GUY PROUX WEB VERSION -

THIS JUST IN FROM MARGARET GRISDALE, manager of the President's office --

(GUY PROULX)... graciously agreed to having his presentation videotaped
and provided permission for us to post it on our Web site. The posting
will be made as soon as our staff can edit the footage. Given that a
number of pressing projects currently under way, this may take a couple
of weeks. We shall endeavour to have it posted as quickly as possible.

Guy Proulx documentation // Kat's Machinima Shoot

Hey everybody --

Guy Proulx was fantastic! If you missed it, they did video the lecture last night. Call Eric Schwab at the library to find out about how to see this documentation. If he doesn't know, get back to me.

Kat is scheduling an SL movie production using Machinima -- Ian Ah and I will take part and maybe you can too

-- may be best for us to meet you on-world, then Kat can tell us who to log on as and give us instructions -- or she may be able to give us a "costume" as inventory then we could don the costumes and follow her directions. Ian will have suggestions on this -- Maybe we can find some in-world folk who'd like to participate

-- I will enjoy the experience! Meanwhile, I shall continue with machinima research.

-- I suggest that Kat post her SL "production time" on the blog and we can join in as virtual actors and extras if she'd like...

Jill - Virtual Community

Virtual Communities

A virtual community is an interaction between people or persons via internet, exchnaging information and ideas. There are many names for virtual communities; e-communities, social network, and online communities. Virtual communities can be small or big, they can also be with people you know in reallife or with people you have only met online.
Th internet is a growing media that allows us to publish and interect and exchange information digitally. The internet has also been dubbed the “Third world”
Virtual communities can be a passage way to develop a group that is far away from eachother or bring together old friends and family. People may have the same ideas and interests but may be half way across the world. The virtual community allows a connection between people.
There are so many communities out there. Some communities are art based, some are for intereactions with school like forums or online courses, also there is msn where you can silently talked to your added friends. Then there are others like myspace and facebook where you can customize a page that is your profile and where you can interact with other members of that site. I think though some people abuse virtual communities and post themselves. So many people have posted themselves by taking pictures and writing about their everyday lives. I think that is abusing the site because virtual communities are for sharing and not for gloating.
What is also interesting with virtual communities is the members that join them . There are different stages in being a member. The first stage is the peropheral stage here the person is not yet a member but is a viewer of the community. The second stage is called inbound also known as a newbie and this is where the person is investigating the community. The third stage is called insider or regular and this is where the person becomes a member of the community. Then boundary is the fourth stage which is where they become more involved and sustain their participation in the community. The final stage is called outbound and this is when the member decides to break off and leave the community. Every person is different and it might take a verylong time to break away from the community since its is what helps to define out profile on the internet.
I found an online community that organzies and catalogues family trees and your family name so you can add to your digital family tree as the years go by and add other historic information. It’s a memorial site and keeps track of your origins. You see where your family was first from and where it was circa 1920. Its quite a fascinating site that can help to presurve your family identity.
Virtual communities are becoming more and more popular. They can be used for school, social, leisure, and even work. They allow us to stay in contact with people or to allow ourselves to meet new people who share the same need to communicate in our busy fast pace world. Virtual communities can even get so big and great its own culture.
People who can’t identify or relate to preexisting communities go out and create their own. There are of course guidelines to creating your own online community. First there has to be a sense of usefullness. If the site or community is not worth connecting to then there isn’t really a reason for it to exist. So the creator has to be flexibile and allow for member’s input and make the community easy to contribute to and to access. You have to be open for change. Allow suggestions from members and to allow your knowledge to evolve. Then you have to allow your members to be credited and have to measure their contributions. Then finally to allow members to respond to other members.
Virtual Communities are a new phenomenon in the late 20th and early 21st centery and I think will just get bigger and bigger until the internet is no more.


Works Cited Page


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_communities

http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/sur/surc-K/surc-Kor/surc-Korgemagi

http://archive.ord/index.php

http://www.ourmedia.org/

http://www.akakurdistan.com/

http://www.nytimes.om/special/bosnia/

http://web.macam98.ca.ac.il/~horit_a/chkpoint.htm

http://www.drik.net/


Virtual Community Project – “Double Lives”
By Jill Korgemagi

For my Virtual community project I am doing an online do-over book. I was first ispired by the do-over book called “Pretty Little Mistakes.” It’s a book where you choose your own adventure but in this case its like a passage of your life. You get to choose where you want to go and your actions affect your decions. Usually in one sitting you can can read through your life starting after high school.

So my idea is to recreate this type of fantasy exploration but put it on the internet where you can create your own avatar and then have a profile where you can document your double lives. Other members can look at your avatar and can read about your adventures. For the stories themselves when the website is initially posted there will be a set amounrt of stories but then when people become members and have a certain amount of double lives they can add their own stories and passages, but they will have to be screened and approved by the website directors. You can’t just post any story they have to be okayed.

The format of my community can be considered to be sonic memory. It’s a website where people can share their own stories or post fictional stories to aid in the doublelive adventure.

The meaning of this project is for people to be able to go on imaginary adventure. I think istis a popular concept, many people do the same thing through books, video games like the sims or RPG games, movies, and other websites like Second Life. I think it would be fun to have your own avatar that could look like whatever you want and then you can have a proflile. The profile will post the picture of your avatar and you can add your friends or add stories that you like so you can tract their stories. It’s a media sharing and media swapping based community.

I think my audience will be very dynamic. I think it will attract young and older people. People like to have fun and with this community people will be able to see what its like to make other decisions in life and to see how else their life could be like, whether it be realalistic or fantasy.

I would like there to be different life categories. There will be different catgeories like fantasy, space, realiasic, historic, and even missions lives you can explore.

Assignment #5

Assignment 5 – Memory Architecture in Second Life

What would happen if myself or a family member started to forget the faces of their friends, family membes, or even co workers. What cold I do toeither help myself or help a faily member remember. Clear because Second life is an internet place where you can do anything I am going to use it to aid in this sort of memory loss. So lets just say that I am forgetting faces. Because I use the internet on a regular basis and I have an account on second life I will just make myself the one with the memoryloss. To aid in my dimentia I will produce a capsule that as an avatar I can enter and explore. It will be a sort of gallery where I can see pictures of my family, friends, internet friends and co workers. Using four walls and section each awall for each group of people I need to remember.
So I can interact with the people on secondlife but can teleport to the specific place to go visit the gallery if I need aid to remember someone.

Jill Korgemagi
2234177

Lynne Heller show - fun after class

Tomorrow after class Jim Ruxton and I will be walking to RedHead gallery to see Lynne Heller's mixed reality show at 401 Richmond -- it will be a fun little lunch walk together, followed by a great show with the artist in attendance. Lynne may even attend our class. Then, later this evening - Guy Proulx's lecture. Lots to learn and enjoy today.

GUY PROULX / BAYCREST lectures at OCAD

Tomorrow Night (Wednesday) PLEASE DON'T MISS - YOU'LL LOVE THIS TALK.

President's Speaker Series: Dr. Guy Proulx
The Aging Brain: How Art and Design
are Changing the Way We Care
Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 6:30 pm

OCAD President Sara Diamond invites you to attend a thought-provoking lecture by Dr. Guy Proulx, Director of Psychology at Baycrest. Dr. Proulx will share how art is a gift providing light and creativity taking dementia out of the darkness of pathology. In his words, "Memory has evolved as a wonderous time traveling machine that allows us to recapture the past or imagine possible futures. The power of art and environmental design can do much to reduce excessive disability associated with the aging brain and its related diseases. Confused minds are too often the results of disabling environments and crippling attitudes."

AVATAR-Show & Tell @ The Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity

PART I
AVATARAVATARAVATARAVATAR

On Thursday November 22, 2007, Researchers from the Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity at OCAD held a show and tell session for their weekly open house with the theme of, "Avatar," and I thought it would be beneficial to post my notes to the VC Blog. Shortly after the Avatar discussions, VC Prof. Martha Ladly presented her Masters thesis on mobile technology navigation, called "Park Walk".

So what is an Avatar?

Mark Poon, OCAD Alumnus and Researcher

• Synapse
• build us (humans)
• around us, therefore part of us
• reality
  

Terri, Researcher

• Non-permanent conditions of our existence
• medium of the emergent self
• Weild(ed/ing)
• "Avatard"
  
• Therefore, we must design for emergence
  

This is Fiona Chung, AKA Avah Greenwood

















Researcher
"Multiple Personality Order"

• Avatars are/give superpowers
• Context demands content
• choice/making; social matrix

Invisible Majority

• More visible vs. invisible

Who Are You Really?

• Outwardly, you are that person whom you project yourself to be
• Inwardly, you are more you
• ex. blogging- individual conversation with the/ your self
  

Researcher

• Avatars are "beautiful prototypes"
• Psychophysiological technique of facial electromyography to find the Avatar
• Phonesthesia
• Ancestor simulations
• Telecommunicate
• Ex. Marshall McLuhan- telecommunication theory
• Fractal Geometry as "supernatural avatar"
  

I think an Avatar is:

• Tools of extension; allow us to step into other realms without leaving our worlds
• Applications in:
• Play
• Education
• Production
• Social Psychology
• There is no straightforward answer to "What is an Avatar".

What is an Avatar?

Part II
Professor Martha Ladly presented her Masters thesis to the group at 3pm.







http://mobilenation.ca/mdcn

"Park Walk"






Some valuable information was shared, in regards to working towards a Masters Degree:

1. Generate a project concept: Create a user-friendly navigation-based application for mobile phones in High Park, Toronto.
   
