hard to sing: peaceful easy feeling

Readers of ack/nak may not know that I am a musician. I play piano and sing, and dabble at tinwhistle, shakuhachi, bodhran and digeridoo.

There are songs that are easy to sing - Oh Shenandoah, or Getting to Know You, or You Are My Sunshine. The entire James Taylor oeuvre is easy. Coldplay is easy. Randy Newman is not only easy, but you'll end up sounding better than him, which is great for the ego. No offense, Mr. Newman.

There are songs that are hard to sing - any standard associated with Sinatra is hard. Traditional Irish music is hard. Plainsong is hard (try to iron all the vibrato out of your voice sometime).

Then there are songs that are very hard to sing.

By "hard to sing" I mean "hard to perform in a way that isn't a note-for-note version of the original artist's interpretation". Songs that are technically hard can be beaten, with effort, but the "hard to sing" songs just don't turn out right.

And by "hard to sing" I don't include songs that are "impossible to sing", given your particular voice. I'm never going to try and sing Nessun Dorma. Or Black Dog. Or one of the many lovely arias written for castrata. Ahem.

Curiously, some of the songs that on the surface sound quite straightforward turn out to be very, very challenging to sing.

Not that the melodies are hard - but giving an honest interpretation of the lyric is enormously difficult. Add that to your natural inclination to monkey around with the chords and you've got a monster of a challenge.

Here's a song you've heard a million times - but yet it's one of the more challenging songs I know of. I spent almost a full hour tonight throwing myself on the rocks of this song.

Have a look. Run through it a few times in your head. Then let's talk about just how damn hard it is to do this song justice.

If you're a singer too, let me know what your "easy vs hard vs very hard" list is. I'm curious.

brains: sells water

Supermarionation FTW!

vote: hobo's chariot

Why should this design win? Because "everyone loves hoboes (sic) and everyone loves cats", that's why.

Can't say why this caught my attention today. Perhaps my visit to Hobotopia did it.

metacomment: foxworthy on emerson on olberman

Let me begin by saying that I like hearing from you, dear reader.  I read your comments, your email messages, your Twitterings, your smoke-signals.  I read everything you send me.  Because, you know, Reading is Fundamental.

And because occasionally one of you will drop something cool on me.

In reference to a post of last evening, Sensei Jim weighed in with the following:

I know Olbermann is a practiced speaker, but something happens towards the last couple minutes. Reminded me of one of my favorite R.W. Emerson quotations, taken from his personal diary (below).

"The eloquent man is he who is no beautiful speaker, but who is inwardly and desperately drunk with a certain belief; it agitates and tears him, and almost bereaves him of the power of articulation. Then it rushes from him as in short abrupt screams, in torrents of meaning. The possession by the subject of his mind is so entire, that it ensures an order of expression which is the order of nature itself, and so the order of greatest force and inimitable by any art. And the main distinction between him and other well-graced actors is the conviction communicated to the hearer by every word, that his mind is contemplating a whole, and inflamed with the contemplation of the whole, and that the words and sentences uttered by him, however admirable, fall from him as unregarded parts of that terrible whole, which he sees, and means that you shall see."
--- (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1845)

Shazam!

seasonality: politics > product management

I beg your patience while your humble author uses the bully pulpit of this blog to express opinions on current events.  Thank you.

I expect after June 3rd I'll get back to talking about scintillating topics like pricing, product roadmaps, positioning and whatnot.  Yes, product management is fascinating.  But we're living, as the Chinese curse says, "in interesting times", and these times merit vigilance.  

news: quick picks from gildas

ack/nak reader, world-class bon vivant and marketing expert Gildas wrote today with the following news:

I thought you might like to know that Klimperei and Madame Papate are releasing a new album. And, as a foot note, that the most annoying song ever has been found : give it a try... we will see how long you last. I gave up after the first chorus.

