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This page will contain news stories about Topaz, as they become available.
This article is about the mineral or gemstone, for other uses see: Topaz (disambiguation).Topaz 4 Carat Oval Shape Topaz Gemstone Ring Enhanced with Azotic(r)Treatment Heart Cut Sky Blue Topaz Ring
The mineral topaz is a silicate of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO4(F,OH)2. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces, the basal pinacoid often being present. It has an easy and perfect basal cleavage and so gemstones or other fine specimens should be handled with care to avoid developing cleavage flaws. The fracture is conchoidal to uneven. Topaz has a hardness of 8, a specific gravity of 3.4-3.6, and a vitreous lustre. Pure topaz is transparent but is usually tinted by impurities; typical topaz is wine or straw-yellow. They may also be white, gray, green, blue, or reddish-yellow and transparent or translucent. When heated, yellow topaz often becomes reddish-pink. It can also be irradiated, turning the stone a light and distinctive shade of blue. A recent trend in jewelry is the manufacture of topaz specimens that display iridescent colors, by applying a thin layer of titanium oxide via physical vapor deposition.
Topaz is found associated with the more acid rocks of the granite and rhyolite type and may be found with fluorite and cassiterite. It can be found in the Ural and Ilmen mountains, Czech Republic, Saxony, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States.
Etymology and historical/mythical usage
The name "topaz" is derived from the Greek topazos, "to seek," which was the name of an island in the Red Sea that was difficult to find and from which a yellow stone (now believed to be a yellowish olivine) was mined in ancient times. In the Middle Ages the name topaz was used to refer to any yellow gemstone, but now the name is only properly applied to the silicate described above.
According to Rebbenu Bachya, the word "Leshem" in the verse Exodus 28:19 means "Topaz" and was the stone on the Ephod representing the tribe of Dan.
Topaz is also the birthstone of November.Example of Heat Treated Topaz-Pink Topaz Pear Cut Ring
This page about Topaz includes information from a Wikipedia article.
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Topaz is also the birthstone of November. Computer and video games are a subset of interactive media, which includes virtual reality, flight and engineering simulation, multimedia and the World Wide Web. According to Rebbenu Bachya, the word "Leshem" in the verse Exodus 28:19 means "Topaz" and was the stone on the Ephod representing the tribe of Dan. Gamers are quite happy to use the vague term "games", or "videogame/video game" to distinguish them from board games and card games when necessary. In the Middle Ages the name topaz was used to refer to any yellow gemstone, but now the name is only properly applied to the silicate described above. Other commonly used terms include "entertainment software," "interactive entertainment media," "electronic interactive entertainment," "electronic game," "software game," and "videogame" (as one word). The name "topaz" is derived from the Greek topazos, "to seek," which was the name of an island in the Red Sea that was difficult to find and from which a yellow stone (now believed to be a yellowish olivine) was mined in ancient times. For many, either "computer game" or "video game" describes these games as a whole.
It can be found in the Ural and Ilmen mountains, Czech Republic, Saxony, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. Non-gamers use several umbrella terms for console, PC, arcade, handheld, and similar games since they do not agree on the best name. Topaz is found associated with the more acid rocks of the granite and rhyolite type and may be found with fluorite and cassiterite. See artistic computer game modification and Machinima. A recent trend in jewelry is the manufacture of topaz specimens that display iridescent colors, by applying a thin layer of titanium oxide via physical vapor deposition. Recently, computer games have also been used as a digital art medium. It can also be irradiated, turning the stone a light and distinctive shade of blue. After the release of Half-Life 2 Valve developed these mods for the sequel and sold them through their Internet digital distribution software, Steam.
When heated, yellow topaz often becomes reddish-pink. Valve bought a number of popular mods including Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat. They may also be white, gray, green, blue, or reddish-yellow and transparent or translucent. This was the case with Valve's Half-Life. Pure topaz is transparent but is usually tinted by impurities; typical topaz is wine or straw-yellow. Popular mods are very occasionally bought by the developers of the game. Topaz has a hardness of 8, a specific gravity of 3.4-3.6, and a vitreous lustre. Developers such as id, Valve, and Epic ship their games with the very development tools used to make the game in the first place, along with documentation to assist mod developers, which allows for the kind of success seen by popular mods such as Counter-Strike.
The fracture is conchoidal to uneven. The Internet provides an inexpensive medium to promote and distribute mods, and they have become an increasingly important factor in the commercial success of some games. It has an easy and perfect basal cleavage and so gemstones or other fine specimens should be handled with care to avoid developing cleavage flaws. These mods can add an extra dimension of replayability and interest. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces, the basal pinacoid often being present. Games running on a PC are often designed with end-user modifications in mind, and this consequently allows modern computer games to be modified by gamers without much difficulty. The mineral topaz is a silicate of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO4(F,OH)2. See also: video game industry practices.
This article is about the mineral or gemstone, for other uses see: Topaz (disambiguation).. This has led to regular occurrences of missed deadlines and unfinished products; Duke Nukem Forever is the quintessential example of these problems. Mineral galleries. The average team size as well as the average development time of a game have grown along with the size of the industry and the technology involved in creating games. Mindat with location data. Most video game console development teams number anywhere from 20 to 50 people, with some teams exceeding 100. Webmineral. Video games are developing fast in all areas, but the problem is of cost, and how developers intend to keep the costs low enough to attract publisher investment.
Development by committee rarely works. The visionary for any game may come from any of the roles outlined. Now, development commonly requires a large team consisting of designers, graphic designers and other artists, programmers, sound designers, musicians, and other technicians; all of which are managed by producers. Video games are made by developers, who used to do this as individuals or small teams in the 80's.
It's only a matter of time before video games will be as accepted as other forms of media and entertainment. In both cases, the attempts at censorship in the United States were struck down as a violation of First Amendment rights, and they have gone on to become fully integrated facets of society. Since these art forms have been around longer, the backlash against them occurred farther in the past, beyond the remembrance of today's youth. Moreover, it appears to be a question of age.
The same situation has been applied to Comic books, music, and motion pictures. Historically, this type of controversy and criticism is not unique to video games. Proponents and opponents of censorship are often very passionate about their individual views. Video game controversy comes in many forms, and censorship is a controversial subject, as well as a popular topic of debate.
