Whenever you’re weighed down by your personal share of existential angst, you can either soul search from within and try to get to know yourself and come up with answers to all your troubles via self-awareness, or if you’re just too lazy to consider such thing, you can just ask a ninja! Do you doubt he’ll be able to provide you with much-needed confort and insight? Well, doubt no more, today’s video will make the realization dawn upon you, of the profoundess of ancient ninja wisdom, as the nth being dicussed the issue of ninja cooking. Want more? Check out the official video magazine Ask A Ninja.
So you’re suffering with boredom, eh? Never know quite how to take advantage of all the free time you’ve got to spare? Well, worry no more, because this slice provides you with some action-packed ideas from the other side of the globe. Next time you’re feeling bored, just get your friends, set up your rollerskates, hitch a ride and get crankin’ big time out on the roads. Here, like this:
Disclaimer: I will not be held responsible for dumb people who can’t resist the urge of mauling themselves by attempting trendy Saudi lifestyle statements and end up getting hurt, like for real. Not because I’m a bad person, but simply because I’m not completely dumb - so here’s at ya.
In the fast-paced modern days we live by, there’s an increasing demand for high-quality multimedia presentations, both in academic and Professional scenarios. While Microsoft PowerPoint has long been established as the standard tool to create such presentations, it’s not a tool without limitations, and this is probably the reason why there’s also a demand for high-quality presentation software, such as eZediaMX. This software is publicized as “easy-to-use multimedia authoring and editing software (…)- From beginners to experts, it has never been easier to produce professional multimedia projects with no programming required!” This cross-platform software (available for Windows and Mac) provides a great solution for everyone who wants to create modern looking presentations that would not be possible in PowerPoint.
After taking the tutorial and experimenting a little with this software, it’s safe to assume that it does constitute a good alternative for PowerPoint. There are two good reasons why this is so; first, it allows easily creating the same kind of presentations as PowerPoint does; second, it allows the creation of more advanced presentations with just a little practice. This software adopts a system of frames (as opposed to slides) which allow creating elaborate transitions and chain reactions; in a way, it could be argued that eZedia MX is a cross between Microsoft PowerPoint with Macromedia Flash – a middle ground between ease of use and sheer creative potential and power. There are some impressive demonstrations available in a training videos section within the official website; while some of these demonstrations look somewhat puzzling, it actually becomes second nature, after using the software for a while. Doubtless, one is able to access a creative edge by using this powerful, affordable and relatively simple multimedia presentation tool.
The following prayer is widely known throughout the world, as result of being adopted by the Alcoholics Anonyms. While I’m neither an Alcoholic nor an Anomym, I still can relate very closely to the Ideals ascribed within this inspired address. It was originally created by a theologian called R. Niebuhr in the 1930’s, and was later adapted by many others. This slice of life will provide you with an extended version of this inspired text, much to your reflection and enjoyment. While I’m not a catholic - or a religious person by that matter - I find great value in these words, and hopefully so will you.
Ever wanted to learn some break dance, so you can rock your skills big time, when you’re out on the streets? Well, start moving away your furniture and making room for practice, because this slice of life will set you on your way to become a proeficient dancer - you’ve got to start somewhere, right? This flash presentation offers a step-by-step illustration of some of the most popular moves available, such as the moonwalk and the windmill. As soon as you’re able to crack this moves, you won’t look entirely bad on the streets, or anywhere else by that matter. Besides, it’s great exercise, and most of all it’s a great chance to have some fun! So get moving! Don’t forget to send me your best photos and videos, so everyone can see your mad skills, eh?
Here’s another web resource of great value, for the ecologically-minded readers out there. “Breathing Earth” is a real-time graphical representation of the world’s CO2 emissions, along with birth and death rates for most countries. It’s worth taking a close look upon the numbers conveyed in this website if you’re wondering just how badly we’re abusing our green earth - which is a lot. Granted, websites such as this one wil not necessarily lower pollution levels, but it just might help a person or two rearrange his perceptions and motivations, and that in turn may cause some actual change - you never know, but I’m still posting about this kind of thing on a regular basis. Click the picture to access the presentation.
