Pete Chapman – Page 3

2001 in 2010: a film review

December 31, 2010January 11, 2011 Pete Chapman 5 Comments

Saw “2001:a space odyssey” at the TIFF Lightbox last night . The print is near pristine and this really is a “must see” item. Some thoughts; 1- Helvetica is a beautiful font and should be revived whenever possible. 2-Hal 9000 or Richard III; who is is the biggest jerk? 3-Hal 9000 or Norman Bates; who is the sickest puppy? 4-I can see (hear) why György Ligeti sued Kubrick for the way he had “Atmospheres” mixed in the soundtrack- that’s a lot of reverb there Stanley. I’m suprised that you didn’t…

Gateway DX4840-15c: a desktop for some of us

December 15, 2010December 21, 2010 Pete Chapman Acer, desktop, DX4840, Gateway, monitor, review1 Comment

So you’re wondering, “Why is rgbFilter running a review of a desktop system?” As devout proponents of nomadic computing why should we even consider these anachronistic mainframe-wannabe boat anchors? Why? Because. Because we are fans of that implausible trinity, the Good, the Fast and the Cheap. This one came very close. I’m going to be a little sorry to see this review model sent back to its maker. Here’s a quick look at what it has inside: Processor Type: Intel Core i5 650- Dual Core Processor Speed: 3.2GHz RAM: 6GB…

Other Ones and Zeros: quantum computing made probable

November 28, 2010December 3, 2010 Pete Chapman Caltech, Niels Bohr, Physical Review Letters, quantum computing, Sean D Barrett, Thomas M Stace1 Comment

It would appear that one and zero are not enough. At the very least, their usual arrangement inside our classically designed computers is in for some serious revision. This November, the number of releases from researchers working on quantum computing spiked sharply. In all probability, it has more to do with scheduling and funding than the actions of some invisible force or supposed “hundredth monkey” effect. The theoretical work stretches back through decades into the dark recesses of cryptography and the woolier constructs of particle physics. It appears that the …

Arts Comics

The Short Story is Not Dead!

October 26, 2010October 27, 2010 Pete Chapman book, David Malki, Dinosaur Comics, eBook, indie publishing, Machine of Death, Ryan North, webcomics, Wondermark4 Comments

Book Publishing D.I.Y. Yes, these guys want you to buy their book…today. A flash mob bestseller…can it be done? Taking their cues from the indie comic publishers, a brave band of editors, writers and illustrators are launching a short story anthology, “Machine of Death“, to make a point to the big publishing guys. Read any good books lately? If not, then check out the MoD site for an entertaining rant about why that might be. Originally inspired by an episode of Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics, MoD is edited by North,…

Smelling Light and Hearing Shapes

October 25, 2010October 26, 2010 Pete Chapman McGill University, Science Daily, synesthesia1 Comment

Sense and Sensibility 2.0 Synesthesia: the translation of one sensory mode into another, is no longer the domain of New Age mystics and lightshow designers. A deeper understanding of the neural structures underlying perception is creating very literal crossovers in how we think about the senses. With this, the possibility of a radical rewiring of how we experience the world is visible (tasteable, audible, touchable…). Two recent items from Science Daily: At Harvard neurobiologists are using optogenetically engineered mice that respond to light through their olfactory system; the sense of…

Arts Film video

Halloween Video Playlist-3

October 23, 2010October 26, 2010 Pete Chapman Blue Velvet, creepy, David Lynch, Fleischer Brothers, Halloween1 Comment

Everyone can knock off a list of their favourite horror films including the people who swear up and down that they can’t stand the genre. Everyone has something that creeps them out throughly and somewhere in all of the thousands of miles of footage, from the Lumiere brothers first experiments to what’s playing at the cineplex this Friday, there are moments that “get” even the most jaded and discerning filmgoer. People love to share these moments as much as clips of baby’s first steps or cute stunts their cat does…

Zombie Satellite Galaxy 15 -ALERT!!!!

