[Thanks Tommy]
Monday, February 08, 2010
Defining "pornography"
Alan Moore has called his work Lost Girls pornography.
Lost girls is clearly a work of art, but it also very sexually explicit.
Other people feel that "pornography" means something debased, dirty, bereft of any decent or artistic quality.
This makes discussion difficult. For example the young women who moved in last year close by, asked me suddenly: "do you have a porn site?" Some neighbors had "alerted" them...
Well, I showed them Domai, and they still think of it as porn. And they like it. (Several of their friends have actually enthusiastically offered to model for me!)
The problem comes from two incompatible definitions:
1: por·nog·ra·phy (pôr-nŏg'rə-fē) obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
Origin: 1840–50; < Gk pornográph(os) writing about harlots
2: por·nog·ra·phy
n. Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.
See? The second one is merely a mechanical definition, clear and simple. The first one is full of judgment and evaluation.
The problem of course does not come from the dictionary, but from how people feel about it. Those people who hate porn gravitate to the first definition.
For some, Domai fits in the second definition. For me, as sexuality is only a sub-purpose, it fits in neither. And I'm sure there are many people on Earth for whom it fits in the first definition, merely by having nudity.
Now GoddessNudes, that took a bit of courage to put forth, because it clearly is pornography by the second definition. Sexuality is at the forefront. The main purpose is sexual arousal. I can live with that, because to me it clearly has artistic and cultural merit also. But when people call me a pornographer, it's no longer so easy to wave them off.
Lost girls is clearly a work of art, but it also very sexually explicit.
Other people feel that "pornography" means something debased, dirty, bereft of any decent or artistic quality.
This makes discussion difficult. For example the young women who moved in last year close by, asked me suddenly: "do you have a porn site?" Some neighbors had "alerted" them...
Well, I showed them Domai, and they still think of it as porn. And they like it. (Several of their friends have actually enthusiastically offered to model for me!)
The problem comes from two incompatible definitions:
1: por·nog·ra·phy (pôr-nŏg'rə-fē) obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
Origin: 1840–50; < Gk pornográph(os) writing about harlots
2: por·nog·ra·phy
n. Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.
See? The second one is merely a mechanical definition, clear and simple. The first one is full of judgment and evaluation.
The problem of course does not come from the dictionary, but from how people feel about it. Those people who hate porn gravitate to the first definition.
For some, Domai fits in the second definition. For me, as sexuality is only a sub-purpose, it fits in neither. And I'm sure there are many people on Earth for whom it fits in the first definition, merely by having nudity.
Now GoddessNudes, that took a bit of courage to put forth, because it clearly is pornography by the second definition. Sexuality is at the forefront. The main purpose is sexual arousal. I can live with that, because to me it clearly has artistic and cultural merit also. But when people call me a pornographer, it's no longer so easy to wave them off.
Reading on iPod (and computer bike)
I just tried out my Kindle-for-iPhone (and iPod Touch) application. And I find that my ingratious bitching about the low contrast of the Kindle screen was not all that off the mark. In short I find it easier to read on the iPod as on the Kindle, and this is despite the Kindle's screen being almost 2.5 times bigger. (It may be different in bright light, but when am I ever in bright light?)
Also, to be frank, after using it for a while, I'm a bit tired of the Kindle's sluggish speed and basic interface. It's just clumsy to use and navigate.
Update: to equally frank, I don't think I could use an iPhone/iPod-Touch for long, for reading, it's especially the navigation and any action that bugs me, the small screen just irritates me, like wearing too-small shoes. I sincerely don't get how so many people use it so much, if I had been the focus group, it would never have been launched! :-)
By the way, the Kindle application on the iPod has a nice feature: when you rotate the screen by rotating the iPod, there briefly appear a little padlock in the corner, and when you click it, the screen rotation locks. This is good, for instance if you're reading or viewing in bed and lying on your side. I don't see this feature in Safari on the iPod, but I hope it will come on the iPad.
(Does anybody know if it's possible to use an iPod Touch as a hard disk? The option is missing in iTunes.) (Please don't tell me the theory if you don't have a Touch. :-)
(Update: not important. I found out I could get ebooks onto the Touch if I installed the ebook reader Stanza.)
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PS: if the text on the picture made you curious, read here about the computerized bicycle by my friend Stephen. Scroll down for a video.
Stephen typed on the handlebar while pedaling... in binary! 35 words a minute!
