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What I've Been Doing 11 Nov 2013 [FB/IB/F/BT/GO]
Nov 11th, 2013 by Dan
Clever ad copy for one of the best shows this season. (Photo by Katya Yakubov)
It's been another awesome week! I got to meet Adam Jones at a tailgate and watch the Ravens win along with…all the stuff below!
None this week!
The Amazing Race – Katie and I shotgunned the entire tenth season because it had a leg that passed through Madagascar. I think she's really starting to get into the show, which is great because it's loads of fun to watch. I'm also working on the fifth season on my own and watching the current season. I'm really liking Nicole and Travis to win the race…
Masters of Sex – The show is pretty slow-moving, but I'm really enjoying the way that it's setting up its relationships and plotlines so far. Lots of great character work.
How I Met Your Mother – Ask and ye shall receive, I guess. The mother made an appearance, but now I'm gonna complain that she's not interacting with the present day cast. Soon enough, I'd think!
New Girl – Coach is back! I forgot how he was supposed to be characterized, but it was a little disappointing. Just felt trite and overdone with the whole "guy acting like girlfriends are controlling their friends" thing. His role in Happy Endings was way more interesting. Also who remembered that Winston used to play basketball in Europe?!
The Mindy Project – It's a bummer that this show probably isn't gonna survive, because it's just got so many hilarious lines. They're usually throaways, but they make me and Katie laugh so hard anyway…
Homeland – Remember how Homeland never lets you get comfortable because it's always "GO GO GO!"? It's that again for sure. Did you think we'd have another quiet interrogation episode like last year? Nope. Carrie's already laying out the long con. It was pretty cool, but they seem to be randomly mismanaging stuff, so people ended up…dead.
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys today because I heard it this morning and I love it.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies – Second case is progressing and I'm getting really close to finishing off the proper verdict. Still fun, if not a little quirky and weird. This case has been pretty convoluted and I'm still not sure where all the details are going to end up.
Pokemon Y – One gym leader left!
Tiny Death Star – F2P gaming at its worst, but it's fine to set timers and have going on in the background for all the silly Star Wars jokes.
Plants vs. Zombies 2 – I'd rather play this on my PC. It's not the worst, but it's still not anywhere near as good…
Bookmark This, Feedback, Filmmakers Bleed, Game Overview, Idiot Box
happy endings, homeland, how i met your mother, masters of sex, new girl, phoenix wright: ace attorney - dual destinies, pokemon y, star wars, the amazing race, the beach boys, tiny death star
What I've Been Doing 10 Sept 2012 {FB/IB/F/BT/GO]
Sep 10th, 2012 by Dan
오빤 강남 스타일! (Photo courtesy Music Star22)
This week was ridiculous, guys. I mean, so much K-Pop and so much Jazz! It's like highs and lows here. Add in some fantastic TV shows and ninjas and you've got my media week.
Sleepwalk With Me – Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass' first joint movie project was a resounding success. It's pretty much an adaptation of his stage show, but, as Min pointed out, we've seen this performed two or three times and it still feels really fresh. An excellent freshman effort. Catch it if it hasn't left your city.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – Looking for something to watch that she hadn't seen, we settled on this. Man, I'd forgotten how fun this movie is. Just brisk and exciting. Ends one time too many, but otherwise great.
The Incredibles – Had this on the tube and it caught Tiffany's imagination. Pulled out the blu-ray and watched it for maybe the third time ever. Guys, this movie is pretty awesome, even if it has weird message issues. I mean, being special is good, right? I get that, but why make a villain out of the guy who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps to make something out of himself? Buddy is misunderstood (and evil).
Breaking Bad – HOLY COW! I've been forcing myself to slow down my consumption of these episodes because it's just been SO GREAT. Season 3 really brought it together and taught me why everyone thinks this show is awesome. So masterful!
Kids on the Slope – What a charming, touching, musically amazing show that was. It's only 12 episodes long, so it doesn't overstay its welcome and it's interesting the whole way through. You should check this anime out. It's on CrunchyRoll right now for free.
The Daily Show – DNC time! The segments weren't as biting (and the acceptance one was a remixed version of the RNC platform one), but they still had some good zingers for the DNC, such as the platform change vote.
NTSF:SD:SUV – Only my second episode of this madness, but the Time Angels stuff was hilarious. Sharp writing on this episode for the fake backdoor pilot.
Childrens Hospital – I love the "behind the scenes" episodes of this show. Too bad I missed the first half, but I'm sure I'll catch it on reruns soon.
Pretty Little Liars – GUYS…this show is bonkers. It's insane. Thank god I have Jacob Clifton's recaps to read and laugh about. The show's not bad, but man is it trashy and hilarious in all the right ways.
Fashion Police – Joan Rivers makes vagina jokes! No real complaints here. I can deal with this by now.
Cupcake Wars – So many strained Star Wars references. So many weird ingredients.
"Gangnam Style" is AMAZING. How did I miss this when it came out?!
Super catchy and super ridiculous/bizarre/awesome. Psy is incredible in this video.
Like I said above, I spent a lot of this week listening to Jazz too. Here's the best segment from Kids on the Slope:
That medley is just fantastic. Such a brilliant scene.
I promise I'll get back to reading soon!
Driver: San Francisco – Evading the cops sucks. Couldn't get it quite right, but I dug some of the driving. I'll have to give it a little more time.
Spelunky – Started trying to speedrun for the 8 minute achievement after I got the Casanova one. Made it to the caves once, but it's hard to just blow through these levels.
Mark of the Ninja – The Giant Bomb guys talked this game up like it was awesome. It is lots of fun. I like how clear all the stealth stuff is, but I wish it were a little easier to stun/not kill some of the guards. I feel like some puzzles very early in the game require you to kill or set off an alarm and that's a bummer.
breaking bad, childrens hospital, cupcake wars, driver: san francisco, fashion police, ira glass, jacob clifton, joan rivers, kids on the slope, kiss kiss bang bang, mark of the ninja, mike birbiglia, ntsf:sd:suv, pretty little liars, psy, sleepwalk with me, spelunky, star wars, the daily show, the incredibles
Scott Pilgrim's Precious LIttle Life…IN COLOR! [BT]
Aug 19th, 2012 by Dan
There's also quite the size difference in the reprint.
The best comic book news (so far) this year is, without a doubt, the announcement of color reprints of Scott Pilgrim. I'm a huge fan of the original graphic novels and of Bryan Lee O'Malley so I was completely stoked to see what this new version would bring to the table.
I never noticed how frightening Stephen Stills' teeth were in the bottom left until I started looking at these photos in detail.
"But Dan," you might ask, "aren't you generally opposed to remaking and endless tinkering with media a la George Lucas?"
I think it's clearer that the souls of Sex Bomb-Omb aren't leaving their bodies in color. It's just music, you guys. Rock and roll music.
You know, random internet question asker, you're not completely wrong. I don't really care for all the editorial changes in Star Wars, but, here's the thing, you don't have to make ironclad rules for everything in life. Some things can still be awesome even if you didn't like another similar thing…
…And boy howdy is the color reprint of Scott Pilgrim amazing. In fact, I'd say it's the preferred way to read at least Vol 1.
Second best line in the entire series.
Wallace looks weird in the bottom left there.
Story and dialogue-wise, there are no changes (that I noticed), but you do sometimes get a little more nuance or expression thanks to the addition of color. For example, I think the panel where Stacey is yelling at Wallace for stealing her boyfriend looks more angry in B&W, but more exasperated and/or embarrassed in color thanks to how pink Stacey's face gets.
She just looks way angrier this way!
Love the little colored hearts.
Then there are the other subtle details that my eyes never noticed in B&W. T-shirt designs, Ramona's star-shaped ring, and even story things like the way that Knives' clothes look like a palette swap of Kim's as she gets more "scene". Not to mention changing Julie so that she wears glasses in Vol. 1 as she does in later volumes.
In the monochrome dimension Julie's eyesight was still good.
Maybe the shift to color just overwhelmed her rods and cones.
I'm sure that some of the detail noticing simply comes from this being my fifth (or so) reading of Scott Pilgrim, but I do genuinely believe that these little things pop a lot more thanks to the contrast.
Then there are the things that are just executed better in color. My favorite example of this is the dream sequence where Scott's playing a show while Ramona wanders by. In the monochrome edition the visual language of all of Scott's dreams are conveyed by layering the white panels over an all-black page. Additionally, in this particular dream, O'Malley adds in these hazily defined lights and some looser pencil work that I think contrasts with his tighter lines (could be imagining this). In color he can still use the same motifs, but now he can also add a washed out, hazy look to his color selection. This page stands out more from the rest of the book as a dream in my eyes.
Who is that woman singing? Why does it look like Knives is on sax?
Those mysteries are NOT answered by the color edition.
The last change to the book is the addition of even more behind the scenes information. I didn't snap any shots of those since they are bonus exclusives to the book, but we're talking concept art, reference photos, and commentary by O'Malley about the creation of the book. My favorite inclusion was the original pitch that O'Malley used for the book. It was neat to see what elements were dropped over the years and which ones he retained as more volumes came out. Very cool stuff.
