Friday, January 31, 2014

The World Before the Internet

I sometimes get into a debate with my parents about the idea that there used to be "the good old days"- where the world was a better place when they were kids.

They don't seem to realize that things were just as horrible back then, if not more so! They just weren't aware of this fact because they were kids at the time, & had no idea of the problems in the world.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

When people ask me what time period I'd like to live in, I always answer, "Right now!" I feel like life for the average person is much better than it has ever been, thanks to science & technology.

There is still endless misery & suffering on this planet. However, the existence of tools like computers & the Internet have completely transformed the world. When I think back to life as a kid, instead of feeling nostalgia, I realize how much of a pain in the ass it was to learn & do things that are now instantaneously accessible.

This is a funny cartoon that sums up how I feel about the days before digital technology & communication:

"The World Before The Internet 
& Other Frightening Tales"


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Sacred Geometry & The Flower of Life

The Flower of Life is a symbol that is the basis for the strategy game I created, "Da Vinci's Challenge". This harmonious design is created through a regular repetition of circles. The circle has always been known as a symbol of perfection, completeness, and unity.
 
This is an extremely well-done graphic. It's a clear, extremely concise primer for the patterns found in nature, known as 'sacred geometry'. These forms & concepts are the closest thing we have to a blueprint for reality.

Image by Frederic Bartl
http://www.fredericbartl.de/godsmath/



I was also reading this article below, that talks about some of the basic concepts behind the ancient study of sacred geometry.

Waking Times:



Friday, January 24, 2014

"Flower of Life"- Phone Wallpapers

The Flower of Life is an ancient symbol made of repeating circles.

The Monkey Buddha Archive:
It is part of a school of thought known as "Sacred Geometry," which is the study of patterns found in nature. These universal patterns & forms have been applied throughout history- to art, architecture, & spiritual contemplation.

I used the Flower of Life as the basis for the strategy game I created, "Da Vinci's Challenge". It is a beautiful design that contains many timeless mysteries.

Official Facebook Page:

When I got my amazing iPhone, I created these hi-tech silver wallpapers with the symbol. The glowing version is for the 'lock' screen, & the version with the glow turned off is for the regular background. I figured I'd post them here, for anyone who'd like to use them as backgrounds for their cell phones.

Click the images for a version to download:

 

Recently, I also made this black version to switch it up a little.




Monday, January 20, 2014

Timeline of the Far Future


 I saw this mind-boggling infographic on the Imaginary Foundation blog. It charts predictions of geological & cosmological events that will occur long after human beings no longer exist.


In my game review of Mass Effect, I questioned if any kind of intelligence or information could possibly survive millions of years- or, even more improbably, billions of years.

One of humanity's most durable creations to date is Mt. Rushmore, but even these giant carvings in the granite mountain will erode after 7 million years.

Will human beings, in their present form, even exist that far into the future?... The likely answer is "No".

We are just a brief flash in eternity.  
 
The human mind can barely think on these time scales,
but it is humbling & helps open our mind to the vast reality we inhabit:


click to enlarge:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140105-timeline-of-the-far-future


Saturday, January 18, 2014

Illustration by Alfonso Elola

I came across some striking illustrations that really caught my eye.

The artist, Alfonso Elola, has created digital illustrations that pop off the screen.
His use of lighting and shadow gives the 2-D images an almost sculptural quality.

Check out his work on his online portfolios:




Wild Monkey & Dog Chase

Saw this totally random & crazy pic on The Chive.

How could I possibly resist posting a rodeo monkey that's riding a dog, & furiously chasing a goat?


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Uncle Floyd at the Broadway Theater


This weekend I got to see some quality entertainment.
On Friday I went to the World Cafe Live in Philly, to see a former classmate of mine perform with his band, A Fistful of Sugar. There were a few other really good bands in the lineup & it was a fun night.

On Saturday, I went to the Broadway Theater in Pitman to see a true New Jersey legend- Floyd Vivino, aka "Uncle Floyd".


Awhile back, I posted an homage to this fun-spirited entertainer, who was a childhood inspiration of mine:

 The Monkey Buddha Archives:

When I was in elementary school, I remember watching his local access TV show every week.
It was a talk show mixed with music performances, comedy skits, puppets, & other craziness. The wacky humor & his tacky plaid outfits totally captivated me when I was a kid, despite the ridiculously low-budget production. Behind his desk, he would hang up drawings that people sent in, so my Mom mailed him a couple pictures I drew of him & his puppet Oogie.

Later on, I think I was in middle school, he had a different show called "Uncle Floyd's New Jersey". My whole family got into this show, because it was so awkwardly funny & different. Uncle Floyd was THE originator of 'Reality TV'. He would basically just walk into random businesses in North Jersey. Then, he'd talk to customers & the workers, try to get free food, and just generally be hilarious. Even the Uncle Floyd's NJ theme song was absurd & funny.