I lasted about as long, but downloaded the song anyway to test my willpower at a later date.  I may also load it up as one of the optional ack/nak soundtracks, which are found in the middle column over there -->

In response to my discovery of Fur TV, Gildas added:

On your note on Fur TV, did you know that they are actually Irish in origin, from the same team that gave us the wonderful Podge and Rodge and this year's unfortunate Irish entry in the Eurovision song contest, the mighty Dustin.

about: folding cartons and sharing

I've been asking around to learn more about packaging design, specifically the creation of folding cartons for my ack/nak/art project.

I've encountered people who are unwilling (or unable) to share any insights with me.

Which leads me to wonder. . . why?

Do you have a policy of not sharing sources or your infinite wisdom with strangers?

Or do you point beginners in the right direction and let them find their way from there?

If you know anything about this field, let me know.

In the meantime, I'll post what I discover. Because I believe in pointing beginners in the right direction.

FWIW - The link above is to Pro Carton Nordica, which offers not only the excellent primer I reference, but a variety of templates and a comprehensive glossary.

discovered: fur tv

According to Variety,  FurTV "centers around three puppets who share a flat in the human world and spend their time drinking, fighting and trying to chat up girls."  The pilot (which aired on BBC2 in 2004) won a BBC Greenlight Award for new comedy in 2003 and a Golden Rose for best pilot in 2004.

Of all the clips and bits I've been able to find, this one is pretty representative.   Be warned though - this show makes Greg the Bunny look like the Dick Van Dyke Show.  Turn your volume down if you're viewing this in the office or at home with the wee bairns running about.  Or if you're offended by what SpongeBob calls "spicy language".

FurTV is currently airing on MTV One in the UK.  You can view episodes 1 and 2 at the FurTV homepage.

reuters: loves ack/nak

I get a kick out of seeing some of my so-called "work" featured under the banner of Actual News Organizations.  Such as, say, Reuters.

Thank you to Blogburst (my syndicator) for making it easy for Actual News Organizations to offer ack/nak to their readers.

reader review: belstaff colonial canvas bag(s)

I get a lot of mail (and traffic) on the topic of the Belstaff Colonial Canvas line of shoulder bags. Today's email from ack/nak reader Taniel was one of the best reader reviews I've gotten in a while, so I'm sharing it with you. It doesn't hurt that Taniel also provides the phone number for the San Francisco store where the bags were purchased.

I loved your write up about the belstaff bag collection. It helped tremendously with my purchase of the shoulder bag and large man bag. I ordered both with the intention of keeping one, and returning the other. I ended up falling in love with the shoulder bag, I can say without hesitation that it is the perfect bag for almost anything, and it looks charmingly masculine so it doesnt get that man purse reaction.

I felt compelled to write you since your write up helped me so much to gather info about these bags, as you probably know info is very scarce on the web. So i wanted to give you a little write up about my experience with these two bags.

Like i said earlier i ordered both the shoulder bag and large man bag from Bloomingdales San Francisco (415.856.5300). The shoulder bag in mountain brown and large man bag in kaki.

When i compared both bags visually the first thing i noticed was how small the large man bag seems next to the shoulder bag. But in reality they are both about the same size, the only difference being one is landscaped format and the other isnt. In terms of capacity the shoulder bag can carry more stuff since it measures about 2" deeper than the large man bag, the man bag is about 2.5" and the shoulder bag is about 4". The front pockets on both are identically sized.

One limiting factor about the large bag is that it does not have those side pockets like the shoulder bag. That can be quite limiting since those pockets are perfect for little nik knacks. When slung around the shoulder they both feel very comfortable and sit very naturally at the waist.

In terms of looks, I prefered the shoulder bag because it just looked more rugged, and it had that look like every time i put it on i feel like im about to set off on an adventure. With the large bag i didnt feel as much character out of it. Not to knock it but it looks more like a large camera bag slung at your waist, the vertical format of the bag just makes it look small when worn. Also the absence of the side pockets gives it more of a refined look compared to the sheer ruggedness of the shoulder bag.

