Weblog:
All you synth head out there–the long anticipated Terratec Komplexer is finally here! This bad boy can actually import sounds from the Waldorf microQ–which for many people is probably the most exciting feature (and says a lot about its capability/quality). It’s a virtual analog with wavetable synthesis, three oscillators with sync and ring modulation, up to 256 voices–and get this–eight types of comb filters. I tried the demo yesterday (the KVR guys were all over it), and it was beautiful–right up there with my favs like zeta+, Rhino 2, Tera 2..etc. It seems that synths just keep getting better and better these days, as music software developers continue to battle it out in the market. You can download the demo here (this is a temporary link, so no guarantee how long it’ll last).
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At six AM this morning, a marching band started blasting away downstairs in the courtyard of our apartment complex, and played on for hours.
This is a common occurence.
I’ve written about this in the past, and I’m going to talk about it more in depth this time. Basically, this is what people do in China when someone passes away in the family. They hire a marching band and make a lot of noise as soon as the sun rears its head, with the reasoning that sending a loved one off to the netherworld with fanfare is a good prologue for the upcoming journey. Even if a family can’t afford it, they’d borrow money to do it because it’s expected of them. If they don’t, the neighbors might point fingers and accuse them of being uncaring and selfish–that they don’t care if their deceased family member has a good afterlife. Can you imagine that? Peer pressure. And you know what? The band is always terrible–off beat, off sync, off key, with bad arrangement (think of the worst middle school marching band you’ve ever heard) and the most inappropriate choice of tunes–even trendy pop tunes. WTF–it’s like as long as they make a lot of noise, it counts.
What pisses me off the most about it is that many people do see it as an unreasonable tradition that disturbs everyone’s morning and needs to be stopped, but because of peer pressure, even apartment managers succumb to this old and unreasonable tradition. In the modern age of highrise apartment communities, a single marching band blasting away at six AM for hours on end is essentially sonic terrorism for literally thousands of people living in the immediate vicinity. I firmly believe that not all traditions are good, and some must be altered or abandoned as civilization progresses to the next step. China is a developing country, and it’s got a ton of unreasonable traditions that clashes with its wish to become a developed modern society. This morning marching band crap is definitely one that needs to go. I wouldn’t be surprised that in another five to ten years, it’ll completely disappear from the Chinese society. Hopefully within another generation, most of the bad tradtitions would be eradicated, just like foot-binding or selling daughters off to slavery.
Hey man. I’ve been watchin ur stuff for a while and your work had been my inspiration( not to mention Steve’s too). Good work!
As another Chinese graphic artist, I am curious why you moved back to China? Was there job opportunities there. I personally think the mass there aren’t educated enough for your type of work… Therefore all these bitchin’ about this marchin band,lol.
think zen… happiness….and move back to states.
Jim – Hahaha, I don’t know if anyone needs to be educated to understand anything I do–it’s not like I’m creating highly intellectual and profound works. Well, maybe my novels require a bit more emotional intelligence than the average Joe off the street, but probably not by much. 😀
I’m not from China, so I didn’t really move “back” to China–I’m originally from Taiwan. In 2001 I visited my mom in China while on a vacation, and I never intended to stay. I didn’t have a good impression of China then (I watched the Tiananmen Square Massacre reported live on TV with tears in my eyes as a teenager), and I have an even worse impression of it now after having lived here for four and a half years.
The ONLY reason I stayed is becausse I met my wife here. I met her right around the time my vacation was up and I was about to return to the States. Since you’re a regular at my site, you probably already know that the Kitty Cat is quite a catch–how could I leave? Anyway, I stayed while we waited for her immigration visa to come through (long distance relationship was out of the question for both of us–that’s just not how life should be for a couple). We were lucky that Elena is a fairly successful entrepreneur here in China, so she makes more than enough money for us to live very comfortably here. Being able to stay at home everyday to work on my personal works became the second greatest thing about being here (the first is of course, being with Elena). My world for the last four and half years has been just Elena and my creative works. I barely ever go out the front door of our house (the photos I took of China were actually taken by remote controlled robots 😉 ). Thank God for broadband internet! (We did live in Malaysia for a bit in 2003~2004 though–I was working for Steven Stahlberg’s company as a creator/writer/director/art director.)
We’ll be moving back to the States next month. (And I’m probably never coming back to China–unless I have to.)
lol, ; I know what you mean, I got my own Empress of China in my house too. Any idea where you gonna stay in the state.
Jim – Depends on where my next job will be. Most likely somewhere in California. I grew up in the Bay Area and my family/friends are mostly there. I might have to move to LA though since it’s become the new hotspot for CG-related jobs.
Cool, but if you should stop by Houston area I’d be happy to show you around town.
Thanks for the offer–I’ll take you up on it if I ever end up in that area. I drove through Texas once–I stopped at a Hooters for lunch (You can find photos I took in the old Olympus C3030z Gallery in the photography section). Did you know that a lot of Hooters waitresses are aspiring models but can’t afford professional photographers to do shoots for them? Guess where I’ll go the next time I need models for a shoot?
Elena and I are scared to death of very hot weather. If it wasn’t for the weather, we’d seriously consider Austin as a place to live. Austin is considered one of the hot spots for video game companies, so aside from California and New York, Austin is probably the third best location in terms of CG jobs.