the flocking party

I'm not dead yet.

2007-08-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

It seems that despite the hushed silence in the media on the topic, bird flu is still a living threat. The folks at Xerox Parc seem to think so. They are having a forum on it tomorrow night. But the speaker, Dr. Harry Greenberg, is working on a vaccine. Let's hope the Virus stays quiet until we are all safely inoculated. I don't think H5N1 has as many potential positives as Hebbets.

Fact is Fiction

2007-03-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

I just received a comment on one of my posts about the "New American Starling". Seems that life imitates art. The Main Street Museum at White River Junction in Vermont is also thinking about the Eurpean Starling population here in the America's and wondering if it should be called the "American Starling".

The only question is, what kind of museum is the Main Street Museum? Perhaps I could join their collection...?

related links:
Utilities of Fiction
Sturnus vulgaris

Technorati Flockorati

2007-02-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

You should now be able to add The Flocking Party to your blog favorites in Technocrati.
Technorati Profile

Portrait of Arpa

2006-02-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

Portrait of Arpa
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

A portrait of Arpa that Frank drew. His infection was very deveoped at this point, so the drawing has some strange qualities.

Avian Brain

2006-02-11T22:09:00.000-05:00

Avian Brain
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

A model of an infected avian brain. This brain is from a pigeon infected with Hebbets.

Flight Analysis

2006-02-11T22:07:00.003-05:00

Flight Analysis
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Another of Frank's drawings. Here, his artificial arm is enabling him to mimic traditional drawing mediums on his electronic notebook. He is examining bird flight fm a video.

Kathy taking care of Arpa

2006-02-11T22:07:00.002-05:00

Kathy taking care of Arpa
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Kathy is really taken with this silent sparrow. He broke his wing and the lab took him in. Outside, you can see his flock swarming around. They want to stay with him. Very unusual.

Radio Protein Aggregation

2006-02-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

Radio Protein Aggregation
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This a radio protein aggregation. It develops in the organic structures of the neural circuitry, but is very crystaline. We call this crystaltration.

Bird Brains

2006-02-11T22:07:00.000-05:00

Bird Brains
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Here is another view of the pigeon brain from a rotating model in Frank's electronic journal.

Traffic Stream Cloverleaf

2006-02-11T22:06:00.001-05:00

Traffic Stream Cloverleaf
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

The traffic stream hums with autodrive. Frank looks through the lens of an eletromagnetic spectral analyzer to see birds that are producing radio signals.

Starling Skin

2006-02-11T22:06:00.000-05:00

Starling Skin
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This is one of Frank's drawings from his electronic notebook. Here, he's analyzing a starling skin.

Hebbet Protein Binding

2006-02-11T22:05:00.002-05:00

Hebbet Protein Binding
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

These are binding simulations of the Hebbets virus. Hebbets has the ability to recombine in many different ways.

Starling as Trickster

2006-02-11T22:05:00.001-05:00

Starling as Trickster
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

A page from Frank's journal. Here, he is taking notes about starlings. Their behavior since they were infected with hebbets has caused a lot of concern. He likes to think of them as tricksters.

Ion Modulation Scan

2006-02-11T22:05:00.000-05:00

Ion Modulation Scan
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This is a view from the IMS, or Ion Modulation Scanner, which produces stunningly accurate images of electromagnetic transmissions and reflections.

Maya Loops

2006-02-11T22:03:00.002-05:00

Maya Loops
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

PhD candidate, Janet Fu, is working on what she calls Maya Loops. these perceptual mechanisms in the brain can be augmented with Hebbet proteins, adding a great deal of associative capacity.

Crazy Transmissions

2006-02-11T22:03:00.001-05:00

Crazy Transmissions
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Crazy Lucy has an idea about how signals are being transmitted between sparrows.

Silent Sparrow Flight

2006-02-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

Silent Sparrow Flight
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

A video that Frank took to draw from. He wants to know if their behavior is changed by their Hebbets infection.

Infected Neuron

2006-02-11T22:02:00.002-05:00

Infected Neuron
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This neuron is infected with Hebbets, a virus, which produces crystalline formations of recombinant proteins. The crystalline structure actually adds associative capacity to each neuron and often between neurons.

Flocking Sound Algorithm

2006-02-11T22:02:00.001-05:00

Flocking Sound Algorithm
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Frank created this algorithm that will produce posthebbet starling calls. It randomly samples from a series of waves to create it's unique mix.

