This week we have been introduced to 'wikipedia' and encouraged to acknowledge it, not as an academic source, but as background information that could possibly inspire us with a topic for our up-coming essay. In class we have been made aware of the good, bad and ugly of wikipedia but for our blog this week we have been asked to have a look at some articles, answer some questions and share them with you, the reader.
I live on the Gold Coast Australia and have grown up surfing with my family. I then married a surfer and so our family spent many school holidays and weekends surfing along the east coast of Australia so I chose for my first topic 'Surfing' and this was the link that I followed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_culture
It surprised me how much information was on this site. It took me from simple definitions, to the history of surfing and associated themes of surfing. There are articles explaining how swell is generated, pressure systems and how they affect the swell, topography of the seabed, contours of reef and sand banks and even forcasting. Other topics include surf fashion, music, literature, films, jargon and more. There were big lists of films, documentaries, tv series, commercials, and surf music was even broken down into categories of rock, pop, and instrumental. Events and Festivals come under another subheading, as does Surfing Organisations. Branching out from there was another subheading called "spin-offs" This talks about board sports, branding and multimedia. Each of these topics include many, many links to all kinds of things to do with the surfing culture.
Way more information than I was looking for, but the article appears to be accurate and covers most of the basic facts that I need to understand the topic. I consider that the article follows guidelines for useful articles? The article speaks about some of the not so glamorous sides of surfing by sharing information about territorialism and gangs expressed between local and non-local groups. I have experienced this myself and know it to be true so I would suggest that the article is fair and does not show a bias towards a particular side. Interestingly, I have been unable to find a site that will give any instruction on "How to Surf" which is what I really wanted to find. If you can find one, let me know.
Take a break, go have a coffee or better still a big drink of water and come back. I'll be back with another topic shortly.
Okay I am back with another article to look at and consider. For a number of years when my children were younger I was a designer and manufacturer of swimwear. I specialised in the competive field and provided custom designs for swimm clubs and surf clubs. In addition to this I had a retail store and produced fashion swimwear. I thought that I would check out this article and see what it had to say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_design
Again the information I felt was quite helpful. It including a table of definitions and terms related to the industry, so if I had no prior knowledge I would certainly gain some understanding of the different aspects of fashion and and it accurately describes the uniqueness of each job: for example, a designer may conceptualize the design but have no experience in any other part of the process of manufacturing. The article not only describes design and the types of fashion from a world wide point of view, it also informs the reader of some of the business side of fashion. From my own experience the article appears to be both factual and useful for someone wanting to research the topic.
Until next time ...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Week 5 with MummaJules
How does WB work apply to contemporary media?
Walter Benjamin suggests that ‘reproduction lacks the unique existence at the place where it happened, therefore robbing art of its history’ but is the origin of art in the mind of the creator or in the actual production or form? Although we recognize that without the form it would never become public, it seems that the evolution of media and art is something that cannot be stopped. As long as man exists the continual development of expression and imagination will be an ongoing process. History would indicate that as human beings, there will always be the debate between the comfort of what we have come to know and experience, as being the only authentic expression while the pursuit of new ways is resisted, and seen as a threat to what once was. Is the beauty of one piece of art diminished by an additional concept expressed by another? Is it possible to appreciate each for its own uniqueness and gift? - One of the opening quotes in the article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Paul Valery says, “In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial. We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.”Paul Valéry, Pièces sur L’Art, 1931Le Conquete de l’ubiquite
When Walter Benjamin speaks about the aura of the work of art, he says “what is jeopardized when historical testimony is affected, is the authority of the object”, “mechanical reproduction may not touch the actual work of art yet quality of its presence is always depreciated,” “in permitting the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, it re-activates the object reproduced.” My father was a school teacher for many years and taught about San Marco Square in Venice Italy to his year 7 students, but when he stood in that place he could not stop the tears from running down his face because he never dreamed of being there and experiencing the beauty and the history for himself. Perhaps it was the reproduced images that fed my dad’s knowledge, that created such a heightened experience for him that day. Perhaps is some ways the AURA can be enhanced by some forms of reproduction.
