Blackmoor Vituperative

Here is how I play music (MP3 files) into a Google Meet.

Hardware

• Windows 10 desktop
• Wireless headset with over-the-ear type headphones

Software

• Google Chrome
• Audio Repeater Pro
• VB Cable A+B
• VLC Media Player

Setup

1. Install “Audio Repeater Pro (64 bit)” and “VB Cable A+B”. Don’t mess with the settings. Just install them.
2. Run “Audio Repeater Pro (64 bit)”. Use these settings:
   • Input Device: Microphone (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset)
   • Output Device: CABLE Input (VB-Audio Cable B)
   • Stream Format: Processing Format (default)
   • Stream Buffer: 40 milliseconds (default)
   • Process Audio: (not checked)
   • Stream Gain: 100%
   • Stream FX: FX Chain (default)
   • Bypass FX Chain: (not checked)
   • Click “Start”.
3. In the task icon area of the taskbar, right-click the speaker, and select “Recording Devices”.
   1. Right-click Microphone (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset), and select “Set as Default Device”.
   2. Right-click Microphone (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset), and select “Properties”.
      • On the “Listen” tab, set to UN-check “Listen to this device”.
      • On the “Levels” tab, set to 90.
      • Click OK.
   3. Right-click CABLE-B Output, and select “Properties”.
      • On the “Listen” tab, CHECK “Listen to this device”.
      • On the “Listen” tab, set “Playback through this device” to “Speakers (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset)”.
      • On the “Levels” tab, set both to 100.
      • Click OK.
4. In the “Playback” tab of the Sound application.
   • Right-click the headset, and select “Set as Default Communication Device”.
5. Run Chrome.
6. In Chrome, go to Google Meet, and join the meeting.
7. When the Meet window opens, click the three dots in the bottom right corner and click “Settings”. On the Audio tab, use these settings:
   • Microphone: CABLE Output (VB-Audio Cable B).
   • Speakers: Speakers (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset).
8. Open VLC Media Player.
   1. Add songs to the playlist.
   2. In the Audio menu, select Audio >> Audio Device >> CABLE Input (VB-Audio Cable B)
9. Invite people to join the hangout.
10. Play songs in VLC. Other people in the Hangout will hear them. To avoid drowning myself out, I set the VLC output level to about 80%.

Recording

Here are the settings I used to record in Flashback Express.

1. In the Tools >> Options menu, look in the Sound section.
2. Under Sound Source, select “PC Speakers (what you hear)”.
3. In the drop-down under “PC Speakers (what you hear)”, select the headset.
4. Now, when recording in Flashback Express…
   1. Under “Record”, select “Window”.
   2. Check “Record Sound”.
5. Still in Flashback Express, in the sound section, check “Record Sound”, and for the source select “Speakers (Logitech G935 Headset)”.

When done with the hangout

1. Close the Hangout window.
2. Click “Stop” in “Audio Repeater Pro (64 bit)”, and close it.
3. Close VLC Media Player.

How many of you remember with fondness the 1973 “Dr. Phibes’ Abominable Christmas Special”?

“Twelve signs of the zodiac. Twelve apostles. Twelve times, twelve! The human body has twelve cranial nerves, Doctor. … I will now play the Twelve Days Of Christmas. Ho. Ho. Ho.”
(from “Dr. Phibes’ Abominable Christmas Special”, 1973)

Dr. Phibes’ Abominable Christmas Special was a Christmas-themed television special starring Vincent Price broadcast December 23, 1973 on ABC. It featured guest star Joseph Cotten in a reprisal of his role as Dr. Vesalius from The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Also guest starring were Virginia North as Vulnavia, Billie Hayes as Witchiepoo from “H.R. Pufnstuf”, Tim Conway, Roz Kelly, Florence Henderson, rock band Pink Floyd, Billy Barty, Betty White and, in an unbilled surprise appearance, Sonny and Cher (whose own Christmas episode of the hit show “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” had been broadcast on CBS four days earlier, on December 19, 1973).

The 1983 Japanese LaserDisc release is the only issue of this special on disc due to the rights issues involved with the various characters and musical performances. The special was announced for DVD release in 2002 but then cancelled when rights could not be obtained, and Disney now claims rights clearances are impossible.

This evening’s Cult Movie Night was Phantom of the Paradise and Suck.

Phantom of the Paradise is unusual among our Cult Movie Night offerings in that I had never seen it before this evening. It was… interesting. I’m glad we saw it, but it’s not the sort of movie I will go out of my way to see again. Or maybe I will. Who knows.

Suck, on the other hand, is simply brilliant. From the numerous cameos and supporting parts played by rock icons like Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and Alex Lifeson, to the surprisingly good music, to the various homages to classic rock album covers, to the hilarious subversion of — and yet total respect for — the vampire movie genre, there is so much about this movie that we love. It’s just 96 minutes of pure awesome. If you haven’t seen this yet, you need to see it. You need to buy it. And you need to see it again.

I love this Todd Rundgren song. It reminds me a bit of early Rick Springfield.

