twistedsun.net blog

Announcing, a new begining.

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-12-31T02:37:14-05:00

Five and a half hours by my count, and with this new year I have something to announce. FINALLY after all the talk and ideas and time I am launching my next step into the web which is in the form of a brand new site called fifty foot shadows. ...Thats right, this marks the end of an era. 8+ years of twistedsun will be coming to a close with this new year. ... Time and time again I have wondered what I should do with the site and time and time again I have found myself disappointed in some way with the result. ...I feel that everything around me is changing in my life and so I found it appropriate to start completely fresh this year. ... It came to me earlier this year while traveling out west and I think it is just what I was looking for. At one point I really wanted to turn it into a community of desktop posters I find that I just can not devote the time into moderating such a site. My focus this year is in taking big steps forward and changing the way I live it. ... It will be staying as it is in its current state for the foreseeable future so everyone can get at all the desktops and posts from the past. ...So with that said, I invite you all to come step into my new home on the web here, at www.fiftyfootshadows.net

Alive

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-12-24T22:38:24-05:00

I am alive and well and have been trying to get a post out forever now it seems. ... The trip shook me up and I have been buried in thought since my return. The reason for the non posting is because my laptop decided to stop working for me half way through my trip and although I have this computer I am writing on now (mac mini) I am still not all the way settled into this and probably wont be as I see myself getting another laptop early next year after we see what macworld may bring us. In other quick news, I have decided that twistedsun.net will be going through some changes in the new year. ... Ok, not that different but more simplistic for me to use and post to. The goal is to make it as effortless as possible to post new desktops and news and musings on life. It will most likely take the form of a new site all together which I had other plans for but have decided to simplify for the sake of getting something new rolling along. Don't worry, I have countless images for desktops and when the new site is functional you will hear all about it here and hopefully the transition will go as smoothly as possible and the future is bright. Thats all I have to mention here in this post, just a quick hello and see you soon. In the mean time you can check out my flickr page, or my photo blog, or my twitter, or my tumblr blog.

Pieces

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-10-25T22:35:28-04:00

Still exploring this never ending city. You can see many other photos on my flickr page which I might update nightly assuming I have internet access in other places I visit. I will expand sometime soon on my thoughts and whatnot for those interested so it tight!

Here we come around again.

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-10-25T22:35:28-04:00

Its been three nights here in London now and waking up today I could be excited. ... Im not really sure what it is that is stirring in my mind but I am getting ready to head out to central london again to see what I can find today. The last two days have been filled with people, art, and sound as I walked and walked... and walked around the city in various areas. ... I figure with all the trains around its hard to really get lost because I can always catch one back somewhere familiar. London has been interesting, familiar but distant when I choose to really pay attention to the people around me. ... I feel like I have always existed here and I am simply walking though some distant, forgotten memory. Im curious to see what kind of differences I come across as I visit other countries and break away from the comfort of everyone around me speaking english. ...Anyway, as time goes on and the jetlag finally leaves my blurry mind I will try and write more here in this space as well as get some desktops up perhaps. I just have not had the free time to commit to doing it. I am traveling so all I have is free time but I feel like I should be using that time for exploring and doing what I came to do which is to get lost in the flutter of local life.

Going....Going...Gone.

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-10-21T22:35:27-04:00

There has been a serious lack of activity here on the site and Im sorry for that, I have just been that busy this month. ... Im just sitting here surrounded by all of the things I am taking which turned out to be a surprisingly small amount of stuff. ...I will be starting in London/England (arriving on the 23rd) and I will be leaving on the 31st for Paris where I will stay for 6 nights. After Paris I will be heading south to Italy to a village called Vernazza which is part of the Cinque Terre and I will stay in that area for 6 nights. After this I will head to Nice/Menton for a couple of days hopefully but this depends on weather or not I can arrange a night train from Nice to my next destination, Barcelona. ... At the moment I am booked there for two nights in an amazing little B&B and I may extend my time there depending on how I like it. From here I will head to Granada or somewhere in that area of Spain and then make my way up to Madrid on the 21st and fly out of Madrid on the 22nd. ...If you are in any of the areas I will be traveling feel free to send along an email and maybe we can get together. ...I will post photos on flickr (and here some) the occasional text message to twitter (the hi-fi to the right) and maybe a photo from my phone on my tumblr page when I find hot spots around which I have no idea what to expect really. So wish me luck and the next time you hear from me I will hopefully be safe and sound in London!

The tumble

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-10-09T00:32:09-04:00

A few days ago I came across a really interesting blog service and jumped right on in. I have been looking for something like it for quite some time. A simple interface to allow me to catch images and links in a really quick and basic way. Images that somehow stop me from scrolling for a minute and get me to imagine, think, or whatever else. ... Its a basic blogging service with a slick little javascipt that allows you to catch an image within a page and quickly add it to your tumblr blog along with a link to where it came from. It's great really and will give me a place to come back to look over found images for inspiration and whatnot. I think I will eventually tweak the CSS and get settled in a bit more but for the time being its perfect for my needs. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. If you do start one up please add the link to the comments here so I can follow it. My tumblr page is www.tsun.tumblr.com

Strawberry Bridge

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-09-22T00:00:50-04:00

A handful of new desktops have been added to the desktop page for your desktop needs. I know I have not been posting as much lately and that is mostly because I have been spending so much time getting my head around this trip to Europe I have been planing. I have narrowed it down to a handful of countries and now I just have to pick a few places to travel to along the way. I will most likely post more on that as it develops. THANK YOU to those who have helped out with their suggestions so far, they have helped me get some key ideas in place which has been important. Please, by all means, keep them coming.

So I'm going to Europe

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-09-16T19:54:00-04:00

Im not sure how it happened but the time of the year that I promised myself I would travel in is quickly approaching and I am starting to get a bit more serious about plans for the trip. I have been trying to get used to the idea that I will be throwing myself in an area I don't know much of anything about. ... I am working on making it work financially and logistically and so I am writing here for a call on advice/ suggestions. I know there are plenty of readers around europe or have traveled there in the past and it would be greatly appreciated if you could take a moment and suggest some places to visit, and maybe just some general advice about traveling there. At the moment I am thinking of starting off in Spain or somewhere in southern France, heading up through France, and ending up over in England. ... It will be just me and my backpack for the most part and I hope to do a good amount of camping to save on money spent on Inn's. In fact, thats the number one concern is working out what I can expect as far as where to sleep and how much its going to cost to do so. I hope to have the overall layout of places to travel to before I leave so I can work out train tickets and transportation while I am there. Hopefully I will be able to pull something off and enjoy myself, meet some new people, take a few zillion photos and have a great time exploring the area. Feel free to mail me at john(at)twistedsun.net or leave a comment here on this post with suggestions, advice, or lend a floor to sleep on or just tell me I am crazy for trying to toss together a trip like this in under a month on a shoestring budget.

New favorite...

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-09-03T21:59:06-04:00

I have stumbled across a couple of things I thought I would share here just for the sake of sharing great things. Both are software and both are free to you so you have no reason not to check them out. ...I know that sometimes flashy oooooohhhhh and aaaahhhhhh type screen savers can be fun but I find them distracting recently. There will always be a place on my screen for the ever wonderful and unpredictable hotel gadget but for now this handy little saver has taken the top place on my screens downtime. Its called simply A 3M1T and you can find it here. (mac or PC) I just cant resist the font used for the numbers. ... The site also holds some wonderful fonts that you should check out as well. And to offset all of that simplistic thinking I present something quite the opposite. ... Its pretty fun to put on during casual music listening or for a break from the usual email and work you usually might see on your screen. There is not much I can say about the visualizer other than that it is amazing and you should head over to the developers site and download it or at least watch the video which you can find here. ...:-) Also, I've heard this new Devendra Banhart album and its amazing... ah music. love.

Take a trip

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-08-21T01:05:43-04:00

...to the beach with a couple of new desktops. Find them HERE.

New projects coming

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-08-02T16:21:48-04:00

OK OK, I know I have been talking about a couple of new projects for a long long time now but I think I have just settled on a way to bring these to life. I am still a ways off from bringing these to life but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For those of you who may not know one idea is a new desktop site which will feature a handful of photographers from around the world all posting to one blog which I think will create a really solid desktop site to share with the world. All I need for this is to find a few photographers to help me get started in the process and get some initial content going and I will be approaching a few people that I have seen online and find to have a somewhat like minded approach to photography. I hope for the site to include stories from time to time and feature some great photography and hopefully grow to be something really unique over time. Part of me is considering letting it become multi-lingual and inviting people to post in their native language if they would prefer. ...For this I would also like to gather a small group of posters from various point in the world that have the capability to record high quality field recordings of various places in their life. ... The goal would be to have the recordings be from 15-30 minutes in length and not have any commentary during the recordings other than perhaps an opening tag line or something. This idea is not as well thought out as the desktop page but its been running around in my head for quite some time now as well and I think If i were to get the right people involved that it could be something really interesting. So I am posting this to get any ideas that any of you readers may have for these projects or even any help any of you think you may be able to give in getting these going.

Announcing a new point of view.... point

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-31T03:21:42-04:00

As many of you know I recently took up a new project site simply titled light.twistedsun.net which is a photoblog for images that may not fit in as desktops or other such uses. Images that I may have never done anything with had I not made a little site to share them with the world. Well I would like to introduce another photoblog which is poking its head out into the web called 'point of view point'. The web address is simple and could be memorized easily should you be so inclined and reads as follows: www.pointofviewpoint.net. Here you will find new photos posted by my next of kin, James. Surely you could find out more simply by heading over and checking out what he has going on, the about page is a good place to start as far as information about his artists statement behind the new site and should you be interested in learning more about any particular image you can follow the comments link which will take you to a description of the shown photograph. So if you don't get enough of a photo fix staring at twistedsun desktops all day then by all means click on over to pointofviewpoint.net

ts hi-fi#11

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-26T16:03:06-04:00

Because there is so much I will hi-light my favorite recent albums as well as list a few others that have made their way into my head as of late. (You could always check out my twitter feed which I use to post songs that I may be listening to that catch me at that given moment as being a standout.) ...I actually heard this music before his other releases and I am happy that I did because I did not really like other things I have heard from him. ...With this release I have found an album full of songs that I keep coming back to and it has quickly become my go to album over the past couple of weeks. ...I fell for Ryan adams first album, heartbreaker, a couple years ago and since then have been searching for music from him that hit me in the same way but have yet to find that spark in his more recent albums. From time to time I have found newer songs by him that pulled me in but nothing ever really stuck with me the way his first album did. ... My favorite releases from him since Heartbreaker would have to be when he got together with The Cardinals for a couple of albums and while they were not as intimate as his solo work I did find that the collaboration produced some great music. ...I tried getting into their other albums but they never really hit me in the same way as their first until I heard the song Icky thump. ...There are other releases that I have been listening to as well as of late, and for the sake of saving some time I am going to list what else I have been listening to below, the links will either take you to iTunes or to the artists website... ...Skeletons and The Kings of all Cities - Lucas / wild experimenting indie pop like album that takes you places you may not have been while listening to music, really solid album

Quick Note

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-25T12:43:14-04:00

Three new desktops have been posted and a Hi-Fi post should be coming later today for those of you who enjoy those.

Work

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-24T01:19:13-04:00

The audio engineer with one of the bands wanted a TON of low end so i brought out some extra subs and he did not really seem to know what he was doing and still could not get what he wanted out of the mix so it was kind of a mess for a while. ... I wont get into it here because im sure there are not to many people reading the blog here that would care or know what I am talking about and me rambling on to much about it would probably bore 90 percent of you to tears. ...On saturday, however, I skipped out of a show which was just south of DC and drove up there to perform at a show in the city with my friend matt as A Drop In Silence, the electronic music group I am involved in. ... Well the show was all about art really and there were three graphic designers (as you can see in the bottom blurry part of the photo above) which were sitting there designing a poster for the event and all of their work was being projected onto the wall to the right there so anyone could watch the thought process behind their designing. ... I felt that the musicians performing were up there and just kind of faded into the circus of media which in retrospect was pretty fun in a way to be part of this machine that was supposed to be fueled by all of the other creative things happening around the room. ...But dont get me wrong, we had a great time performing, it was a really amazing event all in all and I am really happy that we were asked to play. ... During our long long long TWO HOUR set we had a constant stream of photographers and video cameras right there behind us nearly the whole time which I did my best to ignore and just do what I do when performing. We ended up playing mostly improvised music for the bulk of the night which was a lot of fun and something we have not done very often live and although the curators encouraged us to keep the music low key we did end up cranking up the volume and getting pretty crazy for a couple songs which they were clearly a little aggravated by but its something that we do and we were performing a show after all and want to represent who we are as artists just the same as everyone else so getting a little crazy here and there is something that is bound to happen. ...It was great to see them perform as always and a nice way to end the evening with some glitch beat madness from Doofgoblin which performed one of the best sets I have ever heard him perform actually, and MachineDrums non stop dance party set that never disappoints. After a couple of hours sleep we made the 6 hour drive back home so I could work another show on sunday which nearly killed me after all the other work and performing and driving and whew.... quite a weekend.

Trapped in the Drive Thru

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-23T22:26:17-04:00

Feeling

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-18T02:43:17-04:00

It's been a busy month in my life and the site is feeling it. I have plans on posting some info on my new lens and the iphone if I can ever get my act together and sit down to make a write up and take some photos for it. Its just so hard to find free moments for these simple things. C'est la vie. Anyways, should I make this image into a desktop? What do you think? I also have been posting images pretty regularly over on my new photoblog light.twistedsun.net which has kind of a busted rss feed at the moment but I hope to remedy that as soon as I get a chance to have a chat with my personal coding geek helper over in the Netherlands. (ahem... dave, are you listening?) Speaking of code, Id like to get this little twitter updater script to NOT add those stupid looking tabbed over dots and just get it more list like. Any suggestions? Hope to get back to regular posting one of these days, thanks for being patient!

Good to be alive

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-07-03T20:48:27-04:00

New desktops, ripe for the picking over on the desktop page. Get em while they're hot.

Giant Photo

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-23T15:30:57-04:00

How cool it this? a group of photographers got together and used an aircraft hangar as a GIANT pinhole camera to create the worlds largest black and white photograph. I would love to see this in person, so cool! heres a link

Light.

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-23T03:04:28-04:00

I have launched a new mini-site and I was going to wait a few more days to announce it officially but I have decided that I want to go ahead and get it out there and make it known to everyone here. ... The time of day that I actually get around to posting will change depending on my day so don't try and set your clock to the update cycle or anything but I do hope to get a new photo up each day. ...Something for those shots I mentioned a moment ago, the everyday ones that I may not want to devote a whole post to here or may not want to post as a desktop for whatever reason. in the new site you will hopefully see mostly recent photos but I will throw in the occasional older photo if I don't have something new to share. I am using a great bit of web software called pixel post to organize and do all the thinking for me so all I have to do to post is press a couple of buttons and type out a description. ...For instance, if you see an image that you are just dying to see made into a desktop then please speak up and leave a comment and I will see what I can do. The navigation is very simple I think, there is the home page with the newest photo and on each photo page you can click either the comments link above the image of the "photo info & comments link below the image to call forth the image description and comment field. There is a link there below the image notes to close that area should you not want to post anything but would like to read what I have written about a photo. ... There is also a browse page link at the top where you can see thumbnails of all photos posted and an about page which im sure you can figure out. ...I have two more in the pipeline that I can not wait to announce and get moving on but you will just have to wait for that time to come.

It's not me, it's you

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-20T12:57:46-04:00

I think its best to look at it as a post where I can talk about what I have been up to as of late. Well, I have been busy working shows for a long while but this week has slowed quite a bit and has given me a chance to get caught up with a couple of things that I needed to do like some other web projects and relaxing a bit and other such lonely escapades. Any of you remember that trip I took out to Utah and the South Western US? ... Well, the insurance money has finally come in from that stolen camera gear, camping equipment, clothing, and plenty of other things that I miss having around. So I am in the process of buying back a couple of camera things and camping stuff that I will post about sometime because I like to share the things that I get because I put so much time researching products before I buy them that It makes sense to share what I have learned through all that research. Anyways, it will be good to have some of my stolen things back in place in my life. ...Well I have been cameraless for a couple of weeks after letting my brother borrow my 5d for a trip to an island somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico but its back in my hands and ready to shoot for me again. ... So I will start shooting again here soon and get some new desktops up. ... Something I started to do a while back for friends and family but I think that this time I am going to make it public. ... And then there is the other web project I still have all the intentions in the world of getting on its feet one of these days so who knows when that might pop into existence.

FOOD

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-20T12:25:58-04:00

Here is something I have been wanting to post about for quite some time now and I am finally just now getting around to making a couple of minutes to get it out of my head and onto the blog here. I wanted to post about a new(ish) project by Yongfook, an english guy living in Japan working on web development. Its called Open Source Food and it is his personal side project outside of his paying work because he loves food and cooking. Well, I like to think that I like to cook as well and I have found plenty of good recipes and ideas while digging through the site. It takes the whole web 2.0 idea of an online application and asks users to post recipes to share with the world. It all works in a wonderfully organized way and the site is really easy to navigate. ... Here are a couple of recipes that I have come across today that looked good to me...

Am I crazy for wanting to be on this show?

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-12T21:51:12-04:00

All about Podcasts

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-09T22:52:06-04:00

At this point the term podcast and the idea behind it has safely settled into most internet users vocabulary but I am wondering how many people put them to use or even know how many great shows there are out there. I set off to do a little research for this write up and find some good music podcasts for you guys to check out that I listen to but ended up finding a lot more worth mentioning as well. ...So here are a few recommended channels to look through and give a shot... (please note that some links point to itunes. also, the links at the ti) ...This is a seattle based radio station that has a wonderful set of podcasts available featuring great new music and in studio performances from a great list of musicians. Their Song of the Day (iTunes link) podcast is a great way to discover new artists in a totally legal way and the in studio performance podcast (itunes link) has a really impressive list of performers! ...This is another college radio station that has made many of their radio shows available as downloadable podcasts. They feature many different news shows as well as one of my recent favorites, Morning Becomes Eclectic which is a great music show. ...The National Public Radio network has a huge amount of shows available as podcasts these days and hosts a show I like to listen to from time to time This American Life (iTunes link) ...Misadventures in Taiwan - Always manages to make me laugh in some way or another, I can't remember how I found it... ...There are many others around and maybe from time to time I will post something about other shows ive been listening to, I think I mostly just wanted to post about these few recent favorite places to go for news and music so hopefully some of you found some interesting shows to check out!

On the Hi-Fi #10

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-01T10:42:22-04:00

At the time I listened to music but did not really know of this world of music below the surface of the magazines and TV, well, not aside from They Might Be Giants but thats a whole different story all together. XO ended up being my gateway drug to a long standing addiction of seeking out the the best music I could find and through the years I have learned so much and heard so many wonderful songs. ... Well, years go by and I end up buying and listening to all the music by him that I could find and even had the chance to see him live a couple of times before the dreadful day that he took his own life in a way I still have trouble imagining happening, stabbing himself in the chest... Before he passed he had been working on an album which was finished and released and many wondered if that was the last they would ever hear of his music. ... This album is a collection of unreleased music and alternate versions of songs that many people have been wishing for for the past couple of years. ...On first listen I didn't really like it at all but after my friend Val mentioned to me that she liked it and thought it was good I decided to give it another go and listened from start to finnish and found that I loved it from start to finnish. ... I would write a "for fans of" thing or something here but I hate those things, good music is good music and does not need to be compared to other things. ...After getting into Mather Dears other project, Audion, these past months I noticed a new album by Matthew Dear appear on the iTunes store and thought I would give it a go so I did what any person with plenty of money lying around that he knows he shouldn't be spending (trying to get to europe this year) should do, I bought the album. At first I did not know what to make of it, It seemed kind of empty and half way finished but I gave it more of a chance and there were a couple of songs that sank in and opened the whole album up for me. ... My only complaint is that some of the songs feel bit short and at least a couple have fade outs which is a pet peeve of mine, I just think its a cheep way to end a track.

WUAG 103.1fm

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-06-01T10:10:20-04:00

Surely most of you know that I love music and some of you may know that I host a radio show on a local collage station and I thought I would give it a little write up here for anyone interested. My show is on Tuesdays from 1-3pm Eastern US Time, not sure which time zone that is technically is but post in the comments if you know. You can access the radio stations live stream by visiting www.wuag.net or just click here to download the stream file to your streaming radio app of choice... It is a standard rotation show which means I choose 8 songs each hour from a pre selected group of about 100 new cds that get regularly played during the daytime hours at the station. So 8 songs an hour I am a bit restricted but it gets more fun when I break away from those boundaries a bit and play some things I bring along with me to play. If you do listen in to hear me make a silly fool of myself on the radio leave a comment here and let me know what you thought!

Everywhere but here

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-05-31T10:22:48-04:00

I went ahead and stuck a 100gb 7200 speed drive in here to replace the tiny 60gb drive that came in it and filled out the ram to a full 2 gb as well. ... I am running the full version of the new rapidweaver without any serious issues to speak of, I will just have to keep messing with it to see how these neat new features work. In other news, the reason I have not been posting much is because, as always these days, I have been so busy with work and travel. Last week i was in nashville for a couple days working sound at a show featuring an elvis impersonator which was pretty interesting to say the least. ...It feels like I have been anywhere but here updating for all of you loyal readers and I hope to see that change as, once again, I am streamlining the site to try and make updates go easier and quicker for me. ... I just have not had time to get them put together and released and its just sitting there dead in the water so until I have time again to put them together I am putting that on hold and removing it from the site. ... Eventually I am going to re-brand the show and start it up again under a new name but until then just browse through and check out the 10 zillion or so other ones out there. I dont want to go on for to long here seeing as there are only a handful of you really interested in any of this kind of personal blah blah blah. So I will hopefully get this site moving along better again but how many times have I made THAT promise on these pages? ...also, what do you think of the new slight design changes like bigger text here, a darker outer shell, archive by year, and new header.

Repair time

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-05-16T23:22:11-04:00

Well, after waiting till the last possible minute to do it, I finally took my macbook in for repairs. There were a bunch of odd little things wrong with it that have needed attention for quite some time now and although it will be nice to get it fixed up, I am now without my laptop which has stealthy become a vital part of my everyday life. It was my communication, my PDA, my music, my tool for everything I do so it wil be missed while it is off to the repair shop. Meanwhile I will be here on a mac mini that I have set up as my temporary home, I have all the basics up and going so I can still get along well enough. Just chained to this desk is all, no more late night computing in bed.. ha, maybe thats a good thing right?! right. Not to sure why I am posting about this although im sure there must be some of you out there at least mildly interested. So wish my macbook good luck on its trip to the repair shop...

New Weaver

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-05-13T21:23:49-04:00

I have been messing with a beta version of the new rapidweaver for a few weeks now it seems in the little holes of time i could find to mess around with it and there are a few new welcome features that i could use. Mainly that it works faster and is less or a resource hog. I will find out as soon as I hit the publish button in a minute here. For those of you who dont know, I have been using some mac software called rapidweaver for over a year now to maintain the site. Why this and not wordpress or something else? Well, simply because I like having everything from my site right here with me at all times to work on with or without internet connections. This and I like the way it functions and if they keep making the nice little changes that they have been making then im sure it will just get better and better as time goes on. Hopefully this will work a bit smoother in the uploading dept. which will lead to me being able to make posts more often if it is less time consuming. So as an added bonus to the post I will throw in a photo from my flicker page that people seem to be enjoying on that side of my web existence...

its about time

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-05-06T00:07:17-04:00

New desktops have arrived safe and sound over in the desktop section. here is a preview... enjoy!

twistedsun hi-fi #9

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-05-05T18:34:42-04:00

This is one that has been out for a while now but I just recently got my hands on it and Im glad that I did. It is full to the brim with great minimal ambient works that hide subtle melodies, field recordings, and the occasional rhythym if you are looking in the right places for it. ...I have talked about lusine in the past somewhere on this site I am here again to talk about his newest release which is a remix album. The idea of a remix album is so fascinating to me because electronic music is often already remixes of sounds and the idea that musicians get together and rework each others music is a testament to the community that surrounds the genera. I guess you cant go around covering aphex twins songs but what you can do it take the music and add your own subtle touches and feeling to the music. ... At any rate, this is a great album, very relaxed danceable music that would fit in all sorts of places in your life and if you are looking to get an extra bounce in your step during your day then check out this album. (eesh, again with the odd reviews.. maybe iI should just stick with a basic run down of albums, what do you think.. maybe next time) ...You will find yourself listening to a lovely piano like piece and then be left with a nobukazu takemura like glithch ambient piece and then get cought up inbetween these things. I found myself in many different places while listening to this record but most of all I found myself loving the smooth sound and relazing approach to the music. I know these words dont even really describe the music all that well but thats all ive got so follow the link below to find out more. ...(oh, and i got my hands on an advance copy of the new/old Elliott Smith album New Moon and it is really wonderful, more on this after its oficial release...)

neither here nor there

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-05-05T18:20:43-04:00

I wanted to say thanks to all of you who have stuck around through this period of less activity around here. I find that I have many nice looking photos that I would love to get posted as desktops but I never seem to be near my photo drive when I am posting something here. Maybe tonight I will try and get a couple of new ones going for everyone. ... Im working off debt on my credit card that I found while on that trip out west adn then I will imediatly start saving for a trip to europe. ... Nothing to specific planned yet, just putting the information out there and you can do what you will with it. As always, in the back of my mind I have full intentions of getting some more prints for sale on the site here and as always I am looking to get my new desktop site project underway in the future. I think I may have the money to spare to get it up and running sometime shortly but I cant promise anything! I just know that when it does manage to poke its head out into the light of the day that its going to be a lot of fun for anyone that loves photography and the world around you. Sometimes I wish this blog was more personal so I could rant on and on about my life but I dont feel that its the place to do that. ... In other news, I do have some music for a podcast and maybe sometime soon I will put another one out.

Signal

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-04-30T13:26:04-04:00

Wow, what a weekend. 3 days of very little sleep, lots of heavy lifting, and performing wore me out! I know a few different people took photos of when I was performing so I will try and get some up sometime for anyone curious. Im not sure what else to say without writing a long elaborate story about each night. I just wanted to hop on and mention it was a great time and post a few photos from the show. Enjoy! On a side note, i have a few desktops that I am getting ready to post, finally!

the split

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-04-25T13:43:30-04:00

The CD's are in after a month of work and they are looking and sounding great. For those of you who don't know I am half of an electronic music duo called A Drop In Silence. About a month ago we decided to work on a split release with a frind of ours Doofgoblin and release it at a festival that we will be performing at this weekend in Chapel Hill, NC called Signal Festival. The cd's will be officially available at the show and then online afer that. We only made 250 copies for sale on this first limited edition run so get 'em while they are hot. Im sure some of you are wondering, what does it sound like? Well... thats a good question and it is often hard to explain to people. Some of it is danceable, some of it is somewhat agressive, some of it is more relaxed. It's sound, its music, what more do you need to know? We will be putting together an ep sampler mix with a little from each song soon and I will try and remember to link to it here for those interested.

afternoon

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-04-21T17:38:13-04:00

(null)

Where have you been!?

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-04-16T19:36:34-04:00

Good question! I think I have gotten a bit pre occupied with my life recently and have not had as much time to post to the site. I hope to have a handful of new desktops up in the coming week for all of you craving some new desktops (and I know you are out there) In other news I will be doing some maintenance/server clearing to the site soon so you may see a day of downtime at some point in the next week or two. Also, thanks to all of my visitors to the site. I noticed that my numbers are right around 18,000 visits a month these days which is strange to think about that many people coming to the site but its fun and I hope you all enjoy it! Also, I am still craving donations to help get my new desktop project underway. MANY thanks to David and Fabian, a couple regulars around here for their help in this department. Well, thats all for now so until next time, have a good one... Au Revoir.

Kaos

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-04-16T19:24:53-04:00

Remember a while back I posted about a cool new product from korg, the Kaos Pad 3? ... Actually, I bought one of these as well as a Microkontrol midi controller for all of my midi controlling needs. I was already familiar with the microkontrol so the real surprise here is the KP3... ... I have it set up so this is chained together with my older KP2 so I can layer effects and cuts and samples together with them both and now that I have started to get the hang of it I have been having a lot of fun messing with it. I will record something to give you an idea of what i am doing with it. Mostly chopping up songs and pretty much remixing them on the fly. The new KP3 sounds much better than the older ones, has much nicer sampling capabilities, has a higher resolution of control on the touch pad, and many other great improvements. I can not wait to take this thing out to play life sometime! the day can not come soon enough... actually its not to far away, my next show is at this years Signal Festival in the Chapel Hill area in NC. Here is a link for more info, if you are in the area and you enjoy dance, idm, hip-hop, electro, indie rock, or pretty much any other genera that involves electronic music then you should some out to the festival, its going to be GREAT...

twistedsun hi-fi #8

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-04-04T12:50:18-04:00

Starting off with a new song by the Cinematic Orchestra which is a total departure from their earlier work but I think its a great song all the same, very quiet and peaceful like a perfect sunrise or something of the sort. The Panda Bear song is a crazy droning song that seems to stick in my head any time I hear it and reminds people of the beach boys when i play it for them. ... Amon Tobins new album, Foley room is a really moody album that I felt could have been better than it was but it does sound pretty amazing when heard through a nice set of headphones or speakers. The Gordon Lightfoot song and the John Frusciante song are from a soundtrack to a film by Vincent Gallo that I have heard pretty strange things about but the music is just amazing on the sountrack, really lo-fi acoustic songs as well as some great jazz cuts thrown in. ... Speaking of soundtracks, the song from Nat King Cole and the one from Michael Glasso are on the soundtrack from the movie In the Mood For Love which was a really beautifully shot film that I hear was shot without much of a script at all. ... Japan remix is a pretty typical Casino vs track but I really enjoy it all the same and wanted to include it because i keep playing that song from the Marumari remix album it is on. ... Then there is the Surgeon song that Autechre remixed which is a really straightforward dance track but there is something about it that I really like, not sure what it is though. ... Last but not least is a song from a Tim Koch album that I really enjoy, its a great record that seems to go pretty un noticed in the places I read about or hear about recent electronic music releases. So that was a bunch of type all squished together and maybe that was not really the best way to do it but I wanted to try and do something different all the same. ... Some are itunes links some are bleep.com links and one i think is an amazon link... (ppsst... email me and convince me well enough and i might send the mix to you but you would have to promise me you would buy anything you really like from it if you can to support t he music)

Come Wander With Me

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-27T17:39:00-04:00

For those of you who follow this page rather than the desktop page (which I prefer because then I know my rambling gets read by at least someone), there is a new desktop up that you can see above of the stairs. ... In other news I never do this and try to remain pretty low key about it usually but Id like to open up the floor for donations. Any extra money I can get right now will go straight into my new desktop site project which will be a collective of like minded photographers The will be posting desktops via a blog with stories/thoughts about the photos. I am looking to get people involved from all around the world so it should be fun for everyone that loves a good desktop and good quality photography. I just need to gather 100 or so dollars for the hosting to get all se up and then within a week or two I hope to have it up and running in its early stages of existence. Frequent readers know that I have been planing this for quite some time now and I am all set to get it up and running so every little bit helps! So THANK YOU for your consideration and even if you cant give anything right know you can look forward to the new site in the next month or two. It should be a lot of fun. Also, I have jumped on board with the Twitter phenomenon and I am working out the kinks but you will notice the latest update on the side bar there and I will be using it as a way to share what I have been listening to in a quick and easy way. Anyways, thanks for reading and ill talk to you again soon.

