Showing posts with label Antisocial Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antisocial Networking. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING MEDIA LOBOTOMIZED vs.COSBY SKEPTICS SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

Cosby. Guilty or not guilty? Should the media be allowed to decide?
SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
F**K OFF AND DIE!!!
YOU’RE PROBABLY A RAPIST TOO!!!

There goes the neighbourhood...
ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING
MEDIA LOBOTOMIZED vs. COSBY SKEPTICS

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s great to see you as always! Once again, I haven’t abandoned you! I am just helping a friend with his project. I’ve got the know how! Wink, wink!

Besides tech, at the moment, is very quiet to a large degree... There’s not much happening as such... Smartphones are still smartphones and tablets are still hard to swallow... Don’t worry I will be back covering these wondering things and more... Much more!

Tell me, what is it about the Interweb and social networking sites that can sometimes bring out the worst in people, huh?

#BillCosby #Cosby #Media #TheMedia #MediaMonopoly #iDiots

“COSBY ADMITTED THAT HE RAPED THOSE WOMEN...”

READ CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU GO FURTHER:

1. Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene does not condone any sexual misconduct of any nature. Anyone guilty of sexual misdeeds should be punished by law to the fullest extent.

2. Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene do not believe in “different races”. We are one human race. It seems to me that what we often refer to as “race” is skin colour and / or culture. If the human race is to survive we really have to come out of our imprisoned minds.

3. Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene are of the firm belief that one should endeavour to remain dedicated to the truth. Thinking that something is true out of ignorance is still perpetuating lies / falsehood. The truth is exactly what it is. We must tell it and also strive for it.


“F**k off and die!!! You’re probably a rapist too!!!”
While I understand the emotions that comes with the speculation of rape – celebrity or otherwise – there is no excuse for the sentiments as quoted above. No matter how much you or anyone else wants to hurl abuse at someone for not believing in the same thing or things as you do it won’t change what is actually a fact.

The factor in the case of American comedian, Bill Cosby, is that he has not admitted to raping any of the accusers.

Last week I came under fire for pointing the above out... Again, Bill Cosby did not admit to rape. I was involved in a discussion on a social network that became heated when a male and female (who I will keep nameless) were not pleased that my viewpoint differed from theirs.

The male, when he was rumbled for his racism and condescending attitude, decided to have a look through my profile to see what he could find to use to insult me like a big baby. But, hey! Isn’t that what the media does on occasion?

LOBOTOMY BY MASS MEDIA
“What about the Quaaludes? You still haven’t said anything about it...” says the male.

Did you see what happened there? It went from Cosby confessing to rape to “What about the Quaaludes?” So, I didn’t have to look at the article to know that Cosby hadn’t confessed to rape / serial rape. The media created the headline to make it appear to their brainwashed masses that Cosby admitted rape / serial rape. If the man had confessed to raping these women that confession would have likely ended with Cosby being held in police custody or something along those lines... In fact the headlines would have read, “Cosby confession has lead to his arrest...” That headline would have been more appropriate and would make sense if that was what had happened.

Through reading the article I have understood that the use of Quaaludes was recreational. I would imagine that it would be consumed in a similar way to marijuana or cocaine... It appeared and still appears to me that Cosby gave Quaaludes to women in the way one might consume alcohol to chill out before participating in sexual intercourse. Again, Cosby did not state, either himself or through his lawyer, that the Quaaludes were used to knock women unconscious for the purpose of rape. Fact! You may not like me for pointing that fact out but that’s not admitting rape.

Yes, of course I would like to see any man or woman prosecuted for proven sexual misconduct. But the article whereby Cosby has admitted to giving Quaaludes to women is not proof of rape. I am sorry to have had to break it to you if you didn’t know that.

I would imagine that Cosby would use a different drug if he had intended to rape women... That drug is Rohypnol; it has been used by many to incapacitate women as it is often slipped in drinks as it apparently has no taste. Cosby is alleged to have stated that Quaalude was the drug in his era, the 70s. The first time I heard about Quaalude was at the time of Elvis Presley's death as it was one of the many prescription drugs he (Presley) took habitually to the point of abuse.

Anyway, such sensationalist and seemingly malicious headlines can have the effect of the consumers wanting blood! It’s like the time when singer Britney Spears was having a meltdown in public (what with shaving her hair off) and there was a bet about the way in which she would die: suicide in the bathtub as portrayed in one of her music videos; car crash or whatever... The bottom line is that people were expecting her to die and when she didn’t I can imagine that those baying for blood felt let down. The same for the late and great Amy Winehouse – people – me included – was anticipating her death. In fact I told a friend whom I bumped into on my travels that, “Amy will probably be next...” Less than a week later she was gone. God rest her soul. I digress a little... ...you get the point I am making, right? The point is, in short, that the media can implant things in our minds whereby we act in accordance to those headlines. A vast majority of us are eating out of the hands of the media. A lot of us believe in what we're told by the "news" and the media in general. Many people stop thinking for themselves as they get on with the daily routine of life.

To be very clear: I did not want Amy Winehouse to die... I felt that it was going to happen... It's different from wanting it happen.

We read, “Cosby raped ex-amount of women... Get him! He’s dangerous to women!” Many of us won’t question it. And when we do question these headlines we get abused. At least I got abused... Lol! Why some people can't reason things out is peculiar. People see in those headlines what they want to see.

RACISM?
Could it be that the media is hounding Cosby because of his perceived race? Maybe... I mean just look at the reaction to prince Andrew in the UK who was said to have allegedly had sex with a minor in an American state that prohibits sex with a 17 year old. Many people thought that this was okay. Here in the UK the legal age is 16 and there are some that want to lower the age of consent further! Many people here in the UK think it is okay for a mature adult to give a 17 year old alcohol and have sex with them. I personally think that this is wrong for a grown man (or woman) - regardless of status to do that. If the law was broken in an American state then the consequences should meted out. The story has gone cold... Gee, I wonder why?

