Good evening everybody.

I don't often use my FA journal, yet I take the opportunity that I have currently 999 watchers to ask a very specific question: do you use an Android emulator on your PC to test some applications?

I have tried to install Android Studio but the emulator is asking for too much RAM. So I am looking for something that could emulate Android 5 (or more recent but not the most recent ones) on a laptop with 8Go RAM running under Window$ 10 (which means less than 2Go of effective RAM available for the emulator). The idea is to run a specific application that allows me to control some camera via Wifi (nothing more).

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and advice...

As you see, being less active online doesn’t prevent me to perform shitposting.

People following me since 2007 (when I have opened my first gallery on deviantART) have noticed that the dichotomy between upper-class and lower-class has often appeared in my illustrations (at least in the less fetish-related ones). Beyond the fact that judging peoples as losers and winners somehow confuses me (and more, generally, modelling everything as a battlefield, perplexes me). Recently, many political speeches (often delivered by the more Conservative representatives of the French Government) are insisting on the “value” of hard work, especially in the current competitive society. Yet the idea of doing well at school in order to get a good position at work and, therefore, fulfil all your goals in life, could still be considered as relevant?

More specifically, are the “prestigious” job positions (the ones requiring long studies, and often regulated by selective exams, like surgeons, researchers, or even “simple” physicians and engineers) still as “prestigious” in a world where artificial intelligence is getting better than human experts on more and more points? Me, and probably a few people reading this journal entry, we have done long studies (because we were [pick one or several options] serious, hard-working, lucky, gifted, curious, ambitious, born and raised in good conditions, etc.) to reach some job that helps us to live decently and keeping good relationships with our bank. It seems self-satisfactory. I am sure that, like me, some of you are often presented by your family members as an example of how successful scholarships will bring you a successful career. Yet how much are we? What is our true impact? Are we really as essential as we have been told?

Of course, I limit myself with the very specific case of job position following a long and specialized scholarship. Yet the evolution of AI and the way it would “change the game” (I hate this expression) could be applied to creative and artistic professions, where long year of practices are often required to reach an expert level.

Eventually, it mostly apply to all the intellectual professions.

Yet I emphasize on the word “mostly”. Obviously, some people cannot be replaced: the one that are “too big to fall” (I don’t think specifically about Elon Musk, yet it is the first name that come to my mind now… yet it may work with Bernard Arnault too). Whether you want it or not, their decisions will shape our world. They keep saying that hard-work is the base of their success. They are shown as example to follow. Yet, is their assertion compatible with the recent technical evolution?

For some of you, I might sound as a far-leftist terrorist brainwashed by Marx ideology… yet, even if considering the billionaires responsible for all the word issues does sound definitely simplistic, not to say more, refusing to see their influence and the consequences of their acts is maybe a bit questionable, isn’t it? 😉


PS: And for the ones wondering how I react to FurAffinity last announcement… well… no comment… I believe that I have posted enough drawings to make my position clear on this subject.

Irvin's Birthday (1995) - https://youtu.be/KRF78AGvIoQ -
This composter had a mystical gift for creating haunting atmospheres.

First, this is NOT a request announcement !
Even drunk, I won't involve myself in this kind of stuff.
(yes, I have am under influence of alcohol while writing)
_{( it is some obscure Guyana rum if you are wondering )}

So, I might draw a fetish picture tonight if I got the time and motivation (a link to the first draft is given in this comment). Yet, I am looking for "inspiration" and, by inspiration, I mean pictural reference : so, I am asking YOU if you have in mind an inspiring painting / illustration / sculpture / other VISUAL ART FROM BEFORE 1900 that you would like to suggest me. I don'y have anything against XX^th and XXI^st century art, yet I find it to close of my usual references (and it is probably the case for some other artists here, maybe most of them).

- Digression 1 -
Music I am currently listening as a loop:
https://youtu.be/xVtLq_k_yPM
I truly enjoy the work of this composer!

- Digression 2 -
My friend Lord_Foxhole is doing the Inktober.
I really enjoy his drawing on the daily themes.
This specific picture compelled my attention:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/49373427/
Don't hesitate to give a look to the others!

