"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
- Thomas Jefferson
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Shirley Horn is dead
by Richard Harrington
Washington Post, October 22, 2005
No one mined the depths of a lyric the way Shirley Horn did, with a whispery voice that conjured cashmere and cognac. You could lose yourself -- you couldn't not lose yourself -- as the lifelong Washingtonian's dusky alto crawled unhurriedly through time-tested standards and rediscovered treasures, tapestries of song embroidered with her own crisp chords and subtly spun piano filigrees.
Horn's trademark: exquisitely slow tempo and sensitively savored lyric, effortlessly melded. Heart and soul expressed at a piano bench.
Horn, who died Thursday night at 71 after a long illness, could swing a tune with the best of them, and often surprised fans when she did, but that approach simply didn't fit her temperament. Instead, Horn did ballads and cool, understated ruminations better than anyone except her first champion, mentor and lifelong friend, trumpeter Miles Davis. Both were masters of silence and anticipation, but even Davis teased Horn about her pacing. "You do 'em awful slow!" he once said.
Indicating the level of respect Davis had for Horn, the legend, then ailing, accompanied her on the title track of the 1990 album "You Won't Forget Me," the first time he'd recorded with a vocalist in four decades, and Davis did so in the long-abandoned lyrical style he'd defined in the '50s, shortly before he first discovered her. The two were talking about collaborating on an all-ballad album when Davis died the following year. Horn won her only Grammy for 1998's "I Remember Miles," dedicated to Davis.
Another sign of respect came from the great pianist Ahmad Jamal, who accompanied Horn on her penultimate album, 2003's "May the Music Never End." Jamal, one of Horn's early inspirations and models, and himself a master of minimalism, had, in his 55 years of recording, never accompanied a vocalist. But for the first time in her career, Horn was unable to accompany herself on record, the result of losing her right foot to complications from diabetes. It was a significant change, denying Horn use of her piano's expression pedal for controlling the instrument's sustain and quiet features that so defined her sound.
The last few years had been rough on Horn, as she dealt with arthritis and underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer. In June Horn suffered a stroke and had been hospitalized since.
Several years earlier, Horn had been forced to abandon the security of her piano bench and rethink her approach after her voice and piano could no longer be intimate extensions of each other. Last December, just before a brief appearance at a Kennedy Center concert honoring her, Horn seemed weary but as quietly determined as ever, insisting: "I've tried to keep things as level as possible through this whole thing. I'm cool. I know what I have to do: I'm never going to give up the piano, I'm never going to stop singing till God says, 'I called your number.'"
Horn was at times reflective, at times wry, and on occasion caustic and cantankerous. She expressed frustration with the music business, particularly that such pianist-singers as Norah Jones and Diana Krall didn't acknowledge her as the influence she clearly heard herself to be. Motoring around her house in a wheelchair dubbed "the Cadillac" (the fancier "Jaguar" was reserved for concerts), Horn would proudly point to assorted honors, including last year's Jazz Master award from the National Endowment for the Arts. But she also seemed frustrated, reduced to performing only a concert or two a month, backed by pianist George Mesterhazy. "I can't get into the music," she said. "I just get lost."
In recent concerts, she managed to find both humor and pathos singing Paul McCartney's "Yesterday," lending multiple meanings to the line "I'm not half the girl I used to be."
So much about Shirley Horn was glacially slow, from her delivery of a song to the acclamation that came late in her career. You can't really make time stand still, but Horn managed an approximation, insisting that ballads were meant to be played slow, the better to understand the power of the story being told and the emotion of the lyric under exploration.
Horn started studying piano and composition at Howard University's School of Music when she was 12, with dreams of a career in classical music. But the realities of racism in the '40s precluded that possibility, and by the late '40s she'd become immersed in the thriving jazz scene around 14th and U streets NW. Debussy and Rachmaninoff gave way to Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, Erroll Garner and Jamal. The girl piano player began to make an impression in local clubs, but even after forming her first trio in 1954, Horn was not one to advance herself.
In fact, that Horn came to sing at all was part accident -- a patron bribed her to sing "Melancholy Baby" -- and part pragmatism: A club owner gave Horn a raise on the condition that she keep singing.
