Blog of a Bookslut

The Guardian has an excerpt from travel writer Daniel Kalder's new book Strange Telescopes. In 1997, not long after I had first arrived in Moscow, my friend Sergei told me about the Diggers. They were a group of sensitive, educated people who had turned their backs on modern life and retreated to the network of tunnels and secret bunkers beneath the city. There they had formed a new society that was fairer and more just than the surface one. It was dark, beautiful, surreal - precisely the kind of world I wanted to live in. Permalink

Slashdot News for nerds, stuff that matters

Cognition Enhancer Research By ScuttleMonkey on what-happened-to-ginkgo-biloba oschobero writes to tell us the Economist has a look at pharmaceutical research as it applies to cognition enhancers. While the research is obviously focused on things like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and schizophrenia the resulting drugs may also have a benefit to healthy minds. "Provigil and Ritalin really do enhance cognition in healthy people. Provigil, for example, adds the ability to remember an extra digit or so to an individual's working memory (most people can hold seven random digits in their memory, but have difficulty with eight). It also improves people's performance in tests of their ability to plan. Because of such positive effects on normal people, says the report, there is growing use of these drugs to stave off fatigue, help shift-workers, boost exam performance and aid recovery from the effects of long-distance flights." Read more of this story at Slashdot. Link

Bloglines - Teen Discovers Plastic-Decomposing Bacteria

Bloglines user Fredricktoo (gfred@optonline.net) has sent this item to you.

Slashdot News for nerds, stuff that matters

Teen Discovers Plastic-Decomposing Bacteria By ScuttleMonkey on here-comes-the-study-claiming-it-causes-cancer ganelo writes to tell us that 16-year-old Waterloo Collegiate Institute student Danel Burd has made quite a stir with his plastic-eating bacteria discovery. For his efforts Burd won top prize at a Canada-wide science fair claiming a $10,000 prize and a $20,000 scholarship. "Tests to identify the strains found strain two was Sphingomonas bacteria and the helper was Pseudomonas. A researcher in Ireland has found Pseudomonas is capable of degrading polystyrene, but as far as Burd and his teacher Mark Menhennet know -- and they've looked -- Burd's research on polyethelene plastic bags is a first." Read more of this story at Slashdot. Link

Bloglines - Blender 2.46 Released

Bloglines user Fredricktoo (gfred@optonline.net) has sent this item to you.

Slashdot News for nerds, stuff that matters

Blender 2.46 Released By ScuttleMonkey on lots-of-new-toys The Penguin Man writes to mention the latest release of Blender, the popular open-source 3D graphics suite was officially launched today. You can download it from Blender.org. The culmination of half a year's work has resulted in many new features including a new particle system, approximate AO, the new cloth simulation system, and much more! Read more of this story at Slashdot. Link

Bloglines - Google Assists In Arrest Of Indian Man

Bloglines user Fredricktoo (gfred@optonline.net) has sent this item to you.

Slashdot News for nerds, stuff that matters

Google Assists In Arrest Of Indian Man By CmdrTaco on many-shades-of-evil An anonymous reader writes "After a Google user posted a profane picture of the Hindu saint Shivaji, Indian authorities contacted Google to ask for his IP address. Google complied. He was arrested and is reported to have been beaten by a lathi and asked to use the same bowl to eat and to use in the toilet. Not surprisingly, Google is a keen to play this down as Yahoo is being hauled over the coals by US Congress for handing over an IP addresses and emails to the Chinese Government which resulted in a Chinese democracy activist being jailed." Readers are noting that these are 2 unrelated cases — the latter is several months old. Read more of this story at Slashdot. Link

Bloglines - Face to Face

Bloglines user Fredricktoo (gfred@optonline.net) has sent this item to you.

