Month: March 2022

Watched What Is Music? from ABC iview

Why do we love a good beat? Does classical music really make you smarter? Join triple j’s Linda Marigliano and composer Dan Golding as they explore the electrifying fusion of emotion and science in music.

Across 15 episodes, Linda Marigliano and Dan Golding dive into the world of music. This includes topics such as singing, the beat, instrumentation, production, writing, image, YouTube, films and bringing us together. Although it might have been nicer to have been longer, I also liked how concise they each. As a note, the consensus is that music is what you make of it.
Bookmarked http://dangolding.com/ (dangolding.com)

DR. DAN GOLDING Twitter Youtube

Associate Professor Dan Golding is Deputy Chair of Media and Communication at Swinburne University, the host of Screen Sounds on ABC Classic, and an award-winning composer and writer.
Dan is the author of Star Wars After Lucas (University of Minnesota Press, …

Dan Golding is a writer, composer, broadcaster, and academic. His focus is on music, games and film. In addition to his really clean website, he has a YouTube channel containing video essays.
Replied to Belonging is inconvenient (David White)

Sometimes at my institution we slide into thinking which implies that full, residential courses are the authentic way to learn and everything else is either geared relative to this or simply a pipeline into it. We need to design on the basis that there are multiple authentic modes of learning for multiple communities of students. Not all of these require belonging and community but where they do we need to acknowledge that it’s hard work, time consuming, and that access-to-a-building or being-in-a-cohort is not a proxy for membership-of-a-community.

Dave, I always appreciate the way in which you provide frameworks for making sense of things. In this case the differences between independent, communal and networked learning, and how this is more than being face-to-face or online. I was interested in your point about belonging and its relationship with time.

This has me thinking about belonging and its association with collaboration, and how whether if we all had the time whether we would naturally wish to collaborate?

Replied to Different Memories (daily-ink.davidtruss.com)

We are shaped by the memories we have. Some of these memories are monumental in building our character, our relationships, and our identity. Some memories hold power over us and hold us back… but they are not what happened, they are what we remembered, and how we add meaning to them.

David, I really enjoyed your reflections on memories, especially your point about how we shape what happened:

I was listening to a podcast recently on forgetting and its relationship with memory. One of the researchers explained how memories are often prone to being negative or at least bias as “whiteness does not show up on the page” and that forgetting is a healthy approach. It has definitely left me thinking about the place and purpose of memories.

Listened Episode 229: Steve Reich,Song Exploder – Steve Reich from Song Exploder

Steve Reich is a legendary composer who was one of the pioneers of minimalism. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, and the New York Times called him “America’s greatest living composer.” I had the incredible honor of getting to speak to Steve Reich about his piece Different Trains, written for string quartet and pre-recorded performance tape. It was first performed in 1988 by the Kronos Quartet, and they released a recording of it in 1989, which won the Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Different Trains is a piece about World War II and the Holocaust. It’s made up of three movements: America – Before the War, Europe – During the War, and After the War. For this episode, Steve Reich breaks down the first movement, which was inspired by his own childhood experiences.

I remember playing this track for my Year 11 English class as a different way of representing the past and experiences. Not sure they had much idea what was going on, but it also seems, from Steve Reich’s discussion that in some ways, neither did I. It was fascinating to hear Reich talk about melding together the different tempos and melodies. It was also fascinating the effort that he went through to produce a backing track to tie it all together.
Replied to How To Create A Select All Checkbox in Google Sheets (benlcollins.com)

Learn how to create a select all checkbox in Google Sheets using a clever IF formula and checkboxes with custom values.

I really like checkboxes and have found myself using them more and more. I found this script which I use to clear all my selections, but may need to rethink my solution based on your solution.
Listened Forgetting, not memory, moves us forward from ABC Radio National

Forgetting is the only safe response to the world’s problems, from a geopolitical perspective, according to author and journalist David Rieff. And forgetting is also a good thing in your personal life, say scientists. It moves us forward.

Antony Funnell explores the importance of forgetting when it comes to memory. This includes finding balance between the mechanism of memory with forgetting. For example, PTSD is caused when emotional forgetting does not occur. In such situations, we have too many memories we need to let go of. One of the issues is One of the challenges is that fearful/bad memories are often prioritised. “Whiteness does not show up on the page” With this in mind, Alzheimer’s may actually be a lifestyle disease caused when our life is reduced to a small amount of choices where everything is forgotten. In this situation, rather than remembering things, the answer maybe adding more to life that can be forgotten.

Forgetting is also important on a communal level. Amnesty derives from the word to forget.

There are times when we all need to forget, rather than rubbing raw historical wounds. Communal forgetting is public silence on aspects that different people may not agree about. This is something explored by David Rieff.

What was interesting was the discussion of importance of having social links to aid with forgetting when it comes to cases of PTSD. This is one of the issues with COVID and lockdowns.

