internet dinosaur sitrep

in

Macro0124 is in subscribers’ inboxes and I'm still, two weeks in, sold on my current dinosaur approach to the internet and to my career: this retreat to writing words and spewing thoughts about books and films and whatever springs to mind. I'm just going to do my thing – whatever that thing may be – and if someone enjoys it (or finds it) fine; the hustle, the network, is over.

Fascinates / disturbs me how I only find this freedom in my own space when I'm not posting / syndicating it to social media. Maybe it's a byproduct of getting rid of that "something extra," as Suzuki would say.

While there are still more things I’d like to do here – both an increased sharing of others' blogs and newsletters, and the realization of seemingly-unshakable notion of a day-ending / curtain closing coda (though it's not in active processing, by any stretch) – I'm happy with the way things are and plan to continue it for the foreseeable future. Until I change my mind but that’s for a later iteration of myself to decide.

The Abacusynth

in

Creator Elias Jarzombek on this amazing thing:

Abacuysnth is a synthesizer inspired by an abacus, the ancient counting tool used all around the world. Just like an abacus is used to learn the fundamentals of math, the Abacusynth can be used to explore the building blocks of audio synthesis.

It exists in two forms, one digital and one physical, that are both based on the same primary interaction: placing and manipulating shapes on rods. The visual and tactile control makes it easy and fun to create rich timbres sounds without having to fiddle with lots of knobs and sliders.

Be sure to check out the whole article via Elias’s blog. I’m entranced - and want to hear what EJK and/or Fran would do with it.

boofuckinghoo

in

Given the insanity endemic in the Rethuglican party and the Ohio varietal’s accelerated transformation of this state into a (more) corrupt MAGAstan hellscape, I'm hopeful that Householder won't be the last of this coterie who trades in their suit and tie for an orange jumpsuit. They deserve every day of their sentence and then some – Ohio will (if it finds its way back to sanity - a big if) be digging itself out of the mess Householder et al created for years beyond that.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Black gave (Householder) the maximum possible sentence of 20 years and then ordered blue-shirted U.S. Marshals to immediately take him into custody. He rose, put his hands behind his back, the marshals cuffed him and led the once-powerful pol away...

"You conned the people of Ohio and you tried to con the jury, too," Black said in his gravely voice as Householder, clad in a gray suit and red tie, slumped his bulk back in his chair...

Steven Bradley, Householder's attorney, sought leniency for his client. Referring to the possibility of a 20-year sentence, he said "That is effectively a life sentence for Larry Householder given his age and health situation."

Householder is 64 and overweight.

Bradley argued that his client was around 60 when the racketeering conspiracy began in late 2016 and that prior to that, Householder did "innumerable" good deeds "for decades." A 20-year sentence would "effectively give no consideration" to those good deeds, Bradley said.

Can you hear the song I’m playing on the world's smallest violin?

Ryuichi Sakamato’s virtual encore

in

While it sounds like the tech leaves something to be desired, the execution and intent of the project as a whole seems a poignant farewell to one of the greats. Love the IKIRU homage.

... gentle fog that curls around everyone's ankles for the opening piece; a tree that draws itself on top of the piano a bit later. "It was never my intention to simply service people who knew they loved Ryuichi, but to try to expand the audience that would come to understand his work," says Eckert. Luckily, the artworks elevate the performance instead of detracting from it. While Sakamoto is playing the hit track "Energy Flow," for example, a window opens high above him, and snowflakes start floating through it. The snow effect references Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film IKIRU, where the main character--an elderly man who knows he will die soon--spends his final moments sitting on a park swing during a snowfall, singing a romantic ballad.

Picked up Sakamoto's final album, 12, on vinyl this week and it’s sublime.