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Paco Nathan
Paco Nathan (born 1962) is an American computer scientist and early engineer of the World Wide Web. Nathan is also an author and performance art show producer who established much of his career in Austin, Texas. Early life Paco Nathan was brought up in San Luis Obispo, California. He studied mathematics and computer science at Stanford University, specializing in user interface design and artificial intelligence, with Douglas Lenat as graduate advisor. He received a teaching fellowship during 1984–1986, under the direction of Stuart Reges, to create a course called ''CS1E'', as a peer-teaching introduction to using the Internet, informally called "PCs for Poets". It has since grown to become the popular Residential Computing program on campus. Career Nathan collaborated with Robby Garner on one of the first web chatterbots, named ''Barry DeFacto'', in 1995.R. Garner, P. Nathan"FRED, Milton and Barry: the evolution of intelligent agents for the Web" Advances in intelligent sys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the List of United States cities by population, 11th-most-populous city in the United States, the List of cities in Texas by population, fourth-most-populous city in Texas, the List of capitals in the United States, second-most-populous state capital city, and the most populous state capital that is not also the most populous city in its state. It has been one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States since 2010. Downtown Austin and Downtown San Antonio are approximately apart, and both fall along the Interstate 35 corridor. Some observers believe that the two regions may some day form a new "metroplex" similar to Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas and Fort Worth. Austin i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, political, and sexual matters. Subcultures are part of society while keeping their specific characteristics intact. Examples of subcultures include BDSM, hippies, goths, bikers, punks, skinheads, hip-hoppers, metalheads, and cosplayers. The concept of subcultures was developed in sociology and cultural studies. Subcultures differ from countercultures. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subculture, in regards to sociological and cultural anthropology, as "an identifiable subgroup within a society or group of people, esp. one characterized by beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger group; the distinctive ideas, practices, or way of life of such a subgroup." As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mondo 2000
''Mondo 2000'' was a glossy cyberculture magazine published in California during the 1980s and 1990s. It covered cyberpunk topics such as virtual reality and smart drugs. It was a more anarchic and subversive prototype for the later-founded ''Wired'' magazine. History ''Mondo 2000'' originated as ''High Frontiers'' in 1984, edited by R. U. Sirius (pseudonym for Ken Goffman) with co-editor and publisher Morgan Russell. R. U. Sirius was succeeded as Editor-in-Chief by Alison Bailey Kennedy, a.k.a. "Queen Mu" and "Alison Wonderland". Sirius was joined by hacker Jude Milhon (a.k.a. St. Jude) as editor and the magazine was renamed ''Reality Hackers'' in 1988 to better reflect its drugs and computers theme. It changed title again to ''Mondo 2000'' in 1989. Art director and photographer Bart Nagel, a pioneer in Photoshop collage, created the publication's elegantly surrealist aesthetic. R. U. Sirius left at the beginning of 1993, at about the same time as the launch of ''Wired''. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whole Earth Review
''Whole Earth Review'' (''Whole Earth'' after 1997) was a magazine which was founded in January 1985 after the merger of the '' Whole Earth Software Review'' (a supplement to the ''Whole Earth Software Catalog'') and the ''CoEvolution Quarterly''. All of these periodicals are descendants of Stewart Brand's ''Whole Earth Catalog''. The last published hard copy issue of the magazine was the Winter 2002 issue. The next issue (Spring, 2003) was planned but never published in hard copy format. Bruce Sterling attempted to solicit funds for this issue by writing that "friends at ''Whole Earth Magazine'' have experienced a funding crunch so severe that the Spring 2003 special issue (#111) on Technological Singularity, edited by Alex Steffen of the Viridian curia, hasn't been printed and distributed. ''Whole Earth'' is soliciting donations to get the issue printed, and has put some of the content online." Eventually, elements of the 2003 issue appeared only in digital format on the ''Wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wired (magazine)
