Author: Don

Deepening the field

Rose "Tiffany"

I recently discovered that Photoshop is capable of focus-stacking, though you have to dig through the menus to find the commands. I thought I’d see how well it works before investing in something like Zerene Stacker or Helicon Focus.

The picture above was assembled from 24 frames at f/5.6, with the camera mounted on a focusing rail. I could have added some more frames to get further depth, but this was enough to show that the process works.

So Photoshop works pretty well when the subject is uncomplicated. How well does it fare with something more intricate, such as Bidens bipinnata?

Bidens bipinnata

(Click to see the barbs on the needles.) Not so well. Photoshop has problems with depth perception, it seems. If I’m going to do stacked focus regularly, I probably will have to use a dedicated program.

In praise of fan fiction

Bruce Charlton:

The importance of Fan Fiction is that, while very few people can (like Tolkien, Rowling etc) primarily create a meaningful, purposeful, participative Imaginative Universe – a much larger number of people can take such a universe and secondarily create within it; can incrementally extrapolate, interpolate, combine it with other such Universes, deepen and extend characters from it, make new plots using characters from it – and so forth.

…

Since this secondary creativity is typically done within a better ‘world’ than the self-hating mainstream secular-alienated-nihilistic world of modern public discourse; and since the world of Fan Fiction is a part of a person’s life; this can serve to make a person’s life more meaningful – which is to say Fan Fiction can make a person’s life not just better but deeply better. And it has done, for very large numbers of people.

Suite in B

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of P.D.Q. Bach by Peter Schickele. (Strictly speaking, the above isn’t P.D.Q.B., though it is from one of the early albums.)

Here’s another approach to Beethoven. (Via the Borderline Boy.)

1965 also saw The Baroque Beatles Book of Joshua Rifkin.

According to the liner notes of a reissue, Schickele was the first choice to write the arrangements, but he had just been signed to a different label, so Rifkin got the job. Incidentally, Rifkin sang in the first performance of P.D.Q. Bach’s “Iphigenia in Brooklyn.” A few years later, he would jumpstart the ragtime revival with his Scott Joplin recordings.

Here’s a more modern approach to the Beatles.

Glorieux’s Beatle recordings, which range stylistically from Bach to Bartok, are out of print, but you can find them on YouTube.

Ouchies

I

Cenchrus longinspinus

Cenchrus longispinus, “sandbur,” which is replacing crabgrass in Wichita lawns. Those minutely-barbed spines penetrate skin with alarming ease and resist extraction. They have a particular affinity for socks.

II

David French:

Whoa to the white liberal … who doesn’t pay homage.

I assume this was a spellchecker accident. If not, then whoa to French and his editor at National Review. (Update: It’s fixed now.)

Grab your hard hat

Sakurajima, from episode 5 of Katanagatari
Sakurajima, from episode 5 of Katanagatari

The volcanic webcam star Sakurajima might be heading for a major eruption in the near future. The Japanese Meteorological Agency has raised the alert level for the Kagoshima area to “4,” advising residents in the districts nearest the volcano to prepare to evacuate.

While there are numerous webcams pointed at the Kyushu mountain, the only one I’ve found with a reliable night-time view is on the JMA’s page. Starting at the bottom of the list, it’s the first entry with a four-character name.

For further discussion, scroll down to the most recent comments here. The JMA released a statement here (pdf). It’s in Japanese only, but there are interesting maps and charts to study, and you can copy and paste the text into Giggle Translate.

Shichika, Togame, Sakurajima
Shichika, Togame, Sakurajima

Katanagatari, by the way, is a very good show.

Update: Meanwhile, in Ecuador …

A few quotes

Charles G. Hill:

Maybe pitchforks just aren’t enough.

*****

Jonathan Clements:

Thank God they didn’t know about Queen’s Blade…

*****

The Duke of Wellington:

Gentlemen

Whilst marching from Portugal to a position which commands the approach to Madrid and the French forces, my officers have been complying diligently with your requests which have been sent by H.M ship from London to Lisbon and thence by dispatch to our headquarters. We have enumerated our saddles, bridles, tents and tent poles, and all manner of sundry items for which His Majesty’s Government holds me accountable. I have dispatched reports on the character, wit and spleen of every officer. Each item and every farthing has been accounted for , with two regrettable exceptions for which I beg your indulgence.

Unfortunately the sum of one shilling and ninepence remains unaccounted for in one infantry battalion’s petty cash and there has been a hideous confusion as to the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to one cavalry regiment during a sandstorm in western Spain. This reprehensible carelessness may be related to the pressure of circumstance, since we are at war with France, a fact which may come as a bit of a surprise to you gentlemen in Whitehall.

This brings me to my present purpose, which is to request elucidation of my instructions from His Majesty’s Government so that I may better understand why I am dragging an Army across these barren plains. I construe that perforce it must be one of two alternative duties, as given below. I shall pursue either one to the best of my ability, but I cannot do both:

1. To train an army of uniformed British clerks in Spain for the benefit of the accountants and copy-boys in London, or, perchance,

2. To see to it that the forces of Napoleon are driven from Spain.

Your most obedient servant

Wellington.

*****

The Czar of Muscovy:

As with most political analysis pieces, the Czar will follow convention and ask what are your thoughts? Whom did you like? Whom did you dislike? Although, don’t write in because the Czar doesn’t care what you think.

Advice to parents

Pina colada

Think carefully about how you name your children, even if you’re fictional characters. This goes double when you’re royalty.

Preview of the next episode

One of the novelties of this week’s episode of GATE is that next week’s preview was in the middle of the show. I’m curious to see if there will be any Wagner.

Update: Yep, there was a little Wagner, with helicopters.

Continue reading “Advice to parents”

Memo to Pope Frankie …

45th parallel

… and others who think that air conditioning is an irresponsible, decadent luxury:

Above is a map of North America and Europe, with the 45th parallel marked in red. That latitude lies halfway between the north pole and the equator. Regions north of the red line are nearer the arctic; regions south, nearer the tropics. Note that most of Europe is above the parallel and that most of the 48 states are below it. Note further that the plains states are remote from any moderating influence of mountains or ocean. It gets hot and stinking humid here in Kansas during summer. Frown and shake your finger all you want, but my air conditioner stays on.

Reimu goes to Caledonia

Here’s “Bad Apple” arranged as a strathspey/reel combination. I made two recordings, the first solo piano, the second strings, ((Solo fiddle would have been better, but none of my virtual violins sounded right.)) piano and bass. The score is here.

Two Bad Apples (piano) (Right-click the titles to download the mp3s.)

Two Bad Apples (strings)

*****

Memo to the Brickmuppet: Non-existent tornadoes are rarely dangerous. Lost sleep because of faulty sirens is a greater concern. Also, what the hell is a “vibrant and rewarding social life”? The words don’t go together.