Visiting Home
We met at Mount Magazine in Arkansas for my family reunion (the Oates family) this past weekend. It was great to see everyone, and I have one the the warmest, loving families anyone could ask for.
While we were there, we also hiked a bit around the Mount Magazine State Park and pulled our sail boat so we could go for a sail at Blue Mountain Lake. When I was in high school, one of my summer jobs was mowing the park and campsites around the lake. My dad had the contract for mowing Blue Mountain Lake and Lake Nimrod, so we spent all summer going back and forth between the parks.
The weather was amazing, and it was nice to get away.
Questions Unanswered
This is why I believe in the power of science! Wrap your brain around some of these questions…
Ride a Space Shuttle Booster as it Launches
This is an amazing video compiled from a camera located on the booster of the Space Shuttle as it launches. Watch as the booster carries the shuttle into space and then re-enters the atmosphere to fall into the sea. It’s worth turning up the sound to get a feel for the emptiness of space. I’m both amazed and humbled by how far we’ve come and how small we really are.
Ascent of Man
As a lover of retro-futurist illustration, I recently came across a presentation (via Boing Boing) by Illustrator/Artist Bruce McCall. He does a great job of putting to words the reason I love retro-futurist art – the optimistic, over-the-top and sometimes ridiculous illustration like that found on the covers of Popular Mechanics in the 30′s, 40′s and 50′s. He’s also designed a few of the wittier New Yorker covers, one of which was put to animation by the talent at Smiley Guy Studios. You can watch the presentation here.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
Here’s a little short by Nathan Fielder with Katie Crown about a guy and a girl having a “moment”. It’s a little awkward, and gets more so as the clip goes on. Of course, I was laughing the whole time…
Check out NathanFielder.com for more shorts.
Because I Love Design…
And because I was a kid in the 70′s. I think I experienced this kind of design in our neighbors houses. Ok, it was my house and included green shag carpet. Anywhoo… for a blast from the past and some grrreat design, check out “Ugly Rooms for the Beautiful People” at lileks.com.
70's Plaid Hell
Posey Bathroom
The Oatmeal: How to Suck at Facebok
To all my Facebook friends out there, here’s a humorous rant about the typical Facebook types. If you’re easily offended, you may not want to read this. It’s a little bit o’ smartass, but I like it.
I’ve started following TheOatmeal’s posts since reading “How to use an Apostrophe“. I think his illustrations are fun and his site is a great example of simple, clean web design.
The Passenger
This animated short by Chris Jones is a dark and humerous style that I love. “Beware the Goldfish” is an apt description from io9.
Meet the Eigenharp
These guys remind me so much of my days in college as a music major. Not to mention the crazy-cool Eigenharps they’re playing. And if you like Moby and James Bond themes, definitely have a listen.
Thanks Boing Boing and Alan.
Take the Yellow Lane to Dallas
Here’s a fantastic Disneyland video from 1958, “Magic Highway USA” that explains all the wonderful technology we should be seeing today. This includes, color-coded lanes (apparently, yellow leads to Dallas), Ceramic keels that creates bridges as it traverses the crossing, and escalators for cars for crossing difficult or steep mountains.
Unfortunately, it seems that we’ve only slightly improved our roads over those that the Roman’s built. Our usage has increased so quickly that we are in a never-ending loop of repairs and relaying pavement.
I wonder what will happen with the crisscross pattern of highways when we all switch to transporters or flying cars… perhaps we’ll finally have plenty of green space like Boston’s Big Dig central artery re-purposing.
I wonder what the no hover-car parking signs will look like…
How NOT to use Apostrophe’s
It’s just one of those minor annoyances, but every day I see apostrophes used where they’re not needed.
Apostrophe.me is a
simple and easy to follow “flow chart” explaining when and how to use apostrophes.
