Colin Sullivan

Homebrew soundscape

2012-02-06T00:00:00Z

For this assignment, I gathered a few recordings and created a short musical statement by manipulating the sounds in ChucK. The rhythmic variation is created with first-order Markov Chains, and the string-like sounds are created by feeding a recording into a Karplus Strong algorithm.

Music created from sounds I recorded then manipulated.

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.flac
.mp3
.ogg

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chowscape

2012-01-28T00:00:00Z

Here is a “musical statement” I created while working on a homework assignment. The assignment was to experiment with FM synthesis by building some timbres and submitting them along with a musical statement.

Sounds I created with FM synthesis.

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.flac
.mp3
.ogg

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KnacK

2012-01-02T00:00:00Z

“KnacK” is a framework that I started this past quarter during my time in Music 220a.

The basic idea of the framework is to provide some conventions for making compositional code modular and reusable. There are some other features that I am interested in developing further as well such as a MVC-like interaction between raw “aesthetic data” and the instruments/performers in a musical piece.

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tulpasynth

2012-01-02T00:00:00Z

“tulpasynth” is a real-time collaborative music creation system that I created this past quarter during Music 256A.

It is a collaborative web-based application for creating music with others by manipulating simple shapes in the web browser.

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Sopa Rant

2011-12-21T03:20:28Z

I have a big issue with the Stop Online Piracy Act that is close to being enacted, and I am sure that many others share similar views.

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Activist Montage

2011-11-08T22:47:44Z

Below is an audio montage/narrative-like soundscape that I have created from various clips of NPR interviewees and reporters. It was originally developed for a 4-channel audio system, but below is the binaural stereo mix. Audio was generated using ChucK. End result and source code can be found below. Hope you enjoy.

NOTE: Unlike most content on this site, this audio is NOT licensed as Creative Commons. The content is copyrighted by NPR.

Too Big to Fail

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.flac
.mp3
.ogg
.wav

NOTE: Source code is licensed MIT.
Download source code

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Computer science, philosophy, and the web

2011-09-22T00:57:41Z

This summer, I drove across the country with an amazing woman who told me about some philisophical issues that she has concerning Computer Science. One of our discussions was about how she felt that if she were to enter the field of Computer Science, she would rather spend her time on computational theory research, seeing as eventually we will have solved all of the problems we can with our current models of computation.

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Continuing Studies at Stanford's CCRMA

2011-04-02T02:55:24Z

In September I will officially be joining Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics to pursue a Master’s Degree in Music, Science and Technology.

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Bingo!

2011-01-25T02:32:19Z

Every New Year’s Day, many of my family and friends gather to play bingo, eat and drink (like the good italians we are). In recent years there have been too many people in the house to hear what numbers have been called so I decided to take this opportunity to learn some new web technologies.

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Some CSS3 Animations

2011-01-25T02:29:26Z

I recently developed a piece of software for loud italians to use as they play Bingo. I used CSS3 animations in a few different ways and would like to share my findings.

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Amber Case: We are all cyborgs now

2011-01-23T23:42:48Z

I agree that the long term benefits of self reflection are often shadowed by years of instant gratification. As she mentions, this makes it difficult for young people to take a break and spend some time reflecting instead of dealing with the flow of information as it comes in.

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Algorithmic Composition with the Fibonacci Sequence

2010-12-13T02:09:09Z

I find the significance of the Fibonacci number sequence in nature, art, and mathematics very interesting. For some time I have been thinking about how this pattern can be applied to music and have been developing my own musical composition that is algorithmically based on the Fibonacci sequence.

The composition as it stands currently. Please enjoy, and feel free to download if you would like.

Algorithmic Composition

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.mp3
.ogg

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Concert Development

2010-12-11T05:39:29Z

This semester I did a decent amount of work on the framework for the Concert project: https://github.com/joshelser/Concert. Once this robust framework is complete, adding features should be a breeze thanks to the modular nature of our code. I have begun to work with the Backbone.js framework, which is turning out to be quite wonderful. For more details, see the Fall 2010 Final Presentation blog post on the Concert development blog: http://blog.concertsoundorganizer.com/post/2169460543/fall-2010-final-rcos-presentation.

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Algorithmic Jams

2010-10-22T10:01:18Z

While working on my Fibonacci piece (mentioned here), some interesting results pop up now and then. These riffs were algorithmically generated, written in JavaScript and Max/MSP, and are based on the Fibonacci numbers in multiple ways.

