Hallowed Drumming

Happy Halloween! Or, if you're in a more traditional mood, Happy Hallow's Eve! Or, if you play World of Warcraft, Happy Hallow's End!

Regardless of whatever you feel like bestowing upon others on this fright of a night, please remember that yesterday's post was my treat to you - not today's. I have... other things to take care of. ...yeaaaaah.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Bear McCreary - "Fight Night"
Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 Original Soundtrack

While I've been (in)famous for throwing up battle music that fits large-scale battles, I've rarely thrown anything that captures the intensity of some kind of (controlled) ring fight. We're changing that today, and we're going to do it with style. And drums. Sexy drums that make your feet want to shuffle and your head sway and dodge as you trade fisticuffs with some other person.

Opening with the most amazing pulse of taiko I've heard from Battlestar Galactica's soundtracks (apart from "Prelude to War's" taiko lines), Bear McCreary set the rhythm of this piece so that it has a more natural feel as opposed to the almost-militaristic sound the percussion gave in the previous two soundtracks. After the drums finish surging the listener full with adrenaline, they go into the background as Chinese membrane flutes (I think they're Chinese membrane flutes) take the lead. As a result, "Fight Night" definitely possesses both a rhythm to spar with and an ethnic sound that screams "Chinese/Japanese flair."

So, the next time you're hosting a large boxing tournament or feel like sparring to something different, give "Fight Night" a try. Though it clocks in at a short 2:30, it definitely should give your fight a much more interesting feel - not to mention pump your adrenaline with taiko.



"Bongo Bongo is my favorite Zelda boss. The other bosses? You fight them in an arena or on a stage. Bongo? You fight him on HIS OWN GODDAMN DRUM."
- YouTube user "TwoScrewsLoose" regarding The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I felt that today was going to be one of those days where I wanted something silly and to-the-point. As I've got "Fight Night" on heavy rotation right now while I work on some things, I figured, "Let's find a quote involving drums." I found this.





Well, well, well... it's that time of year - the time where people go to other people's houses and beg for candy by politely saying "Trick or treat!" Oh, and they're dressed up in varying outfits. Some people wear cute costumes. Some decide to just cosplay altogether. Some dress up due to an unwilling dare. Some "dress up" because - as Barney Stinson oh-so-(un)tastefully put it - "It's the one night of the year chicks use to unleash their inner ho-bag."

Regardless of a person's reasons for dressing up (or not dressing up), I sadly will not be joining in either the trick-or-treating or the parties. I have work tonight. Yay. *sigh* As such, I figured I'd get some things taken care of before I head in tonight. For those of you expecting a long entry today: nope. Not typing one - I already told you that yesterday's entry was the treat. Got some writing to take care of and what not.

I'll see y'all next month. Stay safe as you go out and have fun, y'all hear?

Carving the Books of the World

initializing startup... done.
accessing rogue protocols... done.
establishing mainframe connection... done.
running command firewall lines... done.
starting up defensive system...

Welcome to the WeißeRitter Defense Mainframe
Powered by Gründer Industries
user:
> wkc8942
pass:
> ********
code:
> angels ten

...authenticating...

Good afternoon, White Knight! Query?
> run "blogPublic"
initializing... done.
BLOG of the PUBLIC... open. Query?
> code "masteraccess"
> upload "20111030"
...I'm sorry, we do not have a file "20111030" in the servers. Query?
> code "TSleak"
please provide security confirmation:
> code "backdoor021903"
command authorized. upload and download of top secret data is authorized
> create "20111030"
creating new file "20111030"... done:

Sometimes, Ctrl+Z is NOT Your Friend

I hate it when I finish a blog's rough draft and accidentally close the browser window before saving a copy of it. This just happened right now, and before I explode from sheer "FUUUUUUUUUU" madness, I'm going to post this meager thing now and re-type everything I oh-so-meticulously crafted. AGAIN. Augh.

The moral of the story? Don't expect that "redo" button to save your scrawny hides if you accidentally "Ctrl+Z" one too many times.

*types furiously*

Short Friday

Today's going to be one of those short entry days because I have lots of things to do. Okay, that's a farce. I don't have all that much, but I do have plans that do take up a good portion of the day, and my mind's been focused on said plans. Okay, that's a lie, too. I'm just not interested in slapping something interesting on here today.

...well, that's the truth at least. Anyway, this is probably the first Friday off I've had in ages that I didn't ask for off. I was just given the Friday. Weird, huh? I almost don't know what to do with myself. But thank goodness I have plans for today.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a world to save. Fun overload begins now.

Non Sequitur 7: The 300 Milestones

Oh, geez, I slapped the "non sequitur" tag on here. I think we all know what that means...

