Issue 2 of 13thparallel is out with a good tutorial on how to design with standards in mind. There’s also a good tutorial covering mathematical principles and DHTML if you’re into that.

fictionpixel is very well done and has some great 3D illustrations.

new journalism guerilla journalism editorialism story-telling emergence gossip navel gazing phenomenon collective observation information dissemination information aggregation group therapy microcontent personal voice historical documentation time capsule water-coolering armchair journalism alternative journalism valuless crap blah blah blah blah blah…

It’s the latest topic of conversation everywhere you look. I do and I don’t want to go into it, but I will. My own opinion is that even some of the people that are at the forefront of generation blog are losing touch with what it is. Some people have invested a lot of time trying to establish blogging’s journalistic credibility. Others are trying to elevate it by pointing to how blogging may be shaping the future of the web. All of it much to serious for the average blogger.

Is it a form of journalism?

Yes, but it’s not the same.

Is it writing?

Yes, but it’s not all it’s about. Also, a blog doesn’t need to have any writing at all.

Is it about linkage?

Yes, but again, it’s just one aspect of it.

Is it all of the above?

Yes, it’s all of the above. Then again, it can be none of the above.

So what the hell is it?

To me, blogging at its core is about one thing.

immediate.personal.expression

To say that it’s about this, or that, is categorizing only one aspect of what blogging is. You’d be exploring a single face of a many sided object. It’s like picking up a rock and saying, “This is what a mountain is.” Well, you’d be right, and you’d be wrong.

Blogging may have started out as a form of personal journaling, and linking to interesting sites, but it’s gone beyond that. That element still exists, sure, but you can’t say that that is what blogging is anymore. There are many different types of blog out there now. Genres based on design, common interest, common viewpoint, etc., and within it all is each individual’s unique take on what blogging is. The only commonality is that of personal expression. The blogger has the opportunity to express himself any way he wants, any time he wants.

There are almost no walls between the blogger and his ability to express himself. He isn’t hindered by technology. He isn’t stopped at the door and asked for his credentials. He isn’t expected to be Hemingway, cummings, Plath, Gibran, Nietzsche, Foucault, Jung, Rumi, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dali, Davis, Patterson, or Zeldman before coming to the table.

So what makes a good blogger? Well, it’s different for everyone. Personal tastes vary. Different forms of expression appeal to different people. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Ultimately a friend summed it up best. If you create an honest product people will be attracted to it. This is not to say, “Build it and they will come.” What I mean is, if you create something honestly, and give yourself honestly to it, then that is going to come across. Of course the better you are at your chosen form of expression, the more validity may be ascribed to what you do, but this is not a given. What visitors think of your blog, or take away from it, is out of your hands.

You can learn some basics of blogging, but these should by no means be viewed as fences. The field is wide open to expand the vocabulary. Blogging should not be seen as some constrictive serious art form. It’s about expression, pure and simple.

immediate.personal.expression

This has been an amazing winter so far. Snow has been almost non-existent, and the majority of temperatures have been well above freezing. It’s been an altogether whacky winter. Just yesterday it was roughly around 60°f/15°c, and today there is snow falling on cedars. I think there’s more to it than some greenhouse effect. The government isn’t telling us the truth. I think something has affected the precession of the earth. We’re wobbling uncontrollably, can’t you feel it? I’m dizzy just thinking about it.

Ok, this demo program is too much fun to play with. Just type in anything, yes anything, and it will spit out a sound byte for you. It’s like Christmas in February!

Ray feels it’s time to say good-bye. Damn shame.

As much as I acknowledge the contributions of Chuck Jones, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that in my opinion, he was also the one responsible for the decline and deterioration of my favourite characters. By the time he was in full control the characters had taken on this distorted Chuck Jones style, and the storylines feel less than inspired. The transition is almost evidenced by the change in name from Charles M. Jones to Chuck Jones. The Chuck Jones Warner Bros. of the late 50s, early 60s, was my least favourite era. I am in more of the I. (Friz) Freleng/Robert McKimson camp.

This is not to say that Chuck wasn’t at the helm of some of Bugs and company’s finest moments. But Chuck did not invent Bugs Bunny. He alone did not make Warner Bros. cartoons great. Though he was there from early on, Chuck was given control of an already winning combination. Many great talents went into making those cartoons and characters great. Names like Tex Avery and Robert Clampett as well as the Freleng and McKimson had as much, if not more to do with the shaping of these characters. While Mel Blanc was one of a kind, and Warner Bros. cartoons would not have been the same without him, I can’t say the same about Chuck Jones.

I encourage you to start here and see who worked on your favourite cartoons. Then check out this Salon article. Then go watch some cartoons and laugh your ass off.

While slow to attract more linkage, there are some great sites popping up in my free for all. They’ve all been very cool so far. Can’t wait to see how it develops over time.

gary’s been on hiatus for a little while now, and I haven’t been visiting very often, which explains why I overlooked his little project – Hostrocketsucks.com

It’s got everything; intimidation, intrigue, lawsuits. All it needs is a love interest and he’d have the makings of a fine movie script.

And I thought he was just busy with school and finalizing his wedding plans. Speaking of which, where’s my damn invitation, huh?

When the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, let these 100% cotton panties do the talking. [via Halcyon]