Leah Buechley, who designed the sewable version of the Arduino microcontroller, is fascinated with materials, and especially with using them for interactive projects close to her body. She was in Amsterdam for one day, and during that day she presented a circus of some of the cooler sensors and actuators she has been working with lately. Stretch, bend and press sensors, conductive thread, velcro and rubber, and much more.

Some people create their own aesthetic by creating their own software: Bob Sabiston's A Scanner Darkly or Waking Life are wonderfully unique in their imagery. However, not everyone has the cash for full fletched software development for a visual project. This results in too much motion too constrained by too little software. Animators and VJs have it tough.

Last week at the Mediamatic EcoVis salon, we had the pleasure of 6 pairs of VJs performing simultaneously to our local electro-acoustic improvisation band Oorbeek. These were the results of the 1-day Lo-Tech VJ workshop. None of them looked like Photoshop filters, nor did any of them look alike. They projected onto all the white walls available, on top of the Oorbeek band members, who politely donned white boiler suits to minimize their visual appearance for the occasion.

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It used a lot of footage from terror attack by islamist groups. The footage that we've all seen more than enough during the past years. Wilders' 10 minute collection is filthy. He interlaced it with Qur'an quotes suggesting that all these crimes are justified and prescribed by Islam. Of course one could have done the same with the old testament. Boring demagogy that is so transparent that it will hardly convince anyone of anything. Embarrassing indeed. Can we now get back to work please? Thank you.

Why? Well we can't stop Wilders. He has a right to freedom of expression and he is smart enough to stay within the boundaries of Dutch law. Actually, we do not want to stop his movie because we cherish our freedom of expression. Even stupid populist politicians have fundamental rights. Especially they!

We can compete for attention however. And we can produce disinformation. So we are going to make Movies called “Fitna” in which we apologise for Geert Wilders embarrassing behaviour. We will make so many of them that it will be hard to find the movie by Wilders without finding lots of movies apologising for it.

Just to let the world (and ourselves) know that allowing confused people to speak does not mean that we agree with what they say. Sorry.

So if you want to join in; just make your own Fitna movie and put it on line. Put on a blonde wig, look cross eyed and say you’re sorry. Film it with you telephone or camera. Then, publish it on line as many times as you can, Youtube, Hyves, Myspace any place. Call it Fitna by Geert Wilders. Add any statement that you like to. Link to your movie and to other movies you like from your blogs and websites. Sorry!

Let’s smother this Wilders in our apologies. If we work hard enough, no one will be able to find his crap among all the noise we produce. And the world knows how we feel about Wilders and his opportunism....

WE’RE SORRY!

And we’re proud to live in a country where we�

At the Hybrid Wearables Workshop, 16 participants led by Jean-Baptiste Labrune and Dana Gordon played ideas to make our clothes help us more. Not a keyboard for sending email from your pocket, but small solutions for everyday problems.

Cuddle Bag

Are you lonely? Would you like a pet to comfort you, but would you like to avoid becoming a cat lady? Anouk Wipprecht, Nick Lesley, David Morgan and Hans-Gunter Lock made a cuddle bag for you- a functional handbag which doubles as a pet. Stroke it and it will purr, its eyes will light up, and it will warm you.

The cuddle bag has been implemented using soft fabric switches which activate the LED eyes, motors which emulate purring and sounds from encapsulated piezo speakers.

The ZONE

Do people stand too close to you at parties? Do you feel uncomfortable at social events? Astrid Lubsen, Dick van Dijk, Chris Karthaus and Bertus Rosier made you a jacket that will blow air at your socially inept assailants, subtly hinting that they should take some distance.

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The dating process remains anonymous until the participants choose to disclose their identities. We usually don't know a lot about the goings on, but now we can report a first recorded success! Pierrot le Fou is the romantic pseudonym of a well know artist that stopped dating because he discovered Cat Woman / House Wife. Last night, they could be spotted together at the premiere of Room temperature by Zhana Ivanova and friends. They are a magnificent couple.

Mediamatic offers Pierrot and Cat a complimentary museum night for two. Museum night for two is a — soon to be announced — special arrangement by Mediamatic with an other Amsterdam cultural institution. A couple can be "accidentally" locked into the exhibition at days end. A place to sleep and a bottle of champagne will be made easy to find and the alarm will remain switched off for that night. Absolute discretion guaranteed...

Good luck together you two!

Watch a Workshop Video

So let's get started: After a short introduction of the workshop guided by Marc Boon, a mediator between art and technology, and Bernardo Gaeiras from the Mediamatic FabLab, everybody had a clearer picture about the exciting new techniques this workshop was dedicated to.

Usually the production of electronic circuits (PCB's) takes a couple of different steps until you have turned a plain copper plate into a filigree network of conductive paths by means of photochemical processes. But especially for a small edition of self-designed circuit layouts this common procedure is often a bit too tedious for quick prototyping or last minute birthday-presents. So why not making use of the enormous precise fab tools that are more and more available in small prototyping facilities for quick and easy "getting things out of the computer into the real world"?

As an example circuit Marc brought the schematic of a micro television transmitter (designed by Tetsuo Kogawa) which can transmit video signals that can be received by a common analog television with an antenna. The first thing to learn was how to design a circuit layout in the free available Eagle software: First decide which parts are needed, place and connect them to a schematic which than can be converted into the proper board layout. If it would be that easy...

But everybody mastered that ch...

The Urban Typography workshop took place at Mediamatic over two days. Participants were encouraged to form groups for collaboration. Ideas, inspiration, and brainstorming were the focus of day one, while day two focused on putting ideas in practice on the machinery of the Fab Lab. A Fab Lab is a space where computer controlled machines allow one to build just about anything. The focus of the Urban Typography theme helped reign in the participants to create works using the Fab Lab that shout, scream and engage others using text in an urban environment.

The workshop started out with some engaging presentations by visual artist Mirthe Blusse, street artist and graphic designer ZEDZ, and architect Jack Bakker from Zwarts en Jansma Architects. Participants then were encouraged to brainstorm, share ideas, and form pairs and teams for their projects. Day two was strictly hands-on as the participants put their ideas into practice with the help of Bernardo. Some parti...

On the right, you see a random selection of dating profiles. Feel free to click around. The most effective way to search them is to make your own profile. The system will then automatically select the best matches for you!

How to get started

Just click on "new dating profile" above and follow the instructions.

You have to be a member of the website to participate. If you are not a member yet, the website will help you to register first when you click the "New dating profile" link. Just give your name and email address. It will not appear in your dating profiles but only on your normal member page.

Is it an art project?

Yes. You're at Mediamatic.

Is it real?

Of course. You're at Mediamatic.

Is it anonymous?

You can use a pseudonym for your dating profile and even have multiple personalities if you wish! However, always remember that the internet is not the best place for keeping secrets:-) Also, if we detect malicious use, we'll find on you.

What are the rules?

Be NICE. For people that are less civilised: Dutch law applies so no threats, spam, slander, kiddie porn, identity theft or other mayhem please. The are more pleasant ways of being naughty.

Will you sell my data?

No.

How do I get in touch with the other daters?

If you have a dating profile, you can leave messages for others. Your real name w...