Master Mixing and Fireside Chat

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday, John started a new audio project: mastering my next album. Yay! It is another collection of music I created in the 80's using my analog studio. A few months ago I transferred the raw tracks from my master tapes to my iMac. Since John is a wiz at digital audio engineering, and I don't have a clue, he volunteered to do the digital remastering for me. We got one track finished and it sounds amazing. We're going to try to do one or two tracks a day so the album will be ready soon. I'm so excited!

Fireside Bullshit

Yesterday, Kirsty and I went to a "fireside chat" in Second Life by Philip Rosedale, CEO of Second Life, and Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco.

What a crock. I love Second Life. LOVE IT. But it's inevitable that our evil government will start using Second Life as a platform to spread its propaganda to its continually victimized citizens. Philip Rosedale is a pretty face, I met him in Chicago in August, and he's a nice enough guy. He talked the usual fluff about the future of Second Life, etc. and it's all really exciting stuff and would be more exciting if he would find a way for government to keep its hands off it. I have two words of advice for Philip Rosedale: Cayman Islands.

After hearing Gavin Newsom it is now clear to me why San Francisco is such a street-person and drug addict disaster area. He babbled a lot of expensive PR trained self-congratulatory propaganda. He speaks really badly and sounds like an extra from The Sopranos. Creepy. He went on and on about how Second Life is the future of community communication, government/citizen interaction, etc. he called "Government 2.0." Yikes. What a tool. He also made a ridiculous statement along the lines of San Francisco being the best city in the U.S. to do business. I hate that kind of crap. Territorial narcissism pisses me off. My-city-is-better-than-your-city mentality is so destructive to society. People go nuts over it and it scares me. San Francisco is one of the most self-satisfied cities I've seen. It thinks it's New York. I enjoy San Francisco but, get real, it's not New York.

Also, the audience was one of the biggest collections of assholes I've experienced in Second Life. That's not surprising considering it was a bunch of Second Life insiders, several of whom were at the Second Life Conference in Chicago, where I was not impressed by them either. I love geeks, generally, but when you get more than two of them together it's way too much like junior high school for my comfort. =:-0

But despite my political and social cynicism, I thought that the fireside chat happening inside Second Life is fascinating. The auditorium was nicely done, although I thought that the tiers of seating was hilarious considering that a "region" can't hold more than 60 or so people. Yesterday I counted 68 people there which is a lot. And the lag was horrendous. So events like this one can't really happen easily until Second Life gets more technically robust. But I think it will, it's only a matter of time.

Sadly, I think it's also only a matter of time before the government infiltrates Second Life even more, to spread its propaganda and fascism. Yea, I'm a cynic, I know. Sigh.

Video of the event is here

Comments

[Jeremy]

Master Mixing, Analog studio, John sitting in front of wave forms, ahhh I have many goosebumps now =0)
What program is he using on your Apple may I inquire?

[Jan Hanford]

John uses Sequoia, which is PC only but he uses Parallels on his iMac to run it and it's fab.

http://www.sequoiadigital.com/index.shtml

[Jeremy]

Thank you!

[Jeremy]

That software is like wayyyyyyy professional, don't see myself downloading this from any warez sites.(shame) The BBC uses it! =0)

[Tim Harris]

Do you mean:
http://www.magix.com/uk/sequoia/
http://www.samplitude.com/eng/seq/index.html
?

I think Sequoia Digital distribute pre-built systems with Sequoia installed. Google being a bit misleading as it's the first link to come up in a search for Sequoia audio software :-)

Cool to hear Parallels is up to the job, is there anything it can't do?

[Jan Hanford]

Thank you, Tim!

[Lala Pennell]

Just saw your blog, Jan! I came to the "party" late and missed all of you, except Carson who I couldn't wake up from his AWAY status. No one deigned to speak to me so after a while I just turned on my stilletoes and flew away...just as I would've in Real Life. I think manners are still important, especially in Second Life. I don't think you are a cynic, just realistic :-).