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[ Demo ]

2010-09-25T22:58:25Z

This past summer I spent a good amount of time editing and mixing my band’s demo which is finally available for all to hear. For anyone who doesn’t know, our band is called [ ]. We like to think of it as a symbol that can be pronounced “aptronym”.

Here is one of our songs, entitled “Funk Train”:

Funk Train

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Fibbass 2011

2010-09-12T21:26:37Z

Last year I developed a short composition based on the Fibonacci numbers in which various accompaniments were generated algorithmically, you can listen to it here.

This semester, I am working with Prof. Curtis Bahn in a much greater capacity, and will be hopefully be developing this idea into the composition that I have always wanted it to be.

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The Extreme Blue Experience

2010-08-16T22:26:22Z

As I mentioned a while back, this summer I worked at IBM writing JavaScript for an internship program called “Extreme Blue“. For those who are not familiar, here is a bit of background on the program:

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My Music Listening History

2010-05-31T21:50:04Z

Here is a pretty awesome graph of my music listening history (generated from last.fm scrobbler data):

Last.fm listening history since Oct 2006.

View as: pdf | png

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Fibbass 2010

2010-05-09T21:24:41Z

Here is the result of this semester’s work on my Fibonacci composition:

Fibbass

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.mp3
.ogg

If you are interested in my process, please feel free to read my final report below, or email me.

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My Ownage of iPower

2010-04-08T00:10:47Z

I have been looking forward to closing my iPower account for some time, and have thought many times about calling my credit card company and preemptively blocking iPower from charging the card, even though I had canceled my account on the iPower site. Just as I suspected, they charged my card for their “domain privacy” charge. Here is the chat I just had with their support person.

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Kenyon Finally Launches!

2010-04-05T19:50:20Z

My Symfony project is finally complete. I cannot take credit for the design, but I am quite proud of how the backend came out. Of course, all of the coolness is stuff the general public cannot see. Symfony worked out quite well, I would certainly use it again if I had to do a PHP project in the future.

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IBM: Extreme Blue Internship

2010-03-30T03:36:42Z

This summer I will be interning at IBM in Austin, TX. I will be part of the Extreme Blue team of interns, working for IBM’s Emerging Technologies division on a project called Big Sheets. I will be doing mostly JavaScript interface work, and am looking forward to the experience. Over the summer I’ll write as much as I am legally able to about my time at IBM.

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Concert

2010-03-06T02:40:05Z

Concert is an online collaborative organizational tool for sounds. I am developing Concert as part of Software Design and Documentation class here at RPI. See our wiki for more information.

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LaCie 4big Quadra Problems

2010-03-03T21:11:19Z

Read the original post about my RAID configuration here

After using the drive in the above configuration for a few months, there are some problems I’ve noticed with it.

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Fibonacci Composition

2010-02-26T07:22:18Z

This semester, for “Interactive Arts Programming” class, I will be making an interactive composition based on the Fibonacci sequence. The piece will involve me playing the bass line of my composition, while a computer takes my performance as input and generates algorithmically determined accompaniments.

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CMS in Symfony

2010-02-20T22:01:53Z

I was recently hired by Synthetic Cinema to develop a content management system for kenyonappliances.com. I developed the entire backend using the Symfony PHP framework, and implemented some Javascript functionality on the frontend.

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Times Square New Years 2010 Pyrotechnics

2010-02-01T06:37:49Z

This past new years, I worked for Pyro/FX at Times Square, programming and operating the digital firing system to fire all of the pyrotechnics underneath the ball. It was an exciting and nerve-wracking experience, but like all shows I’ve done, very rewarding in the end.

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Vannevar Bush - "As We May Think"

2010-02-01T05:59:04Z

I recently was assigned an article in Interface Design class called “As We May Think” written by Vannevar Bush in 1945. This is an amazingly insightful article for the time it was written, as he is on more than one instance discussing the concept of computers without actually saying the word “computer”. To be honest, I thought it was a modern technology article until he started talking about things like film.

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New RAID Setup, eSATA ExpressCard/34 on Snow Leopard

2010-01-15T07:01:24Z

So I treated myself to a nice present this Christmas. Yes, I got it on sale because it has a few dents in the front.

