These are posts that show LeMasney Consulting’s experiences with contemporary technology, services, innovations and computers of many kinds.
This week in Design for the Non-Designer, we return to some key basics in Inkscape. We will explore why, when, and how to save files. We will also cover how to export or import files. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have questions or feedback, let’s talk about it in the comments.
Recording and reproducing the senses aside from seeing and hearing (taste, smell, touch) has not yet been fully realized. The recording and sharing of senses is difficult, unless we are talking about seeing or hearing, and even then, there is a lot lost in the capture. We have mastered a very clear record of what we can see in photography and videography.
How do we begin to record what we touch? With haptics, like a remote robot glove, we might be able to record and play a touch. We’re just not there yet. When we are, we may never leave our homes. It’s very difficult to record touch, comparative to capturing a voice message or selfie. Poetry begins to capture touch, great literature approaches the capture of touch, but these require an investment and openness comparative to viewing the selfie. Something that is well written, that explains why something was an overwhelming, rewarding, or delicious experience, can lead to a sense of touch. But the touch itself is lacking. It’s not exactly the same as a GoPro, where you can really see the experience of the author. It’s not exactly the same as recording something with a good microphone, where you have a much clearer idea of what was heard in a given space for a given time.
We don’t really understand yet how to record smells, although perfume, food, and olfactory marketing begins to speak to it. Scratch and sniff stickers have been around a long time, and culinary scientists are adept at convincing us that we are eating meat when we are actually eating plant based protein. A store in the mall may be able to convince you via your nose to visit their shop. Despite this, there is no way for me to capture or share the smell of the oaks at the top of the hill in the neighborhood I grew up in that quickly brings a rush of conflicted childhood memories. There’s no recorder for that, yet.
We have no idea how to synthetically record or reproduce the sense of taste in the same way as a photo or audio clip. The combination of flavors and ingredients in a dish lead to that particular taste, experience, memory, and imprint. A meal can lead to bliss at the hands of an accomplished chef. Your favorite dish from your mom may pass along with her. Recreating it synthetically is difficult.
You might say that I should just make the dish from the recipe. A recipe is certainly a record of the instructions for a taste, but it does not capture all of it. A recipe is a instructional recording of a dish. But, there may be other things that we are missing in the recipe. If a chef stirs or bastes a certain way, that might not be captured in the recipe. If the chef uses a California based spinach, and I use a Virginia spinach, the taste may be dramatically changed. Even if we recreate a recipe perfectly, it may still not have exactly the right taste, and we may not know why. We haven’t yet done a very good job of recording and reproducing a particular taste in any artificial form.
What if our smartphones could suddenly, faithfully, and quantifiably reproduce our favorite tastes, smells, and touches? What would that feel like? What would it smell like? What would it taste like? How would it disrupt our current paradigms? How would it affect culinary arts, human relationships, and memory?
A while back, I decided to go into GIMP and create an image of me and my sons, but to overlap our faces, and merge them at the eyes, nose, and mouth. It’s a simple trick, really:
I loved this image. I really liked how it captured all of us, and showed our connectivity. For Father’s Day this year, I had them hop in front of the camera again, so that I could recreate the image. I might make it a yearly thing. Here’s the 2020 image:
Hey, friends! It’s John and this time I’m talking about using Inkscape to illustrate a Zen quote. This quote is “To set up what you like against what you don’t like — this is the disease of the mind ~ Seng-Ts’an” If we can find compassion, especially with those we disagree with, we make progress.
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“The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry. Edited by Stephen Mitchell. Harper and Row, NY. 1989 The Mind of Absolute Trust The great way isn’t difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences. Let go of longing and aversion, and everything will be perfectly clear. When you cling to a hairbreadth of distinction, heaven and earth are set apart. If you want to realize the truth, don’t be for or against. The struggle between good and evil is the primal disease of the mind. Not grasping the deeper meaning, you just trouble your minds serenity. As vast as infinite space, it is perfect and lacks nothing. But because you select and reject, you can’t perceive its true nature. Don’t get entangled in the world; don’t lose yourself in emptiness. Be at peace in the oneness of things, and all errors will disappear by themselves. If you don’t live the Tao, you fall into assertion or denial. Asserting that the world is real, you are blind to its deeper reality; denying that the world is real, you are blind to the selflessness of all things. The more you think about these matters, the farther you are from the truth. Step aside from all thinking, and there is nowhere you can’t go. Returning to the root, you find the meaning; chasing appearances, you lose there source. At the moment of profound insight, you transcend both appearance and emptiness. Don’t keep searching for the truth; just let go of your opinions. For the mind in harmony with the Tao, all selfishness disappears. With not even a trace of self-doubt, you can trust the universe completely. All at once you are free, with nothing left to hold on to. All is empty, brilliant, perfect in its own being. In the world of things as they are, there is no self, no non self. If you want to describe its essence, the best you can say is “Not-two.” In this “Not-two” nothing is separate, and nothing in the world is excluded. The enlightened of all times and places have entered into this truth. In it there is no gain or loss; one instant is ten thousand years. There is no here, no there; infinity is right before your eyes. The tiny is as large as the vast when objective boundaries have vanished; the vast is as small as the tiny when you don’t have external limits. Being is an aspect of non-being; non-being is no different from being. Until you understand this truth, you won’t see anything clearly. One is all; all are one. When you realize this, what reason for holiness or wisdom? The mind of absolute trust is beyond all thought, all striving, is perfectly at peace, for in it there is no yesterday, no today, no tomorrow.”
– Seng-ts’an: The Mind of Absolute Trust from http://www.nonduality.com/seng.htm
This project, in which I arranged Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001 to play both backwards and forwards simultaneously, was inspired by the beautiful and enlightening documentary on Kubrick’s The Shining named Room 237 by Rodney Ascher. I was dumbstruck by the section that explained a theory of how to watch The Shining properly – Backwards and forwards. Here’s an introduction to that idea:
“Analysis and awe sit side by side in the parts of our brains that engage in pattern recognition. The Shining Forwards And Backwards feeds both of them at once. Last year some folks at a Brooklyn theater – likely highly stoned folks – got the idea in their heads to play Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining forwards while projecting the movie backwards at the same time on the same screen. What was shocking was that it worked. That’s not to say that Kubrick intended the film to be seen this way, but it worked nonetheless.” curated by lemasney from Fantastic Fest Review: THE SHINING FORWARDS AND BACKWARDS | Birth.Movies.Death. at http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2012/10/01/fantastic-fest-review-the-shining-forwards-and-backwards
And perhaps my favorite way to introduce this idea that even if Kubrick didn’t do this purposefully, it’s still fascinating:
“(T)he film’s framing lends itself to this kind of an experiment. Kubrick is so precise about placement within the frame that you can overlay random images and find juxtapositions and reverberations in imagery. Whether or not this is purposeful is besides the point – what matters is how it’s experienced.” curated by lemasney from Fantastic Fest Review: THE SHINING FORWARDS AND BACKWARDS | Birth.Movies.Death. at http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2012/10/01/fantastic-fest-review-the-shining-forwards-and-backwards
I was so moved by the idea possibly applying to other films of Kubrick’s, that I rushed to my machine, ripped a copy, and started playing. This post is an invitation for you to do that play too. It’s easy for you to argue that it was not Stanley’s intention to do all of this extra work so that just a few might see it. Once you see it, it’s harder to argue against that idea. So, how does one do it?
I don’t have access to projectors or film reels as The Shining theorists did. I did this right on my computer, and so can you. In fact, it’s likely the only way you’ll get to see it in all of its glory because of the copyright infringement of the product if broadcast without permission. I’ve had a few short clips taken down so far and rightfully so. I do not have copyright rights to the material. Because I am using this for the purposes of extending the content through critique and analysis, I feel I’m free to post this imagery, and have seen other examples, such as in the project that inspired this one:
“On Wednesday, March 9th, 2011, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, The Spectacle Theater screened Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining forwards and backwards simultaneously, superimposed. This experiment in projection was inspired by the analysis of The Shining by MSTRMND, and one line in particular: The Shining is a film meant to be watched both forwards and backwards. We took the MSTRMND gambit at face value. We put the US DVD version into Final Cut, removed all corporate logos and leaders at the beginning, and cut all credits at the end. The entire film image sequence was then copied, reversed and superimposed over the original forwards version. (For clarity’s sake we screened the forwards/backwards superimposition with the forwards audio only.)” curated by lemasney from KDK12 | The Shining: Forwards and Backwards at http://kdk12.tumblr.com/post/4879566957/the-shining-forwards-and-backwards
I believe I’d be able to argue that I did this without expectation of malice, but rather homage, to Stanley, nor personal monetary gain, while hopefully extending the film’s value through critical observation.
