change is afoot

*

oof. the past month has been busy, more so than usual. i spent a couple of days in nyc, started teaching at ocad, had a bit of holiday and tried to wrap up the summertime loose ends before the season changed.

the biggest change of all, though, is that i’m no longer with the beal institute for strategic creativity. after 2 years of fun, great people and absolutely life-changing work, it was time for something a little different. the sweet spot had shifted, so to speak. i’m sad to be moving on, but am looking forward to future collaborations with the brilliant minds there, as well as having the time to pursue other projects.

in the present, though, i’m pleased to say that i’ll be working part-time with interactive ontario, as project manager and content developer. they’re a great bunch of people, and i’m happy to be a part of their team, getting to know them over the next while. to new things! :)

*to commemorate yesterday being international talk like a pirate day. yar.

the luck of seven needs you

or rather it needs your $11.11.

and actually it’s noel hidalgo who needs your money. and you should give it to him.

noel left nyc on july 7 2007 to travel the seven continents for seven months, talking to people and “documenting free culture, social innovation and global change.” he’s been through europe, the north of africa, the middle east and is currently in delhi. this journey has been funded entirely by noel asking for donations of $11.11 from 700 people around the global. his adventures – in the form of microblogging, vcasts, photos and blogs – can be found here, here, here and here.

why should you donate? because i don’t know anyone else with the passion, brains and balls to take on such a journey. that’s the biggest reason. scott trudeau can provide you with a few others, but honestly, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute to an amazing project. it’s crazy, mind you, but noel inspires and challenges us all to reconsider what kinds of change we’re capable of. dude. he rawks.

donate here

studio n open house

Clockwise from left: Logger – Anneke Van Bommel, Acrylic, Vinyl, Paper(2007), The Proximity of Twins – Lara McQuay, Ring – Fiona Macintyre, Sea Grapes – Carolyn Scandiffio

FYI if you’re in town September 16! my studiomates and i are hosting our semi-annual open house show the same weekend as the queen west art crawl. come and have a gander, a chat and perhaps walk away with something a little special. :)

ps: i’ll be showing the first round of work inspired by the ‘dead media’ project

To coincide with the Queen West Art Crawl,

The Girls of Studio N are hosting their Bon Voyage Sweet Summer Exhibition and Sale, in their working studio on Dovercourt (about 68 steps from Queen Street West). We are located in Studio N on the second floor.

Studio N residents will be showing recent explorations, including one-off exhibition pieces, handmade cards, drawings, sculptural interior objects, and Studio Jewellery. We will have some nibbly bits, and look forward to seeing those who can stop by to say hello and see what we’ve been up to.

Featured Artists:
Lesley Ashton
Fiona Mac Intyre
Lara Mc Quay
Carolyn Scandiffio
Michele Perras
Anneke van Bommel

Date: Sunday, September 16, 2007
Time: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: 44 Dovercourt Rd @ corner of Dovercourt and Sudbury, South of Queen St. West. Studio N, 2nd Floor. Toronto, ON

Phone: 416.536.2152

if you happen to be in seoul next month…

photo thomas purves

the wonderful people at LIFT are organizing a free event to take place sept 12, 2007 in seoul, korea (venue tbd). if you happen to be there, i strongly suggest to go – it will change you. and if korea is too far or too soon, LIFT08 happens in february. congrats to laurent, nicolas and team on the launch of LIFTlabs

Join us for a night in Seoul with Adam Greenfield, Bruce Sterling and Korean architect Yoo Suk Yeon to discuss real and digital spaces.

Topic: Spaces: From Real to Digital. How technological developments in both the physical worlds and virtual environments are reshaping our buildings, our games, and soon our web browsers.

When: 12 September 2007 in Seoul, South Korea. The precise location will be announced later.

Speakers:
• Adam Greenfield will show us the opportunities and problems of living in a world where technologies pervaded the physical space.
• The upcoming hybridizations of the digital and the physical will be tackled by Bruce Sterling, who will also present what he, as a science-fiction writer and technology journalist expects.
• Korean architect Yoo Suk Yeon will then talk about the latest trends in architecture and how this hybridization is of importance.
• Virtual spaces and usage of massive multi-player platforms would also be addressed by a fourth speaker coming from the video gaming industry.

