kinda bugs me. you would think a Microsoft product would at least have an option for keeping your operating system's contact list in sync with your email application's, so that- if not both ways- you could at least manage both with one or the other. but NO! each may only operate independently of the other. so, exactly, what good is having a contact list embedded in the operating system?
color me annoyed with that.
2010-03-30
2010-03-29
mbira music
press play on the first video, then read on- and by all means, if you like the post, leave me a comment and let me know you were here :)
from this wikipedia page, for those who are unfamiliar with the mbira:
though some are configured with an array of keys capable of producing fully chromatic scales, mbira, like harmonicas, are more commonly limited to tones within the range of musical keys sharing a related set of intervals (such as G mixolydian / A minor / C major, etc.). the proper name for a specific type of mbira seems to refer to both its physical configuration and place of origin.
the "color" of sounds produced by all instruments- that is, the unique quality of sound that distinguishes each from another- is a function of their physical forms. within a finite range, and varying with the "touch" of the person playing, each creates specifically "shaped" waveforms at certain pitches, subject to Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release (ADSR) envelopes. the attack is a combination of the time it takes a note to reach peak volume and the manner in which it does so. decay is the opposite, describing the note's fall in volume from its initial peak to the level at which it rings (sustain). eventually the sustain gives way and the tone dies out (release). mbira tend to have an attack that can vary from sharp to blunt, with a relatively loud peak, and a quick decay, followed by a long, smooth sustain/release curve that's almost a hum.
they sound to me like a quiet cross between a xylophone and steel drums, with a little wind chime thrown in, but there's also an element of scraping to the sound- the edge of the 'keys' scraping against the fingers- that's pretty unique. in Africa, people often attach bottle caps, shells, or similar things to the sound board, which create a buzzing sound, supposed to attract the spirits of the dead- important since the instruments are often played at religious gatherings. aesthetically, for me, they recall African, Asian, Caribbean, and Central American music, which may say more about the universal commonalities in music than about the instruments per se.
i kept thinking to myself how simple it looks to make one of the more basic ones, apart from achieving the right tones with the tines, which would take some trial and error. i also think this would be a great gift for a kid, so i looked them up. they're available from a lot of manufacturers over a wide range of prices. should either of my readers decide to buy one at some point, consider looking for one on amazon.com
, 'cause if you do, and buy one, i'll make a tiny little percentage of the purchase price. (actually, if you click through any amazon link on this blog, and then buy anything through them during that browsing session, i make a little something.) heck, buy one for me! i kinda like the one on the right...
maybe i'll put it on my wish list.
anyway, since they come from Africa, where they've been played for at least a thousand years, it seemed fitting to start there. the mbira pictured in the video above seems to be a mbira huru. the piece was probably played on a different instrument, the mbira dzavadzimu ("voice of the ancestors"), which is considered a religious instrument, and is the national instrument of Zimbabwe. incidentally, i have no idea if that first piece of music is actually African, or particularly indicative of any African style. i'm certainly no expert on world music or Africa, and i suspect "African music" is an oversimplification anyway.
the mbira in this next picture and video is fully chromatic, as this very nice PDF shows. the physical configuration makes it one of the most versatile instruments in terms of fingering. i'm not familiar with this particular composition, but it's a familiar-sounding malagueña or a piece in the malagueñas style. though many pieces of music bear it as their title, the term refers more generally to a flamenco style of playing, and a type of Central American folk music. more info here and here. the mbira migrated from Africa to Central America a long time ago, and was incorporated into the indigenous folk music. the musician in the video is named Patti. i borrowed the picture from her myspace page, which has a bunch more videos. she also has a youtube channel.
in contrast to the last, this next video shows an improvisational jazz piece by Patrick Hadley. Hadley's mbira (which he also likely made, as he's a craftsman with the manufacturer, Array Instruments), has a 5-octave range, and incorporates a custom piezo cable pickup, allowing amplification, direct recording (as he's done here), and signal processing. the recording shows definite delineation between stereo channels for different registers on his mbira...possibly two separate pickups. these retail for about $2400, about the same as a high-end acoustic guitar.
one more from Hadley, which starts with a couple good shots of his instrument. Array makes a few interesting non-standard instruments, my favorites of which are probably this mbira, their psaltry, and their nail violin. that last link has pictures of them, and audio clips of them played solo, together and with more conventional instruments. Hadley has a youtube channel too, here.
can't resist throwing in one more link. mbiras like the one shown after the jump are usually called kalimbas. i like this guy's technique, using his thumb to baffle the sound hole, finessing it almost like you'd do with a wah pedal on guitar. he's pretty prolific with the video posts, too. more power to him! check him out.
from this wikipedia page, for those who are unfamiliar with the mbira:
"The mbira (aka likembe, mbila, thumb piano, ...) is a musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered keys [technically "lamellae", which may be metal or bamboo] have been attached, often fitted to a resonator. Usually classified as part of the lamellaphone family, it is also part of the idiophones family of musical instruments. In some places it is also known as a sanza."
though some are configured with an array of keys capable of producing fully chromatic scales, mbira, like harmonicas, are more commonly limited to tones within the range of musical keys sharing a related set of intervals (such as G mixolydian / A minor / C major, etc.). the proper name for a specific type of mbira seems to refer to both its physical configuration and place of origin.
