Instruments like the Theremin may be trying to shake off their association with fear, dread, and the unnatural. But the synthesizer has no such concern: after all, the Moog is pretty much a rock star, literally. So, for anyone fiddling around with the Animoog – hopefully including iPad owners who are newer to synthesis – you can now grab a bunch of presets to provide the perfect sonic accompaniment to this Halloween. The sounds are the work of synthesist/sound designers Drew Neumann and Kevin Lamb.

And as if the app, currently on sale for $.99, weren’t already a steal for people who already have the iPad, the presets are free. Just move quickly: the price jumps to US$29.99 on November 18.

An email registration is required.
Halloween Sound Set Download
Animoog product page

Of course, what would also be a lot of fun would be some sort of proximity sensor for your app, for use at a party… okay, we have a few hours left if anyone can wire up the Arduino hardware link on Android or the camera on the iPhone or the motion sensor or … something. Go!

Got other Halloweeny news for us? Let us know!

Installation instructions from Moog (by popular demand):

1. Download the Halloween Sound Set and un-zip the file.
2. Connect your iPad (with Animoog installed) to your computer.
3. Launch iTunes and select the iPad in the devices list.
4. Select the “Apps” tab for the iPad.
5. Scroll down to “Animoog File Sharing,” and click “Add.”
6. Select all the files in the Animoog Halloween folder you just un-zipped.
7. Launch Animoog and select “Import Presets” from the settings tab.

That also demonstrates how you could share other presets.

As Federal funding to public broadcasters faces serious challenge in a Washington looking to cut the budget for all but the most essential government services, and where voluntary contributions to all noncommercial broadcasters have been constrained by the economic issues faced by the entire nation, more and more noncommercial broadcasters are facing tough questions about the future.  We've seen colleges and municipalities sell stations that have been community fixtures for decades, and noncommercial groups (including some religious broadcasters) deciding to call it a day and liquidate their holdings.  At the same time, the ratings success of many noncommercial broadcasters (both public broadcasters and those owned by religious or other community organizations), especially in the radio world, are showing much success in developing a large listening audience.  With noncommercial stations, by law restricted to raising funds without commercial advertising, many are looking for new ways of operating.  How are FCC regulations and interpretations reacting to these new realities? 

The FCC's Future of Media Study (and the resulting Report on the Information Needs of Communities that we summarized here) recognized the importance of the diversity provided to communities by noncommercial broadcasters and, without detailing any proposals, indicated support for the development of new funding sources for those stations.  Similar general statements were echoed in the hearing on the report recently held by the FCC in Arizona.  But the options of the FCC in pursuing solutions are limited.  In a recent decision, a noncommercial entity that operated a number of stations in small rural markets asked for a waiver of the FCC's underwriting rules to allow it to air a limited amount of advertising for commercial entities, restricted to the top of the hour, and presented so as to not break up normal programming.  The applicant justified the request on the current financial climate that made donations and grants hard to come by, especially in the rural areas where this group operates its stations.  While the Commission's staff expressed sympathy for the applicant's financial plight, it stated that it was powerless to waive the Communications Act, which prohibits noncommercial stations from broadcasting "any advertising."  Faced with this prohibition, and a fear of opening the floodgates to similar requests, the FCC denied the waiver.

So what options are there short of amending the Communications Act (which, if groups of noncommercial broadcasters and others in the community who favor all types of broadcasting that NCE stations provide joined in, is not beyond the realm of possibility)?  One area might be for some clarifications and amendments to the FCC's own rules that interpret and implement the statute.  Based on the number of recent fines levied on noncommercial broadcasters for exceeding the limits of the underwriting rules, and from the reactions of noncommercial broadcasters in discussion during various presentations that I have done on complying with the underwriting rules (see, e.g., our article here about one such presentation), the rules are not necessarily straightforward, and often lead to confusion.  They get especially grey in areas of event-marketing, concert promotion, live appearance and other potential sources of ancillary revenue for noncommercial broadcasters, where such fundraising may have an incidental benefit to commercial groups.  Where are the lines drawn as virtually any area of commerce will have some incidental benefit to commercial entities, even if it is at the level of sales of the the station's electronic equipment, telephones, office supplies and other materials used to create any message on behalf of a nonprofit entity and to convey it to the listener?  Realistic, flexible and understandable rules need to be adopted.

