Felix dashed down the alley, glancing anxiously behind himself. The smell of smoke was everywhere, and his eyes burned with the fumes. Nonetheless, he sprinted out of the alley and down Main Street towards the outskirts of town. Out here, the moaning was louder, and he could tell that time was short. Reaching the Gate of the town he stopped, horrified.
A legion stood, blocking his only escape.
Felix sighed,defeated. He fell to the ground, the fight gone from him. He had been prepared for many things. Werewolves wouldn't have been a problem. Vampires? Easy. He had had a dozen contingencies for zombies.
But it all went to hell when the zombies were on fire.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Art III
Sorrow comes, sooner or later.
There is a particular beauty in sadness. A lugubrious perfection in death. Glory in pain. Before long, every being on this earth learns of the utter emptiness life can bring. And so the translators must preserve this scarring beauty as well.
Out of blood come black paintings.
From tears spring the elegy.
Wails become fugues.
To do anything else would be to lie.
There is a particular beauty in sadness. A lugubrious perfection in death. Glory in pain. Before long, every being on this earth learns of the utter emptiness life can bring. And so the translators must preserve this scarring beauty as well.
Out of blood come black paintings.
From tears spring the elegy.
Wails become fugues.
To do anything else would be to lie.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Song of the Week 25.5: 'A Day in the Life of a Gambler' by JJT (redo)
It's about time I posted something up here. I apologize for my sudden and long absence that lasted almost two weeks, but I'm back and ready for some song reviews. This one (like most .5 editions) is coming off of one of the early SotW's. My review is basically a redo of Song of the Week 1, which is the one post that started it all. So the song is from Final Fantasy VI (the Final Fantasy series has some great remixes, by the way), and is titled 'A Day in the Life of a Gambler'. For the direct link to the remix, you can click here.
The beginning starts out strong, and through the first couple of notes I knew that this solo piano piece was going to be a jazz piece. The first seventeen seconds acts as the introduction, and at about 0:18 I can start to get the feel of the tempo. It's actually rather slow, but there are numerous little runs to add some flair (especially at 0:24). At 0:36 there's a small break after a series of chords, and it starts up again at 0:39. At this new section the whole song breaks out into a swing, which makes me correct about it being a jazz song. The tempo increases in speed as well. It starts out with some low keys on the piano being played as a bass, creating the swing. At 0:47 a melody starts to appear, which totally fits with the bass being played. Some very quick and short triplets come with the melody, adding even more flair here. Some examples are at 0:51 and 0:54 (0:54 has a little more with this run though). The tiniest detail in the melody here is key, although the song in itself is awesome. At 0:58 I'm starting to hear a lot more runs, which really adds excitement here to the song. At 1:04 I heard some of the bass act as a harmony with the swinging melody. The melody switches into something I haven't heard thus far, with even more bass having the occasional run to back everything up. At 1:16 it's now a small section consisting of bass and treble chords switching off in a swing. This right here is a great example of the bass and melody working together perfectly, for if one part of the song was gone, the section would be chaos. This repeats at 1:20, although at a much quieter and lower pitch. It gets gradually louder at about 1:23 until there's an excellent transition into the next section at 0:25. At 0:28 is the spot where it really transitions, using only a brief pause. This is one of the few times I find a complete pause in a song a good thing since the pause here was in the perfect spot. The bass starts up again at 0:29, but much quieter this time. Having some complicated, jazzy chords increase in pitch, another transition is born until a new melody plays at 1:36. The bass is gone here, getting rid of some of the jazz. There is a nice, lower harmony here though, which really makes this section sound really cool. The entire harmony makes the melody sound complete; without it, this section wouldn't be very much. There is a bit of a very soft pulse heard to create a light beat, although my attention was drawn more to the piano. This section continues all the way until 2:07, where there's a slight pause in the music. At 2:10 the new section starts out strong, with fast treble notes and the occasional bass notes for support. The treble notes here aren't entirely boring; they do indeed play the same note, but there are frequent triplets played throughout. This section lasts for quite a while, repeating itself until some new chords create a transition into the next section at 2:41. Here it goes back into that same jazz feel that I had felt before, with everything swinging away. The melody displayed here is almost the exact same as the one back at 0:47, but this time it's in the form of chords. At 2:49 there are some very unique chords here that create a couple of triplets, which is probably added in there to add more impression to this section (this also happens again at 3:02). At 3:09 there's a small change in the melody to slightly change the feel as well as a change in the key. It gets quieter and lower once again at 3:17, making the melody drop in pitch as well. The melody in this new section is hard to pick out, but it's audible if listened closely. The treble create more of a bass now, which adds a small amount of uniqueness into the song in general. This last all the way until 3:48, where everything slows down into one last, peaceful chord at 3:51 (this is one of those chords where each note is played by itself into the chord, but I seriously have forgotten what that term in music is called). The ending is great, and the soothing chord has that jazz-like ending which always sounds cool in my opinion. The note is held until there is no more.