2. Write out the methodology > see website for Park Walk
3. Apply and test > see website for Park Walk
4. During the creative process,
   
1. Think of the user----> Firmitas
2. Apply to the design (cell phone)---->Utilitas
3. Design (the interface)--------->Venustas
5. Important to note:
1. Documentation; storage of files in a library
2. Develop demos to present to committees and panels
6. Write the report
1. paper copy
2. digital copy on DVD

*There are probably many more steps, but this is helpful to know what it is like to go through the process of working towards a Masters Degree.

















In reflection, Martha states that her creative process during Park Walk was not free from barriers:

• GPS Drifiting
• cloudy
• rainy
• leafy
• Solution to this problem: Move the location to Grange Park; test and design.
  

Reflection on the experience of Grange Park:

• "I would make it less didactic and more mysterious"—M. Ladly

In conclusion, but not in-conclusion... Martha is moving on to explore other areas and interests (including, of course, our Virtual Communities class).

Check out these sites:
Android
http://code.google.com/android/index.html
TED Prize
http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/6
Buckminister ("Bucky") Fuller Challenge
http://challenge.bfi.org/
One Laptop Per Child Project
http://laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

—Bryn Ludlow, Nov. 23, 2007

U2 Concert in SL

really cool

Second Life Prision???

I found this article the other day too... forgot to mention it in class... I think the title of this post says it all....

Article about the Future of Interactiive Communities.... as promised!

Hi all,

Its a long article but very interesting!
Richard Bartle's predictions for the future of interactive communities...

on a side note: he makes mention of a software called "3d mailbox". I would check out the link if you want a laugh...

see you next week!

Lynn Heller's show featuring SL at Redhead Gallery

LYNNE HELLER’S ‘really [this show is rented]’
PREMIERES NOVEMBER 21
AT THE REDHEAD GALLERY IN TORONTO -- 401 Richmond St. W.

Lynne Heller enjoys the best of both worlds. In one life, she is a gifted multi-media artist, living in Toronto. In SECOND LIFE, an Internet-based virtual world, she is Nar Duell, a character or ‘avatar’ Heller created as a ‘resident’ of SECOND LIFE.

Beginning November 21, Heller and her intrepid avatar Nar Duell will construct a mixed reality installation at the Redhead Gallery. SECOND LIFE, the three-dimensional animated world, will face off with ‘first life’ – also known as the real world.

Everything in SECOND LIFE is garish, bright and two-dimensional. It’s a world built out of algorithms and fuzzy imported j-pegs. Nature clashes in the ironically flat 3D universe where trees are two-dimensional images intersecting at right angles to simulate the lushness of leaves.

A ‘garden’ in a SECOND LIFE gallery will be projected onto the walls of the Redhead Gallery. Visitors will be able to watch Nar Duell tend her SECOND LIFE ‘garden’ in real time. At the same time, Heller will tend plants in a live garden at The Redhead Gallery. Webcams will capture the action and, in a reiterative loop, video of gallery visitors will be streamed into SECOND LIFE to play on a wall in the SECOND LIFE gallery, also in real time.

James Elkins, the E.C. Chadbourne Chair, department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, says Heller “could be the one per cent or less than one per cent using SECOND LIFE this way. What is being done in these environments is new and doesn’t behave the way people expect art to behave.”

Heller’s interest in examining disparity is captured in ‘really’: “On the one hand, there are our desires and yearnings; on the other, reality. And in between there is a wide gap filled with our very human day-to-day struggles while we live, work, and play. Dreams and reality bumping up against each other… in odd juxtapositions, quirky coincidence and endearing fumbles. My current work reflects my interest in exploring our adaptation as we wander around – mostly lost – improvising in this rocky terrain. I love contemplating our humanity and finding beauty amongst the modest, ‘overfamiliar’ artifacts of our culture.” Her website: www.lynneheller.com/really

An artist and designer, Heller works in a number of disciplines. Principally known for her work in fibre, she has also created new media pieces, sound, websites and installations. She completed her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. Group exhibitions include: The Stray Show (Art Chicago), Wide Borders: Heller, Roy &Thiessen (Burlington Art Centre, Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery in Owen Sound, Cambridge Library and Gallery). Solo exhibitions have been shown nationally and internationally in Havana, Chicago and Santa Fe.

really [this show is rented] runs from November 21 to December 15, with a reception on December 1, from noon to 5 p.m. Heller and Nar Duell will be present at the Redhead Gallery and the SECOND LIFE gallery throughout the show. The Redhead Gallery is located at 401 Richmond Street West in Toronto. Exhibition hours: Wednesday to Saturday, noon – 5 p.m.

