A Place of Brightness: To Synch or Not to Synch

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

To Synch or Not to Synch

The news that Beyonce (Beyoncé Knowles) apparently lip synched her performance of the National Anthem at the President Obama's Second Inauguration certainly comes as no surprise. I mean, you wouldn't want the story the following day to be how you sang the thing awfully. So Beyonce pre-records and pretends to sing. Now, the detail of pretending to take out the ear audio feedback in retrospect is a bit disingenuous, but I still don't fault the decision.

It's interesting that this is a controversy seemingly new to the world since the introduction of recording technologies.

The first clear case of lip synching showing up in media seems to be the case in the movie Singin' in the Rain. Kathy Selden dubs for Lina Lamont, until the curtain comes up to reveal who the real star was all along!

But really, lip-synching is essentially similar to earlier fictional concept of Cyrano de Bergerac supplying material to a suitor for Roxanne.

I can't think of any other precedents that that. More vaguely, the concept of pseudonyms for lovers, such as Catullus calling his girlfriend Clodia as Lesbia are the closest truly ancient parallels to artistic substitution.

Regardless, Beyonce, you did well, live or recorded.

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In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

To Synch or Not to Synch

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