The LaCie 4big Quadra RAID enclosure is pretty tight. I am sick of buying external hard drives every time they fail, and having a million enclosures left over, so I splurged. I have 4 - 1TB disks in a RAID5 configuration. That gives me 3TB to play with. It is very fast, and works well so far. I cannot support the multiple claims I’ve heard about it being too loud. I’ve heard the fans come on, and they aren’t that loud. Yes, if I was recording some voice over work right in front of the device it would certainly be heard on the microphone, but it is nothing to complain about. I will get a long eSATA cable and hide it behind my desk or something. The only downside to this device is that you void the warranty if you use a replacement drive that you do not purchase from LaCie. There is a 3-year warranty on the thing, so I guess I’ll play nice for 3 years. I’ll buy one of these “LaCie approved” spare drives, and hopefully not more than one will fail on me in the 3-year span, because they are about $40 overpriced. All-in-all a great device.

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Steve Ballmer discussing Chrome, competition, etc.

2009-11-20T11:37:05Z

This guy is pretty rediculous. I like the part where he starts to discuss the “attack vectors” and how he feels strong. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/29/ballmer-microsoft-interview-chrome-windows-internetexplorer/

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Convenience with Quicksilver

2009-11-19T22:23:30Z

For the past few years I have been using Quicksilver for OS X, an application which has dramatically changed the way many people get things done on their Mac. Here are a few things you can do fairly easily (if you want to be as cool as me).

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music thoughts

2009-11-14T22:52:41Z

Making time for music will always be a constant battle in my life. This semester I have not had much time to [ ] at all. I don’t consider this a bad thing necessarily, I look forward to a time in my life when I come home and have nothing to do but work on music. Next semester I may have more time as well. What bothers me is all of the unfinished pieces that my band mates and I have, and how people have yet to hear them. We are slowly writing more material, however, and hopefully all of this idle time will contribute to a more well thought out product in the end.

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New Website

2009-10-23T00:43:47Z

As you can see, I have designed a new website. Please contact me if you see anything wrong with it, or have any suggestions. It is a work in progress, and I could use some constructive criticism. Now I have to get back to school work, which I took a day off from to finish the site.

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Bass Distortion with ChucK

2009-10-22T21:01:09Z

This semester I have been pursuing an independent study in DSP Programming for Music/Audio Applications. For my final project, I will be designing an Overdrive/Distortion effect that is customized for the sound of my bass.

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RPInventory

2009-10-22T20:53:27Z

RPInventory is a web-based inventory system designed for use by clubs at RPI. I have been working on the RPInventory team for the past year, doing mostly Ajax/Javascript interface work.

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Choice Merchant Solutions - CMS

2009-10-21T22:56:59Z

The content management system that I designed for Choice Merchant Solutions allows administrators to control which pages users have access to, effectively modifying the “navigation” section of the website for each user independently.

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PyroInventory

2009-10-21T07:04:49Z

“PyroInventory” is a complete inventory system for fireworks and explosives, customized for a Pyrotechnics Entertainment company called “Pyro/FX”. Written in PHP/MySQL, it is a dynamic, database-driven web application.

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[ ] - GZ Performance

2009-04-06T06:30:47Z

Our performance went well. We will be recording our songs soon, and posting them on the world wide web for all to hear.

If you would like to be updated via email, join the mailing list.

[ ]

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[ ] - Friday

2009-04-02T07:40:21Z

My new band, [ ], is playing this Friday at Ground Zero at RPI. It will be a fairly short set, but I assure you it will be entertaining.

Ground Zero

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Exciting things

2009-04-02T07:37:20Z

Exciting, nerdy things are happening to me lately. I’ve been getting many ideas, and learning about many new opportunities. I’ll post more soon.

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Coagulate

2009-03-02T09:42:37Z

Here is another song I made recently. I do not think it is perfect, but I am proud of it. I think we are going to try to perform it as a band.

Coagulate

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.mp3
.ogg

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Splinter

2009-02-11T06:43:41Z

This is a song I made for Computer Music class. It is produced entirely of sounds I have recorded myself. There are still a few compression issues that I would like to work out, but overall I’m pretty proud of it.

Splinter

Download:
Apple Lossless .m4a
.mp3
.ogg

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Video Project

2008-12-15T09:43:22Z

This is a video that I made for school this semester for Intermediate Video class. I wouldn’t say that it is polished by any means, but I was proud to submit it (which is more than I can say for my final project for that same class). If I remember correctly the assignment was to build a climax using few shots.

