In fiction and in practice, machines that replicate human bodies tend to reproduce useful or desirable functions related to cognizance, physical labor, or sex, but for seven years, Wim Delvoye has chosen to duplicate a less alluring process. His series of ‘Cloaca’ machines mimic the whole of the human digestive system, eating, digesting, and yes, excreting in the gallery. He has produced seven versions of the machine to date, and they have been shown in cities around the world, where local restaurants donate leftovers and scraps to feed the insatiable works while they are in residence. From September 30th to January 6th, the exhibition Wim Delvoye: Cloaca 2000-2007 at the Casino Luxembourg Forum d’Art Contemporain offers the first overview of the complete series with all seven machines installed in its galleries–two of them actually performing the functions for which they were designed–along with original drawings, photographs, models, sealed bags of machine-produced excrement, and other materials related to the project. Heavily branded with a self-consciously glossy logo and released in generations (’Cloaca Original,’ ‘Super Cloaca,’ ‘Cloaca N?5′) like so many gadgets, the works offer an obvious critique of modern habits of consumption and waste, but whenever they are installed, the crowds they draw also offer a more nuanced commentary on contemporary art as a–frequently scatological–entertainment spectacle.

[Link]

Gross, but kinda cool.

Originally
from Rhizome.org

reBlogged

on Sep 24, 2007, 2:54PM

Originally from Rhizome.org on September 24, 2007, 7:54am

A new federal court decision turns your cell phone into a location-tracking device that law enforcement can access, even if you’re not suspected of committing a crime. Commentary by Jennifer Granick.

Scary.

Originally
from Wired Top Stories

by Jennifer Granick


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 4:00AM

Originally by Jennifer Granick from Wired Top Stories on September 24, 2007, 9:00pm

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

We’ve seen this type of toy before, but never in such a plush and cute form factor. The Kam Kam Mobile Alert — that’s the cat version — and Don Don Mobile Alert detect the GSM radio on your handset from up to five feet away when a call or message comes in. Instead of blinking or spinning, Kitty or Rover will wag its tail for 15 seconds to let you know if your ringer happens to be silent. The desktop critter has a handy spot to plonk your handset in when in use, but sadly doesn’t offer a charger option. The holiday season is approaching and this would likely make a cute gift, and at $30 a pop, it shouldn’t break the bank.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

How cute. Instead of using Bluetooth or some sort of communication with the phone, it monitors GSM frequencies and works automagically. Sucks for you Sprint/Verizon users, but whatev.

Originally
from Engadget

by Sean Cooper


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 6:40AM

Originally by Sean Cooper from Engadget on September 24, 2007, 11:40pm

Filed under: Storage

Apple Expo kicks off today and Iomega’s using the party to launch an array of new and updated Mac-centric (read: HFS+ formatted) storage solutions. The UltraMax line (pictured above) gets the most love, with three tiers of drives now available: the $599 UltraMax Desktop Pro in FireWire 800 / 400 / USB 2.0 and USB 2.0 / eSATA flavors with 1.5TB of RAID storage, the quad-interface UltraMax Desktop in $219 500GB and $319 750GB versions, and a $189 FireWire 400 / USB 2.0 500GB base model. Mac Mini users also get a new $179 750GB MiniMax drive with three USB 2.0 ports and three FireWire 400 ports built-in, while travelers score some love with the new eGo drive, which packs up 160GB ($159) or 250GB ($259) of storage in a sleek form enclosure that supports both FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. Pics of all the new gear in the gallery for those of you needing some more tasteful press photography in your lives.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Mostly, this is nerdy, but it’s also interesting from a mashup industrial design sort of way.

Originally
from Engadget

by Nilay Patel


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 11:29AM

Originally by Nilay Patel from Engadget on September 25, 2007, 4:29am

Inc Wii, iPhone, Google Apps - via Christina Buck

Nothing new, but probably true.

Originally
from del.icio.us/tag/future

by digitalnews


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 1:04PM

Originally by digitalnews from del.icio.us/tag/future on September 25, 2007, 6:04am

Crazy list of resources, brought to you by the Media Lab at MIT.
-Ezra

Originally
from del.icio.us/tag/future

by pans


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 11:03PM

Originally by pans from del.icio.us/tag/future on September 25, 2007, 4:03pm

From Yale, a time line on the globalist institution that is Television.

Originally
from del.icio.us/tag/future

by comptonc001


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 11:09PM

Originally by comptonc001 from del.icio.us/tag/future on September 25, 2007, 4:09pm

Continua de les 10 trends de la web també de R&W

Someone thinks this is where the web is going.
-Ezra

Originally
from del.icio.us/tag/future

by janquim


reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 11:21PM

Originally by janquim from del.icio.us/tag/future on September 25, 2007, 4:21pm

“An unread email is hairy and swims fast; a read email has less hair and does not swim so fast anymore; a responded email is hairless and barely moves.” Visualization of My Email Inbox by Carolin Horn and Florian Jenett.

A different sort of personal Internet mapping…
-Ezra

Originally
from Coudal Partners Blended Feed

reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 2:28PM

Originally from Coudal Partners Blended Feed on September 25, 2007, 7:28am

Anti-telemarketing counterscript. If only I could find a way to screw up all these prerecorded calls.

New Media: hacking telemarketers? Or would this technically be Phreaking? (Haven’t used THAT word in a while…)
-Ezra

Originally
from Coudal Partners Blended Feed

reBlogged

on Sep 25, 2007, 9:07PM

Originally from Coudal Partners Blended Feed on September 25, 2007, 2:07pm