KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.
Pledge your support by donating here: bit.ly/konydonate and continue to share this story. GOAL: 500,000 shares
It’s rare for me to find a video that makes me smile with absolute awe; but tonight folks I have found just that. The University of Pennsylvania’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab have been the stars of the Quadrotor scene, by first showing the extremities of quadrotor flight, and now with this perfectly executed musical number #007. The video was revealed to the world yesterday at the TED2012 conference based in California.
Here’s your debriefing on how they managed to make it all come together: Firstly, the room was heavily equipped with infrared lights and cameras, which was used to get an exact barring on where each quadrotor was. The data received was then relayed wirelessly back to the machines to make them aware of their own location, and of their flying comrades.
All the Quadrotors were programmed to follow three-dimensional waypoints, which they had to reach at precise moments in time. Even though the coordinates had been programmed by skilled operators, it was entirely up to each robot to figure out a way to reach it’s appointed waypoints on time, and without disturbing the rest of the mechanical orchestra. I can’t wait for what else they’ll dish out in the future!
Don’t tell me your good at matching colours because you aren’t, so read on my chroma-hanpicapped friend. I recently traveled to New York to visit my cousin a couple of weeks ago, to which he introduced me to a collection of fantastic sites to make my life a little less complicated; Colorschemedesigner.com was one of them.
Colours can make you feel anxious, scared, happy or calm; they can be the catalyst to opening you up to a range of feelings and if used in the right way can be ascetically pleasing to the eye, so it’s important to master them. Experienced designers can intuitively tell what colour works well with another (they can smell them) and can also understand the relationships between the many different tints in a spectrum. Using complex algorithms, colorschemedesigners can choose perfect colour combinations for you, or to give you a general idea of what goes well with what- so take that you experienced colour expert people!
The image you see above is the result of me choosing the colour red after clicking the triad button; it instantly chooses two other colours to complement the one I have selected. Underneath you have a choice of picking out a preview of what the colours might look like on a webpage, you have two choices: The light page preview has a white background to it and (you guessed it) the dark page has a dark back drop to base the website on.
Here you can see that i’ve chosen the light background and have been given an example of what it might look like on an actual web page, pretty cool no? You also have the choice to change the secondary colours by clicking the example webpage to get feel of what you want. You can apply this site-tool to numerous things: interior design, posters, screen prints, websites or (if you don’t have a fashion sense) selecting your own clothes. If your interested in checking the site out click on the link:colorschemedesigner
Cartoons, whether we like it or not have impacted our lives in many ways, creating myths and expectations of the world; Clifton Harvey (a bloody talented individual) was so affected by the pathos of Mickey’s Christmas Carol (when Mickey places a crutch by Tiny Tim’s grave)that he decided to infuse those feelings with his work, by letting the viewer draw his/her own conclusions- a sort of photographic narrative that inflicts a feeling of nostalgia for something the viewer might have never experienced. This is what glued me to his work, the flexibility of interpretation over the “story line” was enthralling to me.
It was in college Harvey started his love affair with photography, a love that came about from his fixation on the cameras magical ability to freeze a moment in time. Along with the camera was his passion for illustration and by throwing both loves into the mixing pot he’s come up with a rather unique photography style. By digitally placing his figures into a photograph, it allows the mediums to collaborate with each other, creating a rather bizarre and mystifying effect; one that tugs on the sympathetic heart strings.
As he takes his pictures, Harvey has more on his plate to chew than your average photographer; not only is he tweaking with his ISO, he’s arranging the elements of his shot to serve as a reference for lighting and perspective so that he can build a dramatic stage for his characters to act upon. The culmination if his labor resulted in his thesis work called Left Behind, a “meditation on personal indignities and an allegory on the passing of childhood.” The graphic narrative approach of this work is later expanded on in two of his following series: The Conductor & Castaways.
The biblical passage from Matthew,“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” was a conceptual starting point for The Conductor series. Harvey asked himself “who are the meek and what happens when they inherit the earth?” from this he imagined an empty world only inhabited by creatures that are broken in both body and spirit. Among these creatures he pictured “a displaced corporate mascot, abandoned by a society that once revered him, a stilted beast of burden who has grown complacent with being manipulated, and a puddle-bellied brute fascinated with socks.” He drew upon influences such as comic books, films, cartoons like Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, and the dark visions depicted in Goya’s Los Caprichos. Overall, The Conductor is a reflection on the many social strifes people face day-by-day, with themes of abandonment, humiliation, and disappointment in falling short of one’s ambitions and other’s expectations.
