Randomly generated music created using Processing Code
I actually made this quite a while ago, but decided to revisit it as I thought that I might do a little more in Processing this year. I know I’ve said that before. There’s no guarantee that I will in 2020, but I might.
I was always quite pleased with this sketch though. It was fun and interesting to play with. Above is just a video of the sketch in action as I can’t work out how to embed the sketch here so it can be played. I’d like to be able to do that too, but it might take me a little while for me to figure it out.
Anyway, if I managed to do anything else with Processing then I’ll share it too. That is, if it’s good enough.
I’ve now made it through the whole of January and made a single 1 minute track on every day. It’s been quite and interesting process, and, I’ve started to learn more about using Wotja, which was always my intention. I’ve lots more to learn though.
I make a lot of music, very little of which I share anywhere these days. For the most part I make music for my own enjoyment, which is much more productive I feel. Anyway, I digress. The point of this is that at the start of the year I decided that I would try to make a small track each day with an app that I really like and enjoy. It’s called Wotja.
Wotja is a generative music system for iOS, although it’s been around a lot longer than that. I’ve actually been a fan of it since around 2007, which kind of puts things in perspective. Of course it’s changed a lot since I first started using it.
Anyway, once again I digress a little. The point of this is that I started on the 1st of January, and so far I’ve kept it up the whole time. So here’s the first. I’ll post the others, probably in small batches, periodically. Hopefully I’ll manage to keep it up all year too.
When I first heard that Netflix was going to make a series based on the Dark Crystal, I have to admit I was somewhat skeptical about the whole thing. However, I knew I was going to at least give it a try, as I’d been a fan of the original film from when it first came out.
I was, like many others I suspect, very happily surprised by just how good it was. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is an excellent series that is entirely in keeping with the original and very respectful to everything that the film did. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’ve now watched the whole thing twice, and gone back to watch the original movie too.
In fact, I’ve now started reading the Dark Crystal Creation Myths graphic novels too. I suppose I’ve become a little obsessed with it, although there’s nothing especially wrong with that.
I was very pleased to hear that another season is also in offing, and I’m certainly looking forward to that. Personally I’m not sure I can get quite enough Dark Crystal for now.
But why is it so compelling? Why has it been such a hit? Sure, there are plenty of people who remember the original movie and have nothing but fond memories of it, but I think it’s more than that. Dark Crystal is a very traditional story of good versus evil. There’s nothing new there, but it isn’t always as simple as that. It’s about community, and joining forces, about loyalty and innocence and friendship too.
I’ve been a fan of Space 1999 since I was a kid. I just loved it. The idea was awesome, the show was awesome, but it only got two seasons, which was a shame really.
I’d hoped for a long time that Big Finish would bring it back, and they did. Releasing the first story “Breakaway” on the 13th of September last year. The date was significant. In the series the 13th of September was the date that the moon left earth’s orbit. Of course, that was back in 1999, so Big Finish releasing it on the 13th of September 2019 marked 20 years since the original story’s event.
The new version is excellent. It keeps to the original story but brings in a few new elements. I’ve listened to it twice now and it’s simply excellent.
I had one of these for a fair old time, and did, on occasion play with it a little. In 2019, along with lots of other bits of technology, I decided that I didn’t really need it anymore. Don’t get me wrong. It was fun to play with. I enjoyed it, but at times you just need to move on.
So now it’s gone to someone else who will hopefully find it useful, fun or whatever. I hope that they enjoy it.
When this first came out I can remember buying it. It was such an exciting idea. A magazine that you could listen to! It was a revelation. I didn’t buy many of them. It wasn’t cheap, or at least I didn’t really have the money back then. But I’m pretty sure I bought a few of them.
Sadly, as they were on tape, I eventually recorded over them, and they’ve been lost along the way. So one day I had a look for them on eBay, and of course, there were quite a few available. After a while I’ve got hold of one of the ones I wanted.
So far I haven’t played this, I’m half expecting it to jam up the mechanism, and perhaps I won’t actually even try. We’ll see.
I meant to post this ages ago as I got these in 2019, so I thought I’d post the pictures. They’re a nice bunch of reissues. Very beautifully designed and produced.
Last year I decided that I wasn’t doing anything interesting with my collection of littleBits components and modules, so I finally gave them up and sold them. I hope that they’ve all gone to good homes.
They were fun, and very useful at times. I did enjoy them, but I think I had got to a point where I’d stopped doing anything creative with them.
Last year I decided that I wasn’t doing anything interesting with my collection of littleBits components and modules, so I finally gave them up and sold them. I hope that they’ve all gone to good homes. They were fun, and very useful at times. I did enjoy them, but I think I had got to…
The littleBits bitLab that is. I’d always wondered how sustainable it would be, but apparently there’s already an answer to that question. So it’s a shame. I think that there were some very nice projects in there but obviously not enough money to make it work. It’s a shame. It was a great idea.
For a long time I’ve been thinking about the idea of being able to create a synth in hardware which reacted to the virtual world, more specifically, to being tweeted at. To that that end I got myself a littleBits CloudBit, which works quite well, albeit it isn’t able to provide as much data as…
I am Ashley Elsdon 