Survival Research Laboratory

I  was fascinated by the work of SRL we saw last class. I love the irony of the name, Survival Research Laboratories. The group creates the elaborate monsters that destroy each other in a mechanical ballet. Why do they deem themselves the Survival Research Laboratory? The creatures they create are violent, scary and exist only to destroy each other. Perhaps they are saying that what they are showing us is our future, and the only way to survive is to adjust our tactics. The machines have a program, but are only somewhat controlled, much like our lives. Our small, seemingly controllable wars, robots, or research may easily get out of our hands. And like the audience and the employees of SRL we might be much closer to danger than we realize. 

SRL puts its audience in eminent danger, and its quite brilliant. They are violent themselves, but in the incredible massacre that is their art, they show us the violence in each of us. I absolutely couldn't look away during their show. When the clip ended, I wanted to see it to the end. This is an apocalyptic mindset that lies within many of us. As disturbing as this is, SRL is forcing us to deal with it directly with their artwork. Are they revealing to us our demise?  All of the people in the audience are willing to risk their lives to see this battle of autonomous robots. What does that say about us? Perhaps we have not evolved much beyond the days of the Colosseum. We still love death and destruction as much as our "primitive" predecessors did. But until recently, we did not have the means to destroy the world eight times over. It may be that these ferocious anarchists at SLR have the best propaganda for the prevention of our self destruction. Isn't that ironic? =)

Existential Conundrum

I am trying to figure out what to do with my life.  I just (miraculously) got into the 5th year program....(the second time is a charm). This is letting me put off joining the real world for another year, with a better degree. However I'm sure not sure what I want to do when I grow up. I'm afraid I will be miserable for the rest of my life. Then I tell myself that I would never let myself do that, and I hope that I'm telling the truth. haha. I know this is just rambling. I wish I could take a test that would analyze my personality and spit out what I could actually handle doing for the rest of my life. I just don't want to get stuck doing something I hate just because I can't say no. It would be ridiculous to quit now, and it would be ridiculous to turn down a Masters in Architecture, wouldn't it? I tell myself that everything happens for a reason and read the desiderata again, and decide that whether or not it is clear to me, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Lets hope it all works out. Thanks for letting me vent. =)

Catholic Extinction

This weekend I decided that the Catholic religion is nearing extinction. As I was growing up, without fail, every week, every sunday, my family and I would go to church. When I took my first communion it was with about 50 other children dressed in white veils and little black suits. Little girls had to line up just to be an angel in the nativity play. Now there are more funerals than baptisms and each week there are less and less people in the pews. The church I have attended for 21 years is now being closed. I'm not going to say that I agree with everything the Catholic church has to say, and I won't even say that I like my priest. But there is something beautiful about 60 people you have known for your entire life coming together on sunday morning to sing the same songs you've always sung.

I just wrote my final paper about the possibility that God is Dead in our modern society, and now I'm worrying that He actually is. We constantly talk about Evolution, and the Catholic church refuses to evolve with the times. How do you expect men to come flooding into the priesthood by enticing them with life long chastity and solitude. Marriage and children are two of the most beautiful experiences our lives can offer. To take that away from a holy person renders them completely isolated from our society. How can I ask a priest for advice about my life, when he has barely experienced it? The Catholic church is so slow to evolve that it is almost completely obsolete. Other Christian religions have gotten the memo, and geared their services toward an actual member of society. But the Catholic church still ignores or shuns so many issues that confront it today. It is actually pushing parishioners away. I am frustrated because at its core it has good morals and potential for a wonderful community. But closing your eyes to the half of the world you do not agree with will not solve any problems. If the Catholic church could begin to accept the society it inhabits, with all of its imperfections and sins, it might have a chance at survival.

