The beginning is the end of something

I dont know if I want to have a bachelor party in denton. I think is might be easier for me to just go see a movie by myself instead. I friends who either (a) dont know each other or (b) dont like each other who I want there. Well it wouldn't be any fun with a much of people who dont know each other or who dont like each other. I could have a small group of people but where do I draw the line between who comes and who doesn't. I'll just end up upsetting someone. Screw it. I don't think (and I could be wrong about this) that my brother wants to deal with planning it. He doesn't know the rest of my friends very well anyways. So its official. No bachelor party in Denton. Now in Florida thats different story. Oh well. Sunday I'll be home. and then Christmas and the wedding. I've got enough on my hands to deal with anyways.

Moral Evolution - The beginning to a short story. Maybe.

So in the end we act more like children then men. Fighting and yelling for attention. The only thing age teaches us is how selfish we really are. I've been around children and I've been around men and everyone in between and I wonder... if we start selfish and then become more altruistic or do we just stay the same. I understand there are exceptions to every rule but I'm talking about the whole of humanity here. Don't you just wonder sometimes how we are all still alive. And then I think, are we born selfish. And if so, how are we taught to be unselfish. Yes, you're right; our parents teach us but if they were born selfish who taught them and who taught them and so on and so on. It just keeps going and going but where did it beginning. I'm amazed at times at the moral evolution of mankind. I guess that's what I find so beautiful about this place. Together we represent the moral devolution of mankind. It's not rocket science how we got here. Evolution will leave behind that which does not change with the majority. We didn't change with the world so the world put us here. I'm not surprised and either should you. We all go where we are supposed to be. In here we are the majority. Morality as taken a different path. Does that make it immoral. Is our moral inferior to the outside. I dont think so. How can you compare moralities. And here is the kicker. The only constant in the world is change. You are either moving up or moving down but you are not staying the same. Stay with me here. If morality is always evolving in some sort of direction then someday our morality and their morality will someday be the same. But here is the million dollar question. What is morality evolving towards and why? What is the goal? And what happens when we stop evolving? Beats me but I'm Tony. Tony Philips. And if you ever talk to me again I'll kill all your children and burn you alive. Welcome to Stone Wall. Now get out of my way.

Death to Quality

So at my time here at Full Sail i have, against my best planning, learned a thing or two. So things are music related and other things are we'll say life relate. But today i want to talk to you about two issues that effects anyone who listens to music.

The Loudness War

In today's popular music there has become a battle for the loudest album. Record labels have pushed the level of volume on a CD to the point of destroying the music. This mostly happens at the mastering stage of the album. The maximum volume coming out of the CD causes two things. (1) A complete lack of dynamic range and (2) ear fatigue for the listener. Dynamic range is the range between the softest sound and the loudest sound in the song. You might have hear this on a CD where the soft piano is as loud as the screaming singer or whatever. This is accomplished through the use of compresses and limiters. Now for you dont know what compresses and limiters do i will tell you. A compressor "compressors" a sound when something crosses over a determined threshold. when the sound crosses the threshold the compressor will push back the sound at a determined ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 and so on. Meaning that at a 2:1 ratio for every 2 dB over the threshold the sound will be compressed back 1 dB. A compressor will stop working when the sound drops back below the threshold. So what the compressor just did is bring the loudest sound closer to the softest sound. You then can bring the whole track up in the mix without clipping. This is every useful with say a singer who throughout the song has soft parts and loud parts. if you turn up the track to hear the soft parts your loud parts will clip creating distortion which is bad. So you can use a compressor to solve the problem. Now a limiter is the same thing as a compressor when the compressor's ratio is set at 8:1 or higher. Meaning that no sound is allowed above the threshold. So on a limiter when a sound reaches the threshold the limiter in turns "flat lines" the sound. In the audio world flat lining means distortion.

Now bring us full circle in the mastering stage of an album they only use compressors and limiters. This is how they take the softest sounds and make them the same level as the loudness sounds. They also create distortion. Plus with the lack of dynamic range we have a lack of emotional effect. and the distortion and volume level also causes ear fatigue.

The thing is people have gotten used to this sound. Most people dont know what music should sound like. We have lost quality for volume and we are at the same time killing our hearing. Its sad.

There is another issue I want to talk about but i'm ready to go to bed so...i won't.



p.s. i dont know if anyone understood what i was saying. sorry about that.