Both bags are fantastic shoulder bags with great features and you really cant go wrong with either one. But what it comes down to, for me at least, is the looks. The large man bag is a great looking bag, but the shoulder bag just looks that much better.

surprise: senatorial humor on parade

Ask a US Senator whether or not he or she'd "seriously consider an offer to be No. 2 on their party’s presidential ticket" and you get all manner of answers, most of them surprisingly funny.

Linky for your amusement and edification. The picture is a reminder of what FDR's VP had to say about the job.

duh: chicago repeals foie gras ban

The Chicago City Council voted 37-6 today to repeal the two-year old ban on foie gras.

Allow me to offer the following for you to consider in no particular order.

1. Foie gras is delicious.

2. Life is short (see #1).

3. Humans have opposable thumbs - geese and ducks do not.  I am not sorry about this, G-d knows what horrors they would perpetrate if they did.

4. Most (if not all) commercially produced foie gras ducks are raised under humane conditions.  Just ask this blogger.

5. Most (if not all) commercially produced chicken are raised under pretty hideous conditions. 

6. Most (if not all) of the roads in Chicago are so pock-marked with potholes that driving in the city is an slalom race with death.

7. The councilman responsible for the ban had his microphone turned off as the resolution was brought to a vote.

8. Across the city, foie gras stayed on the menu at many restaurants despite the ban.  Such as Cafe Absinthe in Wicker Park, where, might I mention, the Hudson Valley Foie Gras was mighty tasty last winter.  Shhh.

9. Doug Sohn, the owner of Hot Doug’s (3324 N. California Ave.), whose special, foie-gras-laced “Joe Moore” sausage earned him the very first fine ($250) for violating the city’s foie-gras ban, is happy the two-year-old ordinance was repealed on Wednesday. (link)

10. Many Chicagoans who can't afford dinner, much less foie gras, are appalled that our city spent any time at all on this issue.  They are not happy.

discovered: friendfeed

You can subscribe to my friendfeed by clicking on the title of the box below. It's a cool toy - thanks to Steve Olechowski for sharing it with me.

newton: reply hazy, try again UPDATED

AppleInsider is reporting a senior Intel executive has vouched for an Atom-based Apple Newton tablet.

Or did he?

From the article:

"Schwaderer today confirms what has long been a rumor on the Internet: namely, that there is an iPhone with Intel's new Atom chip," reads a report in the German edition of ZDNet. "The device is slightly larger than the current version, Schwaderer said. This is not [because of] the Intel chip, but [because of] the larger display used in the new iPhone."

As much as I want to believe that Apple is working on a new Newton, this doesn't do much to confirm anything.

Sorry, everyone. That said, if you've got better intelligence on this, let me know.

UPDATE1: There is no Atom-based iPhone, says Intel. (linky1, linky2 [my favorite])

link: why product management is easy

Product management savant and Twitter fancier Adam Bullied has written the single best blog post on product management I've read in a long time. It's honest, it's heartfelt, and it frames the challenge that all product managers face at the beginning of their tenures. But most of all, it exposes one of the great secrets of product management - it's not rocket science, kids.

He sums it up nicely in his closing:

All the job is is connecting dots and knowing where to look for the data you need to make decisions. Don’t get overwhelmed by all the noise.

Let me suggest however that it's easier for certain sorts of people than others - but that's true of everything. A product management temperament is the primary prerequisite for success, and that temperament is more difficult to quantify than the work activities. We spend a lot of time here at ack/nak on topics that relate to the question of temperament, as you've probably figured out.

The job of product management does change when you start to operate at an executive level, where there is less interest in the daily grind of PM and more interest in how your portfolio of products lines up with the strategic direction of the company. I definitely need to suppress my inner geek more these days, practice more restraint, listen more. . .which are definitely issues of temperament.

All in, great post, Adam. If you haven't done it already, add Write This Down to your list of blogs you must read if you're a practicing product manager. Or Twitter fancier.

found: the bird and the bee

the bird and the bee player

Brought to you by cruxy.com

widget: slate's hillary deathwatch

discovered: amazing foodie tattoo

Now that's commitment.

And no, I didn't get a tattoo.

(source: anonymous ack/nak reader)