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Ecomedia
How the Natural World is Transforming the Nature of Media.
This weblog is not the usual blog of daily events. It contains a series of notes/thoughts designed to make connections between science and media art.
Sometimes these ideas are tied in with current events, but most of the time this blog is not in any particular order. It serves as a central area for a detailed examination of ideas first published in a 1999 Leonardo Journal article entitled 'Active Vision' that I hope to develop into a book that will discuss some of the current developments in science, ecology, media and society and how they inform and are informed by new technologies. The book will be written for artists working with digital media and anyone who is interested in future directions of the medium.
http://www.andreapolli.com
last modified Sep 7, 2006 at 13:00
A beautiful story about a singing sand experience from Brett Stalbaum via email:
"I am reminded of a phenomenon called singing dunes that Paula and I once experienced. We were at a place we semi-frequent in Nevada called Sand Mountain - it is a very good descriptive name. Massive sand dune on the northern end of a great basin valley - which is common enough. But at Sand Mountain the geology allows winds to form a really nice, continuous ridge line that is very high. So it really is a mountain more than dunes. What can happen is that sand can begin to fall from the ridgeline down the steep side of the sand mountain, (in a constant process of wind versus gravity that is always shifting the shape of the mountain and actually moving it around... so it could also be called "moving mountain" - the last time we were there it had almost eaten the blm campground...)
Anyway, we were there on a totally silent desert day, and we saw a man running along the ridge line. (Turned out he was a sailor and marathon runner from the nearby Fallon NAS who likes to work out in the sand...the three of us were the only ones out there.) As he ran, he was disturbing the the sand from the ridge, sending it down the side in a column that begins to vibrate as it speeds up and gathers more sand. It makes an amazing, loud, low frequency sound - something like a buzzing but more complex - it stopped us in our tracks, and yes the sight and sound is welded in our brains."
Wired has an interesting article about a new body modification in which a tiny vibrating magnet is implanted into your fingertip.
The magnet be used to pick up small metal objects, but more interestingly, an encounter with a magnetic force causes a tingling sensation. A 'sixth sense'.
I'd say that the fingertip is not the right place for this, instead the magnet should be implanted at the base of the neck, the place where one feels hair stand on end when fearful, connecting synthesized senses to already understood and experienced sensations.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71087-0.html
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