EXPERT OPINION - LETTERS |
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As always, the opinions expressed in these pages are purely and personally those of myself, Brian; they are not the official views of Queen, or of any other organisation or individual.
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Reference:
STEREO AND FREEVIEW NOTES |
Welcome to
BRI'S SOAPBOX |
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COPYRIGHT NOTE:
Please DON'T reproduce stuff from these pages without permission. And if you do, please give us credit (brianmaycom)!! and a LIVE link. Cheers ! Bri
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**Wed 15 Jul
09**
FOX CUB RESCUE
I
thought you might like to see a few progress pics of our
young 'family'. These were taken today by Anne Brummer, our
rescue lady extraordinaire.
All three cubs are doing well - two boys and a girl ... their
names are underneath their pics. They get a lot of room service
... better than some hotels I've been in !! ha ha.
I'm thrilled to report we've already had some offers of support
from you great people out there ... thanks so much. Maybe the
human race isn't ALL bad ... !
cheers !
Dr. Bri
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**Wed 15 Jul 09**
NEW FRIENDS - NATIVE ANIMALS IN DISTRESS

Click
image for larger
I do a lot of talking about the plight of animals ... the
creatures who, alongside us, share this planet. It's my opinion
that we have a totally ridiculous idea of how important we
are, and that we, as a race, behave despicably to our fellow
beasts. To me, we humans are the pitiless, senseless vandals
of this world, and it seems to be down to a few thinking, caring
people to try to limit the damage done by the mindless majority.
This week, I met someone who does a wonderful job, with a
tiny amount of support, a wonderful job of saving and caring
for countless animals whose lives we humans have wrecked.
This lady is Anne Brummer, and her brilliant organisation
is called Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue.
I've pledged my support, and, by erecting a sanctuary on private
land for animals in need of rehabilitation, I'm hoping to help
extend her great work. All my people, who work for me and with
me, at Duck, are backing the project. Our first tenants are
three adorable fox cubs, all orphaned too young by the works
of Man. The little chap above is Sebastian, and he's been reared
from a baby, by bottle at first, having lost his mother soon
after his birth. He needs to learn how to defend himself and
find food, and 'be a fox'. The techniques of care and 'soft
release' practised by Anne and her colleagues will give him
a good chance to grow up strong and have a good life.
If anyone want to help these wonderful people in their labour
of love, we will supply contact details on request.
Meanwhile ... Sebastian is busy learning what is around him,
before he leaps into a new world.

Click image for larger
Cheers
Bri
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**Wed 15 Jul
09**
HAMMERSMITH 75
[See LETTERS]
We
will do our best to restore the whole thing as far as we
can. The project will probably be in two stages .. assembly
of part of the concert for a TV program, and then, probably
a few months later, or so, a DVD of the whole show.
Cheers
Bri
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**Tue 14 Jul
09**
DIGITALLY REMASTERED?
Well, here is a very succinct answer to the question [see
LETTERS] about the meaning of "Digitally Remastered",
from Justin Shirley-Smith. Thanks Justin.
Dear Dean
The
word "Remastered" means that
the audio quality, the dynamics (the difference between loud
and quiet parts), the volume and the EQ (treble and bass
etc) have all been re-assessed and re-adjusted as desired
by a Mastering Engineer.
The
word "Remastered" does not apply
to the music, performance or mix - it applies only to the
sound.
If
something has been "Digitally Remastered" -
it means the audio has been remastered using digital audio
technology - either in the actual recording (storage) of
the sound or in the processing as listed above - or both.
I
can not see "Digitally Remastered" written
in connection with the current releases of vinyl LPs on the
QOL store anywhere I've looked - and I would not expect to.
If you let me know exactly where it says this I will look
into it.
Best
wishes
Justin
Cheers
Brian
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**Tue 14
Jul 09**
NOCTILUCENT CLOUD
(NLC) STEREO
This might be the first NLC stereo in the world ... who knows
...
I
put two photographs together for this stereo, taken a few
minutes apart, by my great friend Jamie Cooper. Click here to
visit his gallery of beautiful pictures of this phenomenon,
visible from the British Isles at the moment.

