Webs of Maya

This is an amazing video that shows geometric patterns being formed by vibrating a metal plate covered with sand at different frequencies. If you turn the sound off and watch it (so the high-pitched tones don't make you crazy), it becomes like a Magical Morphing Mandala.

Click Here

On another level, this could be seen as a experiential metaphor for the structure of reality - a flux of ? forming patterns we perceive as matter, mind, & energy.

Through Google, I found this on the website of a jewelry designer from Israel who has amazing designs and thought-provoking articles on the site:

"When we start to examine what matter is made of we get to molecules and then to atoms. Atoms are composed of particles moving around each other at great speed. When scientists searched for what these particles are made of they found various wave lengths (frequencies).

The simplest way to understand a vibration is to imagine constantly repeating "movement" and "rest". The human ear can hear 30 to 16000 vibrations ("movement" and "rest") per second.

In fact, everything is made of frequencies, even the "matter" we previously mentioned."

He also has a page for the Flower of Life, the ancient pattern of circles that I studied as a design student & used to form the DaVinci's Challenge gameboard:

"The "Flower of Life" contains the patterns of creation as they emerged from the "Great Void". Everything is made from the Creator's thought."

Da Vinci's Challenge - Rowan University Press

My alma mater, Rowan University, has provided some excellent coverage of my efforts behind the Da Vinci's Challenge games.

The Spring issue of the Rowan Magazine has a feature article by Mike Shute that turned out great, with a picture of me & the games that I actually really like. (Photographer Craig Terry was kind enough to let me have some input on the choice of picture.) Here is the link to the online version of the article. It is exciting to think that Rowan Grads across the country are reading about my creation that started as a Rowan design project!

(Click Images to Enlarge)

The Rowan Admissions newsletter also included an article about my experiences after graduating, along with other alumni who are "making an impact".

Daily Monkey

The Monkey Buddha would be wrong not to point out the wonderful The Daily Monkey website that provides nonstop monkey madness.

Optical Illusion Rooms

I don't know how the hell you figure these out...
These rooms are painted with designs that become 3D Optical illusions when you stand in the right spot.

Click Here
for More Rooms

Mad War Party

Well, since I've been ranting about political issues in the last couple posts,
I'll let some awesome pictures by Mark Bryan speak a thousand words in this one...

(click for bigger image)

"Mad Tea Party"

"Dick"

images from
www.artofmarkbryan.com

Dear Mr. Boosh

"I ain't listenin' you crazy Islamaniac!
Take your fancy letter an' shove it
where the desert sun don't shine!
Heh, heh, heh..."

What a wacko this Iranian President is!!!
Doesn't he know that our President is a stubborn jackass and can't be swayed by a letter that's way too long for him to read?!?!

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually wrote an 18 page letter to President War Monkey that talked about topics such as history, spirituality, and philosophy. When I first read about it, I thought, "Now there's an interesting move."

However, as Bush's right-hand hag Condi growls, the White House dismissed it, of course, as “not a serious diplomatic overture” - even though it is the first attempt at direct communication from Tehran in decades. (...not that the Iranians could possibly do anything to stop the maniacs at our helm from staying the course toward another preemptive massacre & looting.)

Of course, the news media said all kinds of stuff about the letter without actually providing more than a couple sentences of content. I read more of the actual letter HERE, and it doesn't seem any crazier than every single thing the criminals in Bush, Inc. say every goddamn day. The problem is, the patients are running the asylum in EVERY country, so the common people are stuck dealing with these elite pissing contests between corrupt degenerates and self-righteous egomaniacs.

Our foreign policy and relations have been completely compromised, yet the geniuses at the White House act like we still have any honor or credibility left to dictate how other countries should act.

What a friggin' mess.

Why U.S. Soldiers are in the Middle East

Where can you even start?!?

Now, I understand that having a standing army is an indespensible part of any nation. However, the privatization of our armed forces and the twisted neo-conservative ideologies of pre-emptive war and American imperialism have hijacked the U.S. military for their own delusional goals.

So let's look at some possible reasons -

Of course, there's good ol' fashion corrupt war profiteering for the Bush Family Evil Empire -

• American Conservative Magazine:
"Billions of Dollars Have Disappeared, gone to bribe Iraqis and line contractors’ pockets."

• Guardian UK
"Billions Wasted in Iraq, says US Audit"


Then, there's the manipulations of America's favorite little U.N.-defying apartheid state -

• Asia Times:
"Iraq was Invaded 'to Protect Israel' - US Official"

• Whatreallyhappened.com
"Who is Congress Listening To?"

Well, isn't this idea of going to war which benefits Israel
nothing but anti-Semetic rubbish?
I'm sure the Israelis themselves will set the record straight...

• Israeli Ynet News:
"Prime Minister Olmert to Ask U.S. to act against Iran"

• London Times story:
"Attack Iran the Day Iraq War Ends, Demands Israel"

• Pakistan Daily Times:
"Israeli official: Israel will hit Iran in the next few months"

Ummmm, never mind!

If, God forbid, the last headline comes true in any shape or fashion,
the World War III that the lunatics in power so desperately want
will erupt, and our American men & women in uniform
will be trapped in the middle of Armageddon...
exactly as intended.

I can't make our situation in the Middle East any clearer than this!

I hope (more than anything I've ever hoped for) that I'm wrong... but the corruption, irrationality, and murderous brutality of the gangsters in both the American and Israeli governments don't allow much room for optimism. The only possible remedy for potential disaster is awareness and overwhelming opposition to the act of mass-murder for profit that we call "war."

The Universal Mind

Question: Can you tell what the difference is between these two pictures?










• The picture to the left shows the cosmic structure of galactic clusters.
• The picture on the right shows the neural network of the human brain!

The universe is fractal, holographic, and completely incomprehensible!!!

I found the image of galaxy distribution on the webpage for the Millenium Simulation, in which supercomputers have modeled the known universe in three dimensions. Click on the link to see high-res images... they are awesome visualizations. The picture above is on the scale of 100 million light-years. And that is a relatively close zoom - The cosmic simulation has been carried out and visualized to a scale of over 5 billion light-years (see image below)!!! At this extreme resolution, the universe goes from looking like clustered galactic brain cells to resembling the quantum energy field at the smallest scales of the universe...

I can't help but be amazed at the vast scale and complexity these images represent. To say a human being is nothing but a speck in the universe is an understatement. There's really not much to say when confronted with ideas like this, because the vocal grunts and electrical flashes that make up our consciousness are incapable of handling it. The fact that we can ponder such things at all is perhaps due to the self-similar fractal nature of the universe and, therefore, our mind. The relationship is right there in the two pictures above.

If you really try to wrap your head around what these images mean, human activities such as science, religion, nationalism, and even the fantasy of 'the self' will eventually be revealed as abstract constructs of the human ego. The Universe is God, and vice-versa, and we are like particles within 'It' that blip in and out of existence as fast as an electron zips around a nucleus. That's not to say the human experience is worthless or meaningless - it is what it is...
and it is whatever the human experiencing it makes it out to be!

I think that if people gave more thought to the reality of the infinite scale and complexity of the universe, it would lead to more open-minded contemplation of our tiny, but unique place in the world.


•The microcosm and macrocosm are intimately connected.

"The cycle of Interdependent Origins
takes place in everything, everywhere,
in the infinitely small as in the infinitely great.
Their activity is interconnected,
and they only exist on with the other."
- The Secret Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism

"The development of structures
in what is called microevolution
mirrors the development of structures
in macroevolution and vice versa.
Microstructures and macrostructures
evolve together as a whole."
- Erich Jantsch, Creative Evolution

Stephen Colbert is Great

Well, I didn't think it was possible, but I think the Colbert Report on Comedy Central has matched, if not exceeded, the standard of the Daily Show. This performance by Stephen Colbert at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner takes it to another level, though. I can't imagine the balls it takes to ridicule the President of the United States right to his face. Even if it is supposed to be in jest, the issues and the stinging humor Colbert presents have to be uncomfortable for many, especially the War Monkey himself.

Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

The Mayan Calendar - 2012 A.D.

Whether it is just a fantastic man-made notion, or if there really is some kind of singularity or transcendence of the human experience on this date of December 12, 2012, it has huge resonance with the collective consciousness of people on this planet. It is the date calculated from Mayan Long Count calendar in which the 5,125 year age we are currently living in (one-fifth of a 26,000 year Great Cycle) will come to an end as the winter solstice sun passes through the galactic plane of the Milky Way.

