cause its fun thats why!

Color Blind?

Reverse-Colorblind Test

Color blindness is expressed a person being unable to perceive the full spectrum of colors the way the average human can. Colorblindness itself can be caused by just about any problem with a component of the visual system. I think most types are caused by a person's ganglion cells (the interface between the retina and the optic nerve) not being able to fully distinguish between two colors. Each ganglion cell is designed to be sensitive between two color poles, so if it can't tell one end of it's sensitivity spectrum from the other, a person looses the ability to distinguish that color. The afliction(?) isn't necessarily genetically based, as sometimes trauma can induce colorblindness.

This test is designed to be a kind of 'anti' colorblindness test - i.e. it's one that colorblind people will be able to pass, while normal vision will fail. This experiment came up after a conversation with a good friend of mine - we were wondering if there were images that colorblind people could perceive that normal vision could not. Not sure either? Take the test.

A few notes before actually doing the test
1. Your rods don't detect color, only relative brightness (intensity)
2. The retina is less sensitive to contrast in the red spectrum that in other colors (I'm not sure as to the physiological basis of that, but that's the way it is).

Red Spectrum Gradient

Below is an image (constructed in Photoshop) of a simple red gradient.
Imbedded within the gradient is another image. Can you see it?



If it's painfully obvious that there's another image there, then you're probably colorblind to some degree in the red part of the spectrum. Can't see it? Try looking at the white space at either side of the image, you might be able to see the object by using your contrast-sensitive rods (which are concentrated more heavily in your peripheral vision). Don't give up if you can't see it, that's the whole point - this is an *anti* colorblind test.

Red Speckles

Let's move on to another example, this one more reminiscent of traditional colorblindness tests which use 'bubbles' to obfuscate the edge of the hidden object. You could call these two images a kind of 'reverse color blindness test', so if you're not colorblind, don't feel bad if you can't see anything.

With this next piece, I've hidden another object in the image, again capitalizing on the fact that normal vision humans have a lower degree of color contrast detection in the red spectrum. A colorblind person shouldn't be burdened by that lowered contrast sensitivity and should be able to see the object immediately by picking out the change in contrast at the objects edges (yes, it has edges, that's your first and only clue).



Now that you've spent some time staring at the images, let's go look at what was imbedded in there. Once you've seen the answers, try coming back to these images and looking again (if you didn't see anything the first time). You can probably pick out the objects more easily now that you know what to look for and where to look for it. If you're colorblind, the 'answers' might look to you what the above images looked like to someone who's not colorblind (not sure on that one; email me if you're colorblind and can help me out there).

To the answers

Chorus Line: Spavenote #3

Man, Mr. Speck, you sure know how to get people to dance!

The cool thing about the play is how much Justin did with so little.

The set is surprisingly sparse, the actors had only 10 days to rehearse.

The things they had to do seem impossibly hard.

Even so, the production shone like the sun.

In other words, they made it look easy.

" One singular sensation, every little step [he] takes..."

Great job once again Justin.

U da man.

Hunk-a-cha! Hunk-a-cha! Hunk-a-cha!

A man and his little daughter lived alone near the edge of the forest. Now, that man knew there were wolves in the forest, so he built a fence around the house, and told his little daughter she must on no account go outside the gate while he was away.

One morning when he had gone away, the little girl was hunting flowers, and she thought it would do no harm just to peep through the gate. As she did so, she saw a little flower so near that she stepped outside the gate to pick it. Then she saw another flower just a little ways off, and she picked that one too. She saw another, and another, and little by little she walked farther and farther away from home. And as she walked, she sang a song:

Tray-bla, Tray-bla,
Kum-kwa, Ki-mo.treasure chest

All of a sudden she heard a noise. She stopped picking flowers, and looked up, and what should she see but a great big gunny wolf. The gunny wolf said, "Sing me that good, sweet song again." So the little girl sang,

Tray-bla, Tray-bla,
Kumkwa, Ki-mo.

And the gunny wolf lay down, and fell asleep.

Pit-a-pat, Pit-a-pat, Pit-a-pat,

daughterand the little girl tiptoed away.
But the gunny wolf woke up!

Hunk-a-cha! Hunk-a-cha! Hunk-a-cha!

he ran after the little girl, and when he caught her he said, "Sing me that good, sweet song again." So the little girl sang,

Tray-bla, Tray-bla,
Kum-kwa, Ki-mo.

And the gunny wolf lay down, and fell asleep.

