Its a flip flop the flippy the flippy to the flip flip-flop you don't stop the rock it to the bang bang, the boogie say "up jump" the boogie to to the rhythm of the boogie: the beat

Sorry for the long title I'm just happy I completed my flip book just now. I've been messin' round with different ideas and they just were not working. I eventually started one and even that ended up being to complicated (not to mention time consuming.). I received advice from a wise man in our classroom who said "Keep it simple!" I heeded his advice and by golly I found the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you very much! You are a badass!

Magnetic Audio Recording Cassettes/8-Track

My research topic was all about magnetic recording. So, what the heck is magnetic recording anyway?

A little history lesson first…

   In Germany, in the year of 1928, magnetic tape was made so that sounds can be recorded. Magnetic tape is found in all sorts of devices such as compact cassettes, reel to reel film, video cassettes, tape recorders, 8 track tapes and many more. Before the digital era, Magnetic tape recording was considered the best on the market because of the mere quality that the playbacks provided. At first, the head designs for the tape were needle-shaped, but were later improved to the circular shape. In around the time of the 1930’s, a new technique called “AC biasing” was also developed, and this improved the fidelity of the recording audio signal by increasing the effective linearity of the recording medium. ***Interesting fact! *** Because of the outbreak of World War 2, and other political tensions, these new improvements were kept secret. That is, until allies of the German’s basically spied and figured out that they had new radio improvements by the sounds of their broadcasts. After the war, Americans were finally able to bring these new improvements home.

Here—watch this video clip—it explains things much better than I do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SocNHeRw1Ho

The Cassette Tape

After Fritz Pfleumer invented magnetic tape, and after the very first reel-to-reel tape recorder was developed, the cassette tape was born. Before cassette tapes were developed, reel-to-reel devices were expensive, and bulky, so they were not often used in households. However, in 1962, Phillips invented the compact cassette medium for audio storage, and introduced it in Europe first, and then in the United States in November of 1964. Sound quality at first was not that great, but it dramatically improved in the 1970’s!

When cassette tapes were first invented, they were primarily used as dictation machines, and came in blank versions. However, they also came in pre-recorded forms, and eventually made it HUGE in the music business.

Most people remember cassette tapes—unless, of course, you are 10 years old. But, most of us probably remember using them to listen to music when we were younger, or remember our parents using them to listen to music. Maybe some of you still own a cassette tape?  Cassette tapes were hugely popular in the 1970’s-the early 1990’s when the new compact discs came out. However, before the 1990’s decline, cassette tapes made a large impact of society because of how easy it was to listen to music. Recording and copying the music on these cassettes were a great way for punk and rock bands to get their feet on the ground. The Walkman and cassette tapes went hand in hand together, and with each other boosted sales all over the world. Not to mention it paved the way for CDs and MP3s.

This Video goes great with this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufoa3yqFFc8

The 8 track, what is it? This description pretty much sums it all up. “An 8-track tape is a hard plastic cartridge about the size of an external modem that houses a continuous loop of non-digital (analog) audio data stored on magnetic tape. William Powell Lear, founder of Learjet, invented and patented the 8-track tape and its corresponding player in 1963, when he was looking for a simple, long-playing tape system to install in the business jets that bore his name.

8-track tapes, which can hold up to 45 minutes of sound, were introduced to the general public in 1966 when the Ford Motor Company included 8-track players as a cutting-edge automotive accessory for the Ford Mustang. The music recording industry quickly saw the potential for a lucrative home player market and by the early 1970's, 8-track tapes were replacing vinyl long-playing (LP) record albums as the dominant format in pre-recorded music. Their lightweight plastic casings made them ideal for travel -- and unlike vinyl records, 8-track tapes didn't warp or skip.

By the early 1980s, advances in tape technology and noise reduction made the even smaller compact cassette the system of choice and by 1983, record labels ceased production of pre-recorded 8-track tapes altogether. Today, the adjective "8-track" is synonymous with "quickly obsolete"(http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/8-track-tape). It seems to me like these were going to be good, but since the cassette offered an easier way to listen to music, it was out done by it. 