I think ancient people were more aware of subtle levels of existence and the cosmic cycles of the universe than we are, and we are beginning to gain that wisdom and insight again as the world we know approaches a transition from ignorance to awakening and rebirth as beings and as a world.

The question is - what kinds of hell will we have to endure in the meantime?

The Mayan Prophecy of 2012

(On the other hand,
it could be much simpler than all that...)

Click to enlarge
this interesting breakdown of a Aztec Calendar

Da Vinci's Challenge - Met Museum Bestseller

Does this mean that I can say my work is being highlighted in the Metropolitan Museum of Art?...
(I think it does!)

It's cool to have my game Da Vinci's Challenge being sold in the Museum Store of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but I also saw that it is being labeled a "Met Bestseller" on their website.

They are also using the photo of it for their "Games & Puzzles" category:


The time I visited the Met Museum to see their exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks & drawings was one of the pinnacles of my life as an artist and someone who has studied Leonardo all my life.

Da Vinci's Challenge Articles - Update 4/22/06

I added some new
Da Vinci's Challenge articles to the collection here:

The Monkey Buddha: Da Vinci's Challenge Articles

Rolling Stone: Worst President in History?

Yes, Rolling Stone asks the question that is so obvious to anyone who doesn't have their head either buried in a Bible, a pile of money from oil profits, or their own ass:

Is the demented, corrupt, ignorant, and deceiving
demon-spawn of Barbara Bush...

The Worst President in History?

I knew these days were coming, when the malevolence these scumbags have created is coming around full circle. The only thing that could possibly derail the karma train that's headed full-steam toward the Neocon Headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. is some desperate act of manufactured or artificially escalated crisis.

The fact that so many people have been fooled by this jackass, his "religion," and his special brand of moron-speak is so depressing. Would you give the codes to the world's largest nuclear arsenal to the former town drunk who stopped doing cocaine and claims he found Jesus, but still mangles sentences and acts like an a-hole? That's exactly what enough of this country's brilliant citizens did in 2004 to allow another election to be stolen from under our noses though the magic of e-voting. If the Republicans don't lose control of the Senate in the fall, we are just so screwed. Oh, too late.

So, to answer the question, let me refer you to a T-shirt graphic I created in October of 2004:

Origins of Easter

The History Channel has an informative and interesting section explaining the origins and history of Easter.

History Channel: The History of Easter

"8th-century English scholar St. Bede, believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of Spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April.

Her festival was celebrated on the day of the Vernal Equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring."

Below: Representations of Eostre & Jesus, dieties symbolizing the revival of Spring.

Barnes & Noble: "Da Vinci" Fever!

Although my game, Da Vinci's Challenge, has been selling well at Barnes & Noble they have decided to hype all things 'Da Vinci' this month, in light of the approaching Da Vinci Code movie. On their website they have a link to different Da Vinci items... under "Games & Gifts" they have all 3 of the Da Vinci's Challenge games featured!


I found out they were going to include my board & card games as part of their promotion at Toy Fair in February. My sister & her husband saw the "Da Vinci" display at the B&N store near us, so I went to check it out. Here are some pics I took there...

Toy Fair 2006 - Briarpatch Video

I found a video clip of the Briarpatch booth at the 2006 Toy Fair in NY, with Doug Lory playing Leonardo da Vinci. He is introducing the newest "Da Vinci's Challenge" game - Da Vinci's Mancala. There are also shots of the original Da Vinci's Challenge and the card game version, too. (It's after the Nerdy Wordy presentation...)

Watch "Da Vinci's Mancala" Video

Howard Stern Film Festival

Damn, it's been awhile since I've posted anything!

I have been working the last couple weeks with my brother Justin on our entry for the Howard Stern Film Festival.

It is called "H.A.H.A. - Haters Against Howard Alliance" and we play members of a militant right-wing organization who are out to censor EVERYTHING and, most of all, get Howard Stern off the air. Justin plays "Wes Looves," the President of H.A.H.A. I play a U.S. Senator from an isolated midwestern state named "Sam Brownsack."