Virtual Architecture

While searching Architecture in Second life, I found something very interesting; a virtual architecture firm. Lester Clark ( a virtual architect) had written an essay explaining why he even bothers to take such time and effort to design buildings that will only exist in binary code. He argues:

"The 'it' to which I refer, is the emergence of virtual architecture, structures of all shapes and sizes, formed and shaped by the intriguing characters that inhabit a variety of virtual worlds. My mind drifts, I see a catwalk parade of outlandish clothing and accessories, of stick thin models that exist in what seems like a parallel universe, and it seems similar somehow? the garments that no one will ever really wear, the work that went into these items being worn for that brief moment on the catwalks of Paris and Rome. What I find similar, is that what you see on those catwalks - when you look and think - is more than just an outfit; it's a display of creativity and that's what it's supposed to be, the hat that no one will really wear is amazing purely and simply because it's the product of a creative mind, it's outlandish, it defies convention, it exists as a momentary sculpture and it inspires clothing manufacturers and designers worldwide to create something similar that contains just a little of the spark they've just seen but this time its about something that can be sold and used by real people, leading real lives. 

The architects and designers that create these virtual structures give us the chance to experience pure creativity again, an art being lost to some of the real life architects today. There was a time when architects were seen as visionaries, where their input was paramount to creating something amazing, something special. Today, sadly, many architects have simply become part of the process, their involvement and input is controlled by many other factors, budget constraints and the need for profit mean that many of the structures that start out as exciting designs, are value engineered by assorted parties to become dull. The finest architects - both real and virtual, those with the passion that you can literally feel when you meet them, are amazing people, they value life and how we live it, they strive to create nice places to live and work, they should be admired and encouraged because they exist solely to impact positively on our lives. "

I truly enjoy his parallel between "high" fashion and virtual architecture. If it comes from a great mind, and can be experienced, even only temporarily, perhaps it is worth it. He has a point that without any constraints at all that architecture can be the most pure. In this world you do not need to worry about gravity, or popular opinion.  It is momentary, but one could argue that it will actually last longer than any real building. It is written in code,  embedded on the internet, perhaps achieving immortality. Isn't that what most architects want?

Second Life?

Does anyone else feel like they are already in over their head? I had to try to sign up on 3 computers with 4 names and 2 email addresses. I keep feeling like they are protecting people from themselves. Stopping them from creating multiple identities and being completely swallowed up? With all these crazy steps I feel like I'm signing away my first born, cyber or not. haha.

Anyway, I am finally in. I'm already super frustrated. While doing the tutorial I picked up a stupid torch and accidently deleted my hair. No I'm a bald torch wielding woman and 4 people have already asked to be my friend. Its been 5 minutes and I'm already pulling out my own hair.

Now that I've put down the torch, I feel better, but I can already see how people can lose money early on in the game. Just in the tutorial, I have been given several virtual cards to buy land, and I can't get my avatar to look different unless I purchase clothes. As I tried to change my body, there are lots of options to become bald or fat, but I feel as though not many people use them.

After I left the tutorial, I actually had trouble finding people. Maybe I'm not teleporting to the right places. I zoomed out on the map to find that the largest cluster of people were located at a mall type environment, where you could buy skins, faces, and body parts. Beyond that I think most of the other populated places are for cyber sex? I don't know, a wolf with 3 sets of genitalia asked me "how you doin?"..... so who knows what that means....beyond that I'm confused and I'm not sure where to go. This might take a little more time to figure out. I'll keep you posted. ;)

"Are we not more and more monads with no direct windows onto reality, interacting alone with the PC screen, encountering synchronously communicating with the entire globe?"

It is so ironic that the best way to be connected to the universe is to be alone on your computer. We are becoming so anti social as we become more and more cyber-social. Often we forget how wonderful it is to have a face to face conversation over coffee. Normal relationships are being replaced with binary ones. It was said that in 10 years, we would actually miss the delicate chord of the concert A and F dial tone, imagine how much we will miss a human voice. The "No Sex Please" article says that we cannot often distinguish between a human typing and a machine response. That leaves us with the idea that a computer could assimilate all the duties of our online friends and we would never notice. The next generation may have an easier time typing than speaking, which is an entirely new evolution. We can create as many cyber-personalities as we see fit, while leaving our actual self completely abandoned. People need communication and interaction in order to exist. What if there is no one left to be 'old fashioned' what will happen to our ice cream socials and our games of monopoly? Will all interactions be online? I fear that cyborg status may not be optional...