Video game censorship is defined as the use of state or group power to control the playing, distribution, purchase, or sale of video games or computer games. Among others, critics of video games sometimes include parents' groups, politicians, organized religion groups, and other special interest groups, even though all these can be found in all forms of entertainment and media. Computer and video games have been the subject of frequent controversy and censorship, due to the depiction of graphic violence, sexual themes, advertising, consumption of illegal drugs, consumption of alcohol or tobacco, propaganda or profanity in some games. Development of techniques are tested against an advanced computer player or online against other human players.
A well-designed game will be easy to pick up but difficult to master, like chess. Games which encourage strategic thinking have well-honed rule sets that the player needs to thoroughly grasp. For example an RTS game set in the past may require use of ancient armies or outwitting a famous world leader of the time. More obvious benefits to the player is education on the game's subject matter.
It could be said that when players stare at a screen with a blank expression, it isn't one of hopeless mesmerization, but one of intense concentration. To win at a game, the player may devote his/her entire attention to it, and utilise newly-learnt skills or tactics. An experienced player will be able to do all this in a very short period of time upon first discovering a new game- such quick learning skills can easily be transferred to other areas of mental application. S/he must then learn the game controls and how the human-machine interface works, inclusing menus and HUDs.
In order to experience the game, the player must first determine the objective(s), as well as how to complete them. Computer and videogames differ from other forms of entertainment in that the person experiencing them is in control, one way or another. Online shows are fast becoming the place to view live action gaming broadcasts such as Gamespot's 'On the Spot'. Other parodies have come in the form of amateur videos on Tetris or Ghosts and Goblins, such as those of Mega 64.
The success of Penny Arcade has attracted many people in the industry, including Ubisoft. Here, the storylines or jokes revolve around current events in video gaming. The other is a more traditional comic strip, containing original art, like Penny Arcade. Sometimes these are original stories, but are often parodies of the game in which the sprite came from.
The first one is the sprite comic, such as 8 Bit Theatre, in which the artist uses sprites from the earlier Final Fantasy games to tell stories. Currently there are two varieties. On the Internet, gaming has also become a popular subject of many webcomics. Also, video games have found themselves on MTV2, in a popular show called Video Mod, where characters from popular video games perform songs from hit artists, such as characters from The Sims 2 performing the song "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains Of Wayne.
Some examples of this are the Catwoman and King Arthur movie games along with the entire television-to-game franchise. Some publishers believe that the success of the movie will help the game sell, and so may not have as lengthy a development schedule as needed to make a compelling game. Even though movies have had more success in game conversion, not all movie games are popular amongst the gaming community. Most summer blockbuster films now have a simultaneous video game release; some of the most lucrative video games of recent times are based on movies, such as Electronic Arts' and Stormfront Studios' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and the series of EA LotR games that followed it, and Activision's two Spider-Man movie games.
Movies have had far more success moving the other direction, onto video games. Sometime, they even "help" more obscure/Japan-only games pick up popularity in America although rarely; To Heart would be the best example of such thing. cartoons, Sonic SatAM, Captain N: The Game Master and Earthworm Jim while Sonic Underground, the American Mega Man cartoon and 4Kids Entertainment's dubs (although this isn't limited to their video game-based dubs) are cited as being poor. Some notable examples of major success includes the various Mario Bros.
On the other hand, video games get much more success when adapted into cartoons/anime. The recently released Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children may change some people's minds though, even though it's a straight to DVD affair. Films like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which has received mixed responses from audiences, with some saying it is a great movie, and others saying it is a very bad movie with excellent computer-generated imagery, but ultimately flopped in the box office, and Uwe Boll's House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark, which both ended up being horrible flops both in fan reactions and box office success and both ending up on the IMDB's bottom 100 movies, do not, in turn, give much confidence in whether these movies will be handled seriously. There is still debate in the movie industry on whether video games can consistently be turned into good, profitable movies.
John Woo also has producing rights on a movie based on the popular Nintendo game Metroid. Doom, a game which film makers were trying to cross over since the mid '90s, finally hit theatres 12 years after its initial release. However, after the initial bunch, many projects materialized that were never finished, but the success of films like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider has led to more films materializing. Despite the ultimately poor performance of these movies, many studios still want to turn big games into movies, hoping that the popularity of the game will help the movie.
Reviews have generally been poor. In the mid-90s, films for Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter, Wing Commander and Mortal Kombat were released. One of the first films based on a video game property was The Wizard, which some criticized as a 90-minute ad for Super Mario Brothers 3. Video game properties have had mixed success when migrating to the movies.
Many T-shirts are available that directly reference video games, such as one with a picture of an NES controller with the text 'Know Your Roots.' Also, video games have also become a major part in cross marketing platforms, such as in Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh, where a child can watch the television show, buy the trading cards, and play the various video games available. Video gaming is now ingrained in popular culture in the United States. PlayStation Magazine, GamePro, GameSpot, GameSpy, IGN, Amped News, and GameFAQs. Numerous websites and publications devoted solely to games have been created, including Official Xbox Magazine, Nintendo Power, Official U.S.
The success of computer and online gaming there is usually credited to South Korea's push for broadband Internet connections in the home and earlier bans on Japanese products (these restrictions were removed by the late 1990s). StarCraft gosu (expert players) are celebrities in a game that some have called the country's national sport. Developers there boast MMORPGs such as Lineage and Ragnarok Online with millions of subscribers and a third of the world's MMOG revenue. Take for example South Korea.
Computer games are huge business worldwide. A large number of summer blockbuster films spawn a companion game, often launching at the same time in order to share the marketing costs. The game and film industries are also becoming increasingly intertwined, with companies like Sony having significant stakes in both. This is untrue; in the United States, video game sales have exceeded the movies' total box office revenue each year since about 1996, but the movie studios trounce the video game publishers when the movies' "ancillary revenue" is counted, meaning sales of DVDs, sales to foreign distributors, and sales to cable TV, satellite TV, and broadcast television networks.
There is a commonly repeated, mistaken belief that video game sales now exceed the revenues of the movie industry. Retail PC game sales have been declining slightly each year since about 1998, but this fact should be taken with a grain of salt: the retail sales numbers from NPD do not include sales from online downloads, nor subscription revenue for games like MMORPGs. These figures are sales in dollars, not units; unit shipments for each category were higher than the dollar sales numbers indicate, as more software and hardware was sold at reduced prices compared to 2003. It reported that as of 2004:.
The NPD Group tracks computer and video game sales in the United States. In South Korea, computer games are preferred, especially MMORPG games and real-time strategy games; there are over 20,000 PC bang Internet cafes where computer games can be played for an hourly charge. Japanese consumers avoid computer games and instead buy video games, with a strong preference for games created in Japan, that run on Japanese consoles (1 reason the Xbox series is less popular). Sales of different types of games vary widely between these markets due to local preferences.
