semantic weltbild 2.0 (Building the Semantic Web is easier together) : topic:digitalcouch

Ars Electronica: Headbanghero.com, Nemo Observatory, and drawdio

leobard — 2009-09-08T09:10:00Z

On the weekend we have been on the Ars Electronica Festival - the 30th anniversary version of this art&technology festival in Linz. Awesome.

I will blog and put pictures online in the next weeks, here a few previews:

Leobard doing the headbanghero.com game - its guitar hero with headbanging. röckers, you häve to dö it.

Here is Ingrid in the Nica-Award winning Nemo Observatory, its a "private tornado", you sit on a comfortable chair in the eye of the storm. Polystrene balls and ventilators build the storm:

And we visited the MIT exhibition, traditionally a place where the best interactive media art people in the world gather. Drawdio really cought us, a simple rep-rapped device using an electrical current going through your body and watercolor paint to create a musical painting experience, at (I would guess) a low cost of 10$ per device and electrical materials you have in your drawer at home. Googling for it, I instantly found that they published it on Instructables in a pencil-based version. Just enjoy the movies:

Our Great Escape from Kaiserslautern

leobard — 2009-06-22T20:42:00Z

Thats it! We escape from Kaiserslautern. On Saturday, 20th June 2009 we celebrated our last night-out in Kaiserslautern. We leave for good, we leave for Vienna.

pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leobard/sets/72157620153553827/

Thanks to all the people who joined Ingrid and me at the party. Michael and Gunnar and Martin cooked an excellent mix of curries, pakoras, and other dishes. Henning and Maria brought icecream, Sebastian another dessert. Dominik and Nora brought salads, Jochen a nice tapas "rolled bacon with dates". And more. Everyone enjoyed eating the resulting menu.

I decorated and rearranged the flat a bit to accomodate more people and have a nice look.

As surprise cultural event, I decided to put up a street-bar. At 23:00 about half of the partygoers went down to the street and built a bar from 10 banana boxes (we have 70 of them around here for moving). On the bar we had chips, wine, and spirits.

It attracted the right people

That went really well, later on we put down the bar again and went to fruchthalle to watch some tango dancing and other things.

That got boring after a while and we got a tip from someone performing that the Urban Biwak should be nice, so we went on:

At this time, things get a bit blurry and not all stories must be told...

It all ended classically in Gusto, with a hard group of Gunnar, Max, Rinne, and me.

Thanks to everyone for making this the great escape, it couldn't have been better. I will miss you guys! See you in Vienna.

Photos Permanent Breakfast

leobard — 2009-05-04T12:51:00Z

Am Freitag, 1.Mai, hatten wir, wie angekündigt, ein Permanent Breakfast in Kaiserslautern.

Hier die photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leobard/sets/72157617561339220/

Am 16.Mai 2009, um etwa 19:50, wird dazu auch ein Beitrag von Henriette Seyfferth in SWR3 Rheinpfalz "Landesart" laufen.

Permanent Breakfast 1.5.2009 Startfrühstück

leobard — 2009-04-20T08:00:00Z

Wie jedes Jahr, werden wir auch dieses Jahr in Kaiserslautern am 1.Mai am Stiftsplatz frühstücken! Teil der globalen Permanent Breakfast Kunstaktion.

Freitag, 1.Mai 2009
10:00 Stiftsplatz
bis etwa 12:00

Die regeln:

es muss wie ein formales frühstück aussehen (keine picknicks)
es geht ums partizipieren - jeder hilft mit
ein klein wenig mehr mitnehmen als für dich selbst, dann ist auch genug da für passanten und freunde die was vergessen haben

was man mitnehmen kann:

Tische
Stühle
Frühstück
Hüte
Sonnenschirme
Lampen, kleine Radios, es soll Wohnzimmerstimmung aufkommen

vergangene freude:

Merkt euch den Termin an, es zahlt sich aus! Haltet es nicht geheim, macht comments hier (unten) wenn ihr dabei seid.

Kinetic Sculpture Race has 41th Anniversary! how about one in Vienna/Klosterneuburg?

leobard — 2009-04-13T16:05:00Z

"Adults having fun so children will want to grow older",
Hobart Brown, glorious founder of the race.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_Sculpture_Race
A Kinetic sculpture race is an organized contest of human-powered amphibious all-terrain works of art. The original event, the Kinetic Grand Championship in Humboldt County, California, is also called the "Triathlon of the Art World" because art and engineering are combined with physical endurance during a three day cross country race that includes sand, mud, pavement, a bay crossing, a river crossing and major hills.

