Q: What animal would you be if you could be an animal? A: You already are an animal.
(Daniel Underwood)
+ 1 - 0 | §¶Great Depeche Mode "Peace" Remix by Willbe
+ 5 - 0 | §¶An all new stock-photos.de is on it's way.
I will continue to use the (quite popular) domain stock-photos.de for my photographies, but I decided something I knew for quite some time now. The stock photo website will be migrated to a pure photography portfolio that shows the field I love the most: Available Light Photography. This is because the thing I love concerning photography is to catch special moments using the natural light of the sun in all it's variations. It will take some more time to finish the site and achieve the navigation I have in mind. All photos will be sorted into various sections that focus a lot more on themes rather than on a simple stock photo categorization.
Frequent readers noticed that I'm using Instagram quite a lot now. The service itself is only intended for use on mobile devices such as Android and iOS, but since the API got released there are also a lot of web applications to gain access to the photos. One of the good web interfaces I use is extragr.am, a slick interface to browse through the photos of your contacts, comment photos and search using keywords. There are a lot of other webinterfaces, but I like this one best. Another nice service is Instaport. You can use it to get an archive of your previously posted images in a ZIP archive, an RSS file or you can directly export them to Facebook and Flickr.
For quite some time I wasn't too much into photography. Mostly because of too much stress and a lot of other things. But finally I found my love for capturing moments again. It seems I just needed a new platform to share my photos and get the instant feedback that people actually like it. It's been one of these dark mornings in the office before starting to work, when I finally found the time to install Instagram and have a look at it. Well. It was a good decision. There are a lot of beautiful photos to discover and sharing is easy and fast. If you want to follow me thereand already have an account, you can access my profile through the webinterface extragram or directly follow me through the Instagram app searching for my username "ravennce"!
This evening I went to see The Hunger Games (IMDB) together with some friends in the Xinedome. The movie is starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson and Donald Sutherland, to mention the most important ones. The plot is very well told with a lot of good moments. The set design and the special effects are perfect for the mood the movies wants to create. To cut the long story short: These were 142 minutes well spent!
Wow. I just have read that Spotify has started to port their libspotify and a player over to AmigaOS 4.x. It seems they got a SAM 460 with AmigaOS4 and the SDK installed by a (indeed very cool) donator and agreed to port their software. You can already get a view on the machine it is developed on in the appropriate news over at Gizmodo FR. More information can be found in the appropriate thread over at amigans.net. Greatness! Well done!
Means: The android app development under the mobilexplore label has already begun. Our programming hero, aswell as the graphics magician are already working hard on the first release. Expect some announcements concerning the new apps soon.
This evening I took half an hour off from oldskool pixeling for the C64 and finally came to install Sculptris, the free tool from Pixologic, the makers of ZBrush. After registering you get the download link via e-mail quite fast and after clicking through the installation process you can instantly start to use the tool. My first goal when trying out a new 3D program for the first time is to create a bubblehead. The GUI is really easy to use and stunningly intuitive. You basically start with a primitive and just pull out or push in the surface using brushes. I succeeded to create a simple bubblehead within some minutes and it was quite fun to do it. You can see the fast result on the right.
During my next session I'll try something more advanced and also use the painting tools.
Up to now the tool is quite fun to use and I'm looking forward to explore it a bit further.
... after the quite good graphics competitions at the Revision 2012 are:
One fact that made me happy concerning the Modern Tools Graphics Competition was, that the first three ranks were actually filled with artists that still can paint with their own hands. Have a good feeling of perspective and proportion and are able to draw without the "help" of poser, blender, maya or $Random3Dmodeler. I'm still one of the people that think that the competitions should be split into something like "Hand painted" and "3D rendered" or something like that. That would do justice to all people taking part in the graphics competitions and it simply would be fair to do so.
The second fact is, that the Oldskool Graphics Competitions is much more surprising to me and it is much more inspiring for me to see the pictures and feel the creativity, knowledge and hard work that went into it. Not because I think there is more skill needed to create something for the oldskool platforms, but simply because the artist has more boundaries. I really have to mention Veto/Arsenic & Oxyron here, as his great winning entry called "Eye of the Storm"motivated me to start a new C64 picture almost instantly after ariving back home. \o/
I just added the C64 MultiColor painting I was ranked 6th in the "Oldskool Graphics" competition at Revision 2012. The title is called "Frühjahrsputz" which means something like "spring cleaning" in english. The painting is done pixel by pixel in Timanthes. It's a quite provocative painting though and only intended for grown ups. You can have a look at the picture at my works section or check out the C64 executable over at CSDB.
Added some new sketches to the works section entitled "Norma Jean Vampire" (Red ink and red coloured pencil) and "Who's Your Daddy?" (Black ink). Just look for them in the section called "Real Life - Sketches".
