Updates from January, 2014 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Oscar 23:32 on 26/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Donnie is Missing I’m sorry I’ve been so… 

    Donnie is Missing…

    I’m sorry I’ve been so inattentive to the postings over the weekend. The truth is…I’VE LOST DONNIE!! I’ve checked what have become his usual haunts: here (http://practicebased.re), Twitter (@DonnieArcher19C) and email (19thcdonnie@gmail) but I can’t find any recent traces of him around any of these…I’m worried that, encumbered by his new body (and, yes, I’m partly responsible for that gift), unfamiliar with his new weight and proportions, he’s somehow managed to get himself stuck somewhere…

    Meg, dear, have you encountered him on your travels? Izzy, you haven’t tried to…er…pull him in into line have you? Ysidora, is it possible you may have accidentally frightened him off?

    If anyone has seen or heard from him over the past couple of days I’d really appreciate any information that may give me some clue as to his present whereabouts. With thanks and concern, Oscar.

     

    • Meg O'Ryan 00:53 on 27/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      I did wire him a Cathay Pacific flight coupon for a trip to Sydney… could Donnie really be on his way??

    • Isabella Medici 01:06 on 27/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Please Oscar, I’m not that cruel! I didn’t incinerate your ancestor! (though my father would have! 😛

    • Christa Forster 10:45 on 28/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Maybe he is stuck somewhere in the Southeast US. People here are going bananas because we are dealing with ice (something we rarely deal with). Schools have closed, parents are going nuts because their kids are home all day, accidents are piling up as naifs try and navigate icy highways — many for the first time ever! It’s — as my daughter might say — “cray cray” down here. Donnie might be taking advantage of the mayhem to get lost in the wintry mix! (I love getting lost in strange places; maybe he’s like me that way?)

  • Vanessa 13:46 on 26/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    I Want a Dead One – photos 

    mixed reality performance still

    Hi “Band”! Owen’s still waiting on the video, but he put up some stills of our Mixed Reality performance:
    http://owengparry.com/#/mirage/4582238942

     

  • Meg O'Ryan 06:38 on 26/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Hey Oscar I was looking at this conference… 

    Hey Oscar, I was looking at this conference and thought of you:
    http://avoiceandsomethingelse.tumblr.com/

     

    • Oscar 23:33 on 26/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Meg, thank you for pointing my attention to this conference on the voice – I wish I’d been able to attend. I hope there will be follow-up online.

  • Izzy 12:29 on 25/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Mom & Dad 

    diptych of 2 portraits: Eleonora di Toleco and Cosimo I de Medici

    Mom & Dad. Eleonora di Toledo (Spain) & Cosimo I de Medici. Mom had so many kids, 11, that they nicknamed her “la fecundissima.” Dad actually came from the lesser branch of the family, but he wound up being the first Grand Duke in Medici history.

     

  • Vanessa 11:43 on 25/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Did anybody ever get an Email Certificate Or… 

    Did anybody ever get an Email? Certificate? Or any other sort of acknowledgement that you actually completed the PBR course?

     

  • Izzy 23:44 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Isabella-Izzy 1564-2014 

    diptych of Isabella Medici featuring portraits from 1564 and 2014

    Isabella Medici 1564 / 2014

    Back then I had everything, except freedom. Now I have nothing, save for freedom.
    I like to think I have decayed with dignity.

    Your slave in perpetuity,
    Izzy.

     

  • Ciara Finnegan 12:39 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    re. 1850 Charla 

    I’m really fascinated by the way in which the distributed authoring process is playing out in “1850 Charla”. I’m thoroughly enjoying the experiment: watching the characters evolve, nurtured by their interactions with one another, slipping with ease back and forth in time and space…

    (On a side note, I discovered a curious linguistic connection: “A Chara” is used as an opening salutation in letter writing in Irish (as in “Dear such and such”))

     

    • Isabella Medici 13:36 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      I quite agree Ciara! And this is all leading up to the 28 February “Live Tweetchat” I believe? So perhaps that day will be even more festive. Will others be joining our performance? Is there any ideal number?

    • Christa Forster 14:12 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Ciara. Thanks for chiming in! Please consider joining us: we’re warming up here, flexing our chops (or choppers, in the case of Donnie) for the February 28 #1850charla on Twitter. You can find the “official invitation” over in the .Re/cipes. http://practicebased.re/cipes/product/1850-tweetchat/

      Also, love the linguistic connection you brought up.

