MDMorse.com » Michael

The Sultan’s Elephant

Michael — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:04:35 +0000

The only thing more mesmerizing than this giant puppet is the music. This little girl was created by by the Royal de Luxe theater company for a show called The Sultan’s Elephant. The show has come and gone, but check out the video and the talent that went into creating the show.

Thanks to the Make: blog.
Little Girl Giant Plays in the Park from XINERGY on Vimeo.

Red Nose Curiosity

Michael — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:43:15 +0000

Thanks to Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing, I’ve been enjoying some great photography at Red Nose Studio. I just love the odd little worlds they’ve created in these images. Of course, I love anything odd. I often wish I could just escape into these little worlds.

Oh, and check out “The Look Book”; I’ve added it to my reading list.

Teach the Controversy!

Michael — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:45:07 +0000

I’m all about teaching alternative theories to evolution, so I bought a T-shirt to prove it. (Hey, if you buy the T-shirt, it makes it so). Wearscience.com has some great designs promoting “Teach the Controversy”, including the aliens-built-the-pyramids, the-devil-planted-fossils-to-trick-us, and the earth-as-center-of-the-universe. They even have a design of the Great A’Tuin for you Discworld fans out there. You can read more about the Teach The Controversy “Intelligent Design” campaign to discredit the crackpot theory of evolution here.

Personally, I believe that if we teach “Intelligent Design” in schools alongside evolution, then we must include theories that aliens created us. See The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

And for you crazies who believe in science, Wearscience also has a series of designs right out of 50’s B-movies. You can also customize your designs; I added “I Believe in Science” to the back of my shirt with a scientist blowing up the moon on the front. Link

The History of Spaceflight

Michael — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:56:54 +0000

I’ve started collecting a few books on “futurism” from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. I love the illustrations and ideas about the future from a time when mankind was just going to the moon. It seems there was no limit to where they thought we’d be 100 years from now (then). Matt over at Paleo-Future has posted a clip from the DVD History of Spaceflight featuring Wernher von Braun’s ideas of the future of spaceflight. Check out the post for more retro-futurist images.

A Better Way to Browse Amazon

Michael — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:47:01 +0000

Our friends over at Lifehacker have shared a great new way to browse Amazon.com just like browsing shelves at a bookstore. Zoomii displays books on “shelves” grouped by Bestsellers, New Arrivals, Science Fiction, etc. You can drag around the bookstore or even create your own shelves by using the search feature. And when you find something you like, you can order right from Zoomii.

It’s a great way for someone like me who can spend hours browsing “brick and mortar” bookstores. I often purchase a book because the cover caught my eye.

The Norwegian Meets the “Reverend”

Michael — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:43:16 +0000

One of my favorite flickr-ites, “The Norwegian” has posted a great story (along with photo, left) about his experience of a recent visit to the Church of Scientology.

I agree with his opinion of “The Church”, but read it for yourself. He also makes a great suggestion for those seeking enlightenment: Venganza.org. Of course, there are other paths; I’m just saying…

Oh, and check out his photo stream… he’s a great photographer.

Flickr Video: A Good Thing?

Michael — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:25:20 +0000

In case you haven’t heard, flickr has added video capabilites. Of course there are plenty of nay-sayers, and being a fan of great photography, I can understand how adding video could dilute what makes flickr great. Of course, there are lots of talented artists out there on flickr who can make motion an asset for flickr. I know I’m looking forward to seeing more like “The Blue Samurai”, a collaboration of flickrite ArtWerk and Manel Ortega. I’ve been following ArtWerk’s flickr feed for awhile now, and it’s nice to see another aspect of his talent. Not to mention some groovy sounds by Substatic.

Ecards That Are a Bit More…. Heartfelt

Michael — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:01:07 +0000

I remember a series of cards at Jungle Red in OKC that all had small illustrations of bugs on the front, and contained such witty messages as “I want my stuff” and “You’re old, Happy Birthday”. I can’t say I ever actually gave one to any of my friends, but I secretly wanted to.

