Grokking Scientology

So, I'm jumping on the bandwagon of spreading this insanity around. Maybe you saw or heard about these videos, maybe you haven't. Regardless, watch them now.

The first is the real Tom Cruise viral ad for Scientology. The second is Jerry O'Connell beautifully mocking it. Please keep in mind that if the first video doesn't work, Scientologists took it down. They have been prowling the internet removing everything. Just Google it if the video stops working.

I'll start off by saying I was never a Tom Cruise fan. I think he can only play a very specific type of character...himself. But ignoring his acting completely, this blog is about Scientology. Now, I'm not trying to push my religion on anyone nor am I trying to cure Scientologists of their delusions. What I want us all to focus on his during the entire video is that all Tom Cruise discusses is the 'state of mind' of a Scientologist. I would think any organization would be a bit more thorough before allowing their "poster boy" to openly recruit.

Yeah, people taking responsibility of their actions and helping one another is of course a preferred way of life. I would have to say that most religions are getting that right. That doesn't mean I'm going to grab my copy of Stranger In A Strange Land and start grokking.

Mmmm...human soup.

Tom Cruise on Scientology

Jerry O'Connell on Tom Cruise

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3f716ffebe

EDIT: Sorry - I had to make Jerry O'Connell's video a link. Funny or Die.com's embedding tools are really sucking right now. My favorite part is that it's throwing extra code on it when I upload. That makes it fun.

Stupid computers.

Katie's Movie Review

Okay, I'm starting a regular monthly blog. I will be reviewing a few movies I have watched in the last 3 or 4 weeks. I watch a lot of movies, plus I work as a make-up artist in the industry. I promise never to review something I've worked on. My taste is not as wide-spread as some people, but I do try to vary my genres. It really depends on my mood. If you don't like it, don't read it.

These movies come from the theatre, rentals and/or my wonderful cable movie channel. Pretty much wherever I can get them. Anything I review will be 'new' to me.

Here we go...


I Am Legend

Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.


STRONGLY RECOMMEND
Will Smith's best acting to date. This is not a movie I'll watch again any time soon - it's full of intense, naked anguish that kept my eyes open but watering. A tremendous movie!



Thin

A documentary of four women suffering from anorexia and bulimia in South Florida.




RECOMMEND
This film is a realistic portrayal of eating disorders and one specific rehabilitation center's fight for recovery. I was intrigued by the different women's stories and their love for their disorders, despite the facts and risk. It was a bit disturbing to see how the rehab facility was full of overweight staff members.



Charlotte's Web

The famous story of Wilbur the pig and the spider, Charlotte, who is determined to save his life.




RECOMMEND
I was surprised at how charming and cute this story was. A great family movie, but not so simplistic that adults can't enjoy it as well. The CG got a little cheesy when Wilbur flips around, but otherwise it is flawless.



Tideland

A lonely girl gets trapped in an eerie fantasy world after her irresponsible parents die.




RECOMMEND
Let me start by saying this is a Terry Gilliam film. Knowing that, one can expect the film to be quirky, colorful and oddly random. I only suggest this film if you go into it expecting nothing. Just let the craziness flow over you. The acting is superb and his color palette is vibrant. It sort of feels like playing in mud wearing your Sunday best.



Dead Silence

A widower returns to his hometown to search for answers to his wife's murder, which may be linked to the ghost of a murdered ventriloquist.



STAY AWAY
I fess up that I LOVE campy, B-horror. So, I have an extremely high tolerance for bad horror. This movie just sucked. It's very sad, because they could've really had something with the creepy doll storyline. The ending was satisfactory and the set decoration was AMAZING. Generally the acting was okay, but the lead actor, Ryan Kwanten, poisoned the script. He was flat, unemotional (especially for a character who's wife just died), and didn't fit. He should've been the first person to be killed off, but we were 'treated' to his character through the entire film. Stay away, stay far away.

Hey, kids - Comics!

I grew up in rural New Brunswick and my Great Uncle Bob played an integral part in helping me develop a love of reading and, in particular, comic books.

Every week he and my Great Grandfather would run across the border to Calais, Maine and retrieve their necessities to make the trek to the "old camp" that was 10 miles away -- then would stop at our home which was along the way. Without fail, they would arrive with a bag of goodies from the States -- some grocery items, newspapers, books and a stack of comic books (they weren't 4 bucks a piece back then).

