Viva

PEORIA POST-METAL CREW FACES ITS NEUROSES

lorimi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:21:42 +0000

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Since 2002 Minsk have built 10-minute-plus psychedelic doom epics out of tribal rhythms and sprawling melodies. Their bassist, Sanford Parker (late of Buried at Sea), has not only recorded each of the group’s major releases but also made a name for himself producing the likes of Nachtmys-tium. Pelican, and Brutal Truth. Still, despite Parker’s presence behind the mixing boards, frontman Christopher Bennett says Minsk’s third full-length, With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (Relapse), was a collaboration. “I think that’s why we work well,” he says. “The rest of us work on the really basic structures of the songs, and Sanford makes them into what they are in the end.”

D OPPORTUNITIES

Although the Peoria, llli-hois-Based Dan3 jiist returned from its first-ever European tour, during which it played such faraway towns as Olomouc, Czech Republic, and Oberentfelden, Switzerland, Minsk didn’t make it to its namesake city in Belarus. “We inquired with the guy who booked our tour about playing in Minsk, but he just thought the political situation was not conducive to us playing there now,” Bennett laments. “He said there was a good chance we might ‘lose’ some equipment or something because it would be obvious we were foreigners.”

Proud of their reputation as fearless road dogs —after playing only five hometown shows, Minsk went on tour in 2003 and haven’t looked back—the bandmates cite only one gig that made them sweat bullets: opening for their idols Neurosis in November 2007. “[Neurosis vocalist-guitarist] Scott Kelly came to our show in Ashland, Oregon, and gave us some good feedback, but we were still surprised to be asked to play with them,” Bennett remembers. “And of course we said yes. It’s not like [we'd tell them], ‘No, I don’t know. I think there’s another show I wanted to go to that night.’”

OPS. UH-OH. OH WELL.

lorimi — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:08:08 +0000

Don’t worry. I haven’t decided to make all of my editor’s letters start with crappy Kurt Vonnegut rip-offs. Just this one. Why? Because among that great author’s many skills was a knack for humorously relating the surprising speed with which people, cities, civilizations, and even planets or galaxies can be extinguished without warning, without do-overs, without the universe-at-large stopping to mourn. Nothing, it turns out, is more banal than ceasing to be when you least expect it.

Why all this doom and gloom? Some of it probably has to do with the fact that I watched the Charlie Kaufman film Synechdoche, New York last weekend. Seriously, if that terrifyingly bleak meditation on every man and woman’s inevitable decline doesn’t get you ruminating on death, you’re probably already in the ground. But what really makes this a fitting topic for this issue’s letter is our excerpt from To Live Is to Die, the new biography of Cliff Burton, which we excerpt on page 58. If the book is even remotely accurate, Burton was not only an incredibly gifted musician, but also an immeasurably rad and resourceful dude. And shit, he was in Metallica, so he certainly wasn’t lacking in the potential department. And yet he was squashed to death like a bug in a tour bus accident. Just like that.
And if it can happen to Burton, it can definitely happen to you. There may be a piece of commuter jet detritus hurtling at your head right now that will finish you off before you finish reading this letter for all you know. So as this summer approaches, please remember to plan at least a few things that are worth remembering. Have a beer-soaked cookout, drive across the country, read a fucking good book under a nice tree, volunteer and help the less fortunate than you, and hey, go see Mayhem Fest with your favorite crew when it rolls into your neck of the woods and yell “Slayah!!!” really loud from the minute you leave the house ’til when you crawl back home that night. That way, when your life flashes before your eyes—and it will—at least it’ll be a seriously good show.

ROCK YOUR WORLD

lorimi — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:44:58 +0000

Hard hitting cymbals as you know them have just changed. Introducing the new Zildjian Z3 cymbals with the ultimate mix of Power, Projection and Playability. This complete new line of over 25 different models will rock your music. Z3Js feature new hammer and lathing technology designed to give you ear splitting projection and power without feeling like your hitting a man hole cover. Z3, a strikingly brilliant line of highly musical cymbals, all crafted from the legendary Zildjian alloy.

