Tim-ta-tion

I saw the awesome photo below on Google Images as I was searching for random images.

The website is for a bible ministry of some sort. Therefore, I can only imagine, judging by the name of the photo, "tim-ta-tion", that this character is some kind of freakish acid-head puppet who is supposed to scare kids about the "tim-ta-tion-s" & effects of psychedelic substances.

Personally, I think just looking at this picture qualifies as a "psychedelic" experience!

Visualizing History

As a student, I could say without a doubt that the subject I always hated the most was history.

The funny thing is that, nowadays, I'm completely fascinated by the past. I always check out The History Channel & I've posted about historical stuff alot on this blog. I'm always reading at least one book and they're often about ancient cultures or some historical theme.

I think the reason history turned me off so much when I was younger was that there was very little visual stimulation & mental interactivity involved in the lessons. From what I remember, the emphasis was on cold facts: names, events, & dates. The truly interesting aspects of society, however, are the arts, the myths, the living situations- the 'human' details that really put us into the experience of that culture.

I've found that the most invaluable tools for learning are 3D visualizations that are now possible using ever-improving rendering software. Seeing a visual representation of ancient Rome, or watching a movie like Apocalypto that's set in an ancient Mayan city gives a strikingly clear view of life in that time period. This is simply not achievable by reading words about it in a book.

One of my favorite shows is "Engineering an Empire" because of the quality of the show's 3D renderings of both art & architecture that have been lost to time.

Here are some great links I've found to sites about the virtual re-creation of historic places:

Digital-Archaeology.com
"3D-Visualisation"

Archaeology.org:
"Why do Virtual Heritage?"

Scientific American:
"Restoring Virtual Ruins"

Monkey Kick Off

"Monkey Kick Off"

Continuing on my "Monkey" train-of-thought from my last post...

I started playing this wonderfully stupid game, Monkey Kick Off. The only objective is to kick the ball as far you can by tapping an arrow key at the right time.

I got hooked for a little while, and ended up booting a couple 5000+ Monkey Meter whoppers.
It has to bounce once every 1200+ meters to get this far... fun stuff.

Beppo - Superman's Monkey

On Neatorama there was a post about Superman's Kryptonian chimp, Beppo, who I would think would be a horrifying menace to the general population.

Actually- according to their post,
"Because it’s from Krypton, Beppo the monkey had super powers … that it used for mischief! Superboy had to lead the super monkey into deep space and left him there."

Man, that's pretty messed up! What's even more messed up is that once in deep space, Beppo found Curious George in Space... and showed him that despite the vast reaches of the universe, there's only room for one Space Monkey.

I took a few minutes to re-create the grisly encounter as accurately as I could:


Anyway, this cover is so great & shows exactly what a pain-in-the-ass a Super-powered monkey would be...


DC Comics' store actually has a plush version of this super-powered primate.

The doll's cuteness betrays the actual horror Beppo has the potential to release upon mankind.

Learning to See

"Bionic Eye that Restores Sight to the Blind"

"High-tech retinal implant:
How it works, how it’s evolved"

"MIT study shows
those who once were blind can learn to see"

I was watching a TV show about a person who was blind from when they were very young. Retinal implants actually restored the sense of vision that had been missing from that person's mind. This in itself is an astounding story.

What I thought was really interesting was the guy's description of being able to finally see for the first time. He explained that, at first, all he saw were blobs of light & dark, and spots of color. His mind had to learn to 'see' what he was looking at.

Our vision is not like a TV or monitor, which assembles a picture as soon as you hit the 'on' switch. I imagine that as neurons are stimulated, more patterns and connections are made, & the increasing visual processing in our brain allows sight to develop at higher resolutions over time, like adding pixels to a screen.

This was all on my mind when I ran across this Wired article whose title hints at the huge part that the idea of language plays in the consciousness, regardless of what senses are present:

"Babies See Pure Color,
but Adults Peer Through Prism of Language"

The idea of losing my sight is probably one of the worse things I can imagine. As a designer my entire world is dependent on vision. However, it's good to know that brilliant technical minds out there are working to solve such complex problems as blindness & the endless number of other difficulties that human beings must face.

Super-Tough Art Quiz

I saw this quiz on mental_floss. It is a test on a variety of artists & their work that they have featured over 5 months.

