Mist Obscura

Hi everyone. The blog update is a bit late this week and this caused some trouble for me and the people who run Blogspot. I got an angry message from them concerning my irregular posting schedule, and even got threatened with a delete of my profile. Apparently thousands of people were pressing F5 or refresh all day in anticipation of my blog update. As you'll understand this caused great stress on the servers of Blogspot which made access to the site slower than usual. I don't need to tell you this wasn't an ideal situation for the site's owners and for that I apologize. Please understand that I can't always update on the same day of the week all the time and if it takes a little longer than you're used to try to do something else to keep you busy in the meantime. Of course, I am willing to help: Just one thing you could do

Today, there was a bit of mist creeping over the landscape so I thought of taking some pictures. I like walking in mist, everything seems more shrouded in mystery.

I was walking next to the canal and took some pictures of the reflections in the water and then flipped the image which makes a nice effect in my opinion:

Wandering a bit further off track, I found myself in a forest where after a few minutes of walking an open gate crossed my path. Not knowing where it led to I decided to follow it and see what lied beyond.

The path went on for a long time until, strange enough, a bicycle in the middle of the road stood there abandoned.

I stepped closer to investigate it's odd placement when on the bike's left, I saw some barbwire with a pacifier attached.

Now this was getting awfully strange but my curiosity was spurred so I continued my way crawling under the wire and into this strange area.

After a while, my eyes were drawn to an isolated pine-tree.

Underneed it, there seemded to be dug a hole by hand, which isn't that weird in it self, but the persons gloves still lied there in a way as if he or she suddenly had vanished in thin air by my approach..

Feeling a bit uneasy about all this I wanted to retrace my steps was it not that a soft voice could be heard between the trees. I felt obliged to go see where it came from and carefully stepped in the sounds direction.

Then, what I found wasn't the comforting thing I was looking for. A hoodie hang on a branch with a pair of shoes underneath. Again, as if somewone just vanished when I got nearer. The shoes were still warm.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any stranger then this, there seemed to be wooden camp a bit further. It wasn't my intend to meet it's habitants so I only took a picture from a distance.

All these things were enough signs for me that I should get out of this place and that's exactly what my feet commanded me to do. Not looking behind I walked in a fast pace back to where I came from untill I came to the gate again. Weirdly enough, it's form was changed since the first time I passed it but it led my to the same road home so it couldn't be a different one. 

I didn't want to think about it too much, but sitting at home now I can't figure out what happend there.

Now, to ease the mood a bit. Let's put up a tune. You know Daft Punk? Probably. These guys get covered by other groups quite alot with mixed results, but the one I found recently is pretty groovy if you ask me. Senor Coconut does a great job to bring some new life into the well known "Around The World". Feeling like shaking that ass? Please do.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                               Senor Coconut - Around The World

Experimental effort

Everyone had a good week? Yes? Great to hear. But enough about you guys, let's roll.

I've been trying to make a small animated movie this time. Eager as you are, before you read any further, I must stress that this was just an experiment and not meant to be a true polished short. You may now proceed reading.
During the process of drawing, I noticed the actual creating of animation isn't actually fun! That could also be because nowadays, animated movies are made with help of computersoftware (not just talking about 3D movies, also 2D where they can overlay the previous pose and background which helps the contuniation) and tablets that make the process so much easier than before, and I don't have any of that stuff. I took pictures of every frame and than edited them together. It really got tedious after a while, even while I didn't use many frames per second and I made very simple characters to not waste too much time on it.

Anyway, this was the result, but I advice you that before it starts playing, to set the resolution to the max (720p) and make it full screen cause it's rather small.

Man with no footprints: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIzaA2N2c-Q

What I present this week for your ears is a song from Alice Russel. That's right, the one (together with Quantic) which I uploaded something from  in my very first blogpost, but I found it too good to not use. Just what a voice this woman has! "I loved you" is a fantastic soul song, but somehow I only hear "I love you" instead. Guess you hear what you want to hear, right?