Castaways was conceived after Harvey discovered his old sketches marooned in a dusty drawing book of his; he thought of how his abandoned creations were never fully realised for at the time their potential was locked away, ready to be found in a distant future. So the perspective gained through the passing of time helped him fulfil these unrealised illustrations- this lead to the theme of the entire series: A dedication to the departed and an elegy for everyone left behind, hoping for a reunion in the imaginary places they miss.
If you like what you see, go check out the rest of his work here!
‘We need to talk’ is possibly the most dreadful foreshadowing of badness one human can throw upon another, but what about the less traumatising yet equally ominous ‘low battery’ shootout from your technological devices? I could argue that the latter is miles worse just because a fully functioning phone (gps, light and what have you) could mean life… or death. Lucky for us that problem can be addressed with some technical ingenuity- so without further adieu, let me introduce you to BioLite.
The five designers of BioLite have mated together a portable stove the size of a bottle with a gadget charger that utilises the excess heat from a fire. You can burn anything from sticks, twigs, pine cones and other renewable resources you have available; these fuels are a much better alternative to petroleum gas, and brings water to a steaming boil in practically no time at all.
The additional containment of the fire helps capture wasted potential energy and lessens the toxic smog an open wood fire creates due to incomplete combustion. The carefully designed stoves that implement fans to blow air into the fire can significantly improve combustion, but unfortunately such stoves require small amounts of electricity to power the fans, which sucks if your out in woods. BioLite however, resolves the problem by converting a fraction of the fire’s thermal energy into electrical energy, powering the fans and the devices you attach. Costing only $130 it practically sells itself but if you’re still not convinced watch the video below for more information. If you are interested in buying the product click on this word.
‘BOOM’ that’s the sound my mind makes when I see something absolutely brilliant, so it was no shock to me when the explosion sounded at the sight of Lee Jeffries emotionally filled black and white snaps. How Jeffries began picturing the underprivileged goes something like this: In 2008 Mr Lee was nothing more than an accountant and an amateur photographer, being particularly fond of running he entered a marathon in London, an event that would change his life.
On the day before the big race, he decided to wonder around the streets with his Canon 5D camera with attached EF70-200mm lens. As he neared Leicester Square, he spotted and aimed his camera at a young homeless woman, huddled in a sleeping bag surrounded by empty chinese food containers- he took the shot. Jeffries recounts what happens next, “She spotted me and started shouting, drawing the attention of passersby, I could have just walked away in an embarrassed state, or I could have gone over and apologized to her.” He chose the latter and crossed the street and sat with the woman.
The eighteen-year-old, whose complexion indicated she was abusing drugs, told Jeffries her saddening story: her parents had died, leaving her without a home, and she now was forced to live on the streets of London. This single moment had a profound ripple effect in Jeffries life, intensifying his focus on the subject matter of his street photography -to the homeless- and defining his approach to capturing pictures.
He didn’t want to exploit these people or steal photographs from them like so many others who’ve seen the homeless as easy pray. Instead, he would connect with them in order to create intimate portraits that reveal an all-to-human story. Jeffries says, “I need to see some kind of emotion in my subjects. I specifically look at people’s eyes—when I see it, I recognize it and feel it—and I repeat the process over and over again.”
Keeping the conversations as informal as possible, Jeffries rarely takes nots as he believes it might raise some suspicion, blocking some of the more natural expressions; so he takes his pictures while talking with them and doing so enables him to freeze those “real emotions” within his subjects with the click of a button. “I’m stepping into their world,” he says. “Everyone else walks by like the homeless are invisible. I’m stepping through the fear, in the hope that people will realize these people are just like me and you.”
Do you know what a master equipment operator is capable of? The video above flaunts Youtube user Bobcatninja2124‘s amazing ability to manipulate his mechanical dinosaur (a Bobcat E50) with utmost accuracy- he’s so good at what he does he manages to do this feat on his first try. What a boss.
Don’t you find it funny that people 500 years ago would have uttered such things to each other as “thy flying machine wilt nev’r happen, thou bro” when today we laugh at their lack of imagination and primitive tech. So now guys, when i tell you about this new product that actively repels water off of any surface, (meaning you can coat it on your phone and take a call underwater if you wish) don’t you say ‘Silly, that will never happen’ or cough ‘impossible’ because it’s happened! Ross Technology who faced the challenge of stopping undersea pipeline rust discovered this silicon-based spray, which they smartly realized can be applied to an infinite number of things; thus NeverWet was born.
