Source Code: A Very Short Review

Last night, to celebrate the end of classes at the University of Texas, my roommate and I headed down to Alamo South Lamar to check out Duncan Jones' sophomore sci-fi flick, Source Code. Thoughts? I am growing tired of today's predictable and literalist "sci-fi light" films, though, by comparison, I did enjoy Source Code more than Chris Nolan's popular yet flawed blockbuster, Inception. Source Code hinges delicately on two popular sci-fi concepts: (1) transmission of consciousness and (2) the notion of a multiverse. Unfortunately, these concepts are fouled with literalist, unintelligent, and incoherent techno-babble, and the hardcore sci-fi viewer is left wondering why such techno-babble is employed in the first place. Moreover, Source Code's plot is spoon-fed to the viewer, and I was able to unravel the film's mystery within the first 20 minutes or so of the movie. That being said, the movie does not pretend to be a monumental feat of intellectualism, and I was able to partially overlook Source Code's psycho-babble and predictable plot to instead focus on and enjoy Jake Gyllenhaal and cast's acting and character interactions.

Rating: C+

God loves ugly.

I may have missed out on the Railroad Revival Tour featuring Edwarde Sharpe and Mumford and Sons, and I might be missing out on the Arcade Fire tonight at the Backyard in Bee Caves, but I was not going to miss out on Slug and Ant last night at Stubb's. The weather was picture perfect for a hip hop group hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota - a chilly 47 degrees with a hint of rain. Tough for Austin, but it set the mood. Atmosphere opened up with a collection of songs that were sure to get you moving and put a smile on your face, such as Sunshine from their 2007 EP Sad Clown Bad Summer Number 9. Soon thereafter, Atmosphere unleashed their 2002 classic God Loves Ugly, elicting massive crowd participation. However, before you knew it, Slug had strung together a quieter collection of songs whose lyrics told a story, and the crowd chilled down a bit and began to listen to the spoken words to songs such as Guarantees. Slug's intimacy and crowd interaction really made for a great experience. He kept insisting that we put our hands in the air for our own sake, to forgot about the usual crap we have to deal with day in and day out. In Slug's mind, Atmosphere's show is a celebration of the everyday man, but of course, any casual observer can notice the power Slug has over his audience. Soon enough, Atmosphere began to amp up the volume again, and the show ended with a bang and a whisper.  And all before 10:30 PM.  After seeing Slug and Ant perform twice previously at Emo's, I was worried about seeing them perform in a larger, outdoor venue.  Luckily, they killed it in pretty much every respect, and I left with a smile on my face.  Of course, that might have been due partially to the large amount of gin I ingested last night.  But seriously, fun times were had by all.

William Gibson, you're so cool.

"They sent a slamhound on Turner's trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair. It caught up with him on a street called Chandni Chauk and came scrambling for his rented BMW through a forest of bare brown legs and pedicab tires. Its core was a kilogram of recrystallized hexogene and flaked TNT. He didn't see it coming. The last he saw of India was the pink stucco facade of a place called the Khush-Oil Hotel.

Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after the explosion. Most of him, anyway. The Dutch surgeon liked to joke about that, how an unspecified percentage of Turner hadn't made it out of Palam International on that first flight and had to spend the night there in a shed, in a support vat."

I think I am going to enjoy Count Zero even more than Neuromancer.

Holy smokes Batman, I've turned 27 years old!

First and foremost, I must apologize.  I have been a terrible blogger of late.  I could give a million different excuses for my lackluster performance, but honestly, blogging has just not been at the top of my priority list.  That being said, I do have some fun news: I had my 27th birthday two Mondays past!  It was a very exciting birthday for me as I got to drink mimosas while watching a very historic Boston Marathon.  I am really looking forward to this next year and all the craziness it will bring.  After all, I will be getting married to a beautiful woman, receiving a Doctor of Philosophy in Computational Science, Engineering, and Mathematics from the University of Texas, and running a (hopefully) fast time during the 2011 Austin Marathon.  Insanity galore.

