A need to know basis.

Someone pointed out this video today detailing statistics and facts surrounding the exponential growth of technology and populations. Its one of those things that manages to be simultaneously impressive, crazy and more than a little scary. Especially, when you watch if with a four-month-old daughter sleeping next to you and try to ponder what it means for her...

Lando or Lobot?

So, at my new job we get headset phones. I'm pretty sure that you know what I'm talking about. They're the little devices that hook over your ears, and make you look like a cyborg. Like Lobot.

And, while I have to admit that they are nice on those rare occasions where I'm talking on the phone while working, I'm still a little uncomfortable using them because I don't want to become one of those people you see wandering down the street talking enthusiastically to themselves. I don't want to look like a bad sci-fi character. I don't want to look like Lobot.

This is the point where those of you who's lives didn't rotate around Star Wars growing up ask: Who's Lobot?

Well, I shall tell you!


LEFT: Lando. Not Lobot. RIGHT: Lobot.

Lobot was Lando's side kick and assistant in the Empire Strikes Back. Lando ran Cloud City. Lobot stood around looking creepy. And, while Cloud City supposedly existed to harvest gas from the gas giant of Vespin... we all really know that in reality it was probably the swankiest place in a galaxy far, far away to throw a party. I mean, the place basically looks like 2001: The Casino.

And, who was throwing those parties? Lando. Not Lobot.

Lando is the person people should be emulating, not Lobot. Lando wears a cape, and looks good in blue. Lobot wears Earth tones, and color matches his pants with his vest. Lando in a high stakes gambler who wins and looses starships and floating cities with a wink and a grin. Lobot doesn't wink or grin.

How does Lando greet old friends? "Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler....." (followed by a big hug.)

How does Lobot greet old friends? Lobot has no friends.

How does Lando hit on the ladies? "You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds."

How does Lobot hit on the ladies? Silence.

And you know that Lando is more fun at a party. In fact, I have proof. I just happen to have a picture taken at a party where both Lando and Lobot were invited. Take a look...


Now, I ask you: Who looks like they are having more fun?

So, in summation, people really need to stop putting so much effort into emulating Lobot. If you need to wear a headset phone while at work, fine. But, when you step out of the office you better take off the communicator unit and tie on the cape.

Uncanny Valleys, Unlimited Budgets and The Mystery Box

"The Uncanny Valley"

Earlier this week, a friend posted a link on the Tater Board showing "Big Boy," a new robot with deer-like legs, which the amazing ability to walk over difficult terrain, recover from slips on ice, and stay standing when someone tries to kick it over. Really, it's quite impressive. Look!



After watching the video, I made a comment to the effect of "Wow, that's creepy! What is it about robots that creeps people out? Is it naturally born into us, or is it just a byproduct to of having seen too many robots-take-over-the-world movies?"

And, in response, my friend introduced me to the concept of the "Uncanny Valley."



From Wikipedia.org:

Mori's hypothesis states that as a robot is made more human like in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong repulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.[2]

This area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a "barely-human" and "fully human" entity is called the uncanny valley. The name captures the idea that a robot which is "almost human" will seem overly "strange" to a human being and thus will fail to evoke the empathetic response required for productive human-robot interaction

What I think is interesting about this (beyond the fact that they include "zombie" on the chart above), is the fact that it dovetails nicely with a theory that Scott McCloud proposes in his Understanding Comics.

In Understanding Comics, Scott discusses how more abstract illustration styles (like Peanuts) will often be more successful than the realistic illustration styles (like what you might find in your typical Marvel or DC comicbook) at gaining the readers empathy. He maintains that the more simplistic or abstract the illustrations style is, the more the used has to activate their imaginations. And that by engaging the viewers imagination, it actually allows the reader to put themselves "in the characters shoes." Thus creating a great sense of empathy with the character.

On the flip side, the more photo-realistic an illustration is, the more the person evaluates it on a technical level. This, in turn, actually creates a greater degree of emotional distance from the illustrated character; as the viewer spends their time thinking "y'know, that one detail doesn't quite look right!"

I don't know, maybe McCloud's theory and the Uncanny Valley aren't related. But, at the same time, there just seems to be too much of a parallel. Abstraction and impression seem to lead to more empathy and connection than duplication and realism, anyhow.

Unlimited Budgets

Meanwhile, over on the Bad Genious, I found myself in an interesting discussion with a couple other members of the board. Basically, it ended up being a fairly candid conversation in which a bunch of comic fans were more of less admitting: Even though we all love comics, in many regards they aren't the best option for telling most stories.

Because that board is a private board, and because I'm fond of patting myself on the back. I thought I'd copy and paste one of my posts from that blog, so that maybe more people out in the Interweb might read it and weigh in:

Yeah, I think that every media form has its fair share of crap out there. For every good show on TV, I'm positive there are dozens of awful ones, and the same with movies, novels and... well... comics.