This
stereo clearly shows the 'normal' terrestrial clouds in the
foreground, in a layer stretching out towards us ... and
behind them, in a completely different plane, the magnificent "Noctilucent" clouds
... which are reckoned to be at least 50 miles above us. NLC's
are not usually so prevalent, especially in these latitudes.
The usual explanation is that they are caused by extremely
high layers of ice crystals. Jamie thinks they may be connected
with the recent volcanic eruptions in Russia, throwing debris
into the upper atmosphere.
For the technically inquisitive: this is not a case of using
a true extended stereo baseline. The parallax in the 'normal'
clouds is due to their movement from left to right between
the two exposures, and so is really a 'false perspective'.
The NLC's were moving much more slowly, and in the other direction,
so they appear 'flat', and a long way away. But, in this case,
the illusion is close to the reality.
But how did that elephant get up there?
Cheers
Bri
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**Sat
10 Jul 09**
A VILLAGE LOST, AND ABOUT TO BE FOUND
Our
captions for the Book Business Cognoscenti group picture
at the Dominion last week are now ready ... see the picture,
some way below, which is now annotated!

Key
= FL = Frances Lincoln Missing: Robin Rees, our producer.
Cheers
!
It
was not an event attended by thousands, or even hundreds.
But for me it was a milestone. It was the first time our
book "A
Village Lost and Found" has appeared anywhere outside
our small circle of authors and publishers. This book has been
my consuming passion for at least the last year, and is the
reason I have been so quiet for so long. It's been in preparation
for about 2 years, and the research it contains stretches back
more than 30 years, to the days when I first became fascinated
with a mysterious 1850s stereo photographer T. R. Williams.
He doesn't feature much in the Histories of Photography currently
on sale, but the more I uncovered of his work, the more convinced
I became that he was one of the most important artist photographers
the world has seen. It was a long journey, and on the way,
by sheer dogged determination (the kind of thing I'm good at!)
and through the kindness of some collector friends ... I collected,
for the first time ever, a complete set of images, and verses
from T. R. Williams's greatest labour of love ... "Scenes
in Our Village". To see this book nearly ready to go on
sale (October is the planned release date) is one of the most
exciting things that has ever happened to me. And that is saying
something!
And so it was that on Tuesday last, Elena Vidal, my esteemed
co-author and I threw a very small party for the creme de la
creme of the Book Retailing World, and our reps, from Frances
Lincoln, publishers, who will carry the tome forth into the
world, in October, when all is ready. It took place in the
Judy Garland Suite in our second home, the Dominion Theatre,
Tottenham Court Road, London. Our patent stereoscopes are not
yet ready to emerge from the moulders, so we had a few cardboard
replicas ready, to demonstrate the principle to our guests.
For this is a 3-D book, and one the like of which really has
not been seen on the last 150 years since stereo photography
was invented. The fully focussing cardboard viewers will not
have the long life of the polypropylene instruments which we
will pack in the back of the book slipcase, but their optical
performance is equally good.
We
had the satisfaction of hearing lots of "Wow!"s
and "Good Lord"s – which proves to
us that all the work was worth it. We had comments like "It's
so completely real" ... and .. "I feel like
I can walk in there - I never experienced this before".
The place we invite you to walk into is an idyllic tiny village,
around 1850, populated with all its fascinating inhabitants.
The 3-D pictures, coupled with their dedicated verses, one
for every view, allow us to share their lives, their dreams,
their bond with Nature, God, and Life and Death. Forget 3-D
Jaws!!! This is the real stereo experience! And ... well
... I think I will soon begin to tell the story properly ...
and recount some of the unique journey we've been on to create
this first-ever complete annotated collection of "Scenes
in Our Village".
It is, really, a doorway, into a quieter, more thoughtful
world ... a world which was NEARLY ..... lost.
A
Village Lost and Found!

Our
display tables, complete with interim cardboard stereoscopes,
ready for the view. In stereo, of course. Oh ! A copy of
the paperback version of BANG! seems to have snuck in !
More about that soon too.

