Ahira's Hangar

I've watched clips of other ASIMO robots before, and their movements are indeed the most human-like I've ever seen in robots. Impressive stuff!

from pinkfloyd.com:

The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness, that Richard died today (9-15-08) after a short struggle with cancer.

The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.

Richard Wright
Born 28 July 1943 (65)

RIP

Wow the day after my birthday! So I'm in the middle of Mick Jagger and Richard Wright! That's too cool! Godspeed and thanks for everything Richard!

Rest in peace, Mr. Wright.

Was never a hardcore fan of Pink Floyd, but I count The Division Bell as one of my favorite CDs of the '90s.

Tom Petty's birthday today

Hey Spike, tell me about life....

Former Grateful Dead keyboardist Saunders dies
Oct. 26, 2008, 12:24 AM EST
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Merl Saunders, a jazz and rock keyboardist who collaborated with iconic acts including Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead, has died. He was 74.

Saunders died Friday at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco of complications due to a stroke, said his son, Merl Saunders Jr.

"We loved him very much — and we know that you, his fans, did too," his family said in a statement posted on Saunders' Web site. "He was a special man, a beautiful companion, father, grandfather, and family patriarch, and the proof of that spirit is in the way you've reached out to us at his passing."

Born in San Mateo, Calif., Saunders attended high school with Johnny Mathis in San Francisco. One of Saunders' very first performances was a high school event with Mathis, Saunders Jr. said.

Some of Saunders' most famous music was made in the 1960s and 1970s when he teamed up with the Grateful Dead's lead guitarist and singer, Jerry Garcia. The Saunders-Garcia Band recorded two records in the 1970s and the two would play together on an array of projects until Garcia's death in 1995.

In 1990 Saunders and Garcia released the album "Blues from the Rainforest" that achieved success on the new age music charts.

Saunders is survived by his longtime companion, his two sons and a daughter.

What is it about GD keyboardists?

it's a tough gig....

The biggest music event of the year for me (aside from Folkfest) is the release of the newly remastered Beatles albums. I didn't splurge on either box set (mono or stereo), but have been buying the CDs one or two at a time. I'm only interested in the stereo versions, anyway. I first got to know the Beatles when I was a kid in the late '70s, courtesy of the album Meet The Beatles and HELP! - both movie and soundtrack. It wasn't until the late '80s that I heard all the Beatles albums in their "proper" UK form when they debuted on CD. So now, hearing these new (and terrific sounding) remasters, I feel a "double" nostalgia - for the late '70s and the late '80s.

Béla Fleck??

"Kickass guest artist playing a mean banjo" is probably an understatement.

Cool, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones were at last year's Wpg Folkfest. It's good to see contemporary classical works being championed, and selling well.

Never heard of Paul Fetler, but that's for the best: no preconceptions about his music. I might check out the CD around the time of our New Music Festival in January. Over the years, the Festival has given me the chance to hear the works of a number of American composers. Some of them have become favorites of mine, such as:

Steve Reich: Eight Lines
Philip Glass: Company
Joan Tower: Violin Concerto
John Corigliano: Concerto for Clarinet & Orchestra
Terry Riley: The Sands

It's a shame that it's so expensive to produce a commercial record for an orchestra, as the article says. There is a lot of fabulous contemporary classical music out there that's just not getting to an audience. And if it does get played, you may just get that one chance to hear it. I guess things like YouTube is a remedy of sorts, but the awful audio is a major turn off.

I love Philip Glass' soundtrack to , and the visuals of the movie to the soundtrack is stunning. The movie has no dialog, only the soundtrack. While it was the smaller we saw, rather than the full orchestra of the recording, Hyperception and I attended a three night Philip Glass Ensemble event here in Gator Town a few years ago, where the ensemble played the soundtracks to the films in the live while the movies played on a screen above them, one each night. Koyaanisqatsi remains my favorite of the trilogy, especially as a stand-alone soundtrack, but the entire experience was mesmerizing.

I have found listening to youtube over headphones helps a lot.
Still not anywhere near CD quality, but much better than through computer speakers.

~*~edit~*~

Well fudge, youtube has inserted "commercial breaks" in to their upload of the film, totally ruining the experience. I changed the link to the upload on Sling and am playing it through now. So far so good...