This discussion also had me thinking about wider discussions associated with memory and remembering. In particular, the place of technology and social media and the right to be forgotten. When it comes to big data, the focus is on remembering everything. What is the place for forgetting in this situation?

Watched 2021 American comedy disaster film from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Don’t Look Up is a 2021 American apocalyptic black comedy film written, produced, and directed by Adam McKay, and starring an ensemble cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep. It tells the story of two astronomers attempting to warn humanity about an approaching comet that will destroy human civilization. The impact event is an allegory for climate change, and the film is a satire of government, political, celebrity, and media indifference to the climate crisis.[6][7]

I finally got around to watching Don’t Look Up. I remember it receiving a lot of criticism when it was released. I kind of wonder if all this discussion, even though a lot of it seemed critical, was positive in that it got people talking about the subject of global warming? For me, there were some aspects that were really quite absurd. But as the quote from Peter Goldsworthy’s novel ‘Maestro’ goes, “Cartoon descriptions? How else to describe a cartoon world?” In the end, I think George Monbiot captured it best:

Watched science-fiction television series from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Altered Carbon is an American cyberpunk television series created by Laeta Kalogridis and based on the 2002 novel of the same title by English author Richard K. Morgan.[1] In a world where consciousness can be transferred to different bodies, Takeshi Kovacs, a former soldier turned investigator, is released from prison in order to solve a murder. The first season consists of ten episodes and premiered on Netflix on February 2, 2018.[2] On July 27, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season of eight episodes,[3] which was released on February 27, 2020, with an anime film set before the first season released on March 19, 2020. Though the series received generally positive reviews, it was canceled after two seasons.[4]

I enjoyed watching Altered Carbon. As all great science fiction does, it posed many questions around life, death and reality.

Watched The Witcher – 2019 fantasy drama television series from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

The Witcher is a Polish-American fantasy drama television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as “the Continent”, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia and Princess Ciri, who are linked to each other by destiny.[9] It stars Henry Cavill, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra.

The Witcher feels somewhere between Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. It focuses on Geralt of Rivia, a witcher. His complicated edict that he does not kill out of fear, but rather to save lives, reminds me of The Punisher and his justifications.
Replied to Hello from Chris Beckstrom (No. 1) (I’m Chris Beckstrom)

In February I built a new synthesizer I’m calling the “Interstellar Boolean Logic Exploration Device,” or “IBLED” for short. Here’s a video.

Enjoyed the first edition Chris. I was left wondering about your ‘cool links’ and was thought maybe over time the links in my newsletter have become slightly ‘uncool’. Food for thought. Thank you.

Personally, I got a Behringer MS-1 and a Roland MS-101. My wife had promised our children that I was getting a guitar for my birthday, I convinced her to buy my a keytar instead, while I thought the MS would make a good stanley knife. In addition to this, I bought a cheap 10 track mixer. I am currently playing through the stereo, but have found the MS-1 a little volatile in regards to the volume. I was initially playing my synths straight through my guitar amp which was limiting.

Wondering if there any tricks and suggestions in regards to managing the volume/signal short of riding the faders? Also, what speakers do you use with your mixer? I fear the deeper I dive into this world, the less I know.

Liked Doing Less, to Help Ukraine – Douglas Rushkoff – Medium by Douglas Rushkoff (Medium)

In short, it’s okay to sit and stay with the horror that is the war in Ukraine. You don’t have to have an opinion beyond whatever you are feeling right now. The temptation to say more than the obvious is being driven by a media system that profits off this compulsion, and only makes things worse in the process.

Don’t add fuel to that fire.

Bookmarked Nine Books to Read to Understand the War in Ukraine by Marci Shore (theatlantic.com)

In history, any starting point bears the vulnerability of arbitrariness. That said, what follows are nine books from the past century in different genres, by authors from different countries, that can help us grasp the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When the current makes no sense, it can be useful to delve into the past. Marci Shore shares nine books to help make sense of the current situation. I am particularly interested in the memoir about Prague:

Bookmarked Shane Warne dies aged 52: Cricket’s greatest bowler lived a life that veered wondrously between disaster and glory by Russell Jackson (ABC News)

As fans reel from the news of his death, it is impossible to avoid conjuring images of Shane Warne that are not sombre and serious at all. How could a “Warnie” moment ever be sombre and serious, writes Russell Jackson.

Russell Jackson reflects upon the charmed life of Shane Warne. He touches on controversies, the rejections, the luck and the skill that made Warne special. There has been a lot written about Warne after his death and I that ball seems to have been shared everywhere.

It was also interesting watching Leigh Sales’ interview, especially when he discusses his own obituary at the end.

Jackson also wrote a piece celebrating the life of Rod Marsh.

Replied to 6x6x1 Two Things To Stand On (CogDogBlog)

If ever you apply Thing 1 to ask a question in public, always keep in mind Thing 2— understand that there is often more.

I always find asking questions online intriguing. There is often so much ambiguity in responses. I find there is as much learning to be had in making sense of suggestions as there is of the suggestions themselves.