the "color" of sounds produced by all instruments- that is, the unique quality of sound that distinguishes each from another- is a function of their physical forms. within a finite range, and varying with the "touch" of the person playing, each creates specifically "shaped" waveforms at certain pitches, subject to Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release (ADSR) envelopes. the attack is a combination of the time it takes a note to reach peak volume and the manner in which it does so. decay is the opposite, describing the note's fall in volume from its initial peak to the level at which it rings (sustain). eventually the sustain gives way and the tone dies out (release). mbira tend to have an attack that can vary from sharp to blunt, with a relatively loud peak, and a quick decay, followed by a long, smooth sustain/release curve that's almost a hum.
they sound to me like a quiet cross between a xylophone and steel drums, with a little wind chime thrown in, but there's also an element of scraping to the sound- the edge of the 'keys' scraping against the fingers- that's pretty unique. in Africa, people often attach bottle caps, shells, or similar things to the sound board, which create a buzzing sound, supposed to attract the spirits of the dead- important since the instruments are often played at religious gatherings. aesthetically, for me, they recall African, Asian, Caribbean, and Central American music, which may say more about the universal commonalities in music than about the instruments per se.
i kept thinking to myself how simple it looks to make one of the more basic ones, apart from achieving the right tones with the tines, which would take some trial and error. i also think this would be a great gift for a kid, so i looked them up. they're available from a lot of manufacturers over a wide range of prices. should either of my readers decide to buy one at some point, consider looking for one on amazon.com, 'cause if you do, and buy one, i'll make a tiny little percentage of the purchase price. (actually, if you click through any amazon link on this blog, and then buy anything through them during that browsing session, i make a little something.) heck, buy one for me! i kinda like the one on the right...maybe i'll put it on my wish list.anyway, since they come from Africa, where they've been played for at least a thousand years, it seemed fitting to start there. the mbira pictured in the video above seems to be a mbira huru. the piece was probably played on a different instrument, the mbira dzavadzimu ("voice of the ancestors"), which is considered a religious instrument, and is the national instrument of Zimbabwe. incidentally, i have no idea if that first piece of music is actually African, or particularly indicative of any African style. i'm certainly no expert on world music or Africa, and i suspect "African music" is an oversimplification anyway.
the mbira in this next picture and video is fully chromatic, as this very nice PDF shows. the physical configuration makes it one of the most versatile instruments in terms of fingering. i'm not familiar with this particular composition, but it's a familiar-sounding malagueña or a piece in the malagueñas style. though many pieces of music bear it as their title, the term refers more generally to a flamenco style of playing, and a type of Central American folk music. more info here and here. the mbira migrated from Africa to Central America a long time ago, and was incorporated into the indigenous folk music. the musician in the video is named Patti. i borrowed the picture from her myspace page, which has a bunch more videos. she also has a youtube channel.
in contrast to the last, this next video shows an improvisational jazz piece by Patrick Hadley. Hadley's mbira (which he also likely made, as he's a craftsman with the manufacturer, Array Instruments), has a 5-octave range, and incorporates a custom piezo cable pickup, allowing amplification, direct recording (as he's done here), and signal processing. the recording shows definite delineation between stereo channels for different registers on his mbira...possibly two separate pickups. these retail for about $2400, about the same as a high-end acoustic guitar.
one more from Hadley, which starts with a couple good shots of his instrument. Array makes a few interesting non-standard instruments, my favorites of which are probably this mbira, their psaltry, and their nail violin. that last link has pictures of them, and audio clips of them played solo, together and with more conventional instruments. Hadley has a youtube channel too, here.
can't resist throwing in one more link. mbiras like the one shown after the jump are usually called kalimbas. i like this guy's technique, using his thumb to baffle the sound hole, finessing it almost like you'd do with a wah pedal on guitar. he's pretty prolific with the video posts, too. more power to him! check him out.
2010-03-27
erebus
very short animated video, possibly most notable for its highly stylized use of polygons and blocks, which certainly seem more an artistic choice than a technical constraint.
from the filmmaker:
There used to be a small but beautiful blue rock somewhere within the vast void of the universe. Life appeared on its crust relatively fast and as usual through out the evolution, one of the species dominated the rest, by forming complex societies to overcome its primordial survival needs. The dominant inhabitants progressed technologically, excelled in many different fields within their closed society and managed to build establishments on every corner of the planet's terrain. But during the process of solving these initial problems and building their dream utopia, more problems would arise faster than before, making their daily lives gradually more and more complicated. The time came when their overcomplicated society demanded so much devotion, that they stopped questioning other, more fundamental issues. It was then, when they even stopped looking up the sky. The sky that used to inspire and guide them will now bring them disaster and Erebus.
the praying machine
this is an interesting animated short, at times NQSFW. by all means check out the filmmakers' website, Tokyo Plastic, here. if you click the topmost link ('website') on that page, the next has some seriously top-notch flash animation work (which has garnered them some awards, i gather). i actually ran across that flash work before, a long time ago, and had forgotten about it. funny that something that well done stuck in my head, and was instantly recognizable after so long.
short sketches of life
from the filmmakers' vimeo page:
A short sketchbook-style animated film that takes a look at people at a "La Fete Nationale" celebration in Montreal, Quebec. The film was an independent production, directed and animated by Malcolm Sutherland with music by Kevin Kardasz, and was produced with financial assistance from The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Looks best in HD!!
Spider Boy
this is a well-executed short about a young boy with a wish...or two. Spanish with English subtitles. as with all Vimeo embeds, click through for more info.
¿Dare you to make a wish?