Another quote in chapter 3 "the adjustment of reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited scope, as much for thinking as for perception" brings a challenge to our society in that there seems to be less and less control over the impact that these developments are having on our sociey. We are dependent on the free choice of the individual to either contribute in a positive or a negative way.
I agree with the concepts introduced by Walter Benjamin in chapter 15 in talking about participation and film, where he states that “the masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator.” The intensity of our lifestyles is wearing people out to the point where they cannot think, do not want to think, and just want a break from the worries that consume them. We then become drawn to things that require no attention and allow us to be absent minded but would we be better to re-evaluate the quality of our lives and take responsibility for what drives us to have such a response, rather than criticise the medium that produces the escape.
For more details read the full article through this link:
Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Some side issues to consider...
Digital media has opened the door to a whole new range of talents with varied expressions of 'art'. I am unable to stand in front of an amazing original painting and not be mesmerissed by the intricate skill that has manifest itself in such a beautiful way and hold the artist in such high regard but I am equally in awe of the professional and skilled contribution that a person through video or music can make to the viewer or receiver. I do not believe that ANYONE can create these things but that it still requires an artist's approach in order to be significant and have an impact.
Walter Benjamin suggests that ‘reproduction lacks the unique existence at the place where it happened, therefore robbing art of its history’ but is the origin of art in the mind of the creator or in the actual production or form? Although we recognize that without the form it would never become public, it seems that the evolution of media and art is something that cannot be stopped. As long as man exists the continual development of expression and imagination will be an ongoing process. History would indicate that as human beings, there will always be the debate between the comfort of what we have come to know and experience, as being the only authentic expression while the pursuit of new ways is resisted, and seen as a threat to what once was. Is the beauty of one piece of art diminished by an additional concept expressed by another? Is it possible to appreciate each for its own uniqueness and gift? - One of the opening quotes in the article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Paul Valery says, “In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial. We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.”Paul Valéry, Pièces sur L’Art, 1931Le Conquete de l’ubiquite
When Walter Benjamin speaks about the aura of the work of art, he says “what is jeopardized when historical testimony is affected, is the authority of the object”, “mechanical reproduction may not touch the actual work of art yet quality of its presence is always depreciated,” “in permitting the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, it re-activates the object reproduced.” My father was a school teacher for many years and taught about San Marco Square in Venice Italy to his year 7 students, but when he stood in that place he could not stop the tears from running down his face because he never dreamed of being there and experiencing the beauty and the history for himself. Perhaps it was the reproduced images that fed my dad’s knowledge, that created such a heightened experience for him that day. Perhaps is some ways the AURA can be enhanced by some forms of reproduction.
Another quote in chapter 3 "the adjustment of reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited scope, as much for thinking as for perception" brings a challenge to our society in that there seems to be less and less control over the impact that these developments are having on our sociey. We are dependent on the free choice of the individual to either contribute in a positive or a negative way.
I agree with the concepts introduced by Walter Benjamin in chapter 15 in talking about participation and film, where he states that “the masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator.” The intensity of our lifestyles is wearing people out to the point where they cannot think, do not want to think, and just want a break from the worries that consume them. We then become drawn to things that require no attention and allow us to be absent minded but would we be better to re-evaluate the quality of our lives and take responsibility for what drives us to have such a response, rather than criticise the medium that produces the escape.
For more details read the full article through this link:
Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Some side issues to consider...
Digital media has opened the door to a whole new range of talents with varied expressions of 'art'. I am unable to stand in front of an amazing original painting and not be mesmerissed by the intricate skill that has manifest itself in such a beautiful way and hold the artist in such high regard but I am equally in awe of the professional and skilled contribution that a person through video or music can make to the viewer or receiver. I do not believe that ANYONE can create these things but that it still requires an artist's approach in order to be significant and have an impact.