Again, many people in the UK didn’t think too much - if anything - of a royal consorting with a known paedophile that introduced that young woman (of illegal age in an American state) to Andrew. I find that shocking!

However, with Cosby, people all over the world have already condemned the man without due process. There has been no legal trial but by the mass media.

People want Cosby punished on speculation... Okay, it’s more than speculation... But even so the stories around the accusers seem, to me, sketchy. There is one that sticks in my mind whereby one of the accusers waited a whole year before reporting it to the police. Surely, you’d go to the police straightaway and report it thus getting a toxic screening done to identify any drug used for purpose of subduing to commit rape? I would. The media has only portrayed one side of Cosby situation. Whenever a celebrity supports Cosby and his legacy the coverage is nearly always done in a way to give the impression that the celebrity is deluded. And when a celebrity has had a change of mind – probably due to feeling pressurised – it’s bigger news still to say, “Oh, look! Cosby must be guilty because yet another one of his supporters have withdrawn his or her support...”

I think that what is happening looks very, very strange from a legal standpoint... Cosby is being crucified by the media without any evidence against him. Once again, Cosby has not admitted to sexual misconduct when he allegedly stated (probably through his lawyer) that he gave Quaaludes to women like he would give a glass of wine.

Cosby is a powerful man but because he is perceived as a "black" man by a majority of people he may not be as powerful as his "white" contemporaries. I reckon that it would have been so much easier to have reported Cosby for drugging and raping because of institutional racism; I can see that the police would have come down very hard on him. Maybe executed him on the spot. "Cosby shot dead by the police whilst resisting arrest..."

Ideally, there should be a media lockdown when a celebrity is being accused of something very serious such as rape, etc. I don’t think it is right to have a media witch hunt as the law should count for something. 

Just look at what happened when two celebrities passed away...

1. Michael Jackson’s career was dogged by accusations of paedophilia and when he died nothing more was said other than one child was told to falsely accuse Jackson to extort money from him.

Here’s a video and newspaper article on the Jordy Chandler case.



Suicide?

2. When UK radio and TV personality Jimmy Savile died it came out that the once beloved charity fund raiser was nothing like his persona away from the spotlights. The man, if you can call it that, was into all sorts of sick practises that included child rape and necrophilia.

We do not know the full extent of Savile’s sexual misdeeds that is said to include murder!

SICK, SAD & SHADY
When there is a time for the media to expose real abuse it’s seldom done. Former child actor Corey Feldman revealed how he and fellow former child actor, Corey Haim, were horrifically abused as children in Hollywood. As far as I know nobody in Hollywood has been brought to justice for Feldman’s and Haim’s horrific abuse at the hands of Hollywood major players. Do I see the media pushing for names to be named in the case of Corey Feldman??? Of course not!



Again, why Cosby? I have come to the conclusion that he’s being destroyed because of the colour of his skin.

Let me be clear... If Cosby is guilty then let the law provide evidence. This media crucifixion is no substitute for the law. I know that some women do not report sexual assault for many reasons. But not all women are the same and would react in the same way. As a man with the kind of personality that I possess I believe that I would go to the police as soon as I were able if I had the misfortune to be raped. I can’t really know what I would do until it happens to me (I pray that it does not and I pray it will not happen to you too). Men have been raped... Jesus H. Christ! Boys have been raped in shopping malls and toilets in broad daylight (here in the UK)! That is crazy! I’ve heard and read stories of how a man was raped by a couple of men hiding in the toilets for example. One part of London became a no go area at night for men in particular. That area was Hampstead Heath. Yes, I am going off on a tangent... Bear with me...

The essence of what I am stating is that powerful "white" men who are accused of sexual and other misconducts remain nameless in the media. For example, in the UK there are a multitude of politicians that have been accused of child sexual rape and one instance of murder but nobody knows who they are. Now these child sexual rapes and murders have been going on for a long, long time... There many survivors who have been trying for decades to have these child raping and murdering politicians arrested. But sadly, these "men" (and women) use their statuses to escape punishment and to remain nameless. Some of these scandals also involve celebrities – cherished household names!

This shows me that it is very likely that Cosby is being destroyed on purpose.

SPECULATIONS
I could speculate as to why Cosby is being destroyed in this very public manner but I feel that is best not to. I ask you, whether you believe Cosby is guilty or not, to do your own research as to why it could be that all these accusations is being played out in the public arena like it is. I feel uncomfortable in branding a man a rapist without a proper legal trial. At least with the Jimmy Savile revelations there were actual witnesses that covered up his trail of horrific child rape, the rape of the physically and mentally incapacitated and more! And sticking with the UK it hasn't escaped my attention that a certain UK celebrity has gone very, very quiet. 

I do wonder if Cosby took advantage of women seeking acting jobs in his productions i.e. the dreaded “Casting Couch”. It may surprise you to understand what a cesspit Hollywood can be. In fact the entertainment business is a cesspit period! If you are a parent of a daughter (or son) the following words will chill you to the bone, “I want to be a singer / Popstar...” Or if you are one of those parents that will push your child or children into abusive situations thinking about the money maybe you would be prepared for your child or children to use his / her body / bodies as currency to claim this fame and fortune.

Just listen to what Irish singer, Sinéad O'Connor, has to say about “frisky men” in the music industry. I think she’s putting it mildly. I know from experience that some young women will “do anything” to become famous. As a result these "producers" expect sexual favours in return for the promise of fame and fortune. The operative word is "promise".


Is that what you want for your daughter or son? Would you want them to be sexually 
harassed just to release a recording? Is it any wonder that some celebrities turn to alcohol and drug abuse as they can't live with what they've done for a career in the entertainment business???

