Adam Fields (weblog) » Art http://www.aquick.org/blog entertaining hundreds of millions of eyeball atoms every day Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:49:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 How I came to love Jamie Zawinski http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/11/29/how-i-came-to-love-jamie-zawinski/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/11/29/how-i-came-to-love-jamie-zawinski/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:22:39 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/?p=1384 I now feel compelled to share this, since many people have now discovered Jamie’s writing due to that whole thing. But for me, it started long ago with just a single link. Time melts away in an instant when viewing web pages meant to be rendered in Netscape, and now it’s hard to believe that was 16 years ago. It’s a real gem, and for me it was one of my first exposures to both effective use of hypertext (as opposed to theoretical academic use) and internet oversharing.

Start here. Click click click.

 

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/11/29/how-i-came-to-love-jamie-zawinski/feed/ 0 Why all this mucking about with irrevocable licenses? http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/07/09/why-all-this-mucking-about-with-irrevocable-licenses/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/07/09/why-all-this-mucking-about-with-irrevocable-licenses/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:43:46 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/07/09/why-all-this-mucking-about-with-irrevocable-licenses/ The Google+ Terms of Service include various provisions to give them license to display your content, and this has freaked out a bunch of professional photographers:

‘By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.’

I don’t even understand why this is necessary. Why can’t this just be ‘you give us a license to display your content on the service until you delete it’?

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2011/07/09/why-all-this-mucking-about-with-irrevocable-licenses/feed/ 0 Why I’m not going to see Watchmen tonight http://www.aquick.org/blog/2009/03/06/why-im-not-going-to-see-watchmen-tonight/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2009/03/06/why-im-not-going-to-see-watchmen-tonight/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:24:09 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/?p=1274 It just doesn’t look like a very good movie to me. I didn’t like 300 terribly much. It was visually accurate with the book, but I found it fairly boring for most of the way through. I’m tired of ILM demo reels masquerading as masterwork films. The actors, with the exception of Silk Spectre, all seem about 10-15 years too young, and far too shiny. Watchmen is not supposed to be a shiny movie, except in very specific parts. Also, by and large, it’s not an action movie, again except in very specific parts.

The goal of “I’m doing this so someone else won’t fuck it up worse” is laudable, but ultimately flawed.

I expect it’s going to be a lot like the Hitchhiker’s Guide movie – visually accurate but stripped of everything great except glancing references to everything great in the book. I don’t really need a reminder to go read the book again.

One of the most striking moments of the book is when you realize that even the visual panel structure in issue 5 is symmetrical around the assassination attempt on Veidt and is flanked on both sides by about eighty thousand important plot elements that have been carefully arranged for you, by hand, in advance. That is when you realize that what you’re holding in your hands is really something special. It can’t be done as a movie, because it’s not something that can make its impact when it just flashes by. You have to sit there and stare at the page, and flip back and forth, and let it sink in, and sometimes take a few minutes to just absorb everything in one panel.

I’m guessing… not. Maybe I’ll see it eventually, but not tonight.

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2009/03/06/why-im-not-going-to-see-watchmen-tonight/feed/ 1 Cool photo roundup http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/08/04/cool-photo-roundup/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/08/04/cool-photo-roundup/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:39:07 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/?p=1229 Nasa:

http://www.nasaimages.org/index.html

Museum of Natural History:

http://images.library.amnh.org/photos/index.html

400+ forms used by the NSA:

http://www.thememoryhole.org/2008/07/over-400-nsa-forms/

London Bananas:

http://www.londonbananas.com/

How to make an inkjet print that will last 10000 years:

http://blog.longnow.org/2008/07/24/edward-burtynsky-the-10000-year-gallery/

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2008/08/04/cool-photo-roundup/feed/ 0 The Canon Pixma Pro 9000 is a great inkjet photo printer http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/20/the-canon-pixma-pro-9000-is-a-great-inkjet-photo-printer/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/20/the-canon-pixma-pro-9000-is-a-great-inkjet-photo-printer/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:15:34 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/20/the-canon-pixma-pro-9000-is-a-great-inkjet-photo-printer/ I got a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 to replace my dead Epson Stylus 1280. Having not bought a new inkjet printer in about 7 years, I’m totally stunned by how far the technology has improved, even over the previous round which was pretty impressive.