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                   Alice Russel - I Loved You

Interactive stories

I'd like to talk about interactive stories, better known as videogames. When I was a teenager I frequently played games, now I hardly play them at all anymore, or it should be something exceptional and original. But, hearing others speak of them, I got the notion that most people, especially women somehow, see them as a mindless waste of time. And in many cases, that's completely true.

If you would ask a random person what a game today is about, you'll likely hear: "Shooting people, violence, explosions". I would guess around 85% of games are exactly that. Just like in the movie industry, those types of concepts get the most attention because like a summer blockbuster, a movie with big action scenes and expensive special effects, it appeals to the target demographic and brings in the money. Likewise, they get a big marketing push, advertisements everywhere, and everyone knows of its existence. Does this mean that Hollywood is nothing more than shallow action movies? Of course not, they make loads of alternative films as well, but you have to look out for them more. The same is true in the videogames industry.

Therefore, I'm going to point you to a few games that I played when I was younger or just recently, that are different, made an impression on me and made me think. That brings on another subject, can games be art? Well, isn't art about raising questions? I'll let you decide.

Now, I really like minimalism in games and movies. It brings you in the esscense of the world and story much better than explaining everything and handholding the player/viewer every step of the way. Don't underestimate your audience! Most of the games I'll talk about are like that.



Ok, let's jump right in, Beginning with Journey.

You should definitley watch this trailer, it shows you the gorgeous artstyle and it helps to really understand the concept of it:
 --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61DZC-60x20

Journey is a game that has no spoken dialogue what so ever, no tutorials, you just wake up into a desert world and see a giant mountain in the distance. Somehow, you know that it is your destination and start moving towards it while exploring the strange but beautiful world.

You drift along the always moving waves of sand always getting closer to the structure at the horizon, find relics that piece by piece give you information about what's happening in the world and sometimes, if you want, you'll meet an other player. Someone who is online, playing at the exact time. You can't speak with him, but you can comunicate with a form of singing/whistling. You help each other traverse the land and, while the game never tells you who the other player is, you form a sort of band.
What happens when you reach the mountain? I'm not telling but the game is a nice metafor about life.




Next up, ICO.

ICO, is a touching story about an outcasted boy, born with horns on his head, who is brought to a desolate castle, to there be locked up and die alone. When he finds a way to break free, he discovers a girl, Yorda, who is trapped in a cage. Together, they will try to escape the castle. But there is a dark presence that tries to keep them there. What for? You'll have to play yourself.

To give you an idea of the vibe of the game, watch this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsmZyRPI8zY

Again, like Journey, nothing is explained. You have to figure out the story through visual clues, no words are spoken. Well, sometimes there is bit of dialoge, but it's in a fictional language. What's so great about it is that with no words, you still get emotionaly invested in the tale thanks to the masterfull animation of the two characters, and that you have to hold Yorda's hand to take her with you through the castle further gives you a connection with her. One other strong point is the atmosphere. Most of the game you'll hear only the wind howling, your own footsteps and echo's rumbling in the large rooms. It really brings the desolate vibe home and you truly feel alone and deserted. The ending is something thats free for interpretation, but it was the first time a game made me feel the way I felt that time. When I finished it and thought back on the whole experience I was blown away.




Limbo:
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6vRXBOzGzU Watch this!

Surprise, Limbo comes with no explanations at all. The whole story is for you to figure out. The only thing that can help you is the title and the final second or two in the game, and that's it. Limbo is dark, scary, and you never know what will happen next.

The game pulls you in through it's ambient sounds and intriguing world. It also exels in making the player feel vulnerable as the slightest misstep could be your last and has moments that will make you panic and get at the tip of your seat.



Then we have Shadow Of The Colossus. This one is made by the same japanese creators of ICO and it shows in artistry and quality.

Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhsQrCUlbnM

You are a nameless boy traveling on a horse who brings an unconcsious/dead girl to a temple far away in a land seperated from the rest of the world. No man comes here. When laying the girl on the altar an unknown voice speaks that in order to save the girl, the boy should kill 16 giant colossi that roam the land and then, the voice says, he will help resurrect the girl.

