live your life out loud
This YouTube video was made by another local a cappella group, The Richter Scales (who are, well, slightly more established than the one I sing in). Not only does it feature the lovely voices of its talented members (many of whom work in high-tech), it but also pretty much sums up startup culture (as experienced by the lucky few and dreamt of by many more). To get an idea of how savvy you are when it comes to what’s going on in web 2.0 these days, see how many of the references you understand.
Here are a few brain-related things to think about today:
Chimps vs. Humans
I’ve always been jealous of people lucky enough to have eidetic memories, but now I get to jealous of young chimps too. Great. For more on this story, click here.
The Spinning Lady Illusion
Many of you have probably already tried this. I found the observations in this blog entry (and some of the comments) more insightful than many of the other spinning lady links I checked, which merely use the image as a right brain vs. left brain test. At first I was stuck on counter-clockwise, but she suddenly changed directions while I was reading below the image that “our brains did not evolve to interpret two-dimensional representations of the world but the actual three-dimensional world. So our visual processing assumes we are looking at a 3-D image and it uses clues to interpret it as such.” It’s kind of awesome once you can control which way she spins!
Having officially commenced my holiday gift shopping today (including one of the below recommendations), I began to wonder if our shopping habits might reveal interesting (or disturbing?) facts about our true selves. Here is my breakdown of shopper types. Which one are you?
Types of shoppers:
– Those who spend 6 months brainstorming, obsessively searching for the perfect thing…not to mention the time and money spent wrapping gifts with meticulous care, despite the wrapping’s imminent fate of being torn apart and discarded.
– Those who nonchalantly wait till 8pm on December 24th, then panic and do all their shopping in two hours at Walmart.
– The home-made gift givers who slave away knitting scarves, framing photos, making mixed CDs, editing video …
– And of course the eh-I’ll-just-buy-em-a-gift-certificate types.
Whatever their shopping style, most people have someone in their life who is an aficionado of music or technology. Or both. Here are some gift ideas for that person:
1. The Gamerator – Arcade game/Beer tap. “Not only does this supreme frat-gadget give home to a flatscreen monitor, full MAME game system, and vintage arcade controls, it also hosts a kegerator that situates its tap right beneath the joystick ledge, allowing mid-game refills without any pause in competitive action.” So, when you get sick of playing Beirut you can move on to this more high-tech drinking game set-up.
2. Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band – Someone I know recently got a visit from the cops at home because he and his friends were playing Rock Band too loudly…Whether your giftee is a musician, a gamer, both, or neither, these games are a good bet. Be forewarned, however, that both can be highly addictive (or so I hear).
3. Pro Tools – One of the best DAWs available for recording musicians (professional or not-so-professional). There are a plethora of other software alternatives including Logic Pro, Cubase, Digital Performer, Sonar and Garage Band. Some of these software programs practically require a degree in nuclear physics to master, others could be learned while simultaneously watching the Simpsons, eating a taco, and updating your Facebook profile, so it’s advisable to ascertain the recipient’s level of musical ability and familiarity with software before making your purchase.
4. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain – bestselling book by author/neurologist Oliver Sacks, in which he examines the power of music on the human brain and recounts stories ranging from “people with ‘amusia,’ to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds–for everything but music.” I once read an article about a girl who has a terrible stutter, except for when she sings – wonder if he included her in the book…
5. Solar Messenger Bag – Charge your cell phone, ipod, camera, etc (can carry but not charge a laptop) as you bike to the office in your suit with your latte in one hand and your newspaper under your arm…Good for hippies, green-friendly business types, or anyone who habitually forgets to charge their devices at home.
Soulja Boy. It’s sweeping the nation. The song, the dance, the rapper. As a former student of Anthropology, naturally I’m fascinated by what fuels a trend like this. Is it the catchy tune? The lyrics? The dance? His style? Some unknown element that touches the heartstrings of humanity?
My first introduction to Soulja Boy was in my bar where, recently, some of the customers started doing this crazy dance. Totally clueless as to what “crank that soulja boy” or “supaman” was, I went home and got on YouTube. Turns out that not only has the song/dance/video become exceedingly viral, but now there are a plethora of home videos as well as clips spliced together from animated movies/tv shows inspired by Soulja Boy. Whether you’re into SB or not, some of the copycat videos are worth checking out.
Warning: If you actually click on all the following links you will SO be sick of the song by the end of this post. (Either that, or you’ll know the dance and have become one of “them”.)
But, first. Who is this Soulja Boy character?? Born DeAndre Way, the rapper/producer who has become an internet sensation with a growing cult following is only 17 years old. Though from humble roots, his beats, style, and personality quickly got him noticed by Interscope Records and his career is rapidly gaining momentum. Read the rest of his bio and more on the official Soulja Boy website. Or on his MySpace.
Now, for the videos. To search for more of his stuff, check out his YouTube profile. But, here is the original video. So ya, that’s what started all the hype (actually SB and his buddy A-Rab posting clips online was probably what started it originally, but you know what I mean). What I’m more interested in are the spin-offs! Here are some highlights:
There’s Winnie the Pooh, Lion King, Sponge Bob, Family Guy and obviously Superman for starters in the animated category. Next, we have the home videos by people of all ages and from all walks of life. No, seriously. Like these kids. Or University of Wisconson basketball coach, Bo Ryan. Or this dance class. The Miami Canes’ mascot even. Oh and these little dudes are not bad. Not to mention the random hot girls (3 separate links). Everybody’s doin’ it…
Some are clearly more accomplished dancers than others. But hey, gotta love the enthusiasm! There are too many to list from the “goofy white boy” category, but here are a few: sample 1, sample 2, sample 3.
Speaking of goofy, this is my favorite:
Yuuuaaaaaaaaaaa.
Tuning your instrument. One of the necessary evils that goes along with being a musician. I remember back in the day, as a young flautist, standing outside Bristol Farms playing for holiday shoppers (ya, that’s how cool I was) and trying in vain to tune and retune our flutes as my fellow performers and I kept going flat due to the cold. Or, in high school orchestra, how a great classical piece could be seriously butchered thanks to a few out of tune oboes or violins. There’s nothing worse than an out of tune violin. I mean, seriously folks. Well, it looks like those days are soon to be over. For guitar players anyway.
According to the Listening Post, Gibson has come out with a self-tuning Robot Guitar (after 10 years of development). No, it doesn’t play itself for you, clean your room, or cook you dinner. But it makes tuning a heck of a lot easier. How does it work? The Powertune system (developed by German company Tronical), “uses a set of piezo-electric pickups to determine the pitch of each string. These are separate from the regular guitar pickups, which rely on the string vibrating in a magnetic field to cause a current.” (Read more here.)
While the guitar comes pre-calibrated for concert pitch, you can tune one string yourself and the rest of them will adjust accordingly. Powertune can even store custom tunings. You can either get the Robot Guitar itself or if you can’t part from your own favorite guitar, there is a $900 add-on which should do the trick. Pretty damn cool. Watch the instructional video here.
While critics may legitimately argue that real musicians should be able to tune their instrument, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the option out there, especially if you need to change tunings on the fly or want to ensure perfect pitch for a performance. Rock on, Gibson.