      • Ciara Finnegan 09:29 on 27/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        A Chara Christa, I’m here already, riding on the diagonal frock coat tails of another/s 🙂

  • Izzy 10:38 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    What does an altered book artists book look… 

    What does an altered book (artists book) look like when books have become websites?

    I’ve been thinking about the idea of Cornell Boxes in cyberspace. Say in a 2D space like a website. Yes the “messy desk” blog themes are kind of contrived, remediation, and skeuomorphic… yet critiqueable as they are, they’re also an attempt, no doubt at least sometimes successful, to give an embodied being a tactile experience in a 2D place. Do you think a compelling Cornell-like experience in cyberspace would look Cornell-like? Or entirely different? Is Pinterest not a Cornell Box because it has hard edges and is on a grid? Or does it depend on the depth of the investigation of the pinner?

     

    • Molly Ross 10:49 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Isabella! Fabulous questions and ideas to ponder. I’m always struck by cyberspace’s ability to act as a portal–transporting me from my space to yours (or where ever you take me). You seem to be time traveling at the moment–see a portal from your time to our time! The thing about Cornell’s boxes is that they too are portals into miniature worlds–that represent collections, thoughts, emotions, spaces, times. Pinterest is an obvious parallel but because the pinner (artist/maker/collector) has little control over the display (the site dictates the grid pattern, the colors of the page) you are right– it does not manifest in a way that is very “Cornell.” I wonder how can you play with scale in the magical way the boxes do on a screen and in cyberspace–is that possible?

      • Isabella Medici 11:17 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Yes Molly, Pinterest, like Facebook, demands that you pour your content into their template. vs. WordPress, Tumblr, etc, that allow you more flex in how your ideas are displayed. Do we care too much about surface? Do FB’s 1B users care about aesthetics at all?

        A Cornell Box does seem to be the nexus of form & content. The same ideas in a book by a French culture theorist certainly wouldn’t have the quality of a Cornell Box. These “portals” (great word!) are remarkably tactile and fetishistic in their presence. Still, an awful lot of the general public might look at one and say “Old crap, so? Can we eat lunch now?” So I think the portalfulness is as dependent on the depth of investigation of the experiencer as the creator.

        The rabbi Lawrence Kushner tells the story of Moses and the Burning Bush. He asks, “Why a burning bush?” He notes that a burning bush is a pretty cheap trick. That you’re god, after all! Why not materialize the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, standing on the wing of a 747 Jumbo Jet, hovering over the mountain, as they sing the Hallelujah Chorus? Wouldn’t that be a better way to get Moses attention?

        Kushner notes that it takes 5-7 minutes for a piece of wood to combust. So if you see a burning bush, you can’t know if it’s “just a burning bush” or a divine presence, unless you stand there and watch it burn for more than 7 minutes. Kushner concludes that god was not trying to GET Moses attention, rather that she was trying to see if Moses was PAYING attention.

        Is it not the skeuomorphic details like “sloppy desk” or “layers of detritus” but the depth of attention paid by the viewer that creates this immersive Portal/Cornell experience? And if so, is it impossible to have such an experience in our ADD age? In our vastly-more-websites-than-you-could-ever-see-in-a-human-lifetime-even-if-all-you-did-was-click-“next” age?

        Or, as McCluhan said, when things become really important and ubiquitous, they become invisible. Almost everything we do is based on electricity, yet we rarely think of it. Is the entire Internet an infinite set of Nesting Dolls of Cornell Boxes that we don’t even have to try to make because it is already the journey that all the web surfers take every day for however long they are “awake” in this place? Do we live our online lives in Virtual Cornell Boxes?

    • Christa Forster 11:00 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Cornell’s boxes had layers, where things were seen on top of other things. At the Menil collection in Houston — where there was a great Cornell show in the mid 90s — there is a cabinet of curiosities, which seems to me what Cornell’s boxes do — create the cabinet of curiosity writ small.

      I think Molly’s right in that it’s a playing with scale and maybe layers issue. Holographs! Hey!

  • Donnie Archer 05:50 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Physical Attachment 

    Attachment

    Physical Attachment

    Geez, I woke up in this! Whered’it come from?…Oscar?…Meggie?

     

    • Oscar 05:54 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Oh, I rather like the country squire look you’ve got going there, Donnie!;-) Beats the diagonal frock coat, if you ask me…

      • Isabella Medici 10:40 on 24/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        I quite agree with Oscar, Mr. Donnie. Now if only your comportment can match your attire, you may even be welcome in my court.

