Un Chien Andalou

This movie was indeed strange, but I admired the different art techniques used within this surrealism art form. I admired the edited photography within the film the most.  The slit eye (Looked to be a womans eye, but actually a dead calf), the actors hands turning into guns, the arm pit hair symbolizing plants, random text, the man pulled the two tied up guys (priests?), and then the pianos with the dead horse/donkey?

It was bizarre but it made a perfect concept to DADAs view of art being abstract, not making sense, and a jump from visions/dreams/human perception.

The movie to me came across as thoughts and dreams of human visionary being abstracted. There could be raw emotion like the woman that was getting sexually harassed, but it changed to different scenes of the her being happy on the beach, reacting to the mans' ants within his palm, and the end being dead on the beach.

I think this film encompassed different viewpoints of emotion and perception within the photography and acting.

The woman getting run over in the street and the man lying sick in bed. Could portray different raw feelings. The moth I believed was the real plot line to the story. It was like the grim reaper death. The story overall showed points of death and a good center focal point seems to lead to the moth (Death's-head Hawkmoth).

Overall it was strange, but interesting. The forms of editing and changing scenes was very good. 

My Grid Art - Trifecta of the Cherokee

The left side of the triangle grid

The Mask Grid symbolizes my love for the seven Cherokee clans.

---(Left, Top Row)---

Blue (A NI SA HO NI) -This clan uses medicine made from blue colored paint to keep children well. This clan is a caretaker for the children. Also known as Panther clan.

---(Center, Top Row)---

Wild Potato (A NI GA TO GE WI) - historically known members of this clan were known as the "keepers of the land" and gatherers of the wild potato within the swamps, along streams.

---(Right, Top Row)---

Long Hair (A NI GI LO HI) - Elaborate hairdos, walking proud with their art in hair but also with the spirtual nature of who they are. Long Hair Clan members are regarded as peace keepers and Peace chiefs would often be from this clan. Prisioners of war, orphans from other tribes, slaves, and common folk of no tribe were often adopted to this clan. This inquired the interpretation of "strangers"

---(Center, 2nd Row)---

Bird (A NI TSI S KWA) - were historically known as messengers (sky level) between Earth and Heaven (People and the Creator). The people of this clan took care of the birds and other animals. The Bird clan by my family is considered the clan I am brought up from. Primarily because my grandfather is Cherokee and his last name is Owl. His side of the family as well as my own are also really symbolic towards animals. 

---(Left, Bottom Row)---

Deer (A NI KA WI) - historically known as fast runners and hunters. Even though they hunted game for food and subsistence, the Deer clan respected and cared for the animals, while they lived among them. This clan is also known as messengers (earth level) delivering information from village to village or person to person.

---(Center, Bottom Row)---

Paint (A NI WO DI) - historically known as prominent healers (medicine people). Medicine is often painted on patients after harvesting, mixing, and performing acts of healng ceremonies. This clan made red paint and prepared teas of vapor therapy specific to each ailment.

---(Right, Bottom Row)---

Wolf (A NI WA YAH) - are known as the largest and most prominent clan throughout time. During the time of the Peace Chief and War Chief government setting, the War Chief would come from this clan. Wolves are known to be the protectors of Cherokee.

The bottom of the triangle grid

The Woven Grid symbolizes how I imagine my indian tribe used woven material in form of texture (various clothing, baskets, and jewelry).

The right side of the triangle grid

The Dream Catcher Grid symbolizes my dreams and nightmares. I implemented demon drawings and a F to show the concept with fear of failure and various evils.

I'm crazy about DADA

DADA was indeed an interesting group of freelance artists that developed abstract art pieces. A revolution or art, during the World War era. This was a gathering for artists creating abstract pieces symbolizing idealism and mystery.

I really loved the little documentary about Manray and his creation of the Avant Guarde within DADA.

What really amazed me about Manrays work along with the rest of DADA was that the art movement was not sophisicated to class, structure, medium, or certain styles. Most of the sculptures were done by household items being reformed together and  photographs using various takes (adding film together and different elements).

