"That's "Hedy," not "Hedley!" Tuesday: As mysterious as Dorothy Kilgallen's death on November 8, 1965, is the 1965 blackout that overtook much of the Northeast United States and Ontario, Canada on this day. While the official cause was a series of mistakes and blown relays, there were also reports of UFOs near some of the power stations. We don't necessarily believe the reports; we're just saying ... Not all of the Northeast was affected, however, and a full moon that night kept things surprisingly safe, with New York City reporting only five instances of looting. When one speaks of New York, it's difficult to not think of Stanford White (whose 157th birthday falls on this day). White's distinctive architectural fingerprints can still be found all over Manhattan more than a century after his death. Such structures as the Municipal Building, the Washington Square Arch, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art – not to mention many of the millionaires' mansions on Fifth Avenue - were his designs. While White's firm designed things to be built, it's a demolished object that we take special notice of today, as it's the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall itself was the literal dividing line between East and West Berlin, constructed to keep East Germans from escaping the Communist regime. When that government fell, so did the wall. Something that irriatated those killjoy East German officials was rock music, and on this day in 1967, the first issue of "Rolling Stone" was published. While "Rolling Stone" was originally dedicated to rock, pop, and blues music and musicians – and those are still its primary focus – it's expanded in the decades since to become one of America's most respected magazines, known for its reporting on politics and entertainment. Speaking of respect, we throw a little of it to the creative community today as it's Inventor's Day, celebrated today because it's the birthday of actress Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr was not only one of the most glamorous and beautiful actresses of the 1930s and '40s, but was also something of a scientific genius. In 1942, she was granted a patent for a communication system that would "hop" frequencies in order to make radio-guided torpedoes harder to detect. While the technology went basically unused until the '60s, today it forms the basis for wi-fi networks and cell phones. Suggested Sites... November 9th, 1965 Blackout - sometimes Occam's Razor is a UFO. New York Architecture Images: McKim, Mead, and White - a century later, still some of Manhattan's most beautiful buildings. The Fall of the Berlin Wall: A Personal Account - the wall came a-tumblin' down. Hedy Lamarr Foundation - devoted to cultivating both brains and beauty. 5 Surprising Inventions From Famous People - Isaac Newton invented the cat door?

Directory categories: Electricity, Berlin, Rock and Pop Musicians, Magazines, Classic Hollywood Actors

Archived under: 1940s, 1960s, 1980s, 19th Century, Actors, American History, Anniversaries, Architects, Architecture, Arts, Beauty, Berlin, Birthdays, Buildings, Canada, Celebrations, Celebrities, Cell Phones, Communism, Communists, Electronics, Entertainment, Europe, European History, Events, Germany, History, Holidays, Ice, In Character, Invention, Inventors, Journalism, Magazines, Men, Museums, Music, Music History, New York, Rock and Roll, Science, Scientists, Tourist Attractions, UFOs, United States, Urban Legends, Weird Stuff, Women

