umdesch4's Semi-random Stuff

I've scoured the internet, and haven't found anything else written about this, so I'm thinking (gasp!) that this might actually be my own original idea!

First, what is a meme? Check out the definitions at dictionary.com Definitely read past the first couple, because they're pretty boring. I'm more interested in the 'viral idea that propagates culture' type definitions.

As soon as you see this, you can probably intuitively grasp what is meant. They're quite often little bits of culture that catch on. Slang expressions and catchphrases, weird rapper hand gestures and poses, hello kitty backpacks, etc.

But what about audio ideas that catch on with (for lack of a better term) 'content creators'? In music, an example might be the vocal pitch correction glitch. Cher did it in Believe a few years ago, and suddenly it seemed like everybody was using that trick. Enigma was definitely not the first to use Gregorian chant in dance music, but as soon as they did, it was all over the place. There's a beat build pattern in dance music that uses 4 quarter note snare hits, followed by 4 eighth notes, 4 sixteenth notes, etc. until it's a wall of snare noise which abruptly stops...and then kicks the song into a higher gear (usually after a dramatic pause). If you listen to 70s disco, and even early 80s dance music, you won't find this pattern anywhere. But now it's commonplace.

And the audio meme goes beyond music. Remember when subwoofers first hit theatres and home theatre systems? There was a scene in Jurassic park where they hear/feel the dinosaur coming and it makes that glass of water shake. That's been done to death now. Tons of mainstream movies have it, and it's a totally auditory element in a movie-maker's bag of tricks. Video game developers use them all over the place, and even software has them. When was the last time you saw an error message window pop up in any software on any operating system that didn't play some variant of a minor chord orchestra hit sound, or something similar? That's the sound we all associate with 'something screwed up on my computer' now.

Interesting when you think about it (or at least I think it is, and I tend to think of these kinds of things). If you happen to find any other discussion about this anywhere, or if you just want to discuss it with me yourself, let me know. I'd love to hear from you!

umdesch4

Yup! It's official. Fifty (50) minutes of additional footage in the Extended Edition of Return of the King. HOLY CRAP!

http://www.lordoftherings.net/homevideo/homevideo.html

A quote: A new version of the final installment in the epic trilogy! The Academy-Award® winning film now has 50 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film for this highly-anticipated video release

Enjoy!
Chris.

Check out this fascinating article about 'The Uncanny Valley'

It was thrown out there by a poster on slashdot in response to This Wonderful Life, a computer animation done by some guy in his basement with 4 PCs and off-the-shelf software. Here's a torrent link to the whole video for those of you with bittorrent installed. For those of you without, at least check out the pictures in the gallery to see what happens when a computer graphics genius desperately needs a girlfriend.

Enjoy!
umdesch4

Picked up the new Björk CD today, Medulla

I won't lie to you. It's 'art', and it's a bit of a difficult listen. I also won't conceal my annoyance, once again, that right out of the gate, the Japanese release has an additional track not available elsewhere.

The thing that makes this album interesting, beyond the amazing voice of Björk herself, is the fact that it is an audio sculpture of human voice processing. With only one or two notable exceptions, everything you hear is a human voice, somehow processed. That doesn't at all mean that this is some kind of a cappella album...far from it. It's fully orchestrated...basslines and drumbeats...it's just that when you listen closely, you'll notice that all the sounds are vocal. In some tracks, it's a little unnerving, but in tracks like 'Who Is It' (track 6, if you're in a shop and get a chance to preview this), it's mind-blowing. It simultaneously illustrates the versatility of the human voice, and the awesome power of recording and audio processing technology in the right hands.

I've only listened to this all the way through once, so I'm not in a position to comment on it's other merits yet...but I will say that it's very different from anything you're likely to hear these days, and if you're a listener who has a taste for the interesting and unusual, this will give you a good kick in the ear.

Enjoy!
umdesch4

It seems to me that news used to be about substance, and not quite so much fluff and trivia as it is now. Here's the kind of thing I'd be very surprised to hear anything about in the mainstream media:

US Helicopters Massacre Civilians in Baghdad

( Reporter's Additional Photos )

Warning: The above links contain extremely graphic material.

An excerpt that struck me for some reason:

'But I was scared; I wanted to do something, but I couldn't. I tried to remember the first-aid training I had had in the past, but all I was doing was taking pictures.'

I don't think he has anything to be ashamed of. His purpose, as a journalist, was to let the world know what happened, as thoroughly as possible. He did those people a far greater service in the end, by making sure that we are all aware of their deaths. Now, if only this story would get reported...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/189784_thousanded.html

The Debt Unpayable

What have I given,
Bold sailor on the sea?
In earth or heaven,
That you should die for me?

What can I give,
O soldier, leal and brave,
Long as I live,
To pay the life you gave?

What tithe or part
Can I return to thee,
O stricken heart,
That thou shouldst break for me?

The wind of Death
For you has slain life's flowers,
It withereth
God grant all weeds in ours.

-F.W. Bourdillon

Check this out:
http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space

Ok, so most of the entries make some kind of sense, but there are a few that had me scratching my head, in particular Halliburton (???!!!)

Note that each of these represents a Class-A IPV4 netblock, which covers 16,777,216 IP addresses.

Makes you wonder, huh?

umdesch4