2010.09.03
Weekly Metapost : 2010.08.27 - 2010.09.03
03.00.11 - Mark
Weekly Metapost from August 27th, 2010 to September 3rd, 2010
Elsewhere Online [collection of past links]
DIY PIXAR: Luxo Jr. Lamp
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-PIXAR-Luxo-Jr-Lamp/
Tagged : DIY instructables Luxo Jr. Make Pixar todo
I am a Pixar fan, and I've mentioned it several times, and I love making things, so making my own Luxo Jr. Lamp is pretty tempting. Even if I wasn't going to, it's always cool to see some Pixar animation become a "real" object.
1 frame every 12 clicks | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37227626@N00/2534192401/
Tagged : attempts camera done film hack howto MAKE photography
An idea I attempted trying on an old Kodak Jiffy Six-20 camera that's been floating around my house unused for years. Pretty clever and a whole lot less expensive than 620 film. Now to see if I can save a couple exposures...
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) RatedThe Book of Eli (2010) Rated
Link | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies Weblinks
2010.08.20
Weekly Metapost : 2010.08.13 - 2010.08.20
03.00.01 - Mark
Weekly Metapost from August 13th, 2010 to August 20th, 2010
Elsewhere Online [collection of past links]
YouTube - Exploding electronic components in HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCPXckfT-6g
Tagged : amusing electronics funny life technology videos youtube
Assorted electronic components, destroyed with the technology they're designed for. Something I've done myself for many years, both accidentally and intentionally. [via Adafruit]
EL Wire Spiderweb
http://www.instructables.com/id/EL-Wire-Spiderweb/
Tagged : art articles electronics howto instructables todo
Very tempting project. Electronics crossed with some wood working I've yet to try, all to create an art piece. Yeah, I can see myself doing something similar.
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Speed Racer (2008) RatedEagle Eye (2008) Rated
Link | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies Weblinks
2010.05.28
Weekly Metapost : 2010.05.21 - 2010.05.28
00.00.02 - Mark
Weekly Metapost from May 21st, 2010 to May 28th, 2010
Elsewhere Online [collection of past links]
Beef Jerky Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe/index.html
Tagged : Alton Brown beef jerky cooking DIY food fun geek good eats
A long time ago I saw this episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown made beef jerky. At the time the making jerky thing didn't do much for me - it's easy enough to buy, but the idea of using a box fan and a few air filters, I loved that idea. Beeing a geek I tried it out, and I love his recipie - it's far better than commercial jerky.
pcb_fabrication [tanjent.com wiki]
http://tanjent.com/doku.php?id=pcb_fabrication
Tagged : articles electronics hackaday howto todo
While I've known about this technique for preparing and etching circuit boards for a while, I more or less followed it's instructions, and I'm sold. Inexpencive, accurate, and and wildly difficult. [via hack-a-day]
YouTube - Pixel - A pixel art documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mqAZ06dwKU
Tagged : art creativity documentary pixels videos youtube
Nice little mini-documentary on Pixel Art, from it's origins in video games to it's use of art, music, and creativity. Plus I had to run off and look at half the stuff it uses as clips or referances [via Adafruit]
One More Production - video - Pixels
http://www.onemoreproduction.com/video/209.html
Tagged : animation art entertainment pixel videos
One of the video clips from the Pixel - A Pixel Art Documenraty. The clip in there was amazing, the alternative universe the full video creates is lovely, and the work put into it is a bit mindboggling.
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
District 9 (2009) RatedMaverick (1994) Rated
The Sting (1973) Rated
2012 (2009) Rated
Link | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies Weblinks
2010.04.02
April 1st, 2010 Metapost
00.00.02 - Mark
Elsewhere Online [collection of past links]
How to make a rugged and handy Paracord Belt.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-rugged-and-handy-Paracord-Belt/
Tagged : belts clothing howto ideas instructables MAKE paracord todo
Having been active in scouting for a while, I've seen plent of paracord neckaces and bracelets, but I don't think I've seen many Paracord belts. I'll probably try this one.
