I’ve been sick the past two days, which, surprisingly, has given me more time to do things, so I guess it’s a little unfair to get all over the rest of the D-Syn team, but seriously, you guys. Seriously.
Anyway, I have been spending my days of illness working primarily on my DJing skills and amassing from the far corners of the tubes samples galore, and all of it has come to fruition with the release of the following DJ mix. No post production. I recorded it while performing, exported to WAV, didn’t touch a thing. All of it was done with Ableton Live.
Full track list:
0:00 Deep Thought Sample
0:12 I Like Rhythm - Adam K, Soha
3:57 Peep Show - Tall Paul
8:39 Bass It Up - Groovy Cuvy
14:24 What’s The Difference - ** Original Track **
24:25 Charlotte - Booka Shade
27:29 Redemption - Booka Shade
31:11 To Hell With Our Orders - ** Original Track **
35:56 Electro Music Sex - Purple Project
38:35 Hip Rave Anthem - Rico Tubbs
42:05 Precinct - Stanton Warriors
46:40 Sarcacid Part 1 - Squarepusher (just for fun)
52:40 You Wanna Try It Pokey? -No Thanks, I Prefer Grass
I have found that my life gets fairly complicated when I try and mash all of my hobbies together. I want to do everything, and often find trying to focus on everything gets nothing accomplished. So, how should I manage these hobbies? How should I make sure each discipline of my life receives equal attention? How should I definitively know that development or progress is taking place within each area of interest?
A few years ago, I had a more narrow view of my life, and would often focus on just one thing for months at a time, after which I could completely disregard that interest for several weeks or months, and move onto something new. Perhaps I’m simply excited by too many things, but why should I not consider becoming a polymath? I believe that self-actualization can only come from not limiting myself. If I want, in some years, to be what I’ve always intended to be, then I can’t drop a single hobby I find beneficial.
You guys, careers are boring.
There are many methods I could take to manage my life. First of all, my work life should be organized in terms of projects, not occupations. If I’m suddenly interested in getting a wedding photography gig, then that’s what I will focus on. And maybe, once I’ve satiated that need, I can move on to maybe an idea I had for an iPhone application. And once that is published, and perchance even making a bit of money, I can concentrate on writing, or playing music.
Now, would this generate enough revenue for me to live comfortably? At this point, I’m not sure. I haven’t tested my projects vs. occupation theory, and it may not work at all. Working on several different projects may not make me the sort of cash I need. But this all depends on how I define living comfortably. I think I could be fine living in some tiny house, as long as I had a sufficient studio. I could also live on the edges of some city, perhaps even in the country, as long as I had access to the Internet, which would undoubtably be the source of my clients.
Hey what if I combined stuff?
There are people who make a living combining multiple art forms together. For example, a DJ named Simon V has a love for clouds, and for the release of a new track named Cloudspotter, he collected from his fans a gallery of photographed cloudscapes. Software engineers can specialize in a number of areas. If a programmer had an interest in music, he could work for a number of music software companies. If a philosopher had a love for television, he could write something like this.
This is how innovation in various industries occur. Living in the 21st century, we have already established several basic industries which may not change for a long time. More and more industries go obsolete, and new industries pop up at very large intervals in time. So, in order to create something new and innovative, gaps between these industries must be bridged, which can usually be done by combining art forms. Now that these industries have been around for a while, we can finally relish in specializing in fields, which are much more narrowly defined.
Hey! I have more than one interest! What should I do?
There are plenty of things someone with a number of active hobbies should try and do. First of all, narrow your life down to the hobbies you know you can invest time in. If you’re working a full-time job, you may want to develop one hobby independently until you can manage it as a job itself, and from there work up others. Each hobby will take individual development, and until even care is received by all of the interests in your life, you most likely will be frustrated.
If you don’t plan to make money from your hobbies, you have several options, but the one I most advocate is setting simple goals. For example, I was disappointed in my lackluster reading lately, so I made a pact with myself that I would read every single night. Any extra reading time was wonderful, but I made sure that every night, unless I was supremely tired, I would read a Sherlock Holmes story (as this is the collection I’m working through now). A few weeks later, I decided to work up my creative writing skills, so I made sure to write every day. Because of the intensity poured into writing something, I haven’t been able to keep that up, and recently time has been highly unforgiving.
