Italy

It’s always a good idea to get to know your neighbors. Case in point: photographer David Vincent Wolf recently found himself directing a mind-bending music video for the band Portugal. The Man, and all because his neighbor Rich Holtzman happens to be both the manager of the band and the father of his daughter’s preschool classmate. The opportunity came about when Wolf and Holtzman were having a conversation at a party. Wolf pitched the idea of putting together a music video made up entirely of stills taken at 1fps, and then interpolated using Twixtor until the footage played at 24fps. The original idea was to capture the lead singer lip synching the song in a video that was only right once every 24 frames, the rest would be 100% computer generated. As you can see from the video, that’s not quite what ended up turning out. After several test runs where Wolf filmed his daughter singing the alphabet song, the idea wound up being more complicated than it was worth. Fortunately, what resulted seems to be even cooler. Using his D700 and some hot lights, Wolf ended up photographing all of the band members at anywhere between 1 and 8fps as they rolled their eyes into the backs of their heads, grimaced and made other creepy facial expressions, allowing Twixtor to interpolate the frames in-between. It was the post processing that took the longest. After making every frame black-and-white in Photoshop, he had to organize the photos into folders based on band member and expression/action. The resulting frames were then brought into After Effects, where Twixtor was applied with a frame rate setting of 1fps. The resulting video has both the band and record label thrilled, so Wolf really doesn’t have much to complain about. Atlantic Records has even asked him to shoot another video in a similar style. Wolf, however, (like any good photographer) still sees room for improvement. In a recent Reddit AMA, he explains that, because of the spur-of-the-moment style of the shoot, he was focusing mainly on eye movement. He only realized later that it was the “facial distortions, grimaces, etc.” that were the most “compelling.” In the future he hopes to take full advantage of that fact. To see more from Wolf or find out more about this particular project, head over to his website or check out his Reddit AMA.

In 1951, a diesel-powered US Navy submarine called the U.S.S. Catfish passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and did a short tour of San Francisco Bay. While there, the crew decided to snap some photographs of San Francisco… through its periscope. The USS Catfish in 1956 The photographs were recently rediscovered by Bill Van Niekerken, the library director at the San Francisco Chronicle, in the newspaper’s photo morgue. Writer Peter Hartlaub then gathered the photographs together and posted them to an online gallery. The USS Catfish had been stationed in San Diego, but came up to Northern California on this occasion to pick up a couple of reservists for a training exercise. It spent roughly an hour traveling from a point five miles out from the Golden Gate Bridge to a berth at Treasure Island, snapping photos of sights along the way. The photographs show the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco skyline, and various well-known landmarks (the photograph above shows Coit Tower and the Bay Bridge). Oh — and all the photographs feature crosshairs: Alcatraz Island framed by the Golden Gate Bridge A photograph showing the Palace of Fine Arts The well-known factory sign in Ghirardelli Square The water tower on Alcatraz Island (via SFGate via Gizmodo) Image credits: Photographs by the United States Navy

"Star Wars" fans rejoice: A full-size Lego X-Wing has landed in Times Square, New York City. The life-sized model is actually the largest ever Lego construction ever. It weighs in at over 23 tons, and is comprised of 5,335,200 bricks. The sculpture is 11 feet tall and 43 feet long, with a 44-foot wingspan. It was constructed at the Lego Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic before it was shipped out to New York. There's also a Lego Chewy, R2D2, C3PO and Porkins on display. Of course, we had to see this marvel for ourselves, so we hiked it down to Times Square to snap a few pictures. It weighs over 23 tons. There are 5,335,200 bricks. The model has a 44-foot wingspan. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

This might sound a bit creepy, but Google will now let you search through your own photos on Google+ via the main Google Search bar. The feature helps you find photos you uploaded on Google+ by typing the “my photos” prefix followed by your search term in the Google Search box. What’s interesting about this feature is that thanks to a hefty dose of maching learning, Google can recognize general concepts in your photos, so you can search for specific terms such as food, flowers, or sunsets rather than relying on file or album names. For example, you can search for “my photos from San Francisco last year” or “my photos of food” and Google Search will display a set of results from your uploads. Google says this feature works only when you are signed into your Google+ enabled Google account, and the results are only visible to you, although they are displayed from the main Google Search page. The custom search terms for your photos are currently available only in English on Google.com. You can also use the semantic photo search in the photos module on Google+. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

