An Atypical Life

Just…wow….

I can’t stop watching this.

Here’s a photo collage of the most photogenic things I made for this year’s thing-a-day. Edit: If you can’t view the video below, the original is here.

I’d recommend thing-a-day to anyone who is looking to push their comfort zone and prove to themselves that they can be creative, and can produce something a day. It was eye-opening for me.

some neat tidbits from the past 24h:

• the geminid meteors are coming:

  

• this week’s This American Life had a great bit on Nauru, an island I keep forgetting about.
• by 2100, North American Great Lakes “…water levels are expected to fall by 1.5 to 8 feet…because of the higher temperatures.”
• The Depreciation Guild is a neat 2-guitar and 1-Famicom (8 bit chip music) band. You can download their entire album, encoded at a very high bit rate, gratis. (Give them money anyway!) You can also read about the NES-Shoegazer genre.
• oh, did I mention? chumby is way cool.

Anger. That’s the only thing I can feel when I see that Canadian elected officials are looking to introduce more ridiculous, ill-thought, completely-against-legitimate-use copyright legislation. And of course, because I’m so incensed with most of the news outlets that I don’t hear about this stuff except through trusted sources, I had to go digging in places I don’t normally look to find out about:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/07/canadian-dmca-introd.html

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/07/canadians-tomorrow-i.html

http://www.cbc.ca/searchengine/blog/2007/11/last_chance_to_ask_the_industr_1.html

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2431/125/

Quoting Cory:

Tell your friends. Tell your family. If you care about the net, this could be the most important thing you do this year. Take action and save the country.

Quoting Michael:

The next 60 days are absolutely crucial. If Canadians speak out in large numbers, the government may rethink its current strategy of fast-tracking the Canadian DMCA.

Do everything you can. This isn’t just about trading CDs and movies anymore, folks. It’s about controlling your own words, your own music, your own actions. Write your MP today. And if you’re not a Canadian, yeah yeah, I know you told us this day was coming, but we avoided it for at least 10 years. Now’s our chance to learn from the mistakes of the US DMCA and enact some intelligent legislation.

Catching up on Futurama I missed, before the new ones come out. Some of these are really, really good.

Seems there’s renewed interest in some of the music I’ve engineered/produced or written recently. Makes me want to get back into the studio.

Well, this weekend is a long one, so sure, why not! Any suggestions on what to do? I have one work in progress, 70s jazz fusion, so something contrasting would be nice. Something I can do without purchasing more gear would be perfect ;) And something that I can achievably manage in 3 days would be essential.

Long week ahead of me next week. Thanksgiving on Monday (if you’re in town and need a place to eat, email me and we’ll talk), then a team meeting in Chicago, and then over the following weekend to New Orleans to see my ailing grandfather. He had another heart attack. For some reason he’s not answering his phone. :( I should call the home to ensure everything is OK tomorrow…

I just can’t get Weird Al Yancovic’s Trapped In The Drive-Thru out of my head.

Which is pretty scary, if you think about it.

I am stunned. I generally dislike ballet and mimes. And yet I find the images of CanStage’s production of The Overcoat (based on Gogol’s short story & Shostakovich’s music) will not leave my mind. It was moving, well acted, immensely satisfying…and even had a “sad ending.” No matter; the show leaves you hungry for life, for meaning, for joy, and to listen to more classical music. Well done, CanStage. No wonder tonight’s 10-year anniversary production (& closing night) was sold out.

I really should do a proper review here, discussing how Peter Anderson’s The Man (uncannily looking like Jonathan Pryce) is at once a Brechtian Common Man and the protagonist of a Greek Tragedy, describing the brilliance of the choreography with Shostakovich’s more ambitious works, and the strength of the ensemble’s choreography and stage presence. I should talk about innovative rolling drafters’ desks that double as cabaret tables, scrims and sliding windows used effectively to separate scenes, and a suitably unifying wardrobe. I should mention the parallels to Chaplin’s Modern Times and Tati’s Oncle films. I might even describe in passing how similarly I’ve felt to The man when he dons his new coat (I even have a new purple coat in the same colour!), and how agonizingly upset I’ve been when a prized possession has gotten ruined.

