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20171211

The Berlin Wall Distortion build was successful. Unfortunately my schematics had a critical error which took the better part of the day to figure out. All of the components are soldered on the board, potentiometers, buttons and switches are in place. Sounds works but one of the diode pairs is still causing issues. I’ll try to find potentiometer hats tomorrow and attach the window.

Giovanna guided our Neighborizome group as a consultant over the weekend. The discussions were very fruitful and I feel way more confident about the project.

Preparing for Porin Juhlaviikot performances (should be writing texts for it already but I’m too tired due to a day of breathing solder gas).

The Truth about ‘Cultural Appropriation’ (2017) Kenan Malik for ArtReview. Too strong arguments for me..

What is really being appropriated, in other words, is not culture but the right to police cultures and experiences, a right appropriated by those who license themselves to be arbiters of the correct forms cultural borrowing.

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20170614

Kenan Malik In Defense of Cultural Appropriation (2017)

Nobody owns a culture, but everyone inhabits one, and in inhabiting a culture, one finds the tools for reaching out to other cultures.

The accusation of cultural appropriation is a secular version of the charge of blasphemy. It’s the insistence that certain beliefs and images are so important to particular cultures that they may not appropriated by others.

Seventy years ago, racist radio stations refused to play “race music” for a white audience. Today, antiracist activists insist that white painters should not portray black subjects. To appropriate a phrase from a culture not my own: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Social Cooling explained:

If you feel you are being watched, you change your behavior. Big Data is supercharging this effect. […] Social Cooling describes the long-term negative side effects of living in a reputation economy. A culture of conformity. Have you ever hesitated to click on a link because you thought your visit might be logged, and it could look bad? More and more people are feeling this pressure, and they are starting to apply self-censorship. This is called a ‘chilling effect’. […] Social [media] pressure is the most powerful and most subtle form of control.

The same explained through a video where Frank Pasquale explains how algorithms are racist.