/srv/irclogs.ubuntu.com/2010/09/02/#ubuntu-artwork.txt

troy_sMarkDude: Hello. Who controls the default wallpaper in Ubuntu?01:17
MarkDudeidk troy_s01:19
troy_sMarkDude: Odd.01:19
troy_sMarkDude: And yet you come into the channel and ask as though someone in here has control over it.01:20
* MarkDude was asking for confirmation, that was my 1st impetus01:20
MarkDudeI dont trust OMG as a source01:21
troy_sMarkDude: Second, while _I_ may agree that the wallpaper may be disagreeable in some capacities, I'd encourage you to actually think through your thought process before you conclude that in fact _you_ perhaps have a solution.01:21
troy_sMarkDude: The wallpaper will be the wallpaper. It has been that way since 4.10.01:21
troy_sMarkDude: And finally, I'd ask you what validity and credibility _anyone_ has in Libre art and design? Once you find that person, you may wish to start paying attention to the 'teasing' or commentary. Until then, it is a blind and worthless mob chasing after blind and worthless ideals.01:22
* MarkDude has no solution here. When I asked some friends for their opinion, they suggested that maybe Ubuntu people (being used to using Ubuntu) had not SEEN Fedora's wallpaper01:22
MarkDudeIt was suggested I bring it here01:23
troy_sMarkDude: Fedora is not exactly worth comparing against as they are as backwards as any other distribution.01:23
MarkDudeagreed :)01:23
troy_sMarkDude: I'd suggest that perhaps it is a much deeper and cultural issue. That said, before one can cite a problem, it is probably worth framing exactly what it is. Otherwise we simply run around with our hands in the air screaming out OMFG.01:24
MarkDudejust the similarity01:24
troy_sMarkDude: And _that_ is difficult. At least to arrive at any sort of agreement upon (for various reasons)01:24
troy_sMarkDude: When you are looking at absolutely NOTHING - like closing your eyes - you may find similarities with EVERYTHING.01:24
MarkDudeThey look similar to *some* not all, so I brought it to the *art * people01:25
troy_sMarkDude: The point is - the chronic failure of Fedora / SUSE / and Ubuntu art, design, presence, aesthetics, experience, et al are symptomatic of the same disease.01:25
MarkDudeLook I would be willing to discuss (possibly debate) If I knew what you were saying :)01:25
troy_sMarkDude: Similar? I see nothing worth commenting on. They both exhibit a complete inept degree of ... anything. Evaluating it is worthless.01:25
troy_sMarkDude: I'm saying, move along. They are both empty of anything. Nothing to see. Literally.01:26
* MarkDude withdraws point01:26
* MarkDude agrees with you01:26
MarkDudeWishes I would have put it the way you did01:26
troy_sMarkDude: Sorry... if we were talking something that had anything to do with any emotion or technique or execution, I'd be happy to discuss it with you. But they are equally worthless. Following in a long lineage of empty MUSTNOTBECONTRASTY, MUSTBEUSABLE, MUSTFITALLICONSEVERYWHERE piles of tripe rubbish peddled for the past two generations.01:27
troy_sMarkDude: We have the aesthetic worth of amoebas.01:27
MarkDudeBTW, the other wallpapers that I saw on http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-New-Wallpapers-and-Theme-of-Ubuntu-10-10-153934.shtml are actually pretty cool01:27
MarkDudeJust one I was wondering about, wanted to ask the *source*01:28
troy_sMarkDude: And why are those 'pretty cool' ;)01:28
MarkDudeAre you the caterpillar from Through the Looking Glass?01:29
troy_sMarkDude: (Anything beyond "Well it doesn't resemble what someone would barf up after drinking too much vodka and eating a salmon souffle" would suffice.)01:29
MarkDudeCall me a simpleton, I was hoping there would be a meerkat somewhere, barring that, the others meet acceptable standards01:29
troy_sMarkDude: Ok. On animals - Mark has banished them since Intrepid. He has more or less said "someone prove me wrong" but they aren't a focus point.01:30
