Scale of the Universe 2

I posted awhile ago about an interactive animation that allows you to use a slider to visually travel through the spectrum of scale that encompasses the Universe- from the quantum level to the most expansive areas of the cosmos.

The Scale of the Universe has been recently updated with more info & animated graphics.

The Scale of the Universe 2

This is one of the most mind-blowing conceptual tools I've come across on the web.
Unfortunately, even presented in such a simple & accessible format, the vast nature of reality is ultimately impossible for the mind to fully grasp.

I think that studying fractal geometry, and especially how it applies to generative computer art, has helped me develop a better understanding of the Universe. The natural world is full of recursive patterns & self-similarity on all scales.

"Grandma" by Chase Stone

On Superpunch, I saw this amazing digital painting of a grandmother and child observing the home planet Earth from an orbiting space station. It evokes a very real & emotionally stirring vision of the human experience in the future.

"Grandma"

by Chase Stone

This weekend a bunch of my family is getting together at my parent's house for Easter dinner. My very extensive family are the most important connections in my life. It's deeply meaningful to see the strong bonds formed between grandparents, parents, children, and 'Uncle Dudes' like myself & my brothers.

Now that we have a new generation of nephews & nieces coming up, I've become even more aware of the limitless possibilities that the future holds for the human race. These infants & toddlers who already know their way around the iPhone's digital interface will be hopefully one day be commanding the starships that will begin to explore our area of the galaxy.

Sometimes I wonder how people living thousands of years from now & traveling to other stars will relate to planet Earth. Will it become a legendary place, that space colonists only see in pictures?

I guess it all depends on how fast travel can take place throughout space & how easily people can stay in contact among the stars. Maybe technology, like hyperspace or gravity warp drives, will be developed that will allow future space travelers to return to Earth relatively quickly. Perhaps traveling to Earth at least once in a lifetime will be like a spiritual pilgrimage to Jerusalem or Mecca in the current age.

What I love about this painting is the beautiful simplicity of the scene- yet it still conveys a vast, mind-expanding sense of space, time, & the wonder of Life.

Health Care Debate

 click to enlarge 

  Health Care Glossary

by Tom Tomorrow

Recently, the Supreme Court has been hearing arguments for & against the 2010 health care law, The Affordable Care Act.

The country has to wait until June 2012 to see whether the Court upholds, or rules against part or all of the law. The hang-up is on the idea that the government mandating people to get health insurance is "un-constitutional".

The preamble of the US Constitution states:

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

It's the government's responsibility to promote the general welfare, and what is more fundamental to the welfare of society than it's health?

Anyway, regarding this pending decision, I agree with the premise of this article I saw on TPM:

"Why Overturning ‘Obamacare’ Could Lead To Single-Payer"

A reversal in the health care law might be a major pain in the ass at first, but the backlash might lead to a more progressive health system in the long run.

I've always believed that there's no reason that an employer should have anything to do with health insurance coverage of its workers.

Business should be completely out of the equation.
I'm totally socialist when it comes to health care. The federal government should be THE single-payer in some kind of universal health care system, without private health insurance companies.

Single-Payer Health Care

Hopefully, one day we can start to unravel the absurd systems that cause such staggering inefficiencies & unnecessary hardships into the functioning of society.

Narcissism Test

 I have a positive self image, but I try to be humble & keep things in perspective.

However, I also believe that you need to truly love and appreciate yourself to be an effective contribution to society at large.

Therefore, I was amused to find that, by scoring a 22 on this quiz, I'm clearly past the level of narcissist (which is a score of 20). My highest component trait scores were in Exploitativeness & Self-Sufficency.
God, I'm soooo awesome...

Narcissistic Personality Quiz

Right after I took this quiz, I also came across this image of the comic strip character Calvin that seems appropriate:

"Womb" Poster

This is a really cool poster design I saw on OMG Posters, made to promote an art gallery in Oklahoma.

 It combines Buddhist iconography & a cosmic backdrop with a techno-futuristic theme reminiscent of the pods in The Matrix.
 

“Womb” Poster by Emek

 

Waking Up

I am not a morning person.

