Digging deep in the texts of both literature and science, N. Katherine Hayles exemplifies the reconciliation of C.P. Snow’s “two cultures” better than anyone I know. Her refusal to concentrate on either side of the fence, instead insisting on plowing new ground on both sides, has lead her to some of the most intriguing research currently being done. Looking at texts from all sources and angles, Hayles is always seeing new things that others overlook. Continue reading “N. Katherine Hayles: Material Girl”
This Time
What we want from this time
Is to see beyond the sublime
To more than live, but to feel alive
And never cease to strive
To be more than a metaphor
For all the people who came before
To leave marks and traces
Evident on our peers’ faces
To know upon leaving one day
That we’ve proven there’s another way
To be, to do, and to thrive
To more than live, but to feel alive
Guest Post: Ashley Crawford on Prefiguring Cyberculture
Ricocheting from such subjects as The Matrix to James Joyce, Prefiguring Cyberculture (MIT Press) is a dazzlingly ambitious compendium. As in any collection of essays, it is a mixed affair, however, given its scope, and despite the occasional lapse into impenetrable jargon, it is an important addition to the burgeoning world of cyber-theory. Continue reading “Guest Post: Ashley Crawford on Prefiguring Cyberculture”
Guest Post: Ashley Crawford on The Road of Excess by Marcus Boon
There is something a little bit scary about reading The Road of Excess -– this meticulous exploration of the influence of narcotics on literature is like a late night literary overdose.
The author, Marcus Boon, is Assistant Professor of English at York University in Toronto, and his academic background shines through without bogging down this intriguing subject. Continue reading “Guest Post: Ashley Crawford on The Road of Excess by Marcus Boon”
Guest Post: Ashley Crawford on Uncanny Networks by Geert Lovink
Have you ever been to a party where every conversation was of interest? Didn’t think so, but as host, Geert Lovink, the founder of Nettime, might just pull it off.
Lovink’s latest book, Uncanny Networks (MIT Press), is a roller-coaster ride of discussion that ranges from art to politics, techno-tribes to dot.com IPOs, radical politics to futuristic fantasy. Continue reading “Guest Post: Ashley Crawford on Uncanny Networks by Geert Lovink”
From Modernism to Postmodernism and Philosophy of Technology
In short, that contradictions must be accepted. — David Jones
To unify the thing that is postmodernism might sound futile at the outset, but Lawrence Cahoone’s anthology From Modernism to Postmodernism (Blackwell) sets out to do just that. The very term “postmodernism” is fraught with misconception, misuse, and implies an adherence to fragmentation over unity. Cahoone’s selections combat this by demonstrating postmodernism’s origins, its disparate applications and definitions in different fields, and the ongoing debates about what exactly it all means. From Descartes and Hume to Nietzche and Sartre, and from the post-structuralists (e.g., Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze and Guittari, etc.) to the architects (e.g., Le Corbusier and Robert Venturi), Cahoone’s anthology provides an excellent overview of an inherently fractured lens on the world. Continue reading “From Modernism to Postmodernism and Philosophy of Technology”
Dispositions by McKenzie Wark
Armed with only a notebook and a GPS device, McKenzie Wark set out against the world in words. Each entry of Dispositions (Salt Publishing) is marked by Wark’s global position, and the date and time of entry. The style is part journal, part epic poem and in turns reminds me of the oblique observations of Jean Baudrillard, the playful verse of Lewis Carroll, and the incessant wordplay of James Joyce. Subsequently, Dispositions is rife with astute observations, memorable aphorisms, and quotable bon mots. Ground covered includes Deleuze and Guitarri, DJ Spooky, Walter Benjamin, 9/11, and lots of locales in New York City and Europe. Continue reading “Dispositions by McKenzie Wark”
Dead Cities by Mike Davis
The ground on which you walk is the tongue with which I talk — Saul Williams
Mike Davis gives voice to just what the hell we’ve done to our environment, what’s transpiring in the gaps in our relationships with each other, and what goes on underneath the deep and wide footprint of our rampant urban development. Dead Cities (The New Press) is a postmortem excavation of our postmodern urbanscape, a conjugation of all the verbs at work in the human condition. Continue reading “Dead Cities by Mike Davis”
Malcolm Gladwell: Epidemic Proportions
Malcolm Gladwell’s applied epidemiology picks up where the overwrought meme metaphor breaks down. In The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Gladwell explores and explains complex social and market phenomena through a sturdy, methodical framework and with engaging, easy-to-understand language. Unlike many social theorists, Gladwell eschews grandiose postulating and sticks to good ol’ tried-and-true observation and acutely intuitive pattern-recognition. Ace journalist with an intellect to match, Malcolm Gladwell could just be one of today’s most important writers. Continue reading “Malcolm Gladwell: Epidemic Proportions”
Ryan Kidwell a.k.a. Cex: Brutal Exposure
“Playing it safe isn’t interesting,” once quoth Ryan Kidwell a.k.a. Cex. The 20-year old laptop beat-twister-cum-emcee just dropped his fifth major release in four years and has another one on the way. Though being young and white on the mic is not the most auspicious spot, Kidwell risks it with heft, hubris and humor, saying, “I’m like the white Eminem.” The kid is like crack: sit through Tall, Dark and Handcuffed (Tigerbeat6, 2002) just once and you’ll be hooked. How is he so young and able to speak with the wisdom of such ages? How does he expect us to take him seriously when he’s rockin’ gold fronts? Cex is the confusion, collusion, and conflict of all of this and more. Continue reading “Ryan Kidwell a.k.a. Cex: Brutal Exposure”