Tag Archives: Digital Blasphemy

Blogger’s Greatest Hits

POST PROMO: Blogger’s Greatest Hits attempt to make a comeback

Each post I’ve ever written is like a digital child of mine – each given due attention and updated when necessary. However, as a parent, I naturally grow concerned over how some of my digital offspring are more popular than others.

They each have their own unique talents and personalities, and although popularity is a fickle thing, I can’t help feel that it is my fault as a parent that some of my children get more attention than others. Perhaps they weren’t labeled properly at birth, or their dad simply lacked the know-how of how to get them ahead in life at the time.

I have therefore made it my parental duty to promote some talented children of mine that still have much to offer and are yearning for your attention. Below are a few of my personal favourites from each category – my greatest hits trying to make a comeback. I’m certain that you will find yourself willing to adopt some of the following:

From Quite Interesting:

“Staring blankly at my keyboard the other day (as one does) I began pondering over the arrangement of the keys. “What’s up with that?” I heard the comedian within me say. I set forth on a cyber-galactic journey to discovery why my keyboard’s layout looks the way it does…” (Read more)

Santa Claus“So just who is that fat, old jolly guy in the red suit that parades around shopping malls at Christmas time – entertaining kids and scaring adults with his “ho ho hos”? It’s usually someone’s dad – the one (in any community of close friends) with the biggest beer boep…” (Read more)

“Do you ever use sayings such as “saved by the bell” or hear your grandmother squawk something like, “Heavens, it raining cats and dogs outside!” A lot of people still do yet have no idea where such phrases originate from. I got a little history lesson the other day which explained the dark truth behind some of these popular figures of speech…” (Read more)

From Web 2.0:

“Digital Blasphemy is by far one of the best places on the web to find incredible pc wallpapers. Ryan Bliss has made a career of creating digital desktop backgrounds that are simply amazing. He is also quite the generous type and offers a few of his digital artworks for free. I have collected several of these over the years and wanted to share my top 10 with anyone who appreciates such talent…”
(Read more)

Photofunia“There are some great digital photography websites out there that allow you to do some wondrous things with your own (possibly dull) collection of pics. Such sites also make you look really smart when your family and friends don’t know about them and ask, “how in the name of Luke Skywalker did you make your facebook profile pic like that!?”
(Read more)

“If you feel that you missed out on an opportunity to be pasted in your fellow matriculants’ yearbooks and be remembered forever, you can now do it online. With a little imagination and creativity, you could digitally create an entire yearbook of all your former classmates, whether you matriculated in the ’50s or the ’90s…” (Read more)

From Happy Friday:

“The video “Where the Hell is Matt?” has seen over 21 million views to date, so you’re likely to have seen it before, but if you haven’t, you should give it a watch. It takes you to a place of magic and joy and wonder – a place where all the bad in the world is forgotten for 4mins 29secs. It is one of the most viewed viral videos of its time and one of my top dancing videos…” (Read more)

chip-n-dale“There are no cartoons better than the hand-crafted animations of the 80s, which make today’s cartoons look rather crappy by comparison. The following make me slip into a nostalgic state and give me the urge to run around the garden naked climbing trees again. What? That’s not weird. It’s called my “inner-child” – eveyone has it… don’t they?” (Read more)

“Here you’ll find a collection of humorous and memorable South African Facebook statuses I’ve come across over the past two weeks to illustrate my point that South Africans are pretty, funny people…” (Read more)

From Online tips & tricks:

“The video-web is an exciting place to be involved in these days, particularly because it is constantly evolving and simply brimming with potential. If you have untapped creative juices, or any original video-related ideas, there is nothing stopping you from making a contribution to the growing videosphere…” (Read more)

blogging 101“If the idea of blogging excites you, there is nothing preventing you from starting one today. There are several ways to go about this, but in the spirit of keeping things simple, there are two blogging sites I would recommend…”
(Read more)