Being the art history buff that I am, I figured I'd try taking the quiz cold turkey (having not followed this particular feature on their blog).

It turned out to be pretty tough. I only answered a measley 8 out of 20 correct. The answers I did get I managed to figure out mostly by looking at the painting accompanying the question & recognizing an artist's style!

Attempt it if you dare....

Feel Art Again: The Exam

Giordano Bruno: Flower of Life Woodcut

When looking up the link for Giordano Bruno that I used in my last post, I came across this interesting image below. (Interesting to me, anyway.)

It is a woodcut of geometric studies apparently done by the great philosopher. What caught my eye was the use of patterns created by the overlapping circles that create the Flower of Life symbol. This is the symbol that forms the basis of the strategy game I created, "Da Vinci's Challenge".

Being such a unique pattern, it instantly grabs my attention when I see it or its myriad variations. I would be really interested to find out what the great 'heretic' & proponent of the infinite world system was studying in these figures...

CLICK HERE TO
BUY "DA VINCI'S CHALLENGE" ONLINE

Brahma Breath: The Cyclical Universe

Both the religious dogma of the biblical Genesis & the scientific dogma of the singular Big Bang always seemed equally absurd to me, in the sense that the entire universe supposedly began at a certain 'discernible' point.

I always struggled with what existed before, which had to be- nothing! Then, the question is how everything came from- nothing! There is really no adequate explanation that our monkey grunts can properly convey. We can say "God did it." or "There was the singularity" but these are just phrases that help us box up The Unimaginable in a comfortably managed package. We try to intellectually deal with the infinite nature of the universe... as long as it's confined inside definite, finite parameters!

The human mind, trying to imagine the state of reality before the beginning of the universe, is easily overwhelmed by this incomprehensible and eternal mystery.

I am definitely of the school of Giordano Bruno who accepted that, as far as human perception is concerned, the infinite worlds inhabiting infinite space. Outside of human perception, however, I am not qualified to speculate - being that I'm only human.

What I find endlessly interesting is the continuing correlation between modern scientific interpretations of the cosmos with ancient metaphysical concepts. I read this Wired interview with physicist Neil Turok in which he makes the following case:

"...the Big Bang represents just one stage
in an infinitely repeated cycle
of universal expansion and contraction.
Turok theorizes that neither time
nor the universe has a beginning or end. "

The further explanation he gave, no matter how scientific, is really just weaving a story around this central concept. Ultimately, Mr. Turok makes yet another excellent point when he says "I feel that the main role for these scenarios of the early universe is to stimulate our thinking. I don't necessarily believe any of them."

Reading these theories about the cyclical nature of reality reminded me of the Hindu idea of the cosmos as going infinite cycle of inward & outward "breaths" that are quite literally the fractal fluctuations of an infinitely complex reality:

Carl Sagan on Hindu Cosmology:

"It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, no doubt, by accident, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the earth or the sun and about half of the time since the big bang. And there are much longer time scales still.

There is the deep and the appealing notion that the universe is but the dream of the god who after a 100 Brahma years… dissolves himself into a dreamless sleep… and the universe dissolves with him… until after another Brahma century… he starts… recomposes himself and begins again the dream… the great cosmic lotus dream."

Cosmic Simulations

A while ago I ran across The Millenium Simulation project that uses supercomputers to process 3D visualizations of the large scale universe. The structure & distribution of galaxies and dark matter can be explored using this model that also has great aesthetic value. Because the link above uses a movie format I can't view, I could only appreciate the still pictures.

Boingboing.com linked to a website for a DVD called Galaxy Dynamics.
The menu has very cool Quicktime animations of cosmic processes enhanced with trippy soundtracks. It's the closest thing to having your own rave-powered spaceship.

Galaxy Dynamics.com

Nokia Morph

E-paper & ultrathin displays are going to be the source of all kinds of amazing applications. I'm looking forward to the day when I can design motion graphics for e-packaging & other surfaces that will use this emerging technology.

I saw this awesome concept called Nokia Morph on a couple different websites. It is a glimpse into the exciting & innovative creations that are just around the corner. Everything is cool about this - the styling of it, the translucent green, the interface visualizations... it's like the iPhone of the future.

There is really no reason why this device can't exist right now. It's only the misuse and waste of our collective resources and potential that prevents the realization of such inventions.

