Stung Eye

A few months ago I posted a link to an article linking the war on Iraq to Saddam's 1999 move to trade Iraq's oil in Euros instead of US dollars. I read a compelling article today that fits very nicely with the concerns and questions raised by the Euros for Oil theory. The gist of the article is that the US is basically bankrupt and on the edge of an economic collapse. There are so many factors involved that I won't even get into it here. It's a bit of a long read but very worthwhile.
And just when you thought things couldn't get any wackier... The Bush administration is asking congress repeal the ban on producing low-yield nuclear weapons. Weapons of mask destruction = Bad. Mini-Nukes = good?
Pigeon John will be at the Avenue tomorrow (Thursday) night along with a pair of Canadian female MCs, (Ndidi Cascade and Eekwol). Also tomorrow, the legendary Skatalites will be playing the West End.
I'll be posting a bunch of new photos to the images section within the next week. Watch for it!
Check out the scrapbook of Noyz319.
Eye for God?

In the same vein as exploding dog, there is a new beautifully rendered 3D picture posted on Boring 3D everyday. Check out the boring archive too. The minute I saw these images I wanted to learn how to create my own. It turns out that they are created using a program called 3D Studio Max which looks dauntingly complex and powerful. I really think it would be best to explore 3D design sometime in the far future. I have a feeling that it might consume me and I cannot have that. It's almost summer time and I need to get away from this computer.
For a somewhat depressing insider look at the "big studio" music industry check out Mixerman's journal. I now understand why most (all?) major label music sounds the same.
There are lots of evil companies out there. Here are the 10 worst from 2002.
Surreal Superheros. (flash)
Thinking of developing a webpage using CSS? Check out the following resources:

• The CSS Zen Garden - A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS–based design.
• The Noodle Incident CSS Tutorial - A guide for the unglued
• CSS/Edge

Turnitin is a plagiarism prevention service. It can, for example, be used by teachers to determine if their students are copying their homework off the internet. I had no idea that cheating had become this high-tech. The Turnitin web-crawler bot visited this site last night. To all you kids hoping to turn in portions of this blog to your english teachers: You have been warned! haha.
I'll be the first to admit that my writing style, grammar and spelling leave much to be desired. As part of my ongoing attempt at self-improvement I found following tools and links:

• The Economist Style Guide - A writing guide based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist.
• The Armchair Grammarian - Everything you've ever wanted to know about English grammar & punctuation.
• The Internet Public Library
• The dictionary.com word of the day
• Clever Keys - Free software that allows you to look up any text displayed on your monitor on dictionary.com.
• National Academies Press - over 2500 science and technology books on-line for free.

Collages are fun! (Via Giornale Nuovo)
So is existentialism...

Spring has sprung. I feel as if I am lost in a sea of wonder. It's a good kind of lost. It has been a good week.
Take a look around yourself. The world is full of so many interesting and exciting new experiences. Whether it be the intricate lines of a Japanese woodblock print, the mathematical patterns seen in plants, art found at a local thrift shop, the headlines as seen through the eyes of a visual artists, the video art of an ex-student of my father, or an action-packed flash movie.

• Designologue is a must-visit site for anyone interested in visual art and the collaborative use of the internet.
• Open Source Religion
• Donnie Darko inspired graffiti
• Spacecadet is a local design firm with a nice little flash page.
• Some photoshop actions to simulate a Lomo camera.

Have I mentioned that I love Photoshop? Well I do. The more I play around with photography, the more I realize that playing with light is very similar to playing with sound. Adjusting photographs in Photoshop with Levels and Curves is analogous to applying multi-band compressing and EQing to a sound in Cubase. I guess it comes down to the manipulation of energy in two similar but separate frequency bands.
They say that the best way to learn is to do. With this in mind and a desire to acquire some fodder for more photoshop practice I headed out last Tuesday with my skateboard and my digital camera. The results can be seen in the images section, (Three Is A Charm).
I urge anyone interested in photography to check out the articles and tutorials at the Luminous Landscape. A good place to start might be the series on Aesthetics and Photography, (how to see photographically). All you Photoshoppers should also check out the tutorials at GFX^TM. The 304 Photoshop 6 tips page is especially useful.
Considering using the Internet as a distribution and revenue platform for your art? Read localroger's experience with his Kuro5hin published novel, The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect.
This little world politics play, (also via Kuro5hin), lead me to an interesting World News Atlas.
So many fine photographers out there.

