On March 2nd, I did the article showing off the talent of Nico / Channel Nexx as he speed-painted John Locke in Photoshop, and a Lord of the Rings cover on canvas.  Now that it’s April 2nd, I thinking maybe this should become a regular feature…

     But this one Jason / Eclectic Asylum blew me away even more.  He doesn’t use fancy gimmicks like Photoshop — no way!  He does this in MS Paint, which is unarguably the crappiest piece of Graphics software (well, it’s supposed to be that) ever written!
     I present you with:  The Mona Lisa, in MS Paint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7ZU

     Way cool!

     He’s also been running a contest:  “Strike a pose, and get a portrait!”  Now watch him paint the last winner (Daxflame) in Chocolate Syrup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qywqNXbHpLE

     Of course, he couldn’t ship a chocolate portrait without nasty melting issues… 

     Be sure sure and check out Eclectic Asylum’s profile on youtube for more examples of him painting with “other” things besides chocolate…

     Basically, the reacTable is a flat surface that makes sounds and music by dropping different modules onto it, and positoning them so that get the sound you want.  Modules range from tone generators, to strobes, to noise gates, etc. etc.  It’s like a musical flowchart…
     From its designers at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona:

The reactable hardware is based on a translucent round table. A video camera situated beneath, continuously analyzes the table surface, tracking the nature, position and orientation of the objects that are distributed on its surface, representing the components of a classic modular synthesizer. These objects are passive without any sensors or actuators, users interact by moving them, changing their position, their orientation or their faces (in the case of volumetric objects). These actions directly control the topological structure and parameters of the sound synthesizer. A projector, also from underneath the table, draws dynamic animations on its surface, providing a visual feedback of the state, the activity and the main characteristics of the sounds produced by the audio synthesizer.

     Put simply:  I WANT ONE!

     In case you’re not getting it, I’m gonna post all three demo videos for this thing.  This first is Basic Demo #1.

     Does that deserve a, “Whoah!” or what?  This is cool stuff!  So we go on to Basic Demo #2:

     Starting to understand it?  Then you’ve gotta check out the Improvisation Demo:

     The fun part is, it’s components are not exactly “cutting edge.”  But the very idea of putting something together in this fashion is leaps and bounds ahead.  Serious kudos are due its creators!

     The “Cool” Factor doesn’t stop there.  This puppy even runs on Open Source software!

     Be certain to check out their website…

Tip: Anton, over at LR2

     Ok, is this “pussy” thing getting old yet?

     Everyone’s probably seen these sorts of things before, but this one’s an ode to a great site, icanhascheezburger.com, the canonical list of LOLCATS and other animals who are “IN UR COMPUTER STEALIN’ UR INTERNETS!”  It’s also to draw attention to the fact that some asshat decided to steal some of those photos and sell them as Merchandise over on Cafepress… pathetic… good thing they shut him down.

     Anyway … I gotta say it one last time …

     Check out this pussy …

     Yes, I took the photo last year, and just finished messing it up.  So there.  Mine.  Mine!  😉

     Monty’s “Summer Vacation Spots” made me wonder…

     How far is Pussy from Knoxville?

     According to Google Maps, it’s only 49 steps away.

     However, Orgy is a mere 34 steps away.

     Given the fact that Pussy is 15 steps further away than Orgy, Orgy may not be very fun for me…

     Regardless … Pay particular attention to Step #18.  Click on it.  😉

     According to Glenn, “it will actually show you the pier to jump off of.”

     Seriously, click Step #18.  After doing that for that long, I doubt even Pussy would entice me…

Tip: Thanks, Glenn

I recently cleaned out some of my old hard drives and found something I wrote a while ago but never shared.  A little something to think about when things get you down, moonbats drive you nuts, or you are fed up with everything.  

A Simple Analysis of 20th Century Thought:

• Capitalism, he who dies owns the most toys wins.
• Hari Krishna, he who plays with the most toys wins.
• Catholicism, he who denies himself the most toys and little boys wins.
• Anglican, the boys were our toys first.
• Atheism, there is no toy or boy maker.
• Polytheism, there are many toy or boy makers.
• Evolutionism, the toys made themselves.
• Church of Christian Scientist, we are the toys.
• Communism, everyone gets the same number of toys and you are in big trouble if we catch you selling your toys or playing with them.
• B’hai, all your toys and are fine by us.
• Amish, toys with batteries are surely a sin.
• Protesting Moonbatism, war toys are evil.
• Good Ole Lefty, toys that are violent are to be rounded up and put into camps in order to become nonviolent toys.
• Taoism, the stuffed rabbit is as important as the dump truck.
• Mormonism, every boy can have as many toys as he wants.
• Voodoo, let me borrow that doll for a while.
• Hinduism, he who plays with plastic farm animals loses.
• Seventh Day Adventist, he who plays with toys on Saturday loses.
• Southern Baptist, if your toy is Disney product, you have a one-way ticket to hell.
• Jehovah’s Witness, he who sells the most toys door to door wins.
• Pentecostalism, he whose toys can speak wins.
• Existentialism, toys are a figment of your imagination.
• Confucianism, once a toy is dipped in the water, it is no longer dry.
• Non-Denominationalism, we don’t care where the toys come from lets just play with them.
• Agnosticism, it is not possible to know whether the toys make a bit of difference.
• Unitarian Universalism, we still have not decided if the toys exist, much less how, where, or who made them.

Isn’t that nice?