![[Valid RSS]](http://www.paulbaily.com/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
Congratulations!
(pic by Annie
Leibovitz.)
President Obama.
Has a good ring to it don’t you think?
Well done, U.S.A., I think you chose wisely.
And hats off to Senator McCain for being very
gracious.
Mac OS X vs. Firefox proxy settings.
Just installed it and Firefox's proxy settings are following network location changes closer than a puppy following an ice cream. Or something.
om nom nom!
Original pic here.
Nice cover.
Better quality sample at
iTMS.
Oops, mouse just slipped on the buy button.
P.S. Had a disturbing thought when listening to
this for the 238th time that day; Celine Dion could
probably also do a respectable cover of this...
because we already know she’s fracking amazing...
Mighty Mouse cleaning tip.
That’s a wireless
Mighty Mouse right there. One of
the most handy and yet frustrating peripherals
Apple came out with. IMHO it beats the pants of
any Logitech mouse1. It’s wireless,
it’s really miserly on batteries, it’ll
track on pretty much any surface, it has squeeze
buttons (cuteness would be if someone did an app
that made a mouse squeak when you squeezed them!)
and a really nifty - and very smooth - two axis
scrollball.
And there, [both of] my dear readers, is the angst.
See how small that thing is and how close the
tolerances are? Well, you could just imagine how
sensitive it is to grease and grit. Things start out
okay but after a few weeks I found myself having to
clean it more and more often. Oh, and cursing at it
for being recalcitrant in scrolling. I’d followed
Apple’s recommended cleaning procedure, which would work for a
short time, but it was always a case of doing
battle with it the very next day. Kei Ishii on
TidBITS Talk recommended a simple, and yet
very effective technique. Flip the mouse
over, then rub the scrollball all kinds of
directions on plain white paper. What this does is
leave nice greasy tracks on the paper, but more
importantly, the scrollball feels like new
afterwards. Seriously, like new.
Thank you, Kei!
Unwilling to comment on relationship with
paper.
1. Yes, I know, Logitech do nice kit too, but until
they start producing grown-up,
non-receiver-dongle-needing bluetooth
rodents, I’ll pass. If you have to take up a USB port
for a receiver dongle, you may as well just stick
with a wired mouse. All current Macs have bluetooth
built-in, use it.
Ahem. Sorry. Pet peeve.
By George!
Another gem I stumbled upon in my iTunes culling.
That’s Brisbane outfit
George doing Special Ones. Katie Noonan has a gorgeous voice,
and her vocal training really comes through on
this track.
[hint] Crappy built-in PC speakers need not
apply. [/hint]
Random Pick: Black Fingernails Red Wine - Eskimo Joe.
Myst 4 on a MacBook Pro.
Long story short, if you’re having trouble getting Myst 4 to run under Mac OS X 10 - including Leopard - follow the steps outlined here. Thanks guys!
Unlike the first three titles, this is the first time I’ve actually played Myst 4. I know, I should surrender my geek card, but now after finally starting it properly I can say it’s jaw dropping. It’s much like Exile in its graphics concept but with some amazing refinements and evolutions. Here’s an example:
exhibit A
exhibit B
Take a good look at those
two images. Notice the difference? Just like your
eyes, the focus changes depending on what you’re
looking at, and it does it so smoothly and naturally
that it took me a while to notice it was happening at
all. How cool is that? Oh, and for bonus points,
while I was lining up these screen shots, I noticed
the sunlight on the deck was varying in brightness -
you see this in the two shots - so I turned around
and looked up. Sure enough, there were clouds moving
in front of the sun. Again, an effect so deftly
reproduced and so natural that your eyes just take it
for granted. Awesome.
I can’t wait for this journey to begin!
Well, maybe I can a little; I have a chilli con carne
on slow simmer and I shall not keep my fair lady
waiting...
Fan Boys.
Oh and just so’s you know, searching for “fanboy” on
YouTube gets some really cringeworthy stuff...
New music category: GTFOOMH!
As in Get [a pause here while I remember my in-laws
sometimes read this] Out Of My Head.
There are, at the moment, two songs that qualify for
this. The first is one Delta Goodrem’s In This Life. Yeah I know... This
is a girl who has gone through the whole
Neighbours mill but seems to have come out of it
pretty well. She’s had to face some pretty rough
challenges (the big C, the not-so-big P) and as far as I can see is a
pretty genuine person. In This Life almost looks
like a reinvention and an “I shall prevail”
affirmation. Good on you, Delta. It’s here in iTMS.
Why does this qualify as a GTFOOMH? Well, I caught
myself idly whistling it on the bridge today. Not an
issue in itself but others were nearby, it could have
led to “dude, seriously, wut?” awkwardness...
