The latest issue of Volume magazine aims to re-investigate sustainability after zero. Originally a wacko, hippy-esque ideology, ‘sustainability’ - aka ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘green’ - has now become globally accepted. But as what - an environmental urgency, a political issue, a technical problem, a historic destiny, a new world order? And what are the consequences of this acceptance?
The magazine features a visual essay by Koert van Mensvoort, a Pig Story by Christien Meindertsma, an Oil Story by Harriet Russell, written contributions by Arjen Oosterman, Slavoj Zizek, Amir Djalali, Thomas Daniell and the familiar corporate animal field by Karl Grandin on the cover. Thus recommended. Order here.
Gadgets! You love them when you buy them, but what happens next? Over half of Brits have abandoned gadgets because they don’t know how to use them properly. Seventy-one per cent of Brits admitted they have up to 10 gadgets lying unused around the home. The total tally of neglected and misused gadgets is up to 190 million.
According to the survey conducted by BT Home IT Support, 94 per cent of people who experience problems with their home IT are too scared or proud to seek expert help. Over 80 per cent of those who have a problem try to fix it themselves, or ask family and friends for advice. Men look after their gadgets more carefully than women, the survey found, with 57 per cent cleaning their computer once a month. Only 42 per cent of women clean their PC as regularly.
Source: Webuser.co.uk. See also: The Order Electrus, Humans are the sex organs of Technology.
We already know that guys love dolls… Now learn why some mothers can never stop playing with dolls and that cuteness is defined in the mind’s eye. Image credit: Kentish Babies
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Image by: V. V. Kalininski.
Remember the Fake for Real versus Louis Vuitton case? The Fake for Real memory game was sold in a stylish box with a pattern resembling the internationally known and faked Louis Vuitton pattern. The LV pattern was ironically mimicked using right-free the ‘webdings’ font from MS Word. No can’t do, according to the lawyers of LV.
After the announcement of the redesigned Fake for Real memory game packaging, people have been asking us what happened to leftovers from the earlier edition. So what happened? In one word: TOILETPAPER. We thank the good people of Van Brunchem destruction services for their kind and professional care of our leftover 2400 memory games.
And the good news? If you happen to have an original first edition box, you are now in the possession of a rare and con-tro-ver-sial art piece.
More devastating images below. Read the rest of this entry »
While time seems to flow in this one direction, some people just know how to walk straight through that fourth dimension; catch it in a videoclip and throw the message into eternity. Ten years ago – summer of 1999 – Bjork and Chris Cunningham knew exactly what it is all about. Let there be love in the Next Nature.
Related: Saturn (Directors Cut) | Robot Asimo Conducts Concert | BicycleBot | Voodoo Communication Device for Lovers | The Telepresence Frame
Some recycling this week. Nearing the end of the year we celebrate our favorite finds of 2008.
It might just be my old nature mind, but I still find it a daily miracle: being able to walk into the bakery around the corner and trade a piece of paper – called money – for a loaf of bread. We tend to associate virtuality with video games, but when we think further we realize it has penetrated our lives ages ago. Take money; it is as virtual as the Matrix, but as long as we all believe in it its value it works fine.
Back to Africa. We’re not used to Africa taking lead in new technology. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention and it couldn’t be more true in case of Africa, where pre-paid airtime is fast becoming the ‘virtual’ currency, overcoming conventional currency exchange and lack of banking infrastructure.
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Usually we don’t realize the hours of photoshopping spent on magazine and advertising images before publication. The raw photographic material reveals a lot about the fine craft of ‘beauty construction’. The photo above shows documentary maker, former soap actress and challenger of the beauty industry Sunny Bergman, before and after ‘the photoshop’.
Sunny’s latest documentary Beperkt Houdbaar (Limited Preservation) makes a powerful analysis of the cultivation of the body for the beauty industry’s economic benefit. We are looking forward to her contribution at the Powershow Next Nature in LA.
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19th century people needed some explanation to understand the difference between the regular candlelight and the electrically simulated candlelight. Note the disclaimer at the bottom: “The use of Electricity for lighting is in no way harmful to health, nor does it affect the soundness of sleep.”
For all we know 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was inspired by the developments in lighting technology when he wrote that “in the end, every second nature becomes the first”.
See also: Luxalive the emotionally aware lamp, Magical interaction. Thanks Berry.
