Woman "Kills" Virtual Husband, Faces Jail Time

Relating to Participation...

"Ever heard the phrase, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" Well, that applies to the online world just as much as in real life. One Japanese man found this out the hard way recently when his virtual "wife" in MapleStory got so angry that she effectively killed his online avatar (via Yahoo News).

The 43-year-old woman carried out the digital murder after the 33-year-old man suddenly "divorced" her in the game. She was quoted as saying, "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry." So angry, in fact, that she used login information she got from her former "husband" to access his account and then kill his character. The man notified police when he realized his avatar was dead, and the woman was arrested on "suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data." She hasn't been formally charged yet, but she could face up to five years in prison or a $5000 fine.

Fellas, let this be a lesson to you: never EVER give out your personal info to people you meet online. No, not even to your virtual spouses."

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170900

Urban Font

This isn't relevant to the creative industries discussion at hand, but I saw this today and thought it was an interesting representation of the intersection between art and industry that we've been studying: a font assembled entirely from images of powerlines.

Takes a while to load, but without further ado — Garamond Powerline

Vicki's List

1. Make Music Cambridge (Core)
Contact:
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA 02238
www.makemusiccambridge.com

Mission:
"Make Music Cambridge is based on France's Fête de la Musique, which has been a great success for over 25 years. Since its inauguration, the festival has become an international phenomenon, celebrated on the same day in more than 300 cities over 108 countries, including Germany, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Australia, Vietnam, Congo, Cameroon, Togo, Columbia, Chile, Mongolia, and Japan."

Industry:
Performance

2. WRCA 1330 AM (Periphery)
Contact:
552 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 492-3300

Mission:
The station's mission is to play Spanish and Haitian Creole music.

Industry:
Broadcast

3. The Plough and Stars (Periphery)
Contact:
912 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 576-0032

Mission:
"The Plough and Stars features great music! Everything from blues to rock to country to sounds that can't be described. This eclectic mix has made the Plough a favorite hangout in Cambridge for over 35 years!"

Industry:
Venue

4. The Phoenix Landing (Periphery)
Contact:
512 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 576-6260

Mission:
The bar provides a variety of music and beverage.

Industry:
Venue

5. Creative Stride (Core)
Contact:
184 Green St. Suite 1
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 395 0226
Fax # 315 351 7098

Mission:
"Creative Stride develops compelling design solutions for functional Web sites, whether static, or animated with Flash, sites that are natural and simple to use, appealing, eye-catching design, and easy-comprehensible navigation. We create sites for companies, for educational or public institutions, like hospitals or utilities, or to publicize your non-profit organization."

Industry:
Design

6. Cambridge Library (Periphery)
Contact:
45 Pearl Street
(617) 349-4010
Fax # (617) 349-4418

Mission:
"So that enlightenment and literacy may flourish in our community, the Cambridge Public Library dedicates itself to collecting and distributing an array of information and ideas that is diverse in material, varied in formats, and rich in viewpoint, reflecting the multicultural character of the community and world it serves. The Library provides free, equal, and confidential access to its resources and services. Essential to this mission is the active promotion of library services, collections, and programs."

Industry:
Service

7. Velin Studio (Periphery)
Can't find a website...

8. Pino Bros. Inc. (Core)
Contact:

pinobrosink@gmail.com

617*250*9903

617*250*9907

1100 Cambridge St
Cambridge MA 02139

Mission:
Tattoo Parlor

Industry:
Fine Art?

9. Center for New Words (Core)
Contact:
7 Temple Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-876-5310
cnw@centerfornewwords.org

Mission:
"The Center for New Words is dedicated to a simple mission:

To use the power and creativity of words to strengthen the voice of progressive women and women speaking from the margins of society.

