PS on other blogs-

I thought of a few more blogs I frequent:

Ars technica is a great blog about technology - specifically about computer hardware and software, but not always. It can be very low-level, though - you'll be thigh-deep in geekdom before you know it. Very technical.

Dpreview is a great site for checking out digital cameras. They're very on top of the latest offerings from all of the manufacturers. They were just purchased by Amazon, however... so I'm not sure how long their independent integrity can last.

Dcresource is another great digital camera review site for comparison.

Camcorderinfo is similar to the previous two sites, but it strictly deals with camcorder reviews (hands-on reviews and press releases).

Further Reading

Watch for other books in the series:

HOW TO PLAY AIR DRUMS
From John Bonham to Neil Peart, learn the movements to all of their famous solos, without having to pack up the drums after the gig is over.

HOW TO PLAY AIR BASS
Don’t try and manipulate the AIR GUITAR instructions for this beast. AIR BASS is very different and requires a different skill set. Read and learn.

HOW TO PLAY AIR KEYBOARDS
Go ‘80s retro and learn to play like Thomas Dolby and Herbie Hancock: jamming like guitarists with their handheld MIDI keyboards.

HOW TO PLAY AIR PIANO
If Billy Joel and Elton John are more your style, use these instructions to play along with those end-of-the-party ballads that you can use to seal the deal.

HOW TO PLAY AIR PERCUSSION
For the moments when you’ve “gotta have more cowbell”, or you just want to be Laurie Partridge.

HOW TO LIP SYNC
If you don’t want to be an actual musician, you can always channel your inner lead singer with these subtle but effective steps. (Uses only simple verbs.)

Hitting the wall (Another Brick in the Wall?)

Biggest revision ever, but it sure doesn't look like it. So. It was heavily debated and suggested I do something to resolve an issue where the white screened-back rounded rectangles holding the text in my assignment look like they may be intending to mimic the speaker grill. They were not, they were just boxes, but some thought otherwise. One idea was to pull back the screen, but that only made the info graphics and the text muddy, since they had less contrast against the less-bright background. In fact, I had originally thought you couldn't see the speakers in the cabinet enough, so I actually went in and recreated them (simulated) in Photoshop and made them opaque enough so you couldn't tell they were fakes. I decided to pull back the fake speakers, so you really can't see them at all now, which I hope resolves the issue.

Then, it was suggested I replace the blue LED display type with green, so I went ahead and rebuilt all of those screens with a glowing green LED.

It was also recommended I add at least one additional step for "lead-guitar" work. As we all know, you can't add a single page in a booklet. I had to add four. Yowza. Since I had a step on the back (which was a no-no) I already knew I had to do a back, so now I only need 2 new pages. I made an inside cover which is black, and has ISBN info reversed, then an inside back cover (also black) that has the "Other books in the series" - also suggested. It also meant that I had to completely rebuild my "STEP" knob, since now I had 8 steps. The new back cover is an image I made to look like a transparent (made of air???) guitar.

Plenty of text changes as well.

Adding an additional spread was really hard. I went from 2 folded pages to three - and it was very difficult to keep everything aligned. I used a grid that bled (which is what killed me), which meant that the inside pages all had to line up. It took several tries, but I got it to work. I figured out last time that trimming is best left done until the booklet is assembled, since that way you know the pages all trim together evenly.

It doesn't look like I did too much, but I'm pretty sure I spent much more time on the revision that the originial.

Hot To Play Air Guitar

Step 1 – ASSEMBLE

Gather the following list of items you’ll need for your performance:
a. Music (can be Hard Rock OR Heavy Metal)
b. Secure stage perimeter (near stereo, preferably at least 8’ x 8’)
c. Wig (optional)
d. Alcholic beverages (optional, but preferable)

Step 2 – WARM-UP

Drink aggressively and put on wig (optional). Start music and crank it up. Loudly. Bob head to rhythm of music.

Step 3 – POSE

Disfigure face with aggressive/angry pose, mouth open as if engaged in a silent scream (alternatively, a scary/distant pose can be substituted), and thrust left leg forward.

