Joe Mills

Kozyndan

Image courtesy of Kozyndan

I came across the husband and wife duo of Kozyndan while checking out the new issue of Computer Arts magazine. I think these panoramic illustrations look terrific. The distorted perspective adds a realistic and fantasy-like look that I’m drawn to. It seems that there are hundred of things to look at. Plus,I don’t know exactly what is going on here, but it feels like something is going on. I want to almost figure it out. You can tell these two love what they do because their artwork has this fun quality to it that a lot of design and illustration work does not have. In the article, they said they do not have any favorite designers and they don’t know anything about design. I translate that as, “We like what we do, and we’d be doing this even if it was not our profession. We love art.” The mark of a true artist…

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Norman Rockwell

How could I forget Norman Rockwell? His artwork is obviously historic, so I don’t think I need to go in to detail about why he is inspirational. My grandparents had this gigantic book of his artwork that was recently given to me as a gift. I just love how his artwork is so realistic yet exaggerated at the same time. Every time I would go to their house on vacation, I would look through it. That book isn’t going anywhere.

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Rubik Cubism

Image courtesy of Rubik Cubism

Who thinks of this stuff? I think you might notice that I like squares and grids in artwork, so it is no surprise that I like the artwork. Basically, Rubik Cubism is created by using a bunch of Rubik’s Cubes manipulated in a way to make an image. Obviously, the artist was limited by the colors in the Rubik’s Cube, so already he is at a disadvantage. Then, he needs to figure how to make those specific colors make a picture and then CHANGE the Rubik’s Cubes to make it work. Amazing…

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Last Dance for the Chief…Last Dance for Jamar?

Well, tonight is the last night for the Chief. First off, it is going to be on ESPNU which I don’t get through my cable service. Let’s hope someone puts it on Illini Torrent at some point in the next couple of days. Second of all, while I might not agree with what the University has done, I have to stand behind them. Excuse my non-PC comment, but these wack jobs have been after the Chief since I was at Illinois. And, I’m sure they’ve been after him since way before I was there. It was only a matter of time. The waste of money and resources over a meaningless target is sickening in my opinion. We have students failing out, binge drinking, and unable to pay their tuition, and we are more concerned with a halftime show?!?!? I’m guessing some of the more fanatic Chief haters will want us to get rid of the logo and change the name, but I’m hoping this will quiet them for now. Congratulations…you won. Now go away.

Speaking of binge drinking, Jamar Smith is obviously in some hot water. Let me say this first, I like Jamar Smith. I think he could have been a team leader and a great shooter, but he made a BIG mistake. Not only was he twice over the legal limit when he crashed his car, he let his teammate lie dying in his car without calling 911. In my opinion, these are inexcusable offenses. I think Weber needs to send a strong message to Jamar Smith and the rest of the team…this will not be tolerated. Some have argued that Rich McBride did not get a hard enough punishment. Maybe now is the time for Weber to make a statement. Out for a year? Off the team? I’m not sure, but I think it needs to be significant.

Where is the good news?

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Brickfilms

Image courtesy of Brickfilms

I originally intended on posting about one of my first inspirations, Lego, but realized that the Lego world has grown exponentially since the Internet has taken over the world. Their are sites to post your creations, hack Mindstorms, and buy individual pieces. It is too much. Instead, I decided to post about a site I stumbled upon, Brickfilms. Brickfilms is a collection of Lego-based stop animation films. The creativity of people never ceases to amaze me. In this day and age when corporations would prefer that we passively watch their movies and buy their stuff, it is great to see that the Do-It-Yourself culture is just a strong. That might be a harsh way of stating it, but I am a big advocate for keeping the mind at work and having a creative outlet. It might seem silly to others, but it keeps these people entertained and mentally nourished. Plus, they get a great product from it. Keep on doing it!

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Singing Pasta, Eat and Be Eaten

Image courtesy of FL@33

I stumbled across this animation while flipping through my new issue of Computer Arts Projects. Unfortunately, I do not have a direct link because so many of these artists use Flash (which is smart), so let me walk you through it. After going to FL@33, click on Selected Work and the very last entry on the list is Animation | Singing Pasta, Eat or Be Eaten. After clicking on that, the right side will have a link to the Quicktime video. It is a very short and simple video with pieces of pasta singing an opera song. It is simply great! I read that they took pictures of the pasta in different poses and then erased the background to create this effect. Watch and you will be impressed…

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Blueprint Game

Image courtesy of Tea Games

I’m slowly starting to come around to the idea that video games can help students learn. I’m waiting to read How Computer Games Help Children Learn and What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. And, I think of the possibilities of games and learning when I see the Blueprint Game. The premise is simple. You have to move around the obstacles, ramps, and other assists to make the black ball hit the target. It seems simple enough, but it requires a lot of logic and thinking to make it work correctly. It can be almost maddeningly tough because it looks so simple. Now, when I think of video games and learning, I can see the possibilities.

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Bad News Continues…

With the NCAA tournament right around the corner, I had planned on writing a post this week about our chances to make the tournament, and how far we could go if we made it. Well, the news out of Champaign today only deepens the frustration of the Illini Nation as we look at the 2006-07 season. This time, though, a life is at stake. Brian Carwell and Jamar Smith were in a car accident last night. Smith has already left the hospital, but Carwell is in critical condition as a write this. My prayers go out to him and his family.

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The Consumerist

Image courtesy of The Consumerist

I have been looking for a good consumer blog in the mold of No Logo, but I was having some trouble finding one. I tried a couple different sites, but many of them were very political, and I was more interested in something that focused on just corporate America. I’m not sure if The Consumerist is the best to track the movements of our corporations, but it is by far the best I have found so far. And since I found something, I thought I would pass it along.

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