Memory Avatar

Hi guys,

The avatar that I created was produced strictly from inherit emotional symbolic and semiotic aspects that I found interesting throughout my life using visual and auditory applications.

Various elements such as the color and features of the avatar reflect cultural significance from various elements of fantasy and reality. The avatar itself would have inherit audio capabilities which take the voice of people I've heard of (though that function may not be available due to my fear of these online banking systems) and in accordance, gesture that person.

These elements coalesce into a single unified being of tangible memory fragmentmentation.

The idea seems nightmarish in a Phillip.k. Dick sort of way but that's how I see it.

Now for something completely Second

Hi persons (engage political-correctness)

Some links I reference come from the Play behaviour and game design course that I'm also taking at OCAD in regards to Second Life immersion :

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5huaC9fnUY7gEVtK-K8pt_5lorjaw
An interesting article about applying something called Brain Control Interface (BCI) as a means for paralysis patients to control a second-life avatar.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/12/second.life.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText
What is regarded as news "in-world"? as the original poster mentioned, does this prove second life's importance or is it simply a means for corporate marketing ?

http://alpha.cbs.com/primetime/csi_ny/
CSI:NY using Second life as a premise for a murder episode.

Art on Second Life

Hey everyone,
Here's a blog about art that's popped up on second life. Neat stuff, check out the title link.
~Kat

Speaking of social networks...

Hey everyone,

I found this article on wired magazine about some of the social networking sites that are on the web today. Pretty hilarious check it out.

Class on Wednesday Nov 21st

I will be in class after the break, and will look forward to joining you all then!
with best wishes
Florence Freenote

The Gallery of Memories

I believe that when we don’t know much about our past and our grandparents we have the same feeling as someone that has lost part of his or her long time memory. Both ask the same questions: who am I? Where have I come from?
My grandfather has tried to answer these questions for my family by documenting the story of his life and pictures of our past generation. He has documented all of those in his notebook. What he has done has provided me with a world full of memories that I can refer to whenever I want to recall these memories.
Second life has given me the ability to recreate this world in virtual format. It has given me the ability to present these memories in a way that will be interesting for visitors. I have presented these memories in a gallery like environment. I have relatives around the world that each of them can find their answers here. They can come here and visit the gallery and learn more about their past generation. The next generation will also have the ability to come here and learn about their aunt sisters.
My avatar is a representation of my grandfather who decided to document all these memories in his notebook and past them to the next generation as an inheritance so we learn from them and apply them to our life.

SL on Facebook, and other destinations that you've browsed

Hello,

SL is on Facebook in a group... I'm scared to join..haha- would you? I like the anonymity of SL as it is.

What are some destinations that you've visted on SL?

Check out this place in China:

Yaoi Province > 207, 31, 25

*there's a building called, "Fingerpaint" and artists post their work on the walls, much like a gallery, but SL version. The content is "mature", nevertheless, the concept is interesting.

"I am a man." —Clarence Thomas

People who seek to define themselves by race have experienced racial prejudice and are driven on anger to find their own identity—not the identity of their given label—and ultimately they will return to the beginning, more vulnerable than ever.

Race is not a project with a beginning and an end. We must be ourselves and live our own lives because it is the only life we will have.

-BL

Not including theories of reincarnation, does this argument/ statement make sense? I am also researching racial identity.

Race-The Floating Signifier

Race, the Floating Signifier: Featuring Stuart Hall
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=...
http://www.mediaed.org Arguing against the biological interpretation of racial difference, Hall asks us to pay close attention to the cultural processes by which the visible differences of appearance come to stand for natural or biological properties of human beings. ...

(In response to Andrew's piece on interracial identity)



(WARNING- THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC ARCHIVAL IMAGES FROM THE SLAVE TRADE IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES SHOWING LYNCHING AND VIOLENT ACTS, AS WELL AS SWEARING. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.)

Avatars consume as much electricity as Brazilians

So as promised in my comment to Bryn's post, here is an article comparing the amount of electricity consumed by an avatar in second life compared to real human being is our Real Life. It is an interesting read, and certainly shed a new light in my eyes of how even in virtual spaces there can be and should be concerns for the environment.

Cheers
fi

Virtually There

"With the tourism boards of Ireland and the Netherlands setting up shop in Second Life, Ivor Tossell wonders if visits to the online world can entice tourists to actually board a plane and go".

IVOR TOSSELL

Special to The Globe and Mail

November 14, 2007 at 8:51 AM EST

"In Second Life - a place where people can frequently be found without underpants - nightclubs act as chat rooms with a visual twist. This particular establishment, a popular pub called the Blarney Stone, was set up by Tourism Ireland, but virtual-world ventures are starting to pop up at the behest of destinations around the world in a bid to attract real-life tourists."

"Mitham points to the Mexican tourist board's replica of Chichen Itza in Second Life. The board built the attraction in part to promote its bid to have the ancient ruins added to the list of the New 7 Wonders of the World.



