Well Christmas has concluded and another holiday is upon us. Boxing Day. Oh Canada! Ahh yes my non-official nationality and homeland, how I love thee. But yes Christmas! It was good. Got to see some family, got some very very very nice things. Two of which are right here. I mean come on what's more awesome than a cig smoking a cig, it's like canabalism. You know what is? The Nintendo DS Lite, which I haven't actually taken possession of yet but will soon. My mom got me it and I got Mario Kart DS for it already. My friend Kaly says it's like the definitive Mario Kart which is awesome, can't wait to get some multiplayer action going. Oh and got plans for New Years Eve. Audrey called me up and was like The Flaming Lips and Gnarls Barkley are playing on New Years Eve in L.A. I'm like cool and she's like do you want to go see them. I'm like and then she interrupted me to say I already bought tickets, haha. That should be awesome. Yoshima battle on. On a side note it seems that a random stack of cards will beat any group of people at the game Apple's to Apple's according to two tests that have been conducted. More testing will ensue and the finding will be published. Indeed. Well I hope everyone had a good Christmas and has an equally good Boxing Day. Take cares alls.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
"You Sly Dog"
Fry's has interesting product placement practices. I never new Charlie Brown's Christmas was considered pornography. "You sly dog."
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Good Ole' United Melon
Today, we went downtown to pick up the Christmas tree. Yeah I know, really late, but we didn't have time. We went to where we always go, United Melon in Downtown Los Angeles. They generally have Christmas Tree auctions going but since it's so close to Christmas they weren't having any, so that kinda sucked. I enjoy the competitive spirit when hunting for the right tree. Not a huge tree after all but a good tree, nice Douglas Fir, 8 footer maybe a lil bit more. Not super fat though.
I think there is really something going on in the Christmas tree industry. Christmas tree prices have gone up, Christmas tree quality has gone down along with their height, the size of tree lots have shrunk, and the number of Christmas tree auctions and auctioneers have dimenished as well. United Melon for instance used to have 4 auctions, 2 large lots, and multiple rails to bring in box cars full of trees, not to mention multiple concession trucks or roach wagons as they are sometimes called. I remember when I was younger and we were always able to find 10 foot + trees. Now your lucky to find a 10 footer or even a 9 footer. I remember getting a 12 foot tree for $55 dollars and now your lucky to find one and it's going to cost you over a 100 dollars. I remember the biggest tree we ever had was a 14 footer. We didn't pay over 80 dollars for it. On the auction front, I've seen generations of auctioneers. One in particular Vanessa, who is actually the daughter of this one auctioneer who used to auction trees off when I was young, she still auctions, but this year she was the only auctioneer. When I was young United Melon used to have 4 auctioneers, with generally 2 auctions going at once and then they'd break and change auctioneers. Today though there's only Vanessa, and as good as she is, she just doesn't have the speed and the twang of those who have come before her. Maybe everyone has moved to synthetics but I believe in real fresh trees that once were alive and are no longer. I miss the glory days of the Christmas tree industry.
Baja Bug
Here's a Baja Bug outside of Fry's Electronics in Industry. Crazy setup. It has what looks like a oil cooler mounted up top so it can get air. Pretty crazy.
White Cake
From the people that brought you the phenomenon known as "White Flight." We present "White Cake" Seriously, this looks like a rip off of the Yellow Cake boxes back in the day for I forget which company.
Lawn Mower Racing 2007!
Random title at Fry's that reassures me if someone puts up money for games like this, if worse comes to worse I can have a job working on LawnMower Racing Mania 2009, NOW WITH MORE WEEDS!
¡Hola Gatita habla español!
Another Fry's oddity. I guess it had to get dubbed sometime, haha. I almost would watch it just for the fun of it. Makes me think of that copy of Reservoir Dogs I watched dubbed in Spanish.
Wendy Wu: Kickin' Edition
So, I was at Fry's Electronics with a few of my friends and we happened upon this DVD title in the DVD section. Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. The story of a girl who is trying to become homecoming queen but then like apparently she's the reincarnation of some famed woman warrior from the Wei dynasty and must fulfill her destiny. Feels like a shameless ploy by disney, to attempt to garner minority viewers from the asian american community with their new heroine Wendy Wu. Sad Disney, just sad.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
The King Reigns
Well apparently Burger King's XBox games have sold 2 million. That puts it into the range of Gears of War the "big" game out for the XBox right now. Really quite funny. Anyways, now that I'm home I've found myself just hanging with friends or on the computer. I need to start getting productive. Just a few days ago I played Star Wars Monopoly with my friend Jon and his brother for about 5-6 hours I forget. It was fun but gee, I haven't played Monopoly in so freaking long. Been playing a lot of WoW (World of WarCraft) lately as well, been leveling up. It's all Christmas time in the world, haha. I need to get out of the house to shop for Christmas, I hope I get a chance. It's so odd how quickly it comes up when you get off school, it's like a few days and bam it's Christmas. Gotta also design the annual card as well, gotta get cracking on that. Prolly gonna go get our Christmas tree tomorrow down at the Christmas tree auctions downtown. This is really sad but I was able to get a hold of a lot of old Macintosh games, I'm so thrilled to play some of these old games again. It's really sad there hasn't been any real games out there that have gotten me excited for the computer in a long time. Oh wells.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Kazama v. Yoshioka
Kazama v. Yoshioka 2nd run at the D1 Grand Prix Final at Irwindale. Kazama passes Yoshioka. Awesome move. In the end, Nomuken almost got bumped out by the dark horse MacNamara from Ireland, Tanaka won the event over Kazama, and Kumakubo won the season.
Boonkie Tapping
I dropped off Audrey at LAX on saturday afternoon to fly back to Chicago for Christmas. Then I headed back home and then out to Irwindale Speedway. What for? Why for D1 GRAND PRIX! It was the final for the season. It was raining and Matt, Cesar, and myself got fairly wet. Me probably the least though because I had my heavier waterproof jacket. The speeds were a lot slower due to the rain and there was very little smoke but still the races were good. Here we have Vaughn Gitten Jr. boonkie tapping I forget his name in the first round of the tandem battles. Vaughn got eliminated in this round.
Jazz at JFK: Jet Blue Terminal
This isn't your Lincoln Center. This is Jazz at JFK: Jet Blue Terminal. So, bizzare to see a jazz quartet busy playing after I get through security and on the way to my gate. Of course I'm not complaining because I love straight ahead jazz but in an airport? Doesn't belong now, the drummer even had a Gretsch drum set. My plane though ended up being delayed by an hour almost. The flight itself was rather bumpy at one point and made me a lil motion sick. First time I have ever gotten a bit sick to my stomach on a plane. I got picked up at the airport by Audrey, so nice to see her.
Physical Computing Class & End of Semester 1
Well the semester is over as you can tell. The last week of school for the most part was unstressful which was good. I had most of my projects wrapped up well ahead of their due dates which was good. All of my projects were fairly well received. Two of which were recommended to look for a gallery or public space to display them or to look for funding to make them on a larger scale("Green & Black" & "I.E.D. Field"). The other was recommended to continue working with and to make multiple versions of it ("RBG2CMYK").
The last presentation I had was for my Physical Computing class, this is the class picture of all of us. I'm way in the back on the right you can barely see me. Some of the gals in the class started crying which was like okay talk about attachment. I wasn't particularly sentimental but the class was a good lot of people. The projects in the end were all pretty good and for the most part interesting. Some of course more so than others, hehe.
After this I went and had lunch with my friend Ji-Sun. Good vietnamese place that is bloody cheap during lunch but not so cheap during dinner. In general it's Ji-Sun, Rob, and myself, Rob had class so we all couldn't hang out before I left sadly. When I get back though we're all gonna celebrate since I wasn't going to be around to do so with everyone.
This semester has flown by and it's so odd to be done a quarter done with my graduate degree. Kind of scary in a lot of ways. On another note I got most of the classes I wanted for this coming spring semester which is quite nice. It'll be a lot of reading, writing, and discussing.
Eye in the Sky
The "eye in the sky" used to do the motion detection for my final project for physical computing, the "I.E.D. Field." This was a preliminary setup in prep for the final presentation.
Oh Yeah!
This feller I don't have a name for yet. He's an odd drawing on the white board at my dorm room. I had eaten a can of my roomates chilli by mistake and had gotten him a replacement and he drew up a happy face. I took that and made this fellow. Not sure what sort of personality is, but he's a rather funny lookin' guy.