darkmatterhaha. got you you corrupted bastard file *burns backup*01:30
troy_sMarkDude: Problem is Mark, you have to define acceptable. _That_ has worth.01:30
troy_sMarkDude: And it is also equally challenging.01:31
* MarkDude gets it01:31
troy_sMarkDude: Dare I say, if someone actually stopped to try and define that, we'd probably all be about a decade ahead in our ability to evaluate art and design choices.01:31
MarkDudeUbuntu's biggest issue is that it has *one* stockholder01:31
troy_sMarkDude: Erm... no. That would mean that Fedora and SUSE do better, and they don't.01:31
troy_sMarkDude: They fail equally miserably with equally worthless offerings.01:31
* MarkDude disagrees there01:32
troy_sMarkDude: (And make no mistake, those are the _best_ selection of alternate wallpapers provided in Ubuntu since its inception. By a monumental leap. There are very concrete reasons that I'd stake that claim on.)01:32
darkmatterlinux" aka the shit we do to piss people of technically and make their eyes bleed aethetically \o/01:32
MarkDudeFedora picked a crappy pic for a reason01:32
MarkDudeit *tied in* with their theme01:32
troy_sMarkDude: Fedora had _one_ era of successful work. It was Diana Fong's. Fedora 5, 6, 7. SINCE that time, they have been absolutely pathetic.01:33
MarkDudeGoddard & rocket ship01:33
troy_sMarkDude: It is abject failure.01:33
MarkDudestill has a theme01:33
troy_sMarkDude: Fedora has _since_ ridden on Fong's coattails.01:33
MarkDudethat relates to the crappy picture01:33
troy_sMarkDude: Agreed. So perhaps that is 'one' part of the complex puzzle. Concept.01:33
=== Lauree__ is now known as Lauree_
MarkDudeWhat about Puppy Linux?01:33
troy_sMarkDude: What about it?01:34
MarkDudeVery simplistic style  matches their simple theme01:34
MarkDudeit works on old hardware01:34
troy_sMarkDude: Erm. Simplistic. As in 'something of low intellectual prowess'?01:35
MarkDudeart need not be complex to be Art01:35
troy_sMarkDude: Right. Design constraint. Is that relevant really? Let's take it back to green / black monochrome too. Or 16 bit displays.01:35
troy_sMarkDude: Where do you draw your line? Why?01:35
MarkDudeThe new wallpaper offends me on many levels01:35
troy_sMarkDude: Those are all hidden questions that people like to answer with a YES or a NO as a net sum answer.01:36
MarkDudein my gut01:36
troy_sMarkDude: Right. What are they?01:36
MarkDudemy artistic sensibilities01:36
troy_sMarkDude: Great. Goto 10. What are they.01:36
MarkDudeThe colors dont play well with each other01:36
troy_sMarkDude: Hrm. So a palette. So if we only had harmonious palette tones it would be fan-fscking-tastic right?01:37
troy_sMarkDude: Is the solution strictly colour theory then?01:37
MarkDudeit looks like 3 light effects >> gradient flares were colored orange01:38
MarkDudeThe balance does not follow the *thirds*01:38
MarkDudeto be balanced they should be over to the left *or* the right01:39
troy_sMarkDude: Ok. Erm... Isn't aurora borealus just a 'light effect'? I'd hope that 'light effects' _can_ be compelling in certain contexts.01:39
troy_sMarkDude: Hrm. Symmetrical?01:39
MarkDudepreferably to the right, imho01:39
troy_sMarkDude: Mirror image symmetrical?01:39
MarkDudeto have the subject not in the center01:39
MarkDudeIts not a portrait01:39
troy_sMarkDude: Ok... so Composition. Perhaps another component of this puzzle.01:39
troy_sMarkDude: (And yet all classically composed portraiture since the Renaissance has been 'off centre'... odd you feel that portraiture conjures ideas of mirror symmetry.)01:40
MarkDudefunctionally many folks type without light, that pic wont light the keyboard much either01:40
* MarkDude is not sure if you know what I mean by thirds01:41
troy_sMarkDude: Hrm... thirds.01:41
troy_sMarkDude: Surely you aren't referring to the rule of thirds.01:41
troy_sMarkDude: Which is a rough approximation of Phi aka the Golden Ratio.01:41
