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It’s not so much that I’m connected as addicted.

It's not so much that I'm connected as addicted.
It’s not so much that I’m connected as addicted.

When it comes to information, I like it to come in firehose form, because I have excellent filters. Here’s a note that you might find is true for yourself too. Meanwhile, information addiction is a real thing, and you may find the following useful:

‘Contemporary theories of reinforcement learning are rooted in the dopaminergic reward system.  Dopamine neurons in parts of the midbrain, such as the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta, play a vital role in the expectation of reward. Most of what is known about these neurons comes from electrode recording experiments with rhesus monkeys. Not surprisingly, these neurons respond to primitive rewards, such as food and water. They signal a monkey’s expectation of rewards, but what was not known until now is whether these same neurons might also signal expectation of information. To test for this preference for information, which is a cognitive reward, a new paradigm needed to be put in place. Ethan Bromberg-Martin and Okihide Hikosaka, both at the National Eye Institute, developed a brilliant behavioral task that opened the door.’

from “The Chemistry of Information Addiction – Scientific American” at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-we-addicted-to-inform/ curated by lemasney creative. Feel free to share.
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A portrait of Yoda the dog

Yoda
A portrait of Yoda the dog

So this is an answer to Erika Bredahl’s picture submission of her dog Yoda. After bitmap tracing the image a few times to get some various levels of shadow and detail, I overlapped the paths and colored them using the eyedropper tool and a vidcap of Yoda from ESB. I then used another vidcap of Yoda in the Swamp scene, took it into the GIMP and used the stamp tool to remove Yoda, then brought the resulting image into Inkscape and bitmap traced it, then gave it some blur.

‘Yoda (/ˈjoʊdə/) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, first appearing in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. In his first appearance in the original trilogy, Yoda is described as the Jedi master of Obi-Wan Kenobi and subsequently trains Luke Skywalker to use the Force. The character reappears in Return of the Jedi where he reveals his age to be 900. Yoda has become iconic in popular culture due to his distinct pattern of speech and role as an old, wise mentor. In the prequel trilogy, set a generation before the original trilogy, Yoda is among the most powerful members of the Jedi Order and a general of clone troopers during the Clone Wars. He also trains all Jedi children, before they are assigned a Jedi master. Yoda appears again in the sequel trilogy, advising an older Luke and empowering Rey to face a revived Emperor Palpatine, along with other past Jedi.’

from “Yoda – Wikipedia” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoda curated by lemasney creative. Feel free to share.
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Libraries and Transliteracy cc-by lemasney #logo #Inkscape #libraries #design #typography

Libraries and Transliteracy cc-by lemasney #logo #Inkscape #libraries #design #typography
Libraries and Transliteracy cc-by lemasney #logo #Inkscape #libraries #design #typography

So @annavan (Scoyoc), a friend in the NJ Library Land circle, simultaneously made me aware of a logo contest for Libraries and Transliteracy and called me out (in the best possible way). She tweeted

“It’s Contest Time! Libraries and Transliteracy Needs a Logo! https://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/its-contest-time-libraries-and-transliteracy-needs-a-logo/ [hmmm… wonder what @lemasney would come up with]”

I love design challenges, Libraries, and Anna, so this one was a no brainer. So the first thing I did was make sure I had a clear understanding of transliteracy and how it related to libraries, and so I did some research, starting but not ending with the ubiquitous Wikipedia entry, which gave me a good start, defining Transliteracy as:

“Transliteracy is The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. (PART 2007) The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means “across; through”, so a transliterate person is one who is literate across multiple media.” from Transliteracy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia at Sun Jul 18 2010 14:12:31 GMT-0400 (EST) on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteracy

A few other sources extended, reinforced and clarified the definition. Thanks for the nudge, Anna, and I hope my answer gets to the finals!

If you like this image, please share it. If you use it, please attribute me, and thanks! (cc-by lemasney)

lemasney, design, open source, creative commons, cc-by, typography, poster, InkscapeGIMP

If you like this design, please consider looking at my Graphic Design Portfolio, Presentations Portfolio, or upcoming Public Workshops or Classes. Let’s do something great together!

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Everything is amazing and no one is happy – Louis C.K. cc-by lemasney

Everything is amazing, and no one is happy. Louis C.K. cc-by lemasney
Everything is amazing, and no one is happy. Louis C.K. cc-by lemasney

Louis C.K. says it best. You could also say that everything is happy, and no one is amazing. Or nothing is amazing, and noone os happy, or everything is okay, and so is everyone. However, for those of us in America, on the coasts, with ubiquitous technology and bandwidth, endless 3g networks, clean water, plenty of food, GPS, cars, bikes, jobs, and so on, everything is amazing. Despite those things, I know more people than not that aren’t any more happy despite those things. It’s a little reminder that either we need to be more appreciative of what we have, or that we need to put down all that stuff, run from it, and not look back. I prefer to appreciate those things, and I like to think I’m very happy. 🙂

If you like this design, please consider looking at my Graphic Design Portfolio, Presentations Portfolio, or upcoming Public Workshops or Classes. Let’s do something great together!

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203 of 365 is about bumper cars

Childhood summers
Bumper cars

A simple enough piece to create, this is really about poetry and color. I loved summers in Ocean City as a kid. I really loved Gillian’s Wonderland, and take my boys there now. My favorite thing in all of summer was the bumper cars. The very particular aromas of electrocuted copper and steel, the quick and dirty socialization where strangers were able to laugh like old friends, the absurd tragedy of the pile of out of service cars, and the sadness when the electricity stopped flowing through the little curved wires. I loved those things.

 
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181 of 365 is an explanation of the golden rectangle in #Inkscape #maths #theory

Golden rectangle
Golden rectangle

So this marks the second presence of a golden rectangle in 365 sketches, but it also marks the likely last entry of the 500px square sketches. Ahhhh. It was a good run. Although every CD and album cover ever made has been a square, in theory, I have found it limiting for layout. The golden rectangle, beautiful in and of itself as a ratio, will hopefully give me the opportunity to make a vertical vs. horizontal layout, show a fuller story, and develop more complex compositional arrangements. Looking forward to sharing what I’ve come up with so far.