Life In The Pacific Northwest
I’ve been a long-time fan of PhD Comics. This one connects as I’ve long struggled with Impostor Syndrome. I’m at a point in life where I’m often angry and frustrated that my mind races down these paths of self-doubt and counteracting my successes.
So, add in the Lord of the Rings reference and you have a total geek winner for me.
A few days ago I stumbled upon this trailer: Kubo and the Two Strings. A stop-motion animated films of epic proportions. Yes, I know that’s a cliche, but I find it far too fitting to not use it.
Anyway, I’m deeply disappointed in myself for not noticing this film before. The trailers, by themselves, are truly beautiful. It has a stellar cast (Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, George Takei, amongst the most luminary), and 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s clearly a film that needs to be seen. Just got to figure out where or how that will work out as I doubt it’s in the theaters any more (was released last year). But Kubo is on Netflix!
So, enjoy the preview below. Let me know what you think. Especially if you’ve seen it (no spoilers, por favor).
So, my family watched quite a bit of YouTube. Everything from Rick Steves to vloggers to geek stuff. I’ve learned so much more about the extended Star Wars universe than I ever thought possible. I consider myself a great master of Jedi lore and wisdom, until YouTubers instilled great humility in me.
Seemed a good idea to pony up for YouTube Red: I hate commercials. HATE! Clearly I failed to read my terms clearly enough as, just today I discovered that I had full access to Google music. So my Spotify account was a bit redundant.
I spent today exploring it. Quite happy so far. I like the interface, and that it’s not a resource hog like Spotify. Plus I seem to have better access to artists like Peter Gabriel. Oh, they have podcasts in there (yeah, Spotify does, too) and my favorite podcast, Radio Free Burrito is in there, too. No sign of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, but I guess we can’t have everything. Hopefully we’ll get them in Google, too.
I’m leaning heavily towards dropping Spotify and getting a family plan for YouTube Red. I’ve not sure what my metrics are for making the shift. Music selection is a big one, and resource use. I’d like to see how they compare regarding artist compensation, too.
Now here’s my weird Seattle connection. Years ago, one of the first streaming services was Real Networks, headquartered in downtown Seattle. I explored them for awhile before launching into iTunes and streaming radio. And evolution has evolved us, so, here we are.
What are you using? I’d love to hear. Also, if you could give a “like”, share, it helps support the site. And follow us! We’d love to stay in touch.
After a burst of luck, and some fairly mad scrambling, we were able to get down to Seattle’s Cinerama for a preview of Wonder Woman.
I’ve been excited for this one for months. And, let me say, it’s well-crafted. Full disclosure: I’m generally a super-positive guy and tend not to hate anything. Just variations of enjoyment. Now there are some bad films out there…but, back on point: Wonder Woman is not one of them!
Cinematically, it’s very much in the same vein as we’ve seen in other Zack Snyder films. (I don’t want diminish Patty Jenkins‘ work on this film. I’m sure if I knew her work better, I’d recognize her hand in this as well.) I love their use of color, and Zack and Co used many creative angles and clever edits to add dramatic flair. For me, that was wonderful. And, from what I’ve been reading, everyone else feels the same.
Being able to see it in Paul Allen’s cinematic digital playground, Cinerama, was an additional joy. I’ve been there many, many times over the years. It was where I saw Star Wars in it’s first run. Back then, it was only playing at the Cinerama. Making the trek in from Lynnwood was an effort, though different than nowadays. No issues, really, with parking or traffic back in the 70s. Mostly downtown was seedy and worn, and generally not considered to be the best place for children. Anyway, my first viewing of Star Wars was a transformative moment in my life. Seeing the Star Destroyer bear down on the Tantive IV, and the feels that flowed through me, changed me forever. They forever dominated my way. So, this theater has a warm spot in my hear. I adore the Cinerama!
There was a time that it’s future was far from certain. I’m glad Mr. Allen made something fantastic and unique. If I were a billionaire, I think I’d be more in Paul’s vein than Bill Gates. Nothing against Mr. Gates, but my interests are broad and wide. More akin to Paul’s.
So, the important part: go see this movie! I give it two thumbs up!
Made a quick vlog update. I spent the morning wandering around Edmonds.
