FOTD -- December 02, 2003 (Rating 8) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: I have never learned to appreciate 'New Age' music. With a few exceptions, the genre seems to be 'over my head' (or maybe beneath me). And this is strange, because I most certainly do appreciate the traditional 'classical' music, which is approach- ing the verge of extinction, at least here in the USA. When hearing New Age music, I am inevitably struck by the way it appears to drone on and on in abject monotony. It sounds good for a minute or two but nothing interesting ever develops. Yet some people I speak to are enthralled by this music. They tell me it is the best thing to come along since music was invented. New Age music concerts are very well attended. Why then do I get nothing from it? Either the music is empty of meaning or it is filled with meaning which I cannot recognize. Most likely the truth, if an absolute truth exists, lies somewhere between these extremes. The experience of appreciating music is a co-operative effort shared by composer and listener. The composer places the seeds of enjoyment in his work, but it is up to the listener to supply the environment in which these might germinate into enjoyment. If a work lacks the seeds, it will quickly be forgotten. If a listener lacks the fertile soil in which a particular type of seeds might grow, the work will have no effect on him. I guess I'm in the latter class as far as 'New Age' music goes. Now what does this venture into music appreciation have to do with fractals? Well, the name of today's striking image from the M-Mix4 formula is "Harmonic Voltage", a title I borrowed from a computer-animation music video I saw recently on local TV. The visual part of the video was IMO spectacular, but the music that accompanied the animation was IMO bland to say the least. Surely, I thought, such spectacular images must inspire or be inspired by better music than this. Curiously enough, the fractal lady enjoyed the music but said 'ho-hum' to the visuals. I guess it's all in the mind of the beholder, much as some phil- osophers claim the entire real world is. Oh by the way, I really like today's image, which I have rated at an exceptional 8. The sinuous flames radiating from the central midget were produced by rendering the formula with the outside set to the 'tdis' option. One final note -- I wonder what today's scene would look like if it were 'evaporated'. To enjoy the image, run the included parameter file or download the image from one of the two FOTD web sites at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> and: <http://sdboyd.dyndns.org/~sdboyd/fotd/index.html> Monday was partly cloudy and chilly, with a temperature of 50F 10C and the strong winds that the cats dislike. The duo spent most of the afternoon sitting by the window, watching the wind in the trees and the birds soaring by. They ventured outside for only a few minutes. Their moods were unusually bright for a day of confinement however, and no tuna was needed. Today promises to be similar, but even colder. It remains to be seen how the duo will react. My reaction will be satisfaction when the bit of work now on the shelf is finished. Until next FOTD, take care, and enjoy yourself. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE================================ Harmonic_Voltage { ; time=0:02:43.23--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=+1.636639299894244/-0.4107349017976644/\ 8.656232e+010/1/-177.5/-0.000331809106303253276 params=7.5/-1.75/0.7/-7.5/0/525 float=y maxiter=1250 inside=0 outside=tdis periodicity=10 colors=000IDOFBNDBMBBMDAKDAJDAJD8ID8ID8HD7HD7FD7FD\ 7EE6DE6DE6BE4BE4AE4AE48E38E37E37F26F24F24F23F03F02\ F02F00F00F00D00F00I20K30M60O70RA2UB2VE2YF3_I3bJ3cM\ 4fN4iQ4kS6nU6qX6sY7v_7ya7zc8ze8zg8ziAzkAzoBzmAzkAz\ iAzgAzfAzc8zb8z_8zZ8zY8zV7zU7zR7zQ7yO7wM6wK6vI6vH6\ uF6uD4sB4r84r74q64q33o23o03n03m00n03n06o07o0Ao0Bq0\ Eq0Fr0Ir0Jr0Ms0Ns0Qs0Ru0Uu0Vv0Yv0Zv0aw0bw0ew0fy0iy\ 0jz0mz0nz0qz0rz0uz0vv2sq7rkDqfHoaMnXRmRVkM_jHeiBjg\ 6nf0se0yc0zb0wc0se0oe4jf7ffBbgEYgIUiMQjOKjSHkVDkZ7\ ma3me0ng0naFcXYVQoMKzDIz8Fz4Dz0Az07z06z04z04z04z03\ z03z03z02y02w02u00s00r00q00o00m00k00j00i00f00e00c0\ 0b00_00Z00Y00X00V00Y06Z0A_0Fa0Kb0Oe0Uf0Zg0bi0gj0mm\ 0qn0vo0zq0zu0zr0zq2zo3zn4ym7vk8ujAsiBqgDofFneHkcIH\ NcHOeHMYHSOcYQaXR_VUZTVXRXVQYUP_TOaRNbOMcMKeKJgJIi\ HHjFFkFDnEEmEEkDEjDEiDFiBFgBFfBFeAHcAHc8Hb8Ha8I_aI\ XZIVXHVVHUSFSQFRZEHZEHJDO } frm:MandelbrotMix4 {; Jim Muth a=real(p1), b=imag(p1), d=real(p2), f=imag(p2), g=1/f, h=1/d, j=1/(f-b), z=(-a*b*g*h)^j, k=real(p3)+1, l=imag(p3)+100, c=fn1(pixel): z=k*((a*(z^b))+(d*(z^f)))+c, |z| < l } END 20.0 PAR-FORMULA FILE==================================