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.

I posted these on twitter yesterday, but here's a short 'doco' (promo) on flora 7 fauna @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIYb9g_U8jU (embedding disabled so you need to watch it at youtube) & they have a wiki @ http://bit.ly/5d1yT4 - I think this is a good example of a fan site mixed with transmedia mixed with a computer game. it almost reminds me of a moo too as there's text descriptions of the plants/animals/characters. i was thinking of getting the game so I could explore but I don't have the modern consoles. I was wondering if they've built Pandora in second life - though I haven't been inworld in ages - this'd be the thing to get me in though. some of the dance parties I've been to over the years (mostly brisbane ones, some outdoor/psytrance parties) have had chill rooms with similar sets/props, with neon/black light decorations and themes either indoors or props hanging from the trees in the bush - so it reminded me of those too, where you get lost in the spaces whilst listening to the music.

I liked the movie for it's eco / sustainability ideas, the strong female characters, the shamen/medicine woman, the colours & imaginative plants & animals, the 3D (!), the new technology, the spirituality themes, symbiosis, the way the planet rose up against the invaders. I hope this film helps bring some of these ideas into the public sphere.

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...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXN9r6tPgHU

song for today : Nitin Sawhney "Tides"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShvMm00B1YY

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.

song for today: Future Sound of London - "Cascade"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oylzsdb13NU

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)

DEPECHE MODE LIVE "Shake the disease" TV
thanks @MJTallon - some Depeche Mode for sunday

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1cv0m_depeche-mode-live-shake-the-dise...

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

http://www.archive.org/details/BirdsAtHerzogStJerusalem
mp3 file ::: ogg vorbis file

some photos

music for today: Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force mix) on ZEN RMX (ninjatune)

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

(I made the video - I know I'm not meant to use other people's music but I do because I love the songs so much, not out of disrespect)

sometimes life turns one way, then stops for a breather, then turns the other way. sometimes things are in focus and other times not. my dryer as a metaphor for my life today..

16/12/2009

video page on blip.tv

Song for Today : Harold Budd + Brian Eno "The Plateaux of Mirror" (1980)

today's song for Ray (inspired by shannon o'neill's sound a day posts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLQPzjPW7LM

Sound for Today : for World Techno Day - some tekno : Quadrophonia "Wave of the Future" - and yes, it was..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyU6iFX5vOI

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& a classic Jeff Mills "The Bells"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KevUFO2moZI

woah Daito Manabe is going to be at dorkbot sydney this friday http://bit.ly/8S4ZHi

video: eye/face movement -> sound @ http://bit.ly/5SObcO

this is my fav vid of his http://bit.ly/74D7wd from a few years back - video turntablism with Ms Pinky & max/msp - was in awe when I saw this

http://www.daito.ws/en
http://dorkbotsyd.boztek.net
http://biginjapan.com.au
http://www.blackandbluegallery.com.au

dorkbot sydney event details:

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.

This is an interesting video demonstration of his work using electronic stimulus to face: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxdlYFCp5Ic&feature=player_embedded

For more info http://www.daito.ws/en

Daito Manabe is in Sydney for Kirin Big In Japan
http://www.biginjapan.com.au

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..

http://lightspacebrisbane.wordpress.com
http://www.lightspace.net.au

here's the blurb from the lightspace website's about page :

Lightspace is a new event, education and exhibition venue located in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Hatched from a converted warehouse its features include lofty warehouse spaces, rustic industrial chic and an outdoor terrace with views across the city skyline.

Lightspace provides the ideal blank canvas for functions, events, product launches, fashion parades, exhibitions, photo shoots, video clips, weddings, parties, anything you can imagine…

Lightspace Studios offer open–plan office space with flexible, affordable tenancies – ideally suited to small creative industry businesses. The lofty, edgy interior design provides a range of personal and communal spaces. Converted shipping containers have become the shell for the shared meeting room, bathrooms, shower and kitchen. A roof terrace delivers sweeping views of the city and Valley. Tenants have access to all facilities. If you’re in Brisbane, creative and looking for cool warehouse space then send us a message…

Contact Lightspace:
enquiries @ lightspace.net.au (remove spaces)
30 Light Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

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.

:::

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.

We started our journey on 21 November 2009 and expect to be well into it through at least the middle of February 2010. This blog is our main gathering point, where we meet to discuss, to debate, to create and to produce. If you’d like to join us, please register on the blog and dive in!

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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.

#vlomo09 day22 #2
22/11/2009
view other people's videos @ http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org

.mov video file ::: .flv video file ::: movie page on blip.tv

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.

