role of the resident shifts. Where the experience of the residency tends to solely be first-person, perhaps it could be used to additionally provide a third-person view for everyone else. Of course, at this point, I've essentially re-invented non-virtual residencies to take on virtual components - and it sounds suspiciously like a travelogue.

I find the conversation we're having contains elements of 'virtual residency' that are valuable. Participating in a discussion over an extended period of time with individuals who are in Australia and Turkey, while I'm here in Chicago has been rewarding, and in itself functions as a way of reflecting on the experiences of the desert. Our conversation is more critical and probing, since in the desert, it was mostly about experimentation, drawing, and survival, whereas we are almost entirely focused on the analyzing that experience. The framework reminds me somewhat of what is successful about the asynchronous discussions on empyre. It could also be interesting to embrace the notion of conversation in dislocated space such as in 'this spartan life' or even 'sleep is death' - where virtual space functions as a location for conversation. That being said, I'll admit, I'd prefer if I also were able to walk around Istanbul or Melbourne as part of our conversation, where I might have the feeling of being out of my element, or was able to share a cup of tea with each of you.