RIP

the host of RIP is very handsome, very boy-next-door. at first i found him a little pedantic, but i was surprised when he brought the copyright law discussion to bear on cancer and aids research. it is a very intelligent move and i'm sure one advanced before by other people.

at the same time i was annoyed to be lead by the hand through an argument by someone so square. i was also annoyed that he introduced me to "girl talk's girl". doesn't she have a name? and anyway, why should i give a damn whether he has a girl friend? is that to make him seem more human? is that just in case i think he's hot and wonder if he's gay?

i have since recommended that documentary to several people, with the qualification that it can be at times pedantic but that overall it relates a lot of interesting ideas.

i recently attended a lecture by michael hardt on his new book *commonwealth*. he talked a lot about immaterial products (things like information and art) and advanced the argument that current copyright laws are relics of the industrial air when products were material, when ownership was by necessity private on account of the physically limited dimensions of the product. now that products are immaterial, can exist simulatneously in many places at once, copyright law should be revamped. he argues that the outdated copyright laws are actually detrimental to the capitalist, since they impede progress.

history of hacking

i couldn't believe that story about how apple computers got started. it's so strange to me that apple computers, which are the pinnical of design and technology, were once being built from spare parts in a garage, by a couple of computer geeks. apple computers seems to dominate so absolutely now that they have dicated the way we expect technology to work, i.e. they have dictated the way our desires work in relation to media.

i wonder what hacking could look like today in a time when technology so quickly follows the the user's desires, or when the user's desires and the technology have such a strong and tightly intertwined relationship.

perhaps a contemporary form of hacking would involve a move away from technology, using compters and web information and web tools to support real-time performance or material art works. in that way the user's output is not province of the web, is not available to those who control the technology and those responsible for upgrading it to meet consumers' desires.

i am thinking in particular of sam shea's youtube plays at the copycat, wherein several groups of artists adapted popular youtube videos and performed them live for an audience.

survival research laboratories seem pretty impressive, though they definitely have that macho metal sculptor thing going on, which seems a little outdated to me. to me that shtick includes an ambition to create massive works out of metal, using mechanical knowledge and dangerous power tools. some celluloid figures who partly embody this attitude are indiana jones, dennis the mennis, macguiver. it's not totally all about men, either, because women can participate in it also. it's a certain stance taken on art and creation and it seems to rely on a community or brotherhood of artists that share the same values.

the head guy seemed really cocky. he talked about teaching amsterdam a lesson. he just seemed like he thought he had all the answers and that his art is the perfect antidote to the world's problem and if they don't get it then they're dumb. plus it seemed like their art had a lot to do with laughing at people's reactions to it, which is fine. i accept that there are artists whose role is to provoke in certain ways, but they're just so bro about it and it gets old after a while.

that said i would have totally loved to attend one of their shows, the performances seemed amazing and one-of-a-kind. i think it would rank up their with my most impressive memories. i would talk about it for years.