At least your breasts cost more than her's.

"The new and improved Cindy Jackson: A bombshell who wasn't born that way...she lived a real-life Cinderella story." 

-Joan Rivers

One of Cindy Jackson's most prized acquaintances?  Just another celebrity who perhaps used to be beautiful before she began to fear age more than death itself. What a total misconception of a 'cinderella story'. Altering your physical appearance to the point where you do not recognize yourself in the mirror is not my idea of a fairy tale. And who is she becoming beautiful for? Her three cats and hundreds of shallow fans and celebrities just like herself. It is clear that I am quite disgusted by her ideals and dreams. Too many women in this world are so incredibly unhappy with their beautiful selves, including myself. If we weren't bombarded by these plastic Barbies and women who look like plastic Barbies, the women and girls of the world might learn to love themselves as they are. Every woman I know has body image and self esteem issues....isn't that sad? Even if we are in the best shape of our lives now and again, we are still unhappy.  So very few achieve what the media calls perfection and even THEY begin to age and have great difficulty letting 'perfection' go. So the solution is botox, facelifts, and tucks. Desperately grasping for youth again. 

At the end of her quote page Cindy decides to include:

"I thought she was pretty before" ~Cindy's Mom

Joan Rivers first, and her Mother last. Cindy is blank shell of a woman with completely backwards priorities. She was pretty before. But plastic is better than pretty?

Flight of the Conchords

I just fell in love with this hilarious HBO show called Flight of the Conchords. It sounds crazy, but its basically a musical sitcom about these two hilariously bizarre New Zealand musicians trying to make it in NYC. I share this because they have this really funny song called "The Humans are Dead" aimed for robots after they have destroyed all the humans....in the distant future.....in the year 2000. haha. Enjoy?

THE HUMANS ARE DEAD (LIVE)

Frankenstein

I have seen several Frankenstein movies and spoofs, but I did not imagine Frankenstein to be nearly as eloquent or well spoken as he was in this text. I had to even wonder if this could be considered a "ghost story." If a monster can stand there 'menacingly' and explain his (or her) feelings to you, the situation becomes considerably less scary. It is clear that the time period in which Frankenstein was written in includes a different vernacular than ours today, but it is hard to find an enemy  in such an influential speaker. 

In our Father/son or Creator/creature discussion, I was conflicted as to who's side I would take, Victor or the Monster's. In one way, it is very similary to a Father/young son relationship. The creature holds Victor in complete responsibility for his happiness, and continually acts up when his demands are not met. The Monster is mentally just a small child, who is much more capable of causing mass destruction and chaos. Victor abandoned him on his very first day in the world, where as if we viewed this as if it was an infant, it would be completely inhumane. Victor takes blame, but no responsibility for what he has given life. I never thought I would take this perspective, but perhaps Victor is the monster in this novel. I grew increasingly irritated with his whining and lamenting of his mistakes, but maybe there truly was no positive solution....

Axiom Museum

I think that the combination of technology and art brings the idea of an art museum to less of an elite level. Many people are intimidated by art exhibits, or any art for that matter. Technology is something that anyone can relate to; we all experience it. While abstract paintings and impressionistic works may intimidate, we can immediately relate our lives to the pieces of art at the Axiom Museum. Perhaps it is because we go to a tech school. My favorite piece was the visualization of George Bush speaking the word "war." It was an incredibly interesting interpretation of the word, and it is fascinating that the shape derives from the sound waves of speech. This is an all encompassing artwork, including more than just sight, but also sound and touch (you were meant to pull the zippers open and shut). You can feel the hopeless fear and destruction by looking at the piece. It is made more interesting with the use of a hidden exit sign, which is only visible when a person acts upon the art piece to reveal it. To me, this implies that it will take physical action against the war to make any difference.

