notes from dld (tbcont)

judgment is a scary fucking place / all together now: "all i need is love" / in times of trouble i tend to take more risks. because i know my partners are allert / in a revolution first thing you do is take over the tv-station. but taking over the internet, how is that supposed to work? /

julia allison

this email i wrote to julia allison is a follow-up to the post on ukulele-julia.

" dear julia,
i was at dld and also saw the panel on story-telling with you. until then i did not know who you are and what you do and i also did not find the time yet to look at your blog properly.
but i was very glad, that dld invited you, since the statments you made were very interesting, to the point and gave me food for thought.
i followed the nasty back and forth on your "question of the day" comment list this afternoon. i wanted to add my positive impressions of you and the oberservations you talked about, but did not find the time to do so until now (since i am german, finding the right words in english takes me a bit longer). since in the meantime you've taken those comments down, it does not really make sense for me to raise the topic again. (and i think you have the absolute right to take them down).
so i write my comment in this email. and if you want me to, i'm happy to copy-paste it in the comment thread.
have a great time in davos

"from a woman in the audience, aged 36

- I had never heared of Julia Allison or nonsociety before. My comment is based on what Julia said on the panel "telling stories" at DLD09.
For me it was one of the most intersting, insightfull and inspring panels of the conference and I am very glad, that Julia and the other speakers on that panel were invited to speak.
Julia is the living proof that the stereotype "short skirt equals small brain" is not true. Her observations are sharp, her conclusions are intelligent, she is independant in her opinion and the way she brings it accross is witty, charming and entertaining.

"Nonsociety is an experiment and I am using myself as a guinea pig" she says "yes, there are consequences which affect your actual life when you break down the forth wall between you and the audience. This is a new form of journalism, it's happening and it will be even more in the future. And judgemnent is a fucking scary thing. But there are consequences to everything, good ones and bad ones."

"When you interact with other people you chose a persona that you have. It's not fake, but the person you are with your boss might not be the person that you are with your boyfriend, might not be the person that you are with your parents or with your girlfriends. They are all you, but you conduct yourself differently. Well, on the internet you only get one choice.
So when I watch politicans go from private citizens to actual politicans, I see them become blander versions of themselves. They choose what pisses of the least number of people. That's why they are so boring."

Question from the audience: "You are becoming more and more popular. How are you going to use your power to help women get ahead in life?"
Her answer: "Young women don't tend to start their own businesses. I don't know why, it also did not occur to me for a long time... This is a huge issue. I tell you the shit I get - no wonder women don't put themselves out there.
The number one thing I am interested in right now is the fact that
women are told they can either be interested in fashion, in makeup, in boys. Or you can be intersted in physics, in engenering, in feminist rights. And I am interested in both. The fact that I like cute outfits doesn't mean I could not compete with any of these guys here on the panel or out there.
Young women should all be in this together, to support each other."

If you want to know more about Julia's thoughts on story telling, on manners in the internet and on commenting in blogs, you can watch the panel in full length.
I finish my comment with a quote from another panel: "Moderating user comments on your blog? Sure. If you invite people to your house to share your life with them, you also don't want them to piss on your living room carpet, do you?"-

and here are notes somebody else took including the comments julia took off her own webpage.

young chicks / julia

yes, i am not a digital native. but julia is (even if she does not know what twitter is). because she knows how to play around with the digital media and new channels of communication that came with the internet. and she enjoys it. and she is an excellent ukulele player.
when i was a teenager, we did not have these kind of places to develop self-awareness and self-confidence and to learn how to put yourself out there and deal with criticism.
the change that came with the web is already affecting the way women find their place in society. it is a subtle but powerful change. thanks to all the young chicks out there.

two questions

where do you want to wake up?
what do you wish to happen by the end of the day?
the answers.

