8/31/2010 PERMALINK
An experience like none that you've ever had before. The Wilderness Downtown : I just experienced something pretty amazing. It will move you. It is an interactive song that asks you for the address where you grew up, or any address that is meaningful to you. Then, it uses Google to find aerial and ground pictures of that place. And as the song plays, a kid runs down your childhood street in a hooded jacket, so girl or boy, you are suddenly that kid again. Running past your childhood home, you look up and see the birds above. And in a kid's daydreaming come true, you are flying over your house with that flock of birds. Other childhood daydreams play out as the music continues. It uses HTML5, so it will only work on Chrome or Firefox browsers, but if you don't have one of those, get one or borrow a computer. Because it is an amazingly moving experience. I've never experienced anything that took me back to another time and place in my life as powerfully as this art managed to do. In more rural areas, Google's images aren't as good, so it may not be as powerful. But if you grew up in a city or suburb, as I did, you are in for a cool experience, powerful, personalized interactive art. Never had an experience quite like it before.