Step 4 – CRADLE

Extend left arm up sideways (shoulder-level), with thumb extended and fingers curled back facing body. Stare at fingers (using facial expression from step 3).

Step 5 – GRIP IT

On your right hand, pinch thumb to index finger (holding imaginary pick), and bring right hand up to right shoulder area.

Step 6 – JAM OUT

Thrust right hand downward violently to rhythm of music, then back up to shoulder position. Repeat until music stops, adding additional facial expressions and body movement.

Step 7 – EXTREME IT

Raise level of difficulty by adding additional moves, such as the jump/kick combo, or kneeling/leaning back while playing.
*** Only advanced players should attempt the “Hendrix” (playing behind your head).

It comes in lots of sizes, too... (Don't say "For big butts")

Yes, kids, it comes in lots of sizes, too. And, if you're not sold, you can get a free sample to see for yourself. Apparently, the inventor (discoverer? revolutionary?) has even been on Oprah (never seen it, myself), and has a Wikipedia entry. Now there's a success story.

Typography where?

I ran across an interesting article (in Macworld of all places) that discusses the art of typography mashed with tattooing (listening, Tara?). Ina Saltz has compiled a book of photographs that catalogs her interesting finds of all of the amazing typographic forms she's found embellished on flesh. Bound to round out any collection of typography, you can find out more about the book here, or buy it here.

Hey. Your Project Looks Like $h!t.

Yes it does, and thank you very much. Hearing you say so validates my efforts. And for those of you who are interested in simulating feces, I recommend DAP products. The silicone-based caulk goes on smooth, dries quick (actually not very quick in these quantities), and really does look like a pile of dung. I found the most true-to-life flavor to be "Cedar Tan" (shown). It's got that murky-brown color that you're striving for, and yet it's not too dark to hide the details.

I Need to Get My Drink On.

Will Ferrell - Landlord | Send To Friends | Animated Cartoons at JibJab

Starburst isn't just a candy anymore.

Inspired (an elegant word for stolen?) by Jared's use of a starburst in his iMovie project, I decided I needed one for my "Process" project. His was more of a "comic" type, very exact and colorful, but I wanted more of a photo-realistic effect that looked more like a spotlight shining directly at you. So I did a little searching and found this link. The settings just didn't work for me, but I fiddled around and got what I wanted - as you see in the posted photo. I think I upped the Min and Max Wavelengths to something like 170 and 240, respectively. I believe the numbers are all proportional to your image resolution and dimenssions, so you have to experiment. Your mileage may vary.

Pointless? I think so. Thank goodness TP doesn't come with visual aids. (S&T)

This came with a crazy fancy pen gadget I got a few weeks ago. Its hard to know if the instructions were intended as a joke or not. I'll bring the pen with me to class...

The definition of stinky (Project 6)

It’s the smile on your face that throws me, at first. You look up at me, smiling almost lovingly, and I smile back, enjoying the bonding moment of happiness that we’re sharing. But then, chillingly, the edges of your smile curl down, while the rest stays up, and your happy eyes take on an edge of serious of concern. This is followed by an intense metamorphosis that takes your normal flesh-toned skin and flushes it bright red. Your hands grip tightly, and some subtle shuddering begins throughout your little body, almost like a tiny seizure. At this point, I know to reach for supplies.

As the hazy thick aroma begins to permeate the air, I wade through it to find you happily engaged in a new activity, having put the past behind you, so to speak. Extricating you from your new-found fun startles and saddens you; now you’re crying and you stink as well. I set up base camp with the hopes of containing the Hazmat area to my immediate reach, with all my items spread out like a surgeon’s tools before the operation.

Speed is the essence of a quick and successful change. I whisk off your pants before you know its happened, then I unsnap your onesy and tuck it up for safekeeping. Severe squirming on your part may cause me to escalate to a “Level 2” maneuver, whereas I straighten my legs on top of your arms and hold you down, pinning you for the duration. Not fun for either of us.

