Munedawg Communications

  • It’s the DICTATOR APPRENTICE show!

    Hello folks…it’s a happy jolly old time here the United States of America! Or should I say Amerika! I mean, think about it, your very basic freedoms are being challenged and a lot of you will be transformed into mindless sheep, zombie workers, basically slaves, that are only permitted to live because you serve your…

  • Ask not what your country can do for you…a visit to the JFK Library and Museum

    March 29 was a cold windy day in Massachusetts. I had taken the commuter rail into Boston and the Red Line subway to the JFK/UMass stop. Since, as usual I had drank too much coffee that morning and had to “use the facilities” as they say. In this case that was some convenient shrubs in…

  • Art, music, and sun! A visit to the Harvard Art Museums

    Well my lovelies, it is springtime and the art museums are multiplying like rabbits! And the rabbits are multiplying like art museums! 😀 Well actually Harvard has always had multiple art museums ‘cause they’re rich and if you’re that wealthy one art museum just ain’t enough! 😃 Originally the three museums, the Fogg, the Busch-Reisinger,…

  • The future is now…a visit to the MIT Museum

    I had visited the MIT Museum multiple times at its old location at 285 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts and had always enjoyed the mixture of science, technology, and art exhibits. The museum was relocated to a new and expanded facility at 314 Main St. (The Grambrill Center), Cambridge, Massachusetts which is in the heart…

  • Werewolf…there wolf!

    The Dire Wolf is back! Well, thanks to the brilliant folks at Colossal Biosciences who have used the amazing technology of gene manipulation… Founded by Harvard geneticist George Church and funded by billionaire entrepreneur Ben Lamm, Colossal Biosciences are committed to “de-extincting” extinct species such as the wooly mammoth, the dodo, and the dire wolf…

  • Take to the skies!

    Recently I visited a local municipal airport, Gardner Municipal Airport in Massachusetts to be precise, and it was a wonderfully surreal experience, well to me at least; even a trip to a local sandpit is terribly exciting to me! 😀 (I don’t get out much!) Gardner Municipal Airport is actually located in the town of…

  • Let freedom ring…President’s Day

    Yes, President’s Day…there’s a lot to unpack with this folks. And considering the current “Commander-in-Chief”…well we’re in for a bumpy ride! 😜 First things first, “Gulf of Mexico”, “Gulf of America”, who cares? Hey dummy, Mexico is a part of America, North America of course! 😂 And, Mexico originally was much greater in size compared…

  • Killing time…the debate over Daylight Savings Time

    It sux right! The biannual aggravation of having to set your clocks forward so that you have to get up an hour earlier to go to work, school, massage parlor, gambling joint, race track, liquor store, marijuana dispensary, whatever you have to go to early😊. 6:00 am becomes 7:00 am and so forth. When did…

  • Welcome to the AI Jungle

    It’s AI playtime again folks. A time which I get to play with a deep learning neural net once again. What is totally mind blowing is the fact that all these images took the Automattic AI less than a minute to generate! It not only “bakes my noodle” it goes on to make the entire…

  • Animals, Trains, and Robots: Trains at Science Park

    For the holidays, Boston’s Museum of Science has an annual train exhibit featuring model trains and well as other exhibits. I thought that it would be a good idea to see it this year since my brother runs his own handyman business and needed a real break. We picked a Thursday since it was listed…

  • Midwinter Tropics…on a winter’s day

    As I alluded to in a previous post, I enjoy visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston during our nasty Massachusetts winters. As a matter of fact, on the recent day that I went to the museum I rode my bike to the commuter rail station on a particularly cold and windy day. But…

  • Magical Enchantment in a Northern City: Downtown Worcester Winter Festival 2025

    February 1, 2025, we went to the Downtown Worcester Winter Festival. It was an unworldly experience, a voyage to transcendent land, where time and space stand still for an instant and phantasms like the Winter Fairy make a rare appearance to us mere mortals. As well as the WooSox Smiley Ball, a creature of vast…