Industry:

Education

tiffany's list + contact info

1. CURRY INTERACTIVE [core]

contact:

http://www.curryinteractive.com/ [site currently in development]

617.945.0461

ci@curryinteractive.com

[location unknown.]

mission: 'a versatile, multi-disciplinary studio providing expertise in all aspects of interactive, print and identity design.'

industry: service

2. IDEO [core]

contact:

http://www.ideo.com/locations/

485 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

617 844 2400

mission:'we are a global design consultancy. we create impact through design.'

industry: service

3. CONYNGHAM ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS [core]

contact:

http://www.intcad.com

studio@intcad.com

19 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge

617 576 0042

mission:'Our ongoing goal to provide quality, affordable design solutions matched with multidisciplinary expertise frees the client from common constraints and allows design excellence to thrive. The result is an architecture that meets the client's aesthetic and financial needs and enriches their lives.'

industry: service

4. CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY TELEVISION [core]

contact:

http://www.cctvcambridge.org/

675 Mass Ave, Cambridge
Phone: 617-661-6900 FAX: 617-661-6927

http://www.cctvcambridge.org/contact

mission: 'the voice and vision of cambridge, ma...a public forum for all Cambridge residents, businesses and organizations. CCTV provides training and access to telecommunications technology so that all may become active participants in electronic media'

industry: experience? media broadcast?  

5. IMPROV BOSTON THEATRE [core]

contact:

http://www.improvboston.com

40 Prospect St.  Cambridge, MA
Phone: 617-576-1253 Fax: 617-576-5304

info@improvboston.com

mission: '25 Years of the art of comedy!' ...With a critically acclaimed mainstage show, groundbreaking showcase productions, and a nationally known education program, ImprovBoston continues to be more than just a great comedy club: It's a recognized center for the development, performance and promotion of the evolving art of improvisation.'

industry: performance, education?

6. MIDDLESEX LOUNGE [out/periphery?]

contact:

http://www.middlesexlounge.com/

315 Mass Ave.  Cambridge, MA
Phone: 617-868-MSEX

mission: ...restaurant, club, happy hour place, music venue [DJs almost evey night] 

industry: venue?

7. THE DANCE COMPLEX [core]

contact:

http://dancecomplex.org/

536 Mass Ave.  Cambridge, MA
Phone: 617-547-9363

mission: 'a volunteer based, artist run organization dedicated to promoting, advancing, and sponsoring artistic endeavors, creative work and education in dance and the movement arts'

industry: education, performance

8. CAMBRIDGE SEVEN ASSOCIATES, INC. [core]
contact:

http://www.c7a.com/

1050 Massachusetts Avenue.  Cambridge

617-492-7000  Fax 617-492-7007

mission: ' a world-renowned architecture firm that maximizes the power of collaboration to bring fresh solutions to complex design challenges.'
industry: service

9. HOLLYWOOD EXPRESS [periphery?]
contact:

http://www.hollywoodexpressvideo.com/

765 Massachusetts Ave   Cambridge, MA

(617) 864-8400

mission: 'Since its founding in 1987, Hollywood Express has been Cambridge's leading independently-owned video store.'
industry: retail

10. ENORMOUS ROOM [out/periphery]
contact:

ttp://www.enormous.tv

569 Massachusetts Avenue.  Cambridge

(617) 491-555

mission: club/bar/lounge, lots of music [DJs]
industry: service

My Companies

Citius Printing and Graphics

Contact: Citius Printing & Graphics, LLC
20 Clematis Ave.
Waltham, MA 02453
Telephone: 781-547-5550
Fax: 781-547-5555
Email: sales@citiusprint.com
Mission: At Citius Printing & Graphics, we strive to deliver the highest quality printing with the fastest turnaround and a competitive price.
Industry: Service
http://www.citiusprint.com/

Gioiosa Design

Contact: 46 Westcott Road
Harvard, MA 01451
9874563789
rgioiosa@verizon.net
Mission: We can be relied on to answer all of your marketing needs.
Industry: Service
http://www.gioiosadesign.com/services.html

River Gods

Contact: 125 River Street Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 576-1881
http://www.rivergodsonline.com/
Industry: Experience

