Author: the h

  • UX Designers, Stop the Jargon Abuse

    UX Designers, Stop the Jargon Abuse

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”“On this screen, we have added a photo gallery. You can clearly see how it is inspired by Don Norman’s first level of visceral design, and how it utilizes some foundational Gestalt principles, helping achieve our graceful degradation strategy for pre-webkit browsers. It’s very gestural, intuitive, designed for millennials.”” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”One of the problems of using UX jargon in a conversation is assuming everyone in the room will understand what “graceful degradation” means in that context, or that they have read the same Don Norman book you have. If they don’t understand what you are referring to, they will not always interrupt you to ask. Most people feel embarrassed to confess what they don’t know. And this can bring catastrophic consequences for your project.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”In many cases, the use of jargon is merely accidental — sometimes terms like “UI” or “parallax” will naturally come up as designers present the work to clients who have no idea what that means. In other cases, it’s a defense mechanism. Using complex words make people sound smart; make them sound like the perfect specialist in that topic. Which then enables them to charge more to solve the problem.”][tm_blockquote text=”Graphic design will save the world right after rock and roll does. ― David Carson”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”As a new technical term comes out, hundreds of courses, talks, e-books and blog posts start to pop up — claiming to teach you everything you need to know about `{`buzzword goes here`}`. You spend tons of money trying to catch up (“early bird tickets for only $999!”). When you finally overcome your impostor syndrome and feel confident enough to repeat that term out loud, the first thing you do is to update your Linkedin profile with that keyword — eventually fueling that same anxiety in other people. (Source: thenextweb.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • An AI can now write indie music

    An AI can now write indie music

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”Jun Inoue, Gyo Kitagawa and Taishi Fukuyama created Amadeus Code and all have experience in music and music production. Inoue is a renowned Japanese music producer and he has sold 10 million singles. Fukuyama worked at Echo Next and launched the first Music Hack Day in Tokyo. Fukuyama is the director of the Hit Song Research Lab and went to Berklee College of Music.” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”“We have analyzed decades of contemporary songs and classical music, songs of economic and/or social impact, and have created a proprietary songwriting technology that is specialized to create top line melodies of songs. We have recently released Harmony Library, which gives users direct access to the songs that power the songwriting AI for Amadeus Code,” said Inoue. When asked if AI will ever replace his favorite musicians, folks like Michael and Janet Jackson or George Gershwin, Inoue laughed.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Absolutely not. This AI will not tell you about its struggles and illuminate your inner worlds through real human storytelling, which is ultimately what makes music so intimate and compelling. Similarly to how the sampler, drum machine, multitrack recorder and many other creative technologies have done in the past, we see AI to be a creative tool for artists to push the boundaries of popular music.”][tm_blockquote text=”One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ― Bob Marley”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”We want to prove our words are the right ones, instead of learning to look at what the other’s words are pointing at. Words are seductive, and for all their undeniable usefulness, they also can lead us away from understanding when we focus on them, when we make them more important than the truth they are meant to point at. (Source: techcrunch.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • The 3 Best Indie-rock Bands of All Time

    The 3 Best Indie-rock Bands of All Time

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”What is indie rock? Since evolving out of the American punk scene in the mid-’80s, the term has been applied to everything from aggressive noise bands to pastoral folk singer-songwriters to quirky synthpop producers. For this list, we’ve loosely defined the genre as “guitar music made by people who came out of the rock underground and aren’t afraid to seem brainy or challenging”—indie-rock bands like Dinosaur Jr., Sleater-Kinney, and Pavement.” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”The most ineffably indie-rock band of all time, and not just because pretty much every indie band that picked up a guitar after 1992’s Slanted and Enchanted was copying them on some level. Frontman Stephen Malkmus is like the walking embodiment of indie attitude, wrapping a formidable intellect in a slacker facade and peppering his songs with secret-handshake references to obscure records and snarky commentary about more popular bands.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Sonic Youth was the coolest band when it emerged out of the noisy New York art-rock scene in the early ’80s—and it still was when the group broke up three decades later. In between the band engineered the ’90s alternative rock boom, inspired Kurt Cobain and recorded a vast body of music that touched on hardcore punk and psychedelic folk and elevated guitar abuse to an art form. Classic albums like 1988’s Daydream Nation stand out, but really everything they did was revolutionary.”][tm_blockquote text=”If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. – Albert Einstein”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”With their aggressively angular sound, grad-student looks, and frequent lyrical references to conspiracy theories and surrealist art films from the silent movie era, the Pixies were never going to be rock stars in their own time. That didn’t stop them from recording such near-flawless albums as 1989’s Doolittle, which laid out a blueprint that the entire alternative rock movement would borrow from. Their loud-quiet-loud structure would go from a unique songwriting quirk to a rock staple after Nirvana borrowed it for “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” (Source: timeout.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Indie Rock Music Genre Overview