I have 3 brothers and we would all make our way down to our playroom and start passing them around: Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Captain America, Spider-man, The X-Men -- even comics about romance and TV cartoon characters. The real romance was the daydreams and the inspiration to write and draw my own stories.

I later began to learn the names of the creators and was compelled to follow the work they did, names like Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, George Perez, John Byrne, and the list went on and still does to this day.

If you have an interest in movies like Sin City, Road to Perdition, Ghost World, A History of Violence, 300, or Stardust I encourage you to look in on the comic work that they are forged from.

I know the films are out there and so are the video games, but I have always found a depth and intimacy in the source material. If you are more a fan of the traditional comic films like Batman, Spider-man, Hulk and Superman then I encourage you to check out Marvel Comics' newest offering -- digital comics. For a monthly subscription you have access to a large portion of their extensive catalog of titles and presently 250 of them are available for free!

The quality, options and interface are terrific and it is a great way to check out some great stories and artwork from their great history:

http://www.marvel.com/digitalcomics/

Billy Blanks Attacks Your Fat

Got a New Year's resolution or just trying to get rid of some extra December weight?

Here is a program I highly recommend. It's simple, keeps you out of the busy gym, and really requires effort. Because let's face it, you're not gonna lose weight without some sweat and tears.

BILLY BLANKS: BOOTCAMP ELITE

This program combines the best of Tae Bo and bootcamp techniques, but with the addition of resistance bands. Most importantly, this program is fun! You will need some room to do it and I definitely wouldn't suggest it if you live above someone else. Be fair to your neighbors (unless they drive you nuts all the time - then go for it...maybe buy a jump rope too).

Just my two cents. I know there are many fitness programs out there and it can get confusing. Sometimes all you need is someone saying, "Hey, I used it. It's a great program - you should get it."

With all that in mind, I send everyone starting a weight loss journey my best wishes of unwavering strength and determination.

Everyone falls off the wagon - what matters is who climbs back on.

You're Not the Boss of Me!

Boy, if only tuning into what your boss was thinking were as easy as pushing a couple of buttons!

Over the years I have had a number of jobs and I always thought I worked hard and was pretty good at what I did.

Turns out I was wrong.

Now that I run my own company, I am beginning to realize that there is another perspective on things. There is a difference between working hard and working smart -- and more importantly, we may have a very different definition of the word "smart". If you aren't using the same definition, you may be a crappy employee.

I find nowadays I am working around the clock and paying attention to every detail of every deal, every project and every customer because I know that I what I do today will affect the days ahead.

It is tough to win a customer and even tougher to keep one long term. Every job well done is a reference that will help win the next client. It is so much more than a job when you know that your integrity and your word are on the line with every deadline.

So what is the difference? It ain't the money, because I was making much more as an employee. It isn't the schedule, because I worked 20 hours this past weekend after going all week.

The difference is that someone else can't break my word, so I make more commitments; someone else doesn't scrutinize my time so I spend it on my customers and their work; and more importantly, I understand what I am building and why it is important to my customers -- and now it is important to me!

So it all matters to me as much as the rest of my life because my business is a big part of my life not just something that finances it.

If you haven't started your own business, I do have these prototypes of the Auto-BOSS TU-80 (pictured above) that need an international distributor.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Roboto!

The famous author and playwright, Karel Čapek, was born on January 9, 1890. A Czech, he has been compared to Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, as one of the originators of "social" science fiction - stories dealing with the social and political effects of advanced science, rather than the rocket-ship adventures so common during the early twentieth century.

Čapek first used the term "robot" in his stage play RUR - Rossum's Universal Robots, and the name stuck. Soon, robots were everywhere - wandering on the moon, flying around in spaceships, thumping Flash Gordon on the head and carrying off hundreds of pretty girls. Beeping, lurching, their red eyes glowing, they became part of the fabric of the future.

At least, in the movies. In reality, robots had a bit farther to go to be taken seriously.

The difficulties in building a machine capable of autonomous motion, direction, and decision-making are extraordinary. It requires extreme advancements in power generation; in sensors and object detection; in motion control and positioning. It requires a fast central computer capable of integrating all these data streams into meaningful decisions in real-time.

Complex technologies have a maturation cycle that is often measured in decades. Advancements in one field may lead to completely new capabilities in others. Aviation is a fine example - the jet plane could not have been developed without major advances in metallurgy - until the turbine blades could be made strong enough, the jet engine would never fly. All the pieces of the puzzle must be ready.