Integrated CADD

Contact: 19 Bishop Allen Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-576-8776
Mission: We combine our experience in Architecture, Interior Design, Construction, graphics, and multimedia with our knowledge of computers to provide real, workable solutions. We know what is necessary to complete the design, documentation and construction of building projects and we can help you find the right software and hardware to suit the kind of projects you do.
Industry: Service
http://www.intcad.com/contact.html

Central Square Theater

Contact: Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139-4106
617-57MYCST (617-576-9278)
Mission: URT has a 29 year history of connecting high quality professional theater with communities, performing new plays for young audiences, families and adults, and teaching through its rigorous education programming. Combining actors, puppetry and music, URT reaches out to and engages diverse audiences with performances of great beauty and compelling social content
Industry: Experience
http://www.centralsquaretheater.org/

Cantab Lounge

Contact: 738 Massachusetts Ave.
(Central Square)
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 354 - 2685
Mission: In its role as a neighborhood bar & grille and meeting place for multi-ethnic, multi-generation Central Square,
the Cantab Lounge provides stages for many kinds of music and the spoken word.
Industry: Experience
http://www.cantab-lounge.com/public_html/cantab_calendar.html

Out of the Blue

Contact: 106 Prospect Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 354-5287
Mission: The primary purpose of the Gallery has been, is and will continue to be, to organize and display to the public at large, the artwork of people from the local and expanding community. The gallery encourages artists of all backgrounds to show with us and we support all of artists and celebrate the uniqueness they carry from their different cultures, religions, genders, ages and academic background. Artists of all abilities are given a chance. Sharing in the expression of the arts, in all of its varieties of form, be it painting, drawing, poetry, short story, acting or singing, is what inspires all of us to be who we are and inspire the fire within every one of us.
Industry: Experience
http://www.outoftheblueartgallery.com

Beta House

Contact: info@betahouse.org
Mission:coworking for developers, designers & entrepreneurs
http://betahouse.org/
Industry: Service

Publishers Communication Group

Contact: Cambridge Office (USA)
875 Massachusetts Avenue,
7th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
Tel: (617) 497-6514
Fax: (617) 354-6875
Mission: Publishers Communication Group is a full-service marketing and sales consulting firm with locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Oxford, UK. We offer a range of services, including qualitative and quantitative market research, international multi-lingual telemarketing, UK- and US-based customer services operations, sales representation, and strategic consulting.
Industry: Service

Four Mangos

Contact: Four Mangos, Inc.
675 Massachusetts Avenue 9th floor
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
United States
Mission: Four Mangos is a professional services firm that provides integrated marketing, enterprise technology, creative design and strategic vision.
Industry: Service

Distribution of Businesses

Information to Gather from Central Square

Contact Info:

Address (Where they're located in central square):

What They Do (mission statement):

What Industry:

hipsters and the creative economy

saw this and thought it was interesting + might be slightly relevant...

tiffany's abstract: 'the creative class' is something that many of today's young 'countercultural millenials' are now striving to become, and along the way their tastes, consumption habits, size, and money could potentially fuel the retail and/or creative economies.
Often defined as 'hipsters,' this demographic holds a strong possibility that it may not only be a trend that shall pass, but could go on to define a genuine cultural movement with significant buying power and related global socio-economic effects.

Hipsters Will Save Our Economy

by Orli Sharaby

In a rather striking article this week, Forbes recognizes hipsters as possibly the one demographic group that’s still happily consuming, at least in the retail sector. The article argues that while hipsters - here very broadly defined - might not make a lot of money now, they are a huge, powerful consumer group, and marketing dollars spent to capture them now will likely pay off in the future. Not to mention the fact that, even today, retailers which cater to the “creative class” are thriving while the rest of the retail industry struggles:

While retailers geared toward consumers under 45–the Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch and Express–have struggled in the past year to increase sales, hipster-centric clothing outlet Urban Outfitters has reported record results.

Citing many other examples including Marc Jacobs (”Ten years ago, college kids carried backpacks…On any college campus today you’ll find moneyed girls carrying Jacobs’ $1,000 leather handbags”) and Cooper Mini (”the company saw a 15% year-over-year increase in the number of units sold” while other car sales have lagged) — the article makes a good point.

