The new Bond film is coming out soon and Adele is singing the theme song.
Ever since Daniel Craig took over the franchise, I’ve been pretty excited for each movie that’s come out and Skyfall is no exception. If theme songs were any indication of how good a film would be, this movie would be awesome.
If you’re an Apple fan, you’re probably aware that yesterday, 5 October, was the one year anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death. Apple put up a beautiful tribute video on their website which I recommend you watch. When you do, you’ll hear Yo-Yo Ma playing The Prelude from Bach. Steve and Ma were friends.
One thing about Ma’s rendition of Bach is that it sounds as if he plays the composition in F# instead of G which is what Bach wrote it in.:
As it turns out, Ma plays the first four Bach suites tuning down his cello a full semitone, and there is a specific reason for doing so. In baroque times, instruments like cellos sounded a little different: the musical note A (A440) didn’t have a frequency of 440 Hz, but was more around 415 Hz — something known as the baroque pitch.
Among several modern ensembles, there is a consensus to play baroque music a semitone lower than A440. By tuning down the A to the baroque pitch, the prelude from Bach sounds like F# major, while still playing it in the original G major; this helps achieve a more vibrant, “full” sound that is closer to the original and resonates beautifully.
I could never pick out that kind of detail from his performance but it must get to me somehow because it’s one of my favorite renditions.
Some are obvious jokes and not real (or I’ve never heard them used). Others, however, are sadly spot on.
Hey, if you can’t laugh at yourself…
via Swissmiss
Scottish actor, Brian Cox (who I know for playing a CIA bad guy in the Bourne movies), and Esquire teamed up to teach you how to pronounce the names of different brands of Scotch.
As a fan of Scotch, this is a must watch set of videos – even if I know how to pronounce them all already.
via Kottke
When someone asks if you’re blue, down, or whatever. Say, “I’m not depressed. I’m fighting a cold.”