Musician uses computer algorithm to compose every melody possible in C, releases them for free online to fight copyright trolls

A lawyer and hobbyist musician collaborated with a computer programmer to generate every possible 12-note melody in the key of C. The final compilation includes 68.7 billion melodic combinations, which the pair uploaded to the Internet Archive through a Create Commons Zero license, meaning they reserve no rights of ownership to any of them. They hope the treasure trove of material might help defuse potentially frivolous copyright suits over…

21 hours ago in Amusing, Culture, Cyberculture, Ethics, Media, Modding, Technology.

Daughter Carolyn plays Cherry in Prime Stage’s production of The Outsiders (Mar 6-15)

My daughter Carolyn plays Cherry in Prime Stage’s production of The Outsiders (Mar 6-15). Because Prime Stage works to incorporate the curriculum of local schools, each production contains a student matinee performance, allowing the students to connect more deeply to their school readings through theater. Prime Stage also seeks to bring each work of literature to life authentically. To that end, The Outsiders was cast age-appropriately, with each actor being…

1 day ago in Books, Culture, Drama, Empathy, Humanities, Literature, Media, Personal, Sociology.

Vinyl Chairs, Lace Tablecloth, and Stainless Steel Canisters for a Villain’s Lair #blender3D

I’m working with more complex materials, including a lace tablecloth, horrid vinyl chairs, and stainless steel details for my villain’s lair. I need some kind of shaded glass panels under the railing (which seems to be floating on a too-perfectly transparent material). I rather like the two variations of the couch. The upholstering is a trick — those surfaces are completely flat, just like the carpet and the wood, but…

1 day ago in Aesthetics, Design.

In February 2000, I was blogging about “The Heist” (Sorrels); the “Instant Muse Poetry Generator,” a London raid on a Pinter play rehearsal, and the boom in active weblogs

In February 2000, I was blogging about The 1995 Walter Sorrels hypertext story “The Heist“ The “Instant Muse Poetry Generator“ A London Metropolitan police raid on a Kurdish community theater group rehearsing a Harold Pinter play about the persecution of Kurds The number of active weblogs increasing from 50 to 500 in the past year In that month, my entry on the EatonWeb directory of weblogs read as follows:

2 days ago in Cyberculture, Drama, Government, History, Media, Personal, Weblogs.

In the Era of Fake News, Teaching Media Literacy is a Must

My 13-year-old recently approached me at bedtime, a worried look on his face. “Is there going to be a draft for World War III?” he asked sheepishly…. He showed me thousands of videos kids had made. Most were meant to be satirical, I think, about being drafted. A quick search of the hashtag #WWIII showed that these videos had been viewed 1.2 billion times. That’s billion. I think he knew they…

2 days ago in Cyberculture, Education, Ethics, Media, Rhetoric, Social_Software, Technology.

Samaritan Snare (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 17)

(Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break.) Picard, who resolved last week’s plot by proving he was not too closed-minded and stubbornly prideful to admit he needs help from Q, sets this week’s plot in motion by demonstrating he is too closed-minded and stubbornly prideful to admit he needs help from his own chief medical officer. While the title refers to the B-plot (helping the sad-puppy Pakleds…

The Rivals at Seton Hill University

Refreshing my memory of working with reel-to-reel tape as a radio news intern (c. 1989).

Q Who? (ST: TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 16)

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The unpredictable entity Q introduces the Enterprise to the Borg, a collective of hybrid biological and technological drones. We learn that Q and Guinan have some unspecified backstory that, based on their hand gestures, seems to involve a community theater production of Cats. In this episode, Q is to Picard as The Great Gazoo is to Fred Flintstone. (Popping in and…

Seton Hill University advertises for “Social & Digital Content Manager”

The Social & Digital Content Manager provides strategic support to marketing and admissions for the creation and maintenance of undergraduate content on the university’s website, social media, and email recruitment efforts to support enrollment. This position works in a collaborative/supportive relationship with admissions and faculty for all undergrad recruitment-related initiatives to ensure a cohesive and consistent communications plan, voice, and design style for Seton Hill. Prepares and updates a communications…

Brother Stuck in the Bathroom

The girl posted this story on Instagram while I was at work.