After decades of slow advancement, all the technologies necessary for success begin to reach a sort of "critical mass", where the new technology moves out of the lab or garage and actually gets used. Entire societies and cultures are remade, seemingly overnight.

Robotics is at such a cusp, where advances across the board are starting to mature - small, powerful hybrid energy sources are now available. Advanced pattern and object detecting optics are being developed for the new digital cameras (where even cheap models now have facial recognition). GPS and laser-based inertial positioning units are smaller and more reliable than ever. Computer chips double in speed and halve in price every few years or so. Materials are lighter and stronger than ever.

Robotics today are at the same point that the automobile was in 1910, jet travel was in 1960, and computers were at in 1975 - ready to explode onto the world stage.

Prepare to bow down before your metal masters!

Kitty Wigs - A Special Kind of Crazy

Kitty Wigs is a company that supplies wigs for felines (http://kittywigs.com/). You have 4 colours to choose from and they ship in their own special metal container carefully wrapped in a hair net to maintain their shape and luster.

Now this blog post is not meant to judge anyone. If you want to put a wig on your...hold on a second, scratch that. I'm gonna judge you. How could I not?

Your cat is not a person! They have their own hair! Why do they need wigs? Why are you torturing them and taking pictures for your online photo albums? You are crazy people.

In all fairness, you are not doing any REAL harm. It's not like you're eating the cats. But if I was your daughter and you did that to me growing up, I'd be sitting on a couch right now talking to a professional.

I'm sure "cat wig" people are nice, but I'm still going to mock. It's what I do.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a tuxedo for my lizard.

Artwork - digital vs traditional

Welcome to 2008!

In reviewing my 2007 blogs I noticed a trend in my topics -- a lot of duality. Compare and contrast. Yin and yang.

Apparently, 2008 will be no different from me.

High Concept deals with a lot of architects and we get a lot of feedback about renderings -- the 2 schools, the traditional "Mike Brady" way and the high tech 3d visualization route.

We position ourselves as a 3D modelling company and there is a level of speed and accuracy that comes with that approach, no question about it.

However, a hand rendered piece presented on a nice watercolour paper has a sense of magic to it -- the soft lines and vague shapes invite the potential tenant to bring his or her imagination and dreams to the table to fill out the image.

As a company we are playing with ways to bring both to the table. I have mentioned in a previous blog, that Corel Painter has become my software of choice.

I miss the feel of paper under my fingers, the ink building up on my caloused hand and all those old smells that go with my well-used tools.

...but, I don't miss throwing away ruined art pages! I love how easy it is to experiment and simply "undo" or throw a layer away if it didn't take me closer to my destination.

So, I guess I am going with the best of both worlds -- I put a sheet of paper down on my Intuos tablet to create some friction/resistance for my stylus and choose a product which simulates traditional media perfectly. It also Allows me to incorporate images, patterns, vector shapes, and text while painting with oils/inks/watercolours/chalk on a textured surface.

I don't use masking tape to get a smooth line anymore - click, click, click - draw a mask and paint around that detail easily!

If you like to draw or paint I suggest you check out the free 30-day trial (there is one for both PC and Mac) -- you'll love it (and understand why I rave about it)!

Then when you are asked, digital or traditional -- you can choose both.

Get the trial: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ca/en/Product/1166553886612

The Internet May Actually Be Useful!

While I whiled away the evening hours a few days ago, surfing the Wide World Web of Useless Knowledge (do I really need to know how badly Britney is at parenting or how many different ways Chuck Norris can kill me with his thumb? - (647) - I accidentally stumbled across something actually useful to me.

Google Earth.

Since the existence of this program will be of no great surprise to most of you, I won't go into particulars, except to say that I had seen it before (when it first came out) and had promptly forgotten about it. So when I came back to it, to research a new project, I looked up my own neighbourhood, and discovered something new to me - a path through the woods near my house.


Big whoop - a path in the woods - this is a big deal? Not really, though I had walked past the entrance to this path many times on my evening walks, and never noticed it. It's simply not very visible from the road (it's a deer trail). But on Google Earth, it was as plain as day, and now it is part of my evening routine. It is a pleasant path to walk, through wooded fields and an open meadow, and I never would have found it on my own.

How odd, that the information that came from outer space, traveled thousands of miles across fiber-optic lines and coaxial cables, could reveal something so mundane in my own back yard.

There may be a future in this internet thing after all.