If Leonardo da Vinci tinkered the way George Lucas does…

In the weeks since we’ve learned that George Lucas has tinkered with “Star Wars” yet again, this time for the Blu-ray release, the nerds have been livid.

I realize many of my non-“Star Wars” friends might not be able to appreciate what this means, so I decided to put it in terms you might understand.

I decided to show it terms of what it would be like if Leonardo da Vinci decided to mess with “The Last Supper” after it had been critically acclaimed and beloved for years.

Here we have the original version of “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci. In our example, this functions as the stand-in for the original “Star Wars” trilogy. In a word, a masterpiece.

If da Vinci did to 'The Last Supper' what George Lucas has done to 'Star Wars'

————

In 1997, George Lucas re-released the trilogy with changes. Some of them were CGI changes to certain scenes. They were changes that were so nuanced that you’d have to look at the original and new version side by side to notice the differences. But there were two main changes:

1. In “Star Wars,” when Han Solo encounters Greedo and shoots him, the scene was changed to have Greedo shoot first and have Han fire a defense shot. Before, Han shot and killed him just because he was done with Greedo’s nonsense. But in the new version, it was an act of self defense. This angers the geeks to no end.

2. In “Return of The Jedi,” Lucas added a musical number to the scene in Jabba’s palace. It involves monsters singing and dancing as if it’s a Muppet show. That is what irks me.

So, these changes are akin what it would be like if da Vinci decided he wanted to horizontally flip “The Last Supper” and add in some of the canines from the “Dogs Playing Poker” painting.

If da Vinci did to 'The Last Supper' what George Lucas has done to 'Star Wars'

————

Around the time “Stars Wars: Episode III —- Revenge of The Sith” was released, Lucas tweaked with the original trilogy again. This time, he changed the end of “Return of The Jedi” to use imagery of the new Anakin Skywalker, replacing the original footage.

To me, this akin to da Vinci saying, “OK, now I’m going to add Urkel from ‘Family Matters.'”

If da Vinci did to 'The Last Supper' what George Lucas has done to 'Star Wars'


————

Then we found out that the Blu-ray versions would have even more changes, which was like adding a PhotoShop filter to something he’d already tinkered with a bunch of times.

If da Vinci did to 'The Last Supper' what George Lucas has done to 'Star Wars'

————

And when we learned what those changes would be, it was even worse.

If da Vinci did to 'The Last Supper' what George Lucas has done to 'Star Wars'

————

It would be like your mom deciding that your favorite meal she prepared was still not good enough, so he had to change it. She’d add thumbtacks, staples and manure until it was “just right.”

That’s what you’ve done to us, George Lucas. You’ve added manure to our favorite dish.

More great work from The Florida Times-Union, Kyle Bentle

As I mentioned in Sunday’s post, Florida Times-Union graphic artist Kyle Bentle worked on some illustrations for the 9/11 coverage on Jacksonville.com. He did some great illustrations that appeared in the background of the main page:

Kyle Bentle, Florida Times-Union, 9/11

On Monday, Kyle posted JPGs of how those illustrations ran in the paper.

Here’s a few of those illustrations:

For Matt Soergel’s story about children coming of age since Sept. 11…

Kyle Bentle, Florida Times-Union, 9/11

————

For Jeff Brumley’s story about changing perceptions of Muslims…

Kyle Bentle, Florida Times-Union, 9/11

————

For Jeremy Cox’s story about patriotism…

Kyle Bentle, Florida Times-Union, 9/11

————

These are just some of the illustrations Kyle did for The Florida Times-Union’s 9/11 coverage. To see all of them, including how they played on the overall pages, go here.

To see more of Kyle’s portfolio, go here.

To see more of my pontifications about Kyle Bentle’s awesomeness, go here.

RELATED:
Great 9/11 work from Jacksonville.com, The Florida-Times Union

Great 9/11 work from Jacksonville.com, The Florida-Times Union

This week has had a lot of good coverage of the anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Charles Apple has had updates almost every day, showing some of the fine work newspapers and their websites have done in anticipation of today’s milestone. He wrote about The Boston Globe’s coverage on Wednesday.

My former paper, The Florida Times-Union, has also been busy with its coverage. They’ve done a lot of things, and I won’t mention all of it today, but it’s been good.

What I want to point out is the great web presence for the 9/11 packages. Check out the main page for the Times-Union’s coverage:

Florida Times-Union 9/11 coverage

See those cool illustrations in the background? Those are from Kyle Bentle.

At the bottom is a neat timeline:

Florida Times-Union 9/11 coverage

There’s also a piece called, “The Fallen,” looking at the servicemen, servicewomen and civilian contractors with ties to Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia have died.

Florida Times-Union 9/11 coverage

Tracy Jones and Kate Howard worked on “The Fallen” and the timeline at the bottom. Kate says,

The goal of each: to be as comprehensive as possible about the impact of 9/11 locally, in the context of how our country has changed. Both pieces were part of the larger project we called “Since 9/11,” which included 8 days of stories and a user project asking readers to share their stories. That generated more than a hundred reader-submitted memories.