[3]. China is not considered a significant market, most likely because an estimated 95% of video games sold in the country are pirated. Other significant markets include Spain, Germany, South Korea, France, and Italy. The four largest markets for computer and video games are the United States, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The average age of the video game player is now 30 [2], belying the myth that video games are largely a diversion for teenagers. The popularity of computer and video games, as a whole, has been increasing steadily ever since the 1984-1987 drop-off caused by the video game crash of 1983, and the popularity appears to be continuing to increase. This term has now expanded to include any game that has more direct action, with fewer long term objectives, focuses on time limits and, for the most part, shorter in-game levels. Arcade games that are no longer profitable to lease can be purchased by private individuals, many of whom then explore the game dynamics by altering the programs in minor ways.
Controls are similar to those available for many consoles (albeit usually as peripherals) and range from the classic joystick and buttons (Pac-Man), to light guns (Duck Hunt), to pads on the ground that sense pressure (Dance Dance Revolution). These are programmed, equipped, and decorated for a specific game, consisting of a video display, a set of controls, and the coin slot. Arcade games, traditionally, are "coin-operated games", played on a standalone device originally leased to commercial entertainment venues. Because they are designed to be played on the go, they were traditionally small enough to carry conveniently in a bag or jacket (the Virtual Boy being an exception to this), but due to their small size, handheld consoles have reduced processing power compared to larger consoles, meaning that games are shorter, and until the release of the Nintendo DS, were largely limited to 2D.
Handheld consoles act as their own controllers, which the player uses to interact with the game, as well as having in-built display and audio output devices. Handheld games are played on handheld game consoles, such as the Nintendo Game Boy line, the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. Consoles themselves branched off from personal computers around two decades ago, a fact which is still evident not only in the name, but also in many of the peripherals available for many consoles, like the keyboard and mouse peripherals released for the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Sega Dreamcast. The player usually interacts with the game through a controller, and video and sound are typically delivered to the player via a television through composite A/V cables, although most modern consoles support additional outputs, such as surround sound, progressive scan, and High Definition setups through the use of component cables.
Console games are played on a video game console,or "home console", a specialized computer specifically designed to play games of a certain format. Some of these games, such as Runescape, however, have expanded far beyond this, and can often be considered on the same level as "mainstream" PC games. Some are on going user-based games that have no ending. These games generally do not share the same magnitude of development costs, depth, or seriousness of PC and console games, and are generally quick to complete by comparison.
The Internet is also host to thousands of small web-based games, written using formats like Flash and Javascript. Online games need to allow several people to play at the same time, so not all genres are suitable; the most popular genres include MMORPGs, FPSs, racing/driving games, strategy games, and sports titles. It is now a key feature of modern games, with the inclusion of Internet connectivity in consoles such as the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube (although it was only fully exploited on the Xbox); portable consoles such as the PSP or DS that use Wi-Fi, and in mobile/cellular phones. The first console to incorporate this feature was the Sega Dreamcast.
Online gaming began with PC games, but has expanded over time to include most modern consoles. Online Games are those which are played over the Internet. Ease of software piracy is also a much greater threat with PC games, although console hardware modifications do make it possible to play pirated games on them as well. Without the proper hardware, the game may perform poorly or not run at all, as opposed to console software, in which the software is designed based on the set hardware configuration of the console.
One possible explanation for the declining sales of personal computer games in relation to that of consoles can be found within the PC itself: a computer must meet certain minimum requirements such as CPU speed, Random access memory (RAM), system clock speed (MHz or GHz), video card memory, hard drive space, operating system, Internet connection speed (for online games) and other criteria. For more information, see sales. According to the Entertainment Software Association, console games have outsold computer games roughly four units to one in 2003 and 2004 [1]. There is, however, a continuing movement to get the most popular games to run under the Mac and Linux operating systems, although it is still small.
Today, most major PC games require a recent version of the Windows operating system to be installed on the computer. PC games are often more detailed than console games because of early market releases of their external architecture and graphics cards. Video feedback is received by the user through the computer screen, sound through speakers or headphones. They are played on the personal computer with standard computer interface devices such as the keyboard and mouse, or additional peripherals, such as joysticks.
Personal computer games are commonly referred to as "computer games" or "PC games". During the last generation of gaming, most major PC game releases have coincided with the release of console versions, and titles initially developed for a single platform are often ported to others if they prove to be successful. Many games intended for PCs are now just as prevalent on consoles, with many developers creating versions for more than one platform. The final home platform is the PC.
The 3 main home video game platform companies are Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, who between them have created seven of the eight home platforms most commonly used today. Games are not interchangeable between platforms so, for example, Xbox games will not work in your PC. Personal computers, consoles, handheld systems, and arcade machines are all common. Today there are many different devices, or platforms, on which games may be played.
The increase in the popularity of online gaming has also resulted in sub-genres being formed, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Most games nowadays are a combination of two or more genres (e.g action/RPG). The most common genres in use today include platformer, adventure, role-playing game (RPG), first person shooter (FPS), third person shooter (both these are sometimes refered to as shoot-'em-ups), sports, racing, fighting, action (note that this term is abused often), puzzle, simulation, and real time strategy (RTS). Games, like most other forms of media, may be categorized into genres based on gameplay, atmosphere, and various other factors.
Although the use of this term is often disputed, as it is considered too vague for the range of concepts it describes, it is currently the most commonly used and accepted term for this purpose when describing video games. It includes direct interaction, such as controls and interface, but also design aspects of the game, such as levels and graphics. In computer and video gaming, gameplay (sometimes called "Game mechanics") is a general term that describes player interaction with a game. The Xbox 360, will be powered by a multi-core CPU, the PlayStation 3 will be powered by Cell processor technology, and the Nintendo Revolution will allow the gamer to interact with the game via a wireless motion sensing controller and promises more innovations, although full technical specifications are yet to be revealed.
Sony with the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo with the codenamed Revolution will join Microsoft with the already released Xbox 360 in this year's "technology race". 2006 will see the continuation of the next generation of console gaming in the form of two new consoles. The end of 2005 saw the release of the Xbox 360 - the first of the next generation of consoles. In Western countries the consoles have had similar levels of success (PSP sales are slightly higher), but in Japan the DS has been a huge hit, vastly outselling the PSP.
