Inside the mind of a genius (sorta)...

I stumbled across this awesome Flash site that allows you to "paint" in the style of Jackson Pollock by moving your mouse around. It's a lot of fun.

Now, in 2006, the idea of dripping paint on a canvas is so accepted, even canonized, that nothing about it seems revolutionary. It's, dare I say, cliché. It's also relatively simple to do. So, it's easy, in 2006, to be somewhat dismissive of Jackson's contribution to the art world.

While everybody loves the Impressionist and has their works on their note cards, umbrellas, and table cloths, the Impressionists started it. Serious painters influenced by modern science, the Impressionists tried to render in their painting the effects of changing light and atmosphere, which science now somewhat understood. They were concerned with the reality of visual perception. Yet the works, through this particular perception filter, were soft, rounded, indistinct. Hence, the derogatory critique that they were merely "impressions" of reality. Certainly, this was the first gauntlet thrown down in the movement toward abstraction.

Abstraction is, over simplified, the belief that ideas and primal emotions can be invoked simply through shapes and color combinations (abstract expressionism). There is also a strong desire to break down the components of a painting to find it's "essence". What really makes it a painting (minimalism)? There is the attempt to capture the idea that we don't view the world as static pictures, but dynamic moving images. Putting multiple views on the picture plane (cubism). Most forms of abstraction are more "honest" as they honor the flatness of the picture plane. Art, until this time, tried to defy the flatness of the canvass (or paper or whatever).

So, we have Jackson. For Jackson, the making of the image was at least a important as the image that resulted. He was "in" the painting, as he was fond of saying. It was all about gesture and activity, large canvasses tacked to the floor as he wove and spun paint in a hypnotic dance until at last... "there it is." And to this point, no one had captured the angst of the modern artist like Jackson, himself a recurring alcoholic and tortured soul. Actor Ed Harris brought Jackson back to life briefly in the spectacular film "Pollock" that gives you insight into the man and his discovery. I can't recommend the film enough.

I stood about 3 feet from a Jackson Pollock at the Temporary Contemporary a few years ago. The sense of history is tangible, and the surface is exquisite. Because when Jackson did it, it was more than dripped paint. It was as if he had cut a vein an dripped his life on the floor. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article on Jackson Pollock. I hope this might inspire somebody to learn more about art.

------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Design

Whales the losers in collisions with ships...

Here's the story from RedOrbit.com. I have a soft spot for whales. It's might not really be consistent with my beliefs, but I think their are certain creatures that are more than mere animals. All the primates, and the Cetaceans. Cetaceans include whales, dolphins and porpoises. There is something intangible that I see in Cetaceans that I don't see in my cats. If I may be so bold, intelligence. Not "I can use the liter box" or "I found the water dish" intelligence. I mean, real thinking intelligence.

So, I know we cannot stop international commerce. But I really think we need to do something about these creatures. Smart, majestic, beautiful, they are like nothing else on Earth. Surely here must be some way we can suffer some minor inconvenience to let these wonderful beasts migrate and mate. They were the undisputed masters of their domain until we came with our noisy ships, destroying their ability to communicate for untold miles. They think, learn, teach, and have, as near as we can tell, and actual language. I believe in Man's dominion over the Earth. I however see that as a position of responsibility. They cannot defend themselves from us. We must defend them. And, surely we can find some way to steer around them.
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Design

List: Top Ten Rock Movies

I found this while surfing, and I thought, while I think the top three are certainly out of order, it was a pretty good list. Maybe I'll put in a comment telling you how I think that list should go. Anything you think the guy missed?

"Seeing as how this week marks the 29th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, as well as Madonna's 48th birthday, IGN decided to spotlight the Top Ten Rock Movies. The movies selected for this list are not concert films or documentaries but rather narrative films about rock and roll."

read more | digg story

No good will come of this...

Now, we all know I'm a big fan of unhealthy foods. I mean, there is no finer breakfast than an AM/PM Jumbo Spicy Dog with catsup and mustard and a small can of Pringles Cheese 'ums washed down with a Diet Pepsi Big Slam. Oh the joy!

But this story over at CNN certainly frightened me. The FDA has approved (!!!!!!) the spraying of a cocktail of VIRUSES (double-!!!!!) on ready to eat meats (see above love for the AM/PM Jumbo Spicy Dog). Supposedly these viruses attack the bacteria that causes listeriosis, a bad bug in it's own right. Now, I am certainly no virologist, but one thing I learned from the bird flu hysteria is that viruses like to do this little thing called mutation (triple-!!!!!!). What's to say that the viruses intended to make my Jumbo Spicy Dog safer (and my slim jim, and my lunch meat...) won't turn into radicalized human hating extremist viruses?!?!?! And there will be nothing on the packaging (according to the CNN article) that will tell you your are eating viru-meat. I don't like this. I don't WANT this. What do I do?
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Design

Screech allegedly delivers Smackdown on potentetial crazy lady.

Hopefully that headline is non-commital enough to keep the C&D letters at bay.

From the AP-"Dustin Diamond, who played geeky Screech Powers on the '90s teen comedy Saved by the Bell, says he scuffled with a woman at an Omaha hotel earlier this week."
Find the story here at USA Today.

