I have updated "Whatever It Was" to be longer and I have changed the name to "The Perfect Ones"
The Perfect Ones
I have also realized that this is the 600th post. I don't know what that means.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Song of the Week 19.5: 'Dead Man's Lullaby (revamped version)' by Vitz
This Song of the Week is a .5 edition, which pretty much explains why I'm not posting on Wednesday. It's been a while since there has been a .5 edition; there hasn't been one since Met was doing this by himself. Anyway, as it was said in my last post, this is a revamped version of Dead Man's Lullaby. Here's the link again and here's Vitz's soundcloud page. Obviously this is the first song on the list. However, when I brought up the link (Vitz's soundcloud page), the original version wasn't on there anymore. I don't know why, and that being gone really doesn't help with this review. Fortunately, I did compare the two before it was taken off. After listening to this I found it much different than the original version, but has many similarities as well. I shall now explain, using last Wednesday's review to compare the two.
The beginning of the song sounds exactly like the original, and at 0:13 that same rhythm appears. There really is no difference so far. At 0:26 it's the same once again, but at 0:52 (sorry about the last review, I had a typo and said 1:52) there probably is a bit more bass added with the melody. At 1:30 there is a huge difference: a string section is added. I like it, and it certainly adds more of a mood to the song. Some more differences are the timing for sure; the breaks in the song are placed at different parts of the song, not to mention there are fewer of them in this version of the song. Where I mentioned about the song a 2:08 in my last review, there are differences there also. The beat is entirely different, with more of a swing rhythm than just straightforward. The upbeat part at 2:46 in the original song is gone, unfortunately. Instead it's more of a calmer section, and then at 3:00 it's that swing beat playing. For some reason I'm not a fan of that beat, it just sort of irks me. At 3:26 it goes back into what was going on at 0:26, which really isn't all that exciting for me. At 4:03 is probably where it gets the most intense, where there's strings, percussion, a beat, and even a new melody created by the piano. This section continues until 5:58, then it's all over. That's a difference I forgot to mention; this version is around a minute shorter than the original.
Pros: This song certainly shows much more than the original version. I like how they put a new melody closer to the end, and the strings make a nice addition to add some more emotion to the song.
Cons: I really didn't like that beat that sounded like a swing. It really didn't match up with the rest of the song. Sadly there wasn't as much intensity in this version, and it was disappointing that they took that huge, intense section from the original song.
Overall: I liked it, but I also disliked it. There was some additions that I did like about this revamped version, but all together I think I like the original song better.
Rating: 8.4/10
The beginning of the song sounds exactly like the original, and at 0:13 that same rhythm appears. There really is no difference so far. At 0:26 it's the same once again, but at 0:52 (sorry about the last review, I had a typo and said 1:52) there probably is a bit more bass added with the melody. At 1:30 there is a huge difference: a string section is added. I like it, and it certainly adds more of a mood to the song. Some more differences are the timing for sure; the breaks in the song are placed at different parts of the song, not to mention there are fewer of them in this version of the song. Where I mentioned about the song a 2:08 in my last review, there are differences there also. The beat is entirely different, with more of a swing rhythm than just straightforward. The upbeat part at 2:46 in the original song is gone, unfortunately. Instead it's more of a calmer section, and then at 3:00 it's that swing beat playing. For some reason I'm not a fan of that beat, it just sort of irks me. At 3:26 it goes back into what was going on at 0:26, which really isn't all that exciting for me. At 4:03 is probably where it gets the most intense, where there's strings, percussion, a beat, and even a new melody created by the piano. This section continues until 5:58, then it's all over. That's a difference I forgot to mention; this version is around a minute shorter than the original.
Pros: This song certainly shows much more than the original version. I like how they put a new melody closer to the end, and the strings make a nice addition to add some more emotion to the song.
Cons: I really didn't like that beat that sounded like a swing. It really didn't match up with the rest of the song. Sadly there wasn't as much intensity in this version, and it was disappointing that they took that huge, intense section from the original song.
Overall: I liked it, but I also disliked it. There was some additions that I did like about this revamped version, but all together I think I like the original song better.
Rating: 8.4/10
Friday, October 29, 2010
Karachay: Part 4
Tuesday, May 23rd 1967
Dear Isaak,
Pardon me for expressing my satisfaction in hearing of your troubles. Sometimes, I feel as though all the troubles in the world are seeking out me alone. We too have had the winds. I've advised the village folk to wear cloth about their faces when they go out. Though far less than perfect, this simple shield has kept many from succumbing, I'm sure. Those that do suffer have found their symptoms somewhat alleviated by willowbark tea. I'm sure any sort would aid, but willow’s curious restorative properties may provide additional benefit.
Five more have fallen to fatigue, a not one has yet recovered. The victim I wrote about a week ago was described to me as "shrieking and flailing in the night." He's wearing his wife to the bone, and I've prescribed them both opium from my personal supply to assist their slumbers.
The drought is surely natural, but it is doing untold damage. It has loosed the soil to the winds (have I mentioned how the lake sometimes resembles mud with such a film of dirt atop it?), starved the plants, and even shrinks the lake. The fisherman have caught only the smallest, most twisted fish this year, and proclaim a disgusting eight-legged frog they've found an omen. I place no stock in such rambling.
Perhaps by the time this letter reaches you, all will be recovered. Perhaps not. Either way, I send with it whatever strength I can afford to, and in return, I ask that you send me any opium you can spare. My stores will be depleted in the month.
I do wish you well, brother,
Lyov
Dear Isaak,
Pardon me for expressing my satisfaction in hearing of your troubles. Sometimes, I feel as though all the troubles in the world are seeking out me alone. We too have had the winds. I've advised the village folk to wear cloth about their faces when they go out. Though far less than perfect, this simple shield has kept many from succumbing, I'm sure. Those that do suffer have found their symptoms somewhat alleviated by willowbark tea. I'm sure any sort would aid, but willow’s curious restorative properties may provide additional benefit.
Five more have fallen to fatigue, a not one has yet recovered. The victim I wrote about a week ago was described to me as "shrieking and flailing in the night." He's wearing his wife to the bone, and I've prescribed them both opium from my personal supply to assist their slumbers.
The drought is surely natural, but it is doing untold damage. It has loosed the soil to the winds (have I mentioned how the lake sometimes resembles mud with such a film of dirt atop it?), starved the plants, and even shrinks the lake. The fisherman have caught only the smallest, most twisted fish this year, and proclaim a disgusting eight-legged frog they've found an omen. I place no stock in such rambling.
Perhaps by the time this letter reaches you, all will be recovered. Perhaps not. Either way, I send with it whatever strength I can afford to, and in return, I ask that you send me any opium you can spare. My stores will be depleted in the month.
I do wish you well, brother,
Lyov
Thursday, October 28, 2010
We do Updates
At least I do; I'm sure Reogan will soon enough as he still has The Golden Apocalypse and Darklight to catch up on. Be sure to go back and check, we update more often then I bother to check so it's worth linking back to.
Updated Posts:
Song of the Week 16 (now with Met's review)
Song of the Week 18 (now with Met's review)
Song of the Week 19 (Edited for facts and additional links)
Updated Posts:
Song of the Week 16 (now with Met's review)
Song of the Week 18 (now with Met's review)
Song of the Week 19 (Edited for facts and additional links)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Song of the Week 19: 'Dead Man's Lullaby' by Vitz
Okay, so this week's song is from Vitz. This is some pretty good stuff; I remember reviewing one of his tracks as sort of a "practice review" before I actually started posting here. The direct link where you may listen to this track is right here. If you take the time to click on this link, the first two songs have the same title. However, the first one is the revamped version of the second song. We are looking at the original song here, not the revamped one. The revamped version will be reviewed and compared as a .5 edition of Song of the Week. So anyway, here's the original version of the song called Dead Man's Lullaby.