Pros: Everything that was a part of this song was excellent. There were just some sections such as at 0:47 where the song couldn't have been played any better than that. The entire song had outstanding melodies, and even those tiny little triplets made all the difference to me. Every transition was just about perfect also. I really haven't even begun to say everything cool about it. This song is just about flawless, and I would highly recommend listening to this mesmerizing piece.
Cons: Cons...what cons? There really isn't any that I can think of at all other than having the melody be a little more clear during that last section at 3:17.
Overall: This song is brilliant, excellent, and completely awesome. Everything that was played in this track worked together and flowed with perfection.
Rating: 9.9/10
The beginning starts out strong, and through the first couple of notes I knew that this solo piano piece was going to be a jazz piece. The first seventeen seconds acts as the introduction, and at about 0:18 I can start to get the feel of the tempo. It's actually rather slow, but there are numerous little runs to add some flair (especially at 0:24). At 0:36 there's a small break after a series of chords, and it starts up again at 0:39. At this new section the whole song breaks out into a swing, which makes me correct about it being a jazz song. The tempo increases in speed as well. It starts out with some low keys on the piano being played as a bass, creating the swing. At 0:47 a melody starts to appear, which totally fits with the bass being played. Some very quick and short triplets come with the melody, adding even more flair here. Some examples are at 0:51 and 0:54 (0:54 has a little more with this run though). The tiniest detail in the melody here is key, although the song in itself is awesome. At 0:58 I'm starting to hear a lot more runs, which really adds excitement here to the song. At 1:04 I heard some of the bass act as a harmony with the swinging melody. The melody switches into something I haven't heard thus far, with even more bass having the occasional run to back everything up. At 1:16 it's now a small section consisting of bass and treble chords switching off in a swing. This right here is a great example of the bass and melody working together perfectly, for if one part of the song was gone, the section would be chaos. This repeats at 1:20, although at a much quieter and lower pitch. It gets gradually louder at about 1:23 until there's an excellent transition into the next section at 0:25. At 0:28 is the spot where it really transitions, using only a brief pause. This is one of the few times I find a complete pause in a song a good thing since the pause here was in the perfect spot. The bass starts up again at 0:29, but much quieter this time. Having some complicated, jazzy chords increase in pitch, another transition is born until a new melody plays at 1:36. The bass is gone here, getting rid of some of the jazz. There is a nice, lower harmony here though, which really makes this section sound really cool. The entire harmony makes the melody sound complete; without it, this section wouldn't be very much. There is a bit of a very soft pulse heard to create a light beat, although my attention was drawn more to the piano. This section continues all the way until 2:07, where there's a slight pause in the music. At 2:10 the new section starts out strong, with fast treble notes and the occasional bass notes for support. The treble notes here aren't entirely boring; they do indeed play the same note, but there are frequent triplets played throughout. This section lasts for quite a while, repeating itself until some new chords create a transition into the next section at 2:41. Here it goes back into that same jazz feel that I had felt before, with everything swinging away. The melody displayed here is almost the exact same as the one back at 0:47, but this time it's in the form of chords. At 2:49 there are some very unique chords here that create a couple of triplets, which is probably added in there to add more impression to this section (this also happens again at 3:02). At 3:09 there's a small change in the melody to slightly change the feel as well as a change in the key. It gets quieter and lower once again at 3:17, making the melody drop in pitch as well. The melody in this new section is hard to pick out, but it's audible if listened closely. The treble create more of a bass now, which adds a small amount of uniqueness into the song in general. This last all the way until 3:48, where everything slows down into one last, peaceful chord at 3:51 (this is one of those chords where each note is played by itself into the chord, but I seriously have forgotten what that term in music is called). The ending is great, and the soothing chord has that jazz-like ending which always sounds cool in my opinion. The note is held until there is no more.
Pros: Everything that was a part of this song was excellent. There were just some sections such as at 0:47 where the song couldn't have been played any better than that. The entire song had outstanding melodies, and even those tiny little triplets made all the difference to me. Every transition was just about perfect also. I really haven't even begun to say everything cool about it. This song is just about flawless, and I would highly recommend listening to this mesmerizing piece.
Cons: Cons...what cons? There really isn't any that I can think of at all other than having the melody be a little more clear during that last section at 3:17.
Overall: This song is brilliant, excellent, and completely awesome. Everything that was played in this track worked together and flowed with perfection.
Rating: 9.9/10
Friday, December 17, 2010
August 20, 1890
Loathe though I am to follow up a day without me with a day without much from me, I feel compelled to tell you that upon the scanning two thousand words of my novel, I have been declared the reincarnation of H.P. Lovecraft. See the sidebar. This is awesome.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
socks of yarn
floating through the cupboard
my thoughts rebound off jam--
unopened
delicious
strawberry preserves.
i wasn't even thinking of jam.
where did that come from?
i was thinking of yarn.
floating through the closet
my thoughts rebound off yarn--
yards and yards of
colorful
soft
skeins of yarn.
making Christmas lists
and brainstorming--
rainstorming...
dreaming of summer,
with the clouds and the sun
and the breeze and the grass
tickling my feet.
tickling my feet?
brothers tickling my feet.
socked feet
socks of yarn
skeins of yarn
jars of jam.
i palindrome i.
my thoughts rebound off jam--
unopened
delicious
strawberry preserves.
i wasn't even thinking of jam.
where did that come from?
i was thinking of yarn.
floating through the closet
my thoughts rebound off yarn--
yards and yards of
colorful
soft
skeins of yarn.
making Christmas lists
and brainstorming--
rainstorming...
dreaming of summer,
with the clouds and the sun
and the breeze and the grass
tickling my feet.
tickling my feet?
brothers tickling my feet.
socked feet
socks of yarn
skeins of yarn
jars of jam.
i palindrome i.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Song of the Week 25: 'One Girl in All The World' by The Wingless
I can't believe I haven't covered this track yet for Song of the Week, but I'm finally getting around to it now. This is the track that brought me to OCR back in 2005 (I lurked until '08) and it's had me hooked ever since. I found this track originally when doing a Google search for Super Metroid music or remixes, something like that. So I came up with One Girl In All The World by The Wingless and I loved it so much that I posted 5 OCR track links to my blog when I started it (that would be March of '06 I believe). The links are dead now after djp made some host changes and I never bothered to correct them because that blog is no longer public, but regardless OCR has made a significant impact on my life and it all started with this track. Speaking of the Wingless, I haven't seen him around OCR in quite a while. In fact I just checked his forum profile and it says no activity since 4/16/2010. From what I've seen, The Wingless makes fantastic works of art in the musical field and this goes all the way back to One Girl In All The World's posting date: 10/2/2003. Anyway, I should get down to the actual mix...