It doesn’t help matters when young women and men willingly offer themselves up in a bid to be famous but they do and will continue to do so. That is the nature of the beast. Are some of the accusers angry because they didn’t advance their careers based on a promise from Cosby? I have no idea.

Beyond that it would be unwise for me to speculate further. The truth always comes out in the end. I just have to wait for the truth – if I ever get to know it in my lifetime. Justice must be served where it is due!

Anyway, calling people names and wishing for them to die isn’t going to bring about that truth. It’s so ironic that dirt throwers do not see that they are acting just like the media.

I will always stand for the truth and I will not be bullied for it and nor should you.

WHAT???? WHO????


Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!
Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

Friday, 15 May 2015

WEB DESIGN MULTIMEDIA WEBANIMATOR SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

The Deftones - probably the most original Metal / Alternative band to come out America.
Somehow I don't think she'll be remembered in 2 years let alone 10! R.I.P. B. B. King!
I don't want to hear her cover of the Bee Gees song 'How Deep Is Your Love'.
SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
WEB DESIGN
MULTIMEDIA WITH WEBANIMATOR PLUS,
SORENSON SQUEEZE & WYSIWYG WEB DESIGN PROGRAMS

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s great to see you as always! I hope that all is well with you and that you are winning with your tech projects! What? You are not doing a tech project??? C’mon... What’s wrong with you??? You need a challenge! Come with me...

Technology is a funny old thing... Tech know how = Technology. The Internet has been responsible for many things – including causing business models to adapt and change where possible or they fall by the wayside. One of the things that technology has changed somewhat is a reliance on systems created by others... All too often we give our power away to the next new thing on the Web be it MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and so on! Some of us have stopped being excited at the prospect of creating an online web presence. That’s right! I am waxing on about how many of us have turned away from the dizzy world of Web Design. Read on...

#Incomedia #WebAnimatorPlus #SorensonSqueeze #Multimedia

THE DEATH OF THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC SCENE... LONG LIVE THE NEW ALTERNATIVE ONLINE MUSIC SCENE...
I would like to use the world of music to illustrate just how bizarre the mentality of the artist / band has become... As a younger man I was searching for the equivalent of my Holy Grail, a recording contract! Suffice to say that I never got one! Hahahaha! I laugh but I am actually very relieved that I didn’t get one as I have had friends who thought themselves fortunate to have gotten a “record deal” only to be dropped unexpectedly.

Along came the Internet and then the advent of the CD-R... The CD-R writer when it was first launched was quite cost prohibitive and when the CD-R Plus & Minus writers became a PC standard we got some great software to enable us artists to make our own CDs. Some of us managed to make a living – not a fortune – selling our original music. Some of us came up with a great way to present a CD-R album i.e. many of us made custom album cases / packaging to sweeten the deal. But the euphoria that came with being truly independent was short lived as the MP3 format hit the scene and with Napster the masses didn’t want to buy music anymore. To be honest I can’t say that I blame people for not wanting to purchase music as a majority of chart music is forgettable. Without Googling Jennifer Lopez, name 3 of her tracks starting from now... See? You had to think about hard!

Apple’s iTunes, in my opinion, and I know that I go on about it a lot, snared the artist / band back into bondage. Jobs decided what a track was worth and I do believe that the iTunes business model doesn’t give a lot of scope to up and coming musicians in terms of royalties, etc. The artist still comes last when it comes to dividing up the costs to make and promote recordings. Further down the line there are outlets such as BandCamp that helps to get up and coming artists / bands music to an audience. So, artists / bands do not have an official website as they rely upon BandCamp, Zimbalam and an assortment of social network accounts. Artists / bands just squander their powers away when they could be selling CDs, CD-Rs, MP3 and merchandise from their very own official website.

DISCOURAGED?
It seems to me as though creative people in general are being discouraged from actively participating in their own web design. I think this is wrong! Yes, there are web hosting services that allow their customers to modify website templates but that are not what design is all about! Uh-uh! Me? I would rather see a badly designed website than a modified template as it such sites gives me an idea as to what the people behind them are about.

Once upon a time what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) web design software had a buzz around it as so many people from a non-design background were willing to have a go at designing their own website. Those were the days! Of course there were those that insisted that hand coding a site was the only way to go! Now it seems that the average person on the street has no desire to create a website as Facebook, Twitter, G Plus, YouTube, etc has fulfilled a basic need... A Facebook presence can lead the targeted market to a BandCamp page and so on...

Personally I would love to get you to make your own website! Although I am appealing to musicians in this narrative I wish to appeal to anyone and everyone to get the credit card out and invest in some decent web design and multimedia software...
ENCOURAGEMENT
One of the most important reasons for you to have your own website is to have an outlet whereby you can’t be oppressed. God knows how irritating it is when the social network Mother Hen Brigade tells us:

1. “Stop making friends! You are making too many friends and if you don’t stop making friends we’ll delete your account.” Yeah, right! These people are bluffing as they WANT and NEED our data. And if they do decide to delete your account unceremoniously they know that the likelihood of you making another one is high – especially as you may have bonded with some great people as I have!

2. “You have been accused of SPAM... As a result you cannot post many more links... Blah, blah, blah...” You know how I feel about that if you read up on my Antisocial Networking articles. In a nutshell “spam” is an overused terminology that is malleable to suit the purpose of the people behind the social networks. Just messaging someone you don’t know on Facebook constitutes as “spam”. As far as I am concerned “spam” is when you get true junk email i.e. offers for Viagra, slimming pills, etc. In fact Facebook is the BIGGEST SPAMMER going as it constantly puts advertisements in our faces on a daily basis! And to a degree it is the same with Google’s Gmail! Of course when they SPAM us... No... When they constantly bombard us with SPAM they call it something else... Great! The two-faced so and so’s... As you should know by now the main reason for these attacks and threats is that the social networks don’t want you to use their tools for your marketing.

