With every advancement of culture-making (in this case of this video, the invention of the book), people have to learn something new to be equipped with the new conveniences of cultural tools. This is a curve that many older people don’t keep up with, and each new generation adapts to their own generation of cultural improvements with natural ease.
And, of course, this happens with today’s cultural advancements as well as those of medieval times. This video will relate to our generation of new tablet users and their need for expert assistance. Sad, but it is true; people want to be shown how to do everything. Few want to learn things on their own.
The better we assist the young and old to adapt to our culture-making improvements, the more likely culture will adopt our cultural advancements.
I began using Adobe Photoshop in the mid nineties with my computer whiz next door neighbor to guide me. I had in mind to invent a company for graphic imagery production, and I called the corporation Prime Images (named after my favorite Autobot). My neighbor sat down with me at his computer and showed me the wonders of this application called Photoshop. In no time, he had made me a logo in a sophisticated black text with what looked like a blue comet forming the dot on the “i” in “Prime.” I just knew that I needed to get my hands on a copy of Photoshop, and I did. It was the best investment in my life up to 13 years of age. By the time I was 15, I had a rudimentary knowledge of the application and began learning to apply it to professional work. read more…
Beginning to advanced artists enjoy the process of imagining. Coming up with the new, imagining the possibilities, thinking up something that can make people laugh and cry at the same time get’s artistic designers on a temporary high. Then the realization kicks in that to put those ideas on paper, film, or web would be work. read more…
Over the last twelve months I heard many of the rumors from tech news sources about the potential for an Apple tablet; how it would solve all our problems; how it would save us from the hum-drum of computers today; how it would blow our minds with the power and endless tools and compatibility it might offer. I, for one, realized very quickly that these were lofty dreams of the misguided masses that want only the best and think there is a specific company out there that was born to give it to them (i.e. Apple). read more…
A little over a year ago, people saw on the market new portable devices dedicated to reading books and the news. The Kindle stirred up the reading media market. Soon, Sony and altogether new brands joined the market for reading devices.
Apple was still going strong with their advances in iPod technologies — the iPod rubbing backs with the iPhone. Essentially, by January of 2009, the iPod Touch was an iPhone without the phone. So the Touch and iPhone were capable of joining the e-book reading and mobile news selection of devices. There are more than 140,000 apps in Apple’s App Store to date. You can do practically anything with the devices that a laptop can achieve; maybe not as well, but you can do practically anything with these devices. read more…
Culture makers are not just artists, politicians, scientists and and the like of the present. There are many unsung heroes of culture from the past that got society to where it is today, and the memory of them slowly fades into the distant past. We should not forget them, and one great documentary has been made to remember one such great of American history: George Washington Carver.
This is one documentary I don’t want to miss! There are few men that walked the line as Carver did, and I think we should reflect his character and sheer diligence in every area of culture in our way of life.
If your are interested in this new documentary, you can check it out here.
Most people don’t know how to digest the information they get in a news article, let alone a movie or television show. When we read the news, we often miss how the news story relates to other news stories, the whole of current events, and what the news reporter believes about the news they reported. We get guided to believe something about the news without using our thought processes to digest the information, but we should. Likewise, as a great culture study exercise, we ought to methodically deduce the meaning and significance of entertainment. Contemplate movies with the following simple rules of thought. read more…
I am in production for the last half of The Case for America’s Christian Heritage DVD lecture series. I would say that I am almost half way through the trenches. Since this is a second volume, I am able to take much of what I created for the first and use it in the second as a template. read more…
I don’t usually write about technology. I think that readers/writers should be responsible enough to pick the gadgets, apps, and what-not that suites them. Even so, I know that in the large vat of the ether of the World Wide Web we readers and writers often overlook some of the best technologies at our disposal, thus, leaving most of us behind the times technologically. I don’t want you to be left behind. We culture-minded folk need to stay sharp and up-to-date. This is why I want to highly recommend that you take the time to learn what RSS feeds are and how they would optimize all your web surfing. read more…
Growing up in a conservative Christian home, it was easy to assume the role as a critic of society. Don’t get me wrong. My family was able to find plenty good in culture that our family could enjoy. I played video games early on, watched movies in the theaters, went out on social engagements to theme parks with friends, etc. I had a taste of most arenas in culture — even as a homeschooler. Really. read more…
My wife is an awesome, smart, beautiful woman. I love her to infinity. Regrettably, we all have our moments when the lighting and cheap digital cameras we have to take snapshots with don’t show us how attractive we actually look. My wife has been dealt the card of “not-so photogenic for life.” She looks much better in life than in most of her pictures.