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Winter Break

2008-12-15T09:06:17Z

And so I’m home for break. It is a good feeling not having any responsibilties. I have too many projects that I want to be working on. On the other hand it is a bit boring sometimes. That said, I am going to try to have a social life this break instead of working it away like I did last year. I’ll try.

Flecktones at The Egg in Albany last week was amazing. I am going to see them two more times this week. Should be a good time. I could go to every show and not be bored. Such an amazing band.

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Obama Vows Swift Action on Vast Economic Stimulus Plan - NYTimes.com

2008-11-23T15:04:44Z

should Mr. Obama decide not to repeal the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000. By simply letting the cuts expire after 2010, as the law now provides, Mr. Obama would in effect delay the tax increase that high-income taxpayers would have faced in the next year or two under his original plan.

-Obama Vows Swift Action on Vast Economic Stimulus Plan - NYTimes.com

That’s what i’m talking about. Control.

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Kevin Smith Has Seen Watchmen: "It's F**king Astounding" | /Film

2008-08-16T12:01:18Z

Kevin Smith Has Seen Watchmen: “It’s F**king Astounding” | /Film

If Kevin Smith actually said this, that is so fucking amazing. Holy shit fuck ass.

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Tropic Thunder - Movie - Review - The New York Times

2008-08-16T11:56:09Z

Tropic Thunder - Movie - Review - The New York Times

This review is pretty sweet. I agree entirely with the “beating jokes to death” thing. That was what made this movie boring at parts, and what I couldn’t articulate before.

One of those is played by an actual black man, Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino, a rap entrepreneur who peddles an energy drink called Booty Sweat and is mainly around to mock Kirk’s impersonation, which is the filmmakers’ way of having their chocolate cake and eating it too.

Yes lol. No one laughed at the joke from the trailer “What do you mean ‘you people’?”. That character wasn’t actually necessary, maybe they just wanted to say that a black person’s reaction to the painted black Robert Downey Jr. should also be comical.

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Summer

2008-07-14T06:18:21Z

So I might as well close this blog during the summer as I never seem to find time to post. Most likely because of the time I get to myself, I find other things to do and don’t feel the need to write. I’m pumped for TDK…On Thursday night my life will be complete ;) I am also considering pursuing some other opportunities in my life. We’ll see how it works out.

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So I haven't written in a while...

2008-06-04T05:51:35Z

…What else is new. I am working the summer away. Making lots of dough, but watching the time fly by. I will be happy soon, as “Banshee!!!” is almost complete. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to work on it, as I feel that it sounds much better than it did a few weeks ago. The monster’s screams are deadly, and I think people will actually enjoy this one.

Well that is all i’m writing for now. I hope i’ll be on later. Maybe i’ll post some music i’ve finally decided to start working on.

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My Last.fm listening history

2008-05-28T20:17:09Z

My Last.fm listening history…Graphed out like awesomeness. Click here.

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Haven't had much time

2008-05-23T05:48:01Z

So I haven’t had much time to do anything since I’ve been home. I had a few days to relax, then work, work work. It’s all good though. Hanging out with friends these days. Working isn’t too bad when you’re with friends all the time. For some reason I feel guilty for not writing here every once in a while. I’m watching television which I never do, but I’m staying at Andrew’s mom’s house, so I have an excuse. :) Anyway, it’s some show like American Idol but with comedians, so I’m going to watch.

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YouTube - McCains YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare

2008-05-19T06:37:26Z

YouTube - McCains YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare

Everyone who is thinking about voting should watch this.

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Check this shit out...

2008-05-02T12:07:13Z

AICN EXCLUSIVE! Guess Who’s Shooting His IRON MAN Role Today!! — Ain’t It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

Johnny boy you should check this out. So sick.

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TMV

2008-05-01T06:49:08Z

I think I may be addicted once again.

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The Dark Knight Trailer

2008-04-29T08:26:13Z

…is upon us.

I’ve been following these viral sites like a madman…It will hopefully be released online soon. It is supposedly awesome.

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Who Needs Another Social Network? - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

2008-04-26T11:18:33Z

Who Needs Another Social Network? - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Hell yea…What a good way for them to tap into this social networking frenzy. I’d share my google results with friends if I found something cool. I just hope Google beats Yahoo! to it…For some reason I like them even though they seem to be taking over the world of internet.

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Last full week...

