10 Aug 09 My new Uke
My New Koaloha uke arrived today – yay!!! *does happy dance*
Including P&P, it cost £320 from MusicGuyMic, but then i got completely shafted by Customs, and had to pay another £73 on VAT. – But you know what, it was worth it.
Ive only managed a quick play, but its gorgeous. What has surprised me is just how LOUD it is!! (But that might be because i’m used to thrashing a £9 Makala)
I’ll try and get some footage on Youtube at some point, but in the meantime, here are a few pics…
05 Aug 09 King of Swingers blows
New Scientist reports on Orang-u-tans making different sounds using folded leaves..
As wind instruments go, folded vegetation seems a little on the primitive side. Orang-utans have been found to blow through leaves to modulate the sound of their alarm calls, making them the only animal apart from humans known to use tools to manipulate sound.
“It’s a particularly interesting form of tool use, to me, because it gets away from a lot of the typical examples of foraging,” Shumaker adds. “It’s really, really nice to see an example that has absolutely nothing to do with food.”