I think my complaint lies with the fact that each form of media has its strengths and weaknesses. But I feel like a lot of comics these days don't play toward their formats strengths. And, here's the two strengths that seem immediately apparent to me.

1) Unlimited budget - Unlike, say, TV or movies, you can do anything in comics without massively effecting the budget to produce it. You want a giant guy in a purple suit who eats planets? Fine. It's no more expensive than having two people standing around talking in their apartment. There aren't many forms of media that allow you that flexibility's.

2) Singular Creative Vision - While most comics we (on the Bad Genious) collect are produced by Marvel, DC, Image, etc. The reality is that it's one of the few media that can be completely produced from start to finish by one person. If a comic like Cerebrus proved anything its that one person can effectively make a comic that is his or her personal vision without creative interference from others. That one person can control everything, and with some time and money, get that personal vision and one-of a-kind story produced and into the hands of an audience.

What I think is unfortunate is that those two strengths are rarely combined. Rarely to you get a "singular creative vision" that also happens to involve the "unlimited budget" capabilities of a comic book. The "big budget" stuff seems to be mass produced, corporate comics. While the singularly created stuff ends up all being autobiographical stories about neurotic 20-somethings.

(Edit ted for clarity, but not content.)

So, yeah. I'm sure that other people out there have made the point better, but I figured it was worth repeating because it's something I've been thinking about recently. And, it's the type of discussion I'd like to continue at some point.

Also, it allows me to harp on another point that I seem to keep coming back to these days: That I feel like a lot of comic creators these days don't seem as interested in that sense of "out-there" wonder that previous generations of comic creators have been. Actually, creators started moving away from the overtly fantastical back in the early 80's. But still, where are the the planet-eating giants in purple headgears, teleporting bulldogs with tuning forks coming out of their heads and over-sized, world-conquering starfish of today?

Where have all the Lockjaws gone?

The Mystery Box

Feeling a little grouchy about the down-to-Earth nature of today's comicbooks, it was nice stumbling across this lecture by JJ Abrams for TED. TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design," and the TED website is dedicated to "Ideas worth spreading."

Most of those ideas come in the form of what appears to be an ongoing lecture series. And, since all three of those topics interest me, I've been finding myself checking out their videos more an more.

JJ Abrams, as I'm sure you all know, is the creator and director of TV shows such as Lost and Alias. And, in his discussion, he talks about where he gets him inspiration for the mysteries and intrigue that run through his work.

Most of that discussion hinges on a "Mystery Box" of magic tricks that his grandfather bought him. To this day the box, which is a blank box with a big question mark on it, has remained unopened. The mystery of what it may contain being more fascinating than whatever cheap tricks it might actually contain if opened.

Who says you can't box wonder and mystery.

A wonderful and intriguing image. And one that you can't help but be inspired by.

Where's the General?

Apparently, he's at the McLeod Residence.

(Along with his beautiful wife, of course!)

The McLeod Residence is a new gallery/art space/soon-to-be lounge in Belltown. And my wife and I went to check it out during the miserable 32-degree rainstorm that hit Seattle last Friday evening.



The idea behind the McLeod Residence is to make a gallery space that is more than a gallery space; sort of "club house" (or maybe "social club") for artists and artistic thinkers. It's the sort of idea that the optimist in me loves, and the pessimist in my thinks is doomed for fail. But, regardless of how it eventually turns out, it was a neat space, and I enjoyed both it and the art in it. Especially noteworthy was an interactive piece, involving a looped video of a cello player and a device that allows you to interact with it. ...and, yes, I understand that last sentence sounded like gibberish, but just trust me on this one.

Regardless, while I probably would have enjoyed the space for no other reason than to get out of the rain, I have to say that the entrance was entrancing. You enter through some unassuming doors and make your way up a narrow, dark wood staircase, until it opens up into a large room with ornately framed, old paintings and elaborate white and brown wallpaper that gives the entire thing a sort of wonderful Edwardian flare. And, you probably all know how I love all things Edwardian.

Speaking of which, I stumbled across this site recently: Steam Wars. Steam Wars is the brain child of Larry Blamire, who is notable mainly for directing the faux-B-movie, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (which, actually, I still need to check out). But, while the idea of paying homage to B-movies always works, I'm much more interested in the concept behind Steam Wars; which involves an alternate history in which soldiers in Victorian Era Europe engage in ongoing battle atop giant steam powered robots. Sort of a Steampunk version of Robotech.

What's not to love!



Anyhow, the website itself contains a variety of paintings, sketches and notes about the world of Steam Wars. But the whole thing is decidedly rough around the edges. Still, it’s just enough to get my gears turning.

