From Bits to Atoms

In a change of topic, but still related to this question of making material sense of our digitized commerce and communication, the cover story of Wired magazine (which, by the way, is one of four magazines I subscribe to in print -- so fun for bus rides!) is about how a decade of "open source" software development is turning into the phase of open source manufacturing. Check this video out:



In other words, you no longer need to own a factory or be a giant business to manufacture items you've just dreamt up, but if you have the proper design skills (or even just the software) you can custom produce almost anything these days. The result is that we have a much greater ability to make our visions -- as producers, consumers and artists -- a reality.

How does this relate to us? I believe that we have spent, say, a decade or more unlearning how to write and send letters, shop for things in stores, make useful hand-made gifts, get creative inspiration in museums and theaters, and visit home for Sunday dinner with our families, as we have moved many of those basic human cultural activities into the world of digital bits and on-screen facilities. It follows, then, that the next logical step in this process is to democratize the bringing and sending not just of information, but of the tangible atoms, i.e. things that make us happy (and that we happily make). What do you think? What does the next ground-breaking phase in communication look like? What gives turning bits into atoms momentum in our world of blogs and poetry?

when you're lost and found

if you weren't there, you wouldn't know we were watching the sunset

the edge of puget sound pushing its chilly waves toward us

the end of november some time ago

a moment without words

sitting close to a friend

that bandana i lost in argentina

but i'm pretty sure cameron still owns

those red socks

and now, the 3rd of the spirit bodies series:

meanwhile, during our skype talk.....

Green Screen Shot

You know I like to photograph things in the tangible world, but more and more I've become fascinated with the ability to capture the life inside this machine, in which so much of my relating to the world takes place. In fact, there are beautiful moments, like this one while we were Skyping last night, that are so worth capturing, that give us the opportunity to reflect on the otherwise intangible, fleeting moments of our virtual communication. I mean, what flickers past this screen actually becomes part of my memory and sometimes even my dreams. And to think that these bits get blasted through space satellites to reach the other side of the continent (or even our next door neighbors) kinda blows my mind.

P.S.: I love how your pillow case matches the color of your wall.

1999!

the image that came to mind tonight while listening to you, ki, describe this idea about our spirits wanting to maintain a close physical relationship, a union we feed through real-life connective stimulus like phone-calls, letters, e-mails, skype dates, postcards, visits even. the minutiae of our lives spelled out and sent through lines hand crafted, snail-slow, or flying millisecond satellite lightwaves to land lightly, perfectly. we're connected, no matter how many miles mark our distance. cuz we've got these big ghost-body spirits floating up above us, holding hands and slow dancing or square dancing or partying like it's 1999. and we just keep sending each other letters.

tag, you're it.

¡Sí!

We say YES to the real and the present, the dirt, the paint and the pencil – the material that makes ideas take shape.

...and YES to the airplanes, boats, cars, trains, bikes and feet that bring us face-to-face and hug-to-hug!