While clarifying the underwriting rules may be helpful in this environment, there have been some troubling developments in the law surrounding fundraising for noncommercial broadcasters.  In a  letter of inquiry sent this summer to a noncommercial station involved in an LMA type arrangement  with another noncommercial broadcaster, the FCC raised numerous issues about such arrangements.  While nothing has been decided in this case, the fact that the letter was publicly released by the FCC raises questions about the continuing use of such arrangements in the noncommercial world.  As a policy matter, why these arrangements, with another noncommercial broadcaster, would be troubling is unclear, as the Commission has recognized that any sort of promotion for noncommercial entities is not advertising and not covered by the Communications Act prohibitions.  Why should it care if noncommercial broadcasters obtain programming from other noncommercial entities?  Many noncommercial licensees, not ready to sell their stations but facing tough economic times, may look at such arrangements as a way to retain the license and the flexibility to resume full independent operations when economic times are more robust.  Inflexibility in this area may cause the sale of more stations in the future.  We will see what happens as this case develops.

Changing times call for changing approaches to regulation and operations.  We will see where the FCC takes these regulations in the coming months, and where noncommercial broadcasters, facing the new reality of today's economic times, decide to push for change in the ways that they can and do they operate.

 

Cycling ’74′s Max 6 is now available. See our previous previews:
For Home-brewing Music Tools Graphically, Perhaps the Biggest Single Update Yet [Create Digital Music]
In Max 6, Big Banner 3D + Animation Features for Jitter, Alongside Usability Improvements [Create Digital Motion]

Along with the release comes an updated site, which does a really nice job of presenting different applications, from sound to physical computing to visuals and show control:
http://cycling74.com/products/max/

Pricing details:
US$399 retail (Max 6, now includes Jitter at last)
US$199 Max 6 upgrade
US$249 discounted bundle of Max 6 upgrade + Gen
Academic discounts, including a new annual subscription plan for institutions

Those academic plans finally cover a year instead of 9 months, just in case you want to patch through your summer break.

Gen is the set of low-level objects that allow you to create more sophisticated tools from scratch without coding externals. I’m a little sad to see it priced separately, even if it makes sense from a business perspective, in that users of Gen won’t be able to easily distribute their work to the rest of the user base. Scratch that – yes, they will; they just won’t be able to edit them. So that’s a good compromise! See the upgrade FAQ.

That said, for anyone thinking gen~ is comparable to Reaktor’s Core, here’s a good explanation:
Comparing gen and Reaktor core level [Cycling '74 forums]

(It certainly is in terms of goals, but the way it behaves is very different.)

Max for Live users…

So, what if you’re using Max for Live? Now that Max 6 is available, Max for Live incorporates the new release – if you have a separate license for Max 6. That should be especially useful to Jitter users, who will get all the new Max 6 stuff and a full-featured copy of Jitter that’s otherwise lacking in Max for Live alone.

If you have only Max for Live and not a separate copy of Max, for now, you’ll continue to use Max 5, until an updated Max for Live is available. (When that happens, we’ll be sure to carry the news.)

Of course, dropping in Max 6 may cause compatibility problems, so France-based Julien Bayle has a tip at top on how to switch between your licensed copies of Max 5 and Max 6:

Switching Max5/Max6 inside Ableton Live (max002) [Design the Media; see video, top]

Of course, the good news here is, if you want to use the new Max with Max for Live, you can.

Image-Line are quick to attach lots of disclaimers about when the work will be ready, but a teaser video demonstrates they have builds of their FL Studio Mobile software running on Android devices. It looks like a particularly good match for tablets, and is the latest indication that their may finally be a horse race in tablets for music. (Insert more disclaimers here.)