That Miles Davis became a fan via Horn's 1960 debut album, "Embers and Ashes," was part miracle: few copies were manufactured and they were hard to find. Yet Davis managed to and became smitten, playing it so much at home that his kids could sing along to it. A year later, he invited Horn to open for him at the Village Vanguard, though that opportunity almost passed. When he called her and made the offer, Horn didn't believe it was really Davis. She hung up. But Davis sent her a train ticket to New York, and she went.
It could have been a breakthrough moment, but in the end, it was only a moment. Quincy Jones, who was in the opening-night crowd, would produce a pair of Horn albums in the early '60s but miscast her as a stand-up singer, denying her the comfort of accompanying herself in the trio format in which she was so adept. "Nobody knows how to play for me except me," she would complain. "I need to hear my own chords and set my own tempo."
Wider recognition didn't arrive until 1986, when she signed with Verve and began a string of critically acclaimed albums that garnered nine straight Grammy nominations.
Horn never pursued a career with the single-mindedness of such peers as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae or Betty Carter -- she simply wasn't as driven or hard-nosed or forceful. But Horn's records drew stellar guests, and she performed around the world as her health allowed. In the end, Shirley Horn's life was much like her song: She got as much music as possible out of every precious note, and in so doing made each note that much more precious.
Last December, looking back on her life, Horn suggested that she never had a choice in the matter: "I think when I was born, it's like God said, 'Music!,' and that was it. All my life, that's all I knew. It's in me, it's jammed up and it's got to come out."
Washington Post, October 22, 2005
No one mined the depths of a lyric the way Shirley Horn did, with a whispery voice that conjured cashmere and cognac. You could lose yourself -- you couldn't not lose yourself -- as the lifelong Washingtonian's dusky alto crawled unhurriedly through time-tested standards and rediscovered treasures, tapestries of song embroidered with her own crisp chords and subtly spun piano filigrees.
Horn's trademark: exquisitely slow tempo and sensitively savored lyric, effortlessly melded. Heart and soul expressed at a piano bench.
Horn, who died Thursday night at 71 after a long illness, could swing a tune with the best of them, and often surprised fans when she did, but that approach simply didn't fit her temperament. Instead, Horn did ballads and cool, understated ruminations better than anyone except her first champion, mentor and lifelong friend, trumpeter Miles Davis. Both were masters of silence and anticipation, but even Davis teased Horn about her pacing. "You do 'em awful slow!" he once said.
Indicating the level of respect Davis had for Horn, the legend, then ailing, accompanied her on the title track of the 1990 album "You Won't Forget Me," the first time he'd recorded with a vocalist in four decades, and Davis did so in the long-abandoned lyrical style he'd defined in the '50s, shortly before he first discovered her. The two were talking about collaborating on an all-ballad album when Davis died the following year. Horn won her only Grammy for 1998's "I Remember Miles," dedicated to Davis.
Another sign of respect came from the great pianist Ahmad Jamal, who accompanied Horn on her penultimate album, 2003's "May the Music Never End." Jamal, one of Horn's early inspirations and models, and himself a master of minimalism, had, in his 55 years of recording, never accompanied a vocalist. But for the first time in her career, Horn was unable to accompany herself on record, the result of losing her right foot to complications from diabetes. It was a significant change, denying Horn use of her piano's expression pedal for controlling the instrument's sustain and quiet features that so defined her sound.
The last few years had been rough on Horn, as she dealt with arthritis and underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer. In June Horn suffered a stroke and had been hospitalized since.
Several years earlier, Horn had been forced to abandon the security of her piano bench and rethink her approach after her voice and piano could no longer be intimate extensions of each other. Last December, just before a brief appearance at a Kennedy Center concert honoring her, Horn seemed weary but as quietly determined as ever, insisting: "I've tried to keep things as level as possible through this whole thing. I'm cool. I know what I have to do: I'm never going to give up the piano, I'm never going to stop singing till God says, 'I called your number.'"
Horn was at times reflective, at times wry, and on occasion caustic and cantankerous. She expressed frustration with the music business, particularly that such pianist-singers as Norah Jones and Diana Krall didn't acknowledge her as the influence she clearly heard herself to be. Motoring around her house in a wheelchair dubbed "the Cadillac" (the fancier "Jaguar" was reserved for concerts), Horn would proudly point to assorted honors, including last year's Jazz Master award from the National Endowment for the Arts. But she also seemed frustrated, reduced to performing only a concert or two a month, backed by pianist George Mesterhazy. "I can't get into the music," she said. "I just get lost."