2008-04-21T19:35:04Z

And so the week has started…I got up early today and I am half done with studying for Bio. Coming up on that last stretch before the end. Don’t really have too much to look forward to, I guess it will be good to relax. Hopefully I’ll be able to play bass way more. I just have to make sure I don’t start working too much again.

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Iron Man

2008-04-17T05:07:29Z

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Wings for Marie

2008-04-16T19:17:41Z

So I was just feeling terrible. I played it at high volume and instantly felt better.

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Video Project

2008-04-16T06:54:38Z

So I had to make this for a video class…It’s not nearly perfect, but then again the only reason it is finished is because it is not perfect. All of my projects that I start on my own which don’t have a due date, I never end up finishing because I want them to be perfect.

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Harvey Dent News

2008-04-14T06:12:56Z

I Believe In Harvey Dent

This is awesome, not only do they take the time and effort to create all of these sites, but they spent time making these fake news events audio/video.

Check it out: http://media.ibelieveinharveydent.com/0413081500.mp3

Audio from their most recent news post.

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There Will Be Blood

2008-04-14T05:09:29Z

So I have been awaiting my chance to see this film for a long time. I love Paul Thomas Anderson’s work in both Boogie Nights and Magnolia. I didn’t really fully “get” Punch Drunk Love, but I do admit that it was very unique. My parents raved about the “strange” score in There Will Be Blood, which seemed to them to just be an incoherent collection of annoying/aggravating sounds. I later read that this score was composed by Jonny Greenwood and this made me really want to see it.

After watching it once, I did enjoy it, although I did not understand the intent of the film entirely. I feel like it is on a different level than Magnolia and Boogie Nights. It is certainly paced more like a mainstream blockbuster than any of his other films. I didn’t really care for the digitally enhanced shots of the train in the background and a few others which I think often degrade the emotion of the film. When everything is lit that perfectly, it just looks too unreal, and something is lost for me. I understand, of course, he couldn’t have done without CG for the shots of the oil rig exploding and stuff, but I thought that those particular shots fit into the movie much better anyway.

The music I thought fit very well. It was an appropriate mix of a sort of modern take on the sort of aggravating “The Shining”-esk sounds, and a full-blown cinema style symphonic score. I think that it is possible that my parents, having seen it in the theater, noticed the annoying sounds more, and were more affected or annoyed by them than anything else.

Overall I liked it, and I’m sure it will take a few viewings before it grows on me entirely like his other movies.

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Sunday

2008-04-14T03:23:42Z

And so once again it is Sunday. What to do…What to do… Maybe i’ll write about “There Will Be Blood”.

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Comp Sci is complete!

2008-04-12T03:07:03Z

And I have finally finished my Computer Science homework. Such a good feeling. sigh…Time to celebrate suckas.

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Webhosts

2008-04-10T22:18:18Z

And so I have switched webhosts for the second time. sigh I now await my refund from 1&1…iPowerWeb seems like the way to go.

I will fix my blog when I get time.

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PHP Errors

2008-04-04T19:18:01Z

So I basically know nothing about PHP aside from what I picked up while trying to format this blog. I recently was getting errors that looked like this when I tried to login:

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-content/themes/ChaoticSoul v.1.0/functions.php:6) in /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-login.php on line 202 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-content/themes/ChaoticSoul v.1.0/functions.php:6) in /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-login.php on line 214 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-content/themes/ChaoticSoul v.1.0/functions.php:6) in /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-includes/pluggable.php on line 552 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-content/themes/ChaoticSoul v.1.0/functions.php:6) in /homepages/38/d240435823/htdocs/journal/wp-includes/pluggable.php on line 689

And so it ends up that this has something to do with blank lines in the file after the <?php and ?> tags. I had to remove all of the blank lines in functions.php, and now it works…Strange.

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Relaxation coming soon....

2008-04-03T06:42:24Z

Well, I’m glad the hell of my last four exams is over. I finally switched web hosts and my blog is now functioning once again. I still need to do a bit of tweaking, which I want to get done. However, right now I am tired and would not be able to finish the task. Anyway…Home this weekend. Amazing. It should be fun.

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Switching Webhosts

2008-03-30T22:45:49Z

Switching web hosts is a pain in my ass.

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Dude

2008-03-29T10:44:31Z

Dude…

…Hell yea.

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I have made my candidate decision.

2008-03-27T04:48:21Z

I will be voting for Harvey Dent. I will proudly post his pin on my blog until he is elected.