When I was in high school, I would start my homework around 10PM & be up past midnight. My room was on the 2nd floor, & after midnight my Mom would tap a baseball bat on the ceiling below me to signal me to go to sleep. Then, the next morning, I would hear her banging it on the ceiling to wake me up for school at an ungodly hour. I guess I've always been more of a night owl.

I'm trying to be more positive now about waking up in the morning, but I do love to sleep. I saw some funny pictures about the joy of awakening I'm posting below.

This great comparison, featuring Neo being jarred from The Matrix dreamworld, was on the Chive:

 

I also saw the funny poster below from a series featured on VisualNews.com:

Travel Posters for Lazy People

Studying "The Way"

 

The Monkey Buddha Bazaar:

Circle Reflecting Pool

Discovering the Zen mode of thought when I was a college student had a great impact on my personal understanding of the world. This approach to understanding reality felt immediately familiar to me, since I've always had an introspective, but iconoclastic, personality.

Zen Philosophy

Essentially, Zen is a mindset in which names, preconceptions, and even the appearance of physical reality are all recognized as constructions of the lightshow within the mind. It doesn't mean that there's no "reality", but that reality as we experience it is extremely limited and even further filtered through our senses & perceptions. One benefit of looking deeply into one's own existence is to be "comfortable in your own skin" and understand our part in the universe.

I have Daily Zen as my homepage to randomly generate quotes from masters & practitioners.




This particular quote sums up the philosophy & practice very well:

"To study the Way
whether moving or still,
is nothing more or less
than becoming quite intimate
with our own nature,
resting quite easy in our natural state."

What People Think Graphic Designers Do

This is a funny take on people's perceptions of graphic designers:

click to enlarge

GOP March Madness

Despite following political news closely, I haven't felt the need to comment alot on the presidential race lately. The GOP primaries have basically been a ridiculous mess.

I've been saying all along that Mitt Romney's going to be the nominee after the clown show is over. Having become the exclusive party of plutocrats, obviously the Republican with the most money will be the nominee... & Mitt's got plenty of $$$. However, I can't believe that he would ultimately pose a serious challenge to Obama unless something crazy happens before the election. For reasons that almost everyone on the Left AND the Right have already been pointing out, Romney is a horrible candidate. The average non-millionaire American would have to be a complete fool to want that robotic vulture capitalist running the country.

There's obviously plenty of things to criticize, but I think Obama's presidency has been generally good. He's an intelligent guy, & consistently shows clear understanding of the complexity of the many heady issues facing our country. After watching years of Dubya bullshit his way through his 8 disastrous years, it's a relief to think someone is dealing with things who isn't a total jackass.

Though I don't think the Republican party is going away anytime soon, it's leaders & spokespeople seem to be doing their very best to alienate as many voters as possible this election season.

On top of all the other nuttiness coming from that side of the aisle on both the state & national level, the House GOP just released their latest re-hash of their warped financial vision for America.

2013 House GOP Budget

As usual, they are fully prepared to slash the social safety net & let the corporate sharks in to prey on the population. Suprise!... they want to screw the disadvantaged- while awarding tax breaks for millionaires & multinational corporations. Who would've guessed?!?

Being "fiscally conservative" to these people means you want to save money for rich people & defense contractors by cutting services for the poor & sick. I fully agree many health & social programs need to be seriously reformed, but the right wingers are ready to just slash & burn.

I went back to an old post & found this pic from the last time Rep. Paul Ryan proposed his party's crappy ideas:

Always make sure to read the fine print...

Washington Post:

Wonkbook: Why the Republican budgets make the poor pay

HuffPo:

House GOP Budget: 

Paul Ryan Plan Adds Food Stamps, 

Welfare Cuts To Medicare-Slashing Plan  

Thinkprogress:

The 5 Worst Things About The House GOP’s Budget

Secrets of the Stones: Decoding Ireland's Lost Past

 "Irish Celtic Flag"

available at the Monkey Buddha Bazaar

Although I have an Italian last name, 3 of my grandparents were Irish, so I enjoy celebrating my Celtic heritage on St. Patrick's Day.

Before I load up on Irish stew & Guinness, though, I wanted to post this excellent video I saw that explores the rich ancient heritage of Éire.

The documentary is from the Irish public broadcasting station, RTÉ. The video is an hour long, but worth watching if you're interested in Irish history.