Nokia - The Morph Concept

Youtube:
Nokia Morph Concept

Gizmondo -
"Flexible Cellphone: Nokia Morph"

The Meaning of Life

Having now finished my third decade in this amazing world, I have spent alot of time observing and contemplating the human experience.

It seems about time that I recorded the ultimate consequence of years of accumulating knowledge and Crazy Wisdom:
The Meaning and Purpose of Existence.

I have contained all the transcendent truths and esoteric revelations that I have discovered over the course of a lifetime within the action of a single click....

The link below will truly set you free.

"The Meaning of Life"

The link ain't broke, this is not a joke
One day soon, we all must croak
Click all night, and click all day
What is 'Meaning' anyway?

Unlocking the Holographic Universe

I've always been interested in holograms and their relationship to the nature of our universe. Reality and our integrated human minds experiencing & existing within it have been shown to possess holographic qualities that are still barely understood.

I've noticed a few articles on the progression of holographic display & data storage technologies. I really think that we're getting to the point that almost anything the human mind can visualize can be either represented virtually or actually created in the physical world. Holograms, like fractals, are one of those topics that make less 'sense' the more you really try to understand them.

"Life Size Holograms"

"How Holograms Work"

"Rewritable Holograms Promise 3D Displays"

"Holography Takes Big Step Forward"

Surprise! Cable News Sucks

Besides getting real-time poll numbers for the current races, Presidential Primary coverage on the cable news networks is almost unwatchable. It's like there is a deliberate plan to keep all discussion of actual issues and their possible solutions completely out of the picture. Wait... Nah, can't be!

Instead of critical examination of the obstacles our country faces and the answers needed to overcome them, the hours are filled with insane jibber-jabber about:

• who's getting the vote of old/young/white/black/latino/male/female/rural/urban/blah/blah/blah

• why the above groups are voting as the completely uniform hive minds that they apparently are,

• what provocative verbal barbs are being slung, and what the response is, etc.

• which campaign has the most money and who's donating,

The only truly useful information that comes out of these shows are the poll numbers and when the next debate is, so maybe you can get some time to hear what the candidate say what they actually stand for

The complete irony of hearing the army of "experts" saying that Barack Obama has lacked substance (before tonight's speech, anyway) is off the charts. You could have CNN, MSNBC, & Fox News running simultaneously, and you will hear nothing but horserace talk.

I'd support Hillary if she was the nominee, but I think Obama would be a great President & a positive force that would be a healthy dose of sanity and insight after the Bush/Cheney Dark Ages. Hell, I even think John McCain would be a better, more competent leader than The War Monkey. Unfortunately, McCain represents a political party in Washington that, for all its talk of righteousness, has proven to be completely bankrupt of moral integrity. I think Obama/McCain debates would be a fascinating dynamic, whereas I see him and Hillary having a much less interesting interaction. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know.

All I know is Presidential Paintball kicks ass:

	Presidential Paintball Game
	Description: Hillary, Obama, Giuliani & more play paintball for the USA Presidency!Instructions:Use…
More Games

Monkey Poo Fight Game

I'll try pretty much any monkey-themed game,
but there is something extra special about using monkey poo to hit another chimp.

Monkey Poo Fight

Profound Valentine Cards

In honor of the most romantic of holidays,
I wanted to post some of my favorite Valentine Cards
that would make any woman's heart flutter:

Click to see larger image



Ralph Wiggum's classic
card to Lisa Simpson:


what appears to be
a young Don Magic Juan:

Evolution of Company Logo Designs

Continuing on the logo theme, I saw this interesting article about the development process that went into different logos for the world's largest tech companies. I eat this stuff up. Thank you Neatorama.

The Evolution of Tech Companies’ Logos

What is Your Logo IQ?

I consider myself pretty well-versed in commercial branding, which includes various elements such as logos, mascots, taglines, etc..

This quiz put my knowledge to the test:

"What is Your Logo IQ?"

I scored a 95%, which makes me a "Logo Expert".
Can't argue.

The only one I missed was #6.

Does Voting Even Matter?

The cynically realistic part of me says "Probably not."

There are a few reasons why:

First, electronic votes can't be verified by the voter, there is no vote-by-vote paper trail for backup, and the software used is not open-source. Therefore, the process itself is entirely suspect.