Basically NeverWet works by harnessing the power of fear, or rather, angled microscopic nanoparticles to force the water to cluster together into a droplet. The angle of the nanoparticles is all important, and is what divides the waterproof or water resistant from the super-hydrophobic. For a surface to be hydrophobic it must have a contact angle of 150 degrees- NeverWet has a contact angle as high as 165 degrees. The benefits are not only dryness and saving a killing from laundry costs, but also improving ones own health since bacteria thrive in watery conditions. Superman can ricochet bullets but really, who needs that power when you can deflect deadly stains, spills and warmongering bacteria? I’ve laid out below a few videos which better explain the effectiveness of NeverWet, and a link to the site where you can get this miraculous product: http://www.neverwet.com/
My first order of business is to share with you an artist i found while searching for some delectable beats on Youtube; the picture of the song (shown below) put me on a little quest to discover the original owner. I had to wade through a bunch of random sites to find her but it eventually paid off- this is how i met the talented Julia Dunin. There wasn’t much information about her so i decided to get in touch, she happens to be a delightful and willing victim to all my many questions.
I asked her about her upbringing and discovered that It was rough living in Warsaw, Poland during the 80′s. Riots were breaking out after the end communism, economic instability ensued and martial law declared- this was the time when Julia was born. When she was 16 she got herself an old camera, a “rather not impressive one, since living wasn’t easy” and started experimenting with Photoshop for fun.
So started her love for photography, a passion tenderly fostered to become a integral part of her own life. The heroin addict has his needle, Julia has her camera and states that “Its a kind of addiction, that you cant imagine living without,” and a much healthier one at that! She also added that she has a tattoo to remind her to get her daily photography fix.
After maturing her relationship with the camera she looked into becoming a freelance photographer, which goes along with that lovely saying ‘follow your bliss.’ Staying versatile in her shooting, she’ll do anything from capturing weddings, portraits to interior spaces and anything else she finds interesting or artistically quirky. She shoots in RAW format, which gives her more control over color correction and processing on the computer, allowing her to place a part of herself in every shot.
Her current camera companion is a D300 but already she dreams of another more adept partner in crime: the Nikon D800. The other part of her merry camera crew are the Nikkor and Tamron lenses along with the Nikon SB900 lamp (although she prefers natural light.) She’s been trying to build her own unique style of photography, basing it upon many influences (a list too long to be named) and searches for more throughout the vast expanding universe of the internet and in galleries she stumbles across in her travels.
She is currently in Ireland, having a whale of a time and sharing that enjoyment through her lovely pictures- if you guys want to check out her travel blog it’s http://ilovegalway.wordpress.com/ On top of picture taking she’s been involved in some graphic design just as a means to realizing her potential. “I just need to create and be creative, i found a lot of things i really want to do (i.e., decoupage,) but feel like i need to focus on photography and graphic design instead.” For other down time activities she loves “cooking, Meeting friends, going to parties, that is what makes me who I am – a trully, 100% life-lover!” If you enjoy her work, take a look at more on her website!
Finally, i have the time to write again! Sorry for my long absence, I’ve been on a backpacking trip around Japan and have finally arrived in Indonesia for some R&R with my family. I still wont be posting as often as i used to but that will all change once i arrive back to the nest i call my home. Hope all of you had a wonderful New Years! Also would like to wish you all luck with your resolutions; let’s make this the year we actually follow through with them (i don’t know about you, but the promises i make to myself are the toughest ones to keep.) Lordy lord, if it weren’t for the miracles of the computer I’d literally have a room called ‘posts’ filled to the brim with Sticky notes of topics i have to write about. I suppose i have to bite the blogging bullet and start writing away- don’t get the wrong impression, i enjoy this greatly.
Make some room in that big brainy head of yours because SillyReverie is going to pack it in with some genius new talent, fascinating new inventions, philosophical conundrums, stunning deigns & much much more!
I found this unbelievably amazing video today of Charlie Chaplin giving one of the most impressive monologues; I was left with my jaw agape, this was the first time i ever heard him produce any sort of sound- I feel obligated to watch the rest of his works. I nabbed a transcript of it and posted it below (With another bonus video!):
“I’m sorry but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black men, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each others’ happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls; has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.
Are you some sort of bad ass spy or at least think you are? Here is one highly original way you can break into a building to steal whatever documents or cigars you need- all with the amazing versatility of Lego’s! This scene was taken off of a 1979 Danish movie called The Olsen Gang Never Surrenders, click on the title if your interested in knowing more.
