Joe Mills

Spiros Politis

Image from Spiros Politis

I came across Spiros Politis while looking through Luerzer’s Archive. By the way, Luerzer’s is a great place to see great photography and advertisements around the world. He is part of a larger group of photographers represented by Anderson Hopkins. Anyway, his photographs are extremely clever and funny. Plus, they are well shot. He makes a monkey look like a rich businessman or celebrity in the back of a limo. He also has a shot of woman who is literally shedding her work self as she heads out for a night on the town. Something worth checking out.

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DOPA Bill

Recently, the House of Representatives passed the DOPA Bill. What is DOPA you ask?

This bill effectively bans from schools and libraries any websites that allow users to create public web pages or profiles, chat rooms or e-mail, and is the centerpiece of a Republican effort called the “Suburban Agenda.” It is not completely clear if this ban would affect sites that are not social networking sites.

As Will Richardson writes today on his blog…

So the dopey House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed DOPA, and we’ve got to get our acts together to make sure Senators have more of a clue about what’s happening with technology out here in the “real” world. I wonder how many of them come even close to “getting” everything that’s shifting and changing, the way we are connecting, the learning that’s happening in social spaces, the fact that this bill takes away our ability to teach our students in meaningful, realistic ways not only how they can stay safe, but even more importantly, how they can learn, network, interact, and become continuous learners.

I’m really pissed at the media on a number of levels, first for they way they have sensationalized the whole MySpace issue into ratings by pumping up shows that “catch” online predators and stories that almost celebrate the ignorance of kids who aren’t being taught not to trust the people they meet online and to keep personal information private. They’ve preyed on the ignorance of the masses who really aren’t paying close attention and just scared them into thinking that there is danger at every turn, when in reality our kids are more at risk for sexual predation from their family members than online.

Just wanted to pass this along. It seems that it keeps getting harder and harder to convince people that education is the way to teaching our children how to use the Internet responsibly.

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A Good Way to Teach Kids?

Will Richardson has a good post about a recent article in the New York Times:

Here’s the lead from a New York Post article today titled MySpace Invaders for City Students:

City public-school students better beware what they blog when classes resume in September.

A revised draft version of the city Department of Education discipline code calls for harsh punishments – including expulsion – forstudents who post “libelous or defamatory material or literature” on the Internet.

Kindergartners to fifth-graders who disparage their teachers, principals or fellow students on the Web could face a finger-wagging parent conference or be suspended for up to 90 days, according to theproposed discipline code.

For students in sixth grade through high school, derogatory online postings would warrant an automatic suspension and could necessitate expulsion under the new rules.

Nowhere in the article does it mention anything about teaching kids appropriate and acceptable use, which doesn’t mean that they’re not doing that, but it makes you wonder. And this approach is just doomed to failure. It’s a “deal with it” moment where the city is choosing to do just the opposite.

Now I know I don’t have to say this, but I’m going to anyway. Welcome to the new world. Resistance is futile. Education is the only answer.

Just like anything else in this world, kids need to LEARN how to do things. They learn when to cross the street, not to talk to strangers, and come home before dark. Why is the Internet any different? Why is their so much propaganda about the Internet being “bad” without any mention of how to educate our kids to use it responsibly? Since it is still very new to many people, they are automatically scared of it and want to regualte it without looking at it with a trained eye. Hopefully, time will change all of that.

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Blue Ball Machine

Image from YTMND.com

I love anything associated with Rube Goldberg, and I came across this web site in the newest issue of Wired. It is called the Blue Ball Machine and it was created by many users. Everyone involved made a small .gif image that had a blue ball come in one side and out the other. Then, someone pieced them all together into this creation. It is beautiful because of its simplicity.

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Brian Ulrich

Image from Brian Ulrich: Not If But When

I don’t know why I didn’t post about this artist before, but I recently came across his work again and I didn’t want to forget this time. Brian Ulrich is a Chicago photographer who looks at consumerism in this country. From his site, he states:

In 2001 citizens were encouraged to take to the malls to boost the U.S. economy through shopping, thereby equating consumerism with patriotism. The Copia project, a direct response to that advice, is a long-term photographic examination of the excesses of consumer-dominated culture in which we live. Copia explores not only the everyday activities of shopping, but the economic, cultural, social, and political implications of commercialism and the roles we play in self-destruction, over-consumption, and as targets of marketing and advertising. By scrutinizing these rituals, I hope that viewers will evaluate the increasing complexities of the modern world and their own role within it.

