posted April 25, 2017 #
Maybe you've heard that Netflix is launching a new original series called
GLOW; set in the 80's and featuring Alison Brie as a struggling actor that decides to compete as a female wrestler to make ends meet. What you may
not know is that the show is actually based on a real phenomena that occurred during the late 80's called
G.L.O.W. - short for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
There's an entire
documentary film about the undertaking that covers the inception, the popularity explosion, the dissolution and even the reunion aspect of the series. On the surface, the entire ordeal looks to be an exploitative but watching the film you quickly realize that it was actually empowering for the women involved. All and all, a feel good story worth a watch.
See the trailer
here or dive right in on Netflix.
posted April 25, 2017 #
Neonto's
React Studio is a combination of Sketch Plugin and ReactJS output to create a responsive, modern, web experience. It can also do
Native apps.
I'm typically wary of any kind of technology that promises it can take your workflow and magically transform it into a fully functioning, bug free, coded experience but at some point it has to happen, right? The definition of being a
Developer will morph and change over time to not require digging into a text editor to some MVC framework, right? I tend to think that programming will become more available to wider groups of individuals through IDE's like this and I'll keep holding out hope that someone nails it.
posted April 25, 2017 #
I used FaceApp on the men of the GOP. I call it "Too Many Pams." https://t.co/nLvOjLGNXo
posted April 25, 2017 #
No one can really "own" a drone.
posted April 24, 2017 #
I spent some time over the weekend doing some light research on
Datamoshing - the act of purposefully corrupting a video file to create digital glitches and effects. This
primer is a good place to start if you're unfamiliar with the whole concept and then you can dive a bit deeper with sites like
Datamoshing.com. Overall, here are some key takeways:
- In general, there's two techniques for datamoshing - removing an I-Frame or duplicating P-frames. To properly understand both techniques you need a basic understanding of how video compression works with keyframes (I-Frame) and predictive frames (P-Frames). At the heart of it, you're exploiting this methodology to trick the formats own display techniques.
- Moshy is an open source utility kit that can, supposedly, help you prep your files for moshing. I had little success with it but need to dig in more.
- AVI Demux is a simple video editor that will let you destroy keyframes and duplicate P-Frames, if you can manage to navigate the awkward interface.
- Hex Fiend - an easy to use Hex Editor for diving into the actual Hex code of a file and directly corrupting it. Powerful for datamoshing but also extremely easy to completely corrupt your file past the point of no return.
So far I've got zero results to share but I'm enjoying the learning experience.
posted April 24, 2017 #
Frank William Miller, Jr has long been an admired designer in my book. I just recently stumbled on his
Threadless shop filled with well designed, politically charged, designs. It's hard not to love the
Secretary of Alternative Facts or
Merkel Tee. The
To Be Black and Conscious in America design is top notch but, obviously, comes with a hard pill to swallow that our country has a long way to go.
I understand that topics of political nature can be polarizing (and maybe enraging depending on where you stand) but there's no apologizing for seeing backwards progress and FWMJ is using his best toolset (design) to help illuminate that movement.
posted April 24, 2017 #
And he didn't know health care was complicated, and he didn't know North Korea was complicated, and he didn't know.… https://t.co/GPqCd2YAZI
posted April 22, 2017 #
A booth painting at a Mexican restaurant I was at looked a lot like a beat-em-up. So I made it into one.Character w… https://t.co/5MsmRp4cdG
posted April 22, 2017 #
We out here y'all https://t.co/3tcDR1uzuj
posted April 21, 2017 #
LONDON: Breakfast Alone is now available at @RoughTrade so if you're attending their @RSDUK festivities, make sure… https://t.co/NQZMW8tZ6t
posted April 21, 2017 #
really really enjoying this
posted April 21, 2017 #
To keep things fair and balanced, here's an embarassing
cat leap gif to go along with that silly pup. We're all silly animals.
Tomorrow is
Record Store Day - please try to find some time to celebrate your local brick-and-mortar shop; they'll appreciate it. Granted, it'll probably be a madhouse there tomorrow but that's part of the fun. Oh, but just don't buy any
Spaceman 3; they'd appreciate it.
- Hans Zimmer - Live at Coachella - it's a slow swell but this gets way more rockin than you'd expect from ole Hans. Love it.
- Naked Tickle Me Elmo - meant to share this last week but didn't have a good video version. The skinless Elmo is a real treat.
- Embarassed Bull Mastiff - Honestly, everyone involved here should be embarassed. Adorable.
- UFC Glitches - I have zero interest in UFC or UFC games but I do have interest in game glitches in which the characters look like a bunch of idiots. There's a ton of these on Youtube but most come with some unbearable commentary, this one is short, simple and speaks for itself. But, please, treat yourself to this one for real thrills.
