Name backwards

Said my name backwards and then reversed it. It’s supposed to sound like my name, but it kinda sounds more like I kind hit by a truck and then tried to say my name. So yeah… very embarassing, to say the least. 😛

Douglas Kahn’s “Noise, Water, Meat”

Well, I have to admit that I read this article because of the title. *ahem* Anyways, I didn’t like this reading as much as Russolo’s… most likely because it was extremely dry and pedantic. However, I was uber excited that Kahn mentions Russolo in the article! I totally had an “OMG I know what he’s talking about!!!” moment. 😛

Regardless, there were definitely some parts of the article that I can identify with. Kahn introduces the issue of noise versus music, or in Kahn’s own words, “the line between sound and musical sound.” Much like in Russolo’s article, Kahn explores the subtle differences in seeing the noises of everyday life as either plain noise or beautiful music. It really made me stop and consider the fact that a small change in personal perspective can make a significant difference when it comes to finding artistic value in the world.

“…music, a fantastic world superimposed on the real one, an inviolatable and sacred world.”

All righty, so I chose to read Luigi Russolo’s The Art of Noises. First of all, I really love the way he wrote the article. Although he is insanely snobby and condescending at times, I felt that Russolo illustrates a true artistic interpretation of music. While I disagree with the idea that “modern music goes round in this small circle, struggling in vain to create new ranges of tones,” I especially agree with several of his thoughts. For instance, Russolo’s description of the beauty of everyday sounds such as “the rumble of thunder, the whistle of the wind, the roar of a waterfall” were fantastic. Considering the sound project that we will eventually be doing for EMS class, Russolo’s article inspires me to discover the variety of sound all around us.

On a side note, I find it humorous that Russolo mentioned that a person from the 18th century would not be able to handle the sound and intensity of an orchestra from Russolo’s time (that is, the early 1900s). I’d just love for poor old Russolo to come and listen to some of the music we have today. I think Metallica might give him a heart attack.

Ninja!

hi-YA!!!! The actual image isn’t filled with black, but I silhouetted it here to show the awesomeness. =)

How to Smash a Guitar

This here be my How To thingy. Yes yes.

Jump!

Wowee this picture makes me giggle. It was actually a real picture that I traced in Ai. So yep…

Heehee

Herrrrrre is my messed up logo thingy… Again, this is a jpeg image and not a pdf. Apparently my “upload pdf skills” are quite lacking…

Looks like Mr. Finder doesn’t feel like finding anything today… =(

Yeeheheheheeeeeeee

Aha! A vector art image of a horse that I drew in EMS class with vectorssssss. Click it to see it in all its pointy-edged glory. Do it. Do it now.

The most legit photo everrrr

Aha! Back in my prime, I captured this lovely jewel of photography. It shows a fully-grown male Dimbledoo from the Amazon Rainforest region. The Amazonians considered the wings of the Dimbledoo as one of the finest luxuries in existence. Sadly, all of the Dimbledoo species became extinct in 1913 after serious overpoaching.

Well… anyway… on the more serious side, this image was rather difficult to put together. I had trouble finding images of animals that were the right size and angle. Additionally, once I spliced the parts together, the colors did not match very well, to say the least. Therefore, I added an “antique” overlay to the entire picture to mask the contrasting colors… and plus it looks friggin’ cool too!

Bleh…

This is my photoshop picture! The one on the left is the original, and the one on the right is the edited one. I found it amazing that changing the eyes and teeth seemed to make the biggest difference.

Note to self: Don’t take self-photos when really REALLY tired… unless you have photoshop, of course…

Anyway, if a full-page picture of my portrait was to appear in a magazine article, I would like my picture to be edited a little bit. In fact, I would not want it edited as much as I edited my own photo for this assignment. Rather, I would only like temporary blemishes like pimples, cuts, or scars to be removed. In addition, I would not mind if the lighting was edited. These are all trivial changes, unlike altering bone structure, hair color, eye color, etc.

“Digital Technologies as a Tool”

Of the digital artworks listed in the article “Digital Technologies as a Tool,” the picture below is definitely my favorite. It is incredibly obvious that it was doctored up – note the crazy colored buildings. A dead giveaway!). 😉 Also, it’s obvious that a person could not possibly jump a gap that big; however, that certainly adds to the appeal of the photo.

This is a very effective piece of artwork due to the vivid combination of the subject and scenery. The photo itself is rather simple, but the colors and the main figure are so captivating. I really enjoy the fact that digital artwork allows for everday scenes to morph into superhuman masterpieces! And seriously… how often do you get to see a dude jump across two buildings? (Although I have to admit… I don’t know if he’s going to make it or not) But anyhow, I was captivated by the picture – I love it!

