FAA Proposes Major Restrictions on Commercial Drone Usage
If you haven't watched any episodes from this season of South Park, I highly recommend doing so. South Park has always been a bastion of consistently entertaining satire, but the quality has elevated even more this season with well-thought out social commentary on topics such as the gender binary, existentialism, and privacy. It's this last theme that brings the rest of this article full circle. As South Park is wont to do, they poked fun at UAVs (re: unmanned aerial vehicles or drones) in relation to privacy, voyeurism, and self-policing. Beyond the humor and entertainment of the episode, it did pose a question over whether or not personal drone use is as safe for those being captured by video without their consent.
Recently, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) suggested their proposal to regulate drone usage with limitations and restrictions. Namely, they want to require valid pilot's licenses for commercial drone users, or those who intend on making a profit from the footage their drones capture. Other regulations include only allowing drone usage during the day, stay under 400 feet in altitude, and ensuring drones are always in sight of their users for all drones weighing 55 pounds or less.
The FAA plans on making an official proposal by the end of the year, but is keen on input and suggestions to help formulate an ideal decision that would make sense for both consumers and their agency. Again, it should be noted that the regulations would apply to commercial use of drones only, but where is the line drawn between commercial and private use? How will that be tracked and regulated? I'm sure answers to these questions and many others will be clarified over the ensuing months when the proposal is made public.
[via Engadget]
[RH Photos] Jeezy at Stubb's (11/20/2014)
Photos by Tami Weis. Review by Diego Montes.
Back when Jeezy was still Young Jeezy, I remember hearing his song with Akon for the first time and thinking, "I'm not feelin' this shit at all. I bet it's gonna be a huge hit." I had no idea how popular he'd get in strip clubs, or that all these years later, the dude would still be around to tell haters like me to fuck off in person. That's exactly what happened Thursday night at Stubbs.
"Ten years. That's a decade my nigga," was more or less the theme of the night, and by the ninth or tenth time he said so, I realized you do have to hand it to him on two points. First, ten years is a decade, he was adamant about that. Second, he has had real staying power, at least enough that it made sense to drop the Young from his name, a move that most Young rappers don't rap long enough to make.
Of course, every rapper claims to be the best, and Jeezy is no different. He's not the best, but he is pretty good at what he does and seems to know what his fans want. Even with threats of rain at an outdoor venue, Jeezy was able to draw a decent-sized crowd with a wide range of people, and those that did show were giving a lot of energy. I only saw one guy make it rain, which was a little disappointing, but since I wasn't about to step up myself I figured I couldn't complain. Jeezy certainly didn't seem disappointed, repeatedly commenting on the crowd's hype and genuinely giving love to all parts of Texas.
There were a lot of people having fun, so it was easy to join in, and that seems to be what Jeezy wanted his shows to be about. He even closed the show with a motivational speech about keeping good people around you or some shit. Honestly, I tend to have an opposite reaction to motivation, so I mostly tuned that out, but I liked that he did that because it's good for some people.
Whatever else you may think of him, don't ever say Jeezy doesn't care.
The Weekly Swarm: 11/17 - 11/23
Happy early Thanksgiving, friends and family. Given the holiday week, we might be a bit more sporadic than usual with our updates over the next few days. However, we'll hit the ground running come December to make up for it! For now, revisit last week's content below, which included Virgil's personal photos from this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest, an op/ed on the media's role in Charles Manson's upcoming marriage, a look at a vigilante photographer documenting Chicago crime scenes on social media, trailers for some upcoming films and documentaries, and more below!
[Through My Lens] Fun Weekend
Problems That Fix Themselves' Release Show Recap (11/15/2014)
Did We Help Charles Manson Find Love?
Chicago Man's Crime Scene Photos Document City's Violence
[Trailer] Drug Lord: The Legend of Shorty
First Images of The Peanuts Movie
[Trailer] The Peanuts Movie
[Trailer] Amira & Sam
[Weekly Netflix Fix] The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Sony Drops Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs Film, Universal Might Pick It Up
[Trailer] The Sheik
16th Century-Imagined Superheroes by Photographer Sacha Goldberger
[Through My Lens] Fun Weekend
Chicago Man's Crime Scene Photos Document City's Violence
[Through My Lens] Fun Weekend
In this edition of Through My Lens, I take on a Fun Weekend during Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 in Austin, TX.
After years of shooting concerts and festivals with two DSLRs, three lenses, multiple batteries, and other accessories, I was looking forward to trying out a mirrorless system. I've been researching different mirrorless systems (Panasonic and Fuji, among others) for about a year now, but have yet to make the jump. After watching a video of photographer Jason Lanier talking about his 10 reasons why he left his Nikon system for a Sony mirrorless system and boasting about how great these smaller cameras were, I wanted to try it out for myself.
For Fun Fun Fun Fest, I rented a Sony a6000 from Borrow Lenses with a 16mm f/2.8 and a 10-18mm f/4 wide angle lens. For insurance's sake, I took my Canon 7D with a Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 lens to the Fest. I pretty much kept the a6000 around my neck the whole weekend. I only really brought my 7D out when shooting artists live, but even then, the a6000 was great to shoot with. After shooting with the Sony a6000 all weekend, I can safely say I love this little camera. It gave me the freedom I was looking for to shoot street photography that my mobile doesn't give me. The WiFi technology made it seamless to take a shot, send it to my phone, edit, and post on social media.
Below are a bunch of photos I shot from the whole weekend, mostly from the Sony a6000 and a few with my Canon 7D.
