PR: Art Whino's LIVE FAST

Cartoonists in here -

	PRESS RELEASE: "LIVE FAST" Harley Davidson Inspired Art Group Show Harley-Davidsons evoke different emotions for different people. That's because Harleys are the snowflakes of self-expression; no two Harleys are alike because no two riders are the same. From custom paint to chrome and exhaust, Harleys express their owners' personalities. More than any other mechanical object, Harleys are moving art. "Live Fast" is an exhibit that will take this idea one step further by displaying art which is inspired by the gasoline, oil, and freedom that power these uniquely American machines. Pieces will include custom Harley tanks painted especially for this show as well as other pieces this hand-picked stable of artists created for this one-of-a-kind event.   The artist Dave "Letterfly" will also show us a traditional form of motorcycle expression- pinstriping.  This art form was made popular in the 50's Custom Culture and its influence on contemporary customs is still observed today.  Please join us as we celebrate Harleys through the eyes of these artists and show you many different takes on what makes these motorcycles great.   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Opening Reception Saturday, February 26th, from 5pm – 8pm With special guest appearance by the infamous artist "Letterfly" who will demonstrate traditional "old school" pinstriping. The event is FREE but RSVP required for entrance RSVP to Livefast@artwhino.com Open to the public exhibit Sunday, February 27th, from 11am – 5pm Patriot University Seminar "Rolling Art-tips and tricks from the artist himself" with Letterfly Sunday, February 27th, at 1 PM at Patriot H-D This seminar is free but limited space is available.  Please sign up by emailing university@patriothd.com Location: Patriot Harley-Davidson 9739 Fairfax Blvd Fairfax VA 22031 Show end date: February 27th Alan Defibaugh Born in Washington D.C., Alan has spent a majority of his life living in the outlying metropolitan area. With the exception of school (4 years in mysterious Savannah Georgia), and his brand new home in Austin, Texas! Alan has been drawing since 1984 and has been getting paid for it since 2005. His personal style focuses on bold colors, 2-dimensional design, and a sense of humor that's perhaps a little off. He specializes in artwork suitable for digital media, print and any other surface you can think of! He loves David Bowie and the color pink. Caia Koopman From the land of surf and sea, Caia Koopman has emerged as one of lowbrow's preeminent female artists. With a well-rounded background from her years spent obtaining her BA in Fine arts from UC Santa Cruz, to her time spent in the skateboarding and snowboarding scenes, Caia's environment has both molded and provided an eclectic background that makes her paintings come to life. With her fine detail for beauty, inclinations toward nature, and collectiveness of the female spirit, Caia has quickly become one of the quintessential artists fully encompassing the elegance, strengths, and vulnerabilities of femininity. Casey Weldon From the land of surf and sea, Caia Koopman has emerged as one of lowbrow's preeminent female artists. With a well-rounded background from her years spent obtaining her BA in Fine arts from UC Santa Cruz, to her time spent in the skateboarding and snowboarding scenes, Caia's environment has both molded and provided an eclectic background that makes her paintings come to life. With her fine detail for beauty, inclinations toward nature, and collectiveness of the female spirit, Caia has quickly become one of the quintessential artists fully encompassing the elegance, strengths, and vulnerabilities of femininity. Drew Storm Graham When I was 11 years old I moved to Madrid where I immediately fell in love with graffiti visually and conceptually. Graffiti embodies a bold, impetuous attitude rooted in controversy and rebellion. This spark of controversy that lies at the very soul of graffiti is what attracted my attention to the art form. It demands a reaction whether of affirmation or rejection because the viewer is an inescapable victim of its presence. Conflict is a necessary element that enhances the meaning of graffiti. A majority of this message rests solely in the action of creating it, defying the constraints imposed by society. JeanPaul Mallozzi JeanPaul Mallozzi was born and raised in Queens NYC, and received a scholarship to attend the Rhode Island School Of Design (RISD). He graduated with B.F.A in Illustration and Fine Arts. He currently resides in Miami FL, trying daily to avoid the sun and stay pastey white. I like to combine urban scenery with old world story telling. A city is a fun stage to play out fantastical scenarios with spirits and humans, weather phenomena and love. The world looks mundane at certain times of the day, but there are other times where magic can happen in a split second. The eternal kid in me believes that". Jim Mahfood Jim Mahfood aka Food One is an illustrator/comic book artist/ muralist/ live art rocker residing in LA. He is the creator of the art style known as Visual Funk: a hybrid mix of comix art, graffiti, manga, street art, and funk culture. Jim single-handedly introduced Live Art to the American comic book scene. Food has worked for every major comic book publisher and his list of comics credits include Clerks (with filmmaker Kevin Smith), Grrl Scouts, Stupid Comics, Felt, Bad Ideas, various Spider-Man books for Marvel, One Page Filler Man, Kick Drum Comix, Carl -The Cat That Makes Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and more. His illustrations have appeared in magazines like Playboy, MAD Magazine, Star Wars Gamer, URB, BadAzz Mofo, BPM, the Hollywood Reporter, and so on. Mr. Christopher Born and bred in the Midwest, Mr. Christopher has developed a unique style and ethic for someone residing in the Bible Belt. Dropping out of artschool at the age of 19, he decided that the academic world did not have much to offer him. At that time he was still a very active graffiti writer and preferred developing painting techniques on his own. Film, sexuality, politics and street art were all key in what was to become Mr. Christopher's style and content. Although he says he is retired from graffiti, he still manages to catch a few tags and paint a few trains. The allure of painting whatever you want, wherever you want is an addictive quality and that addiction has carried over into his other work as well. He can't go a day without painting, drawing, taking pictures, making music or shooting 8mm film. If creating were cocaine or heroin, then he'd be River Phoenix. Nick Morris I was born in Ballarat, just over an hour out of Melbourne. At the age of six I knew I wanted to be an artist and, at a similar time, discovered surfing and my passion for the coast had begun. When I was at secondary school, one of my teachers had said only two per cent of living artists make a living off their art, so I decided to become a graphic designer. In many ways it was a positive result for eventually becoming an artist. I went to Chisholm Institute in Caufield where I met fellow designer Dave Bowers and, over time, we hit it off. After working in Melbourne for a few years after college I moved to the west coast of Victoria and, in 1990, Dave and I started a clothing label called Umgawa. It was incredibly successful but our inexperience caught up with us and from there I went on to become the art director at Quiksiver in Torquay, which had been something I had always aspired to. To be living down the coast working in an industry that moulded in around surfing was a dream come true. A few years later I bean my own freelance graphics company called Anyhow, servicing the surf streetwear industry working for the biggest labels in the world. The business peaked around 2004 when we were invited to speak at Semi Permanent graphics conference in Sydney and then later at Agideas with a host of international designers. Nils Westergard Nils Westergard started stenciling at age 13 when a friend introduced him to the world of street art. Now 18, he is a high school senior with plans to attend VCUarts to study film in the fall. His work with stencils and sculpture focuses on the conflict and legitimacy of street art as well as the nature of authority and rebellion. Aside from painting Nils works with film, sculpture, and set design where he takes his influence from a variety of sources ranging from Carl Sagan to the Cold War. When he's not creating art Nils enjoys nature, film, friends, history and science. Patrick Haemerlein A native of Kinderhook, NY, Patrick Haemmerlein is a freelance designer and artist living in Los Angeles. After receiving his BFA from Savanna College of Art and Design in 2000, Patrick took the long road trip across country and settled down in LA. Here he began to obsessively photograph the city and its components. This gradually moved into new art form as he started to combine and create with images he was collecting. Reflecting on the issues of the day, Patrick explores themes of nature Vs. industry and how they can coexist of clash. The buildings and cityscapes are from Los Angeles while the animal and farm photos were mostly taken around his hometown area in upstate NY. They are not only a juxtaposition of nature and industry, but a combination of imagery from his two homes- one rural and one urban. Ruben Ubiera Ruben Ubiera is a Dominican neo figurative artist, known for his strong use of the line, who has been drawing and painting ever since he had use of reason. Ruben paints and draws in a style considered by many as Pop-surrealism, but he prefers to call it urban-pop, since he has lived most of his life in the urban, populated areas and most of his inspiration is derived from the interactivity  between man and his urban environment. Scotch! SCOTCH! is a stencil artist. Definition:noun;to cut. He is known for knee slapping memorable street art such as tricycle girl, the crotch-grabbing famous trooper, & the pantless laurel & hardy. The stencilist had a huge success with his first solo show, leading to other gallery showings from New York to L.A., Portland thru Miami to name a few. San Antonios Current paper gave Scotch! credit for Best Anonymous Public Art 2 years in a row. He utilized a questionable-legal public art installation coordinated and executed by a group calling itself Uniting Artists through Crime. the project quickly caught the eyes of lowbrow/street art magazine called juxtapoz. Scotch!continues to push for new  stencil techniques/ideas that people of all ages & genres can enjoy. Thom Glick Thom Glick floated up from the bottom of the sea. After scientists cleaned the barnacles and seaweed from his sponge-like body, and equipped him with a magic salt water chest cavity breathing implant, he was secretly allowed to join the population of land dwelling humans. Now living among us, Thom is slowly documenting life on the surface with his abstracted visual interpretations and nonsensical babble writing. To maintain an appearance of normalness, Thom lives with his cute surface dweller girlfriend, Zuz, and their fuzzy teeth monster, Pilot. Also on exhibit will be 13 Full size Harley gas tanks that local artists were given to create unique 3 Dimensional Artistic Expressions. The artist coming from all walks of lives and genres will work with the iconic element of the bike and the lifestyles associate with them to create their interpretations of "Living Fast" Gas Tank Artists Brandon Hill Daniel Barojas Decoy Don Patron Elstabo James Walker Jazirock Jessica Zadlo Juan Pineda Keith Brooks Mike O'Brien Peter Krsko Rodger Schultz Tim Conlon Ultra Asad Walker Special Guest Appearance, Demonstration, and Patriot University Seminar by "Letterfly"  Dave "Letterfly" Knoderer is an honored guest each year at our Ride of the Patriots event every Memorial Day Weekend. He sets up shop and creates countless works of art on bikes, helmets, and anything else with a surface that needs personalization. We are thrilled to have him join us February 26 & 27 to be part of our "Live Fast" Art Exhibit and to host his own Seminar, "Rolling Art- tips and tricks from the artist himself" "The smartest thing I ever did was join the circus!" states the clearly unique "Letterfly". This decision launched a teenager into an unusual career, first as a show drummer accenting the efforts of the aerialists and artistes as well as plying his skill with paint and brush to decorate the circus fleet using his emerging style. Being part of this distinct entertainment experience provided skills that he says "have morphed into the relentless venture of creativity" that clearly continues to this day. Letterfly is an old school/renaissance man. As an apprentice in the sign painting trade, he learned design layout formulas, letterforms, pinstriping and wet-blended pictorial painting as his skills with the brush developed. With a penchant for adventure, the young artist soon began painting theatrical sets, amusement park and fairground décor, antique fire engine gilding, along with creating conventional, hand lettered signage and award winning storefront décor. Today "Letterfly" travels the country visiting Harley-Davidson dealerships as well as Biker and RV events to create quality artwork on motorcycles, motor homes, hot rods and other modes of go-fast. Traditional brush painted pinstripe designs, pin-up girls, pictorials, inscriptions, pets, portraits and custom images of all kinds are produced on the spot in various locations across the nation and at his home/studio in Florida. Letterfly now joins Patriot Harley-Davidson for an exhibition that goes beyond the bikes! A collection of hand painted artwork, photographs, posters, signs, cartoons and painted panels with intricate pinline designs showcase the varied and interesting career of the artist/entertainer and will be on display during our first ever "Live Fast" art exhibit. We will also be treated to a demonstration of his traditional "old school" pinstriping. The delicate nature of the hand painted pinline design is the result of years of practice and developed finesse with the ungainly, specialized brush. Come see how it is really done at the opening on the 26th. Patriot University Seminar: Sunday, February 27 at 1pm PHD is proud to host another in our series of Unique seminars: "Rolling Art- tips and tricks from the artist himself" This seminar is free but limited space is available.  Please sign up by emailing university@patriothd.com You will see many examples of Old School pinstripe work and see how it is done and learn many of the artists tricks. No one should expect to leave this seminar with the ability to "Von Dutch" their Harley but you will see how a pro does it- the types of brushes required, ways to maintain symmetry, color selection and more. "Letterfly" will discuss his background and his experience in the industry, the history of pinstriping, and how a simple hand lettered inscription can communicate a statement and provoke an emotion. Letterfly will also discuss his process of creating a custom image for an individual bike starting with the interview, exploring concepts, initial sketches, image development, and finally the paint medium. An especially informative portion of the talk will involve discussing the steps, materials and components that go into the creation of spectacular custom paint jobs with an opportunity for questions from any one interested in the technical aspects of this interesting facet of the biker culture.

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Comic Riffs checks in with Spiegelman

ART SPIEGELMAN reacts to winning grand prize at Angoulême
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog January 31 2011

Go Daddy Makes The Web Faster by enabling mod_pagespeed

As part of our Make The Web Faster initiative, Google announced the availability of mod_pagespeed, an open-source module for Apache webservers to automatically accelerate the sites they serve. Go Daddy, the top web hosting provider and world's largest domain name registrar, announced that they would roll out the mod_pagespeed feature for their Linux Web hosting customers. The feature is now available and is in use by Go Daddy customers who have already started to report faster webpage load times.

“Who on the Internet wouldn't want a faster website?” asked Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “The benefits of mod_pagespeed are really a slam dunk. It’s built to boost users’ web performance, and ultimately, the bottom line for their business.”

By using several filters that implement web performance best practices, mod_pagespeed rewrites web page resources to automatically optimize their content. The filters improve performance for JavaScript, HTML and CSS, as well as JPEG and PNG images.

Mike Bender, co-creator of photo-blog AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com and Go Daddy customer, detected a 48% decrease, slicing the load time for his image-rich website from 12.8 to 6.6 seconds. mod_pagespeed speeds up the first visit of the site by reducing the payload size and improving compression. Repeat visits are accelerated by making caching more efficient and decreasing the size of resources such as CSS and HTML on the page as demonstrated in this chart (where smaller is faster):

“From the moment we enabled mod_pagespeed, the difference was noticeable,” said Bender. “It was a simple ‘flick of the switch,’ and the site started loading faster.”

For Go Daddy customers currently using the Linux 4GH web hosting platform, find out how to enable mod_pagespeed for your own website here. Other webmasters can install mod_pagespeed binaries or build directly from source.

By Joshua Marantz, Google 'Make The Web Faster' Initiative and Flavio Andrade, Go Daddy Product Line Manager

Julian "Ants" Lytle interview online at City Paper

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Julian Lytle
by Mike Rhode on Jan. 31, 2011
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2011/01/31/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-julian-lytle/

 

I fantastici Viaggi di Gulliver (Gulliver's Travels, 2011)di Rob Letterman

POSTATO SU

Come per la Divina Commedia anche di I Viaggi di Gulliver si traspone al cinema sempre una sola parte, la prima. Stavolta però un senso, vago, c'è.

I Fantastici viaggi di Gulliver è dichiaratamente un film d'avventura per preadolescenti. Ne ha il tono, ne ha la morale e ne ha la semplicità. Jack Black interpreta una versione edulcorata del suo personaggio sanguigno e devastante, in una storia con molta azione e poche sorprese, apprezzabile per ritmo, brevità e capacità di divertire.

Inutile dunque stare a guardare alla fedeltà con il testo originale. Del libro non c'è quasi nulla se non quello che si può evincere dalle prime righe del riassunto della quarta di copertina, il film è la tipica parabola all'americana della conquista della fiducia in se stessi (e quindi di una vita migliore) attraverso un'avventura straordinaria. A rendere il tutto più gradevole del solito ci si mette l'universo di Jack Black, il suo tipo di comicità e la sua modernità.

Il 3D, sebbene post prodotto, ha una volta tanto una ragione di trama per essere presente. Il film infatti gioca molto con le grandezze. La percezione dell'altezza di Gulliver è infatti enfatizzata dalla terza dimensione nei dialoghi con i lillipuziani grazie a riprese dal basso verso l'alto o dall'alto verso il basso (a seconda dei turni di parola).

Proprio considerando questi punti di forza del film (ritmo, brevità e rapporto piccolo/grande) risulta strano come spesso I fantastici viaggi di Gulliver sembri scegliere di saltare a piedi pari momenti che potrebbero essere interessanti. Anche se non se n'è letta notizia da nessuna parte l'impressione che se ne ricava è che il girato originale fosse ben più lungo e che una serie di sforbiciate a film terminato l'abbiamo portato alla dimensione attuale.

E' il caso del viaggio di Gulliver nella terra dei giganti e del momento in cui un lillipuziano si reca lì a salvarlo. Un momento in cui il massimo del piccolo si trova nel massimo del gigantesco, un cortocircuito di grandezze che non viene sfruttato per nulla ma che anzi è quasi nascosto alla percezione dello spettatore.

Greg McElhatton remembers SPX's Jeff Alexander

Greg McElhatton remembers SPX's Jeff Alexander

Spurgeon interviews Baltimore's Tim Kreider

Kreider has a new book coming out! Until last year, his cartoons appeared regularly in the Baltimore City Paper.

CR Sunday Interview: Tim Kreider
Tom Spurgeon
Comics Reporter January 30, 2011

Zadzooks on Red movie adaptation

Zadzooks: Red on Blu-ray
Action is fast and funny in Willis' 'Red'
By Joseph Szadkowski
The Washington Times January 23, 2011
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/23/zadzooks-red-blu-ray/

Jeff Alexander, Small Press Expo organizer, has died

Reports are appearing on Facebook that Jeff Alexander, past Small Press Expo organizer, has died overnight, apparently of a heart attack. The information has been confirmed by Warren Bernard, this year's Executive Director (and SPX now has an online memorial). I didn't know Jeff very well, but we were friendly when we ran into each other, and I'm very sorry to hear this news. Jeff spoke to me last year about SPX before show, and I found another interview with him on Readers Voice as well. Like many comic cons, SPX is reliant on volunteers to make everything happen, and Jeff made much of the success of recent years happen.

I had planned to do a followup article at the City Paper after 2010's SPX, but time got away from me and it would have been stale. Here's the questions that Jeff answered about the con, in memory of Jeff and for history's sake.

Mike Rhode: How successful was your convention this year (2010)?

Jeff Alexander: I would say it was very successful.

Our attendance was up 10% for the third year in a row despite the sluggish economy.

Also, the inaugural year of the Animation Showcase exceeded our expectations and regularly had to turn people away when the room was full.

Mike Rhode: What will be changing for next year? Staying the same?

Jeff Alexander: I can't say for sure. I am stepping down as the Executive Director to have time to pursue other interests.

I am sure there will be some tweaking of the Animation Showcase based on what we learned this year, but fundamentally the show will remain the same.

Warren Bernard will be taking over next year and I'm sure he has a few plans up his sleeve for the future of SPX.

Mike Rhode: Do you have a favorite moment? Least favorite?

Jeff Alexander: My favorite moment came shortly after the show when local filmmaker Steven Greenstreet uploaded a two minute video from footage he shot at SPX.

It's hard to believe that SPX has the power to inspire such creativity.

The least favorite moment was not having a sign language interpreter available for two attendees.

This was their first SPX and were very excited about coming to the show. Having an interpreter there would have made their experience just that much more enjoyable.

Mike Rhode: What could have been done better? What did you 'hit out of the park'?

Jeff Alexander: If we had the time and resources to dedicate to it, I would have preferred to have done some cross-over events with Intervention.

We are competing conventions, but we share similar goals for promoting comics.

What we "hit out of the park" was in asking Paul Nadjmabadi and Angela Ottinger to head the Animation Showcase.

They assembled a first class committee and put on a phenomenal show.

Mike Rhode: Did you buy anything or meet anyone that's special for you personally?