In recent concerts, she managed to find both humor and pathos singing Paul McCartney's "Yesterday," lending multiple meanings to the line "I'm not half the girl I used to be."
So much about Shirley Horn was glacially slow, from her delivery of a song to the acclamation that came late in her career. You can't really make time stand still, but Horn managed an approximation, insisting that ballads were meant to be played slow, the better to understand the power of the story being told and the emotion of the lyric under exploration.
Horn started studying piano and composition at Howard University's School of Music when she was 12, with dreams of a career in classical music. But the realities of racism in the '40s precluded that possibility, and by the late '40s she'd become immersed in the thriving jazz scene around 14th and U streets NW. Debussy and Rachmaninoff gave way to Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, Erroll Garner and Jamal. The girl piano player began to make an impression in local clubs, but even after forming her first trio in 1954, Horn was not one to advance herself.
In fact, that Horn came to sing at all was part accident -- a patron bribed her to sing "Melancholy Baby" -- and part pragmatism: A club owner gave Horn a raise on the condition that she keep singing.
That Miles Davis became a fan via Horn's 1960 debut album, "Embers and Ashes," was part miracle: few copies were manufactured and they were hard to find. Yet Davis managed to and became smitten, playing it so much at home that his kids could sing along to it. A year later, he invited Horn to open for him at the Village Vanguard, though that opportunity almost passed. When he called her and made the offer, Horn didn't believe it was really Davis. She hung up. But Davis sent her a train ticket to New York, and she went.
It could have been a breakthrough moment, but in the end, it was only a moment. Quincy Jones, who was in the opening-night crowd, would produce a pair of Horn albums in the early '60s but miscast her as a stand-up singer, denying her the comfort of accompanying herself in the trio format in which she was so adept. "Nobody knows how to play for me except me," she would complain. "I need to hear my own chords and set my own tempo."
Wider recognition didn't arrive until 1986, when she signed with Verve and began a string of critically acclaimed albums that garnered nine straight Grammy nominations.
Horn never pursued a career with the single-mindedness of such peers as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae or Betty Carter -- she simply wasn't as driven or hard-nosed or forceful. But Horn's records drew stellar guests, and she performed around the world as her health allowed. In the end, Shirley Horn's life was much like her song: She got as much music as possible out of every precious note, and in so doing made each note that much more precious.
Last December, looking back on her life, Horn suggested that she never had a choice in the matter: "I think when I was born, it's like God said, 'Music!,' and that was it. All my life, that's all I knew. It's in me, it's jammed up and it's got to come out."
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Arriva "Vita da Strega" la serie originale, in DVD. Disponibile la prima stagione
Arriva in DVD (4 dischi) Vita da Strega , la celebre serie televisiva degli Anni'60 e '70.
Samantha Stephens, la strega più adorabile che sia mai apparsa sugli schermi, in DVD con i 36 episodi della prima stagione completa, restaurata e colorizzata.ATTENZIONE, SOLO 10 DEI 36 EPISODI CONTENUTI NEL BOX SONO DOPPIATI IN ITALIANO
Sin dal suo esordio in Italia, nel 1967, le divertenti scaramucce della coppia mista formata da Samantha, un'amabile casalinga americana dotata di poteri magici, e da suo marito Darrin, un semplice essere umano alle prese con la bizzarra famiglia della moglie, hanno appassionato il pubblico.
L'affetto dei telespettatori è stato sempre così tanto, che nell'arco di quasi 4 decadi la serie è stata continuamente ritrasmessa. Merito sicuramente delle situazioni esilaranti, dei memorabili personaggi di contorno come la svampita zia Clara o Gladys, la vicina impicciona. E naturalmente del cast, oltre a Elizabeth Montgomery, la 4 volte candidata agli Oscar® Agnes Moorehead, nello spassoso ruolo della suocera-strega, Endora.
Nel corso delle sue 8 stagioni, per un totale di 254 episodi, Vita da strega si è conquistata 22 candidature agli Emmy, di cui 2 vinti, e 4 candidature ai Golden Globe.
Caratteristiche (DVD)
4 dischi
Durata: 15 ore ca.
