Wishing All a Gaunt and Strange Halloween

My contribution to this week's Illustration Friday theme: "skinny."  If this guy seems a little creepy, consider him appropriate for the season.  I also think he matches the subtitle of Bungy Notes -- he is flexible, he is strange.  Happy Halloween, all.  Don't eat too many empty calories.

Following Piece 2.0 -- Day Five

My subject for the last day of @Platea's "Following Piece 2.0" is a self-identified curmudgeon and misanthrope.  His profile professes his revulsion for humanity.  Why "parasite" is part of his Twitter name, he never really clarifies.  Parasite did not post very much on Friday, concentrating most of his tweets in the early morning hours about his general disdain for Chief Justice Roberts and the damage the Bush Administration has done to the justice system.

With that good beginning, I was really looking forward to following him for a day.  So I was understandably disappointed when Parasite's feed went silent for the rest of the day.  I guess I got spoiled by the frequent tweets of my earlier subjects and their tendency to have something that significantly concerned them across the day.  In Acconci's original Following Piece, sometimes the people he followed went into private space quickly, making for a short report.  This cover of that work ran into a similar phenomenon today.  I would be a hypocrite, indeed, if I complained about anyone else's reliable frequency in blogging, micro- or regular.  My own presence in these virtual spaces is spotty and unpredictable. 

And this observation, both of Parasite and my self-reflexive turn, leads to an observation about significant differences between public space and the internet:  It is much harder for me to avoid moving through physical public space than it is to avoid public virtual  space.  At some point, I have to go get groceries (to say nothing of going to work).  My participation in public virtual space is always voluntary, is always optional (at least at this point in my life, at this point in our culture).  There is much to be praised about voluntary performance in optional public space -- issues of agency and communities of choice abound.  There is also a different sort of ethic and imperative of care involved in public spaces that we must share -- even more so when that public space and its practices must be protected from private interests and abuse (c.f. "The Tragedy of the Commons").  And that, I think, is what so concerns Parasite in his few insomniac posts -- the abuse of public service (i.e. the justice system) in the name of private interests.

Friday, October 30, 2009

3:09 a.m. Parasite provides evidence that Supreme Court Justice Roberts is corrupted by coal money. This keeps him up at night? 

3:16 a.m. Parasite asserts the Bush admin hamstrung the Justice Dept. with shills. He follows the legal system, apparently.

3:18 a.m. Parasite continues his expose' on Justice Roberts, who apparently wants to make it easier for judges to take bribes.

3:19 a.m. Parasite links to story of PA judicial system abusing juvenile offenders. He ties the abuse back to...Justice Roberts.

8:09 a.m. Parasite praises German health care system and wishes he only had to pay $25/mo for coverage. Would it buy sleep aids?    

Following Piece 2.0 -- Day Four

Today's subject for @ Platea's "Following Piece 2.0" is the very entertaining Craft Mom.  She runs a semi-popular blog of tips, ideas, and crafts for mom's.  Apparently she's been profiled by local media.  And she has a whole network of "blogger mom" friends that she communicates with on a regular basis.  As with my other subjects this week, she lives nearby in southern Illinois.

I was kind of amused when following her turned into a big psycho-drama about generating followers for her blog's Facebook page.  In fact, I found myself nudging my emergent protocol a little at the end so I could provide a little closure to the whole excitement of her attempt to reach 200 followers.  My collaborative experiment in following keeps encountering the importance of having followers in digital communities. 

Read this unexpected confluence alongside my experience of sharing my daily reports with my partner yesterday.  He finds the project engaging, but notes that I seem kind of mean in my characterization of the people I am following.  I will admit, I do go for the laugh a lot.  Even so, I do so for a reason.  I want to be very clear that I am not just retweeting someone's posted thoughts and experiences; I am reframing them, taking them up as partial narratives open to my own speculation and emphasis, my own creative play.  I fill in the gaps that are inevitable in a brief and chance encounter, whether on the streets or on-line (or on the "stweets," as @Platea would say).

Thursday, October 29, 2009

7:39 a.m. Craft Mom starts her day with the "fun" of learning about spiders, whether or not it is nearly Halloween.

8:14 a.m. Craft Mom circulates information for winning an HP Photo Printer. Free craft supplies are the best!

8:19 a.m. Craft Mom offers an idea to a friend for preschool show-and-tell for the letter A. She recommends "Aardvark."

9:51 a.m. Craft Mom congratulates a friend on achieving 200 followers for her blog. See? Folks like being followed. 

9:54 a.m. Craft Mom retweets a pic of gooey pastry. Is someone carb loading?

9:55 a.m. Craft Mom asks friend (again, apparently) if she can use her recipe for puff paint. She'll give her friend credit with a link. 

10:10 a.m. Craft Mom gets permission for the puff paint recipe. Dimensional art to follow.

10:15 a.m. Craft Mom decides her blog should try to have 200 followers too. Is offering a prize. I think I'll try to win it!

10:28 a.m. Craft Mom announces giveaway contest to facilitate reaching 200 followers for her blog. So that's how it's done!

10:45 a.m. Craft Mom tells her puff paint friend that she will be using the recipe to make a snowman postcard for her kids. 

11:00 a.m. Craft Mom needs 39 more followers to reach her goal of 200 for her blog. Being coy about what the prize will be. 

1:22 p.m. Craft Mom trying to win a giveaway prize by RTing a friend's message. This mom is really into winning stuff! 

1:43 p.m. Craft Mom is playing instant win games with her daughter, who loves it when the digital baby defecates in the bathtub.

9:26 p.m. Craft Mom links to a page of happy Halloween holiday treats. Um. Trick? 

9:30 p.m. Craft Mom is only 7 followers short on her blog. Okay, I misread. It's her blog's Facebook page.

10:32 p.m. Craft Mom links to a blog about feelings of community to be found at HS football games. With community in boldface.

10:35 p.m. Craft Mom is only 5 short of 200 followers. Will it keep her up if it doesn't happen by bedtime? 

11:59 p.m. Craft Mom must have gone to bed. Her blog's FB following: 197. Including me. Good luck finding more followers, CM.             

One more day of following to go.