What an amazing look at the past this Flickr set is. There is something to be said for classic illustration work like this from several years back. So simple, yet so different and interesting. It’s a far cry from the anime-influenced work being produced for today’s kids. I’m sure one day this style will return, but for now we can only look back to see artwork like this.
This type of work with its simple muted colors and very basic curves is a style that I wish I could replicate. Artwork like this stands out in our current world, and hopefully if I can pull pieces like this off my work too would stand out.
I just got back from seeing Jet Li’s Fearless, a great martial arts movie. It is definitely one of the classier movies of this type, much like Crouching Tiger or Hero. Good acting, excellent choreography, and superb camera work. Some of the visuals are very breathtaking, even if you have seen other chinese period films.
The film is apparently Jet’s last martial arts epic. As such, his work in Fearless is by far his best work to date.
This expertly made Flash game fell out of nowhere for me. I had seen traditional arcade style beat-em-up games done in Flash before, but this one takes the cake.
Guardians of Altarris: The Sinless Blade is a free web-based game that is available at shockwave.com. The gameplay is very similar to classics like Final Fight or Streets of Rage. You get to pick your character, and then punch, kick, and butt heads with the invading enemies. The art style is top notch, with a mix of cell-shaded 3D and new Flash 8 visual effects. The design and gameplay really can’t be beat as far as games like this are concerned.
The only thing that is a shame is that like most games of this calibur: it is quite short, almost a demo of sorts. Regardless, you owe it to yourself to try it out.
What do you get when you mix the taste of a Creamsicle ice cream bar with cake? Why a Dreamsicle cake.
For those that don’t know, a Creamsicle is an ice cream bar that consists of a vanilla ice cream core covered with an orange popsicle covering. It is a unique taste, and quite refreshing.
The same could be said for the cake that shares its flavors. Jessica originally made one of these for me a while back from a mix we bought, and we’ve been sitting on another box of it for quite a while (the expiration date of the mix had long since passed…)
The cake is made from a standard sponge cake that is flavored orange. Drizzled amongst the layers is an orange flavored gelatin that soaks through the cake. Finally a light vanilla mousse is used to fill the center as well as ice the cake.
I found this gem of a game the other day via Jay is Games. Called Dolphin Olympics, it’s a simple-but-complex game built entirely in Flash. Using a combo-type scoring system similar to the Tony Hawk games, its quirky gameplay is fun and quite addictive. The visuals and audio are also above the norm.
The controls are very simple, but take just a bit of finesse in order to really grasp them. It took me a couple of tries to realize that you could add spin moves with the down arrow. It is also important to make sure to land in the water at the correct angle to keep up your speed.
Also just like in Tony Hawk, once you learn how to combo moves and perform flashier tricks, you’ll be putting up some big numbers and huge leaps. You’ll be leapfrogging your own scores in almost no time at all.
Some funny things to look for in the game are items such as how the background changes depending on when in the day you choose to play the game. Also try to catch a fish or two inside of a combo, and then leap high enough to reach some fireworks.
We woke up this past weekend to see that the pair of texas sage bushes sitting in our front yard had exploded. It always seems that at some point during the year, all the sages around town start bursting with their bright purple blossoms. The once dormant plants begin to show their violet colors across the dark green leaves. It is quite nice to see them in this state, even if it is just for a short amount of time. Their blooms only last a few days.
Oddly enough, if you have never had the chance to see one of these desert plants close up before, the blossoms have tiny little hairs upon their petals. It is a strange sight when you first realize the flowers are bearded.
So instead of just a regular explosion of color, we had a a fuzzy purple explosion…
Congratulations to Eric and Jennifer Doolan on the birth of their daughter, Estella Beatrix Doolan. Estella arrived this afternoon, and we give the newly updated family our best wishes.
Jessica and I visited the brand new Cosmo Dog Park in Gilbert, AZ today. The park is located right off of the 202 freeway, and it is a dog park to shame all other dog parks. There is a huge amount of green areas, tons of dog obstacle course activities (steps, tubes), and the dogs can even take a swim along the coast of the man made lake. This isn’t just a bit of grass surrounded by a fence. No siree.
Jessica and I currently do not have a dog, but not having a dog did not stop us from donating a few bucks so that we could get a commemorative brick at the park. They put a call out for donations and so we responded in kind.
And not having a dog, what did we put on the brick? Why the names of our three cats of course…
It’s just a shame our three little kitties won’t be able to visit said park where their names are enshrined, but at least they are there in spirit.
Well mostly for my own use, and just so I could research it a bit more, I’ve added an RSS feed to this site. Since FloatingCat.com runs off of its own blogging software written by yours truly, there wasn’t a default “Add RSS” option for my site’s posts.
So I spent today adding a bit of code that generates a correct RSS 2.0 feed. Available from both FeedBurner and directly off of this site, the RSS feed can be used for a number of things. Information about RSS can be found here.
So if you like, you can add the feed to Google Reader or your favorite feed reader of choice. The amount of posts here should increase soon, and the feed should make it worth your while.
Have you asked the Floating Cat any important questions today?
What an amazing look at the past this Flickr set is. There is something to be said for classic illustration work like this from several years back. So simple, yet so different and interesting. It’s a far cry from the anime-influenced work being produced for today’s kids. I’m sure one day this style will return, but for now we can only look back to see artwork like this.
