Maybe you've seen the newest Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) commercial where the girlfriend leaves pictures on her boyfriend's PSP with the note to "find me." Maybe you've said to yourself, "Isn't the PSP just a video game machine which also has overpriced minidisc movies?" Surprisingly, the PSP is far more than that. The PSP is one of the most amazing multimedia devices available. It plays video games, mp3s, stores photos, can watch movies, has wireless access. Oh...and it also has web browsing capabilities.
One small problem...Sony forgot to tell people what this device is capable of doing. It looks like that might change as Sony has decided, due to poor UMD (you know the overpriced minidisc movie) sales. I looks like Sony is going to offer downloadable movie content for your PSP.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Is Stop Motion Photography Animation?
I remember reading an article, or hearing a radio interview, about the nature of music manipulation and its relation to copyright protection. Moby was talking about how djs give added value to existing music, either altering an existing song sufficiently to give new meaning or using such small clips that the resulting mix was an entirely new song. The crux of the conversation was that the turn-table could be considered a musical instrument. I think there is some merit to that position, but that the added value needs to be significant for any given song to be a truly new creation.
I was reminded of the above conversation when I saw the video below. It looks like Lasse Gjertsen has managed to find a way to turn stop motion photography into an animated song. All the music is original, but what struck me was Lasse's claim that he didn't know how to play a piano or a drum set. Even if he is not lying, he is obviously quite proficient at manipulating sound editing software, and video software, to create an intriguing video. But is stop motion animation of a real person animation? If so...is this animation? Discuss.
I was reminded of the above conversation when I saw the video below. It looks like Lasse Gjertsen has managed to find a way to turn stop motion photography into an animated song. All the music is original, but what struck me was Lasse's claim that he didn't know how to play a piano or a drum set. Even if he is not lying, he is obviously quite proficient at manipulating sound editing software, and video software, to create an intriguing video. But is stop motion animation of a real person animation? If so...is this animation? Discuss.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Star Wars as Mentos Commercial
A friend of mine who I used to work with at my workstudy job at USC directed this Star Wars Fan Film.
Golden Age Creator of Green Lantern Dies
Ever since I was a young kid Green Lantern has been my favorite superhero. When asked the deep geekosophic question "Who is the best, Batman or Superman?" I would always answer with the non-sequitor Green Lantern. Much like when asked the rock-n-roll question regarding the Beatles and Stones, I answer The Who. At first my love for Green Lantern was aimed at test pilot Hal Jordan, but as time passed and my skill ranks in Geek (Comic Books) and History (Comic Books) increased I found a new (or rather old) Green Lantern to love. It all started with Roy Thomas's All-Star Squadron with its stylish and original lineup of Golden Age characters. Once I was introduced to Dr. Midnite, Doctor Fate, Starman, and the Golden Age versions of the Flash (Jay Garrick) and Green Lantern (Alan Scott) I was hooked.
The 80s were a time when the "modern" heroes were entering into dark phases where morality was grey and justice was hard to find. The stories were great, but the part of my soul which longs for fun, adventure, comedy and justice (an interesting combination to be sure) found the Bronze Age heroes lacked these traits, but the Golden Age heroes had them in abundance. The Golden Age heroes also had a kind of laissez faire attitude about where superpowers come from and how superpowers worked. The Silver Age had begun the scientification, and pseudo-physics justification, of superpowers. Heck, the Silver Age Green Lantern's powers were powered by piece of technology, and the changes from the original Green Lantern were inspired by Doc Smith's wonderful Lensman series. Bronze Age Green Lantern could "red shift" his green energy beam to inflict damage on another Green Lantern, but the Golden Age Green Lantern's powers were mystical (and his vulnerability to wood was a classic mystic weakness).
The more I read, the more I liked Alan Scott and the more I spent on Archived editions of All-Star Comics and dreaming of being able to afford All-American Comics #16.
The Los Angeles Times has an obituary dedicated to Alan Scott creator Martin Nodell. It is a solid piece, but typical of the Times the obit is provided by Newsday and not written by a Times writer. Monkeybrain Press editor Chris Roberson had a link to a nice piece by comic scholar extraordinaire (and creator of the D&D cartoon) Mark Evanier on Sunday. Boy...the Times are sure prompt aren't they?
Monday, December 11, 2006
The Number One Reason to Watch CSI:Miami
I was having a conversation with David Chute and Tulkinghorn of The Hungry Ghost a couple of weeks ago, we went out for dumplings, and mentioned that I have a deep and inexplicable affection for CSI: Miami. In particular, I am a huge fan of Horatio Caine. H, as he is called on the show, is who brought me back week after week and made me a fan. I started out merely making fun of the character, but I eventually got sucked in to what is actually quite a good show.