The whole game you cross the gigantic plains and forrest on your best friend, the horse Agro, to locate these wonderful creatures. They will never harm you unless you attack them first and while you end their lives you question if you are doing the right thing. By the end you fill will find out what you where actually doing this whole time.

Its' definitley considered a classic and the ones who played it know why. Games like this don't come around very often.


As music of the week I couldn't pass on something from Shadow Of The Colossus. Many pieces from it's soundtrack are very bombastic (but beautiful) but to really let the atmosphere of the game sink in, a more soothing melody works better. Really, put in on play, close your eyes and imagine slowly riding a horse through a mystic and foggy forest while a massive brigde leading to a desolate ancient temple draws nearer, cause that's exactly what's going on in the game when this music starts, and let your imagination take you to a different place. The whole soundtrack is composed by Ko Otani, thanks bro!

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                   Ko Otani - To The Ancient Land

Drain of colour

Good day earthlings!

Today I have a new drawing to post. But first, let me adress something. Since last week I recieved some complaints about my story starring Rogerke. People told me it was too far fetched, some literal quotes: "Your father and I are starting to get worried about you, (sigh), where did we go wrong?", "First you were doing those Harlem-shakes, now this? Are you on drugs?"
They talked about it as if it was all made up. Not only is it insulting for me and my beetle-friend, it shows no respect for Rogerke's emotional life story. But thanks to a sweet insider, I got my hands on evidence to back up my story. To silence the disbelievers, I can show you the poster that was on his wall, featuring the lovely LoreBello:

Indeed, some apologies would be welcome!

Now I'd like to show you a new drawing. It's not exactly what I wanted it to be, because when I started colouring it, it just didn't look right to me (wrong colourpallet and so). Unfortunately, when I realised it wasn't really going to work out that good, it was already too late and I had no choice to finish the rest. Here's the result (the dragon/monster is supposed to be white!):



Somehow, I like drawing beasts, you are what you draw aren't you? Don't they say that? I'm told to be a beast myself, but that was because once I ate a plate of spaghetti bolognese using no hands.

Anyway, when uploading the picture to my computer, I wanted to try out how it looked in black, white and gray and to me it actually looked better that way. Judge for yourself:

So I think I'm not going to use colour in my next drawings. What do you think works best? Let me know.

It's time I uploaded some music originating closer to home. Herman van Veen is part of my youth as he created the theme song for the fantastic cartoonseries Alfred Jodocus Kwak. Herman is a celebrated cabaratier, actor and musician with a strong, powerfull voice but who can also sing very softly, yet always perfect understandable. I had the fortune to go to one of his concerts last year, which was awesome. In the song "Onderaan De Dijk" he's assisted by Edith Leerkes.

And now just shut and enjoy.

                                            Herman van Veen - Onderaan De Dijk

Small visitor

This weeks update supposed to had some new drawings to show you but unfortunately they didn't work out like I wanted so for now I'm keeping them in my "If anyone sees this, kill them" drawer. Maybe next time I can post some things that are not cringe worthy. I do have an older drawing which I'm fairly content with, although there are obvious flaws like a lack of depth. After finishing it I thought "this went pretty well (for MY skills), let's draw some more!" To then come to the conclusion that maybe it was a one time struck of luck bugged me, but I'll just keep trying...

Talking about bugging, while bended over my failed works, cursing over my results, I saw a little bug at my feet. He was making his way across the carpet, which for him must have been like crossing the steppe in Africa.
I needed a bit of distraction so I immortalised him on camera and promised to post the picture on his facebook profile.

