zephyrin_xirdal
comments offline
Once again I was forced to take the comments function offline. My countermeasures against spamming were still working and indeed prevented ‘sensible’ spam—spam that actually does advertise something or builds up a web of hyperlinks. Sometimes the filter overdid it … Continue reading →
pulp surrealism
Pulp Surrealism is about the secret life of mass culture, specifically its surrealistic undercurrents. It establishes a low-brow, anti-establishment genealogy of the Parisian dada and surrealist movements in the popular realms of crime fiction and sensationalist journalism. Mass culture was … Continue reading →
discoveries
Humankind made two fundamental discoveries which made the invention and development of the computer possible. Firstly the discovery that the empirically graspable world, at least partially, can be described by mathematical models. Secondly the discovery that calculations necessary for prophecies—for … Continue reading →
godboxes
The divine spark was the last to arrive. 700 Watts of it. During last week’s course god trickled in piecemeal—neatly packed into seven boxes of diverse sizes. Now I wonder if seven days will suffice for assembling and bringing … Continue reading →
the virtual and the game
Part of nearly every definition of game is, that there are no consequences of in-game actions and decisions to the realms outside of the game. Games have this trait in common with simulations. The decision a pilot makes when inside … Continue reading →
homer3
Time and again The-Simpsons-Halloween-Specials are to be seen on television. In one particular episode, “↑Homer 3“ (1996) ↑by Pacific Data Images, Homer tries to hide behind a cupboard as his wife Marge’s sisters are about to pay a visit … Continue reading →
advertisement
the economical relevance of cyberanthropology Sooner or later the time may well come that I have to advertise me—read: sell myself ;-) If so, I’d advertise ‘cyberanthropology’ to the suits’n’ties like that: A television show which is produced on virtually … Continue reading →
wag the dog
In a 1994 television interview with ↑Alexander Kluge, ↑Niklas Luhmann warned: “Vorsicht vor zu raschem Verstehen!” [Attention if something is understood too quickly.] 70 years earlier, Hercule Poirot said: “If a thing is clear as daylight—eh bien, mistrust it! Someone … Continue reading →
02/11
the day ↑DRM went down on its knees again As far as I understand the matter, it now is possible to decrypt the contents of ↑HD DVD and ↑Blu-ray Discs, because for both the same root/master key is used. For … Continue reading →