A quick post on the interview with Nick Perlas on Rock Ed Radio in NU107. Right click on the link and “save as” to download.Nick Perlas on Rock Ed radio

There are a lot of sites that cover web design. Some good ones that cover interaction design. There are also a few good ones that cover that cover local design scene. One blog that I subscribe to, and I suggest you do too, is Plus63.net. They post pretty regular articles on Filipino visual designers. Another design blog that seems to beat me in announcing new logo redesigns in the Philippines is One Design PH.

So this makes me think of how to position my blog to serve you guys better. I am due for a redesign anyway. So.. still thinking… thinking…

I did some tweaks on the previous sketches I made before. I was trying to make a “bokeh” effect by blurring the circles a bit. But the filter blur in Processing was a bit too strong and I still don’t know how to control it yet, the result was something far from the original one and still way off from what I want.

Sketch 2-1, added some random blur effect.

Sketch 2-2, changed colors a bit, still using the follow mouse effect.

Sketch 2-3, automated the movement and size of the circles still with the blur filter.

I bought the compilation of The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite a couple of days ago because my wife had a subscription of Archie comics which she had to pick up. I was very happy that I did. I rarely read comics so I may not be the best critic for these things. But a couple of months back, I also bought the first of the series of Blackest Night, so I can make that as my comparison.

I finished The Umbrella Academy in one sitting, versus Blackest Night which I just got in the middle of. Maybe because I was looking for a different kind of story that didn’t involve typical superheroes. The Umbrella Academy is about 7 “heroes” with extraordinary powers who were adopted by one “father.” They save the world from Apocalypse. Although the story seems typical, it actually sounds like the tv series “Heroes”, it is told in a fresh way. The 7 heroes each have their own history and challenges. I really like how the story is paced. The writer, Gerard Way, is also the front man of the band “My Chemical Romance.” Which probably why the rhythm is very deliberate… almost like a song. By the end of one chapter, I kept longing for more. Possibly also similar to the pace of TV series. The art too is unique. Gabriel Ba is a Brazilian who does comic book illustration for realist series rather than superhero comics. The art adds more to the words, things that were just implied, were spelled out in the art, which in turn completed the story.

Although the series was published in 2007 and this review is 2 years late, I still think it was worth every penny.

I find myself going back to learning Processing when I feel the need for fresh air or escape. Someone told me that I was too technical to be creative. Working with highly technical people, this was something new to me. I always am thought of as creative than technical. I guess I am absorbing some new skills by working closely with technical people. But I digress.

So I open up processing to see how technical I am or maybe exercise and learn to be more technical and creative at the same time. And upon booting up, I found an old sketch that I did, I guess at another point when I felt the need to escape or was feeling frustrated. The short sketch involved dots with random sizes and hue. As I move the mouse around, the dots “paint on the canvas.” Look:

Congratulations to the Winners of last night’s awarding ceremony, Luzon leg. No, unfortunately I didn’t win. But I’m still happy to be a finalist among the hundreds of other blogs. :) Here’s the list:

SPECIAL AWARDS
Best Blog Design – The Site Guy
Best Filipino Blog Abroad – The Warped Zone
Best Foreign Blog – My Sari Sari Store
Blogger’s Choice – Micamyx
Best Filipiniana Blog – Pilipino Komiks

TEN BEST POSTS OF THE YEAR

Karnabal by Tuyong Tinta ng Bolpen
Finding Your Soul Mate: A Statistical Analysis by Guttervomit
Lost Gems Of Philippine History: The 1896 Board Meeting by It’s true! It’s true!
The Diving Boys of Quezon Bridge by Dennis Villegas
Twenty Pesos by Lostphotograph
The way of the leaf by SMOKE
Portrait of a dramatic highlight in Nick Joaquin’s A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino by Gibbs Cadiz
Kaya Dumarami ang Bading Kasi… by Manila Gay Guy
The Parable of the Furry White Rabbit by Good Times Manila
The Amazing Bulul: A Story of Epiphany by The Cat Whisperer

BEST BLOGS

Best Technology Blog – Jaypee Online
Best Travel Blog – Langyaw – Sojourns and Off-the-Beaten Path Travels
Best Entertainment Blog – Lessons From the School of Inattention
Best Personal Blog – Writing on Air
Best Food & Beverage Blog – Table for Three, Please
Best Family & Living Blog – Make or Break
Best News & Media Blog – Virtual Journals
Best Business Blog – Negosyo Ideas
Best Sports Blog – Fire Quinito
Best Hobby & Recreation Blog – Bearbrick Love
Best Fashion Blog – Who is Elyoo?
Best Photoblog – I Am a Documentary Photographer
Best Culture and Arts Blog – magnetic-rose.net: Japanese Pop Culture for Filipino Fans
Best Commentary Blog – The Marocharim Experiment
Best Videocast Blog – Entrepbuff.com
Best Podcast Blog – Brink Notes Entertainment Daily
Best Humor Blog – The Professional Heckler
Best Gaming Blog – Blog Mike Got Game!
Best Advocacy Blog – Autism Society of the Philippines
Best Beauty Blog – The Doctor Is vaINlo

I rarely come across a website that captures my imagination… and Spectra did it for me. I just saw this site by accident while browsing through another site. Spectra is msnbc’s visual newsreader. So instead of showing text and images, spectra presents this differently, via spiral and colored boxes (according to the category of the news item).

But this wasn’t the one that got me hooked. If you go in deeper and look at the other ways they present information, you’ll find 2 other views: using your camera or using your mic. With the camera view, you can flash colors into your camera and the website reacts by showing you the same color on screen with the news inside it. Or with the audio input, you speak into the mic and it blasts out the boxes as your audio gets louder. Excellent! “I gots to hav them killa flash skillz.”

Please, if you can, try to help out people who were affected by the floods and typhoon. Toni has a very comprehensive list of places that are offering assistance.

I am flattered that I was chosen as one of the finalists for this year’s Philippine Blog Awards. A bit of good news after the tragedy that happened this weekend.

Here are the other finalists in the category: Best Culture & Arts Blog
Art in Action
Bookmarked!
Coffeespoons
magnetic-rose.net: Japanese Pop Culture for Filipino Fans
Perlas Design Studio
PinoyTattoos.com – Filipino Tattoo Source
SA GUBAT NG NAMIMINTOG NA PATALIM
Sari-Saring Sineng Pinoy
The Spy in the Sandwich
Views from the Pampang

Big news abound the internet, Microsoft and Yahoo partner up for 10 years. Yahoo will use Bing search technology while still receiving 88 percent of advertising from its sites. NY Times gives a good review here