His name is Rogerke, wich is a dutch/french name. In english you would have to pronounce it as "rogaayke". I told him about my frustrations about my drawings and he replied that once, he too felt similar emotions, although a tad different. He explained that when he was a larva, the other beetles picked upon him cause his state of being a larva went on for much longer than normal. He was told that he'd never become a leader of the group and should just give up on trying to reach his next state. "You wouldn't believe how much concentration it takes to transform into your next evolutionary level." spoke my small visitor. All he wanted was to be a protector for everybody in the whole treetrunk. When his transition to a full fledged bug stayed out he was even labeled as an adhd-er by his own parents and taken to "special school", where under achieving larvas were taken to prepare a life as a separator. Separators do nothing more then separate the good and rotten leaves for the community all day. Feeling miserable about his point in life and knowing he could be more, every night he began training in his little room. Concentration was key, so he took down his poster of LoreBello, t fro ime, and closed his eyes whispering to himself "I can be more, I can be more" 'till he forgot the world around him. Each passing moon he felt closer to his purpose, ignoring the comments from his family that only disappointment would come from striving for more.

Time moved on and there was one day coming nearer which he thought about with aversion. It was the yearly beetle-ball. That evening all the beetles came together to dance, have fun and to find romance. But not for him. How cold a larva ever dance? From his window he saw the festivity taking place wishing he could be part of it. That moment further cemented his belief he should try harder to becoming what he wanted to be. His nightly ritual continued for a long time until one moment, when he had almost given up hope, he started to shake all over. Uncontrollable his body bursted through his outer layer, breaking down the walls around him, his head smashing against the crumbling ceiling. When he opened his eyes he saw his parents at his feet, looking up in awe. He was transformed into one of the biggest and strongest bugs they ever saw. No one ever dared to tell him he couldn't be what he wanted anymore. The mayor officially gave him the title of protector soon after. Our little big bug even started a school to help other larvas who had the same problem as he once had, and selling instructional dvd's for insect who lived too far away. So you see, he said, you can't stop with believing in yourself and the only way to improve is to work hard, succes never comes for granted. I thanked him for this inspirational story and asked where he was heading now and answered me: "I'm going to see LoreBello now, I'm almost too late for my date because of you!"

Then I thought, "Hey, this bug is alright", said goobye and let him continue his way.

See you next time rogaayke.

This weeks music is brand new. What we have here is part of an album release from aids awareness organisation Red Hot, who have released albums before, but has this time contacted artists all over the world to do covers of the great african legend Fela Kuti. While the original song "Trouble Sleep"is fine by itself, the version My Morning Jacket created is also 14 minutes of pure bliss.

I have to admit that the quality of the upload isn't perfect, but it's the best I could get my hands on for now. I'll update the link if I find a better version.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                  My Morning Jacket - Trouble Sleep

                                               

Fighting the mind

How do you go about getting yourself in a good state of mind? This is something you have to learn when doing endurance sports. People who go jogging probably understand what I mean. As many people forget, besides the obvious fysical workout, it's also a mental sport. Actually, I think it's even the hardest part about it. With a good condition but a bad wave of thoughts you'll have a hard time going very far.
Now, when I go running, almost everyone wears earplugs blasting their favourite music. A good way of keeping the mind in a happy mood and distract yourself from the signals that your tired body is sending you. For a long time I did this myself and was even setting up playlist with the perfect rhythm to run on. Saturday Night from Elton John was perfect for this! This went good for a while but I also noticed that after an hour + running, when I pulled out my earplugs it always felt like an oasis of calmness came over me. In the end I even looked forward to the moment I turned off the music and could let the quiet sink in. This is of course, if you can run in non crowded places. At that point I decided I should try jogging without music at all and just enjoy the scenery and sounds of the surroundings.

By doing that you also cancel all the distraction that music gives and you're stuck with only your own thougths. I heard from others not everyone can cope with silence that well. Like when they don't have some noise around, only hearing themselves or voices from memories, they start thinking themselves into a depression. Lucky for me I can easily evade such lines of thoughts. But anyway, now you only have yourself to keep you going. After about 15 kilometres it can get a bit hard to not think about some point of pain in your feet or the distance still in front of you, so at that point it's case to be your own best friend. Not so easy! Start thinking about things that make you happy. Your plans for the weekend, a significant other, that big fish that you know is somewhere in the pond and you're gonna catch for sure next time, whatever gives you energy. What I do mostly is dreaming up small stories like the one you can read two posts below. Simply running is a great way to get inspiration, it's pure free time with no distractions. It's not like you have much else to do until you finish. It's great when you, after a while, start getting "in the zone", a sort of trance, and forget you're even training and feel that you can go on for hours. This doens't happen every time unfortunatley. Sometimes what also works is just not thinking.......at all. Only focus on your breath and keep going.
Granted, when you arrive back home covered in dirt, the taste of grass in your mouth and two days have passed since you started, it's time to stop shuting down your brain while running.

