Boing Boing: Pop-up camper on a shopping cart

Posted by on under derelict vehicles, wheeler bicycle, pop up camper, cormac mccarthy, truck camper, sculptural piece, delivery trucks, mobile vehicles, self reliance, datis, kickstarter, cabover, 3 wheeler, rickshaws, mobile unit, artt, cyr, fructose, rvs, graffiti |

Artist Kevin Cyr is building a pop-up camper atop a shopping cart. This is a follow-up to his Camper Bike, a 3-wheeler bicycle with a truck camper on the back. Cyr is looking for donations to help complete the Camper Kart. Cyr writes: It's a functioning sculptural piece that seeks to explore aspects of housing, mobility, and autonomy. It is also largely about self-reliance and making due with less. I have always been interested in bikes and vehicles and for many years they have been the subject of my paintings. My paintings document odd and derelict vehicles: old delivery trucks inundated with graffiti and rust, well-traveled RVs, Indian rickshaws and Asian bikes. Throughout the last year, I decided to build my own type of vehicles. On a trip to Beijing, I conceived and built a CAMPER BIKE: an amalgamation of a Chinese 3-wheeled flatbed bike with an American cabover style camper. Interested in building a series of mobile vehicles and inspired by Cormac McCarthy's novel, The Road, I started sketching plans for CAMPER KART: a mobile unit built into a shopping cart--an ubiquitous urban object. Camper Kart (Kickstarter) "Kevin Cyr's Camper kart" (Hi-Fructose)...


Tagi: derelict vehicles, wheeler bicycle, pop up camper, cormac mccarthy, truck camper, sculptural piece, delivery trucks, mobile vehicles, self reliance, datis, kickstarter, cabover, 3 wheeler, rickshaws, mobile unit, artt, cyr, fructose, rvs, graffiti

Kottke: Cormac McCarthy interview

Posted by Jason Kottke on under cormac mccarthy, santa fe institute, th interview, vacati, sitting in a room, blank paper, perfect day, wsj, waste of time, desire, heaven, fellow, gold |

The WSJ has a conversation with Cormac McCarthy.

Your future gets shorter and you recognize that. In recent years, I have had no desire to do anything but work and be with [my son] John. I hear people talking about going on a vacation or something and I think, what is that about? I have no desire to go on a trip. My perfect day is sitting in a room with some blank paper. That's heaven. That's gold and anything else is just a waste of time.

Before reading this interview, I didn't know much about McCarthy -- he's a fellow at the Santa Fe Institute? -- but now I think I need to read The Road. (via df)

Tags: cormacmccarthy   interviews
Tagi: cormac mccarthy, santa fe institute, th interview, vacati, sitting in a room, blank paper, perfect day, wsj, waste of time, desire, heaven, fellow, gold

Roger Ebert On Why Video Games Can Never Be Art

Posted by on under cormac mccarthy, roger ebert, nicholas sparks, subjective judgment, robert mckee, definiti, good writing, art form, artworks, novels, santiago, video games, belief, desire, novel, ted, audience, bas, game |

Roger Ebert has long held the opinion that video games are not and can never be considered an art form. After having this opinion challenged in a TED talk last year, Ebert has now taken the opportunity to thoughtfully respond and explain why he maintains this belief. Quoting: "One obvious difference between art and games is that you can win a game. It has rules, points, objectives, and an outcome. Santiago might cite an immersive game without points or rules, but I would say then it ceases to be a game and becomes a representation of a story, a novel, a play, dance, a film. Those are things you cannot win; you can only experience them. She quotes Robert McKee's definition of good writing as 'being motivated by a desire to touch the audience.' This is not a useful definition, because a great deal of bad writing is also motivated by the same desire. I might argue that the novels of Cormac McCarthy are so motivated, and Nicholas Sparks would argue that his novels are so motivated. But when I say McCarthy is 'better' than Sparks and that his novels are artworks, that is a subjective judgment, made on the basis of my taste (which I would argue is better than the taste of anyone who prefers Sparks)."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Tagi: cormac mccarthy, roger ebert, nicholas sparks, subjective judgment, robert mckee, definiti, good writing, art form, artworks, novels, santiago, video games, belief, desire, novel, ted, audience, bas, game