2010-03-21
"long may you wave"
on the 28th anniversary of the performance, here's Robin Williams personifying the American flag.
via my uncle Wayne! thanks, man.
via my uncle Wayne! thanks, man.
2010-03-20
short dream
i was with Loren, and we were with a larger group that seems very indistinct now. there was a dark-haired girl there, someone who’d done Loren a serious wrong. we three seemed to separate from a larger group. Loren was concentrating on how to punish the girl, working out how to carry out a confrontation that seemed inevitable. he was going to kill her. she was never far from us, moving around, seeming to busy herself with small tasks, at a refrigerator, and moving from this room to that. she kept a sort of respectful distance while remaining close enough to eavesdrop. she was fully aware of the wrong she’d done, of Loren’s plan to confront her, of me; she was aware of everything. resigned to meeting whatever destiny Loren chose- to dealing with the consequences of her mistake- she seemed both curious to learn what would happen next and indifferent to what was happening.
Loren seemed inclined to confront her with a knife. as this became clear to me, it seemed a previously unperceived element of “support” for the girl sprang into action. there was a bustle in the household, which now seemed to be the girl’s territory, as people prepared for the coming confrontation. i moved through the house, watching these preparations. someone produced a small handgun. i found myself beside a headless, female-proportioned mannequin, very like the ones dressmakers use, which wore a set of Japanese-looking bamboo body armor. each of the stalks was very thin- larger than a pencil but smaller than a pinky finger. the assembly of them was painted, mostly black with green highlights. someone test-fired the gun at the mannequin. i was certain the armor would fail in a burst of splinters, but the bullets- three of the them- did less damage than i expected. each left a neat, round impact “crater”. the girl’s “staff” seemed to conclude that the armor would barely suffice. the armor seemed to be intended for the girl in the coming confrontation.
moving to find Loren, i saw the girl, sitting sprawled on the floor in a small, square kitchen, her legs an improbable tangle, her back against plain wooden cupboards, below a white porcelain sink. above the sink was an uncovered window, through which twilight gave the room a low, blue glow. the girl’s position seemed awkward, but she made no effort to move. i noticed she wore only a plain, thin shift. continuing on, i brought news of the gun and the bamboo armor to Loren, who was now working out his plan on paper, in a sort of storyboard. i stood over the table he worked at, and discussed how this change in circumstances required rethinking his plan. i erased, somewhat ineffectively, what he had on the page, as i explained the circumstances to him. i did so plainly but also gently, trying to break news i judged to be problematic and unwelcome. i left the outer box he’d drawn around his plan- literally the “outline”, and surrendered the pencil back to him, and i watched him, interested to see how he’d proceed.
then Loren’s mother was there. she inserted herself into the situation bluntly, her loud entrance drawing Loren’s attention, as intended. she approached him, moving behind his chair, grasped his shoulders and leaned in close, addressing him directly. she’d obviously assimilated the new information i brought, and her words to Loren pressured him in no uncertain terms to proceed along a course she thought best. i was disheartened by her approach, but didn’t interfere, choosing to hold my tongue while Loren contemplated how to move forward. all this took only a few seconds, and Loren seemed to take it all in quietly, taking no action immediately, not even looking up from his plan. as his mother spoke, his attention seemed focused on me, as if he heard what she said, but hadn’t finished the train of thought from the last change in circumstance. halfheartedly, he redrew some of the lines he’d drawn previously, reluctant to change course, and knowing he must. he drew a “thought bubble” around the entire box, and looked up at me, indicating- first to himself and then to me- that he would continue to think about his previous plan, that he reserved the right to revisit it later.
the scene changed. i was outside in a hilly field on what seemed like a game preserve. it was evident to me that the place was undergoing a change- the animals could not stay. three animals seemed particularly important to me. they were quite varied in anatomy, and all a bit different than anything i’ve seen before, but they seemed quite normal to me at the time. most striking about them was their coloring. each of them was spotted haphazardly, like a cheetah or leopard, black spots on white. strangely, every irregular black spot was surrounded by a ring of lime green. the animals seemed rare, possibly endangered, and the question of what to do with them occupied others present as well.
i stood beside a cart, sort of a cross between a jeep and a golf cart, which was colored like the odd animals. one of the three animals, very dog-like, sat on the ground next to me, and i scratched it behind the ears, while interacting with various people. they asked me questions, and i pointed them off in one direction or another, but whatever was actually going on, i was involved, but not in charge.
i was approached by a girl who was looking for Yogi Bear. people were calling out for him. turning around, facing in the general direction they were calling, where a low hill obscured my view to the left. the base of the hill became a small grassy area, ending at the bank of a stream, which wound from right to left, disappearing behind the hill. as i watched, Yogi skipped out from behind the hill, fully cartoon-like amid a perfectly real-looking landscape. he was in a good mood, and- strangely- as he bounced toward those looking for him, the pupils of his eyes spun around the whites randomly, a cartoon representation of the eyes sometimes seen on stuffed animals, the ones with a little black ball free to move inside a rounded, hollow disk.