Well, for those of us who “care enough to hit send”, there’s a site full of cards with just such messages like “Now that you’re 18, you can legally not bother voting” and “I hope you’ll always consider me someone who reluctantly pays for part of your birthday dinner”. Complete with vintage public-domain illustrations on every card, it really says “I’m too to go out and buy a card and mail it to you, but this ecard is just the right price”. (Hey, I’m guilty)

So check out someecards.com… and please send me one for my birthday. At least I’ll know how much you care. Exactly.

A Science Fiction Legend Dies

Michael — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:20:18 +0000

Arthur C Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, died yesterday at the age of 90. Though he wasn’t my favorite author, anyone who loves science fiction should at least have read some of his work. I’ve read the entire 2001 series (2010, 2061, 3001), as well as the Rama series.

Another lesser-known work was The Songs of Distant Earth, which was also an album by Mike Oldfield released in 1994. I stumbled across this album during the Enigma era, while looking for more of the same style. I bought the Enhanced CD, which included some pretty cool CGI video that accompanied the ethnic chants and trippy ambient rhythms of the album.

I think I need to dig up the CD and remember a sci fi genius.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- Arthur C Clarke

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Michael — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:12:07 +0000

I loved the Muppets when I was a kid, so how better to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day…

Thanks, Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing

Nathan Ota - Another Fine Artist

Michael — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:56:18 +0000

I’ve started following “Right Some Good”, the art blog of Kirsten Anderson . She writes about artists she likes, and I’ve found I agree on many of them. One recent recommendation is Nathan Ota, who illustrates curious creatures like robots, eyeless birds and monster tree trunks. His art often has a greenish-golden glow that reminds me of tarot cards. Kinda spooky in a fairy-tale kind of way.

Be sure to check out his site to see more of his great work.

Curious World of Toys

Michael — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:56:05 +0000

I’ve recently stumbled across a wonderful photographer and storyteller on flickr. Michael (aka “frogmuseum2″) has kindly given me permission to share one of his photos. As you can see here, his characters come to life with their own little oddworld personas. Since quirky is my favorite kind of art, this is right up my ally.

Check out more of his work at flickr .

Tags: toy,, photography,, flickr

Frozen in Grand Central

Michael — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:45:03 +0000

I want to be a part of something like this. I’ve followed their exploits after I first heard about them on “This American Life”. Ira Glass interviewed the organizer of a “stunt” where they picked a guy out at random at a bar and threw him a birthday party . They brought gifts, bought drinks, and called him Ted all night. He at first protested and eventually gave in.

After watching the video, check out some of their other uber-cool improv at their site .

Mathematical Chaos

Michael — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:45:18 +0000

I’ve been playing around with a very cool 3D rendering software called Chaoscope. It has some pretty mathematically intensive settings, but also a “search” function that randomly creates “viable” combinations. You can then tweak away at the criteria until you get the perfect imaginary universe. Here’s a few of my creations; (click to view large)…

And this series are of the same “universe” rotated in the 3D space.

Tags: mathematics, 3d

Robot Art

Michael — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:57:34 +0000

Kirsten Anderson over at Right Some Good has posted some great art by fellow artist Brian Despain. His work has the sort of tone I love (a la steampunk/Myst) and features another geek fav - robots! What more could you ask for. I’d hang this on my wall.

Perhaps I should check into that…

Meanwhile, check out Brian Despain’s website .

Tiny Houses I Want

Michael — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:59:00 +0000

Wired.com has posted a series of photos of small modular houses sure to please the eco-friendly minded. But more than just environmentally conscious, these houses have a certain Zen that I want when I think about building a vacation house. I mean, how much more escapist can you be in a house sitting atop a column on a lake?

It’s hard to explain to the uninitiated what a modular home is when it comes to building it in nature. They either think I’m talking about those trailer houses with wood siding, or some funky-weird modernist glass box on the lawn. But these seem to commune with nature rather than clash. There’s something about the openness that and simplicity that doesn’t get in the way of the view.

Of course, I have to find a beautiful and semi-private place to build a house like these. My mom lives in the perfect part of Arkansas (north-central), but it’s quite an old-fashioned area (not too conducive to two men with no children moving in next door). But we’ll find the perfect place… it’s out there.

Strung out on science fiction.