    Indie Rock Music Genre Overview

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”Indie rock takes its name from “independent,“ which describes both the do-it-yourself attitudes of its bands and the small, lower-budget nature of the labels that release the music. The biggest indie labels might strike distribution deals with major corporate labels, but their decision-making processes remain autonomous. As such, indie rock is free to explore sounds, emotions, and lyrical subjects that don’t appeal to large, mainstream audiences — profit isn’t as much of a concern as personal taste (though the labels do, after all, want to stay in business).” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”It’s very much rooted in the sound and sensibility of American underground and alternative rock of the ’80s, albeit with a few differences that account for the changes in underground rock since then. In the sense that the term is most widely used, indie rock truly separated itself from alternative rock around the time that Nirvana hit the mainstream. Mainstream tastes gradually reshaped alternative into a new form of serious-minded hard rock, in the process making it more predictable and testosterone-driven.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Indie rock was a reaction against that phenomenon; not all strains of alternative rock crossed over in Nirvana’s wake, and not all of them wanted to, either. Yet while indie rock definitely shares the punk community’s concerns about commercialism, it isn’t as particular about whether bands remain independent or “sell out“; the general assumption is that it’s virtually impossible to make indie rock’s varying musical approaches compatible with mainstream tastes in the first place.”][tm_blockquote text=”If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. ― William Shakespeare”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”There are almost as many reasons for that incompatibility as there are indie-rock bands, but following are some of the most common: the music may be too whimsical and innocent; too weird; too sensitive and melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, skronky and abrasive; wrapped in too many sheets of Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitar noise. (Source: allmusic.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Digital Photography Tips & Essentials

    Digital Photography Tips & Essentials

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”These cameras look and act like traditional cameras with a few extra features. Tricky camera designs are quickly leaving the marketplace because photographers want to take pictures and not be bogged down by hard-to-use technology. Many things about digital cameras are identical to film cameras, a few things are slightly tweaked from film expectations, and a number of features are unique to digital photography.” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”For quality results from any camera, the basics of photography still apply no matter how an image is captured. A tripod is always important if slow shutter speeds are needed and big telephoto lenses are used. Fast shutter speeds remain a key way to stop action, and f-stops continue to affect depth of field. The important parts of a scene still need to have the focus centered on them, and dramatic light always helps make for dramatic photos.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”The “digital“ in digital camera has caused even experienced photographers to worry that this new technology will be difficult to master. But consider this: No beginner ever picked up a camera and knew what all the controls did. For the serious photographer, f-stops and shutter speeds were definitely not instinctive.”][tm_blockquote text=”Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ― Maya Angelou”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Simple point-and-shoot digital cameras can give surprising quality when they have the right lenses and sensors. Because they are totally automatic in focus and exposure, they just have to be pointed at a subject and clicked. They have limited capabilities for controlling the image, although even very inexpensive cameras often have white balance controls. “][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Niche Blogs for Rising Metal Bands

    Niche Blogs for Rising Metal Bands

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”Invisible Oranges: The staff knows what’s cool before it’s cool. Their endorsement can make a band blow up. Their name refers to the clutching gesture you make when the mighty force of metal flows through you. When they’re not too busy throwing the metal horns or making said clutching gesture, the team has their fingers on the pulse of the underground, all the while covering important and established acts, too. They lean extreme, but never with that pretentious, too-cool-for-the-room vibe. ” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Metal Riot: Metal Riot covers a wide range of bands, including news, interviews, and reviews. The staff personally curates the content – you cannot create or upload a profile page yourself – and that means that the team believed in the band enough to get behind it, create the profile, and offer coverage. It’s a true labor of love performed by informed people.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Cryptic Rock: Because it mixes horror film/TV coverage and rock music. Duh. The site is becoming more and more all-encompassing, and has expanded to feature more mainstream-leaning acts. There’s really a wide-reaching, yet well-managed depth of content on the site. The Cryptic Rock crew is pretty comprehensive with its coverage and interviews, and prides itself on getting behind an act early.”][tm_blockquote text=”Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies. ― Edward Bulwer-Lytton”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Sonic Cathedral: Both of these sites have a narrow but critical focus – they each specialize in coverage on women in hard rock and heavy metal. They’re covering the niche of a niche, beautifully so; Sonic Cathedral takes it a step further, as it focuses on the vocalists. These sites spotlight the females who make this genre great. Who runs the world? Girls, of c犀利士
    ourse. (Source: http://blog.sonicbids.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • 1950s up to now Pop Music Defined

    1950s up to now Pop Music Defined

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What is pop music? The definition of pop music is deliberately flexible. It accommodates the fact that the specific music identified as pop is continually changing. At any particular point in time, it may be most straightforward to identify pop music as that which is successful on the pop music charts.

