Time for a ramble through thoughts

It begins with the sale of all sorts of old stuff and the acquisition of an iTouch. Normally, I am not one to line the purse of the Apple corp. preferring instead to fill the coffers of the Gates of Hell. I have always maintained that the Mac is for people who don't know how to use a computer, style over substance, the fools option, etc. I know that the Mac can also be described as being similar to a PC but it works - this doesn't bother me. I am a PC. I know I will not change anyone's mind on their choice... I digress.

The iTouch is, despite its origins, an excellent gadget. I have spent many a long hour tweaking the apps and enjoying many a gig of musical randomness. I don't understand why there is no decent music player app - surely someone could do a third party music player, or they could put the iTunes functionality into the firmware. Or am I missing something? I know that most of the functions carry across but it is missing something. This is the next gen iPhone :)

A link from Mr Wriggles : http://vimeo.com/2229299

...I digress, once more.

A lot of apps are very useful such as syncing the twitter/myspace/mail accounts, maps, etc. Some of the apps are completely useless. My favorite of these has to be the "Complete works of H.P.Lovecraft", or the "virtual kalimba". This brings me closer to my point.

I have also been using the vast memory to store the audio book of "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson. It's great to hear/read this again. Very immersive and inspirational. To return to the setting has uncorked a number of thoughts.

1. Why don't books have trailers made for them? Just enough to give a flavour of the theme or mood - then I found this...



2. Why don't people produce a soundtrack for a book, wither by composition or compilation - then I found this...

http://www.nealstephenson.com/anathem/music.htm

So basically, I was thinking nothing new.

A lot of the themes within the book are quite high brow - philosophy, mathematics and time/space dimensions. By way of a short cut I would like to include a link to the "Imagining the Tenth Dimension" ( another book with a soundtrack ) by Rob Bryanton. There is no link 'twix this and Anathem but it may help to assume, for the next bit, that we exist in a 10th dimensional singularity. :)

3. You know the theories that there are other dimensions, with an infinite number of you in an infinite combination of possible existences. yet, there is only one where you are you as you perceive it now. Well, why not have every you in each dimension interact by links of causality. The stronger the causal link - the nearer the connection.

Every you that looks like you and acts like you, but makes different choices exists within you in the same point of time/space. Much like a quantum particle and it's uncertainty. You are making every choice you can possibly make - it only comes into reality when you focus on it and act. Then there are all the dimensions where you get further and further away from the you that you know. These are other people, the people all around you.

Thus ... "We are all one person split into infinite dimensions, interacting along strong lines of causal connection." - now does it make sense?

Ultimately it brings me back to old conversations that have sprung up around TIME, which are seemingly coincidental or synchronous. I started to go back to my theories on music and how they can be linked to astrology, the rotation of a planet producing a sound wave, etc. I really need to log these thoughts... next time.

Han Solo or C3PO?

The basic question asks whether you would rather be Han Solo or C3PO, when concerned with the world of business.

Han Solo is a renegade, surely everyone wants to be the hipster dude with a gun - he's just cool isn't he? Yes, that may be true but he does talk a lot of crap. All that moaning about only in it for the money, the use of nick names rather than someones real name, he may have flown back in to help Luke at the last minute but what else has he really done? What merits his appeal? No-one applauds him for bumping off Boba, surely? Even the Endor victory was down to Chewbacca and R2D2 ( Ewoks non-withstanding ).

And what was that stuff about Parsecs! I've heard George Lucas' explanation about how the shortest distance when navigating in space is to run close to blackholes and thus achieve the quickest time but c'mon Han! He asked if the ship was fast, not whether you can compute a distance - and you know who was really doing the maths there? Chewbacca, that's right. Chewwie may be a sidekick but he's got all the brains, the strength, maybe a bit soft but a caring side is an admirable quality; he has all the talent.

C3PO is a yes man of no use. Oh master Luke, yes Master Luke. Basically a droid - it's not his fault, he was programmed to be an ass kissing ponce.

While I'm on the subject...

R2D2 is IT support.
Luke is the post boy promoted before he was ready.
Lando is sales.
Darth Vadar is middle management.
The Emperor is the Board of Directors.

I have said too much. I am ashamed.

Howdoyoudoos and "kweempiwb ip weew"

I thought it would be nice to make some introductions. Not just from me saying "howdoyoudoooo" but to connect anyone in the audience to some of the people whose aesthetic I am admiring of and by extension to introduce each of to each other.