Another thing I enjoyed about jogging without music is that I'm better aware of what's around me. It could be coincidense (I think not) but I've seen much more wild animals than before. Rabbits, owls, bats, squirrels and even deers, which is pretty cool. And during winter when everything is covered in snow it's just such a nice sound hearing nothing else than the snow cracking under your feet.

The thing is, you can't enjoy silence without being exposed to sounds first. So blast your ears for now, but try to embrace the silence afterwards.

Oh, and a bonus pic, you remember the small creation made of cat bones and clay I took to the forest a few weeks ago? This is what the head of the cat looks like:

What would you say about some jazz this week? I've chosen for something from Marva Josie. She has sang for two presidents in the white house in her lifetime so you can't call her very "underground". She has a big repertoire, but for me there is one piece that sticks out. "He does it better" is not one of her better known songs, I believe it's one of her best though.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                Marva Josie - He Does It Better

                                                 

Trying and failing

As some bots or persons may have noticed, last week's update on Dropping Gems never happend. Understandebly you thought it was the beginning of the delayed apocalypse of december 2012, but no, this drama was caused by a small trip me and a two friends undertook. Now that you know the reason it's time to get out of your basement and go on with your life. Someone at work probably wonders where you are.

Ok, so I tried to do some drawings lately and it's satisfying and irritating at the same time. It's nice to see something formed in your head becoming a small window in your imagination for others to see through, but on the other hand, I'm kind of embarresed by them because by far I lack the skills to do a proper representation of what I'd actually like to draw. It always ends up pretty different in the end.  You got to start somewhere though, right?

By now you probably know the drill, at the end of my post you get some music. Recently I was in Prague, which is truly a beautiful city, and during the evening I asked a local if there was any band playing in the area. He named a few places and at the end mentioned: "Oh yeah, and there's also Bonobo playing here tonight, right in that building you see there." At that moment the city got some bonus points from me. I love Bonobo! It comes as no surprise that I've uploaded a song from this artist this week. He mostly produces instrumental and electronic music, but sometimes works with a singer too. In "Sun Will Rise" the voice you hear belongs to Speech Debelle. The combination gives us a hip hop song intertwined with some sweet sax.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                      Bonobo - Sun Will Rise

Short Story

This weeks entry will be something directed at a more select audience (like this blog isn't already), as most of it will be in dutch. I'm not much of a writer, but I do like making up little stories. When dreaming up tales in my head it is all very visual, like an animated short, with a minimum of dialoge. To then try to write it down can be a bit difficult for me, as it never really captures the world that's inside my imagination. To draw it maybe is something I need to practise more on.
Anyway, this story is called "Zonaanbidders", it is actually a pretty cliché sci-fi/spooky story, but it's more of a test to try and learn to do it better. Still, maybe someone finds enjoyment out of it.


                                                           






Now it's time for some music. I'm a big fan of African music, the rythm, the vibe, it feels so liberating. When you're talking about african music, there's no way around Salif Keïta. This gentlemen form Mali began his career about 40 years ago and is still going strong. The fact that he is an albino, outcasted by his own family, makes his succes story even better. He has many songs that strike an emotional chord, but I chose for something more uplifting. Honestly, how can you sit still when listening to this music? If you can you're probably a bot. But even if you're a bot, please continue following the blog, at least something is reading this then.This time I can't upload it myself though because the song is heavily protected by UMG.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                          Salif Keïta - Yambo

Look around

Hello people from all over the world, be welcome and take a seat.

