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for January 2012
Canada Is About To Pass Sopa’s Evil Little Brother. Politely.
Canada Is About To Pass Sopa’s Evil Little Brother. Politely.:
“I’m a Canadian.
We’re a quiet bunch; prone to enjoying hockey, drinking stronger beer than our friends south of the border, and lovers of fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy.
We also, apparently, have an inferiority complex when it comes to being evil dirt bags, because we’ve decided to pass our very own version of SOPA up here.
Only better*
Meet Bill-C11. Formerly Bill C-32. (I think they thought if they made the number lower people would care less about it?)
{…}
But, as innocuous as it sounds, C-11 does a whole lot that SOPA did with a few extra twists you might not find in the Wikipedia write-up.
Like your PVR? You can’t keep it under C-11.
Like ripping CDs to your iPod? Say bye-bye.
Hey, do you want to be able to unlock your $500 smartphone and take it to a provider less dedicated to violating your wallet? That won’t be allowed either.
Did you get accused of internet piracy but no evidence has been presented and a trial date hasn’t even been set? Under C-11 your ISP will now be forced to terminate your internet access.
And people say that governments can’t be bought.
{…}
There are only 14 days left people. Get active.”
Send a letter to your Member of Parliament now. The letters are prewritten, you just need to click send.
Come on non-Canadian people, please signal boost this for your Canadian friends.
Canadians, take note!
mollymisery: Temperley London 2012 Pre-Fall Collection
Temperley London 2012 Pre-Fall Collection
William Gibson Says His Next Novel Will Probably Be Set in the Future
Your first three books were set relatively far in the future from when they were written –
For my own purposes I assumed that “Neuromancer” was set in 2035, but I was very careful to keep out of the book anything that would allow anyone to date it by internal evidence, which I think was a smart move, considering the longevity that it has strangely enjoyed.
The next three were set in the near future, and your latest three have been set in an “imaginary present.” Are you working your way around to the past?
I once thought I was, but I think I’ve actually worked my way around to the future again. The first three were full-on “This is the future” genre sci-fi books; the next three were like the ‘90s in high cyberpunk cosplay mode. Those [characters], for me, hadn’t been altered by history at all. They were like ‘90s people, but inhabiting this satirical set. I never saw a critic or a reader even remark on that. They accepted them as folk from the very near future, and noticing the lack of response to that was one of the things that emboldened me to write “Pattern Recognition” [2001] and then the next two books ["Spook Country" (2006) and "Zero History" (2010)], which are speculative novels of the very recent past, in that they are each set in the year prior to the year in which the book is actually published, with huge amounts of internal evidence of when it is. A lot of people said to me, “Why are you doing that? It’s going to date it.” I said, “I want to date it. It’s in some way a description of life, and I want to know which month these imaginary events supposedly happened in.”
Salon: William Gibson: I really can’t predict the future
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/CTs_3yK5FHk/
Forthcoming Conference: Sexual Science 2.0
This looks like an interesting conference, November 8-11, 2012 in Tampa, FL:
The Internet and sex go together like Florida and sunshine. Online resources enrich our lives with sexual health and sexuality information, opportunities for relationship formation and sexual connections, sexually explicit materials, and commercial sex products. We can also face unintended consequences from Internet use, including dependence/compulsion, abuse, and inaccurate information and misinformation. However, beyond the Internet, myriad of technologies greatly influence human sexual behavior and sexuality both positively and negatively. Thus, the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) theme is Sexual Science 2.0: Technological innovations in sexuality research. Although submissions from all areas of the scientific study of sexuality are welcomed, we are especially interested in multidisciplinary submissions focused on how technology informs and is a part of the research being conducted by sexual scientists. Potential research topics for plenaries, presentations, and trainings may include:
- Sex and the Internet (Internet sex-seeking, navigating relationships online)
- E-dating (finding dates and relationships online)
- Technology-based sexual health interventions (video, web-based, chatrooms, etc.)
- Cybersex (sexual interactions mediated by Internet or other electronic technology)
- Compulsive online sexual behavior
- Non-monogamy and the Internet
- Special populations and online sexual communities
- Sex and new media, social networks, etc. (Web 2.0, Google+, Facebook, Foursquare, etc.)
- Reproductive and contraceptive technologies
- Technologies pertaining to pharmaceutical/medical treatments and sexual enhancement
- Sex toys and other commercial sex products that utilize technology
- Online sexually explicit material, pornography, and erotica
- Technologies aiding with sex therapy, sex research, sexuality education, etc.
- Technologies for measurement and data collection, including new measurement styles
- Sexual harassment online/cyber-stalking
- “Sexting” and other innovative ways to communicate about sex
- Sex and mobile phones/other portable communication technologies (tablet PCs, phones, laptops, etc.)
- And others…
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/AHdj0yIC5LQ/
thecoveteur: The heavens opened and happened to send us an…
The heavens opened and happened to send us an extra-large Birkin. Fuck the stork.
New Electric Sheep Comic: First Word
Patrick Farley’s Electric Sheep is back with a new comic First Word, a psychedelic meditation on the origin of language.
WARNING: NSFW and contains strobing imagery.
Here’s a favorite old one: The Guy I Almost Was.
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/Q6SCcRKdHSY/
thelingerieaddict: Pretty, pretty lace lingerie.
Pretty, pretty lace lingerie.
maliciousglamour: Lustige witwe der AlpenHarper’s Bazaar…
Lustige witwe der Alpen
Harper’s Bazaar Germany, October 1988
Photographer: Eddy Kohli
Model: Kristen McMenamy
neogrotesque: Alla Kostromichova as Cruella de Ville
Alla Kostromichova as Cruella de Ville
my-ear-trumpet: Dieselpunk and steampunk/Neo-Victorian attire.
Dieselpunk and steampunk/Neo-Victorian attire.
darqueandlovely: Hillbilly goth via Brickhouse on Pinterest
Barefoot Bandit Federal Case Finishes Up
Colton Harris-Moore was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison by a federal court following his Washington state sentencing:
The LA Times reports:
U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones’ sentence runs concurrently with an earlier 7 1/2-year sentence imposed by a state court in Washington for his crimes under state law. Those offenses included a series of burglaries and thefts that terrorized citizens in several states as the brazen fugitive kept two steps ahead of the law. [...]
Prompted by the judge to share his advice to the thousands of admirers around the world who followed his exploits while on the lam, Harris-Moore downplayed the emails he has written from jail in which he described his aviation exploits as “amazing.”
“I would say that the things I did some, I think, thought was perhaps cool, we’re extremely dangerous and terrifying,” he said. “It wasn’t as if I just jumped in a plane barefoot and started flying around. I feared for my life in those situations.”
LA Times: Barefoot Bandit sentenced: ‘I should have died years ago’
From http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Technoccult/~3/JO2V3D82akM/