posted by Jamie P. at 10:47 pm on October 29, 2008
Or maybe it is a toad. I don’t know. Regardless I found this little fellow next to the TV tonight. I put him in a jar and tried to take some pictures of him but most of them were out of focus because he kept jumping around. He is now free and watching someone else’s TV outside.
posted by Jamie P. at 8:52 pm on October 26, 2008
AC/DC just released their new album Black Ice this month and well… it’s more AC/DC. I used to listen to a lot of AC/DC because my older brother would listen to it and that’s what everybody else at school would listen to. With the band’s recent moves to only sell their CD online and at Wal-Mart (they know who their audience is) this release may have slipped by without you knowing.
This morning I woke up early and was flipping through the channels waiting for the football games to come on and caught the video for the their first single, “Rock ‘N Roll Train” (on VH1?) off of their new album. ‘Huh?’ was my first reaction. Then I tried to explain to myself what the hell happened to this former bad ass band. Maybe they just spent all their money on that stage? Or for catering for the extras? Or perhaps they have just gotten old?
The video in question:
But out of this came inspiration. I said to myself that I could show everyone how to make the same video using Windows Movie Maker and two effects. But when I opened the Vista version of Windows Movie Maker they were missing one of the effects needed. So I am going to kick it up a notch just above the level of your average Wal-Mart shopper and show you how to make your own version of “Rock N’ Roll Train” using After Effects.
posted by Jamie P. at 1:55 am on October 25, 2008
I had some time today so I thought I would add to the splash images. If you have never been to the page or didn’t notice, the logo image is randomly selected and displayed every time the page is loaded. I was planning on doing this every month but I sort of skipped last month. It was fun to do something for no real reason and just play around in Photoshop again.
The images below are the exports of the base image I used but they are composed a bit different on the splash page to fit the “JP” template.
Source images for Robot&Me is from the Nerdcore blog and Fresh Meter is from CGTextures. Assets for the orange cubes were created using Cinema4D.
posted by Jamie P. at 3:50 pm on October 24, 2008
Improve your vocabulary, help those in need and be a good person is what Free Rice accomplishes all at the same time. Its a simple vocabulary game where you match synonyms and for each correct answer you make the advertiser at the bottom the screen will donate 20 grains of rice. While that might not seem like much but that according to a quick Google search and a calculator the site has already grossed over 1.6 million pounds of rice. Also there is a large bank of words and the game adjusts to your skill level so everyone from doctorates to those still in grade school can play.
FYI it takes about 29,000 grains of rice (long) to make a pound.
posted by Jamie P. at 1:53 am on October 23, 2008
Update: Sorry just noticed that I didn’t link on the two images below. Fixed now.
If you didn’t know the world is teetering on the edge of armageddon. Okay maybe not. But since our economy took a turn toward a steaming pile of poo people have been following it in the most honored form of journalism. Pictorial Blog. The past week or so it is has been a nightly ritual to visit these two sites to see the sad faces of the men and women on Wall Street.
I am sure that this is a sign that it is only a matter of time before Hugh Heffner turns these lemons into lemonade in the form of “the Women of Wall Street”. Oh… wait he is already doing that.
Don’t worry though, it’s not all doom and gloom. There is still some good stuff out there in the world. Go past the break for a little bit of happiness.
posted by Jamie P. at 3:09 am on October 17, 2008
I made a trip to the local library that I would visit at least a couple times a week as a child. I am currently working on a couple of projects and wanted to just get some books for reference. I couldn’t really find what I was looking for but instead found a book that I used to check out all the time. Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life is written by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two animators who were a part of the Nine Old Men. Often known as Frank & Ollie, the two wrote this book in effort to pass on the techniques developed prior to the passing of Walt Disney to a younger generation of animators.
posted by Jamie P. at 1:13 am on October 15, 2008
Yes, I am still alive just a little broken. I hurt my back almost two weeks ago and it took me off my feet for a while. I have been trying to take it easy while keeping up with all the work I have to do so the blog has gone a bit neglected. Thanks to those of you who sent a message telling me to get off my ass and write something. So here I am updating.