This is excellent!
Art by Elden Ardiente.
Source: Deviant Art; shared by Kean Gilbert via Marianne Plumridge
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
How are you all? Thank you for subscribing to my blog to encourage me
09/04/2012
Ignorance is Bliss
Ignorance is Bliss:
This is excellent!
Art by Elden Ardiente.
Source: Deviant Art; shared by Kean Gilbert via Marianne Plumridge
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
This is excellent!
Art by Elden Ardiente.
Source: Deviant Art; shared by Kean Gilbert via Marianne Plumridge
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
Kong: King of the Apps
Kong: King of the Apps:
New approaches to storytelling are running rampant through the jungles of Skull Island, it seems. Though the film based on artist Joe DeVito and writer Brad Strickland’s illustrated novel Kong: King of Skull Island hasn’t materialised as yet (see this article from 2009 and this from July last year for information on the film), the book has been translated into a new, very-up-to-date format, specifically designed for the iPad. An interactive app of Kong: King of Skull Island is up and running in the iTunes App store.
“It is part 1 of three in a whole new medium that I hope Kong fans everywhere will enjoy,” DeVito commented. “Right now it’s iPad only, though other versions are in the works. It’s Kong as he has never been seen or heard before!”
The Opening:
With an immersive use of text scroll and intelligent reveals of the underlying artwork, it is indeed like plunging into a new kind of interactive reading and I for one found it effective and engrossing. The music, too, adds greatly to the effect. If DeVito and Strickland’s original book was a worthy addition to the Kong mythos, the new app version expands and enhances the experience even more, taking it in yet another direction. It’s probably fair enough to call it a “groundbreaking experience”. This app doesn’t represent a mere re-design job, but a re-imagining of the way in which pictures and words can work together to tell a story. Spectacular enough here, it nevertheless offers lots of potential for future development.
The original book is out (with abbreviated art) in iBook, Kindle and Nook form as well.
Part 2 of the app, The Wall, is coming soon:
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
New approaches to storytelling are running rampant through the jungles of Skull Island, it seems. Though the film based on artist Joe DeVito and writer Brad Strickland’s illustrated novel Kong: King of Skull Island hasn’t materialised as yet (see this article from 2009 and this from July last year for information on the film), the book has been translated into a new, very-up-to-date format, specifically designed for the iPad. An interactive app of Kong: King of Skull Island is up and running in the iTunes App store.
“It is part 1 of three in a whole new medium that I hope Kong fans everywhere will enjoy,” DeVito commented. “Right now it’s iPad only, though other versions are in the works. It’s Kong as he has never been seen or heard before!”
The Opening:
[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]
Here DeVito talks about the app:[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]
Produced by Copyright 157 LLC, with production design by Colin Fuchs and Peter Coyne, project management by Kelley O’Connnor, motion graphics by Christopher Griffin, music by Nick DeGregorio and app design by Chris Coddington, the Kong: King of Skull Island iPad app is a magnificent re-imagining of the story.
With an immersive use of text scroll and intelligent reveals of the underlying artwork, it is indeed like plunging into a new kind of interactive reading and I for one found it effective and engrossing. The music, too, adds greatly to the effect. If DeVito and Strickland’s original book was a worthy addition to the Kong mythos, the new app version expands and enhances the experience even more, taking it in yet another direction. It’s probably fair enough to call it a “groundbreaking experience”. This app doesn’t represent a mere re-design job, but a re-imagining of the way in which pictures and words can work together to tell a story. Spectacular enough here, it nevertheless offers lots of potential for future development.
Part 2 of the app, The Wall, is coming soon:
[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]
Source: Joe DeVito via Avery Guerra. Writing and review elements by Robert Hood.http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
New: Caught in the Mega Spider’s Web
New: Caught in the Mega Spider’s Web:
Love spiders? Well, there’s a new one of the giant variety due in town. And Spider-Man will be quivering in his boots…
Returning to our shared office at work the other day, a colleague reached to open the door, shrieked and started back in horror. Why? There was a spider hanging by a single thread from the door-knob. The spider was about the size of a large dust mote but nevertheless the reaction was marked. Being a hero of epic proportions I gently palmed the arachnid menace and released it out the nearest window, apologising to the beastie for the inconvenience as it scurried up the wall.
That’s the thing with spiders: something about their alien appearance is enough to cause cries of terror and dismay, no matter how small and innocuous the spider might be. Obviously the bigger they are, the worse the reaction. I, too, though undaunted by the dust mote, baulked at the hand-sized huntsman that appeared on the wall of my study a week or so ago, opting to leave him in peace (he eventually left of his own accord). Sure, they get much bigger than that — you know, in jungles and on banana plantations, where they trap and eat birds — and are very scary indeed, but should they grow to be the size of a house they would be objects of extreme horror. Ask Stephen King, who made a giant spider the climactic el supremo monster in his excellent novel It (following in the footsteps of Tolkien, perhaps, who made Frodo face the giant spider, Shelob, on his way into Mordor).
