Concept car comercial

The Creator Short Cut

Si se puede!

This is just a random example: a whooping 11 miles per gallon!

I think it is a well deserved if unwelcome disaster the one that "great American auto companies" are suffering at the present time for their unwilligness to do the right thing and resist the lobby that has destroyed every possibility of doing what is right : the OIL cartel. 

In their case (I am referring of course to the management and the "shareholders" who "share" the responsibility as well) greed in disregard for life on earth was mainly the motive and excuse. (not to get us the users off the hook)

A case in point for comparison of philosophy/action: (and I quote from Wikipedia for expediency)

Throughout his life, (Buckminster)Fuller was concerned with the question "Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?" Considering himself an average individual without special monetary means or academic degree, he chose to devote his life to this question, trying to identify what he, as an individual, could do to improve humanity's condition, which large organizations, governments, and private enterprises inherently could not do.

Among the many inventions of his extraordinary mind his Dymaxion car is particularly relevant today. Remember that this is 1933! 

The car had a fuel efficiency of 30 miles per US gallon (7.8 L/100 km/36 mpg-imp). It could transport eleven passengers. While Fuller claimed it could reach speeds of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h), the fastest documented speed was 90 miles per hour (140 km/h.) Isn't that enough?

I believe that if this particular invention of his had been adopted (and evolve from there) we would not even know the phrase "global warming". Many other inventions of his have of course been so widely adopted that we are not even aware of them since they are so common in our daily life. But that is material for another post.

On a recent trip to NY I was able to see a comprehensive exhibition of Bucky's work at the Whitman. Although it was forbidden to take any pictures (what??? would he agree with that stupid rule? a man who wanted to give the world a better life for EVERYONE?) I was able to snap this shot with a tiny keyholder camera (so go ahead, sue me!)

Another interesting aspect of his work was of course the interdisciplinarian aspect of it. Even though he himself was a superb designer he collaborated with no other than Isamu Noguchi

on the design of the Dymaxion car. Noguchi designed a wind tunnel which was a factor in determining the aerodinamic tearshape  car.

This is a good site to see more Bucky stuff

So the point is that Si se Puede!, Yes, we can.

My SFX Work

These are some sample scenes of film, special effects, miniature work and computer animation work I have done in the past few years.

The Power of Drill Baby, Drill!

If games and virtual environments were not critically influential in "educating" people by drilling into their brain and responsive system whatever message we wish to convey, then we would not spend so much money, time, research etc. in such medium. But the fact is that...

"Manhunt 2" is a video game in which characters kill
and torture using items such as a fuse box and a toilet.

Photo Credit:

Rockstar Games Via Associated Press
Related Article:
Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility

The Critical Mass

The Voice of Reason

Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Haditha and Mahmudiyah, and on and on.

It was Goya, who living in the convulsive time of the Spanish Independence War, tried to give us a feeling for the monsters created by what he called the Sleep of Reason. His images, terrible as they are, pale in comparison to our daily diet of the atrocities committed against humanity, not by savage tribes, but by well fed and trained soldiers and mercenaries that follow the orders of those whose reason is not asleep but simply denied.

Last night, out of the darkness of our time, millions of hearts and minds were lit up by the hope that perhaps this once we can overcome the tide of fear that war, imposed on our brothers and sisters across the world by the weapon merchants and their servants, voted into power by people like you and me, who decide that our own comfort and way of life is more important than the life of others, that become obese while others starve because of our refusal to share the "wealth" that we assume belongs to us, the conquistadores.

"I am only following orders..."

To awaken from the nightmare where we have been trapped for so long requires an effort that seems beyond our strength, or so we are constantly told, and now that we are half awake we must, like the previous writer says, fight, but we must choose our fight guided by our reason and recognizing that fighting some times requires sacrificing that which in our dream state seemed like worthy of living the lie.

Freedom!

On this election day, I wanted to take a few moments to talk about things that are, to me, very important.