Yes, I get to sort through multiples of these boxes all the time at work.
Why else would I be so cool? </narcissism>

...and if your guess involved the term "More Win," then you're absolutely wrong right.

Mental Insurrection

This post is NOT silly. I don't care what the tags above stipulate; this is a SERIOUS entry. I'm dead serious. That "silly" tag is lying to you, okay? It's lying! This is a very serious matter I'm dealing with here! So serious, in fact, that it's frakking silly! =P





CURRENT MUSIC:
Bear McCreary - "Storming New Caprica"
Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 Original Soundtrack

Are you fed up with how things are going? Ready to start some kind of insurrection against your oppressors that have been making your life hell for months or years? Feel like it's time to put a bunch of your bosses, skin job toasters, Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht, the Holy Britannian Empire, Galactic Empire personnel, or Redcoats in their places by whatever methods you can resort to?

If you answered "yes" to any one of the above questions, then allow me (and by extension, Bear McCreary) to supply you with music to amplify the effect of your rebellion. "Storming New Caprica" is a battle piece that screams bloody insurrection and uprising throughout the almost-eight minutes it plays for. A percussion-heavy piece (God, those taiko drums are amazing!) backed occasionally by bagpipes and strings, this track will definitely get your pulse pumping as you lead your personal uprising against... well, whatever force it is that previously had you on the defensive.

Of course, with the description I used (and more notably: with the title of this piece), this is bound to be a spoiler to anyone who has yet to see Battlestar Galactica. However, I can't help it - this is such an awesome track to work and drive to. The next time you have to resort to fisticuffs or rebellions to solve your problems, consider having this play in the background. I'm sure the several thousand humans who died while under the leadership of President Gaius Baltar and the Cylon overseers would appreciate it.



"The writer is a spiritual anarchist, as in the depth of his soul every man is. He is discontented with everything and everybody. The writer is everybody's best friend and only true enemy – the good and great enemy. He neither walks with the multitude nor cheers with them. The writer who is a writer is a rebel who never stops."
- William Saroyan

Yes; quite. This could allude to why I'm such an asshole at times - because I both agree and disagree with everything everyone does. I fight for what I want, for what I believe to be right and just and awesome.

The Fifty Skies of Emotional History

Evening, everybody. Let's go ahead and make yourselves comfortable as you read this. First things first, though - we gotta have the pre-blog stuff waste your precious time entertain your mind as I prep up.

*cough*





CURRENT MUSIC:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan Cover)"
Electric Ladyland

Often associated with Vietnam-based media (or anything related to the end of the '60s), Jimi Hendrix's famous cover of "All Along the Watchtower" is one of those great songs you just can't really get tired of listening to. It's so good of a cover that even Bob Dylan himself feels as if it's a tribute to Hendrix.

Part of the reason I'm listening to this is because Battlestar Galactica used a cover of its own at the end of the third season. It varied greatly in style but it still got the job done. While it's a great cover of its own, it obviously is out-trumped by this variant.


KCE Japan Sound Team - "REX's Lair"
Metal Gear Solid Original Game Soundtrack

Ah, the music of Metal Gear Solid. It takes me back to the days where I spent countless hours playing one of my favorite video game franchises to both enjoy the cinematic quality and master the sense behind the complex plots.

"REX's Lair" plays in the maintenance facility that houses the superweapon known as Metal Gear REX (just in case the title didn't tell you anything). An ominous-sounding piece, the somber choir (and the electronic accompaniment) puts a heart-stopping chill in your bones as you navigate your way around the area. If anything, the music aurally represents the doom that could be launched from REX if you don't take it out in time.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots featured a re-done version of "REX's Lair" as Snake revisits Shadow Moses Island in Act IV. While the piece is no longer reliant on the ominous-sounding chorus, it still manages to get the same chilling feeling you got from the first game as you sneak your way through the area once more.

I'm going to admit that when I was younger (read: "more depressed in the past"), I had this on heavy rotation on WinAmp. Frankly, this track amplifies any depression held within a person's heart, and the more this plays, the more that depression exponentially grows. Try not to listen to this if you're not in a happy place, mm'kay? =D


Bear McCreary - "Roslin Confesses"
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 Original Soundtrack

With the weather being how it is today, I felt that this was an excellent track to help me convey the mood the overcast skies was throwing out at us here in my part of California. A string-dominant piece, "Roslin Confesses" feels like one of those musical interludes that definitely fit some kind of heart-to-heart scenario you'd see in film or television (gee, I wonder how I figured that one out). Strings slowly reveal the drama and close with a snippet of the "Roslin and Adama" leitmotif.

Maybe I have something to confess today. Maybe I don't. You'll just have to read on and on, I suppose. All I can say is that this is a nice song to have in the background if you have something important to say.


