links for 2006-12-13
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the fake? personality created for web serial clearification
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brilliant serial. microsoft sponsored lonleygirl followup?
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Nick Douglas insightfully runs down the list of digg user archetypes
Roboexotica Going Well
I’ve been here a week in Vienna, Austria for Roboexotica, the conference for cocktail robots. It’s been a blast hanging out with my new Austrian friends @ monochrom. Plenty of impressive drink serving bots abound. This photo is of the Kal Spelletich’s Vino-Viper, an articulated arm attached to a wall that is controlled by a glove and blow tube. You move the arm around by moving your fingers and then can serve wine by blowing into a tube. Only the hardy and ambidextrous are successful at getting a decent amount of intoxicant in their cup.
Other interesting bots include Anika and Daniel’s Digi Colada, the Cocktail-Katapult which launches maraschino cherries into a large transformer bot for delivery, the WERP-Bot which facially recognizes and launches a cigarette into a waiting smoker’s mouth. Much local SF representation here with David Calkins‘ drink serving Chapek & Tyler’s WaiterBot, Simone Davalos‘ El Espanol Borracho which makes a mean flaming spanish coffee. Also David Fine and Jonathan Moore’s External Combustion Engine which uses RFID cards to serve up various cocktail recipes. Pals Violet Blue, Jake Appelbaum, V. Vale & family are also here making mayhem. Much more I’m missing, though you can catch a bunch of it in these videos I shot. Also, Roboexotica GETV episode is up.
Josh Wolf Benefit this Thursday 12/7
FREE JOSH WOLF!
A night of speakers, film, spoken word, and music to benefit Josh Wolf’s legal fund
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7
7:30PM
BALAZO GALLERY
2183 Mission Street near 18th
San Francisco
SPEAKERS
MARK LENO California State Assemblyman
BRUCE BRUGMANN Publisher Bay Guardian
CHRIS DALY San Francisco Supervisor
ROSS MIRKARIMI, San Francisco Supervisor
DAVID GREENE Executive Director, First Amendment Project
JANE KIM School Board Comissioner Elect
SARAH OLSON Radio Producer and Independent Journalist
FILM PREMIERE
New short film about Josh by filmmakers
KEVIN EPPS and NJERI SIMS
PLUS SPOKEN WORD AND MUSICAL GUESTS
SPONSORED BY
The San Francisco Bay Guardian
The Free Josh Wolf Coalition
The League of Young Voters
Society of Professional Journalists NorCal Chapter
Reporters Without Borders
First Amendment Project
Youth Radio
Suggested donation $2 to $25
Cash bar available with ID
This event is ALL AGES
CONTACT
For more information and/or to participate in this event contact Andy
andy.blue(at)yahoo.com
www.joshwolf.net
JOSH WOLF is a San Francisco free-lance journalist being held for his refusal, based on journalistic principles, to turn over to a federal grand jury his news footage from a July 2005 protest. Free-press advocates from around the world have called his incarceration unjust and a grave violation of the freedom of the press. Josh is well on his way to becoming the longest-incarcerated journalist in US history. His case has prompted Reporters Without Borders to lower the United States’ ranking for press freedom nine points to 53rd in the world.
For his commitment to journalistic freedom Josh received the 2006 Journalist of the Year Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. On this occasion he was praised by Assemblyman Mark Leno who commended his “courageous dedication to protecting freedom of the press in our country.”
For more information on Josh’s case and to learn how you can help visit www.joshwolf.net
United Airlines, why do you fuck me so?
Inflexible Airline Experience #74: I have $400 in travel vouchers on United Airlines from last time I flew. I book a flight home for Christmas, SFO to Washington Dulles. Fare is $667 (insane!). I want to apply my $400 vouchers. OK, first try and book trip online at ual.com. Payment time and there is no input for vouchers. I have to call reservations. LAME. I call, go through automated voice response reservation system which takes forever, doesn’t understand my name. I eject to a human being dialing 0. Human has the reservation. She tells me I have to mail the vouchers in or take them to the airport within 24 hours. EXTREMELY LAME. Eject to a supervisor. I explain vouchers have a unique serial number. You should be able to verify they are valid and issued to me. I offer to give the serial number and bring the paper copies with me to the airport. No can do. It doesn’t work that way. WHY THE FUCK NOT?
United, why are you inconveniencing me with your archaic ways of doing business? How is it I can book a flight online and have nothing but my name and an ID when I show up at the airport? It’s obvious you understand unique serial numbers and ID verification. SO why can I not apply the vouchers the same way? Why must I trust the postal service or make a special trip to the airport to book this flight? Why United Airlines, do you fuck me so?
Off to Austria for Roboexotica
I’m taking off on Sunday for a week in Austria, mostly in Vienna to attend and cover Roboexotica, “the festival for cocktail robots”. I’m super psyched to be hanging out with new and old friends as they compete with their robotic creations in areas of expertise such as ‘robots that mix and service cocktails’, ‘robots that light your cigarette for you’, and ‘robots that engage in bar conversation’.
Then I head to Graz to give videoblogging workshops to university students and give a multimedia slideshow presentation on weird techno-art San Francisco. Drop me a line if you’re also gonna be around in Vienna or Graz.
Ecobabes Save the Planet One Month at a Time
My good friend Lindsay aka Betty Biodisesel is featured on the front page of the SF Chronicle today, above the fold no less. The story? Her ecobabes calendar (she’s Miss August), a hot fundraising tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The online version of the article even has a poll, “Is the ecobabes calendar a respectable promotion for Sonoma County’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts?” Oh, the controversy!
I caught Lindsay on video explaining the ecobabes calendar in this GETV episode from the Bioneers conference last month.
Leah Laser Etches Her Laptop
My friend Leah laser etched her new Macbook Pro with logos from people who threw down cash to help her buy it. Here’s a video I shot of her story complete with mad high-speed laser etching footage!
Taugshow
Johannes of Monochrom asked me to submit a couple of minutes of video (a video telecast) for his Austrian based live audience untalk show. You’ll have to watch episode #7 to see my contribution.
Also, part 2 of RU Sirius’ NeoFiles podcast with Ryan and I is up.
Way Fucked Up
This is way disturbing and makes me grateful for the cushy life I live. What’s up with killing peaceful people in the snow? Link to it and make more people aware.
My 15 Megs
Crazy media week for me.
On Thursday night at 7pm PDT this week, I’ll be on this newfangled interactive Internet conference talk show thing called Reinventing Television with media educator freakstein Jonny Goldstein. We did a walk through tonight and it’s pretty cool. Part video conferencing, part party line, part talk show, part movie theater and much spectacle, this Phovi thing looks like a great way to get a bunch of Internet connected freaks in a virtual room together to throw media around. Irina was going to be on with me, but she had to bail due to a sheduling conflict. So it’s all me reprezentin’. Come be a pioneer and toss me some questions.
Last Sunday, Ryan and I did RU Sirius’ Neofiles show. A two parter even! Part one is up now. Violet Blue came in and did RU’s other show right after. Check it too.
And the previous Friday night, I was on Irene McGee’s old school media show on 106.9 Free FM. She has the 12-2 slot to be all Irene, all the time. Truckers and lonely stoners are known to bring the love. Podcasts of the madness are up now too.