My only gripe with this book has to do with credit. I get that it would be very unconventional to list a colorist's name on the cover of a book, I suppose. Usually top billing goes to writers and pencilers/inkers, but when the major difference between the volumes is the inclusion of color…well I just feel bad that poor Nathan Fairbairn (who did fantastic work on this volume) gets credit only on the info page and the author splash in the back. I mean, at the very least couldn't you just namedrop him in the summary printed on the back cover? "Now with colors by Nathan Fairbairn!" It's a nitpick, but I just feel like he did great work and he's not getting enough publicity for it.
That aside, guys, this book is awesome. I don't care if you already have the B&W version of this volume, you should go and buy this. Now. Hurry.
bryan lee o'malley, george lucas, nathan fairbairn, scott pilgrim, scott pilgrim's precious little life, star wars
Comedians/Comic Actors and Star Wars Stand Up 2 Cancer [ER]
Emma Stone remains too cute for existence and Bill Hader remains super hilarious.
Embedded Reporter
bill hader, emma stone, star wars
Why Star Wars is Secretly Terrifying For Women [ER]
Apr 28th, 2011 by Dan
Why 'Star Wars' Is Secretly Terrifying for Women — powered by Cracked.com
after hours, cracked, star wars
Richard Pryor in the Star Wars Bar
Dec 1st, 2010 by Dan
Richard Pryor is a comedy legend. I had no idea he made this short where he was a bartender in a Star Wars bar. Hilarious.
richard pryor, star wars
Stormtroopers and Vader Getting Funky [Embedded Reporter]
Oct 19th, 2010 by Dan
Funny video. Good dancing. Thanks for sharing, Kai.
michael jackson, star wars
Mother 3 Review [Big N]
Jan 12th, 2010 by Dan
Wallpaper courtesy Pet-Shop on DeviantArt
Ruminations on video games as an art form – this could very well become a Mother 3 review. There will be spoilers here. Seriously, don't read it if you want to play Mother 3 and not have the plot spoiled.
There's a trite comparison that floats around the internet almost every month that always gets my eyes rolling. Inevitably, someone will call such-and-such the Citizen Kane of video games or ask what the Citizen Kane is or claim that the medium is immature because we've yet to hit our Citizen Kane. It's exhausting and, quite frankly, futile and stupid. To begin with, Citizen Kane opened with good reviews and was generally well-received, but it didn't start to gain notoriety for ten years. It didn't even make #1 on a top movies list until twenty years had passed. When the Citizen Kane of gaming hits (god I hate that phrase), we probably won't know it for quite some time. The more important point is that movies and games are apples and oranges.
The day that we stop worrying about whether books or movies are better than games at expressing a particular artist's point of view is probably the day that we'll realize that we've already got fine examples of games that are reflections of authorial control already. Brütal Legend was not a great game, but Tim Schafer's hands are clearly evident all over it. Anyone who's ever played one of Fumito Ueda's games knows precisely how a game can effectively be used to bring out your emotions through simple mechanics. Goichi Suda (AKA Suda 51) has been making games that show clear, artistic direction through his use of bizarre symbols and incomprehensible plots for years. My point is, we've been here for a while.
You may have heard of Shigesato Itoi, but chances are, you have no clue that he's one of the most famous and respected men in Japan to such a degree that his dog was probably the most recognizable animal in the entire country for a few years. In America, we know him as a video game designer, specifically the man behind Earthbound, but not much else. Interestingly enough, Itoi is actually more famous for being an essayist, interviewer, and slogan generator than his work for Nintendo. His association with Hayao Miyazaki is well known enough that he's famous for the Kiki's Delivery Service slogan ("Ochikondari mo shita kedo, watashi wa genki desu" — "I was a little depressed for a bit; I'm okay now") and he even voiced Mei's father in My Neighbor Totoro (a role that went to Phil Hartman (rest in peace) when the movie was dubbed in English).
In his younger days, Itoi found himself sick and unable to do much but play Nintendo as he recovered. It was in this state that he discovered Dragon Quest, which set the wheels turning in his head. This experience was the impetus behind the Mother series and led to Itoi's long, fruitful relationship with Nintendo. In case you were wondering (protip: you probably weren't), Shigesato Itoi is the guy who came up with the name for the Game Boy. True fact.
It's not surprising to me that most of the names I've mentioned were not always video game designers. The most bizarre of the bunch, Suda, was an undertaker before he tried his luck in the video game industry while Ueda was an artist and the aforementioned Itoi was a…well there's no easy word to describe someone like Itoi. He was (and is) a cultural personality.
"If you immerse yourself too single-mindedly in your chosen art form, whether it's video games, movies, comics or whatever," he continues, "your work can easily become just a reflection of what others are doing in that field, rather than breaking new ground."
Now, Schafer is, himself, a product of the industry, having held no other jobs, but he's the exception, a true creative mind that is not crippled by his feedback loop of doom. Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Psychonauts, and Brütal Legend could not be more different from each other, but just think of how rare this is. For every Schafer or Ken Levine out there trying to bring new influences into the industry, there are tons of Star Wars- and Lord of the Rings-inspired games produced each year retreading on the same, tired stories game in and game out. How many World War II games do we really need?
In 1989 Shigesato Itoi looked at the video game industry and said "How many sword and sorcery RPGs do we really need?" 2009 just passed us by and I'd say we're still mostly mired in these medieval locales in 95% of all RPGs. Mother, Itoi's freshman attempt at a video game, was set in "modern day" America. Earthbound (Mother 2) wasn't exactly breaking with Itoi's norm by being set in America yet again (in 1994), but it's still a light among the sameness that pervaded the industry. Mother 3 is ambiguous about its timeline, but it feels like a scaled back modern day. In any case, like in the other games of the series, the weapons aren't swords and bows, but sticks, yo-yos, and baseball bats. It's really only a cosmetic and tonal shift, but it makes all the difference.
That's exactly what makes Shigesato Itoi so great as a game designer. Perhaps it's his outside status or maybe it's just his brilliance, but Itoi understands video games to a scary degree for a man who only undertook them on a whim. I applaud him most for understanding that a game is an interactive piece of art and reflecting that with his systems. To wit, every Mother game revolves around music. The first game had the character searching for the Eight Melodies while the second repeated that idea with Eight Sanctuaries (each with a musical theme associated with it). Earthbound's instruction manual (in Japanese) contained a little song that Itoi wrote for the player to sing as the main melody played on the overworld. Every line of text in the Mother series is written in kana (katakana or hiragana), so that the person has to vocalize Itoi's often lyrical writing style. Mother 3's focus on musical themes and leifmotifs (from the Masked Man to the Magypsies) is also emphasized through every character's attacks in the battle system.
From Lucas to Salsa the Monkey, every character has a musical instrument associated with his attacks. So does every enemy. Each enemy also has a musical theme that plays in the background. Once you attack, you can continue to press the 'A' button to extend your combo to 16 hits if you can keep time with the (sometimes fiendishly difficult) beat. Just like that, something Itoi has always wanted the player to do (become musically involved with his world) becomes integrated into the activity the player does most in the game, battling.
Itoi also loves to toy with player perception to a hilarious degree. In an early sequence in the first chapter of the game, Flint becomes covered with soot after saving a friend's kid from a fire. Why? Because that's what would happen if you were running around in a fire. As he makes his way back out of the woods, you can bet that every person you talk to will question why you are covered from head to toe in black soot. Even better, if you hop into a hot spring to recover, the soot will wash off of your character from the neck down, since the Mother 3 hot spring animation always leaves the head exposed. It's not until much later when it starts to rain that the soot washes off Flint's face, this time to emphasize that we're not joking around anymore, Flint's family was still missing after the fire and they were almost certainly in danger.
An even more brilliant sequence comes much later in the game when the player is washed upon a tropical island with 1 HP and no equipment. The only way to progress through the jungle without dying is to eat one of the psychotropic mushrooms growing on the island. A bizarre sequence of events follows as you make your way to the next Magypsy with your perceptions completely torn asunder. Replicas of your family and friends attack you, which isn't that unique for an RPG, but the way the narrative is presented and the visuals are warped, it becomes seriously unsettling. The one moment of calm comes when you arrive at another hot spring and recover, only to continue back into the horrors of the jungle.
Once you get to the Magypsy's house, you're constantly bombarded with insults about how bad you smell. It makes no sense though, because the player has done nothing different that would cause such a foul smell. Still, when your perception is returned to normal, there is a visible stench rising from Lucas and his compatriots. A quick dip in the bath follows and you're no longer "smelly", but, as a curious player, I wondered what had happened in the first place. Instead of continuing forward, I dove right back into the jungle to get to the bottom of it. halfway through, I was feeling a bit fatigued, so I popped on over to the hot springs and it all made sense. In my hallucinogenic state, I was unable to recognize that the pond I dove into for recovery was a festering, toxic-looking garbage dump of a pond. Off to the side, where no conceivable player would ever go, was a door into the real hot spring.