For this reason, I am here to help sweeten her pictures from time to time. Here’s a recent shot I took with a before and after treatment in Photoshop. This is a simple cleanup in Photoshop, and it’s not very difficult if you know what you’re doing in the application on a Mac or PC.
Why do we care about the way we look? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? I think not. There are fundamental consistent values we all think deem something beautiful. However, we often confuse beauty with our personal tastes and preferences. There is a subjective and objective quality to beauty at the same time. read more…
The final cover
I create cover art every now and then. I like the creative. I could do without producing creative for others. : ) I like every mockup I create just about. For each book cover I work on I mockup at least 5 unique covers. Inevitably, the authors choose my second or third favorite of the lot. For once, I wish my preferred mockups would be chosen. Maybe one of these days….
The cover that was chosen was inspired by some new book covers I’ve seen at Barnes & Noble in the past year. Maybe the next time you’re browsing a book store, you’ll recognize a cover or two that also have a torn cover effect. read more…
I do not delve too deeply into my undying interest in classic films on this blog. I find them to be most tasteful, thought-provoking, and pleasant movies in general — movies that proceeded the invention of color, and those just after color came to screen. Alas, today’s readers, and web community at large, hardly understand or appreciate classics of any nature. People of any generation, it seems, are consumed with what’s modern for them. Back in the day, Shakespeare plays were modern and exciting to audiences that had the pleasure of being the first to watch a Shakespearian play. Today, we consider such classics as ancient even before we’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing them, watching them, or seeing them for the first time. read more…
My brother was on vacation in Williamsburg Virginia recently, and brought back with him a music album of an American artist. Dean Shostak, a different sort of musician, has a focus of skill in glass musical instruments. Honestly, glass instruments took me some getting used to as a child when my Dad played selections for me and my siblings. Now, I am rather fond of their unique reverb and hollow quality. read more…
I don’t have to tell you what’s clogging up the young adult fiction section at Barnes & Nobles these days. Everywhere you turn, there is another display with overloaded stacks of books of teen vampire and werewolf stories. Apparently, they’re selling, and all the publishing houses want in on the profits. Culturally centered media outlets are saying all sorts of things about how this reflects on American youth. It’s assumed the vampire craze is a trend that is repeated every time monsters stories — especially vampire related ones — rise to the forefront of pop culture (as they have in the past with the introduction of classic monster stories like Dracula). read more…
I haven’t seriously considered e-readers for personal use until now. In this growing market, something that has been lacking is significant competition with the all-too-well-known Amazon Kindle. Now that B&N has joined the market with their new Nook, I think that the power play for market share will seriously increase — and thus improve the over-all quality of the devices to grab the investment of potential e-reader customers. read more…
I was doodling in Photoshop to see what it would look like if Apple (the computer company, obviously) made their logo organic.
It’s totally inconsequential, but interesting.
The Harry Potter series of books is completed. When the series was hot discussion in years past, little did people know where the series was headed. I’ve heard very opposite opinions about the stories amongst Christians; whether it be for good or evil for readers. Obviously, a story relating a system of magic is not one to be taken lightly for Believers. Magic in the real world is supernatural. Real world magic is either spiritually good or evil. Real world magic is usually engrossed in some form of religious worship — and not worship to the Lord Jesus Christ. read more…
Does all art have a purpose?
You can’t make art up for the sake of being art that doesn’t have a meaning to the art you create. Many intelligent and prolific artisans think you can, but if you examine the examples around you you’ll find man is a lier if he believes he can create anything without a purpose. Whether you are a student of the arts, a hobbyist, or a professional designer of some sort, you make your piece of art for a specific audience with the express purpose of some message — even if the message is as sad and contradictory as “this piece of art has no message.” Even if you don’t take your art seriously, you’re at least creating it to humor one’s self (this is a purpose also). read more…
It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous [personalities—the good and the bad] were thus bound together—that in the agonized womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling.
- Dr. Jekyll
In my last post, I began a review of the book Twilight. Let’s continue. read more…
