Running and Passing.

Photos concerning the interiors of parked cars and/or their window optics.

If you enjoy these images, definitely check out the Kevin Cooley series Parked Cars. The photographs seem to create single image short stories. Wordless moments in limited context, prime for personal projection.

This past week Comcast rolled out their bandwidth meter here in Portland, Oregon. Home cable internet plans are now subject to a 250 GB / month limit and Comcast currently offers no options to purchase additional bandwidth.  The first violation of this cap results in a phone call from the friendly ‘Customer Security Assurance’ people warning of said limit. Customers who violate the cap a 2nd time within six months of the first violation will have their service terminated for one year. I direct interested parties to Comcast’s Updated Acceptable Use Policy.

I’m actually curious as to my bandwitch consumption. Ever since my father purchased a Time Warner Ohio cable connection in the mid/late 1990′s, I have used considerable bandwidth with little regard.  I have never been malicious, but have made no attempt to curb my usage. Many European and Asian ISPs offer cable services with upload/download speeds considerably higher than those commonly found in the United States and virtually all of these foreign services remain free of any bandwidth cap.

I’m pretty opposed to the idea of a bandwidth meter and believe Comcast is creating a false scarcity. I am currently on 6 month promotion and receive a discounted rate, but will not hesitate to change providers should the cap become a hindrance.

** In other news, I’d like to direct visitors to the System7.org computer and network security site. Run by a knowledge friend of mine, System 7 speaks on relevant security concerns and offers some insightful suggestions. He has recently been posting on the privacy policy of search engines.

Today, M3A5URE OF LIFE, a book of poetry by my friend daniel Ereditario arrived in the mail. I’m really looking forward to reading it. On occasion, daniel and I used to drink together then become enthralled in ravenous discourse. He posesses a brilliant, ever questioning mind. Daniel’s poetry is also featured in two video pieces I did for the Cellular Theater Show.

Thank you daniel.

Below is a selection of daniel’s video work.

in the distance, an airplane appears

“I make therefore I am.”

As someone who lives a largely digital lifestyle, I sometimes struggle to find a satisfying connection between my work and the physical world.  At times, I crave the physicality and self-directed attention that is associated with creating tangible objects. The Oct/Nov issue of American Craft Magazine featured an interview with New York University (and London School of Economics) sociologist Richard Sennett, in which he discusses the merits of craft and the stabilizing effect of slowly producing work. Sennett says, “there is a great emotional reward in such physical production. It gives you a sense of place in the world and that it matter that you’re here.”

Yet craft is not simply constructing the forms of yesteryear. While the advances are not always the version 3.0 real-time results we have come to associate with contemporary success, traditional crafts remains relevant by both incorporating current technologies and providing an outlet through which we can critique culture.  A more modern definition of craft can be applied to any field of study benefiting form a  methodical, organized approach or where utilitarian meets decorative.

I find myself being reminded that I may be best suited to use technologies such as the Internet and the networking of society for research, modeling, and distribution, and not as an end unto themselves.  The pace and organizational methods that I bring to my work could certainly improve.  Additionally, I have come to realize that time for reflection can be just as important as the production.

You can find Richard Sennett’s book, The Craftsman, on Amazon or at your local book seller. American Craft Magazine is a production of the American Craft Council and can be found wherever fine magazine are sold.

Side point : This issue of American Craft Magazine (Oct/Nov 09) features a cover story on Artist/Crafter Lauren Kalman. While I was completing my undergraduate degree at Ohio State University, Ms. Kalman served as TA to my Concepts and Issues in Contemporary Art class. Very fine work Lauren.

I’ve been working on a project that is conducive  me to walking around various neighborhoods. These photos are not necessarily related to that project.