I couldn't believe that some players would never find out the mystery behind why they were so smelly. Returning to that hot spring is hardly mandatory. Maybe that's why it felt so amazing to see these little narrative games played with my perception of what was going on in the Mother 3 world at the time. It's also interesting to look at from a player trust perspective, because when I saw that disgusting pond, rendered in all its GBA, low-fi glory, I felt nauseous and I know it was partly due to a feeling of betrayal. I have a feeling that this was exactly how Itoi wanted me to feel at that point.
Shigesato Itoi admits that the original draft for Mother 3 was way darker than it already is. It was written shortly after his divorce was finalized, which I think has a lot to do with the emotional betrayals of even the finalized version of this game. However this game was very nearly vaporware that was never released. Its development started for the SNES in 1994, but was quickly shifted to the N64 and the ill-fated 64DD not long after. Anyone familiar with the 64DD peripheral knows that this was going to prove troublesome for Itoi and his team. The game was even canceled at one point, but it was eventually decided to put it on the Gameboy Advance and announced around the re-release of Mother 1 + 2, no doubt to help drum up sales.
No one but the team knows just how dark the original narrative was, but Itoi claims that the story that eventually made it to print was the result of him finally becoming a good person. It boggles the mind to realize that it could have been any more dramatic, especially for a game that looks as friendly and cute as this one. In fact, this is the reason why Nintendo of America claims it will not localize the game. They claim the narrative is too mature and depressing for the way it looks and, really, the tone and the subject matter are alternatively irrelevant and deathly serious, so I kind of get what they mean. At one point you have a guy telling Flint that he's got good news and bad news. The good news is something irrelevant and stupid while the bad news is that Flint's wife, Hinawa, is dead. What follows is a scene that is so emotionally gripping that my little brother was affected even without hearing the music and sound associated with the scene. Flint completely flips out and starts beating on the guy who gave him bad news and even starts lashing out at the townspeople who are trying to calm him down. He is knocked out by a friend and put in a jail cell that has never before been used in the town's existence.
It's this weird juxtaposition of the inane and the deathly serious that creates the dissonant feelings I mentioned before with the hot tub scene and makes the player feel uneasy about what's going on. When Hinawa's father, Alec, is trying to tell stupid jokes to help Flint not be so tense about the certain danger his son is in. I wanted to tell him to shut up and let him focus, but I could also see that Flint was obsessing to a dangerous degree and that Alec was right in trying to calm him down. You also have the lighthearted love story of Salsa and Samba being ruined by the brutal and sadistic torturer Yokuba (Fassad in the fan-translation). It's like Itoi is trying to say that the world is a screwed up place, but you can't let it get you down.
I'll tell you right here, I'm a huge sucker for any story about brothers. Later on in the game, it becomes fairly obvious that Mother 3 starts to center around the struggle of twin brothers Lucas and Claus as they attempt to collect more plot coupons than the other. The game series is called Mother for a reason and this one in particular focuses on the differences between each of Hinawa's boys and how they came to deal with her untimely death. While Lucas comes out of his shell and becomes a healthier, more assertive and confident boy despite his absentee father, Claus foolishly rushes out for vengeance and finds himself enslaved by the Pig Army in its quest to end the world. The climactic final battle reunites the family once again, but the reunion is bittersweet. Claus has almost killed Flint and Lucas must face him alone to the death, even though he's yet to realize that the Masked Man is his brother. Once the mask is knocked off and Lucas is staring into his own face (they are twins after all), the battle becomes a masterpiece. Selecting attack will cause Lucas to intentionally pull his punches or miss his attacks completely. Sometimes he'll even refuse to comply. Claus, having lost most of his humanity, will continue to attack until Hinawa begins pleading for him to stop. Eventually, Claus comes to his senses and realizes that Lucas is his brother and that he is no longer anything close to himself. At that point, Claus commits suicide in a peculiar way. It becomes apparent that the Courage Badge that Flint gave to Lucas (via a Mr. Saturn in another example of absentee parenting) is actually a Franklin Badge, an item that repels lightning in the Mother world.
The heartbreaking thing about this whole sequence is that there's nothing the player can do once Claus decides that he must kill himself to save the world. Lucas may not be physically (or psychically) killing his brother, but there's nothing he can do but watch his brother kill himself using an item that he is holding. When it's all over and Claus is dying in Lucas' arms with Flint nearby and Hinawa's ghost above them, the reunion is finally completed and the family is happy for a brief second before both Claus and Hinawa depart the world leaving Lucas to pull the last plot coupon. The world literally ends and it all fades to black. Everyone (who was alive before) is still alive in the finale, but the world is darkness and it's not made clear what the true outcome of the whole battle was. We do know that the world is safe and everyone makes it, but not much else beyond that, it's left to the player to decide, I guess.
If you want to really see a strangely tragic, chilling ending for a character, consider the fate of Porky, the antagonist in the game. The conflict in this game is motivated by his desire to see the world end. Porky's mind was so warped by Giygas in Earthbound that he has remained in a permanent immature, childlike state even though he is now hundreds of years old. His influence corrupts and nearly destroys everything about the idyllic and peaceful Tazmily village and he is the one responsible for sapping Claus of all of his humanity. In his final encounter with Lucas, when it becomes apparent that he will not win the battle, he encases himself in the Absolutely Safe Machine, a capsule that renders him absolutely safe from all attacks both interior and exterior. Because it was just a prototype, there was no way to escape it, meaning that the ageless Porky can never die, but he can never leave the capsule nor can he communicate with anyone on the outside. For someone like Porky, an agent of entropy like the Joker in The Dark Knight, this is truly an ending worse than death. When all is dead and gone, when the universe dies of heat death, when existence is nothingness, Porky will still exist, alone in that capsule. It gives me chills just to think about it.
There's so much about this game that just doesn't quite add up and leaves the player feeling strange about the relationships they are seeing. Duster, the limping thief, is very clearly verbally and probably physically abused by his father, Wess, yet they seem to be a team and there does seem to be some love there. It's unsettling on all levels because Itoi wants to take the player from comfortable and happy to uneasy and sad throughout the whole game.
Games like this, they make me appreciate things, like my family and my life, and think about things, like the nature of society and happiness. I'm being simplistic here, but my point is this, what is art? Wikipedia calls it, "…the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions."
So I say yet again, why are we questioning whether or not video games are art? Wake up and smell the sunflowers.
Big N
big n, brütal legend, citizen kane, dragon quest, earthbound, fumito ueda, game boy, gba, goichi suda, hayao miyazaki, ichiro suzuki, ken levine, kiki's delivery service, lord of the rings, maniac mansion: day of the tentacle, mother, mother 1 + 2, mother 3, my neighbor totoro, n64, phil hartman, psychonauts, shigesato itoi, snes, star wars, the dark knight, the secret of monkey island, tim rogers, tim schafer, wikipedia
Multi-Part ER [Embedded Reporter]
Deep from the trenches, it's time for your Monday video feature: Embedded Reporter.
We're back to everyone's favorite day of the week: Monday. This week I've got a few selections for you to watch and enjoy.
First on the agenda is the latest in my favorite ad campaign in a long time, the Sony VP of [Insert VP Title Here] ads.
I really hope this ad campaign sticks around for a while, it's the first time that I think Sony's really "got" it. Too often their ad campaigns are unnecessarily arty, bizarre, and alienating. I'm sure the idea behind those campaigns was to get people thinking about the product to look it up themselves, but it's really more effective to have a solid, funny, VP of Epic Footage to help sell the system.
I really hope Han shoots first…
Our next video comes from a really awesome fan project:
Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.
In case you didn't understand or didn't watch the video, the idea is that each fan will get to film his or her own interpretation of any scene in Star Wars and the project will then cobble together all of the results into a full version of Star Wars. It's a brilliant idea. This is why the Internet was invented. Wow…that's kind of a depressing thought, isn't it?
I think power is getting to his head
We here at I Bring Nothing to the Table love a lot of things made more awesome by the virtue of us loving them. In that vein I bring you the latest in a series that we have always vigorously promoted, Auto-Tune the News.
I really have no idea what Chavez is doing there, but it seems like too much power is going to his head. In other Chavez-being-strange-related news, it's kind of awkward to say that you "smell hope," but maybe that awkwardness comes from my mostly English, partly Spanish brain not recognizing the phrase.
It looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen…
Now, I'm not typically one for rap and hip-hop nowadays, but this video is great. I even kind of like the song too.
Sneaking it in…
Oh? What's this video here? I didn't even notice it join the crowd. Well, we may as well show it, right?
Video Games | Left 4 Dead 2 | Leaked Zombie Survival Guide Trailer
XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii
This Tuesday the demo goes live to pre-orders. I can't wait to get my hands on it, I've already pre-loaded the demo on to my hard drive.
auto-tune the news, gregory brothers, hugo chavez, left 4 dead 2, Sony, star wars


