Makers of Universes. A Directory of Immersive Things

How about a bacon flavored Treasure Island on Kindle? Brilliant, I wish they were nuts enough to do it for real:

Does your Kindle leave you feeling like there’s something missing from your reading experience?

Have you been avoiding e-books because they just don’t smell right?

If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the e-book bandwagon, you’re not alone. Book lovers everywhere have resisted digital books because they still don’t compare to the experience of reading a good old fashioned paper book.

But all of that is changing thanks to Smell of Books™, a revolutionary new aerosol e-book enhancer.

Now you can finally enjoy reading e-books without giving up the smell you love so much. With Smell of Books™ you can have the best of both worlds, the convenience of an e-book and the smell of your favorite paper book.

Smell of Books™ is compatible with a wide range of e-reading devices and e-book formats and is 100% DRM-compatible. Whether you read your e-books on a Kindle or an iPhone using Stanza, Smell of Books™ will bring back that real book smell you miss so much.

http://smellofbooks.com/

Celebrating the ride’s 50th anniversary, Disney gives us a rare Inside look at the Matterhorn at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

[via Cool Infographics]

The Sweden Solar System is the world’s largest model of our planetary system, at a scale of 1:20 million. The Sun is represented by the Globe arena in Stockholm, the largest spherical building in the world. The planets are placed and sized according to scale with the inner planets being in Stockholm and Jupiter (diameter 7.3 m) at the International airport Arlanda. The outer planets follow in the same direction with Saturn in Uppsala and Pluto in Delsbo, 300 km from the Globe. At each planet station, exhibits provide information about astronomy and the natural sciences, and also about related mythology and culture. The Stockholm Visitor’s Board (former Stockholm Information Service) was a sponsor of the project in the beginning, like several museums, theaters, parks and scientific institutions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_Solar_System

The Mapparium is a three-story tall glass globe of stained glass that is viewed from a 30 foot long bridge through its interior. It is a unique and famous exhibit at the Christian Science Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts.

Located with a few other exhibits in The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity, a non-religious public museum and library, the globe is illuminated from the exterior so that the details of its construction can be easily seen.

Built in 1935 and based upon Rand McNally political maps published the previous year, the Mapparium shows the political world as it was at that time, including such long-disused labels as Italian East Africa and Siam, as well as more-recently defunct political entities such as the Soviet Union. In 1939, 1958, and 1966 the Church considered updating the map, but rejected it on the basis of cost and the special interest it holds as an historical artifact.

The Mapparium was designed to allow the countries of the world to be viewed in accurate geographical relationship to each other. It is usually assumed that a globe solves this problem; but since it is viewed from the outside, different parts of the globe are at different distances from the eye and are thus distorted by perspective.

Hence the specially accurate effect gained by viewing the Mapparium—a mirror-image, concave reversal of the Earth—from within. This is the only configuration that places the eye at the same distance from every point on the map.

Andrew Sinclair’s comments show the success of this idea

The Mapparium is so large, and you can see so much of it at once (because it’s concave instead of convex), that you can really get an idea of relative sizes and distances. For example, you can see why a plane from London to San Francisco flies over Washington and Oregon. You also notice just how far north the United States, Europe, and Asia are. Standing at the equator, you really have to strain your neck to see them.

The hard spherical surface of the globe reflects sound and produces striking acoustical effects. It forms a remarkable whispering gallery so that visitors standing at corresponding locations near opposite ends the bridge can speak to each other and be heard as if they were standing next to each other. One visitor writes:

“There are many whispering galleries around the world, such as in St Paul’s Cathedral in London, or the Echo Wall in Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. However, the Mapparium is different in that speaking in any direction, since it is a full sphere, will result in the same effect. Furthermore, standing in the middle of the sphere and speaking produces the unnerving effect of hearing yourself in surround sound with startling clarity.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapparium

http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/exhibits/mapparium

Just watch it.

Robert Rice of Neogence at Mobile Monday Amsterdam

Patterns and challenges in the evolution of immersive entertainment, virtual worlds and the 3D Web.
Also, all the wrongest things you could possibly say at a virtual worlds conference.

Tune in-to or out-of information. As technology becomes transparent, information becomes ubiquitous and connections grow exponentially, we are more and more immersed in an information scape. Rather than receiving or seeking information we inhabit information bubbles made of the sounds generated by our connections. Which also means, that we communicate more and more exactly like swarms do.

I’ve been involved recently with research about status updates with the folks @Social Media Lab so I was pretty interested in the video in itself. But what made it even more interesting is that it frames status updates into the broader contest of the history of communication, showing how the use of status updates to communicate and keep up with friends is the corner stone of a new way of engaging with mediated communication, the ambient model of communication.

And in this respect status updates also represent the missing link between personal media and immersive media.

Status updates explained from quub.com on Vimeo.

To accommodate the surge of social information a new communication model has emerged based on status updates. Traditionally, if you want to know what a friend is doing, you have to actively ask him. And he would reply reactively. This works fine until your social network grows larger and larger and larger and the process of contacting each person individually requires too much time and effort. In the ambient model all your contacts are constantly broadcasting information they think their social network might be interested in. So if you want to know what your friends are up to you simply tun in to or tune out of their updates. You hear only what you want to hear. Everyone else’s broadcasts are just ambient noise until you decide to tune in.

‘Underdrome’ is a new immersive production from choreographer Darren Johnston that takes place from May 22-24 at the Roundhouse in London. A 360 degree experience combining dance, voices, music and video to generate a sense of presence into the space of representation.

Underdrome has been created specially for the Roundhouse, in response to its architecture and heritage. As well as 30 dancers and a 100-strong choir, it brings together artists at the forefront of their field, including visual artist/animator (and Autechre/Leila collaborator) Michael England, plus set designers Block 9. The production also features an integrated soundtrack mixed live by Zan Lyons, juxtaposing classic material from Warp Records artists alongside other electronic musicians – Vladislav Delay, Murcof and Seaming – and specially commissioned new pieces. The soundtrack is devised and performed in collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra.

In addition to Underdrome, Johnston has created another new work called Ousia - which promises to “blend innovative projection technology with Victorian illusion”. Ousia is free and viewable in The Dorfman Hub, beneath the Roundhouse’s Main Space.

Roundhouse artist-in-residence, Darren Johnston, is a choreographer, performer and sound/video artist whose distinct, innovative productions have won awards and recognition across Europe and beyond. In 2003 he created, directed and performed in Silicon Sensorium at the South Bank Centre, which featured an original sound score by Squarepusher. And in 2005 he choreographed the Aphex Twin/Chris Cunningham gig at the Traffic Festival in Turin.

Show Dates and Tickets here