My Blog

A take of recent dabbling with audio synthesis using my music workstation. A very linear and somehow naive piece, no doubt, yet good as anything else as far as exercises go. The most original part is the use of some audio samples from TV, which can be heard in the background, but only after processing them almost beyond recognition. Can’t take the raw stuff, anyway.

Click on the Play button to listen.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Harmonioso vulto que em mim se dilui.
Tu és o poema
e és a origem donde ele flui.
Intuito de ter. Intuito de amor
não compreendido.
Fica assim amor. Fica assim intuito.
Prometido.

(Natália Correia)

Each year, John Brockman of Edge.org asks a question of a number of science, tech, and media personalities, and compiles the answers. This year’s question: “How is the internet changing the way you think?“. Lots of gratifying responses that make for great reading, from interesting people: Kevin Kelly, Jaron Lanier, Linda Stone, George Dyson, Danny Hillis, Esther Dyson, Tim O’Reilly, Doug Rushkoff, Jesse Dylan, Richard Dawkins, Alan Alda, Brian Eno, and many more.

(Katinka Matson, Question 2010)

“If everyone were clothed with integrity, if every heart were just, frank, kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless, since their chief purpose is to make us bear with patience the injustice of our fellows.”

~Jean Baptiste Molière, Le Misanthrope

Today, walked out of bed proud like a giant. Then, in one of those life’s little twists, something seemingly inconspicuous made feelings long thought dead and buried boil to the surface. And how small I started feeling.

Sometimes, but just sometimes, we yearn for that special pill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1xI4JKcWiM

each man must realize
that it can all disappear very
quickly:
the cat, the woman, the job,
the front tire,
the bed, the walls, the
room; all our necessities
including love,
rest on foundations of sand -
and any given cause,
no matter how unrelated:
the death of a boy in Hong Kong
or a blizzard in Omaha …
can serve as your undoing.
all your chinaware crashing to the
kitchen floor, your girl will enter
and you’ll be standing, drunk,
in the center of it and she’ll ask:
my god, what’s the matter?
and you’ll answer: I don’t know,
I don’t know …

(Charles Bukowski)

It has been a hectic first week of the year, but somehow was able to accumulate a quantity of engaging news items that I think I’ll pass along:

• Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only double atomic bomb survivor, died. Yes, he was at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki when those cities were bombed. Remember him when you complain about a streak of bad luck. link.
• The G-spot may be a myth. And there goes our finest excuse for having sex: scientific exploration. link.
• The list of winners of Fark’s 2009 Headline of the Year contest was published. For those who don’t know, Fark is a community website that allows members to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites. Headlines such as “Carpenters face higher-than-average asbestos death rate, higher-than-average resurrection rate” do bring a smile across our faces. link.
• If you fancy classic 8 bit retro gaming, or are simply bored, you can now play hundreds of Nintendo games online. link.

PS: To whom took notice of the webcam shot from my office window, I must explain that it’s just an experiment done for fun. The camera is behind a double glass window, and a bit dirty on the outside to boot. Hence the haze and reflections on the image at times. I may get something better going soon, stay tuned.

The Royal Mail issued, this year, a set of interesting classic LP album cover stamps. They show a vinyl record coming out of its recognizable album cover. Apparently the artwork, and not the music on the album, was the motive for the selection. Read more here.

From left to right, top to bottom:

• Pink Floyd/The Division Bell (1994)
• Coldplay/A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
• Blur/Parklife (1994)
• New Order/Power, Corruption and Lies (1983)
• Rolling Stones/Let It Bleed (1969)
• The Clash/London Calling (1979
• Mike Oldfield/Tubular Bells (1973)
• Led Zeppelin/’IV’ (1971)
• Primal Scream/Screamadelica (1991)
• David Bowie/The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)

A little celebration with a favorite Peter Gabriel song, Solsbury Hill. A commemoration of high-spiritedness, in this joyful day of mine where the last remaining shackles of a previous life were broken, and a personal vow honored, all in one. A salute to open fields, multiple paths, and immense possibilities.

Recomeça…
Se puderes,
Sem angústia e sem pressa.

E os passos que deres
Nesse caminho duro
Do futuro
Dá-os em liberdade.

Enquanto não alcances
Não descanses.

De nenhum fruto queiras só metade.
E, nunca saciado
Vai colhendo
Ilusões sucessivas no pomar
Sempre a sonhar
E vendo
Acordado,
O logro da aventura.

És homem, não te esqueças!
Só é tua a loucura
Onde com lucidez, te reconheças.

(Miguel Torga, Diário XIII)