Jan 9 2009 I Don't Know....The Evolution Of Robots
This is a German commercial for something I have no idea what is (saturn.de?) that shows the evolution of technology in robotic form. It confused me in my pants. I definitely felt a little twitter at the part with the t-rex, but the rest of it just scared me. And the chick from Tron at the end? Fine, I'll admit it: boner. It was her voice, I swear!
Thanks to pirhan and ITSELF, who know the only good robot is a dead one. Or one that looks like a dinosaur and has realistic-feeling skin.
Dec 30 2008 Using The Force: Lightsaber Nunchucks
Nice try buddy, but you're no Star Wars kid.
Thanks to Andy, who once beat Bruce Lee at nunchuck ping pong.
Dec 26 2008 Macs Vs. PCs: Transform And Battle It Out!
This is a video of Macs and PCs transforming into little robot people and battling to the death. Who wins? You'll have to watch to find out! Read: I stopped watching halfway through to go scavenge for food. Well sandwiches don't make themselves! *ahem* Ladies, that was a hint. Crunchy PB, boysenberry jelly -- cut into triangles.
Thanks to *nix and Bustani, who can both transform from video gamer to sex machine in the time it takes to push pause.
Sep 5 2008 Gungan Delight: A Jar Jar Binks Salad
A Star Wars fan and culinary artist wanted to make a Star Wars-y dish, but was reluctant to eat any of the cool characters. The solution? You guessed it -- Jar Jar.
Jar Jar Binks was easily the worst thing about The Phantom Menace. If I could create a scrumptious salad out of him and serve him up with a tasty crostini, perhaps I might have my revenge.
Jicama proved to be just the right medium for my sculpture -- it's a tuberous root vegetable that is perfect for food carvings. It's crisp, cuts easily and doesn't dry out quickly. Jicama doesn't taste like much but readily absorbs the juices and flavors of a marinade or sauce.
Hit the jump for a bunch more pictures of edible Jar Jar, including one with a knife in his head, along with a link to the DIY page. And if you do decide to make one yourself, remember: save the neck for me, Clark.
Hit it!
Aug 20 2008 ZOMG, She's Not Real -- She's CG!
You see that chick? She's not real -- she's a CG version of actress Emily O'Brien created by facial animation studio Image Metrics. And let me tell you, she definitely kicks the shit out of last week's CG facials.
Using (USC's) Institute for Creative Technologies' special scanning system that can capture facial details down to the individual pore, the face of actress Emily O'Brien was transformed into a digital representation of herself, which could then be entirely machine-manipulated. A special spherical lighting rig captured O'Brien in 35 reference facial poses using a pair of high resolution digital cameras. The facial maps were then converted into 3D data using Image Metrics' proprietary markerless motion capture technology.
Hit the jump to see a high-res video of the CG Emily talking and moving. It's freaking amazing. Did I mention she kind of looks like Keira Knightley? Because she does. Now I'm not sure what kind of implications this has for the adult-entertainment industry, but if I had to guess, I'd say a series of wicked pirate-themed skin-flicks. Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's Rear End! Or, alternatively, Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chesticles.
Hit the jump for a few more pictures and a very worthwhile video.
Aug 20 2008 Viral Ad For Samsung's Omnia Touch Phone
This is a viral video for Samsung's new touchscreen Omnia i900 phone. I don't want to ruin anything, so you'll just have to watch it. I thought it was cute. Well, not like bunny or kitten cute, but still, it's neat. Just not as neat as my bedroom. I'm OCD.
Thanks Dennis, but please, don't touch anything.
Aug 18 2008 Galactic Empire Invades San Francisco
Death Star Over San Francisco [current]
Thanks to Evan and Patrick, who could bring down the Death Star with a potato gun.
*Haha, made you watch! I'm an asshole.
Jun 4 2008 Thanks NASA!: Visible Magnetic Fields
NASA, who should be focusing their efforts on a way to blast me out of the solar system, is instead making movies with visible magnetic fields. Not sure how this is gonna help me bed an alien chick, but whatever, it's freaking awesome so I'll let it slide.
Scientists from NASA's Space Sciences Laboratory have made (magnetic fields) visible as "animated photographs," using sound-controlled CGI and 3D compositing. It makes the fields, as explained by the scientists, dance in an absolutely gorgeous movie called Magnetic Movie.
Be sure to check out a ton more pictures and the movie after the jump, it's some serious eye candy. Now NASA needs to get to work on making a pair of glasses that can do this in real time. Then we could all, you know, get high and make Magneto put on a light show.
Hit the jump for a ton more awesomeness. Oh, and even though it sounds like it, the woman in the video does not say "hairy balls" at 0:45, she says hairball. This is science people, get your heads out of the gutter.
Feb 15 2008 Video: The Secret Life Of Cell Phones
This is a little CGI video of what your cell phone does when you're not around. Who would have thought that shit had aliens in it!? Not me. I mostly posted this video because it made me flashback to something similar that happened to me at a Cracker Barrel. There I was, tripping balls and trying my damndest to focus on the Country Ham Platter before me. But this particularly spry piece of ham kept trying to sneak his ass off the plate! I had to continually scold and stab him to keep him away from the edge. And even though I had my fork and knife on top of him he managed to dive to the floor when I was gone watching my face melt in the bathroom mirror.
UPDATE: Turns out that wasn't really a similar experience.
Unbelievable animation: close encounters of the desktop kind [dvice]
Sep 17 2007 Motion Portrait Animates Still Photos
Motion Portrait takes a single photograph and digitizes it while extracting 3D information so that it can be animated. Right now the animation options are pretty limited, and it reminds me of this thing, but I see the potential. Soon you'll be able to take a digital picture of yourself, upload that bad boy to your favorite porno movie, and then watch yourself have the sex your hand can't provide. Oh, and if the picture is any indication of quality, the program does less conversion to CG, and more conversion to smack addict.
A video after the jump showing the transformation.
