Inklings

Author: thorens

  • Indispensible Expendability

     

    I couldn’t help but chuckle in 2010 when I saw the trailer advertising ‘the Expendables’. Looks like Stallone took all that pent-up testosterone left over from the 80s to recruit a roster of action-hero poster boys to star in some age-defying feat of heroism. I was admittedly ‘kind of’ intrigued. Last week the second installment hit theaters – this time with Ah-nuld. Now, that teenage boy inside of me is a little more curious knowing that an encore might warrant some attention. I can’t help but wonder how time has treated this reunion of beloved, muscle heads.

    Having seen neither film I can’t help but dismiss it as 90 minutes of explosive, shell-spraying machismo filled with the familiar, tongue-in-cheek one-liners. In other words – it would be a great guy flick. I may have to catch up with this franchise. My teenage son has already expressed some interest though I find it hard to believe that these sexagenarians will connect with his demographic.

    In an age of Hollywood reboots, it’s nice to see some stars embracing the genre that made them who they are. If you’ve seen it, let me know if these over-the-hill heroes are worth the price of admission. If anything, it could give Planet Hollywood a shot in the arm.

  • Two to go!

    Aaron Rodgers Greenbay Packers


    The NFC match-up will be decided today when the World Champion Green Bay Packers take on the New York Giants.     It’s amazing to me how Aaron Rodgers has not only led the Pack once again to the playoffs, but has nearly erased any memory of Titletown’s previous quarterback – what’s his name? A huge feat for any player in such a short amount of time.

    With the Packers just two games away from a Super Bowl repeat, it’s hard not to be a little over-confident. Green Bay’s near-perfect season seems to overshadow the Giants’ 9-7-0 finish, but records don’t guarantee anything in the playoffs. I never expected the Falcons to fail against Eli and company last weekend nor did I ever think it would be Kansas City that would prove the Packers were beatable but, I digress.

    I know it’s still early, but while the 49ers and Patriots anxiously await the victors of today’s games I’ll be pondering the possibilities of some Super Bowl déjà vu. After watching the Patriots march over the Broncos last night I think February 5th could look a lot like 1997.

  • Gen X-Box

    Generation XBox

    If the repeated complaints of my boys were to be believed — that they were the only kids in the world who didn’t own a game system — then it would be reasonable to assume that I was the only dad in the world who didn’t. Well, no more. With my excuses waning and their piggy banks bursting, we agreed to let them joyfully buy their way into the majority. With this ‘box of Xs’ commandeering so much of our only television’s on hours, I knew it would only be a matter of time before my woefully inept gaming skills were exposed.

    I dodged the bullet for a week before my oldest son managed to coax me into playing with him. Ever the sports competitor he eagerly popped in Madden ’12 and quickly handed me a game controller. This clearly wasn’t the simple joystick I grew up with. My sweaty hands nervously held the wireless package of buttons, triggers and controls. Overwhelmed and intimidated, I sluggishly meandered through the set-up menus with my son’s help and before long the game was underway. I felt like a passenger plucked from coach, in the cockpit of a 747 barreling down the runway, getting last minute instructions from the pilot on how to fly.

    ‘Dad, remember to hit this button to go back, and this one to pick which play you want. All those numbers and letters on the screen are the buttons you should press to make the play.’

    ‘Oh’ was thankfully all I managed to verbalize. After three consecutive delays of game, I began to lose it. Clearly frustrated, I reiterated over and over how I didn’t know what I was doing. How the controller was too complex. He simply repeated the advice he gave me earlier but added, “and do it fast before the play clock runs out.”

    I probably wouldn’t have made it through an entire game had it not been for his encouragement (and pointers). In fact, I was starting to feel pretty good about my progress and after four quarters we were tied at 6-6. With ten seconds left in the game, his QB threw an unbelievable hail mary pass to his wide open receiver who quickly sprinted his way towards the end zone with my defense nowhere in sight. Then the strangest thing happened. Right before my eyes, his receiver stopped short at the one yard line, backed up three steps and jumped out of bounds. After I called shenanigans on his ‘mercy move’ he quickly put me out of my misery in OT.

    I don’t mind admitting that my 12-year-old son ‘powned’ his old man in football. I’m okay with it. I’m proud of the fact that he had the patience to teach someone as clueless as me on how to play his games. I figure with a couple weeks off for Christmas break I should get better with that controller.

  • Cheating

    I have learned a great many things in my life as both a designer and educator; some good, some bad. Among the most despicable acts one can commit as a designer or student is taking the work of someone else and passing it off as their own. Please don’t misunderstand. It’s common practice for many designers to research different styles for inspiration, but when the line between motivation and plagiarism becomes so blurry that it’s indistinguishable you’ve got to question it.

    What’s more troubling is that many offenders know it’s wrong but continue to do it anyway, convincing themselves that somehow the vile act has some redemptive value. I’ve even heard faulty logic claiming that it isn’t really copying if you change at least x percent of it. I hate to break it to you, but most copyright lawyers will tell you there is no magic formula! Cheating is cheating. If you’re doing an homage or a parody that’s something different – here identification of the original is important to understanding and appreciating the work.

    It’s disturbing to see a growing number of people turn a blind eye toward this type of behavior. One could almost go so far as to say that society’s general lack of ethical and moral fortitude might be the cause. Where does that start? With each of us. Can we really blame others, even if they represent the majority, for our individual lack of integrity? Is it really old-fashioned to be honest and truthful? Is it considered progressive to be more UN-like the generations before us? Does society now hold a higher view of a cheater these days than they once did? If you claim you don’t believe in statistical morality to determine the difference between right and wrong, then stop looking at what the crowd is doing. Do the right thing – be original!