- Digression 3 -
Most of you knows that FootPaws has a Patreon.
Some (most?) of his posts are public like this one:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/ostinatoe-73348934

As indicated on my profile page, I created this account ten years ago, the 30th of June 2012 (as I remember, it was in order to visualize this picture marked mature by Ximon Red). Well, so many things has happened during this decade.

It is more than 6:30 am in Paris and I am emptying a bottle of apple brandy (Calvados) while listening -on a loop- to the last single of Muse proposed by FootPaws in his last shout on my page :



I should admit that his song provides me some guilty pleasure (I love retro synthesizer's sounds to some irrational extent). In addition, the topic of manipulation has always fascinated me. After listening to this song I was wondering what was more concerning : the clever people who believe being manipulated by some hidden powerful individuals ruling our society or some actual powerful individuals who are believing that they are able to manage society by themselves? Who are the most dangerous ? The frustrated ones developing their conspiracy theory or ones considered as the happy few who are managing 90% of the wealth of the World and pretending to do "the job of God" ?

Oh, wait, it seem that my glass is empty now…
… I am wondering if I still got some liquid comfort in my bottle.

AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED I HAVE BEEN POSTING LOTS OF NEW ARTS DURING THE LAST TWO DAYS AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE NOTICED THAT I AM WRITING THESE LINES WITH THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON PRESSED AND THAT IT IS ANNOYING FOR EVERYBODY, EVEN FOR ME. So lets continue "normally".

Should I really specify that the "NFT mole" stuff was just a very questionable joke to test the reaction of my watchers? Since my first appearance in September 2007, I never opened a commission slot: so why would I start something as "exotic" as opening a NFT gallery? In addition my aversion for risk would prevent to try this even if it was safe and regulated, which is clearly not the case currently.

Yet, I am always interested (not to say, to some unhealthy extent, fascinated) when something is both worshiped and hated like it seems to be the case for the NFT (and more generally the emerging block-chain technology). I have the opportunity to work with some people who are fond of these new concepts and are encouraging me to open an OpenSea account (which I politely decline each time). Their urging speech doesn't inspire me much. Usually, urging stuffs are not my cup of tea.

On the other hand, I am like most of "ignorant" people: when I hear about NFTs I have a vision of automatically generated pictures of lions and monkeys and I also think about the disappointment of many professional artist (professional = art is their main income) that see their (stolen) work posted on various NFT market places. It may be exiting to engage yourself in this kind of adventure if you feel like a pionner yet, many people are more attached to some "comfort zone" where the risk is managed by some regulating policies (I consider myself in the second group, the ones enjoying their own security).

If you want to play with my mole generator program:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/46054471/
You would need to install GNU Octave to make it run.

PS : While writing this, I am chatting with a colleague who is a "crypto" enthusiast (almost to some religious extent) and we are discussing about the recent OpenSea scam.

Well… I remember that I posted a similar journal on deviantART more than ten years ago, so I believe that doing this again isn't completely irrelevant, even if most of you probably know everything about my life (I am active as Alphonse Lavallée since September 2007 and I have been posting my first stuffs on the Internet since 2005 or 2006 on websites that have now disappeared, lost in time, like tears in rain). By the way, I don't know if I should set some "limits" to the questions.

Anyway, feel free to ask anything ! - I will try to reply the best as I can.
However, if it is too personal, I might somehow "limit" the information provided in my answer…

Just a little journal entry to say that everything is fine.

I would also like to say "Thank You" to  Issarlk and  FriskyLittleDevil *
It meant a lot for me.
I will try to be more careful next time...

* PS - I apologize if I omitted someone.

It is now a few days (not to say a few weeks) was tempted to create a journal entry on this subject... I am eventually doing it after having some troubles on a famous social network where sarcasm doesn't seem to be managed by the "regulation" algorithm (I will post the incriminated picture and the content of the tweet in a few minutes...) but also after seeing this very short video of 44 seconds:



Most of you have recognized the computer scientist who revealed the mass surveillance of people, including compatriots done by the secret services of his country... which in addition of being potentially considered as an act of high treason in almost martial courts in the World had also begotten a massif diplomatic sħ*t-storm that hasn't been yet properly "solved" (some anti-establishment people would say that he tried to reduce the cognitive distortion between the laws written by -sometimes elected- lawyers and followed by the citizens of the county and the unwritten rules followed by the secret services). Yet the question here is not what this guy has done but more the possibles impacts of the short statement he made in this video.