RTÉ Television:

Secrets of the Stones: 

Decoding Ireland's Lost Past

The Origin of The Monkey Buddha

I saw this awesome Batman-inspired graphic on Superpunch, where the iconic bat is replaced with a monkey, smashing through the window.

The amazing thing is that this is exactly what happened to me when I started The Monkey Buddha blog!

I'll never forget that fateful day, sitting quietly in my study....

LOOK!

click to enlarge

"LOOK

 AT ALL THE 

 IMPORTANT THINGS 

  PEOPLE ARE DOING!"

There's always ideas for crazy graphics popping into my head. I try to write down or sketch some of them before I forget.

Though it may seem kind of cynical or defeatist, this particular cosmic image isn't just meant to disparage the relatively futile, but necessary, efforts of mankind.

It's mostly meant as a reflection on the extremely narrow limits of our mortal perspective.
The reason people & society dwell on so many petty, absurd things is because it's easy to completely lose sight of the larger reality of our world and the vast universe.

If we could truly accept our fragile existence on this island planet, we could focus on the things that would improve that existence for everyone.
We can't transcend our limitations unless we recognize them first.

With the emergence of the global brain we call the Internet, the human race is beginning to self-examine & hopefully overcome the many fundamental problems we face.
The biggest problem we face, in the long term, is how to escape this little blue ball and survive beyond it.

*To buy a print or poster, please visit my Cafepress store:

The Monkey Buddha Bazaar:

Monkey Buddha Designs

Rejected Star Wars Product Concepts

To counteract the bad Star Wars news, I have to mention this big gallery of conceptual art for Star Wars-related products and promotional items.

I've seen this linked on several websites, but here's the post by designer Jason Geyer describing the process: 

Rejected Star Wars Strikes Back!

Almost all of the concepts were rejected... which is usually the case in any commercial design process.
Some of the ideas are cool, but some are pretty bad.

However, as someone with limited product design experience, I can appreciate the effort involved in coming up with such a wide variety of concepts & the time it took to illustrate them all.

I bet most Star Wars fans would appreciate the Gurgling Gungans squeeze ball:

The Vision of Ralph McQuarrie

I'm an unabashed Star Wars geek. The legendary story George Lucas created has been an inspiring influence on me & every generation since its release, around the time I was born.

The original movies owe much of their design & visual appeal to the creative abilities of artist Ralph McQuarrie.

Wikipedia:

Ralph McQuarrie

RalphMcQuarrie.com

This visionary recently passed away, but the saga he helped develop will continue to inspire people of all ages for quite some time.
Not only did he create the look of the Star Wars universe, but he also helped with the production of many other hit movies, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Jurassic Park.

NYT:

Ralph McQuarrie, Artist Who Helped 

Bring ‘Star Wars’ to Life, Dies at 82

Here are some galleries of Ralph McQuarrie's art for the Star Wars movies (with better thumbnails than the un-viewable, tiny thumbnails on the artist's site).

Star Wars: A New Hope

The Empire Strike Back

Return of the Jedi

 There is a slide show gallery of large images at StarWars.com:

Ralph McQuarrie Remembered

Jesus & A Monkey on Mars

I was reading an article about the landscape of Mars on io9 & someone posted this picture in the comments:

I don't know why Jesus would be on Mars,
nor do I know why he would be accompanied by a spacesuited monkey.

However, I DO know that this book cover is crazy & awesome.

Here's the story synopsis:

 Wikipedia:

 Jesus on Mars

Creepy River Monkey

This pic is nightmarishly freaky-

I think it has something to do with a TV show, The River, that I'll never watch.

Hopefully I never come across anything like this while hiking or being in the wilderness!
It would be much worse than almost stepping on a rattlesnake.

The Resolution for 2012

 

This is a funny bit of graphic design humor I saw on Ffffound!

Personally, though... I'd much rather experience the year in high definition.

The Ancient History of Games

 Carved mancala cups from ancient Aksum, in Ethiopia

In my career as a commercial designer, most of my creative work is meant for mass market consumption.

To be an effective artist, though, it's good to be familiar with a wide range of topics & material. Ancient history & lost knowledge from past civilizations are some of my favorite subjects.

