And You Thought the Audio Glossary Was Strange
Meet the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. Example: Being stung by a Bullhorn acacia ant is "a rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek."
Wes Phillips
Did the Black Death Trigger a Little Ice Age?
I don't know that I completely buy this premise, but the concept that the earth and humanity create a complex interaction feels right. I think that more examples will be necessary to completely convince me (and others). Now that the idea has been broached, I'm sure scientists will be looking for that data.
The Jazz Discography Project
This is what the Internets was made for.
That's a Very Good Question
MPAA spokesflack Brad Hunt tried to sell a roomful of Hollywood tech types on "plugging the analog hole." Ought to be a slam dunk, right? Apparently not. The group groaned out loud when he said that retailers would have to educate consumers on its implications and after more probing questions, he got this one: "This is a room full of people whose living depends on this working. You're getting pushback to the point of hostility. If you can't sell this to us, how are you going to sell it to the target 16–45 demographic?"
I Do Not Think You Know What That Word Means
iPod Hi-Fi? "iPod Hi-Fi accurately reproduces the lowest cello notes and the highest piccolo notes; the brittle strum of an acoustic guitar and the powerful thump of a driving bass."
Cellolicious!
I don't know anything about Ethan Winer except that he made one heck of a cool video of himself playing cello. It's all cello, baby.
Monsters In New York
Walking tours featuring the gargoyles, green men, griffins, and hippogryphs of New York. When I first moved here, my wife told me that looking up all the time marked me as a tourist, which seemed like a terrible thing to be. Then I discovered that by not looking up, I missed all of this stuff, which seemed much worse.
Is File-Sharing Theft?
The BBC's Adam Livingstone says that he knows it's not—even if the Beeb did use the "t-word" in a story last week.
As Unique as a Grain of Sand
I guess I never really thought about the uniqueness of sand, no matter how many times I heard that expression. Microscopy made me think about it—and the corollary notion that every beach and sandpit is unique as well.
Sell The Car, Buy This Record
Thanks to Fred Manteghian.