I have 3 of my 6 new Bake Sale patterns completed!YaY!!!Pattern writing is such a long process...thanks so much for being patient with me :)I hope to get the remaining 3 completed in a week or so.Here are some photos in no particular order of my 3 new patterns....I hope you like them:)"Cherry Bake"I couldn't resist making another cherry quilt.A girl can never have too many if you are a cherry lover like I am:)I made this quilt for my kitchen table...it's the perfect size and is fun to piece using my Easy Corner Triangle method.I also think it would be fun to make a larger quilt by simply making more blocks.I made the Cherry Bake runner using the leftover 2 1/2" strips from piecing the alternate blocks in the quilt.And of course...a cherry pillow!"Tulip Pots"You know how I love tulips too!I put my Thimble Ruler to work and used the large one to make the pots for this quilt.The leaves and tulips are also pieced using my Easy Corner Triangle method.I wanted to show off the tulip pots so I designed a simple sashing of 3" squares.My friend Sherri pieced this one for me.I simply ran out of time and so I sent her a completed tulip pot block...my Thimble Rulers...all of my cut pieces and my drawing for the quilt.She promptly pieced the rest and sent it back to me just in time to get it quilted and bound for market.Thanks Sherri!!!I also had to make some pillows!(i heart pillows too)3 Tulips in a row.I used my small Thimble Ruler for the pots on the pillow:)"Mixing it Up!"With each collection I always like to design a quilt with a favorite vintagey item.Of course with Bake Sale being the theme of my latest...a vintage mixer quilt is a must for every vintage girl's kitchen:)They are mixing up some yummy cakes and cookies...and there are several cute spatula's to scrape the sides of the bowl.I designed the "beater blocks" for the border to look like the beaters twirling into the batter.We always fought over who got to lick the beater when I was a girl:)The beater blocks are fun and addicting to make.I have a quick and easy method for making them...I want to make a whole quilt just with these blocks!But for now...I added a beater block table runner into the pattern as well as my Patchwork Cookie Jar Cozy.After all...you need a cute jar for your homemade cookies that you made with your vintage mixer ...right?I bought the jar at Walmart.It's a 1 gallon size.Click here to get one for your cookies:)All 3 of my new patterns are now listed in my etsy shop...Busy Bee Inc.Thanks you so much for the overwhelming response to my new quilty barn block.I'll have the tutorial up on Wednesday.Have a great weekend and a quilty kind of day!xxLori

"Oh Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind ?"Good old Shelley inspired me to start today's article with the above verse, taken from his magnificent "Ode to the West Wind". With the weather we are experiencing these days in Geneva and northern Italy, I found it a relieving thought...So, winter conferences are over, and summer ones are still far away. This is therefore a nice moment to try an assessment on the quality of the results that the two competing CERN experiments have produced on the study of the Higgs boson. Why ? Because we are not going to have to change our conclusions because of a result about to be published. How to compare the results --> read more

European stocks fell for a second day-in-a-row (notable in its own right as not having happened for 5 weeks) for the biggest drop in 6 weeks capping the worst week in 2 months. Spain and Italy saw their stock indices drop 3.6% on the week. But it was European banks and peripheral sovereign bonds that saw the most damage. As JPY-funded leveraged momo come rapidly undone, Italian and Spanish bond spreads saw their biggest 2-day drop in 8 months to end back at 5-week highs. EURUSD ends the week up 0.6% (and the JPY +2.2%) as repatriation escalates. Europe's VIX is holding around 18.% (up 2.5 vols on the week). which leaves the last 2 days for peripheral bonds as the worst in 8 months... (back above 300bps for the first time in six weeks) Charts: Bloomberg

It is a long weekend and many of you are traveling to be with friends and family. Some will come back with horrid stories of late flights, lost luggage, awful traffic and even collapsed highways. Well, I am trying to make it home after some epic delays. As much as I would like to complain, I am actually thankful for the long delay I have experienced over the last 24 hours. My adventure started yesterday in New York where I was taking a Delta flight to St Louis to attend a meeting. The combination of a late incoming aircraft and a busy airport meant that, by the time we got in line for the runway, the “air corridors” out were blocked by serious thunderstorms. We waited and waited on the tarmac. Almost three hours later we were back at the gate for a “fuel and go.” We were allowed to deplane … with one rather important proviso. Delta could not unload any of the bags, including those that were gate checked. As this was one of those small commuter planes with tiny overheads, virtually everyone had given up their carry-ons. So only a couple of people got off the plane. Back to the tarmac we went for another 3 hours before we finally took off for a rather bumpy 2 ½ hour flight. Now this was a packed plane with almost 70 on board and one (over-used) bathroom. People were rather crammed, and most had run out of batteries for their phones, computers and tablets. Food was limited. Yet rather than complain and get edgy, the vast majority was engaging. Indeed, the mood on the plane was pleasant. You heard very few, if any, complaints when we finally landed in St. Louis, some 7 hours after our scheduled time. Sure important meetings had been missed and plans badly disrupted; but there was a sense of community and, yes, even achievement. Waiting now (the next day) for yet another delayed flight (American this time), I can’t help thinking how yesterday’s crowd dynamic was so different from what I have previously experienced on long delays. Why? The cause of the delay – bad weather – was visible to all, and deemed by everyone to be outside the control of the airline. The pilot spoke to us often even though he mostly told us that he knew as much as us (i.e., very, very little). Yet the constant communication proved re-assuring. And whenever he turned off the engines as we waited on the tarmac, he quickly released the “fasten seat belt” sign and we were allowed to use our electronics. The flight attendants were also terrific. They were patient, communicative, and caring about individual circumstances. Then there were the passengers. It was not long before we shared newspapers, snacks, magazines, stories and even family photos. The result was a supportive and friendly group which, as my wife reminded me on the phone last night, is typical of Midwesterners. By the end of the flight, people were exchanging e-mail addresses and some were even making plans for family get-togethers. There are many lessons here, particularly for business leaders. Yes adversity stinks. No one wishes it, and we all seek to avoid it. Yet, when it hits, there are upsides if the aftermath is well managed. Regular communication is essential, as is a genuine sense of caring and support. In most instances, groups will do better with a sense of community as opposed to just individually driven. And place the adversity in a larger context; most of the time, it won’t seem so overwhelming. Also, it sure does help to have a critical mass of Midwesterners there!! Happy weekend and safe travels to all. Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »

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