3. You have the power to create your own business online without giving a large portion to a second or third party. PayPal is enough!

4. Avoiding censorship! I tell you... <shakes head and smiles wryly> ...the people who take it upon themselves to police the Internet end up being the very thing that they detest: A TROLL! Lately I have seen “ATTACHMENT UNAVAILABLE” on Facebook. Gee, I wonder that that is all about... You can bet it is someone posting up a conspiracy theory that touches upon the untouchables... Ooooh... People should have their say! On the one hand some people claim “freedom of speech” and in the next breath or click of a mouse all of a sudden we aren’t entitled to freedom of speech. Somebody somewhere would like to take things a step further and have you locked up with a criminal record for having and expressing an opinion these days. Let’s get away from conspiracy theories and freedom of speech...

You are an artist and your work features nudity / sexuality as you are using that medium or mediums to express something of artistic value... Sadly, very sadly, the self-appointed Internet Police try to make you out to be some kind of pervert or something. Often the self-appointed Internet Police are not intelligent enough to reason with and they troll you. They try to shut you down because they believe that they are the voice of reason when the irony is that you can’t reason with such folk! As an artist you might find that your own website is vital.

Still on the subject of censorship... I have a female friend on Facebook who has just hit her fifties and looking great – if I do say so myself – who likes to take glamour photos of herself and share them with her Facebook admirers. I think her photographs are tasteful and bear in mind that Facebook (and many other social networks) do not allow nudity on its platform. Even if Facebook were to revoke the policy on nudity my friend’s photos would be still tasteful! However, she gets trolled by people that keep claiming that her photos are indecent only to be proven wrong by the bods behind Facebook! I do feel for her as I believe that she should be able to express herself without people being a nuisance. If you don’t like it do not look and then launch into an insincere tirade against. My friend has her audience and she’s happy so why rain on her parade? The self-appointed Internet Police are nothing but simple minded trolls.

Again, my last point on censorship is that if you are a music artist and your video contains nudity / sexuality you can’t show it on YouTube. Do not misunderstand me; I don’t particularly like gratuity be it of a sexual, violent or any other nature but if there is context behind it that’s down to the originator. If you or I don’t like it then we can’t do squat about it as it is already out there. Do I want to take the time to have artistic expressions removed? Hell-to-the-no! The way I see it is this: as long as there is a warning that the material may be offensive then the expression is what it is. An artistic expression is a lot different to having some genuinely disturbing picture or video suddenly appear from performing an innocent Google search...

5. The last reason is that building a website enables you to learn more about the Internet and things like ecommerce (PayPal), web and graphic design and so on! These things are good to know and it will empower you!

FLASH IS DEAD! LONG LIVE HTML5!
When I was employed as a web and graphic designer many moons ago (gosh I am getting old) one the most exciting things around was (then) Macromedia Flash. Flash, in its early stages, just allowed for simple to complex animations that included sound and interactions that often became a part of the website navigation... Adobe bought out Macromedia and Flash eventually gained the ability to stream video and this video technology is prevalent in YouTube today! However, Flash has had its run and now one can create animations that include sound, video and interaction with relative ease! Certainly HTML5 based animation / interaction is far easier to achieve than with using Adobe Flash! For a start the Incomedia WebAnimator Plus costs a mere £64.99 compared to the cost of the Adobe Flash CS 6 software! Seriously! C’mon... Why on Earth would you want to pay £400 just to make animation / interactive content that can be seen on the PC, Mac and mobile devices when you can pay just £64.99???

Honestly, Adobe does not have the stranglehold on web media as it once did. Adobe is one of those business models that have had to adapt with the changes in technology and it is currently offering a monthly payment scheme for its collection of software. Personally I think that some of these monthly costs are too high! Adobe tries to keep up this elitist sensibility when they have been surpassed by Incomedia and Magix when it comes to web design, video editing / production and DTP. Once upon a time people would pay good money to do a two day course on Dreamweaver and today we would just spend the money on the following web design programs:-

Incomedia WebSite X5 Standard & Professional

Magix / Xara Web Designer Standard & Premium

Coffee Cup Visual Site Designer

And you will still have money left over to other stuff when you skip doing these two day courses. What £250 for a two day course??? Are you nuts??? Bear in mind that there are some free web design software out there! I will do an article on them in due course!

You can easily use WebAnimator with the web design programs listed above.

INCOMEDIA WEBANIMATOR PLUS
I don’t want to bore you with an extensive tutorial on WebAnimator Plus. No! What I want to do is give you a taste of what can be done with it! Below I did a very simple PowerPoint-like presentation based on one of my favourite Rock groups of all time, The Deftones, to illustrate just how quick one can create such presentations that can be viewed on a PC, Mac and mobile devices without you wanting to pull your hair out! 


1. I decided to create a full HD screen presentation, 1920 x 1080.


2. I created a menu screen quite easily by using an image (of the band) and adding a button. The image fades in and once complete the button flies in from the left to the centre of the presentation.


3. I then added a second scene that holds a full HD video so once the button is clicked on the first scene it jumps to scene two (with the video).

As you can imagine I could have created a more sophisticated presentation that has many screens / pages (scenes) and with intricate animations and interactions. But the purpose is to show you that within minutes a simple presentation can be completely outputted to an HTML file with the resources folder (containing the video and graphics) that can be placed online straightaway or can be a part of a website. Easy!

The last two screenshots above show the presentation playing within the Chrome browser using F11 to go full screen.