Second, (and perhaps because of reason #1) it's possible that the whole thing is rigged by players on the stage and powers behind the scenes. There are billions of dollars at stake & I just can't imagine everything's on the up & up. David Schuster on Countdown was talking about the so-called Super Delegates, mostly non-elected party officials who make up 40% of the primary vote. The election system is made with safeguards to prevent the plebian mob from picking the 'wrong' candidate.

So... why bother?...
I think my own selfish motivation is simply so I can argue politics & policy with people and not have it thrown back in my face that I don't vote. My vote seems like a grain of sand on a beach, pretty insignificant. But it makes me feel like a responsible citizen, so it serves some function I guess.

Super Tuesday Afterthoughts

Even though the Super Bowl was a good game, the contest that really interests me is the Presidential Primary Race. Instead of the football, though, our countries top politicians get to throw around platitudes and promises.

Anybody who knows me or has read this blog knows my disdain for Bush, Inc. - so voting for any of his band of lackeys on the GOP side who will continue his mindless policies is simply out of the question.

I've been thinking about who I was going to pick for the Dems in their Primary. My first choice would have been John Edwards, but then he left the race... I think Hillary & Obama are both articulate, competent people with alot of life experience and intelligence. Especially after the chaos-causing ignoramus we've been dealing w/ for the past 8 years, either of these candidates are like an oasis of sanity. If they both end up on the final ballot as Prez & VP, in either order, they will crush the Republican ticket.

At first, I was trying to rationalize all of the practical advantages to a Clinton presidency, despite the contempt for her created by right-wing ideologues. However, after watching Barack in the debates and giving speeches on CSPAN & the internet, I changed my mind completely. My individual vote doesn't make any real difference, so I decided not to try to calculate my vote like there was some grand strategy that would unfold as a result. I voted for who I liked the best & Obama ended up winning me over. I think having a woman President would be a great change for this country. The more I hear Obama, though, the more I am really inspired by his ideas & outlook. He's really got alot of momentum behind him in a short amout of time.

So, when I went into the booth, I pressed the lit button next to Barack Obama's name on the mysterious black box. Of course, because our voting system is a scandal in itself, I have no idea whether or not my vote was actually tallied. I could just assume that the little burst of electricity zipping through the circuits added up to some digital tally somewhere. Whatever.

If Hillary Clinton ends up winning the nomination, I'll be fine with that, too. I just think that along with her great advantages, her and ol' Bill also bring along an awful lot of baggage and disadvantages. Ultimately, if it boils down to it, I would prefer relative sanity under a Clinton than more unfettered insanity under a member of the Bush Cabal.

The majority of Dirty Jerseyans went with Clinton. After seeing both candidates giving their speeches Tuesday night, though, I was even more comfortable w/ my decision. Hillary might be a charismatic person, but it doesn't shine through as clearly as in Barack. Although the mantras of "Hope" & "Change" are starting to be mocked as overused generalities, they are still very powerful motivators. This is especially true when delivered with confidence and authenticity.

As much as I like looking at Scarlett Johansson singing over an Obama speech, his words speak fine for themselves:

Usborne Books of the Future & the Unknown

I've seen boingboing.com & other sites linking to a The Pointless Museum's collection of scans from imaginative illustrated books. The Book of the Future is getting the attention & it is definitely an amazing book.

The other book he scanned, Usborne World of the Unknown: UFO's brings back childhood memories for me. I used to check out as many books as I possibly could at each trip to the public library when my mom would take me & my siblings back in the day. I know I checked out this UFO book and similar ones about ghosts & strange creatures several times each. These books were really influential in the development of my fluid world outlook. They illustrated how much is out there that we have not even begun to understand.

I was amazed by the fantastic presentations, like this:



...& my young mind could endlessly ponder the implications of such strange possibilities:

NetDisaster.com -Destroy the Web!

This is a pretty cool website I saw on Posthuman Blues that allows you to apply different destructive graphic simulations to any web page! This is such an awesome idea.

NetDisaster.com
Destroy the Web!

The ability to go to Sean Hannity's web page & drop a nuke on Ann Coulter's obnoxious head is truly priceless.

click to see the animation
: )

Monkey Peeing in it's Mouth

What can I say about this clip?...

Monkeys, besides being our closest genetic relatives, are just plain amusing. Maybe it's because they are so similar to us that their antics seem so crazy.