Alright, let's get to business then, shall we? The beginning seconds of the song give off a calm and relaxing sort of mood. At 0:13 more of a rhythm is introduced, while still keeping that calm feeling. The rhythm so far is almost like a swing, so it'll be interesting to see how the song will turn out later on. At 0:26 a beat arrives, making more of a restless tone. The swing rhythm at this point is gone by the way. With the beat, the song sounds a lot more straightforward. At 0:48 the beat disappears for a couple seconds, but at 1:52 it starts back up again, this time with some high notes to create somewhat of a melody. What I mean by "somewhat" is that the melody is pretty simple. It does stand out though, and that's a good thing when you're dealing with most songs. Oddly enough, even with the beat the song stills gives me a feeling of calmness. From 1:30 to about 1:42, there's some nice electronic sounds placed to support the melody. The beat will go off and on throughout the song. For example, the beat appears again at 1:43, but then it goes back to a softer mood at 1:56. At 2:08, after about ten seconds or so of a quieter tone, the song really goes all out, and this where it's the most upbeat so far. There isn't really all that much percussion, which I think really makes the song unique. The electronic sounds that both create a beat and a harmony do an excellent job at making the song exciting, as well as supporting the melody. At 2:33 once again it calms back down again. One reason why I like this song is because of its balance of soft and upbeat music. At 2:46, the song basically blows the upbeat part of 2:08 out of the water. It's a pretty awesome section of the song; it's very catchy, and all of the instrumentation works perfectly. It still has that simple melody, and the bass as well as the percussion work excellently with it. Unlike the other songs I have reviewed, this particular track has the same melody throughout. This entire part lasts about a minute and a half until it once again calms down at 4:29. Some sort of a beat is still heard, and this section is very similar to what was heard at 1:42. This lasts until 5:20, where that awesome upbeat section comes back that's exactly the same as it was at 2:46. It ends at 6:10, then continues into the song's conclusion. The end isn't really all that exciting. It's just that calm section again, and then it stops. Then the song's at an end.
Pros: Okay, this is a pretty awesome song. The mix of calm and upbeat work out great, and I found it unique that something other than percussion can keep a beat for a while.
Cons: The sections constantly kept repeating themselves in a pattern. Perhaps if there was a little more variety in the song, it could have gone better.
Overall: Nice song, can't really say much about it. There were probably more pros than cons, but altogether it's something to enjoy listening to.
Rating: 8.8/10
Met:
Editor's note 10/30/2010
Vitz choose a fine time to do some renovating on his soundcloud page. Within the last 24 hours or so he changed his bio (left sidebar of his soundcloud page) a little and removed several of his tracks including the one that this links to. I'm sure Vitz has his reasons so we'll leave it at that. I managed to download the MP3 file before it was taken down. However, I'm not distributing it (Vitz took it down for a reason that I'm not privy to and I'll respect that). Regardless, if you really want to hear the original sometime come find me; it's on my iPod.
Alright, let's get to business then, shall we? The beginning seconds of the song give off a calm and relaxing sort of mood. At 0:13 more of a rhythm is introduced, while still keeping that calm feeling. The rhythm so far is almost like a swing, so it'll be interesting to see how the song will turn out later on. At 0:26 a beat arrives, making more of a restless tone. The swing rhythm at this point is gone by the way. With the beat, the song sounds a lot more straightforward. At 0:48 the beat disappears for a couple seconds, but at 1:52 it starts back up again, this time with some high notes to create somewhat of a melody. What I mean by "somewhat" is that the melody is pretty simple. It does stand out though, and that's a good thing when you're dealing with most songs. Oddly enough, even with the beat the song stills gives me a feeling of calmness. From 1:30 to about 1:42, there's some nice electronic sounds placed to support the melody. The beat will go off and on throughout the song. For example, the beat appears again at 1:43, but then it goes back to a softer mood at 1:56. At 2:08, after about ten seconds or so of a quieter tone, the song really goes all out, and this where it's the most upbeat so far. There isn't really all that much percussion, which I think really makes the song unique. The electronic sounds that both create a beat and a harmony do an excellent job at making the song exciting, as well as supporting the melody. At 2:33 once again it calms back down again. One reason why I like this song is because of its balance of soft and upbeat music. At 2:46, the song basically blows the upbeat part of 2:08 out of the water. It's a pretty awesome section of the song; it's very catchy, and all of the instrumentation works perfectly. It still has that simple melody, and the bass as well as the percussion work excellently with it. Unlike the other songs I have reviewed, this particular track has the same melody throughout. This entire part lasts about a minute and a half until it once again calms down at 4:29. Some sort of a beat is still heard, and this section is very similar to what was heard at 1:42. This lasts until 5:20, where that awesome upbeat section comes back that's exactly the same as it was at 2:46. It ends at 6:10, then continues into the song's conclusion. The end isn't really all that exciting. It's just that calm section again, and then it stops. Then the song's at an end.
Pros: Okay, this is a pretty awesome song. The mix of calm and upbeat work out great, and I found it unique that something other than percussion can keep a beat for a while.
Cons: The sections constantly kept repeating themselves in a pattern. Perhaps if there was a little more variety in the song, it could have gone better.
Overall: Nice song, can't really say much about it. There were probably more pros than cons, but altogether it's something to enjoy listening to.
Rating: 8.8/10
Met:
Editor's note 10/30/2010
Vitz choose a fine time to do some renovating on his soundcloud page. Within the last 24 hours or so he changed his bio (left sidebar of his soundcloud page) a little and removed several of his tracks including the one that this links to. I'm sure Vitz has his reasons so we'll leave it at that. I managed to download the MP3 file before it was taken down. However, I'm not distributing it (Vitz took it down for a reason that I'm not privy to and I'll respect that). Regardless, if you really want to hear the original sometime come find me; it's on my iPod.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Anya
Anya was Lost. The world she knew had left her in her wanderings. Now, there was only white. Everywhere she looked was an infinite stretch of nothing and everything, powerful enough to drive a sane mind mad. Anya was not sane, though, and had little to fear. Truly, the sane cannot become Lost, for they are never Found.
Anya swallowed a lump of concern and stretched her mind. She felt reality slowly bend around her, poking at her extremities, feeling out her weaknesses. She felt it in her face and stomach and groin. Everything that was hers was laid bare, but she maintained her self through it all. By sheer will, she forced nothing away to where it belonged. She felt things setlle again, more pliable than before.
Anya smiled. She had been here before. She never knew when she'd find it, and she didn't always enjoy it. But she was finally arrived.
She was in the Making Place.
Anya swallowed a lump of concern and stretched her mind. She felt reality slowly bend around her, poking at her extremities, feeling out her weaknesses. She felt it in her face and stomach and groin. Everything that was hers was laid bare, but she maintained her self through it all. By sheer will, she forced nothing away to where it belonged. She felt things setlle again, more pliable than before.
Anya smiled. She had been here before. She never knew when she'd find it, and she didn't always enjoy it. But she was finally arrived.
She was in the Making Place.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Perfect Ones
*Edited on: 10/31/2010*
I was a lieutenant then, just stationed on the ship. The captain was terrible, and very strange, his beard was two strings from the corners of his mouth and a goatee. He flogged us himself for the smallest thing, even just bringing his food five minutes late. Simply put, he was sadistic. However, or maybe because of that, I wanted my own ship, just like in all the dime novels. It didn't have to be fancy, but I wanted one anyway. I can't think of anyone who doesn't, besides Davis, but he was always kinda strange. He never seemed to care if he moved around in the system, didn't seem to care about much at all, except what he did in the lab. But good things happened to him, seemingly without any drive from him. However, my skill or luck, however you want it, at climbing the ranks was not very good at that time, so I had been a lieutenant for quite a while. Ironically enough, my rise started with my fall. My fall from grace within the navy. You see, I destroyed a ship of theirs when they thought it needed no destroying. They were wrong, of course, but they were still mad at me. Whatever it was, she was key. I think she was pregnant. I'm not quite sure, but I think she was. But that doesn't matter. Anyway, whatever it was, she was the first one to go. She was sleeping in a hammock on a walkway over a storage area, her choice, not ours. We never checked those much, the storage areas. One night, myself and some others were walking along when we heard screams from the walkway. We looked in and saw her there, awake and looking extremely disoriented and -I don't know- frazzled? Frankly, she looked terrified. I asked what was wrong and she said it was just a nightmare. We continued our rounds for a while, and found a part of the corridor that had yellow blood-like stuff on the floor and a bit of the walls. The rest of the group went through, though not without curios looks, and continued on. I stayed back, suspicious. I went back along the corridor to the storage room to see if anything had happened. I looked in. She wasn't there. Her hammock had some of the yellow stuff from the hall, but nothing else was there. I looked over the railing and saw a flash of yellow and black legs. Alien insectoid legs. I called the rest of my squad and told them to meet me at the captains office. They never came. At one point I thought I heard screams. I called them again. There was no response. I went into the captains quarters by myself. The captain was sitting at his desk, looking concerned. I coughed a little to get his attention, he asked me what it was. I responded with a rather full report of the events of the evening, omitting only the legs. The captain ordered us all to shuttles and readied the self-destruct. He stayed in the launching bay control and opened the doors to let us all out. We flew out into the darkness of space.
* * * *
The captain sat back in his chair and waited for the end. Suddenly, Lieutenant Davis burst out from behind him. The captain whirled around. Davis had a gun.
