Saturday, 23 August 2014

23rd of Blaugust - T - Trumpet

Some of you might know that I have a Bachelor of Music. In which I got it for my skills on the Trumpet. If you're a Trumpet of Brass player I will be showing you a few resources that might help you out.


Fingering charts are always helpful if you haven't played in a while or are starting out. As suss as if may sound to those who don't play Trumpet, it just means the valve positions for every note.


If you play regularly then you'll want to amass a collection of mutes. You'll want at least a straight mute and a cup mute. Getting a harmon mute and plunger mute might help too. I'd suggest getting this Straight mute made by Dennis Wick, this Cup Mute also by Dennis Wick (I don't have this one, but they are good) and this Harmon Mute by Jo-Ral. For your plunger mute don't spend ridiculous amounts of money on one as you can just use a small plunger from Bunnings with the handle removed. You might also want to cut the centre out as it helps with intonation. Don't bother with a bucket mute. Just stick your bell into your music stand. I don't even have one.


There's a new product in development right now called the pTrumpet. It's actually a fully functional plastic Trumpet that's meant to not be a toy. I could see the practical benefets of a plastic trumpet and many say they'd be great for beginners. I'm not convinced beginners should be using something that is not a reall Brass Trumpet as they need to get used to the feel, size and weight. But then again, there are small String instruments for beginners so it might still be a help after all. I still want one!

That's all I'll write for now as I have somewhere to be today. See you all tomorrow far whatever!

Friday, 22 August 2014

22nd of Blaugust - S - Sailor Moon Crystal

What to say about Sailor Moon Crystal? It is a remake of that good old anime from the 90's Sailor Moon. To many it was their first experience of Anime. It was actually my second as I had seen Samurai Pizza Cats on Argo's Cartoon Connection before they started showing Sailor Moon. However most of us saw the butchered American dubbed version with all the characters renamed and scenes retouched to make it child friendly. This kinda made Sailor Moon a bit of a black spot after the licence ran out. So Sailor Moon just faded away.


Lately there's been a huge resurgence of Sailor Moon as they're currently re-releasing the original animation as originally intended including a new dub as well (not everybody's cup of tea but it is for some). On top of that they're also doing a new animation of the original Manga arc by the name of Sailor Moon Crystal.


Two episodes are being released every month on the web. There have been 4 episodes released so far and I'm really liking it. Rather then dragging it out like the TV series, they're basically introducing a new character every show. So far we have Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars in the show.

So that is Sailor Moon Crystal. Go and watch it on Crunchroll Yo!

Thursday, 21 August 2014

21st of Blaugust - R - Retro Gaming Collection

I've always preferred the Retro Gaming consoles to the current gen. Ever since the N64 and the PS1 came out I stuck with my Super Nintendo and never got an upgrade. Originally it was because I never expected I'd get a newer console. But then it just became something I preferred. Eventually I ended up with a good enough PC that I used that as my avenue for gaming. But then I found myself drifting back to the console but in the form of Retro gaming. You can use emulation, but there's always been some mystique when it comes to real hardware.

I don't pretend to have the biggest collection as I know people who have some really cool things. But I thought I'd step through my console collection. I'll skip the games for now.


This was that Super Nintendo from my childhood that I speak of. So much fun was had and homework time wasted by me slaving over this thing.


The NES is what kick-started the collecting by me getting this from a Cash Converters for $50 back in 2007. It was only that much because it was sold without an RF-Adaptor and with a chip on the game flap. But that didn't bother me. What did bother me was that for the first month I had it, it didn't work. It wasn't until I got a second game for it that I discovered it was completely fine after all.


This is what actually made it a collection. If there's two of something then it's just two of something. Three always makes it a collection. I was never a SEGA guy bit then there I was grabbing a Mega Drive.


I grabbed this old school Play Station for next to nothing one day. I don't have many games for it, but you have to admit that boot-up sound is awesome. I ended up with three if them. One doesn't work and the third I have no idea. That aim was to get one of them chipped.


This Game Cube was actually a birthday present low and behold. It doesn't see much use as I just use my Wii (no photo of that, you know what they look like). If i ever stumble upon a LAN adaptor and a copy of Mario Kart Double Dash I would play the hell out of it with other people. 8 player Mario Kart is insane!


I grabbed this N64 when I was living down in Mount Gambier and it gets used quite a lot. There's a chip on the first controller port but that doesn't bother me much. I also have two copies of Golden Eye and Super Smash Bros, which is a long story if you ever want to know. I even was crazy enough to get Superman 64!


