And one of my major complaints about the iPod is the way I get the music into the little box.  In order to play CDs that I own, I must sync my iPod to a single computer, and spend hours ripping the hundreds of CDs into that machine.  Further, if the album is duplicated in the CD database, or if it is stored in a manner that is not to my liking, I have to spend some time editing the entry, genre, album name etc. I just don’t have the desire to spend this kind of time.  I wish someone could just take all of my CDs, put them into a memory storage device, with the album covers, and then send me the whole device.  Ultimately, this device would be portable and plugable.  I should be able to copy these tunes to my car, my home stereo, my office desk, and anywhere else I might want to listen to music.  I don’t want to be tied to an iPod.  I don’t want to carry my iPod. I don’t even want an iPhone.  I want to go as simple as possible…

And while walking around one of the shopping centers in Den Haag, I found a Bang & Olfsen store.  For those of you not familiar with this high-end brand of audio equipment, don’t bother price shopping.  This brand comes up with some of the best fidelity, and truly unique style of music machines.  I loved their vertical CD player. 

I walked into the store and told the salesman what I was looking for.  He walked me right over to the $8,000 digital music system.  I fell in love the instant I heard the concept.  They take my CDs, covert them to a lossless format, upload them to a box, and then give me a stereo system that would meet most of my needs.  Most, but not all.

I found the organization system great.  The concept of matching songs was neat–you pick the first song, the machine picks all other songs that match the beat and style and unending music begins to play in a way you’ve never heard before.

I like this system!  But I want an iPod price…

 D

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/beosound5

The Chosen One

If you liked the first one Animator vs Animation you’ll enjoy “The Chosen One”.  In this episode, the animator felt like he needed a challenge.  So he created the ultimate animation and named him “The Chosen One”.  Follow Alan Becker as he takes on his own Animation. 

Animator vs Animation II by Alan Becker

Enjoy. And may the Force be with you.

D

The Leading Role - aka the victim

I love the Internet. The things you can find, the ideas people have. Deviant Art has a way of pulling together some interesting talent. But it takes some time to go through and find the gems. I wish I could build animation like this.  This is truly one of the gems. Great action, cool story line, perfect blend of sound effects… I can’t wait to see the sequel!

The Plot:  A bored animator decides to create a stick figure that he can mangle, maim, and otherwise torture.  But the stick figure, aka “victim” wants no part of this.  The stick figure leaps off the animation work area and wreaks havoc with the menus pulling a few tricks of his own. Watch the movie to see how this turns out!

Animator vs Animation

D

P.S. Interested in making your own flash movies?  Of course there is the tried and true Adobe Flash CS4 Professional, but have you checked out Swish?  I recommend starting with Swish Max.  Get the free download, check out the lessons online, look at the samples, and enjoy programming your own Flash movies!

http://www.smallparts.com/

http://www.onlinemetals.com/

http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/

http://www1.mscdirect.com/

Ever lose your keys, look where you left them, and then find them there a little while later…

But can you ever go back…and if you did, would anyone believe you…

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy6wo2wpT2k

All three have the same basic concept…that man has diverged into two separate and opposing species. 

• In Time Machine, there are the Eloi who live in the light of day, are docile as lambs, weak as sheep, small of stature, quite pretty and fun loving.  They fail to render assitance to any of their kind and have no fear of anything other than the night. They peform no labor and eat only the fruits that are readily available and appear t be planted just for the purpose of fattening them up.  They are paired against the Morlocks who have retreated below the surface, cannot stand light, and feast on the meat of the fair Eloi. The Morlocks only come out at night to snatch the Eloi for their meals.
• In Mattheson’s 1954 “I am Legend”, a bacteria has brought vampires back to the planet.  In this case, there are three kinds of beings: Neville, the sole remaining survivor of the plague who is immune to the conversion, those who live, but are vampires, and the un-dead…vampires who have returned from the dead, but have no faculties of thought.   In this version, Neville kills the sleeping vampires by day, unaware that there are both un-dead and living among them. The living vampires seek him out as a danger to their new society and eventually exterminate him.
• In the 2007 movie version, a “cure” for cancer turns out to convert the host into a vampire-like being that is rabid, does not converse, and has no remorse for others.  The disease sweeps through the planet and leaves only one remaining survivor.  It sleeps by day, and hunts by night. In this version Hollywood version however, a cure is found and so are the other survivors.  
• In the 2008 Alternate ending, the zombies are capable of jealousy, rage, and other complex emotions, and thus are not just blood-thirsty zombies as they are made out to be in the Hollywood version.

All of these left me wondering about the state of mankind.   They point to extremes in nature: the hunter and the hunted…and the reversal of fortunes through unplanned or unforseen changes in the environment or rather, unrecognized changes. 

Perhaps the message is not to lash out when we don’t understand.  Our first instinct is to treat the unknown as insignificant, without feelings, and with disdain…perhaps we should try to step in someone else’s shoes before we dismiss them so quickly…