My brush with stardom

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-24T16:47:10-04:00

When I was younger my grandmother owned a farm and on that farm there was a nice big barn and in that barn a scene was filmed in a movie called Billy Bathgate. So during the filming I was to young to really remember much of anything but I do have a couple of photos I thought I would share here just for the heck of it. Kinda funny if you ask me! First up we have Dustin Hoffman, my mom, my brother (in Dustin's arm) and myself (looking really pissed off for some reason?) And then we have the funny one here which is a photo of my brother and I sitting in the doorway of a trailer but look who is holding the door open for us.. friggin Steve Buscemi! Maybe this is only funny to me, who knows...

a drop in silence

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-23T02:58:01-04:00

The past couple of days have been full of piecing together songs for a split release with another musician. For those of you who may not know, I am one half of an electronic music group called 'a drop in silence' and we have been playing together for nearly 6 or so years now. The other artist on this cd is a super nice guy and a great musician named Doofgoblin. It will be released at the end of april and I am really excited about it. Im sure I will share more details when there are more to share but for now, here is a press shot we took yesterday because we have nothing for press use. Also, a new hi-fi is about half done and will be posted soon, some great music on it to check out so look here again soon for that. Till then have a good one everyone!

Mailer Deamon

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-14T23:24:20-04:00

(or Daemon... whatever) Tell me, am I the only one that imagines a little red deamon sitting in some cave somewhere with mail piled up to the celieng around him when I get a mail bounced back to me from an address that does not exist? I cant help but imagine this deamon endlessly going through mail that has no home to go to and typing up these replies to everyone. Always a little different but always unusually personal and nice in the way they were written. Maybe my head is on the moon today or something, who knows.

après-midi au lac

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-13T00:54:40-04:00

No, I don't know french. Just putting my translation widget to use and soemtimes english gets old. So anyway, I spent a few hours out at a lake today and took some photos for the first time in a while. It was nice to break out the camera again. I need to get back into the swing of the shutter. There is something really calming about that click. So anyways, enjoy these shots and the couple of desktops from the afternoon. these can also be found on my flickr page...

South of the Border, West of the Sun

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-09T18:27:11-05:00

Well, working all I can work on a few web projects, working on audio installs around town, getting ready for a busy spring of audio production/ shows. outside of work I am getting ready for a few performances with A Drop In Silence in april as well as getting together music to put out an EP with that project which is going to be a lot of fun and I am sure I will write more about that sometime soon. I have almost gotten all of my notes together for my new web project and will be buying up some new server space and domain name for that soon which is exciting to me. It will be a desktop/ photography blog that will (if all goes according to plan) feature photographers from around the world. I have talked about doing this for a long long time now so it is nice to be so close to announcing it officially! ...The title of this post is the name of a book that I just read by a japanese author by the name Haruki Murakami that I just finished reading. All in all its one of the best books I have read in a long long time. ... It is a very simple story of a mans life, more specifically, the romantic side of this life from birth to 'current day' when the narrator is telling the story. ... I just really admired the simplicity in the writing and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. Also, I have recently read another book by the same author called "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle " which was much longer and much more involved and brought in some fantasy like elements into the story but was also a great read. I think the next book I will be reading is one that I have read before but it has been years and years since I have read it so I have decided to revisit it, its called 'The Solitaire Mystery'.

Hotel Gadget

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-06T22:48:13-05:00

One of my favorite screen savers ever has been updated to a new version after years of sitting there. Who knows, maybe this is old news but it sure has got me excited. This endlessly beautiful, thought provoking, haunting (insert whatever other adjective you might find appropriate here) screen saver is not to be missed. The only reason I found that there was a new version was out was because someone on digg pointed to a page by the same artist where he had a bunch of random quartz composer screen savers for download which are nice and all but nothing can beat the wonder of Hotel Gadget. The only catch is that is is mac only as far as I know so sorry to the PC users out there. Here is a link to the site where you can get yourself a copy. Well... what are you waiting for, get over there and download, then lost in the hotel...

Rotate

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-05T16:59:12-05:00

I have added a nice little php code to rotate the title photo above and threw a few photos into the folder so visitors can expect it to change aorund a bit from now on. It will be really easy for me to use new iamges in the title and I would like to eventually build a nice big library of images to randomly grab as the header. It is a really handy trick that I have been wanted to get going for a while now. Also, im sure some of you are wondering about desktops and no worries. I should have a couple of new ones posted soon. Till then...

The White Rabbits Hole

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-03-04T13:03:54-05:00

(null)

A Trip to the Atlantic

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-25T20:22:16-05:00

A day at the beach for FBD version 3.0

Ok..

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-23T02:08:08-05:00

The body text is now a little bigger here on the blog, just a quick change for now. What do you think, does it need to be bigger than this even? I will also be adding either a rotating image on the top of the page or a user selectable image with 4 or so choices. Just depends on what I can get to work. I am not exactly a coding geek or anything but I get by. At any rate, there are still changes yet to come around here so keep an eye out as always... I will leave you with a photo of the best soda on the planet. Its called AppleBeer and it is non-alcoholic and I have no idea why beer is even in the name. Anyways, it can only really be found around Utah so whenever I am out there I buy up a bunch of it because it is much cheeper than mail order. till next time then...

So what do you think?

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-21T01:27:19-05:00

I was getting tired of all that darkness and was looking to freshen up the site so I have decided to go ahead and give it a facelift for the zillionth time. I am really liking this one and I may make a couple little tweaks here and there before I am totally happy with it but I wanted to go ahead and get things moving with the new design. It is just the beginning of the changes coming around here. That new project I keep talking about is getting closer and closer to seeing the light of day and I am getting more and more excited about it. But in the mean time I thought I would give twistedsun.net a fresh coat of paint. There are a few things that I wish I could make possible with the design but due to the shortcomings of the software I am using to run it there is only so much I can do with it at the moment so heres hoping that future versions allow for greater flexibility in some areas! ...So tell me, what do you think? ... Is there anything you, as the readers, would like to see more of around here? More personal stories and blogging? ... Suggestions are always welcome and I am always looking to make this site as interesting as possible to you guys so please, let me know!

Staying busy

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-18T00:26:59-05:00

Well I have been back home for a good couple of weeks now and looking back on my recent trip really does feel like looking back on a story that I read. ... One of them is my upcoming desktop site which will not only have my new desktops but other photographers as well. I will be drawing up invites and working out the details in the coming month and hopefully be online by the end of March. ...I have posted a couple of random desktops that I have been meaning to post for a while now so you can head over and check those out if you are interested. ... It would be nice to know that some of you read them and check out the artists I talk about. ... But I'm sure I have already mentioned this a thousand or so times before so I apologize for sounding like a broken record on the matter. ...I saw it for the second time today and I find it to be such a fascinating movie. Really really violent which was interesting because I cant remember seeing a fantasy film like this one that was so violent. I thought that the time period that it took place in with the civil war and whatnot added a lot to the violence but the director made it work so well within the movie. I usually don't have all that high of a tolerance for really violent movies but I think that as long as it it is in place to invoke something in you to relate to the characters and story line then I can stand to watch.

Herro

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-16T19:47:35-05:00

A while back I wrote about the apparent demise of my favorite podcast, Herro Flom Japan. He remained inactive for a long long time but recently has slowly started to pick up the mic again and start doing some new shows. I just wanted to mention this here because it is my favorite podcast after all. The host, Rich Pav, always seem to ramble on about something that is somehow accidentally really interesting to me, its just an honest look into the life of one foreigner living in Japan. Simple and very stripped of any fancy production but this is why I enjoy it so much. At any rate, I know some of the readers here used to listen to the show and I thought I would mention its return into the podcasting world, lets see if it sticks shall we? P.S - Kyoto Podcast has a new video episode as well and his video work has come a long way, great job Tim!

New Moon

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-14T13:51:22-05:00

So I just caught wind that there will be an album released on Kill Rock Stars released in May featuring Elliott Smith rarities! A two disc set that is filled with songs from back in his Either/Or days. Looking through the tracklist I find that I have heard many of these songs before that I have found on various websites or anywhere I could find music of his like this but it will be nice to have an official release with decent sounding recordings because most of the odd mp3s of these songs that I have come across are all of terrible quality. So I am really happy to see this getting released and I just had to write up a quick post to let you guys know because Elliott Smith is one of my very favorite musicians and I really miss seeing new releases from him. Here is a link to the original article on Pitchfork

twistedsun hi-fi #7

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-14T13:51:19-05:00

The more I listen to it the more I find hiding inside the amazing compositions they have crafted with this release and I have found myself enjoying this even more than their first album which was hard to beat as much as I loved it back when it came out a couple years ago. ...Eesh, what a disappointment... anyway, If you enjoy music then you owe it to yourself to at least give this great album a listen and if you do end up buying it I would suggest picking up a copy of the album with the physical cd artwork which is really wonderful and puts a really creative use to die cuts in the printing and illustration. ...It is like IDM Pop music or something like that. a Genera that I'm sure has some sort of other name but thats what I call it and it seems to be Ghostly International's favorite new thing to release which I welcome with open arms. ...I wrote about this once before while I was on my trip at the end of one of my posts, it is an album full of what I can best describe as lullabies. ...I picked up this on vinyl because the track list seemed good and Sofia Capolla's movies have all had great OST's in the past so I took a chance and was very happy that I did. ...His releases span from calm ambient music to more noise based ambient and I prefer when there is less of the guitar noise simply because I feel that I have heard that plenty of times before and there is not a whole lot you can do with it to make it any more interesting to me. ...The next track is by Manhunter and its ok but I find myself passing over it for some reason, it just does not fir with the other tracks on here all to well and its a solid enough song but I'm not usually in the mood to sit through it. Last but certainly not least is a track by Benoit Pioulard which I had not heard until now but after hearing this song I went and picked up his full length release which was released on Kranky last year I believe. ...This one reaches way back to my younger days and brings back memories of when I was listening to mostly heavy rock music/ hardcore/ metal, whatever you want to call it, just as long as it was loud and distorted I was listening with the volume all to loud and my head nodding this way and that. I think the electronic genera called breakcore which has been pioneered by artists such as Squarepusher, Venetian Snares, and The Flashbulb filled that hole in my music listening and took it to a newer more exiting level because it went beyond what you could do with a traditional band and took sound and break beats and chopped them into songs flowing at breakneck speeds.

I Heart Korg (!!!)

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-09T00:52:53-05:00

Korg recently released a handfull of new products including... ... a mini Kaos Pad! How cool is this!? I simply must have one of these little things... ...and check out this crazy looking digital mixer/audio interface, could be just what I was looking for in an audio interface... ..that is all, just had to share my excitement, even if this means nothing to many of you...

The Weight Is A Gift

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-07T15:25:09-05:00

Its feels like each day I was on my trip felt so long and full and wonderful and complete but in retrospect I feel as though the whole experience was nothing but a book I read or a collection of memories to wonderful to be my own. ... Then I look back over the hundreds of photos I took along the way to mark the journey, to offer some sort of proof that it really happened and the feelings come dripping back into my mind as though making a pot of drip coffee. ..."...chasing the sun rising this morning i could not help but be reminded of sun set with its layers of light taking over the earth in front of me. i felt as though i was driving time backwards like my car and myself were sitting still in the universe yet the earth spun backwards around me like i was winding it up for night to arrive all over again through another beautiful sunset but then the sun was not fading into night, it was welcoming me to a new day..." ...I looked up into the sky and noticed birds migrating, hundreds of them almost filling the morning sky with V shaped patterns of birds soaring through the sky like a huge magic carpet. I couldnt help but feel a connection to their travels and I think that was the point in which I realized that I had to keep traveling. ...This lead my mind to think of being home and all of the work I needed to catch up on and how many projects I want to get going and I felt both excited for the future and a little nervous and I felt my life at home weighing down onto my shoulders and I felt the weight of my life coming back to me. ...So at any rate, I'm back home in one piece and I am getting my thoughts together for the next few months of my life. I have a number of web projects to work on, audio production work to get back into, music to be written and played with matt and A Drop In Silence (my 'band'), stories to read, things to clean, insurance claims to be filed (from the robbery), prints to finally mail (from my christmas contest), photos to go through, a life to get back in the swing of living, and countless other odds and ends of things to jump into the middle of. As for this site, I will get back to my regular postings and desktop additions, after all of these stories and things I am thinking I may continue to write about life and living from time to time because it has been nice writing like this. I will also be getting my new site rolling in a month or so when I get all of the details worked out.

Hello

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-02-03T17:35:01-05:00

I have posted three new desktops for anyone interested and I will be posting again here soon when I gather my thoughts a bit. I am currently in Memphis, TN where my brother is attending school and will be back home in a few days. What a trip it has been, I will leave it at that for now and talk to you again soon!

Of Arches, Needles, and Islands..

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-28T23:50:53-05:00

Here are some more photos so you guys can get your fix. Today I am starting my long winding journey back home and I will write more about this sometime soon. Don't forget to read down into the previous posts, there are a couple good stories down there... Arches... (there is a person down there in front of delicate arch to give it some perspective) Canyonlands, Needles District... (morning from my car windows point of view just after waking up) Canyonlands, Island In The Sky... (why buy bags of ice for you cooler when there is all of this snow around?) (yes, these last couple here were taken at night... just wait for the desktop, its amazing...)

Great Ghosts

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-28T18:57:50-05:00

Bit by bit each layer of this wonderful place began to be overtaken by shadow and every peak lit itself up as if taking one las nice big stretch before climbing into bed and the canyons all seemed so peaceful at that moment. ...Even darker shadows began to take over areas and then looking toward where the sun once was I could see that last gasp of orange light stretching its self across the horizon and finally moved onto wake the eastern world from its slumber. ...Also as the sun set, the last of the other visitors left and went along on their way and from what the rangers told me earlier in the day I was the only person staying the night out there in the park and this left me to realize that I had this whole island to myself. ... I started to feel lonely and as time went by I came to find that I could not remember a time in my life when I had felt so alone in the world. ...And in that moment I felt so alive it was hard to bare, in that moment of total awareness and in the black cold of a winters night I felt free and ready to move on and discover the rest of my life somehow transformed by the great unknown of this land as it spoke to me and in this moment I felt peace. ...Then moments later the sound came again and again I shone my light over in the direction of the sound and I found that flicker of light again and again I saw eyes and this time it was obvious. ...So I gathered my camera and my book and stepped back to the trail when once again I heard the sound of whatever animal was out there creeping around in the shadows of the moon, calling out into the void only this time the sound was closer to me and I turned my flashlight back on and once again locked into a staring match with those two yellow eyes. This time I found that they were obviously right there on the path of the trail that I had to take to get out of there and to the right of me was a huge cliff and to the left of me was another cliff of sorts that I could not get around easily. ... I decided that I had to keep moving so I figured I needed to try and scare whatever this thing was off so first I flickered my flashlight in its direction and made some sort of odd sound to try and spook it. ...Funny thing was while this was happening to me, all the while something repeated in my head that I had heard from a silly little campfire story time type thing led by a ranger the last time I was out in this area.

Island in the Sky

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-28T16:30:03-05:00

How could you not feel humbled to the point where your heart aches and your eyes sting while looking out into this beautiful landscape? You cant help but want to throw your arms out into the air like a birds wings, get a good running start, kick off the ledge of the cliff and soar through the landscape like one of these lucky crows that seem to be everywhere I go. It's hard to believe that some people come through here, get out of their cars, walk the hundred or so feet to the overlook only to turn back around not 1 minute later to hop back in their car and drive off. I hear them say things like, "oh honey, this is just like a grand canyon type overlook, thats all... hm... ok well lets go, I want to get to arches before the end of the day..." Oddly enough, this happened at around 4pm which was only a bout an hour before sunset and arches was a good 30 minute drive at least... I think Edward Abbey, a well known writer from this area said it right when he said these words about this area in the introduction to his book Desert Solitare... "Do not jump into your automobile next June and rush out to the Canyon country hoping to see some of that which I have attempted to evoke in these pages. In the first place you can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus. ...I can't say that even I have seen this place as he describes it but I like to get as close to that description as I can and I can only hope that I will be back here again to crawl through these rocks and canyons. ... At any rate, walking up to the edge of the rim of the huge outermost shell of these canyons I welcomed myself to this Island in the Sky...

Canyonlands

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-27T18:58:22-05:00

My legs are just starting to calm themselves down and stop aching now that I have had a chance to set up camp and eat some dinner. I went on a long 12ish mile hike today which was wonderful and as I mentioned before, this place is simply amazing to hike through. The fact that it was covered in snow in a lot of places was the icing on the cake (kind of almost literally if you think about it...). Although some of the passes between canyons were a little more difficult to traverse while covered in slippery snow or some of the straight ways sticky with thick mud, I still found the hike to be wonderful. ... I was jealous of another hiker that I came across a few times in the past couple days which turns out was also from NC. ... For years it seems I have dreamed of coming out here during the winter when the crowds were gone and I always hoped that I would see these beautiful canyons covered in a blanket of snow. ... Although I am here a couple weeks after the snow fall there was still an ample amount of snow covering the more shadowy areas of the canyon. ...Tomorrow will be the last morning spent in this area, after this I will be heading north to the northern part of Canyonlands National Park, The Island In The Sky. ... The towering view of the whole of the area is nothing short of stunning and I can't wait to get up there. ...(I will post this entry and the one previous in the morning on my way through Moab but I am afraid you will have to wait another day or so for photos because I want to get a move on, my trip is drawing to its last few days which is both exciting and really depressing but I will get to that another day...)

By the moonlight

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-26T21:48:28-05:00

I believe I spoke of just how dense the blanket of stars can be at night but now the moon has come out as well and it is like an entire different world out here when the moon is out. ... It is easy to walk about with no flashlight and everything has a beautiful subtlety to it that is like being on another world all together. ...I was hoping to be out backpacking while here in Canyonlands which is where I am at the moment but due to the break in and me loosing most of my camping gear I have been prevented from doing so. I had plans to set up the camera while out in the canyons and take some photos of the canyon lit by the moonlight but there is only so much I can do from here in this campground. I did take a couple of nice shots that I will share sometime soon so you can see how beautiful it can be and I hope for the moon to be out and more full while I am up in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands so maybe I will be able to get some nice landscape shots at night. It has been something I have fascinated me for some time, taking photos by the light of the moon that is. While Im at it I just want to throw in how incredibly happy I am to be here in Canyonlands right now. ... It is just so remote and beautiful and the trails are all so challenging in the way they weave in and out of the canyons. ... One day I will get out here with a 4WD vehicle and dig into the deep backcountry of the park but who knows when that will be. ... Tomorrow I have a nice long 12ish mile hike planned out which is going to take me right into the heart of this area and I cant wait.

Delicate

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-26T10:02:19-05:00

RIght, so my goal was to see the arch at sunset because that is the classic time to go visit the thing and so I left around 1:30 in the afternoon to hike down (or up I should say) a short mile and a half trail. ...After a while I knew that I had a few hours to kill so I found a nice spot in the sun and sat down with the book I am reading. Other hikers came here and there and it was fascinating to me that I cold hear them coming a good half mile away at least and always had fair warning. ... It is so true. existing somewhere as quiet as this area in the winter really does magnify sound and you can hear everything around you so clearly. ...A few hours pass and a few chapters pass and time was drawing near sunset and this is when I had a small handful of people show up all at once which was kind of nice in a way because it can get pretty lonely sitting around alone and to see this arch at sunset really is unlike anything you could imagine. ... I did snap a couple of photos but there are so many hundreds of THOUSANDS of photos exactly like the ones I was taking in existence that I honestly did not take to terribly many. ...So after the sun was fully set and most hikers were well on their way it was just me there to walk back in the amazing afterglow of the suns setting. ... The cool air of the evening crept up and without the sun around the moisture from the land started to creep up into my nostrils filling my lungs with a fresh cool feeling as I hiked on. ...Right now It is already 8 AM and I really want to get down to Canyonlands as soon as I can, I woke up late at 7:30 this morning after a bout with the night not letting me fall asleep. ... Until then, stay warm, stay calm, and take a moment the next time you are outside at dusk to close your eyes, take a deep breath, calm yourself, open your eyes and realize how great it is to exist.

12 New Desktops

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-25T02:13:02-05:00

Yes, you read that right, you now have twelve new desktops to choose from in the desktop section. They are from the past week and I hope you enjoy them. Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite image, id love to know what you readers think. Sorry the descriptions are a little short this time around, I decided to spend less time writing descriptions and more time getting more images online for you guys to enjoy so have at it! By the way I have quite the story to tell from today and I will get that up tomorrow I think...

Moab

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-23T15:31:41-05:00

It's funny how things you remember in your memory from your past differ from how things really are or were at the time you remembered them. The way I remember things is very visual, like moments are all frames of a movie and sometimes I remember these little clips and these clips all tie themselves together according to relevance and make up the story of my life in my mind. Sometimes I will remember very specific things and other times there will be a somewhat foggy image lurking somewhere deeper in my mind that can only be found when I stumble across the right collection of memories. Take Moab, UT and the surrounding area for instance. I have very distinct memories of this area yet now that I am here, a little older and on my own I find things feeling a little out of place in my mind. It's like the images of my memory have gotten a little mixed up somehow and things are in a slightly different place than they should be. Then again things do change with time and maybe this is the case with this area. It is not exactly the quaint little community that I once remembered it to be. It has grown to be much more a service town than I remember but this is how it goes within communities like this...

Photo Update

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-23T12:32:12-05:00

Here we go again, another round of photos... desktops soon...

Grand Staircase, Part 2

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-21T21:03:52-05:00

I decided that I didnt want to pass up the opportunity to see the sun rise over the canyons below me from my wonderful camp spot so I braved the bitter cold of the morning air, crawled out of my sleeping bag, and made my way over to the cliffs edge while rubbing my eyes. ...It ended up just being an exciting 2 mile drive down a fairly rugged dirt road where I found myself wondering if I was going to get myself stuck somewhere along the way but at this point I was simply bound and determined to continue along and get to where I was going. ...Eventually I came to a point where the walls were only 1-2 feet across and So I stashed my bag in a little alcove in the rock, grabbed my camera and crammed myself through the skinniest passage yet which I had to push and pull my body through to make it. ...I ended up at an awkward point where I had to kind of do a half split with my legs and bend my head down underneath some debris that were stuck in between the canyon walls and about 10 or 20 feet later I found that I simply could not go on because the slot made a pretty sharp ascent up a little dry waterfall and it was just to narrow for me to climb up it to continue. ...So at this point I hiked back up to my car and it was only 1 in the afternoon and so I had a whole afternoon ahead of me so I made the decision to drive on down the highway because I did not want to put my car through anymore rough dirt roads after that little check engine light came into my life. ... It wound around and made its way up through canyons and all the way up to the peak of one range and made its way along the top edge of this canyon/mountain range leaving a really really amazing view to one side of me as I drove. ... Eventually I was driving on snow through this windy mountain pass and I stopped when I noticed a sign that said peak elevation or something like that and I found that I was 9600 feet above sea level and when I stepped out of my car to snap a couple of photos I was nearly blown over the wind was gusting so much. ... I made my way further into the mountain and the snow started to pile up on the highway and my speed started so slow as it was getting pretty hazardous to be driving on a road I didnt know, alone, in a mini blizzard all while night was creeping up right behind me. So that was all well and exciting to drive through snow like that and as I was driving across the peak I noticed the markers on the side of the road had long orange poles on them sticking up a good 15 feet into the air and I realized that this was so that snow plows could make their way down the road if they could not see the road. pretty smart I thought to myself and I found that I was not looking to be inside that snow pile that the plow came plowing through so I kept on moving along down the road. ...On a last note before I wrap up another to long post, I found that this camp is right next to a stable with horses roaming a field and so I walked up to the fence and had the chance to say hello to a horse and pet its warm snout before climbing back in here for the night.

The Grand Staircase

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-20T17:54:17-05:00

I hear from the locals that there has been a good amount of trouble stirred up by the government sweeping in and declaring all of this land to be a National Monument. ...At the moment I am sitting in my car/tent at the end of a short dirt road that appears to be a nice place to park for the night. In ths area there are hundreds of roads to explore and probably 99 percent of them are dirt roads many of which can not be accessed without 4 Wheel drive capabilities on your vehicle and my car is far from 4 wheel drive. At least I have a new set of tires on it because I spent the last hour or so driving around and down some roads that probably were not meant for little cars like mine. ...I think a lot of this trip so far I have found myself in positions where I will be hiking or driving and I find that I can't stop myself from going just a little further, then just a little further, then just a little further. Sometimes this takes me places that put me at risk like up a hill that is just a little to steep to feel totally comfortable climbing, or scrambling up a canyon with a steep floor of loose rock causing the occasional slip down a few inches but quick glance back down to the bottom always gets me to slow down. ... It has taken me to a few places that I may never see again in the way that I have seen them so I don't regret a minute of it. ...I am keeping a pretty tight eye on my money because after buying back enough gear to make this trip work I found myself with just enough to get around a select amount of places and not every single place I may have wanted to go. ... Even places I have seen before feel new with a coat of snow and without all of the tourism and flocks of people you might find in the area during the peek traveling season out here. ...It has woken my desire to see all I can see in the world and It has reminded me just how much I miss being out hiking and camping, if thats what you can call this strange in car camping trip.

A couple of new desktops

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-19T11:07:24-05:00

Are up in the desktop page, I will get more up sometime soon when I get some more time. And just a bit of an update, I am leaving zion today and driving somewhere else down the road. I have a vague idea of where but not exactly yet. Also on a side note, I would like to recommend a place of business here in Springdale which is right outside of Zion National Park here that has been really nice to me and helpful the last few days. It is called Cafe Soliel and they have everything from breakfast to lunch to coffe/ espresso and smoothies. All of which are quite good I might say, well of what I have had here. So I give my thanks to Eddie here as I leave this amazing area for the next step of my adventure...

Photos from the past few days..

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-18T13:30:58-05:00

This is the first time in a while that I have sat down to go through my photos and eesh, there are so many that I know that I cant manage to post them all. I could also probably write a whole post for each one of them but I want to get back out there and get a hike in today. So I hope that you enjoy this little sampler of photos and I will try and get a couple desktops up next time k? ...(from near las vegas. can anyone guess which casino that light is coming from? ...(sorry this is so dark and blurry, this is zion at night) (part of the trail leading up to angels landing) ...(a peak down next to the trail) ...Well that is the abridged version, I hope that you can get an idea of the area from these shots, talk to you again sometime soon! p.s - song of the moment: "13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed" by a band called 'A Silver Mt. Zion' ... easily one of the most beautiful songs in existence and perfect for this place...

Zion and the Angels Landing

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-16T21:43:55-05:00

I wove around to a place called Red Rock Canyon to find a camp for the night and the next day I got my first good hike in which helped remind me why I came out here. ...It brought back all sorts of feelings and memories from past visits and seeing the area covered in snow was something that was really unique seeing as the other times I have been were in the summer months when this area is hot hot hot. I talked to a park ranger to check on trail closings from the winter weather and was pleased to find that only a couple were closed but I was told to watch my step on any of the hikes because snow and ice while walking near the edge of some 1000 odd feet drop is not all that safe with your eyes closed. ...It is actually a lot of fun in the summer, its just you, the rock, the chain, and you glance to your side to look over the edge of a cliff that drops off hundreds of feet below you. ... I found that its best to kind of grip the chain and pull yourself with your arms and use your body weight as leverage to keep all of your weight on your feet which are standing on those slick little pockets of snow as you climb up. ...The climb back down proved a bit more difficult and required me to kind of repel down some of the more slippery slopey areas using the chain as my rope and kind of half slide my way down to safety. ...I ended up hiking more along the canyons rim on another trail that splintered off from Angels Landing which was great because I had a chance to hike down some truly snow covered trail. ... Really truly a beautiful experience all around and although my body is crying right now from that exhausting hike I am planning to go on an even longer one tomorrow with an earlier start to give myself plenty of time. ... Then after that I will most likely spend one more day and go on an even longer hike all the way down and around the east rim of the canyon but that is all just in my plans, well see how my body holds up. So that is all for now, I took plenty of photos although I will have to admit that taking pictures was not really what I was focused on while I was up there.

Back on the road

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-14T13:20:54-05:00

song of the moment that you must listen to... now. Jamie Lidell - "The City" (seriously, this is the song right now to be heard to understand) song of the moment version 2.0... Nada Surf - "Do it Again"

Broken

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-12T21:29:04-05:00

You find yourself at Macworld in the city and you buy a new toy, a battery pack for your iPod so you will always have music with you on a trip you are on. ... So after a few days in the city and a couple days exploring Macworld it comes to the last day of Macworld and you have to get over there before it closes because part of the battery that you bought is missing from the packaging. ... You would think something as simple as a clip for an iPod accessory would not have the ability to break someone down but today, this day, it just so happened that it can... hang on a second, let me take a step back, rewind. ...As you leave the apartment you were staying at you walk down the street thinking of the amazing places you are going to see, you close your eyes, feel a breeze and imagine you are there atop the edge of a canyon in the middle of no where. ...You feel all sorts of things, betrayal from the open road for letting something like this happen, you wonder what kind of person did this, you picture a blurry figure in the night going through your things, and you feel overwhelmed by what the hell you are going to do now. ...One of two bags of clothing which appeared to have been gone through and a new pair of pants which were insulated for cold weather, a pair of fancy fleece long underwear, 2 new long sleeve fleece shirts, a towel, a stick of deodorant, and another long sleeve shirt or two (pretty much all of my cold weather clothes for camping). ... A small box containing misc. tech things like batteries, a cable or two, an M-Audio Trigger Finger Midi drum pad controller for making music while out on the road, a set of folding iPod speakers, and an iPod car charger along with a special cup holder that was used as an iPod mount. ... Thankfully I had my 5d, my 35mm 1.4L lens, 3 of 4 2gb cards, and two batteries with me but... along with my camera bag (a great bag which was a gift to me recently) went a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens, a Canon 50mm 1.8 lens, a Canon 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 USM lens, a Sigma 80-300mm lens, a couple of lens filters, lens/camera cleaning equipment, an older Canon EOS film camera body, the manuel to the 5d, 2 battery chargers, misc cables, and also a pair of 200 dollar sennheiser HD 25 Headphones, which I really miss... ...I can have some sympathy for those in the world that are at rock bottom and have to turn to these sorts of tricks to get by but only a little, im still pretty upset about this whole thing... ...I cant help but feel grateful because of the support I have seen from people around me both strangers and family, friends and so from that I find myself making sure to treat others as nicely and gratefully as I can and I suggest you do the same, pass it on.

San Francisco

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-11T12:16:04-05:00

The city has been fun to explore and I will be spending one more day here in the city before moving on to browner pastures (desert). Not sure what I am going to do today though. Eat more good Japanese food while its around, wander the streets, maybe head back to macworld for a bit. who knows. So anyways, this is an amazing city and I hate to leave it but it is not the focus of my trip now is it? next up will be either the Redwood Forest, The Sequoias, or Zion Nation Park in Utah, not sure which yet so we will see. Anyways, I may not talk to you guys here for a few days, I'm not sure. Thats why I have posted a handful of new desktops for you guys to enjoy and some photos from the past couple of days. Anyways, I hope to talk to you again sometime soon and until then, try to find a little adventure in your own everyday lives if you are not traveling yourself. You know, try something unexpected for a change... till next time then..

Snapshots from San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-11T12:11:01-05:00

(i think that sugar was invented for these to come into existence)

So I saw the iphone

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-11T11:45:24-05:00

And it was amazing... there are a couple other shots from macworld down there too...

West in photos #1

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-08T23:10:14-05:00

I have decided to simply make posts with photos from the trip when I can and this is the first batch for everyone to see. Yes, this is just a tiny little taste of the images I have taken so far and yes, I am holding back some choice photos for now. I will hopefully get some desktops up as soon as I can because I'm sure some of you are anxious to share in the trip. Anyways, here are a few shots from the first few days traveling...