"I'd certainly never heard of Chichen Itza myself before entering Second Life," he says.""

"I would be shocked if a lot of people visited virtual Dublin then decided they had to go to Dublin," says Peter Ludlow, a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto and the author of The Second Life Herald: The Virtual Tabloid that Witnessed the Dawn of the Metaverse, a book that chronicles his time as the editor of the virtual world's in-house newspaper.

Ludlow says that, for the moment, virtual versions of real-life destinations have the qualities of simulacra - Disneyland-like imitations that don't necessarily evoke the real thing.

"If you have a simulacrum of Venice in Las Vegas, for example, I don't know that that makes you want to go to Venice in the same way as a travel brochure does."

A Second Life simulation that can accommodate a few dozen patrons at once won't reach nearly as many eyeballs as a brochure, Ludlow points out. "

(I'm not related to Peter Ludlow..haha)

Good article. Wonder what the SL Herald is like?

~Bryn

Second Life Memory

Here is my final avatar that will help my Mother to remember certain things she has to do throughout the day. using Second Life when I am away I can send here specific reminders to allow her to recall the information she needs to finish what she starts. Two forms will be sent to her, one being a snap shot of the avatar with a little message to reminder to "feed me, walk me, pet me" The I will also send the picture and attach the day planner for her so she can print it out.

Jill Korgemagi 2234177

Because I simple can’t remember triple grande 3 pump non-fat no-whip Cinnamon Dulce Latte

When working at Starbucks for a couple months, one of the biggest challenges I faced was trying to remember the drinks that customers ordered and then repeating it in the order that was only satisfactory to Starbucks standards. This order being # of shots, then the size, then type of syrup, then type of milk, then any custom attribute like whip or no whip and THEN the actual drink – yes I know, quite a handful. It also didn’t help that I only worked 2 days out the week and would often forget parts of my training upon returning to work the following week.

In having this project now, I wonder if perhaps my work experience could have been enhanced had I been introduced to Second Life earlier. This in many ways became one of my research questions, and in response to this project I created an avatar that would aid me in my inability to recall words in a specific order.

In hearing the past two lectures, few of the points that really stood out in my mind were 1) Gayatri’s notion of chunked memory and how that can be a very effective tool in retrieving information as in the case of phone numbers which are separated by dashes to aid in remembering these arbitrary strings of numbers.
2) Brian’s talk about semantic memory which is the memory of meanings, words and conceptual knowledge non-specific to any event and how this is preserved in patients irrespective of amnesia.

Keeping this information in mind, I looked at tools like mnemonics link systems which chunks arbitrary words together by creating an association between the individual elements. For instance, random words like cell phone, car, and socks could be linked in a mnemonic story like my cell phone was ran over by a car and as a result I buried my dead cell phone in a sock.

A visual mnemonic link system would then be a string of words linked together through a memorable and absurd imagery, which also creates a story. In my case, for example, the words of shot, size, syrup, milk, custom, drink could be translated into an image of a camera taking a shot of my dwarf-sized, maple-printed cow drinking a whipped latte.

Using our understandings of words like shot, size, syrup, etc and replacing it with connoted imagery heightens the absurdity of the story and also makes it much more memorable. Through features and functions, like building and wearing objects, texture mapping, sending snapshots to email, my avatar will be able to play out the absurd imagery and have its appearance archived in the form of email for future reference. It is also quite possible now to actually print out your 3d avatar in a 3D form (see www.fabjectory.com). This could very well be another option to have my second life stay connected to my real Life.

Goldie the Memory Avatar

My memory avatar was created to help my grandmother with her alzheimer's. The avatar's name is Goldie and on secondlife her name is Goldie Oldrich. The avatar is basically used as a memory bank of events, people and experiences that happened throughout her life.

There is a more descriptive information about the avatar and its purpose on my blog: Goldie the Memory Avatar.

Avatars as Memory Tools

My concept for using the Avatar as a memory tool is posted entirely on the link attached to this title.

I've taken to posting everything to my .mac website and my OCAD webspace to save space on the blog.

I feel there is a lot that can be done with this!

Assignment # 4
Memory Avatar


The Segmented Memory Worm Man

More information will be available in class on Wednesday - this is a brief summary.

• Their code exits only in a volatile memory and they are installed by a memory disability.
• The worm -- a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite with a life span of two weeks- - it is Asexual
  
• It focuses on deciphering the genes and cellular processes that govern memory and learning.
• It even has a vehicle to get around in Second Life - to enable faster access
• it is still genetically modified and bio-engineered - to work within a closed circulatory system and true segmentation of the memory system. Pushing the envelope of what Second Life is capable of.
  
• It directly effects the brains procedural and declarative memory systems. By being a reminder to the user.

