Don't Mouse Around

Jeremy Bailey, Canadian, is a real one man band in the digital age. Autonomous and independent, this visual artist and performer acts as protagonist in videos he himself has made and edited, in real time and in a programme of his own creation, at the same time, retransmits them through Internet or other closed platforms. The screen of the computer is converted into a supporting stand, a frame and a stage for short or brief audio-visual stories, often ironic and surreal, in which Bailey parodies the functions and the idiosyncrasies of the computer and it's users. The Operative Visual System, the software of his creation, permits him to do video-performance directly, like the SOS, a mini series of 6 episodes he made and produced for the Canadian television, in them Bailey illustrates the use of the programmes with subtle irony, in a moderately enthusiastic tone, typical of the type of divulging documentary and commercial videodemo, showing how to use some popular programmes. During the Toronto Urban Film Festival, this software permits Bailey to transform himself into an Ad-man, substituting parts of his body with publicity in the video 'Your ad here', which is projected in the monitors of the metro of Toronto during the days of the festival. To determine the position of his arms in the 3 dimensional space, the artist combines his programme with the controller of the Nintendo Wii. "I made my first audio-visual action when my friend and professor, the famous video-artist Colin Cambell, died of cancer. In the video, titled: Bye bye bye, the movements of my arms are synchronized in the way that they seem to move the screen in the space." explained Bailey, who is rapidly becoming one of the most sought after by programmers of multimedia festivals, which multiply during the spring and summer. The video 'Terraform Dance Party' first shown in his exhibition 'Machine Ego' in the 2 of 2 Gallery in Toronto, Bailey put right up front a 3-dimensional system which created a virtual landscape instantly, while he illustrated the process of the work, and revealed tricks of the programme with black humour. In the coral War Mail, conceived for his exhibition in the HTTP Gallery in London, he premièred a new software with which the public could participate in the action through their movements and sounds. After equipping the public with digital pencils, the artist involved them in the collective editing of a delirious email for his mother, while he leisurely continued his space videogame. Amongst his work, one of the most entertaining is called 'Don't mouse around', where the nightmare of the exhausted programmer materialised in mosquito cursors taking control of his inert body ... all sounds fun ways to learn how some new programmes work! Well I don't really have enough space to list his amazing multi-talent. Nor do I have enough tech-knowledge to understand how all his system or creations work. You just have to look him up yourself. Tag:MouseAround

Current Mood: Accomplished

The Curious Effect Of Pink & Florescent Lights

Every so often I find things everybody else seems to be quite familiar with, except me. Either the others are very much cleverer, better educated or informed, or I am simply ignorant. I prefer to classify myself as the latter, because that would simply mean I have not yet learned something, rather than being downright stupid.

I am talking about the florescent pink rose. Have to confess never have I seen one. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue or even black ones yes, in shops where they sell electrical appliances and decorations, which always make me wonder what they could be served for.

In the pre-digital days the laboratories of revelation of photos there would be the red light bulb to prevent the light ruining the film or paper. Now I learn there are pink roses that are not meant to beautify a room or to add romantic ambiance, but to be put in some parts of streets where youngster gather, to smoke, drink, make merry or make trouble. These pink florescent roses apparently can disperse them.

It's not that the pink rose seems detestable to them. What the pink light does is it accentuate the defects of the skin, making young acne covered faces look much more obvious. Two years ago, a young man in Mexico killed a girl because her father mocked about his face so dotted with acne. The unusual incentive has been put to practice by the Town Hall of the city Mansfield, in England. They have installed these pink florescent lights in subways, not with the purpose of concealing their acne, but to discourage their drinking parties there, or creating other noisy mischievous fooleries.

Never followed up to see whether that has brought the desired effect.

Tags:Florescent,Pink

Current Mood: Blah

Children Writing About The Ocean ...

Children Writing About the Ocean. The next time you take a oceanography course, you will be totally prepared.

1) - This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)

2) - Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age 6)

3) - If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. (Mike, age 7)

4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)

5) - A dolphin breathes through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy, age 8)

6) - My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)

7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7)

8) - Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen, age 6)

9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)

10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves in to chargers. (Christopher, age 7)

11) - When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)

12) - Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)

13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)

14) - The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. ( Bob by, age 6)

15) - My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean. What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)

If you didn't smile at some of these, you need to get a better sense of humour.

Tags:Ocean,Children

Current Mood: Amused

People Are Awesome 2013

Absolutely incredible & breathtaking. Unable to describe it, you just have to watch & wonder ...