Rustig zaterdag rondje, ging als vanzelf. Omdat het jaapgpad weer probleemloos berijdbaar is (de werkzaamheden aan de brug zijn beëindigd) eens naar het noorden gereden. En zo verrast door de schoonheid van het Maasdal en hoe dichtbij het bos tussen Rekem en Gelik eigenlijk is. Ik was er niet meer geweest sinds, wat, begin juni? Belachelijk warm, zonnig, zelfs benauwd en bijna windstil. Kanne – kanaal – Smeermaas – Rekem – Gelik – kanaal – Kanne

There’s now a huge map of the Meuse – Rhine Euregio on the wall next to my studio at the Jan van Eyck. My neighbour-researchers of the Traces of Autism-project are responsible for it (http://www.janvaneyck.nl/0_3_3_research_info/tracesofautism.html). They have xeroxed all the 1:25.000 maps & glued them together. It’s exactly the area that my cycling-tours cover. The map has my warm attention & I’ve already spent quite some time looking at it, exchanging knowledge about the area with whomever happened to be there.

Here’s Ron Bernstein — also a cyclist — looking at the map.

Dertig graden. Dertig graden? En dat op 21 september en bij stralend zonnig weer. In het Vesdredal was het ‘puffen’. Laatste langere toch van t jaar (denk ik — tenzij ik op mooie oktoberdagen nog eens de Ardennen opzoek. Het is langzamerhand mooi geweest.) Vandaag een aantal Vesdreklims die ik nog niet kende (Rue Pierre Blanche, Cote de Casmatrie, Col de Ninane, Hansez) en de Rue sur Steppes en de Nid d’ Aiguesses voor een 2e keer. Per ongeluk voorbij Saive ook wat fraaie nieuwe weggetjes gevonden. Het was wel de dag van de wegenwerken — zo kon ik de Bois de Beyne niet rijden (werd juist van nieuw asfalt voorzien) en stootte ik 3x op opgebroken wegen.

Kanne – kanaal – Hermalle ss Argenteau – Wixhou – St. Remy – Housse – Barchon – Saive – Tignee – Evegnee – Retinne – Fleron – Rue de Beyne – Beyne – Vaux ss Chevremont – Chaudfontaine – Rue Pierre Blanche – Lemettrie – Beole – omkeren en afdalen – Casmatrie – Cote de Casmatrie – Lemettrie – Chaudfontaine – Ninane – Beaufays – Rue Walthine – Rue de ‘Abbaye – ri. Trooz – rechtsaf omhoog – door het bos, Rue des Bruyeres o.a. – onverhard – Andoumont – Trooz – Fraipont – Rue sur Steppes – Banneux – Tancremont – Pepinster – Nid d’Aiguesse – Ensival – Pepinster – Nessonvaux – Hansez – St. Hadelin – ri., Ayeneux – Wegimont – Micheroux – Retinne – Tignee – Saive – Housse – St. Remy – Vise – kanaal – Kanne

(hmm, sorry for bad quality….)

Prachtig nazomerweer. Zon, beetje zuidoostenwind & zo’n 24 graden. 16.00 – 19.30. Rondje Haspengouw via fietsknooppunten (soms wel heel erg draaien en keren, bij Tongeren zelfs rechtsaf en na 5 meter weer rechtsaf, en een raar rondje bij Vechmaal om een extra kerk te zien. Eerst richting Alden Biesen, dan 108 – 109 – 119 – 130 – 120 – 139 – doorsteken via Haren naar Bommershoven – 156 – 157 – 133 – 127 – 118 – 117 – 128 – 129 – 107 – 111 – 113 – 86 – doorsteken richting 87 – 80 – 402; oftewel (min of meer): Kanne – Vroenhoven – Lafelt – Vlijtingen – Grote Spouwen – Alden Biesen – Werm – Neerrepen – Kolmont – Haren – Bommershoven – Heks – Vechmaal – Henis – Berg – Genoelselderen – Herderen – Zichen – Eben – Kanne

I just quoted Dan Perkel: “Certainly, it provides an introduction to the medium, and some even may learn more about HTML and CSS as a part of trying to customize their profiles. However, the way in which the MySpace designers use CSS works completely against the point of style sheets” — and that is exactly the problem with MySpace (or MSN or whatever of those kind of environments). They might on the one hand provide some sort of introduction to learning HTML, learning how to express oneself, but it does it in a (relatively) closed-off environment — it will not dawn easily on the users how easy it is to actually just make a website oneself, that HTML can be used freely, and has many more possibilities than those offered within MySpace &c. (Of course MySpace offers a lot of functionalities very easily that are much more difficult to ‘get’ if one would like to do everything oneself).

