Welcome to Christine's world ;-)

Žižek. Trashy guy.

In April I went to see Astra Taylor’s Examined Life, a film that “pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets.” Right. No no really it was good. They just set themselves up for me to be bitchy by describing it that way. Most memorable were Cornell West, Avital [...]

Extending empathy forward

I got this expression from the first One Giant Leap film. From the section on time and the 10,000-year clock. I use it in my knowledge sharing work — when trying to explain why it’s important to document, tag, give context. I say stuff like this Sharing content with empathy. This is a key practice. We [...]

The Internet of Things: A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID

Rob van Kranenburg has written a new report for the Institute of Network Cultures. The Internet of Things is the second issue in the series of Network Notebooks. It’s a critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID by Rob van Kranenburg. Rob examines what impact RFID and other systems, will have on our [...]

Michael Thompson: Algae fighting over the surface of a ping-pong ball

Today I am fascinated by Michael Thompson and his book, Organising and Disorganising: A Dynamic and Non-Linear Theory of Institutional Emergence and its Implications. Listen to him on EarIdeas or read the text of the talk on the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA) website. He’s writing theory. And like all good [...]

Electronic, interactive tattoos

Been thinking about tattoos lately. And although this image is not a tattoo I find it really lovely. Especially the lace one. It’s Bare — a conductive ink for skin. A collaboration between Bibi Nelson, Isabel Lizardi, Matt Johnson, and Becky Pilditch. I am at once fascinated and frightened. Will take time to think and articulate [...]

Map of railway networks

Because I love trains. And am drawn to understanding how we are connected. Or not. From the New Scientist’s article on our connected earth.

Fix, Hack, Create

Once again Karl has been twittering awesomeness. (Thanks!) This is from some things he posted tonight… and connects to my Plan B post and some stuff I’ve been thinking about. First: The Repair Manifesto, from Amsterdam’s Platform 21. Funny. I just got my favorite jeans repaired (two pairs, the bottoms went out on me), as well [...]

ParticipationCamp: Just like being there

I wanted to attend ParticipationCamp in New York. Apparently I can. From Montreal. They have live video feed with great quality: Of course social reporters can use add the #PCamp09 tag to their tweets, which are aggregated on front page of their website. Great use of social media and attention to virtual participants: livestreaming video, twitter, skype. [...]

Digital revolutionaries: What’s your Plan B?

Farhad Manjoo wrote an article in Slate: The Revolution Will Not Be Digitized: How the Internet helps Iran silence activists. Consider this: According to the Wall Street Journal, Iran has one of the world’s most advanced surveillance networks. Using a system installed last year (and built, in part, by Nokia and Siemens), the government routes all [...]

Unmanaging knowledge

Unmanaging Knowledge, an article by Charles Ehin, has a few nuggets I found helpful. He’s describing characteristics of an open organization. I don’t believe in open all the time. I actually get along quite well with rules and structure. They’re important. (Well, as long as they’re smart and don’t get in my way. Then time [...]