The ironic thing about this track is that when I first listened to it often, I couldn't figure out the source tune. Granted, I've never played Super Metroid, but I've heard the source tune in gameplay videos and through many other remixes; this is certainly unorthodox. The track slowly fades in with thunder and rain effects with a single piano note being tapped lightly (that's an E flat). The atmosphere is a good set up for the piano breakout at 0:14. This is an unorthodox sounding piece already to my ears and 0:25 expands the piano with a synth added this time that floats up and plays in tandem with the piano. At 0:36 you've got a subtle pulsing bass that gives the piece more feel. It's a very nice, repetitive groove that enthralls the listener (or at least me). At 0:59 the piece seems to "take off" (remember, I'm writing this from what I feel and think, this is by no means what your opinion should or will be). We've now an abundance of synths with some single note piano support. There's also a subtle synth like choir at 1:05 that took me a while to catch. A synth melody is established and it joins the piano rhythm/melody at 1:09 to form sort of counter melody/melody/harmony thing (I'm not a music expert). A second later (1:10) you've got some reinforcing synth acting as a two note bass. You can really see this track start to come together. 1:21 expands the track with a cymbal that introduces atmospheric effects really giving the track it's superb and flexible feel. Of course there's also the percussion stuff going on now, it sounds like hi-hat more than snare brushes; I wouldn't know, but it's a well employed sample. There's a brief pause at 1:31 when the piano comes down to continue the motif already established. This track really flows through everything, I mean a lot; there's a lot of transitions and changes among the seemingly repetitive motifs. 1:42 ends another cycle with the piano that comes down and now we're introduced to a slower part with a synth lead and piano bass. This is the part where I finally caught onto the "Oh this is Red Brinstar" (the piano bass gave it away). This is fantastic, it feels very loose, but it's held together by awesome atmosphere, superb piano interweaving with the synth, and a general feeling of peace. Also notice the subtle string introduction. It expands at 2:12 becoming more active with piano background, but still retaining the peaceful feel. It becomes more profound now especially starting at 2:18 like it wants to go somewhere, but it's having trouble despite its honest trying. It trails off with a held piano note and the string to near silence at 2:30. The piano pops back in a second later with the beginning of a now familiar motif. Now you can really hear it coming together and the piano gets all showy like it's realizing this track is going to work. 2:43 adds in the two note bass we've heard before that has great reinforcement. A whistle synth lead is added at 2:44 that seems to bring everything we've heard before together. This track seems to speak for itself in an innocent "Hey I figured this out." manner. It leaves us trailing off again at 2:52, but this time on a positive note that seems to say that this trick worked before. The low range string stuff really helps in this section (which is where I'd consider the most coherent and cohesive part is) and it seems to say "so now..." which starts a new story. This is incredibly well woven and it's mesmerizing. At 3:17 it changes keys and keeps the awesomeness going. Now you can hear the lead in the source tune played by the lead synth. I seriously didn't recognize this the first time I heard it and it probably had to do with the mesmerizing piano always going on. The final expansion is at 3:41 which adds the strings in a more prominent manner with cymbal crashes that really create more of a waves on the shore sort of sound. It trails off again at 4:03 and you can hear it start to dissolve now as it nears its end. It seems like the track found its place in this world, or a world for a place. It fades out to end. I fear I haven't really justified this piece's awesomeness in my little writeup hear, djp and the forum goers at OCR do it much better (so check that out here). This is the first song I ever heard from OCR, and I believe it's one of the best I've ever heard to date.
Pros: Mesmerizing flow, piano work, synth work, just about everything. I feel extremely under qualified to review this so just listen to it and decide for yourself.
Cons: None. I can't think of anything that could've made this better.
Overall: The Wingless is talented beyond belief. What else can I say? Awesome.
