Art review - Robbie Cooper's Immersion

Hi gang,

On this, my birthday I'm going to share with you a gift of art. I've been lucky enough to find out about this guys work through my usual channels I think its the best thing I've seen in a while.

Not often in Hong Kong do you really see good art with world class calibre, and for the few artists I know, they travel out of Hong Kong to get their fill - I know I would if I had the money.

Robbie Copper is an photographer who took a very simple idea and took it to the next level. And sometimes the simple ideas are the best ones.

The work is focuses on the faces of children whilst they play video games or watch movies. The clip below mostly shows these kids playing video games (most you will recognize from the sound effects). He got the idea whilst interviewing people in internet cafes in China. According to an interview in the April 2009 issue of PDN, he noticed that his subjects would sit through the entire interview with their eyes transfixed to the screen.

Using the High Res 4K Red One camera Cooper films his subjects using a interrotron to grab the stills. (There is more information on the internet regarding the interrotron). Eventually Copper plans to get adults involved in his work.

Look at the stills and below is a compiled video clip from the series.

Enjoy your weekend cause I know I will.

(Picture sourced from Design Corner)

Edited for TV - Snakes on a plane

I found something typical of American TV. As with hong kong they edit out swearing so the films with the best, or should I most pronounced profanity are rendered b-versions, lesser versions of the original. But sometimes, the edited for TV versions are funny.

Take for example this Samuel L Jackson gem, Snakes on a plane.

Watch Snakes on Plane: TV Edit and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

There's a great one of Die Hard III, with a vengence. I couldn't stop laughing about that one, I even wanted a DVD of that version.

Airsoft - I'm so addicted right now I feel dorky. Dorky-er

I've gone into Airsoft obsessive mode. I'm in love with not a girl but the act of wargaming. My other other lover is not a girl but the internet. But she's too much to love.

Anyway, I youtube-ed and found some airsoft videos. There are hundreds. Here are just a few. Join my party. Enjoy.

Airsoft - Call of Duty in real life

There are no more jokes today, the economy is down, there are tons of shootings related to the loss of jobs. People aren't happy. I've got to admit, I've been a little down also. But there's got to be something to smile about, right?

Call Of Duty, Heat, Black Hawk Down, Navy Seals, Ronin - what do these things have in common? Shooting and guns. what's it got to do with my catch line? Airsoft. I recently had an Airsoft battle. I polished off the dust from the guns I hadn't been using for over 2 years, got some new batteries and pellets and went off to war. And what a day it was.

People from north america and pretty much every where else are probably asking, what the fuck is airsoft? They'll know paintball for sure. But airsoft, WTF? Airsoft was started off by the Japanese simply because, like Hong Kong, its illegal to own a fire arm. So they decided to make realistic guns that fire plastic pellets.

Fast forward to now in the digital world. We've played Call Of Duty, we've shot each other up pretty good, online. But thats sitting in a chair, on the sofa, in bed with a controller and not a gun. Airsoft is with the same guns where you actually have to run and aim and usually, use teamwork to your advantage. COD crowd, you'll love this. Its the mods with scopes (I never find the use for one) and the camo and the rolling around is for real. Its getting someone in the crosshairs and trying to dumping a couple of rounds in them. Its the smell of raw Adrenalin coming through pumping through you veins, out your pores and into your sweat. Its one hell of a rush.

Now the paintball crowd will probably say,' But it'll hurt more than paintball, right?'. I can't say as I've not tried paint ball because I was never that rich, but I can say it stings a little but not for long and the bruising not as bad. How can you tell you've been shot? You'll know cause you'll hear or feel it. It purely an honor code out there, if you're shot, you're dead - put your hands up and return to the staging area. If you don't people will be hunting for you the next time. I had an experience once where a player won't go down during a battle. So I decided to shoot him - didn't die/surrender and I'd shot a dozen times, in the spot he was standing still. Next person, same thing. Next person, same thing. By the end of the day on close to the final skirmishes, a veteran player had the same experience several times but his gun died. 'Take mine,' I told him and he went after the bastard. At the whistle blow the Veteran and the 'Bastard' faced off where the Vet emptied my clip into the Bastard. Served him right.

So how did I fair? I've only played a couple of times, twice with my brother, once with Jason Tobin. I understand what's going on, but its nothing like a COD map where there are boundaries. I mean there are on the courses but in general you sweat alot more, swear, yell alot more and get tired. But its amazing! It might be sadistic but that's what COD or World of Warcraft or any game where you have to kill someone in a game is like. I definately got shot and shot a couple of people that day.

I'll mostly likely let you in on some up coming battles in Hong Kong cause I want more people to come.

Game on!