What is the “bandwidth” of expressivity that MySpace provides? That a certain kind of blogging-software provides? That HMTL provides?

Rationally I understand why people use MySpace and are attracted to it. Personally, –qua feeling — I must say that I don’t get why people like to spend time in (on) such a ugly, yes even clunky (slow loading, players that don’t work immediately &c.) environment.

But then “they” might find this blog totally unattractive…

Just quickly read 2 articles that seemed interesting.

“Structure of Self-Organized Blogosphere” — (language: international english of the Chinese variety) — pdf here: http://arxiv.org/pdf/math.ST/0607361. Which is ‘one of those’ statistical analyses of linking in the blogosphere. Conclusions: ‘the blogging network has small-world property’ and the distribution of links-in and links-out follows a power-law. In other words: here’s a sort of statistical ‘proof’ of the common knowledge that a few celebrity blogs receive lots of incoming links, and most blogs hardly receive links. I’m not so interested in this kind of network-research, it seems to be more about (statistical/mathematical) network-theory, than about communication, flow of information &c. tho’ it’s possible that I miss the point.

“Copy and Paste Literacy: Literacy Practices in the Production of a MySpace Profile – An Overview” by Dan Perkel strikes me as more interesting: a simple and to the point analysis of how MySpace is used. He argues that one could see MySpace as an “informal learning environment that fosters the development of new literacies”. One could state that of a lot of similar enviroments and softwares, I’d say, yet this overview, accompanied by different theories about ‘literacy’ I found worthwhile reading. It is clear and straightforward in its approach — looking at how copy & pasting of code, links, images, music and video is used in MySpace. Although, again it does not go further than confirming what one (well, I) already believe(s). But that’s no so bad… Text is online here: http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/~dperkel/media/dperkel_literacymyspace.pdf.

Found these papers thanks to http://jilltxt.net.

Perkel points to the ‘problem’, for theories of literacy, that copy&paste and remixing is generally not seen as ‘writing’. (Well, he writes: “However, the importance of copying and pasting code does not easily fit in the common conventions of reading and writing, consumption and production.”) But what if we’d go back to antique rhetorics, where learning to deal with the tropes and commonplaces, is part of learning to write & construct an argument. To really make that analogy would be stretching the point — yet I’d say that ‘writing’ is also learning to use “pre-fab elements” in a good way. (And then the question is: what is that good way?)

Nice (well, useful, quotable) quotes:

“Genre is the conceptual glue that binds social activity to technical activity. In order to understand what literacy might be, one must pay attention to the particularities of social activity, to the particularities of media, and also to the generic forms and competencies that groups share in their use of a media.” (p. 3)

“Bakhtin argues that, “genres must be fully mastered in order to be manipulated freely,” implying both a mastery of both recognizing generic forms and using them, or generic competencies (80).” (p. 6)

“HTML and CSS, like other programming languages, encourage a particular way of thinking about problems. For example, learning to use them requires learning how to think modularly. The rhetoric concerning the separation of content and style, however useful, embodies a certain way of understanding communication.” (p. 8)

“The idea that same message in different form is still the same message implies that social context of use, the specifics of the activity, and the specifics of the medium have little importance in determining meaning. Regardless of how one feels about this rhetoric, learning to think this way, uncritically, may have important consequences.” (p. 8)

“[H]ow good of a learning environment is MySpace for mastering the representational form and technical competency of web programming? Certainly, it provides an introduction to the medium, and some even may learn more about HTML and CSS as a part of trying to customize their profiles. However, the way in which the MySpace designers use CSS works completely against the point of style sheets.” (p. 8) (Hear me say: “right you are!”)

