Greg Heins Photo

Greg Heins Photo.

The only pity is that he, like so many photographers, considers 600 pixels a large size for the web. I think it's a pity, I like to see pictures at 1200 to 1600 pixels on the long side, and that's what I put up myself.

I like the one above, I like pictures looking through trees/bushes, it plays with space and shapes and lines all at the same time.

Ooh, and these ones, with the snow. What a sense of space!

Screen rotation

TTL pointed me to a tip I was not aware of: in Mac OS X you can rotate your screen. I guess if you like to read very tall web pages, for example. With an Apple widescreen monitor, it looks quite spectacular.


I can imagine at least one good use for it: if you need to see your photos as large as possible in Photoshop, and they are portrait orientation.

By the way, don't judge me by the wallpaper. I'm not gay, really. It was like this when I took over the apartment, and the walls are the last thing I need to get done. I have put in new carpet, new windows and door, new curtains, new furniture. But having the apartment painted makes such a mess that I haven't faced it yet.

Alex said:
I think it was the quintessential tweeness of the (insert word meaning printed strip between two colours/textures of wall) that EO thought may spark the latent homophobe in his audience. [Indeed. A cute old couple lived here before.]

Now, what is strange is the spell checker just rejected homophobe, it's only suggestion being homophone. Is this the start of Newspeak, the word doesn't exist, so I can't say what I want to. It's like the Scrabble game on my cell phone. Just turned out I had an NGGRIE in my rack, and no S to make a laughing word. Unfortunately the word which would have scored the highest points is a word which is taboo, and the game had it excluded from its dictionary.

Funny old world, I was on an adult enabled MSN film board, and my profile was rejected because of the use of the word Hitchcock, as in Alfred!

'nother funny one, I submitted an erotic story on-line to a forum for such things. My carefully constructed text was rejected because of the pub name, "The Cock O'Barton". I renamed it to another pub in S. Manchester where the story was set.

Names

By the way, I used to wonder how Prince and Madonna could choose such self-aggrandizing monikers. But then I found out that both of them actually were given those first names by their parents.
Can you imagine naming your child "Prince" or "Madonna"? No wonder they both grew up with aspirations of world domination. :)

Machinima

I mentioned the art of making movie out of video games, and Peaceful Blade reminded me of the correct term for it, "machinima", and pointed to this funny and raunchy example.

Obviously you can't make good movies with this tool, it is made for gaming, not movie making. I don't see a great leap to a tool which is made for movie making though. Software with relatively easy-to-use tools for amateur film makers, so they don't have to get a degree in 3D animation, but can simply ask the characters to do what they should, and so on. This software could be sold with extra modules for various characters and settings for what you need. Maybe you could buy a complete model of 42nd Street in NYC, for example.

If somebody made this, I think we could see quite interesting movies being made by single authors. What William Gibson called "the garage Kubrick", and sort of made the focus of his wonderful novel Pattern Recognition, except that one was based on the technology of around the millennium, and so one person couldn't do it.

Actually exceptionally clever individuals are already sort of getting there, witness Till Nowak's Delivery. This short film is pretty damn awesome, it's hard to believe it's made by one man, more or less. I have a 96MB version of the whole nine-minute film, which I downloaded a couple of years ago, but it seems it's not available for free download anymore, they are selling it on DVD. (If it were me, I'd sell it as a download, much more interest in that, rather than wait for a DVD.)

Update: Alex points to this interesting movie.

The Artist Once More Known As Prince

The Artist Once More Known As Prince may not actually be the person behind this attack against his own fan sites. I hope so, for otherwise it must be one of the dumbest moves in public relations ever.
Some of the fan sites are uniting.

I think even just legally he is on shaky ground here, to say the least. Normally the copyright to photos of a person belongs to the photographer, not the subject, and I doubt very much that Prince has bought the copyright to all the photos ever taken of him. And to assert that the copyright to tattoos of his likeness belongs to him is just plain idiotic.

TTL injected:
His case, if he has one, would be about trademark rights. Not copyright. He does own the trademark to his likeness. Registered or not.
The question is what constitutes a violation. Use of his likeness in news, encyclopaedia or documentary context? Probably not. Pushing a product or service based on or exploiting his likeness? Probably yes.

Hey, how come there's no Prince photo decorating your post? ;-)

You're quite right, I have corrected it now.

Big Brudder

Do we need to fingerprint all school kids?

Pascal said:
This is not enough. All humans should be rounded up and exiled on some small planet from which escape is near impossible, too remote from other planets anyway. Then intelligent life in the Universe would be safe from those barbaric mad hairless apes.

Maybe this already happened?

Security Notice for Mac users

Security Notice for Mac users.

10MP-hurrah

This is ridiculous, now you can get a ten-megapixel camera for under $200. It's only a handful of years ago you couldn't get a ten-megapixel camera for love or money, and a five-megapixel one cost tens of thousands of dollars.
OK, admitted, ten megapixels in a cheap pocket camera is not the same quality as ten megapixels in a bigger camera, but even those you can get for $600 now. I never predicted we'd see Moore's law enter my favorite hobby.

Transparent butterflies

Update:
TTL said:
This almost begs the question: Why didn't God think of this before? For surely transparency beats camouflage colouring any day.

Perhaps we are surrounded by lots and lots of creatures who are completely transparent?

----
They're apparently for real. Amazing.

Pippi Longstocking

I am rewatching Pippi Longstocking. I haven't watched it since I was a child almost 40 years ago, but I remember a lot of it.
The show* is a great pleasure. It's so full of life and fun, and often very funny too.

I found the theme song on YouTube. I had actually forgotten that not only was I (and everybody) fan of the TV show, but also of the song, and I think this single was played so often the grooves were worn through to the other side. (The Gilmore Girls are fans of her too.)

I found two later and different versions of the Pippi theme song, and I braved my iMovie software, and put them on top of a clip from the first Pippi episode. The first one is a hard rock version, I think that's funny for a song from a kids' program. (I actually have a long standing ambition of making hard rock versions of kids' songs. I have one or two good ones in my head.)

*It is not clear, but I think the first "movie" on the DVD box set is actually compiled from the TV series.

Update: this video has been up now for like half an hour, and already 130 people have watched it. Holy crap! (By comparison, the Vampire Killers clip from yesterday has only been viewed 50 times in a whole day.) I wonder if all that traffic comes from here or from searches on YouTube, or what.

Pascal theorized:
Or it could just be that the words Sweden and Denmark immediately make some people hope there'll be beautiful naked viking blondes? "Longstockings, isn't that some erotic actor? If she chose that name, perhaps she's only wearing that. CLICK."

Actually you might be right. Hard as it is for me to imagine anybody not knowing Pippi, I guess most don't, and after all most new readers here come by way of Domai and may be looking for all that stuff.

Tea And Music

I saw this poster on Will & Grace. Isn't it wonderful?
Some of the best use of negative spaces I've seen. The black parst are positive spaces in the outer parts and negative spaces in the inner parts. And the orange parts are positive spaces in the inner parts and negative spaces in the outer parts!

Also the bravery of the positioning of the elements. The teapot and the cup are bundled together at the bottom, and parts of the pot are cropped off. And the flowers are bunched together at the upper left, there are only four, and two of them are cut in half. There's only a small amount of blue, in the vase, which just saves the whole of the composition from becoming too warm.

Work of a master. I wish I knew who the artist was.

Angelina and talk shows

Angelina is the hottest thing on two legs. And she's bi and into S/M. Gotta love that.

This evening I've watched a few talk shows on YouTube. Is it just me or are they getting more and more brief and superficial? People come in for six minutes and nothing at all is said about anything. It's too weird.

Every Day Is Halloween

(The title is taken from one of my favorite songs by Ministry.)

Wonko said:
My wife (MGLW) [My Good Loving Wife. - the editor] was brought up with the Scottish tradition of Halloween, "guising", sticky buns on strings, spirits and the Celtic New Year. Trick or treaters there have to earn their sweets by singing a song or reciting a poem. As a result it's probably her favourite time of year. She really goes to town with decorating, carving pumpkins and so on. I've always hated it and used to either be out or pretend to be. Now I just let MGLW open the door and give out the sweets.

I don't wish this to be seen as Yank bashing, because it's not, I just really wish we'd never imported this North American style of Halloween to the UK. It's become a commercial exercise, promoting tooth decay, obesity and extortion with menaces by minors.

Funny, I almost posted exactly the same thought on Oct 31, but for some reason I didn't. In Denmark there isn't, or wasn't, any Halloween, but there is a similar tradition in February, "fastelavn". And in that one too the kids have to earn their keep by singing a song. And I think that makes for a healthier attitude to the whole thing than just going around demanding treats for no good reason.