The phrase “low latency” is likely to make prick up some ears. No computer is “zero latency”; digital systems introduce some delay from recording to playback. The quality of the user experience, therefore, is having things happen without too much latency, whether it’s when sounds from a microphone or line input are processed or when a touch event or MIDI input results in a sound. iOS at least puts that latency in the acceptable range. Android devices, meanwhile, have earned complaints. Some of these issues appear to have to do with the way the platform itself works, in scheduling and the hardware abstraction layer, whereas other challenges arise from the variety (and, let’s face it, inconsistent quality) of Android’s various devices.

However, there are signs that developers might make this situation more manageable. We hear there are changes in Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich release that could impact both the way native access to the audio system and scheduling work; it’s too soon to evaluate those changes, because the OS isn’t done yet. But that leads to the other important development: Android developers are beginning to test performance across devices for some harder numbers. Those kinds of tests could benefit from easy software distribution and the (relatively) open source nature of the operating system — or at least, to be fair, from freely distributing genuinely free-software apps for testing. It’s also worth saying that not all applications require low latency, or, indeed, concern themselves with input-to-output latency. (Not all apps use an audio input.)

It’s not yet clear what Image-Line’s own “low latency” engine is about, but it’ll be interesting to watch. First promised in June, at least, it seems Image-Line is making some headway. More details:
http://www.image-line.com/documents/android.html

I’m still far, far from being able to recommend purchasing an Android device for use with music – iOS wins handily. But developers naturally want to look ahead, beyond the present situation to what might be possible in the near future, especially since they’re the ones making the apps. And there, the picture is worth examination.

Die orientalische christliche Musik wird im Libanon und in Ägypten seit vielen Jahren gepflegt. Aramäische und koptische Hymnen, spirituelle Lieder der großen Diva Fairuz, und Christen-Pop sind musikalischer Ausdruck des kulturellen Erbes und gleichzeitig politisches Manifest. Eine Reportage - im Rahmen des Projektes Global Prayers.

Podcast

Thomas Burkhalter: Christian Music in Cairo and Beirut by Global Prayers

An den christlichen Feiertagen dringen die religiösen Lieder von Fairuz, Wadi Al Safi und anderen christlichen Stars aus allen Häusern. Im Satelliten-Fernseher singen der Libanese Nizar Fares und ägyptische Koptensänger christliche Poplieder. Und an den libanesischen Universitäten von Kaslik und Antonine wird nach neuen und alten christlichen Liedern gesucht und unterrichtet. Mit:

Nidaa Abou Mrad, Musiker und Musikwissenschafter, Beirut
Ghada Shbeir, Sängerin, Beirut
Nizar Farez, Christlicher Popsänger, Beirut
Carolyn Ramzy, Musikethnologin, Kairo

Aufbau des Podcasts

Teil 1: Die Geschichte der christlichen Musik in Libanon. 0’00 – 17’22

Teil 2: Aramäische Musik im Libanon: Kultur, Identität und Politik. 17’22 – 31’22

Teil 3: Nizar Fares: Christlicher Pop. 31’22 – 39’39

Teil 4: Koptische Popmusik in Kairo. 39’39 – 52’36

Click here to view the embedded video.

Playlist

Traditionell, Hymne orthodoxe du Jeudi Saint, Chœur de l’Archevêché Orthodoxe de Beyrouth.
Thomas Burkhalter, Strassenmusiker in Beirut, Feldaufnahme.
Traditionell, Hymne orthodoxe de la Résurrection, Dimitri Murr.
Traditionell, Hymne syriaque maronite, Père Maroun Mrad.
Toufic Succar, Passion et Résurrrection, Toufic Succar.
Tania Kassis, Islamo-Christian Ave, Tania Kassis.
Nidaa Abou Mrad, Theophany, Nidaa Abou Mrad, Classical Arabic Music Ensemble, Forward Music.
Nidaa Abou Mrad, Logos And Melos, Classical Arabic Music Ensemble, Forward Music.
Thomas Burkhalter, Fairuz auf Balkon, Feldaufnahme.
Kamel El Ajyal, Fairuz, Voix de l’Orient VL CD516.
Traditionell, Ya Oummallah, Ghada Shbeir.
Traditionell, Teshbouhto Imoryo, Ghada Shbeir .
Thomas Burkhalter, Azhan in Beirut, Feldaufnahme.
Nizar Fares, Al Zare Al Zare, Nizar Fares.
Traditionell, Alallah Teoud, Wadi Al Safi.
Traditionell, Rosho il Ward.
Maher Fayez, Hymn from Ava Barsooms Film, Maher Fayez.
Rahbani Brothers, „Ya Laure Houbiki, Fairuz, A. Chahine & Fils.

