Han Hoogerbrugge is responsible for some superb interactive artwork.
I can’t believe that he’s been active online since 1998, and I haven’t heard about him until now. Maybe I’ve seen his stuff before… but I didn’t realise the volume and quality of his work. It’s like discovering nekogames or vectorpark for the first time.
Here’s the first work I came across (via reddit) and here’s an example of his style in a music video for “You’ve got to…” by The Young Punx:
Magical stuff.
There’s a cat in the neighbourhood with some very distinctive markings. I call him “Batman”. Fittingly, he tends to hide in shadows while stalking our cat, Bruce.
Since Mao passed away, I’ve been slowly working on a children’s book about her. I’ve written the text, but I really need to improve at drawing cats in order to hit the level of quality I hope to achieve for the illustrations.
I feel that I’m making progress, but I’m not there yet. At the moment, I’m focussing on learning shape and texture by sketching in greyscale. I want the final illustrations to be more stylised and simplistic (and colourful obviously!)
I tend not to use commercial software (I don’t have Photoshop or Painter). So I’ve been using MyPaint, an open source painting program with a great range of brushes and an “infinite” canvas. (There’s a good introduction here).
It’s taking a while to learn the ins and outs of the MyPaint, but I can see a lot of potential in it. I get the feeling that I need to: find a set of brushes that I like; and work out how/if I want to use layers. Aside from that it’s all practise I suppose.
Hopefully, my time at the cat sanctuary in Langkawi will help me improve quickly. I probably won’t have a tablet and PC with me, but I will have a sketchbook!
Heidi and I went to see “Rev on The Road”, a local presentation of some films from the Revelation Perth International Film Festival.
The double bill included: The Family Jams, a music documentary focussing on Vetiver‘s 2004 tour with Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom; and Stingray Sam, an episodic musical space western.
The Family Jams had a rather disjoint start, but later revealed itself to be a wistful and charming travelogue that manages to sincerely capture the life experiences of a close group of musicians and friends.
My favourite song from the film was probably “Bridges and Balloons” by Joanna Newsom. Here’s a video for it:
Stingray Sam was more focussed on entertainment with imaginative writing, good humour, and balanced pacing. The musical numbers (from the Billy Nayer Show) were particularly entertaining.
Episodes 1 & 2 of Stingray Sam are online on Cory McAbee’s homepage. My favourite song from the series features in episode 2; here’s a video:
Heidi and I have just finalised plans for our next holiday.
We originally planned to go the US (including a week-long stay at a dude ranch), but then decided that we’d rather have a short relaxing journey somewhere nearby (leaving visiting the US until we have at least a couple of few months free).
Given that we’ve seen a lot of Thailand and Singapore this year, we figured that we’d try somewhere new in South-east Asia. Bali was an early consideration, but we were concerned about how touristy it is meant to be, and about the possibility of a dengue fever outbreak. So we opted for Langkawi instead.
It took a few days of planning (tripadvisor and Wikitravel were invaluable), but I feel that we’ve put together a great holiday for a reasonable budget. It includes: boutique resorts, wooden villas, kelongs, a few days in Kuala Lumpur, full-recline airplane seats, and a whole bunch of cats.
I searched flickr for a few of the places we are planning to stay at, and the photo indices reassured me that we have made the right choices. Below are some thumbnails from various searches.
Cats at the Bon Ton Resort, which includes an animal shelter and sanctuary:
Kelongs at the Langkawi Lagoon Resort:
Add good food to all of the above, and I’m really looking forward to it! 😀
It appears that both sides of Australian politics want to appear “tough on asylum seekers”. I’m astonished that such abhorrent rhetoric is seen as a positive way to garner support. Is it really worth pandering to people who want to draw a hard line against victims of persecution?
What’s next? Are we going to expect our politicians to be tough on victims of crime or systematic abuse?
There is a lot of misinformation regarding asylum seekers in Australia. I’ll cover some of that later, but for now I’ll just note that (by definition) asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants. Australia is a signatory to the UN Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, meaning that all people have the right to seek asylum in Australia.
The Refugee Convention
The Refugee Convention reflects a time when the world was responding to the horrors of war with collective humanity. Here are some key articles of the convention that I feel Australia is failing to adequately satisfy:
Article 3
NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to refugees without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin.
Enforcement of Australian immigration policy focuses on mandatory detention of boat people, which tend to come from Asia. Moreover, the Australian government is refusing to process the refugee claims from Sri Lankan and Afghan nationals.
Article 21
HOUSING
As regards housing, the Contracting States, in so far as the matter is regulated by laws or regulations or is subject to the control of public authorities, shall accord to refugees lawfully staying in their territory treatment as favourable as possible and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances.
Living conditions in detention centres are generally regarded as poor. Moreover, I doubt that refugees are treated as favourably as tourists who have overstayed their working holiday visas (whom I assume are not immediately sent to detention centres on remote islands).
Article 26
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Each Contracting State shall accord to refugees lawfully in its territory the right to choose their place of residence to move freely within its territory, subject to any regulations applicable to aliens generally in the same circumstances.
They aren’t going anywhere while in detention centres, and my understanding is that they may be relocated to regional areas when they are granted residency (although this point is conjecture).
Article 31
REFUGEES UNLAWFULLY IN THE COUNTRY OF REFUGEE1. The Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of article 1, enter or are present in their territory without authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.
Mandatory detention seems like a pretty serious penalty. Having to pay back the government for some of the costs for your detention represents a further penalty.
