I've had some experience in 3D computer graphics, and I love to see all the amazing artwork people create in that medium.
Artist Hadi Karimi digitally sculpts likenesses of historical figures in such a realistic manner that they look like photography. Being an expert in photo retouching, I can pick out fake images easily. However, these renderings are so convincing that they appear like real people, even to me.
The artistry displayed here is absolutely astounding. As I look over these portraits again, I am baffled that someone can even do this! Not only is the sculpting of the faces impressive, but the coloring & textures, hair, clothing, and especially the lighting all lend to the realism of these images.
For each portrait, there are multiple viewing angles, again adding to the sense of dimensionality of each figure.
I would highly recommend visiting the artist's website, to marvel at the technical and creative skill shown in these 3D renderings.
I believe this is a step to digitally re-creating people of the past - both famous and of personal importance. I could see an industry of providing "virtual loved ones" that can be seen and interacted with using VR or holograms.
Technology like Deep Nostalgia, combined with this kind of realistic 3D modeling, could allow a person to choose from a library of historical figures, or the creation of an AI-generated avatar based on personal photos and video.
Maybe when my son is an old man, he will be able to generate a virtual version of me to converse with. People are inherently social and nostalgic creatures, so it would surprise me if that kind of application wasn't developed at some point in the future.
This morning I was reading this excellent article about "Visions," the new series of animated Star Wars stories. It went into fascinating detail about the influences of Japanese and Asian culture in general on the development of Star Wars.
I haven't seen this series of anime adaptations yet. However, being a lifelong Star Wars fan, I am quite familiar with the cultural, artistic, & mythological references from around the world that make up this modern day classic. I was fascinated by the book "Star Wars: The Power of Myth", which only touched the surface of the cultural makeup of the story and characters.
George Lucas borrowed heavily from visual storytellers like Akira Kurosawa, religious philosophies like Buddhism, and countless sources of inspiration from all over the globe & all areas of human experience.
I'm not really into anime, but I did enjoy the anthology, "The Animatrix," similarly a collection of animated stories set in the world of The Matrix. If "Star Wars: Visions" displays the same level of creativity and love for the source material, I'm sure I'll be into it.
Star Wars has always been my favorite work of fiction because of the richness & depth (much of it subtle) that draws on so many other interesting aspects of cultures around the world. I still love the imaginary universe that Star Wars has built, although I think Episodes 7-9 of the Skywalker saga were a fucking trainwreck (so much so that I am considering making a profanity-laced video of a tirade directed toward these movies).
Star Wars will be a source of inspiration itself for a long time, to people in places far, far away. It has been awesome to grow up alongside these moves & media, and it will be interesting how they continue to affect people in the future.
I was looking through The Monkey Buddha Archives, and I think I finally discovered why the United States' 20 year occupation of Afghanistan ultimately failed...
I mistakenly referred to it as a "grasshopper" when I posted it to a NJ Nature & Wildlife group I joined on Facebook. Some of the other members corrected me on what kind of insect it was, which is one of the nice things about social media- when you actually get correct information!
Here are some more photos, including extreme close-up shots of the leg & wing, which has evolved to mimic a leaf:
I saw this mind-bending animation on r/imaginarylandscapes & thought it was pretty crazy.
It was made using Deep Dream neural network software "that uses a convolutional neural network to find and enhance patterns in images via algorithmic pareidolia, thus creating a dream-like psychedelic appearance in the deliberately over-processed images."
I've used similar software to create some images that I've posted here.
The process for creating this imagery is definitely analogous to the bizarre visual experiences present in altered states and dreams. The brain is a pattern-recognition machine, and this software uses computers to simulate the unfiltered feedback loops that result in these kinds of hallucinations in the mind's eye.
It's not often that I experience new music that completely blows me away. However, I was recently putting my son to sleep, feeding him a bottle & rocking him while playing songs that I've bookmarked for him on YouTube. After finally getting him to sleep with a relaxing instrumental track of Eastern zen-inspired music, I was scrolling through the recommended videos... & stopped at a live performance that looked interesting.