    For the past 50 years, the most successful musical styles on the pop charts have continually changed and evolved. However, there are some consistent patterns in what we know as pop music. It is tempting to confuse pop music with popular music. The New Grove Dictionary Of Music and Musicians, the musicologist’s ultimate reference resource, identifies popular music as the music since industrialization in the 1800’s that is most in line with the tastes and interests of the urban middle class.

    A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ― Leopold Stokowski

    This would include a vast range of music from vaudeville and minstrel shows to heavy metal. Pop music, as a phrase with the shortened first word, has primarily come into usage to describe the music that evolved out of the rock and roll revolution of the mid-1950s and continues on a definable path today. (Source: thoughtco.com)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • The Most Underrated ’90s Bands

    The Most Underrated ’90s Bands

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For every Nirvana, there were dozens of bands who were just as talented, hard-working and (anti)fashionable. We asked our readers to vote for their unsung heroes on our Facebook page. The answers ranged from piano goddesses to emo pioneers to moody nu-metalers. Here are the ’90s groups who deserve a another listen.

    “Live”: The “I Alone” crew were deemed the most criminally underrated band of the ’90s by our readers. Perhaps it was Ed Kowalczyk’s way with imagery in his lyrics. (Remember the heavenly allusions in “Lightning Crashes,” juxtaposing angels with births and deaths, electric and somber?) The Pennsylvanians were pros at following poetic verses with powerful choruses, rocketed by the guitars of Chad Taylor and Patrick Dahlheimer and the drums of Chad Gracey.

    When you make music or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time.  ― Lady Gaga

    Kowalczyk departed for a solo career in 2009 and was replaced by vocalist Chris Shinn in 2011. It’s sort of the Journey situation in a hard rock context— between the two camps, there’s no shortage of opportunity to “Sell the Drama” on tour.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • 4 Best Ways to Keep Inspired

    4 Best Ways to Keep Inspired

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”Late January is a time when it’s easy to lose inspiration. Some people may have already scaled back the goals that they’ve set for the year.
    A new entrepreneur might be already changing targets, pushing back dates and skipping the daily work that his or her resolutions required.

    It’s not that he or she can’t do the things that are necessary. What happens is that people sometimes lose motivation and feel physically or psychologically unable to do the things they need to do to keep working toward their goals.” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Whether you’re trying to hit your first million in sales, launch a new product or run a marathon, the same formula for success applies: Apply hard work consistently over a long period of time. The difficulty lies in sustaining motivation. Certain practices and habits can help keep you inspired throughout the year to continue working toward your goals.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Exercise not only pumps up your muscles, it pumps up your brain. A University of British Columbia study published last year found that aerobic exercise by elderly women boosted the size of thei hippocampus.

    In addition, according to the Harvard Health Blog, exercise stimulates the release of chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells and the development of new blood vessels.”][tm_blockquote text=”Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends. ― Alphonse de Lamartine”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Health and exercise goals are common New Year’s resolutions. But it seems clear that people should not view exercise as simply a means toward fitting into their pants but also as an essential part of keeping their mind healthy and life balanced. Even if your goals don’t have anything to do with exercise, make physical movement a priority to stay positive and energetic. (Source: entrepreneur.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • What Motivates You to Work?

    What Motivates You to Work?

    [vc_row][vc_column][tm_heading tag=”h5″ custom_google_font=”” font_weight=”500″ text=”Each of us respond to different drives and motivations, but there are many drives we can choose from that not only make our careers more fruitful but also more enjoyable. Those people who experience the “Sunday Blues” are in careers which may provide security and certain freedoms, but they lack joy and fulfillment. ” font_size=”lg:18″ line_height=”1.94″][tm_spacer size=”lg:45″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Sunday comes around and many of us immediately begin dreading our work week; thereby, ruining the rest of their weekend for ourselves and those we are close with. There is no point in staying in careers that make us miserable. There is so much opportunity in the world. We have to find the correct motivations to go out and make these opportunities happen.”][tm_spacer size=”lg:50″][tm_image image_size=”custom” align=”center” image=”107″ image_size_width=”770″ image_size_height=”510″][tm_spacer size=”lg:46″][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Initially, the main thing we view as the most worthy motivating force inspiring us to work hard is money. Making money is a noble and necessary motivation which directs us into our careers and motivates us to stay in them. Money is a tool we all need for survival, but earning money also provides us with feelings of status, success and achievement.”][tm_blockquote text=”Music makes one feel so romantic – at least it always gets on one’s nerves – which is the same thing nowadays.― Oscar Wilde”][tm_heading tag=”div” custom_google_font=”” text=”Money provides us the freedoms we crave in terms of the lifestyles we want to live. The one thing money doesn’t’t bring is happiness, as we can see from the many well-known people in our society who appear to have it all, but the decisions they make clearly show us that money is far from the only motivation that drives us to work hard and to feel happy. (Source: entrepreneur.com)”][/vc_column][/vc_row]