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Q: Variance Shadow Map Depth Issue I have been trying to get variance shadow mapping to work in my webgl application, but I seem to be having an issue that I could use some help with. In short, my shadows seem to vary over a much smaller distance than the examples I have seen out there. I.e. the shadow range is from 0 to 500 units, but the shadow is black 5 units away and almost non-existent 10 units away. The examples I am following are based on these two links:
VSM from Florian Boesch
VSM from Fabian Sanglard
In both of those examples, the authors are using spot light perspective projection to map the variance values to a floating point texture. In my engine, I have so far tried to use the same logic except I am using a directional light and orthographic projection. I tried both techniques and the result seems to always be the same for me. I'm not sure if its the because of me using an orthographic matrix to do projection - I suspect it might be. Here is a picture of the problem:

Notice how the box is only a few units away from the circle but the shadow is much darker even though the camera shadow is 0.1 to 500 units.
In the light shadow pass my code looks like this:
// viewMatrix is a uniform of the inverse world matrix of the camera
// vWorldPosition is the varying vec4 of the vertex position x world matrix
vec3 lightPos = (viewMatrix * vWorldPosition).xyz;
depth = clamp(length(lightPos) / 40.0, 0.0, 1.0);

float moment1 = depth;
float moment2 = depth * depth;

// Adjusting moments (this is sort of bias per pixel) using partial derivative
float dx = dFdx(depth);
float dy = dFdy(depth);
moment2 += pow(depth, 2.0) + 0.25 * (dx * dx + dy * dy) ;
gl_FragColor = vec4(moment1, moment2, 0.0, 1.0);

Then in my shadow pass:
// lightViewMatrix is the light camera's inverse world matrix
// vertWorldPosition is the attribute position x world matrix

vec3 lightViewPos = lightViewMatrix * vertWorldPosition;
float lightDepth2 = clamp(length(lightViewPos) / 40.0, 0.0, 1.0);
float illuminated = vsm( shadowMap[i], shadowCoord.xy, lightDepth2, shadowBias[i] );
shadowColor = shadowColor * illuminated

Firstly, should I be doing anything differently with Orthographic projection (Its probably not this, but I don't know what it might be as it happens using both techniques above :( )? If not, what might I be able to do to get a more even spread of the shadow?
Many thanks

