By Ryann Ferguson

What would Shrek be without his Scottish accent? Can you even imagine it? But not only was the character of Shrek NOT Scottish in William Stieg’s original books, (in fact, his name comes from Yiddish) but Mike Meyers very nearly never got the chance to play Shrek.

Several other actors were once considered for the film, including Bill Murray as Shrek with Steve Martin as Donkey. Ultimately, the producers hired comedian Chris Farley, who recorded upwards of 90% of the movie’s dialogue before passing away without completing the role.

    

Not only are these amazing, and mind you, not rare at all, examples of Nature’s brainy creations truly stunningly impressive but they also bloom, in full color! Who can say this of our human brains? Maybe this is why we humans hide ours under our think sculls, while these awe-inspiring flowery creations so proudly expose theirs for all to admire?

Therefore, for the first time ever opening my mind to such a concept or possibility, and as a result of or reward for this broadmindedness, becoming so inspired by the amazing flowers initially discovered while in Japan, but their lasting impression reignited by that very garden I then entered while in Peru, I wish to pay homage to at least some of those flowers which I had the honor to make acquaintance with in my recent wanderings. For wherever I journey, whatever continent I land on, I find the Nature’s magnificence true to my expectations. Always glorious, forever astounding in its imaginary scope of artistry, and eternally adept at simply consistently and forever taking my breath away, it expands my mind, vision, perspective and gratefulness for its inspirational stimuli. In the same breath, it never seizes to take that certain air of human arrogance or “hot air” out of me, deflating my unjustified superiority while putting me in my place for who I am in contrast to its illustriousness, just another meek grain of sand in its infinite creative expanse and a never culminating, or running out of innovative ideas, breath of diverse possibilities.

We all have been charged with picking up the sword to fight the good fight whether we are drawing the battle lines or not.  It’s always a good idea to have a plan in the event that you are called into action lest you be caught off guard.  This strategy applies whether you are fighting a health scare, personal loss or a change in your career.  It’s always good to know what propels you into battle before the appropriate boundaries are drawn.

 

What’s clear is that HTML5 is here to stay and it will change the face of application development. Whether it reaches its full potential next month or two years from now, its evolution is continuing apace, bringing new capabilities and new kinds of developers into its sphere of influence. Intel continues to show a keen interest in optimizing the platform for its hardware, as both the power of available hardware and of the platform continue to grow.

One advantage of a true cross-platform technology like HTML5 is that developers no longer need to rely on native technologies to deploy their apps on specific hardware platforms. That means being able to potentially circumvent app stores that demand costly native development and take a portion of the profits. The downside is that often the support of these proprietary app stores can make the difference between sinking without a trace and being the featured app of the month and reaching an audience of millions. For developers that perhaps have less need for the support that app stores can offer, HTML5 offers a significant advantage over native development, particularly when combined with native code whenever it makes sense.

By Tim Kridel

More than half of app users have uninstalled or decided to not install an app due to concerns about personal information, according to a recent Pew Internet Project survey. If that isn’t motivation enough to protect customer privacy, consider the growing number of federal and state laws penalizing breaches.

But how can developers determine which laws apply? And what about industry best practices such as those from the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and CTIA – The Wireless Association? We spoke with Alan Chapell, co-chair of the MMA’s privacy and advocacy committee, about what developers need to know to protect customer privacy -- and, in the process, their app’s market potential.

CNN has reported that Fox has pulled from its website the March 17^th “Turban Cowboy” episode of Family Guy showing Peter Griffin running down marathoners with his car in his bid to win the race. An edited Family Guy hoax clip making fun of Monday’s bombing was pulled down by YouTube as well.  Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane tweeted yesterday, “The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent. The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims.”

Well...okay... technically speaking... that blog title is misleading, but ... 

We all need to detox from one thing or another in life.  Whether you are cleansing your system from years of alcohol, drug or food addictions or you are looking to just rid yourself of the emotional toxins that have built up from years of wear and tear, you may feel the need to cleanse at some point in your life.  One area you might want to consider purging is the emotional and physical drain on your energy and psyche caused by the stresses of work. When your work environment resembles a toxic waste dump, it’s time for a career cleanse.

 

 

I feel the time is right to push the medium further and explore an arena previously untouched by stop-motion animation – the action/adventure genre. Havoc will potentially be the first film of its kind, a stop-motion action film. Havoc is a lone warrior, forced into battle against a legion of vicious mutants. At stake: his survival AND the fate of humankind! Part human, part genetic mutation.

To realize this dream I’ve recently launched a Kickstarter campaign. Investment in this project will go towards the production of a three minute film which will introduce Havoc, the character, as well as the tone and visual style of the world he lives in.

By  Dan Sarto

For some reason, every time I attend the festival in Ottawa, something happens along the way to remind just how fun it can be to visit this last great bastion of politeness and public drunkenness.   This trip was no exception.  Against my better judgment, breaking a solemn vow I made back in 2002, I flew through Toronto.  Back in 2002, the last year of my mullet phase, I was stopped by security at the airport in Toronto and held for close to an hour.  Whether it was my sunny disposition or dreadful hairstyle that put me on someone’s watch list, I’ll never know.  Some junior G-Man barely old enough to shave grilled me for 45 minutes, asking me the same set of questions over and over, as if I’d finally break down sobbing and divulge where Bruce Willis should go to find the nuclear device.   I kept thinking that Chris Robinson was somehow behind the interrogation, because this agent kept going into another room and coming back with more ridiculous questions about animation. It made me chuckle, which made my inquisitor even more annoyed, which probably attributed to the length of the grilling.  However, upon my release, I swore I’d never fly through Toronto again, a vow I upheld until Tuesday.