First, it’s REALLY fast. While a letter size photo on the 1280 would take a good 5 minutes to print, the Pixma spit my first test print out in, oh, about 25 seconds. When it started to go, I did an actual doubletake – I was not really expecting that.

Second, the color is outstanding. With no adjustment at all, it got very close to my calibrated screen. Not exact, but close enough that you probably wouldn’t notice unless you held it up to the screen and looked at them side by side. On regular old Costco photo paper.

Third, the ink usage seems better designed. It has 8 separate ink carts, which are individually replaceable, instead of one.

Fourth, when you’re not using it, the paper path trays fold up and click into the case, which I expect will significantly reduce the amount of dust and stray hair that always seemed to get into the paper path on the old printer.

Fifth, it has more cleaning modes, to clean the print heads, deep clean the print heads, and also clean the bottom tray to prevent smudges. Also, the entire print head is replaceable if needed.

The only drawback I can see so far is that it’s gigantic. That’s kind of a side effect to being able to print on big paper, but even though it’s physically slightly bigger than the 1280 was, it seems more intelligently designed to take up as little space as it can and still do what it does.

I got it for $439 at Amazon, which is about $100 less than I paid for the 1280 originally:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J1HPK8/102-6283686-1967340?ie=UTF8&tag=buyadam-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000J1HPK8

Highly recommended.

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/20/the-canon-pixma-pro-9000-is-a-great-inkjet-photo-printer/feed/ 0 Well that’s just about the strangest thing I’ve seen all day http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 01:14:30 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/ “This work began on the day when we had made a extra big candy like a bowling ball by ourselves.
Since that day, we had been licking the candy day after day for about six months.’

http://homepage.mac.com/m_plus_n/candy.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/16/well-thats-just-about-the-strangest-thing-ive-seen-all-day/feed/ 0 Open letter to Apple asking for help improving medical design http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:22:02 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/ http://www.diabetesmine.com/2007/04/an_open_letter_.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/13/open-letter-to-apple-asking-for-help-improving-medical-design/feed/ 0 New in Photoshop CS3 – “Quick Selection Tool” http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/09/new-in-photoshop-cs3-quick-selection-tool/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/09/new-in-photoshop-cs3-quick-selection-tool/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:07:56 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/09/new-in-photoshop-cs3-quick-selection-tool/ They took the best of the magic wand, color range selection, magnetic lasso, and channel selection, and rolled it all up into a new kind of brush – the quick selection tool.

You paint with the brush for broad strokes to define your selection, then you have a dialog box to refine the edge with radius, contrast, smoothing, feathering, and contrast selectors, with 5 kinds of masked preview. (Also, it appears that the Refine Edges dialog is also available on all of the other selection tools.)

This alone is worth the price of the upgrade.

Documentation is non-existent in the beta, but I found this tutorial:

http://www.photoshopcafe.com/cs3/qs.htm

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/04/09/new-in-photoshop-cs3-quick-selection-tool/feed/ 0 Gorillapod – yes! http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/01/18/gorillapod-yes/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/01/18/gorillapod-yes/#comments Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:11:27 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/01/18/gorillapod-yes/ I’ve been continually unhappy with all of the ultraportable tripods I’ve bought. They’re too heavy, not flexible enough, take too long to set up, and the smaller ones won’t support my big camera. The gorillapod fixes all of that. It’s incredibly light, totally portable, and even sufficiently adjustable to wrap around small objects (benches, railings, bike frame, etc…). It is, in short, the best portable tripod I’ve ever seen.

It comes in three sizes:

http://www.gorillapod.com/

I got the DSLR-Zoom for my big camera (which holds up to 6 lbs.) and the regular size for my little pocket cam (which is more portable). I’m a big fan of Canon’s wireless flash system, so this also seems like a great way to mount a remote flash in an inconspicious location.

