Alan Kennedy (alankennedy)

Tree of Death

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:28:55 -0800

When you think about it, a complete taxonomic "Tree of Life" can be more accurately described as a "Tree of Death". That tree would also make the most horrifyingly-amazing mess when Fall comes around.

More Human Than Human (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:36:33 -0800

The human body has natural limits but that doesn't mean we are just limited to what we were born with. Instead we develop technology as an aid to surpass our natural limitations, using tools to do things we couldn't otherwise do. However, technology is extrinsic to the human body, not part of it. But what if it literally became part of us and allowed us to inherently exceed the human body's natural limitations? If that makes us stronger, faster, smarter than ever was biologically possible are we more human? Deus Ex: Human Revolution had me thinking about how entwined we are with technology and the role it plays in society and being human. This was visually apparent to me most in the brilliant design of Jaron Namir. Most all of his body is completely artificial as products of advanced technology, but it was modeled after the human muscular system which it replaced. He looked like he came straight out of an anatomy textbook, yet he surpassed the natural limits and capability of the human body. He represented the extreme change from human biology to human technology. The triangle has a double meaning here: First, it's the letter Delta, used in math and science to denote change. Second, *spoiler alert*, it alludes to the Illuminati, whom Namir works for as commander of the Tyrants.

Three Hearts

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:30:50 -0700

Two for the gills, one for the body.

Don't freak out

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:29:57 -0700

They don't actually have legs... that would be kind of creepy

Evolution Academy

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:57:54 -0700

Founded in 1859 by Charles Darwin, his academy would go on to develop and expand into one of the most prominent and distinguished schools of the modern world. When originally asked how students would be selected for admittance he simply responded, "Naturally." T-shirt on sale at The Yetee for $11 on September 29 and 30th during their" Billions and Billions" science themed art show.

Splitting the Atom

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:18:50 -0700

"Now, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds". J. Robert Oppenheimer, "father of the atomic bomb", claimed that verse from the Bhagavad Gita came to mind while watching the successful detonation of the first atomic bomb.

Infinite Monkey Theorem (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:21:55 -0700

Infinity is a concept so simple to understand and yet so hard to conceive. In our everyday lives we work with finite things, the idea of anything being infinite can be hard to wrap your mind around. That's where the monkeys come in. The infinite monkey theorem illustrates just how long infinite time can be. It states that a hypothetical monkey* randomly hitting keys on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will almost surely eventually type out the entire works of Shakespeare. Turns out you don't need Shakespeare to write Shakespeare, it could be done randomly. And really, it wouldn't just end there; with an infinite amount of time the monkey would also eventually type out everything that has ever been written and that will be written. It would type out every possible thing that can be produced by a typewriter. All by random. Because infinity is such a long time that everything that is possible, no matter how unlikely, will eventually occur. *The hypothetical immortal monkey may alternatively be substituted with an infinite amount of monkeys with typewriters.

ADAM and EVE (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:28:53 -0800

In Bioshock the fall of the Objectivist underwater metropolis known as Rapture can be traced back to the discovery of a very remarkable sea slug. This sea slug was discovered to produce unstable stem cells that could be harvested for human use. They called this ADAM. ADAM could be manipulated and processed into different serums called Plasmids that genetically modify the body in unique ways, replacing native cells with the modified stem cells, which grants the user incredible abilities and powers. EVE was also created from ADAM to fuel the body's use of some Plasmids. They were an incredible scientific breakthrough and proved to be especially lucrative in Rapture. This amazing discovery however would bring serious consequences. It was found that the unstable stem cells of ADAM caused physical and mental damage to those who used it habitually and led to dependency. This would prove disastrous when an ADAM-fueled civil war in Rapture broke out and many people ended up as Splicers: violent, addicted ADAM abusers with physical deformities and degenerated sanity. Rapture fell into a nightmarish dystopia. The remaining sane citizens were either killed or went into hiding, leaving Splicers to the ruins of the city. They are what remains of what was once Rapture's citizens, representing their fall from grace and the ramifications of ADAM and EVE.

Circle of Life

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:51:31 -0700

Every organism eventually becomes food for another organism. om nom nom nom. If you'd like to see this as a T-shirt, it would be very much appreciated if you score it on Threadless and you can leave a comment on what color you'd prefer. Many Thanks! http://threadless.com/submission/379876/Circle_of_Life

March of the Locust

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:41:15 -0700

The horde pushes into a city, leaving only a wake of destruction... - Done for a Gears of War wallpaper contest.

