As the title suggests, my blog has content from many sources. Being a professional nerd, there is a strong techy vibe here but my interests are varied and some will hopefully be of interest to the non-tech also.
Image via WikipediaHello everybody. As you can see by my Canada countdown to the right, it is now not long at all before I start my trip. So for this post I thought I'd take the opportunity to clarify a few things before I go. Firstly, I will still be blogging. I'm going equipped with a laptop and as well as the normal eclectic mix, I hope to include some posts about what I am up to on my adventures, photographs and perhaps even some video footage. I have added a geotagging feature to my posts. If it has worked, you should see a note at the bottom of each post I tag, giving you my current location. Not very exciting for you, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. In addition, for those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, I will be constantly updating my GPS location so you can track my progress that way too. To say that I'm excited is a mild understatement. I can't wait to start boring you all. :-)
I'm warning you now, this video is a little odd. Part of me thinks it is incredibly cute but another thinks that it is a little disturbing. I love all forms of guitar music and there is no doubting the skill involved here, but I don't know...Do you think they're really enjoying themselves? One thing is for sure, the head-bopping is strangely hypnotic, I can't stop watching.
This really isn't that impressive, I mean I can play a guitar on my own. Seriously though, this is a very original performance. Enjoy Little Comets with One Night In October.
Kirby Ferguson is slowly producing a rather interesting series of videos that demonstrate how there is very little creative originality and that everything is simply a remix of everything else. I have posted part one below but part two and future episodes can and will be found on his website.
Viktor Hertz, a Swedish designer has come up with a series of "Honest Logos". The idea being that they reveal the actual content of the company, what they really should be called. I have posted three below but you can see more here and some other example of Viktor's work here.
I apologise for the title but trust me the video more than makes up for it. Gerry Phillips may have the ultimate gift. I posted about Dueling Cellos a while back, but this blows that right out of the water. I guarantee this will brighten your day. Enjoy!
Back in July I posted about a project that Google were launching to capture what life was like on one day on planet earth. You can see my original post here. Apparently they got over 80,000 submissions and 4,500 hours of footage from 192 countries. Producer Ridley Scott and Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald took this raw material — all shot on July 24, 2010 — and created Life in a Day, a groundbreaking, feature-length documentary that portrays this kaleidoscope of images we call life. National Geographic is bringing it to cinemas starting July 24th.
A big thanks to DBS for bringing the trailer to my attention.
Do you like science tricks? Or how about just impressing your nerdy friends? The following video gives 10 cool tricks that you can easily show off to people at parties.
Ewan Dobson appears to be an odd fellow if his dress style is anything to go by, but goodness can he play acoustic guitar. The young Canadian won first prize in nearly every single Classical Guitar competition across his homeland. His impressive list of credentials include winning the Grand Prizes from both the Burlington Rotary Fall Music Festival and the Pickering Rotary Music Festival where he emerged victorious, after having competed against the top prize winners of all of the other disciplines. In addition to dominating the provincial competition circuit, Dobson has made his mark nationally having represented Ontario twice at the National Finals of the prestigious Canadian Music Competitions (CMC) and having been awarded the top prize in guitar. In the summer of 2009, Dobson was crowned the Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Champion at the prestigious 5th annual Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Competition held in Kingston, Ontario. Shortly after this victory, he captured another first prize in the acoustic category at the 4th Montreal Guitar Grand Prix.
Here he is utilising a nice digital delay effect to effectively double time his own composition called Time 2. Enjoy!
Image via WikipediaKnowing what we know about the Star Wars saga now, some witty person came up with this alternative ending to the Empire Strikes Back. I don't have a source to credit I'm afraid, so if you know who wrote it, please let me know so I can edit this post.
A furious light sabre duel is under way. Darth Vader is backing Luke Skywalker toward the end of the gantry. A quick move by Vader chops off Luke's hand! It goes spinning off into the ventilation shaft. Luke backs away. He looks around, but realizes there's nowhere to go but straight down.
Darth Vader: "Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father."
Luke: "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"
Darth Vader: "No! I am your father!"
Luke: "No, it's not true! It's impossible."
Darth Vader: "Search your feelings; you know it to be true."