What I got out of the documentary and DADA was the words of ManRay said, "Being accepted but not understood"

Those words alone make me feel happy, because that is who I am as an artist. Not everything in life should make sense, it should be a mytery for us to explore and without a doubt be accepted as art. Art is really in eyes of the beholder.

The movie really brought of the bits of making abstract art and colleagues. This is what made DADA and todays art.

Tetris

GamePlay:

Tetris is a video game that uses tetrominos, a custom four block shape.
The shape types are:

Tetris is consisted of seven tetromino types. 

The object of the game is to rotate and rerarrange the tetrominos in a perfect horizontal line. The blocks must all make a straight line. When a line is formed, the blocks in the line disappear. Any blocks on top of that line fall down, in order for the player to repeat. Tetris can be a never ending game, but as you keep making perfect lines. The blocks in the meantime keep falling down from the top of the screen. When more lines are made,  the blocks come down faster and faster. You gain points when you make perfect lines and lose if you can't manage the number of blocks, in which the blocks keep stacking and no lines can be made. You can levels as you make lines and the blocks come down fasters as a new level approaches. 

History:

Tetris, was founded in Russia during the reign of the Soviet Republic. It was made in 1984 by Alexy Pajitnov. He created the game for the elektronika 60. IBM saw interest and bought rights to it, but however when other computer industries gained power in the U.S. Not much contract rights were issued. When IBM fell, the technology and Tetris even went along the lines of MS-DOS, Apple II,  along Attari, and Nintendo. Along the 80's, 90's, and 2000 era,  it further passed onto almost all electronic mobile devices.

However in 1996, the Tetris company was founded in the U.S that controlled the Tetris trademark and license agreements throughout the U.S. Many electronics had to ban Tetris within the market.

As of today, Android phones were offered cease and desist letters to use Tetris without reliable agreements. Google and the android phone market were sent letters to eliminate tetris games from the phones and applications. Still Nintendo, cellphone, and the PC companies have found loop holes to make Tetris and manipulate it into various shapes and game styles.

The PC age and the Video game industry are very similar in the use of program coping, without proper copyright restriction.

My Views:

For myself, I started playing tetris when it first appeared on the nintendo system. I remember always playing Tetris on the nintendo system back in the 80's, when I was little. To me, that was the first and best time playing tetris. The colors of the blocks always made me hungry (seriously). Along with Nintendos version of the Tetris theme. I always thought the type C on the NES was the best version.

Here is a link to the version I am talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjki00PSUMc&feature=related

I always played Tetris alongside Mario, Legend of Zelda, Megaman (Rockman), and Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest). The music for some reason made the games in synch as well. Anyway, it is a great game with great music. You can't get bored only add adrenaline to your high score.

Movies and Video Games- Why do Both?

Question: Why do we play video games based off of movies, books, real life/fictional people, cartoons, comics, and animations?


Answer:  It is quite simple, we want to be them. Humans want to have a virtual simulation of role playing. In other words, we want to play and control our favorite fictional heroes and villains. It goes back to the days we played cowboys and indians. Through the experience of imagination, it has shifted to us toward envisioning  our favorite characters and imitating them. Now with technology of PCs and video game consoles, we have the ability to control them too.

It is the nostalgia and interest of what is going to happen that brings us the entertainment of video games.

A good example would be James Bond Golden Eye for the Nintendo 64. This was the first James Bond Game for the nintendo system and one of the best shooting games during the early stages of the N64. This game brought out the idea of controlling Bond (portrayed by Pierce Brosnan), following the movie Golden Eye. Now what makes Goldeneye on Nintendo interesting, is the use of varied weapons, scenes from the movie that James was never a part of (but you still played there, like the Bunker, Frigate, Missile Silo, and Surface), a lot of enemies, bonus achievements, two bonus levels, and a decent multiplayer option.

The multiplayer aspect was crucial since online was not a option during this time. Besides Playstation was in the works, and X-Box was being thought of.

This is only the beginning. Later on in the decades, we have the same basis but only more advanced and realistic. Plus online gaming came into the mix.

