Giudecca

Thursday, September 28, 2006

audio project

find song here

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

link to worth1000 picture



My photo


This picture is a photo manip of Boy Meets World. I have changed the title to "Boy Meets Girl." Instead of the teacher being Mr. Feeney, i inserted Pamela anderson (Baywatch, VIP, Stacked.)

The contest on Worth1000 asked to recast someone into a show where they did not fit in. I thought of Pamela Anderson because i don't see her as the guiding school teacher like Mr. Feeny (the actual teacher was.)

I only wish i could get her to blend in more. I tried bluring the image, selecting Cory's (the boy) skin tone and match it with hers, and even tried doing some shadowing on her face, but the light is still kind of off. The other thing that bugs me is the G in "girl." I wished it look better. Oh well. I tried my best.

Tools i used-Lasso tool, clone stamp, blur, smudge, paint, dodge, erase and eyedrop.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Computer Lib/ Dream Machines

The book Computer Lib/ Dream machines by Ted Nelson, was a revolutionary book about personal computers. You can say it’s actually two books because it is a collection of two separate books made into one. The first one, Dream Machines, covers the basics of computing for those new to computers. The other part, Computer Lib, is a prognostic description of what will happen in the near future with personal computers.

In the year of 1974, Nelson’s thinking was way before his time. Because of this, many shunned him. However, his writing was preparing people for the advent of a more advance personal computers. He worked on something that would be very similar to the internet and taught that the computer will be used even more for media than it was in his time. In 1974 less people interacted with computers than today.

Nelson mentions in his article the term fantics. It derives from the French word l’informatique. Fantics, also known as presentations, is the “the art and science of getting ideas across, both emotionally and cognitively.” This might not have happened too often in his day, but there has been an explosion of it in the present. From Power Points to the World Wide Web, fantics appear everywhere. In the past, those who would be more likely to know about fantics, such as movie makers and advertisers, did not. Now, they use fantics to their advantage. In today’s world, we have become such a visual culture; it’s strange to not see fantics in use.

I wonder if Nelson is happy with how much the computer world has changed today. He is probably glad common people are more likely to use the computer than in the past. His project Xanadu was reincarnated as the World Wide Web and that has become one of the most celebrated achievements of my lifetime. Maybe he is still predicting things further in in the future. I am excited with what the future of computers hold. Maybe it will change as drastically as it did from when this book was written to now.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Angela Davis the Dance Dance Revolutionary

As I saw the link to DancedanceRevolutionary.com my mind wandered to the game Dance Dance revolution. Could the url be an allusion to the game? I dismissed it as pure coincidence. The site was supposed to be about an activist not a dancing game. However, I soon discovered after clicking on the url, I was closer to the truth than I thought. There it was on my laptop, the famous pink and blue arrows and the logo of the dancing girl. While I was at the link page, scanning over useful links to write my comment on, I saw the links for “Angela” and “Sweet Black Angel.” It instantly remind me the first sound project. At the time these songs were made, they were part of mainstream culture like DDR is now part of mainstream culture. I began to question to myself why pop culture relates to Angela Davis and is used to describe her.

Angela is an activist and was an activist ever since she was little. She took risks in her life such as being a member in the Communist Party at a very sensitive time in the United States. This caused her being removed from her job as a teacher, and “placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list on false charges.”(http://humwww.ucsc.edu/HistCon/faculty_davis.htm) She was then incarcerated but a massive campaign to free her from prison resulted in her acquittal in 1972. Since then, she has been fighting various forms of oppression and preaching such topics as the abolishment of prisons. She also published five books and had essays in several journals and anthologies.

After finish reading the article, I began to slowly understand the parallels between DDR, the songs, and Angela Davis. DDR is a game of music and music has the power to preach. Songs can give the same power as speech. These things being part of mainstream culture, give a glimpse of the consciousness and ideology of the people. It is a part of freedom to express one’s belief and many do it in song. They, the dancers and the singers, are just like Angela Davis in being an activist.

Dance Dance Revolution even has some songs of activism and revolution in the game itself. The song “Drop the Bomb” off of DDR preaches about the error people make using weapons for war.

“Getting sick and tired of the fossil-like system
Now or never it’s the time to resist ‘em….
Explosives are not what it takes
You know, terrorists always make these mistakes”

Other political songs off the game include End of the Century, and Ninzaburo.

Dancing, Music and speech are all symbolic of freedom. I believe Angela Davis would approve of it all. Besides if you can’t dance, you shouldn’t be in the revolution.

