or this synth is da Bomb!

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~concuss/concussor/vostok.htm

a powerful amount of modular synthesiser power into one small suitcase.

The Vostok is a sort of modular analog synthesizer with a cover that doubles as a suitcase: add a handful of solar cells and you´ll have the companion of choice to make noises on the field for synthesizer lovers and nans alike. The synthesizer is certainly appealing and promises endless hours of modular patching or EMS pinning, plus tons of weird cool sounds. Drawbacks? maybe the price, £1499 -modular synthesizers tend to be expensive. Also, an article in the sound-on-sound magazine pointed out some other issues, especially the behaviour of the digital oscillator, but the last version has replaced it with an analog one. This said, the Vostok looks superb as a portable semi-modular synth and I would take it everywhere, except airports: it wouldn´t be easy to convince the person behind the scanner that that thing actually is a music instrument (let me show you -I just have to switch it on, connect this pin, and it´ll make awesome sounds! the bass is so powerful, it can blow… the speakers I mean…).

ps. I have just found another modular-in-a-box (second thumbnail from the left). It´s not as sexy, but the case looks much more reliable.

http://www.satugo.com/

Simply throw SatuGO into the motive to catch the moment, where it hits you get a picture, or take air photos by activating the timer before throwing (it)(…) SatuGO is based on a simple wish to be able to take more fun and edgy pictures where the photographer is part of the action.

Camera tossing is a technique for taking pictures by throwing a camera in mid- air; it is fun and quite addictive, but it can be quite risky too, especially for newcomers: -”I failed to catch the camera, and it almost broke!”, a reader told me yesterday. Even though there´s many of us who have at least one old digital camera that we can afford to break, not every cheapo webcam has a built-in timer, which limits very much the scope of results you can obtain. In this way, I certainly can´t but Read the rest of this article »

I like Pink Floyd very much. They have handed down to Rock music history not only a fistful of memorable albums (the indisputable “Dark Side Of The Moon“, “Wish You Were Here”, the visionary “Ummagumma”, a less known gem titled “Meddle”, etc), but also a worldwide influential style due to their music, lyrics, performances… Very few times has a band been so unanimously acclaimed by public and critics.

But that symbolism which Waters and Gilmour liked so much (I think) has three great exponents: “The wall” album, the song “Wish you were here” and my favourite album, “Animals”. All of them full of that nonconformity (sometimes naïve nonconformity, but never unnecessary). Read the rest of this article »

http://cameratoss.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/cameratoss/

For we are the reckless folks on flickr that enjoy the abstract, chance, generative, physical photography that results from throwing our cameras into the air

The photography technique known as camera tossing can be described in three words: click, throw, catch (or not). The details of course depend on the type of camera you use, but that´s all that is needed. The key is to adjust the exposure time wisely, and throw the camera in a certain way so as to Read the rest of this article »

It is not convenient to proclaim that the reason for every human action is the profit and benefits that can be obtained from it.

Aibo is the name of the robotic pets brand that Sony was producing until very recently. Now discontinued, I understand that the prices for second hand units may rise… but I have just found this aibo selling for 7.917.029,53 EUR, which sounds a little too expensive. However, to my surprise there´s this other aibo selling for 14.639.379,30 EUR!! I wonder if there´s something fishy going on: take a look at the bidding history, you may be surprised… The aibos are announced as “complete & immaculate”.

ps. But if you really want them, they´re still on sale…

Update A few hours later, one of the aibos has been retired and the other one has had its price reduced, the high bids canceled.

http://www.zincpanic.com/

Japanese toy design is one of the last bastions of optimism in our increasingly luddite world-view. (…) we endeavor to be the most complete, thorough and accurate resource regarding anything related to Japanese toys

If you like japanese robots, you MUST visit Zinc Panic. This site features a huge collection of articles on japanese robot characters and toys of every kind you could think about. You say Mazinger? they have it. Evangelion? sure! Gundam? of course! You´ll probably have to fight the cool-looking, pixel-artsy, kinda-esotheric interface, but getting lost in the site is actually part of the experience, as the designers explain in the… er, helpful help section:

there is no end point, no goal to reach, within Zinc Panic.

All said and done: After quite some time exploring the site at my leisure, I recognize the great double effort made to build up a comprehensive database and a website with personality. I assure you, browsing through Zinc Panic will be a unique and rewarding experience. Dorka Dorka Radar Radar!!

ps. Through Zinc Panic I got to Fewture. Mazinger, Aphrodite and Garada will never be the same…

Subliminal messages allow us to communicate something without being direct, and are usually quite effective in reaching the target. Let´s practise!

Imagine you want to leave your girlfriend/boyfriend because you have discovered something you don’t agree with. Now imagine you have to take her/him home in your car. How can you tell her/him your feelings without saying anything, but only playing five songs? Read the rest of this article »

http://www.envelooponline.com/board/

I wrote about it a few days ago, and finally the nan board is fully functional and styled like the rest of the site; I´ll make some changes to the general layout so that it is easily accesible from the magazine. As of now, the board is pretty empty, with just some basic categories to start with; I count on you people to start filling it with fresh ideas. Welcome!

Kurt Busiek is (among other things) a comic scriptwriter. Not so many years ago, Image Comics started to publish a work by him: Astro City. If I can remember correctly, since my memory is made of cork, Busiek had been already working for some time in the human perspective of the super-heroic experience. With his work, he tried to answer questions such as, how does a journalist view super heroes?, or, what are the feelings of someone who suddenly acquires great power? Read the rest of this article »

You search for the straight path far away and it is beside you. You believe that Goodness consists in making difficult things, when it is nothing more than making easy things with rectitude.

http://www.gamedevmap.com/index.php

Publishers, development studios with a staff of five or more, studios with previously published games, and studios under contract with a publisher are listed.

Gamedevmap is a growing database of video game companies. For the sake of general curiosity, you can spot at a glance the most prominent areas for video game developing -this is a little tricky though, since the spots don´t give visual information on the number of companies on each one of them-. However, I believe that this link will be most valuable for those interested in entering the business, since it saves countless headaches searching for the companies´ locations and sites. Beware that not every company is covered: the webmasters rely on the readers´ help to complete the list, so this could be your opportunity to add a spot!

We all know that the producers’ aim is to make a profit. And it’s logical: like any company, they are moved by obvious interests:

Then, it’s sensible to think that every film will be considered a product to exploit economically. There’s nothing wrong with it.

Simplifying a lot, let’s Read the rest of this article »

This is a great video featuring Giorgio Moroder playing one of his most famous hits, “From Here to Eternity”. Moroder was one of the greatest contributors to the electronic music scene in the seventies and eighties, producing music for countless artists (i.e., donna summer) and a handful of soundtracks, like The NeverEnding Story, Top Gun or Midnight Express, for which he was awarded an Oscar. In some aspects his music hasn´t aged very well, but he was a pioneer, and many of his songs will remain fresh forever. My personal favourite: chase!

http://sites.gizoogle.com/

Ok, try the link. It´s the gizoogle translation of this site, which I promise will give you some good laughs. The last “Confucius of tha day“, for instance, translates to:

Meng-chi-che had bootylicious physical strength n admirable courage, but tizzle cannot be compared ta tha sublime strength of truth, which Tseng-tse possessed like a motha f*cka.