| Dept. of mile-wide spaces between lines |
[Jul. 24th, 2008|10:27 am] |
Microsoft admits that they suck. (Well, sort of.)
I can't wait to see Microsoft's ad campaign, as I'm sure it'll provide new material for Apple's "I'm a Mac/PC" series.
On a less flippant front, I'm glad MSFT will be at least striving to match the Apple approach. Everyone needs the occasional ignition of sub-posterior fire, Apple included. |
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| Email excerpts: |
[Jul. 23rd, 2008|11:04 pm] |
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mixophrygian: I have this inexplicable urge to build a blanket fort and sequester us in it with s'mores and video games. Possibly also pizza.
madbard: Don't be absurd. Think of the mess. We'll need a Lincoln log patio so we don't stain the blanket.
mixophrygian: It's a blanket *fort* not a blanket *retirement home*. |
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| An inauspicious start |
[Jul. 23rd, 2008|07:43 am] |
Speaking of ancient video game history: on a tribute site to an old video game called Brataccas (be thankful you haven't heard of it), I found one of the funniest passages I've read in a while:
I was able to successfully disassemble the Brataccas MAIN and BRATACCA.PRG files. It is available for download HERE.
I am attempting to start a project to have this converted to C++. Since I don't know C++ that well and know nothing about M68K assembly, it's not going well.
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| Video Games of Old |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|11:32 pm] |
Drol for the Commodore 64
Shadow of the Beast for the Amiga
Space Ace, a laserdisc game featuring some of the worst continuity in animation history |
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| Comic-Confusion |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|08:39 pm] |
So I finally looked at this free professional confirmation I received for Comic-Con. I assume it admits me (once I get my badge) to the entire show, but it's very difficult to figure this out for sure.
One one hand, the instructions say that badge pickup for professionals is available any day of the convention, implying that my pass lets me attend for the whole thing. Yet the actual receipt I was sent says "Professional Preshow" on it, implying that I was only admitted to the preshow. The web site offers no clear information.
Does anyone have any experience with this? |
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| RIP Giga |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|02:53 pm] |
Apparently Tascam has ceased development of GigaStudio. That means there will never be GVI for the Mac.
I've been a Gigastudio user since the 90s, when it was called GigaSampler. It was a breakthrough product that opened the doors for computer-based sample systems. I have two PCs that are dedicated GigaStudio hosts. A large number of my feature film and game scoring projects were completed using GigaStudio sound libraries.
Sadly, development of the product faltered when Tascam took over. I've been hedging my bets and slowly switching over to Kontakt, which apparently was a good move. |
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| RSS |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|09:30 am] |
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What's your favorite RSS reader? I've been using the RSS feeds in Mac Mail, but it doesn't seem to sync consistently between my two machines. I figure I might as well look at web-based solutions. |
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| Ten AM Is Just Fine For Batman |
[Jul. 21st, 2008|01:50 pm] |
The only downside to a Monday morning showing is the anemic audience which can't even shout properly when the usher/announcer tells everyone to enjoy the show. And it's a bit weird stumbling out of the darkness of the theater - and especially that particular movie - into broad daylight. But aside from that, Batman in the AM is recommended.
The movie was huge and epic and dark. The craftsmanship was superb, especially for something of that scope. I lost a bit of love for the film after Certain Things Happened that were extremely dark; the Life Is Awful But Occasionally People Can Temporarily Overcome Their Badness theme didn't speak to me as much as the first half of the movie. But hey, it's the new Batman - you know what you're getting at the door.
(The following contains speculation which some might consider a spoiler. If you want no information at all about the film, stop reading.)
I'm willing to put good money that Gordon's blond son becomes Robin. That was one too many long looks at Batman for just an incidental character. And the filmmakers have shown themselves to be extremely deliberate with the camera. If a shot lingers on a character's face for an extra twelve frames, there's a good reason. |
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| Is it all my Bollywood rentals? |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|11:41 am] |
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Scary Banner Ad of the Day: "Find your perfect Indian partner in California. SimplyMarry.com". The domain name is the scary part. And perhaps the fact that the ad companies can figure out where I live, but think that I'm Indian. |
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| Libertarian FAQ |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|11:18 am] |
The Week is a great news-summary periodical; it synopsizes major events and provides coverage and opinions from other periodicals. It's rational-centrist in tone, quoting both left and right when summarizing opinions. It's light reading, but provides deeper understanding than browsing the headlines from a Reuters newsfeed. I can't recommend it enough. Check out their free-four-issue intro offer if you're curious.
Anyway, there was a point to this. The most recent issue had a surprisingly positive FAQ-like primer on Libertarianism. This seems to be the same article online, though it may have been excerpted. The article gives a pretty good example of the magazine's tone and style. |
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| The Clone War |
[Jul. 15th, 2008|12:14 pm] |
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Goodbye, Psystar. You are about to be slammed by an infamous litigation force that has been crushing its foes since the 1980s. Of all the ways to make money in the world, you picked this? |
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[Jul. 15th, 2008|09:31 am] |
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These Egg Beaters have an expiration date of September 11th. Ominous. |
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[Jul. 14th, 2008|04:31 pm] |
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Okay, I officially have way too many African percussion samples. I think I have more than Africa. |
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| Doctorial Music |
[Jul. 14th, 2008|12:36 pm] |
I have started mixophrygian on Doctor Who Series 1. She seems to have taken to it. Hopefully she'll get through seasons one through three in time for us both to start season four in the fall.
