August 14, 2009
Hello again and Happy Friday! It's been months since I've posted a blog entry but tonight I've some exciting stuff to share. Tonight I have a spot in the late-night stand up comedy revue at the first inaugural Altadena Comedy Festival. The ACF is from Aug. 13th through the 15th and all proceeds go to a great cause, the American Cancer Society. I caught 2 of the shows last night and both were awesome. You can check out my myspace page for more links and details.
I'm working on a relaunch of Mark's Digital Arts for the near future. In the meantime thanks for all the support and cool comments.
Bye for now!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
I'm still here!
Friday April 20, 2009
Hello Again! It's Monday and I've been very busy and unable to post these past few weeks. I've been away from the blog because I've found a day job and have been devoting more of my free time to stand up comedy. Life is strange in that there are times when you will be most inspired when you have the least time. I suspect that muses are fickle and flighty. You can't choose when you'll have a creative burst or when you'll struggle through a dry spell. I've created a Myspace comedy page which is creative process as well. You can check it out to find out more about my doings since February.
There's no new picture or loops for this week, but I'll try to have something by the next update.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Hello Again! It's Monday and I've been very busy and unable to post these past few weeks. I've been away from the blog because I've found a day job and have been devoting more of my free time to stand up comedy. Life is strange in that there are times when you will be most inspired when you have the least time. I suspect that muses are fickle and flighty. You can't choose when you'll have a creative burst or when you'll struggle through a dry spell. I've created a Myspace comedy page which is creative process as well. You can check it out to find out more about my doings since February.
There's no new picture or loops for this week, but I'll try to have something by the next update.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Context Free and a Frantic February
Wednesday February 25, 2009
Hello World! I'm very late but back with more of the good stuff. I may need to have fewer and less regular blog updates in the future but we'll see what time permits. My topic for tonight is graphics and the focus is on another fun and free program. Context Free is an art program that generates images from a set of written instructions called a grammar. The Context Free site has a great gallery of user contributed art and lots of examples. As a programmer I like the idea of using a limited scripting language to create images. The language itself is limited but flexible. I'll try it out and I'll post whatever results here.
There are no music loops this week, but I'll try to have some for the next update.
The picture of the week was created using Dogwaffle.
Click on the image for a full-siz
ed view
The DVD/movie of the week was The Dark Knight.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Hello World! I'm very late but back with more of the good stuff. I may need to have fewer and less regular blog updates in the future but we'll see what time permits. My topic for tonight is graphics and the focus is on another fun and free program. Context Free is an art program that generates images from a set of written instructions called a grammar. The Context Free site has a great gallery of user contributed art and lots of examples. As a programmer I like the idea of using a limited scripting language to create images. The language itself is limited but flexible. I'll try it out and I'll post whatever results here.
There are no music loops this week, but I'll try to have some for the next update.
The picture of the week was created using Dogwaffle.
Click on the image for a full-siz
ed viewThe DVD/movie of the week was The Dark Knight.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A Mini Tour of Small Art
Sunday January 25, 2009
Hello again! Sorry for the lateness of this post, but fate and reality have conspired of late to keep me from getting to all I'd like to do. It's another quiet Sunday night and the rain has passed for the moment. The topic for tonight is minimalism and the focus will be on small works of art. The essential challenge of a small art work is to express an idea in a limited space. Writing tiny poems on post-it notes is a great concept and one that bears further exploration. A poet in Ireland has a blog containing a number of sticky notes with some small and thoughtful verse. A favicon is a 16x16 square image that is used to identify a web page. You can view this cool article about how to create your own favicons with a good selection of examples. Finally, I've found a page with links to 25 brilliant animated short movies. The shorts here are varied and there's something here for just about any taste. And that's it for this tour of small art works. I'll have more stuff to share next week.
The loops of the week are some strange synthesizer loops.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Hello again! Sorry for the lateness of this post, but fate and reality have conspired of late to keep me from getting to all I'd like to do. It's another quiet Sunday night and the rain has passed for the moment. The topic for tonight is minimalism and the focus will be on small works of art. The essential challenge of a small art work is to express an idea in a limited space. Writing tiny poems on post-it notes is a great concept and one that bears further exploration. A poet in Ireland has a blog containing a number of sticky notes with some small and thoughtful verse. A favicon is a 16x16 square image that is used to identify a web page. You can view this cool article about how to create your own favicons with a good selection of examples. Finally, I've found a page with links to 25 brilliant animated short movies. The shorts here are varied and there's something here for just about any taste. And that's it for this tour of small art works. I'll have more stuff to share next week.
The loops of the week are some strange synthesizer loops.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Friday, January 16, 2009
To Night, Tonight
Friday January 16, 2009
Unusually warm winter greetings. It's a balmy night considering it's January and this old gray cat has been busy. I've been out in the night a bit more this week so the topic is art with the word “night” in the title. The first night encounter is Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, which has been translated (somewhat inaccurately) as A little night music. After listening to Mozart's lovely serenade you could view Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night. I've always liked the dark blue sky set with brilliant stars and moon and wisps that look like clouds or wind. Our tour of the night ends with a classic children's bedtime book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. It's hard not to feel like a 3 year old in need of tucking-in when you read this beautiful book. I personally recommend warm (soy) milk and animal crackers as a suitable snack to be taken before bed with the 3 night-themed art works. And on that peaceful note I'll heat my milk and go to bed.
