Drone Follies

Iran has put the RQ-170 Sentinel on display for the world to see. Yes, one of America’s most secret aircraft is in their hands. Video here. From that it looks like it may have landed gear up rather than crashed. The airframe looks completely intact though. It also makes me wonder if the virus going around the Air Force base might be related to it. Could it have been hijacked?

Something of interest to me is the fact that it is painted in a yellow sand color. That would suggest daylight operations for the top secret reconnaissance drone and a great deal of belief in its stealth abilities. Also interesting is the used of a radar scattering grid on the intake like the F-117ANighthawk had. This is a very low observable aircraft. So much for stealth being a magical shield.

This is up there with the Gary Powers U-2 shoot down in the early 1960’s. Now I assume Russia and China will be bidding on access to the drone, if they haven’t already.  You would have thought there would be a self destruct device in the RQ-170. This is embarrassing.

Full video follows:

RQ-170 Sentinel on Display in Iran

Blu-ray and the Blog

I have to say I am loving my new Blu-ray drive and the quality difference in the handful of movies I have in that format. While I had some minor issues figuring out how to do screen captures, that has been resolved thanks to some codec pack changes.

As a test run, I have updated the TRON: Legacy review from earlier this year with HD screen caps at 720P resolution. I went for an optimum compromise in quality and size by choosing that resolution, which is 1280 x 720 pixels for those wondering.  The review itself was cleaned up, added to, revised, and shrunken by removing the bonus screen caps.

Now I have a bunch of leftovers to make wallpapers from while I fantasize about getting a bigger monitor!

At some point in the near future I will be reviewing a few more Blu-ray’s I have including Captain America, the Gammera trilogy, and 2001. I’m really looking forward to the last because I have read that it is an exceptionally good transfer.

Oh and I had a bit of luck on Saturday. A trip with a neighbor to a local grocery turned up a used Blu-ray copy of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for ten bucks. While the original case had been looted of the DVD and digital copy discs, it appears the original had never been played. Not a smudge, not a spec, and nary a scratch on it. It played with no issues and that my friends is what I call a steal.

It is also one of the few things to go right lately. Nothing like finding out the rear brakes on the car need parts that are very hard to find and very expensive. My father will have sunk almost one grand into this attempt to do it on the cheap. Meanwhile, winter weather has set in and we only have the front brakes working reliably and one of the rears sort of.

At least the jump to Blu-ray is as impressive as I had hoped. It is as big a leap as from VHS to DVD.

Zulu: The Soundtrack Review

John Barry is most famous for his many James Bond soundtracks but his resume is considerably larger than that. His score for the movie Zulu is one of his more memorable early efforts, despite being a relatively small amount of music. This is the first of two reviews of different releases.

Watching Zulu the music always stands out due to it being overtly dramatic and “in your face” when it is used. There is nothing subtle about it and that was hardly unusual in the late 1950’s and 60’s scores. Used sparingly in the film, it made a bigger impression then its scanty twenty minutes of use in the long movie should. So it is a pity that the movie was only released in monaural format given how good it was.

One of the nice things about the Web is the ease of obtaining hard to find music in digital format. In this case it was Amazon’s MP3 store that provided me a chance to get the original soundtrack issued on the Ember label for a reasonable price.

Originally put out on stereo LP, the album surprised me in including extra tracks by The John Barry Seven. I scratched my head and wondered why. Then I saw the total time for the film score amounted to 18:26! They clearly needed the extra music to pad the flip side of the LP. Running time for the album is just shy of thirty six minutes.

The stereo presentation of the music is not very impressive and appears to be artificially shifted from the monaural sources used for the movie. Still, it is better for stereo systems and should allow some matrix expansion whether it be Dolby ProLogic or DTS. The MP3 files are of high quality variable bitrate (VBR) and given the source do not lose much fidelity. That will put this release at a bit of a disadvantage in comparison to the Silva Records version I will review in the future. Well, not the only disadvantage.

John Barry got his start as a jazz musician and the use of musical motifs in variation is something he carried over to his orchestral composing. Zulu is an extreme example of this with nearly every track being a version of the main theme. It is an amazing demonstration of doing much with very little, in my opinion.

On to the tracks!

