24 June 1994 – May 2003 (rescued) – 27 August 2010. My best friend, my constant and loyal companion for the last 8 years, passed away yesterday. She was the kindest, most gentle creature I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her love and devotion was unwavering, they joy and calm she brought me was nothing shy of profound. I may have missed her in her prime, the tolls of life had already begin to set in when we rescued her, but we cherished her, kept her safe, and nursed her ails. For this, I was rewarded with a friendship and bond the strength of which I cannot even begin to measure. I miss you terribly, Blaze. Your memory will live me with forever, and always be in my heart.
ok, so i realize the blog has taken a major turn towards guns-and-stuff-that-really-aren’t-guns-and-stuff lately, but i couldn’t resist this one. i promise, i’ll find some dainty type-related material to make up for it soon. in the meantime, you really should check out clinton jones’s cardboard warfare. the great post work done on this short is matched only by the hilarity of the fact that it comes from cardboard weaponry. complete with ejecting cases and blurred motion on the pistol slides and barrel cylinders, the sound effects are good too. it’s a far cry from the spy flicks my roommates made in college (well, maybe not the plot and acting). the fact that there’s a life-size cardboard tank helps too. clinton says:
This took about a month and a half of planning, making cardboard guns, filming, and editing. To make this video you need:
- 254 program crashes
- 427 manual frames to rotoscope
- 59 layers of sound effects
- a BUTTLOAD of cardboard and box cutters
- and a katamari
i only wish he’d published some stills so i didn’t have to spend half an hour trying to use youtube’s ridiculously inaccurate scrub button to get a decent screenshot.
so DC’s decision to give wonder woman pants has gotten the fanboys’ (and girls) panties all in a wad. i don’t think anyone would argue that comics have a history of sexism, they are after all, generally geared towards hormonally challenged teenagers (and those that still think like them). michael straczynski claimed the change was made to give her a more modern look:
She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941. If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility.
well, if by modern, he means the 90’s, then i guess he’s got it right. i’ll offer another rational for the change though: MOVIE. let’s face it, the superhero movies that have really done well were ones that brought a level of realism and grit into the characters. dudes in purple tights might work in comic books, but they still look stupid in live action. the same holds true for an armored bathing suit. i’m thinking this costume change has more to do with an impending theatrical release than trying to take a little of the overt sexy outta everyone’s favorite amazon. regardless, i think we can all agree, for a 69-year-old (no pun intended), wonder woman is still pretty hot.
this might be the cutest-damned thing i’ve ever seen, and it’s not a bad piece of filmmaking either. it’s patrick boivin’s short, AT-AT day afternoon. patrick says,
When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got… A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker.
i can so relate to that. now if he could just make a short about the one other thing i never got to have, her name was…
i guess this is something of a follow-up to the tactical gardening bit. after posting it, i was sent this link for chocolate guns/ammo/grenades etc… now, why anyone would choose to create a chocolate glock is beyond me, as it’s probably one of the ugliest pistols in the world. methinks a dark choco 1911 would have been much more fun, or maybe a sweet P7M8, now that’s a sexy morsel i could sink my teeth into.
ok, so if the US and korea both win tomorrow, my wife and i are going to have a cage fight to determine who the household will cheer for. while she promises hair-pulling and biting are off-limits, i’m still going to pull out my mexican wrestler’s mask and motorcycle jacket, just to be safe. now, truth be told, neither of us are big football fans (yes, i’m pretending that as an ‘mericun i don’t call it soccer behind your back), but we do both enjoy international competition like the world cup and the olympics. that being said, since i have in fact been following the self-destruction of france, the downright robbery perpetrated against the US, and the sheer pleasantry of new zealand, i thought i’d post a few items i’ve run across that are relevant.
the first is this piece by yves peters where he looks at the type used by puma on several of the team’s jerseys and conducts a mini-interview with paul barnes about it.
the other little ditty i found was an amusing look at a wall chart created by benjamin prescott using a recreation of the subbuteo scoreboard that i found over at ministry of type (apparently aegir has a thing for type made with dots, and i can’t say i blame him).
peter hamza and the guys over at inertia have put a digital copy of inertia_visual_culture_2001 online to celebrate it’s 10th anniversary. the book features some great designers like françois chalet, jens karlsson, büro destruct, and todd purgason, and i was lucky enough to have some of my work included as well (pages 116-119 if you’re interested). since the book was self-published, the run was quite small (i’ve only ever seen 2 copies – the one they gave me and the one i bought for my mom) so it’s great to see it now available to all. it’s a nice snapshot of design at the turn of the century.
the medical imaging firm eizo created a pin-up calendar to peddle their wares. insert “she has nice bone structure” joke here. while i think the pumps were a nice touch, i’m hoping this isn’t going to start an internet fetish… found via geekosystem.
a friend of mine, who knows about my penchant for duct tape and it’s numerous applications, sent me these images of a project created in vienna this march. numem / for use, a collective from zagreb, constructed this installation using clear plastic tape.
one of seoul’s more, uh, colorful neighborhoods, itaewon is popular with tourists and the many US soldiers stationed nearby. it is home to loads of knock-off goods and some great tailors, many of whom cater to foreigners. you can also find plenty of prostitution if you’re looking, but since the hookers still seem to think it’s 1984 from the way they’re dressed (and the fact that they appear to have been working since then), i’d go somewhere else if that’s your cup of tea. it’s also home to korea’s greatest burger, which can be found at smokey’s saloon. the backside of itaewon also has several antique shops, many of which have some of the most bizarre collections i’ve ever seen.
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