I look at the textfield and suddenly it comes to my mind:
"Too much stuff to write in here. Too much stuff that is my own business
and there is no need for everyone to know, nor do most people deserve
the opportunity to have a opinion on it. I have a lot of contacts on facebook.
Contacts. Not friends. The ones I call friends should know for themselves.
All others are just acquaintances. Get over it. And you. Facebook idiot.
Stop trying to suggest that someone can become my friend by just
clicking on a button. Idiot!"
And to be fair:
"Hey you. Google+. Don't you dare to laugh! The same applies to you! Idiot!"
Sorry to all other social platforms that aren't addressed here. The same certainly applies to all of you. But you're just too unimportant to be mentioned here. :D
I'm "Featured Showcase Artist" of the month April over at the demoscene arts section of Bitfellas called Art City. You can view my gallery over there following this link.
... but it's not a joke that there are several new sketches online in the works section of this website.
The titles are "Sehnsucht ist, was man zu sehen sucht", "Angry cactus", "Mona Nerda" and "Eagle's Head". These are once again just very fast sketches done for fun.
The Xbox Live Arcade title called Fable Heroes will be available through the Xbox Live Market for 800 MS-Points on the 2nd of May 2012. All three are Arcade NEXT titles and will reward your gaming with 400 Gamerscore.
Go for it and meet me online for a nice multiplayer-hack-and-slay session!
... from a workmate (Thanks, Stefan) that currently works over in the USA?
I'm not really sure if I really really want to drink this "wonder of today's chemistry", but I guess I'll resist for a week or so until I will crack open and try it. I have to admit I'm really curious. The ingredients don't sound too natural to me though!
Sometimes I ask myself what certain developers' opinion on good usability or design is?
Let's be more precise: At the point where a user chooses a certain operating system, he already decided for herself or himself what OS design and what type of usability he prefers. But lately I come across quite some applications that mix up the OS designs. One example is the spotify application that tries to look like it is a OSX application under windows. I assume the developers or even the responsible ones over at spotify want to have a share of the popularity of Apple products. Not that they need this kind of "cross platform publicity". Their service is pure greatness anyway. But what they don't seem to see is, that it doesn't give the application a unique look. It just doesn't fit into the design of a windows desktop and makes it a kind of alien element.
Well. At least they left the main window icons where they're expected to be.
This sadly applies to a lot of applications nowadays. In my opinion as a designer I think that following the appropriate OS design is as necessary to achieve a great overall usability as it is a golden principle for companies to strictly follow it's corporate design rules. Personalization is a good thing, but it should be left up to the user to choose the level of it. The worst effect of mixing up the OS styles of applications can be a reduced number of potential users. This might sound like a precarious assertion, but is based on my personal experience in the software industry.
To ski through the last Worldcup-Race of an outstanding career like this, is by far the most amazing way to retire from the world of professional ski sports that I can imagine!
Today I made my first little trip by car after my operation. I went to the local flea-market house here in Ulm to see if there's anything interesting and got rewarded by this
Saba Videoplay 2
in it's original package for as low as 5 EUR. It is complete and in good condition with one game included. The console itself is from around 1977 and a clone of the Fairchild Channel F.
FABLE HEROES looks like serious multiplayer fun to relax after a hard day of work. I really like the design of the game and the music fits perfectly! And if you watch carefully, you can get a glimpse of an achievement called "Traitor" (5G) you seem to get when killing Hobbes, when using a Hobbe custome. Greatness! \o/
You can get some more informations on the creation of the game over at Lionhead.
The Android Market just closed the doors and it seems Google goes on to consolidate his services. Google Play has now officially replaced the Android Market on my Motorola Defy+ and delivers a lot more than just apps. You're now also able to obtain music and eBooks through this online store. Beneath you're also able to rent videos on this online store.
Google Play also offers some online space to store around 20.000 songs. This helps when the music collection has to be transferred from one phone to another. Basically this means your music collection bought over at Google Play is available on every Android device you own. Just log in to your Google account and you're ready to go.
Google now automatically updates the store application on your phone within the next days. Installed apps and purchased music can be used as usual. To kick off the new shopping platform, there are special offers for 49 Cent available for a short period.
If you're still playing Fable III (Fable 3), you're probably in need of a list of all the guns counting for the achievement "We Need Guns, Lots of Guns" that is worth 20 Gamerscore. You have to collect all 50 legendary weapons for it and not all of them appear in your world, so you also have to trade with others through Xbox Live. To have a good overview on the needed weapons, I created a list of it including the english and German weapon names.
You can download the list in PDF format over here.
UPDATE:
I've also created a list for the achievement "Fashion Victim" where you have to collect every item of clothing.
You can download the appropriate list in PDF format over here.
I also changed the lists as requested by several people and added another column called "CHECK", so you can easily mark the items you already have.
