Tj Newhalls' Portfolio

Hello there.

Tj — Mon, 23 May 2011 08:38:47 +0000

I built the moon, and read the cucumber.
I also write music and do graphic design (see ^) ,among other things.

Contact: Email Me
Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/tjnew

Feel free to contact me for projects/booking/whatever else.

New songs are now up!!>>>in the sidebar
Looking for Dubstep? – Check out HERE or email for a set preview
You can can listen/download some of the tracks off my album.
If you like them its now up for sale in the sidebar & in the “Download” section (^^up top) along with other goodies.

Consider this to my blog section with writings
on various topics such as movies,media,
self development,cosmology,sociology ect.

Topics are over on the right, feel free to meander>>

More art/junk below
Videos here Youtube
Art here Dev

Best movies Ive recently seen

Tj — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:00:00 +0000

So lately Ive been using more of my time
to look into film. Many of these could be
considered suspense but
are not exclusive to it. My criteria for
movies is anything that pulls me in,
makes me think, has a certain amount
of depth or at least can make me laugh.
Here is a list of my favorite movies recently;

Waking Life (2001) – IMDb

Waking Life is definitely a movie for a select
group but nonetheless it is one of the best
movies Ive ever seen. I cannot recommend it
enough for it opens up many of the possibilities
of thought which many of us tend to forget.

The Usual Suspects – IMDb

Twists and turns

The Beat That My Heart Skipped – IMDb

Music + mayhem.

Rashômon – IMDb

Watch it.

Metropolis – IMDb
Ahead of its time,even now.

A Scanner Darkly (2006) – IMDb

Phenomenal animation,the work they put in
to this movie shows. Plot is most definitely
strange but I like strange .

The Game (1997) – IMDb

Keeps you engaged and constantly second guessing yourself

Pi(1998) – IMDb

28 Days Later(2002) – IMDb

One word: Zombies

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Others:

-Babine seems like the french equivalent to Big Fish, only not.Havent watched it in english yet,nonetheless tis good.

-Das Leben der Anderen engaging,epic

-Paris, je t’aime A collaboration of short films directed by different artists (I just saw that one of them is the director of The Triplets of Belleville which should also be mentioned for its distinct style.

-Spirited Away Definitely different, I have a tendency to be bias towards things that are good. Strange story, would watch it just for the animation. Great flow and full of color.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole- Awesooome.

Myths of music production?

Tj — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:56:05 +0000

Most people dont even know where to start as far as making music. It may seem like an overbearing feat that will only be an aspiration. I would like to change that mindset. Ive been playing music for about 10+ years now and have tried virtually every program for making tracks out there. Theres a few things I would like to change that may make things a little bit easier for you.

Myth one: You need to be able to play music.
1.Wrong, you do not need to know how to play an instrument. To be frank you don’t even need to know music theory. Many musicians may argue this but I wouldnt consider their motives to be towards your benefit. Here are the reasons I will give:

a. Most programs come with tutorials. Tutorials help you understand the core of the programs,how it works and what to do with it. These also are covered more in depth by users of a certain program and usually a search on youtube will come up will many results.
b. Besides tutorials there are usually a few projects already built that you can look at to get an idea of how a song should be constructed.
c. You may also start your own collection of samples. So what if you cant play the drums,all you need are the sounds (bass,snare,and cymbals) and then they can be arranged any way you want. If you need a violin,same thing applies.

Myth two: You need allot of money to start.
2. Wrong again. You don’t need allot of money,I could make a decent song with some pots and pans and a 8 track. But even on the technological side of things,you can make a sound studio for under 500$. A few things you may need are:

a. A computer: not necessary but helps. It dosent have to be amazing. Any home computer (produced within the last ~8 years) with work for getting the basics down. Im assuming most have a computer otherwise you wouldnt be reading this and if not they are getting incredibly cheap. You could buy a used one or a mini laptop and be fine with something around 300$. Alternatives are getting a multitrack recorder such as the Boss Micro BR Digital Recorder which runs about 229$,this would let you record multiple tracks anywhere you are. You would need to have a device that reads SD cards or a computer but could also pay a cheap studio musician to retrieve your work and burn it on a CD as well.
b. Software: This part is where people probably get abit scared because usually they assume that this is where their big purchase is going,not true…heres why: As more people understand this problem they tend to find solutions as far as audio programs I could pay 0$ to record my music and have virtual instruments as well. Im not talking about piracy Im talking about freeware/open source. A group of people that put out a product because it helps themselves and others. They may accept donations but do not require it. My favorite free audio program is called Audacity. With this alone you can record a song,edit it,and export it to an mp3/wav to burn to a CD or put up online, it also supports VSTs (virtual instruments). All you need is a microphone (as your computer should have a soundcard even if its so-so) to use.
c. Vsts are the next thing you could look into. There are hundreds of free ones for both mac and pc. For Pc my favorite are from aaron rutledge at TweakBench. Most of the sounds are fairly similar to 8bit (video game) tones but with much more variety. I cannot recommend them enough. Abakos,Cheeze,and Daedalus are all good for the PC as well and can all be downloaded (including some mac stuff) at FreeSoundEditor free of charge. Along with this you will also need a VST host. Think of this as the core that will run all your instruments for pc there are some free ones such as Savihost by Hermann Seib. Theres also Bidule for Mac and PC which could alone suck me for months at a time with all the things it can do.check it out,well worth it.

d. Most of these will need a midi keyboard which again can be picked up faily cheap new or used. Anywhere from 50-200$ will work for now.

Prodcuts to look into: Akai Professional LPK25, and the M-Audio Axiom 25.

I use a Emu Xboard 25 and a Akai MPK49 both of which I am happy with.

Other things you may want to consider: Headphones, monitor speakers, an external hard-drive(always advisable if anything crashes you will have a backup) and a guitar/bass (acoustic or electric.) Getting a music guru. I didn’t have one of these but it definitely saves allot of hassle and will push you to do better. From music to tech problems.

Thats about all for now,if I want specific enough or you need some help out send a comment on over

-Tj

Watch out for Debri

Tj — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:40:59 +0000

On Nov 17th be ready to stay/wake up and look towards the sky. Meteors galore will be falling,I only hope the weather will be decent otherwise I am down for a roadtrip. Also these peices are going to be moving fast,like 45 miles per second fast so we should see some color coming off them as well.

Its going to cold,Blankets,cushions,coffee and rum should the trick.

Survey Research

Tj — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:19:12 +0000

If anyone else would like to participate please login at Articulate and take the “Success Is? Survey Quiz”.

http://thomnew.articulate-online.com/7169175173
quiz

Agriculture (or a lack of) in developing populations

Tj — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:43:57 +0000

Native Bay Area populations and agriculture – A difference in opinion on the hunter gatherer way of life.

Tj Newhall-A Self proclaimed brontosaurus of 5 top selling books of which do not exist.