Earlier today I read this piece from my friends at Geekwire: “Music service Rhapsody posts record $35M net loss even as revenues climb to $202M“. I’m not simply concerned about a long-standing Seattle tech company struggling, but also that entities like Spotify are also bleeding cash to keep their market share. The losses are not sustainable long-term. I’m really not a streaming-music industry analyst, so I can’t really speak to the timeline of the issue, and that’s really not my point or concern.
I’m wondering about the sustainability of the music business. Not simply Spotify, et al; actually, even more my focus is on musicians. I’ve heard from many sources (most notably Taylor Swift) about how Spotify is not providing a livable income. Now, if Apple, Google, etc, can pay more than Spotify or Rhapsody, that’s a particular issue. However, I think this is larger. It’s ultimately about the consumers, about me and you as music lovers. Perhaps $10/mo is not enough to for artists to make music and eat. And if that’s the case, maybe we need to think about more $$$.
There are many tools that individual artists are leveraging well. Kickstarter and Patreon come to mind first. There are several tools, though, that help. Many artists I admire, such as Amanda Palmer and Zoe Keating leverage these tools to good effect. However, they spend a lot of time managing their audience. It seems, for them, that they get a lot of positive energy from us. Which will certainly make it more pleasant. Of course, emails, blog posts, Instagram updates and all that take away from producing their art. Or, maybe, that’s part of their art.
Anyway, there’s much to consider with this. So, as a mediation, I’ll leave you with Zoe Keating’s closing at the 2016 Word Economic Forum meeting in Davos. She’s carved an amazing niche for herself. As a fan myself, and love interacting with her other fans.
I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with Aaron before, so it was really a delight to see him perform again. The tranquility his music elicits calms me, settling my brain into a contemplative place, connecting me with the divine. Below is one of the pieces performed this evening. When you have the chance to hear him, take it.
Performing with Aaron was Keith Thomas, with ethereal computer assisted cello-work. This evening, he utilized looping much like one of my favorite contemporary artists: Zoe Keating With only the briefest time for web searching, I found this video featuring his work with the ensemble Primitivity. Though with a similar modernist quality, it lacks the looping effects. Keith currently lives in Seattle, and hopefully we’ll get him a web presence set up. He has another performance in early December. More details are forthcoming.
Just loaded this up on Medium: Conversations, Child Rearing, Hyperbole and Hope. Take a few minutes and give it a read!
This Irish band with ethereal melodies and intricate harmonies I find glorious. Please give them at least a few minutes of ear-time.
A few months back, I gave the new Apple Music a go. As a long time Spotify user, I was mainly compelled by access to Apple’s library, with the expectation that the service would have access to the full catalog. Well, that’s not the case. With that, it’s not quite clear when a song is available for streaming vs. only for download. Well, at least that’s how I found it. Ultimately, I found the whole experience underwhelming. Particularly sad considering Apple’s aura as masters of design. Another compelling piece was the price of the family plan. Spotify has been making some noise of matching that plan, though. That would make the Apple benefit small, very small. Lastly, there’s the bit where Spotify’s been arguing with artists over pay. I need to agree that the public discourse Spotify launched was very defensive and, to sound like Wil Wheaton, “dickish”. However, as I dug around the internet for data, I didn’t find much to support that artists are making more with Apple, or that the Apple Music service was going to make them able to subsist.
I cancelled the renewal of Apple music. However, I’m not entirely convinced that Spotify is the best. There are so damn many of these services out there and I’ve only scraped the surface. And, as a Seattle guy, I need to consider to home-spun entries into the space: Real Network’s Rhapsody, probably the oldest streaming service out there. Then there’s Microsoft’s Groove. As a former Microsoftie, I feel compelled to give my chums in Redmond a fair shake.
My next steps need to include giving some thought to what constitutes “the best”. I know I want access to a large library, one that includes great jazz and classical content besides the latest pop hits. I want to work with a company that’s working hard to ensure their artists are compensated fairly. The interface needs to be clean and intuitive. And music discovery is critical. I want a family plan, so the three of us can all use it with independent accounts. Oh, and it needs to excel across platforms. Any given day I’ll be on Windows 7, 8, Mac, and Android.
So check in and see where this leads. And let me know what you’ve discovered, what you recommend, what pitfalls I should be considering. Your wisdom is what I value you most.