Can hipsters buy our way out of a recession?

Forbes article, 10/1/08: The New Counterculture's Buying Power

What I Learned about Central Square

There are several clothing stores and restaurants that actually sell art, making them potentially peripheral even though you wouldn't characterize them as.

Also something I don't quite understand... why is it that clubs that have live music count as a part of the peripheral but places that have DJs don't? I guess I can see the distinction if the DJ strictly plays songs, but what about ones that produce and mix their own songs? This would make them creatives right? I'm just a little confused.

Definition of Creative Industry

I think a creative industry should be defined as any industry that requires creativity as one of the inputs and creates an output that is inherently different from the original inputs.

tiffany's definition

creative industries:

the people + companies that provide individual creativity, skill, and talent to directly produce a 'creative output,' which are often referred to in the context of a new-knowledge economy.

creative output:

can be in the form of goods, services, and intellectual property that we broadly associate with having artistic, entertainment, or 'cultural value'; can also be the result of a transformation of a creative input.

cultural value:

... :(

[works consulted: hartley, caves, UK DCMS]

Lana's Definition of the Creative Industries + Place vs. Space

A Definition of Creative Industries
For the sake of simplicity in our project, it might be best to classify creative industries as those that have direct creative outputs. We can adopt, develop, or modify a system that maps other contingent entities, such as those that provide various kinds of support to creative workers, those that provide creative inputs, and those that facilitate the creative outputs but do not directly produce them independently.

Place vs. Space
We've been talking a lot about about Central Square as a place for creative industries and have wondered what it is that makes it such a "place." Josh and I thought that it would be worthwhile to check about some of the thinking that's been done about placiness of place and the differences between it and space. I looked around for a good, quick introduction and found this, "What is a 'Sense of Place.'" by Jennifer E. Cross. Please read it before Wednesday, when I'm in charge! Woohoo!

Lana

Definition of The Creative Industry

The Creative Industry is defined to be the subset of the economy which directly produces a creative output. This output relates to both tangible products and intellectual property.

Company Info

I couldn't remember which places we had decided not to do (aside from Faneuil Music) so if I put them on this list, my apologies.

Cambridge Library -
45 Pearl Street
(617) 349-4010
Fax # (617) 349-4418

Creative Stride -
184 Green St. Suite 1
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 395 0226
Fax # 315 351 7098

The Phoenix Landing -
512 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 576-6260

The Plough and Stars -
912 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 576-0032

WRCA 1330 AM -
552 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 492-3300

Make Music Cambridge -
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA 02238
www.makemusiccambridge.com

Classifying Central Square (First Column)

Core:
Pino Bro: tattoo parlor

Publishers CG: publishing company

Central Square Theater: theater company

Gioiosa Design: graphic design company

Out of the Blue Studio: will create paintings on request, close ties with the interior decorating industry.


Periphery:
Velin Studio: showcases the works of Velin Petkov, a photographer (depends if actual photography is taken place or just a showroom.)

River Gods: night club

BetaHouse: location where freelancers and artists work

Integrated CADD: CADD company

Cantab Lounge
:
Loponkhler Fine Art: a store that sells fine art.

Unsure:
Community Mapping, Geoffrey Dunn Street.

The Middle Column

Here are the breakdowns for the businesses in the middle column:

CORE

Harmonix

Creative development of music-oriented video games like Rock Band.

http://www.harmonixmusic.com/

Green Street Studios

"Center for movement and dance" for artists and students

http://www.greenstreetstudios.org/

HMFM Architects

Architectural firm headquartered in Cambridge that focuses on educational buildings.