Dieser Podcast entstand im Rahmen des Projektes Global Prayers. Alle Fotos stammen von Thomas Burkhalter.

Folks, the fantastic Episode 3 is here!!!!! This week sees an amazing journey of The Dewarists taking us on an intimate visit to Delhi with Indian Ocean, folk rock giants and perhaps the biggest band in India today. Joining them is Mohit Chauhan, celebrated playback singer and balladeer extraordinaire.  

BORDERLAND is the name of a spectacular show commissioned by the DSC South Asian Literature festival. Inspired by the poem of the great Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Borderland’ is an exploration and interpretation of the many ‘borders’ present in our lives. The show has been orchestrated by the Sarod maestro, Soumik Datta, who brings together not just poetry and music, but [...]

Der heutige Tag wurde von der UNESCO zum Welttag des audiovisuellen Erbes erkoren. Seit 1997 setzt sich der Verein Memoriav in Bern-Bümpliz für die Erhaltung dieser Art von Kulturerbe ein.

Ein Radiobericht von Radio Bern RaBe über den Sinn und Zweck der Bewahrung audiovisueller Quellen:

Auf der Webseite www.memoriav.ch gibt es Hintergrundinformationen sowie eine Überssicht über die verschiedenen Veranstaltungen anlässlich des Welttages.

  GONJASUFI, an artist whos voice was described by Pitchfork Media as “a scraggly, scary, smoked-out croak that creeps like the spiritual offspring of George Clinton and Leadbelly”. The vocalist, MC, disc jockey and yoga teacher from San Diego, California released his latest four track EP ‘The Ninth Inning’ on Hydroshare.tv on the 24/10/11. Here’s a track from that EP, “EATFISH”, [...]

Wish you very Happy Diwali 2011 – Indian Festival of Lights

May the lights of Diwali bring you health,

joy and prosperity to you, your family and beloved ones.

Deepavali

Illuminate Your Inner Self

Deepavali or Diwali means “a row of lights“. It falls on the last two days of the dark halfof Kartik (October-November). For some it is a three-day festival. It commences with the Dhan-Teras, on the 13th day of the dark half of Kartik, followed the next day by the Narak Chaudas, the 14th day, and by Deepavali proper on the 15th day.

There are various alleged origins attributed to this festival. Some hold that they celebrate the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. In Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship of Kali. It also commemorates that blessed day on which the triumphant Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. On this day also Sri Krishna killed the demon Narakasura. In South India people take an oil bath in the morning and wear new clothes. They partake of sweetmeats. They light fireworks, which are regarded as the effigies of Narakasura who was killed on this day. They greet one another, asking, “Have you had your Ganges bath?” which actually refers to the oil bath that morning as it is regarded as purifying as a bath in the holy Ganges.

Everyone forgets and forgives the wrongs done by others. There is an air of freedom, festivity and friendliness everywhere. This festival brings about unity. It instills charity in the hearts of people. Everyone buys new clothes for the family. Employers, too, purchase new clothes for their employees.

Waking up during the ‘Brahmamuhurta’ (at 4a.m.) is a great blessing from the standpoint of health, ethical discipline, efficiency in work and spiritual advancement. It is on Deepavali that everyone wakes up early in the morning. The sages who instituted this custom must have cherished the hope that their descendents would realise its benefits and make it a regular habit in their lives.

In a happy mood of great rejoicing village folk move about freely, mixing with one another without any reserve, all enmity being forgotten. People embrace one another with love. Deepavali is a great unifying force. Those with keen inner spiritual ears will clearly hear the voice of the sages, “O Children of God unite, and love all”. The vibrations produced by the greetings of love, which fill the atmosphere, are powerful enough to bring about a change of heart in every man and woman in the world. Alas! That heart has considerably hardened, and only a continuous celebration of Deepavali in our homes can rekindle in us the urgent need of turning away from the ruinous path of hatred.