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Even at Megastores, Hagglers Find No Price Is Set in Stone - New York Times

2008-03-23T11:10:31Z

Sweet…Maybe I can finally stop complaining about the high prices in stores and maybe use all of those gift certificates. Even at Megastores, Hagglers Find No Price Is Set in Stone - New York Times

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HD DVD Owners, Some Stores Want to Make Amends - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

2008-03-22T06:51:32Z

HD DVD Owners, Some Stores Want to Make Amends - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

And Best Buy makes even more money off of this showdown. Now customers go in there with their “reward” of $50, which they can spend on a pack of blank CDs or something that cost $200. And they make more cash off of you. Someone actually wrote about this in a comment below the article…Exactly what I was thinking.

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Nolan, Bale, & Gyllenhaal Talk TDK (3/19/08)

2008-03-21T18:43:27Z

I’m so ready.

.::BATMAN-ON-FILM.COM — Nolan, Bale, & Gyllenhaal Talk TDK (3/19/08)::.

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Studying and stuff

2008-03-21T06:13:04Z

And so I am done studying. I have more to learn yes…But I have lost motivation. Spring break messed with my mind. I got a taste of summer, and then came straight back here to work. I am more motivated now than I was on Monday, trust me. But still not as much as I was in the beginnign of the year. I wonder if this is how returning from spring break will be every year.

I certainly hope not.

On the bright side, I only have 7 weeks or so left. That is including finals which will be dreadful. I often think of when I used to run track, and how it is analogous to my life in many ways. This part of the school year would be that last stretch of track before the end; I looked up and saw the finish line, and knew that it would be a while before my next match, but I still have to use that last bit of energy and motivation to get to the end as fast and efficiently as possible before I can rest.

Soon.

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A Push to Limit the Tracking of Web Surfers' Clicks - New York Times

2008-03-21T06:05:50Z

A Push to Limit the Tracking of Web Surfers’ Clicks - New York Times

Why are they attacking these companies? I don’t mind them collecting my information, as long as they are only using it to make money themselves…That is their business. That is the reason for the website in the first place. How else are they to target their advertisements on general sites like google.com?

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State fires 2 for looking at Obama file - Yahoo! News

2008-03-21T05:07:51Z

Government Spies.

State fires 2 for looking at Obama file - Yahoo! News

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Obama Speech 3/19/08

2008-03-20T04:04:42Z

This guy is ridiculous. No wonder he gets so many votes.

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Banshee!!! on Fangoria

2008-03-10T22:17:17Z

Hellz yea. Check this out.

Fangoria - America’s Horror Magazine

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Writing helps

2008-03-01T22:53:35Z

Writing helps get my mind off of things somewhat. I can usually study for something like Comp Sci in this state of mind, because I actually am interested in the material. I don’t know how I am going to study for Bio though.

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Teenage Hacker Is Blind, Brash and in the Crosshairs of the FBI

2008-03-01T07:03:54Z

Teenage Hacker Is Blind, Brash and in the Crosshairs of the FBI

lol this kid is badass.

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Dell Pointed Out Vista Mistakes, Internal Documents Show - New York Times

2008-03-01T06:27:06Z

Dell Pointed Out Vista Mistakes, Internal Documents Show - New York Times

Now this is absolutely ridiculous…Even Dell publicly makes statements about Vista’s faults. I didn’t even know about that dual sticker thing. Their ignorance is amazing. Actually, it is not really ignorance, because they know that these things are ocurring, they just don’t care about the end-user enough to make a piece of quality software.

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Microsoft Office 2008 Grammar Problem

2008-02-22T08:46:53Z

So I installed Office 2008: Mac. Yes I know, “Why the fuck did you do that?!?!?”. Well I just couldn’t resist I guess. They made such a hype about it, I thought there would be something amazing to see. Unfortunately there isn’t, and the loading time is about half what 2004 is running under Rosetta (which is not very fast at all). Whatever. Anyway, I thought this was funny.

It’s probably an actual error with my grammar, but what rule tells it to do this?

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Somewhat Unproductive

2008-02-22T08:40:33Z

So today was somewhat unproductive. I decided to watch “Boogie Nights” instead of working on Banshee!!!, and let me tell you that movie is amazing. I want to watch it again already. The first shot was like 3 minutes. So sweet. I’ll write more later about it maybe. I just did a little bit of work. The opening scene will be awesome when it is done. :) I will be getting to bed now.

