The kind folks over at SXSW are hosting a podcast of Bruce Sterling's State of the World keynote. It's a classic Sterling rant that focuses on the opposing forces of the emerging Bright Green Future and the Grim Meathook Future. Somewhere in between he talks about Spimes, Web 2.0, life in Eastern Europe and the recklessness and failure of our current administration and their science policy.
« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »
March 20, 2006
Remember, Remember, the 5th of November
This weekend I went to see the Wachowski Brothers' version of Alan Moore's classic V For Vendetta and I've got to say it's my favorite comic book adaptation to date. It might be because V For Vendetta is my favorite comic book of all time as well. Hugo Weaving plays the central character with more grace and emotion than I would have ever thought possible for a character with no facial expression. Natalie Portman is also a treat. But the real star of the film is the eerily familiar London of Moore's future.
I won't give away too much of the film, because I think everyone should see it. Suffice to say that it's a popcorn entertainer of the highest caliber and manages to squeeze in lots of political commentary and dark futuristic extrapolation between the exciting action bits.
It's kind of nauseating that with just a few minor changes a story criticizing the Thatcher and Reagan administrations and their neo-fascist tendencies is still, or maybe more than ever, absolutely relevant to our political situation. One of the most important tenets of the story is that when fascist dictatorships take control of societies, the citizenry are the ones most responsible. That's certainly true of our unique political situation today.
Hopefully some of the kids that see this movie will realize some of the things that are happening in their own lives and will feel compelled to do something about it.
March 17, 2006
March 15, 2006
March 14, 2006
The Hurricane Poster Project
The Hurricane Poster Project is "a collaborative effort of the design community to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina". There's some really great stuff on there.
Spring Renewal
One of the only good things about last year was the incredible Spring that we experienced regionally and the wonderfully transformative Spring that I experienced personally.
Regionally, we had lower than normal temps which resulted in some of the finest weather I've ever experienced in Louisiana and the most pleasant afternoon I've ever spent at the Jazzfest. Spring is always the best season down here with it's abundance of fresh flora, pleasant rain showers and delicious goodies but last year was really special.
Personally, I got up from the computer and fell in love with cycling. I learned to love exercise and healthy things. It made me a happier and more fit person. I think the special weather had a lot to do with that as well.
I hope that this year's Spring is as transformative for our City as it was for me personally last year. I hope that it brings with it an abundance of fragrant flowers and new green leaves to lift our spirits, beautiful weather for the enjoyment of the workers that are rebuilding our city, crawfish boils and BBQs that bring together family and friends, delicious snowballs and creole tomatoes to help people remember the little reasons why they love New Orleans, a Jazzfest that shows the world we can still produce world-class events, and a true turning point for all of us.
Spring is all about renewal, which is something we are in desperate need of this year.
March 12, 2006
March 09, 2006
Pre-Fab Boom
Business 2.0 is running a good article about the recent increase in attention being paid to pre-fab houses, which is largely being driven by the Dwell Home concept. I still think something like this would be a great, cost-effective housing solution for New Orleans.
March 08, 2006
Etech Notes
The relatively new Wired blog Monkey Bites is publishing copious notes from this week's O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference. I just read the notes from Bruce Sterling's keynote on the internet of things or "spimes" as he likes to call them and it's an excellent encapsulation. It will be interesting to contrast the notes from this talk with the sure to be published notes from his talk next week at SXSWi on The State of the World.
March 07, 2006
Post Your St. Anthony Ramblers Photos
Willcore has set up a nice gallery for everyone to upload their St. Anthony Ramblers photos. If you've got photos of the procession be sure to register and upload them all. I just put up a bunch of photos Kay sent me. I'm not sure who snapped them but they sure look good. Comment here if you have any trouble uploading pics or if you have any other questions.