Confab : A Conversational Card Game
“rules: Get a load of blank cards; at least ten per person. Everyone then scribbles arbitrary conversational sentences (“Hello.” “How are you?” “Yes.” “No.” “You’re very tall.”) onto the cards, until they’re all covered.
Shuffle them all together, deal five to each person and leave a face-down draw pile.
Taking turns, players must either play a card from their hand that follows conversationally from the previous card (or opens the conversation, if they’re the first to play), or – if they can’t go – draw a new card from the draw pile.
If playing with more than three players, each card played should be directed at another person – he or she must take the next turn. (Generally speaking, answers to questions must be directed back to the questioner, but go with whatever makes sense in context.)
When a player passes, the previous player gets another go – they can treat the pass as a pause in conversation, if they like.
Resolve disputed plays via persuasive debate, or a simple vote. The first player to empty their hand wins.”
“conclusion: It sounds a bit of a throwaway game, but there’s a good level of strategy and humour to it; the ‘offensiveness’ and ‘defensiveness’ of particular sentences, the vagueness of wildcards, the general effect of cartoon characters communicating via pre-written signboards.
Language is a game, after all.”
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March 16th, 2005
Shortfall : A Search Engine Game
” Shortfall is a search engine game where players attempt to find a given URL through a search engine, so that their search returns it in the top ten but not at number one.
It’s about trying to capture the essence of a Web page without nailing it precisely, and of seeing what else turns up. It’s about the appreciation of the holistic Internet, the contemplation of its overlap and ridiculing your friends.”
“Game Structure
A player names a specific URL, of a site which the players are all pretty much equally familiar or unfamiliar with. They can also choose whether people have to find that precise URL, or just any subpage of that URL. (If you’re playing for subpages, indented #2 results don’t count.)
Everyone then has a single attempt to find that exact URL through a search engine, with a query of their choice. The aim is to get the URL in the top ten results, but not the first result.
(Searches are made “simultaneously” – you aren’t allowed to see what the other players did before you make your query. If you’re playing online through a MUSH or a messenger, just make your query before reading the other people’s responses.)
If nobody hit the target page, everyone has another go. Keep going until someone gets it, or until it starts looking impossible (either because the URL is always top, or because it’s not in the search engine at all).
Someone else then nominates a URL for the next round.
Repeat until bored.
Scoring:
The game is aesthetic and entertaining enough to play for its own sake, but if you really want to keep score, players can be awarded a point for every successful hit, and a bonus point if that hit was the second result.
Whoever has the most points when everyone becomes bored is the winner.”
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March 16th, 2005
The Prior-Art-O-Matic
“It’s a series of randomly-generated product ideas! It raises questions about the nature of prior art in patenting issues, has some inspiring ideas, and is occasionally amusing!”
“It’s a handgun that kills ants! It costs less than �20.”
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March 16th, 2005
Sheep Poetry Generator
Sheep Poetry: Inspired by “an exciting fusion of poetry and quantum physics”
Herded by Kevan : 4.12.02
“Click a sheep to shuffle them, or line them up”
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March 16th, 2005
“Open Space is an independent, interactive and creative public space where civil society organisations and public-spirited citizens can interact, debate and initiate action on social justice and development issues .
Located in Pune, Maharashtra, India, Open Space uses social documentary and political feature films, experimental theatre, literature, lectures, workshops, readings, focus-group meetings and the music of protest to encourage citizens to talk, think and act for change.
We offer video and DVD screening facilities, a growing library and cross-sectoral documentation centre, a reading room with various national and international publications and the use of Internet facilities for research. Alternative publications and fair trade practice products are available for sale.
Open Space is an initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies (CCDS), a social change resource centre that uses strategic and innovative communication processes to inform, initiate and inspire change in societal attitudes and public policy.
Visit our website for news, resources and information:
http://www.openspaceindia.org
Address:
Venu Madhav 5 th floor, Prabhat Road, 14 th Lane (Opp Income Tax Office) Pune 411 004, India Phone: 91-20-2545 7371”
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March 16th, 2005
Spamusement Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines
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March 14th, 2005
Business We Believe In
“The next Swapathgami Walkouts-Walkons gathering will be an intergenerational exchange on Business We Believe In. This would bring together young people interested in starting their own businesses, with those who have begun businesses in diverse fields: organic foods, artisan crafts, publishing, restaurants, consulting, and more…
What sets these businesses (and their founders) apart is their commitment to both challenge the violence, exploitation and injustice prevalent today, as well as to regenerate a more healthy, balanced and honest world. They serve as examples of how walking out and walking on can be possible, even as we earn what we need to stand on our own feet. The integrity and truthfulness of such work especially in this day of cutthroat competition and insatiable greed makes it inspiring for swapathgamis.
