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anonymous works

interesting blog about anonymous works

http://anonymousworks.blogspot.com/2008/04/wall-drawings-in-prison-cell-or.html

Universe

http://universe-review.ca/F02-cosmicbg.htm

http://www.gruppoa12.org/busan/greenroom_02.htm
(the green box)^^^

article
http://www.adbusters.org/authors/douglas_haddow

noam chomsky


Jan Svankmaje


solar power horse


size


theo jansen



holland
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=wim+crouwel

The best thing I ever saw!

These will change your life forever. They certainly changed mine...

Rhythm is a Dancer


Pt.2


Rhythm of the Night


REPRESENT!

I inhabit a world that I dont understand, and care increasingly less for.

So I've been at my job for a month now, and i can firmly say that regardless of whether i enjoy teaching or not, I'm not cut out to be an office Capitalist.

For a start, i just don't have the same mentality as some of these people. For example the biggest Property Agency in the business are potentially going to go bust in the new year, because despite making over £800m in profits, they have taken out over £1.5bn in loans! And this is a company that doesn't even buy its own property, it just facilitates the process for others. wtf do they need £1.5bn for?!

I'm also, i think, too easily satisfied. When i hear that a building used to be worth £600m but is now ONLY worth £400m, my first thought is "well what could i have done with the extra £200m anyway? I've still got enough cash for a money swimming pool."

It's also really easy to feel the creative part of your mind slipping away here. Don't get me wrong, its not a bad job, the works relatively easy, and everyone is nice. But the work is pretty uninspiring. But they all really enjoy it, and seem to think that if i get involved enough, I'll enjoy it too. but so far i don't think thats the case.

I have therefore resorted to creating post-it cartoons. In an effort to get my creative juices flowing a little, combined with my bubbling dissatisfaction with office life, I have started drawing small scenes which pastiche/poke fun at the world of the Office. I'll try get get them uploaded soon.

The end result of this post is; Do something with your life that makes a difference! Society only works because we work together - if your doing a job that makes you a bit richer and one other person a bit richer, your not really doing much with yourself, in the long run.

WIN!

You might have heard about the new Large Hadron Collider at CERN (a science facility bordering Switzerland and France). If you don't know what it is, don't worry because here is a video explaining all. If you're wondering whether or not this is the best thing you have ever seen... Yes. The answer is yes. It is.

Somewhere between Cinema and Video-Games

Recently, I've been thinking - I love film, I can actually fall in love with a film I think. Truly, as someone who sometimes finds it hard to be in, and to enjoy the moment, they are the only thing (other than music) that can really move me. And so I've been concerned that my departure from film production to computer games was a bad decision, and not because I don't want to do it, but because of my aspiration to be an artist. Can a game be moving? Can they evoke emotion like a film can? At present i think the answer is no. Even the fact that they are called games suggests a juvenile and simplistic nature to them. The word conjures images of space invaders or some other generic, colourful and loud title, not the noirish themes and dark comedy of say, Grim Fandango, or Max Payne - though even these cannot compare to the magic of cinema.

However I do believe However at present they seem to be striving to be more and more like cinema. that they are evolving, and that they have the potential to be a legitimate art form, and certainly they will become art before their emotional resonance compares to film. Consider this:


Everything about this looks awful, but at least it's advertised like a film. Games are becoming more focused on story and are less often purely gameplay based. This merging of mechanic with motive is in its infancy and many argue that this is a bastardisation of the form. Cut-scenes in games stop the action so you can watch a brief expositionary cinematic, though this seems like a jarring attempt to make games into films - something they can never be, and a clumsy way of moving the plot forward to boot. However a game like Half Life 2 presents a rich and interesting story, if slightly linear, in a way that never takes control away from the player - dialogue occurs between characters in-game, who turn to face you, and talk to you wherever you choose to stand.