I still won’t post the whole rearranged film here, because it would easily be arguable that I had not done enough to change it, and I’d rather not have a showing with my voice over it, etc. You should see it in its true form, and that means you’ll probably have to do it or contact me for help, which I welcome. I am however sharing a lot of GIFs, the first of which are below. Please feel free to share at your own risk. I have a fantasy where I get the Paramount in Charlottesville, Virginia to do a screening for us on the big screen, but I doubt that I could afford the rights.
How to make your own Forwards and Backwards movies:
I’ll explain more below and in future posts, but I can not see how the timing of the cuts and positions are anything but designed. Kubrick seems perfectly capable of going scene by scene, second by second, and arranging image A and image B to coincide. I feel certain of it, but others may not believe. I also believe in The Dark Side of Oz, where Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon replaces the soundtrack of the classic film The Wizard of Oz. If you can believe that was by design, this is easy, comparatively.
Please click on the images to see them full size. You can navigate through them by opening any of them and clicking on the arrows left or right.
The introduction and exit of the film are fascinating to watch simultaneously. Having read Clarke’s entire series of books on this universe, the obelisk is an alien intelligence, allowing humanity to flourish by giving insight to technology unknown before through contact. This happens to the missing link men in the first scenes, to the men on the moon, and to Dave, becoming the space baby, a newly born time-traveling entity. Some impressions and narrative for the GIFs above:
In my next post, I’ll talk about the next scenes and my impressions. I hope you liked this introduction to the project, and I’d love to help you to do this kind of thing too, discovering new tools along the way. If I can help you, please give me a call at 609 553 9498 or email me at lemasney@gmail.com. There’s even a feedback form below. If it’s something especially nice, it might go in the testimonials! I’m John. Thanks!
Hi, I’m John LeMasney, a father, artist, photographer, and new resident in Charlottesville, Virginia. I have the honor of announcing that Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (JMRL) has agreed to let me speak in a free technology series in their beautiful downtown location. I love technology, and want to share what I love about it, continuing the work I’ve done for 20 years in the Northeastern part of our country. If you have a topic or a venue that you’d like covered, please contact me, and let’s make that happen. Let’s do something great together!
Wednesday January 4th from 6-7pm
In this session, come and learn about how to take your digital photos and transform them into art with Virginia based artist, designer, and photographer John LeMasney. With great free tools for photo manipulation, illustration, and catalog management, you can do what the professionals do without the costs. Come and learn about photo technique, lighting, and more, while growing your toolbox beyond point and shoot.
February 1st from 6-7pm
In this session led by Virginia based artist, designer, and photographer John LeMasney, come and learn about the leading ecosystems that have emerged as AI assistants in the home. We will discuss all the major platforms like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple Siri, but we will focus deeply on the present and future state of Google Home, Google Now, ChromeCast, Chromebook, and related items in the Google Ecosystem in a in-session demonstration. If you are interested in having your lights blink when your partner leaves work, having an always listening all intelligent assistant in your home, or learning automatically that you need to leave a little early due to local traffic, you should join us!
March 1st from 6-7pm
If you have a web site or presence in social media, that’s great! How many people visited it today? How about last week? Where did they live? Were they 15, 30, or 50? How many people saw that Instagram post? What is your most popular pin on Pinterest? What browser were they using? Analytics is any system that gives you insight about the way that your content was used. Let Virginia based artist, designer, and photographer John LeMasney help you answer all of those questions and others when you learn about analytics tools in social media, publishing platforms, and other places. We will discuss many platforms for analytics, including Google, social media, and more.
Saturday April 1st from 1pm-2pm
In this session, come learn about digital visual communication with Virginia based artist, designer, and photographer John LeMasney. You likely did not encounter a lot of visual communication training in school, if you went to school in the US. The problem there is that successful contemporary mass communication is expressed today by artists and designers with specialized skills like visual literacy, software tools, and a sense of brand and audience awareness that graphic design can amplify. Design is important today, and if you are not sure where to start, here is a good place.