Regular (digicams and flashes):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVSLRO/002-0315298-6861671?ie=UTF8&tag=buyadam-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000EVSLRO

DSLR (no zoom):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HAVVFG/002-0315298-6861671?ie=UTF8&tag=buyadam-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000HAVVFG

DSLR-Zoom:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KFRSG4/002-0315298-6861671?ie=UTF8&tag=buyadam-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000KFRSG4

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2007/01/18/gorillapod-yes/feed/ 0 The water’s GOOD, come on in http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/12/22/the-waters-good-come-on-in/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/12/22/the-waters-good-come-on-in/#comments Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:01:02 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/12/22/the-waters-good-come-on-in/ Last week, we relaunched the GOOD site, with the very first round of new community features. We’ve got a lot planned for the next few months – this is just the beginning. But now, you can register with the site, comment on articles and posts, and vote for your favorites.

Check it out!

http://www.goodmagazine.com

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/12/22/the-waters-good-come-on-in/feed/ 0 Open letter to John Warnock http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/#comments Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:36:56 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/ ‘Please consider releasing eight to twelve core fonts into the public domain. The amount of revenue lost from a small core set of fonts surely can’t have a significant impact on Adobe’s bottom line. And the gesture of releasing such a set into the public domain would have many positive ripple effects for years to come.’

http://www.designbyfire.com/?p=30

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[Update: I've been informed that John Warnock is no longer the CEO of Adobe.]

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/08/31/open-letter-to-john-warnock/feed/ 0 Finally, a good use for Flash http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/#comments Sat, 01 Jul 2006 22:37:36 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/ Gliffy is an online diagram maker (a la Visio).

You all know how I feel about diagrams. This rocks!

http://www.gliffy.com

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/07/01/finally-a-good-use-for-flash/feed/ 3 Coffee cups with stamps in the bottom http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/#comments Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:09:16 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/ Instead of corporate logos, they leave behind pretty floral patterns.

http://www.gnr8.biz/product_info.php?products_id=182

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/22/coffee-cups-with-stamps-in-the-bottom/feed/ 0 All video is suspect http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/20/all-video-is-suspect/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/20/all-video-is-suspect/#comments Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:18:20 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/20/all-video-is-suspect/ Fascinating movie about the process of making Marlon Brando speak new lines for Superman Returns.

Remember when you first realized that everything you saw in a photo could be faked and you couldn’t tell the difference? It’s here for video too.

http://raincloud.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/supermanreturns/jor_el/jor_el_large.mov

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/06/20/all-video-is-suspect/feed/ 0 The Shot Behind the Shot http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/#comments Tue, 30 May 2006 20:25:26 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/ A while back, I started a Flickr group called “The Shot Behind the Shot”. There aren’t many photos in it, but I like them all.

These are the rules for pictures in the group:

Every photograph tells a story. Some photographs capture a photographer trying to tell a story, and in doing so tell a completely different story.

This group is for those different stories.

Please be encouraged to add comments about why you felt compelled to capture the photographer capturing something else and what that means to you.

All shots must 1) have another photographer in the shot, 2) also include at least some of the subject of that photographer’s shot (no pictures of just photographers, and no pictures where you are the other photographer’s subject unless they otherwise meet the qualifications), and 3) tell a story different from the one that the photographer is telling. If the shot does not show what the other photographer is taking a picture of, this is the wrong group for it. Gratuitous pictures of public asses and/or nudity are acceptable, if they meet these qualifications. However, pictures may be arbitrarily deleted from the pool without comment at the discretion of the admins. Keep it tasteful and interesting. You have been warned.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/shotbehind/pool/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/30/the-shot-behind-the-shot/feed/ 0 10,000 sheep drawn by the Amazon Mechanical Turk service http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/25/10000-sheep-drawn-by-the-amazon-mechanical-turk-service/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/25/10000-sheep-drawn-by-the-amazon-mechanical-turk-service/#comments Thu, 25 May 2006 15:04:50 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/25/10000-sheep-drawn-by-the-amazon-mechanical-turk-service/ Definitely click the “More…” link.

http://www.thesheepmarket.com/

This is indicative of something, but I’m not sure what.

