"Today guest on Singularity 1 on 1 is Vernor Vinge — the very person who coined the technological singularity as a term.
Despite his busy schedule Prof. Vinge still managed to give us over an hour of his time and during our conversation I ask him to discuss issues such as: his childhood and early interest in science fiction; his desire to make sense of the universe; his definition of the technological singularity and the story behind the term; his now classic 1993 NASA paper; his favorite science fiction books and authors; major milestones on the way towards the singularity and our chances to survive such an unprecedented event." Read on
"The Foundation Trilogy is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of seven volumes that are closely linked to each other, although they can be read separately. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966."
"Bekannt geworden ist das Duo Jamie Hince und Alison Mosshart durch seinen minimalistischen Garagen-Rock. Dieser Tage erscheint das neue, vierte Album «Blood Pressures». Sounds! bringt ein Interview mit der Band."
Das Interview in der Rohfassung kann man hier anhören
bbc.co.uk: "Sometimes called 'Source music', 'Mood Music' or as it's best known, 'Library music': a hugely important part of British sonic history. Its use and purpose is simple: it's well produced, economic music for film, TV, advertising and radio. Never commercially available to the general public, this music was pressed onto vinyl from the 1950s onwards in short, limited quantities and then sent directly to TV production houses and radio stations for use when necessary.
In this first ever documentary about library music we'll look into its history (starting in 1909), speak with the dynastic library owners. We find out what's it's like to make music to imaginary pictures by speaking to the library music makers (which could include Jimmy Page and Brian Eno), and even have a word with the Musicians Union who banned UK recording of library music throughout the late 60s.
"Alex Fitch talks to Nicolas Alberny and Jean Mach, the directors of 8th Wonderland, a film about a virtual community declaring themselves to be a new country with rights and influence on the rest of the world, and the agit-prop antics of the members of this virtual country on film proved prophetic compared to recent events in the Middle East and demonstrations on the streets of London." Read on
Sternstunde-Philosophie: "Gentechnik und Reproduktionsmedizin verändern gegenwärtig und zukünftig unser Leben und Menschenbild. Wer bestimmt über den Fortschritt in unserer Gesellschaft? Sind wir noch Herr unserer Wissenschaften? Oder hat sich die Forschung gegenüber den gesellschaftlichen Zielen verselbstständigt? Was können wir tun, damit Forschung und Gesellschaft wieder Hand in Hand gehen und sich gegenseitig inspirieren und befördern? Die Wiener Soziologin Helga Nowotny war bis 2002 Professorin für Wissenschaftsforschung an der ETH Zürich und Direktorin des Collegium Helveticum. Zur Zeit ist sie Präsidentin des Europäischen Forschungsrates." Weiter
Women’s wrestling is hugely popular in Bolivia, with crowds flocking to see women in traditional dress, known as cholitas, fighting it out in the ring. But the sport has also come to represent the fight for equal rights by the poor indigenous women of this south American country. They’ve become stars and celebrate the recognition they’ve received as a result, but say they’re being exploited by promoters, make little money and receive no medical care for their injuries." Read on
Watch the documentary here, or download here (right click...)
Vast new cities of apartments and shops are being built across China at a rate of ten a year, but they remain almost completely uninhabited ghost towns. It’s all part of the government’s efforts to keep the economy booming, and there are many people who would love to move in, but it’s simply too expensive for most. Video journalist Adrian Brown wanders through malls of vacant shops, and roads lined with empty apartment buildings… 64 million apartments are said to be empty across the country. So are the efforts to boost the economy going to end up having the opposite effect and creating a financial crisis for China? Read on
"Die Nutzung von Sonnenenergie ist eine der großen Herausforderungen dieser Zeit. Vor zehn Jahren beschlossen die beiden Schweizer Bertrand Piccard und André Borschberg, der Welt gemeinsam zu beweisen, dass Photovoltaik auch zum Fliegen taugt. Sie entwickelten das Flugzeug "Solar Impulse", mit dem es ihnen gelang, 24 Stunden lang nur mittels Sonnenenergie zu fliegen." Weiter lesen auf http://videos.arte.tv/de/videos/mit_der_sonne_um_die_welt-3814222.html
"4 hour long special about the Roadburn Festival 2010 in Tilburg. We talk with Stephen O'Malley (together with Greg Anderson they curating this years Roadburn Festival) about his music and the bands they selected for the festival. You can expect music from Sunn O))), Earth, Summon The Crows, Mamiffer, Ufomammut, Keiji Haino, The Secret, Circle, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, Menace Ruine, Swans, Godflesh, a special Void Ov Voices track, a track from the forthcoming Master Musicians Of Bukkake album (Totem III) and a lot of other Roadburn band."