This year is 41th Anniversary! The first race started in 1969 in Hippie-California. How about making a race this year in Klosterneuburg, next to Vienna? We have wild cross-country, road, and water. I would like to find a few mates for a team to create "Free Ellie" and you should also make a team! its fun, it teaches you artwork and handicrafts.

and look at all the fun it can be after you do it for many years:

I search for alternative-minded people who would like to help out, co-organize, form teams, and carry on the spirit of this family-friendly event in Europe. Are you in? Write to me or comment below.

Our design is intentionally simple so that its possible to build it within a week - would you like to ride in this? then help building it!

update: I made a facebook group to kickstart this: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=67272838900

Frohlocker 11 on 27th March in Kaiserslautern

leobard — 2009-03-16T12:29:00Z

Freitag, 27.3.2009

22:00, 4 EUR Eintritt

Pflichttermin, beste Musik der Stadt, Balkan Beatz meets Electronic.

5.10.08 Digitalcouch läd ein zum The Great Escape ins Cafe23

leobard — 2008-08-26T10:01:00Z

Unser persönlicher The Great Escape von hier liegt für uns noch in der Zukunft. Bis dahin sind wir WahlLauterer und verbringen unsere Zeit in dieser Metropole der Pfalz. Wir warten nicht ab, das jemand uns Zeitvertreib organisiert, sondern organisieren selber und schauen dabei gern mit Laptop und Beamer über den Tellerrand von Kaiserslauern hinaus.

Offenes Treffen / Eintritt frei.

15.10.08
19:00 - 22:00
The Great Escape ins
Cafe23
Pirmasenser Str. 5 / Eingang Glockenstrasse
http://www.cafe23.de/

Nehmt USB-sticks, videos und shit aus dem Netz mit!

vorige great escapes:

für die couch,
Jens Rinne und Leo Sauermann

Permanent Breakfast 23.8. 10:00 Pirmasenser Str 18

leobard — 2008-08-18T14:42:00Z

Wie auch hier verkündet:

Längere, dem Flashmob verwandt: Permanent Breakfast.

Wie vor zwei Jahren gibt es auch dieses Jahr wieder ein Permanentes Breakfast: das immerwährende Frühstück. Immerwährend sind inzwischen zwölfJahre, im Mai 1996 initiierte der Wiener Künstler Friedemann Derschmidt und seine Gruppe das "Permanent Breakfast".

Die Regeln sind einfach: einer lädt zum Frühstück ein, alle eingeladenen Freunde bekommen ein ordentliches Frühstück im öffentlichen Raum. Am folgenden Tag frühstücken die eingeladenen und laden wiederum Freunde ein, die Kette setzt sich fort.

Frühstück ist am

23.8.2008,
von 10:15 bis 12:00 (pünktlich)
bei der Pirmasenser Strasse 18 (Fußgängerzone).

Zum gleichen Zeitpunkt steht an eben der adresse ein Oldtimer, und etwas Kunst vom angrenzenden Unicat laden, d.h. es wird bunt und nett.

Bitte bringt mit:

Tisch und Stühle (zur Not auch Decken, GymFitbälle oder ähnliches)
Wir können Tische organisieren, meldet euch bei Leo vorher
und Verpflegung.

Das entstehende Frühstück soll formal als solches erkennbar sein, dementsprechend sind tageszeitungslesende Kaffegenießer in Lehnstühlen zurücklehnend am Butterzopf knabbernd ausdrücklich erwünscht.
Bei Regenwetter? Als Kontaktmann für die Frage was bei Regen passiert dient Leo. Ruft mich einfach an: +49 176 24548974. leo(at)gnowsis.com

Glowing Tape Sculpture for Nowhere2008

leobard — 2008-04-13T18:26:00Z

What participatory Art project do you bring into the desert to Nowhere2008 festival? It has to glow, it has to look amazing, it has to be less than 5kg and 5 liter space to fit in the luggage in the airplane?

You have to bring an idea. The idea is combining Led lights with TapeSculpture.org, a form of street art developed and perfected by Mark Jenkins.