Loren seemed inclined to confront her with a knife. as this became clear to me, it seemed a previously unperceived element of “support” for the girl sprang into action. there was a bustle in the household, which now seemed to be the girl’s territory, as people prepared for the coming confrontation. i moved through the house, watching these preparations. someone produced a small handgun. i found myself beside a headless, female-proportioned mannequin, very like the ones dressmakers use, which wore a set of Japanese-looking bamboo body armor. each of the stalks was very thin- larger than a pencil but smaller than a pinky finger. the assembly of them was painted, mostly black with green highlights. someone test-fired the gun at the mannequin. i was certain the armor would fail in a burst of splinters, but the bullets- three of the them- did less damage than i expected. each left a neat, round impact “crater”. the girl’s “staff” seemed to conclude that the armor would barely suffice. the armor seemed to be intended for the girl in the coming confrontation.
moving to find Loren, i saw the girl, sitting sprawled on the floor in a small, square kitchen, her legs an improbable tangle, her back against plain wooden cupboards, below a white porcelain sink. above the sink was an uncovered window, through which twilight gave the room a low, blue glow. the girl’s position seemed awkward, but she made no effort to move. i noticed she wore only a plain, thin shift. continuing on, i brought news of the gun and the bamboo armor to Loren, who was now working out his plan on paper, in a sort of storyboard. i stood over the table he worked at, and discussed how this change in circumstances required rethinking his plan. i erased, somewhat ineffectively, what he had on the page, as i explained the circumstances to him. i did so plainly but also gently, trying to break news i judged to be problematic and unwelcome. i left the outer box he’d drawn around his plan- literally the “outline”, and surrendered the pencil back to him, and i watched him, interested to see how he’d proceed.
then Loren’s mother was there. she inserted herself into the situation bluntly, her loud entrance drawing Loren’s attention, as intended. she approached him, moving behind his chair, grasped his shoulders and leaned in close, addressing him directly. she’d obviously assimilated the new information i brought, and her words to Loren pressured him in no uncertain terms to proceed along a course she thought best. i was disheartened by her approach, but didn’t interfere, choosing to hold my tongue while Loren contemplated how to move forward. all this took only a few seconds, and Loren seemed to take it all in quietly, taking no action immediately, not even looking up from his plan. as his mother spoke, his attention seemed focused on me, as if he heard what she said, but hadn’t finished the train of thought from the last change in circumstance. halfheartedly, he redrew some of the lines he’d drawn previously, reluctant to change course, and knowing he must. he drew a “thought bubble” around the entire box, and looked up at me, indicating- first to himself and then to me- that he would continue to think about his previous plan, that he reserved the right to revisit it later.
the scene changed. i was outside in a hilly field on what seemed like a game preserve. it was evident to me that the place was undergoing a change- the animals could not stay. three animals seemed particularly important to me. they were quite varied in anatomy, and all a bit different than anything i’ve seen before, but they seemed quite normal to me at the time. most striking about them was their coloring. each of them was spotted haphazardly, like a cheetah or leopard, black spots on white. strangely, every irregular black spot was surrounded by a ring of lime green. the animals seemed rare, possibly endangered, and the question of what to do with them occupied others present as well.
i stood beside a cart, sort of a cross between a jeep and a golf cart, which was colored like the odd animals. one of the three animals, very dog-like, sat on the ground next to me, and i scratched it behind the ears, while interacting with various people. they asked me questions, and i pointed them off in one direction or another, but whatever was actually going on, i was involved, but not in charge.
i was approached by a girl who was looking for Yogi Bear. people were calling out for him. turning around, facing in the general direction they were calling, where a low hill obscured my view to the left. the base of the hill became a small grassy area, ending at the bank of a stream, which wound from right to left, disappearing behind the hill. as i watched, Yogi skipped out from behind the hill, fully cartoon-like amid a perfectly real-looking landscape. he was in a good mood, and- strangely- as he bounced toward those looking for him, the pupils of his eyes spun around the whites randomly, a cartoon representation of the eyes sometimes seen on stuffed animals, the ones with a little black ball free to move inside a rounded, hollow disk.
2010-03-19
free hugs
i've seen this a few times now, and i've prob'ly posted it somewhere before, if not here, but it's worth reposting once in a while anyway. definitely one of, if not THE, coolest "reality TV" type things i've seen, and evidently plenty of other people think so too: as of this posting, it's at 57,111,454 views. which means you've prob'ly seen it before...but may watch it again anyway.
from the youtube page:
from the youtube page:
"Sometimes, a hug is all that we need. Free Hugs is the real life controversial story of Juan Mann, a man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger put a smile on their face.
As this simple gesture of kindness and hope spread across the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs Campaign BANNED. What we then witnessed was the true spirit of humanity as people came together in what can only be described as something awe inspiring.
The response to this video has been nothing short of overwhelming and touching. Hugs to every single one of you who messaged. There has been thousands of emails from all over the world from people seeking to participate in the Free Hugs Campaign and asking for permission. You don't need permission. This is the people's movement, this is *your* movement. With nothing but your bare hands you CAN make a difference."
Tim Hawkins - old rock star songs
"bein' a comedian, i can keep doin' comedy for a long time, and still it would look, y'know, OK...i think a lotta musicians i see, like rock stars, they need to quit after a while. it just doesn't look right, y'know? i say, you're a musician, though...if you get older, just keep singin', but just change your songs. y'know, make it look more believable."
via my uncle Vern! thanks, man.
via my uncle Vern! thanks, man.