Michael — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 02:23:44 +0000

Being a dork, I love all things sci fi - be it movies, books or technology. Browsing my newly-subscribed RSS feed, I read about the upcoming Indiana Jones movie, an interview with the horned-rim glasses guy from Heroes, a article lamenting the USA’s lack of futuristic vision when it comes to architecture, robots and maglev trains, and a review of fuels used in all the great sci-fi franchises. (Did you know the Battlestar Galactica takes Tylium in its tanks?)

This site definitely satiates my need for all things geek.

Thanks, Lifehacker !

io9. Strung out on science fiction.

Dutch Graphic Design from Around 1900

Michael — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:07:57 +0000

BibliOdyssey has posted some great examples of Dutch Advertising from around 1900. My first exposure to Dutch design was at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I’m attracted to the simplicity and clean lines.

This particular example is especially interesting, since I worked for Holland-America in Alaska during my summer between high school and college.

Be sure to check out the other samples.

Old Time Christmas Radio

Michael — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:57:22 +0000

If you’re a fan of old time radio, or just wanna get in the mood for Christmas, then check out this selection of free public domain MP3s of radio shows over at OldRadioFun.com. From the classic 1947 “It’s a Wonderful Life” to the more curious “Batman Christmas”, it’ll get you in that nostalgic Christmas spirit.

In another life I worked many graveyard shifts while managing Circle K and used to enjoy early morning broadcasts of “The Shadow” and “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show”.

There’s an even larger collection available at archive.org. Thanks, Boing Boing

It’s Christmas, Why Not?

Michael — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:01:27 +0000

I’m getting a little bored with my old K2 based theme. I just upgraded to Wordpress 2.blah blah blah and decided to take the opportunity to try out a canned theme. It’s kinda fun, so I think I’ll keep it until after the Holidays.

And then no more excuses… i have to design/implement that idea that’s been floating around in my head for 6 mos or so. Now, to find green grass this time of year…

The Road Ahead

Michael — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:29:58 +0000

Thanks to Jeff Pepper over at 2719Hyperion for sharing this clip from the 1958 Disneyland “Magic Highway USA”. You can read more background from his earlier posts here and here. Apparently, we aren’t as advanced as predicted. It would be cool to have my car wash and refuel itself.. I really hate stopping at the gas station.

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Tags: Disney, futurism, transportation

I Just Like Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Michael — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:34:01 +0000

Not sure why, but I just like Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I can’t pinpoint a particular performance as an actor that impresses me (although Mysterious Skin was pretty good - and a little disturbing). I just think he’d be very cool to hang out with; like a regular guy.

And just for fun, here’s another one…

Tags: Gorden-Levitt, actor

Thinking of Switching (again)

Michael — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:00:16 +0000

In my office I have a PC & a Mac G5. Even though I do most of my work on the Mac, I just can’t give up my PC for gaming and Quicken. But with the new Intel-based Macs, and Parallels , I can run Windows XP as a 2nd OS on the Mac (forget about Vista… I don’t want to run that POS).

So this video seems appropriate for my current opinion of the ole’ Microsoft.

SeatQuest Visual Ticket Finder

Michael — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:00:35 +0000

If you love shows and concerts, this is the best tool for finding tickets. It’s a visual map of the venue with available seats indicated as blue dots. Just find your seat and click buy.

This is the biggest pain I find with “other” ticket sites; I have to find the seating chart which is usually not very clear as to where the seats actually are.

The program is still in beta, but I hope to see it continue to develop. It’ll be my first choice for finding tickets.

Pseudo-Decay Becomes Decay, then Pseudo Again

Michael — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:41:19 +0000

Pruned has posted a series of photos (with commentary) about the curious and fascinating “Broken Column House”, built just before the French Revolution by François Nicolas Henri Racine de Monville, an aristocrat with lots of time and money on his hands. Built to appear as a decaying broken column, the house went through a period of neglect in which it truly began to decay. In the 1980’s it once again was restored to its original pseudo-decay state.

Located northwest of Paris in a wooded area, I’ve added this to one of the must sees when I finally visit France.

I also find the photo beautiful and creepy - perfect for this time of year. Wouldn’t you like to Trick-or-Treat here?

