Chemical System

This is epic, a song suite by CosMoBSP (by now I think we're getting accustomed to the most common style of Vocaloid music producers' professional names!) titled Chemical System and featuring a number of Vocaloid voices, both male and female.

The animated cartoon-style presentation works well in this context, and some of the sound is truly superb in its clarity – some reminiscent in a way of Jean-Michel Jarre's innovative use of such 'incidental' sounds for years now.

The whole thing lasts nearly twelve minutes. There are no English words provided as yet, but a few of us commenting at the YouTube page are indicating that they would be good to have, one day. In the meantime, it is still an enjoyable journey to take, just as it is...

For the Hatching Chick

Yes, it's Ga Gain again (!) but in completely different mood and style from the last offering I posted here. For the Hatching Chick is written in precisely that vein, and SeeU's voice is perfect for this perhaps unexpectedly touching song.

There are English subtitles again, and it is difficult to go through this and come out the other side without a warm, soft and fuzzy feeling – and perhaps in need of a hanky or tissue...

A-capella-cat-abra

I wrote it that way in the title to make it easier to read and to understand what it's about. It's really Acapellacatabra, with multiple uses of SeeU's voice providing all the vocals in this unusual unaccompanied track.

This was devised and produced jointly by Ga Gain (the composer of Arirang) and someone known as porifra of whom I as yet know virtually nothing...

Tweet of the Day – 29 April 2013

From BBC Propaganda, in the wake of this evening's Dispatches TV programme...

"Royal Mail employees fired for theft:

• 2007  364
• 2008  401
• 2009  345
• 2010  340
• 2011  309 "

I present this information just as it comes, as it is difficult to draw any concrete conclusions from so few statistical datum points. For example, does it mean that there is now a downward trend, perhaps from the change of national government sending a message that Royal Mail is no longer a safe haven for theiving employees? I think that's a tough one to justify, especially without the 2012 figure.

However it does show that it is an endemic problem within the Royal Mail, and has been for at least half a decade, probably a lot longer. As with so much in the public sector (though by no means all), it is at least perceived to be a 'soft touch' for the more dubious types, or they are more easily tempted, or there are inadequate safeguards. It is probably a combination of all of those things, and perhaps more besides.

I am personally aware of other issues that come more under fraud than direct theft, though with similar results, such as the Post Office counter (in a shop) that was paid to run two counters but almost never had more than one open and was pocketing the second salary. It was run by an obvious Labour supporter who had claimed to me that he 'always voted Conservative'. I was never fooled, not for an instant...

They eventually lost the facility and it passed to another shop in the same short road, where it has run successfully ever since.

Illumiroom

Another in the range of technological advances that are coming into living rooms this decade is Microsoft's Illumiroom concept system that uses one's own room as an extension of a television set, mainly for games enhancement but there are other uses too..

This five-minute video is so well put together that it describes and shows what it is and how it does it much better than I could, and is very interesting indeed...