Omigod watch this video right now!
by Brennan on Jun.13, 2011, under Music, Videos
Please watch this truly EPIC video for the song True Loves by Hooray For Earth. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but that doesn’t really matter does it? I cannot stop listening to/watching this amazing song/video. It’s also nice to see a band put some serious thought and production value into a music video, which is rare these days.
This cinematic gem was directed by the production team Young Replicant. Head on over to their site now to see more of their phenomenal work.
Good Design Anywhere: On The Highway
by Brennan on Mar.23, 2011, under Art, Life
We live much closer to work now and don’t have to drive anymore, but for a time I had to spend 45 minutes on the highway each way to and from work. I hated the drive, but it did give me some time to observe and reflect on all the other vehicles on the road, specifically those that caught my eye. I repeatedly found myself noticing trucks with what I feel were exceptionally well designed graphics on them. I was pleasantly surprised to find such good design in, what is my opinion, such an ugly place (like a smog choked highway).
I’m no design history buff, so I can’t really say what “school” these designs fall into, but there is a common style among them. Perhaps that’s why I liked these eight the most. I think each of these companies have been around a long time, and these designs were probably created in the 60′s or 70′s, yet they’ve stood the test of time. I think they’re simple, clean, effective, and timeless. Look for these trucks next time you’re on the road, and be glad you get to observe some good design anywhere.
Allied Van Lines
Atlas Van Lines
Celadon Trucking
Central Transport
Marten Transport
North American Van Lines
Safety Kleen
Currently Listening: John Lennon
by Brennan on Jan.08, 2010, under Music
I can’t remember where it was that I heard this song recently, but I was immediately smitten with it and also curious as to why I hadn’t heard it before. Not new, but oh so good. Listen to it, and then listen to it again.
Amazing and emotionally stirring Arch Viz
by Brennan on Jan.08, 2010, under Art, Videos
The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
If only we who were and are in the field of Arch Viz were given the time, resources and freedoms to create something like the masterpiece above…
Obviously this short video, The Third & The Seventh, is a work of great passion and dedication, which is really what enables Alex to create such beautiful 3D visualization. I am awed and humbled. You can watch the video here, but I’d advise going to Alex’s Vimeo page and opening it in full screen for the best possible experience. I really didn’t think that Architecture could be so moving until I saw it presented in this way. Bravo Alex!
Messing Around: ShakeItPhoto
by Brennan on Dec.21, 2009, under Art, Tech, Web
I was browsing through the pages of Nick Campbell’s blog, Greyscale Gorilla, the other day when I came across the iPhone app he created called ShakeItPhoto. Basically, it takes your iPhone pictures and makes them look like a Polaroid photo. As a fun little bonus, the app makes a Polaroid sound when you take or make the photo, and the more you shake your phone, the faster the image “develops”. It was only 99¢ so I thought I’d give it a try. I really like it. I took some time to use it on a number of photos I already had on my phone, with some really satisfying results, shown above. What is it about placing an image inside a white square border coupled with subtle vignetting that instantly makes a badly taken picture look better? I don’t have the answer, but I like the result. If you feel like sharing your iPhone Polaroids there’s also a Flickr group and a webpage called PhotoShakeDown. Thanks Nick!
Currently Listening: Yeasayer
by Brennan on Dec.16, 2009, under Music
This song is all over the web, so yes, I too am currently listening to Yeasayer’s Ambling Alp, and you should be too, because it is awesome.
Messing around: New Gravatar image
by Brennan on Dec.16, 2009, under Art, Web
If you’re active on the internets and you don’t use a Gravatar I highly recommend it. If you don’t care what your avatar image looks like when you post on forums or comment on blogs, then I wouldn’t fuss with it. However, if you’re like me and you want your avatar to be the same everywhere, then a Globally Recognized avatar is the way to go. It’s linked to your email address so anytime you comment on a blog and enter your email address it will automatically appear. It’s also an easy way to have an avatar image in the proper format readily available to link to, in case the site you’re on doesn’t support Gravatars. I was tired of the Gravatar image I had so last night I made a new one. I think it’s fun.
Modern art inspired by ancient traditions.
by Brennan on Dec.13, 2009, under Art
I’ve always had a great fondness and appreciation for Northwest Coast art, that is, the style of art created by the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America. I’m not sure why. I also have a great fondness and appreciation for the Northwest Coastal region in general, especially the climate and amazing natural scenery. If I believed in reincarnation I’d have to guess that I was an artist among those peoples in a past life. See some examples of authentic Northwest Coast art below, followed by the work of some present-day artists who obviously share my admiration for this venerated art form.
Feed Me!
by Brennan on Dec.02, 2009, under Web
So, I finally got my “feed” set up in Google Reader. My God, there is way too much awesome content out there. I can’t keep up. RSS readers help a great deal though. Now that I’ve got my feed set up, at least I can find all of it in one place. It’s like I’ve got my own little corner of the internet, corralled inside my RSS reader.
Most of the blogs I read seem to have the obligatory, “These Websites Are Cool, Go To Them” post. This is mine. If you ask me, all of these sites are worth visiting daily, if you’ve got the time. Their content is updated constantly. I know this is one of the best things any blogger can do to keep people interested. It certainly works on me and it’s something I strive for with this blog.
Audio Fun in 16 easy Steps
by Brennan on Oct.25, 2009, under Music, Tech
There are many things that I’m passionate about but visual stimuli, technology, and music are definitely on the short list. So, when these three things get combined into a brilliantly engineered hand-held device like the Tenori-On, I can hardly contain myself. What is the heck is a Tenori-On anyway? Is it like a Keepon? No, it’s not, but I do love those things. The Tenori-On is a 16 x 16 LED button matrix performance instrument with a visual display that allows anyone (hey that’s me!) to play music intuitively. They have a great website that will tell you all about it. Check out this demonstration below.
I don’t have a Tenori-On. I would very much like to have a Tenori-On but I don’t have $1000 to drop on one. Not to worry, because I’ve found the next best thing. It’s not as advanced, and it’s not hand held, but it is easy, and lots of fun, and free. It’s a website with a 16 step sequencer called iNudge. Now, everyone all over the internet is raving about Andre Michelle’s Tone Matrix, which is cool enough, but iNudge is better and I’ll tell you why. iNudge has eight different sound layers, including drums and electric organ, and I can embed iNudge in my blog, or send a link of the song I’ve created to my friends. I’ve spent the better part of my Saturday fiddling around with it and come up with some really entertaining and satisfying results. Try it out for yourself.
As I said, I’ve been playing around with this thing all afternoon. Below are a couple iNudges I came up with. There are quite a few 16 step tone matrix sequencer apps on iTunes as well. I used the free version of TonePad to compose one of these on my phone in about five minutes. Then I went to iNudge and popped it in and added a drum beat for a little more depth. Like I said, this first one was thrown together in a manner of minutes, and is kind of silly and whimsical sounding, but I really like it. I think it’s a testament to these little tone matrix sequencers that it’s so easy to compose something catchy and melodic so quickly.
This next one sounds a little more dramatic. I was really trying to make it sound like something else, and it didn’t work, so I just decided to try a bunch of other stuff. I’m actually quite pleased with how it turned out. I originally composed it at 120 BPM, and then realized I could slow it down to 72, so I did.
So, if you haven’t already, go here and get your nudge on. Paste the links to your nudges back in my comments. I’d love to hear what you come up with!