On this day Hindu merchants in North India open their new account books and pray for success and prosperity during the coming year. The homes are cleaned and decorated by day and illuminated by night with earthen oil-lamps. The best and finest illuminations are to be seen in Bombay and Amritsar. The famous Golden Temple at Amritsar is lit in the evening with thousands of lamps placed all over the steps of the big tank. Vaishnavites celebrate the Govardhan Puja and feed the poor on a large scale.

O Ram! The light of lights, the self-luminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy the real Deepavali, by attaining illumination of the soul. He who Himself sees all but whom no one beholds, who illumines the intellect, the sun, the moon and the stars and the whole universe but whom they cannot illumine, He indeed is Brahman, He is the inner Self. Celebrate the real Deepavali by living in Brahman, and enjoy the eternal bliss of the soul.

The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor do lightnings shine and much less fire. All the lights of the world cannot be compared even to a ray of the inner light of the Self. Merge yourself in this light of lights and enjoy the supreme Deepavali.

Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. Yet the hearts of the vast majority are as dark as the night of the new moon. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance.

O man! Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realise the constant and eternal light of the Soul, which neither rises nor sets, through meditation and deep enquiry.

May you all attain full inner illumination! May the supreme light of lights enlighten your understanding! May you all attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth of the Self! May you all prosper gloriously on the material as well as spiritual planes!

(Soure: 10/2008 | About Hinduism – Subhamoy Das (Hinduism Guide) – Swami Sivananda)

Related Articles

• Go Green with The Golden Lights of Deepavali (socyberty.com)
• Anju Bhargava: Out of Many, One: Diwali Illuminates Unity (huffingtonpost.com)
• Family Time During Deepavali – Sungai Buluh, Malaysia (travelpod.com)
• Diwali Celebrations in India (socyberty.com)
• Diwali 2010: Festival of Lights Celebrated Around World (Recipes) (nowpublic.com)
• Diwali – Agra, India (travelpod.com)
• Happy Diwali (socyberty.com)

Gossary: Diwali

Diwali (Deepavali) is the Indian New Year, celebrated annually in honor of the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi. It is often referred to as the “Festival of lights.”

Diwali literally means “row of lights,” and lamps symbolizing the light of wisdom and knowledge are lit every night of the five day festival to welcome prosperity in the new year. Diwali is also celebrated in more secular fashion by Sikhs and Jainas.

Pronunciation: Dee-wah-lee * (noun)

e.g. Sikh symbols:

from left to right: Khanda | Ekonkar | Kirpan | Nishan Sahib | Kara | Kanga

Sikhism is one of the world’s largest religions, blending elements of Islamic and Hindu belief into one egalitarian system.

(Source: 10/2008 – Alternative Religions – Diwali | About.com (Library – Glossary))

Related Articles

• Happy Diwali (socyberty.com)
• Diwali 2010: Festival of Lights Celebrated Around World (Recipes) (nowpublic.com)
• Why do we celebrate Diwali ! [Rudesh (Rudi) Mehta] (ecademy.com)
• Bloggers Celebrate Diwali From Across the Globe (blogher.com)
• President Obama Offers Diwali Greeting (huffingtonpost.com)
• Obama extends Diwali greetings, looking forward to India visit (topinews.com)
• Prime Minister’s message for Diwali (number10.gov.uk)

Set against the frenetic pace of the city of Mumbai, Episode 2 features a cross-border collaboration between Pakistani singer-songwriter duo Zeb & Haniya, and two veterans of Bollywood — composer Shantanu Moitra, and lyricist Swanand Kirkire.      

Does Apple do this intentionally, or is it incompetent middle managers that let these slide through? Leaks surrounding both iCloud and iPhone 4S have happened before Tuesday's iPhone 5 release announcement from Apple, find out what happened ...

Rob Khan returns with a brand new podcast featuring new music from Goth Trad, Kahn, Sully, Makoto and introducing up and coming producer Guy Furious plus the best dubstep, garage, grime, bass and beyond! Also find Electronic Ideologies on Facebook >> https://www.facebook.com/electronicideologiespodcast