Registration: the event will be free but registration is required. To register, email your name to info@liftconference.com (a better system is coming soon).

heatwave

it’s really hot. like +35 with the humidex. it’s making me sluggish and woozy to move betwixt the arctic climate at beal and the rainforest of my apartment (yeah, the east and west windows have a great crossbreeze on the third floor. SURE…:P ).

although a thunderstorm is currently on route (eta: 2hrs), the past few days have not been very conducive to my recent resolution to eat at least 80% of my meals from food that comes out of my kitchen, as a way to save a bit of cash and not get tempted by instant gratification delectables. so i’ve been pulling out the recipes that do not involve even making eye contact with the stove. or toaster. etc.

this was from monday, when i was in need of a super boost of energy from the weekend’s perpetual travel (friday pm to sunday am: tdot>nyc>nj>nyc>tdot. by bus/train. :\ ). super easy and extremely tasty. and i find that the kale has noticeable brain results (clarity and energy) immediately!

summer salad

• bunch of kale, washed and chopped, stems and ribs removed
• apple, cored and chopped
• can of beans (pigeon peas are my recent fave, tho romanos are also good. and use fresh if you’ve got ‘em)
• chopped walnuts (optional)

dressing

• extra virgin olive oil (preferably a fine finishing olive oil, infused with lemon or ginger. neat site)
• lemon juice
• mustard seed
• fig vinegar (or apple cider, white wine, etc)
• honey
• salt and pepper

add it all together and toss with dressing. enjoy!

i just learned how to make fresh goat’s milk cheese in an artisan cheese workshop – updates to follow soon!

Open Cities Registration Begins!

super exciting day! open cities registration begins!!

Open Cities came out of observations and conversations about issues that affect many of us, slowly growing into a desire to think about the kinds of questions and possibilities around what ‘open’ means and what it enables. A big kudos to Mark Kuznicki, who first looped me into the conversation. The passionate people/participants/citizens organizing Open Cities hope to facilitate

“a weekend-long web of conversation and celebration that asks: how do we collaboratively add more open to the urban landscape we share? What happens when people working on open source, public space, open content, mash up art, and open business work together? How do we make Toronto a magnet for people playing with the open meme?”

Open Cities is premised around an unconference format – participant driven with sessions unscheduled til the day of. Open Cities aspires to be the first of many, locally and internationally. If you are interested in participating, the only caveat is that both feet must be in the conversation. As well, we expect spaces to fill up rather quickly so please go and sign up asap! And huge thanks to the Centre for Social Innovation and Fort York for their generous sponsorship! And some amazing preliminary press from BoingBoing (thx cory!) and BlogTO

Pass it along. Post it! Ping it! Pay it forward!

• Open Cities
• Registration

• 23 June 9am-6pm: Open Cities unconference, Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina
• 23 June 6pm-9pm: Open Cities BBQ, Fort York
• 24 June 12pm-7pm: PS Kensington/Open Cities Collaboration, Kensington Mkt

ps- i didn’t think i’d make it to Open Cities due to a scheduling conflict, but things have cleared up. :)

the complete creativity 100

henriette weber-andersen, who i had the awesome opportunity to meet at LIFT07, has posted an extensive and fun list of 100 strategies and ideas to keep your creative mind fresh and happy.

some favourites:

4. Creativity is interaction. Most of the time with real people

13. be a firestarter, a twisted firestarter

61: have dinner parties for your favorite people.