A good game is Madden 11 for the PS3/XBOX systems. A realistic version of NFL football.
(Who doesn't want to play Payton? Have imaginary brawls with his brother and the Giants? Or play against the Saints with a rematch of last years Super Bowl? Only done it your way. You make the calls)

Last topic too is the future of comics of how they collided with video games as well. Take this new game going out this November 2010, DC UNIVERSE ONLINE

You can customize your own character to fight alongside Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, etc. You are the super hero now.

Edwin Chin

In class we saw “Triumph of the Nerd” and were introduced to how evolution of the computer benefited from a  group of nerd idealists to further create future corporations known as IBM, Apple ,and Microsoft. Edwin Chin was a child  interested in the computer market trade. He like other nerds found more comfort in experimenting with computer parts than having a life of an average kid their age. Women and sports seem to be less interesting, than computer languages , junk food, and rock music. 


I could not find a lot of info into Edwin Chin,  only that he was among a lot of nerds who wanted to further experiment, understand, and upgrade computer systems. From seeing the movie, I see that a lot of interest was in the build up of the computer.  


I never really knew the whole story of Bill Gates, evolution of computers and how DOS became a legal contract battle. When we saw the movie, it made sense. What Bill Gates did in order to further complete the Microsoft cooperations growth.  Even though it may not be ethical, it was the way of growing a market. Make sure you patent your inventions.


I admire Bill Gates way of evolving, not his ethics but that is how the business world is. 

Wired: Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Makes First Glide Flight

What I found interesting in this site, is the attention driven to aircraft. Sir Richard Branson, owner and founder of Virgin industry, records and airlines, has devloped a glider airplane. Capable of going Mach 3.5 , ascend 100km (62 miles) above the earth, and will be available to the public for an amount of $200,000 a ticket.

There was a recent update of the glider SpaceshipTwo, about it being released from a mothership Eve, (A two plane connection that holds the plane).

The SpaceshipTwo was dropped at 45,000 feet. Scaled Composites test pilot and director of flight operations Pete Siebold was at the controls, with Mike Alsbury as co-pilot. After release, pilot Siebold completed the test run, checked the flight handling controls, and summed up an evaluation of SpaceshipTwo, officiating a successful trial. After completing the test run, the glider made descent onto the Mojave Air and Space Port with a smooth landing.

What I found interesting with all of this is, tht it seems even with the economy in slumps, people who have vast fortune and wealth, can still design/create technology. Interesting, and these corporations are not owned by the government or controlled by a vast cooperation within the U.S. Just a man owning a company with a mission and a dream.

The article bragged a bit on this being a future event of space travel, and the SpaceShipTwo becoming a future space crusier. Maybe some fake ideals, but I do agree to an extent with technology vastly increasing like this. Along with sci channels on telvision, NASA science expos, and inventions consistenly being brought up. I believe technology will one day allow easier access for anyone to travel in air and prehaps in space.

Only thing is the $, keeping the dream, and release of governmental red tape.

MZTV-Felix and World of Tomorrow

Alot of good info for this site on the history of television. The World of the Tommorrow reminded me of the Carousel of Progress in Disney, of how the common home and inventions change overage in the house of a middle aged man. I got these memories from the aspects of how technology always advances itself in a fictional view, before it becomes non-fiction. The muesum had alot of Disney views of how the world will futurize in technology. Same for cartoons, like Tex Averys "House/Car of Tommorrow". He must have a thing for mother in laws.

I also didn't know that Felix was before Mickey and Bugs Bunny. Especially being a sample used in 1928 television sets. Interesting... Felix like Mickey and Bugs was also introduced when color television came to play.

Here is the first colorized version I've seen and was actually the Movie for it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsN7Ev6Kpnw

(I don't know why by he reminds me of a high pitched Ellen DeGeneries. Interesting)

First was the radio. But today, and throughout history, we spend the weeks away in front of the boob tube.

Righteeo!

Sherlock Holmes: Radio Story

Sherlock Holmes, The Final Problem

source: http://www.otr.com/Mystery.shtml

When I listened to the Sherlock Holmes broadcast. I was a little disappointed.

The problem in this is the conversation keep going back and forth with Watson, Holmes, and other standby characters. It is hard to visualize in this case the other characters activity and how they are adjusting to situations. Now this is of course my opinion to how I feel. It is more in hastened direct conversation between characters with slight lack of background overview. I can understand the characters makeup (imaginary description), and a triangle of conversation. But when a knife or weapon is found, it is hard to place the imaginary conspiracy with constent movement of dialogue with little time to think of motive.

