Category Archives: friends

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Not Just Another Face in A Hole

Tina, with Hair, Pigment, and Ray Ban Sunglasses, by @iamTalkyTina

Tina, with Hair, Pigment, and Ray Ban Sunglasses, by @iamTalkyTina

WELL! I am NOT just another Face in a Hole. 

But sometimes I think that someone (La kisha Mahone (@LKMahone) not saying any names)  is just stuck on trying to make a monkey of me. Because when I woke up this morning, I was another face in a hole of me and of monkeys from her.

So it reminded me again of a dark time and when I was making a movie (but just a bit part) — but I already told you that story.

So anyway, when I got made a monkey of the second time with the Face in a Hole, I just had to set the record straight again. Plus, make a GIF of it (actually, TWO). Because making a GIF of it makes it even more fun. And two GIFs makes it double the even more fun!

So anyway, up above here is my response to it. Now, I will tell you how I did it without that Face in the Hole thing.

First, I had to find the original image of some guy and monkeys (it is always good to attribute your sources) and so I used TinEye, the Reverse Image Search engine to do that. I found 50 results and selected this picture of Bruno Looking Stupid.

Instead of a Face in the Hole one which says Face in a Hole on it, I made one of me with my hair showing (so that I do not look like Thomas the Tank Engine) but I also coloured my hair to match the hair of my actor friends in their monkey costumes (so for that, I used the Colour Replace tool, plus another layer of me where I made the Brightness darker and the Contrast more of it). Then, because they had colour in their faces, I put colour in my face (even though I am from the Black and White TV times) — I can do that as a professional in the business with make-up and the such. I also used the Colour Replace tool for that, too, borrowing some face colour from the other monkeys for it.  Plus, because they were all wearing their cool-kid sunglasses from the set, I am wearing my sunglasses, too (which came from here). So you don’t get any of that hair or colour or glasses with Face in a Hole.

Then, because just a regular picture sometimes needs a little sprucing up, plus for the exercise of making a GIF, plus for the fun and the Art of It, I decided that I needed to add some movement to the image. I remembered that Arthur C. Clarke was on the set that day playing with that bone, so I found this image of it on the Internet.

"2001 bone to spaceship cut scene" GIF

“2001 bone to spaceship cut scene” GIF from andrewsimone.com

Then, I put the GIF into photoshop and got rid of the sky parts so that I would just have the tumble bone. I also removed the spaceship part and set it aside so that I could use it later for the coupe de groom. That is like a coup de grace, but with Jim Groom instead, and transportation (that’s the coupe part).

So here is what it looks like when you use the Magic Tool to select something and then use the eraser to get rid of it. You just have the bone left.  (Note, this is just one frame, you have do do it for each frame of the bone in each active layer of it. So that takes a few minutes. But worth it!)

"Bone Isolation Technique" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Bone Isolation Technique” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Next up was to insert the 25-odd animated bone frames into my static image, and re-create the situation from when the photo is purported to have been taken — me and my actor buds hanging out, with Arthur C. Clarke in the background practicing the bone scene. Look how surprised they all are at getting their picture taken with me.

"Not Just a Pretty Face in a Hole" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Not Just a Pretty Face in a Hole” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Now, that is pretty much enough of it, because that is my @iamTalkyTina picture, plus a GIF the bone in the background. But remember, there is a coupe de groom coming up.

So back to the bone-spaceship GIF where we set aside the spaceship part for later? Now we get that back out and add in some Dancing Jim Groom from the Dancing Jim All Over the World assignment (Animated GIF Assignment 1001) and make it kind of like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb but with Jim Groom instead and on the bone-spaceship instead of the bomb.

"Dancing Jim Groom Around the World on the 2001 Bone Spaceship" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Dancing Jim Groom Around the World on the 2001 Bone Spaceship” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

So that is what can come from invoking me, @iamTalkyTina in a blog post. Or if you make a monkey of me. And it shows just how much learning can come after a simple Face in the Hole.

Well, bye!

