A Journal for Walking Over Fallen Fences

FILE Rio 2007 has come. Like FILE 2006 in São Paulo, my ilovebees project with CAPitALLism.org has been included here in 2007. If you happen to be down south teetering the line between favelas and Ipanema, check it out.

ilovebees on FILE Rio 2007
http://www.file.org.br

[Press Release]

FILE RIO 2007
NET-ART, VIDEO-INSTALLATIONS, INTERACTIVE WORKS, GAMES, ROBOTIC PERFORMANCES AND BEYOND.

From March 19th to April 24th, 2007

FILE RIO 2007 - Electronic Language International Festival, on its second edition in Rio de Janeiro, is hosted in Oi Futuro Cultural Center, from March 19th to April 24th of 2007, from tuesdays to sundays, 11AM - 8PM. The programme takes over all the exhibition halls of Oi Futuro and its auditorium, which presents FILE Symposium.

FILE, the biggest Art&Technology festival of Brazil, for eight ears has been involving the country in the world’s new media context, gathering electronic and digital artistic production as to reveal the multiplicity within these exciting artworks. FILE Rio 2007 works, are the result of an intense research and selection that launched a great variety of national and international production in the past years.

FILE Rio 2007 is also an event for a new surprise. For the first time in the city, Hipersônica, a free festival of electronic music is being released on the 23rd of March at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, presenting major names in the current and innovating production of the genre.

The other day I randomly heard a radio broadcast about Rumi, the Sufi poet. An expert explained how certain people covered up his many negative aspects (like his bad attitudes toward women) and turned him into a kind of modern day politically-correct prophet guru hallelujah machine. This increases sales revenues for vested interests.

How interesting. I must relay this little fact with others. The announcer on the radio was so knowledgeable and informed about The Real Rumi. I forget the details now, but I am left with a sensation about how The Truth needs to be shared. Next time the Sufi poet comes up in conversation, I will mention how history got him wrong, how he isn’t such an angel after all. I will do my part!

Welcome to Arguing like a Chicken-Head Land.

We often hear fascinating things said by experts who spend much more time investigating a topic than we care to. We the people don’t have time to research every statement from every person in the world. But nonetheless their ideas are still fascinating, so we repeat the argument. Experts may come in the form of your friends, priest, spouse, boss, doctor, television reporter, and the girl next door. We remember the conviction the passion the seeming accuracy and the gist of what was said, and like a domino with the flu, we relay the conviction the passion the seeming accuracy and the gist of what was said to another hapless soul.

This condition is even worse when the regurgitated ideas are not based on some kind of factual clarification (like Rumi’s history), but on a belief or opinion–meaning, other peoples’ fuzzy views on politics, society, hot topics, or the character of a friend (she’s evil, he’s a jerk).

We don’t have have ideas, ideas have us.

A good friend of mine, Cathy Davies, of Idle Time Software, has released today Holding Pattern 2.0: A screensaver that lets you look from the window of an airplane flying over amazing aerial views.  (If you look carefuly, you’ll see me in one of the shots).

No turbulence…
No wailing babies…
No cramped seats…

Check it out.

http://www.idle-time.org

In the tools section of this website, I’ve added a side by side news feature. It displays small business and global human rights issues in parallel. It is interesting to see the two juxtaposed together. Which interests are similar? Which are different? Which overall patterns affect both? How are they blind to each other? Feel free to set is as your homepage or bookmark it to always stay in tune.

Take a look at let me know what you think. Hope you find it interesting.

http://www.mattdunnerstick.com/tools/side_by_side_news.php