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This DJ device is on the down low. Converts your bike movements into electronic soundscapes. Pretty radical.

mattlomax's avatarlomaxbike

‘Turntable rider’ is an add-on kit that converts bicycles into a DJ-ing console and as a big fan of bikes and music it really is ticking all the boxes.

The prototype was designed for cogoo bike sharing company by interaction artist Toshiyuki Sugai as a way of encouraging bike sharing efforts in Japan, where high rates of bicycle use have led to congested bike parking areas.

With sticks that attach to the rims, the bike’s wheels become a kind of moving jog dial; the handbrakes become sound pads; and a crossfader is affixed to the handlebars. in the demo video, pro BMX rider Kotaro Tanaka live-plays a remix of the classic Japanese song ‘sakura’, using sounds by DJ Baku. If it wasn’t so heavy my Pearson would definitely be pimped like this. Any excuse for a bit more dubstep!

Lomax

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What If Your Creativity Was Gone

In the struggle to know ourselves we sometimes turn inward to find our creativity … Gone

The inspiration for creativity resides within and beyond….

I recently re-blogged the post by Maggie Madly Writing wherein she proposed the question, “if nobody read your blog, would you still write”? There were some interesting responses on both our blogs. As a result, I started to think about the process of creativity. And the question, what if your creativity was gone? And has there ever been a time when you did not create? How long did that creative drought exist? What was the reason for the dry spell, if any?

Over the years I have known many artists. Each having their own unique work ethic. Some artists work continuously, on a daily basis. Others like myself, work when inspired, or influenced by events in their lives. I often look for a balance of art, life and sport. The majority of my artistic influence comes from my life experience. Most notably in the past when I was going through some rather dark periods. It seemed the darker the period, the more expressive the art. But I’ve learned that is not always true. Gone are the most darkest moments of my life (so I hope). Replaced by a more connected experience with peace and beauty. Creating a different kind of art. A different source of creativity. In the past, I have felt a sense of lost when not creating. Although I’ve always believed it would return. Knowing that it is a part of me.

What to do if your creative spark is gone? Well hang in there and have faith in your ability. This is a good starting point. Then work. Work. Spend time with the process. Explore and experiment with ideas. Take the time to check out the work of other artists. Artists from various disciplines. I love to see dance, theater and plays. Music exploration also is a motivating factor. As well as spending time with nature.

Never give up.

We all have our own path to discover that which ignites the creative spirit….

Reblogged from Maggie Madly Writing: If Nobody Read Your Blog

Great post Maggie. I have always appreciated your posts. They are full of inspiring and positive insight. I am in my second year of blogging. And I began for the purpose of having an outlet for my visual art and to promote it. But what has occurred is that I have found myself producing more art and on a regular basis. This process of blogging has given me a vehicle for daily creativity and peer response. In its own way it is a much greater vehicle for reaching out than the occasional art exhibit. But it does lack the human contact that an art opening provides. But then who travels from the UK or India to see one of my exhibits 🙂 Lately I have seeing my stats go up. Putting some pressure on trying to maintain that rise. But I am slowly letting that go. I have other interests … far from the computer. Like biking. So I realize, I can only do so much, and to the rest be content to share what I can. This is a thoughtful post you have given us here Maggie. I hope you do not mind if I re-blog it on my blog for others to ponder as well.

Maggie's avatarMaggie Madly Writing

…would you still blog anyway?

That’s a question I’ve pondered, and for me, the answer to that question is yes. I would still blog, even if I was the only person who read it. When I started this blog, I never expected for it to get followers and people who regularly comment. I initially started it for myself, but apparently others wanted to read my ramblings about writing and whatever else.

So if everybody stopped reading my blog, I’d still keep writing entries. If my follower count gradually dropped to zero, if comments got fewer and farther between, and if my pageviews dwindled to nothing, I’d still write. The content would change, I think. I’d probably end up writing more rants and raves about my personal life than anything else. Sure, I’d still write about writing, but when given the opportunity, I can be quite self-centered (and that is something…

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The great thing about blogging is the diverse interests that are shared with one another. Fairways and Forehands, is for me a gem. It keeps me up with all the LPGA news. I love many sports, and following them can be time consuming. So this shout out goes to Fairways and Forehands, for again posting a glimpse of the life of my favorite female athlete Na Yeon Choi. As of now, still the World # 2.
And … Go Navy!!

bangkokbobby's avatarFairways and Forehands

Na Yeon Choi visit Korea’s 2nd Fleet as an ambassador. The world’s #2 ranked (4.9.2012) female golfer took a tour of vessels as well as signed autographs. The picture where she is bowing her head with the wreckage in the background shows part of the ROKS Cheonan, a Korean navy ship sunk in 2010 by a North Korean torpedo. North Korea denies this, but an international group of investigators concluded that North Korea was indeed culpable. Getting back to NYC, she looks terrific in the Navy uniform!