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010) RatedThe Invincible Iron Man (2007) Rated
The Amazing Screw-on Head (2006) Rated
Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) Rated
Link | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies Weblinks
2010.03.09
March 8th, 2010 Metapost
00.00.04 - Mark
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
The Hurt Locker RatedThe Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Rated
Link | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies
2010.02.19
February 18th, 2010 Metapost
00.00.02 - Mark
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Yes Man (2008) RatedLink | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies
2010.02.14
February 13th, 2010 Metapost
00.00.02 - Mark
Elsewhere Online [collection of past links]
Cool Tools: No-Knead Bread
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/004156.php
Tagged : bread cooltools food ideas kk recipies todo
Saw this a while ago, but I'm actually trying it now, and hoping it's worth linking to.
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Get Smart (2008) RatedLink | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies Weblinks
2010.02.11
February 10th, 2010 Metapost
00.00.02 - Mark
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
9 (2009) RatedLink | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies
2010.02.05
February 4th, 2010 Metapost
00.00.02 - Mark
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Hardwired (2009) RatedLink | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies
2010.02.01
January 31st, 2010 Metapost
00.00.02 - Mark
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Frost/Nixon RatedDollhouse: The Complete Second Season Rated
Link | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies
2010.01.19
January 18th, 2010 Metapost
00.00.03 - Mark
Elsewhere Online [collection of past links]
First-Person Tetris
http://www.firstpersontetris.com/
Tagged : flash games puzzles tetris
A literally twisted version of Tetris, which makes it a fun little puzzle. It would be either more entertaining and/or more sickening if it was using the accelerometer on an iPhone / iPod touch to control it. [via BoingBoing]
Religion of Comic Book Characters (esp. Super-Heroes)
http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html
Tagged : articles comics fiction ideas religion
I enjoy comics, but I'll admit that I never put alot of thought into the religions of the characters, from beliefs in the real world to created faiths created within their universe. And while the wide range itself is interesting, there are also notes on the religions of the creators. [via neatorama]
Les Dangereux - A Ninja Love Story
http://www.lesdangereux.com/
Tagged : animations funny ninja videos
Fun little video I found [via notcot]
E.T.A. by JUNK on Vimeo
http://vimeo.com/1165693
Tagged : animation films funny movies scifi space
Somehow easy to find good little short films today, this one fits well aftr I watched Moon the other day [via Laughing Squid]
Eye Candy [list of other movies]
Moon RatedLink | 0 Comments | metaposts Movies Weblinks
2008.02.10
A Collection of Thoughts
22.54.59 - Mark
I've been lazy this past week. There have been things I've wanted to say, but nothing that really deserved it's own post So I'm going to lump a few together. There's some other stuff that I want to get out, but deserve more thought and longer posts - like how "old media" still can't produce a useful website, even after 15 years of the world wide web and a solid five years since "new media" platforms like blogging started appearing in a big way.
First up I finished George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops last week, and while I enjoy Carlin's material it felt like binge reading a thing-a-day calendar. I'm pretty sure they formatted it so it was easy to stop after 5 or 10 pages, which in a way helps but for a book that has a list price of $24 (I was given the hard cover edition as a gift) you would hope there's at least a little continuity.
Next, Voice actors are amazing. Period. Almost entirely unrecognized and it's a true shame. I love animation and have been chewing though some "old" cartoons from the mid to late 90's (back before the FCC's Educational and Informational rules kicked in, when Saturday morning cartoons still existed and didn't totally suck) as well as some more recent stuff (like Futurama) and it's amazing when you watch these shows and realize that in a recording booth somewhere, these guys are having conversations with themselves. It's great when you can just see (or hear) these people working - like the Simpsons episode of Inside the Actors Studio or some of the DVD extras - The live reading of the comic on Bender's Big Score comes to mind. It's a shame that more and more animated movies want to fill ranks with celebrity voices. Afro Samurai strikes a good balance - a few big name voices supported by some voice actors.
Third, and kind of similar to voice acting I never realized how amazing Who Framed Rodger Rabbit? was, and how it's the sort of movie that would never get made today. Intellectual property lawyers, standards and practices, animators, and celebrity voices would totally ruin the thing before it got started. You would never see alcoholic detectives helping cartoons, kids with cigarettes, social commentary (the description of freeways is far from positive) the same level of animated violence, or some of the more sexual scenes and obfuscated language in the easter eggs. Maybe some of them, but not all of them. It's a treat
Link | 0 Comments | animation cartoons entertainment geek life media movies thoughts voice actors
2008.01.09
A Year of Rating Stuff
22.10.20 - Mark
For the last year I've been rating the books and movies I've read or watched (and then bothered looking up on Amazon) and I just entered the last book I finished (Scalzi's The Android's Dream) and I skimmed over the 25 books and 100 or so movies I've rated in the last year and started thinking about how I actually rate them.
