[19:47] <Xavier> hi Bokanon

[19:47] <BokaNoN> ; )

[19:47] <BokaNoN> erm, no one here - brb

[19:49] <Xavier> hehe

[19:56] <Xavier> Maybe the world isn't ready for WebStudio yet.

[19:56] <Xavier> Something isn't clicking.

[19:57] <Xavier> It may be as simple as some operations problem, you know, maybe the Enter button works form some and not others.

[19:57] <Xavier> Or maybe the chatroom loads for some and not for others. Who the hell knows.

[19:57] <Xavier> But I feel kind of like the guy giving pamphlets at the mall, urging people to act on behalf of some social cause, but find that the pamphlets are thrown in the garbage before they're even read.

[19:58] <Xavier> Garbage? The floor, or on my face, or not even picked up/

[19:58] <Xavier> The truth is that the WebStudio may be ahead of its time.

[19:58] <Xavier> Over 2,700 emails went out inviting people to participate.

[19:58] <BokaNoN> oh, stop it.

[19:59] <BokaNoN> i just need to eat

[19:59] <Xavier> This site has been honored as a "cam of the day

[19:59] <Xavier> "cam of the day" site in one of those webcam afficionado pages.

[20:00] <Xavier> This project has hit the front page of the Local section in the Miami Herald, and still there's no one here.

[20:00] <Xavier> hehe

[20:00] <Xavier> Well, you're here.

[20:00] <Xavier> And the truth is, that should be good enough.

[20:00] <Xavier> So let's start.

[20:01] <Xavier> Welcome back Bokanon, yesturday was a phenomenal session.

[20:02] <Xavier> The three of us, I think, really did some fine exploration on how we interact with one another in society, down to the conceptual pieces where life imitates art, and vice versa.

[20:02] <Xavier> What I thought about was that we are indeed painting the fabric of society.

[20:03] <Xavier> From a distance, a series of brushstrokes appear almost unoticed in their conformity, literally hundreds of strokes flowing in the same direction, in a neutral display of expression.

[20:03] <Xavier> And then, smack in the middle, almost like dissidents clanging their tin cups on the bars in a jail cell, are these rips that tear through the fabric (of society).

[20:04] <Xavier> Welcome Uhura.

[20:04] <Uhura> Thank you..... I like the rip in time

[20:04] <Uhura> is there something underneath? anotgher canvas?

[20:05] <Uhura> wow

[20:05] <Xavier> You may have missed this Uhura, but underneath the canvas (the fabric of society canvas), I wrote the letters "Under Society's Fabric", and pressed the canvas on top of them, having the letters leave a mark in reverse.

[20:05] <Uhura> kewl

[20:05] <Uhura> is that the name of the painting?

[20:06] <Xavier> Symbolically, I guess I'm trying to explain that in society what may appear as conformity can be a simple illusion, and that sometimes one has to go deeper, behind the scenes, to determine the truth.

[20:06] <BokaNoN> hey, lift that up again

[20:06] <Xavier> I'm not sure, what do you think it should be Uhura?

[20:06] <Uhura> yeah

[20:06] <Uhura> lift it

[20:06] <Uhura> in society we often wear masks

[20:07] <Uhura> to hide, to deceive, fotr protection

[20:07] <BokaNoN> neat

[20:07] <Xavier> I've created an image on the cardboard to fit the hole created by the tear; sometimes those screaming and ranting about society are putting up a simple facade, like this cardboard.

[20:08] <Uhura> good point.... poseurs

[20:08] <Uhura> what will be masking the tear ?

[20:08] <Xavier> And we also hide in crowds, in group-think, and in inaction.

[20:08] <Xavier> Many believe that inaction, or silence, is not speech. I think it's the most vocal form of speech.

[20:08] <Xavier> And if not the most vocal, the most prevalent.

[20:09] <Xavier> Silence equals consent, and it allows whomever's clawed their way into positions of power to continue in their mandate.

[20:09] <BokaNoN> yeah, we were sorta of discussing that last time, freedom for freedom's sake, not for an imporant pursuit

[20:09] <Xavier> But sometimes the spoken word is also misrepresented. For instance, in this case we have four tears, with a total of 7 messages.