I want to talk about freedom. To me, freedom is not freedom to do what I want, when I want. That is anarchy. Instead, freedom is the ability to act responsibly and morally. This means having the social, economic, and moral freedom to raise my family, pursue a career, and worship any god I choose. It is NOT allowing myself to be led by those who consider themselves as more intelligent and better than myself. It is NOT permitting these self-proclaimed good samaritans to decide what to do with the income that I have worked hard to earn. Freedom is having the ability to decide whom I want to donate money to, instead of having the government remove it from me and make that decision for me.

In short, freedom is a fight against slavery. Whether it be economic, social, or moral slavery, we must fight against it. We must fight those who think they know better than us what we should do with our time, our families, our money, and our worship. I do not pretend to legislate these things to others, and in return do not expect them to legislate them to me.

But let me make one point very clearly - it is my responsibility as a citizen of this country to fight for freedom. I will not be led down a primrose path by those who think that a new world order means taking of the fruits of my labor and giving it to people that they think deserve it. I will also not be led in the direction of supporting unjustified wars for the sake of profit.

I want my freedom! The ability to act responsibly and morally is one that I will not give up without a fight.

The day the world changed

When 9/11 happened the vultures that ruled our country went into a rampage of destruction and deception under the cover of fear. That fateful day the world indeed changed for ever. Change in that case meant that everything that was a promise of compassion, understanding and peace would be sacrificed at the altar of greed and intolerance. Thousands of young impressionable American kids have and continue to be slaughtered in the name of geopolitical dominance.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been and continue to be killed for the sin of living in an oil rich region which happens to be at the strategic center of the Muslim world, a very convenient situation that allowed the Bush cartel to portray them as dangerous because of their beliefs in a "wrong" god (as if there was a "right" one), for dressing differently, for having a different shade of brown in their skin. That was portrayed over and over as a threat to be eliminated, and the masses went for it, giving away their sons and daughters and their economic future to fund the slaughter

But today, the world has changed again, in a reaction so powerful that it might, it just might, restore the balance that we have surely lost. Perhaps it is too late and the damage to our world and to our own humanity is beyond rescue, but there is hope, all around the world, in that world largely ignored by the American people as if it did not exist or matter, that the crumbling empire that is the US might allow the birth of an entirely new world citizenship, that might, just might help guide the world into a hopefully brighter future.

And like Obama said, it is OUR task, that of all of us, not the US, but us, the world, to come together and become what we are supposed to be, the stewards of our only ailing planet.

The connection

Nothing else to say

Drill Baby, Kill!

I have been wanting to write this post for weeks now, but I simply had such a bad feeling that I kept putting it off, like a brain operation.
But a few moments ago I heard a snippet of news on the local channel about some assassination plot on Obama. Is this a surprise? Not exactly. The barrage of images and video of Paling shooting high power rifles with a telescopic sight, alongside invective abuse of power and misinformation are very suggestive to the inbred, broad redneck base that finds her so appealing under her disguise. After all don't they say it is our right to bear arms as if this was the wild West? And what would they be for but to enforce our ideas? Vietnam, Irak..., a black man, a dog, our teachers, our neighbors?

The majority is not silent anymore, it feels threatened and shouts kill! kill! at the least prompting, and there is plenty of that. Who orchestrates this aspect of the campaign? who is in charge of the not so subliminal massaging of weak, ignorant and impressionable brains? Who is the new Cheney? the new Rumsfeld? have they ever gone away? Will they?

Television is a powerful medium, producing a mild seizure effect that we have grown accustomed to, but which comes very handy when in the hands of advertisers and marketeers of every bent.

Unfortunately at this point in time with inmmeasurable stakes at play there is no need to resort to mafia connections or intelligence operators (although the knowledge of subliminal control is their domain), but simply to seed the minds of halfwits to execute random and irrational acts of violence, hoping that one of those hits the target, never mind the catastrophic global consequences of such power grab by those who think of nothing else but their own glory under their abominable god.

