March 20, 2016
The Meaning of Maps
As I'm mentioned before, maps are something I truly love. I have spent hours looking over a maps, letting my imagination vicariously explore the worlds they depict. I would explore the large hard-cover Rand McNally world atlas I received as a child, and the map inserts that came periodically with issues of the National Geographic, and visitor maps I collected on the way out of a theme parks (to keep in mint condition).
I think maps are one of the most important innovations in human history. And like many creative mediums, maps can offer a lot of unique story telling qualities. The little details in a map are what can give it character. Maps can aid the creative process, giving depth and form for stories to unfold. J.R.R. Tolkien made maps of Middle Earth as he dreamed up the hobbit's adventures. I recently purchased a book of many of his illustrations, including detailed maps he used to create the Middle Earth landscape.
Some of my favorite projects have involved making maps, like this map of Purcell Park, or this map of Uptown Charlotte, or this map of the block where I used to live. When I was younger I would often spend time creating detailed maps of places I'd been, or imaginary worlds.
So I thought I'd put together a list of map-related websites that are really interesting...
The Map Shop
The first link I have to include is Charlotte's very own Map Shop. The Map Shop is a Charlotte-based map store that I first discovered many years ago, before I'd ever considered living in Charlotte. It's business is mostly online, and it' website is you might say, fairly antique, but it has a really impressive selection of maps available for purchase. If you're lucky enough to live in Charlotte, and are a map-enthusiast, you owe yourself a trip to the Map Shop. It's practically a museum of maps. If you're planning a trip abroad, you should check out their selection of foreign maps and travel guides.
Midtown Manhattan
Of my collection of maps, the one that has meant the most to me, has been the map of Midtown Manhattan that I received when I was very young. The isometric map contains unbelievable detail, right down to the phone booths and subway entrances. It went out of print in the mid 80s, but I recently found an online archive where you can download a very high rez copy. This was a very happy discovery after years of searching for other copies of this georgious map.
Online Westeros
Fans of Game of Thrones, a sprawling epic story set in fictional Westeros, rivals Middle Earth in complexity. It can be difficult to keep up with the multiple storylines, but thankfully fans have created a map that helps to keep up with the different story arcs.
8-Bit NYC (and other cities)
If you enjoy retro video games then you'll probably enjoy exploring the 8-bit version of New York City found here. It functions just like Googlge Maps, allowing you to zoom in with added detail. Other major cities have been added.
8-bit NYC - http://8bitcity.com/map#
GPS Art Map
My friend Robert recently emailed me a link to a GPS Artist's creations. By riding his bike around cities with a GPS tracker, he creates lines that produce an image. It's an unusual but very cool hobby that must take a lot of dedication.
E-Boy (the German pixel artists)
There is a map-like quality to the isometric creations of the German pixel artist trio known as eBoy. Their art recreates actual cities with retro video-game-inspired isometric illustrations, that are actually the result of hundreds of individually crafted images. Several large brands have called upon these unique artists. I ordered the NYC poster years ago.
Theme Parks
I've always had a special place in my heart for theme park maps. When I was younger I would examine the maps of theme parks for hours. I had quite a collection. It was a way for me to relive the experience of being there. This site contains lots of retro themepark maps, including several of my favorite park, Bush Garden's Williamsburg.
Ghibli Land
Here is a unique theme park map for a park that does not even exist. It's a map of an imagined park based on the works of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. Check out the artist's Facebook page for more info, or read more about the map at Slashfilm.
Chicago if Frank Lloyd Wright had designed it
Imagine if Frank Lloyd Wright had created a map of Chicago. That's exactly what inspired Max Roberts when he created his map of Chicago. Robert's work includes many cities around the world, using various techniques.
Labels: maps
March 14, 2016
The Biggest Apple
The ultra high definition photo (at 360Gigapixels.com/nyc-skyline-photo-panorama/) of New York City should blow your mind!
The 360 degree panoramic shot from the top of the empire state building is of such high resolution you can see virtually every square inch of the city that never sleeps.