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AppleInsider | MacBook Air face-off: HDD vs SSD

2008-02-21T23:54:13Z

AppleInsider | MacBook Air face-off: HDD vs SSD (with video)

Pretty sweet. I wish my MacBook Pro had 250GB solid state :) That is wicked fast.

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A Farewell Note From a Departing Yahoo

2008-02-20T08:59:10Z

A Farewell Note From a Departing Yahoo - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Good to know that they are a good company…I’ve never thought of “Yahoo!” in this way. Hopefully I’ll have such an opportunity some day.

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Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC? - New York Times

2008-02-20T08:45:57Z

Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC? - New York Times

I don’t want to have to reboot my Hillary. On the other hand however, Obama may not be compatible with all of this country’s programs. :P Hence, my dilemma.

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Joanna Foss is my friend.

2008-02-19T08:46:53Z

Joanna Foss

is my friend.

SHE IS AWESOME.

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Sennheiser HD280 vs. Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 EQ settings

2008-02-15T00:54:44Z

So I have been listening on my Sennheisers for at least a week now straight…I haven’t been using my Klipsch’s because there have been people in my room and I’ve wanted to mix it up a bit anyway. So I feel that the HD280s are the best sound you can get for $70, straight up. I haven’t been proven wrong yet, so if someone has another suggestion for me let me know…I’ll try them out.

With that said, the HD280s definitely have their flaws. They do possess this incredible bass range, which includes sub-bass frequencies that my Klipsch set certainly doesn’t pick up. The first time I listened to “Lateralus” (the song) with them on, I was blown away that they mixed that recurring 4-beat rhythm in there from the very beginning. It is just so low that I never heard it. The HD280s flaws come in the low mid-range frequencies, where the bass should really cut through (in my opinion). Hence, I have found the following EQ settings in iTunes to be useful for these purposes.

The Sennheiser’s highs are pretty well balanced, but those are my settings after many tweakings.

So the point of this story is that I decided to jam out on the Klipschs today, and to my surprise the EQ I was using was dreadful. These speakers really are amazing, and they require little to no modification to make them sound amazing. The “Subwoofer” knob is pointing to the Klipsch suggested dot at about 10:30 on the knob, and my “Main Volume” is at approximately the same (10:00) point. I went through my usual EQ playlist to work on my settings and came up with something very different than what I had. I don’t know what I wasn’t smoking when I made those settings. Christ. Anyway this is what i’m using now and it sounds amazing.

Incase you were wondering…And I know you were :) My EQ playlist is as follows:

Eulogy - Tool - Ænima Lateralus - Tool - Lateralus Speak To Me/Breathe - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon Deep Inside - Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E. Jambi - Tool - 10,000 Days 20Khz 20Hz (Slow Sweep) - USAC Bass - SPL Shootout (all lossless of course :) ) more...

Moron

2008-02-14T06:55:03Z

I was working on this masterpiece of a suggestion to apple about a key-command shortcut in Safari when I accidently closed the tab and was not able to retrieve it.I hate my life and i’m switching to Firefox. I felt bad for Safari because it was so lonely, plus I didn’t trust Firefox with Leopard just yet. But it’s over now.

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Senate OKs new rules on eavesdropping - Yahoo! News

2008-02-14T00:43:16Z

Senate OKs new rules on eavesdropping - Yahoo! NewsGreat. Now big brother is really watching.

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Friends Say Drugs Played Only Bit Part for Obama - New York Times

2008-02-10T11:35:26Z

Friends Say Drugs Played Only Bit Part for Obama - New York TimesI’m liking Obama more and more. If it comes between Hillary and him, I have to say I know who I am voting for.

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Content

2008-02-09T10:31:39Z

The loneliness slowly fades away. I am content at the moment, besides the fact that I’m fucking tired and have to get up and study tomorrow. It could be worse of course, my studies are much more relevant to Computer Science and interesting than they were last semester.Sidenote: “The Bedlam In Goliath” has me addicted. The Mars Volta did it once again. Agadez has a fucking grooving bass line that I must learn. I would love to write more but I must go talk to someone while I can. Later.