Pulling and releasing the tabs unveils your latest creation, which is normally followed by a suitable comment by me that attempts to capture its essence for those within earshot, or no one in particular. Clean-up begins. Boys are a bit more difficult, with more interesting places for their offering to get attached. I also believe that when men are performing these clean-up duties, they tend to use more supplies –I follow that guideline. On the worst days I feel I’ve used an entire box of wipes for one session.

The smarter of us will always lay out the new clean garment in its proper orientation before beginning. It allows for a quick and easy transfer from the old to the new, with minimum fuss for you and maximum efficiency for me. It’s slid under, folded up, tabs connected and pants whisked back on. Typically during this you require me to increase the distance between the old and the new, lest we both need a shower when this is done. But now your pants are back on, and you’re stood up and sent on your way, and I’m reminded of both Yankee Candles and birth control all at once.

Hey, don't you get other magazines besides Wired?

I got this from Wired. Surprise. Anyway, this post is the Show & Tell this week, which is for "Definition". Every month Wired breaks down a product and tells you all of the harmful things about it. This month it's Miracle Grow. I imagine this example would work for description, as well --maybe even more appropriately. Back to finishing this friggin iMovie.

Bazooka Jane bites the dust

See Jane chew and die.

Timeline=Chronology=Narrative

I found this in Wired magazine. One of the ways we learned to do a narrative is through chronology. A timeline is a graphical representaion of chronology, so I think its an appropriate example of narrative. The article is disputing the movie industry assumption that movies are leaked onto the internet mainly due to the DVDs produced for Oscar voting, which come out prior to the official DVD release. The timelines show examples comparing the release dates with the first known hi-res version of the movie found online.

The Missing Note

My iMovie project is called "The Missing Note" and it's the story of what happens when a note goes missing from a conductor's score during a performance. The movie starts in a performance hall, when a conductor comes out to a cheering crowd. He begins the performance, but the music stops shortly after. Confused, he looks down at the score and finds a note missing from the music that's on the stand. Furious, he sets off to locate the note. We find the note frolicing with a jazz band and generally enjoying life, when the conductor angrily grabs him and returns to the performance, where he slams himback onto the music and the performance continues to cheers. Wow, this doesn't sound that good when I write it out, but too late now. The End.

It glows. (Like plasma?)

Working on my "turning text into TV scan lines" tricks here for my big screen project. It's about a 12 step procedure that I just about have down now. It's kind of like this , but fairly modifed since I only wanted lines through the text (not the whole background), and my text is solid, not outlined (so that changes the way a few layers interact). Anywho, thought it was post-worthy. Click on the graphic to see it a bit better.

I played with the ball.

The screened back baseball I had in my Project #1 Sports Illustrated wasn't representative of what they'd do, so I shrunk it down, made it 100% (Opacity), and bled it off the page. I think it does look a little better. It was also suggested that I figure out a way to give the article some headings, sections, or something to break it up. I'm trying to do thhat with the red bullets and bolding in the text. I'm not sure its enough. I haven't printed this submission yet, in case I want to play a little more. See yah-

TelevisionRevision. More text than you can shake a remote at. (Design not updated)

Your neighbor’s is bigger. Your brother-in-law’s is bigger. Hell, even your Mom and Dad’s is bigger. If you’ve been watching movies and sports on a postage stamp-sized console TV from the 80s’, it’s time to start thinking about joining the rest of the planet. Today’s TVs are more about a theater experience than crowding around to watch a sitcom, and starting a home theater is first and foremost about size. With the higher resolution and advanced imagery of High Definition TV, bigger pretty much is better. But as soon as you take your first trip to the Super-TV-Buy-Mart, you’ll discover that choosing a set is much more complicated than picking a brand and a size. There are lots of different ways to make a big TV, so if you don’t know your HDTV from your HDMI (see Jargospeak on page 15) sit tight and we’ll try and sort it all out for you. You’ll probably be picking from the 5 following types of TVs: Tube, Plasma, Rear Projection, LCD, or Front Projection.

TUBES
This is your grandpa’s TV: the kind you grew up with. Inside the outer shell is a humungous glass tube shooting charged electrons at a screen. The bigger the TV, the bigger (and deeper and heavier…) the tube.

