Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The future of notebook computing


Jeremy Holton Jeremy Holton

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Google versus Apple

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/technology/14brawl.html?pagewanted=1#

Jeremy Holton Jeremy Holton

 phone: +618 6394 1592

 mobile +614 11580 903 

 my art gallery Peach Tree Gallery 

 chat online

 email: jeremy@jeremyholton.com

My profiles: FacebookLinkedInFlickrTwitterBloggereBayPicasaPlaxoFriendFeed
Contact me: Google Talk/jeremyholton Skype/jeremyholton
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Friday, March 12, 2010

Barebrush Gallery: Art by Jeremy Holton

The sweetest smile by Jeremy Holton

The sweetest smile by Jeremy Holton

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Title: The sweetest smile


Desc: My intention in painting this was to contrast the pattern and the flesh. As I worked on it I discovered something else about it. The model (my wife) was completely oblivious to the sexuality of the pose and there was a beautiful fresh innocence to the painting. When I tried to exhibit it I discovered something ugly. The local arts centre rejected it on the grounds that its was "pornographic". This possibility had honestly never occurred to me, sexy yes but pornographic! It created quite a controversy here in Western Australia but a poll showed that 3 out of every 4 people thought it was NOT "pornographic". What do you think?

Media: oil

Size: 77 by 56 cms unframed

Genre: nude

Price Range: Important $501-$5,000

Expires from Gallery:
10 May 2010
-->

In calendar: No

<!-- end #main_image -->

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Making of "The Prophecy" - Time Lapse

The Sweet Smell Of Home - The Making of

The Bridge To Dreamland IV - The Making Of

The Dwarves' Aqueduct - The Making Of

The Time Portal - The Making Of

How to make a Matte Painting

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The Time Portal - The Making Of

Matte Painting

Only a carbon tax and nuclear power can save us | The Australian

AUSTRALIA will suffer if fossil fuel use continues unabated. Climate extremes will increase. Poleward expansion of the subtropics will make Australia often hotter and drier, with stronger droughts and hotter fires, as the jet stream retreats southward.

But when ocean temperature patterns bring rain, the warmer air will dump much more water, causing damaging floods. Storms will become more devastating as the ice sheets on Antarctica and Greenland begin to disintegrate and cool the neighbouring ocean, as I describe in [my book] Storms of My Grandchildren. Ice discharge from Antarctica has already doubled in the past five years.

Science has shown that preservation of stable climate and the remarkable life that our planet harbours require a rapid slowdown of fossil fuel emissions. Atmospheric carbon dioxide, now almost 390 parts per million, must be brought back to 350ppm or less. That is possible, with actions that make sense for other reasons.

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But the actions require a change to business-as-usual. Change is opposed by those profiting from our fossil-fuel addiction. Change will happen only with courageous political leadership.

Leaders must draw attention to the moral imperative. We cannot pretend that we do not understand the consequences for our children and grandchildren. We cannot leave them with a situation spiralling out of their control. We must set a new course.

Yet what course is proposed? Hokey cap-and-trade with offsets, aka an emissions trading scheme. Scheme is the right word, a scheme to continue business-as-usual behind a fig leaf.

The Kyoto Protocol was a cap-and-trade approach. Global emissions shot up faster than ever after its adoption. It is impossible to cap all emissions as long as fossil fuels are the cheapest energy.

There is zero chance India and China will accept a cap. And why should they? Their emissions, on a per capita basis, are 10 times less than those of Australia or the US.

Fossil fuels are not really the cheapest energy. They are cheap because they are subsidised, because they do not pay for damage they cause to human health via air and water pollution, nor their environmental damage and horrendous consequences for posterity.

An honest effective approach to energy and climate must place a steadily rising price on carbon emissions. It can only be effective if it is a simple flat fee on all carbon fuels, collected from fossil fuel companies on the first sale, at the mine, wellhead or port of entry.

The fee will cause energy costs to rise, for fossil fuels, not all energies. The public will allow this fee to rise to the levels needed only if the money collected is given to the public. They will need the money to adapt their lifestyles and reduce their carbon footprint. The money, all of it, should be given as a monthly "green cheque" and possibly in part as an income-tax reduction. Each legal adult resident would get an equal share, easily delivered electronically to bank accounts or debit cards, with half a share for children up to two children per family.

Sure, some people may waste their green cheque on booze or babes. Such people will soon be paying more in increased energy prices than they get in their green cheque. Others will make changes to keep their added energy cost low, coming out ahead.