"What are you doing here?! The ship is going to explode, you idiot!" the captan yelled at him.
The lieutenant only replied, "Exactly, Sir. They all want it dead. My precious creature! That which I worked so hard to create, and they wish it dead, along with you."
"W-wha-?" The captain stammered. "What are you talking about!?"
"O, nothing sir," scornfully, "They all knew. They only wanted you out of the way. They didn't care about this ship, or any of the inhabitants. They only wanted you dead."
" I cannot accept that, you insubordinate fool!"
"O, but you must. I can't do this without you 'Captain'."
"And if I refuse?"
"Did I ever say I needed cooperation?"
"..."
Davis smiled evilly, "Just as I thought. No, I just need your access, your life matters not."
"Then why not just kill me now?" The captain was getting exasperated.
"Ever heard of meat on the hoof, "Captain'? I simply don't want to lug you around, though I will if I must"
"Why did you have to kill all those people though?"
"Why? To make it convincing, that was all."
"But... All those people," the captain sounded a little shaken.
"Tarina, the pregnant woman, she was the carrier, that's why she died first-"
All this time, the captain had been bringing his cat-of-nine-tails out from behind his back. He chose this moment to swing. Davis ducked, but was nocked off balance. The captain swung again, but Davis shot, first. The captain looked at the bloody stump that was all that was left of his left hand, then he fell, almost screaming from agony. Davis then tore off some pipe insulation from one of the steam ducts. He thrust the captain's stump into it, cauterizing the wound. The captain only screamed all the more.
Davis put his face right next to the captain's and hissed, "My precious creature tears its way out, then eats the host. The host is the lucky one, though, for once the host is eaten, her brain is fused with the creature into a completely new being. An unstoppable being. A perfectly unique being mutated from its original form by the thoughts at the time of bonding. Commanded only by its whims and loyalties, and very slightly influenced by its previous life. O, they can also survive space. So, if you wish to help me, I will be generous, and let one of them eat you. Does that sound fair?"
"You're utterly insane! How do you expect me to go along with this?" The captain was outraged, and only partially from the pain.
"You seem to misunderstand. I'm giving you the chance to become a Perfect One, though you certainly don't deserve it."
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Michael
Michael was walking the darker streets of Los Angeles when it happened. It was very late, and he was in his element. The darkness was his friend, and he knew its secrets well. But they were his to keep, for the darkness kept his too. Every slice of his knife had been seen by no one but the night. Michael liked the night.
It was more than he could say for himself.
Michale had been in a good mood, having just heard the young girls cries from the next street over. If he was lucky, her attacker would still be around when he arrived, and he could steal them both away.
And then his world fell apart. He felt, rather than heard, an infrasonic groan pulse from the East. He gasped as he felt pain sprout from his shoulders, and grow to spread through his wings. Suddenly, there was a wet tearing noise, and his world exploded into a conflagration of pain. As the black feathers fluttered down around him, Michael collapsed into a ball and was still.
It was more than he could say for himself.
Michale had been in a good mood, having just heard the young girls cries from the next street over. If he was lucky, her attacker would still be around when he arrived, and he could steal them both away.
And then his world fell apart. He felt, rather than heard, an infrasonic groan pulse from the East. He gasped as he felt pain sprout from his shoulders, and grow to spread through his wings. Suddenly, there was a wet tearing noise, and his world exploded into a conflagration of pain. As the black feathers fluttered down around him, Michael collapsed into a ball and was still.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Karachay: Part 3
Friday, May 19th, 1967
Dear Lyov,
I am glad to find you well. It seems, then, that your village is isolated from this world. We may have more pressing concerns than politics, however. The recent high winds have made farming very unfavorable. Many a villager has asked me to cure a rather nasty cough, an obvious side effect of swallowing too much dust. These farmers are tireless and for the moment they’re all I have to deal with. Let us pray nothing more comes my way.
Ah, a wager. I see you’ve remembered that I am a gambling man. I will accept, for you’ve lost one too many a card game to me, and I can see that you’re trying to make it up. What is the opinion of your farmers of this drought? I cannot say that we’ve had anyone here call it an apocalypse; most of these farmers see it as just another cycle.
I’m glad that these letters hold your interest; I was beginning to believe they might bore you. There hasn’t been anything of medical significance here since you left, so I worried that my lack of scientific data was disappointing. However, our friend Mikhail, the barkeep, was recently vindicated. Over the winter he got into a scuffle with one of his customers who was later found dead. It turns out that it was just suicide; how any detective could make this mistake I do not know, but once they called me in and I examined the body, I knew right away.
I’ve just briefly examined your notes of the flu, and it seems to me a rather odd combination of symptoms. I would appreciate it if you continued to send your medical reports; there is little in this town that holds my interest now that you’re gone.
Your brother,
Isaak
Dear Lyov,
I am glad to find you well. It seems, then, that your village is isolated from this world. We may have more pressing concerns than politics, however. The recent high winds have made farming very unfavorable. Many a villager has asked me to cure a rather nasty cough, an obvious side effect of swallowing too much dust. These farmers are tireless and for the moment they’re all I have to deal with. Let us pray nothing more comes my way.
Ah, a wager. I see you’ve remembered that I am a gambling man. I will accept, for you’ve lost one too many a card game to me, and I can see that you’re trying to make it up. What is the opinion of your farmers of this drought? I cannot say that we’ve had anyone here call it an apocalypse; most of these farmers see it as just another cycle.
I’m glad that these letters hold your interest; I was beginning to believe they might bore you. There hasn’t been anything of medical significance here since you left, so I worried that my lack of scientific data was disappointing. However, our friend Mikhail, the barkeep, was recently vindicated. Over the winter he got into a scuffle with one of his customers who was later found dead. It turns out that it was just suicide; how any detective could make this mistake I do not know, but once they called me in and I examined the body, I knew right away.
I’ve just briefly examined your notes of the flu, and it seems to me a rather odd combination of symptoms. I would appreciate it if you continued to send your medical reports; there is little in this town that holds my interest now that you’re gone.
Your brother,
Isaak
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Part 4, Aftermath
Are you
prepared
to deal
with this?
You asked for
it.
All three
agreed.
Did you make
the right
choice?
There's no
such thing
as regret;
that's a myth.
You'll always
remember
what you all
did today.
You worked
together.
You all made the same
choice.
Now deal
with
the aftermath.
prepared
to deal
with this?
You asked for
it.
All three
agreed.
Did you make
the right
choice?
There's no
such thing
as regret;
that's a myth.
You'll always
remember
what you all
did today.
You worked
together.
You all made the same
choice.
Now deal
with
the aftermath.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Song of the Week 18: 'Super Metroid Ending' by Nick Lammertyn/Darkpearl
Met is unable to do Song of the Week again, so I'm going solo this week. This review is going to be a little bit different, for pretty much two reasons: 1) This is not from Protagonist Records or OCR. 2) This song has one instrument, and one instrument only: the piano. Unfortunately reviewing this is much harder than the other tracks I have been reviewing. I had so many more sounds to state my opinion about, but this time I have to focus on just one instrument. It's not a bad thing at all; piano pieces can be quite nice to listen to. Anyway, this is a song that I got off of a website (the song was chosen by Met, by the way) that has to do with solo piano pieces from Super Metroid. Not only can you download the mp3 versions of the songs, you may also download a pdf file for the sheet music in case anyone wants to learn it. You may find this website here. This particular track is based off of the end theme of Super Metroid, and is simply called Metroid Ending by the artist Darkpearl. As soon as I learned this was going to be a solo piano piece, I knew that this review was going to be difficult as well as interesting. The main problem I'm having with reviewing this is the fact that I can't see how far the song is, or how long it is. So I'm probably going to have a problem with times. Sorry about this everyone, but this probably going to be a bad review. Alright, now for the actual review. The beginning starts out high and sweet, and just from that I knew I was going to like this. The first couple notes then repeat themselves an octave lower, giving me the idea that the short melody will be heard from throughout the song. When more of the left-hand bass clef notes come in right after that, it gave it more "beef" I guess. The more support a light melody has, the better. The harmonies during this part is absolutely awesome; it gives me chills to hear treble and the bass notes merge together. The treble clef notes have a short and simple solo, then here comes the part of the song that makes me want to melt. Low notes are being played smoothly, and beautifully. The way it flows is absolutely incredible. With more harmonies being added, this makes the song even more beautiful. As soon as I heard this sequence for the first time, I pretty much shut my eyes and let the world disappear. The melody at this time makes the world feel at peace. I love it. Later in that section higher notes come back in, playing that same melody portrayed in the beginning of the song. This part gives me the impression that something more is coming; something that I think I will like. The notes go back to their low pitch after that, this time going into more of a minor key. It does turn back into a more major tune, but beautiful just the same. It switches off and on between major and minor, but somehow the blend all works out. It continuously flows; I can't detect a single bit of choppiness. I can hear some triplets in the bass part, but it works so well with the melody that it makes it all the more awesome. The bass part does an absolutely amazing job in this section, since most of it is bass. The treble is more of the background though, but it does have an occasional melody to go along with it. There is a section after this where the bass is pretty much in solo mode, using triplets in an astonishingly cool way. When hearing this, it almost sounds like a sad melody, but usually it's the sad and depressing melodies that move me most of all. This section dies down after a while, but then transitions into something completely new and familiar, one of the main themes from Super Metroid. It's even a theme played in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This is a great melody, especially on the piano. The bass harmonies add more emotion to the song as well, which continues to make the song more amazing. That melody dies down eventually, introducing the next and final melody. This melody is different than the last, with it being simple and minor. It gives off more of a creepy feeling rather than the last melody sequence. The final notes is that melody with a retardando, then ending with a major chord. The major chord is only thing I would have a problem with; the song might have ended better if the chord was minor.