More
tables - that's the John Sims page in the middle there
... (see SIOV 8 in the SIOV section of our LondonStereo.com
website - it's here ....
http://www.londonstereo.com/trwilliams/siov_detail_08.html
And below ... some of the cognoscenti ... a rare meeting of
minds from the book world. I'll follow with a key to names
tomorrow, but that's your pal Dr. Bri, and Elena Vidal, in
the middle. [Picture
moved to above]
Bri
MORE
INFO AND PHOTOS HERE ON
LONDONSTEREO SITE
© brianmay.com
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**Mon
06 Jul 09**
BRI AND ANITA RELAXED

An
unguarded moment, captured by ... someone .... me and my
lady chatting to guitarist Simon Croft, backstage after the
Birmingham Gala night. Well, it proves that I was still standing,
at least!
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**Mon
06 Jul 09**
HELP!!!
OK!
Detectives! If you want to help us put together the best
possible DVD of the QUEEN Christmas Eve Hammersmith concert
in 1975 ...
Please have a look around for this ...
What we do not have right now is any visuals whatever for
the 'encore' that we did after the cameras stopped rolling
on the night.
We (apparently) played ..
“Seven
Seas Of Rhye”
“See What A Fool I’ve Been”
“God Save The Queen”
...
and there is a rumour out there that someone had a video
camera rolling. Even stills from that portion of the show would
be nice to have. And ... yes, there will be a prize!!
cheers
Bri
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**Mon
06 Jul 09**
HAMMERSMITH DVD?
[Response
to questions about the possible future DVD release of
Christmas Hammersmith show- see
LETTERS]
I
will have to check
the exact technical status of all this. Of the portion
which went out live on the night, I believe we have it
all ... and it can all be restored to good quality, in
sound and vision. But the portion which we played after
the the transmission ended, as a "thank you" to
the theatre audience, was only recorded in sound, I think
... the cameras had stopped rolling. The other questions,
I will have to check. As for Blu-Ray - well, I kinda think
it won't apply, because the original camera shoot was not
Film, or Hi-Res, as far as I know. But then, maybe I am
missing something. I know the footage WAS transferred to
film, but not very well !! There were errors in registration,
and I seem to remember the whole thing ran at the wrong
speed!
I'll
check, before I get something completely wrong ... I have
not yet looked at the footage, though I know Justin and
Kris are well into it.
Cheers
Bri
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**Mon 06 Jul
09**
THE BIRMINGHAM COLLISION

Ah ... well, yes I see the reports ... of our little accident
in Birmingham. Really, I'm fine, so many thanks for all the
concerned messages - I appreciate it.
And
also, there was never any question of it being Roger's
'fault' ... ( or anyone else's for that matter ... ) Roger,
in these situations, sits astride his kit, on a flat 'truck',
to which the drums are screwed down. The whole thing moves
on wheels, on a track set into the stage, which governs its
trajectory when it moves. It can be propelled by manpower or
by machine. But of course Roger is way too busy drumming to
have any influence on where the thing goes! The movement is
controlled, like everything else in the show, by calls from
one person, the DSM (Deputy Stage Manager), who sits at a control
desk, to the side of the stage, and 'calls' every single operation
of every bit of machinery (and humans too) in the show. Once
the call is given, the operators move that truck at exactly
the same speed as they did in the rehearsal, until the manoeuvre
is over. It was purely because we'd been foolhardy enough to
play the show to a different timing to the final rehearsal,
that we collided. If I'd REALLY had my wits about me I would
have realised that the accident was waiting to happen, and
made avoidance moves. But there was very little room at the
front of that stage, and a lot of people milling about! Plus,
with lights in your eyes, noise everywhere, a deafening audience
(Hoorah!), and the imminent thought that roughly the right
kind of notes need to be played, even when being a Returning
Rock Hero(!) ... I'm afraid it was a little more than my brain
could stay on top of!
But, like Roger says, that's what a LIVE show is all about
... it's real, and 'real' implies some danger. I think that's
why, in the face of all the cyber-connected mainline music
fads, live Rock music is having a strong resurgence. It's all
about re-establishing that physical connection between people
... the reaction to virtual everything.
And
We Will Rock You is the ultimate extension of Rock into
Theatre-Land ... it IS live, and at times it IS dangerous!
I'm fine ... thanks .. and ... it's a good lesson to learn.
I was very lucky.
Cheers
Bri
© brianmay.com
(See Copyright Note) |
**Mon
06 Jul 09**
BBC VOTE
[Referring
to BBC's Countryfile poll page - www.bbccountryfile.com/polls -
see Brian
News for more details.]
Let's
tell our readers!!
Let's
ask them to vote!
b
x
x
x
© brianmay.com
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**Sun 05 Jul
09**
TOM CHAPLIN APPRECIATION
There has been a lot happening ...
I
must mention that we (Roger and I) were presented with an "Ambassadors
of Rock" award at the annual Nordoff-Robbins lunch last
Friday. [3
July] These people do great work for sick children
- it's a very significant charity, and our award was sponsored
by the Hard Rock Cafe. These events are not really 'my thing'
... for various reasons ... they are a long ... a big piece
of your life ... and a very good excuse for a lot of people
who should know better to get drunk and stupid ... but the
intentions are good ... and the honour is appreciated. The
BEST thing about the whole thing was that Tom Chaplin came
along, and devoted a significant amount of his time and trouble
to present the award to us. He delivered a formal 'testimonial'
on our qualifications for the award, and then looked up and
spoke, off script, about his own feelings about us. That, coming
from a great musician, at the very hub of what is live and
dangerous today in Rock, was well worth me getting out of bed
for. I actually nearly didn't make it, because I woke up in
some pain from our accident the night before on stage at the
Birmingham Hippodrome ... it was a good lesson really ... a
reminder that, especially for one-off appearances, the dress
rehearsal has to be the EXACT blueprint for the performance.
We made the mistake of changing the timing of Roger's Rolling
Drum Riser's pell-mell drive downstage after the afternoon
sound-check ... so I got hit in the back, and crashed backwards
into the drums. It was all over in a flash, but, as with all
things like this, the moment seemed like a few minutes... So
much adrenaline was flowing in those frenetic seconds that
I really didn't know at the time whether I was hurt or not
... I just recovered and got on with the Bo Rap riffs. But
later I saw what the accident had done to my back, and got
a bit of a shock ... and overnight, the whole thing seized
up. Still, it seemed churlish to make Roger do all the 'accepting'
on his own, so I skipped the lunch, and just slid in, somewhat
bruised, for the award.
Yes, not the greatest of days, but Tom Chaplin's speech will
live in my memory for a long time. My other regret is that
I didn't have the the presence of mind to thank him properly
in public. We had agreed beforehand that Roger would do most
of the talking ... but I really could have made a better effort.
I always think of great things to say at these things AFTER the event ...
Thanks Tom. Very much appreciated.
Brian
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**Sun
05 Jul 09**
WHISPERING BOB