PLASMA
Two panes of glass sandwich around a grid of pixels, with each pixel containing 3 cells of inert gases (one for red, green, and blue). When the gases are charged, they ionize and turn into a plasma, which emits bright and colorful lights.

REAR PROJECTOR
This class includes several technologies, including DLP (the most common), LCD, and LCoS. They all project the image from behind the screen from a tiny projector, and are all much improved from the projection TVs of the 80s’ and 90s’.

LCD
Stands for Liquid Crystal Display (yes, it’s the same thing that’s in your laptop, only bigger). Very thin sheets of matrixed transistors can be turned on and off to allow the correct amount of light and color for each pixel.

FRONT PROJECTOR
For the serious aficionado, this technology requires a separate screen and usually a fairly dark environment to allow you to project the images from across the room. It’s typically at a distance from the remaining components.


Tubes
Sizes Available - 1” – 36”
Pros - Brilliant, bright and smooth picture, rich colors, a proven technology, the cheapest way to HDTV
Cons - Tubes dim over time, spherical nature of tubes distorts images, color convergence changes over time (the red, green, and blue colors won’t line up), tubes are analog devices and have limited resolution (number of pixels), they’re big and heavy, tubes can’t be produced reliably over 36”.
Look for /watch out for -If you have to get a tube TV, at least get a flat screen, which will minimize the image distortion issue.
Wired’s Take - This is ancient technology. Unless there is an absolute reason for you to buy a large-screen tube television (and we can’t think of any), skip it.
Best Examples -Sony 34” FD Trinitron® WEGA® XBR® HDTVKD-34XBR970 (shown), Toshiba 32 in. CRT SDTV #32DF46


Plasma
Sizes Available - 37” – 65”
Pros - Excellent picture quality (the best in big-screens), wall-mountable, wide viewing angle.
Cons - Images that stay on the screen (stock ticker, screen menus, etc…) can burn-in permanently to the display, 1080p (see Jargospeak on pg. 15) units are extremely limited and/or expensive
Look for /watch out for - Find a plasma set that includes anti-burn-in features, such as auto pixel shift, or for pattern displays that can remove existing screen burn-in.
Wired’s Take - Plasma screens look incredible. They have deep blacks, high contrast and amazing color. But while most plasma TVs sold today say they are HD, they are limited to a resolution of 1024 x 768. If you don’t see “1080p” anywhere, it probably isn’t, so if that doesn’t matter (we think it should), then take a serious look at plasma.
Best Examples - Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42” high-definition plasma TV (shown), Samsung HP-S4253 42” high-definition plasma TV.


Rear Projection
Sizes Available - 42” – 72”
Pros - Very good color and contrast, with sharp detail and no burn-in, the least expensive way to get a decent picture with full 1080p. small footprint
Cons - The projection light bulb will burn out after a year or three, requiring an expensive replacement (~$400), Sets have a narrower field of view (they don’t look good from the side), blacks aren’t as deep as other types.
Look for /watch out for - There are 3 main types of these TVs, DLP, LCD rear projection, and LCoS. DLPs use almost a million tiny mirrors and spinning color wheels (we’re not kidding) to create the image, and is the most common rear-projection system. Some people see “rainbows” when looking away from DLP screens. LCDs (not the flat panel TVs below, but rather a type of DLP) have a slower response time (leading to “ghosting” of images) and not as deep blacks, but have no rainbows. LCoS is an advanced hybrid technology with no rainbows and fast response time, but is limited due to difficulty in manufacturing.
Wired’s Take - You’ll probably want to look at a DLP, but be sure to watch several carefully to see if you’re susceptible to the “rainbow” effect. DLPs have a good picture and are relatively inexpensive, but work best in a narrower room, and be prepared to buy a pricey bulb every now and then. Sony’s line of SXRD (their version of LCoS) sets look very good.
Best Examples - Samsung HL-S5687W 56” 1080p rear-projection DLP HDTV (shown), Sony KDS-60A2000 60” Grand Wega™ SXRD™ 1080p rear-projection HDTV.


