Is there still such a thing as good news?

So, I decided to get with the times this week, and read the news. You know, 'be informed'. Be 'in touch' with the world. 


One sunken cruise ship with multiple casualties, a few murders and rapes, thousands of school closures, and yet another absurd outburst from Julius Malema, and I've decided that I'm better off not informed. I have no doubt that the world is full of atrocities, but why remind myself of it... every... day...


So, I'll be sticking my head in the sand until such time as I get the urge to be informed again. On this note, should the end of the world be upon us, might I request that someone takes a moment to let me know? I also wouldn't mind being warned of a pending civil war. 


If you are feeling the same way, why don't you read some good news with me on SA Good News. I'm quite sure that if the apocalypse was under way, they'd find some way to break it to us gently. 

Loudness War: Give me my emotion back!

Just read a most fascinating article about music's "loudness war".


Very, very technical - lots of stuff I'll never understand - but to sum it up, a long-standing 'trend' has been for record companies to digitally increase the 'loudness' factor of a CD, to make it stand out more in the marketplace. And the scary thing: they're increasing the loudness more and more all the time...


Long story short: by doing this, the music loses it's "dynamic range" - IE: it loses it's variety, it loses the contrast between loud and soft and, some argue, completely loses it's emotion. 


I do not have the IQ that it takes to elaborate, so read more here.


And here.


And here.


What an outrage! It's like the subliminal messaging in the movie Josie and The Pussycats! 

*blush* Yes, I just made reference to Josie and The Pussycats... Oh what, like you've never seen it?!