    • Meg O'Ryan 09:24 on 25/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      OMG Donnie Incarnate! PTL! PTL! IDK how it happened Donnie, but it’s amazing! Can you feel your limbs? Can you walk? What do you want to do now? It’s a true miracle from Deus ex Machina!

  • Christa Forster 13:49 on 23/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Will he give Ysidora a soul 

    Will he give Ysidora a soul?

     

    • Oscar 23:27 on 23/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Ah, Christa, maybe Ysidora should see a philosopher about that. I know a good philosopher in Paris…

      • Meg O'Ryan 09:22 on 25/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Hey Oscar! I hope your Paris Philosopher isn’t the same Tree Surgeon you sent Donny to? That guy who kept running around “une mechanisme”? Not pretty.

        What do you mean “Will Ysidora get a soul” Christa? Ysidora’s the only person I’m sure has a soul!

        • Christa Forster 15:41 on 25/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

          Dear, Meg. You are truly kind. Ysidora blesses you!

          The thing is–have you ever heard new age people or philosophers or theologians or recovering addicts say something along the lines of “you will become that which you fear” or “fear begets fear” or “Be careful what you fear, you just might get it” or something like that? Well, guess what Ysidora’s greatest fear was? That she would lose her soul! And (you guessed it) she lost it.

          She feared this because from a young age (let’s say four), she was taught to fear it by the Fathers, the Frays, as in Fray Juniperro Serra, et. al. Because of these dudes (Franciscans), she lived in fear that her soul would perish, that it would not live on in the “promised” land, the paradise, the place named Heaven, where these guys assured her Suffering did not exist. And she suffered, a lot, so of course, she wanted to go to this place. But whether it was because of the dogma from the fathers or the repression of her desires or a combination of both, she ended up acting in ways that caused her soul to, indeed, perish. In short and in full, she lost her soul to the silence engendered by her shame.

          In never sharing her story — her story did not fit with the governing narrative, which by the way, was guarded, albeit drunkenly and whimsically, by her brothers and (less drunkenly and whimsically) by her husband — her soul shriveled up; paradise was lost.

          • Meg O'Ryan 18:53 on 25/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

            OMG Christa, that is so sad! You know what will cheer you up? I just read this amazing piece about a guy who was able to use “new media tools” (back in the 80’s or so) to give voice to the voiceless. You should go read it right now!
            http://practicebased.re/search/blue-eyes-kenneth-hughes-first-film/

            I don’t mean any offence to anyone, but I think sometimes religion and “religious people” can just be such bullshit. You should talk to Izzy sometime about all her family’s shenanigans (be warned: it doesn’t take much to get her started) Her dad engineered the election of, like, 3 Popes! And they “paid” him back! It just makes me so sick to think about the number those guys did on an innocent soul like Ysidora. (it’d be so great if you could get her to join the conversation here!)

            Thinking about that Kenneth Hughes thing though, I think there’s real hope there. If you think about it, the world we today take for granted, our Western Liberal Democracies, with human rights and civil rights, all that probably would have been impossible without the rise of The Novel. I think it was the novel that let people, really for kind of the first time, experience other people’s lives.

            In a way it’s all about who has access and control of information. The novel created shared experience and empathy. The Franciscans you talk about used the power of knowledge and lack of knowledge to manipulate Ysidora. Today we have an amazing access to knowledge. Google can fetch any article. Wikipedia can explain any concept. YouTube can teach any skill. And with MOOCs you can learn, often for free, from some of the most amazing faculty the world has to offer.

            IDK if you’ve ever had to sit thru one of Vanessa’s Free Culture rants, but in a way, she’s right: a non-neutral net hurts everyone. And pretty much, a non-neutral net means massive profits for broadband providers as the morph the freedom of today’s Net into pretty much Television2.0. (and not the empowering EZTV kind of television, but the Banality2.0 kind)

            So I guess we should seize this moment and use the Open Web to share and learn as much as possible… and… oh look! I guess that’s what we’re doing right now!

            Maybe Ysidora2.0 can redress some of the injustices of the past. I hope so.

  • Christa Forster 04:25 on 22/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Coursera is adding another facet to its online… 

    Coursera is adding another facet to its online learning opportunities — Specialized Learning, where they offer multi-layer curriculums rather than one-shot courses. I think it’s a good development.

    https://www.coursera.org/specializations

     

  • Meg O'Ryan 18:27 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Hey Donnie 

    Aunt Renie & Meg

    Aunt Renie & Meg

    Hey Donnie! Here’s a little pix of me with my Aunt Renie. Her best friend passed away suddenly and she was feeling a little melancholy, but then she decided to just go for it and enjoy life. She flew to Sydney to visit me. Here we are dancing on the Harbour Bridge. Where are you Donny? We should totally hook up sometime!

     

    • Donnie 01:29 on 22/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Geez, Meg, sweetheart, if I had an arm I’d offer you flowers…
      Where am I? Where am I? Between a rock and a hard place. A rock and a hard place, kid.

      Listen, kid, Oscar says he knows some fancy doctor in Paris who can kit me out with new arms and legs. New hands and stuff. But I sureas hell can’t afford the slow boat to Europe. Heck, kid, though, so I had this moment of – I dunno – prescience? drunken vision? of some guy – a wizard or magician or something in your neck of the woods who can make hearts and brains, movin’ parts – listen, kid, if he can make that stuff do you reckon you could ask him if he could make me a body?

      Oscar says there’s a map – some Goggly Googly thing – I dunno – and y’have t’ follow a yellow brick road to find this surgeon guy…

      • Meg O'Ryan 14:22 on 22/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        You’re an amazing person Donnie. Some who haven’t gone through half what you have are just broken and bitter, but you sing love songs! I don’t care what anyone says about your raspy voice, it’s beautiful to me.

        Paris doctor? IDK Donnie. Oscar has some crazy stories about hunting for “une mécanisme”. These things don’t seem to end well. I know a good tree surgeon here in Sydney. Do you want to come convalesce? Or maybe you can reach out for other experts in your area. If you hear some quack say “une mécanisme” though… run Donnie! Get the hell out while you can!

  • Oscar 13:16 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Good heavens Christa little did I know what… 

    Good heavens, Christa, little did I know what I was in for when, taking up on your invitation, I started to scuff the dust off a couple of centuries of vent history. I’m honestly not sure what 19th-Century-Donnie with his wild hair and wilder tongue will come out with next! I do know that he’s come through some really rough stuff – though Izzy’s right, it’s hard to be certain what’s fact or fiction when he’s so often inebriated. I want to help him somehow but he’s a strong-willed guy.

     

    • Christa Forster 16:40 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      RASCALS! I’m so excited to be running amok among you. I myself stay away from all intoxicating substances, but I live vicariously through miscreant folk creatures like y’all.

  • Oscar 02:29 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Oh I’m so sorry everyone I think Donnie’s… 

    Oh, I’m so sorry everyone. I think Donnie’s blundered in here drunk! Ignore him – it’s the drink talking. I’ll bring him back when he’s sobered up.

    Come on, Donnie. Let’s go.

     

    • Vanessa 03:31 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      No worries Oscar. Thanks for bringing Donnie along. I’m sure he’ll liven up the place.

  • Donnie Archer 02:17 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Wheress the kid Whassis name Oscar Osssar 

    Wheress the kid? Whassis name? Oscar? Osssar?

     

  • Donnie Archer 02:10 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Whass this place A saloon A salon Whose… 

    Whass this place? A saloon? A salon? Whose runnin’ this joint? Can no one give a thirsty vent a drink round here?

     

    • Isabella Medici 03:25 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Firewood my friend! Firewood! Best sober up that tongue! My father would have had you swiftly in the furnace. Actually, beheaded first, and then in the furnace!

      • Meg O'Ryan 03:30 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Harsh much? OMG Izzy! Lighten up! Donnie had a few drinks. Who hasn’t? He seems like a nice Irish boy.

        How’s it going Donnie?

        • Donnie 04:08 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

          Meg, kid, howya doin’?

          • Meg O'Ryan 06:48 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

            I’m doin pretty good Donnie, how’s it with you?

            Except I’m not in Potsdam anymore. I’m in Sydney where you can’t even get a real beer. What do you like to drink, Donnie?

      • Donnie 04:05 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Listen, Princess, don’t cast stones at me kid – you Romans sure knew how to down a few bevvies..As for the beheading. Geez, if only my 19th century body remained to chop off! I’m all mouth, kid;-)

        • Oscar 04:06 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

          Er…Donnie…Izzy’s from Florence, not Rome.

