Published July 30th, 2007
in news.
Realizing that daily updates from those I follow on Twitter outnumber my total number of updates, I logged in and glanced over at the public timeline. Someone mentioned how saddened she was to hear about Ingmar Bergman. Saddened? Did Bergman die? Sure enough, a couple of clicks later I found that Ingmar Bergman did indeed die earlier today.
Bergman is considered to be one of the most influential film directors of the 20th century. Before being drawn to computer science, I used to want to make my mark in the world as a film maker. I can still remember first mentioning my film making aspirations to a mentor and being referred to Ingmar Bergman’s movies. The Seventh Seal and Through A Glass Darkly quickly made it to my own list of movie recommendations. Using creative outlets to explore dark themes has always been something I’ve been drawn to, and the works of art I admire most seem to reflect the most tormented of souls as creators.
Now Berman is dead. With all the different methods of news delivery methods, I heard about this event through Twitter. Not newspaper. Not CNN. Not the streaming news ticker at the bottom of my local news channel. Definitely not radio. Not from my RSS reader. Not even one of the Twitter members whose updates I follow. I first heard about this through the Twitter public timeline, which refreshes regularly and shows the updates of all Twitter members who elect to keep their updates public.
This got me to thinking about how often I now first hear of something through a social networking site. Obviously, some of the more personal (i.e., not newsmedia-worthy) events are better suited for sharing via Facebook or MySpace. But other happenings which do get covered by more traditional forms of journalism are slowly gaining my attention more effectively through new channels of communication. A bulletin may ask me to sign a petition in support of a Congressional bill and this is what alerts me to a particular debate. A link to results of a study in a scientific study could be shared. Someone running from a steam pipe explosion in New York can provide me with instant firsthand accounts.
Of course, I don’t consider MySpace or Twitter to be credible news sources. When I saw mention of Bergman’s death on Twitter the first thing I did was check another source. I also still rarely see news for the first time on a social networking site. Major news outlets certainly shouldn’t worry about being supplanted by these sites. News obtained through these new avenues of communication don’t happen often enough to change the news industry, but just a handful of occurrences would be enough to get noticed.
Will the news industry one day have to adapt?
Popularity: 60% [?]
Published May 7th, 2007
in music.
Have you, like the vast majority of other music listeners, grown tired of mainstream broadcast radio? Internet radio sites, such as last.fm and Pandora, offer a wonderful alternative to broadcast radio with a wealth of listening features. I know I’ve personally discovered a plethora of new music that I actually enjoy through these sites. These webcasters are completely legal and offer a way for those whose tastes have evolved beyond standards available on broadcast radio to discover new music without resorting to risky piracy.
I abhor piracy and strive to support artists I like. Internet radio allows music lovers like me to better determine who should receive my support.
However, if the Copyright Royalty Board and RIAA lobbyists get their way, Internet radio will be silenced. New fee structures would effectively raise rates for webcasters by 300 to 1,200 percent. Interestingly, these increases would only affect Internet radio. AM and FM broadcast radio would be left alone. The new fees are supposed to go into effect July 15, 2007.
I sincerely hope you join me and prevent this from happening. Savenetradio.org closely watches this situation and will allow you to get involved. Stay tuned as I plan on sharing updates and action items to help save net radio.
Popularity: 36% [?]
Published March 1st, 2007
in events.
Visiting Artist, Nathalie Pham, will be giving a lecture about her work on Monday, March 5 at 5 p.m. at New Jersey City University’s Visual Arts Building auditorium. Her work can be viewed at her website, www.npham.com.
Recent Artist-in-Residence at the Newark Museum (NJ), Nathalie Pham received her MFA in sculpture from Parsons School of Design and her BFA from University of Missouri-Columbia (MU). After her undergraduate coursework, she worked as Dimitri Hadzi’s apprentice at Harvard University. Her sculptures have stood in many galleries and shows in the Tri-State area, including at the A.I.R. Gallery and alongside Leslie Dill in “Sacred Waterways” (both in New York
City). She is also principal of the Newark-based web-design firm, NPCreate, Inc.
Nathalie infuses her work with a freedom to choose materials and juxtapose them in unconventional ways—such as adding red wax stalactites, a drain, and a piece of casted meat into the drawers of an Asian lacquer bento box. These chimeras reflect a return to childlike wondering at objects, foods, colors, fashion, and architecture from our own mainstream commercialization and globalization and from various cultural traditions.
Popularity: 33% [?]
Published February 23rd, 2007
in art.
Because of recent world events, the religion of Islam has been vilified. I have never believed in stereotyping an entire group based on a tiny number of extremists. This is as political as I’m willing to get. Quite often, fear and hate is based on ignorance. Those most willing to stereotype are usually those who least know about the group they are stereotyping. So, here’s a tidbit which can allow all of us to learn a little something about Islam. The information isn’t even about the religion itself, but about its art.
According to BBC News, a Science study of medieval Islamic art has shown some of its geometric patterns use principles established centuries later by modern mathematicians. The research shows an important breakthrough had occurred in Islamic mathematics and design by 1200.
Link to article: Advanced geometry of Islamic art
Popularity: 29% [?]