There and back again, a miniature giants tale.
Hello.
Today, I spied on North Korea, and did a pseudo-scientific scociological experiment.
Today I gave NSA a hand. We are searching for their secret nuclear bunkers-oops, I mean THEY are searching for secret bunkers.( Did I say WE?) I used Google Earth to check out the North Koreacakilaki. I found some sweet communal-looking farms. They actually looked pretty productive and agrarian for being in the 'axis of evil' and all other such hysteria.
******
For some reason, I have found myself having these strange conversations with people in my life about, well, frankly, for lack of a better word, "CYBERSPACE". When I was a little girl, the word "CYBERSPACE" had this really Orwellian, Machiavellian connotation. I heard phrases floating around like " soon people will conduct their entire lives in "CYBERSPACE". "CYBERSPACE" was this end all summation of human existence that would simultaneous consolidate all power and eradicate all notions of individual autonomy. It would (according to Popular Mechanics, a magazine my mom ordered for me) "Eventually lead to an entirely electronic form of human existence, with the physical human de-evolving"
Far out.
So, of late, things have gotten really weird. Almost everyone I know has Facebook or Myspace. I find myself checking my Facebook account daily, if not more! I exhibit signs of dependence, I sometimes feel the need to "sneak a quick peak" you know, to see if anyone has written me anything or if Thomas Thkatch has posted any cool new pictures of his new hair, or some old person from my past has tried to dredge up and resurrect my memory.
what's up with this? Almost everyone i know does this ritual DAILY! WOW! Could it be that we have adapted so quickly to an online lifestyle? We not only keep in contact with old friends with "FaceSpace" but we meet/make new ones. We talk about each other. We exchange all sorts of data. A certain string of ones and zeros can be reinterpreted into an image or words, and that image/phrase can make us cry or laugh or just feel.
So i have been hearing about these 'online' worlds, where people spend significant fractions of their waking hours talking to each other, walking around fantasy worlds, killing each other with nailguns, flirting, or living out any manner of fantasy that they might have.
So, I decided to become a tourist in one.
I signed up into this "thing" called Second Life.
Heard of it yet? They prompted me to make up the name for my avatar, I came up with "Ezekiel Radius". They spat me out at this entrance portal with about 50 other people who were just now joining "Second Life". I customized Ezekiel's appearance to look like something that vaguely resembled myself. The biggest problem was that he had the generic Hawaiian cloths (I would have to find or buy better duds).
I spent an hour exploring the "LUSH 3-D ENVIRONMENT". I teleported to some place and met some (real) people who were making (virtual) vintage WWII era aircraft. They were selling them for some sort of arbitrary currency that could be converted in to (real) cash money. To support this economy, the creators of SL have adopted a John Locke sort of Labor-Mixing argument, where "if you make it, you own it".
Honestly, I was pretty amazed.
***********
I snapped out of my reverie when I went to starbucks an got a double expresso. Until "CYBERSPACE" can compete with the flavor of freshly made expresso, there's just no comparison.
********
This Post is Dedicated to Ezekiel Radius (2006-2006). May He Forever Rest In Peace.
Today, I spied on North Korea, and did a pseudo-scientific scociological experiment.
Today I gave NSA a hand. We are searching for their secret nuclear bunkers-oops, I mean THEY are searching for secret bunkers.( Did I say WE?) I used Google Earth to check out the North Koreacakilaki. I found some sweet communal-looking farms. They actually looked pretty productive and agrarian for being in the 'axis of evil' and all other such hysteria.
******
For some reason, I have found myself having these strange conversations with people in my life about, well, frankly, for lack of a better word, "CYBERSPACE". When I was a little girl, the word "CYBERSPACE" had this really Orwellian, Machiavellian connotation. I heard phrases floating around like " soon people will conduct their entire lives in "CYBERSPACE". "CYBERSPACE" was this end all summation of human existence that would simultaneous consolidate all power and eradicate all notions of individual autonomy. It would (according to Popular Mechanics, a magazine my mom ordered for me) "Eventually lead to an entirely electronic form of human existence, with the physical human de-evolving"
Far out.
So, of late, things have gotten really weird. Almost everyone I know has Facebook or Myspace. I find myself checking my Facebook account daily, if not more! I exhibit signs of dependence, I sometimes feel the need to "sneak a quick peak" you know, to see if anyone has written me anything or if Thomas Thkatch has posted any cool new pictures of his new hair, or some old person from my past has tried to dredge up and resurrect my memory.
what's up with this? Almost everyone i know does this ritual DAILY! WOW! Could it be that we have adapted so quickly to an online lifestyle? We not only keep in contact with old friends with "FaceSpace" but we meet/make new ones. We talk about each other. We exchange all sorts of data. A certain string of ones and zeros can be reinterpreted into an image or words, and that image/phrase can make us cry or laugh or just feel.
So i have been hearing about these 'online' worlds, where people spend significant fractions of their waking hours talking to each other, walking around fantasy worlds, killing each other with nailguns, flirting, or living out any manner of fantasy that they might have.
So, I decided to become a tourist in one.
I signed up into this "thing" called Second Life.
Heard of it yet? They prompted me to make up the name for my avatar, I came up with "Ezekiel Radius". They spat me out at this entrance portal with about 50 other people who were just now joining "Second Life". I customized Ezekiel's appearance to look like something that vaguely resembled myself. The biggest problem was that he had the generic Hawaiian cloths (I would have to find or buy better duds).
I spent an hour exploring the "LUSH 3-D ENVIRONMENT". I teleported to some place and met some (real) people who were making (virtual) vintage WWII era aircraft. They were selling them for some sort of arbitrary currency that could be converted in to (real) cash money. To support this economy, the creators of SL have adopted a John Locke sort of Labor-Mixing argument, where "if you make it, you own it".
Honestly, I was pretty amazed.
***********
I snapped out of my reverie when I went to starbucks an got a double expresso. Until "CYBERSPACE" can compete with the flavor of freshly made expresso, there's just no comparison.
********
This Post is Dedicated to Ezekiel Radius (2006-2006). May He Forever Rest In Peace.
posted by squarerootofnegativeone at 1:25 AM
1 Comments:
re cyberspace/virtual reality
i read (a while back) that there is a bone fide lawsuit out because a buyer of cyberistic goods was not delivered his c.goods, though he had paid with bone fide real $$
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, wonder how that is to be untangledy?
Even more Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, wonder how mut.e and the other half can have the opportunity to spend some time with the prett' nar love of their lives...we miss you terribly!
and love you very muchly!!
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