Meet Peep and Gabi. Gabrielle Reith is a very fine artist indeed, her work has some very warm and nostalgic touches. It seems to be art created from a very warm hearth. Although her website is here ( http://www.g-r-a.co.uk/art.htm ) and full of lovely things, my favourite work was in her picture-a-day blog which I can no longer find - where has it gone?! Bring it back.

Peep is also a very fine artist and the consummate digital dandy, go see his video work here ( http://www.lepeep.co.uk/#video ). Not enough illustration though and where are your photographic experiments? Didn't you do some great nature images?

They also do this neat experiment of a typeface-a-week ( http://typefaceaweek.blogspot.com/ ).

Meet Rima and Tui. Also exceptionally nice people who are also exceptionally good artists. I cant really pin them down on style, so you'll soon be amazed with Rima's painting style here, somewhere in the midst of blog ( http://intothehermitage.blogspot.com/ ).

Tui is Orla Wren. Listen and support the work, very engaging soundscapes and there are only a few who can get away with that form in my opinion. You can see it here ( http://www.orlawren.com ) and hear it here ( http://www.myspace.com/orlawren ). In the same mind garden as Terje Isungset ( http://home.online.no/~isungz/lyd.htm ) and if you haven't heard of him, for shame.

If I ever get the time I will design a nice website for you both, your work deserves it.

Meet System. You'd think it was totally different, being hyper urban graffiti installation - but I can see great parallels in all these artists. System would call it keeping it real but his tongue would be firmly in his cheek ("kweempiwb ip weew") - I would refer to it as authenticity. Go to the gallery here ( http://www.400ml.com/ ) but also have a look here at the full blog of installation work in progress ( http://www.agents-of-change.co.uk/ ).

And don't worry guys, I don't want a link back - my work is ugly and strange and rarely plays well with others; but the internet is a funny place and it seemed a nice idea to point you all at each others work.

...tea breaks over - back on your heads

This is a phrase that normally pops into my mind when I think about returning to work after a break. However, this time the break was a redundancy and returning to work after even a months break is the best news ever. This time is very different.

Looking back I notice a few striking concepts that stand out for me. The first is that all the worry of having a family and no income to support them has evaporated. It was a very stressful time but thinking back I can only think of the joyful time I have spent with my lady wife and our chibi. The second is trying to find out if all this integrated socio-connection-networking stuff has managed to be of any use.

Though I fondly thought that I could correlate a direct link between Twitter/LinkedIn and so forth to the acquisition of a new job, alas I cannot. I think it is more akin to wearing clothes. Though my clothes are never going to be the reason to employ me, it is going to look a little odd if I fail to wear any. Getting involved in the web 2 network has certainly kept me in the global web loop and that alone was worth the time invested.

I didn't have the time for a lot of work on this blog, my website, music, art or anything else during the bleak mid-winter of unknown quantities, but now I think my life is going to be back to a semblance of order. In the coming months I will be delving deeper into the world of online marketing than I have ever ventured and finally putting my bold new plans into action.

To balance this and maintain a sense of creative exploration of all things digital I will also be continuing to add to the website, to Twitter and to blog. Last time I added a new thing was when Mind trickery: the illusion of of perception was released on YouTube. I mention it again because I find the comments hilarious. Joe public hated it...

"wow thts actually quite smart! cuz ur mind focus on 2 pics u dont see the changes! it just looks like the big pic is just blinkin wen in fact the pic is changes wen it blinks! but u it makes u think ''wat the hell? tht was gay i dont see no point in that!'' my advice is look at it again replay it and look 4 the changes wen the pic blinks!"

or this is my favourite...

"That was pure pish-in almost all of them the changes were extremely easy to see and the footage of the guy with the beard couldn`t be more fitting because that`s exactly what he is ... a beard nothing but a fuckin beard"

...excellent. I love the internet for this kind of reaction because generally it means nothing so why not vent. I dont mind if Joe Public hates it or anything else.

With that in mind here are some new links added to the Mobius Engine website. These are not new projects but have been waiting patiently for an outing - to roam free once more looking for an audience. Be brave and kind, my fellow netizens and start to Digg, Tweet and blog my little treasures.

Random 13
- a chaotic order of music and art.

Brothers Golgo
- a very odd comic that I hold very dear, despite itself.