Blender Tutorial: Rigging

This tutorial shows how to rig the fingers in a very clever way. I’d seen this technique described in a text tutorial somewhere, but after seeing it here, I understand it. I also appreciated seeing how to adjust b-bones so that they only rotate, without bending (which results in noodly-looking joints). I really love Blender,…

Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others

This morning, hundreds of Amazon Kindle owners awoke to discover that books by a certain famous author had mysteriously disappeared from their e-book readers. These were books that they had bought and paid for–thought they owned.–David Pogue, NYT The citizens whose Kindles needed rectification had purchased unauthorized George Orwell books.  So 1984 disappeared down the…

Rainbow in Suburbia

The HD version actually came out better than I thought it would. More photos after the jump… Similar:A Note of Recognition for: Filmation's ''Star Trek'' AnimatorsEven if the animation of Star Trek was l…AestheticsChipping away at the total as the final submissions pour in.PersonalCongrats to all the winners at the Pittsburgh 48 Hour Film Project!…

NASA's restored video showing Neil Armstrong's first moonwalk

Amazing! Similar:Incredible archer shows his speed-shooting skillsI know next to nothing about archery. Ac…AestheticsExplorers (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 22) Sisko builds an ancient Bajoran s…Rewatching ST:DS9 With a come-hither …AmusingJerry Lewis’s Costars Speak Out: “He Grabbed Me. He Began to Fondle Me. I Was Dumbstruck”As a kid I watched Jerry Lewis movies wh…CultureIPads…

Interactive fiction, from birth through precocious adolescence: a conversation with Jimmy Maher

A great interview, on Adventure Classic Gaming. Was something like Adventure inevitable? That’s a tough question, but I think probably so. I’d say that the real wild-card here is not Adventure but rather Adventure‘s inspiration, Dungeons and Dragons. You just can’t exaggerate the importance of D&D to all of the many storygames that have followed it.…

Quirk Classics #2: Book Trailer

A bit predictable, but still enjoyable. Similar:Darmok (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 2) Picard of the Federation, His Metapho…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureThe Library Adjacent to My Ethership Control Room Needed BooksFor me, summer vacation means spending h…AestheticsShirley Temple Black, Screen Darling, Dies at 85 Shirley Temple Black, who as a dimpled,…Culture'Robot Journalist'…

Pronouns Must Agree in Number with Referents

Clearly by “Them” the sign means “dogs,” but the since the sign refers instead to “Your Dog,” so it was already in need of some attention even before this alteration took place. Via Bryan Alexander. Similar:Educators approve national campaign to halt high stakes, “toxic tests”Not a news item, but an announcement fro…CultureNew Ground (#StarTrek #TNG…

We Choose the Moon

A website will re-create the 1969 moon mission in real time (allowing for the 40-year time lag).  http://wechoosethemoon.org/ Similar:Google Trends: blog, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook (2004-2012)I rather expected this — popularity of …Current_EventsThe Zombie Argument that Refuses to DieThe idea that generations of Shakespeare…AcademiaNotes on watching "Aliens" for the first time again, with a bunch of…