Aperture Science: All science, all the time (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:39:22 -0700

Science is fun! And at Aperture the science never runs out. Say, what's that giant plant making it's way through the facility you ask? Why, it's Solanum tuberosum, commonly known as the potato. Looks like somebody must have left their science experiment in the basement for too long. Portal 2. A true masterpiece.

The Curiosity of the Quantum Cat

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:11:44 -0700

The famous "Schrödinger's Cat" thought experiment has a cat placed in a box with a device that has a 50/50 chance of killing the cat, suggesting that after a while the cat would simultaneously be in both possible states: alive and dead, until the box is opened to actually observe the outcome, where it will only be one state or the other. It was not meant to be taken seriously, Schrödinger meant it to be an absurd example illustrating the problem he saw with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Passenger Pigeon Zombie

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:32:54 -0700

"Passenger Pigeon" Ectopistes migratorius Imagine looking up and seeing a flock of birds so large it was 1 mile wide, 300 miles long, and took 14 hours to pass. That flock flew over southern Ontario in 1866 and would be estimated to be made of over 3.5 billion birds. The birds were Passenger Pigeons and they went from being one of the largest groups of any animal to completely extinct. Its abundance made it ideal as cheap food for the poor and for slaves, so massive-scale commercial hunting brought their numbers crashing down. Along with this, habitat-loss made sure the species would not survive. The last known passenger pigeon died in 1914 in a zoo. They went from billions of birds to zero in less than a century. Only they wouldn't stay dead for long...

Thylacine Zombie

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:32:35 -0700

"Tasmanian Tiger" Thylacine cynocephalus It looked like a dog with the back stripes of a tiger. It had a pouch like a wallaby or kangaroo. Its jaws could open up to 120 degrees. The Thylacine was the largest carnivorous marsupial in modern times. Thought to have been attacking sheep, bounties were placed on them to control their population. The hunting and possibly other factors caused their numbers to dwindle. A conservation movement in 1901 pushed for protecting those that remained but by the time any official protection was put into place in 1936 it was too late. Only 59 days later the last known Thylacine died from neglect in a zoo. But the end was just the beginning for this spe

Un-Dead as a Dodo

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:55:17 -0800

"Dodo" Raphus cucullatus The Dodo's extinction is its legacy. But once, on the small island of Mauritius, lived this now iconic extinct creature. It was a large, flightless bird completely unique to the island where it had evolved away from any natural predators. The demise of the Dodo began once humans discovered the island. A fearless and flightless bird made easy prey for humans while the foreign animals that came with them raided the birds nests. The Dodo had no chance against these predators and was wiped out in only around 100 years after it had been discovered. The last confirmed sighting in 1662 would have been the last time anyone would see it... ...until the past returned to haunt us.

On the Origin of Species (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:06:22 -0700

It's one of the most important books ever written. It presents one of the greatest ideas anyone has ever had. More than 20 years in the making, "On the Origin of Species" arrived on the scene in 1859. This 502 page book would go on to revolutionize how we understand the living world. It would introduce the general public to the simple process responsible for the remarkable history and astounding diversity of life: Evolution.

Gorilla gorilla gorilla! (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:16:28 -0700

That's actually the scientific name of the Western Lowland Gorilla.

Some Disassembly Required (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:14:06 -0700

Cut off their limbs. For Isaac Clarke it was the most important piece of advice he received. It was the one sure way to kill them and became key to his survival. They could be anywhere. Around any corner. In the vents. Behind the next door. Hiding in the shadows. He had to be ready to separate necromorphs from their limbs at any moment. But the Ishimura was a mining ship, there wasn't much to arm yourself with. What it had were tools. But tools it turned out were perfect for the job. Tools that under normal circumstances could be very dangerous and easily sever a limb; Qualities that under his circumstances could be very useful and possibly save his life. Every step he took brought him closer to a necromorph encounter, but armed with the right tools Isaac was ready to disassemble any that came his way. Dead Space

This is not Locke (For Sale)

Alan Kennedy (alankennedy) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:18:00 -0700

Ceci n'est pas Locke. When I ran into Locke again I felt something was off about him. Something just wasn't right, I couldn't quite put my finger on it but it was horribly unsettling. It can be difficult to see in the jungle at night but he looked... different somehow. Ah, Im just imagining things I tried to tell myself, but I couldn't shake this foreboding feeling. It wasn't long before I discovered just why I felt as I had. Shortly after the encounter when I returned to shore I was told there was something I had to see. What I was shown I will never forget. Lying there in the sand was the cold lifeless body of John Locke... The man I had only recently talked to was not John Locke. It was an impostor posing as a dead man. I don't really know who or WHAT I had been talking to. All I know is that they had one hell of a costume. LOST