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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How can we improve the way we feed the world's population?
Air Con Can Make Your Roof Garden Grow
Air expelled from ventilation systems can make corn and spinach grow taller and larger. This is good news for roof gardens and farms.
Massive Decline in Wildlife Over 50 Years
A new global study has found that wildlife populations have declined by 69 per cent on average since 1970 and that we now face the prospect of double, interlinked emergencies: the loss of biodiversity and human-induced climate change.The enormous drop in the...
Worrying Week In Climate Fight
Progress is faltering in the fight against climate change on both sides of the Atlantic, despite the pledges made at the COP26 climate conference less than a year ago.This week, the US Supreme Court - the same body that also overturned the Roe v Wade ruling on...
When Is A Bee A Fish?
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" is the thorny riddle posed by The Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland. A court in California has, this week, been wrestling with its own baffling conundrum: is a bee actually a fish?The Court of Appeal of California has concluded...
Can Green Energy Beat Stagflation?
Doom mongers are having a great time. There are negative economic signals everywhere, with predictions of recession, severe "stagflation" and an enduring cost of living crisis. Much of this has been caused by the extreme rise in energy prices, resulting from the...
A Big Scoop For Ben & Jerry's
Cow burps and manure probably aren't top of mind for most people tucking into a tub of Chunky Monkey ice cream. But they certainly are for the ice cream makers Ben & Jerry's, who have announced "Project Mootopia" to tackle climate change through seaweed...
Win-Win Eating: Sustainable Food Is Cheaper
The cost of living is rising fast, mainly as a result of sharp increases in the price of energy, food and other essential goods. So many people are looking for ways to economise without reducing their quality of life. Researchers have some good news - adopting a...
Algae: A Hero For Nature And Health
Many eyes are now turning to the sea as we hunt for solutions to global problems like climate change, biodiversity loss and unhealthy diet. Water covers more than 70 per cent of the planet, much of it teaming with thousands of species of algae, which is proving to...
Cheese For Good
If you're like me, you may have occasionally tucked into a few chunks of month-old cheese from the back of the fridge when you get back late. But how about nibbling on one that's been around for 21 years?Well you've now got the chance to bid at auction on a...
SPOTLIGHT: Meat Eating In Decline
The average person is now eating less meat. The health and environmental benefits of reducing meat consumption have been known for a while, but there's evidence that people are now actually changing their eating habits to a more plant-based diet.An extensive study...
Crypto Tech Impact Will Dwarf The Currencies
There has been a cryptocurrency feeding frenzy this year. As well as the already rich and famous like Elon Musk, millions of 'normal' people have piled into the market. With Bitcoin having increased in value by nearly 700 per cent over the past 12 months, some have...
How Bringing Back Beavers Could Help Fight Flooding
Beavers have been released into British countryside to combat the effects of climate changeThe image of a beaver gnawing on the bark of a tree in the wilderness seems a long way from the British countryside. Any likelihood of witnessing such a scene virtually...
Price Of Food Rises Across World
As if we haven't all got enough to worry about, the cost of food is continuing to rise across the world.The United Nations food agency has reported that world food prices rose for the tenth month in a row in March, hitting their highest level since June 2014....
Transparent Wood Is Coming
Wood is an ancient material humans have been using for millions of years, for the construction of housing, ships and as a source of fuel for burning. It's also a renewable source, and one way to capture excess carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere. Today, the...
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Changing World
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What follows is a list of events commemorating the massacre on Tuesday, January 29, that we at Montréal Antifasciste are aware of. Please note that inclusion of an event does not necessarily indicate endorsement of the event or organizers. Thank you to those comrades who helped put this list together.
We refuse to forget. We reject Islamophobia and racism.


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Chinese technicians lay the Standard Gauge Railway Phase 2A at Suswa section 6 stations on August 1, 2018.
| File | Nation Media Group
Government explains why SGR contract is secret
By Philip Muyanga
Transport PS says the petitioners have failed to demonstrate why they need the documents and how releasing them would benefit the public.
Petitioners want fundamental information about the project's financing, tendering process and construction released to the public.
Transport Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge says agreements entered between the government and China for building the Sh450 billion Standard Gauge Railway have non-disclosure clauses.
In an affidavit, Dr Njoroge also says that it would be a breach of contractual terms if two activists seeking the disclosure of SGR documents get access to them.
"Upon receipt of the request for information from the petitioners (Ms Wanjiru Gikonyo and Khelef Khalifa) Kenya Railways Corporation responded and explained that the contracts of the projects to which information is being requested are between the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Kenya," says Dr Njoroge.
Freight transport to start between Naivasha and Malaba
Business Jan 13
SGR revenues up 14pc on travel, cargo surge
If the orders sought are granted, he warns, that would endanger national security and injure foreign relations with the states with which Kenya has bilateral agreements and stifle the successful implementation of the national transport policy.
The PS also says the petitioners have failed to demonstrate why they need the documents and how releasing them would benefit the public.
The PS says the respondents' discretion not to disclose the documents is constitutional and protected under Section 6(10) and (20) of the Access to Information Act as the disclosure is likely to undermine national security.
Dr Njoroge also argues that the petition is premature and an abuse of the court process.
Controversy and secrecy
Mr Khalifa had in two letters, dated December 16, 2019, and May 13, 2021, asked the Attorney-General and principal secretaries in the ministries of Transport and the National Treasury to provide copies of the agreements between the government and all service providers or third parties regarding the SGR.
Mr Khalifa also sought all contracts for feasibility studies relating to the construction, operation and servicing of the SGR and all documents relating to the expression of interest for the financing, construction, management and servicing of the railway prepared by the government.
The petitioners argue that keeping the documents confidential violates the law and discourages transparency in governance.
"SGR is the largest capital-intensive infrastructure project ever constructed in the country, but despite this extraordinary expenditure of public funds, the project has been undertaken with controversy and secrecy from its inception," the petitioners argue.
Fundamental information about the project's financing, tendering process and construction has not been released to the public, they say.
Mr Khalifa and Ms Gikonyo argue that the capital-intensive project with a wide-ranging impact on public resources and citizens' livelihoods was undertaken with no public participation and insufficient information on the implications on the public purse and other assets.
They want an order issued compelling the respondents to provide, at their cost, the information. The case will be mentioned on March 31.


Robert Sullivan, Anchor Books, 1998.
Post-industrial pioneering and exploration into the unknown of the built world - a great book. He canoes and drives around the New Jersey meadowlands, encountering people who know the place, and tells you what he slowly learns about it. He even drinks the swamp water after purifying it through a camping store type filtering system.
Atelier van Lieshout, NAi Publishers, 1998.
Regardless of what they may think of themselves, this group of architect/artists has generated some interesting building forms involving cheap, mobile construction, and a self-sufficient, ÒsurvivalistÓ aesthetic. This book is the catalog of the controversial exhibit of the same name.
William L. Fox, University of Utah Press, 2000.
Its nice to know that someone as thoughtful as this author is as interested in the contemporary aspects of this fairly unappreciated area as some of us. Meditations on mapping and emptiness mingle with tales of interpreting petroglyphs and four-wheelin' with Michael Heizer.
Arthur E. Morgan, Porter Sargent Publisher, 1971.
Though dated, this is a classic of Army Corps criticism, written by a radical civil servant, who went from being the reforming president of Antioch College to being the first chairman of the Tennesee Valley Authority.
Edited by Erika Suderburg, University of Minnesota Press, 2000.
Twenty essays by art theorists and others on the subject of installation-type art. There aren't so many books on this subject, so its good to see one. (Definate Southern California perspective too, with over half the essayists currently teaching at schools in the area).
Rebecca Solnit, Viking Penguin, 2000.
Not sure why nobody has published a history of this form of transportation before now, but here it is, finally. A good subject for the author, who seems to have one foot in cultural analysis and the other in the landscape.
Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder, Brookings Institution Press, 1997.
A critical book from two academic regional planners, examining the phenomena of gated communities. With nearly ten million Americans living in such places today, it seems that nobody likes gated communities except maybe their developers and the people that live in them.
A book of photographs of mostly hand painted signs, with chapters covering, for example, "no parking" signs, buildings as signs, misspelled signs, and signs where the lettering conforms (barely) to the box containing it.
Michael Jacob Rochlin, Unreinforced Masonry Studio, 1999.
An idiosyncratic examination of historic Los Angeles neighborhoods and buildings. Lots of nice old and contemporary black and white photographs.
E edited by Donald Albrecht MIT Press, 1995.
Very interesting book with some startling images. From the exhibit at the National Building Museum.
Bryan Burkhart and David Hunt, Chronicle Books, 2000.