“… here’s a much more controversial-friendly, and very easy way to learn the SA anthem if you don’t know it already. You’ll see that it’s as easy as ABC” (Read more)

From Gadgets & tech:

“Specifically since the introduction of Windows XP to Japan, more and more consumers have been taking their laptops and electronic devices to Shinto priests to be blessed against system crashes and technical failures…” (Read more)

“Our traffic nightmares may soon come to an end thanks to an invention known as the Shweeb. And this is not just some fancy new swear word, but the world’s first human-powered monorail” (Read more)

“I wrote a hand-written letter the other day and found that my hand-writing looked like barbed wire. I realised that it had been a good while since I had used any hand-writing skills due to my increasing reliance on typing everything. It seems obvious to me that the archaic technology of hand-writing is being slowly killed by digital technologies. Yet just when the patriotic hand-writers thought things couldn’t get worse, society unleashed something called “digital paper” or iPaper…” (Read more)

Reviews:

“The gaming chair came in attachable parts with a set of tools, a spider diagram, some Chinese instructions, and a note of encouragement. I half expected to find a small key, some coded message, a strange map and an enchan­ted ring” (Read more)

Aibo“I’ve been thinking of getting a puppy; one that’s potty-trained. Or perhaps a streetwise cat that can take care of itself. The thought that I could never find the time to raise a pup made me consider robot pets. Several of these can learn skills and tricks, recognise faces, voices, and colour; but they won’t pee on your carpet…” (Read more)

“Twisp is not a real cigarette, but a personal and portable vapouriser, that uses micro-electronics and a lithium polymer cell to evaporate nicotine in ‘smoke’ from a replaceable cartridge. The vapour does not smell nor does it contain tar, carcinogens or smoke particulate found in first and second- hand cigarette smoke, but it feels, tastes and looks just like the real thing…” (Read more)

Gaming & virtual reality

“It has been said that Wannado has redefined child entertainment by simulating a dream world where children are encouraged to take on and experience one or several adult professions. It features 60 Real-play venues and over 120 career possibilities – ranging from archaeologists, doctors, attorneys and TV hosts to fashion models, pizza makers, DJs and clowns…” (Read more) 

VisionDome 5“As computer-processing power increases and even more realistic graphics are developed, the simulated environments produced by virtual reality systems will become even more believable than some already are. At the cutting edge of vitual reality is the VisionDome…” (Read more)

“Known as the godfather of modern videogame systems, the Atari 2600 (originally called the Atari VCS) helped spawn a multi-billion dollar gaming industry. Released in 1977, the Atari 2600 was the first successful console to use game cartridges and its influence can still be felt today in the Xbox, PlayStation, and GameCube…”
(Read more)

Cellphones & cellular technology:

“The Samsung Jet has opened up a whole new world of mobile web browsing with its high performance Dolfin web browser and revolutionary 3D cubic interface, allowing super-fast surfing. The device also supports the option of multi-window browsing – allowing one to surf up to five pages simultaneously…” (Read more)

iphone art“Some of the latest hype arriving in the wake of the new iPhone 3G S is an Apple application for the device called Brushes, which allows users to do more than just doodle on their iPhones. The images are “painted” freehand, using fingers and thumbs…” (Read more)

“The Health Concept Phone (pictured) is equipped with eNose technology, which effectively allows it to electronically “smell” what you eat and keep track of your food intake. It is able to ‘recognise’ food (and other things) by its unique chemical signature. Recommended for people who have a habit of eating with their eyes closed. Similar phones have the ability to emit a whiff of your significant other’s scent every time he or she phones…” (Read more)

Top videos:

  1. Cars in the Park
  2. Magna Carta live + interview
  3. White Mountain Folk Festival
  4. Blogtube: Proudly South African
  5. Splashy Fen: The 20th Big Splash!
  6. Miss nude Australia – Arianna Starr

Related post: Welcome and enjoy your stay

Digital Blasphemy wallpapers

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DB: Because everyone loves a cool desktop background

Digital Blasphemy is by far one of the best places on the web to find incredible pc wallpapers. Ryan Bliss has made a career of creating digital desktop backgrounds that are simply amazing. He is also quite the generous type and offers a few of his digital artworks for free. I have collected several of these over the years and wanted to share my top 10 with anyone who appreciates such talent. You can read more about Digital Blasphemy here.

