Matthew Reinhart's Blog, page 33
January 27, 2011
Word of the Day: Labile
Labile \LAY-byl\ adjective
1. Open to change; apt or likely to change; adaptable
2. Constantly or readily undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown; unstable
Origin: Labile derives from Late Latin labilis, from Latin labi, "to slip"
1. Open to change; apt or likely to change; adaptable
2. Constantly or readily undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown; unstable
Origin: Labile derives from Late Latin labilis, from Latin labi, "to slip"
January 26, 2011
Word of the Day: Imbroglio
Imbroglio \im-BROHL-yoh\ noun
1. A complicated and embarrassing state of things.
2. A confused or complicated disagreement for misunderstanding.
3. An intricate, complicated plot, as of a drama or work of fiction.
4. A confused mass; a tangle.
Origin: Imbroglio derives from Italian, from Old Italian imbrogliare, "to tangle, to confuse," from in-, "in" + brogliare, "to mix, to stir." It is related to embroil, "to entangle in conflict or argument."
1. A complicated and embarrassing state of things.
2. A confused or complicated disagreement for misunderstanding.
3. An intricate, complicated plot, as of a drama or work of fiction.
4. A confused mass; a tangle.
Origin: Imbroglio derives from Italian, from Old Italian imbrogliare, "to tangle, to confuse," from in-, "in" + brogliare, "to mix, to stir." It is related to embroil, "to entangle in conflict or argument."
History Lesson: The Cullinan Diamond
On January 25th, 1905 a 3,106 carat diamond was discovered during a routine inspection of the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa. The diamond weighed 1.33 pounds and was called the 'Cullinan' diamond. It was the largest diamond ever found at that time in history. The Cullinan diamond was presented to Britain's King Edwards VII as a birthday gift from the Transvaal provincial government.
King Edward entrusted the Cullinan diamond to Joseph Asscher, the head of Asscher Diamond Company of Amsterdam. Asscher had cut the famous 971-carat Excelsior Diamond found in 1893. It's said that he studied the Cullinan diamond for six months before attempting to cut it. Asscher cut the diamond into nine large stones and about 100 smaller ones. The largest is called the 'Star of Africa I' or 'Cullinan I' and it weighs about 530-carats! Both Cullinan I and Cullinan II are apart of the British Sovereign's Royal Scepter and the Imperial State Crown. They are on display in the Tower of London.
(Here is the uncut Cullinan diamond)
King Edward entrusted the Cullinan diamond to Joseph Asscher, the head of Asscher Diamond Company of Amsterdam. Asscher had cut the famous 971-carat Excelsior Diamond found in 1893. It's said that he studied the Cullinan diamond for six months before attempting to cut it. Asscher cut the diamond into nine large stones and about 100 smaller ones. The largest is called the 'Star of Africa I' or 'Cullinan I' and it weighs about 530-carats! Both Cullinan I and Cullinan II are apart of the British Sovereign's Royal Scepter and the Imperial State Crown. They are on display in the Tower of London.
(Here is the uncut Cullinan diamond)
January 25, 2011
Word of the Day: Susurrus
Susurrus \su-SUHR-uhs\ noun
1. A whispering or rustling sound; a murmur.
Origin Susurrus comes from the Latin susurrus, "a murmuring, a whispering, a humming"
1. A whispering or rustling sound; a murmur.
Origin Susurrus comes from the Latin susurrus, "a murmuring, a whispering, a humming"
Artist Watch: Andrew Kolb
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While cruising the Dudecraft blog I came across this wonderful illustrator. Andrew Kolb is a designer out of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. I love the minimal retro quality to the artwork and the playful themes that Kolb employs. While I'm a sucker for his rendition of the Beach Boys album cover, my favorite series is the Lady Gaga lyrics turned into a classic children's book. To learn more about this neat illustrator, check out a recent interview here.