Both of my brothers and I are all huge fans of Howard's show, so once Justin & I came up this idea we were determined to finish & enter it. It took up every spare minute of our time for the past few weeks, but we got it done! I did all the graphics and design, and Justin did the film editing. (If anothing else, I got to learn Final Cut Pro!) I think it turned out good, but who knows...

I even started a H.A.H.A blog where people can leave their anti-Howard Stern sentiments!
haha-usa.blogspot.com

Anyway, I'll post some images so you can get a taste of our entry...

Update: Da Vinci's Challenge Articles

I added some recent press that features Da Vinci's Challenge, as well as the new games Da Vinci's Challenge Card Game & Da Vinci's Mancala.

Da Vinci's Challenge Articles

Interactive Touchscreen

Check out this interactive touchscreen technology that is so cool, I can't friggin' stand it...

I'm going crazy waiting for Apple to release a touchscreen tablet PC with this technology!!! It seems that somebody has already figured out how to fabricate an "iTablet." This is the computer I have been dreaming about for years.

Where's My Party?

Seen on www.bartcop.com :
(click to enlarge)

DaVinci's Challenge: Top 10 Fab Products

Edplay is a magazine for specialty toy retailers & museum stores. Debbie Scholl of FUNdamentally Toys! in Houston recommended Da Vinci's Challenge at the #2 spot in this list. Very cool. A big shout-out to Debbie for her excellent taste in games! Click the scans to enlarge...

Press for New "Da Vinci's Challenge" Games

I picked up a bunch of trade magazines and publications from the Toy Fair in New York City this year. I'm going to post some of the previews that I've found for the 2 new games: Da Vinci's Challenge Card Game & Da Vinci Mancala.

• This is from the Toy Fair Times trade publication:

(click to enlarge)

• I saw this in License Magazine's coverage of the Toy Fair:

(click to enlarge)

• And one more article in some trade magazine called Toys & Family Entertainment:

(click to enlarge)

God, the Fractal Geometer

Last night, PBS played Arthur C. Clark's "Colours of Infinity" about the mind-bending field of fractal geometry. Even though it was made in 1995, the show was still pretty amazing. (Here's my previous post about the fractal nature of the reality we experience.) As I was watching, I remembered this 13th century illustration showing "God the Geometer." (link)

To me, the most interesting thing about this image is how the universe contained in the sphere that God is creating has an uncanny resemblance to the Mandlebrot Set, the most famous fractal formula & image. Check out the picture of the Mandlebrot fractal & compare. Of course, the painter could not have known what a 'fractal' even was, but to see the universe portrayed by this medieval artist as an irregular fractal-like form that so closely resembles the M-set is one of those things that makes you wonder about creativity and the insight of the human mind.

Dubai, Cruel World...

America is really getting fed up with the chronic deception & corruption of Bush, Inc.
This whole Dubai World port deal is just a microcosm of the general trend of crucial American assets being sold to the higgest bidder. Even though there is supposed to be further 45-day investigation into this situation, the reality is that American port terminals will be in control of the UAE state-run company 2 days from now, on Thursday 3/2/06, when the deal is finalized! Any further scrutiny is just a sham because the US government would have to take the Dubai company to court to negate the arrangement.
The Bush Administration gives the middle finger to Congress, the Coast Guard, and the American people... yet again.

Click Here for VideoSuck on it 'merica! Heh, heh!

Proof That I'm the Most Patriotic American Ever

Since I've already been scanning some of my drawings from when I was a kid and reminiscing about my fleeting life...

I saw this piece of awe-inspiring patriotic art from my childhood and was surprised that my love for the ideals of America started so young! Judging from the backwards 'g' and bad spelling, I would have to guess this is from when I was 4 or 5 years old.

Click to Enlarge

I was such a political visionary, that I was coloring political cartoons about George Dubya in 1985, when I was only 6!!! Don't think it's possible? See for youself:

Click to Enlarge

28 Years

Well... as I was busy being born 28 years ago today, there was only one other thing of consequence that was happening in the world.

"Star Wars toys first emerged in 1978. For the kids and teenagers of the time, Star Wars and Star Wars toys were totally new, totally unlike any other film or toys before."

When I was little, the Star Wars films were always the biggest source of inspiration and amazement for me. I still have crayon drawings of when I was around 6, with Luke Skywalker in his black Jedi gear fighting the Rancor monster.