Hebbets Phylogeny

2006-02-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

Hebbets Phylogeny
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Over the seven years that this phylogeny encompasses, Hebbets has mutated into a number of breathtaking forms. It's orginal host species, the zebra finch, was actually the subject species for a series of tests that were being done with protein computing.

Starling Specimens

2006-02-11T22:01:00.001-05:00

Starling Specimens
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Starling skins that Frank was drawing.

Pre and Post Hebbets Calls

2006-02-11T22:01:00.000-05:00

Pre and Post Hebbets Calls
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

After starlings were infected with Hebbets, their calls changed. They are able to mimic other sounds unlike ever before. Did you know that starlings are natural mimics. You can have them as pets and they will learn to talk like parrots.

Hebbet Binding Simulation (Rigid)

2006-02-11T22:00:00.001-05:00

Hebbet Binding Simulation (Rigid)
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This particular model is good for studying Hebbets strains that produce robust and inflexible proteins. Large gaps often form between crystaltrations. This provides room for other aggregations in the future, as the bird learns.

Hebbet and Starling viral spread

2006-02-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hebbet and Starling viral spread
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Hebbets followed a very similar grow pattern to its host species' owninvsive growth pattern.

The Landa Brothers

2006-02-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

The Landa Brothers
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This is Frank and Calvin Landa. They are researching birds that are infected with the Hebbets virus in the lab of Dr Harp at the University of Michigan.

Have a Flocking Party! (interactive cinema)

2006-02-01T02:29:00.000-05:00

Do you feel alone on the Internet? Well, pine no more!

HAVE A FLOCKING PARTY!

It's easy, here's how:

Steps
1. Place a (now very affordable) LCD projector on the floor facing a large open wall. move it as far back as it can go so that you can still get around behind it.

2. Plug in your favorite media: educational software, multi-linear narrative, the Internet, or maybe even a movie.

3. Sit as a group around the projected light, like a flock of geese so that no one is blocking the projection. You can sit more than one row deep, if you have a large group.

4. All participants can reach into the light to create shadows to point out where they want to go. The leader of the flock will use the mouse to navigate based on the group's preference.

Tips
-Instead of pointing with your finger (especially if you are sitting three-deep), make some eye-safe pointers. Get some thin poles and wrap a bit of foam around either end. You can customize your shadow icon so that people know who's who while looking at the screen. Be sure to wrap extra foam around the back end of the pole so that you don't poke anyone's eye out.

-set out mats for people to sit on (these are "nests")

-Just a like flock of geese, the leader never lasts long. You should periodically switch the leader (who is using the mouse). You might govern this by being very picky about their leadership skills.

-Keep the volume at a level, which people can still discuss the content cloud you're surfing.

-Wear bird costumes for all I care.

(I would love for other people to post some comments and suggestions about this.)

Laws of Unintended Consequence

2006-02-01T00:17:00.000-05:00

From The Flocking Party p2:
"The Hebbets virus changed the world as much as the assembly line or the introduction of human culture. It did not take long for its presence to be felt, but few realized the positive impact it would have."

Catch 22: Out of the Nest and into the Sickbed

2006-02-01T00:14:00.000-05:00

From The Flocking Party p4:
"It was a Catch 22, as you might say. On one hand, humans could not afford to have the birds overwhelm other species or their transportation systems, but on the other, destroying species could be ecologically disasterous. The fact that Hebbets infected birds was especially forboding to humans. Many of them remembered the plague that a similar virus had caused just after the turn of the Century.

Birds with Hebbets had the ability to communicate and organize themselves in ways they had never done before. Like throughout much of history, humans underestimated the potential force this carried."

New Native Species

2006-02-01T00:09:00.000-05:00

From The Flocking Party p7:
"Tests, conducted in the 2020's by the DBD, showed that New World european starlings, when mated with Old World european starlings, produced fertile offspring only 3% of the time. Hence, they were considered a "new native" species and renamed "American" starlings."

Infected Starlings: Invasive Species

2006-02-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

From The Flocking Party p8:
"When starlings were introduced to North America, the epicenter of starling population explosion was New York City. This growth did not slow until during the Environmental Reconstruction Period. A new pattern of starling density emerged from Detroit in 2028, when Hebbets was introduced. This led to highly successful breeding and foraging capacities for the starlings. Their distribution is evidence that they were also relying on humans to do so well. In 2034 their distribution begins to form large looping patterns. We call these geoloops. They help the flow of information throughout the species."

Ecocapitalist Information Control

2006-01-26T23:38:00.000-05:00

From The Flocking Party p10:
"Environmental history was not taught to a great degree in public schools after the Reconstruction Period. The Prudicial Council wished to control this information. All that Frank learned was likely gained from material that his parents or Doctor Harp gave him or that he hunted down.

