Wednesday 30 January 2008

Papel eletronico - Publishing Revolution

Arrumando papelada. Muita. Atividade indispensavel da mudanca, enorme, que se aproxima e sobre a qual muito sera registrado. Ela, alias, altera a natureza deste blog quanto ao proposito, porem outros fins serao estabelecidos para o mesmo meio.
Nesse entremeio, encontrei muita coisa recolhida e arquivada que o individuo que guarda sempre julga interessante. Entre elas, um recorte de uma noticia de um material que vi durante a Publishing Expo, que visitei ano passado pela JungleDrums. Na controversa condicao de “jornalista” o assunto me deixou com uma pulga atras da orelha, nem sei se pra bem ou pra mal.
Em especial para os amigos/colegas da area, que eventualmente ainda nao ouviram falar sobre isso, segue alguma informacao, apenas em ingles, sobre o incrivel papel eletronico e o caminho, mais do que nunca visivelmente claro, para uma revolucao das publicacoes.
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Sorting out papers. And it is a lot of them. Indispensable activity of a change, huge one, which approaches and whose topic a lot will be written about. It, by the way, alters the very nature of this blog on its purpose; however, other ends will be set for the same mean.
Amongst this, I have found many stuff collected and filed that only the individual who keeps it judge interesting. One of these things was a clipping of a news about a material that a witnessed during the Publishing Expo, which I visited last year as a JungleDrums staff. At the controversial “journalist” position, the subject has triggered my curiosity but not sure if in a good or bad sense.
Especially to friends/colleagues of the field, who eventually have not heard about it yet, follows some information about the incredible e-paper and the clear track for a publishing revolution.


E-paper, instant magazine, downloads, social publishing. Web 2.0 and the end of the newspaper as we know it – welcome to the brave new world of publishing, or is this all just pie in the sky?
It won’t be long before buying a copy of your favourite newspaper (I would not say Diario Popular or whatsoever, but it is absolutely up to you) could become as niche activity as buying a vinyl LP. Instead of leisurely flicking through a magazine on the sofa with a cup of tea, you will read it on the web, download it to a piece of e-paper or simply publish it yourself.


According to David Renard, author of The Last Magazine, in the next 25 years only 10% of the European and American paper-based magazine industry will remain, kept alive by “connoisseurs, aficionados and ageing Luddites”. The rest of us will embrace the publishing revolution.
Such predictions are always suspicious, but despite the well know apocalyptic tone that is often heard from different sources when it comes about technological novelties, it is amazing to imagine the way things may be working so soon. Instead of nipping to the newsagent, you will download the day’s news from a vending machine and read it on a piece of e-paper. And when you finish, you’ll put the e-paper in your briefcase and update the content the next day.
E-paper is already available (be amazed!). Sony introduced its e-book device in 2006, but Japanese company Fujitsu will launch what it claims is the first colour e-paper this year. The manufactures say the e-paper “looks like colour newsprint, it is though, flexible, very thin and you could change the image on it every two seconds for a year using tripe A battery.” The technology is already being used in Japan (of course!) where members of a music club get flyers containing reviews.
For the members of this odd field, the follow is worthy to notice. “Journalists will (increasingly) become freelance, but they will get a share of the advertising revenue if their stuff is read and will make a lot of money if they are at the top of the rankings. Social publishing might mean that there’s a lot of rubbish written, but author ranking technology can judge which is the highest quality content, so the best rises to the top.

* Article adapted from The Guardian (12 February 2007)

Sunday 20 January 2008

A common little note one sees around an English office... (3)

(Actually, I have been given this one, randomly, from a good, desperate colleague with a peculiar sense of humor.)


"The escape committee is planning on meeting on Tuesday night after lights out.
There is a rumour that some red cross parcels may get through next month!"

Tuesday 15 January 2008

Vermelha

Seguindo sobre musica e avancando na nostalgia e, por que nao dizer, no orgulho gaucho (ressalva: orgulho, nao bairrismo) registro o clip de uma banda que parece muito legal, lah da querida Porto Alegre, cujo sonzinho gostei bastante. Aproveito o ensejo para que nao deixem de checar outras boas bandas do bom Rio Grande que tambem sabe "rock".
Vejam tambem, especialmente para os amigos brasileiros de fora do RS, entre consagradas, independentes e novas, o bom som de Pata de Elefante, Tom Bloch, Freak Brothers, Cachorro Grande, Banda Sapo, Jimi Joe, Ultramen e por ai vai.