F.to schermo: 1:33 4/3
LINGUE: Italiano, Inglese e Spagnolo Mono ATTENZIONE, SOLO 10 DEI 36 EPISODI CONTENUTI NEL BOX SONO DOPPIATI IN ITALIANO
SOTTOTITOLI: Italiano, Inglese, Danese, Finlandese, Olandese, Norvegese, Portoghese, Spagnolo, Svedese
Visto censura: PER TUTTI
Contenuti speciali (DVD)
- Alla scoperta della magia - Prima parte
- Alla scoperta della magia - Seconda parte
- Magia e imprevisti
- Trailer vari
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Microsoft and Yahoo to tie the Knot in Instant Messaging world news story
12 October 2005 - Microsoft and Yahoo are preparing to link together their free instant messaging services as they take on entrenched messaging leader AOL and market newcomer Google, a source close to the companies said on Tuesday according to the news agency Reuters.
If the deal was to go ahead, it would allow users of both systems to talk to each other via the two programs and be the first major alliance between two of the web's main providers of instant messaging.
The story first suggested in the Wall Street Journal implies that an announcement will be made later today to give both services the ability to communicate via voice as well, a feature that up to now has been restricted to users within each service, the source said.
Microsoft has already opened up its corporate online messaging service, which requires a license and offers more features, to AOL and Yahoo.
Being able to send instant messages to different services using a single program isn't new, however.
Users of unified messaging services such as Trillian can use a single software program to send and receive instant messages from AOL, MSN, Yahoo and other providers, as long as they have an account with each service.
If the deal was to go ahead, it would allow users of both systems to talk to each other via the two programs and be the first major alliance between two of the web's main providers of instant messaging.
The story first suggested in the Wall Street Journal implies that an announcement will be made later today to give both services the ability to communicate via voice as well, a feature that up to now has been restricted to users within each service, the source said.
Microsoft has already opened up its corporate online messaging service, which requires a license and offers more features, to AOL and Yahoo.
Being able to send instant messages to different services using a single program isn't new, however.
Users of unified messaging services such as Trillian can use a single software program to send and receive instant messages from AOL, MSN, Yahoo and other providers, as long as they have an account with each service.
Nuovo software 3D
JACKSON, N.H., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Animetrics, Inc., a leading
developer of 3D imaging and facial recognition software, announced the
commercial release of Forensica(TM), a facial creation tool for law
enforcement designed to "solve" faces during the investigative process.
Forensica utilizes multiple photographs or a single photograph from 2D
snapshot cameras or video frames to create a very realistic 3-Dimensional view
of a person's head. "The wide deployment of video surveillance cameras,
internet as a source of photographs, and police mug shot databases has driven
the need for this type of tool," says Lisa Ludwig, Animetrics Vice President
of Marketing and Business Development. "Many of the photographs we're talking
about are not studio quality; they are challenging not only to the human eye,
but also to computer based face recognition systems. Forensica addresses both
situations creating a life-like 3D head enabling it to be ID-Ready for human
or computer based face recognition," added Ludwig.
To enable quick dissemination of information amongst officers and
investigators, Forensica can automatically generate a video of a 3D rotating
face in addition to a full gallery of an individual at varied degrees of
poses. "The ability to provide real-world applications takes Animetrics to a
new level," says Paul Schuepp, Animetrics President and CEO. "We initially
introduced ground breaking 3D technology in the form of SDKs. Now we are
building applications based on those technologies. Forensica is just the
beginning. Law enforcement officials and organizations in support of missing
children are very excited about Forensica's technology and optimistic about
the use of 3D visualization in helping a necessary cause." For more
information about Forensica or a price quote, contact Animetrics at 603-383-
4200.
About Animetrics
Animetrics Inc. is a leading developer of 3D imaging facial recognition
software. Utilizing breakthrough technology, Animetrics products solve
critical issues associated with facial recognition including variations in
pose and lighting. Animetrics core algorithms are comprised of three patent-
pending technologies forming the basis for next-generation 3-dimensional
facial recognition applications. Animetrics technology is driving market
acceptance of facial recognition biometrics in government, homeland security
and law enforcement applications. Animetrics is headquartered in beautiful
Jackson, NH in the White Mountains. For more information visit
http://www.animetrics.com .
developer of 3D imaging and facial recognition software, announced the
commercial release of Forensica(TM), a facial creation tool for law
enforcement designed to "solve" faces during the investigative process.