As you can imagine, this project was no small task. They worked on it off and on for about two months.

Tracy writes:

For the military piece, we tasked ourselves with finding any member of any branch of the military who died since 9/11. Our criteria was they had to be currently enlisted (including reserves). Some died in combat, others in accidents and some suicides, but the last thing we wanted to do was forget anybody.

Gathering the list was a task. Kate and I went to our memorial wall, but found there were errors there. We made many phone calls to families, branches and other sources, and we were able to track down information on all of the soldiers, which turned out to be 108 of them. Finding the photos wasn’t too easy either, because none of the military branches keep the photos on file, we basically had to dig for each one we didn’t have in our system.

To organize all the information, we kept an excel doc, which was later imported into a script that generated the information boxes for each soldier.

The photos are based on a jpeg we created of all the faces. We made one in black and white and also in color so it would change when their faces were clicked on.

Again, I urge you to check out the main page for the Times-Union’s coverage. I’m proud of my friends and former colleagues. If there’s any T-U work I missed, send it my way and I’ll post it.

Ben Folds, “Rockin’ The Suburbs” and the visceral pain of memory

You can hear a soft but undeniable thud in the first second of “Annie Waits,” the opening track to Ben Folds’ album, “Rockin’ The Suburbs.” That first second and the entire album that followed set the tone for how I would remember the day on which that album was released.

September 11, 2001.

Ben Folds' first solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs

It seems silly and almost blasphemous to mark the anniversary of that album’s release when today has a much more momentous and globally profound anniversary. But for me and for at least a few other people, that album became our cave for months after 9/11. We were 19 and 20, scared of the future, judgmental of our pasts and unsure of the present. That basically describes a lot of my twenties, and particularly my college days. Discovering Ben Folds was rather serendipitous, because he was the patron saint of being scared of the future, judgmental of his own past and unsure of the present. Songs about crazy girlfriends, growing up, suburban nerds and fired journalists would appealed to us, a dorm full of suburban nerds with crazy girlfriends during a time when J-school seemed daunting. And when you consider that the whole album’s theme could be summed up as “musings about growing up and dealing with the pains of impending adulthood,” it seemed fitting for us to discover the album when we did.

Christmas came and with it, New Year’s Day. The visceral reaction to that day was replaced with an abstract “What does it all mean?” perspective, which involved less crying. My friends and I continued our sequences at The University of Missouri School of Journalism, and quicker than we knew it, we were working on projects for the first anniversary of Sept. 11.

And all the while, we were listening to Ben Folds. I saw him live in concert four times between September 2001 and November 2002. My friend Josh saw him at least five times during that same time.

I didn’t realize until now, but my streak of seeing Ben Folds live ended around the first anniversary of 9/11. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Maybe that album was tied too closely to a period that hurt too much for me to revisit on a regular basis. Which is a shame, because that album has some great songs. Of course, one of those songs is about a journalist getting unceremoniously laid off, and that, too, is not something I want to think of on a daily basis.

When it comes to music and Sept. 11, I don’t want to return to that day. I’d rather listen to Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and return to the summer after 9/11. Springsteen’s album, and particularly the title track, provided a hopeful release for the emotions. If music has to take me back to 9/11 memories, I’d prefer it take me to Sept. 11, 2002.

With “The Rising” and other music inspired by 9/11, I can prep myself and think of it philosophically. I’ve been inundated by enough images, sound bites and musings about that day that I’ve been so overwhelmed that I can’t muster up a reaction.

Memory is a visceral thing. It has its own senses: its own smells, its own tastes, its own sounds. Try as I might to numb myself to certain memories, it is those smells, tastes and sounds that triumph, taking me back in time. Sometimes taking me to places I don’t want to go.

But if I go to the actual music of that day, I go back to the sounds, tastes and memories I don’t want to remember. I can try to suppress thoughts, but smells and sounds are stronger than that. And in the case of Ben Folds, he takes me back to a time before I learned how to suppress things.

RELATED: 9/11 in pop culture

How to donate beer to the Society for News Design silent auction in STL

The Society for News Design is collecting items for the SND Foundation silent auction. To learn more about that, check out Things you can donate to the Society for News Design silent auction in STL. One of the things they’re looking for is a golconda of beer. Know a good beer that you can’t get in St. Louis? Ship it to the auction.

They have a good start but need your help by Sept. 10th. So, you’ve got this week, folks.

Here’s what to do:

————

1. Identify a microbrew you like

It can be a beer from a micro-brewery down the street, or a place you found on vacation.

————

2. Get 6-packs of said beer

Some microbreweries will let you buy 6-packs online.