As I started listening to it, I was enthralled by the droning sounds & rhythmic drumming. It looked & sounded like an ancient shamanic ritual. Having a deep interest in the spiritual & artistic dimensions of early human culture, the performance immediately piqued my interest. Then, the lead vocalist Maria Franz (who looked like a nature shamaness, donning antlers reminiscent of the Cernunnos on the Gundestrup Cauldron and veiled eyes, clicking bones together) began to sing.. & I was like, "Woooooahhhhh!"
Then some other crazy male medicine man figure, Kai Uwe Faust, began growling in an animalistic call & response. I paused the video, put my soundly snoozing little son in his crib, grabbed my headphones & invoked the plant medicine to open me up fully to this new auditory experience.
The band I had discovered was Heilung, which means "healing" in German, and they are a neo-pagan return to primal music that reverberates deep into the soul, connecting us to our distant ancestors. In addition to the other 2 members I mentioned is Christopher Juul, a studio engineer & producer who has helped create the otherworldly sound experience of Heilung. From their own description on Apple music:
Combining ancient melodies with otherworldly vocals, field recordings, dark ambient soundscapes, and shamanic rhythms, Danish pagan folk act Heilung create a trance-inducing blend that evokes the very dawn of civilization.
Heilung is an experimental folk music band made up of members from Denmark, Norway, and Germany.[3] Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age. Heilung describe their music as "amplified history from early medieval northern Europe". Their music is usually about Norse deities, jǫtnar, and valkyries.
The first video I had watched was a live performance of "Krigsgaldr" & it is fucking awesome. I don't understand a single damn word, other than the English that the medicine man grunts in the middle of the song- but it doesn't matter. The performance, costumes, set, and music itself are all iconic- and evocative of a lost shamanic experience, the mystical perception of nature and that connection to ourselves that draws us back into the ground of being.
I immediately started listening to their other songs, and they have a lot of great music that is thematically unique and technically brilliant. Every time I listen to one of their songs, I'm amazed at the arrangement of language and sound that creates such a magical effect.
Love this one too, "Traust". Just such a great sound:
If these first 2 songs interest you, then definitely check out their other music, too. I'll let the music speak for itself, & it speaks to the remote beginnings of our ancient heritage.
It is such an unbelievable display of artistry on all levels- lyrically, musically, visually, & spiritually. I'm so glad I came across this band and their amazing music; it's a real soul-churning experience that I'll keep coming back to from now on.
However, the compilation of the top 100 animations is almost overwhelming in the sheer talent on display. I have watched it several times already, noticing new details each time.
It is truly a visual and mental treat, & I cannot recommend enough that you just take time to watch the top 100 montage:
It has been an awe-inspiring experience watching him grow and begin to develop a personality. My wife Loretta & I always knew he was going to be a strong spirit, but he continually amazes us with his willpower, intelligence, and sense of humor... even though he can't talk yet!
Being a father has proved to be the most challenging, & simultaneously the most rewarding, experience of my life. It has allowed for little time to do things that I used to enjoy, but spending time with my little buddy and helping to raise him is my top priority. Nothing else matters when I see his smiling little Plumpkin Head. My years of cultivating mindfulness and appreciation of the present moment are now giving me the ability to deeply engage the process of raising this little child.
I pray every day that he lives a long, healthy, & happy life, and that I get to see as much of it as possible. If his first year is any indication, he will have an eventful and memorable life.
We feel blessed to have this light in our lives, & we hope he brightens up the world. I love you Paul Giuseppe Micarelli, my son!!!
I am endlessly fascinated by fractal geometry & I saw this animation on /r/woahdude that grabbed my attention. I just kept staring at it's mesmerizing simplicity...
The animation is a brilliant use of Sierpinski triangles to create endlessly looping motion.
It appears that the triangles are moving relative to each other, but it is just the expanding self-similarity of the recursive fractal pattern shifting through the triangular boundaries.
I love the summer & being outside in nature. Our house has a lot of plant & wildlife that I observe and am introducing my son to.
My wife and also enjoy gardening and have many flowering plants around our house. I've been taking pics of some of the beautiful blooms emerging this summer:
These are awesome- fire red lilies that I planted last year & are one of my favorites:
A batch of these orange tiger lilies were already at the house, but I love when they bloom, too:
This might be my favorite flower, because I have been trying for a couple summers to get vines to cover a trellis, but the landscapers kept cutting it down. I had to put up barriers to prevent them from trimming the vines. Finally, the vines are covering the trellis & it has begun to flower!