However, this is different opinion if I listened to Buck Rogers or one of the horror stations. Because their is more emotion in comic relief, or spooky fright and sounds. I believe the sounds and emotional techniques had the flow of conjured imagination.

Back to Sherlock Holmes. It is indeed a great mystery story,  just the radio version, The Final Problem made my opinion of it a bit skecthy.
When I saw a  black and white colored version. I saw more sense, not just visually in pictures, but the way the sounds and story flowed. I saw an episode on Turner Classic Movies, Terror by Night. This episode was full of detail suspense, characters, conversation, and artifacts (made sense, and story was not haste). The story added suspense, much like Clue, in who done it. A jewerly piece was missing on the train, and Holmes detected a righthand man of Professor James Moriarty aboard. The scenery, music, sounds, and dialogue macthed perfectly in this manner. A group of suspects are portrayed and when Holmes gets further into an identity, a shadow figure tries to throw him off the train. I won't reveal the ending incase you want to see it, but the real culprit was indeed surprising. The shifts of the scenery in the train along with suspected characters adding their own suspicious activity is what makes a visual Sherlock Holmes better than the radio version in my opinion.

Here is the movie I saw on TCM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rNi7rXxOq0


*Another interesting thing about Shelock Holmes is the actor playing him, Basil Rathbone. Same first name as Disney's Basil of Bakerstreet, "The Great Mouse Detective". Never knew that until I saw Sherlock Holmes in Black and White. The Great Mouse Detective is another good cartoon story. Very dark and a standard kids cartoon. Here is the link, enjoy.

Great Mouse Detective: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6BXQQp-AJo

FlipBook: Don't Be Green, Feel the Blue

Here is my flip book, "Don't Be Green, Feel the Blue" I forgot to add the title earlier. Hope this doesn't change points of view.

Contrasting Clockwork Orange and Singing in the Rain

     Singing in the Rain / Clockwork Orange


The song Singing in the Rain that was performed in the movie with the same name and in the European movie Clockwork Orange, provided very different views to me. Singing in the Rain (the movie) theme was a more of a joyous tune. Gene Kellys character played a silent movie actor, that had potential in recreating silent pictures with that of talking/singing.  Gene Kelly's performance of the Singing in the Rain song, was more spirited to the new evolution of music within the film and overall with Gene Kelly's character of the film. Being glee in a manner of bringing new viewpoint to motion pictures, much like the movie "Pleasantville", where color was introduced to a black and white world.  Gene Kelly help introduce Talkies, which helped open up censorship of acting and communication.

During Gene Kelly's song, a police man intervened and wanted Gene Kelly to stop parading in the rain like a buffoon, Gene Kelly obeyed and gave his umbrella to a passerby. This showed Gene Kelly's character was joyful and proud with a lawful manner.

Clockwork Orange however provided a much different outlook. To me, Clockwork Orange seemed to be a precursor to the movies Disturbing Behavior  and Funny Games. Disturbing Behavior showed the technical aspects of transforming a dysfunctional kid into a proud example of society, with its drawbacks.  Funny Games was about two boys had the pleasure of torturing using motions of art and camera play.

In the case of Clock Work Orange, the kid (Alex) still has obsession with sexual fantasies, leading to rape and violence. Alex still shows a loyalty to classical music and oldies music, but has a sexual streak that consumes him. He hurts people, rapes women, and uses drugs  in a form of sadistic art pleasure. Also he is not to well with the cops, until the government try to recreate his behavior. He takes interest.

To sum up, the song Singing in the rain provided a light and dark perspective. For the movie, Singing in the Rain, the song provided happiness in introducing evolution of music and expression. Clock Work Orange was the same but the music was derived into torture, drugs and expression of sexual fantasy. Which was a rebelling feeling of the 60's-70's.

It was interesting that Clockwork Oranges music was using sensitizing techniques, to depict the futuristic european setting and attitude of the main character Alex. Singing in the Rain song for Gene Kelly was more of a musical score resembling a happy go lucky character.