OK, it's plenty late
i've been feeling a little anxious lately...prob'ly has something to do with Loren being here for so long and then not being here, and then maybe or maybe not coming back tomorrow, as planned. i think it would be a little naive not to think stressors like these affect me; they do, i'm just a little dense like that...they're more of a low, dull ache than a sharp pain.
predictably, his mother is leaning on him to come back after the weekend. this seems contrary to his wishes, and if he wants to stay, he's going to. i'll be quite disappointed if he doesn't. her reasoning is (unsurprisingly) that she hasn't seen him in 9 weeks, to which i say, "tough, that doesn't even compare to 5 months." that's some irrefutable logic right there, and establishing the pattern of his spending alternate weeks at alternate houses now greatly increases the odds that it will stick. i'm sure she thinks if she subverts it now, she "wins". that's by no means a "win" for Loren. he's not blind to what she's doing, especially not this time, but it's obvious he feels the pressure. the trick for me is encouraging him to do what he's said he wants to do, and, admittedly, what i would be very pleased if he did, without putting the kind of pressure on him that his mother is. i mean, she hollered from across the room, "he's coming back on Sunday," and he said he wasn't, and she said he was, and he stuck to his guns through 5 rounds of that before walking away from the "you are" / "no, i'm not".
more of the same, really...typical selfishness on her part. really hoping this one goes my way. i'm sure it's the best thing for him, and i want to see him get what he wants- especially since it runs counter to what she wants. the woman's gotten her own way with no regard for what's good for anyone else for far too long, and i'm all for Loren showing some independent judgment and setting his own terms irrespective of his mom's manipulations.
Loren told me recently that she told him, in 7th grade, when he was seriously considering trying out an alternating week on/week off arrangement, that she wouldn't let that happen. he said she told him if he did that she'd refuse to let him spend his "mom" week at her house, only alternating weekends. WTF?! if that's not a threat of abandonment (and i can tell you for SURE he took it that way, from the way he told me about this) i don't know what is.
so i told him to call her bluff; she's not going to turn down time he'll spend with her (and time she can use to try to work her coercive magic to upset the apple cart). cutting off her nose to spite her own face is not in her bag of tricks. even if she did initially refuse his "mom" week, i'm absolutely sure she'd relent after a couple weeks of only seeing him on the weekends.
that's more than enough about that.
it was really interesting talking to him on the phone this (last!) evening. i haven't heard that tone of voice from him in months. he really becomes a different person in different environments, and the change isn't hard to see. i can't even really imagine what it would be like- what he would be like- if his parents weren't divorced. i'm sure he'd be different, i just can't imagine how so.
guess that's all i've got to say; more than i intended, really. well past time to crash for a few hours.
predictably, his mother is leaning on him to come back after the weekend. this seems contrary to his wishes, and if he wants to stay, he's going to. i'll be quite disappointed if he doesn't. her reasoning is (unsurprisingly) that she hasn't seen him in 9 weeks, to which i say, "tough, that doesn't even compare to 5 months." that's some irrefutable logic right there, and establishing the pattern of his spending alternate weeks at alternate houses now greatly increases the odds that it will stick. i'm sure she thinks if she subverts it now, she "wins". that's by no means a "win" for Loren. he's not blind to what she's doing, especially not this time, but it's obvious he feels the pressure. the trick for me is encouraging him to do what he's said he wants to do, and, admittedly, what i would be very pleased if he did, without putting the kind of pressure on him that his mother is. i mean, she hollered from across the room, "he's coming back on Sunday," and he said he wasn't, and she said he was, and he stuck to his guns through 5 rounds of that before walking away from the "you are" / "no, i'm not".
more of the same, really...typical selfishness on her part. really hoping this one goes my way. i'm sure it's the best thing for him, and i want to see him get what he wants- especially since it runs counter to what she wants. the woman's gotten her own way with no regard for what's good for anyone else for far too long, and i'm all for Loren showing some independent judgment and setting his own terms irrespective of his mom's manipulations.
Loren told me recently that she told him, in 7th grade, when he was seriously considering trying out an alternating week on/week off arrangement, that she wouldn't let that happen. he said she told him if he did that she'd refuse to let him spend his "mom" week at her house, only alternating weekends. WTF?! if that's not a threat of abandonment (and i can tell you for SURE he took it that way, from the way he told me about this) i don't know what is.
so i told him to call her bluff; she's not going to turn down time he'll spend with her (and time she can use to try to work her coercive magic to upset the apple cart). cutting off her nose to spite her own face is not in her bag of tricks. even if she did initially refuse his "mom" week, i'm absolutely sure she'd relent after a couple weeks of only seeing him on the weekends.
that's more than enough about that.
it was really interesting talking to him on the phone this (last!) evening. i haven't heard that tone of voice from him in months. he really becomes a different person in different environments, and the change isn't hard to see. i can't even really imagine what it would be like- what he would be like- if his parents weren't divorced. i'm sure he'd be different, i just can't imagine how so.
guess that's all i've got to say; more than i intended, really. well past time to crash for a few hours.
Avatar: The Review, by redletter media
this guy's awesome. i kept thinking i recognized his voice, and i think it's one of the voice-over guys from Beavis & Butthead. this review is right on the money.
via scuffletown
via scuffletown
The Indispensable Opposition (excerpt)
"Were they pressed hard enough, most men would probably confess that political freedom- that is to say, the right to speak freely and to act in opposition- is a noble ideal rather than a practical necessity. As the case for freedom is generally put to-day, the argument lends itself to this feeling. It is made to appear that, whereas each man claims his right to freedom as a matter of right, the freedom he accords to other men is a matter of toleration. Thus, the defense of freedom of opinion tends to rest not on its substantial, beneficial, and indispensable consequences, but on a somewhat eccentric, a rather vaguely benevolent, attachment to an abstraction.
