milk's livejournal

Killing civilians in computer games

2009-11-16T21:35:41Z

Around three weeks ago this story appeared on geek/gamer news sites;

“Leaked Modern Warfare 2 Footage Shocks – Game play from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which appears to cast players in the role of a terrorist, has caused a maelstrom on the Internet.”

I didn’t bother looking into it at the time because killing innocents in games isn’t new (think GTA, etc), but now it has been reported that the Russian government has ordered the game to be recalled from stores due to this, noting “The mission in question features a civilian slaughter carried out at the behest of a Russian terrorist named Makarov.”

So, some context; here is a video of the entire airport terrorist attack mission. If that has gone by the time you read this, YouTube search for “Modern Warfare terrorist”.

Ultimately I take the progressive view that self-aware people who play games know there is an obvious distinction between what goes on in the game world and what goes on in real life, the exact same thing with literature, theatre, cinema, etc. I don’t think that the interactive nature of the medium changes anything – arguing that it subconsciously changes people’s values is bunkum.

Saying that, society is so often described to be shit these days due to, in my opinion, a horrible feedback loop involving parents and the education system, in that there hasn’t been good progressive carrot replacement to making people think about the repercussions of their actions now that the conservative and authoritarian nature of discipline that was used in past times has been shown to be an illiberal way of doing things and thus phased out (as in, time has ironed out the hypocrisy of those who could arguably could been classed as generally ‘classical liberal’ in tone who were also social conservatives, in the same kind of way as the founding fathers of USA owning slaves, etc).

Bottom line: There are both ‘positive‘ and ‘negative‘ aspects of liberty, parents should parent their kids on this and other such topics, and social conservatives should eventually die and allow the education system to become more enlightened.

Crossposted from my blog.

On the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement treaty

2009-11-13T03:39:39Z

“Here’s a 20-minute, must-see lecture on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement — the secret copyright treaty currently being negotiated, which stands to fatally wound all user-generated content sites from mailing lists to YouTube; which stands to criminalize kids for noncommercial file-sharing; which stands to put your internet connection in jeopardy if anyone in your house is accused of infringement, and much, much more.” link

The video is nicely succinct on where it has come from, is at and might go, but Wikipedia has more background information on the whole thing.

Crossposted from my blog.

High on science

2009-11-09T02:59:35Z

After a few ciders during a viewing of the hour long ‘A Universe From Nothing’ by Lawrence Krauss, AAI 2009 on the curiosities of cosmology at a Richard Dawking Foundation event, I return to the the glorious creations of John Boswell (aka melodysheep on YouTube), who edited, vocoded and accompanied various video clips on the science of everything, primarily featuring Carl Sagan, into a couple of amazing music videos that fill me with awe and make me wonder so as to how anyone can believe in mysticism when science can, while explaining so so much, offer so many other opportunities in the realm of unknowns to be explored and explained.

In saying that, it’s not that schools of thought based in mysticism don’t have insights and perhaps truths to tell, whether it be from morality to psychology or sociology, but, if you’re going to argue towards a system being right or wrong, you have to understand that a) a system isn’t greater than the sum of it’s parts and b) other systems may have rationales better than others and thus your own ’system’ is the wrong kind of paradigm to think of ideas as, and thus be willing to factor in alternative arguments and potentially even “hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted” and start from afresh to get closer to a ‘truth’ of a matter before declaring you’re on the right path to a fundamental knowledge of something. If you don’t understand the arguments, go back and see what they are based on. Be radical. It’s not like that word doesn’t have it’s etymological root for nowt.

n.b. the paragraph above is half-baked and requiring of a sober milky to write a proper essay on it at some point, maybe.

p.s. some comments on the videos

Crossposted from my blog.

Some press regarding Samhuinn

2009-11-04T22:07:16Z

A few brief notes.

Disclaimer: My views are not that of Beltane Fire Society, thank you!

Google News search gives;

Beltane good way to mark the coming of winter days

Sacrificing clarity for an awful pun with the headline there. Some unfortunately incorrect statements which handily come in order of ‘wut?’; “stilt-walkers dressed as crows and wolves, among other predatory animals”, “The Cailleach, who embodies the Winter aspect”, “The festival is believed to be based on pagan celebrations which predate the Celtic culture”

The comments on the article being evidence of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory (protip; typing “fuckwad theory” into [Firefox's] address bar and hitting enter gets you straight there).

Revellers join Samhuinn fun

Brief and generally correct, apart from the “ghastly ghouls and demons” in the first paragraph which could have been averted if the author had searched their own news archives for “samhuinn”.

Celebrate ancient traditions with Samhuinn festival, while coming from a PR style perspective, is much better thought out.

Until, that is, one gets to “With the festival ending in a dazzling firework display at West Parliament Square, the Edinburgh sky will be lit up, offering spectacular sights for local and tourists – including those who choose to rent a castle in Scotland – alike.” In parsing that sentence, I started out thinking “oh cripes, they’ve heard there will be flares and have decided to apply artistic license and spin the facts to make it sound a better report, ‘cos, like, well, who’s gonna check?’”, then I got to “including those who choose to rent a castle in Scotland” and the WUT kicked in.

It continues “However, with much of the celebrations taking place outside, visitors may want to ensure they bring hats, scarves and other warm clothes into their Scottish holiday homes to keep the chill away.” and “Once the procession is over, visitors may find that opting to stay in a self catering castle gives them the chance to carry on the new year celebrations in style before taking in everything else this stunning city has to offer.”

Then it clicked – the phrases “rent a castle in Scotland”, “Scottish holiday homes”, “self catering castle” are links to scottscastles.com. This, if you’re not familiar with some of the antics folk get up to in the domain of PR, is astroturfing, and in this kind of instance, an attempt to, by writing a blog/forum/other post that seems to be grassroots but that is not, trick Google’s PageRank algorithm into thinking that the linked-to website has more people honestly referencing it online than there actually are. This one is a more sophisticated and “above board” than a fake blog in that it’s within the “Travel Partners” section of travelbite.co.uk and does actually note “Scotts Castle Holidays” in the top left, though it’s still pretty sneaky and I wonder how much travelbite gets for such articles.

Also, it notes “Visitors will also find that hot chocolate and mulled wine stalls which line the streets should help them to stave off the cold”, which, while greatly grander than the reality of the situation, was correct in some regard – a thank you to the Edinburgh City Mission for providing free hot drinks to our punters as I’m sure some eedjits will have come out without forethought to the situation they’d be putting themselves in, i.e., outside for an hour and a half at this time of year. That comes from the top of my secular humanist heart rather than the bottom for your trying to convert folk, but hey, the world isn’t black and white. Your PR was “better” than previous Samhuinn Fire Festivals, although less amusing.

Crossposted from my blog.

Things and Stuff – What’s left of October and a bit more

2009-10-21T07:45:53Z

?? Dialogues: The Omega Workshop
Saturday, 10 October 2009 at 18:00 – Sunday, 25 October 2009 at 17:00
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Patriothall (Wasps), Hamilton Place

This year’s Dialogues presents, new work by Emily Fogarty and Ewan Sinclair produced under the title “Omega Workshop”. Appropriating the name from the Bloomsbury Group’s design enterprise, both artists have plundered consumer culture in search of fragments and motifs to bend to their means. Whether it is the pattern of a curtain in the background of an episode of Smiley’s People, Swatch watches or segments of adverts gleaned from the internet they have adapted these sources into a colour-saturated, 80’s infused paean to domestic design and its glossy products. Although sharing sources their approaches are very different, Ewan Sinclair’s use of contemporary technology contrasting with Emily Fogarty’s more traditional modes of production, an interesting conflict of craft vs digital.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=175305534950

?? That Pigeon-Haunted Stillness

Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at 17:00 – Tuesday, 20 October 2009 at 23:00
The Bowery, 2 Roxburgh Place

Hailey Beavis’ latest exhibition takes a mixed-media approach, exploring the relationship between art and language, and focussing on themes of delight, womanhood and ornithology.

In the past her work has been described as “the bewildering accoutrements of an inspired mind” and “truly special”. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to witness an Edinburgh exhibition of her work!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=151722482965

?? We are 1!

