Bit of the ordinary

Jason Alexander’s thoughts

WIth the Aurora Colorado Massacre, there has been a lot of back and forth about gun control. I found Jason Alexander’s thoughts on the matter to be very well articulated. He looks at the 2nd Amendment gun advocate reference:

As passed by the Congress:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

So the patriots are correct, gun ownership is in the constitution – if you’re in a well-regulated militia.

And he comes to a point that I agree with, that while people do have the right to own guns, they shouldn’t get any type of gun they want.

These weapons are military weapons. They belong in accountable hands, controlled hands and trained hands. They should not be in the hands of private citizens to be used against police, neighborhood intruders or people who don’t agree with you. These are the weapons that maniacs acquire to wreak murder and mayhem on innocents. They are not the same as handguns to help homeowners protect themselves from intruders. They are not the same as hunting rifles or sporting rifles. These weapons are designed for harm and death on big scales.

For me that rings with truth. Assault weapons are very dangerous, and should be restricted to the military. I don’t want to live in a society where you are expected to pack heat to protect yourself. That is a society that I think the majority of american would want as well.

Here is the full page.

Bit of the ordinary, Geekiness

A Must see Prop Maker

Daft Punk DeLorean Shoot

I read RSS feeds in Google Reader. And one of the sites I subscribe to is Volpin Props. Volpin Props is essentially one guy in Atlanta who makes props. And the stuff he makes is amazing. Just look at the many things he’s made posted on Flickr. I am always really impressed by his level of detail and the finish of what he makes. Also the idea of makes and programming custom circuit boards to run the LEDs is jaw dropping. Always inspiring, and always intimidating.

Check out:
Daft Punk Helmet #1
Daft Punk Helmet #2

Family biz

14 years have gone so fast

I can’t remember when it was that I got glasses. I know it was in the 5th grade. My eye doctor then was in Chicago. We took the El from Oak Park into the Loop. I guess it was easier and cheaper than trying to park down there. The eye doctor was this old guy, although every grown up was an ‘old guy/gal’ to me then. Super nice. I think he even did eye surgery on a Central American Dictator once. He was evidently top notch.

I remember when I actually got to put on my first pair of glasses and looked around the room, it was amazing. Until then, when I had gotten my eyes checked I could only read the letters on the chart clearly. And when I looked around the room I was clearly blown away, because the nurse just laughed and said she had never seen someone’s face light up like that. But everything was different, it was there now. It was sharp, and textured and detailed. Glasses changed everything. The world was better and more exciting and more interesting. I would never want to go back to not having glasses.

I think about that today because of another event that changed everything for me. 14 years ago I got married. Walking into to it I knew to would be a great thing, and my life would be better. But it was like that first pair of glasses. I never knew walking down that brick path at the Faculty House in Columbia South Carolina how much it would change everything. But it did. My life is better, more exciting and more interesting because of Ann. The quality of my life has improved a hundred times over. And I can only hope I have done the same to her. Happy Anniversary Ann.

Bit of the ordinary

the importance of sketching

I saw this and it resonated with me, from this page:the importance of sketching | design & make

I have been struggling with the design of an enclosure for my CNC mill that would allow me to use flood coolant and contain the mess of metal and plastic chips this machine can create. I had a rough idea in my head, and looked around at existing enclosures, so I immediately jumped into CAD to sort out the design. For days I iterated on-screen, unhappy with the results but trudging through each new concept until I hit a wall.So last night as I sat on the couch I opened up my laptop to give it another go, only to find technical issues that kept me from launching my CAD software. Frustrated, I shut the laptop and pulled out my sketchbook. Within minutes I was teasing out the solutions that were so elusive on screen, and by the time I shut off the lights I had my design roughed out.

So, one more time, especially so I remember: Never underestimate the importance of sketching. CAD is an invaluable tool, as are rendering packages and Illustrator and Photoshop, etc. But for quick ideation, brainstorming, breaking through a mental block, or simply communicating with your fellow designer/engineer/marketing person, nothing beats sketching.

Design Stuff

Luis Valdez, USITT and Theater

Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino (The Farm Workers Theater), who has been called “the founder of modern Chicano theatre and film”, gave the USITT Keynote this year at the conference in Long Beach. At first I thought it was concerned it might be another “you guys are great talk” from a director/actor. At the 50th anniversary of USITT, the keynote speaker was Suzanne Summers. And perhaps at this time i should clarify that USITT stands for United States Institute for Theatre Technology. So the room is a group of designers and technicians. Of course the majority of us, I hope, consider ourselves theater people/storytellers that tell stories using technological elements. Suzanne Summers’ speech was just rehashing “you guys are so great and I don’t know how any of that stuff works” over and over again. I would rather hear some inspiring talk about theater or a personal connection to art, than someone onstage flipping her hair back and saying “oh my god I am so glad you do that to I don’t have to.”

In Mr. Valdez’s beginning comments he said “You’re the other half of theater”, which could be seen as inclusionary, but we are still the ‘other’ which didn’t sit well with me. But as he continued, he told about his connection to art, theater and how he began his work with Teatro Campesino. And proved to be a very engaging and inspiring speaker.

Theater, he said, “is what goes on in the audience, not on stage.” That the act of theater was the journey the audience takes with their imagination during the performance, and that the work of everyone leads up to that. That is his essential idea about theater, that is this a collaboration between the audience and the storytellers. Theater, to Mr. Valdez, is a balance between the masculine and the feminine, the rational and the intuitive. He referred to it as “his search engine” that theater was what he used to explore life, its contradictions, foibles, and issues. It also is what he uses to articulate his thoughts about life as well.

His speech was totally engaging, with his story about beginning as a child of migrant workers. He was introduced to theater when his grade school teacher took his paper lunch bag, that he had to bring home to bring tomorrow’s lunch in, and ripped it up. He didn’t understand why she would do that. then she showed him how she was paper macheing a mask for the school play. He helped with the paper mache and also got cast in the show. Then his family left town to work somewhere else before it opened. His 30 days at that one grade school, and the one teacher, changed the course of his life forever.

He referred to a term tele-dramatics, it is his way of trying to encapsulate the intersection of theater, film, tv, and Internet video. That they are all aspects of the same impulse. Whether performed live or recored and played back thru various media it is all part of the same continuum of storytelling. And that in order to train in one you must be preparing students in the others. Because the students of today at not going to do just one thing. Look at the Pina Bausch film. It is a beautiful intersection of theater dance and film. I wish I could have seen it in 3d, Valdez, must have seen it in 3d. He saw a future for theater works in 3d film. When 3d is no longer a gimmick and creating a world to be a part of, can it begin to replicate the theater experience? By necessity and theater experience without community but a theater experience nonetheless. But would it give further life to the creations on a stage? That is definitely something to pursue, both as a way to further document the ephemera but also as a way to train our students in other media. Mr. Valdez paraphrased Lope de Vega saying “Give me a plank and a passion and I give you a play.” I wonder what Lope de Vega would say now, would it be: “give me a camera and a passion and I’ll give you a play.” It is hard to imagine what theater and performance will be like when my kids are grown up. The nature of what theater is is changing, and you don’t’ feel that more than in LA/Long Beach. TV and Film are present and vibrant in the culture. That’s what people are talking about. Theater trains you how to tell a story, but it can’t just stay the same.

I feel I have to end as Mr Valdez did “To whom does the future belong? To those who can imagine it.”

the Blog of Owen Collins