Polymath

ZeroOne San Jose

+ the 13th International Symposium of Electronic Art will take place August 7-13, 2006.

I thought this image was amusing, and perhaps indicative of the state of affairs in electronic art these days:

Those fuzzy letters! The free-form layout! The blotchy printer icon! I can't wait!

The Black Rider

The Robert Wilson/Tom Waits/William S. Burroughs musical is about to close in Los Angeles. If you missed it, or are otherwise curious, I present you with this free guide:

How to stage your own production of The Black Rider at home

1. Buy or download the CD, The Black Rider by Tom Waits
2. Rent a copy of Laurie Anderson's Home of the Brave.
3. Cover a toothpaste carton in black paper and stand it on the television set next to a photo of Alice Cooper.
4 (Optional). Make hand puppets (12) out of old socks or scraps of felt, or buy some authentic Balinese shadow puppets on eBay.
5. Put the CD in the stereo, the tape in the VCR, mute the television, and enjoy!

Chaos on Runescape

For the past few weeks I've been playing the free version of Runescape. I had played it previously a number of years ago, and though there have been significant updates most of the core game concepts remain in the game, particularly the geographical features which require players to spend a lot of time walking from place to place.

Last week the Runescape developers released a new feature for pay-to-play members: player owned houses. The feature has proven so popular that Jagex has had to add a number of game servers to keep up with player demand. Within the game itself, however, the new feature — linked to a new construction skill — is sending large waves across the normally bustling in-game market.

Reading for May, 2006

Andrew Glassner's Interactive Storytelling: techniques for 21st century fiction.

Slowly working through Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.