Is a photoshopped image authentic? My daughter just got married a few weeks ago and the photographer is a true artist, prefering to take images as they happen and capture the event rather than stage it, but also in his reproduction he is able to through the means of modern technology offer each print to us in either black & white or colour, leaving the window open for us to consider which best captures the moment and event or is simply a preference of taste. In this instance photoshop has allowed the viewer to measure the artistic value. To be able to crop an image or capture the light more fully I don't believe has changed the authenticity of the day as I recall it.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Week 4 with Mumma Jules
Well I am really being stretched to search the internet in different ways and access information that I know nothing about and now report it to you, so ENJOY!
1. Who was the creator of the infamous “lovebug” computer virus?
It is suggested on the following links, that the beginning of the virus code Signatures in the LoveBug virus source code indicates a possible origin, and through the archives of these anonymous emails, authorities were able to locate the alleged author of the Lovebug virus - Onel de Guzman
http://computerbytesman.com/lovebug/index.htm http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/05/04/iloveyou/index.html
2. Who invented the Paper Clip?
http://www.officemuseum.com/paper_clips.htm
It seems that there was some resistance to the development of the paper clip because at the time the business world thought that straight pins did the job adequately. The first patent for the bent-wire paper clip was registered by Samuel B. Fay in 1867 but it took a few more decades, before the paper clip really became well known and well used. By the late 1890’s and 1900’s many other patents followed and a number of different styles were introduced. Another reason for the delay was the need to develop a machine that would reliably bend and produce the clips
A quote from (Henry Petroski, "From Pins to Paper Clips," The Evolution of Useful Things, Vintage, New York, 1992, p. 60) explains why paper clips weren’t marketed earlier.
“According to Petroski, "Steel wire was still new in the second half of the nineteenth century....The widespread manufacture and use of the paper clip had to await not only the availability of the right wire but also the existence of machinery capable of tirelessly and reliably bending it in a flash into things that could be bought for pennies a box."
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/paperclip.htm
This site from another search engine, led me to a table showing the dates and developments which is interesting.
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
http://www.geocities.com/mockturtl/variations.html
Simply put the Ebola owes its name to the fact that it was discovered in Zaire near the river Ebola
-- The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was first recognised.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL06277921
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
On May 22, 1960 at 19:11:14 UTC, with the epicenter in Valdivia, about 700 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile the world's largest recorded earthquake struck since measurements began in 1899, the Great Chilean Earthquake.
Over 2,000 people were killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile.
The tsunami that followed caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.
The magnitude: an Earth shaking 9.5 on the Richter Scale.
http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest7.html
How cool is this website name!
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
This was a great site that showed tables and byte converters that revealed the answer to be 1,073,741,824, but have a look at the webpage, you may learn more than you need.
http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/calculate/
6. Who is the creator of email?
http://www.multicians.org/thvv/mail-history.html
This article suggests that email was "not invented but evolved from simple beginnings", similar to leaving a note on someones desk. It began with having one computer with various users. But once networking developed there needed to be a more complex system that involved addresses just like the postal system. Ray Tomlinson is given the credit for inventing email in 1972. He picked the @ symbol to indicate sending a message from one computer to another. Simply combining the nomination of the name of the user @ the name of the computer.
7. What is storm worm and how many computers are affected by it?
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/storm.asp
It is NASTY!!!!! is spread as an attachment to e-mail messages through various subject lines like "230 dead as storm batters Europe" or something that appears to be sweet "You've received an e-card from an admirer" and installs a Trojan Horse onto the recipients computer.
This article goes on to say that hundreds or thousands of computers can request files simultaneously and has been known to bring the whole country of Estonia down last year so those that are affected by it are world wide and can be dense in the number of shut down's.
HOW ARE YOU GOING? DON'T SWITCH OFF YET, THERE IS JUST A FEW MORE.
8. If you wanted to contact the Prime Minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
This link will take you directly to the prime ministers web page and contact details. Although contact details are offered, the site stresses the lack of security via the internet and email and suggests that if your message is sensitive to use the postal address provided.
http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
Some interesting reading but 'Who would have thought????????'
http://users.bigpond.net.au/blackassassins/index.html
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 has moved from the foundations of Web 1.0 that allowed users to simply view and download content, to introducing opportunities for the average person to contribute to the content. It is suggested that blogging for example, and free web services like wikipedia take the control away from a select few and allow free speech to be excercised in a whole new way. Not everybody is happy about this progression. I wonder what Web 3.0 will introduce?
