Week 5 - Final Parti and Poché Drawings (Project 1)

Week 4 - Refined Parti and Poché Drawings (Project 1)

Three 2 one, revolutionary unicycle

The "Three 2 one" is a revolutionary unicycle with geared hub that lets people enjoy the physical and cognitive benefits of unicycling. Designed to promote a strong core and a healthy back while improving posture, the new unicycle enables a progressive learning progress, where the rider starts with three wheels and gradually progresses to one wheel, as indicated by its name. The unicycle, apart from regular riders, can also accommodate a rider with limited abilities to ride with ease. Other than health benefits, the Three 2 one is an inexpensive and convenient means of transportation.

In addition, the cycle when not in use can easily be collapsed, allowing the rider to carry it wherever he or she goes with minimum fuss. All you need to do is invert the unicycle and rest the seat on your upper thigh. When you pull the green lever, gravity will replace the training wheels under the retracting seat. The pedals fold down by depressing the green leaf spring button. Featuring an ergonomic saddle design, the portable unicycle integrates a handle up front that not only allows stability but also helps easy transportation.

Designers: Allen Wilson

If you liked this bicycle you would also be interested in:
www.thedesignblog.org

Ok, now DP is just messin' with my head

This error was the result of attempting to use the "remove" command to subtract one solid from another. The thing about it is, I had used this command a good half-dozen times this morning with no problem. I didn't notice anything change between when the "remove" command worked and when it gave the error...

Ok, now DP is just messin' with my head

This error was the result of attempting to use the "remove" command to subtract one solid from another. The thing about it is, I had used this command a good half-dozen times this morning with no problem. I didn't notice anything change between when the "remove" command worked and when it gave the error...

DP - Digital Pessimism

I think this says it all:

DP - Digital Pessimism

I think this says it all:

Toyota Rin Concept

Idea automobile, original economize the energy that have designing modern be at full new technology of the driving moves and using energy economize for stay among cost problem of fuel and global worming that everybody must participate in editing

"Toyota Rin Concept" be idea original car that use the figure symmetry square, design come to for the easiness in the driving moves with takes nature green color pretends the sheet glass and the door like transparent in the view point panorama surrounding

The inspiration in designing Toyota Rin Concept occur from "Yakusuki" which, be species pine tree mountain plant in Japan, both of figure inside and outside link to nature and the mind soul of a human are compatible harmoniously, reinforce the health in through the travel with the arrangement lays the seat and a mattress for appropriate anatomy, a mattress has can to adjust the temperature both of hot and cold, help in about of the relax in travel time

The air condition system within a car Toyota Rin Concept, systematically control the humidity and control level of oxygen. The sheet glass and the door round a car are young green translucent set up sensor for decrease the quantity of radioactivity ultraviolet and infrared. Meanwhile, it make the view point of a room takes to have clear clarity sees bright eyes, sheet glass door like the slide opens - close with electric motor and sets up sensor on the sheet glass that have the corner lowers to go to until ladder for see the two nature beside all the way at Toyota Rin Concept running

Beside, the lighting and illuminates system at front has spread beam of light in the headlights with considering person walks and last detail, dimension of body has width 1,690 mm, long 3,250 mm, high 1,650 mm and distance base wheel 2,350 mm.

Designers: Toyota














If you liked this vehicle, you would also be interested in:
www.toyota.com

"The A-Team" Trailer

My inner 15-year-old is so psyched right now. Woooooo hooooooo!

Guest Post & Giveaway Featuring James Knapp

When I reviewed "State of Decay" by James Knapp, I said it was a "cool" book-- and I meant it. So I was really excited when Knapp contacted me and offered to sponsor a giveaway for THREE signed copies of the book. And he let me talk him into a guest post too! It doesn't get much better than that...

Love for the Editor
by James Knapp

When I was younger, I read a short story I loved that involved an editor (I think I would love it more now, but have never been able to track it down). In the story, a writer makes a pact with the Devil, who makes him successful. The only catch is that the writer must, before the appointed time, convince an editor to publish a ‘Pact with the Devil’ story. It is told entirely in the form of proposal and rejection letters, as the editor politely (and continuously) explains to the author that ‘Pact with the Devil’ stories are played out, and will not be published. When the writer finally fails, he is whisked off to Hell, doomed to eternally try and sell ‘Pact with the Editor’ stories to the Devil, who eternally rejects them.

That was my first exposure to the concept of an editor. Other than reject stories, I had no idea still what they really did. I had on occasion, before getting published myself, read books that left me thinking "I liked it, but that guy/gal could use a good editor". When I said that, I would mean that I thought the book had indulged in too many irrelevant (though maybe interesting) tangents. When I said that, I also still had no real idea what an editor actually did. My first novel STATE OF DECAY has now been published, and as I wrap up the first round of edits on the second book in the trilogy THE SILENT ARMY, I understand more the true role, and value, of an editor.