Jeff Alexander: It was great to finally meet Kate Beaton and to see James Sturm, Keith Knight, and John & Sandra from Metaphrog again. Unfortunately, the job of Executive Director didn't leave me as much time to chat with them as I'd have liked.

I did find the time to pick up a copy of "Tigerbuttah" by Becky Dreistadt & Frank Gibson. It's an all ages book done in the style of the Golden Books from the 1950s and 1960s, but it's Becky's illustrations that make "Tigerbuttah" a must have book!

Eric Shansby covers Post Magazine

Eric Shansby usually draws cartoons for Gene Weingarten's column in the Post. Today his art covers the Post Magazine for Weingarten's story on the Volt car, with another large piece inside at the beginning of the story.

Local student does stop-motion animation

Mount Airy teen building a future in film, brick by brick
With webcam and Dell laptop, Koford brings old toys to life in stop-action animation
by Angie Cochrun
[Maryland] Gazette Jan. 29, 2011
http://www.gazette.net/stories/01292011/frednew100539_32549.php

Teclejant l'ordinador: dos poemes i una tovalla per Tadeus

L'art per l'art.

FRÀGIL


Ara mateix, quan entotsolat
m'abille pulcre de mots i net
de supervivència, ho faig,
-també- de zenit cru, en silenci.

Potser, hi ha massa veus, i ben buides
en l'aldarull d'aquest viure gris.

Tanmateix, us pintaré d'un somni
el desig perdut d'un colibrí:
-"Del sol, no mai tastà les maduixes"-.

Al capdavall, jo voldria córrer
la tristesa i dels núvols fer
vaixells de púrpura i habitatge.

La solitud de les milotxes (Inèdit, 1997).

Karol Szymanowski: Mythes, Trois Poèmes, Opus 80, Narcisse.

Ací la música amb Spotify.


L'art compromés.


TRINXERES


Ara diuen fer-les de l'alumini
dels desitjos i cómode habitatge,
amb climatitzador, com nic esplet
dels escapçats.
                         També d'aparadors
de crèdit que somouen els caribs
més recóndits quan la dalla altres ànimes
festeja.
                   Ara n'hi ha d'embolcalls
i silenci, de paraules de llum
i pits plens de sang.
                              De corcs informàtics
on troques de bruixa apaguen alés
i els faunes tremolen pels desdesigs.
Rere els fils-ferros d'argent, és l'abril
qui ens demana un atzar de libèl·lules .

Fora, la gespa encara verdeja
de sol i creixença.

La solitud de les milotxes (Inèdit, 1997).

Karlheinz Stockhausen: Stimmung, Model 12, Theatre of Voices

Ací la música amb Spotify.


Eixugant les llàgrimes de Tadeus (rondinaire i ploró).

EVOCACIÓ DE L’AMOR

Fixa’t en l’envà cru i la finestra
bruta.
          Diries tu que ens amenacen?
No hi ha quadres a les parets dels somnis
i en la pàl·lida cuina els olors parlen
convits ja gelats.
                         On són aquells rostres,
columnes adés i ara blaus fantasmes?
Somriuen, sotgen o planyen els éssers
que, solitaris, pels corredors ballen?
Aquesta, diuen, fou una gran casa...
Escoltes les tertúlies i músiques
amb converses a les tasses de te?
Als jardins,
               claredat quan ofrenaves,
en búcars, aquelles divines dàlies.
L’astuta rabosa del temps- pensava-
no pot,
              del sol,
                       paredar els records.
Visc, en les runes, la felicitat.


Llibre d'Aín (en premsa, 2011).

Karol Szymanowski: Nine Preludes, Opus 1,

Ací la música amb Spotify.


I un teòleg analitzant (el que resta?) deJoaquín Sabina.

Perdoneu les auto-referències, però al amics del penjoll parle del que pense, no sols d'allò que diuen altres. Sense les vostres reflexions -gràcies a tots els comentaris i reflexions del post d'Escrivà de Cort- no m'hauria atrevit a traure allò que s'hi amaga al meu cabet.

Agrair la fotografia a Andrea Quixtan.

Steve Artley interviewed by David Paccia

I'm about to go read this now -

Steve Artley - Cartoonist Survey #207
David-Wasting-Paper blog January 29, 2011
http://david-wasting-paper.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-artley-cartoonist-survey-207.html

OT PR: Stargazer, my all-ages graphic novel

Von Allan, although Canadian, has attended SPX and was an early supporter of ComicsDC. Here's his note about a new comic he has out.

I have new graphic novel that just arrived in comic shops and some bookstores.  Very quickly, it's an all-ages fantasy story focusing on a young girl named Marni who is dealing with the recent death of her grandmother.  As Marni struggles to place this loss, her life takes an abrupt and strange turn. Her grandmother bequeathed her a mysterious "Artifact" and, while on a backyard camping trip, the object suddenly takes on a life of its own.  Marni and her two best friends are transported to a strange and distant world. After summoning their courage, Marni, Sophie and Elora venture out to explore their alien surroundings, where they find a surreal world containing a robot, a mysterious far-off tower, and an illusive yet terrifying monster. Scared, yet buoyed by the stories and songs that they've heard while growing up, the three girls gather their meagre supplies and head out into the wilderness, determined to find a way home. A magical tale with the most unlikeliest of heroes, "Stargazer" is an exploration of friendship, loss, and hope. By turns terrifying, poignant, and humorous, "Stargazer" is part fairytale, part science fiction, and part adventure story.  The main website for my graphic novel is at http://stargazer.vonallan.com

Why is this story special?  Well, I think there are a number of reasons.  First, it's an all-ages story that features three girls as protagonists, which is still fairly rare in comics.  Marni, Sophie and Elora are strong and independent characters.  While they are young, they are not weak and I think that's very important and something that both girls and boys can identify with.  Secondly, I'm both the writer and the artist of "Stargazer" and that, too, is uncommon in comics, which are generally created by teams of writers and artists sharing the work.  Thirdly, "Stargazer" is self-published, but I've managed to secure world-wide distribution through a number of distributors, including Diamond Comic Distributors, Follett Library Resources, Brodart Company and Ingram Book Company.  Publishing is certainly challenging in this day and age, but distribution and accessibility are critically important aspects that absolutely cannot be overlooked.

"Stargazer" is also getting some very positive reviews and I'd like to quickly share two brief ones with you.  The first is from the Midwest Book Review (http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ibw/jul_10.htm#Comix/GraphicNovel):

"Stargazer Volume One is a black-and-white graphic novel following three girls stranded on a faraway alien world. Young Marni has recently lost her grandmother, with whom she was very close. Her grandmother had also bequeathed a mysterious "Artifact" upon her - and it is this object that transports Marni and her friends, Sophie and Elora, far away from any home they have ever known. The three girls must pool their courage and resources to learn more about this unreal new world, and the strange things within it - a robot, a faraway tower, and an unknown monster hidden in shadows. Stargazer is a story of wonder, exploration, determination, and inward as well as outward challenge, and is highly recommended for readers of all ages."