I still make fun of H, but now I both mock and adore him. You see, the character of Horatio Caine is a combination of all my entertainment vices. He is overly dramatic like Captain Kirk. He never has to fill out paperwork for any of his many shootings. He is the CSI equivalent of Doc Savage: the Man of Bronze, he's even semi-bronzish. As Ray Richmond of Past Deadline states, "a character name that tells you all you need to know in two words." In addition, I can think of almost no better representation of the D&D Paladin class than Horatio Caine, the obvious exception is Paksenarrion. He is Lawful Good to the core, but is also smart/savvy enough to defeat those who manipulate the law in order to gain freedom. God help you if you ever raise his wrath in a situation where he has the legal authority to cap your ass, because he will. He is relentless in the pursuit of evil, sympathetic to the victim, and punishes those who take the law into their own hands. If there was anything "supernatural" on CSI: Miami, I am certain that H could "turn undead."
Long story short, David Chute sent me a link which included this collection of H one liners. It really is absurd how seriously David Caruso delivers these lines, but he is extraordinarily consistent in his performance of Caine. In fact, my next D&D character is totally going to be based on him.
I still make fun of H, but now I both mock and adore him. You see, the character of Horatio Caine is a combination of all my entertainment vices. He is overly dramatic like Captain Kirk. He never has to fill out paperwork for any of his many shootings. He is the CSI equivalent of Doc Savage: the Man of Bronze, he's even semi-bronzish. As Ray Richmond of Past Deadline states, "a character name that tells you all you need to know in two words." In addition, I can think of almost no better representation of the D&D Paladin class than Horatio Caine, the obvious exception is Paksenarrion. He is Lawful Good to the core, but is also smart/savvy enough to defeat those who manipulate the law in order to gain freedom. God help you if you ever raise his wrath in a situation where he has the legal authority to cap your ass, because he will. He is relentless in the pursuit of evil, sympathetic to the victim, and punishes those who take the law into their own hands. If there was anything "supernatural" on CSI: Miami, I am certain that H could "turn undead."
Long story short, David Chute sent me a link which included this collection of H one liners. It really is absurd how seriously David Caruso delivers these lines, but he is extraordinarily consistent in his performance of Caine. In fact, my next D&D character is totally going to be based on him.
H
"What do we have Rogue?"
ROGUE
"A Locked Door."
H
"Somebody doesn't want us going in..."
ROGER DALTRY
"YEAH!"
"What do we have Rogue?"
ROGUE
"A Locked Door."
H
"Somebody doesn't want us going in..."
ROGER DALTRY
"YEAH!"
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
New Blog Added to the Blogroll
I recently googled the name of a professor I admired as an undergrad and discovered that she had a blog. Part of the motivation for the googling was that I just returned to her a book she loaned me, Slan by A.E. Van Vogt, which had been in my possession for over half a decade since the initial loan, a near unforgivable slight. I can only plea for mercy and admit that the book had been in storage and I only discovered still being in possession of the book during our recent move. The move was in March, but I didn't completely finish unpacking books until a little over a month ago.
Needless to say, guilt and the fact that the professor hasn't written back have led me to worry that the said professor is at this very moment Tuckerizing me as some sort of mishapen, forgetful, and evil being from the inter mundia. My guilt led to the google which in turn led to the discovery of the blog. I have since added the blog, Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good, to the blogroll. The blog is an interesting glimpse into the mind of the professor, Susan Palwick, who describes herself as:
Professor Palwick falls squarely into the school of science fiction writers that Rick Klaw would refer to as progressive, but she lacks the underlying cynicism of many of the writers in that class. Where Michael Moorcock's writing is clouded in despair, Palwick's writing often has an underlying sense of hope, faith if you will.
As I wrote the above paragraph, I was reminded of the other reason she might have for not replying to my hand-scrawled note included with her book. I spent more time on a brief rant against a couple of critics of her last book, The Necessary Beggar, including a brief critical sentence about Charles Stross's Clan series, and not enough time discussing how much my wife and I missed her writing classes and her wonderful and encouraging criticism.
Needless to say, guilt and the fact that the professor hasn't written back have led me to worry that the said professor is at this very moment Tuckerizing me as some sort of mishapen, forgetful, and evil being from the inter mundia. My guilt led to the google which in turn led to the discovery of the blog. I have since added the blog, Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good, to the blogroll. The blog is an interesting glimpse into the mind of the professor, Susan Palwick, who describes herself as:
"SF/fantasy writer. English professor. Episcopalian. Licensed lay preacher. Volunteer ER chaplain (but not clergy). And a few other things, less easily labeled. The title of this blog is a phrase John Clute used to describe the plots of my first two novels. It both amused and annoyed me, and I finally decided to reclaim it as a badge of honor. Would you prefer rickety contrivances of doing bad?"
Professor Palwick falls squarely into the school of science fiction writers that Rick Klaw would refer to as progressive, but she lacks the underlying cynicism of many of the writers in that class. Where Michael Moorcock's writing is clouded in despair, Palwick's writing often has an underlying sense of hope, faith if you will.
As I wrote the above paragraph, I was reminded of the other reason she might have for not replying to my hand-scrawled note included with her book. I spent more time on a brief rant against a couple of critics of her last book, The Necessary Beggar, including a brief critical sentence about Charles Stross's Clan series, and not enough time discussing how much my wife and I missed her writing classes and her wonderful and encouraging criticism.
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