a collection of mobile phone applications that visualize information ambiently.
http://infosthetics.com/archives/2006/09/ambient_mobile_phone_visualization.html

this sort of attempt has been talked about and experimented with many times in the past, and to be honest, i don’t really like the low-quality graphics. however, the fact that this sort of attempt is being actively pursued and communicated clearly shows that we’re fast and unavoidably becoming “becoming borgs,” processing - through editing and re-editing - the multi-faceted iconic reality. interesting.

met mitchell at govinda’s this afternoon.we talked, ate, laughed, walked past the sneaky sound system’s performance on the mall, and parted at the end of the mall, across the road from the treasury casino.

shuttle back to kelvin grove. it’s a festitive time here this week/end, with the brisbane writers festival and the valley fiesta happening in and around central brisbane.

when i was a child, my mum always thought that i’d be a poet. i really don’t see it happening now, sadly. i’m a professional student. however, aesthetics is one of my fundamental values in life - and art is very important to me in various ways. it’s probably because art, as Huizinga says, is deeply rooted in the primaeval soil of play; “play” is my motto.

i played at the brisbane writers festival for the first time last year. i learned a lot, and learning is what i (must) do as a professional student ;) anyway, i’m going to stop here with a little piece by li-young lee, a great poet in my eyes and heart. my friend asako introduced me to the world of li-young lee. at first i thought he was korean because of his name, but later found out more about his family/cultural history, which was quite interesting. i found “rose,” his first book of poems hidden in archives. i bought it for someone but read it first. i loved it. anyway, here’s the second poem in the book, also one of my favourites:

The Gift

To pull the metal splinter from my palm
my father recited a story in a low voice.
I watched his lovely face and not the blade.
Before the story ended, he’d removed
the iron sliver I thought I’d die from.

I can’t remember the tale,
but hear his voice still, a well
of dark water, a prayer.
And I recall his hands,
two measures of tenderness
he laid against my face,
the flames of discipline
he raised above my head.

Had you entered that afternoon
you would have thought you saw a man
planting something in a boy’s palm,
a silver tear, a tiny flame.
Had you followed that boy
you would have arrived here,
where I bend over my wife’s right hand.

Look how I shave her thumbnail down
so carefully she feels no pain.
Watch as I lift the splinter out.
I was seven when my father
took my hand like this,
and I did not hold that shard
between my fingers and think,
Metal that will bury me,
christen it Little Assassin,
Ore Going Deep for My Heart.
And I did not lift up my wound and cry,
Death visited here!
I did what a child does
when he’s given something to keep.
I kissed my father.

oh, and i’m trying to get hold of bronwyn lea’s “flight animals.” i got to read a few poems over lunch with oksana, and was very much impressed. there was a particular one that i really liked, but unfortunately i can’t remember the title. i’d like to read it again and the whole book but i’m not sure where i can buy it. if anyone knows how to get hold of this book, please let me know. (edited: got a copy now. thanks to lovely siall)

microsoft’s latest os, vista, was previewed, or rather was “reborn” as a frumpy woman or fowl in latvia not long ago. i don’t know if microsoft’s choosing latvia was intentional or not, but i couldn’t stop laughing at this paragraph in this enquirer article:

Microsoft Latvia is trying to get around the problem by playing up Vista’s positive aspects and the more poetic, international definition of the name. A spokesVole said that when Latvians learn of the technical opportunities the system offers, they will pay more attention to its advantages, not its name.

apparently “vista” means fowl/chicken or frumpy woman in latvian. perhaps this is ms’s marketing strategy - obviously people are talking and laughing about this. i fell in love with macs once, broke up, and once again, i’m really enjoying my macbook’s company. we’ll see how vista goes - looks ok, but it may actually be really dodgy like xp… i hope it’s good; i’d love to have the dual booting thing going on my macbook.

moved to a new place in west end - actually, it’s on the border of west end, hill end, and highgate hill. it’s my second time living around here, and am really loving it. in every possible way, it’s different to where i used to live: macgregor. in the true tradition of feng shui, i thought i’d pick four great things about my new hood, each representing one of the four basic directions (all feng shui info from care2):

• NORTH
  Color: Green
  Concepts: The energy of the north is a no-nonsense force to be reckoned with. The magnetic pole channels energy from north to south. North is associated with invincibility and warriorship, but also danger in arrogance, vanity, and pride. It implies threats and the need for protection.
  Element: Air (wind)
  Energy: Vitality
  Healing: Invincibility, ability to overcome obstacles.

  // The air. The playful yet peaceful atmosphere unlike the teenage rave vibe of New Farm or artsy snobbery of Paddington.

• SOUTH
  Color: Golden yellow
  Concept: Heat, strength, and fecundity, the south also gather luck, beauty, and “ears of corn.”
  Element: Earth
  Energy: Solar heat and light.
  Healing: Overcoming of poverty

  // The food. What can I say? Mondo, the Forrest, Caravanserai, Lychee Lounge, Flour Power, Sakura… so many places to go for good food and drinks. Then there’s also Avid Reader, Bent Books, and Tongue and Groove. It’s a feast – culinary and cultural.

• EAST
  Color: Blue
  Concepts: Vision, clarity, emergence of form, insight, intellectual learning, and spiritual vision.
  Element: Clear water
  Energy: Still and reflective
  Healing: Physical and mental health.

  // The walk. I enjoy walking around. West End is visually interesting as a suburb, so it’s always fun to walk around and look at houses and people; it’s also very close to many difference places/suburbs, so walking is always convenient and pleasant at the same time. West End is surrounded with bridges, which is an aspect I like very much. I like bridges – probably because I tend to burn my own.

• WEST
  Color: Red
  Concepts: Warmth, passion, promise of pleasure, endings and death as the sun and the moon set in the west.
  Element: Fire
  Energy: Color and warmth in your home.
  Healing: Wisdom gleaned from trial by fire. Pleasure and pain.

  // The people. People are fascinating especially here in West End. People seem to “care” about important things in life, which is becoming more and more a rare quality in today’s society. As private a person as I am, I do appreciate the strong “community spirit” of West End and support it, too. I went to Andy’s friend Jackie’s party the other night. It was a very West Endish party, with trees, stars, openness, warmth, laughter, good food, dogs, and people – mostly West Enders. No sense of staleness.

give me a call, when you’re around west end. let’s catch up.