Wednesday, 21 October 2009, 19:00 – 21:00
LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street

The relaunched LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing has now been open for a whole year! Join us for some cake, chat and musical entertainment courtesy of the Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus and the Gaytars.

http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=155096303564&index=1

?? Queer Mutiny (film + video dept)

Wednesday, 21 October 2009. 19:00 – 22:30
The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place

Once more Queer Mutiny converges upon ACE for an evening of what we’ll loosely term entertainment. Instead of having a long list of films we want you to bring some. Films, documentaries, TV shows (short ones). If you’ve got the DVD we’ll watch it. If you bring your home made porn, we will provide sarcastic commentary so be warned.

On a hopefully unrelated note, we now have access to a pretty decent video camera. Do you have any ideas of what to do with it? Also a mini-meeting from 7pm to 7:30 to clear up details about the upcoming benefit.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=149343666661

?? Codebloc

Wed 21 Oct – Wed 21 Oct (Monthly on the third Wednesday)
Auld Hoose pub

Tired of mainstream programming? Does the prospect of banging out yet another database front-end with rounded corners not hold the interest it once did? Have you had enough of Java, C++, Python, Perl, C#, or Ruby? Do you yearn for higher order programming? Metaprogramming? Toy Languages? Or perhaps you are curious about more abstract and advanced programming techniques? Are Looking to write the next ‘map reduce’? Do you want to know how compilers work? Or maybe, Is the tech meetup just not techie enough for you? Come to the pub!

http://groups.google.com/group/codebloc/

?? Forest Publications presents The Golden Hour

Wednesday, 21 October 2009 at 20:00 - 01:00
The Forest Café, 3 Bristo Place

WORDS: Jane McKie – the poet brings it! It being her new book – “When the Sun Turns Green”. Al White – Tickling little poems. Kirsti Wishart – pushes your dial as far as it will go with her new chapbook “How We Discovered the Deep”. Jane Griffiths – mysteriously resonant poems about home, exile and shifting frontiers.

MUSIC: Pockets – the uke bastard. Silent Theory Orchestra – spoken word layered on looped guitar and “sounds”. FoxGang – Incredible, ravaged, cosmic rock ‘n’ roll!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=182231405294

?? Subtext at the GRV this Wednesday with Cai Williams.

Wednesday, 21 October 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
the grv 36 guthrie st

SUBTEXT; Is a brand new free weekly Wednesday electronic night at The GRV, showcasing the best of Edinburgh’s electronic Dj talent.

This week we Have Cai Williams. He is another Split regular, playing the best in funky techno. http://www.myspace.com/caiwill

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=156269819402

?? JUNGLEDUB

Wednesday, 21 October 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
THE BONGO CLUB

This week featuring:

11-12.15AM DJ DUCK – DUBSTEP
12.15-1.30AM TACTUS (ABAGA RECORDS) DUBSTEP
01.30-3AM DD (DIRT) JUNGLE

UPSTAIRS – REGGAE / DUB / DANCEHALL – Brother Most Rightious

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=153054734999

?? Edinburgh.pm

Edinburgh Perl Mongers was established in July 1999 to provide Perl coders in the Central Scotland area with a forum for educating, problem solving, job seeking, collaboration, socialising and whatever else you fancy Regular social meeting : 4th Thursday of the month. 7:30pm at Guildford Arms on West Register Street.

http://edinburgh.pm.org/

?? Drupal Scotland Meetup

Thursday, 22nd October 2009, 8pm onwards

Are you a web developer who wants to discuss the Drupal content management system with others? Drupal Scotland has started regular meetings again.

The next planned chat-over-a-pint is Thursday 22 October at the Guildford Arms, 1 West Register Street, Edinburgh EH2 2AA

http://groups.drupal.org/node/28866

?? SUCKAPUNCH LAUNCH NIGHT

Thursday, 22 October 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
THE BONGO CLUB

DJ HILTON GOWN (GHANTIN), DD (DIRT), TEKAMINE (JUNGLEDUB)

Edinburghs new and only night dedicated to beats with a heavy bassline,
Expect to hear mainly Bassline House, Fidget House, Speed Garage with elements of dubstep. Our night isnt focused strongly on genres but more around the bassline and the specfic sound we are looking for. Expect to see different established DJ’s and up and coming DJ’s from the Edinburgh clubbing circuit.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=152970556115

?? RIOTS NOT DIETS! riot grrrls night

Thursday, 22 October 2009 at 19:00 – 00:00
FOREST CAFE Edinburgh, 3 Bristo Place

PROJECTIONS: RIOT GRRRL MOVEMENT IN EUROPE AND AMERICA IN THE NINETIEES, ANARCHA FEMINIST FESTIVAL CLITFEST, QUEERRUPTION DOCUMENTARY

(JO)ANNE BONNY pirate DJ – all-female and female fronted punk bands from all over the world

CONFIRMED PERFORMERS AND BANDS:

SELLOTAPE – abrasive but loveable noiseniks – www.myspace.com/sellotapemusic

DEBORAH with SILENT THEORY ORCHESTRA – looped guitar, spoken word, poetry

ANNA – poems reading and performance

GIO & SCOUTT – angry girls punk

SCOUTTS BAND raw folk

OTHER BANDS t.b.c.

Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan benefit stall, Anarchafeminist and D.I.Y. GIRLZ ZINES stall

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=156881915652

?? Uke Boogie OCT09!

Thursday, 22 October 2009, 20:00 – 23:00
The Bowery, 2 Roxburgh Place

The best Ukulele open mic night in town. Happy night hosted by pockets *Kazookeylele Kid* and Alex *Melodica Muncher*. bring your ukulele and rock out hard style, or play us some calm ukulele to melt our minds!

Play ukulele in one of the best bars in town The Bowery! “POW POW POW”. We have a NGA policy, that means “No Guitars Allowed!” You can play other instruments like mandolin. Or flute. Or spoons but no guitars! This is our 9th Uke Boogie. The next will be our 10th, and it’s going to be bigger than your faces all put together.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=157696203146

?? DEFINITION – 2nd BIRTHDAY

Friday, 23 October 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
Sneaky Pete’s, 73 Cowgate

Underground house, electro, minimal and techno influenced by the sounds of Sonar, Berghain, Pressure and Fabric.

Featuring residents Mark Balneaves and Martin Lightbody plus special birthday guests Matt Dirt (ex-Skint) LIVE and ToykoBlu main man Iain Gibson.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=79325889945

?? MarchéMarché

Saturday, 24 October 2009, 12:00 – 18:00
The Bowery, 2 Roxburgh Place

Boutique, craft fair, five-and-dime, mart…..whatever you want to call it, the MarchéMarché bazaar brings you all the affordable quintessential treats and trinkets you can’t live without. Cunningly devised by Edinburgh’s finest creative trio, The Bowery, together with the creative input from Edinburgh based embroidery revolutionist Susie Brown of Susiemaroon and tip-top kitsch crafter Kirsty Anderson of Wooden Tree.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=171889811082

?? Feed the Birds Day

Sat 24 Oct 2009, 10.00 am — 4.00 pm
John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Join RSPB to find out about feeding the birds in your garden

http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/1022

?? Art Workshop: Community

Sunday, 25 October 2009, 13:00 – 17:00
LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe St

The second of our art workshop afternoons, this time with the theme of community. Sessions are facilitated and materials provided. Come along and try new ways of expressing yourself.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=107889979710

?? EZC presents ‘Haunted House Halloween Double Bill!”

Wednesday, 28 October 2009, 19:00 – 23:00
The GRV, Guthrie Street

Hausu (1977) – Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076162/

Ghosthouse (1989) aka. La Casa 3 – Directed by Umberto Lenzi – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093090/

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=159809217995

?? The Slime of Miss Jean Brodie – Writers’ Bloc Halloween Show

Thursday, 29 October 2009, 20:00 – 23:00
Pleasance Cabaret Bar, 60 The Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ

Late October is traditionally the time of year when our ancestors huddled closer to the fireside, glancing fearfully now and then at the rattling door lest the storm outside was about to unleash some frightful creature of the night upon them.

Well, never mind all that bollocks. This is the 21st century, after all, and the thing to do at Halloween is huddle round is your pint, as those creatures of the night Writers’ Bloc read tales of mayhem and immoderate threat in the Pleasance Cabaret Bar.

This outing does promise a more feminine – if not necessarily softer – side of Bloc than usual, with Morag Edward, Jane McKie and new Bloc star Kirsti Wishart all presenting new stories for your delectation.

All this plus the usual undead European white males. We can’t promise you the crème de la crème, but perhaps the crème de la slime….

