Jai's Laboratory

Jason Peters and I have been friends for almost 7 years. I first met him while he was DJing at various parties, and got to be good friends with him while someone I was seeing became his roommate. Over the years, we have shared stages at parties, we have shared hugs after too many beers, shared workspace (we were both kings of the kitchen at the same restaurant, frequently rocking a whole 110 cover lunch rush ourselves) and also shared a love for photo-manipulation.

Through the years, we had a couple “runs” or competitions, between us. Usually the format went something like this: One of us would start by making a quick photo-manipulation, save it as a PSD, and then forward it to the other guy. There would be about a 1 or 2 week time frame to do the editing, and send it back. The next guy would do his best to out-do the other, and make their jaw drop. With each successive volley, the images gets more complicated, but always retains key elements from the last image. This time, it seems space is a bit of a theme… Read more »

When I first saw the vision that was “Big Wendy“, I was freaked out that it was another one of a “Michael Vic-esque” mishaps. Truthfully, there is just some kind of mutation in the Whippet’s genes that make her bulk up double her size. Turns out that she is from the Saanich area as well.

It got me thinking….

With all the genetic modifications out there, be it to vegetables, meat, or even ourselves (which I guess are just meat anyway), I really can’t believe that I am as surprised as I am that this mutation hasn’t happened sooner. We are designing everything around us. From our food, to our clothes, our dwellings, and our children (see genetic engineering for skin, eye, and hair color).

I was equally shocked when I came across the presence of Belgian Blues. I thought “woah, this is FUCKED! isn’t there a law against that level of MBA steriod use in animals??”, but in reality, they are just the result of careful breeding over hundreds of years. I bet this is where that “Paul Bunyon” legend comes from.. not that he was actually as tall as a tree, but he was like… 7′8″ or some shit (when most men at the time were about 5′8″, and he had a Belgian Blue Ox (named Babe). Dude must have seemed like a giant. Designing our cultural legends is something I’ll cover later in the week.

I wonder what is going to be the standard in another hundred years. If the current global population continues to advance unchallenged, then it seems that we are going to run out of land and food before you know it. If there is some checks and balances put in place (as we are no longer needed to breed for simple survival), then we may have a chance. Are Prussian Blues going to be the mainstay all over the world just to keep up with meat demand?

Before you start getting on the “veggie” rant, know that I am a meat eater. I tried to give it up at one point (for a woman) and have since realized that I freakin’ LOVE meat. If I could kill it myself, I would. I can’t at the moment, so I am going to have to settle with going to a butcher’s or getting a friend to kill  game (not THE Game… although, he really needs to stop trying to make what he calls music) for me.

So, we also have giant, mutant fruit and vegetables. The things we call bananas didn’t exist 800 years ago. They were more like brown plantains. Are veggies good? yes. Do I eat them? Totally. I also eat almost everything under the sun. A dietary choice can never be seen as revolutionary. It’s the mindframe, and consciousness surrounding those choices that is revolutionary & you can still have revolutionary thoughts and deal in personal moderation.

As we move forward, adding growth hormones to the milk we feed our kids, and modify the size of the veggies we buy to accommodate the growing global need… We also need to maintain a sense of moderation.

The concepts and motivations can be extreme, but rationality, logic, and compassion need to be the beacon by which we advance in all areas. Design is not different.

Sweet Jebus. I want this yesterday. If it’s still for sale when I get a studio, I found a new place for all my art supplies.

Listening to:  A Perfect Circle – “Passive”

I have always been interested in color. There is a lot to be said about colors and how the affect us every day. The colors that a person chooses to wear speak a lot about them whether or not they realize it. Conversely, some people know exactly what effects colors have on people and use them accordingly. Even in nature, animals use color for mating, defence, warning, and camoflauge. The same is true for humans. I would not wear a pastel purple button-up to a Tool concert. Same can be said for a Queens of the Stone Age T-shirt at a job interview. It’s about dressing the part. While this was a good exercise in citing clothes, I want to move away from that and talk about color in design.

Too often I see designers haphazardly throwing color in places where it has no business. Perhaps this is my own projection on them, but I feel that they either aren’t aware, or don’t care about the result of their color choices outside their own personal tastes.

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Bigfoot, Death Worms, & Devils! OH MY!

Lately, I have been coming across a lot of articles dealing in cryptozoology. It got me thinking about their place in the world, well, in MY world, and what they meant to me.
When i was young, I was camping with my family in Vernon, BC. My dad was sick with giardia and air-mattress-confined in the tent. To give him some time to be alone in his vomitous misery, my mom took myself, and my 3 year old sister down to the beach on Okanagan Lake. To entertain us and give us a reason to leave the fire as dusk was  fast approaching (bringing with it prime marshmallow-roasting hours), my mom spun a yarn worthy of R.L. Stine, or even a mentally retarded Steven King. She told us about “Land Sharks”. Yes…. Land sharks.
(I’ll give you a minute to think about that)
Apparently….
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