It is all very well to say with Voltaire, 'I wholly disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it,' but as a matter of fact most men will not defend to the death the rights of other men: if they disapprove sufficiently what other men say, they will somehow suppress those men if they can.
So, if this is the best that can be said for liberty of opinion, that a man must tolerate his opponents because everyone has a 'right' to say what he pleases, then we shall find that liberty of opinion is a luxury, safe only in pleasant times when men can be tolerant because they are not deeply and vitally concerned.
Yet actually, as a matter of historic fact, there is a much stronger foundation for the great constitutional right of freedom of speech, and as a matter of practical human experience there is a much more compelling reason for cultivating the habits of free men. We take, it seems to me, a naively self-righteous view when we argue as if the right of our opponents to speak were something that we protect because we are magnanimous, noble, and unselfish. The compelling reason why, if liberty of opinion did not exist, we should have to invent it, why it will eventually have to be restored in all civilized countries where it is now suppressed, is that we must protect the right or our opponents to speak because we must hear what they have to say.
We miss the whole point when we imagine that we tolerate the freedom of our opponents as we tolerate the howling of a baby next door, as we put up with the blasts from our neighbor's radio because we are too peaceable to heave a brick through the window. If this were all there is to freedom of opinion, that we are too good-natured or too timid to do anything about our opponents and our critics except to let them talk, it would be difficult to say whether we are tolerant because we are magnanimous or because we are lazy, because we have strong principles or because we lack serious convictions, whether we have the hospitality of an inquiring mind or the indifference of an empty mind. And so, if we truly wish to understand why freedom is necessary in a civilized society, we must begin by realizing that, because freedom of discussion improves our own opinions, the liberties of other men are our own vital necessity."
Walter Lippman
The Atlantic Monthly, 1939
It is all very well to say with Voltaire, 'I wholly disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it,' but as a matter of fact most men will not defend to the death the rights of other men: if they disapprove sufficiently what other men say, they will somehow suppress those men if they can.
So, if this is the best that can be said for liberty of opinion, that a man must tolerate his opponents because everyone has a 'right' to say what he pleases, then we shall find that liberty of opinion is a luxury, safe only in pleasant times when men can be tolerant because they are not deeply and vitally concerned.
Yet actually, as a matter of historic fact, there is a much stronger foundation for the great constitutional right of freedom of speech, and as a matter of practical human experience there is a much more compelling reason for cultivating the habits of free men. We take, it seems to me, a naively self-righteous view when we argue as if the right of our opponents to speak were something that we protect because we are magnanimous, noble, and unselfish. The compelling reason why, if liberty of opinion did not exist, we should have to invent it, why it will eventually have to be restored in all civilized countries where it is now suppressed, is that we must protect the right or our opponents to speak because we must hear what they have to say.
We miss the whole point when we imagine that we tolerate the freedom of our opponents as we tolerate the howling of a baby next door, as we put up with the blasts from our neighbor's radio because we are too peaceable to heave a brick through the window. If this were all there is to freedom of opinion, that we are too good-natured or too timid to do anything about our opponents and our critics except to let them talk, it would be difficult to say whether we are tolerant because we are magnanimous or because we are lazy, because we have strong principles or because we lack serious convictions, whether we have the hospitality of an inquiring mind or the indifference of an empty mind. And so, if we truly wish to understand why freedom is necessary in a civilized society, we must begin by realizing that, because freedom of discussion improves our own opinions, the liberties of other men are our own vital necessity."
Walter Lippman
The Atlantic Monthly, 1939
2010-03-18
peace, love and understanding for all...by all
this is the guy who wrote it, Nick Lowe. not the best recording, but it has all the energy of the Elvis Costello version- he usually plays it more low key.
this is a more pop-oriented version that might be the first commercially released version of the song, by Brinsley Schwarz (embedding disabled by user).
Chris Cornell weighing in at an Audioslave concert, Lollapalooza 2008:
A Perfect Circle having their way with it:
...Elvis sharing the stage with Jakob Dylan (who throws down), and Jenny Lewis and Zoey Deschanel on backup vox (meh)...what really gets me about this vid is how PERFECTLY in sync the drummers are.
and finally Elvis, hitting it the way everyone's used to hearing, on the Late Show with...uh...Elvis Costello.
this is a more pop-oriented version that might be the first commercially released version of the song, by Brinsley Schwarz (embedding disabled by user).
Chris Cornell weighing in at an Audioslave concert, Lollapalooza 2008:
A Perfect Circle having their way with it:
...Elvis sharing the stage with Jakob Dylan (who throws down), and Jenny Lewis and Zoey Deschanel on backup vox (meh)...what really gets me about this vid is how PERFECTLY in sync the drummers are.
and finally Elvis, hitting it the way everyone's used to hearing, on the Late Show with...uh...Elvis Costello.
this 1979 original by Racey isn't as well known as the remake...
i'm betting most people will recognize the tune within the first 15 seconds.
2010-03-16
behind the scenes: green screen revealed
everyone's used to seeing outrageous special effects, but you might be surprised by the type of things shot on green screen that don't necessarily need to be faked.
a fu%^ sh#& stack
this is a NSFW Comedy Central video by Reggie Watts, directed by Duncan Skiles & Ben Dickinson, calling out hip hop for all its pretentiousness. spot on, and well done. click through for the HD version on its Vimeo page.
more info about Reggie and the upcoming release of his DVD/CD combo "Why Sh_t So Crazy" on Looseworld.com.
more info about Reggie and the upcoming release of his DVD/CD combo "Why Sh_t So Crazy" on Looseworld.com.