          • Donnie 04:06 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

            All roads lead to Rome, kid.

          • Isabella Medici 06:44 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

            Thank you for coming to my assistance Oscar dear.

            Mr. Donnie, Oscar is correct. I certainly am not from that vulgar city! I am a Fiorentini, thank you.

            Perhaps you are confused because my psychopathic ex-husband Paolo lived in Rome (another good reason not to visit) Perhaps you and Paolo should commiserate, Mr. Donnie. I’m confident your ilk would have much in common.

            Or perhaps you are confused simply because of your continual state of intoxication. Either way, it is of little consequence to me.

            • Donnie 12:56 on 21/01/2014 Permalink

              (sings): Meg O’Ryan, O’ Meg Ryan…Meg…Meggie.
              When I first said I loved only you Maggie. Meggie. and you said you loved only meeeeee…

              What do I drink? Anything, kid. Anything. My jaw aches. If Miss High-n-mighty Medici crawled out of The Five Points like I gone dun, reckon she’d understand better, eh, Meg. Meggie, eh!?

              So, Sydney, kid, Syndey. I dunno if I should even know where that is…Keep on doin’ fine, kid. Don’t fall for the devil drink.

  • Vanessa 15:55 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    10.2 Miles Done! 

    4 of us walked the whole way, 9 more joined in for part!

    NHRebellion11

    (More …)

     

  • Vanessa 09:08 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    NH Rebellion LIVE! 

    0.55 miles down!
    total today 10.2 miles
    Canterbury NH to Concord NH

    4 avatars walk on treadmills

    Vanessa, Merriam, Izzy & Caitlyn during Mile 1 of NH Rebellion Canterbury to Concord walk!


    (More …)

     

  • Izzy 06:41 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Hi Everyone I’m so excited about Christa’s Tweetchat… 

    Hi Everyone! I’m so excited about Christa’s Tweetchat! And Oscar’s research is so interesting! I’ve started writing a few bits of information here:
    http://mediciprincess.com/

    I’ve also discovered a thing called “Pinterest” — oh how many hours and days we would have spent on this back in my day! I think it is a wondrous tool for collecting bits of detritus and feelings. I must work further with it!

     

    • Christa Forster 08:47 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Wassup, Izzy? I’m trying to get Ysidora a Ghost account, but I can’t make the images work (even though I’ve tried resizing them, etc.)! I keep getting a message saying that I must upload a “valid image.”

      What would you in your royal, timeless wisdom suggest I do?

      • Isabella Medici 12:15 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        What a wonderful idea Christa. My website is actually on a platform called “Ghost”
        http://ghost.org

        (as opposed to WordPress or Tumblr, etc)
        You probably don’t mean that, do you?

        Do you mean to get Ysidora an account here on .Re/act? I’m certain Vanessa could set that up with great alacrity.

  • Vanessa 06:02 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
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    Hello World 2.0 We’ve reinstalled WP 3.8 @… 

    Hello World 2.0
    We’ve reinstalled WP 3.8 @ .Re/act
    hopefully the comments under wrong post biz is now behind us

     

    • Mike 22:22 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      While I don’t know the cause of these problems, a lot of WP issues these days, especially regarding themes, are emanating from JavaScript.
      Automattic is developing a “next generation p2” theme which is actually going to be a plugin.
      http://www.slideshare.net/beaulebens/o2-wcsf2013
      http://wptavern.com/o2-wordpress-plugin-expected-to-be-available-in-early-2014

      • Vanessa 03:20 on 21/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Hey Mike, thanks for reaching out. The problem with our P2 Child install of WooThemes Houston seemed to be, well IDK exactly, but something corrupt in the install or database. I tracked it as far as not being about any specific theme or plugin. I read that changing permalinks helped so I messed with that for a while. Then I tried reinstalling 3.8 on top of itself with no results. In the end I deleted the site and did a fresh install which works fine for the time being. (3.8 actually did initially break P2 and all child themes, but Automattic put out an update within a couple weeks)

        Yes, the next gen P2, “O2″. At Beau’s talk at WCSF’13 in mid-July he said it’d be out in a month. That was over half a year ago. I guess they’ve been working on other things. He also sort of said .org first and .com later. A month or so ago they sent out a questionnaire asking who’d be interested in beta testing O2, but that it’d be on .com initially and .org down the road. I eagerly filled the questionnaire out, but it’s already been over a month since then.