The Nintendo DS is a highly innovative handheld, the PSP is much more powerful and also includes limited media capabilities. The other two more technically advanced handhelds to be released in 2004, the Nintendo DS (DS stands for Dual-Screen) and the PlayStation Portable (PSP), didn't help the N-Gage. In 2004 Nokia released a re-designed N-Gage, called the N-Gage QD, which didn't fare much better. It was criticised for being poorly designed, and flopped.
Nokia entered the handheld market with its N-Gage game-phone hybrid in 2003. Sega realised they could no longer compete, and announced they would discontinue the Dreamcast and no longer manufacture hardware, becoming a third-party developer in 2002. Nintendo released their successor to the Nintendo 64, the GameCube, and the first all new Game Boy since the consoles inception, the Game Boy Advance. Its flagship game, Halo: Combat Evolved, is also available at the system's launch.
In 2001 Microsoft entered the videogame console industry by releasing its new home console, the Xbox. It was an instant hit and became the best-selling computer game of all time, surpassing Myst. The Sims was also released. In 2000 Sony released the widely anticipated PlayStation 2.
1998 saw the releases of the Sega Dreamcast in Japan (1999 in the US) and the Game Boy Color from Nintendo. The Saturn was successful in Japan but a failure in North America, leaving Sega outside of the main competition. By the end of this period, Sony had dethroned Nintendo, the PlayStation outselling the Nintendo 64. In particular, SquareSoft, which had released all previous games in its Final Fantasy series for Nintendo consoles, now turned to the PlayStation; Final Fantasy VII (1997) was a huge success, establishing the popularity of role-playing games in the west and making the PlayStation the primary console for the genre.
Nintendo's choice to use cartridges instead of CD-ROMs for the Nintendo 64, unique among the consoles of this period, proved to have negative consequences. The flagship title, Super Mario 64, became a defining title for 3D platform games. After many delays, Nintendo released its 64-bit console, the Nintendo 64 in 1996, selling more than 1.5 million units in only three months. Both consoles used 32-bit technology; the door was open for 3D games.
In 1994-1995, Sega released Sega Saturn and Sony made its debut to the video gaming scene with the PlayStation. Basic 3D graphics entered the mainstream with flat-shaded polygons enabled by additional processors in game cartridges like Virtua Racing and Starfox. CD-ROM drives were first seen in this generation, as add-ons for the PC Engine in 1988 and the Megadrive in 1991. The PC Engine eventually lost out to the Super Famicom, but retained enough of a user base to support new games well into the late 1990s.
In Japan, the PC Engine's (Turbografx 16) 1987 success against the Famicom and CD drive peripheral allowed it to fend off the Mega Drive (Genesis) in 1988, which never really caught on to the same degree as outside Japan. The NEC TurboGrafx 16 was the first 16-bit system to be marketed in the region, but did not achieve a large following, partly due to a limited library of English games and effective marketing from Sega. The North American market was dominated by the Sega Genesis early on after its debut in 1989, with the Nintendo Super NES proving a strong, roughly equal rival in 1991. While some of the other systems remained in production until the mid-90s, the Game Boy remained at the top spot in sales throughout its lifespan.
Several rival handhelds also made their debut around that time, including the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx. Included with the system was Tetris, which became a popular puzzle game. In 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, the first popular handheld console. See the article on Console wars for additional information on that facet of game history.
The last two decades of game history have been marked by separate markets for games on video game consoles, home computers and handhelds. and many others of today's popular Nintendo genre. The video game crash of 1983, however, produced a dark age in the market that was not filled until the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) reached North America in 1985.This presented Americans with games such as Mario Bros. The late 1970s to early 1980s brought about the improvement of home consoles and the release of the Atari 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision.
He created a system with limited capabilities called the Magnavox Odyssey, which paved the way for the next wave of home consoles. The first home console video games, were created by Ralph Baer who is now known as the creator of video games. The 1970s also saw the release of the first home video game consoles. The paddles were white bars with a dot moving between them.
One of the best-known of these games is Pong, a simple game simulating Ping Pong. Arcade games were developed in the 1970s (Pac-man to Frogger) and led to the so-called "Golden Age of Arcade Games". The first video game was Tennis for Two created by William Higginbotham in 1958. The first primitive computer and video games were developed in the 1960s and 1970s and ran on platforms such as oscilloscopes, university mainframes and EDSAC computers.
. In common usage, "computer game" or "PC game" refers specifically to games played on a personal computer, "console game" refers to games played on specifically-designed set top box, that play through a TV and "video game" (or "videogame") refers to any game played on a device that plays through your TV but also includes PC, Console, Mobile Phone or PDA or other handheld device. To avoid ambiguity, this game software is referred to as "computer and video games" throughout this article, which explores things common to both types of game. The phrase interactive entertainment is the formal reference to computer and video games.
Usually there are rules and goals, but in more open-ended games the player may be free to do whatever they like within the confines of the virtual universe. These terms are not always interchangeable as some games, particularly older games, do not use a video display. A video game is a computer game where a video display such as a monitor or television is the primary feedback device. A computer game is a computer-controlled game that players may interact with.
PC game sales: $1.1 billion, down 2% from 2003 [6]. Console and portable hardware and accessory sales: $3.7 billion, down 35% from 2003 [5]. Console and portable software sales: $6.2 billion, up 8% from 2003 [4]. For specific information regarding "console games" or, see console game..
For specific information regarding "computer games", see personal computer game..
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High Rise
Edit Page Last Edit: 2 years 10 months ago
Construct a tower made of eight objects and stand on top of it.
Simple enough, though you will need to collect at least four boxes that aren't conjured.
- The more the merrier, this feat is a lot easier to accomplish with more people.
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Dec 03, 2012 at 12:18AM EST
Yes, the staff were nice enough not to ban themes. I don't need to use scripts to make them work so I just defaulted to the "no-script" version
The theme switch is gone though.
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Added Jun 14, 2013
by gimmeonekiss
Bergamo, Italy
a new t.shirt for the rock band LE CAPRE A SONAGLI
more infos, photos etc etc here – https://www.facebook.com/events/585624921481640/?ref=ts&fref=ts
Jul 2, 2013, 08.33 PMby crinamex
Well Done !!
Jun 14, 2013, 06.40 PMby chased-away
Cool shirt, I've never seen a guy wearing one like it and it looks great.
Jun 14, 2013, 12.41 PMby martinK
like it, the collar is great!
