The Decliner

This TED video has been blowing my mind for a few days. There’s currently a lot of focus on touch-screen technology as the next standard in interaction with gadgets — everything from Microsoft’s Surface to personal electronic like the iPhone.

The SixthSense device developed by the MIT Fluid Interfaces Lab and Pranav Mistry turns the touchscreen on its head: It is a wearable projector with an attached camera/sensor that interprets natural hand gestures as commands. In other words, with the wave of a hand you can capture images, or perform any number of increasingly complex processes.

The uses for the SixthSense device are demonstrated in the video below, all of which take advantage of the device’s access to online information for tasks like scanning products at the grocery store based on personal preferences — like, red flashing lights when you pick up a frozen Banquet dinner with enough sodium and nitrates to kill a Kodiak bear. Extended abilities include projecting multimedia (like videos) on a normal newspaper, since the device not only reacts to gestures, but can also scan and adapt to whatever the user might have in front of him/her at the time.

Best of all, of course, is the fact that SixthSense can work with *any* surface, since it travels with the user. The implications are huge, as you can tell from the euphoric applause from the TED audience members (any Microsoft employees in attendance might have been in the fetal position, not sure). The only drawback is the bulkiness of the device itself, though the fact that the components themselves are already so affordable would likely make reduction in size and into an attractive retail product much easier.

In many environments the latter would already be largely irrelevant. As I watched the video of the device in action, I could already picture it in use in some far-flung military base, or in use by an Amazon.com employee doing inventory in some cavernous warehouse.

Sometimes the best ideas are just a re-arrangement of existing technology, what the SixthSense team seems to have nailed down is the fact that focusing on people’s existing behavior and molding a design to fit their needs is the key, rather than expecting them to adapt to an elaborate and counter-intuitive device.

The media is dying, the sky is falling, the horsemen of the apocalypse are riding alongside the Bloomberg stock ticker. Doom and gloom.

It’s easy to fall into the gaping hole of desperation that seems to be gripping the business world, and, in particular, the media (where yours truly happens to live).

Despite all the turmoil, a slow movement to innovate news content soldiers on, and by this I mean the emergence of the open API movement (API: application programming interface) which allows third-party developers to work with a publication’s content.

You can think of this in the same terms as Twitter: Developers work off a basic service (news, in this case) and develop specific applications, such as specialized search engines. The possibilities are as limitless as the ideas that an individual programmer with access to the API can come up with.

The New York Times was the most high profile newspaper to open its API to developers, and now The Guardian has followed suit. Now, you might think — so what? The API allows a newspaper/publication’s contents to be spread around the web for free, how is that different from what is happening now? The difference is that the information can carry certain pre-conditions, one of which is that developers join the publication’s own advertising network. This would be the internet’s equivalent of vendors, with the advantage that the vendors actually pay nothing for the content, just as long as they agree to be part of the source’s ad network. That’s money that goes back to a newspaper. And with the advent of “behavioral profiling ads” pioneered by Google, you can start to see the value in this.

There is, at the same time, much talk of bringing back the previously failed firewall (pay per article, or pay for premium content) business model, as recently as a few days ago it was touted as a “vital revenue stream” at Mediabistro’s TVNewser Summit in New York, attended by many publishing heavyweights. Even the New York Times seems to be interested in resurrecting its previously attempted Times Select firewall, which seems somewhat at odds with opening its API to third parties.

It’s difficult to gauge whether there is an overall strategy in place at large newspapers like the Times (that wouldn’t be my guess) or whether there are simply conflicting interests at work between business development departments and the bowels of its tech. and web departments (that is my guess) with entirely different ideas about internet strategies.

TechCrunch brings up a very good point in pointing out that The Guardian, for one, was able to put into action its open-API system quickly as it is run by a charitable trust “which does not have shareholders who would normally have a heart attack at such a move.”

There has been no shortage of experts arguing that the future of newspapers in the U.S. may lie in the hand of similar non-profit trusts, and there is a point to be made here. Regardless, if the business side can be convinced that there is a viable advertising model to be had in an open-API (and with revenue careening towards the bottom, as it is now) it may not be that difficult to make a convincing argument.

