Megabytes

I’ve now seen two of the 5 flicks nominated for Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain and Walk The Line.
When A and I saw Brokeback Mountain a few weeks ago, our friends had strongly promoted the film as a must-see, but we left the movie feeling a bit let down. Of course, it IS a pretty depressing story and in that way can’t compare to Walk The Line. Brokeback Mountain just didn’t grab us.
Yet, they are both nominated for Best Picture. Based upon what criteria does a film get nominated for Best Picture of the Year? Supposedly the films are judged on the movie-making quality. I suspect that many academy members vote based on what they like, not necessarily quality. Now, I’ve never made a movie and I am not in the industry. But I do know what I like and don’t like.
I greatly enjoyed Walk The Line. It was a good story. JR Cash endured a difficult childhood. His ambition to become a singer/songwriter got him into the music business. Access to pills and the touring musician’s lifestyle fostered his addiction. He and June Carter, both married, fall in love. And he makes his comeback performance at Folsom Prison!
Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was strong, fervent, irresistible and mighty. Reese Witherspoon was equally exciting, fierce and passionate in her performance. The characters that both played were potent people.
I loved seeing June Carter stand up to Johnny Cash, give him hell when it was due him. And that seemed to be the case quite a bit.
Walk The Line doesn’t pull its punches in telling the story of these two great country musicians. Meanwhile, Brokeback Mountain was a story of repressed, hidden love. Both were well-told. I had a stronger, emotional response to Walk The Line.
Witherspoon and Phoenix are awesome and Walk The Line is a powerful and meaningful movie.

It rains so much here that moss fills in the sidewalk maker’s stamp. I love the rain, am grateful for the rain, need the rain.

Besides, the rain grows this moss and makes sidewalk art.

Just installed word press on my server and have moved all my blogger posts to this url. I feel accomplished and somewhat techno-savvy. Before installing WP, I installed XAMPP - a combo install of Apache, MySQL and PHP. I am totally enabled to play with databases and dynamic pages on my own laptop cum server. sweet!

I read in the paper the other day that a class action suit has been filed against Apple Computer, claiming Apple knows the iPod can cause permanent hearing loss if it is played too loudly. What I was surprised to learn is that the iPod is capable of producing music with decibels between 115 and 130! In 2002, France required Apple to limit the iPod’s sound output to 100 decibels. Good for France. But, dang, 100 decibels is still quite loud.
Sounds louder than 80 decibels are considered potentially hazardous. Hearing is affected by the decibel level and the length of exposure. Sounds below 70 dB pose no known risk no matter how long they last. Exposure to 85 dB for eight hours daily has been adopted by many hearing specialists and safety experts as the limit for occupational noise.
How long do you listen to your MP3 player and at what volume level? A MP3 player set at the mid-point volume level (or 5 of 10) creates 94 decibels. You would be in danger of causing permanent hearing loss if you listen to your iPod at 94 dB for 4 hours.
With mp3 players so popular - you can’t ride the bus or walk the neighborhood without seeing someone with plugs in their ears - I fear for people’s hearing health. Many MP3 manufacturers, Apple included, have adopted the earbud style headphones. These type of headphones bring louder sounds deeper into the ear canal, putting your ears at higher risk. Studies have shown that because the tiny phones inserted into the ears are not as efficient at blocking outside sounds as the cushioned headsets, users tend to crank up the volume to compensate.
What should you do to protect your hearing and continue to listen to your favorite music?
1) Wear hearing protection when you are exposed to loud or damaging noise at work, in the community or at home.
2) Limit periods of exposure to noise.
3) Lower the volume!
4) Look for noise ratings when buying recreational equipment, toys, appliances and power tools.

Here are all the links I used in this post along with some other informative resources I found on the www:
League for the Hard of Hearing
Personal Stereo Systems and Risk of Hearing Loss
MP3 Generation is Focus of Hearing Health Campaign Launched by House Ear Institute
Noise Reduction Hearing Aids: Why They’re Needed, and How They Work
Custom Hearing Protection from Westone
‘Ear bud’ headphones can cause hearing loss, experts warn
Decibel Comparison Chart
Noise and Hearing Loss

Technorati Tags: music