Ascension update

So I've just finished putting some final touches on a couple posters for Ascension. Zach, our creative director has a meeting later this month, so these 5' posters will accompany him, along with a few of our Media Kits. The Mars faction pilot and the Kj'Hal Queen were produced by another talented member of our team, here are the posters:



We've recently set some major benchmarks and have locked down a schedule, and are planning for a beta release during the summer of next year. It's so awesome seeing how far we've come on the game to this point, but also, looking forward we realize just how much is left to go. It's exhilarating and scary at the same time!

We're lucky to have the team members we do- everyone is so enthusiastic and they're all giving it so much attention. Keep your eyes peeled, we'll have more to update as time pushes ever on.

News: Snow storm drops 4 feet

Good GOD remind me not to complain about snow for a while. At least like, a couple days...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/11/06/wintry.weather.ap/index.html

Thats ALOT of snow!

Naomi Klein on The Colbert Report

This made me laugh:

Hackers and Spending Sprees

Great article on Newsweek here:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581/page/1

This is somewhat shocking, though I can't say that I didn't see it coming:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

Also... a candid Obama moment on page 2, made me laugh.

TED Talk: The Power of Glamour

Really interesting talk by Virginia Postrel on glamour. I think every artist strives for this kind of glamour in their work.

77 Days

77 Days left of Bush

Ramble: Election day in America

Well, today's the day.

We're finally to that day where we know tomorrow we won't receive 10+ phone calls from the republican party pleading for us to cast our vote for that "maverick" McCain for president.

THANK GOD TODAY IS THE DAY.

I hope all of you who read this, today and any day after, can say that today you cast your vote. In times such as these, it is so imperative that we don't take our freedoms for granted. This year's election is perhaps the single largest political event in my life to date. My hope is that in 30 years, I can look back on this time in our country's history and proclaim: "I was there. I was part of that."

It's no secret that my family supports Obama, our prayer is that the Obama/Biden team can step up and fulfill the plans that they have laid out. We'll be watching today, as American's flood in to the polls, eager to participate in the 2008 election.

And we'll be watching tomorrow, as I hope, will all of you.

One other thing- thank GOD for absentee ballots. We waited a whole of 5 minutes when we cast our vote two weeks ago...

How old are you?

Today is absolutely gorgeous outside. It's not every November we see temperatures in the lower 70's here in Wisconsin- usually we're ducking for cover in the lower 40's. So I took Isabella out to run a few errands with me this morning, and we stopped briefly at a park to play on the swings and slides.

Needless to say, it was a chance to work off some of her energy before lunch. So Isabella and I did that for about an hour, and then we ran home and had lunch.

Now, some of you parents know that kids say the silliest things. Isabella caught us by surprise today when we were talking about how old she was. Let's recount the tale....

Dad: "Yeah, daddy's 28 years old. How old is mommy?"
Mom: "Mom is 26 years old, how old is Bella?"
Bella points to each: "Bella, two.. Daddy three, mommy three"

Dad & Mom laughing: "Nooo silly!"
Dad: "How many years is daddy?"

Bella: "Daddy oOoOold."

All three of us bust into laughter. It wasn't that she just called me old. It was that she called me old with so much enthusiasm, as to say- haha Bella's silly (and right, no need to argue). She preceded to stand by her statement for the next twenty minutes, trying to make her case that indeed... daddy is old.

I think she's right!

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a happy Halloween tomorrow, we weren't able to continue our tradition of pumpkin carving this year as things have been slightly crazy lately at home. But we are planning on taking Isabella Trick-or-Treating this year which will be super fun.

We're wishing for a safe and fun season for all!

Happy Hallows Eve!

Our pumpkins from last year...

Review: The Shock Doctrine

This book, to me, deserves recognition as perhaps *the* most comprehensive and detailed essay on the events (and power players) that have shaped the world in which we live in today.

Naomi reveals with expert analysis the trials that country after country have gone through, and spilled blood for- at the hands of corrupt Chicago-School Economic policies and their proponents.

This book should be required reading for the college level youth of our nation.

http://www.naomiklein.org/main

theGathering

theGathering
Originally uploaded by mariuccij

This was a joint project done with several friends just before Siggraph of 2003. It seems silly looking back on it, but we sure had high hopes to produce something epic in scale.

3D Portfolio

I added some old school models and vids to my Flickr account last night. These pieces are from my days back in Fullsail. Fun to look back on fo sho.

Check em out here:

Ramble: First Snow

So um, I was at work yesterday and I was told that it was snowing out. Apparently 2 out of every 5 years, we see snow in October.

This must be one such year. I will sum up my feelings on this issue in the following way:

uuuuugguguuguguggguuggghghh. snoowww.

Where the heck did this year go??

Voter Purging

Well, its discouraging to read news like this:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html

"That means that lots and lots of eligible voters could get knocked off the voter rolls without any notice and, in many cases, without any opportunity to correct it before Election Day."

"People are being targeted, and people are being told they are non-citizens, including both naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizens," said Shore, another plaintiff in the Georgia lawsuit.

"They're being told they're not eligible to vote, based on information in a database that hasn't been checked and approved by the Department of Justice, and that we know has flaws in it."

Pres. Bush endorses McCain and Palin

Cobert Report: The Palins in People Magazine

DHS & Border Patrol

Seems that the Customs and Border Patrol was authorized by Congress earlier this year to operate within "reasonable" distance from the US Borders, which happens to be 100 miles. Within this distance, they can stop, search and detain anyone for any reason.

With government watch lists growing ever more automated, this kind of power has got to stop. So far, Bush's regime has gone unchecked, and we're slowly losing our freedoms, one by one, in the name of "Homeland Security."