The Dragon Queen and The Wanderer

Michael — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 01:47:30 +0000

Wanderer of Space, Vargo Statten, 1950 Scion / Planet Stories, Summer 1941, Love Romances

I just finished reading Worlds of Tomorrow - The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art by Forrest J Ackerman. I picked it up at Half Price Books a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been trying to learn more about design and art from the 1800’s up through the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, especially involving predictions of the future.There are several magazines that were published in 30’s, 40’s and 50’s that featured science fiction shorts by sci fi greats like Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, and Robert Heinlein. They had titles like Wonder Stories Quarterly, Amazing Stories, and Startling Stories. The cover art was just as fantastic as the stories within. Worlds of Tomorrow features these covers and includes narrative about the history of the culture and writers that envisioned them.

If your a sci fi fan or a fan of sci fi art; or even if you are just looking for a good laugh, check out this book.

I shared these two because half-naked women were a staple of many of these covers. I just thought it was interesting to see half naked men for a change. I’m just not sure how practical a g-string would be for wandering space, or riding dragons. And how about the name “Dragon Queen”?

Simpson, Michael Simpson

Michael — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:44:26 +0000

What better for a Friday afternoon than to imagine myself a Simpson? (Not of the OJ flavor, of course).

You, too, can re-imagine yourself at Simpsonizeme.com

DCI 2007 Highlights

Michael — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:08:21 +0000

Just a few of my photos taken at this year’s Drum Corps Championships in Pasadena, CA. You can see them all, including scores, here.

I made this with animoto, the best slideshow generator out there. You can upload your own photos or import them from photo sharing sites like flickr. You can also upload your own music you pick from their library. animoto then generates the video complete with effects. The free service is limited to 30 second videos, but you can create full-length videos for $3 each or $30 unlimited for a year.

Tags: animoto, DCI, drumcorps, marching, band

I Guess I Love LA?

Michael — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:46:30 +0000

Well, we made it back from our LA trip, and I must say that aside from the smog and traffic, I loved LA. There’s some great architecture and the weather can’t be beat. We really explored the area and got a flavor for the city as well as the beaches and burbs. Here’s what we saw:

Downtown, the library, Disney Concert Hall, the very cool Westin Bonaventure, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly and Wilshire, the walk of fame (smelled like urine), the Oriental Theater, Capitol Records, The Hollywood Sign (drove almost too it, afraid we’d get arrested if we hiked further), Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory, Santa Monica Pier, the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica (twice), Malibu, West Malibu, Topanga Canyon, other misc canyons and mountains, drove Mullholland Drive (until it became a fire trail… it’s a DRIVE on the map!), Pasadena, Disneyland (fun), Knott’s Berry Farm (disappointing), Riverside (Rich lived there as a kid… found his old house), the Mission Inn in Riverside (interesting old hotel, looks like a mission), The Grove and LA Farmer’s Market, Long Beach and the Aquarium (eh… Shedd in Chicago is better), Pacific Coast Highway, and last but not least, The Abbey (where we hung out with some fascinating and fun people).

So blah blah blah… vacation… slides… you know the rest…

Rosetta Project - Download Vintage Children’s Books

Michael — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:55:49 +0000

I find I’m more and more interested in vintage design, having recently purchased a few vintage books containing some beautiful illustrations (more on that later).

Thanks to Lifehacker and Wendy Boswell for sharing a great archive of vintage children’s books at childrensbooksonline.org. It’s a huge collection of downloadable books, some including audio and multimedia. It’s a volunteer-driven site, so if you appreciate what they’re doing and are so inclined, please donate for their efforts.

It’s nice to see that though the physical books will one day return to dust, they will live on in the cybersphere.

Plan59.com: 100% of Recommended Daily Retro

Michael — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:24:45 +0000

I’ve been looking more and more lately for vintage ads and illustrations to satisfy my new-found love of design from the turn of the century (the last one) through the 60’s/70’s. My most recent find is Plan59.com, thanks another of my favs, Paleo-Future. It’s full of vintage images well organized into categories like “cars”, “space” and “old ads”. What’s even better, is that you can order poster-size prints! I can already imagine the possibilities for my future-retro media room when we finally get our house built.

The only thing that’s missing is newsfeed capability (since I’m a google reader addict.)