Add to Favorites 1 person added it
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While staying at the hotel during a four day training exercise the hotel stay was excellent. The staff were very nice and helpful. The rooms were clean and comfortable. Breakfast was great. We had no problems with check-in or checking-out. I would recommend a stay at this hotel. Thanks. Johnny
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Taylor Swift and I go way back. She doesn't know this, but we've had a relationship since the beginning of 2007 when I caught the second half of "Teardrops on My Guitar" while flipping through radio stations one day in my car. The song sounded so good so immediately that I stopped the scan button to ... More >>
Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>
(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' III / IV*Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Cardinals III/IV The Consequence of Sound review of III / IV sang its praises: "This year ... More >>
In the RFT that's coming out later this week, our music writers will weigh in on what they liked -- and didn't like -- about music in the year 2008. Various writers from around the Village Voice Media chain also weighed in on their jams, lists we'll be rolling out over the next week or so. Here's a ... More >>


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Photos and Description of this 1 bedroom holiday apartment in Dijon town
Duplex in a mansion
Pamper yourself in the heart of historic Dijon in this little cocoon with modern comfort duplex in a townhouse, ideal for family holidays, with its combination of old world charm and contemporary.
You will be charmed by the beams, the bull's eye and the pampering side of this duplex luxury, equipped with highly functional manner, with great taste and includes:
- 1 fully equipped kitchen
- 1 bathroom (towels)
- 1 bedroom with 2 seats
- 1 living room with TV and Hifi
- Access to Wi-Fi and landlines
If you come to 3 or 4, a 2-seater sofa can be installed on the floor. Simplify your stay using the dishwasher and washing machine, and going to walk to the many shops around: market across the market, supermarket and bakery are a 5 minute walk and you will stay in peace!
- Suitability:
- Long-term Renters Welcome
- children welcome
- non smoking only
- pets not allowed
- wheelchair inaccessible


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Political Satire Election Day from Theatre Seven of Chicago
* Additional fees apply.
The last date listed for Election Day was Sunday August 31, 2008 / 3:00pm.
Currently at Chicago Dramatists Theatre
The Issue of Wrongful Convictions Is Explored in New Drama At the Center
- Full Price:
- $25.00
- Our Price:
- $12.00
Elizabeth Harvey has spent the past 19 years putting the pieces of her life back together followi...Learn More
Venue Details
Avoid D'Augustino's pizza. It is right around the corner but service was terrible. After waiting 50 minutes for our food, it had not arrived and the server was clueless. We left without eating but did make it to the play on time.At the Center dining • Oct 31 2014 star this tip starred
The weather was super cold. I wore hoddie and jacket with jeans .Blacula: Young, Black and Undead dress • Nov 26 2013 star this tip starred
Reviews & Ratings
Featured review from weekender
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My wife and I laughed all the way through along with the rest of the audience. The story was very funny and very well performed. One has to find sex and politics even at the local levels to be amusing to appreciate this show, but I don't think that leaves out too many people. I am going to run out to vote for Clark... or was it the other guy...?
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This play is hilarious. The comic and physical timing was terrific. You will not be disappointed. The theater is easy to get to and because of its small size, there isn't a bad seat in the house.
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Funny farce, very entertaining.
star this review starred report as inappropriate
Funny, very well acted, not exactly deep commentary on politics, but an enjoyable evening nonetheless
Theatre Seven presents the Chicago premiere of Josh Tobiessen's rip-roaring political satire.
The race for mayor is coming down to the wire, and Adam's activist girlfriend, Brenda, won't stop reminding him to vote. When Brenda heads out for one last day on the stump, Adam gets a visit from his deadbeat sister, her anarchist boyfriend and the opposing mayoral candidate himself. Between a kidnapping conspiracy, a sack of Molotov cocktails, a sex-for-votes exchange and one severely stoned ecoterrorist, will Adam ever make it to the voting booth?
Directed by Brant Russell


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Bike Tours California - We transport San Francisco locals and visitors to wine country and set them up with expert guides, top-notch bikes, beautiful countryside, and a chance to taste California's world-class wines.
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NBA draft 2011: Boston College Eagles' Reggie Jackson must work o...David Thorpe
David Thorpe evaluates Boston College point guard Reggie Jackson. Not only does Jackson have to overcome being from a school with limited hoops success; he has to calm scouts' fears about his 3-point shot and defense. However, he has good potential.Blog | Conversation | May 14, 2011
Boston College's Reggie Jackson to remain in NBA draft
Boston College guard Reggie Jackson says he will forgo his senior season and remain in the NBA draft.Story | Conversation | May 07, 2011
Should Reggie Jackson stay in the draft?Eamonn Brennan
By all accounts, including ESPN Insider Chad Ford's, Boston College guard Reggie Jackson is still agonizing about his future. The Eagles star is getting mixed signals from the NBA. Some GMs think he's a lottery pick. Others see a late first or ea...Blog | May 05, 2011
Advice for undecided underclassmenChad Ford
A whopping 89 underclassmen have declared for the 2011 NBA draft. With the April 24 deadline to declare past us, the next key date will be May 8. That's the NCAA's newly imposed date for underclassmen to withdraw from the draft if they wan...Blog | May 03, 2011
2011 NBA Draft: Giving advice to undecided underclassmen like Ken...Chad Ford
Using the latest buzz he's heard from GMs around the NBA, Chad Ford dishes out advice to undecided underclassmen, suggesting whether they'd be wise to stay in the draft or return to school for another season.Blog | Conversation | May 03, 2011
Analyzing early-entry decisionsDoug Gottlieb
Every year players put their names in the NBA draft with the hope of becoming one of 60 NBA draftees. Only 30 of them receive guaranteed contracts, however, and that's a distinction worth making. Just 15 of the 30 second-round picks from the 20...Blog | April 27, 2011
Doug Gottlieb: Debating early-entry decisions for college basketb...Doug Gottlieb
Doug Gottlieb analyzes a wide variety of early-entry decisions and determines whether players should go back to school or stay in the draft.Blog | Conversation | April 27, 2011