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/25/10000-sheep-drawn-by-the-amazon-mechanical-turk-service/feed/ 0 Pink something http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/23/pink-something/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/23/pink-something/#comments Tue, 23 May 2006 18:43:42 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/23/pink-something/ I have no idea what this is about, but it is… pink.

http://www.r243g197b208.net/video/pink_adicolor_large.mov

(Via Doc)

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/05/23/pink-something/feed/ 0 Someone’s been painting directional signs on the ground outside subway stop in NYC http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/#comments Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:29:35 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/ Great idea.

http://backspace.com/notes/2006/03/28/x.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/29/someones-been-painting-directional-signs-on-the-ground-outside-subway-stop-in-nyc/feed/ 1 Firefly complete series on Amazon for $20 http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/#comments Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:31:56 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/ We watched the broadcast, and thought it was stupid, and didn’t give it an adequate chance. Turns out the part we watched was the worst 15 minutes of the series. I was prodded by a few people to give it another try, and was pleasantly surprised.

If you haven’t watched it, you should. Amazon has the DVD series for $20:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=as2&path=ASIN/B0000AQS0F&tag=buyadam-20&camp=1789&creative=9325

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/03/02/firefly-complete-series-on-amazon-for-20/feed/ 0 First movie shot on camera phones http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/26/first-movie-shot-on-camera-phones/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/26/first-movie-shot-on-camera-phones/#comments Sun, 26 Feb 2006 16:53:25 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/26/first-movie-shot-on-camera-phones/ “Early this year, production wrapped on the first ever feature film to be shot entirely with cell phone cameras. Directed by South African filmmaker, Aryan Kaganof, “SMS Sugar Man” is the story of a pimp and two high class prostitutes driving around Johannesburg on Christmas Eve. It was shot for less than 1 million rand ($164,000) in just twelve days.”

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004150.html

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/26/first-movie-shot-on-camera-phones/feed/ 0 New Beastles mashup album http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/16/new-beastles-mashup-album/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/16/new-beastles-mashup-album/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2006 05:50:31 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/16/new-beastles-mashup-album/ There’s a new Beastles mashup album, and it’s fantastic.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/12/new_album_of_beatles.html

(The direct links seem to be broken, but the torrent link still works.)

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/16/new-beastles-mashup-album/feed/ 0 3d painted rooms that only resolve from one angle http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/08/3d-painted-rooms-that-only-resolve-from-one-angle/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/08/3d-painted-rooms-that-only-resolve-from-one-angle/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2006 17:52:41 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/08/3d-painted-rooms-that-only-resolve-from-one-angle/ Cool optical effects.

http://jwz.livejournal.com/598294.html

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/08/3d-painted-rooms-that-only-resolve-from-one-angle/feed/ 0 Oil-based lenses on the way http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/oil-based-lenses-on-the-way/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/oil-based-lenses-on-the-way/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2006 17:38:38 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/oil-based-lenses-on-the-way/ Oil based lenses have the potential to put zoom cameras basically everywhere. Because they require no moving parts, they’re very compact, power efficient, and fast. The digital imaging world is changing fast. Sensors are already tiny , and glass lenses have been an obstacle to miniaturization. Oil based lenses, where the zoom can be adjusted by running a charge through the lens, will fix that problem.

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=1577

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/oil-based-lenses-on-the-way/feed/ 0 Tutorial on making cutouts with Photoshop http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/tutorial-on-making-cutouts-with-photoshop/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/tutorial-on-making-cutouts-with-photoshop/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2006 17:29:06 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/tutorial-on-making-cutouts-with-photoshop/ I’ve posted a short tutorial on how to make cutouts with photoshop:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fields/sets/72057594060799132/

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]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/02/07/tutorial-on-making-cutouts-with-photoshop/feed/ 0 Retrievr http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/01/03/retrievr/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/01/03/retrievr/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2006 17:09:43 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/01/03/retrievr/ Draw a picture, and Retriever will fetch “similar” images from flickr (based mostly on color and rough shapes).

http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/
http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/about

Update: I did a pretty random search, and it turned up one of my images. Cool!

