Among the things I was really excited for coming to toronto was the opportunity to see great performances (music shows, art installations, etc.), and I have definitely seen great stuff so far (like nuit blanche).

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get tickets for telefon tel aviv and matthew dear and it was great. Two bands which I’ve followed for a good while, stuff I love, obviously I was very excited to see them. The venue was pretty hot, it’s apparently a new spot in t.o. (wrongbar), and it worked.

Telefon tel aviv have been doing some really interesting things with their music, mixing lots of influences and ideas to create really compelling sounds.

Matthew was only playing his old songs (which were great for me). He’s such a class act. I love the guy.

I have been using Cruz (a new web browser) for a day, and here are some of the things that it may have or may be missing that are popping into my head as I use it:

• It doesn’t seem to use the Keychain for password storage. I had to retype my twitter.com credentials, it should have pulled them from keychain.
• I’d love to have a stop/reload button instead of two separate ones.
• There is no Import bookmarks feature, so you can’t easily transfer them from safari/firefox.
• I love the thumbnails it adds to google search, but they load very slowly.
• I wish it would open new tabs to the right of the current one, right next to it. This isn’t a feature in any other browser I know of, but you can do it in safari through saft and in firefox through tab mix plus.
• It seems to read cookies from safari. I didn’t have to login to flickr, nice!.
• The make text bigger feature is kind of a letdown coming from firefox and it’s kickass zoom feature (it zooms images too).
• I want to double click on a dmg file in the downloads window and have it open the image file, like safari does.
• It comes with Google Gears. This is great!
• Full screen browsing is awesome (although it crashes when going into it if there’s browsa plugins open).
• It seems like url history doesn’t work. I visit a URL, and when i type it in the address bar again, it doesn’t remember I’ve been there and won’t show it to me in the pop up.

In general it feels really good. Having more than one site open takes some getting used to, but it works really well for reading feeds specially, it opens links on the main window, so I can keep scrolling down without worrying about switching no tabs.

The other noticeable feature in it is the CoverFlow view of links on a page (in the screenshot in the bottom center), which is cool but actually not that useful for me.

All in all, I really like it.

American cultural imperialism has a large effect on how youth construct their identities, creating hegemonic ideals of beauty, and most importantly defining cool for an entire generation of youth. Yet culture is not a one-way transaction, as much of global youth pop culture has been appropriated into the mainstream media, creating alternative reverberations. Gramscian notions of hegemony come into play, as we can observe how global corporations extract consent and incorporate dissent from global youth culture. Concepts around hybridity and mestizaje help to shape how we perceive these shifts, as marginalized cultures borrow from the status quo, and vice versa. Youth are targeted more than ever by the global cultural industry through television and advertisements. The culture of consumerism is not only affecting youth in developed nations. The Haatso Youth Club in Ghana articulates this phenomenon in their report to the International Youth Parliament (Heaven & Tubridy 2003):

Globalization has brought us a life surrounded by mass-production and mass-consumption. We are driven under enormous pressure, into a very consumerist lifestyle, stimulated by transnational corporations as well as commercial mass media. In contrast, we witness at the same time the stark poverty widespread in our region and the world. We see our own cultures giving way to a consumerist monoculture. There is an urgent need to revisit, appreciate and participate in the evolution of our own cultures, which are community-orientated, non-materialistic, eco-friendly and holistic in their worldview. We need to develop our capacity of cultural perceptibility towards creative interaction between cultures.

The art of the remix has infused itself into youth culture across the globe, as genres such as Hip Hop find themselves in Australia, and Punk Rock takes popularity in Japan. Hybrid artists such as M.I.A., and Up, Bustle, and Out have blended genres of music, sampling artists across the world to create a fusion of global sounds. New genres emerge out of the ashes of the old, as Reggaeton takes the stage, combining Reggae with Hip Hop, with a distinct Latino flavour. Television shows like Heroes take place across the world, and across time. The movie Babel marks a theme for this generation, transcultural narratives which weave through our lives, showing the invisible connections which we all share.

