I know what I'll be doing 3 days before my birthday...

It looks like, from the trailer, a post apocalypse movie with a new form of being replacing man. Those new beings are rag dolls.

The cause of the apocalypse is quite interesting too, there seems to be a diesel punk feel to the mecha we see.

I think I took a different approach to finding Burton than most did. The first film of his I remember seeing was Ed Wood, about the legendary movie maker. I really enjoyed the film as it related the passion behind films like "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "Glen or Glenda". That same evening the TV station ran Burtons "Vincent", a wonderful short tribute to Vincent Price, and the shadowy world of Gothic horror.

My next Burton was to be Planet of the Apes, a film that I enjoyed, but struck me most for its use of the color red. After that I strayed back to Corpse Bride, then Sweeney Todd, before coming to realize common threads like Johnny Depp and dramatic lighting, and an oft Victorian backdrop to black humor.

'9' seems like it could be a Mad Max/Terminator on one front and a Toy Story on another. The doll characters are in a CG world of rapid attacks echoing the groundbreaking Final Fantasy. Seeing this promo I feel I want Burton to film Scarlet Traces, and maybe even War of the Worlds.

The short was too short to tell, but the "stick more in" philosophy of "Captain Sky" and "Finding Nemo" (jellies scenes) doesn't exist here.

Roll on September (but let's relax and enjoy summer first).


Turns out, Burton is one of the Producers for this movie. While it certainly looks Burtonesque, it did have a hint much of a war story, but then again, Planet of the Apes.

Still looking forward to it. AND Alice must be out soon.

Wind Farms, Livermore CA

The interesting thing to note here is the shadows. On the left the shadows of the windmills lie almost horizontal, very cool. On the right they are almost vertical.

The coloration is not differing stone or crop, but time of year. Turns out I hit on the junction of two satellite images tiled together.

Oh what fun.

(Click image to see full size)

My first LDD SNOT.

There comes a time in ones life when one has to try something new. Lego Digital Designer (LDD) 2.0 had just come our, and the placement tools were working a lot better than the earlier version. I decided to make a space ship, and to make it a smooth as possible.

To get a smooth build you need to eliminate studs on top. I have since learnt that this technique is called Studs Not On Top (SNOT). There is one brick that helps a lot wiht that in this build. It is a double high 2x4 brick with an array of 2x4 studs on the two largest sides. With a cunning arangement of these built into the core of the ship I ended up with studs pointing to the cokpit, atop a stack of 2x2 cylinders, and studs facing the rear, as well as studs to top and bottom. I even had side facing studs, the red lattice piece just before the engine pods.

LDD has a ray tracing engine built in, and a series of back drops, so after building your virtual model you can rend it. Then you can buy it. Of course you can't buy this one, it's too old and the parts library has changed. Hey ho, that's life.