Appropriation is not just limited to software. In a Simpsons episode appropriation for and of architecture is shown: first, the famous architect Frank Gehrig is turning rumpled paper into a concert hall. Second, unrespectful skateboarders “mis-use” its curves (via).
Considering appropriation of built architecture as turning the use of public space upside down, a vast basket of urban activities during the recent years and decades pops up: Parkour, Graffiti/Streetart, Culture Jamming, and Critical Mass – to name a few. A growing number of people seek to challenge the existing mode of living and moving in the city. They don’t do this just because it is fun, but also do this as an act of resistance.
Looking at the motorized and concreted Santiago many types appropriation can be seen. Last Sunday i was biking around in Santiago and encountered quite a big gathering of skateboarders in front of the Moneda. They were asking the president for skateboarding parks where they could show and improve their skills. Upcoming Saturday there will be a big bicyclists manifestation in Santiago with the motto Compartamos la ciudad (let’s share the city). And then their are very practical appropriations of land and buildings, e.g. the Casa OkupArte AKÍ.
Appropriation is everywhere. It is organically questioning from the bottom what is dictated from the above. It shapes democratically what should have been democratically in the first place. Furthermore it has the effect that it either makes the professionials – architects, politicians, designers, programmers, …. – angry or – which is even better – think.
Giancarlo De Carlo once said: “In reality architecture is too important to be left to architects.”
More and more hackers and hackresses leave their computers turned off these days to turn their attention to a completely lo-tech pastime activity. They get their knitting baskets out filled will needle and yarn goodness and do the thing that might as well change the whole world. Some weave streetart, others knit anti-war protests and a few even start magazines devoted to the next big thing. Those webs of yarn neither need electricity nor wi-fi – just commitment to the cause. Today products of knitted fabrics of wool seem to be just as pervasive as air. There is even apparel completely made of yarn. If you ask me this is what i would call grid, everywear, or ubiquitous technology. In the future we will overcome dull necessities like electricity, internet, or computers. We will all knit together a warmer, fuzzier and more interwoven web of wool. Leave all tech lingo behind you and start to use those open APIs available in every thriftstore.
The problem with the lack of an enclosure tag in the RSS-feed is solved – somehow i have forgotten to do this the last time, thanks for the hint, bubi. Furthermore i have deleted the tag-cloud i had in the sidebar for the last weeks, since it was not really adding any value due to the mightiness of the two big language categories. Yet, in turn for this rollback i have added small nifty RSS-feed icons besides the categories. If you drag those into your favorite RSS-catcher it is possible to subscribe to individual categories. And if you drag them into your podcatcher only the posts of the podcast category will pop up.
Published on April 22nd, 2006 at 12:52. Filed under update, english
Okay, maybe it is a bit unfair to line up any OPAC against the “first fully faceted public OPAC”, as Steve Papa calls it. The left image is a screenshot of the rather shabby OPAC of the library at the University in Magdeburg and the left the newly set-up OPAC of the North Carolina State University. It is a pleasure to browse, search, and modify your search terms. It even tells me in which floor i would find the book. Pure luxury.
In Designing for Appropriation Dan Perkel sums up a discussion at the Berkeley school of information about the misuse of artifacts in a sense that people use them in a different way than the creators had ever anticipated. He argues that users need to be able to modify the functionality and consequently the usage of a software according to their needs or wishes. Even though enabling the appropriation of an artifact would contradict the idea of misuse it could make it far more useful. So, if one wants to create an appropriable artifact it needs to be open. Dan relates this to open APIs & standards, hackability, and participatory design. I would like to add open source as a key concept for appropriation.
At the end of his write-up he writes about how some decision-makers at Flickr one day banned drawings from public listings. This seems to me as an excellent point since i have many troubles with Flickr becoming the universal photo repository. In fact, i am spending the beginning of my internship with investigating how photo sharing could become more participatory, hackable, and/or appropriable.
If you are enthusiastic about information visualization and want to get a bit inspired, don’t look through all of the examples posted on visual complexity. Otherweise you might as well feel a bit dizzy or disconnected. They have 315 projects categorized with screenshots, description and the link to the corresponding page. For me it was sufficient keeping the mouse on the next-link to keep me from working. The picture above is a rotated screenshot from the index page.
Soy uno de los extremistos que creen que el horóscopo no tiene ninguin influencia en las vidas humanas. Estoy seguro que a menos hay algunos efectos físicos como por ejemplo entre la luna y el mar baltico. Creo que además no hay una relación entre el destino de una persona y la constelación de las estrallos durante la nacimiento. Entendio por que mucha gente tiene una fe en la astrología o la religión. Por un lado ayudan con los problemas diarios y por un otro lado con la fe es posible apprender cosas que sus causas todavia son desconocidas. Pero tengo la convicción de que demasiado confianza en una fe puedo paralizar la voluntad. Creo que esperanza, optimismo y fuerza desde abajo para cambiar nuestra situación son mas constructivo que una fe abstracta en un concepto lejano de la gente.
This is a homework for the Spanish course i’am taking. It is a short commentary about horoscopes and astrology. I might post some more stuff in Spanish. If your seriously interested what it is about there is either a translation service or a Spanish course near you.
Published on April 16th, 2006 at 22:08. Filed under selfrule, español