2011 NBA draft: Boston College Eagles' Reggie Jackson to test NBA...
Boston College junior Reggie Jackson has made himself eligible for the NBA draft. But the 6-foot-3 guard says he won't hire an agent, so he could remove his name from the list and return to school.Story | Conversation | March 30, 2011
Andy Katz's Daily Word: Boston College weathers the storm, holds ...Andy Katz
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- On Sunday afternoon against Miami, BC guard Reggie Jackson had the flush dunk that might end up being the slam of the season, even if it was waved off as a debatable charge. But the decision to dunk, the aggressive play to ...Blog | Conversation | December 07, 2009
Fran Fraschilla: Taking a red pen to my colleagues' rankingsFran Fraschilla
My colleague Andy Katz came up with his revised top 25 this week, and then Doug Gottlieb countered with his own. Well, what do they know?! I'm kidding. They know a lot. But for what it's worth, here's my take on a few of their rankings ... Bosto...Blog | Conversation | April 28, 2009
NBA mock draft: BC's Jackson at No. 19ESPNBoston.com
In his first NBA mock draft (insider access required), ESPN.com's Chad Ford has BC's Reggie Jackson going No. 19 overall to the Charlotte Bobcats. Writes Ford: Analysis: The Bobcats, as we noted, have needs just about everywhere. Jackson might be th...Blog | May 06, 2011


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TV Fashion Roundup: December 10, 2012
Check out what some of your favorite small-screen stars wore on TV this week!
Julie Bowen's Lavender Sweater on 'Modern Family'
Julie Bowen took a break from her hoodie love on Modern Family to wear this equally comfortable (yet infinitely more stylish) V-neck sweater. Get your cozy on for under $15 with Forever 21's similar "Relaxed Open Knit Sweater."
See more looks from Modern Family
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August 24, 2014The Best & Worst Dressed at the MTV Video Music Awards 2014
August 24, 2014Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift's Shocking Selfie


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Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane is proving his fans range in all ages as reports claim a 51-year-old prisoner has tried to help spring him from behind bars.
Details of the inmate's attempt to help Gucci out of his legal crunch have surfaced online.
It's like the prison version of "My Cousin Vinny" — a random inmate in South Carolina has just prepared legal docs to get Gucci Mane out of jail … and they're hilarious. 51-year-old Jerry Lewis Dedrick — who's currently locked up in a Williamsburg federal prison — has taken it upon himself to get Gucci off gun charges (without Gucci asking) filing a scribbled motion. To his credit, Dedrick has been spending a lot of time reading — not like he has other stuff to do — and claims he's discovered the key to Gucci's case. (TMZ)
Although Dedrick cannot legally pull this off, he may try to pass the documents off to Gucci's attorneys.
Several problems — first, his argument makes no sense. Dedrick rambles on about how possessing a gun in itself isn't a federal crime. Dedrick isn't Gucci's lawyer, so he can't file docs on the rapper's behalf. But Dedrick wants the court to forward his legal work to Gucci's lawyer … hoping it will crack the case. Gucci's currently locked up in Georgia following his September arrest for gun and weed possession — and if this is his best shot at freedom, he's going nowhere fast. (TMZ)
Back in December, Gucci received bad news in court after being indicted on felony charges.
Rapper Gucci Mane was charged in federal court Tuesday with two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon after two September incidents during which he showed a gun and threatened police, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Reports at the time indicated that the "Lemonade" rhymer was arrested in Atlanta on September 14 after a friend flagged down police to say he was concerned about the rapper's behavior. (CNN)
Mane found himself in handcuffs after a couple of September incidents.
Early Sept. 14, a man who said he was a friend of the rapper's called police to say Davis was walking down the street behaving violently, according to a police report. When police arrived, Davis smelled strongly of marijuana, cursed at them, called them names and threatened to shoot them, the report says. Police arrested him on a disorderly conduct charge and found a clear baggie with what they believe was marijuana and a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun, the report says. An ambulance was called, and Davis was sedated and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. (ABC News)
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Producing is mostly problem solving
Producing is mostly problem solving
Many new and old producers have a really difficult time looking at their own work and saying "This is done". There is a huge paranoia that there is a gaping hole in our work that is immediately going to be spotted by our peers. This issue can lead to analysis paralysis and cause you to never finish anything you start.
Every track you show people will be a "work in progress". You'll never commit to saying "here it is, it's done". I hope this post will help you across the finish line with more confidence.
The truth is, if you haven't written in a while, your songs may very likely have some unfinished business, but you really can't look at things like that. Your job is not to create perfection, it's to abandon your work when you've done all you can currently do.
See, your production improves in direct relationship with your experience and your listening skills. This means that unless you are willing to put yourself out there & possibly fail a few times, you will never truly begin to succeed. You'll think that one more learned trick is going to save your song, but it's really not the case.
You can't improve your skills from studying somebody else's skills unless you are also learning from doing. You also can never expect to develop your own style. Instead you'll be chasing everybody else's.
When is my song done?
So when is your song complete then?
The short answer is that it's done when you say it's done, but let me dive a bit deeper.
As you produce your own music, you start to develop a much better ear for things. You get much better at figuring out what makes other songs "tick" & learning to apply it to your own work.
Many of us go through a period where we realize our song is still missing something. The problem is that we don't know what. Sometimes there truly is an element missings, other times the problem is in the mixing or EQing. Other times there is just too much happening and the song no longer sounds clean.
Once again, you learn this from doing. With any form of art, you can only be as good as your currently are.
So when is your song done? When you can no longer perceive any problems.
The problem solving approach
This year I have gained a decade of experience over the last 10 months by writing constantly. I've written, remixed or collaborated on more than 60 songs so far & still going strong. Surprisingly, I like 90% of my work quite a bit. The advantage you have when you are continuously writing is that you are building habits, skills and instincts. You can also always go back to a previous "finished" song & know immediately what you can do to make it better.
See, you don't have to call a song done forever, you just have to abandon it when your current ear is satisfied. You can always come back. The trick is to get something as far as you can take it, then try to take it just a tad further, then let it go without getting too much emotion involved & start your next tune.
My approach as a producer now isn't to reach some sort of perfection, but to construct something that sounds good to my ears and feels good in my body, then arrange it into a full song format & finally fix the problems.
Some of the issues I find I need to solve are:
* The song sounds muddy, what sound do I need to clean up? Do I need more high frequency content?
* This part has been going on too long without change, how can I retrigger some excitement?
* I seem to have lost the groove, what is taking away from the rhythm?
* Everything seems to be coming from the center, how can I add more movement?
* This sound isn't cutting through, should I add EQ, compression or saturation?
* This new sound is overpowering another important sound, can I solve this with panning or EQ?
The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.
Getting out of the DAW
When I feel I am getting close to completing my song, I will mix it down and listen to the song outside of my DAW. Sometimes visual cues can trick you, so I like to be 100% using my ears.
