You don’t need to travel to have a relaxing vacation
While traveling far away from your home and vacationing on the beach sounds relaxing, all the time, money, and effort that goes into planning such a big vacation can make it feel, well, not so relaxing after all. So why not consider a staycation instead? If you think you must spend several weeks Read More...
Quiet, please!
Noise pollution can damage your health and shatter your peace of mind. Here’s how to turn it down. Mary Desmond Pinkowish | July 2008 issue A leaf blower, snow blower, lawn mower and two huge dogs—Peter D’Epiro can describe in excruciating detail how his neighbour’s lawn equipment and pets Read More...
listening is worship
Gordon Hempton is fighting to save the sounds of silence in Washington state’s Olympic National Park — one square inch at a time. Diane Daniel | July 2008 issue Hearing the chirp of a bird in the distance, I expect our unofficial park guide to identify another animal resident here in Read More...
Soft machines
New technologies can help lessen the sonic impact of generating and consuming energy. Marc van Dinther | July 2008 issue Just name the noise, and chances are someone somewhere has launched a campaign to tone it down. Don't like the sound of lawn mowers? Call in the California firm Goats R Us, Read More...
less than zero
What does silence really sound like? Step inside an anechoic chamber to find out. Marisa Taylor | July 2008 issue The sky is bright and cloudless: another perfect day in the San Francisco Bay Area. But I’m about to spend part of it inside a windowless, soundless room called an anechoic chamber Read More...
Because God whispers
Being silent means more than just holding your tongue. It means listening for the softest, most subtle sound of all - the sound of the soul. Tijn Touber | July 2008 issue I’m not listening. “Hurry up, sir. You have just half an hour to reach the hotel. After that the whole island becomes Read More...
In the land of the hearing
How the deaf have mastered the art of silent communication. Ronald Ligtenberg | July 2008 issue In The Country of The Blind, the classic book by H.G. Wells, a seeing man isn’t accepted by a society of blind people. He makes every effort to prove he can do things the others can’t, but the blind Read More...
Couscous–shhh...
Learning the art of listening while you cook. Elbrich Fennema | July 2008 issue When we focus on silence, we focus on sound. Becoming silent is a gradual process. When we switch off louder elements, we hear things that are normally drowned out. This applies to life in general, and definitely to Read More...
4'33
4 minutes and 33 seconds of composed silence. Josey Duncan | July 2008 issue On August 29, 1952, at a concert hall in Woodstock, New York, pianist David Tudor sat down to play avant-garde American composer John Cage’s creation, 4’33’’. The piece requires the performer to stay at the piano Read More...