Biker-Crackers
So, there's this building store front near my school on 10th St. between Broadway and 4th Ave. They have 6 giant nucrackers in the window all done up like this. Make me think of biker nucrackers or "ZZ Cracker."
Camo Tree
I forget which day it was I think it was during finals week that It rained and this tree still moist looked like it was painted with camoflage.
National Security
Well I'm guessing the department of Homeboy I mean Homeland Security got a tip off that the Stuyvesent Town Christmas tree was in danger of being attacked.
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Not sure which department store this is but it's right across a street from the CompUSA on 5th Ave.
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Well the week after Thanksgiving during my quest to find boots I wandered up and down the city in and out of shoe stores all over. I forget which building this is but it looked really nice. I got to see a lot of decorated buildings along my wanderings which was rather nice.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
And I'm Back
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
The Govenator
"I am the Govenator of Kali-forrrrnia." So, apparently before you leave or when you arrive at L.A.X. you can pick up your "Govenator" t-shirt. Scary isn't it? (The Govenator is brought to you by Audrey mind you, props where props are due.) Oh, finished one final which is awesome. In the process of finishing it or coming to conclusion it was finished I dumped out about a week and half to w weeks worth of work or so of animation stuffs I was originally going to use. Depending on how lazy I am or when I get around to it after I get these other projects done I will be posting it up (which involves learning how to sign a java applet). So, back to verk!
RGB2CMYK-TIME-Trump
So, this is what I've been working on for my final project for Pixel by Pixel. So, what is it I am actually doing? I am currently taking a still image and compositing part of it and placing live video behind it that is being processed to be converted to CMYK from the RGB color space. Why do this? I'm interested in the whole content associations that are established with color spaces (probably because I have dealt and worked two long with both worlds and have utterly lost my mind dealing with color spaces, proofing, and the like). Print (C.M.Y.K.- Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, & Black), has a certain of weight and value to it inherently due to the costs associated with mass production print as opposed to the RGB color space. RGB (Red, Green, & Blue) is seen basically in anything that is video, tv, your computer, your camcorder, digital camera, etc. Even though on the high end with broadcast video there are large budgets and big dollars being thrown around on one side of the spectrum there is also the other end which is the person who has that crappy Hi-8 camcorder, little point and shoot digital camera, or even just a computer. All of these use the RGB color space and so there is a wide gamut of who has access to these technologies. The biggest issue thus far with this project was trying to figure out a work around for the issue of two video buffers of different sizes eventually being put into the same destination buffer, aka GWorld, (no relation with Ghandi the rap star formerly known as G Spot"). On that note, go watch Clone High (why did you cancel it MTV!) and I am back to work on trying to make this program work faster than a putrid 9fps.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Cobra Commander in Plaid!
COBRA COMMANDER in plaid. Yes, it's gotten cold enuff for me to bust out the scarf and my grand spanking new jacket with "radial arm motion." Supposed to snow in like 2 hours or least that's what weather.com says. We shall see what we shall see. COBRA COMMANDER demands snowmen to be constructed to create a protective barrier against gung ho and mister LaFitty! But yeah back to programming now =|
Sunday, December 03, 2006
The Godfather & The Return of Ska
Well just this week I picked up two new ska albums at a local Tower Records going out of biz massive sale. Those two were Ska-Boo-Da-Ba by the Skatalites and The Last of the Skinheads by Judge Dread. Awesome albums both of them. I've been listening to them all week. Especially one song from the Skatalites by the name of Confucius. Awesome bass in it. So, tonite I was working on my pixel by pixel homework which I was having some difficulties with but made progress and solved a huge prob. I'll post some example pics from it later. Anyhow I meant to go to sleep instead I ended up on You Tube and I ended up looking up the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. That's right Japanese ska for all of you who haven't heard the news. They've been around for awhile. Got to see them last summer at the House of Blues while they were on their first tour in the states. Amazing. The trombone player, the trumpet player and the drummer unbelievable. So, I was wondering You Tube and ran into the fact that they've played with Puffy Ami Yumi but also that they had covered the Godfather theme. Amazing especially when they slow it down and then go into double time right after. Blood great. T.S.P.O.!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
The Hunt for Red-Bootober
Yes, I am on a hunt for boots. Boots for the winter when it hits. I've been trying on boots this week on my to and from different areas. Still haven't found like that perfect pair. However, I have seen these two pairs of ASICS that are rather nice. The red one I like more.