The Prudicial Council did not want people so informed; they were more likely to resist their environmental policies. The Council, along with the corporate network, reaped the benefits of ecocapitalism, while citizens did what they were told. Submersion in their entertainment media perhaps explains why they did not recognize this problem. By being less involved in policy decisions, people grew complacent about the environment once again."

Environmental Reconstruction Period

2006-01-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

From The Flocking Party p11:

"During the Environmental Reconstruction Period the Prudicial Council was formed to be responsible for the business of reconstructing the ravaged environment. This required many changes in perceptions across the planet. A great deal of social engineering made this possible. Their primary method of changing perception was through the appropriation of the media industries.

The Council, despite early protests, redivided the political bodies of the world according to watersheds.
Previous national boundaries remained in place artificially to make the political transition more reasonable. Full implementation of the new boundaries was expected by 2040. In the interim some watersheds were divided amongst different countries as you can see of New Mexico, New Canada, Michigan, and others.

The motivation behind the watersheds was containment. Local environmental knowledge was to be kept inside of the ecological boundaries where it would be most relevant. The media industries were reconfigured to accommodate information distribution in particular watersheds.

Certain information was allowed to migrate beyond the watershed boundaries, but only through highly regulated channels. The most highly regulated was environmental research."

Starlings Eating Eggs

2006-01-14T17:05:00.000-05:00

Starlings Eating Eggs
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Invasive starlings drive other species out. One way they do this is by eating their eggs.

Sparrow with Hebbets Virus

2006-01-14T17:04:00.000-05:00

Sparrow with Hebbets Virus
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This blogmap shows a picture of the standard module protein produced by the Hebbets virus. Behind the window, Frank has drawn the image of a sparrow.

Ion Modulation Scan

2006-01-14T17:03:00.001-05:00

Ion Modulation Scan
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This is a wearable scanner that can show you the whole range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Bird Virus Strains

2006-01-14T17:03:00.000-05:00

Bird Virus Strains
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Unlike H5N1, Hebbets, is a virus that attacks the brain, rather than the respiratory system.

Bringing Down Birds with Net Guns

2006-01-14T17:02:00.002-05:00

Bringing Down Birds with Net Guns
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Perhaps one way to cull birds with H5N1 would be with net guns. It is a solution that the Department of Biological Defense considers employing against birds infected with Hebbets.

Infected Bird Neuron

2006-01-14T17:02:00.001-05:00

Infected Bird Neuron
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Hebbets invades like a normal virus, but instead of destroying the cells, it distorts them, adding associative capacity.

Buffalo Dream

2006-01-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

Buffalo Dream
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

In Frank's dream his body is infected and distorted just like a bird's neuron. He's been staring at the data too long.

Kathy Drawing Digital

2006-01-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

Kathy Drawing Digital
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Frank drew Kathy in his electronic journal. His Hebbets infection enabled him to do this very fast.

Hebbets Hand

2006-01-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Hebbets Hand
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Frank's hand has toy-like protein blocks embedded in his hand.

Telepathic Dream

2006-01-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

Telepathic Dream
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Frank's connection to Kathy is growing stronger. She shares the same dream.

Binding Simulation of Avian Viral Proteins

2006-01-14T17:00:00.001-05:00

Binding Simulation of Avian Viral Proteins
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

A blogmap simulation is superimposed over the electronic journal sketch of the same structure.

Audubon Birds Infected

2006-01-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

Audubon Birds Infected
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Frank's drawing reveals his persistent concentration on this project. He blends and layers the birds in one large organic whole.

Radio Protein Analysis

2006-01-14T16:59:00.001-05:00

Radio Protein Analysis
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Frank is making some major breakthroughs towards understanding how Hebbets retains radio protein computing capabilities.

Bird Brains

2006-01-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

Bird Brains
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

This is a virtual map of an infected bird's brain. It was created using slices from the Avian Brain Nomenclature exchange.

A Flighty Perception of Time

2006-01-14T16:57:00.001-05:00

A Flighty Perception of Time
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Targetting H5N1, pales in comparison to the changes that the Hebbets virus will cause.

Flocking Party Patterns

2006-01-14T16:57:00.000-05:00

Flocking Party Patterns
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

Soon to be a forboding image.

Hebbets Bird Virus

2006-01-14T16:56:00.000-05:00

Hebbets Bird Virus
Originally uploaded by flockingparty.