~Kyle
January 24, 2011
What's Popped Up: Pearle Pop-up Ads
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Lately I've been seeing a lot of commercial pop-up advertisements made for the screen. One of my most favorite campaigns comes from Belgium. Pearle Optics wished to make a giant pop-up ad and didn't want to resort to CG or digital tricks, so they turned to the wonderful paper engineer Kees Moerbeek.
Moerbeek and the crew were able to make one of the largest functional pop-ups that I am aware of and it took a forklift to bring in the book! There are three short commercials and a "making of" video that are all in Dutch but don't worry as they are easy to follow and have a universal charm.
~Kyle
Word of the Day: Outré
Outré \oo-TRAY\ adjective
1. Unconventional; eccentric; bizarre
Origin: Outré comes from French, from the past participle of outer, "to exaggerate, to go beyond," from Latin ultra, "beyond."
1. Unconventional; eccentric; bizarre
Origin: Outré comes from French, from the past participle of outer, "to exaggerate, to go beyond," from Latin ultra, "beyond."
January 21, 2011
Word of the Day: Flout
Flout \FLOWT\, transitive verb
1. To treat with contempt and disregard; to show contempt for.
intransitive verb
1. To mock, to scoff.
noun
1. Mockery, scoffing
Origin: Flout comes from Middle English flouten, "to play the flute"
1. To treat with contempt and disregard; to show contempt for.
intransitive verb
1. To mock, to scoff.
noun
1. Mockery, scoffing
Origin: Flout comes from Middle English flouten, "to play the flute"
January 20, 2011
Weekly Beast: The Dire Wolf
The Dire Wolf
One of the greatest fossil treasures in the world is the LaBrea Tar Pits in Los Angeles CA. In these sticky pits of bubbling oil the remains of thousands of Ice Age animals have been preserved including mastodons, giant sloth, short-faced bears, and saber-tooth cats. Mixed in with the others were the remains of over 3,600 dire wolves.
These large relatives of both modern gray wolves and dogs were used to living in packs and hunting their large prey together. But these beasts were much bigger than both of their modern cousins. They were also built heavier than wolves we know today with thick bones that seemed to be built more for power than speed. Another thing that sets this ancient wolf apart is the large fangs of its upper jaw that protruded from it's mouth. These powerful predators could have brought down the large bison and mastodons that grazed in their ancient world.
One of the greatest fossil treasures in the world is the LaBrea Tar Pits in Los Angeles CA. In these sticky pits of bubbling oil the remains of thousands of Ice Age animals have been preserved including mastodons, giant sloth, short-faced bears, and saber-tooth cats. Mixed in with the others were the remains of over 3,600 dire wolves.
These large relatives of both modern gray wolves and dogs were used to living in packs and hunting their large prey together. But these beasts were much bigger than both of their modern cousins. They were also built heavier than wolves we know today with thick bones that seemed to be built more for power than speed. Another thing that sets this ancient wolf apart is the large fangs of its upper jaw that protruded from it's mouth. These powerful predators could have brought down the large bison and mastodons that grazed in their ancient world.
An odd little find...
Sometimes, the weirdest stuff turns up when you clean out your desk drawers. I recently found this...
It's a very early pop-up that I made for a friend long before I even realized making pop-up books was even a career (between 1988-1992). This very simple layer fold features some of my own original characters (I had a whole silly yet complicated storyline filled with creatures, heroes, villains and robots back then), hastily illustrated in ink and markers. As I recall, I'd make these pops to be built into miniature comics for mixtapes (yes - it was that long ago) created for my friends. I went all out back then... too much time on my hands, I suppose. Kinda neat, huh?
- Matthew R.
It's a very early pop-up that I made for a friend long before I even realized making pop-up books was even a career (between 1988-1992). This very simple layer fold features some of my own original characters (I had a whole silly yet complicated storyline filled with creatures, heroes, villains and robots back then), hastily illustrated in ink and markers. As I recall, I'd make these pops to be built into miniature comics for mixtapes (yes - it was that long ago) created for my friends. I went all out back then... too much time on my hands, I suppose. Kinda neat, huh?
- Matthew R.
