Tech News

There are a few rules of thumb about making a good fictional movie. “Introduce character, introduce conflict, show resolution” is common when it comes to structure. Avoid excessive exposition (using dialogue as a shortcut for explaining background) is another.

Now a physics professor has a proposal for another rule: only break the laws of physics once per movie.

Sidney Perkowitz made the comments as part of a panel discussion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual convention. It followed on from the 2008 launch of the Science & Entertainment Exchange, a program designed to help writers make their work more scientifically accurate.

The panel members mentioned several particularly prominent blunders, but by far the most criticized movie was 2003’s The Core in which the Earth stops spinning and scientists travel to the center (without breaking a sweat) to detonate a nuclear bomb which somehow restarts its motion. Perkowitz almost believes “it’s almost deliberately wrong just to irritate the scientists in the audience” and adds “Ignorance is excusable. Contempt is not excusable.”

Another film which is the subject of regular criticism is Starship Troopers in which bugs are scaled up to 10 feet tall. Perkowitz notes the creatures would then weigh more than 100,000 pounds, almost certainly meaning their legs would collapse.

Perkowitz has even written a book on the subject: Hollywood Science: Movies, Science, and the End of the World, though for attention-grabbing titles, it can’t compete with Tom Rogers’ Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics: Hollywood’s Best Mistakes, Goofs and Flat-Out Destructions of the Basic Laws of the Universe.

The San Diego Union-Tribune makes an important point about the power of Hollywood: while An Inconvenient Truth grossed $49 million, The Day After Tomorrow took in $544 million. Whatever your view on the climate change debate, it’s probably fair to say the latter, seen by far more people, took more dramatic license.

Incidentally, the story has been a wonderful example of the different approaches taken by varying media sources. While the New York Times went for the bland-but-functional “Make Science-Fiction Movies More Scientific, Says Scientist”, I09.com opted for “Scientist To Hollywood: Stop Making Shit Up”

Related posts:

1. The Science Behind Dr. Manhattan (Watchmen)
2. A Bit of Free Sci-Fi: “The end of Science”
3. Symphony of Science – Our Place in the Cosmos (ft. Sagan, Dawkins, Kaku, Jastrow)

Frightening isn’t it? This shot of Minas, one of Saturn’s many moons, was recently taken by the Cassini space probe as it was flying by the planet.

The amazing picture — which was beamed back to Earth from outer space — bares a striking resemblance to Vader’s fearsome planet-shaped headquarters in the Star Wars trilogy.

But in fact the black and white image is a spectacular snap of one of Saturn’s moons, Mimas.

The international Cassini space probe took the photo — detailing the massive 88-MILE wide crater on the moon’s surface.

[Via The Sun]

Related posts:

1. Jedi attacked by Darth Vader and a metal crutch
2. Jedi Beware: Darth Vader Wall Clock
3. Van Der Led WM2 cellphone looks Darth Vader-like

Vimeo user Lait Noir (Black Milk) used cardboard and kitchen utensils to cook up this interesting stop-motion video on how someone could use Photoshop to make butter cookies.

[Via Geekologie]

Related posts:

1. iPhone brings you Photoshop in your pocket
2. Happy birthday Photoshop!
3. Let Yourself Feel: Beautiful Dancing Smoke

If you’re like the majority of writers out there, you’re a self-doubting bundle of neuroses, determined to believe that your writing will never be good enough.

That’s the life of the tortured, misunderstood writer, right?

What’s that? You think you’re pretty good at writing and actually like some of your own work?

Don’t worry, it’s just a blip. With these 5 tips you’ll soon be joining the rest of the writing community in feeling crappy about your ability and so-called “talent.”

1. Make sure that it’s never finished

You don’t really think that piece of writing is done, do you? Come on, there’s always room to finesse something and you know full well that in a couple of days you’ll think of something new to add.

It might take a year to get it finished, but hey, it’s always good to get it absolutely perfect before showing it to the world. Best to keep it on the “unfinished” pile for now.

2. Ignore any past success

If you’ve been lucky enough to get something published, online or offline, it’s probably just a case of being in the right place at the right time. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you wrote something good, that you tapped into a rich, provocative subject, or that your words struck a chord.

Sometimes writers get lucky. The chance of it happening again is about the same as seeing Ernest Borgnine win “So You Think You Can Dance.” Nope, it’s back to square one for you.

3. Recognize that the idea you had isn’t good enough

You know that idea that came to you, the one you’re pretty excited about? You might have already started writing, fuelled by a burst of enthusiasm and a spurt of passion for what you’re saying.

Hang on though — just because you think it’s a good idea doesn’t make it a good idea. Who are you to say what other people will be interested in or what’s relevant to them?

One way to improve your “great” idea is to make sure you have every angle covered and to apply a generous wash of generalism over it to make sure it has as wide an appeal as possible.

Even better, just leave it on your “Possible Ideas” list.

4. Never trust your own voice

All of your writing comes from your own head and your own experience.

And let’s face facts, that means that anything you write is probably as far off-target as penguin pie at a Greenpeace picnic.

It’s good practice to doubt what you say and how you say it. That’s what all the really good writers do.

Constant self-doubt makes sure that you’re always on edge and, most important, that you never make any mistakes or write something strange or different.

5. Give up when you feel like it

Writing’s hard. You probably already knew that. Sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating, painful and awkward to get those darn words out onto the page, and while some people say that’s part of the process and it passes, feel free to take it as a sign to give up.

Not everything you write will work and you can’t be expected to keep sweating when it gets tough.

Always remember that you started writing for the joy of it, not because it’s hard. You’re a writer, not a wrestler, so the sooner you stop grappling with that sweaty, slippery and stubborn piece of writing the sooner you can go and write something easier.

What’s that you say?

Of course, I suppose it’s possible that you don’t want to feel crappy about your writing. If that’s the case, I guess you could try doing the reverse of these five pieces of advice.

Then again, that would probably never work. Forget I mentioned it.

About the Author: As a leading confidence coach with clients right around the world, Steve Errey has a reputation for talking sense and getting results. Get more from him at The Confidence Guy.

---

The best reason to be a jerk at work is that of course no one will listen to you or support you or embrace your ideas–you’re a jerk.

The best reason to be a doormat at work is that in your effort to get along, to be nice, and to go with the flow, of course you won’t be expected to stand up and shout, “follow me” when your ideas might take you in a different direction.

Both extremes are the refuge of the lizard brain, the voice of the resistance. They reward the desire to fit in, not to stand out.

“It’s not my job” is a comforting refrain when you’d like to hide out. So is, “they all hate me and won’t do what I say.”

Fear is the driver here, it’s fear that pushes people in either of these two directions. That’s because in between the two extremes lies responsibility and opportunity and the requirement that you actually do work that matters.

The hard part, the part that gets you rewarded, is understanding that sometimes it is best to use common sense and toe the line, while other times you are facing fear that must be overcome.

Linchpins might be afraid, but they know precisely what they’re afraid of. And then they do something constructive about it.

Visual or not, there are lots of factors that define a brand. And within the visual ones, logo is probably the most important element.

It can be a logotype, a symbol or a combination where none is better than other & can define too many things like strength, sincerity, quality, speed, etc.

If you're looking for inspiration to create an awesome logo, here is a collection of 20+ frequently updated websites that present beautiful logos around the world which will definitely help you:

LogoPond

Logo Faves

LogoHeroes>

LogoSpire

LogoLounge

LogoSauce

Logo Of The Day

Wolda

LogoFury

Creattica > Logos

Logo From Dreams Awards

LogoGala

Logobliss

LogoGalleria

LogoMoose

Typebased

LogotalkZ

Logo Inspirations

Logomix

LogoTwo

Special Downloads:
Ajaxed Add-To-Basket Scenarios With jQuery And PHP
Free Admin Template For Web Applications
jQuery Dynamic Drag’n Drop
ScheduledTweets

Advertisements:
SSLmatic – Cheap SSL Certificates (from $19.99/year)
Follow WebResourcesDepot At Twitter And Get More Resources!

Tags: Iconic, Logotype

Related posts

• No related posts.

How to get the most out different backlink reports and generate high value link targets. …

How do you make sure that your Web site is user friendly? Here are some tips to avoid setting yourself up for search engine optimization disaster. …