This video my friend showed me is one of the most disgusting (& also one of the funniest) things I've ever seen. As the little girl so rightly exclaims in the video: "Eeeeeww! Grooooss!!!!"

Everyone Forever

Everyone Forever

When trying to track down the origin of that crazy flourecscent guy in my last post, I was led to Everyone Forever. This site has alot of really cool stuff on it, with a few things I've seen before -

like the mind-bending film Fantastic Planet,




& the uniquely surreal art of Josh Keyes.


...as well as the consciousness -expanding video Galaxies:

LittleDagger.org - ??????

I don't remember how I came across this wacky page a few days ago, but it's literally crazy. It is like an actual visual representation of complete lunatic's mind. There's barely anything on the page that makes even a bit of sense, & it's pretty awesome.

www.littledagger.org

I am so used to trying to create designs for readability and coherence in the mass market, that seeing a schizo mess like this is almost refreshing. It kind of reboots my creative sensibilities while my brain implodes & goes "WHHHAAAAAAAT??????"

Visual overload of any kind, good or bad, tends to fascinate me. Speaking of visual overload, I was looking on FFFFound! to see if that's where I saw this. Not only did I find another ridiculous image that causes instant visual overload..... I also found the maniac whose evident madness, I believe, has manifested into HTML through littledagger.org...

"C'mon biaaaatch!

I dare you to jump into my mind!!!!"

Dubya's Last State of the Union

Apparently The War Monkey is giving his last ceremonial speech, which I'm sure will be a complete waste of time for everyone. I might watch some of it if I'm in a self-abusive mood.

Perhaps we should be grateful that the planet Earth is still in one piece after 2 terms of this maniac & his puppetmaster, Dick Cheney (who, like all humans, is but a puppet himself).

Speaking of Emperor Cheney, I can also say - as much as I consider him the antithesis of everything I stand for - that I'm glad that nothing happened to George W. that would have given Cheney & Co. a chance to impose martial law & take over. There are so many horrible scenarios possible when those who sow fear, death, & discord have such power.


Anyway, to counter the propaganda and blatant lies that will be filling the airwaves, I have to get some rants off my chest. The fact that I am still subject to this scumbag after 8 years has got me all fired up:

• Not even counting the rest of their administration, Bush & Cheney alone have committed so many criminal & immoral activities that most people would be sentenced to generations in jail. I don't think they will ever be held into account. They have perpetrated scandal after scandal to the point where it's impossible to focus on a single aspect of their illegal activity while they are in office & so the corruption train continues steamin' ahead with everyone distracted by election primaries.

• The idea that the President or VP can't be called out or prosecuted for the madness they have created because of the "dignity of their office" is just bullcrap. They are human beings just like us & I'm not obligated to give one bit of respect to a arrogant, incompetent jackass with the blood of millions on his hands who disrespects the entire human race just by speaking.

• Along the same lines, I have to say "America, Right or Wrong" is a slogan for fools. America is an abstract concept that doesn't even really exist in a physical sense. The geo-socio-economic idea we call America is defined by the actions and priorities of various systems... that are usually engulfed by corruption. Therefore, it is only logical that America could be an entity that is partially represented by immoral, wrong actions & people. Agreeing with the government at all times is not patriotic, unless a retarded sheep is considered the patriotic standard. I guess some people would rather believe in some nice, shiny ideal that is obviously nonsense instead of facing the difficult realities of the given situation.

• Our whole political system is garbage. The very idea of a President is simply a watered-down monarchy. Infinite human potential is being wasted due to the complete insanity of the political, economic, & justice systems. Although my tone is overly pessimistic in this post, I am optimistic that the exponential amount of knowledge and participation resulting from the internet will continue to be a positive force for change - as long as the existing flow of unlimited communication is not 'regulated' to discourage free thought.

• My first choice of the top 3 Democrats would be John Edwards, but it doesn't look like he's getting the support Obama & Hillary are getting. It doesn't matter, anyway. The next President is going to be faced with a situation similar to being at the bottom of a mile deep pit of elephant dung with only a plastic spoon to dig out. Add to that countless Republican politicians & pundits screaming over the edge at you for not getting anything done. It should be a real hoot.

• War in general is immoral, but especially war of aggression against civilian populations.