  • Digging in for the fight ahead

    It’s inspiring to see what can be accomplished when a community works together. For the past several days, countless citizens of Bismarck and Mandan have volunteered their time (and backs) to filling millions of sandbags in an effort to save homes and neighborhoods from the impending flood waters of the mighty Missouri. Only time will tell if our efforts are enough to overcome this summer hardship. More prayers and sandbags are needed, so please help if you are able!

  • Employee of the Year – Winter

    Winter’s been clockin’ some serious overtime lately filling in for that lazy, good-for-nothing, slacker of a season Spring. So instead of dreaming of BBQs and baseball we get to shovel and scrape windows for a while longer. I have to give the Old Man some credit though – I mean it really looks like December out there. Parking lots with piles of snow and ice. He’s doing a real bang-up job.

    Hey Spring, you should maybe take some lessons from the ‘Ice Man’ – in fact, you might want to start worrying about keeping your job. Really, how many times can you call in sick because you’re feeling a little under the weather and expect to call yourself a season? Face it, Mother Nature should fire you for being this late!

  • Sorry, Charlie

    I’m probably the only human on earth that has not seen a single episode of the hit sitcom ‘Two and a Half Men’ but lately it’s been pretty difficult to avoid the sordid trainwreck-of-a-life that is Charlie Sheen. I’m sure Leno, Letterman and CoCo are nearly wetting themselves over how easily this late-show fodder writes itself, but Sheen’s claim of stone-cold sobriety through his exclusive interviews seem devoid of any professional PR influence. One minute he’s claiming that he doesn’t recall the last time he ‘used’ then in the next breath brags about how invincible he is when it comes to partying and doing drugs (“I was bangin’ seven-gram rocks and finishing them because that’s how I roll”). Clearly the poor man is self-destructive and he doesn’t seem to care.

    Chuck Lorre, the producer of Sheen’s hit show claimed that he would be ‘really pissed’ if Charlie lived longer than him. Instead of being upset, Sheen took it in stride saying, “This is like a gigantic compliment. Chuck offered an olive branch. That’s how I interpreted it…This is about him personally. It doesn’t get to me, it’s not about me until the end. It’s a reflection of how he feels, in comparison to how insane my life appears at times. So, I took it as a huge compliment. He basically wrote a brilliant little piece of literature and called me Superman. Don’t people get it?”

    Nope, can’t say that I do.

  • Pawned

    One of our guilty pleasures lately has been watching the History Channel’s ‘Pawn Stars’. What amazes me is how desperate some of these people are for cash. I understand the premise behind a pawn shop, but there seem to be a lot of museum-quality treasures that are being sold by ‘bounty hunters’ for modest amounts of cash and five minutes on camera! If serious money is what these people are truly after, then I would think there are far more profitable paths than a small pawn shop on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

    Gold and Silver Pawn Shop’s proprietor Rick Harrison is famous for pulling in experts to appraise the quality of some items that fall outside of his areas of expertise. Whenever he utters the words “I know a guy…” the seller should immediately assume that what they have is already worth more. The routine is predictable: Rick’s ‘expert’ guy comes in, looks the item over, tells him and the seller that the treasure is, in fact, an original and would easily fetch 25 million dollars at an auction. The expert leaves and the elated seller then proceeds to bargain with Rick.

    ‘What do you want to do? Pawn this or sell it?’

    ‘Uh, I’d like to sell it.’

    ‘How much do you want for it?’

    ‘Twenty-five million.’

    ‘Uh, ha ha ha. That’s not going to happen. That’s what I hope to sell it for. I’ll give you 100 thousand.’

    ‘How about 20 million?’

    And the counter-offers start flying until Rick digs his heels in and delivers the line that calls the deal, “I’ll give you a firm 200 thousand.”

    The camera focuses on the seller and you can just see it in his face that he knows it’s worth more and that there is no way he’ll get that value here. This is where I start yelling at the television telling the poor guy to take his treasure and sell it on eBay. He could even advertise that he was on TV and that his find was valued at $25 million. And that’s when he says, almost sheepishly, “well, it’s not the money I was hoping to get, but sure. I figure it’s better than nothing.” The handshake closes the deal while the world shakes its head in disbelief.

    ‘There’s a sucker born every minute’ the saying goes. If that’s true this show should be on for a very long time.

  • Form and Content: A Quiz

    Whether or not you consider yourself a designer or even ‘design-savvy’, you’d be surprised to find that you are influenced by the psychology of form and content. It’s the designer’s job to ensure that the form (how a design looks) appropriately coordinates with the content (what the message is). Sometimes it’s quite easy, but other times it’s downright difficult. If the designer gets this wrong, the design suffers.

    I often struggle to explain the importance of this concept to both clients and students. It’s certainly a skill every designer must master though many times I find that simple intuition will guide the visual learner to success nearly every time.

    Not too long ago, my oldest son brought home a small piece of paper that had these two objects crudely illustrated on it. As part of an impromptu quiz, he explained that the class was asked to name each shape either ‘BOBO’ or ‘KIKI’. Surprisingly he told me that the class unanimously voted the same way. Curious? Take the quiz yourself and see how you fare.


  • Go, Pack, Go!

    The kick-off to the ‘Super Bowl of the NFC’ begins in just a few minutes and already the excitement in our household is mounting. With half the family backing the Packers and the other ‘devout’ Bears fans, it’s a good thing we won’t be watching the game together. Instead we’ll attempt to live in ‘radio silence’ until we can return home to watch the commercial-free DVR presentation of the Green Bay Packers pounding the Chicago Bears. To be fair, I predict Chicago to be a worthy opponent for today’s game, but I think Mr. Rodgers is more than capable of taking the Packers all the way to the Super Bowl. Not that I’m biased or anything.