16th Century-Imagined Superheroes by Photographer Sacha Goldberger
Photos by Sacha Goldberger
In the last few decades, we've seen superheroes be transformed and remade continually, but until now, we've never quite seen them like this. Photographer Sacha Goldberger has created a series of 16th Century-looking superheroes at a special art exhibition in Paris titled "Super Flemish". Through a compilation of make up artistry, design, and lighting, each character is photographed to look like an Elizabethan-era painted portrait, and it's as realistic as you can get.
To name a few, the portraits include characters from DC, Marvel, and Star Wars, and it took an entire crew to portray each one. Outside of the hair and makeup artists, casting directors were even hired to book models that closely resembled the Hollywood actors that played each superhero in recent films. The detail-oriented project proved to be a success, and they are all creatively entertaining.
Take a look at the following portraits, and find more of Goldberger's full portfolio here and on his Facebook page.
[Via ComicBook.com]
The Weekly Swarm: 11/10 - 11/16
Last week, President Obama publicly showed support for net neutrality, Kim Kardashian attempted to break the internet, Evil Dead is returning as a TV series, Sony is entering the TV streaming business, and we shared recaps of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 and Antarctigo Vespucci's recent Chicago show. Read all of this and more below!
President Obama Wants to Reclassify the Internet as a Utility
[RH Photos] Antarctigo Vespucci at Beat Kitchen (11/8/2014)
Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 Recap
Did Kim Kardashian Actually #BreakTheInternet? (NSFW)
[Trailer 2] Exodus: Gods and Kings
Evil Dead to Return as Starz TV Series
[Trailer] Manny
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Ho-Hum November Update
PlayStation Vue is Sony's Venture into Cloud-Based TV Streaming
[RH Photos] Antarctigo Vespucci at Beat Kitchen (11/8/2014)
Did Kim Kardashian Actually #BreakTheInternet? (NSFW)
Kim Kardashian's claim to fame was the infamous 2007 leak of her sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray J. There's no escaping the fact. The fall of 2007 found Kardashian and her family make their reality TV debut on E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The rest, they say, is history. In the seven years that have followed, Kardashian has faced criticism over being "famous for being famous," a long line of fashion endorsements, an ill-received marriage (and whirlwind divorce) to NBA player Kris Humphries, a few forgettable film roles, and marriage to your favorite rapper's favorite rapper, Kanye West. As is the norm in pop culture these days, celebrities are shoved down our throats in grocery store tabloids, gossip sites, and social media.
By now, everybody is aware of Paper's tantalizing photo spread and fluff piece on the most famous Kardashian. I have no real criticism with writer Amanda Fortini's expose on Kim beyond its "written just to be written" subject matter. However, in the 24-hour timetable from Kardashian's mooning of the internet to the full article and photo spread release, was the internet actually broken?
If there's anything that will get people talking, it's sex. And for that, well done Paper. Instead of creating some interesting, creative, and compelling content, you paired up with one of pop culture's most powerful female figures (for better or worse), paired her with an unbelievably talented photographer in Jean-Paul Goude, and worked to the lowest common denominator to boost site traffic, increase sales for a physical magazine in the wake of print's dying culture, and get people talking.
But what's more important? Becoming a trending topic or actually breaking the internet with something worthwhile of being considered "groundbreaking"? I understand the importance of embracing pop culture and entertainment when running a media outlet - obviously - and I understand how celebrity can make or break an outlet's popularity and sheer survival in a wide-open internet where we're all competing for hits, Twitter mentions, and Facebook likes. But with articles like Paper's "No Filter: An Afternoon with Kim Kardashian," where's the substance? As Kim joked herself on Twitter, "Because we know you came just [to] read the article..." she understands and acknowledges just how empty the article really was.
So here we are now, with pro-Kim crowds embracing how her Mom boobs really did #BreakTheInternet and anti-Kim crowds calling for people to #FixTheInternet. For a pop culture entity who has tried (and succeeded... at times) to legitimize herself since the sex tape, what do these photos ultimately say about Kim Kardashian, the person and the brand? Is she fully realizing who she is and accepting that which propelled her to stardom in the first place? Or is all of this an attempt to stay relevant before her relevancy runs the risk of fading?
It's too early to tell. And ultimately, what does it matter in the end? You're all here just to "read the article" anyways, right?
[RH Photos] Antarctigo Vespucci at Beat Kitchen (11/8/2014)
Photos by Geoff Henao.
Antarctigo Vespucci is the love child made between Jeff Rosenstock (ex-Bomb the Music Industry!, Arrogant Sons of Bitches) and Chris Farren (Fake Problems) following a recording session this past spring. Initially envisioned as a one-off project, the duo's style of power-pop caught fire, propelling the duo to embark on a tour that featured a stop at Chicago's Beat Kitchen this past Saturday. Their debut EP, Soulmate Stuff, instantly grabbed me with its infectious, energetic sound and insightful lyrics about breakups, death, and disdain for hometowns - the type of lyrics that are just as attractive at 27 as they were at 17. Just ahead of their first tour, the duo released a surprise EP on Halloween, I'm So Tethered, which picks up exactly where Soulmate Stuff ended with even more powerful pop songs. I dare you to listen to songs like "I'm Giving Up On U2," "Come to Brazil," and "Guest List Spots" without wanting to sing along.
Enjoy the photos and video of "Bang!" I took below. If you haven't already, download (or better yet, donate some money!) Antarctigo Vespucci's two EPs, Soulmate Stuff and I'm So Tethered.
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