Luke: "NO!"
Darth Vader: "Yes, it is true and you know what else? You know that brass droid of yours?"
Luke: "Threepio?"
Darth Vader: "Yes, Threepio, I built him when I was seven years old."
Luke: "No."
Darth Vader: "Seven years old? And what have you done? Look at yourself, no hand, no job, and couldn't even levitate your own ship out of the swamp."
Luke: "I destroyed your precious Death Star!"
Darth Vader: "When you were 20! When I was 10, I single-handedly destroyed a Trade Federation Droid Control ship!"
Luke: "Well, it's not my fault."
Darth Vader: "Oh, here we go. 'Poor me, my father never gave me what I wanted for my birthday, boo hoo, my daddy's the Dark Lord of the Sith .. waahhh wahhh!'"
Luke: "Shut up."
Darth Vader: "You're a slacker! By the time I was your age, I had exterminated the Jedi knights!"
Luke: "I used to race my T-16 through Beggar's Canyon!"
Darth Vader: "Oh, for the love of the Emperor, 10 years old, winner of the Boonta Eve Open. Only human to ever fly a Pod Racer, right here baby!
Luke looks down the shaft. Takes a step toward it.
Darth Vader: "I was wrong. You're not my kid. I don't know whose you are, but you sure ain't mine."
Luke takes a step off the platform, hesitates, then plunges down the shaft.
OK this one is very geeky but you'll hopefully have a lot of fun with it. Otomata is a musical sequencer. It employs a cellular automaton type logic devised to produce sound events. As the the author, Batuhan Bozkurt, explains...
Each alive cell has 4 states: Up, right, down, left. at each cycle, the cells move themselves in the direction of their internal states. If any cell encounters a wall, it triggers a pitched sound whose frequency is determined by the XY position of collision, and the cell reverses its direction. If a cell encounters another cell on its way, it turns itself clockwise.
This set of rules produces chaotic results in some settings, therefore you can end up with never repeating, gradually evolving sequences. Go add some cells, change their orientation by clicking on them, and press play, experiment, have fun.
There is a video demonstration below but visit the site here to have a play for yourself. If you encounter something you like, just press “Copy Piece Link” and save it somewhere, or better, share it!
This video is actually designed to promote a marketing company but I wanted to share it with you because I am a great believer in it's message. Careful consideration of, not necessarily what you say but how you say it, can reap many benefits. Enjoy!
This not a pairing you would normally make but it works superbly well in my opinion. Los Angeles street dancer Lil Buck performs an amazing interpretation of “The Dying Swan” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with a live musical accompaniment by the award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma. It was filmed by none other than Spike Jonze. A big thanks to my friend Roo for sending it to me.
Another short film for you today. The Butterfly Circus is set at the height of the Great Depression. The showman of a renowned circus discovers a man without limbs being exploited at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed. Beautifully shot, with superb acting and a wonderful score, I hope you enjoy it. Regular readers may recognise the lead actor as Nick Vujicic whom I posted about way back when.
Rómulo Celdrán is an artist that has a rather nice collection of sculptures called "Macro". He has taken everyday household objects and "zoomed in" to hugely oversize them. See more of his work on his website.
Forgive me if this old news for you, but I managed to miss the first Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon to be made since 1954. "Coyote Falls" was made last year in CGI (1080p) and 3D. It is directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, written by Tom Sheppard, produced by Reel FX Creative Studios and released by Warner Bros. Wow this takes me back and I wish they would give this treatment to all the old Loony Tunes.
Youtube user nbolt has made a very cool time-lapse film on his flight from San Francisco to Paris. Using his Canon 5DII he took a shot roughly every two miles totalling 2,459 photographs. The capture of the Aurora Borealis is a particularly spectacular moment.
Perhaps I should do something on my flight to Canada? No, I'll stick to sleeping think. :-)
This is rather cool. A one man performance of "Dragon and Peony, Sword
Dance and Shadowgraph" by Taichi Saotome in Tokyo. Precise animation of the shadow demons combined with Mr Saotome's superb swordsmanship/choreography make for a fantastic effect.
