SoundSlides Version 1.9.4 Beta

I'm chuffed (as the Brits say) that SoundSlides is now available in Beta with the option to produce the audio slideshow so that it's iPad compatible. In fact, version 1.9.4 has a couple of options related to the iPad. The first option is to have the slideshow only readable on iPads, whilst another is an iPad-auto-detect.

I've tried the auto detect option on three audio-slideshows, and they worked pretty well. However, I haven't been able to remove the Captions and Credits buttons (which I don't want) from showing up on the iPad, and I understand that this will be fixed in a future version.

The other issue which I don't think is fixable relates to transitions. The transitions look somehwhat choppy on the iPad...presumably due to its processor and browser. One of my audio slideshows makes use of the "flip-book" technique which relies on a large number of stills with very short time intervals to give the appearance of motion, and this feature doesn't show well on the iPad at all. It just shows the first and last frame.

Timer Remote Control For Multimedia Projects

I was so impressed by Andreas Burgess' In The Courtyard of the Beloved that I solicited advice from my good friend Anamitra Chakladar, who suggested that the time lapse frames may have been produced by using an intervalometer.

The device is a remote switch with a cord and a self-timer, interval timer, long-exposure timer, and exposure-count setting feature. The timer can be set anywhere from 1 second to 99 hours, 59 minutes, or 59 seconds. Ignoring the more expensive Canon model on B&H, I found one on eBay for less than $50 including shipping.

The brand new device, called JJC TM and made in China, arrived last night in perfect condition. Its accompanying manual is somewhat sparse in details, so I'll have to figure it out on my own (which I prefer anyway). Once I do, I'll try it out on the traditional opera singers in Chinatown or some similar activity.

PS: I figured how to work it in a few minutes...without the manual's "help".

Devadasi: Prostitutes of God

I'm somewhat ambivalent about this documentary by VBS Television (you can click on the above image), which I found on The Independent newspaper's website. In a nutshell,  Sarah Harris, a British journalist,  made a documentary about temple prostitutes in south India...Devadasi women dedicated to a Hindu deity who spend their lives selling sex.

The journalist, with a couple of local minders, travels to villages and towns of Southern India to try to document a system of religious sex slavery dating back to the 6th century. Although illegal, there seems to be more than 23,000 women in the state of Karnataka selling their bodies in the name of the mysterious Hindu Goddess Yellamma. These are known as Devadasis, or ‘servants of God’.  As such things go, these statistics are estimates...which can be inflated or deflated depending on one's agenda.

I'm ambivalent because I don't get from this documentary that the women are Devadasi per se. They are certainly sex workers, but not necessarily Yellamma temple sex workers.  In parts, the documentary feels like a Lonely Planet or Global Trekker feature I watch on PBS...minus Ian Wright's wit and humor. I don't think that this documentary is accurate at all...and comes across as callous and superficial. The journalist sounds and acts as flaky as a young tourist traveling in India during a gap year, and I've seen no evidence that there was serious research done in the subject matter.

Having said that, William Dalrymple in his recent book Nine Lives, has interviewed and written about devadasi women, and their undeniable plight. Devadasi women have had a venerable history in performing a wide variety of religious functions, including sexual service...but their lives are now hard and harsh. Only marginally better than ordinary prostitutes, the devadasi system provides a way out of crippling poverty...very similar to other countries and societies. 

You can also watch it on VBS.TV website.