Yoko Kanno is one of the most amazing composers and band leaders ever, and it is always a treat to discover someone new singing her praises by playing her music (and yes, I do mean that literally). Back in 2009 a band called Platina Jazz got together to create covers of the best Jazz music in Anime, so I figure at least half of their music has to be created by her. Let me show off a few of their tunes so you can get an idea of who they are.
Starting off with the single most recognizable tune from Anime Jazz, Yoko Kanno’s TANK:
Then there is Inner Universe from Ghost In The Shell : Stand Alone Complex, another track composed and originally preformed by Yoko Kanno!
And another killer classic from Cowboy Bebop, Knock A Little Harder:
If you don’t already know the questions this anime answered 30 years ago and continues to answer today, this video will explain it to you. This exploration of the Ghost In The Shell universe was created by Beyond Ghibli, and he has many more where this came from.
Ben Hamm had a cat problem, which he solved using AI. This was his presentation of the project from Ignite Seattle, and thanks to the team at i-programmer for the heads up on this.
You can take a free online course in Asteroid Defense 101 courtesy of the Planetary Society. It is one of the first in a series of courses they will be offering, with this one taught by Bruce Betts, author and Planetary Scientist. The course is free, and presented on line.
It has been a while since I featured her here, but Tessa Violet has come up with a couple of new world class songs and their associated music vodeos lately, so it is more than time to do it again. The first is her latest, I Like (the idea of) You, an absolutely hypnotic tune and video. The second is Bad Ideas from last November, another tasty little song. Enjoy!
The Sweet Life Society is an ElectroSwing band out of Italy who have done a number of fun songs, I figured I would share a few of them. The first is 2012’s My Sound, which is an effervesant tune that keeps bubbling up into your head when you least expect it, and it may even be an original tune. That would be unusual, since most ElectroSwing songs start off being a classic Swing tune which then gets sampled and remixed. The second song is 2014’s Prima di ogni prima, probably also original and definately infectuous. To finish it off we have their 2017 song Hard On; that album took a sharp turn away from ElectroSwing and went face first into Ska. Enjoy!
What the Tech Industry Has Learned from Linus Torvalds was a TEDx event, a local self-organized event where x = independently organized TED event. This particular one was put together by Jim Zemlin, who is the Executive Director of the Linux Foundation. He knows better than most just what Linus has contributed to the world, and why it works so well. Prepare to be amazed.
The Post Modern Jukebox invited singer/dancer/actor Emily Goglia to join them for a cover of the theme song to Pinky And The Brain, and the results were amazing. They spun it into the realm of the Torch Singers and added a bit of live action dialog in a bar/club setting that was absolutely definitive for the series, while still setting it apart. Watch and enjoy!