Rather than hiding content behind payed firewalls, the future may actually be in spreading content as far, and as quickly as possible. In a way, this would be no new model at all. Just as one looks at advertising on the paper version of the NYT, one might simply look at these ads online at a third-party site online somewhere, as far away from the source as a paper reader in California seeing an ad that was printed in New York.

TechCrunch sums it up: It helps that the paper is owned and run by a charitable trust which does not have shareholders who would normally have a heart attack at such a move. The payback is that apps developers are going to end up building an ad network for The Guardian as a result.

One of Russia’s most prominent political youth movements, the anti-Fascist group “Nashi” (or “Nashe”,) was recently back in the news for asserting that it had been behind denial-of-service attacks on Estonian web servers back in 2007, following that country’s removal of a Soviet memorial in the city of Tallinn to a less prominent location.

The statue, referred to as the “Bronze Soldier,” was transported to a cemetery after it was deemed inappropriate by ethnic Estonians because of its commemoration of Soviet rule. Unfortunately, Russia’s foreign relations under Putin’s leadership with former satellite states of the Soviet Union demanded (and demands) a certain amount of docility, and removing the statue set off a firestorm of criticism from the Kremlin, along with its junior, color-coordinated Nashi brigade.

DDoS (denial-of-service) attacks are nothing new, but the severity of the cyber attacks inflicted on Estonia dring the “Estonian Cyberwar” was of a scope rarely seen before. Websites for the Estonian parliament, banks, ministries, and many of its news sources were overwhelmed and shut down. Other attacks involved modification of existing websites, such as the Estonian Reform Party’s (the liberal, free-market party).

Arts Technica reported that Nashe’s “Commisar,” Konstantin Goloskokov, freely admitted that his group had been behind the cyberwarfare directed at Estonia:

“I wouldn’t have called it a cyber attack; it was cyber defense,” Goloskokov said. “We taught the Estonian regime the lesson that if they act illegally, we will respond in an adequate way.”

The fact that Goloskokov is willing to acknowledge his group’s complicity in what is obviously an illegal act only reinforces his comfortable position with the Russian government, and one wouldn’t expect any kind of reprimand to result from the admission.

Still, while Nashe seemed to be at its height of popularity with the Kremlin following the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, and leading up to national election of Dmitry Medvedev, it is reported that the Kremlin’s support of the group has been on a definite decline. It’s not so much that the nationalist ideology behind Nashi has dissipated, but that it is simply no longer necessary to generate support (or intimidate rival political groups) for a pro-Putin/Medvedev platform.

Moreover, while Putin’s government allegedly used Nashi as a proxy to express its “displeasure” with foreign interests and shape public discourse, in the last few years, as Putin’s Kremlin has become far more direct in its foreign policy (such as cutting off natural gas supplies to neighbors, for example), it must seem pointless to take such an indirect approach.

The 2007 DDoS attacks (now attributed to Nashi) have since become a case study used by militaries around the world to highlight the potential dangers that such a seemingly low-tech onslaught can have on a country’s internet infrastructure.

While high-tech attacks like satellite killers and super hackers infiltrating nuclear launch sites might seem like the more glamorous side of cyberwarfare, it is far likelier that we will see DDoS attacks with greater frequency, simply because of the relative ease with which they can be launched by patriotic youth sitting in a non-descript internet cafe somewhere in central Moscow.

I leave you with this, a Nashi production to promote enlistment in the Russian army (in Russian). Note the giant American octopus/Cthulhu creature spreading its tentacles into Russian territory, and the excited man representing Japan bowing agreeably:

I thought I was going to be original in describing the music put out by Francis and the Lights, but I suppose it’s inescapable to make a connection between Peter Gabriel and Prince (everyone else seems to have).

Still, there’s a little more to the group than that. There is a good deal of fresh arrangement in tracks like Night Watchman, which gives their music longevity. They first appeared on the radar with the release of Striking in 2007, followed up by A Modern Promise last year.

