Rest In Peace Ronnie James Dio
Sad news from the music world…. a great voice and a rock legend, Ronnie James Dio has passed away on Sunday 16th May.
His music will be remembered…
Here’s a message from the official Dio website:
Message from Wendy Dio
Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.
- Wendy Dio
Get an invitation for Starcraft 2 Beta Test
Although I don’t usually write about games on this blog, I have to say something about Starcraft 2, the new game from Blizzard. Many people play World of Warcraft, I think probably millions, but I prefer real time strategy games, and actually this is the only game I play anyway. I played the original Starcraft years ago, and the new Starcraft 2 has the same great gameplay, maybe even better, and many more things that make it more complex. Not to mention the graphic is really good, and it doesn’t kill your PC.
Anyway I don’t want to say to much about the game (it’s better if you play and see for your self how it is) that’s not the reason I post this, I usually write on Sensoria.ws about music, photography or design… well you could say this is a great game design
You can’t find Starcraft 2 in the shops yet, I’ve got an invitation from Blizzard to play the Beta Test, before the game is officially launched, and many people got one as well but they’re given kind of random. But I’ve got another invitation from Blizzard to give to a friend to play Starcraft 2 for free until the beta testing is finished, so I decided to give it to someone who really want’s to play Starcraft 2 before the official launch date.
Ok, let’s cut to the chase, I’m giving the invitation for Starcraft 2 Beta Test for free, all you have to do is comment here and say why wold you like to play the new Starcraft 2. The most interesting comment will get an e-mail from me with the key you need to download and play Starcraft 2 on Battle Net, yeah with other people, the most fun way to play it :). You’ll have to have an Battle Net account in order to download Starcraft 2 and use the invitation, that’s Blizzard’s requirements, but you can get one account if you have any original Blizzard game.
I will choose a winner from the one’s who commented, and announce it here, in a couple of days, on May 20th. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail address when you comment so I can send you the beta key.
Here’s the Official Cinematic Trailer of Starcraft 2 for those who didn’t see it:
The last day you can comment for the Starcraft 2 Beta Key is May 19th. You can pre-order Starcraft 2 and buy it from Amazon, just click the link bellow:
Edited on May 20th:
Thank you for all your comments. The winner is Razvan, I’ve sent him an e-mail with the Beta Key. I’m sorry for everybody else, I wish I could have more keys to give to everybody, but unfortunately I don’t have. But I hope to see you all in the game sometime in the future…
Amazing photographs from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano
Boston.com has published some incredible photographs taken at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland, volcano which erupted recently, affecting the air traffic over Europe.
Visit boston.com to see the rest of the impressive images.
Great Acoustic Cover - Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)
This is one of the greatest songs of Led Zeppelin, and I didn’t think that someone will make it sound this good on an acoustic guitar, he also sings it very good with the voice too. Check it out, from youtube:
Adobe Creative Suite 5 - first look on April 12
Adobe Creative Suite is one of the most comprehensive solutions for the professional designers, and is well known for its powerful tools, and if you are unfamiliar with the complete package of Creative Suite, you are probably familiar at least with Adobe Photoshop which is included in Creative Suite.
Adobe Photoshop is a software used by many photographers as well as web designers and if you use it you will probably be interested in the new version that comes with the launch of the new Creative Suite 5.
Adobe is launching CS5 on April 12, and you can follow this link if you are interested in having a first look at the program.
Sinead O’Connor - Watcher of Men
I found this song on youtube, although I’ve listened some of Sinead O’Connor’s songs in the past, I didn’t listen her latest songs. This song is from her lastest album “Theology” - 2007 and I find it very interesting. Here’s “Watcher of Man”:
Dynamic Range Day – SHOUT OUT against the Loudness Wars
What is the Loudness War exactly? Music is changing and recorded music is has changed too over the last years becoming much louder and sounding worse. Why? Well I guess we should ask the record companies.
Engineers and artists are using modern technology to push the average level of recorded music up and up and up against the “brick wall” maximum level of the CD format. This results in distortion, lack of punch and a flat, two-dimensional, lifeless sound.
You can read more about the Loudness War here.
What is Dynamic Range ? Dynamic Range is a measure of how much contrast there is in music, how much light and shade, how exciting it sounds. It’s best explained on Ian Shepherd’s blog, Production Advice, here you can also read more about Dynamic Range Day and the Loudness Wars. Ian Shepherd is also the one who had the idea of the Dynamic Range Day, which is on 20th of March and if you want to support it spread the word. If you have a website you can get a banner to support it from here.
Here is a video explaining the Loudness War:
Remember! Without silence, there is no loud!
Music and Passion - talk by Benjamin Zander
A friend recommended me this link, from a TED.com talk, a very interesting video about “Music and Passion”. Benjamin Zander a leading interpreter of Mahler and Beethoven, talks about classical music in a way that will help us realize our love for it, and will give you something to think about when you find new possibilities and connections. “Classical music is for everybody”.
Enjoy this video, you’ll have a laugh too