San Francisco

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-08T22:55:23-05:00

I drove until there was no more road to drive on and the ocean sits in front of me spanning out into infinity and I look out wondering if or when I will overcome that obstacle and travel overseas again. ...It is always strange to drive at night when there is no city around because you are just driving into the black and when that happens you could imagine yourself being anywhere in the world traveling down a dark deserted road. Whenever morning comes around the sun wakes me in my tent and I get to head outside and see the place that I traveled to for the first time. ... Its like when you get a gift and the person giving the gift says, "close your eyes and put out your hands". At night my eyes are closed as a drive into a camp and in the morning I can open my eyes to see the gift of a new landscape awaiting me. I spent my first day without a destination exploring a beautiful area north of San Francisco which was a mountain area right on the edge of the ocean. This allowed me to see the whole bay area around here and I felt like it was a perfect place to really start my trip. I ended up driving through the area with no map or any real idea of where I was going which was great. When I came to a fork in the road I pretty much just picked the direction that seemed like it would lead me somewhere nice and somehow every turn that I took was perfect and I ended up down on a rocky beach next to the ocean. ...So now here I am, in the dark once again, at another new camp writing this just to get caught up a bit with the site and I am going to head into my tent here in a minute, close my eyes, and wait until morning brings me the next day of this journey.

Still on the road..

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-06T23:14:06-05:00

Well, I have been driving for a few days now and im starting to feel the burn of being in the same spot inside a car for 2061 miles acording to my GPS unit that I have been keeping track of things with. ... Last night I camped out in the snow which was really nice actually all bundled up in my tent in the middle of nowhere with the faint sound of snowflakes falling down onto the roof of my tent. ...Its hypnotic, the road and you have to be careful driving late at night after a day of staring and singing along to music and thinking and scratching down notes while speeding along down the interstate. I think I am locked into a state of excitement and I don't think that I will feel settled until I see the Pacific ocean at my feet. ... Once I feel a bit more settled I think I will try and write out more of a journal and upload a couple of photos of my progress so sit tight, I will be back soon, promise. There is a guy singing over in the corner with his guitar, i love this song, I think I will record with my little built in mic for a few minutes and post that here with the post if it comes out at all. ...So at any rate, (holds up drink and shouts quietly to the masses with his keys) heres to safe travels, plenty of good stories and photos and memories to last and drive me to a new beginning of some sort. ...p.s - The recording came out terrible and I'm to lazy to break out my mics right now so just picture yourself in a little coffee shop in a town you have never been too late one night and a guy is playing his guitar and singing over in the corner. p.s.s... - song of the day: Woke Up New by The Mountain Goats... look it up, buy it, whatever you need to do, just go listen. I think I will have a new song every post on this trip for you to listen to that somehow reflects something somehow of what I am thinking about.

Heading West

john@twistedsun.net — 2007-01-02T00:46:28-05:00

Show after show of work, holiday activities, a few issues that I can't go into here which involve one of the biggest ass's ever to walk the earth and in between all of what life has thrown my way over the past week or so I have been trying to scramble together my things for a 6+ week road trip across the U.S. Speaking of my trip, I mentioned it in the podcast once but I don't believe I have officially let readers in on what is going on with it. ... My main destinations are mostly in the Colorado Plateau (four corners) area in the southwest and hiking/backpacking my way through all of the beautiful canyons of the area in the chilly solitude of the winter. I am planning on camping in a tent the majority of my time on the road but I'm sure an occasional hotel will be thrown in for a shower and some warmth here and there. I am also considering heading all the way out towards California to San Francisco and crashing the Mac-World Expo but we will just have to wait and see about that. The southwestern US is an area that I have visited 4 times now I believe but never have I been there but certainly not in the winter like this. ...So this said, I'm sure you must realize that I will not be able to access the internet all that often to post updates here on the site but when I do stumble upon a random hi-fi spot you can expect updates and plenty of photos here on the site from my trip. I am hoping that I will have some stories and photos that will make up for the infrequency of my posts during the trip. ... It should be quite an adventure and I hope to let you guys in on it as much as I can. So If you don't see posts all to often don't think I am closing up shop, I will simply be out in the remote areas of the Southwestern United States.

Gorgeous..

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-29T10:31:35-05:00

New desktop in the friends section straight from one of my more consistent twistedsun.net friend posters Fabian. Click the image below to head over and check it out.

t.s. slowdown

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-28T08:27:13-05:00

Some of you may have noticed slowdowns in traffic in the past day or so. This is most likely because of earthquakes in asia that have caused some serious damage to lines connecting them to the rest of the world. My host is in Hong Kong at the moment which would explain the slowdown. Sorry for any delays in accessing the site. Things seem to be moving along a little better than before so thats good to see. It's frightening to think that this great network that now holds so much of the worlds communications together is so fragile when it comes to natural disasters and the like. Read more here.

Winner

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-26T12:44:43-05:00

(Sorry for getting this up later than I wanted to guys!) So the contest is now over and a winner has been drawn from a tiny bowl and I made a video of the big moment. I am looking a little ragged because I just woke up and because I am in a rush to get going because I woke up late. So pardon my rough appearances and somewhat terse message to you all but here it is, the winner is.... (sorry, the audio came out really quiet for some reason or another...) Congratulations to Michu of Germany I believe and your valiant struggle to become the winner of my simple little contest! I will be in touch to get you your winnings. ...Because I am feeling for those of you who did not make it out of that tiny bowl alive I decided yesterday to give everyone who entered a gift for showing support of the site here by entering. You all will get a 5x7 print of your favorite desktop image! I will get to mailing all of those who entered as soon as I have the chance to talk with you about the little details and whatnot so be on the lookout for an email from me soon. Thanks to everyone once again and have a great day/night.

Something is happening... (Christmas Giveaway)

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-22T22:42:05-05:00

By the way, Happy Christmas, Joyeux Noël, vrolijke Kerstmis, frohe Weihnachten, メリークリスマス, 즐거운 성탄, Feliz Navidad, веселое рождество, 圣诞快乐, Buon Natale, God jul, Mutlu noeller... ! ...It's nearly christmas and people all around the world celebrate the holiday in their own way and I have decided to celebrate the holidays by giving something away. As most of you regulars here know, I love music and I love to share it with others almost as much as I enjoy listening to it myself. ... Im not sure how it works if I give one to someone outside of the states but I will make it work somehow. (I wish that bleep.com, warpmart, or boomkat had gift certificates because I would like to give you an option but iTunes is simply the easiest way to go music wise. ...I was thinking of some way to make this fair and give everyone a chance so I am going to put the comment system to use. ... Just leave the name of your favorite as the comment and whatever holiday wishes you care to make to the world. Make sure your name is entered properly as well as your email (the email will not be seen by the public) I will take all of the names, put them in a hat (or something of the sort) and draw the winner. ...*note that the term big is relative and the winings may or may not live up to the expectations found when you thing of something that is "big" PS - I've decided to add another option to the prize, Now you can choose between the gift certificate or a print of your choice from those available on my store page.

MacSanta is here

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-22T21:38:59-05:00

A lot of great shareware is out there and this holiday developers are all pooling together and giving 20 percent discounts to lots and lots of software, its a great idea and its amazing how many developers have jumped in on the holiday savings game, so if there was ever an app you had your eye on check here and you just might find it at a discounted price. There is a lot of software here that I didnt even know existed and ive had fun discovering new apps out there. Anyways, check it out! Heres a link

The Future

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-17T11:11:48-05:00

I think I may have settled on a new site name to go with and I am working out exactly what I will be moving around to make it work. So far I'm thinking that the desktop section of twistedsun.net will be moved to this new site which may seem like a bold move and the only other option would be to move everything else and keep the desktops here but I'm ready for a change and hopefully moving them to their own dedicated site will work out in the end. ...The new page will most likely be using wordpress which will allow me to invite other people to make entries as well. In other words I wold like to invite a handfull of other photographers from around the world to participate in the site and add their own work to the site. This will, of course, be kind of tricky because it appears as though most photographers that I truly think would be fitting to be part of the project may be to attched to their own work or to afraid to let it go for this use at a big enough resolution to make them work as desktops. I understand this but also feel as though the resolution I am currently offering these images are not at all big enough to make decent prints from which would halt other uses of them. This and by compressing the desktops into .zip files you can stop people from easily adding the images as backgrounds to their web pages and eating up all of the bandwith around here which was a frustrating problem before I started doing it this way. ...Imagine a site where multiple photographers submit desktops and descriptions and stories from around the world rather than just little ol' me. I feel as though it would offer a unique site that is more than a desktop sharing community, more than just a photoblog, more than just a collection of desktops from different artists. ...Other parts of twistedsun will stay in place, at least for now, like the podcast and this blog and probably the archive of desktops that are currently available when I switch over.

May I present to you...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-14T15:01:10-05:00

For those of you who may not have noticed, there are new things afoot around here. The desktops page has sprouted a new image and the podcast page has grown another episode with some really great music. Click around and see whats new!

Cornelius

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-10T14:14:24-05:00

You simply must take a couple of minutes and watch these amazing music videos from Cornelius. I have seen videos of his in the past with his dvd/cd release containing music videos for most all of the songs from his album point and they were all amazing in their own right but he has some new videos that are really just incredible and have to be seen. I wont try to describe them, just watch, you wont be disappointed. I can't wait to get my hands on his new album which has been out in Japan but has yet to make its way anywhere else...

New park in town

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-08T14:08:51-05:00

I have no clue why I would post this but here is a photo of a new park in town. It's nice but due to all of the politics surrounding its construction I'm having trouble enjoying it as much as i'd like. It would take a while to explain so I will just leave it at that.

twistedsun hi-fi #6

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-02T20:36:53-05:00

I have been listening to a few really good albums recently and as with anything involving music here on the site I can't wait to share so here we go... ...So some of you may not be as into electronic music as I am but you know you love music that gets your body moving from time to time and so today I present to you a solution which is a band called Tussle. I have been loving these guys for a few years now it seems and they just released their second full length album and it is sooooo very good. Here you will find a four piece group with bass and live drums leading the way to the dance floor or bedroom floor depending on where you may be at the time. ... All in all you can't go wrong with this music when you need a pick me up or something to toss on during your next late night dance session. ...These two ep's are both similar and I am not really all that sure why they were not released as one full album but I have been enjoying listening to them recently. Any of you who have manage to sit through my rambling review here and are even a little interested should head over to bleep using the link below and see what you have been missing out on. ...Venetian Snares has released album after album of crazy in your face break core electronic music and as with any artist that releases albums and eps as frequently as Venetian Snares some are better than others. This album is one of the better ones that I have heard from him as of late and bridges gaps between his last couple releases really well. ...I think online music/mp3 sellers and sites are all fine and great and I use them sometimes because of the convenience of them but whenever possible I buy music directly from the artist at a show or through their website or their labels website.

MOOOOOO Cards

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-12-02T18:09:11-05:00

I got some business cards finally, they are the mini cards printed by a company that uses photos from your flikr account which is great and very simple. They really are pretty tiny but I really live them. I chose 5 different photos for my 100 card set but you can get up to a full one hundred different cards which is really cool. The printing quality is great and I would highly suggest these to anyone looking for some nice cards that stand out from the normal ones. Here are a couple photos of them.

Pops and Crackles

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-28T01:03:05-05:00

I love the sound of that last infinite loop of Pop's and Crackles that play on once a record has come to its end. Sometimes without realizing it I will find myself getting totally lost in thought as they crackle through. Then from time to time I become aware of hidden little rhythms that can be found in the loops and find myself hypnotized all over again. I find it to be a really meditative, beautiful moment during any given day and thought I would share with everyone.

One Last Zune

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-27T13:54:33-05:00

This wil be the last mention of the Zune around here, promise. I just had to point those of you who have not already seen this to an article written in the Chicago Sun-Times. Probably the most painful Zune review to date... link.

News at 11

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-24T14:57:57-05:00

I just posted a new podcast for those interested, this is a great one in my opinion. Lots of really mellow music that I am really happy to share. I hope to get another misc ramblecast out sometime soon when I'm in the mood to record one and I already have enough music for another music episode which will be a big one including amazing acts such as Jamie Lidell, The Mountain Goats, and Joanna Newsom! So thats something to look forward to. Other than this I will head out and shoot some photos for some new desktops, I know I have not posted many recently and I'm sorry about that but I do what I have time for here on the site. So thats all for now, thanks for visiting (I never say that it seems but I mean it) and I will see you again soon.

Jamie Lidell

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-22T17:38:12-05:00

I went to see Jamie Lidell last night and it was really amazing, here are some photos fresh off of the camera. looks like rapidweaver compressed them a bit to heavily so they may look a little fuzzy, I also have them posted on my flicker page at a slightly higher resolution if you are interested. (oh and keep an eye out on the podcast for a song or two from the show...)

Sold...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-22T12:35:11-05:00

I wanted to step in here and mention that two of my prints have been sold from my store to long time reader Dave. He bought two of my favorite prints available and they are getting mailed off today. There are still some great prints left so head over and check them out. I will be adding a couple poster sized prints sometime in the near future so keep an eye out...

Hi Spain

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-18T00:02:47-05:00

From time to time I like to dig through my statistics to see how things are going around here traffic wise and its always interesting to dig through the x-rays for signs of life. Today for the first time I found that more people were visiting from outside of the States than inside these walls. I was always hopeful that this would happen one of these days and that day is today. The amount of visitors from various countries fluctuate a lot but thats to be expected. At the moment I'm getting a lot of visitors from Spain so I thought I would say hello. If you can read the contents of the blog here and are following it at all take a second to leave a comment to let me know where you are visiting from.

PS3 Madness

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-17T12:40:47-05:00

Waiting in line for days to give away your money (and plenty of it) simply to go home and sit down on a couch and stare at a TV for hours and hours (or days) seems to be something that I'm not sure I would look back on in my old age and be proud of that great accomplishment in life. ... I've read reports of violence in lines and reports of people paying thousands of dollars for a PS3 and all sorts of other insane stories involving the PS3 insanity. ...This is your life people, does it not seem a little strange that hours and days of it are slipping you by spent in such a mindless state? I know that at times it can be a group thing but more often than not gaming as it is is something you do alone and no, I don't believe that playing people online constitutes being social with real people. (which is a topic I could write a whole post on because the internet is like that too, gives the illusion of being social which is really interesting to me) Again, I will admit to being a gamer myself but there is a line being crossed here and I'm wondering how much further it will go. ...They seem to have a lot more units to go around thats for sure and I would much prefer one of them than a PS3 any day. It's not a 'fanboy' thing I just think that the new control ideas brought to the table create something much more engaging than your average lazy couch games. I can't wait to have a few controllers and a Wii with some multiplayer games, seems like it's something that everyone can enjoy which I like in games these days because it brings people together rather than secludes them in their bedrooms or couches. So at any rate, I think I've gone on long enough here for you guys to get my point, so all that said... ...UPDATE: Wow, digg.com is littered with stories of PS3 related robberies, muggings and the like, engadget has a nice roundup of stories going... insane... link

Speaking of the Zune

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-14T16:12:49-05:00

I am usually not all that impressed by iLounge and find their reviews to be ill balanced and their reporting style really forced. It always feels like they are struggling so hard to be 'impartial' and that bothers me, even well respected magazines and publications approach their writing with more of a personal, approachable touch than iLounge. iLounge is just do dry for me I guess. OK, OK sorry, no more wining here... so all that aside, they wrote up an article documenting the Zune's rise to lacklusterness (yes i know thats not really a word) that I thought was well written and debunks nearly everything Microsoft has woven into the marketing and development of their player. Great read for a nice overall look into the short history of the player over the past few months. Heres a link. UPDATE: You simply must check out this video of a bit of a newscast from CNN talking about the new Zune on its launch day. Classic. Link UPDATE 2: More on the news coverage on iLounge. (Im not sure why but this whole zune thing is just so funny to me)

Ouch...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-14T00:05:46-05:00

Engadget got zuned.

yardsale

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-13T23:10:33-05:00

So I have finally added some content to my store page. I am starting simple and selling off a few photos that I had made prints of recently. More will follow sometime and in different sizes and will most likely and hopefully being poster size prints of your favorite desktops. Also I will be selling a lens soon as well as other odds and ends. So I will leave it at that and present to you the twistedsun.net yardsale.

Beck

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-06T16:31:26-05:00

If only beck was still this creative with his recorded music. I still think he should go back a few steps and record an album without the lavish production of his more recent ones.

twistedsun hi-fi #5

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-04T00:19:42-05:00

Lately I've still been stuck on a lot of the music from the last ts hi-fi because there are some albums that have stuck in my head that I just can't stop playing. ... This year has been pretty slow for music in my opinion but suddenly here in the fall things have really started to come together and a lot of really great music is getting released. ...At first listen I could take it or leave it but the more I listened to the remixes side (remixes he has done) the more it becomes clear to me that he is one of the best electronic musicians remixing music today. Being an electronic musician myself I can say that it is one thing to be good at making music on your own terms but to take another musicians music and make it your own while still letting the soul of the original track live on is a tricky balancing act that I feel that he has mastered. ...Well a couple weeks ago he released a new solo record and I got my hands on it to check out and at first listen I just kind of shrugged it off. Then one night I was sitting down going through some new music and came to this album and lay back and listened to it nearly all the way through because I found that I didn't want to stop listening. ...I have since picked up her other albums and have really enjoyed all of them so I was excited to hear that she had a new one out. ... Styles seem to vary a lot between songs as well, one will sound a touch irish in a way then one will sound more like american folk and there is one song on here that I swear sounds like a quasi song. ...So other than her solo record she also has released albums with a "band" made of what pretty much seems to be other musician friends in the portland area and these are released using the name The Places. ...With this album he decided to try something lighter than usual and took a more direct interest in writing melodies and synth/bass lines that he thought were fun to play a listen to and now listening back to it I find that I'm no longer comparing it to everything else he has released and started listening to it for what it is.

Been around the bend

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-03T12:53:35-05:00

I had an unexpected absence from the internet for a couple days there from a somewhat last minue show 4 hours north in Virginia. I had a couple things I wanted to post but couldn't like the other version of the shadow desktop and another twistedsun hi-fi which will be along shortly, I have to gather album covers and links and it will be ready to go. Also I have enough music for two new music podcasts so that will be along sometime here soon as well. Most likely Sunday or Monday because I am heading back up to Virginia but this time to go through photos from a wedding I shot a couple months back. Anyways, more soon, this week just ended up being busier than I thought it would be.. as always.

Cat fight...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-01T12:19:23-05:00

I have not seen such silly banter from the mac vs. pc world in a long time but turns out someone has taken the idea behind the my dream app for the mac platform and recreated it for the windows platform. Only the windows one was created out of spite of the mac community and their supposed silly useless ideas. This guy is a bit over the top in my opinion. The contest was to give people a chance to vote on the application they wanted to see made and thats what happened. Anyways, check out the form thread here on my dream apps website. It's a pretty feisty debate that I think is making both sides of the game look pretty bad. It's so frustrating to me how this debate is so hateful at times. These are just computers guys, to each his own right? right?

Shadow

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-11-01T11:13:42-05:00

(new desktop)

iTunes free track

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-31T14:58:22-05:00

Im liking the free song of the week from iTunes by The Blow. I've been listening to them for a while now and the new album seems really good. Very simple electronic driven indie music to be found here. Anyways, Just thought I would mention it here because its free. Get it while the gettings good. itunes link

Self Portrait(s)

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-30T13:47:45-05:00

I never do these cheesy in the mirror self portraits but I just happened to have camera in hand and thought id snap a couple off and I liked them in the end. I thought the color and dof was really nice.

Tetris Documentary

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-30T13:47:43-05:00

I have happened upon a really interesting hour long BBC documentary about the history behind the video game Tetris. It is one of my all time favorites because of its incredible simplicity and its unwavering capability to suck you in and keep you playing and playing and playing. Anyways, I'm sure some of you are interested so I thought I would toss a link your way. The documentary is tough to follow here and there if you don't speak russian because some of the subtitles are kind of hard to read. Anyway heres a link.

Twirly

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-30T13:36:31-05:00

(null)

New verison of Inquisitor avalable

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-29T15:32:02-05:00

I have been using a handy safari plug-in called Inquisitor since it's verison 1 release and I use it all the time. It's such a quick and easy way to search and get the top few results as well as have quick and easy access to other search sites all at once. Best of all it is now a free program so you have no excuse not to give it a shot. The developer is one of my favorite mac shareware developers and this great little mini add on comes with the ts seal of approval if that counts for anything! Link to the software page

Why I get so irritated with the audio industry..

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-26T19:13:30-04:00

I have been lingering around the audio industry by proxy my whole life and in the past few years I have taken a more direct interest in the field and I love it to death. ... I know that it is often overlooked, you go to a concert to see the band and 99 percent of the people there never think once about what went on or is going on to make them shine. ...Also, there is a split down the middle of it that is not quite black and white to most people affiliated with the industry but I feel that there is a bigger line dividing the two fields than most people want to think. ... The thought process for working in a studio is not totally different from working in a live environment but enough so that I can safely say that studio engineers should stay in the studio and live engineers should stay out in the field. ...I guess that you could say that about every major industry in the world but to me it feels different when it comes to the audio industry simply because of it's not quite in the spotlight stance among the general public. ...You look at companies like Mackie which has become notorious for being super cheap crap and they have slyly started "The Coalition to End Bad Sound" which is hilarious to me. Then there are companies like Harmon (which is the Kraft Foods of the audio industry) and Shure which are putting out cheaper and cheaper junk every year but no one seems to be seeing this because they are so blinded by there pull in the industry as a while and even the "Pro" publications are pushing it because guess where most of their funding is coming from... ...Seems like the physics behind good sound and the interesting nitty gritty are continually getting glossed over so as strange and backwards as it is the actual science behind good sound reproduction is lurking around in this murky grey area. It's a depressing fact that I am going to just have to live with but its a struggle being right in the middle of the field like I am because I have to deal with people constantly who are so blind to it all and are so hard to deal with because it's getting so everyones an expert these days. ...I know I have a lot to learn and am not at all gods gift to sound but I can say that it has been quite a bumpy road getting to know the ins and outs of the field and I can't wait to learn more and more.

Yardsale Page Added

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-25T23:27:01-04:00

I have added a new section to the site which will be a temporary one probably. I will be filling it in in the coming days I hope. Prints, lenses, and whatever else. Head over and see for yourself. OK so there's nothing there yet but there will be soon. I just wanted to get the page set up and ready. Thats all for now.

King of all Typos

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-25T22:43:43-04:00

Being a designer for how ever many years now I have made my fair share of typos on various projects. Thankfully 99 percent of them are caught in the proofing stage of the whole process and never get seen in the final product. I just had to point out this slip up from the back of a video game box, something I came across over on Joystiq. The game is called Killer 7 and on the back of the box (of the gamecube version specifically) you will find a URL to the official website, simple enough. Let's just type this on in here and get the low down on the game, maybe some tips or something but wait a minute, this isn't the games website at all! ... Kids, close your eyes.. what's that damn shortcut to close a window... ah hell... Yes, the website on the back of the box leads you straight over to none other than a porn site. The games website is not killer7.com its killer-7.com! ... Seems like the porn industry owns 50 percent of all domain names in existence. If that were me id be laughing all the way to the classified section of the paper... its to bad spell checkers don't check links for porn.

The Hit List

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-21T01:29:16-04:00

I have developed an unwavering love for prime lenses and after seeing the difference a quality lens can make when I bought my 35mm 1.4 L. The way I see it is I'm not a photojournalist and I don't need the immediate flexibility of a zoom lens. There is something that feels more pure about shooting with a prime too, this and I love and am not sure what I would do without the control over the aperture from silly wide to nice and tight. Anyways, I've been compiling a list in my head of the photo equipment that I am looking to get in the coming months one way or another and this is how the story goes so far... I keep having to wipe the drool off the keyboard when this image pops up on screen, soon it will be mine, im selling my laptop to raise money for it. ... Keep an eye out around here, I'm having a sale soon, prints, ipods, lockets of hair.. ok not that far but a sale none the less so look out. This little beauty is like my dream lens, 50mm 1.2 with an L build quality... ahhhhhh... ...Id also like to experiment with a nice tilt shift lens and this one appears to be a beauty. Ive been debating on a second camera for some time now and it will either be a film camera or a nice compact camera like this that still gives me control over exposure. ... No RAW support on this G7 here but meh... its last here on the list for a reason.

Dove

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-19T14:48:18-04:00

Flickr

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-19T13:03:15-04:00

I have been a fan of Flickr for a long time now, it is by far my favorite online photo sharing tool. It just works so well and seems to have a really great community of photographers and people involved within it. I have decided to start putting my account to use and I will be posting photos up on there from time to time. Currently I have uploaded most of my recent desktops and I will continue to add them there as I post them here as another way of sharing them with people. I have kept a personal photoblog over the past month or so using Apple's Aperture software and I have decided to start using Flickr for that use instead and hopefully make some new friends in the process. That said I would like to invite any readers with Flickr accounts to become a contact of mine on flickr to help me ease into the community over there. Thanks and Ill see you there... heres a link to my profile/page: Twistedsun.net on Flickr.com

Ever Notice

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-19T11:03:26-04:00

Ever notice how on 90 percent of tech news sites and blogs the comments always feel like they have been written by high school boys? I read blogs like Engadget and Gizmodo and sometimes I venture into the comments to see if anyone has any more to say on the post posted, you know things like insight into the post, but all I ever find are really poorly stated he said she said kind of arguments and ill used sarcasm like all of the tech world either really literally is a bunch of 15 year olds or never managed to get out of those puberty like ego swings. While I'm rambling here, I have not been reading the Gizmodo blog all to long but is it always this badly written? seems like the writers are really really trying hard to be as sarcastic as possible, you know, to add a bit of humor to their blog but they always just manage to come across as dicks in my mind. Maybe these commenters are just emulating their geek news overloards. Engadget is at least has better writing than Gizmodo but they still have there share of condescending sarcasm floating around. Anyways... back to your regularly scheduled posting...

Atmospheres

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-17T16:32:39-04:00

I have been trying to get my soundscape podcast up and running for some time now and have run across a few set backs but it's been fun experimenting with it up to now and I look forward to continue the series and eventually split it off into its own feed separate the music and other shows that pop up when I get a chance. Until then though I came across a similar podcast to my soundscape shows and it is produced by National Geographic. Although I like the idea of simply a high quality audio recording to close your eyes and let your imagination take flight as you listen National Geographic has taken a moving image approach and made a video podcast that simply sits in one stationary position for 10 minutes or so and lets you sit in on that moment in time wherever they are filming. Seems a natural progression for them coming from such a strong photography background. Anyways, they are interesting to say the least and worth checking out. A link can be found below... National Geographic Atmosphere Podcast (itunes link)

New desktop (s)

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-16T22:55:05-04:00

After a couple weeks of no new desktops I have a few new ones waiting to be posted so I will be adding them slowly over the next couple of days as I have time. update: there are now 3 more desktops available.

sigh

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-16T11:38:50-04:00

...of relief that is. My crazy week full of work and shows is over at last and I have a couple days to get caught up on all of my computer work and updating and whatever else. That said, here are a few photos from the week... (more content is on its way)

Who Killed the Electric Car?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-15T14:35:31-04:00

This is a great documentary and it is available online it's entierty. I'm not sure if it is up there with permission from anyone but it's there all the same and i'm sure some of you could spare an hour and a half to check it out. Aside from the ocasional activist jargon tossed in there(not much dont worry) it's full of really interesting looks at the electric car and its history and future. LINK

????????????????

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-15T00:54:53-04:00

twistedsun hi-fi #4

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-12T00:33:10-04:00

Ive got a bunch of music Ive been shuffling through in the past week or so and it's all been really good so be sure to check out some of the music featured here this week... ...I mentioned here at some point a while back about his free tracks leading up to this album and here it is and it is really amazing. For some reason other people and reviewers seem to always compare his music to the likes of aphex twin and to me thats like saying that an apple tastes like an orange. ... If i were to say any other artist has influenced him with this album id only point out that his dynamic volume stucture within his compositions and some of his new melodies could be Ultravisitor era Squarepusher inspired and the second to the last track is like a gritty remix of the last song on Aphex Twin's Windowlicker EP.. ...Songs not to miss on here are Ted, which is just brilliant and one of my alltime favorite electronic music tracks, Vengeance Drools, just wait till around the 2:00 mark when it starts breaking down crispy, and the first track, Herr Bar. ...So I hear that this album is a mix up of various music he has been writing over the past 6 yers or so and it shows. ... I hope that one of these days he ditches all of the samplers and heads back up to K records and does another album with those guys but the chaces of that seem pretty slim... ...OK OK, I could have done without the totally random two songs from the fashion show at the end of the movie but otherwise there is a lot of great material on here with a really smooth memorable europeanish feel. ...3 songs from Zach Braff things (scrubs and the last kiss) I know he can be a bit a over the top and cheesy from time to time but he has a good ear for emotional music, not as in emo but music with a bit of depth somewhere buried down in it. ... At first I didn't care much for the heavy effects on the voice in the song but the more I listened the more I heard all of the subtle layering and found a huge amount of detail within the production of the song.

working working working

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-10T21:55:55-04:00

sorry again for the lack of updates this week, i have a few in the making but jsut have not had the time to finnish them up. that goes for a new podcast, a couple posts here, and new desktops. I am all over the state this week doing shows. Mainly a series of shows at schools in the area for a Thelonius Monk jazz institute. Its been fun but a lot of work traveling around and running sound all over the place. At any rate, I have to get some sleep but I will do my best to have some new content up for you all tomorrow.... Mata-ne!

Life beyond the concept

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-07T22:03:21-04:00

I have been in Nashville, TN this weekend at a photography conference for educators and students and after a long weekend full of artists going on and on about the deep philosophical meanings behind their work (which was interesting all in all, really) Jack Spencer stood up and said words to these artists that left them silent and my heart sank and I suddenly knew after a weekend of soul searching within my own work and questioning everything I had done up to this point with a camera that no, I was not crazy. Head over to his website and head straight down to his artist statement at the bottom of his main navigation to get the overall feel of what was said. Link

The Road is Hard

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-10-04T23:17:25-04:00

Hey guys, just a quick note that I will be in Nashville, TN for the next 4 days. I will try and post something here and there if I can but I just thought I would give a heads up that regular posting will be suspended. That is all, please resume with your regularly scheduled program...

Real Katamari.. kind of

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-28T21:03:43-04:00

There is an advertising firm that accidentally made an ad closely resembling the video game Katamari Damacy and you simply must check it out. Links are below... link to interview link to movie

Hey look!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-27T01:53:13-04:00

Some new desktops are up! Five actually, two of which are on the friends page and are two of four that I have to post in that section (the others will be there soon). The image in this post is one of them, absolutely wonderful shots I'd say. Head over and check em out.

Things you know but don't know

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-26T15:35:27-04:00

Here is an interesting article / blog post about 6 commonly believed things that are in fact wrong. Everything from myths about the sky being blue to people thinking the world is flat. LINK

There we go

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-25T13:51:42-04:00

Yes, this is another, why I have not posted much recently post. Ive just been busy thats all. Not much else to say other than I do have a couple of desktops ready to go I jsut need to make a moment to get them all packaged, zipped, uploaded, and ready to go. I also have four new friends desktops that are simply amazing really and I can not wait to post them, just you wait, it will be well worth it! Im pushing for tomorrow for a wave of updates but we will just see how my day goes. till then!

