Friend of The Edge and independent publishing extraordinaire/zinester from way back Jeremy Staples has been traipsing around Japan for the last few weeks meeting with as many cool people as he can.

He’s been posting all about it over at his blog. There are some amazing photos over there too.

He’s also got his very own YouTube channel where you can listen to his interviews with fellow zinesters and digital media explorers.

Get your hands on cameras, tripods and wind-up toys with Edge Catalyst Sandra Landolt.

2–6pm Saturday 7 August 2010
Who: Queensland Robotics Society
Where: The Edge
Cost: Free
Bookings: Just rock up

The Edge and QRSC are hosting their next robot combat day. Come along and watch some 150 gram antweight robots fighting for there survival. These guys might be small but don’t be fooled they are big on destruction.

Surroundings 5.1.3 is an audiovisual performance and interactive installation at The Edge on the first weekend in August 2010.

Inspired by the cultural icon of the Australian backyard, the project includes two performances and an interactive exhibition, all free entry.

The artist

Richard

The man behind Surroundings 5.1.3 is Richard Byers, one of The Edge’s four foundation Residents. Richard is a visual design artist who focuses on artistic video based projected imagery that merges drawing, painting and sculpture with light and video, often involving human interaction.

His projects have been featured across diverse spaces including clubs, museums, galleries, basements and abandoned spaces in Sydney, Tokyo, Berlin and Brisbane.

Richard’s project at The Edge, extends the interactivity of his latest project, Sound.Transmission.Light, by developing multi-channel audio input, movement triggering, capture and detection, and the inclusion of data streams from sensors, databases and online social media feeds.

The performance and exhibition

As the key output of Richard’s Residency at The Edge, Richard developed this unique performance exhibition, in which performers and audience alike will improvise, educate and enjoy the interactive experience.

There will be performances on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August 2010 featuring musicians Aphonia, Arongo Te Whiu and Hannah Shepherd who will provide sound while Richard provides visuals.

On Sunday 9 August, the interactive exhibition will be open from 12pm to 6pm for people to interact with, influencing the sound and visuals simply by being in the space.

Come, enjoy, experience, engage.

Click for more about the events.

I want to find a way for art to address the current state of play with energy resources – we are running out, it’s getting expensive, we are dependent, energy efficiency is the major theme of our industrial world. Art and Science need to come together to light the way. What is the place of ART in a rapidly changing environmental and economic situation.

Can we do some art using only the energy that we make or harvest from the surroundings?

What will we do with this precious energy? Are we gonna spend this energy in the usual profligate manner? Like a boy with 10 kilos of lego, given $50 what is he gonna buy? More lego of course.

I want to use old stuff, rather than buy things.

Creativity is crucial for finding new ways to live in a world that is changing really fast.

We have a crisis of creativity, everyone is in their box, having forgotten our potential to learn and grow.

We are so busy working, trying to make a dollar to buy the stuff we’re suppose to have.

1–4pm Saturdays 7 August–2 October 2010
Who: Beh Wattenburg, Edge Resident
Where: The Edge Basement
Cost: Free
Bookings: book.it@edgeqld.org.au

10 weekly workshops creating and destroying, learning and jamming with electricity, electronics, programming, sound, light and hacked toys.

If you’re the kind of person who gets on with gadgets or wonders what makes things go, then bring a toy to dissect, reconfigure and re-animate.

We will start by learning basic electrickery and safety stuff, from there we will explore several paths of inquiry before embarking on a wild tech-art adventure and landing on the shores of the Island of Extravagance sometime in late September.

We have 10 spots for intrepid tinkerers.

4–6pm Tuesday 3 August 2010
Who: Stephen Stockwell, Edge Catalyst
Where: Lab 1, The Edge
Cost: Free
Bookings: book.it@edgeqld.org.au

The internet changed journalism. When profits fell staff cuts ensued and for a while it all seemed rather bleak.

But with the capabilities of the internet being realised we’re beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. The platform of the web allows us to post content in every medium to a single outlet. What does this mean? It means you can have text, audio, video and still images on the same page at the same time. Take that old-school outlets.

But what does this mean for journalism? How will we adapt and how will we know what works?

Stephen Stockwell doesn’t plan to present the future of journalism but he will give you the skills you need to file in every medium. He’ll even go one step further and show you the different ways you can combine this content into one rather exciting package.

Book to make sure you get a spot.

First there’s a screening at GOMA and then there’s a party over here at The Edge.

Image from Dear Lemon Lima

Come along and explore the possibilities of working with digital video and sound. In this workshop we will produce and re-mix an audiovisual collage from scratch.