[20:09] <Uhura> there is a Spanish saying that says "he that remains silent, is gives consent"

[20:09] <Uhura> Silnece=Death

[20:10] <Uhura> Silence=Death

[20:10] <Xavier> These messages are printed from the discussion -- these are hardly representative of what society has to say about society, and much less about society.

[20:10] <Uhura> Boka, who determines the "value" of ythat freedom?

[20:10] <Uhura> what is or is not an importanht pursuit?

[20:11] <BokaNoN> pushing the boundaries just for the sake of pushing the boundaries (of freedom) is taking freedom for granted

[20:11] <Uhura> true, but sometimes there are unintended consequences

[20:12] <BokaNoN> ?

[20:12] <Uhura> Like sometimes, the gtreat breakthroughs

[20:12] <Uhura> are the result of unintended things

[20:12] <Uhura> people who push the limits as a fad can have consequences beyond their or anybody else's expectations

[20:13] <BokaNoN> you believe the great breakthoughs (maybe you mean science, art, or other social pursuits) are consequences of pushing the boundaries of freedom for the sake of pushing the boundaries?

[20:13] <Uhura> not in science so much as in society...

[20:13] <Uhura> what i mena is that what may seem one thing now may have a different meaning in the fuiture

[20:14] <BokaNoN> true, but im talking more about the source of intent

[20:14] <Uhura> i understand

[20:15] <Uhura> but in time intent is sort of blurred and what remains is the consequence

[20:15] <BokaNoN> true

[20:15] <Uhura> how do you see the TEAR in the fabric here?

[20:16] <BokaNoN> i think its funny

[20:16] <Uhura> what does it mean to u?

[20:16] <BokaNoN> in a good way

[20:16] <BokaNoN> well, in all modesty, it was my idea

[20:17] <Xavier> Bokanon, do you see the pictures changing?

[20:17] <BokaNoN> they seemed to have stopped

[20:17] <Xavier> It seems to be stuck over here

[20:17] <BokaNoN> hmm

[20:17] <Xavier> Trying to fix, brb

[20:17] <BokaNoN> did you try kicking the computer?

[20:18] <Xavier> hehe

[20:18] <BokaNoN> seems like AOL users get cut off alot

[20:19] <Xavier> yeah

[20:19] <Uhura> i got kicked off aol!!!

[20:19] <Uhura> i was saying how the tear reminds me of a reptile shedding its skin

[20:20] <Uhura> oops... the phone... be right back

[20:21] <BokaNoN> i think the tear idea was how a work of art expresses societies freedom of expression thru art? you remember X?

[20:23] <Xavier> I think the tear is an important form of artistic expression. The symbolic and artistic gesture is very well documented in yesturday's log, and truly the most remarkable thing we did yesturday.

[20:23] <Xavier> So remarkable that I'm apprehensive about doing any actual work on the canvas -- you may have noticed that I've only worked underneath it.

[20:23] <Xavier> And a facade for the whole...

[20:24] <BokaNoN> hehe, maybe we should make more tears

[20:24] <Xavier> hehe don't start with me

[20:25] <Xavier> what else should we do to this painting (the fabric of society)?

[20:25] <BokaNoN> no, but im really curious as to how you would paint around the tear

[20:25] <Xavier> should we work on it, around it, should we stop, are we done?

[20:25] <Xavier> what do you mean?

[20:26] <BokaNoN> well, its hard for me to get a sense of what would be visualing interesting with the tear in the center of a painting

[20:26] <BokaNoN> but id be interested to see how it inspires you to paint

[20:26] <Xavier> oh, it has inspired me. that's what i've been doing all session, without any input.

[20:27] <Xavier> i've been painting the hole of this doughnut if you will on this cardboard.

[20:27] <Xavier> i'm actually more interested in painting underneath the canvas, and not on it or inside it.

[20:27] <Xavier> kind of exposing that part of society we never see.

[20:27] <Xavier> what do you think is beneath the fabric of society?

[20:27] <BokaNoN> you mean, so that someone looking at the painting would have to lift it up to see whats underneath?

[20:28] <Xavier> what tensions are down there, waiting to rip open a hole through the canvas and expose themselves?

[20:28] <Xavier> absolutely

[20:28] <Xavier> and isn't that the way most of society's problems are?