Watching the first couple of Christopher Eccleston episodes a second time allowed me to pay more attention to the music. The synth-heavy Europop treatment of the first few episodes is pretty jarring, but it does intelligently introduce several themes that recur throughout subsequent seasons. The chromatically descending action theme makes its debut in "Rose", during the fast-forward montage of her life at the department store. (Its future incarnations are far more listenable.) The enigmatic female-voice theme, which seems to signify mysteries in the Doctor's past, also comes into play several times during expository moments.
Most surprisingly to me in "Rose" was the introduction of a lyrical, cosmic kind of theme which I realized was a synthy version of the music at the end of "Doomsday" - the score transitioning into that final scene in the Tardis immediately after You Know What just happened. (This is a spoiler-free post.) In "Doomsay" the music gets a gorgeous orchestral treatment, whereas the synthy rendering in "Rose" slips by the ear almost unnoticed. But it was interesting to hear this giant moment in the score presaged all the way at the beginning of the show. Although it's not likely that the composer could have planned that far ahead, the long-form effect he created with the score makes for more meaningful listening the second time around. |
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| Venice Beach Drum Circle Video #1 |
[Jul. 13th, 2008|04:43 pm] |
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| Circle in the Sand (without Belinda Carlisle) |
[Jul. 13th, 2008|03:38 pm] |
Yesterday, mixophrygian and I got it into our heads to not only visit, but partake in the famous Venice Beach Drum circle.
The first step in this adventure was the proquirement* of drums. Hailing from a shop-around, Consumer-Reports-style upbringing, I took us to a pawn shop, then a drum store across the street from Musicians Local 47, then finally to Guitar Center and Sam Ash. There was no shortage of ashikos, djembes, talking drums, and the like, but we weren't inclined to drop eighty dollars on something that would probably get covered with sand. However, we found the ideal solution in a pair of miniature frame drums (think tambourines minus the jingles) for $20 each.
The Circle had inconsiderately moved from where I'd last seen it, but it was a sunny day at the beach, so we didn't mind wandering around in search. Once there we joined up with ktsa, who happens to now live a few blocks away.
Things were in fairly low gear when we sat down - perhaps half a dozen folks with hand percussion and a few dancers undulating on the sand in the middle of the circle. As the afternoon went on the Circle accumulated musicians and energy. The social dynamics of such an anarchistic musical ensemble are fascinating. The afternoon was broken down into jam sessions of approximately twenty minutes each. There was a semi-leader figure who banged on a cowbell and could thus set things in motion or stop them. Each jam seemed to pound along healthily until a silent concensus was reached; at this point energy would seem to spontaneously drop, and the cowbell guy would rattle off a peremptory concluding tattoo while rotating to face everyone in turn.
Starting new jams was a bit more complex. Cowbell guy would usually start a new beat, upon which others would try to elaborate. It was an ornery and fragile process, kind of like lighting a fire from tinder; sometimes a groove would catch, sometimes it wouldn't. When a groove caught, musicians would join in with conviction. Once everyone was more or less in sync, the rhythmic energy was palpable and occasionally engrossing. (Though on this particular afternoon things weren't as together as I'd heard in the past.)
After a while we overcame our initial inhibitions and joined in. Turns out that we needn't have felt self-conscious; our puny frame drums were barely audible to us, let alone anyone else. I experienced my drumming more as vibration than sound. Still, as a composer who normally works solo in a locked room, I enjoyed this rudimentary form of musical collaboration. I can definitely see myself coming back sometime, perhaps with a bigger drum. (Anyone interested in joining me is welcome to drop me a line.)
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Afterwards we made a short pit stop at ktsa's abode, an adorable and colorful flat in a tree-lined back alley. Then it was dinnertime at the Baja Cantina; I had fajitas rendered slightly less egregious by substitution of lettuce for the tortilla. Everyone seemed to enjoy the gluttony.
THEN, as if the day weren't action-packed enough, mixophrygian and I joined electricia and boffo to see Journey To The Center of the Earth in 3D. You know what? It wasn't a bad film. In fact, I am sad to say that it was a far better adventure film than Indiana Jones 4. It was Disney-esque, to be sure, but seemingly aware of the dangers of being too saccharine, which it countered with wit and the occasional touch of genre-convention-parody. And hey, can't go wrong with 3D.
An excellent day overall. Film of drum circle forthcoming.
* It's a word now.
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| Conversational snippet of the eve |
[Jul. 13th, 2008|12:34 am] |
mixophrygian: I'm going to cook you a delicious dinner tomorrow night. Or the night after that.
madbard: That's so romantic. Sort of.
mixophrygian: I'm trying to be realistic. |
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[Jul. 11th, 2008|04:13 pm] |
Here's my sparsely-populated MobileMe gallery. Note how you can mouse over the album to get a quick preview of every photo - just like in iPhoto. In fact, I set that album up in iPhoto, and if I tweak it, the web version automatically reflects my changes. Very cool. I might concievably ditch Flickr for this.
Assuming they get the eight trillion times faster thing together. |
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| Conclusion |
[Jul. 11th, 2008|04:11 pm] |
MobileMe looks very promising. It's handy to be able to have your entire contact list accessible on the web, and the photo gallery feature (and its integration with iPhoto) looks great.
It just needs to be eight trillion times faster. |
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