Yikes! 2011! Catching Up vs Carrying On?

Many bloggers before me have answered this Hamlet-like question, do I catch up with all that has happened up until now, or do I just carry on, one post at a time. It was the same dilemma I faced as a child, given a beautiful bound daily diary with its own special lock and key. I wrote in it faithfully for the first week, then it faded to weekly, monthly, rarely, never…. and the shame I felt when I picked up the diary, knowing I hadn’t filled up the dated pages, but – horrors – had just left them blank, letting time pass.

Yet there is the other example of all those dead boring diary entries from the 18th and 19th centuries, featuring weather reports in one line, still sunny today, or rain again. So what? So is daily and regular best? Only if there is something to say.

But now I face the dilemma, dear reader. Do I catch up and give highlights of all that has happened in the past since the last posting, or do I merrily continue on with what is in the now right now?

You know I’ve decided: I’m carrying on.

Good Morning World!

They say that the average blog has only 6 readers, so I’m sending this personal message out to all 3 of you today. My more public morning greeting went out on Twitter, then a less public one shows up on Facebook. Down the hierarchy of social contact to this more intimate setting, my blog. The place where I used to broadcast thoughts and ideas. How did this humble little blog become even more humble? How did it lose its status in the celestial spheres of the interweb and their constant machinations? Was it my neglect? Or have things actually irrevocably changed?

I vote for change, as they said in the Obama campaign what seems like eons ago. The whole game has changed and my patterns of communication have changed with it. So there isn’t much responsibility with this blog anymore. The shift to microblogging is complete. Leaving this blog, like radio, to its own devices, because who cares anyways. On the other hand, maybe it was always just a little voice out there in space, my blog posts like the barking of poor Laika the space dog drifting beyond the planetary into the nebular. I don’t think Laika made it that far actually. I’m not even sure if I’m spelling her name correctly. And this shows how far down this blog has come. Now I don’t even google to find the correct spelling.

If you want to know what I’m really doing follow my Twitter feed – oh sorry, I haven’t kept that up much lately. Too busy with life itself! Here’s an image of Shamcher holding the OTEC model, while I skype with Nirtan in Victoria.

Midwife Support Site for Joanne Daviau

The situation I blogged about here concerning Joanne Daviau’s Supreme Court appeal is still in process, now preparing for the Hospital Appeal Board. If you wish to support Joanne, you can find more info and a way to send a letter on her behalf here at the Support Joanne website, that some of her supporters have put together.

It’s been really gratifying to see the positive and sincere responses in the comments to my original post about this situation. With this kind of support I firmly believe that Joanne deserves a concerted turn-around when the Hospital Appeal Board hears her case.

Find more info on the situation from my additional post here, that I put out after the Comox local paper covered the case.

All Murakami, All the Times!

All Murakami, all the time. I first saw Murakami in the Superflat show at the Henry in Seattle several years ago. We got the big Murakami book and now I see there is wonderful coverage of the Murakami show in NY – including a feature in the Times Magazine. For a taste, here’s the slide show from the NYTimes, and their video of the opening.

Bridging Media – Coming Soon

I’m really looking forward to the Bridging Media event this Saturday, where I’ll be moderating one of the panels – and taking in the rest. I’ve been helping out a bit with this and its a great example of a free community event that shows how quickly and directly a good event idea can become a reality. Here’s a posting from the Alphablogs site:

Looks like this will be one of those “mark your calendar” events in Vancouver.

Bridging Media: Addressing the Challenges - this Saturday, March 29, 2008, 9:45 am – 3pm
Aimed to provide a bridge between the two communities of film/television and interactive/social media, I think this event comes just at the right time. The expertise we have here in Vancouver is remarkable, leading in the field. The panelists  assembled for this event have a lot to share in the short time they have available, so it looks like the whole day will be power-packed.

The tools are here and easier to use than ever, and the panelists are articulate and experienced in the slippery ever-shifting world of web/mobile/social media. Its free, its informative and it can change what you think you might know about social media, and more. Plus there is a door prize: a free pass to nextMEDIA, just before the Banff Television Festival.

Want to know who’ll be there? Go to the registration site and take a peek.
And did I mention that lunch is sponsored? Yes it is a free lunch!

Brainchild of Megan Cole and Erica Hargreave, the event now has a terrific team putting this together, with good will and sharp skills: Cinci Csere, Monique Trottier and Monica Hamburg. I’m really glad to help out with this event and be in their company!

Digitalis Digital Art Returns (but not really)

So glad to see that the DDAS material has been rebuilt and posted – if nothing else just to have a record of the international exhibitions that were put up over the past 5 years of the society’s operations.

From Digitalis 5, BCDL by Francesco Schiavon and Tris by James K-M

In the Spiritual in Digital Art show (Feb -March 2003), one component didn’t make it to this archive site. It was a web radio broadcast we did including music from submissions worldwide, programmed to self-run for the duration of the exhibition. At the same time, audio interviews with the artists were in rotation along with the music, so it made for a very complete presentation. I did the interviews, and Francesco programmed the radio. We also had text interviews by email, which were posted along with the exhibition on the DDAS site. At any rate, you can go here to see the archive.

(Surprise: Link here to see a random post from my blog.)

Some Photos of Nanoose

Here I am reading on the deck at Nanoose

Steps to the dock

James on the deck

Roses and Sky

Indoors, escaping mosquitos

September days

English flower garden

Clear water in the bay

(Link here for a random post from my blog.)

Not so fast there, Carol

Now house-sitting in beautiful Nanoose Bay I wake to the birds and we sit on the deck overlooking the water, the houses across the bay, the mountain beyond. Views of Mount Fuji make sense to me now as this mountain is everchanging and each time I look the light the sky the time of day the mountain itself seems to change. My cousin’s place is exquisite and personal, lovingly made by hand – a new gazebo sitting place with wicker (plastic weatherproof wicker that is) furniture set, and the play of light on the cedar is so great to see.

The internet connection is so slow here, and we have to use their PC with dialup – my laptop languishes upstairs, waiting for me to take her to a wifi cafe in the nearest city, Nanaimo, which looks like it has only one, or maybe two? Vancouver has spoiled me for connectivity and I made some assumptions about the access that others have – wrong again.

But communication by bird and by dream seems just fine, and this is only day 3!

(Surprise: Link here to see a random post from my blog.)

Listening to Stefan Tischler on Six Degrees Traveler

Right now I’m listening to the music of our friend Stefan Tischler, played every two hours on the iTunes radio station Six Degrees Traveler, for one week. Sounds great!

Here’s a link to the video I did of Stefan before he left to go back to New York for a while.

(Surprise: Link here to see a random post from my blog.)

What’s Happening in Vancouver?

Here’s a great new site from the prolific Rosie! Check out her new listing of free and near-free Vancouver events here at her new VanCal site. Updates, reviews, upcoming event listings, its all there!

Here’s what she says about VanCal:

 

We have a young family and full time jobs, student loans and a mortgage. Access to the arts isn’t just the purview of the upper middle class, it’s available to everyone. You just need to know where to look.

VanCal is a calendar for everyone who wants to get out and enjoy arts and culture in Vancouver but can’t afford the Chan Centre. The information is collected from the free publications and wherever I hear about it – the important thing is to get out there and support Vancouver’s vibrant arts community.

(Surprise: Link here to see a random post from my blog.)