I realize everyone and the dead bird their mom’s cat drug in is sharing this, but what the hell:
I’d go see it in theaters.
Author Archive
U.S. Gov tacitly admits case for Afghan war built on lies
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Document Leak May Hurt Efforts to Build War Support
The disclosures, with their detailed account of a war faring even more poorly than two administrations had portrayed, landed at a crucial moment. Because of difficulties on the ground and mounting casualties in the war, the debate over the American presence in Afghanistan has begun earlier than expected. Inside the administration, more officials are privately questioning the policy.
So, what they are basically saying is that now that the truth is out, they will be even less able to build a case for the continued illegal occupation of Afghanistan.
Why the economy isn’t coming back soon (for us)
Monday, July 26th, 2010
But it will for them. To wit:
By most measures, Harley-Davidson has been having a rough ride.
Motorcycle sales are falling in 2010, as they have for each of the last three years. The company does not expect a turnaround anytime soon.
But despite that drought, Harley’s profits are rising — soaring, in fact. Last week, Harley reported a $71 million profit in the second quarter, more than triple what it earned a year ago.
How could that possibly be, you ask?
This seeming contradiction — falling sales and rising profits — is one reason the mood on Wall Street is so much more buoyant than in households, where pessimism runs deep and joblessness shows few signs of easing.
Many companies are focusing on cost-cutting to keep profits growing, but the benefits are mostly going to shareholders instead of the broader economy, as management conserves cash rather than bolstering hiring and production.
So that’s why things look good and the government is crowing about how they’ve saved us, saying it ‘could be worse.’ Every metric except the ones directly affecting you and I look good. The rich guys fire us, make more profit, shareholders give the thumbs up, and the cycle repeats. And much of this is currently funded by government dollars and low-interest loans from the Fed to people with first access to money. You and I can’t borrow money from the Fed at .25%, but the 18 banks allowed to do so are making money hand over fist now. While you and I sink into the debt and despair of joblessness.
Ableton Live: Beatmatching tips #2
Monday, July 26th, 2010
That was quick, innit?
So, you drop a track into Ableton, one you know has a rock-solid BPM all the way through, cuz lets face it, what electronic music doesn’t? That’s pretty much the time signature hallmark OF electronic music. But Ableton puts all these crazy warp markers all over the place, and you’re like damn, how do I get rid of all this shit?
click for larger version
You used to be able to click the Warp button twice and Ableton would ask if you’d like to keep the warp markers or start from zero. Not anymore. So what do you do? You zoom into the very first warp marker and right-click on it (ctrl-click for you unfortunate Mac owners who use Apple mice or laptops) and choose “Warp from here (straight).”
Yeah, it’s as easy as that. All the rest are gone. Then go through and tweak accordingly so the beats line up with the measure markers inside the clip view. But, ohnoes, you have the following situation when you zoom in:
click for larger version
So you could double click the transient on measure -1.1.1 to set a warp point, then double click on the warp marker on 1.1.1 to destroy it, then move the -1.1.1 marker to 1.1.1 …. OR you can right-click on the -1.1.1 marker and choose “Set 1.1.1 here” – if you’ve already done the above process Live will automagically delete the warp marker that was at 1.1.1 and replace it with the new one.
Ableton Live – it makes your life easier so you can get around to tackling the really hard jobs, like not sounding like everyone else while you sound enough like everyone else so people don’t hate your music.
Ableton Live: Beatmatching tips #1
Monday, July 26th, 2010
When working with electronic music tracks for DJ style mixing, I’ve come across a problem where tracks don’t start on a beat, AND start with leading silence of indeterminate length. Probably a mastering/recording/encoding issue, but it makes it really hard to start from the beginning of the track, line up the first real beat with a measure and then get the rest of the beats to line up properly.
So I go to the first determinate beat, set a warp marker, go back to the beginning and delete the starting warp marker. The warp marker on the beat I chose controls the tempo for that track (or clip to use Ableton’s terminology) from the beginning to end even tho it’s not at the 1.1.1 position. I then go and line up the rest of the track. And, like magic, it works just fine. I leave the warp marker on the chosen beat.
Below is a screenshot showing exactly what I mean in case my explanation was less than concise.
click to view full size