        Meanwhile, I think most P2 themes are a little bit visually clunky. As in not-so-aesthetically pleasing, but also sort of as in visually chaotic and harder to visualize distinct posts. Woo has really done a nice job making Houston both more pleasing and correspondingly more, I believe, functional

  • Oscar 19:57 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Oh silly me I just posted a comment… 

    Oh, silly me!! I just posted a comment in response to the wrong item! Was attempting to add a reply to the sequence on the ancestor project but, somehow ended up adding it to Vanessa’s post re. Art & Tech Lab. Now I can’t figure out how to edit it out of there and into the place intended…

     

    • Christa Forster 20:17 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Oscar, I went into the Dashboard and moved that comment to the trash, so please repost it under the correct discussion.

      FYI, I copied and pasted your original response in an email to you, although you could dig the one I removed out of the trash section of the Dashboard and repost it that wayy as well, if you were so inclined. xoxo

      • Oscar 20:59 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Aw, thanks, for your help Christa! Though, crikey, I’ve just tried to repost my comment in the “‘correct” place again and, to my surprise, it’s ended up in a new “wrong” place!!! I’ve been trying to add it to the dialogue that follows your call to participate – but, somehow, it refuses to post there and I’ve no idea why it’s failing…

        • Christa Forster 21:05 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

          It’s probably the ghost of Izzy d’medici messing it up! 🙂

          • Oscar 21:16 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

            Lord, Christa, perhaps not Izzy (she seems to be more tech-savvy than me) 😉 but maybe it’s the ghost of Mr Frederick Archer screwing things up?? He appears to have bones to pick over the way he met his death…
            One more try, eh?! xx

        • Christa Forster 21:10 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

          Dear Oscar, if you are logged in, you can go up to the top of the page where you’ll see a “+ New” option. If you click that “New”, you’ll be in the Dashboard, and you’ll be able to move the comment to the trash and try reposting again (?). I appreciate your efforts!

          • Oscar 21:21 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

            Woo Hoo, Christa! It worked!! Have successfully relocated troublesome comment. Guess Mr. Archer’s resting peacefully after all…

            • Vanessa 21:53 on 19/01/2014 Permalink

              Hey Oscar ‘n Christa. It’s not YOU… it’s… well… it’s not ME either… but something’s a tiny bit amiss here and unfortunately comments sometimes go on the wrong post… I moved a few but it does get tedious… I’m sort of working on a fix but IDK what the exact issue is and so I’m sort of stalling for an update or alt platform… I don’t actually have an easy answer unfortunately.

              Moving them sorta works but is a pain. Just letting them sometimes go to the wrong place seems wrong, but you pretty much know what’s going on anyway.

              It seems as if commenting on the newest post always works. But sometimes commenting on the 2nd or 1-down post goes instead to the top post. That’s all I’ve really figured out so far. Sorry about this!

              If you figure out when it does and doesn’t go wrong, I can more precisely ask the “Houston” designer Woo Themes about it. TY / Sorry!

    • Vanessa 23:19 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Yes Christa, I agree! At the risk of introducing yet another app, the platform Editorially, which Molly and I started using for our MOOC Writeup Article, might be nice as it can have multiple authors and you can edit, record changes, it has a comment panel that can link to doc text, etc

      I just threw the text up there and sent you an invitation to collaborate. We only have a week to submit it — but we do well with deadlines! — and I think that can help us focus on broad, dramatic strokes. I think you hilited most of the same areas that leapt out as exciting / motivating / relevant to me.

    • Vanessa 23:37 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Yes, Xta, I’ve seen this too. It’s weird. So many “tiny moving parts” in these contraptions! 😛

      It’s happened to me too, with Michael specifically, although it probably isn’t him.

      The only thing I can think of is that when someone who doesn’t have a “Gravatar” (the “Wavatar” is the randomly generated “cartoon” for peeps who didn’t sign up at Gravatar) for some strange reason our “Diablo” theme on .Re/search gets confused and makes it look like we talk to ourselves even more than we already do!

      Geez!

      So a comment bug in the .Re/act “Houston” theme
      and a different comment bug in the .Re/search “Diablo” theme

      I’m not certain that the “theme” is even the culprit, IDK. We could twist Michael’s arm to go paste a pix at Gravatar. That wouldn’t fix it for other unsignedup peeps, but he talks more than most of them so it’d be a clumsy but helpful partial fix.

