i. bandwagon
The LED orange hand flashes at your eyes, you defy it.
One person walks and the clustering pedestrians, hesitant,
decide it's ok to defy the hand. You're shaking the branch,
and leaves disattach and fall.
ii.etymology and reappropriation
An iconic tapestry of modern icons:
Safeguard is a soap (an epiphany).
Coke is a staple food.
First Unitarian. First Church of God.
Second Church of God.
"Bless you" is something you have to say when someone in the room sneezes,
but only if you're sharing the same space. This is because you believe that some mysterious force like the plague might take their life if you don't call for a blessing.
"So. . ." is how we explain things open-endedly, intentionally stopping before finishing our arguments, suggesting that an assumption that we may or may not be implying is self-evident, so. . . .
09 October 2009
01 July 2009
Suggestions and Themes for Transmission
***ViDEo"tApE" People Talking; Up-LoAd He(A)re!<-->;)***
Here's a brief list of suggested themes I've come up with. Use them as you see fit, maybe as connectors to one or more of the infinite possibilities they inspire. Please take a few minutes to comment at the end of this post with your own suggestions. Let's move forward together in the creative process!
Keep in mind, it is not necessary, nor is it advisable, to attempt to answer all the subtopics associated with any particular topic you may choose to address. These ideas may be further explored through a creative exchange, where there is no mandated form. I am not particularly set on the magazine being limited to include only ("academic") "papers," since such an exclusion would seem to limit the scope of its perspectives. Therefore, freedom of expression in form and content is encouraged.
* Where is abbreviation taking us? Trace the history and origins of the abbreviation trend, using examples in language, in collective thought, in business, etc., and weigh its value against sacrifices made. For instance, it seems that with one technological advancement after another, the mechanization movement has meant making our culture move faster (e.g., a progression from the Industrial Revolution to the present reveals sudden changes transitioning a culture, one may argue, from a slow-paced age emphasizing quality over quantity into a fast-paced age emphasizing quantity over quality, a culture that promotes ease of use over hard work, introducing in rapid succession the railroad, the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, the freeway, the television, the computer, e-mail and internet, the text message, the i-phone app), as it seeks immediate gratification. Advertising in the past hundred years also reflects the rapid progression in the collective psyche: from the lengthy text ad that was once common to the minimalist pop image of today. What have been the psychological effects on the individual caught in this wave? What are the pros and cons of this trend? Is it indefinitely sustainable? Is this trend facilitating a movement into a new paradigm?
* Examine the ideas of "political correctness" and "tolerance." Do these social pressures establish whatever their assumed agenda is? Are they responsible for reinforcing old prejudices?
* Pick a popular expression, word or ad campaign and examine its viability. It may be old or new, as long as it's still in popular use: for example, one may argue that the overwhelming popularity of anti-drug campaigns and breast cancer awareness campaigns, while benefiting their specific target audiences according to their respective agendas, overlook and promote ignorance of other epidemics, such as heart disease, which is the number one killer of women, and alcohol, which causes more health problems, arguably, than marijuana.
* What kind of information has priority in the dominant (Western) culture? What kind of information has priority in other cultures? Compare and contrast. For example, examine the top news stories from different sources, from American media and elsewhere. One may find it useful to inform one's argument by examining concepts such as media conglomeration, imperialism, and marginalization.
More than observing what we perceive to be ingrained social problems, the purpose of ob(li)fious is to discuss and suggest alternatives for creatively re-envisioning our world.
Each issue of the magazine we publish may explore a certain theme, representing a diversity of critical perspectives.
***ViDEo"tApE" People Talking; Up-LoAd He(A)re!<-->;)***
Here's a brief list of suggested themes I've come up with. Use them as you see fit, maybe as connectors to one or more of the infinite possibilities they inspire. Please take a few minutes to comment at the end of this post with your own suggestions. Let's move forward together in the creative process!
Keep in mind, it is not necessary, nor is it advisable, to attempt to answer all the subtopics associated with any particular topic you may choose to address. These ideas may be further explored through a creative exchange, where there is no mandated form. I am not particularly set on the magazine being limited to include only ("academic") "papers," since such an exclusion would seem to limit the scope of its perspectives. Therefore, freedom of expression in form and content is encouraged.
