We’ve featured a few alphabets on [Gas] in the past, most notably our own Geek Alphabet, but Vimeo user n9ve used various fonts to create his own version, where each character is the initial letter of a font name. Check it out:
[Via TDW]
Mike’s Fabulous Dragon Cake [Pics]
All I can say is: Wow, have you looked at all the details on that thing? It looks almost real! Kudos to the crew over at Mike’s Amazing Cakes for one of the most delicious and awesome looking dragon cakes I’ve ever seen… not that I’ve seen many, of course, because let’s admit it, there’s not a lot of people who can pull off making a cake look like that.
Hit the jump for a few other pics >> Continue reading
Dungeons & Dragons Drawings
By Rob Lammle
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Dungeons & Dragons is pretty much a right of passage into nerdery. Even if you didn’t play a lot after you discovered the opposite sex, most of us have rolled a few saving throws in our day. Which is why, when I stumbled upon the website Dungeons and Drawings, by the British duo Blanca Martinez and Joe Sparrow, fond memories of late nights drinking Mountain Dew and eating Cool Ranch Doritos while huddled over a 20-sided die, came flooding back to me.
The two artists are posting their own interpretations of the creatures that have haunted many a Monster Manual, giving a new twist to some old, familiar faces, tentacles, and horns. Most of the illustrations, like their awesome Beholder, are entirely original. While others pieces, like the Rust Monster, borrow heavily from artwork seen in previous versions of the Manual, adding an extra level of joy for you old school geeks out there who will spot the references.
You might notice the illustrations are intentionally avoiding the traditional, more realistic style of fantasy art that’s been so commonplace since Frank Frazetta painted his first muscled barbarian. Martinez and Sparrow say, while they love that type of art, they wanted to bring something new to the genre with a more modern sensibility. Their philosophy is definitely a nice change of pace.
Check out the site for more artwork, and if there’s a particular beast you’d like to see, drop them a line, because they do take requests.
Movie director moves to the (very) small screen
Oldboy director Park Chan-wook has produced a movie shot entirely on the iPhone. But those of you thinking this is a green-light to win an Apple-powered Academy Award may be out of luck.
The movie, Paranmanjang only runs for 30 minute and the budget, while tiny compared to most Hollywood blockbusters, still ran to $133,000.
According to Park, it wasn’t purely the cost brought benefits from the iPhone. Instead it was a combination of the handsets being relatively affordable and easy to operate, which allowed his crew to film with more cameras than would be practical on a standard movie shoot. In turn, that allowed more chance to get the “perfect” shot, as well as making editing effects, such as fast-paced cutting, easier.
The production process of the movie, including finding a location, auditioning, and even producing a documentary on the filmmaking, was carried out in exactly the same way as a standard movie.
Park also noted that there’s a psychological effect for the viewer as they are familiar with the look and feel of iPhone footage, but not in a movie context.
Part of the budget for the movie came from KT Corp, which happens to be the sole distributor of the iPhone in South Korea. It’s not clear to how much extent this funding influenced Park’s decision to carry out the project.
The movie, which the Associated Press describes as being “about a man transcending his current and former lives” will open in nine Korean theaters this month.
A Mystery: Why Can’t People Walk in a Straight Line?
Try as you might, you can’t walk in a straight line without a visible guide point, like the Sun or a star. You might think you’re walking straight, but as NPR’s Robert Krulwich reports, a map of your route would reveal you are doomed to walk in circles.
So, anyone here care to explain the reason why human beings can’t walk in a straight line?
[Via Reddit]
Every time it starts snowing [Cartoon]
[Source: The Perry Bible Fellowship]
How does technology keep you in the loop throughout the day?
I pretty much only use RSS feeds when it comes to keeping myself in the loop about daily events and new technologies. Since I’m glued all day in front of a screen, this is probably the most efficient way to do this. But what about you, dear readers? How does technology keep you in the loop throughout the day? What devices or software do you use to keep yourself in touch with your news sources? Be sure to let us know via comment section below!
Really? You Call That a Robot?
By Derek Clark
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
I have to admit, as a fan of robots, I’m a little disappointed with the latest crop on display at this year’s CES. Sure, there were a few helpful devices for those who don’t like to vacuum or do windows, but where are all the humanoid autonomous robots I was promised when I was a kid – when I cried myself to sleep, praying for a little robot buddy that would understand me and never make fun of my He-Man collection like my butt-head older brother. Oh roboticists of the world, when will I hear those geek-melting words “Number 5 is alive!”
Now, I’m no expert in robotics (unless we’re including break dancing skills), but Stephen Hawking Christ! Last I checked it’s 2011 already! I think we can do better.
Really, Murata? The best you could do was a female robot on a unicycle? Isn’t that just a tiny Segway in a miniskirt? Sorry, but if you’re going to label something as ‘female’ then there’d better be a way for me to have sex with it. (If there is, then please disregard my sarcasm… and call me.)
Really, iRobot? I mean, thanks for the improved vacuum cleaners, but excuse me if I don’t do cartwheels over your iPad on wheels, AVA. Come on, the least you could’ve done was given it some arms so I could program it to fetch me a beer.
Really, Intuitive Automata? A Teddy Ruxpin on Weight Watcher’s? Unless your doe-eyed Autom can shout names at me like ‘Jabba the Pizza Hut’ or ‘Geekopotamus’ while holding a mirror to my face, chances are, I’m not putting down that bacon sandwich.
Really, PARO? You couldn’t even give your robotic baby seal a new buddy, like Nanook the Inuit seal clubber? (Oh, stop gasping. Don’t tell me you didn’t think the same thing when you saw that cute little critter. No? Okay, moving on…)
Really, ATR and VStone? You want me to pay $41,000 for a robot to walk my grandma across the street? No thanks. I’m pretty sure that leash I put on her car-hating kitty will see her across just fine. Although I have to admit, your Robovie R3 is the closest of the bunch to my dream of a real robotic Gary Coleman.
Sadly, it looks like another year without my mechanical soul mate. Until that day, I guess I’ll just have to be content with sharing my He-Man collection with my Roomba.