matthew herbert

stored-away memories came back, just because there was an ear to listen. they were neither good nor bad, just sad. sad because they were not more than memories. i had a shitty day.
until matthew came along. witty, funny, smart, original, caring and wonderful matthew herbert with his big band and amazing singer eska mtungwazi. a sparkling, entertaining, touching concert. and the way they left the stage, narrowing it down on her voice, was just brilliant.
here's a song he did not play, which is not less beautiful. and a little bit like memories.

yes, you were dating a gay guy.

why i love youtube

weil sich dort eine merkwürdig schöne spielart des exhibitionismus ausleben kann -wahrscheinlich ist exhibitionsmus auch das falsche wort- und mein voyeurismus nicht nur erlaubt sondern sogar erwünscht ist. i guess that's what you call communication.

physical illusions

try walking in my shoes. ich habe mich oft gefragt, ob man jemals die welt durch die augen eines anderen wird sehen können, sei es auch nur für einen tag. und wie man sich danach daran erinnern muß, damit man diese fremde erfahrung mit der eigenen wahrnehmung vergleichen kann. das scheint ein erster schritt in diese richtung zu sein.

global warming

Ad for HSBC by Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai ad agency in India.
The agency also understood how to turn Joshua Allen Harris' street art into a clever ad.

Daito Manabe

electric stimulus to face - test3

reminds me of stelarc. i saw him talk at ars electronica in 1997 while people triggered and controlled the movements of his arm via the internet.

bonaparte - too much

you know
too much, too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much,
too much much

you know james joyce, I like your voice
you know baudelaire, I like your hair
you know churchill, I know kill bill
you know tolstoy, I know playboy
you know politics, I know party chicks
you know wallstreet, I just want to meet
you know common law, I ask my ma
you know sanskrit, come on and say it
you know economy, well I believe in what I see
you know sophie scholl, I love rocknroll
you know algebra, but you wear no bra
do you speak japanese?

you know
too much, too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much,
too much much

you know so much, so much about everything
all that I know, I know Ive got a song to sing
you know so much, so much about this and that
you know myspace, yourspace, what is the human race?
b-day, d-day, dj, casius clay
batman, spiderman, superman, tarzan
einstein, bernstein, money, money, red wine
eisenhower, beckenbauer, ddr, berliner mauer,
vietnam, guernica, stalingrad, hiroshima,
watergate, waterloo, austerlitz, dien-bien-phu
mao, ho chi minh, valium, amphetamine
you and me and one two three and who could be a refugee?

spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam,
spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam.

you know
too much, too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much,
too much too much

its so banana, i really just wanna wanna
its so banana, i really just wanna wanna
its so banana, i really just wanna wanna wanna
its so banana but its true

you know
too much, too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much
much too much, too much, too much, too much,
too much - too much

tableware

these kind of dessert plates, which i found in a little antique shop in bordeaux, were completly new to me. on the top they show a rebus, the solution is on the other side of the plate. these are by the company digoin & sarreguemines and are called assiette parlent (talking plates), assiette rebus or sometimes assiette hitsoriee and are from the 1850s.

"Bonne renommee vaut mieux que ceinture doree."

"Le capitaine Renard a fait un grand pas dans la science de diriger les ballons."

another plate is decorated with an image hidden within an image. in this case the question is: "ou est le cheval?" ("where is the horse"). i could not find it yet, but i found all the hidden images on the other plates so i am sure it is there. this plate has a stamp saying "porcelain opaque de gien" and is from around 1875.

i love the idea, that once the dinner conversation gets boring, you can just stare at your plate or the plate accross the table and solve some riddles.

Berichterstattung in den Händen von Laien und Profis

In der SPIEGEL Print-Ausgabe vom 20.12.08 erschienen unabhängig voneinander drei Artikel, die sich direkt oder indirekt mit aktuellen Formen von Journalismus auseinander setzen.