The second, and original candidate for this is the
Veronicas’ track Untouched. The violas contrasting
with the effect module guitar distortion (a poor
substitute for a stack o’ Marshalls distortion but it
has its own character), the square & sawtooth
wave synth and the manic tempo are quite something.
I’m pretty sure Jessica Louise and Lisa Marie could
right now collaborate with a bunch of Kangaroo
droppings and still make a hit. Not saying that Toby
Gad is a bunch of kangaroo droppings, mind. Youtube
mono doesn’t really do it justice, iTunes sample
here.
First pub with RW 4!
Very shiny, excellent use of several Leopard features, e.g. the publish progress dialog has all that gooey coverflow eye candy, and incremental updates seem to be a bit smarter too.
AoW 27: Measure for Measure - Icehouse.
now with extra cheese!
This one goes back a
ways. A long time back. In fact it's the first equal
CD I ever bought. Y'see I'd just bought a CD
player...
No Jules, it doesn't play records...
...so had to buy something decent to play on it. I
chose Love Over Gold/Dire Straits and Measure for
Measure by Icehouse, this weeks pick.
Measure for Measure was
released in 1986, the first year I spent as a
super-introverted, self-absorbed brat teenager
after getting dragged kicking and screaming over to
Australia right after my final year of high school,
but that's another story. Anyway, I first heard the
single No Promises on Adelaide's SAFM and had to call the station to
see who it was because they hadn't back-announced
it. It sounded just like Iva Davies and the
Icehouse guitar solos around the time were very
distinctive thanks to the masterful Bob
Kretschmer. Measure for Measure is almost another
reinvention of the Icehouse sound. The guitars are
still there and still great but the synths are
leaned on a little more making the sound very
atmospheric (I know, I keep using that word in
AotWs, bite me.)
Around the time this album was made, Iva was also
working with Bob, Masaki Tanazawa, Graeme Murphy and
the Sydney Dance Company to produce a very striking
modern ballet, Boxes. No Promises and another M4M
track, Regular Boys make appearances and quite
amazing reprises all throughout the work. The
soundtrack was later released on CD some years later,
but that's also another story.
Incidentally, here's the CD player I bought back
then. One of the very few portable CDs at the time,
ran on 4 (or was it six?) C size batteries which gave
you about two CDs play time. Now after my iPod has
finished laughing at that, I'll mention again that
this was nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Sure looks... eighties...
Clockwise from top, battery pack, player, IR
remote, IR receiver, AC power supply.
It hooked in to a radio cassette player I had at the time which looked very much like it. A National RX-C34, in fact. No, I didn't have to remember that because it's sitting just a few feet away from me, still goes as well as the day it was made, and serves as the speakers for our little merry band's iTunes box, Badger. But that's another story...
And in other news...
NiN does it again.
The site is here, the torrent is here, and of course, no mention of Nine Inch Nails would be complete without this gem (language warning for delicate petals):
MI: Scientology - Reloaded
Happy Australia Day.
Oh and what are we having? Lamb. Lamb yiros to be exact.
Introducing, Great Southern Land by Icehouse,
...and the other anthem,
Sounds of Then by Gangajang:
Happy Australia Day.
AoW 26: Don't Hold Back - The Potbelleez.
Okay so this is an EP/single but it's worthy. This
track in all it's incarnations rocks. Really good
production - play it as loud as you like and it
doesn't break. And the louder you can make it the
better. It has acoustic guitar, powerful vocals,
and a killer 'dude where's my glowstick?' dance
track. Seriously, I've not been this impressed
with a single since Oakenfold's Ready Steady
Go.
Nice part of the world.
AoW 25: The War of the Worlds - Jeff Wayne
There are
many, many renditions of this H.G. Wells classic, including a controversy
created in 1938 when Orson Welles performed a
mischievous radio broadcast that incited
widespread alarm as people thought Earth really
was being invaded. I think, aside from the book
itself, my favourite version is Jeff Wayne's musical version from
1978. You cannot do better than Richard Burton as
a narrator with that deep gravely voice, David
Essex and the Moody Blues' Justin Hayward also do
themselves proud. It originally came out in a
double 12" album and featured a book insert with
artwork of a quality not often seen before or
since. I used to have this as a teenager but gave
it away to a friend before moving to Oz.
Thankfully Kathy still has both the CD version and
the original 12" album with the artwork. She's
cool like that. You can see small versions here.
Incidentally, while looking for a scan of the cover I
happened upon a nifty site called FreeCovers which looks like an
excellent source for these if say you want cover
art on your iTunes tracks etc.
AoW 24: Primitive Man - Icehouse.
Another icon (overused
term as it is), this is the first record (remember
kids they're like CDs only bigger!) I ever bought.
