23.6.10

Will localisation define the future?

Bill Mckibben discusses his views on Peak Oil and localisation:
http://www.bigpicture.tv/videos/watch/d947bf06a

Cheap fossil fuels have facilitated longer trade routes, thereby making global trade possible. Oil depletion and climate change are now requiring of us to reduce fossil fuel dependence and shorten supply lines. This has profound implications – indeed Bill McKibben believes it is in our best interests to move proactively towards stronger, more self-sufficient local communities before our hand is forced. He suggests that US individualism has gone too far and a greater sense of community should be encouraged.

22.6.10

Gustavo Cerati - Fuerza Natural



Gustavo Cerati, ex-cantante del grupo Soda Stereo y con más de una década como solista, se vió afectado por un accidente cerebrovascular en su gira por Venezuela en mayo del 2010, como explica aquí su ficha en Wipikedia:

El 15 de mayo del año 2010 es internado por una descompensación,[22] luego de presentar su show en Caracas, Venezuela. Tuvo que ser trasladado hasta una clínica al terminar su presentación en el campo de fútbol de la Universidad Simón Bolívar. El 18 de mayo se supo que realmente se trataba de un accidente cerebrovascular (ACV).[23] [24] Así lo confirmó el neurólogo Vladimir Fuenmayor, quien explicó que el ex líder de Soda Stereo padeció "un evento vascular isquémico, con afasia de expresión".[25] Sin embargo, más tarde fue intervenido quirúrgicamente ante la gravedad del cuadro, y una de los facultativos que lo atendieron dijo que "no volvería a ser el mismo".[26]

El lunes 7 de junio de 2010 es trasladado a Argentina con la compañía de su mamá, Lilian Clark y su hermana, Laura Cerati; en el avión ambulancia N601CV que partió en las horas de la mañana de aeropuerto Simón Bolívar en Maiquetía, en las afueras de Caracas.[27] Cerati viajó bajo la vigilancia del médico Antonio Martinelli, jefe de la unidad de cuidados intensivos del Centro Médico Docente La Trinidad.

El 14 de junio, se informó de que, según uno de sus amigos, el artista habría movido sus labios y su cabeza tras escuchar sus propias canciones

Esperamos que se recupere y que la misma fuerza natural que le ayudó a componer tantas hermosas canciones, ahora le ayude a mejorar su estado de salud.


Documental de la producción de "Fuerza Natural"

Fuerza Natural from Gustavo Cerati on Vimeo.

The Global Climate Wake-Up Call

On Monday, September 21, Avaaz members and TckTckTck Campaign partners sent a deafening wake-up call on climate change to world leaders--with 2632 events in 134 countries, tens of thousands of phone calls crashing government lines, and an unbelievable creativity and diversity of events... directly reaching heads of state and cabinet ministers from Australia to Europe. Words can't describe it. This video comes close

20.6.10

UDK - 50,000 barrels mass physics

Después de mostrar la cantidad barriles de petroleo que están saliendo del Herror! producido en el Golfo de México por BP, inicialmente estimada la perdida de 25,000 por día, ahora se estima mas bien rondando entre los 50,000-60,000 barriles/dia. Aquí sale una versión beta, renderizada con el motor de juego Unreal Engine para tener una idea gráfica:

Mass physics demonstration I rendered in the UDK, simulating 25,000 barrels stacked around a pillar 15,000 feet high, and then group by group falling to the ground.

I accomplished this by using the UDK to construct the setup and then running the benchmark shortcut command to render the scene.

15.6.10

Consciousness is the key


Postmodern Times is a new series of short animated films presenting “ideas about global consciousness and techniques for social and ecological transformation.” The first episode, “Toward 2012,” introduces the project, explaining concepts from Daniel Pinchbeck’s book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, in the author’s own voice. It’s an unlikely visual delight, combining motion graphics with performance capture and live-action in an inventive graphic package.

Future segments will focus on shamanism, sustainability, alternative energy systems, the Mayan Calendar, quantum physics and synchronicity and human sexuality, and a host of other subjects. The director of the series is Joao Amorim, who works out of Curious Pictures in NYC. The Postmodern series is developed by Amorim, Daniel Pinchbeck, Nikos Katsaounis and Fellipe Barbosa.

Daniel Pinchbeck on social networks









14.6.10

Don't Be Sad - Brad Mehldau



El gran pianista Brad Mehldau experimenta orquestando. Aquí una muestra visual y auditiva de "Don't Be Sad" de su último disco Highway Rider

1.6.10

More on Leaks, Censorship and Freedom of the Press

"The web is a great tool for sharing ideas and freedom of expression. However, efforts to try and control the Internet are growing. Internet repression is reported in countries like China, Vietnam, Tunisia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. People are persecuted and imprisoned simply for criticising their government, calling for democracy and greater press freedom, or exposing human rights abuses, online.

But Internet repression is not just about governments. IT companies have helped build the systems that enable surveillance and censorship to take place. Yahoo! have supplied email users’ private data to the Chinese authorities, helping to facilitate cases of wrongful imprisonment. Microsoft and Google have both complied with government demands to actively censor Chinese users of their services.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. It is one of the most precious of all rights. We should fight to protect it."

From Irrepressible.info

Webs and tools

Irrepressible - share/view censored information, websites, blogs, archives

Cryptome - repository for information about freedom of speech, cryptography, spying, and surveillance

Cryptome welcomes documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide, in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy, cryptology, dual-use technologies, national security, intelligence, and secret governance—open, secret and classified documents—but not limited to those
Chilling Effects -
protects lawful online activity from legal threats, allowing recipients of cease-and-desist notices to submit them to the site and receive information about their legal rights and responsibilities.

"Chilling Effects" refers to the deterrent effect of legal threats or posturing, largely cease and desist letters independent of litigation, on lawful conduct. The Chilling Effects clearinghouse will catalogue cease and desist notices and present analyses of their claims to help recipients resist the chilling of legitimate activities (as well as understand when their activities are unlawful). The project's core, this database of letters and FAQ-style analyses is supplemented by legal backgrounders, news items, and pointers to statutes and caselaw. Periodic "weather reports" will sum up the legal climate for online activity.

WikiLeaks -
anonymously hosts leaked government and corporate documents.

WikiLeaks is a multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public. Since July 2007, we have worked across the globe to obtain, publish and defend such materials, and, also, to fight in the legal and political spheres for the broader principles on which our work is based: the integrity of our common historical record and the rights of all peoples to create new history.

We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies


video - conference prestation of WikiLeaks

Logan Symposium: The New Initiatives (in Journalism)


Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism:
A panel of experts from the press, government, and academia discuss their new and upcoming projects. They discuss different methods of promoting investigative journalism, ranging from building non-profit institutions to converting the country of Iceland into a "free press haven."The panel features Gavin MacFadyen (The Bureau for Investigative Journalism, UK), Chuck Lewis (American University), Julian Assange (WikiLeaks), Birgitta Jónsdóttir (Member of Parliament, Iceland) and Jon Weber (The Bay Citizen). Lowell Bergman moderates.



Watch it by Chapters divisions at Fora.tv