Today is W.A. Mozart’s birthday. Mozart remains unequaled in his output of compositions, from exquisite solo piano and chamber music to larger works including concertos, symphonies, oratorios and operas. Over six hundred pieces in just a 35 year life span. Even more amazing is that just to copy his music by hand would take an average human lifetime.
Part of the beauty and charm in his music is its lyricism and playability. However, true artistry is necessary to communicate it effectively.
Breaking News – Daddy’s Junky Music Closes. Hard to believe one of the largest and most influential music stores in New England has folded under the pressures of how the music industry now does business. Traditional brick & mortar music stores have been struggling to keep up with the pace of online marketing and sales developments. Online dealers reach more customers with less overhead so they can compete with lower margins. I think the best way for a traditional store to survive is to focus on education, i.e. lessons and training, to find and keep its customers. Unfortunately more of today’s musicians are probably hanging out online than at the music stores they once populated. Why leave home when the world is your oyster on your computer?
CEO, Reed Hastings, wasn’t sure whether customer focus groups were consulted before executing the plan to split Netflix into two companies. REALLY? Not too savvy for a company that depends heavily on customer preferences online. No wonder film viewers are heading for the exits. Also he doesn’t seem to think a 60% price increase should bother anyone. Maybe he’s spending too much time in his bay area hot tub.
Fanatics Flip for Tunes on Cassette Tapes – WSJ.com. Some formats won’t die. To me the compact cassette was simply a convenience thing. Sound quality would never surpass an LP or larger tape formats, but in the car it sound as good as FM radio and that’s all that mattered. In fact that’s all that matters today as well. The only reason the compact cassette has all but gone is that we have much more convenient ways to deliver our music through digital electronic media. The FM radio benchmark still stands because for the most part we listen to heavily compressed MP3 files which, to the average listener equal the quality of FM radio, cassette or LP. Tape could never compete with the convenience of non-linear access to the music from CDs, DVDs and iPods. Content delivery is changing fast. By the end of the decade we will be seeing the last of the CD and DVD in favor of digital storage embedded in our devices with no motorized parts to wear out. Good luck replacing the belt on that old cassette deck. Better yet, anyone need an old 8-track cassette deck with lots of chewed-up tape inside? Meanwhile the future is SD cards and solid-state hard drives…but will MP3 and WAV files reign supreme or will it be…?
Stage Fright – EXPERIENCE NIAGARA USA TRAVEL BLOG. ”A popular concert and events venue in downtown Niagara Falls may be haunted by the ghost of an actress who refuses to take her final bow. The TAPS team from the popular SY FY Channel program Ghost Hunters will investigate the rumored haunting of a former actress at Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls on an episode entitled ’Stage Fright’ airing 9 p.m. on October 19th”.
I wonder if the ghost of True Gravity playing “Shadows” will be present:
A clever development for surround photography. All thanks to very inexpensive quality cellphone camera technology. Imagine this embedded in a football. Hmmm…maybe a golfball? No, I’d lose it, but what stories it could tell…What do you think? Check out the video:
Luminaries Respond To Steve Jobs’ Death | Daily Ticker – Yahoo! Finance. Steve Jobs was to computers what Henry Ford was to automobiles. The Apple II was the Model T in its day. His hardware and software innovations made the PC what it is today. His vision made it possible to bring us products which take advantage of today’s technologies and communications. American ingenuity at its best!
