March 25, 2008
Arse Elektronika 2008 Call for Papers and Sponsors
It's that time again! Monochrom is working on the beginnings of Arse Elektronika 2008, so it's time to dust off all of those "ACM conferences would NEVER publish this!" work you've got!
Also, they're looking for sponsors for this year's conference. It's a great way to get your companies name out there!
The Call for Papers is included below.
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Call for Papers
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ARSE ELEKTRONIKA 2008
Do Androids Sleep with Electric Sheep?
Critical Perspectives on Sexuality and Pornography in Science and Social Fiction
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Taking up where the successful conference in autumn 2007 left off, this year's Arse Elektronika stands under the motto "future" -- and the ways in which the present sees itself reflected in it. Maintaining a broadened perspective on technical development and technology while also putting special emphasis on its social implementation, this year's conference focuses on Science and Social Fiction.
The genre of the "fantastic" is especially well suited to the investigation of the touchy area of sexuality and pornography: actual and assumed developments are frequently depicted positively and approvingly, but just as often with dystopian admonishment. Here the classic, and continuingly valid, themes of modernism represent a clear link between the two aspects: questions of science, research and technologization are of interest, as is the complex surrounding urbanism, artificiality and control (or the loss of control). Depictions of the future, irregardless of the form they take, always address the present as well. Imaginations of the fantastic and the nightmarish give rise to a thematic overlapping of the exotic, the alienating and, of course, the pornographic/sexual as well.
In order to intelligently contextualize the abundance of queries that are involved here, this year's conference will be structured around three day-long discussion panels, each devoted to a specific theme. The impossibility of fitting many of these issues and relationships into such neat categorizations is not only accepted, but also encouraged.
Panel 1: Narration
Narrative positions and narrative media are closely linked in the treatment of the sexual and the pornographic. In the area of fantasization and its great variety of media differentiations (film, literature, computer games, etc.) this fundamental phenomenon is also expanded through the facet of a highly influential fan fiction. Submissions for this panel should deal e.g. with specific aspects of individual media, media complexes, distribution or reception.
Panel 2: Technology
Sexuality and pornography are manifestations of a social reality and are directly linked to questions of technological innovation, whereby fantasizing can also function as a motor of innovation. Submissions for this panel should deal e.g. with the present and future of technological developments, with social-technological aspects (e.g. space travel, plastic surgery, etc.) or with conditions of technologically driven development.
Panel 3: Politics
Science (and social) fiction, sexuality and pornography are often infused with colonialization strategies, conceptions of social norms and political strategies. Here the utopian, the dystopian and the xenophobic are mixed into a dangerous and interpretationally potent concoction. Submissions to this panel should deal with e.g. the juridification of the body, biopolitical standardization processes, political systems of domination and taboos surrounding interracial sex.
Submission requirements:
The 1-2 page submission, written in English, should be thematically oriented toward one of the three discussion panels. It should contain clear information regarding the methodology and up-to-dateness of the thesis it puts forth and detail the technical equipment required for the lecture's delivery. Submissions should be mailed to arse2008@monochrom.at no later than 2 May 2008. Organizational considerations make it impossible to take into account submissions received after this date.
Each participant's written lecture notes should reach the organizers no later than 15 September 2008, the version for publication in the proceedings of the symposium by 15 November 2008.
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March 16, 2008
British Engineering Systems' Intelligent Vibrator Project
British Engineering Systems' Intelligent Vibrator Project
Man, BES's website name sounds so much more official than Slashdong. Ah well, we were goin' for comedy in the first place (for those of you who didn't notice the gigantic flying circuit board dildo in the header and all).
Remember the torturedildonics project that I mentioned someone else coming up with and mentioning a few months ago? For those of you that don't like clicking links, the idea is basically to make a random number generator that controls a vibrator, therefore making a very annoying sex toy. Yes, some people want this. No, I don't care if you don't. Maybe some other people reading this page do. Might be nice to think of them every once in a while, eh?
Anyways, the BES blog is all about the journey to discovery and learning that goes along with trying to put this particular project together. Lots of interesting discussion about implementation, ideas for the future, etc... Hasn't been updated in a couple of months, but I'm partially posting this to poke the project's author to start posting about it again. Here, have some hits, random internet guy!
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Slides from ETech, and a resolution
Yup, I'm back. Sorta. Just kinda lost that blogging feeling for a few months. May lose it again after I blow the content I've built up from not posting for 3 months (not that any of you have scooped me on much that I'll be posting either, ya lazy bastards).
Anyways, first off, for those of you that missed it at ETech, my presentation slides are now available at:
http://www.slashdong.org/files/ETech2008Presentation.pdf
It's basically the same deck I've used throughout the past few conferences, and it's also the /last/ time I'll use it. That's right, no new conferences until new content. I figure everyone either knows the basics of this by now, or can tune into Vimeo page with my Arse Elektronika Version of the presentation. Here. I'll even embed it for you, again.
Arse Elektronika 2007: Presentation by Kyle Machulis from qDot on Vimeo.
So yeah. No conferences in the pipeline now. And I'm happy for that. Time to make new stuff.
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