The Art of Syd Mead

I'm off to Wen-Do in about twenty minutes, but before I go I wanted to give you all a link to some truly amazing art. Syd Mead is a master of the gouache medium, and fortunately Prof. Michael Stoll came across an unexpected bonanaza of his artwork:

Sometimes students are good for a big surprise - as in this case. Having read one of my shorter posts (actually this one: www.hs-augsburg.de/~mstoll/?p=411 ) on a website about retro-futurism, Dennis Bille one day came around with a quite large set of folders and unpacked these wonderfull illustrations. Obviously they once were give-a-ways from "United States Steel International" to show, how the future might look like - from a early 60s perspective. Dennis Bille got these folders from a retired designer as a gift for helping to close down his office. what a symbolic story!

Here's a small sample:



And here's a link to a larger version of the same piece:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mstoll/2214593812/sizes/l/in/set-72157603779992640/

If you REALLY want to groove on Mead's gouache technique, click the "Original" link and prepare to be floored.

You can find the full portfolio here -- just click on the pictures for larger files, and on "all sizes" for the original size setting.

Wen-Do Part Two

I just got back from the second Wen-Do class, and I have to say that I'm very impressed. I'll definitely be going on to the intermediate sessions, which are drop in classes at a church fairly close to where I live.

Today we dealt with escape plans for getting out of abusive relationships, attacks with weapons, attacks while lying down, and multi-person attacks. And I, oh joy of joys, ended up volunteering to be the "attacker" during the demonstration of how to throw people off you if they try to assault you while you're lying on your back. This entailed being kneed in the side and shoved head-first over the head of the instructor as she lay on the floor, and let me tell you, the carpet wasn't enough to really cushion the impact. Ouch.

The "final exam" was an exercise in which each student got the opportunity, if they chose, to break a pine board with one blow of their first. Everyone in the class except myself and Michelle tried and succeeded; I simply couldn't risk injuring one of my hands while I'm running to a deadline. After everyone who wanted to had broken their board (there were no failures), the instructor explained that it takes around 33 pounds per square inch to break a pine board... and 9 psi to break a collarbone... and 13 psi to break a knee... and around 15 psi to break just about any other bone in the human body. Whoa. She also offered me the opportunity to try board-breaking later on during the intermediate classes, which made me less disappointed about not going through the rite of passage this time around.

The class dispersed after everyone had signed everyone else's broken board. And because eastpath and I helped the instructor carry all her stuff back to her van, she graciously gave us both a ride home; this was quite welcome, because slushy rain had begun to fall in large quantities. As it is I was home and dry about twenty minutes after the class let out.

*sigh* I'm tired, but when I tried to lie down just now I found that I can't sleep. Perhaps I'll make some icons. Perhaps I'll get in some more pages of MM.

Meh. Time to get some coffee and aspirin for the slight headache I've developed. Still not sure if I'm going to the AD&D game tomorrow. I'll see how I feel later tonight.

"Mean Kitty" videos

I don't often browse YouTube, but every so often I come across something cute enough to share.

Behold, The Mean Kitty Song:

It's the type of song that gets stuck in your head and won't come out.

There are several other Mean Kitty videos, but this one demonstrated to me how much this man truly does love his cat:

I plan on viewing his other vids when I'm in a better video watching mood. Hee.

EDITED TO ADD: Having done a bit of research, I now realize that I'm probably the last person on the planet who has NOT seen these videos. Doesn't make them any less cute, though.

Icon Post: A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

I am deeply, desperately in love with this movie and its gorgeous haunting imagery. Below you'll find 35 icons: 11 Gigolo Joe, 9 David, 6 Teddy, 2 Monica, 2 Cybertronics, 1 Blue Fairy, and 4 Miscellaneous.

PREVIEW:

07. 20. 31. 34.


( Come away O human child... )

All images pulled from The A.I. Image Bank Project, a site that I created in 2002 as a tribute to the film.

Remember, folks -- comments are truly love. :-)