Recently I have been asking myself, would it be possible to make a 'game' that has nothing to shoot, no puzzles to solve, but simply a narrative, and a world to explore. After all, exploration of space is one thing that computer games can do better than any other art form, the potential to allow a player to explore and discover a world is unmatched. And so, I'm going to use this episode of an anime series that I was shown by blog member Masquerade as a kind of case study. Could it exist as interactive media, if not a game then maybe something in between cinema and video-games? Clearly it would have to change in order for there even to be a point to it being a game, but I feel it's a good jumping off point. Could a game exist that has no conventional objectives or point to it? The idea of a pointless meander through an imaginary world rather appeals to me.

And so, it's very odd, very quirky and only 25 minutes, here it is, the first episode of FLCL:



And on another note

A shining glimmer of hope for me as a developer would be digital distribution platforms such as Xbox Live and WiiWare, which allow developers to release games, albeit smaller games pretty much instantly without having to get a publisher involved. They allow Geek A to make Game X in their bedroom and then send it Microsoft who will put it up there with a price tag attached. Braid is an example of a recent indie success, the game a simple side scrolling platformer with a twist. which sold a modest fifty thousand copies and will enable said geek to develop his next game without the hindrance of a real job. Hooray! This of course also bodes well for small games companies who will not have to pitch their idea to a gaming behemoth, and can thus, in theory, make something new, unique, and hopefully interesting.

Bionic Commando - Rearmed has also just been released on XBLA. It's a beautiful looking remake of an older title of the same name minus the last word. For eight pounds it's addictive, very challenging and filled with enough content to keep you playing longer than most big titles that are released on shop shelves. It also has some genuinely great artistic direction and boasts some, admittedly juvenile but charming 'breaking-the-fourth-wall' humour.

In other news not quite worthy of it's own blog, there is an upcoming WiiRemote upgrade called Wii Motion Plus that will probably cost almost the same as the controller itself and boasts the incredible power to 'make it do what it was supposed to in the first place'. Nice but I'd rather just sell my Wii and buy a the next Nintendo console that already has all that technology built in.

Art... AKA CRIME!

Today's Players:
The lovely and talented Sarah (Mostly)


Me (a bit)


Using Stencils cut from the photos of our friends, blu-tac and black spray paint we set about the Bristol halls of residence, 'Goldney Hall', and immortalised our friends in a few discreet places. And when I say 'we' I mean that Sarah did all the preparation and work, while I ran skipping behind like an excitable child.


Me and Richard
- My personal favourite (The black in the middle is a silhouette of Sarah that went wrong, I think we can get away with saying it looks like some sort of musical instrument in its case?)











Sarah herself





Megan and Alex (From the radio show of the same name, but reversed)
- Alex has come out looking a bit like someone I used to know who is now a massive wanker, which is unfortunate because Alex rocks my world.



Megan
- The black below her chin is her hand, but it smudged when the stencil was taken off.




Fran





And standing in the shadow of this large body of work is my sole attempt - a silhouette of a pinup girl:







The other girl here (far left and right) will hopefully be appearing stencilled somewhere soon, although I was reluctant as people suggested it was hard to make out what it is unless you've seen the original picture.


So there you go, a morning well spent we feel, expect to see more in the future, and remember, when we crime it, we crime it good.

For your consideration, interesting MGS4 trailers:

They get weirder:



Also:

General TV-spot

Russian TV-spot

There seems to be a new trend of these high budget video game trailers, other examples being the Halo 3 live action TV-Spots and the Starry Night trailer.

Bungie (the company that makes Halo) has also made a series of TV-spots which interview fictional veterans of the Halo war. See Soldiers Reminisce, Hunted, Museum and Conclusion.

There is also a short film of a fictional war memorial, and another fictional documentary on how it was made. Also see the war memorial website, where you can scroll through the whole thing interactively.

Designer gas masks and the Urban Security Suit

This is possibly the coolest thing I have EVER seen, the Urban Security Suit designed by Tim Smit, is made of neoprene and lined with molded Kevlar, it also comes with stylish gas mask. Yes you could really use it in a war zone, and yes, it is quite ridiculous to consider how good you're looking while being shot at or gassed, but let's be honest, this would make one hell of a good looking soldier.

