music, macs and mets ... mostly.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2007.
… Nothing to do with music, macs or even MP3s, but it cannot go unmentioned: FIFA yesterday removed its collective head from its collective ass by voting Italy to the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking for the first time in 14 years.
Sepp Blatter is probably writhing on the floor of his well appointed office in a final death twitch.
I was in the process of re-theming this blog (thanks, Hugh), when I stumbled across the WordPress podcast (iTunes link). Sure, why not? The first episode is a baby step, but things pick up quickly. It’s now at Episode 18.
A short while ago we had the good fortune to spend a morning workshopping our podcast recording techniques with Marc Parizeau (Paz to his friends), a senior audio engineer at CBC Radio and independent producer and engineer here in the Ottawa area. I think we’ve benifited tremendously from his solid “old skool” approach to mic choice, positioning, recording levels and the like. I hope that he was equally informed on the workflow behind podcasting and the distribution opportunites afforded by the new medium.
We’re itching to put our new, fine-tuned techniques to use in our continuous quest to raise the bar on our NAC podcasts.
Now, if we could just keep the guy on the Harley away from our studio in the summer months.
This is a must-see video on the evolution of social media:
YouTube video link
In an open letter titled “Thoughts on Music”, Steve Jobs challenges the major labels on iTunes Store DRM and gives Bill Gates the finger. Strategically, it’s a very interesting volley. Here’s John Gruber reading between the lines.
This mention appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday in the Pursuits feature …
NACOcast:
http://nac.ca/nacocast/
This in-depth and often fascinating series reflects the wide-ranging interests of its narrator Christopher Millard, the principal bassoonist for the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra. Some of the best episodes are about the design and mechanics of particular instruments. In and interview with famed violinist Pinchas Zukerman, for instance, he has Mr. Zukerman demonstrate how angling his bow slightly changes the sound dramatically.
Hats off to Christopher. I’m taking the rest of the week off.
‘Back home after an absolutley wonderful trip to Costa Rica with family and friends.
On our way home we had a six hour layover in Atlanta. While Jacinthe was engrossed in her book, and Luca was busy with some rented DVDs, I was reminded what a great travel companion the iPod video can be. Time flew by as I caught up on episodes of 30 Rock, Rome, Studio 60 and the Henry Rollins Show ;-)
Recently, some friends and co-workers asked me about the best way of getting video on the iPod, especially given the Canadian version of the iTunes Store doesn’t sell TV shows or feature length films. So here are a few (Mac) applications I’ve come to depend on to get great looking video onto the iPod: