And While we’re on Space Invaders…

How could I leave this out?

Space Invaders: Add one mob of willing participants, 1 lecture hall, a knack for stop-motion, good chunk of free time, and a undiluted dose of dorky enthusiastic nostalgia, and viola!

Carpet Invaders

Polish artist Janek Simon has designed, appropriated and/or programmed Space Invaders (remember?) to be projected to the floor as a playable Persian rug. Now that I see it, the juxtaposition seems natural. I am without words. I just want one.

{link to gallery 2020}

Qu’est-ce que c’est ?

I’ll freely admit, I am a long-time David Byrne admirer (admirer might be putting it too mildly). His latest art-book, “Arboretum” (due to be published in late July by McSweeneys) is a playful critique(?) of this particular way of classifying or displaying largely abstract or plastic relationships & information. I’m in love and I haven’t even read it. What?..

{more pictures}

{davidbyrne.com}

Amanda Congdon leaves Rocketboom •

It’s a little shocking. And…It’s complicated (apparantly). It seems that (famed Vblog) Rocketboom ‘anchor’ Amanda Congdon has abruptly left the Boom-team for reasons that are still being sorted out. Both Andrew Baron and Amanda Congdon have released information to viewers indicating their respective stories – both facinating (links below).

The implications of this shift could be dramatic, and no doubt you will hear more than you could ever want to hear about the drama as it continues to unfold over the next several days & weeks. The internets very own soap opera.

However, instead of focusing on the gossip & speculation of ‘the break-up’, I thought it much more interesting to step back and appreciate the immense novelty this really is.

Most of us have watched online (your favorite blog or bulletin board) or offline (think Maury Povitch et al) dramas unfold, but seldom do we see something like this; Very unique & intelligent e-celebrities, who have been catapulted into the spotlight (by, well, us) and finding immense success, and then having this kind of quarell out in the open. What I find so remarkable is that this spat is very much of the tone and tempo that Rocketboom climbed to the top with, human-ness.

Rocketboom found success by finding strength in its own human and ‘real’ voice. We all fell in love with the very authentic, often un-edited ‘dorky/awkward’ moments, and jangley cadence that have become synonimus with RB. While the ’show’ generally showcased the lighter notes of this natural style of entertainment, it is only logical that the disintigration of the relationship central to ‘the Boom’s’ success be just as heart wrenchingly real.

It’s not hard to detect the emotion & uncertainty in Amandas voice (and her own quirky discomfort with exhibiting it for all to see – despite her best efforts to remain her usual sortof-composed self) as she addresses viewers from her personal vblog ‘unboomed’. No doubt Andrew is having a moment of his own (though currently less ‘transparant’ than Amanda). It will be absolutely fascinating to track their tradjectory and growth over the coming weeks, as more floats to the surface.

We are in new cultural territory here, and it will be intereting to see how things unfold. Hopefully out here in the open.

Naturally, our hearts go out to Amanda & Andrew, though, we can be pretty sure we wont be without them for much longer. Go the boom!

Vintage Coronado Radio

Another cool find.  I have seen these around here and there.

Buddha Machine v. iPod

I bought one of these last summer, and it is still among my very favorite things….ever.

For those of you not familiar with the Buddha machine; it is small plastic box, which contains, a crappy little speaker, a few switches, batteries, nine very simple ambient loops, and as legend has it, there may be a little buddha somewhere in there (though I don't dare peer inside mine). The construction and quality is about as bad as it gets. The speaker buzzes and hisses and, quite frankly, is a huge part of its charm. There are only a few buttons. One is a simple toggle switch that allows you to skip through the tracks. Though, admittedly, I often just get hung up on the first one. The other nob is just an old fashioned on/off volume switch next to a dim little red light.

The Buddha Machine is the opposite of modular – the oppostite of something like the iPod, which is increasingly customizable ( especially my new 60gig video ipod which Ilove but isn't pictured above). Yet, even from the perspective of a longtime Apple fanatic like myself, the Buddha Machine is infinitely more addictive and gratifying.

The loops themselves are very basic, and very background in feel, only slightly shifting in mood from one to the next. They are a bit remeniscient of Brian Enos most minimalistic ambient work, and noticably less interesting; however, the pure simplicity of the box and its contents makes it all the more appealing. It does one thing in nine ways, and that's all.

Maybe a direct comparison to the iPod is unfair (to the iPod), as they don't really seem to inhabit the same region of the brain. The Buddha Machine almost feels more like something totally inantimate, like a favorite potted plant, stuffed animal or one of those little polished worry-stones – except, the Buddha machine seems to fill some less tangeable void.

I listen, play with, and derive endless enjoyment from it in a more consitant way than I do the iPod, which is still in my mind very much a container for things that are essentially me, or of my choosing. The Buddha Machine on the other hand, contains – or has the capacity to contain – so much less, that it actually seems to embody the zen that it references in its name.

It is almost perfect emptiness. How can the iPod compete with that?

• {see it – video}

America the Complex

Las Vegas, 2006. The holy grail of capitalism.  And for we few who go there to observe behavior.  People-watching is infinitely entertaining here.

Click {here} for more Sin City shots.

Rocketboom covers Jon Rawlinson covers Nata, Botswana

I love when one person makes a good bit of difference.

Rocketboom dedicated their cast today to one very original effort.

Jon Rawlinson, world traveler, has set up a blog/videoblog for a small village in Botswana. Nata, home to approximately 5000 people, is located on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans. Rawlinson’s original plan was to simply stay in Nata for a night as a stopping point on his way north to a wildlife safari. A local Peace Corps Volunteer (Melody Jenkins, an HIV educator) offered to show him a bit of the ‘real’ Africa.
At some point, it occured to John that he could set up a blog to raise awareness and money for this little village, with very little overhead. What is special about raising awareness and support in this way is that the blog can help feed this village directly, when larger relief organizations funds often go to larger villages in the region. Equally as cool is that the community can itself decide where the money goes, which is often directly to the HIV clinic.

It is very cool to see this kind of thing happening, especially when a well-watched a team such as Rocketboom pick it up.

Which brings me to why it is exactly that I like (dare I say love and obsess about) Rocketboom. They gracefully and gleefully oscillate between entertainment and social (and political) commentary.

Here they are actually having a direct and measurable impact on human lives. As reported on the Nata Village Blog, they received over $1000 in donations today alone “thanks to Rocketboom”.

Here’s to momentum. Here’s to conversation. Here’s to actually doing something.

Check out the Nata Village Blog {here}.

Check out Rockeboom (obviously) {here}

More Clocks

Picked up this and one other clock yesterday. The little one went to a friend for his birthday. The flip-clock needs a little more fixin. They really do make the perfect gifts. Especially when the money isn't plentiful.

Click {here} to see the flip-clock.

Alarm Clock Gold

Found this little alarm clock at the thrift last Tues. $3.95 & little WD-40 later, I have a new favorite posession. I've already been made fun of for it, but it's way too late, I'm smitten. So far, it's the coolest thing I've found this year.