As I promised yesterday, here´s the tessellations gallery. Enjoy!

The models have been folded by Teresa Amado, Teresa Otero and Covadonga Blanco.

ps. For more information on tessellations, I recommend visiting origamitessellations.com and raviapte.com.

Related Article: Orimeeting in santiago

This weekend I had the pleasure to assist to the meeting organized by my friends of the Origami Group, which took place in a hotel located close to Santiago de Compostela and gathered enthusiasts coming from all the regions of Spain and abroad.

These were three days of intense folding and a great opportunity to learn while making great friends! Many people brang their own models (either made from diagrams or original creations), and I have to admit that I was absolutely amazed by the level and skill of the participants. I´m sure that you will agree with me that these models show great expertise and a unique beauty.

I had the chance to take lots of pictures during these three days (even if I always arrived late! ). Many of them are shown below; I added a picture of Xerome to the article I wrote on the models he made from tree leaves, and some 15 pictures of earring designs to the article I wrote a month ago on the same topic. Furthermore, I took so many pictures of tessellations that I think they deserve a separate article, so if you like the pictures below I suggest that you come back tomorrow: you won´t be disappointed, I promise!

Related Article: Tessellations galore

Related Article: Origami earrings

Related Article: The Art of folding tree leaves

So far I have dedicated many hours to create a good fistful of tools to develop 3D multimedia applications in real time, that is: video games. After erecting structures for Finite State Machines, scripts, messages and (soon soon) triggers, I decided to merge the whole thing into a single concept, and try to bring out errors, bugs, etc. I thought it would be quick and easy to make “a small game”. I was wrong. Read the rest of this article »

http://kilroytrout.blogspot.com

Jeff Anderson, developer of Groboto, has kindly sent me the link above. It points to his new blog, where he´s posting images made with the beta for the new version of the program. This is very good news for two reasons: it means that the work is advancing at a good pace, and it shows that it is advancing in the right direction. Several of the pictures he has posted are screen captures that show the program´s interface (after you click on a picture for the first time, notice that there´s an icon over its upper-left corner that allows you to see the full size version). The controls shown look reasonably intuitive and the images, impressive. If the rendering speed is as fast as he claims (this picture was rendered in just three seconds) and the interface is as easy as to not interfere with creativity, Groboto may be truly one of the most interesting programs since William Latham released Organic Art (V2 will be the first version for both windows and macOS; V1.6 already stands as one of the most unique and interesting programs of its kind for the mac).

Related Article: Groboto 2.0 in the works

Related Article: Groboto-beta: new videos

When we talk about Mike Oldfield, what is the first phrase that reminds us of him? Maybe “Tubular Bells”? -Is there anyone who disagrees? Well, maybe the people who remember “Moonlight Shadow” … just kidding!-. Beyond the prolongation of the “Tubular” phenomenon (I’ve just lost count of the revisions of the classic piece), Mike Oldfield is a peculiar artist. Admired with devotion or fiercely criticized (especially in recent times), Mr. Oldfield has an enviable trajectory.

We can establish three different stages in Mike Olfield´s work. It´s very remarkable that most of his fans don’t like all the stages. They are fans of some of them. And this is my case. Read the rest of this article »

http://www.georgehart.com/trilobites/trilobite.html

These cookies are the result of my most recent research into what ancient trilobites would have tasted like if primitive biochemical processes were based on jam/chocolate/cookie molecules.

An easy recipe, served by George Hart, for the dinousaurs´ favourite cookies to enjoy at tea time. With lots of butter, chocolate and humour, what else can one ask for?

