August 2012

Is Dubstep Actually Avant Garde Genius?

Here is an interesting thought – Dubstep represents a culmination of a century of development in avant garde music mixed with already familiar movements in dance, punk and jazz. That is the tack taken by PBSIdeas that explains the historical context around the development of non-harmonic electronic music over the last century. Here is the text attached to the video. Dubstep. Is. Awesome. While some people may hear noise, we hear amazing musical genius. The aural creativity of Dubstep, and its embrace of inharmonic sounds, makes it the most recent member of the long-established Avant Garde community. There is a…

Music Diary, News

GE Engineer Composes with the Sounds of Engine Knock

I don’t recall when I first heard ‘industrial music’, but it was probably in the late 1970s when I first heard the group Throbbing Gristle on the local Harvard College radio station. I was attracted to some artists in the genre who would incorporate ‘musique concrete’ into their works – recordings of actual street or industrial noise, or bringing pipes and sheet metal and other noise-making apparatus into the studio. But imagine that someone working in an industrial situation took the sounds all around him from his everyday life and turned it into music. That is exactly what GE engineer…

Game Diary, Reviews

‘Lost Souls: The Enchanted’ Paintings HD for iPad Review

Imagine receiving a mysterious package with a pleasant painting inside that your child finds captivating. He asks to hang it in his room, but then the next day you awake to find you child gone. It is the nightmare for any parent, and it is the opening scene of the newly released Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings HD from G5 Entertainment. Let’s take a look and see how this hidden object game plays out! The Hype: Rescue a missing boy and immerse yourself in this breathtaking adventure! Get new G5 games for up to 40% off! Sign up for the G5…

Gear Bits, Music Diary, News

Dave Chisholm Releases ‘Bonus Track’ for Calligraphy

As 2011 ended I reviewed Dave Chisholm’s ‘Calligraphy’ and had this to say: ‘Calligraphy’ surprised me by how much I liked the entire thing. With Radioactive I enjoyed the album, but only truly fell in love with one song that has stuck with me for more than 18 months and countless new releases crossing my iPod. ‘Calligraphy’ has a uniform excellence in composition, playing, and overall execution that will keep it on my iPod and recommended listening list for a long time to come. I can’t wait to see what Dave comes up with next. The album impressed me enough…

Editorials

Watch for Kids in School Zones, Even in Summer Months

My son was hit by a pickup truck a couple of weeks ago, crossing the street when coming home from a school ‘enrichment’ program. He is doing fine – thanks for asking – but it has raised many questions in our area, and it has prompted a look at how we deal with school zones year-round. More on his specifics later. Right now we are at the start of August, which in the Northeast at least is the middle of summer school vacations (I know in some areas it is more like 75% done … sorry), with kids getting out…

Outdoors

Rule 40, #NoBlackout, and Why Olympic Sponsorship is Broken

(the major Olympic sponsors, courtesy Puttles.com) If you follow any track and field athletes on social media, you may have noticed them tweeting with hash tags like #noblackout. Or maybe you saw a flurry of activity a few weeks ago where they frantically sent “one last thanks” to various sponsors. The International Olympic Committee has a blackout on athletes promoting sponsors during the Olympics, which isn’t unreasonable. However, if your sponsor is Nike or Adidas, there is no blackout. In other words, athletes not sponsored by one of these two companies cannot thank the businesses that supported them and brought…

News

Twelve South’s BackPack Shelf for iMac and Apple Displays Gets Refresh and Redesign

Twelve South’s very first Apple-only accessory was the BackPack Shelf for the iMac and pole Display. It is one of those small, unassuming accessories that you might not necessarily NEED, but you can’t do without once you start using it. Now they have gone and made three different enhancements to it. As they note, Three years after Twelve South released BackPack, its very first product, the company unveils an elevated new version of the tiny shelf with three major enhancements. Designed exclusively for iMacs and Apple Displays, BackPack now features vertical support pegs, built-in cable management rails and the option…

News

U.S. Cellular Adding Two Hot New Motorola Phones This Week!

Have you seen the recent U.S. Cellular campaign on Twitter? It is called #HelloBetter and it focuses on recent data showing how dissatisfied most people are with their carriers, and highlights how U.S. Cellular has the highest satisfaction ratings of any carrier. Unfortunately as a regional carrier, only certain folks have access to their service – but if you do, check this out! Recently it seems that smartphone makers are keen to get phones quickly into the hands of U.S. Cellular, as evidenced by the recent Samsung Galaxy SIII release, and now by two hot new phones coming from Motorola…

Editorials

Washington DC Police Chief Issues Reasonable Citizen Cell-Camera Guidelines

If you keep an eye on the news, you probably have heard that the ubiquity of smartphones with capable video cameras in recent years has drastically changed how we view many things. Go to a concert and you will see hundreds (if not thousands) of people videotaping the proceedings; no longer are the aisles at school functions filled with bulky tripods for large camcorders; and if there is an arrest or other criminal activity in progress in a public location you can be sure there is video rolling. Technology has advanced a great deal from 20 years ago and the…

Gear Bits, News

Amazon Instant Video Comes to the iPad!

Yesterday when we talked about Hulu coming to Apple TV, my comment was that if Amazon Instant Video was also available, I would no longer have a need for the Roku. Guess what? Amazon Instant Video is now available! Here is the description: Watch thousands of titles available from Prime Instant Video at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership and over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store by installing the Amazon Instant Video app. Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library for offline viewing on airplanes, road trips, or any time a WiFi…

Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado

Events

Get Your Tickets for the Great American Beer Festival!

If you have a love for hops and tasty craft-brewed adult beverages, then no doubt you’ve heard of The Great American Beer Festival, an event put on by the Brewer’s Association which has become the largest and best known of its kind. The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer festival and competition. Each year, GABF represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in the format of a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation. This event showcases the diverse…

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