Since I work on alot of packaging & product design for games, I like to learn about the history of gaming. My interest in ancient cultures was one of the reasons I created the game Da Vinci's Challenge™ to resemble an artifact from classical times.

Games have been around as long as human society. The act of playing games of skill or chance is an extension of the basic pattern-forming capacity of our brain. Games are a way to explore possibilities and a fun way to stimulate the mind.

Historically, people with the most leisure time had the most opportunities to play games. The wealthy could indulge in enjoyable pastimes more than a toiling peasant. Also, priests in cultures that followed the movement of the stars spent long nights observing the skies. I can imagine it was common for those at a temple or a royal court to pass the time with games of varying complexity.

Common people can make dice out of bones or simple carved objects. The elite had more intricate creations- like the Royal Game of Ur, a board game found in royal tombs in what is now Iraq. However, there were also games like the Egyptian board game Senet that were enjoyed by the royalty and regular people alike.

Games in the Ancient World:

Ancient Board Games

Discovery News

Board Games Originated as Elite Pastime

From the excellent article above, I learned a bit of trivia -
• The first mass-produced board games in the U.S. were Travelers' Tour Through the United States and Travelers' Tour Through Europe, both published by New York booksellers F. & R. Lockwood in 1822.

Here are some other links about Mohenjo-daro, one of the oldest human settlements ever discovered. The archaeological site is littered with game & play-related artifacts.

Science Daily:

Play Was Important -- Even 4,000 Years Ago

Past Horizons:

1 in 10 Finds from Mohenjo-daro is Play-related

...and, no - these games were NOT created by ancient aliens.

The Horrible Truth of the Purple Squirrel

Recently, a strangely-colored critter made the news. In Pennsylvania, a purple squirrel was found & nobody knows how it got that way.

No Explanation for Pennsylvania's Purple Squirrel

There are theories that it fell into ink, and then there's commenters theorizing that it's the result of bromide from water polluted by fracking. Both theories are wrong...

The real answer is that it is a malevolent Trabie has obviously crossed over into our dimension.

We're doomed.

TRABIE ALERT!!!...

TRABIE ALERT!!!...TRABIE ALERT!!!

Vanilla Ice Rap Game

I recently posted about Bad Action Figures, but here's a contender for the worst game idea ever:

 The style of the art on that box is sooo early 1990's. The 90's were basically a hangover from the most tasteless decade ever- the 1980's.

When Vanilla Ice's album came out, I was in 4th grade. My aunt got me the cassette tape To The Extreme for Christmas one year, since I was too young to know better.

Here is my review of his classic movie. It's so bad that it's awesome.

Cool As Ice

 

 

 

Future Games

 ePawn

I'm continuing my topical leadup to my trip to Toy Fair in NYC. My last post was about bad toys from the past. Now it's time to look at the more promising future of toys & games.

With the prevalence of smart phones & touchscreen computers, digital gaming is an unstoppable force in personal entertainment.
I see my little nephews & other toddlers easily navigating iPhone apps, and it seems inevitable that human interfacing with electronics will only increase in the future.

However, as long as we inhabit the physical realm, there will always be the need for physical interaction- with humans & objects alike.
The appeal of a tangible products or items is not going away anytime soon. That's why I think there's alot of potential for games or other applications that are a hybrid of physical and digital attributes.

I saw this cool demo on Neatorama of a game that uses a touchscreen playing surface & physical game pieces. It's called the ePawn Arena:

Searching for other instances of digital game boards, I came across this prototype by Philips Electronics from a few years ago:



As we become more enmeshed with electronic devices, it will become more "natural" to interact with virtual interfaces that augment our physical senses, intelligence, & consciousness.

At some point, if people engineer a truly symbiotic connection with future digital devices, like an 'Apple iThink', it will be interesting to see how perceptions of the virtual and physical worlds are combined in the mind of the person.

Bad Action Figures

Since I'm getting ready for Toy Fair in NYC this weekend, it's a good time to post this great list of really bad action figures I saw a while back:

Cracked.com:

The 36 Worst Action Figures From Iconic Toy Lines

There are so many laughably bad characters, but my favorites have to be the He-Man "smelly" characters: 

Moss Man (which was Beast Man with green paint, fur, & pine scent) 

& Stinkor... yes, an action figure that looked & smelled like a skunk (which was just a Mer-man figure painted black & white). They are just awesomely bad toys.