Pros: Flawless, relaxing, and it continuously flows. There is beautiful melodies. The entire thing made me speechless, and the song is absolutely amazing.
Cons: Like I said earlier, it was just the one major chord that bothered me. That is all I have to say about that.
Overall: I think this is going to be a song that I'm going to be listening to for a long time. I've listened to it already numerous times in a row, and yet it hasn't gotten old. I love this song, there's no doubt about that.
Rating: 9.9
Met:
10/29/2010
I want to start by saying this is the most listened to song in my music library. I do love electronic music, but solo piano is good stuff as well and I have to say that Nick Lammertyn really has something special here. It's ironic that the Super Metroid theme Mr. Lammertyn is "remixing" (rearranging is more correct in my opinion) is something of a heroic march type piece. He managed to turn it into something powerful and moving with some real depth and feeling. I can't really critique the logistics here, and this will be an odd review for me, but I'd like to have a crack at it.
The beginning is very soft and I immediately think Metroid when I here it. Things are lead in very smoothly and now we've got a song of real character. The flowing depth of the bass really builds things along and is the primary catalyst throughout the song for the intense movement and feeling conveyed. It's very dreamy and the only melody that seems to interrupt this feeling is the Metroid theme that jumps up pretty high on the piano. We've got some good uncertain minor sounding chords and then it drops down and starts adding some real feeling and power. This is absolutely moving, haunting, and powerful. The music's mood is striving very hard to resolve something and it sounds as if the resolution must be reached. The build up is essential, it maintains the tension and then drops it back down again with seething power. This is where music truly strikes you down. Now we're building back up to the higher end of the piano with a transition into the rearranged theme. It's oddly calm, a big difference from the source tune. It projects certainty "The Galaxy is at Peace" (the last Metroid is in captivity). There's some good expansion on the theme with the bass and some odd sounding, but solid movement downwards. The awkward most part is emphasized in contrast with the moving part from before as if to say "What are you talking about, tension? The Galaxy is at peace!" Now we've got the moving part at the end that's clearly recognizable as Metroid. It ends with a strong major chord; excellent resolution. I didn't include time signs in this writeup because I was a little caught up in listening to the track. It's not something you can really pause and restart at a certain part; it's mesmerizing.
Pros: Intense, powerful, deep, moving, borderline spiritual transformations; this is absolutely solid, conveying profound emotions and feelings that we must resolve, yet keeping an ending where we have peace. I say it almost works as a message of "Resolve your disputes, we must make peace, we must be willing to die for what we believe, but we must have peace."
Cons: What cons? There is something, however, that I'd like to mention. This song just missed being a 10 by .1, an obviously slim margin. What would've made this perfect is... if it wasn't a rearrangement. I almost feel like the Super Metroid theme and source tune is holding Nick Lammertyn back from creating something of limitless potential.
Overall: Wow. Awesome.
Rating: 9.9/10
Pros: Flawless, relaxing, and it continuously flows. There is beautiful melodies. The entire thing made me speechless, and the song is absolutely amazing.
Cons: Like I said earlier, it was just the one major chord that bothered me. That is all I have to say about that.
Overall: I think this is going to be a song that I'm going to be listening to for a long time. I've listened to it already numerous times in a row, and yet it hasn't gotten old. I love this song, there's no doubt about that.
Rating: 9.9
Met:
10/29/2010
I want to start by saying this is the most listened to song in my music library. I do love electronic music, but solo piano is good stuff as well and I have to say that Nick Lammertyn really has something special here. It's ironic that the Super Metroid theme Mr. Lammertyn is "remixing" (rearranging is more correct in my opinion) is something of a heroic march type piece. He managed to turn it into something powerful and moving with some real depth and feeling. I can't really critique the logistics here, and this will be an odd review for me, but I'd like to have a crack at it.
The beginning is very soft and I immediately think Metroid when I here it. Things are lead in very smoothly and now we've got a song of real character. The flowing depth of the bass really builds things along and is the primary catalyst throughout the song for the intense movement and feeling conveyed. It's very dreamy and the only melody that seems to interrupt this feeling is the Metroid theme that jumps up pretty high on the piano. We've got some good uncertain minor sounding chords and then it drops down and starts adding some real feeling and power. This is absolutely moving, haunting, and powerful. The music's mood is striving very hard to resolve something and it sounds as if the resolution must be reached. The build up is essential, it maintains the tension and then drops it back down again with seething power. This is where music truly strikes you down. Now we're building back up to the higher end of the piano with a transition into the rearranged theme. It's oddly calm, a big difference from the source tune. It projects certainty "The Galaxy is at Peace" (the last Metroid is in captivity). There's some good expansion on the theme with the bass and some odd sounding, but solid movement downwards. The awkward most part is emphasized in contrast with the moving part from before as if to say "What are you talking about, tension? The Galaxy is at peace!" Now we've got the moving part at the end that's clearly recognizable as Metroid. It ends with a strong major chord; excellent resolution. I didn't include time signs in this writeup because I was a little caught up in listening to the track. It's not something you can really pause and restart at a certain part; it's mesmerizing.
Pros: Intense, powerful, deep, moving, borderline spiritual transformations; this is absolutely solid, conveying profound emotions and feelings that we must resolve, yet keeping an ending where we have peace. I say it almost works as a message of "Resolve your disputes, we must make peace, we must be willing to die for what we believe, but we must have peace."
Cons: What cons? There is something, however, that I'd like to mention. This song just missed being a 10 by .1, an obviously slim margin. What would've made this perfect is... if it wasn't a rearrangement. I almost feel like the Super Metroid theme and source tune is holding Nick Lammertyn back from creating something of limitless potential.
Overall: Wow. Awesome.
Rating: 9.9/10
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Michael
For the first time, Michael hesitated. What if that other angel was right? What if-
No. There was black and there was white. There was shadow and there was darkness. Michael didn't believe in in-betweens. Michael didn't believe in every extreme either. Right and wrong meant as little as good and evil. Things were what they were, and nothing could be done about it.
Michael tightened his grip.
Flying away from the scene, Michael looked down. He smiled at the splattering of his work. He always had had a flair for the dramatic. He was what he was, and Michael was the best.
But you could be so much more.
"Damn it," muttered Michael. That Gabriel ruined everything.
No. There was black and there was white. There was shadow and there was darkness. Michael didn't believe in in-betweens. Michael didn't believe in every extreme either. Right and wrong meant as little as good and evil. Things were what they were, and nothing could be done about it.
Michael tightened his grip.
Flying away from the scene, Michael looked down. He smiled at the splattering of his work. He always had had a flair for the dramatic. He was what he was, and Michael was the best.
But you could be so much more.
"Damn it," muttered Michael. That Gabriel ruined everything.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Karachay: Part 2
Saturday, May 13th, 1967
Dear Isaak,
Life is fast becoming survivable again. With the winter's snows melted, I've gained not only respite from the disease (we had quite a singular strain of flu this year. I've enclosed some notes that may interest you), but a source of rejuvenation in our renewed contact. Without your letters, I think my position here in Ozyorsk would have withered me away. As it is, I feel that some sloth has set in my bones, though perhaps it is merely age. How laughable is it that I think myself little more than a child still?
The people I serve here care little for politics. But for the vans that had come with the moon a few years before I knew this place and myself, they see the outside world as little. It is from Out that their supplies come, and it is to Out their taxes go. I fear that I am alone here in my concerns for the war.