The face of beauty

All righty, so the article I chose to read was Pixel Perfect: Pascal Dangin’s Virtual Reality. I was both fascinated and infuriated by this article. To begin with, the article described Dangin as “the premier retoucher of fashion photographs. Art directors and admen call him when they want someone who looks less than great to look great, someone who looks great to look amazing, or someone who looks amazing already—whether by dint of DNA or M·A·C—to look, as is the mode, superhuman.”

So… I’m completely in awe of Dangin’s amazing artisitic and technological skill. He is indeed “the shit” when it comes to being the best at what he does. However, I’m appalled by the fact that Dangin basically sets the standards for what the media deems beautiful, therefore adding to the distortion of body image that is becoming so prevalent. But that’s not even the best part: whoever wrote the darn article had the nerve to include a photo of Dangin himself. I couldn’t help but think, “Holy Christ, our very body images are being dictated to us by a fat man who sits in the basement on his computer all day.” Now that’s a scary thought.

Wow… just wow…

The spaceman says everybody look down

Heeheehee, in EMS today, we had the most wonderful opportunity to see some kickass photos that were tampered with and distorted. Some of the photos we looked at are here.

Anyways, the photo that made me LAWL out loud was the one of Benito Mussolini on a horse. In the first image, he looks pretty badass, what with his super duper sword and steed. Pretty legit, huh? However, the unaltered version of the photograph reveals that Mussolini can’t ride a horse for shit, and there was actually a handler holding the horse in place. The sword also looks as though it’s made of wood. What an asshole! It’s = incredible that people will go to such lengths to improve the image that they project to society. (Click the image below to see the two photos compared)

Yesiree, the ugliest building on the planet!

Yep… this incredible monstrosity is across from my building, London Terrace. I do believe that it’s in first place for the Ugliest Freaking Building on Earth award, although this particular photo isn’t doing it justice. It’s a horrible moldy green color, like the stuff you find growing in the bottom of your fish tank. I just had to take a picture of this building… it’s caught my eye ever since I moved into Pittsburgh. So… without further ado, feast your eyes! (But not too long… it may not be good for your health…)

Ho ho! A miraculous map from Google!

Heehee, what better place to map out than Disney World? In addition to being the happiest place on Earth, I chose this particular location because it’s my greatest dream to perhaps work there one day. My family and I go to Disney World nearly every year, so it has a lot of meaning for me.

And now, a video of myself!

Hallooooo again! I has spended much time making this video… well, not that much time, but still…

It took a long time to write out all those cards… in the end, I messed up so many times that I probably threw out more cards than I actually used. I’m also insanely proud of the fact that the directions said “Make it no longer than 30 seconds” and my video is exactly 29 seconds!!!! That’s called skill right there. Oh yes.

Now we’re getting fancy…

An embedded video from YouTube!! Mwahahahahaha!
In a nutshell, this video makes me laugh. My brother showed it to me a while ago when I first found out about Youtube, and it never fails to make me giggle.

Now, an embedded video!

Heehee this video is rather lovely. However, watch it too many times and you shall indeed be brainwashed. Then you’ll be listening to the sea monkeys in your head just like me! 😀

Heheh… but seriously… I love zebras and this mushy zebra-thingy is so much fun! The music is rather entertaining too.

An embedded picture!

The sea monkeys have asked me to post a picture on my blog for you all. I think it has something to do with their master plan to take over the world, but I have yet to see any progress with this. Anyhoo, here ya go.

This was the first animation I ever made in photoshop. The sea monkeys tell me that it’s rather simple an unspectacular, but I loves it all the same. 🙂

Why hello thar! My name ish J Goody and do not believe we has meeted before. So… I’m certain that you have come here to share in my incredibly vast wealth of endless knowledge, or to perhaps even soak up the meager dregs of advice that fall from my hallowed head like delicate autumn leaves. Well… I’ve got some news for you. My knowledge has been all used up by them goddam sea monkeys again! They invited me to their annual Floobin Frookin Festival again this year, and they knew in their stinking sea-monkey minds that I would not be able to resist (they have delectable celery sticks that make my salivary glands water just when I about them. The party favors are usually pretty good too). Now before I go on: if you are not familiar with sea monkey nonsense, you ought to read this. You see? I still have a bit of knowledge left, but not nearly as much prior to the horrrrrible sea monkey incident… bleh I’ll finish this some other time. Omnipotence does have its limits. 😉