The "uncanny valley", Mova, and a process called Contour

In today's WSJ, there is an article about a company called Mova, and its animation process called Contour. Supposedly this will allow animated faces to cross the "uncanny valley." If you need a history lesson regarding this valley (I did), it's basically this: around 3 decades ago Japanese robotic experts realized that people are more forgiving of visual flaws the less realistic the object they are looking at. However, they are very creeped out when something is trying to look real, but is just a little off.

The Contour process is supposed to overcome this limitation by creating completely lifelike animated images. First the actor covers their face (and possibly body/clothes) with a phosphorescent makeup. They then perform in a room brightly lit by fluorescent lights and surrounded by digital cameras. The lights are turned on and off so fast that to the human eye they seem to be always on. However, the digital cameras take pictures during the split second the lights are off. They construct a three dimensional computer image of the face, and then animators digitally insert the final details such as eye and skin color, and there you have a completely realistic human face!

Anyway, there is also some discussion about using the process for such things as making Joaquin Phoenix look exactly like Johnny Cash, using someone who looks a lot like Tom Cruise to make a movie with someone who looks exactly like Tom Cruise in it, resurrecting dead stars, making the actors look like younger versions of themselves, etc. Ironically, botox seems to mess up the process, since the face doesn't move! Now, if people want to look younger on film using Contour, they are going to have to risk looking their age in real life.

Pretty amazing stuff, and possibly industry changing as well. The creator of the process, Steve Perlman, already sold one of his early businesses, WebTv Networks Inc., to Microsoft for $500+ million a decade ago, so it looks like the rich will get richer. In this case, I think someone as creative as Mr. Perlman has earned it!

Countdown to Lollapalooza

The GF will be returning in four short days to go to Lollapalooza with me. Normally this would be a simple, exciting event. But when is life ever simple?

It turns out that basically my GF's entire family will be in town that same weekend. Her Grandmother, her sister returning from Japan, her sister that live in the suburbs, and her twin sister from out east. To make it even more exciting, her twin is bringing her mysterious boyfriend, which the family is dying to meet. Now that they know the GF will also be in town, planning must be done.

Now choices must be made, which groups to see? I am unwilling to compromise on The New Pornographers and Sonic Youth, which play Saturday. Saturday also includes The Flaming Lips and Kanye West, so that pretty much rules out the whole day. But what of Sleater Kinney and Panic! At the Disco on Friday? Or Reverend Horton Heat, Wilco and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on Sunday? I don't want to see all of the groups, but of course it's not scheduled to make it easy on me. And these are just the groups I want to see, I would also enjoy checking out some of the other acts as well.

The easiest thing would be to convince them to come into the city for breakfast every morning, and then leave around lunch time. That way we could see them every day, but still enjoy Lollapalooza as well. But if all the sisters sleep like the GF, that isn't too likely.

Gawker Feuds

If you have a chance, take a look at this. I particularly like the one about the Critical Mass bike rides. Now admit it, they are just a tad self righteous...right?

When ever I see them, I'm remembering how I felt being stuck on a bus the wrong side of a "Give Peace a Chance" protest here. I had a long day of work, was hungry, and probably needed a shower. Yet now I had to suffer just so those hippy wanna be's could protest? No matter how we felt at the beginning of our day, on that bus the only piece any of us wanted was to crunch them into pieces as we drove over them to get on our way home.....

I have to question the wisdom of pissing off your target audience just to make a point. I don't know about you, but even if I agree with their cause, if they are jerks about it I will take the other side just to make a point.

Bad and Good News

Just some comments regarding stories I've skimmed from today's Financial Times. First the bad news: the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig has announced they plan to sequence the genes of a Neanderthal. The reason this is bad news is because it's one of those "playing God" moments that will result in them cloning, then losing control of their Neanderthal....who will then embark on some sort of primitive killing spree, until it is finally stopped by people who understand that they had to do it, but feel kind of bad that they did (think ending of King Kong).

Or at least there will be another movie like this, I haven't heard anything about Spielberg or Jackson for awhile now.....

The good news is that Judge Vaughn Walker threw out the Governments attempt to have the EFF's spying case against AT&T dismissed. A quote, "the compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one...but dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security." Well said! I still expect more government nonsense, but at least this is a start.

The Lighter Side of Global Warming

Did you know that farmers in Greenland now have more grassland for their reindeers to graze on? That for every 1.8 degrees of warming Canada's wine growing region extends 120 miles north? Or that farmers in the Andes can now cultivate crops all the up to 15,000 feet, a one 1,000 foot increase in the last decade?

Well if you read yesterday's Wall Street Journal you do! I think one of my favorite parts of the article is "In former Vice President Al Gore's recent film 'An Inconvenient Truth,' the melting of Greenland's ice cap, along with a similar cap in the Antarctic, is portrayed as one of the greatest threats of global warming." But the next paragraph "But to many of the people who live here in Greenland, the warmng trend is a boon, not a threat."

A boon? Now these people in Greenland understand that New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., huge chunks of California, the Gulf coast, and all of Florida, will be UNDER WATER! And that's just here in the US, there aren't enough Dutch boys in the world to help Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. with their flooding. Really, how good could Canadian wine actually be? My guess is no where near good enough to take our minds off the hell our world would likely become. I know where I'm going to kill my food though, ummmm reindeer.

However, using the WSJ's reasoning, I have headline for them should another apocalypse confront us..."Giant Comet Heading Towards Earth - Good News for High School Virgins"

Finally, a fashion trend of our own...

It's supposed to be 93 and humid again today, so of course today is the day I have scheduled to do marketing surveys at the Lakeshore and Water Tower campuses. It's going to suck. All this work for a class where I'll probably earn an A, since my competition (fellow classmates) is rather uninspiring. Thank god for the curve.

Good to see that Gawker has finally caught up with me! My only question is with every acceptable fashion trend, the Midwest is accused of "just copying" the coast. Yet if it's really ugly (trust me, these shoes are REALLY UGLY), we get credited with discovering it all ourselves? Or were they wearing these 2 years ago in NYC?

However come on people! This footwear is awful! Just because you want to be comfortable is no excuse to be ugly!! Think about it, does George Clooney or Gwyneth Paltrow ever look uncomfortable in what they are wearing? No one ever accuses Italy of being the most uncomfortable country in the world. You must try, or no one will respect you.

US Grand Prix

Well here are the winners coming into the pit at the end of the race. Michael Shumacher in the first Ferrari, followed by Felipe Massa (Ferrari), and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault). My team, Williams F1, had Nico Rosberg finishing 9th, though only because everyone else was basically knocked out of the race at the start. However, do not give up on Williams, I think it's a hot team, and will soon become a force to be reckond with.