30 December 2009
29 December 2009
28 December 2009
Datamoshing | Takeshi Murata
Melter 2 on YouTube
Monster Movie on YouTube
From Electronic Arts Intermix:
Takeshi Murata produces extraordinary digital works that refigure the experience of animation. Creating Rorschach-like fields of seething color, form and motion, Murata pushes the boundaries of digitally manipulated psychedelia. With a powerfully sensual force that is expressed in videos, loops, installations, and electronic music, Murata's synaesthetic experiments in hypnotic perception appear at once seductively organic and totally digital.Takeshi Murata | 3 Quarks Daily
Neuralynx
The Neuralynx System translates thoughts into speech. It connects to the neurons, sending signals wirelessly to a laptop, which translates the brain activity into spoken English. It's not science fiction: They tried it with a paralyzed 26-year-old and it works.Physorg via Gizmodo
According to the research paper, they inserted the electrodes into the patient's brain, installing signal amplifiers and transmitters under the scalp. The circuitry—powered by an induction electric supply—transmits the signals to a laptop via FM radio. The software then converts the analog signal to digital data that the neural decoder interprets these into speech commands, which are then sent to the synthesizer.
The whole process takes 50 milliseconds, which is the same amount of time it takes to any normal person to do the same process, using their nerves, vocal chords, and mouth. According to Neuralynx project leader Frank Guenther—from the Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems and the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University—their system is going to get even better soon.
The Oughties In Icons | Phillip Niemeyer
Phillip Niemeyer is an art director at Double Triple, an art and design studio.New York Times via Gawker
25 December 2009
The Real Saint Nicholas
Is this the real Santa Claus? By tradition, no one is supposed to see the actual Saint Nick ... Until, that is, the invention of powerful computers and some fancy new software that uses "virtual clay." The technology makes possible the reconstruction of a face from a skull, even one as old as that of Nicholas of Myra -- also known as Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus -- who lived and died in the fourth century in what is now Turkey.Read the entire article at Politics Daily
So holy was Nicholas that after his death his relics were carefully preserved, and through the vagaries of history -- basically a Muslim-Christian war a thousand years ago -- the saint's skull and other bones were relocated (stolen or rescued, depending on your point of view) to Bari, a city on what would be the Achilles' tendon of the Italian boot.
In the 1950s, the bones were removed while the crypt was spruced up. While they were out, the Vatican asked an anatomy professor at the University of Bari to take thousands of minutely detailed measurements and x-rays of the relics. Flash forward to the present day, and another University of Bari expert, forensic pathologist Francesco Introna, decided to commission an expert facial anthropologist, Caroline Wilkinson of the University of Manchester in England, to reconstruct the saint's face and head using the new technology and the earlier measurements. The wizards at Image Foundry in England then took the data, and presto!
Image Foundry
24 December 2009
"It's A Wonderful Life" | The Phone Scene
I think this scene, as George realizes that he is in love with Mary and will stay in Bedford Falls, is the most wildly romantic love scene in the movies.
YouTube
23 December 2009
An Engineer's Guide To Cats
Two professional engineers illustrate the proper care and practical benefits of cats. None of the cats, humans, or engineers were mistreated in the making of this film. They were however, slightly annoyed.YouTube
The Twelve Gays Of Christmas
Those appearing in this video are not necessarily of the gay persuasion, (not that there's anything wrong with that), they just play one on TV ... Tribute to The Rockettes and those who live at the Hallowed Hall for 3 months a year during The Christmas Craptacular! Basically, what we do on a 4 show day in between PT, Booca, and The Fashion Shows...Info and video from YouTube
Bloxels | Jinha Lee
Designer Jinha Lee wondered what was possible if pixels escaped from the monitor and became physical objects, so he created bloxels. These small devices are a prototype for a new type of display system that Lee began working on while studying at the University of Tokyo. The design uses a module-based approach, consisting of translucent cubes that emit a colorful glow according to the transmitted data from the neighbouring bloxels. The user can freely move the blocks around and the image will transform accordingly. Lee envisions using the system for multimedia artworks or as an educational toy. You can see a demonstration of bloxels in action in a video on Lee's website.designboom
22 December 2009
Bisou And Edgar: Bow Wow Twins
Edgar's GrandMom (thanks, Helen!) created matching coats for Edgar and Bisou.
Tesla Coil Christmas Tree
Kids, don't try this at home.
See more of artist Peter Terren's "electrickery" at Tesla Down Under.
Via Neatorama
20 December 2009
And Then The Sun Came Out ...