- Communications-Based Train Control - not a silly or weird video, just an insightful one about how impressively old the NYC MTA is. Just give it a scrub to see how antiquated the equipment is.
- Subway Race - I think this is actually from 2012 but it's new to me. Dude runs from one subway stop to another.
- Queenstown Downhill Sled - if you make it to New Zealand, please partake in this bonkers downhill sled activity and report back exactly how terrified you were. Can't wait to hear about it.
- Seagull - sometimes you just need a simple moment with a seagull.
posted April 20, 2017 #
GGB-012
The EP "Stone Garden" will be released on Vinyl & Digital in April 21st 2017.
Gatefold Vinyl/Digital: https://gurugurubrain.bandcamp.com/album/stone-garden
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kikagakumoyo/
Website: kikagakumoyo.tumblr.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/kikagaku_moyo
Kikagaku Moyo - "Stone Garden"
posted April 20, 2017 #
I've been following the creations of
Hexeosis for some time now. He creates immersive psychedelic patterns that make for mesmerizing GIFs. Recently he's taken those skills and created a 37-minute video version entitled
HX-01. There's a
Blu-Ray version or a
digital purchase - depending on which fits your style better. I suggest
diving into the trailer to whet your appetite on the face full of visuals or just
visiting his blog to get familiar with the kind of work he's known for.
posted April 20, 2017 #
Have you played around with the various
Google AI Experiments? There's some surprisingly fun, seemingly silly, projects to tinker with. Here's a few I suggest:
- Autodraw - use the magic pen to draw a rough shape and, viola, a horse comes out! Okay, it's not always a horse but the system attempts to interpret what you're roughly sketching and give you a fully formed, tightly illustrated, version of it. I've seen two 45 degree angle lines turn into a Flamingo and a saxophone. Win win.
- Giorgio Cam - take a photo with your device and Giorgio Cam will turn it into a song; ala Moroder style. It's certainly silly but the intro video will give you a proper appreciation of it.
There are plenty
more beyond that but the above is a fun place to start.
posted April 20, 2017 #
As you hopefully know, I run a second music site called
We Own This Town that strives to highlight music from the Nashville area that exists outside the perceived stereotype of the city and, ideally, is flying under the radar for most folks.
One recent accidental discovery is the full-length debut from
Woodsplitter, a mesmerizing blend of big metal riffs, alto sax solos and mellotron interludes. I don't know how he manages to make it work but it does.
After a little more research, it turns out this is the brainchild of Ben McLeod (not
that one), from the band
All Them Witches - another Nashville band well worth your time.
On the whole, Woodsplitter is a bit of anomaly and, thus, the reason for sharing.
posted April 19, 2017 #
The photographic body of work from Joe H. Shipp spans 30 years between 1948 and 1978, capturing a great deal of rural life in Tennessee. His grandson,
Joseph Shipp, discovered his archive of 16,000 images and has taken it upon himself to digitize, document and organize the findings into
The Shipp Studio Archive. The end goal of the project will likely be in the form of a book or massive website or maybe both but, for now, it's an exploration of an artist working outside of a major city during a time when being an artist outside of a major city meant your work would never been seen by a larger audience.
The handful of images on the
main site are impressive to say the least. On par with the likes of Dorthea Lange or other FSA photographers. There's a bunch more to see on the
Shipp Studio Instagram. Hopefully the project continues to gain awareness and finds a proper way to showcase these beauties.
posted April 19, 2017 #
Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft chief executive, recently launched
USAFacts.org. To understand exactly
what it is, check this quote from the inspiration page defining its goals:
USAFacts was inspired by a conversation Steve Ballmer had with his wife. She wanted him to get more involved in philanthropic work. He thought it made sense to first find out what government does with the money it raises. Where does the money come from and where is it spent? Whom does it serve? And most importantly, what are the outcomes?
I haven't done a lot of digging into the inner pages yet but if you want a high level overview of
where the money is going it does a decent job of breaking the spending down into distinct, easy to view, budget blocks. I could stand for there to be a bit more
explanation along with each grouping but maybe they fear some bias slipping in and, instead, rely entirely on surfacing as much data as they can.
It's a first launch and I can only hope it will improve over time and serve as an easy reference point for everyone.
posted April 19, 2017 #
Rather enjoying a deep dive into the portfolio of UK illustrator and designer
Ben McLeod. The majority of his work is heavily textured and feels like a handcrafted poster from another time. Even when he's covering subject matter that feels
at odds with his style, it works. His
Tarot Cards work is probably my favorite as it exemplifies his methods so perfectly.