Inspiration for the memory worm came this article :
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/ubcreports/2006/06jan09/worm.html

Avatar concept: Fashion as Identity; Identity as Experience

What we wear and how we look is our only way to communicate who we are to people without dialogue. Clothes are indicators of our personalities, likes, values and subcultures we may be a part of. We are in a constant stage of reflecting our identity and the only way we can do that in the physical world is through our bodies. Our bodies are physical representations for defining how we choose to be perceived as individuals.

Second Life is a place where the physical world limitations open doors for imagination and creative approaches, and new possibilities in an alternative physical world, where we have more choices on how to be perceived. Imagine if what you wore told a story about who you are based on what you've experienced. How can fashion become a closer representation of who we are? How can we track our experience in an avatar "fashion"?

I see the body as a medium.

If the body is perceived as a medium to communicate identity through experiences, we can begin to see how our memories play an integral role for who we really are and how we define reality. Memory is visually documented through photographs, writing, art, video and audio. To bring memory into visual form has been the reason we exist. So, why can this medium of our bodies not be a vehicle for documentation and communication along with aesthetic appeal?

These are my thoughts for creating an avatar and hopefully I'll be coming up with examples of how I can achieve this with Second Life.

Memory Avatar

Hello All.

I have been enjoying the guest speakers throughout the past weeks. It is fascinating that something so complex is inside of us all. The human body is a fantastic place...

Recently, my mother was diagnosed with stage two cancer. This is the 3 type of cancer she has had in 6 years. For the first two times, i was able to be around for her. Unfortunately, this time I am far away, and unable to be there at a moments notice.

With that, I wanted to make a memory avatar for my mother. This avatar would remind her that i am there for her, and that her incredible strength will get her through it all. Additionally, it would help remind her that her family can be her strength, when she doesn't feel up to it.

To do this, I wanted to create the avatar in my image that contains several outfits with images of my family. Additionally, this avatar would send messages to my mother daily, providing words of encouragement and love.

This week, I started to create this in second life. However, I have run into some issues with the software and usage.... I am having difficulty making lindens to upload skins. I was filling out surveys, but for some reason, couldn't get more than 10 lindens total... I am not sure if I wasn't filling them out properly. I also attempted to "camp" but again, couldn't figure out how to accomplish this...

Maybe someone can give me some tips on this?

See you all in class...

National Geographic : Memory

If you missed Martha's fascinating hand-out last week - Joshua Foer's story in this month's National Geographic on Memory - here's a link to the complete text online. Send it to your friends. I think the piece is well-written and thought-provoking - but I'm curious to get Brian Richards' perspective, now that he's joined our blog. Welcome, Brian and Angela!

Hi everyone , It's Brian,
I just looked through the postings they look great. Angela is eating all my girl guide cookies...I was warned about you OCAD types having limited food budgets.

Hello!

Hi to everyone in the Virtual Communities class,
This is Angela Petranik writing. I am a 4th year INTM student doing an independent study at Baycrest under Judith's supervision. I'm at Baycrest today and have just joined the blog, and thought I would introduce myself. I have also helped Dr. Brian Richards join (he gave a presentation to your class on Hallowe'en). We are both going to take a look at some of the work you are doing. It looks interesting so far! I can't wait to see more when I come sit in on the class this Wednesday. See you all then!
-Angela

You Only Live Twice - SL doc on YouTube

Check out this 45-minute doc about Second Life that aired on CBC newsworld recently - now on YouTube.

as requested

hyperlinks to the smell-o-vision links (i thought blogger would do it automatically, but alas...)

EnGadget

Sparkplugged

Oxford Journals

PORTAGE

Here's the link to PORTAGE: The Canadian Mobile Experience


We've been talking a lot about it in class, so why not give you more info!?

The Portage team is looking for RAs (Research Assistants) for the Winter term. You can volunteer, earn a credit, or possibly be paid. Visit the site for more information about the application process.

~Bryn

Second Life Memory Assignment

Second Life Memory Assignment

For this assignment I have decided to create two avatars that are in the form of my two pets. One being my border coil German Shepard, Leeloo and the other in the likeness of my cat Yaksha. I chose these forms to create in Second Life to aid in my memory project specifically to help my Mother remember things to do during the day. Sometimes my Mother gets scatter brained and forgets about things she wants to get done. So I am going to design these pets in Second Life and then I can send my mom a “to-do list” via email through Second Life to remind her.

The things to remind her will be to walk and feed the pets and also I will make a list with her the night before and send it to her through email of things she needs to get done. I think it will be better for her to receive an email that she can re read and even print out. It will have appointments and places.. It’ll be easier for her to relocate it instead of a list that she will probably forget. Also because I’m not home all the time I can send her emails through out the day to remind her of little things. This won’t be an everyday thing, because it’ll only be necessary for specific days where a lot of things will be going on.

