by the Graffiti Research Lab a division of the Eyebeam R&D OpenLab, LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together. Throw it up high and in quantity to impress your friends and city officials.

this is an article about Australia's plans to impose English tests on immigrants in Delhi Times - Times International paper, published Saturday 16th september 2006, pg 32.

not many articles make the Delhi papers apart from sports (mostly cricket) and some educational/university related items, so it was interesting & disappointing that this is one of the articles that Australia is linked to. what an impression other countries must think of us!

I'd like to know if this made the news in Australia this week also and what people thought of it. plus I want to know what are the 'Australian values' on the test???

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1996034.cms has the online version of the article

backup of my home computer's firefox sage rss feed links in opml format

lists the blogs & vlogs I've been reading. now I've subscribed to them using rssfwd so I get most them by email also. but it's always good to have a backup

I just came across this article whilst reading some rss feeds. BlueAndRedCows on the craftster.org message board has posted a pattern for knitting converse shoes. apparently her old ones broke, so she replaced the fabric/canvas upper shoe with a knitted piece. they look great!! and seem to be really popular on the site also. Boing Boing's just posted an article about them also so I guess they'll be really popular soon!

it's great to see hand made / craft items being made, especially when recycling your favourite pair of shoes. I had a pair of converse boots when I was younger and I used to love those shoes. I bought another of the shoe type connies a couple of years ago but they were ruined once when they got too wet so I had to throw them out (couldn't get rid of the smell :( )

here's some photos of the final product. below is the pattern in case it's removed from the forum.
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=120442.msg1154164#msg1154164 is the url of the original forum message if you want to read the whole thread.

read more to see the pattern

I'm catching up on emails on my day off and have just read one of the videoblogging list posts about the shallow nature of videoblogging in comparison to the footage and daily life in Iraq portrayed in the doco on AlterNet.org. There's a debate going on but it's drifted away from the topic of the disturbing images in the doco. I've only watched half of it - will catch the rest tomorrow when my net connection is more stable. I live with such luxury... the worst thing I have to worry about at the moment is not being able to connect to the net if the hotel internet connection is down.. now that's shallow!! I can't imagine living in a war torn place and seeing the realities of death everyday. It's a video that I think everyone should watch.. http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/36871/

coverage of the 2006 SXSW festival can be found here : http://server1.sxsw.com/2006/coverage/

there are audio podcasts from some of the sessions as well as videoblog recordings

the main festival site is @ http://2006.sxsw.com/