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PS: if the text on the picture made you curious, read here about the computerized bicycle by my friend Stephen. Scroll down for a video.
Stephen typed on the handlebar while pedaling... in binary! 35 words a minute!
TTL said:
Well, he is not really typing in binary. What he is using is known as a chorded keyboard. It just happens that his is inbuilt into the handlebars. In fact, using eight finger chords it would be more correct to say that he is typing in octal.
Chorded keyboards are cool. Especially single handed ones, which don't require a table to rest on. I.e. you just hold it in your hand. It is very ergonomic as there is no strain on your wrist. You can keep your hand in any position you like. And once you learn it, you can type (chord) very fast.
I've toyed with the idea of switching entirely to a chorded keyboard, but to get the benefits of it, you need a portable computer to go with it.
Using a telegraph key is “typing” in binary.
Being at service (updated)
My friend Charles pointed to this article and commented:
"Sounds like a country ready for new businesses to provide service--at a premium rate. Though training local talent might be hard, Paris i full of Mideastern immigrants who don't share the culture of obnoxiousness....
Equality seems to be defined differently there... providing friendly service for money certainly doesn't make you inferior!"
Totally right. We might hear from people (Pascal?) who disagree about this viewpoint about the tone of service in Paris, I hope so. But nevertheless, there are people around the world who mistake pleasant service with being "under the boot", and I think it's odd. I was a receptionist for a few years back in the day, and I loved the job, and I loved being very polite and helpful to the staff and to the visitors. (Once at a company convention, I got a great round of applause when I stood up to give a little speech. I enjoyed it, so I said: "that was cool, I wanna try it again", sat down and stood up, and a second round at least as big.)
One of my friends is so much against any kind of hierarchy that she couldn't imagine working for anybody. But while I do love being my own boss these days because of the free schedule, I did not mind at all having one. I actually sometimes enjoyed calling him "boss", even though this is rarely done in Denmark, it being a very flat country both geographically and culturally. I did not find that being subservient in the workplace implied any kind of inequality between us as persons, it was just something we "played" for fun and because it makes the workplace function well, because I respected him, and because he paid me!
And he paid me well too, I rapidly got raises, simply because I was eager and able to do a good job. Those who strain with all their might to do as little as possible are missing a good trick for earning money!
Maybe if the Brits allowed the tourists to take photos without getting arrested, they'd feel less inclined to jealous editorials disguised as news articles?.
"Sounds like a country ready for new businesses to provide service--at a premium rate. Though training local talent might be hard, Paris i full of Mideastern immigrants who don't share the culture of obnoxiousness....
Equality seems to be defined differently there... providing friendly service for money certainly doesn't make you inferior!"
Totally right. We might hear from people (Pascal?) who disagree about this viewpoint about the tone of service in Paris, I hope so. But nevertheless, there are people around the world who mistake pleasant service with being "under the boot", and I think it's odd. I was a receptionist for a few years back in the day, and I loved the job, and I loved being very polite and helpful to the staff and to the visitors. (Once at a company convention, I got a great round of applause when I stood up to give a little speech. I enjoyed it, so I said: "that was cool, I wanna try it again", sat down and stood up, and a second round at least as big.)
One of my friends is so much against any kind of hierarchy that she couldn't imagine working for anybody. But while I do love being my own boss these days because of the free schedule, I did not mind at all having one. I actually sometimes enjoyed calling him "boss", even though this is rarely done in Denmark, it being a very flat country both geographically and culturally. I did not find that being subservient in the workplace implied any kind of inequality between us as persons, it was just something we "played" for fun and because it makes the workplace function well, because I respected him, and because he paid me!
And he paid me well too, I rapidly got raises, simply because I was eager and able to do a good job. Those who strain with all their might to do as little as possible are missing a good trick for earning money!
Pascal said, amongst other things:
This is not an article, this is a poor stererotype-based pamphlet.
Otherwise, how come France remains the world's #1 travel destination for tourists?Maybe if the Brits allowed the tourists to take photos without getting arrested, they'd feel less inclined to jealous editorials disguised as news articles?.
White Trash Cooking
This cover is too funny.
It's a real cookbook. One reader says: "I assumed it was written to mock rural whites, a people I know to be hardworking, self-reliant, and decent. I was wrong about this one. This book actually celebrates these people and their cuisine, and is one of the very best traditional American cookbooks in print."