What’s the protocol for inserting yourself into your partner?

lorimi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:49:11 +0000

What’s the protocol for inserting yourself into your partner? Do you do it? Does she?
I wouldn’t worry too much. What ever you might lack in skill you more than make up for in weirdness. Protocol dictates that rank precedes gender, so if your intended holds a title higher than American Apparel sales associate, simply say, “Madam Chancellor, may I present My Erection?” to which she will reply, “How do you do?” Attendees then rise for the national anthem, Senator Feinstein makes opening remarks, there is a canon salute, and Aaron Neville sings “Amazing Grace.” Then, and only then, can insertion commence. At least that’s how they do it where I come from. However, Robert J. Rubel, author of the indispensable Master/ Slave Relations: Handbook of Theory and Practice, as well as 2007s Squirms, Screams and Squirts: Going from Great Sex to Extraordinary Sex (because the title A Dance to the Music of Time was already taken), disagrees. He confirms your fear about implied incompetence and calls you a “submissive man,” a charge you’ll have to just sit there and take, I’m afraid. “I’ve never had a woman guide me in initially,” he scoffs, before defining the core problem. “Here’s the core problem: Anything that you do to pull the woman back into her head will destroy the moment. Don’t ask her anything, don’t do anything that she has to think about, don’t confuse her.” He’s absolutely right. I was about to say something about the futility of rules with regard to the passionate acts of willing adults, but I’ve already forgotten the question.
I’m a little puzzled. I know sexual preferences change, but things that used to get me off just repulse me now. What’s going on?
Your use of the word repulse has caused no end of distress for Joy Davidson, Manhatan sex therapist and author of the book Fearless Sex. She says that while sexual taste commonly changes over time, one does not generally find oneself “repulsed” by what one used to like. “Unless we’re talking about somebody who, for example, wasn’t acknowledging their attraction to the same gender.” Really, what kind of guy is that? “You know, a guy who had never acknowledged or had tried to repress his attraction to men, so he had sex with women, and it was enjoyable to a point, but then as time wore on he…really began seeing himself as gay… and now the idea of being with a woman is repulsive.” Well, well. I considered surreptitiously altering the problematic word and continuing with the “changing sexual tastes” theme, when I noticed that you chose to modify your statement with the word just, a synonym for “simply.” Therefore, we may recast your sentiment as”…things that used to get me off simply repulse me now.” I believe that your keen
choice of this third adverbial definition of just (as opposed to “I’ve just realized I’m gay”) merely expresses your healthy dramatic flair, which everyone in the Castro already warned me about.
Why do I always have to urinate so badly after sex? Why do I always have to call my mother? Why do other people always have to fall to their knees and repent? Just normal biological functions, that’s all. Come, let’s take a look at your bladder with Dr. Pamela Ellsworth, urologist and author of The Little Black Book of Urology. “We typically have a sensation to urinate around 150cc,” she says, “and it is possible that one didn’t reach that volume prior to sex and reaches it thereafter.” We may also note that alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, so that ocean of Diet Coke and rum you continually guzzle, compounded with elapsed time and the sheer physical pressure your bladder withstands during sex may all contribute to this plaguing urge to urinate. But could there be a psychological component here as well? If you insist. Your newfound obsession with urinary habits could be contributing to a self-fulfilling practice that Masters and Johnson called “spectatoring,” because they couldn’t, between the two of them, come up with the correct word, spectating, which is an inflective form of spectate and means to be a spectator, especially at a sporting event. The sporting event in this case is your own sex life, which is tanking because you’re spending the whole game thinking about the toilet. Never take your eye off the ball.

RULE: FILL THE FRAME

lorimi — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:08:24 +0000

Move closer, zoom in tighter. It’s one of the first photography rules we’re told. The idea is to make sure every part of the picture contains something “important” or “interesting.” While this is often good advice, artistically there are lots of reasons to break this rule and to leave what’s called negative space in the photo frame. This can be a powerful tool that makes your center of interest stand out even more. Here are three situations in which you can un-fill the frame.

1 Wide areas of color: Fill the frame—but fill it with sky color, as in this photo. Leaving space here provides a mix of colors for the eye to explore, with the rock serving as a compositional point for the eye to rest upon.Look for opportunities during sunrises, sunsets, and the blue hour. And look for it in water as well as in sky.

