Do you sometimes feel nostalgic for the old Mac OS? Today I did after reading Kevin Kelly’s article about the start of Wired magazine, which he used to write for using a Mac interface like this. So serendipitiously I came across this little tool. If y you have some time and an old USB key (say 32 MB or better), here is the project for you. With a little effort you can create a Mac-on-a-stick using Mini vMac to end up with this!
What’s not to like? 🙂
This is a great quote (courtesy of gapingvoid):
What’s true in life is also true in marketing: If you want to be boring, talk about yourself. If you want to be interesting, talk about other people.
I’ve seen these mentioned at kottke.org and other places. The photographs are striking, as this one shows.
You can see many more great photos at ALEXEY TITARENKO | PHOTOGRAPHY
I recently posted my first muxtape here.
Some asked me, why did you pick the songs you did? Did you think much about it? Well, I did!
For instance, the first song is one of my favourites. I love The Postal Service’s Such Great Heights. I have listened to and watched their great video many times. I think it is a rich song, even if it mostly synths (which I find can be boring). I love how it starts up with the simple beeps, and then it broadens with the bass notes, followed by the other electronic layers until the vocals appear, before it finally closes the way it starts. So well done. I also thought it was the best song to open.
The next song is very different. I saw Amy Winehouse sing this version of Valerie on YouTube and I was really impressed how she sat in this chair in a “green room” and belted this out. It’s worthwhile to compare this to Mark Ronson’s version. I think this version is superior to his in every way. It’s a great song too: it makes me think of the Great Gatsby for some reason.
Switching again from serious to funny is The Boys. I heard The Boys on tuneage.tumblr.com. I love this song: it’s great fun. It’s supposedly “indie”, but it has better pop smarts than most big names. The video is not so great…it IS very indie in a bad way. But the song is very smart.
If The Boys is a bit silly, Down on My Knees is very serious. I love the sound of Ayo’s voice. It is so muted. Beautiful. It’s a great song, too. And a great vibe.
I have always loved “The Israelites”. It’s one of the songs that just pops into my head every so often…I have no idea why. It is easy to denigrate pop music from the 1950s…I blame Happy Days! But so much of it was great. And this is one of those songs for me.
Taking a sonic leap forward I have Freedom 90. I like alot of George Michael, and I love the video — it makes me nostalgic for that time. The song is somewhat that way, too. I love this song: it’s complex but still very strong pop. And George is a great singer.
I like the message of Galvanize. It gets me pumped. Also a great video! But video or no, I like the music of the Chemical Brothers. Also a very smart group.
Now I slow it down a little. This Must Be the Place is a song I have loved since I have heard it. It is always on my mind too. It is smart, techno, R&B and romantic, in a geeky kinda way. My kinda song.
Picking up the pace again is Lovestoned. I like how Tiesto took the best of JT’s “Lovestoned/I think she knows” and remixed it into a superior dance numbers. He’s a smart guy, with this and other songs that he has done.
Dropping the tempo know is CBR’s Trouble Sleeping. It feels like something Ella Fitzgerald could have sung. It’s so lovely, just like CBR herself.
Finally,and somewhat relatedly to Trouble Sleeping is the last song that is sung with great passion by Amy Winehouse. Have I said enough yet how great I think she is? One last time: she’s great. 🙂 Hence, she gets two songs on my muxtape.
Enjoy!
I predict that Barack Obama will win as big as LBJ did over Goldwater. Why is that? The answers can be found here:
Smart People I Know 