#tralfaz

[harpersessentials]

+90 VAMPIRES & VAMPIRESSES MODS & CUSTOM CONTENT

i have been playing a new occult legacy in my gameplay blog. so i started looking for mods to enhance this occult experience. right now, i am playing with vampires, so i will share my findings with you.

SMALL MODS

vampires everywhere by kuttoe

plasma packs from plasma fruits by littlemssam

vampire powers by littlemssam

no burning sun in forgotten hollow by littlemssam

vampire self-preservation by gaymerborealis

vampire invasion fix by lotharihoe

occults activities by zer0

bloody party event by ilkavelle

vampirify spell by r3m

reworked vampires mods (vampire tweaks) by zero

vampire tweaks by airianna

crimson tea by icemunmun

advanced plasma packs by erosims

tralfaz vampire mods

GAMEPLAY MODS

vampires rebalance (harder vampires) by awwoo

vampire bloodlines by baniduhaine

super rascals (child vampire manifestation) by dipper

CAREER MODS

vampire council by lilyvalleycc

vampire rights advocate by lilyvalleycc

vampire counsellor by lilyvalleycc

darkside vampire by tlaram

ASPIRATIONS MODS

dracula untamed aspiration by ilkavelle

bloodborne aspiration by sresla

slayer & nosferatu by snowii95

SKIN DETAILS & MAKEUP

gapped vampire teeth by wyattssims

ankle biter teeth set by yooniesim

countess a vampire mini set by ladysimmer

nightfall tattoos by mynasims

real lips - vampires by amoebae

CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES

ruffled shirt by myfawnwysimblr

bite me top by lilypixels

vladislaus male clothes pack by wistful castle

rose dress by regina-raven

evelyn dress by nords

edea dress by sentate

revampire gown by tryllike

sanguine society collection by ellone

brides of the undead by zeussim

razorblade romance by myfawnwysimblr

tricker treat stuff set by ayoshi & aharris00britney

spooky kids rec by invadersims

toddler vampire suit by georgiaglm

bat and vampire costume (infants) by powluna

bat ass glasses by xldkx

spider gloves by regina-raven

punch drunk rec by pyxiidis

bat wings by nolansims

batty wings for infants by lilypixels

chilling clasps by nolansims

bat earrings & necklace by shandir

it's frickin bats tights by arowenc

bat wings boots by ctrl-sims

HAIRSTYLES

nadja hair by llazyneiph

farrah bun by dogsill

mon hair by simduction

de-chained bang long by missbunnygummy

twists long conversion by kiarazurk

vampy accessory bangs by atashi

BUY

skelly planter by nolan-sims

spooky clutter by 9sims

medieval music boxes by plumbobteasociety

my little montster nursery mobile bylittlbowbub

tiny vampire nesting blocks by tartiish

small bearcula by pixelfolk

coffin bookcase by simlaughlove

functional radiators by chippedcupanddustybooks

coffin beachtowel by bramblefinch

coffin mirror by xldkx

(not so) vampire bathroom by simswonderland

rune stone set by lumenniveus

the princess and the vampire bedroom by sixam

BUILDS

old church by alerion

chapel of ritual by xogerardine

blackmier house by septembersim

grim's house challenge by schnuck01

hemlock hollow by schnuck01

little vampires cottage by pixelshary

'til death do us part by whyeverr

quiet voices memorial by sweetbeagaming

POSES

bloody lovers by ratboy

vampire ea poses by herecirmsims

baby bats by marshmallow-sims

fangtastic poses by samssims

vampire family by culsims

bare your fangs by alpine-lapine

[bosseladytv]

Don't Say "Grim" 3 Times!

Look in the mirror, say Grim’s name 3 times, and he appears! (Works for children and up.) This mod adds the option for any Sim (ages child and above) to summon The Grim Reaper via a mirror. Just say his name 3 times and he will appear! I’m sorry but I don’t always want that event reward stereo sitting around! Requires Lot 51 Core Library. Special thanks to Tralfaz. Download

[qt-kt]

Playing a great ttrpg one-shot is just like. Damn....I'm gonna think of Tralfaz every day of my life now and no one but the 7 people here will ever know who he is

[sohannabarberaesque]

A worthwhile quote about keeping alive the Funtastic spirit in the Hanna-Barbera fandom and fan-generated content community

This was at the end of a post in Don Yowp's Tralfaz blog as took note of a profile of Jim Backus when he voiced Mr. Magoo as much for cartoons as for GE light bulb commercials:

The idea of “protecting” children from seeing cartoon characters engaging in slapstick violence strikes me as pointless. So does emasculating animated characters to become educators for whatever causes parental pressure groups want. Let funny characters be funny.