As cultures transfer, they take on different meanings, and risk hybridizing in ways which can be offensive and detrimental to indigenous cultures (Loomba 2005). bell hooks cautions us that (1992:21), "Within commodity culture, ethnicity becomes spice, seasoning that can liven up the dull dish that is mainstream white culture." When is hybridity appropriate, and when does it verge on cultural theft? Ella Shohat reminds us (1993:100) that in order to understand these concepts, we need to "discriminate between the diverse modalities of hybridity, for example forced assimilation, internalized self-rejection, political co-optation, social conformism, cultural mimicry, and creative transcendence." With these tensions in mind it is important to incorporate media education into the learning canon, preparing the youth of today for the challenges and opportunities of new media technology.

I love doing video, I thought the idea of making a video about your day in 90 seconds was great, so I gave it a shot:

that’s shot in toronto, canada, where i’m living at the moment.

in the morning i was working, i was on the computer.. as you can see

around 3pm we drove out to goodwill, which is far out

beautiful surprise to see the first snow of the season, it got cold

my friend got a ladder, lol

lisa drove both ways

my night/dinner was not recorded

i shot everything. all the music is what i was listening to

Poorleno mixtape link!!!!

made in costa rica my site!

"Yesterday, in video. Shot throughout the day, put together and uploaded today. You should do the same. And when you do, put it in the My Day, Yesterday group. Don’t add any music or anything, only what’s recorded via the camera."

Take a look at this screenshot:

That right there was done in about 20 seconds with a new feature Adobe’s Photoshop CS4 will have. Check out the screencast made by one of Adobe’s engineers. It feels to me so logical to be able to do it, yet we have never been able to do this. It makes me excited for the future of software development, considering the powerful computers we use.

immigration. it always is so complicated. migrating to costa rica is a pain for nicaraguans, as it is for ticos the other way around. migrating in central america is easier, they’re more open. mexico is hard, which is funny because of the issues they have going up north. i believe the system is broken and needs to be fixed, but for now all i can do is work my way around it.

there’s this whole other thing about immigration too; making a life somewhere else is fucking hard work, it requires dedication and lots of small talk… seriously, if you are bad with people, or find yourself not really giving a damn about what others think and do, stay where you are. you will need friends, and you’ll have to make them, go out, talk & listen and be cool.

anyway, i have found that there’s always nice people, but there’s something to be said about the latin culture, and the friendliness of it. back home, people go out of their way to be helpful to you whereas here they don’t give a shit.

there’s so many immigrants though, take a look at the united states, los angeles for example, a city where 50% of the population is foreign born, and look at how hard it is for immigrants to have fucking rights… which reminds me

the other day i was at an american apparel store and found out about a program (called legalize la) they have where the corporation as a whole advocates for immigrants and their rights within the US and call for a reform on the immigration law.

now that is something. it’s coming from a corporation with thousands of immigrants working in LA, and it’s a big feat. that they are speaking up.

let’s change this whole thing. our world as we know it, came to be by, -yah, you guessed it- immigrating.

have a good day, and think about going somewhere, move, or travel, and then, maybe, immigrate somewhere for the experience!

So I’m on the third day of the Ignite the Americas forum and wanted to share some quick thoughts.

It’s an amazing initiative backed by Canada Heritage and OAE. There are about 70 delegates from all latin american countries and all of us work in areas that revolve around youth and arts. It’s the first time a group this diverse gets together for a week to actually work on policies, toolkits and networks which will be then pitched to actual OEA members on a very special meeting happening tomorrow.

Youth are often neglected, but there is no doubt some people are out there trying to make things better and give us a voice, and it’s our job to actually make it count.

I’ll be doing my best to make a difference.

This morning some of us are actually going to the Taking it Global offices, which will for sure be really interesting.

Being in transit is always weird. You're not here, but you're not there yet... In a way we are always in transit through life, what you are now is not what you will be for the rest of your life, whatever is going on in your life, keep in mind it's temporary, and you can always change.