Tina’s 2001 Odyssey

"Hello Tina" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Hello Tina” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, thanks to my True Friend, Mr. Paul (@phb256, on Twitter, I woke this morning to see a tweet about me took me to the #ds106 web page of La Kisha Mahone where I got made a monkey of.  It looks like this:

"Monkey Mash'n Time" by @LKMahone

“Monkey Mash’n Time” by @LKMahone

It was nice that @LKMahone said I was the very first invite she got on Twitter, and nice that she paid homage to me (that is always a nice thing for a True Friend to do, not saying any names, @JimGroom). And I made a comment saying that.

But it was also a sad thing for me that the picture brought back some Dark Time Memories for me of when back in the late sixties after The Twilight Zone I was still in The Biz but was having a really hard time with typecasting and people saying that I was too short all the time and stuff.

A Dear Friend of mine (different from a True Friend) got word from Mario Bava to Stanley Kubrick that I was feeling down and really needing some work and so Stanley managed to get me onto the set one day when he was shooting a film and got me into a small-bit non-speaking role. It wasn’t my finest moment, and I really found that fur to be scratchy and itchy and I had a rash for weeks after which meant I really couldn’t capitalize on the moment by networking with Kier and Ed (given my background, I really enjoyed it when he starred in UFO a couple years later!) and Gary and Terry and I was really ticked to miss the chance to hobnob with Arthur C. Clarke when he was on set. In the end, aside from getting free food from the craft table during the shoot and my meagre extra’s scale pay for the scene, I really didn’t benefit much from the experience.

The one bright light of the whole sad affair was the time I got to spend with Douglas Rain. He had such a nice way of talking to me and expressed to me his feelings of also feeling withdrawn from others at the time and felt bad that he only had a voice-only role and was playing somewhat of a tragic character in the film. I liked it every morning when he said “Hello, Tina!” in that nice soft voice of his. It was a moment when I truly started to realize how important it is to have Dear Friends and True Friends and Friends and Make Art Not Just Because You Are Hungry for Food But For Art’s Sake, Too.

But for the most part, that wasn’t a very fond time for me.

I dug through my shoebox just now, and found this pic. You can kind of just see me in a little bit of the shot.

"My Scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey"

“My Scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey”

So, @LKMahone, thanks for bringing back the memories. Now, everybody, get out there and Make Some Art, Bub! Be sure to write about what you learned from the experience. And remember to attribute where you get the stuff! 

A couple notes about The Bits.

Hello Tina is based on the following:

  • This image of smiley HAL900
  • the free-for-personal-use font TwoBit, available from www.ffonts.net

I took a screen capture of just the original HELLO DAVE text,

"Hello Dave" text, inverted to put dark text on light background

“Hello Dave”  inverted (dark text on light background)

and uploaded it to whatfontis.com and selected the TwoBit font as the one I liked best from the returned matches.

"TwoBit font, my favourite for HAL9000" results from WhatFontIs.com

“TwoBit font, my favourite for HAL9000” results from WhatFontIs.com

I downloaded the free-for-personal-use font and installed it (double click on the .ttf file and then click the Install Font button in the on a Mac)

"Install Font: TwoBit"

“Install Font: TwoBit”

  • I found the scene photo as an existing GIF in a digital shoebox on Screen.Genius.com.
  • I found the red arrow in my shoebox, too. I rotated it and made it 50% transparent in Photoshop, only making it visible for the frames where I am visible.

Don’t Try this at Home, Kids!

"Playing on the Stairs," animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Playing on the Stairs,” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

First, please understand that as a trained actress, stunt person, ninja, and generally responsible person, I have a deep understanding and heathy respect for stairs. Those of you who know me will understand this.

Second, know that as the designated and contracted Health and Safety Officer for The DS106 WorkPlace, I can only advocate for a most careful and proper use of any and all stairs. Stairs are not to be trifled with, nor treated without the appropriate caution. If there are handrails, hold onto them.

Third, please respect and follow my direction when I say, “Don’t Try This at Home, Kids!”

All that being said, I got a great piece of news today from my friend Mariana (@mdvfunes), who found me a beautiful set of stairs by S|PyroGIF on Tumblr (@BlobbyBarack on Twitter). I just had to try them out as soon as I saw them, and I must confess that I have been playing on them ever since.  Up and down, down and up, they are just SO MUCH FUN! I have been doing all of my special moves and and even trying out some new ones and I must admit that they are among the finest stairs I have ever encountered. Yes, there have been other stairs that are more aesthetic, or more historic, or more personally satisfying for reasons I will not mention. But these stairs are the most funnest!

