In another effort to streamline things around here the music section of the site has been consolidated into one blog. In the past the music section was split into full reviews and quick mini reviews of older music that was called favorites. The new blog combines these two sections and uses categories to organize the entries. I'm not sure that everyone that visits the site understands that you can browse through old entries using the links on the sidebar to browse past months. This will be worked on in the future but for now im thinking of adding a little blurb onto the sidebars mentioning this. So thats all for now.

I'm really just not that into house/dance music but from time to time the 4/4 steadiness that that genera is based around is a nice change of pace, especially when its surrounded by really tight production and subtle compositions that leaves you with a smile on your face throughout every track as you nod your head or take steps to the beat as you walk or work along. This album by Broker/Dealer is just that kind of album and brings a great relaxed yet dancy groove that feels good at any given moment in your day. I find that this album is easily one of the most listened to of all of my electronic albums recently. You just can't go wrong with this release!

iTunes link:

...are now available on the desktops page. A simple podcast will be coming soon as well as more updates so check back later on.

I'm sure everyone has been itching to see some updates here on the site over the past few days. Well I am back and I will get a few new desktops up here in the next little while and maybe something more, well just see how it goes so........... yyyyyyyyeeeeeep.

For the next four days I will be taking a break from the internet and heading west to the mountains of North Carolina to relax in a cabin for a while with Val. We will be living it up out in the middle of nowhere and it's going to be really nice to get away. Check back monday for some content updates and such.

Have a great weekend everyone and I'll see you monday.

I suppose this post could have easily been called aMAZEing but I decided to spare you that type of cheep laugh (which I actually didn't spare you come to think of it). I just wanted to point out this site that actually has 1 billion mazes. Yep, thats one billion different mazes for your enjoyment. Im not sure if they really are all totally different but who knows right? Anyways, have fun getting lost.

Link

Here is a fascinating site full of great home made gadgets all of which include step by step how-to instructions on how to create them. A good place to look If your looking for something fun and semi productive on a free day.

Link

This is me back when I was wee little version of myself. Oh, and I was in China here in this photo. Looks like I'm catching up on a bit of my math... only in Chinese.

I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing posts of my Nano saga but here is one last one just to settle the dead nano tale once and for all.



I love this case by the way. Cushy and puffy and comfy. It's almost like having a totally different player really. I have renamed it the cloudpod. Heres a link for more info on the case.

The End...?

I started the twistedsun.net newsletter back before the days of RSS and I felt that it was a good way of getting the word out that a new desktop had been posted or something new was happening with the site but in the past few months I have had a sudden drop in the people subscribing to pretty much none and I dont seem to have the time to get them mailed out anymore so I have decided to remove the newsletter from the site.

Sorry for anyone that enjoyed the newsletters, I suggest you check out the RSS feeds on the different pages here on the site. I believe most modern browsers, well safari and firefox, have built in rss feed readers witch will make it easy for anyone to keep up with what's new here on the site.

Thats all for now, thanks for reading twistedsun.net!

-john

LINK

its nice to see that the nano will be all fixed up and coming my way in the form of a new one. time to start looking for a case this time around id say!

I got my hands on the newest album / ep from the now infamous Prefuse 73 and I thought I would hop onto the review blog here and let it be know what Scott has been up to recently. It's nice to see that he seems to be taking a turn away from his hip-hop collaboration phase and moving slowly back into the somewhat inventive, explorative side of his musical abilities.

I remember how much I loved his first record on warp and how fresh it seemed at the time. Nuno was the greatest thing of the moment and I had high hopes for the future of this newly discovered musician. I saw him live down in his hometown of atlanta and remember being somewhat disappointed by his performance but I bought an advance copy of the cd that night anyway and it was in the player for at least half of the 6 hours back to Greensboro. (I also saw Autechre, Tortoise, Nobukazu Takemura, and Mr. Lif that night. All of which put on a better show). He did redeem himself the next time I caught him over in Chapel Hill when he put on a great show that proved to be one of the more energetic electronic music shows that I had seen.

So, getting back on track here, lets talk about the new ep. Thankfully the only collaborations on this album was a mix when Fourtet steps up and helps add a bit of depth to the classic Prefuse formula and a track with someone from TV on the Radio which also works pretty well. With some of the tracks on this release it would seem as though he is moving away from the expectation that his music should be labeled as HIp-Hop and he throws in some more feeling into the mix. It's as though his work under t he Savath and Savalas name is finally melting into the Prefuse pot and making some mighty fine smelling stew.

If you are a fan of his past work I would defiantly check out this release, I can only hope that he does not decide to give the 'I wanna be a Hip-Hop producer' thing another try because the result when he tried that left me scared and wondering if he would ever redeem himself in my mind.

Heres to a hopeful future for Mr. Scott Herren.

iTunes link:

I'm sure many of you have noticed the changes around here, I have been kind of toying around with some site redesigns for a while and I finally just tidied everyhting up and here it is, please, let me know what you think! I wanted to streamline things and polish up the overall feel of the site.