2010-03-15
ROCKSTAR!
just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a 10 yr old girl who just tears it up, on Kansas's "Carry On Wayward Son". she's hitting all the solos, the vocal lines, bass pedals...everything! flat amazing, 5 stars. ROCK ON!
how about a font based on your actual handwriting
for $10, YourFonts.com will convert your handwriting into a working font. you download their free template, print it out, fill it out in your handwriting, scan it and send it back, then they rasterize / vectorize it. from the looks of the template, it would work better with printing than cursive writing.
this looked pretty cool to do for your own handwriting, but after i thought about it for a minute, i had a more interesting idea: doing your childrens' handwriting, while it's still cute kids' scrawl. if you can get them to follow the template. do it again in a few years (provided they're still in business...), and you could get a snapshot of how their handwriting evolves over time.
this got me thinking about typing something with those fonts in a graphic editing app, and running the pictures through morphing software. if i was going to do that right this minute, i'd use FotoMorph's freeware app. might be interesting...
at the risk of running off in a completely different direction, that reminds me of this time-lapse age progression clip i recently made with FotoMorph. it's my nephew Ethan, and i made it from two remarkably similar pictures i snapped almost exactly 5 years apart. i'm looking forward to getting a shot of him like this every year or so now, and seeing how dramatic the morph gets.
i've played with FotoMorph on some other things, including morphing face shots together. in some ways i find it more interesting to see the rendered image Y that's halfway down the road from X and Z than it is to see the morph in motion. i've also tried using screen captures cropped from video, separated by maybe a second, to attempt rendering super-slow-motion video. (if the two frames aren't too terribly different, compositionally, it works pretty well, but it's when the frames differ a little more substantially that something like that would be most useful.) theoretically it should be possible to morph between two not-too-distant frames and insert "corrected" frames into a video where the originals are flawed or damaged. unfortunately, i've yet to see any audio morphing software. in any case, the FotoMorph software is entirely intuitive to use, allows for saving in multiple formats and resolutions, including MP4 and FLV, and can handle reasonably large images with an insane number of control points without crashing. the video output begins to show some degradation with a combination of high frame rates, long morph times and large images (say, upwards of 1600 x 1200), but it's plenty powerful enough for just about anything a casual user would throw at it. and it works in both Windows 7 and Vista.
this post didn't start out to be a freeware review, but that's how we roll sometimes.
this looked pretty cool to do for your own handwriting, but after i thought about it for a minute, i had a more interesting idea: doing your childrens' handwriting, while it's still cute kids' scrawl. if you can get them to follow the template. do it again in a few years (provided they're still in business...), and you could get a snapshot of how their handwriting evolves over time.
this got me thinking about typing something with those fonts in a graphic editing app, and running the pictures through morphing software. if i was going to do that right this minute, i'd use FotoMorph's freeware app. might be interesting...
at the risk of running off in a completely different direction, that reminds me of this time-lapse age progression clip i recently made with FotoMorph. it's my nephew Ethan, and i made it from two remarkably similar pictures i snapped almost exactly 5 years apart. i'm looking forward to getting a shot of him like this every year or so now, and seeing how dramatic the morph gets.
i've played with FotoMorph on some other things, including morphing face shots together. in some ways i find it more interesting to see the rendered image Y that's halfway down the road from X and Z than it is to see the morph in motion. i've also tried using screen captures cropped from video, separated by maybe a second, to attempt rendering super-slow-motion video. (if the two frames aren't too terribly different, compositionally, it works pretty well, but it's when the frames differ a little more substantially that something like that would be most useful.) theoretically it should be possible to morph between two not-too-distant frames and insert "corrected" frames into a video where the originals are flawed or damaged. unfortunately, i've yet to see any audio morphing software. in any case, the FotoMorph software is entirely intuitive to use, allows for saving in multiple formats and resolutions, including MP4 and FLV, and can handle reasonably large images with an insane number of control points without crashing. the video output begins to show some degradation with a combination of high frame rates, long morph times and large images (say, upwards of 1600 x 1200), but it's plenty powerful enough for just about anything a casual user would throw at it. and it works in both Windows 7 and Vista.
this post didn't start out to be a freeware review, but that's how we roll sometimes.
so this is the new look
Blogger is rolling out new template design functionality. my site's been needing some attention for a long time (like actual posts!) and it's needed a makeover for a while too, so i figured i'd give it a shot. the new tools are pretty good- excellent compared to the previously provided options- but still a lot more limited than i'd like.
first impression is: big improvement. dissatisfaction with the available plug-and-play options previously available was one of the reasons i delved into writing so much of the code for my old template myself. (i also wanted to learn a little more about HTML, CSS and Adobe's Dreamweaver UltraDev, so that also didn't hurt.) there's something to be said for just jumping in over your head and trying to swim.
incidentally, there are a ton of resources online to learn about coding for the web. one of the most comprehensive i've found is a remarkably complete site of instructional pages published by W3schools.com, which include HTML, CSS, XML, javascript, ASP, PHP, SQL, and more. if you're interested in learning something from scratch about designing web pages, a blog is a pretty good place to start, and messing around with the code for your blog's template is a good next step.
