I have finally got a new monitor! After sending back my Samsung SyncMaster 245b because it was too noisy, I now got a Samsung SyncMaster 226bw.

First of all a few facts:

Screen size: 22“
Connections: VGA and DVI
Speakers: No
USB-Hub: No
Resolution: 1.680 x 1.050

» read on!

Soon, I will have to write my master thesis. I’m still not absolutely sure if I should follow the chosen topic, so I’m posting the synopsis of my idea here to get some feedback.

For example: Is the title too lurid? ^_^

Update: I chose to work on this topic, but I focused it on the dramaturgy part. I did not think that building the formerly proposed installation would be possible in this timeframe.

» read on!

I finally wrote my first WordPress plugin: Social News On-Demand (or just SNOD). It displays buttons of social news sites only for visitors who come from those sites.

What’s it doing exactly?

Most if not all social news services like Digg or Reddit offer cute little JavaScript buttons which site owners can include on their own pages. Using those buttons, users can vote for an article directly on this article’s page.

This is a cool feature in theory, but not everyone is using those services. If you include such buttons on your site, you will most likely unnecessarily bug a lot of innocent visitors with them. That’s why I rarely used such buttons on my sites.

SNOD is a plugin which includes these buttons only for users who come from a social news site. If someone comes via Digg to an article, he/she will see a Digg button. If someone comes from Propeller, there will be a Propeller button, etc…

» read on!

Content

Dexter is a serial killer. And Dexter is working for the police. Not as a killer, of course, but as an expert for blood patterns. He knows blood like nobody else. In his spare time he continues hunting Bad People[tm] – but unlike during his official work, the hunt usually does not end with an arrest, but with a ritual murder.

Review

» read on!

You probably studied the instructions for surviving a zombie attack in detail. Maybe you even trained a little with a zombie simulator. Now it is time to put your knowledge to the test.

Fortunately, there is a sophisticated (*cough*) test for everything on the internet. Of course, there is also one for the question “What are your chances of surviving a zombie attack?”. Once you have passed this examination, you will receive a pretty certificate with which you can boast about your leet zombie skillz:

Hey, I think a 32% chance of survival is not that bad for a zombie attack! :)

(The original version of this certificate is even larger. There is also a small button-sized version.)

» What Are Your Chances of Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse?

(via Kreativrauschen.de)

Jan Kempenaers created some really beautiful photographs. Especially striking are those of several monuments in Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, there isn’t much background information included on the photos, but according to Boing Boing they originate from the communist era.

To me, they have this wonderfully weird and freaky atmosphere. I would not have thought that someone would go through such effort to build strange things. The monument in the left photo, “Spomenik #1“, looks like it has been directly taken from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. :)

All these places seem to be abandoned and very remote. This makes the eerie atmosphere even more impressive.

Also cool, but probably not a monument is this building, which can be found in the same photo gallery. Why don’t people build more such beautiful structures? :)

» Jan Kempenaers @ Crown Gallery

(This article is also available in German)

I recently finished reading the latest book by Terry Pratchett, Making Money. “As usual”, it is a story from the Discworld series.

Content

Central character is Moist von Lipwig (his second appearance after “Going Postal”). He is – not quite voluntarily - put in charge of the Ankh-Morpok Royal Mint and the associated bank. Soon he finds himself in the crossfire between bloodthirsty relatives of the former chairman, neurotic employees and last but not least the madness of economy.

Review

» read on!

Chandeliers have a reputation of being antiquated. They just aren’t trandy anymore. Maybe Adam Wallacavage can help this kind of lighting to new fame. He builds chandeliers in tentacle designs.

There is a tentacle for every taste. Black tentacles. Bright pink tentacles. Thick tentacles. Slim tentacles… :)

The only downside ist he pice: The pinc tentacle chandelier costs 10′000 dollars. The other ones probably aren’t much cheaper. Looks like tentacles are only for the wealthy class… *sigh*

» Adam Wallacavage at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

(via kreativrauschen.de via Boing Boing)

Again a simple idea with a stunning effect: William Hundley makes people jump into the air, covered in large sheets of cloth. The “models” are completely covered in cloth, so only a ghostly flowing piece of cloth remains in the photo.

William developed several photo series from this idea. In some photos the sheets are the only subjects; sometimes there are also visible human models in the shot.
Here are some of the series:

» Entoptic Phenomena
» Funny City
» THE REDCOATS ARE COMING!!
» FRIENDS

» William Hundley

(via Kreativrauschen.de via Photojojo via Boing Boing)

Subway to Sally have been one of my favourite bands for a long time now. Most people would call their style folk metal, but somehow this does not feel right for me. They are definitely using a lot of folk elements and also use several classical instruments (shalm, violin, bagpipe, mandolin and more). Their use of guitars is also very heavy – but I think metal is something else. :)

My personal favourite of Subway to Sally is their album Herzblut from 2001. Everything that followed was a downwards trend (from my perspective, there are probably also a lot of people who think otherwise). The bottom of this trend was Nord Nord Ost – the only album by Subway to Sally which I do not have.

Last year appeared Bastard, the album that finally started the upwards trend again.

» read on!