I have also removed the links to my music project 'A Drop in Silence' from the music section to help clarify that section a bit. The desktop snaps page has also taken a permanent vacation due to lack of activity, thanks to those of you who helped while it was there, you know who you are. So other than that not to much has changed.

You can expect a new review or two shortly but in the mean time there is a new favorite to check out, ah and I have some new desktops ready to go on up so look out for those as well.

Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support of the site, its the readers that motivate me to continue on from day to day so thanks to everyone!

talk to you again soon,

-john

So I'm sure many of you are wondering what I use to carry around my laptop and other various gadgets, camera, extra lenses, cables, food... well, my life really. I remember for quite a few years I was a messenger bag kind of a guy and had a couple Timbuk2 bags that I used for the longest time but my back started to let me know that it was time to grow up and think about finding a nice backpack. I have had the same internal frame backpack for camping for years and years and have loved its versatility as a bag so when I started looking for my next bag I was looking for something big that could hold everything I would need it to hold and more. I wanted the ability to take only that one bag with me on short trips so I needed something built to be a laptop/gadget bag but still have the versatility to hold things such as a few changes of cloths and whatnot.

Well all of my searching came to an end when I re-discovered Spire bags of Boulder, Colorado. Actually it was the only company that I came across which had what I was looking for. They have a really great line of bags centered around laptops and although there are other companies out there that make bags such as these I have yet to find one that makes them as well as Spire.

The model that I chose is called the Meta and it was the biggest baddest bag that they had. It was exactly what I needed, a rugged backpack that would hold everything I could throw at it. After using it for a few different trips I have been more and more happy with it. At first I planned on using the bag just for trips and I was going to stick with my smaller shoulder bag for everyday use but I shortly found myself enjoying the Meta so much that I was using it for everything all the time. It became my mobile office and studio.



So what's so great about this bag anyways?

Well first off lets talk about it's ability and usefulness as a laptop bag. Their backpacks all utilize a laptop sleeve that opens from the top which provides an ample amount of protection from bumps and rough handling. You have the option of having this sleeve rest in the bag loosely so you can take it out of the backpack and use it on its own or you could choose to use a patch of velcro on the back of the sleeve that will allow you to secure it to the inside of the bag (which has it's own cover should you decide you don't want to use this ability). In the Meta there is an entire middle section of the bag that I use primarily for my laptop, its power cord and an additional battery within a mesh pocket at the top of the section. There is enough additional room here for a book or a magazine or something of the sort but I like to keep that area simple and easy to get at what I need. The fact that the laptop section is there in the middle of the bag adds additional protection to the laptop which is nice. When you place the order for your bag you are given the option of picking the size of your sleeve and they have plenty of sizes for all kinds of laptops and a chart on their site that you can reference to pick just the right size. My 15" Powerbook is a perfect fit for the sleeve that came with the bag.

So onto the rest of the bag. The bag as a whole is separated into 3.5 main sections. The largest of which is closest to your back and is great for clothes and other traveling necessities. I find that I can comfortably fit clothes for about three days in the bag which is just what I needed for short trips When I use it as an everyday bag this section stays relatively empty with the exception of maybe my camera, a few cables and a sweater or something of the sort. There are two compression straps on both sides of the bag that come in handy when I don't have much in the bag because I can just tighten the straps up to make the bag more manageable when it is more empty.

I have already described the middle section of the bag so I'll move onto the front most area. The nice thing about this area is all of the handy pockets inside. There is plenty of room for pens, a few cds, cables, extra batteries, a book, a gameboy plus games, etc... This area is smaller than the other two sections of the bag and is not suited for big things but for the types of things I mentioned a second ago, this area is a really nice thing to have. on the outermost part of the bag there are two somewhat hidden zipper pockets that I don't use to much because of their tall shape. I find them handy to keep a snack in or small nicknacks that I use often like my headlight. On the top of one of these pockets there is a small pocket for a small music player such as an ipod and a small hole to wind a headphone cord through which is handy but I find that i prefer my ipod to be in my pocket or somewhere where I can get at it easily.

How does it fit?

I am at six ft. tall and this bag fits me just right, I could see this being a bit big for someone with a smaller body but I love the fit of the bag. The back of the bag has a fitted piece of plastic with a metal spine to hold its shape along with a cushy bit of padding including a bit extra along the spine which is a nice touch. One of the more interesting features of the Meta is the fact that you can disconnect the shoulder straps and belt strap and tuck them away behind the padding of the bag allowing them to be out of the way for things such as cramming it into an overhead bin on a plane. I should mention here that it would be nice to see some more padding on the belt strap. My other camping pack has a nice sturdy belt strap which is really nice to handle a bag carrying a lot of weight which this bag can do pretty easily. I find that I leave the belt strap tucked into the bag because it adds a bit more lower back support having that little bulge there from having the belt pack tucked in. When I take it out to use I find myself wishing it did more to help support the amount of wait in the bag. The strap seems to sag a bit under the weight which kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes. It is really nice having the strap there though, especially at the end of a long day wearing it when its full, i just have to make sure that its strapped to my waist nice and tight so I can give my shoulders a rest. Overall I really love the way this bag feels which is why I have started to use it everyday.

