I don't follow your leap to cartoon-bearing bombs of "tremendous
collaborative investment," Jeffrey. The textual elements of the subject line
and/or the message in virus-bearing e-mail are aimed only at manipulating
the recipient into opening/activating its contents payload. The Bugs
Bunny/Roadrunner cartoon in which characters are tricked into exploding
bombs delivered as gifts would be a better parallel to your
cartoon-inscribed bombs--on the grounds of artfulness too. If infected-mail
texts are listed in a security advisory in a way that suggests nothing more
or less than a really bad found poem, it says something about cultural
relationships and values, but little else that I can see. These texts don't
aspire to be artistic (unlike the code embedded in or attached to the same
vehicle), but only artful. Aren't you confusing the literary-artistic
employment of malware in such installations as you describe here with the
primary destructive purpose of malicious code?

I'm also baffled by your subsequent jellyfish post. What's your point? I
found its subject line disturbing (in this context) and hope it wasn't meant
maliciously, i.e., to make the list feel threatened.

Candice



on 12/14/01 11:07 AM, Jeffrey Jullich at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> About virus ar, Candice: I've spent all week fascinated by looking into
> computer viruses. My home computer was hit by one and, simultaneously, I was
> become aware of on-line net artists who (intentionally) imitate virus behavior
> in their work, viz. the recent 0100101110101101.org's shutdown of the Korea
> Web Art show, where they swapped their fellow competition winners' files and
> temporarily took the entire show off-line ~as~ their artwork.
>
> After Norton Anti-Virus quaranteed the JS.Exception.Exploit that had gotten
> through to my machine, I went back and isolated all the files that were
> generated in the seconds and minutes had preceded and followed the infection,
> and then inspected them. (I suffer from a touch of the forensic pathologist,
> I admit, where I like to investigate and scrutinize Evil, like this summer's
> escapades with the "John Ashbery" forgeries and the editors who were supplying
> false names/identites to carry it out.) They're fascinating in their
> construction and I only wish I could find more information about their
> engineering.
>
> And almost all of them, as you point out, contain textual elements--- ~and~
> visual art! components that can be quite intriguing. They remind me somewhat
> of Jean Tinguely's self-destroying machine sculptures. Sadly, they may
> imitate on a microcosmic level what's being carried out ballistically on a
> macro level right now: the bombs that are exploding are works of tremendous
> collaborative investment. You remember the WWII bombs that had cartoon
> characters painted on them, etc.
>
> -------------------------
>
>
> Candice Ward wrote:
>
>> Just received Minesweeper's "Threat Lab News" advisory on a new,
>> low-risk/low-severity worm, the social-engineering components of which add
>> up to a pair of found poems with a payload of some hilarity--Candice
>>
>> Subject Lines
>>
>> If I were God and didn't belive in myself would it be blasphemy
>> The A-Team VS KnightRider ... who would win ?
>>
>> Just one kiss, will make it better. just one kiss, and we will be
>> alright.
>> I can't help this longing, comfort me.
>> And I miss you most of all, my darling ...
>>
>> ... When autumn leaves start to fall
>> It's dark in here, you can feel it all around. The underground.
>> I will always be with you sometimes black sometimes white ...
>>
>> .. and there's no need to be scared, you re always on my mind.
>> You just take a giant step, one step higher.
>> The air will hold you if you try, trust my wings of desire. Glory,
>> Glorified.......
>>
>> Message Body
>>
>> Happy Birthday
>> Yeah ok, so it's not yours it's mine :)
>> The horizons lean forward, offering us space to place new steps of
>> change.
>> I like this calm, moments before the storm
>> Darling, when did you fall..when was it over ?
>> Will you meet me .... and we'll fly away ?!
>> You should like this, it could have been made for you
>> speak to you later
>>
>> They say love is blind ... well, the attachment probably proves it.
>> Pretty good either way though, isn't it ?
>> still cause for a celebration though, check out the details I attached
>> This made me laugh
>> Got some more stuff to tell you later but I can't stop right now
>> so I'll email you later or give you a ring if thats ok ?!
>> Speak to you later