I just added a "Delaware" section to the links page. It's mostly art and music related event listings and calendars. Eventually I'll add a Philadelphia section too.
The Vibon 2 compilation (which I have a track on) is being reviewed as "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" by the Japanese distributor Duotone Records. Here's a crazy translation of their review:
PHASMID and SATELLITE GROOVES recording! When the メロウ we like the ELECTRO POP, the ogre mast the コンピレーション! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!Perplexity indeed! I have a good friend who speaks Japanese, I'm going to see if he can translate it for me.
Series of レーベルコンピ " " " VIBON " of label TBTMO of PHLADELPHIA 2nd feature. From the SKYLAB OPERATIONS from the popularity which such as PHASMID release has been done and STELLITE GROOVES the full album the りり - the ス was done the DARLA-RELATED artist, from UK/ENDOROPHIN such as TECHNICOLOR and TRANSIENT and the CEREBRAL and the WILLIAM FIELDS, and the SPINTRONIC and the NINTARI MAN of the PACIFICA and the TEAMTECHNO which participated in also the Lee mixed CD of the PHASMID, the PLANET NETT, and so on and so on... namelessness to be high feeling of transparency choice did only the good ELECTRO POP, intense it is good contents. When the メロウ we like the ELECTRO POP, " perplexity! " With it is the feeling which was said.
UPDATE: My friend MP translated (with some comments):
They have a smaller blurb on their homepage which lists 6 new releases. The blurb says:"A compilation CD containing only mellow electronica like Satellite Grooves and Phasmid. If you like mellow electronica you won't have any complaints."
Then there's the mini-review you linked me to. It says:
"Recordings by Satellite Grooves and Phasmid!! If you like mellow Electro-Pop this compilation is a total must!!!! Highly recommended!!!! This is volume 2 in the series of "Vibon" label comps from the Philadelphia label "TBTMO". From the highlights of stuff on Skylab Operations, like Satellite Grooves and Phasmid, to Darla-related artists like Transient and Technicolor, to Pacifica, who released a full-length on UK/Endorphin and was also on the Phasmid remix CD, William Fields and Cerebral from Team Techno, Spintronic, Nintari Man, Planet Nett, etc etc... Even if it's not very well known, there's nothing but clean Electro-Pop that feels just right. If you like mellow Electro-Pop, I have a feeling you can't go wrong! Some older releases from TBTMO are coming in at the same time. For more details, please check out the back catalog page."
("back catalog" is hyperlinked.)Note:
They are using the word "electro-pop" in English letters without even transcribing it into a Japanese script, whereas foreign words are usually shown in a Japanese script that reflects their adapted pronunciation and often a change in nuance or semantic scope. I have no idea whether "ELECTRO POP" in Japanese has the same flavor as "electro-pop" in English. Also note that "mellow" is a translation of "merou", their adaptation of English "mellow", and it may not have exactly the same feeling as the English original. The average Japanese person on the street would probably have no idea what "merou" means, not to mention "ELECTRO POP".
The Monk in the Lab by Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama)
Experiments have already been carried out that show some practitioners can achieve a state of inner peace, even when facing extremely disturbing circumstances. Dr. Paul Ekman of the University of California at San Francisco told me that jarring noises (one as loud as a gunshot) failed to startle the Buddhist monk he was testing. Dr. Ekman said he had never seen anyone stay so calm in the presence of such a disturbance.Another monk, the abbot of one of our monasteries in India, was tested by Dr. Davidson using electroencephalographs to measure brain waves. According to Dr. Davidson, the abbot had the highest amount of activity in the brain centers associated with positive emotions that had ever been measured by his laboratory.
"Who is that person whom you call an artist? A man who is momentarily creative? To me he is not an artist. The man who merely at rare moments has this creative impulse and expresses that creativeness through perfection of technique, surely you would not call him an artist. To me, the true artist is one who lives completely, harmoniously, who does not divide his art from living, whose very life is that expression, whether it be a picture, music, or his behavior; who has not divorced his expression on a canvas or in music or in stone from his daily conduct, daily living. That demands the highest intelligence, highest harmony. To me the true artist is the man who has that harmony. He may express it on canvas, or he may talk, or he may paint; or he may not express it at all, he may feel it. But all this demands that exquisite poise, that intensity of awareness and, therefore, his expression is not divorced from the daily continuity of living."
--Jiddu Krishnamurti, Living in Ecstasy, 1934
More good news for tea lovers like me:
Tea helps fight off infections
Drinking tea may prime the immune system to fight infections and even cancer, researchers have said.
Politics:
Compiled Bush approval rating graph
Interesting collection of nation rankings
Food/Health:
Shameful maneuvering of the sugar industry to influence World Health Organization health guidelines
Downloadable USDA nutrient database program for PC, Mac, Palm.
