Mutemath’s Typical Reversed

Drew found the backwards Typical video reversed which, well… makes it forward; the people forward… the music is still reversed. Confusing huh?

But the thing that’s so crazy is that Paul Meany is lip-synching the lyrics that are being played backwards. I wonder how long he practiced to get it right? I thought that CGI might have been utilized. Looks like I was wrong. [via Gizmodo]

Tower Defense Owns Me

More addictive than crack. (And I should know.)

Dojo Info 3/29/07

1. Redeemed! 10 Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, If You Want Out
   Here’s someone who helped lead the gay movement for the past 29 years. Read how she shares hope to those not happy in that lifestyle.
2. Google Loves a Tasty Blogroll
   Tips to improve your site’s Google rankings.
3. Fury of the Storm on Guitar Hero
   Most difficult GH song ever!
4. European Web Sites Go for Long Addresses
   I’m sure someone has already reserved super supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.com… yep.
5. 2006 YouTube Awards
   I think too many times people vote with their hearts rather than their heads. The OK Go thing was cool and fun, but some of the others were far more “Creative.”

Desktop Tower Defense

Yep… it’s that time again. The time where Paladin brings you one of those insidiously addictive games that has you pulling out your hair one fistful at a time, begging for mercy and cursing the day you first learned about Desktop Tower Defense!

Planned Parenthood Asks for Additional $100M Tax Money

It’s bad enough that abortions are killing unborn babies, but in my opinion, to do so with taxpayer money is criminal. Now they want even more money.

Just last Friday, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) sent a letter to her Senate colleagues asking for a boost of $100 million, specifically for Planned Parenthood clinics!

All the while, these groups attack pregnancy care centers that don’t perform abortions. In essence, they want to eliminate their competition. Don’t stand for it. Act now!

The Style of ’300′

I’m not sure how many of you saw the movie 300. It’s the epic tale of how 300 Spartans stood up to overwhelming odds when Xerxes brought his massive Persian army down to conquer the Grecian Peninsula.

The movie is one part Braveheart and one part Sin City. Not for the faint of heart either as the violence is intense and throughout. But it’s also the ultimate underdog’s story set to a fantasy backdrop; more fable than history in this telling. If you can stomach the violent scenes, I recommend it.

What’s so dramatic is the movie’s design style. StudioDaily does a piece called Stylizing Sparta in 300 which does a wonderful job showing what the team did behind the scene did to create the distinctive flair of this film.

I was curious if I could create the same effect on a single frame. So I selected an image from Flickr.

Opened it in Photoshop and went:

1. Change mode to Grayscale
2. Change mode to Duotone with a sepia-like color
3. Added some Gaussian Noise
4. Adjusted the Levels to emphasize the highs and lows
5. Tweaked the Curve a bit
6. And finally increased the Contrast

It’s not spot-on but a close facsimile. Of course, they had fabulous scenery, camera work and special effects that when put together created an otherworldly feel. It’s a very fresh style that worked amazingly well for this kind of movie.

New Pixar Trailer

Oh they’re good. They’re always good. Set to release on June 29th!

Dojo Info 3/26/07

1. Adobe’s Apollo looks to one-up Ajax
   
   A few years back a buzzword was “rich media” which it really wasn’t. Now, Ajax and now Apollo are really getting close. What I’m really jazzed about is Flex Someday all Websites will be of this sort.
2. Motion-sensing comes to mobile phones
   Not sure how this is going to simplify things but I wasn’t sold on the Wii either… at first.
3. Kentucky Senate Bill 152
   “In 2004, the citizens of Kentucky overwhelmingly approved the Marriage Amendment by a vote of 75% to 25%.” Now our elected officials think they know better than the people they are supposed to serve. Remind them how your really feel. Support SB 152.
4. Oden and the mailbag
   For items like the following is why you need to read every Simmons column.

   Q: So in other words, you were handed your lunch by your wife making football picks, proceeded to rave about Miami for six days, ignored the Colts because you’re such a pathetic homer, met Tom Brady, which led to damp stains underneath, then got your ass kicked in a go-kart race by another woman and a cheesy Hollywood schmuck. You just earned pole position as the star of the next Vagina Monologues.
   –Jon Picou, Paradise
   SG: I’ve been waiting to run that e-mail for two months. One of the better mean-spirited slams I’ve ever received. Particularly enjoyed the ending. And you know why e-mails like that never get me down?

5. Coldplay Scientist
   I just posted about how cool the Mutemath video was, but apparently Coldplay did it first.

More Men Taking Wife’s Last Name

Just read about this story—More men taking wives’ last names— on USAToday. No where in the article does it tell us why Mike Buday wants to use his wife’s last name. Kinda poor journalism, but that’s not my point in posting.

This is just one more way that some liberal organizations *cough* *ACLU* *cough* are working to do away with our American traditions. Is “tradition” a dirty word? It’s almost like they’re thinking, “Let’s see, what do we normally do here? Great. Let’s do the opposite.”