And be their Funtastic selves, regardless of the media--fan art, fanfiction, fan-generated tribute toons or even fan-created memes and tropes. Even if it means toying around with established canon so as to "move with the times."

@warnerbrosentertainment @archive-archives @warnerbrosent-blog

[loathsomescavenger]

Once when I was young my dad was at a friend’s house where a stray cat had kittens, and fell in love with one. She was a viciously feral little thing but was incredibly pretty. Mostly white except for these chocolate points in her nose, tail and paws and blue eyes that she ended up keeping even after the small kitten phase. He was enamored and brought her home.

He kept using the word fairy to describe her. And was over the moon trying to win the little beasts affection. So it came as a shock to the rest of the family that when he decided to christen this platonic ideal of feline grace, he decided that the perfect name for her was Tralfaz.

[research604jo]

Deeper research on Bill Nolan

Tralfaz: Bill Nolan - This article finds newspaper clippings that helped them to dissect Nolan's background.

He was born in Connecticut in June 1894

Bill Nolan is an animation pioneer, many animations and comics were inspired by his designs even decades on.

He began his career in the city of New London in 1917 as a 23 year old cartoon artist for newspaper and magazines. He became prominent and well known and started to elevate his career.

From 1924 to 1926, he animated and designed Felix the Cat. He then goes from studio to studio designing and animating iconic cartoons such as  Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Popeye and Gulliver's Travels. 

He died in December 1954

Cartoon Research: Bill Nolan - another article that summarises Bill's Life

Cartooning Self-Taught digital book

[jazhmock]

Radiophobe ayant décidé d'arrêter de mettre ce mod à jour, il a été adopté par Tralfaz. Ce post reprend donc ceux de ces deux créateurs.trices sur Mod The Sims, je les traduis et les illustre avec mes propres captures d'écran pour expliquer le fonctionnement du mod. PATCH 1.111 : ÉTAT MOD INCONNU

Zodiac Signs par Radiophobe/Tralfaz482

MAJ du mod : 29.10.2024 | Version actuelle du mod : 2.3 MAJ de la trad : 18.06.2023 | Version actuelle de la trad : 2.3 Compatibilité : Jeu de base

⚠️ Ce mod requiert le XML Injector de Scumbumbo ⚠️

Si vous ne connaissez pas ce mod, il a pour objectif de convertir les signes astrologiques des Sims 2 et l'adapter du mieux possible dans les Sims 4, sans que ça prenne la place d'un trait de caractère : ces signes astrologiques sont donc disponibles dans la boutique de récompenses et coûtent seulement 1 point.

Fonctionnalités :

Ce mod vous offre non pas un, ni deux, mais quatre types de compatibilité dès l'enfance ! Vos Sims obtiendront donc des moodlets plus ou moins forts en fonction des autres Sims qui les entourent.

Depuis la version 2.3, les signes sont attribués aléatoirement dès l'adolescence, mais les enfants peuvent également avoir un signe au choix dans la boutique de récompense ; seuls les nourrissons et les bambins ne peuvent pas en avoir, puisqu'ils n'ont pas d'aspiration et donc pas accès à la boutique.

Et si un signe attribué aléatoirement ne vous convient pas, vous pouvez lui retirer pour changer cela grâce à l'option ci-dessous en faisant SHIFT + clic gauche :

Traductions incluses au mod :

Russe – Korso Français – jazhmock

Notes des dernières MAJ :

Tralfaz :

29.10.2024 : mise à jour pour compatibilité avec le patch 1.110 (A la vie, à la mort)

10.08.2024 : mise à jour pour compatibilité avec le patch 1.108 (Amour fou). L'assignation automatique des signes a été remaniée (elle est aléatoire pour les Sims ados et plus âgés)

Compatibilité confirmée pour les patchs 1.99, 1.102, 1.103, 1.105.

18 & 20.06.2023 : ajout de la traduction française et correction d'erreurs d'affichage dans la boutique de récompenses.