While listening, I'll make a note of issues with the mix & the time it is happening. This is extremely useful to me, because I know exactly what I need to do to call this song done. I no longer need to overthink, I just go through my checklist.
When there are no more issues I can perceive, I call the song done & move on to the next one.
Follow my songwriting process
If you would like to follow my (mostly) daily songwriting thread on facebook, you can check it out here. It's totally free & you can also share your own daily process. It's helped a lot of producers stay focused and productive. I invite the same for you.
Happy music making,
Steal This Ableton Tip! Stutter Effects with Warp Settings.
Stutter Effects with Warp Settings
Here's a hidden trick in your warping setting to get cool stuttering effects on any audio file you apply it to. Automating it sounds pretty cool too, although you will need to do that manually while recording the results to another track. Depending on what you are going for, the results may very well be worth the extra time (which is really only 1 or 2 minutes).
Check out the video below and I'll show you how it's done:
Happy music making,
Why Nobody Wants To Hear Your Music & What to Do About it
Nobody Wants To Hear Your Music
If you are a music maker in the digital age there are many things you need to come to terms with. Some of it is going to sound harsh, but knowing this will give you a slight edge in this tough market.
We are bombarded with shit day in and day out like never before. Everybody wants to share their thoughts, opinions, art, music, cat vids, you name it. Not only are we bombarded with shit, we are bombarded with free shit (and let's be honest, some of it is good, but most of it is shit).
If you are an aspiring music producer, you simply can't compete with the wealth of free entertainment that is available to everyone with a TV or computer. Most people don't want to bother with your free stuff, let alone your paid product that you poured your soul into.
Don't worry, nobody wants to hear my stuff either.
I am not offering strict pessimism here, but I want to be clear that for the majority of people, you mean nothing, and that is what us artists are up against.
If you want to get anywhere in this business, you want to find out what everybody else is doing & do more, do different. Come from an angle that gives people value for their time. Do something that makes people give a shit about you. And trust me when I say, it's you, not your music that people are buying. If people don't feel connected with you, your great music will never matter.
It's no coincidence that an outspoken public guy like Deadmau5 is on top of the electronic music game. He might not be your favorite & he isn't mine, but you've got to appreciate his approach in this changing musical landscape.
Influence the influencers
If you want people to care enough about what you do to pull out their hard earned $5-10 on your EP or album, you have to understand that most people are naturally followers. You need to identify the leaders of your niche and make them care. You can divide your workload by 100, hell 1000 times by simply getting a nod or 2 from those who influence your scene.
Like in any field, you typically only have access to the guys in the middle, not the guys at the top. Although you might get lucky, you'll have to accept that Richie Hawtin, Dubfire & Adam Beyer aren't going to be very accessible, but you may be able to build relationships with people a bit lower on the totem pole that are connected to these guys.
My Story
In the early 2000's, I got very lucky when my partner & I were trying to get out our music (under the name Innerstate). It actually took a couple years to climb the ladder though. We had about 4 songs we had finished and really had no connections. We would go to gigs with CDs and hand them to the DJs after shows. At the time Taylor was a pretty big name & we really loved what he did. We followed him to gig after gig bringing the same CDs. Each time he would say he hadn't had a chance to listen, or "lost" the CD. He wasn't being a dick, he was genuinely busy & he didn't know us from anyone. There was no reason to care. In our scene there was a new guy that had been coming up named Brandon Meyers. Since he was still on his way up, he wasn't bombarded with as much music, so when we handed him a CD, he listened right away & started playing a couple of the tunes. At some point, he connected with Taylor & when Taylor heard the tunes and the crowd reaction, he had to know who the artist was. Brandon told him "from what I hear, you have 6 copies of these songs stacked somewhere in your house!". Needless to say, he started playing them a LOT & we build a friendship that lasts today.
Not long after this my production partner and I headed out to Miami for the Winter Music Conference. While many people were pressing vinyl & professional CDs by the 100's, we went with 10 burned CDs with our crappy handwriting on them. We gave 1 to Pete Tong, Nick Warren, as well as a great guy who worked for Allen & Heath. Although it didn't go anywhere with Tong, we did hear he liked what we gave him, so who knows if he passed it on. Nick & his Way Out West partner started playing them out, but most importantly, our friend from Allen and Heath liked our tunes enough to hand them off to Hernan Cattaneo who started giving us huge festival plays & talking us up in magazine interviews. When John Digweed did a gig with him, he heard one of our tracks & had to get a copy. Needless to say, he started dropping it left & right as well.
This is the equivalent of a nobody going hugely viral. It happens. I'm living proof.
Sharing you
As much as we would like our music to speak for itself, you are going to have to be the spokesman for your art. You need to do more than post "Listen to my new jam" if you want anyone to give a shit. If that is what you have been doing, most of your would be fans hate you. From your perspective, the time you put into your tune is your gift to the world. Unfortunately from the other perspective, you are just another crappy music maker trying to get famous. Sad but true.
There is a reason musicians and actors have a PR team. People need to feel like they know you for you to earn the time of day with them. If you don't have the budget for that (and many of us don't), you are going to have to give more value than music to engage people. For me, it was sharing my process, giving people a backstage pass into my little world. Giving my music a face, a soul.
When you have successes, many of your biggest fans are striving to be where you are now. Help them. Share your stories & your personality. You, your music and your story are all intertwined. The more you can open up, the more chance of building an audience that cares.
Learn how to market yourself
Technology has since changed & although my approach can still work, there are many more music makers in the game. Everyone and his grandma are slagging off their tunes to DJs face to face & through social media. Here is where you have to look at what others are doing & think different.
One thing that 95% of producer's aren't doing is spending money on marketing themselves. Everyone wants the free approach, and that is where you have an "in". By doing what others aren't willing to do, the noise in this scene gets cut by 95% & you have access to a much wider audience.
Understand that this is an investment that you won't make back in sales in the short term, so you'll need to be in this for the long haul (other thing that will set you apart while others get frustrated, lazy & quit before they ever got started).
Don't worry too much about trying to be the biggest & the best right now. Focus instead having enough people who love what you do to support you. Kevin Kelly suggests building a fanbase of 1000 true fans. A true fan is someone who buys everything you do, including the t-shirt & the super deluxe box set with rare demos and b-sides & will also drive a long distance to come to your shows. If you can get 1000 people willing to pay you $50-$100 a year, you can make a living as an artist.