The loops of the week are some plucked string sounds.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Unusually warm winter greetings. It's a balmy night considering it's January and this old gray cat has been busy. I've been out in the night a bit more this week so the topic is art with the word “night” in the title. The first night encounter is Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, which has been translated (somewhat inaccurately) as A little night music. After listening to Mozart's lovely serenade you could view Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night. I've always liked the dark blue sky set with brilliant stars and moon and wisps that look like clouds or wind. Our tour of the night ends with a classic children's bedtime book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. It's hard not to feel like a 3 year old in need of tucking-in when you read this beautiful book. I personally recommend warm (soy) milk and animal crackers as a suitable snack to be taken before bed with the 3 night-themed art works. And on that peaceful note I'll heat my milk and go to bed.
The loops of the week are some plucked string sounds.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Friday, January 09, 2009
I Got Rhythm
Friday January 9, 2009
Hello Again! It's another fine Friday in January and the new year is well under way. The topic for tonight is music and the focus will be on rhythm. I've always been fascinated by unusual and ethnic rhythm patterns. The combination of an odd rhythm with a strange instrument sound or sample can be both startling and beautiful. I've started an experimental piece that has that starts in a very conventional meter but gradually becomes more chaotic and less rhythmic. Adding a complex rhythm over a straight 4/4 or 3/4 meter can lend spice and interest to an otherwise bland arrangement. One of my favorite tricks is to start with a straight 4/4 kick/snare pattern and then add a hit every 3 beats on brushed cymbal or closed hi-hat. There are a lot of good DXi and VSTi drum machines out there, and most commercial software studios include some facility for grid entry of patterns. Devote some time to learning one and you'll soon be creating your own killer back beats. Give it a try!
The loops of the week are some sampled conga loops.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
The DVD/Movie of the week was Whale Rider, an excellent film from New Zealand.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Hello Again! It's another fine Friday in January and the new year is well under way. The topic for tonight is music and the focus will be on rhythm. I've always been fascinated by unusual and ethnic rhythm patterns. The combination of an odd rhythm with a strange instrument sound or sample can be both startling and beautiful. I've started an experimental piece that has that starts in a very conventional meter but gradually becomes more chaotic and less rhythmic. Adding a complex rhythm over a straight 4/4 or 3/4 meter can lend spice and interest to an otherwise bland arrangement. One of my favorite tricks is to start with a straight 4/4 kick/snare pattern and then add a hit every 3 beats on brushed cymbal or closed hi-hat. There are a lot of good DXi and VSTi drum machines out there, and most commercial software studios include some facility for grid entry of patterns. Devote some time to learning one and you'll soon be creating your own killer back beats. Give it a try!
The loops of the week are some sampled conga loops.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
The DVD/Movie of the week was Whale Rider, an excellent film from New Zealand.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Finding Clarity Through Hilarity
Saturday January 3, 2009
Happy New Year! It's the first Friday of 2009 and it's chilly here in the Gray Cat's loft. The topic for tonight is writing and the focus will be on writing comedy. We've all had the opportunity to tell a joke we've heard but it's far harder to create a new joke. There is in fact an art to crafting a good joke and to combine a series of jokes on a theme. Brevity is a key skill and the silences between words or phrases can be as important as the words themselves. The meter and timing of a joke is rather poetic and at times nearly musical. The other side of writing comedy is performance and the real test of a good joke whether or not anyone will laugh at it. I've recently started attending comedy open mike nights at the local coffee bar and a nearby Mexican restaurant. These informal events allow anyone with courage or experience to try their hand at stand-up comedy. The seasoned pros will often try out new material while the newbies can get their feet wet in a rather forgiving venue. The process of trying your jokes can be daunting, but with practice it gets easier and the jokes that survive and get refined can form the basis of an act. I'll have more on the ins and outs of comedy writing and performance in a future post.
The brand new year 2009 holds promise and hope to balance the fear and uncertainty of the last year. Let's all try to embrace the positive and to give of ourselves in 2009. Help others if you can and keep the hope alive. Make every day an opportunity and seize the moment!
The loops of the week some high and glassy synthesizer loops.
The picture of the week was created using Project Dogwaffle.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
Happy New Year! It's the first Friday of 2009 and it's chilly here in the Gray Cat's loft. The topic for tonight is writing and the focus will be on writing comedy. We've all had the opportunity to tell a joke we've heard but it's far harder to create a new joke. There is in fact an art to crafting a good joke and to combine a series of jokes on a theme. Brevity is a key skill and the silences between words or phrases can be as important as the words themselves. The meter and timing of a joke is rather poetic and at times nearly musical. The other side of writing comedy is performance and the real test of a good joke whether or not anyone will laugh at it. I've recently started attending comedy open mike nights at the local coffee bar and a nearby Mexican restaurant. These informal events allow anyone with courage or experience to try their hand at stand-up comedy. The seasoned pros will often try out new material while the newbies can get their feet wet in a rather forgiving venue. The process of trying your jokes can be daunting, but with practice it gets easier and the jokes that survive and get refined can form the basis of an act. I'll have more on the ins and outs of comedy writing and performance in a future post.
The brand new year 2009 holds promise and hope to balance the fear and uncertainty of the last year. Let's all try to embrace the positive and to give of ourselves in 2009. Help others if you can and keep the hope alive. Make every day an opportunity and seize the moment!
The loops of the week some high and glassy synthesizer loops.
The picture of the week was created using Project Dogwaffle.
Click on the image for a full-sized view
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it.
Bye for now!
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