Bruce Sterling's Blog, page 762

buBbLe architecture fiction

*Minor fit of Favela Chic; gets extra points for its origin in ultra-with-it Barcelona.

"buBbLe

"buBbLe is an independent, nomadic, flexible dwelling mechanism that allows its occupants to give an answer to different time situations. buBble comprises a basic kit for up to two days' stays, and various kit accessories that will complement the needs of long stays."

http://bubbleprototype.blogspot.com/

(((I guess you could simply pitch a tent in the middle of the graffiti-strewn urban void, but that w

Lighting blogger matches under Sarah

*Well, the woman's out of office now, but I just watched the Twitter echo chamber

explode with Sarah Palin divorce rumors. This must the functional equivalent of

Obama Birtherism.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note...

"Sarah Palin: No Truth to Latest Rumors

"Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent "story" (and story is the correct term for this type of fiction) that the Palins are divorcing. The Palins remain married, c

Autopia gets hands-on with an electric ultralight.

*Hmmmm, that's a nice one.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/07/espyder/

Bruce Sterling's Significant Object

*It's of fabulous rarity and deep historical import! This calls for an eBay bidding frenzy!

http://significantobjects.com/2009/07/31/metal-boot/

Transhuman, Singularitarian, and cranky

*Why aren't these advanced conceptualists arguing about suffrage for Artificial Intelligences?

http://hplusmagazine.com/editors-blog/transhumanistsingularitian-political-food-fight

Zhenli and his lawyers

*Okay, take Mexico, add China, multiply by 200 million dollars in methedrine money, shake wildly, and bottle in an American court.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202432590806&Ye_Gon_Case_Spurs_Litigation_Over_Lawyers

(…)

"New York solo practitioner David Zapp filed suit last November in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, stating Ye Gon breached his retainer agreement by refusing to pay Zapp $204,886 in attorney fees and costs for seven months of work. Ye Gon responded wit

Hardened Shelters, Storm Shelters

*Gothic High Tech: steel castles for the wealthy who fear the sky. No flimsy, laser-cardboard Favela Chic nonsense here.

http://www.hardenedshelters.com/stormshelters.asp

Hardened Structures is a Professional Construction Program Management Company specializing in the confidential planning, design and covert construction of hardened facilities, hardened homes, underground bunkers, survival communities, rural compounds and fortresses.

These facilities are designed with independent sources of power

Actively fighting for moments of calm

*The inimitable Adam Greenfield. He's inimitable, but he *is* pasticheable,

which is great for us sci-fi types.

http://speedbird.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/interactions-interview/

(…)
AG:
"Bernard Stiegler reminds us that the network constitutes a global mnemotechnics, a persistent memory store for planet Earth, and yet we've structured our systems of jurisprudence and our life practices and even our psyches around the idea that information about us eventually expires and leaves the world. Its failur

If You Leave EDGE Class Genetically Posthuman, Don't You Come Crying to Me

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/church_venter09/church_venter09_index.html

GEORGE CHURCH, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director, Center for Computational Genetics, and Science Advisor to 23 and Me, and J. CRAIG VENTER, Founder of Synthetic Genomics, Inc. and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation, taught the Edge Master Class 2009: "A Short Course In Synthetic Genomics" at The Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood, the weekend of July

Terminal Addiction

*If you're obsessively into airport terminals, the Terminalator here would appear to be your man.

*The appearance of long-tail cultural activity redefines the term "obsession." This
blogger isn't "obsessed" by any 20th century standard, he's just grooming the Internet for
fun data about his favorite micro-topic, and it turns out there's a LOT. Tons. You
pile it all up in one place, and it feels like an entire cultural sensibility. Airport
terminals take on the proportions of a major city, a town