You probably all guess my positioning on this subject and if you are wondering let say that I like to follow Mr. Ulyanov advice: « Trust is good - Control is better »
Now ones may wonder if the concept of "control" could be applied to the recent accounts banishments regulations made by FurAffinity Authorities. The way of regulating contents (and users) on this website by probably following a clear protocol fully accepted by all the FA-community appears to me as a proof of showing full "trust" into FurAffinity Authorities... Well, at least I hope that this journal entry and the others pictures I may post in the future will still be considered as a good match for [FA] community...

All right, now that I have your attention lets talk about my current life…
Like in many countries, France is experiencing confinement procedure.
As you may guess, respecting social distance in Paris isn't very natural.
Yet, one have to get use to it…

To summarize my “new way of life”:
– I am at home, in Paris, with tape water, heating, fridge, TV, etc.
– I also have an access to the Internet (as you may guess).
– I am still paid… and I still try to work, somehow, on my archaic laptop.
– I am allowed to go out to buy food and drink (and also toilet paper).
––– For this I have to sign a form (my last photo) because… well… France.
––– In order to enter the supermarket, ones should wait in a line (distance).
––– Supermarket in Paris are not yet empty and some shops are still working.
– When I am out I wear a mask because I don't know if I am infected or not.
– I feel concerned about the pandemic for 1 reason: my dad is old and weak.
––– Hopefully, he isn't here currently (it's more secure in hospital than at home).
––– He is the only close family left (that happens when you are only child).

To make it short:
1°/ My way of life is comfortable enough (unlike the medics).
2°/ I am still supposed to work from home so no risk of getting bored.
3°/ The situation in Paris is not comparable to 1945-46! It's bearable, really.

My rants:
1°/ Most of my vacation schedules are brutally cancelled…
2°/ Some people aren't respecting the “rules” of confinement.
2°a – their ignorance of the situation is regrettable
2°b – their selfishness is utterly stupid
2°c – some of their justifications (population regulation) are just…
no comment.

Stay home, keep distance and take care of each other.

…

But don't have to follow the “rules” imposed by authorities.
Nobody can force you to choose your future…
“Laissez-faire” is also a solution, leading to some different results ↓↓↓

My last journal entry was on my front page for more than 5 months...
It was dealing with the regrettable consequences of obscurantism and fanaticism...
In addition, it was written in French, so few people would understand it
So, after almost half-year of inactivity, lets resume the “short films” tradition!

A few months ago, my friend Lord_Foxhole showed my a very nice (and also quite dark) animation movie, The Backwater Gospel, a 9'30'' short film directed by Bo Mathorne in 2011, as a student project in a Danish animation school (http://www.animwork.dk/en/). So, if you like the subtle blend of darkness, violence, paranoia, death... and -of course- “religion”, you will love this cartoon:





Yet if you are not at all into macabre and wicked stuffs...
Well...
May I suggest you to watch Disney's Zootopia trailer instead?

Cela doit faire un peu plus de deux ans que je traîne sur FurAffinity… En principe, tout ce que je poste dans la section « Journal » traite d'un court-métrage et est rédigé en anglais. En théorie, je devrais y raconter ma vie et exposer mon opinion, mais cela représente bien peu d'intérêt : mon existence étant somme toute assez banale et mes idées (suintant parfois de manière assez visible sur certains de mes dessins) n'étant pas forcément des plus originales, ni plus constructives.