It's a real cookbook. One reader says: "I assumed it was written to mock rural whites, a people I know to be hardworking, self-reliant, and decent. I was wrong about this one. This book actually celebrates these people and their cuisine, and is one of the very best traditional American cookbooks in print."
Sunday, February 07, 2010
PanelFly iPad
PanelFly now has a page about their upcoming iPad version of their comic-reader app. Looks lovely.
Short-form art
Something that's a little scary to me: it seems that an artist who wants to earn money on his art may have to learn new media and communication forms to do so.
I never thought that comics and novels and paintings might go out of vogue. And probably they will never disappear totally, but it seems that what the new generations spend money on is not that, but... well, videos, video games, and ringtones!
I've been chastised about being always surprised at the march of times and technology, and there's something to that, I guess I have a less flexible mind that I thought.
But at least I'm willing to look at the new forms and maybe even to try to work in them. Many people just shut it out, for example comics creator Dave Sim, I don't think he even owns a computer.
Actually ten years ago Dave Sim wrote about how you could never view art on the web, because it was "postage-sized" pictures. I wrote to him then that it was just a matter of time and resolution (both kinds). And it was. I'd like him to see photos and paintings displayed on my fabulous 30-inch monitors, and then compare it to his tiny black/white comic book pages.
Of course it would not change his mind, because he was not giving the actual reason for his dislike of the new technology, nobody ever does, even if they think they do. Perhaps it's just fear, who knows, but he just can't approach it, is the bottom line.
I never thought that comics and novels and paintings might go out of vogue. And probably they will never disappear totally, but it seems that what the new generations spend money on is not that, but... well, videos, video games, and ringtones!
I've been chastised about being always surprised at the march of times and technology, and there's something to that, I guess I have a less flexible mind that I thought.
But at least I'm willing to look at the new forms and maybe even to try to work in them. Many people just shut it out, for example comics creator Dave Sim, I don't think he even owns a computer.
Actually ten years ago Dave Sim wrote about how you could never view art on the web, because it was "postage-sized" pictures. I wrote to him then that it was just a matter of time and resolution (both kinds). And it was. I'd like him to see photos and paintings displayed on my fabulous 30-inch monitors, and then compare it to his tiny black/white comic book pages.
Of course it would not change his mind, because he was not giving the actual reason for his dislike of the new technology, nobody ever does, even if they think they do. Perhaps it's just fear, who knows, but he just can't approach it, is the bottom line.
Tingling
Recently I've had a tingling/buzzing in my left arm, and that shoulder is not comfortable to sleep on, a lot of the time. Slight stiffness in the neck too.
It is probably a pinched nerve in the neck, and my physiotherapist has given me an exercise* to stretch the nerve down the arm so it's pulled out of the pinched place a little, and that helps. But it comes back, and the treatments my physio has given me in the past seem to be limited.
I want to avoid the very painful condition I got into two years ago with the other arm. Does anybody have any tips for this kind of thing? I have a high quality traction device (used gently), but there may be other things.
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* The exercise is good: I stand with my left side towards a wall, at arm's length. Then stretch out my arm, put the hand flat on the wall, fingers pointing up. Then I turn my head towards the right, slowly. A strong feeling of stretching is felt on the inside of my left arm. Hold it for a few moments. I do this gently, several times a day.
It is probably a pinched nerve in the neck, and my physiotherapist has given me an exercise* to stretch the nerve down the arm so it's pulled out of the pinched place a little, and that helps. But it comes back, and the treatments my physio has given me in the past seem to be limited.
I want to avoid the very painful condition I got into two years ago with the other arm. Does anybody have any tips for this kind of thing? I have a high quality traction device (used gently), but there may be other things.
------
* The exercise is good: I stand with my left side towards a wall, at arm's length. Then stretch out my arm, put the hand flat on the wall, fingers pointing up. Then I turn my head towards the right, slowly. A strong feeling of stretching is felt on the inside of my left arm. Hold it for a few moments. I do this gently, several times a day.
Mini-skirts
How come mini-skirts and see-through blouses occurred when I was too young to notice, and haven't shown up again since? It's so unfair.
Endless Cycle of Life
[Thanks to Carter]
Blogger doesn't like GIFs for some reason, so you'll have to go here. I'm not sure who the artist is.(Odd, in Safari it takes a long while for the GIF to start animating.)
The ebook market
Here's another good Stross article about the ebook market.