No website

Pfeufer/Richardson PC Architects

Full service architectural firm in Cambridge.

http://www.pfeuferrichardson.com/

Center for New Words

Writing center for women, focusing on reading, writing, blogging, performance arts, etc.

http://www.centerfornewwords.org/

PERIPHERY

Classic Graphx

Printing services with some graphic design

http://www.classiccopy.com/

MIT Museum

Local museum with lots of MIT relics, world's largest collection of holograms.

http://web.mit.edu/museum/

The Middle East

Club/restaurant/nightclub/venue for lots of independent artists, well-known in the area.

http://www.mideastclub.com/

T.T. the Bear's Place

Club/venue with live music 7 nights a week.

http://www.ttthebears.com/

Enormous Room

Lounge/bar/club/venue with live music

http://www.enormous.tv/

Hollywood Express

Independent video rental store, local hangout of many movie buffs.

http://www.hollywoodexpressvideo.com/

OUT

Kowal & Associates

Does contact center consulting and line monitoring... totally irrelevant.

EDP Services

Custom infrastructure for financial institutions...

Motus Games

Develops hardware for the Nintendo Wii.

GamerDNA

Hosts "clans" and online gaming groups.

the first half of the right column

and here are my contributions from the list:

1. CURRY INTERACTIVE

'a versatile, multi-disciplinary studio providing expertise in all aspects of interactive, print and identity design.'

http://www.curryinteractive.com/

core: like other design firms, curry interactive directly produces creative output.

2.  IDEO

'we are a global design consultancy. we create impact through design.'

http://www.ideo.com/locations/studios/

core: directly creates design solutions, systems, industrial products, etc.

3.  CONYNGHAM AND ASSOCIATES

architecture firm [no website]

core: produces direct creative output -- architecture services

4. CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY TV

'the voice and vision of cambridge, ma...a public forum for all Cambridge residents, businesses and organizations. CCTV provides training and access to telecommunications technology so that all may become active participants in electronic media'

core: perhaps debatable at first because it labels itself as a 'forum' which leads one to think of merely a 'media venue,' but it also offers programs, initiatives, and community projects.

5. IMPROV BOSTON THEATRE

'25 Years of the art of comedy!'

http://www.improvboston.com/

core: direct creative output - improv comedy shows, classes, etc.

6. MIDDLESEX LOUNGE

no site, but yelped pretty well http://www.yelp.com/biz/middlesex-lounge-cambridge#hrid:FMEsE2AMPWmek2EPgnsSMg/query:Middlesex

periphery...maybe not even?: restaurant, club, happyhour

[here is my favorite yelp...hah]

I arrived here at 10pm to start my Bachelorette party. The place was basically empty until about 25 of my loveliest ladies showed up and populated the belly of the Middlesex beast. We were like mighty gazelle and the men around us were on the prowl, obviously staring and circling us. We probably didn't stand a chance. I started my night off with a Margarita. Damn, that bad boy was strong and tasted quite acidic, however, it was a good drink, but I'm still not sure why places in Boston have been putting OJ in perfectly good margarita's lately. I sucked that one down pretty fast, the music was fantastic a mix of late 80s and 90s -- By 11pm the whole bar was pretty damn packed. My ladies were chatting up various men folk in the bar, and surprisingly, despite my concerns about the place -- the guys weren't bad at all, in fact, I might even say they were Nice. Cool. And FUN. There was some weird dancing French guy, but for the most part, the doods didn't skeeze me out. 

I squeezed up to the VERY crowded bar and put in a drink order within 3 minutes, I had a very, very, VERY delicious mojito in my hand. Totally worth the wait. And again, the awesome tunes kept on coming.

I'm sorry Middlesex, I had you completely wrong -- I thought you were somewhat hot girls & douchebags, but instead you were cool girls and nice bags. I will be back to offer my ladies up to the (middle)Sex gods.

7. THE DANCE COMPLEX

'a volunteer based, artist run organization dedicated to promoting, advancing, and sponsoring artistic endeavors, creative work and education in dance and the movement arts'

http://dancecomplex.org/

core: offers dance workshops, classes, performances...

8. CAMBRIDGE SEVEN ASSOCIATES

' a world-renowned architecture firm that maximizes the power of collaboration to bring fresh solutions to complex design challenges.'

http://www.c7a.com/

core: provides direct architecture services