• Invading a sovereign nation, bombing citizens & calling them collateral damage is the most heinous and brutal form of state-sponsered terrorism. Crying "They did it to us first!" is childish, and in the case of Iraq it is also factually incorrect. It is also a fact that the British & American military have been just as eager to terrorize innocent people as any militant organization, and even more so, simply because it is lucrative business for military-industrial war profiteers to kill as many foreign people as the American conscience will tolerate. The fact that Congress & the American people aren't demanding an end to this particular horrific charade every single day makes us all complicit in the ongoing destruction of an ancient culture & the forced subjugation of its people.

• Speaking of the military, with robot armies in the first stages of deployment and scientific cybernetic research accelerating, it is only a matter of time before such trivial concerns as who is President of a particular country, or how well he is doing, will cease to matter. We will either be in a Terminator-like hellscape or, preferably, a digitally enhanced techno-democracy that produces progressive ideas and positive action.

Whew!

Well, the Daily Show is coming on,
so I must end this little rant about one billion words short.

To sum it up......Right back at ya, jerk-off.

Why is President Bush So Awesome?

I randomly came across this cool video that asks random people the absurd question:

"Why is President Bush So Awesome?"

This is kind of like asking "What part of prison camps are the most fun?"... There's a sort of general understanding among most people that the basis of the question is ridiculous.

Bush is understood by the majority of humans on planet Earth to be part of an immoral criminal enterprise and responsible for inconceivable human suffering. Therefore, after 2 terms, only the most ignorant and sociopathic members of our society still find any redeeming qualities in this scandalous administration & its degenerate figurehead.

What is so great about this video is it shows the spectrum of human experience through their varied reactions to a generally (but not universally) accepted value judgement - in this case, the consensus that George Bush is a horrible President.

The Legendary Jack Daniel's

This article originally from mental_floss documents some interesting stories about the great American whiskey, Jack Daniel's.

Whiskey Business:
The Many Myths of Jack Daniel

The visually distinctive bottle, besides being shaped to prevent rolling during shipping had symbolic meaning:
"...the square look reinforced the idea that Jack was a square dealer who put honest work and high standards first." Amen.

Unfortunately the great Jack Daniel died as a result of kicking a safe out of anger - which needless to say is a stupid way to die.

Presidential Paintball

A couple fun games featuring America's best & brightest (politicians, of course) doing what they do best... attacking each other & causing chaos.

I played this Presidential Paintball game a couple times as John Edwards, but kept running out of ammo against Mitt Romney.

Presidential Paintball Hillary, Obama, Giuliani & more play paintball for the USA Presidency!

Play this free game now!!

Here's another oldie but a goodie, since you can box Dubya in the ring:

Presidential Knockout Knock the opponent out of the election.

Play this free game now!!

Fun Art Stuff

I consider myself a knowledgeable & skilled artist,
but these seemingly simple little games I saw on i-am-bored.com
were pretty tough - even for a pro like myself, haha.

• The first link is a quiz, where all you have to do
is type the names of as many colors as you can think of.

There's 256 color names altogether (Pantone numbers don't count!)
& only managed a measley 30-40 answers....

How Many Colors Can You Name in 5 Minutes?

• The second is a game callled Dupligon. You are shown a shape & you have to copy it exactly.
It is tougher than it sounds, I only scored a few "A's" even though I played through pretty quickly...

Kbaumgames.com
Dupligon

Vintage Computer Pictures

Computers have only recently gotten to the point where the capabilities & usability are more rewarding than frustrating. Apple Computers has prevented my world from being a Microsoft Windows hell, for which I am eternally grateful.

As a creative professional who relies on the superior functionality of my Mac's at the studio & at home, just the thought of having to deal with Windows gives me a headache. I've talked about my introduction to computers through a Window 3.0/DOS PC in the early 90's. Even then, I knew that there had to come a day when computing would get past such limited function & archaic modes of operation.

I came across these vintage photos from the dawn of the personal computing era. It made me even more thankful that I wasn't stuck in a time having to use that really primitive technology. I'm sure, though, that in the future, people looking back through the Universal Digital Archives (using their implanted bio-chips) will wonder how we tolerated non-quantum processing & non-instant creative processes.

Anyway, here's my favorite image from the bunch. It really is almost scary to me, & not just because the kids look insane as they stare at each other instead of the game they are suppose to be playing. The clunkiness of the equipment, the dreadful graphics, & the sheer crappiness of it all compared to today's tech is pretty crazy:

Funtasticus.com:

Dawn of the Computer Era

Macworld 2008 - "Yawn."