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=156771947668

?? Forest Cafe Halloween Party – Bewitched By Drama

Friday, 30 October 2009 at 20:00 – 01:00
Forest Cafe, 3 Bristo Place

If your problem is ghosts and spooks and ghouls then call Rent A Ghost! Traditional Halloween games plus Vampire jazz,Zombie Strippers,ghostly screams of horror and all manner and means of wickness at our Sabbat of mayhem,depravity and spookyness.

OOOOOOOOOH! Our WEREWOLF DJ will make your ears bleed and cry for mercy by means of his… PRETERNATURAL FUNKYNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All fuiled by the decoction of the most Devillish and obscene… CAULDRON OF WITCHES BREW!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=143342913737

?? Spooky Plants at Samhuinn

Sat 31 Oct 2009, 1.00 pm — 3.00 pm
Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

It’s Samhuinn, more widely known today as Hallowe’en, marking the end of the summer and the beginning of the pagan new year. Find out which foods & plants are symbolic to this time of year and which are just plain spooky!

http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/909

?? How Do You Use Plants?

Sat 31 Oct 2009, 10.00 pm — 12.00 noon
Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Ethnomedica will be collecting stories of how you or your family have used plants. The stories will be made available online and will form a valuable record of how plants in Scotland have been used.

http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/1044

?? Samhuinn Fire Festival

Saturday, 31 October 2009, 21:00 – 23:00
The Royal Mile – Castle Esplanade to Parliament Square

Samhuinn is a modern retelling of an ancient story – the battle between light and dark, summer and winter.

The Green Man is starting to decay as the seasons draw colder. His darkness is arising, and it will manifest itself as the Horned God, King of the Winter. The two kings, and their forces of magical creatures, will do battle with fire, ritual and drums for the hand of the all powerful Goddess.

Join us in our spectacular staging of this eternal story, where light battles dark, summer battles winter, and the future of the world is at stake.

The procession of the summer and winter courts sets off from the Castle Esplanade, Royal Mile, Edinburgh — at 9pm, Saturday 31st October.

This event is not ticketed, but we hope you will love it and give a donation to one of our bucketeers, to help us stage this magical event again.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=181401433452

?? Talking Trees Storytelling – Native American Tales

Sun 1 Nov 2009, 2.00 pm — 3.00 pm
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway

Hear wonderful Native American stories, brought back from the United States by the Talking Trees Storytellers. Part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.

http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/982

?? Philosophy Conference: Tye Workshop

This workshop is devoted to Michael Tye’s new book, Consciousness Revisited (MIT, 2009). It will be held on the 6th November in room G.06 of the Dugald Stewart Building. Michael Tye will be in attendance. All are welcome.

http://www.philosophy.ed.ac.uk/events/TyeWorkshop.html

?? Chemistry Week Public Lecture

Friday, 06 November 2009, 19:30 – 20:30
School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road

It’s Chemistry week and Paul Murray from the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh will be giving a lecture on the Chemistry of Food. Come and find out about the Chemistry you eat with loads of amazing facts and demonstrations!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=139313332355

?? Glorious Glass

Sat 7 Nov 2009, 1.00 pm — 3.00 pm
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (find us), Temperate Palmhouse

This is a great oportunity to see photographs of the modern range of glasshouses under construction as well as archive photographs of the older glasshouses and the Regius Keepers of the time. With the Garden Rangers

http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/910

?? The Science of Wood

Sun 8 Nov 2009, 1.00 pm — 4.00 pm
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway

Wood is an increasingly important renewable material that is used to make a wide range of products. Find out which wood properties are important for different uses, how they are measured, and how they vary between species and within trees. With Edinburgh Napier University

http://www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/event-details/1009

?? A One Day Workshop on Hedonism

11 November 2009, 10.30am-5pm

Edinburgh University Department of Philosophy and the Scots Philosophy Association presents a workshop on hedonism.

http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/emason/hedonism.html

?? PAPER X MEGAZINE ISSUE 2 LAUNCH

Thursday, 12 November 2009, 19:00 – 21:00
THE BOWERY @THE ROXY ART HOUSE, 2 ROXBURGH PLACE, EDINBURGH

Welcome to issue 2 of Paper X! Paper X is a unique platform for artists and writers to showcase their work. The open submissions policy has netted an astounding volume of work – locally, nationally, and internationally, with over 80 artists and writers represented.

There are some new developments in issue 2, including the 3 new Paper X directories. These directories contain a real mix of works – this means more work gets in, its like 3 mini group shows. Also the directories give an overall flavour of what has been sent in.

Plus there is an extended writers platform with some fantastic pieces including Catherine Paytons Moustaches, Gemma Nelsons Ecstasy Stacy, Oli Higham – Am I of sound mind, and Chirly and Chancer the talking fish, and many more.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=153131873086

?? Meadows Festival AGM 2009

Thursday, 12 November 2009, 19:30 – 21:00
Tollcross Community Centre, Tollcross Primary School, 117 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh EH3 9QG

The Annual General Meeting of the Meadows Festival Association will be held at Tollcross Community Centre on Thursday 12 November 2009 at 7.30 p.m. The Meadows Festival is run by a small group of local people who are the members of the Association. It can’t happen without community support. We have started planning our 2010 Festival, but we always welcome new help and new blood.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=196046841144

Crossposted from my blog.

Geek discussion easy reply checklist meme

2009-10-19T00:49:25Z

For my reference and those interested;

And an older USENET POSTING objection form letter.

Anyone have any more?

Crossposted from my blog.

Finally

2009-10-05T22:30:24Z

I can now forgive They Might Be Giants for their earlier misleading comments.

Crossposted from my blog.

An 1.5TB external hard drive

2009-09-24T16:09:15Z

I’m looking to purchase one very soon. Amazon has it’s cheapest at £89.99 (Seagate Expansions 1.5TB External Desktop USB 2.0 Hard Drive), free delivery. PC world has the same drive online for £93, though you can buy online and pickup (and take back if it breaks) IRL. dabs.com has it for 117 – s’like fuck that shit.

Does anyone have any recommendations for hardware shopping sites I should check out that do good deals and service? Thanks!

Crossposted from my blog.

September Things and Stuff

2009-09-08T05:02:51Z

September’s here again….

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H8RxNeHKgNU

It’s 5am. Do you know where your sun is? Still well beyond the horizon. Damn it, going to bed when it’s not daylight feels wrong..

The wiki has been separated into pages, oOo! I’ve decided to go with a spaces/groups/etc section taxonomy, shall see how far that gets me..

Check it @ http://edinburgh.thingsandstuff.org

Now for some events. I’d recommend the Doors Open Day. Hae a gander at what’s available on the site, plan a trip around the city, whatnot.

?? WEEKLY PROGRAM 7th – 13th SEPTEMBER
Various dates, various events, various arts, various facts, various moods, all at The Forest, 3 Bristo Place.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=128035906546

?? Edinburgh TechMeetup
Wed, 9th Sep, 7.00pm
Floor 8, Appleton Tower, Crichton St (map)

Networking sounds like something that you do if you’re in PR or sales, so we don’t call it that and we don’t make it feel like that. There’s no name badges, no canapés. There’s just pizza and beer, a projector and a load of techies arguing about stuff. Come along to a TechMeetup and meet who else is involved in your tech scene.

http://techmeetup.co.uk/

?? LGBT Self-harm Self-help Course
Wednesday, 09 September 2009, 19:30 – 21:00
LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe St

This course will run weekly for 6 weeks. This course is for people who self-harm; we will explore what we mean by self-harm, what can cause it and keep it going. We will look at coping strategies, ways of keeping control, and how to deal with scarring. It’s not all about stopping, unless you want to. Facilitated by Merrick Pope. To book, just email the Centre.

If you want to chat ahead of time and decide if the course is for you, contact kate@lgbthealth.org.uk , or 0131 523 1107 (Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays).

