I’ll admit it right up front; my computer and laptop run on Microsoft software. I do not own an Apple notebook, nor am I a hip Ubuntu user and I don’t even have a clue about what Unix is. however, I do believe I’m a slight notch higher up the os-foodchain for not having installed Vista and specifically asking for XP. And when I saw the below video on the Wired Gadget Lab blog… I could not have been happier. The thought to be linked to that awful piece of video. To quote mr. Brando: “The horror, the horror…”  Would someone slap the makers of that clip with a wet fish please?

I have a special interest in online storytelling. CultBlender artist JMDKM and myself have written the storyline of ‘Trip Fontaine‘ an online non-linear road novel. Upon completion, it is also a genuine art 2.0 project, where readers (or: visitors) add their own art to the project and thus expand it. Making it a true multimedia experience.

I stumbled across a very poetic online interactive story recently (Even though the makers themselves call it ‘a game’), called ‘the graveyard’. The only character in this story is an anonymous elderly lady who you walk across an ominous graveyard towards a bench. On this bench you sit the old lady down and a Flemish song starts. If this song isn’t your cup of tea, you simply get up and walk out of the graveyard again. End of game. Well, end of the demo game that is. You can also buy the full version which doesn’t add much…or: adds everything. The full version also provides you with the possibility of death. (let’s hope that they do not mean the possible death of your hardware or yourself.)

The images of the short walk are really nice, they give you the actual feel of being on a rainy stormy graveyard at the early evening. visitors that are born ‘n raised in the computergame era will undoubtedly start looking for ways to shoot enemies that jump up from behind tombstones, but I didn’t see any enemies, nor weapons. The walk towards the bench is slow and your character obviously has difficulty walking. Annoying, but you also start to feel sorry for the old lady. Then, when she sits down the song starts playing and a lot of different possible storylines go through your head. That experience is what made The Graveyard worthwhile for me.

Adding to the ‘interactive’experience, from the website you can also click on to the Graveyard forum where I found a very useful link to a graveyard photo-community Death by Light.

Conclusion: I recommend this Graveyard experience to anyone that would liek to have a bit of a poetic online experience.

Radiohead has been one of the most innovative bands for years. In the evolution of music since the release of OK Computer and since their latest album ‘In Rainbows‘ when it comes to ‘making a living for yourself as a rockband‘.

It’s a good thing I’ve taken up the habit of actually going through the thousands of spam e-mails I receive every wee, otherwise I might have completely missed the e-mail that had the subject line: ‘Remix nude for Radiohead’. (Tip: The word ‘nude’ doesn’t do well in most spamfilters.) What’s the e-mail about? Well, Mr. Yorke and friends give their fans the opportunity to buy the several stems of the track (A stem being the separate track of one particular instrument, like the drums keyboard, guitar, bass or vocals).

Buyers are invited to use these tracks to make their own remix of the song ‘Nude’ by Radiohead which is their next single in the UK. These remixes can be uploaded, Remixers can install ‘widgets’ on their personal sites (myspace, facebook etc) to atract extra traffic, their remixes will be judged, visitors can vote for their favorite remixes et cetera. Basically: it all sounds like a very clever and good idea. Radiohead makes a little extra money on their track and by providing a product that their fans will actually love (talk about marketing!) and they will also get a lot of extra PR because of this, which is also very useful when releasing a new single. And all this without losing any ’streetcredibility’. If there is one thing Radiohead is not, then it’s a bunch of corporate sellouts.

After their innovative ‘download our album and pay as you see fit’ and their In Rainbows video competition, they’ve added another new chapter to ‘music for you and me, not the f#@ing industry.’

You may click here for more information about the Nude remixes.
And should you for some inexplicable reason have a hard time locating it, the top 10 of most popular remixes can be found (naturally) here.

I know for a fact that a lot of artlovers out there are mostly interested in art featuring women (as the Guerilla Girls pointed out: 83% of all nudes in the Met feature women, whereas only 3% of all artists featured in the Met actually are women). Looking at the tags and search queries people use to get to my blog clearly points that out. The popularity of the picture with my post about the work of Eric Bailey, which is still one of the most popular posts I’ve written is also a clear indication in that direction.

