Cursed With Good Ideas

CWGI #17: A l g o r i t h m s (with Nick Seaver)

The seventeenth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, ninety-three minutes of collaborative filtering with Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta, Patrick Harrison, and Asa Roast asking uninformed questions to Nick Seaver.

In this episode: cybernetics, algorithms, recommender systems, and methodological cope.

Hums and croaks courtesy of postgraduate mobility.

LINKS:

- Nick Seaver's "Computing Taste": https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo183892298.html

- Nick Seaver's scholarship: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GORu8nQAAAAJ&hl=en

- Lana Swartz's "New Money": https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300233223/new-money/

- Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan's "Code": https://www.dukeupress.edu/code

 

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CWGI #15: What happens when a phone dies (with Nicolas Nova & Anaïs Bloch)

The fifteenth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, seventy-one minutes of socio-technical assemblage unpacking with Anaïs Bloch, Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta, Patrick Harrison, and Nicolas Nova.

In this episode: smartphone affects, repair cultures, legendary solderers, and drawing as method.

Clicks and bleeps afforded by the caprices of broadband connections.

LINKS:

- Nicolas Nova & Anaïs Bloch's "Dr. Smartphone" book, Open Access PDF: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03106034/

- "Dr. Smartphone", print version: https://www.idpureshop.ch/web/catalogue.aspx?cat=62

- Nicolas Nova & DISNOVATION.ORG's "A Bestiary of the Anthropocene": https://bestiaryanthropocene.com/

- Anaïs Bloch's work: https://www.anaisbloch.ch/

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CWGI #14: The ethnographer as construction worker (with Leif)

The fourteenth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, seventy-seven minutes of urban fieldwork reminiscences with Asa Roast, Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta, Leif, and Patrick Harrison.

In this episode: black pollution, construction work masculinities, urban ethnography and anxious wealth.

Audio artifacts and bitcrushing sponsored by Zoom compression algorithms.

LINKS:

- Overhead cable removal in Shanghai: http://www.thatsmags.com/shanghai/post/23023/are-overhead-cables-in-shanghai-about-to-become-a-thing-of-the-past

- John Osburg's "Anxious Wealth": https://www.perlego.com/book/744833/anxious-wealth-money-and-morality-among-chinas-new-rich-pdf

- Sarah Swider's "Building China": https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801456930/building-china

- Leif's "Bordering Shanghai": https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718515302311

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CWGI #13: The Unavoidable Lockdown Episode (with Andrew Holtz & Marianne von Blomberg)

The thirtheeth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, seventy minutes of inescapable lockdown chronicles with Andrew Holtz, Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta, Joy Zhu and Marianne von Blomberg.

In this episode: Epidemiology 101, social credit system, health QR codes, and empty airports.

Echoes and ghostly crackles kindly offered by smartphone microphones.

LINKS:
- COVID-19 spikes in Hong Kong, Singapore & Taiwan: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/09/world/asia/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-taiwan.html
- Alibaba's Hangzhou Health Code: https://technode.com/2020/04/07/china-voices-how-alibaba-built-chinas-health-code/
- Andrew Holtz's blog: https://medium.com/@andrew.holtz94
- Marianne von Blomberg on the social credit score: https://mappingchina.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/MCJ-No-2-2018-Blomberg.pdf

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CWGI #12: Boredom and self-quarantine in Wuhan

The twelfth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, fifty-four minutes of catch-up with Clément Renaud, Dino Chang, Digougou and Gabriele de Seta.

In this episode: Coronavirus, self-imposed quarantine, epidemic boredom and Wuhanese identity.

Phased voices and microphone taps are 100% organic.

LINKS:
- 2019-nCoV crisis recap: https://chublicopinion.com/2020/02/04/wuhan-a-tale-of-immune-system-failure-and-social-strength/
- More on quarantined life: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30299-3/fulltext
- Anti-pangolin propaganda: https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-pangolins-intermediary-host-2020-2
- WHU Alumni fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-wuhan-fight-through-coronavirus

Support CWGI: https://en.liberapay.com/CWGI/

CWGI #11: At the Institute for Findom Research (with Nel)

The eleventh episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, sixty-eight minutes of living room vibing with Nel and hosts Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta and Patrick Harrison.

