Once upon a time, there were two different things called “work” and “life,” and the two were separated by distance and time. You went to work or you went home. You started work at a specific time, and you ended at a later, but just as specific time.

Perhaps that time was mythical — didn’t people think about work when they were away from it? — but with new tools, especially smartphones, the lines have blurred. Work can be in you pocket. It could be the first thing — or the last thing — you do each day, while still in bed at home.

At least, that’s true for me, with an iPhone and iPad that I can carry with me pretty much everywhere, and a laptop at home, as well as a computer at work.

Recently, I was in a hotel room in Rome, Italy, on vacation, but checking my email so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed when I returned, and I was approving blog comments on this blog. My work followed me across the Atlantic. So I either have a problem, or I’m a dedicated worker.

Next week, I’ll be panelist at a talk at The College of Saint Rose called “Tethered 24/7: Staying Human with Today’s Technology.” You can attend the event for free. It’s at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2012, at The College of Saint Rose, Touhey Forum, Lally Building, 1009 Madison Ave., Albany. You just need to register online.

Beforehand, though, I want to know your stories about today’s technology. Was there a single event when you realized you were too tethered? And what have you done about it to try to achieve a better balance between work and life?

Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander

I knew from reading the jacket copy that Shalom Auslander’s debut novel, “Hope: A Tragedy,” would touch on all sorts of taboos. Indeed, it contains many a joke on topics that are usually way off-limits, including Anne Frank, the Holocaust, and Jesus’ last words on the cross. But I had no idea just how intelligent and beautifully written it was also going to be.

“Hope: A Tragedy” takes the point of view of its main character, Solomon Kugel, who is fearful of just about everything but especially afraid of the arsonist who has been burning down farmhouses in Stockton, N.Y. — the town where Kugel and his family have recently bought a farmhouse. The arsonist becomes the least of his worries.

Kugel’s got an old woman living in his attic who turns out to be Anne Frank. She is penniless, unable to touch a cent in royalties from the 32 million copies her book has sold, and has relied for years on the guilty consciences of a succession of German or Jewish homeowners.

Continue reading →

[nggallery id=2697]

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at RPI in Troy begins its Spring 2012 season Thursday night with a screening of Alfred Hithcock’s classic film “Vertigo.”

Some highlights of the coming season include Annie Dorsen: “Hello Hi There” on Feb. 18, in which chatbots hold a conversation; a solo saxophone performance by John Zorn on April 3; and a dance performance by Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey called “Tool is Loot” on April 20, 21.

The building opened in fall 2008 and was hailed by the New York Times as a “technological pleasure dome for the mind and senses… dedicated to the marriage of art and science as it has never been done before.” Sometimes, though, it seems not enough people are familiar with EMPAC or they are turned off by what it presents to the public. Of course, public events are only part of what happens at EMPAC, which also commissions new work in video, dance, music, theater, internet art, DVD productions, interactive installations and multimedia art; holds residencies for artists and scholars, who get to use the venues facilities; conducts workshops to give people hands on experience in various types of new technologies; as well as rents out the venue for other events.

For an upcoming column, I’m wondering what other people think of EMPAC. So you can take the poll below and add any comments you may have.

[poll id=”93″]

From the Civic Center:

The Championship Ice Racing event scheduled for Saturday, January 28 at the Glens Falls Civic Center has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.

All ticket holders who purchased their tickets via credit card through GlensFallsCC.com will be automatically refunded the ticket price.  All other refunds are only available at the original place of purchase.