OMG

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-23T02:39:57-04:00

I hate to use such obvious internet slang around here but it felt appropriate. Something I came across digg today was a link to this video: Easily one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. How could I not post this? It is Just to WEIRD!

twistedsun hi-fi #3

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-22T02:10:45-04:00

There are a number of his many many albums that I do enjoy and those tend to lean towards the minimal guy and his guitar singing out on his porch with a mic sitting near by material. With his newest release "The Letting Go" he has released a gem of an album. (hows that for reviewer slang, gem. eesh) Full of slow whispering songs it has sucked me in and made it to my weekly list here. ...I have been Listening to Corrina Repp for what seems like quite a few years now. ... She takes a super minimal approach to the singer song writer genera and plays songs that feel oh so fragile but shine through with their strong lyrical backing. She has written some of my favorite music in the past few years and so I am really excited to have a copy of her newest release "The Absent and the Distant" which was released on Mark Kozelek's newish record label, Caldo Verde. With this release she has stepped out of her bounds slightly and introduced a somewhat fuller sound by her standards with drums and layers of other instruments. ...My dance album pick of the week is this EP from Audion and Ellen Allien on Ghostly's 'other' label Spectral. ... If you are looking for some nice subtle dance tracks that are almost more calming then energizing then check this release out. It would be great for a late night dance party or for times when you may need something steady but not in your face. ...One more this week, I had some others pulled to feature but decided to stick to just a few this time around.

Weird Al has done it again

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-21T19:16:06-04:00

Im sure some readers may know that I am a fan of Weird Al. Ive been listening to him since I was a little kid running around listening to his cassettes. I know his parody versions of songs better than the originals even to this day. Well this video has been making the rounds online and I just had to post it.

Time keeps on ticking

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-20T18:41:49-04:00

I have some new ideas for the site and I thought I would write up a post and see what you readers thought of them. ...I know for a fact that I will be changing the name of the podcast soon to "Sound of Living" It is in a verse of a song that will be included on my next music podcast which I will be releasing soon. I know that it is not the most regularly updated podcast out there and I understand that that is a big no no among those who regularly listen to podcasts butto tell you the truth, I honestly dont care. ... I am still looking for an easier way to record high quality stereo soundscapes and I think this will end up being fixed when I get some nice little mics that I have my eye on. So anyway you can still keep an eye on the feed for new episodes to pop up here and there and when you do see them dont forget to stop by and leave a comment to let me know what you thought. ...I've mentioned this in the past and I will mention this again, Its nice to know that people all around the world enjoy my images enough to include them in their everyday life. ... Anyway I wanted to mention that I would like to take the desktop section of the site and expand it to become a multi blogger blog and get some other people involved by bringing them into the twisetdsun.net family or maybe start a new site for desktops and just make this into simply my personal blog and podcast. ...Depending on what happens with the desktop section I will be either keeping this at the front end of the site or move it back and let the desktops become the front end of the site again. ... If I can come up with a new identity for the desktop page I may start up a new site for them which is something I've talked about for a long time now. ... I have started a new personal page on my .mac account that I have been posting more everyday photos that I don't normally post here on the site and I called that Light of Life but that sounds kind of cheesy.

Of turtles

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-18T15:58:59-04:00

as per request...

New Desktops

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-14T23:44:52-04:00

Three new desktops are up and they are all of toys!

twistedsun hi-fi #2

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-14T15:07:43-04:00

There have been some great new music all of a sudden after a year of so-so releases so there has been plenty of new music around to listen to... ...As with most of the things I list here it comes highly recommended. (be sure to at least listen to the amazing track, Awake) ...Some of you that have been following the site for a while may remember be posting a Viva Voce song as a favorite and I always meant to post the whole album as a review but never got around to it. The album im talking about is called The Heat Can Melt Your Brain and it is one of my all time favorites, something about it really clicked with me and after seeing them twice live I could safely say that I was a huge fan. So here we have a new album by the group and at first listen I was not to sure if I liked it all that much and was somewhat disappointed but the more I listen to it the more and more I love it. ...Although there are a handful of tracks that I find myself skipping over the good ones are really amazing dance tracks that lean more towards the IDM side of dance music. Clean production and hard hitting bass really give it a stand out sound and it has been my electronic album of choice the past week or so. ...I will mention one last album this week and that is Tom Yorke's new solo album The Eraser. The first song I heard from it is called Black Swan played during the credits of A Scanner Darkly and it is easily my favorite song on the album. The song does have explicit lyrics for those of you keeping tabs on that but it's a really really great song.

podgames

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-13T10:08:53-04:00

As many of you may already know, Apple released the ability to play games on the video iPods yesterday and released 9 various games from a few different developers. They, in esence, created a new game platform which I think is absolutley brilliant on their part. It is something that seems to be getting overlooked for the most part (the gaming abilities that is) but I think it is a great addition to the players. Apple is setting themselves up once again just before the rush of the fourth quarter of the year begins and gives people even more of a reason to head the way of Apple for their computing. ...I could not resist and as soon as the iTunes store was back up and running after its down time I picked out two games and downloaded them. After a brief bit of confusion caused by iTunes telling me that I needed a firmware upgrade on my iPod to run them and iTunes also telling me that my software was up to date I found that I just had to restart iTunes and then use the 'check for updates' menu item. My pod was then loaded with new gaming greatness and after adding them to my main menu on the iPod I clicked into Bejeweled and started flipping stones. I was amazed at just how well the thing ran the games. ... I would have to say that they have a great idea here with slightly more advanced gaming now on the iPod. Being a closet gaming geek its nice to know that I dont have to look any further than my ipod for my 5 minute gaming fix here and there.

Coverflow and Apple

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-12T16:57:03-04:00

I was really impressed that apple actually bought the rights to the great app Coverflow that I mentioned a while back rather than just lifting the idea and calling it their own. I know apple has a history of making shareware makers software obsolete by putting out their own brand of whatever app. If only apple had done this in the past with the multiple other "ideas" they "borrowed" from other inventive developers. Good job apple! via ipodlounge

By the way

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-12T16:26:55-04:00

Im back from my wedding shoot and it went very well. Now I am back and have 2000+ photos to dig through. lucky for me Aperture is running flawlessly on my macbook which is nice seeing as it is an unsuported computer. It's amazing really, about 1800 raw photos is a lot of data to dig through and it really is handeling the pressure really well. I have decided to keep the photos private for a few weks until I share them with the bride and groom out of respect for the event. I did however snap off a few shots for desktops to keep you guys happy. Anyways, ill be back later with some new desktops and whatnot and maybe that contest that no one seemed to be interested in. ta.

WOW

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-12T14:24:46-04:00

The new iPod Nano ad is really cool! link

Leaving for a few days...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-08T02:45:10-04:00

I will be heading out of town and away from the internet for a few days and so I wont be updating the site until monday or tuesday. Sorry for the downtime but it should be a great weekend. I will be shooting a wedding on saturday out at a farm which is where the recent farm desktops were from. Anyways, I will be thinking of that contest I mentioned a couple posts back and maybe get something going when I return. Till then, hope everyone has a great weekend. Ill be back soon with new desktops (I have a few lined up) and more so check back then!

Clark is free

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-07T00:35:48-04:00

I have been a fan of Chris Clark since his first record out on Warp Records years ago which set him up as one of the most unique IDM musicians out there. He has defiantly crafted his own sound among electronic musicians with his crunchy sounds and his playful, danceable compositions. In preparation for the release of his next full length he will be releasing three free mp3 downloads as teasers for the full album due in october. So far two of them have been released so far and you can download them here.

Videos everywhere...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-06T21:41:09-04:00

A while back I posted about a new Boards of Canada video and I am posting it again just because Warp added it to YouTube and so I can embed it into the blog here which is nice. Its just such a cool video. The footage in the beginning is from the highest skydive jump in history or something like that, very cool. ... and just for good measure, here is a Jamie Lidell Video as well. In fact, this video is what got me so hooked on his music. ... ok one more, promise. More Jamie, this is another version of the song above but performed live by looking his own voice and singing over it. ...

In Rotation #1

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-06T12:31:28-04:00

I realize that my music reviews have all but dropped to zero in the past couple of moths and as I think I have mentioned before that is because I simply don't have the time to make the site as huge and mega as I wanted it to be when I expanded it a year ago. So as a compromise I have decided to start up a weekly feature on the music I have been listening to that week. Sometimes it will be something new and I may write specifics about it and sometimes it will be a simple list of albums that I have had on a lot in the past week. Either way it should be a good way to explore some new music for those of you who are as hooked on the never ending quest to find all of the best music out there today and then proceed to listen to your favorite bits until each chord and tweak of a sound is embedded into your mind. Or who knows, it may spark conversations in the comments. We will just have to see how it goes to find that out now wont we. So without further introductory ranting I bring to you what music has been in heavy rotation in my ears in the past week.

Happy anniversary to twistedsun.net

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-05T01:54:03-04:00

I somehow totally missed this but if you glance at the sidebar and count the months you will find that it has been just over a year now since the launch of the current version of this site. I know it has gone through a lot of changes in the past year and I am excited about its future. I just wanted to leave a note marking the occasion and I am thinking of trying to pry some words out of all of those silent readers of the site that I have never heard from. I know sites only have a fraction of their audience participate in the happenings of the site which is fine by me for the most part but its always nice to see more even is its forced so im thinking up a contest, an interactive thing somehow if I can think of something good. Ill think of a cool prize too, something like an exclusive signed print of something and some gift certificate money or something. ... Something festive but relevant. Well see how it goes. Im not promising anything but it sounds fun none the less... (just out of curiosity, does anyone reading this remember what the homepage of twistedsun.net looked like when in the first year or so of having desktops available for download? I was just starting to have work featured on pixelgirlpresents and pulling in some decent traffic at the time...)

Growing Along

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-05T01:54:00-04:00

After a quick check I found that I had shot well over 15000 photos on my 20d, heres to many more) Well I have had my 5d for a while now and I could not be happier with it. ... I was somewhat worried that the 5d would take some time to master and learn how to use but thankfully the way it functions is very similar to the 20d. All of the buttons are in familiar places and for the most part all of my custom functions that I am used to having around are still there which was a relief. It's interesting how something as simple as a new camera can cause such a ripple in my curiosity to learn more and more and more about photography and light. ...I find that when I hit my exposures spot on the focus with this camera is so crystal clear it gives me a whole new goal in my shooting which is to master the art of the exposure and get that rush of zooming in 100 percent and seeing that crisp beautiful color and detail. I have recently been reading the first in a three part series of books written by the late Ansel Adams and it has gotten me to brush up a good bit on various types of cameras and the abilities of each and the part that I am really enjoying is the fact that the book is obviously written purely on analogue photography. ... The things that make a great photo not only a work of art but a perfect balance of control over the exposure and control of the light in moment in time I am capturing. ... Ill tell you one nice perk of seeing things this way, the light of the world just looks so damn beautiful to me all of the time. ...It has defiantly inspired me to push on and I am really excited about continuing to learn and grow as a photographer.

Remember the time before YouTube?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-09-01T21:20:39-04:00

Me neither...

Oscar

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-31T20:23:42-04:00

By far the cutest photo of this dog I have ever taken, check the desktops section for accompanying desktop! update: i just had to post this one too, it makes me laugh out loud whenever i look at it...

New desktop + psd file

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-30T18:54:54-04:00

My newest desktop comes with a bonus option, a photoshop file of the desktop so you can download it and remix/re-design the desktop should you feel so compelled. Check out the desktops page for more. Also check out the friends desktops page for a cute one from a talented six year old named Skyler.

The ship has landed

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-30T11:59:26-04:00

(null)

conebone69

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-28T18:50:24-04:00

Not sure if this video will be around to long seeing as it was posted without permission and all so enjoy it while it lasts. Probably most relevant for those who follow US television...

New series coming

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-28T14:17:01-04:00

Over the next week or so I will be doing my best to post an image every day from a series of desktops that I have lined up which were all shot at a farm in Virginia. No cows, pigs or chickens, just things that caught my eye while I was visiting friends at there home. There is a bit more detail about why I was up there over in the desktops section with the first photo in the series seen above.

Things are starting to fall together now

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-28T13:33:55-04:00

...and it was this amazing piece of glass that has shown me the light.

400D

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-25T16:12:33-04:00

If you are at all into photography then you may or may not have heard about canons new 400d/ digital rebel xti. It is their new entry level SLR and it's looking like one of the best options on the digital SLR market especially at it's fairly low price tag. Those of you who have been reading the site for a while probably know that I am a Canon addict. In my opinion they make the best digital cameras out there. Their speedy Digic II processors and amazing CMOS sensors are top notch. Now with this camera they have introduced what I am sure will end up being a standard in this series which is their new dust removal system. The system includes a filter in front of the main sensor which has ultra-sonic vibration to remove dust as well as an anti-static coating on the sensors surface and some tricky software based dust mapping / removal. All in all a really solid release from Canon and I would highly recommend anyone looking to get a little more serious about their photography to pick up one of these little wonders and a copy of Apples Aperture software. You can read about more specifics on this dpreview.com page on the camera.

Update

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-25T16:05:36-04:00

This photo has been posted over in the friends desktops section.

Ferris

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-23T12:03:47-04:00

It's official-- it's been 2.5 years of Ferris Buellering, today marking 30 months of FBD celebratory shenanigans, i.e. generally living life to its fullest potential as much as humanly possible, because as Ferris says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it” - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Some other little bits of wisdom to carry us through the day: ..."You're not dying, you just can't think of anything good to do."  ...2) Find some peace and quiet, go take a stroll in nature, look around and be silent...  ...Cheesy but ultimately the bottom line -- you can do whatever you want in this world. Now in honor of Ferris Bueller day, let's get out there and get to it. A person should not believe in an "-ism," he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." ...Have a great day and for pete's sake, have some fun!

This is just plain creepy

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-22T01:15:40-04:00

I can't believe this is real! read the news article for more here.

Puddles in the sky

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-21T14:22:22-04:00

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Kid 606 - Meet Me at the Bottom

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-21T14:03:24-04:00

Whenever I am in a hurry to get somewhere and I need a pick me up of some kind I look no further than a good song to get my blood moving. It seems like I always have one on my ipod that I know I can go to to get this going and currently that song is a track off of Kid 606's latest EP, Pretty Girls Make Raves called Meet Me at the Bottom. Although, like the rest of the ep, it is a pretty simple dance track it really gets me going for whatever reason. ... On a side note, the EP as a whole seems like Kid 606 just wanted to put something out for the sake of releasing something. It's not nearly as polished and well produced as most of his music is and only has a couple tracks that I really enjoyed. Maybe thats the idea but as a whole I was somewhat disappointed with the release, especially after the album he released last year, resilience. Even still, I can't wait to see what he pulls next, I have to give him respect for his ability to put out such a wide variety of tracks under one name where most other electronic musicians seem afraid to do that and release different types of music under all sorts of different pseudonyms. So at any rate, if you need a bit of a pick me up on that long monday morning trek to work be sure to grab a copy of the Kid 606 track Meet Me at the Bottom. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D165028099%2526id%253D165027900%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30">

Kill Whitney Dead

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-21T13:40:12-04:00

Last night at work, 7 hardcore bands. This was the hadliner. Almost a desktop but not quite.

Aperture

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-19T12:37:05-04:00

I got my hands on a copy of Apples Aperture software recently and so far I have been really impressed. I am stunned with the feature set within the app which seems to have thought of nearly everything. I am running it on a Macbook with a gig of ram and although it is not officially supported on this computer it runs flawlessly. The real test will come in a couple of weeks when I head out to shoot a wedding and it will fill up with hundreds of raw files which should give me a good idea of what to expect in the future. One of my favorite features it its seamless interface and layout which is very well thought out and makes browsing, organizing, and editing photos a breeze. I am still studying all the shortcuts which will make all of my common actions even quicker and easier. A really handy feature within the organization side of things is the ability to 'stack' similar images and better yet automatically stack images shot in close succession based on the time between exposures. ... Also the non destructive nature of the editing you can do including the very detailed clone tool for blemishes which makes photoshops stamp tool look elementary. I could go on and on about all of the things I like about the software but it will probably be easier for both you and me to simply link to apples product page which has videos and the like on how it works. I would highly recommend this app to anyone looking for a full featured app to organize and edit your photos and thanks to the fact that they brought the price down to just $300 its hard to pass it up.

News this week

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-19T12:27:33-04:00

For those of you who may not know, there are a few new desktops up in the desktop area along with one new one in the friends section. I have also posted a new podcast which had some trouble when it was first posted and caused the previous episode to show up twice in itunes and the new one not show up in all. Sorry about that, wont happen again. The feed is all fixed up and working again so check it out. Speaking of podcasts and itunes and venturing way off the topic of t he post, anyone else think that iTunes podcast catching abilities are lacking? It works great most of the time but then what if you delete an episode of something accidentally or the feed gets messed up somehow? There is no good way to fix this other than to delete all of the episodes and re-download them. Seems like there should be a better feature set involving them seeing as they are so cocky about the whole idea being born from one of their own products. Anyways, look out for more soon.

Pokemon Day

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-12T23:56:04-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a day or two, no time to! I have dekstops and more coming soon but in the mean time check out this great sketch from my favorite online sketch comedy groups Olde English. They went to film a sketch in a park but found a Pokemon festival going on so they made the best of it. I've added an embeded youtube version below to make it easy on you. Heres a link directly to the sketch.

Coming Soon

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-10T02:43:55-04:00

To a desktop near you... I just went on a brief camping trip to get out of town for the night and got a few nice shots while I was out. I don't have time at the moment to get everything all formatted and desktopized but I just thought I would share a little sneak peak here of one that will be appearing soon. I know it is similar to the city of light series but I like it anyways and besides, this may or may not be its final form. Guess you will just have to wait till tomorrow or whenever it gets posted, to find out.

New Podcast

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-08T02:03:15-04:00

I have finally had a chance to add a new soundscape to the podcast and I really enjoyed this one. Head over to the podcast page for more...

Time Fountain

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-08T01:31:44-04:00

This amazing project involves water with a florescent powder, black light and led's used as strobe lights to make for a truly amazing and almost unbelievable fountain that causes droplets of water to appear to be frozen and manipulated in time. Absolutely worth your time to check out. (Via Make Blog) Direct Link

Leopard

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-07T14:42:34-04:00

I know that I am just one of thousands of voices writing this on their blogs right this very moment but I thought I would jump in here and express my excitement over the upcoming Mac OS. After browsing through some of its new capabilities I find myself thinking the same thoughts I always seem to think when Apple releases new features into their OS, 'now these are features that are so well thought out and almost obvious in a way that once I start using them I will immediately start wondering how I ever got by without them.' You have got to hand it to them for molding such a great set of tools and making it all so seamless for its users. I think that things that stick out in my mind with this release are the new Mail features which look really handy, the new iChat features which looks like a lot of fun not to mention a new version of front row and photobooth, and then there is the group calendars in iCal which I think will be really nice to have around, and you know... there isn't really anything new that doesn't look like it will be a great addition to my workflow. So that said, lets just say that I cant wait till spring! So that said, I can't wait to get my hands on Leopard this coming spring. ...P.S - I wonder how Longhorn is doing these days... poor Microsoft... Other than their current monopoly on most of the computers in the world they seem pretty washed up. ...P.S.S - If you follow that link to the Leopard preview page and you are using a mouse with scrolling capabilities or a newer mac laptop with two finger scrolling, put the cursor over the opening animation on the page and scroll up and down. It makes quicktime scrub through the video which is kind of fun in an "I'm a nerd" kind of a way.

Utah

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-07T03:35:27-04:00

Here we have one of my favorite places on this big ball of rock. I am longing for it and miss it more than you know. Canyonlands, Utah. Seen here is my favorite camping area there. Another park that I am in love with in Utah is called Zion National Park. It is equally amazing. There is a trail called angels landing that is simply amazing at the peak and then there are the narrows and the backcountry area is wonderful. This satellite image does not do it justice, maybe sometime in the coming months I will be able to get out there for a couple weeks. Thats the plan anyways... For those of you with Google Earth, use this file here to wander the area via satellite.

David Lanham's Amora

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-03T19:26:39-04:00

Along with the launch of the newest version of the IconFactory Website as I mentioned earlier in the week one of their resident designers David Lanham released a new series of icons and an accompanying theme that, from what I know, are over a year in the making. Seeing how much work must have gone into this got me thinking about the fact that he gives out this work at no cost to anyone interested, similar to the way most of the icon and desktop designers of the world do. Part of me wonders if the average web surfer on the look out for a new desktop or a new icon set understands the amount of work that goes into the artwork they are downloading. Bringing this back to the topic at hand, I find it amazing that David worked so long on this set only to unleash it out into the world for free. It's an amazing body of work if you consider that each icon is in essence it's own little work of art. It's one thing for me to post my photography for everyone here but I have to hand it to David for his love of his art and his willingness to share it with the world in the way he does. Especially after spending who knows how many countles hours on the work so my hats of to you David. For those of you not familiar with his work then take some time to browse through his site and check out some of his illustrations. Link

My cat, Grey, via Apple Photobooth

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-03T19:24:40-04:00

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Amazing stop animation gifs using light

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-01T18:46:52-04:00

link

YES!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-08-01T18:12:18-04:00

The new kaos pad is out and it looks amazing, where can I place an order?? link

By the way...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-31T16:46:52-04:00

What do you think of this darker design theme? better or worse than the lighter one?

Details, Details

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-31T01:35:28-04:00

I thought since the new desktops I posted have a much different approach than my usual straight photography I would post a few companion images for those of you who may be curious to see how the image came to be so below you will find the three images used in the collages as well as a snippet of the detail in one of them. shot from a car window... quick snapshot taken while walking down a staircase... another car window shot... i love pinstripes...

Jamie is a Pro

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-31T00:01:04-04:00

Apple's new(ish) 'Pro' site features some really amazing artist's. I was pretty impressed seeing as apple is a big faceless (well, aside from mr. jobs that is) corporation. Recently I have been pointed to a couple of the featured artists, one of which is Jamie Lidell which is a favorite of mine for some time now. Another artist that was pointed out to me was Japanese video artist Takagi Masakatsu which was described to me as a having a similar view of the world to mine. You can find these and other artists over on their pro site here.

Now this is just sad...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-27T22:18:45-04:00

link

Tenori-on

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-25T15:30:32-04:00

You simply must check out this cool looking new musical interface designed by the same mind that brought us Electroplankton. I can only hope this will become readily available in the us market because it looks like a lot of fun. link

IconFactory getting a facelift

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-25T15:25:57-04:00

It looks like one of my old favorites, The IconFactory is getting a new site design. If you head over to the site you will see the beginning of a series of animations marking the creation of a new site design. The animations are worth the couple of minutes to check out because of there humorous approach to hyping the new site. Heres a link

BapLab Photos

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-23T23:49:21-04:00

Well, after a looooooonnnnng weekend of hard work the BapLab is over and it was a huge success. Roughly 3000 people came out for the event which lasted from 4PM till 6AM. It was a crazy event through and through and well worth coming up. ... I just wanted to hop on here and post few photos from the weekend for those of you who might be interested. This projector screen was made from layers of cut fabric which gave it a 3d effect that was really cool. A couple of performers brought out some live instrumentation. (btw, that cardinal mic there makes a great horn mic) The raven makes for a great horn mic as well... ...The ceiling, as seen below, was rusty and with every huge 120db+ bass hit it rained down dust. This was annoying for djs because of skipping records but it kept the energy level in the crowd even higher knowing that the sound was so intense that the roof was literally being blown off. ...There was a ton of modern art down on the first floor of the space, one piece was this sharpie marker suspended on stings which were controlled by a motor and drew on the wall...

BAPLab

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-19T17:57:00-04:00

I will be heading back up to NYC for a show this weekend and I suggest anyone up in the area that likes electronic music even just a little bit come out for an amazing event called the Brunswick Art Project. The roster of artists performing is huge with over 40 musicians on three different stages. Just to hint at a few here... Calmer, Helios, MachineDrum, Lusine, Ryan Elliott, and plenty more. I am among the 'plenty more' category there. For those of you who don't know, I am a member of the electronic music duo, A Drop in Silence and we will be playing on stage B at 10pm if I have been told right. Not only will I be performing, I am also bringing up three PA systems (speakers and whatnot) for the main stages. I can only hope that what I am bringing will be enough for these rooms and I am pretty sure I will have more than enough to fill the rooms but still, it's quite the responsibility and I am honored to be a part of the event. If any readers do manage to come out I will floating about between rooms, baby-sitting the sound systems during the night. Wish me luck!

So what do you think?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-19T03:52:57-04:00

Is this theme working or it is just stinking up the place? Leave a comment with suggestions and whatnot. It will change in little ways as I settle in. I just had to get something fresh up here, that old theme was starting to get to me. Just wait till you see the theme I've been working on for Val's upcoming site, hot stuff I tell ya.

Movies and such

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-16T04:01:38-04:00

I never seem to talk about movies much here so I thought I would chime in here and point out a few movies I am looking forward to... I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan's films which had me hooked after Memento, Following, Insomnia and Batman Returns. His newest film is looks like one of those movies that remind you that there is plenty of original ideas left out there to make into a film. ...Michel Gondry has got to be one of my very favorite directors, his creativity in both writing and film making is unbelievable so I was xcited to hear of a new film of his... ...I love Zach braff and the character he plays on the TV show Scrubs, after seeing this trailer I knew it was a movie I wanted to see but I'm not really sure why. ... or maybe just the slick design of the page that the trailer is on... ...I am not really the biggest fan of martial arts films but this one has gotten my interest, it just looks like an amazing film... ...Ever since Steve Carells role in Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and The TV series, The Office I just cant seem to get enough of the guy and his role in this movie looks like a strange match that I don't want to miss... ...I love these movies, I know that the writing is not at all perfect but the acting, directing, and the world that was created for these movies really drew me in. Take a look at the sets feature on this link, its hard to believe what they went through in the filming of this movie...

May I recommend...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-14T14:17:27-04:00

...an album that I recently acquired called Eingya by the musician Helios. the only other thing I have heard from him was his release on Merck records which was a subtle masterpiece on it's own and so I was excited to see that he had a new album out. With this release he has taken a step towards using a more solid groundwork in his songs. They all have beautiful dreamy ambient beds that put you in a state of mind perfect for working or anything that you need to relax a bit while doing you know? Many tracks break out to have some nice downtempo beats which adds some nice head nodding rhythm to the mix. I know there are some other electronic artists out there trying to use more traditional instruments in their sound but a lot of the time this feels forced. Helios does a great job tossing in some acoustic guitar and piano within some of the tracks and it really works for his style. I would recommend anyone in the mood for some fresh music to relax to check out this great release. link for more info

At long last

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-12T12:32:38-04:00

Seems like I post a lot of these site news posts as of late, I really am simply settling into this new software and working on the back end of the site before I start posting regularly again. Today I come bearing new desktops! I know that is what most people come here to grab and I have not had to many new ones as of late so I figured I would alleviate that pressure in the back of your mind by releasing some new photos for you all. Some of you may have noticed the LED desktop that I posted and didn't say much of anything about. I just didn't think it needed a description. ... So anyways, today I have a few desktops for you music lovers so head over and check them out. Note: I have also decided to add a new cropping ratio for certain desktops, maybe all of them from here on depending on the response of the decision. You will see that they now have a resolution of 1920x1200. I decided that with all of the widescreen displays out there today that I could get away with releasing desktops with this ratio. In the end I prefer this to the boxy feeling 1600x1200.

Al-n-mnm

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-12T08:37:15-04:00

To be free

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-10T21:49:51-04:00

I think I will just buy a tiny bit of land in the woods and one of these little myst-like pods to live in. They are called 'Free Spirit Spheres' and I cant help but be reminded of structures in the myst game series. I have seen these in books before but I had no idea that you could buy them! Looks like it would make for a great summer/vacation home. Here is a link to see more.

Come on now...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-07T11:43:25-04:00

Im sure you can spare 10 minutes to see how big of a fish cats can sneak off into the woods!

Another one bites the dust

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-07T03:00:05-04:00

For one, I just have not has as much time to write reviews and the like as much as I did when I started that section of the site. I also figure I might as well just keep on simplifying things around here to reduce the amount of work it takes for me to keep the site updated for all of your prying eyes. As you can see, there is now a music category to the left here which is where you can single out review posts. ...In the past week I have worked shows (sound production) for Cat Power, Amy Mann, Dar Williams, and more. It's been pretty constant work and so here I am at 3am squeezing out a bit of a site update for everyone. I recently picked up my broken 50mm lense from the camera shop and thankfully the manual focus is working now but the auto focus has passed away so I will be paying a bit more attention to my focusing which is not always a bad thing. This also means that I have my favorite lense back and will be out and shooting more and so you guys can expect some new desktops soon. ...The electronic duo I play in, A Drop In Silence has a couple of show lined up, one tomorrow night and one later on in the month up in NYC again! ... Im sure I will get right back on top of things here with the site soon so keep an eye out. I still have a great soundscape that I need to add to the podcast... all in due time readers, all in due time.

Vals new watch

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-07-01T01:20:54-04:00

(null)

Sorry about the downtime

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-26T19:00:26-04:00

I finally switched over to the newest version of Rapidweaver today and in the process decided why not go ahead and get a fresh start and re-upload the whole thing. So now im on the new version and have some new capabilities that have yet to be worked out to perfection but this is a good start, You may notice that the weblog is now the home page which I planned on doing a while ago and you can now link directly to a specific article on the site using Permalinks which is a nice touch. I hope to get the archive pages and permalinks to show up using the main style sheet but I will just have to get to that later in time. So anyways, I hope that the changes you may notice around here will be for the better. Thats all for now, see you again soon.

Fresh

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-23T23:42:43-04:00

Friends desktops ripe for pickin'

The live setup

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-23T22:35:18-04:00

Thats live not live, the english language is funny like that. This is a really terrible photo of the current live setup for the electronic duo I am part of, A Drop In Silence. Why would I post this? Well, because there is nothing else to post at the moment and I figured there might be a handful or readers that may be interested. Anyone care to guess all of the stuff here? I will award the person that correctly lists everything (product and manufacturer) here something. (...or maybe nothing but do you really want to take that chance? were talking prizes and glory here!)

Bye Bye Bill

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-19T02:43:05-04:00

(null)

Ho Hum

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-16T14:23:18-04:00

So im not sure if I have mentioned this before but im looking to buy a new Macbook sometime to replace this 15" g4 Powerbook and then sell the powerbook and get a big intel imac and Apple's Aperture software. Then once the computing side is done look into financing a new photography set up so I can step up my game a bit. I'm trying to fill out my studio a bit and organize my workflow so I can start getting serious about photography in life. At any rate, its a slow process getting together the money to pull all of this into reality. Well a couple of days ago I ended up going backwards a bit and getting a new Nintendo DS. It was calling to me with its Apple like design and it's dual screen design. I got the "game" Brain Age along with it and couldn't be happier. What a cool system and what a great game! I have a pretty lazy old brain according to the game so well see how I progress through time. So anyways, how about some photos of the thing already!

New

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-16T14:17:53-04:00

Desktops have been posted in the friends section of the desktops area!

Pete and Pete

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-14T00:08:21-04:00

Looking back on it I think that the show Pete and Pete was one of those things growing up that had more of an effect on me than I could have ever thought it might. Like when I bought my first cd (TMBG, Flood) or for that matter, music in general, who would have thought that something could change a person so much? I grew up surrounded by music but until I discovered those few albums that really changed the way that I looked at music I had no idea what it was capable of. I Just off of the top of my head I think I will list a few albums that I feel have had some sort of landmark presence in my life. These are albums that Started movements in my love for music, not only some of my favorites ever but ones that opened the doors for entirely new avenues of sound and music and life... ...OK OK, ill stop there, remember, this list was my attempt at making a list of albums that were stepping stones in my musical evolution and in turn the history of me. ... So anyways, back to my original point that was brought on by an episode of Pete and Pete. The episode was all about one of the Petes accidentally discovering music by coming across a band playing in a garage that was playing a song that ended up soaking into his mind. ... Sorry, that was a terrible description of the episode and I think that this post is taking a nose dive fast! ...The writing in the series is great and I think that the show holds it's own even in todays standards, I could see myself getting hooked on these all over again.

