2013-02-02
2013-02-01
Here's How Data Can Solve the World's Most Challenging Problems
Swedish academic and Gapminder Foundation co-founder Hans Rosling says data doesn't always back up our conceptions about the world. In the video above, Rosling explains that our ideas about developed and developing countries largely reflect the reality of fifty years ago, rather than today.
The video, The River of Myth, was released to coincide with Bill Gates' annual letter, and shares its emphasis on the power of measuring to achieve progress.
Rosling begins by examining the huge gap between child mortality rates in developed and developing countries fifty years ago, in 1963. By 1990, many countries had made progress, while others, such as Ethiopia, had hardly moved. In the last decade, however, Ethiopia caught up significantly. Rosling says that the East African nation's rapid progress can be an example for the countries where child mortality rates are still crippling.
"To ensure that happens, we must measure the progress of countries. It's only by measuring that we can cross the river of myth," he says.
If others follow Ethiopia's lead, Rosling says, preventable child mortality can be history by 2030.
Thumbnail image courtesy of The Gates Notes
Thumbnail image courtesy of The Gates Notes
'Round the World in 18 Songs (Live at Google Zeitgeist '12) | cdza Opus No. 15
CDZA had the honor of performing at Google Zeitgeist, the annual intellectual summit held in Arizona. A global medley for global people.
1) New Orleans - Saints Go Marching In
2) Jamaica - Stir it Up, Bob Marley
3) Peru - A traditional Peruvian melody
4) Argentina - Por una Cabeza
5) Ghana - Atwer Abroba by Ebo Taylor
6) Spain - Traditional Spanish melody
7) Ireland - Rickett's Hornpipe
8) Italy - Paganini Caprice #24
9) Germany - Bach Prelude to Cello Suite #1
10) Hungary -
11) Turkey - A traditional Turkish melody
12) Israel - Hava Nagila
13) North Pole - duhhhhh
14) South Korea - Gan
15) China - Galloping Horses (A traditional Chinese melody)
16) Australia - Down Under by Men at Work
17) My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
18) Sweet Home Chicago by Blues Brothers
SORRY IF WE MISSED COUNTRIES OF OUR DEAREST FANS. WE ONLY HAD 5 MINUTES!
http://www.cdzamusic.com
http://facebook.com/cdzamusic
The European Odyssey | Opus No. 14
Publicerad den 20 nov 2012
CDZA went to Europe having no real plan for creating experiments. As a result, all four experiments were inspired spontaneously by circumstances and surroundings in four cities along the trip: Paris, Berlin, Salzburg, and Prague. Which experiment do you like the most? Obviously #3 for us.
Special thanks to Leo Heubach and Peter Man Peterson for making the grand tour possible.
Also, visit that guy's music shop in Prague:
Radek Bubrle's shop: HUDEBNI NASTROJE
Naprstkova 10
110 00 Praha 1
Special thanks to Leo Heubach and Peter Man Peterson for making the grand tour possible.
Also, visit that guy's music shop in Prague:
Radek Bubrle's shop: HUDEBNI NASTROJE
Naprstkova 10
110 00 Praha 1
http://www.nastroje-hudebni.cz
Michael is playing a bass from NS Design
Michael is playing a bass from NS Design
-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_-
idiotjim is true and the truth shall set us free
-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_--_-/-_-
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")
http://www.youtube.com/user/idiotjim?feature=mhee
http://www.cdzamusic.com
History of Misheard Lyrics | Opus No. 13
Publicerad den 6 nov 2012
A couple of months ago we set off to create our most challenging "History" yet: a live-performed montage of favorite misheard lyrics throughout 70 years.
Featuring Ryan Melia and Loralee Gayer on Misheard Lyrical Activity
Michael is playing a bass from NS Design
Featuring Ryan Melia and Loralee Gayer on Misheard Lyrical Activity
Michael is playing a bass from NS Design
Evan Shinners on Piano
Allan Mednard on Drums
Michael T on Bass
Thanks to friends of cdza and kissthisguy.com for helping with research.
http://www.cdzamusic.com
Filmed on: September 29th, 2012
Location: Terminus Recording Studios, NYC
How to Get Kids Into Classical Music | Opus No. 12
How do you teach the classics to students today? How do you get students thinking critically about how Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach are relevant to music today? These composers provide the building blocks of modern music, and are necessary knowledge to a well-rounded musical education, but how do you get students to pay attention to these long-deceased classical music masters?
