Tuesday Lovin': Iconic Napoleon

The Ghost of Ernesto

There are a lot of "iconic" images of the 20th century but probably the most enduring and significant is this picture of Che Guevara.

This image, like so much that represented the rebellious individual during the middle of the 20th century, has been commodified and sold back to us. There is no such thing as cool anymore. If you didn't get the message, oh, say 1989 then look at what passes for cool these days. Not only are we sold archaic notions of the outsider, we see it perpetually reinvented and sold back to us yet again.

Napoleon Dynamite is the new Che Guevara, in spirit anyway, simply because he can satisfy the corporate need for an outsider icon and reinvigorate our ideas of rebellion. When bearded Marxists look a little too much like the Taliban and the image is so well worn that everyone who wants instant rebel pedigree papers mimics the image of Che, its time to look toward the low income, scrawny white kid with an afro.

The Argentinean guerrilla's family is now trying to control the use of the image. I am afraid that it is too late. We have long ago absorbed the image into our collective unconscious. What can they do? Rent Napoleon Dynamite, of course.

For a good analysis of the use of Che's image read Rick Poyner's Obey the Giant.

Bumpy Ride: Katrina and the Waves

The song goes something like this:

Do you know what it means to miss new orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I’m not wrong... this feeling’s gettin’ stronger
The longer, I stay away

About 3 million people are missing home as they have been evacuated. Nearly 500,000 in NO proper. New Orleans, as we all know by now, sits below sea level.

If that first image didn't do anything for you then think storm surge and take a look at this image followed by this. The latter states that Category 4 storm surges can produce 13 to 18 foot surges. Katrina is a Category 5, I believe.

Yikes!

(BTW, the song above is Louis Armstrong not Katrina and the Waves)

The Halo Conspiracy

Our leaders are holier than thou. According to the press anyway.

Prometro: The Argument for Density

An interesting read in the Harvard Gazette (by way of kottke.org). A snippet:

"...It's the turn-of-the-century photographs that Jacob Riis took of the slums on the Lower East Side, it's the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis that had to be torn down in the 1970s. It's the image of the huddled masses, of disease, crime, congestion. But the statistics show that density is not a leading factor for these conditions. For example, the TB statistics show that the key elements are new immigrants and poverty. Similarly, it's poverty and the lack of job opportunities that drive crime and not density, per se."

The article highlights the benefits (and, well, joys) of living in the city. These include less environmental impact, better tax-base, and nearby high-quality institutions and cultural resources.

Friday Lovin': Worst Album Covers

Say no more.

(BTW, no, I don't visit the Sun regularly. Came across it at populicio.us.)

Design in a small town part 7: Technometrocentrism

Discover magazine has an article by Steven Johnson about Dodgeball - a chimerical tool made up of mapping/wayfinding and social networking technologies.

While it is an interesting little article that brings up the notion that more urban centers better cater to niche groups than rural or small suburban areas (a premise that is hard to argue against), the discussion implicitly follows several assumptions that I find a little problematic.

The gist of my criticism concerns the narrow definition of socializing and the implied socio-economic class and age of those that are assumed to be using Dodgeball. It is clear that the technology described is created for young, semi-affluent, somewhat tech-savvy users.

To go to a bar and hang out and meet "crushes" speaks loads about who this product is intended to serve. Johnson, in his analysis fails to mention the age and socio-economic factors. Johnson instead uses the example of a button store saying that it has a better chance of succeeding in the city due to higher numbers of button freaks. Sure, niche button stores in small towns don't make it but, really, mainstream grocery stores often struggle as well (although, I must say, the rubber stamp/stationary store in my town is not only still around after a couple of years but seems to be doing quite well). It often seems that the reason small town businesses struggle is that younger generations are sold on a mythology that life is better in the city and often that mythology aggrandizes and legitimizes the congregations of big capital and cultural institutions that benefit from being near well-established commercial routes (and those big business). This, of course, comes about as we moved away from small-scale farming towards large-scale agri-business. We are still holding on to the idea that to remain in the boonies means that we need to work on a farm.

I find it immaterial to argue against the reasons that urban areas grow and their importance in general but what I do argue is that we keep pushing the city on children and I think in the future it might be a pretty stupid thing to do. We should look at building all sorts of opportunities and institutions for all ages and socio-economic brackets in rural areas as well.