Tags: retro, vintage, illustrations

You Won’t See This in the US

Michael — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:38:19 +0000

This would most likely start a boycott of Guinness in the US.

So of course, I love it!

Tags: guinness, commercial

Where Do I Sign Up?

Michael — Wed, 30 May 2007 16:50:58 +0000

I want one of these… remember Tom Cruise manipulating graphics in The Minority Report?

The Paleo-Future is Here (or not)

Michael — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:34:43 +0000

There’s a certain class of design I’ve always been attracted to; I find it fascinating to see how the past saw the future, either the one that has come and gone, or is still yet to be (or not to be). My favorite sci fi reads are those heavy with scientific speculation on the big questions… faster-than-light travel, moving stars, encountering bewilderingly advanced species. But I also enjoy classic sci fi like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. More than just the plots, I love to see how the greatest scientific imaginations of their time saw the future. It often comes out as a mix of new ideas blended with now outdated ones; like a man traveling home from work in his self-driving car only to be greeted by his wife who meets him at the door with a cocktail, a back rub and dinner on the table.

I also love to explore design from yesteryear looking forward. Interestingly, this often comes back to Disney’s Imagineering. But thanks to great finds like Paleo-Future, I can finally get my fill of this odd attraction. And what an apt name for something I’ve been unable to easily define.

So here’s to the Paleo-Future and the future that never was! And to commemorate the occasion, here’s a great sample, “Transportation Exhibits at the New York World’s Fair (1964)”

Tags: paleo, future, transportation

Funny Bones

Michael — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:21:31 +0000

PK at BibliOdyssey has shared a series of great illustrations by Louis Crucious, a St. Louis printer’s apprentice, pharmacist and finally physician. While studying and working in a pharmacy, he began creating the illustrations and displaying them in the store window. He sold several of the drawings to Antikamnia Chemical Company who used some in calendars.

Be sure to check out the entire series and the article.

Tags: illustration, drawing, Antikamnia, LouisCrucius

The Next Step

Michael — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:53:13 +0000

Well, we finally took the leap! (again) We put a contract on the empty lot above. While this will be our second house, it will be our first “build from scratch”, so wish us luck! We’ve heard good things about the builder, and they’ve been great so far. The neighborhood has kind of an old fashioned town feel with narrow streets and front porches (the houses in the background are not good examples of this).

American Ambition

Michael — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:03:37 +0000

Santiago Calatrava has designed an impressive 2,000 ft tower for the Chicago water front called the “Chicago Spire”. It’s 150 floors will house 1200 condos; and would be the world’s tallest residential building (and most likely the world’s 2nd tallest building overall - eclipsed only by the Burj Dubai, rumored to be over 3,000 feet tall when completed in 2008).

It’s nice to see America getting back into the skyscraper game with some ambitious plans. I hope to some day visit Chicago and take the multiple elevators necessary to get to the top.

Now if we can just get them to build Frank Lloyd Wright’s mile-high “The Illinois”. (Yes kids, thats 5,280 feet, 528 floors).

Tags: skyscraper, Calatrava, ChicagoSpire

Vintage Illustrations: Space Needle

Michael — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:39:54 +0000

Thanks to some good digging by pk at Bibliodyssey, here are some great old illustrations of the Century 21 Exposition in Seattle. I love the color and aging of the paper, and the time and effort that went into creating these images by hand. When these concepts were presented straight from the mind of the illustrator, there was a certain amount of idealism and imagination that meshed with the technicality of architectural drawing, that always tweaks both sides of my brain.

For example the third image in the series has what seem to be bubbles floating above the grounds; and the water in the fountains has a great cobalt blue hue.

Today’s computer generated concepts for proposed buildings can offer great realistic visions for a design, but there’s something lost in these types of images. It’s just all too convenient today to take an actual photo of a location for a proposed structure and superimpose the building almost exactly as it will look in a location.

PK also talks about using Google Alerts to scrounge up some of these illustrations.. gonna have to check that out!

It’s Easier Than You Think

Michael — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:29:14 +0000

One Man’s Blog has written an enlightening post about how easy it easy to crack passwords. I never realized how much a difference a single letter (and using upper and lower case) can make.

