new media

Recent Reads: Veniss Underground

Veniss Underground

This book is worth every dollar and cent I paid for, despite my initial reservations about purchasing it: it seemed just too expensive for a 207-page paperback. I had intended to borrow it from the national library but it turned out that for some strange reason it was not available in the library’s catalogue even though the book had been on sale for more than a year.

Most of reviews I’ve read for this novel describe it as a Dantean-Ophean phatamasgoric fable set in a futuristic society where biological living artworks have pervaded into human society for both aesthetic and functional purposes. Having read this novel, I come to the realisation that there is probably no better way to describe it: it is the sum of what the reviewers have described and much more. Vandermeer’s writing style is impossible to describe, it can only be felt through reading and imagination.

Subjects: Books 書物

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: bio-art, Jeff VanderMeer, new media, Olaf Stapledon

"More Ethics, Less Aesthetics" of Bio-Art. Discuss with Examples.

The following essay was written for a module in my university called ‘New Media Art’ for the Jan-May semester in which I scored an A+ ^_^ A word of caution: While I’ve tried to be as accurate as I can while stating facts, I cannot guarantee that I’m 100% correct. If you’re doing a module similar to this: do not copy, do not cheat.

Subjects: School 学校

Tags: bio-art, new media, Olaf Stapledon

Completed: New Media Art essay

Yay! I’m finally done with my silly New Media Art essay of 4000 words. Now I can really get started studying for the ‘xams… (I hope!)

Subjects: General

Mood: Declarations

Tags: essay, examination, new media

I hate presentations.

I hate presentations. I get nervous spells 70% of the time, and it happens when (one or more of the following):

  1. I’m not prepared enough
  2. When I’m mentally exhausted (especially since I’ve been programming and programming these past few days)
  3. When it’s one of those days where I experience speech deficiency problems (also influenced by the lack of sleep)
  4. Whatever reasons that are there but that I can’t remember right now (cos I’m brain-dead at the moment)

The worst thing about presentations is when I have to explain things into detail. It’s not that lack the ideas, it’s just that when I talk in front of everyone, I have this tendency to forget what I want to say. The only way to overcome this is by practising at home what I want to talk about during the presentation. I simply can’t slip into the position of speaker as easily as I would like.

The 2 presentations I had to give this week were disastrous for me. On Tuesday, my Business module presentation, I got nervous for a variety of reasons and though I’m not completely inclined to talk about it on this blog, one of the reasons I shall mention was the lack of sleep. In today’s presentation, well though I presented most of the points I wanted to speak about, I think I sounded more nervous than ever. Firstly, this subject New Media Art is something that really isn’t what I’m used to doing. Secondly, I’ve been having a nasty sore feeling in my throat these few days because I haven’t been sleeping well. Thirdly, it’s the lack of sleep again.

Subjects: School 学校

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: new media, programming, tension, yoga

Well, Sidney's all right now.

Well, Sidney’s all right now. He really scared the hell out of us on Monday. Me on the other hand? I can’t say that things have been great for me these past few days. It fact, it’s been horrible. I’ve got projects due within the next 2.5 weeks before I head for my exams. I’ve been only having about 4 hours of sleep a day, while the faculties of my mind are constantly being overworked. Just earlier, I spent about 10 hours on a programming assignment and I’m still far from completing it. I don’t think I’ll be able to completely satisfy the requirements by its due date which is next Saturday. Then there’s that database group project (which isn’t so bad since there are 5 people working on it, unlike this programming assignment where the scope is wider and the group comprises of only 3 members), and that 4000 word New Media essay of which I’ve only written down about 500 words. Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh…..

Subjects: General, School 学校

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: database, examination, new media, programming, Sidney

Visions of Dystopia

I have visions of dystopia.

While I was publishing the Kenshin post, I thought about the New Media Art tutorial that I attended today. If the world of the future proves to be similar to the concepts the artist Stellarc proposed in his writings and artworks, I think I’ll be happy not to live in that future.

This essay of fiction exemplifies the reasons for the position I adopt, in a way I don’t think I can better. And I’m pretty sure you might have read this before if you had access to the Internet before the start of this millennium.

Subjects: Technology 技術

Mood: Philosophical Musings

Tags: Kenshin 剣心, Matrix, new media, vision

SF Purchases

I was a zombie through half my lectures earlier. Quite a horrible feeling to be so tired yet trying to keep awake. The only lecture that I didn’t sleep in was my New Media Arts lecture thanks to a cup of coffee that I had prior to attending the class. Caffaine can be such a life-saver. Half-an-hour ago you were away in Neverland and now you’re completely awake, the pupils of the eye dilated and everything you see becomes so clear. Through a glass, clearly.

During my lunch break, I had the opportunity to browse through the fair that was held at the Forum in the Arts faculty. There was this stall selling second-hand books that were mostly in good condition, some nearly mint condition. A single book was going for $6 and 3 books for $16. I’m very happy to say that I managed to acquire my own copy of one of the best science fiction books of all time: Alfred Bester’s The Stars, My Destination for only $5.66. Needless to say, I also purchased 2 other books. They are: George Stewart’s Earth Abides and Frederick Pohl’s Gateway.

Subjects: Books 書物, School 学校

Mood: Gratifications

Tags: Alfred Bester, Corinthians, Frederick Pohl, new media, science fiction, second hand

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