GO GO GO!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-12T00:50:16-04:00

A new version of one of my favorite widgets, Go Red Ball Go, has been released so if your a mac os x user then follow the link below, download, and bounce away. Link

Infocomm

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-08T02:29:08-04:00

The real reason for being down in florida...

Yesterday I...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-07T01:12:51-04:00

Took a day off and went to mt. everest, saw dinosaurs, shrunk down to the size of an ant, saw a bunch of big animals in sad tiny cages, and got a headache from heat exhaustion. Most people are surprised when they find out that I am a fan of Disney World but I just happen to be in Orlando this week and I just happen to have a day off before Infocomm so when in Orlando why not take some time to play a bit? The thing that gets me about the Disney theme parks is the incredible amount of detail put into every inch of the park. It must have taken an army or artists and engineers to create some of this stuff. It's like stepping into some bizarro version of planet earth. Here is a handful of photos from the day...

Where did I mix Saturday night?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-06T10:31:41-04:00

Why how kind of you to ask! I was over at the flying anvil and worked a night mixing sound for a break dancing battle/ contest. It was a lot of fun because it was such an elaborate set up. They had a fancy digital Canon video camera set up on a track next to the dance floor that was being used to record the event as well as project what was going on on the dance floor onto a screen hanging up on the stage. You may think it was an easy nights work only riding a few channels but it proved to be trickier than I thought it would be because I had to sit and baby sit the levels seeing as the mc's would be talking quiet one minute then screaming and hooting their heads off the next when a dancer did something interesting. This and I had to really ride the level to get it loud enough without killing the speakers with nasty distortion. Anyway, don't mean to rant, it was a lot of fun though, here are a few photos from the show...

OK so...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-05T10:00:00-04:00

Im about to hop in the car and go to Orlando, FL for a trade show called Infocomm for the next 5 days or so and as with any traveling I do there is no guarantee that I will have access to the internet although I'm sure I will find it around somewhere which is a good thing seeing as I have quite a few things I would like to post. At any rate everyone have a nice day while I'm out driving the for next 12 hours and I will see you again soon.

News

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-03T13:44:56-04:00

New desktops both in the normal desktop area and the friends area. I know that the front page no longer lists updates, currently I have the most recent desktop there as a link to the desktop area. In the future things will get shifted around and this weblog will become the front page. A new version of RapidWeaver is out now and I am going to take full advantage of it and clean some things up around here in the coming week or so. Thats it for now, just thought I would let you guys know whats new around here. Also there are a couple new things in the music review section and I have two new soundscapes that will be added to the podcast in the coming week.

Jason Anderson - "New England"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-03T00:31:46-04:00

If you are in the mood for some music for a long car ride that will give you something to reminisce about how funny life can be at times then I would recommend this brilliant album from Jason anderson. I think he's a brilliant songwriter that you should not pass up hearing at least once. I know that some of you may not be into the Indie Rock scene but give it a listen and see where you get. I would also recommend anyone that likes this album to pick up his other solo album called The Wreath which is a little more rocking but still just as brilliantly written. iTunes Link:

Mira Calix - "Sparrow"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-02T20:57:06-04:00

Sparrow is easily one of my favorite songs of all time and I consider it one of the best IDM tracks ever written. I know thats a pretty bold statement to make but I stand by it. There was something about it that drew me in the first time I heard it years ago and it never let go. Listening to it today I still get the same feel as I did the first time I listened to it which was on a Warp Compilation called Routine which was a US only release and as far as I know is out of print at this point. Thanks to the wonder of Warps download site Bleep.com it is still available and will remain so, the Routine comp that is. Sparrow was originally on Mira Calix's first album called One On One. That said, anyone who is a fan of any electronic music owes it to themselves to pick up this song if not the whole album.

itunes rss

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-06-01T01:03:45-04:00

I came across a cool freeware app for itunes called MyTunes. I have seen applications that allow you to share your itunes library in the past and I really liked some of them but its not everyday you come across one that is free that works as well as this app. I just set it up today and I have not really tested it to much but so far I am really liking it. I wish that I could simply browse my music without searching it which the program forces you to do. I also found that I can not search for something that finds more than 200 items as a result. I searched for Elliott Smith and it told me to search again which was kind of disappointing that I have to deal with that kind of thing but hey, its free right? head over and check it out, it runs on windows or mac. ...Update: the developers of the software wrote back really quick to this post and mentioned this: "The missing library browser is the most requested feature. It is implemented in the upcoming v2.0 already. ... Just check out our forums at http://board.codewave.de and have a look at the developer section for preview screenshots and more information on all the great new features coming very soon!"

Mark Kozelek - "What's Next To The Moon"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-31T02:18:31-04:00

I picked this up after mixing sound for one of the shows on Marks most recent tour. ... For those of you who are not familiar with this name, he is the leading force behind the indie rock classic, The Red House Painters. He has also recently done work under the name Sun Kil Moon. This album features nothing but AC/DC covers which I think is really interesting. He recently did this under the Sun Kil Moon name with his latest album full of Modest Mouse covers and like that release What's Next to the Moon takes the original songs and breaks them down into their rawest of forms. It showed me that there is more to AC/DC than you may have thought. turns out they are pretty amazing song writers hiding behind their hard rock attitude. So I would not let the whole album of covers thing scare you off, this is definatily not one to miss. Its a brilliant collection of songs that I just can't seem to stop listening to so check it out! ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D13765248%2526id%253D13765277%2526s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30">

Midas XL8

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-31T02:13:16-04:00

This mixing board is heaven! I got the chance to see one of these in person recently and my jaw was on the floor. This thing is the new definition for what to look for in a digital mixing board. It has everything from 17 or so processors (ok ok, maybe just 7 but still!) giving it a supercomputer status to slick details such as touch sensitive knobs. The screens on it are all gorgeous and for a digital mixer it is really intuitive and it sounds amazing. I know this kind of thing does not really get covered in the tech web so I thought I would share my experience here. In my mind this is a geek sound guy like me's dream. I wonder if I will ever get to actually mix on one of these bad boys? Only time can tell eh?

Well well well

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-29T01:27:30-04:00

I have been traveling a lot recently and when I haven't been traveling I have been working so its been hard to get regular updates posted and I'm sorry about that. I miss posting all of the time and hope to get back into it in the near future! I am very very excited to hear that a new edition of Rapidweaver is coming out July 2nd which should allow me to make a few changes around here that I have wanted to do for a while now. It's a great piece of software that used CSS and so it makes it easy to keep the site organized and running smoothly. Seems like a silly consumer program but it actually can get pretty deep should you be willing to dig. Other sites I design I usually use Dreamweaver for because it offers a bit more flexibility but with this site simplicity is key, this way I can focus on updated rather than coding you know what I mean? I know I've mentioned this before.. ...So thats all for now. there is a quick new favorite up in the music section so check it out. I hope to throw a few more of those up soon and hey, who knows. ... I hope everyone is doing well and thanks for sticking with me through this period of less frequent posting!

EV Blue

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-25T09:42:17-04:00

Electro Voice and Blue Microphones got together and designed a couple of mics and they are called the Cardinal and the Raven. Both mics have this amazing future/retro feel and look (if that makes any sense) and they sound amazing. The cardinal is a condenser mic designed for vocals an instruments and the Raven is a dynamic mic that was designed for electric guitars and other instruments but also makes for an amazing vocal mic that provides a surprising amount of resistance to feedback. Anyway, I know that I have talked about them sometime in the past and I wanted to write a bit here about a site that I am working on. EV is now the worldwide distributor of blue mics and they also share the connection that I started writing about here in the Cardinal and Raven mics. Because the audio company I work for is tight with EV I get to do some promotional work involving EV products from time to time. This time around I took it upon myself to buy the domain evblue.com and make a website featuring their two collaborative mics. So far there is only a temporary page set up but I hope to get the full mini site working this month at some point. So tell me, what do you think so far? Heres a link: evblue.com

Atropa - "Shimo and hono 001"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-23T14:31:40-04:00

This great EP should not go un-noticed. I bought this on a whim when a local record shop was having a sale and after a few listens I relay grew to love it. It is an electronic music EP that, as with many electronic musicians these days, follows the trend of adding live instruments into the music which I think was done in a really subtle and effective way with this release. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for some great new beats to put on in your car for those days that you just want to drive around with all the windows down and enjoy the drive. iTunes link: this is also available on emusic, follow the link to the left if you want to sign up and get it free. (and yes, it does help me out with the site should you choose to do so but i do love emusic and have used it for at least 3 years now. its easily one of the best online music stores out there today.)

Of one legged birds and lazy squirrels...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-23T14:30:38-04:00

(null)

Sorry for...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-19T22:43:31-04:00

the bit of downtime, im rearranging a couple things around here and im coming across a bit of trouble but it will get worked out soon so sit tight! update: im sure you will notice that the images on the weblog are missing, sorry about that! im working on the issue now and it will hopefully be resolved sometime soon. all of the other areas of the site should be working still. update again: until i can fix this issue i have added a home page again because it seems to fix my issues. sorry again for the trouble...

The dogs!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-19T20:48:03-04:00

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The View

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-19T20:44:06-04:00

(null)

Im back!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-18T00:24:24-04:00

Whew! I'm back and getting together some new content, I have a podcast, a couple desktops, a quick review or two, and hopefully some friends desktops as well so keep an eye out here on the site! I hope to get these things up soon and I know there will at least be a couple new things up tomorrow at some point to so look out for all that. OK thats all for now...

Hey there readers

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-14T01:11:40-04:00

Sorry for dropping of there for a while! Im down in Texas for a while and will be returning to normal updates soon. I meant to get a post up before running off but I didn't get a chance before I left. Hope all is well with everyone and stay tuned for updates in the coming week!

TV in Japan

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-05T15:26:36-04:00

Here is a cool weblog that someone has started which features post after post of videos from youtube and google video that feature segments from tv in japan. There are ad spots, bits of tv shows and more. It makes for an interesting bit of browsing so check it out! (update: oops, forgot the link) Link

Junk Mail

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-05T14:21:24-04:00

the woodcarver may stucco some olden a dire try bettor see sail be expensive a imminent some wristband some equitation some sluggish in bacchus or christ or receptor For the most part my mail app catches most of my junk mail but from time to time I get a few unwelcome messages that have to head off into the junk pile manually. The message above is one of the odd messages that sneaks through from time to time. The trick is that while I try and make sense out of that message an image is loading touting all sorts of various drugs and things at black market prices. Fun Fun Fun. just thought I would share one of the stranger ones that I have seen here on the weblog.

Take it back, Get A Mac!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-02T00:11:24-04:00

Apple has a new ad campaign worth checking out, here is a link to the new tv spots.

WUAG CD Release Show

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-01T23:08:36-04:00

Last weekend at my new job working as the sound engineer at The Flying Anvil I got a chance to see some great bands that all came to play for a cd release show. The cd is called 18 watts is better than none and is a double album compilation released by a local radio station that I used to dj at. It has 32 songs from 32 bands that either played on air on the station or at station sponsored events. All in all its a great cd and is available from their website (link) for just 8 bucks! Here are some photos from the show. (blank_blank) (endless mic) ...(megaband - playing the soundtrack to megaman II while someone on stage played and beat the whole game in under 40 minutes! It is the same group as Contraband which I have mentioned before here on the site) ...(megaband)

New Shirt

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-01T23:05:51-04:00

I bought a new shirt today from Threadless which you can see above, I have mentioned the site a long while back here on the site. It is basically a site where designers can submit shirt designs which are then voted on and the highest rated shirts get printed up and sold in limited quantities. It's worth checking out.

New desktops soon

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-05-01T10:45:39-04:00

I am happy to announce that I have some new desktops all lined up and ready to roll out so you can expect those to pop up on the site in the coming hours. I am sure many of you have been patiently sitting in front of your computer hitting refresh on the desktop page for days and days now and so hopefully upon hearing this news you will get up stretch a bit, maybe eat something or take a nap and come back knowing that something new is coming soon. Until then, here is a photo of my hand from photobooth.

OK so one more video..

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-27T12:47:32-04:00

My brother pointed this one out to me... how odd.

I suck at tetris

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-26T18:16:16-04:00

Rune Goldberg

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-25T00:22:21-04:00

I couldn't get the embedded video to work so here is a link to a great video that entertained me for 12 solid minutes of my life. Time well spent id say, check it out! Link

Oatmeal, coffee, and table salt.

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-24T23:36:30-04:00

Well the job at the club has been a challenge. It took a lot of work to get it running as smoothy as it is and I hope to see the final instal system to get in there soon. Sorry for not posting as much recently, a lot of the free time I had is being taken up with all sorts of things happening around me and having my hand in all sorts of different projects has caused my life to bottleneck to some extent. There is a new desktop up, a really simple one that I hope some of you will enjoy, I like the warmth in the colors, it feels cozy being on my desktop. In other news, I look forward to getting some new posts up soon and getting some new photos together for desktops. I have a nice podcast waiting to make an appearance soon which will be nice I think so all in all this is another one of those, thanks for being patient with me, I will have some new stuff up soon kind of posts. If anyone would like to contribute to the site please let me know, you know, photos, interesting things around the web, ambient landscape recordings, music reviews, id be up for trying out some guest writers if anyone would be interested. till next time then!

Flying Anvils

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-22T12:44:17-04:00

So I got a new job as one of the sound engineers at a new live music venue called The Flying Anvil. It fits about 600 people and will be a place for all sorts of different musicians to play all sorts of genres of music and I am really excited to be part of it. At the moment there is a temporary sound system in there until the final install takes place which cant come soon enough IMO. Anyways, should be fun and get me some new recordings for the podcast from time to time and whatnot. Here are some photos from last night which was the first time it was open to the public as a bar.

Ryan Adams - "Heartbreaker"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-20T20:39:11-04:00

I feel as though this is one of those albums that can stand up to the test of time and it will be just as amazing of a record 20 years from now as it is today. For the most part I like to think of this favorites category as a place to house albums with this quality. Heartbreaker really strikes an amazing balance between rock and country and holds tracks that will get you up and moving but the album also hides within it some of the best song writing I have every heard. ... It is hard to pinpoint, it holds a nice folk kind of a feel in many of the songs but with a rock music edge to it if that helps at all. ... OK, so now I feel like I am just rambling on here. I just wanted to point this album out for people that have not heard it before. It's just so damn good that you could at least check it out. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fs%253D143441%2526i%253D32426595%2526id%253D32426652%2526partnerId%253D30"> ...This is also available on emusic which means you could get it for nothing should you decide to plunge and get their trial offer of 50 mp3s...

Color

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-19T01:39:53-04:00

I found a link to a video on Boing Boing and thought it was really strange and amazing and is based around the color pink. I found that this is part of a series of 7 short videos based on color that Adidas comissioned different directors and musicians to create. They are all somewhat odd and not everyone may enjoy them but I thought they were interesting. Im not really sure why Adidas wanted these videos made but it is a great series worth checking out and its as easy as subscribing to a podcast! link to the podcast in iTunes link to the main site for the videos

In the mean time...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-18T11:42:55-04:00

I will have a couple new desktops up soon but in the mean time check out the great new desktops in the friends section!

camping

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-18T10:30:53-04:00

mmm.. food messy pack the next podcast

Boards of Canada Video

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-17T11:07:55-04:00

This is the first official video for a Boards of Canada song and I thought it was a really nice video so I thought I would share the link which is below. link

Goodbye yet again

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-14T02:53:31-04:00

I just can't stay in one place for very long I guess. I am off on a short camping trip this weekend to my favorite spot in the NC Mountains. See you monday with some photos/desktops!

New New New

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-12T17:32:23-04:00

Desktops in the friends section! More to come...

Long time no post eh?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-12T17:25:40-04:00

Its another, what have I been up to for the past few days, kind of posts. Well, as you may have noticed in the previous post this past weekend I performed at an electronic music festival over in Chapel Hill, NC. It was easily one of the best crowds we have ever played for and it was a lot of fun. I can't wit until next years show! So anyways, I will probably post a song from the show in the next podcast and to ease your curiosity a bit I have posted some photos from the festival below. Enjoy! (thats me on the left there above) (a secret life) (Doofgoblin) (donna summer aka. jason forest)

Chapel Hill

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-07T11:12:52-04:00

Fiday and Saturday night I will be over in Chapel Hill, NC for the Signal Festival, a two day electronic music festival. There are a lot of great artists performing at 4 or 5 different clubs all around Chapel Hill and it should be a lot of fun. I will be performing with a friend of mine as A Drop In Silence at the Nightlight Saturday at 9:30pm if any readers are in the area and want to come check it out. For more information on the festival check out their website at www.signalfest.com. Needless to say, there might not be an update here for a couple of days but I will be back soon with some newdesktops that I have for the friends section of the site. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will see you all again soon!

Jim Gaffigan - "Beyond the Pale"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-07T00:51:10-04:00

OK so this is not technically music but its close enough id say. It's a comedy record that is a recording of one of comedian Jim Gaffigan's stand up routines. I just wanted to toss this in here because I enjoyed it so much. Anyone that is a fan of stand up comedy or anything funny for that matter should defiantly check this out. There is a lot of talk about food here which is such a simple subject to talk about but he somehow makes the topic so incredibly funny which I suppose is what comedians do now isn't it? One of my favorite bits on here is one where he goes on and on about cake, it just must be heard and trust me, anyone in their right mind would find at least some of this funny so head over and check it out! iTunes Link:

Midwest Product - "Swamp EP"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-07T00:51:06-04:00

This is the second internet only release in a series from Ghostly International and it shows to me that these releases are going to end up being a series that you don't want to miss. If you think about it distributing albums like this online only is brilliant because there is no overhead with manufacturing costs. I would not be surprised if we started to see more and more of these types of releases in the near future. I think I have mentioned before how much I love the idea of an EP and how focused they are as a release. ... Midwest Product releases music that is technically electronic but sounds more as though a band has performed it. ... It took me a while to really get into their music but at this point I find myself really enjoying their vibe. I would suggest anyone that is a fan of good instrumental post rock, or fans of electronic music that is not to abrasive to listen to. The Swamp EP will now wear you out listening to it which is a good thing so do yourself a favor and pick this album up now. It is available both on iTunes and emusic (which you can find a link to in the sidebar to the left) ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fs%253D143441%2526i%253D98211528%2526id%253D98211801%2526partnerId%253D30">

The Podcast is...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-04T11:55:46-04:00

all settled in over on itunes so head over and write a nice review for me. Oh, and there is a new episode out now too! You can link directly to the itunes page by using the link below.

Great Billboard

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-03T11:38:13-04:00

Another wonderful billboard featured on my favorite marketing/ ad sites, Marketing Alternatif. You must check out the blog, the geature some really great ads! link

Thoughts on...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-04-02T20:42:50-04:00

Something I think is really strange about podcasting is that it is such a personal thing sometimes for the people that make shows and because of this you end up feeling like you know a person that hosts a show sometimes. ... You spend all of these secret little moments in between other parts of your own life and you sneak into this alternate existence that is someone else's podcast, someone else's world. You get used to seeing a new recording come up and having this person ramble on about this or that or you get used to having a chance to be somewhere different from where you are when you listen to someone talk about whatever is around them. You get to know the host in this strange sort of a way on a personal level because its just you listening to them talk. ... From time to time you may remember that this is being shared with potentially hundreds of other people and you feel a little strange thinking that there are all of these other people that are listening in to this conversation but you fall right back into that personal connection you get from listening. ...You expose yourself so much by letting the world in on your life and surroundings and through something as simple as a podcast you stand there on top of the world where everyone can see and you speak of your personal opinions and experiences and sometimes your dreams or your struggles and for what? ... Maybe you have discovered a way to communicate how you see the world around you to anyone who cares to listen and that gives you some sort of peace of mind. ...Today after reading the news that Rich from Herro Flom Japan had stopped podcasting I felt like I had lost one of my friends but it was strange because in a way he is not my friend at all but merely a voice somewhere in the world speaking into empty space that I just happened upon. ... This is what fascinates me about podcasting and I just wanted to share it with everyone and to use this space to stand up and read my eulogy to a podcast, one of thousands of voices but one that for whatever reason, I connected with and one that I will miss as a voice speaking into the black as well as a voice that I will miss a friend. From what I have learned of Japan and its culture I can see that some of it's tendencies have rubbed off onto Rich over the long amount of time he has lived there.

Level Six

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-31T11:25:05-05:00

OK someone help me beat level six, I found this stupid game that someone posted on one of my rss feeds and now its driving me crazy, I cant spend anymore time messing with it so I figured I would ask my readers to help me out! I have always been a sucker for interesting puzzles.

iZilla

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-31T09:51:47-05:00

With the new iZilla you can even rip vinyl with its built in slot loading record drive! Nice! ThinkGeek.com has some great april fools day products up on their site. I'm not sure how long they will be there so check them out while they are around. Link

Sushi Cam

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-30T19:45:55-05:00

After listening to an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, Planet Japan I checked out their featured blog of the week and it just happened to be a really amazing site full of photos and commentary from Japan. The photos really are pretty amazing work and I am happy to share this link with you here so take a minute and check out whats happening over on SushiCam.com! Link

The near death of a beloved friend

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-30T16:48:40-05:00

Today I was out working at a show and I had my camera sitting around on stage, I had my jacket laying over top the camera to hide it. I forgot that it was under there and as I pulled my jacket down off the stage my camera came rolling along behind it and took a sudden leap to the floor about 5 feet below. The sound as it hit the concrete was nothing short of hair raising. The camera seemed a little freaked out and it crapped its pants as it hit the ground, well almost. The battery came spilling out and the little spring that holds it in does not hold it in there as well anymore but lucky for me that is the extent of the damage. It could have fallen onto the lens and crushed it as I have experienced in the past with camera drops but it fell onto the corner of the camera body. If anything, this is pretty reassuring to me as a camera owner knowing that it can survive such a fall. I am generally pretty rough with the things I own and I expect them to hold up under pressure. Ah, and for those of you wondering what kind of camera I use it is currently a Canon 20D which is simply an amazing little gem of a camera. I love Canon cameras, especially their digital offerings, in my opinion they have the best digital cameras around so anyone in the market for a new digital camera.

The end all digital mixing board

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-29T01:22:47-05:00

This thing is no joke! Midas went alllllll the way and then a little more. Makes all the others look kind of... puny. link

Hello New Readers

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-28T13:03:19-05:00

I recently found that a dig.com story that made it up to the front page contained a link to this site and through that I have had a pretty large spike in traffic as of late. Luckily the servers are purring right along and I have plenty of bandwidth to go around. The post has also seemed to have spread out among quite a few other blogs as well including the great software blog, Download Squad. So to all you new faces around here, I hope you enjoy the site. Original story (thanks to joeyinteractive for the link) Digg Story

RSS Feed

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-28T13:00:39-05:00

Those of you who have had trouble with the feeds around twistedsun.net can rejoice because I think I have ended the feed woes once and for all. The weblog should have photos and all links in other feeds should now start to work correctly. Why oh why did I not figure this out until now?

Drop Shadows Not Bombs

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-28T12:58:46-05:00

What a great shirt.... link (via boing boing)

Books

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-28T02:38:33-05:00

(null)

ps3

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-26T10:37:22-05:00

Well if these little spy photos are any indication at all the ps3 appears to be quite a monster when it comes to graphics. But in light of these amazing looking snaps lets remember that the gaming industry is on a repeat cycle when it comes to originality in gaming and I can only hope that in the end it comes to innovation and entertainment more so than pretty graphics and shock value. Rant off... (by the way these are supposedly form Ratchet and Clank)

Where have you been John!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-25T00:28:12-05:00

Spring hit my life like running head on into a brick wall and my calendar has filled up faster than an Apple store during a "buy one get one free" sale. No need to worry though, I will have some great new desktops up in the friends section in the coming days as well as at least one music review and I have enough bootlegs collected to get another podcast episode out early next week. ...It was a really great show and I had a chance to try out my favorite new mic the ev/blue Raven as a vocal mic and ill tell you they make amazing live vocal mics! Really rich sounding vocals and I barley had to touch the eq at all as far as feedback is concerned. ... I also had the chance to see what EV's new ZX1 speakers can do which are these cute little 8" speakers. ... They really put out a lot of volume for such a small speaker, I was amazed that they could compete with the band because they had a really loud stage presence. I remember before the show cranking them up and one of the band members couldn't believe that they got so incredibly loud and still sounded as good as they did. ... I just love the feeling I get when I hear a great sounding mix from a simple rig at a live show. ...Oh and here is one extra image from a night ago when I set up a make shift photo studio to shoot a publicity shot for this mexican group called kstigo that I have done a few odds and ends of design work for in the past. It was pretty fun to shoot them, they all dressed up in matching clothes for the shot and got in some great poses for me to shoot.

Alloy Orchestra

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-20T15:11:48-05:00

I had the chance to run the sound for a really cool show this past sunday. It was the closing night of a film festival and they had a group called the Alloy Orchestra play a show. What makes the group unique is the type of performance they give. There was a huge movie screen set up in the auditorium they played in from the previous showings in the film festival and what the band did was play the soundtrack to an old silent film. From what I can tell on their website they have quite a few films that they can perform with. The film that was used the night I saw them was a pirate film and it was really amazing! The film is called The Black Pirate and is considered to be the first great pirate movie and after seeing it I can see why. It seemed to lay out the groundwork for other pirate films such as that disney film the pirates of the whatever. I would suggest you check them out if you ever see them playing a show in your area.

How did you find twistedsun.net?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-19T03:38:43-05:00

This visitor highlighted above sure found the site in an interesting way. This has to beone of t he funniest search strings that I have ever seen in my stats. Someone came here looking for "desktops you can shoot and catch on fire and blow up" and somewow ended up here on twistedsun.net. Hope you found what you were looking for! so tell me visitors... how did you discover twistedsun.net?

Heres a strange one

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-18T03:37:35-05:00

Here is a lovely story about a basketball player that had his eye pop out of its socket. The article goes into talking about what you should do if this happens. I think its an entertaining read, odd, but entertaining none the less. link

A nice cool desktop

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-17T09:24:17-05:00

Yes, literally cool. If you read back in the weblog you will find a post about someone in Japan with a personal site that linked to twistedsun.net. I had discovered this through my web stats and as I looked through his website I found some really great photos. Thanks to google translator I sent him an email asking for permission to use one of his photos as a desktop in the friends area of this site and he understood the translation enough to give me permission to use the photo as well as a description for the post! I am happy to post this beautiful shot of fresh snow from Tokyo. The photo makes me feel nice and cool and I love the contrast and lighting in this shot. ありがとう Kazuma! I would also like to take a second here and thank everyone who has submitted desktops for my friends section! The recent Support of this section has been wonderful and I look forward to seeing it grow in the future! I have had the opportunity to post some great photography from all around the world so to the friends of twistedsun.net, Thank You!

More new desktops...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-15T17:19:01-05:00

There are four new desktops in the friends section of the desktop area. They were shot by Fabian Gehweiler of Munich, Germany. Two of the images were taken in Thailand and one of them was taken in Laos while on a two month trip to these countries. They are really nice images and I am happy to present them to you here on twistedsun.net. Head over to the desktops area and check them out!

Another Soundscape

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-14T11:56:10-05:00

There is a new soundscape in the podcast. A description of the show can be found on the podcast page or in the show discription within the podcast. A new music episode will be posted later this week.

Thanks for the link Mr. ?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-13T18:53:04-05:00

I recently found this Japanese site linking to mine and I found this text surrounding the link: ...Thanks to the miracle of modern translation pages this is all I know about the post: ...Is open with the sight here which photograph which the highest! ... The feeling which is also the warmth in the picture which cutch Lee is done respectively has mind taste. You saw at the decker paragraph て fine arts museum to be, feeling. When taking the photograph, one this way of the sight which has been made model it is. The Sawayama seeing れる to do, because also download is possible, please in the background of the personal computer. So this little writing about my desktops seems really nice at least! I am sure there is a better translation to be heard so is there anyone out there who speaks/ reads Japanese that may be able to shed some more light on this mysterious link to my site? It's a language I would love to learn but I'm a long way off from that so in the mean time any help beyond what I have here would be greatly appreciated!

Failure - "Fantastic Planet"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-13T15:36:55-05:00

This has got to be one of my favorite alt-rock albums to come out of the 90's. Not unlike Nirvana, Local H, The Gin Blossoms, and other 90's rock artists that were big in the heyday of grunge rock Failure was one of the best bands to be born of that era and Fantastic Planet was their best album in my opinion. They were not to big over in the US which was most likely due to the fact that they were a British group (I think). This album is such a solid collection of songs I would say that this is a must for anyone into the 90's rock scene and for any fan of good music in general. It's a classic in my mind and I highly recommend you check this one out! Note on the link: Unfortunately this album is not available on iTunes but two other albums of theirs is available and you should check them out to get the general idea of what they sound like. The other albums of theirs are great too but I would keep an eye out for Fantastic Planet at your local cd shop. ...iTunes Link:

New...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-13T11:13:07-05:00

Desktops are up in both the desktops section and the friends section so be sure to check them out! There is also a new review and a podcast is on its way sometime soon. By the way you should see a lot more activity in the friends desktop section soon so look out for that! I have some good stuff lined up starting with what is there now so thanks to Val and Dave for kicking that section off right. I will set up an rss feed for the friends page as well if you are interested and most importantly if you would like a photo of yours posted on twistedsun.net please let me know! One last bit of news, I know there is an issue with images showing up in this rss feed so to try and fix this I might be renaming the feed so please come back in the next day or two to update your feed links! Thats all for now!

So I heard a Hi-Fi...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-13T09:05:56-05:00

On a recent trip to an apple store I had the chance to hear an Apple Hi-Fi and I now think that everyone is crazy that said that the Hi-Fi is a big speaker system. ... Not to much bigger than any other ipod stereo of that size and much much smaller than most small stereo systems. I could see there being more overall functionality to the device like rca inputs or video outs of some sort as well as a built in airport option for streaming music! ...So the most important thing really is the sound which I thought was good but not great. ... The overall sound is on par with other systems on that high end level. I found that a lot of people complained that there was not a lot of high end response but I would beg to differ, although its not super crisp I found it more than adequate. One thing that i thought pretty drastically improved the hi end of things was to remove the front grill from the speakers which let it shine! ...I think they aimed a big high on the price but I also think that they wanted to enter the market on that end. This way the other speaker makers couldnt complain to much because they still probably sell tons of systems to the people who don't want to shell out $350. It is a really solid feeling device though and I think worth the money if you are in the market for a new stereo and you have an ipod already.

Hows this for a Collectable?

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-13T08:06:20-05:00

"This was superficially just a nice-sounding early Yamaha analogue monosynth... Then we turned it over and saw the beautifully-done inscription for an Aphex Twin record release... A little more research, and we found that these were the sleeve notes Richard inscribed and then photographed for one of his major releases ever, if not his biggest ever release: Selected Ambient Works Volume II. As well as the main inscription, there is... a false start on the main inscription, in the gulley at the back right of the bottom of the synth, which reads 'Written and prod'. Wow! I saw this on Music -Thing. Link.

Clark

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-11T11:53:29-05:00

Dig through your records and find some old acid, you know, classic sounds of the genera and body moving beats. ... Get out your blender or food processor of choice, today I will be using the VitaMix Professional Series. ... Once you have the records in the blender go ahead and set it to high and turn it on. ... Now that the mixture is thoroughly blended take your mud and measure out 3 full cups. ...OK, so if you don't feel like destroying your old records to get the album I would suggest you head over to bleep.com and check out the store bought variety of this delicacy. ...Chris Clark, has been releasing music on Warp records for a while now and I have been a fan since his first album on warp years ago. With this new EP you can see that he is evolving and he is taking his unique gritty sound to the dance floor but he still leaves in plenty of off kilter moments to try and throw the groove that he put you in. I believe this was a limited run of mini cds that was also released on bleep just to give people a taste of what's to come and I can tell you now, I can't wait. If you are ready to hear one of the most original sounds in electronic music today then head over to bleep and get pick up Clark's newest EP. You can preview the album and link to it on bleep below. (check out track 3 or 4, my favorites at the moment.)