What do you mean, who is Rick Springfield? He played a vampire in the movie Nick Knight, which was later retooled as the series Forever Knight, with Geraint Wyn Davies playing the vampire detective, but Rich Springfield played the part first. He was also on a soap opera, the name of which escapes me, and yes, he was also a pop star for a while.

P.S. Here’s another great Todd Rundgren song.

I have been suffering through various TV talent show contests such as The Voice and The X Factor and so on. Here is a list of things that I would be happy to never see or hear again:

• Excessive head-swinging and upper body swaying (almost always female singers)
• Waving hands around: punching the sky, making wave motions, reaching out, and so on — especially the wave motions
• Hunching up shoulders and holding elbows in close to the body (almost always male singers)
• Repeating “uh-huh, yeah” between each verse (almost always male singers)
• Warbling vibrato-ee-ooo-eee-ooo-eee-ooo
• Bizarre spasms of the head and/or lower jaw while holding notes (often accompanied with warbling vibrato-ee-ooo-ee-ooo-ee-ooo)
• Weird twitchy arm movements like the singer is going through drug withdrawal (often accompanied by hunching up shoulders and holding elbows in close to the body)

If you do any of these things, please do the world a favor and stay away from cameras and microphones.

Here are some Christmas songs from the Monarch and his merry band.

Went to the dentist today and found out two interesting things. First, my left lower wisdom tooth is chipped. I have a rather less pleasant dentist visit scheduled for next week.

Second, I learned that one’s fillings can act as anodes and electrodes, and generate an electric current using one’s saliva as the electrolyte. The hygienist poked my gums up near one of my back teeth, using her pointy tool of dental stabbityness, and it shocked me. Then she did it again! The dentist explained that what I was experiencing was an unusual but not unknown phenomenon caused by the difference in electrical potential between the stainless steel dental pick and my silver filling.

Science!

“Well, once again, my friend, we find that science is a two-headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences… But the other head of science is bad. Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur! It bites!”
— The Tick

Today’s “My favourite song” is “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” by Pop Will Eat Itself.

(Warning: both the video itself and the embedded graphic below are NSFW. It’s subtle, but it’s there. So … there you go.)

Nothing too serious to write about today. Bad people are still bad. Good people are still good. I still think the good outnumber the bad, and I hope it stays that way. I love Susan and my kitten.

Today’s “My favourite song” is Golden Earring’s “The Twilight Zone”. Fun fact: “Twilight Zone” was written by Golden Earring’s lead guitarist George Kooymans. He was inspired not by the famous TV series of the same name, but by the Robert Ludlum novel “The Bourne Identity”.

Golden Earring – Twilight Zone (X) by popefucker

When Herman Raucher met Gentry in preparation for writing a novel and screenplay based on the song, she confessed that she had no idea why Billie Joe killed himself. Gentry has, however, commented on the song, saying that its real theme was indifference:

Those questions are of secondary importance in my mind. The story of Billie Joe has two more interesting underlying themes. First, the illustration of a group of peoples’ reactions to the life and death of Billie Joe, and its subsequent effect on their lives, is made. Second, the obvious gap between the girl and her mother is shown when both women experience a common loss (first Billie Joe, and later, Papa), and yet Mama and the girl are unable to recognize their mutual loss or share their grief.

(from Ode to Billy Joe, Wikipedia)

My family is from North Carolina, and I had a cousin who committed suicide when I was seven or eight. It was the first funeral I ever attended. I remember that I had a hard time trying to keep from giggling (I didn’t think it was funny: it was nervous laughter, an involuntary response to anxiety).

I took a brief break from my awesome (but slightly behind schedule) project this morning, and had a conversation about the Kentucky Fried Chicken “Double Down“.

Me: I still say the Double Down is not a new thing. It’s just two perfectly ordinary things eaten simultaneously rather than sequentially. It’s as original and innovative as eating french fries two at a time.

At which point I wondered: Why do I feel the need to mock something someone else likes? Why do I even care? When did I became so negative? Was I always like this? And the thing is, I think I was. I recall thinking this exact thing before: that I don’t want to be bitter. I have resolved to be more upbeat.. how many times?

It would be easy to blame the rest of humanity. There’s no shortage of people who are vapid, grasping, immoral, or irrational (or all four — but I’m not naming names). There’s plenty of ammunition for someone looking to complain.

But complaining about stupidity and evil certainly doesn’t make me any happier. And it doesn’t accomplish much. Complaining about other people’s irrational beliefs is as likely to change their opinion as complaining about other people’s driving is likely to get them to use their turn signals. Sure, it’s fun to read about clowns mocking racists, but there are beliefs every bit as irrational and reprehensible as racism that are far more common, but mock those and you’ll have family members and treasured friends un-friending you on Facebook. So what’s the point? You can’t change anything. It’s like trying to convince the winter to turn to spring. If it happens, arguing and complaining won’t make it happen any faster: it just makes the winter less pleasant while you wait.

And hell, I belief all sorts of nutty things. Who am I to judge?

When I was younger, being cynical made me feel hip and edgy. Now it just makes me feel old. But it’s a hard habit to break.