"Why won't anyone play with me?!?!?!"

As kids, my 2 brothers & I amassed an extensive collection of toys & actions figures over the years. With such a vast collection, we inevitably had most of the crappy toys on that list. Batman's "Bob" & The G.I. Joe character "Chuckles" were off-the-charts lame.

I guess when you're trying to create so many characters for a toy line, a few duds are bound to slip in the mix.

There are plenty of other examples of action figure failures. One day I'll have to gather up some of the worst ones I can find & make my own list.

This stupidly grinning Lex Luthor that punched himself in the head comes to mind:

Even the packaging sucked for that that 1990's line of DC superheroes by Toy Biz.

Brain Scrambling

This weekend, I'm going to Toy Fair in NYC for a couple days. One reason is to try to find a new publisher for the award-winning strategy game I created & developed, Da Vinci's Challenge™ based on the ancient Flower of Life pattern.

We have also developed some other new games, toys, & activities that we hope will create some interest. Toy Fair is an interesting show to attend & I usually feel some visual overload from trying to take everything in.

Besides spending the last few weeks trying to prepare for the show, I was in a minor car accident in the middle of January & have been dealing with that situation.

Then, I was in work last Wed. & my head started burning up w/ a fever. My fingers felt numb & my body had the chills, despite my head being on fire. The next day the fever went away, but then I had a painful throat infection that lasted several days. It was really bad during the week, but I still went in to work to make sure I got all the stuff done for Toy Fair. I ate nothing but soup for 4 days. To ease the swelling I tried gargling water + everything: salt, honey, hydrogen peroxide, & even cayenne red pepper after seeing it recommended online.

Saturday morning I felt relatively better, & ate some cherry water ice that was like a frozen miracle. Last nite I went out to eat with my parents & was so damn hungry that I tried to tackle a burger, my first solid food in days. Even though I had an ravenous appetite, my throat was so raw that each swallow felt like I was swallowing tiny shards of glass. My Dad was laughing at me, saying I looked like an alligator the way I was grimacing & struggling to put down each gulp.
 
FINALLY, I woke up this morning & could swallow with no discomfort at all! Hallelujah!!! Most of the day, I was still reflexively wincing each time I swallowed, even though it didn't hurt anymore.

No matter how much awareness we place on our well-being, we easily take for granted what a blessing it is to experience life free of debilitating pain.

Anyway, the physical discomfort was enough to frazzle my mind as I've been trying to focus on dealing with the rest of life's steady march of craziness.
I saw the optical animated GIF below & thought it was a good representation of my general state of mind during the last week.

WARNING!!!

IT WILL SCRAMBLE YOUR BRAIN!!!!

I also saw this other cool optical illusion GIF, "Hide the Corners" that is hard to stop staring at:

Generative Computer Art

This is a cool video I saw on BoingBoing that shows the endless creative power that people are developing with the aid of computers.

Ever-improving digital tools are crucial in generating visuals that we mere humans could never create with physical means.

Most of my art is done with computers- so it's the brush, paint, & canvas of my artistic life.

Usually, I can directly translate imagery in my mind's eye onto the screen, using Adobe software or other image-generating programs.

The magical process of interfacing with machines is so ubiquitous now, it's often taken for granted. On the other hand, I personally often think how amazing it is that we can manipulate these pixels of light around a translucent surface to externalize our thoughts.

Technology is like an alchemical process of forming new things from existing elements. As long as communication and innovation are continually encouraged, there's no telling what astonishing feats man will one day see as commonplace.

Telsa's Understanding of the Universe

I thought this an awesome quote to add to my last post about one of history great inventors, Nikola Tesla:

"If you want to understand the Universe, 

think of energy, frequency, and vibration."

- Nikola Tesla

 

seen on fusionanomaly.

Mad Electricity: Nikola Tesla

I was watching this engaging documentary of one of the greatest inventors of all time, Nikola Tesla.

He was the father of the modern electric age & single-handedly created many of its wonders that we take for granted now-
Tesla was the inventor of A/C electricity, florescent light bulbs, wireless signal transmission, and other ideas that literally changed the entire world.

