Steve Jobs

Wired Magazine Remembers Steve Jobs

The Facts

Full name: Steven Paul Jobs
Birthdate: 24 February 1955
Birth location: San Francisco, California
Social background: lower middle-class. Father was fixing cars for a living.
Education: high-school certificate. Dropped out of Reed College after one semester.
Occupations: chairman & CEO at Apple Inc. + Director at The Walt Disney Company
Net worth: $5.5 billion according to Forbes' 2010 ranking — 136th richest man on Earth
Annual salary: $1

Family

Biological parents: Joanne Simpson and possibly Abdulfattah Jandali, political sciences professor from Syria
Adoptive parents: Paul and Clara Jobs, both deceased
Siblings: adoptive sister: Patti Jobs (born 1958), biological sister: Mona Simpson (born 1957)
Spouse: Laurene Powell (born 1964), married in 1991
Children: Lisa Brennan-Jobs (born 1978), with unmarried girlfriend Chris-Ann Brennan. Reed (born 1991), Erin Siena (born 1995) and Eve (born 1998) with wife Laurene.

Personal Tastes & Opinion

Political orientation: Democrat. Steve funds the Democratic Party (using his wife’s name) for each Presidential election, and he entertained the Clintons several times at his home in Palo Alto. Steve himself thought of running for the office of governor of California after he left Apple in 1985 — but gave up in the end. He knew Gov. Jerry Brown from his days at the Los Altos Zen Center in the 1970s.
Spirituality: Steve studied Zen Buddhism in his youth. He often said that he thought of becoming a monk up in a monastery in Japan instead of starting Apple, but his guru Kobun Chino convinced him otherwise. That same Zen master was a spiritual adviser at NeXT and married Steve and Laurene in Yosemite in 1991.
A lot of critics of Steve’s tough management style point out: “Imagine what he’d be like if he hadn’t studied buddhism...” This is one of Steve’s many paradoxes: how could a real Buddhist make a living out of selling gadgets to the masses?
Favorite places: We know from Steve himself and the story of his life that he loves Yosemite, in which he demanded to be married, as well as Europe in general and Paris in particular. He said to French journalists that one of his biggest pride was to see an Apple billboard next to the Louvre.
Yet his favorite place on earth is probably his home, Silicon Valley. He reportedly delights in driving on the scenic I-280, and spending hours hiking on the hills surrounding Stanford campus in Palo Alto.
Favorite music: Steve’s favorite musician is definitely Bob Dylan, whose tunes he played throughout his youth with his guitar at home. He would discuss their lyrics with his friends, such as Bill Fernandez or Woz. Some people believe he dated Joan Baez mostly because she was Dylan’s ex.
Steve also loves The Beatles and Grateful Dead, all part of the rock scene of the 1960s (thus before he came of age). He describes himself as an audiophile: after he became rich, one of the only pieces of furniture he bought was a $100,000 stereo system. It is still true today.
Favorite art: we can’t say for sure but we know that Steve loves photography. For a long time his home was only decorated with large black-and-white photographs of cultural icons such as Einstein, or the California landscape, mostly by Ansel Adams. He also had Japanese prints.

Read more about his work life here.

The Art of Regis Loisel

Visual development for Disney’s MULAN









Artwork and sketches from his comic strip series PETER PAN.




















Via Hans Bacher

Timber Timbre – "Do I Have Power" Directed by Carlos De Carvalho

Via OnAnimation

Keaton Henson - You Don't Know How Lucky You Are

Starring - Sophie Thompson

Produced and Directed by David Wilson
Written by Keaton Henson and David Wilson

Executive Producer - Tamsin Glasson

Director of Photography - Richard Stewart
1st Assistant Director - William Williamson
Styling - Laura Clayton

Edit - James Rose at Cut&Run

Focus Puller - Murren Tullet
Camera Assistant - Andy Lawrence
Grip - Daniel Levaida
Clapper Loader - Jack Johns

Colourist - Luke Morrison at The Mill

Catering and Wardrobe Assistant - Jane Wilson
Driver and Runner - Nick Wilson

Awesome

ALAN KERSWELL's "MUTANT MOMENTS"

See his awesome art blog here.

Animation Master - Sergio Pablos Interview

Sergio Pablos, former Disney animator and animation supervisor, and now director of Spa Studios, he designed the main characters of Rio and was responsible for the concept of Despicable Me.

20 Fabulous Light Graffiti Artists & Photographers

Light graffiti is uniquely short-lived and inextricably intertwined with the art of photography, sometimes even invisible to the naked eye and apparent only when captured on film. It is impermanent and its manifestations range from comical to sublime. The work of these twenty light graffiti artists spans the spectrum from humorously playful to deeply moving with everything in between.

The artists themselves, though their traces are seen in every shot, they are rarely visible in the finished work. Sometimes they or other people feature in the work but mostly what can be seen is the after-effect of their creations, a time-lapse snapshot that condenses space and time into a single beautiful moment. Each thumbnail below will connect you to additional amazing images, inside information and further links about each artist and their work. Via WebUrbanist.