troy_s?01:41
troy_sMarkDude: Which ... lo and behold ... is a westernized notion stemming from the Renaissance?01:41
MarkDudeif Fedoras pic had something *almost* going for it it is that the trails01:42
troy_sMarkDude: Right. May I ask you a question?01:42
troy_sMarkDude: Why do you value your opinion over that of others?01:42
* MarkDude thinks it dates back to our primordial selves01:42
troy_sMarkDude: It doesn't.01:42
troy_sMarkDude: It's a cultural aesthetic actually.01:42
troy_sMarkDude: But nice try.01:42
MarkDudeLike that can be proved01:42
troy_sMarkDude: It can and has.01:42
darkmattercomposition is not ruled by empirical or hard set "this is how you do it" (contrary to popular beliefs)01:42
MarkDudewas the circle *invented* or discovered?01:43
darkmatterapplies to software design as well, which is why ui's fail so freaking hard01:43
troy_sdarkmatter: Strictly speaking, everything you see in today's day and age does. The Renaissance was _that_ impactful.01:43
MarkDuderational people can take both sides there01:43
troy_sMarkDude: Only if you are ethnocentric.01:44
MarkDudethe Greeks *discovered* balance01:44
troy_sMarkDude: Ugh.01:44
MarkDudeif you say invented thats fair01:44
troy_shttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/world/americas/26iht-currents.html?_r=101:44
MarkDudepossibly the Etruscans. Their records are few & far between tho :D01:45
troy_shttp://www.amazon.com/Influence-Culture-Visual-Perception/dp/067260825101:45
troy_shttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1148729201:46
troy_sGetting us back to the "Why do you value your opinion more than that of others with regards to art and design?"01:46
darkmattertroy_s: strictly speaking is apples to oranges. I know it _does_ , just saying that it _shouldn't_, as it is the end result that matters.01:47
troy_s(And no, there are no easy answers.)01:47
troy_sdarkmatter: It comes bundled with a whole bunch of things that people don't want to look at. They don't want to see. They don't want to think about.01:47
darkmattertroy_s: precisely01:48
troy_sdarkmatter: But it _does_ at least begin to explain some of the reasons why - in the end - our wallpapers are ZOMFGSUCKUGLY.01:49
troy_setc.01:49
MarkDude1st opinion of mine I brought to this channel , my opinion that the pic is similar to F1301:49
MarkDude2nd was it offends my sensibilities01:50
MarkDudemy opinion is NO more relevant than anyones01:50
MarkDudethe money behind the project has the most important opinion01:50
MarkDudecorrection 1 of the papers is lacking in my opinion01:51
MarkDudethe others are good enough01:51
MarkDudeI really like the water and branch one01:51
MarkDudeMy intent was to * ask* if others saw the similarities with F13. apparently not01:52
MarkDudetroy_s, are you into Nihilism? Just curious :)01:54
darkmattertroy_s: wallpaper et al not withstanding, in all it's epic cheesiness, at least the maverick art makes my eyes bleed a little less than the previous offerings01:54
darkmatterspeaking if. gotta burn one more backup and then I'm back on uby01:56
darkmatterof*01:56
MarkDudeI can imagine it must be hard making art under the constraints that have been laid down02:03
troy_sWait.02:04
troy_sSo the client is always right? If the client wants blinking text on a piece and it drives away the audience... I wonder about that.02:04
MarkDudeI just imagine Mark S saying *reject* it actually relates to the name of the release02:04
troy_sMarkDude: And no. I believe I have phrased and framed my concerns for the net sum reaction of "IS UGLY"02:04
MarkDudeFor the purposes of this conversation yes02:04
troy_sMarkDude: And I'd hope you can appreciate the complexity of it.02:04
MarkDudeAnd that you cant use animals02:05
MarkDudeunless it can be justified02:05
troy_sMarkDude: And he doesn't. And he paid for almost every single thing you have ever seen in Ubuntu proper.02:05
MarkDudeHe is a complex person -02:05
