An Audience of One

audienceofone.pngSometimes the story behind something is more interesting than the something itself. And there is no better example of that than the independently produced documentary An Audience of One, premiering this weekend at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, TX.

Made by Mike Jacobs, the something that An Audience of One is about is described as…

A Pentecostal minister receives a vision from God to create an epic science fiction movie based on the bible story of Joseph, sending he and his followers on a journey of extreme faith.

Click here for a 10-minute audio interview on NPR with the director of the documentary, and the preacher turned wannabe director.

The trailer that’s at the link provided above for the festival is in MPEG4 and Quicktime, which are both problematical formats, so I’ll post it here in friendly Adobe Flash video.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAR07/AudienceofOne.flv 400 300]

Classical Crossover?

bocelli.jpgClick here for a brief NPR report on what is called in the intro a surprising increase in the sale of classical music. After hearing the report I realized that’s not what is really happening.

According to the story, downloaded music accounts for much of the increase. But what’s being downloaded? Complete Beethoven symphonies?

As explained in the report, Sting and Josh Groban are now categorized as “classical crossover artists”, and their sales are being counted along with traditional classical music. That’s silly. Another name associated with the bump up in sales is André Bocelli. His popularity is thanks to the same sort of fan that bought CDs by The Three Tenors. None of these entertainers will add to the base of traditional classical music aficianados.

Dems Cautioned: Beware of Colbert!

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAR07/Olbermann.flv 400 300]

The Democratic Caucus chairman, Rep. Rahm Emanuel from Illinois, has cautioned freshman legislators to stay away from Stephen Colbert. Emanuel’s concern, apparently, is they’ll be made to look ridiculous. Keith Olbermann comments, and provides a bunch of sample interviews lifted from ComedyCentral.com.

Captain America and the Cosmic Cube!

In honor of Stephen Colbert inheriting the shield once held proudly by the late Captain America, I present a video of Cap in pitched battle against his evil Nazi nemesis, the Red Skull! The red, white and blue warrior must wrest the awesome power of the Cosmic Cube from the Skull’s grasp and prevent the enslavement of all mankind!
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAR07/CapAM.flv 400 300]

The animation in this 17-minute cartoon is next to non-existent, and except for the drawings that were lifted directly from the comic book stories, the art is downright awful. But the music and voices add a lot to the atmosphere of these old Marvel Super Heroes cartoons.

I’m in the process of scanning the original comic book stories that were the basis for this cartoon. I’ll post them in the gallery later for comparison.

Note: This video by itself is over 100 MB — bigger than all of the storage provided by the first hosting service I used five years ago.

Dame Petula Clark?

Petula Clark

The British government is trying out a new online form, where citizens can petition the Prime Minister. Pet fans have Irene Seaton to thank for initiating a petition to recommend granting Petula Clark the title of Damehood. Click here.

It’s bloody well about time! Only British citizens can vote, so there’s nothing for us US fans to do but watch and wait.

I’ve lost all respect for Tony Blair, who stupidly convinced himself that aligning with George Bush would somehow be a worthwhile venture. This is Tony’s chance to redeem himself, before leaving office!

Imperfect Sound Forever

My best buddy Dennis likes to point out that for the first time people listening to recorded music are experiencing poorer sound quality than the previous generation of audio reproduction offered. He’s got a point, and the Boston Globe covered this topic in Wednesday’s edition.

Ever lower fidelity
Many listeners are trading quality for convenience

By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | March 14, 2007

Gabe Stillman loves his iLamp . He puts it on his desk while he’s doing homework and moves it to his bedside table for the late-night hours. Not only does it throw good light, it plays Stillman’s music collection. The iLamp is outfitted with built-in speakers and a docking port for iPods, making every one of Stillman’s 850 downloaded songs a finger tap away.

It couldn’t be more convenient. It could, however, sound better.
Continue reading Imperfect Sound Forever