Lyrics to End of the Century
End of the century
Misery, can it be chaos who's the boss
Suffer a great loss
Man woman child
No longer exist
Only the good ones will be missed
Life love cherish it all
Who will be left to conquer
The end is coming
Don't start running
There's nowhere to run
Don't grab a gun
All over the land her this roar
No one know what's in store
Look for the star, he's on his way
No one knows what's in store
Love your self and all around
In a blink of an eyes
You won't hear a sound
Your heart is pounding at raided speed
Man will always feel the need for greed
Let's go for it
Now you can't miss
Al-Though-This-Was-The-Be-Gining
Beware because the end is here
The sky is falling
Eyes are balling
You had your chance
To make your stance
Love is a must life don't lust
Not time to fuss
People start to cuss
cry out who's going to care
Have no doubt have no fear
Believe in me I'll show you the way
Some people think the year 2G is so scaring, let wait and see
The world will shot down most won't admit
People go crazy people catch fits
Fire breaks out
One way to stop
Play hip hop non stop stop
Remember these words
And what I said
You just might wake up brain dead
The feeling (feeling)
Is amazing (amazing)
Oh boy, I want you (come on and get me)
Some just say the world is changing
Many people will agree
Many changes we are seeing
I just say...
It's the end...
It's the end...
It's the end of the century

Lyrics to Ninzaburo
Don't do the crime...
Don't do the crime...
...if you can't do the time
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time
Feel the heat, the vibrations
On the streets, lil' situations
From the grave, complications
A part of people livin' life
But it's slowing in the fast lane
Life is ghettoy chaos
Dust me, I've seen too many bloodstains
Too many childs put in graves
So c'mon people, see what's high
I'll set it off like the sky
Keep it real or leave it lie
Let a part of your voice survive
This is your life, no cute game
List of what people say with pay
So pump your fists, yeah!
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time (Yeah!)
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time

Lyrics to Drop the Bomb
Sorry but could I have the music louder?
Yeah drop the bomb! Just drop the bomb!
Getting sick and tired of the fossil-like system,
now or never it's the time to resist 'em,
it's easy to blast them all away,
pull a trigger push a button say ADIOS today,
don't get me wrong I'm a pacifist,
the mind can do more than the fist.
Explosives are not what it takes
(you know, terrorists always make these mistakes,)
what we gotta do is build momentum,
if you need the right tools invent 'em,
ride the wave of time come feel the rhythm,
the march to the future has begun get with'em,
the brain is the generator of almighty power
either do it now or your master plan goes sour.
Yeah! are you ready to take that fall?
It's up to you to make that call to drop the bomb!
Yeah drop the bomb! Just drop the bomb! Let me see that bomb!
Just...
Learn from the sunken mu Atlantis
and from the head of the beheaded male-praying mantis,
we've all gotta make room for whats to come,
what we gotta do is build momentum,
if you need th right tool invent' em,
ride the wave of time come feel the rhythm,
the march to the future has begun get with'em,
the brain is the generator of almighty power
either do it now or your master plan goes sour.
Yeah! Are you ready to take that fall?
It's up to you to make that call...
(And if it don't work then make the real thing wipe it out)
So drop the bomb!
Yeah drop the bomb! Just drop the bomb! Let me see that bomb!
That bomb!
That bomb!
That bomb!

Sources Cited:
http://humwww.ucsc.edu/HistCon/faculty_davis.htm
Lyrics from http://www.animelyrics.com/game/_D

Sunday, September 03, 2006

response to "the Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin"

Most people consider the art of collage is solely for still or moving images and rarely for words. Even if words were considered for a collage, they would serve as replacements for images and not for the meaning itself. Nevertheless, Brion Gysin and similar writers/artists use the “cut up method” to take previously written works apart, then back together in a completely non-sequential order, to create new poetry. New meanings replace the ones of the original because, the juxtaposition is now different.

The concept of creating odd juxtaposition is not new. I have seen it done in older poetry without the use of the cut up method. The most famous ones are by E.E Cummings. However, there are big differences between the two. With E.E Cumming’s work, such as rpophessagr, the poem is broken apart and the lines are often scattered. The reader must then piece the poem back together to understand it. The odd juxtaposition of Cumming’s works is to enhance the meaning of the poem. These poems take planning to make. The cut up method is the complete opposite. The outcome is unknown by the artist/writer. He or she just cuts and rearranges lines to reach the unexpected outcome. Another difference is that the reader is not supposed to place the words back together but read the work the way it appears before them. The new juxtaposition may not enhance the meaning of the poem but it will give it a new meaning. This method brings new life to an over read poem.

The article mainly focuses on cutting up just one work but the possibilities would be endless if different types of books or poems were mixed together. What could make it more interesting, is if two completely different works became one. How would an excerpt from Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and the “I have dream” speech from Martin Luther King read together? Another odd pairing could be Carrie by Steven King and Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. I would look forward to reading something like that or making it myself.

According the article, reorganizing is said to make great poetry. However, I was taught time, effort, and polishing made good poetry. A poet needs the right syntax, and diction to make a perfect piece of work. In my opinion, the cut up method is a milder equivalent of the abstract paintings of the early to mid 20th century. These paintings shocked viewers from it’s divergence from the classical paintings made earlier on. However, it was a much-needed change to the media. Since then, there have been all different types of art. The article constantly states “Poetry is for everyone” It needs to be enjoyed by everyone. The cut up method could provide the starting point for novices to push the boundaries of writing just as abstract was for artists. All they need is scissors, glue, a poem/book and a will to experiment.