Mais bon, ce soir, je ne proposerai pas de court-métrage.
Ce soir, je raconte ma vie et mes états d'âme.
Ce soir, je n'ai pas vraiment sommeil (il est près de 4h00 du matin à Paris).
Les tristes événements de la journée y sont peut-être pour quelque chose…

Je pourrai me joindre à ce grande mouvement des « Je suis Charlie », mais cela serait un tantinet hypocrite de ma part, ayant toujours snobé ce journal… à l'exception du numéro (historique) du 8 février 2006 que j'ai acheté essentiellement pour la couverture mémorable de Cabu. Ce dessinateur était à mes yeux LE caricaturiste par excellence. Cela viens probablement de mon enfance où il intervenait souvent dans les émissions destinées à la jeunesse (que celles et ceux qui ont une trentaine d'années et n'ont pas connu Dorothée lèvent la main). Lorsque j'étais adolescent, je chouravais le Canard Enchaîné de mon père pour me délecter des caricatures (bon, d'accord, je le fais encore… mais maintenant je lis aussi les articles). J'avais une affection particulière pour les dessins de Cabu qui étaient à la fois explicites et subtils. Il savait tourner en dérision la profonde noirceur de l'âme humaine et traiter avec humour les actualités sordides qui bercent le quotidien. Il semble que l'ironie du destin ait voulu que ce soit justement cette sombre actualité qui mette un terme à son existence. Son regard sur le monde me manquera. Les prochaines fois que je parcourrai le Canard, je pressens qu'un grand sentiment de vide se dégagera de ses pages. Et même si ce sont ses œuvres les plus polémiques qui ont eu le plus de succès, je n'oublierai jamais ce sentiment légèreté (parfois irrévérencieuse) qui se dégageait de la page de BD qu'il publiait chaque trimestre dans le journal municipale de la Ville de Paris (du temps de Delanoë).

J'aurais probablement dû dessiner quelque chose pour l'occasion (comme je l'ai fais plusieurs fois par le passé lorsqu'une personnalité que j'admire venait à disparaître) mais je n'ai pas vraiment le cœur à cela. Je me permettrais néanmoins de saluer le vibrant hommage de Titash.


Et pour finir, un petit coup de gueule. En lisant les nombreuses réactions provoquées par cette fusillade, on y relève souvent les termes « martyrs » « courage » « liberté d'expression »… cette politisation des événements me laisse quelque peu perplexe. Il s'agissait avant tout d'artistes et, qu'on aime ou pas l'humour qui se dégage de leurs illustrations, leur but était de se faire plaisir et de faire plaisir à leurs lecteurs… (un peu comme les dessinateurs sur FurAffinity). Les artistes ne sont pas des héros, il nous aident juste à rendre le quotidien plus supportable.

So it is Christmas Eve...
Which kind of short movie could suit to this period of the year ?

Maybe a little animated cartoon.

So, here is "RAGING BLUES", co-directed in 2003 by the cartoonists Winshluss and Cizo (a.k.a. Vincent Paronnaud and Lyonel Mathieu).
A poor mother, try to find a little present for her son, but she hasn't got money...
Lets enjoy 6 minutes of desperation and sadness :




PS : By the way, it was the same Vincent Paronnaud who directed a few years later the movie adaptation of Sartrapi's graphic novel Persepolis.

Rabbits are happy.
Happy.
Happy.
Happy.

Some of you may wonder where I stole the idea of my last picture.
It come from the Serbian cartoon Rabbitland directed by Ana Nedeljkovic.
So let's have 7 minutes of happiness. A happy cartoon. Happy. Happy. Happy.

Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy



A happy day in Rabbitland.

So it is Christmas Eve...

What kind of short-film could be the mostly emblematic of this period of the year? Probably a cartoon. Yet I tried to find something not to cute/mushy and not to trash/hardcore. And, the most important, something original. It was more than a month that I was trying to find something and was about to give up when the miracle occurred, this morning at 4:00am (before going to bed). A masterpiece of 165 seconds (2:45). It is extremely short but it is close to perfection: The Christmas Card was done in 1968 (43 years ago) by a 28 years old American artist who would later become one of the greater movie maker of the end of the century. And remember, this short-movie was done in 1968, which means one year before the 5th of October 1969, when with five of his friends, they affected the History of Humanity with their first show on the BBC.

So here is the movie (less than 3 minutes).
I hope you will enjoy the show... and Merry Christmas!

“Ce n'est pas tout d'accumuler les morts, encore faut-il savoir les honorer”.
“It is not enough accumulate dead, one must find a way to honor them”.

