But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good:Oh Lord! Please don't let me be misunderstood. (1)
I have had some
useful feedback from two different people with impeccable credentials
at the national level of SIGGRAPH and they both had a similar
message: many of the things I “propose” (or seem to be proposing)
in my writings about SIGGRAPH are just not possible for an
educational institution. End
of discussion.
I have no doubt that
they are in part completely correct (although I do not know the
details I am willing to believe that those details are there) but I
have also been misunderstood. Terribly misunderstood. You see, I
have made no recommendations. None whatsoever.
What I have done,
though, is to say that SIGGRAPH needs to consider what, if anything,
needs to change to avoid contributing to the disaster which is
employment in computer animation in this country and the unthinking
boosterism of the entertainment uses of computer animation that I
have witnessed over the last few decades and where possible change
their behavior and see what can be done to improve the situation.
If the answer is “Nothing can be done”, then at least we will
have understood the situation and turned over every stone. But I
am quite sure that there are things that can be done.
But let me for the
record reassure everyone of the following points:
1. I am not now, nor
have I ever been, a bomb throwing anarchist.
2. I do not expect
nor would I encourage SIGGRAPH to do anything that would violate ACM
or other rules of behavior and endanger their not-for-profit status
or good standing with ACM.
3. Were the
membership of SIGGRAPH to agree with my program points (2) and see fit
to elect me to the executive committee, they should know that I would
be a voice for these points at the committee but would expect to act
in consensus with the wishes of the committee and never act
unilaterally.
4. I am very
confident that very reasonable changes could be made at the national
SIGGRAPH level that would address many of the issues I have brought
up in other essays to my satisfaction at least. Remember, I am not
arguing that SIGGRAPH should stop encouraging people to take risks
involving their future employment, I am arguing that SIGGRAPH should
stop the unthinking boosterism and temper the rah-rah glamourization
(sic) of the entertainment industry with some basic facts about the
nature of that industry and the likelihood of serious long-term
employment.
5. I am quite aware
that organizations such as SIGGRAPH have constraints on them that are
different from those on private corporations or individuals, although
some of the specific details of the constraints in the case of
SIGGRAPH may be a surprise to me. I am however an adult with
serious and relevant experience, e.g. running a laboratory at the
RAND Corporation, and I know something about these matters.
6. All that we are
discussing here is whether I can be allowed to be considered for
memebership to the EC, to put my name before the membership of
SIGGRAPH and let them decide whether they want someone such as me to
represent them.
7. Frankly I am concerned that I might be biting off more than I can chew. I am one person, unaffiliated, mostly unemployed and without resources. Perhaps the people on the EC need to have a large corporation or University behind them to support them? Stranger things have occurred. No one has mentioned this to me however.
Keep in mind that I have had serious trouble getting in touch with the committee in a way that leads me to believe that they understand the issues and are taking steps to correct them. Whoever runs national SIGGRAPH seems oddly distant and abstract. My self-nomination for the EC is in response to that.
7. Frankly I am concerned that I might be biting off more than I can chew. I am one person, unaffiliated, mostly unemployed and without resources. Perhaps the people on the EC need to have a large corporation or University behind them to support them? Stranger things have occurred. No one has mentioned this to me however.
Keep in mind that I have had serious trouble getting in touch with the committee in a way that leads me to believe that they understand the issues and are taking steps to correct them. Whoever runs national SIGGRAPH seems oddly distant and abstract. My self-nomination for the EC is in response to that.
I hope that I have
addressed any concerns that anyone might have about my suitability
for nomination, and that if they need any more details about my
qualifications and agenda that by all means they send me an email so
that we can address their concerns. (3)
I appreciate very
much the time and diligence that people have put into this matter and
I am hopeful that they are easily resolved.
For all I know, no
one else at SIGGRAPH is concerned about these matters and thus would
not be elected to the EC, which would be fine.
Its probably the red
hair. I have noticed over the years that it really does seem to
freak some people out.
___________________________________________________
1.
Lyrics for the first stanza are:
Baby, do you
understand me now?
Sometimes I seem
a little mad.
Dont you know
that no one alive can always be an angel?
When things go
wrong, I seem a little bad.
But I'm just a
soul whose intentions are good:
Oh Lord! Please
don't let me be misunderstood.
Wrjitten by Bennie
Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus
Original cover by
Nina Simone
Most famous cover by
The Animals.
Live performance of
the song by the Animals is here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR7h-4yvd-o
Particularly
noteworthy here is that the drummer wears a very narrow black tie.
Lets return to the days when our rock & roll musicians showed a
little respect for their audience by dressing more formally.
2. Program points
are: A. Be realistic about the state of employment in computer
animation, whether internationally or this country, B. Avoid the
boosterism that has occurred regarding the entertainment industry and
deal with that industry more realistically (e.g. the industry has no
long term employment a priori and does not finance research except in
the most extreme circumstances), C. Broaden SIGGRAPH to include other
application areas beyond entertainment such as the two session panel on
cultural heritiage of a few years ago (I note in passing that
cultural heritage has employment issues of its own) and D, See what can
be done to increase employment in the areas covered by computer
animation and/or see what programs can be developed to help people
who have made the commitment to computer animation and are now
suffering hardship because of it make a transition to other
industries, and finally E. See what can be done to make it easier for
people to connect to the formal programs and individuals in computer
science at SIGGRAPH, something I have found very difficult to do in
the last decade or more.
3. Send email to
michael.wahrman at gmail dot com.
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