  • Night of the Lepus, Day of the Rodent

    It’s Groundhog Day woodchuckers and upchuckers! The day when Punxsatawny Phil, “prognosticator of prognosticators”, makes his big “weather prediction” for the upcoming months. How did this all come to be? How did the U.S. of A., one of the most developed and sophisticated of nations in the world start using a overgrown squirrel to make…

  • Winter wonderland…thanks for all the fish

    It’s a winter wonderland here in Massachusetts! The polar vortex has set up shop and we’re enjoying freezing cold and howling winds (and howling munedawgs). Yours truly has actually ventured forth into this maelstrom of wintery delights and travelled to a remote outpost called Camp Collier, a boy scout camp and home to the Royal…

  • I have a dream…

    I too have a dream, that this being the 21st century and all that people would finally smarten up. But sadly they haven’t. Unfortunately racism is still prevalent in the U.S., as well as other countries. I do have one thing to say: Stop racism now! Period. Dr. Martin Luther King

  • More playin’ around

    I’m playin’ around with the AI, but guess what, the AI is actually playing around with me! 🤔 It is secretly compiling a dossier on my twisted personality, ticking digital boxes on my wishes, desires, dreams, and flights of fancy which it will then compile into a comprehensive report that will be sent to the…

  • Happy F*ckin’ New Year! 🙂

    Don’t ya just love New Year’s! 😊 A happy reminder of how old you’re getting and the start of the fun of having to write a new year on your checks and job applications! It’s the wonderful time of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere when we’re freezin’ our collective b*lls and t*ts off!…

  • I’m Dreaming of a Nightmare Christmas: BLACK MIRROR: “White Christmas”

    Oh yes, the best TV Christmas specials are the ones that give you nightmares for months and have you hiding under the sheets/sofa, hey whatever you want to hide under! 🙂 The 2014 Black Mirror special “White Christmas” is actually my favorite episode of the whole series. Written by series creator/showrunner Charlie Brooker, with the…

  • Now it is Christmas…

    Yes, it is finally that time of the year again, one of the biggest holidays in the Christian calendar next to Easter. Me and my brethren are celebratin’ in our primitive wolf fashion, even though the holiday promises good will to all men, I decided to extend it to us in the animal kingdom as…

  • It’s in print! Connections to the literary world.

    This is a belated but satisfying blog post. I’ve always loved books and writing and eventually hope to get published. I, and friends of mine, have written for various fanzines which actually is a way to hone your writing skills and get noticed, at least on some level. In addition to writing for and editing…

  • The soaps have taken over

    No, not General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World (Stomach) Turns, Dallas, or Dynasty…but the prevalence of the motion smoothing “feature” on all new TVs, the so-called dreaded “soap opera” effect. Instead of getting better, it has become almost a visual pandemic, as far as I can tell! It seems that whenever…

  • It’s in 3D! But what if nobody cares?

    Back in 2009, James Cameron released the 3D extravaganza Avatar, launching a third resurgence of 3D movies (first wave: 1950s, second wave: 1980s/1990s, third wave 2010s, for more info: 3D film – Wikipedia). This created an avalanche of other films that were released in 3D. This, like any true avalanche, spiralled out of control and…

  • A different aspect

    In the start of a 3-part blog series dealing with video/film topics, I’ve decided to start off with a fairly basic subject, and that is dealing with film and video aspect ratios, that is the ratios between the width and height of various forms of film and TV. Originally film was in 4:3 (or 1.3:1)…

  • Playing Around the AI Tree with Automattic

    Since I’ve made the amazing discovery that WordPress has integrated many AI tools from the Automattic company, including what is called generative AI (think DALL-E, Stability AI. etc.) into its suite of website and blog arsenal I’ve been having the proverbial field day and have been puttin’ these pups through their paces (Best in Show,…

  • A Tale of Two Gardner Museums

    A catchy title, eh? But like Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, I’ve cobbled together disparate elements to make a (hopefully) greater whole. Actually, to be truthful, I’m just plain lazy 😎, but both museums do deal with America during the 19th and early 20th centuries. There is of course the world famous Isabella Stewart…

  • Playtime for Bonzo

    It’s AI time folks! INPUT: “Beach babe with flamingo on a tropical island at sunset.” INPUT: “David McCallum and Joanna Lumley on a street in London on a foggy night.” “David McCallum” looks close but the “Joanna Lumley” AI reconstruction is of course off but I realized that when I typed in her name I…

  • A Foul/Fowl Day…it’s Thanksgiving again folks

    It is a sort of a foul day here in Massachusetts (the state is named after Massasoit (or Ousamequin), the Grand Sachem or leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy in the early 1600s) as I’m working on this very blog here at a local hotel. And this isn’t the first time I’ve spent Thanksgiving at a…

  • Feather was a shining ray of light in a sometimes dark world

    She was the nicest kitty, a real gentle soul. Always curious, always friendly. The best companion. She will be missed, but not forgotten. Feather 2014-2024

  • Mobile ban

    One of the raging debates in America now is the contention by certain groups that mobile devices, mainly cellphones, but also tablets should be banned in schools because of the distractions they provide students. Some school officials and parent groups are making the argument that texting and social media, etc. are interfering with kids’ learning.…

  • Dialing it in…Indiana Jones and a cinematic disaster

    I was initially surprised when I saw the trailer for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in the lobby of a local cineplex…honestly thinking how could there possibly be a new Indiana Jones movie? But I tried to keep an open mind and the only info I was curious about in advance was what…

  • Raspberry Sorbet: Foraging for food

    Not to frighten people too much since my last post, and I know I’m late on this, but further signs of unrest in this country…climate protestors blocking the highway near Burning Man with Tribal Rangers finally smashing through their barricade. As some have pointed out, the protestors could have set up an art installation within…

  • The Coming Storm

    I’m sorry, but for once I’m going to have to get all political as recent events have given me the jitters. Of course one of the biggest news stories right now is the arrest of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Personally I think this is a huge mistake that will have severe ramifications for the…

  • Lenses and Libraries: Film School vs. a Liberal Arts Education

    Today I’d like to, if not tackle, at least have a light hearted discussion about the somewhat thorny issue of the best background for a budding filmmaker. Is film school a good option or is having a more general, liberal arts type of education the way to go? I can start off by citing my…

  • Radio Free Cosmos

    I recently visited a local astronomical observatory and was able to marvel at the amazing technology that they use to probe the secrets of the cosmos. Although not in my field, I was able to recognize some things due to my knowledge of broadcast engineering and communications satellites. On the day, I was on my…

  • Return to Burkittsville

    Back in 1999, The Blair Witch Project took the cinema world by storm. Shot on a shoestring budget, $200,00-$750,000, actually low by Hollywood standards, the final box office gross came to nearly $250 Million. Written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, it utilizes the format/gimmick of “found footage,” although it wasn’t the…

  • White Fuzzy Mirror

    Yep, I’m going to taking a look at Netflix’s latest offering of its dark sci-fi anthology show, season 6 (series 6 for those in the UK) of Black Mirror. And of course I’m going to be issuing a SPOILER ALERT. Actually I’m not going to be presenting extensive plot synopses of the episodes, but still,…

  • Anthony Gatto and the Art of Juggling

    Anthony Gatto (real name Anthony Commorata) is one the world’s greatest jugglers, having appeared on TV shows such as That’s Incredible and The Tonight Show, having performed in Las Vegas and the Cirque du Soleil, and achieved many juggling records in his long career (including 9 balls and 12 rings). Then around 2015 he quit…

  • TITAN disaster

    As has been covered extensively on the news, on June 8, 2023 the submersible Titan imploded on its mission to the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic killing all aboard, including the sub’s owner, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Paul Henri Nargeolet, a French deep sea and Titanic expert, Hamish Harding, a British billionaire, Shazhada Dagwood,…

  • The Field Guide to Field Guides

    Remember the Golden Nature Guides? They were the best, with excellent information and lavish illustrations. I’m glad to report that they have been reprinted and can be purchased on Amazon, etc., which is great since I don’t like a lot of the newer field guides. I mean sure, some of the info in the Golden…

  • Boris FX, Netflix, and AI

    I recently watched another Boris FX zoom call/YouTube stream titled “Exploring New Features in Boris FX Silhouette: Live with Netflix’s Kyle Spiker [Boris FX Live #56]” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zlAlYGA9js, hosted by Ben Brownlee from Boris with special guest Kyle Spiker, a VFX artist who is currently a NetFX Artist Experience Specialist at Netflix. Exactly what is “NetFX”?…

  • Skydive America!