back to the subject at hand. Blogger's definitely improved what's possible with their in-house template options. i still think, to get something truly outstanding, you'll have to resort to hunting through third-party sites or writing your own code, but for my purposes- a reasonably quick, non-permanent site makeover via the new options- the new design tools were adequate. if you're a casual or aspiring blogger, they'll probably be plenty powerful enough for you, too.
some of the widgets they've included are pretty useful, such as a customizable blog roll widget which can include previews, and a slideshow widget that works with both Flickr and (less surprisingly, since it's another Google product) Picasa online image galleries. not the Holy Grail, but a nice touch.
i find it a little maddening that the overall blog widths are limited to 1000 pixels. these days, more than 76% of people are browsing the web at resolutions HIGHER than 1024 x 768. a lot of computer monitors and video cards / integrated video chipsets actually outclass HD TVs in terms of maximum resolution. my own setup runs at 1920 x 1200 (as opposed to Blu-ray 1080p resolution of 1920 x 1080) and displays 1080p content letterboxed, blacking out 60 pixels above and below. at similar dot pitches (size of pixels) any extra pixels make for more "real estate" (working area on the screen in which to display content), but most useful, on standard "landscape" display orientations, are increases in horizontal resolution. (greatly increasing the resolution while greatly reducing the size of pixels makes for much sharper pictures, but doesn't necessarily give you more room to work with, since some content- like characters of text- can only be correspondingly reduced in size so far before they become unreadable.)
the real benefit- really a by-product rather than a design feature- of optimizing web page content for lower display resolutions is multitasking on higher resolution systems. if two sites are optimized for 800 x 600 resolution, that means they can be displayed in two open browser windows, full height, with a little room left over to provide easy access to something else, like an instant messaging window or music player. but i'm getting off the subject again.
if you want to give blogging a shot, try it out! it's a piece of cake to get started, and you can put as much or as little effort into it as you like- there aren't any rules. you might check out Wordpress's open-source software, which i've been meaning to try out since i started my blog, and haven't gotten around to. people swear by it, in terms of powerful features and customization, but i definitely recommend giving Blogger a look as well. they've got pretty solid support (especially for a free service), and their new design tools, available here, are a step in the right direction.
first impression is: big improvement. dissatisfaction with the available plug-and-play options previously available was one of the reasons i delved into writing so much of the code for my old template myself. (i also wanted to learn a little more about HTML, CSS and Adobe's Dreamweaver UltraDev, so that also didn't hurt.) there's something to be said for just jumping in over your head and trying to swim.
incidentally, there are a ton of resources online to learn about coding for the web. one of the most comprehensive i've found is a remarkably complete site of instructional pages published by W3schools.com, which include HTML, CSS, XML, javascript, ASP, PHP, SQL, and more. if you're interested in learning something from scratch about designing web pages, a blog is a pretty good place to start, and messing around with the code for your blog's template is a good next step.
back to the subject at hand. Blogger's definitely improved what's possible with their in-house template options. i still think, to get something truly outstanding, you'll have to resort to hunting through third-party sites or writing your own code, but for my purposes- a reasonably quick, non-permanent site makeover via the new options- the new design tools were adequate. if you're a casual or aspiring blogger, they'll probably be plenty powerful enough for you, too.
some of the widgets they've included are pretty useful, such as a customizable blog roll widget which can include previews, and a slideshow widget that works with both Flickr and (less surprisingly, since it's another Google product) Picasa online image galleries. not the Holy Grail, but a nice touch.
i find it a little maddening that the overall blog widths are limited to 1000 pixels. these days, more than 76% of people are browsing the web at resolutions HIGHER than 1024 x 768. a lot of computer monitors and video cards / integrated video chipsets actually outclass HD TVs in terms of maximum resolution. my own setup runs at 1920 x 1200 (as opposed to Blu-ray 1080p resolution of 1920 x 1080) and displays 1080p content letterboxed, blacking out 60 pixels above and below. at similar dot pitches (size of pixels) any extra pixels make for more "real estate" (working area on the screen in which to display content), but most useful, on standard "landscape" display orientations, are increases in horizontal resolution. (greatly increasing the resolution while greatly reducing the size of pixels makes for much sharper pictures, but doesn't necessarily give you more room to work with, since some content- like characters of text- can only be correspondingly reduced in size so far before they become unreadable.)
the real benefit- really a by-product rather than a design feature- of optimizing web page content for lower display resolutions is multitasking on higher resolution systems. if two sites are optimized for 800 x 600 resolution, that means they can be displayed in two open browser windows, full height, with a little room left over to provide easy access to something else, like an instant messaging window or music player. but i'm getting off the subject again.
if you want to give blogging a shot, try it out! it's a piece of cake to get started, and you can put as much or as little effort into it as you like- there aren't any rules. you might check out Wordpress's open-source software, which i've been meaning to try out since i started my blog, and haven't gotten around to. people swear by it, in terms of powerful features and customization, but i definitely recommend giving Blogger a look as well. they've got pretty solid support (especially for a free service), and their new design tools, available here, are a step in the right direction.
2010-03-14
2010-03-13
this is a -really- slick video
videos like this, and the disturbing, increasing inclination of people (myself included) to gravitate toward infotainment that not only caters to but may very well be shortening attention spans, are the reasons i find myself watching (and digging around for) more and more short-form video online, watching less broadcast television, and reading fewer books. while that's all very lamentable, this is still a great video.
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