Do you ever wonder why some music isn’t as much fun to listen to as it used to be? It’s because it is literally straining your ears to hear it.
This is a screen shot I took comparing the waveform for two releases of the SAME recording of the SAME song, “Terrible Lie” by Nine Inch Nails.
The top waveform came from the original 1989 CD release. It’s pleasing to hear. It’s dynamic. There are loud parts and there are quiet parts, and it lets you feel the music breathe.
The bottom waveform came from the remastered 2009 CD release celebrating the 20th anniversary. Sure, it’s louder, but take a look at the “brick wall” the signal runs into as it builds. When this happens, the music no longer kicks, it just all levels out. It’s flat. It’s boring. And it fatigues your ears very quickly.
This is a VERY common problem with most CDs recorded and (re)released over the last decade.
I won’t write up a 10 page rant here, I’ll just leave you with this brief introduction, and a link to the Loudness Wars page on wikipedia for further reading, if you’re interested.
The path
Just needed to post this.. somewhere.
The last few days have been so strange.
I’ve spent the last several months thinking about what I truly believe. One thing that I was thinking about in particular is about life. About killing animals for food. It isn’t right for humans to declare our species better than any other for selfish reasons.
So I stopped squishing the cockroaches and tried to life with that fear peacefully.
Then I started to think about plants. Taking their life to eat. It is different? I used to think not but now I wonder.
Thinking about all of these things I came to think that you should take only enough. Take what you need, nothing more. When you think about it, we were all told that at some point.
I’ve always reasoned that if you are going to take a life, regardless, it should be as painless as possible, simply out of respect. I suppose that’s just a personal preference. Polite practice, I suppose.
Taking only what you need … .
That’s life, isn’t?
There I realized… death is part of the cycle, and will always be. I forgot this over everything that I’d been thinking about. After preaching that we must be ready to pass at any moment, which is possible after you achieve true happiness, I forgot that. Death is part of the cycle. Polite manners regarding it are good practice, such as taking only what you need, but it’s going to happen anyway.
Don’t feel guilty for eating that burger, but maybe take steps to ensure it is from humane methods, if it concerns you.
I’m so disoriented, but I have moments of true happiness, too.
I woke up today and realized I didn’t really care about that stupid FaceBook app or what celebrities are doing on Twitter.
In fact, I just disabled them from my phone.
What I really want right now is to go somewhere and explore; meet new people, and perhaps work on their patience.
I think I’m losing my care for so many materialistic things, which is good. I don’t need most of them at all.
The only reason I’m posting this is so maybe someone will see it and learn. That’s what the Buddha did, and I understand so much more now. I understand his need to do this. It’s truly blissful, even though I’m so confused.
Favorite movie, my collection is finally complete. (Taken with instagram)
If you want to keep something close, bury it in your back yard.
If you want to attract something, bury it under the front door step
If you want to destroy its influence, burn it.
If you want it to move away and sink, throw it in running water
If…
(Source: luckymojo.com)
Want more spirituality and nature?!? Check it out!!
(Source: world-of-animes)
