Can't find that perfect colour? trouble finding a scheme that solves your design problem? Relax. There is a solution for you! It's called Color Scheme Designer, and it can create a unique palette for your specific design problem.
You start by picking a base colour (the toughest part) then go on to choose the rest of the colours. Options include complimentary colours, triad, or analogical. It then displays a window with the colours it chose, and the tint and shades of those colours.
Another excellent feature the application offers is to view the colours it found in a mock-web-page with greek and generic pictures to make up the page. It offers the option to change the colours around on the page, so you can fine-tune the overall look.
The makers of the application have thought of everything. There is the option to set the saturation and levels of the base colour, and each individual colour to make the scheme your own.
I hope this program can help everyone else out there having colour scheme challenges.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Self-realization after a Failed Life: In the Chamber 2010
It was an evening of self-realization and destruction Friday night for the performance of Last Man in Krakendorf, written and performed by Gordon Tanner, and Last Man in Punt arenas, written and performed by Stephen Ratzlaff.
In the first performance, Last Man in Krakendorf, Tanner played Doug, an agricultural engineer on the brink of losing it. The performance takes place in a hotel room where Doug is trying to record a video presentation for the boss about crowding in hog barns.
Despite the seemingly boring subject matter, I actually enjoyed part one of the show, Last Man in Krakendorf. Turns out it wasn't about hogs at all. Tanner first captured my attention with a strange opening that I still do not understand the significance of. The scene started with a silhouette of morning light shining through a window onto a bed. A man and woman lay there sleeping, when they begin fighting over the blankets. The woman gets up, annoyed, and begins to 'satisfy' the man, presumably Doug, although played by Ratzlaff. The woman leaves, and 'Doug' hears a disembodied voice shouting in German. The scene goes black, then the lights come up on the now empty room, and Doug runs in beginning the show.
I think this scene is a flashback, or perhaps a bad dream, of Doug's time in Germany studying in Krakendorf. As he later explains, this was an unpleasant time, and he regrets even going.
As the scene begins, the mood is lightened as Doug runs around flustered, preparing to begin recording his presentation. The audience was amused as he began recording, messing up his introduction several times, and having technical issues with the slide show he prepared.
Tanner maintained the somewhat comical mood throughout the performance, slowly realizing that he does not agree with anything he's proposing in the presentation.
By the end of act one, Doug is a change man. He wants to start doing some good with his life, instead of enabling cruelty to animals, cramming them into 8 sq. ft cages.
Act two, Last Man in Punt arenas by Stephen Ratzlaff, I found to be much less entertaining. Although Ratzlaff did bring a somewhat comical mood to the show as well, I did not enjoy it as much.
It was a simple enough idea, a dinner for a man retiring from a career in medical science, it came with too much medical jargon, which confused me. I think if some of the more confusing language about surgery, and medicine was dropped, the story would have had the same message, yet been accessible to more people.
After a short intermission, the lights went up on Ratzlaff getting up to make a speech to his friends and co-workers. Being a monologue, Ratzlaff was the only one on stage. The friends were represented by white balloons attached to the chairs around the table. Ratzlaff stood to put on a Hawaiian shirt, a gift from his friends, and began his speech.
He shared the same humorous style as Tanner, but again, the subject matter made the humour more difficult to catch on to. He began to speak about his ex-wife and his deceased child, and some of the complications they had. A few years ago, Ratzlaff explained, his wife of the time had an operation done to artificially impregnate her. The child was born with intellectual disabilities, as well as a malformed heart. Eventually after surgeries and many complications, the child died.
Much like Tanner's performance, Ratzlaff began optimistic about what he was saying, about all of his life's work in the medical field, but by the end was changed and realized that what he has done is wrong, at least it was with the lack of research done. All the pain could have been avoided if he had done more research instead of jumping right into the procedure to impregnate his wife.
He ends the performance (after offending all of his friends, causing them to leave) with a heart to heart with the waiter, whom I believe is a representation of his conscience. Ratzlaff, like Tanner, ends the performance a changed man wanting to better the world instead of destroying it.
In the first performance, Last Man in Krakendorf, Tanner played Doug, an agricultural engineer on the brink of losing it. The performance takes place in a hotel room where Doug is trying to record a video presentation for the boss about crowding in hog barns.
Despite the seemingly boring subject matter, I actually enjoyed part one of the show, Last Man in Krakendorf. Turns out it wasn't about hogs at all. Tanner first captured my attention with a strange opening that I still do not understand the significance of. The scene started with a silhouette of morning light shining through a window onto a bed. A man and woman lay there sleeping, when they begin fighting over the blankets. The woman gets up, annoyed, and begins to 'satisfy' the man, presumably Doug, although played by Ratzlaff. The woman leaves, and 'Doug' hears a disembodied voice shouting in German. The scene goes black, then the lights come up on the now empty room, and Doug runs in beginning the show.