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has been in publication since March/April 1993. Several spin-offs have been launched, including '' Wired UK'', ''Wired Italia'', ''Wired Japan'', and ''Wired Germany''. From its beginning, the strongest influence on the magazine's editorial outlook came from founding editor and publisher Louis Rossetto. With founding creative director John Plunkett, Rossetto in 1991 assembled a 12-page prototype, nearly all of whose ideas were realized in the magazine's first several issues. In its earliest colophons, ''Wired'' credited Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan as its "patron saint". ''Wired'' went on to chronicle the evolution of digital technology and its impact on society. ''Wired'' quickly became recognized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media (formerly O'Reilly & Associates) is an American learning company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books, produces tech conferences, and provides an online learning platform. Its distinctive brand features a woodcut of an animal on many of its book covers. Company Early days The company began in 1978 as a private consulting firm doing technical writing, based in the Cambridge, Massachusetts area. In 1984, it began to retain publishing rights on manuals created for Unix vendors. A few 70-page "Nutshell Handbooks" were well-received, but the focus remained on the consulting business until 1988. After a conference displaying O'Reilly's preliminary Xlib manuals attracted significant attention, the company began increasing production of manuals and books. The original cover art consisted of animal designs developed by Edie Freedman because she thought that Unix program names sounded like "weird animals". Global Network Navigator In 1993 O'Reilly Media creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viridian Design Movement
The Viridian Design Movement was an aesthetic movement focused on concepts from bright green environmentalism. The name was chosen to refer to a shade of green that does not quite look natural, indicating that the movement was about innovative design and technology, in contrast with the "leaf green" of traditional environmentalism. The movement tied together environmental design, techno-progressivism, and global citizenship. It was founded in 1998 by Bruce Sterling, a postcyberpunk science fiction author. Sterling always remained the central figure in the movement, with Alex Steffen perhaps the next best-known. Steffen, Jamais Cascio, and Jon Lebkowsky, along with some other frequent contributors to Sterling's Viridian notes, formed the Worldchanging blog. Sterling wrote the introduction to Worldchanging's book (''Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century''), which (according to Ross Robertson) is considered the definitive volume on bright green thinking. Sterling formally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Negativland
Negativland is an American experimental music band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! track, while their record label (Seeland Records) is named after another Neu! track. The core of the band consists of Mark Hosler, David Wills (aka "The Weatherman"), Peter Conheim and Jon Leidecker (aka "Wobbly"). Negativland has released a number of albums ranging from pure sound collage to more musical expositions. These have mostly been released on their own label, Seeland Records. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they produced several recordings for SST Records, most notably ''Escape from Noise'', ''Helter Stupid'' and '' U2''. Negativland were sued by the band U2's record label, Island Records, and by SST Records, which brought them widespread publicity and notoriety. The band is also part of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion. History 1980s Negativland started in Concord, California, in 1979 around the core f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of The Subgenius
The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubGenius leaders have developed detailed narratives about Dobbs and his relationship to various gods and conspiracies. Their central deity, Jehovah 1, is accompanied by other gods drawn from ancient myth and popular fiction. SubGenius literature describes a grand conspiracy that seeks to brainwash the world and oppress Dobbs's followers. In its narratives, the Church presents a blend of cultural references in an elaborate remix of the sources. Ivan Stang, who co-founded the Church in the 1970s, serves as its leader and publicist. He has imitated actions of other religious leaders, using the tactic of culture jamming in an attempt to parody better-known faiths. Church leaders instruct their followers to avoid mainstream commercialism and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Survival Research Laboratories
Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) is an American performance art group that pioneered the genre of large-scale machine performance. Founded in 1978 by Mark Pauline, the group is known in particular for their performances where custom-built machines, often robotic, compete to destroy each other. The performances, described by one critic as "noisy, violent and destructive", are noted for the visual and aural cacophony created by the often dangerous interactions of the machinery. History SRL was founded in San Francisco in 1978 by Mark Pauline. Critics have drawn parallels between the group's founding and the punk and industrial music scenes of San Francisco at the time. The group's name is a parody of corporate culture. Pauline has said that "the vision for SRL was always about creepy, scary, violent and extreme performances that really captured the feeling of machines as living things". SRL's early collaborators included the machine artists including Matt Heckert and Eric Werne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews. Wilson described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". His goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything." In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs and what Wilson called " quantum psychology". Following a career in journalism and as an editor, notably for ''Playboy'', Wilso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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