Rules of Nap Time

So there are three times of the day i found out: Night Time, Day Time, and Nap Time. Nap time is new to me. Ashley has informed me that nap time is between 3-5p everyday of the week. She also informed me of the rules of nap time.

1. No phones allowed.
2. No touching the wall.
3. No music.
4. No laptops.
5. No talking above a whisper (this one is stupid)
6. No random noises.
7. What Ashley saids, it becomes a rule.

I don't follow the rules very well.

In other news, we needed another song for the wedding so I wrote it last night. So look out for another song soon.

Also Ashley may have found a job.

Ashley thinks I have mono and I think she is crazy.

ok well time for school

The world of Recording

So i know nothing about economics or government but i do know about recording so i'll write about that.

So I have started the process of building a small home studio. No doubt this will take a long time to fully complete but I have a nice little up. Below is a list of what I use

MOTU MIDI interface 8x8
Presonus Firestudio 8x8
Yamaha p-90
Alesis Micron
Mac Book Pro with Logic
and a couple of guitars and a bass guitar.
I also am using my roommates Microphone

So yesterday I finished a song. it took me a 5 or 6 hours to write and record. Its up at my myspace and its called Ashley's Song. There are a few things that i did that i am proud of. (1) i recorded a tambourine through the mic. I then took the tambourine and put reverb on it and then ran it through the Bit Crusher. I then EQ it so the low-mid range frequencies were boosted. It sounds more like a washing machine but with a more definite pulse. I really am proud of this sound. (2) I recorded a clean guitar ( yes jay i did play the guitar ) through the line channel. I then reverbed it and used a tape delay and turn it low in the mix and panned it left.

I did a couple of other things with panning and reverbs and delays also. There is a couple questions for you smart people out there. (1) What is a key (There are two answers to this one)? What is the meter of the song?

new

i posted a new song at www.myspace.com/tbandme


ok i'm sleepy

a quick update from your friend...me

hello its been awhile sense i've blogged so i thought i would catch everyone up on my life.

- Ashley got back yesterday from Texas. she was gone for about 10 days and i did not enjoy being alone as much as one might think. but with her being gone i learned a few things.
1. Communication in a relationship is a key thing.
2. ACU does not know jack about relationships and how to help them.
3. the saying "plan for the worse and hope for the best" doesnt always work.
4. I want a tattoo on my shin.

- i have started my 6th month of my 12 month program. I really do like it here. every month i learn something new and interesting and every month i get depress because i learn how to use things that i can't buy.
- I moved my tv and xbox and surround sound system to ashley's (my soon to be new) place. and it is official... we have to much stuff. and jamie is not sad at all that i am moving in two months...that makes me sad.
- we got a butt load of gift cards from people at the wedding shower. Thank you to everyone who gave to us and more importantly people who gave to others. I told ashley that the long we keep the gift cards the more crap she will think of buy so we need to give the gift cards away as soon as possible.
- i found this cool store. i bought a shirt that has manatees sits on clouds with wrenches falling like rain... i like it.
- Tomorrow i will be practicing for the first time with a band. they play hardcore progressive music and i'm going to play keys for them... if everything goes right.
- i have long hair and a big beard and i dont shower very often because it takes my hair an hour to dry.
- i;m getting married in two months.
- i have begun applying for composer jobs for independent films. this is something i would would like to get into doing. i've applied for about 5 or 6 jobs so far. if you know anyone who needs original music for their movie send them my way.


thats all i've got for now. i love you all and jay... you look good in the shorts.

I paper i wrote for class...

A Reason to Get Up in the Morning

Media is a way of life. Media gives you your life. Much has been said about media. Whether you like it or not the truth is that media everywhere. Through technology, media has created a world where your opinion can be heard. Where you can hear the truth and be connected with what is going on. We are more informed; and therefore, we can make better decision. Where options become infinite and possibilities become endless. Where, with better information and more option, the world has become a better place. Our decisions as an individual, as a country, and as a species have become more beneficial. The world is in a better place financially, socially, and peacefully. Life is good and a hundred times better than life was for our grandparents, when media and technology had not open up choices and knowledge for the world. The only thing that has changed in the last sixty years has been media and technology. Therefore they together have given us this brave new world. Yes, media has given us this brave new world. And what a mess it is. Our world is not better. More information and more options have not brought us peace or joy. In fact, we are more indecisive, selfish, and discontent then any other generation before us.

