Theremin

From wikipedia-

The theremin (originally pronounced [teremiːn] but often anglicized as [ˈθɛɹəmɪn] [1]), or thereminvox, is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. It was invented by Russian inventor Léon Theremin in 1919, and it is unique in that it was the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched. It consists of two radio frequency oscillators and two metal antennae. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.

To play the theremin, the player moves his or her hands around the two metal antennae, which control the instrument's frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume). The theremin is widely associated with "alien", surreal, and eerie-sounding portamento, glissando, tremolo, and vibrato sounds, due to its use in film soundtracks such as Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. The theremin is also used in art music (especially avant-garde and 20th-century "new music") and in popular music genres such as rock and pop.

Similar electronic instruments, such as the Ondes-Martenot also use the principle of two heterodyning oscillators, but the Ondes-Martenot is touched while it is played.

The reason I found this out was because I recently viewed this on VG Cats.

Now to listen to this amazing instrument-

Five Quote Meme

I'm starting a five quote meme, list five of your favorite quotes in a blog post and pass it on to at least two friends, or else.

1. "Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici," "By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe." Faust

2. "Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss nature leads, or you shall learn nothing." Thomas Henry Huxley

3. "Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!" -Auron from Final Fantasy X

4. "Abandon your fear. Face forward. Advance, don't give an inch. Retreat and you will age, be afraid and you will die." Zangetsu, Bleach

5. "So, you find a breech, probe it, and a sphere comes through 600 feet above London. Bam! It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think 'Oh, should we leave it alone, should we back off, should we play it safe?' Nah, you think 'Let's make it bigger!'" Dr. Who, Army of Ghosts

I now tag KA and Aviaa.

Profiles in Diversity: Being the Most Hated Minority in America

Double Posted

When most people think of diversity, they think of a the ethnic minorities within a society. Though that can ring true, there is much more to people being diverse than that. So, we at the CDI Blog will be starting a series in which each person who contributes will highlight something that makes them diverse and explain a bit of our viewpoint. So I will begin, with my own profile in diversity-

A year ago, I was talking with some friends of mine after coming home from a sail boating run on a lake. We were talking about philosophy (well Nathan and I were, my other friends don't have a stomach for anything that doesn't involve cars, sports, or women) and we were trying to settle where I was on the spectrum of religious philosophies. After a long talk, Nathan gave me a label that I had never heard of before, but made sense. I am a compassionate freethinker. I do not define my beliefs about any Deity within relation to any definition I come up with, I define my beliefs based upon definitions that I am presented. This however, is not what makes me 'the most hated minority in America.'

I have the nice label of 'atheist,' though a more accurate description is implicitly atheistic. Its also called 'weak' atheism, though I've found that it is the stronger of the two when employed in argumentation. Though, any arguments I'm involved usually have to redefine atheism for the other person and completely ruins their ability to argue with me. I'm definitely a strange atheist though. Seriously, I consider the 'argument from evil' irrelevant. However, that another story entirely.

I've been an atheist for a while now, four years to be accurate, and I do draw from a wide array of experiences from being one within an predominantly Christian community.

A couple of myths surround atheism that I feel the need to talk about. Atheism is not 'falling away' from your beliefs, it is not a 'loss of faith.' These two misconceptions are taught to most theists within their own individual religions, and they aren't true. Atheism is actually a liberating experience, a removal of obstacles. Also, atheism is as much a religion as bald is a hair color. Religions can involve atheism in their practices, but atheism cannot lie within the foundation of a religion. Atheism does not mean an abandonment of morality, just a change in its source and function.

So, I will be answering questions for a while and then someone else will pick up with their profile next.

By the way, I found an interesting post by someone else that clears up more of the myths.

VG Cats Bleach Animated Comic

VG Cats recently made a comic with one of my favorite scenes from Bleach. I think its awsome, especially the animated version of the comic. Oh, and if you don't understand the rat-flail reference, check here.

Here are some more clips for the heck of it, including my favorite.







Here's my favorite part of the entire series-

Let it snow

Well, school's canceled. I'm going to go back to sleep for the winter. So, until I wake up again, be entertained with this footage of actual snow (amazing if you live in Texas.)-

Snow

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Five Items About Myself

In a recent post, KA tagged me with the Five Things About Me Meme. So, here we go-

1. I have a cool new sword-

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/csstoreonline_1927_21331812

2. I created the universe in 5 seconds.

3. My feet are very cold at the moment-

Icy

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Yes, I did make this one. ^_^ It took me forever to get all the ice off my car.

4. I just ate at KFC for the first time today.

5. Exposure to stupid people for an extended period of time gives me a headache.

Now, my legs are freezing. So, I'm going to go curl into a ball beside the space heater and hope that this cold weather ends soon.

A Sad Note About World War II

I think I'm going to be taking this blog in a different direction, hopefully in one that will make me more interested in posting more often. So, I'm going to be talking about history. Starting sometime this month, I'll start at the beginning of civilization and post all the way up through at least the year 2000. However, I can't really start until I get back to my books (I'm at my parent's house for the holidays at the moment.) But, I do have a book on the last year of the war in Germany on me, and I want to share a small piece of the book.

"Winston Churchill sent a note to British Chiefs of Staff in August 1943, cautioning them against giving frivolous codenames to actions invovling deadly peril. No wife or mother, he said, wanted to remember that her husband or son had died in an operation christened "Bunnyhug" or "Ballywho." Yet the planners of the assault on the Dutch bridges came close to breaching Churchill's injunction, by giving a codename of such notable banality as "Market Garden" to a battle that would have tragic concequences to many people of five nationalities." Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-1945 by Max Hastings

So again, its time to "change the course" and I'll start working when I get back to my books.