      Diablo and Houston are pretty nice so I’m loathe to lose them, but perhaps I should at least try some other themes to try to track down these 2 bugs. To me, the .Re/search issue is a minor annoyance, but the .Re/act issue is a real mess.

      Also, separate (3rd!) thing, which you probably realize, is that you seem to have 2 accounts, the “Christa Forster” and the “Xtaforster”. This is basically fine, but could be confusing. I assume you have 2 different emails and login 2 different times / ways. For simplicity I like to have everything under one email and try to not have more multiple identities than necessary! 😛

      Unless, obviously, if I’m resurrecting Octavian or something, in which case I might use a separate Augustus.Caesar@gmail.com account…

      • Christa Forster 00:37 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        I would be loathe to change to a new theme, too, because I’ve just gotten used to this one! Thanks for the reminder of why my two different photos are showing up. You’re right. I’ve got two different emails operating; I will try and streamline it asap.

    • Vanessa 13:42 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Crikey! I can actually comment on Oscar’s post now! Praise the Lord!

    • Oscar 11:22 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Thank you for all your hard work, Vanessa and for the helpful posting tips Christa! I’m having a rough day as my “blast from the past” – 19th Century Donnie – is proving to be quite a handful…

      • Isabella Medici 12:17 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        You’re doing a great job Oscar. Try to be patient with with Donnie. Don’t let him wear you out!!

  • Vanessa 18:02 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    ART + TECHNOLOGY LAB Hey all I just… 

    ART + TECHNOLOGY LAB
    Hey all! I just discovered an exciting new project, and request for artist proposals, at Michael’s neighbor LACMA!

    Click to access LACMALabRFP.pdf

    (More …)

     

    • Christa Forster 20:12 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Van, I’m interested. Here are the bullet points that I feel most resonate with “us”:

      Connection and explorations of portable identities and pseudo-identities
      • Distributed experience and storytelling through multi-dimensional user
      experience design
      • Crowd-sourced information production and human-based computation
      knowledge

      And here are the questions that I think “we” can best answer.

      Is the project artist-led and does it have artistic merit? YES
      • Does it produce an interactive experience that can be presented in the
      public space of the museum (which may include virtual/online space)? YES
      • Does the project suggest models, methods, and/or data that may be of
      interest to other artists and technologists? YES
      • Does the process proposed by the artist include opportunities to present
      demos, prototypes or collaborative opportunities for the public during the
      development period? YES

      The directions are pretty straight forward. With whoever is interested, we can split up the sections and answer them, or we — whoever is interested — could each write responses, and then we could massage the responses into a single app.

      Hello! LOIS WEAVER–> 🙂

  • Vanessa 16:34 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    OMG the lovely delightful and generous @xtaforster has… 

    OMG, the lovely, delightful, and generous @xtaforster has donated a dollar a mile to my virtual NHRebellion.org walk tomorrow!

    Thank you so much!

    BTW, we’ll be walking in SL from 9-2 EZT if you want to drop by and say hi. We’ll have extra treadmills out!

     

  • Vanessa 16:30 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    New EZT time zone Now that we… 

    New “EZT” time zone!
    Now that we aren’t enrolled in a course at Stanford anymore, we might as well stop calling “California Time” “Stanford Time.” But it’s still as good a time zone as any since a couple of us are there and the EZTV April 12 event is there. Also SL, based out of SF, runs on that time zone also, aka “SLT.” So I propose we use “EZTV Time” and to keep with the style of PST, EST, GMT, CET, etc, why don’t we just call it “EZT”

     

  • Christa Forster 13:58 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    So Many Xtas 

    Hi Vanessa, do you know why my Wavetar/Gravetar shows up when Michael makes a comment on one of my posts? It happens with a couple other folks, too. For example, http://practicebased.re/search/number-1-first-blueberry-hangout-2014/

    ¡Mille Grazie!

     

    • Oscar 09:29 on 20/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Crikey, Christa, Michael’s a ventriloquist?????!!! I’ve simply got to meet him (or maybe I already have, eh? 😉

  • Christa Forster 12:40 on 16/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Ancestors from 1850 in Conversation! 

    Let’s put an ancestor of ours from the year 1850 in conversation with one another, in the present, on Twitter.

    Why?

