Video Demo of What a 4” iPhone Screen Looks Like in Action

Gah. Rumor mill is cranking up hardcore in advance of the new iPhone announcement. MacRumors had the above video made to demonstrate a taller iPhone. From their post:

Some of the behavior in the video is speculative, but we believe it is likely representative of how a 4” iPhone would work. The evidence of such a screen has been overwhelming with part leaks and evidence of iOS support. Apple is expected to launch the new iPhone on September 12th.

Every year I say the same thing: “I can’t see a reason to upgrade my iPhone this year. I’ll just wait for my contract to end and skip this generation.”

Then I see the phone or the photos from the phone and I’m all in. This has been true starting with the 3GS in 2009.

I hope this next generation iPhone is thin and more durable, if only because I’ll probably see the damn thing and want one.

source: Video Demo of What a 4” iPhone Screen Looks Like in Action - Mac Rumors.

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Summer Dahlia?

The LDS church goes to great lengths to make Temple Square beautiful all year. I’ve walked through and paid attention this past winter, spring and summer. The plantings are crazy. I don’t know if this is a Summer Dahlia. So let me know what I’m looking at besides crazy reds/purples and yellows/oranges.

I’m really pleased with how this one turned out. These flowers are so vibrant as to look fake. I didn’t do much work on this, save some exposure adjustment and a hint of saturation. The photo still doesn’t quite capture the beauty of these flowers.

* * *

I’ve been listening, on mega-maxi repeat, to this song by Passion Pit:

Freaky video:

The drums are wicked and nearly seizure inducing. And the intro drums are the perfect emotional underscore to this summer. The crazy vocal chipmunk samples thrown in bring back beautiful and bittersweet memories of the summer of 2001, cranking Third Eye Foundation’s “What Is It With You”:

You’ll have to get almost to the end (around 3:19) before the drums turn buzzy and the vocal samples threaten to push you into a nervous breakdown. It’s worth it.

“I’ll Be Alright” has a weirdly hopeful melody and chord progression. The lyrics are not so happy on first listen, but I think that’s the point; lemonade can be made at some point, should lemonade be desired. Still, I love the contradiction of super catchy chorus (using a Baba O’Riley-ish progression in the chorus; V-IV-I??) and bridge with sad lyrics. I’ve had a hard time with letting this song go. I’m likely going to listen to this one until I can’t stand it and can never listen again. It’s working for me on a lot of levels for now, so I’m going with it.

I suppose the above image of a beautiful flower is also misleading; my emotional state isn’t super awesome fun time happy. When you have all the facts, sometimes that can be brutally painful. It can also enable big change. And that’s the hopeful part for me. I’m not out of the woods, but even recognizing that fact in the real light that knowledge of one’s personal truth, eyes wide open, is beginning to transform me. I welcome it, no matter what.

* * *

Affirmation: Let the pain transform you. All the way.

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Capitol Sconce

Shot this back in April when I was starting to fall in love with the 70-200mm. It’s such a beast of a lens; serious, heavy and conspicuous. It screams, “I’m taking serious photos here, people.”

This is both good and bad. There are times when you want to get an image and the serious lens grants you a bit of leeway. Then there are times when you’d prefer to remain less visible and you can’t because the white monster lens is shouting about the photos and the art and the serious whatnot. However, the bokeh is stellar and its ability to get shots in a pinch has made this a go-to lens, despite the drawbacks.

I’ve got a detail shot of this sconce that I will share today as well. It’s a gorgeous thing. The hand-like talons wrangling the snakes is likely ripe with symbolism. I did some searching to try and find out if there was an overt symbology, but that is a rathole I didn’t want to go down today. At university, I took a few art history and humanities courses that dealt with Greek and Roman art and architecture, but I don’t recall if it’s an eagle controlling two opposite snakes implying justice or strength (Herakles/Hercules?) or it’s just a cool detail. I would imagine there is a meaning to extract and I’m certain it would involve any of the following: Freemasonry, Egypt, goddess worship, the Old Testament, Mayans, 9/11 and the Illuminati.

I just liked these sconces, so I’ll forego the rathole.

* * *

Affirmation: Seriously, let it go.

Original Article

Daring Fireball is 10. Shit.

Wow. I know a lot of blogs are getting up there, but for some reason Daring Fireball feels younger. Maybe it’s the relevance; Apple’s phoenix rise pretty much matches the rise of John Gruber’s excellent Apple-centric blog. On a more personal level, I’ll never forget the amazing black and white photo of the birth Gruber’s son posted 12 days before Leta was born. Beautiful and terrifying.