Actually first-equal with Making Movies by Dire
Straits. This album also recently celebrated its 25th
anniversary. No, not feeling old at all... The first
track, Great Southern Land is often thought of as a
shortlist candidate for a real national anthem along
with Ganga Jang's Sounds of Then, and Men at Work's
Down Under.
Great Southern Land (the track, not the album which
is different again) was given a majestic
makeover by Iva Davies for the 1999/2000 New Year Eve
celebrations on Sydney Harbour. You've never heard
taiko drums, a string section, and
an electric guitar sound so good together. The
studio version was released in 1999, and it's
goosebump inducing. Bonus points, much of Ghost of
Time forms the soundtrack to Master and Commander.
AoW 23: Almost Yesterday 1981-1990 - The Church.
This is a really good overview of The Church's discography. I've linked you to Blurred Crusade here since Almost Yesterday isn't on iTMS and several tracks from this one are on it.
AoW 22: Blue Mood Boulevard/Journey into Cafeland - Various.
This one's interesting. Yes, as the title suggests it's one of those loungie/cafe-ie type collections but there's some really good stuff on this. Most of the tracks are instrumentals or very vocally sparse versions. Which can be a good thing. About the only place I could find so much as a track listing is here. It's worth tracking down though.
AoW 21: Tango in the Night - Fleetwood Mac.
AoW 20: Dream into Action - Howard Jones
Bit of history behind my
encountering this one. I was at high school at the
time, (about 15-16?) and this girl who hung out with
the same crowd (I knew her at the time but not well)
handed me her walkman (they were what we had before
iPods, kiddies) and said "listen to this, see what
you think." We hadn't even talked about music then.
The walkman was cued to play Specialty off this
album, and I was blown away (not the least because I
was wondering whether she was hinting something with
the track choice!) It sounded unlike anything I'd
heard at the time. I knew this was an artist I had to
hear more of so became an avid fan.
As for the girl, she ended up being my first real
girlfriend. Took me a long while to get over having
to leave her behind when we moved to Australia. Hope
you're going blissfully well these days, MJF.
AoW 19: Boheme - Deep Forest
Though I really like Deep Forest's sound ('twas the
style of the time) I only felt compelled to get
this one after being entranced by one of the
tracks that made me come out in goosebumps as it
played in the closing credits to what was quite a
compelling movie, Strange Days.
It's While The Earth Sleeps and the
really amazing aspect of this song (apart from it
sounding great) is that it's a collaboration
between Deep Forest and Peter Gabriel. I'd be hard
pressed to think of another combination of talents
that sound so good. The track is also a perfect
compliment to the end of the movie. As an aside
it's also another powerhouse performance by all
actors involved, particularly Angela Bassett.
Anyways, back to the album, I was lucky enough to
grab the two disc edition - highly recommend it as
the second disc has some great remixes of their more
well-known tracks. Have a listen, you'll like!
AoW 18: Extra Virgin - Olive
Believe it or not I first
listened to this because I liked the cover! Olive
were around for only two albums in the late 90s,
Extra Virgin being their debut. They had moderate
success in the UK and Germany, but didn't get
anywhere near the recognition they deserve. The
biggest single, You're Not Alone did receive a
little airplay over here, but again, not nearly
enough. The CD single You're Not Alone also has
some kick-ass remixes on it that make it easy to
see why the band were big on the 'dude, where's my
glowstick?' dance scene. Vocalist
Ruth-Ann Boyle is enchanting, and
the music was really something different and
refreshing. Interestingly, Ruth-Ann later went on
to be a vocalist for Enigma. Go here for some
Extra Virgin samples.
BTW, notice how that last track is about 10 mins
longer than all the others? (hint, hint...)
Oh and while I think of it, these iTunes Music Store
links are working for you aren't they? And you do
know that you just double-click the track to hear a
one minute sample?
It's here! It's here!
AoW 17: Bangs and Crashes - Go West
Something wicked this way comes.
here kitty kitty...
Unless you've been living
under a rock the last week or so, you'll have noticed
that Mac fans the world over - including yours truly
- are beside themselves with anticipation waiting for
Friday 26th. The day the big cat comes padding out of
its cage: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Some two and a half
years in the making, this brings a huge number of improvements, refinements, and
holy-cow-how-did-they-pull-that-off bits.
Yes, I pre-ordered (apparently pre-orders for Leopard
were twice as many as for Tiger) which theoretically
means it'll be delivered on the day, though living
out in the (comparative) sticks it'll probably be
Monday. Either way, can't wait.
P.S. The original version of the above can be had
here.
[Hey, welcome MacSurfer
readers!]
AoW 16: The Smiths - The Smiths
I know a few people will disagree with this choice, saying Morrissey is a pretentious twat but I think this is one of the best albums of the time (I keep using that phrase...) Johnny Marr's guitar work alone is something special, and Morrissey's distinctive vocal style together with some clever writing complete the picture. Have a listen and make up your own mind.