Within the past couple days, a 2nd large, purple flower has bloomed on the vine!
Bunches of pastel blue/white/yellow hydrangeas:
As for wildlife, we have several creatures inhabiting our backyard, including 3 large groundhogs:
We also have wild turkeys. This momma & her chicks have been hanging around, and my mother-in-law snapped this photo of them standing on our deck railing!
The invitation I created for the birthday party, featuring my wild little son!
I haven't posted a lot here recently, since I work full time and spend a lot of my free time with my son, who just had his 1st birthday! Being a father is an awesome experience, and I am blessed that Paulie is healthy, smart, and already funny (even though he can't talk)!
A year ago, his birth was simultaneously the most traumatic & beautiful experience of my life. My wife and I planned on a natural home birth, but we found ourselves in a medical emergency when the baby's umbilical cord became prolapsed (pushed over his head) after Loretta's water forcefully broke. I wrote about our story shortly after:
Having a child born during the COVID pandemic and social upheaval has really been a strange & difficult circumstance. The challenges surrounding Paul Giuseppe's birth have given us a deep, profound appreciation for his presence in our lives.
As I see him developing, I'm enjoying him more & more! He already has a little personality and cracks everyone up with his smile and funny sounds, like his dramatic laugh & grunts when doing something strenuous. Paulie is stubborn, persistent, and rough, but also very sweet and happy. He loves to play and is so curious- he is fascinated by mechanical things like clasps, buttons, and hinges. Currently, he is obsessed with wireless speakers, so I got him a little one for his birthday that is rugged enough to endure his rough handling & drool.
Here are some of the nicknames we've given him: Lil' Rascal • Meatball Head • Plumpkin • The Milk Goblin • Peanut • Squeaky Skadattles • Scoots • Uncle Fusster • Crank Sinatra • Lil' C-Blocker • Pig Boy • Little Mr. Fidgewidge
I've made up a character for him that I use to entertain my sister's kids... pretending he is an emperor as I carry him around & they must obey his bidding:
"Caesar Paulgustus"
I am writing this mostly for him, as a record that hopefully he gets to see someday, the same way my grandfather Joseph Micarelli recorded his experiences that I'm now able to appreciate.
I've also taken some video of his big day & edited together:
Every day during my morning meditation, I pray that my son lives a long, happy, & healthy life, and that Loretta & I get to see him grow up to be a fulfilled adult. I am grateful for his presence in my life and hope his light shines into the world.
I've posted about Black and the Blues, the band that my Dad (Paul J. Micarelli) was in when he was a teenager.
He was also in a few other bands, inluding "Snuffy", (which was named after a dog).
My Dad's former bandmate & long-time friend John Carnuccio supplied me with two tracks from a 45 record featuring song my Dad wrote. I have a copy of the record & my Dad has a bunch of them, but John supplied digital recordings he made, so that I could make & upload the videos below.
Snuffy Band Members: Mike Burke John Carnuccio
Joe Daley
Don Merlino
Paul J. Micarelli
"I Wanna Change My Life" by Snuffy
1970's
Written by Paul J. Micarelli
"Look" by Snuffy
1970's
Written by Paul J. Micarelli
There is a belief in many spiritual traditions that one can seek guidance & wisdom from the ancestors who came before us.
The question becomes, "How far back can we go in our attempts to commune with our ancient predecessors?" Can we connect with the transitional creatures who were emerging from the water to flop around on land, as this graphic suggests? Perhaps we can go back even further, & the single-celled organisms from billions of years ago will guide us on our current life journey.
Joking aside, it is all available, and we carry the information from the entire lineage of life on this planet within us.
The Vatican Library is a repository for all kinds of unique & rare works. I happened to come across this Aztec manuscript that is scanned in high resolution:
The artwork is so far from Western sensibilities, that it may as well be an alien language. It is very image-based and extremely psychedelic. Considering the Mesoamerican absence of our modern taboos on using entheogens, the bizarre nature of the imagery is understandable.
Is that a monkey head hanging off the ear of this figure???