Political babble grows dull. The weather, though, is of endless interest to these farmers. They slave in their fields, and call the weather hot even now. I almost fear they're all mad - why else would I have had to come aid one who collapsed in his field from overwork? I left him in the care of his wife.
Shall we have a wager? You see, his wife is pregnant, and she set to her task with fervor. I'm willing to say that such work will do this woman good, and the birth will be easy. If you take an opposing stance, why not gamble five rupees? There's little to lose, especially if the doomsayers are right and the drought ends us.
To your health,
Lyov
Dear Isaak,
Life is fast becoming survivable again. With the winter's snows melted, I've gained not only respite from the disease (we had quite a singular strain of flu this year. I've enclosed some notes that may interest you), but a source of rejuvenation in our renewed contact. Without your letters, I think my position here in Ozyorsk would have withered me away. As it is, I feel that some sloth has set in my bones, though perhaps it is merely age. How laughable is it that I think myself little more than a child still?
The people I serve here care little for politics. But for the vans that had come with the moon a few years before I knew this place and myself, they see the outside world as little. It is from Out that their supplies come, and it is to Out their taxes go. I fear that I am alone here in my concerns for the war.
Political babble grows dull. The weather, though, is of endless interest to these farmers. They slave in their fields, and call the weather hot even now. I almost fear they're all mad - why else would I have had to come aid one who collapsed in his field from overwork? I left him in the care of his wife.
Shall we have a wager? You see, his wife is pregnant, and she set to her task with fervor. I'm willing to say that such work will do this woman good, and the birth will be easy. If you take an opposing stance, why not gamble five rupees? There's little to lose, especially if the doomsayers are right and the drought ends us.
To your health,
Lyov
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Untitled Story 1 :: Chapter 1 :: Part 2
After my brother was nearly killed from the accident, I took him to the navy hospital, only because I knew it was the only place that could fix him up. It was the only decision that I could make. I knew that he would be drafted. I managed to get in as well, because of my ability with machines. Starships are different from cars, as would be expected, but not different enough to keep my skill from helping. The training is strenuous, but no more so than to be expected from a military program. There are slightly different tools and we need to learn to work in zero-g, but beyond that it's not much that needs to be but relearned. I'm not getting much communication from my brother anymore, except to say that he's alive still, really, and that training is going well enough. Our work started on the ground, mostly fixing the small fighters that were landed from the near-world skirmishes. My brother contacted a captain somehow, and got us both on his ship, so we could continue to look after each other I guess. I'm still not seeing my brother much, but at least I know he's not dead still. We've been doing drills excessively, and know exactly what we're supposed to do with most any attack situation. As mechanics we get suits with extra arms that are controlled by brain implants, so I suppose I have been upgraded as well as my brother.
The attack came at about 0300, and crippled us badly, despite our preparation. After I saw the situation I got my suit space ready, just in case. It was Ravagers, the evil buggers. They care nothing for spoils, only mindless destruction and death. Once I saw it was them, I stayed by the engines to keep my heat signature from reading well on their scanners. All I heard were the screams, even from the men, they sounded nothing so much as little girls. I could see one of the other mechanics being torn apart and eaten alive, the Ravager was a particularly nasty one who cauterized the wounds to keep the victim alive longer. The screams were enough to drive most anyone mad by themselves, and the visuals only added to that. Insanity was imminent in my mind.
I felt the ship undock and leave. I stayed where I was for a time, then got up and explored the damage of the ship. I had no life signs but one, then that faltered and died. That was when I realized there were two in the same place, the one running, the other no more. I followed the sign to a main access corridor, then realized to wonder why I was following. Soon after I decided to follow again. The worst it could do by itself would be chase, and that only if it found me. The arti-grav was gone and I had the advantage of the extra arms to pull myself along. It seemed to be a man, carrying my brother. I hid in a side corridor to see where he was going. I followed him to the airlock and saw a shuttle. Waiting with it was a woman with a nasty scar over one eye, which was a cybernetic replacement and looked less than legal. She was carrying a gauss rifle and had a hacking device strapped across her back, which is probably how they got in, not that they couldn't have come in through one of the large holes in the hull. I stayed in hiding until they left, then explored more of the ship. There were no survivors but me. The loneliness and fear of another attack were enough to drive me nearly mad with paranoia. I knew that they could come back at any minute and kill me. I hid constantly. Then one day the small ship came back. The one with the man who took my brother. I decided I would kill him. He killed my brother, and my brother would be avenged, he had to be.
The attack came at about 0300, and crippled us badly, despite our preparation. After I saw the situation I got my suit space ready, just in case. It was Ravagers, the evil buggers. They care nothing for spoils, only mindless destruction and death. Once I saw it was them, I stayed by the engines to keep my heat signature from reading well on their scanners. All I heard were the screams, even from the men, they sounded nothing so much as little girls. I could see one of the other mechanics being torn apart and eaten alive, the Ravager was a particularly nasty one who cauterized the wounds to keep the victim alive longer. The screams were enough to drive most anyone mad by themselves, and the visuals only added to that. Insanity was imminent in my mind.
I felt the ship undock and leave. I stayed where I was for a time, then got up and explored the damage of the ship. I had no life signs but one, then that faltered and died. That was when I realized there were two in the same place, the one running, the other no more. I followed the sign to a main access corridor, then realized to wonder why I was following. Soon after I decided to follow again. The worst it could do by itself would be chase, and that only if it found me. The arti-grav was gone and I had the advantage of the extra arms to pull myself along. It seemed to be a man, carrying my brother. I hid in a side corridor to see where he was going. I followed him to the airlock and saw a shuttle. Waiting with it was a woman with a nasty scar over one eye, which was a cybernetic replacement and looked less than legal. She was carrying a gauss rifle and had a hacking device strapped across her back, which is probably how they got in, not that they couldn't have come in through one of the large holes in the hull. I stayed in hiding until they left, then explored more of the ship. There were no survivors but me. The loneliness and fear of another attack were enough to drive me nearly mad with paranoia. I knew that they could come back at any minute and kill me. I hid constantly. Then one day the small ship came back. The one with the man who took my brother. I decided I would kill him. He killed my brother, and my brother would be avenged, he had to be.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Disappointment
Whenever shades of expectation
Meet reality,
They grow and change and seem to shift
Phantasmagorically.
The morrow's ghost of Yesterday
Illumined by the light
Finds ugle form in sharp relief
And power to incite
A sullen, disappointed mien
From Hope that died to dust.
The Present future spitefully
is violating Trust.
For what is yet is forged of Dream,
restrained by fetters not,
Whereas the now and past are bound
But for the shift of Thought.
And Dream and Thought can only join
In Art and never life.
For Art is Hope and life is Truth
And Truth is is borne in strife.
Meet reality,
They grow and change and seem to shift
Phantasmagorically.
The morrow's ghost of Yesterday
Illumined by the light
Finds ugle form in sharp relief
And power to incite
A sullen, disappointed mien
From Hope that died to dust.
The Present future spitefully
is violating Trust.
For what is yet is forged of Dream,
restrained by fetters not,
Whereas the now and past are bound
But for the shift of Thought.
And Dream and Thought can only join
In Art and never life.
For Art is Hope and life is Truth
And Truth is is borne in strife.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Part 3, Strike
You have
the final
decision.
To hold is
irrelevant.
To aim is
irrelevant.
If you want
to use
it,
you must be
definitive.
You must
take
action.
You must
never
look back.
You must
pull
the trigger.
You must
strike.
the final
decision.
To hold is
irrelevant.
To aim is
irrelevant.
If you want
to use
it,
you must be
definitive.
You must
take
action.
You must
never
look back.
You must
pull
the trigger.
You must
strike.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Song of the Week 17 (Xanthurian): 'The Device Has Been Modified' by Victims of Science
For my first Song of the Week post I am reviewing The Device Has Been Modified by Victims of Science. There is also a really cool music video of it here. Again, I really don't know what I'm doing, so I'll just get right to it. The beginning has no rhythm section, simply a kind of spacy dottish sounding melodic synth which switches to more harmonics once the voice kicks in (yes, this has vocals, I don't know what else to call them), and continues throughout most of the song. The beginning vocals are subtly echoey, but that adds excellent atmosphere to the song. One of the best parts of this song is that it uses a sort of auto-tuned GLaDOS voice for all the vocals. At about 0:30 the drums start up with a very faded sound so that they sometimes get drowned out by the other things, while still laying down a good beat. Some interesting piano is also ghosted in the background at the same time. At 0:45 the voice is used as a harmonic drone with the lead continuing with the melody creating a very cool, almost electric, effect. Immediately after this, a counter melody comes in as part of the spacy synth track. At 1:02 a turret voice comes in with some higher vocals. At 1:08 everything but GLaDOS and some chimes with a string track for ambience stop playing, and GLaDOS starts telling a kind of story. This part actually reminds me greatly of Reogan's GLaDOS's Lament. At 1:38 the song is just straight GLaDOS for a few seconds to make a very good point. At 1:41: "Android Hell is a place and you will go there if you receive unsatisfactory marks..." or something like that. At 1:46 the instrumental parts kick in again, and they seem a bit loud. At 2:09 the backgrounds fade out and only the drums and chimes are still in the song, creating a really neat effect. At 2:24 the dissonant harmonic voices make it sound incredibly robotic. Listen all the way to the end, it's strangely creepy.