Here’s a table from his post reflecting how much (or little) time it takes to crack your password. It looks like I’ll start using 7 character passwords with both upper and lower case characters. And I’d definitely think twice about using a pin number for anything!

And if you use 14 characters, only Q would have the time to crack it.

Password Length	All Characters	Only Lowercase
3 characters 4 characters 5 characters 6 characters 7 characters 8 characters 9 characters 10 characters 11 characters 12 characters 13 characters 14 characters	0.86 seconds 1.36 minutes 2.15 hours 8.51 days 2.21 years 2.10 centuries 20 millennia 1,899 millennia 180,365 millennia 17,184,705 millennia 1,627,797,068 millennia 154,640,721,434 millennia	0.02 seconds .046 seconds 11.9 seconds 5.15 minutes 2.23 hours 2.42 days 2.07 months 4.48 years 1.16 centuries 3.03 millennia 78.7 millennia 2,046 millennia

I encourage you to read the entire post, but he makes one very important point:

If you use the same username and/or password for several different sites, (like most of us), you’re at greater risk, because a hacker won’t try for your bank account first (since it’s probably the most secure). Instead, he’ll try to hack your info from say, an e-card account. And since your browser’s cache will contain info about the sites you visit (you can prevent this), he’ll have a convenient way to find out that you have an e-card account. Since this type of site might be easier to hack, he can use a brute force attack to obtain your username/password. And once he has it, chances are he’ll be able to use the same username and password for your credit card and bank accounts.

So you might want to revisit your passwords; I know I am.

Thanks One Man’s Blog and Lifehacker.

And the Oscar Goes To…

Michael — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:10:05 +0000

I’m not really into following the Oscars thing, but one overlooked category I always love to check out is the animated and short films. Atomfilms has a “Hall of Fame” featuring Oscar-nominated shorts. If you’re into design and especially animation, check these out. Here’s the most recent nominee, “The Cathedral”, which is computer graphics based and is reminiscent of the “movies” between gameplay in most video games. Although this is by far better quality.

Tags: AtomFilms, Oscars, animation, shortfilms, thecathedral

The (Oval) Office

Michael — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:09:57 +0000

If you’ve ever seen “The Office”, and you’re not a fan of the Bush administration, you’ll love this. However, if you ARE a fan of the Bush administration, then what the heck are you doing here?

Tags: Bush, theoffice

Men are Crotch-Watchers

Michael — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 21:36:07 +0000

A recent study by the Annenberg Center for Communication at USC has revealed some interesting habits of the human male. Eye tracking technology tracks where the participant’s eyes spend more time on a particular image. It’s interesting to see how adding a little white space and organizing information helps the user navigate a page more effectively.

Another perhaps even more interesting find of the study is that men are apparently crotch-watchers. Participants were presented with a photo of George Brett, and while both men and women focused on the face, men were also apparently interested in George’s little George. And these men aren’t particularly gay.

This is the gayest thing I’ve heard since Ryan Seacrest’s exchange with Simon Cowell. Apparently, men are just like dogs sniffing each other’s crotch; sizing up the competition.

Thanks, Towleroad

Tags: eyetracking, Annenberg

That’s Good Poulton

Michael — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:44:10 +0000

Here’s another great drawing from Eric Poulton, the re-imagined Death Star from Star Wars. I guess I just like this style so much I had to share. As I’ve said, it’s so reminiscent of the Myst style of Robyn Miller.

And I love this footnote from Eric’s post:

“[1]As it has not yet been discovered a way for machines to directly generate Force energy, it must be supplied by a powerful Force user. The user conjures the energy inside of a specially designed resonance chamber which amplifies the energy before directing it through a series of lenses to produce a powerful coherent beam of unimaginably destructive energy.”

Tags: EricPoulton, steampunk, starwars, deathstar

Eric Poulton’s Re-Imagined Star Wars

Michael — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:23:28 +0000

Stumbled across a very cool series of drawings by Eric Poulton of Star Wars in the “Steam Punk” style. Now, being neophyte that I am to the Steam Punk style, I had never even heard the term before. But seeing the drawings, I realize I’ve seen it many times, and it apparently is one of my favorites. It reminds me a bit darker twist on the design of the Myst series.

