September 2010
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Month September 2010

Entries 6 Total

Connect to Expand.

Sep 30, ’10 1:00 AM

To date, the vast majority of my personal projects have been created independently of one another.  While many of my projects have built off of one another (e.g. Microcosms was built upon the Incubator concept), there has not been a unifying link between them.  I think there is an opportunity to alter this approach to enable greater creative expansion and exploration.

Over the past several weeks I have been thinking of a few new projects that begin to combine various aspects of my creative exploration in new and unique ways.

Here are a select few:

Mach1na: I came up with this idea a few days ago when listening to Drone Zone on Soma.fm.  The music that was playing was a combination of electronica and sounds of syncros, gears and other mechanical devices.  It would be very interesting to sketch out new mechanical devices, render them digitally using Photoshop, and then incorporate them in a fabricated information design – as if these devices were in fact, real.  Going a step further, being able to showcase these illustrations along with a similar audio track would, I think, create a unique experience.

Gaia: The theory of Gaia, in a nutshell, is that the Earth is a single living organism.  Illustrating and coming up with documented concepts that align with this theory could very well be a multi-year endeavor.  For example, illustrating plants and foliage from different time periods (prehistoric to sometime in the future) requires considerable research of the underlying taxonomy.  It’s one thing to come up with new plant concepts, but it can be more convincing if these concepts are based upon real biological principles.

This encapsulating concept could also introduce visuals that show how the Earth could appear in 2100, or 2200.  With global warming, could the Internet become part of the landscape?  Again, it’s not just about coming up with pure fantasy-based illustrations or narratives – it’s about combining research with creativity.

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Electronica Genius.

Sep 24, ’10 7:49 PM

I recently acquired Joris Voorn’s 2008 mix – “Balance” – on double CD.  In short, the compilation is simply a masterpiece of electronica and well-crafted mixes.

Joris’ introduction pretty much says it all:

“The process of making these mixes has been more like painting with sound rather than performing a traditional DJ-mix.

“As you can see, I have used a lot of tracks.  My intention while working on these mixes, however, has not been a simple case of ‘more is more’ – some of the tracks have been reduced to portions as small as a 2-bar loop, or are just a break or an intro.

“The process was inspired and inspiring, and although this Balance project is over, it has created many new leads and ideas for future works.

“I hope that people will enjoy the results.  Some listeners will be surprised by what they hear, but I believe I’ve pushed my boundaries in not only a technical way but – even more so – in a musical and artistic way as well.”

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Foretelling the Future.

Sep 19, ’10 5:51 PM

I have been reading Isaac Asimov’s Prelude to Foundation (first published in 1988) off and on over the past several months.  I found it interesting that several passages towards the middle of the book bear a close resemblance to features found within Amazon’s Kindle:

Display:

“The pages aren’t blank, they’re covered with microprint.  [..]  If I press this little nubbin on the inner edge of the cover – Look!”  The pages to which the book lay open was suddenly covered with lines of print that rolled slowly upward.

Navigation:

Seldon said, “You can adjust the rate of upward movement to match your reading speed by slightly twisting the nubbin one way or the other.  When the lines of print reach their upward limit – when you reach the bottom line, that is – they snap downward and turn off.  You turn to the next page and continue.”

Power:

[…] “Where does the energy come from that does all this?”

“It has an enclosed microfusion battery that lasts the life of the book.”

Storage:

[…] This type of book has its advantages.  It holds far more than an ordinary visual book does.”

Whether the origins of the Kindle started with these passages, I am unsure.  In any case, Asimov’s role was not to develop an electronic reader – rather it was to develop an idea that others could take and build upon.  In this particular case, this fictional concept was eventually developed into a real product.

This is important to understand because the lifespan of a given concept is, I think, undefined.  We may never know where Asimov obtained the seeds for these passages, just as we do not yet know what other technologies may come from the electronic reader.

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Media Temple.

Sep 12, ’10 7:43 PM

After several months of debate, I decided to move both BigGenerator.com and AdrianDaniels.com (and related microsites – including this one) to a new hosting provider called Media Temple.  I came across their site at WordPress.org and was sold immediately after taking a closer look.

I made this change this past weekend as I’m planning to drive additional traffic to the sites – particularly Big Generator via a new Google AdWords campaign.

I have already seen a considerable difference in terms of site response.  I’ll likely post a review of my initial experiences with Media Temple over the next several weeks.

In the meantime, let me know if you can tell a difference!

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“Ink” is LIVE.

Sep 11, ’10 10:31 PM

As promised, the latest addition to the creative family is live.  Digital illustrations of people, objects and environments: http://ink.adriandaniels.com

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Perception = Reality. Really?

Sep 6, ’10 10:39 AM

Once you get a label in mind, you don’t notice things that don’t fit within the categories that do make a difference.  But we pay a price for these mental shortcuts.  “The baggage that comes with labeling is the notion of the blunders, really.  It prevents you from seeing what’s clearly before your face; all you’re seeing now is the label.”

An NBA player is labeled as a low draft pick.  Thanks to our diagnostic bias, it doesn’t matter whether he plays his heart out: he’ll always be viewed as subpar.  Once a professor is described as cold, his personality and teaching ability cease to matter: his students dislike him anyway.  The diagnosis bias causes us to distort or even ignore objective data.

– Sway, The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

Several years ago, I was presented with the argument “perception equals reality”.  At the time, I had to agree – I could not see any way around it.  If people perceive you or something in a certain way, then there is perhaps little you can do to change that initial perception.  In most circumstances, I still believe that this is (unfortunately) true.

In my last post I introduced the concept of an advancement or development path.  I argue that if you can understand this concept and construct an advancement path focusing on your perception of the world, then you will start to question whether perception is reality and what aspects of your perception require alteration in order to see what truly is.

Here is an example of what such an advancement path could look like:

What happens if you are being perceived in a way that is not reflective of reality?  There are really two main options: (with varying degrees in between)

Option #1: Is there any truth in the perception?  If so, face the perception head on and outline what you will do to correct this initial perception.  Show the advancement pathway to highlight your understanding of the situation and use it as a vehicle for positive change.

Option #2: If there is no truth in the perception it’s probably best to figure out how to remove yourself from the situation.  This isn’t to say that expending some effort to correct this initial perception won’t add any benefit, but if the core perception is completely wrong, then it’s likely that it will remain in this state independent of your actions – no matter how admirable they may be.

One thing to be aware of is the downward spiral of a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If the degree of the invalid perception is significant (i.e. you are classified as ‘A’ and you are really ‘Z’), then the sheer disconnect (left unchecked) could result in behavior that becomes aligned with the initial perception – and that’s exactly what you don’t want!

Understand the model.  Understand what is truly “real”.  Make adjustments for positive change or disconnect from the situation at hand.

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