BlogDogIt

Brianna Wray - Interdisciplinary Artist

I have been keeping an eye on this lady for a couple of years now and feel the time is right for shining the BlogDogIt Spotlight her way. As a self-described interdisciplinary artist, Bri - I hope I can call her that - has her hands in many media of self expression.

With a flair for the upbeat she imparts through her art those properties we all associate with sunshine. With warmth she illuminates her world, highlighting the colorful nature of her creativity. Like those rays of sunlight we have all seen breaking through a sky filled with clouds Brianna breaks through the internet with a fresh and honest presence; a truly spirited artist and skilled internet artisan worthy of attentive patronage.

"...I’d like my work to contribute to fond memories and reflect the world around us in a whimsical way."
-- Brianna Wray - [Artist Statement]

On the WraysOfSunshine.com website Brianna has interviewed several of her local compatriots in the art world - gain insight into her love of art as she celebrates others who are driven to create. Perhaps one of the best introductions to Brianna Wray herself is in the form of this video self-portrait; Brianna: Wray of Sunshine - Final Project for Art360: 30:60:90: Identity & the Moving Image.

Enjoy!

The Video: https://youtu.be/eNl6j3B69AQ

Now how could you not want to learn more about this
ray of sunshine named Wray?  Her linkage:

After taking a little time off from blogging to recover from a debilitating, unannounced GoDaddy server swap^† I am happy to report BlogDogIt has (finally) been upgraded to the latest version of GeekLog CMS (GL_2.1.2 up from GL_1.8.1.) I had been putting off the upgrade because so much of the new system was not directly compatible with the older system, but when I could not get BlogDogIt to run on the new server I decided to "take the plunge" and do the update.

Although I had backups of the website complete with database I was still concerned since the tables used to store the articles were not the same as the backed-up version and required modification of the existing data structure to make it readable, so as to restore all articles to the BlogDogIt archives.

It was a learning experience that - in all likelihood - served to up my geek score a few points. It highlighted the fact that I do indeed know enough to be dangerous but also restored my confidence in my ability to learn what I needed to know to get the job done. There are still a few features around here that have yet to be restored (if you noticed any of them missing then bless your heart.)

After working so hard behind the scenes - up to my belt-loops in code - I have been itching to get back to the entertaining task of posting to this blog (in an effort to get that whole episode behind me.) It is only natural to wish to record for posterity the events of the last couple of weeks but I was torn as to whether I should share this tale or just opt for the usual sharing with y'all of something interesting that I've happened upon while perusing the interwebs.

Since I had not really taken the time to enjoy the internet at large lately, I instead choose to rely on my email inbox that today shared with me a suggestion from Ello.co that featured Lucya Koroleva; the creator of the goofy little gifs that now adorn this article. Those who regularly follow BlogDogIt will know I have an underutilized fascination with stop-motion animation (clay and otherwise - see The Great Race - among others) so you will have little trouble understanding why I chose to use these active little images as apt illustrations for this piece.

After following Lucya (nothingisfunny) on ello.co I was anxious to discover which (if any) other vehicles she has chosen to utilize to highlight her craft - I was rewarded with quite a number of sites and would like to share the following introduction made by the artist in a BoredPanda article:

I Make Short Claymations For Fun
Hi! Just wanted to share silly short claytoons, that I make. Shot on an iPhone attached to a tripod that is wrapped around a wine bottle, which is taped to the table - the usual setup in my "studio". Thanks for taking a look!

 Explore the fascinating world of Lucya Koroleva
with the following links:

https://ello.co/nothingisfunny
https://nothingisfunny.tumblr.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ohmannothingisfunny/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/nothingisfunny
https://www.depop.com/nothingisfunny
http://www.boredpanda.com/author/if_the_kids_r_united/
https://medium.com/@nothingisfunny
https://www.facebook.com/nothingisfunnystore/

Enter your text above - click "say."

Source: http://www.program-o.com/

I have always liked the Town of Oaklandon, Indiana. In the late 1970's I was employed by Lawrence Parks Department and was often tasked with mowing the grass, picking up litter and emptying trash barrels at the Oaklandon Road "Play Park" (beneath the landmark water tower on the corner of Broadway Street.) Many years ago my wife and I had the chance to move out of the Near East Side of Indianapolis and found a charming "fixer-upper" in Oaklandon and continue to enjoy this town.