Where art meets automobiles, the watchmaker with the most racing spirit has risen to a new challenge, and can exclusively present a series of watches with dynamic, colourful designs.
BRM Chronographes and Corvette® Racing are partnering to release a series of limited edition timepieces. The Chevrolet® Corvette® C7.R Racing collection honors an automotive icon, and brings together two uniquely individual companies united by a commitment to the art of motorsports.
BRM Chronographes is pleased to present pictures of its first boutique in Indonesia, and is delighted to announce that a second boutique has just opened in Malaysia.


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You are here: Home1 / News2 / Origami Crane Installation
Origami Crane Installation
August 20, 2020 /in News/by Webmaster
This installation contains 1073 cranes. In traditional Japanese culture, the crane was revered as a symbol of good luck and longevity. After World War 2, and the bombing of Hiroshima, the origami crane became associated with the idea of peace and migrated into western culture. This was in large part due to a little girl named Sadako Sasaki who was exposed to radiation when Hiroshima was bombed and subsequently developed leukemia. She attempted to fold a thousand cranes but died before she could finish them. Her story became well known in the west as well as Japan and there is a peace park in Hiroshima with her figure on a memorial. Origami cranes have become a symbol of peace internationally partly through her story. One of the cranes in this installation (the smallest pink crane on top of the single large pink crane), was donated by a woman who was gifted it by a Hiroshima survivor. She met him in the late 80's in the Soviet Union when the Soviet block was dissolving. There was a Japanese contingent of people also visiting and they gave peace cranes as gifts on their stops. This crane is the last of the ones she was given. I feel honored to have it as part of this installation.
See the Crane Project Portfolio Page
This installation was conceived with a dual purpose. I wanted to enliven the space in the Third Street Center and also honor the idea of using the art as a peace installation. The larger cranes were made with hand-painted watercolor paper and are inscribed with words of positivity. Although I folded the majority of the cranes I also had much help from others. I extend to the following people a debt of gratitude for their help:
Beth Johnson
Katie Bannon
Leslie Johnson
Audrey Borba
Jennifer Johnson
Bsue Johnson
Elijah Norris
Chris Mullaley
Jan Schubert
Coco Goldman
Lola Goldman
Sofia Goldman
Vickie Brown
Caroline Norquist
Shira Singer
John Adamson
Brenda Pena-Mata
Juniper Zislis
Akaljeet Khalsa
Gesche Johnson
Britta Hadden
Joanne Jimino ( the donor of the crane from the Hiroshima survivor)
Special thanks for the Ro Mead Community Grant from Carbondale Arts in support of this project.
Jill Scher
Aspen Public Radio
https://www.aspenpublicradio.org/post/artist-jill-scher-will-use-one-thousand-origami-cranes-new-installation
https://www.jillscherart.com/wp-content/uploads/crane-project.jpg 804 1430 Webmaster https://www.jillscherart.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Jill-Scher-Art-Logo-trim-300x226.jpg Webmaster2020-08-20 02:06:512020-09-30 01:34:53Origami Crane Installation
Prayers for Carbondale Contemporary Fiber Art: Crossing Thresholds


Project summary: the feasibility research of the following Android platform functionality: the mouse cursor that can be moved across the desk is displayed above all applications. Mouse contains a large button to click on which you are pressing the corresponding position of the screen. This mouse can be useful, for example, for girl with long inconvenient for using touch screen manicure or for people with thick fingers who can not click on the small icon of Android interface.
Technologies: Java, Android, Android NDK, JNI, Eclipse, Linux.
Creation of transparent application, clicking on a certain point the designed application must send the event of click to certain coordinates. To do it we had to use special Android classes, which are not present in API: ServiceManager and IWindowManaget. The mock classes with stub methods" were created, the code was compiled with them. When the application was being built these classes were not included, so after its installation on android-device the application used system classes.
The way of sending messages to the Linux kernel for Android has been found. To do it JNI technology and library written in C were used. The sample application that interacts with the Linux kernel and sends touch events to the certain coordinates was designed. The way to get a list of all the input devices using linux command has been found. Our team found the method to intercept values obtained from the sensor.
We investigated the possibility of obtaining root access to the device with the use of software to run the above options. The problem is that you need to get root access in different ways for different devices and for this purpose special hacks were used. Some devices in general haven't root access.
The following problem was identified: to implement the customer requirements the application must be signed by the phone manufacturer' certificate. It imposes a restriction on coming of some applications in the market.
To send the touch events the root access to the device is needed. It won't allow the application to be in markets and significantly limits plurality of devices on which the application can be run.
Also to use the required events the application must be installed as a systems app.
The feasibility research of mouse emulator application creation for Android devices was conducted.
Our team sorted out Android platform systemic nuances.
The customer got substantiated report on the problems and difficulties of such development.
"Zmicer is very easy going, inventive and great to work with. His team (Jazzteam) worked with a very a technically complicated research project. He showed himself as a high-skilled Java developer and incredibly talented manager. He has no answer "NO", he has answer - "Give me a time I will tell you how". Many Thanks!"


text:
Q: Java While Loops I am working on a while loop that I would like to stop while the variable is less than 100. With what I have currently, my output stops at 128 - not sure why it prints 128 when the last output should be 64.  Any pointers?
import java.util.Scanner;

public class InsectGrowth {
public static void main (String [] args) {
  int numInsects = 0;

  numInsects = 8;

  System.out.print(numInsects + " ");

  while (numInsects < 100) {
     numInsects = numInsects * 2;
     System.out.print(numInsects + " ");
  }

  System.out.println();

  return;
  }
}

A: The last value printed is 128 because you execute
numInsects = numInsects * 2;

before
System.out.print(numInsects + " ");

Therefore the loop stops when numInsects is 64, but multiplies it by 2 before printing, hence why you see 128.