October 19, 2010October 20, 2010 Pete Chapman rogue, satellite, sice, space.com3 Comments

Zombie Satellite Galaxy 15 is not: -an early Eighties Italian/German Alien knock-off starring Klaus Kinski and Udo Kier with a dubbing script written by John Shirley. -an Anime series based on a Manga series with a huge, rabid, cult fan base but you’ve never heard of it because the American translated version is called “Undead Space Cadet Zero“. -a Sigue Sigue Sputnik/ Powerman 5000 mash-up, tribute band that played at the Bovine Sex Club: once. The set lasted fifteen minutes but it was awesome. No, Zombie Satellite Galaxy 15 is…

Another Green World: a Lurker’s Guide to Gliese 581g

October 15, 2010October 20, 2010 Pete Chapman Annalee Newitz, astronomy, Gliese 581, io9, PhysOrg11 Comments

“The Gliese 581 system exerts an outsize fascination when compared to many of the other exoplanetary systems that have been discovered to date.” That quote comes from the paper that started it all, “ Planet in the Habitable Zone of the Nearby M3V Star Gliese 581”and that is probably its least controversial statement. Since late September, the news of a possible “second Earth” has spread and is now resting comfortably in that space where it is an item of casually conversation; a vague, “oh yeah that thing”, sort of thing….

Halloween Video Playlist Part 2

October 9, 2010October 12, 2010 Pete Chapman Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Film, Halloween, Joe Medchuck, TIFF Bell Lightbox, U of T2 Comments

The first time I ever saw “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, it was in a U of T, Film History class. The teacher, Joe Medchuck (who later went on to be an Executive Producer on “Ghostbusters”) saved his comments for after the screening. He repeated the standard citations about the film. That it was daring in design and revolutionary for its time but added with his typical good humour that although it was revolutionary, there are virtually no films that have been made since that look even remotely like it….

The Essential Guide To Writing A Successful Indie Flick

October 7, 2010October 11, 2010 Pete Chapman Essential guide, indie film, Martin Amis2 Comments

“we are all in some way or another going to Reseda… someday… to die” Screenwriter Blues by Soul Coughing To all of the indie filmmakers in rgbFilter’s readership, a thoughtful and well illustrated article from this summer in The Quietus; an internet music magazine with an excellent film review section. Before you begin work on that great cinematic opus which will define the unvoiced anthem of your generation and the start of your career- remember that (to paraphrase Martin Amis) art is a war against the cliché. Know your enemy…

Arts Film video

Halloween Video Playlist Part 1

October 4, 2010October 6, 2010 Pete Chapman Call Of Cthulhu, Cthulhu, Film, H.P. Lovecraft, H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, horror, HPLHS, video2 Comments

What will you be watching on Halloween? As a ramp up to All Hallows Eve here is the first in a series of suggestions… If classic science fiction deals with the question, “What if?” then the steam-punk or historical revisionist work amuses itself with, “If only…” When H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” was published in Weird Tales in 1926, the technology existed to make a silent movie of it, if only anyone had been so inclined. In 2003, a group of H.P. Lovecraft fanatics; a live action role-playing group…

Arts Computing Gaming Science video

Minecraft – A First Person Builder

October 2, 2010November 10, 2010 Pete Chapman 16-bit ALU, first person builder, FPB, FPS, Minecraft, open source, PC gaming, sheep, TNT, video, YouTube2 Comments

Two weeks ago my sixteen year old son, Reid, was playing with it. Earlier this week Cory Doctorow was writing about it at Boing Boing. What is this thing called “Minecraft”? If you know about it then you’re probably playing it. If not…then…so you don’t feel out of the loop tonight when the people who hang out in the kitchen talking at parties weigh in on this one: here’s a crash course. Minecraft is an online game which uses the visual conventions of a first person shooter for constructive purposes, literally….