The detail is startling. You can see with decent clarity people standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, or the iconic Parachute Jump ride at Coney Island. Coney Island is at the very bottom of Brooklyn, touching the Atlantic Ocean. For some perspective, the Parachute Jump ride is over 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan! See the Google satellite image below to appreciate the distance.
Google satellite image detailing the distance from the top of the Empire State Building to locations shown in images above.
March 13, 2016
10 Cloverfield Lane Review
Well I just saw the Cloverfield Sequel. 10 Cloverfield Lane is an excellent sci-fi/psychological thriller. I think it's a superior film to the original Cloverfield in many ways. This is thanks to a great story, and excellent acting. The best thing about this new film is that it opens the door for more films each with their own spin on the disaster genre. Cloverfield is now a brand.
(Warning: movie spoilers follow)
Most of the film takes place in a survivalist bunker, where Howard (played by John Goodman) an extremely paranoid middle-age man, has prepared for a major attack. The bunker is also occupied by two younger survivors who are not exactly free to leave: Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who has just woken from a car crash, and Emmet (played by John Gallagher), who as it turns out, chose to be in the bunker after seeing some of the attacks as they began.
My wishes for the character of Howard to have a connection to Super 8 didn't really pan out, and Howard actually turned out to be a far more disturbing character than I expected. And that's ok, because it's what makes this movie a nail-bitter. He really is the monster of the movie, a much more terrifying monster than Clover in the original film, or the other terrors that lurk near 10 Cloverfield Lane. It's Mary Elisabeth Winstead who really steals the show, as a very resourceful hostage plotting her survival. I found myself en the edge of my seat almost all of the movie while she dealt with the terrors of being a captive in Howard's world. John Gallagher was also really good in his supporting role. You feel bad for him, knowing he's been duped by the mad Howard, and he pays such a price due to Howard's cruelty.
Some reviewers/commentors online seem to be concerned that there is little connection between the two films. In reality there was never supposed to be a lot of connection, or it was never meant to be explicitly clear. But there actually are pretty clear connections – especially if you pay attention to the alternate reality online games that connect the two films. In the original Cloverfield it is revealed that the character Rob was going off to Japan to work for a company that was in some way connected to a mysterious Japanese conglomerate named Tagruato. The alternate reality games reveal over time that the company had made a significant discovery at one of its deep sea drilling stations, which could be assumed to be instigating the events in both films. In 10 Cloverfield Lane, there is a brief moment where the character Michelle stumbles onto some correspondence from Tagruato to Howard, who was at one point their employee after a stint in the US Navy. That aside, in the film there are mentions to attacks happening on the eastern sea board, which could be the attacks from the original film. Not to mention, the overall theme is very similar: Unknown supernatural/alien forces are wreaking havoc on society.
It's interesting that the director Dan Tractenberg had previously made the well-regarded Portal fan film, as so much of the Cloverfield franchise is aesthetically similar to the Half-Life franchise. There is definitely room for a cross-over.
Ironic movie trivia: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who played John McClane's daughter in the recent Die Hard films, gets her own turn finding out what a TV dinner feels like as she navigates the air vents of the bunker.
Labels: 1-18-08, Bad Robot, movies
March 9, 2016
Task Management Tools
One of the most difficult things to do in the creative world is to find a way to organize all of your tasks. There are lots of techniques and applications available, and I have tried quite a few (using post its, creating documents with lists, setting things a calendar appointments,) but it's hard to find one solution that covers all the bases. So instead I use a handful of different apps for different purposes. Here are a couple that I like.
One of the first web-based task list apps I ever tried was The Big Pic (wwww.TheBigPic.com). The interface, which uses gumball storage system, is simple and effective. It's a very visual way to organize projects. The downside is that it runs in flash, so it's desktop only. And considering that Flash is all but a dead technology, and there are other mobile friendly and free options now, I really can't recommend The Big Pic any longer. So instead, I'll recommend …
Google Keep
After trying The Big Pic, I've discovered a similar and better alternative that comes as part of Google's product-line. Google Keep allows you to create color-coded tiles, much like post-its, and also offers a check list function. It's a great general To-Do application. It comes standard with Android as an app, but is not available as an app for iOS (still you can simply save it as a web-page on your iOS home screen and treat it like an app). You can also tag the tiles with a theme – for example: “Beach Trip 2015”. Then when you view only tiles with a certain tag, it' a great way to organize you're projects.
