NMC Campus Observer

Getting ready for the Summer Conference

NMC Virtual Worlds : Jun 2, 2009 04:34am

So, thanks to Alan, Beth & I have been given a voice outside of the virtual world which we hope to use on a regular basis to tell you about what we’re working on and maybe even offer some tips along the way. This being the week before the annual NMC Summer Conference, we’re actually busy preparing our pre-conference session for that, so there’s not a lot of building going on which is unusual for us! That said we spent a couple of days building a pavillion for Linden Lab’s upcoming land expo.

I’ll say at the start, this is not a grand and exciting piece of architecture, but a simple plaza featuring some display boards with an entertaining  little secret – if you get the chance, do visit it and wander among them. It’s apt though, as I prepare for our session, because although I’m an architect, I’ll spend some time considering the appropriateness of ‘buildings’ in the virtual world, and the fact that although our first instinct is to start throwing up walls and roofs, they’re not necessarily the best solution to a problem, and with imagination and a defined goal, a ‘build’ can be almost anything you want it to be. If you’re coming to Monterey, I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Finally, as these blogs were meant to be more than dry missives on our work, let me tell you what I’m listening to this week! 30 years ago in the age of punk this album would have been recorded on a cheap tape recorder, but being the age of digital media (see, it has nmc relevance!), it was free software and a mac + a drum, a ukulele and the incredible voice of Merrill Garbus aka Tune-Yards. Since she released it free on her website, she’s been picked up by a record label and performed at SxSW in Austin, Texas as well as a couple of music festivals in the UK. It’s deliberately primitive and lo-fi but this aesthetic only serves to highlight her soul and talent, don’t be fooled, there’s some serious music going on underneath it all with influences ranging from the folk of Woody Guthrie, the soul of Nina Simone, traditional  African singing to the no-wave noise of Sonic Youth. I like Regina Spektor well enough, but this is the real thing, laid bare, and the most inspirational stuff I’ve heard this year.

http://vimeo.com/3790320

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-OtNMyufe8&feature=related

The album ‘Bird-Brains’ is available on iTunes.

Originally published at NMC Virtual Worlds

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