Zen Albatross

Blogging is hard.

2008-09-04T22:34:00.001-07:00

Actually no, it isn't. But that isn't the reason I haven't been updating this blog lately! The reason is I've been blogging (and micro-blogging) on other sites such as Destructoid and Tumblr. And it just so happens that every once in a while, I write something really neat, so you should go and check out those pages. It'd be swell if you did.

But anyway, as strange as it may seem, I've actually become more busy since becoming unemployed. This is mostly due to my increasingly hopeless job search and the miserable and depressing state of New York's job market. The film business specifically is frustratingly polarized: Employers typically aren't looking to give you a decent, well-paying job unless you have 5+ years experience in the field. So basically, if you're a recent college graduate (like me), you're pretty much shit out of luck.

Unless you want to work as an intern. Oh boy, I'll tell ya.. It's a grand time to be alive in New York if you've somehow evolved beyond archaic concepts such as capitalism and the need for human currency. Just take a brief look on craigslist's film & TV directory and you'll see how generous people are with offering you jobs that you won't get paid for. I'm not saying you won't gain anything from doing free gigs, but the problem for me is that I'm already working with two production companies for free. I keep hoping that doing this will snag me some worthwhile business contacts or clients, but all I've gotten is a stray shooting gig here and there.

One thing that is positive about this situation is that I will potentially have time to work on some of my own projects, most notably getting to use that wonderful LittleSoundDJ cart I bought for myself a couple months back and making some kickin' jams on the trusty 'ol Game Boy. See also: Website update. See also: Drupal integration. Even unemployment has its virtues, I suppose.

=Zen out

This inspired me for some reason

2008-07-19T10:13:00.001-07:00

Radiohead's 'Nude' played by old computer parts

2008-06-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

I rarely blog about youtube videos, but this is by far one of the most fascinating re-imaginings of popular song I've ever heard:

A 'remix' of Radiohead's popular single, 'Nude' made by programming various computer parts and peripherals as instruments. The ensemble consists of:

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Guitars (rhythm & lead)
Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer - Drums
HP Scanjet 3c - Bass Guitar
Hard Drive array - Act as a collection of bad speakers - Vocals & FX

It's refreshing to see true creativity amidst the countless droves of hackneyed club remixes for this track.

Make Music 2008 Recap

2008-06-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Check out what you missed by not attending The Tank's chiptune block party at Make Music 2008 this weekend:

1. Outdoor chiptunes concert with Bit Shifter, Anamanguchi and Nullsleep
2. A chance to hang out with/harass your favorite chiptune artists
3. An awesome video game-themed party/concert at Wonderland in Astoria, featuring Bubblyfish, Glomag, Bit Shifter and Nullsleep

More Photos Here

A few short videos Here, Here and Here.

Anamanaguchi

Glomag

Nullsleep

Bit Shifter

bonus level

Wiimbledon Video

2008-06-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I finished editing this piece for PBC Productions. A tad late but I figured I'd post anyway. Shot by Chad Williams. Awesome music by Cacomistle, Beatdrop and Christian Pacaud.

Pulsewave Show @ The Tank

2008-05-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

This Saturday night 5/24/08
@ The Tank performing arts space, 279 Church St in Tribeca

Nullsleep, Mr. Spastic, Trash80 & Auto De Fe on the chips.

Voltage Controlled & Vblank on visuals.

Bleeps, blips and/or blops will be served for your listening pleasure.

Doors at 9 pm, Show at 9:30

$10

Be there.

Work Featured on Fredonia Website

2008-05-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today I was made aware that my video installation piece, 'Classics' has been featured on SUNY Fredonia's website, along with other student works that will be presented this Friday at Fredonia's annual Transmedia Art Festival! Once again, if you're in the area come on down to McEwen Hall 209 this Friday, May 16th at 6 PM to see this and much more from the Media Arts and Animation students at SUNY Fredonia.

See ya there!

Transmedia Art Festival 2008

2008-05-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

In just one week's time, this year's Transmedia Art Festival will mark the conclusion of my last semester here at SUNY Fredonia. The Fest will feature selected student work in both video and animation, including some of my own. That's next Friday, May 16th at 6 PM in McEwen rm. 209 on SUNY Fredonia campus.

Website = Online!

2008-04-28T21:43:00.001-07:00

Now with more Internets!

Check it out:

http://www.ZENALBATROSS.net

Gallery Exhibit - May 2nd 2008

2008-04-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

My first gallery exhibit is coming up very soon! It will be at Rockefeller Arts Center on the campus of SUNY Fredonia. Opening reception is 7 - 9 PM on May 2nd. Hope you can make it :-)

Insufficient Memory

2008-04-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

A student in the media lab got this error message today :-D

New HOWTO Series!

2008-03-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

I've started a Tutorial Series on YouTube to share some software tips and tricks for creating digital media. My first entry is a 2-part tutorial that shows you how take any movie and turn it into an abstract, pixelated sequence using only Photoshop and Quicktime Pro. Check it out!

Part 1

Part 2

Fun With NES Glitches #2

2008-02-24T19:38:00.000-08:00

More experimenting... This time with Tetris.

Fun With NES Glitches #1

2008-02-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

I popped the hood on my good old NES today to see what kind of weird and beautiful glitches I could produce by touching metal onto onto the pins connecting the cartridge to the circuit board. Got one very interesting image, documented below. More to come very soon.

Awesome Duck Hunt glitch

PROJECT: Bits

2008-01-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

The new semester has officially begun, and I am preparing myself for the massive onslaught of work that lies ahead of me in the form of my Senior Thesis project for Media Arts. For now I'll be referring to it as PROJECT: Bits. I can't share many details on the project yet, but I *can* say that it will be full of glitchyness, insanity, 8-bit and WIN.

More to come very soon.

MAGfest 6

2008-01-08T01:19:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending MAGfest 6 in Alexandria, VA: A 3-day music and gaming festival that rocks harder than any Con of its kind. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend unforgettable. It was an absolute pleasure to hang with X-Strike, the PBC crew, Mahoney, 4, FPDan, Rez, JoeCam, Flozax, Hex, Maximo, Zeiram, Sheva, Rail and anyone else I may have forgotten to mention. All of you guys made these past 3 days ROCK.

Some of my favorite moments:

-Meeting Virt, djpretzel and Larry Oji in person
-Celebrating PBC's one year anniversary! Congrats guys!
-Watching Mahoney play himself in Resident Horror
-Purging Salem of its witch problem in Rich's awesome game
-Fighting the coming of the dawn on the last night/morning with Devon, 4, Chad, Mahoney and Glenn Case

Pictures will be up on photobucket soon.

Back to the real world for now I guess :-/

Commence Drupal Integration!

2007-12-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

All of the coding for the website's framework is now complete. For my next feat, I will attempt to integrate the whole thing into Drupal, complete with RSS and CCK goodness. Unfortunately, this will more than likely break the entire site :-/ So yeah... that's what I'll be doing over the holidays. More updates to follow.

Portfolio Website: Update #2

2007-12-14T12:33:00.001-08:00

Started adding content. Decided to add alternating colours and backgrounds for pages. Nice!

Portfolio Website: Update #1

2007-12-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

The portfolio website is starting to come together. The layout is pretty much done, complete with a fancy-pants javascript pull-down menu. Check it out: