Don’t Be A Dummy Head
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 15, 2008 by admin in Music, Technology
More than you’ll ever want to know about binaural recording and 3D audio.
If you need to capture that feeling of your interviewee looking over the viewer’s head at the big alien that’s about to eat them, you might want to try the Binaural Mic from Otokinoko, pictured here. I don’t know how it compares to big name binaural mics like the Neumann KU 100 dummy head, but at $3,899.00, one would hope it sounds more real than the original sound. It’s sure to at least put a nice deer-in-the-headlights look on your subject.
If you’ve never heard binaural recordings, there are some interesting examples at virtualbarber.org. There are also some fun 3D audio illusions like the circling helicopter, which although most effective through headphones, works even through a decent set of speakers. One of the creepier illusions is something I’ve always wanted to use in a horror soundtrack. It’s called the Continuous Shepard Tone, and it sounds like a pitch that is infinitely falling. And I mean infinitely. Let it loop a few times and your brain should start melting slightly.
Space Toilets & Goat Love
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 14, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture, Technology
Today’s hot topics: Saudi Goat Beauty Contests; Space Toilets
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Only the Internet will provide the opportunity for a headline like that. And only on the Internet will you find a story about a Saudi Goat Beauty Contest via a Chinese news site.
Another hot topic on the MetaBlogs this morning: you may have heard about the space station’s broken toilet. Well, the station inhabitants are relieved (heh) to have it fixed. If you’ve never given much thought to zero-g elimination, be sure to check out astronaut Chris Hadfield‘s informative & humorous overview of space toilets (streaming video link). He seems flushed with excitement as he bowls the audience over. No, really. He’s a straight shooter. A number one expert.
The Kanadian KKK Brings You the “Obama Sock Puppet”
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 13, 2008 by admin in Politics
Whoda thunk?
It seems racism is alive and well in…who’d have guessed…CANADA. I shouldn’t be surprised that at a time when a black man has managed to secure the Democratic Candidacy for President of the United States, there are people out there attempting to profit from the racist & bigoted attitudes that are still so prevalent. Yes, it’s a sock puppet of Obama that captures the vibe of the racist heyday of whiteface and “yes’m'boss”. The thing that surprised me most was that the product isn’t produced by some hayseed from the states; the domain is registered to Binkley Custom Products, of Hamilton, Ontario. Interestingly, the products’ home page proclaims: “TheSockObama™ is born and raised in the United States of America”. If you visit their main site at binkley-toys.com, it re-directs to customplushtoys.com, which for some reason (!) doesn’t seem to feature the Sock Obama product very prominently, although it has some peculiar items like the Alexa Jesus (whatever that means) and the macabre disembodied head of “Sgt. Paddy”, pictured here. If you want to contact them, here’s part of their Whois information: Robert Bishop – Binkley Custom Products. Tel: +00.19053128962 Fax: +00.19055474245. For the full Whois record click the “more” link. Read the rest of this entry »
Yahoo Google Partnership: Another Nail In the Search Coffin
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 12, 2008 by admin in Technology
After the Yahoo/Microsoft Failure, a Yahoo/Google deal?
Wow. The possibility of Microsoft and Yahoo teaming up was scary enough, but the new Yahoo/Google deal that’s hitting the business press today doesn’t seem like much of an improvement on the surface, except it’s not a full-blown acquisition. We’ve come a long way since those college boys created Google on those taxpayer-supported servers at Stanford, promising never to go public before their initial IPO a year later… Read the rest of this entry »
Moog Electric Guitar
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 11, 2008 by admin in Music, Technology
Screw world peace, I want a Moog Electric Guitar for Christmas.
Why does Lou Reed get to try this thing before I do? The Moog Electric Guitar is like something I always fantasized about when my EBow would start feeding back. They’re taking pre-orders, but unless you have seven grand to get rid of, you’ll have to be content with watching the video for now.