19 December 2009
18 December 2009
Yotaro Baby Simulator
While most people have heard of small baby-simulator dolls used to teach people about childcare, they probably haven’t heard of Yotaro, a robotic baby simulator with an interactive screen for a face. This strange creation is the result of research at the University of Tsukuba in Japan ...University of Tsukuba (Site is in Japanese)
Yotaro is an interactive robot that portrays a variety of facial expressions, movements, and physiological characteristics that are all natural to babies. The device reacts to the user through a sophisticated emotion-control system that watches and senses what the user is doing and provides an appropriate reaction. That the baby can do a variety of things (like crying real tears) makes it much more sophisticated than the standard baby-training dolls. Edited for clarity.
YouTube
Via DesignBoom
17 December 2009
Best Astronomy Photographs | 2009
NGC 6302 - The Butterfly Nebula | NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team | 2009
More pictures at Discover | Bad Astronomy Blog
Via 3quarksdaily
Roger Wood's Clockworks
I really like the intricacy and whimsy of retro-futuristic steampunk art and design. This is from Roger Wood's Klockwerks Web site:
Roger Wood creates with time in mind. Yet even though the clock can be a consistent element of his work, it’s often secondary to its creation. Whether it’s a curious timepiece or a unique assemblage, Wood thrives on working with an immeasurable array of findings from the tarnished and forgotten to the odd or intriquing. He is a devoted collector of usual and unusual objects with one thing in common, a history.And for the holidays, a steampunk menorah ...
The source of his inspiration lies in the hundreds of curiously labelled drawers and boxes brimming with artifacts of all description that line the shelves of his Toronto studio. Wood orchestrates an arrangement from his myriad of treasures until the precise moment that it feels right. Then he quickly glues them all down so they can’t escape.
Playful, wondrous timepieces emerge that take flight on cherubic wings, float and sway on fine wires, or appear frozen mid-explosion with flying springs and cogs that bounce at the touch.
This definitive merging of objects and ideas has brought Wood much critical acclaim across Canada. Shows at galleries, museums and awards at several exhibitions are ongoing testaments to his freedom of imagination. Just as his single signature feather at the tip of the second hand quivers magically through time, Roger Wood's creations continue to fascinate.
Via CribCandy
16 December 2009
Guess The Product
- Designed for dogs and cats
- Can be customized but also comes in many designs including a disco ball, a flower, and a smiley face
- Handmade in Portland, Oregon
- Is totally unnecessary
- Entire stock sold out the day it became available on Etsy
Via Geekologie
For tomB
15 December 2009
14 December 2009
11 December 2009
Friday's Big Grin | Brian Cox Teaches 2-Year-Old Hamlet's Soliloquy
Brian Cox is best known for his roles in Hollywood films like Manhunter and The Bourne Identity. But he keeps in touch with his stage roots. Here he develops his Shakespeare suzuki method, with a toddler soliloquy from 30 month old Theo.YouTube
Via SlashFilm and The Daily What
10 December 2009
Mandelbulb [3D Mandelbrot Fractal Rendered To The 8th Power]
A deep zoom into the Mandelbulb with full parallax/perspective. Just like the 2D Mandelbrot, the detail never ends, so theoretically, you can zoom into the Mandelbulb forever.YouTube
3D Mandelbrot Thread at Fractal Forums
09 December 2009
Unexplained Blue Spiral Light Over Norway
Could it all be a hoax? Maybe it's a massive joke, but all kinds of Norwegian news sites are reporting on it. According to NKR—Norway's national TV channel—it could be related to a rocket fired from a Russian submarine in the White Sea. The Russians are denying any part on it at this at the moment. Nick Banbury, a witness located at Harstad, described how it all happened:
We are used to seeing lots of auroras here in Arctic Norway, but on my way to work this morning I saw something completely unexpected. Between 7:50 and 8:00 a.m. local time, there was a strange light in the sky. It consisted initially of a green beam of light similar in colour to the aurora with a mysterious rotating spiral at one end. This spiral then got bigger and bigger until it turned into a huge halo in the sky with the green beam extending down to the earth.
As hard as it is to believe, you can't dispute the fact that the strange spiral was witnessed and recorded by thousands of people from hundreds of miles away, which means that the phenomenon occurred at a very high altitude. Even Phil Plait from Bad Astronomy agrees that this is real, and says that it was probably a rocket out of control.
Gizmodo
07 December 2009
Gnome Chomsky
Featured in The Nation's charity auction, this Garden Noam Chomsky sculpture ...Source: Bidding for Good
Via Boing Boing
05 December 2009
Take Me To Your Leader | Portraits Of Power
Photographs by Platon (2009)
This past September, when nearly all the world’s leaders were in New York for a meeting of the United Nations, Platon, a staff photographer for this magazine (The New Yorker), set up a tiny studio off the floor of the General Assembly, and tried to hustle as many of them in front of his lens as possible. For months, members of the magazine’s staff had been writing letters to various governments and embassies, but the project was a five-day-long improvisation, with Platon doing his best to lure the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chávez, and Muammar Qaddafi to his camera.
Click here to view an interactive gallery of Platon's portraits.
Source: The New Yorker
Via: The Daily What
03 December 2009
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