Gotta love the Christmas spirit! Reported by goodnewsnetwork.org:
Christmas came early to the town of Canton, Mississippi when a generous and very secret Santa picked up the tab for more than 300 layaway tickets at the local Walmart.
A donor who chose to remain anonymous approached the store’s management and made an offer they had no reason to refuse: The jolly old elf volunteered to make good on every layaway ticket they were holding for customers who had yet to pay or fully pay for their merchandise.
So awesome!
No matter how much of a dork you think you were in high school, I bet you can't easily beat this photo of yours truly right after voting in the 1996 presidential election:
Everytime I think of Crisp Lips, it makes me smile. What a crazy movie!
"Cow" by maraker is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
So exciting! I am a big fan of brisket, and I also know that it’s not exactly the best for the environment to support it.
FutureFeed Pty Ltd, a company based in Australia, has just secured $13 million to start a new company that will produce a cow feed that is made of seaweed and results in an 80% reduction in methane!
This is a video that has a loud moan done by a group of four people, all together now! This clip is a snippet from the full-length independent movie Crisp Li...
Leland Melvin, NASA Astronaut
Astronaut Leland Melvin recently talked about how his career could have been cut short from a single traffic stop. Thankfully that didn’t happen. Melvin has a storied career, from the NFL to NASA.
Leland Melvin’s experience as an astronaut on the International Space Station illustrates that when we consider a radically different perspective, our mindsets have to change. There’s no way we could stay the same.
Melvin said his "aha" moment in space came unexpectedly. He anticipated it would happen as he helped install the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory on the International Space Station in 2008.
But it wasn't until NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson invited Melvin over to the Russian segment of the station to share a meal. The crew included astronauts with Russian, French, German, African American and Asian American backgrounds and was hosted by Whitson -- the first female commander of the space station, Melvin said.
"We were breaking bread at 17,500 miles per hour, going around the planet every 90 minutes. And that was when my head exploded, and I had this epiphany about our planet and looking back at it, getting this thing called the orbital perspective."
It's something astronauts gain as they gaze down at our planet as a whole.
"I think we as a civilization need to take that thing that we get in space as astronauts," he said. "And we know that if we don't work together as a team, and we were one of the most diverse teams in space, then we (would) perish."
Working together is the only way Melvin thinks humanity can survive on this planet, get back to the moon and get to Mars.
"The way we do it is with the right perspective. And we bring this perspective home from space, to go back to space as a civilization of diverse people," he said. "It's perspective together, that we work together, we live together, and we change the universe together."
I think we could all be better people if we just took a bit more time to consider perspectives that may challenge us. Why not?
I was talking to a friend of mine recently, and I asked him for a little advice. He’s really good at giving hard truths. He doesn’t hold back. Everyone needs a friend who doesn’t fuck around. This friend is also an incredible actor and knows the landscape of the entertainment business, how people are in it.
I lamented that I would receive news from people I knew in the business, what they’re doing, how cool it was that they created this or that, name drop name drop name drop, what projects are coming up for them, etc. It always seemed like these statements, these imperatives, were all to get me check out what they’re doing and see how cool it was and congratulate them. Something bugged me, so I asked my friend for a good hard truth.
My friend said this: “It’s not a bad thing to expect a friend to ask you how you’re doing. If they don’t, are you sure they’re your friend?”
And then he sent me this video:
I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time… much needed!
I kinda feel like I need to rock a smoking jacket like Esa Pekka Salonen:
I've been a big fan of the Avenson Audio STO-2 stereo pair since 2005. I met Brad Avenson at a party years ago, and he is still such a nice guy. When I ordered the STO-2 pair from them recently, one of the guys there said they could send me a pair to use while I’m waiting for my very own pair to come along. He apologized because COVID-19 had basically disrupted how fast they could get mics done. Stellar customer service. Plus, they’re Texas peeps, so I was cool hanging for the time being.
Were the mics worth the wait? Yup. Totally.
The STO-2’s are mics that I’ve wanted for years because I first experienced them on a piano part I was recording in the Bubble, Frenchie Smith’s old studio on East 7th street (he’s since moved). I thought the mics sounded magical. They are pure mics, completely transparent. Seeing as how I didn’t have any mics that just picked up sound and replicated it perfectly (it annoyed me that I never heard what I wanted to hear when I used any of my old mics), the STO-2’s were on my list for years.
I recently got paid for a composing gig, so I decided to get the STO-2’s. What a treat!. First off, This is the box they came in:
Hard not to feel like royalty when I open the box. Also, they look like the tiny gun from Men In Black that packs a whollop:
The STO-2 On A Piano - Low
So now the tests!
All microphone tests were done via Mogami gold cables, the Audient iD44 interface, and was recorded 48/24. No processing was done to preserve the details of the microphones themselves (ie, no compression or EQ).
6 Inches From Source, 18 Inches Apart, Direct
I particularly like the stereo spread on this one, though my pedal needs a little oil. The direct sounds very present.
6 Inches From Source, 18 Inches Apart, 45 Degrees
Notice how this is just a tiny bit more mellow? I like this one the most. Feels great.
6 Inches From Source, 46 Inches Apart, Direct
Super wide stereo spread on this one. You can hear the squeaky pedal in the left.
1 Foot From Source, 36 Inches Apart, Direct
I like how the sound has a little bit more time to develop on this length. Still, the STO-2 manages to carry the weight nicely.
1 Foot From Source, 36 Inches Apart, 45 Degrees
A little more demure, a bit shy, which is something I like in sound! It could fit in beautifully.
1 Foot From Source, 50 Inches Apart, Direct
Really love this one. It has this incredibly large field of sound, and it’s given time to bloom.
3 Feet From Source, XY
Though the stereo field is not as pronouced here as it was in the previous examples, this type of configuration could work great in the right situation.
4 Feet From Source, XY
Starting to capture more of the room on this one. I think that the carpet started to dissipate the sound of the piano blooming towards the mics.
5 Feet From Source, XY
Gorgeous. I like this sound a lot more. It’s so far in the back of the audio bubble. It could really fit if I wanted a piano further back in the recording.
6 Feet From Source, XY
A little noisier than all the others. I was a bit careless with the preamps, but oh well. I like how the sound comes together none-the-less. It really gives the impression of sitting in the room without any hype. How many mics can do that?
Wow, I want to test more!
I am excited about these mics! They are solid so far, and I only tested them on the bottom of a piano so far. I want to do some tests on the top of the same piano, and will do so when my stereo bar arrives in the mail.
I’m smitten with the STO-2’s. So happy!!!
I think my high school psychology teacher was only trying to help when he gave me this:
If you want to know what it’s like to be Jon Bon Jovi in the time of the coronavirus pandemic, here he is, washing dishes and caring for the poor.
Totally badass. Well done, sir!
So awesome!!!
No one wants to talk about death, but when musicians play music for people in hospice, you can’t deny how awesome that is:
Wayne Miles has not got the energy to open his eyes, but a faint smile flickers across his face as he silently mouths the words to the John Denver song Some Days Are Diamonds.
The 59-year-old Glasshouse Mountains man is dying from cancer, and amid the pain and grief music provides solace.
The former truck driver's love for country music is being nurtured by music therapist Tracie Wicks.
She sits with him at his bedside, strumming a guitar or playing the keyboard, and crooning Slim Dusty and John Denver songs that fill the dedicated music room in the Dove Palliative Care wing of the Caloundra Hospital.
This orchestra helps those who are deaf to feel the vibrations of music.