77: DIY – who knows what you might find ( or ruin)

96: love

for alicia

from last night’s dinner. we had this with honeyed leek and sweet potato strips and arugula salad with pears and almonds, and alicia brought over a nice shiraz (errasuriz). we followed our gluttony with fresh mint tea.

cedar-roasted salmon

• 1 lg salmon filet (enough for 2 people)
• mashed garlic and ginger
• diced leeks
• olive oil
• lime juice
• spices: cumin, fennel seed, salt, pepper, cayenne
• 2 cedar sheets (enough to wrap or cover filet), soaked

preheat oven to 400C. rinse and pat filet dry. rub down with garlic and ginger. rub in spices. sprinkle leeks. drizzle with lime juice and olive oil. let marinate for 20+ minutes at room temperature. place one cedar sheet on baking sheet, position salmon, add 2nd sheet and make a little cedar sandwich. roast for 30 minutes, or until done. enjoy! (i like this method because the salmon stays extremely moist and light, like poaching without the hassle, and enough crispy roasty goodness to change up the texture a bit)

more after the jump

kctos and vienna in december!

good news this week!

an abstract proposal i submitted was accepted!! Tacit Knowledge Creation in Knowledge-Based Hybrid Communites will be presented at the biannual INST conference, held in Vienna this December. This year’s them is Knowledge, Creativity and Transformations of Societies, and the section where my paper will be presented is Knowledge Production, Cultural Discourse and Media.

so what’s it all about? i’m looking at the way hybrid communitiesform and develop. a hybrid community is one where the people involved encourage literacy, mobility and intent along a digitally mediated continuum -  from non-digital to digital technologies – to cultivate and create contexts for new forms of knowledge and exchange. tacit knowledge is the subjective stuff of experience and expectation, our implicit lens that to some extent frames the nature of our position, relationships, communities, beliefs and values, intents and narratives. how do new technologies, new behaviours and new tensions/opportunities in the space of digital and non-digital presence create bridges for tacit knowledge?

there’s tie-ins here to benkler’s wealth of networks – where he discusses the values and motivations of digitally enhanced (hybrid) communities, as well as henry jenkins and the idea of transmedia literacy – where content is distributed across various platforms and contextualized according to the constraints and desires of those involved. also drawing upon danah boyd’s recent research on social networking among young americans (thanks to david crow for the heads up regarding danah’s recent work), and a slew of real world examples.

i’ll be posting sections and ideas as they’re written for feedback and comments over the summer! see you soon!

food, part one

i love food. on an almost obsessive level. it is one of my absolute favorite things in the world – cooking and eating will always bring cheer regardless of how things have been. it resonates with a deep part of my being in a way that i have a hard time articulating in words. i’m always looking for new ingredients and spices and recipes and methods and tools. and i’ll be sharing my love of food over the summer – tis the season to cook and rejoice! hope you enjoy!

last week i went for dinner with a few girlfriends to celebrate an approaching wedding (not mine!), a sort of pre-marital last huzzah while we’re all still in toronto. we ended up at a magical little place off of college st called olivia’s at 53, well on it’s way in becoming my favourite gem. owned by husband and wife, olivia’s is charming with a sort of honesty to it that you don’t often see – especially on the college strip. it’s in an old vic, restored and intimate, maybe 7 or 8 tables in the main dining room and a few more on both the front and back terrace, and a hidden room downstairs – with stone walls and the barrels aging their in house reds and whites. yes – they are a microwinery – and while i can’t comment on the quality, i’m rather hopeful. we nibbled on forest mushroom crostini and gnocchi with gorgonzola and asparagus, which were extremely tasty, but the highlight was the jazz trio crammed into the small space before the bar – piano, double bass and drums. they were extraordinary, tight, lyrical and spazzy, passion sparking off every note and made all the more rich by the close space. (they play every thursday, and on wednesday’s there’s a cuban jazz band – and no cover :) this is a place that you go with those you love – friends, lovers, siblings, husbands or wives, a place to think about histories past and future… a place to collect moments.

eventually we got around to talking about food and cooking – two of my *favourite* subjects. yes, i love food. and i love cooking for other people – a way of telling them how much i love them. a few years ago i threw a big dinner party for my friends instead of giving gifts – there’s something really sweet in cooking for others and creating an experience that they’ll enjoy and remember. some of it was successful (the paella was killer!) and some of it not (the gnocchi that fused itself into one giant 15lb noodle), but the point, for me at least, was to have a great time and taste amazing things. to create a space or a platform for memories and stories…