guitarshredshow.com -- the Ultimate Guitar School

I don't even play the electric guitar, but I can't help playing around with this site. Really, really fun character design. Great Flash actionscripting. Try playing with the lessons, too! I played with lesson 8. You can press and hold any of the keys on your keyboard to hear solo elements, complete with an optional metronome.

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Daniel Rozin's "The Wooden Mirror"

Built in 1999, Daniel Rozin's "The Wooden Mirror" is just an amazingly beautiful and fascinating piece of art and engineering.

From the site:
830 square pieces of wood, 830 servo motors, control electronics, video camera, computer, wood frame.
Size - W 67” x H 80” x D 10” (170cm , 203cm, 25cm).
Built in 1999, this is the first mechanical mirror I built. This piece explores the line between digital and physical, using a warm and natural material such as wood to portray the abstract notion of digital pixels.

The best way to undestand how it works is to see the Quicktime movie of the wodden mirror in action, click here.

See the "Trash Mirror--2001".
500 pieces of variously colored trash collected from the streets of New York and artist’s pockets, motors, control electronics, concealed video camera, computer. Size - W 76" x H 76" x D 8" (193cm ,193cm, 20cm) Though built 3 years after the Wooden Mirror, Trash mirror was conceived first, However the concept seemed too risky at the time so I decided to build the Wooden Mirror first. This piece suggests that we are reflected in what we discard. The piece celebrates the ability of computation to inflict order on even the messiest of substances - trash.

See the "Shiny Balls--2003".
921 hexagonal black-anodized aluminum tube extrusion, 921 chrome-plated plastic balls, 819 motors, control electronics, video camera, computer. Size - W 56" x H 50" x D 20" (142cm, 127cm, 50cm)
The third addition to the mechanical mirror group, Shiny Balls Mirror displays a crisp and clean facade of aluminum and chrome utilizing the jewel-like reflections on its balls to form the reflection of the viewer twice: Once on each ball and once on the entire piece.

See the "Shiny Balls--2005".
900 laminated digitally printed circles, 900 motors, video camera, control electronics, computer and custom software.
Size 60 inches H, 60 inches W, 6 Inches D
Circles Mirror is a mechanical sculpture made of 900 overlapping circles with patterns printed on them and connected to motors, computer and video camera. Any person standing in front of the piece is reflected on the piece by the circles rotating to expose more dark/ bright patterns as needed. The piece utilizes 12 different patterns of radial gradation from black to white which are randomly placed on the board. This piece is the first of my mechanical mirrors to incorporate elements of computer graphics and as such is an interesting middle between my print and physical works.

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Coming Tomorrow, October 12, 2005: "One More Thing..." from Apple

So, I don't usually get in the business of speculating about what Apple will release. But I do know what I'd like to see from Apple. Call it a nano wish list.

Apple LCD TV
How great would it be to have an Apple branded LCD TV hanging in your living room, albeit 10% more expensive than the competition? I know I'd want one. Heck, they already sell a 30-inch LCD for Mac and PC.

Here's what would make it different: WiFi connection to my Mac. I would be able to control iTunes and view my photos with my remote. More importantly, download movies right to your LCD panel's hard drive through some sort of iTunes Movie Store (funny name, huh?). Besides, Steve Jobs always said that watching a movie on a small screen like the iPod would be a horrible viewing experience -- and I agree. So, why not go large?

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Online CSS Typesetting Tool

Okay, so this link is strictly for the web building geeks out there.

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Beautifully Animated Political Statement

Hey, I know this link is a bit old, but I haven't posted in a month and this was already a couple months old at that point. But here's a Knife Party production.

For a little background on the piece, click here.

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Where is Lepos?

Where is Lepos?!?!?!

This is such a fun and unique and lovable approach to street art. I wonder if it'll be the next Obey Giant. I don't know but, if they make them, I want a Lepos sticker!!!

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Puki Game

Fun Flash game!!!

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves

Save My Ass (from my wife)

Here's a great idea for a service long time in coming.

From the site:

Why do I need this?
If you're a successful professional whose career demands the bulk of your time, you know the situation. You want her to be happy, but work keeps you so busy... and maybe you're just not as good at being romantic as you'd like to be. Imagine how she'd feel if you sent her flowers on a regular basis. Sign up for this service once, and we'll take care of the rest.

How does it work?
You provide us with your billing info and her delivery address. We'll periodically send her flowers every 4-6 weeks, and bill you for each delivery individually (not prepaid). . We'll notify you before each order, and you can edit them in advance if you'd like. We'll schedule flowers for all the obligatory dates she expects (you'll never miss an important date again!) and we'll score you major points by making deliveries she doesn't expect. You will be amazed at what impact sending flowers for no apparent reason has.

Digg it   |   del.icio.us   |   Add to Technorati Faves