The core of the idea is that the ingredients are cheap and can be bought virtually everywhere:

clear packing tape
plastic wrap
scissors or a knife
and an object you'd like to cast

Read the tutorial or watch the video by Mark Jenkins:

An technique that can be easily tought and copied. Excellent. Mash it up with LED Throwies (I use AA batteries) and we have lighted art.

Here is my first real piece, the Rabe:

Its a great piece of DJ art to give light to your labels:

And a second one, appearing magically today in Kaiserslautern:

Hyperaudio and transformingfreedom

leobard — 2008-03-22T13:36:00Z

On thursday I stumbled into the relaunch party of
transformingfreedom.org. The site aims to provide essential information about our age, using the tools of our age.

Andreas Leo Findeisen is one of the founders of the platform and we had a great time chatting, showing off technostuff, and drinking beer. Accidentially, most of monochrom.at were also there and somebody put on a screening of Kubrick's 2001.

A typical content of transforming freedom is this Stallman speech:
http://www.transformingfreedom.org/de/node/97

photos of the events

Do Animals get Goosebumps because of terrorists?

leobard — 2008-03-17T13:55:00Z

The masses lost their instincts, and may have more fear from terrorists than cancer.

How much are we animals? Susanna Hertrich has a project on this topic:

This project picks on how much today's people have detached themselves from their original animal inheritance.
...
It is said that no other generation before has been as anxious and risk aware as ours. Other than animals, we aren't equipped for the challenges of contemporary living. We don't have the abilities to identify the real dangers in a surplus of potential threats and horror scenarios offered to us by mass media.

(photo shamelessly linked from Jonathan)

Jonathan Hartley (whom I met two weeks ago in Krakow) blogged about it from a different perspective:
Susanna Hertrich has an art / thesis project to artificially stimulate peoples threat perceptions (by giving them goosebumps, or making hairs stand on end) in response to actual threats, as opposed to perceived ones. Its a topic that Im unnaturally preoccupied with, since the most egregious examples of the disparity between the two seem to intrude on my life every day. My opinions about whether any given threat is real or illusiory seem to differ from almost everyone, but Im going to stubbornly cling to the idea that everyone else is crazy. Take the entry on terrorist attack as an example (see diagram.) Public reactions to the topic remind me of nothing so much as a stirred-up ants nest, a psychotic, ineffectual frenzy.

"Your Studio and You" - the movie

leobard — 2008-02-14T07:43:00Z

I found one of my favorite movies on google video: "Your Studio and You".

You can read the wikipedia article to learn more, the film has three aspects which make it excellent:

It is funny and well done
The movie featured a bevy of celebrity appearances which includes Andrew Bergman, James Cameron (shown improving the Universal Studios landscaping), Shaun Cassidy, Robin Cook, Shelley Fabares, Michael J. Fox (sometimes mistaken in the film for Dian Bachar, a longtime Parker-Stone collaborator), Brian Grazer, Heavy D, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Barry Kemp, Angela Lansbury (shown painting the Psycho House), Mike Lobel, Traci Lords, Kevin Misher, Demi Moore, Darrin Pfeiffer, John Singleton, Steven Spielberg (shown as a Universal Studios Guide), Sylvester Stallone (in his Rocky Balboa character, and subtitled for comedic effect), Marty Stuart, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. (from Trivia about Seagrams)
It is historically interesting.

Let me focus on the last point. Read on Zap2it.com an interview with Trey Parker, who together with Matt Stone directed the movie.
On April 6 1995 Seagrams, back then one of the largest beverage company in the world, decided to sell its share in DuPont oil for $9 Billion to instead later buy Universal Studios, MCA, PolyGram, and Deutsche Grammophon.

Universal Studios PR employees contacted David and Jerry Zucker "to make a short film for Universal to be played at a big coming out party Seagrams was throwing for all of its employees." link
The Zucker brothers ("Airplane", "Naked Gun", "Top Secret") had no time and asked Trey Parker and Matt Stone (who were complete unknown punks) to do the movie, Zucker Bros. said to already have a "very funny script".

But when Trey and Matt appeared on site for the takes with Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Michael J Fox, they were surprised that the "very funny script" did not exist. Also, the PR people were aroused not to see the Zucker Bros on site, but punks.