Books I tend to rate higher. I'm using an 10 point scale (5 stars in half star increments) and I tend to rate high. The lowest rating I've given was 3 stars to William Gibson's Spook County which was lower than the 3.5 I gave to Children of Men (the book, not the movie) which is off because I liked Spook Country a whole lot more than Children of Men.
I think part of the reason is I was comparing Spook County to other Gibson works that I love, and felt that Spook Country wasn't hitting the same pace. In a similar vein I was comparing Children of Men to the movie. The movie was amazing (and is one of the few that I've bought since getting Netflix) but the book was slow and had a lot less action, I'm not the type who likes reading scenes that take place in Bed and Breakfasts. The other part is that I have a low tolerance for bad books if something is less than average - like the books you're forced to read in High School English class, or ill advised college textbooks that get selected because there was a great sales pitch from the publisher - I don't finish it.
To an extent the same is true with movies. If I managed to sit though the Dukes of Hazzard with out massive brain damage I'd probably rate it under 1 star (I've got the common sense to walk away when it's on) but I've got a higher tolerance for bad movies that only eat up an hour or two of my life (I managed to walk away from The Fast and the Furious 3 - Toyko Drift more or less unharmed and it got 2.5 stars) Overall though, I rate movies more on enjoyment than cinematography or story, or plot, or acting. Snakes on a Plane (which got points for campiness) is a whole different beast than Helvetica (a smart visual documentary about fonts) and they don't have anything in common with The Last King of Scotland (which had great acting) but I gave all three 5 stars.
Something to think about if you ever look at my ratings.
Link | 0 Comments | books entertainment movies ratings thoughts
2007.12.03
Tin Man
00.29.48 - Mark
Scifi channel has been hyping Tin Man (their big budget overly sponsored miniseries movie thing for the year) since last December, and I haven't been paying much attention to it since the whole "Wizard of Oz" remake thing just wasn't that attracting to me. I'm not a fan of the bright sun shinny fantasy world we see in the 1939 version (which like most people is the only version I'm really familiar with).
However with nothing much else on tonight when it started I turned it on and I'm glad I did. The acting is solid and the writing is enjoyable (even if the revamped scarecrow's lines are a little too good for someone lacking a brain). I love the visual aesthetic of Tin Man - some of it's a little unworldly (hovering cyborgs), but there are huge swatches of steampunk that get backed up with some steampunk character and world elements. Like the Battlestar Galattica reimaging, it's not trying to paint a Utopian picture, it's a darker grittier world where we get to see real problems and how the characters make tought decisions to overcome. However it still throws out referances to the source material that keep you paying close attention (I was reminded of a few when I looked over the wikipedia entry for the original book).
Tin man is a real treat to watch since it's more on par with a major movie production than what you expect from a made-for-TV movie.
My only real complaint with it so far is the CGI. This wouldn't be a problem, except Sci Fi has this horrible habit of getting the cheapest computer generated animations available, as if they dumpster dive at all the major CGI firms and walk away with 10 year old backups that they then hack into new movies. For example the Tornadoes in Tin Man look worse than the ones I remember being in Twister from 1996. Any SciFi channel original picture with a giant killer wave will always look far worse than what was created for The Perfect Storm in 2000. I'm willing to admit that Twister and The Perfect Storm had bigger budgets for special effects, but Moore's Law has had a clear effect on special effects - just look at the problems Hollywood is having with the Uncanny Valley. There's no good reason that the Scifi Channel (whose main audience by definition is geeks) should have shitty visual effects.