Also check out his additional posts which include a very good Jabba the Hut complete with feathered hat.

Very cool, indeed.

Thanks, Bonnie and Boing Boing.

Tags: StarWars, EricPoulton, steampunk

RocketDock (you’ll always be…)

Michael — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:24:42 +0000

If, like me, you’re a Mac and PC user, then you’ll probably love RocketDock. It’s a freeware (!) Mac OSX dock for Windows (including Vista). Here’s are just a few of the features (from their website):

Minimize windows to the dock
Real-time window previews in Vista
Running application indicators
Simple drag-n-drop interface
Multi-monitor support
Supports alpha-blended PNG and ICO icons
Icons zoom and transition smoothly

So if you’re a tweak freak like me or just like trying out new fangled widgets, check it out.

Tags: osx, dock, windows

Holiday excuses have never been so good (or funny)

Michael — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 18:17:38 +0000

If your looking for a good reason to escape that invitation to a holiday party, check out this Holiday Excuse Generator at Enlighten.com. It’s alot of fun even if you don’t get invited to parties. Just answer a few questions about your relationship with the host and how honest you want to appear and viola! You get a sample letter fit for Martha Stewart’s hand!

I’ll be trying it out this season. Unless any of my friends are reading this. In which case, I really can’t come to your White Trashmas Themed soiree because I’m going to be on vacation in Budapest.

No really.

Tell me all about it when I return.

The designers out there should also check out the Enlighten site, since it’s well designed as well.

Tags: Holiday, excuse, invitation, party, enlighten.com

Springfield, USA

Michael — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:00:06 +0000

If you’re a fan of The Simpsons (as I am), you have to check this out. It’s a map of Springfield complete with Evergreen Terrace. It’s best viewed on flickr, so you can see all the notes. You can view a much larger version on flickr as well.

Guide to Springfield - The Simpsons
Originally uploaded by Dan_Cameron.

Tags: TheSimpsons

En Tus Brazos

Michael — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:29:51 +0000

“In Your Arms” according to altavista’s translation, is a great animated short worth checking out. Even though the site is in French, it appears that the short has won some awards. Alot of work has gone into the film and I love the tone and style. Check out the “Contacts” link… the creators’ photos have the same early 1900’s look. Great job guys!

Tags: animated, shortfilm

Stewie Gone Wild

Michael — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 21:29:10 +0000

I love Stewie of Family Guy fame and think Seth MacFarlane is incredibly talented. So I wanted to share this video. If you’ve seen the show, then you’ll understand the idea of “sexy party”; and if you remember the skit from the show, pay attention the attire of the singers.

Tags: StewieGriffith, FamilyGuy

Online Desktop?

Michael — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:23:54 +0000

In me never ending search for a solution that will keep my contacts up to date on my laptop pc, my home pc and my Mac, I stumbled across a very cool Web 2.0 site. DesktopTwo is a web-based app package that looks and acts like your personal desktop; complete with email, address book, rss reader, instant messenger, file browser and 1GB FREE (for now) storage.

I haven’t yet decided if it’s any kind of solution for what I was searching, but it’s always nice to find an example of great design and origina ideas. I know there have been other similar attempts, but I don’t think any have been this successful or nice looking.

My first HDR

Michael — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:10:23 +0000

Magazine Mountain, Arkansas

I’ve been trying for some time now to get around to making an HDR image. I first learned of HDR when I started following Arnold Pouteau’s work on flickr. He’s posted alot of amazing HDR images of NYC.

If you’ve never heard of HDR (High Dynamic Range), it involves combining 3 different exposures of the same scene into one enhanced image. I used Photomatix which makes it easy.

Now that I’ve figured it out, I hope to do more with HDR.

Tags: HDR, MagazineMountain, Arkansas

For Music Lovers

Michael — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:02:16 +0000

One invaluable find for a music lover is Pandora. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. It allows you to specify a favorite band/artist as a starting point, and plays music in the same genre. It learns your tastes and is a great way to learn about new artists; especially if like me, you have a knack for for non-mainstream music.

I just discovered another cool service called Musicovery, which does much of the same thing but has a very cool interface that allows you to visualize similar artists in a map-like layout.

Tags: musicovery, pandora