Ice Man

Ice Man

Sunset Forest

Sunset Forest

Swamped

Swamped

Neon Anenomy

Neon Anenomy

Cloud Canyon

Cloud Canyon

Solitude

Solitude

Desert Snow

Desert Snow

November Snow

November Snow

Paradise Island

Paradise Island

Antartica

Antartica

That’s www.digitalblasphemy.com

Top 9 stops on the web

There’s been a lot of talk on the interweb about elitism and how a few have come to dominate the web space and dictate what counts as interesting or useful or not. To this end, less ‘web-optimization-orientated’ individuals who are trying to compete in the cyber-games are often shot down for offering old news or something that ‘everyone’ has already seen or heard of.

Well I take a more humble approach. I specifically write my blog with the ‘un-savvy’ reader in mind. I try to offer well-informed readers something interesting and new but write in a way that any newbies would be able to appreciate and understand. It’s all about sharing knowledge and appreciating people’s efforts for trying.

So with that out of the way here are my top nine things to do on the web! Whether they be new or old to you, I’m sure you’ll at least find something to amuse or entertain yourself with. (In alphabetical order they are):

1. Abandon Games
As an avid gamer (and history lover) I’m a firm believer of being familiar with the past in order to fully appreciate the present. Abandongames.com offers a collection of golden oldies that are no longer sold on the shelves. I like to refer to these as the kind of Games Grandpa Used to Play and are available for free download. You can read reviews of some of my top ones here. Ahhh the nostalgia…

Two other great games (which you can play for free online and kill some time) are table tennis and what I simply call the bunny game. The latter really does wonders for one’s peace of mind with some good soothing music and an indestructible fluffy bunny rabbit.

2. Blogs (Afrigator, Regator, Amatomu & Technorati)
With a multitude of blogs available on the web it becomes tedious trying to find interesting and exciting ones to read. There are several blog aggregators around that try and simplify this process by providing categories and lists of top blogs, top posts, or popular reads by calculating their popularity based on the amount of traffic they receive.

Amatomu attempts to provide the above by tracking South African blogs, Afrigator: African blogs, and Technorati: blogs from around the world. Regator attempts to take this a step further by cordially inviting blogs that are nominated as being the best on the web to feature on their site. It all depends on what you’re interested in, but here’s a list of 15 well-written blogs to get you started.

3. Digital Blasphemy
The ultimate place to go for artsy wallpapers, digitalblasphemy.com offers original hi-res 3D-rendered desktop wallpapers, as well as links to some of the best computer art sites on the web. Created by Ryan Bliss – a self-taught 3D artist, digital blasphemy has a free gallery for non-members to download some incredible digital artwork with no strings attached. You can read more about it here. Digital Bliss! 😀

4. Muti
Muti.co.za has got to be the top place to go if you’re looking for something new and interesting on the web without having to do any browsing. Dominated by a few web-savvy users, muti allows registered users to post links to anything they have found interesting/ inspiring/ controversial on the web and comment on each others posts. Things are made even simpler by letting users vote for posts – thus making it easier for visitors to get an idea of what is generally thought to be worth reading/viewing on the web. Often generates some stimulating conversation too.

5. Peegly
A good way to vent your anger or simply get something off your chest: peegly.com is an entirely anonymous service that requires no registration and lets you speak your mind or share a story relating to love, fear, sins, hatred or anything really. Readers can then vote and comment on the sentiments of others or just read a few to perhaps realise that your life isn’t that crappy after all. A good opportunity to play Dr Ruth and help out a few complete strangers.