Steampunk Laptops and Horseback Shorthand

Earlier today,I stumbled across this site, which while in Japanese has several pictures of this wonderful machine:



Now, I'm not sure if this is a movie prop or some actual working prototype of a steampunk laptop. But, I am sure that it looks like something from the movie Brazil and that it is absolutely wonderful. I've got an obsession with stuff from the early 1900's, and love how this draws so heavily on it, with a classic typewriter keyboard and even a morse key by the mouse.

In addition to that discovery, I also had a coworker forward this link to me. It's for a writing style called Groote. Groote is apparently a short hand developed by an aid to a Dutch general, who needed to develop a form of shorthand that allowed him to take notes while riding on horseback. Awesome.

EDIT TO ADD: A coworker said that he read a site that stated that the laptop above is an actual functioning laptop. Which makes it Double Rad™.

Working backwards

My coworker, Jason, sent me this link today. Since I've been designing a boardgame over the last six months or so, I found it idea interesting. In their Techie words:

The Entertaible concept is a tabletop gaming platform that marries traditional multi-player board and computer games in a uniquely simple and intuitive way. Entertaible comprises a 30-inch horizontal LCD, sophisticated touch screen-based multi-object position detection, and all supporting control electronics. It allows the players to engage in a new class of electronic games which combines the features of computer gaming, such as dynamic playing fields and gaming levels, with the social interaction and tangible playing pieces, such as pawns and dies, of traditional board games.

Basically, its a computer screen that lies on your table and projects a gameboard onto it, allowing the best of both gaming worlds. It's horribly geektastic -and needless to say- I think its pretty cool. Check out the link above for images.

Mutants, Robots and Vampires

Really, that's pretty much the only three things that are important in the world, right? Lucky for me then, that I've gotten a dose of each of them in the last 24 hours. To summarize:

Mutants: There is a new trailer for X-men 3 on line. I still hold some serious resevations that this will be the first X-movie to fumble the ball, but really, this trailer looks very cool. See for yourself.

Robots: I beleive someone forwarded this link to me a while ago, but I finally just had a chance to look at it a bit. Being Wired, they attempt to juggle real-world robots with their Hollywood brethern, with mixed results. Most notably, the robot who claims the #1 spot is a big "wha?!" But, anytime someone makes a list of robots, its got to be a good thing, right? Engage.

Vampires: Really, vampires are fun. But, unfortunately, the Goth scene has generally cornered the market on them; and proceeded to wrap them in leather and fetish gear. So, it comes as a breath of fresh air to see them given a distinctly Russian spin in Night Watch. I mentioned this movie back in July when I first stumbled across the trailer. But, my brother and I finally got to see it last night. And, I'm happy to say that, while American hunters have become third rate Matrix rejects, Russian vampire hunters are still fighting the good fight by getting loaded on vodka and blood concoctions, strumbling around the streets of Moscow and regularly getting their ass handed to them by the undead. A little incoherent at times, but coherency is overrated sometimes. Trailer.

You can dance if I want to...

Apparently, the Japanese, not satisfied with making artifical women, have now developed a remote control that allows them to control other people.


A first person account from CNN.com:

A special headset was placed on my cranium by my hosts during a recent demonstration at an NTT research center. It sent a very low voltage electric current from the back of my ears through my head -- either from left to right or right to left, depending on which way the joystick on a remote-control was moved.

I found the experience unnerving and exhausting: I sought to step straight ahead but kept careening from side to side. Those alternating currents literally threw me off.

The technology is called galvanic vestibular stimulation -- essentially, electricity messes with the delicate nerves inside the ear that help maintain balance.

I felt a mysterious, irresistible urge to start walking to the right whenever the researcher turned the switch to the right. I was convinced -- mistakenly -- that this was the only way to maintain my balance.

The phenomenon is painless but dramatic. Your feet start to move before you know it. I could even remote-control myself by taking the switch into my own hands.

The rest of the article.

Apparently, the technology has applications ranging from video games, to music, to non-lethal weaponry. But, more likely than not, people will just use it to screw with each other when they're drunk.

When Sci-Fi Fantasy Becomes Creepy Reality

Think this is a picture of a Japanese man checking out a women he might secretly have a crush on?



WRONG! It's a Japanese robotics scientist checking out the life-like female robot he built... but, also probably secretly has a crush on.

Repliee Q1 (at left in both pictures) appeared yesterday at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, where she gestured, blinked, spoke, and even appeared to breathe. Shown with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University, the android is partially covered in skinlike silicone. Q1 is powered by a nearby air compressor, and has 31 points of articulation in its upper body.

I love how the article notes "at left in both pictures." I'm always getting my robots and robot scientists confused, aren't you? Also, this is suitably creepy:

Internal sensors allow the android to react "naturally." It can block an attempted slap, for example.

Seems like an odd thing to teach a life-like female robot, no? Is that how one finds out if a woman is real or not?

Check it, check it out!