The ugly american god

According to vice-president candidate Palin, the war in Irak is god's will and plan. We should be grateful for it:

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's will."

God is also apparently a shareholder on big-oil and is very keen on pumping up whatever is left so that total destruction can be assured in time for his glorious second coming. Make sure you have your camera loaded and please post the event on YouTube.

"I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get the gas line built, so pray for that."

Like they say, this strategic candidate has an excellent record on both energy and the environment, issues that are intricately related. And, proverbially, two birds can be killed at once. Since it is her stated belief that human activity has no impact whatsoever on global warming (use the internet to check this outrageous if not plain stupid statement) then it is OK to "drill, drill, drill", "kill, kill, kill" so that we get rid of that inconvenient wilderness full of animals that deserve to be killed, not to mention the rest of humanity. That way we can all enjoy front seats at the Apocalypse. Excellent strategy.

Palin's favorite hobby

It is a sad thing to see the pathetic crowds pumped up by such shows of indifference to life, coming from someone who claims to be on god's side in everything she does. With that consultant who needs Kissinger?

It used to be that the "ugly american" usually referred to some individuals that exemplified the worst arrogance that this country exported abroad. But as of today the global perception has shifted to the "ugly country" which I guess plays very well with the political campaign slogan of "country first". After all our exports were suffering, now we have a true product that we are supposed to be proud of.

Made in America.

God, Guns and Country: The American Way

Harry S Truman, August 8, 195033rd president of US (1884 - 1972)

After hearing and seeing in the transmission of the Republican Convention the insanity of those who believe that the world was created in 6 days and therefore feel proud of "packing a pistol", killing for fun (or sport!) and sending their naive sons and daughters to war as cannon fodder to defend the black blood of comfort and greed, I think I will share a couple of quotes that coming from minds much bigger than my own are better able to summarize the dangerous situation being manufactured by the political machinery of the "righteous majority".

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him, the spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable an ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder. - Albert Einstein

Beware of the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch … the citizenry … will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How will I know? For this I have done. And I am Julius Caesar.

Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. - Bertrand Russell

So I believe

What is a hero?

“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.” Ayn Rand

I think this quote above aptly describes what a hero is. Is it someone who is captured in a war? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Is it a political or sports figure? Once again, perhaps.... or perhaps not. Then what is it that makes a hero? I think that it's mostly what a person does in the midst of the unfortunate circumstances in which they find themselves. We may never know the full details of McCain's time as a wartime captive, so we probably can't say anything intelligently about it -- good or bad. No judgment is warranted because of lack of evidence. All we know is that he had the good fortune to somehow get through it alive. For that, I am grateful (otherwise I would be wishing him harm).

Many people want to be a hero, but few desire the hard life that comes with being one. And most heroes I know don't trumpet their accomplishments to the world. Instead, they desire to live a quiet life, free from the difficult circumstances that helped mold them into the heroes that they are.

The Bottom of the Pit

As I watch and listen in disgust to the body language and the hypocritical language of McCain, trying to present himself as a hero because he was unlucky or stupid enough to be captured by those whom he was trying to destroy, I am reminded of Bertolt Brecht's "Fear and Misery of the Third Reich":

One Big Family

Two SS Officers talk about "United Nation" and then start shooting.

A Case of Betrayal

A couple have "given away their neighbour" to the SS because they heard foreign broadcasts coming from his house.

Occupational disease

An injured man comes to a hospital. The surgeon explains before doing treatment a doctor must ask questions concerning the patient’s private life to check if he deserves treatment.

The motto

A Hitler Youth meeting, one boy hasn't learnt the motto "beat stab shoot them till they fall…" He is accused of learning "something different at home."

