Ion’s blog

VOCALOID has been presented by YAMAHA, at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and at the 114th Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. MTG has contributed largely to the development of VOCALOID especially in its basic research aspects, namely, singing voice processing in frequency domain

The software runs on Windows-based PCs and synthesizes the sound from “vocal libraries” of recordings of actual singers, retaining the vocal qualities of the original singing voices to reproduce real-sounding vocals. VOCALOID vocal-synthesizing software overcomes a major hurdle composers have faced until now due to the limitations that technology has placed on their ability to freely create songs incorporating singing

By just inputting the melody and words on their PCs, users can produce the vocal parts for their pieces with no further work. The synthesized sound retains the vocal qualities of the original singers’ voices because VOCALOID synthesizes the sound from “vocal libraries” of recordings of real people singing. The software also features simple commands that allow users to add expressive effects—such as vibrato and pitch bends—to their synthesized vocals. Currently, VOCALOID can generate singing in Japanese and English. Further development of the range of available vocal libraries will make the production of songs using vocals in a wide range of voice qualities possible using VOCALOID

Proportionally, there are not many female characters in games. There are even fewer really GREAT female lead characters that are as powerful and fun to play as the male characters, that women can relate to and identify with. Female characters are typically portrayed as weaker than the male characters, as sexual objects, and/or as victims of violence. We have heard enough complaints about this from female gamers to believe that this is a problem in the industry. We decided to review the current selection of lead female characters as a way to give the gamers and consumers more information, and to spark discussion.

For those besotted by crystal mandalas, oral spray vitamins and inner energy balancing, this was the place to be. Exhibitors at the festival, now in its 15th year in Sydney, know their watchwords – fear, stress, anger, procrastination, insomnia and self-sabotage, all of which they promise to banish with an array of therapies, from detox foot patches to thought field therapy.

Other wonders included “reiki empowerment” ($10 for five minutes), a book titled Death, the Ultimate Orgasm (yours for $34.95) and “ki energy treatment” ($30 for 20 minutes), where the therapist works on energy blockages while making a noise like a hyperventilating bird.

But the big drawcards, said the festival’s founder, Graham Wilson, were the self-help workshops, which offered “effective psychic protection techniques” and “circles of forgiveness”.

“People are now active rather than passive,” he said. “Ten years ago they would attend lectures. Now they want more in-depth workshops because people want to take responsibility and learn self-healing techniques.”

I’ll say it in draft in whisper
Since we cannot speak openly yet
The game of irrational heaven
Is attained via experience[,] and sweat

Beneath the temporary sky of purgatory
We frequently fail to recall
That this happy[,] heaven-roofed depository
Is a flexible lifetime home.