Through the Xbox Live Marketplace a new title playing in Albion, the Fable Universe, got revealed. If it was by accident? I don't know. Lionhead Studios has set the product website of the game online in the meantime.
The game will be called "Fable: Heroes" and looks like a fun-mario-party-like-hack-and-slay game. It will be an Xbox-Live-Arcade title and it's said on Lionhead's website that the game was born as part of the yearly Creative Day, where anyone working at Lionhead can showcase new ideas. A 5 person team seems to work since early 2011 on the Arcade title.
It is said that you can collect gold, level up your character and get items for "Fable: The Journey" during the gameplay. It will be featuring on- and offline multiplayer for up to four players, time trials and leaderboards on Xbox Live. The character design looks a lot like the hero puppets you were able to collect during Fable II and the screenshots really look like this could be fun.
In the community and the boards a lot of Fable fans are complaining about the direction, the Fable franchise is going, but I think both new games can be a nice addition to the series and I'm looking forward playing them. Well. I also hope that a game similar to Fable III (let's just call it Fable IV at this point) is also worked on. Concerning the announced Fable games, I hope more infos will be released by Lionhead at the Game Developers Conference that started today. We'll see!
At least for a week I'll be only frequently online. I went to the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Ulm (Army Hospital Ulm) to get my gallbladder and the gallstones removed. Up to now the stay is quite comfortable. The food is good and the nurses and doctors do a fine job. I'll be back posting as soon as I recovered from the operation. See you all soon.
PS: And thanks for all the good wishes through various communication channels! \o/
The "Deal of the week" on Xbox Live was featuring all kinds of Fable III stuff, so I got reminded of this DLC and immediately bought it. Yesterday evening I played through the main quests and have to say that I really loved to have new levels for Fable III. They're once again done with a lot of passion and the story is well done. Definitely a must-have for all Fable III fans. Well. I know this recommendation is quite later. But better late than never! Have fun visiting Albion again! \o/
I'm also looking forward to Lionhead's Fable - The Journey, even if I'm a bit skeptical that the whole games concentrates on magic for combats, because I liked using swords and stuff up to now. I'm also curious if the Kinect controls are done well and if they will allow a continuous gameplay even over hours. BTW: Here's the E3-Presentation again for the interested ones.
... but the preparations for the next one has already started! \o/
As most of the other Ulmer Lechthal-Hexa are scattered around Germany and most of them want to keep their costumes, I will spend some more time into making some new ones this year. There will also be some more improvements I wanted to do for quite some time and possibly there will also finally be the Lechthaler ready for the Fasnet 2013. We'll see.
First up I registered the domain ulmer-lechthal-hexa.de that I wanted to have for quite some time. I also did some slight redesigning of the website itself and changed the navigation structure a bit and fixed the bugs of the navigation on mobile devices.
Oh BTW: It was a nice feeling to hear "Es goht dagega" at the train station this morning. Kinda feels nice to know that there are actually other people admiring the Fasnet like I do.
As you noticed, there aren't too much new entries in my blog. This is because I'm celebrating the Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet, which is a form of carnival in the south of Germany where I live. I'm once again taking part as a Ulmer Lechthal Hex, the mask group I created in 2006 together with some friends. This year all other witches of our group are scattered all over Germany, so I'm the only one left to uphold our young tradition. I've chosen to celebrate this years "Glombiger Donnerstag" in my hometown Ehingen together with my parents and friends. It was so much fun and celebrating the Fasnet is one of the best times of the year. It just ... makes me very happy! \o/
The Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet is quite different to the carnival celebrated in other areas of Germany like Cologne or Mainz. And I'm very glad it is! If you've never seen and felt it ... give it a shot! It's worth it!
+ 15 - 2 | §¶Netslang or useful additions to the German language?
Lately some German politicians are helping a lot creating new synonymical words for existing actions. At least it seems to be a trend and also a kind of penalization for incompetent German politicians.
A term quite often used in Germany is now "guttenbergen" which means to "intentionally copy something that belongs to someone else". This was invented after Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg declared his resignation after it became known that he plagiarised the work of numerous authors in his doctoral thesis.
During the last days also a fresh term is slowly added to the netslang. This time it is "hevelingen", which means something like "speaking about topics you don't have a clue at all". This was introduced after the German politician Ansgar Heveling (sorry. He's so unimportant that his wikipedia page is only available in German) made some statements in a German newspaper that clearly show, that he hasn't a clue what the internet is about and what role it plays now and in the future.
I'm excited to see what new words will arise from incompetent and unworldly politicians in the future. :D
Yesterday I took a day off to go skiing in Austria. I teamed up with my good friend and workmate Christian to visit the Silvretta-Montafon skiing area in Austria. We had chosen the Hochjoch part of the area and had a great day. Perfect snow and a nice weather were the best reward for the short 2 hour trip from Ulm to Schruns. No traffic jams and a good cup of coffee at Rosenberger made the day a very relaxed one. Now I'm back for the rest of the working week! \o/
Oh my! I honestly laughed my ass off during the last half an hour.