Yoko Shimomura - "The Edge of Green"
Radiant Historia Original Soundtrack

One of the tracks from the Nintendo DS RPG Radiant Historia, "The Edge of Green" does its job in elevating the tension one would normally get when in a stronger fight. While this music pretty much goes for fights that aren't so crazy, when this plays, you know you're in for something interesting.

It's a pretty good soundtrack - and the fact that Yoko Shimomura (famed for her work in Super Mario RPG and the Kingdom Hearts franchise) composed it makes it even better.



"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds wherever we go."
- Martha Washington

The day is indeed what we make of it. Now here's a question for you. It's an overcast day outside. Do you let it aid the day in mucking up your mood, or do you fight the skies and yell "Screw you and your depression" and flip off the clouds?

I'll let you decide what I chose as you read today's entry.

Another Entry, Another Poem

If someone wanted to tell me I was a coward
would I believe them?
That such a lie of truth be allowed
to float throughout my mind
to brandish doubt so openly, so confidently
and test my spirit within?

I can say that I don't believe them at all
that strength and courage exist in me
and while I don't display it like other brash fools
I hold it within, use it when necessary
infuse myself with the power to destroy and create worlds
when necessary, when desired, when I'm ready

But sometimes Fate decides to alter the plans;
we're tested and heavily tried
when we're not at our peaks, but at our lowest points
it's the actions we perform that decide
our chances of survival, our chances for success
and the worlds we form from the ashes

Harmony! The Music of Sunday

"Music happens to be an art form that transcends language."
- Herbie Hancock

'Nuff said, really.





If you haven't taken the time to dedicate yourself to nothing but music, then maybe you should make today that day. Matter-of-fact: I order you to do it. By this, I don't mean that you should just sit back, tell every other task you have to perform to frak off, and listen to music - you can do that, too. Instead, pay attention to the music itself - the beats, the rhythms, the words, the whole thing in general.

And if you feel it necessary: rock out to it, too.

Today's one of those musical days, I think. Better that I just flush the music out of my system and onto you, methinks. Who knows? You just might find something interesting to listen to today. This is by no means a crappy attempt of making a "blog" blog - matter of fact, it's a nice thing to just listen to the music and see what everyone else is listening to. Makes for an interesting day, I think.

So sit back, relax, and immerse yourself in music - be it the many musical selections I've made today and in days past... or anything from your own personal library.

And for those of you who're about to ask: yes, today's entry title looks like a translated title card from a Japanese anime.

A Halloween Outfoxed

It's almost Halloween!? Mein Gott!





CURRENT MUSIC:
Shouji Meguro - "Battle for Everyone's Souls"
Persona 3 Original Soundtrack

One of the final battle pieces heard in-game, "Battle for Everyone's Souls" musically introduces to us the tension and fear brought on by what could be one of the most arduous boss fights ever. Your party deals with a boss called the Avatar of Nyx, who proves to be one combatant that truly tests the player. There are fourteen phases to the fight (yes, I said "fourteen" - far more than even the most complicated World of Warcraft bosses) - each corresponding to the first fourteen Major Arcana found in traditional tarot card decks. What's worse is that while each phase is tough-as-nails to begin with (it's a final boss; what else would you expect?), its final phase is where the Avatar of Nyx decides it's time to stop toying with you and actually lay down the law (yes, you were being toyed with the first thirteen phases).

This piece particularly grabbed my attention when I first heard it years ago because it assimilated three types of typical boss fight music in a method I had never heard of (at the time):

• a rock base consisting of the drums and a rhythm guitar acting as bass
• a classical section with a piano lead and some strings support, and
• a mezzosoprano (I think) belting out a somewhat-chilling melody.

This combination makes an already-interesting fight even more interesting than it already was. It engaged you in what you knew to be something that would test your skills, your strength, and - more importantly - your endurance. Persona 3 players run an average of one hour when it comes to the time spent slaying the Avatar of Nyx. *nods sagely*

You want something that will aurally demand that you put your all in? Something that will drive you to kick ass, take names, feed the cat, and finish your term paper all within a limited time span? Something that just screams "final battle tension" and "ultimate pressure?" Play this track. It oughta do the job well.



"I suppose every child has a world of his own – and every man, too, for the matter of that. I wonder if that's the cause for all the misunderstanding there is in life?"
- Lewis Carroll

That could very well be the case. Everyone's personal world is different. Events that play out identically may hold different reactionary outcomes for different people. The codes of conduct two people may have can be the same in written form but hold different interpretations. Tried-and-true concepts may not have a firm grim on someone as opposed to another.

So if this is the case, then why don't we realize that? Why do we assume everyone will adhere to the same rules, the same metaphysical laws, the same styles of self-governing? Why do we assume that someone we've just met will cast their ideals into the wind and readily accept ours?

I don't know the answer to that. I don't think anyone will for a good time being.