Pros: Good melody and really cool vocals with some great drums and countermelodies in the background.
Cons: Some parts are a bit loud and some more "solos" would be nice.
Overview: A good song, if a bit fast and loud in parts, but that sets the tone for the song well. The vocals are really cool also.
Rating: 9/10
Pros: Good melody and really cool vocals with some great drums and countermelodies in the background.
Cons: Some parts are a bit loud and some more "solos" would be nice.
Overview: A good song, if a bit fast and loud in parts, but that sets the tone for the song well. The vocals are really cool also.
Rating: 9/10
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Conner
Connor felt his captors lower him to the ground. The strange spongy bag seemed to melt from his flesh as a watery mist poured onto it, and soo him. His blindfold too was disappearing. Within minutes, he had regained enough use of his limbs to speed the process himself, and as soon as he could, he stood. Opening his eyes proved a mistake, though, for glitters of light from everywhere gleamed in a conspiracy to blind him. He fell back.
A hand caught him. Carefully opening his eyes, hands sheilding as well as they could, Conner saw his captor/rescuer for the first time.
She was a beautiful maiden, with skin of Alabaster and faintly blue white hair. Her voice was like a melody as she directed his gaze across the turrets and fountains of a marble city. Every building had some sort of water running from its roof, and every walkway crossed over thin, beautiful canals that formed elegant curves about the structures.
"Welcome to Aqueopolis."
A hand caught him. Carefully opening his eyes, hands sheilding as well as they could, Conner saw his captor/rescuer for the first time.
She was a beautiful maiden, with skin of Alabaster and faintly blue white hair. Her voice was like a melody as she directed his gaze across the turrets and fountains of a marble city. Every building had some sort of water running from its roof, and every walkway crossed over thin, beautiful canals that formed elegant curves about the structures.
"Welcome to Aqueopolis."
Monday, October 11, 2010
Michael
"You're wrong." Michael's eyes dared his companion to disagree.
"I wish I was. But you saw what happened to Bekka. If we don't figure out how we can stop this thing, we might-"
"Gabe." Michael warned.
"Damn it, Michael. Death isn't your pet!"
"And your friend back there proved life wasn't hers. If you want to follow her to her fate, I'd be happy to leave you."
Silence filled the vehicle. After a long minute, Gabriel took a breath.
"I see you were right. This is hell. No one with a soul could be as heartless as you. You might think yourself immortal, but you're not. None of us are. And if we don't band together now, we'll all end up like Bekka. If you just keep driving, you kill us all."
Michael turned.
"Gabe?"
"Yes?"
"Get the hell out of my car."
"I wish I was. But you saw what happened to Bekka. If we don't figure out how we can stop this thing, we might-"
"Gabe." Michael warned.
"Damn it, Michael. Death isn't your pet!"
"And your friend back there proved life wasn't hers. If you want to follow her to her fate, I'd be happy to leave you."
Silence filled the vehicle. After a long minute, Gabriel took a breath.
"I see you were right. This is hell. No one with a soul could be as heartless as you. You might think yourself immortal, but you're not. None of us are. And if we don't band together now, we'll all end up like Bekka. If you just keep driving, you kill us all."
Michael turned.
"Gabe?"
"Yes?"
"Get the hell out of my car."
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Karachay: Part 1
Dear Lyov,
Sunday, May 7th, 1967
How are you? I told you I’d write to you; I miss you already. Things have never been the same since Marya died. In just a few years I lost a fellow doctor and a lovely assistant and now I have to work on my own. I’m being forced to accept a much greater workload than before. There are a lot of mixed feelings around here; there are some that believe the United States will beat us in this “Cold War” unless we find another strong leader like Stalin. I sure hope not; under Stalin I’d have too many patients to count. Political arguments aside, how are you adjusting to your new workplace? What’s the village like? We’ve got a bit of a drought going on here. I hope it doesn’t effect your area as much as it does ours. I’ve got a lot of unhappy farmers who overwork themselves in order to meet collectivization quotas. I’d really like you back here, but it sounded like the villagers by Lake Karachay really needed you. Let us hope that these troubles will soon pass.
Sincerely,
Isaak
Sunday, May 7th, 1967
How are you? I told you I’d write to you; I miss you already. Things have never been the same since Marya died. In just a few years I lost a fellow doctor and a lovely assistant and now I have to work on my own. I’m being forced to accept a much greater workload than before. There are a lot of mixed feelings around here; there are some that believe the United States will beat us in this “Cold War” unless we find another strong leader like Stalin. I sure hope not; under Stalin I’d have too many patients to count. Political arguments aside, how are you adjusting to your new workplace? What’s the village like? We’ve got a bit of a drought going on here. I hope it doesn’t effect your area as much as it does ours. I’ve got a lot of unhappy farmers who overwork themselves in order to meet collectivization quotas. I’d really like you back here, but it sounded like the villagers by Lake Karachay really needed you. Let us hope that these troubles will soon pass.
Sincerely,
Isaak
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Risk Mk. II
I have made a game development blog for a game that I am working on using Risk figures. It is a basic miniatures game with rules that are being worked on now. I have the ideas, but they need to be written up. I am also making models out of graph paper, and need inspiration for that as well. Please put comments about the game in the other blog, and comments about this post here.
Basic Overview:
Try to capture the other person/people's fort without letting them capture yours. Each miniature type has various stats and abilities. The Risk board is entirely optional and can be used merely as a playing field. Hope you like it, and more information will be put there soon.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Jordan the Werepenguin!
*insert theme music much like the Kids Next Door theme song*
Jordan slid down the snowdrift stealthily, hiding behind the glacier and glaring at his opponent. Slowly drawing his ice pick and loading several snowballs into his modified AK-97, he suddenly lunged at Warren the Walrus, who was robbing the local Mop-Ko.
"Stop! In the name of justice!" Jordan yelled as he fired frozen water at the pinniped thief.
"You'll never catch me, werepenguin! I can slide better than you can!" With that, Warren slipped into the water with his stolen goods.
"Yeah, right!" The hero dove into the frigid liquid and swam as fast as he could, chasing after the walrus like mad. As he slowly drew closer, he put on a final burst of speed, shoving the walrus through the ice above and tackling him.
"Give me the goods, Warren! Your life of crime is over!"
Jordan slid down the snowdrift stealthily, hiding behind the glacier and glaring at his opponent. Slowly drawing his ice pick and loading several snowballs into his modified AK-97, he suddenly lunged at Warren the Walrus, who was robbing the local Mop-Ko.
"Stop! In the name of justice!" Jordan yelled as he fired frozen water at the pinniped thief.
"You'll never catch me, werepenguin! I can slide better than you can!" With that, Warren slipped into the water with his stolen goods.
"Yeah, right!" The hero dove into the frigid liquid and swam as fast as he could, chasing after the walrus like mad. As he slowly drew closer, he put on a final burst of speed, shoving the walrus through the ice above and tackling him.
"Give me the goods, Warren! Your life of crime is over!"
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Part 2, Aim
The middle man.
Using it
is
useless,
if you can't
control
it.
If he wants
to use
it,
we can
choose
its
potential.
We have
power,
but not
enough
for complete
control.
To control
what you
can,
you must
Aim.
Using it
is
useless,
if you can't
control
it.
If he wants
to use
it,
we can
choose
its
potential.
We have
power,
but not
enough
for complete
control.
