I had been ingnoring all the posts about Boston Dynamics developing state-of-the-art robotic quadruped, Big Dog, because I just get otherwise like that sometimes, but having just relented, it really is amazing. I hate to see such big defense involvement in it though, and to read it described as an army mule.
Update: Funny
Boston Dynamics and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have developed this amazing robotic cheetah that can run at 18 mph. Testing of a free-running prototype is planned for later this year. Aside from the nasty military implications this may have , the thing that interests me about the movement is that although DARPA says that
The robot increases its stride and running speed by flexing and un-flexing its back on each step, much as an actual cheetah does
at the moment the body elongation and the range of flexibility isn’t nearly as great as videos of cheetahs actually show (compare the superimposed skeleton in the video below). I’m going to guess that those will be the next steps in making the robot faster. Also, real cheetahs seem to get an extra spring and propulsion from their feet flexing, whereas the robot doesn’t really have feet, so that might be another direction of improvement.
Previously: Big Dog
Links and brief notes about the puppetry community in Australia.
This is an idiosyncratic list, and I’m just compiling it as I get time, noting some I need to get back to by now by now (the end of 2020) completely out of date! The info in brackets is where the people or companies are based, and roughly when companies started. Some companies tend to use puppetry when it suits, rather than being wholly focused on puppetry. In the sidebar I’m experimenting with tracking Australian puppetry news on Twittter. Do let me know if I’ve got things wrong or if you are listed but don’t want to be.
(Photo credit: wellingtonany)
Mentioning the Spike Jonze film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are a few days ago reminded me that I had a bunch of WWTA/Sendak links that I collected when I was trying to scrounge information about the film. (As it happens they are keeping things very well under wraps, which is understandable.)
Take a Swim on the Wild Side: article about the filming taking place in Nov 2006 on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. There are two pictures of one of the monsters on the beach,and wading out in the water, but don’t get too excited – they are so tiny you can’t really make anything out! It describes the puppets (made by Henson) as follows:
The seven creatures stand up to 275 centimetres tall. Although made of foam, they are heavy and hot for the actors and stunt doubles operating them. Word is they wear them with the head on for no more than 30 minutes at a time, with 10 and 15-minute breaks in front of an air-conditioner… Heavy boots inside the suit and massive clawed hands make it difficult to move.
Loungelistener’s photoset of the performance of Where the Wild Things Are at Detroit Opera House, performed by the Grand Rapids Ballet. Some very cool picture of huge puppets on stage and behind the scenes.
Hand puppets and soft toys, and here
Action figures 1,2,3,4,5,6
Graffiti/stencil in Melbourne
Stencil art
Jack-o-lantern
Leg tattoo
Max tattoo
Mural in LA
Mural at the Philadelphia Flower Show, 2006
Costumes at DragonCon
Float in Mardi Gras, New Orleans, 2006
Pavement chalk art
6 part home videos of WWTA Interactive Metreon theme park – glimpses of one of the big puppets.
The Rosenbach Museum has Sendak Gallery (holding original drawings), shop, and is hosting a Spring Festival this coming week
Mommy a video about Sendak’s new pop-up book.
WWTA animation, I think the 1988 one.
There now, I can delete my Wild Things bookmark folder!
Given my interest in big mascots, kitsch and otherwise, of course my attention was grabbed by the camel costume story a few days ago. A man travelling from Sydney to Melbourne on a Qantas flight checked in luggage which included both a camel and a crocodile costume. Twenty minutes later he saw a baggage handler wearing the head of his camel suit, driving to and fro on the tarmac. Apart from the usual concerns one might have about interference with one’s private belongs and security, the story has wider implications at the moment because of suspicions that Schapelle Corby is an innocent victim of domestic drug running, where baggage handlers might be involved.
Here are a few other links to pictures:
Camel and crocodile picture (via The Sydney Morning Herald, photo Northern Territory Tourist Commission)
Camel head face-on close-up (via The Courier Mail)
Report and picture of the characters in action at the gig they were on the way to, promoting (for the Northern Territory Tourist Commission) the Bulldogs-Carlton AFL game at Marrara Oval, Darwin, to be played onJune 18.
Qantas has launched a full inquiry, the baggage handler has been sacked and the airline has reimbursed the owner for dry-cleaning the camel’s head. And the Northern Territory Tourist Commission can’t be too unhappy. The unforseen advantages kind of remind me of those in Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant – “I didn’t get nothin’. I had to pay fifty dollars and
pick up the garbage”.
