Model Airplanes

Molly Crabapple is an illustrator and activist whose work has appeared in Marvel comics… and on protest posters for the Occupy movement. She also traveled to Guantanamo to sketch the military hearings there.

She just released a memoir called, “Drawing Blood.” It documents her coming of age, her work as a nude model and burlesque dancer, and her current work as a columnist for Vice Media — where she covers everything from Occupy to indentured servitude in Dubai.

At the beginning of her book she writes, “This is a story about a girl and her sketchbook.” When Brendan met with her, he asked why a sketchbook instead of a camera, or a guitar?

Molly Crabapple: Well, I’ve been drawing since I was four years old. I have always drawn, and I’ve always been obsessed with drawing. I drew before I was good at it. I drew before I knew what I was doing. I just think it was what I was born to do. Even if I was in a jail cell or on a desert island, I would be drawing every moment that I could.

Brendan Francis Newnam: Is that something you still do? Like, if you’re on an airplane, or you’re in-between interviews or doing something, do you find yourself still doodling, non-professionally?

Molly Crabapple: Oh, God, yeah. All the time, especially if I’m in a scenario like, waiting for something bureaucratic. There’s just something evil inside of me that wants

Article source: http://wunc.org/post/molly-crabapple-draws-blood-dancers-and-detainees

“Animation pick-pockets” is how Nick Bruno, Supervising Animator on The Peanuts Movie, describes himself and his colleagues. “We’ll bump into you and take your wallets,” he explained on a visit to Blue Sky’s Connecticut studios this June, “but you just feel the bump and don’t notice us taking the wallet.”

“It’s all a bunch of smoke and mirrors,” agrees fellow Animation ‘Supe’, Scott Carroll. Though the same could be said of all film-making, not least animation, the peculiar demands of The Peanuts Movie required even more sleight of hand than usual.

The problem was inherent in the task Blue Sky Studios had set itself: making Charles Schulz’s 2D, ink-drawn Peanuts gang into 3D, computer-generated characters while retaining their idiosyncratic comic strip look and charm.

Early experiments weren’t promising. What might have seemed like the straightforward approach of taking an average set of proportions from the comic strips to model a 3D character  proved… unsatisfactory.

“It looked horrifying,” says Bruno, rotating an early 3D model of Charlie Brown’s basketball head to illustrate. “That doesn’t look like Charlie Brown, that looks like a clown”. He’s right. Face-on, what he’s showing us is unmistakeably Charlie Brown—the ink-pool eyes, scribble of hair, wobbly mouth and little round ears—but rotate it just a fraction and Charlie disappears. As a profile, it’s barely recognisable.

One reason is that in his Peanuts strips, all seventeen thousand of them, Charles Schulz exercised a kind of artistic license when it came to character design. From pose to pose and panel to panel, character

Article source: http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/peanuts/38129/charlie-brown-and-snoopy-the-peanuts-movie-animation-cheats

NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation program is coming to a close. New advanced leading edge wing coatings are being developed that will deter bug strikes and help maintain laminar flow over airplane wings. And, we visit the Ames Research Center to see final testing of a new BWB model in the 40×80 wind tunnel.

December 18, 2015

TRANSCRIPT

Jennifer Pulley: Host

Kevin James, NASA AMES

Israel Wygnanski, University of Arizona

Jeanne Yu, Boeing

Dr. Mia Siochi, NASA Langley

Jennifer:

It is often said  that the only thing constant in life is change.  That is as true at NASA as anywhere else.

[indistinct radio transmission]

But the men and women of NASA  generally see change differently than others  because their life’s work is all about change.  Through their tireless efforts, these talented professionals  move past the status quo every day  and help us understand and change our world  for the better.  But even though change is part of their job requirement,  the people of NASA understand  that all projects eventually come to an end,  and they will have to transition from one assignment  and get ready for their next challenge.  That transition is beginning to happen now  for the members  of the Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project.  After six long years of study,  team members are closing the books  on the ERA research project  that has provided so much new information  about how future aircraft will fly.  This team has worked diligently over the past half decade  to reduce aircraft drag by 8%,  reduce aircraft weight by 10%,  reduce engine-specific fuel consumption by 15%, 

Article source: http://scvtv.com/2015/12/18/nasa-x-environmentally-responsible-aviation-end-of-an-era-pt-2/

TOPEKA – Winter holidays often include travel to see family and friends. Whether your travels are short or the distance of a plane trip, plan ahead to ensure safe travels.

“With the dramatic increase of travelers over the holiday season, getting to your holiday destination can be a harried experience,” said Cherie Sage, Safe Kids Kansas. “A little advance planning can go a long way into making your holiday a safe one.”

Top tips for winter travel safety:

Check for childproofing: If your holiday travels include a stay at a relative or friend’s home, be sure to talk to your host in advance about basic childproofing. This is especially important if you are visiting people whose children have already grown or those without children. Keep pill-minders and other medications out of sight and out of reach of children. Keep purses and baggage off the floor where curious children can get into items that may be toxic or cause injuries.

Travel tips by road: Always use a car seat or booster seat that is appropriate for your child’s age and size. Babies should be kept rear-facing for as long as their car seat allows, approximately age 2. A forward-facing car seat can protect older toddlers, and harnesses should be used up to the weight and height limit indicated by the car seat manufacturer. Children who have outgrown a harness seat should use a booster seat until they meet the minimum requirements of Kansas law, or the laws of the state you are visiting. For more

Article source: http://www.osagecountyonline.com/archives/19421