To control
what you
can,
you must
Aim.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Song of the Week 16: 'Die Anyway' by SGX
Marim:
Okay, Met can't do his review again this week so I'm handling this week's review once again. Instead of a song from OCR like the last one, this one is from Protagonist Records. This particular track is from SGX and is called Die Anyway. Sorry, it's usually Met who does all the introductions for the song, so I really don't have a clue as to how to do that properly. Anyway, let's get to the review. The song starts out pretty cool; the percussion created the catchy beat, and the background notes add just enough to keep me listening to see what's going to happen next. The beginning sounds pretty eerie, and I find that pretty cool since that's only the beginning. It ends up leading into more of a melody at 0:18, where although the melody at this point is pretty simple, it sounds pretty sweet. The percussion is great in the background, and more of a beat starts to show up at about 0:33, along with a soft bass sound to back it up. At 0:48, this is where the song goes all out in terms of melody, percussion, and the sounds that back it up. At 1:04 the sounds are a bit softer now just so that the melody could be more emphasized, but you can hear it enough to still enjoy it. The melody I think then is a little too loud, and if it had been just turned down slightly, I wouldn't have thought it to be as bad. At 1:19 it goes back into what it was at 0:48, this time with a similar, yet different melody. At 1:34 it goes into something a little more calm, as the percussion had been turned down a notch. This I think is my favorite part of the track, because it goes back into that beginning melody that I love, but with more percussion in it. There are some great additions to this part of the song, such as more bass and more synth. They really back up the melody, and it sounds absolutely awesome. At 1:50 another melody comes in, which takes me a little bit by surprised. However, I mean that in a good way, because this new melody is completely perfect for what was going on in the song. At 2:11 that melody just mentioned is already gone, but I have to mention the cool measure in where the bass line just completely gets gradually lower in terms of their notes. It does go back up, and almost takes over the melody for a couple seconds. At 2:20 things calm back down again. That's something that I really like about this song, since it's good to have a balance between calm and upbeat music during a track. At 2:35, it's almost like a mix in between the two, because it has that calm feel to it, yet somehow it also feels somewhat upbeat. It also introduces another small melody, and this gives the song more of an eerie feeling again. At 3:06 is more of an upbeat sound and melody again, continuing until 3:22 where yet another melody comes in. This next melody is interesting, because even though it's quiet than the other one, I still think it stands out much more to me. At 3:53 the song is just about done, however it shows another combination of the beginning melody. At 4:09 it dies back down into a much calmer tone, portraying instruments that had not yet been played in the track: the harp with a bit of the piano in the background. Those two in a combination are great when it comes to making a calmer mood in a song. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the ending. At 4:23 more of an electric guitar sound comes in to conclude the track, but most of the sounds that I really enjoyed completely disappeared. The ending definitely could have gone better.
Pros: Excellent melodies displayed throughout the song, and there was great bass and percussion to back it up. The balance of the fast upbeat tune of the track and the calmer mood was great, and the eerie feeling of the beginning really made the song worthwhile.
Cons: Sometimes the melody during the upbeat parts could have been softer, and the ending displeased me. The ending sort of ruined that calm mood that was already being portrayed beforehand.
Overall: The song was very well done, despite it's minor cons. The feeling that it gave me was great, and the song was definitely one I can tap my feet to.
Rating: 9.4/10
Met:
10/28/2010
There's been a lot for me to do lately, but after reading some of Marim's reviews and listening to some of the tracks I had her review I want to chime in due to our differing opinions. I'd given this song to Marim to review almost immediately after its release, thus I didn't have time to familiarize myself with the song. However, now that I've had a chance I'd like to jump in. SGX is a solid, established electronic artist. Mr. Adler is right up there with zircon in my most listened to list, although their styles do have one big difference in my mind. SGX tends to work more with distorted and experimental electronic sounds while zircon pulls out the best samples possible and let's them flow together in a very cohesive manner. Not to say SGX isn't as cohesive, but there's an art to disorganization in music and I'm pretty sure SGX knows what he's doing; they're both excellent electronic artists, but I can't really draw a comparison because they're both top notch in my opinion. I haven't had that much of a chance to listen to SGX's new album that this track is from; I've confined myself to the free tracks released through Protagonist Records so far. Regardless, I would highly recommend it, knowing that Mr. Adler constantly puts out quality, unique electronic music. This song was also featured on EFP Vol 02 released on 10/10/10 and featuring several excellent electronic artists (trust me, I'll have Marim do Wasteland by zircon for another Song of the Week soon enough). You can download the entire album for free right here; it's good stuff. Alright, enough with the idle commentary, let's check out Die Anyway...
Die Anyway starts out with some slick filtered beats and good soundscaping. 0:17 introduces a sweet groove with minimal synths and some additional percussion; already I can tell why the album is called Wonderful Bite. I'm digging the groove, and it's not too similar to other SGX tracks I've listened to; SGX is always diversifying, one of the reasons he's such a good artist. Anyway, 0:31 introduces a heavier lead snare and some panning synths that slide through the speakers. This is a very solid build to the breaking that comes at 0:48 which causes some of the opening instruments to disappear and a new harsher sound to emerge overall. The subtle bass has become something new but still subtle. I note the brief pause at 0:55 as an indication of a loop. That was probably the intention, as it fits in very well and it makes for a unique subtly that drives the song in a new way. After this loop runs twice we're in some harsh saw territory and I can hear a subtle guitarish sample pattern in the background that will be expanded upon later. The beats pick back up as SGX continues to play around with the saw wave with the subtle background loop making some nice effects. This kicks us back to the "calmer" part (we're now at 1:35) from the beginning that grooves us right along. There are now some added sweeping effects in the background that are leftovers from the harsher saw lead. New melody is introduced at 1:50 that utilizes a fairly good sample or synth (it's a good thing that I can't tell the difference). This will definitely be expanded upon farther later in the track. We've got a pretty rocking groove here so SGX tones back the lead and lets us enjoy the beats with bursts of bass while he modulates some effects. The lead drums get taken out to phase back to an atmospheric expansion that builds into something more. This seems to be an interlude as the track gains strength in the build. Different melodies and basslines come together and now we're at 3:08. This seems to be a repeat of the earlier harsh saw lead part, but now we've got the earlier melody from 1:50 coming in on top of it. We're definitely rocking now as SGX continues to pour out some slick beats as the leads expand. The intensity is built up as he jumps octaves up with the bass and starts pulling out all the stops with this track. Pretty good finish here, but it's not long before we're jumped back to a calmer section although the saw lead still exists (now it's covered with the calmer section from earlier). The drums are dropped out and the interlude type melody that was previously seen during the build is expanded upon to the near ending. The ending uses a very similar sound and melody to what was introduced at 1:50 and it's a very sweet finish. SGX definitely rocks the beats on this one and swings some cool groove into the mix. I applaud his diverse use of samples, synths, filters, modulations, etc. This guy knows what he's doing. Excellent job Mr. Adler, I'll be sure to check out your album.
Pros: Excellent sample/synth choice and diversity incorporated into a solid melody and some rocking beats. Mr. Adler pulls out all the stops at the end and the song starts spitting everything right in your face; I love tracks that do that.
Cons: Not much to complain about here, the saw lead intro at 1:04 is well done, but the saw always strikes me as pretty harsh. Not a true issue with the track, but the one thing that jumped out me as being maybe less then stellar (and that's not sarcasm).
Overall: Danny Adler gets a gold star for all the awesome stuff he managed to incorporate into this track. Among my favorite was the solid loop bass that jumped half steps, and the guitarish sound that comes in at the end to complete things. The groove is absolutely rocking, 3:45 to 3:54 is the part where I can't help but exclaim "yes, yes, yes!" absolutely nailed it. Very solid outing, very good use of arrangement, samples, and synths; this is downright quality.
Okay, Met can't do his review again this week so I'm handling this week's review once again. Instead of a song from OCR like the last one, this one is from Protagonist Records. This particular track is from SGX and is called Die Anyway. Sorry, it's usually Met who does all the introductions for the song, so I really don't have a clue as to how to do that properly. Anyway, let's get to the review. The song starts out pretty cool; the percussion created the catchy beat, and the background notes add just enough to keep me listening to see what's going to happen next. The beginning sounds pretty eerie, and I find that pretty cool since that's only the beginning. It ends up leading into more of a melody at 0:18, where although the melody at this point is pretty simple, it sounds pretty sweet. The percussion is great in the background, and more of a beat starts to show up at about 0:33, along with a soft bass sound to back it up. At 0:48, this is where the song goes all out in terms of melody, percussion, and the sounds that back it up. At 1:04 the sounds are a bit softer now just so that the melody could be more emphasized, but you can hear it enough to still enjoy it. The melody I think then is a little too loud, and if it had been just turned down slightly, I wouldn't have thought it to be as bad. At 1:19 it goes back into what it was at 0:48, this time with a similar, yet different melody. At 1:34 it goes into something a little more calm, as the percussion had been turned down a notch. This I think is my favorite part of the track, because it goes back into that beginning melody that I love, but with more percussion in it. There are some great additions to this part of the song, such as more bass and more synth. They really back up the melody, and it sounds absolutely awesome. At 1:50 another melody comes in, which takes me a little bit by surprised. However, I mean that in a good way, because this new melody is completely perfect for what was going on in the song. At 2:11 that melody just mentioned is already gone, but I have to mention the cool measure in where the bass line just completely gets gradually lower in terms of their notes. It does go back up, and almost takes over the melody for a couple seconds. At 2:20 things calm back down again. That's something that I really like about this song, since it's good to have a balance between calm and upbeat music during a track. At 2:35, it's almost like a mix in between the two, because it has that calm feel to it, yet somehow it also feels somewhat upbeat. It also introduces another small melody, and this gives the song more of an eerie feeling again. At 3:06 is more of an upbeat sound and melody again, continuing until 3:22 where yet another melody comes in. This next melody is interesting, because even though it's quiet than the other one, I still think it stands out much more to me. At 3:53 the song is just about done, however it shows another combination of the beginning melody. At 4:09 it dies back down into a much calmer tone, portraying instruments that had not yet been played in the track: the harp with a bit of the piano in the background. Those two in a combination are great when it comes to making a calmer mood in a song. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the ending. At 4:23 more of an electric guitar sound comes in to conclude the track, but most of the sounds that I really enjoyed completely disappeared. The ending definitely could have gone better.