WebAnimator Plus: Present the way you want to! A well deserved Synapse Circuit Platinum Award as WebAnimator Plus allows you to create sophisticated animations, presentations and interactions with ease using image, sound and video files. There's also basic shapes and buttons! 



SORENSON SQUEEZE
If you read my review on Magix Video X7 Pro you should be familiar with the Sorenson Squeeze video format converter and compressor. No? OK... In a nutshell... Sorenson Squeeze can take video files and convert them into different file formats for different purposes i.e. the web, DVD, Bluray and so on. Even though we have fast broadband speeds and 4G data connections for our mobile devices it is still a good idea to make large video files as small as possible while maintaining the integrity of the video. If you are a recording artist and you want to showcase your videos without hindrances then you might just want to invest in Sorenson Squeeze. There are three different versions of Sorenson Squeeze:

Desktop Lite, $199

Desktop Standard, $549

&

Desktop Pro, $749

You will find that the Lite version should give you all that you need to start compression your files and / or formatting for different mediums i.e. DVD and Bluray. The professional version is for people / institutions that make their living from streaming video and create daily broadcasts independent of YouTube and similar online video outlets.

Sorenson Squeeze is a reliable and fast video / audio converter and compressor! It gets a Synapse Circuit Platinum! 

There are some free video compressors and I will have to take a look and make comparisons with the commercially available software such as Sorenson Squeeze. The reason why I recommend Sorenson Squeeze is because of its track record. Several years ago when I was part of a team creating a CD ROM for an up and coming Pop music act we discovered that the video was causing a major problem with some test systems that we had access to. I found Sorenson Squeeze through a web search – before Google had begun – and when it arrived we were able to have different formats on the CD ROM: MPEG-1 and QuickTime. Back in those days formatting video was a real pain mainly because PCs were used primarily for word processing and not much else. One couldn’t guarantee that a video would be able to play smoothly from one system to another.

In any event no matter what software you use to compress a video file into MP4 and OGG when combined with Incomedia WebAnimator Plus the results will be brilliant! The only thing missing from WebAnimator is a packager for Android and iOS apps! But that said who wants to be constantly downloading apps when presentations / animations can be viewed online? Even the news aggregator apps rely on taking content from the web.

And do not forget that if you get Incomedia WebSite X5 Standard or Professional it will be even easier to add an animation / presentation to the website you are creating whether it is for the desktop or mobile device such as a smartphone and / or tablet!

Do checkout these links for WebAnimator, Sorenson Squeeze and WebSite X5:-

WebAnimator

Sorenson Squeeze

WebSite X5


Dive in and make your website! Once it’s online give me a shout and I will link it!

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!
Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit! 

Saturday, 31 January 2015

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT THE IMMATURITY OF G+

Above: Dukie Carcinogen (not real name), the gatekeeper of Hell!
SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING: THE IMMATURITY OF G+ & THE HELLISH SCHIZOID AUTOMATONS...

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! Here's my second offering for today! I am on a roll!

What would you change about Google Plus or G+?

#Google #GooglePlus #G+ #Trolls #MadModerators 
Duke Carico is a nasty little man that is fixated upon his authority as a moderator to the point where his community is super-dull! 
WHAT’S WRONG WITH G+?
I happen to think that G+ or Google Plus is quite a decent social networking platform with a lot of potential! I prefer Gee Plus (G+) to Twitter – so much so that I have stopped using Twitter! If I could remember my password to Twitter I would just go ahead and delete my account! Needless to say that I use G+ a lot!

I am also a heavy Facebook user too! It has taken me a good while to get used to the Google Plus interface.

1. Improve the interface! Sure, my instinct is to say, “Copy Facebook!” But I am sure that the programmers in charge can come up with an even better interface!

It didn’t escape my attention that Google made it possible for people to call themselves what they want and I am sure that helped to get people involved with G+!

And now for a story... A true story... A true story based on real life events...

DUKIE CARCINOGEN:
THE G- HELLHOUND!

One of the best features of G+ is the “communities”. The communities are so great and are based upon a wide range of subject matters from Animation to Zoos! Join any number of communities and you can get chatting with others and share your passions (sometimes... we’ll get to that in a bit...).

At least a couple of years ago I joined a particular community based around technology and I shared my articles within that community. Dukie Carcinogen (not real name) was one of the 16 moderators of the community and in the past he told me that he “like my articles” and when I took some time off he sent me a message to ask if I was okay... Ahhh... Anyway, I posted up an article on Dukie’s community and the next thing I know another moderator removed it. When I asked why he said that it was “spam”. That got me irked as you can imagine... I asked, “How can you tell that it is spam without reading the article?” The reply strayed into weird territory, “I don’t have to read it to know that it’s spam...” And with that I was banned. So, I let Dukie know that I was banned and informed him about the altercation with one of his “moderators” (sic). Dukie apologized on the moderator’s behalf and the ban was lifted.

I think a month must have passed by before I went to post again in this particular community and saw that I was banned again. Once again, I contacted Dukie and the ban was lifted but not before letting me know that G+ can flag posts as spam... Okay, fair enough... Dukie also told me that he knows all 16 moderators personally and goes regularly for a drink with them, “They are nice guys...” Really? Anyway, I posted a new introduction in this community so that new members can get to know me and understand what I am about... I think I must have written...

“Hi, I am Blue Gene. I love technology and I write for Synapse Circuit...”

Oddly, this got taken down... There was no link only a picture of my Nexus 6!  So, I wrote another introduction,

“Hi! I am Blue Gene.... I love tech and I write for Synapse Circuit. Sometimes my posts get flagged as ‘spam’ but it’s just a link to my article...” Within less than a minute  someone posted a comment on it, “Reported!” What was in my introduction to report it? To me this was the action of a troll.

I also posted up an article that actually remained there! Shock! This particular “community” features loads of links to other articles and websites; I didn’t understand what the problem was. So, I wrote a third introduction...