Das Betselem Camera Distribution Project verteilte 130 Kameras an Palästinenser im Westjordanland, damit sie die Übergriffe israelischer Siedler und Soldaten dokumentieren.
Was auffällt, ist, dass die Videokamera in den Händen von Laien hier nicht nur als zufälliger Zeuge (wie zb bei den Privatvideos vom Tsunami oder den Handyfilmen der Londoner U-Bahn Bomben) eingesetzt wird, sondern als Stimme oder gar Waffe. Der Artikel erwähnt auch, daß "die meisten der Amateurfilmer Frauen sind, die häufig von ihren Häusern aus dokumentieren, was auf der Straße passiert." (fussnote: die alten Klisches, daß Frauen und Technologie und muslime Frauen und Stimme-erheben nicht vereinbar sind, erweisen sich mal wieder als nicht haltbar).

Alexander Osang hat wieder einen für ihn typischen Artikel geschrieben (hier ein link zu einem alten Artikel von ihm, der auch mit Information und Berichterstattung zu tun hat): man fängt an zu lesen, weil die Überschrift ein spannendes Thema verspricht. Nach ein bis zwei Seiten blättert man zurück an den Anfang, um heraus zu finden wer der Verfasser dieser aufschlußreichen und gleichzeitig elegant geschriebenen Beobachtungen und Gedanken ist. Osangs langen Reportagen und Portraits entführen einen für die Dauer des Lesens in die Welt ihrer Protagonisten und wirken dann lange nach. Eine Qualität, die mir in deutschen Blättern selten unterkommt und die mich manchmal den New Yorker vermissen lassen.

In Amerika müssen große Zeitungsverlage zur Zeit mit gravierenden Auflagen- und Anzeigenrückgängen kämpfen, viele Lokalzeitungen werden eingestellt. James Macpherson spart Geld und läßt für seine Online Zeitung "Pasadena Now" billig in Indien schreiben. "Montags beispielsweise verfolgen die indischen Journalisten aus der Ferne die Stadtratsitzung in Pasadena. Die Beratungen des Bürgermeisters und der Stadtverordneten werden per Podcast oder Live-Video übers Internet übertragen. Dann setzen sich die Lokalreporter vom Subkontinent hin und texten Schlagzeilen für ihr kalifornisches Publikum." beschreibt der Artikel im SPIEGEL "Über hundert Angestellte arbeiten für Mindworks Global Media in einem Vorort von Neu-Dehli. Sie gelten als anpassungsfähig und schnell. Neukunden sind in der ersten Woche mit etwa 25 Prozent der aus Neu-Delhi gelieferten Überschriften unzufrieden- spätestens nach zwei Monaten gäbe es kaum noch Änderungsbedarf". "In Pasadena hat James Macpherson die Neuerfindung des Journalismus derweil noch weiter getrieben. Er setzt jetzt vor Ort kostenlose Freiwillige ein, meist Rentner, die mit Videokameras nach seinen Anweisungen zum Beispiel Pressekonferenzen filmen - wie ferngesteuerte Roboter. Dann überträgt er die Videos nach Indien und lässt seine Schreib-Profis dort die passenden Artikel verfassen."

Mr. Dusko

Mr. Dusko is a teacher and makes lovely little animations to teach his school kids.

or this one

or this one

thanks rina, for pointing this out to me.

percy smith

percy smith shot "the acrobatic fly" in 1910.
he made many more films but unfortunately i could only find two of them online.

a beach full of tulips

vinni puh

vinni puh from russia. i don't understand a word but this is ever so charming.

thanks rina for showing this to me and thanks david for reminding me of it.

favours

"don't return a favour. pass it on to somebody else"
a polish proverb
quoted in the disturbing film "it's a free world" by ken loach.

das individuum vs. der kleinste gemeinsame nenner

"Demokratie heißt auch das Recht der Schwächeren zu schützen und nicht nur der Mehrheit zu folgen" (Luk Perceval)

theo jansen

what a humble man. and what a beautiful piece of work.

thanks kevin, for telling me about him

the cake in the rain

"Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!"