02 & 06.06.2023 : mise à jour de la traduction russe et correction d'une erreur d'affichage dans la boutique de récompenses.

30.05.2023 : le système distribuant les signes astrologiques au hasard causait des Last Exceptions en raison d'un conflit avec un mod. Cette fonctionnalité a été désactivée jusqu'à ce qu'un meilleur système soit trouvé, pour éviter les erreurs de jeu. Le mod a été modifié pour avoir un impact émotionnel moins puissant, mais les bonus de gain relationnel restent les mêmes.

20.03.2023 : correction d'une erreur qui faisait apparaître le trait Vierge quand il ne fallait pas.

19.03.2023 : confirmation de compatibilité avec le patch 1.96 ; correction d'erreur d'affichage de texte sur certains buffs ; intégration du mod Preferences plus de Helaene (article ici et traduction de Kimikosoma ici) - si un Sim a la préférence "N'aime pas l'astrologie", les buffs d'astrologie ne seront plus visibles. Ils sont toujours présents et ont toujours leur effet mais vous ne les verrez plus apparaître dans le panel de moodlets en bas à gauche en mode Vie. De plus, les signes astrologiques sont désormais attribués au hasard dès l'adolescence. "Retirer tous les traits astrologiques" : grâce à cette nouvelle option qui apparaît en faisant un clic droit sur n'importe quel Sim, vous pouvez retirer en un seul clic tous les traits afin de laisser l'option d'attribution automatique en choisisse un nouveau.

Radiophobe :

30.07.2022 : une version du mod sans envies pour les Sims a été ajoutée pour qu'il soit plus adaptée au patch 1.90. Les anciennes versions du mod ont également été ajoutées au SimFileShare ci-dessous.

01.2023 : pour des raisons personnelles, Radiophobe a décidé de cesser de mettre à jour Zodiac Signs. Il a été adopté par Tralfaz, vous trouverez sa version sur sa page ModTheSims.

Installation :

- Téléchargez le XML Injector de Scumbumbo (si vous ne l'avez pas déjà) puis le fichier ci-dessous dans votre dossier Mods, au maximum dans 1 sous-dossier. - Le mod : ModTheSims (section "files") → la traduction est incluse au mod, il n'y a qu'à l'installer et le tour est joué !

[kencollects]

I loooooved watching "The Jetsons" when I was a kid.  While several episodes leap to mind when reminiscing about the show, "Millionaire Astro" will always have a soft spot in my heart simply because it introduced me to the name Tralfaz. "Tralfaz?!?  Yuck!" #KenCollects #Jetsons #TheJetsons #GeorgeJetson #Astro #Tralfaz #TralfazYuck #millionareastro #hannabarbera #hannabarberacartoons #saturdaymorningcartoons #GeorgeOHanlon #DonMessick #funko #funkopop #funkopops #funkofamily #popvinyl #originalfunko #funkofunatic #popaddict #popcollector #funkomania #funkocollector #originalfunko #funkophoto #funkophotography #funkoedit https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnv6Cv2FcD3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q4rq5o94a76x

[bosseladytv]

Better Lottery

This mod adds a secondary chance of cash prizes to the lotto! No longer will you have to settle for seeing Mayor Whiskers or Vlad winning another million, with your Sims out of luck. NOTE: Requires Lot 51 Core Library and Seasons. Download Special thanks to Tralfaz.

[beetlesayz]

My dad had an iguana named Tralfaz, who pretty much grew up feral because the girl who owned him kinda got stuck with him, and when she moved, she gave him to my dad. So the two bonded, dad let Tralfaz bite him while he pet him, and they became good buddies. When Tralfaz got too big, my dad gave him to the Cincinnati Zoo, and he became egg control in the birdhouse where he got to eat all the eggs he wanted. ~🐱

That's honestly such a beautiful story I'm actually tearing up;;;;;;;

[sohannabarberaesque]

Fancy-Fancy's night with a Persian kitty of not-so-pedigreed fame

One of those somewhat mildish nights in Hollywood's residential section which isn't even covered on those Bus Tours of the Stars' Homes or of Notorious Hollywood Scandals bound to appeal to such Little Old Ladies from Dubuque fond of wintering in Southern California "for health reasons," or perhaps her home heating season is in some sort of a Dangerous State, not to mention the furnace repairman having something of a major backlog on orders, doubtless finding Fancy-Fancy, that master of swagger from Top Cat's clowder, in his rather romantically-inclined element seeking feline love.