So, for example, if you have hobbies of photography and computer science that you think could use work, I would suggest doing the following: For the photography, go thrice a week somewhere to photograph something, and try to vary locales. One day, try downtown. The next, the countryside. The next, a car factory or something. Don’t worry about results; natural talent is a myth. On the days you’re not photographing something, see if you can set aside a half hour to an hour to simply research photography. Read photography magazines, or read about techniques. Try and learn something new.
For developing your computer science skills, a different approach may be necessary, as programming is more project-based. You have two main options. The first is to purchase, or download, a programming book in the language of your choice. From there, work through the book from front to back. The second option is to think of something to build; I, for example, have a few sites I’m working on as programming projects — these sites are not ideas from any book, but simply things I’ve been wanting to make. When you have a project, you are essentially working backward from the first method I mentioned. You have an idea, and you need to find out how to make it work through research and reading. To fully develop programming skills, I would try and put in an hour or more a day.
As I mentioned earlier, you’ll want to have no bad hobbies weighing you down. Get rid of anything you know you can do the rest of your life without. To test the sustainability of your hobbies, see if you are willing to practice a certain trade until the early hours of the night. I know I could play music until 4 in the morning, but I probably couldn’t stand sewing for more than 15 minutes.
And once you’ve weaned yourself out of your full time office job, see if you can live a hobby-oriented life. Don’t worry about working for a boss, and don’t worry about sticking to one trade. If you are able to live a comfortable lifestyle doing not only one thing you love, but many, you will undoubtably be the envy of most everyone on this earth.
Guys, I have a new obsession. It’s not clouds. Just kidding! It’s clouds.
This all started a week or so ago when I looked up at the sky and thought, man, I’d really like to know what that’s called. So over the next few days, I researched clouds on Wikipedia — went through the various types and sub-types, viewed photos upon photos of incredible clouds, and learned an amazing amount of information in such a short time. I don’t think I’ve ever retained so much information from Wikipedia ever before.
So, this all led up to my goal for October — to be able to classify any sky of clouds. Obviously, I realize I will come across some I can’t classify (like the one above — any cloud experts want to help me with this one?), because they are just so odd. Some formations are caused by such strange air movement and moisture that they can’t even hope to be classified. But I have no doubt that by the end of this month I’ll have the difference between cumulus humilis and cumulus mediocris down.
Why, you might ask, would I ever need to know the names of all of the cloud formations? Well, why shouldn’t I know them? Why should I ever stop fueling my brain with the most extraneous of information? Plus, wouldn’t it be so cool if I could just be sitting around with some friends, look up at the sky, and say, “Hey guys, what do you think of that cirrus radiatus?” And they’d be like, “Ooh Steven how are you so awesome and suave?”
In addition, there’s so much to learn from clouds, primarily the forecast. What kind of person wouldn’t want the satisfaction gained from having a prediction come true, especially one that affects everyone around you? After predicting precipitation angled about 15 degrees from the NW within the next hour, once it happens you would feel like you own the sky. The world. THE FUTURE. Plus, clouds just look plain cool, and this realization was what sparked my interest in the first place. The above image, for example, depicts one of the most awesome cloud formations I’ve seen, and it’s nice knowing that you can look at that and know it’s a lenticular cloud.
So, all of this really cumulates (ho ho!) into a card I’ve made for myself on the go. It has, in space-sensitive 8 pt font, a list of all of the primary cloud types and some of the subtypes I found either common or interesting. I included a list of simple forecasts — what each cloud formation indicates — as well, to help the amateur meteorologist in me. I want to encourage the lot of you, dear readers, to look up every once in a while, and ruminate beneath a vast ocean of stratus or something.
And if you’d like a copy of my cloud classification card to help you along the way, you could acquire a PDF! It fits in most wallets!
Hey, reader, do you have approximately 10 hours free right now? Because if you do, I would highly encourage you use them to watch these five movies. Movies which, while not necessarily my five favorite movies of all time, had a really awesome impact on me, an impact that I want to share with all of you (in no particular order). So, rustle up a few dozen bags of popcorn and sit back in what is hopefully a comfortable chair as I show you some of the most powerful, scariest, and most ridiculous films I’ve ever seen.
1. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Without a doubt Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, Basterds is a cut above Deathproof, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, even Pulp Fiction. To call it satire wouldn’t be entirely correct - there is a certain amount of relish with which Tarantino murders Germans in this film, and the Basterds, played by stereotyped New York Jews, seem to take a true pleasure in laying waste to Nazi scum. In addition to being immaculately conceived and written, this movie features what is by far my favorite Brad Pitt role, ever. Brad Pitt is unique among Hollywood stars in that he often acts in very pulpy movies, a risky move that pays off hugely here. This movie’s script, actors, and gore level take completely advantage of the American subconscious; playing off our inherent loathing of Nazis, it takes violence to beyond extreme and yet paradoxically has us all hooting in joy when a poor German soldier’s head gets blown off. Perhaps that’s the social commentary Tarantino wants us to see. Or maybe he just likes blowing up SS officers as much as we do.
2. The Fall (2006)
The most beautiful movie I have ever seen, hands down. Not hugely known in the mainstream, this movie, directed by well-known Indian music-video/commercial director Tarsem Singh, is a complete trip, and the kind of movie that you will probably only ever see once in your lifetime. Set in early 20th century Los Angeles, the plot follows an injured (and suicidal) stuntman in the hospital and his interactions with a young immigrant orange-picker who has fallen and broken her arm. Plotting to gain the child’s trust in an effort to further his own agenda, the stuntman weaves an immense, fantastic tale for the girl, which grows to almost completely dominate and parallel the real-world plot of the movie. The movie quickly evolves from a silly child-adult bonding story into a sprawling narrative that studies the impulses of hope, revenge, and despondency, all of which are cleverly presented alternately from an adult’s and a child’s point of view. In addition to stunning cinematography and gorgeous settings (the film was shot in a number of countries), the character development is superb, and the drama is honestly tear-jerking. A must, must, must see.
3. Seven (1995)
One of my favorite movies of all time, and what I think is the best ever crime movie. A close second to Basterds in roles that Brad Pitt has played, and one of Morgan Freeman’s most pessimistic, yet poignant, portrayals. The story centers around an unknown serial killer who is killing one victim for each of the seven deadly sins (gluttony, wrath, pride, sloth, greed, lust, and envy for anyone who wasn’t an altar boy), and the dynamic duo of old, seen-it-all cop (Freeman) and young, brazen cop (Pitt). And if the premise wasn’t interesting enough, the movie is extremely well executed, with equal parts action, suspense, and psycho-babble, as well as probably the most mind-blowing ending to any movie ever. Ever. You will crap your pants.
4. Rec (2007)
If you’ve seen Quarantine, then you’ve seen how scary a concept it is to be trapped in a locked off apartment complex with a bunch of zombies, but to see the idea executed at the highest possible quality, you seriously need to pick up Rec. The movie that inspired Quarantine, this Spanish film ranks up there on the scariest movies of all time. Even with the English subtitles on, the tension is palpable, and the ingenious first-person documentary-style cinematography inspires intense creepy crawlies and enables some great compositional setups throughout the movie. The plot is simple, almost minimalist, but to be honest, a simple evil is so much scarier than a complex one. A complex evil had to get that way, had to go through a process, and the process may not always be complete, whereas a simple evil just is. Is not Azathoth, the idiot god, feared above all others in the host of the heavens for his blind power and thirst for chaos?*
5. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Remember the middle ages, when badasses were badasses, no matter what religion they belonged to? Kingdom of Heaven takes a new look at a very old issue that is especially relevant in a post-9/11 world, namely; how different are ‘we’ from ‘them’? During the time of the crusades, Jerusalem was considered a city of holy peace, a place were Jews, Christians, and Muslims could co-exist peacefully. However, white western Christians, unsurprisingly hell-bent(haha) on securing complete dominion over inferior races and belief-systems (God, what is it with those white western Christians?), decide to make trouble in the neighborhood. Over the course of a beautifully made and acted film (especially Edward Norton’s role as a leprous king) we discover what barriers truly lie between two ‘opposing’ idealogies.
*If you aren’t familiar with the works of H. P. Lovecraft, master of horror fiction, then you might be a bit confused. Learnsomemorehere.