Loop after loop Agata Oleksiak crochets anything that enters her bubble; even people! Olek was born in Poland and graduated with a degree in Cultural Studies, she moved away from the ” industrial, close-minded Silesia,” a region in Poland, when she rediscovered her crochet abilities while in New York- where she’s been knitting art ever since.
She has stated that she chose to crochet as a means to do two things at once: to watch movies and make some great art. She has been quoted saying, “Life and art are inseparable. The movies I watch while crocheting influence my work, and my work dictates the films I select.” I’d do the same to keep myself interested for the many hours of knitting to be done.
Her artistic goal is to bring renewed color, life and energy with a splash of surprise to a living space- presenting these spaces to the public. Her installations covering some very iconic structures, such as the business district bull.
She often collaborates with neighborhoods to highlight the, “economic and social reality in our community,” and takes advantage of New York’s many diversified areas to do so.
Olek’s work has been presented in galleries from Brooklyn to Harlem; Istanbul to Venice; Poland and Brazil- her work has also been featured in many great magazines and newspapers around the world. If you like what you see go check out her site!
If you haven’t heard, for four nights last week Warsaw echoed the whomps and hisses of exploding tear-gas bombs, the thuds of rubber truncheons and the taunting cries of “Gestapo, Gestapo,” which came from the throats of thousands of rioting polish university students. It has been the most severe civil disturbance since the Poznan rebellion of last year. Latajacakamera -a YouTube user- uploaded this amazing footage of the riots, using his RC Helicopter to soar above the barricades; this vantage point gives you an interesting look into the mechanics of an organized police force and the severity of the riots.
If there are any sociopaths out there who want a step-by-step guide on destroying civilization, you’ve come to the right place. This hilarious 3D animation created with motion capture technology guides you through all the things needed to culture an unstoppably destructive strain of nanobots and additional information on how to loose your soul; so you can go through with your diabolical plans! Nukes- boring. Incurable virus- boring. Nanobots are where it’s at. Enjoy!
Believe it or not, his works aren’t created on Photoshop, even though they have the gravity defying features commonly done up on the program. French artist Philippe Ramette adheres to his philosophy that nothing should be faked, which is why you’ll notice little incongruities throughout his pictures: “You see a tension in my hands, my red face is far from serene as the blood rushes to it, my suit is ruffled.”
Ramette sculpted his way to fame in the 90′s as part of the French contemporary art scene; creating odd wooden and metal objects & instruments. The next logical step in his career was photography, and through it he has created a strange, neo-romantic universe, using well planned, yet utterly irrational situations. His works seem to create a statement about gravity, weightlessness and man’s relationship to the landscape.
Ramette still sees himself as a sculptor and goes to extraordinary lengths to create his highly implausible set-ups, building hidden metal supports that he calls “sculpture-structures”. He has metal rings tethered to him by the ankles as he hangs from buildings, and metal seats hidden by his suits jut out from cliff sides to hold him up; all of these recreated from sketches that he considers storyboards- this is probably why his photographs have been compared to the work of Buster Keaton and the world of silent cinema.
The image you see above was shot in the middle of Hong Kong’s harbour, the inspiration of this scene came to him in a dream in the early 90′s. For the shot, a watertank served as an underwater float for the balcony and was put in place by a barge and crane; Ramette then secured his feet on supports, leaned back and clung to the wood. During the initial attempts, he was soaked by waves and had to swim to safety.
Yearning for the effect of absolute, implausible serenity Ramette dives under the waves for his series Rational Exploration Of The Undersea, which was set off of the coast of Corsica. Wearing lead weights under his suit and around his ankles, he hired a team of divers to supply him with oxygen when needed. Waiting for the bubbles and the divers to move out of frame, Ramette’s team would capture the effect of stillness. Ramette has commented on the experience saying, “there I was in a suit on the seabed, weighed down and able to walk underwater as if on land, unaffected by the currents. For me, that was a real pleasure.”
If you enjoy his works, you can see more picture here!
I have my psychology exam coming up and along with the enormous amounts of cramming being done, is the rekindling of my passion for Jungian and Freudian thought. I decided today to spend some time building up my science category, to even out the site a bit; the artsy side of my mind has been subduing the more rationally oriented parts it seems. Here in this lecture we have Alan Watts (a legend) discussing Jung’s “enduring contributions toward the science of psychology”. In the first part of this three parter, he expands upon the influence Jungs’ work had on himself, and exposes the reality of good and evil as a part of the internal structure of an individuals psychology, which we unconsciously project outwardly- truly fascinating stuff!