Old Theatre post

The assignment says to choose a single theatre city (NY, Chicago, London), from 1700’s to present. I, like an idiot, missed the “1700” part and went straight to researching old theatres in Chicago (because I love it there). Well after researching about the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago (made in the early 1900’s) I saw the 1700’s part. And then I realized…wait Chicago is an example, but I can’t find anything for the city in the 1700’s. DUH it wasn’t even a city then! The constitution wasn’t even made until 1787, and the city of Chicago itself wasn’t founded until the 1830s. I’m going to post about the theatre I researched, but if it’s a big deal I can do another if I have too.

The Bank of America Theatre may not be the oldest theatre in the U.S. but it has had quiet a few name changes since its opening in 1906. In 1906 it was known as the Majestic Theatre and was primarily used for vaudeville acts (basically a bunch of different acts). It did well until it closed during the Great Depression in 1932. The Theatre was designed to bring in a more upper-class audience. 

It also has two levels that were initially intended to segregate the audience so the patrons on the bottom don’t have to see the ones on the balcony. (Honestly, I don't think I would care back in the day. I think I would rather sit on the upper part anyway, but that's just my opinion.)

In 1945 it was bought by the Shubert organization and remodeled/renamed as the Sam Shubert Theatre.   

It was sold in 1991 to the Nederlander organization and then was renamed to the LaSalle Bank Theatre. The paint chips of the building were analyzed, so the paint can match the original color scheme. The same goes for most of the original fixtures and mosaic flooring in the lobby.

When it went under a $40 million restoration in 2005, most of its features and color scheme were kept the same. Apparently a richly decorated arch was uncovered during the restoration.

In 2008 it was changed to Bank of America Theatre.

Technologically speaking, during these time periods, one can assume that the stage and lighting effects evolved during these time periods. I can’t seem to find a lot on how technology was incorporated in the theatre, but one can assume that stuff was definitely changed. It is primarily used for Broadway performances, so obviously they have changed the lighting effects and stage backgrounds as opposed to the stuff used in the vaudeville acts in the early 1900’s. They also most likely put in air conditioning (even though the Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University beat them to it). Also, Elevators would put in! Yay!

The Birth and Life of Opera

After watching the video I thought it was cool at how Opera took off just from a small group (the camerotta I think). I also thought it was amusing that when operas were in the experimental stage, they  at weddings and the themes were about "doomed love." Apparently they weren't received well (I wonder why), they did however catch the eye of Duke Vincento Ganzanga and after that they really took off. That was a lucky break for Opera. Operas have come a long way and I can see how they were important. They not only were entertainment, but they allow people to express their views on very big topics. Honestly, I hated operas a couple years ago because I never gave them a chance and didn't understand them. I see now how closed minded I was and can also see that these operas have some pretty interesting stories and messages. If I were to go to one, I would definitely have to look up what it is about, but I think I could tolerate it.

The Opera

Hello all,

I had trouble picking an opera for our paper at first, but then I noticed that there was one called Der Ring Des Nibelungen. It is based on Norse Mythology. The description from I got from it is that it is about this "magical Ring" forged by a dwarf from stolen gold. This ring basically grants the holder power to rule the world. It obviously is going to attract attention by many types of different people. Each one wants this power from the ring, but each person that holds it ends up in a conflict. This intrigues me because this opera sounds a lot like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I am going to compare similarities and differences between the two as I am a Tolkien fan. I would bet money that Tolkien was somewhat influenced from Der Ring Des Nibelungen.

It is an extremely long movie as the whole opera is divided into four seperate sections. Das rheingold , Das Wakure, Siegfried, and gotterdammerung. It seems as though each one is about 2.5 hours each... I think. I may for the sake of this paper focus on Das Rheingold because thats a lot of stuff to go through, but I'll probably skim through the others just to get a grasp on the scenes.