Well,
really I need to tell you guys about our visit to Birmingham
... (and thanks, by the way for your concern ... I am OK
after that collision on stage).
But
backstage, Roger and I had an interesting trip down memory
lane .... with our old pal, Whispering Bob Harris! It was
he who introduced us at that famous Christmas Eve live TV concert
we did, all those years ago, in 1975. At the hallowed venue
of Hammersmith Odeon (now doubtless renamed something like
the Nokia Blackberry O2 Rice Krispies Apollo, or something).
He's a grand chap, and a survivor ... I'm sure many of you
enjoy his radio shows ...
Well, we talked about that ancient night, on camera, to generate
some 'bonus' footage for the DVD of the show ... now beautifully
restored, and soon to be released.
Not
sure when that will be available ... but in the meantime
here's a pic kindly supplied by Whispering Bob!
Cheers
Bri
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*Fri
03 Jul 09**
MY DAUGHTER
So much
happening ... too much to detail ... but
Something
wonderful ... my baby daughter got her results today ...
I am so proud ...
She got a FIRST CLASS HONOURS DEGREE in Biology at Imperial
College. Yeeeeee hah !
I
think I can deal with the hard stuff in my life - just
hearing this news made it all worthwhile.
Normally I keep my children out of the limelight as much as
possible ... but I got special permission to shout this from
the rooftops !
Congratulations
Emmy!
Love from Dad
(Bri)
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**Wed
01 Jul 09**
SUPPORT MISSION TO BAN USE OF SNARES
[This
week is "Snare Aware Week"...
for more info see Brian
News]
Yes
definitely. Please support this mission to ban the use
of Snares.
What
kind of bastard could knowingly cause pain and suffering
like this ?
If
I were Prime Minister, there would be a long jail sentence
for anyone convicted of setting snares, or authorising
their use on their land. Selfishness, ignorance, greed.
Utterly despicable.
Bri
© brianmay.com
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**Wed
01 Jul 09**
BIRMINGHAM !!
...
And tomorrow ! Black Sabbath Country ! The WWRY tour takes
on the Brummies ... and Roger and myself will be
paying the brilliant team team a visit on Thursday, to
give the Birmingham leg a good kick-start !! See ya there
!
Cheers
Bri


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