The Plan for World Domination

Robbie is an intelligent and thoughtful young man. He is newly married and is enrolled in a masters program for public administration. He understands what is happening in the world. In interviewing him I discovered that he is regularly engaged with media. He watches CNN. He listens to NPR. He reads political blogs and watches, among others shows, Lost, Numbers and The Daily Show. His habits are not unlike most people his age. The only difference is that Robbie understands why he watches and listens to this media. He agree with and understand that media is bias. He knows that every media source has an agenda that they are trying to push. Robbie understands this more than most. This is why he watches what he watches and listens to what he listens to.
The Telecommunication Act of 1996 opened the world of media bias wide open. In effect companies could now own multiple companies across many different media outlets. You could watch CNN, read Time magazine, and listen to a wide range of music and learn the same thing from each. That’s because the same company owns all three, Time Warner. There has become a cartel of very powerful companies controlling what you see and what you learn (Miller, 2001). News and politics have become just other form of entertainment. And like all entertainment, they want to appeal to the largest audience that they can. So they cut and edit things so you will keep watching. You think how they want you to think. You lose your freedom of thought. Or maybe we just don’t use it. But one thing is for sure, with the revolution of blogs and message broads everyone has something to say. The sad thing is that we just repeat what we heard from the media. It’s just like what the philosopher Soren Kiekegaard wrote, “How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought, they demand freedom of speech.” We have lost our thoughts and have adopted theirs. Yet, we are still talking. We are just mindless people. The sad thing is the media doesn’t care what we know as long as we learned it from them. There is more going on is this world then what CNN, or MTV, Fox News is telling us. So the questions becomes how do we stop the media take over of the world?
The Center for International Media Action (CIMA) is an organization that is trying to come up with a solution to the media take over. As stated on the CIMA (2003) website:
We need criticism and education, we need to hold media companies accountable and build strong alternatives. Locally, nationally and internationally we can use policy to make this happen. Activists working on a wide range of issues have realized that changing the media system is key to achieving authentic democracy, social justice and sustainable, healthy communities worldwide. This is the work that CIMA was created to support.
They believe that through criticism and education we can start to think for ourselves. Our ideas will be our ideas and not the corporate media’s ideas. With questioning things we will begin to find truth, form our own opinion and become comfortable with disagreeing with others. Media has become the king and it has abused its power and it is now time for the king to be over thrown. CIMA encourages the unity of activists at all levels to change the world. To make “media companies accountable and build strong alternatives (CIMA, 2003)” to the way we get our news and entertainment. We must demand truth.

The World as I see it

Talking is easy but action is a bit more difficult. The truth is that we are controlled by what we see and hear. We only know what we have learned. My independence is dependent on me and I am not dependable. I don’t think, as humans, we are able to do what is needs to be done to become independent thinkers. Throughout history someone has ruled us. Telling us how to think and where to go, whether it’s a king or a leader, a parent or a god. We understand when we are being ruled, yet we have no desire to change. We, as humans, are lazy and will be ruled by the one who stands up to be that ruler. This should not surprise us. We give up freedom of thought for freedom from choice. We are long for someone to take care of us, chose for us and control us. So mega corporations stepped in. They showed us right and wrong, who to hate and who to love. They chose what was important and what was not. They did what we, as a society didn’t want to do. So we can blame the media for controlling us. We can blame the government for helping this happen. But if we look at it and if we are honest with ourselves then we have to blame ourselves. It was a lack of responsible that got us here in the first place and it will be a lack of responsible that will keep us here. But that’s what we really want, right?

I am a big believer in people being able to do what they want and say what they want. I am also a big believer in G-d. As you might assume this creates a conflict in society. I believe and support artist to be able to say what they want on an song regardless if I agree with it or not. This is a stand I have always held to. I was asked last week what I thought about abortion. This person knew I was a Christian and was looking for a fight. So I have been thinking about this issue. People think because I am a Christian I am pro-life. I'll be honest I dont like abortion. I dont like the idea of it. But does that mean I should stop someone from doing it. There are lots of things in this world I dont like but I will never stop someone from doing it. I may not support you either but i will not stop you. What about gay marriage? I dont support but should i stop. Is stopping two gay men from marrying an act of obedience to G-d. I am called to love G-d and love others. I can only do what I believe G-d is calling me to do. Beside stopping gay marriage is not going to stop people from being gay. I want people to have a relationship with G-d. I find that talking to be people and loving them and just caring about them is much more affective then telling them that they are wrong. 