#vlomo09 day22

22/11/2009

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I admit my crime / broken ladder - mumbai one year on

I was in Mumbai last year when the terrorist attacks were happening. luckily I was not staying at one of the affected hotels. but I'd received at txt around 3am asking if I was ok, so I woke and started watching the tv. at that time the news media were reporting pretty irresponsibly IMHO - showing live footage of locations of the police and telling everyone what the police were doing. the journalists seemed to be in shock which was understandable, but it wasn't until mid the next morning that they started delaying the footage and not handing out details until later. at the time I was trying to use the internet too but twitter was overloaded all the time. I think I got a couple of messages through to facebook and my blog. I was recording some of the tv footage - the English speaking channels at least. the night before I'd recorded the ad for the Champions League cricket competition, which I think was canceled - or at least, the Australian team didn't go? there were many criticisms of the media's coverage of the event on the Indian blogs, and on Sarai list and Kafila blog & elsewhere.

this week will be one year after the attacks. the Times of India website has some articles so tonight I was reliving the night and following day (where I'd flown to Delhi and later caught a flight back to Sydney). I'd been able to get onto a couple of people via mobile the next morning which made me feel better. and I'd had lots of calls from people from work too checking how I was which was comforting. I spent a lot of time in the following months reading the press articles and blogs. I read the confession of the arrested terrorist - he was the only remaining survivor from his group. I almost felt sorry for the situation he had found himself in and I kept wondering, at which point in all of this training did he not stop and think, "hang on, they're talking about killing people", and what sort of life he must have had in order to not find this a problem. it's awful what they did to the people of Mumbai and tourists. but it's also a desparate situation on his/their part too as I'm sure they were not the organizers behind the attack - just the participants, however willing. what a crazy world this is. it made me sad for a while to think about me being there (even if not directly involved) and what happened to the people involved and the whole situation & background of many of the people there that puts them into these situations. I think watching the tv made it worse as they sensationalized everything - really gave it the CNN / USA flashy headline - scare the public treatment.

as I understand it, Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist is awaiting trial in an Indian prison

"Mujhe gunah kabool hai (I admit my crime). We fired on the public at CST" -- Ajmal Kasab confesses via http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Sir-mujhe-mera-gunaah-kabo...

this all happened during #vlomo08 which is why I had my cameras ready at the time

http://www.aliak.com/content/broken-ladder

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/11mumterror-confession-of-caught-ter...

http://indiainteracts.com/columnist/2008/12/03/Youth-Violence-and-Terror...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Sir-mujhe-mera-gunaah-kabo...

http://www.aliak.com/content/mumbai-people-advised-stay-indoors

#vlomo09 day21

21/11/2009

.mov video file ::: .flv video file ::: video page at blip.tv

mini cupcakes are quite popular in Sydney these days - there's cupcake stores popping up everywhere selling fancy mini cupcakes. I haven't actually tried them before so when I saw the "Cupcakes on Pitt" store after I stopped for lunch I thought I'd try one. I bought a "cookies and cream" cupcake and a macaroon. I can't remember having a macaroon before either though I'm sure I must have at some time. these have become popular too since the first series of Master Chef aired in Australia earlier this year and the contestants had to cook macaroons as one of the challenges. I've saved the macaroon for tomorrow night - it's a strawberry macaroon. the cupcake was yummy though!

music is (part of the intro to) "Elevation" by Infected Mushroom

#vlomo09 #navlopomo09 day18
18/11/2009

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Ian's video was called time travel. this initially brought to mind the Orbital song with the Star Trek TNG "Time Squared" episode sample for the Mobius & time becoming a loop. the past few weeks have felt like this for me - I've gone back to 2000, 2001, and hopefully 2003 this week if all goes well.

then I also thought about "Moving Time" as I might be moving house soon

but the theme I went with for the final video (though I sneaked the Mobius quote in the title text..) was the H.P. Lovecraft book "Shadow out of time". we read this for an online class I'm taking, and I really enjoyed it

I thought about Plato's ideas of "remembering knowledge" across the aeons (time travel of the mind?)

one of the other class memebers mentioned the mental projections and mind swaps & the data-body and likened the spaces between dream/reality in the book, to the virtual spaces common these days & how we often have a data-body these days as well as a flesh-body

so I then thought about outsourcing memory using photos, videos, blogs etc and how by uploading these we become a virtual self on the internet. and how sometimes these things can become cluttered and cross-over each other and even annoying after a while (as I think watching this loop for 1:30 is.. but this is on purpose :), and they're not an exact copy of ourselves. and how sometimes these things can overshadow our real selves, or at least other's impressions of our selves. and how, when watching something on loop you sometimes focus on the foreground moving text, and other times 'me' - this seems to match my real world experiences too - shifting between online me & real-world me focuses

I represented the data-body using text words as this is the medium of the book. using Isadora I made a controller that would move the words around the screen - often blotting out the video of me playing in the background. but it's not really me - it's another virtual image -> mirror image of me, rather than the me I imagine in my mind, distorted by the join in the two glass mirrors and my face is covered most of the time by the camera - the recording of the data-body.

