January 31, 2006

Remixing Voices of Native Women: Artists Demonstrating Against Violence
In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th, 2006

In light of International Women's Day, on March 8th, Quebec Native Women (QNW) in collaboration with Studio XX and Upgrade Montréal, will hold an artistic and social evening around the theme of violence against native women. By extension, the themes of non-violence and peace will be celebrated, at the Society for Arts and Technologies (SAT) on the night in question.

In Canada alone, 80% of native women are subjected to systematic violence. Besides physical and/or psychological violence, there exists yet a more insidious form of violence as perpetuated through the Indian Act. The resulting violations come in the form of poverty, inequality, dispossession, and exclusion.

The coalition which organises the event is planning a publication to mark the occasion. We are looking for completed critical, personal articles, or poems that a maximum length of 800 words, on the above mentioned topics. Articles written by aboriginal women will be privileged.

In addition, this event will also host the launching of the next issues of StudioXX's electronic periodical .dpi. This 5th issue will address the themes of “Sexuality, Maternity, Reproduction, and Technology”. One of the articles chosen for the publication for the International Women's
Day event will also appear on the web in this .dpi issue [http://dpi.studioxx.org]. The selected article will relate to issues of technology, sexuality, and/or reproduction, and/or maternity from a native woman perspective.

Please submit your completed entries in Word format, along with a 50-word biography, to emonnet@faq-qnw.org by February 10th, 2006 (or send them at the address below). Entries in both English and French are welcome. Only applicants whose submissions are accepted will be contacted.

Femmes Autochtones du Quebec
Business Complex River, C.P. 1989
Kahnawake, Québec, J0L 1B0
http://www.faq.qnw.org

Studio XX
http://www.studioxx.org

Upgrade Montréal
http://theupgrade.sat.qc.ca

ENERGIE SOLAIRE, MOBILITE ET AUTONOMIE
by: Oumarou Savdogo (francais)

SAM. 4 fevrier 2006, 13h / 25$

Les projets en arts mediatiques necessitent de plus en plus des sources d'energie mobiles. Dans un souci d'economie, d'autonomie et d'ecologie, plusieurs artistes s'interessent a la lumiere solaire comme source d'energie inepuisable. Mais s'agit-il d'une forme d'energie vraiment accessible? Ce seminaire presente par un specialiste en la matiere vise a demystifier l'energie photovoltaique (transformation de la lumiere en energie electrique) et la physique des semi-conducteurs. Une periode de question permettra au professeur Savadogo de developper sur les applications possibles dans le domaine des arts mediatiques.

Oumarou Savadogo est professeur titulaire au departement de genie chimique a l'Ecole Polytechnique. Il est responsable du Laboratoire d'electrochimie et de materiaux energetiques. Les piles, piles a combustible, accumulateurs, piles solaires et couches minces de semi-conducteurs figurent parmi ses champs de recherche.

Did you knowthat orchids need a cold spell to bloom. I sure as sheck didn't.

These pictures are from my friends greenhouse.

January 30, 2006

I have spent the last 4 months doing-up my first drupal site. Today I was trolling the forums looking for help on translation and stumbled on this really interesting debate about whether translation should be included as a core component.

It's a shining example of how identity/politics can impact the design of an application.

the summary of the argument is this;

dev1:

"I am pretty certain that no modifications of the standard Drupal database scheme will get into core for i18n, simply because only very few sites will need it. I am afraid that your solution will generally have too much impact on core and will be rejected for this reason. Hear my warning.."

dev2 :

"Probably you mispelled the sentence. Those modifications make more sense to me:

* no modifications of the standard Drupal database scheme will get into core for i18n, simply because only very few core-Drupal-maintainers will need it
* no modifications of the standard Drupal database scheme will get into core for i18n, simply because only very few sites that currently run Drupal will need it

Nobody can claim that 'very few sites will need it' without showing some data that confirm that possibility. I mean: how do you know that? Any proofs, statistics? Any poll I am not aware of, previous studies? Any passage of Nostradamus works I have not read?
"

dev3

"I live in the UK in an area with a multiracial multicultural community. There are two projects I have been asked to help with in the past month. One, a web site for a project providing the community translators/interpreters for about 20 languages, and the other a Chinese school. I18n is essential for both of these, and apart from the difficulties of using multiple languages with Drupal, it would also be ideal. There must be many more potential uses of an i18n Drupal."

dev4, dev5, dev6
"ibid dev3 with variations"

dev7

"Why fuss about wondering whether or not there is a demand from Drupal users (not just developers) for i18n in core? Why not have a poll? Question could be just: how important is true multi-lingual Drupal to you? Would die without it / Very / So-So / Bof! / Really don't care..."

dev1
"I am afraid software development isn't really democratic. ;->>"

There you go... the truth will have out. And here I thought it was all just poor documentation ; )