    Recently we witnessed people at a local skydive operation coming in to land. High in the sky! 🙂 Landing. A lot of fun to watch although personally I’m too chickensh*t to try it myself. 🙂 Although I realized that I might actually try hang-gliding because you at least have something with proper wings!

  • Witch City and the Middle Kingdom

    The TARDIS lands in Salem, Massachusetts. The Doctor, Susan, Barbara, and Ian have arrived in Salem Town in 1692… Which occurs in The Witch Hunters, a Doctor Who “History Collection” book by Steve Lyons featuring the 1st Doctor. But actually there is a utility box in Salem painted as the TARDIS by local artist Amanda…

  • Looking back: Megacities Asia

    Back in 2016, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston created the exhibition Megacities Asia (it’s funny, at the time I thought it was a traveling exhibition but I’ve come to learn that it was actually created by the MFA). A “megacity” is one in which has over 10 million people; in Asia these include Beijing,…

  • To the Moon and beyond; the case for Mars

    NASA is going back to the Moon in a big way with the Artemis robotic and human exploration program, with partners: the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Using a clever naming scheme it is of course the successor to the Apollo program. In Greek…

  • I want my MTV…

    Remember the 1980s? I do, I’m old. 🙂 If you don’t, this’ll give ya some educatin’: Of course, both MTV and VH1 don’t show music videos anymore, which seems kind of strange until you realize that of course the whole thing is driven by economics. Reality shows make more money so took over eventually. I’m…

  • Beyond the hype: fusion and wormholes

    Recently there have been some amazing announcements in science news. One of them was the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California achievement of fusion power “ignition,” that is getting a net gain fusion reaction in their facility. At the NIF they use what is known as inertial confinement fusion, which…

  • Remembering Douglas Trumbull

    Last year the film world lost one of the true giants of visual effects, Douglas Trumbull, veteran of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Andromeda Strain, The Towering Inferno, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, The Tree of Life and director of Silent Running and Brainstorm. His early work…

  • Editing AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER Zoom Call

    Boris FX recently hosted a zoom call that streamed live on YouTube entitled: How to Edit an Avatar Film [Boris FX Live #52]: https://www.youtube.com/live/pfH_naBqcGU?feature=share featuring First Assistant Editor Justin Yates, Assistant Editor Ben Murphy, and Lead VFX Editor Justin Shaw from Avatar: The Way of Water, hosted by Ben Brownlee from Curious Turtle and Steve…

  • Robots, Rebels, & Renegades

    Just recently while browsing the web I came across an issue of a publication I had edited and written for, a fanzine called Robots, Rebels, & Renegades, for sale on eBay from BB’s General Store. “Just what is a fanzine?” you might ask. Essentially it is an amateur magazine produced by aficionados of a particular…

  • Wearin’ o’ the blue

    Today is St. Patrick’s day and I’d like to reflect some of the actual historical underpinnings of this holiday. For one thing, Patrick was born in Britain, not Ireland, in the 5th century era of what is known as the Romano-British culture. He came from a relatively well off family (his father, Calpurnius, was a…

  • Latest version of Silhouette

    Latest version of Silhouette

    Boris FX’s latest offering of Silhouette (formally Silhouette Roto) is quite a package. From a dedicated rotoscoping software app it has been morphed into a full blown compositing solution. Like Shake, Nuke, and Fusion, it is a node-based system and you have access to a plethora of compositing nodes including of course the legacy Silhouette…