Unfortunately, he hasn't historically always received the credit he deserves & his efforts were often challenged or outright squashed by greedy corporatists like Thomas Edison, or short-sighted financiers like J.P. Morgan. Tesla initially worked for Edison, who screwed him out of compensation he owed for Tesla's inventions.

Before his success lighting the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with A/C power, he even had to find work digging ditches in New York City for a time after he left Edison's lab.

This History channel documentary, "Mad Electricity,"is an excellent overview of the amazing insight & accomplishments of this visionary mind.

Here's another great page on the PBS site for information about Tesla:

PBS: 

Tesla: Master of Lightning

  

Even his previously fantastical vision of wireless electric power is now finally being realized, as well. 

Engadget Primed: 

"How Wireless and Inductive Charging Works"

Tesla was truly a genius & his work should be taught in every science class around the world.

 “When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.”

-Nikola Tesla

Choice

Questionnaire

by Benjamin Patterson

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 My answer would definitely be....

maybe   [  ]

I also came across this very relevant quote by crazy wisdom master RAW on The Daily Grail:

"Do not try to give either/or answers 
in a multiple-choice universe"  

~ Robert Anton Wilson

Monkeys & Mortality

There are many things I enjoy in life, but bizarre creations & monkey pictures always make my day.

I saw the masterpiece below on the Tumblr blog JUST_MONK3Y.
A pensive ape, wearing a fez hat with the the all-seeing eye, is holding a human skull.

Using the mind-boggling power of Google Images & Search ("ape+fez+skull"), I just took 30 seconds & tracked down the creator of this superb image, Jean Labourdette. The title of the work only adds to its awesomeness:

"The Artist's Unconscious Mind (Self-portrait)"

by Jean Labourdette

Perhaps the ponderous primate is wondering about the nature of the process we call consciousness that experiences our mortal existence...

Perhaps he is thinking about bananas...


Also on that blog, I saw this funny vintage print of a cheeky monkey trying to make moves on a human circus lady.

I looked up the artist, E. Gayac, but there's not much info other than that he was a Spanish postcard artist.

State of the Union 2012

Last night, I watched the premier piece of political pageantry in American politics, The State of the Union address.

This version posted by the White House has additional infographics accompanying the speech:



 Some people will inevitably complain about it being just another speech by Obama & his teleprompter that, according to his critics, no President has ever used before. Personally, I think The Long-Legged Mack Daddy has done as well as anyone can be expected to in his position.

The one credit I've always given our previous President, George W. Bush, is that he's the reason I got interested in politics & government affairs as a young adult.

His administration was like a car wreck that I had to watch, in horror. The GOP's policies were horrible overall, and Bush was himself was a continual disaster & embarrassment in the eyes of the world. The real President at the time, Dick Cheney, was widely regarded with the same affection as The Emperor in Star Wars.

NEVER FORGET!!!...

Therefore, it's nice to be able to sit through these State of the Union speeches & not feel like the leader of the country is an inarticulate ignoramus.

Obama's clearly not perfect, but he's a helluva alot better than Bush or any of the current Republican candidates. If anything, he hasn't been forcefully progressive enough. Actually, the points where Obama & his administration are at their worst is where they try to continue the policies of the Bush White House. However, he campaigned as a moderate Democrat (not a liberal) and realistically has to deal with the conservatives in Congress & "The System" in general.

Haters gonna hate, though, so there are people who get sucked into the Fox News & right-wing talk radio (((brain-warp))) who think Obama's a muslim socialist who was born in Kenya & deeply hates America. I read the comments for articles on Fox Nation & Red State with the same sense of morbid curiosity as someone visiting an insane asylum. ...but, hey, all views should be taken into equal consideration, right?
Fair & Balanced™!!!

Obama, like all Presidents, is faced with a tremendous job & there are plenty of decisions to criticize or praise. I generally agree with his articulated vision for the country. If he had a greater degree of cooperation from Congress, the country would be improving at a much faster rate. The alternative is the traditional, disastrous Republican ideology, which is basically the privatization of everything & welfare only for multi-national corporations & the top 1%, sucking up America's wealth.

I'm pretty cynical, but I still think voting is an important civil act. I'll almost certainly be voting for President Obama, regardless of what obscenely rich knucklehead the GOP finally nominates.

