The M.A.D.
Post
(steampunk pics are acknowledged with links to original creators' sites, click on captions to go to the websites)
My brain
has been a whirl of ideas and undone creations, and my memory is not serving me
very well. I forget where I put things, and I forget what I came to the bedroom
for, or why I’m standing with a newspaper and a knife in my hand. All this ‘mindly’
matter got me thinking about technology and the ‘thingamabobs’ that aid us in
so many ways. A friend showed concern a while back about Facebook shutting its
virtual doors on us in March, because what’s-his-name (what is his name?) was
tired of it all and wanted a social life, A SOCIAL LIFE. Nah, I don’t think so.
And tired of all that money rolling out, paving his socially inept path - don’t
think so. Anyway, I feel safe in the fact that my relationship with FB is still
ongoing. I first opened my FB account when my daughter went to Sweden,
just so I could see her pics and catch up on her news, and then I started
finding glorious people from my past. I don’t think virtual friendships are the
ideal, nor do I need to know what friends had for supper (unless it’s truly
exotic and there’s a pic) or that they’re going to feed the dog or are going to
bed. I am not mad about being poked, but I do like being liked, and I love
knowing about friends’ creations and dreams and travels and children, and when they’re
feeling down so I can send the vibes. Without FB I wouldn’t be in touch with
friends who have moved away, or those I last saw in childhood. Nor would my
creative world have been opened up by the inspiration from friends who I have
met through their artworks and who have become friends on FB; friends I can now
say I know and love through being exposed to their inspirational work and
family pics. I would not for one second swap ‘real’ relationships for the
virtual kind, but social networking on FB serves me so well. I have tried to
Twitter or Tweet, but I have not figured it out, so, because I don’t understand
it at all, I shall leave it for the birds.
Hang on, I
was talking about my memory, wasn’t I? Well, if they can walk on the moon… no,
I take that back, not sure they really did…have you seen those dodgy landing
photos? If they can create all these
technological miracles that can do just about everything for you, then how
about a Memory Aiding Device? I would be the first in line for a Memory Aiding
Device (M.A.D.). Imagine getting a brain tweek just as you’re about to put your
sunglasses in the fridge, or a twinge as you stand looking vaguely at the
grocery shop shelves without your list, and the twinge would stop as you get to
the item you need. A M.A.D. is definitely where I’m at, and how difficult can
it be to make this? If they can make iPads and iPods
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| my little eye pod |
my blackberry torch
It seems it might be a trend
to name the latest techno gadgets/companies after fruit. There’s even a phone company
named Orange,
but I guess it could be the colour not the citrus. The whole idea is just
utterly bananas as far as I’m concerned.
Talking of
M.A.D. I could also do with a N.O.D. (Never Over-react Device). This device
would distract you in an urgent manner when you needed to stop doing the “diva
drama queen” routine. We all know how bodily functions stop us in our
tracks…like…I need a wee NOW! Well this device could tweek your bladder just as
your rant gets out of hand, you know, when you actually leave your body and see
yourself letting rip at some poor, unsmiling shop-teller who has scanned your
peanut butter three times by mistake. You float there above your ranting self
and think “Gees, woman look at you, this is humiliating, stop already, you look
too red, the manager is heading over.” Well, if you were just given a prod from the N.O.D.
you would leave the shopping items and head to the nearest toilets with your
legs crossed, saving you from getting the teller fired, the manager apologizing
and you from having a stroke. It would however mean, that to save face, you'd have to start your shopping all over again at another mall. If everyone had a N.O.D. then there would be no
more road rage, but then I think the device would have to tweek something other
than your bladder or there would be far more people than there are already,
peeing against walls all over Durban. Perhaps it could just cramp up a leg
muscle which would be released as soon as you step away from the victim’s
vehicle and get back into your car and put down the full 2 litre Coke bottle
you’re wielding.
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| Steampunked laptop |
Now to me
all these amazing
high- tech inventions are just ‘thingamabobs’. The word
thingamabob is a bit archaic I guess, and it brings to mind the mad professor
inventing machines to take over the world, using clock cogs and brass pistons. I
quite like the idea of thingamabobs - less sleek and more fantasy. There is
actually an art form that does just this - makes thingamabobs and doodats.
This
type of artwork is called Steampunk. Steampunk is just about the coolest thing
I’ve seen (ever) and I’m collecting old watches and rusty keys, washers, chains,
eye glasses, magnifiers, stray hands, articulated joints and flying goggles for
my inventions (any donations welcome…I’m serious). You may be wondering how
this relates to the whole memory/ranting new device theme, bear with me. Steampunk refers to an art form
that adds an antiquated Victorian aesthetic to modern technology. I love it, and
if my memory device could be Steampunked, then I’d be overjoyed.
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| If a computer can have a memory device why can't I? |
Somehow the sleek
look of the latest devices just adds to the stress levels of those trying to understand
how to switch them on. By Steampunking them, more people might feel an
affection for them, an excitement, as though you were about to embark on a wild
adventure in a Zeppelin. By seeing little cogs and tiny brass screws they would
be determined to understand the wonder of a device that would enhance their
lives. No one would be able to bring themselves to throw a wondrous gadget that
seemed to come from a story book against a wall in the frustration of sending
yet another blank message to someone.
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| blue tooth |
The wonder of having the latest
technology in a curious Victorian casing would definitely endear me to it. It
seems man has always wanted to be transported back in time to fix the mess ups
that have caused the chaos of living today. Having an item that looks like it
was found in a Victorian attic would give that feeling of another time, when spinning cogs and wind-ups made sense.
I think what I’m really saying is that there
are times when all the spinning chaos of such a fast paced life, has me needing
to just simplify things. I have this desire to find a large glass shaft, stand
in it, and ask to be beamed up, in the hope that there is a tray of brownies,
iced tea and a swaying palm on the other side.
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Links to the steampunk devices pictured on this blog (have a look at all the inspiring stuff):
PS: speaking of 'thingamabobs', please watch this video of The Real Group (I saw them live last week,wow). They are the most amazing acapella group from Sweden, and this song in particular sums up the confusion I feel when I'm faced with the never-ending, always evolving, technological whirlpool.
It's a must-see, Steampunked sort of song.
It's a must-see, Steampunked sort of song.
1 comment:
And so i begin my Monday morning with a long chuckle (almost like a engine starting)
.....Thanks Janet :)
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