2 Contrasting textures or colors: In this image, the negative space in the grass serves as a counterpoint to the leaf. The eye can appreciate the textures

of the grass, and finally rest upon the intricate and delicate shapes of the leaf. Monochrome worked well in this instance, but you can contrast colors as well—think of a red leaf on green grass.

3 A familiar or iconic feature: We’ve all seen shots of Stonehenge with the monoliths looming huge in the frame. But the use of negative space in this photo upends your expectations, creating a sense of timelessness and grandness with the formation acting as a small but strong visual anchor.

FLYING ABOVE THECLOUDS

lorimi — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:35:19 +0000

Why Delta looks so strong

For all the gloom hanging over U.S. airlines, one of them should come through the turmoil quite well: Delta Air Lines. Thanks to its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines, the Atlanta-based carrier boasts a strong balance sheet as well as a route structure that makes it a force from Stockholm to St. Paul to Shanghai.

Delta hardly looked like a global power in late 2005, when it and Northwest filed for bankruptcy on the same day. But both carriers used Chapter 11 to abrogate labor contracts and shuck debt, giving Delta the lowest operating costs among hub-and-spoke carriers today. According to research firm AirlineForecasts, Delta’s cost per average seat mile, excluding fuel costs, is now 6.8$, vs. 7.7$ for United Airlines, and 6.58$ for discount king Southwest Airlines. Indeed, Delta President Edward H. Bastian recently told analysts that Delta could survive as much as a 20% plunge in revenues because of cheaper fuel, route cuts, and savings from its integration with Northwest.

Granted, Delta’s stock has been crushed: It’s down 45% since its February peak. But with $6.7 billion in liquidity as of Sept. 30 and $530 million in projected 2009 earnings, the carrier is “in one of the best positions to withstand this recession,” says Vaughn Cordle, chef executive of AirlineForecasts.

F-Stop the INSANITY

lorimi — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:44:27 +0000

Aperture is a simple numbers game

When we take pictures, we want to think visually—who cares about arcane numbers and inverse reciprocal mathematics? But some simple guidelines get results. If you understand arithmetic, you can grasp how aperture (f-stop) affects photos.

Get off the program

First, take control by using aperture-priority mode rather than program or auto. On most DSLRs, it’s on a mode dial and designated by the letter A or Av. You can now set the f-stop with the camera’s command wheel. A few current models and many older ones let you set aperture on a lens ring.

Small numbers, such as f/2.8 or f/4, give you a small slice of focus; large numbers (such f/16 or f/22) give you a large slice of focus. That slice, of course, is called depth of field. As a photographer, you decide how much depth you want.

But what you see is not always what you get. With your camera set on aperture-priority, look through the viewfinder and change the aperture numbers—the amount of the scene in focus won’t change. What gives?

Apertures control the amount of light coming into the camera. With less light as you use bigger f-numbers, it would be hard to see the scene in the dim viewfinder. So cameras and lenses keep the aperture wide open until the moment the shutter is released. The view is what you’d get with the smallest available f-number, and you’ll see the smallest slice of focus possible with that lens and subject distance.

Preview your focus

To allow you to see the effect of a small or big slice of focus, most DSLRs have a depth-of-field (DOF) preview button or lever. This control closes down the aperture to your selected f-number to show how much of the scene is in focus. The problem? With large numbers, such as f/22, the viewfinder gets so dark that you can barely see the subject, let alone how well it’s focused.

But now, live view is becoming common on many DSLRs. This lets you preview on the LCD the exact amount of focus you’ll get. Compose and focus first, then switch to live view. Depress the DOF preview control, and the camera will adjust the brightness of the LCD to show you the amount of focus. Change the aperture to see the effect on you LCD. Most cameras also let you magnify a selected portion of the screen for a more critical check.

Play by the rules

Rule 1: If you like the shallow depth of field you see in the viewfinder, simply use the smallest aperture number on the dial to maintain that effect in your photo. For example, in the picture of the fence on the next page, we liked the sliver of focus that we saw in the viewfinder, and simply chose the smallest number on the aperture dial—in this case, f/4.

Note that the longer the lens you use, or the closer you get to the subject, the easier it is to get a small slice of focus with small numbers on the aperture dial. With wide-angle lenses, everything will often look in focus in the viewfinder—even at f/2.8—unless you get really close to your subject.