Update:
Fastelavn is not related to death or horror like the Mexican or American customs, but the customes can be anything.

But Honey?

I just bought a squeeze bottle of honey for my tea, and on the label is this warning:
"Unsuitable for infants under 12 months."
I can just see somebody handing the bottle to their six-month old baby, saying "here, Honey, put this on your pancakes."

kronostar said...
Honey can be harmful to babies undeveloped immune system. Before I thought it was just they could get allergies, but from the linked article it seems that the honey could be deadlier. Of course got to wonder how much of it is hype...

Alex said...
We took precautions with honey and nuts on our kids. We also did the phased introduction of foods too. Paranoia is certainly great, especially in these days of increased awareness and learning. There are a few kids in the school have nut allergies, and a neighbours kid had allergies to heaps of stuff, barely a thing he could eat.
Honey is best on toast, or mead, or in rosehip tea.

Robert Kits van Heyningen said...
Having had 2 children, I can confirm that honey can be dangerous to infants. Once their immune system is developed then it's fine. I wonder if this is a recent thing or has always been so.

Fearless Vampire Killers

Fearless Vampire Killers, Count's speech on roof.
(A.k.a. Dance of the Vampires.)
Roman Polanski.
Ferdy Mayne, who should be much better known, gives one of the best speeches ever in a movie. The accent, the rhythm, the threat, the fun. Wonderful.

This film is one of the best examples ever of successful semi-abstract film making. It's billed as a comedy (problem of marketing, you have to focus on one thing), but it's so much more. You'll notice people talk funny in this film, but because they all do it, it just works.

Fireworks

Fireworks are really being overdone now in the UK. Today, two days before Guy Fawkes' Day, there are more fireworks in the street than there is in Denmark on New Year's eve, which is the only night in DK where fireworks are generally used. Actually this evening the explosions are constant outside, not a break of five seconds to be heard. It's braindead.

Wonko said:
Most villages, towns and cities will have an organised public display, as do other organisations - the "soccer" club in my home town for example. Some are free events, some are ticketed, any profits usually going to charity. MGLW and I went to a display in my home town last night. It used to be arranged by the local Roundtable (charitable and community good works group), recently it's been taken over by the Borough Council. It remains free, with stewards carrying buckets for people to donate their loose change. As always we were treated to an excellent 40 minute display! Even the dog enjoyed it.

Fireworks are sold all year round in the UK, business just tends to pick up in the Autumn in preparation for Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night/5th November. In theory fireworks should only be sold to over 18 year olds, but there have been many cases where unscrupulous shop keepers have sold to those under that age.

Let me give you a personal example of the harm they can do. Several years ago I was out with friends around this time of year; we went ten pin bowling. As we had gone in some local "yoofs" had tried throwing eggs at us, but their aim was poor and they missed. When challenged (and out of eggs), they ran off. Later as we were about to leave the bowling alley someone threw a lit firework into the foyer we were just entering. It went off with a tremendous bang and a lot of acrid dense smoke. I'm still a little deaf in one ear to this day from not managing to cover it in time. In retrospect we were quite lucky. It could easily have started a fire, burnt someone and caused a lot of damage.

Selling fireworks to the general public is therefore a bit of a hobby horse of mine. I don't like it, and I think it should be more tightly controlled. This may strike those who know me as being a little out of character, my views are generally more liberal/libertarian. However, let me pose some questions:
Would you let just anyone buy and handle a box of shotgun cartridges? How about a quarter of a stick of dynamite? Or a few ounces of plastic explosives? I'm presuming that most people will say "no" on all three counts. Well, the average box of "family fireworks" you can buy at your local supermarket has more explosive potential than any of them. Because they make pretty colours in the sky a lot of people tend to forget what's in fireworks, namely; gunpowder, cordite and various metals that when ignited burn very quickly and very hot, e.g. magnesium. That's how you get the pretty colours and big noises.

What would I do about it? Well, not an outright ban. I would make sale of fireworks reliant upon the buyer holding a valid licence, renewable each year, obtained from the local police or fire station. There would be a charge for this licence, sufficient to cover the costs of administering the scheme and to make you really want to get one. No licence, no sale and tough penalties for anyone (buyer or seller) breaking the rules.

Hundreds of people each year are hurt by fireworks, often children, many terribly burnt as a result not just of deliberate mishandling, but simple accidents. Ask your local Fire Service or A&E unit and they'll tell you it's one their busiest nights of the year. There are plenty of public, organised displays to go to, and the fireworks used at them them are far superior to anything the average citizen can buy. So, I can't see a good reason to not implement the kind of scheme I mentioned above. And it would cut down the constant barrage Eolake originally commented on.

