I had this guy saved in my Bookmarks for a while now and seeing the post on Vinyl Pulse about his new exhibition at the Thinkspace Gallery, Santa Monica reminded me to post about him. I'm loving his style of drawing characters mixed with a nice colour pallette for both the foregrounds and backgrounds.
This is what the Ekundayo Website had to say for the Bio: "Ekundayo was born in Honolulu, HI 1983, he began to draw and paint when his father Passed away in 1994 and hasn’t stopped since. Ekundayo is a Nigerian name that means sorrow becomes joy a title that is befitting of his work as well. He left Hawaii to study illustration at Art Center College of art and design in Los Angeles, Ca where he currently lives and works in freelance illustration as well as participating in galleries throughout the L.A. area."
Another cool aquatic biology post: Discovery Channel have developed an online game that lets you track real sharks traveling in real-time. Sharkrunners allows players to control virtual ships as they track real great whites tagged with GPS units. Real-world telemetry data provides the position and movement of actual great white sharks in the game, so every shark that players encounter corresponds to a real shark in the real world. Because the ships you control move at real world rates, players receive email and/or SMS alerts during the day when their boat targets a shark. The goal of the game is to collect data on sharks in the area. You earn more "funding" depending on the type of data you collect. It even shows trails of where the sharks have been, which I found interesting since you can see the distances these big guys go.
PHESP.Reviews – literature Aside from the amazing amount of comics and zines that are read monthly in ESPv (and there is allot) there are a couple intriguing novels bashed out as well (believe it or not). Personally, when it comes to reading novels etc, I like to vary the selection substantially. For one month (yes it takes me that long, so what?) I’ll read something extremely fictional for that guaranteed escapism factor, and when I’m done I’ll get stuck into something more ‘real’ and actually try and learn something new (with comics and zines in between of course). Check out what’s reviewed below, maybe you’ve heard of them. Leave any comments of titles your reading at the mo or any recommendations you have for peeps out there. Are you a fiction/non-fiction fan or simply read what ever is appealing at the time?
Reading now - Star Wars Betrayal – Legacy of the Force
Aaron Allston Arrow Books, 2007 OK, for all you serious SW fans out there (yes, we’re geeks but its cooler then collecting stamps) you would already know that the first of the latest series in SW novels, The Legacy of the Force, is titled Betrayal. The story takes off years after the very last film Return of the Jedi and focuses mostly on the children (also Jedi Knights) of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, one of whom turns over to the dark side and throws his Jedi life away to become a great Sith Master.
Those of you who are NOT avid SW fans and simply thought the movies were impressive because of the cool sound the lightsaber makes when waved around, will probably not understand that the story you see in the movies is but a micro-fraction of the real entire SW story. For a guy like me, brought up with the SW toys and films in the 1980’s, this is a big deal. Whilst there are currently a total of 6 movies made spanning from The Phantom Menace (I), to Return of the Jedi (VI), the true story line portrayed in the novels (written by a select few authors) covers over 100 books, including the story before the Phantom Menace and years after Return of the Jedi. I know for a fact that many SW nerds (fans) have asked stuff like – when did the Jedi first form? Where did the force actually come from? Who was Darth Bane? When was Yoda born? How was the Sith created? What was the Jedi civil war? How did Chewbacca die? Where does the story go after the movies and so on… and in the books, all is revealed. Although, I really cant be arsed reading them all, so I often turn to the comics which, help in condensing things a bit. Some of the largest battle scenes and wars in the whole story line (that would poo on anything you seen in the films) can be found in the novels and although not as exciting to watch visually… if you’re a real fan, it’s way more detailed and precise. If you pick up a copy of Betrayal like most SW novels, you’ll find a list in the beginning of all titles in order, and can also find this on http://www.starwars.com/.
Just finished - Emergency Sex, and Other Desperate Measures – a true story of Hell on Earth. Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thomson Miramax, 2004 A great read. I am sure many of us from time-to-time have felt like dropping everything, leaving our mental urban lifestyle behind and joining some peace keeping/aid relief group and get paid to help others and travel the world. Well, this is a true story of some of the pioneers for idealistic escapism in the early 1990’s. Emergency Sex is a story of three young Western change-makers that leave their civilized lives behind in pursuit to help people in developing war-torn countries such as Cambodia, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda and Liberia.. which, at the time, were knee-deep in shit in a big way.. (and still kinda is).
Fed up after finishing their studies and working mediocre jobs (sound familiar?) the three authors join peace keeping missions through the Red Cross and United Nations. Andrew is a young doctor who is inspired to work in Cambodia after the genocide as a surgeon and help landmine victims, Heidi is a soon-to-be divorced young woman working with homeless people in NYC and looking to escape her present life, and Kenneth is a post-grad law student bent on a mission to save the world. They bump into each other on their first mission in Cambodia and live the next 10 years working with impossible situations in unbelievable conditions. What you read is basically their personal journal extracts from their experiences in each country.