One of my shots in retrievr

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2006/01/03/retrievr/feed/ 1 The ELF invades Sears http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/the-elf-invades-sears/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/the-elf-invades-sears/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2005 16:42:39 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/the-elf-invades-sears/ All this talk about plays written in the dark ages made me reread the skit I wrote in high school with my friend Tristan.

I give you The ELF invades Sears.

It still makes me laugh.

http://www.hedge.net/fields/elf.html

(It’s an homage. Read a book!)

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/the-elf-invades-sears/feed/ 0 Republic Dogs http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/republic-dogs/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/republic-dogs/#comments Sat, 29 Oct 2005 15:45:20 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/republic-dogs/ Hah.

My friend Nat’s screenplay “Republic Dogs”, a Plato/Tarantino mashup, is making the blog rounds:

http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/user/d/r/dryfoo/www/Funny-pages/republic-dogs.html
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/10/perhaps_the_ult.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/10/28/platos_republic_meet.html
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006952.html#006952
http://yglesias.typepad.com/matthew/2005/10/republic_dogs.html
http://blog.org/archives/001337.html1/
http://tjic.com/blog/2005/10/29/boats-boats-boats-boats-boats-boats-boats-hence-the-trojan-war/

There seems to be some contention over when it was actually written. I can personally attest to being present around the time of the original writing and presentation, at or near Columbia’s Philolexian Society (Columbia’s oldest student organization, founded in 1802), sometime between 1992 and 1996. Nat says 1994, and I believe him.

In fact, I made a poster for its theatrical (okay, in the basement of River) performance as part of a series of one-act plays, Onion Days and Starry Nights in the Zero-Sum Republic:

Republic Dogs

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/29/republic-dogs/feed/ 0 Quicktime VR view from inside a water bottle http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/10/quicktime-vr-view-from-inside-a-water-bottle/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/10/quicktime-vr-view-from-inside-a-water-bottle/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:10:34 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/10/quicktime-vr-view-from-inside-a-water-bottle/ That’s pretty funny.

http://www.vrway.com/vrmag_issue_22_hotlist_fullscreen/fullscreen/VR000007222.html

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/10/10/quicktime-vr-view-from-inside-a-water-bottle/feed/ 0 New $10 or something http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/30/new-10-or-something/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/30/new-10-or-something/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2005 15:31:33 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/30/new-10-or-something/ Can we please stop calling it “The New Currency” everytime we release a new kind of money? I’m getting confused about whether this is the new $10, the last new $10, or the one before that. They need version numbers or years or funny names like Hurricanes have.

Bonus points for scoring “moneyfactory.gov” though!

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/main.cfm/currency/new10

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/30/new-10-or-something/feed/ 0 Temperature-sensitive wall paint http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/27/temperature-sensitive-wall-paint/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/27/temperature-sensitive-wall-paint/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:34:26 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/27/temperature-sensitive-wall-paint/ That’s cool. It’s wall paint that changes color with temperature fluctuations.

http://www.mavromatic.com/archives/000496

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/09/27/temperature-sensitive-wall-paint/feed/ 0 Release your inner (outer) hipster asshole http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/release-your-inner-outer-hipster-asshole/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/release-your-inner-outer-hipster-asshole/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2005 21:58:34 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/release-your-inner-outer-hipster-asshole/ On a mailing list I’m on, someone pointed out the ipodmyphoto site, which I won’t link to out of common decency. Someone else followed up with ‘I want an ipodded shirt that says “hipster asshole”. Orange and Black please. ;) ’.

I just couldn’t resist, and you shouldn’t either.

http://www.cafepress.com/adamf.29467430

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/release-your-inner-outer-hipster-asshole/feed/ 0 Ourmedia needs your help http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/ourmedia-needs-your-help/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/ourmedia-needs-your-help/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:25:04 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/ourmedia-needs-your-help/ Ourmedia is doing well. Too well. A huge amount of content in the internet archive now comes from Ourmedia, but that depends on allowing unrestricted uploads with after-the-fact policing. The admin team is struggling under the task of reviewing the submitted content of 40,000 users with only 40 moderators. Now would be a perfect time to volunteer, if you’re interested.

http://www.ourmedia.org/help/moderators

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/23/ourmedia-needs-your-help/feed/ 0 Photographer Series http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/20/photographer-series/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/20/photographer-series/#comments Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:50:52 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/20/photographer-series/ I’ve started a series of cutouts of photographers in action. I really like these.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fields/sets/785258/

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/20/photographer-series/feed/ 0 Color Code and Peekaboom http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/19/color-code-and-peekaboom/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/19/color-code-and-peekaboom/#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:05:39 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/19/color-code-and-peekaboom/ This is a total mindfuck.

It’s a project to color code every word in the english language based on the average color and number of images returned in a search for that word.

Trippy.

http://loop.aiga.org/resources/loop/loop9/colorproject/index.html
http://loop.aiga.org/resources/loop/loop9/colorproject/gallery.html

Speaking of images, there’s a game called Peekaboom. You play with one other person over the internet, where one person is the peeker and the other is the boomer. The boomer reveals part of an image pertaining to a word that they’re given, and the peeker has to guess what the word is based on successive revelations.

This is an attempt to teach computers to identify images from part of the image.

http://www.peekaboom.org/

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/19/color-code-and-peekaboom/feed/ 0 Why I shoot photography. http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/17/why-i-shoot-photography/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/17/why-i-shoot-photography/#comments Wed, 17 Aug 2005 05:13:58 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/17/why-i-shoot-photography/ I shoot photos for the same reason I cook and program computers.

I believe that humanity’s high calling and deep purpose is the neverending struggle against the varied forces of entropy. Tempered by the wisdom of allowing natural forms of order to co-exist and simultaneously be captured in time, we live to create in our environment a reflection of our own inner sense of order. Every meal prepared, every elegant algorithm, and every imperfect echo frozen by sheer force of will is one more piece of the pattern coalesced from the ethereal storm and notched on the spear of humanity’s collective soul.

Take a handful, grab hold of the writhing chaos, keep your grip in the face of adversity, and shape it into something that can’t help but be beautiful until it hurts.

We will eventually be forgotten, and remembered only for what we added or took away.

I prefer to add.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fields

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/17/why-i-shoot-photography/feed/ 1 Breezekit lets you make your own photo books http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/04/breezekit-lets-you-make-your-own-photo-books/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/04/breezekit-lets-you-make-your-own-photo-books/#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2005 14:29:55 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/04/breezekit-lets-you-make-your-own-photo-books/ Via Lifehacker:

“We strongly believe that with today’s 6 color and 8 color inkjet printers and wide available of specialty inkjet media, you can produce photo books with better print quality than the 4 color printing offered by online Photo Book printing companies such as myPublisher, Shutterfly, and Ofoto.”

http://www.digifilmlabs.com/products_breezkit.php

Nice. I may have to try this out.

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/08/04/breezekit-lets-you-make-your-own-photo-books/feed/ 0 Beautiful Temperature Sensitive Faucets http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/13/beautiful-temperature-sensitive-faucets/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/13/beautiful-temperature-sensitive-faucets/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:12:15 +0000 adam http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/13/beautiful-temperature-sensitive-faucets/ I love technology applied in creative ways to everyday objects.

These are faucets with the top removed so you can see the water flow, which is illuminated with red and blue LEDs to indicate the temperature of the water.

Awesome!

Via Futurismic:

http://www.inhabitat.com/entry_236.php

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/13/beautiful-temperature-sensitive-faucets/feed/ 2 Photoshop screenshots though the ages http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/08/photoshop-screenshots-though-the-ages/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/08/photoshop-screenshots-though-the-ages/#comments Fri, 08 Jul 2005 23:34:55 +0000 adam /?p=852 http://www.aresluna.org/guidebook/apps/photoshop

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/08/photoshop-screenshots-though-the-ages/feed/ 0 Ads from 80s comics! http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/06/ads-from-80s-comics/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/06/ads-from-80s-comics/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2005 15:09:22 +0000 adam /?p=847 Awesome. I remember pretty much all of these. Glubgrafutz.

http://www.juggalos.net/80sComicBookAds/partone/index.html

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/06/ads-from-80s-comics/feed/ 0 Is the paint buddy new? http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/01/is-the-paint-buddy-new/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/01/is-the-paint-buddy-new/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2005 14:02:49 +0000 adam /?p=843 This thing has been making the rounds:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/06/idea2005/source/60.htm

It’s a new Rubbermaid product called the “Paint Buddy”. The idea is that when you paint, you leave a little left over in this thing for making touchups.

