Category: Miscellaneous

In the 1951 movie, “Distant Drums” a stock sound effect now known as the Wilhelm scream was first used. It has since been featured in dozens of movies. It is one of the most well-known cinematic sound clichés.

From the Wikipedia:

The Wilhelm’s revival came from Star Wars-series sound designer Ben Burtt, who tracked down the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labeled “Man being eaten by alligator“). He named it after Wilhelm, a minor character who emitted the scream in the 1953 movie The Charge at Feather River. Its use in Star Wars was the beginning of something of an in-joke amongst some sound designers of the film industry, especially at Skywalker Sound. They continue to try to incorporate it into movies wherever feasible; action movies are naturals, but film sound cognoscenti are particularly impressed when it is used naturally in films such as A Star Is Born (with Judy Garland) and A Goofy Movie. In a tribute to its origins, the clip was used in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the villain Mola Ram was, in fact, eaten by alligators.

Some people, once aware of it, recognize it immediately. Some feel that it distracts the viewer and interrupts the flow of the film.

See the Wilhelm scream compilation. (47 mb QT)

There are many movies featured in this compilation that incorporate the wilhelm scream, for example Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Howard the Duck, The Goofy Movie, and Batman just to name a few. After having watched the clip I’m sure it’s going to stick out everytime I watch another movie where it is used.

Boing Boing’s roundup and time-line of Sony’s horrible anti-customer technology. I enjoyed listening to the NPR’s report on the same topic.

Sony BMG’s Global Digital Business President Thomas Hesse downplayed the recent DRM fiasco saying he objected to terms such as malware, spyware and rootkit. “Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?” he said.

The other day cartoonist Scott Adams wrote his thoughts about the Intelligent Design / Evolution debate (part 1).

Apparently it caused quite the stir. His response:

Wow. A lot of people read my blog entry on Intelligent Design and interpreted it to mean I believe it. I guess the part where I say I don’t believe it wasn’t sufficiently clear.

That’s why I don’t like to leave my office.

Here is the entertaining follow-up where Adams goes after an “evidently highly educated scientist”: Intelligent Design / Evolution debate (part 2).

I found this helpful site full of tips on how to clean anything. At first I was skeptical, but after reading a few, I’ve discovered there are some really good tips there. For example the site explains how to clean:

• Adhesive Tags off Plasticware
• Grease in the oven
• Smoke smell from a microwave
• Light Fixtures in Kitchen

That’s just a few of the many entries in the interior category!

An inventor by the name of Howard Stapleton has developed a high pitched audio device called The Mosquito designed to deter teens from loitering outside shops.

From the Times Online article, “Can a shriek in a box see off troublesome teenagers?”:

It emits a piercing, high frequency sound that is audible only, in 90 per cent of cases, to people under the age of 20. While teenagers are forced to run for cover, most adults remain oblivious.

Stapleton said he came up with the idea after reading how hearing levels changed with age.

I wonder if the device will have the unintended consequence of making the stores that use it a target for vandalism or theft. Whereas before the stores only had trouble with loitering teens but after installing these devices, it seems to me anyway, they are only asking for real trouble.

Update: The New York Times has an article about The Mosquito.

Check out the opening title animation (18MB QT) from the live action film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

The images have a very flat graphics art feel but the animation brings them to life; It’s almost eerie the way abstract shapes, their textures, and the motion are blended together.

I hope you enjoy my quick roundup of interesting links:

• Why the QWERTY keyboard?
• Student gets $117,500 in website free speech case
• How to Back Up Your Music in iTunes
• How digg Uncovers the News
• What time is it around the World?

My cute nephew Ryker. He wasn’t grumpy as it might appear. He was curious about the folks above him calling his name and competing for his attention meanwhile distracting him from “the playing” to be done.

A very good friend of mine once wrote me a beautiful note that had this quote from Violeta Parra. “Don’t cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won’t let you see the stars.”

I’m heading off to Drayton Valley (a small town just west of Edmonton) to visit my sister and her family for the long weekend.

It’s Remembrance Day tomorrow so as a special treat here is a photo of my Grandpa Scoville’s war medals.

He served in the Canadian Navy during World War II primarily posted to convoy escorts and submarine hunting. He had plenty of war stories, but I was either too little or wasn’t around when they were being shared.

One particularly interesting story was when he snuck onto a German warship that was docked at a neutral port and stole the Captain’s alarm clock. He felt so guilty about what a stupid thing it was to do that (I think) he eventually gave the clock away just to keep from reminding himself about that adventure. Somebody on his ship stole it from him.

For those of you more interested in cartoon / viking / battle of the bands type war, check out Jason Forrest’s animated video for ‘War Photographer’.