It is a tragedy that so much of the ancient culture of this continent was almost completely wiped out by the colonizers, missionaries, and conquistadors. It is a miracle that these few remnants have survived at all. Thankfully, they have, and we can continue to admire the amazing imagery and ponder the meanings they hold.
The idea of Trump having any sort of serious, deep introspection is obviously absurd.
However, depicting him as a disciplined & wise Buddhist monk practicing zazen, or sitting meditation, is as crazy of a concept as the sun being made out of billions of ice cubes!
I'll tell you what's great for everyone's state of mind... not having to hear about his idiotic tweets and asshole behavior as President of the United States every damn day.
It would be great if somehow Donald came to some profound understanding of Reality, and was able to cultivate inner peace. Unfortunately, he has lived his entire life as a hungry ghost entity, and his dumb ass will almost certainly not change.
South Park is one of my all-time favorite shows, but I haven't watched it in awhile. The creators & writers are mad geniuses who always put the craziest spin on social issues and current events. This week, my wife & I watched the Pandemic & Vaccination Specials. They were the typical hilarious South Park takes on the situation surrounding the COVID pandemic.
We watched the Pandemic Special first, which was from the Fall of 2020. The focus was on society's reliance on authoritarianism when faced with social crises, as the teachers of South Park were replaced with police officers & the school was put on "lock down".
Another main part of the story was Randy Marsh's marijuana business Tegrity Farms, and his "Pandemic Special," lampooning the corporate exploitation that inevitably arises to take advantage of any opportunity to make a profit.
A couple nights later, we watched the Vaccine Special, which was even funnier. It started off with the comparison of waiting lists for vaccines to the lines in front of nightclubs, which is a hysterically perfect analogy.
They also brilliantly tied in the QAnon conspiracy movement & the belief in a cabal of pedophile elites who are controlling everything behind the scenes. In true South Park "WTF, they're crazy!" fashion, Matt & Trey ended up turning that trope back on themselves.
There were so many subtle & not-so-subtle points of parody in these specials, that it kept us constantly looking at each other in disbelief & laughter. These are simply must-see episodes. They are experts at taking taboo subjects and breaching them, and exposing the absurdities in our culture that people take for granted.
It's amazing that the show has been so consistently funny for so long, but it's still absolutely hilarious. The details and satirical genius of South Park make it a true treasure, and watching these specials has made me realize I really have to catch up on the last few seasons.
I was outside with my son yesterday & noticed all the plants & trees blooming. So, I got my macro lens & took some closeups of the flora in my backyard.
This surreal vision is from a series called Mecha Weekly. He takes 3D mechanical-based designs and renders them so they have a dream-like quality. The link shows some of the process behind creating these amazing visuals.
There's much more of this weird, mesmerizing art on his Instagram page @mcafee.design.
Last night my wife and I watched "Joker" starring Joaquin Phoenix. She wanted to watch it, which is unusual because she's not really a fan of comic book movies. However, she likes psychological dramas, and "Joker" is very heavy on the psychology of this particular insane villain.
Although it is an origin story & there are tie-ins to Batman (mostly through the appearances of young Bruce Wayne & his father Thomas), it did not really feel like a movie about the comic book character Joker. The DC movies have not really followed a coherent universe like Marvel, and this just seems like a standalone movie that has nothing to do with Justice League or Batman movies. That being said, it was still a really good film and we both enjoyed it.
Admittedly, my favorite portrayal of The Joker is in the Arkham Asylum video games - in which Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) voices the Clown Prince of Crime. After the movie, when I told Loretta this, she was incredulous, "Luke Skywalker plays the Joker?!?!" When I showed her some clips from the games, she was like, "Yeah, that's pretty good." This to me is exactly what the Joker should be:
I just never like any of the renditions of The Joker in the movies. People rave about Jack Nicholson & Heath Ledger, but they were horrible. They basically played a smug, subdued creep with a weird mouth & a bum with makeup, respectively. I'm not even going to talk about Jared Leto's version in Suicide Squad. "Damaged"? More like just plain idiotic. Even Caesar Romero's 1960's campy portrayal was better than that.
I think Joaquin Phoenix got as close to the essence of the mind of the Joker as any actor. The one detail that seems to have been forgotten in other roles is the manic nature of the Joker, embodied in his crazed laugh. This movie put an interesting spin on that characteristic - with Arthur Fleck being affected by a "condition" of an uncontrollable laugh that is like a nervous tic.