Rule 2: If you don’t like the small amount of focus you see in the viewfinder and want lots of the scene in focus, then focus one-third of the way into the scene and use a big number on the aperture dial to get as much depth of field as possible. Focusing one-third of the way in is a quick way to get the approximate hyperfocal distance, which guarantees the biggest slice of focus you can get.

Rule 3: If everything already looks in focus in the viewfinder, aperture will have little further effect on depth of field. So when DOF does not matter, use a middle aperture number (such as f/8) if you want the best resolution (absolute edge sharpness) from your lens. Although big f-numbers give you greater DOF, very small apertures tend to degrade images somewhat, due to a phenomenon called diffraction.

So, when photographing a distant scene or a flat surface where everything looks sharp in the viewfinder, we almost always set the aperture to f/8. For example, in the picture of Herbert Lake on the previous page, everything looked sharp in the viewfinder, so we chose f/8 for critical sharpness.

Finally, we always use a tripod. Because big f-numbers (such as f/22) cut down on the light getting through the lens, they require longer shutter speeds, higher ISO settings, or a combination of both to get the proper exposure. It’s called the reciprocal relationship between aperture and shutter speed, which is fancy technical talk for No Free Lunch.

Can a camera phone be a camera?

lorimi — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:38:49 +0000

Real photographers don’t use cell phones to shoot pictures, right? Well, to hear Sony Ericsson tell it, that kind of thinking is going the way of film. The company‘s new C905 is billed as “the phone for the photographer in you,” a pocket-sized multi tasker packing “all the functions you need for perfect pictures.”

At first glance, it’s tough to tell which is which. After all, the phone has “Cyber-shot” engraved in the metal door that slides over the lens. And “8.1 megapixels” is printed next to the shutter button, directly across from the rocker switch for zooming in and out. Only when you look at the back is it clear that this isn’t a straight-up camera: Its LCD is longer and narrower than a typical digicam’s, and it has—duh!—telephone buttons.

That a phone carries the Cyber-shot name isn’t just surprising—it’s totally new. It means that it shares the processing behind Sony’s respected compacts: Smarts such as face detection, photo fixes, and in-camera panorama stitching. Add to that video (QVGA at 30 frames per second) and the C905 is sounding rather camera like. Also, I suspect Sony’s corporate types wouldn’t share the Cyber-shot label unless they considered this phone a credible camera.

Our tests in the Pop Photo Lab prove them right. Yes, the T90 (compact camera) beat the C905 (camera phone) in every important measure. But the C905 was only beaten, not humiliated, and proved to be a competent point-and-shoot. High praise for a camera phone.

In color accuracy, the C905 scored Extremely High at 9.7. Any score 8 and below is Excellent, which is where the T90, like most compacts these days, came in (7.8). Noise was Low on both at their lowest ISOs.

Resolution? A 50-percent advantage in megapixels (12.1 vs. 8.1) gave the edge to the T90, as it hit 2245 lines at ISO 80. That’s a solid 12MP—virtually the same score as Nikon’s new 12.3MP D5000 DSLR.

The camera phone? At ISO 64 (we couldn’t set it to ISO 80) it served up only 1670 lines, a little more than we’d expect from a 6MP camera.

Though not much different in size, the C905 packs a lot more into its tiny real estate. The result is a sensor and lens far smaller than those in the T90. This means a loss of resolution, as well as some unusual distortion.

Both the T90′s 4X zoom, racked out midway to the equivalent of about 70mm, and the C905′s fixed 36mm-equivalent lens (digital zoom only), had slight pincushioning. And while the T90 showed expected distortion at each end of its zoom range (visible barrel distortion at the wide end and visible pincushioning at tele), the C905 showed barrel distortion in some parts of its lens and pincushioning in others. This kind of complex distortion is rare on compact cameras in this price range.

The C905 offers some measure of control, with scene modes, white-balance settings, exposure compensation, and even a little built-in flash with a range, says the brochure, of “about four steps away.”

Much further control, however, isn’t there. You can’t set the C905′s ISO, shutter speed, or aperture as separate settings.

But then, the C905 has powers and abilities far beyond those of normal compact cameras. It geotags (shows you on a map where the photo was taken), plays music, handles e-mail, and, oh yeah, makes phone calls.