All entries for May 2008

Academic Fakery

Writing about web page http://chronicle.com/free/2008/05/3028n.htm

Interesting article in The Chronicle about instances of academics photoshopping images to falsify research outputs.

Andrew Keen’s argument about Digital Amateurism is a good one to debate in this context. His call for cultural and educational institutions to stand up and be counted in the face of erosion by hoards of amateurs is undermined by this sort of thing and rather hands the initiative away.

Credibility and authority is the cornerstone of our ability to be heard – protecting that is crucial.

Tom Abbott : 30 May 2008 09:15 |  Tags: Communications Digital University |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Gilberto Gil on digital culture

Writing about web page http://joi.ito.com/weblog/2008/05/19/gilberto-gils-t.html

Joi Ito points to a really interesting speech from Brazilian cultural minister Gilberto Gil (yes, that Gilberto Gil – how cool is that) on the impact of digital tech on culture and the potential for transformation.

Interestingly Gil firmly believes that this is inherently a political issue rather than solely cultural.

we have not only to humanize, but also politicize these technologies, which means thoroughly discuss them and make them available to society and every citizen. Regulations should be there to insure freedom and open access to knowledge, not just for “business as usual” purposes.

It is an interesting perspective. The challenge is clearly set in a cultural/arts/community context but there obvious implications for the social contract between Universities and the communities that sustain them.

Tom Abbott : 20 May 2008 09:44 |  Tags: Culture Digital |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Golden Ticket

Follow-up to Dear Mr Warnock from Contemplating the Frame

And now I’ll be celebrating in the stands at Wembley.

Hey hey!

Tom Abbott : 18 May 2008 10:04 |  Tags: Bristol City Football |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The whole album and nothing but the album

This afternoon I was reflecting on the idea that thanks to the ipod my usual listening pattern is to shuffle tracks rather than listen to a specific album.

This was whilst listening to a single album in its entirety – a rare event. The reason for this was that the album was The Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. This is one of those albums that is stronger when you listen to all the tracks together. It has a mood that builds and builds with each track and there is a clear narrative through the album.

So which other albums demand that you listen to them whole as the artist intended? Which albums should you not shuffle?

I was thinking along the lines of:

- Pink Floyd: The Wall – just does not make sense to play this out of order
- Divine Comedy: A Short Album about Love – a story which it doesn’t pay to muck about with
- Air: Moon Safari – not a narrative as such but a mood thing
- Talking Heads: True Stories – again, a great narrative album. Probably helped by being a film
- Three Feet High and Rising: De La Soul – because there are so many ideas that cross song to song.

Over to you…

Tom Abbott : 16 May 2008 14:59 |  Tags: iPod Music |  Comments (5) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Dear Mr Warnock

Can we celebrate now please?

Wembley here we come!

Tom Abbott : 13 May 2008 22:22 |  Tags: Bristol City Football |  Comments (9) |  Close comments |  Trackbacks (1) |  Report a problem