Cinema has exploited humanity’s essential arachnophobia for many decades, especially when it comes to spiders of the giant kind. Hanging from massive webs in prehistoric jungles or blocking the warrior’s path in dank tunnels beneath castles, giant spiders have made cameo appearances in various filmic variations on The Lost World and in fantasy epics like Ator, the Fighting Eagle [aka Ator l'invincibile] (Italy-1982; dir. Joe D’Amato). But mega arachnids really hit the big time with Jack Arnold’s 1955 film, Tarantula, a classic 1950s giant bugfest, the effectiveness of which remains undiminished today despite the dodgy super-imposed SFX. Arnold tried again with a normal-sized spider becoming monstrous relative to the diminishing protagonist of The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Other entries in the subgenre followed, including Earth vs the Spider (US-1958; dir. Bert I. Gordon), Son of Godzilla (1967) with a Godzilla-sized Spiga, The Giant Spider Invasion (US-1975; dir. Bill Rebane), right through to the big-budget Eight Legged Freaks (US-2002; dir. Ellory Elkayem), which featured not just one species of ultra-giant spider but many of them, all startlingly CGI-rendered. Even though it doesn’t include giant spiders as such, we really should mention Frank Marshall’s Arachnophobia from 1990, which, like the earlier Kingdom of the Spiders (US-1977; dir. John ‘Bud’ Cardos), has so many spiders in it they surely add up to a couple of Big Ones. Meanwhile, Jeff Leroy’s Creepies series managed to squeeze in an assortment of daikaiju tropes, including giant robots:
Now, to prove that the appeal hasn’t disappeared, we have a new giant spider epic coming soon from director Mike Mendez — Mega Spider.
Mega Spider [a.k.a. Dino Spider] (US-2012; dir. Mike Mendez)
Mega Spider stars Greg Grunberg, Lombardo Boyar, Clare Kramer, Ray Wise, Patrick Bauchau, Lin Shaye and produced by Klaus von Sayn-Wittgenstein, Patrick Ewald, Shaked Berenson, Travis Stevens. The picture below is a wrap shot with cast and crew and eight-legged antagonist.
Director Mendez (previously known for some decent directorial work on the indie horror film The Gravedancers) describes Mega Spider as a “Tremors-style creature feature” (implying, one hopes, that it is good-humoured and intelligently crafted action-thriller, with appealing characters, a terrific script and lots of suspense).
Lead actor Greg Grunberg commented after filming was done: “They say never work with animals and babies; I want to add giant spiders to that list. Having such a blast, laughing every day, and yet the movie is scary as shit!”
By way of confirmation, co-producer Travis Stevens (pictured below in the thick of production) sums it up this way:
And just to prove that the spider gets down and dirty in the big city, we have this money shot to keep you interested:
Making the Monster:
Addendum:
I have no idea what it has to do with the movie, but here’s a video of director Mendez and Make-up artist Emma Jacobs singing “It’s No Good” by Depeche Mode while moving in to the location shoot!
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
Love spiders? Well, there’s a new one of the giant variety due in town. And Spider-Man will be quivering in his boots…
That’s the thing with spiders: something about their alien appearance is enough to cause cries of terror and dismay, no matter how small and innocuous the spider might be. Obviously the bigger they are, the worse the reaction. I, too, though undaunted by the dust mote, baulked at the hand-sized huntsman that appeared on the wall of my study a week or so ago, opting to leave him in peace (he eventually left of his own accord). Sure, they get much bigger than that — you know, in jungles and on banana plantations, where they trap and eat birds — and are very scary indeed, but should they grow to be the size of a house they would be objects of extreme horror. Ask Stephen King, who made a giant spider the climactic el supremo monster in his excellent novel It (following in the footsteps of Tolkien, perhaps, who made Frodo face the giant spider, Shelob, on his way into Mordor).
