Archive: The Gnovis Blog
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E Pluribus Ambiguity
"As an artist I do not think that we truly invent anything at this point."
– Blek LeRatThe artwork of Shepard Fairey is a popular topic here at gnovis. The instances in which Fairey and his project have emerged in our talks left an "itch" about him and his body of work.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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Two More Weeks: A Study of the Final Stages of the Graduate Thesis-Writing Process
When Charlie Brown was sad or mad or stressed out, he was often
depicted with a little gray storm cloud over his head. It didn’t matter what
the weather was like everywhere else in Peanuts-land; for Charlie, it
was always raining.If I look up at the space immediately above my head and squint, I
can kind of see the same little cloud. Two weeks, I chant under
my breath. Two weeks. Like a magic spell or a mantra, or the time left
until some creepy wet-haired chick comes out of the TV and kills me. Two weeks.Category: The Gnovis Blog
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Think, Imagine: Redistributing the "Independent" in Film
Mark Urman has dedicated his life to independent film. Framed behind a pair of chunky glasses and a slim cut suit, Urman gave the closing address last weekend at the Space, Place, and Imagination conference sponsored by the University of Rhode Island.From across the podium he effortlessly seized our attention, delivering perfectly crafted stories about his career in the film industry, demonstrating the passion with which he has worked so hard to bring incredible film to the public. Describing his journey towards his current position as the head of distribution for THINKFilm, he shared inside stories that humorously contrasted the history of "films with a vision" and wider-release films that, in their attempts to appeal to everyone, are "becoming bigger and dumber."
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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Is the Mobile 'Net's Tipping Point Looming on the Horizon?
The U.S., which has never been a leader in mobile technology, may finally be catching up (ever so slightly, at least) with foreign markets, thanks in large part to Google and Apple’s recent efforts to make the Internet mobile.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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"Digital Humanities" gets an Office (with a capital "O")
The National Endowment for the Humanities announced today the formation of the Office of Digital Humanities , a permanent promotion of the two-year old Digital Humanities Initiative.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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Already Sainted in Art: Obama Turns Into an Icon
As I’ve mentioned before, I support Barack Obama. There are a lot of reasons for this, none of which (I am sure) you care about. However, even I am starting to get a little tired of the shovel-fulls of praise lavished upon him. Will.i.am, of the Black-eyed Peas, just released a second celebrity-filled Obama endorsement video, there have been a number of Fairey inspired knock-offs of Obama art, and even some Etsy sellers using his face.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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Lessons from DrupalCon: Twitter, RDF, OpenID, and more…
I’m spending the bulk of this week at DrupalCon Boston 2008, a conference for web developers who use Drupal, an open source content management system (which, by no small coincidence, is what gnovisjournal.org runs on). Most of the actual proceedings are probably not of interest to gnovis readers, because they are aimed at Drupal geeks, but I’ve kept my ears open for the echos of CCT-friendly ideas, and outlined a few below. I’ll be blogging in much more detail on my personal website, www.sleepcamel.net , throughout the week.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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"We Think": Mass Innovation vs. Mass Consumption?
Charles Leadbeater, a UK-based spokesman of collective creativity and the author of his latest book, "We Think," has some interesting and somewhat controversial ideas about the Internet becoming a "mass innovation."
In the era of Web 2.0, the cultivation of web communities that hype social networking and collaboration, (i.e. YouTube and MySpace) now rely entirely on users to generate their content.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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Does Political Debate Descend into Dalliance on the Twentieth Faceoff?
I reject and denounce, as well as renounce, condemn, decry, deride, and whatever other verb one can conjure to express, that I will not be subjected to any more debates between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
As a usual proponent of debates, I guess this means I… tergiversate.
Category: The Gnovis Blog
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So Long, Comandante
Unlike the usual buzz concerning Fidel Castro, today’s widespread news reports indicate the iconic leader remains among us, but has stepped down from his position as Cuban head of state, which he occupied for almost fifty years.
The announcement of Fidel’s resignation comes — of course — after having secured one last election to parliament… I use the term election loosely.
Category: The Gnovis Blog