Archive for 2009
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Mellodrama: The Mellotron Documentary
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on February 12, 2009 by admin in Music
Thursday, February 12th, 2009Whether you’re old enough to have listened to the Beatles and the Moody Blues when they were new, or if you’re into the Beastie Boys, or any of thousands of current artists in rap and pop, the music you listen to owes a lot to an instrument you may have never heard of: the Mellotron. [...]
Whether you’re old enough to have listened to the Beatles and the Moody Blues when they were new, or if you’re into the Beastie Boys, or any of thousands of current artists in rap and pop, the music you listen to owes a lot to an instrument you may have never heard of: the Mellotron. The Mellotron was “the original sampler”, using actual sounds on recording tape which were manipulated mechanically to alter pitch with a keyboard. Sounds barbaric by todays digital sampling standards, but part of the beauty of the Mellotron was the fact that the sound it made was NOT accurate; it tended to have a haunting quality all its own. Sunday is the world premiere of Dianna Dilworth’s Mellodrama: The Mellotron Documentary at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana. The trailer is featured here, and I hope this film gets decent distribution. It looks very well done if the trailer is any indication.
Faceboom: Over Forty On Facebook
[ 4 Comments ]Posted on February 11, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009With the recent spike in users over 40 on Facebook, I’ve watched some funny things playing out, so I thought I’d share some important notes with the boomer crowd. First of all, “LOL” does not mean “Lots of Love”. So when you post something like “Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that [...]
With the recent spike in users over 40 on Facebook, I’ve watched some funny things playing out, so I thought I’d share some important notes with the boomer crowd. First of all, “LOL” does not mean “Lots of Love”. So when you post something like “Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that grandpa passed away last night. I’ll let you know about funeral arrangements. LOL“, it comes across a little differently than you intended. Much like the story going around recently in which the guy shares: “my 8-year-old sister proudly declared that she knows that ‘WTF’ means ‘Wow, That’s Funny’ and has been using it all over the internet“. When you’re using Facebook, just rememeber, you’re not grandma, and you’re not an 8-year-old girl. “Poking” someone isn’t dirty, but it’s not especially purposeful, either. And that “Wall-to-wall” thing? Yeah. Everyone can read it. Stop typing sweet nothings to your best friend’s girlfriend. We all find it pretty amusing, but people get killed over this sort of stuff. And lastly, drunk Facebooking is just like drunk e-mailing or drunk dialing. Only worse, for two reasons: 1.) You can “Facebook” somebody without having their e-mail OR their number, and 2.) Everyone is watching. Anyone have an amusing Facebook story?
A Hoarse Of A Different Colour
[ 3 Comments ]Posted on February 10, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009Why British People Can’t Spell Color
As someone who sometimes worries about the state of the English language, this UK Telegraph piece about how Brits are better at spelling than Americans are caught my eye. However, the piece may be good example of adoxography (skilled writing on an unimportant subject) since, as this article points out, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. Add to that the fact that the British can’t seem to spell words like color, center, theater, etc., and it may all be a moot point (not to be confused with a mute point, a favorite eggcorn of mine). Who was it who said that England and America are two countries separated only by a common language? I think they were on to something. Personally, I’m more curious lately about the secret Facebook program that causes typos in everything I type in my “status” box. By the way, words like “adoxography” are not in my personal vocabulary. More unusual words for you here.
Derail Your Travel Plans With Amtrak
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 9, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, February 9th, 2009Now with added pirate goodness!
We interrupt our regularly scheduled Monday Demotivators (our tips and tricks for avoiding work on Monday) to talk about a potential real-world Monday Demotivator: Amtrak. If you’re traveling from Detroit or Ann Arbor to Chicago (which I will be), a seemingly logical choice would be to take the train. Ironically though, in a country whose history is inextricably entwined with trains and stories about them, one of the most regularly traveled corridors is also notoriously one of the worst. On top of an on-time record of about 28%, and recent delays as long as 13 hours, now we have to be on the lookout for pirates. Yes, you read that right. Arrgh, matey. Until we have the long-dreamed of maglevs criss-crossing the country, train travel in the states remains a bit like it was in the beginning. A great cross-country adventure frought with peril. Say a prayer for me…
TV on the Radio – Dear Science
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on February 8, 2009 by admin in Music
Sunday, February 8th, 2009I take back everything bad I ever said about TV on the Radio, which was very little anyway. My first exposure to them was their 2006 release Return to Cookie Mountain. I kept trying to like it, but could never get past the feeling that I was listening to a lost mid-seventies Peter Gabriel solo [...]
I take back everything bad I ever said about TV on the Radio, which was very little anyway. My first exposure to them was their 2006 release Return to Cookie Mountain
