Last Dance for the Chief…Last Dance for Jamar?

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Well, tonight is the last night for the Chief. First off, it is going to be on ESPNU which I don’t get through my cable service. Let’s hope someone puts it on Illini Torrent at some point in the next couple of days. Second of all, while I might not agree with what the University has done, I have to stand behind them. Excuse my non-PC comment, but these wack jobs have been after the Chief since I was at Illinois. And, I’m sure they’ve been after him since way before I was there. It was only a matter of time. The waste of money and resources over a meaningless target is sickening in my opinion. We have students failing out, binge drinking, and unable to pay their tuition, and we are more concerned with a halftime show?!?!? I’m guessing some of the more fanatic Chief haters will want us to get rid of the logo and change the name, but I’m hoping this will quiet them for now. Congratulations…you won. Now go away.

Speaking of binge drinking, Jamar Smith is obviously in some hot water. Let me say this first, I like Jamar Smith. I think he could have been a team leader and a great shooter, but he made a BIG mistake. Not only was he twice over the legal limit when he crashed his car, he let his teammate lie dying in his car without calling 911. In my opinion, these are inexcusable offenses. I think Weber needs to send a strong message to Jamar Smith and the rest of the team…this will not be tolerated. Some have argued that Rich McBride did not get a hard enough punishment. Maybe now is the time for Weber to make a statement. Out for a year? Off the team? I’m not sure, but I think it needs to be significant.

Where is the good news?

Brickfilms

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Image courtesy of Brickfilms

I originally intended on posting about one of my first inspirations, Lego, but realized that the Lego world has grown exponentially since the Internet has taken over the world. Their are sites to post your creations, hack Mindstorms, and buy individual pieces. It is too much. Instead, I decided to post about a site I stumbled upon, Brickfilms. Brickfilms is a collection of Lego-based stop animation films. The creativity of people never ceases to amaze me. In this day and age when corporations would prefer that we passively watch their movies and buy their stuff, it is great to see that the Do-It-Yourself culture is just a strong. That might be a harsh way of stating it, but I am a big advocate for keeping the mind at work and having a creative outlet. It might seem silly to others, but it keeps these people entertained and mentally nourished. Plus, they get a great product from it. Keep on doing it!

Singing Pasta, Eat and Be Eaten

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Image courtesy of FL@33

I stumbled across this animation while flipping through my new issue of Computer Arts Projects. Unfortunately, I do not have a direct link because so many of these artists use Flash (which is smart), so let me walk you through it. After going to FL@33, click on Selected Work and the very last entry on the list is Animation | Singing Pasta, Eat or Be Eaten. After clicking on that, the right side will have a link to the Quicktime video. It is a very short and simple video with pieces of pasta singing an opera song. It is simply great! I read that they took pictures of the pasta in different poses and then erased the background to create this effect. Watch and you will be impressed…