Sunday, 15 June 2008

SICK SICK SICK

a guide to non-confident living

by Jules Feiffer, Introduction by Kenneth Tynan

I came across this book in a Vinnies store and I thought it was amazing how it captured the subtle characteristic flaws within society today. Then I looked closer and it was a representation of the late 50s, yet it still applies.

As the book goes on, Feiffer inspired the revolution of art, or drawing for newspapers.

Sorry if you like his other works and I don't have it, I just have this one book and no matter how good he is he still deserves a little mystery. I also don't have a scanner with the capacity to do all of them. *cough* borrowed one cause my scanner is one of the rolling ones which requires the subject being scanned to bend. Someone has a grudge against books.

Alright, a bit tired now. I'll finish up uploading then I'll sod off. G'night

SICK SICK SICK - Jules Feiffer

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Wednesday, 11 June 2008

City Beach

Have you ever been inspired by a song, in my case, it turned out to be an entire album, Shoot this by Motor Ace, and especially their song Ride the wave.

For some reason I feel that I am no longer creative. But at least I used to be, in my mind. But I can't prove it any more. I guess when I get angry (blames sisters) I throw things away. I can't seem to every find my black and white negative of an old man I drew. Some things from year nine survived. I guess they reflected what I felt at the time. That would have been a nice reason why I didn't throw them away, but honestly it's because they wouldn't had fit into the garbage bin.

For my project, I had a theme. The curriculum required us to do the city, bush and the beach, but I never really thought they were that different. One day, if I can scan it for you, I'll show you my collage. My theme was called "City Beach". For my painting I never finished, it was mainly inspired by a few songs by Moby where thetwo words merged into one for me. I escaped into a night world of lights and natural beauty, swimming across red coral with illuminated life. The neon purplish blue jelly fish swimming in the foreground seemed to be a glowing bus and the coral beneath and beyond was filled with life, just like suburbia and just like a city. Above on the beach, you can see the homes built right up to the shore and even on the rickety jetty. They were simple and suburban beach homes. Looked like the ones which would be quite expensive to buy, but left the owners bankrupt from renovating them to extreme surfing material. Further into the horison suburbia would seem to shrink into glowing specks, deep red like the coral but just as alive. And the reflection of the unseen sun reflecting in the skies above gave it a mystical feel. If it had a message, I'm sure people enjoy giving things meaning but I assure you this is an unhealthy environment for any flora or fauna, but just a concoction of the imagination.

My collage was like any other prophesy of the future. I think I recently watched the movie AI, with the little kid actor Hayley and an android searching for his mother or home, I don't recall too well. In that movie, the future of earth existed as ice, where Antarctica and the Arctic met hand in hand for every perimeter. The surface a dry white frost with the tallest buildings protruding from the blanket and deep within the ice was frigid water wearing but preserving artifacts of the human race, their lamp posts, cars, apartments, the way they lived. I guess I stole the idea closely but I had tall buildings and the sea intruding onto it's territory to the extent that they seemed to share the space in harmony. Instead of humans changing it once more, they were divers inspecting, analysing and learning off their friendship.

Well that's something you can make up from it. I just thought it looked nice. I enjoy looking at and taking pictures if I ever had the chance of industrial material, factories and their worlds. The rust, and rectangles and the contrast between vibrant and subtle colours. People value nature and that awful word "the wild" over this because they fear you lose a human touch but that's not true. Beauty isn't always so blatant, it is more valuable with it exists in an instant as everything is beautiful. If it doesn't seem to be, you may only be looking at it in the wrong perspective. If it were a flower or if it be a dead cockroach, everything had a role in this world, everything deserves respect and honor. Don't allow petty feelings such as fear and prejudice cloud your mind, have a clear judgment.

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Sunday, 8 June 2008

The Mine Sweeper Trilogy

Well, it's not a trilogy, but I have a tendency to never be perfect and always make mistakes. Stupid ones if I have the chance. But I've realised, mistakes coincide with alert levels. Okay, that may just be a tad obvious. Here's my pretty bad research where the one of the many holes is that I didn't record all the games I failed. Mine Sweeper Expert is one of the most addictive games I play until I get it right, and if I can't make it, I end up leaving it miserably. So, when I do complete one perfectly, or with sheer dumb luck, I recorded it.

I began recording my "victories" from april 27th 2008 and here's all the won games and their speeds. y-axis is time in seconds, x-axis is the game played.

DateTimeSecs Note
1.27 Apr 084:29 PM422 First time in a while.
2.19 May 0810:58 PM381
3.25 May 082:50 PM273
4.25 May 085:06 PM197 Saw a finish in 16 secs on utube
5.06 Jun 087:53 PM238
6.08 Jun 0812:50 AM198 Long Weekend excitement?
7.08 Jun 082:12 PM254
8.08 Jun 082:29 PM239
9.08 Jun 0910:56 PM178
10.08 Jun 911:25 PM186
11.08 Jun 108:09 PM220
12.08 Jun 117:26 PM250
13.08 Jun 196:11 PM189
14.08 Jun 196:29 PM166
15.08 Jun 198:12 PM228
16.08 Jun 218:12 PM173

It seems I am more alert when I have no assessments...

We can assume everything in between those given times are of me failing at minesweeper.

Or it may be due to me discovering the untold secret of minesweeper! Yes I'm slow, but if you want, I can give a little tutorial of what I know. I've never read any guides though so I may not be entirely correct even though it's working.

So why did I start screen capping them in the first place. Besides extending the rarity of the moment, I had an idea of having a collection of all the possible mine formations and all completed. I know you can do it with a little photo shop on bombed fields but what's the fun in that.

so if you want to see them, here they are!
Mine Sweeper Moments

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