Which, this particular evening, came in an alley in such a part of Hollywood itself notorious for overly sexed-up cats left out every evening by such workers in the film and television industry getting incidental production credit at the end for the inevitable reasons. And in one particular instance, the aroma of feline desire was especially evident to Fancy-Fancy's nostrils, requiring him to run some distance to locate the source of feline desire coming from--a rather luxuriantly-haired Persian cat.

Not quite the pedigreed sort of that famous poem who had a romantic liason with a certain rough-looking tom cat sensing that the pedigreed Persian needed some excitement for once after being kept in a house all day, but still--

"Call me--Zaflart."

"ZAFLART--?!" was all Fancy-Fancy could say.

Whereupon she replied, "That's 'Tralfaz' spelled backwards."

"'Zaflart' is 'Tralfaz' spelled BACKWARDS?!!" (Short pause while Fancy-Fancy mustered up some air.) "Now THAT has got to be quite an unusually interesting name for a Persian cat!"

"I have to admit that I'm not all that pedigreed," spake she, "but still--"

"I KNEW it, I KNEW IT--you want me to make love to you, judging by that aromatic release of DESIRE!!"

"However did you guess?" was how Zaflart responded, trying not to be too indignant about it.

"My gal," Fancy-Fancy remarked in his Cary Grant goloss, "I happen to be the kind of cats who knows that sort of thing by SHEER INSTINCT!" To which Zaflart "assumed the position" of needing to be mated, kneeling low so that her rump was in the air, signalling unto Fancy-Fancy that opportunity awaited.

Wasting no time, the feline Don Juan made his carnal desires known, and known indeed, inserting himself unto her in such manner of feline indulgence that would certainly feel wonderful as her warm and wet vagina received Fancy-Fancy's penis, and received it big time ... in the end, releasing into her several bursts of ejaculate at intervals such as made her feel oh so satisfied(!!) as Fancy-Fancy made himself obvious with such feelings of stress relief gushing forth inside Zaflart for what must have seemed like much of the overnight, a cool and almost refreshing sort of overnight such as seems evident in Southern California ere the marine layer makes itself known. And when it was all over--

"Didn't that feel so DELIGHTFUL, my gal Zaflart?"

To which she couldn't resist rolling around the pavement in sheer ecstasy of feline satisfaction, as if thanking Fancy-Fancy for answering her desire to make love into and unto her. And who could blame Fancy-Fancy for that?

=============

The preceding was the last Fanfic Friday offering for 2024. At any rate, Your Humble Narrator hopes to return early in 2025 with more new and exciting offerings in this respect. For the interim, he wishes you the best of the holiday season, best enjoyed in moderation.

[theonyxpath]

As part of our continuing Character Creation series, Bill returns to discuss Pugmire.

I love the concept of creating an anthropomorphic dog in a post-apocalyptic, D&D-like setting, and am looking forward to the chance to play Pugmire. Since I wrote part of the Pan’s Guide For New Pioneers, I was already familiar with the rules, but I wanted to create a character for my upcoming game.

Step One: Choose a Calling

First order of business: what kind of job does my dog have? Pages 41-53 of the Pugmire Core Rulebook describe the Callings—think character classes from D&D—and gives six examples of character types for each. Since I often play fighter types, I opt to build a mage this time and choose the Artisan Class. To be an Artisan is to unlock the secrets of the Old Ones through masterwork relics. Then, once a dog finds their focus, they use that knowledge to create miraculous effects.

Step Two: Choose a Breed

If you’ve spent time with dogs like I have, you probably have a favorite breed (or two). I love Dachshunds—especially the way their foreheads wrinkle up when they’re concerned about something. I also love Corgis, Pugs, Great Danes, Black Labs, Rottweilers, Pitties… Come to think of it I just like dogs, so settling on “a” breed is a challenge. In the end, I decided to pick Corgi, because friends of mine have a pair I adore. Corgis are in the Herder group of dogs and gain a +2 bonus to their Wisdom. Breeds are discussed on pp. 54-61.