Soundscape's

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-08T13:35:07-05:00

Well I'm not quite sure if I'm reading my stats right but it would appear as though my 15 minute soundscape podcast has been pretty popular. Seeing that there is in fact this interest in the idea I am planning on recording another one in the coming days with a proper stereo mic setup as well as a new bootleg podcast sometime soon as well. When I started the podcast I was not really sure what I was going to do with it, I was just looking to play with some microphones and share some music but it has certainly found a direction with the live recordings and now the soundscape idea. I hope that I don't run into any insecure musicians that don't like that I am sharing these but I don't see that happening anytime soon so we are in good shape for now. Starting with the next podcast featuring these live recordings I plan on adding links to the artists pages so those of you interesting in knowing more are just one quick click away. So at any rate, i just wanted to jump in here and thank everyone who has shown support of the podcast and the site in general. I have plenty of plans for its future and I can only hope to see it continue to grow over time So to the readers and listeners, Thank You!

Say I Am You

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-07T13:28:57-05:00

There was a couple of the songs from this album that really stood out in my mind and when I heard the whole album I found so much more to it. This is a beautifully written record with melodies and singing that would best fit into the folk genera but it has a nice indie rock feel that smoothes it out. There is both a male and a female singer (Deb Talan, and Steve Tannen) in this duo and they trade off from song to song both lending their voice to the overall feel of the music which all falls together almost effortlessly. ...The great opener to this album, 'Take it From Me' starts everything off leaning more towards the indie rock side of things but it has a beautiful pop melody and layered vocals that accent points in the song and thicken the overall mix. The album rolls right on into one of my favorite tracks of the album, the brilliant folk kissed story that is 'Gotta Have You.' ... It's lyrics speak of life and love and although this might sound a bit mushy for some I can safely say it is one of my favorite tracks to surface in the sea that is the music scene today. The album does not let up there though and falls right onto the third track of the album where Steve settles into the scheme of things and sings a beautiful ballad of time and its grip on all of us. ...I could go into detail about every track on here but I dont want to drone on, I think that the music will easily speak for itself. I do wan't to point out one other of my favorites though which is the amazing song that speaks of a finding hope within being alone in life at times. So for fans of indie modern folk of any kind or those of you who aren't afraid to let music have some real feeling sometimes I would highly recommend this gem of an album!

Cylob - "Cylobotnia"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-07T13:17:41-05:00

Man did this album pop up out of no where. While browsing a local used cd store full of just about everything but electronic music I came across this little gem of an album. I have heard cylob in the past but not like this. The only music I have heard from him was a couple of songs that were brilliant pop/electro songs with computer voices singing lyrics to the songs. This time around he still brings a healthy dose of electro to the table but really mixes it all up with his apparently self programmed instruments and bits of inspiration from all over the electronic music spectrum. There are all sorts of off key wobbly melodies and a wide variety of beat crafting. If you come across this album at any point don't miss the chance to pick it up. The label it was released on is called Rephlex records which is run by Richard James aka. Aphex Twin and they don't appear to have much in the way of digital released I could like you to but check out their site to get more info.

Apple Store window

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-06T16:41:43-05:00

This is a window display for the new Hi-Fi speaker system at an apple store, brilliant!

Any idea...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-06T15:08:25-05:00

...where I can get my hand one one of these? Anyone? UPDATE: answered my own question... link and link

Pearl EP

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-03T10:55:57-05:00

I find that I prefer a solid EP over a full album at times and this is no exception. In my mind an album has the tendency to drag along sometimes and it feels as though artists sometimes stick a lot of filler in albums to round them out just for the sake of having a full albums worth of songs. Don't get me wrong here I love a good full length as much as the next guy but recently I have really liked having these little mini albums around. ...The Pearl EP is the best that I have heard out of this artist yet, its full of some really tightly produced IDM that I can't get enough of recently. ... Well, there are the times that I prefer something a bit more lively but for whatever reason I never get around to reviewing them here. It's always hard to pinpoint a good way to describe electronic music releases without getting into mindless comparisons to other artists and name dropping every trendy sub genera that has popped up recently. This album at times feels like a more organic sounding Autechre if you could imagine such a thing. It has enough of a rhythm in the beat so you wont get lost in the sounds which is good for those looking for something danceable. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fs%253D143441%2526i%253D121985527%2526id%253D121985520%2526partnerId%253D30">

New podcast

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-02T16:45:50-05:00

There is a new podcast up with a slight twist. No music this time around, just a soundscape. check the podcast page to read about the episode. I love this one and I hope everyone else does as well.

Hi-Fi

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-01T12:20:41-05:00

So here we have it, Apple has taken a bit of a jump again and landed in the iPod accessory market and this time in a bigger way. ... There has been many speaker systems come out to house the ipod music player, the first of which was by Altec-Lansing if I'm remembering correctly and who would have thought that the market for powered speaker systems based around the ipod would take off the way it did and end up with apple making their own. ...As I had the chance to dig around a little and get some more info on the system I have found that it has grown on me. ... The first time you see one you kind of stare at it trying to figure out what it is you are looking at but once you see them around in use or in person they suddenly make a lot more sense. ... This first hit me when I saw some photos of the various little rooms that apple had set up to show the system off to the press. ... Take a look at these photos from iLounge. (they should really look into learning how to set the white balance on their camera!) ...It was this set up that gave me that envy in the back of my head and is starting to make me want one. ...The way I see it, the Hi-Fi has bigger drivers on the speakers than anything I have seen on these other speaker systems and the design of it does look pretty tight. ... Honestly I think that it is going to sound pretty damn good and I'm excited to see one for myself and see how far it can be pushed. I typically want a system that can be pushed really loud and hard without breaking up or loosing detail and we will just have to wait and see how the HI-Fi stacks up against other things that I am used to.

JOT

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-03-01T09:44:06-05:00

You simply must check out this joy of tech comic. I think I might weigh in on the whole new apple product debate later on today. well see... until then, read this comic! LINK

Another small change

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-28T14:18:28-05:00

In another effort to streamline things around here the music section of the site has been consolidated into one blog. In the past the music section was split into full reviews and quick mini reviews of older music that was called favorites. The new blog combines these two sections and uses categories to organize the entries. I'm not sure that everyone that visits the site understands that you can browse through old entries using the links on the sidebar to browse past months. This will be worked on in the future but for now im thinking of adding a little blurb onto the sidebars mentioning this. So thats all for now.

Broker/Dealer - "Initial Public Offering"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-28T13:59:57-05:00

I'm really just not that into house/dance music but from time to time the 4/4 steadiness that that genera is based around is a nice change of pace, especially when its surrounded by really tight production and subtle compositions that leaves you with a smile on your face throughout every track as you nod your head or take steps to the beat as you walk or work along. This album by Broker/Dealer is just that kind of album and brings a great relaxed yet dancy groove that feels good at any given moment in your day. I find that this album is easily one of the most listened to of all of my electronic albums recently. You just can't go wrong with this release! iTunes link:

At least one full ton of desktops...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-28T12:13:28-05:00

...are now available on the desktops page. A simple podcast will be coming soon as well as more updates so check back later on.

BACK

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-27T22:54:15-05:00

I'm sure everyone has been itching to see some updates here on the site over the past few days. Well I am back and I will get a few new desktops up here in the next little while and maybe something more, well just see how it goes so........... yyyyyyyyeeeeeep.

Heading West

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-22T22:55:12-05:00

For the next four days I will be taking a break from the internet and heading west to the mountains of North Carolina to relax in a cabin for a while with Val. We will be living it up out in the middle of nowhere and it's going to be really nice to get away. Check back monday for some content updates and such. Have a great weekend everyone and I'll see you monday.

Numbered in Billions

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-20T01:27:06-05:00

I suppose this post could have easily been called aMAZEing but I decided to spare you that type of cheep laugh (which I actually didn't spare you come to think of it). I just wanted to point out this site that actually has 1 billion mazes. Yep, thats one billion different mazes for your enjoyment. Im not sure if they really are all totally different but who knows right? Anyways, have fun getting lost. Link

Home Made Goodness

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-19T22:58:16-05:00

Here is a fascinating site full of great home made gadgets all of which include step by step how-to instructions on how to create them. A good place to look If your looking for something fun and semi productive on a free day. Link

History Lesson

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-19T21:56:29-05:00

This is me back when I was wee little version of myself. Oh, and I was in China here in this photo. Looks like I'm catching up on a bit of my math... only in Chinese.

The final chapter in the Nano Saga.

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-18T20:12:07-05:00

I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing posts of my Nano saga but here is one last one just to settle the dead nano tale once and for all. I love this case by the way. Cushy and puffy and comfy. It's almost like having a totally different player really. I have renamed it the cloudpod. Heres a link for more info on the case. The End...?

So long to the newsletter

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-18T01:34:17-05:00

I started the twistedsun.net newsletter back before the days of RSS and I felt that it was a good way of getting the word out that a new desktop had been posted or something new was happening with the site but in the past few months I have had a sudden drop in the people subscribing to pretty much none and I dont seem to have the time to get them mailed out anymore so I have decided to remove the newsletter from the site. Sorry for anyone that enjoyed the newsletters, I suggest you check out the RSS feeds on the different pages here on the site. I believe most modern browsers, well safari and firefox, have built in rss feed readers witch will make it easy for anyone to keep up with what's new here on the site. Thats all for now, thanks for reading twistedsun.net! -john

That was quick.

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-18T01:15:26-05:00

(null)

Katamari Damacy Flash Game!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-17T15:51:35-05:00

LINK

Ahhhh, the satisfaction of a new ipod coming my way...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-17T12:53:57-05:00

its nice to see that the nano will be all fixed up and coming my way in the form of a new one. time to start looking for a case this time around id say!

Security Screenings

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-15T00:54:09-05:00

I got my hands on the newest album / ep from the now infamous Prefuse 73 and I thought I would hop onto the review blog here and let it be know what Scott has been up to recently. It's nice to see that he seems to be taking a turn away from his hip-hop collaboration phase and moving slowly back into the somewhat inventive, explorative side of his musical abilities. ...Nuno was the greatest thing of the moment and I had high hopes for the future of this newly discovered musician. I saw him live down in his hometown of atlanta and remember being somewhat disappointed by his performance but I bought an advance copy of the cd that night anyway and it was in the player for at least half of the 6 hours back to Greensboro. ... He did redeem himself the next time I caught him over in Chapel Hill when he put on a great show that proved to be one of the more energetic electronic music shows that I had seen. ...Thankfully the only collaborations on this album was a mix when Fourtet steps up and helps add a bit of depth to the classic Prefuse formula and a track with someone from TV on the Radio which also works pretty well. With some of the tracks on this release it would seem as though he is moving away from the expectation that his music should be labeled as HIp-Hop and he throws in some more feeling into the mix. It's as though his work under t he Savath and Savalas name is finally melting into the Prefuse pot and making some mighty fine smelling stew. If you are a fan of his past work I would defiantly check out this release, I can only hope that he does not decide to give the 'I wanna be a Hip-Hop producer' thing another try because the result when he tried that left me scared and wondering if he would ever redeem himself in my mind. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fphobos.apple.com%2FWebObjects%2FMZStore.woa%2Fwa%2FviewAlbum%3Fp%3D119176676%26s%3D143441%26partnerId%3D30">

So...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-14T20:52:54-05:00

I'm sure many of you have noticed the changes around here, I have been kind of toying around with some site redesigns for a while and I finally just tidied everyhting up and here it is, please, let me know what you think! I wanted to streamline things and polish up the overall feel of the site. I have also removed the links to my music project 'A Drop in Silence' from the music section to help clarify that section a bit. The desktop snaps page has also taken a permanent vacation due to lack of activity, thanks to those of you who helped while it was there, you know who you are. So other than that not to much has changed. You can expect a new review or two shortly but in the mean time there is a new favorite to check out, ah and I have some new desktops ready to go on up so look out for those as well. Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support of the site, its the readers that motivate me to continue on from day to day so thanks to everyone! talk to you again soon, -john

Spire

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-13T00:22:24-05:00

I remember for quite a few years I was a messenger bag kind of a guy and had a couple Timbuk2 bags that I used for the longest time but my back started to let me know that it was time to grow up and think about finding a nice backpack. I have had the same internal frame backpack for camping for years and years and have loved its versatility as a bag so when I started looking for my next bag I was looking for something big that could hold everything I would need it to hold and more. I wanted the ability to take only that one bag with me on short trips so I needed something built to be a laptop/gadget bag but still have the versatility to hold things such as a few changes of cloths and whatnot. ...At first I planned on using the bag just for trips and I was going to stick with my smaller shoulder bag for everyday use but I shortly found myself enjoying the Meta so much that I was using it for everything all the time. ...You have the option of having this sleeve rest in the bag loosely so you can take it out of the backpack and use it on its own or you could choose to use a patch of velcro on the back of the sleeve that will allow you to secure it to the inside of the bag (which has it's own cover should you decide you don't want to use this ability). ...I find that I can comfortably fit clothes for about three days in the bag which is just what I needed for short trips When I use it as an everyday bag this section stays relatively empty with the exception of maybe my camera, a few cables and a sweater or something of the sort. ...This area is smaller than the other two sections of the bag and is not suited for big things but for the types of things I mentioned a second ago, this area is a really nice thing to have. on the outermost part of the bag there are two somewhat hidden zipper pockets that I don't use to much because of their tall shape. ... On the top of one of these pockets there is a small pocket for a small music player such as an ipod and a small hole to wind a headphone cord through which is handy but I find that i prefer my ipod to be in my pocket or somewhere where I can get at it easily. ...One of the more interesting features of the Meta is the fact that you can disconnect the shoulder straps and belt strap and tuck them away behind the padding of the bag allowing them to be out of the way for things such as cramming it into an overhead bin on a plane. ...It was a birthday present from my family and I remember them being out of stock of them at the time that we ordered but they were nice enough to make sure that it arrived in time for my birthday which was a nice touch.

Signaldrift - "Set Design"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-13T00:05:12-05:00

This is a beautiful collection of reflective gritty sine tone melodies, distinctive textures, echoing guitars, and laid back beats that glide across the music like a bird soars across the surface of a lake. It is a great album that never seems to be inappropriate because of the neutral, calm mood it holds throughout. For fans of music that calms and moves your body all at once. Maybe I am a sucker for this kind of ambientish moody electronic music. Don't let this one pass you by! iTunes Link:

nice.

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-11T12:00:29-05:00

Could someone please...

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-10T02:03:47-05:00

...tell me why i didnt know about this! Linklater is amazing and its another film shot in the style of waking life and its getting released on July 7th and it's based on a Phillip K. Dick book! Trailer Wiki

Kyoto podcast is coming back!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-08T23:41:32-05:00

I am happy to see that the kyoto podcast homepage has been revamped and it looks as though there will be new episodes coming in '06! You can be sure to hear more about this here in the time to come. ..."Despite not having podcasted recently, I am alive! Thankyou for the emails from concerned listeners, it's very kind of you to think about my welfare. Episode 19 was the last episode for 2005. Due to a large number of constraints coming together, both time and money, as well as returning to Australia, it simply hasn't been possible for me to continue. That said, I am preparing to return to Japan in 2006 and acquire material for some more episodes. I have chosen the theme for the 2006 episodes, am presently researching it and hope to get some good content once 'on the ground'. As is evident, I've totally revamped the website and I'll be adding thoughts/experiences here as podcast-relevant things occur." ...Nice to have you back Tim!

Machine Drum - "Half The Battle" and "Bidnezz

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-04T20:34:04-05:00

I'm not sure just how big Machine Drum's fan base is, sometimes it seems pretty vast but other times it seems like no one has heard of him. ...Bidnezz is an album that is pushed as a hip-hip record as far as I have seen but I have seen it more as an IDM album personally. ... He has the ability to take such simple ideas and make them really polished and tight. This is by far his more minimal record under this name, his pas efforts were much more hip-hopy than this. I just love this record for its diversity and the fact that he has started to really take on his own character with this release which is very cool. I have heard some of his newest work and you should look out for that because its just amazing. He has an album coming out on Sublight soon which I am really looking forward to. So for a great all dancing/ all minimal hip-hopDM then look no further than Machine drums, Bidnezz. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fphobos.apple.com%2FWebObjects%2FMZStore.woa%2Fwa%2FviewAlbum%3Fp%3D65203367%26s%3D143441%26partnerId%3D30">

Something I Came Accross

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-04T19:14:39-05:00

(null)

iTunes

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-02-03T12:13:06-05:00

I wanted to take a minute and mention something about the latest couple of versions of the software which has introduced the ability to subscribe to podcasts. ...I know that podcasting came about before iTunes made for easy access to podcasts and easy subscribing and syncing to ipods. ... Podcast's, as they grow in popularity, seem to becoming more and more notorious for their ability to eat up your hard drive space. There are a few podcast that I subscribe to that I would like to keep around for the long haul and preserve them as a collection but there are others that I don't really want to continue to eat up my hard disc space. ... I find it aggravating that there you do not have the ability to create individual settings for each subscription you have, this way you could tell one podcast to only keep the last few of them on your drive or only ones that have not been watched or heard. I feel as though they only went half way with this feature and I hope to see them update this sometime in the future. I would also like to have the ability to backtrack on a subscription and re-download episodes that I may have deleted accidentally. ...If any of you mack users out there have any suggestions to get this working the way I would like it to, please, let me know! Update: Well after browsing through TUAW a bit I find my answer staring me blankly in the face. Turns out there is a new addition to the newest version of iTunes that lets you stop certain podcasts from being automatically deleted.

Corelius - "Point"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-30T03:41:33-05:00

This is such a wonderful album for so many different reasons, it holds so many great ideas and sounds so good in the process. It's an experimental indie-pop masterpiece and no one should live there life without at least giving it a listen. I think thats all that needs to be said about this one. Check it out! iTunes link: ...P.S. - There is a great dvd full of videos for the songs on this album and I would recomend any fan of this album do a bit of looking around for it. It is well worth the money!

Woe as me (and my iPod)

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-30T03:41:28-05:00

Sigh...

Dancing Robots

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-30T03:41:25-05:00

I had read that Beck had a new video featuring these recently discontinued robots from Sony a while back and in all honesty could not bring myself to deal with the Real Video feed that it was being shown with on Beck's own website. Maybe it was Windows media, who knows, they are both buggy, terrible ways to show video. At any rate I was oh so excited to start watching the newest Channel Frederator episode to find that the first short was this video. Although it is not really an animation and broke away from their typical content, I welcomed this little break with open arms. I thought it was amazing that the label let this get released on a free podcast such as this and I just had to share this news with everyone because it is a great video that everyone should check out. Remember, these are real robots! As soon as I heard that they were not going to be produced I immediately found myself wondering how much one of these go for... hmm... link

tunecore

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-29T14:31:12-05:00

Since the beginning of the iTunes music store I have wondered when artists would be able to put up their own music for sale outside of being on a label that has access to iTunes and today I have come across a way to do so. It looks as thought this company, Tunecore, has opened a service that allows you to go through them to add your own music to the iTunes music store or Rapsody. You have the ability to add your music to online music stores all over the world and still get all the profits from the sale. After pouring through the FAQ on this site I have decided that this service is pretty legit which is very very cool! They charge you for each song that you want to ad to an online music store as well as an annual nine dollar service fee. I am going to keep digging around to find out more about the service because I hope to give the a shot here in the coming week's. Link

overload

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-28T01:10:45-05:00

I havnt the slightest idea why I havn't posted a link to this site yet because I have been following it for quite some time now and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. It's an ever growing collection of unbearably cute animals. You have to browse through the various galleries, it is very much worth your time to check this one out! link

rss feed issue

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-27T13:37:05-05:00

there would appear to be a strange issue with the rss feeds on the site and i am looking into it. the images within the feed dont show up! i believe that if you use the 'rss feed" link in the sidebar it should work. the feed for this weblog is: feed://twistedsun.net/misc/files/page3.xml ill try and resolve these issues soon though, sorry for the inconvenience!

Top of 05

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-27T13:12:07-05:00

Well nearly a month into 2006 I am finally getting my best of 2005 music list up and going. It represents the albums that I listened to and enjoyed the most from the past year that were released in 2005. I hope that there is a little something for everyone in there so take a look in the music reviews page for that.

The Best of 2005

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-27T12:52:55-05:00

nitendo ds

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-26T13:46:19-05:00

Looks like nintendo finally has decided to give the DS a redesign! lighter and smaller. I still with the screens were closer together though. Maybe, just maybe, its time for me to pick one of these up when they come out later in the year.

Distance

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-26T02:53:33-05:00

Lets say you just got out of a busy day at work or your leaving a hectic party or show and your mind is fried and needs a break from the world. If you were me you would reach for the iPod (or whatever music player) and look for something to calm your nerves. Well this is that something that you need. Distance by Marconi Union is a wonderful EP that is full of ambient guitar goodness with this hint of a post-rock edge. From start to finish you simply can not go wrong with this release, the opening track is a great example of this with its subtle use of guitar, synth, and swirling electronic sounds to put the mood on auto pilot for the next half an hour. As with a lot of my favorite music I just happened upon this one day and I am so very glad it did. If you are ever in the need of something san-words but full of emotional landscapes of sound then look no further than this EP. ...

Home Again

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-24T16:12:51-05:00

Back home from out west and getting back in the swing of things, im going to try and post a couple of desktops, a couple of new reviews and well see what else might show up here later on tonight. I have also been thinking of a redesign here for the site. I have been messing with a few ideas but I have not gotten it to the point where I am ready to make the switch just yet but soon I hope. At any rate, I'll see you tonight or tomorrow, see you then.

Life on the west side

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-23T01:29:05-05:00

Just thought I would share some more photos from the trip, a video may follow. ok everyone, what is the significance of this wall? there may be a prize if you know? now this is a record shop! and full of nothing but independent music.... it was a bit overwhelming to say the least. ...odd people were dressed up as movie characters for some reason here on hollywood ave. notice the stars on the sidewalk. more halloween costumes out in front of the chinese theatre place. crazy fans or employees? ...and we made a stop by chinatown which was very cool. dinner was at beef bowl, well veggie bowl for me. mmmmm I will write some more as soon as i get settled back at home, i have a good bit of work ahead of me after this week which is exciting. ill tell more later. until then, have a good one.

Wonderful Illusions Site

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-22T01:32:07-05:00

This site that I came across recently has some really amazing illusions, toys, and articles. The site does not simply feature the same old illusions you may have seen in the past, it features some great videos that show off some very cool things from all around the world that just have to be seen to believe or understand. I can't recommend you check this out enough, it's just too cool! Link

NAMM Day One

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-20T03:51:19-05:00

Well I spent the entire first day wandering around the show floor trying not to feel overwhelmed by it all but id just didnt seem to work out that way. ... Today I got to check out the booths I wanted to visit the most and I hope to revisit some of them to get more time spent playing with the newest gear out there. Some early awards should be handed out would have to be the Harmon group for having the most smug little booth of the show, Roland had the most elaborate booth which seemed more like a small city, and well I think thats all for now. ...the secret door that led to secret things that i cant tell you about because they made me sign a contract saying i wouldnt. (seriously though, i think they blackmailed me but im not sure.) ...the r-9. it seems a little too stripped down if you ask me what with its lack of any decent input options. when will someone get this right anyways? i hear marantz has a new one to that im looking to check out tomorrow. it was a pain getting by the hoard of sweetwater reps in their suits and snoody attitudes to see the thing. ...ah blue mics are so odd yet i am so hooked on how cool they are. cant wit to get my hands on a snowball one of these days, they are pretty big! ...this is one of korgs newest offerings, seems like they are going after the m-audio trigger finger or the akai midi drum pad with this one, it seemed really nice and all but i still think that the trigger fingers pads are my favorite. then there is this fun little synth that has some really wild industrial design. they had it set up with a kaos pad lying on a shelf that was beside the synth there. ...Well kids its late and I need rest for day to so come back later to catch some more specifics on the show and things I come across. hopefully i will get a chance to play with more of the stuff around.

Secret Skull

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-18T21:45:37-05:00

The wonderful illustrator David Lanham was kind enough to mail and point out something really interesting about one of my desktops. "Just thought I'd let you know i found some weirdness in your 'windsheild' photo! I've been using it for a while now and I just happend to have some windows positioned correctly and all of the sudden I was like "holy crap! There's a skull!". So yea, in your photo some burnt crispies are making a pretty accurate skull shape (nose hole and all), kind of cool, yet kind of freaky O_O" - David Lanham Thanks for pointing that out David! I'm not sure how I missed that one! You can find this desktop in my Classics section within the desktops area.

Plane Travel

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-18T09:23:50-05:00

I'm sandwiched between two people, one of which is creepy, large fellow that is really cramping me but he seems just as akward as I do and I'm sure he likes this about as much as I do. and im wondering if maybe he is reading this, doesnt seem to be. The guys in fromt of me seem like they are trying to pretend that they are in first class seating with their attitude toward the world, they cant seem to get settled at all and I think this guy is trying to push his seat all the way back up into my lap. ... Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I could have much less in the way of movement unless I was wrapped up in a straight jacket. ...Not to much longer on the flight I don't think and I don't mean to complain really, I generally love traveling on planes. ... I started to whittle away a bit more on the top music of "05 but I ended up feeling like just writing a bit of commentary on my trip. I just finished watching a few episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on the ol' video iPod and decided that I would save the battery for music and podcasts the rest of the flight. ...I am generally really picky when it comes to any anime but for whatever reason the movies and show really conected with my mind for some reason. ...I would still have to list The Catcher in the Rye as my old favorite but there are so many other wonderful novels out there! ... I would reccomend anyone interested in philosophy at all to check out a book called The Solitare Mystery, I forget the authors name but its an amazing read full of thought for food or food for thought. ... Maybe ill talk about other books sometime later on but for now it looks like my battery is running down low and I don't feel like digging out the spare.

quick trip

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-18T06:40:07-05:00

Well im off again, this time im heading to the wonderful world of NAMM out in California. For those of you who dont know, NAMM is a huge trade show featuring anything and everything you could ever see that has anything to do with the music industry. Guitars, concert PA's, software, recording gadgets, and plenty more. There are hundreds of vendors and thousands of people from what I hear so it should be fun. I will be reporting here about interesting things I might come across each night so stay tuned! (and maybe on that 7 hour plane ride later today I will get a chance to finnish some more of the top music of last year!? link

onions

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-18T06:36:22-05:00

my brother mailed me a bit of good news for the day, the onion has a podcast! check it out!

New Podcast Up

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-16T12:52:44-05:00

The title tells all.

In the Garage #4

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-16T12:39:50-05:00

Well after many many months I have a new song for everyone if they care to hear it. Say hello to the newest Garageband masterpiece called 'cheddar.' For those of you not in the know, these songs are just songs that I have out together in apples Garageband software using the built in loops.

iLife '06 and iWork 06

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-16T11:45:09-05:00

So as some of you may know there was a new version of apples iLife software suite released about a week ago and I have since had the chance to get my hands on a copy of both iLife and the new iWork software. ...Of all of this new software the upgrades that I was looking forward to the most were iPhoto and Garageband. iPhoto is a wonderful app and I have used it for quite some time now to upload and organize photos from my camera and keep track of all of the photos I take. On average I will end up loading a good 3000 photos or so every couple of months and the program handles this very well and makes it easy to make quick edits via a nice full screen editing mode as well as order calendars, greeting cards, books, and prints of photos. ...It is simply the best program out there for making a quick, easy, great sounding podcast and one the newest features within the app is a podcast studio of a sort so now you can either work the program like before and use it for simple multitrack recordings or use the great new podcasting features that let you make an enhanced podcast so so easily. ... There is also a way you can import movies you are making in iMovie to make a soundtrack for the movie using a video track within the program. This has got to be the first consumer level app that I have seen that will let you sync music and sound effects so well and easily into your home movies! I have to admit that iMovie does not get as much love from me as iPhoto and Garageband but it is a wonderful piece of software as well! ... No other Consumer level video editing app can come close to working as elegantly as iMovie. iDVD is the same way and although I do enjoy using this to make dvd slideshows I have now yet used it and so I cant really say to much about it at this point. ...You do have the ability to export pages you make with this program and upload them to a server of your choice but the program is designed to be as tightly integrated with .mac as all of the others are. ... One other addition i would like to see here is the ability to save a template that you etit for use on multiple pages on your site.

tokyo on $0 a day

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-16T11:29:03-05:00

link

New desktops!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-08T15:17:09-05:00

New desktops are up and a little storyish kind of a thing over on the desktops page. Also I have been working on the top music of 2005 list but its a good 20 albums strong so its taking a while to get it all written out. It's going to be good though so sit tight. -john

Taiko Drum Master!

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-04T16:27:56-05:00

Well I recently came across a new game that I have had my eye on for quite some time now and thanks to my shiny and tiny new PS2 I can now play this piece of gaming heaven. Those of you who might have been following along here on this weblog, I'm a sucker for video games that are fun and different than your average game. I like games that bring something new to the table and Taiko Drum Master does just that. I know that this game has been available for quite some time now so it may be old news for many of you but I am just now getting my chance to play around with it so it's new to me and so I thought I would share my thoughts. ... You might wonder how challenging hitting a drum to a song could really be and how could this possibly be worth my time. I guess you could compare this game to karaoke only rather than reading words to the song and singing along you are watching a flow of circles move towards a point at which you must hit the drum either on the main drum head or on the side of the drum. I'm not sure if I could express just how fun this game is in words and as far as a challenge is concerned, there are various difficulties to choose from and believe you me, they get really hard! I rank this game right up there with my recent favorite games and would recommend anyone check this out if they have the opportunity to do so. I did some searching and unless you find the game for a good used price there is no good way to get a second Taiko controller for the game. There is one 3rd party manufacturer that has their own drum controller designed for the game at a pretty reasonable price and you can find that here if you are interested.

They Might Be Giants - "John Henry"

john@twistedsun.net — 2006-01-04T16:17:23-05:00

The first album that I ever bought (and i dont mean just TMBG albums, I mean my first cd ever) was the album Flood and since then I've never gone back. They have released an amazing out of material over the years and I have yet to hear an album of theirs that was not amazing through and through. I thought that it would be good for me to take a moment to feature one of their older albums here. I have chosen the album that seemed in my mind to be a big crossing point for them. Before this album they had been known as a band with two members, John Linnell and John Flansburg, but with this album you notice a huge change in pace. ... The first of many times I have seen them live through the years, and I loved it. ... Years later after watching their documentary called Gigantic I found that there was a huge amount of unrest with in the fans of TMBG because they were breaking away from their roots because they now had a backing band. ... They have always had this amazing ability to write these goofy little pop songs that hold this secret meaning buried beneath them. Often if you pay enough attention to some of their songs you will find an entirely different way to look at their music. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253FplayListId%253D149061%2526s%253D143441%26partnerId%3D30">

Happy

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-31T16:35:11-05:00

New year everyone. I wonder what 2006 will bring? Check back soon for a new podcast, some new desktops, some new reviews and my personal favorite music from 2005. I know that most top whatever lists have come and gone but I still want to get one out there. There was a lot of good music that im not sure got as much attention as it deserved so look out for that as well. Until then, have a nice break from the world celebrating and I will see you here again soon! -john

BOOM!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-30T22:53:17-05:00

(thats silly putty by the way!) link

New Post-holiday desktop

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-27T19:17:20-05:00

...in the friends area of the desktop sections. check it out!

happy day!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-25T12:44:22-05:00

due to the giving nature of the holiday's ive decided to give something away today! the 3rd email that i get today with the subject line, "happy day!" ... so hop onto the contact page to your left and send me a mail! ...also if you were so inclined and have the ability to do so send me a photo that you have taken to post here later today. i will post any photo that i get in the mail today! im not sure why really, just seems like it would be nice to have some readers photos here. ...(hopefully international certificates will work as well so dont hesitate if you are not in the u.s! i will be waiting for emails until the morning and if for whatever reason i get no emails then i will re-work the contest and do something different. ...p.s- i hope to start having little contests for music more often so look out for that! UPDATE: ah well, not a single email :-( i guess people aren't here for music then! thats ok though. ill come up with something else sometime soon. have a nice day after and ill talk to you next update!

grow tree! (and street fighter vs. mortal combat)

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-21T13:07:05-05:00

for those of you who have been following this weblog for a while now you may remember seeing a post about a great little flash puzzle called grow cube. well the maker of that game has made one for the holidays and created grow tree! its not as involved but fun all the same so check it out here. oooohhhh! and i wanted to post about another cool flash thing that i came across the other day. its a brilliant flash movie that is a what if kind of a scenario. its a street fighter vs. mortal combat animation and its very cool to see the two different styles collide, not only in the animations but the combo styles as well. very cool. check that out here.

twistedsun in nyc

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-17T14:29:32-05:00

(playing at the lucky cat in brooklyn as a drop in silence)

iDog

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-15T13:42:12-05:00

(he dances with his head and ears and has a lot of various colors that play along to music! i talked about this little guy in my new podcast)

New Podcast, finally.