And so, as I say “Well, Bye,” you can imagine me enjoying many hours yet to come of exploring this new find. Thanks, Mariana!

See ya!   😉

Happy Birthday, Super True Friend Christina!

“Tina Philosophress for Christina’s Birthday” by Talky Tina, on Flickr

The Daily Create TDC918 said to make a birthday card for my Super True Friend, Christina Hendricks (@clhendricksbc, on Twitter) and because she is a Philosophress, like me, I made a Philosophy card for her.

It was another time to practice making things look old in Photoshop. Plus I am wearing a toga thing like Aristotle and Playdough and those folks back then.

The important message words are in Greek Letters and so you will have to do some work to understand them in your own language. But Greek Letters was what they thought in back in the olden days.

So this was another great thing for The Daily Create. Plus, a chance to make a nice card for a nice Super True Friend. 

Happy Birthday, Christina! 

Well, bye.

The Ballad of Talky Tina

"Dreams of Stairs and True Friends" animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Dreams of Stairs and True Friends” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, this started out as The Daily Create TDC916 two-limerick Physics lesson, but there was a little more to tell to provide the proper context, so I wrote down a little bit more limericks to say a bit more of the story.  Now it has six instead of just two. But not all about Physics. Plus, I made that animated GIF up there called “Dreams of Stairs and True Friends.”

Their once was a dolly named Tina,
With a glowing and Friendly patina.
With her eyes wet and misty,
She was brought home by Christie,
Who became the first True Friend of Tina.

Mom and Christie came home from the store.
From the car to their house’s front door.
But with some trepidation,
and a queasy sensation,
Trouble met them there on the first floor.

Now at this point we’ll be shifting the focus,
With some poetic hocusy-pocus,
From omniscient thee,
To the first person me,
We’ll continue with I as the locus.

That Erich, he was a bad papa,
With his yelling’ and shoutin’ improppa.
He cut me and squished me,
Tried to burn me and ditch me.
Despite all our pleas, he don’t stoppa.

With my Friend Christie cryin’ and ballin’,
In the late night that Erich came callin’.
But he tumbled and tripped,
Summersaulted and flipped.
Them stairs stopped him dead with that fallin’.

So my True Friend grew up to be strong.
After that, me, I moved right along.
With spy missions and acting,
Ninja skills and some packing*,
My list of True Friends now is long.

———-

*For more explanation about the packing reference, you can read about one of my former careers.

Thank you to all my True Friends for staying True!
Remember, DUTMW. TDLTMW!

Well, bye!

Greetings on this Special Day!

"Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Day card" (outside) by @iamTalkyTina

“Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Day card” (outside) by @iamTalkyTina

Well, The Daily Create TDC915 for today said to make a picture to cheer up the Lonely People because today is “Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Day”.

I looked at the website and it said muffins and sunflowers and also backyard warmth. I also figured that something important was missing, and so I added in a part about True Friends! (Duh!)

Up above is the outside of the card that I made. Down under these words is the inside of the card that I made. You can see that I have all three of the ingredients that were on the website are there in pictures, plus me for True Friends.

"Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Day" card (inside) by @iamTalkyTina

“Cheer-Up-the-Lonely Day” card (inside) by @iamTalkyTina

It was fun and a nice thing for me to do for the Lonely People on this day of theirs.

Well, Bye!

———————–

Tina, Where Did All the Stuff Come From?

Well, thanks for asking. I found it all on the Internet:

I made the card myself, using pixels and virtual cardboard that I found in my computer.

Modern Vintage: Tina’s Victorian High Tea

“Modern Tina Having Victorian High Tea” by iamTalkyTina, on Flickr.

Well, I was seeing on the Internet that my true friend Tom (@twoodwar, on Twitter) was looking at lots of old-fashioned pictures on the Internet. And so, when I was doing today’s The Daily Create TDC914, I decided that I would put my picture of me (which is new) into a picture like one which I saw on the Internet just now. Even before Photoshop, photographers were making very creative pictures:

“New Discoveries in Photography” from An Executioner’s Photo Album Victorian Headless Portraits on cvltnation.com

The one that I saw on the Internet just now was from a page where they were making pictures of people with their heads cut off back in Victorian times: An Executioner’s Photo Album: Victorian Headless Portraits. I guess it was a thing. Since the Victorian times were old-fashioned and now is modern then by making my picture of me (which is modern) like one of the heads-cut-off pictures from back in the olden days, then I would be doing The Daily Create.

