Google Doodles

['andersom']

Maybe they don't have TV yet.

Yeah, that's probably why Sweden was excluded. 

Nobody here knows what it is.

What is this tv you are talking about?

Some kind of box that displays magic moving pictures.

Why would any one want a thing like that? Can't they move for themselves?

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Lunar New Year 2016



Happy Lunar New Year!

Lunar New Year is celebrated in many countries such as China, Korea, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Though not officially used in the United States, the lunar calendar plays an important role in global timekeeping.

The calendar is marked by the Shēngxiào or Chinese Zodiac, which is used to predict health, wealth, and compatibility. You've probably heard of the animal designations prescribed to various years: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, pig or dog. Each year is also associated with one of five fixed elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, or water.

2016 is the year of the Fire Monkey, which is the 9th in the 12 year cycle of the zodiac. The monkey sign represents quick-wittedness and smarts, and people born under it are thought to be adaptable and flexible in their thinking.

For today, Doodler Alyssa Winans illustrated a family of monkeys in the traditional fiery red which matches the lucky envelopes families give and receive on Lunar New Year — and the explosions of the firecrackers.

[odeon]

Nice.

We have the garden-variety Google page instead.

['andersom']

Nice.

We have the garden-variety Google page instead.

The community of lunar new year celebrating people is not big enough here either, to get that Google doodle.

[renaeden]

According to the Chinese Zodiac, I am a fire Dragon. How cool is that?

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Valentine's Day 2016.

There are also no comments for today's doodles. 

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Leap Year 2016.



2016 is very special and not just because it’s 11111100000 in binary. Today's Doodle celebrates a rare day indeed: Leap Day!

The 29th of February only happens every four years. This is to keep our calendar in sync with the rotation of the Earth around the sun. Without Leap Day, we'd be out of sync by about six hours per year.

But wait, there’s more...Leap Day happens every four years unless that year is divisible by 100. If you were around in 1900, you would have missed out on the magic of February 29. For anyone born on Leap Day, that's one less birthday party — we hope today's Doodle illustrated by Olivia Huynh, helps make up for lost time!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is International Women's Day 2016.


#OneDayIWill: On International Women’s Day, share your aspiration with the world

Over the years, Doodles have commemorated the achievements of women in science, civil rights, journalism, sports, arts, technology and beyond. It’s always an honor to pay tribute to women who have changed the course of history, sometimes in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But for this year’s International Women’s Day, we wanted to celebrate the Doodle-worthy women of the future. So we gathered our cameras and pencils and visited 13 countries where we spoke to 337 women and girls and asked them to complete the sentence, “One day I will…”

From toddlers to grandmothers, the women in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Lagos, Moscow, Cairo, Berlin, London, Paris, Jakarta, Bangkok, New Delhi and Tokyo all sparkled with personality. Each new city brought more “One day I will”s, more signature dance moves, more hugs, more high-fives. The aspirations we heard were as varied as the women and girls who shared them, from the very personal—swim with pigs in the Bahamas—to the very global—give a voice to those who can’t speak—and everything in between. When it was done, we found that our own “One day I will…”s had grown bigger and richer, inspired by the women we had met.

Even women who are already accomplished aren’t done dreaming. Jane Goodall shared her hope to one day discuss the environment with the Pope, while Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai and activist Muzoon Almellehan continue to work fearlessly toward a future where every girl can go to school.

It’s not always easy to put into words what you want to achieve. When we asked women and girls on the street to articulate their aspirations, they often had to pause and think about it for a few minutes. Whether their responses were detailed or broad strokes, concrete or abstract, funny or heartwarming, it was inspiring to see them take the time to dream.

Now it’s your turn. Share your aspiration with #OneDayIWill and get one step closer to where you’re going. You never know, you could be the subject of a doodle yourself someday...

Creators: Lydia Nichols, Helene Leroux & Liat Ben-Rafael.

Original music: Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs).

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Clara Rockmore’s 105th Birthday



Clara Rockmore made music from thin air. Trained from a young age as a violinist, Rockmore ultimately gave up the violin due to physical strain. This led her to discover the theremin, a gesture-controlled instrument named after its inventor, Léon Theremin. Not only did Rockmore become the instrument's most well-known performer, she also influenced its development. She convinced Theremin that it should be made more responsive and offer a greater range of notes (5 octaves instead of 3). Though electronic music was uncommon in formal music settings in the 1930s, Rockmore performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony.

Today's interactive Google Doodle was created by artist Robinson Wood, interaction designer Kevin Burke, and engineers Will Knowles and Kris Hom (with support from the larger Doodle engineering team). The team translated the movement used to play the theremin—one hand controlling pitch and the other volume—to an interactive module, where a point of light controls volume and pitch. Sound designer Manuel Clément helped with the button sound effects.

Engineer Will Knowles explained that the first attempt at recreating the theremin sound was fairly straightforward: just a "single oscillator producing a wave at a given frequency." But Knowles and his team wanted to create a sound quality that resembled Rockmore's own playing. "To accomplish this," he said, "we worked with the Chrome WebAudio team and theremin expert Mark Goldstein to create smooth sliding between frequencies and scaling vibrato to simulate her masterful play style." They also used filters to get across a "a softer, more aged feel."

Robinson Wood and Kevin Burke also reflected Rockmore's world in the visual design of the Doodle, with Art Deco-styled imagery and other period details. "We wanted to give the theremin's controls a feel of realism," Burke said, "so the knob textures were rendered to mimic Bakelite, the early plastic. We chose the wood texture for its similarity to the wood of Clara's RCA theremin."

Today's celebration of Clara Rockmore is a natural accompaniment to Google Creative Lab's launch of the Chrome Music Lab. In the words of designer Alex Chen, the Music Lab aims to "create simple ways for anyone, of any age, to explore how music works."

Have fun playing the theremin! Your playing commemorates Rockmore's 105th birthday.

Very special thanks to the Nadia Reisenberg & Clara Rockmore Foundation and Delos Records.

[Gopher Gary]

I had never even heard of a theremin. 

['andersom']

I had never even heard of a theremin. 

I've heard them play in a shopping center. Was mesmerised hearing and seeing it being played the first time.

["couldbecousin"]

I had never even heard of a theremin. 

  That's because you live in a hole in the ground.  Uncultured little pest.

[odeon]

I had never even heard of a theremin. 

It's an awesome instrument. I've heard Jean Michel Jarre play one in concert.

[Gopher Gary]

I had never even heard of a theremin. 

  That's because you live in a hole in the ground.  Uncultured little pest.

I get enough culture from your moldy feet. 

[DirtDawg]

Awesomeness.

With a little help from my  (thermionics) senior electronics instructor, I built a Theremin  when I was a senior in high school.

We cut the middles out of two steel pie plates for the "air" capacitance sensors. Otherwise it was all tube/valve operated. Most of the parts came from a dilapidated television that we scavenged.