But I won’t. I haven’t the time. ;)

CanStage Bluma, I’m expecting similar brilliance with next month’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Don’t disappoint! :)

Earlier today, my friends online and I were reading this alternative video game controller article, and bemoaning the fact that the accordion controller depicted doesn’t really exist. We all agreed that we’d totally buy an Accordion Hero videogame.

Thus ensued a bevy of alternative music game controller titles:

14:16 < @Wohali> that’s a cute controler, conty
14:17 < @Wohali> can we play weird al songs?
14:17 < @Conty> Wohali: We can play Weird Al dad’s songs!
14:17 < @Wohali> oktoberfest!
14:17 < @OldCrow> a pitch convertor controller would be cheap to make these days
14:18 < @Conty> Then we can have Accordion Hero: HEINO Edition!
14:18 < @OldCrow> I mean, one DSP for kazoo hero wouldn’t need to be exactly studio quality
14:18 < @Wonky-P> conty, how about moonshine jug hero?
14:19 < @Wonky-P> how about wet finger around the glass hero?
14:19 < @Wonky-P> pan flute hero
14:20 < @Conty> Wonky: Glass Harmonica Hero!
14:21 < @GoofyRobo> I would so buy accordian hero
14:22 < @Wirc_Hat> Pan Flute Hero: The Legend of Zamfir
14:23 < @ShinoWrk> Saxophone Hero, Kenny GX
14:23 < @Wohali> Lawrence Welk’s Bubblemania

Which ones would you buy?

P.S. Holding on one more day - woke up feeling pretty good, so I’m staying in forced bedrest another 24h. If this doesn’t do it, I’ll head into the hospital tomorrow.

I am now a fully-licensed motorcyclist, with a fully-licensed bike, a 1978 Honda CB750 Supersport (more pictures).  I’ve fixed up the bike a bunch since these photos were taken; expect new pictures by the end of today.
Big, big thanks to Cat, who taught me everything I know about wrenching bikes, and Chris, who helped us fix it and built the shed around it (and even made us cocoa at 2AM on a late Saturday night while we replaced the chain!)

Now, where should I ride to?  Any suggestions for good day-trips within reach of Toronto?

Also, seems Atlassian picked up my previous post about their awesome tools, JIRA and Confluence.  I’m just tickled pink about the functionality, as is everyone at my former employer.  Though they have their own free license, I’m pondering shelling out a bit for a 50-user license to run my own project sites, such as the ircd-hybrid stuff, and the Voyetra 8 and Andromeda A6 synthesizer sites.  It’d pay for itself in no time…maintaining HTML lists by hand is so early-1990s.  ;)

dys4iK’s Barracuda (256k VBR mp3, 1:25:30, ~127MB)

Set List (also in the ID3 tag)

Slam - Human (Vector Lovers Remix)
Red Moon - The Beautiful (DJ Hal’s House Mix)
Atomic Grater - Movin’ (possibly heavenly spliff, white label record)
Muzzaik - It Ain’t Right vs Rhythm of Life (Tommyboy Bootleg Mix)
whitelabel (seems to be a remix of Lamb - Gorecki)
Sean Miller - Swells (Colors & Chus Iberican Mix)
Phunk Police - The Problem
Scanners - Crying Shame (Oliver Moldan presents Prawler’s Dub Mix)
Photek - Mine to Give feat. Robert Owens (David Morales Facedown Mix)
Rhythm Code - Lullaby (Long Distance Mix)
Niki B & Christian E.F.F.E. - The African Song (Dark Mix)
The Askew - Invisible (D-Formation Remix)
Matthew Dakey vs Proluctors - What If
Paul Oakenfold - Hold your Hand (Hamel 4/4 Mix)
Atmos - Raumwelt Signal (Herman Cattaneo & John Tonks Remix)
Blasfilth - Pleasure Giver (4×4 Mix)

Engineered by Wohali. Produced by Psykotic Productions.