So I guess that I am pro-choice. And if two men want to get married then ok. Stopping people from doing something by making it illegal doesnt stop them from doing it. G-d knows this that why He sent Jesus. Cause laws dont stop but love does. There are bigger and greater battles to be fought for the name of Christ.

A message to the christians: Wake up. There is more going on and in this world then you see. Pay attention and listen to people.  

The winds of change

So there is a new Tyler in town. Thats right a new Tyler. No more old but new Tyler. And here are a few things I've learned.

1. The best way to make money is to make your roommate pay you a quarter every time he cusses. 

2. I am becoming a liberal. I know I hate myself too.

3. Women are just as prideful if not more prideful than men.

4. I am becoming a big fan of wine. I find it to be enjoyable and at the same time something new and complex to learn. And no Tiffany I am not a woman for enjoying wine. 

5. I am getting into jazz. I've never liked it before but its growing on me.

6. I love MIDI. I know most of you dont know what that is but trust me its cool.

7. I dont want to live in the USA anymore.

8. Everyone wants someone to talk to them. People are just waiting for someone to take interest in them. 

9. Discipline is a lost art with my generation. We need to be more discipline.

10. I love learning. 

11. The more I drink the worst I am at bowling.

12. I find it crazy and irresponsible that people don't know what is going with the bailout or politics. At least know that there is a bailout and who is running for president.

13. Everyone should check out www.worldmapper.org is the coolest website. Spent some time looking at maps.

14. I love my soon to be wife.

Thats what i've got right now. oh yeah i bought something off ebay for the first time. it was fun.

ok bye bye

Is this what you had in mind Jay.

If a woman sleeps around with many men does that make her a slut. If a man hits his wife does that make him a wife beater. If a child lies does that make them a liar. If guy saves a woman from being a hit by a car does this make him a hero. If a woman becomes vice president does this make her a leader. Are we just the sum of our actions. Are we define by the past. Are we not more then how people interpret our actions. Which is more important, the intentions of our actions or the perception of our actions. Are our actions even our actions or are they just predetermine actions based on our past. A woman is labeled a slut yet another woman is labeled a leader both based on the actions that they took. Yet if Palin becomes VP i promise you will hear people claim she is not a leader. Where do we draw the line between which actions determine who are and which actions don't. Though this example is not the best you get the point that we as a society are biased on which actions define us and which don't. If the man who saves the woman from the car is a hero but yet he also is the same man who hits his wife, what is he? How are we to judge this man? His actions are not consistent. How are we to judge this man? Your actions are not consistent. How are we to judge you? No one's actions are consistent. But we will judge you. We are all sinners and saints. I have no right to judge you as a slut yet I will. And you will too. We will judge you on your worst actions not the sum of them. Actions are just actions. I agree they are important and they have a huge impact but we are more than our actions. I want to be seen as more than a loud, weird, lying, lustful, rude annoying unproductive person. Though i may act like that i am more than that. I am not the sum of my actions and either is anyone else. Stop judging people by their actions cause G-d knows that your actions will not speak kindly of you. We are more than the sum of our actions. Thank G-d we are. 

P.s. the uses of the word "you" is a general, universal, and collective you. Meaning everyone. Also this should not be taken as a political stands. Palin was used as a example and an example only. Also if you take this to mean that you should whatever you want and no should be able to judge or if you are thinking of people that should stop judging other people, then you have missed the point completely and you should read it again and think that i am talking directly to  you. 

i like pigs

everyone must go to this website and watch the video about the pigs. please. i dont care if you eat pig or not but u should care that pigs are being hurt. 

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse

a penny for your thoughts

"How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They freedom of thought, they demand freedom of speech." Soren Kierkegaard

I was wanting to get people's thoughts on this. So, what do you think?

things i learned

though i'm sure no one will know what i am talking about, i want to tell u any ways. Yesterday i learned how to make a kick drum sound powerful and deep. its great. See when you record a kick drum straight up it doesnt sound good. you have to add sounds to it to get it to sound really big. i think its great.