A contest idea

I was listening to a song by my friend Gemma Gariel, and I was struck once again by the oddity that her music is is not known and enjoyed yet by millions of people. It's truly world class.

So I got the idea to post one of her best songs on YouTube with some kind of video track. Anything. But essentially an Amateur Music Video, I guess.

I'm not likely to get one done myself, but I figured I might make a contest, offering a few hundred dollars to the best AMV made and posted on YouTube. Any ideas for how to do it? (Shouldn't be tough to do, but feedback is always good.)

My two favorites songs of hers, and I might use both, are:
Serenade Me My Little Blue Angel
and
My Personal Cupid (Just Called Me Collect)

Timing

Timing in photography.


Isn't a shark an amazing creature? It's just pure mouth. Sleek, streamlined death, cold and uncaring.

Fame

Fame. David Bowie wrote a song about it, and he was also the one who said that most of what could be said for it is that it gets you a table in restaurants.

I believe him. Perhaps in my tender youth I imagined it was desirable, but no longer. At least not the kind of fame that means you can't walk in peace. Like one actor said on Actor's Studio, actors are all kind of neurotic, for who needs that much attention?

Anyway, Stephen Fry writes a long, insightful, and often funny essay about it.

Oooh, I just remembered: once I saw on a small Danish television station one of the new breed of "journalists" ("it's all about me") walking around in mixed celebrity company and asking how he would go about becoming famous, because he really wanted to become famous. When he asked one of the grand old men of Danish acting, Ove Sprogø, Ove did not even bother dignifying this idiocy with a reply, he just turned and walked away. Wonderful.
---
Update: I've meant to mention this before, but now I have a good example...
What does "if not" mean?

Stephen Fry wrote:
"I completely understand that to be well-known is to be blessed with all kinds of advantages. I completely understand that fame is something that many, if not all, hunt after in their lives."

Does Fry mean "many, and perhaps all, hunt after" or "many, but not all, hunt after"?
---
A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.
-- Fred Allen

Update:
Funny thing about Stephen Fry: even if you did not know his sexual orientation, you might guess it just from the sheer number of times he utters the word "arse" or any of its synonyms. It's just countless, both in his books and on TV.

Carvings

How to carve Ellen Feiss.
I'd say I no longer have patience for such projects, but I don't think I ever did.

Renée Zellweger

I'm glad to see that Renée Zellweger is looking nice again in Bee Movie. I really think they overdid her chubbiness in the second Bridget Jones movie, she was not attractive at all.

I know little about Bee Movie yet, it's not even clear if it is computer animation or live action. Of course it might be both, like the underrated Osmosis Jones.

De Palma

Why is Brian De Palma so tremendously respected? I've never seen any film of his that I thought was better than decent, and some are just dreadful, like the one I'm trying to watch right now, Phantom Of The Paradise. It's like somebody tried to make a quaint and abstract movie, but just didn't have the talent to support it. And yet De Palma is a huge name, especially amongst movie buffs, I don't get it.

Mission Impossible was ridiculous. (Numbers two and three at least had some faint grounding in reality.)

I tried to watch Carlito's Way last year, but I don't remember anything about it.

Raising Cain was unwatchable.

Blowout was OK, I guess, but didn't seem to have made much of an impression on me, I mainly remember the theatre I watched it in.

Hi Mom was just weird.

Mission To Mars was an unremarkable blockbuster attempt. The same for Bonfire Of The Vanities and The Untouchables. And Ronin.

Scarface was uninteresting. Not even Michelle Pfeiffer kept my interest on it.

"Reward"

I was just reflecting on something I heard: that some people work towards retirement as their "reward" for decades of work.

Does anybody really think like this?

How do they know it won't go like it did with my uncle: shortly after retirement he dropped dead of a heart attack. Boom, c'est finis.

If it's true, maybe it's an American thing? I don't recall meeting anybody from whom I got the impression that they looked forward to retirement as the reason for which they were working.

Pratchett interview

Video interview with Terry Pratchett. A view into the world of a writer.
Includes a young man who breaks down crying when he tells Pratchett how much one of his books meant to him. Pratchett takes it totally in stride, it seem this kind of thing is not at all unusual to him.
Another one here, which I haven't watched yet.