My current editor's name is Jessica Wade, and she works over at ACE/ROC. She juggles a stable of other authors (that's where they keep us) and it's actually amazing to me that she provides the same services she provides me to a bunch of others. I use the word 'amazing' because I realized something this go around, and I'll try and explain it as best I can:

I'm sure every author is different, but for me the process involves writing, sketching out story arcs, walking around talking to myself, and rewriting. As I do this, I decide to change things, get new ideas, scrap other things, until the pieces fall into place and click. I've yet to write a book that didn't leave me with 30K words or so of scenes I cut out, and I've never done less than three rewrites, but still...there's always some little nagging items, some little nagging details that didn't *quite* click. I'm usually pretty whipped by the end of that last draft, and if the test readers didn't identify them as problems, I tuck them away thinking 'maybe this is just some sort of writer's neuroses' after all, I could always find *something* to change if I stare long enough. I tuck them away, but I don't forget them.

Jessica then reads the manuscript, and immediately zeros in on those things. She spots them (along with other things), calls them out, and then having had some time away from the book, I suddenly am able to see the answer that I couldn't see before.

That's not all she does, of course. You'll note I used the phrase 'first round' of edits back there; there are multiple rounds. The first round she makes both small suggestions (this is the part where she finds the things that bothered me, the things that I missed, and the things that need further (or less) explaining, etc), and big suggestions. The 'big' suggestions are what I think of as 'shaping the story'. Not in a 'could Chapter Three be Chapter Six?' kind of way, but in more of a broad sense...she understands books and story structure very well, and knows when a story arc has drifted or doesn't land as well as it could. She doesn't micromanage; I never feel like she's trying to turn the book into something I didn't intend, we have a common goal - we both want the book to be the best it can be. Therefore she is very honest...very nice (her tone sometimes suggests to me that editors might be used to authors freaking out) but very honest, and an honest opinion from a professional who is also nice is a good thing.

After the first round, there's a second round, and then copy edits (although someone else does those)...the process takes months and months, but in the end, the book is better than it started.

The point is, behind every writer is an editor, and that editor contributes a lot to the books you and I read. Their name doesn't go on the cover, and most readers have no idea who they even are, but the editor (and copy editor, and cover artist, and publicist, etc) are the team in the author's corner who give them the best shot at succeeding in an arena where success is not guaranteed. They're in the sometimes (I imagine) unenviable position of crushing dreams, stepping on raw nerves, and basically banging on an artist's finely assembled contraption with a rubber mallet to shake out the loose pieces, but they do it, usually with a smile, and no one ever writes a wiki about them.

So, it used to be when I thought 'editor' I imagined that cigar-chomping guy that always yells at Peter Parker. I don't *think* my editor chomps cigars, but I don't actually know that for a fact. I do know she doesn't yell at Peter Parker because she works for Penguin and he works for The Daily Bugle. Also, he is fictional.

I will now get back to editing, though, as not to provoke her into channeling her inner Jonah Jameson – editors keep an eye on deadlines, too.


Thanks James! There are a lot of writers, who aspire to be published, that frequent the review blogs (myself included) so it's always interesting to get a glimpse at real-world publishing and I know I appreciate the insight.

For everyone else, if you haven't yet gotten your hands on a copy of State of Decay, now you have a chance to win one of THREE SIGNED COPIES that James has graciously offered to giveaway. Just add your information to the form below to enter (all information is guaranteed confidential and will be discarded once the contest ends) and I will randomly pick THREE winners by Friday April 23rd. No multiple entries-- all multiple entries will be discarded. Open in the U.S. and Canada.

Good luck!

**Contest Closed**

Still Dealing With Computer Issues...

You ever have one of those weeks? You know the kind....when nothing goes the way you want it to.

I swear. Someone is conspiring to keep me off of the computer this week.

Over the weekend my computer started acting up. It was weird. It kept randomly shutting down and I still don't know why. My husband was out of town so I decided to wait until he came home so we could have his computer guy look at it.

In a way, the computer glitch was a good thing because Monday morning I woke up feeling fairly awful-- just the standard head cold, but enough to keep me from wanting to do anything. My computer didn't act up at all Monday, but I wasn't motivated to post anyway, so no big deal.

And then, yesterday, my internet connection started going haywire. You wouldn't believe what I went through to post a review last night. And right now, I can't get on my laptap at all because the wireless connection isn't working at all.

What. The. Heck.

