Farewell rickety elevator

orgins appear in art: by Dipna Horra

Food for Thought:

Dipna Horra is an artist, who utilizes the web arena to provide an intruiging place for her multimedia art. Her website is breathtaking. I will do her art no justice by merely describing her creative approach. The stunning arrangement of music and video must be seen for yourself. Enjoy!

Shiver me timbers

If only everything in the world was this beautiful...

Epic On-Line TV shows

I've viewed, compared, and contrasted the elements of three different on-line mini TV shows. Each varies in genre, scripting, use of technology, direction, and theme.

28 Day Slater
"Mario Gets a New Job"


This high school comedy spoof of the epic show Saved by the Bell is so awesome, Preppy! The guys at Team Tiger Awesome have brought the world another dimension to the drab high school dramedy. The most important key to the success of this show is that they've managed to stick faithfully to the three act structure. This enables 28 Day Slater to be accessible to a mass audience, who are used to seeing this exact formula in most all prime time TV shows. Visually, this production is clean and simplistic. The theme introduced is the classic approach of the hero meeting adversary and triumphing in the end.

The first episode introduces the sexy dimpled Mario Lopez, as well as his alter ego "A.C. Slater". During the month of February, Mario turns into his on-screen counterpart, the buff, the curly-haired, the crotch itching "Slater". The episode not only gives you a bit of backstory, but also opens the door for more episodes to follow. There is suspense, wrestling, music, sweat, blood, and tears, Baby! What more could you ever want?

Fugitive Chef
Episode 1


This show is not only a spoof of those reality cooking shows, but also a spoof of the 1993 Harrison Ford flick, The Fugitive. This show contains genres such as the detective, murder mystery, and comedy concepts. The theme addressed, is the idea of an innocent man being accused of something he did not do. While most detective and/or murder mystery shows dedicate most episodes to such a theme, Fugitive Chef adds a twist. The hero of our story, Jose, manages to drop the panties or briefs of all who taste his delictable dishes. He is in competition with a one-eyed sous chef, who we find out, is actually the REAL murderer.

Lou Hernandez wrote, directed, edited, and also stars in this chef/detective comedy. Hernandez sticks to the three act structure, and even manages to squeeze in a condensed backstory. The first episode ends with Jose fleeing the scene with Detective Sturt hot on his tail. Stay Tuned!

Rezelscheft


This off kilter period piece is more than a gypsy dancing, hay throwing, hat and boot wearing melodrama. Oh no! It is a short film about three big-headed and small-bodied "things", that scream and toss their whimsical little arms in the air. The film is spliced with intruiging dramatic clips of a rural family afflicted with some sort of treachery and deceit underlying their happy-go-lucky existence.

I chose this film to critique because it is so unusual and different from any kind of script that I know of. The creator of this odd ball film is Brian L. Perkins. He is part of the San Francisco sketch comedy troupe and film production company, Killing My Lobster. Perkins' brain child has some typical scripting elements, such as a quick intro/backstory in Act I, and from there the film meanders, cuts, and spilts every which way the Rezelscheft deem fit. You have to see it to believe it.

Telestreet: The Italian Media Jacking Movement

My food for thought this week is a video about Telestreet. I chose this particular mini documentary because it shows us the importance of media democracy. Telestreet is an Italian organization, which sets up pirate TV stations in metropolitan areas through out Italy. The organization combats the monopolization of TV stations by, a secular and wealthy citizenship, by providing about 200 mini TV stations as an alternative. In the following video, the men of Telestreet provide us with insight about how they complete the daunting task of setting up these pirate stations. Telestreet utilizes transmitting hardware containing modified receivers to make television magic. Enjoy!

Robotics - The Geek Machine in Motion

The study of robotics has always interested me. The use of synthetic parts to mimic emotions, manipulate, replicate, and improve upon the movements, and productivity of humans, has become more common place in the media. These developments in robotics have been a constant reminder that our world is changing. But for the best or worse? In my search for answers to these questions, I've stumbled upon several interesting blogs which attempt to inform, entertain, and even debate the issue of robotics.

1. MedGadget - An Internet journal of emerging medical technologies, published a story yesterday about robotic medical tools. The story touched on new surgical robots which can snake through a patient's body and extract cancer cells or retrieve photographic images from inside the body which doctor's could use for diagnosing diseases or internal injuries (without the use of invasive surgeries).
2. The Raw Feed - This blog introduced a post about a helicopter robot armed with a shotgun. This killer bot is plainly called the "AutoCopter Gunship". This blog links readers to the original story by DefenseReview.com. I question whether or not this is a "reliable" source. DefenseReview.com was a scary site dedicated to guns and other killing paraphernalia.
3. Gizmodo - This gadgets blog, brought a story about a robot used in children's hospitals. The robot, playfully called "Anty", was created by Robotics & Multibody Research Group out of Brussels University. I found this blog post to be entertaining more than informational. Some visitors to this blog asked why Anty had nipples, or wished that the robot would malfunction and attack the sick children it was created to hug.
4. Auto Blog - As the name simply explains, this blog is dedicated to all things automotive. I found a post about a robot operated car, made by the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab. The robot is due to drive a VW Passat from San Francisco City Hall to downtown Los Angeles in October 2007. How will this robot maneuver California's dreadful traffic? Well, supposedly the robot will have a human co-passenger, which can override the robot if necessary. Scary!
5. RealTechNews - No words can describe the link I found on this blog site! Check it out!
Dancing Robots

Remembering Monk

This may sound odd, but, I have a morbid fascination with reading obituaries. While this personality tick may repel some, I reaped the benefits today while reading The New York Times' obits, and hit pay dirt. I stumbled across an old obituary from February 18, 1982. On that fateful day the brilliant jazz pianist Thelonious Monk died at the age of 64.

I'm not a scholar of jazz history, nor am I a jazz musician, but when I hear Monk play my heart melts and sings. Now, you don't have to be a jazz junkie to know a reaction like that means you've discovered something amazing! If you aren't familiar with Monk's music, I seriously suggest you check out Straight No Chaser.

This captivating documentary traces the history of Monk's musical career, the electrifying bebop era, and the reactions of a post WWII America on jazz. There are some great live performances and tour footage of Monk's travels through Europe. I doubt there will come along another musician quite as unique and inventive as Mr. Monk.