Category — Media

Personally I think this is ridiculous, granted kids these days dont go outside enough, but I believe that should be up to the parents and/or guardian of the child.

The Sierra Club — a group dedicated to environmentalism and preservation — has proposed that a tax be levied against kids who choose video games or computers rather than venturing out-of-doors. The tax, also being referred to as “No Child Left Inside,” would ostensibly encourage kids to get up off of their fat, lazy back-ends and hit the trails, mountains, and waterways of our nation’s parks and other natural treasures… by further taxing video games and TVs. Recent studies have shown links to obesity, lowered academic scores, and the rise of attention-deficit disorder in America’s kids to increased time spent indoors, though we suspect the problem lies with bad parenting rather than an entire industry of game-makers and electronics companies. Would adding a one-percent sales tax on our gear (and penalizing children who have plenty of good reasons to stay inside) increase kids’ desire to head outdoors instead of “finishing the fight?” We’ve got our doubts.

What are your thoughts?
Source G4TV and Engadget

Here is a quick update on the devastating passing of Heath Ledger.

He was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 PM ET today. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe it was not a crime, adding prescription pills were found near his body.

According to NYPD a masseuse arrived at Ledger’s apartment and was let in by a housekeeper. When he didn’t answer his bedroom door, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened it and found him unconscious. They attempted to wake him, and when they couldn’t they called 911.

We’re told when paramedics responded, the actor was in full cardiac arrest. They attempted to perform CPR on him, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ledger may be best known for his groundbreaking role as Ennis in “Brokeback Mountain.”

Story developing…

Today at 3:35pm, 28 year old Heath Ledger was found dead in his Soho apartment by his house keeper. The story is still in development.

Heath Ledger has a 2 year old daughter with fiancee Michelle Williams.

For follow up on this story head over to TMZ.

Here are some screen shots from the up and coming Iron Man game, made by Sega. It will be inspired from the new movie set to be released May 2, 2008. The movie is directed by Jon Favreau. Images are from G4TV.

Back in middle school I remember learning chess every Wednesday in English class, due to my teachers love for strategy. We learned about the game, and it helped us build our process for thinking ahead. During that time I recall going to the library’s and watching a movie called Searching for Bobby Fischer.

“I don’t play the old chess,” he told reporters when he arrived in Iceland in 2005. “But obviously if I did, I would be the best.”

I never found out what happened to Bobby Fischer, but this morning I was informed that Bobby Fischer had died due to kidney failure yesterday in Reykjavik hospital.

Fischer became the first U.S.-born world chess champion, after the defeat of Spassky in 1972.

I must say, when I read Veerle’s Blog on Layer Tennis I was clueless of what it was. After reading further I come to learn this this was once called Photoshop Tennis. This year is different though, instead of sticking to just Photoshop they decided to incorporate other forms of media such as Flash and After Effects.

What’s Layer Tennis?

Layer Tennis is a live design event, this year it is taking place in Chicago. As mentioned above it started off with the title “Photoshop Tennis”. It all goes down as two designers swap the file for the event the are in i.e. a Photoshop PSD, back and forth in real-time, adding to and personalizing the file at hand. As mentioned in Veerle’s article each designer gets fifteen minutes to complete a “volley” and then it gets posted to the site. Along side the competitors there is always a third party, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action, as it happens.

This year Veerle is going up against Cindy Li, we want to wish them and all the other participants the best of luck. Layer Tennis is a production of Coudal Partners in Chicago and is presented by Adobe Creative Suite 3. To view old matches and get info on the upcoming matches check out the Layer Tennis Forums. I suggest checking out these wonderful artist while they are put on the court and conquer that game of Layer Tennis.