“Hi! It’s Blue Gene again... This is my third introduction as some troll reported the last one as spam! Anyway, I love writing about tech and I look forward to interacting with you...” Or words to that effect!

About 5 minutes later it was removed with a message from another moderator saying that my posts are "spam" (when they are not) and that it is not allowed. I shouldn’t have written another introduction as I am already a member and that my articles contain Google ads and "we don’t allow commercial enterprise, blah, blah, blah..." So, in other words: Some people are worried that I am making money off these Google ads! Hahahaha!

So, the next thing I know Dukie waded in to say that he was the one that took my introductions down because I was “gloating”. Huh??? It turns out that because I said I “my posts aren’t spam but links to my articles” (that Dukie told me he appreciated), Dukie saw fit to remove it (them)! So, Dukie took offence to my refuting that my links are spam and banned me for challenging him and moderators. Dukie’s actual message gave me the impression that he was rabid... But at the end of the day there was no cause for that kind of behaviour.

2. Google Plus flagging articles that come from Google Blogger as “spam” is really stupid! In turn it makes other people stupid and paranoid! Anyone should be able to share his or her articles in as many relevant communities as they like!

I have said it once and a thousand times, “These spam accusations must stop! It’s childish!” I created a community as an experiment to see how it works and often I get posts flagged as “spam” when they are not! I take the time to have a look to see if the post is relevant to my community or not! Obviously, if it is a link to get some blue pills I delete it! But considering this Dukie chap knows all 16 of his moderators all he had to do was say, “Hey! Blue Gene is okay! He writes good articles...” Uh-uh! These people can’t take the initiative... These people can’t think for themselves, “Duh, Gee Plus says it could be spam... Duh, I had better delete the post and ban the community member...” It doesn’t help when people change the definition of “spam” to suit them!



"I'm a moderator! Respect my authoritah!" 


It would be wise if Google allowed people to think for themselves! For example, the equivalent to communities is Pages and Groups on Facebook. I have a couple of “Pages” and “Groups” and if someone posts up real spam i.e. a link to some shop or something like that I delete it! Facebook didn’t flag it; I saw it and deleted it!

People who aren’t moderators who cry “spam” are usually sad individuals who imagine that writers using Blogger any other form of journal based website are driving around in Lamborghini’s as a result of sharing their work. It’s so pathetic!

G+ needs to grow up and fast! Google Plus needs to get away from this “spam” flagging nonsense! It makes people nasty! It turns them into superficial-trolls reporting innocuous posts knowing that it’ll get removed and the user banned! In my mind that’s not what a community is about! The best communities are those that understand that articles from others can keep a community alive and buzzing! Google Plus has such great potential! I hope that Google will keep investing in it!

Thank you so much for reading SynapseCircuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

A NEW SYNAPSE CIRCUIT WEBSITE IS ON THE WAY!

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT THE LANGUAGE OF RACISM

Above:  The Black Panther conceptual art render.
Above: Chadwick Boseman who will be playing The Black Panther. Will Disney mess it up?
Above: The first true Afrocentric superhero, Blade played by Wesley Snipes.
SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING:
THE LANGUAGE OF RACISM


Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s good to see you as always! I hope that all is well in your world! Yes, more reviews are coming as well as great competitions!

Y’know, it’s hard to believe that with all the technology that we have access to the world is still plagued with racism – amongst other diseases of the mind i.e. sexism and homophobia. What’s wrong with us, huh?

Are we insane? Are we selectively “racist”? Hey, I’ve got Asian and “Black” friends!

WE CAN BE HEROES...

WARNING: SOME OF THIS MATERIAL CONTAINS RACIST LANGUANGE. TAKE TIME TO READ THE ARTICLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT.

WHAT IS A HERO?
Is he white? Is he a he? Does he have big muscles? Yes, Synapse Circuit Readers! I am referring to the recent announcement made by Marvel Studios regarding the first “Black” starring role in the Superhero genre. Yes, the much talked about and belated chapter in the Superhero Marvel Studio franchise owned by Disney has a date, ‘Black Panther’, November 3, 2017! May we live to see it! Chadwick Boseman of the recent James Brown movie biopic will play T'Challa aka Black Panther on superhero duty!

Black Panther is being hailed as the first Superhero movie from Marvel that features a “Black lead in the starring role...” <The sound of a record being scratched!> What does that mean? Does it mean that in the past a white person would be blacked-up to play the role? Or would the role have gone to a less Africanized looking, er, Black man? Mario Van Peebles, anyone? Oh, the role would have gone to a white South African actor with deadly good looks such as Oscar Pistorious as there are no “Black” heroes in Africa – only a bunch of half naked men (and women) beating on bongos and chucking spears... Of course, I am kidding! Or would the ‘Black Panther’ superhero movie be played out as a comedy? Jive turkey, motherfuffer!

But wait! <The sound of a record being scratched!> What about Blade??? Blade is a Marvel character and the 1998 movie of the same title, ‘Blade’ went down a storm! Did you see ‘Blade’? Blade was a fantastic take on the Vampire genre and it flipped the Superhero genre upside down!

Just in case you have no idea about the Blade character here’s he is in a nutshell:

Blade aka Eric Brooks became a human / Vampire hybrid aka a Daywalker through his mother having been bit by arch Vampire, Deacon Frost whilst in a late stages of pregnancy. The Vampire bite transferred a viral metamorphosis that turned the unborn child into a brilliant “half breed” subtext. It seemed that the trauma of a Vampire bite caused the premature arrival of Eric Brooks, Blade.

