Bruce Sterling's Blog, page 650

Internet Hindus

*Haul out the "human flesh search engine." By now, every interest group on the planet has its virulent long-tail pyjamahideen.

*However, any population of a billion is gonna swing a pretty big tail. Look at 'em go for the American author here. She's the new Danish cartoonist. Sorta.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/When-the-fringe-benefits/H1-Article1-516263.aspx

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"The reference here is to the Hindutva fringe, much of which has now migrated to the Internet. The Internet Hindu has blogged...

Augmented Reality: Tagwhat and their pitch engine

*Maybe it's wrong of me, but I am keen to indulge anybody who is from Boulder, Colorado.

http://www.pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=61141

Tagwhat Unveils Augmented Reality AS A NEW PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE

Launches AR network powered by location and social engagement; lets people explore the world and communicate with friends in an entirely new dimension

05.06.2010 – Boulder, Colorado – Tagwhat publicly launches today a new augmented reality (AR) experience that fuses the very best of mobile, ...

It's "Acropolis Now" over at Global Guerrillas

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2010/05/journal-depression-20-update.html

JOURNAL: Depression 2.0 Update

Here are some interesting dynamics in the financial world that may generate instability and conflict in the not too distant future.

Globe. The first world is still awash in debt, bad actors in the financial industry still dominate, and destabilizing financial connectivity remains ($600 trillion in derivatives).

US. Government deficits are still well north of $1...

Enjoy your participatory panopticon with "SnapScouts"

*Hey, nice piece of hoax design-fiction there, "Winston" from "MiniTru."

http://snapscouts.org/

"Want to earn tons of cool badges and prizes while competing with you friends to see who can be the best American? Download the SnapScouts app for your Android phone (iPhone app coming soon) and get started patrolling your neighborhood.

"It's up to you to keep America safe! If you see something suspicious, Snap it! If you see someone who doesn't belong, Snap it! Not sure if someone or something is...

African Cyberpunk

*Oh to have lived to see the day.

http://afrocyberpunk.wordpress.com/

The Future of African Science Fiction

Posted in Uncategorized with tags africa, dark, future, science fiction on 04/22/2010 by afrocyberpunk

Welcome to Africa.

You are not where you think you are. You are not on a safari, or an expedition, or a mission. Your footprint is not the first here, nor will it be the last. Africa is a tour with no guide and no schedule, a ride with no stops, no brakes, and no particular destination – t...

The new US military "Cyberspace Officer" badge

*Y'know, I'm not going to make fun of this weird thing, because I might well meet some husky kid in uniform wearing one of these, and there would be no doubt that he could kick my ass.

http://it-networks.org/ion/us-netwar-force-cyber-wings-badge-unveiled/

"The new "Cyberspace Badge" features lightning-bolt wings extending from a central globe encircled by orbiting blobs – presumably surveillance or communications satellites – and a heraldic thunderbolt with ordinary feathery wings stuck on the ...

Roots of the military-entertainment complex

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/world-war-2/7658261/Second-World-War-Ghost-Army-helped-Allies-win-war.html

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But now, more than 65 years on, the extraordinary work of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops (((I want the badge))) is being detailed in a documentary and an exhibition in the United States.

The top secret unit, which carried out its mission without firing a shot, consisted of around 1,100 make-up artists, actors, sound technicians, painters, photographers and press...

The new erotic microgenres

*They're not "micro." They're huge. They're ubiquitous, not obscure. And they're very contemporary. To have a thriving, profitable genre like "black urban erotic chick lit" is an indicator of colossal social change. If you shipped a work of "black urban erotic chick lit" back to the 1950s, people would open it and just implode on the spot. Yes, even the black urban women of that era would implode.

*It's not really about the "erotica." Paranormal fantasy erotica is a kind of...

Advance-fee fraud sure isn't what it used to be

*You're impersonating the freakin' FBI for a lousy $125 bucks? What else do you do, "Mr Sunday Godwin of Benin" — jump in front of trolleys and feign injury on weekends?

ATTENTION:.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.

FBI SEEKING TO WIRETAP INTERNET.

We the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Washington DC decided to write a message to you concerning the situation of the transfer of your FUNDS from WESTERN ...

Augmented Reality: QderoPateo

*That sure is pretty AR vaporware. It looks like it comes from another planet, not just from China.

http://www.qderopateo.com/index.html