Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I am most like an Island Uni



polski18 if you're interested in Neopets Premium...



Yes on California Prop 86. The tax revenue from cigarettes will go towards universal health care for all of California's children.

Monday, August 28, 2006

In addition to axolotls found in nature, they are also found in Hollywood.



I hope it's leucistic.

Yes on Prop 86.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Axolotl

Dedicated to my favorite reader, Beth, in Orange County:





Looking perpetually happy (or stupid?). Axolotls are usually presented with their wee arms and digits splayed about their side.

Axolotls exhibit a trait called paedomorphosis. As in, rather than metamorphosizing, they are paedomorphic, which is to say, they retain their juvenile appearance.

The other remarkable thing about them besides being extraordinarily cuuute, is their healing and regenerative abilities. "Normal wound-healing in animals occurs through the growth of scar tissue, and this also means that most animals won't re-grow a lost limb. However the axolotl is fully capable of complete limb re-growth."

It is said that Xolotl, the Mexican god of death (or as the Sea World website puts it: games [doubly morbid and sick!]), assumed the form of an axolotl to escape some ired enemies.

I like the white (leucistic) axolotls, which used to seem grotesque to me like the blind albino cave hoek (I think I'm going to be sick!). They are now my favorites--the leucistic ones, not the albinos, because I don't like red eyes.



Although in nature, the colored ones are more likely to be found.
Which for whatever reason, doesn't want to be loaded up here. You can see a darker axolotl at the California Academy of Sciences in SF.

YES on Prop 86.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Nectaplum



By g-d. Get your mitts on one of these.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Pig's Eye 2



f@#*ing eyeballs

Thursday, August 10, 2006

In a Pig's Eye



http://www.animationarchive.org/2006/05/meta-100000-animation-drawing-course.html

http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2006/05/animation-school-lessons-do-you-want.html

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Proposition 86


Woowoo! Driving in to the office today, my carpool mate and I heard the California Report discussing the tobacco tax that will be on this November's ballot. David Veneziano, American Cancer Society CEO, was interviewed for the story.

The tax on a pack of cigs will be raised, which does two things:

1) people quit
2) taxes go towards spectacular things like: universal health care for children! tobacco prevention programs! staffing and reopening emergency rooms!

Link to the story to come.

___

Update: the report was actually on NPR's Morning Edition.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Still recovering from the heat wave.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Star Trek Convention

Coming up in two weeks, 17-20 August.
Everyone who's anyone ... except for Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), argh!
(cause they're asian)
THURSDAY
Avery Brooks (Commander Sisko), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski), Jonathan Frakes (Riker), Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir), Denise Crosby (Lt. Yar), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Gary Graham, Michael Westmore, Brent Spiner (Data), Mariette Hartley
FRIDAY
Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (the holographic doctor on Voyager), Connor Trinneer, Robert Foxworth, Louise Fletcher, Jeffrey Combs, Marc Alaimo, Aron Eisenberg (Nog), Dominic Keating
SATURDAY
William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), George Takei (Sulu), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Grace Lee, WhitneyWilliam Campbell, James Darren, Andrea Martin
SUNDAY
Tim Russ (Tuvok), Jolene Blalock (T'Pol), Michael Dorn (Worf), Barbara March, Garrett Wang (Ensign Kim), Robbie Duncan McNeill, Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer)

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Red Ink in the Classroom :: Environmental Art, part 2

Louisa asked if any of the tubes were going to be decorated.

Figure 3. Some tubes have word notes

Yes: (1) The ends of the tube will be dipped in paint, and then they will be arranged to make a giant recycling symbol as seen in yesterday's posting. However, will this reduce the recyclability of the tubes? Also, (2) words (written on wax paper) will be attached to the ends of some of the tubes (Fig. 3). But once again, wax paper doesn't seem to be recyclable. We'll have to do a little more thinking.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Red Ink in the Classroom :: Environmental Art

Here's a project I'm working on with artist Wendy Testu for Red Ink Studios's Red Ink in the Classroom program for this upcoming school year.

It's temporarily called

Figure 1. kids can see through the wall

or


Figure 2. toilet paper roll wall

But really, for now it's called Red Ink in the Classroom :: Environmental Art, and it's aimed towards the elementary school set.

At each school Red Ink Studios's artists visit around the Bay Area, the students will collect their toilet paper and paper towel rolls at home and at school. After a month or two, the collection will then be assembled into a wall (Fig. 2). And kids can see through the wall, ha! For the most. Other assorted recyclables will be stuffed in a lot of the holes, e.g., sandwich bags, aluminum foil, grocery bags, cell phones. The whole installation is temporal since eventually the entire thing will be recycled. We're also noodling the idea of setting up each of the walls to form a maze during an Earth Day, Week, or Month event. The presentation of all the recycling walls may coincide with an electronic waste recycling event coordinated with Universal Waste Management. Start collecting electronics you'd like to toss at our event early spring next year.