....pause as I rummage through my boxes of artwork in my closet.....

click to enlarge

God bless my Mom for saving every friggin thing we did as kids. The fact that I actually still have this drawing and so much of my art is unbelieveable to me. Whenever I look at any art that I've done in my life, it takes me back to the state of mind and experiences of that time. Making this picture is one of my vivid memories of kindergarten, because I thought the picture turned out so cool. It's funny, though, for the longest time, I thought I drew this with Luke holding his green lightsaber...

Oh crap, I just dug deeper into my box o' old drawings and I must have been thinking of this...

Drunken Sailors

The idea that the government is currently conservative has almost become a joke at this point. American tax dollars are being handled like Monopoly money. It's like having two crackhead parents who try to shield you from their habit until you're all sitting out on the street, shivering and broke, wondering what the hell happened. One of my best friends is heading into the Army this week, and I hope that for everyone's sake, some sanity prevails in our foreign policy and how we are utilizing the military and civilian resources in this country.

ABC News: "Bush Administration's War Spending Nears Half-Trillion Dollars"

However, while we are pumping up the pockets of Halliburton and arms dealers, we're kicking senior citizens to the curb.

Bush 2007 Budget Cuts $36 Billion from Medicare, $12 Billion from Medicaid

It would be one thing if the money going toward the occupation was being used efficiently and productively. However, it is a huge accounting mess from the looks of things...

CBS News: Billions Wasted In Iraq?

Alien Religion

I came across this story in the UK Sunday Herald about the relation of religion, especially Christianity, to the possibility of extraterrestrial, or even extra-dimensional, life. This is something we don't really think about because we are so used to aliens in movies & TV. If people found out there were really aliens, though, it would be crazy.
“Is original sin something that affected all intelligent beings?” he asks. “Is there a sort of ‘cosmic’ Adam predating even life on Earth? Is Jesus Christ’s redemptive sacrifice sufficient for the whole universe? Would there be a parallel history of salvation on other planets?”

And on the Eighth Day … Did God Create Aliens?

I think people would definitely freak out if it was known that some sort of beings existed and even observing mankind. The idea, though, that alien life was the basis for religion and myths would make people just as bonkers!

Were the Nephilim Extraterrestrials?

King George

Seen on Bartcop.com

Petroleum Wars

I read somewhere the idea that one day our invasion and occupation of the Middle East will be known as the Petroleum Wars. I think this is as fitting a name as any; and although there are countless complex reasons for the global situation we are in it is amazing how much oil and big business play into it.

The article linked below sums up some of the major reasons that we are tossing our military and, with it, our economy, into the Persian Gulf. As usual, all of the policies and strategies of the Bush Administration shamelessly revolve around getting their corporate cronies as much wealth as possible at the expense of the American people and Treasury. Pretty much the daily routine since Day 1. The only problem is that insatiable greed for money and power has now put our entire country into a financial and strategic situation that is seemingly unmanageable under the current leadership of the US and its major allies. The 'War on Terror' and the hypocritical demands that Israel, Britain, and the US are putting on Iran's nuclear ambitions all revolve around the only thing these maniacs are concerned about, their true gods... Money & Power.

In March, next month,... "Iran is scheduled to shift its petrodollars into a euro-based bourse. The effect on the value of the dollar will be significant, if not, in the long term, disastrous. At present the dollar is, on paper, a worthless currency bearing the burden of a national debt exceeding $8trn and a trade deficit of more than $600bn." "That oil is traded in dollars is critical in maintaining the dollar as the world's reserve currency. What the Bush regime fears is **not ** Iran's nuclear ambitions but the effect of the world's fourth-biggest oil producer and trader breaking the dollar monopoly. Will the world's central banks then begin to shift their reserve holdings and, in effect, dump the dollar? Saddam Hussein was threatening to do the same when he was attacked."

Iran: The Next War

People who are unimaginative enough to be bound by prophecy and ideology are also bound to fulfill them.

If we had intelligent, visionary, rational leadership the world could easily work out even the most dreadful problems. Instead, we have deranged thugs in control who can't even kill a bunch of goddamn pheasants without shooting each other in the face. We can sleep easy knowing the nuclear button is under the finger of Twitchy Fingers Cheney.

Guns don't kill people...