In this episode: Taiwan elections, nation-state cosplaying, financial domination and green hat cuckoldry.

VOIP delay and occasional garbage collection truck jingles prove our site-specificity.

LINKS:
- Institute for Findom Research: https://twitter.com/FindomInstitute
- The retweet game: https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-retweet-slaves-who-worship-their-dommes-on-twitter
- Findom in the Philippines: https://netnography595114714.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/findom/
- Findom in China & Hong Kong: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2094964/findom-fetish-asia-pay-pigs-money-slaves-and-why-men-dont-want-sex-women

Support CWGI: https://en.liberapay.com/CWGI/

CWGI #10: Wuhan, Different Everyday! (with Ge Yulu)

The tenth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, seventy-two minutes of bilingual exchanges with Ge Yulu and hosts Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta and Digougou.

In this episode: growing up in Wuhan, 1.5 tier cities, contemporary art education and surveillance cameras.

Background disturbances resulting from precarious on-site recording.

LINKS:
- Ge Yulu's "Where the streets had my name" http://www.chinafile.com/multimedia/video/where-streets-had-my-name
- Ge's dildo on flagpole installation: https://radiichina.com/beijing-art-student-punished-for-putting-dildo-on-flagpole/
- Xu Bing's "Dragonfly Eyes" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4JsoR25DP4
- Dorothy J. Sollinger's "Streets as suspect" article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14672715.2013.758819

Support CWGI: https://en.liberapay.com/CWGI/

CWGI #9: Surviving a PhD dissertation (with Asa Roast)

The ninth episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, sixty-three minutes of postdoctoral therapy with Asa Roast and hosts Jonathan Burrow, Dino Chang, and Gabriele de Seta.

In this episode: PhD hazing, dissertation PTSD, coping strategies and YouTube rabbit holes.

Continuity errors due to wedding commitments.

LINKS:
- Asa Roast's website: http://asaroast.com/work
- 60 Minute Cities - Chongqing: https://bivouacrecording.postach.io/post/60-minute-cities-chongqing-60fen-zhong-wo-de-cheng-shi-zhong-qing
- Bruno Latour's "On the difficulty of being an ANT": https://www.douban.com/group/topic/17840258/
- The tracksuit meme: https://www.popbuzz.com/internet/viral/jawad-bendaoud-meme-video/

Support CWGI: https://en.liberapay.com/CWGI/

CWGI #8: Shanghai and the aesthetics of failure (with Katy Roseland)

The eight episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, fifty-five minutes of underground insights with Katy Roseland (Basement6, Shanghai Community Radio) and hosts Dino Chang, Gabriele de Seta & Patrick Harrison.

In this episode: Shanghai's creative basements, art spies, community radios and club culture.

Involuntary reverb courtesy of Skype feedback.

LINKS:
- Basement6: http://www.basement6collective.com/ 
- Shanghai Community Radio: https://www.instagram.com/shcr_radio/ 
- Eduardo Makoszay's "Tomorrow can take care of itself (ft Nick Land)": https://vimeo.com/223902358/bbf68a469d 
- Official "Map Pointz" project: https://www.instagram.com/map_pointz/

Support CWGI: https://en.liberapay.com/CWGI/

CWGI #7: Taiwanese New Age (with Paul Farrelly)

The seventh (but eight really) episode of CURSED WITH GOOD IDEAS, sixty-eight minutes of spiritual communion with Dr. Paul J. Farrelly (Capital Academic Advisory) and hosts Dino Chang & Gabriele de Seta.

In this episode: Taiwanese campus folk, new age religiosity, spiritual practices, vintage magazine Tumblr.

Occasional ambient hiss added for a more lo-fi summer vibe.

LINKS:
- Paul J. Farrelly's website: https://www.pauljfarrelly.com/ 
- Capital Academic Advisory: https://www.academics.asia/ 
- Paul's essay on Terry Hu and New Age religion in Taiwan: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-xGNvVh2owzQ0NSVmxaSFZ6U00/view 
- Paul's "Altered Statuses" Tumblr: https://altered-statuses.tumblr.com/

Support CWGI: https://en.liberapay.com/CWGI/