international

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3568505.stm today mentions the new Sony Librie, an electronic book reader. Apparrently the screen resolution is very good, but it's only available in Japan at the moment and the books self destruct in 60 days! It's all a buzz in the blogging world..

A hybrid of film festival and music festival, Optronica is a brand new five day event focusing on the convergence of visuals and music. Starting on Wednesday July 20th 2005, Optronica opens with 3 nights of live audiovisual performances at the bfi London IMAX; the World premiere of Plaid & Bob Jaroc's Greedy Baby AV spectacular, the UK premiere of DJ Spooky's solo film remix Rebirth of a Nation and a stunning AV show from ex-Kraftwerk star Karl Bartos. Packed Friday and Saturday schedules follow, with cinema screenings, talks, panel discussions and live performances at the National Film Theatre, where audiovisual acts including Skoltz_Kolgen and People Like Us play at Optronica Lab. On the Friday night, there will be a special live audiovisual performance by Addictive TV on the fly-tower of the National Theatre, with projections visible across the Thames, and a club night Optronica @ The Spitz on the Saturday night with a line-up of DJs and VJs from France, Holland, Poland, the UK and Japan. visit http://www.optronica.org/ for more info

The Ethics of E-Games, Call for Papers - IRIE, Vol. 2/2005 International Review of Information Ethics. Computer-based or e-games, in both standalone and networked incarnations (including 'Massive Multiplayer Online Games' or MMOGs), represent one of the most popular and an economically profitable uses of ICTs and CMC in the contemporary world. Such games not only simulate a range of human social interactions, from building (perhaps utopian) societies to historical and fantasy warfare of every age: the games further occasion and catalyze a range of human interactions that rightly inspire research from a variety of disciplines and specialties. Especially violent games (e.g., Quake, Doom, Grand Theft Auto III, and others) have generated some critical discussion, ranging from 'moral panics' in popular media to social science investigations into possible effects and consequences of participating in such games. But e-games represent a relatively neglected subject in Information Ethics. At the same time, however, if broader discussion of e-games is to include responsible and informed ethical reflection, much more critical reflection from the various perspectives of Information Ethics upon the multiple dimensions of e-games and game-playing is needed. Hence this special issue of IRIE calls for such critical ethical reflection. For more information about the journal see: http://www.ijie.org

The Phonos Foundation, the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona, and the Higher School of Music of Catalonia in conjunction with the International Computer Music Association, is proud to announce ICMC 2005. The conference will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from the 5th to 9th of September 2005, with pre-conference workshops on September the 4th. ICMC is the pre-eminent annual gathering of computer music practitioners from around the world. Its unique interleaving of professional paper presentations and concerts of new computer music compositions creates a vital synthesis of science, technology, and the art of music. Visit http://www.icmc2005.org or http://www.computermusic.org/ for more information

Can a sista rock a film? which is part of a week long music festival called can a sista rock a mic? has extended it's submission for shorts & films... Mini dv preferred, but will convert dvds to dvcam for broadcast. Your project will air on Comcast Channels 5 & 6 and Starpower Channels 10 & 11 in Washington, DC. during the month of June (every Thursday) while the week long festivals is happening and after. So get your works in! This is a great chance to have your project broadcast on cable television. No submission fees at all. It's free. More details on the whole "Can A Sista Rock A Mic? week long festival next week at http://www.bgirlmanifesto.com

We are seeking contributions for this proposed edited collection. Rather than producing more speculative work, we wish to focus on empirical data collected online about the intricate, intimate virtual ways that people forge connections. The three sections will be: Love & Sex; Work & Education; and Methods & Ethics. Chapters should be empirically based, 8000 words in length, and written in an accessible style suitable for an interested, intelligent general audience as well as for an academic readership in gender / cultural / media studies, sociology / anthropology, and new media. read more for details on how to submit your papers.