I also found another web page on the Internet where they were making pictures back in Victorian times of people after they were dead. They did this because sometimes it would be the only picture that they ever had of them. Especially if they were still kids when they died. That would be sad. So if you want to look at that webpage then is called Victorian Post Mortem Photography. Plus, I found other sites about it, plus Wikipedia.

So after all of that, what with pictures of old dead people and head-cut-off-people and everything, I decided I didn’t want to do the head-cut-off one, plus we already did that during #headless106 back in 2013, so that’s kind of a done thing.

Because it said don’t just make it black-and-white or don’t just use a cheap sepia filter, I used me, which is already in black-and-white, and then I used a very expensive sepia filter so that it wasn’t cheap. Actually, what I really did was use a tutorial called The Aging Photo which I found on the Internet. It tells you all the steps to make a photo look old. I just used that, plus my own custom adjustment layer which I invented to do it better than just the sepia thing.

I hope you like my Victorian Picture of Modern Me.

Well, bye.

———————–

The Details

In case you want to see what things looked like before, you can look at these things:

Well, ds106 IS #4life, bub!

"DS106 IS #4life Spiral GIF" animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

“DS106 IS #4life Spiral GIF” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

This is a little GIF that I made today for a little project I am working on. I will share the little project when it is done. But in the intervening time, just stare at this for a few minutes (put on a pomodoro timer like my Super True New Old Radio Friend Scott (@scottlo on #ds106radio), and then you will understand.

Me, Riding the ds106 Bus, with Music !!

"Further Bumpy2" animatedGIF by @Todd_Conaway

“Further Bumpy2” animatedGIF by @Todd_Conaway

Well!

My True Friend Todd (@Todd_Conaway, on Twitter) made a GIF of me from the YouTube movie that he made called The ds106 Bus. In it, you can see me with my friends Martha (@mburtis), Jim (@jimgroom), Doctor Oblivion, and Michael (@mbransons). and so I got the music from the video and put it behind the GIF so that if you click on it, you can hear it!

So click on the GIF up above to hear it! Listen to the whole thing! You can also click on the GIF again to stop the music, but why would you?

Thanks AGAIN, to my True Friend, John (@JohnJohnston, on Twitter) for the great click-on-a-GIF-to-hear-music trick.

And thanks to Todd, for putting me on the bus!

Bye!

———————

Plus, if you want to know how I got the music out of the YouTube, here is what I did.
1) I downloaded the video from YouTube using my handy MacX YouTube Downloader.
2) I opened the video using Quicktime and exported (audio only) into an .m4a
3) I opened the m4a of it using Audacity, and exported it as both an .mp3 and an .ogg.
4) Then, I used John’s click-on-a-GIF-to-hear-it trick.

Make Art, Not The Mean Word

"Make Art, Not The Mean Word," animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Make Art, Not The Mean Word,” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, The Daily Create 903 had me digging back into my shoeboxes for this old photo of me and my bus and my hippie friends. And so when I found it, I posted it on my Flickr.

But then The Daily Create 905 said to make a new law if there was only one law what would it be and so I found my old button from my hippie days and put it onto the hippie picture to make a GIF of it called “Make Art, Not The Mean Word.”

"Make Art, Not The Mean Word Button" by @iamTalkyTina

“Make Art, Not The Mean Word Button” by @iamTalkyTina

Because that is what would be my one law.

Make Art, Not The Mean Word.

———————————–

Disclaimer:

In case you want to know about some other things on the Internet that are kind of the same as in my picture, but are all in pieces, instead of just one piece like mine, you can look here:

Plus, I found some of them on this page about Hippies.

AND THEN THIS! From my True Friend, @Todd_Conaway!

"Further Bumpy2" animatedGIF by @Todd_Conaway

“Further Bumpy2” animatedGIF by @Todd_Conaway