Ms. Kat Kan, a librarian working in Florida, passed a copy of "Stargazer" to her elementary school book club; I received perhaps one of the best reviews I've ever gotten for my work from one of her students, a young third-grade girl.  With Ms. Kan's permission, I wanted to share it with you (I've left all of her grammar intact):

"Your book Stargazer. I'm reading it...I like adventure books, and this book so far has a lot of adventure already. It was pretty cool that Marni and her friends travelled into this other world. It was weird when they heard this roaring sound and I would be pretty freaked out if I was running for my life then I tripped like Marni did. I just absolutely love the book! I hope your happy about that. It was funny when she said "STUPID LACES, OH COME ON!" It was weird when that robot showed Marni all the different things in the fire. It was also funny when Sophie said "I had to go pee and I realized you weren't in bed." It was said with her having all those flashbacks with her and her grandmother. Because if you just imagine your grandma die you will cry just as Marni did when she figured out her grandma died. It was funny when Marni had that sword and said "en garde." I liked the extras. You told me how you write, concept art, brainstorming...I liked the pictures at the end, this book was amazing. I wish I could keep it and read it again, again and again, but I have to return it in five days so I probably can't but I just love Stargazer."

As you know, it's always a challenge to try to build awareness for a new book from a relatively unknown creator.  If you don't mind spreading the word, please do!  And, of course, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you very much!

--
Von Allan

Quote: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." (Beckett)

Stargazer, my all-ages graphic novel, is now available in all channels. It has a Diamond Item Code of NOV101057 and an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-2-7. More information about Stargazer can be found at http://stargazer.vonallan.com

the road to god knows... (ISBN: 978-0-9781237-0-3) is also available through book trade channels. Information about road can be found at http://trtgk.vonallan.com

Von Allan Studio
P.O. Box 20520, 390 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 1A3
Phone: 613-236-9957
Email: von@vonallan.com
Web: http://www.vonallan.com
Blog: http://vonandmoggy.livejournal.com

Patton Oswalt memoir reviewed in Post

The review refers to the book as 'part graphic novel' -

Patton Oswalt's memoir 'Zombie Spaceship Wasteland'
Reviewed by Mike Sacks
Special to The Washington Post January 28, 2011.

Team Cul de Sac contributor updates

On Facebook, Chris Sparks identified two new Team Cul de Sac artist volunteers - Costa K and Thin Guy.

A noted cartoonist also made a $1,000 donation.

Thanks to all!

Nick Galifianakis book tour starts today in Seattle

Nick Galifianakis' first book tour schedule is online now.

He's in Seattle today, Portland tomorrow and California the next day.

In Washington, he'll be at Politics and Prose on Friday, February 11th - and his book is a perfect Valentine's gift.

New Flugennock cartoon online

On the State of the Union speech -

http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=747

Quinqui beat

Què bo trobar-se aquest video dels Calis al bloc de Tadeus. M'encanta eixa música (Los Calis, Los Chichos...) i les pelis que van lligades a ella (Perros Callejeros, etc.)

No fa molt de temps el Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona va dedicar una mostra a aquest... com dir-li? estil? Per un moment em vaig sentir menys estrany.

No vaig visitar l'exposició, desconec el contingut dels textos del catàleg, però supose que no deixaran de costat que tot aquest... com etiquetar-lo? moviment? té a veure amb el context de crisi (la famosa i erroniament anomenada "crisi del petroli") dels setanta, que a l'Estat espanyol, en mig del procés d'industrialització i amb la transició política en marxa, no va arribar fins ja entrats els huitanta. Aquella crisi va provocar un desplaçament encadenat al mercat laboral. Per baix del tot, el graó que pràcticament va ser expulsat del mercat, estaven els poquíssims immigrants que hi havia i els gitanos. Aquests darrers havien viscut uns anys de relativa calma (després de 500 anys d'acosament), que fins i tot els havien permès una certa integració (laboral i, en menor mesura, residencial). Una part de la cultura que produïen els gitanos a finals dels seixanta i durant els setanta incorporava elements de la cultura pop dels paios. Els primers Chichos apareixen molt "ye-ye" i amb l'amor romàntic com a tema principal (encara que ja hi havia altre tipus de temes més socials) de les seues cançons:

Però l'arribada dels efectes de la crisi va tornar a deixar fora del mercat laboral formal els gitanos. L'entrada massiva de l'heroïna va acabar d'adobar un còctel massa agre. El reflex a les cançons es va notar. La presó, el desig de llibertat, la droga, els ambients de la marginació (recordeu aquell bestial tema dels Chichos titulat Campo de la Bota), etc., van fer un toc d'atenció. Alguns es van girar de sobte, com quan s'escolta el soroll d'una navalla obrint-se. José A. de la Loma i Eloy de la Iglesia van ser dos dels que van escoltar aquest toc d'atenció, portant al cinema no sols les situacions sinó fins i tot alguns dels seus actors reals. La pel·lícula i la banda sónora de Yo, el Vaquilla al meu parer és un dels millors productes d'aquest... com dir-li?

Al llibre de Teresa San Román La diferència inquietant (hi ha versió catalana i castellana) podeu trobar alguna referència del que va passar aquests anys, malgrat que el tema del llibre són els gitanos en general des d'una perspectiva antropològica.

Today's Nate Beeler cartoon tribute to Jules Feiffer

Nate Beeler's Editorial Cartoons Digest

- Interpretive Snow Dance

Click through to see Nate Beeler's tribute to Jules Feiffer (who had a birthday this week).

Life in a Day

Questa sera alle 19 in diretta su YouTube, andrà in onda la replica di Life in a day, il progetto di Kevin Macdonald (regista e documentarista autore tra le altre cose de L’ultimo re di Scozia), foraggiato e benedetto da Ridley Scott, di cui si parla da almeno un anno. Quello per il quale ho fatto le 4 del mattino livebloggando tutto per voi. PER VOI!!

Cos’è Life in a day in tre parole?

Si tratta di un film, 90 minuti realizzati aggregando video mandati da chiunque nel pianeta. Un anno fa circa Macdonald ha fatto il suo appello, ha chiesto a chiunque lo volesse di filmare una sua giornata tipo, con lo stile che gli pare. A essere richiesto non era un giorno qualsiasi ma uno uguale per tutti, il 24 luglio. L’idea era di trarre da questi contributi un film collaborativo (montato, selezionato e musicato dal team di Macdonald) che abbia le caratteristiche della time capsule, un documento in grado di mostrare come sia la vita sul pianeta Terra in questo momento storico. Maggiore il numero dei contributi, maggiore la completezza. E sono stati tanti i contributi, davvero tanti, lo si capisce subito.