"We suddenly just stopped everything and said, 'let's just do it all like a really stupid '50s industrial movie. Because then at least that part of it will be funny. And so we just started trying to shoot it like those little 'duck and cover' nuclear things from the '50s."

The movie features "Seagrams Wine Coolers", and good advice how to improve Universial City Studios (UCS) - all employees agree "It's UCS for me". So, Seagram beverages decision to get more fun in entertainment business led to this movie a year later.

Really weird: Trey Parker did not see the movie for four years after the take, because it was so internal that they did not give a copy to the directors (!?) but it showed up on the web (!!hurray!!) in 2001, and then... haha.

The result is above, and the guys made many great things after and before it, such as Southpark. True Art.

Silly Walks Flashmob

leobard — 2008-01-29T15:01:00Z

FlashMob Ministry of Silly Walks
Kommt am Mittwoch, den 13.02.2008,
pünktlich um 17:45 Uhr
an die Bushaltestelle Rathaus.

Achtet auf eine gepflegte Erscheinung (z.B. Anzug, Aktentasche, Melone, ...) Wir performen den Silly-Walk bis 17:55 und verschwinden dann wieder.

Als Anregung:
Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w

Bitte verbreitet diesen Aufruf über e-mail, SMS, Telefon, ...

Was ist zu beachten? (aus www.flash-mobbers.net)
1. Wenn Du schon hingehst, dann mach auch mit! Aber nicht stehen bleiben und
glotzen!
2. Erscheine erst zum abgemachten Zeitpunkt (pünktlich)!
3. Folge genau den vorgegebenen Anweisungen!
4. Je mehr es wissen, desto grösser wird die Community. Also: weitersagen!
5. Keine Körper- oder Sachbeschädigungen, Beschimpfungen, etc.! Flash-Mobbers
sind friedlich und wollen Spass haben. Und es gibt einen guten Ruf zu
verlieren.
6. Die "Action-Area" zügig wieder verlassen und seiner Wege gehen.
7. Wenn jemand fragt, was das sei oder wer das organisiert hätte, antworten,
dass man spontan da sei.

Bis dann!
Die FlashMobbers.

WG Party

leobard — 2008-01-27T21:32:00Z

Eine nette WG Party in Kaiserslautern, Musik wieder (wie bei Tobis party) von Frohlocker/Schweinsgallop galopp-records.com. Wer in Kaiserslautern die besten DJs für elektronische/tanzbare Partymusik sucht, höre bitte sofort auf die frohlockere myspace seite rein.

photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leobard/sets/72157603803768980/

UPDATE:
Es gibt am Freitag, 8.2.2008, eine Frohlocker Party im Kramladen, ab 22:00, 2 EUR Eintritt

mobile clubbing kaiserslautern

leobard — 2007-12-25T19:29:00Z

aftermath of the last mobile clubbing in Kaiserslautern / elf freunde kreisel: the video!

update: the missing links:

raus-aus-kl blogpost

flashmob announcement on twoday

Und der spirituell perfekte artikel aus der online-lokalzeitung kaiserslautern:
Zu denken gegeben hat den eingesetzten Polizeibeamten ein Vorfall am Dienstagabend am Löwenburg-Kreisel. Gegen halb 8 wurde die Streife verständigt, weil sich zu den elf starren Freunden mitten im Kreisel weitere 29 gesellt hatten und für Aufsehen sorgten. Der Grund: Die Gruppe tanzte und hüpfte auf der Fläche herum und schien lautlos in Richtung Himmel zu beten.
Nachdem die Streife den Haufen eine Weile beobachtet hatte und sich keinerlei rechtliche Beanstandungen ergaben, zogen die Beamten wieder ab. Im Rapport wurde vermerkt: Ob die Gruppe mit ihrem Tanz den Wettergott bezüglich Schnee, oder das Christkind auf reichliche Geschenke beschwören wollte, konnte nicht geklärt werden.

Offensichtlich wurde die Polizei Zeuge des angekündigten Mobile Dancing Club, zu dem im Internet aufgerufen wurde. Dabei trafen sich Tanzfreudige mit einem MP3-Player, um öffentlich zu tanzen, beim ersten mal in der Karstadt-Unterführung, dann jetzt am Löwenburgkreisel.