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=135751799605

?? JUNGLEDUB
Wednesday, 09 September 2009 at 23:00 – 02:25
THE BONGO CLUB, Holyrood rd

11-12AM Brother Most Rightious DUB / REGGAE / DANCEHALL
12-1.30AM TAMOBANTER (Ghantin) DUBSTEP
1.30- 3AM DD (DIRT) JUNGLE

Also Calling all Reggae, Dub, Ragga, Dubstep and Jungle DJ’s and art

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=155066655209

?? Subtext wednesday at the GRV
Wednesday, 09 September 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
The GRV

Technotechno!, feat. ZUNI aka James Barbour (UTI Records), Ingen

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=132085571503

?? Hopetoun House Green Gym
Sat 12 Sep 2009, 10am – 1pm
Hopetoun House, South Queensferry

Join Hopetoun’s Green Volunteers and help our Ranger with conservation work in the Grounds. If you attend 5 sessions you will earn a free Hopetoun House Grounds Season Ticket worth £18.00. Feel free to bring lunch and stay all day. Booking essential – contact 0131 319 3956.

http://www.theoracle.co.uk/other_event_specific.cfm?EventName=Hopetoun%20House%20Green%20Gym&StartDate=2009-09-12%2000:00:00

?? Film night (and meeting)
Wednesday, 16 September 2009, 19:00 – 23:30
The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place

A new era in Queer Mutiny begins, one where we’ve got the use of ACE for the 3rd Wednesday of the month till the end of the year and possibly beyond. We’re going to be having a meeting about queer politics, the next party and of course stuff. Come along at 7pm if you want to get involved. Bring food and cake.

If you don’t want to get involved come along 8:30pm when we’ll be showing a (hopefully) cool film. BRING A FILM if you’ve got one you think we should see.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=127604820877

?? STEPBACK – Various Bass Music – £Free
Friday, 18 September 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
Sneaky Pete’s, Cowgate

Stephen Brown joins WolfJazz & Keyte for a taste of his live show. It has recently taken him accross Europe and has him lined up for sets at Fabric later this year.

Stephen was discovered by Derrick May after his warm up set at the legendary Venue. Derrick was so impressed that he signed Stephen up straight away and has had many successful releases on the Transmat lable. He then moved to DJ Bones lable ‘Subject Detroit’ of which he now runs the sub-lable ‘Subject Scotland’. Also having tracks on Soma, D-jax as well as his own lable ‘RealTime Records’.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=128893027396

?? Talking about Safe Drinking
Tuesday, 22 September 2009, 19:00 – 21:00
LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe St

How much is too much? How much should I drink in a week? How do I know when to stop? This workshop will look at safe use of alcohol, tell you what all the guidelines really mean, and offer pointers to resources to those worried about their own or someone else’s drinking.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=106718233425

?? Ladyfest Edinburgh 09
Thursday, 24 September 2009 – Sunday, 27 September 2009
Various locations

Move over Edinburgh Fringe, Ladyfest is back in town. More bijou than last years month long extravaganza, but still the same great tasting
feminist flavours.

Ladyfest is an idea not an ideology. The main aim of Ladyfest Edinburgh is to create an alternative space for the celebration of female creativity. The future of Ladyfest will be built on our need to grasp this free space and continue to make women more visible in the arts, culture and society

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=124272507769

?? Edinburgh Doors Open Day
Start date: 26 September
End date: 27 September
Various locations

Doors Open Day is your chance to explore some of Edinburgh’s architecturally and culturally significant buildings – all for free. From heritage landmarks to the city’s newest architecture, Doors Open Day offers free access to properties that are either not usually open to the public or would normally charge an entry fee. The event also offers the public an opportunity to find out more about the capital’s public buildings.

All venues feature behind the scenes tours, activities, exhibitions and/or talks which bring the history of the building and its everyday use to life. Many sites organise additional free activities for children and families.

http://www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/default.asp?page=33

?? By leaves We Live 2009
Saturday, 26 September 2009, 11:00 – 18:00
Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close

The annual one day fair at the Scottish Poetry Library. Stalls, displays and talks. Drop in to browse or buy. Meet publishers, artists, editors, and poets from Scotland and beyond. Listen to talks artists’ books and publishing. For readers, writers, artists, designers, publishers – all welcome. All events are free.

There will be lots of new exhibitors and regulars, including: 20×20magazine; Artist Book Group; Artists Books Online; The Caseroom Press; Essence Press; David Faithfull; The Fruitmarket Gallery Bookshop; Rag-and-Bone Shop Books; The Ingleby Gallery; Hamish MacDonald; Magma Poetry Magazine; Mariscat Press; Metal Rabbit Editions; The Owl & Lion Gallery; Red Squirrel Press; Roncadora Press; Salt + Shaw; Scottish Pamphlet Poetry; Stichill Marigold Press; Mary Thomson; Unbordered Artist’ Books (Susie Goodwin & Anna Davis); Wild Hawthorn Press: the Archive of Ian Hamilton Finlay; Writers’ Bloc.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=147943205379

?? Morningside September Craft Fair
Saturday, 26 September 2009, 10:30 – 16:30
Columcille Centre, 2 Newbattle Terrace

Craft Fairs Scotland carefully select exhibitors to ensure that the standards of crafts are kept high and that there is a varied range of crafts showcased at each event. All exhibitors are featured on our Exhibitors page, with links to their own craft sites.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=120786976390

?? Art Workshop: Relationships
Sunday, 27 September 2009, 13:00 – 17:00
LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe St

The first of three monthly Sunday afternoon drop-in art workshops. Create art around the theme of relationships. Sessions are facilitated and materials provided. Come along and try new ways of expressing yourself.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=110499861215

?? Electro Sexual: Chavs & Neds Theme
Sunday, 27 September 2009 at 23:00 – 03:00
CC Blooms Nightclub, Greenside Place

Electro Sexual continues to go from strength to strength, and this month we have a very special theme and a very special guest. one of the hottest DJs to rock the crowds at Room at the top, DJ Hammy will be bringing his fantastic mix of underground electro beats to Edinburgh’s top electro night!

We will have our photographer in so get yourselves good and chavved up. The best dressed will be featured on our bebo site!!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=130541995837

?? Future Energy Supplies
30 September 2009, 14:00
Castle Room, New Craig, Craighouse Campus, Napier University

Among many other distinguished appointments, Professor Boulton is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. His research is in the field of climatic and environmental change and energy and he leads the Global Change Research Group at Edinburgh University.

Registration is not required. This lecture is free and open to non-members.

http://www.theiet.org/local/uk/scotland/southeast/future_energy.cfm

? milky.x

Crossposted from my blog.

Flying Saucer

2009-09-05T00:09:20Z

martling's fabulous flying contraption at the Dorkbot assisted Dubversion in The Forest hall last week;

That evening I also had great fun pushing 0olong's buttons.

Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens

2009-09-04T21:24:55Z

“A new generation of contact lenses built with very small circuits and LEDs promises bionic eyesight” link

This article made the transhumanist in me squee. A few quotes;

“These lenses don’t give us the vision of an eagle or the benefit of running subtitles on our surroundings yet. But we have built a lens with one LED, which we’ve powered wirelessly with RF. What we’ve done so far barely hints at what will soon be possible with this technology.

“We’ve built several simple sensors that can detect the concentration of a molecule, such as glucose. Sensors built onto lenses would let diabetic wearers keep tabs on blood-sugar levels without needing to prick a finger. …

“We’ve fabricated prototype lenses with an LED, a small radio chip, and an antenna, and we’ve transmitted energy to the lens wirelessly, lighting the LED. …

“The LEDs by themselves merely produce a fuzzy splotch of color in the wearer’s field of vision. Somehow the image must be pushed away from the cornea. One way to do that is to employ an array of even smaller lenses placed on the surface of the contact lens. …

“Normal contact lenses that correct for astigmatism are weighted on the bottom to maintain a specific orientation, give or take a few degrees. I figure the same technique could keep a display from tilting (unless the wearer blinked too often!). …

“The true promise of this research is not just the actual system we end up making, whether it’s a display, a biosensor, or both. We already see a future in which the humble contact lens becomes a real platform, like the iPhone is today, with lots of developers contributing their ideas and inventions. As far as we’re concerned, the possibilities extend as far as the eye can see, and beyond.”

Crossposted from my blog.

SMBC Theater

2009-08-31T12:33:16Z

*discovers that Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal also comes in live action format!*

Crossposted from my blog.

A Things and Stuff update for the latter half of August

2009-08-18T04:33:33Z

As title.

