I <3 Gocco screen prints! They’re small, intimate, and becoming rarer since Riso Kagaku Corporation
stopped manufacturing Print Gocco devices. Then Yudu (silly name, I know) came on the scene. Yudu is a home screen printer (larger than a Gocco, but smaller than your average press).
Some sample Yudu projects:
Handmade Detroit did a wonderful video review/tutorial. Take a look:
I’d love try the Yudu out, but it has a bit of a hefty price tag ($299.99 in stores, and $195.25 online from Amazon).
Flip & Tumble co-founder, Eva Bauer, was kind enough to send over 2 Loopt bags for Ninja vs Penguin to try out.* Thanks, Eva!
Flip and Tumble’s Loopt bags are made from lightweight polyester and have a 23 lb. capacity. The empty bag rolls neatly and is secured by an elastic band sewn on the bottom of the bag. Each Loopt bag measures 1″ in diameter and 3″ long when rolled up, and 18″ wide by 23″ tall (including the straps) unrolled.
Here’s a video of it being unrolled:
Here’s a video of it being rolled up:
I kept my Loopt bag tucked away in my purse, and boy, it came in handy. What I love most about the bag is that you don’t have to remember to bring it with you. What good is a reusable bag if it’s left at home? It’s small enough so that it didn’t take up too much room in my purse, and it’s so brightly colored (I claimed dibs on the green one) that I could easily find it among all the other crap I keep in there (like my 250 gig portable hard drive).
The Loopt bag is perfect for unexpected shopping trips. I’ve recently used it for emergency Chinatown grocery shopping, carrying holiday parcels to the post, and purchasing art supplies (my Loopt bag comfortably housed a 14″ x 17″ Bristol pad and pencil kit).
Each Loopt bag is only $6 and comes in 4 different colors. You can get your very own here from Flip & Tumble.
* Disclaimer: On occasion, Ninja vs Penguin will receive samples of merchandise to review (and we’re more than happy to). We are not slags for swag. NvP will not endorse something that we don’t truly like or would be willing to purchase ourselves.
We do love our readers—your friendly emails make us smile, and the last thing we would want to do is mislead you.
The ShuttleXpress and its big brother, the Shuttle Pro, are USB peripherals designed for media applications.
The ShuttleXpress comes with a spring-loaded shuttle, a jog wheel, and 5 buttons. It’s also conveniently configured for many popular applications such as, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, Adobe After Effects, and others. It’s also easily configurable for any application such as, Winamp and VLC.
The construction is pretty solid. The buttons have a satisfying click to them. The shuttle has nice resistance in the spring for fine controls. And the jog wheel has subtle clicks for precise tuning. The base is wide with 5 rubber feet to give it nice stability. Not that you’d be thrashing the thing around.
Using the ShuttleXpress is a breeze. It’s not meant to replace the mouse, rather, compliment it. I placed mine to the left of the keyboard. Scrubbing through long footage and navigating the timeline is fast and easy.
My one regret is not going for the Pro model. The Xpress only comes with 5 buttons while the Pro has 15. But for the price is fair.
If you do a lot of video or audio work, I would definitely recommend one.
It’s hard not to compare The Incredible Hulk with the original Hulk. While the first one was very character driven, the new one lacks the depth or the pathos between the Hulk and Betty Ross (Liv Tyler).
One big improvement over the original is the action sequences, specifically, the end battle. Fans are looking for Hulk to smash stuff, and he mostly delivers. But at the same time, there isn’t a sense of danger. One of the problems with the Hulk as a character, is that you don’t believe that he’s going to lose. I mean, he’s the Hulk!
If you’re looking for light summer popcorn fair, you got it. But it won’t leave you nearly as satisfied with as with Iron Man.
I remember the first time I saw Neon Genesis Evangelion. I was in Taiwan with my cousin. My cousin bought a VHS and was disappointed when he discovered it was pirated, but we watched it anyway. It wouldn’t be until much later that I would learn I had just watched End of Evangelion. And it was like nothing I had seen before. I wouldn’t know it was Evangelion until years later when it finally made its way to the states on the antique that is VHS.