The photographs are mainly of people shopping and “still-lifes” in retail stores. He takes these very mundane and ordinary subjects and makes them look extraordinary and beautiful. The lighting he adds is minimal but he shoots them in a way to highlight his subject and give it great presence. He is able to catch these consumers in moments that are almost sad and disturbing, but the elegance of the photographs makes you want to keep looking and study the role of consumption in this country.

He will be part of an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago in August called MP3. He will also be featured in a collection of work in a book by the same name in September.

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CMD9 Ver. 9

In just wanted to pass along an interactive portfolio that is a lot of fun to look through. I haven’t been that interested in web design recently, but I thought this one stood out amongst some of the other “flashy” sites I’ve seen. CMD9 does various types of illustration and design, but the cool thing about this site is the moving and rotating boxes that serve as their navigation. Make sure to click on the 3D site to get the full impact.

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Imagination Cubed

Image from Imagination Cubed

This site from GE is one of the better “commercial” sites I have seen that really shows some creativity and pushes the boundaries of the social web. Basically, you can create simple drawings that can be saved, edited, and shared with friends. Maybe it is all in good fun, but at least it is fun, creative outlet available to anyone who can access the Internet.

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The Bigger Shifts

One of the reasons I got into this whole social web movement was a great book I read by Will Richardson called Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms suggested to me by Erik. Richardson has a great blog that I read occassionally. Today, he had a great post about how the Internet has such a bad stigma amongst educators.

And so there it is. Another one of those nasty little truths about all of this. The biggest shift is not the technology, not the practice, not even the implementation. It’s the cultural, social shift that moves us from the idea that we must prevent our kids from seeing and engaging with this “stuff” to the idea that says, look…it’s a different world…they’re going to find sex and porn and bad stuff and bad people no matter how hard we try to keep them from it, but when we weigh that fact against the incredible learning potential that the Web provides, we’re going to choose to educate rather try to block and filter it all.

What kills me most about all of this is that I have yet to see anyone cover the eyes of their kids when they go into a magazine store and every skinny, big-breasted super model or super actress is right at eye level, or change the channel when scantily clad women dance provocatively in front of half naked, muscle bound men in the name of selling beer or music or whatever else, or stop them from going to movies filled with violence, abuse, objectification and the rest. Why is there no outrage over that? Is it because that’s done within full view of parents? Is it because we’ve just become so inured to it that we don’t see it. (I doubt that.) Is the Web different because the kids are at the controls? What is the mentality that says seeing it all around us in public is somehow less “damaging” than seeing a word on a Website somewhere?

Richardson could not be more right. I can’t even say it better myself. As soon as someone sees a “questionable” word on a web site, the Internet is automatically seen as a scary place. If we educate our students and our children about the dangers of the web (like we would do anything else), they are going to learn how to use it responsibly. Everyone is so quick to step in and regulate Internet content and “protect the children” (like my father says) that we lose sight of the big picture. In the end, our children and students lose out because they are sheltered instead of being exposed to a tool that can expand their love of knowledge.

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Computer Arts Magazine

Image from Computer Arts Magazine

I have seen many art magazines on the news stand, and Computer Arts and Computer Arts Projects are easily the best available. Computer Arts tackles many different subjects in one issue while Computer Arts Projects looks at something specific. For example, they had an issue recently devoted to character design. They are produced out of the UK, so they are a rather expensive for a monthly magazine, but it is well worth it. Both magazines have tutorials and how-to arrticles. They have some of the best Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator designs to look at for those of us looking for inspiration. They profile a lot of designers and illustrators in both magazines. Computer Arts also looks at design issues, news in the industry, and reviews products. I know a lot of people like them because they provide a CD-Rom to try out the tutorials and look at new software. I will be getting a subscription to Computer Arts Projects soon, but I am always checking the news stand for both magazines when I get a chance.

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Phirebrush

I have seen a lot of cool things this week…I guess that is why I’ve been posting so much. Anyway, I came across a great online art magazine called Phirebrush. The great thing about Phirebrush is that they use visitor submitted artwork which is very different from many sites you will find.

What is Phirebrush? Well, we in short, we are an online magazine (art group if you want) that displays user submissions in monthly issues. These submissions showcase visitor submitted artwork, photography, music, desktop wallpapers and writings of various styles. Unlike most art groups and e-zines, we let ANYONE submit, trying to showcase both the famous and beginners, giving everyone a voice and a chance in the spotlight. Along with each issue we release an interview as well. We try to spread the variety around, one month talking to an artist, another month with a photographer or maybe a band, spreading insight into their minds and styles. So, what is Phirebrush? Phirebrush is whatever you make it to be.

I have just begun to look around their site but, from what I understand, they recently updated their site and they also have an RSS feed if you are interested.

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