Blank (Media) Slate

OK, I’m not usually one who plays the meme game… but this is hil-bloody-arious. They could have played up the departmental rivalry angle a bit more, but the production value alone makes this worth a viewing.

I’ve known this project was in the works for a couple years now. It started as a “wouldn’t it be fun” kind of idea, and slowly became more real as my brother began compiling the necessary schematics and “how-to” docs to make the dream a reality. Imagine the grin on my face, then, when Flickr notified me this morning that a photo of the completed project was ready for my viewing pleasure.

Those of us old enough to remember a time when you could only play video games at an arcade will appreciate this. Mark built a cabinet that’s nearly identical to the ones we used to feed with quarters at the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade. The primary difference, of course, is that rather than playing only one game, his runs a MAME emulator under Linux so you can jam to all of your old favorites.

Ahhh… for the hours spent with the posse amidst the din of the outdoor arcade on a breezy summer night. Nicely done, BlackRazor.

If you find yourself walking along Newark Avenue and First Street in Jersey City, NJ, look around. In one of the barren fenced corners you’ll see an interesting installation of guerrilla art. They are glass spheres made by wiring the necks of discarded bottles together in series, each about 2 to 3 feet in diameter.

OK, that’s intriguing enough… but I got some of the back story when talking to Peter Wasinger, the artist responsible. He apparently got the idea for the installation as he walks past the space to and from work each day. Using bottles from a local bar, he then wired the spheres together in his studio and installed them at night (well, actually 4am).

During the installation, he said that passersby made some interesting comments. A group of men walked by and said, “You go Pappi! This is SO New York”. In response, Wasinger replied, “It is now Jersey City too.” They then said “Keep it going, Pappi. You rock!”

You can check out more photos of the installation in my Flickr stream. He’s already working on other installations, and trying to figure out how to light them up. While that’s in progress, you can check out some of his other artwork available on his Cafe Press site.

Keep it going, Pappi.

UPDATE: 2/15/2008 - I just heard from Peter Wasinger (the artist) that the installation was removed by the Jersey City Parking Authority. Bummer setback.

It might come as a surprise to the folk around the office… but I’m not actually what I’d consider to be a video gamer. Even though I like to jam on San Francisco Rush 2049 with the crew at the end of the day (ya’ gotta’ love the mindless drive around and blow things up game play on a giant plasma screen), that’s the sum total of my current interest in gaming. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t pick up a controller when I get home.

That being said, I do periodically become enamored with a particular game and have a brief affair with the pastime. It started when I loaded the floppies (before personal computers had hard drives, and data was stored on 5.25″ plastic disks in square sheaths that actually bent) of Zork. That game is what got me into programming… I just had to write my own text-based adventures. Many hours in college playing Prince of Persia exposed me to the fluid character animation driven by motion-capturing (encouraging my initial career as CGI designer for TV).

After that, I fell in love with Myst, prompting me to buy my first CD-ROM drive (when they were optional). Then, it was Tomb Raider for which I had to buy a PlayStation. Next, I had to upgrade to a PS2 when Sly Cooper came out (which enabled me to rekindle my affair with the new Prince of Persia: Sands of Time).

Those are the only games I’ve ever spent enough time with to actually complete. I have purchased a few other games, but not many. And none of the the others struck the same chord (or captured as many lost hours of enraptured entertainment).

And now… it’s Heavenly Sword that has my jaw hitting the floor as I drool for a new PS3:

I saw this advertised on TV, and was intrigued. With my CGI background, I get how trailers like this (along with most in-game cut scenes) are made. I’m generally disappointed when the render engine of the platform can’t recreate the same level of detail. So I was literally shocked into stunned disbelief when I saw a running version of the game at Best Buy. The video above is a recording of the exact sequence I was playing in the store. It was awe-inspiringly gorgeous. The background atmospherics, character interaction and overall animation rendering was… unbelievably believable.

The question, of course, is this affair worth $500? If you toss the Blu-Ray DVD player in as a bonus, it gets closer to being reasonable… but then I’d have to upgrade my TV, DVR, and cable service just to keep up with the boost from analog to HD (because I’m sure I’d be sad to see the rest of my visual media consumption diet pale in comparison). Add it up, and this $60 game could be the tipping point that sucks $5k out of my pocket (plus increased monthly cable bills).

BTW - This post started out as an intro for me to lay out a discussion I had with some CTOs at last night’s Boston Technology Leadership Council (about a render-driven TV series). But I’m sure no one’s read this far… if you’re still with me, though, check out the other video clips of the Heavenly Sword at Game Spot. And let me know if you get it… I’ll bring the snacks.

I can’t remember how I found out about the Radio Lab show produced by WNYC, but since I’m in Boston I was pleased I could snag the podcasts from the second season (the first season being tied up in rights issues preventing their distribution as MP3s).

What really caught my ear was the “Musical Language” episode. There was a great segment on audio illusions in which they interviewed Diana Deutsch, a professor of the Psychology of Music. Specifically, they were talking to her about an audio clip she’d accidentally created of her speaking which, when heard as a loop, sounded like music. It has to be heard to be believed: WAV | MP3.

NOTE: The track begins with Deutsch speaking the full sentence, followed by a few loops of the “singing words.” Listen to the entire track, then play it again to hear the sentence again.

I was intrigued enough to pick up her two CDs (Musical Illusions and Paradoxes and Phantom Words, and Other Curiosities) to hear more. I’ve only sampled a few of the tracks so far, but they’re incredibly interesting. Especially with my interest in Beispiele paranormaler Tonbandstimmen I was keen on the “Phantom Words” tracks. What they seem to show is the incredible power of our brains to try and sift through apparent randomness in an effort to impose order (in this case turning beeps into words).

… I hear voices.