Not Miles Davis, but rather my cat Miles (who was named after Davis). Miles was 17 years old and died this morning after living with diabetes for three years.

Right now that Miles/Miles Davis connection is playing out on my stereo as I listen to "He Loved Him Madly," Davis's tribute to Duke Ellington, a 32-minute expressions of grieving and love and respect, recorded in June 1974 and released on the album Get Up with It.

Before that, I listened to three of the gentler Requiem mass settings:

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Requiem, Op. 48 Read more »

Deejaying

Last night I spun records (yes, only vinyl) before, between, and after the bands performing at GlassLands, in Williamsburg. Read more »

More soundtracks to editing work:

Cappella Coloniensis/Hans-Martin Linde, Ulf Bjorlin: Symphonies of the Mozart Era (Capriccio)
A bargain 2-CD set with two symphonies by Vanhal and one each by Gossec, J.C. Bach, Von Dittersdorf, Mahaut, Reicha, and Kraus. Mostly lightweight but enjoyable; the Reicha, which sounds like the latest work here, is damn fine.

James Johnstone: Ercole Pasquini: Works for harpsichord and organ (Gaudeamus) Read more »

Mitsuko Uchida: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 28, Op. 101, and 29 "Hammerklavier," Op. 106 (Philips)
28's pretty good, but her frequent pauses in the opening movement of 29 ruin its momentum.

Vladimir Ashkenazy: Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, Op. 120; Wranitzky Variations, WoO 71 (Decca)
Pretty good - the rigor of Brendel but with better tone.

Public Image Ltd.: Flowers of Romance (Virgin U.K.)
Includes three bonus tracks. Not the crucial stuff - the first two albums are sheer genius - but still pretty damn stimulating. Read more »

After a few days of playing around with Leopard, I feel like this is such a great technical achievement... I just had to write about this OS. Forget about all the nut's 'n' bolts of the OS, it's just a incredible leap into the future. Bravo Apple! Bravo. Read more »

This Summer involves travel from NYC to the country. Thus, the need to occupy my ADT is quite important. On the train, the laptop works quiet well for my needs. I can edit Culture Catch programs using FCP. This chews up a 2hr train trip in a split second. The Lirr managers are lossing money everyday they don't offer wifi services. I'd pay 4.99 a trip to have access. It'll happen. I sure it's tied up in a lengthly bid process. Read more »

In my area, Cablevision has the monopoly. I signed up for their triple play option plus "boost". This will give me TV, Internet and telephone over their lines to my house. The phone for $15.00 per month is a great deal. Why does the internet cost $30.00 per month? Plus, I'm not sure this "boost", twice the speed of the internet, is really even faster. But I haven't tested it.

So Internet and phone cost me $45.00 per month. OK, not a budget breaker and I'm getting value. Unlimted long distance and 24/7 access the internet at broadband speeds. Read more »

About once a month I get excited by a product that will enhance my cultural experience. Griffin Technology is a sponsor of Culture Catch, thus, I've been paying closer attention to their product line. They have lots of great stuff for the iPod, but the new wireless speakers they have coming are really cool. Connect to an iPod base station, the speakers are rechargable, thus don't need to be plugged into the wall. Why is that important? If your outlet isn't grounded properly, powered speakers can get a small buzz. Read more »

As I am a follower, Apple does a great job in getting you to believe that you must have their lastest product. Before the iPhone, it was the G5 Intel Quad, the iMac, and of course the iPod. The iPhone is amazing, but it is just a phone. The G5 is very fast, but still a computer. The iPod, well, that was as revolutionary as the original iMac in '84. Read more »

Scripted User generated content. That's how I describe the new web series I'm launching. For the past six months, I've been working with a group of actors developing a web series based on pop culture in New York City. The development has been an organic experience. Scripts are somewhat grown from ideas that I come up with. Actors then take the ball and run with it. This series are short stories about what artists do for art sake. Mostly humorous, but their is a smart culture aspect that we're trying to achieve. Read more »

I've known Imus since the early 70's when he and his family moved down the street from my childhood home. I never met him, but became good friends with his daughter in high school. She's completely opposite from her father's persona on the radio. A real sweat soft spoken girl who'd never be one to ruffle the feathers. I had heard enough stories from her to know that Imus was a bit out there. However, growing up in CT outside NYC, anything was strange if you weren't playing by "rules" set hundreds of years earlier by those who founded the town. Read more »

Speaking at NAB this year gave us lots of exposure to many other podcasters. Linking to technorati gives us the opportunity to keep a watch on what people are saying about us in the blog world....

There are more mobile phones in India than there are people who are on-line. That is true in the United States as well. This is a global trend, in fact. The interactive world is all in a tizzy right now. G3 phones, those that play video, have gone viral. Numbers will go from 220 million global today to 500 million in five years. Ad expenditures are on an equal pace to increase dramatically before the decade is over. Read more »

In the last 20 years, the computer consumer has been faced with a really painful decision - Mac or PC. For me it's always been a Mac, as a film maker, the PC never really entered my mind. If I was a sound editor or into 3D, then I most certainly would have made the switch. There has been that occasion when I wish I had a PC. A computer game only available on a PC or many different types of business software. Even massive, a program I don't need but would love to dream about having it just to play around, only runs on a PC. Read more »