Thanks for this has to go to the German CDU politician Ansgar Heveling who wrote an horrible article entitled "Netcommunity - You will lose the battle" (article is in German/the given title in this blog is freely translated) in the German newspaper Handelsblatt.
This politician is a member of the enquete commission "Internet and digital society" over here and clearly shows in this article, that he has absolutely no clue what he's talking about. You get the feeling that he just seeks for attention. Well. He got attention and strong reactions from the internet community. Just read the tweets tagged with #hevelingfacts (German) or amuse yourself with what people have done to his website after finding out, that he has chosen his surname as username and his name as password for the administrative area. You can have a look here, here and here!
Good, I was taking some screenshot while laughing!
I have to say that I basically dislike when other people's property is touched or even destroyed, but I have to admit I was very amused to see all the "reactions" on the net! :D
Help to stop the biggest threat to the internet and personal freedom by signing the STOP ACTA petition (Here's the German version). I already did!
Thanks!
+ 21 - 3 | §¶This movie ... not just made my day. It made my month!
This evening I was convinced to go to cinema together with some good friends. They just told me that it is a french movie. And I have to admit, it was the best movie I've seen in ages. But to cut a long story short: We went to see ...
... in the Xinedome. The movie is starring a very convincing François Cluzet, extremely cool Omar Sy and very beautiful Audrey Fleurot. But I have to say that all of the actors did an extremely good job. The plot, the jokes, the timing, the camera angles and the soundtrack was altogether a very loveable piece of art. I truely wished that more movies like this are made. Movies full of joy, respect and without any prejudices.
... together with some friends. As usual Tom Cruise played Ethan Hunt, but this time he teamed up with funny Simon Pegg (already loved his performance in the comedy-horror-movie Shaun of the Dead), Jeremy Renner (who looked a bit like a Daniel-Craig-Wanna-Be) and a quite nice Paula Patton. The villain itself was not the best one I've seen and also he was rather unimportant. The plot of the movie can be described as "the way is the target". Nevertheless this movie entertained me very well. The special effects and ideas (Oh my. I want that automatic 3D beamer wall for my home) were stunning and the actors did a good job!
Popcorn cinema as is should be and the feeling that the money was well spent!
This evening I started the cinema week by teaming up with some friends. We first went for some delicious food at the Chilly's and then continued the fun with ...
... at the Xinedome. I loved the style of the first movie and they continued this style at it's best. Once more very cool Robert Downey Jr., funny Jude Law and beautiful Kelly Reilly do a great job. Also Jared Harris as Prof. Moriarty does a very nice job playing the villain, even if I have to admit that Marc Strong was the better villain in the first movie. I like the plot and loved the whole set design aswell as the good placed jokes. To cut the long story short: Definitely a popcorn-cinema-must-see!
Here are some live captures of the stunning live act by Gasman during the tUM*2011:
Oh. And BTW: The beloved NUANCE Demoscene Family I'm organizer of for over 20 years now, managed to win the Lowend-Demo-Competition with our C64 demo called ÄCHZZEIT and also the Gamedev-Competition with our new Wii game called IRONING MAIDEN. Get these fine releases from tUM*2011 from the releases section over at the website of the NUANCE Demoscene Family!
I wish all of my friends and visitors a happy new year and a good start into 2012!
I especially thank all of my friends for the nice short messages, e-mails, calls and cuddles during the new years eve and the following day. It's good to know that such a lot of people are thinking of me! You all rock! \o/
Frequent readers noticed that I'm using 
For quite some time I wasn't too much into photography. Mostly because of too much stress and a lot of other things. But finally I found my love for capturing moments again. It seems I just needed a new platform to share my photos and get the instant feedback that people actually like it. It's been one of these dark mornings in the office before starting to work, when I finally found the time to install Instagram and have a look at it. Well. It was a good decision. There are a lot of beautiful photos to discover and sharing is easy and fast. If you want to follow me thereand already have an account, you can access my profile through the webinterface 
This evening I took half an hour off from oldskool pixeling for the C64 and finally came to install 
"
Today I received a bottle of ...
Let's be more precise: At the point where a user chooses a certain operating system, he already decided for herself or himself what OS design and what type of usability he prefers. But lately I come across quite some applications that mix up the OS designs. One example is the 
Today I made my first little trip by car after my operation. I went to the local flea-market house here in Ulm to see if there's anything interesting and got rewarded by this
At least for a week I'll be only frequently online. I went to the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Ulm (Army Hospital Ulm) to get my gallbladder and the gallstones removed. Up to now the stay is quite comfortable. The food is good and the nurses and doctors do a fine job. I'll be back posting as soon as I recovered from the operation. See you all soon.