CDZA presents an innovative way to connect with students and teach them the classics.
FOSTER MUSIC LITERACY
American educator Ernest Boyer said that "aesthetic literacy is as basic as linguistic literacy." How are your students to learn about the rhythm of language, and non-verbal expression without a mastery of the basic concepts of music composition?
President Ronald Reagan said, "Civilizations are most often remembered for their art and thought." Giving students an entry point into eighteenth and nineteenth century music can interest them in the history of the music and study the society that produced it. Liberal arts education is unfortunately under threat with budget cutbacks across the U.S. But education in the arts is necessary to create a well-rounded person, foster intellectual development, and provide a cultural framework and aesthetic lens to appreciate great works of art. Furthermore, getting students interested in classical music through popular music today, can help drive interest and hopefully engage the next generation of great musicians to create their own work.
TEACH THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSIC COMPOSITION
Teachers can use these entertaining exercises by CDZA as an entry point to teach their students the fundamentals of music. Why do the lyrics of a Katy Perry song work well with classical music? What underlying principles of music make this mashup happen? What underlying conventions of music composition allow two songs, written hundreds of years apart, come together as one?
In these exercises, teachers can help their students evaluate the songs in terms of the following:
- Timbre
- Beat and tempo
- Meter
- Pitch and mode
- Tonality
- Melody
- Texture and Harmony
- Understand principles of concise writing through song lyrics
Although many pop lyrics are dismissed as being overly simple, they show how one can convey emotions and ideas in the fewest words possible. Lyric writing is often quite difficult, and their brevity can help students better understand the writing process and how to pare down and edit words to crystallize an idea. Teachers can use these exercises to teach students writing fundamentals, such as how to communicate a single idea in a well-crafted and direct sentence.
These are just some examples of how the music discipline provides skills that transfer beyond listening to and playing music, and transfer to study, cognition, and communication skills. Can you identify more ways that these exercises create transferrable skills for students?
- Dr. Matt Werner
Philosopher Emeritus at CDZA University
Department of Musical Pedagogy
http://www.mattswriting.com
Starring Alyssa Lower and Aiden Medina
Music:
Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik meets LMFAO's Party Rock
Offenbach's "Can Can" meets Gaga's Bad Romance
Beethoven's Fur Elise meets Adel's Rolling in the Deep
Grieg's Peer Gynt Overture meets Carly Rae Jepson's Call Me Maybe
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony meets Katy Perry's "Wide Awake"
Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy meets One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful
Haydn's Surprise Symphony meets Justin Bieber's Baby
John William's Jurassic Park Theme meets Psy's Gangnam Style
Filmed on: August 3rd, 2012
Location: Terminus Recording Studios, NYC (http://www.terminusnyc.com)
City Streets, Famous Musicians | cdza Opus No. 11
In Lower Manhattan, streets are turned into music.
See a map of where we walked on Google Maps by clicking here:http://www.cdzastreets.com
Featuring Sam Reider, accordion [http://www.samreidermusic.com& http://www.thetresamigos.net]
Eddie Barbash, saxophone [http://www.thetresamigos.net]
Mark Johnson, guitar
Allan Mednard, percussion [https://twitter.com/AllanMednard]
cdza. We create musical video experiments. New video every other Tuesday.
http://www.cdzamusic.com
http://facebook.com/cdzamusic
http://twitter.com/cdzamusic
8 Milestones in Recorded Sound | cdza Opus No. 10
From Edison to T-Pain: cdza co-founder Matt McCorkle goes over the ways in which recording methods have changed, as we hear how music sounded like in each era.
cdza. We create musical video experiments. New video every other Tuesday.
Recorded at Terminus Recording Studios NYC
http://www.terminusnyc.com
http://www.cdzamusic.com
http://facebook.com/cdzamusic
http://twitter.com/cdzamusic
http://cdzamusic.tumblr.com
The Human Jukebox | cdza Opus No. 9
Donations as votes. A fun and democratic way for street musicians to receive money.
cdza. We create musical video experiments. New video every other Tuesday.