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This huge, antique rhythmicon now fits inside a web-browser. In the beginning, recording studios were overwhelmingly complex institutions; multiple rooms of instruments, wires, tapes, mixers, and knobs. Only a few years ago, it was exciting to imagine producing entire albums on a personal computer. But now, even though the PC is still at the center of modern techno-life, it's beginning to seem a little washed-up. What's next, then? As with music sharing, storage, and promotion, the answer is putting the whole thing online. When I discovered that I could use sites like Jumpcut and Zoho to create, edit, save, and store documents, spreadsheets, and videos entirely within my favorite browser, I had a vision of a braver, newer world in which I wasn't weighted down by my dusty, clunky, and always-obsolete laptop -- all my applications and files would be stored remotely; accessible via a simple web portal. In my vision, I saw myself talking to a monitor on the wall, saying (in my best Jean-Luc Picard voice) things like, "Computer, create a playlist of every MP3 I've ever downloaded and stored on a myriad of different data storage devices," or "Computer, show me my home recording studio workstation interface, even though I'm at my friend's house." When I awoke from my vision, I considered the Virtual Rhythmicon: an online version of Léon Theremin's strange and ungainly 1931 electronic instrument. Nick Didkovsky was able to use the Java Synthesis (JSyn) API to reduce the wood and iron of Theramin's Rhythmicon to a Java app, playable through any browser. In another window, I can pump up the Rhythmicon with some beats, bass, and slick effects through Hobnox's Audiotool, and voila!, I've given birth to a slick experimental electronic dance track that's pretty cool -- and pretty free. You can find these and other gems from the past and present in Online Instruments and Audio Recording Tools -- another category in the Yahoo! Directory made just for you. Suggested Sites... American Mavericks: The Rhythmicon - online version of Leon Theremin's eponymous musical synthesizer, built by Nick Didkovsky. Hobnox: Audiotool - online electronic music studio. Features bass simulators, drum machine, and numerous effects. JSyn Example Applets - collection of web-based musical instruments and effects created with the Java Sythesis API. KVR Audio Plug-in Database - search for free and downloadable audio plug-ins, virtual instruments, effects, and hosts. SourceForge.net: Music Software Search - search for free and open source music synthesizing, sequencing, and processing software and web-based applications.

Directory categories: Online Instruments and Audio Recording Tools, Online Music Mixers, Thereminists, Online Music Storage Lockers, Social Music

Archived under: Computers, Electronics, Entertainment, File Sharing, Internet, Invention, Inventors, Music, Musical Instruments, Musicians, Technology

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Bob Moog (Courtesy Moog Music) Before the raves, the clubs, the block rockin' beats, the cars that go boom, and the all-too-timely ecstasy-PSA episode of Dawson's Creek, there was a teenager in 1950s Queens who wanted to turn electricity into music. Robert Moog (rhymes with "vogue"), born on this 23rd day of May in 1934, did not invent the electronic synthesizer, but he sure made it usable. Improving on audio mega-genius Leon Theremin's touchless, hand-motion-controlled theraminvox, Moog's analog synthesizer design used a keyboard to trigger sounds on a portable, self-contained module. And unlike some of its predecessors, it did not require a laboratory full of oscillators, filters, and amplifiers tangled in a web of patch cables. In 1970, Moog's company began production on the Minimoog Model D synthesizer, thus paving the way for keyboard players, electronic musicians, synth poppers, and hip hoppers to come. We all know what Casio keyboards (many now collecting dust or stowed in closets) sound like, but what does this much-talked-about Moog synthesizer really sound like? You'll have to hear for yourself. A good starting point would be what is arguably the quintessential Moog synthesizer recording: "Switched-on Bach" by Wendy Carlos. And if you're a DJ, audio collagist, or sequencer of fine noise, BlueDistortion.com offers a very useful collection of high-quality Moog and Emu samples. If you're just casually Moog-curious, try rolling your mouse over the navigation bar at Moogfest.net, which is like a mini-Moog synthesizer in itself. Suggested Sites... Bob Moog - Bob Moog's official site with articles and photos by and about the electronic music pioneer and creator of the Moog synthesizer. Moog Archives - a personal collection of rare documents, photos, and memories from the Moog companies. On Bob Moog - WendyCarlos.com - an obituary for Bob Moog written by the keyboard player on the album that made Moog's synthesizer famous. Sound Samples - BlueDistortion.com - high quality samples of classic synthesizers such as the Moog Modular, the Emu Modular, Prophet 5, Roland JP-8000, Alesis Micron, and more. Moog Patents - for various synthesizers and electronic audio inventions by Robert Moog or Moog Music.

Directory categories: Robert Moog, Moog Synthesizers, Electronic Musical Instruments, Electronic Music Artists, Computer Generated Music

Archived under: Electronics, Inventors, Music, Music History, Musical Instruments, Robert Moog, Technology

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