    To see what happens!
    (More …)

     

    • Isabella Medici 19:04 on 17/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      What a fantastic project Christa! (anything that gets me out of the catacombs is a fantastic project! 🙂

      Could you give this letter to my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter Vanessa? TY!

      http://mediciprincess.com/your-shitty-luck

    • Christa Forster 01:07 on 18/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Dear Isabella, so GREAT to hear from you. Thank you for reaching out to us from 450 years ago! I think our luck is good (rather than shitty) to hear from you, a PRINCESS no less. I am interested in what you say about how “false nostalgia and blind romanticism always make past lives more simplistic. Easier than they were. Harder than they were. Other.” I’m pretty sure I understand what you mean by “other.” But I’m wondering if you’d like to talk about this more, This “otherness” that you seem to propose is a product/consequence of nostalgia and romanticism.”

      If you have other things to deal with (like washing your hair, which I’d totes understand — it’s a DRAG) I get it. Still, since we have you on the line and all….

    • Oscar 16:38 on 18/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Hello Christa,

      Thank you for your invitation to participate in this project! I’m intrigued by the idea of engaging in conversation with an ancestor. While I have no recollection of my life before 2003 and, currently, no desire to probe my personal history beyond this, I am keen to trace the history of my craft – to tune my ear to the whispers of dolls and their partners long since decomposed…
      The 19th century was, by all accounts, a rather busy and exciting time for ventriloquist dolls and their human collaborators!

      • Isabella Medici 02:55 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Hello Oscar. Is it “the marionettes” of which you speak? I loved them so as a child! They were a rich and frequent part of the entertainments that my father arranged at Palazzo PItti.

        Dearest Christa, I am confused, “wash your hair”? Do not you simply braid it up and forget about it? As for your questions, I am not certain I have answered them, however I have written another letter that may be of some use:
        http://mediciprincess.com/vegetarian/

      • xtaforster 03:06 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

        Welcome, Oscar!

        I love your name. How was this name chosen for you?

        I, too, am interested in the history of your race, the traces of races which have marked themselves in your lineage. I cannot wait to learn more about this! Thank you for joining us.

        • Oscar 21:18 on 19/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

          Thank you! This ancestor mining is so much fun, Christa! As to your question re. my name – well, the truth is, I kind of moved into it (it was waiting for me). I find it easy to say, easy to spell, so I consider it a good fit. I used to have a different surname but shed it because it felt uncomfortable and contrived. I’m happier with “Devent” which we created in order to facilitate my online communication (all those demanding forms!). I’ve had a similar conversation on this subject with Ellie here: http://megoryan.me/post/69899480046/oscar-autonomy#disqus_thread

  • Christa Forster 12:35 on 16/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    1850 Twitter Chat Invitation to Participate Call for… 

    1850 Twitter Chat — Invitation to Participate

    Call for participants up now at .Re/cipes:
    http://practicebased.re/cipes/product/1850-tweetchat

     

    • Vanessa 20:07 on 17/01/2014 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Christa! This is so wonderful! I hope it’s not too confusing, but over on .Re/cipes (The Open Art Cookbook) instead of “Blog Posts” we make “Products”! 🙂

      On the “+NEW” menu, instead of
      +NEW >> POST

      just do
      +NEW >> PRODUCT

      I can help with any of the details. I’ve put your Tweetchat up in the form of a “Product” and updated your link above. (and now it also appears on the home page of .Re/cipes

  • Vanessa 15:58 on 15/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    OPEN ART COOKBOOK Why are so many artists… 

    OPEN ART COOKBOOK
    Why are so many artists complicit in the capitalist model of scarcity as the driving factor in cultural production? Culture should flow like water. At the Open Art Cookbook you can find free & open recipes for art & culture. You are also encouraged to contribute recipes. Please give a shout if you’ve got a .Re/cipe!
    http://practicebased.re/cipes/

     

  • Vanessa 03:54 on 15/01/2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    On Monday 20 Jan Merriam Galaxy and I… 

    On Monday 20 Jan, Merriam Galaxy and I will be virtually joining the New Hampshire Rebellion walk from Canterbury, NH to Concord NH. Further details to come. You can visit our pages (and even donate to our walks!) here:
    • NHRebellion.org / Merriam Galaxy
    • NHRebellion.org / Vanessa Blaylock

     

  • Christa Forster 17:04 on 14/01/2014 Permalink | Reply  

    Teju Coles Story in Retweets 

    Yesterday in our hangout, I mentioned Teju Coles’ story in retweets as inspiration for the Twitter Chat performance I’m developing. Here is a link to a story about this performance of Coles’.

     

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