The website has seen many additions as of late. Thanks to the few peeps so far who have contributed links! View it at http://edinburgh.thingsandstuff.org

Also, I’ve been bothering to update Twitter more as of late. Check it at http://twitter.com/tands_edinburgh

The Three Free Fringes:
? PBH’s Free Fringe - http://freefringe.org.uk/
? Laughing Horse’s Free Festival - http://www.laughinghorsecomedy.co.uk/freefestival/index.htm
? Forest Fringe - http://www.forestfringe.co.uk/

plus many free events at:
Festival of Politics - Tuesday 18 to Saturday 22 August - The Scottish Parliament - http://www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk/

and
edinburgh people’s festival - http://www.edinburghpeoplesfestival.org/

?? West Parliament Square Market Week 2
Saturday, 15 August 2009 at 19:00 - Friday, 21 August 2009 at 22:00

For the tenth year running, the Fringe is working to create a vibrant outdoor performance arena, in the heart of the Festival City. During the Festival, a section of the Royal Mile is closed to traffic, and becomes the focus of the City’s carnival atmosphere. A small, dedicated High Street team will be programming stages and other performance areas on and around the High Street, as well as organising an Arts and Crafts Market, in West Parliament Square.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=99472853843

?? Kunt And The Gang at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - FREE!
Friday, 14 August 2009 at 00:45 - Saturday, 22 August 2009 at 01:30

Kunt and the Gang make their Edinburgh Fringe debut with 9 FREE late night shows packed full of fun and filth.14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 and 22 August. As well as the 9 late night free shows at the Meadow Bar we’re doing some other preview slots as follows… some are 20 mins, some are 10 mins, most are free but do check! Surely the funniest, smuttiest and most juvenile turn you’ll see there.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120629329275

?? Courtyard readings - Want to read your poems aloud…?
Monday, 17 August 2009 at 14:00 - Saturday, 29 August 2009 at 15:00
Scottish Poetry Library courtyard
5 Crichton’s Close

Come to the Courtyard Readings at the Scottish Poetry Library, and enjoy an hour of poetry, hosted annually by the School of Poets. Read / perform your own or other writers’ work in any language. Outdoors when the weather is favourable. Not Sundays. Free, non-ticketed

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131698651360

?? Drama Drama Drama
Tuesday, 18 August 2009 at 20:00 - 03:00
The Forest, Bristo Place 3

A night of mayhem and revelry, performance and catharsis. The Forest Drama Drama Drama workshop presents: The blue church of toast. It’s free!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107374412549

?? The Golden Hour - A special festival special
Wednesday, 19 August 2009 at 20:00 - 03:00
August 19th — The Festival Special

Readers / Writers: Jen Hadfield - a remarkably original and inventive poet who recently won the TS Eliot prize. Ryan Van Winkle - poems & stories from the Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library. Nick Holdstock - short stories which grow inside you like golden crocuses. Ericka Duffy - hot new prose from her hot new chapbook called The Succubus! Jason Morton - stories that can eat bricks.

Music / Song Writers: Billy Liar - Acoustic + infectious punk. Jed Milroy - singer songwriter and hunter finally back from the Woods. Withered Hand - intense, eccentric, bittersweet and very wry original songs. + Jonny Berliner - Joyous songs about crustaceans, exhaustion, and glucose. + The Black Diamond Express - a rocking, hell-playing, old time string band.

Visual Amazement: Paper Cinema and Kora - A cast of hand-drawn marionettes are magically brought to life. This is what happens at the accidental meeting of inkblots, photocopies, cardboard, angle-poise lamps, the occasional table, video technology, a laptop and a banana box.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112176443257

?? Audacious FEST - part 2
Thursday, 20 August 2009, 00:00 - 05:00
Bongo Club, Holyrood Road

Part 2 of the Audacious FEST trilogy. Frog Pocket + Dr Bastardo + Koolmorf Widesen + Cyclowns + Extremist + King Tom + Pedigree Scum VJ’s and DJ’s hosting the upstairs room.

FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT!!! cheap drinks. what more could you ask for?

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116826150771

?? WEST END CRAFT & DESIGN FAIR WEEK 2-2
Monday, 17 August 2009 at 11:00 - Thursday, 20 August 2009 at 18:00
Monday, 24 August 2009 at 11:00 - Monday, 31 August 2009 at 18:00
St John’s Church Grounds, 3 Lothian Road

You might be finding it hard to visualise this open-air event, in the tree-filled grounds of a church at the western end of Princes Street - Edinburgh’s main shopping street. We’re confident you won’t find anything quite like this anywhere else in the world.

The makers, designers and artists are selling only what they themselves have produced. Standards are high and there’s plenty of originality and diversity on display. From 90 to 100 exhibitors every day with new faces on Mondays 17th and 24th.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102394112692

?? Flux @ the Fringe w/ LEE MUTCH & SLIKK MICK (fuse)
The Bongo Club, 37 Holyrood Road

This August Flux will be returning to its birth place to bring you three nights of Bongo fuelled rave. After a successful year in Glasgow and summer in Ibiza the Flux residents will be back along with guests from accross Scotland to Mash-up your festival experience.

Tues 18th August
VAN DAMN (WTF!?)

Tues 25th August
LUKE DUBUIS

ELECTRONICA///NUWAVE/// TECHNO/// WONKY ELECTRO/// FIDGET HOUSE - FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT EVERY NIGHT

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128850330849&ref=ts

?? ¦¦¦ I Am Free To Do As You Tell Me ¦¦¦
Middle Meadow Walk
Wednesday 19th of August 2009, From 3pm

A street performance by Steven Morrison which invites the viewer to take control of the artist. Send your instructions via email prior to the performance or come along and direct the performance first hand. The only rule being your instruction must be free for the artist to act out in keeping with the theme of The Festival of Total Art.

http://steven-morrison.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17038393898

?? The Evangenitals With Juli Crockett
Thursday, 20 August 2009 at 21:00
The Forest, 3 Bristo Place

The Evangenitals will play at The Forest Cafe (check them out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals). The Evangenitals are just as country/freak folk/rockabilly/punk as a bar fight in Lego land.

with Edinburgh’s Steph Macleod (http://www.myspace.com/stephmacleod)
who plays a mixture of americana / folk rock and melodramatic popular songs

and P00kah (http://www.myspace.com/tofol)
By influence of hard liquor, soft drugs and lack of regular sunshine a nice blend of acoustic folk rock and alternative rock was created.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109856237028

?? ARTOSCOPIC 3 NEEDS YOU (OPEN SUBMISSIONS)
Friday, 21 August 2009 - 19:00 - 22:00
ST Leonards Railway Tunnel (Innocents railway)

Calling all artists, performers, or anyone with creative intent, or just come along and enjoy the event. The space is St Leonard’s railway tunnel in Edinburgh
it is approx quarter mile both ways so that’s potentially half a mile of space up for grabs length ways but width is just over a metre gutter space and quite high walls 4 metre approx.

This is a great opportunity to flex your creative powers as the space is a challenge but overall it is quite a dynamic space the photos and video on the website makes it look slightly dark but it is reasonably lit your eyes adjust when you are in wear warm clothing last time it was quite windy outside so it created a bit of a wind tunnel

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119409906032

?? Luky 7
The Forest, 3 Bristo Place
Friday, 21 August 2009 at 23:00 - 03:00

SKA & REGGAE NIGHT, with Djs Laurent, Tall Paul & ROBIGAN

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131104962811

?? ¦¦¦ Free [Safe] Sex ¦¦¦
Grassmarket
Friday 21st of August 2009, From 9pm

Get your free Durex condoms from the COME collective’s Free [Safe] Sex completely trust worthy performers.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17038393898

?? BIGGERY FUCKERY - Dance till it stings

The makers of Jiggery Fuckery, Jadery Fuckery, Jadery Thatchery bring you… Biggery Fuckery

DJs: Show & Tell, Jimmy Bastard + Rootmitten (Live set) http://www.myspace.com/rootmitten Videos by Esotericka. BRING 3D GLASSES AND YOUR DISCO SHOES

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118022657076

?? Joke*E*Oke! FANTASTIC FREE SHOW
Thursday, 30 July 2009 at 21:00 - Monday, 24 August 2009 at 21:00

Joke-E-Oke is like karaoke, but with legendary stand-up comedy bits.
Here’s your chance to imitate your favorite stand-up comedians in a live competition! The audience participation show that invites you to flex your favorite funnybone in an homage to classic comedy!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=26813785881

?? Jess Franco & Jean Rollin Double Bill!
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 - 19:00 - 23:00
Brass Monkey, Drummond Street

Edinburgh Zombie Club presents a double whammy of sleaze and flesh ripping!
Oasis Of The Zombies (L’abîme des morts vivants) – 1981 followed by… Grapes Of Death (Les Raisins de la mort) – 1978

?? Dan Meth Cartoon Show @ The Forest, 3 Bristo Pl
Thursday, 27 August 2009 at 20:30 - 03:00

Dan Meth, the award-winning director of countless indie cartoons will be stop by the Forest to show some of his funniest and weirdest films. Later on a Q&A session with the artist…get a straight answer out of him on what you’ve just seen!!! And dance at the end of the night with the Exploding DJ.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108156602453

?? Kabarett’s Kleine Komedie @ the FREE FRINGE
The Voodoo Rooms (Speakeasy), 19a West Register Street
Saturday, 08 August 2009 at 18:05 - Friday, 28 August 2009 at 19:00

Kabarett’s Kleine Komedie is a bite sized, Fringe friendly - FREE TO ALL - edition of Itsy’s Kabarett’s year-round, Edinburgh based alternative variety show.

