Bruce Sterling's Blog, page 216
December 30, 2013
Augmented Reality: Leap Motion Pong
*That’s gotta hurt!
Chinese sci-fi writers laud moon landing, etc
*Really? Well don’t that beat all.
By Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom
In 2013 China joined the short list of countries who have landed on the moon, but Chinese science fiction had been dreaming of just that for decades. Jeffrey Wasserstrom on the People’s Republic’s new wave of speculative fiction.
“Thanks to China joining the elite club of countries that have carried out successful moon landings, 2013 will definitely be remembered as a special year in the annals of Chinese science. What’s likely less widely appreciated in some quarters is that it’s also been a banner year for Chinese science fiction.
“This genre has had its share of dramatic ups and downs in the past, with the Communist Party literary establishment treating it as a suspect form for much of the last half-century. Now, though, it is definitely on a roll. Science fiction novels are selling briskly in China.
“Foreign specialists in Chinese literature, only a few of whom paid attention to the genre twenty years ago, now routinely take it seriously as a subject for scholarly attention. And Chinese SF has become so mainstream that the official Xinhua News Agency even found a way to bring practitioners of the genre, such as bestselling author Liu Cixin, whom they described as ‘one of the China’s most celebrated sci-fi writers,’ into their campaign to use the lunar breakthrough to buttress national pride. The December 17 Xinhua article ‘Chinese sci-fi writers laud moon landing,’ not only quotes Liu and other SF authors on the accomplishments of the country’s space program but also reminds readers that Lu Xun, the country’s most venerated modern literary figure, began his career by translating works by Jules Verne and wrote in 1903 that science fiction could play a crucial role in ‘the advancement of the Chinese nation.’
“Lu Xun’s famous comment appeared in the introduction to the translation he did (working from an earlier Japanese edition) of Verne’s A Journey from the Earth to the Moon, a work that presciently predicted that Americans would someday take the lead in lunar expeditions. The young intellectual’s interest in foreign SF had been sparked by commentaries on the genre by the country’s most famous progressive intellectual of the day, Liang Qichao….”
Creative Applications: 10 Best and Most Memorable Projects of 2013
*Okay, it’s a listicle. But it’s a pretty good listicle, with a heap of cool tech-art videos.
http://www.creativeapplications.net/featured/10-best-and-most-memorable-projects-of-2013/
December 29, 2013
Design Fiction: Nymi by Bionym
*Hmmm. That reads almost like a standard promotional ad, except that large parts of it are politically implausible.
*Nice element of creepiness, too. It’s like that exciting new Google creepiness that’s just creepy enough for 2014.
*I don’t think I’d wear one of these myself, but it would be interesting to wear someone else’s.
Published on Sep 2, 2013
Pre-order your Nymi for $79 at http://getnymi.com/preorder/ [FAQ beneath preorder]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nymiband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetNymi
The Nymi lets you securely and seamlessly engage with your world through ECG authentication and motion sensing.
Go to http://GetNymi.com to pre-order now at an exclusive price.
Crowdfunded Open Source Hard Ware projects of 2013
*Okay, this is a listicle, and I hate listicles. However, crowd funding and open source hard ware are both really weird developments of potentially major importance, so I’d recommend a look at these. New means of production don’t come along very often.
*You’ll know this is a big deal when bought-and-sold legislatures start moving against it. That’s already happening with stuff like shareable couch-surfing and Internet taxis.
“2013 was a year full of open innovations and 2014 looks largely promising as both huge companies and independent developers and startups increasingly look at this approach to innovation.
“Stay on top of the news by following @OpenElectronics and @Meedabyte and be sure not to lose news and updates!”
“Original OE interview to the founder : http://www.open-electronics.org/inter...
“This project was launched in the summer by two Milan’s Politecnico fellows: the two italian guys designed a super cool triple feature machine (scan, 3d print, mill) that is also beautiful: as you may know, Milan is home to italian design and that’s where this is coming from. Ah! Who doesn’t love cross-fertilization. Said that, this project was a blast: they raised almost 600k$ (most important European crowdfunded project at the time and, I believe, so far today) per respect to a budget goal of 50k. They pre-sold more than 300 printers and the boys are on track to deliver in the early summer next years. If you want to know more about the project you can find it in the interview we had with the founders.
“Bold views. Italians….”