LCD
Sizes Available - 1” – 52”
Pros - Very good picture quality, wall mountable, thin and light, use little energy, no burn-in
Cons - Blacks not quite as deep as plasma, “ghosting” of fast moving images can occur.
Look for /watch out for - – Keep an eye out for LCDs that increase the native contrast to upwards of 10,000 – 1 (usually called “dynamic contrast”) to help with picture quality and blacks, and find the response time of the LCD: 4 or 6ms will have less ghosting than 8ms.
Wired’s Take - LCDs have the best performance/price ratio in the big-screen arena. They usually give you full 1080p HD in a light package with a great picture that won’t fade or burn-in.
Best Examples - Toshiba 42LX196 42” Cinema Series® high-definition 1080p LCD TV (shown), Sharp LC-52D62U 52” AQUOS™ 1080p LCD HDTV.


Front Projection
Sizes Available - virtually unlimited
Pros - (see above), excellent picture quality, affordable, no burn-in
Cons - You need a high-quality screen for use, viewing area should be relatively dark, usually has no built-in tuners, lamp needs replacement, not all models are 1080p, mounting and substantial wiring can be involved.
Look for /watch out for - The brighter the better. Projection units need a minimum of 1,000 ANSI lumens of light output to be effect, and higher numbers make it easier to see in more light.
Wired’s Take - Front-projection TVs require a unique (and usually dedicated) environment for the most enjoyment. They’re best suited for the basement-to-media-room conversion, or for rooms that don’t have excessive natural light. Also, remember to consider that unlike other TVs, projectors reside away from other components and need to be wired, which can be complicated and expensive.
Best Examples - Sony VPL-VW50 1080p high-definition SXRD™ projector (shown), InFocus Play Big IN76 720p high-definition DLP projector.


The Decider
Hmm… Which to pick? We suggest choosing picture quality above all else. Features are not very important – we doubt you’ll be using the on-screen guide built into any of these TVs, or care much about your choice of fonts for Closed Captioning. At this price point, you’re obviously serious about home theater, which means its highly unlikely you’ll be using the built-in sound system of the TV, regardless of how good it is. Picture quality is really the only thing that matters, and isn’t upgradeable or fixable. Become visually familiar with the high points and pitfalls of each technology (that means looking at a lot of TVs), to see if any of them bother you.
After that, pick a TV that gets 1080p resolution. Even if you don’t think you’ll need it right now, you’ll want it and need it soon after. If you want to watch those Blu-ray or HD DVD discs at their highest resolution, you need 1080p.
Next in line comes the number of HDMI inputs. HDMI is the best way to connect HD components, so make sure you have enough to connect your cable box, Blu-ray player, and your AppleTV to your new TV. Having two inputs is a minimum, three is more desirable.
Brace yourself for an incredible upgrade. Your living room will be the hotspot for entertainment.


(sidebar) Quickread:
LCDs are probably the way to go for the highest quality 1080p picture at a semi-reasonable price in the average living room. Tubes are dead. Rear projection gives a big bang for the buck, but you’ll replace expensive bulbs. Plasma looks the best, but 1080p is ridiculously expensive. Projectors look incredible, but only in the dark.


(sidebar) Jargospeak
HDTV - High-Definition Television, the advanced new digital format for broadcasting TV. This abbreviation encompasses all 18 of the HD formats. Seeing “HDTV” listed in an ad does not give you much information beyond that it will accept and display some form of HDTV.
1080p - This is an HD format that displays images at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels per frame, and is native for both Blu-ray and HD DVD. It is currently the highest resolution for consumer televisions, and encompasses all lesser resolutions.
HDMI - A multi-pin cable/connector system for connecting the audio and video elements of an HD signal between components. It’s not the only way, but it is the best way to do so.
Blu-ray vs. HD DVD - These are the competing next generation HD video formats. Much like the Beta vs. VHS wars of the 1970’s, one is likely to win, but it’s too early to tell at this point which it will be. Quality-wise they are similar: both output HD signals. Some new players accept both discs, and some discs are actually dual-sided and contain both formats.

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(no show & tell this week)

Interesting typography

'Nuff said.