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monochrom is an art-technology-philosophy group having its seat in Vienna and Zeta Draconis. monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism. Our mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom has existed in this (and almost every other) form since 1993.
Verbing Nouns (Such as ‘Verb’)
What do these words and phrases have in common? Friend, Google, TiVo, log in, contact, barbecue, unlike, concept, text, Photoshop, leverage, party, Xerox, reference, architect, parent, improv, transition, diligence, host, chair, gift, heart, impact? They’ve all been declared–by someone, somewhere, whether a usage expert or just a self-appointed language cop–“not verbs.” It doesn’t matter whether … Read more
Jane Goodall’s Primate Life: A Journey Through the Jungle
In 1960, she began studying chimpanzees, notebook in hand—a long way from today’s computers and satellites. Jane Goodall reflects on 50 years of primate research, and the cast of characters she grew to love. I remember them all so, so well. Goliath, who lost his alpha position when Mike, using his superior intelligence, learned to … Read more
Boing Boing features ‘Wikileaks: The Ballet’
Johannes Grenzfurthner from Austrian mad arts collective Monochrom closed out this year’s HOPE conference in NYC with a dramatic presentation about, um, Wikileaks. And unicorns. Link (Boing Boing) Link (Video)
Caterpillars Crawl Like None Other: Unique Means of Animal Locomotion Has Implications for Robotics, Human Biomechanics
Biologists at Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences studying crawling caterpillars have reported a unique “two-body” system of locomotion that has not previously been reported in any animal. In an article published online July 22 in the journal Current Biology, the Tufts-led team reported that the gut of the crawling tobacco hawkmoth caterpillar (Manduca … Read more