I submitted my first substantial piece of written uni work in close to fifteen years yesterday afternoon - a timeline of the history of the use of I.T in Education over the last 100 years or so based on a set of readings we'd been given.
As I think about it I consider all the elements that I left out - Open source software, RSS and much of the whole Web 2.0 thing (Flickr, YouTube et al) - but I think it was comprehensive enough to scrape a pass, possibly a credit out of.
As the first piece of writing I've been required to do, it was something of a battle to get stuck into - the required readings seemed just as interested in the minutiae of which professional organisation changed their name in 1923 from the Visual Instruction Association to the AudioVisual Instruction Association (I know this is wrong but you get the gist) as they were in how the advances in technology actually affected people on the ground.
That's academia I guess. (Fortunately my other subject deals with multimedia and seems somewhat more grounded.)
17.3.07
16.3.07
Watching: Battlestar Galactica (end of Season 2)
Wow, just wow. I'm reluctant to say too much in case you haven't seen it yet - there are some major changes, which is refreshing in a series in general - but it sets up for a most interesting season 3.
(Ok, just a short one today as I reeeallly have things to do - hope you have a great weekend)
Quick update - this is just too nerdy not to include here - Digg.com discussion of who would win a fight between Battlestar Galactica and the Enterprise (Star Trek).
One of the comments sums it up perfectly - read the comments imagining the voice of the comicbook guy from the Simpsons.
http://digg.com/television/SciFi_Smackdown_The_USS_Enterprise_vs_the_Battlestar_Galactica
(Ok, just a short one today as I reeeallly have things to do - hope you have a great weekend)
Quick update - this is just too nerdy not to include here - Digg.com discussion of who would win a fight between Battlestar Galactica and the Enterprise (Star Trek).
One of the comments sums it up perfectly - read the comments imagining the voice of the comicbook guy from the Simpsons.
http://digg.com/television/SciFi_Smackdown_The_USS_Enterprise_vs_the_Battlestar_Galactica
15.3.07
Theatre-going: Noises Off
Noises Off is a classic farce with many doors opening and closing, zippy dialogue and a sometimes confusing but funny mess of lots of simultaneous physical comedy.
It takes a play-within-a-play structure and focuses on the carry on behind the scenes of a production of a farce called Nothing On. This is a bog-standard farce with all of your typical farce ingredients, the aforementioned calvacade of opening and closing doors, coincidences, mistaken identity, bothersome props (a plate/s of sardines in this case), an attractive woman who spends most of her time in her lingerie and a man with his trousers down around his ankles.
We take a step back to see this firstly as a dress rehearsal, complete with actors stuffing up and questioning their motivations, then from backstage as a matinee a few weeks in to the season and finally from front of house as an evening performance right at the end of the season. (By which time, things have completely gone to pot).
After the first act I'd had a few smiles (particularly having done a little theatre in my day) but wasn't guffawing like most of the audience (largely comprised it seemed of the silver-haired set) but as the second and third acts progressed and the whole production descended into impressively organised chaos I found it funnier and funnier. I also grew more and more impressed with both the writing and the talent of the performers (and director) to manage such a complex amount of stage "business" and overlapping plotlines and dialogue. I'd be quite surprised if anyone stayed still for more than 20 seconds at a time in the final act.
I must admit that I've never seen a farce performed before - I've seen farcical elements in film (most commonly the doors trick - one person exits a door just as another enters another door taken to ridiculous extremes) but I had some idea of what it was all about but now really feel as though I haven't been giving the genre (or perhaps it's just this particular play) it's due.
Bravo to the Canberra Rep and to the writer for getting it so right.
Noises Off is playing at Theatre 3 until Friday - definitely worth checking out.
More details on their website here
One of the things I was wondering (being the multimedia type that I am) during the performance, particularly given the chaos and the plotlines and physical comedy being played out often simultaneously, was how it would translate to film.
Rapid cutting seemed the obvious option but perhaps a little too structured - too focussed on drawing attention to each individual act of madness at the expense of losing the sense of overall mayhem. Some kind of split screen approach (possibly up to four screens, Timecode (Mike Figgis 2000) style.
Apparently there is already a film version available, directed by Peter Bogdanovich (1992) that I might just have to check out.
Update - Good ole YouTube comes through once more (to a degree) with a clip from a (significantly) lesser production of Noises Off which will nonetheless give you some idea of some of the dynamics of the play.