1. Main Title Theme/Isandhlwana, 1876 – Proud, dramatic, and deliberately over the top, it states the main theme forcefully. Brass and drums dominate before fading into Richard Burton’s narration from the beginning of the movie. Oddly, the narration was placed so it came through the left speaker only.
2. News of the Massacre/Rorke’s Drift Threatened – This is the fanfare from the title reveal in the movie seguing into a brief restatement of the theme. Not content to restate the theme, Barry continues into a muted version ending with military drums and a lonely trumpet evoking the feeling of being alone against the world. Or in this case against 4,000 Zulus.
3. Wagons Over – Again the muted version of the theme but punctuated with fanfares to raise the tension. It is a short but effective track conveying the growing conflicts within the outpost.
4. First Zulu Appearance and Assault – A slower building piece that relies heavily on base drums at first and then adds horns and strings to push the theme. It is all about dread and tension building, then fading and building again. Which is a perfect companion to the ebb and flow of battle, of course.
5. Durnford’s Horse Arrive and Depart/The Third Assault – The first part of this is oddly out of order on the soundtrack, having accompanied the scene showing the local cavalry before the first attack. As a result, the hopeful and lilting horns playing an optimistic version of the main theme seem out of place. The silence that bridges the two passages aggravates things somewhat. The later half is a stately reprise of the theme.
6. Zulu’s Final Appearance and Salute – It starts out quiet with underlying tension before becoming a despairing implementation of the theme. It fits the scene in the movie perfectly in the changing moods.
7. The VC Roll and Men of Harlech – Burton narration from the film lists the Victoria’s Cross winners and fades into a men’s choir singing Men of Harlech. It is somber and at the same time brings forth a feeling of pride, just as in the movie.
8. Stomp and Shake – Female Zulu singers provide the vocals over very surf/jazz rock guitar for a piece of 60’s pop kitsch. It reminds me somewhat of the soundtrack to Hitari.
9. High Grass – More of the same, minus the singers and slightly mellower. At this point I was thinking this is 60’s movie music 101.
10. Zulu Stamp – While more rhythmic, it is more of the same again, albeit in a playful form.
11. Big Shield – Okay, this is pure 1960’s light jazz material and could have been composed by Henry Mancini for a Pink Panther film. That is not necessarily an insult, but it is hard to adjust to these tracks after listening to the score part of the album.
12. Zulu Maid – The female singers return for a song that is fluffy lightness.
13. Monkey Feathers – Ever imagine the main theme of Zulu done on an electric guitar? I had not and that is exactly what this is. The problem is the presentation being like the previous tracks by The John Barry Seven. A more serious attempt at this would be a classic piece of electric guitar -- which is not to be found here, sadly.
14. Zulu Stamp [Mono Single Mix] – It is what it says it is, the mono version of track 10.
15. Monkey Feathers [Mono Single Mix] – You guessed it, the mono version of track 13.

The album is a mixed bag thanks to the split personality between orchestral score and pop jazz. While I love the soundtrack, I do not love the pop side of it. Other than Monkey Feathers, it felt flat to my ears and condescending. What was serious is turned into superficial twaddle. I have no idea what Barry was thinking other than “I need to pad out the record.”

On the other hand, the score is wonderful for fans of the film. I cannot say how someone who has not seen the movie would rate the music, but I can guarantee it is not boring. Anyone looking for the Zulu singing from the film will be disappointed because none of that is part of the score. That is a pity, since it was as memorable as the orchestral music.

I recommend Zulu to those who absolutely have to have the original soundtrack, the Richard Burton narrations, or are curious about the pop jazz tracks. Otherwise, there is a much better version available taking advantage of modern recording technology.

Christmas Musings

It is that time of year when bright lights and inflatable Santa Claus lawn ornaments start appearing. As the years go by, I find myself becoming more like Charlie Brown in lamenting the commercialization of the holiday. Christmas is not supposed to be about such things, but about celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Substitute any good rant about the subject in place of this sentence and it will cover the important points. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I find myself thinking of other things. Especially one thing. It has been nearly five years since that experience and I think of that dying young mother every Christmas time.

It can be strange what haunts you when you travel the musty corridors of memory. Talking to her at that gas station has stayed with me in a way most memories have not. For me, that has become the Christmas memory above all others and I am not sure why.

One thing that I wish to do is surround myself with things more important and real than the trappings of the popular culture. Perhaps watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional is a good start to this. Making the time more Christ centric is always a good idea, but certainly more so when you have things like Black Friday dominating the news. Materialism is not what this is supposed to be about.

So I will turn my eyes toward the spiritual and try not to allow what others do annoy me. So I will meditate and contemplate that sacred first coming of Jesus so long ago in humble circumstances.

Oh my, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s rendition of The First Noel just killed me. Absolutely beautiful.

Drone Shot Down by Iran?

Show me the pictures or it did not happen is my response. Claiming to do a thing for propaganda purposes is not something unknown with the Iranian government. What makes it interesting is the claim that it was a RQ-170 and that it was forced down mostly intact.

If true, it would be a coup for them in more ways than one since it has advanced stealth construction and materials. While I am no fan on relying on drones, I am skeptical that they succeed in shooting down a stealth aircraft. There will be quite a few repercussions if this does turn out to be true.

