Tumblin'

I heard of Tumblr when it first came out but didn't pay much attention to it (like I didn't do with most web 2.0 things then), and I can't even remember how I stumbled across it now, but I think it totally rocks. It's not as minimalistic as Twitter (which is quite worthless in my opinion), nor is it as "heavy" as a regular blog. A tumblelog, as they are called, is still a blog in most ways but the mentality is different. It's for the quick and dirty, day to day stuff. See a good video on YouTube, put it up on your Tumblr. Find a cool site, link it on your Tumblr. Read a good quote, post it in your Tumblr. Still doesn't sound like much different from what you do with a regular blog, but the interface is easier. On the dashboard you pick the category, and that post is formatted accordingly.

Having been a blogger for many years (and giving it up less than a year ago because I felt I was "over" the whole blog), Tumblr fits my needs perfectly, and hopefully my Tumblr will be something I'll update with frequency, rather than the slow death of a rarely updated blog. The only downside to Tumblr so far is that there's no comment function, it's only a one way communication. A stream of consciousness blog, as someone described it.

There's even a Mac widget for easy posting, although it only features regular text posts at the moment, not all the categories. There's no standalone AIR app either, which this definitely needs. Maybe I'll try and make one, if I ever find the time.

While my own Tumblr page blows visually at the moment, there are some really nice-looking ones out there, such as this isn't happening and paul giacheiro.

Links of Interest

Naked Light is a new rival software to Photoshop for photo editing, or rather a rival to Lightroom or perhaps Photoshop Elements. Currently in very early beta stages, it promises non-destructive editing, live filters and "infinite resolution". Looks pretty interesting, though they really need a new name for it. Naked Light?

Zamzar is another in the long line of web-based conversion tools, but unlike most i've come in contact with before this one promises a lot. I didn't count, but it can supposedly convert between a great number of file formats, from image formats to video files.

Blurb is not new, but I just really love what they promise, which is allowing anyone and everyone to publish their own high-quality books. I haven't had any reason to use them yet, but it looks brilliant if the printing is high quality as it looks.

LogoPond is a place for anyone interested in logotype design. Users share their creations, give feedback and go here just to look around for new ideas. It could really use a major re-design to the user interface (which is cumbersome) but it's still well worth checking out from time to time if logos are your kind of thing.

Speaking of logotypes, Identityworks and CIDOC are two nice resources if you want to check out corporate brand manuals. As these are often well-guarded and off-limits their selection is fairly limited, but there are some really good ones. Reuters is one of them, offering their entire brand manual online for all to see.

Vector Magic is a Stanford Computer Science department creation that appears to kick Adobe's ass (and others) when it comes to vectorizing bitmap images. I haven't tried it out yet, but it looks very promising looking at the sample images they show.

Neglect + Opening Titles

So what story should I make up to explain the lack of posts in this blog? I'm too busy and I just don't have the time? A dog ate my computer? I'm lazy? Actually, that last part isn't made up. I think the problem is that I'm expected to write a blog with some frequency, yet I kinda feel like blogs are "been there, done that". I've already blogged enough in my life to know I don't feel like doing it anymore. Plus the projects at school now require blogging elsewhere, which is just plain annoying to be honest. It's just a lot of word-pooping and writing for an audience that isn't there. Does anyone read really this blog? No.

But anyway, I have one thing I'd like to share. It's not of any great importance other than the fact that I love it. I came across this opening titles sequence for the upcoming film The Kingdom, and just these four minutes made me want to genuinely see the movie (as before it really wasn't registering on my radar). I love film, and I love opening titles sequences (something I'd like to get into one of these days) so this is certainly the kind of thing I go for.



These titles were done by L.A.-based PIC Agency for the record, who have also done opening titles for films such as The Illusionist and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Brave New World.. or?

Where is brave new digital world heading? More interestingly, what are we willing to give up in favor of mobility and convenience? Should we just dive in and not worry about it, or could there be uglier sides to it that we ought to worry about, or at least think about?

Not to be one to paint doomsday pictures here, but the idea of corporations being able to track us wherever we are through GPS in our cell phones all in the name of being able to give us services we've been brainwashed to desire just doesn't sit right with me. The worst case scenario is like George Orwell's "1984" on crack because corporations are much more powerful and harder to stop than governments, as corporations can't just be overthrown or voted off. The laws governing what corporations can and can't do clearly aren't cutting it either when corporations now are copyrighting the code to human DNA. That a corporation can even own something like that is preposterous.

But I digress.

Why am I such a cynic about this brave new world of mobile communication, you ask? A major reason would be a documentary from a few years ago called simply "The Corporation". The picture it paints of these conglomerates is a scary one. I don't think very many have all too positive thoughts about corporations as is, but after seeing that documentary I believe they're absolutely capable and willing to do anything in the name of profit and power.

Of course the brave new digital world isn't all bad, and the future certainly doesn't have to be that bleak either. Being able to have your cell phone locate a friend in the neighborhood of where you are, or make you offers on something you're actually in the market while you're nearby a store that carries that item are certainly not bad things. But my point is that people shouldn't be all too willing to sign over their lives and privacy to these corporations either because you may end up paying for more than you bargained for.