Blade has the advantages of being part Vampire i.e. slow aging, a regenerative healing immune system not unlike the X-Man, Wolverine and superhuman strength. The trade off is that he has to drink blood every once in a while to be, uhm, healthy! Hee hee... But the good news – as if being superhuman can be considered a bad thing – is that Blade’s human side allows him to be able to walk around during the day hence the term, Daywalker!

Blade was played on the silver screen by the impressive actor and martial artist, Wesley Snipes. And on the small screen - yes they made an odd but entertaining (just) TV series - he was played by Rapper, Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” (or should that be Stinky Fingaz) Jones. The TV series was hit and miss. Kirk Jones cut is acting fangs (hee hee) on this short-lived TV series and got better towards the end at filling Snipes’ boots. It was alright. Anyhoo...

In the Blade movie, the Vampire hunter, killer was accompanied by a mature father figure of a white man by the name of Abraham Whistler who discovered Blade as a child and raised him; taking advantage of his strengths in a bid to defeat the Vampire enemy that destroyed his family. Nothing wrong with that... Blade was running the show and was kicking (mostly) white Vampire ass!

But just look at the beautiful racial metaphors in the Blade movie and comic book... Check this out...

Blade the Black man (you are probably wondering why I capitalize “Black” – this will be revealed later if you haven’t already worked it out) is able to walk around during the day in the sunlight. It feeds into “racist” ideas that Black people can’t get skin cancer through prolonged exposure to sunlight and that it ages white skin thus giving it the appearance of leather and that in order to extend the white bloodline it has to be filtered through the Black man’s blood. Yes, “interbreeding”. Wow! In the Blade trilogy of movies the Vampires are after Blade’s DNA so that they can create hybrid babies with none of the (white) Vampire weaknesses. How many times have you heard the myth that the Black man is naturally stronger than the white man? Amazing! Considering there’s talk of “blood purity” throughout Blade but they need his DNA. Amazing because there are individuals who’d rather die than to entertain a life saving blood transfusion from someone of a different “race”!

CABIN FEVER
It is amazing when you see that how in the States and in the UK (where I am from) that we’ve been fed non-threatening light-skinned “Black” artists into the mainstream media with a massive crossover appeal: Prince and Beyoncé are the ones that come to the top of my head. Don’t get me wrong there were a few “Black” artists to come through such as Sydney Poitier but the light of superstardom and acclaim often falls upon De Niro, Redford, Pacino, etc and their effects on Hollywood. It’s great that there are fine actors such as Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson starring in good Hollywood fodder. But more often than not their roles are mostly inert, Uncle... ...they tend to play a supportive role to the white protagonist. Ironically, Samuel L. Jackson plays a Marvel comic book character that was once painted white, Nick Fury. The Nick Fury character that appears in the Iron Man movies and Avengers can be looked upon as playing a managerial role like a football coach to these omnipotent whiter than white heroes.

In the UK many, many “Black” music artists have tried to break into the mass mainstream to little or no avail. Roughly, 10 years ago the NME (New Musical Express) paper claimed that “Black skin didn’t print well...” and that’s why Black artists did not appear on its front cover! If I am correct, Black artists started to appear in the later years on the cover (of NME). Today, not much has changed; I can go to the newsagents right now and white artists will be featured on the cover as if Black or “Urban” music has no place on the musical map!



Above: Blending in, effeminate and nonthreatening. The incredible artist known as Prince. 

Remarkably, the USA has become a haven for British Black artists (musicians and actors) to thrive. Billy Ocean has been able to have a long lasting career thanks to the US of A. And lately there has been a Black invasion of British Black actors: Idris Elba (The Wire, Thor & Ghost Rider sequel – Marvel movies and BBC’s maverick detective, Luther); Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave, Salt) and David Harewood (Homeland). Why is it that these incredibly talented actors have to go all the way to the USA to have a distinguished career? Do the British lack imagination? “Right, you’re playing a drug dealer...” “Yes, you are the leader of a violent gang...” “Okay, you are playing the role of a violent pimp...” “You’re playing a dirty cop...” “It’s a period piece where you play a slave and your master’s daughter falls in love with you...” “You play a boxer...”

YAWN!!!

JUNGLE FEVER
Don’t you find it odd that Black characters have mostly white partners in the movies, TV shows and adverts? Of course it is not something that I frown upon. You love who you love! Beauty and the Beast, the subtext there is an interracial or interspecies relationship. But it seems a rarity that Black characters are partnered to themselves when depicted in the media, arts & entertainment. Are the subject of interracial / interspecies relationships one of the many metaphors / subtexts within the Blade trilogy of movies? In Blade 2, Blade appeared to be falling for the enemy Vampire Princes (she was of a noble stock) Jungle Fever (you ought to watch the movie of the same name, ‘Jungle Fever’ by Spike Lee which incidentally stars Wesley Snipes)? How many times have I heard black women say this of black men who have come into fame and fortune, “As soon as they’ve become successful they marry a white woman...”? If I didn’t know better I would say that Black characters on the big and small screens are deliberately partnered with whites to demoralize both Black men and women. Well, I don’t really know better as the notion of an, albeit fictitious, Black family appears to be a non-practice nowadays. No doubt that this upsets white supremacy fanatics too! The most successful family on TV was the Cosby’s! I never saw them as “Black”; I saw them as a family. Race and “interbreeding” weren’t a focal point of the show; it was about family and responsibility. The Cosby Show was a stark contrast to the Fresh Prince, starring Will Smith, where the focal point was a fight to retain the notion of a “Black” identity within Middle Class America when an Afro-American middle class family struggles to absorb a family member from the “Ghetto”. Hey, didn’t Elvis Presley do a song about the ghetto? Interesting song, that... Did the white drug dealers, junkies and prostitutes move out of Detroit, for example, and the Blacks moved in and took over?



Above:  Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs before the divorce announcement. Othello Syndrome?
 