Jill Korgemagi 2234177

Locitar

Using the memory technique of Loci, developed in Greco-roman cultures, I will create an avatar who will use this method to help users recall memories.

Locitar is the name of my avatar. It will be a tool for users to interact with in a virtual reality setting. The user can use a mobile device to log their daily tasks into. For example, "breakfast-toast, coffee; store- shoes; work- binder, printer; travel home- umbrella, jacket". The nouns used in the log (shoes, printer etc.) will be presented inside the familiar space of the user, so their bedroom, or den and Locitar will be available to answer questions as the user travels through their day. Images of the nouns will be shown in the room the user chooses and when they ask Locitar what they have to do at the store, an image of a pair of shoes will show up. The user will also be able to look forward in the database to see what else they have to do, and Locitar will show them other symbols reminding them of their tasks to do later in the day.

Scent and the Screen

I still think that scent in accompanyment with screen technology is not so far away!
I think I was misunderstood when I brought up the topic - so I've added a couple links that relate to the japanese version of the 70's concept of "Smell-O-Vision".

http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/12/japanese-movie-theaters-to-get-internet-controlled-smell-o-visi/

http://sparkplugged.net/2006/04/japanese-smell-o-vision/

http://ietfec.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/E89-A/11/3327

I understand that scent association is different for every person, but when thinking about memory aides, new associations might be made be giving the memory-disabled individual a whiff of an unusual scent when dealing with a specific item they need to remember, and have a 'scent displacer' that they can carry around to release a certain smell based on a button (ie: this smell will remind me where I put my keys because I smelled it when I put them down last).

I know the technology isn't there yet, but I think it's close, and not a bad thing to design for.

Machinima Memories and iKnow

Conceptually, I was having some difficulty with this projct. I thought for a while about how an avatar could be used as a memory tool that would NEED to be an avatar, rather than some other 'reminder' tool (ie. PDA, cellphone, notebook, etc).

It seems to me that the outfitting of an avatar is it's most unique quality - the fact that you can save numerous different looks as 'outfits' would be practical for reminding oneself about people.

Enter concept for iKnow - the avatar that has an outfit to represent each of the people you know. Each outfit is developed to look as much like an aquaintance, friend, family member or work associate as possible. Each outfit is named after their real-life doppleganger, and has associated notes in the inventory which compile basic information about that individual, including recent conversations, any planned future meetings and any particularly memorable events.

So, there's idea one.

Then I discovered the topic of the Machinima. This is cinema that is filmed in virtual environments - an environment like Second Life is ideal. Using screen capture techniques and minor video editing skills, short films can take only minutes to develop, and can even be entirely free. This struck me as an incredibly useful tool for those with memory disabilities - ether for those who have lost early memories or cannot develop new ones.

Idea 2, Machinima Memories. A service for those with severe memory problems, Machinima Memories is a project which 'films' 're-enactments' of important parts of a person's life (that had been left unfilmed, ie: first meeting someone, a first date, etc). Using basic video editing, music and voice overs, coloration effects and subtitles can be added to impart the emotional impact of the event. These films could be wached repeatedly to try and 'hammer in' a memory for someone with this disability, or just kept on hand for watching for someone who will never be able to truly remember the event.

This is something that would never be possible to afford to recreate in real life with traditional film, but with the use of Second Life, it becomes fast, virtually free, and 'easy' (as far as filming goes).

There we go, some seedling ideas that might just blossom :)

Pictures from the Sound Cycles & Mobile City Exhibit

Here's a few pictures of an exhibit that I went to at the Interaccess Centre. They don't look very interesting because I was the only one there, but I digress. The sound bikes by Jessica Thompson were really interesting in it's construction process. I loved how she created an interactive product that involved sound being produced by movement. If you guys haven't seen this exhibit i suggest you check it out! PS. IT'S FREE (laughing out loud)!

My memory avatar!

My avatar's name is Goldie. I'm creating her to help my grandmother remember things she needs to do or remember throughout her daily.

The avatar is named after my grandmother and is a younger version of her. I chose to produce a younger vision of my grandmother because its easier for her to remember the things in the past rather than the present. I figured she'd remember a younger her. Since my grandmother is somewhat religious, I thought I'd play off the angel image as well as a younger version of her. The avatar would be dressed in a gold wrap dress and have a shining glow about her to represent the heavens. This would help my grandmother feel comfortable and at ease with the avatar as she learns how to use the avatar to help her with memory.

The avatar's main uses would be to send alerts on things to remember to do, have memory bank of images of people in her life, events that happened, helpful quotes to get my grandmother through the day without feeling disconnected.