I think this scene is a flashback, or perhaps a bad dream, of Doug's time in Germany studying in Krakendorf. As he later explains, this was an unpleasant time, and he regrets even going.
As the scene begins, the mood is lightened as Doug runs around flustered, preparing to begin recording his presentation. The audience was amused as he began recording, messing up his introduction several times, and having technical issues with the slide show he prepared.
Tanner maintained the somewhat comical mood throughout the performance, slowly realizing that he does not agree with anything he's proposing in the presentation.
By the end of act one, Doug is a change man. He wants to start doing some good with his life, instead of enabling cruelty to animals, cramming them into 8 sq. ft cages.
Act two, Last Man in Punt arenas by Stephen Ratzlaff, I found to be much less entertaining. Although Ratzlaff did bring a somewhat comical mood to the show as well, I did not enjoy it as much.
It was a simple enough idea, a dinner for a man retiring from a career in medical science, it came with too much medical jargon, which confused me. I think if some of the more confusing language about surgery, and medicine was dropped, the story would have had the same message, yet been accessible to more people.
After a short intermission, the lights went up on Ratzlaff getting up to make a speech to his friends and co-workers. Being a monologue, Ratzlaff was the only one on stage. The friends were represented by white balloons attached to the chairs around the table. Ratzlaff stood to put on a Hawaiian shirt, a gift from his friends, and began his speech.
He shared the same humorous style as Tanner, but again, the subject matter made the humour more difficult to catch on to. He began to speak about his ex-wife and his deceased child, and some of the complications they had. A few years ago, Ratzlaff explained, his wife of the time had an operation done to artificially impregnate her. The child was born with intellectual disabilities, as well as a malformed heart. Eventually after surgeries and many complications, the child died.
Much like Tanner's performance, Ratzlaff began optimistic about what he was saying, about all of his life's work in the medical field, but by the end was changed and realized that what he has done is wrong, at least it was with the lack of research done. All the pain could have been avoided if he had done more research instead of jumping right into the procedure to impregnate his wife.
He ends the performance (after offending all of his friends, causing them to leave) with a heart to heart with the waiter, whom I believe is a representation of his conscience. Ratzlaff, like Tanner, ends the performance a changed man wanting to better the world instead of destroying it.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Old and Boring
My blog hasn't been exactly what I had pictured back in September when signing up on Blogger. My initial idea, writing about the stupid crap I do (or did) with my friends, is probably the worst possible idea for a professional blog. I feel like I have not had a good post in some time, and believe that is because of the topic the old, naiive me came up with.
However, the new, post-semester one CreCommer I have become left the stupid high school state of mind where it belongs, and is changing things up. My blog will be somewhat of a mix-bag for the next little while, while I try some different topics on for size, and see what I am truly interested in writing about week after week.
However, the new, post-semester one CreCommer I have become left the stupid high school state of mind where it belongs, and is changing things up. My blog will be somewhat of a mix-bag for the next little while, while I try some different topics on for size, and see what I am truly interested in writing about week after week.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
NASCAR for Rednecks
It's a funny thing, lawnmower racing. Although it seems to be a joke, the people that participate in races take it very seriously. Some spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their riding mowers to shave seconds off lap-times. Even stranger than the intensity of the participants, is how lawnmower racing started in North America.
The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association, or USLMRA, was all supposed to be a joke. It was actually a publicity ploy set up by Gold Eagle Co. to promote their fuel stabilizer, STA-BIL, for April Fools' Day, and was never intended to catch on and be an annual thing. The event was a huge success, and lawn mower racing has become very popular.
When it began in 1992, the USLMRA was an annual event for modified mowers. Today, there are over 20 regional lawn mower racing leagues, and race categories from stock mowers available at home and garden centres, to heavily modified lawn mowers capable of speeds over 80 mph. There is even a category for kids only.
The success of this pseudo-event is massive. Thousands come out every year to watch and compete in the races. The national races have been covered by news stations such as CNN and CBS, and has been featured on many sports shows. The name STA-BIL is cleverly attached to every event, and everything to do with the events. The official rules state that the only fuel additive allowed is STA-BIL fuel stabilizer, further publicizing the product. TV shows such as ABC's Home Improvement have featured races and the STA-BIL name in episodes, and even Mattel made a Hot Wheels "Home Improvement Action Pack" that contained a scale version of the jet-powered lawn mower that Tim Allan raced. Again, the STA-BIL logo was printed all over the packaging and product.
Today, nearly 18 years after the first race, the events still get tons of publicity. The STA-BIL name is now permanently attached to lawn mower racing; the two pretty well go hand in hand.
Good job, Gold Eagle Co.'s PR people!
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