Didn’t I see this in a Lillian Vernon catalog, like 20 years ago?

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/07/01/is-the-paint-buddy-new/feed/ 0 Crappy new Freedom Tower panned by the NYTimes http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/06/30/crappy-new-freedom-tower-panned-by-the-nytimes/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/06/30/crappy-new-freedom-tower-panned-by-the-nytimes/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:03:43 +0000 adam /?p=842 Since when does “one tower” evoke “two towers”?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/arts/30appraisal.html?ex=1277784000&en=4099edc8a297a3b6&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/06/30/crappy-new-freedom-tower-panned-by-the-nytimes/feed/ 0 Can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe? http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/23/can-you-form-some-sort-of-rudimentary-lathe/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/23/can-you-form-some-sort-of-rudimentary-lathe/#comments Mon, 23 May 2005 05:31:50 +0000 adam /?p=750 Via Makeblog:

http://homepage.mac.com/djcatnip/iMovieTheater26.html

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/23/can-you-form-some-sort-of-rudimentary-lathe/feed/ 1 Color picking tools http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/22/color-picking-tools/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/22/color-picking-tools/#comments Sun, 22 May 2005 15:16:54 +0000 adam /?p=747 Great post on 11 different palette picking tools:

http://mambofrog.com/color-pallete-tools/

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/22/color-picking-tools/feed/ 0 Secret Wall Tattoos http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/13/secret-wall-tattoos/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/13/secret-wall-tattoos/#comments Fri, 13 May 2005 14:59:42 +0000 adam /?p=735 Awesome.

Subversive art behind regular art, furniture, etc… in hotels.

http://www.secretwalltattoos.com/

View all:

http://secretwalltattoos.com/getFiles.php

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/13/secret-wall-tattoos/feed/ 0 Guide to making isometric pixel art http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/12/guide-to-making-isometric-pixel-art/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/12/guide-to-making-isometric-pixel-art/#comments Thu, 12 May 2005 05:24:27 +0000 adam /?p=731 http://rhysd.syntesis.org/tutorial/

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/12/guide-to-making-isometric-pixel-art/feed/ 0 Default is one of my favorite photo blogs http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/06/default-is-one-of-my-favorite-photo-blogs/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/06/default-is-one-of-my-favorite-photo-blogs/#comments Sat, 07 May 2005 03:07:23 +0000 adam /?p=722 http://www.livejournal.com/users/_default_/156104.html

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/06/default-is-one-of-my-favorite-photo-blogs/feed/ 0 That cat looks like it’s wearing pajamas. http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/06/that-cat-looks-like-its-wearing-pajamas/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/06/that-cat-looks-like-its-wearing-pajamas/#comments Fri, 06 May 2005 20:06:22 +0000 adam /?p=719 Oh no.

http://imagebank.ipcmedia.com/imageBank/s/shaved%20cat.jpg

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/05/06/that-cat-looks-like-its-wearing-pajamas/feed/ 0 Why photo editing is important http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/14/why-photo-editing-is-important/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/14/why-photo-editing-is-important/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2005 20:38:35 +0000 adam /?p=691 While looking at Kottke’s pictures from Paris, I immediately noticed that he’s got a good eye. But here’s why photography, in my mind, is not just about taking good pictures, but also about solid editing.

Here’s one I particularly liked:

Kottke Original

I spent about 15 minutes with this, adding sharpening (big difference!), tightening up the color curves, and cropping a little. Granted, I’m making some assumptions about what the day looked like, but I didn’t get the sense that it was really hazy there.

Adam Fields Edit

In this particular case, the yellow hose here is such a defining factor that I might even go one step further and give it a real focus:

Adam Fields Black and White Edit

But maybe that’s too much.