Charles Yang on Violin: http://www.charlesyangmusic.com/
Michael Thurber on Bass http://www.michaelt.org
Eddie Barbash on Alto Saxophone: http://www.thetresamigos.net/
Money was sent to Wingspan Arts [http://www.wingspanarts.org], a non-profit that aims to expose diverse and young groups of people to the arts.
http://www.cdzamusic.com
http://facebook.com/cdzamusic
http://twitter.com/cdzamusic
http://cdzamusic.tumblr.com
Pianists in Paris | cdza Opus No. 4
No Steinways were harmed in the production of this video
cdza
We create musical video experiments.
Download the mp3 here:
http://cdzamusic.bandcamp.com
An Abridged History of Western Music in 16 Genres | cdza Opus No. 7
An abridged history of Western Music, performing
"What a Wonderful World" in 16 different genres.
cdza. We create musical video experiments.
cdza. We create musical video experiments.
Aces of Bass | cdza Opus No. 6
A literal tribute to the swedish pop sensation using 5 acoustic upright basses.
cdza. We create musical video experiments. New video every other Tuesday.
Download the mp3 here: http://cdzamusic.bandcamp.com/
NYC Phoneharmonic | cdza Opus No. 5
A wondrous orchestral medley of the iconic ringtones belonging to cell phone companies.
cdza. We create musical video experiments. New video every other Tuesday.
Download the mp3 here: http://cdzamusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.cdzamusic.com
http://facebook.com/cdzamusic
http://twitter.com/cdzamusic
http://cdzamusic.tumblr.com
Filmed on: May 20th, 2012
Location: Terminus Recording Studios, NYC
http://www.terminusnyc.com
Fresh Prince - Google Translated - cdza Opus No. 16
CDZA co-founder Joe Sabia shows us what happens when we translate the lyrics of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through every language in Google Translate (64 times), and then taking what remains and translating it BACK into English.
Featuring Jeremie Harris as Will Smith.
Technically speaking, all but the first verse were translated. The lyrics were translated from English to the world's most spoken language (Mandarin), to the second most (Spanish), to the third most, to the fourth most, ETC, putting all 64 languages in order by finding the demographic population size on every language on Wikipedia.
Fun facts:
The last translation we put it through was "Esperanto", because apparently, only 10,000 people speak it.
No one has an official language of "Latin", but we had to assume a lot of people are still able to speak it. So that was a bit ambiguous.
Proper Nouns never really changed. Neither did numbers, as you can tell in the last stanza, "7,8".
We have no idea why we did this.
Filmed on: December 10th, 2012
Location: Terminus Recording Studios, NYC (http://www.terminusnyc.com)
2013-01-21
The God Delusion
The Root of All Evil?, later retitled The God Delusion, is a television documentary written and presented by Richard Dawkins in which he argues that humanity would be better off without religion or belief in God.
The documentary was first broadcast in January 2006, in the form of two 45-minute episodes (excluding advertisement breaks), on Channel 4 in the UK.
Dawkins has said that the title The Root of All Evil? was not his preferred choice, but that Channel 4 had insisted on it to create controversy. The sole concession from the producers on the title was the addition of the question mark. Dawkins has stated that the notion of anything being the root of all evil is ridiculous. Dawkins' book The God Delusion, released in September 2006, goes on to examine the topics raised in the documentary in greater detail. The documentary was rebroadcast on the More4 channel on the 25th August 2010 under the title of The God Delusion.
2013-01-20
Tabula Rasa
This is rather beautiful and thought provoking. An android, alone on a desert planet, comes across a piece of vegetation which has, somehow, rooted in the arid wasteland. Determined to secure the plant’s future the android goes to great lengths to assist its success.
I can’t quite believe that this sophisticated and beautiful looking piece of animation is a student film. It was created by the very talentedArnoldas Vitkus, who describes himself as a one man CGI army, for his final graduation piece at high school (which he does not name).
In computer science, tabula rasa refers to the development of autonomous agents which are provided with a mechanism to reason and plan toward their goal, but no built-in knowledge-base of their environment. They are thus truly a blank slate.
