It’s the secret! sun and water, so far, at least.This Spring Felix and I planted some seeds, expecting them to die, but we have had many successes. The herbs and lettuces are growing bigger, the spring onions have just sprouted. They grow in a twirl, folded over, and all of a sudden they unfurl, becoming double to size in an instant.
We went into the cordoned off streets of Sydney last Saturday to check protest against APEC, Bush, Howard, closing off Sydney to its inhabitants and insert whatever else you want. I hadn’t planned on attending, but who would want to miss a riot?
I saw no violence, and there were only a few arrests, and two of those were due to indecent exposure. There were, however, a vast number of police blocking every exit.
Accidental Meaning
Digital Poetry Masterclass
June/July 07
Accidental meaning explores the breaking down of constricting definitions and the creation of poetic new ones. The accidental word positions produce new relationships and in doing so, connections, meanings and poetry.
The basis of this work is a list of the 100 words each american high school student should know upon graduation (available here). The user has control over when the next random definition gets scattered over the screen. Different poetry is read by each individual, but the original definition can be read by a gracious curve joining the words in order. Further, some words can be defined by selecting them.
Levels of poetry intertwined with factual definitions are guided by the user but retain a computer driven randomness.
This was exhibited at the end of the masterclass which coincided with the 2007 CAAD Futures Conference. The masterclass works were shown in the sentient in the Wilkinson Building at the University of Sydney. The sentient is a quasi sensate space with all kinds of fun gadgets. Luckily, I got to display accidental meanings on a table PC. The screen was horizontal and a touch screen as well, so users could create digital poetry with their fingertips.
I am revisiting this after receiving an email from Dr Maria Mencia, the convenor of the class to say that she had an opportunity to show the work in London in a few weeks. So, perhaps more Accidental meanings soon.
Sometimes on this line we get millenium trains, fancy, but still they’re rare. Wasting 25 mins waiting for a train means lots of time to take photos.