Some may be surprised with the way I go with this, based on my rapidly photoshopped humor. (Actually I used The GIMP, not Photoshop)From the small blurb that the AP gave this HUGE story, (wink) I think the chick might have deserved for Screech to "lay the smacketh down," as it were. The guy has had a hard row to hoe since "Saved by the Bell," and while the story is "he said, she said" one wonders what she was doing in his hotel room if he's lying. He's a celebrity. That doesn't mean you can just jack his stuff. He used to be a bigger celebrity. I imagine that stuff is a bit harder to replace than it was a few years ago. Let the guy alone already. Dustin, if I'm right and you're telling the truth, I hope things go your way. God bless ya.
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Design

Lebanese Photoshop Propagandist is rank amateur

Propaganda in a time of war is an age old tradition. No one is (or rather should be) shocked that the Lebanese tried to conjure up some sympathy as their beautiful nation gradually resembles the parking lot of a Super Walmart. But... they back the wrong horse here.

No less a news giant than Reuters fell victim to some very bad photoshopping by a Lebanese freelancer. Here's a link to the story. (I just googled the story and found the first link with the original picture and the fake.) You'll notice the tell tale pattern repitition that is the mark of a beginner using the photoshop cloning tool. To their credit, Reuters immediately yanked the photo, along with the rest of this guy's submissions.

The REALLY funny thing is the original scene looked much worse than the doctored scene.

Any Lebanese who need Photoshop lessons can contact me via this blog. My rate is $75 dollars per hour. Travel, Hotel, Expenses, and bomb shelter required for on site instruction. (See, I AM a capitalist)
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Design

Everything you need to know about repairing Apple permissions (According to this guy)

This is an interesting read for my circle of friends that are Mac Geeks, who are many.

"The 'Repair Permissions' function of Disk Utility has been under quite a bit of speculation as of late. There are those in one camp who believe repairing permissions is not much more than voodoo, while others in the support end of the Mac OS X community swear by it as the first line of defense. Macworld gets to the bottom of all this."

read more | digg story

Hez Photo Op

This isn't really a political blog. But what the heck, I found this link and the Jews are getting the lion's share of the bad press, so I thought I'd present an opposing view point. I mean, I'm basically a pacifist at heart, but I'm sure hundreds of rockets a day must get old fast. There was ALREADY a U.N. attachment in Lebanon at the time. What did we EXPECT them to do? Drop Matzo balls? (Although when it comes to Jewish cuisine, Gefilte fish would certainly be more of a weapon, per se)

"Photos staged by Hez..."

read more | digg story

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to.

Happy Birthday. What a presumptuous statement. I don't use this space to throw a pity party very often, but I can't really think of the last time a birthday was everything I wanted it to be. Well, a couple years ago I had a little jam session birthday that was okay, although a lot of the musicians I invited didn't show up, and a few that I didn't want to show up did. (Every singer has pitch issues at times, but there is a difference between pitch issue and pitch institution.)

Maybe I just never quite grew up right, but I'm really wishing I could erase the fact that I even have a birthday. Every year I catch myself wishing it will be a great day. And, for the last few, life has been uncooperative, to say the least.

Now, the fact that I was almost killed in a car accident yesterday is not really my birthday's fault. But it did turn out to be an omen. A woman took a out a telephone pole (!!!!) right in front of me. By the grace of GOD, and Him alone, I got out of the space I occupied just before the telephone pole decided to occupy it. Others were not so lucky. This mess damaged cars in all four lanes. Luckily the only thing destroyed on my car was the antenna. Some scratches and chips that drastically underestimate how bad this could have been. The fact that the aftermath took an hour and a half and I lost out on my bid for the perfect attendance award at work this month only added a spit in the eye to the kick in the groin. But, that was yesterday.

Today, I had a real lousy day at work. Now, for a guy who gets to mess around with guitars all day for a great company, to have a lousy day at work something has to be REAL wrong. Since, in today's America, you are a racist if you even hint at mentioning a country of origin in a negative light, I will just say I don't manufacture the guitars myself, and I took serious issues today with the folks that did. All day. And while after today I can probably add the title "Miracle Worker" to my resume, it wasn't any fun. To add insult to injury, I forgot to take any salad dressing for lunch. I admire people who can enjoy a dry salad. Please, enlighten me.

So, I came home to my family that was going to make it all better. HA! Oh, what a fool believes. I hate drama, and yet I live drama. And, my lovely sister called to wish me a "Happy 40th birthday" (I'm not 40). My cool gift today was this Supercool, Superpricey 13 inch Superman Returns action figure... that I've been making payments on for 2 months. No, wait. I take that back. My wife got me four (4!!!) out of print books by one of my favorite authors, Issac Asimov. That's pretty dang cool. This is one yet one more example of how my wife is an all around better person than me. This was this morning, however, before the drama. Which, of course, I own a good part of. But that doesn't make it any more fun.

So anyway, I spent the last few hours of my birthday alone curled up with some comic books over a fine gourmet meal courtesy of El Caliente, the El Pollo Loco Flame! Which, honestly, was the best part of my day.

Of course tomorrow will be better. I'll have more realistic expectations, for one. It's also a Saturday, which helps. And, I'll probably go wreak untold damage, disfigurement, and destruction on a bucket of balls at the driving range, which also helps. No putting practice, though. I feel bad enough already.

And next year, I'm gonna have a GREAT Birthday!!!!!
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Design

RIAA forced to drop download case

My My My... Could it be the end of the RIAA law suits? Don't worry guys, I'll still get my music on iTunes.

"Despite the success in the Kazzaa case earlier this week for the RIAA it seems they have actually suffered a massive set back in their quest to stifle the internet's illegal download community."

read more | digg story