From what I have been able to gather, Oaklandon, Indiana has a very interesting history. However, it has not been very easy finding specific information about our town on the internet. It occurs to me that fellow community members might never learn many of the interesting facts about our community due to the disbursed nature of available information. I have decided to create this website as a way to consolidate the available information and hopefully learn more in my quest to build and maintain this website. It is my sincere hope that you might find it useful and entertaining.

Thank you for checking out the website. Visit Historic Oaklandon and environs when you get the chance and experience the home-town vibe for yourself.

http://oaklandon.deburger.com/

It is always great fun to see what the good folks at Big Biting Pig Productions have unleashed upon the world with each of their annual horror productions. This year's release is their tenth movie to date. Written, directed and staring Steve Hudgins, it is titled "It Lives In The Attic" and perhaps the scariest thing about this film is that it ever lived in the mind of Steve Hudgins. You know what they say... better out than in. Oh, really?

The pre-release trailers for this film did little to reveal any more about what to expect than does the film's title; this signaled to me that the actual story line was being held close to the vest. Wishing not to take away from that spirit of mystery, a thorough review of this film is going to be little tough to do. I will say however, that it was fantastic to see Michael Coon in a leading role, all grown up and enjoying life as happy-go-lucky Andy. It was also good to see that Jessica Leonard was none the worse for wear; coming from her starring role in last years Big Biting Pig monster hit, to figure voluptuously into this tapestry of madness as Ellie, the girl next door. Steve Hudgins channeled his inner "Aqualung" in a masterful "perv"formance as the standoffish Barney.

I really don't think it is much of a stretch to say this production has crossed the line into a soft-porn classification but you may rest assured the horror is there in ample quantity to spoil the mood. Many familiar Big Biting Pig performers contribute admirably to the film and a good many of these seemed just a little too convincing when letting their freak flags fly.

Disturbing? Yes. Uncomfortable? Yes. Horrific? Oh, yeah! Honestly, I came away from this film with much the same feeling as after having first viewed Stanley Kubrick's classic "A Clockwork Orange." In fact, to my mind, I think of this as Big Biting Pig's "A Cuckoo-Clockwork Orange" (I mean this in a good way.) Steve Hudgins and the Big Biting Pig crew always seems to bring us smart, thinking-person's horror, so you will want to bring your brain; of course it will be of no great help with this one, but you will still want to refer back to it as the closing credits begin to roll.

It Lives In The Attic? If only...
 

Warning: May contain articles depicting graphic violence
(but don't worry, they deserve it...)

The Case for "Fire and Brimstone"
The Discussion Has Begun in "The Vestibule":
 

Join the Conversation!

Gorillas, also known under the source code's file name Gorilla.Bas, is a video game first distributed with MS-DOS 5 and published in 1991 by IBM corporation. It is a turn-based artillery game. The game consists of two gorillas throwing explosive bananas at each other above a city skyline. The players can adjust the angle and velocity of each throw, as well as the gravitational pull of the planet. Written in QBasic, it is one of the programs included as a demonstration of that programming language.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillas_(video_game)]

Here is an attempt at a near pixel perfect remake of Qbasic Gorillas in ActionScript 3.0 Source code available at https://github.com/moly/Flash-Gorillas

QBasic Gorillas - Deluxe Edition 2.2 open source: http://telcontar.net/Misc/Gorillas/

We’ve launched a new open source initiative to document the health of the Internet.

Check out the prognosis: https://t.co/qQkLIX0JLU pic.twitter.com/Et9daoJZ5t

— Mozilla (@mozilla) January 19, 2017

It may not have been common knowledge but I have long been a fan of the Dubstep / Trance / Trap sound. From my early days of collecting CMF and MOD files through the BBS's I have often found myself absorbed in the enjoyment of the strangely comforting demonstrations of digitally derived sounds.

When I discovered the many works of ZealFied (Hassaan Tariq) I was drawn as a moth to a flame. ZealFied offers a broad spectrum of sound files featuring, fresh, finished arrangements that suggest to me a devoted artist worthy of following. Thanks to Soundcloud, ZealFied has developed a ready platform to share these jewels.

Equally as appealing are the associated graphic images for his articles. It was the desire to share these images that "sealed the deal" for shining the BlogDogIt Spotlight on this incredible talent. Found tucked away on the Pakistani edge of the World Wide Web; I am glad to share this discovery with you. 

Enjoy!

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zealfied/

Tumblr: http://zealfied.tumblr.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZealFied.DJ