The Flocking Party is an online narrative by Chris Landau. It addresses timely subjects throught the filter of the future.

Bird Flu Symptoms UnEarthed

2006-01-11T11:29:00.000-05:00

If you are showing signs of bird flu, you shouldn't feel left out. Bird flu, it seems to me, is symptomatic of a larger genetic policy problem. We are killing the diversity that's adds robustness to global genetics. This is a genetics that nature has nurtured over millenia o' millenia. But the current monocultural practices in agriculture have strangled this diversity in so many ways. It's no wonder that such a horrible plague would emerge in our avian livestock. These are birds with health care plans. We feed them antibiotics and other immuno-cocktails to keep them in the form that they taste the best. Perhaps we should change the way we breed and tend to these animals (and ourselves), before we place their wild cousins in the way of danger.

Food, Farm, and Fun

Agro Sapiens

2006-01-10T23:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure I know what this has to do with the link, sorry.

It (bird flu) is always going to be a precarious creature to handle as long as we keep thinking of it as something to contain. It seems preposterous to "contain" such a thing. We're dealing with a global network of bird migration patterns! We need to figure out how we continue to evolve with the rest of the natural world. By this, I don't mean that we should have to suffer tens of millions of deaths and write it off to nature. But I do think that we need to compare ourselves to agriculture. We are being grown as monocultures, fertilizers and all. Our technology evolves to protect us, but we don't. How do we continue to evolve to be immune to things like emerging biological threats? I sure don't know. Who would?

HIV gurus, H(5)xN(1), Synthetic Biology

Far Eastern Immunities (bird flu beaters)

2006-01-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

If the flu is originating in a particular part of the world, it is highly likely that more people in that region would have evolved an immunity to its ancestors. The virus, after all, hasn't just sprung out of nowhere. It has a genetic history. Who is examining this genetic history? We need to take a Twentieth Century approach to understanding this thing.

On another note, greater immunity in a particular region of the world may mean that it will hit others that much harder (relatively). Should the Western Hemisphere be more afraid of this virus than those in the East?

"Tests show 77 people have bird flu antibodies in Japan"

"A total of 77 people in Japan, mostly chicken farm workers, may have been infected with the H5N2 strain of avian influenza, in the world's first reported possible infection of humans with the strain weaker than the deadly H5N1 variety, according to a Japanese government report released Tuesday."

Bush believes!

2006-01-05T21:47:00.000-05:00

Bush believes in evolution...?

from Alpha Liberal

"Intrinsically Bush seems to understand all of this, even though he is loathe to admit it to his base. At a recent press conference Bush fear-mongered by warning that the H5N1 virus, known as bird flu or avian flu, might jump between humans soon --requiring drastic measures including imposition of a quasi-police state, which he outlined in his speech."

Evolution is really a terrorist. No seriously, it is. Not the idea or "theory" of evolution, but the way it works. So George has found a wonderful parallel between evolution and terrorism to amplify our fear-great! Politics is a virus too, I guess. We can't let him tap into this bird flu thing. How do we create a vaccine for his politics?

similar similar

Birds create global network

2006-01-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

From H5N1 blog:

"From the Australian Financial Review: Hospital refuses to confirm bird flu.

Tests are being carried out on a man who was taken into isolation at a Sydney hospital after arriving on a flight from South-East Asia.

The Prince of Wales Hospital is refusing to confirm reports that it has a suspected case of avian influenza.

A hospital spokesman said on Wednesday a diagnosis had not been made at that stage.

The kicker is that the man was on a flight from Taiwan, which has never had a human case of H5N1, and which claims not even to have B2B avian flu. Given all the other ills that flesh is heir to, what symptoms made the medical authorities in Sydney think they might have H5N1 on their hands?"

It seems that everyone should be cautious of this thing. The pandemic would, after all, be global. Whether we stop flights to China or Turkey or wherever, birds are not going cancel their flights. The virus has tapped into a pre-existing global network.

Discordant Media

2006-01-02T13:29:00.000-05:00

Technology needs to function in harmony with nature, but also with our own nature. I am thinking about the mental environment as well as the biological environment. Entertainment demands more and more of our attention. But your mental environment can't take this sort of strain. This makes entertainment the tumor of everyday life. It separates us from citizenship. Citizens can't be effective democratic agents, if they are too occupied watching "Friends" on their ipod. Where's the mental space left to know who their representatives are or what the policy decisions they are making for that matter? Build an empire by controlling, control by distracting. Entertainment (or engagement) is not all bad, though. Some stories have the purpose to say something which is not driven by demographics. We need to produce our own media which act as enzymes to dissolve the rigidity of popular media.
Indy Media
VODcasting
Blue Puddle

Bird-mutts resist virus

2005-12-28T10:10:00.000-05:00

Pigeons seem to resist the bird flu virus...?