text:
The Key To Creating Synergy In You Personal AND Professional Relationships
by Dawn Lee | Apr 3, 2018 | Connection, Relationships
We all like to be understood. If you've ever lived overseas you'll know the challenge. I lived in Japan for a while teaching English, it was truly magical. Japanese culture is a unique and impressive meld of conservative and way out there. And their commitment to service and attention to detail are truly second to none.
I left a little piece of my heart there for sure.
When I first arrived I found it impossible to tune into the language. I'd no idea how I was going to understand it. Every syllable literally blew a fuse in ear.
As it turns out the intonation is quite similar to the Scottish dialect so it wasn't as hard to speak it as I'd first imagined. But it was the understanding and being understood that was most tricky.
Of course there's a language that doesn't use words and that's the language of the heart. It's amazing how you can get by and communicate through laughter and presence for example, and create connection below the verbal.
There's also the language of love. Actually five languages. When I first came across Gary Chapman's five love languages I was instantly taken by both the simplicity and exactness that we do communicate love in five different ways. These ways are:
What's interesting about the love languages is that the language that makes us feel loved, is usually the one we use to express love. Where that can fall down is that we don't all speak the same love language. So we might consider ourselves as showing our love, but if we're not speaking in the other person's language they might be missing our message.
My love languages are acts of service and physical touch. My previous partner however was gift giving; boy could he buy a good present. But helping me with something practical or giving me a massage could make me feel more cherished than any Louis Vuitton wallet or Tiffany bracelet ever could.
Now you might think the love languages are only for romantic relationships. And before we go any further, I can't stress enough how mastering this concept will enrich your relationship in ways you never imagined. Because when human beings feel loved, we become more loving. We just can't help ourselves. You'll get back what you give ten fold, if you're talking the right language.
But we shouldn't just be saving this powerful form of communication for our personal relationships, we can also take into our professional ones.
Love languages can be used in the business world, with amazing results.
Universal love is a vibration that everyone responds to. More than just feeling loved, when someone speaks your language you feel heard, understood, respected and appreciated. You inspire trust and connection.
These are the building blocks of bringing out the very best in any person. Imagine then being able to tap into someone's love language and instantly create a bond of trust, respect and have someone feel like you really just get them.
Consider how that would impact your working relationships. Landing a large client, or keeping a current one happy for example. Understanding how a person gives and receives love is a powerful way to create synergy in relationships.
In my line of business having my clients feel more understood and that I get them, helps them to trust me and open up quicker. And the more they do both, the faster I can get them results.
So how do you gauge someone's language? Well, there's a little quiz that I'm sure your better half would happily take if it meant feeling more loved by you, but you can't exactly ask a potential client or even staff member, "So how do you feel loved, can you take this little test please?"
Firstly drop the idea that love languages are about romance.
If you're going to map this across and use it professionally you need to consider it purely from the perspective of understanding a person and helping them feel understood. It's all about collaboration and cooperation.
Pay close attention. Listen deeper, be more present to a person when connecting with them and quite quickly you'll discover how they express themselves. How they show others appreciation, respect etc., is the same way they like to be appreciated by others.
For example maybe you have a client who always makes a point of congratulating your work, and your efforts. They always notice that you go the extra mile and they let you know they appreciate you for it. You're likely dealing with someone whose primarily love language is words of affirmation. If you mirror back to them this language you'll see how responsive they are to it.
Now you're talking the same language.
Likewise if you're trying to impress someone with words of affirmation and that's NOT their language you're conveying a feeling that you just don't get them. They might even wish that you'd stop gushing, and shut up.
Another example might be a staff member who's always helpful. Always organising everyone, making sure everyone's meeds are met. This is acts of service in action. If you want to keep this person happy and feeling appreciated, and there's a tendency for those who use this language to end up feeling resentful because they give so much, then ensuring that you do something practical for them once in a while will keep inspiring them to be their best.
Perhaps the only exception to mapping across this model into the professional realm is physical touch. You'll be able to see who likes to shake hands, taps your shoulder etc., you can tell people who have a inclination towards the physical. However, respecting personal space in the professional arena trumps using physical touch as a means of communication, every time. Stay on the safe side, DON'T USE IT.
Creating synergy in our relationships is a game changer.
We all know that person who people are drawn to. Who effortlessly connects and makes us feel at ease, and just seems to really see us. I don't know about you but that person brings me to life. I want to be my best self. I want to do my best work.
Using the love languages is not about manipulating people, its about powerful communication and mutual appreciation. It's about wanting to connect with others at a deeper level, and its about giving back what you get to develop trust, respect and unbreakable bonds in all areas of life.
Because the business world really is no different. Sure we may have our masks on a little tighter, but beneath the surface, on the inside, we all want the same things. We all want to contribute, to feel significant, to be heard, understood and to have our efforts recognised. We want to be part of the team.
And at the end of the day, we all want to be speaking the same language.


text:
package com.krosshuang.krosslib.test.controller;

import android.annotation.TargetApi;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Build;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.annotation.Nullable;
import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.view.ViewTreeObserver;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

import com.krosshuang.krosslib.R;
import com.krosshuang.krosslib.lib.util.EllipsizeUtil;
import com.krosshuang.krosslib.lib.view.DelayCallbackEditText;
import com.krosshuang.krosslib.lib.view.EllipsizeEndTextView;

import java.util.ArrayList;

/**
 * Created by krosshuang on 2015/12/17.
 */
public class TestEllipsizeTextViewFragment extends Fragment implements View.OnClickListener, DelayCallbackEditText.OnDelayCallbackListener{

    private static final String LOG_TAG = "TestEllipsizeTextViewFragment";
    private View mRoot = null;

    private EllipsizeEndTextView mTextView = null;
    private DelayCallbackEditText mEditText = null;
    private Button mButton = null;
    private TextView mStatus = null;
    private TextView mTest2 = null;

    @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN)
    @Nullable
    @Override
    public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, @Nullable ViewGroup container, @Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        mRoot = inflater.inflate(R.layout.fragment_test_ellipsize_textview, null);

        mTextView = (EllipsizeEndTextView) mRoot.findViewById(R.id.ellipsize_textview);
        mTextView.setMaxLines(4);

        mTest2 = (TextView) mRoot.findViewById(R.id.tv_test2);

        mTest2.getViewTreeObserver().addOnGlobalFocusChangeListener(new ViewTreeObserver.OnGlobalFocusChangeListener() {
            @Override
            public void onGlobalFocusChanged(View oldFocus, View newFocus) {
                Log.v(LOG_TAG, "onGlobalFocusChanged: " + mTest2.getMeasuredWidth());

                //CharSequence raw = "一二三四五六七八九十1234567890一二三四五六七八九十1234567890一二三四五六七八九十1234567890一二三四五六七八九十";
                //CharSequence raw = "今天忽然发现android项目中的文字排版参差不齐的情况非常严重,不得不想办法解决一下。经过研究之后,终于找到了textview自动换行导致混乱的原因了----半角字符与全角字符混乱所致!一般情况下,我们输入的数字、字母以及英文标点都是半角,所以占位无法确定。它们与汉字的占位大大的不同,由于这个原因,导致很多文字的排版都是参差不齐的。对此我找到了两种办法可以解决这个问题";

            }
        });

        mEditText = (DelayCallbackEditText) mRoot.findViewById(R.id.et_input);
        mEditText.setDelayCallback(this, 2000);

        mButton = (Button) mRoot.findViewById(R.id.btn_put);
        mStatus = (TextView) mRoot.findViewById(R.id.tv_status);

        mButton.setOnClickListener(this);

        return mRoot;

    }

    @Override
    public void onAttach(Context context) {
        super.onAttach(context);
    }