We anticipate holding this gathering in March 31-April 3, 2005, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. About 12-15 entrepreneurs, as well as about 15-20 younger swapathgamis, will attend the gathering.
The gathering would have multiple dimensions. First, we hope to share stories of starting up such businesses: the challenges and opportunities. We also want to include some support in practical skills like setting up a space (office or shop), nurturing a team, managing money/accounts, etc. During the gathering, we will also give people a chance to share their business proposals and form useful contacts with more experienced friends.
We would also take the time to explore issues and possibilities like local currencies, fair trade, real needs and voluntary simplicity, redefining our relationship to the market, etc. And, of course, as with all Swapathgami gatherings, there would be an emphasis on sharing and exploring all parts of the self, our different interests, talents, dreams and experiences.
We hope to explore questions like:
- What are our passions, talents and inner convictions ?
- What are the current needs and interests of the community we live in ?
- What kind of business would serve our communities in the long term, to enhance its well-being, to recover its balance, and to contribute to greater justice?
- What are the tools and resources we can share to start such a business?
If you are interested in being a part of this gathering, or have suggestions for others to include, please contact Shilpa Jain at shilpa [at] swaraj.org
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March 13th, 2005
The Doppler Effect
“The name of the train is Sabarmati. He realises that he is at the Baroda railway station. As the train stops at the platform, he leans over and lights a cigarette from one of the burning coaches. The platform is crowded with every kind of animal now, but their bloodshot eyes can’t see him. Some terrified bunch of Muslims comes out of the train. They are immediately stabbed, and blood is everywhere. Standing in one place, without motion, the Fadereu is invisible.”
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March 9th, 2005
India’s Barefoot Reporters Tell Their Own Story
Using the ‘Sangham Shot’
That difference is demonstrated in a short film, “The Sangham Shot,” that tells the story of this group of women and their approach to film-making. They spurn what they call the “patel shot,” which views subjects from above, affording the viewpoint of feudal landlords, also known as patels, and the “slave shot,” which views subjects from below. Instead they choose the “sangham shot,” face-to-face with the subject. “In the sanghams we are all equals,” explains Chinna Narsamma. “So we call an eye-level shot a sangham shot.”
DDS video reporters with women agricultural laborersOne of their most significant films, “Why Are Warangal Farmers Angry with
BT Cotton?”
exposed the unhappy experiences of farmers in Andhra Pradesh who had experimented with BT cotton—a genetically modified variety promoted by an international conglomerate. Tracking the experiences of half a dozen farmers over the months between planting and harvesting, the women recorded their despair as the crop failed to live up to hyped promises. In a remarkable final sequence, angry farmers swore on film that they would never touch BT again.
In 2001 they established an independent, rural, women’s media collective, the DDS Community Media Trust, to help produce and promote their work.
The media collective, based in Pastapur, also has a radio facility in Machnoor village, which is run by three Dalit women. Although they have been making radio programs since 1999, they can only “narrowcast” them by distributing audiocassettes to eager village audiences.
This is because actual community broadcasting has not yet been legalized in India. At present the government restricts it to educational institutions and a couple of other categories into which these women’s video and radio groups don’t fit.”
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March 9th, 2005
Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI)
“The Network of Women in Media, India, is an association which aims to provide a forum for women in media professions to share information and resources, exchange ideas, promote media awareness and ethics, and work for gender equality and justice within the media and society.
The Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), is an informal, non-hierarchical organisation comprising women journalists and others working in or on the media. It is currently linked to autonomous local collectives of mediawomen in about a dozen places across the country.
Members at the first NWMI national workshop held in New Delhi in January 2002
The NWMI is an autonomous body committed to democracy and gender justice within the organisation and in society. The basic aims and objectives of the network, evolved through discussion and debate, are:
- To consolidate, support and strengthen women in media
- To promote media awareness / critique
- To promote professionalism, ethics and social responsibility in journalism
- To share information and resources”
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March 9th, 2005
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