I <3 sugar coated fennel seeds
Art/Sound:
Comparisonics Audio Player - colorized waveform audio visualization
..and their sound search website
2003 Pulitzer Prize winning photography
Ideas:
Absolutely beautiful. It saddens me deeply to think that this beautiful, colorful world is slowly fading away in the face of globalization and modernization.
Frequently Asked Questions from Paul Ford's Ftrain War Diary
"The purpose of rhythm, it has always seemed to me, is to prolong the moment of contemplation, the moment when we are both asleep and awake, which is the one moment of creation, by hushing us with an alluring monotony, while it holds us waking by variety, to keep us in that state of perhaps real trance, in which the mind liberated from the pressure of the will is unfolded in symbols. If certain sensitive persons listen persistently to the ticking of a watch, or gaze persistently on the monotonous flashing of a light, they fall into the hypnotic trance; and rhythm is but the ticking of a watch made softer, that one must needs listen, and various, that one may not be swept beyond memory or grow weary of listening; while the patterns of the artist are but the monotonous flash woven to take the eyes in a subtler enchantment."
--W.B. Yeats
(found on wood s lot)
My fiancee Hunter Clarke is having her masters thesis exhibition next week (April 14-24) at the Massachusetts College of Art, Arnheim Gallery. The opening is Tuesday, April 15th at 5pm. If you're in the area, I encourage you to check it out. Her work is beautiful, and it looks great in the space (we moved the paintings today, hanging tomorrow).
Update 4/14: I will have a sound installation running during the opening!
I've been working on the music page a bit. I've added "preview" links to some of the tracks. Please try them out and let me know how it goes, especially those of you using a dial-up connection. Thanks.
I didn't agree with the means, but I can't argue with the ends. It was wonderful to see that big statue fall, to see the Iraqi people cheering, jumping up and down, to see joyful Iraqis (men and women) kissing American soldiers on both cheeks.
Of course, we cannot forget the many killed and wounded, civilian or military. They are all victims. One is too many. But, thankfully, in the grand scheme of things, this war has been mild. Eight and a half million died in the first World War. Twenty million in the second.
But, it is not over yet. Let's hope that resistance continues to evaporate, the war comes to an end quickly, a fair representative democracy is formed (with the support of the international community), and the United States leaves quickly. Let's hope that the end result is so successful that the repercussions and aftershocks are light. It will be difficult, and maybe not likely, but it is possible.
Overall, the way this war was handled makes me optimistic. With so many eyes watching, with media from all over the world on the scene, with the rapid distribution of information (via conventional sources or weblogs), the United States government/military is FORCED to be extremely careful. Every civilian casualty, every accidental bombing, every atrocity, every "friendly fire" incident is likely to be exposed. Of course, which events get coverage (or emphasis) varies across the board -- from FoxNews to al-Jazeera -- but the information is out there. We have the opportunity to consider many perspectives. They know that the eyes of the world are watching.
Happy Buddha's Birthday!
BuddhaNet's Buddhist Studies page is a wonderful resource for information on Buddhism. Their Basic Buddhism Guide is a great introduction.
Some of my favorite books on Buddhism are No Death, No Fear and Old Path, White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh, and What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula.
The English language Al Jazeera website is finally up and running. For a different perspective on things.
Metaphor and War, Again by George Lakoff
Reference Library of Digitized Insect Sounds
The sounds of crickets courting and flies flying familiar to many of us, but have you heard a rice weevil larva eating inside a wheat kernel, a termite cutting a piece of wood, or a grub chewing on a root? Modern insect detection and control technology makes use of these subtle signals, sampled below.This is so cool!
Children's Books Online: the Rosetta Project
The Rosetta Project's collections currently contain about 2,000 antique children's books which were published in the 19th and early 20th century. We shall be putting these combined collections on line as funding permits. Our current goal of putting 2,000 volumes on line will create an online library of aproximately 65,000 html pages. However, as we are still collecting books from around the world, we expect the Rosetta Project online library to eventually reach millions of html pages.
Strain of Iraq war showing on Bush, those who know him say - Interesting insight into the ways of Bush.
The links page is back and updated with lots of goodness.
Remember awhile back I was complaining about my wrist bothering me? Well, I am no longer wearing a brace and my wrist feels fine. I have found a strong correlation between doing a bit of yoga everyday (~25 minutes) and having no wrist pain. If I skip out on yoga for a few days and do a lot of typing and clicking, the pain starts to come back. I think it is mostly the arm balances that help.
Use it or lose it.
Pakistan Radicals Use Iraq War to Recruit
Riding a wave of anti-American sentiment, outlawed Islamic extremist organizations that were forced underground by the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2001 are making a comeback.And this war is being fought in the name of making the world a safer place?Recruitment in Pakistan of potential terrorists appears to be on the rise. Militant leaders freed from house arrest have returned to the mosques to rally the faithful against the United States.
Muslim radicals are feeding on anger over the war in Iraq to regroup and revitalize, raising the threat of more anti-U.S. terrorism around the world.