The movie definitely wasn't funny in any regard, despite the main character being a clown. In fact, it was pretty disturbing, which is fitting considering this clown is a psychopath. It covered many social issues, such as the availability of mental health services, the exploitation of individuals by the media, and the class divide which drives so much suffering in our world. You can almost sympathize with Fleck as the cruelty of society and the horrors of life drive him further into madness.
I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone interested in comic book movies, or films dealing with psychology and social commentary. It effectively took a cartoonish villain and created a multi-dimensional character who can simultaneously elicit empathy, fear, and disgust.
I had watched the beginning of The Mandalorian series over a friend's house, but only got to see 2 episodes. My wife & I finally finished watching the first season last week, and it has been a great show.
As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I feel like the quality of The Mandalorian has partially redeemed the cinematic shit-show of the sequel movies Episodes 7-9. However, the awesomeness of the show only makes me more disappointed and pissed off about how badly the sequel trilogy was executed.
The Mandalorian does so many things right... the overall writing, the "subversion of expectations" (that was so piss-poorly done in The Last Jedi), the inclusion of thematic elements & aliens that make it really "feel" like Star Wars, and even the music which my wife pointed out was excellent. She was never a Star Wars fan, but she's gained more of an appreciation of it from watching the movies with me. She loves this show, and it can definitely be enjoyed by non-fans. That's how good it is.
The world feels like it should after Return of the Jedi - with Imperial remnants & The New Republic in a believable state after the death of Emperor Palpatine. In contrast, the sequels put us in a political situation with no context nor buildup, which felt completely disjointed from the original trilogy. The First Order had appeared out of nowhere and was basically plopped in, as Empire 2.0.
The characters and visuals of The Mandalorian immerse you into the Star Wars universe as well as any media I've ever experienced. Almost all the episodes were extremely engaging and we couldn't wait to watch then next one. The idea was genius - taking a minor character like Boba Fett and expanding on the lore behind the Mandalorians that share his armor.
There are an infinite number of stories & connections that can be expanded upon in the Star Wars universe, and that is one of the many things the sequels failed to capitalize on. I know this sound like a bitch-fest against the new movies, but The Mandalorian really does put an emphasis on how good Star Wars media can be when done correctly.
The best part is that it ties together so many elements from the movies, The Clone Wars cartoon, and other media that make the universe feel connected and coherent. It does fan service while advancing the storyline in interesting ways.
I cannot recommend this show enough, especially for Star Wars fans, and excitedly look forward to watching season 2 next. Unfortunately, I have seen some major spoilers online, but that doesn't make me any less eager to see how Din Djarin & baby Yoda, aka Grogu's stories play out.
Hopefully Disney keeps the quality level of future installments of the Star Wars franchise as high as The Mandalorian.
It was really enjoyable and interesting, and some of the episodes were really mind-bending. There were few where we jut looked at each other afterward & were like, "WTF???"
I would highly recommend this series to anyone who like science fiction, especially the work of Philip K. Dick. Some of the themes were exciting and inspiring, some were disturbing & downright frightening. The possibilities for both in our future are endless.
The stories were generally thought-provoking and engaging, and I hope they come out with another season at some point.
Pollution and environmental destruction are extremely crucial issues the human race needs to deal with. We have been destroying our terrestrial environment for decades, and have done untold damage to the ecosystems we inhabit.
Discarded plastic is probably one of the biggest problems we will have to deal with, as we seek to heal the planet and reverse the extensive damage we've done to the natural world.
I am pretty optimistic that any problems create by humans can also be solved by humans with sufficient willpower & technological innovation. Dealing with plastic pollution falls under thatcategory, despite the vastness of the problem.
Scientists have discovered bacteria that consume plastic, and have now developed synthetic biological mechanisms to more quickly break down plastics.
This is a very promising approach to getting the cleanup of plastics under control. This, in addition, to biodegradable packaging/products that would be otherwise made of plastic, will go a long way toward fixing the damage our species has inflicted on the Earth. We will one day look back on our mindless behavior in disgust, much like we now think about dumping raw sewage into rivers. The good news is that we will one day collectively reach that point.