abc.net.au: "Computer design is moving ahead at enormous speed. Christof Koch (Professor of Biology and Engineering California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA USA) suggests before too long, computers will be built that have a degree of consciousness. He says there is little difference between a neuron passing an electrical signal and a circuit firing on a chip. Computers can recognise faces, play chess and perform in television quiz shows such as Jeopardy. Koch says if enough resources are deployed, computers could even interpret poetry." Read on
"The Ramones recorded live playing a 26-song, 54-minute set at New York City's Palladium on January 7, 1978, set to a series of cheap sci-fi movie trailers." Via http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/04/the-ramones-scifi-soundtrack/
"SketchChair is a free, open-source software tool that allows anyone to easily design and build their own digitally fabricated furniture. The goal for this project is not just to complete the software and release the source code, but also to build an online community of people creating, sharing and editing designs."
- Read on at http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663569/sketchchair-lets-you-doodle-and-print-out-flat-pack-furniture
"In der "Mondverschwörung" entlockt ein amerikanischer Reporter namens Dennis R.D. Mascarenas den Jüngern hahnebücherener Esoteriktheorien unglaubliche Geschichten über die sagenumwobenen Kräfte des Mondes.
Naiv und erkenntnishungrig lässt er immer noch staunend nicht locker, wenn ihm z.B. Sonderlinge der neofaschistisch geprägten Esoterik-Szene ihre Version vom Verscheiden Hitlers erzählen. Hinter allem stecken die Aldebaraner, eine außerirdische Zivilisation."
- Weitere Infos unter http://www.kino-zeit.de/filme/die-mondverschworung
factmag.com. "The Iceland-based Australian has been heavily involved in music since the turn of the century, but his breakthrough as a recording artist came with the 2007 album Theory Of Machines, and his reputation was cemented by its 2009 follow-up, By The Throat. Influenced by noise, dark ambient, industrial, black metal and classical minimalism, these records are possessed of a power – emotional and moreover physical – that is simply astonishing. Not for nothing for The Wire once moved to describe Frost’s music as Arvo Pärt as arranged by Trent Reznor."
Brian Malow: "My newest video for Time.com is about Philip K. Dick and all the movie adaptations of his books and stories, the latest of which is The Adjustment Bureau, based on the story “Adjustment Team” written in 1953. It’s fascinating that Dick’s 50-year-old stories are just now being brought to the big screen – and still seem modern. Testament to the strangeness of his brain." Read on at sciencecomedian.com
"Ekkehard Ehlers has posted 11 live recordings from the Lux Aeterna festival on Soundcloud, including The Wire contributor Mark Fisher’s lecture Birth, School, Work, Death And Music, which looks at hauntology both aurally, with reference to Burial and Ghost Box, and also the sociological state of the nation, with ideas drawn from his book Capitalist Realism.
Also available for your listening pleasure are performances from Vindicatrix, Kammerflimmer Kollektief with Evan Parker, Kevin Drumm, Ernst Surberg playing John Cage, a talk from German novelist Dietmar Dath (in German) and more."
dradio.de: "Vor 50 Jahren wurde dem Naziverbrecher Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem der Prozess gemacht. Die Philosophin und Publizistin Hannah Arendt hat das Verfahren vor Ort verfolgt. Ihre Charakterisierung Eichmanns als "Banalität des Bösen" löste damals heftige Kontroversen aus. Daran erinnert auch der Essay von Wolfgang Dreßen zum Auftakt unserer dreiteiligen Serie über den Eichmann-Prozess."
Marshall McLuhan war der erste intellektuelle Popstar, seine Medientheorien Gesprächsstoff auf Cocktail-Partys. Wie es dazu kam und wer dieser Mann war, kann man jetzt in der pünktlich zum 100. Geburtstag McLuhans auf Deutsch erschienen Biographie von Douglas Coupland nachlesen." Weiter