Lately I've been writing a lot about youth, new media, and social change. As a youth who uses technology in all of my work, I'm constantly on my laptop, or toying about with my mobile phone on the subway. I love it, live it, write it, research it-- yet yesterday when I was trying to type out my final Plan of Study for my Masters I froze up. This weird bizarre tingly feeling in my hands... no it's my wrist... fingers.... everywhere? It's been happening more and more lately. After over 20 years of exposure to computers, my hands are starting to give on me. Last year it was my finger joints, and now it's more of this radiated tingling that makes me paranoid as I try to bang off essays on how technology is creating a whirl of social change.

As I go into full thesis production mode this discovery is worrying. Google informs me that I'm not alone in my strange tingling. Others have experienced similar sensations. The conundrum is that I never felt like this before I had my iPhone. Somehow having a computer processor nested so close to my palm makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. As well, right after I announced my thesis project, Toronto Public Health decided to publish a study stating that teens should limit their talk time to 10 minutes a day.

So in diving into this world of mobile communications one comes across barriers. Now that the rose colours have started to fade, I find myself at a crossroads. First off, am I addicted to technology so much that I can't reduce my usage to improve my heath? And secondly, in covering the potential of mobile communications among youth activists am I in turn endorsing it as a solution for youth engagement? I think that as academics it is important that we explore all sides of the coin before jumping to conclusions but I think that it would be dishonest not to mention the health risks of such over exposure. The question is, is there any going back?

It’s been about a month or more since I’ve blogged, a month or more since I left Toronto, and a month or more that I’ve been traveling across Central America. Technically there is plenty to blog about, but I’ve found myself at a loss for time. In between planning travel logistics, attending the International AIDS Conference, and finishing off work contracts and school essays I’ve found myself short on blog time. As I set off for the International AIDS Conference last month with my iPhone clutched in hand I vowed to be a model global citizen and blog my experiences to the world. Now over a month later I can look back and acknowledge my idealism. The realities of being an AIDS Conference blogger are tough, combined with the forces of poor internet access, overwhelmed networks, and short bursts of free time that are arguably better spent getting to know the finer parts of Mexico City-- Tepito markets, luchador lockdowns, Volkswagen jitter bugs, rumbling metros with fresh literary treats, magnificent murals, and cafes con leche at the legendary Café Tacuba. Mexico City is one of my favorite cities in the world and it did not disappoint. I spent the majority of the time with my conference crew, some of whom had a better time finding time to blog, like Kate J from Unpacking Development. The conference was an incredible experience, and I attended a number of amazing workshops that are worth mentioning. Focusing my time mostly on youth and harm reduction streamed activities, I learned about the struggles of convincing governments that needle exchanges actually work, the tribulations of providing services for the youth who are most at-risk, convincing youth that harm reduction and peer-education are cool, and the various ways that NGOs are working to change that. I met some pretty amazing dedicated activists and researchers, and it was great to connect with people from Toronto who are usually too busy to hang out.

From the conference Josue and I ran off to some tranquility to try and pound through some work, mainly final subtitling videos and updating the VIVA! Project’s website. Drupal has been a journey in itself (as you can see yourself as an unlogged in anonymous user), but we are finally getting somewhere and the site should be running fine by the end of the month. Between traveling south and finishing off work somewhere on the coast of Oaxaca I get this email from Helena telling us about a conference coming up in September for Ignite the Americas. I had gone to the Ignite Youth Arts Forum last year and it blew me away. I immediately forwarded it to Josue and now weeks later he received his acceptance. Bouncing from one conference onto another, it’s hard to find time to blog, but now we’re finally back in Costa Rica for a week enjoying our home here for the last stretch. After passing through so many countries on our bus journey from Mexico to Costa Rica, I can honestly say that this feels like home and is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Yet I have to say goodbye for now, as grad school is calling. Better get back to those papers, including finishing up my work on new media on mobilerevolutions.org.

This one’s in spanish. Por qué no?. Es sobre Twitter.

Yo siempre he sido un mae muy involucrado con la tecnología y siempre he estado metido en internet. Tengo muchas amistades “virtuales” (que son más reales que muchas otras, pero me imagino que esto le pasa a más de uno), en fín, yo he escrito bastante sobre servicios en internet para varios blogs en “mis tiempos”, me acuerdo de servicios que ya ni existen, me acuerdo cuando otros estaban comenzando, y he visto otros crecer y crecer (vamos al punto).