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1169528,00.html
1. Who was the creator of the infamous “lovebug” computer virus?
It is suggested on the following links, that the beginning of the virus code Signatures in the LoveBug virus source code indicates a possible origin, and through the archives of these anonymous emails, authorities were able to locate the alleged author of the Lovebug virus - Onel de Guzman
http://computerbytesman.com/lovebug/index.htm http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/05/04/iloveyou/index.html
2. Who invented the Paper Clip?
http://www.officemuseum.com/paper_clips.htm
It seems that there was some resistance to the development of the paper clip because at the time the business world thought that straight pins did the job adequately. The first patent for the bent-wire paper clip was registered by Samuel B. Fay in 1867 but it took a few more decades, before the paper clip really became well known and well used. By the late 1890’s and 1900’s many other patents followed and a number of different styles were introduced. Another reason for the delay was the need to develop a machine that would reliably bend and produce the clips
A quote from (Henry Petroski, "From Pins to Paper Clips," The Evolution of Useful Things, Vintage, New York, 1992, p. 60) explains why paper clips weren’t marketed earlier.
“According to Petroski, "Steel wire was still new in the second half of the nineteenth century....The widespread manufacture and use of the paper clip had to await not only the availability of the right wire but also the existence of machinery capable of tirelessly and reliably bending it in a flash into things that could be bought for pennies a box."
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/paperclip.htm
This site from another search engine, led me to a table showing the dates and developments which is interesting.
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
http://www.geocities.com/mockturtl/variations.html
Simply put the Ebola owes its name to the fact that it was discovered in Zaire near the river Ebola
-- The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was first recognised.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL06277921
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
On May 22, 1960 at 19:11:14 UTC, with the epicenter in Valdivia, about 700 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile the world's largest recorded earthquake struck since measurements began in 1899, the Great Chilean Earthquake.
Over 2,000 people were killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile.
The tsunami that followed caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.
The magnitude: an Earth shaking 9.5 on the Richter Scale.
http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest7.html
How cool is this website name!
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
This was a great site that showed tables and byte converters that revealed the answer to be 1,073,741,824, but have a look at the webpage, you may learn more than you need.
http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/calculate/
6. Who is the creator of email?
http://www.multicians.org/thvv/mail-history.html
This article suggests that email was "not invented but evolved from simple beginnings", similar to leaving a note on someones desk. It began with having one computer with various users. But once networking developed there needed to be a more complex system that involved addresses just like the postal system. Ray Tomlinson is given the credit for inventing email in 1972. He picked the @ symbol to indicate sending a message from one computer to another. Simply combining the nomination of the name of the user @ the name of the computer.
7. What is storm worm and how many computers are affected by it?
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/storm.asp
It is NASTY!!!!! is spread as an attachment to e-mail messages through various subject lines like "230 dead as storm batters Europe" or something that appears to be sweet "You've received an e-card from an admirer" and installs a Trojan Horse onto the recipients computer.
This article goes on to say that hundreds or thousands of computers can request files simultaneously and has been known to bring the whole country of Estonia down last year so those that are affected by it are world wide and can be dense in the number of shut down's.
HOW ARE YOU GOING? DON'T SWITCH OFF YET, THERE IS JUST A FEW MORE.
8. If you wanted to contact the Prime Minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
This link will take you directly to the prime ministers web page and contact details. Although contact details are offered, the site stresses the lack of security via the internet and email and suggests that if your message is sensitive to use the postal address provided.
http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
Some interesting reading but 'Who would have thought????????'
http://users.bigpond.net.au/blackassassins/index.html
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 has moved from the foundations of Web 1.0 that allowed users to simply view and download content, to introducing opportunities for the average person to contribute to the content. It is suggested that blogging for example, and free web services like wikipedia take the control away from a select few and allow free speech to be excercised in a whole new way. Not everybody is happy about this progression. I wonder what Web 3.0 will introduce?
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1169528,00.html
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