Yearly Archives: 2002

Google & collapsed contexts

Oh! Oh! So, i’ve been bitching about the problems with Google for quite some time, the concerns about privacy, how it collapses contexts, what that means, etc. And every time i say something about that, people remind me that Google is a fabulous company (which i’m actually certain it is) and that everyone is speaking to the public so get over it. But, it’s not that simple. People aren’t speaking to the public like they do in the physical world. The ability to archive, search, etc. collapses contexts and leaves people fundamentally vulnerable.

It made me realize that people aren’t aware of the underlying differences between the physical and the digital. And while my initial flip-out was quite incoherent, i’m starting to have a better grasp of how to address this, how to break it down and discuss the issues in terms of context, faceting of identity and presentation.

And i’m glad to hear that i’m not the only one who thinks that this is a problem that must be addressed! And there’s even a metafilter discussion going on!

[And of course, more on /., which is a quick reminder that /. geeks don’t get social issues or context… too much libertarianism, not enough reality and way too little self-monitoring]

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smoke pot? stay out of jail

Here’s a great little comic to address your legal rights. It’s becoming a police state and most arrests are over drugs. Yet, as we all know, smoking pot is NORML.

I do wonder how long it will be until our society just accepts that pot smoking is not at all different than alcohol. I mean, it’s frustrating to listen to people differentiate the two, when the only similarity is that their legal status is based on politics. Alcohol and tobacco/cotton won. That means that alcohol is legal and marijuana/hemp is not. I still prefer a pothead to an alcoholic any day. At least the former isn’t going to kick my ass and be really noisy.

cracking, ani style

…

you were always half crazy, now look at you baby
make about as much sense as a nursery rhyme
love is a piano dropped out a four story window
and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time

i don’t like your girlfriend, i blame her
never seen one of your lovers do you so much harm
i loved you first and you know i would prefer
if she didn’t empty her syringes into your arm

here comes little naked me padding up to the bathroom door
to find little naked you slumped on the bathroom floor
so i guess i’ll just stand here with my back against the wall
while you distill your whole life down to a 911 call

so now you bring me your bruises
so i can oh and ah at the display
maybe i’m supposed to make one of my famous jokes that makes everything ok
maybe i’m supposed to be the handsome prince who rides up and unties your hands
or maybe i’m supposed to be the furrow-browed friend who thinks she understands

…

promoting adventure

We’re going cross country in style! Think Thelma & Louise!

I adore that so many of my friends promote adventure whenever possible. One of my closest friends (and ex) is kindly lending his fantabulous convertible to me and three of my friends in order to promote our cross country driving and festival seeking and my old advisor is lending us his specialized bike rack in order to help the process. ::bounce::bounce:: I cannot wait!!

moving

Wow. It’s been a long time since i’ve moved in an unbelievable rush. Actually, i remember the biggest rush. It was 1997 and i was trying to move into the coops. And Dean Desrochers was being Dean Desrochers and refusing to let me move, because i was only a second semester first year and i needed the proper environment for my education (as though the drunken puking frat boys were the proper environment). So, i begged and pleaded and then did my research, only to find out that they had overbooked midyears by a hundred so i convinced him based on logic. Only problem is that i convinced him at 3:30PM and he told me that if i had returned my keys by 5PM, i was allowed off campus. Like the angel that he is, my dear friend Glenn picked up garbage bags and his car and came a runnin’ and we booked through my room in 1.5 hours.

This time, it took more like 12. But i have a lot more stuff. And now, i’m in PA with a large Ryder truck full of stuff, cause i have a lot of stuff. Of course, home is the only place that you can always take your stuff, even if you intend to be homeless for months on end. Ah yes, the power of a digitla life.

Now, i am just longing to finish the thesis and start booking through this intriguing country – off to Fusion and Burning Man in less than a month!!

emotional intensity

Every time that i spend any time with Eve Ensler and the V-Day folks, i’m always emotionally overwhelmed. This time was no different. Since i was tearing down the exhibit, i missed the Gujarat press event (systematic raping in India). But that wasn’t all of the considerations for the day… During the evening, we got to think deeply about the issues of rape and violence, through the viewing of video clippings from the opening of the Safe Place on Native Land and the creation of a Safe House in Kenya).

As much as i love working with V-Day, i am constantly overwhelmed by the issues whenever i get in too closely, whenever i have to hear the stories and see the images. I remember that about producing V-Day events – it was always hard to hear people’s horrific stories. Yet, i love helping, i love trying to make it better, trying to make it never happen again. At the same time, i’m just not emotionally equipped to always be on the front line. I’m so much better at creating the technologies to help people, to work behind the seens. As much as some people are motivated by the gore, i’m stunned by it, and become incapable of functioning. ::sigh:: Still trying to figure out if that’s a good thing or if it just makes me weak…

agoraphone

Kelly Dobson, one of my labmates has this great project called Agoraphone that is up and running outside of the Lab. The basic idea is that you can call it and speak to a public forum, expressing things that you might not express in private. The people in the public space can respond to you while the anonymity is maintained. It’s fabulous, and so related to the kind of storytelling that V-Day encourages people to do, to start expressing their ideas, concerns and depression. If you want, give it a call (617-253-6237) or stop by the Media Lab to check it out (daytime only; it’s in the grass across the courtyard).