Myths and misinformation
Stateline WA recently ran a report entitled “Dispelling myths about asylum seekers” which drew upon Murdoch University research by Sue Hoffman and Dr Anne Pedersen. I’ve collected a few facts here (also drawing from the asylum seeker factsheet from Australia political action group GetUp!).
Facts on asylum seekers:
The Stateline report noted that myths about asylum seekers are particularly concerning because there is a strong link between false beliefs and negative attitudes.
I would hope that political leaders would seek to inform the public through a process of: research, dissemination of information, debate, and rational decision-making. Rather than that, the two major parties in Australia simply want to win elections by capitalising on misconceptions and fears.
It’s a shame that both major parties in Australia appear to have decided that real leadership is either too difficult or simply not worthwhile.
I wonder if I can cut my own hair?
Awwwwlright! I’m like a Korean movie star! (Thanks for the complement, Barbara!)
…
To be honest, I had mixed feelings about posting this here, but I figured that people might search for “cutting your own hair” and want some tips, or just the confidence to get the haircut that they really want to try out.
I’m still surprised that there were so many responses to my hair straightening post from back in 2006, but I’m really glad that so many people (particularly guys) who were nervous about doing something to their hair were sort of… empowered.
I enjoyed this comment from “pravi”:
hey guys, i thought id pop in and say thanks to nick. IT was freaking annoying (especialliy for a guy) for someone who taking steps into the unknown.
…
Without boasting, it has changed my social life and i do get the random person with a request for my number for drinks etc…u get the drift.
A great outcome, especially considering his original comment:
AM I MAKING A MISTAKE??AM I GONNA REGRET ALL
I cut my hair last week, so friends on facebook and people following me on twitter will have already seen the picture above.
My favourite facebook comment was from Milton:
braveness brings rewards
So true. Accordingly, if you’ve ended up here because you’re thinking about trying something new, I say go for it! It could be a resounding success, and it won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t work out exactly as you’d hoped.
(Incidentally, my back-up plan was to shave my head… maybe next time.)
Something is up with the Internet in Albany. Expect things to be pretty quiet here (and over at Let’s Make Games) until it gets resolved. 🙁
Update: Good now; we were just capped. Oddly enough, it looks like it was due to Heidi (studying over Skype) rather than me (watching online videos)!
I read yesterday that Interzone (operating as Big Collision Games) is launching Interzone Futebol (now branded for North and South American launch as Online Soccer Champions) into closed beta, despite still owing over $1.5 million to former employees of the Perth studio and the Australian Tax Office.
Here’s a screenshot of the Online Soccer Champions website:
I paused the launch trailer on the opening logo, which still reads “Interzone Games”. Indeed, it appears to be the same trailer released for Interzone Futebol back on August 2009 (and featured on the Gamigo Futebol website).
For those of you who haven’t been following the news regarding Interzone Entertainment (site currently down), the webpage “Interzone: The Downward Spiral” has been collecting related news articles and online information pertaining to the company’s activities.
Following Perth studio employees being locked out of the office (without prior notice) back in February, the story was also covered in this ABC News report:
Sadly, there has been little progress since that report.
The message (from Marty Brickey, CEO Interzone Entertainment LLC and sole director of Interzone Pty Ltd) on the door to the office building (visible in the video above) was posted after staff were locked out. It includes the following text:
We would like to resolve any issues directly with you to avoid any legal costs. The funds that we raise will be limited therefore the less external expenses the more funds that will become available distribution. We accept that after external expenses you will have priority with any distribution or pay out. We will keep you informed on our funding progress as information comes to hand.
Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge:
With funds available, why isn’t outstanding debt being paid? There must be some amount of money that can be assigned to paying down debt without compromising the ongoing operations of the company. At the very least, why isn’t Interzone engaging in dialogue with former employees and the ATO?
A rather disappointing aspect of the whole situation is that a fellow Australian company, BigWorld Technology (which assisted in transfer of intellectual property from the Perth studio) may be providing ongoing technical (and possibly game development) support to Interzone. (Please note that this is conjecture.)
Encouragingly, it appears that the announcement of Online Soccer Champions is inciting former employees of the Perth studio to maintain pursuit of their unpaid wages and superannuation.
If anyone from Interzone is reading this, please feel free to contact me to engage in collective dialogue with former employees.
Jennifer McKay has written an article for the ABC news website which begins:
A Melbourne University report says all of Australia’s energy could come from renewable sources by 2020 as opposed to the Federal Government’s target of 20 per cent.
Imagine that. An environmentally sustainable nation the size of Australia. Undoubtedly it would be the first in the world. That is an immensely inspirational vision, and the notion that it is achievable should ignite excitement and wonder.
The same sort of wonder that would have us reach for the stars, to create art and technology, and to truly advance society. It’s the sort of inspiration that once planted, should be nurtured by leaders, and grown into a brighter future.
Unfortunately, we don’t have leaders. We have politicians.
This extended tech demo video from TIME provides a great overview of the thoughtful design of the Playstation Move:
This video seemed like it would be a good follow up to my previous post on E3 2010. This demonstrates how the platform really is beautifully designed.
Sony have a very good internal research and development that have clearly learnt a lot from their experiences with the EyeToy (eg. people like to have something to hold, and a physical controller is required for precise input) on the Playstation 2.
I would love to see a graffiti art program (with the glowing ball indicating paint colour, and the analog trigger provides fine spray control) and a crime scene investigation game (using the devices to control cameras and forensic apparatus).
Via Videosift.