Happy Birthday, Daring Fireball, it’s been a hell of a decade. Here’s to several more.

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Johnny Marr on Amps, Guitar Tone and How Soon is Now

Favorite bit: when he finishes the epic riff from The Kinks “All Day and All of the Night” and says, “I wish I’d written that. Every day I wish I’d written that.”

Marr is one of the best guitarists from the 1980s bands. Beautiful, gritty and tasty. One of the best players to integrate funky chords into pop songs, without question.

Check out his version of The Smith’s own epic, “How Soon is Now” from a 2011 club date:

Three guitarists to pull off what Marr did in the studio in 1984. Dead brill.

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Eldo

Small town parade on the 4th of July. This image, intentionally taken at child eye level, contains what every summer parade featured: dignitaries in sweet cars. And salt water taffy. A lot of it.

* * *

My trip to Colorado with Leta was fantastic. I’ve got another one coming up with both of the girls and while it will be vacation for them, I know that it won’t be for me. Just like every parent, vacation with young children is no vacation. Despite that, I’ll try to make it a trip full of memories, sun and hope. This will be the first 2+ hour car trip with just the girls and me. I’m starting to plan each 15 minute segment. Leta won’t be a problem. It’s Marlo. I’m not saying that Marlo will be a problem per se. She’s just a wildcard. Marlo hasn’t had the same car training that Leta had at three years old. However, Leta can keep her company. Right?

* * *

Affirmation: It’s always going to feel weird.

Original Article

Double Juiced

Hi!

So. Busy times, travel and projects. Jacked up rhythm and about 10 days of migraine. Phone calls were especially rough, certain frequencies punching through my skull with enough force to make me recoil away from the phone while mashing the volume down button while trying to keep my wits. I can only assume it was stress and/or allergies. Time to call a serious massage therapist and redouble the meditation efforts.

* * *

The different towers in this image struck me as a praying mantis, holding the wires a little too fussy but still with a sense of elegance while the mid-century robot man stands doing his work as if any second, that damn bug might drop his wires and that will be one more damn thing he has to do to take up the damn slack.

Or maybe it’s just a tweaked photo of a couple of utility poles in the fading sun. Maybe.

* * *

Affirmation: Keep doing the affirmation. You’re a flake without it.

Original Article

Ethan Russell’s Iconic Images

Iconic may be an understatement. The shot above is of the Who’s Who’s Next album cover. The story behind the shoot is perfect:

Everybody turns around and we walk out onto this slag. I look up after a minute and Pete’s pissed on it. I started taking picture. The others couldn’t piss, so we filled old cans with water and dumped it on the thing. I took maybe 14 pictures. Today, I’d take about 400.

There are a bunch more shots here.

Original Article

Swim Herschel Swim Reunion Videos from the Crowd

Another crowd shot before we finished our set:

nutters-2 by Jon Armstrong.

To the videos.

Bob, shot by the Bob for whom the song is named. Bob is an amazing ambassador for ska. Dude was at damn near every show and supported the hell out of bands coming out of Provo back in the day:

Fuz Butt. It’s only 1:10 from the song, but the crowd was into it:

Another view:

The running in place was something we all agreed to until the hip replacements started acting up.

Ring of Fire. I think my filter sweeps were a little overwrought. Playing all those eighth notes didn’t hurt as badly as I thought it would:

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Swim Herschel Swim - Burn Swim Burn RBUG Ring Remastered

swim herschel swim burn swim burn by .

I had hoped to share these last week. Ha. Last week was a recovery and catch up week. I’m still not caught up.

So about three years ago, I started to remaster the CD that Swim Herschel Swim released in 1993/4. We had Marlo, launched a couple of sites, yadda blah.

I wanted to get both of these posted prior to our show. I also wanted to sell USB sticks with both albums, but there were a few things in the way. 1) resurrecting an ancient keyboard; 2) Re-learning old notes, correct notes; 3) Cost; 4) Staffing a merch table given the current situation; and 5) A lingering slacker defeatism.

RBUG. I wrote about this when I post the remastered version from I Wish I Had a Raygun. Read about it here. If you dare.

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/dooce/17-rbug-remastered-FINAL.mp3]

Direct download: Swim Herschel Swim - Burn Swim Burn - RBUG-Remastered

We had performed Ring from the earliest days of Herschel. Read about it here.

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/dooce/120722-18-ring-remastered-FINAL.mp3]

Direct download: Swim Herschel - Burn Swim Burn - Ring - Remastered

Ring of Fire was our show closer for the reunion show. A good call. I’m still thinking about the show. More images and hopefully video to come.

Original Article

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