    @Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        switch (v.getId()) {
            case R.id.ellipsize_textview:
                break;
            case R.id.et_input:
                break;
            case R.id.btn_put:

                mTextView.setText(mEditText.getText().toString());
                setEllipsize(mEditText.getText().toString());
                break;
        }
    }

    private void setEllipsize(CharSequence raw) {
        ArrayList<CharSequence> output = new ArrayList<>();
        EllipsizeUtil.ellipsize(raw, mTest2.getMeasuredWidth(), mTest2.getPaint(), mTest2.getMaxLines(), "...", "的后缀", output);

        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        for (CharSequence cs : output) {
            Log.v(LOG_TAG, "最终结果:" + cs);
            sb.append(cs);
        }

        mTest2.setText(sb.toString());
    }

    @Override
    public void onDelayCallback(CharSequence text) {
        Toast.makeText(getActivity(), "abcd", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Episode #3 deals with a very important topic — Organ Donation and Transplantation. I felt this was a most appropriate topic for the week of Thanksgiving, even though many of my heart friends and listeners are not American, I'm sure they can appreciate the feelings of thanks that all of us in the United States feel during this week.
This show had more Guests on it than any other! At the top of the show we had a mother and daughter: Eileen Pearlman and Jessica Cowin.
It's not everyday that I have the good fortune to meet my Guests face to face. Most of us do the interviews for the radio show via Skype or telephone. Thanks to modern technology, VoiceAmerica has engineers who orchestrate our interviews as though we were all in the studio together. Shortly after our interview for this important episode, I went to Chicago and had a chance to meet with Eileen Pearlman (center) and her two lovely daughters (to the right of Eileen) Jessica Cowin (transplant recipient) and Amy Cowin (transplant donor). I'm the one in the cap (I hate for my head to be cold and I was warned how windy Chicago can be!) and the lady to the far left is another heart mom, Eileen Wenzel.
We had a 5-hour dinner because there was so much to talk about! Tune into this episode to hear the remarkable stories that Jessica and Eileen have to share about what it was like for Eileen to have a daughter born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and how her daughter ultimately ended up with two transplants! In that same segment we get to meet Jessica and find out what it was like for her growing up with HLHS and how she came to deal with the fact that her sister wanted to donate a kidney to her to save her life.
The second segment brings us two heart moms — Kathy Keller (top) and Emily Wiebke (bottom). Kathy's son, Garrett was born with HLHS but Emily's daughter, Aryanna, was born with dilated cardiomyopathy. Tune in to hear how these moms found out their children needed a heart transplant and the one thing they both know is probably in their future.
One of the things I love about hosting this radio show is the chance to talk with old friends. The final segment of this episode allowed me to interview Anthony Pugliese. Anthony contributed an essay to a book I edited a few years ago called The Heart of a Father. In that book Anthony told us about what it was like to grow up with a congenital heart defect and then become a father himself. On the radio we had a chance to talk about something totally different: Anthony's journey to having a heart transplant. Tune in to hear how Anthony embarked on that journey and how his son is doing now.
http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2259/heart-to-heart-with-anna and listen whenever you like. Don't forget you can download the VoiceAmerica app to your smart phone or tablet and of course you can always listen on your computer by going to the VoiceAmerica page and downloading the episode to iTunes.


text:
Top Reasons Why is Google Left Aligned
By Mehul Pathak / Updated on: February 28, 2022
If you are also one of the few who is eager to know "Why is Google Left Aligned," then it's time to check out this post! Here are some of the thoughts that I would like to share with the users are related to "Why is Google left aligned".
1 Know Why Google is Left Aligned..
2 Google Image Search Results in a Mannered Way
3 Is It Possible to Adjust the Alignment View on Google?
3.1 How Do I Adjust the Alignment on Google?
4 Right-Aligning an Email on PC…
5 What Can Be Done to Fix Gmail Alignment?
6 Why is Google Center-Alignment The Worst?
7 FAQs Related to Why is Google Left Aligned?
7.1 What Can I Do to Center Google Search?
7.2 Why is Google left-aligned?
7.3 Did Google change its current layout?
7.4 Is every Google Product left aligned?
Know Why Google is Left Aligned..
Since the very beginning, Google has been mostly concerned about the users to avail the services, data, and information that no one can get elsewhere. It is also essential that these engines keep track of their success rates to improve their search results.
The reason "Why is Google Left Aligned" is Centre-aligned content can also distract the user as it draws attention away from the search results. Most of the time, search results are mainly permalinks and dates. As a result, most humans tend to scan web pages from left to the right.
The left-oriented text makes the reading of paragraphs easier and faster. Also, it eliminates the need to keep track of where the line begins each time.
Google Left Aligned
Key Note: For instance, Google gives users access to various parts of their data to allow them to use them. These parts of the data are used to create private profiles of our interests, and then they use those profiles to target ads.
Google Image Search Results in a Mannered Way
For Google, the decision to present image search results in the browser's full width was practical. It allowed them to present the most up-to-date image search results in one place. It also seemed strange to have the various parts of the UI move around as the user types in an image.
Google constantly tests the effects of various interface changes on random accounts. The results are sometimes only slightly noticeable.
Google Image Search Results
The total width of the browser window makes it easier to present the search results in the same window. Also, it makes it a little awkward to have the various sections of the search box move around as the user browses.
I hope, by now, you have had some idea Why is Google left aligned.
Is It Possible to Adjust the Alignment View on Google?
Yes, Indeed! There is a way to change the alignment on Google.
Google: Search Engine
Click Here to Search for any information available on the Internet Today using Google Services!
How Do I Adjust the Alignment on Google?
All you need to do is follow the two simple steps to modify/adjust the alignment view on Google:
To shift the text in the address bar towards right, press and hold Ctrl and Right Shift button.
To shift the text in the address bar towards left, press and hold Ctrl and Left Shift button.
Hopefully, it worked for you.
Right-Aligning an Email on PC…
You heard it right! Aligning an Email towards the right is possible using below simple following ways:
In order to align the text in an email, place the focus on the paragraph that you want to keep. To do so, press the Alt+H key and then the A, R, or L key.
If you want to shift it towards left: Press Alt+H and then A, L.
And If you want to shift it towards left: Press Alt+H and then A, R.
Finally, if you want to shift it towards right: Press Alt+H and then A, C.
What Can Be Done to Fix Gmail Alignment?
Troubleshooting is the best solution in this scenario. Here are some ways to begin with fixing the Gmail alignment:
Open Gmail on you current browser.
Select F5 to refresh the Gmail page.
If the issue persists, ensure that your current browser is up-to-dated.
If any of the above way isn't working then disable any browser extension and try surfing the internet via incognito or compatibility mode.
Why is Google Center-Alignment The Worst?
One of the main reasons why google center-text alignment is so bad is that it occurs during a brief moment when the user is trying to find the following line. Without a straight left edge, it's difficult for users to keep track of the lines they're reading.
FAQs Related to Why is Google Left Aligned?
What Can I Do to Center Google Search?
Centrally aligning your google search is possible and can be done by shifting the search results from the left to the center of the screen.
Why is Google left-aligned?
Did Google change its current layout?
Yes. The new layout can affect your site's search engine optimization. It features a brand new site icon and a revamped search result page.
Is every Google Product left aligned?
Winding up the "Why is Google left aligned" article, we conclude that it saves you a lot of time and helps you digest information much faster. Since our eyes are trained to do this, it's just a standard typographical markup that takes a few seconds to digest.
The search bar can be centered on the main page if it's most likely the only thing people are looking for.
I hope you find this post helpful and friendly to know Why is Google Left Aligned.
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