This guy is me! except better!

This guy is from a Latvian A cappella boyband called Cosmos. This is all stuff that I do, except way better. I was so relieved to find my clone out there in the performing world.

Google listening in via your PC microphone? No, thanks.

This scared me.

Google developing eavesdropping software

Google is developing a way to use your PC microphone to find out what TV show is on air in your room. The company's reason for doing this? If you're watching a basketball game on TV, Google can serve you better by identifying this viewing habit and then providing basketball-related advertisements in your browser.

When Google's suite of online applications and services first emerged, I was incredibly excited. How convenient! How revolutionary! But I'm starting to worry about what can happen if all this data gets into the wrong hands. Companies like Google forge ahead with new services so quickly that I wonder whether they have worked out all the security issues.

I'm having similar second thoughts about Facebook.

Rereading 1984 this summer.

Affirmative action along economic lines! Brilliant!

Heyyy... long time no post. sorry.

I came across this article in the New York Times today:

Elite Colleges Open New Doors to Low Income Youths.

Apparently, in the "last few years", elite colleges have been noticing that they barely have any students from the bottom income quartile! So now, they are starting to offer grants to low income students, AND are

"[...] recruiting them and taking their socioeconomic background — defined by family income, parents’ education and occupation level — into account when making admissions decisions."

This trailblazing new admissions philosophy was prompted by recent research that has cast doubt on the leveling power of traditional affirmative action admissions policies. Apparently, schools have been winding up with a lot more upper class minority students than lower class minority students.

DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH Where's Carlos Mencia when you need him DUH DUH DUH....

I can't stand it when a serious publication writes about a blatantly obvious point (that race-based affirmative action helps black people, not poor people) as if it's some sort of staggering new conclusion, brought about only by years of research.

You should name the monkey scooter!

So Scooter Libby got a guilty verdict. Prison sentence to follow. On almost the same day, Cheney's health problems make the news (blood clot in the leg). If Cheney resigns for health reasons, we'll know the real reason -- he's feeling the fallout from the Libby perjury trial.

And speaking of Scooter, here's a clip for your enjoyment :)

Snow Day!!

So school was canceled at U of I yesterday and today. Two days off! That's not a bad school week:

Sunday-Monday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Friday-Saturday




This is a car in our alley. The wind was causing crazy drifts everywhere. Most snow I've seen in years!

Happy V-Day to all -- If you don't have a date, don't sweat it. This is just Darwin's way of reminding you that if you don't find a mate, your genes will not be passed on. No biggie!

Billy Joel -- Tuning Up a Broken-Down Legend

Did anyone else hear Billy Joel singing the national anthem during the superbowl?



I've spent close to 200 hours with Xtension Chords studio work, and its made me very aware of the pitch correction in music. Pitch correction (AutoTune is one brand name of software, but i'll use the general term) is an algorithm that analyzes the sound coming from a microphone, figures out which pitch you're singing, and if you're not right on a note it will drag your pitch up or down to the nearest neighboring "official" pitch. If you need an extreme example, listen to "Believe" by Cher, and listen to her voice. It sounds "synthy" because it has an extreme amount of pitch correction applied to it.

Listen to Billy Joel sing (actual singing starts at 1:00 into the clip, so FF). Keep pitch correction in mind. First phrase: "Oh say can you SEEEeeE": Can you hear how he overshot "see" and Autotune pulled his pitch up to the next note up (the wrong pitch)? I all could think about while listening was autotune, autotune, autotune, JESUS BILLY JOEL SOUNDS LIKE A ROBOT.

The superbowl shouldn't have hired him. No one should hire him, and if they do, they should let him sing with his real voice and see if people will like it.

Winter 2006 Book/Movie Review

Some thoughts about the books/movies that I've consumed lately:

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

My brother got me into this series. The author was 15 when he began writing Eragon, the first novel. It's a Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy trilogy, centered around a young farm boy who becomes a Dragon Rider. I found it more palatable than LOTR. Simpler. A good read.

Eldest - Christopher Paolini

Of course, I had to keep plugging right along. Eldest is the second book, and Paolini gets to (ahem) spread his wings with this one (it's nearly twice as long as the first). I liked it better -- The storytelling seems more effortless, and as the conflicts broaden in scope one can't help but get excited to see how the fates of the characters will intertwine. I like the way Paolini treats the development of Eragon. He has natural gifts, but they don't blossom into an instant mega-warrior who owns everyone. He's a Luke Skywalker-type.

Paolini also decides to throw in a bunch of not-so-subtle anti-religious subtexts into the books... If you are bothered by arguments favoring reason over belief, you might be offended. Overall, the Eragon books talk about a fair number of ethical issues, which give them greater value.

Eragon (the film)

Piece of shit. Don't bother seeing it, ESPECIALLY if you haven't yet read the book are thinking about doing so. It's hopelessly compressed, disemboweled and stitched back together, with crappy dialogue, bad cinematography, and a total lack of flow as a story.

Babel (film)

This movie came out without much fanfare, but it deserves to be seen. It unfolds uniquely, following three almost completely separate stories about people who don't listen to one another and the unfortunate consequences thereof. The film's title is a metaphor for this misunderstanding. The characters are at the center, and they are good ones -- real and complex. Brad Pitt is the big name actor, but all the roles are perfectly acted. I smell Oscars.

Charlotte's Web (film)

If you have little cousins, go see it with them. You'll both enjoy the irresistible cuteness of the little pig Wilbur. As an adult, don't bother, unless maybe you have a GF who loves irresistibly cute piglets. The reviews that I've read all give big props to Dakota Fanning, who plays the little girl Fern. She annoyed me -- the actress is so used to playing drama and horror roles, I don't think she knows how to strip away her Hollywood blockbuster demeanor and act like a simple, little farm girl. Too affected.