i love typography, the typography blog

Face to Face By johno (iLT) on typography An Interview With Stefan Hattenbach Stefan Hattenbach started designing typefaces in 1996. In 2003, he established his own independent foundry and design studio, MAC Rhino Fonts (MRF). Proud A.S. Roma supporter and father of two, Stefan works his magic from a studio in the beautiful city of Stockholm. What do you love about designing type? Oh many things. One is the challenge of getting the details to work, but at the same time contribute to the overall style of the typeface. Another pleasure is to see if your initial ideas will be suited for a final product. Sometimes the end result turns out just fine but not as you planned from the beginning. A third thing would be the fact that the same "basic pieces" are used over and over again, like notes in music, and yet the outcome can be so different. Why do you design type? Because I have to! It's both a drug and a passion combined into a weird "relationship". My passion for typography and the shapes of letters had been lurking for long time. Then in 1996 I couldn't hold it back any longer. Ever since, it's grown stronger. The more I do it, the more involved I get. I have high expectations and am quite strict with myself, but overall it's fun, fun and fun. How do you feel when you see your typefaces in use? Of course I feel very proud to see graphic designers or others make good use of my own typefaces. It's like a personal reward and also a proof that they are worth buying. Sometimes they are used in a disagreeable way, but that's part of the game when you make your typefaces available to the public. Actually I'm often surprised at how others can come up with so many nice solutions—solutions that I wouldn't have envisaged myself. Do you see yourself more as an artist or an "engineer"? I would say more as an artist. The technical aspects of type design interest me far less than the "arty" ones. I know both are important for the end result, but I often let other colleagues help me with kerning, format generating, etc. At this stage of the process my brain is often set on the next typeface in line. Do you have any more plans for Anziano? A sans serif counterpart, perhaps? I'm not sure about Anziano sans serif. For now I can't see it on the horizon. What I do know for sure, is that it will be upgraded in the near future. My friend Peter Bruhn at Fountain Type Foundry has urged me to complete a full range of small caps. This is a part of the transformation which will eventually turn Anziano into an OTF Pro. Anziano includes some beautiful ornaments. Where did you get your inspiration for those? Thanks. I've always been fascinated by icons, ornaments, and patterns. So for me it feels quite natural to include a set like this for most of my typefaces. I gather information and inspiration from various places. I usually take a lot of pictures when I travel. I know for sure that some details found on buildings and elsewhere inspired some of the Anziano ornaments. Others were found in old books. Do you have a favourite period in type history? I love the Jugend era in general and some of the ideas for my icons and ornaments have been found within that period. However, the typefaces of that period are very distinctive and therefore "marked by their time" and not wholly suitable for modern layouts. Having done more text oriented typefaces over the past years, I've become influenced by the masters from the 17th and 18th centuries. I'm full of respect for the letter forms shaped back then, and how they still hold such a strong position even today! Do you have favourite typefaces and type designers? I assume every artist is influenced by others, for better or for worse. I see it as a part of one's "artistic evolution". Barry Deck, Neville Brody and Emigre were my early sources of inspiration. Also the Swedish designer Karl-Erik Forsberg (1914-1995) has inspired me. Two of my earlier designs are interpretations of his work and sketches (Lunda Modern and Remontoire). As for favourite typefaces, some "all-time picks" would be: Bello (Underware), Home Run Script (Doyald Young), Eidetic (Rodrigo Cavazos), Morgan (Mario Feliciano) and Proforma (Petr van Blokland). Can you tell us something about how you design type? Basically I do a lot of research to make sure it hasn't already been done. If It's an interpretation of some historical typeface, I study the existing versions in detail. All this is to be certain that I end up with a unique and personal typeface, while paying the utmost respect to designers of the past and the present. Another important thing to figure out from the beginning is how the typeface is intended to be used. Different usage requires different approaches and needs—these factors will influence the design. I always begin with the "regular" weight. After that I usually let the typeface rest for a while. Usually some weeks but sometimes even months. That gives me a good perspective on the design. 9 out of 10 times, this will lead me in a new direction—one that I wouldn't have envisaged at the beginning. I've found this process very "healthy" and it always moves the design forward in a positive direction. When the regular master weight is done (after a few rounds), I move on with the italic, bold, small caps, etc. I finish up with alternates and ornaments/dingbats if needed. What are your plans for the future? For the past two years I've managed to work almost full time with type design. My long-held desire is to be able to continue this way. I really enjoy designing logotype, identities and graphic design in smaller portions. This is an excellent way of testing my own typefaces in real projects, and also stay in touch with the "end user side". Regarding upcoming projects, I have a few custom type projects lining up. More designs are planned and in progress for Veer Inc. Also, some major upgrades for my designs at Fountain are just around the corner. Oh yes, the web site needs a major face lift as well, but that's another story…. You can buy Stefan's fonts from Psy/Ops, Fountain, Veer, and FontShop. Image credits: Luminance, Sophisto, and Lunda Modern specimens courtesy of Stephen Coles. Thank you for subscribing to iLT! Buy and try Type from Veer Face to Face Comments

