sousveillance

I’m intrigued by the idea of sousveillance. Firefox apparently doesn’t even recognize it as a word. Surveillance for the watching from above; equiveillance for mutual watching; sousveillance for watching from below. I’d like to structure some art pieces around this, and the ways people submit to watching when it’s done from a position of authority (traffic cams, etc.) but rebel when equiveilled (a college brat on the street with a video camera). There’s something pithy there.

On the topic of traffic cams, the last time I was back in my home town I witnessed for the first time the cameras that flash and take a picture when someone goes through a red light. As far as I could perceive, it misfired three times while I waited at the light– right turn reds in my state are legal unless otherwise posted. A number of studies show that these highly distracting flashes actually increased the number of crashes or had no effect on driving safety at all. Bah humbug, and what a waste of money.

I have obtained the first light sunburn of the year, and tomorrow I’ll be seeing Drummer again, if only for a few minutes. It’s official– he’s my boyfriendperson. This is an excellent turn of events, and I look forward to living closer to him, as the current commute is harsh on my finals-approaching eighteen-credit self. This summer may be fabulous.