FA+
Shop
The loss of a great mind
General | Posted 14 years agoToday -- as is already, of course, all over the news, Twitter, and the like -- the world has learned that Christopher Hitchens has lost his battle with cancer. I do not know if the few who will see this journal will know him or his mountainous body of work, but suffice it to say that a great human being has been lost this day.
The time-honored phrase uttered at many a time such as this generally holds that the deceased was "a great many things to many people," but none so much as Christopher Hitchens. A reporter of unmatched caliber, an almost impossibly sharp wit, an incredibly keen mind... And one of the greatest humanists to have ever lived. That is to say, he was one of the greatest advocates for humanity, ever.
Trending on Twitter right now is the tag #GodIsNotGreat. It is the title of a book Hitchens wrote, one of many books he wrote, and has caused a kneejerk reaction among the faithful on Twitter. Violence has been threatened against whomever started the trend.
I am honestly uncertain as to whether Hitchens would love or hate this. Perhaps both, equally. He would love that he was able to get in a last word, even before his grave is dug; but the hatred over a simple hashtag on Twitter does a brilliant job of making his point.
Hitchens' personal faith, or rather profound lack thereof, was hardly his defining character, however.
It has been learned that the New York Times has stopped its presses to reprint their front page with the obituary of Christopher Hitchens. That is to say, that the most influential newspaper in the world has ground to a halt to make way for this one man's passing. Few testaments can be made to the impact and importance of a person that are greater than that.
The time-honored phrase uttered at many a time such as this generally holds that the deceased was "a great many things to many people," but none so much as Christopher Hitchens. A reporter of unmatched caliber, an almost impossibly sharp wit, an incredibly keen mind... And one of the greatest humanists to have ever lived. That is to say, he was one of the greatest advocates for humanity, ever.
Trending on Twitter right now is the tag #GodIsNotGreat. It is the title of a book Hitchens wrote, one of many books he wrote, and has caused a kneejerk reaction among the faithful on Twitter. Violence has been threatened against whomever started the trend.
I am honestly uncertain as to whether Hitchens would love or hate this. Perhaps both, equally. He would love that he was able to get in a last word, even before his grave is dug; but the hatred over a simple hashtag on Twitter does a brilliant job of making his point.
Hitchens' personal faith, or rather profound lack thereof, was hardly his defining character, however.
It has been learned that the New York Times has stopped its presses to reprint their front page with the obituary of Christopher Hitchens. That is to say, that the most influential newspaper in the world has ground to a halt to make way for this one man's passing. Few testaments can be made to the impact and importance of a person that are greater than that.
Music libraries, and the sorting thereof
General | Posted 14 years agoHaving recently acquired an invite to Google Music Beta, our brave hero finds himself sorting through his music collection at 4 in the morning to decide what music to make available offline, not remembering that just around the corner lurks the dreaded Father's Early Morning Doctor's Appointment! And it's sibling, Father's Afternoon Doctor's Appointment! Will our hero survive his upcoming ordeal??? Tune in next week for the shocking conclusion!
In all seriousness, though... Google Music is quite awesome. I have decided that, since I now possess the ability to seamlessly stream any and all of my music collection to my phone or any browser on demand, I should go ahead and clear off of my phone's SD card all but the music I play most often, the better to create oodles of free SD card space which I shall never use again!
To my often disturbingly obsessive mind, this necessitates a complete review of my music library. There is a not-insignificant problem with this idea.
When it comes to music, I tend to be a bit of a hoarder. If I hear a track that I like, I will often acquire the entire album, only to find that I appreciate just a few of the other tracks... If any of the other tracks at all. Now, see, a normal person would likely just delete the tracks which did not meet with their approval... Normalcy is not one of my defining traits.
I tend to just flag the tracks with a 1 or 2 star rating and forget about them. This has caused my music collection to reach, oh, let me see... 7438 items.
7438 items that I now feel compelled to examine the title of to determine their worthiness as "available for offline" items.
