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.
The Slow Mo Guys (Gav and Dan) like to film things in slow-motion (between 1000 and 2500fps). Now we all know that a water balloon bursting makes for a great effect at this speed. But what about a 6ft one? See for yourself or watch other films of theirs on their YouTube channel.
This is a follow on from my first post about my Canadian travels.
At the weekend I was very lucky indeed to have Daisy, her family and some of her friends very kindly drive me to see Niagara Falls. This was somewhere that I considered a must-see for this trip. Sadly despite fabulous weather for the proceeding week, we managed to pick a day of mist and drizzle which made photographing the falls themselves near impossible. But it didn't spoil it for me and I think everyone still had a great time. No matter how many times you see the falls on TV etc, it just doesn't prepare you for experiencing them in person. The noise, the power and the sheer beauty are simply stunning. One thing that really struck me was how blue the water is. The video below is shot from one of the tunnels that runs through the rocks behind the falls.
The mist did have one advantage and that was to provide a great photo opportunity for some of the surrounding buildings (photos below) and give everything a surreal feel. After lunch, the falls and the obligatory gift shop, the rest of the gang left for various reasons leaving Daisy and I to explore the town of Niagara. I guess you won't be surprised to hear that it's very commercialised, along the lines of Knock or Roswell and probably wouldn't exist without the falls but we had fun doing the tourist thing. I even got to sit next to Ozzy Osbourne! Well, a wax dummy version. I also got to try Poutine for the first time, which I loved.
Daisy was busy with work for the next week and I certainly didn't want to take advantage of their hospitality so after nearly killing me (private joke ) I headed off to another part of the city. I wanted to explore a bit of the countryside and so I picked a hotel a little way out of town and hired a car for a day. I'd love to be able to tell you where I went but the truth is I only have the vaguest of ideas (just how I like it). But I did end up near the shores of Lake Simcoe and explored some truly beautiful countryside.
OK so I have featured some pretty cool RC posts here on e-clecticism. This one or this one for instance. But I think the one below has to be my new favourite. It would have been great fun to get a load of these flying during yesterday's rapture.
Hey, I'm in Canada! Regular readers will know that it has been a long-standing wish of mine to travel more and first on my list for some time has been Canada. It's far too big to see it all in one trip of course but I have three weeks to cram in as much as possible. So last week I stayed around Toronto and the GTA.
At eight hours, the flight wasn't too bad but the preceding ten hours by train (through the night) to get to Gatwick very nearly finished me off. My plan was to get to my hotel on the shores of Lake Ontario and crash but Daisy had other ideas. For those of you that don't know, Daisy is a fellow blogger and long time reader of e-clecticism whom I consider a great friend. I just had time for a quick shower before she very kindly drove out to collect me so that I could come over and meet her family. I spent a very enjoyable evening and even got to meet some of her friends too. I was truly exhausted though and was glad to see my hotel bed at the end of the evening.
The next few days I spent exploring downtown Toronto. As you can see from my photographs, it's a beautiful city and somehow I had managed to bring some very nice weather with me. The streetcar and subway services run by the TTC meant that I could get all over the city very easily, quickly and at a very reasonable cost.
Before I began my travels, I booked a ticket for what used to be the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) to see the Toronto Blue Jays play the Boston Red Sox. I have never been to a baseball game before and wasn't really sure what to expect but I have to say I had a very enjoyable evening. The following video I took from up on the top level of the stadium during a lull in play. In case you're interested the Jays won 9-3.
Another highlight of this week was trying Sushi for the first time. I have no idea why because I adore all seafood but somehow I have never got around to trying it. Again thanks to Daisy and her family I got a first class introduction and enjoyed it all. Even Wasabi, although it seems I am a real wimp when it comes to that particular delicacy.
That's it for this installment. I'll add more in a future post.
Jamie Beck and her partner Kevin Burg have combined their talents to create some rather amazing looking animated GIF's. Kevin's background in motion graphics and Jamie's street photography skills become the two ingredients in their "cinemagraph" technique where they combine still photographs and video to create these magnificent mini films. You can see more of their work at the website but I have a posted some below.