December 28, 2013
Design Fiction: the Echo Park Time Travel Mart
*Hmmm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/826LA
(…)
“The Time Travel Mart
“The Time Travel Mart exists at both 826LA in Mar Vista and 826LA in Echo Park, specializing in products imported from the past and future, such as Viking odorant, robot milk, robot toupees, robot emotions, mammoth chunks, and other time travel themed oddities. The store and its initial line of products were conceived by writers Mac Barnett and Jon Korn, and graphic designer Stefan G. Bucher. The store also sells anthologies of work by 826LA writing students, new and back issues of Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, The Believer, Wholphin, and other McSweeney’s publications. The store also sells a special series of Poketo wallets, celebrating the work of artists and students alike. The short stories written by 826LA students line the inside of Poketo’s artist wallets, and then illustrated with a Poketo artist’s interpretations of the stories….”
Design Fiction: the viral versus the verified
*I’m inclined to think that an ethical design-fiction needs a clear framing device. It won’t be much use blaming the social-media contingent when your brilliant fake invention goes over the top. Besides, if you don’t design that aspect of your communication, then who will?
(…)
“Elan Gale, 30, a television producer and the author of the invented article on the feud on the plane, is not convinced. His fictitious Twitter tale of exchanging increasingly hostile notes with a fellow passenger spread rapidly — a compilation of his posts got 5.6 million views. BuzzFeed sensed the tremor in the web and posted it, attracting nearly 1.5 million views to its site. (The New York Times travel section blog also linked to their story but labeled it as imaginary when it was discovered to be untrue.) Finally, Mr. Gale revealed that the entire exchange was fake, and BuzzFeed posted an update describing the story as a lie and a hoax.
” “I really have an issue with the word hoax,” said Mr. Gale, who says nobody called him to verify his story. “I was broadcasting to my followers who know what I do. It’s the people who reported it who are deceiving their audience.”
“BuzzFeed counters that Mr. Gale stoked the flames when his posts came to wider notice, instead of debunking the reports, and that a BuzzFeed reporter had tried to contact him on Twitter.
“BuzzFeed, like some other sites, relied on updates and news stories to correct its previous reporting on the Mr. Gale’s story. (Its follow-up story drew more than 400,000 views.) But the site must continue to cover the frantic conversation of social media, said Lisa Tozzi, the news director at BuzzFeed and a former Times editor. This is because it “is where our readers are living,” she said. “Our readers are seeing all of this stuff and I feel like there’s an expectation that we are reporting on the culture they’re living in.”
“Mr. Benton of the Nieman Lab put it another way. “This is journalism as an act of pointing — ‘Look over here, this is interesting,’” he said. He says uncertainty about a story’s veracity is unlikely, in most cases, to keep an editor from posting it. “I think BuzzFeed is probably a little bummed they are being called out, but they are not going to start asking for three sources,” he said.
“It is unclear how much readers care whether a fascinating story is true or not, at least in terms of clicking on it….”
Call for the post of Artistic Director, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
*May heaven help the good people of Spain in 2014.
*I don’t want this job, and I bet you don’t either, but it’s a swell description of what it takes to be a tech-art mover and shaker in Europe nowadays.
*********************************************************************************
CALL FOR THE POST OF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
“LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial is an open platform for
researching, producing, disseminating and interpreting cultural forms that
emerge from the creative use of new technologies.
“LABoral is seeking an Activities Director who is a professional with broad
experience in the field of the arts, with international prestige, and ready
to continue developing a project that is unique and pioneering by
definition, in accordance with its strategic plan.
“REQUIREMENTS
- Holder of a university degree, with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree
or equivalent.
- Demonstrated extensive knowledge and experience in the field of
contemporary art, technology, and industrial creation.
- Demonstrated outstanding trajectory and experience in the various
areas of contemporary artistic practise: production, research, and
dissemination.
- Demonstrated creativity, a global and innovative vision, dynamism,
and initiative as demonstrated in curated exhibitions, finished projects,
published texts, papers at conferences, and participation in roundtables
devoted to contemporary art practices and industrial creation. (((That sure sounds
tiring, doesn’t it? Dang.)))
- Demonstrated thorough knowledge of art systems (criticism, market,
artists, associations, institutions) and new emerging models of contemporary
cultural production.
- To have a demonstrable network of national and international
contacts (with particular emphasis on Europe) in the field of art,
technology, and contemporary industrial creation, in order to be able to
contribute to maintaining the position of LABoral as a centre of
international projection and to develop an outstanding activity programme in
close collaboration with other institutions, so the Centre can be a leader
in international collaborative projects.
- Be capable of advancing knowledge and programming exchanges with
similar or complementary centres, institutions, or organisations in order to
position and integrate the Centre within local, national, and international
collaborative networks.
- Accredited know-how and experience in the field of research and
development and business, social, scientific and technological innovation
and in the creation and management of frameworks for interdisciplinary
collaboration.