the video is playing on loop with my washing machine as the soundtrack.

using footage of 'me' in the video was inspired by Cheryl's videos, as this is unusal for my videos, so I looked forwards & backwards for inspiration - as in the book, Peaslee & the Yithians look forward & backwards in time for knowledge

vlomo09 day15

vlomo09 30/30 project

15/11/2009

over to you Cheryl! good luck

this video is day 15's video for Rupert Howe's 30 days - 30 people - 30 videos vlomo09 project - watch other people's videos at http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org/category/30-days-30-people-30-videos
& #vlomo09 / #navlopomo09 videos at http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org/category/vlopomo09

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this evening a large thunderstorm rolled into the city - it poured down rain, and there was thunder & lightning. I caught the train home and it felt as if I the train was chasing the storm clouds. the video is overlooking Parramatta. I recorded about 6 minutes which gives a better feel for the spaces between the thunder & lightning but the file was too large so I had to trim it. the light after/peeking through the rain was amazing - so clear! & contrasted against the grey clouds

12/11/2009
vlomo09 day12

see other people's videos at http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org

.mov video file ::: .flv video file ::: video page on blip.tv

a few david sylvian songs were the soundtrack for day11's #vlomo09 video. they make the train ride home from work a bit more interesting... these are video paintings - I made the isadora patch file - see attached. it's based on one I made for vlomo08 day 1's video : train ride home. most of my videos seem to end up with a similar theme - drive/ride to work, travel, hotels, some isadora files, some music/arts gigs or festival videos. such is my life I suppose. david sylvian's "secrets of the beehive" album is one of my favourites - it's perfect for when I'm feeling down (as is depeche mode) as I always feel better afterwards. I think it's the male vocal. and piano in sylvian's case.

promise (part 1)
David Sylvian's Promise (the cult of Eurydise) with isadorian footage of the western line express - part 1

11/11/2009

north sydney - parramatta

vlomo09 - day11

view other people's videos @ http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org

.mov movie file ::: .flv video file ::: movie page on blip.tv

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september (part 2)

David Sylvian's September with isadorian footage of the western line express - part 2

11/11/2009

north sydney - parramatta

vlomo09 - day11

view other people's videos @ http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org

.mov video file ::: .flv video file ::: video page on blip.tv

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let the happiness in (part 3)

David Sylvian's Let the Happiness In with isadorian footage of the western line express - part 3

11/11/2009

north sydney - parramatta

vlomo09 - day11

view other people's videos @ http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org

.mov video file ::: .flv video file ::: video page on blip.tv

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isadora file attached

bradbury vs abela TINA 2003 : vlomo09 day10

one from the archives for today. this is Garry Bradbury's session at TINA2003 where he gaffer taped Lucas Abela to the chair and then played his cut-up creation.

I didn't have a good camera in 2003, so the footage is a bit dark. but gives you an idea..

05/10/2003 Newcastle

vlomo09 day 10 - watch other people's videos at http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.org

#vlomo09 day10 : bradbury vs abela (TINA2003) http://blip.tv/file/2830219 (from the archives) watch other ppl's vids @ http://bit.ly/4j8wc9

.mov movie file ::: .flv file ::: video page on blip.tv

the drive to cootamundra - snapshots of the drive from the n95 along the way (footage filmed : 31/10/2009)

#vlomo09 : day9 : http://blip.tv/file/2825628 - drive to Cootamundra - n95 shots along the way (31/10)

.mov movie file ::: .flv video file ::: movie page on blip.tv

Unpopular Music - 07/11/2009 - Marrickville, Sydney

from http://www.newweirdaustralia.com/unpopular

Unpopular Music, A Benefit For FBi Radio.

With:
Pimmon & Jeff Burch (Solo Sets & Debut Live Collaboration as Mandala Trap), Comatone, Kyu, Anon, Scissor Lock, Anna Chase, Nick Wishart with DJ Sets from Kevin Purdy (Tooth), Tim Ritchie (Sound Quality, ABC Radio National) and Tom Smith (Cleptoclectics).

after a while listening to Jeff Burch's set, I became transfixed on the shadows on the screen - it seemed as if there were multiple versions of him playing. the digital noise video background projected onto the 'real' Burch, so at times he seemed like a projection also - which was the real person playing?? :)

Jeff Burch #7 : Unpopular Music @ Red Rattler
07/11/2009

#vlomo09 : day 8 : Jeff Burch's music for shadows @ http://blip.tv/file/2822337 - watch other people's videos @ http://bit.ly/4j8wc9

http://newweirdaustralia.com/unpopular
http://www.jeffburchmusic.com

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finished reading "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by HP Lovecraft for class yesterday. so I went for coffee & eggs to think more upon spheres and came across a few circles & turns in my saturday travels.

07/11/2009

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day7 navlopomo09 / vlomo09

watch other people's videos @ http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.com