* Where is abbreviation taking us? Trace the history and origins of the abbreviation trend, using examples in language, in collective thought, in business, etc., and weigh its value against sacrifices made. For instance, it seems that with one technological advancement after another, the mechanization movement has meant making our culture move faster (e.g., a progression from the Industrial Revolution to the present reveals sudden changes transitioning a culture, one may argue, from a slow-paced age emphasizing quality over quantity into a fast-paced age emphasizing quantity over quality, a culture that promotes ease of use over hard work, introducing in rapid succession the railroad, the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, the freeway, the television, the computer, e-mail and internet, the text message, the i-phone app), as it seeks immediate gratification. Advertising in the past hundred years also reflects the rapid progression in the collective psyche: from the lengthy text ad that was once common to the minimalist pop image of today. What have been the psychological effects on the individual caught in this wave? What are the pros and cons of this trend? Is it indefinitely sustainable? Is this trend facilitating a movement into a new paradigm?
* Examine the ideas of "political correctness" and "tolerance." Do these social pressures establish whatever their assumed agenda is? Are they responsible for reinforcing old prejudices?
* Pick a popular expression, word or ad campaign and examine its viability. It may be old or new, as long as it's still in popular use: for example, one may argue that the overwhelming popularity of anti-drug campaigns and breast cancer awareness campaigns, while benefiting their specific target audiences according to their respective agendas, overlook and promote ignorance of other epidemics, such as heart disease, which is the number one killer of women, and alcohol, which causes more health problems, arguably, than marijuana.
* What kind of information has priority in the dominant (Western) culture? What kind of information has priority in other cultures? Compare and contrast. For example, examine the top news stories from different sources, from American media and elsewhere. One may find it useful to inform one's argument by examining concepts such as media conglomeration, imperialism, and marginalization.
More than observing what we perceive to be ingrained social problems, the purpose of ob(li)fious is to discuss and suggest alternatives for creatively re-envisioning our world.
Each issue of the magazine we publish may explore a certain theme, representing a diversity of critical perspectives.
29 June 2009
One's Treasure
The Ob(li)fious portfolio, which I have been compiling since my third year at Webster University, was in a messenger bag that was stolen earlier this month from an anti-profit coffee house in Portland. I am excited that the portfolio, a packed museum of notes, relics, nonlocal articles, paper topics scrawled on post-its losing their adhesive, and ideas for meetings and the collective, in general, was recycled back into the cosmos, so ideas can be born fresh again. I sincerely hope whoever has found it has found some use for it.
Please contribute.Ob(li)fious is a site intended for gathering together an active movement that seeks reassessment of traditional constructs and ideas through peaceful dialog, emphasizing the necessity of responding to concepts conveyed through various languages and media with our own language and media. The group promotes awareness and intelligent though not elitist dialog, rather than doctrine or dogma, and is driven by the idea that the world is invented by an array of people and ideas that are sometimes voiceless due to suppression or lack of an arena in which the voices can peacefully assemble and come to recognize a viable agreement. All perspectives are encouraged, as we seek information through careful research. The group will conduct its own research, which will be documented, synthesized, and explored through various creative projects that the group will determine autonomously and collectively. In accordance with the group's intention to share information freely, one of its outlets will be an independently published magazine, seeking neither notoriety nor profit.
The Ob(li)fious portfolio, which I have been compiling since my third year at Webster University, was in a messenger bag that was stolen earlier this month from an anti-profit coffee house in Portland. I am excited that the portfolio, a packed museum of notes, relics, nonlocal articles, paper topics scrawled on post-its losing their adhesive, and ideas for meetings and the collective, in general, was recycled back into the cosmos, so ideas can be born fresh again. I sincerely hope whoever has found it has found some use for it.
Please contribute.Ob(li)fious is a site intended for gathering together an active movement that seeks reassessment of traditional constructs and ideas through peaceful dialog, emphasizing the necessity of responding to concepts conveyed through various languages and media with our own language and media. The group promotes awareness and intelligent though not elitist dialog, rather than doctrine or dogma, and is driven by the idea that the world is invented by an array of people and ideas that are sometimes voiceless due to suppression or lack of an arena in which the voices can peacefully assemble and come to recognize a viable agreement. All perspectives are encouraged, as we seek information through careful research. The group will conduct its own research, which will be documented, synthesized, and explored through various creative projects that the group will determine autonomously and collectively. In accordance with the group's intention to share information freely, one of its outlets will be an independently published magazine, seeking neither notoriety nor profit.
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