Animusic  

    One bored night, about three years ago, when I lacked motivation to play music or write I sat down and watched television. I am not a huge fan of television, it just doesn’t interest me. This one night though, after flipping through channels for a bit, I came accross a strange video of these robots playing music. Having seen robotic bands before and being interested in such things I continued watching, hoping I’d find out just what it was. There were many of these videos playing one after the other, each of them more interesting then the other. The series of videos were created by a company called Animusic.

    Until tonight I had forgoten about those videos. Somehow I noticed the word “Animusic” when I was watching a video on YouTube. That word instantly made me think of those videos so clicked on the link. These videos are definitly worth taking a look at. These are just two that I like, there are many more.

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April 28, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: Music

Singer, the Band, has Mind Melting Powers  

    Last night I went to a satisfying show held on a college campus. Two bands were playing. One which I never thought I would ever have the chance to see. The good bands just do not come around here anymore. The band is called Singer. The name is a mystery to me but I suspect they intentionally chose a name that would be hard to search for and find proper results.

    They play odd rhythms and splintered guitar riffs with bass guitar that makes it all feel like a powerful bull in a frantic dance. Each one of them sings (maybe a reason for the name), sometimes all of them in unison. It is quite eerie. When Robert Lowe sings there is an especially eerie ring behind his voice. Their music is probably considered the new psychedelic rock but I am not one that follows the genre binge so I couldn’t say. I just listen to what I like. The impression I get from these guys though does not suggest, in the slightest, that they are drug fiends.

    Singer is formed from members of several bands: Todd Rittmann (US Maple), Robert Lowe (90 Day Men), Ben Vida (Town and Country) and his brother Adam Vida (US Maple). They have successfully melded their styles into a vortex of wisdom and static.

    Last night I took several photos of the band and a few short video clips. I talked with the classically mustached bass player, Robert Lowe, briefly while I was purchasing a CD and t-shirt. In the process of asking him to please come back on their next tour I told him I would be unable to make it to the show tomorrow night due to my empty pockets. He, so kindly, said he’d put me on the guest list! It will be an amazing show again. More photos will be taken. And just maybe I’ll find out the reason for the name.

*** Video Below ***
CAUTION: Playing both videos at once may cause aneurysms.

    Google Video does not take kindly to this file… I’ve uploaded it twice and had problems even though the actual file runs normally… but I kind of like the errors in it so I gave up trying to upload it again.

April 20, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: Music

Home Videos with a Plot!  

    Ever since our impromptu short film a few weeks ago my friends and I have been on a video spree. Since we have not been able to get together we’ve been doing our own.

    Another friend of mine who wasn’t involved with the first video visited me and we also made an impromptu video with one other friend of ours. These are probably the last videos I will edit with Windows Movie Maker but it has proved to be a great tool. It is simple and gets the job done. I never thought I’d say that about a Microsoft application. From now on I will be using some other software because Microsoft Movie Maker is just a little too bulky for me.

    The first video I’d like to share was done by my friend. He did it alone because he loved these robot voices that I showed him online. He made this video called Botopia which I replied to on YouTube. Just click on the one titled Re: Botopia. It is the one with the bunny drinking beer.

    The video below was done by my two friends and me. I did most of the shooting. It is based on a true story about my friend Josh discovering that our friend, Aaron, has been using a screen name that is connected to a bad experience in Josh’s past. You’ll find out the whole story when you watch.

April 15, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: Creations

Primer and Ax-Man are two good Things  

    A friend of mine referred me to a movie he had seen before called Primer. Today, I finally got a chance to watch it. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
    It is about a group of guys who are running a business that builds some sort of custom, experimental electronics. They are trying to create something in the garage of the owners house, with a very limited budget. If I were to explain anymore of the plot, the story would be ruined. I recommend that you watch it or purchase it.

    I recently visited Saint Paul, Minnesota and wandered through a store I rather enjoy when I visit there. It is called Ax-Man. It is a surplus store which sells things you couldn’t even think of. Everything there strikes an idea in your head as to why you need it. It’s a great place to purchase props and items to make your own props. You can also find things that come in handy around the house like rope, CATV cable, Coaxial cable, circuit boards and components, an iron lung, Frankensteined stuffed animals, engraved beer mugs with cool errors… and almost anything else. Their inventory is always changing. On my visit I picked up a deck of cowboy cards, a nice Ax-Man thermos and two DVD drives for a total of 38 USD. I cannot wait to go back to Saint Paul, Minnesota the next time I visit earth.

April 12, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: General

Donating Linux to All  

    Recently I have decided to take on a small and drawn out project: Provide anyone I meet with a free Linux box if they want one. This includes people in the Library, on the street, at a party… anywhere. I will, mainly, give them to people who do not have a computer or people with an outdated computer.
    I have already mentioned this to a few people I know. Several told me that they have always wanted to get into Linux but just didn’t know how to start.
    Since many people have not used Linux before I will be installing Debian or Ubuntu on the computers. Along with the computer I would provide an installation CD and a README file, placed on the Desktop, explaining a few things for first time Linux users and providing links to helpful resources.

    Therefore, I am asking anyone with an extra computer or extra computer parts (even IDE cables, USB ports or anything) they aren’t ever going to use to contact me if they are willing to give them away. I am willing to pay the shipping cost for anyone who sends a computer or parts.
    The minimum processor speed I am looking for is 633Mhz. Anything below that is probably going to be too slow. I might not take computers from outside the United States if they have a processor speed less then 1Ghz because some countries charge a lot for shipping internationally.

    Whoever donates something will get a picture in the mail of the new user with the computer by their side. So if you donated a RAM stick and it goes into a computer someone else donated, both donators will get a picture. Some of the pictures will be very funny, some will be extremely odd and a select few will be pretty normal.

    So, please, contact me if you are interested in donating. Thanks!

April 03, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: Creations, General

Trailing Slash Meltdown  

    It seems that because of some unkown reason, probably some strange server configuration, WordPress does not operate exactly how it should on Blinkenshell. There is a URL problem that for some reason forwards the browser to a long ugly address when the trailing slash is left out of my blog address. Take a look: flipjarg.blinkenshell.org/blog will not load my blog and it prints out a weird address instead of using my subdomain.

    A few minutes ago I installed Debian on a spair desktop I have sitting around and will be using that as my server for hosting WordPress…. Unless someone can help me figure out how to fix this problem on Blinkenshell.

    Without a doubt I still promote using Blinkenshell. It’s a great service and there is much more to it then just web hosting.

April 03, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: General

No Plot == No Title  

    A few friends of mine put this little video together. It should be a public service announcement for anyone with too many keys on their hip. The video was put together as an impromptu project at 3AM so it is not as good as other videos they have done but it is good.

    There are future videos which are only concepts at the moment bar are evolving into concrete lessons, in the form of scribbles.

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April 02, 2008 by flipjargendy
Categorized: Creations