Ma alla fine com’è?

È un documentario che aggrega materiale eterogeneo cercando di renderlo omogeneo, come si prevedeva. Life in a day colpisce non tanto per le scene esotiche (ci sono momenti ripresi in luoghi del mondo che vi siete dimenticati che esistono e sono ripresi dai locali, non da una troupe straniera) quanto per quelle amene. Una bambina che gioca con l’hula-hoop in mezzo al deserto americano senza sorridere, alcuni italiani che macellano con crudeltà una mucca e poi mangiano spaghetti, un uomo che gira il mondo in bicicletta e via dicendo. E colpiscono perchè sono il pubblico di Internet. Non sono solo i suoi utenti, sono quella parte più attiva che prende parte a simili iniziative.

continua su Wired.it

Life in a day - la diretta

Allora se siete svegli a quest'ora vi disprezzo, se siete svegli e controllate questo blog a quest'ora siete veramente arrivati e mi spaventate. Ad ogni modo, per farvi vedere che "Io l'ho fatto e voi no", farò una specie di liveblogging di Life in a day.

Che è Life in a day? In due parole: un anno fa Kevin Macdonald (regista molto noto) lancia l'iniziativa "Il 24 luglio filmatevi, filmate la vostra giornate, quello che siete e quello che fate, quello che avete in tasca. Prenderemo tutti i vostri contributi li selezioneremo, li monteremo e sarà come una time capsule di questi anni. Tra decenni la gente lo guarderà pensando a come si viveva in questi giorni".

La cosa è andata bene a quanto pare e ora lo proiettano al Sundance. Adesso. Alle 2 italiane e le 18 di Salt Lake City (ma a parte le olimipiadi ci sono eventi per i quali sono gli americani a doversi segliare presto? No perchè ho l'impressione che qua siamo sempre noi che facciamo le notti in bianco...).

Insomma è un evento di collaborazione globale, di video digitale (tutti devono farlo, con qualsiasi mezzo) e di distribuzione online. Tutto quello che si sogna e che probabilmente farà schifo, ma che ci vuoi fare? Si è pionieri per questo.

Oltre alla diretta YouTube lo manda in replica domani sera alle 20. Così lo sapete.

2.00 am Qui non comincia niente...

2.01 am Sento puzza di fregatura

2.02 am Fammi controllare la conversione dell'ora legale

2.02 am Ok è iniziato. Si parte con i Vampire Weekend, abbastanza chiaro e netto per essere una documento che racconterà come si viveva in questi anni

2.06 am No era solo una pubblicità...

2.10 am Non ci posso credere sono solo promo e contributi speciali, non ce la faccio più.Tutta pubblicità e presenzialismo, sembra una di quelle cose italiane in cui devono per forza parlare tutti i rappresentanti delle parti in causa anche se non hanno nulla da dire. Giusto per farsi vedere.

2.19 am Ok abbiamo sentito tutte le parti in causa. Tutti. Anche l'ultimo montatore. Partiamo?! Che poi sti spot ogni volta sembrano l'inizio. Uno sul sundance, uno su come hanno montato, uno sui problemi di traduzione, uno sui problemi di cattiva qualità, uno sul fatto che sentono molta pressione dall'industria del cinema (WTF?!?).

2.22 am Ok ora c'è quella che sembra un webcam live dalla sala del sundance dove lo prietteranno. Non è che proprio c'è la folla.... E sono pure le 17 per loro! Non se lo meritano...

2.25 am Le sale del Sundance sembrano proprio quelle del Festival di Roma. Ecco l'ho detto.

2.28 am Finalmente si inizia per davvero. Certo non prima dell'introduzione di John Cooper, direttore del Sundance. Vediamo quanto dura....

2.31 am Tocca di nuovo a Macdonald. Ringrazia tutti per l'ora. Perchè le 18 sono un'ora molto tarda

2.33 am PARTE PER DAVVERO

2.34 am Il logo della casa di produzione di Ridley Scott è uguale identico spiccicato a quello dell'Istituto Luce. Qualcuno dovrebbe dirlo, scommetto che gli uni non vedono i film degli altri e quindi da soli non lo scopriranno mai.

2.35 am Il primo segmento è il più importante, è quello che introduce, spiega e dà la lettura. Inizia con la luna, elementi del pianeta come acqua, vento, poi una donna che dorme in un letto con un neonato. Ok l'associazione è chiara, andiamo avanti. Non è in lingua inglese, lui è ubriaco e sostiene che è il più bel giorno della sua vita. Non sembra recitare. Una donna con fare da strega de noantri sostiene che l'ora tra le 2 e le 3 è la vera cesura tra i giorni (ma è per l'ora legale?). E' tutto girato di notte, con poche luci ma c'è un sacco di gente. Anzi è mattina ma il sole ancora non è sorto. La musica è suggestiva e particolare, chissà chi ce l'ha messa....

2.39 am Manco 5 minuti e già m'ha rotto.

2.42 am C'è un montaggio di molte sveglie che suonano, sono probabilmente tutti video diversi e non uno che ha filmato tanti risvegli. In effetti a pensarci l'idae di iniziaer con un risveglio dev'essere venuta a molti. Chissà se c'è Willwoosh....

2.43 am Padre e figlio giaponesi al mattino, bella casa, incasinata ma bella. Si svegliano si lavano e vanno a dire ciao alla foto incorniciata della mamma. E accendono una candelina davanti ad essa. Effetto tenerezza del bambino che esegue i gesti compulsivamente.

2.45 am Altro montaggio, gente che si lava e si sciacqua. Lo schema è chiaro: video lungo che introduce la sequenza, più montaggio rapido con musica non convenzionale di tutti che fanno quella cosa.

2.46 am Un ragazzo si fa la barba per la prima volta e si taglia. Ripreso con handycam. La marca del regista, oltre al montaggio (che era prevedibile) è la musica che consente la seconda lettura. Forse è il padre a riprenderlo.

2.47 am Ancora un montaggio rapido. Sono i momenti in cui si cucina la colazione. Più che altro uova. Che eroe! C'è uno che si versa il vino e poi munge una capra per farsi il latte. Ha vinto lui. Ma non ci credo che è l'autore del video. Mi puzza di fake.

2.50 am Gente malata. C'è molta gente malata, quelli che vivono a casa, fanno tutto ma poi si vede che hanno attaccate delle boracce che gli fanno la dialisi in tempo reale. Quelle esistenze al limite...

2.51 am Alcune cose hanno i sottotitoli, altre no.

2.52 am Certo la prima valutazione che sorge spontanea è che tutti gli stereotipi, di qualsiasi tipo essi siano, sono veri.

