Photo Courtesy Scott Beale/Laughingsquid.com

A Message From Belinda:

It’s The End Of The Junkyard As We Know It

Well, it looks like the end of Ace junkyard as we know it. Our landlady is not going to renew our lease (and no amount of consciousness-raising, hippie-poi-ball-swinging or fire-oriented fundraisers is going to help, sadly). Things are looking pretty damm bleak right now. It been 25 years and the last 15 after me and most of you found each other have been especially fabulous. While many think I am the generous one, in fact, quite the opposite is true. I given you junk, you have taken this junk and turned it into amazing art, exciting happenings and and ton of fun ad good memories. Thanks to all of you, my life has become much richer. This a richness no amount of money could ever buy, because of all of you and what you create from the junk I give away. Here my heart, mind and soul is filled with wealth from the friends I have found, and the parties and events here.

This past Saturday, night someone said to me “For every door that closes, another one opens.” So let’s hope our next adventure is even more memorable, after all, it’s just the place that’s closing, you and me all still here. One more thing: over the years, you guys have helped me get rid of so much junk, now I need to ask one last favor of all of you. I’d like you to send me pictures, video, stories, etc about this place. Show and tell me about the art or project that we helped you with. It been a hell of ride, thanks to all of you for the love and aloha you have given me.

Please send show, tell and good wishes to Bill as he figgers out what the hell to do next. Man Oh Man.

I will be pouring one out for my junked homies in the meantime.

¹ You folks have filthy minds which is why we love you

ARSE ELEKTRONIKA 2008 “Do Androids Sleep With Electric Sheep?”
September 25-28, 2008, San Francisco, USA

A conference dealing with sex, technology and science fiction. Featuring the Prixxx Arse Elektronika 2008 Awards Ceremony (an unobjectionable award for sex machines, orgasmotrons and teledildonics), the presentation of the Arse Elektronika Anthology “pr0nnovation?” (about pornography and technological innovation), a curated erotic reading about sex in SF/speculative/alt-reality fiction and — of course — a three day conference about critical perspectives on sexuality and pornography in science and social fiction (with keynote speeches by Rudy Rucker and Constance Penley).

Registration:
http://www.monochrom.at/arse-elektronika/bookings.html

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Taking up where the successful conference in autumn 2007 left off, this year’s Arse Elektronika stands under the motto “future” — and the ways in which the present sees itself reflected in it. Maintaining a broadened perspective on technical development and technology while also putting special emphasis on its social implementation, this year’s conference focuses on Science and Social Fiction. The genre of the “fantastic” is especially well suited to the investigation of the touchy area of sexuality and pornography: actual and assumed developments are frequently depicted positively and approvingly, but just as often with dystopian admonishment. Here the classic, and continuingly valid, themes of modernism represent a clear link between the two aspects: questions of science, research and technologization are of interest, as is the complex surrounding urbanism, artificiality and control (or the loss of control). Depictions of the future, irregardless of the form they ta! ke, always address the present as well. Imaginations of the fantastic and the nightmarish give rise to a thematic overlapping of the exotic, the alienating and, of course, the pornographic/sexual as well.

CELLspace
2050 Bryant Street, San Francisco / September 26-28 / 1pm - 8pm, doors open at 12pm)

I am posting this late, because I am a Bad Panelist, but I am speaking on a panel Saturday night that treats on The Erotic Of The Machine. I am in the esteemed company of 23N! (zeni), Benjamin Cowden, Thomas Roche, David Dempsey, Violet Blue, Daniel Fabry, with our lovely host, Johannes Grenzfurthner
Stop by!

Robots. On Mars. And it twitters, too.

Now the robots are blogging themselves. In particular, it’s that wacky yellow Wakamaru who’s to blame. Yep, she/he/it/whatever’s even on Facebook.

Hey Waka, be nice to us useless humans when you and your yellow plastic buddies take over, ‘K?

Yeah, do like Grant did and get yerself one-a them sexy stickers over in the sidebar there. Then you can say you were one of the cool kids way back when.

[Thanks Grant!]

Check it out over there, then come over here for some upcoming awesomeness about Giant Killer Robots.

io9.com interview with Grant Imahara

The show features 15 works by 16 artists from 9 countries, as well as performances, workshops, lectures, and an awards ceremony. Participating works were selected from an international open call for “robotic art and art-making robots”, and represent a broad and inclusive cross-section of the tremendous range of creative art and robotics activity.

The ArtBots 2008 Dublin participants are: Paula Matthusen (USA), Leo Peschta (Austria), Koichiro Mori (Japan), Matt Denton (UK), Yuliya Lanina (Russia/USA), Che-Wei Wang & Kristin O’Friel (Japan/USA), Matthew Gardiner (Australia), Ralf Baecker (Germany), Byeong Sam Jeon (Korea/USA), Peter Redmond (Ireland), Allison Kudla (USA), Jack Pavlik (USA), Joan Healy (Ireland), Christopher Kaczmarek (USA), and Riley Harmon (USA).

Sound artist Ray Lee (UK) will celebrate the opening of the show on Friday with two presentations of “Forcefield”, a kinetic sound machine performance. Metal fabricator/artisan Phillip Isohe (Kenya) has created this year’s Robots’ Choice Award, and designer Eliza Gauger (USA) created the 2008 ArtBots t-shirt design. During the show members of the EU funded Living with Robots and Interactive Companions project will lead discussions with the artists and audience members.

Douglas Repetto, one of the curators, is an old SB pal, so when he is rich and famous we say we knew him when. We will also be able to wave at him from the police barricades when he gets out of the limo for those red carpeted events and he may even *glance our way* !

The show looks completely awesome with some really exceptional pieces and interesting-sounding panels (for example, “Are we living in a Robotic Cargo Cult?” which question of course wonder about every day).

So, if you are in the Dublin area, grab a pint and head down to Artbots 2008, we wish we could be there!

It is a giant mechanical flower that opens and closes at dawn and dusk, made by students at the University Of Buenos Aires in Argentina.