Day in the Life of a Graphic Designer

On Ffffound! I saw this retro-looking graphic by Amerikan Made Prints.


It's a very funny poster & I can relate to alot of it. Thankfully, my life as a graphic designer isn't quite as crazy!

Amerikan Made Prints:

"Another Day. Another Dropshadow"™

click to enlarge

The Magic of Bob Ross

Recently I caught a bit of this documentary about the late, legendary landscape painter & TV personality, Bob Ross.

 

Bob Ross was on public television when I was a kid, and later became a hero for me & some of my friends in high school. 

Part of the reason I admired him was due to my love of art, but his laid-back demeanor & hypnotic banter could make anyone feel like they were in a Zen-like state of mental relaxation.

His descriptive imagination & his seemingly magic technique could instill a sense of wonder not just for art, but for the natural world that he was recreating in his paintings.

One of my friends recently sent me a video of his young daughters transfixed while watching an old episode of The Joy of Painting. Though he's no longer with us, Bob's gentle spirit still has a calming effect on people of all ages.

After seeing some of the documentary, I decided to have some fun & imagined myself in his painting. I wish I could've been lucky enough to meet him...

 "Paul Mic in the Mountains"

not by Bob Ross

Ancient Greek Punishment Games

 This could also be called 'The Game of Life'

Continuing on the idea of completely un-playable, not-so-fun games... I saw this on Neatorama and thought it was a very funny idea:

Let’s Play Ancient Greek Punishment

These simple 8-bit style games put you in the role of characters from ancient Greek myths who were punished by the gods with eternal torment.

I've been interested in ancient mythology since first learning about the Greek & Roman stories in grade school.


These impossible games simulate the torturous afterlives of the following characters:

• Sisyphus
• Tantalus
• Prometheus
• Danaids
...and my favorite, which is actually a philosophical paradox & not an eternal punishment:
• Zeno

Truther Toys

Continuing on the topic of having some fun with conspiracy theories from my last post...

I saw a link to these totally crazy "Truther Toy" parodies that take some of the more nefarious conspiracy theories floating around, and made them into games & other not-so-fun products for kids.

Truther Toys

Having years of experience designing products for the toy & game industry, I can confidently say that NONE of these concepts will ever make their way into the toy aisle, at any store!

My favorite, however, is probably the Bank$ters Monopoly Press, which is a goof on the illusory, abstract nature of our entire monetary system:

click to enlarge

Right now, perpetual Presidential candidate Ron Paul & his fanatically loyal supporters are probably the most visibly vocal opponents in this country of the Federal Reserve & the entire fiat system of debt-driven currency. Although I find some of Congressman Paul's policy positions to be questionable, the private control of the issuing of money is one aspect of economy that is untenable & definitely needs major reform.

Although auditing the Fed, while creating more transparency & accountability in the highest levels of the financial sector, would be a good thing- his obsession with gold-backed currency seems antiquated & impractical in the digital age.


Like all things, the global economy & our systems of exchange will continue to evolve- perhaps into processes that we may not be able to even imagine today.

Reality Sandwich:

Sacred Economics

Conspiracy Theory Rock: Media-opoly

This "TV Funhouse" skit by Robert Smigel (aka Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) is as true today as it was a decade ago when it was made for SNL.

The power of the giant multinational corporate conglomerates still disproportionately influences the media, the economy, & the government.

Any attempt to reign in the inevitable abuses committed by these impersonal, profit-driven monstrosities through regulation is usually met by screams of "Socialism!" or "government overreach!" by those with little sense of business ethics or social responsibility.

This particular segment was never used on the show, for obvious reasons.

Conspiracy Theory Rock: Media-opoly

The Satirical Genius of Stephen Colbert

 Stephen Colbert transferring his "Colbert SuperPAC" money to Jon Stewart.

I've been a regular viewer of The Colbert Report since the first episode. He was one of the funniest 'correspondents' on The Daily Show, and (in my opinion) has far surpassed Jon Stewart has the greatest political satirist alive... maybe ever.

The NY Times magazine had this great article that gives a look behind the persona that he has meticulously crafted.

NY Times Magazine:

How Many Stephen Colbert's Are There?

