"The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices" was a manuscript written by al-Jazari in 1206 which described automata and mechanical devices used in early Islam. One of the more famous is the "The Elephant Clock" pictured here. Other machines include wine servers. The devices were 'programmed' to be random and unpredictable.
There is an excellent explanation of some of these devices and the book in general @ http://66.244.200.112/D1006Gunalan_Nadarajan.wmv - this is a conference presentation by Gunalan Nadarajan on his paper :
Islamic Automation: A Reading of al-Jazari's The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206)
http://www.banffcentre.ca/bnmi/programs/archives/2005/refresh/lisiten.asp
Professor Noel Sharkey from Sheffield University is building a replica of al-Jazari's automata boat which acts like a programmable drum machine.
[quote]
"Al-Jazari's machine was originally a boat with four automatic musicians that floated on a lake to entertain guests at royal drinking parties. It had two drummers, a harpist and a flautist."
"The heart of the mechanism is a rotating cylindrical beam with pegs (cams) protruding from it. These just bump into little levers that operate the percussion. The point of the model is to demonstrate that the drummer can be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns if the pegs are moved around. In other words it is a programmable drum machine."
[/quote]
The guys from pawful.org have been working on a livecoding game called Al-Jazari which is a musical robot livecoding system based on the principles of al-Jazari's automata boat.
view the video demo at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwLllYchlw
[quote]
"Al-Jazari is written in scheme for fluxus, and continues in the gamepad driven vein of BetaBlocker.
Livecoding for all the family! Only for use at royal drinking parties."
"The language consists of instructions to move and turn the robot, along with conditionals based on the external state (blocked, robot to my left, right etc) and jump instructions to switch between 4 seperate code states. A simple signalling system to allow the bots to communicate is planned."
[/quote]
Blacklab invites you to: remember now - a one day exhibition of contemporary souvenirs by Joanna Callaghan. Friday 16 December 11-9pm, Drinks 6-9pm. remember now includes a series of Brisbane postcards, a Michelle Leslie bikini with matching burka and a Falconio trial momento series of coasters and mugs. Joanna Callaghan is an Australian artist based in London. remember now is an exhibition of new work made over the last four weeks during a residency at Brisbane's Raw Space. read more or visit 
Gordon Taylor (Infectious Unease Radio) & Fractl have lined up a number of underground gigs for Melbourne through November and December. Experimental Spoken Word - Nano Glitch - Industrial - Noise : Featuring lush symphonics, hard beats, experimental electronics and controversial spoken word poetics. Acts Include: Gordon Taylor & Fractl, Bastich - local solo noise / industrial audio and Mystral Tide - cold dance / darkwave. Sunday November 20th, at Glitch Bar (318 St Georges Road, North Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia). Bands start 9pm. Sunday December 4th, at Montsalvat (7 Hillcrest Ave. Eltham Victoria - Historic 1930's site). Barn Hall at 8pm. visit 
Trans-Acoustic is a three day Festival where the centuries-old desire to fuse sensory impressions together is being given an experimental platform. Image generated to sound is now common practise, however TransAcoustic Festival will be examining the unique interface that results from the transformation of image or optical information into sound. Seeking to underline the acoustic perspective in a predominately visual culture, the Festival offers an inspiring synaesthetic experience to the public with seminars, performances and screenings on the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th December 2005 at The Kenneth Myers Centre and the Odeon Lounge. contact 
KISSS - Kinship International Strategy on Surveillance and Suppression, is a touring exhibition of products, process and residues from the meta-performance project KISSS. A Conical Exchange Project with Elastic Residency (UK) : Responding to political, social and personal issues around surveillance and suppression, KISSS incorporates the individual and collaborative practices of artists, writers and curators. OPENING FRIDAY 28 from 6 - 8.30pm, KISSS will be held from OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 13. A free forum will take place on Saturday 29 October with Joanna Callaghan & Deej Fabyc in collaboration with local artists. All welcome. Interested parties are invited to participate - please contact Conical at 
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