I suppose some interesting things to consider are the fact that this is obviously not uniform so would most likely to be worn by a rag-tag group of rebels, or by militants, not by any official armed forces. Perhaps this is terrorist-chic?

Obviously it's not actually meant to be genuinely worn in war as it's simply a piece of art, (although it would protect you if you needed it to), but it makes an interesting statement that war is so much a part of many peoples lives that, hey, why not have warfare fashion? Perhaps this is not so much a reality as an idea for a game or a story, but the idea that a war has been waged for so long that this kind of fashion for combat has emerged is certainly an interesting one. Food for thought at least.

Of course let's not forget the very coolest use for this piece of clothing, just how amazingly AWESOME (excuse the Americanism) would it be to show up at a club night like BangFace or to a festival wearing this thing? Frikkin' awesome is I think the appropriate answer here. I want one so very badly, although I would personally be content with a copy of the hoodie and the mask, I don't really need the Kevlar. Unfortunately I don't think they are on sale, but at the next masked themed club night I go to I am most definitely going to copy this outfit as well as I can. I mean my god! this is even cooler than my idea of wearing a mask of my own face over my face!

Also for your consideration, designer gas masks:
A bit to Bling if you ask me, but hey, maybe for the discerning rap artist with more money than taste?

How to milk a good idea.

It seems today, that all you see is...perfectly good TV shows going on a good 2-3 seasons too long, and becoming terrible.

This is (mostly) the reserve of American shows. Unfortunately, as British public broadcast television begins to dwindle in terms of the money it has available, American shows are increasingly becoming the only good thing worth watching. On the internet, admittedly, but still.

The problem lies in the very concept, unfortunately. American shows get made with 20+ episode series' and high production values, which makes good tv, which people watch, which makes money. Then the creators dont want to give up on a good idea, so they keep it going, often long beyond a shows creative shelf-life. The money driven system which CREATES the good American TV shows is the same one that drives them into the dirt, creatively.

The list of shows that got worse and worse as they went on is impressive. Off the top of my head i can think of Friends, the Simpsons, Scrubs, Lost (season 2-3), 24,The OC, Buffy, Angel, Prison Break, The X-Files.

The most frustrating thing about all this, is that the situation IS avoidable! South Park has stayed fresh over 12 seasons by the creators keeping very tight control over the shows direction and integrity. ER manages to keep going by having no over-arching storyline, and no irreplacable characters, focusing solely on good drama. The Office and Twin Peaks, whilst being vastly different shows, both realised that their appeal could only be stretched so far, whilst brilliant creations, they were both essentially one trick ponies, and thus the wise decision was made to end after two seasons each.


Im not sure what the resolution to this problem is. I wanted to avoid sounding like a raving Commie, but the most obvious solution is the one we are least able to affect; until the creators of TV shows start to care more about artistic integrity and QUALITY instead of money, we will continue to have Simpsons episodes with 2-3 laughs, Scrubs episodes where the colouring is even MORE pastel and JD/Turk gay it up/fall over more, and the survivors of Lost still not having a fucking CLUE what is going on.

Sandwich Blog

The Refrigerator Raider V1.0

Today's Players:
Asher:

Stan:


Ingredients:
Thick white bread - 3 pieces
Ham
Salami
Cheddar Cheese (Mature)
French mustard-seed
Branston Pickle
Gherkins
Thickly Sliced tomatoes
Mayonnaise

The Method:
Take the three pieces of bread and spread the mayonnaise on one side of two pieces, and both sides of one piece (the middle piece). Also spread the branston onto the bottom layer. Next Slice the Cheese, Gherkins and Tomatoes and place half of them onto the bottom layer along with a layer of salami. Next, add the middle slice, spreading mustard seed on the top, and finally add the rest of the ingredients, not forgetting the ham.

The Result:






Eating Style:
Basic:
Place your hands on the four and eight o'clock sandwich positions, then eat without taking them off the sandwich or moving them.
Advanced:
No hands.

Respect?
Medium.


Criticisms:
A fine sandwich, but too much Branston overpowers the other flavours, and mustard just doesn't seem to work. Perhaps a condiment too far?