Layered Light Graffiti of Mishel Churkin

Abstract Natural Light Art by Lightmark

Colorfully Personal Light Graffiti by Mloge

Blue Light Photography of Toby Keller

Complex Comedic Light Graffiti of RB

Stylized Abstract Light Photos of Rochon

Project Bombing the Graffiti Research Lab

Psychedelic Light Portraits of Chamberlain

Elegant Light Art Tracings of Illum

Creative Light Graffiti Art of MRI

Time Lapse Light Photography by Staller

Minimalist Vintage Light Graffiti by Sola

Playfully Abstract Light Art by Jaras

Highly Abstraca Light Graffiti by Tisha

Light Graffiti Self Portraits by Viernest

Simple Light Graffiti Snakes by Etchlight

Playfully Animated Light Characters by Carter

Vibrantly Heroic Light Graffiti by Beneziger

Cityscape Light Drawings by Michael Bosanko

Elegantly Playful Light Art by Lichtfactor

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Léon: The Professional - Review

Léon: The Professional is a 1994 action-thriller/love-story movie written and directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno as a mob hitman, Gary Oldman as a corrupt DEA agent, a young Natalie Portman, in her feature film debut, as a 12-year-old girl who is taken in by the hitman after her family is murdered.

It's easy to forget 17 years later this was a rather controversial movie, particularly the European cut, simply known as Leon. In fact, the European version was so risque for American test screen audiences the movie's questionable scenes were removed and the film was retitled, The Professional. The European version is clearly the better film specifically because it takes those risks. I only got to see these deleted scenes a couple years ago, and this extended/international version is what I'm reviewing here.



There's an undercurrent in this movie that is designed to make you feel a little uncomfortable and that's what separates it from the pack. Consider the elements: A 12-year-old girl's family, including her three-year-old younger brother are massacred. A hitman (or "cleaner" as he prefers) takes her in. She then enlists his help to teach her how to "clean" so that one day she too could master the art of scrubbing. He teaches her to kill, she teaches him to read and write. They play. He uses an oven mitt with a cartoon pig on it to get her to stop crying about losing her family to murder. Things get kinkier.



She dresses like Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and Gene Kelly. He dresses like John Wayne. She gets drunk at dinner. She tells him she loves him. She can feel it in the pit of her stomach, she says. It hurts. They practice killing more. At one point he confesses he may not be the best lover in the world. Because, you know, Leon isn't the most mentally mature person in the world. There is always the speck of doubt as to what he might be willing to do. This movie feels dangerous and not just because of the bullets. No matter how many times she professes her love for him, he stays... professional. He treats her like an adopted daughter, and he acts like a father to her.



Reno's performance is a kind of beautiful. Child like, maybe slightly mentally-challenged but undeniably an efficient killer and a protective father figure. He walks as if always in a rush to be somewhere though it seems for the most part, he has very little to do with his time. He looks like an immigrant and fits in perfectly in a city filled with them. He isn't so much a film buff as he is a fan of Gene Kelly movies. His "best friend" is a potted plant which he cares for diligently.



He is a killer of hundreds but he has an undeniable innocence about him. He sits before Danny Aiello like a slightly guilty son or an indentured servant eternally grateful for whatever favor Aiello granted him years ago (he shyly inquires about money rightfully owed to him and Aiello is "holding"). That's the other thing about Leon: you genuinely feel like you're dropping into a fleshed-out world. There is definitely a whole slew of Leon stories before he met Mathilda just as I'm sure there are a slew of Mathilda stories to be had in the years following the film.

Portman, meanwhile, was a revelation at the time. Creepy crushes across America developed from the geeks to the greasers. Part of it was the old soul, with a femme fatale edge. I remember seeing a publicity picture of Portman holding a gun in one hand and a stuffed bunny in the other. Picking up on this vibe perhaps, she was perfectly cast two years later in the Ted Demme movie, Beautiful Girls where even the much older Timothy Hutton fell for her a little.





Then there's Gary Oldman's performance. It's over the top and exaggerated in no uncertain terms, but I find it fits well in the style the film is developed in. Most critics didn't like it, and I'll admit, it makes no sense as to why he seems to be totally immune from consequences for killing anyone he wants, but it's an interesting portrayal none the less.



This frankness, this honesty breathes through The Professional. Even if the world the characters live in are quite unrealistic, the relationships are not. You may not like how it makes you think or feel or worry about, but it's one action film that isn't about to bullshit you either.






The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. As of January 2011, the film holds a "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an aggregate rating of 78% based on 40 critical reviews, and the consensus, "Pivoting on the unusual relationship between seasoned hitman and his 12-year-old apprentice — a breakout turn by young Natalie Portman — Luc Besson's Léon is a stylish and oddly affecting thriller". I believe the young age of the Mathilda character, and Gary Oldman's deliberately overstated portrayal of corrupt DEA officer Norman Stansfield, really divided critics' opinions.





At a modest budget of $16 million, Léon is to some extent an expansion of an idea in Besson's earlier 1990 film, La Femme Nikita. It is still a very entertaining film, not dated, visually stylish as it is graphically violent, and that's exactly what makes The Professional so fascinating. Reno (a longtime Besson collaborator with a compelling, Stallone-like face and previous experience playing a hit man in Nikita) may be working with New York natives like veteran actor Aiello and young Portman, but under Besson's tutelage, the French actor managed the cool trick of making Aiello act less New Yorkish than ever. And Portman — gravely beautiful and self-confident, with her dark hair shingled in the kind of Louise Brooks bob making the Mathilda character into an extraordinary child.

It is stylish, darkly humorous, and almost artsy in its approach to the genre. It still remains one of my personal favorites, I highly recommend it.