Pit-a-pat, Pit-a-pat, Pit-a-pat,

the little girl tiptoed away, and she was almost to the front gate when the gunny wolf woke up!

Hunk-a-cha! Hunk-a-cha! Hunk-a-cha!

he ran after the little girl, and when he caught her he said, "Sing me that good, sweet song again." So the little girl sang,

Tray-bla, Tray-bla,
Kum-kwa, Ki-mo.

And the gunny wolf lay down, and fell asleep.

Pit-a-pat, Pit-a-pat, Pit-a-pat,

the little girl tiptoed all the way home, and she closed the gate, and went inside the house, and locked the door, and after that, she stayed away from the woods where the gunny wolf lived.

This is pretty snazzy...

But is it how you want to view your computer desktop?

Something tipped

A few weeks ago, I got a call from the people who work on the Lead Opera House project. They were concerned that the attendance at their concert series wasn't going to well and that JFAT might not have a very good turnout. She wanted to know if there was anything JFAT or I could do about it.

We both said, well, that's kinda your job, isn't it? Even so, the usual stuff went out, the usual announcement in the RCJ ran (smaller than usual, actually), and the new "Arts Anchor" folded into the Rapid City Weekly did a nice double truck article. I've seen that kind of thing before and it doesn't necessarily guarantee a good turnout.

Nope, something else happened. The place was nearly full. Largest crowd ever in the History of the Opera House for a paid act. Over 250 folks. What happened?

3 years ago, I could count the number of non-friend or extended family members in the audience of 100 or so on two hands. This year friends and family were definately in the minority I bet I only knew about a third of the people there.

It's beautiful when your community adopts you. And with JFAT, it's kind of easy to imagine why the Lead community has embracing them this way. I imagine it's an answer similar to the one to the old riddle, "What makes the lamb love Mary so?"

Whatever, it is, it sure feels good, huh?

...wow...Wow...WOW...WOW!!!!

Check out the review of Chorus Line in the RCJ.

Way to go EEKS and ERIC!!!

Can't link to it, it's not up yet. Sorry.

Its been brought to our attention

So we just heard that the ban in Ohio would criminalize abortions for ALL women in Ohio including when necessary to save a woman's life. It would even make it a felony to help a friend who's seeking an abortion travel to another state to get one.

Thats over the top. Extreme! SICK AND WRONG!

RCPD at its Finest!

Here is the proposed new logo for the HB1215 Referendum campaign. The name of the issue is changing from HB1215 to "Referendum 6" and the vote to shitcan it will be a "NO" vote. So we need to make the idea of "No on 6" epidemic. I thought it might be fun to see how creative people approched the idea of NO ON SIX. How do you sing it? How do you dance it?

Kind of like the "Absolute Vodka" dealie, where people can enter their "No on 6" pictures.

A viral kind of "art happening" deal. What does Terme's "No on 6" look like. Ted Severson's, Dale Lampheres? Dan O'Brians? Bob Millers? Kenny Putnam's" Bonny Fleming's, The checkout lady at Safeway? ...etc?

There could be home made videos, flash games, audio recordings, mime pieces, etc. Anyone can play.

There are so many people who want input on this thing, I'm trying to come up with something simple people can do to spread the "meme" around.

The creative opportunities are endless. It's got legs.


The more ways people say "No On Six" the better.

People drawing it, saying it, singing it, dancing it everywhere.

A celebration of personal liberty.

Liberation from government control.

Happy 4th of July.

p.s. Some kid named Nathan Fleming designed the logo. Who is that guy anyway?

YAY!!!

Fri June 23rd
Lead Operahouse...
See you all there I hope!

Woot!!

You all probably know this already, but...

Double Woot!!!

Dun Dun Da Dun (durm roll please)

Tomorrow is the opening of Storybook Island's puppet show, Trouble's Afoot at the Sock Hop...written by Thunk, co-directed by Thunk and Chop, music by Eric Johnson, puppetry by some awesome young actors. Don't hesitate, rent a kid (or not) and come watch it, your heart will be fuller, I promise (almost).


...we'll be there at 10:00.

Dont ever leave me alone with this stuff!

You can make your own Magic Eye Pictures by going to this website:

Click Here

P.S. I'll give a big shiny dollar to the first person (other than Spin) who can tell me what that is.

Hey OWL

Happy Fathers Day!
You're the best!

For Chop...

This is courtesy of my friend, Captain Happy, who has this on her blog.

Friday's Caption Contest

CAPTION ME!!

Thanks Owl

Vacation?

Did the Spave go on vacation?