I think I have an idea of what's going on. We got a PS3 (finally) and every time we try to connect it to the internet it throws our system into a tizzy. It literally goes down for hours. We've never had this problem with the Wii, but our internet provider doesn't seem to like the PS3.

And I'm leaving town on Friday (Vegas baby!) so this is going to be one of the worst weeks as far as posting on the blog goes. I hate that.

Anyway. Bear with me while I try to sort all this stuff out.

((Update)) Got the laptop connection working but it's now almost 11:30 pm. I seriously don't have the energy to stay up until 2am again to post something meaningful. At least the laptop works....

"The Expendables" Trailer

Who isn't in this movie?

Who cares? I'll watch it just for Jason Statham.

Single Gear Wonder, new idea bike eco-friendly

New concept bike "Single Gear Wonder" be new idea bicycle that handles urban life with ease and comfort for spin in a city. This bike use a rubber belt for maximum control and maneuverability replaces metal chain. Systematically prevent shake make spinning flows more and disk brake accurate, built in safety features like a dynamo to power the front and rear lights is one of its highlights

Besides, Single Gear Wonder bike have structure makes of the plastic recycle. Which, can return back to recycle get in the future.

Designer: Omer Sagiv


If you liked this bicycle, you would also be interested in:
www.yankodesign.com

Book Review: "Angelology" by Danielle Trussoni

"Once angelology was the center of attention in religious circles, one of the most revered branches of theology. That quickly changed. After the Crusades and the outrages of the Inquisition, we knew that it was time to distance ourselves from the church. Even before this, however, we had moved the majority of our efforts underground, hunting the Famous Ones alone. We have always been a force of resistance-- a partisan group if you will-- fighting them from a safe distance. The less visible we became, the better, especially because the Nephilim themselves had contrived to create an almost perfect secrecy. The Vatican is aware of our activities, of course, but has chosen to leave us in peace, at least for the time being. The advancements the Nephilim made under the cover of businesses and government operations made them anonymous. Their greatest achievement in the last three hundred years has been hiding themselves in plain sight. They have put us under constant surveillance, emerging only to attack us, to benefit from wars or shady business dealings, and then they quietly disappear. Of course, they have also done a marvelous job separating the intellectuals from the religious. They have made sure humanity will not have another Newton or Copernicus, thinkers who revere both Science and God. Atheism was their greatest invention. Darwin's work, despite the man's extreme dependence upon religion, was twisted and propagated by them The Nephilim have succeeded in making people believe that humanity is self-generated, self-sufficient, free of the divine, sui generis. It is an illusion that makes our work much more difficult and their detection nearly impossible."

~Excerpt from Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

"There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them."
~Genesis 6:4


Mixing suspense with biblical lore proved very profitable when Dan Brown released "The Da Vinci Code" and Hollywood seems poised to try for the same success with "Angelology," which has already been the subject of a bidding war for film rights. But the success of the film-adaptation may depend on a boost from a good scriptwriter as "Angelology" does well with the theological aspects of its story but falls flat with the action sequences.

Sister Evangeline, a twenty-three year old nun, has been living at the New York Convent of St. Rose since she was twelve years old. Placed there by her father after the death of her mother, Evangeline has never really questioned her place in the world and expected to live out her life in quite worship at the convent. But a strange letter from an art scholar piques Evangeline's curiosity and she begins to investigate a strange connection between the former Abbess of the convent and Abigail Rockefeller.

Through letters exchanged through the two women Evangeline begins to suspect an artifact of great value has been hidden at the convent and soon begins to talk to an old nun at the convent who knows the secrets of the artifact, and why it has been hidden since World War II. Evangeline also learns that she was not placed at St. Rose by accident and that she comes from a long line of angelologists who have dedicated their lives to studying, and trying to stop the advancements of, the Nephilim; a breed of half-angel, half-human beings that have lurked in the corridors of power throughout human history.

"Angelology" shines when it delves into the history of the Nephilim and the angelologists. Trussoni goes back to the time of Noah and creates a convincing mythology for the Nephilim; explaining how and why the angelic beings have moved society from the time of creation. An intriguing chunk of the book is set during WWII and explores the Nephilim influence on Nazi Germany-- and the fact that the Nazi obsessions with the Aryan ideal are based heavily on the physical characteristics of the Nephilim.

Yet, as good as Trussoni is at creating a convincing history, she doesn't have Dan Brown's knack for action sequences. In fact, when action is introduced to the story, "Angelology" just falls apart.

The maddening thing about "Angelology" is that it has all the ingredients to a really good book but it never comes together the right way. I like Trussoni's writing style when she is building the back-story, but the suspense has a forced feel to it. Instead of building naturally and moving toward a natural conclusion, the tension mounts only to be dispelled by one deus ex machina moment after another. In one scene, the villains just kind of go away when the character they're menacing switches train cars--kind of strange and unconvincing.

