Life in Pixels

haud ignota loquor

  • iTunes Music Store is finally here in SA

    It’s about time, Apple.

    Today, Apple finally released the online iTunes music store in South Africa in a massive international rollout that saw over 50 countries get the musical goodness from the comfort of the best-looking media player.

    I’ve checked it out, and am really excited about it. One thing though: the store is pricey (like all things Apple, I guess). Songs cost R8.99, and entire albums, R89.99.

    However, for new releases, this is relatively cheaper than buying the actual CD from “physical” stores like Musica. Best part: the songs are high-quality AAC, and there’s no need for you to waste the CD case because the songs go directly into your iTunes library, art work, labeling and everything done for you.

    Previews are 1:30s long, which is sufficient time to get the feel of the song before splurging.

    At last, South Africa joins the world with digital music shopping the way it should be.

  • On Success and Failure

    Lots of people say that, when we fail at something, we shouldn’t take it personally. It’s just a small blunder, and after all, the work we do is an entity separate unto ourselves: we must “detach ourselves” from the work, and learn to pick ourselves up and move on.

    Yet when we are successful, it becomes very easy to accept the work as part of yourself, to really make it known that you were responsible for it and that you should get credit for it.

    Which isn’t a wrong thing to do: after all, you did slave for hours on-end to get to that position of success.

    However, I find it necessary to remember that, even when we are successful, we must still detach ourselves from our work, and accept the work to be an entity on its own; that we are merely the vessels giving it the spark of life it needs to grow on its own. This is especially relevant to any creative work – writing, designing, composing. Attaching oneself to a piece of work makes it a very personal thing. And personal things tend to affect us greatly. Letting success get to you can be a dangerous thing: it can act as a retarding force, slowing your ascent to the next project, and the one after that.

    As creators, we must remember that every project we do will be better than the last. That the next big thing is already in our minds, just waiting for the moment to show itself to us, to allow us to cultivate it until it is strong enough to stand on its own and attain its own success.

  • The Music of Films

    I’m a big fan of the music behind some of my favourite films. My iPod is always primed to play the original orchestral score of master composer Hans Zimmer, or the emotive, big-stage dramatic strings of John Williams. There’s just something about the music that powers film that is at once emotive, gripping, and immersive.

    When studying, I enjoy listening to the calming, mind-engaging (quite literally) sounds from Inception. It just somehow forces me into a contemplative mood. Off this soundtrack, Time, Old Souls, Paradox, Waiting for a Train and Radical Notion stand out. However, every single track is brilliant. Hans Zimmer truly is a genius at eliciting the soul in his compositions.

    Then there is the new sounds of composers like Daft Punk, for Tron:Legacy which are really cool to listen to, and on a deeper level, engage you with instruments unconventional for film (in this case, electronic music with computers and synthesizers).

    A piece that really showcases how transcending music from film can be, and how iconic it can be of a film, is definitely the Imperial March by John Williams, first heard in Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s haunting, foreboding and just plain intrepid. Definitely a track with some serious street cred.

    There’s so much I could say about the music of film, and perhaps I will write more about it soon, but for now: I’m going to retreat once again into my sonic world of film scores.

  • Back to Technology Blogging

    I’m pleased to announce that after a lengthy hiatus, I am returning to writing about technology at Blogote.

    Blogote is a tech-centric blog based in India, run by fellow (now full-time) blogger Sidharth (@Rockstar_Sid). I will be covering Apple-related news and views, and occasionally branching out into other fields like gaming, mobile and apps.

    I’ve written for Blogote extensively in the past, and I’m excited to once again join the team.

    My posts will be appearing on the blog soon. You can view them at http://www.blogote.com.

  • Privilege

    We are incredibly privileged creatures. In the vast expanse of the Universe, we have the correctly assembled atoms that allow us to think, to perceive, to question. These atoms, these tiniest of building blocks that composite us, give us the honour of manifesting wisps of thought into creations far greater than ourselves; creations that will last long after we have shuffled off this mortal coil.

    Yet some of us think that our arrangement of molecules gives us a sense of superiority over our fellow humans. A most disturbing thought, yet true nonetheless. It is indeed sad, then, that we continue to settle for this way of things, that we allow such things to occur, things that are significantly trivial when placed into the grand scheme of our existence. Of those who are troubled by such matters, many choose to fight fire with fire, thinking that this can be a solution to issues of security. It has been this way for centuries, and perhaps it is this judgement that has clouded our view of place in this sphere of the Universe. Many have forgotten how privileged we are to exist in the correct arrangement of atoms.

    We live in a privileged slice of time, too: technological growth, and the challenges it brings with it, allow us to re-invent ourselves. To hopefully reconsider our place, and to design a future that values our unique position as a species. For the sake of humanity’s future, and that of our planet, I hope that tomorrow’s thinkers propagate such ideas, and move us away from the primitive tenets of crusade and conquest.