Cinema has exploited humanity’s essential arachnophobia for many decades, especially when it comes to spiders of the giant kind. Hanging from massive webs in prehistoric jungles or blocking the warrior’s path in dank tunnels beneath castles, giant spiders have made cameo appearances in various filmic variations on The Lost World and in fantasy epics like Ator, the Fighting Eagle [aka Ator l'invincibile] (Italy-1982; dir. Joe D’Amato). But mega arachnids really hit the big time with Jack Arnold’s 1955 film, Tarantula, a classic 1950s giant bugfest, the effectiveness of which remains undiminished today despite the dodgy super-imposed SFX. Arnold tried again with a normal-sized spider becoming monstrous relative to the diminishing protagonist of The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Other entries in the subgenre followed, including Earth vs the Spider (US-1958; dir. Bert I. Gordon), Son of Godzilla (1967) with a Godzilla-sized Spiga, The Giant Spider Invasion (US-1975; dir. Bill Rebane), right through to the big-budget Eight Legged Freaks (US-2002; dir. Ellory Elkayem), which featured not just one species of ultra-giant spider but many of them, all startlingly CGI-rendered. Even though it doesn’t include giant spiders as such, we really should mention Frank Marshall’s Arachnophobia from 1990, which, like the earlier Kingdom of the Spiders (US-1977; dir. John ‘Bud’ Cardos), has so many spiders in it they surely add up to a couple of Big Ones. Meanwhile, Jeff Leroy’s Creepies series managed to squeeze in an assortment of daikaiju tropes, including giant robots:
[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]
Other more recent giant spider films include Spiders (US-2000; dir. Gary Jones), Spiders II: Breeding Ground (US-2001; dir. Sam Firstenberg), Arachnia (US-2003; dir. Brett Piper), Ice Spiders (US-2007; dir. Tibor Takács), and Spiders 3D (US-2010; dir. Tibor Takács).Now, to prove that the appeal hasn’t disappeared, we have a new giant spider epic coming soon from director Mike Mendez — Mega Spider.
Mega Spider [a.k.a. Dino Spider] (US-2012; dir. Mike Mendez)
A 50-foot tall alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists, soldiers, and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.
Director Mendez (previously known for some decent directorial work on the indie horror film The Gravedancers) describes Mega Spider as a “Tremors-style creature feature” (implying, one hopes, that it is good-humoured and intelligently crafted action-thriller, with appealing characters, a terrific script and lots of suspense).
“The script was hilarious, and as we got into the creature design and the casting, we had one objective in mind: fun! I love the tone of this movie and think audiences are going to have a wild time.”
Above: Patrick Bauchau and Ray Wise
Lead actor Greg Grunberg commented after filming was done: “They say never work with animals and babies; I want to add giant spiders to that list. Having such a blast, laughing every day, and yet the movie is scary as shit!”
Above: Greg Grunberg as Alexis Mathis and Clare Kramer as Lt. Karly Brant
By way of confirmation, co-producer Travis Stevens (pictured below in the thick of production) sums it up this way:
“This is a movie about killing a big-ass bug. There’s a lunacy to the concept that we’re really having fun with. You look at classics like Tremors or Starship Troopers, and the humor is just as important as the mayhem. I think we’re finding a great balance between the two.” (Source)
And just to prove that the spider gets down and dirty in the big city, we have this money shot to keep you interested:
[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]
Mega Spider is currently in post-production, but I just know all you arachnophobes out there will be dying to see it!Addendum:
I have no idea what it has to do with the movie, but here’s a video of director Mendez and Make-up artist Emma Jacobs singing “It’s No Good” by Depeche Mode while moving in to the location shoot!
[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
Weekend Fright Flick Spider Festival 2: Spider on the Ceiling
Weekend Fright Flick Spider Festival 2: Spider on the Ceiling:
Part 2 of our Easter weekend arachnophobic special is a short film from the home of Spiderdom: Australia.
Spider on the Ceiling was directed by Anthony O’Neill for Rectangular Films of Australia. It stars Steve Danielsen, Camilla Jackson, and Steve Carroll (pictured below during production).
Synopsis:
Says O’Neill:
Trust me — if you have any twinges of arachnophobia in you at all (and who hasn’t?), this one will freak you out. Excellent film — and funny, too!
Spider on the Ceiling is screening now in the Cinema of the Backbrain. Go check it out! Entry is as cheap as it gets (that is, it’s free!)
Source: Anthony O’Neill via Avery Guerra; IMDb entry. Written by Robert Hood.
Addendum: More pics
The Spider, resting between takes:
Anthony O’Neill and Rob Van Dam on set:
The cast and crew:
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
Part 2 of our Easter weekend arachnophobic special is a short film from the home of Spiderdom: Australia.
Spider on the Ceiling was directed by Anthony O’Neill for Rectangular Films of Australia. It stars Steve Danielsen, Camilla Jackson, and Steve Carroll (pictured below during production).
Synopsis:
An Aussie slacker wakes up one morning to find a giant huntsman spider on the ceiling. Complications ensue.