MarkDudevisionary *and* asshole02:05
MarkDudethe latter is what makes him so good at being a visionary\02:06
MarkDudethere are very few people in the world that could bring a project this far02:06
troy_sMarkDude: Wow. I thought we were talking about a wallpaper.02:06
troy_sMarkDude: Being strong willed doesn't exactly equate with a sensible and contemporary view on art and design complexities.02:07
* MarkDude imagines that he is having this conversation with Flea in the Big Liebowski02:07
MarkDudeare you sure you are not a Nihilist?02:07
troy_sMarkDude: Needless to say. Even if there _was_ a wonderful bastion of aesthetic thinking there... even _then_... would that do the Libre world at large as much good as say, having the culture itself develop that bastion of aesthetics?02:07
* MarkDude agrees02:08
* MarkDude is a FOSS advocate02:08
troy_sMarkDude: Egads man. Ad Hominem isn't exactly helping your case.02:08
MarkDudeIm just saying not all artists I have known are so negative02:08
MarkDudeor resigned02:08
troy_sMarkDude: If I disagree with the vast bulk of attitude and opinion being peddled around Libre culture "art" and "design" surely doesn't equate me with being a nihilist.02:09
MarkDudeYour ignoring the question was assumed as a yes02:09
troy_sMarkDude: And no. I'd also be leery of calling _anyone_ an artist until you probably looked at something they did.02:09
troy_sMarkDude: As in general, that term should be granted... not claimed.02:09
* MarkDude has partially divested himself from Libre, hence my calling myself a *FOSS* advocate02:10
troy_sMarkDude: I am just wondering exactly what one hopes to achieve. Is that fair?02:10
MarkDudeOf course02:10
troy_sMarkDude: Open Source?02:10
* MarkDude proposes that Creative Commons has more Art sense than say your average Linux user02:11
troy_sMarkDude: At any rate, that's a side debate. I am just wondering how much you think you could achieve. If I said "yes that's the default wallpaper" it likely wouldn't change much, correct?02:11
MarkDudeMight have saved the last few minutes of discussion :)02:12
MarkDudeNot that I mind it02:12
MarkDudeyou are actually decent to disagree with02:12
MarkDudeyou are pretty much fair in how you bring your point( as I try to be)02:12
* MarkDude would like to meet you at some event upcoming :)02:13
* MarkDude admires how you bring opinions to the table02:13
MarkDudeI apologize if you viewed the Nihilism as an attack02:14
troy_sMarkDude: I didn't.02:14
MarkDudeI was more trying to figure out you frame of reference02:14
MarkDudeas you are with me apparently :)02:14
troy_sMarkDude: I think it avoided the issue. Yes I strongly disagree with about 99.9% of the culture's "art" and "design" thinking. True.02:14
troy_sMarkDude: But that is not the culture's problem. That's mine.02:14
MarkDudeOk but not the Life is horrible part?02:15
* MarkDude can see how that would be a broad brush on my part02:15
troy_sMarkDude: Sustained passion isn't exactly a demerit. If it is, I am happily found guilt.02:16
troy_ss/guilt/guilty.02:16
MarkDudeOk I see where you are coming from02:16
troy_sMarkDude: In contrast to say, once every six months of ZOMG and then not giving a rat's bottom about it.02:17
MarkDudeyou are basically saying most people are full of crap02:17
troy_sMarkDude: Because it will likely take a little more than that I'd hope.02:17
troy_sMarkDude: Not at all. I tend to believe the Libre community has some of the brightest minds involved with it.02:17
troy_sMarkDude: Passionate, diligent, and determined.02:18
troy_sMarkDude: But the origins _may_ have an impact on why we are where we are. I also don't subscribe to the idea that we can simply keep forging along using the same techniques. Which I suppose is difficult, as those very techniques brought a pretty good deal of success in some capacities.02:19
MarkDudeartwise tho02:19