Rating: 9.9/10
The ironic thing about this track is that when I first listened to it often, I couldn't figure out the source tune. Granted, I've never played Super Metroid, but I've heard the source tune in gameplay videos and through many other remixes; this is certainly unorthodox. The track slowly fades in with thunder and rain effects with a single piano note being tapped lightly (that's an E flat). The atmosphere is a good set up for the piano breakout at 0:14. This is an unorthodox sounding piece already to my ears and 0:25 expands the piano with a synth added this time that floats up and plays in tandem with the piano. At 0:36 you've got a subtle pulsing bass that gives the piece more feel. It's a very nice, repetitive groove that enthralls the listener (or at least me). At 0:59 the piece seems to "take off" (remember, I'm writing this from what I feel and think, this is by no means what your opinion should or will be). We've now an abundance of synths with some single note piano support. There's also a subtle synth like choir at 1:05 that took me a while to catch. A synth melody is established and it joins the piano rhythm/melody at 1:09 to form sort of counter melody/melody/harmony thing (I'm not a music expert). A second later (1:10) you've got some reinforcing synth acting as a two note bass. You can really see this track start to come together. 1:21 expands the track with a cymbal that introduces atmospheric effects really giving the track it's superb and flexible feel. Of course there's also the percussion stuff going on now, it sounds like hi-hat more than snare brushes; I wouldn't know, but it's a well employed sample. There's a brief pause at 1:31 when the piano comes down to continue the motif already established. This track really flows through everything, I mean a lot; there's a lot of transitions and changes among the seemingly repetitive motifs. 1:42 ends another cycle with the piano that comes down and now we're introduced to a slower part with a synth lead and piano bass. This is the part where I finally caught onto the "Oh this is Red Brinstar" (the piano bass gave it away). This is fantastic, it feels very loose, but it's held together by awesome atmosphere, superb piano interweaving with the synth, and a general feeling of peace. Also notice the subtle string introduction. It expands at 2:12 becoming more active with piano background, but still retaining the peaceful feel. It becomes more profound now especially starting at 2:18 like it wants to go somewhere, but it's having trouble despite its honest trying. It trails off with a held piano note and the string to near silence at 2:30. The piano pops back in a second later with the beginning of a now familiar motif. Now you can really hear it coming together and the piano gets all showy like it's realizing this track is going to work. 2:43 adds in the two note bass we've heard before that has great reinforcement. A whistle synth lead is added at 2:44 that seems to bring everything we've heard before together. This track seems to speak for itself in an innocent "Hey I figured this out." manner. It leaves us trailing off again at 2:52, but this time on a positive note that seems to say that this trick worked before. The low range string stuff really helps in this section (which is where I'd consider the most coherent and cohesive part is) and it seems to say "so now..." which starts a new story. This is incredibly well woven and it's mesmerizing. At 3:17 it changes keys and keeps the awesomeness going. Now you can hear the lead in the source tune played by the lead synth. I seriously didn't recognize this the first time I heard it and it probably had to do with the mesmerizing piano always going on. The final expansion is at 3:41 which adds the strings in a more prominent manner with cymbal crashes that really create more of a waves on the shore sort of sound. It trails off again at 4:03 and you can hear it start to dissolve now as it nears its end. It seems like the track found its place in this world, or a world for a place. It fades out to end. I fear I haven't really justified this piece's awesomeness in my little writeup hear, djp and the forum goers at OCR do it much better (so check that out here). This is the first song I ever heard from OCR, and I believe it's one of the best I've ever heard to date.
Pros: Mesmerizing flow, piano work, synth work, just about everything. I feel extremely under qualified to review this so just listen to it and decide for yourself.
Cons: None. I can't think of anything that could've made this better.
Overall: The Wingless is talented beyond belief. What else can I say? Awesome.
Rating: 9.9/10
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Conversations: To Play
"So we have to coordinate our schedules?"
"Yes."
"And agree to lie about what we're doing?"
"Effectively."
"And coerce an entire extra group into the mix just to secure the one person we need?"
"How else?"
"And then you want to use the time of Authority for recreation?"
"Of course."
"A recreation you admit will be spoiled if a certain undesirable gets into the mix?"
"Yep."
"An undesirable whose arrival is more likely than anyone else's?"
"Other than us."
"And atop that you expect us to pay?"
"The Cookie Fund is donations only, thank you."