I also really enjoyed the painting with LEDs built into it. It adds a new dimension of randomness and depth to the painting which was really new to me. It was nice to see all of these new ideas in art so close to each other, and many with a personal interaction with them.

The gallery's exhibit was a complete success, it was a great representation of several new medias which were all very interesting. The trains below shake the foundation as they go by indicating that we are in a new, imperfect, age of technology. The artists there are making new art and applying it to everyone, in a media that is accessible and understandable to the majority of our society in this new age.

For Music and/or Earth Lovers:

Earthfest is this Saturday on the Esplanade!

The headliner is Cake, but there are lots of good local bands too. It is supposed to showcase environmentally friendly products, but mostly its just a good time!

EARTHFEST 2008!

Little Bratz

While on the discussion of the Barbie complex, I thought of something similar that worries me. It is the Bratz dolls. In my opinion, the Bratz have superseded Barbie in that they are posing as young girls, targeted AT young girls. They don't encourage growth, intelligence, or personality; they encourage makeup, belly shirts and shopping. The commercials show them in clothing only a vegas prostitute would wear, walking a dog and sipping a Starbucks coffee. In my mind, little girls shouldn't idolize plastic figures of materialistic adulthood. No wonder girls are 'maturing' so quickly. These are the examples they are given to play with, initiating each of their creative scenarios with a scantily clad teenager. Bratz go beyond the media driven concept that the perfect woman is Barbie, they begin to mold our young girls to be body conscious, media driven consumers. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cup of Starbucks, but there is a time and a place for growing up, and it is starting too early in our kids today. They have a few precious years to look and act like whatever they want, without worrying about fashion or appearance. Bratz dolls are taking this away at an earlier age than ever before, and in a way forces them to grow up much sooner than we did. When I was little I liked Barbies because they were adults, and we loved to pretend to be 'grown up'. However the Bratz are meant to be little girls! Which takes little girls who play with them out of a fantasy world, and influences them to imitate completely unrealistic idols. It is sad to hear that some 7 year-old girls want to go on diets, and are already wondering why they don't look like the bobble-headed plastic figure in their toy bin.

Bratz

I bought movie tickets online the other day and I was disturbed to find that the movie ticket website (fandango) posted my recent purchase on my Facebook profile. When did this become a minute by minute detailed account of my actions? How do these things become approved without my knowledge? My life is now an advertisement scheme? I feel that the power of these networking sites is being abused by the media. It seems like such an insignificant event but I disliked that there are "alliances" that are commentating on my life. When will all of my endeavors be documented for the world to see? Will I be able to choose privacy? Is it possible without social isolation?

It seems incredibly futuristic to imagine people marrying robots, but here is the clip of the Futurama episode I had seen on this topic. It is very comedic but perhaps it is one of those "fiction before fact" scenarios. Before our discussions I had never even considered it to be a tangible future issue. Robo-ethics is especially new to me. In my opinion, robots are circuitry, wires and electricity. To be honest I couldn't think of  why they would deserve rights at all, because where would you draw the line? Would I eventually have to hold a funeral service for my vacuum cleaner? It is interesting however, that perhaps we too are programed and we too are machines for living. The difference is our makeup, but you may consider our thoughts and feelings just circuitry and electricity, just in a different material. I would like to think that I am not programmed but I might also be a blank slate if I had never experienced family, media, friends, language or society. We call this learning, but it simply takes longer than an upload. If we are all defined by our parameters, and programmed by our life experiences what makes us different is that we can interpret each experience individually, where as each model of a computer might respond in an identical way. We choose to be offended, happy, or amused, which alters our programing. However you can continue the argument that our decisions are based on prior programming and a computer could do the same. It could go on forever.

Futurama: Don't Date Robots!