Grabbed this PS2 mainly because it cost me next to nothing. Not much else to say really. Did manage to grab We Love Katamari brand new which is kinda cool.


Then I decided to go really old and grab an Atari 2600. This one is called the 4 switch "Darth Vader" model because it kinda looks a bit like the guy apparently. However, it's not as old as one of the original 6 switch woodgrains.


So I decided to get one when I saw this on eBay. It came with an insane amount of games for it as well.


I then went even older and got a Pong-clone console which I saw at a car boot sale. It's called a Hanimex TVG-801 and the controls for this are bizare. The paddles can go left and right as well as up and down. Te sound comes out of the console itself instead of the TV. I don't have an AC adaptor as you're meant to use 6 C batteries for it but an Atari 2600 AC adaptor works fine.


I grabbed this Famicom from eBay one day which came with the dodgiest AC adaptor so I thought I could use one from a NES. Turns out they are incompatible and will kill your Famicom. I leaned that that hard way. I guess that was fun while that one lasted. If I ever get a replacement I'd go with either a Famicom Twin or an AV Famicom.


This might look like another NES to you but this one is the US model. Due to the fact that it doesn't say "MATEL VERSION" on the front. This means it's in NTSC. I originally got this with the intention to write chip music on it and even modded it to get better sound output from it. However it's not in the best state and the case is falling apart.


What we have here is an Amiga 500 computer. It was released by Commodore in 1987. Using this is a whole lot of fun. I actually prefer watching demos on it to gaming though.

So that's my Console/PC collection. I also have a Wii, xbox 360 and Wii U but I didn't bother with photos of them because they're too new. I have a huge amount of Game Boys as well. I don't have photos of all of them because there are way too many to take photos of. But here are a few of my original Brick Game Boys.


My sister won this in a Weet-Bix colouring in competition and I eventually inherited it because she never played it (that's how I also ended up with her copy of Mario Paint she got one year on her birthday). I eventually got my own green Game Boy Pocket, but this was my into to the Game Boy.


Here are my three Game Goys that I use to write music on. They have been modded with backlit screens, a line out mod and buttons replaced. The middle one is actually a clear Game Boy with a custom paint job. It also has buttons from a NES controller in it.


This is actually the rarest Game Boy I have. It's a white model which only came out in Japan. I got it really cheap because it was listed on eBay as a common grey model. I was smart enough to tell the difference.


Here is a comparison of the common grey model with the white model. It has all dark grey button and a black screen cover as well as black text. Whereas the grey has purple B and A buttons, a black D pad, grey start and select buttons, a grey screen protector and blue text.

So that is a look at most of my hardware from my retro gaming collection. One day I might start collecting again, but more importantly I just love playing on them.

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

20th of Blaugust - Q - Quiz-time!

When I think of Wednesday in Blaugust I think of Thom's regular quiz posts. And low and behold, what letter should happen to fall on a Wednesday other than the letter Q? So I'll be throwing one of my own in the ring.

It's going to be one of movie scenes. There are twelve clips (I was feeling somewhat imperial) from YouTube on here and it's up to you to guess where they come from. Just leave your guesses in the comments below. By Thom's rules, no googling or searching is allowed. And don't open the videos in YouTube itself of you risk finding out where they come from in the comments (it took me a long time to find scenes where the movie title isn't in the video title). If you can't see the clips then get of that phone or tablet and open it on a real computer. I'll give you until Friday to submit when I will provide all the answers.

So let's get started!

Scene 1: One of the most crushing of insults.

Scene 2: Now that is how you deliver a great line in a bad film!

Scene 3: Another great way to remember Robin Williams.

Scene 4: I'm French! Why do you think I have this outrageous accent?

Scene 5:  I take it black as well. My coffee that is...

Scene 6: I think this passage might be a little out of context...

Scene 7: Not a line is spoken but this you could say this scene is simply smashing!

Scene 8: I'm pretty sure those who went to a certain play should get this one!

Scene 9: Do you know who else owned a pig farm? Amanda Vanstone. I'm pretty sure there's a pig themed joke in there but I'm not sure what it would be.

Scene 10: Some of the worst best ever dialogue you'll ever come across.

Scene 11: I really could have filled this entirely with Arnold Schwarzenegger lines!

Scene 12: They originally used a prop door but Jack Nicholson was a volunteer firefighter and broke it too easily so they swapped it for a real one for him to break down.

So there are all my scenes. Post your answers in the comments bellow. I don't know what prize the winner will get but the person in last place might possibly receive a complimentary box of regret marshmallows!