Category Archives: Media Space

On Why I Suck and Don’t Suck at 24 Hr Marathons

April 11, 2010 – 1:21 pm

The first reason I suck at 24 hr Marathons is because I get 7 hours of sleep a day. I go to sleep about 11PM and wake every morning at 6am. If I don’t do this, my eating and work schedule is thrown out of narrative and I get cranky. The second reason is that [...]

By Steve | Comments (0)

Health Care and Narrative

February 26, 2010 – 6:51 pm

This is a typical (real) story. S goes to the PCP for Ailment A and Ailment A proves too much for the PCP (Primary Care Physician). So the PCP refers S to a Specialist. Maybe it’s a hernia, maybe some strange growth inside or out. S goes to the Specialist and must tell the story [...]

By Steve | Also posted in New Media | Comments (0)

SciFi Media Making

November 3, 2009 – 7:56 pm

Stories set in the future have the tendency to envision innovations in media (so does CSI, which is very much SciFi). Nell’s interactive book in Stephenson’s The Diamond Age is an example, using most technology we know now in interesting ways (speculative applications), such as real-time production content. Minority Reports gesture media, of course, is [...]

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Bookstores

September 25, 2009 – 6:53 pm

I’m not sure why but trips to the large bookstore are depressing; I much prefer small book stores where the air smells of paper. Is it a relentless and banal repetition pile to pile and station to station? Every mystical title I see cries that’s it’s the last book I need to read and magnifies [...]

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Tree of Life Web Project

September 12, 2009 – 12:14 pm

I find this kind of project incredibly interesting, as the underlying hypermedia structure makes for a fine cognitive simulacrum. Thanks to Tiltfactor for the link. The Tree of Life Web Project . . . is a collaborative effort of biologists and nature enthusiasts from around the world. On more than 10,000 World Wide Web pages, [...]

By Steve | Also posted in Hypertext | Comments (0)

Rainey on Health Care

July 29, 2009 – 7:43 pm

LAT’s James Rainey takes the media to task on critical elements on the health care debate: Rather than try to explain to its viewers how such a commission might control Medicare costs, CNN cut away to an all-important update on . . . Alberto Contador’s ongoing war of words with fellow cyclist Lance Armstrong. By [...]

By Steve | Also posted in Politics | Comments (1)

Day 25 Reflection

June 15, 2009 – 7:42 pm

We’ve hit the 25th day of 100 Days, which has been relentless work. I’m curious to know how other people are working, what they’re working with, how they’re working through problems, and what their “workbenches” look like. Day 25 for me saw a return to Computer Leon, who persists for me as a fun and [...]

By Steve | Also posted in Fiction and Poetry, Hypertext | Comments (2)

Moral Machines, Part 1

June 3, 2009 – 8:52 am

I’m now digging into Moral Machines by Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen. It’s a thought provoking examination of machine ethics. Early on, Wallach and Allen ask an interesting question: do we want ethical machines? It’s a foundational question, as people normally don’t build tools without a specific intention. The question provides room for related questions: [...]

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On Jazz

May 18, 2009 – 8:02 pm

I’m driving full force into Alyn Shipton’s A New History of Jazz, although it is tough to read in bed due to size. But the size is worth the trouble. John Timmons and I have been doing more than a semester’s worth of work on the history and listening to lots of music and we’re [...]

By Steve | Also posted in Hypertext, New Media | Comments (0)

Discourse

April 30, 2009 – 7:39 pm

The level of discourse and critical thought on social and political issues is definitely at a pitiful state. Severin is not alone, as the big tent of freedom illustrates. It’s more dangerous at the leadership level, though. Decision makers should have the highest regard for reason. (He writes with a smile.)

By Steve | Also posted in Politics | Comments (0)

Image and Narrative

April 5, 2009 – 7:14 pm

Scott Eric Kaufman at the Valve is exploring image and narrative here in the context of comics. Will he delve into McCloud?

By Steve | Also posted in Comics | Comments (0)

Math Comps

March 9, 2009 – 6:35 pm

John and I have been thinking a lot about how things work, particularly the creative brain. We’re thinking about performance-based problem solving. A team, for example, has five minutes to write a story in front of a screaming audience. Typically, one comes up with solutions in private. Readers read finished work, typically. So, why not [...]

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On the Right

February 27, 2009 – 9:04 pm

John Derbyrshire writes in The American Conservative: I repeat: There is nothing wrong with lowbrow conservatism. Ideas must be marketed, and right-wing talk radio captures a big and useful market segment. However, if there is no thoughtful, rigorous presentation of conservative ideas, then conservatism by default becomes the raucous parochialism of Limbaugh, Savage, Hannity, and [...]

By Steve | Also posted in Politics | Comments (0)

Collaboration

January 23, 2009 – 8:02 pm

An interesting project collaboration between artists and scientists. The last project of Capsula, called Curated Expeditions, was launched almost one year ago. The project is dedicated to observing and experiencing fascinating natural phenomena through the work of artists, scientists and other cultural agents. It also wants to revive leisurely traveling experiences, which have almost been [...]

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Zii

January 2, 2009 – 11:51 am

What the heck is Zii?

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