Coded Candy | Pushing the aural envelope

JAMES ZABIELA

So far Coded Candy dealt with the visual – infographics, computer generated graphics and films, icons etc. – but there is another type of Coded Candy – the aural. Technologically, DJ’ing has moved beyond mixing the records. The equipment digitizes it all and has expanded in such a way that in deft hands DJ’ing approaches the arena of pure performance. At the core of it all, we want the DJ to just play that song – but the question is now, which one? The pre-recorded or live? Following is an excellent insight into DJ’ing Coded Candy courtesy of BBC Radio 1, hosted by a longtime proponent of electronic music and a DJ himself Pete Tong, featuring a master class by affable DJ James Zabiela. When you are done or over the chit chat, check out James Zabiela’s London set at Boiler Room TV to see it all in practice. When done by a Master.

Retro Camera iThingy App vs. iThingy itself

In the best of worlds, any good experiment ought to have a “control”. I shall abide. As a correction to the “Playing with Retro Camera iThingy App at Slurping Turtle” post, I include the “control” – same circumstances photographed with iThingy 4G camera.

©MAK

Playing with Retro Camera iThingy App at Slurping Turtle

Top: The Bärbl, Little Orange Box, Xolaroid 2000; Bottom: pinhOle camera, FudgeCan, Hipsteroku ©MAK

Nowadays, a “table turd” at a restaurant is alright. Not hip anymore, just common place. The cameras on these “table turds” are getting better and better, giving us a chance to flood the ether with a photographic documentation of life’s minutiae and proof of existence. So to task I went. I do exist. To keep it fun, at least for me, and to add a smattering of quasi-experiment like feel, I put every camera on the Retro Camera iThingy App to work by documenting the same thing. It is a strange notion this app – a concoction of hipster ethos à la early 2000s and nostalgia applied to improved iThingy optics. Go figure. But me like. And what better way than photographing the offerings at Chicago’s Slurping Turtle! The appetizer, and those that followed hit the spot, and the Tonkotu noodle soup of egg noodles, silky (and they don’t lie) pork broth, braised pork shoulder pieces (that balanced sweetness against the porky taste) and mustard greens, that I topped the appetizers with, all made me very happy. Just what I want from food. As for the retro photos – pick your favorite; and if truly obsessed – get the real thing. Both thumbs up.

tastejive: wines in your language™, or selecting wine based on what you desire

This is the deal: if you do not want to choose your next vino based on a recommendation that gives you a historical background and then says the given wine is “a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah [and] The three varieties are aged 20 months in new and used barriques and large puncheons, to emphasize fruit purity”, then tastejive is for you. Get a recommendation that matches the experience you are after, mood or occasion, and fires off quips such as: “Overrated, and with a checkered past; Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton in a bottle.” “Big and muscular like meat on a stick, with a man on the side.” “Joan Holloway, walking, or, whatever.” “… like a mouthful of sparklers putting on a show for your tongue.” “Shaplier even than Pippa Middleton’s bum. A classy, full-bodied affair that won’t settle for second fiddle. Show it off to your friends.” “With curves in all the right places and legs that just don't quit, this wine will stop you in your tracks like a half-naked super model” Ha! They even have an App for your iThingy billed with “Remember the last time you tasted a wine you liked? Can't remember its name? Don't worry, 80% of people don't remember, either.” Except that you will have to log on to the Facebook to use it, and I find that annoying…tastejive is a nice concept though.