Although the aim of the book is not to focus on politics, the authors give their personal views on how, why, and what was happening when the shit hit the fan. Why the UN went in, what they tried to achieve, and how effective the peace keeping operations really were. Often frustrated with the pro Western democracy/UN style of trying to ‘save the world’ and just fucking things up instead, the authors give amazingly detailed perceptions of their personal ideals in trying to create a new world order and feel good about themselves in doing so, which seriously back fires at times. As most books, check Amazon.com for more detailed reviews, etc.
Interested in reading – The Gospel According to Judas
Jeffrey Archer & Francis J. Moloney St. Martin's Press, 2007 Although I am a man of the middle and believe not in one religion alone, I recently picked this book up and after flicking through some pages I can’t wait to read it. Personally, I have always been fascinated with history from Christ’s time and what really happened so long ago, how things developed, how we got to where we are today with religion and faith, etc. Although there are many things I question when reading or hearing certain extracts from the Bible and other religious sources, there are also many things I believe in and find interesting. After reading the Secret Supper not so long ago, a fictional story based around how and why Leonardo painted The Last Supper master piece and the many secrets within it, I became very curious with the character Judas Iscariot as the ‘betrayer’ of Christ. As The Secret Supper illustrates, there is allot most do not realize about this man, and if at all he was truly the real betrayer of Jesus. As I found in both books and research on the subject, allot of the true facts hidden to people over the centuries has purposely been extracted from typical texts and literature and finding evidence of anything contradicting to the bible is difficult today. The Gospel According to Judas, is co-written by well know Jeffery Archer and an eminent Australian biblical scholar. The result is described as a “story for 21st-century readers” that would be “credible to a 1st- century Christian or Jew”. It is written as though Benjamin Iscariot, son of Judas writes of his own true accounts and experiences of Judas’s real life. If focuses on his beliefs, that his father was a misunderstood man who did not in fact betray Jesus for money. Using real extracts, references and quotes from the bible (don’t ask me which one) the story plods along with some very interesting developments. Archer has also enlisted the support of leading churchmen including Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town, to vouch for the book. While the archbishops enjoyed reading it, they do not accept all its theories. All-in-all, I don’t think you need to be overly religious to have a go at this short story. But you do need an interest in questioning the questionable. Which, is what allot of ESPv and this blog is about.
* Have you read any of the above? What did you think? Any other recommendations you may have?
WoW! If only the Victorian's could have figured out the internet, then they would have been able to create this amazing bit of kit! This working laptop's guts are originally from an NEC computer, it has USB slots, a trackball mouse, apparently good speakers and AC Adapter. Also, just for the cherry on top, when you click on the enter button, an analog bell sounds just like a classic typewriter!
I had the pleasure of seeing Beardyman play at the Glade Festival and was absolutley blown away with his oral skills. The cool thing about him is that he has a great sense of humour and doesn't always try and be the "cool" guy.
"Beardyman has always pushed the boundaries of what people expect from human beatbox, merging phenomenal beatbox skills with his left-field sense of humour and incredible musicality. After winning the well renowned Lyric Pad Beatbox Battle twice in 2004, he went on to win the title of London champion and UK runner up in the 2005 Championships and the following year became UK Beatbox Champion 2006. He successfully defended his title in June 2007 and is still UK champion. he will represent his country in the next World Beatbox Championships"
A Cooking Show
A great performance playing on English stereotypes
This is an AMAZING video showing experimentation with multi-touch screen technology! I particularly like the section with what look like turntables...the future DJ's tool? I can just see this technology used to incredible effect at live music shows where the music and musician can actually create stunning visuals while they play their instruments. They might even be able to program notes with specific images so that repetitive and cognitive messages can be directed through the music not only through aural but visual stimulation as well.
I love this kind of technology because it feels like we are learning to breakdown the rules of nature and twist its abilities to our purpose. Should this type of technology become a part of everyday life I often wonder how it may effect the workings of our own brains, even our evolution as a species.
Eitherway..as the vid says..this is from 2006... so by the time this gets into the shops...just imagine what they'll be working on by then? GASP!!!!
I was so astonished to hear and see the original Drummer Boy Solo youtube video (see original post HERE)that I did some more research. I found out that his name is Jacob Armen and the video was taped off a Johnny Carson show in the late eighties.
At what age did you start drumming? Was the drum kit your first instrument? Do you play other instruments? Did you get any support by your family?
At 8 months old, my father held my hand and made me feel the pulse of the rhythm. I started to tap my hand to the downbeat of music. As my father explains to me, it would take 6 to 8 consecutive quarter beats for my timing to become shaky. At 18 months, my father had me sit behind a full 5-piece drum kit where he taught me how to play 2/4, 4/4, 6/8, 12/8, 5/4, 7/4, 9/4 and swing. I still feel a little weird watching myself play at that age in the video clips. If it weren't for my father, I probably would have not discovered drums at 8 months old or at any age for that matter. Since he is such an educated musician and an accomplished composer/keyboardist, I still have a lot to learn from him.