Future Shorts is the largest short-film network in the world. I posted one of their's back in 2009. They strive to bring short-films to audiences across the globe and promote the work of independent film makers. As they are of course short, I thought I would feature a couple of very different examples. You can see more at their website, or on their YouTube channel.
One of my favourite comedians right now is Tim Minchin. Actually comedian doesn't cover it. He is a comedian, actor, composer, songwriter, pianist, musical director and huge rock n roll megastar. (The last bit comes from his website so it must be true). Tim, although born in Northampton (UK), grew up in Perth (Australia). I wanted to post some videos for you give you a taste for his work but this causes two difficulties. Firstly, I have to warn you that he can be a little close to the bone and I need to give you a strong language warning. But mainly which videos do I choose? There are so many fantastic songs to post. So whilst I hope you enjoy these three, please search for more. He really is superbly talented.
I make no apologies for being a geek, it's what I am. But come on people there is absolutely nothing about this video that is not totally cool. The name dropping (Jethro Tull and The Chieftains), the view, the music and best of all...The hair! Enjoy Cady Coleman and her history making performance.
This rather mesmerising video is called Machine Civilization by World Order. Apparently the Japanese dance and music group are using it as a positive message to their fellow countrymen and women.
There is not much I can say about this other than it is perfect. The design, the choreography, the music, the sentiment...everything. I have watched it over and over. Enjoy!
Image via WikipediaI love my phone. I would be totally lost without it. But I have been known to misplace it from time to time and of course that usually happens when it's on silent so ringing it is not an option. Well not until I came across a fabulous little app called "Where's My Droid?". By the name you can guess its an Android app, but that's OK because all my phones are Android phones. :-)
As the author explains...
Ever lost your phone and you go to call it to listen for the ringer and remember its on silent mode? If your like me you do it all the time. Now when you lose it you can use another phone to text a special message that you can set and it will turn silent mode off and the ringer volume all the way up so you can hear it ring. You can also get the GPS location of your phone in latitude and longitude and a link to Google maps so you can even get directions to it.
This works really well. And its FREE! I was so impressed I made a small donation to unlock some extra features. If you have an Android phone I recommend you get straight on to the Android Market and give it a try. The app's homepage can be found here.
I have talked about mashups before and how when done really well they can add something totally new to both originals.This one is really special though. Firstly it is not the usual dance music affair that tend to lend themselves to mashups. Secondly, it makes both tracks sound completely different. It might not appeal to either artist, but it certainly appeals to me and I hope you like it too.
A company called ETH in Zurich have an ongoing project examining adaptive high-performance maneuvers of quadrocopters. These are not human-piloted. The vehicles are tracked by an overhead motion capture system and controlled by a pair of computers. In this video ETH test area hosted a quadrocopter tennis match, involving a human-robot volley, a doubles match and an impressive robot-to-robot juggling act. The robots were outfitted with tennis rackets, allowing them to fly toward the ball and return a human's serve. I for one welcome our new robot overlords. :-)
Image via CrunchBaseThanks to some new features introduced by Blogger you can new choose from some great new ways to view e-clecticism that might suit you better. They are called Dynamic Views. These views require modern browsers such as Internet Explorer 8+, Firefox 3.5+, Chrome or Safari. Many elements of these views will not work should you have an older browser. In all views, search is available in the upper right hand corner. Clicking on the ">" arrow in the very top left of the header bar will slide the header bar across and allow you to choose different views for the current blog as well as type in a new blog URL. There is also a feedback link for each view.
Image via WikipediaHello everybody. As you can see by my Canada countdown to the right, it is now not long at all before I start my trip. So for this post I thought I'd take the opportunity to clarify a few things before I go. Firstly, I will still be blogging. I'm going equipped with a laptop and as well as the normal eclectic mix, I hope to include some posts about what I am up to on my adventures, photographs and perhaps even some video footage. I have added a geotagging feature to my posts. If it has worked, you should see a note at the bottom of each post I tag, giving you my current location. Not very exciting for you, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. In addition, for those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, I will be constantly updating my GPS location so you can track my progress that way too. To say that I'm excited is a mild understatement. I can't wait to start boring you all. :-)