Hmm.. Welcome to the land of the free...

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/ACLU_highlights_ConstitutionFree_Zone_100_miles_1022.html

Space: Who Knew, #11

Space: Who Knew - Index
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Titan

Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon)

Titan is one of Saturn's many satellites, and is the planet's largest moon. It is also the only moon in our solar system known to have a dense atmosphere. It's diameter is nearly 50% larger than our own moon and it is the 2nd largest moon in our solar system- larger even than planet Mercury. In fact, the moon is so massive, that it makes up 96% of the combined mass of all of Saturn's moons.

"The atmosphere of Titan is largely composed of nitrogen and its climate includes methane and ethane clouds. The climate—including wind and rain—creates surface features that are similar to those on Earth, such as sand dunes and shorelines, and, like Earth, is dominated by seasonal weather patterns. With its liquids (both surface and subsurface) and robust nitrogen atmosphere, Titan is viewed as analogous to the early Earth, although at a much lower temperature. The satellite has thus been cited as a possible host for microbial extraterrestrial life or, at least, as a prebiotic environment rich in complex organic chemistry. Researchers have suggested a possible underground liquid ocean might serve as a biotic environment.^[9][10]"

To quote the movie Anchorman, I could see Titan saying to Saturn: "I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal..."

Thanks to NASA's Cassini–Huygens program, we have extremely detailed images of Titan. The Huygens probe landed on the moon on January 14th, 2005. It was able to photograph the moon for about 90 minutes after landing. Check out this image taken from the Huygens probe after landing.

Cassini is in fact still orbiting the moon and has detailed much of its surface. In fact, it is now known that liquid ethane exists on the moon, much like Earth's oceans- in huge basins edged by intricate coastlines not unlike our own.


One last bit of info about the moon from its Wiki article:

"Scientists believe that the atmosphere of early Earth was similar in composition to the current atmosphere on Titan. Many hypotheses have developed that attempt to bridge the step from chemical to biological evolution. The Miller-Urey experiment and several following experiments have shown that with an atmosphere similar to that of Titan and the addition of UV radiation, complex molecules and polymer substances like tholins can be generated. The reaction starts with dissociation of nitrogen and methane, forming hydrocyan and ethyne. Further reactions have been studied extensively.^[87]

All of these experiments have led to the suggestion that enough organic material exists on Titan to start a chemical evolution analogous to what is thought to have started life on Earth. While the analogy assumes the presence of liquid water for longer periods than is currently observable, several theories suggest that liquid water from an impact could be preserved under a frozen isolation layer.^[88] It has also been observed that liquid ammonia oceans could exist deep below the surface;^[9][89] one model suggests an ammonia–water solution as much as 200 km deep beneath a water ice crust, conditions that, "while extreme by terrestrial standards, are such that life could indeed survive".^[10] Heat transfer between the interior and upper layers would be critical in sustaining any sub-surface oceanic life.^[9]

Detection of microbial life on Titan would depend on its biogenic effects. That the atmospheric methane and nitrogen are of biological origin has been examined, for example.^[10] Hydrogen has been cited as one molecule suitable to test for life on Titan: if methanogenic life is consuming atmospheric hydrogen in sufficient volume, it will have a measurable effect on the mixing ratio in the troposphere.^[90]"

Who knew???

Palin charges Alaska for kids' travel

The more I find out about this woman the more I dislike her.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/21/palin.travel.ap/index.html

In a nutshell:

"In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. She also has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls."

Shock Doctrine: Rumsfelds war on bureaucracy

So I read this excerpt from the Shock Doctrine this afternoon and I felt compelled to share it.

In this part of the book, Naomi Klien makes the case that shock therapy has been used in our own country. The excerpt begins with a speech made by Donald Rumsfeld to Pentagon staff.

"The topic today is an adversary that poses a threat, a serious threat, to the security of the United States of America. This adversary is one of the world's last bastions of central planning. It governs by dictating five-year plans. From a single capital, it attempts to impose its demands across time zones, continents, oceans and beyond. With brutal consistency, it stifles free thought and crushes new ideas. It disrupts the defense of the United States and places the lives of men and women in uniform at risk.
Perhaps this adversary sounds like the former Soviet Union, but that enemy is gone: our foes are more subtle and implacable today... The adversary's closer to home. It's the Pentagon bureaucracy."

As Rumsfeld's rhetorical gimmick revealed itself, the faces in the audience went stony. Most of the people listening had devoted their careers to fighting the Soviet Union and didn't appreciate being compared to Commies at this stage in the game. Rumsfeld wasn't finished.

"We know the adversary. We know the threat. And with the same firmness of purpose that any effort against a determined adversary demands, we must get at it and stay at it... today we declare war on bureaucracy."

He'd done it: the defense secretary had not only described the Pentagon as a grave threat to America but declared war against the institution where he worked. The audience was stunned. "He was saying we were the enemy, that the enemy was us. And here we were thinking we were doing the nation's business," the staffer told me.

It wasn't that Rumsfeld wanted to save taxpayer dollars- he had just asked Congress for an 11 percent budget increase. But following the corporatist principles of the counterrevolution, in which Big Government joins forces with Big Business to redistribute funds upward, he wanted less spent on staff and far more public money transferred directly into the coffers of private companies. And with that Rumsfeld launched his "war." Every department needed to slash its staff by 15 percent, including "every base headquarters building in the world. It's not just the law, it's a good idea, and we're going to get it done."

....the coverage of his declaration of war on the Pentagon was sparse. That's because the date of his contentious address was September 10, 2001.

The Shock Doctrine, pgs 361-363
Naomi Klein