Link | 0 Comments | CGI entertainment movies Scifi Tin Man TV
2007.11.07
Law of Hollywood #22
18.12.39 - Mark
All remakes suck, it's almost a law of movie making, a corollary to the rule all sequels suck. Yes there are exceptions, but they're generally few and tend not to use a lot of the source material. They certainly don't start with classic examples of great movies either, so I'm really not looking forward to this news about a Day the Earth Stood Still remake, and I somehow doubt the monster that is Hollywood will stop making it if I start yelling Klaatu barada nikto
Link | 0 Comments | hollywood movies rants remakes The Day the Earth Stood Still
2007.10.13
Another reason I hate DRM
20.32.54 - Mark
I've ranted on DRM before (I may have even started a post like that before), but when it's wasting my money, I tend to get upset. I'm a happy Netflix customer, I've slowed down my watching a lot since I first started but I still like the service. I'd like it more if I could use their watch now feature, but right now I can't. It would be one thing if the software on their end wasn't there yet, but it's not. As Hacking Netflix points out the watch now stuff works just fine on the Mac (I've checked on the Mac, but not the Ubuntu box) It's the fucking DRM that's depriving me use of my Netflix account and the 17 hours of video I could be getting every month.
Link | 0 Comments | DRM movies netflix rant video
2007.10.02
Insomnia Film Fest - the Sequel
01.37.02 - Mark
Apple is running another Insomnia Film Festival this year. I thought about entering last year, but I don't qualify this year.
They must have gotten a great response from it last year since they've really scaled it up. They've opened it up to high school students, they seem seem to be promising a lot more publicity, and there's a much larger prize package (5 MacBooks, with copies of Final Cut, Shake, and Logic, as opposed to just software last year)
Can't wait to see what this year's teams produce. They produced some great films last year
Link | 0 Comments | Apple film Insomnia Film Festival movies multimedia video
2007.09.20
Grindhouse
23.29.38 - Mark
There aren't that many movies that I want to see in theaters anymore, too many horror movies trying to induce involuntary bowel movements, tired parodies of those horror films, and cheesy comedies that while they might not be bad, they're not $10 price of admission good either, however I really wanted to see Grindhouse in theaters. Unfortunately for me the local cinema axed it after a week and I couldn't quite bring myself to driving around 3 hours to see a movie that was 3 hours.
Time passes and movies come to DVD, and yesterday Netflix provided me with a copy of disc 1 of Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof. I liked it, it was fun with everything that was promised - well at least promised by Death Proof fast cars, good explosions, weird plot ideas, classic B movie turn off your brain and enjoy entertainment.
Too bad that the enjoyment of the movie is cut off by all the stuff the distributors left out. While I liked watching the movie, I was interested in Grindhouse because it was offing a whole package. Two movies, cheesy fake trailers, everything. They're trying to screw up this release in every way possible from the near non-existent theatrical release, splitting the damned thing, doing that annoying as hell "exclusively at blockbuster" deal, and overall trying to get customers to pay upwards of $100 to get the movie as originally intended ($25 for Death Proof, $25 for Planet Terror, and probably ~50 for super special un-retarded, trailers and everything edition you know they're planning on releasing). It's almost enough to make me want to go and DL a pirated copy of the theatrical version.
Link | 0 Comments | Death Proof DVDs Grindhouse movies rants reviews stupid
2007.05.31
Thank you Al Gore
09.08.09 - Mark
AMC is showing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea right now, and its one of those movies I had vague memories of but couldn't remember the title. It's an old Scifi flick, and I picked up the movie halfway though, but I've been wanting to see it for a while now, and I was a little disappointed when I saw Netflix didn't have it. turns out that there's only been one DVD release of it and that was a double billing with Fantastic Voyage in 2000. However there's a new version coming out this week, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Global Warming Edition) comes out June 5th.
I realize the movie deals with a radical global warming, but why on earth would they release any DVD (other than maybe An Inconvenient Truth) as a "Global Warming Edition"? I don't even see anything that remotely resembles mini documentaries on global warming in the otherwise impresive list of special features. I blame the Cult of Al Gore.
Hopefully netflix will buy their share of copies and I can sink my teeth into it.
Link | 0 Comments | Al Gore DVDs Global Warming movies netflix scifi weird
Impossible Dreams
01.13.02 - Mark
I love Escape Pod and with the exception of a 3 or 4 episode backlog (that I'll have cleared by Saturday) I've listened to every show since episode 1, and while I've got some favorites, I was blown away by EP105 - Impossible Dreams. I don't know that it's my favorite recording, but it's easily my favorite Escape Pod story to date. I'm not a movie buff like the characters, but I relate, and while listening to it I found myself empathizing with them far more than I do in most fiction. It's been a long time since I've been pulled into a story in the same way as Impossible Dreams (which is a 2007 hugo award nominee ) did, and that easily is worth donating some money to Escape Pod.