troy_sMarkDude: Different set of tools. Different set of weapons. Including the ability to care about art and design and all of that messy complexity for longer than say, two minutes per year.02:20
MarkDudeSo the deeper issue would be whether FOSS aims to be on its own on an island- or whether to have some of the mainland join02:20
troy_sMarkDude: Maybe even more complicated?02:21
troy_sMarkDude: Was the DIY movement not an isolated movement at one point?02:21
troy_sMarkDude: Surrealists?02:21
troy_sMarkDude: Etc.02:21
troy_sMarkDude: "Mainland" I'm not so certain of.02:22
MarkDudeYes, and then the hipsters of the time said it was over once the public enjoyed it also02:22
troy_sMarkDude: Well it certainly had a voice. It had a passion.02:22
troy_sMarkDude: And yet, for all of the ripe fruit to be had in Libre software, our art and design has zero voice.02:22
MarkDudeLike that band that is cooler when *less* folks like it?02:22
troy_sMarkDude: Rather interesting.02:22
troy_sMarkDude: No. I _do_ perceive an issue with our cultural value of art and design.02:22
troy_sMarkDude: Not a "Just you wait" attitude.02:23
MarkDudeSo is Art for the masses or just a few?02:23
troy_sMarkDude: If we had _art_. ;)02:23
MarkDudewhere is that line drawn02:23
MarkDude?02:23
troy_sMarkDude: But again, much like your original answers... 'concept' for example.02:23
troy_sMarkDude: There is no voice. Certainly _not_ the voice that we should likely be using.02:24
troy_sMarkDude: The idea of Free software is at least as powerful as those that propelled entire art movements of the past.02:24
troy_sMarkDude: And yet, _no_ where do we actually see it.02:24
troy_sMarkDude: In fact, the complete opposite happens. Instead of imbuing work with the voice, we struggle to appease everyone.02:25
troy_sMarkDude: And in doing so, we effectively create a cake with everyone's favourite ingredients or worrying about everyone's allergies.02:25
troy_sMarkDude: (Note the obviously inherent fallacy of 'everyone's favourite ingredients' - it's a Utopian myth. More close to perhaps avoiding everyone's allergies. That would amount to a cake made out of rice maybe?)02:26
troy_s(And even then... I am quite sure someone somewhere is allergic to rice.)02:26
troy_sMarkDude: Fair?02:29
MarkDudeyes02:35
* darkmatter nods in approval of that analogy 02:35
* MarkDude concedes02:35
MarkDudeYou effin rock troy_s02:36
troy_sMarkDude: Well that makes one person that thinks so. ;)02:37
darkmatteroh. my. word. brasero just asked me the same question _twice_ with slightly different wording02:37
troy_sMarkDude: Sadly though... If it were about me 'rocking' it might be easier to tackle (ok well... not) than the real issues. The deep rooted cultural ones. I suppose it is _positive_ that people appear to care more now.02:37
darkmatterand now a third time. lol02:38
troy_sdarkmatter: Maybe you aren't _really_ _really_ sure.02:38
darkmattertroy_s: indeed. like. I change my mind more often than. oh, wait, i never change my mind...02:39
darkmatterreminds me of windows xp...02:40
darkmatteroh. my. I think it's going to ask me for each and every file: how about "I don't give a rats ass about windows compatibility. burn the fscking backup now" as a button option02:41
=== izdubar is now known as MarkDude
hvare both "Radiance03:23
hvoops!03:23
hvare both "Radiance" and "Ambiance" designed to be light-themes?03:23
=== txwikinger2 is now known as txwikinger
darkmattervish: I have thenm in that dir for ease of reference. they go in <theme>/<size>/status> per usual21:02
darkmatteroof course with humanity the sixe and status are reversed :P21:02
vishhehe!21:02
darkmattervish: setup was painless except for the typo in my xorg overrides. thank teh powers that be for chroot!21:06
vishdarkmatter: cool! i'm actually planning on re-installing too.. gonna download the maverick beta and use a btrfs /home ;)21:07
darkmatterhehe21:07

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