These are some great flash animations by artist, Alan Becker, that I was introduced to today. The artist mentioned on his gallery website it took three months to make the first animation and five months to make the second. There is a lot of detail, so you have to watch them more than once to catch it all. Very well done!
Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART
Animator vs. Animation II by *alanbecker on deviantART
Since I've been in a video mood (much more interesting than my commentary, in my opinion), here's an animated slide show of McMinnville, Oregon's Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home of the Spruce Goose, that I made a few years ago. Its a good snapshot of some of the cools things to see there.
Just the Spruce Goose alone is an amazing site. It's housed in a large airplane hanger...practically takes up the whole building and dwarf the dozens of other fascinating planes on display. The Spruce Goose is basically a giant flying boat made out of laminated wood set in layers. It sits 79 feet tall, 218 feet long, the wings span 319 feet with eight 3,000 horsepower engines driving 17 foot diameter propellers. Its first and only flight lasted about one minute as it flew almost a mile distance at 70 feet altitude to the surprise and silence of skeptics. Pictures can't capture the magnitude of this unique aircraft.
Please enjoy a quick, virtual tour of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum:
Technical notes: This video was also an experiment with some of the transitions, music, and pan-and-zoom features that Pinnacle Studio video editing software provided.
Can our super hero save a ship from utter destruction as a larger, out-of-control ship plows towards it. Watch and find out!
Shortly after my dad gave us our first video camera as a combined birthday present, I experimented with the blue screen (chroma screen) feature of our video editing software. This is how the cheesy, ad hoc experiment turned-out.
For the blue screen we used an amazingly effective blue blanket draped over the back of the couch--this is how we could fly. I hung a blue tarp from the ceiling for the backdrop...but, as you can see, it didn't work very well--too much white light reflection.
Anyway, even with all of its obvious imperfections, its still one of my favorite creations...especially since it was more or less a create-as-we-go (improv) situation. Plus I really enjoyed spending the few hours with my middle son who was very cooperative.
Its amazing what you can do when you just lose your job and have a little extra time on your hands all of a sudden. Its was a bit relaxing during a very stressful time.
Much too long ago, I kind of cheated on my last posts by more or less cutting a pasting.
However, I do want make a few brief comments on President of Gordon B. Hinckley, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who passed away a few weeks ago.
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt. 7:20) Not many people yield fruit as good as President Hinckley did. He loves God as is evidence by his unshaking testimony and willingness to go the extra mile in his service of the Savior. He seemed to go non-stop always trying help the stone 'cut out without hands' (Dan. 2:34) roll on with increasing momentum. During his watch on the tower (Ezekiel 33:7), he saw 13 million members of the church, and 124 Temples in operation around the world. You can tell by the sincerity and powerful testimony when speaks that he loves God and loves people. His love of people is also manifest in his desire to travel around the world bearing his testimony of the Savior and expressing his love to a multitude of congregations. He also instigated a fund to provide specific education loans for people around the world who needed a boost so they could be successful temporally as well as spiritually. Many of the good works he did are not publicly known, but evidenced by the growth of the church and its programs.
The thing that amazes me is that he endured 97 years to the end...living righteously, keeping a clear mind, and continuously working day to day under the direction of the Lord. I have a hard enough time enduring day to day, let alone almost 27,000 days. I guess that's the example...its making good choices each day, each choice, one at a time. And when you make less than perfect choices, fixing it and moving forward always improving upon the previous day. Then the 27,000 days inperceptibly build with one righteous personal victory after another.
President Hinckley reminds me of one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon (Alma 13:3, 10-13 :
And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.
Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;
Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.
And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.
I hope I can follow President Hinckley's example and be as faithful and clear-minded as he was everyday for 97 years!