Saturday 12 January 2008

Monica Salmaso

Monica Salmaso at the Millenium Stage

Muito bom. Muito bom mesmo! Demorei para checar e me arrependi de nao ter visto antes. Obrigado Julieta!

War on Democracy

War on Democracy eh o primeiro grande filme de John Pilger para o cinema – numa carreira que ja produziu mais de 55 documentarios para a televisao. Filmado na America Latina e nos Estados Unidos, o trabalho explora a historica e atual relacao de Washington com paises como Venezuela, Bolivia e Chile.


War on Democracy examina a falsa democracia que se apresenta com corporacoes norte-americanas e instituicoes financeiras e a guerra lancada, material e publicitariamente, contra democracia popular.


"Tantos sao os perigos que se impoem sobre todos nos hoje por uma superpotencia neo-fascista e tao urgente eh a nossa necessidade de informacao descontaminada que as pessoas estao preparadas para comprar um bilhete de cinema para obte-la", diz Pilger.


"As diferencas entre cinema e televisao sao fundamentais. O cinema permite a um panorama desdobrar-se, dando a sensacao de espaco que apenas a tela grande captura.
Embora os cinematrografos filmem em alta-definicao foi necessario fazer a conversao para 35 milimetros, um dos maravilhosos anacronismos do cinema."


"O cinema moderno raramente quebra silencios politicos. No entanto, o cinema esta mudando como se por “default”. O documentario retornou para a tela grande e esta sendo abracado pelo publico."

Uma indigena na Bolivia inesquecivelmente descreve sua pobreza como um commodity para os ricos. Pilger usa as fotos de
Sebastiao Salgado e as palavras das baladas de Victor Jara para ilustrar a historia sobre um povo que ele acredita ter deixado de ser invisivel. “Eles sao um poderoso movimento politico exigindo conceitos nobres que foram deturpados pelas corporacoes.”

Pilger falou recentemente no
cinema Prince Charles, em Londres, durante a apresentacao do filme em cartaz na casa. Eu fui. Foi uma fala curta que desapontou alguns que esperavam um debate e encontrou apenas uma breve introducao. Ele define seu trabalho como um filme essencialmente positivo. E ele esta certo quando diz que o atual cenario politico da America Latina eh, para alem de outras analises, o comeco de um grande debate que, particularmente em relacao a Venezuela, eh um desafio experimental de democracia popular.
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The War on Democracy is John Pilger’s first mayor film for the cinema – in a career that has produced more than 55 television documents. Set in Latin America and the US, it explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile.“The film tells a universal story”, says Pilger, “analyzing and revealing through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths.

The War on Democracy examines the false democracy that comes with Western Corporations and financial institutions and a war waged, materially and as propaganda, against popular democracy.

"Such are the danger imposed on us all today by a neo fascist superpower and so urgent is our need for uncontaminated information that people are prepared to buy a cinema ticket to get it.", says Pilger.

"The differences between cinema and television are critical. Cinema allows a panorama to unfold, giving a sense of place that only the big screen captures.
Although the cinematographers shot in high-definition, it had to be converted to 35mm, one of cinema’s wonderful anachronisms."

"Modern fictional cinema rarely seems to break political silences. However, the cinema is changing as if by default. The documentary has returned to the high screen and is being embraced by the public."

An indigenous woman in Bolivia unforgettably described her poverty as a commodity for the rich. Pilger uses Sebastiao Salgado’s pictures and the words of Victor Jara’s ballads to illustrate the story he tells us about a people he believes are no longer invisible. “They are a mighty political movement reclaiming noble concepts distorted by corporatives.”

Pilger has recently spoken at Prince Charles Cinema, in London, during the introduction of the film screening. I have been to it. It was a short talk that has disappointed some who expected a debate and were really met with only a brief introduction. He defines his work as “essentially a positive film”. And he is right when he says that the whole current political scenario in Latin America is, despite everything else, the beginning of a big debate that, regarding in particular to Venezuela, is an experimental challenge in grassroots democracy.