Just occasionally we receive something special here at work which makes us all warm and fuzzy, or excited, or indeed curious.
Yesterday we received Tristan Allen’s special edition CD which he produced at the behest of a squllion ustream fans, after jamming with Amanda Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame).
There’s a whole story connected to how Amanda randomly discovered Tristan outside of Berklee College, he persuaded her to hear him play, she invited him and friends to her apartment, they live streamed the performance, she tweeted about it…..a lot.
The response was such, added to Amanda’s own excitement for Tristan’s music, that she felt compelled to help him out and so organised a kickstarter project to release his first CD.
They offered nice incentives for people to invest in the project :
• $5: digital download (delivered via our other good friends at bandcamp, so that you can get the album in all sorts of schmexy geek-friendly formats…and yes, they do MP3 too. plus we’ll send out the download codes to the kickstarter supporters before the EP’s available anywhere else)
• $15: limited edition tristan allen debut CD (yes, the very one you’re paying to help me & him make) + download code (sent to kickstarter supporters before anyone else)
• $25: limited edition tristan allen debut CD SIGNED by me and tristan with a thank-you card from us + download code (sent to kickstarter supporters before anyone else)
• $100: your name in the CD (under a special “thank you” section), a copy of the CD (signed and personalized by me & tristan), a thank-you card, download code (sent to kickstarter supporters before anyone else), AND an invitation to the recording session THIS WEEKEND (more on that below)
Awesome!
They quickly acheived their sponsorship goal, and for this the world is a better place.
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I’ve just been reading a rather interesting tutorial on Urban Landscape Photography sent to me by Canon. I suppose it did what it was meant to do, got me thinking (not something I like to do too often). Which is a good thing. We can all get bogged down in routine and miss things we see everyday. So hopefully, it’ll help me view my local surroundings with fresh eyes.
Anyway, it was produced by/for Canon but you don’t need a Canon to benefit from it. So whether you’re a Nikon freak or an Olympus aficionado, have a look for yourself. ;)
Well, there’s a to do!
Man employed by the BBC to be an anonymous figure in suit and helmet, decides he wants to make some money by writing a book on himself as the anonymous character. Sort of undoes the anonymity of the character really doesn’t it. But he writes book anyway and publishers Harper Collins want to publish it.
Should this be allowed?
Well, apparently it should be! After a bit of a court battle, where the BBC has fought the battle for us to keep the Stig as the enigmatic character (which belongs to us, the License fee payers btw!) he is has been lost to the publishers and this formula 3 racing driver.
Well done H.C. and you driver, sort of kills things for the fans of the show don’t ya think?
Well, once again, greed prevails!
New York Times has an interesting item about a California marketing company who had settled charges that it “engaged in deceptive advertising by having its employees write and post positive reviews of clients’ games in the Apple iTunes Store, without disclosing that they were being paid to do so”.
The moral of this story = be honest with consumers
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I know, it seems like a dream. The geek in me really wants to purchase one of these : http://www.vesalia.de/e_keyrah%5B4824%5D.htm?slc=uk
For the non-technical folks reading this and wondering what’s going on. This is a bit of circuirty which you can fit into the innards of a Commadore c64, you know those old “breadbox” discoloured keyboards from the 80s?
Well, crazy people like me think there’s something cool and fun about typing on one of the old computer keyboards, particularly that of the c64. I’m probably just being sentimental but I do remember it being quite a pleasurable experience.
…and it’s funny, you have to admit.
Making the most of budget HD camcorders -
Excellent ARS article for the budding film producer, worth a read even if you’re just an enthusiastic holiday snapper. Apparently you really can make something look and sound professional, even on budget consumer equipment.
Despite it’s dubious title, I thought tonights Panorama provided a much-needed and balanced overview of what could well turn out to be one of the most important issues in UK internet history.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8568000/8568358.stm
The folks in the Featured Artist Coalition are the true visionaries on this one, and it was no surprise to hear artists signed to the biggest labels react in the most blinkered fashion. Those with the most to lose…
I’m convinced artists will slowly move away from the whole concept of being “signed” and just get on with doing what they do best. The internet will give them the platform, check out websites like Jamendo, Kompoz or ccMixter. Then of course there’s YouTube, Kutiman and Pomplamoose provide a glimpse of the future.
As for policing file sharing, good luck with that, the technology is already shifting towards anonymity and obfuscation and as the program pointed out, detection will lead to plenty of innocent folks being “accidentally” singled out.
How could it possibly get any worse?
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1596254/online-freedom-killed-bpi
It’s so easy to speak too soon. After scoffing at the weather folks on TV a few days ago whilst enjoying the warmest day in January, I found myself eating humble snow this morning, stepping out into the frozen tundra.
Brrrrr….and to think we often get snow any time up until April….happy days.