I am amused that all the photos I have seen from the news agencies reporting this have shown anything but a RQ-170 Sentinel. So far I have seen decidedly unstealthy Predators from the clueless media. You would think they are able to use Google to find the right bird!

UPDATE:

It appears the Iranians may have gotten their hands on a RQ-170 after all. According to The Telegraph, NATO has admitted to losing control of a drone over western Afghanistan last week. No admission of a shoot down, but a crash has not been ruled out. Looks like we just gave Iran a free peek into top secret stealth technology.

Oh and this is what the drone looks like, for those searching for a picture.

A Small Step into the HD World

An early Christmas gift from my father arrived yesterday in the form of a Samsung Blu-ray drive for my PC. Since it came with PowerDVD 9, I was able to try out some HD movies on the system for the first time. TRON: Legacy is an exceptional visual experience, so I fired it up in the drive.

What a fantastic looking film it is in HD! While my monitor only goes up to 1680 x 1050 and is exactly between 720p and 1080p, it looked great. Just one problem. No way to do screen captures from PowerDVD and DRM prevents my usual utilities from working correctly. All I get is a black rectangle where the picture is.

Well, being the industrious and stubborn sort I looked for a way around this. While I eventually found one that didn’t cost money (for the moment), it is not the best solution because it involves backing the movie up as an MKV file. Some detail is lost on TRON: Legacy to my eye, but it seemed to do fine with Gammera: Attack of the Legion.

Click on the following for HD sized (1280 pixels wide):

The Disney logo looks sharp here.

Not as satisfied here, but scaling issues may be at work. Oh for a a 1080p monitor!

The film looks grainy, but is miles better than I expected. HD is fun for examining the model buildings that are always destroyed in these films.

It is very silly that screen captures are not allowed. Do the studios really think we will sit and takes stills of every frame to recreate the movies?

I probably will upgrade the PowerDVD software but I am still looking for a better way to do screen captures. AnyDVD is what a lot of people use, but the price of 80 Euros is exorbitant! MakeMKV did an odd job with TRON and there are waves of block distortions going through every scene. Perhaps the DRM is the culprit.

So my first step into the HD world has been taken and I am liking it, despite the screen capturing issues.

Odds and Ends 11-28-2011

It is sale time across the USA and things are wrapping up with today being Cyber Monday. Sadly the one deal I was most looking forward to today was not as good as expected, so now joy for me. Especially since the back up deal I was eyeballing sold out by today. Instead I got a set of Ginsu knives at Newegg.

Wish I had the money to pony up for this refurbished Samsung 27” monitor. It is the single best deal I have found on Cyber Monday. Maybe somebody else will see it here and get themselves a nice deal.

I did score several Blu-ray deals from Amazon before Black Friday officially began, so I am not empty handed. 2001, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the 1990’s Gammera trilogy will be making their way here. It should be fun installing the Blu-ray drive when it arrives. While my monitor is only 1680 x 1050, it can handle the HDCP copy protection protocols and does better than 720p.

A friend of mine also gave me Fallout: New Vegas as a gift from a Steam sale, so that has been fun. Mad Max meets 50’s radioactive monster movies is how I would describe it. Taking out giant mutant ants is like being dropped into the movie Them, an old favorite of mine. You can even set them on fire like in the movie.

Watching the presidential primary for the GOP has been painful. Cain’s implosion isn’t as much from the false accusations but from the disastrous handling of nearly everything by his staff. He is badly damaged by this and it shows they are not remotely ready for taking on the well oiled Obama machine.

Meanwhile, delusional conservatives have convinced themselves that Newt Gingrich is a true conservative and electable. Both are false propositions and they need to deal with reality. I say that as a very conservative man. How they can rally around someone with the immense personal and political baggage that Newt has is beyond me.

“Anybody but Romney” is not sufficient to explain this madness. With Mitt you may not know what you are getting as far as worrying he’ll betray conservatives, but with Newt you are guaranteed that he will stab you in the back, front, sides, and then bite you on the ankles. Just because someone is good in debates does not mean you ignore his track record. We already have a raging narcissist in the White House and replacing him with another is not going to go well.

Yesterday was a lost day again. Being very ill I ended up sleeping through most of it. Having watched a bad movie for Turkey Day, I decided to start rewatching Stargate: Atlantis over from the beginning. Oddly enough it evoked a feeling of better times and that is somewhat discomfiting.

UPDATE on Herman Cain:

Put a fork in him, he is completely done. At this point it doesn’t matter whether or not he is guilty, there is only so much damage that can be taken. It is also a cautionary tale in regards to Gingrich. Once the media takes him seriously his multiple infidelities will get a lot of attention.