“Welcome to Breathing Earth. This presentation displays the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates - all in real-time. Tough considerable effort has been taken to ensure the presentation uses the most accurate and up-to-date data available, please remember that this is just a simulation. “
The following single quoted sentence has been semiotically devised to conjure the ultimate Harry Potter 7 - “The Deathly Hollows” spoiler. It’s actually the last sentence in the book, and if you’re a rabid fan who still hasn’t read the newborn tome, please skip to the following post, or search the archives for something that doesn’t spoil the enjoyment of your favored titles. Anyway, the sentence is something as plain as this :
“The scar had not pained Harry in nineteen years. All was well.”
It’s wonderful how a single sentence can convey so much meaning, and avoid so much speculation. Just so no doubt remains, this slice of life would be my humble, expanded tribute to the literary genius of one of the greatest spirits to have graced our wits ever since Lewis Carrol weaved his loungy tales of psychedelic misadventures. Whether or not you personally like it - possibly you dislike it because of all the hype - the Harry Potter 7 - volume saga *is* a modern paramount of fantasy literature, children’s literature, and literature in general! It’s a bold literary achievement on so many levels, and only blunt-witted muggles would fail to realize so. JK Rowling is as much of a genius as they get, and I would not be able to express my admiration for her not if I distilled all the archetypes that relate even loosely to the raw concept of sheer, utter, awe. Ok, maybe I’t exagerating, but it’s something really big - trust me on this one.
The ending of Harry Potter 7 is wholesome and graceful on many levels, some of which I’ll try to discriminate subsequently to the best of my ability. Continue Reading »
Now, for something a little different. It has been a while since I posted a good online webcomic for your enjoyment. There are thousands of online comics published daily in the Internet, and some of them are actually pretty good. Today’s entry, for example, provides a clear proof that you don’t have to be a great illustrator to make a great online comic: you just need perseverance, and a wild imagination, a possibly a few stick figures.
XKCD has been around for a few years (the name doesn’t really mean anything, in case you’re wondering), and it’s firmly established in the web, with many many readers from all over the world. I was personally hooked to this engaging concept right off the bat, as I read the disclaimer in the main page: “this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).”
Check out XKCD by yourself, I guarantee you’ll have good fun! This is one of my favorite arcs so far: Continue Reading »
Today’s slice is of a somewhat delicate nature, so it’s a good thing I’m posting this late in the evening. However, there’s something that I must insist in making quite explicit, from the beginning: If you’re a horny teenager, you will not take advantage of the wonderful resource I’m presenting today; and if perchance you end up taking some sort of advantage off it - you will not tell your parents where you learned about this, not until after they are over whatever misdemeanor you end up doing. Anyway - disclaimers aside, I want to proceed to speak in my defense, as I make such a daring, arguably off-shot post as this one.
So, what’s the big deal about, anyway - you wonder? The website I’m bringing up to public slice attention this evening (a reference which does *not* involve any kind of sponsorship whatsoever, in case you’re wondering), is very explicitly titled the “Boob sign generator”. Sounds futile? I beg to differ. It doesn’t take much effort to think of some interesting uses for a website that lets you easily create pictures such as the one bellow, by typing custom text over a chosen picture among a - quite fascinating, I might say - pin-up stock photo gallery.
Head out towards www.boobsigngenerator.com and start generating your own boob signs right away! Have fun and be responsible - respect the lovely breast as well as the plain one!
Also, if you’re up for a quick laugh, check out the list of the last 50 signs that were generated through this cool website!
Today’s slice toasts you with another nice cartoon which was composed through the increasingly popular rotoscoping animation technique. I don’t suppose there’s a reputable animation school out there that doesn’t encourage students to experiment with this technique at least once. Basically, they shoot a video with live actors and then they trace over each individual frame, thereby composing an animation. I believe this is a great way of practicing figure drawing, although it’s possibly quite a tedious task, due to the high volume of pictures (at around 20 frames per second, it takes about 1200 drawing to make one minute of animation!).
All things considered, effective rotoscoping it not as simple as it may sound, especially when it comes to making good, solid animation such as this one. I especially enjoy the facial expressions on the kids, I notice there was some good acting direction involved in this project. I’m not too fond of the story myself - it feels somewhat bland and predictable - but this is doubtlessly a premier example of the potential that has become available to modern animators through the use of rotoscoping animation.
Two obvious examples of full-feature rotoscopy animation projects are Richard LinkLater’s Waking Life and AScanner Darkly, both of which are great movies that you should watch just for the sake of it, even tough they also provide a glimpse of the modern cutting edge in rotoscopy.