This is taken from the final act where the whole performance has completely lost it - cues are being missed, props are missing or just wrong, performers are at each others throats, some try to improvise their way out of the mess while others just stick steadfastly to their assigned lines
14.3.07
Picturing: Golden Plains
Ok, so a more fully formed overview of the festival is still to come - possibly not that soon either, I'm really starting to question my sanity at having dived into higher education at this point in time - particularly studying two units by distance.
Anyways, here are some initial pics snapped at the festival over the weekend. As ever, I have gone with the trusty camera phone for two reasons - portability and also the simplified image that it provides.
Now maybe this is pretentious arty wank talking but there is something about the less than perfect image that really appeals to me - in an age where photos are getting more and more ridiculously sharp and detailed (check out some HDR pics for example), they seem simultaneously more constructed, more stage managed and more designed to push emotional buttons.
The beauty of the camera phone is that it's immediate, it's a small lense and it doesn't have a great depth of field or contrast range. It's reassuringly low-tech (in spite of the fact that just the thought of being able to take a photo one minute and send it to someone on the other side of the world the next would have blown any photographers mind less than twenty years ago)
Anyway, here are a few views of the inaugural Golden Plains Music Festival, live from the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, March 2007.
Meredith has one big stage, purpose built for the festival. People find a spot at the start of the day and tend to camp out there through all the bands. There's a standing section towards the front that it's not too difficult to get into but ultimately, you just want a sit down. (Or maybe I'm just getting old.)
Further back is just a sea of chairs, old couches and the odd lampshade. (Not shown in picture but if you look carefully, the self same lampshade is part of the official Golden Plains artwork)
Is a festival still cool when people are turning up in Beamers? (Yes, even with Beamers)
Navigating your way around a massive campsite can be a challenge, particularly when you realise that most tents only come in about three colours (one of which is silver) and all look alike. Fortunately, the citizens of Box Factory set up next to us and their flag offered a welcome homing beacon. (That and the Norwegian flag near the toilets that marked the left turn to our campsite)
Ok, so there are points at which the phone camera shows it's limitations - but even then, it kind of looks pretty.
Saturday was a brilliant sunny day, maxing out at around 35C with clear blue skies and no wind at all. (Quite the change from the rest of the weekend, which was a much more Melbourne-like overcast and mid 20s which constant strong gusts.)
Sunset was kind of special though.
Quick music highlights:
The Drones (great passion and tight playing)
Ground Components (great attitude, rockstar chops and a sense of fun)
Presets (high energy, loud and fast electronic rock/pop and a definite sense of show)
Fat Freddy's Drop (very talented musicianship, a trombonist able to make the instrument cool and a good attitude)
Gotye (I didn't pick the Thom Yorke-ness of the singers voice until Eric pointed it out - also his observation that it was like Thom Yorke but with a purer sound - but this and the pop-rock sensibilities of these guys made me very keen to check them out)
The Slits (for me at least - noone else in the party seemed to agree but I liked their old-skool pop-punk sound and was prepared to overlook the massive chip the singer seemed to shoulder about not having been paid their dues by history. I mean, yes, they broke some impressive new ground but then packed it in after a couple of albums - then again, the same could be said for the Sex Pistols)
Yo La Tengo (I guess - I was a little hungover by this time but they sounded pretty good from where I was, just wish I was a little more familiar with their body of work.)
Less impressive - The Bellrays - musically tight but too slick, there was something offputting about the way that they made no effort to personalise the between song banter - it was all "You people are great", "Are you all ready to get down?" etc, essentially stuff they might say anywhere.
Comets on Fire - maybe if I'd been watching from a more central spot they might have sounded better but for the most part it just seemed like long winded wanky rock jamming. The Meredith organisers have a definite thing for the noisy rock band and hey, it's their festival but there was nothing new or interesting to it.
!!! - Unusual name aside (pron. chk chk chk or anything single syllable sound repeate d 3 times evidently) these guys started with some interesting sounds but wandered off down long-winded art-rock lane and never came back.
I was a little bit oldman and didn't stick around for the over night techno/dance party thing - hopefully Eric, Fabian or Pippa will be able to put in their two cents worth.
Anyways, here are some initial pics snapped at the festival over the weekend. As ever, I have gone with the trusty camera phone for two reasons - portability and also the simplified image that it provides.
Now maybe this is pretentious arty wank talking but there is something about the less than perfect image that really appeals to me - in an age where photos are getting more and more ridiculously sharp and detailed (check out some HDR pics for example), they seem simultaneously more constructed, more stage managed and more designed to push emotional buttons.
