Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of monitoring an environment comprising: monitoring at least one data stream wherein the data stream is a data stream in the environment; detecting a specified event from the data stream; and triggering a response to the specified event. Embodiments of the present invention provide a system for monitoring an environment comprising: a receiver adapted to receive at least one input data stream wherein the input data stream is a data stream in the environment; an active listener/observer system adapted to monitor the data stream; and an interface adapted to express at least one output stream. Embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable medium having instructions comprising: an active listener/observer routine configured to monitor at least one data stream; a detection routine configured to find specified events in the data stream; and an output routine configured to express a response event.