…Well, actually there´s more! you should must visit George´s site, and see for yourself some of his sculptures, his prototypes (I really want one of those rapid prototyping machines!), and his 3D puzzles, all based in polyhedra. Oh yes, and the picture of his office. I guess it looks like a phone booth from outside…

Related Article: A little bit of yummy information

If close to your library you have a small garden, then there is nothing else you need.

http://dogfeathers.com/java/hyperstar.html

A 4-dimensional convex polyhedron (properly called a “polytope” or “polychoron”) is a volume of 4-dimensional space that is bounded by a number of hyperplanes. (…) These 4-dimensional star polytopes cannot be viewed directly in 3 dimensions. What we have to do is slice the 4-dimensional object with a 3-dimensional hyperplane. The part that intersects the slicing hyperplane forms a 3-dimensional star polyhedron, which is displayed by the applet in stereoscopic 3D.

I recognize that these explanations can be intimidating if you are not familiarized with polyhedra. That´s why the site above is invaluable: it will let you intuitively tinker with those abstruse geometries through a java applet with an easy to use interface. There´s a huge amount of 3D shapes to explore (you can click on the shape and drag the mouse to rotate it), and with several different rendering options, a Stereo Mode for 3D visualization and automatic rotation and animation features, this little applet could keep you entertained for ages (plus it is highly inspirational for designers and modular origami enthusiasts). A must see!

ps. You can also visit this page and download another very easy to use program that allows you to manipulate and transform different polyhedra. For general information on polyhedra, this page looks like the place to go.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11114156/

Those unknown bugs from Papua Island should consider themselves screwed up. When man discovers a Garden of Eden, it automatically ceases to be, so I really feel for the honeyeater bird, the tree kangaroo and the Zaglossus Bruijni ( a mix between a hedgehog and a duckbill), which should have hidden themselves better. The “fifth extinction” has already reached them, unless scientists erect in that jungle a wall like the one used to contain King Kong and throw the key into some abyssal hole. And even so.

The experts calculate that there are seven million species in the world, from which only 1.75 million have been described. Every year 17 000 species are lost, many of them without having shown their credentials. Who knows if some of those which are still hidden, or are already gone, hold the cure for AIDS or radical islamism. I would be content if that frog which looks at me with bulging eyes from the picture in the newspaper spit the poison of common sense.

http://www.24thcid.com/24th_century_design.swf

Tony Alleyne has done what many others only dream of doing. Being a science fiction movies lover, he has modded his flat so that it looks as if it were taken from Star Trek TNG (The Next Generation). Coincidentally that´s my favourite incarnation of the series, so I perfectly understand his choice -though I think that his resemblance to Captain Picard has also had something to do with it-. Read the rest of this article »

I am pleased to announce that from tomorrow on this site will feature articles written by authoress Ana Martínez Pedrosa. Here is a little about her:

Ana holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She has written articles for many journals and publications, and is currently working for the spanish ABC newspaper.

Look forward to Ana´s articles, starting with “The Garden of Eden”.

If you do not desire much, even small things will look big.

What is a “vile genre”? I’ve heard this term from some cinema reviewers in recent days, referred to those kinds of movies which “pervert” the traditional rules of a classic genre (for example, the Spaguetti-western is a filmic perversion of classic American western movies). The “vile genre” is characterized by the rupture of the usual canons in direction, production design, etc., emphasizing a more direct treatment of the situations and roles. In other words, these are movies which don´t need a second interpretation to be understood.

Some imaginative filmmakers (Tarantino, Raimi, among others) have an excellent knowledge of this kind of cinema, often called “B” or “Z” series. Just take a look at “Kill Bill” and you’ll Read the rest of this article »

http://www.pistolwimp.com/media/40930/

My favourite superhero is Spiderman. I love robots. I make compositions out of weird sounds. If I had the chance (and knew the language), I would move to Japan without hesitation. I was born in 1978.

With these facts in mind, I´m sure that you will understand why I almost cried with joy when I discovered the video linked above.

Arigatou gozaimasu, Mari Kanasawa!

This little thing that I present today is an origami brooch I “invented” a few days ago. I started from a hexagonal piece of paper, with the intention of folding a tessellation (that is, when you fold the paper so that it creates a seamless repetition of shapes). While working on it I decided to Read the rest of this article »