[20:28] <BokaNoN> beneath the fabric of society are the ideas and feelings of the individuals that make up society

[20:28] <BokaNoN> it would seem so. i like that idea

[20:29] <Xavier> we may see the homeless on a highway, but absent that chance encounter, none of us really know how a homeless person's life is interwoven within society's broader fabric

[20:29] <Xavier> the same thing can be said about virtually any of us, not just marginalized groupds

[20:29] <Xavier> there are so many different perspectives that they kind of blend, or we make them blend

[20:29] <BokaNoN> true

[20:30] <Xavier> it's more comfortable to be anonymous than to stand out

[20:30] <Xavier> it's more comfortable to be acting and looking and thinking like everyone else does, than to have an independant thought.

[20:30] <Xavier> and sometimes -- actually, most of the times -- that's done to preserve social order

[20:30] <BokaNoN> thats why i think you should also paint something on the canvas. perhaps something that can represent a difference between society and the individual

[20:31] <Xavier> it's almost an intuitive behavior, although we know it is learned

[20:32] <BokaNoN> when you feel society, what do you feel like painting?

[20:32] <BokaNoN> strange question i guess

[20:32] <Xavier> i'm actually painting on the canvas, it just happens to be a pretty non-conforming view of the canvas. im painting on the side of the canvas that's not primed, the side which usually faces the wall, and i'm painting the word fabric upsides down and backwards (from an imprint on the easel) in red white and blue

[20:33] <Xavier> FABRICate a story

[20:33] <BokaNoN> hehe

[20:33] <Xavier> any story

[20:33] <Xavier> to me, society is about how an individual navigates through others in some sort of social order, which I may say has some serious benefits -- imagine if their were no traffic lights

[20:34] <Xavier> or no rule of law

[20:34] <BokaNoN> interesting

[20:34] <Xavier> hehe

[20:34] <BokaNoN> seriously

[20:34] <Xavier> is that another way of saying i'm boring you to tears?

[20:35] <Xavier> or is it that i've completely hogged this project today?

[20:35] <BokaNoN> no, seriously, i like the idea of navigating thru others

[20:35] <Xavier> (by the way, i'm hammering the canvas with the words fabric painted on backwords, onto the piece of cardboard)

[20:35] <BokaNoN> if anything i felt like i was hogging the project

[20:35] <Xavier> good

[20:35] <Xavier> that means neither of us are

[20:35] <Xavier> so seriously, where do we go from here?

[20:36] <BokaNoN> hmm, i wish i could see what you were doing, then id have ideas

[20:36] <BokaNoN> hey dee

[20:36] <BokaNoN> heide

[20:36] <Dee> hello

[20:37] <Xavier> i'm having a wonderful time with the dialogue, and am actually being inspired to look at things and create things indirectly through the dialogue ... i'm wondering how useful it is to you, right now -- i'm actually kind of curious how this webstudio thing is outside of a structured environment.

[20:37] <Xavier> Hi Dee, welcome to the WebStudio

[20:37] <Xavier> we've been creating this painting called The Fabric of Society

[20:37] <Dee> xavier, it's Diana

[20:37] <Xavier> from south miami high school?

[20:37] <Dee> yes

[20:37] <Xavier> good to hear from you

[20:37] <Dee> =)

[20:38] <BokaNoN> i see it as more a forum for discussion with you being inspired by the ideas. of course its neat for the discusees to participate in the physical work too

[20:38] <Xavier> =)

[20:38] <Dee> so what is the painting you are trying to create?

[20:38] <Xavier> there's four of us in here right now, and we're actually discussing the merits of this WebStudio project

[20:39] <Xavier> Bokanon, Diana and I work with other students from her high school magnet art class in the creation of an extremely powerful, 32 foot long mural about multiculturalism

[20:39] <BokaNoN> cool

[20:39] <Xavier> Yeah, at South Miami High there was a good balance between the two: the students painted while I inspired.

[20:40] <Dee> which we are in the process of toucjing up

[20:40] <Xavier> I'm finding difficulty creating that balance here.

[20:40] <Dee> why?