Bloglines - Salamagica

Bloglines user Fredricktoo (gfred@optonline.net) has sent this item to you.

Changethethought™

Salamagica By Christopher on Salamagica There is some amazing Photoshop work by Ricardo Salamanca at Salamagica. The really great part about his site is that he gives you behind the scenes shots of how he created his images. Comments

Bloglines - Useful Podcasts For Designers And Developers

Bloglines user Fredricktoo (gfred@optonline.net) has sent this item to you.

Smashing Magazine we smash you with the information that will make your life easier. really.

Useful Podcasts For Designers And Developers By Vitaly Friedman & Sven Lennartz on podcasts by Sean Hodge Podcasting is an engaging medium that is available in both audio and video formats. Podcasts often refer to audiocasts, but now with iPods and other media players being able to play video, videocasts are just as popular. A handful of web design podcasters deliver both audio and video formats. Some do so through the same subscription, others separate the two. Audio podcasts are a great way to stay informed about web design news, learn about emerging technologies, listen to discussions, and continuously learn about the ever-changing landscape of web design — on your way to work or before you go to bed. Videocasts are great at showing step by step tutorials, or delivering visually rich presentations. Many of the long running successful podcasts have communities built around the show. Forums and detailed show notes are usual for a podcast that regularly serves its community. The time span of how long a podcast exists often indicates its level of quality and professionalism. We've amassed a collection of podcasts that are either directly about web design, or would be helpful to a web designer. If you're interested in more podcasts try searching through Odeo or iTunes. There are quite a few web development podcasts, and a few niche topic web design podcasts, not covered in this roundup. Following is a list of useful podcasts for web design professionals. You may want to take a look at the article Professional Web Design Forums which covers forums dedicated to web designers and developers. Web Design Podcasts Boagworld Boagworld is a long running web design podcast. There are over 100 podcasts Paul Boag & Co. have put out. They have been covering standards based design from the beginning of the show. They do a lot of great interviews with experts from the field of web design. There is always web design-related news, a special theme of the show, and some fresh content covered. The content is well organized, nicely presented and it is funny, too. The banter between Paul and Marcus is often the best part; the podcast has a large community built around the show. The Rissington Podcast This web design podcast takes the format of answering questions from its fan base. Each subject that comes up is discussed. This show is informal and loaded with fun British humor. The fans tend to send in as many humorous questions as they send in questions asking for web design advice. The podcast is still young, with less than ten released so far. The hosts John Oxton and Jon Hicks are well versed in web design techniques and technologies. They are also well-known in the design community. Audible Ajax This podcast is hosted by Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith. These guys are technically savvy, passionate about scripting and run a professional podcast about Ajax. They discuss news on Ajax, related technologies, and the significance of changes in this field. They have been broadcasted this podcast since 2005. The schedule is irregular, on occasion it's monthly, though not always. The Ajaxian site is a great place to keep up with what's happening in the world of Ajax. Web Axe This podcast is focused on web accessibility. Hosts Dennis Lembree and Ross Johnson are passionate about this topic. They cover web accessibility issues in detail. They review technology solutions in regards to accessibility, how WCAG guidelines can be practically applied in web design, and they present numerous interviews of working professionals that work with accessibility issues daily. The podcast has been regularly broadcasted over the last 2 years. Over 60 issues are available for free download. Rookie Designer The host of the podcast, Adam Hay, covers a variety of web design-related topics — colors, freelance, interviews, technical