To be fair, if my last name was Crumpacker, maybe I’d take my wife’s last name too. [via kottke]

Dojo Info 3/23/07

1. Blogs turn 10–who’s the father?
   Personally, I was blogging in 1996 but in a completely unofficial, non-paid kind of way. We were just a gaming clan (the clanberries) keeping in touch with each other via our Web page. Innovators? Oh yes.
2. LifeChurch.tv has a Second Life Church Campus
   Taking good news to cyber streets.
3. Little school, BIG DREAM
   “June Buchanan is busting out all over with first Sweet 16 berth.” I love stuff like this! [via KSR]
4. Terror Supporter and Antisemitic Conspiracy Theorist Teaches at Dalton State College, Georgia
   The enemy within.
5. Man Who Had 3 Hearts Leaves Pa. Hospital
   What the…?!?! This isn’t a joke.

Mutemath ‘Typical’ Rewrites Time

I’m blown away. I can’t even fathom how they created this video where it looks like everything is running backword but where certain parts are moving forward.

Tubby Smith Leaves UK

Everyone has their breaking point. We can only take so much. Today was the day when Tubby called it quits and decided to leave the University of Kentucky.

Can’t say I’m happy about the situation but at the same time I don’t blame him for leaving. I don’t feel very confident about his replacement being of the same quality as his predecessor. (Tom Crean of Marquette is the early prediction from a local news outlet.) This certainly makes Morris’ decision to go Pro all but a foregone conclusion. It also takes a critical recruiting year and tosses out on the garbage heap as Patterson and Lucas will both likely go elsewhere.

But there are some “fans” who’ll be ecstatic about this change. These are the same people who’ve been crying for months and make all UK fans look like a bunch of spoiled brats to the rest of the nation.

My thanks go out to Tubby Smith and all that he did for our beloved program.

1. 10 years, at 77% winning percentage
2. 5 SEC Championships
3. 4 Elite Eights
4. 1 National Championship
5. National Coach of the Year
6. One Class Act

Survivor: Fiji – Week 6

Another big week of drama that could have been huge! More on that in a minute.

The merge is always a fun time. But this wasn’t a merge, technically, just a mix-up. Which is great because all the losers couldn’t have lasted much longer. Plus, people who hate each other—Rocky and pretty much everyone else—are forced to co-exist. Gotta hand it to the producers for increasing tensions with this one.

This show begins and ends with Rocky. He’s by far the most volatile character he doesn’t mix well. As the show progresses, more contestants tire of his antics. His constant harping on Anthony is a crazy obsession. During Tribal Council when Rocky was going on and on about how Anthony should behave and how he’s acting like “a little girl,” I watched breathlessly. Then there was a pause as Anthony stared at him… I would have given my car if Anthony had just punched him in the face and then the meelee rolled into the fire pit. That would have been AWESOME!

When Lisi joins her new tribe, how many minutes will it be before Rocky tells her to take up all of Anthony’s “duties”? She got a few more days, but most assuredly won’t make the merge.

Dre’s scheming was blown-up with the tribe mix-up, but as long as he sticks with Alex he can still go pretty far.

Alex, the thinking man’s player, is making solid choices and is my favorite of this year’s cast.

Earl is setting himself up as the new Moto Czar. Looks like Boo is the odd-man-out in this equation. Gotta give Moto credit for winning the challenge with three woman and a feeble old man. Guess the brains beat the brawn on this one.

Voted Out

But no, Anthony couldn’t stand up to the force of Rocky and even though he said a few things in his own self-defense, in the end he walked off a sad, little man. I liked Anthony but he needed to build some alliances before his last day on the island.

YouTube Announces First Video Awards

Sure, we’ve all heard of Lonelygirl15, but there are a whole slew of great YouTube clips that we haven’t heard. Check out their Awards site that was just announced and vote for your favorites. Be quick! Voting ends Friday.

I’m sure I’ll be blogging once the results are made public.

Cats Fall to Superior Kansas Team

Can’t say I didn’t see it coming but it’s painful nonetheless whenever the Wildcats lose in the NCAA tournament. The 2007 edition had Kentucky falling to Kansas 88-76. If it hadn’t been for Morris things could have been decidedly worse.

Which brings us to next year. Whether or not Morris decides to go pro is currently up in the air but the smart money says he’s gone. Oh how I hope the smart money is wrong. That, and the maelstrom surrounding Tubby Smith and his future only add to the chaos. Toss in some more uncertainty about our two star recruits who are yet to make their decision, unlike 95% of the nation’s best players to wait until the bitter end, and Wildcat Nation is sitting on pins and needles for the foreseeable future.

Some Internet rumors have Patterson and Lucas already decided for UK, just waiting to make the announcement at the McDonald’s All-American game held, strangely enough, right here in Louisville, Kentucky. That would go a long way to squash the negativity of the anti-Tubby brigade. (It would also keep me from the cliff’s edge.) But it’s certainly too soon to tell and rumors are just that—rumors. So until I hear to verifiable good news on the Wildcat front, consider me one step away from the asylum. Certifiable I am.