Learn skills in filming, editing, sound production, VJing and animation and become a super-star-audiovisual-ninja-attack-robot. No experience necessary.

What the WTF is WTFING going on here.

Virion is a screen-based digital art exhibition with works being played at variety of sites around Brisbane—including The Edge—until 1 August 2010.

Each screen around town will play a compilation of diverse images and video that represent a wide and integrated range of local and international art practices and styles.

Screens are located across a range of public, gallery and institutional sites to offer unique viewing experiences and to maximise and diversify Brisbane audiences’ exposure to new media practices.

There will be a workshop at The Edge, where people bring their own content to remix on Sunday 25 July 2010.

We live in a world with a 24-hour news culture. If something happens, anywhere, we’re often not further than a couple of hours off hearing about it. But is this a good or a bad thing? Does the constant barrage of information mean we’re more informed, or just more confused?

Examples of this ‘breaking news’ culture could be seen recently with the exposure of Labor’s leadership spill. Sky TV started rolling coverage just after 7pm, the news exploded all over everyone’s favorite 140-character social networking site and the ABC cut At the Movies short to show Rudd’s press conference live. You know it’s serious when David and Margaret get pulled. The whole thing was over in less than a day but during that time it was almost everywhere you looked.

So that’s the basic premise. We’ve found ourselves in a world where we’re constantly demanding information and updates. A bevy of breaking news websites and 24-hour news channels quell such demand and while it all seems to be incredibly useful and informative, the ugly truth is that it’s often not.

Our demand for information sees news outlets proritise live coverage of events and breaking news over careful, in-depth research and analysis.

An example, albeit a dated one, can be seen with the arrest of the Bali Nine in early 2005. Outlets rushed to break to story citing whatever facts they could get their hands on. The amount of heroin the group was arrested with bounced up and down in various reports during the first morning of coverage before 8.3kg was confirmed. They got it right in the end, but the issue lies with the fact they were, for a short period, wrong.

Such unsubstantiated reporting is the reason for criticism of the 24-hour news cycle. And there certainly seems to be far more criticism than acclaim being thrown at this approach to news. Sure, the ability to instantaneously share news and information is a communication breakthrough, but there are those who say that news orgainisations’ prioritisation of live coverage and breaking news suffocates their ability to uncover stories and properly analyse developments.

Some claim the news approach in question here can actually numb our ability to differentiate trivial news from worthwhile events. The constant cycle of news places small political bickering next to devastating natural disasters and results in people slowly becoming unable to order them by importance.

Follow that same path you find evidence the constant news cycle causes brain overload with research indicating the continuous stream of news actually operates faster than our brains ability to make moral decisions.

Now, while there are many critics of the 24-hour news culture we do know it has its worth. In the world of the information superhighway we’ve started expecting this constant access to information; when we hear of something happening we expect answers, analysis and confirmation. We just need to make sure those answers are the right ones, the analysis is considered and the confirmation reputable.

———

While you consider this take a moment to tip your hat to Australian 24-hour news coverage’s coming of age. Until now this playing field has had but one competitor, Sky News. As of the 22^nd of this month we shall have another, with ABC News 24 becoming Australia’s first free-to-air 24-hour news channel.

The studios in Sydney and Canberra are already in full swing but if you’re finding it a little hard to get excited just check out this Pendulum remix of the old ABC news theme. I’ve heard it’s what Kerry uses to psych himself up in the mornings.

You can also find the pre-broadcast loop here.

Various Dates starting September 2010
Facilitator: 4ZzZ
Cost: Single session $25  |  Workshop series $55 total
Bookings: Call 07 3252 1555 or email giordana@4zzzfm.org.au www.4zzzfm.org.au

Space to Play for young media makers, musicians and designers

BOOKINGS AND INFO>>>>>>>

Call 07 3252 1555 or email giordana@4zzzfm.org.au www.4zzzfm.org.au

6pm–8pm Tuesday 3 August 2010
Facilitator: Andrew Curnock
Cost: Free
Bookings: email The Edge

Join music producer and Edge Catalyst Andrew Curnock for an intensive beat making workshop. Learn the basics of step sequencing and build your own hip-hop, breakbeat or freestyle rhythms. Add basslines and leads—follow your musical instincts to make your own tracks!

• Step sequencing
• Working with samples
• Beat slicing
• Basics of rhythm
• Mixing
• Effects

The workshop will use FL Studio music software. Computer workstations and headphones provided. No experience necessary, though advanced users are welcome to bring some skills to share.