I wanted to like "Angelology," and at times I did, but there were just too many weak points to the overall story for me to end up really invested in the story. I enjoyed the idea of fallen angels and how they might factor into modern society but the narrative and history falls off when the story leaves the WWII section and never regains the flow it had during that part of the book. The action sequences feel as if they were added to give the book a Dan Brown-like feel, but in the end they just kind of lumber along.

Something tells me that we will see "Angelology" on film in the near future, but I predict that it will be tweaked quite a bit before it hits the big screen.

"Taurus" design Segway at sexy most

The expansion goes up of a person in the city, should affect to being change of city social, neither will densely traffic, lack of sufficient space and pollution are few main concerns when we talk about urban life conditions

This be concept of gadget that enhanced from Segway, innovation two-wheel personal vehicle that acknowledge the very interest, that make many company opens the idea and design it comes out in all design, be late have concept that enhanced Segway come to present anew

The "Taurus" concept vehicle is a self balancing vehicle with sufficient safety mechanisms. By leaning forward and backward the rider can control the speed and change the direction by steering wheel. In brief, we have a safe, eco-friendly and space efficient personal transport vehicle

Although, design see smart hide sexy slightly. But, seem inappropriate with body big person. meanwhile, with look the driving that resemble motorcycle, but stay on two-wheels like Segway.Turning is curve, might cause an accident can turn over easy more original Segway, include the stop immediately, while come to with high speed , going up-down that not easy extremely. How are you think with Taurus?

Designer: Erik Lanuza

If you liked this automotive, you would also be interested in:
www.thedesignblog.org

223rd

studying the many looks of the lizard through the decades, found that the character remained recognizable by his aspect, attitude and attire but, his physiognomy was somewhat "undefined" from artist to artist, from story to story and even panel to panel...

i looked more at the early representations of the character chronologically following ditko's, romita's and gil kane's but also had an unavoidable influence from the more angular design and shadowed renditions by todd mcfarlane, which i devoured so viciously in the 90s that have sunken to a subconscious level! (he he)

also tried going back to an actual lizard but that just looked somewhere between lifeless, like reptiles look most of the time and ... cute? ... which are associations you dont really want for this classic, b-horror, tormented, scientist-super-villain
however it was very useful to draw all the reptiles for some gesturing and the rendering of the skin... also multiple lizards and dinosaurs appear in the 8 pager so...

this is an early prelim illustration i drew in prep for the story "curt connor's in shed; prologue" written by zeb wells and colored on the book by mat hollingsworth published in web of sipider-man #6

more of these coming up

We Interrupt This Program...

Ack! Computer problems! My computer keeps randomly shutting down on me. I don't know if I have a virus and it may be days before I can get this fixed. I was also planning on being out of town the end of this week, so I may be offline awhile. I'll try to wrap up some contests I had ending and get a few giveaways up to make up for the time I'm gone.

Freaking computer.

GM show off EN-V, Car in the future

General Motor (GM) and its strategic partner, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, they unveiled the EN-V, a futuristic personal mobility vehicle, by EN-V car be the attempt is late of GM in the focusing develops new look small-sized car and friendly with the environment

The EN-V is two-wheel car and two-seat, which, do not differ from cleaning machine large-sized. The EN-V runs on two electric motors, one in each "driving" wheel. The motors are powered by lithium-ion phosphate batteries, which can be recharged via a standard wall outlet. The motors also provide "braking" for the vehicle, which is completely drive-by-wire and can be controlled manually or autonomously. In autonomous mode

The EN-V uses many of the advanced features, including vehicle-to-vehicle communications, GPS and distance sensing technologies. The EN-V could slow down and stop sooner than current vehicles for pedestrians and other obstacles that happen upon its path. No speed demon, the diminutive EN-V a sixth the size of a standard passenger car - has a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour and a 25-mile range. The car would work well in large metro areas, where half of all trips are three miles or less and 28 percent are one mile or less. In cities, more than 85 percent of vehicles have only one occupant

The EN-V has three concepts design of EN-V family was treated separately, each belonging to a team of designers from various GM subsidiaries in the world:

-Xiao ("smile") was developed by GM Holden, from Australia;
-Jiao ("pride"); was designed by GM Europe;
-Miao ("magic") is the work of GM Advanced Design Studio from California.

Regard as EN-V be the one choice will in the future at not only small-sized car, light weight but , still lack of the pollution as well

Designers: General Motor (GM)

If you liked this automobile, you would also be interested in:
wheels.blogs.nytimes.com
www.mibz.com