And I know I won't be satisfied until I've evaluated every last one of them.
In all seriousness, though... Google Music is quite awesome. I have decided that, since I now possess the ability to seamlessly stream any and all of my music collection to my phone or any browser on demand, I should go ahead and clear off of my phone's SD card all but the music I play most often, the better to create oodles of free SD card space which I shall never use again!
To my often disturbingly obsessive mind, this necessitates a complete review of my music library. There is a not-insignificant problem with this idea.
When it comes to music, I tend to be a bit of a hoarder. If I hear a track that I like, I will often acquire the entire album, only to find that I appreciate just a few of the other tracks... If any of the other tracks at all. Now, see, a normal person would likely just delete the tracks which did not meet with their approval... Normalcy is not one of my defining traits.
I tend to just flag the tracks with a 1 or 2 star rating and forget about them. This has caused my music collection to reach, oh, let me see... 7438 items.
7438 items that I now feel compelled to examine the title of to determine their worthiness as "available for offline" items.
And I know I won't be satisfied until I've evaluated every last one of them.
The Accidental Sea
General | Posted 14 years ago...is the name given to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otIU6Py4K_A
The video absolutely floored me. Aside from being exceptionally well-made, the subject is extraordinarily interesting. It is, quite in fact, about a sea that was created, in the middle of a desert, entirely by accident. I'd never heard of this place before.
I have now, and I doubt I'll forget it.
Go take a look. It's entirely worth your time.
The video absolutely floored me. Aside from being exceptionally well-made, the subject is extraordinarily interesting. It is, quite in fact, about a sea that was created, in the middle of a desert, entirely by accident. I'd never heard of this place before.
I have now, and I doubt I'll forget it.
Go take a look. It's entirely worth your time.
Freerunning, vocalists, and remixes. Topic mashup anyone?
General | Posted 14 years agoSo, was browsing Youtube and ran across Tempest Freerunning Academy's demo video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fouvwilGWc ). Aside from the freerunning and parkour, which is, of course, awesome in its own right, I instantly fell in love with the song they chose for the video.
The song is a remix by Bassnectar of Ellie Goulding's "Lights". I'm sure it's already making it's rounds amongst those more well-endowed with internet social connections than I, but despite that realization, it seemed a worthy enough subject for my first journal.
I absolutely love the remix, and the original song to boot. I haven't had the chance to listen to much else from Ellie Goulding yet, but I do enjoy her voice. I hope she doesn't suffer the same fate as my enjoyment of Lisa Miskovsky, known for her singing in the theme song to the game Mirror's Edge (unfortunately titled "Still Alive", leading to confusion with the other, more infinitely more well-known song of the same name). I looked up more of Lisa's music, but aside from a track or two, I just couldn't get into it. Very much hoping Ellie doesn't end up the same way, as I find that I do very much enjoy her vocal style.
Ellie Goulding's "Lights" can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NKUpo_xKyQ
Bassnectar's remix can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6zGLm9wr24
The song is a remix by Bassnectar of Ellie Goulding's "Lights". I'm sure it's already making it's rounds amongst those more well-endowed with internet social connections than I, but despite that realization, it seemed a worthy enough subject for my first journal.
I absolutely love the remix, and the original song to boot. I haven't had the chance to listen to much else from Ellie Goulding yet, but I do enjoy her voice. I hope she doesn't suffer the same fate as my enjoyment of Lisa Miskovsky, known for her singing in the theme song to the game Mirror's Edge (unfortunately titled "Still Alive", leading to confusion with the other, more infinitely more well-known song of the same name). I looked up more of Lisa's music, but aside from a track or two, I just couldn't get into it. Very much hoping Ellie doesn't end up the same way, as I find that I do very much enjoy her vocal style.
Ellie Goulding's "Lights" can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NKUpo_xKyQ
Bassnectar's remix can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6zGLm9wr24