Despite being my hands-down favorite brand, Apple & it's boss, Steve Jobs, didn't really impress me with their product announcements this week... & it seems that I'm not the only one.

The Macbook Air is just a thin laptop & in many ways, it's a step backward. There isn't an optical drive in it & the gestures that were created for the iPhone's touch screen are relegated to a touchpad. Woo-hoo. If it weren't so expensive maybe it would be more appealing .

Apple's fixation on the fact that it is thin enough to fit in a manila envelope is a dumb marketing angle. In fact, someone already made a parody commercial mocking this useless selling point & the generally uninteresting nature of the new Macbook.

"Macbook Air Parody Commercial"

I'm really just bitter because I was hoping that Steve Jobs & Co. would leapfrog off the technology developed for the iPhone to finally release a Mac Tablet computer. Foiled again!

Soul Caliber IV - Vader & Yoda

I've been waiting to get a PS3, but my brother got one for Xmas, so it's easier to hold out for now. However, I've said that once Soul Caliber IV and The Force Unleashed come out, I might end up giving in pretty quickly to getting my own magic black game machine.

I just saw that in addition to probably being all-around kick ass like the previous Soul Caliber titles, the next one will include Star Wars characters. The only ones that have been revealed are Darth Vader & Yoda, but hopefully they'll actually have more in the game.

"Star Wars in Soul Calibur IV"

Even though it is kind of strange to pit the fantasy/medieval fighters of Soul Caliber against the sci-fi Star Wars lightsaber masters, I'll still play the hell out it. What they should do is take the great fighting engine in Soul Caliber and create an actual Star Wars fighting game w/ Jedi, Sith, & melee fighters. Things have come a long way since the old PS1 game Masters of Tera Kasi, & I think it would make an awesome fighting game to add to Force Unleashed and the Battlefront 3 game that I assume is coming.

For now, though, I can definitely live with this:

Colorized Classic Sculpture

I posted a link before about the discovery that classical white marble sculpture from ancient Greece, Rome, etc. were actually painted with vivid colors.

It really does make you look at these familiar masterpieces in a different light. It's almost like we've been admiring only the 3D wiremesh of a CGI screen before figuring out how to turn on the textures.

I think, though, that the sculpture that able to be viewed up close would have been painted in an even more subtle & realistic way than the bright flat color shown on the reproductions.

Links:

Listverse: "Top 10 Color Classical Reproductions"

Scholars Give Us Antiquity — The Colorized Version

Ralph Wiggum in 2008!

This Sunday's episode of The Simpsons didn't spend nearly enough time dwelling on the endless absurd possibilities that could come from Ralph Wiggum's presidential candidacy.

With promises of hope like-
"The only boom-booms will be in our pants,"
little Ralphie radiates the innocent, slightly-moronic optimism that America needs.

Since Steven Colbert seems to be out of the running,
President Wiggum is the next best fictional candidate.

To celebrate Ralph's brilliant strategic maneuvering,
I threw together this campaign poster in Photoshop, much to my own amusement:


I also just saw that Fox has actually set up a tentative campaign website with another cool Ralph '08 poster:

wiggumforprez08.com

The Gods of Comedy are Back

Despite the ongoing writer's strike, the Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert were back on the air tonight.

I'm not sure exactly how the show production is functioning at this point, but they are doing exactly what makes the shows & their hosts so great. The program is being used to advocate for the cause of the creative staff vs. the corporation - on the company's own airwaves!!!

The irony & effectiveness of this use of the situation is absolutely brilliant, which is why I watch the Daily Show & Colbert Report every night.

Barakhenaten

Since I was talking about Barack Obama in my last post...

For some reason, when I look at Obama, I can't help thinking about how much he resembles the sculpture I've seen depicting the Pharaoh Akhenaten. In Ancient Egypt, Akhenaten banished the many powerful temples & priests of the Egyptian mythological pantheon. He did this in order to establish a unified theology based on the veneration of the life-giving solar essence, Aten or Amen-Ra.

Of course, taking away the influence of established institutions & people in power tends to piss them off.

People are already comparing Barack Obama to JFK... The problem with being a voice for institutional change is that you become a target for powerful institutions that do not operate within the boundaries of morality held by the individual human soul.