BLK/MRKT gallery in Los Angeles always seems to showcase artists that I, and this is truly a matter of personal opinion, think are more or less brilliant and quite inspiring (at the same time, I must admit I have never actually physically been there yet… they say their coffee is great). A recent virtual wander about on their website revealed to me the magnificent works of Canadian artist Ben Tour.

We are very familiar with the use of the female figure in art. Porn did not only help the VHS system be victorious, but the (ab)use of the nude female body has made a good living for many painters, sculptors and other artists. They figured out a long time ago that sex sells. But the female nude is no longer synonymous with ’sex’. Works by South African artist Marlene Dumas are often so confrontational and graphic that her works are uncomfortable to even look at. Her works make clear, even more than a photograph could, how women can be exploited and degraded in this oversexed world. The audience feels even more embarrassed by watching her works than they would be when they had rented a piece of ‘adult entertainment’. Another artists that has been on top of the artistic food chain for quite a while is Lucian Freud. Freud also paints nudes. And, of course, also female nudes. Just as with Dumas’ works, his nudes aren’t meant to sexually arouse and they don’t.

Ben Tour’s work is very different from both artists mentioned. His works breathe that ’streetart’ atmosphere, and the way he incorporates letters and numbers give his works the feeling of even deeper lying mythical meaning. The serie that touched me most was his blue wash series. Tour has painted several women with crayon and ink that are both beautiful and tragic. It’s uneasy to look at them. And you just know that pretty girls aren’t supposed to look like that. that;s not the image Hollywood has taught us. Pretty girls have fun. But Ben Tour will have none of that. you just hope that the artists comforted them after he took their misery and poured it out on paper.

Ben Tour’s repertoire goes a lot further than these ‘tragic sirenes’. All his works seem to have a sort of lightness in colors, you feel you can see right through them. For me this also meant that I actually looked into his works. The way he chooses his subjects and compositions make that his works look both very contemporary (like I said: streetart feel) as well as timeless. You can’t date his works. But then , that only helps to see his works as instant classics.

A quite nice read, the Ben Tour interview on fecalface.com.

And a movieclip by WalrusTV featuring some of Ben Tour’s works, can be found here.

Q: When was the last time I read ‘Syntax error’ somewhere?
A: It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

Q: Staples, safety pins or paperclips?
A: I am more of a ‘laid back’ kind of person.

Q: Should I move to Las Vegas, become a waiter and leave all this behind me?
A: Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you.

Q: Are you insecure about your schlong?
A: I am sure under any other name a rose would smell just as sweet

Q: Where’s my list?
A: I have made a mental note.

Q: Do I believe in free speech?
A: Free speech is not a religion.

Q: Who do you think you are anyway?
A: Sticks and stones…

Q: Who are your heroes?
A: I guess that depends on your frame of reference.

Q: What is this ‘user generated content’ thing I keep hearing about?
A: If you’re still hearing it, you need to change your channel.

Q: Do you remember the last time you cried?
A: It was a day like any other.

Q: Has a lover ever cheated on you?
A: Take a deep breath and count to ten.

Q: Why don’t I make my own hummus?
A: They are currently carrying your desk out the building.

Q: Who’s BNE?
A: One fooll can ask more questions than a thousand scientists can answer.

Q: Is pharmaceuticals a fashion?
A: One and one makes three

Q: Name your favourite pet?
A: I’d name it ‘Doctor’.

Q: Am I downsizing or expending?
A: Every end is also a beginning

Q: What airport turned your life around?
A: Singapore.

Q: Where am I going?
A: deskclerk, computerjockey, employee of the month.

Q: Contemporary or baroque?
A: I have noticed that the A-team is nowhere as cool today as it was twenty years ago. The same can be said for Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers and The Six Million Dollar Man. However, Charlie’s Angels and Battlestar Gallactica are still amazing. So we can’t blame it on Dirk Benedict. I have no recollection of Bionic Woman whatsoever.

Q: Could you live in Estonia?
A: As long as I’m connected I could accomplish anything.

Q: East Coast or West Coast?
A: I’m going home.