Step Three: Choose a Background

Backgrounds in Pugmire, found on pp. 62-63, are an interesting way to add a few skills and a cool backstory. While my dog is interested in the arcane, I don’t want his background to be scholarly or magical in nature. So, I opt for Merchant: that background gives him a few practical skills, some nice equipment, and potential access to a different set of contacts than he would normally have as an Artisan.

Step Four: Assign Ability Scores and Designate Primary Scores

Instead of rolling dice, Pugmire uses an assigned value system for Ability Scores found on pp. 63-66. Players have 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 to assign to their six Abilities.

As an Artisan, my dog will need to emphasize Intelligence and Charisma as these are his Primary Ability scores. I therefore put my 15 into Intelligence. However, knowing that Artisans aren’t very tough, I opt to give Constitution the second-highest score of 14. This will give him +2 Stamina points and better chances to save against health-related threats. Giving him a Charisma of 13 is a good fit for his Calling. Wrapping things up, I assigned 12 to Dexterity (+1 to Dexterity saving throws), 10 to Strength (no bonus), and 10 to Wisdom (8 +2 from the Herder bonus, for a total of 10). My dog is both intelligent and agile and, thanks to his Breed group, his Wisdom score is not as much of a concern as it’d be if I only had 8.

Step Five: Calculate Ability Modifiers, Choose Skills and Tricks

I’ve already mentioned some of my dog’s Ability Modifiers: +2 to both Intelligence and Constitution; +1 to Charisma and Dexterity, and no bonuses for Strength or Wisdom.

Skills in Pugmire are nicely broken up to make them less intimidating. You choose two Skills from a group customized for your Calling, and you get extra Skills depending on your Background. For Artisans, I’ll choose two from the list on page 43: Handle Animal, Heal, Know Arcana, Know Culture, Know History, Know Nature, Know Religion, Notice, Perform Search, and Sense Motive. Being an Artisan means my dog should be familiar with the arcane, so Know Arcana seems like a no-brainer. I also want my dog to be able to support the other players, so Heal and Notice are two other great options for me. Since I can only pick two total, I’m going with Know Arcana and Heal. Even if there’s a Shepherd from the Church of Man in the party, it never hurts to have extra healing power—life in the wilds can be dangerous! As a Merchant, my dog is also entitled to Bluff and Sense Motive as extra skills per the Merchant Background on page 63. My Skills are: Know Arcana, Heal, Bluff, and Sense Motive.

Tricks provide extra abilities and/or powers, and new Tricks can be earned with experience. Artisans (p. 53) earn the following First Tricks as starting characters: Simple Weapon Aptitude and Light Armor Aptitude. Dogs also gain a Trick as beginning characters based on their Breed (p. 57), so I get Keen Observer for that, which gives my dog advantage in all Wisdom checks relating to sight, hearing, or smell. I also gain the Odds and Ends Trick for my Background (p. 63).

Odds and Ends gives my character an advantage to Wisdom checks when I need to find out if I have exactly what a potential client or customer needs. I may also spend fortune to declare a new, non-player character is my former customer, and I trade with them on friendly—or at least non-hostile—terms. I really like how advantage gives my character an edge without breaking the game. It still all boils down to luck, but since I can choose the better of two die rolls, this could help my dog avoid failing in a crucial moment.

My dog also gains either Encouragement or Focus Magic as a Trick for my Artisan Calling. Focus Magic seems like another obvious choice, so that’s what I select. Choosing Focus Magic gives my dog three basic spells to start with—Elemental Ray, Mage Paw, and Smell Magic—for free, plus I can choose two other first-level spells. Magic Missile and Shield seem like good choices: Magic Missile give me a ranged attack AND a magical attack, and Shield gives a +5 bonus to Armor Class. Both will prove useful in town or in the wilderness.

Proficiency Bonus reflects how my dog’s knowledge and experience grows over time. At first-level, all dogs gain a +2 Proficiency Bonus.

Step Six: Choose Equipment

Beginning level characters gain equipment packages tied to both their Calling and Background. Players are then prompted to make additional choices, depending upon the item listed.

For my Artisan Calling, I get a rucksack containing a simple weapon of my choice (quarterstaff, p. 81), a suit of light armor of my choice (leather armor, p. 69), a masterwork artisan focus, a bottle of ink, a pen, some sheets of parchment, and small collection of books.