The beauty of the camera phone is that it's immediate, it's a small lense and it doesn't have a great depth of field or contrast range. It's reassuringly low-tech (in spite of the fact that just the thought of being able to take a photo one minute and send it to someone on the other side of the world the next would have blown any photographers mind less than twenty years ago)
Anyway, here are a few views of the inaugural Golden Plains Music Festival, live from the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, March 2007.
Meredith has one big stage, purpose built for the festival. People find a spot at the start of the day and tend to camp out there through all the bands. There's a standing section towards the front that it's not too difficult to get into but ultimately, you just want a sit down. (Or maybe I'm just getting old.)
Further back is just a sea of chairs, old couches and the odd lampshade. (Not shown in picture but if you look carefully, the self same lampshade is part of the official Golden Plains artwork)
Is a festival still cool when people are turning up in Beamers? (Yes, even with Beamers)
Navigating your way around a massive campsite can be a challenge, particularly when you realise that most tents only come in about three colours (one of which is silver) and all look alike. Fortunately, the citizens of Box Factory set up next to us and their flag offered a welcome homing beacon. (That and the Norwegian flag near the toilets that marked the left turn to our campsite)
Ok, so there are points at which the phone camera shows it's limitations - but even then, it kind of looks pretty.
Saturday was a brilliant sunny day, maxing out at around 35C with clear blue skies and no wind at all. (Quite the change from the rest of the weekend, which was a much more Melbourne-like overcast and mid 20s which constant strong gusts.)
Sunset was kind of special though.
Quick music highlights:
The Drones (great passion and tight playing)
Ground Components (great attitude, rockstar chops and a sense of fun)
Presets (high energy, loud and fast electronic rock/pop and a definite sense of show)
Fat Freddy's Drop (very talented musicianship, a trombonist able to make the instrument cool and a good attitude)
Gotye (I didn't pick the Thom Yorke-ness of the singers voice until Eric pointed it out - also his observation that it was like Thom Yorke but with a purer sound - but this and the pop-rock sensibilities of these guys made me very keen to check them out)
The Slits (for me at least - noone else in the party seemed to agree but I liked their old-skool pop-punk sound and was prepared to overlook the massive chip the singer seemed to shoulder about not having been paid their dues by history. I mean, yes, they broke some impressive new ground but then packed it in after a couple of albums - then again, the same could be said for the Sex Pistols)
Yo La Tengo (I guess - I was a little hungover by this time but they sounded pretty good from where I was, just wish I was a little more familiar with their body of work.)
Less impressive - The Bellrays - musically tight but too slick, there was something offputting about the way that they made no effort to personalise the between song banter - it was all "You people are great", "Are you all ready to get down?" etc, essentially stuff they might say anywhere.
Comets on Fire - maybe if I'd been watching from a more central spot they might have sounded better but for the most part it just seemed like long winded wanky rock jamming. The Meredith organisers have a definite thing for the noisy rock band and hey, it's their festival but there was nothing new or interesting to it.
!!! - Unusual name aside (pron. chk chk chk or anything single syllable sound repeate d 3 times evidently) these guys started with some interesting sounds but wandered off down long-winded art-rock lane and never came back.
I was a little bit oldman and didn't stick around for the over night techno/dance party thing - hopefully Eric, Fabian or Pippa will be able to put in their two cents worth.
13.3.07
OMGing : They've launched Skynet.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | British Skynet satellite launched
Did these people learn nothing from the Terminator movies?
Fortunately, help is at hand.
It's call How to survive a robot uprising : Tips on defending yourself against the coming rebellion and is written by a guy called Daniel H Wilson (who is actually a roboticist himself). (It's entirely tongue in cheek, just in case you were wondering - although apparently it has upset some in the roboticist community who hate any suggestion that robots could turn evil.)
Anyways, it's got a very cool shiny cover and the pages also have a very cool shiny metallic red finish on them (who says don't judge a book by it's cover :)
find out a little more on their site - http://www.robotuprising.com
(Yes, I know this is a little geeky but there you go. Like Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons and Futurama) says, "There is no story that can't be made a million times better with a robot")
Blogged with Flock
Update - hey cool, that was my 100th post.
Regrouping: after a big, tiring music filled weekend.
More to come soon on the Golden Plains Music Festival (including possible special guest reports) as well as the shortcut that should never be spoken of again. :)
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