The group has been playing in venues around NYC, and they will likely start to get more exposure as they open for groups like Les Savy Fav and attend SXSW later this month. The recognition would be well deserved, as there is a lot of good material here that deserves a full album.

You can visit the group’s website-slash-blog, where many of their tracks are available to download for free. Also, be sure to check out their scrolling mini-applet which showcases the band’s total budget.. watch the numbers trickle down on such items as cab fare, batteries, and per diem.

It actually made me sort of nervous to watch the scrolling numbers subtract after each paid gig. I think someone in the band recently received a traffic ticket (new east driving school), and I see recurring charges for a “doughnut plant.” Also, $15 ATM fees? ouch. Track below.

Francis and the Lights — The Top

For his final student project at Rice University, Viktor Ramos presented structural forms of gigantic scale to depict how architecture could be used or grafted along the Oslo Accords to unite Israeli and Palestinian territory into one “continuous” entity within the West Bank.

The scope and implausible nature of the massive, snaking bridges darting in and out of the landscape denote the absurdity of attempting to create a rational, applicable solution to the partitioning of the region. You can access all of the project’s visual works here.

What is innovative about Ramos’s presentation, entitled The Continuous Enclave: Strategies in Bypass Urbanism,  isn’t simply the political and social statement, but also the proposition that partitioning can move beyond a “2-D” solution and project itself into the air, as if the West Bank barrier had been designed by some abstract artist to slice into the airspace above the two respective regions.

All else aside, Ramos presents a visually stunning study. Moreover, what makes his idea all the more meaningful, perhaps, is the fact that similar projects have been proposed seriously by others, such as the RAND Corporation: Behold, the RAND Corporation’s futuristic”Arc” solution to the West Bank partition:

The research team develop a detailed vision for a modern, high-speed transportation infrastructure, referred to as the Arc. This transportation backbone accommodates substantial population growth in Palestine by linking current urban centers to new neighborhoods via new linear transportation arteries that support both commercial and residential development.

The concept here is to create an infrastructure “corridor” that links urban population centers, serving as an artery of sorts for commercial activity, as well as basic necessities such as food, water, and energy. It’s not so much the technology involved that makes the project unusual, but rather the literal interpretation of creating two parallel, walled-off societies inhabiting the same region, and abiding by the physical requirements of Israeli and Palestinian territorial claims.

(Via BLDGBLOG)

I’m always drawn to reading ad copy, particularly for products that I will never be able to afford, or would never want to own, could I even afford them. Some of the worst copy you’ll ever see is sometimes produced for real estate advertising, which is usually exploding with florid descriptions.

Regardless of the actual quality of a development, the location, or the square footage available, any brochure you read or website that you visit will do its utmost to convince you that this is the place, the most fabulous mid-range condominium you could ever hope to inhabit. Many do a terrible job accomplishing the latter.

The Morning News published a fun article recently entitled “The Hyperbole Towers,” which borrows copy from luxury New York city property marketing collateral and mashes them together into one long, ridiculous advertisement:

The living room is its own light-filled universe, well removed from the foyer and its comings and goings. Welcome to living room impact (sic) 20! The space is replete with the warmth of textured concrete and the understated elegance of a zinc light sculpture.

So, inspired by that article, I thought that it might be interesting to see the complete inverse of this experiment, and make copy for a luxury condominium sound as unappealing as possible:

• Constricted, oppressive, darkness-filled…[redacted]’s condominiums reject contemporary, highly functional design concepts by unknown and unproven architects [redacted] and [redacted]. The units range from one bedroom to one bedroom with a damp den, with two-level loft units completely unavailable. Homes feature low-end finishes, minimal storage and closet space, and none offer balconies and terraces with dramatic views of the city.