My dog acquired his masterwork artisan focus in an unusual way. During a trip outside the capital city of Pugmire, my character found a small cylindrical object half-buried in mud by the side of the road. After he dug it out, he noticed a small button-like protrusion on top and lightning bolts stamped into the sides. Over time, this relic became my dog’s reliable focus.

Next, I’ll add a set of scales, a fine set of clothes, and some plastic coins from my Merchant Background to round out my starting equipment. In Pugmire, the money characters have is listed in their Backgrounds. The dogs of Pugmire mine plastic from great deposits and mint them into coins used as currency. They might have a few, some, or many plastic coins in a purse, and cash only becomes an issue when it is important to the story.

Step Seven: Calculate Defense, Initiative, and Speed

Per page 83, my dog’s Defense is equal to his armor plus his Dexterity bonus. Leather armor confers an 11 Defense and my Dexterity bonus is one, bringing my total to 12.

Initiative is equal to my dog’s Dexterity modifier; in my case, that’s +1. Any time I roll Dexterity for Initiative, I’d add a one.

My dog’s Speed is 30 feet per turn; 40 feet if he drops to all fours and runs.

Step Eight: Choose Personality Traits

To add personality traits, starting players can refer to pages 83-84 and roll a six-sided die to obtain them. I have opted to flesh out my character by using those tables.

My dog’s Ideal, the concept that drives the dog, is to find the secrets of the old ones. As an Artisan, that makes a great deal of sense, since Artisans are the ones most likely to deal with artifacts from the Time of Man. He is inspired by his Bond to the group’s leader, which I decide refers to the leader of his adventuring party. It’s a great way to create a relationship with another character and add interesting touches to allow for greater roleplaying opportunities. My character’s Flaw is that no matter what he does, he can’t seem to keep his anger in check. I imagine this is either a result of some betrayal, or because he didn’t learn any anger management skills in his youth.

Step Nine: Name and Story

Tralfaz Corgi was the third child of a prosperous merchant family. One day, while moving a wagonload of goods from Houndton to Pugmire, Tralfaz stumbled over a small object, half-buried in the muddy roadside. It was a cylindrical object with lightning bolts stamped into its sides. Tralfaz found that, after keeping the strange object in his pocket for a time, it would warm to the touch of his paw. He became obsessed with learning the ways of the artisans, masters of ancient lore who deciphered the workings of artifacts from the days of Man many ages ago.

Tralfaz’s father realized his son wouldn’t be learning the family business after all. With a sigh, he enrolled him in classes to become an artisan. Tralfaz studied diligently under his tutor, learning many secrets, until his teacher (while packing his bags to stay one step ahead of the Inquisitors) proclaimed Tralfaz was ready to set out on his own.

Now I have a fully fleshed-out character, ready to seek adventure and glory in the world of Pugmire. Time to be a good dog!

If you enjoy Pugmire, keep an eye on the Fetch Quest card game, currently on Kickstarter!

[ducetre71]

Hey Tralfaz(@rweik733), thank you for following me

[notquitedailyamy]

Tuneful Trees

I recently stumbled upon this incredible project masterminded by German media artist Bartholomäus Traubeck…

Forget vinyl, Traubeck has created a turntable that plays slices of tree. 

Instead of a pin passing over grooves, a microscopic camera scans the tree’s year-rings in a super smart and speedy fashion, gathering data that is then programmed to output as piano sounds. 

Much like a record’s grooves, the year-rings of a tree hold the key to a whole lot of information. Not so alike is the fact that this info pertains to age, growth rate, environment, proximity to forest fires etc. ( - the study of all this fascinating stuff is called “dendrochronology”).

The nature of every individual tree’s year-rings is entirely different. Though within species and common climates similarities may be identified, for example the year-rings of a fast-growing fir tree will be very spaced out, while narrowing rings will be consistent among a group of trees that have lived through an unusually cold spell in their normal climate, still in no two organisms will the patterns form identically. The musical outcomes are consequently endless, but Traubeck has created a piece entitled “Years” out of a select few. Experience the entrancing result below:

‘Years’ on Vimeo

Not everybody’s cup of tea I’m sure, but I’m in awe of Traubeck’s vision to shine a light on and explore these bona fide and epic databases that silently exist within nature. He’s giving form, voice and perceptibility to incredible living phenomena that for most of us would otherwise go unnoticed.