Is it abiding in the South of France or what?

Norway maybe?

How good is your hearing..er how old are you?

The sound that repels troublemakers The story is about a nasty, mosquitoiesk soundwave that most adult can't hear, and most teenagers can. Shopkeepers in London are using it to keep kids out of their stores.

Can you hear them thar pesky stingers? All I can hear are the sounds outside the shop...no swarms here. Young'uns?

Green Eggs and Ham anyone

Taiwan breeds fluorescent green pig

"There are partially fluorescent green pigs elsewhere, but ours are the only ones in the world that are green from inside out. Even their hearts and internal organs are green,"

Golden Opportunity

Check Blogmore. They're doing a "survivor" style thing where you can vote someone off the blog. Pretty funny.
I just told them to kick Don Frankenfeld off there. (Well actually, 25¢ did.) Pretty fun idea. You guys should jump in.

Check it out!

Click Here

A wonderful creative/lingusitic exercise on Mt. Blogmore.

Jump in anytime.

The water's fine!

p.s. Be sure to download Harlan's handbook. It's killer.

You know you're from South Dakota...

If "vacation" to you means going shopping for the Weekend in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, or Watertown (while the kids swim at the Comfort Inn), You might live in South Dakota.

If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord, You might live in South Dakota.

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by You might live in South Dakota.

If you're proud that your state makes the national news primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation, You might live in South Dakota.

If you have ever refused to buy something because it's "too spendy", You might live in South Dakota.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, You might live in South Dakota.

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, You might live in South Dakota.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, You might live in South Dakota.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You might live in South Dakota.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, You might live in South Dakota.

If you know how to correctly pronounce Pierre, Lower Brule, McLaughlin, Lead and Belle Fourche, You might live in South Dakota.

If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, You might live in South Dakota.

If you measure distance in hours, You might live in South Dakota.

If your family vehicle is a crew cab pickup, You might live in South Dakota.

If you know several people who have hit deer more than once, You might live in South Dakota.

If you often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again, You might live in South Dakota.

If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard,without flinching, You might live in South Dakota.

If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, You might live in South Dakota.

If you've installed security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked, You might live in South Dakota.

If you think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison, You might live in South Dakota.

If the largest traffic jam in your town centers around a high school basketball game, You might live in South Dakota.

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them, You might live in South Dakota.

If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Wal-Mart at any given time, You might be in South Dakota.

If there are more people at work on Christmas Eve Day than on Opening Day Deer Season, You might live in South Dakota.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, You might live in South Dakota.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, You might live in South Dakota.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, You might live in South Dakota.

If you consider Rapid City exotic, You might live in South Dakota.

If your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your cottonwood, You might live in South Dakota.

If the sunbelt to you means West River, You might live in South Dakota.

If a brat is something you eat, You might live in South Dakota.

If finding your misplaced car keys involves looking in the ignition, You might live in South Dakota.

If you go out to a fish fry every Friday, You might live in South Dakota.

If you find 0 degrees a little chilly, You might live in South Dakota.

If you actually understand these observations, and you forward them to all your South Dakota friends, You must live in South Dakota

Oh my goodness, oh my soul

Does anyone else have election anxiety?

Hu's on First?

George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?

Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.

George: Great. Lay it on me.

Condi: Hu is the new leader of China.

George: That's what I want to know.

Condi: That's what I'm telling you.

George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes.

George: I mean the fellow's name.

Condi: Hu.

George: The guy in China.

Condi: Hu.

George: The new leader of China.

Condi: Hu.

George: The Chinaman!

Condi: Hu is leading China.

George: Now whaddya' asking me for?

Condi: I'm telling you Hu is leading China.

George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?

Condi: That's the man's name.

George: That's who's name?

Condi: Yes.

George: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East.

Condi: That's correct.

George: Then who is in China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir is in China?

Condi: No, sir.

George: Then who is?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir?

Condi: No, sir.

George: Look, Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.

Condi: Kofi?

George: No, thanks.

Condi: You want Kofi?

George: No.

Condi: You don't want Kofi.

George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi?

George: Milk! Will you please make the call?

Condi: And call who?

George: Who is the guy at the U.N?

Condi: Hu is the guy in China.

George: Will you stay out of China?!

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi.

George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.

Skog on the Radio?

This was pretty funny...

...Mosahr and Skleeve should enjoy it.

Brain Teasing

It's time to make yourselves think.

Click Here

Have fun!!!

Has our President lost his head?

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks about immigration reform at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington June 1, 2006. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES)