via nature.com
I shit you knot.
(tee hee)
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110323/full/news.2011.179.html
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The sweetest thing you'll see today: fashionable pooch Stella goes on an exciting road trip in California.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/18124979 w=500&h=283]
via vimeo.com
A fearless lass, wee Stella.
Beautifully filmed on a Canon 5D MKII, a digital SLR that supports video recording in HD and is fast becoming as popular as the RED camera -- and not just for those on a budget. Last season's finale of 'House' was filmed on a 5D because its small size made it possible to get into really claustrophobia-inducing spaces, for instance.
I want one, obviously. Like creepy, creepy Gollum.
Anyway, the real star is Stella and her adorable adventure. The backstory of the short film's creation, plus some behind-the-scenes shots, can be found on Jesse Rosten's site below!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A bit of fancy photography on the way home from work. Gorgeous, irresistible light today.
[gallery]
I'm enjoying this stuff way too much. But really, I've got a digital camera in my pocket all day long that's better than was technologically possible even ten years ago, and now spring is setting in everything is SO pretty -- so wouldn't it be more of a waste not to snap some shots wherever and wherever?A bit of fancy photography on the way home from work. Gorgeous, irresistible light today.
[gallery]
I'm enjoying this stuff way too much. But really, I've got a digital camera in my pocket all day long that's better than was technologically possible even ten years ago, and now spring is setting in everything is SO pretty -- so wouldn't it be more of a waste not to snap some shots wherever and wherever?Photographer Natsumi Hayashi takes daily self-portraits of herself defying gravity
It's a cheeky, but absolutely delightful concept. I'm especially fond of the 'levitation' above, which she posted on my last birthday.
Much more to explore:
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Art and serendipity in the city.
[gallery]
This morning something a bit special happened to me, and I like to share it with you. After an early-morning doctor's appointment (through which I secured some kick-ass eye drops to ward off future hayfever flare-ups) I headed into town for some errands and to snap a few photos in the lovely daylight -- more on those results another time.
Several people noticed me taking pictures and a few of them stopped to ask about it. I told them how I thought it was rather wonderful that so many people have cameras and recording devices in their pockets that would have cost a month's wage even ten years ago, and that I feel obligated to have some fun with mine.
And then I came across these two people at this bit of public art. It's a stylized clock with four stone benches, all inlaid with a lovely, colorful mosaic.
The man asked if I was using the new Layar function our city recently rolled out, a free add-on for the augmented reality app so you can see shops, noteworthy locations, and special events through your iPhone's camera -- terribly clever stuff.
He was a tour guide who was going to be giving guided tours using that app and we had a bit of a chat about that, but his lady companion was even more interesting.
She asked me if I knew what the artwork was about, casually paving the way for the big reveal: she was, in fact, the artist.
She spent twenty minutes thrilling me with information about the Mayan calendar and astronomy, much of which was encoded into the artwork through color choices an patterns in the mosaic.
The sculpture was called "Time == Art" and it would introduce some feminine energy into the urgent, masculine commercial environment and the clock face featured a photograph of herself dressed as a cave woman.
So riveted was I that I completely neglected to ask a question that nags at me even now: her hands were orange.
What was she doing?
I like to think she was going all Pollock or Maude Lebowski and slapping orange paint on a wall, forgetting to scrub it off before heading out.
Alex.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Maths challenge: One full glass, one empty, and endless sharing.
A mathematics challenge based on excessive, pointless politeness. Are you ready?
I have one glass full of something. You have an identical glass, but it's empty. I'm in a sharing mood; I pour half of the contents of my glass into yours. You repay my generosity by pouring half of your glass' contents into mine, in addition to what's already in there. And then I pour half of mine into yours... If this comedy of manners keeps going, with each of us in turn pouring half of our glass into the other's, will we ever reach an equilibrium cycle? How many turns will the cycle have, and which values?
Consensus cloud of 100 books everyone should read.
The producer of this cloud has helpfully provided his data and analysis here:
The editor in me is displeased that Twain's book is called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn instead of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as it's actually called, on the subject of which book I done did wrote 'n such: http://www.alexfvance.com/huck-finn-n-word-jim-and-sweet-delicious-nege
And the typographer in me is displeased that a straight apostrophe was used in Hitch-Hiker's while a serif font clearly longs for a smart single-quote...
And I think The Invisible Man should have been written white-on-white, but that's just the turtleneck side of me.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
"Figure One: Vulpes Vulpes" An Art Print by Rich Kelly
Inspired by Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox.
100 giclée limited edition, 16.5" x 23.5", 35 pounds sterling. Worth checking out: http://www.darkcitygallery.com/userimages/procart25.htm
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Waiting for the train.
[gallery]
Just a bit of idle photofaggotry, shooting strangers at the train station. Boom boom boom!Monday, March 14, 2011
Bad Dog Book Club: Andrew Rabbitt reads “One Week” by Whyte Yoté
There’s a certain thrill in the development and polarization of power roles. Yeah, you don’t want to let Foucault infect everything you think, but when one guy’s seated in a throne and another’s on his knees, it makes things easy to understand. Especially when you start to dress that dynamic in intriguing imagery- a torn suit, dark hardwood floors, looks that are centered in the whiskers rather than on his lips- and it’s no surprise why so many people get a special twitch in their nerves from a good dom/sub story.
Whyte Yote breaks open a treasure trove of glittering images in his story “One Week,” which you may have already read.
But we don’t want to leave the commuters out, either- so here is an audiobook version, as read by the one and only Andrew Rabbitt. Gas up the crude generator you use to recharge your Zune in a dystopian future, world’s last remaining furry!
via baddogbooks.com
Andrew Rabbit becomes the first proper Celebrity Guest Reader on the Bad Dog Book Club, reading a story by one of my favorite writers, Whyte Yoté.
instagr.amI, too, want to crowd-surf in a giant hamster ball.
via instagr.am
this is one lucky son of a bitch, whoever it is :)
(FYI, I was not at this party — I don't get invited to shindigs this cool)
This morning I was -just- too slow to snap a picture of a sign for a company called 'Cocks Meat Products'. Doubly appropriate for this auspicious day...
Steak & Blow Job Day
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search“If only there were more Steaks and Blow Jobs in the world, we would have no War ...”
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sofurry beta
Registration
Welcome to SoFurry, alexfvance4!Your registration has been successful. Your new password is spejidri. This has also been emailed to your account at alexfvance+4@gmail.com.Don't forget to
Alex Vance
Saturday, March 12, 2011
SoFurry 2.0 private beta: 28 March
The SoFurry 2.0 private beta will start on March 28th, 2011!
Yes you read that right, not May or March 2012, it's gonna happen this month! That said, the private beta starting doesn't mean that we're ready for prime time just yet. It's a test run with the main functionality working and ready for testing and feedback. Some parts of the site will not be ready at the start of the private beta, but we will be adding more and more during that time.
via sofurry.com
yay!
Friday, March 11, 2011
4 AM, half an hour in bed with Garageband for iPad and no musical background: 500 Miles by The Proclaimers and Yours F. Truly.
Hoarse from an evening with friends, keeping the noise down on account of the neighbors, with 45 minutes' experience using Garageband for iPad on the train home this afternoon.
I'm not ashamed of the flubs and the atrocious singing — but jeez, guys! If I can put this together in the time it takes to get ready for work in the morning, can you imagine what someone with time and talent could do?
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
From the Monastery of Leaping Cats.
Or at least, their ancestor. The pic's a bit too fuzzy to discern the pelt pattern, though.
Anybody able to judge the body type? Leopard? Jaguar?
Also, the 'leaping cats' thing references Nga Phe Kyaung, a Burmese temple on a lake which houses cats who have taught each other to jump through hoops.
Obama uses the entertainment industry for diabolical destruction
Okay, not so dramatic, just watching the December episode of
Mythbusters featuring Barack Obama, wherein he challenges them to try
getting Archimedes' solar mirror weapon to work. In other words, the president of the United States of America summons
the nation's most renowned scientific minds and says: "Build me a death ray." Oh my.
Mythbusters featuring Barack Obama, wherein he challenges them to try
getting Archimedes' solar mirror weapon to work. In other words, the president of the United States of America summons
the nation's most renowned scientific minds and says: "Build me a death ray." Oh my.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
New car get!
[gallery]
With a heavy yet excited heart we said goodbye to the boyfriend's moribund Toyota Celica and picked up a second-hand beauty of a Peugeot 207. In his excitement the BF had neglected to bring along a selection of necessary documents, but thanks to my consistent upkeep of our administration in Evernote I could whip out the iPad and find all the docs we needed.
And to be thorough, I scanned all the new car's documents with my iPhone and synced that to Evernote too. It's an iLife for me.
Four years old but less than 30 000 kilometers on the clock.
Beauty, eh? :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)