These edited images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/14/why-photo-editing-is-important/feed/ 1 Honesty in fashion http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/07/honesty-in-fashion/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/07/honesty-in-fashion/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2005 16:50:46 +0000 adam /?p=684 Josh Rubin found knockoff bags clearly labeled “FAKE” over the counterfeit designer pattern. I like it.

http://www.joshrubin.com/coolhunting/archives/2005/04/call_it_what_it.html

]]> http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/07/honesty-in-fashion/feed/ 0 Sin City is pure beautiful genius http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/06/sin-city-is-pure-beautiful-genius/ http://www.aquick.org/blog/2005/04/06/sin-city-is-pure-beautiful-genius/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2005 21:53:01 +0000 adam /?p=683 We saw Sin City on Friday, and I wanted to let it gel a little before writing it up. The more I think about it, the more I enjoyed it. It is brutal, ugly, violent, and unpleasant, and also one of the most interesting movies I’ve seen in a LONG time. It captured my interest from the very beginning, and didn’t let go. Unlike Sky Captain, the cinematography is varied and fresh, the pacing is good, and the characters are certainly not boring cookie-cutter templates without life.

Obviously, it was very beautiful, and captured the revolutionary look of the books in a way that has never been done before. But, there’s been a lot of dismissal of the violence and the story as childish and simplistic, and I think it goes way beyond that.

(Some spoilers inside.)

I think that some of what I see here is represented heavily in Dwight’s characterization of Marv. This passage appears in A Dame to Kill For, one of the stories that didn’t make it into the movie, but was obviously important enough for them to use anyway.

I’m no shrink and I’m not saying I’ve got Marv all figured out or anything, but “crazy” just doesn’t explain him. Not to me. Sometimes I think he’s retarded, a big brutal kid who never learned the ground rules about how people are supposed to act around each other. But that doesn’t have the right ring to it either. No, it’s more like there’s nothing wrong with Marv at all–except that he had the rotten luck of being born at the wrong time in history. He’d have been okay if he’d been born a couple thousand years ago. He’d be right at home on some ancient battlefield, swinging an ax into somebody’s face. Or in a Roman arena, taking a sword to other gladiators like him. They’d have tossed him girls like Nancy, back then.

This is pre-pretty Dwight speaking, which was also largely dropped from the movie.

This passage struck me as remarkably apt when I first read it, and again when I heard it delivered on screen.

Sin City itself is, in fact, exactly the kind of world that best fits Marv. For some value of the word, he thrives there. He acquires a drive, in murder and revenge, and while he is ultimately done in by the forces that be, he goes willingly and defiantly to that end, having accomplished his goals of driving some greater evil than he from the world. But if you take the statement in the context of the real world, hopefully it’s true – Marv doesn’t fit here, in the kind of world we’d like to have. Maybe Sin City the story doesn’t either, and that’s okay.

Dwight was my favorite character in the books, and he shines in the movie. Some have complained that he’s portrayed as sexist somehow, as the man that the women of Old Town need to save them from their own evil. I really don’t see that. He’s a man with a plan, yes. He’s a serious badass, yes. But there’s never a sense that Gail and the others can do any less than look out for themselves just fine. Sometimes you need to be saved, and sometimes you need to do the saving. If anything, this is a respectful relationship of equals. “Where to fight. It counts for a lot. But there’s nothing like having your friends show up with lots of guns.”

That Yellow Bastard is just weird. I still have no idea how I feel about that. I do think the parallels between Marv and Hartigan are interesting – they’re both busted for taking out a Roark, they’re both tortured for confessions (which they both sign – and that’s a whole other analysis right there), and they both ultimately feel like their lives are worth trading for something larger than themselves – for Marv, it’s revenge in and of itself; for Hartigan, it’s an end to the chain. Cowardly? Maybe, but he’s also supposed to be MUCH older and in much more pain than he’s accurately portrayed in the movie. I can see where that sort of a decision might seem to make sense.

There’s a lot of layered complexity in here, and I think there’s much more in there than credit is being given for.

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