- Do you think your enormous technical abilities are a gift or was it hard work?
Well, if I call it a gift and thank the Man upstairs, you also need to religiously dedicate your time to it. So I think it's both.
- What inspirations do you have musically and apart from music?
Music is and will always be my greatest inspiration and apart from that, true people will always inspire me. Friendship is very important to me.
- Most of the drummers are either good in groove playing in 4/4 or in - a little stiff sounding - odd times - only a few like Vinnie Colaiuta or you can play "groovy" in odd times! How did you develop this ability? Can you recommend special exercises to improve grooving in odd times?
My being polyrhythmic has a lot to do with my cultural background because I don't think or attempt to play in any special way - it all comes naturally to me. My best advice to play "odd times" is to rather feel the pulse and not primarily focus on the count as much. Then it becomes natural.
- What do you like better - playing live or recording?
I am a performer and I love to play in front of an audience. But when I record music in an isolated studio atmosphere, instead of imagining people around me, I actually like to invite people during recording sessions. So I don't think of constructing rhythms and I just allow everything to fall in its place naturally.
- What musicians - dead or alive - would play in your "dream band" apart from you? What style would this band play?
Any accomplished musician who listens and absorbs other musicians without copying and has his/her signature in music is a type of musician I would like to form a band with. This will eventually evolve to a unique style, which will incorporate a lot of musical anticipations from all styles.
- If you got the chance to ask a deceased drum hero one question - whom would you ask and what would be your question?
I would ask Gene Krupa about his experience battling with Buddy Rich. "So who really was the intimidator?"
- What are your plans for the future? What things do you want to learn rhythmically and in general in your further life?
Life itself is a rhythm. Everyday you learn from nature. Everyday new discoveries are made with medicine. In other words, every discovery has a sequence, which creates its own rhythm. To me rhythm is such a deep, interesting, and endless topic that cannot be expressed in a couple of sentence. With this understanding, my goal in life is to take the level of my drumming as far as I can. And last but not least, to make my father proud.
When all you want to do is lie back and watch a movie..what could be better than a snazzy pair of shades with tiny screens in the lenses by MYVU?
Aside from looking like a SWAT team member working aboard the Starship Enterprise the advantage to these little beauties is that your unlikely to get any glare on the screen and, when compared to lugging your portable DVD player, laptop, PSP etc, these will fit snuggly in your pocket..just DONT sit on them!!!
"The remarkable adhesive abilities of geckos and mussels have been combined to create a super-sticky material.
Unlike other adhesives inspired by the nimble reptiles, "geckel" can attach to both wet and dry surfaces, the team that developed the material says.
Its staying power comes from coating fibrous silicone, similar in structure to a gecko's foot, with a polymer that mimics the "glue" used by mussels."
"Geckos have an incredible ability to stick to surfaces. Some studies suggest the over-engineered reptiles can hold hundreds of times their own body weight.
In 2000, a University of California team showed that the adhesion was due to very weak intermolecular forces produced by the billions of hair-like structures, known as setae, on each gecko foot.
Geckos can support hundreds of times their own body weight These "van der Waals" forces arise when unbalanced electrical charges around molecules attract one another.
The cumulative attractive force of billions of setae allows geckos to scurry up walls and even hang upside down on polished glass.
The reptile's grip is only released when it peels its foot off the surface.
The new geckel material exploits this ability but also combines it with the sticking power of mussels.
It consists of a base of densely packed silicone setae coated with a polymer that mimics amino acids found in the glues of mussels."
"This might look like something humans would set up if they were settling on a harsh planet such as Mars, but it's actually something humans set up to settle a radio station in the harsh country of Poland. Yeah, it's the headquarters of Krakow-based Rmf FM, and if you think the outside looks neat, wait until you see the inside. When the GizmodoHQ Megaplex is finally completed, it'll look something like this."
The futuristic folks at the Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan have taken us one step closer to an Anime world. Seriously, this eight-wheeled, eight-legged, fully functioning vehicle prototype looks like something straight out of "Ghost in the Shell." It seems like it'll walk and/or drive over just about anything, and the designers are hoping to put it to practical use in rescue operations within the next five years. I think they'll have to invent an enlarger ray first though, as this prototype seems to be about the size of a dog.
Still, it does a heck of a lot more tricks than my dog will ever do. Check out the awesome robot impressiveness after the break. Then be prepared to have nightmares about these things stomping down your street in the next decade, complete with embedded artificial intelligence, the voice of a 12 year-old-girl, and a nice smiley face painted on the front.
For those of you who don't know the Tamo Toy, it is based on a cute fashionable girl born from a cloud. Tamo stands for Te Amo in Spanish which means "I love you". Here is a small animation made by the Tamo creator, Alfredo Meija and an incredible custom by the NVC Crew.
Don't forget to post a comment in the Competition Post if you would like to win a custom Tamo by ESPV and also the chance to win a Treeson 2nd B-day Boxset.