‘Years - scratching’ on Vimeo - In this demonstration of Traubeck’s ingenious record player, you can clearly see how a knot in the tree’s year-rings affects the output of sound.

Talking about the development of his work, and of mixing technology and science with nature, I found the following words from an interview with Stuart B. Russel B.E.M., to be particularly thought-provoking: 

“I think this dichotomy we tend to use is not the only model to think about the concepts of nature and technology. The lines blur the closer you look at them. How much of the human is natural anymore? Which parts of ‘nature’ are technology-influenced? We tend to think of people herding cattle in some alpine sheds as archaic and natural. But cows are actually a very recent introduction to the alpine landscape. I like how everything is evolving all the time and how you can easily break apart these concepts of what is natural, and what is labelled technology.”

“The process is kind of scientific but the outcome is not. I aim to make artworks after all. But to actually materialise a concept and try it in different approaches usually opens up new ideas which, for me, are not graspable in a purely theoretical stage.” 

Traubeck has credited the cover art of Jethro Tull’s album Songs from the Wood as inspiration for his experimental turntable installation:

[Image source: http://tralfaz-archives.com/]

In other tree news:

During my recent trip stateside, I tracked down the the world’s largest tree with some of my family. The big guy’s called General Sherman - a giant redwood located in the Giant Forest (naturally) of Sequoia National Park. It’s so funny watching everybody try to take photos of it or better still of themselves-and-it… it’s nigh on IMPOSSIBLE to fit it all into the shot!

Case in point…

This was the most of the tree any of us got in one photo:

And of course, another trip, another classic-Milners-on-the-move anecdote to tell…

Having paid heed to the unmissable signage warning everybody of bear activity en route to the General, and followed instructions to lock all food and drink in metal cans or in the car boot and under no circumstances to carry any comestibles on our person during the relatively short hike to the tree, we set off. About half way in, and some hikers on their return trip gleefully informed us that there was currently a black bear just off the pathway about 50m away. 

Mentioning no names….

“Um, okay”

“It’ll be fine, they must be used to people walking past” 

“Oh yeah, look! I see it! It’s okay, it’s just minding it’s own business nibbling at that termite mound there.”

“Phew. And it’s not like we’ve got any better edibles on us to tempt it away.”

“Oh crap guys!! I’ve just realised I forgot I’ve got a bag of jelly babies and an entire box of Special K bars in my backpack!!!”

….We are now parallel with the bear…..

“WHAT?!? Right. Keep going…”

“If that bear so much as turns the smallest millimetre away from its termites you are ditching that backpack and we are out of here…”

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod”

“I think it’s turning…”

“I think we’re going to die.”

“JUST GO”

…and, thankfully, we did live to see the tree and tell the tale. Do these things happen to other people as much as they happen to us?!

SuSo: “Coyote Caller” by Joshua James / https://open.spotify.com/track/0VfLSNN4WlqpAdWcgrhpgG - because it sounded SO great driving through the forested mountains of Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. 

References: 

http://traubeck.com/years/

Interview - Bartholomaus Traubeck, Stuart Russell on behalf of Urban Times, pub. Feb 26, 2015 ( https://issuu.com/artsinfife/docs/bartholomaus_traubeck )

[gpm-maam]

Puzzlement #54

There were 15 responses to Puzzlement #53, 6 had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Stephen Stuart was: 4 7 6 8. He and one other also noted that 3 0 5 8 was another valid answer since zero is also a square. Mark Mach was second and David Eagle was third.

On to the puzzle:

Advances in telescopy have enabled SETI to justify its existence by photographing four aliens on Planet Tralfaz.  Their bodies and heads are round, square, triangular or hexagonal.  No alien’s head is the same shape as it’s body. Their body patterns are vertical stripes, solid gray, solid white and horizontal stripes.  In the photograph they are standing in a row.  The following facts are true about the correct order:

1)  The white body is not second.

2)  The square body is two places to the left of the hex head.

3)  Either the triangular or the hex head is fourth.

4)  Of the triangular or hex bodies, one is white or horizontally striped and the other is neither of those.  The body that does have one of those two patterns is just after either a triangular or hex head.

What is the correct body shape, texture and head shape for each position in the row?

To submit an answer, click HERE or send it to editor@phoenixmensa.org