I'll be sharing my own strategies for making a living as an artist. This not only includes selling your music stuff, but also ways to create some other passive income streams that can bring you income 24/7. If that interests you, you can sign up to my free mailing list here.
So try to think outside the box with your music & try to give people a reason to care. This will require more effort and energy from you, but doing what others aren't willing to is the secret sauce to any success story.
Happy music making,
How Long Will it Take Me to Sound Like ______ ?
How Long Will it Take Me to Sound Like ______ ?
This is a question I get asked often from new aspiring producers. They often ask me this after they have purchased a training course from me or joined my Producer's Playground, so given their current mindset, it's a fair question, but it isn't the best question. .
It's VERY important that you start with a different attitude than "how long will it take me to sound like this pro?"
You can't possibly go directly from A to Z, without moving through the whole alphabet. You can certainly skip some roadblocks that gets you through faster, but you still need to move through each of the micro steps before you make that giant leap.
The real question you may need to answer is:
"How many songs did this artist write to get to this level of production?"
Then your next question might be:
"How many songs will I need to finish to get the experience needed to write on that level?"
With a mentor or someone who helps you focus on the right things, you might be able to get to a professional level in your productions in less time than the original artist did, but I wouldn't expect your first 5, 10 or even 20 songs to be on that level.
"Why even bother making making music I'm not 100% satisfied with?"
This is the attitude that keeps 95% of people out of the big leagues. It's like asking "why even bother learning kung fu if I have to start as a white belt?". It's why most people quit before they have even begun. Most people are not able to sit with sucking at something until they don't suck anymore. Instead they beat themselves up through the whole process.
Here's why you make music, however bad you are at it right now:
1. Because you love music enough to fight for your ability to be great at it.
2. Because you already envision your success & you know these are the steps that get you there.
3. Because there is no other way to get there.
Your goal should be to get comfortable with finishing songs right now at whatever level you are at. Don't make the mistake of spending a year on 1 song, thinking this is how you become an expert, because:
1. That isn't the way to master songwriting
2. You'll hate the song before you have even finished it
3. You might be inspired by something completely different by that time
When you go through the process of finishing songs, you aren't only improving your writing skills, you are also improving your listening skills. The more your listening skills improve, the more you'll realize that some of the first songs you wrote are missing certain details you never even thought of before.
This is why, as you are developing, it's so important to call a song done when you've done the best you can for now & start something new. You won't be able to develop your listening skills any other way, than to write songs & reference your music with other artists.
The writing and listening process will progress naturally, and when it does, you'll be able to go back and improve your older songs. I do this ALL the time, as my process is always improving.
Does this mean that every song you make is going to be better than the last?
Not necessarily. You can't really predict your hits and misses, but you are guaranteed to be a more experienced producer with every new song completed & your toolbox will be not only bigger, but much more organized.
You'll be much better at sounding like yourself than anyone else
If you aren't great at sounding like somebody else, that is a good thing. It means you have your own style that you are developing. As long as you improve at being the best you possible, you won't be wasting your time chasing someone else's art.
Chasing the dreams of others is the best way to kill your own art before you ever get off the ground. You will always borrow ideas for your art, but when you know who you are, the ideas you borrow will move your art forward, not somebody else's.
So many artists die with their own art still in them because they never had the confidence to share themselves with the world. Don't be another statistic.
I recall in the mid 90's, I was trying to make the trance music that was popular at the time. The only thing epic about it, was what an epic failure I was at it. Everything I made sounded like house music. I felt like a loser, instead of realizing that my personality just happened to gravitate toward a different style of music. I now see my failure at making what wasn't really me as a success.
Keep this in mind as genre's change so you don't get "shiny music syndrome" where you try to chase down every new popular style. If you want to sound like a pro, you'll need to be consistent with your sound for long enough to get there.
"My song sounded great last night, but sounds like shit today"
This is incredibly common for new producer's and even veteran producer's and there is a reason why this happens. Let me try to explain.
If I were to play you a low quality mp3 dj mix, but not tell you… after about 10 minutes, your ears might adjust to it & suddenly it would sound just fine. Your brain has a way of adjusting to what you are listening to.
Since your song is all you are listening to for hours on end, compared to nothing but itself, it sounds great. Over the next day or 2, you will likely be listening to other music, refreshing your ears. Suddenly, when you return to you own production, you'll hear the difference & notice that it sounds sub standard to how you originally thought is sounded.
This is part of you developing listening skills & it's the reason you may look back on some of your work and go "what was I thinking?".
Improving your listening skills
If you and I were to listen to the same song & then describe it in terms or production or arrangement, we would likely hear things differently, because our experience & listening skills are different.
You might say "Listen to that fat kick drum" while I might be hearing things on a different level and say "Sounds like a thumpy kick with short decay, layered with a clicky kick for presence & a subby sine wave underneath for the boom".
We both heard the same thing, but our ability to break down what is happening in terms of production is proportional to our ability to really hear the details when we listen.
How to improve your listening skills
If you want to improve your listening skills, take 10 minutes before each music session to listen to a song & then write out in as much detail as you can, what you are hearing. Try to figure out what elements are making the groove happen, what is creating tension & what is releasing it.
Is there a sound that glues things together?
Can you hear what effects are being used to create dimension & space in the song?
Can you recognize what is happening with a filter?
What is happening in the song to keep it from sounding boring & loopy?
The more you can understand what really makes another song tick, the more you can apply that you your own productions & the faster you can expect to become the expert you so desperately want to sound like now.
With everything you do, there are shortcuts, but there is never a free pass. The faster you can accept where you are right now, the faster you can tackle each step necessary to becoming great.
Happy music making,


text:
November 23, 2014
Video DVD Review: Robot Chicken season four
by Nick Zaino, posted Jan 13th 2010 6:29PM
Robot Chicken is its own bizarre, wonderful little world, usually coming to you 15 minutes at a time on Adult Swim. It always seemed to me a show that probably only worked in small doses, but Robot Chicken: Season Four on DVD was consistently funny over two discs of near-continuous watching (and the extras are at least as entertaining). Here are my thoughts in a short video.
Video DVD Review: Ben Ten Alien Swarm
by Nick Zaino, posted Jan 8th 2010 3:00PM
The Cartoon Network's Ben Ten franchise is surprisingly good, and I had no idea what it was until Ben Ten: Alien Swarm arrived in my mailbox to review in December. It's out on DVD now, and has popped up on Cartoon Network's schedule again, as well. Here are my thoughts.
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