Now go on to read: Henry Jenkins, “Learning by Remixing”: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/07/learning_by_remixing.html.

Finally taking a look at SPIP — a CMS of French origin, ‘logiciel libre’. Used most in Spain, Italy and France, and much less for English context: http://www.spip.net/.

Uploaded (to my flickr-account) about 30 more photo’s of arrows, letters and other signs painted or sprayed on the road to indicate cycling routes. When I first got the idea to make an inventory of these signs around Kanne, I thought I would end up with 25, well, maybe 40 photos. I have now 64 (haven’t checked for doublures). I did not upload all of them. Moreover, I estimate that I haven’t photographed about 20 yet. My idea to also give an indication of the route itself will probably never be realized. And certainly I will not supplement this series with photos of all the other signs for cycling routes (stickers, forgotten plastic arrows on traffic signs, the various ‘fietsknooppuntenbordjes’ &c.). http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariealt/.

De tweede dag van de Mergelheuvellandtweedaagse meegereden. Of grotendeels dan toch. Na een heel seizoen zonder cyclosportieven, zonder toertochten. Het was leuk — al was de tweede helft van de lange zondagroute wat minder interessant. (De zaterdagrit was natuurlijk veel aantrekkelijker: in de 160 kilometer versie zat de Rue des Heyds naar Fleron).

Eindelijk heb ik ook mijn vlindergewicht eer aan gedaan: tientallen ben ik er voorbijgereden op de Cote de Beusdaal, Schweiberg, Gulpenerberg, Kruisberg, Eyserbosweg en Dode Man — ook de ‘diesels’ die ik op het vlakke had laten rijden. Ik had eerlijk gezegd niet verwacht dat men gemiddeld zo langzaam omhoog zou rijden — of zelfs lopen. (Misschien zaten de goeie rijders veel verder voorin? Ik startte erg laat). Alleen op de helling van De Heeg richting Cadier en Keer werd ik eruit gesprint; maar niet nadat ik 100 meter had dichtgereden op de diesels die ik op het vlakke had laten rijden, en nadat ik tot mijn verbazing met een paar halen meteen maar iedereen voorbijreed. Tja, twee man klampten aan, sprinten me er vervolgens uit. Op het vlakke is het voor mij aanklampen, maar ‘bergop’ reden weinigen zo hard als ik. Ik had niet het gevoel dat het uitzonderlijke moeite koste. Het geeft natuurlijk wel moraal om er steeds zoveel in te halen. De zon kwam niet door de mist heen. Het was een lekkere 20 graden. Perfect voor mij.

Kanne – kanaal – Lixhe – Moelingen – Gravensvoeren – Mesch – start – Warsage – Neufchateau – Les Waides – St. Jean de Sart – Goirhe – Neeraubel – Pietersvoeren – Krindaal – De Plank – Remersdaal – Teuven – Beusdal – Sippenaeken – Epen – Camerig – Rott – Schweiberg – Gulpen – Gulpenerberg – Partij – Wahlwiller – Kruisberg – Eys – Eyserbosweg – Wijlre – Stokhem – Dode Man – Scheulder – IJzeren – Sibbe – Valkenburg – Cauberg – Vilt – Geulhem – Geulhemmerberg – Terblijt – Bemelen – Roese Kuilen – Cadier en Keer – Bronckweg – De Heeg – Cadier en Keer – Gronsveld – Moerslag – Mesch – Moelingen – Lixhe – Lanaye – Kanne

I walk into De Slegte in Maastricht regularly, I pass it on my way to the HEMA & am close when I go to the AH. This afternoon I walked out again with a well-filled plastic bag. Two cheap dvd’s with old horror-movies (Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains) (for the shared dvd-o-theque of F., my brother & me). The 1946 Modern Library edition of Ulysses. The 1969 hardback of Ida Gerhardts translation of Virgils Georgica that I read earlier this year & quite liked. Gilbert Sorrentino’s postmodern classic Mulligan Stew. In Amsterdam going to the public library every week prevents me from making these kind of acquisitions.