————

3. Send your beer to St. Louis!

Send to:

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Attn: Laura Black, Newsroom

900 N. Tucker Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63101

————

4. Tell your buddies

Talk up your beer donation to your friends when perusing the auction. Tell them it’s made with unicorn tears.

————
The Society for News Design is seeking any support from SND members, their publications and friends to provide donations. All money raised goes to supporting the Foundation’s work helping educate and inspire future generations of visual journalists, from research to travel grants and scholarships.

RELATED

Things you can donate to the Society for News Design silent auction in STL

SND STL

The Society for News Design

Things you can donate to the Society for News Design silent auction in STL

The Society for News Design’s convention and workshop in St. Louis is less than four weeks away. SND is collecting items for the SND Foundation silent auction and looking for any support from SND members, their publications and friends to provide donations. All money raised goes to supporting the Foundation’s work helping educate and inspire future generations of visual journalists, from research to travel grants and scholarships.

They have a good start but need your help by Sept. 10th. So, you’ve got this week, folks.

Here are some things you can donate:

———

Micro-brewed beers from all over the world

Send us six-packs of the best micro-brews you know, whether they come from your neck of the woods or someplace else you’ve liked. More information on that here.

———

Gift certificates

We’ll take gift cards and certificates to any businesses or services that are nationally available.

———

Unique design, crafts, photos, pages, prints or artwork

This, of course, includes historic newspaper pages. Framed, ideally.

———

Travel packages

Have a time share? A weekend get-away nearby? Donate it!

———

Local flair

Pull together a package of your local favorite items. See if you can beat Steve Dorsey’s “Detroit Hustles Harder” package from last year. If we get a flair package from Salina, Kan., I will donate $100. Even if I don’t win the bid. The onus is on you, Kansans.

———

Sports or collectable paraphernalia

We especially love signed work.

———

Consulting or creative service time

Looking to get your name “out there”? This could be a good marketing opportunity for you.

———

Software or hardware

iPads are always welcome!

———

RELATED

How to donate beer to the Society for News Design silent auction in STL

SND STL

The Society for News Design

Fred Taylor: A class act to the very end

Running back Fred Taylor, who played 11 seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars and two years with the New England Patriots, is retiring today. From The Boston Globe:

Today, Fred Taylor will sign a ceremonial one-day contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team which drafted him eighth overall in 1998, and then he will announce his retirement from the NFL after 13 seasons and 11,695 yards, which is 15th most all-time.

I feel a special connection to Fred Taylor. Not just because he played for the Jaguars when I worked in Jacksonville, or because he also left Jacksonville to come to Boston. But because I met the man, and he was really humble and earnest.

Four years ago, Taylor joined an elite group of players who’ve rushed at least 10,000 yards. At the time, he was one of only two active players in that list of 20 players.

Not too shabby, Fred.

As that milestone was coming, the staff at The Florida Times-Union began thinking of how to cover it. AME for Visuals Denise M. Reagan and I talked with Sports Editor Chet Fussman and assistant sports editor Justin Hathaway about potential graphics. The more we talked, the more ideas we had.

I had remembered a Columbia Missourian graphic that converted Brad Smith’s stats into distance across Columbia. I liked that because I can find sports statistics kind of abstract. I wanted to put it in perspective for casual fans such as myself. We could have simply converted it to miles, but I thought showing it to readers in the context of their city had greater impact. I made it lighter and more whimsical to indicate this wasn’t a traditional map.

Click for a larger version:

Florida Times-Union infographic about Jacksonville Jaguar Fred Taylor Patrick Garvin

Meanwhile, we knew we wanted to do something awesome for when he finally reached 10,000 yards. Whenever that fateful game happened, we wanted a breakdown of his career ready. In the preseason, we pulled statistics and started organizing our pieces. We decided I would do a full-page, season-by-season, game-by-game chart of every yard he’d rushed in his career, color-coding the games in which he rushed 100 yards or more.

Click for a larger version:

Florida Times-Union infographic about Jacksonville Jaguar Fred Taylor Patrick Garvin

After it ran in the paper, we printed a version we could frame and give to Taylor. We went to the locker room and presented it to him. Charles Apple did a Q&A on that.

He was not what I expected a pro athlete to be. There was no cocky bravado or sense of entitlement. He was extremely gentle and humbled by his accomplishment. Other reporters have said he’s extremely friendly and down to earth.

Fred Taylor, to me, epitomizes the best of Jacksonville. He’s not the star of the team or the flashiest player, but he worked hard and did his best, despite injuries and age. He stuck with it, and when it came time to retire, he decided to do it with class.

The symbolism of signing a one-day contract with the Jaguars means a lot to fans. In the four and a half years I lived in Jacksonville, there were often fears that the team would move to another market, presumably Los Angeles. Taylor’s return to the team lets them know they are important and not forgotten, which goes a long way in Jacksonville.

To read Times-Union reporter Tania Ganguli’s piece on Fred Taylor’s retirement, go here.