Anyway, my awesome Mom got me tickets for a show at the nearby Broadway Theater. Uncle Floyd was performing with Dennis & Judi, who are apparently morning radio show hosts, with opening comedian Steve Trevelise. The headliners were Dennis & Judi, who came on in the middle. They were entertaining, but when Uncle Floyd came on, he brought down the house. He's a very funny & talented professional entertainer, who's still one-of-a-kind.

During his set, Uncle Floyd would switch between doing some stand-up bits & sitting down at the keyboard to play some songs. He's got an old-school way about him, but he was throwing in some blue humor without resorting to foul language or overly raunchy jokes.

Unfortunately, he had to play an electric keyboard for his music bits. The theater didn't have a proper piano for him to play, which would have been much better for someone with such an encyclopedic knowledge of old time melodies & Italian songs.



There was no chance to meet the performers afterward, but I'd still like to meet him someday. Maybe I'll have to book him for one of my birthdays so I can meet him in person...

Here are some photos I took at the show:




Friday, January 10, 2014

The Evolution of Cruelty


I just posted about humans being fearsome creatures, & the idea of Earth being a planetary zoo observed by more advanced beings.

This graphic sums up the harsh irony of mankind's often cruel & indifferent treatment of life, especially those most like us. It's sad that we put other people in cages, but it's even sadder that we imprison innocent animals who have no understanding of why we humans are doing this to them. Unfortunately, Life is a brutal process & we are products of this continual violent struggle.

We live in an age of increasing compassion & intelligence, but also one of increasing suffering.
These are not mutually exclusive properties of the world, and many seemingly contradictory situations can exist simultaneously.

All we can do on an individual level is try to personally avoid causing suffering to other beings, regardless of their level of sentience.

Danger: Humans

After my last post, questioning the role of humans in the cosmos, I saw this funny video addressing how we might appear to extraterrestrial beings.

The title says it all - "Danger: Humans"



I personally think Earth could be like a zoo- where we are being continually observed by more advanced species. Humans are fumbling around trying to get off-planet with our primitive rocket technology, while other, more intelligent, life may be zipping around us or even existing in other dimensions.

If I were part of a galactic civilization looking on mankind, I wouldn't want the crazy human race going anywhere, either.

Monday, January 06, 2014

Game Review: Mass Effect

 
Mass Effect is not just a deeply-engaging game...
It's not just a sci-fi masterpiece, either...

It is both those things... but most importantly, it's an eye-opening commentary on the fundamental questions of existence:

• Is there other Life in the universe, sentient or otherwise?
• What happens when interplanetary species begin to contact each other?
• What is humanity's place in the cosmic order?
Is it possible for ANY form of intelligence, or information, to survive the incomprehensibly vast cycles of cosmological time, on the scale of billions of years?

I've always been a Star Wars fan & generally like science fiction stories. I believe they help map the future of humanity, while helping us understand our place in the larger scheme of things. Mass Effect deserves the many positive reviews it has received. It is an immersive exploration of these ideas, throughout the vast galaxy waiting for us once we become interstellar travelers.

Usually a game of this scope would take more than a month for me to play. Over the holidays I got to put in some marathon sessions, to finish it by the new year. I completed most of the side missions & explored alot of the game, so the total time was a little over 50 hours. Like many of the best video games, it was a better time investment as any engrossing book or TV series. The story raised issues & thoughts that will now be bouncing around in my brain permanently.

Mass Effect is a 3rd person role-playing (RPG) shooter. You create your own version of the main character, Commander Shepard, as a male or female. From the start, you want to pick a persona to guide the choices & interactions the character will make throughout the game. I decided to follow my own personality, as if it were really me in the role.

There is a morality 'scale' that gives you either 'Paragon' or 'Renegade' points, depending on how you react to situations. I decided to generally follow the Paragon path, since I'm not a negative person & I wanted to make decisions that felt natural. Although it is very cool to have this level of character interactivity, I unfortunately take forever to go through the dialog options. It's a bit of cheating, but I found myself looking up the consequences of different decisions online, so I could decide how I wanted the story to proceed. This greatly added to my overall time playing the game.

On a related note, the one complaint I have about the game is the very large amount of dialog. I was playing the game for a little bit over my brother's house while he was doing stuff. He'd walk through & it was early in the game, where you have to interact with alot of characters. He asked me "Is that all you do in this game is talk?!?" I know it is a role-playing game so it's kind of necessary, & I initiated non-essential conversations because there is alot of information in the story that can be learned. Luckily, as the game goes on there's more action & awesome battles to make up for the RPG parts...

The game takes place in the year 2183. Mankind has discovered ruins on Mars, from an ancient civilization. This lost race of beings, known as the Protheans, left ruins & technology all over the galaxy after their mysterious extinction 50,000 years ago. Other alien races have also found relics from the Protheans, that have led to their rapid technological advancement. Finding the remnants of this ancient culture has led to the discovery of faster-than-light travel by humans & other species, resulting in the formation of a galactic community. The center of galactic civilization is a massive space station, known as The Citadel:


Despite its hi-tech look, The Citadel is actually an ancient structure, also thought to have been originally built by the Protheans. Now, it is the home of millions of beings, from many different areas of the known galaxy.


Humanity is the most recent addition to the races on The Citadel & is still trying to prove itself as worthy of inclusion to the more elite aspects of galactic society, like membership on The Council. This is a ruling body that consists of members of several different races, overseeing galactic affairs.

Early on in the game, Commander Shepard's heroism results in the honor of being named the first human "Spectre"- an elite commando who is not bound by galactic military protocol. Shepard's mission is to track down another Spectre, named Saren, who has gone rogue and is conspiring with alien A.I. to overtake the galaxy.

Commander Shepard is given his own ship to carry out his quest- an advanced stealth frigate, The Normandy. This is the base of operations for Shepard & his crew. In the center of the ship, there is a Galaxy Map that is used to choose what star system The Normandy will visit, to carry out the latest missions.

You start out with an overview of the galaxy, then you can zoom in & out of the various levels: Galaxy <-> Star cluster <-> Star system <-> Planet.

This map gives you a good sense of the vastness of interstellar space. Here's video showing navigation between star systems:


In each system, there are several planets you can remotely scan for resources or artifacts. There is usually one planet in each star system that you can actually land on, to carry out a main mission or side quest.

These planets all have different environments, and makes you realize the potentially infinite diversity of worlds that exist throughout the cosmos. Some of the planets' environments are really stunning, where you can see large moons, unusual star formations, or falling meteors in the alien skies. These unique planetary maps really give you the sense of exploring extraterrestrial worlds.

You land on each planet inside a 6-wheeled rover, called the Mako. This vehicle has a cannon & missiles for combat, but most of the time you are driving over the strange landscapes of the worlds you are visiting. You can also get out of the Mako & go on foot with the 2 characters you pick for your squad. The map of each planet is fairly large, with plenty of area to explore for scattered hidden items. Driving over these large areas can get little tedious, despite the amazing environments. I started to wonder why Shepard & his team would be driving a relatively slow wheeled vehicle. Wouldn't they have anti-gravity technology, for some kind of flying scout ship??? This was my only other minor complaint about the game, but I still enjoyed exploring the many different planets in the Mako.


The game's 3rd person combat is very fun & action-packed. A great thing about this game is the effective system of upgrades to weapons and "biotic" powers- which allow you to do things like levitate enemies or create a 'singularity' that rips apart anything near it. Unlike some other games I've reviewed, you have alot of awesome abilities fairly early on. You pick 2 members from your team to join you for each mission, so you can combine teams with different combat or biotic power attributes.

As the game progresses, your character continues gaining even better gear & enhanced powers. I never felt like my character was lacking for proper enhancements. This makes the game much more fun, in my opinion, since you feel like you're properly leveled-up & ready to kick ass at all times.



There's also a major, mind-bending twist to the story that sets up the sequels.

*Some slight spoilers here-
As the story of the game continues, you find out that The Citadel & the Mass Relays allowing superluminal travel were NOT created by the Protheans. They merely found & utilized this technology, like the various races in the current galactic community.

The truth is that this network of space stations & relays, used by the galactic community, are actually a cosmic trap!

Every 50,000 years, a giant fleet of hybrid synthetic-organic sentient starships, called The Reapers, emerge out of the dark space at the edges of the galaxy. They destroy all advanced organic life, then retreat back into the void. Many millenia later, when another interstellar civilization develops, another activation signal is sent to them & the cycle of destruction begins again.

The Citadel is actually a giant portal that The Reapers use to pour through & immediately destroy the heart of galactic civilization! From there, they spread out & eradicate all intelligent life on the various star systems, taking centuries if needed. They turn organic beings into a genetic 'paste' that they incorporate into their own being, as a sort of evolution. The reasons for this cyclical genocide are still mysterious, but there is speculation that this grim process has been going on for millions of years, at least.

I look forward to playing the other Mass Effect games & experiencing more of this awe-inspiring series.

Mass Effect is a truly epic game, in the scope of it's storytelling & depth of game play. It is a sci-fi classic that serves as a virtual experience of mankind's destiny among the stars.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in space, sci-fi, or just an amazing story about the future of humanity.

• The Monkey Buddha's official rating: 9.25

Saturday, January 04, 2014

The Flower of Life: Pattern of Creation

It's a New Year! It's a time where we mark a new beginning.

The circular 'Flower of Life' was a metaphorical symbol for Creation & Genesis in ancient cultures.

\When I chose to use it as a basis for the game "Da Vinci's Challenge," I realized it was more than just a cool design for a game board. The seemingly simple pattern of circles has many deep symbolic meanings, which have been contemplated & studied throughout human history.

Monkey Buddha Archives:
Da Vinci's Challenge
 
Here is the geometric construction of the circular Flower of Life symbol, compared with the formation of galaxies and embryonic cells.



The Flower of Life contains mysteries that span time & space, from the microscopic to the cosmic levels.


Graphic seen on:
Awakening Our Truth