on another note today me and ashley are going to target to register for stuff we dont want or need just so other people can feel better about giving us something. I'm learning that wedding are not about me or my wife to be, its about everyone else. people give feel about themselves when they help the "poor suffering newly weds." but they have a hard time feeling good about themselves when they help the poor suffering hungry people on the street. This bothers me. and maybe it shouldn't  and i'm probably taking it the wrong way but it does. or maybe i got this wrong. maybe its just about tradition. its the way its always been done and its the way everyone does it so therefore we should do it to. Screw that. if nobody ever did things against tradition we wouldnt get anywhere in life or culture. tradition does not equal right. Socrates said,"The unexamined life is not worth living." Though i may have missed the point of that statement and add to the list of people who misquote others for their own selfish needs, i believe that that statement can be applied to tradition and culture as well. we must examine are traditions and culture to find truth and if it is benefical to mankind as a whole. if it doesnt then this life and culture and traditions are wasteful. the truth is everything and everyone changes; we just get to choose how it changes. may we always change toward truth and the benefit of others or our traditions and culture that we love so much will crush us.

ok bye.

if i were a pirate

so Somali is having problem. Besides not having a central government or law of any sort the pirates of the horn of Africa are out for booty. Thats right modern day pirates armed with all sorts of guns are attacking everything including cruise ships taking what the want including people. This is a big problem as you can guess. The UN as sent some ships but the problem with that is you dont know who is a pirate until they have already taken a ship and then its a little late. So what is a solution you may ask. Sound. Thats right beautiful powerful sound. Cruise ships are now arming themselves with "sound guns". When directed at someone, the sound wave at a low frequency and loud enough volume and small enough area will cause a person to have disabling pain in their bellies. This the pirates to vomit and roll on the ground for hours after the ship has driven to safety. 

i think thats neat. sound is great.

Oh yeah its back

so i must confess lately i have been in an unhealthy love affair with the office. i blame this on my roommate and my total lack of self control. see my roommate jamie has ever watched the show so he got the first three seasons on dvd and every night we sit and watch it. so right now i love the office. its a great show and everyone should watch them all again. 

anywho to the point. Rumors are circling around hollywood that they will be making a Ghostbusters three. thats right another ghostbusters. now the truth be told i'm not a big fan of the first two but i am a fan of the office. how does that relate you might ask. good question. Columbia Pictures have hired two writers from the office to write the third ghostbuster. The other thing part are just rumors but Seth Rogen, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd are going to be in the film along with most of the original cast. 

so in conclusion.... i love the office.

oh yeah robbie check out Tokyo Police Club they are great.

a new theory to support and defend against robbie's flaming liberal ideas

Thesis:

In today's world of unlimited choices and possibilities across a wide range of applications, have left today's youth and even adults discontent, indecisive and unable to commit to anything for any length of time.

Later post will support this theory but right now i need to get ready for school

she is here

So as you might know this blog is called Me and Her and Everyone else. well its time to talk about the her part. She is coming here now. Ashley who is my soon to be wife will be here in about an hour with her dad. The suckie part is that its rain. Of course its raining its Florida. So anywho we are going to move her in anyways because well we dont have much of a choice. (But who wants choices anyways, right). at any rate, i am very happy about this. She is moving into an apartment about 10 minutes north of me. good times. she just called so i've got to go help move instead of telling the blog world that i'm going to go move. 

Music and Movies

Kid Rock has done something that i thought was pretty close to impossible. According to Billboard his latest cd "Rock'n'Roll Jesus" and its single "All Summer Long" have been at the top all summer long (no pun intend) without ( and here is the crazy part) the CD or single being available for download on iTunes. Why he did put it on iTunes beats me but i just now that crazy.

In other news, it has been confirmed that the creator of "The West Wing" who also wrote the screenplay for "Charlie Wilson's War" is working on a screenplay about the founders of Facebook. Thats right Facebook is getting a movie. I'm interested to see how this turns out. but it does support the old says that there are no new ideas. 

so a few things

1. i found (because my teacher told me) this thing called netvibes. maybe everyone else already knew about this but i love it. everyone should check it out cause i now know what is going on in the world and its all on one page. 

2. there is a film that is out or coming out called "What Would Jesus Buy" i really want to see it. its about how much we shop in america and all crazy it is. i really think this is true and it goes along with something i've been thinking about lately. 

Is have a infinite amount of choice a beneficial thing for us as humans?

I dont know yet but i'm leaning towards no. but if it is no, then what can be done about it? If infinite is not what people really need then what is it that people really need?

Starting Over

So I'm going to start again blogging. Nothing interesting right now but I want this to be full of information such as:

1. things i'm learning at Full Sail

2. Music and Entertainment updates

3. thoughts on religion and things I observe in the world.

4. Things going on in my life.

5. Whatever I want.

So yeah info coming soon.