2.54 am Tocca al montaggio di gente che sfoglia il giornale. E poi di nuovo un malato. Stavolta sembra terminale. Potrebbe non arrivare alla fine del video. Magari speravano gli morisse in questo giorno. Il malato chiaramente fa il messaggio di ottimismo "Enjoy life!".

2.56 am E' incredibile come la gente riprenda il proprio paese, le proprie usanze e i propri luoghi nella medesima maniera in cui l'industria del cinema (principalmente americana) li dipinge, cioè con lo stile e la cifra visiva applicata dai blockbuster. L'india è colorata, il giappone è digitale a basso costo, l'america è digitale ad alto costo e la tailandia con immagini pulitissime. Tuti gli stereotipi sono veri.

2.58 am Una giraffa partorisce, un bambino è nato. Un pugno si apre, c'è un pennuto appena nato, di quelli senza piume. Bambini che guardano dal finestrino e/o finestra. E' il momento baby con musica pop che simula una nenia.

3.00 am e la prima mezz'ora è andata

3.01 am Ovviamente le cose che colpiscono di più non sono quelle esotiche (specie se filmate con il solito stile di cui sopra) quanto quelle amene. Una bambina gioca con l'hula-hoop nel mezzo del deserto americano. In silenzio e senza ridere. Anche quello è il pubblico di internet, anzi è quello attivo, quello che si mette e produce, quello più coinvolto.

3.02 am Tocca all'uomo che gira il mondo in bicicletta. Questo vince proprio. Gran narrazione, grande storia. Questo ne ha viste di cose...

3.03 am Finalmente il momento "What is in your pocket?" la domanda a cui Kevin Macdonald chiede di rispondere come dimostrazione di come si viva oggi. C'è per la prima volta un italiano. Un malato. In tasca ha le medicine che gli servono per vivere.

3.04 am O la maggioranza degli abitanti del pianeta è malato seriamente, del tipo che se sgarra muore, o i malati sono i più stimolati a fare cose di questo tipo. Lasciare una traccia di sè.

3.05 am L'ex tossico dipendente americano. Un classico. Vive con un uomo che "l'ha salvato dalla droga ma facendolo ha perso tutto". E in effetti a giudicare da dove vivono non mi sembra improbabile. Bandiera americana in giardino.

3.07 am Ovviamente c'è quello che non ha niente di niente in tasca e si suppone anche nella vita.

3.08 am Ora tocca ai fobici, quelli che hanno l'arma in tasca perchè hanno paura. E peggio delle pistole ci sono solo i coltellacci.

3.20 am In certi momenti sembra Koyanisqaatsi

3.32 am C'è un ottimismo che non è la stessa cosa che si riscontra nei social media. Su twitter, facebook, ma anche nei blog regna la lamentela, il pessimismo e la rabbia. Qui c'è solo felicità, solo vite vissute con passione e ardore, solo persone felici di quello che sono, che sembrano in pace con il mondo.

3.47 am Bambini battono animali domestici. Quasi non ce ne sono.

3.51 am Tocca al momento "Di cosa hai paura?", prevedibilmente toccante. La gente trova delle frasi alle volte veramente incredibili. Anche questa è scrittura per il cinema. Pensare domande che stimoleranno buoni momenti.

3.53 am C'è stato il momento drammatico. molti filmati dall'incidente dalla Love parade, non mi ricordavo fosse stato quel giorno. Ma non cambia molto del succo generale.

4.02 am Chiude una videoconfessione di una ragazza che dice che in tutta la gioranta non gli è successo nulla in questa gionrata mancano pochi minuti a mezzanotte e ha poco tempo per rimanere nelle regole. Ci sono i fulmini dietro di lei ma sembra davvero casuale. Dice che nonostanete non gli sia successo nulla lo stesso vuole "essere" e non vuole essere dimenticata.

4.04 am "Anche se oggi non è successo niente, lo stesso mi sento come se fosse successo" e così si chiude. Amen. Vado a dormire.

Weldon on the death of the Comics Code Authority

Censors and Sensibility: RIP, Comics Code Authority Seal Of Approval, 1954 - 2011
by Glen Weldon
National Public Radio's Monkey See blog January 27, 2011
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/01/27/133253953/censors-and-sensibility-rip-comics-code-authority-seal-1954-2011

Imagery Update - Week of January 24th

The Google Earth and Maps Imagery team has just released another aerial and satellite imagery update!

January is the month of resolutions and NASA has one of the biggest: to take us into the next age of space flight. Below is a high-resolution aerial image captured in December of the LC39A launch pad at the Kennedy Space center, Cape Canaveral Florida. Here we can see the Space Shuttle’s primary and secondary fuel tanks being readied for one of the shuttle’s last planned missions (STS-133; the last mission for Discovery), set for launch on February 23. We’re looking forward to publishing our first imagery of the Space Shuttle’s replacement, the CST-100.


The LC39A launch pad, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

I’m a geologist by training, and so I particularly enjoy publishing new imagery of Earth’s more spectacular features such as the volcanoes shown in the perspective view below. They are part of the 23 volcanoes that comprise the Kirishima Volcanic Group in Kyushu, Japan. This field is particularly cool because it contains many different types of volcanoes, including stratovolcanos, cones, maars, and shields. You can use Google Earth to fly around these active structures, including flying right into their calderas, many of which are filled with crater lakes.


Perspective view of the Kirishima volcanic field, Kyushu, Japan

Finally, with all the cotton candy and futuristic exhibits, who wouldn’t want to attend a World’s Fair? Although there is no World’s Fair going on right now, we can check out the sites of previous World’s Fairs such as the 1982 World’s Fair site in Knoxville Tennessee. Below is an aerial image of one of the last remaining attractions of this fair, The Sunsphere. The Sunsphere is a 266 ft high hexagonal steel truss structure, topped with a 75 ft gold-colored glass sphere that serves as an observation deck. It’s been re-opened to the public and also now includes private offices with spectacular views.


The Sunsphere structure, World’s Fair Park, Knoxville, TN

As always, these are but a few examples of the types of features that can be seen and discovered in our latest batch of published imagery. Happy exploring!

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA:Champaign, IL; Lafayette, LA; Lakeland, FL; Knoxville, TN; Lexington, KY; Macon, GA; Palm Bay, FL; Sarasota, FL; Shreveport, LA; Springfield, MO; Toledo, OH
Spain: Catalunya (Catalonia)

Countries/Regions receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, North Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Macedonia (FRYOM), France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, , Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank, Western Sahara

These updates are currently only available in Google Earth, but they'll also be in Google Maps soon. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist

Sign up for imagery update alert

Users in the Google Earth forum often ask about the age of satellite imagery and when the content will be updated. While we aren’t able to tell you in advance when our imagery will be updated, we can now notify you after new images are added to an area that you’re interested in.

With our Follow Your World application, you can register points on the globe and we’ll send you an email update whenever the imagery is updated there.