Anything else?

This bag is built like a rock. There is a large amount or detail and time put into the bag and it has held up very well to whatever I throw at it. I am really rough with things I own and travel with and they take quite a beating so I expect things I buy for traveling to hold up under pressure and I feel like I can trust this bag to hold up under any circumstances. The only thing i would like to see on a future model would be a mesh water bottle holder of some sort on the side of the bag. Something big enough to hold a Nalgene bottle. I would also love the chance to try one of their smaller backpacks sometime.

I would highly recommend anyone in the market for a good backpack to look no further than Spire Bags. The company seems to be a pretty small company and they make all of the bags onsite which I can admire as well as take as a reassurance that they are made to meet high standards. I look forward to many years use out of this bag and I hope that you take a minute to check them out.

Link to their site

On a side note, I remember how nice they were when I ordered the bag. It was a birthday present from my family and I remember them being out of stock of them at the time that we ordered but they were nice enough to make sure that it arrived in time for my birthday which was a nice touch.

This is a beautiful collection of reflective gritty sine tone melodies, distinctive textures, echoing guitars, and laid back beats that glide across the music like a bird soars across the surface of a lake. It is a great album that never seems to be inappropriate because of the neutral, calm mood it holds throughout. For fans of music that calms and moves your body all at once. Maybe I am a sucker for this kind of ambientish moody electronic music. Don't let this one pass you by!

iTunes Link:

...tell me why i didnt know about this! Linklater is amazing and its another film shot in the style of waking life and its getting released on July 7th and it's based on a Phillip K. Dick book!

Trailer

Wiki

I am happy to see that the kyoto podcast homepage has been revamped and it looks as though there will be new episodes coming in '06! You can be sure to hear more about this here in the time to come.

From the website:

"Despite not having podcasted recently, I am alive! Thankyou for the emails from concerned listeners, it's very kind of you to think about my welfare.

Episode 19 was the last episode for 2005. Due to a large number of constraints coming together, both time and money, as well as returning to Australia, it simply hasn't been possible for me to continue.

That said, I am preparing to return to Japan in 2006 and acquire material for some more episodes. I have chosen the theme for the 2006 episodes, am presently researching it and hope to get some good content once 'on the ground'.
As is evident, I've totally revamped the website and I'll be adding thoughts/experiences here as podcast-relevant things occur."

Tim

Nice to have you back Tim!

I'm not sure just how big Machine Drum's fan base is, sometimes it seems pretty vast but other times it seems like no one has heard of him. I thought I would take a minute here and reccomend my favorite albums of his.

Bidnezz is an album that is pushed as a hip-hip record as far as I have seen but I have seen it more as an IDM album personally. It really shows his progression as a musician. He has the ability to take such simple ideas and make them really polished and tight. This is by far his more minimal record under this name, his pas efforts were much more hip-hopy than this. I just love this record for its diversity and the fact that he has started to really take on his own character with this release which is very cool. I have heard some of his newest work and you should look out for that because its just amazing. He has an album coming out on Sublight soon which I am really looking forward to. So for a great all dancing/ all minimal hip-hopDM then look no further than Machine drums, Bidnezz.

iTunes link:

I love iTunes, it changed the way I listened to music. I have been using it since way back with version one with my first ipod. I wanted to take a minute and mention something about the latest couple of versions of the software which has introduced the ability to subscribe to podcasts.


(why cant these preferences be available to individual feeds?)

I know that podcasting came about before iTunes made for easy access to podcasts and easy subscribing and syncing to ipods. I love this new feature to death but I cant help but get aggravated with its shortcomings. Podcast's, as they grow in popularity, seem to becoming more and more notorious for their ability to eat up your hard drive space. There are a few podcast that I subscribe to that I would like to keep around for the long haul and preserve them as a collection but there are others that I don't really want to continue to eat up my hard disc space. I don't have enough as is. I find it aggravating that there you do not have the ability to create individual settings for each subscription you have, this way you could tell one podcast to only keep the last few of them on your drive or only ones that have not been watched or heard. I feel as though they only went half way with this feature and I hope to see them update this sometime in the future. I would also like to have the ability to backtrack on a subscription and re-download episodes that I may have deleted accidentally.

So anyways, just thought I would get my thoughts out there. If any of you mack users out there have any suggestions to get this working the way I would like it to, please, let me know!

Update: Well after browsing through TUAW a bit I find my answer staring me blankly in the face. Turns out there is a new addition to the newest version of iTunes that lets you stop certain podcasts from being automatically deleted. Well, this turned out to be an insightful post eh?