These are some of the scenes, do they sound familiar? The mere idea that a warmongering, angry and revengeful old man could be elected by the ignorant majority of "god fearing" and so easily swayed "voters" of the conservative persuasion should ring alarm bells in any human that has evolved beyond their reptilian stage.

At a moment when our planet, our "mother earth" is being raped and destroyed by the military-industrial-entertainment complex instead of pulling together as a species to try to survive the catastrophe that is upon us, greedy politicians will go to the depths of their bottomless pit to dig even more oily and bloody dirt to give themselves a beauty bath, to appeal to a public that cannot see beyond the soundbite, who are not able to recognize in the tone of voice, in the look of the eyes that show the darkness of their sick mind.

Like war-criminal Bush said in his "televised" and puppeteered appearance at the Republican Convention, McCain is "ready". He is for sure. Who in their right mind would want to shake the economy even further by disrupting the flow of billions to the war machine? the life and blood of this country?

SL made it into Computer World

More SL media exposure

Small Worlds

Anyone trying out Small Worlds yet? It's just gone into public beta.

http://www.smallworlds.com

I'm Sebastien Knoller in there as well.

Keith

MTV

Any one out there what this.... SL is on MTV. I am working to get a copy of this for distro to people.

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1586148&vid=236311

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Avatar's carbon footprint

We did not really go into this discussion in our class, except by bringing up the fact that Google's use of a white screen contributes substantially to global warming. Google itself acknowledged it by turning their screen black for a day to save energy.

But on to avatars. An article published in the Near Future Laboratory blog mentions some interesting numbers that gave me pause:

According to professor Julian Bleecker Ph.D of USC and cofounder of design think tank the Near Future Laboratory, "a Second Life avatar produces 1,685 pounds of CO2 and an acre of real estate in Second Life produces 99 tons of CO2.

Power Consumption Per Avatar Per Year (Second Life Servers): 153 kWH
Power Consumption Per Avatar Per Year (Home User’s PC): 1,095 kWH
Total Power Consumption Per Avatar Per Year: 1,248 kWH CO2 Emissions Per Avatar Per Year (Second Life Servers): 207 lbs (94 kilos)
CO2 Emissions Per Avatar Per Year (Home User’s PC): 1,478 lbs (670 kilos)
Total CO2 Emissions Per Avatar Per Year: 1,685 lbs (764 kilos)

...Some equivalence for perspective:In 2003, the per-capita power consumption in the United States: 13,242 kWH
In 2001, the per-capita power consumption in Iceland: 26,947 kWH
In 2001, the per-capita power consumption in Keyna: 118 kWH
(World Resource Institute, EarthTrends — )

...Every year, every Avatar in Second Life produces CO2 emissions equivalent to a typical, honking, bloated, arrogant SUV driving 1,293 miles, based on the assumption that this kind of SUV generates 1 lbs of CO2 per mile".

We all know that we will have to make substantial changes to our lifestyle if we want to do our part in saving this "spaceship earth" like Bucky called it. If we don't we will leave the planet to our avatars instead of our grandchildren...

Professor Avator & Second Thoughts About Second Life

I'm not sure if anyone is still checking this blog with the end of class, but I thought I'd share a couple articles from a recent issue of the Education Digest (available through UF Libraries). Two articles regarding VEs and SL were found in the January 2008 issue (Vol. 73, No. 5).

Professor Avatar by Andrea L. Foster looks at some different uses of SL in education by different universities including the exploration of Dante's Inferno and the re-creation of the Sistine Chapel.

Second Thoughts About Second Life by Michael J. Bugeja compliments our class topic regarding SL and the law. Specifically, the question of liability is raised. Particularly is a student required by a course to go onto SL is exposed to griefers, who is held responsible? The professor? University? Student? Linden Labs?

Bugeja also follows up in the February 2008 issue with an article Second Life, Revisited, in which it appears he received communication from Linden Labs. I have yet to read the article.

Anyways, much like the scribblings in the high school year book by fifty of your closest friends, "have a good summer."