Paper Age
This is such a great visual idea yet as far but what makes it truly remarkable is that as far as I can make out it is a piece of research in to character rigging, polygon reduction, depth of field and motion blur in Cinema 4D. A dinosaur made from a thin, pliable material, once considered highly versatile and with many uses, roams its territory, the king of its paper jungle. Yet it inevitably comes in to contact with a new and different kind of beast altogether….
This short by Ken Ottman may prove perhaps a little contentious, particularly with committed bibliophiles such as myself! When an ereader is invented that gives people the same sensuous thrill as a real book, perhaps I may agree that the paper age is over. Until then, people like me are just going to carry on sniffing the pages (as it were. No, as it really is!).
H.U.D. Heads Up Display
So, what comes after Facebook? What does the world of social networking hold in store for us in the near future? Perhaps unsurprisingly filmmakers are veering towards the dystopic (partly because if you make a movie where social networking has cured the world’s ills – full stop – then you don’t have a movie). I wouldn’t mind a future where we all travel around on imaginary pink unicorns but I imagine it might get a little boring.
Yet the protagonist of Evan Jarvi’s HUD – Heads Up Display – has not found happiness, let alone pink unicorns. In fact HudNet seems to have made his life about as bleak and meaningless as it could get. He wakes up alone, travels alone, works alone – his only company is the all-pervasive presence of the automated iris recognition living nightmare that is the HudNet software.
Can he escape the awful monotony? With shades of Orwell and a dash of early Lynch, HUD will reward your patience with an answer, almost. Yet that still makes it a lot more satisfactory than a lot of science fiction shorts these days! Oh and I really, really liked the depiction of the futuristic biometric interface - very imaginable.
Stephen Fry - All about I - What I wish I knew when I was 18
Interesting interview with Stephen Fry. Done for Splash Life.
Turn on the captions to read along with Mr. Fry.
Talk about kindness, social media, human-beings and technology.
Lux Aeterna
You may remember Nature By Numbers which went viral a few years ago. It was created byCristóbal Vila. The Zaragoza based graphic designer and 3D artisan has just released this online – Lux Aeterna, with wonderful accompanying music by Jóhann Jóhannsson. If you have had a classical education (or have access to one of the many translation tools on the interweb) then you will know that means eternal light. Watch the animation (no, really, it is) above and you will get it.
I can’t even begin to express the admiration I have for Vila’s sporadic personal projects, but I will give it a go nevertheless. There seems to be an almost seamless combination of the artist and the scientist in his work, a deep reverence for nature blended with an intimate knowledge of the science behind it which merges to produce some of the most visually stunning, technically arresting moving images you will see this side of REM sleep. Yet perhaps, after all, all that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream (thanks Mr Poe).
Stille Post
Stille Post is a German children’s game very similar to Chinese Whispers where a message or word is corrupted by being shared multiple times through a murmur. So, how do animators play the game? Simple!
The folks at BUILT., an office for visual communication and a creative partner for commercials, film, print and interaction, were given a simple brief. They would be given only the last frame of the previous participant’s contribution on the subject of pause. Then every participant would provide their own clip which could vary in length from 5 to a maximum of 30 seconds. Their offering could be stop motion, graphic animation, typo animation, 3D or even still images. Likewise they would then pass on their last frame to the next contributor – and so on....
And so on until you have a five minute animation from this group of accomplices in animation. It’s great fun to watch and must have been even more fun to create! My own particular favorite is the crab orchestra pictured above but I am sure you will find your own too!
The Smoke Seller
Life must be tough if you travel from village to village selling your one and only product, especially if that product is, simply, smoke. Yet although our traveling salesman in The Smoke Seller (or in the Spanish El Vendedor de Humo) has a slow start in his latest pit stop, and has a moment of despondency, it isn’t long before he has the villagers eating out his hand…
This is a very handsome animated short which has the kind of moral twist in the tale that you might expect from a traditional fairy tale but I am afraid I have to admit I have no idea if this is an old story or not – perhaps you could let me know! What I do know, however, is that it was created at the PrimerFrame School of Animation in Valencia, Spain and it has received a stack of awards. Bravo!
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