Forensica utilizes multiple photographs or a single photograph from 2D
snapshot cameras or video frames to create a very realistic 3-Dimensional view
of a person's head. "The wide deployment of video surveillance cameras,
internet as a source of photographs, and police mug shot databases has driven
the need for this type of tool," says Lisa Ludwig, Animetrics Vice President
of Marketing and Business Development. "Many of the photographs we're talking
about are not studio quality; they are challenging not only to the human eye,
but also to computer based face recognition systems. Forensica addresses both
situations creating a life-like 3D head enabling it to be ID-Ready for human
or computer based face recognition," added Ludwig.
To enable quick dissemination of information amongst officers and
investigators, Forensica can automatically generate a video of a 3D rotating
face in addition to a full gallery of an individual at varied degrees of
poses. "The ability to provide real-world applications takes Animetrics to a
new level," says Paul Schuepp, Animetrics President and CEO. "We initially
introduced ground breaking 3D technology in the form of SDKs. Now we are
building applications based on those technologies. Forensica is just the
beginning. Law enforcement officials and organizations in support of missing
children are very excited about Forensica's technology and optimistic about
the use of 3D visualization in helping a necessary cause." For more
information about Forensica or a price quote, contact Animetrics at 603-383-
4200.
About Animetrics
Animetrics Inc. is a leading developer of 3D imaging facial recognition
software. Utilizing breakthrough technology, Animetrics products solve
critical issues associated with facial recognition including variations in
pose and lighting. Animetrics core algorithms are comprised of three patent-
pending technologies forming the basis for next-generation 3-dimensional
facial recognition applications. Animetrics technology is driving market
acceptance of facial recognition biometrics in government, homeland security
and law enforcement applications. Animetrics is headquartered in beautiful
Jackson, NH in the White Mountains. For more information visit
http://www.animetrics.com .
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Sony’s Mini-Disc Format About to Bite the Dust
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
You don’t have to be a tech junkie to know that Sony is trying mighty hard to re-gain lost ground. New CEO, new plans for the Playstation, but unfortunately, there is rumbling online that the Sony MiniDisc (MD) format may soon bite the dust. The news is coming from some pretty credible MD folks over at Sony Voice, an independent discussion board on all things Sony.
Our Take: Sony Restructure + New Focus = No Mini Disc. I know MD nuts who will literally cry at the news, but this looks like a category that just never caught on the way Sony imagined.
RealTechNews
You don’t have to be a tech junkie to know that Sony is trying mighty hard to re-gain lost ground. New CEO, new plans for the Playstation, but unfortunately, there is rumbling online that the Sony MiniDisc (MD) format may soon bite the dust. The news is coming from some pretty credible MD folks over at Sony Voice, an independent discussion board on all things Sony.
Our Take: Sony Restructure + New Focus = No Mini Disc. I know MD nuts who will literally cry at the news, but this looks like a category that just never caught on the way Sony imagined.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
ROBERT CARLYLE - CARLYLE HATES HARRY POTTER
ROBERT CARLYLE - CARLYLE HATES HARRY POTTER: "Scottish hardman ROBERT CARLYLE is revolted by the thought of starring in the next HARRY POTTER movie - even though it would make all his children's dreams come true.
Carlyle, who made his name in cult movie TRAINSPOTTING, is convinced starring in the children's fantasy series would sicken him, and is baffled by RALPH FIENNES, GARY OLDMAN and ROBBIE COLTRANE's readiness to star in the children's series.
The 44-year-old actor says, 'The thought of being in Harry Potter makes me physically ill.
'On the other hand, my kids might turn around in a few years and go, 'Why weren't you in Harry Potter?'' "
Carlyle, who made his name in cult movie TRAINSPOTTING, is convinced starring in the children's fantasy series would sicken him, and is baffled by RALPH FIENNES, GARY OLDMAN and ROBBIE COLTRANE's readiness to star in the children's series.
The 44-year-old actor says, 'The thought of being in Harry Potter makes me physically ill.
'On the other hand, my kids might turn around in a few years and go, 'Why weren't you in Harry Potter?'' "
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