you are a winner

So, I haven't received any of these before: "We happily announce to you the draw of the Euro - Afro Asian Sweepstake Lottery International programs held on the 1st of April 2004 in Dakar Senegal. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 with Serial number 5388/02 drew the lucky numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7, which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of US$4,500,000.00 (Four million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)"
Right. As if.

new media materiality and culture

I re-checked the program for the New media conference in Bergen next week, as I realized I could not give a comprehensive answer of the what's and who's of the conference when the question came up at lunch. Something about new media and materiality? It was kind of embarrassing as I plan to go (and have booked the flight and hotel). I was pleasantly surprised to see a new name on the list of speakers. Evidently Friedrich Kittler is coming together with a Jochen Brüning. Their talk is called The history of culture as a history of culture techniques and introduces session 3 on how mediated communication works in relation to perception, cultural experiences and social practices. Reading Gramophone, Film, Typewriter made me curious for more, and here he comes.

chairity

Looking for modern classics at Euklides a few days ago this chair caught my attention as I definitely recognised it as very similar to a chair my mom found at a flee market a couple of years ago. It is the same chair, and she actually saved it from being thrashed and got it for nothing. Which is rather cool, as the chairs cost 4200 NOK each at Euklides. That would be about 605 $.

no need

I don't need to see more Iraq abuse photos. I don't need to see the pictures and videos members of the US senate saw yesterday. I already get it. Descriptions of the terrible actions create disturbing images of the humiliation and torture in my mind (Dagbladet). These photos represent actions that have actually taken place. They are real, so real. ""There were some awful scenes. It felt like you were descending into one of the wings of hell and sadly it was our own creation," said Senator Richard Durbin": Al Jazeera

wanted?

The Japanese cell-phone marked just isn't quite like ours! I just received info about the Toshiba cell-phone, which doubles as a karaoke mike. " You download backing tracks to the phone from the web, plug the handset into your TV, and sing into the mouthpiece. Hey presto, voice plus music issue forth from the TV speakers". 11th of May at dottocomu. I have previously linked to a few online karaoke sites, but obviously, karaoke singing just isnt't the same without a microphone and loud-speakers. I kind of like the the very vivid orange colour.

Everyday life

Every afternoon, outside my office window, I can see somebody's husband (I presume) waiting for his wife (I presume) coming from work (I presume). Always waiting in their car. It is rather sweet. Today there was no car. Did they decide to walk home in the beautiful spring (or rather summer) afternoon? Has the car broken down? Are they trying to loose weight? Or have they sold their car, making the world a better place? I have no idea. It is strange to see people everyday, inevitably a story about the two and their lives emerges in my mind.

more media

What have I learnt about various understandings of media that I did not know before the Media and Reality course? The course has definitely strengthened my opinion that people do not necessarily have the same comprehension of media and what constitutes media. Initially the course pronounced several very interesting questions, but to nobody's surprise answers were rather hard to find. Or at least answers everyone could apply to. Are there different kinds of media and corresponding concepts of media? As the course dealt with medium theory, system theory and phenomenology (briefly), the short answer is "yes". I am not at all sure whether McLuhan and Luhmann would be able to communicate at all if they had ever met. Or, with Luhmann's understanding of communication processes, there would be communication, but understandings would be misunderstandings. I do however find Jesper Tække's efforts of combining the two approaches (although definitely leaning heavily to the system-theoretical side) interesting; although I do not always follow his lines of reasoning. Which is probably because I have only read Luhmann's The reality of the mass media and moreover, I have poor knowledge of the founding fathers of system theory. At least, now I recognize important phrases and concepts of system-theory and sort of understand their meaning.

Media? Reality?

I am in Copenhagen learning about the concept and idea of media from various aspects. I have studied media and communication for several years, yet very little have concerned the media concept per se. Focus is mostly on content, production and use of various media. This week however is loaded with systemic theories of media and communication, medium theory and media from a phenomenological perspective. Which is great, but sometimes rather difficult.