Courtesy Chris Jones’ site, linked here and at the end of the article
Technology is growing at ever larger leaps and bounds. Every day, we awaken to something new and exciting to push this envelope or that one. Two of my best friends are involved in the graphic art, ranging from freelance website design, to theme park animation creation, to graphics on TV shows around the nation. One of them happens to be a multiple Emmy award winner.
With all due respect, this video outstrips them both:
And then there is this:
(To be honest, it’s not just the artistic quality and realism, it’s also the humor and the music.)
The ability of our graphic artists to compose computer generated models that look so amazingly real is mind boggling. I find myself transfixed by their skill, and the results of their work. I can’t wait to see what get get next!
Hey guys! I hope you all are enjoying my journal (I hate the word “blog”). As I’m just now getting started again, I would love to have your help! If you enjoy reading my musings, quotes, and general nonsense – tell people! If there are any stories or subjects you enjoy that I don’t post – tell me! Either way, join me in making this journal a bit more fun for everyone around!
Please leave a comment below to let me know if there are any subjects you enjoy reading about, or would like to hear my opinion on. You can also email me at thedingowashere@gmail.com.
Me: <singing> I wake up in the morning and raise my weary head Riley: <Grin!!!! Jump!!!!> Me: <singing> Had an old coat for a pillow and the earth was last night’s bed
<Guitar strum>
Me: ? Riley: I always wanted to play for Snoopy and Woodstock’s All Pet Revue
<Tag wail, guitar strum>
Me: <singing> I don’t know where I”m goin’, only God knows where I’ve been…
On October 1, 2014, the Washington, D.C. police department decided that Dennis Stucky, a black man walking through a neighborhood where mostly affluent white people live, might have been involved in a burglary which by accounts appear to have not had a police response yet. The reported phone call came from an alarm that sent an automated call to police. Even worse (f that is possible), the officers involved were themselves black.
In our country, we have made amazing strides toward equality for those who have been disenfranchised by the government and by society. We are still working to better ourselves, and the most recent example are the recent court rulings regarding same sex marriage. Even so, we must be ever vigilant in order to ensure we do not take steps backwards in our pursuits of equality.
Courtesy Global Cyber Risk, LLC’s website
Jody Westby, CEO of Global Cyber Risk, LLC, stepped forward on October 1st when she saw institutionalized racism at work in the Washington, D.C. police department, its response to a black man walking in her neighborhood.
Said Westby, “Just because he’s black, doesn’t mean he’s here to rob a house. He works for us he’s been in this neighborhood for 30 years.”
I acknowledge that the police should be allowed to ask questions about a crime that happened nearby (even though the crime occurred nearly a mile away); that said the manner of the questions and the style in which the questioning took place leave something to be desired. Westby’s housekeeper filmed the below video, in which you will notice the following:
The police demanded and required that Stucky get on the ground
The police demanded he explain where he came from and where he was going
Given that the police officers involved did not have a description of the suspect at all, the appropriate way to handle this, I think, should have been:
Ask him if he had a moment to speak
Ask him if he was aware of any suspicious activity in the neighborhood
Had they approached the situation in this way, they would have learned (without confrontation) what Westby had to explain to them: Stucky has worked in this neighborhood for 30 years, and his presence in the neighborhood was both expected and welcome by the community.
And finally: as there was no break-in that occurred, and the alarm went off erroneously causing an automated call to be placed to the police department, an important question is raised. Why were the police stopping someone walking at a normal pace nearly a mile away from an active alarm going off instead of rushing to the scene of the “crime”?
Please be sure to watch this video, and share this message with people you know. We must work to be ever vigilant and cognizant of this type of behavior, now and always.
For more information about this event, please visit the following links:
Tis no secret among those that know me – I love movies. I always have had, and always will have, a soft spot in my heart, mind, and soul for a well written and well acted performance.
I have been looking forward to The Judge for quite a long time. After reviving his acting career as the (in)famous Tony “Iron Man” Stark, Robert Downey, Jr.was given a second chance – a chance to prove the potential everyone knew he had before his personal demons ruled his life. He has vanquished those demons, and realized the potential he showed as a younger man. The Judge is proof positive of this.
The Judge is not a courtroom drama – though it has courtroom drama. The Judge is not a love story – though it has one of those as well. The Judge is, at its heart, the story of a boy and his father. Interestingly enough, it is a coming of age story for a man already grown.
I would describe the theme of The Judge to be one of reconciliation; a story of “tough” love; a story of compassion. The Judge will sway you, and hopefully make you think. It will make you feel. The movie is long at over two hours, and some might feel it is slow paced – it’s not an action movie. This is a character study – this is the story of a man and his father. While these things are true, there is suspense, and not just of the courtroom variety.
I often find myself saying about movies that I would recommend them to my friends, and I worry that I over say this at times. Even so, I recommend you see this movie.
If you are a person who dislikes knowing what is going to happen in a movie, I’d like to caution you now. If you proceed below the following trailer, you’ll learn more about the movie than you might have preferred (though you will need to continue to understand the title of this article).
“You got to have fun. Regardless of how you look at it, we’re playing a game. It’s a business, it’s our job, but I don’t think you can do well unless you’re having fun.”
“Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.”
Sometimes, a quick getaway is just the thing we all need. Sadly, at least for me, those getaways are sometimes too infrequent. Even so, we can still take a mini-vacation by exploring our imaginations. With that in mind, here are some pictures to help spur your imagination as we near the end of the week. With any luck, these might just help you power through Friday so you can relax, explore, or otherwise have small adventure for the weekend.
These photos were taken with an iPhone at sunset, on the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel. Please enjoy.
the dingo was here 