His roast of Dubya in 2006 was a legendary performance & guaranteed him a place among the Gods of Comedy.

Google Video

2006 White House Correspondents Dinner

However, since then he has continued to bring an insane amount of wit & cutting insight to every show. His character is a consistently brilliant parody of the know-nothing plutocratic jerks who can usually be found on right-wing media like Fox News, as either guests or pundits.

Recently on his show, he has been masterfully utilizing all the great comedic material being provided by the buffoons running in the GOP primaries.

He has also been busy exposing the ludicrous process & laws behind elections in our country. At the forefront of his crusade to highlight the absurdities of our political system has been the 'Citizen's United' decision by the Supreme Court.

NYT:

Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit

Basically, it ruled that current election law allows corporations to be considered "people" when it comes to political speech.

Therefore, through supposedly unconnected groups known as Super PACs, unlimited money can be raised by supporters of candidates. There is no requirement to disclose how much has been raised or where it came from.

Therefore, he started Colbert SuperPAC to show the process behind forming these legal entities which are having such a detrimental effect on the democratic system.

This week he made a surprise move to hand over the operation of his Colbert SuperPAC to Jon Stewart. By doing this, he has opened himself up to exploring a run as a candidate in the South Carolina primary election!

This should be very interesting... & hysterical!

The Colbert Report: January 12, 2012

Full Episode Link

The Colbert Report
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Design Like Nobody's Watching

I saw this funny design lesson on This Isn't Happiness:

Design Like Nobody's Watching

by Grant Snider

Vermin Supreme, a Tyrant You Can Trust

On a couple websites I saw links to this video of a maniac who turned an otherwise boring public forum into an insane spectacle.

So I finally watched it, & the brazenly wacky Vermin Supreme is truly a sight to behold.

He is apparently a political activist of the crazy kind & has somehow been allowed to run in the Presidential primary in New Hampshire.

Gawker.com:

This Unkempt Boothead

Is Terrorizing New Hampshire’s Diners

His jingle that he sings around the 5:00 mark and then glitter-bombing anti-gay activist Randall Terry is worth sitting through the rest of the madness.




I'm totally entertained by absurd happenings such as this.
Madmen such as Vermin Supreme briefly lift the veil off the artifices of accepted social mores & our general perceptions of reality.

Despite my enjoyment of crazy crap like this, I can't imagine how anyone would actually let "Mr. Supreme" near public office. Most people prefer a state of order over mayhem- even if it's an order that's corrupt & dysfunctional.

Last night, Stephen Colbert was skewering GOP candidate Rick Santorum. They showed a clip of Santorum being confronted by.... a crazy man wearing a boot on his head!
I had a friend over who exclaimed, "Look at that crazy boot-head!" I couldn't remember the name at the time, but I knew it was ridiculous & ended up looking it up online.

When the primaries move on from New Hampshire, who knows if the Vermin Supreme phenomenon will continue...

In the long line of 'out-there' politicians, Vermin Supreme is on a different level.

See also:

Mike Gravel

Basil Marceaux

Guides to Creative Thinking

I saw this list on Visual Bits & thought it had very good points:

Rules of a Creator's Life

I also came across this excellent article in The Atlantic that sums up the mysterious creative process:

How to Think Creatively

The four steps outlined in the article definitely reflect how I usually approach design projects or problems in general:
1. Saturation - expose yourself to as many different possibilities & solutions as you can
2. Incubation - take time to reflect & simply think about the project or problem
3. Ilumination - the often sudden mental lightning strike of an idea
4. Verification - re-evaluate the approach you are taking and weigh the pros vs. cons.

10 Technology Breakthroughs of 2011

This is a little late, but here is a good list of some really mind-boggling innovations that have been emerging recently.

Gizmowatch:

10 Incredible Technology Breakthroughs of 2011

I never stop being amazed at the ability of the human mind to physically realize what it can imagine. My Dad always comments about how visionary Star Trek was back in the 60's, but he doesn't even know just how much of that sci-fi tech is now really being developed.

Infographic:

Star Trek is Just Around the Corner

When I see things like 'Brain-like CPUs', 'Cloud Computing', 'Auto-Repairing Circuits', & 'Nanorobotics', it's clear that an 'Apple iThink' computer is closer than ever.

From Paul's Portrait