Matthew Schreiber's Platonic Solids

The above installation--located at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art--embraces the holographic light shows of the sixties and seventies. Set in a dark room, the structure of the light appears in polyhedral form, the foundation of which is pyramidal, and atop, an inversion of the same model.

On Network Neutrality.

I recently submitted this note to my Congresspeople:

The fact that this rubbish is even being considered is ridiculous. You know the facts. I know the facts. I'm already paying for access to the Internet. It's silly to think that I could possibly lose my freedom to surf the websites I choose to visit.

It's the equivalent of opening up a mall that I have to pay a tier level cover charge for: $5 gets you the Bronze package of ten shops, $10 gets you the Silver package of fifteen shops, and $20 (best value!) gets you the Gold package of thirty shops! Now isn't that absurd?

Some Analog Lines.

My dear friend David Lowery wrote, directed, photographed and edited this very personal look at the issue of art versus technology; and more importantly, the issue of how the viewer interacts with, and reacts to, the film in front of him. Mr. Lowery takes an animated film he's created in traditional stop motion and compares it to a computer animated film produced by his brother, Benjamin. Is the visually inherent, concrete aspect of the media more important than the content of the picture? Are we as viewers more sutured into a film when we can witness it's production flaws (e.g., splicing, scratches, fingerprints, etc.)? Mr. Lowery suggests that "what is tactile will not be rendered pointless by technology, it will be given precedence and a precision it currently lacks."

I've always found the particular issue of how a work of art is created very intriguing. The minimalist period of film studied the actual film stock used in the production of a film. Take Michael Snow's 1966 film, Wavelength for example. There really is no plot--no substance--to the film. Only the film stock. And how the film stock can be manipulated. And let us not forget Empire, the 1964 film by Andy Warhol that consists of an eight hour focus on the Empire State Building. These films, and others, explore the actual material substance of film--not the movie being presented.

Mr. Lowery's film is currently one of three finalists categorized as Really Real Shorts, in The South by Southwest Film Festival's Click! 2006 competition.

Watch Some Analog Lines. And then: vote for it.

Amanda Congdon's Replacement.

Mobile Sound & Security.

While I was vacationing in Texas (yeah, I might post about that later. But you know me, I may not too) I had a sound & security system installed in my truck. Here's the breakdown (click each image for a larger version):

• Sound
• Head Unit: Alpine CDA-9857 MP3/WMA CD Receiver w/fullspeed iPod connection & auxiliary audio control.
• Line Driver: Matrix Concert Series Six-Channel Line Driver by AudioControl.
• Mids & Highs
• JL Audio 300/4 Four-Channel Full-Range Amplifier.
• JL Audio Evolution XR650-CSi 6 1/2" 2-way Component System [front] speakers w/remotely mounted tweeters.
• JL Audio Evolution TR600-CXi 6" Coaxial [rear] Loudspeakers.
• Lows
• JL Audio 250/1 Monoblock Subwoofer Amplifier.
• JL Audio Dodge Ram Stealthbox enclosing a W3v3 10" 300 watt 4 ohm mono Subwoofer.
• Wiring: All amp and wiring kits by JL Audio.
  
• Security
• Autopage RS-860LCD Six-Channel Remote Start Alarm w/2-way LCD FM/FM Pager.
• Escort Passport 8500 X50 Blue Radar/Laser Detector.
• Escort Shifter ZR3 Laser Jammer/Scrambler Defense System.

Much thanks to the guys at AutoSound Arlington for their consulting and installation services.

Additional Information:

• Alpine website
• AudioControl website
• JL Audio website
• Autopage website
• Escort website

I've Been Getting a Lot of This Lately...

Money for Nothing.

Why is it that everytime I spend a hundred bucks at a grocery store, I still have nothing in the house to eat?