Monthly Archives: February 2005

my ‘cyberanthropology’ workshop at the GAA conference

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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I just got notice that my proposal for a workshop ‘Cyberanthropology’ at the Conference of the German Anthropological Association (GAA aka DGV) – Halle / Saale, 4th – 7th October 2005 has been accepted, and that I am organizing it. Here is the first version of my description of the workshop: In the widest sense ‘cyberanthropology’ means the branch of sociocultural anthropology which aims to understand the culturally informed interrelationships between human beings and those technological artefacts which can be imagined and described as cybernetic systems. This interrelationships decidedly include the attempts to fuse technological artefacts with human and other … Continue reading →

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anthropologists on instant messaging

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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Susan D. Blum of the University of Notre Dame has taught a class in anthropology on Instant Messaging: “Teaching an upper-division undergraduate class on linguistic anthropology, “Doing Things with Words,” at the University of Notre Dame, nothing got my students so excited—not gossip, not gender, maybe accent—as the topic of Instant Messaging. This I learned when my students and I decided to study Instant Messaging as a form of student communication.” Read Susan’s paper on the class: Buzzing and Writing the Day Away Instant Messaging, and the paper which resulted from the class: Instant Messaging: Functions of a New Communicative … Continue reading →

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popular ethnographies

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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Alex Golub just recently wrote: “A week or so ago I asked the question “what are the most popular ethnographies today that give you a sense of where the field is going, or at least what is popular right now?” With the help of a few friends, some commentors, a very large gin and tonic, and the internet, I came up with a few names I had never (or only vaguely) heard of before. Let me know if this makes sense or seems completely off to you.” Check out his Popular Ethnographies weblog-entry to get up-to-date. And don’t miss the … Continue reading →

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speed runs

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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Tomi Salo has run through the complete Max Payne 2 (MP2) game in 33 minutes and 30 seconds! Speed Demos Archive carries a collection of video-evidence of so called ‘speed runs’: “A speed run is a video of a player striving to complete a video game in as fast a time as they can manage. Sound easy? It’s not! A large number of tricks are usually used, possibly skipping whole areas of a game in the process, and there will always be mistakes.” Among goodies like a Half Life 2 (HL2) run by David ‘marshmallow’ Gibbons in 2:14:58, and several … Continue reading →

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46 best-ever freeware utilities

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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Ian “Gizmo” Richard’s Tech Support Alert is a comprehensive, commented, and regularly updated compilation of free resources. Gizmo says: “As a computer professional, I’m always searching the Web for new sources of technical information. New support sites, great resources and the best applications and tech utilities. In 1998, it occurred to me that if a lot of other people would be interested in the information I find. So Tech Support Alert was conceived and duly delivered.” Especially his 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities [which in fact are 56] are very worthwhile — not only for the power-user or cyberanthropologist. You’ll discover … Continue reading →

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blogging and mapping

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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The last week was pretty much filled with two major tasks: Finally setting up this weblog and working on the map I am contributing to the Max-Payne-2 modification “Rogue-Ops”. Unfortunately I can’t show off any screenshots of my map yet, as looks and contents of it still are secrets to be kept inside the team. [Screenshots of my contributions to the mods Lightsaber 4.0, 5.0, the first chain map project, and the real world can be seen at the exhibition-section of maxmod, my project’s website.] To get an idea of Rogue-Ops visit the website and its media-section. The mod progresses … Continue reading →

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escher’s quake

Posted on by October 1, 2011
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Stephen [Edwin] King tells us that associating otherwise unrelated ideas in an original way is the key to creating an interesting novel. In a magazine-article he read that paranormal phenomena of the ‘Poltergeist’ kind are prone to appear in the vicinity of adolescent youths. He associated this story with his recollections of some outcast girls who attended school with him. The plot of “Carrie” was born and this novel paved the road to King’s incredible success … are you ready? Are you hanging at the edge of your seat? Not long ago during some quiet moments sitting at the window … Continue reading →

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