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-15T13:41:26-05:00

here.

The Greatest / Hate

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-15T01:56:12-05:00

I know that this is not really much of anything to review seeing as its just a seven inch single but I just thought it was worth writing about here in the reviews section because it's just so good. For those of you who are not familiar with Cat Power and you are a fan of powerful female singer songwriters then do yourself a favor and check out some of her music. ... I personally really dont like a few of the songs on that album that try to be more electric and rocking because I really don't think that she does that well at all. The majority of the music on that album is simply amazing and the best tracks are those which she takes a more simple approach to the production side of things and lets her powerful song writing really stand out and that is exactly what she does here on The Greatest / Hate. ...It has this haunting, slow swing to the song which causes her voice to tread oh so lightly over the rest of the instruments leaving you listening a little harder to catch what she is saying in the song. Maybe I'm being to specific here but in a way, it kind of takes away from the lyrics but gets leveled out by the the way it graces the rest of the instruments in the song. The b-side here called Hate is a tighter song and that is simply due to the fact that it's just her and her guitar. ... It is the kind of track that all the indie kids that follow her music would call her best work because any self respecting singer songwriter needs to stick with his or her roots right? ... I really do enjoy the song though, it's always nice to hear a musician be able to hold up well with a full band but still be able to sit down with a guitar and stop everyone in the room with her mind controlling confidant singing that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. So heres hoping that her upcoming full length featuring this single will hold up to my, and every other cat power fan's expectations.

...and john in new york

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-13T02:38:59-05:00

i will be in NY, New York this weekend (friday night to be exact) performing with my friend matt as 'a drop in silence' (the electronic music duo i am part of) we had toured the east a few months back but missed ny some how so we are heading back up to finnish what we started.we will be playing in a club in brooklyn called the lucky cat. there will also be a couple of other local musicians playing, Ezekiel Honig and Grant. It should be a fun show in a cozy little venue in brooklyn and i am looking forward to the trip up there. im sure i will stumble across some internet and ill be sure to throw something up online, photos? desktops? a video? who knows. just thought i would stop by and mention the trip here before i forgot to post it. well, i think thats all for now so if your into fun electronic music and your in the brooklyn area stop on by for the show. till next time...

twistedsun.net around the world

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-12T15:13:21-05:00

i have been using this site for a while now that makes it quick and easy to see where recent visitors to twistedsun.net have been visiting from. its a site called gvisit.com and its a free service that uses google maps to map out where a websites recent visits originated. not as detailed as my standard statistics but more fun to check from time to time! link to my map page

new mic

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-10T13:09:01-05:00

some of you may have gathered over time that i also like to do a bit of live sound engineering. i love being that close and trusted by the musicians that i have the opportunity to mix for. its so much fun to give bands the opportunity to sound the best that they can possibly sound. although i am relatively new to the technical side of things and im still getting my head around grabbing that frequency that is feeding back i think im getting the mix as a whole part down pretty good. i have been around the sound industry my entire live and ive been picking up things throughout that time. its been fun to learn about the field as ive been going along and i look forward to learning more in the future. i love the challenge behind mixing live audio, its great that i have had the opportunity to mix all sorts of different types of acts and learn the specifics of how to make a band really stand out live because every band can be so different. for instance, i rock band is totally different than mixing a jazz band or even a bluegrass band. they all have their own specific sound that they are used to and its my job to carry that out in the mix. this area of work does have its ups and down but even the dark side of audio has its interesting bits. over the past few years ive had a chance to learn so much about the industry and how cut throat it is. its such an interesting field because there are so many misconceptions surrounding it and even from tech to tech you will find that there is a vast amount of urban legends and standards that have been set and are followed so militantly by some. sometimes it surprises me to find how stubborn people can be in this field. for instance, i have come to respect a simplified approach to live audio, within a mix and within the pa's set up. if you gather up a few really nice pieces of gear into a system then you can simplify the whole process and in most cases actually end up with a much tighter, warmer mix because your focus moves away from the typical overly complicated approach to live mixing and focuses on letting the band sound the way they really do. maybe im not making any sense with this and i would have to get in a lot more detail to make the point i am trying to make but i somehow got started with this little rant here and i thought i would follow through. so anyways, i was posting here today to mention that i recently acquired a couple of amazing new mics that were engineered by blue and have been released by electro-voice. the mics i am referring to are the amazing new cardinal and raven mics. the cardinal i have a photo of above and as you can see it has an amazing and unique wooden enclose and yes, it sounds as good as it looks. as soon as i have the opportunity to record another podcast or two i am really looking forward to using it for that. i have used them at a couple of shows now and they have really stood out from the typical mics you see and hear. the cardinal is a wonderful condenser mic that would appear to be primarily a vocal mic but works wonders with other instruments as well. the raven is a dynamic mic that i have not used for vocals yet but would make for a great live vocal mic because of its tolerance to feedback. it has a really slick black metal body that is of a similar shape to the cardinal and from what i hear it is also a great all around mic and also has the benefit of not needing phantom power to use. right, so this may seem a bit out of the blue here but i would like to start posting more about this side of my personal interests on the site. till next time then!

new desktop up

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-09T17:24:25-05:00

i have posted a nice new desktop up in the friends section of the desktops area. its a slick image brought to you courtesy of davejansen.com

so now you cant post lyrics...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-09T17:22:14-05:00

what is the world coming to? i love being able to remember some old song and type in a fragment of the lyrics to the song to remind me who it was but it looks like the sites that make this possible are getting shut down... sad sad sad. link

what to do when....

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-09T01:38:11-05:00

...a bunch of 6 ft wide 450lb jellyfish start to mess with your countries food supply? well, make like the people of japan and eat em'. there are some pretty interesting facts at the bottom of the article as well so check it out! link

Great Lake Swimmers "Bodies and Minds"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-09T01:29:49-05:00

Here is another bittersweet acoustic album for everyone. This is a great record through and through. It has this amazing, gentle reverb that blankets each song which is due to the fact that this was recorded in a church that was set up as a temporary studio to record the album. It's a wonderful album for a cold winter night which I am starting to see plenty of around here. It's a sit around the fireplace and relax album that would make a nice addition to anyones music collection. iTunes link:

nice utility for safari

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-08T12:56:46-05:00

i came across this amazing little utility for safari called inquisitor. It essentially is an extension of the google search field and it adds some great functionality to that feature. when you type in the thing you want to search the fun begins, a menu pops down showing you the top search results for that subject and you simply click or use the arrow keys to scroll down to one of the links to jump to the page quickly. you can customize how many results are shown there. thats not all though. it will also list other possible spellings of the subject you are searching automaticly and allow you to quickly jump down and search on other sites aside from google. after a few days of using this im not sure if i could go back! its a really helpful little utility that i would defiantly check out! it is also the first shareware app that i have seen sold like it is. there is an online demo that you can preview the way the application works which is pretty cool on its own but has limited functionality. here is the link to that page. to get the utility you must donate whatever you think its worth to the developer then he will send you a link to download the app. pretty cool approach in my opinion. here is a link to the main site for the app where you can buy it.

podcast

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-07T00:02:42-05:00

ricky gervais has a podcast! for those of you who for some odd reason do not know who this is then please run out and buy the original bbc comedy, "the office" on dvd. he wrote and stared in this simple yet amazing bit of tv history. some of the best tv in years and easily one of my favorite shows ever. you can also see him in his new show called "extras" which i believe is airing on hbo as well as bbc. hes good at getting a laugh out of me, i know that much. ill let the podcast speak for itself. for more info you can go to the ricky gervais website, the guardian which hosted the podcast, or the iTunes page where you can subscribe. (all of those are links)

External Combustion

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-04T23:18:14-05:00

Recently Schematic Records came out with some pretty big news kind of out of the blue and that was that they were going to release a bunch of records as download only releases via the mp3 download site bleep.com. ... The first one that I purchased from the lot was a release that I have been waiting for a long long time to get my hands on and that is the Glen Velez remix album. ...It was an amazing release that held multiple parallels to the world of IDM and experimental music in general and it seemed like a logical step to take this and curate a remix album based on the release. ...Right off the bat I knew that I was in for a slew of good tracks with a wonderful remix by Atom (TM) which I have not really heard to much. ... The second track which is a remix by Richard Devine seems like an extension of the first track and moves the album right along with his trademark tempo and rambling glitches that fill out the track. From what I heard he played a lot of the drums on the song and tried to keep the programming to a minimum on this one which was a pretty cool approach seeing as he is known for being such a good sound designer/ tweakaholic and it was a nice change of pace for him in my eyes. Many of the remixes on this record seem to fit right into the aesthetic that Glen Velez laid down with the release that inspired these remixes which I think is pretty cool to see in a remix album. For the most part I think that the remixes tried to build onto what was originally achieved in the source material rather than just loop some samples from the original and create a new track. ...So for any fans of any of the remixers, hand drumming, or music that takes you well away from the norm as Scematic releases always do so very well then head over to bleep.com and check out this great release. Unlike iTunes, bleep lets you preview whole tracks which is very cool in my opinion and they offer web tools so blogs like this one can have little preview players right on the page soooooo here it is!

now this is a line....

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-12-02T10:36:00-05:00

holy _ this is craaazy. you must look at this video. im sure that some of you may have seen it already but its still pretty crazy. i read somewhere that in japan if people see a line or hear that there is some sort of big event that they will just kind of come down just to be part of whats happening? its just amazing. oh, i dont think i mentioned, the video is a quicktime video of the line to get into the apple store in tokyo the day it opened! have a look!

what ever happened to originality in video games?

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-30T14:07:06-05:00

it has gone from a peaceful, fun past time for people and morphed into this giant life sucking force in peoples lives. not only are the majority of games today just rehashing old ideas over and over and over, just with prettier graphics (kinda) but this new breed of gamers seem to de destroying the essence of the past time and are turning it into this blood thirsty monster of a presence in the world today. dont get me wrong, i do love a game where you just run around and blow stuff up from time to time but it just gets so old so very fast you know? ...i find it amazing that i have read real reports of muggings and people even being held at gun point to get ahold of this new xbox! ... i was in target the other day and overheard people talking about how ****ng sick it is and how the graphics are just amazing and so i had a look see and found that i was really underwhelmed by what i saw. ive seen better looking, more interesting games on the supposed worst of the current generation of consoles, the gamecube. what has gotten into gamers these days? im sure there must be some gamers out there that have been around pre playstation that know what im talking about. i remember when games used to be rated on originality as well as graphics, gameplay, and ll the rest. what ever happened to that? i so rarely find a game that i can get excited about these days and its kind of sad really. there are only a handful of games that were released in the past couple of years that i can remember actually holding any sort of originality or innovation in the way you might typically think of the way you play a game. i for one am thrilled about nintendo and their plans for the future. i love that they have chosen to take a stand for the roots of gaming and release something that is not intended to be in the middle of the xbox/sony war. im pretty excited that they have chosen to try something different for once. (ok so maybe ive never seen someone riding down the street on a bicycle while shooting an uzi of some sort but come on... this is stretching it just a bit dont ya think? when will the line be drawn between originality and a desperate attempt at taking old ideas and pushing them to the far reaches of anything interesting just to make it seem like there is new things you can do in a game? "dude, in gta 7 you can totally possess the pig poice and use there bodies to kill everybody, its sick yo") funny thing about nintendo is that they appear to be actually making money on there hardware unlike sony and microsoft which are, from what i understand, are actually taking a loss with their hardware sales. it just makes it all the more obvious that sony and microsoft are in it for control more than anything. ho hum... now that i think about it nintendo is kind of becoming the apple of the gaming world. right, so anyway... i just wish that games would get out of this 'we have to be bad ass or we wont sell any games' here in the u.s. because i for one am getting tired of every game box being black and the lack of any color in the industry as a whole. lets just hope that the people that are still innovating continue to do so or we just may loose gaming to the violent hungry, lonely, underbelly of the gaming world.

Pacific UV "Pacific UV"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-28T12:40:59-05:00

Now here is one amazing album! It has been a while since I have put it on to listen to but coming back to it I love it just as much as when I first heard it well over a year ago. It is a beautiful rock album that leaves you in a trance. Through part of it there is some really subtle singing that feels more like another instrument among the band which in my mind is a wonderful feat. I'm sure anyone that has been folowing the music section of this site know that I am a sucker for this kind of dreamy well produced music. Don't let that comment cheepen this feature here, this is a really amazing album that I would love to see get more attention so check it out! iTunes Linnk:

New desktops and a new review...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-25T13:22:38-05:00

I posted another Puerto Rico image as well as a shot of the inside of an old flower pot style imac for those of you who are into that kind of thing! there is also a review of the new boards of canada album so check it out!

The Campfire Headphase

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-24T20:19:28-05:00

The review has kind of been sitting there in the back of my mind waiting to be written but I am just now getting the chance to sit down in a moment where I remembered to write it. ...I had immediately fell in love with their sound which at times made me want to dance and other times it did a good job of calming my nerves a bit. ...When I started to listen to it al the way through I found myself liking it more and more and I eventually gave it a closer listed to catch onto what kinds of things they were doing differently this time around. ...I had always seen these little songs as ideas that were so simple and complete on their own that they did not need to flesh them out into complete tracks because they worked so well as little statements that pulled there own weight. ... Part of what made me get lost in their older releases was the way the tracks always felt like they were all born into existence to be what they were. ... On The Campfire Headphase I find that the songs feel thin in comparison to there past releases but in a strange sort of way that I'm not sure is a good thing or a bad thing. ... Each layer within the song is very crisp and has its own space within the track and generally this would be equated with a good quality mix but because everything is mixed right up front like it is I am not finding as many hidden little details as I listen to the songs. ...It's still the same BOC that I know and love but it's just not quite as intimate as I am used to with their work you know? ...This one feels like I'm listening to a radio friendly version of BOC that to me feels a bit foreign when I remember that I am listening to them but I guess it's a natural progression for one of the best electronic music producers putting out music today. Sorry for writing such a vague review of the album, I would suggest anyone and everyone pick up a copy, get together with some friends, put this on, and enjoy a nice cozy party in front of a warm fire.

life and the new rapidweaver...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-23T20:09:29-05:00

...is really nice! the whole program has been cleaned up and it feels a lot better to use. for those of you who dont know, rapidweaver is the app that i use to keep the site running. it allows me to work on the content for the site rather than making the site work. they recently took the newest version out of beta and its been working like a charm for me. im looking forward to getting a chance to use it more here. life has been pretty busy as of late as im sure you have noticed by my inactivity around the site. i really love running the site and sharing a few interesting things with the world. ive been thinking recently about what makes personal web pages interesting and i find that my life might be somewhat more interesting than some but what makes this page unique? i dont live in some sort of exotic country and im pretty sure that there isnt to much of a demand for commentary on american life so i cant go that route. i like to think the things i focus on here on the site like the desktops and the music reviews add a bit of something extra that might get passers by to come back by from time to time. i know there is a good amount of traffic from all sorts of places in the world and thats always really exciting to me to see. it makes the world feel so much closer and smaller than it may really be. its a nice, cozy sort of feeling in this distant sort of a way you know? i mean, there are hundreds, if not thousands of other sites just as little and tucked away among the vast reaches of the internet but i still like my little corner here on twistedsun.net. i like to think of it like this nice little hidden shop down a small alley in a big city that people sometimes come across and browse through my collection of things. only the shop is the site and the city is the internet. so anyways, enough of all that. i really do hope to be getting some new stuff posted around here sometime soon! like a new podcast, some new desktops, and maybe a couple of new reviews... thanks for stopping by! see you again soon! -john p.s - happy fbd!

Tiny Cities

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-22T22:31:43-05:00

I was familiar with his first solo release under the name Sun Kil Moon and absolutely loved it so I was pretty excited to see this show. During the show I knew so many of the songs were very familiar for some reason but I couldn't quite figure out why that is, until I found it out just recently that he had covered a lot of Modest Mouse songs during the show. While I was browsing through emusic yesterday I came across a new album by Sun Kill Moon called Tiny Cities and was immediately really happy to see that he had released some new music and went ahead and downloaded it. ...I find the whole Idea really interesting because he is such a gentle musician where Modest Mouse has so much more of a quirky upbeat kind of a feel to it. ... This album is more of a reworking of the original songs and to some extent the only part that remains of the original tracks are the words and the melodies to some extent. ...There is a documentary called Gigantic that is all about They Might Be Giants and in the movie there are a couple of scenes where there are a few miscellaneous celebrity fans reciting the words from TMBG songs and this was one of the coolest parts of the movie because it was really cool to hear the lyrics read like this in such a stripped down form. When listening to the original songs you get caught up in the catchy melodies and upbeat nature of the songs that make TMBG who they are but when they are spoken out loud like that it really settles in how great their song writing really is. ... By slowing down the tempo a bit and scaling back the production you almost forget you are listening to a song that was originally written by Modest Mouse. The lyrics really get a chance to shine and I really like that about this record because that is one of the things that make Modest Mouse so amazing in my mind. So if you are a fan of Modest Mouse or anything Mark Kozelek has done in the past I would recommend checking this out because at its core its a really great listen.

quick trip

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-21T15:12:10-05:00

this past weekend i went up north to play a couple of shows with my friend matt. we had a great time meeting and playing for new people. here are a few shots of the second venue we played which was in charlottesville, VA at a place called the twisted branch tea bazaar. it was a great place full of great people, very cozy place to play. check it out if you are ever in the area! the venue myo matt and i katastatik doofgoblin

New Desktops

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-16T12:02:00-05:00

i posted some more desktops from my trip to puerto rico. head over to the desktop section to check them out!

!!! "Get Up"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-16T11:48:00-05:00

I would recommend the whole ep that this is from but I don't really like the other song all that much. This track however is really amazing, it does drag on a good bit towards the end when it switches into an all out jam and it gets pretty crazy for a while. You can't deny how the song can drive you to dance. Check it out to see what I mean. Link in iTunes:

back home

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-15T12:35:00-05:00

well im back home and leaping rightback into the middle of things ivegotthree new websites that i am working on, a cd cover, and im getting ready to head up north to play a couple of shows with the electronic duo that i am a member of, adrop in silence. so pretty busy around here! i hope that you twistedsun.net visitors have stayed out of to much trouble while i was away and i look forward to getting right back into the swing of things here on the site. i will be posting a few new desktops at some point this week as well as a new podcast with some great local music and who knows what else you will just have to wait an see. so all that said i will talk to you guys again soon as some updates begin to roll on into the site.

Smash

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-11T22:49:00-05:00

A few months back I got pretty excited when I caught wind of a new artist that was being signed to Warp Records and his name is Jackson and he brought along his computer band to form Jackson and His Computer Band. !!! (chk chk chk) or one of the members of that band saw him live at some point and passed his music onto the guys at warp and voala! It's just that easy I guess you just have to know people that know people. ... At first there were a few stand outs on this release but overall I felt kind of, eh, about it. ...There is some really great music on here and it adds another really solid release to warps catalogue but I cant help but feel as though I have heard this before. ... His beat production constantly reminds me of Chris Clark which is great because Chris is one of my favorite electronic musicians. Smash carries the glossy IDM sound that all of the other warp artists have with top notch production and that ability to make music that is just different enough to draw in the indie kids and just listener friendly enough to appeal to a wider audience. I know that I don't really give overall ratings but I think it might be appropriate in this review. I just don't want people not to check this out because Im not giving it a glowing review. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fs%253D143441%2526playListId%253D78544598%26partnerId%3D30">

i went to the rainforest today

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-11T20:48:00-05:00

(null)

the view

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-09T08:13:00-05:00

from my balcony.

Hello.

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-08T08:43:00-05:00

So I am leaving my easy to get to internet access here and leaving for a bigger fancier hotel today. Hopefully I will be able to find a hot spot somewhere around there and I can update the site some more but im not really to sure at this point what will happen. I just wanted to mention here that I have posted a couple of new desktops! So head over and check them out. Just a bit of things to come. Hope to talk to everyone soon so until then, have a good one. -john

a peek into the trip

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-06T23:58:00-05:00

here are a few little photos from my trip so far. ill try and post a couple desktops tomorrow. i have to decide on whether or not i want to release some of these as desktops or not because ive come across some really great shots as of late and i may want to save them for other things but dont fear, there will be some cool new desktops here soon... until then, enjoy these!

Meathole

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-04T12:25:00-05:00

Here is a review of an album (meathole by venetian snares) that I wrote for the college radio station that i dj at: for those of you who may not be familiar with venetian snares he is one of the leaders in break-core electronic music today. he has released album after album of crazy cut up breakcore which in essence can be compared to drum & bass only its a lot more fun. think squarepusher thrown into a blender. many times his albums have some sort of coherent theme or sound to them but all hold a similar aesthetic which is his mastery of the break beat and pushing that sound to its limits. in one of my favorite albums of his he took music from some hungarian (i think) symphonies and transformed it to one of his best and most memorable records. his use of samples and strange but interesting themes is what generally sets his music in a place of its own. (i find that a lot of people who are into metal like his music) be prepared for a really fast paced intense sound that will add a moment of something wonderfully different to your show. ...4 (a bit more tame with actual drum samples and some other great orchestral stuff thrown in the distance) 5 (for fans of squarepusher and just a touch of afx, note: kind of has a little fake ending but kicks back in) 6 (more classic vs, trying to be dramatic with big ambient breakdowns and ending with a smattering of acoustic guitar) ...8 (brilliant track imho but on the long side at 9min) link to album on itunes:

well kids, im off to puerto rico!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-04T11:51:00-05:00

i know that i have been fairly inactive here on the site the past few days and that is because i have been getting ready for a trip to puerto rico next week. this trip just kind of popped up out of no where and it is courtesy of electro voice so i wont be needing a bunch of money for the trip which will be very nice. im planning on taking plenty of photos and i have plans to try a couple of things with some recording stuff that i am bringing if i find somewhere interesting to record some sound. so i hope to be posting plenty of cool content in the coming week from my trip. hopefully i will find some decent internet access so i can make this happen i hope that this trip makes for a fun week here on twistedsun.net so stay tuned for more! by the way, this travel site is very cool and is based around user reviews. lots of photos and videos that are formated for the new video ipod! very nice. heres a link. p.s - heres the hotel...

itunes videos

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-11-01T14:10:00-05:00

many of you may have heard already that apple has sold over one million videos in their new video store. this got me thinking about the concept as a whole. while i think we are a long way off from seeing feature films in the store i think that selling tv shows is a brilliant approach to the whole idea. it just makes so much more sense than selling movies. i for one feel as though i would not want to sit there and watch a whole movie on any screen smaller than my laptop screen. i do however see the appeal of having a portable video device and i think tv shows are nice because they are easy to sit down and watch in one sitting on a smaller screen. so that said i thought i would take a minute to bring up an idea that most other people seemed to have passed over in their discussions of the new ipod and the sale of tv shows on itunes. what kind of age demographic should they focus on with the type of tv shows available. i know that they have that one disney show on there and the pixar shorts but im wondering how many kids there will be running around with ipods with video playback watching their favorite shows on the school bus. i know that the ipod is quite the living accessory at the moment and im sure a fair share of younger kids have one in there pocket. is there going to be a market for this or will tv shows and content be steered towards adults exclusively? im curious to see how the music store pans out as a whole and that includes the videos and the music. with the upcoming contract renewal in the coming year with the big record labels only time will tell what happens next year. all i know is that its going to be an important year for apple seeing as they are planing their big intel switch on top of all of these other new happenings...

photobooth

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-31T13:36:00-05:00

an unexpected visit to an apple store yesterday gave val and i a chance to play around with a new imac with photobooth. its a really simple program but its so fun to play with! here are a couple photos from the mess around.

what if i was a zebra

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-30T12:30:00-05:00

a prop for a play at a theatre i was setting up a sound system in... better yet, what if i was a dancing zebra?

BALLS

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-29T11:20:00-04:00

wow! for those of you who have not seen this crazy tv ad for some new sony tvs you should head over and check it out. they dropped 250,000 bouncy balls down a hill in san fransisco to film the ad and the result is suprisingly cool. how on earth did they get permision to do this? there is a little mini documentary on the making of this available as well on the website. i would suggest viewing the hi-res versions of the videos because detail seems to be pretty important in this one. heres a link

Pieces of the World

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-28T12:34:00-04:00

I had seen them twice live when I was mixing sound at Gate City Noise here in Greensboro and I found that their songs were getting stuck in my head for long periods of time. ... The songs are all so haunting and captivating that I cant help but want to hear it again and again. ...A lot of the songs are strung together seamlessly as the album moves along and this makes it easy to loose track of time as you listen to the album. The vocals are stretched thin over the music of the band and match the feel of the music perfectly as it breaks into almost a cry at times. The pieces of the songs that get stuck in my head always seem to be the bits with the haunting melodies. They really carry their own unique sound and feel that stands out from all of the other music that I listen to within the rock music genera. ...Although every songs works so very well together I do have a few favorites that are each easily some of the best music that I have heard in the past year. The first three tracks on this album are absolutely brilliant, So Good So Bad, Pieces Of The World, and Badlights are just amazing and really get the album moving along. ... Dance Song has this ending sing along style of a melody with its la de da's that gets stuck in my head all to easily. ...All in all I would recommend this to anyone looking to hear a wonderful, well rounded rock album with bittersweet lyrics and amazing, memorable melodies that will likely get stuck in your head for days to come.

DangerDoom "The Mouse and the Mask"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-27T17:13:00-04:00

I don't know enough about the artist and the back story to give a full review of this record but I did want to at least feature it here because I think that it's a really amazing hip-hop record. It is loosely based on Cartoon Networks Sunday night series Adult Swim and features content from the characters of the show. Im not even sure what to say about the record, its funny and has some brilliant production. Its a fairly short record but every minute of it is soooo good. If you are looking for a great, fun new hip-hop record or are a fan of the Adult Swim series than I would defiantly recommend this great album. iTunes link:

of possums and trash

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-26T12:07:00-04:00

this was found in the trash at my work. i dont think he liked us very much after we woke him up. well, not at first, a second or two later he just laid there and acted like he was dead so we would leave him alone. what a cozy bed he found there in our trash right?

windows 100%

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-25T17:59:00-04:00

check it out! i was featured in a japanese computer magazine called Windows 100%. i got an email from them a few months back asking if i would be interested to be included in their magazine. you can make up the rest of the story yourself but in the end i did end up getting published and here it is!

waste

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-25T17:28:00-04:00

link

coke

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-25T17:05:00-04:00

being a fan of the designers republic, a firm that i have loved for years and years now, i have decided to put a link up here to this amazing site that revolves around a few designer bottles of coke that are evidentially shaped like the classic glass bottles but are made of aluminum. they are all designed by some really high class design firms and they are all really slick. the annoying catch is that these bottles can only be found at special events and fancy clubs for whatever reason. oh well. anyways, each bottle also has a song as well as a video. check it out here.