In just three easy steps, you can add points such as your hometown, your college football stadium, or just about any place on Earth. And since Google Earth and Google Maps share the same imagery, this tool is equally handy for enthusiasts of both products. Follow Your World also provides a handy dashboard to manage your subscriptions.

Whether you’re an armchair geospatial enthusiast, or you frequently use aerial imagery from Google Earth or Google Maps in your work, we invite you to give this new app a try so you’ll be the first to know.

Posted by Jeral Poskey, Google Earth support team

The California Bay Area, now in 3D

[Cross-posted from the SketchUp blog]

Nearly five years ago, Google embarked on an ambitious project to work with everyday users like you to create a 3D model of every building in the world for Google Earth. We’ve made strides toward our goal adding millions of buildings to the 3D layer of Google Earth in cities across the globe. And today, we’re pleased to announce another big step in that direction with the release of expanded 3D coverage of the California Bay Area (which also happens to be the homebase of Google’s headquarters!).

With Google Earth’s “3D Buildings” layer turned on (or by using the Earth View in Google Maps), you are now able to tour tens of thousands of new buildings in the 50-mile stretch between San Francisco and San Jose, as well as select areas of the East Bay, like Oakland and Berkeley. You can now fly through the air and view urban centers of cities like Foster City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Oakland, Redwood City, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Sunnyvale, in 3D.



If you’ve never been to the Bay Area, start by visiting iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Ferry Building (note: you will need to have the Google Earth plugin installed to view these links). While in San Francisco, you may notice that in addition to 3D buildings, there are also 3D trees throughout the city. This is a new feature we released with Google Earth 6.0, and San Francisco is one of the first few cities to showcase 3D trees.

The Golden Gate Bridge and 3D trees

The Bay area peninsula is also the home of Silicon Valley. Several technology companies are available to view in 3D, including of course, the Googleplex in Mountain View.

Googleplex in Mountain View, CA

Sports fans might be interested to check out the HP Pavillion, where the San Jose Sharks play, as well as AT&T Park, home of the 2010 worldseries champion, SF Giants. Music lovers may also want to view the Oracle Arena in Oakland and Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. If you’re starting college soon, take a virtual tour of the Stanford and UC Berkeley campuses.

UC Berkeley Campus

Of course, this is just a small sample of the several thousands of buildings you’ll find in the area. You can check out an expanded tour we created, or you can open up Google Earth and explore for yourself. As you go on your virtual tour, you may notice that several buildings were created by users, who continue to be an integral part of our 3D building efforts. For example, supermodeler, PeterX created nearly 1,000 buildings around the Bay Area, including the NASA Ames Research Center.

PeterX's model of the wind tunnels at the NASA Ames Research Center

If you’d like to get involved in modeling your town (or any other location), we have several free (and easy!) tools to get you started. With Google Building Maker, you can create and contribute a building in as little as 10 minutes. And if you’d like to refine your building, bring it into Google SketchUp for fine-tuning.

Everyday, we are working on adding more 3D cities to Google Earth as part of our larger mission to organize the planet’s geographic information and make it accessible to all.

Happy touring!

Posted by Gopal Shah, Google SketchUp team

Activitat metabloguística

Segons tinc entès, El Penjoll va nàixer amb vocació literària. I que jo recorde, els gèneres literaris són cinc: èpica, lírica, narrativa, teatre i assaig. Com la roda ha de seguir rodant i no és qüestió de quedar-se anquilosat o endarrerit, sembla que unes poquíssimes mares i uns quants pares fundadors de l’invent van decidir que el blog també havia d’acollir altres expressions: l’humor gràfic, els vídeos, etc. Tenen cabuda tots aquests elements creatius en El Penjoll? No sabria dir. Sovint, hi ha hagut autors —o pseudoautors— que s’han queixat de la politització excessiva —i en un únic sentit— d'aquest blog. Encara diré més: s’ha blasmat, en alguna ocasió, per l’excés d’articles d’opinió. La qüestió és la següent: si descomptem l’èpica (per antiquada), el teatre (per la dificultat d’encabir una peça dramàtica en el format post) i l’assaig (perquè ja està bé de tant d’article d’opinió!), què ens queda? Una persona assenyada dirà: «Elemental! La narrativa i la lírica!» Segur? Jo no ho tindria tan clar. Perquè també s’ha sentit blasmar de la lírica. L’altre dia llegia al blog d’un bon amic, meu i vostre, el següent comentari de Tadeus:

«¿Hi ha públic que demande això [els llibres de poesia]? La meua impressió és que la nòmina actual de “poetes” es basa en un artifici atemporal: s’escriuen llibres de poemes que estan desconnectats d'allò que la societat viu o vol viure. Hi ha qui pensa que això està malament, i que hauria de ser d'una altra manera, i que s'hauria de fer més cas dels “poetes” i de la “poesia”. Per què? Per què ha de tenir valor un producte tan poc interessant? Quin valor tenen les expressions artístiques si s'allunyen del món en el qual viuen els propis autors? Les causes de tot aquest desequilibri són de caire econòmic: els cenacles poètics tenen al seu abast centenars de premis literaris on poder perpetuar el seu anacronisme. Fins a quan? Una altra pregunta: hi ha poesia en els temps actuals? És clar que sí, però cal buscar-la en altres llocs. Jo la trobe a les cançons, genials, de Joaquín Sabina. La trobe, també, a la paraula de Benedetti cantada per altres, com Daniel Viglietti.»

En resum: només ens quedarien la narrativa, els vídeos i poquet més. «Fantàstic!», exclamaran alguns. Jo no diria, però, que les coses siguen tan fantàstiques. Hi ha un element que aigualeix la festa: la discussió entre els partidaris de l’art per l’art i els artistes compromesos, més vella que la pana. (En realitat, és aquella mena de controvèrsies que no s’ha d’acabar mai.) Sovint, fem massa cas als autors o pseudoautors que reivindiquen l’art per l’art. I clar, molts acabem escrivint només petits divertimenti. Però un divertiment narratiu mancat de tema o tesi aboca inexorablement a la inanitat, a la insipidesa. També mena al joc d’artifici i al solipsisme. Els jocs d’artifici són molt bonics, però no és qüestió d’estar cremant a tothora pólvora de rei. El solipsisme condueix a la malenconia i a l’activitat metabloguística, a escriure únicament en clau interna (de manera que només acaben entenent alguna cosa els habituals, els membres de la tribu). Total: ara mateix, hi ha en El Penjoll massa vídeos insubstancials i massa escrits solipsistes, metabloguístics. Jo demanaria tocar menys la trompeta, proclamar menys el judici final, i teclejar més l’ordinador. Ho dic perquè ja comence a sentir la temptació de seguir els passos de Funambuliste, Cul de Sac i tants altres, i aplicar-me un autoere.