This week I'm going to show you guys some streetart. Streetart that was made in Turnhout-city, located in the exotic Belgium. I can imagine that if you're an eskimo reading this blog inside your iglo you never heard of Belgium, so, to give you an idea, you know those white beaches with cristal clear water, blue skies and palmtrees everywhere like in those bounty advertisements? Think the opossite of that and you pretty much know what it looks like over here. You can also get a small glimpse in the pics down below.

Ok, back to our subject, streetart. A guy I know was responsible for these and plastered them against the walls on a quiet night. Knowing that the Belgian weather isn't kind on this form of (thick paper) art, taking some pictures before they're vanished seemed wise.

While taking pics I also took a moment to observe the people walking by and even while these pieces are located at crowed places, not a single person noticed them. We recently had a sport event going on in the town so I stopped at a place where literally hundreds of people would pass an artwork, but, as expected, no heads where turned.

This got me thinking in sort of a rant that we usually are too busy with our own lives or are distracted with gadgets like tablets and smartphones, listen to music with earplugs in, that we don't really notice what's in our direct surroundings. You have a basic interpretation of your environment but the details are lost because you're still connected with your own world of interests that's sitting in your hands or ears. And practically, you're shutting yourself off from signals that would normally get your attention. Be it artwork, or just greeting someone who you cross paths with. More and more we are living in a individualistic society where the more we are connected to what's happening around the world the blinder we are to what's right in front of us. And it's the people who are the nearest to us who are affected the most with our distracted presence.
I already see this with the children of my sister, where I have to work for their attention (the youngest turns five soon) when there's a computer or tablet around.
We have a responsibility to teach our children what sort of connections are the most important in life, and a physical one will always win.

So when this stream of thoughts died down it was already getting dark and my wallet and shoes were gone. Talking about being aware of your environment, right? But that's Turnhout for ya.

There's another streetart project afoot soon which I will normally help set up so hopefully I can post about it in the near future. Btw, this is only a fraction of the streetart that can be found scattered around the city but it's more fun to discover it yourself, so put your electronic devices away, stop reading this blog, and look around.

With that said, what's more appropriate music this week than "Computer Love" (1992) from the Balanescu Quartet? After about a good minute into this piece you may hear a familiar melody. Indeed, Coldplay snatched this compostion and used it in one of their own songs. But, don't be mistaken, this Balanescu version is also a cover! Namely from Kraftwerks own "Computer Love" track.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                           Balanescu Quartet - Computer Love

Something in the forest

Hi everyone, every 0 of you, welcome back to Dropping Gems.

For those who are just tuning in, I know what you're feeling right now. It's the feel of a life changing experience. You'll get used to it when following this blog. Some say it's the feel of an alergic reaction, but just follow your heart and I'll see you here next week again.

This week I went to the forest to take some pictures of a small creature. It's a creation of an artist friend who I helped to collect the materials for. The main "ingredients" are cat bones and clay. The bones where cooked before using of course and luckily they turned out pretty clean as they were in a much nastier condition then when we found them, you can imagine. When finished I thought putting this little guy between the plants and leaves would have a nice effect but I also brought him to a local toyshop to meet some smurfs. Unfortunately the shop manager didn't like me taking pics of his little blue friends and passive agressively showed me the way out. No problem though, we stumbled upon a new friend in the forest as you can see.

When the photoshoot was finished and I returned to my bike I saw that my bikekeys were missing. Lucky for me I saw every episode of survior man on Discovery channel and in survivor mode I noticed strange footsteps between the leaves. Needless to say I followed this trail which led me to a big tree. There, I found my keys hidden between the roots and some dirt. I'm sure the intentions were  good or something but it was strange none the less. Was it the shopmanager from before who couldn't get over my harassment of his smurfs? I'll never know...


Now, the song of the week is a song from the Brittish Nick Mulvey, Venus. He began as a hang player in the fantastic jazz group Portico Quartet, which I'll maybe upload something from at a later date, but who is now also working on a solo carreer. This song has a very dreamy sound to it what I really like, maybe you too.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                       Nick Mulvey - Venus