Expect a darkly humorous alt. variety revue with comedy, freakshow, neo-burlesque performance and macabre musings from Edinburgh’s much loved purveyors of Dark Cabaret: Itsy’s Kabarett.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138601243834

?? PLAYDATE
Saturday, 29 August 2009 at 23:00 - 05:00
Sneaky Pete’s, 73 Cowgate

Festival Special: Stewart + Steven w/ BEEFY + WOLFJAZZ (Trade Union/Stepback/Beards)

They’ve been in a relationship for a long time and are finally bringing it to Playdate. http://myspace.com/edinburghplaydate http://myspace.com/stepbackedinbra http://myspace.com/beefy4wolfjazz4eva http://myspace.com/beefywolfjazz

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114850003526

?? warmheart & friends
Sunday, 30 August 2009, 19:30 - 22:30
Himalaya, 20 South Clerk Street

come play & enjoy a lovely soul filled musical evening to end the festival with warmheart & friends in the humble Himalaya…

Warmheart & friends will be sharing their words & music with a lovely acoustic unplugged concert for you all…

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114445979825

?? OLD HAT BOOKS - The New Radical Libray at the Forest
Monday, 08 June 2009 at 17:00 - Sunday, 30 August 2009 at 20:00
The Forest, 3 Bristo Place

Old Hat Books is a new Radical Library which will be opening soon in The Front of Room of The Forest Cafè.

The Library will be full of Radical Books and Hats wich anyone can borrow.
Organized collectively and run by volunteers, we will hopefully be running workshop in the Library Space (things like book binding, discussion on gender in the activist movement, knitting, etc…) and create a community that you want to get involved in.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=78752814566

?? Electrosexual Fetish Theme Night
Sunday, 30 August 2009 at 23:00 - 05:00
CC Blooms Nightclub, Greenside Place

Lucky Luciano & Kenwai supply the mix of dirty, grimey, wonky, glitchy electro beats and chewed up & spat out remixes and bootlegs. You wont hear this blend of music anywhere else! Enjoy the last night of the festival and dont be afraid to indulge your deepest darkest desires. Whatever your fetish, show it off here. There are sure to be some crazy sights and banging tunes, and as usual, some great drinks promo’s on offer.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143977931557

?? TK09 - TotalKunst August 2009

Giuliana Sommantico: 17th – 19th August
Black Box: 20th – 23rd August
Suitcase Series #1: Fitzrovia Noir 24th – 30th August

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109604005059

mm.xx

Crossposted from my blog.

Progressive social movement FAIL

2009-08-17T22:52:41Z

So there have been a number of organisations in the UK rallying for social change and reform on certain issues where progressive ideas and methodology could Make Things Better.

Two of the larger events that have happened within the last several months have been the Convention on Modern Liberty and Reboot Britain.

One might think, fantastic, two groups looking to question the status quo by exploring and discussing themes such as civil liberties, public services, digital rights, etc, both of which have tried to garner and harness input from the common man through the blogosphere, Twitter, etc.

One might think “well, I’d guess there’d be some amount of overlap between the groups interested in what came out of both of these hubs of discourse, no?”, but google “reboot britain” “convention on modern liberty” and you get three results.

S’like, WTF? Come on now, you spent all that time, effort and money on a location, speakers, putting websites and videos online, etc, and you don’t seem to have made an attempt to have a look around to see what affiliations could be made so that you could point interested parties at each other.

While top down systems of organisation in social movements are a bad idea, there’s definitely an argument that, if you have the resources and want to help, then you can be an open hub and help create connections between the grassroots so they can gain knowledge (news, opinion, tactics, etc).

I read a fantastic article by Harry Halpin and Kay Summer in Turbulence on this subject a few months ago (I know Harry, anarchist and W3C semantic web guru, from a web geek unconference at Edinburgh Uni a couple of years ago and then through The Forest).

“Will the upsurge in activity around climate change and the food crisis repeat the cycle of the movement of movements over the past decade – momentary visibility then dissolution? Harry Halpin and Kay Summer say ‘yes’, unless different models of organising are embraced.” link

It ties in with the reasoning behind why I’m so interested in using open source content management systems as distributed social networks so that one can be properly autonomous with the software it takes to create a presence on-line while allowing information of various types to flow between oneself and other agents.

Back to the issue at hand. The lame duck here appears to have been Reboot Britain. Google for “convention on modern liberty” “open rights group” and you get 1370 results, while “reboot britain” “open rights group” returns a relatively paltry 53. I’m sure the latter could have done more (something? anything?) in the way of saying “oh, btw, why not checkout what the leading digital rights organisation in the UK has to say?”.

But the point remains - ironically one that Howard Rheingold touches on at his Reboot Britain talk (no, I can’t link directly to it as they’ve decided to wall their videos in one monolithic flash app, though it’s the far bottom presentation on here) - that in the age of the internet, you have to acquire and/or strengthen certain kinda of literacies to make the most of what is available, i.e., why should you trust (or not) certain sources and arguments and how to step back and seek out alternative and similar points of view so you don’t miss a trick.

“Will our grandchildren grow up knowing how to pluck the answer to any question out of the air, summon their social networks to assist them, organize political movements and markets online? Will they collaborate to solve problems, participate in online discussions as a form of civic engagement, share and teach and learn? Or will they grow up knowing that the online world is a bewildering puzzle to which they have few clues, a dangerous neighbourhood where their identities can be stolen, a morass of spam and porn, misinformation and disinformation, urban legends, hoaxes, and scams?”

I’m not as sceptical as Douglas Rushkoff in his recent op-ed An End to Movements where he argues “The best techniques for galvanizing a movement have long been co-opted and surpassed by public relations and advertising firms. Whether a movement is real or Astroturf has become almost impossible for even discerning viewers to figure out.”

Saying that, he concludes with “By creating and branding a movement, even the most well-meaning activists are disconnecting from terra firma, and instead entering the world of marketing, public opinion, and language selection. Potential participants, meanwhile, are distracted from whatever on-the-ground, constructive and purposeful activity they might do. They get to join an abstracted movement, and participate by belonging instead of doing, or blogging instead of acting.” which, while I feel is still OTT and misses the worth of organisations as forums for knowledge sharing and how one can use elements of trust to network and plurality to belong to or have a form of solidarity with groups with differing schools of thought, there are certain truths to - that the map is not the territory and that one needs to see how far they can act and communicate in their own life, both on a local and global scale, to tie together their principles and lifestyles and give a good example as to how things can be done differently or what policies and changes we should be demanding from those in (and out of) governance.

I think I might have said what I wanted to get across there :)

Crossposted from my blog.

The UK Pirate Party

2009-08-12T16:55:04Z

I think the UK Pirate Party will be a worthy proponent of certain progressive views on digital rights and related issues in the current UK parliamentary system, but that they will need some at least basic general economic, education, health, security, etc policies/affiliations/agreements, a la the Green Party, to draw attention from more average or undecided voters.

Hmm, I need to do political science research on varieties of devolved, participatory and direct democracy to see what possible progressive systems and methods have been suggested as a pluralistic alternative to the party whip system.. Also, more teeth to select committees? Thoughts or suggestions?

Crossposted from my blog.

Things and Stuff: Start of August update

2009-08-01T05:55:42Z

Oh gawd, festival time is coming to be upon us. More on that soon.

For now, misc things and stuff.