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Music For Looking Back: Flashing Lights Have Ended Now – Foxes In Fiction

Take a look at old photographs and remember the echoes of….

Foxes In Fiction

http://youtu.be/1ihAE-lDCqU – Flashing Lights Have Ended Now by Foxes In Fiction

Foxes In Fiction

The other evening I was downloading some electronic, ambient and IDM music to burn onto a CD. I usually listen to Fluid Radio on Itunes for the best of Experimental Frequencies, Drone, glitch, Neo-Classical, Computer and Abstract recordings. I had come across Foxes In Fiction several times, and noted them on my to buy list. They are a mixed bag of sorts i.e. they construct both ambient and pop music. I really connected with this tune “Flashing Lights Have Ended Now”, because of its steady beat, heavy reverb, echo, and dreamlike guitar/lyrics. It seemed to inhabit the small garage, small club feeling, I knew so well. A retro cool. A journey back to comic books.  High school basement Jams. Robert Fripp and his Frippertronics concert at the University of Pennsylvania circa 1984. Downtown Philly. Emerald City. L7 in NYC. An early morning dive after partying all night … discovering the descent … and the feeling of looking through some old photographs … alone.

Music For Parks And City Streets (A Day Like No Other Remix)

The city series….

Sitting by the river, standing on the corner, music for parks and city streets

The moments we find time standing still…

Music is energy …

It captures the imagination and sets the soul on fire. It frees our thoughts and liberates our dreams. It illuminates the night stars and sets the day in motion.

Music is lucid …

We dream to music. We create to music. We make love to music. It touches and caresses. It embraces our intimate space.

Music is you and I …

It gathers the crowd on a beautiful day. It sings the songs our hearts have found. It teaches and consoles. It soothes our spirit at birth and death.

Music is humanity … restored.

For you and I it was a day like no other as we walked together … dreaming and listening….

In celebration of a summer day to come. A picnic with the band The Januaries and their song Chocolate and Strawberries…

http://youtu.be/BXIc-u0rr9c

Weekly Movie-Making Moments In Film: Berlin Alexanderplatz by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

A scene from Berlin Alexanderplatz

It is 2012, and thanks to the Criterion Collection and NetFlix I am able this weekend to once again view the epic masterpiece Berlin Alexanderplatz by Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In the 1980’s Philadelphia’s PBS station WHYY aired the entire 16 hour film. I was totally amazed at the dark story of a man and his descent into a personal hell; as well as its historical portrayal of Germany in the pre-Nazi era. This is a disturbing film, yet beautiful and engrossing. It’s cinematography and storytelling captures the imagination with vivid realism.

Here is a short synopsis.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s controversial, fifteen-hour-plus Berlin Alexanderplatz, based on Alfred Döblin’s great modernist novel, was the crowning achievement of a prolific director who, at age thirty-four, had already made forty films. Fassbinder’s immersive epic, restored in 2006 and now available on DVD in this country for the first time, follows the hulking, childlike ex-convict Franz Biberkopf (Günter Lamprecht) as he attempts to “become an honest soul” amid the corrosive urban landscape of Weimar-era Germany. With equal parts cynicism and humanity, Fassbinder details a mammoth portrait of a common man struggling to survive in a viciously uncommon time.

The English trailer for the film Berlin Alexanderplatz

http://youtu.be/qTjFWAvJTvI

A short tribute to a modern Berlin Alexanderplatz

http://youtu.be/wC2equOfOvc

An Introduction To The Creative Process Of Artist Gotye: The Making Of Eyes Wide Open

It is always interesting to delve into the mind and creative process of an artist. What tools he uses. What fuels his imagination. How he views the world around him. How to translate that experience into art.

Gotye takes us on a shot venture through all these elements.

http://youtu.be/b_iuE_L2wys

Gotye: Eyes Wide Open

Well I am enjoying my day discovering this really cool artist. So I thought I would pass on the delight. Visually intriguing and lyrically profound.

Thanks Daniel for the introduction

Eyes Wide Open.

http://youtu.be/oyVJsg0XIIk

Daniel over at Words Form Windows posted this video. The lyrics are striking and the video creativity is spot on. Check it out.

Daniel Postlethwaite's avatar

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