maetl

Culture

The No Logo Decade

How the iconic summary of the anti-corporate movement became a handbook for corporate marketing.

Reconsuming Ideals

Portigal Consulting talk about the analog human and the digital machine.

To Be a Philosopher

Celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy causes an existential crisis by quoting a hoax author.

Volume and Value

“If you had thousands of Greek plays to read, would they be that good?”

Becoming Cyclic

Humans lack cohesive understanding of the cultural and environmental flow-on effects of industrial and consumerist technology.

Creative Freedom Foundation - For Fair Copyright Reform in NZ

Thanks to Mathew and Bronwyn, the Creative Freedom Foundation is here: The Creative Freedom Foundation launches today in New Zealand to unite artists who are against the removal of New Zealander's…

The War of Perception

We are threatened. In lieu of having the time or mental obduracy to eloquently express this stream of thoughts in essay or article form, I'll just jot down a summary of related themes. Hopefully…

Bringing out the worst in people...

From Summon Monsters? Open The Door? Heal? Or Die?, which discusses the declining value of blog comments and social news sites: A funny thing about these sites is that they know about this problem.…

The Tragedy of Hip

"You solipsistic bastard", she said As if what she really wanted was a justification For why the earth was simply circling Her own sun, that vainglorious obsession, A swelling black hole closet Hoarding…

New Zealand in Ten Movies or Less

I'm not usually one to jump onboard the blog meme wagon, but after seeing the recent proliferation of America in Ten Movies or Less, I started wondering which ten films would best sum up the New…

The Politics of Personal Destruction

If you are a young, idealistic person, don’t get involved in organised politics. Contribute to your community, your neighbourhood, your immediate circle of trust and support. This is the best…

Andy Warhol paints Debbie Harry on an Amiga

The Amiga line of computers had a significant influence on many graphic artists and musicians moving into digital production.

Livecoding the musical apocalypse

Algorithms are thoughts, chainsaws are tools, and the triumph of the cyborg composer.

Eye on Berlin

Not only the end of a decade, but the 20th anniversary of a monumental political event. Eye Magazine 74 is a focus on the graphic output from Berlin.

Defining Noncommercial

What do people actually mean when they define their content as “noncommercial”, and release it under a NC license?

Rap Confronting the Record Biz

A short history of rap songs that confront the nature of commercial rap and the record industry, amongst other things.

Backlash Against Net Filter

The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. - John Gilmore Interesting recent developments in the ongoing war of perception. Now, Australian ISP's are refusing to take part…

Hip Hop: Imagining a Future

Hip hop is not just a mirror of what is, it should also be a reflection of what can be. I like that Obama recognizes the problem of materialism in contemporary rap music. However, I'm not…

One size doesn't fit all

As languages change, so do typefaces. These changes are not radical; they are subtle evolutions that address culture and technology. Modern typography requires modern typefaces, designed by the…

Where are the women in open source?

It gets tiresome when every time someone publishes an article about this issue, a stream of misogynistic trolls start babbling and complaining. You fucking assholes are just proving the point…

Contradictions, Conspiracies, and Cultural Logic

Frederic Jameson, author of Postmodernism or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism gave a lecture at Vic yesterday about Representations of Globalisation. Jameson's project can perhaps be summed…

Changing The Future of Reading

Understanding the Google Books Settlement.

The worst condition

Did Saddam unconsciously model aspects of his regime on science fiction from Western popular culture?

Where a carrot is never just a carrot

“If all you can say is ‘fresh from the wholesale market’ then you have to be cheap and open all hours”

The Tragedy of the Von Erich Family

Lest we see the fate of the Kennedy family as a singular anomaly, it’s worth contrasting the equally tragic—and most thoroughly American—story of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty.

The Best Blog Posts of 2008

Though I'm clearly not a fan of link whoring "best of" or "top 10" posts, I wanted to take a quick look back at the most amazing ideas and incisive commentary that exploded through my RSS reader this…

The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement

This is the full text of my submission to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding the proposed free trade agreement with the United States. Much of this draws from the precedent set…

Orwell the blogger

The diaries of George Orwell are now being published in blog format by The Orwell Prize. The diaries begin in August 1938 and cover the period up until October 1942. They're being timed to appear…

Coding Diversity

I fear that I'm beginning to sound like a stuck record by now, but I can't help attempting to push back against that particular form of inertia that has infected our discipline. First I saw this,…

Culture of Segregation

The many "copycat" and "self-starter" groups that have been "inspired" by al-Qaeda and that have sprung up in England, Spain, Indonesia, and elsewhere will continue to pose the threat of attacks.…

Youth Gangs and Assumptions About Culture

Opinions have been flowing in local media, regarding the intersect between exploding urban situations in France and some of the serious problems in South Auckland at the moment. One thing I'm noticing…