AoW 15: Candy-O - The Cars
Ah now we're right in 80s territory! Candy-O was actually released in 1979, but I'll always associate it with the 80s as it was an iconic album of the time.
AoW 14: The Secret Life of ... - The Veronicas
The Veronicas are two cute-as-a-button twin sisters hailing from Brisbane, Australia, but you wouldn't pick that from their very US-like sound. I mean this in the nicest possible way but it screams 90210 to me - not a bad thing. Very poppy, fresh sound and good production make this a great listen even though it's aimed at the gen Me crowd. Have a listen and you might be pleasantly surprised.
Aow 13: 11 of the Best - Billy Idol
Nobody talks to Billy
Idol that way!
Yes, we're straying well
in to Wedding Singer territory (and I
like that - it's one of my all-time fave
movies!) This guy just rocks the casbah. Really
good, clean production, poppy (not that there's
anything wrong with that) deceptively simple
sounding songs, and gutsy vocals that light up a
VU meter like the best of them. And you just know
that he'll be one of those gems that grows old
ungracefully. Onya chap!
Oh and this pick has absolutely nothing to with the
lads at work calling me Billy when I come to work
after having the living crap bleached out of my hair.
I prefer Spike comparisons myself, but it's
a little warm for a leather overcoat I
guess...
AoW 12: Halo 2 soundtrack.
Yes, I know, breaking
another rule I'd set myself: no soundtracks.
Thing is, I just finished Halo 2. Let me restate
that:
I. Just. Fricken. Finished. Halo. 2!
<cough>on beginner
level...</cough>
No really, call me a lamer but it's pretty hard even
on that level! So, this one is a tip o' the hat, a
'well met, good sir!' and a general salute to the
folks of Bungie for continuing the Marathon legacy,
and, believe it or not, to little bits of M$ for
backing up the Bungie lads with a big,
if-we-don't-ship-a-to-die-for-title-for-xbox-we're-toast,
production budget. The soundtrack alone is awesome.
Bungie have always liked their soundtracks. They
rocked with Paul Sebastien's Power of Seven with
Marathon 1, 2, and Infinity. Incidentally, Thomas Dolby did some stuff with
Sebastien, but I digress...
You know, I've often said (repeated, actually,
apologies in advance to whoever thought of it first)
that the only thing that M$ could produce that didn't
suck would be a vacuum cleaner. Well, I stand
corrected, they can occasionally do some pretty
awesome stuff. Thanks to Bungie - and I'm sure a
bunch of equally crazy, gifted microserfs - Halo,
Halo 2 (and I'm sure Halo 3) are masterpieces. The
soundtracks do the games justice. I choose this title
as AoW not lightly. Who the hell else ropes in a
whole orchestral string section just for their
soundtrack!? It's cinematic in quality, and yet
somehow I'm not doing it justice by saying that. Nice
work, ladies and gentlemen, nice work. And thank you.
Favourite track from this: Unforgotten - yes it's crappy
YouTube mono low-rate quality, but you get the
picture.
P.S. Hats off also to that crazy, brilliant, warthog jump master, Randall Glass
for getting props in the credits!
Go Earth!
Nice touch.
Nice.
It's the little things...
AoW 11: This is it - Joe Jackson
Talking of new tech...
It's okay, I can actually talk about this here; when it arrived (and mighty quickly from the Apple Australia online store I might add, thanks guys!) I couldn't not give it to her straight away. I just can't keep any secrets from her (wouldn't even if I could - it's how things should be, IMHO.)
This has to be one of the most beautifully designed keyboards around. Perfectly made, thin enough that it could be used to cut vegetables if you were so inclined, and the keys (before any vege cutting that is) have a light but sure feel to them. Since I'm spoilt with the keyboard on the MacBook Pro (read: I think it's the best thing since toast) I'm mighty fussy with keyboards. Well, always have been really. Apple's original Extended Keyboard (the mighty Saratoga - we're talking Mac II era here, hey, you google it) for me was the go... until the AlBooks made their mark.
This one makes me almost wish I used my MBP with an external display and keyboard. It's amazing to look at too. Kathy likened it to comparing a thickly framed portrait to an edgy block mounted picture. The look - as is the Apple way - just engages, just works, and it perfectly suits the anodised aluminium/white polycarbonate mahjong tile that is Kathy's Mac Mini.
Now I just need to think of something else to surprise Kathy with for her actual birthday.
That's not an iPod...
iPod touch to be exact. Looks like someone left an
iPhone and an iPod in a room, dimmed the lights,
piped in some Barry White and let nature take its
course. And with parents like those, the offspring
is bound to be beautiful.
In fact, the whole iPod line-up has been seriously revamped. The
iPod touch has wifi, and can buy tracks from iTMS
directly - that's going to be dangerous - and if