I thought that the best way to produce this avatar was to create a virtual home similar to my grandmother's home in second life to create similarity. She would also be able to access this location through a hand-held device that would log her into secondlife and the avatar's home. This would allow my grandmother to go out and enjoy life without missing vital information from her avatar. She would also be able to post new alerts, messages, events, and people through this device. The device includes headphones and a speakerphone so she can hear the alerts, a voice recorder to record the information and a camera to take pictures of things she wanted to remember.

POSTED BY ALICIA FRANCIS

Lev's Memory Avatar Project

Though it is still very much in the preliminary stage - my Memory Avatar Project is looking pretty weird.
I call it the Segmented Memory Worm
They are microscopic - genetically modified and bio-engineered - to work within a closed circulatory system and true segmentation of the memory system. It directly effects the brains procedural and declarative memory systems.
My final presentation will include illustrations and clear schematic of what exactly this is - until then - it is a mystery.
Lev,

Discover Igloo.org!

Another post by me.. :p

Looking backwards

Hey. I was just poking around this blog's archives, rereading, posting a couple comments, noticed some interesting things. Seriously, check out your old posts and comments - some have comments from non-members of the blog.

Note that:

Almost everyone has comments on their older posts.
Bryn posts something useful/interesting all the time!
Random readers, and even some of the artists that we've talked about, have commented in response to some of the older posts!

See you Wednesday,

Kat

Virtual Beach, Toronto

I am writing about the situation of the Beach area in Toronto, Ontario. The area of Queen & Woodbine Sts. to Queen & Neville Park Avenue is called "the Beach". It extends down to Lake Ontario, where there is a Bay, Ashbridges Bay, and over the past five years, the merchant zone along Queen Street East have taken a turn for the worst. Or have they?

Businesses come and go naturally due to economic inflation and deflation, but the beach now has more coffee shops, bars/pubs, banks, medical/dental offices and drugstores than it needs. Without biases, I would like to question why this is happening because for good, or for bad, the Beach or the Beaches is not the same place that it used to be.

With money from the bank, coffee in your hand, a doctor nearby and a pub to go to at nighttime, the beach seems to be a good place to live. Services offered at these places is quick and convenient. But with a current increasing interest in environmental concerns on political, legal and emotional levels, the Beach is not standing up to its name.

Below Queen Street East is a stretch of boardwalk and a bike/rollerblade path to go on for 3 km. After that, the path is extended through the Gardiner to Harbourfront. This means that it is accessed by people living downtown, as well as people living in the Beach community.

Every season and every year, there is a community festival hosted by the Beach and the Beach Business Improvement Association, as well as other corporate sponsors and donors. These events bring in the masses to the Beach, who often choose to live in the area for its pleasant scenery and location—a city within a city is often the feeling you get living here— water, sand, parks, sun, pools, and then city, residential space, office space, business space. With the increase in population, it is expected that a community has to conform to the new needs of its inhabitants, but the issue is that businesses who have been around for ten or twenty years are shutting down due to the high inflation of rent. Prime locations mean prime pricing and this is completely draining the Beach of culture.

The business area of the Beach is now a virtual community, with consumers passing through the community to pick up a coffee, pick up their Prescriptions, pay their bank bills, pick up their groceries. "Pick up and pay" are words often found online, and the association is connected to words like, "fast, need, now, want, have, own, get, take".

Greed and need are taking over the artistic Beach which used to be a place where you could wander in and out of boutiques, restaurants with fine service, galleries, retail stores with unique pieces and at the same time, pay your bills, get your drugs, go out to the pub with friends and then walk home along the boardwalk with a feeling of satisfaction and also knowing that the community hardware store would be there the next time you walk by.

This form of development is simply not sustainable. The Beach has been experiencing an influx of vandalism, homelessness, and empty storefronts and is at risk. Let the internet be the internet and the Beach be the Beach. We are a society of get, take, now, want, have, own and time seems to be moving and shifting faster than the neurons in our brains. It is no wonder people are depressed in the winter months, when due to the cold temperatures at the Lake, all is left are some pubs and grocery stores. Virtual Communities can be places for speed and efficiency because that is the nature of the internet, but there needs to be a divide between that and a more passive form of entertainment. High tech meets low-tech; for a community to survive, these systems cannot overlap.

The BIA needs to honour the current businesses, not shut them down. Community members need to participate in decision-making at the Political Level. Rent needs to be decreased for businesses. The Beach life needs to be revived. Current community members need to share with new community members the culture and feeling of the Beach. Changes to the business community suggested to the Municipal Representative need to be monitored by a Sustainable Urban Development Advisory Committee. People need to be heard. The community voice is the voice of the Beach. To move forward, the Beach community needs to pull together and guard the long-standing traditions and cultural practices of the Beach for today's generation and generations to come.

-Bryn Ludlow, Beach community member

*can members of Virtual Communities please edit this content- I would like to send it in to the Toronto Star, or Beach Metro Newspaper.

We are smart!