Pro Tools

Since the 90s, when I looked in audio magazines, there were the programs that normal people could buy/pirate and use, and then there was Pro Tools. Pro Tools was a combination of external soundcard/audio module, with software that only worked with it. It cost thousands of dollars and there was no point pirating a set of programs that would only work with the hardware.

So, I was looking into buying an inexpensive breakout box (external soundcard/audio interface) and found that, for a fair bit less than a thousand dollars, you can buy one with Pro Tools nowadays.

Friday was payday. It was also the opening of the stop-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novella Coraline, which I've taught in my English class many times. Friday, I managed to finish up the school day, have an important yearbook meeting (which I rushed selfishly,) and then I put the pedal down and got to and across the city, only slightly impeded by rush hour starting around me, got to the theatre in the city which was showing Coraline in 3D (early, rather than late, as I'd expected to arrive), bought tickets, scoped laptops, picked up a new Sookie Stackhouse book (upon which True Blood is based), and read it until the movie started. Loved it. Coraline was pretty staggeringly psychadelic. Lots of additions and changes from the book, and I didn't really mind a one. Also, in 3D, the experience includes things like an extreme closeup of button, with a needle poking though, giant-sized, into your eye. Every single time something scary happened, on side of the theatre, a chipmunk-voiced child went "EEep!" and on the other, a bevy of little girls burst into absolutely delighted, post-startle giggling.

Then I booted across the city and got to the store in time to pick up a breakout box/software Pro Tools package. I've spent today messing with it, and also making tacos and trying out old Nintendo games with Joel over.