Uno de esos es el famoso Twitter, que en este momento pasa por unos tiempos no tan buenos pero necesarios para seguir expandiendose. Nació hace como 2 años y resto, en su momento era algo así como un experimento, los tipos que lo hicieron fueron los mismos detras de Odeo (que si no se acuerdan, fue uno de los pioneros en el campo del podcasting, hasta que Apple incluyó la funcionalidad de podcasts en iTunes y les mató el negocio), ni se llamaba Twitter en ese entonces, era twittr, o algo así. En fín, apenas escuché del servicio me fui a probarlo.

En ese tiempo nadie estaba acostumbrado al concepto de microblogging, ese de publicar ideas en pocas palabras (forzadamente), los blogs eran todo, las personalidades de la web 2.0 (ese grupito, ya saben) atraían gente a sus blogs y eso era todo. Ahora todo esto ha cambiado, Twitter empezó a atraer a más y más gente y se convirtió en un medio de comunicación muy importante, tanto que muchos lo que hacen es tratar de tener bastantes seguidores, más gente esuchando, y en este medio eso ha probado ser hasta más valioso que lectores en un blog, en fín, los tipos que lo hacían le fueron dedicando más esfuerzo (hasta que ahora es una compañía aparte), me acuerdo el primer SXSW en el que twitter fue usado (creo que el año pasado), sus números se dispararon, y de ahi así siguió.

Personalmente lo que me llamó la atención fue esa facilidad de publicar tonteras, de comunicarme fácilmente con tanta gente, y ver lo que todos hacen. La verdad, no fue hasta este año que encontré a algún tico en Twitter, siempre estuve viendo como muchos en Twitter eran del mismo lugar y compartían más cosas, en general relacionadas a que estaban en el mismo país (discutiendo noticias locales, etc), lo que fuera. En especifico, amigos chilenos tomaron Twitter y lo hicieron suyo hace tiempo, la comunidad chilena es grande, y tienen muy buenas conversaciones, siempre estuve celoso, porque hablaban en español, porque estaban sacandole el jugo a Twitter.

Como sabemos todo ha cambiado y la comunidad Tica en Twitter crece cada día. Por eso escribo esto, porqué me denominaron pionero de Twitter en ticolandia, la verdad en el sentido de que fui el primer tico en usarlo, puede ser, pero nunca he hecho mucho por hablar de Twitter, y cuando lo he hecho y logro que abran cuentas, nunca lo terminan usando, nunca lo entienden.

En fín, al mejor estilo me despido en 140 letras, encantado con Twitter, igual que hace dos años. Y me imagino que se va a poner mucho mejor.

Growing up digital has heavily influenced the course of my life. The first computer I used was an old Macintosh at age four years old. From then on it was love. When I was eight I taught myself Photoshop, and was always playing with programs like Kidpix. As a teenager I kept a website, found free hosting and got donated a domain name by a fan and made awesome mashup art. It was in the days before blogging, and things like message boards and IRC were hot.

Right from the start of my digital education, I have been self-taught. In the spirit of the open knowledge commons that are embedded in the internet's founding principles, anything that I didn't know how to do on a computer I could find a tutorial on. Growing up with the internet has taught me to conceptualize knowledge in a different way. I see knowledge as networked, with every issue connected. I also see solutions in terms of networks, looking at how we can work together and share knowledge to empower our communities.

I spent some time today on Nacion.com, the website for the biggest local newspaper, and found out none of the videos they have can actually be played. If you go to the site the videos are at the bottom, and when I open them I get this message in the flash player window where the video is supposed to play:

Player can not detect browser cookies. Please, enable them and reload the page in order to show the content.

Using Safari 3, with cookies obviously enabled. But the truth is they should have tested their video solution on all platforms and browsers, putting the functionality on the site only to have it fail on users simply pisses them off, like it did to me.

It blows my mind that the guys running this site couldn’t get video right. I mean, video online in 2008 is not a difficult thing to do. Not at all. By any means. We’ll see if they get it right.