I found this very informative website on ancient writing systems:
http://www.ancientscripts.com/ws.html
Admittedly, it doesn't get interesting until you click on the "Types"/"Families"/"Regions" classifications links, and then further click from there. You can then view the alphabet scripts (and "signs") from ancient Mesopotamia, Africa, and Central Asia, among many others regions of the world.
The types of writing systems are divided into the following categories:
Logographic (example: Chinese)
Logophonetic (examples: Cuneiform and Japanese)
Syllabic (example: Cherokee)
Consonantal Alphabetic (example: Hebrew)
Syllabic Alphabetic (examples: Burmese and Tibetan)
Consonent & Vowel Alphabetic (examples: Greek and Korean)
It's interesting that seemingly disparate languages have a shared similarity.
I hope you find this as intriguing as I did!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Porcupine Tree
What a unique and trippy name for a band…
I first heard a track of theirs ("Always Never") on an ambient compilation album from 1995. I was intrigued from that moment on, by the sound of the vocals, the timbre of their instruments, and their sonic textures.
They are not an ambient band at all in the pure electronic sense, but they do create sonic landscapes, much in the vein of Pink Floyd.
In fact, I would describe their music as a cross between the guitar work of Martin Barre from Jethro Tull, (plus a little bit of Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi), mixed with the keyboards of Pink Floyd, and the lyrical style of The Kinks.
(The leader/founder of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, despises the reference to sounding a bit like Pink Floyd, as to him, that infers that they are living in the shadows of another band.)
They are certainly a melodic, progressive rock band, and are also categorized as "psychedelic rock."
This is one of the few modern rock bands of which I can actually listen to an entire album, without skipping past a few tracks. It is a great listening experience from beginning to end. (Another of my recent favorites, although in a different musical style, is Tool. More on them at a later date.)
Having seen them in concert several times in the last seven years, their projected visuals are mesmerizing. The Danish artist and filmmaker (Lasse Hoile), who designs their album covers and packages, creates their concert projections.
They will be playing in Los Angeles on September 19 at Club Nokia.
Check out the band's official website:
http://www.porcupinetree.com/
I first heard a track of theirs ("Always Never") on an ambient compilation album from 1995. I was intrigued from that moment on, by the sound of the vocals, the timbre of their instruments, and their sonic textures.
They are not an ambient band at all in the pure electronic sense, but they do create sonic landscapes, much in the vein of Pink Floyd.
In fact, I would describe their music as a cross between the guitar work of Martin Barre from Jethro Tull, (plus a little bit of Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi), mixed with the keyboards of Pink Floyd, and the lyrical style of The Kinks.
(The leader/founder of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, despises the reference to sounding a bit like Pink Floyd, as to him, that infers that they are living in the shadows of another band.)
They are certainly a melodic, progressive rock band, and are also categorized as "psychedelic rock."
This is one of the few modern rock bands of which I can actually listen to an entire album, without skipping past a few tracks. It is a great listening experience from beginning to end. (Another of my recent favorites, although in a different musical style, is Tool. More on them at a later date.)
Having seen them in concert several times in the last seven years, their projected visuals are mesmerizing. The Danish artist and filmmaker (Lasse Hoile), who designs their album covers and packages, creates their concert projections.
They will be playing in Los Angeles on September 19 at Club Nokia.
Check out the band's official website:
http://www.porcupinetree.com/
Saturday, August 22, 2009
LiveScribe Smart Pen
I recently discovered a great, new tool which could be useful for recording interviews, lectures or meetings. The LiveScribe Pulse digital smart pen.
It is rare that I am so excited about a new piece of technology, and it shows that there are still some incredibly original ideas out there.
The pen has an infrared camera, an audio recorder, mini speaker, USB connector, and the ability to write like a normal ink pen. It uses a matrix type of micro "dot" paper, which you can print out yourself on regular paper, or purchase from your local office supply store.
As you are taking notes, the audio recorder in the pen records the audio. Later, if you go back to any particular word that you wrote, even several pages back, the pen will play back the exact audio, associated with that particular word or phrase you are clicking on, due to the matrix paper keeping track of the time-line.
You can even draw sketches and transfer it to your computer without having to scan anything. And no more missed information as you are trying to write something down.
Here is their URL if you want to check it out:
http://www.livescribe.com/
It is rare that I am so excited about a new piece of technology, and it shows that there are still some incredibly original ideas out there.
The pen has an infrared camera, an audio recorder, mini speaker, USB connector, and the ability to write like a normal ink pen. It uses a matrix type of micro "dot" paper, which you can print out yourself on regular paper, or purchase from your local office supply store.
As you are taking notes, the audio recorder in the pen records the audio. Later, if you go back to any particular word that you wrote, even several pages back, the pen will play back the exact audio, associated with that particular word or phrase you are clicking on, due to the matrix paper keeping track of the time-line.
You can even draw sketches and transfer it to your computer without having to scan anything. And no more missed information as you are trying to write something down.
Here is their URL if you want to check it out:
http://www.livescribe.com/
"I Met The Walrus"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmR0V6s3NKk
This is very interesting… More Beatles-related news.
Fluid, trippy, hand-drawn animation created around the spoken words of John Lennon from a 1969 interview during a "bed-in" for peace in Toronto.
The book with an accompanying DVD just came out ("I Met the Walrus: How One Day with John Lennon Changed My Life Forever"), and shows some never-before-seen photos, as well as a 16mm home movie (sans sound) that was shot by the interviewer/author — a 14 year old kid.
For some more animation in a similar vein, check out the "Malnar" video on the website of Neil Peart (drummer for RUSH):
http://www.neilpeart.com/xtras/index.html
This is very interesting… More Beatles-related news.
Fluid, trippy, hand-drawn animation created around the spoken words of John Lennon from a 1969 interview during a "bed-in" for peace in Toronto.
The book with an accompanying DVD just came out ("I Met the Walrus: How One Day with John Lennon Changed My Life Forever"), and shows some never-before-seen photos, as well as a 16mm home movie (sans sound) that was shot by the interviewer/author — a 14 year old kid.
For some more animation in a similar vein, check out the "Malnar" video on the website of Neil Peart (drummer for RUSH):
http://www.neilpeart.com/xtras/index.html
The Beatles Remastered
I am pleased to hear that my all-time favorite band, The Beatles are releasing their digitally remastered catalogue for the first time. Coming September 9, 2009. (The date tying in with the "Number 9" theme!)
Here's a cool commercial for The Beatles RockBand which comes out on the same day:
You can view a promo video by clicking here: The Beatles Remastered
Also check out the Box of Vision, which is built to store the remastered CDs, and comes with a 200 page LP sized book of restored album artwork:
http://store.boxofvision.com/
New Beginnings
Welcome to my blog. I'll be posting my own random thoughts, observations and philosophies. Also, items of interest in many diversified areas, such as in music, film, art, science, technology and metaphysics.
Original writings © 2009 Darwin Foye. All Rights Reserved.
Original writings © 2009 Darwin Foye. All Rights Reserved.
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