Some more new desktops up...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-25T14:16:00-04:00

I got some new camera lenses recently and ive been shooting plenty of new images for desktops so I should have new ones up pretty regularly for a while. I will try and get back on the wagon here on the weblog and get some new reviewish things up and other interesting bits. at any rate. see you again soon!

illusion

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-24T18:10:00-04:00

this is fun! link

pumpkins!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-24T15:11:00-04:00

i carved some pumpkins with val for fbd! they are the ones that we bought at the pumpkin patch that you can see in an earlier blog entry.

jot

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-24T10:31:00-04:00

one of the best joy of tech comics i have seen in a good while. link.

international ferris bueller day!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-23T00:48:00-04:00

thats right everyone, its the 23rd of the month which means that it is once again ferris bueller day! its a day that is celebrated by taking a break from life and getting the chance to get out and have a day all to yourself and your loved ones. go ahead. cancel your plans, whatever they may be and make a nice little mental list of things you have never done that you have wanted to do but for whatever reason never let yourself have the time to do them. so loosen up a bit and have a good one!

random photo

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-22T23:09:00-04:00

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contraband

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-22T22:31:00-04:00

there is a band called contraband that i did the sound for last night that has a really cool idea and its really amazing to watch. the idea is that there are two guys that sit and play the old nintendo game contra from start to finish (projected up onto a screen for everyone to see) while the band plays the soundtrack to the game. they had the crowd hollering along and rooting for them to win. the show lasted about 20 minutes which is a pretty impressive time to beat the game. the guys playing obviously had every detail of the game memorized. the show was funny yet really gripping for whatever reason. if they ever play a show near you i would strongly recommend you check them out! here are some photos...

more on this later

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-22T00:07:00-04:00

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my other new ipod

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-21T13:29:00-04:00

well, for whatever reason i saw these new ipods and i could not resist forking over another four hundred dollars to apple. i had been wanting a newer generation ipod for a while now because of the newer features added to them. when the 5g ipod was released i knew that somewhere in the back of my mind i was going to end up getting one. not only can it import photos from my camera and allow me to keep photos on the ipod and show them on a tv as a slideshow... it can also record cd quality stereo sound (as soon as somebody releases a pre-amp for the thing...) playback video, help organize my life, wash my dishes, scratch my back, do tricks for dog treats, and on top of all that play music? who wouldnt want one of these things? ok, so maybe im making things up here to make it seem like its more than it is but it is really really nice and it is the best ipod ever. most of the reviews you will read you will read about this will zero in on video playback and understandably so. people have been totally obsessed with this getting added to ipods since what seems like the beginning of time. the reviews i have read all treat it like its a portable video player now instead of an mp3 player which is backwards. apple just added video in the mix as a simple progression of the ipod the same way that they added photo support. its a perk not a feature to base a whole review around. anyways, what do i think of the new ipod? i think i said this already but this thing is the best ipod yet. as you hold it in your hand or see a photo of it it looks so much bigger than the older full size ipods but it is actually smaller than they are. the bigger screen on the player makes it seem bigger. speaking of the screen, it is really amazing. it has an incredible resolution and allows the viewing angle on it to be very very wide without looking all crazy and negative-like. the battery life seems to be pretty strong for music playback and performs as promised. video playback does eat up the battery a good bit more but that is to be expected. i have yet to try and hook it up to a tv but i am exited to give it a try. it sounds like a really handy function. i also am looking forward to utilizing the ability to import photos onto the ipod. i have tried it a couple of times and it is pretty slow and it eats up the battery for whatever reason. im not sure what thats all about but its still handy all the same. a couple of subtle differences have shown their face as i have played with it. the click from the click wheel now plays through the headphones when it is turned on but in a distant un-intrusive way. the older ipods could do this but in a much more annoying way. also the browsing structure has changed slightly and when you only have one album by an artist loaded on the ipod you find that it skips right into the songs on that album rather than showing the album name then the track names. there are also a couple of other new little things that i dont feel the need to mention here. just check out apples site for any other details. so i hope that this gave you an idea of what i think about the new ipod. any of you with older ipods as i did might want to take a closer look into this new player because the new features that are there seem very worth it to me.

toys!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-21T10:57:00-04:00

boing boing never seems to stop amazing me with the amount of strange yet interesting links to things around the internet. this time around i thought i would share this amazing page with you that features the top 100 toys of the 70s and 80s! it is very cool and has a lot of various toys that i remember from when i was a kid! check it out here

this is just...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-21T01:00:00-04:00

to funny not to post. i have known of this for a while but for what ever reason i never posted it. ever get tired of junk mail? here is an interesting way to get some payback... link

wap100 compilation

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-20T17:34:00-04:00

this is an amazing compilation from warp records that marked the 100th release by the label which has come and gone for a while now. i wanted to mention it here before but i thought that it had gone out of print so i hesitated to do so. well i recently came across it on itunes and thought i would mention it now that it is easy for you guys to check it out. the album is really amazing all the way through and it is a great reminder of how great warp records was in what i consider to be its best years as a label. the comp features all exclusive tracks by many of the labels classic artists. you can not get any better than this. autechre is still in its ep7/lp5 aesthetic, plaid was still fun and not so drowned in cheesy reverb, and there is an aphex/squarepusher track that is amazing! head over to itunes and check it out! heres a link:

emusic

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-20T16:27:00-04:00

so im sure that most of you have heard of the iTunes music store and are familiar with the pay per song / album structure of the store. i for one love this model because i can just get what i want to get and i get to keep the music indefinitely. there are other online music stores that offer a subscription model and that might be nice for someone who does not really care about music all to much and does not mind not actually owning any of the music. i for one have a huge problem with that and prefer having the ability to burn anything i want to burn and whatnot. this said i am not really fond of any sort of drm (digital rights management) at all and would prefer to just buy the music and own it without any restrictions at all but i know thats not going to happen any time soon. to get to the point here i wanted to write about an online music store that is not as widely known but i think it pretty amazing overall. its called emusic. i have been using emusic for years now. it was one of the first online retailers for mp3s and they focus in on all of the indie labels out there so dont expect to find any big label pop music on there. you can find some really amazing stuff if you dig around though! so i am going to contradict myself here and say that emusic is a subscription based service and this was no problem to me back when you could pay 15 dollars for unlimited downloads from the site. a larger company came in and reorganized a bit and now 15 dollars a month will only get you 65 songs but do the math, thats still a good deal! the downloads are in variable bit rate mp3 format and they sound really good for being mp3s. so at any rate head over and check it out! if you decide to try it let me know and ill send you an invite which could lead to me getting a kickback. consider it a donation to twistedsun.net! you will get a month free which means you can grab a couple albums of music for free just to try it out so check it out! heres a link.

new desktops

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-19T18:11:00-04:00

there are two new desktops in the desktops section. i have 7 more desktops from the corn maze on the way which i think is a nice way to get into the upcoming fall weather here in north carolina. there are also a couple of desktops i will be posting of some fireworks which are pretty cool looking. i will be posting these 2 or three at a time over the rest of the week so check back for more soon! UPDATE: two more desktops have been added, check back soon for more!

maize maze

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-19T14:50:00-04:00

so im finally ready to get some updates here on the site and i will start with a few photos from this past weekend while i went out to a corn maze / pumpkin patch with val and my dad. i had a ton of corny puns ready for this post but i have lost track of them all.. home made ice cream to start things off following our navigator val there was a couple of bridges so you could see over the field sunhead! and down the sun went and out came the moon i had no pumpkin... so i ran off to get one... ps - lots of new desktops lined up so look out!!

you wont find this at ikea

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-15T11:31:00-04:00

check this out! its sort of a how to on making a secret door that uses a book pull to open the door. heres a link.

nano this, nano that

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-14T13:00:00-04:00

so ive had my nano for a few weeks now and i love is just as much as i did when i got the thing. i have scratched it up a good bit but i dont mind scratches, just so i can see the screen well enough. ive been getting really used to the size of the ipod and its ability to slip into some sort of black hole in my pocket. black hole because it seems as though its not even there when i carry it around. i would highly recommend this player to anyone who wants music on the go. it is the best portable music solution i have seen to date for those of you who just want something small that wont ever get in the way. from what i understand the 2 gig versions are having a rough time and understandably so. the 4 gig needs to be the 200 dollar model and the 2 should either not exist, or simply be cheeper. the shuffle would sell like hot cakes at 50-75 bucks a shot and im sure they could afford it. then the shuffle would really become a in pulse buy. i bought some letter stickers to decorate my powerbook and found that the 'o' fits right over the enter button on my nano which is kind of fun and gives my finger a guide so i dont accedentally hit a button or jack the volume up accedentally. its kind of nice really, heres a photo. oh and check out this slick wooden case for the nano, pretty tempting if you ask me. thats all for now. im off to work!

new review!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-14T02:09:00-04:00

there has been a new review posted in the reviews page in the music section. its a great album this week so head over and check it out! the podcast will be here a little late this week but will be here before the weekend is gone so stay tuned for that! more soon! i promise! -john

Amphetamine Kisses To The Night

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-14T00:55:00-04:00

This week I have the pleasure of reviewing a cd by an unsigned musician who, a few weeks back, contacted me about the possibility of reviewing a cd that he had recorded independently here on twistedsun.net. ... Well a few weeks passed and there was a mishap with the mail service somewhere or another and I didn't get the cd as soon as I had hoped but thanks to my .mac account he simply uploaded the songs for me to hear and I am even more excited to review it now that I have heard the whole album! ...The first track called "Misery Loves Company" Is a beautiful acoustic song with subtle hints of vinyl static and the dreamy atmosphere that sits behind the music and gives it its thick feel. I am a firm believer in having a great song to open an album and this is a wonderful pick because it's not to much all at once but its also not to quiet either. The next track called "Voyeur" starts to show off some of his ability to layer tracks of audio to a point that makes it rich and thick but not to overbearing. ... Now that I am sitting down and reviewing it as a whole I am having trouble pointing out favorites because each song brings something different to the table. ... I remember listening to that song for the first time and getting totally lost in the song and the words and when it ended I was sitting there in silence for a while before I realized that it had ended. ...I know that this all just seems like a bunch of biased praise and I must be nuts or something to enjoy a record so much but this is what I love about music. ...He is in talks at the moment to get the album released properly on a record label so look out for that and I'm sure that after all of this praise that some of you are curious to hear some of the music and you can by heading over to this site to hear some streaming files. p.s - ha, my dad keeps asking me what I am listening to... seems as though we have another fan on our hands... :-) also, check out this weeks podcast when i post it for audio clips from the album as well as the spoken version of this review.

Brian Eno "An Ending (Ascent)"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-13T14:31:00-04:00

This song is one of the most beautiful ambient songs ever written. You would be hard pressed to see electronic music feel this emotional. Some of you may recognize this song from the movie 28 Days Later. The album that it was originally taken from is not really not his strongest ambient album. There is a couple other really amazing tracks on there but this song is simply amazing. You have to hear it to believe it. Trust me and check it out! iTunes link:

videos and such

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-13T14:11:00-04:00

so i grabbed a couple videos from the itunes music(video) store to see what all the fuss is about and it was pretty cool all in all. i can see the idea of being able to buy tv shows a wonderful and amazing approach to selling video online. i would love to be able to download my favorite episodes of shows because i dont really watch to much tv and the couple shows that i would give the time of day would be nice to access like this. the only issue that could arise from this is the quality of the video. as many of you may have heard the resolution is intended to look really good on the new ipod. not playing full screen on 20 inch computer monitor. i will admit that although the video is a bit grainy/ blocky, especially in the darker areas of the video. but i think that these are not intended to be high resolution video downloads now are they? if i want a fancy copy of a tv show ill look for the dvd version. i really like the ability to have video media on my computer without having to carry around a bunch of dvds. i have a few dvds that i have converted into a quicktime format so i can watch them on the go. its pretty nice really. sometimes its nice to watch something in pristine quality and that has its time and place but on the go and being out and about its not really as much of a priority. so i would recommend you head over and check it out. its worth a couple bucks for some of the pixar shorts and your favorite music videos. i cant wait to see how the tv side pans out. hopefully other networks will follow suit. personally im pulling for fox so i can get arrested development and family guy and simpsons, nbc for the new office which is growing on me, and cartoon network for adult swim. it certainly has a lot of potential but its too early in the game to make any accurate judgement on how well its all going to work out in the end. only time will tell.

coverflow

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-12T17:08:00-04:00

i remember playing with this app a while ago but the tech demo ran out and it stopped running. i checked the site again recently and there was a new version available. not a final release but it is free and it is amazing and worth a look. it is essentially a way to look through your itunes content like you are browsing through records. i would love to see this built into itunes like a plug in of some sort. it will only be fun to play with if you have a good amount of your albums with cover art. as you flip through the album covers the animation is so fluid and amazing. you have to see it to believe it. it is mac osx only and you can download it here.

AAA

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-12T14:44:00-04:00

well i think i need to start a new support group somehow. im going to call it AAA which stands for: ...are there enough people out there with the same issues with this life altering disease? im thinking there must be. i couldnt be the only person out there sitting there franticly clicking the refresh button on my web browser for any scrap of news i could possibly get on the new apple announcements today. sure is fun though. its like a good suspense movie. there are a lot of strategic clues, many of which are there just to get you thinking in the wrong direction, and your mind races ahead of itself to try and figure out what will come next. you remember fuzzy undercover photos of mystery products, mysterious rumors crawling about, contradicting one another yet all hoping to be that golden ticket so they could be the ones that stand proudly after the dust settles and say, ha! ...then there is that moment when you nearly black out with anticipation as the new apple news is unveiled to the world and you get to take that big breath and stare and stare and drool (just a little, you know, in secret) and up creeps that smile and that satisfaction that you are looking at something that is just sooooo cool. then after you soak up the news you can start clicking away and finding out all the little details and really begin to form a decent opinion on the exciting new great thing there before you. ok so thats all nice and dramatic but come on, im not alone here am i? ... you have to respect apple for being so brilliant with there delivery. there is just not another major company out there that is as slick with there approach to marketing their product. me being a graphic designer myself i can not help but look on with amazement as they manipulate the entire world with there beautiful products and there amazing approach to their marketing. i should also mention here that i do get pretty aggravated by apple when i find out about a lot of their policies but i wont get into that here, i think ive gone on long enough. ...right. so here is, what all of the fuss was about around apple the past week or so. new ipods with video playback(!) new imacs with a built in camera(!) and some sort of new remote control for the imac that i havent read to much about yet. all in all it sounds like they have built quite solid updates for the ipod and imac. head over to apple.com for details.

sound studio

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-11T16:59:00-04:00

i have been using an app called felt tip sound studio for a couple of years now as a basic audio editor and of all of the other basic audio recording/editing software i have come across this has been by far the most stable piece of software available that i have used. i record hours of audio at a time when i record live music at shows with my powerbook and this program handles this task without hesitation. hell, i will be running abelton live and reason at the same time during live shows that i play with a friend of mine (a drop in silence) and i will have sound studio set up and recording our live set while im performing live using this high end software and it still performs flawlessly. so i mention this because today the newest version of this app has been released (finally!) and i was somewhat surprised to see that freeverse software is the distributor with this release. i was equally surprised to see that this new version costs $80! it may be stable and a nice bit of solid software but ouch. i cant seem to find a demo version to try out either so it looks like i have a bit of a decision to make with this purchase. i think there is a discount for upgrading, ill have to see. so anyone out there in the need of a really solid piece of software to record and edit audio then look no further than sound studio. heres a link. oh, and whats with that terrible logo??

Tim Hecker "Haunt Me"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-11T16:02:00-04:00

In the mood to relax, meditate, and reflect on something? Well let me introduce to you an amazing ambient record by Tim Hecker. Some of his other work is heavily laced with a noisy side but this album is really very simple yet detailed in a lot of ways. Its wonderful production leaves your eyes getting heavier and heavier as the music plays on. I will recommend some more ambient over the next few days, its always a great way to unwind. Till then have a look at this great release. Itunes link:

well well well

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-11T15:32:00-04:00

i have a couple of things planned for this space here in the next few days. i will be reviewing my new bag which is very cool and a game which i posted a teaser image for a week or so ago. the reason i have put these things off is because i can not find the memory card for my camera.. it will turn up soon im sure. anyways, im just posting this to let you know whats coming up next here in the blog. i will be posting a new podcast thursday night / friday morning for those of you who may be interested as well as a new music review. anyways, thats all for now. talk to you soon.

new desktops

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-10T18:52:00-04:00

there are 4 amazing new desktops brought to you courtesy of my younger brother over in the friends section within the desktops area of this site. he is a college student over at the memphis school of art which seems to be a pretty cozy school. at any rate, head over and check them out! here is a little sample...

ha...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-10T13:17:00-04:00

(null)

rapidweaver update!

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-10T02:30:00-04:00

hey there anyone that has followed this site knows that ive been using a wonderful web development app that is called rapidweaver. i thought i would post and mention that it has a new public beta out of a new version and it is very very very nice. this program just gets better and better and better so head over and check it out!! link

battle of the pocket

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-10T02:26:00-04:00

it all started with my first ipod. ill admit it was a little bulky but it did fit in my pocket. i found out just how nice it was to have a device like this on the go, ready to pull out at any moment to pass some time, share some music, or to show it off to friends. (something owners of some sort of fun new gadget might not normally admit) this started what could be a never ending war for pocket real estate. one that is fought every morning when i decide which gadgets will get the luxury of spending the day hanging out in my pocket. the most recent addition to the pocket family is my new gameboy micro. a very very nice little gadget that is nice for passing a few minutes here and there. as i mentioned a post or two back i do love a good game here and there. the game boy is, to me, the last platform that is still surviving that houses some really great traditional style games that are just so fun. it also lends to some nice newer style games as well. in other words, nothing to fancy. just good gaming fun. the micro itself is a very cool toy, and unlike many reviews i have seen, is built pretty solidly. the psp is to bulky to be truly portable (pocket size) and its cute and all with its multimedia functions but it just does not seem worth 250 dollars to me. this and these new generation games are just sooooo expensive. but anyways, didnt post to write about that. it just seems so interesting how there are all of these various gadgets being released that are all fighting to take that place in your pocket. things such as the ipod shuffle and palms with belt packs and the such seem to try and give a way to carry your toys without having to clutter up that space. so lets get down to it, what does john of twistedsun.net have in his pockets right now? well in the left front pocket ive got my nano (its just soooo tiny!) and my new micro which feels good in my pocket. i easily forget i have anything in that pocket! in my right pocket i have a little leatherman pocket knife/ pliers (the mini kind), an extra game or two, loose change and some headphones. i have a slim little wallet in my back pocket and thats it! my cell phone kind of floats around where i am and sometimes gets thrown in my back pocket or just on a desk wherever i might be which has lead to it getting lost here and there but its nothing fancy so im not to controlling of it. so now ive shared, lets hear what you readers have tucked away in your pockets, the comments must be good for something right? ill post a photo here tomorrow if i remember to with my little collection of stuff.

movies

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-08T11:30:00-04:00

i realized that i havent really talked about movies here on my weblog so i thought i would mention a couple that im looking forward to.... • im not usually one for war movies, in fact ive only seen one that i really thought was any good which was full metal jacket. i am however looking forward to this one movie called jarhead. it just looks damn good. check out the trailer here to see what i mean. • i just saw the movie proof last night and i would recommend anyone that its playing near go check it out. i saw the play that this movie was based on and loved it so i was very excited to see that there was a movie being made based on the play. the movie version was surprisingly accurate and all but perhaps 5 minutes of the film seemed to be right on the same as the play which is a good thing seeing that the play is so well written to begin with. i think it won some sort of big award in the world of theatre but i cant remember what its called. at any rate, go check this out, trust me its really good! check out the trailer here. • and there is one more that ill mention here that i have been curious about for a while now called 2046. i think its a chinese film and the mood of it reminds me of bladerunner. well from the trailer anyways. check it out here.

revenge of the little red plumber

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-07T11:47:00-04:00

since when are video games so bad ass? at what point they they stop being original and fun and start focusing on these boring concepts? i just dont get it. i was in a game store today to grab a new gameboy micro and i overheard a guy talking to his girlfriend about this game being for little kids or that game being for _____ies. so what is the deal? these new games are sooo easy! im not seeing much skill in running around stealing cars and shooting people. i could see the entertainment value of this for oh 5 minutes or so but where is the challenge? its funny to me that video games used to be for dorks, nerds and other such non threatening forms of the human species. it has slowly transformed into this industry full of people looking for nothing more than to blow stuff up, kill things, and well, kill things. its really dumbed down a good bit in a way. this is why i dont like these new systems as much, especially the x-box. there just is not that wide of a range of games available for it. it seems like the idea of being a harcore gamer has transformed from one who is really into games and playes them all the time to one who is into these bad ass killing games. i dunno. maybe im just looking at it from the wrong point of view. this is the whole reason i like nintendo so much. there games are actually pretty fun. i am really getting into these games that are made for multiple players at once. i am really excited about the new revolution console that nintendo is putting out. i cant wait to mess around with the new motion sensitive controller they are using with it! so anyway just thought i would comment on the state of gaming today. i just hope that the xbox/ rockstar overlords dont end up destroying gaming as i once knew it...

Vetiver

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-07T01:11:00-04:00

I reviewed this on my podcast but it wasn't much of a review in the end because I was in a weird mood. It's kind of funny really so if you want to hear a little bit of the music and a kind of sort of review check out the podcast. It was recorded with this amazing new mic that I have access to which is exiting. So anyways, heres a link so you can get the album and enjoy it for yourself. It's an amazing simple acoustic folkish album not unlike the last review here. Sooooo, right, heres that link:

ear canals beware

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-07T01:03:00-04:00

so i have recently bought a pair of 'in ear' earbud style headphones just so see what all this talk is about and see if they really are any better than a traditional earbud headphone that sits in your ear. i have avoided this for a good while simply because i have a fear of cramming things into my ears. its been around since i was a wee little version of myself playing around with some drum sticks and my ear and i poked one in there to deep and ouch! freaked me out and ever since, anything involving the inner ear has been avoided weather that be q-tips or earplugs, nothing gets to deep in there without a bit of a squirm and some goose bumps. the reason i picked some up was simply because i got a great deal on a pair of some of the nicer ones available on the market, a pair of shure E3's. the first thing that made me wonder if i had made a wise decision in this purchase was when i came across this odd little plastic stick with a hook on one end that i soon found out was a device to clean the earwax out of the headphones... yeah, it's pretty weird and so far, luckily, i have not had to whip this little tool out. the headphones also came with a little collection of various plastic covers / earplug attachments for the headphones. there are three different styles of these. little grey ones that are the most flexible and my personal favorites, little clear plastic ones that are not nearly as soft, and some foamish ones that are like earplugs that you roll between your fingers to squish so it will fit into your ear then expand to form a seal. i would use the foam ones if they were softer but the material is rough and uncomfortable. all but the foam ones come in various sizes for different ears but i could not imagine anyone with ears big enough to stick the bigger ones into. the idea behind these in ear headphones is that the headphones (i don't like t he word earbuds so ill call them headphones) form a nice seal around your inner ear which blocks out outside noise and allows for you to listen at a lower level but still hear the sound ok. well i have discovered that to do this you really need to cram these things down in your ear by holding back your ear lobe and opening up your ear canal so you can cram these things down there nice and deep. this way when you let them settle the plastic covers that i mentioned will form a nice tight seal around your ear and keep sound from getting in. this is what i just can not get used to. it feels like my ears cant breath at all which is weird to me. the seal is nice and tight when you get them in your ear right. i find that my poor ears are kind of sore after the whole process. so all that unpleasantness out of the way i can admit that they do sound pretty damn good once you get them in there nice and tight. these headphones really do knock out a good bit of the outside noise. the best way to look at them is like you are sticking earplugs in your ears only there is a little tunnel in the middle of the earplugs that lets sound from the headphones sneak through. these things have a great clear sound that, when compared directly, cover more of a range than other traditional style earbud style headphones. the only thing that you might say is lacking is the low end. this is true and it isnt true. if you get the headphones in your ear right then there is plenty of low end to go around. its not going to shake your brain like a pair of bose tri-ports but it does come through and the nice part about the low end on these headphones is that it does not suck up all of the output in the speakers like some headphones do. it allows for the bass to carry out along side the clarity of the tiny tiny little speakers in the headphones. so all in all i couldnt really recommend you get these headphones. they are good for certain things and moments in life when you want to block out the sound from the outside world without having to wear big earmuff style headphones. i know there are tons of these inner ear headphones out there on the market that can cost anywhere from 40 bucks to 500 or more and im sure there are better ones out there than these but its just the whole inner ear experience that i cant quite get used to. maybe over time my ears will stretch out and allow for these things to feel better in my ear but for now id have to wave a caution flag in the direction of anyone looking to dive into these deep ear diving style of headphones.

david and his creations

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-07T00:02:00-04:00

there is this amazing illustrator in my town and his name is david lanham and im sure that some of you in the mac community may be familiar with his work from the iconfactory. i have a link to his site in the links section but i just checked out his site for the first time in a while and i was once again amazed by his work. there is a couple of new illustrations of his that he has posted in his freshly renovated website that i would suggest you go check out. his work is just soooooo creative and imaginatlive. he is one of my favorite illustrators by far and has a style unlike any other which is very rare in today's world of trendy art and design. so head over and check out his newest offerings - i guarantee you will like what you see! link

need a new shirt?

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-06T15:34:00-04:00

i came across this really amazing t-shirt site called threadless. if you want to achieve an instant hipster look then look no further than this site. they have some very cool shirts designed by all sorts of different designers. from what i gather anyone can enter a design submission and then they get voted on my visitors of the site. the most popular shirts get printed and sold in small quantities. while i was out on tour i met a few people with shirts that i thought were very neat looking and turns out they were all from this site! happy shopping! heres a bit of a link to check it out.

Jesus and Mary Chain "Just Like Honey"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-06T15:09:00-04:00

Damn what a great song. It's a classic early 90's track that I came across via the soundtrack for Lost In Translation. I just can not get over how this song crawls under my skin. There is something about it's slow melodic noisy presence. I am not really all that knowledgeable when it comes to early 90's rock music but I know what I like and this song just feels like one of those songs that stands out from the rest in my mind. It would make a wonderful addition to any mix so check it out:

the countdown begins...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-05T17:53:00-04:00

i am eagerly awaiting october twelfth because apple is all set to have one of there little out of the blue press events and who knows what kind of new toys we will see. i for one can not wait to see what they have up their sleeve. will it be this elusive video ipod?? i would say maybe but if that were true than this image most likely would not be still allowed to be floating around the internet seeing as apples lawyers are known for being pretty tight about leaks. any ideas on what might be next??

designers lunchbox

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-05T12:30:00-04:00

i came across this amazing site that appears to be a loose collective of designers that release various work on this site as part of an online magazine of a sort. i honestly dont really kow to much about the site other than that they have some really amazing work hiding on it. im not sure how often it gets updated even. you can dig through the back issues of the site to see a wide variety of amazing design work. check it out for yourself over at www.k10k.net have fun digging through the site, there is plenty to see and get lost in...

Viva Voce "High Highs"

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-05T10:50:00-04:00

Ah, back to favorites here after a few days break. I have got one of my all time favorite songs for you today. It is a song by the amazing indie rock group Viva Voce from their album Heat Can Melt Your Brain. The song I am featuring here from this album is called 'High High's" and it is a wonderful hip hop tinged track that i can not hear enough times. Its just sooooo smooth and well worth a look. It must be heard to be believed so if you have iTunes loaded up then click the link below to check it out.

let's see here...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-04T18:08:00-04:00

there have been a ton of new desktops added, well 9 new ones at least that i shot while i was out of town. i love my job(s). because i spent my time getting these new desktops all ready and set up i have not really updated this weblog to much yet but ill be back in the swing of things tomorrow so fire up that browser again and click on that twistedsun.net link in your bookmarks bar to see whats new here on the weblog! life is throwing me in all sorts of directions right now and im looking forward to the future which is good for you readers because you get to read all about it. well the interesting bits that i come across in the world that is. so until tomorrow, enjoy the new desktops and ill talk to you then!

dad

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-04T14:52:00-04:00

in a window in fort.... i forget the name...

back

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-04T01:50:00-04:00

im back home and i am preparing a few new things to add to the site so check back tuesday at some point and i will start posting some new stuff!!

away for a bit

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-10-01T00:28:00-04:00

i will be away from easy access to the internet for a couple of days here because i am away on work (my other work, sound guy engineer person man) at the moment. i just thought i would post this to let readers know whats up. i will most likely not get a chance to post any meaningful update until monday but i should have a good amount of new stuff to add at that point. sorry for the lack of updates here, ill see you again soon! until then, here are a couple of photos from my job tonight which will be the same for the next couple of days...

Veneer

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-09-29T13:50:00-04:00

José González is an artist that I stumbled upon in the iTunes store while poking around in the folk section and boy did this come out of no where. I can't say to much about the artist himself because I haven't really looked into is music aside from this one album. ... In it's essence it is an acoustic, singer songwriter album and its one of those albums that seems so fragile and quiet that it could fall apart at any moment, not unlike albums like Nick Drakes 'Pink Moon' and Iron and Wines 'The Sea And The Rhythm.' ... This is matched perfectly with the scaled back production quality of the songs which makes it all the more hypnotic with its lo-fi sounding recording and subtle reverb. His song writing is what drew me in with its dark and thoughtful lyrics about the world. At first glance at his name I had almost expected the music to be sung in spanish but it is all english. Again, I don't really know anything about the artist which is kind of nice really. ... I walked through a busy downtown street listening to this and as I listened to it the world around me seemed to slow down a bit which was a welcome change in the middle of a work day. ...For anyone looking for a chance to close their eyes and relax for a while I would suggest you check out this amazing album. ...id=LBm*k6LCddY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fs%253D143441%2526playListId%253D79052700%2526s%253D143441%26partnerId%3D30">

facecast

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-09-29T13:09:00-04:00

when i wrote about kyoto podcast yesterday i mentioned something called a facecast that the host is trying to put together. a facecast is something he came up with which will use the enhanced podcast feature of iTunes to let him have a podcast that features photos of people from all over the world. not only people but animals too! he is looking for images not only from listeners of the podcast but from anyone who may want to participate in this idea and be part of it. i think that its going to be very cool when its done and its something that you shouldnt miss out on being a part of so if you have a minute or two please mail a photo of yourself and/or your pet over to facecast@mac.com and be part of a really great project! (the photos i posted above are a few of the ones that i sent to the project.)

warner's comon sense, or lack there of...

john@twistedsun.net — 2005-09-29T10:40:00-04:00

there has been so much new interest in music that would not have normally been had otherwise. you see a little indie group stuck right up next to these robot bands and its such a nice thing to see. if you really did deep into the store you will find some really amazing music hiding away and this form of distribution is simply the future of music and the major record labels just need to realize this. i remember years and years ago when i was younger and hanging out with a friend of mine he was telling me about how he heard that in the future you wont go to a record store to buy cds or tapes. you will take in this little chip thats a tiny little device that you plug your headphones into and pay to get it filled up with the music you want. i thought that this was just the craziest sounding thing i had ever thought of. "how cool would that be," i thought. boy was i amazed when i opened the box to my first ipod! ... the whole idea of the future coming into the present really started to settle in when i first held a shuffle in my hand. i had immediately thought to myself that this must be what they were talking about years and years ago. so off i went to buy digital music and fill up this little 'chip' with music. i remember having a conversation with my dad recently about how when he was growing up it was flying cars that people spoke of when they talked about the future and he was all excited about flying cars. he mentioned that it was no fair that the future that i had imagined when i was younger is coming true but the future he had imagined has yet to show face. so back to the topic at hand, the whole world of digital music and its presence in the world today. it was pretty amazing when, after the whole napster fiasco, all of the major record labels decided to take part in this whole iTunes experiment. i was pretty surprised at first to tell you the truth but look at it now. it has grown to be this enormous thing. its amazing really. i didnt really mean to get into this here in this write up so let me get back on track here. as i mentioned before warner music has been the first label to decide that they were unhappy with the current iTunes model. they spoke out and apple spoke back recently calling the labels "greedy" which i find oh to painfully true. warner music stated that they believe that they want to start charging more for the new hot songs. after apples response it appears that warner has decided to pull out all of the stops and be a true ass and state that they are willing to pull out all together if apple does not cooperate. do they have any idea what they are doing? ... it has re invented the whole idea of an impulse buy all together. it makes it so easy to, when you want a song, to simply hop online do a quick search and click on a button to buy it. i think its going to continue to grow if it continues to get support and hopefully one day will open its arms to musicians that arent on record labels to sell their music on the store. ...heres their most recent logic. they figure that because apple wont let them raise the price of songs then apple is hindering their ability to make the amount of profit they are used to making because people usually have to buy a whole album but now they are just buying single songs therefore they are loosing money. but thats not the funny part. turns out, they have decided that the reason apples ipod is so popular is because they have been marketing it along with the idea of the iTunes music store being the best way to fill it and because the iTunes music store is driven by its content (warner's music) then they should be getting a cut of the ipod sales because of this... yes, it is confusing and yes, it is stupid and desperate. what a sad attempt at shaking apple up. ...500 million songs is not exactly a drop in the bucket and that number is rising. heres a kicker, “[Jobs] will figure out another model." man, these guys really are off their rocker. its funny that they go along with all of this in the first place but once they discover that its actually working so they want a bigger piece of the pie. do they not realize that it would be insanely easy for people to just turn back to file sharing? ...i can only hope that the other labels dont stand up and decide they want to take this same mind set. as you may notice, none of them have... lets say they do pull out. i think iTunes would survive. just on a different level. they would continue on. there are a lot of other labels with a lot of great music on there and at the moment it is just the best overall solution to the problem of the whole music sharing era. these guys need to wake up and realize that iTunes simply has the best model for digital music at the moment. if you look at the subscription services and compare them to iTunes you will find that iTunes has the upper hand for an obvious reason. when someone goes to a file sharing network, a lot of the time they are just looking to go grab a quick song that they wanted to hear and occasionally an album. its a collection that they own and this aesthetic is still there with the iTunes store. the whole virtual ownership of the subscription models is so silly and i could see how that might work for some people but overall its just not that solid of a model simply because once you stop your subscription, you no longer own your music. you are lect with nothing. so warner, get your head out of your ___ and realize that this new digital distribution thing is working really well and to try and change it and shake things up like this at this point in time when it is just now gaining a whole lot of momentum is just crazy talk. i think that they are just pulling these little scare tactics to try and get more out of apple but maybe they have not been paying any attention to apple, maybe they dont realize just how stubborn they are. jobs isnt going to back down and so warner is not only making a mistake here, they are looking really really bad in the process. in fact, a lot of companies are doing this kind of thing when it comes to apple. every time a new ipod is released the rest of the industry wines and wines about how stupid it is and they have a product that blows it away. the simple fact of the matter is that the rest of the industry is sooooo over crowded with players that no one knows what other players are worth anything. no one can even remember the names of them (rdsfr-200, or zse 74 super duper player) more or less trust that they are up to par as far as quality is concerned. all of these little bells and whistles on other players are cheep add ons to make these products seem like they do more but it just bogs down the players and clutters the simplicity that needs to be present in them. the ipods simplicity is one of its strong points and its brilliant really, they have let third party developers make the add ons people want for it weather that be fm radio or voice recording. it saves them money and it lets people choose what they want to add to there player rather than cluttering up the device. the ipod accessories market is huge!