Agriculture has been proposed as an major change, adaptation and benefit to those who’ve adopted it. At the same time that should not imply that those without it would not progress. We can see from some hunter/gatherer societies that this is not the only way to survive and but also that’s its possible to flourish without the domestication of plants (or animals). Consider the Chumash as an example (one in many) for which they have broken a few typical stereotypes of hunter/gatherer societies. What I mean by this is that they where not small in population and where considered stationary. The idea of living in one place and not having a steady supply of crops and livestock would seem to be problematic (at least from a Eurocentric point of view). But the Chumash survived by different means, and that is/was of fishing (and acorn foraging). This also provides a steady food supply and I could even argue cultivation of plants is not as beneficial as its thought to be for: Agriculture is a process (hence why many couldn’t/didn’t develop it) The idea of clearing the land(tedious, long hours), preparing the soil (also the type of soil is a factor), finding the correct crop (its an investment),maintaining the crop (water,bugs,animals,and environmental factors) and proper storage(if your crop did come out alright) all requires time, knowledge and man(or women) power. Maintenance for animals (if they are even around) is needed as well. Therefore if you could avoid such a process and use time to develop other methods, why wouldn’t you do that? The transition to agriculture has a number of reoccurring themes: Enviroment(resources and changes), Population(size), and Culture(is it needed? Trade) There are number of others but I feel as though these play a significant role in determining the route of which groups/society develop/progress. Environmentally the California coast is fairly rich with resources (many can argue that domestication is an adaptation to declining resources). As far as the Chumash are concerned, food was fairly diverse . The variety of sea food the coast offers is plentiful and is renewable (anchovies, bass, halibut,seals ,sharks,mammals,clams,mussels,abalone ect) along with the animals on land (rabbits,elk,deer) and that of plants/seeds (acorns,bark,roots,flowers) which could also be used not only sustenance but for medicine as well. Population was an issue at times but it wouldn’t have gotten as big as it did without having sufficient food sources. As far as culture(which is a fairly loose term) there was still craft specialization, political stratification , hierarchies and barter/trade which again would not happen without food supply. In short the tribe survived through developing techniques (and improving through technology such as spears,blades,bowls,tools ect) of fishing/acorn use and that of large trade(food,clothe,shells,rocks ect) routes.a This intern allowed time for the development of customs,values,art,religion,and social gatherings. I believe agriculture was not a necessity to them, although it may have been helpful. Although many may think complex hunter gatherer(s) is an oxymoron, these groups would definitely disprove their assumption. Based on our criteria (which isn’t really fair) of what is a complex society is, a group without agriculture can still develop settlements with large populations, housing, elaborate technology, food supplies, political organizations, economies(including niche jobs crafts, healing ect), medicine and therefore would be considered complex.

Soc News

Tj — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:08:06 +0000

Going through some studies.

A Theory of Affluence Im liking it.

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I dont which I like more good studies or really bad ones..

I like this ones conclusion on privacy rights pertaining to websites/facebook:

“No one should have personal data stored or shared without their informed, active consent.”

….do you really think privacy is something you should expect online. I believe that anything I put online is free game for some to hack into,steal,manipulate and plagiarize.That dosent mean I approve of that deviance but I will acknowledge its existence. The internet is a technically a network of, well networks. A gateway for information to be passed through and although some things may seem private, I guarantee they’re not. Some people complain about photos in public, this isnt that far off..

Heres the link: One Friend Facebook Hasn’t Made

Best title ever!”Find Yourself Packing It On? Blame Friends”

Best mac encoder/converter no longer..

Tj — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:17:03 +0000

If anyone had the satisfaction of using VisualHub (or Isquint) you would understand why its a shame that Techspansion (the makers) have stopped further production,and will not be selling this product anymore. However there is some good news and its they have released the source code on SourceForge (great site btw) therefore its supporters can mess around and update anything they like. Also VideoMonkey has done this and rewritten it in Cocoa. I havent downloaded it but it is free and well worth trying out for converting your mpegs,mkvs,flvs,m4vs ect into whatever format you need from DVDs to IPOD video.

Albums

Tj — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Good music is good music. Im not so much concerned with genres as much as the way songs move and connect. Lately there are few albums of which I have had my eye on which include:

Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Album: Humbug
Release Date: Aug 25, 2009

Artist: Smokey Robinson
Album: Time Flies When You’re Having Fun
Release Date: Aug 25, 2009

Artist: Matisyahu
Album: Light
Release Date: Aug 25, 2009

Artist: Imogen Heap
Album: Ellipse
Release Date: Aug 25, 2009

A few upcoming albums:

Artist: Thrice
Album: Beggars
Release Date: Sep 15, 2009

Artist: Paramore
Album: Brand New Eyes
Release Date: Sep 29, 2009

and a few wtf albums:

Artist: Sean Kingston
Album: Tomorrow
Release Date: Mar 31, 2016

Artist: Kidz Bop Kids
Album: Kidz Bop 16
Release Date: Aug 4, 2009

Artist: Brooke Hogan
Album: The Redemption
Release Date: Jul 21, 2009

If anyone has similar interests or knows about some of this send a comment on over about some.

Best Iphone Apps sofar

Tj — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:31:10 +0000

iDic
Freeballin