Quote from the Bird Flu Blog:
"Q: Can any migrating bird carry the flu virus or are there only certain types of birds that will spread the flu? – Laura Burrone, New Haven, Connecticut
A: Not every species of birds is equally susceptible to the flu virus, and not just migratory birds are susceptible. Avian influenza viruses are found more commonly in water birds (ducks and geese), shorebirds and gulls. Birds such as sparrows and pigeons tend not to be as readily infected. It is not clear why shorebirds are more susceptible to avian influenza infections and simple access to water is not the answer, as even when birds are exposed directly to the virus, species such as pigeons are more resistant."

I have some theories about this (more like hypotheses). Birds like pigeons have incredibly deep gene pools. Their wide geographic range and tangled breeding intersections allow for a greater number of crossovers. Shorebirds and migratory birds have more isolated and thinned populations. This constricts the flow of genes. Just look, for example, at the visual differences between pigeons and migratory birds. Pigeons are more diverse, while geese all sort of look the same. I know that this does not necessarily mean that the same kind of genetic diversity exists in their immune systems, but doesn't it seem likely?

So why do pigeon's really resist the virus? Does anybody know?

Mc-Virus and Ham-bird-gular

2005-12-28T09:47:00.000-05:00

Where does a bird flu come from?

We are faced with how the evolution of this virus finds opportunities to propagate. Humans living with animals certainly seems to give it a perfect opportunity to jump to humans. But in the same breath I will say that the chicken factories don't provide birds much genetic opportunity for resistance. We may not care whether birds are dying or not, but we don't want to breed this stuff.

Small farms allow the birds greater genetic opportunity to produce resistant offspring to the virus. This is nature's vaccine. The factory farm creates a genetic scenario that is a lot like a silo full of rice. We may be able to burrow a tunnel under it (the vaccine), but the tunnel is prone to come crashing in on us. Instead, let's evolve a diverse rice that will provide a more robust, heterogeneous structure. In the meantime, tunnel away, McVirus.

big cheater, bird flu beater

2005-12-14T18:49:00.000-05:00

I just re-editted the first four posts of this blog. They were horribly written, too stodgey. Still are.

So, has anyone heard whether this bird flu thing is going to happen or not? The vaccine must be just around the corner. If we try to stop from ever getting infected with viruses, what will happen to our immune system. It's sort of like out-sourcing. It just goes further and further until we have to wear a life-condom (house w/ TV and a car, no walks in park). Oh wait, we already do that. All I know is that my next project will not just be on the computer. When are all you HCI folks going to design a more germaine interface for graphic design? I want googles and gloves and voice commands and toy blocks, my back frickin' hurts. I want tennis-based wordprocessing. At least then I would have a reason for having tennis elbow. I'm going outside.

Generating Diversity

2005-12-05T13:56:00.000-05:00

One property of networks and complex systems often overlooked is the way they generate diversity . The Flocking Party, for example, is a narrative which allows for various pathways for reading. Although I haven't done the math, there are probably (or will be) thousands of ways to read the text. Do these different interpretations of the overall story generate diversity?

Empathetic Systems

2005-11-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

There are laws of thermodynamics and nonlinear systems that we are only begining to understand. How can artists address the broader implications of these complex systems? One solution that we often use is visually abstract arrangements. But I want to get a closer look at these systems at specific scales. Scale is a relational property, and so I am interested in varying scales and their relationships. How can a narrative help to generate empathy for microscopic and macroscopic systems?

Allbright's Alright

care test dummie

2005-11-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

Aside from being entertaining, fiction provides a way to talk about the present interpretation of the world without all of the snags of the familiar. We create scenarios that seem preposterous or impossible, but the good fiction is always next door to everyday life. It gives us a way to change our perceptions, even if we would be too close or entangled to change them otherwise. Not all fiction sets out to change someone's mind about something. Does this matter? Does it still always change the way we see things? It's that sneaking chance that it's suddenly part of reality or always was.

Frank's voice

2005-11-18T13:51:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have been working on Frank's voice. This is distinguishable from the voice of the book as a whole, as their are several other voices in the book. The voice of the book as a whole must address the motivation for creating the work, but I am specifically trying to bring Frank to life as a character. Frank asks questions, sort of like me. He asks more specific questions than I do, though. So maybe I want to be more like him.