Says O’Neill:
The film was made as a bit of a lark at this time last year. Every year in summer I seem to find a huntsman or two on my ceiling — not as large as the one in the film, admittedly, but it’s never a pleasant sight. I’m a novelist (see www.anthonyoneill.net ). The producer (Pete Roberts) and the guy who played the possum catcher (Steve Carroll) have worked as sculptors on such films as Knowing and Where the Wild Things Are (just about every big-budget film that’s been made in Melbourne recently). They handled the effects. Camilla Jackson is delightful and should be much better known — I believe she’s been trying to get some US work….
Trust me — if you have any twinges of arachnophobia in you at all (and who hasn’t?), this one will freak you out. Excellent film — and funny, too!
Spider on the Ceiling is screening now in the Cinema of the Backbrain. Go check it out! Entry is as cheap as it gets (that is, it’s free!)
Source: Anthony O’Neill via Avery Guerra; IMDb entry. Written by Robert Hood.
Addendum: More pics
The Spider, resting between takes:
Anthony O’Neill and Rob Van Dam on set:
- Also available for viewing Weekend Fright Flick Spider Festival 1: Scratch
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
Just what dangers lie ahead for Doctor Who's married companions? [Video]
Just what dangers lie ahead for Doctor Who's married companions? [Video]:
The next Doctor Who series sees Amy and Rory complete their journey in the TARDIS, but what sort of shape will they be in when they depart? Plus lots more hints about what to expect from the show's new companion! More »
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
苦楝 (China berry) ~四月流蘇苦楝雪
苦楝 (China berry) ~四月流蘇苦楝雪:
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
台灣懷念歌－（莊柏林作詞李忠男作曲）
《苦楝若開花》曲中提到：
「 苦楝若開花 就會出雙葉 苦楝若開花 就會出香味
紫色的花蕊 隨風搖隨雨落 苦楝若開花 就會春天來
苦楝若開花 就會結成籽 紫色的花蕊 隨風搖隨雨落 田嬰停佇厝邊角
白頭殼樹頂做巢 一陣囝仔佇樹腳 掠蟋蟀仔佇相咬 」
楝樹 Melia azedarach L.，
楝科，別名～苦苓，楝樹，森樹，川楝子，金鈴子，翠樹。
分布於 中國，韓國，日本琉球和台灣。
拉丁屬名為 melia是古希臘語，是指白蠟樹；
種名為 azedarach則為阿拉伯語「楝樹」的意思。
China tree或China berry （陶瓷漿果）則是英語系國家對楝樹的通稱。
落葉喬木，高約10公尺，台灣原生種的植物，
狀球形的核果成熟時成黃色約一公分寬，
是鳥類的最愛，有趣的是對人類來說是有毒的，
需乾燥泡制過為有名的中藥材～金鈴子，川楝子。
川楝子苦寒沉降，有微毒用量不可過多，是行氣藥的一種，
主要入肝經，疏泄肝熱，行氣止痛，治氣鬱而有熱之證尤宜。
樹材堅毅耐風耐鹽耐旱耐濕又不易蟲蛀，
現代拿來做行道樹妝點市容，
而在物資缺乏的年代，則是親民便利易取的民生好物，製成傢俱棺木等。
與庶民生活息息相關，因此人文故事也很豐富。
苦楝在台東的卑南族人稱之為gamut，為具有香氣之意。祭師們為喪家除穢時，會手持苦楝花並用手指劃過鼻頭，祈求新的一年帶來新的好運。阿美族人和排灣族人都稱之為vangas，阿美族人以每年花開為春天到來的指標，當其結果的季節，可以開始用魚藤毒魚。其葉舖襯香蕉做後熟處理會很香；葉煮湯洗搓身體可以防止皮膚凍裂、治皮膚病，取嫩葉摩擦女孩臉部皮膚會變得白嫩。
參考資料～環境資訊中心
阿美族以每年花開為春天來的指標，所以又稱「報春樹」。
四月流蘇苦楝雪，花序梳簾味飄香，
人文語寄枝頭上，紫白相應競青春。
苦楝味苦，正值春暖花開萬物競青春時序，
這般的語義意涵猶如戀愛的苦楚，
～苦楝啊苦戀～
～又如台語苦苓啊可憐～
～大地時序點了一盤苦楝暖春沙拉～
(c)2012 by lusonsky/ D90 / taken Dahu Park,Taipei City ,Taiwan
http://banglamdfarid-com.webs.com/
07/04/2012
Muhammad Yunus
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is
the European Union's financing institution. Its shareholders are the 27
Member States of the Union, which have jointly subscribed its capital.
The EIB's Board of Governors is composed of the Finance Ministers of
these States. The EIB's role is to provide long-term finance in support
of investment projects. The EIB works closely with the other EU
institutions, especially the European Parliament, the European Council
and the European Commission. The European Investment Fund is a
subsidiary of the EIB.
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