- To have ability to communicate expert knowledge, and to promote the
involvement and participation of diverse audiences.
- Accredited ability and experience in proposing, implementing and
developing lines of collaboration with the context of the local and regional
community in which LABoral is located, with the purpose of cooperating with
and advancing it.
- Knowledge of digital communication tools (web, social networks,
etc.) and ability to get the most out of them within the LABoral field of
action (artistic purposes, archives, mediation and dynamisation).
- Ability to represent LABoral across all spheres in order to develop
and expand internal and external relationship networks.
- Good communication and teamwork skills.
- Demonstrated skills in communication, negotiation, planning, and
management. (((It stuns me that certain people in the art world actually have this stuff,
but they do.)))
- Ability to adapt to diverse circumstances (artistic, socio-economic,
and/or institutional) and to contribute solutions to adjust to each of them
while adhering to the spirit and philosophy of the Centre.
- Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the network of agents who may
contribute economic and cultural resources to the institution, as well as
the capacity to develop alliances and strategies in collaboration with
Senior Management that will attract, engage with and enrich this network of
partners.
- Full command of English and Spanish.
FUNCTIONS
- The Director of Activities will be part of the management team of
the Centre (along with the Senior Management).
- Responsible for developing a programming strategy for every area of
the Centre: production, education, research.
- Will lead the development of a theoretical discourse in the
framework of the direction and management project of LABoral and the
conceptual lines that derive from it.
- Will draw the conceptual lines of LABoral through production and
research projects, exhibitions, encounters, or any other activities.
- Will establish programming lines that will promote the integration
of activities in such a way that all areas (production, education, and
research) will complement one another.
- In the elaboration of the activities programme, the Activities
Director will take into account the importance of contributing to the
maintenance and expansion of a broad community of users.
- The Director will be actively involved in the Asturian art scene and
think of strategies for its promotion, development through training,
integration, and other opportunities in the global context.
- Along with the Senior Management, the Director will research public
and private sources of funding and patronage.
- The Director will collaborate closely with the Senior Management so
that budget development will not only take into account the financial
viability of the Centre, but also ensure that other objectives (such as the
growth of the institution or the relevance of its programme) are met. In
short, as part of the Management team s/he will contribute to ensure that
there is consistency and balance between the programme of the centre and the
resources devoted to it.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
Applications should be sent, before March 00 am 7 January 2014, to the
Secretary of La Fundación D. José Pedreira, vía email to
secretario@laboralcentrodearte.org or by registered post in a sealed
envelope that, on the outside, visibly indicates
“CALL FOR THE POST OF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR to
LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
Los Prados, 121. 33394 Gijón
Including:
Cover letter, CV
Application form
References
ADITIONAL INFORMATION
Type of contract offered: fixed-term Executive Management contract (5 years
renewable)
The interviews with the finalists candidates will take place during the week
between 3 to 7 February 2014.
More information:
http://www.laboralcentrodearte.org/en...
vidades?set_language=en
Follow us
www.laboralcentrodearte.org
Diego Ugalde Blanco
Social Media
LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
Los Prados, 121 / 33394 Gijón / Asturias – España
T.+34 985 185 577 / F.+34 985 337 355
Síguenos en
www.laboralcentrodearte.org
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Stowe Boyd: The future of work: four trends for 2014
*I can never read stuff like this without being thrilled that I lack a job.
http://research.gigaom.com/2013/12/the-future-of-work-4-trends-for-2014/
(…)
“The consumerization of work
“One trend that has recently upended the business world has been the adoption of consumer technologies — and their architectures and user experience — either directly into business use or as a forcing function leading to redesign and replacement of older hardware and software.
“This has been most obvious with regard to the adoption of companion devices like smartphones and tablets in the enterprise. This Bring Your Own Device phenomenon offers companies the possibility of real cost savings on purchase and provisioning of “computications” tools. But it also terrifies the risk-averse IT staff of most firms.
“I wrote earlier this year that this trend might better be called Bring Your Own Mind, since we become so dependent on the companion tools we use that leaving them at home would be something like a lobotomy…”
December 26, 2013
ASU Gadget Sweaters from the Center for Science and the Imagination
*What a strange gimmick.
http://csi.asu.edu/holiday-sweaters/
Happy holidays
from the Center for Science and the Imagination!
“We hope your upcoming year is filled with big dreams and wild ideas. Thank you for your interest, support and participation in our many events and projects. We look forward to stepping closer to a better future with you in 2014! We hope you can find a moment to check out all our great upcoming events.
“In the spirit of the season, we made you digital sweaters for your gadgets. Keep ‘em warm!”
Download a gadget sweater
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