6. Questionable Content
Web comics can be a great stress reliever and very therapeutic when having a rough day at the office. There are some really great ones available, but my favourite of them all has to be questionablecontent.net. It follows the life of an emo, indie lad named Martin and his anthro PC Pintsize, and makes use of clever humour and really talented drawings. A good story about nice guys getting ahead in life. Takes a little while to develop.

Another site (which has sadly gone dormant) but has a collection of brilliant comics with intellectual humour is the Perry Bible Fellowship. Highly recommended for a good, full-hearted laugh.

7. The video-web: local is lekker
YouTube may dominate the market when it comes to web-videos, but myvideo.co.za offers a great range of content for video fans. It is basically the South African equivalent of YouTube but with far less traffic and content to sift through, making it more user-friendly in my opinion. The majority of the videos available are proudly South African and it’s great to see how much talent South African video-makers have in this department.

8. Ultimate Guitar
For guitarists (amateur and professional); ultimate-guitar.com offers guitar chords and tablature for just about any song you can think of that’s played with six strings. Maintained by guitarists who have figured out the tunes of their favourite jams, users are able to vote for their top versions of different songs (as there is always more than one way to play a song), and download the tabs of the ones they wish to learn.

9. Zoopy
Your ultimate social media site: zoopy.com is rapidly growing in popularity and offers blog posts, videos, podcasts and an array of photographs. Users get a chance to vote for content they enjoy, post comments, and share their collections with others. It has a great local flavour and has recently optimized its data handling – making uploading and viewing content faster than ever before. A great example of the awesomeness that is South African social media.

PS: I was going to create a top 10 list but found that I couldn’t actually think of a 10th site I visit often (besides the obvious – e.g. facebook, gmail etc). I’m hoping this will encourage the web gurus out there to create their own lists. Otherwise please add links to any great sites you can think of below and lets all share in the wonders of the www!

Related posts:
Digital Blasphemy
Games Grandpa Used to Play
The video-web: local is lekker

Digital Blasphemy

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DIGITAL BLASPHEMY: Digital wallpapers to blow your socks off

IF you’re a fan of fantasy and an appreciator of digital art, then there is something you need to see. Images that allow you to immerse yourself and get lost in a fantasy place where all the worries in this world are forgotten (if only for a short while) are at your fingertips.

For those who don’t know: Over the course of the last 13 years Ryan Bliss, a self-taught 3D artist, has created the most incredible digital artwork.

His website www.digitalblasphemy.com, which began in 1997, offers original hi-res 3D-rendered desktop wallpapers, as well as links to some of the best computer art sites on the web.

Updated fairly regularly, it currently features over 650 images (including Widescreen, Dual-Monitor, and Triple-Monitor versions of some wallpapers), iPhone wallpapers, Pocket PC themes, and PSP wallpapers.

“Glowing Shrooms”

Digital Blasphemy

Glowing shrooms

Members are able to download new wallpapers once created and have unrestricted access to the entire collection of 3D wallpapers, which can be downloaded after paying a membership fee ($99 for a life-time membership).

There is also a free gallery available for non-members which hosts 20 wallpapers that can be downloaded free of charge.

To date, over 180 mobile wallpapers have also been posted inside the Members Gallery, which have been pre-formatted to fit Blackberry and other mobile handsets.

Apart from 3D wallpapers, other products available are full-sized posters, T-shirts, and digital blasphemy mouse pads.

The desktop wallpapers are designed large and look their best at the maximum comfortable resolution on any PC. They are designed to look decent at 1024 x 768 resolution but can be scaled down to suit any desktop resolution setting.

Digital Blasphemy is by far the best digital art website that I have come across on the web. Unfortunately, the steep exchange rate between the US dollar and South African Rand prevents me from signing up as member.

However, if you’re in the same pickle jar as myself, yet would still like to keep up to date with new blissful creations at Digital Blasphemy, there is a Facebook group available where all are welcome!

***Check out these top 10 Digital Blasphemy wallpapers***

Links: • Digital Blasphemy Interview with Ryan Bliss (2001)