When I finally saw the entire series, I was blown away.
Over the years, I’ve done marathon viewings of the series. Sure, there were episodes that didn’t do much for the overall narrative. And then there was the original episode 26.
Now, Gainax has gone back to what put it on the map and gives us a glorious retelling of the story.
For the most part, the movie is almost a shot for shot reproduction of the first 6 episodes of the series. There are a few places where enhancements are obvious. Such as when they first reveal Unit 01 in all its glory, ceremoniously being released from its various restraints. But for the most part, they blend almost seamlessly into the film. If I weren’t so familiar with the series, I’d be hard pressed to identify the new sequences.
The movie is gorgeous. I actually went back and watched it again just so I can absorb the beautiful shot composition, lighting, and color. I could easily follow the story without knowing a lick of Japanese. The cinematics are breath taking.
If you’re an Eva fan, it’s definitely worth your attention. If you like anime, you have to watch what changed the game forever.
The film is so wrong but so funny. It pokes fun at Hollywood and what actors will do to get noticed. Sure, there’s the whole “retard” controversy, but most of the antagonism comes from people who haven’t seen it in context. The way that Ben Stiller uses it is so true and makes such a pointed statement, that it’s not offensive at all. Some would say Robert Downey Jr in blackface is offensive, but the Wayans in whiteface and drag isn’t?
If there is anything wrong, it mostly lies with Jack Black. For the most part, he’s unfunny. There is one scene towards the end that is absolutely fantastic.
As a filmmaker, I can really appreciate a lot of the jokes. I probably can’t appreciate it as much as those in the Hollywood system though. Bottom line. If you haven’t seen it yet, go see it.
Wall-E is a delight. It’s about a little trash compactor robot that goes on a romantic journey. One of the best things about the film is the lack of dialogue. There will be long segments where all you hear our sounds. It’s just a great example of visual storytelling.
If you stay for the credits, you’ll be treated to a mini art history lesson epilogue followed by 8-bit renderings of the two main characters: Wall-E and Eve.
It’s an amazing story that we take for granted. The images that they returned, specifically of Earth Rise are tremendous and life changing. The human will and ingenuity to achieve such an enormously difficult task is awe inspiring.
What makes the series so good is that even though we know the ending, they still manage to weave a tail full of tension and suspense. This is achieved through masterful narration by Gary Sinise, a terrific soundtrack, and fantastic editing of archival footage with new interviews with the astronauts.
The images are beautiful in HD and gave me that sense of wonder of space all over again.
Iron Man is fantastic. It’s about a multibillionaire, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) who develops powered armor to fight terrorists.
What makes Iron Man so good is how tight the story is. It’s a great example of telling the story on the cut. We get just enough of each scene that it develops the characters and progresses the narrative. You get a real sense that Tony Stark is a real guy which makes it seem like a real movie, not just another comic book movie.
Iron Man has everything, action, comedy, and heart. And unlike most other movies, especially comic book movies, Iron Man’s second act is really strong. It doesn’t drag or ever feel slow. It develops naturally, bringing us into the third act and the final battle almost seamlessly.
Egon & Donci is a free for download CG animated movie. It’s about a an amateur astronomer, Egon and his pet cat, who discover a “map” to Earth.
The animation is pretty good. There are some nice shots and good use of the medium. The scenes in space are beautiful, full of color and atmosphere. Unfortunately, that’s really all that’s good about it.
There are so many times where the film feels like a really long tech demo. The camera flies around a little too much. The plot is mainly just a vehicle to show off the environments and animation. It takes too long to start and by the time any tension or drama comes in, you’re kind of bored.
To download it for free, you have to sit through a short ad before the link is served.
One thing I really have to give to the filmmakers is their willingness to put almost everything online for download. I haven’t had a chance to go through it, but they made all the sound effects they used in the film online. There are also texture maps and cloud sequences.