Reflecting upon my 27th birthday, I have recognized that I don't have much longer in this wonderful city of Austin, Texas.  Hence, I have decided to put together an "Austin and Greater Texas Bucket List" of things I need to do and/or re-do before I skip town.  So far, I have thrown down the following items on the list:

(1) Attend Austin City Limits, Fun Fun Fun Fest, and South by Southwest.
(2) Make a venture out to Big Bend National Park.
(3) Run the Austin Marathon, the Capitol 10K, and the Congress Avenue Mile.
(4) Attend Fantastic Fest.
(5) Attend the UT-Oklahoma football game in Dallas.
(6) Go to the Texas State Fair.
(7) Attend the Zilker Park Kite Festival.
(8) Go on a grand tour in search of the best barbecue in all the land.
(9) Go on a grand tour in search of the best Tex-Mex in all the land.
(10) Go on a grand tour in search of the best chili in all the land.
(11) Go to an honest to God rodeo and try to enjoy myself.
(12) Go to Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, Texas.
(13) Attend a concert at Austin City Limits Live.
(14) Go check out some Austin-style roller derby.
(15) Attend Eeyore's birthday (which coincidentally is today!).
(16) Ride the pubcrawler.
(17) Check out the various Texas wineries.
(18) Go to Hippie Hollow (Sarah may have dared me).
(19) Have an assortment of alcoholic beverages and hit a few golf balls at Peter Pan Mini-Golf.
(20) Check out the comedy club Esther's Follies.
(21) Spend a Thursday afternoon at Austin's Museum of Ephemerata.
(22) Get lost in Austin's Cathedral of Junk.

Naturally, I am looking for more items to put on the list, so please let me know if you have any suggestions.  You would have my utmost thanks.

Latest Update: July 7, 2011

One year went past and I didn't even know it.

I just realized that as of last Wednesday, it has been one year since I have tasted any gluten-y goodness.  And now I can drink peppermint tea again.  Win?  I think so.

Computational Architecture

CNN ran an interesting article yesterday on Michael Hansmeyer, a Swiss architect who has utilized some fairly sophisticated mathematics and computational tools to bring a new dimension to classical Gothic column architecture. At this point, there seems to be no general consensus as to the aesthetic qualities of Hansmeyer's work, but I contend no one can disagree with his work's technical merits.

To design his "sci-fi"-style columns, Hansmeyer utilizes subdivision, a computer animation technology that has made its fame in film and gaming. Classically, subdivision generates a smooth surface via the specification of a coarse, polygonal mesh and a limiting recursive process. For example, a sphere can be generated by applying the so-called Catmull-Clark subdivision scheme to a cube (it should be noted that Edwin Catmull, for whom the Catmull-Clark scheme is named, is one of the founders of Pixar Studios).

To create his unique designs, Hansmeyer has modified classical subdivision schemes such as Catmull-Clark in ways such that rougher, fractal-like (though not really self-similar) limit surfaces may be attained. For example, the image below displays the effect of applying one of Hansmeyer's modified subdivision schemes to a tetrahedron.

Here is another thing I discovered while glancing through Hansmeyer's webpage: there is an entire annual conference dedicated to the marriage of art and mathematics, and this conference appears to be both well-attended and chock full of impressive speakers.  For instance, William Paul Thurston, a 1982 Fields Medal recipient for his work on three-manifolds, will be one of the plenary speakers at this year's gathering.  Pretty cool stuff.

I would just like to mention in closing the enormous role computation now seems to play in architecture.  One of the members of my research group was actually an architect and part-time instructor at Pratt Institute in New York City before he came to Texas to work on a graduate degree in mechanical engineering.  He has spoken on many occasions about the prevalence of computer aided design (CAD) software in modern-day architecture.  For example, the CAD software package CATIA was used by Frank Gehry to design the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and it was recently used to help build the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics.  And now fractal-like columns using subdivision?  I am anxious to see what crazy things architects will present us with in the future.

...

Well that was embarrassing. That game was almost as difficult to watch as the Wisconsin-Pitt State slug-fest earlier this year.