Anyway, maybe a President Obama would also shake up society out of it's intellectual slumber.
As I've said, I think almost any of the candidates would be a positive improvement.
Only time will tell...

Political Thoughts & The Solution to Disasterous Presidents

As I'm watching the news surrounding the Presidential primaries, The current buzz from the hive mind is about the momentum behind Barack Obama's campaign.

I wish any one of the Democrats (and Ron Paul on the Republican side) could take over right now & at least put the brakes on the Dubya Disaster Express. I've said before that Dennis Kucinich has the most insight & the most noble ideals. However, since I don't live in a world where insight & compassion reign supreme, I would be very happy with Edwards or Obama in charge. The moral substance of both of these guys is evident if you listen to their ideas & solutions. As far as Hillary, I'd prefer her any day to the current usurper, & as a woman I think she'd bring a very different perspective, but America really needs to avoid political dynasties from now on.

Speaking of Obama, I got a forward at work talking about Obama's history & the insinuations that he's actually a jihadist in disguise because of the influence of Islam in his past. Besides obviously being a smear email, the message said that the information it contained was found by Snopes.com to be true. Of course, I took 1/2 a friggin' second & actually looked up the message on Snopes.com, where it debunked that very same email!!! That drives me absolutely up the wall, because other lazy fools look at it & go - "Oh no! Obama is going to turn our country into one big mosque!" The worst part is, that is the #1 most popular item on Snopes right now, so if you forward that email, you must be an idiot or a political operative.

I have spent a fair share of blog space since George W. Bush took office (what now seems like eons ago) venting about the mind-numbing incompetence & criminality of his administration. At this point, my mind is... well, numb from the chaos the War Monkey & his petro-military cabal have caused to the human race. They have caused or magnified disaster after horrifying disaster with no consequences, other than having the collective hatred of the human race directed toward them.

One answer to the problems caused by having an incompetent jerk-off in office would be to get RID of the office of the United States Presidency altogether!!! The idea of having just one person as a figurehead in a "democratic" society is completely retarded. Why not institute an "Executive Council"- made up of 2 members each from the major parties and 1 independent seat, for a total of 5 members? Majority rules on decisions like the Supreme Court & this guarantees no single ideology will run the executive agenda. Unfortunately, this solution is so logical that it is guaranteed NOT to be implemented - or even considered. Sure it means a little more bureaucracy as a result, but the benefits would outweigh many negatives that I can think of.

It would be a proud day if America became one step farther away from being a monarchy/military theocracy - because as a society now, we're not even close.

"W" design available at
The Monkey Buddha Bazaar
@ cafepress.com

Exploring the Quantum-Mind-Universe

After yesterdays post about fractal art, the recursive nature of reality must have been on my mind.

I saw this story on Raw Story earlier,

"Quantum Leap in Technology
to Unravel 'Cosmic Web' of Universe"

...Which reminded me of some tech news I saw on Infosthetics a few days ago:

"Brain Model Visualization"

...Both of which reminded me of comparisons I've made before about the structure of reality at different scales, from the quantum to the cosmic.

The Monkey Buddha:
Posts about "Fractal Reality"

All the scientists and data visualization experts are coming to realize that the quantum world, the mind, and the universe are all exactly the same thing. Perhaps a consequence of our perceptive realities expanding into each other will be an infinite interconnection of intelligence that surpasses any form of 'reality' that we can imagine.

What if the mind becomes fused with the light machines known as computers or even with the base energy of the universe itself & one can multi-task one's consciousness at the speed of light?
What will existence be like when you can simultaneously communicate, create, and learn in a virtual space with no limitation of linear input? Modes of thought experience will obviously be much more un-linear and vast than what the sensory-driven mind is currently capable of conjuring.

Ultraviolet Vision

This design can be found at
The Monkey Buddha Bazaar

Fractal Art Winners 2007

"Simple Thing"
by Philip Taylor
2007 Fractal Art Contest

These amazing visual creations are based on the mathematical idea known as fractals, which are a source of endless fascination for me.

It's cool to see these amazing artworks given a forum to be presented, compared, & even judged by the father of fractal geometry, Benoit Mandelbrot.

Although not showing the same skill as the contest entries, I'm adding a few of my own fractal images here. I have to get an online gallery of my artwork up soon...

(click for larger image)

Illumination

Shaman's Mask

Blacklight Dream #3