Styuvesent Town & Peter Cooper Village
This is Styuvesent Town & Peter Cooper Village from 1st Avenue and 15th St.. Such very nice weather we've been having all this week. We even hit into the 70's this week, totally bizzare.
Giant X-Mas Tree
Here Styuvesent Town workers are busy decorating this giant Christmas Tree. I remember them building the scaffolding. I wish I could go climb on it, however they have a guard on duty at all times circling the tree, which is crazy. They're crazy.
"Phase 1: Deploy wreaths and garland!"
It is now officially Christmas time, so New York is changing all over the place. Store windows, streets, etc etc. Here in Stuyvesent Town they have begun their decorating.
Lobster's End...
This is the death of our friend the lobster by Audrey's Dad the chef. He was a rather tasty lobster in the end. His sacrifice will not be forgotten and will always be remembered as a transformation from regular sea creature to tasty dinner.
Lobster's Quiet Protest.
After coming back from finding a winter coat Audrey's Dad was in preperation for making a good dinner. Including a fresh lobster. This is our friend the lobster, he's not particularly thrilled and doesn't emote much for the camera I think it's possibly protesting quietly.
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Carton
The White Castle slider carton. Audrey and Me split a Sack Meal, which was 4 sliders w/cheese, those crinkly like fries, and a Coke. So, good. However, I ended up devouring 3 out of the 4 burgers. Not sure if Audrey will ever forgive me. Actually my mouth is starting to water thinking about them right now, mmm.
White Castle
Here I am standing in front of a White Castle location just outside Chicago. I have finally arrived.
B.K. Games Sans-Whopper Value Meal
That's right I got all three games without having to buy a single BK food product. The worker was like, "Oh so you don't want to destroy your innards just get the games?" Yes. Does anyone have an XBox I can play Sneak King on? Oh, yeah and Audrey might wanna tag along.
Me and T.K.
So, we found something on that day in downtown Chicago. However, still no coat. We set forth the next day looking for one this time to a different area. We also had the other goals of acquiring the Burger King Games that had just been released, or rather I did and to go to White Castle since I had seen one nearby and was like OH MY GOSH WHITE CASTLE! First stop Burger King. Here I am with The King aka T.K.. Both got the sunglasses going, oh yeah. The double crossandwhich, meat and cheese, meat and cheese.
No Flask is Holier Than Thou...
Indeed. I believe it would go well with the virgin mary hanging from the rearview mirror of many cars in East. L.A.. They should be sold as a set maybe you get a price break if you order both online through Amazon. That'd be awesome. Anyways, post-thanksgiving Audrey and I and her sister, Jasmine, set out on a quest to find me winter provisions to be properly prepared. I don't have a winter coat, gloves, and the rest. So, we departed and went into downtown Chicago. So, nice during Christmas. We went into the Urban Outfitters and we found this wonderful religious trinket. Oh and apparently American Apparel has pants that are still in the R&D phase for sale. Audrey tried on a pair, really weird, testbed pants, how does that work? I thought that was something for like the Military Industrial Complex and such.
DAD The Movie
Yeah, I almost forgot when Audrey and I went out to get supplies for the apple sauce she needed to get a card for her dad since it's his birthday. This one didn't make the cut but was rather "visually stunning." It definitely led the pack in the special effects category.
Brown Sauce?
Yeah, a lot of us were trying to figure this one out. Is it like gravey is not gravey? Is it just some random generic brown colored sauce? It was good though but I still may never know if it was really gravey or not.
Thanksgiving in the Greater Chicagoland Area
"I'm Teflon, Biatch!"
That's right it's Ronald Grand Master Pimp Reagan. He's arrived and so have new blog updates and pictures. I ran out of bandwidth for the month of November so yeah, but it's December now so it's open season once again.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Pimpidents
Well I had a smashing good time in Chicago with Audrey's family for Thanksgiving. The weather was actually nice (strange but true). More details and pics to come no time right now. I gotta work on my final projects. Working on some motion detection algorithiming for me Phys Comp class. Got my advisement appointment tomorrow with my advisor for classes for next semester so gotta get that together. SOO LITTLE TIME LEFT AGH! Ok back to work. More to come soon hopefully.
Pimpton
This is Pimpton telling you to party down with one of his fine NYU ladies @ the Stuyvesant Community Center.