Google Keep is great for the basic stuff, but if you need a task manager with a little more depth I've found two other options that I think offer quite a lot. And since I've used The Big Pic and Google Keep to plan for past vacations, so I thought I'd try out these two new apps to plan this year's upcoming vacation.
ToDoist
ToDoist is a great tool for creating in-depth check lists. The app lets you easily create projects that contain lists, and by hitting the control and left or right keys, you can nest lists within lists, which provides a great way to organize components of a project. The interface is very clean and simple. The app lets you set due dates/reminders so you'll get emails reminding you when tasks are due. The paid version allows for collaboration and added storage for files. Overall, its a great option for managing projects.
Trello
Trello is looking like my favorite overall task manager lately. Like Google Keep and The Big Pic, Trello provides a very visual format for organizing information, it being based on Toyota's Kanban style of task management. Tasks are organized as cards on lists, which are then organized into projects. Note: Trello is from the same people who created Stack Overflow, one of the best web development question and answer boards out there.
Both ToDoist and Trello are great task management applications, and both offer free basic accounts, are availabe as apps, and the ability to share with other users (though, with ToDoist you'll have to pay for that feature). If you prefer clean tidy lists, then you may prefer ToDoist. If you're more of a visual person, then you may prefer to use Trello. The only way to know for sure is to try one out.
Labels: Graphic/web design, tech, technology
March 6, 2016
Recent Video Games I've Been Playing (... or thinking about playing)
In recent years, there has been a big jump in indie video game development, thanks in part to video game marketplaces like Nintendo's eShop and Valve's Steam distribution service. More developers are joining the scene, producing gems like Cave Story that show that a simple concept and unique story can create a very enjoyable game.
Warp
Warp is a terribly funny top-down sci-fi adventure where you take on the role of an adorable little alien who has the fantastic ability to warp himself a short distance through walls into various containers such as barrels, pipes, and even human beings. You also have the ability to optionally cause whichever container you might be inside of to explode. The plot is: you've been captured and taken to an underwater base controlled by humans where you've been experimented on and tortured until they accidentally let you loose. The game presents itself as a top-down puzzle, yet with 3d visuals (similar to the perspective of the Legend of Zelda – A Link Between World).
Available on Xbox, Playstation and Steam.
Downwell
Downwell is a very creepy yet ingenious 8-bit-style platformer having the unique characteristic of being a constant journey downwards. The objective is simple – you fall down a well and use your gunboots to eliminate enemies below you as you continue to plummet down the never-ending well. The website advertising the game is itself quite brilliant.
Available on iOS, Android and Steam.
PixelPeople
I got very addicted to PixelPeople after I first tried it a couple years ago. The game is very similar in concept to games like Harvest Moon and FarmTown, with elements of city building, and it features a beautifully simple and retro looking UI. It's very easy to get sucked into as you attempt to keep expanding your futuristic town, trying to level-up so you can unlock the next cool feature. The plot is somewhat unusual as you play the part of a mayor seemingly creating your own afterlife/universe where you also act as a genetic manipulator by splicing your clones with each other to generate new kinds of people with different skill sets. Half of the fun is just figuring out how to splice different kinds of clones together to create new kinds of people to enhance your world. I must admit, I love the isometric layout and colorful 8-bit video game-style graphics. The game developers continue to provide updates to the game pretty regularly. Best of all, it's free! Be warned, it can be very addicting.
Alien Swarm
Alien Swarm, like Warp, is a top-down perspective game with nice 3D graphics. The game is free from Valve on Steam. It was created as a proof of concept from some aspiring game designers who now all have jobs at Valve. Up to four players will shoot their way through an alien envasion. To get started all you need is to sign up for a Steam account and then you can download the game. Imagine the aestetics of Half Life and the gameplay of SmashTV.
Available on Steam
Labels: video games