• With a community clubhouse, motel-style pool, and a decidedly outdated fitness center, [redacted] offers modest new condos in Northern Virginia within hours of traffic-congested Reston, Dulles, and Leesburg, where you can sample a severely limited mix of shopping, entertainment, and fast-food options.These one-, two- and three-bedroom sub-par condominiums by [redacted] feature diminutive designs (no lofts), hastily completed balconies or patios with building-interior views, and designer bathrooms with inexplicably small soaking tubs and single vanities.
• Offering breathtaking service alley views, nearby access to crime-infested Adams Morgan, over-priced Dupont Circle and 16th Street, [redacted] offers the best of DC living. Located on Meridian Hill, adjacent to the forlorn cascades and historically unsafe promenades of Meridian Hill Park, [redacted] offers a cosmopolitan experience like no other. With a graceless facade of brick and cast stone overly adorned with obtrusive bay windows, recessed balconies and French doors, [redacted] exudes turn-of-the-century excess. Its elaborate design clashing uncomfortably with neighboring architecture, providing a thankless companion to the classic Meridian and White-Meyer houses just across 17th Street. Each of the 29 town homes and English-style flats afford cumbersome entry to the joyless spaces within.

Remember, for all your future real estate ad copy needs, look no further than The Decliner.

I was rummaging through the Internet Archive’s video/documentary section the other day (I’m usually looking for bizarre PSAs about riding buses or making new friends), and I came across this interesting documentary by French director Claude Lelouch, entitled “Iran.”

At first, I thought that the notion of a travelogue film with no dialogue at all seemed dull, but it really is a very interesting piece of film. Some brief segments alone make it worth watching, such as a camel race, and revealing pieces of everyday life in what looks like Tehran and various other locations.

The film was released in 1971, and documents an interesting period in Iranian history — eight years before the Shah of Iran was overthrown, and the country’s government came under the control of the Ayatollah Khomeini. There is practically nothing to suggest what would later come in that decade for Iran here, the society depicted by this short film seems heavily influenced by the West (some serious polyester swinging 60’s action throughout). If you skip to 16:01, you can watch the Shah ride a horse in a white turtleneck. Or, go to 09:24, and watch a woman wearing what looks to be some sort of leather mask look through a microscope (I have no idea).

According to the Internet Archives, Lelouch shot six miles of footage to put together this nineteen minute film. The work was intended as a gift to the Shah’s wife, and sponsored by a multinational petroleum pipeline construction firm.

If you’re not inclined to watch the film, you can also look through a photo album put together from shots throughout the documentary here.

self portrait. midas touch. by Noah Kalina

You might be familiar already with a video Noah Kalina produced a few years back, in which he assembled a self-portrait taken every day over the course of six years (be sure to pause the video and scroll manually for a different effect). You can also view a photo montage of that video here.

That video was viewed by (as of today) over 12 million individuals, which is very popular, even by YouTube standards. That recognition allowed him to segway into his next project, which was a series of self-portraits with various celebrities.

Listed on his website is a series of photos that I particularly enjoyed, titled “what happens in vegas…” which uses the element of his immutable self-portraits’ expression against the supposed glitz and commercial appeal of the Las Vegas strip.

What I liked about these series of shots, aside from the obvious humor of the concept itself, is that they make an interesting point while still avoiding the cliche. The alienation that comes across is not self-righteous or railing against superficiality, but simply points out the fact that, despite all efforts, sometimes there is just no connection to be had with your surroundings.

It’s the sort of feeling everyone experiences at least once in their life: a vague feeling of detachment, not quite hostile… just remote.

Be sure to visit Noah’s website, as there is a lot of good work posted there, aside from the self-portrait shots.

(Special thanks to Noah Kalina for giving me more info about his work for this post.)

Origin 5, Patrick Winfield (2008)

I’m always a sucker for good composition. Also, Polaroids have always held a special place in my heart–the results are like a mix of happy accidents with a good, basic understanding of framing/angle/timing (and sometimes they’re just accidents).

I enjoy the way Winfield assembles a lot of his polaroid composites: they’re good, in the traditional aesthetic sense, but don’t feel contrived. His online portfolio lists his compositions from the last three years, though 2008 seems notable as he begins to use solid color shots to put together a lot of his pieces, as well as a stronger preference for a larger number of individual shots.

You can read a short interview with Patrick Winfield here. In addition to photography, his background includes stop-motion animation, graphic design, and paintining — all of which seem to come through in these composites.