Sunday, December 30, 2007
:: multi-tasking gone haywire
Do not watch The History channel commercials at the same time you have Photoshop open. It can be quite hazardous to your mental health!
Labels: art, space
Monday, December 24, 2007
:: A Lesson in Courtesy...from Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi is the the Japanese version of the ageless and universal rabbit, who makes his playful-- and ever sacrificial-- appearance all world mythologies. The lastest discovery is Stan Sakai's modern version: Usagi Yojimbo. Stan's Usagi is a cross between comic, manga, and classic woodcut print. His rendition is true to the timeless usagi spirit. Usagi is full of himself, testing the boundaries of his own skills to the limit, usually to meet with comic defeat and a realization of his meagre self in the vast cosmos of life. This flash comic strip story is a good introduction to Stan Sakai's art and story:
A Lesson in Courtesy.
more Usagi Yojimbo downloads at Dark Horse ComicsLabels: art, space, usagi
Sunday, December 02, 2007
:: Space Needle Noodles
Hi tech noodles!
Labels: food, Seattle Eastside, space
Thursday, October 04, 2007
:: Happy Birthday, Sputnik!
[Listen to a wav file of Sputnik's first transmission signal]That is, the original Sputnik! I particularly enjoyed
this article from Yahoo as it is full of anecdotes from the original scientists and includes a lengthy
slide-show of the celebration events this year
[image from AFP]Labels: holiday, space
Saturday, April 01, 2006
:: Wailing of the Leonids
ESA Sounds from Space presents a wonderful collection of sounds gathered by space instruments far and wide. It's a dead heat for which one I like best, but I'll vote for
Wailing of the Leonids, with
Auroral Stars Wars a very close second.
[These are *very* large .wav files, so please download and listen from your PC]
Labels: space
Friday, March 31, 2006
:: on Saturday, 1 April: Lunar Occulation of the Pleiades
Or, in other words, a Lunar Eclipse of the "Seven Sisters". What should make this particlarly lovely is the moon will be in its thin crescent phase, cradling the night sky. From
SpaceWeather.com:
"The eclipse (or 'occultation') will be visible from eastern and central parts of North America. Start looking as soon as the sun sets. The slender crescent moon will pop out of the western twilight next to or among the stars of the Pleiades.
The event lasts nearly three hours from about 6:30 pm until 9:30 pm EST. During that time the Moon will move through the cluster, hiding one star after another, and revealing them again in due course.
Here is a beautiful image of '
earthshine visible on the dark side of the moon as it passes the Pleiades'.
Labels: space
Friday, January 06, 2006
:: Wowsers-- Listen to these!!
Holophonic.ch is per their website, a
3D audio recording system ... invented, developed and patented by Mister Umberto Gabriele Maggi, musical technician (former Nomadi base player) and developer of a variety of other sound technologies.
In the ’80s Maggi opened a small sound research center at the Umbi studios in Modena, where he worked together with his brother Maurizio Maggi (famous sound engineer) and other sound technicians. In 1983, after a period of experiments, Maggi and his crew were able to create the first working “holophone”, a special microphone able to capture 3D sound in all its dimensions and surroundings, over - under -behind.
Alas, their site has only ringtone samples. For the full effect,
put on headphones and listen to
this sample-- "audio so real, it's scary", found on
digg. The
3onWeb.com intro-page riff (click on "Entra nel sito" is also very cool.
soundeffects.com has a few kiitchy samples (the
Listen Now link), a kind of way-back-machine trip to the early quadrophonic sound effects (on vinyl).
...and then there is
Cosmosis on Holophonic Records, while perhaps holophonic in name only, made
some groovy psy-trance tracks.
Addendum:
Here is a page of binaural sound recording clips, for the audiophiles, as only lovers of sound will appreciate recordings of running and barking dogs
Labels: space