Johnson remarks:

Dodgeball suggests an intriguing twist on long tail theory. As the technology increasingly allows us to satisfy more eclectic needs, any time those needs require a physical presence —whether it's sipping your cold soup or meeting your crush in a bar —the logic of the long tail will favor urban environments over less densely populated ones. If you'’re downloading the latest album from an obscure Scandinavian doo-wop group, geography doesn'’t matter: It's just as easy to get the bits delivered to you in the middle of Wyoming as it is in the middle of Manhattan. But if you'’re trying to meet up with other fans of Scandinavian doo-wop, you'll have more luck in Manhattan.

Ok. I am surprised this comes from Johnson. I don't think the popular discussions about internet and community were bunk and I would argue that not only does the technology sometimes sublimate for physical proximity (come on, how often would you really go and hang out with Scandinavian doo-wop fans?) it also provides interpersonal distance. And sometimes, if done right, community develops around resources to which people in rural areas connect. Also distance, if you live in the country I would argue, is even perceived differently than in the city. One city block could be 40 miles in the country. I would argue then that people in rural areas are not disadvantaged at all but have an option to remain at a distance and sublimate through technology or can engage by driving *short* distances if they so choose, communicating by phone, or, like me when I feel completely disengaged, visiting cities when I so choose.

To conclude, Johnson's comment about technologies like Dodgeball leading to bigger cities, I think is crazy. As populations age and the technology mutates into something just as meaningful not only for rural and suburban folk but for far older, or younger, or less affluent users it will not draw people to the cities. In fact, it may, with some change in our mythologies revitalize the small town and relieve overburdened populations in the cities.

14 Days and the Anti-War Movement

There is a palatable sense that the anti-war movement is gaining momentum. Anytime Bush has to take time off from his vacation to travel and sell the war it means that public sentiment is changing and moving against the war. Beyond the media attention to Cindy Sheehan's vigil, I assume the new momentum is due to that fact that things in Iraq look worse today than they did 6 months ago.

While looking through my massive bookmarks used for class stuff, I came across this and wondered what it'd look like now.

Mixing Worlds

Wired Magazine has a number of articles today about the intermingling of virtual and non-virtual worlds. They are interesting in that the underlying theme seems to be that there is some therapeutic effect of virtuality - whether it involves an immersive Falluja-like world used to cure Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or just hanging out with an artificial puppy.

Following a link from the PTSD article, it is a bit disturbing to continue on to USC's Institute for Creative Technologies and view the project list.

If you ever maintained any doubt that the entertainment industry and the defense industry were co-dependent, you will be complete disabused of that thinking. An example is The Concept Development and Visualization group that pairs concept or production designers with military folks to think up wonderful new ways to kill and mame people worldwide!

Maybe I am being a little harsh. But there is hope as I think Deuce Bigalow would make a great non-lethal weapon!

Sunday Lovin': Spamusement

I thought I could avoid it this year but it is back: the 'sunday before school starts' blues. Luckily, someone recommended this for a few laughs and it is very spamusing. It might just do the job and cure this funk.

In the same vain...

Slate has an article about Islamic video games.

Getting Serious about Machinima

Although I have known about Machinima for several years, I never really gave it much attention. Machinima (pronounced ma-shin-e-ma) is a type of filmmaking using game engines. What does that mean? Well, individuals record their actions within a video game environment such as Doom or Quake or Halo and edit the 'footage' later to create a story.

My prejudice has always been that the engines used are often 1st person shooter games and I couldn't understand how you could have a very interesting story made from the prefab components.

Recently, however, I've come across several sites and projects that are pretty interesting. The classic, really, is Red vs. Blue. It is funny because the writers give the normally hyper-stoic warrior characters silly personalities. The disjunction is often funny but wears thin with multiple viewings.

Today, I've seen a lot of blogspace dedicated to This Spartan Life. This Spartan Life is a talkshow created in Halo.

Sounds ridiculous but don't think that. Give it a chance. The interview with Bob Stein is not only subtly funny but very thought provoking as well. The segment, to me, is a great exercise in making explicit the possibilities inherent in the medium.

I have to admit that seeing Red vs. Blue and other machinima films I have been completely consumed by the idea that game engines really are a spectacular if only nascent tool for storytelling. The physics, lighting, character movement, and, perhaps most importantly, often unlimited camera movement (a unique feature of games, if you think about it) are all preprogrammed allowing machinima directors a certain level of freedom.

I think we will continue to see a lot more convergence of filmmaking and gameplaying in the future. I am consumed by the desire to create an engine add-on for some of the new next gen game engines allowing for a more elevated level of cinematic production. Imagine directing your own Godfather flick....