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So Much

2008-02-08T08:52:01Z

There are so many things I need to do and so little time. Sometimes I wish things were different and that I wasn’t here, but other times I am perfectly content and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I am caught between two worlds/homes/lives. I can see that sometime soon I will have to make a decision about everything…One way or the other. I end up thinking and planning in my mind weeks in advance and forget to enjoy the present. That seems to be a recurring theme in my life, I can hardly even remember high school. Maybe it was that guidance always telling me to push, go, work hard. Maybe it is just genetics, because I have learned to enjoy work, or better yet I am addicted to work. Addicted to the perfection of my work and the completion of it. This is why I can never finish any pieces that I start on the computer, because of my perfectionism which always makes me believe that it is not finished. Maybe I will start posting versions of songs that I have written. I have many. Quiz at 9. I guess i’ll go to bed, it took me a while to fall asleep last night.

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Thoughts on art

2008-02-07T09:43:30Z

Is music not part of art? Two times yesterday I heard different people mention music and art as two separate entities. Music is a form of art the last time I checked. I don’t understand why people insist on referring to painting as “art” and music as “music”. It’s strange.

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Stuff

2008-02-05T08:04:37Z

So I played bass today. I hadn’t played in weeks. I forgot how much it relaxes me. Listening to the Flecktones and relaxing. Bedlam in Goliath is slowly growing on me. I just watched Punch Drunk Love…Not bad. I’ve been working like madness on Comp Sci homework every weekend, haven’t really stopped to enjoy the roses as they say.Garrett may come up in two weekends to chill which would be awesome. We’ll see. I’ll try to make this my method of choice for voicing…It will be easier that way. I’m sorry if you don’t know what I mean, but if you are reading this you probably do. I make a lot of posts private.I feel free but at the same time trapped.

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Finals, Matchstick Men, The Fountain

2007-12-09T02:05:29Z

So my exams went very well. I fucking owned both Calc and Physics exams that I took this week. I took a break from work yesterday, and today I haven’t started yet. I really should crack down on some Comp Sci stuff, but I feel lazy. I saw the movie “Matchstick Men” a week or so ago, and I really liked it. Ridley Scott is an excellent director, and his shots are very interesting. There was one transition between scenes that was a crossfade and left to right wipe at the same time, while the incoming shot was pushing in. It was pretty sweet.

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Taking a break

2007-12-02T23:24:41Z

So I am taking a break from studying these goddamn Conic Sections. It is frustrating because as soon as I feel that I have accomplished something, I think of how much longer I have to go. After these two exams next week I have finals, and I must study three times as much as I am studying now for these. Hopefully it wont take me as long on each subject, however, because I will basically already know most of the material.

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Slow Cheetah

2007-12-02T09:35:22Z

It’s been a long time since I heard a song that made me want to write…I can’t even remember what it was. I’ve been listening to the “One Hot Minute” album alot, and that usually leads me into “Stadium Arcadium”. This song is phenominal. Their melodies are simply epic during the chorus.

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Planet Terror

2007-10-10T04:58:05Z

So a copy of Planet Terror fell out of the sky the other day and landed in my lap! I was so surprised since I had been waiting for the DVD release for so long, so naturally I had to bring it home to show friends!

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Walt Mossberg's iPod Touch Review

2007-10-04T23:46:37Z

This is a good review of the iPod touch for people who don’t know what it is, or assume that it is just a cut-down version of the iPhone. more...

Man's Spare Room Filled With Almost Every Apple Model Ever Made

2007-10-04T23:35:04Z

I want this guy’s fish tank.

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Procrastinating

2007-09-24T04:04:16Z

So I have a bunch of reading to do and I am on the computer. I tried reading, and I was getting somewhere, but it was taking me a very long time. So here I am. I could have read this stuff this morning, but I felt like I needed some time off. I played Zombies ate my neighbors yesterday for a good couple of hours. That was productive. It's such a fun game. SNES all the way.

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Apple - To all iPhone customers

2007-09-11T05:15:18Z

Apple - To all iPhone customers

I never saw this…I guess this is the official letter. I’m sure you read “every one” Steve.

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Steve Jobs: iCame, iSaw, iCaved - New York Times

2007-09-10T05:18:54Z

Steve Jobs: iCame, iSaw, iCaved - New York Times

I don't get what the big deal is…Everyone is complaining about their iPhone purchase because they were dumb enough to pay $600 for the first version of a product and now the price is cheaper. WHAT A FUCKING SURPRISE!

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Serj Tankian's September 11th essay

2007-09-04T01:31:30Z

I recently remembered how much I used to listen to the System of a Down albums, and how talented this band really is. Their music is not only mainstream and catchy, as it may seem at a glance. They are truly talented musicians who are not afraid to experiment with different sounds or blend different genres together within a song.

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