?? LGBT Community Summer Fete!
Saturday, 01 August 2009, 13:00 - 18:00
LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street

Join us for a flame grilled burger and meet the LGBT Community Groups in Edinburgh. There’ll be a raffle, a fruit and veg stall hosted by the Edinburgh Community Food Initiative, a bake sale, music, a petting zoo and more……A fun filled afternoon! Free entry, and all proceeds from stalls are going to your Centre! Everyone welcome for this family friendly fun!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=104259364372

?? The GrassMarkets
Sunday, 02 August 2009, 12:00 - 20:00

Market stalls will include organic, home-grown and farmer’s food produce, plants and flowers, interesting crafts and applied arts, cool collectibles, and bric-a-brac, a mixture of all the good things in life.The GrassMarkets will also feature live entertainment: a programme of soft summer music.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=96678537313

?? Namaste Celebration
Sunday, 02 August 2009, 19:30 - 22:30
The Salisbury Centre, 2 Salisbury Road

A beautiful summer evening of shared music, insight & poetry from some of Edinburgh’s loveliest performers. With four diverse yet unified acts sharing their talents & energies on the night.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=102256008163

?? REGGAE SUNDAY
Sunday, 02 August 2009, 20:00 - 03:00
The Forest, 3 Bristo Place

Live Bands & Heavy dubs

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=109427218790

?? B-Movie Double Bill
Monday, 03 August 2009, 19:00 - 23:30
The Jekyll & Hyde Pub, Hanover Street

By grace of God we got another week of B-movies before the Festival, and are celebrating this with a double bill of Nazi themed horror.

The first film will start at 7:30, as usual, but getting there early for good seats and a chat with your fellow B-Teamer is always fun. It’s down in the Crypt as ever, and theres a giant sign if you get lost. Bring a friend :) Free entry and free popcorn. So no excuse.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=111718707961

?? The Naughty Boys
Tuesday, 04 August 2009, 09:35 - 01:00
The Forest, 3 bristo place

Celebrate the begining of the Forest’s Licensed August. Beer and Wine available at the bar! The Real First Night of the Festival: Once a year the elusive and enigmatic Naughty Boys get together for a session of live, improvised, performance. Poems vs computers vs drums vs salvaged keyboards and whatever else we can find.

Featuring:
* Dan Seizure on keys and computer loop.
* Peter Perfido on drums
* Stevie Paterson on keys and percussion noises.
Ryan Van Winkle — Spoken Words

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=115231036539

?? Split festival special feat >>>Dirt<<< and Coalition
Tuesday, 04 August 2009, 23:30 - 05:05
Cabaret Voltaire, Blair Street

Split festival special part 1

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=137519237177

?? ANNEX
Wednesday, 05 August 2009, 21:00 -03:00
The Forest, 3, Bristo Place

Martin and Michael from Total Kunst (aka DJs cyanblack and smutley) bring you a night of full-on, dance floor friendly electronica. Their musical alter-egos will be spinning everthing from 80’s synth pop through to techno and drum & bass from 9.00 pm to 3.00 am. A ridiculously good time is guaranteed. Body poppers especially welcome.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=109681918657

?? JUNGLEDUB
Wednesday, 05 August 2009, 23:00 - 03:00
Bongo Club, Holyrood Road

DUB / REGGAE / DANCEHALL / JUNGLE

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=125063208523

?? Saint Judes Infirmary gig - Edinburgh Jazz & Blue Festival
Friday, 07 August 2009, 18:00 - 22:00
Central Library Reading Room, George IV Bridge

Saint Jude’s will be playing a special acoustic gig in the spectacular Reading Room of the Central Library on George IV bridge in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues festival. Free admission (tickets required).

Also on the bill will be American poetry chosen by poet Don Paterson and read by distinguished film actor Angus MacInnes. American jazz played by guitarist Don Paterson, bassist Brian Shiels, saxophonist Keith Edwards and trombone player Dave Batchelor. Ryan Van Winkle from the Scottish Poetry Library will also be joining us as a very special guest!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=124930509065

?? Norman Silver and The Gold @ The Forest
Friday, 07 August 2009 at 18:00 - 03:00
The Forest, Bristo Place 3

The Forest is proud to present Norman silver and the Gold gig playing live at The Forest on august 7th! Come and be entertained by The Gold, a morose country and western band, followed by Denghis, a heavy blue-collar country rock band. To keep up the good vibes DJ John Quo will rock the turntable and the bands will create a mellow psychedelic country-ish jam. Don’t miss it!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=120691982808

?? te POOKa presents: In Bed with Lady Lawson
Saturday, 08 August 2009 at 21:00 - 03:00
The Big Red Door, 10 Lady Lawson Street

Lady Lawson invites only the daring into her magical boudoir. At her request, te POOKa have opened their (Big Red) Door to the public! If you step inside, Maid Marion will show you to your seat and tickle your fancy (how is your posterior feeling this evening, sir?), while members of the household invite you to play with them in a whirlwind of circus strangeness and cabaret mayhem. We promise you acrobatics, trapeze, music, storytelling, poetry, parlour games… and anything else you can think of!

Who knows – the lady might even invite you into her bed… This is the ball you never went to, the surprise party that wasn’t thrown for you, the adventure you always wanted. If you dare to play with us in the flickering shadows of our home, you will open your heart to the enchantment and remember that life is beautiful…

Sat 8th, Sat 15th, Sat 22nd, Sun 23rd, Sat 29th
9pm–late or 11pm–late, please check timetable for each date
Entry: Roll the dice

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=237416750299

?? mindful peace walk
Sunday, 09 August 2009, 09:00 - 10:15
outside cornerstone cafe at st johns (round trip), princes st meets lothian road

At the beginning of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, this silent walking meditation will be led by the Community of Interbeing, who follow the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as a meditation practice. Accompanied children are welcome.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=95882263016

?? Juli and the Evangenitals
Sunday, 09 August 2009 at 21:00 - 00:30
The Forest, Bristo Place 3

Edinburgh’s Steph Macleod and the Winey Shuffle (http://www.myspace.com/stephmacleod) who plays a mixture of americana / folk rock and melodramatic popular songs. Acoustic Butterfly (http://www.myspace.com/acousticbutterfly). They will be playing lovely acoustic and celtic folk. And last but not least: Scunner (http://www.myspace.com/scunnerscotland)
Alternative people play alternative music.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=122160768784

?? Fooling Workshops
Monday, 10 August 2009 at 13:00 - Wednesday, 12 August 2009 at 17:00
Bristo Hall, 3 Bristo Place

Improvised Theatre Workshops in Bristo Hall above the Forest Cafe from 1-5. Open to performers and non-performers alike because in fooling we’re all only just beginning anyway. Suitable for anyone looking to explore theatre for a greater sense of alive-ness in the present moment. This work may be emotionally rigorous. Festival Performance opportunites may well be available for those who are keen. Jo and Me have been working with the Nomadic Academy of Fools for a year now touring, learning and performing round the UK and Europe with a guy called Jonathon Kay and we are eager to share. Get in touch or check out the websites if you need more information.

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=104041737486

?? Drama Drama Drama @ The Forest
Tuesday, 11 August 2009 at 18:00 - 03:00
The Forest, Bristo Place 3

Drama drama drama presents: The blue church of toast.

A night of mayhem and revelry, performance and catharsis. It’s free!

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=122056327584

?? Blue Tuesday @ The Forest
Tuesday, 11 August 2009 at 21:00 - 03:00
The Forest, Bristo Place 3

Tonight, in a special Festival event, the Bluesfather is proud to present:

Al Shields and the Wilted Roses – pure Scots Americana. Sam Hird – melodic pain. Edward and the McCalls – reflections with balls. Jym Ponter – straightahead angst. Hannah Nicholson – sunny, funny and wry. Mobius Loop (from Preston) – reggae rascals. Nick Splinter Smith – those ‘ole cosmic blues. Hannah O’Reilly (from New Zealand) – Billie Holiday de nos jours. The Bluesfather – it’s the modern blues

http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=126199662703

?? WASABI DISCO 007 WITH DAVID BARBAROSSA
Saturday, 15 August 2009 at 23:00 - 05:00
Sneaky Pete’s, 73 Cowgate

This month WASABI DISCO 007 is ecstatic to have the long awaited overdue début of DAVID BARBAROSSA!! Barbarossa is a long time friend of WASABI DISCO, rumour has it the pair used to share the decks in the second room for the mighty Optimo during there Venue/Ego days and we’re know for being wee lovable hairy sex dwarfs as much as enormously endowed disc jockys with each others 12 inches never far from their hands! [Arf, sorry.......]

http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116572861850

Crossposted from my blog.

Steampunk

2009-08-01T03:41:55Z

“DREAMS OF STEAM PRESENTS
THE ARRIVAL OF AIRSHIP R1001

“A Steampunk Night behind tePOOKa’s Big Red Door / £10 / 8.30pm - 3am

“After the R1001’s recent tour of the borders of Her Majesty’s empire and colonies the airship and her crew will be joining the Lady Lawson for their quarterly Rest and Recreation.

“We cordially invite all Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Realm to adorn their finery and join us aboard the R1001 when it docks behind tePOOKa’s Big Red Door on the 21st of August 2009 at 20:30hrs for Edinburgh’s first Steampunk extravaganza. Entertainment will be provided from our New York colony by Mr Thomas Truax and a demonstration of the South American charango from Messrs Karmadillo. A radio play shall be performed live. All under the watchful eye of our announcer Mr Andrew J. Wilson.”

Also,

Steampunks At Comic-Con International, 2009

The broke-down steampunk dystopian Magic Kingdom of Epic Mickey

Crossposted from my blog.

Old new augmented reality

2009-07-31T05:53:13Z

These are a few weeks old but I couldn’t be bothered posting at the time. Now I’m trying to work through older tabs..

IBM’s ‘Seer’ Brings Augmented Reality to Wimbledon “Everything from tennis matches to dining and points of interest will be plotted using the combination of GPS, camera, compass. Users get a ‘heads up display’ to so they can see exactly what it is they are looking at. One added feature that other AR apps don’t use is tying in live data. For instance if you point your G1 towards a tennis court, users not only get basic information like the court number, but also details about the current and subsequent matches.”

and

TwittARound - augmented reality Twitter viewer on the iPhone “It shows live tweets around your location on the horizon. Because of video see-through effect you see where the tweet comes from and how far it is away.”

Crossposted from my blog.

Pretty demos

2009-07-25T08:50:35Z

elevated - a stunning 4 kilobyte demo released in April of this year. I wish this computer could play HD video. 4 friggin K! The app uses Perlin noise procedural textures (a more detailed explanation here) among other things to get it that small.

Also from April, Excelence, done in Excel.

And, again, the fantastically psychedelic palindromeda suger, not for epileptics. The switchback occurs at 2:00.

That and a couple of my older favourites by tpolm; the sorrowful Staying Pictures and the eerie tomthumb.

Crossposted from my blog.

Honduras

2009-07-20T00:34:17Z

I’ve more or less been on the fence regarding which side to believe more in the recent Honduran political crisis.

One of the things that stuck out to me at the time was the report that, sayz Wikipedia; “Several hundred people recruited by Zelaya, and led by Zelaya himself, went to an air force base and took possession of the referendum materials stored there, which were then guarded by the national police.”

Now it’s come out that “authorities have seized 45 computers containing certified election results for a constitutional election that never happened. The election had been scheduled for June 28, but on that day the president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted. The ‘certified’ and detailed electronic records of the non-existent election [n.b. 'referendum' actually -milk] show Zelaya’s side having won overwhelmingly” link

Putting aside the fucked up culture of extreme bias you seem to get from all sides in situations like these in South American countries, this is a fantastic twist. I was more against Zelaya at first, then for, now I’m back on the fence again. I’m not going to bother to explain why [online anyway] as there’s so many issues to take into account, but christ, this is an interesting drama llama.

Crossposted from my blog.

Milky’s Easy Peasy Bread recipeee

2009-07-12T16:29:27Z

Put the oven on at 180°C.

In a bowl, mix;

3 cups self-raising flower
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons caster sugar

Add 1 cup water, mix, get your hands sticky.

Plop mix on a baking tray or bread tin if you have one, shape/pat-down a tad, throw into the dark hole of heat.

Wait roughly 50 minuets, remove, stick on an airing tray or dish towel for roughly 10 mins (or sod that if you can’t wait), nom.

Add more sugar for a sweeter taste or don’t bother with either salt or sugar for a plain taste. I’m sure throwing in herbs would work also. I’ve added one cup of cocoa plus some chopped up baking chocolate and a bit extra sugar before. The dough can also be used as a pizza base - is easiest to use a rolling pin for that. You can substitute the water for milk which IMO gives for a nicer texture depending on how not skint you are.

Crossposted from my blog.

Misc.

2009-07-11T23:02:53Z

The last I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue was a great, catch it before the next on Monday evening. “Diagnostic - A Welshman unsure if god exists. Realist - A catalogue of bottoms. … Newcastle - To drop an atom bomb on Peirs Morgan.”

Day made, mind blown: it’s Portal in ASCII

Enviro-Bear iPhone game. You’re a bear. With a car.

To have been a fly on the wall at the Imageshack offices the morning after.

Crossposted from my blog.

average age of politicians

2009-07-11T20:49:24Z

Google; average age of politician and average age of elected officials, nowt really. politicians “average age”, some, but nothing meta.

Wolfram|Alpha; average age of elected officials and politicians age, nada. politicians, more but nothing that close.

DBpedia; lookup.dbpedia.org only works for single terms. I’m assuming there is some form of method to grep and display some part or levels of this query from the graph. The Wikipedia infoboxes DBpedia use (the info in the box) have DOBs and “In office” start/end dates roles.

Freebase is just ugh, wut these days.

Powerset; Sounds interesting;

“The Semantic Web promises to revolutionize access to information by adding machine-readable semantic information to content which is normally interpretable only by people. In addition, it will also revolutionize access to services by adding semantic information to create machine-readable service descriptions. This ambitious vision has been slow to take off because of a chicken and egg problem. Markup is required before people will build applications, applications are required before it is worth the hard work of doing markup. Natural language processing (NLP) has advanced to the point where it can break the impasse and open up the possibilities of the Semantic Web. First, NLP systems can now automatically create annotations from unstructured text. This provides the data that semantic web applications require. Second, NLP systems are themselves consumers of semantic web information and thus provide economic motivation for people to create and maintain such information. For example, a new generation of natural language search systems, as illustrated by Powerset, can take advantage of semantic web markup and ontologies to augment their interpretation of underlying textual content. They can also expose semantic web services directly in response to natural language queries.” link

(’42:35 - Ecosystem acceleration’ - “who in The Forest is the volunteer co-ordinator?”. Well, as Drupal [7] is going semantic…)

but a general search gives a big fail atm. Sentence matching gives handy results like “The average age of senators in 2007 was 62 years.
- Members of the 111th United States Congress” which you can dive into with the arrow button, but the Wikipedia article states [citation needed] for that info.

P.S.

“While 70 per cent of India’s population is below 40 years of age, 80 per cent of India’s politicians are over 70 years.” link

“The research is to develop, in conjunction with an existing community of researchers, a software environment for carrying out experimental research in corpus linguistics, with a particular emphasis on parsed text corpora. Corpora are collections of (transcribed) spoken and written passages, annotated in a number of different ways. A parsed corpus is one where the grammatical structure of each sentence is included. As corpora grow in size and complexity (typical parsed corpora are around the 1 million word mark), corpus linguistics research becomes increasingly dependent on computer software support. ” link

BBC Radio 4: Today programme: “Is the language politicians and policy makers use clear or confusing? The Public Administration Committee is today holding a public hearing on how the government uses, and misuses, language. Matthew Parris, Times columnist and former MP, and linguistics expert Professor David Crystal discuss the evidence they will give to the committee.” link, mp3

Crossposted from my blog.

Urban Dictionary on the telly

2009-07-11T17:09:19Z

Woo, Urban Dictionary appeared on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown yesterday. With 593 up and 32 down in the clip, “Pullin’ a Palin” now stands at 3943 up, 978 down. Context on her jumping ship by quitting as Governor in an earlier segment here.

Old media and new [social] media, a false dichotomy, both being just terms of flow and feedback in one holistic system of systems, the vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational continuum of chaos, natch.

Crossposted from my blog.

Illiberalism in politics

2009-07-08T12:08:35Z

“Two bills are currently in discussion in Holyrood that are of concern to CAAN members and supporters: The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill and the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill. The former is included because of section 34 which bans extreme pornography; the latter is included because of a rejected recommendation to decriminalize sadomasochism.” link

“First there was the Dangerous Pictures Act, and then there was the Dangerous Cartoons Law. Now, courtesy of the Conservative Party, we could be in for new laws on ‘Dangerous Writings‘ …

One serious issue with this law, as with the law on extreme porn, is that unlike the Obscene Publications Act, it allows no exemptions for artistic merit or political intent.” link

Crossposted from my blog.