[20:40] <BokaNoN> no offense but sometimes i think your putting too much pressure on it

[20:40] <Xavier> maybe the internet is still a personal forum where people go to do things individually, but not collaboratively

[20:41] <BokaNoN> something like this can't be forced

[20:41] <Dee> i'll spread the word...i told tasha about it and she said she was going to check it out

[20:41] <Xavier> if this project were about posting discussions on a bulleting board, or having a simple chatroom, there'd be nothing special about it. what's supposed to make this special is the use of the internet as a tool for people to create art collaboratively

[20:42] <Dee> i have a question

[20:42] <BokaNoN> it'll happen, it needs time to spread

[20:42] <Xavier> Diana, what I'm trying to do here is what I did in your art class, but with people from all over.

[20:42] <Dee> how, exactly can people create art through the computer?

[20:43] <Xavier> the difference maybe that all of you bought into the process, had complete ownership of it, and were artists ready to learn and work.

[20:43] <Xavier> that's the difficulty

[20:43] <Xavier> check out the previous log sessions to see how we got to create this painting

[20:43] <Xavier> the general idea is that you give me input -- it's almost as if i'm your paint brush

[20:44] <Xavier> you tell me what to paint, and i paint

[20:44] <Dee> whi

[20:44] <Xavier> this of course, after much discussion -- again, like we did in the art class

[20:44] <Xavier> maybe it'd be interesting to have mr. richardson's art class go into the media center at smh and spend an hour with me online, creating a painting on society

[20:45] <Xavier> everyone of the students weighing in on the matter

[20:45] <Xavier> yesturday, three of us were on inside the webstudio, and had an intensive dialogue that created the painting before you called the fabric of society

[20:45] <Dee> sorry, my screen blacked out

[20:46] <Xavier> it represents the tension the community, or social needs -- what you see on the surface of the canvas -- and individuality, which breaks through in the tears

[20:46] <Dee> so when, specifically would be a good time for us to go online?

[20:46] <Xavier> Bokanon recommended that we tear the canvas, and glue on messages that people posted on the discussion forum of society.

[20:47] <Xavier> anytime that's convenient for the class

[20:47] <Xavier> what we've done with the painting today is focus what occurs underneath the "fabric of society"... you can see that we've painted on the back of the canvas

[20:48] <Dee> i'll be sure to talk to mr. r

[20:48] <Dee> right now i'd like to contribute/collaborate

[20:48] <Xavier> an unusual and individualistic approach to painting ... we also felt that the hole in the middle of the painting exposed the tension between what society wills, and individual wants

[20:49] <Uhura> hehehe

[20:50] <Xavier> sometimes what is expressed in that gap is a simple facade, which is why we painted on this transient, temporary cardboard piece -- images that can fit into the tear, articulating different forms of individual expressions.

[20:50] <Xavier> so far there are three, this one with the yellow center

[20:50] <Xavier> and this one, with the blue center

[20:51] <Xavier> ...

[20:51] <Xavier> and this one, painted right on the working bench/easel

[20:51] <Xavier> which, if any, of these captures the tension that exists, and sometimes rips, through the fabric of society?>

[20:52] <Xavier> Diane, I'm sorry to say that our time is up, but why don't you do me a favor and think through these, read through the logs, and post your thoughts in the discussion forum

[20:52] <Xavier> You too, Bokanon and Uhura

[20:53] <Xavier> it'd be an interesting way to tie in what we do in the chatroom, with what's written in the discussion forum

[20:53] <Dee> sure

[20:53] <BokaNoN> k

[20:53] <Xavier> we can do it during a classroom session, or we can do it in the evening

[20:54] <Xavier> unfortunately though, the chatroom has to close now ... the session was from 8 to 9

[20:54] <Dee> ok

[20:54] <Xavier> however, tonight's transcripts will be posted (along with yesturday's) on the "society page"

[20:54] <Xavier> (by the way, uhura is that a star trek reference?)

[20:54] <BokaNoN> hehe

[20:55] <Xavier> Goodnight, thanks for participating.

[20:55] <BokaNoN> goodevening

[20:55] <Dee> bye, goodight

[20:55] <Xavier> And Diana, sorry I couldn't get more feedback from you

[20:56] <Dee> ithat's ok

[20:56] <Xavier> but part of the process is adapting, and we're trying to evolve the webstudio to where it makes more sense .... you came in as we were thinking out loud about it

[20:56] <Xavier> will do more collaborative stuff next time

[20:56] <Xavier> thanks again, and goodnight

[20:57] <Dee> you too, we'll talk again