In the pre-internet dark age, there was a subculture of folks who would get their hands on books and pass them around and encourage people to read them for free, rather than buying their own copies. Much like today's ebook pirates, in terms of the what they did (with one or two minor differences). There was a closely-related subculture who would actually sell copies of books without paying the authors a penny in royalties, too.
We have a technical term for such people: we call them "librarians" and "second-hand bookstore owners".
He echos some of those things which I've been saying, to wit that $20 for an ebook is nuts, and it's one of the hindrances for the ebook market to take off. (Meanwhile the publishers are fighting Amazon's $10 ebooks tooth and claw.)
Only I wouldn't go so far as saying it's the main hindrance. I think sheer force of habit, and lacking technology is more important. We need something as comfortable as a book and more flexible, and easy buying.
And despite what he says, that the screen issue is clearly no problem, since we spend hours daily using screens, I think it is. Yes we do, but it's under protest. Me, I am strangely compelled to read a lot on the web, it's addictive... but when we arrive at lengths over a few screen heights, I get uncomfortable, partly the screen and partly the chair, meant for work not reading.
I guess it's a one-word argument really: "iTunes". I think they are the world's biggest music retailer now. And obviously the iBookstore part of the iPad experience is Apple's attempt at making this happen with ebooks. I think it has a shot of working, especially if Stevie can strong-arm/sweet-talk the publishers like he did with the music biz.
Doctorow gets it better, screen reading tends to be scattered. (Recommended article.)
Stross makes an error though:
[...] the typical dead-tree book has, over its life cycle, an average of four readers. Moreover, sell-through in paper is around 50-60%; that is, for every book sold to a customer, 0.8 to 1.0 other books end up being returned or pulped. So the real figure is more like ten readers per book actually printed by the publisher.
He means "two readers", not ten, if we follow his math. They print 100 books, sell 50, and each of those has 4 readers, that's 200 readers per 100 printed books.
Also I don't see why he thinks that we need a $20 ebook reader for that market to take off. Nobody ever made a $50 PC, and last I heard, that market has been pretty profitable overall.
I do however agree with his general drift, as in:
Historically, only 25% of readers paid into the authors revenue stream. A 75% piracy rate may therefore be seen as a continuation of business as usual.
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In the pre-internet dark age, there was a subculture of folks who would get their hands on books and pass them around and encourage people to read them for free, rather than buying their own copies. Much like today's ebook pirates, in terms of the what they did (with one or two minor differences). There was a closely-related subculture who would actually sell copies of books without paying the authors a penny in royalties, too.
We have a technical term for such people: we call them "librarians" and "second-hand bookstore owners".
He echos some of those things which I've been saying, to wit that $20 for an ebook is nuts, and it's one of the hindrances for the ebook market to take off. (Meanwhile the publishers are fighting Amazon's $10 ebooks tooth and claw.)
Only I wouldn't go so far as saying it's the main hindrance. I think sheer force of habit, and lacking technology is more important. We need something as comfortable as a book and more flexible, and easy buying.
And despite what he says, that the screen issue is clearly no problem, since we spend hours daily using screens, I think it is. Yes we do, but it's under protest. Me, I am strangely compelled to read a lot on the web, it's addictive... but when we arrive at lengths over a few screen heights, I get uncomfortable, partly the screen and partly the chair, meant for work not reading.
I guess it's a one-word argument really: "iTunes". I think they are the world's biggest music retailer now. And obviously the iBookstore part of the iPad experience is Apple's attempt at making this happen with ebooks. I think it has a shot of working, especially if Stevie can strong-arm/sweet-talk the publishers like he did with the music biz.
Doctorow gets it better, screen reading tends to be scattered. (Recommended article.)
Stross makes an error though:
[...] the typical dead-tree book has, over its life cycle, an average of four readers. Moreover, sell-through in paper is around 50-60%; that is, for every book sold to a customer, 0.8 to 1.0 other books end up being returned or pulped. So the real figure is more like ten readers per book actually printed by the publisher.
He means "two readers", not ten, if we follow his math. They print 100 books, sell 50, and each of those has 4 readers, that's 200 readers per 100 printed books.
Also I don't see why he thinks that we need a $20 ebook reader for that market to take off. Nobody ever made a $50 PC, and last I heard, that market has been pretty profitable overall.
I do however agree with his general drift, as in:
Historically, only 25% of readers paid into the authors revenue stream. A 75% piracy rate may therefore be seen as a continuation of business as usual.
-
Pigface
Unfortunately neither is my favorite version of the song, but they give an impression, I guess.
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