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Monday, January 23, 2012

Good Fortune to All

Using what I learned yesterday, I made an animated gif banner with an apt greeting for Chinese New Year. The characters and the gold ingot are place side by side on a square background. Each frame is taken from the subsequent Spinning Globe animation. I need to figure out the proper frame count to ensure the character sit in the middle of the sphere.  Enjoy.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Happy Lunar New Year!

Graduating gold fill on an auspicious red background.
In some parts of the world, it is already the Year of the Dragon. I was wondering what to create for the occasion. In the past, I could use Adobe Image Ready to simulate writing. It would take who knows how many frames to do the Chinese character for dragon. At first, I wanted to make a black banner, with a bouncing character and rolling square in one, but that would take too long. So I opted for a simple image with a calligraphy brush stroke.

Then I decided to use the Spinning Globe Animation filter in GIMP to create a gif. NEAT! I will try this again with a smaller character.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Last Week in TV: My Top 3 Caps

In the new year, I am continually impressed by the quality of my favourite shows. These are little moments that stand out in an episode. I am just a little miffed that Global TV doesn't seem to have the stream for Harry's Law for last week's new episode. I am sure that will come when the series return in March.

Harry's Law - Episode 2.11 - Gorilla My Dreams

In the absence of an image, I would like to point out that the gorilla in this episode was played by an actor named Tommy Woodruff, Jr. When I comment on the episode, I kept wanting to refer to the gorilla as a real ape, but the acting of obviously done by man. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact the actor in he suit had played gorilla's before. I loved how emotional his portrayal was. Much of it was conveyed in sign language and facial expressions. And the episode closing on the gorilla's face had quite the impact.

Six Degrees of Star Trek


In 2011, I still cannot get enough Star Trek. I started to listen to the Treknologic podcast. I also started watching two new shows.
Harry's Law - Now in its second season, co-stars Christopher McDonald, who was in the The Next Generation episode Yesterday's Enterprise.
Body of Proof - Co-stars Jeri Ryan, Seven of Nine from Voyager.

Fringe 2011 Guest Performers
Aside from the most obvious Leonard Nimoy, we have more associations with the Star Trek series. Most of the names I mention are directly connected to Star Trek.


Friday, January 13, 2012

Puppet Acting


This is a Pinocchio marionette I bought from the international pavilion at the Canadian National Exhibition. It was a Palestinian handicraft, beautifully made. When I saw it, I just knew I had to add it to my collection. The controls are simple enough to master. Strings on the heels, hands, and shoulders are very symmetrical. The one on top of the head is a bit lopsided. I put together this video to show what I can do with it.

The have seen many other puppets during my travels. I have a snowman from a Quebec City doll maker. It is not as intricate, but it was my first purchase. There were shadow puppets in Xi'an, China. I would have bought one too, if it were not so fragile. I also converted a miniature dancing lion from Chinatown into a puppet, by adding wires and rods. Still, I would like to make one from scratch. It's why I love building paper models.

I should like to talk about paper automatons at another time.

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This is me...

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My aspiration is to be better at telling stories. I only need a pencil and paper.