"You're mad."
"So it would seem."
"Can we start tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"And agree to lie about what we're doing?"
"Effectively."
"And coerce an entire extra group into the mix just to secure the one person we need?"
"How else?"
"And then you want to use the time of Authority for recreation?"
"Of course."
"A recreation you admit will be spoiled if a certain undesirable gets into the mix?"
"Yep."
"An undesirable whose arrival is more likely than anyone else's?"
"Other than us."
"And atop that you expect us to pay?"
"The Cookie Fund is donations only, thank you."
"You're mad."
"So it would seem."
"Can we start tomorrow?"
Monday, December 13, 2010
Art II
There are those who can translate.
Though hailed as creators, they are merely finders. Menders. Guides. From the jumbled cacophony of perfection, each plucks but a thread at a time to weave into a tapestry of light. Each selects his own tools. Each her own voice. Each pulls a new thread.
Light becomes melody.
Weaving becomes story.
Voice becomes image.
Beauty is made again presentable.
Though hailed as creators, they are merely finders. Menders. Guides. From the jumbled cacophony of perfection, each plucks but a thread at a time to weave into a tapestry of light. Each selects his own tools. Each her own voice. Each pulls a new thread.
Light becomes melody.
Weaving becomes story.
Voice becomes image.
Beauty is made again presentable.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Michael
Salem was nice this time of year. Even if the infamous trials had been held on its namesake on the opposite coast, the city held its own share of corruption and darkness. Herein one found thieves and murderers, mobsters and rapists, lawyers and car salesmen.
Michael fully intended to outdo them all.
Having left his car in a nearby lot, he wandered the dimming streets in search of a target. His options were many, from the young couples lost in each other's smiles to the crazies begging for their bread. In the end, though, Michael wasn't satisfied with the small game. He wanted a real target.
Six feet tall before her heels and lugging a large briefcase, the woman seemed more than capable of making any normal assailant think twice. Michael wasn't a normal assailant. He reached out carefully with his mind, and found the pain was much less noticeable this far north.
For now, whispered Gabriel's voice at the back of his mind.
Shaking his head, Michael nudged the woman towards an alley. Having lived in the city all her life, her every instinct fought him. Michael pressed harder. The woman stumbled and suddenly turned right. Michael followed her into the tiny corridor.
In the shadow, Michael was nearly invisible. There was no glint of cold steel in his hands. He hadn't had a hunt in a long time. He wasn't going to do it the easy way. Surrendering his hold on the victim's mind, he tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around and saw no one there. Then, realizing where she was, she hurried back to the main street and hailed a taxi home.
Back at his car, Michael grimaced, disgusted with himself.
"Damn it, Gabe."
Michael fully intended to outdo them all.
Having left his car in a nearby lot, he wandered the dimming streets in search of a target. His options were many, from the young couples lost in each other's smiles to the crazies begging for their bread. In the end, though, Michael wasn't satisfied with the small game. He wanted a real target.
Six feet tall before her heels and lugging a large briefcase, the woman seemed more than capable of making any normal assailant think twice. Michael wasn't a normal assailant. He reached out carefully with his mind, and found the pain was much less noticeable this far north.
For now, whispered Gabriel's voice at the back of his mind.
Shaking his head, Michael nudged the woman towards an alley. Having lived in the city all her life, her every instinct fought him. Michael pressed harder. The woman stumbled and suddenly turned right. Michael followed her into the tiny corridor.
In the shadow, Michael was nearly invisible. There was no glint of cold steel in his hands. He hadn't had a hunt in a long time. He wasn't going to do it the easy way. Surrendering his hold on the victim's mind, he tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around and saw no one there. Then, realizing where she was, she hurried back to the main street and hailed a taxi home.
Back at his car, Michael grimaced, disgusted with himself.
"Damn it, Gabe."
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Filler Post: 12/11/2010
New track up at soundcould for me. I submitted this one to the Nanostudio group; hopefully I'll get some good feedback.
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