NB: Depending on your connection speed, some of these may take a while to load before they animate.
Long time readers of e-clecticism may remember that I made a post way back in May 2008 about the Leave Me Alone Box. This was a wacky but pointless gadget that would turn itself off when you turned it on. Thanks to my friend Roo I can now reveal to you the next step in it's evolution. Yes OK, I know it is pointless. But I'd still prefer one to an iPad2. :-)
Sorry for the lack of posts guys but I'm sure you can appreciate that I'm far too busy having fun. I have some stuff coming soon, so please be patient.
In the meantime, this appealed to me. Some Danish guys spent a long time on Chatroulette (mostly waiting for a female to turn up I think) perfecting their rather complicated attempt at a proposal serenade. Watch the video below and see Diana say yes and then check out this "making of" video that shows behind the scenes.
Image by paloetic via FlickrHello, e-clecticism here...No, not jono, the blog itself. I'm afraid jono has seen fit to go swanning off, halfway around the world to Canada no less and has not even bothered to leave you (his loyal readers) with a post to brighten your day. He may even be half way across the Atlantic by now. I'm sure you feel let down, and so you should. All I can do is assure you that this is not his normal behaviour. I put it down to the fact that he really needs a holiday and is very excited about all the new, sights, sounds, smells and tastes he is going to experience. So please forgive him. I'm sure he will be back to his geeky self in no time.
I'm afraid I can't do much in the meantime. I'm a clever bit of software but even Google hasn't given me the ability to write my own posts. Not yet anyway. So, all I can do is suggest that you take a look through some of his older posts and please don't forget to spread the word about me. I'm sure that would help his road to recovery in no time at all. Thank you.
You may remember that I made a post at the end of last year called Hand Dancing. Well these guys take this to a whole new level and inject a great deal of humour too. Their timing is absolutely spot on. Sadly thought I can't find nothing out about them. Enjoy!
Scott Weaver's amazing piece, made with over 100,000 toothpicks over the course of 35 years, is a depiction of San Francisco, with multiple ball runs that allow you to go on "tours" of different parts of the city.
I love this so much I have watched it over and over. Like so many things I feature on e-clecticism, it's a very simple idea beautifully executed. I hope you enjoy Symmetry by Everynone.
Those crazy Canadians! My daughters and I have spent a good deal of time laughing at the work of Youtube user klaatu42 who takes submitted video of other user's pets and adds a witty voiceover. See his channel for more examples but in the meantime enjoy this one.
To mark World Water Day, on March 22nd Solidarités International and its agency BDDP Unlimited rolled out a campaign to build awareness of the scourge of undrinkable water. To evoke the silent and invisible threat of unhealthy water, BDDP Unlimited opted for a minimalist approach that is both visually appealing and surprising, using water and ink exclusively. The Spot shows the power of ink to reveal the invisible.
The Spot, created by BDDP Unlimited, produced by Hush and directed by Clément Beauvais, a young director, illustrator, musician and photographer. His multiple talents and mastery of various techniques enabled him to both create the drawings and direct the spot.
Nick Veasey shows outsized X-ray images that reveal the otherworldly inner workings of familiar objects -- from the geometry of a wildflower to the anatomy of a Boeing 747. Producing these photos is dangerous and painstaking, but the reward is a superpower: looking at what the human eye can't see.
Image by paloetic via FlickrHello, e-clecticism here...No, not jono, the blog itself. I'm afraid jono has seen fit to go swanning off, halfway around the world to Canada no less and has not even bothered to leave you (his loyal readers) with a post to brighten your day. He may even be half way across the Atlantic by now. I'm sure you feel let down, and so you should. All I can do is assure you that this is not his normal behaviour. I put it down to the fact that he really needs a holiday and is very excited about all the new, sights, sounds, smells and tastes he is going to experience. So please forgive him. I'm sure he will be back to his geeky self in no time.
