Sometime’s there’s an upside to having an obsession with American Idol, like stumbling across the winners of Word Idol singing one of my favorite songs from a Computer Animated Film. Come on, even you can admit it’s pretty damn good (especially the guy who took Madonna’s teeth-with-character thing to a whole new level).
In honor of the upcoming ‘It’s Always Indy In Philadelphia’ anniversary party on the 31st, I thought I’d get everyone warmed up with a little pre-party music video courtesy of the best show on TV. Enjoy and see you at Triumph Brewery in Old City on August 31st.
When I first saw Jott.com and learned that it “converts your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments” I was really impressed. It seems like everyone at some point or another has dabbled in voice transcription, including IBM, Microsoft and Apple, with mediocre results. Then out of nowhere this little online startup not only develops a voice transcriber that is scarily accurate, they find a way to do it over mobile. Amazing. Or maybe not.
“[Jott] is a really easy and useful service, and we may be hooked. Here’s the intriguing part: Jott sends your messages to India for transcription. There, cheaply paid workers are listening to your voice message, and typing down the text in an email, which they then shoot off to the recipient. It took us about five minutes to receive our transcribed message tests — and they were perfectly done.” - Venture Beat
It turns out that Jott is not an advanced proprietary technology that has pushed the boundary of software development. Jott is People. Anyone else feel a little Deja Vu. Where have I seen an ‘advanced technology’ that actually turned out to be people ‘repackaged’? OMG … that’s creepy.
“I’ve got one or two things to say about change, like the change we must change to the change we hold dear. I really like change, have I made myself clear.”
A year and half ago during a distinctly cold Philly night, you know the kind when your malt liquer freezes in it’s paper bag, I experienced one of the greatest nights of live entertainment/theatre ever (which really isn’t saying much when you consider my favorite play is West Side Story; the movie). First Person Story Slam is simply a night of very funny people sharing their ‘true’ stories with complete strangers. Like improve, the unrehearsed nature of Story Slam can be both a blessing and a curse. Some stories are painfully bad, but anything is worth enduring for the true gems (like the one above) that surface at every event.
If you ever go to the story Slam at Letage, I hope you have the good fortune of witnessing a Story Slam legend Kevin Lee in action. He’ll be there for sure but get their soon, rumor has it he’s thinking about moving to Boston. To Boston? WTF Kev? Do people line up to hear your awkward pauses and painfully embarassing stories in Boston?
Story Slam takes place every 4th Thursday of the month at my favorite club, Letage, 7:30pm sharp.
Upcoming Story Slam themes:
July 22nd: Caught August 26th: Worst Ever September 23rd: Belonging October 28th: Strange Coincidenc
“Thousands of women have been victims of violent gang rapes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since Hutu rebels, known as the Interahamwe, fled Rwanda after the genocide in 1994. The DRC was officially at war from 1998-2003, with seven neighboring countries invading the vast nation at one point. As many as 20 rebel military factions remain, preying upon poor villagers, especially women, for their survival. The rebels pillage, rape women, steal harvests and burn villages periodically to maintain their own supplies. This collection of photographs addresses the impact of that violence and the ways women are coping to rebuild their lives”
It was once explained to me that great art is simultanously a mirror for what is most beautiful and most contemptible in humanity. An elequont adage that was mostly lost on me, that is until my friends Brad Labriola and Scott Blanding showed me their passionate documentary Women In War Zones and the amazing photographs by Melanie Blanding (above) that acompany the project. Women In Warzone follows two young women, Helene and Bijoux, on the long road to taking back their lives after the brutal sexual violence and mutilation of the five year civil war in the D.R. Congo. To put it mildly, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Both WIWZ and Melanie’s images are simultanously a celebrition of Helene and Bijoux’s quiet victories and an unflinching indictment of their barbaric tormentors. What’s refreshing about this film is that where most would focus on the specific and sensational details of sexual and mental torture, WIWZ explores the mental, physical and spiritual recovery of the traumatized girls and the few supporters who help them along thier journey.
The Beauty: Doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers all work tirelessly to heal these broken women. Hundrededs of fellow victims banding together to survive and protect each other, walking miles to fill heavy water jugs to bring to their bed ridden friends. Eyes filled with understanding that only adersity and pain can breed. Friends comforting and encouraging each other in overwhelming hopelessness.
The Contemptable: Rejection from their society and their own families. Enduring humiliation of incontinence and subsequent odors. Ruined dowry potential as unmarried women. Married women divorced and abandoned by husbands who fear disease or cannot bear the emotional damage. Interahamwe rebels pillaging, raping women, stealing harvests and burning villages to maintain their own supplies and assuage their own inferiority.
If great art is what I’ve heard, a singular reflection of what is good and reprehensible in us, then both Women In Warzones and Melanies images are some of the greatest art to come out of Philly in recent history.
Please think about supporting the artists and the women of Congo by…
… coming out to a gallery showing of Melanies photography on Saturday June 14th to raise awareness and funds for the Women In Warzones documentary.
… staying tuned to the Women In Warzones website (and this blog) for the announcement of the premiere later this summer.
![OMG, Jott is people.
When I first saw Jott.com and learned that it “converts your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments” I was really impressed. It seems like everyone at some point or another has dabbled in voice transcription, including IBM, Microsoft and Apple, with mediocre results. Then out of nowhere this little online startup not only develops a voice transcriber that is scarily accurate, they find a way to do it over mobile. Amazing. Or maybe not.
“[Jott] is a really easy and useful service, and we may be hooked. Here’s the intriguing part: Jott sends your messages to India for transcription. There, cheaply paid workers are listening to your voice message, and typing down the text in an email, which they then shoot off to the recipient. It took us about five minutes to receive our transcribed message tests — and they were perfectly done.” - Venture Beat
It turns out that Jott is not an advanced proprietary technology that has pushed the boundary of software development. Jott is People. Anyone else feel a little Deja Vu. Where have I seen an ‘advanced technology’ that actually turned out to be people ‘repackaged’? OMG … that’s creepy.](http://media.tumblr.com/q5pJEQBQDbknp4lm6HfRWWjs_400.jpg)
