Nice Shorts
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 29, 2008 by admin in Popular Media
And your birthday suit’s looking good too
Back in 2003, I became convinced (probably because of my own goldfish-like attention span) that the real future of film and video entertainment would be in any content that lasts less than twenty minutes. Around that time, Fox Searchlabs was launched, offering amazingly well-conceived and produced shorts created by up-and-comers at Fox Searchlight, usually shorts less than 10-15 minutes long. Even that recently, streaming video was a bit of a joke, but especially with the advent of streaming HD, this is becoming a really viable media (especially with services like Joost). Some favorites of mine from that pre-YouTube era include Hang Time, the video at left; Farm Sluts, about a guy who loses his job because of a porn-infected e-mail he receives at work; and The Birthday Suit, about a 50-year-old mom and businesswoman who has a little misunderstanding about her birthday gift. Fox Searchlab is still on line, but for newer high-quality shorts you can check out sites like NiceShorts.com or TheSmalls.com
Color Blindness Still Rare Internationally
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 28, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Whatever happened to the United Colors of Benneton?
Yesterday I found myself wondering whether people would be saying so much about Barack Obama’s elitist attitudes if he were white. For the answer to that question, all you have do is look around the world a bit. The racist commercial at left (from FunnyOrDie.com; is it funny, or dye?) is not unique in southeast Asia. It wasn’t very long ago that they changed Darkie brand toothpaste to Darlie, and (as pointed out in this article by Tamara J. Walker), one of the most popular snack brands in Mexico is Bimbo Negrito, traditionally promoted with a blackfaced native girl holding a spear (they’ve since updated to a hip-hop kid with a ‘fro). So, since it seems to be here to stay, here are some charts to help you draw the lines of color in your life. First, the UN Environment Program has conveniently provided a geographical skin tone map, so you can move to an area that best suits your level of prejudice. Once you’re there, fine-tune your skin color preferences with von Luschan’s skin color chart. Don’t worry, wherever you move, they’ll probably still sell your precious Uncle Ben’s and other racist products. Happy coloring!
Hala Strana & The Mysterious Track-04
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 27, 2008 by admin in Music
Name that tune and I’ll give you a dollar
Recently a photographer/artist friend of mine (Robin Vincent, check out some cool photography here) gave me a cool mix on CD and accidently sent me on one of those maddeningly gratifying searches for music that involves spending a hundred bucks when you really had only set out to find one CD. If you’re into exploring the fringe of low-tech, ambient/atmospheric music (things like Tim Hecker
I Found Jesus In My Latte
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 27, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
No, it’s not a new song by Willie Nelson, it’s a latte art printer.
It’s always cool when a barrista takes the extra effort to at least make a classic apple or rosetta in your crema. Inventor Oleksiy Pikalo is taking it all to a new level, with his DIY Latte Art Printing Machine. I was a little surprised that someone with such an enterprising mind would already be trying to sell out to Starbucks through their My Starbucks Idea site, a sort of on line suggestion box… Imagine if after the Starbucks staffer finishes correcting you on how you refer to their sizes, you have to make a decision on whether you want a regular crema or an art crema: “I’d like a lowfat grande Miley Cyrus almond latte with an extra shot, hold the whip”. Even more surprising to me is the fact that Starbucks has a suggestion box in the first place. Not surprising is the fact that the number one suggestion is lower your prices! For more images of crema art created by his machine, see this collection from SIGGRAPH 2008. NOTE: On behalf of purist crema artists out there, it’s only fair to point out that this machine actually uses caramel-colored liquid to achieve the images, not deft manipulation of a dynamic media like tiny bursting bubbles of hot milk.
Add A New Dimension To Your Life
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 26, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Retina torturing, optical nerve-twisting looks at the 4th dimension and optical illusions
Life feeling a little two dimensional? Try hopping over to the fourth. This series of videos, although presenting explanations of the fourth dimension that will make your optical nerves snap, is also somehow calming. Produced by resarchers at The ENS Lyon, they’re presented in an almost pastoral style in terms of pace and narrative. Put aside a good 15 minutes to take them in if you decide to check them out. For some equally compelling but less smoothly produced retinal torture, check out this clip demonstrating some perception-bending, M.C. Escherian six-point perspective. And for a quick eye-twister, try to convince yourself that there’s only a single grid spinning in this image (full size version of image at left). Most people see anywhere from five to eight. That last one is legit, in spite of being brought to you by the guy that recently pulled of the iPhone hologram hoax.