The Buck 65 show last Wednesday was a mental breath of fresh air. Not only was Buck on top of his game, but our locals boys, DJ CO-OP, Yy, and the Gumshoe Strut filled the Pyramid with creative energy. I haven't danced that much in ages.
Robert Pirsig's Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a literary chautauqua, a novel that is meant to both entertain and edify. An investigation into the concept of quality, Zen Buddhism, science, art and man's relation to the world around him. Pick it up at your local library and when you're done, check out Ian Hornsby's thesis, On Quality. Hornsby offers an insightful and critical discussion of Pirsig's 'metaphysics of Quality'.
The art of making mixtapes is large part of both music geek and hip-hop culture. The liner notes from Peanut Butter Wolf's Badmeaninggood mix are a great example of the level of detail and love of music that goes into the making of a quality mix.
This is what the Internet looks like: WebCollage is a program that creates collages out of random images found on the Web. More images are being added to the collage about once a minute, so this page will reload itself periodically. Clicking on one of the images in the collage will take you to the page on which it was found.
Quickies:

• The science of meditation. (more)
• Pretty pictures of life in general: Life through a polaroid.
• Bush and Blaire want to take you to the gay bar.

Why can't I get my blogger archives to work properly?!? I've tried all the standard tricks but they no longer work. I think it's time for a site re-design and a move over to Moveable Type.

I was listening to an old Buck 65 album this morning, (Game Tight), and the bass sample used on the first track, (Three Up Three Down), sounded very familiar. Five minutes ago I loaded up the same Buck album and set my winamp playlist to random. I nearly jumped off my chair when after playing Three Up Three Down winamp decided to play me Greyboy's track Instantly which uses the very same bass sample! Maybe this is only freaky to me... but things like this have been happening quite a bit lately. Especially with music. (Side note: Buck will be playing here at the Pyramid on Wednesday night. Dj Co-Op will be opening. Dope.)
Speaking of music, I placed the lyrics to (Guilty) Invocations on the words page.
The Tofte Project is a beautifully designed webpage which details the planning, construction and design philosophy of a truly eco-friendly house. The house is really quite amazing! The guy who designed the sound for the Tofte page has his own page. I really like the idea of the page's user selectable audio themes.
The idea think-tank, Z+ Partners, has a great blog detailing the future of design, branding, innovation, sustainability and other emerging issues. It isn't updated too often but the information provided is top notch.
I find that I am becoming more and more interested in philosophy. I just finished the wonderfully complex and compelling, Sophie's World, which, (by it's own admission), raises more questions that answers. I found a little page today with links to various radio programs and lectures dealing with philosophy. I love knowing that I know nothing.
It's TV turnoff week! Yes... I know, I know.

I just re-mastered a track I put together last year. Music by The Dining Rooms (once again without permission... so go by their CD) and rhymes by Walter Glutton:
(Guilty) Invocations.

A shout out from my dad.

"I cannot decide." The phrase echoed in my mind as I took the long walk towards the end of the book-lined hallway. My hands were shaking and sweat was beginning to bead on my forehead. I wanted to run. I wanted to find the others and tell them the truth. I wanted to tell them that what we were trying to accomplish was futile. Paranoid thoughts raced through my mind fuelled by my self-doubt and my resistance to believe. How could I have known? Faith is not a skill or ability. It cannot be learnt. I drew a slow and deliberate breath through my nose, held it in, and then exhaled through parched lips. I was stalling. I slowed my pace as I approached the door. They say all roads lead to Rome; My Rome lay on the other side of this solid oak door. Like so many doors before it, I knew it would not be locked. Was I ready? Was I prepared to see where all my roads... all of our roads had lead us?
***
There's so much talent out there:

• Preshaa - Pressure? A lovely collection of sketches and digital images.
• Pod Collective - Positive feedback from a group of like minded individuals can be an amazing thing.
• Song Fight - A weekly battle of the bands... Internet style. (If you aren't part of a band you can always make one here.)
• They Rule - A website that allows you to create maps of the interlocking directories of the top 100 companies in the US in 2001.

New Winnipeg is looking for reporters.
LSD is now 60 years old.