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.
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.
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.
One year is already down. Amazing how quickly time flies. One year of architecture has made me realise how challenging, exciting and angst-ridden this course is.
For those interested in architecture, and in beginning or considering their studies in this course, know this: architecture is a course like no other. You will learn to think in a totally different way, and you’ll suddenly become exceptionally consumed by it. You’ll begin to see things around you, wherever you go: architecture exists wherever humans are on this planet.
You will stay up for days upon end, agonizing over the smallest of details, drafting master plans for structures that will never see a life beyond the presentation paper. You will get frustrated, angsty, philosophical. Sometimes, you might even become totally intolerable to anyone outside of the studio (studio culture means that “we’re all in this together,” – everyone in there will understand your pain).
So why, then, do we do this? Why do us prospective architects put ourselves through six arduous years of all-nighters, AutoCAD anxiety and concept-driven frustration?
Because we need it. We need architecture to keep ourselves sane. It’s the one weapon that we know we can wield in the face of 21st-century challenges: urbanization, climate change, economic fluctuation. We know that we can’t deal with a 9-5 job pushing paper; we have the urge to create skyscrapers, cities, homes. We have the deep-set need to transform people’s lives through the most tangible manner possible: creating something out of nothing. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship, but then again, isn’t anything creative like that?
Here’s the thing: even though I’m a BlackBerry user (I just got a new Bold 9790 a few weeks ago), I’ve been a strong opponent of Research in Motion’s brand for quite some time. But the reason I’ve stuck with them is simply because here, in South Africa, the BlackBerry is so popular, and so economical, that it just makes sense to get one just to keep in touch with the plethora of friends I have on the BBM network. Plus, the BIS internet service is a major draw for a heavy internet user like myself.
But the platform still has its problems. Even though BlackBerry 7.1, the latest version of the operating system powering these smartphones, was released a few months ago, it’s incredibly outdated. It’s a system that has tried to live in the shadow of iOS, and that’s clear in the rough manner in which touch has been slapped onto the interface almost as if it was an afterthought. The BlackBerry OS has become so bloated, and so old, that the only logical way forward for Research in Motion is to simply scrap it, and start-over.
Which is exactly what they’ve done with BlackBerry 10.
It’s fresh, powerful, and a completely new take on the mobile operating system – in fact, on the whole mobile experience. It’s a completely different approach to the now tired and iterative Android and iOS updates. And that’s why I’m really rooting for RIM, and hoping that the BlackBerry manages to regain its strength, even if it is to serve as a true, deadly competitor to Apple and Google in the hopes that those companies will be kicked back into the innovation mode once again.
They’ve done away with the concept of the “application grid”, which can result in having to “nest” very deep into an app, getting lost in the multiple layers, wasting time when you need it the most.
The two main features, then, of the user experience are called BlackBerry Hub and Flow. The Flow relates to the fluid new gestures that you use when accessing the device. Peek is a pretty cool feature that allows you to literally “peek” into parts of the screen. Unlocking the device is particularly nice; as you swipe the finger upwards, parts of the screen get revealed. Swiping completely opens the phone to you.
Intrinsic to the architecture of BlackBerry 10 is The Hub: it runs on top of the platform, and you’re “always in” it. It allows you to see your upcoming events, messages and notifications. The beauty of it is that it’s accessible with a single gesture, with one finger.
Then there’s BBM: perhaps the most important feature of the BlackBerry; the most defining feature. In BB10, this app has been completely redesigned, and it’s all about contacts. The contacts view is now more visual, displaying your friends in a grid format with their avatars. Peek is intrinsic here as well, and it allows you single-finger gestures to access parts of BBM like initiating a conversation.
The “one thumb” approach to the interface, especially with the keyboard, makes BB10 a system that has been built for touch, and built for it in a highly efficient manner. The video below illustrates these points quite well:
BlackBerry 10 is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2013. I’m really looking forward to it; it’s a new take on the mobile phone, and I truly hope it can bring BlackBerry back into the mobile game against Android and iOS.