Well, going back to the ‘Black Panther’ movie... It is set in the fictitious African state of Wakanda and does that mean that the only way a “Black” hero can be accepted as a hero is if he is based in the country of his origin? I mean, Superman came all the way from planet Krypton yet he turned out all white (and American). He got accepted! The Black superhero today hasn’t advanced much from the first mainstream Black American superhero... Do you know him? Think Scatman Crothers, Benjamin Sherman Crothers to be exact. Now does the famous Black superhero come to mind? No? Here’s a clue: Kung Fu! Have you got it now? Yes, Scatman Crothers gave his voice to none other than Hong Kong Phooey (a popular children’s cartoon). A janitor by day and a proto-Mr Bean / Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) Kung Fu fighting idiot  superhero at night... Oh, the character was a dog! Incidentally, in poverty stricken Afro-American neighbourhoods the biggest selling food was... ...dog food! Ta da! So, what better hero is fitting than Hong Kong Phooey? The dog with a Black man’s voice... Great! How novel!



Above:
 A love that lasts, David Bowie and Iman. 


Above: Olivier Martinez and Halle Berry.  

But isn’t it true that we humans started life in what is commonly known today as Africa? When the inhabitants ventured out to other parts of the world the climate and dietary habits changed the physical appearance, no? Don’t shoot me! This is what many scientists have been saying of late and I have watched a few recent documentaries on the subject that points to the idea that migration have mutated us thus dividing ourselves into different species. Some would say “sub” species either way back and forth across the skin colour spectrum. Now going back to the original Black star of a Marvel based superhero movie, Wesley Snipes, Blade... I find it odd and quite disturbing that both the character and the actor are being written out of the Superhero Myth / Folklore. Don’t you find this disturbing? Granted that I believe that Blade didn’t exactly come out of the formation of Marvel Studios – if memory serves me correctly I think it was Iron Man that was the first outing for Marvel Studios. But still... ...I was going to say that there is no denying but Blade and Wesley Snipes are being denied! In my most humble opinion I think that the Blade movies – apart from the last one – were and still are up there with the best of the Superhero movie genre. Spiderman was okay but essentially it is the same tired Coming of Age paradigm that is at the heart of many hero / superhero movie genres.



Above:
 Are interracial relationships doomed as they could be predicated on racial myths? 
IN THE SHADOWS
Yeah, yeah... You can’t see the Black man (woman) in the dark black shadows... Lol! Anyhoo... If you watched the TV series ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ and the sequel to the Captain America movie, ‘The Winter Soldier’ they shared the thread of a shadow organization, Hydra, infiltrating America’s infrastructure. Another amazing metaphor for the idea and countless conspiracy theories that have it that the Nazis have managed to prevail within the shadows of governments around the world – most of all America! Gee! I thought that all the Nazis did was to help NASA land on the Moon by utilizing V-Rocket technology that once shook the foundations of the UK – literally! Yes, the USA quickly snatched up the clever German Nazi scientists after the War! I think Hitler would have been proud that an Austrian became the “Governator” of California! A-oak-ay!




Above: Hydra ideologies...  

I have to hand it to the writers of Captain America, The Winter Soldier, for managing to squeeze in the best of the Shadow Government conspiracy theories into an action packed explosive 136 minutes! Hail, Hydra! Captain America teams up with The Falcon, a Black man with an advanced jetpack who acts as a super-janitor and cleans up the mess in the wake of the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D (introduced in the first Iron Man movie: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics) when Hydra is forced out of the shadows albeit temporarily.

However, in Blade the shadow government are aptly Vampires because they can only exist in there –the shadows! It’s a great metaphor that tells us that it is really us that is being kept in the dark while men in suits gather in secret to make decisions that we have no say in. Naturally, the Vampires feed off us humans: we work, eat, sleep, and die! Repeat! Then along comes this super-no-nonsense alpha male... A Black male that kicks (mostly white) Vampire ass! Is Blade such a threat to the establishment that it has to be written out of history??? It is arguable that Blade 3 was sabotaged as the notion of a Black man toppling a vampiric shadow government is considered dangerous.

WHY SHOULD IT MATTER?
Why should it matter that we have to keep referring to ourselves based upon our skin tones? I can kind of understand it when giving a description to someone to describe another. But I don’t understand why a majority of Black people, for example, try so hard to be, er, Black. As if the media putting the idea out that being Black is so removed from humanity isn’t enough. That they, Black folk, have to do cartwheels when a man, Chadwick Boseman, who happens to be of Afrocentric descent should land the starring role of a superhero movie (of all genres) who happens to reside in Africa who is African. Why??? Was Marvel Considering Justin Timberlake for the role? It’s funny, right? Laugh out loud funny! But many years ago white actors had to black-up to play Othello which is ironic given the premise of the story that a white man becomes jealous of his African Moorish General superior and his white wife who then sets about to destroy him (Othello). How many times does this story have to play out in real life?

We are human. The Earth is Zion. You go upstream and you poop there only for the poop to come downstream where you reside! Name one planet like ours? We only get one planet and it is high time that we start to make the most of it. And no, this doesn’t mean more genocide that has the usual suspects sitting pretty (ugly) upon a throne of death. It’s about loving: you, I and we and taking care of this beautiful planet! Harmony has never stopped beckoning and it is never too late to take heed.

Black is a myth! White is a myth. Life shouldn’t be a game of chess. “Racism” does not make any sense because we are of one human race! We make up cultures and pretend that we’re better than those who have made up other cultures for themselves like we have nothing better to do!

Technology should unite us but sadly some of us use it as a weapon of propaganda!

Oh, Marvel Studios have also announced a woman superhero movie that stars... You’ve guessed it, a woman! ‘Captain Marvel’ is due July 6, 2018! I can’t wait!

Things to think about...

THANKS FOR READING...

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com