design and customer service — which are useful for both beginners and professionals. The podcast is updated weekly every Wednesday. One episode is 45-50 minutes long. Until now 98 episodes have been aired. Web Design Conference Podcasts Future Of Web Apps This conference somehow manages to involve a variety of professionals and companies of all shapes and sizes that are actively involved in building innovative web projects. The most recent event was attended by Matt Mullenweg (WordPress), Kevin Hale (Wufoo), Leah Culver (Pownce), Tantek Celik as well as Digg, TechCrunch, Google and Twitter. All presentations are available as podcasts for free download. This page offers a large number of interesting and insightful sessions as podcasts. @media 2007 Europe, @media 2007 US This conference is held each year, both in Europa and in US. @media speakers are renowned web professionals, with experience, talent and passion for web design and web-development. Last conference in US was attended by Andy Clarke, Dan Cederholm, Joe Clark, Jeremy Keith; the recent European conference was attended by Jesse James Garrett, Jon Hicks, Kelly Goto and Jason Santa Maria. @media regularly offers podcasts and slides of all presentations for free download. South by Southwest Podcast These podcast have been recorded at the SXSW Interactive Festival Panels. These are professional presentations put together by this festival that is held annually in Austin, Texas. There are some interesting issues discussed. SXSW has released a handful of 2008 podcasts. For some topics, it may be worthwhile to review previous years podcast materials as well. Podcasts from 2007. d.Construct Conference Podcast This conference is held each year in September, and is located in Brighton, UK. The podcasts are recorded presentations from the conference. They have multiple podcasts of presentations on topics such as: experience design, graphic design, web design, microformats, and mobile design. The last conference was in 2007. Clear Left presents this conference. Content Management System Podcasts Lullabot Podcast Lullabot releases a fairly regular podcast on the Drupal content management system. A variety of Drupal-related topics is covered in more than 50 podcasts. Hosts often discuss the significance of technological changes within Drupal: system release issues, new significant modules and documentation projects. Both subjects for beginners and advanced users are covered. In each episode usually 3-5 people participate, discussing Drupal and related topics. There is a videocast as well. Lullabot is an agency that is known for teaching Drupal and building large Drupal projects. The Wordpress Podcast This podcast covers all things related to Wordpress. Blogging, web design, hosting, Wordpress plugins, and many other topics. Charles Stricklin runs this podcast, and Jonathan Bailey is the co-host. They interview members from the Wordpess team and other professionals as well. For each episode there are follow-up-links and show notes. Joomla Juice Podcast This podcast is focused on the Joomla content managment system. It doesn't come out regularly, but it has been produced since 2006. The format for the show is an audiocast, though they mix in videocasts occasionally as well. The audiocast has a multi-media element that allows you to see what they are talking about. The links are embedded in the visuals. Pete Russell is the host. He interviews key influencers from the Joomla core team and Joomla community. Web Design Videocasts Web Design TV Videocast .Net Magazine publishes the WDTV videocast. Before the format changes in March of this year, they had a podcast that was hosted by Paul Boag. Now it's a "tutorial-style" videocast. Each episode focuses on a different web application, and teaches how to create specific types of projects. The basics of using tools within each application program are covered as well. So far, mostly Photoshop and Flash have been covered. Each video podcast is about 15 to 30 minutes long. The new release schedule has been weekly so far. Adobe Creative Suite Video Videocast Terry White is the host of this videocast. Terry and guests follow a tutorial format. They teach you tools and features within each of the Adobe Creative Suite software products; some of them are used in web design. Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and other applications are covered. The videos range from short 5 minute tutorials, all the way up to more than an hour long sessions. It's a weekly series you can subscribe to in your favorite media player. Lynda.com Videocast The feature of each of these videocasts is a video from one of the training series available at Lynda.com. These videos cover a wide range of software, design, and programming languages. The podcast is published to promote Lynda's membership sales, but each weekly episode is informative and of course free. There is no obligation to buy, though it's tempting after seeing the quality of each weekly video. Photoshop User TV This show is hosted by Dave Cross, Matt Kloskowski, and Scott Kelby from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). They cover shortcuts, tips and tricks, timesaving techniques, interviews, and tutorials related to Adobe Photoshop. The quality of the show is very professional. If you use Photoshop regularly, this is a very useful videocast to learn from experts and professionals. Layers TV Layers TV is produced by Layers Magazine, "the how-to magazine for everything Adobe". The show is focused on step-by-step video tutorials and tips on how to work with Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamweaver, AfterEffects and Flash. The show is released every week and is 20 minutes long. So far 34 episodes have been aired. For all tutorials source code as well as further examples are provided for free download. PixelPerfect The host of this podcast, a professional digital artist Bert Monroy. presents tips and tricks you need to whip those digital pictures into shape with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The episodes are presented weekly and are often step-by-step-tutorials, each 15 minutes long. Photoshop Killer Tips This podcast presents Adobe Photoshop tips, timesaving shortcuts, workarounds, and undocumented tricks. The host is Matt Kloskowski, one of "The Photoshop Guys" from Photoshop User TV. New shows are posted almost each weekday. You Suck at Photoshop Of course, this list would be incomplete without narrator Donnie Hoyle and his dramatic, hilarious and always excellent podcast about professional Photoshop techniques. Unfortunately, the series has ended after the 10th episode. Hopefully, the show will come back. The podcast gained eight million page views and two Webby Award 2008 nominations (Best Comedy and Best How-To Series). For further Adobe Photoshop video tutorials check our recent post Adobe Photoshop Video Tutorials: Best Of. Further podcasts CreativeXpert Podcast Alan Houser is the host of this podcast. He has a professional voice and a professional approach, with over 10 years of audio and video production experience. He also finds interesting people to interview and asks probative questions. The show doesn't stick to a regular schedule, as only one episode has been released so far this year. The Web 2.0 Show This podcast has released more than 40 episodes. It comes out sometimes weekly and sometimes monthly. The show centers around interviewing developers and entrepreneurs who create web projects and are invovled in interesting web ventures. This show provides you with a view behind the scenes of some of these innovative companies that are using and defining the "Web 2.0″ technology. Geeks and God Podcast Bob Christenson (Rob Feature on the podcast) and Matt Farina are the hosts of the show. These guys are both upbeat. They plan the show well, and it moves along at a quick pace. There is a community built around the forum of the site as well. The show is aimed at church ministries, but the information covered is often applicable to any website. Rob and Matt are well versed in website design and development. They give practical advice on the nuances of web design, building websites, and running web communities. You Suck at Web Design Podcast This is a comedic podcast put out by freelance web designer Matthew D. Jordan. He creates fictional stories related to web design. He describes the podcast as an attempt to deal with web acronyms, such as Web 2.0, WYSIWYG, and Ajax. His "disdain for the corporate world," as well as "micro management," permeates through his stories. You'll likely either love this podcast, laughing uncontrollably, or you'll hate it, and end up breaking iTunes. Mathew describes his humor as, "juvenile" and "not-baddish." Sean Hodge is the creative mind behind AiBURN.com, a weblog about design, creativity, inspiration and graphics. Comments