There will be strong economic incentive for businesses to find products that help consumers reduce fossil fuel use. Every activity that uses energy will be affected. Agricultural products from nearby fields will be favoured, for example, as opposed to food flown in from half way around the world. Changes will happen as people compare the price tags.

The rising price on carbon will spur energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear power, all sources that produce little or no carbon dioxide. Bellyaching howls from coal moguls must be ignored. Let them invest their money in renewable energies and nuclear power.

Australia is blessed with abundant nuclear fuel as well as coal. Nuclear power plants are the ideal base-load power for Australia; their excess power in off-peak hours can be used to desalinate water. Power stations can be sited near coastlines, where cooling water is plentiful.

But all potential energy sources must compete, with each other and with energy efficiency. If renewable energies can do the whole job economically, as some people argue, that would be great. Put a price on carbon and let all parts of the private sector compete.

Fee-and-green-cheque is simple, designed to do an honest job. Emissions trading, in contrast, is designed by big banks that expect to make billions out of the carbon market. That means out of your pocket; every dollar will come via increased energy prices to the consumer, with no green cheque to soften the blow.

I mentioned that cap-and-trade will never be accepted by developing countries. But why would China accept a carbon price? China does not want to become a fossil fuel addict, with the requirement of protecting a global supply line. It wants to clean up its atmosphere and water. It is investing as fast as its can in wind and solar energy and nuclear power.

China knows that these clean energies will boom only if they put a rising price on carbon. It seemed willing to negotiate that approach in Copenhagen, but was handed a cap-and-trade edict. Results were predictable.

What the world needs is a nation that will set an example, stop pandering to special interests, do what is necessary for the people and the rest of the life on the planet. It is a moral issue. We cannot turn our backs on our children and grandchildren. Is it possible that Australia could provide that example, that moral leadership?

James Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He is a guest of the University of Sydney and Intelligence Squared Australia and will speak at the Adelaide Convention Centre tonight.

Seems reasonable to me

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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

[New post] If I Have To Look At Another Traditional Landscape Painting, I Think I'm Going to Puke.

Jeremy Holton Jeremy Holton

 phone: +618 6394 1592

 mobile +614 11580 903 

 my art gallery Peach Tree Gallery 

 chat online

 email: jeremy@jeremyholton.com

My profiles: FacebookLinkedInFlickrTwitterBloggereBayPicasaPlaxoFriendFeed
Contact me: Google Talk/jeremyholton Skype/jeremyholton
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: WordPress <no-reply@wordpress.com>
Date: 9 March 2010 04:27
Subject: [New post] If I Have To Look At Another Traditional Landscape Painting, I Think I'm Going to Puke.
To: jeremyholton@gmail.com


If I Have To Look At Another Traditional Landscape Painting, I Think I'm Going to Puke.

discoveredartists | March 8, 2010 at 3:27 pm | Categories: DiscoveredArtists.com Editorial | URL: http://wp.me/pscAz-Ct

WARNING

: This article will likely upset a whole host of artists, and perhaps even a few art buyers.

Can you smell that? Inhale deeply through your nose. Smell that? That's the smell of change. And not just your run-of-the-mill, small-time basic change - it's the smell of significant change taking place in the world of art.

There is a profound shift taking place in the art market, driven by an entirely new breed of art enthusiast, collector and buyer. These are people with distinctive taste. These are people who have a firm and ever-lasting grip on technology; who thrive on "modern"; who consciously strive to separate from the rest of the flock; who collect and display art that reinforces how they envision themselves as an individual. These are people who look at a traditional landscape painting and wonder, "why"?

Landscape paintings are so ten years ago, yet artists today continue to create them in abundant supply. After all, there was a time (10 years ago) when art galleries sold nothing but landscapes. Those days are over. Buyers are more sophisticated now. They demand more, well beyond safe and mundane paintings of a quiet stream, a grouping of trees or a wispy field on a cool fall day.

Buyers today want modern, abstract, surreal, out-of the-ordinary realism, engaging figurative work. They are drawn to and demand art full of emotion and intrigue - landscape paintings don't even come close to fulfilling this need.

One thing is for certain about artists who create highly detailed, quality landscapes... these artists could paint anything their hearts desire. Landscape artists are typically extremely gifted and amazingly talented professionals. They just need to find new subject matter, and fast.

Brian Walker is Owner, DiscoveredArtists.com

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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Artists accessing the default mode brain network

Well I thought it was left brain right brain but apparently its front brain back brain.

Makes no difference he is right that as and artist you need to switch between both modes, I do all the time when I am painting.

Jeremy

Jeremy Holton Jeremy Holton

 phone: +618 6394 1592

 mobile +614 11580 903 

 my art gallery Peach Tree Gallery 

 chat online

 email: jeremy@jeremyholton.com

My profiles: FacebookLinkedInFlickrTwitterBloggereBayPicasaPlaxoFriendFeed
Contact me: Google Talk/jeremyholton Skype/jeremyholton
Signature powered by WiseStamp 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Robert Genn Twice-Weekly Letter <rgenn@saraphina.com>
Date: 5 March 2010 12:55
Subject: Accessing the default mode network
To: jeremy@peach.asn.au


Accessing the default mode network

March 5, 2010

Dear Jeremy,

When you paint you are using two distinct areas of your brain. One is the up front, active brain known to neurologists as "task positive." This is where you try to paint well, get the anatomy right, master colour, achieve a decent design as well as other practicalities of the moment.

The second area is farther back in the cortex and is more the resting brain--what is known as "task negative." Neurologists also call this the "default mode network." This is where attention wanders when the task-positive brain is not being fully used. Here are daydreams, memories, fantasies, fictitious conversations and even thoughts about things that have nothing to do with the job at hand. To their surprise, neurologists found that this wandering mind uses almost as much energy as the one that gives the appearance of getting things done.  

Average people are in their task-negative brains more than a third of their waking hours. Apparently, artistic and inventive folk are even more into it. As such, the default mode network is thought to be the buzzing beehive of creativity.

I'm not a neurologist, but I've knocked about in a few artists' brains. Beginners tend to favor the task positive--fairly obviously because they are figuring out how to do things. Mature artists, on the other hand, can often slip into task negative for entire works. Having mastered the nuts and bolts, they now trust the felicitous takeover of default mode. Their paintings paint themselves. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu figured it out 2400 years ago. He called it "Doing without trying to do."

Here's the rub: Some artists stay permanently stuck in task positive. "Without wandering minds," says psychologist Jonathan Schooler, "they stay shackled to what they're doing at the time." On the other hand, there are artists who are all wandering mind and show little evidence of practical technique or self-managed application.

Left on its own, neither mode works properly. Working together, they are like a couple of characters in an old silent movie--they can't help but make interesting things happen.

If there is a secret, it may lie in achieving a balance and teaching yourself to switch back and forth. Constant stopping just to think won't fix a work that is already over-thought. Over-thinking leads to one of our most vexing goof-ups--overworking. Conversely, a persistent state of wandering mind can turn fine work into a fine mess. You need 'em both.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "What a fine mess you've got us in now, Ollie." (Stan Laurel to Oliver Hardy)

Esoterica: Now here's the interesting part: Apparently, boredom is a significant springboard to creativity. Neuroscientists have also found boredom to be a source of feelings of well being and a strong sense of self. In boredom, the brain continues to fire away in those regions that conjure hypothetical events and new possibilities. The wandering mind, the dream world, can be a better world than the real nuts-and-bolts world and for the artist, with the addition of task-positive skills, it can transform into the joyful business of making it happen.


Current clickback: "The outlook for fame" looks at a variety of opinion on the value of fame. It seems some artists love it and need it while others find it an impediment to the real world and real life. Your further input is welcome.

Read this letter online. What is the nature of the creative brain? How do we access it or train it for maximum fun and profit? Live comments are encouraged. You can also send your illustratable remarks directly to Robert at rgenn@saraphina.com.

Every day there are new features going into The Painter's Post. This online arts aggregator has links to art info, ideas, inspiration and unmitigated creative fun.

If a friend is trying to subscribe to the Twice-Weekly Letter via Constant Contact, please let them know that as well as subscribing they must confirm their subscription.

You can also follow Robert's valuable insights and see further feedback on Facebook and Twitter.

Featured Responses: Alternative to the instant Live Comments, Featured Responses are illustrated and edited for content. If you would like to submit your own for possible inclusion, please do so. Just click 'reply' on this letter or write to rgenn@saraphina.com.

BOOK UPDATE: Please see banner on our website. If you have special needs or just want to discuss your purchase, please contact Sarah Garland at sarah@saraphina.com or telephone her at 604 617 2112.


Engage your creativity online! A Premium Art Listing in the Painter's Keys Art Directory is the most effective thing an artist can do to be tastefully and respectably noticed. This listing--really a mini web page--costs $100 per year and we do all the set-up. Find out how well it might work for you.

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