One year before The Snails (cf. my previous journal entry) René Laloux directed Dead Times, a disturbing masterpiece of gallows humour. Here again, the dark illustrations of Roland Topor and the strange music of Alain Goraguer bring an unique atmosphere... This short movie (less than 10 minutes) is quite appropriate: the day before yesterday was Halloween, today is the All Souls' Day and it will soon be the Armistice Day.



It is in French (sorry) yet you can activate the English subtitles !

It is now more than 6 months I didn't post anything in my journal. Recently, WufWoolz gave me a link to a clip using some excerpts of the French short animation Les Escargots (The Snails) by Roland Topor and René Laloux. I have always been a great fan of Topor (and by "always", I mean my earliest childhood with the show Téléchat in the beginning of the 1980's). The short movie I present you in this journal entry was done in 1965, eight years before their masterpiece: Fantastic Planet.



DURATION : 11 MIN.
I hope you will enjoy.

Some of you my believe that French movies are dealing with useless existential question, trying to intellectualize every little events of life with a self-centered attitude. Actually it is true! Pourquoi... Passkeu is symptomatic of a certain idea of cultural exception. I wonder what MM. Tristan Aurouet and Gilles Lellouche* had in mind when they directed this movie in 2001. I let you enjoy 7 minutes of deep philosophical thoughts:



* A few years later, Gilles Lellouche became a famous actor with a noticeable role in Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs by Guillaume Canet).

Five silent men, a platform in equilibrium in space and a music box: it is extremely minimalist... Yet, this short film of 7 minutes directed and produced in Germany by the Lauenstein brothers in 1989 got noticed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences*...



*It won an Oscar if you prefer.

Last Thursday, it was Valentine Day... I was wondering what kind of movie I could propose you this time: there are so many films dealing with love! Then I remember that back in 2004, when I was studying maths (working between 50 and 70 hours per week to pass the exams), I allowed myself to go out of my house to watch a movie. I had only forty minutes to spend and there was a tiny little movie theater near my house that was showing this short film for 1€. Almost ten years later I still remember all the details: there was only 3 persons in the audience and we had to go and fetch the projectionist who had completely forgotten that he was supposed to show the movie... I can also say that each shot, each image of this film was deeply engraved in my memory.



With a classical plot (a shy man is preparing his first date) Juan Diego Solanas built a masterpiece of 17 minutes and received many awards (Cannes 2003, Imagina 2004, César 2004, etc.). I hope that you will enjoy this film as much as I enjoyed it.

It is now two weeks I didn't post a short film... so lets fix this setback! Now imagine that you are an astronaut lost on an unknown planet, that you have a little alien worm in your space suit and only 3 minutes of oxygen before dying from suffocation. How will you spend the 3 last minutes of your life? Lets discover this multi-awarded Spanish science-fiction movie from Martin Rosete, narrated in French (sorry) with English subtitles (9min – 2013) :



Hold your breath!

A blind pianist prodigy who try to stay alive by playing a music piece and a cleaning lady who proves to be an opera singer: the two previous movies where dealing with the power of music. The one I will propose you tonight is no exception to the rule. This time, a mysterious DJ try to compose the perfect harmony. Directed by Jamin Winans in 2005, this 8 minutes American movie is a rare pearl. Enjoy!



PS: Unfortunately, Mr. Winans is completely unknown in France. For example, his main movie, "Ink" has never been distributed in my country. It seems that low budget independent movies have difficulties to cross the Atlantic Ocean, don't they?...

Lets continue the little tradition of a "short movie per week" started last Sunday. This week, I propose you an American short film (less than 8 minutes) from 2011 : Pizza Verdi by Gary Nadeau. Like in the previous movie, don't trust the appearance!



It seems that New York was designed to be shot in black and white...

I usually don't have anything interesting to tell about my life (except that I am quite busy... which isn't so interesting actually). Yet, I would like to start the year with a little tradition: every week, I will post a link to a short movie I quite like. So lets start with the “Piano Tuner” a 13 minutes movie directed by Olivier Treiner in 2010. It is in French (sorry) but with English subtitles.



It received the prize of the best short movie at the César Awards 2012...