Pros: Excellent melodies displayed throughout the song, and there was great bass and percussion to back it up. The balance of the fast upbeat tune of the track and the calmer mood was great, and the eerie feeling of the beginning really made the song worthwhile.
Cons: Sometimes the melody during the upbeat parts could have been softer, and the ending displeased me. The ending sort of ruined that calm mood that was already being portrayed beforehand.
Overall: The song was very well done, despite it's minor cons. The feeling that it gave me was great, and the song was definitely one I can tap my feet to.
Rating: 9.4/10
Met:
10/28/2010
There's been a lot for me to do lately, but after reading some of Marim's reviews and listening to some of the tracks I had her review I want to chime in due to our differing opinions. I'd given this song to Marim to review almost immediately after its release, thus I didn't have time to familiarize myself with the song. However, now that I've had a chance I'd like to jump in. SGX is a solid, established electronic artist. Mr. Adler is right up there with zircon in my most listened to list, although their styles do have one big difference in my mind. SGX tends to work more with distorted and experimental electronic sounds while zircon pulls out the best samples possible and let's them flow together in a very cohesive manner. Not to say SGX isn't as cohesive, but there's an art to disorganization in music and I'm pretty sure SGX knows what he's doing; they're both excellent electronic artists, but I can't really draw a comparison because they're both top notch in my opinion. I haven't had that much of a chance to listen to SGX's new album that this track is from; I've confined myself to the free tracks released through Protagonist Records so far. Regardless, I would highly recommend it, knowing that Mr. Adler constantly puts out quality, unique electronic music. This song was also featured on EFP Vol 02 released on 10/10/10 and featuring several excellent electronic artists (trust me, I'll have Marim do Wasteland by zircon for another Song of the Week soon enough). You can download the entire album for free right here; it's good stuff. Alright, enough with the idle commentary, let's check out Die Anyway...
Die Anyway starts out with some slick filtered beats and good soundscaping. 0:17 introduces a sweet groove with minimal synths and some additional percussion; already I can tell why the album is called Wonderful Bite. I'm digging the groove, and it's not too similar to other SGX tracks I've listened to; SGX is always diversifying, one of the reasons he's such a good artist. Anyway, 0:31 introduces a heavier lead snare and some panning synths that slide through the speakers. This is a very solid build to the breaking that comes at 0:48 which causes some of the opening instruments to disappear and a new harsher sound to emerge overall. The subtle bass has become something new but still subtle. I note the brief pause at 0:55 as an indication of a loop. That was probably the intention, as it fits in very well and it makes for a unique subtly that drives the song in a new way. After this loop runs twice we're in some harsh saw territory and I can hear a subtle guitarish sample pattern in the background that will be expanded upon later. The beats pick back up as SGX continues to play around with the saw wave with the subtle background loop making some nice effects. This kicks us back to the "calmer" part (we're now at 1:35) from the beginning that grooves us right along. There are now some added sweeping effects in the background that are leftovers from the harsher saw lead. New melody is introduced at 1:50 that utilizes a fairly good sample or synth (it's a good thing that I can't tell the difference). This will definitely be expanded upon farther later in the track. We've got a pretty rocking groove here so SGX tones back the lead and lets us enjoy the beats with bursts of bass while he modulates some effects. The lead drums get taken out to phase back to an atmospheric expansion that builds into something more. This seems to be an interlude as the track gains strength in the build. Different melodies and basslines come together and now we're at 3:08. This seems to be a repeat of the earlier harsh saw lead part, but now we've got the earlier melody from 1:50 coming in on top of it. We're definitely rocking now as SGX continues to pour out some slick beats as the leads expand. The intensity is built up as he jumps octaves up with the bass and starts pulling out all the stops with this track. Pretty good finish here, but it's not long before we're jumped back to a calmer section although the saw lead still exists (now it's covered with the calmer section from earlier). The drums are dropped out and the interlude type melody that was previously seen during the build is expanded upon to the near ending. The ending uses a very similar sound and melody to what was introduced at 1:50 and it's a very sweet finish. SGX definitely rocks the beats on this one and swings some cool groove into the mix. I applaud his diverse use of samples, synths, filters, modulations, etc. This guy knows what he's doing. Excellent job Mr. Adler, I'll be sure to check out your album.
Pros: Excellent sample/synth choice and diversity incorporated into a solid melody and some rocking beats. Mr. Adler pulls out all the stops at the end and the song starts spitting everything right in your face; I love tracks that do that.
Cons: Not much to complain about here, the saw lead intro at 1:04 is well done, but the saw always strikes me as pretty harsh. Not a true issue with the track, but the one thing that jumped out me as being maybe less then stellar (and that's not sarcasm).
Overall: Danny Adler gets a gold star for all the awesome stuff he managed to incorporate into this track. Among my favorite was the solid loop bass that jumped half steps, and the guitarish sound that comes in at the end to complete things. The groove is absolutely rocking, 3:45 to 3:54 is the part where I can't help but exclaim "yes, yes, yes!" absolutely nailed it. Very solid outing, very good use of arrangement, samples, and synths; this is downright quality.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Sonnet XVIII "Self"
There was a time I thought I knew
Whence came the truth, the love of god,
Yet now, through Truth, I truth eschew
Embracing ways I once thought odd.
To some the Truth may seem profane
- Perversions only , never right -
Among those I once placed my name;
From those I flee with Truer sight.
Though you find refuge in your walls,
'Tis you I know will tolerate.
Assured that soon my damned soul falls,
Yet, Loving, not to change my fate.
As curtain falls and Truth walks in
The blasphemer endures true sin.
Whence came the truth, the love of god,
Yet now, through Truth, I truth eschew
Embracing ways I once thought odd.
To some the Truth may seem profane
- Perversions only , never right -
Among those I once placed my name;
From those I flee with Truer sight.
Though you find refuge in your walls,
'Tis you I know will tolerate.
Assured that soon my damned soul falls,
Yet, Loving, not to change my fate.
As curtain falls and Truth walks in
The blasphemer endures true sin.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Lack of posts
I'm very sorry for the sad lack of posts. Work started about when posts started lagging. My creative proceses have been held back by various tasks, and I have had a lack of time. I will try to continue my story and possibly even start a new one (Yes, yes, I know. Bad idea.) I might finalize another blog to link to RPS, but beyond this I can't really promise consistent posting (not that it has been anyway).
Also, so this post has something more interesting than past due ramblings, here's a link to a DIY "lightning gun": http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=55&products_id=325#
Friday, October 01, 2010
Oops
(The following conversation didn't actually exist.)
"You like to write?"
"Yeah. In fact, I blog a lot, too. I think it really helps me to keep to a regular writing schedule."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, my friends and I have this blog. Actually, it's not mine; I just write once a week. I have this column, sort of. I write short stories - really short stories - on Fridays. It's called Friday's Feature."
"Hey, today is Friday. What did you write for today?"
"..."
"What?"
"$@#!"
Sorry! Life got in the way, as well as forgetfulness. Elphaba.
"You like to write?"
"Yeah. In fact, I blog a lot, too. I think it really helps me to keep to a regular writing schedule."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, my friends and I have this blog. Actually, it's not mine; I just write once a week. I have this column, sort of. I write short stories - really short stories - on Fridays. It's called Friday's Feature."
"Hey, today is Friday. What did you write for today?"
"..."
"What?"
"$@#!"
Sorry! Life got in the way, as well as forgetfulness. Elphaba.
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