The parent site, TheOatmeal.com, has several fun reads including “How Web Design Goes Straight To Hell”
ATU Marching Blast From the Past
I’ve recently been doing a little cleaning up of boxes from my college years at Arkansas Tech University and ran across some marching layout/designs from 1991-1992. For all you band geeks out there, this may be a little bit of cool.
Unknown Show, 1991-1992
Here’s a show from before our director made the switch to computer-based show design.
“Ouachita” Show, 1992
If I remember correctly, this was the first show that Mr. Cooper designed using the computer, and I think it was the first show of our season. I believe the design (not to mention the readability) was greatly improved by computer-based design.
“Gavorkna” Show, 1992
This was our main show of the season, and was a bit more difficult. For one thing, it began with entire band expanding from between the 40 yard lines to the 10 yard lines in about 16 counts. I remember practically leaping backwards carrying my tonal bass and, oh yah, playing Gavorkna Fanfare. If you haven’t heard it, see the video below (and note that the guys in the video are stationary).
Blue Devils take 2009 DCI Championship
Well, we made it back from Indianapolis, and had a great time. While the Blue Devils have never been my favorite corps, I was impressed with their show this year titled “1930″. They performed an encore after the event and we came down to get a closer view (pictured).
Check out the entire series.
Blue Devils encore performance at DCI 2009
Off to Indianapolis
We’re off to Indianapolis for the Drum Corps Internationl World Championships tomorrow. It’s are annual “thang”, and I’ll get to try out my new camera this year. Out of the 12 corps that perform, I usually take 200 or so pics that I’ll share here and on flickr.
This will be our 7th year, and I’m like a kid at Christmas… don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Marching band has always been a love of mine, and these guys are the best of the best.
I’m ready for the goosebumps…
Are We Hard-Wired with the Pentatonic Scale?
Boing Boing posted a video of Bobby McFerrin creating a musical piece from audience participation and Pentatonic Scale. The interesting part is that it’s completely unrehearsed and spontaneous. There seems to be something about the scale that is almost mystical and pervasive in music throughout the world. I’m pretty sure the audience isn’t made up of musicians, either.
To me, it’s just one of those surprising moments when another mystery of the human mind is revealed.
A Future Message from the ADHD Council
io9 has shared 3 hilarious future public service announcements:
from io9:
Don’t Talk To Robots, Use Caution With Hyper Speed and Look Out For Time Machines. The more you know, right? Check out these super-informative commercials from the future, and heed their message to you.
Susan Boyle, eat your heart out
Music theater and science…. what more could you want? Here’s everything you need to know about Nano technology.
The Nano Song
45 Minutes of Genius
Got 45 minutes? It’s the approximate length of this video, but it’s also about the amount of time it takes Daniel Tammet to recite Pi to the 3300th decimal. And that’s just a fraction of the 22,000 decimals of Pi he can recite. And he doesn’t recall it from memory, but actually sees numbers as objects with shape and form in his mind.
New Pet Shop Boys – Love Etc
I’ve always like the Pet Shop Boys, but after seeing them in concert in Oct 2006, I’ve been a fan. The latest release from their soon-to-be-released album “Yes” is entitled “Love, Etc”. The video is a romp through the video game world of love. You can find a limited edition version of the album at Amazon.co.uk, which includes a second CD of remixes. I’ve ordered mine.
If You Haven’t Seen Star Wars…
Here’s a summary of the original 3 movies. From someone who hasn’t seen it (with visuals added for entertainment). Thanks, io9
7 Deleted Battlestar Galactica Scenes
For all my fellow Battlestar Galactica fans, io9 has posted 7 deleted scenes from Battlestar’s 4th season that help clarify some loose ends. Whether you’re seeking enlightenment from the church of BSG, or just looking for some geek trivia to share with your friends when the show (finally) returns next year, these are a must see.
And if your a scifi dork like me and don’t already know about io9, take a look around while you’re there. There’s plenty of geeky-goodness amongst their pages.
Thanks to io9 and Michael.
Teach the Controversy!
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
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
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.