psyche

Wikipedia:

“Hey Ya!” is a song in the key of G major. Each cadential six-measure phrase is constructed using a change of meter on the fourth measure and uses a I–IV–V–VI chord progression. G major and C major chords are played for one and two 4/4 measures respectively. André 3000 then uses a deceptive cadence after a 2/4 measure of the dominant D major chord, leading into two 4/4 measures of an E major chord (which is not in the key of G major).

The last time I looked at this, I think it said it was in C major and that the E major (which would have been an A major) was an A minor. I think Obadiah Parker plays an Amin7 (if in C)… that’s why the original just sounds wrong… the bass seems to imply the minor thing. I… ugh. Somehow I didn’t realise this. I was just listening and I thought “What the hell?” and thought maybe my iTunes was somehow major-ising every chord, so I checked the video on YouTube… urgh.

So this dissonance hasn’t been accepted by the general public - it’s been hidden under loud bass!

Pax

I won only one fight during the BYC qualifier (proper results to follow) but Hugh Emerson came 2nd in the U16 sabre and Adam Zethraeus came 2nd 3rd in the U18 sabre (I don’t know how Adam did in the épée but Adam also came 6th in the épée and I’ll link to results later anyway). I felt rather sicktastic afterwards and got quite a bad two-point moving headache which intellectually incapacitated me on Monday and earlier today. This offered me time to re-evaluate something, though…

Going back to Rosebank Avenue, where my grandfather lives and where we lived a long time ago, reminded me of track 9 (or was it the other way round…?). This, predictably, brings me back to The Node. I think I’m going to need to formally define it and strategies for dealing with it if I’m going to be able to continue living.

Here it comes, then:

The Node is an event or concept which I cannot recall but which is somehow linked to many other certain events, concepts or situations in my life. I suspect this because of extreme feelings of déjà vu or nostalgia when confronted with certain events.

Now, what exactly reminds me of it? These are elements common to works of fiction or situations which remind me of …it.

• Suburban gloom
• (Old) computers
• One or many lonely people
• The telephone system

This brought up some funny stuff:

Places like Rosebank and other locations in Greenford where my family have lived have heavy doses of wires and suburban gloom. Council flats with satellite dishes on also remind me of it… hmm. Durston had those old Macs that felt old even when they were new… and the Macbeath Hall in the Haven Green churchy place evoked a feeling very similar to the suburban gloom feeling (in me, I mean).

This leads to my hypotheses. The questions I must ask are:

1. What is The Node?
2. What should I do?

So, possibilities for what The Node is:

1. It’s simply an exaggerated form of nostalgia for places I used to live or technology I used to use (very likely)
2. It’s my subconscious trying to give my life a purpose in the absence of any obvious external source of purpose (quite likely)
3. It’s a repressed memory of something very important (unlikely)

Well, it seems quite clear-cut, doesn’t it? However, I no longer have faith in the truth as a solution. Instead, consider which of these viewpoints it is most advantageous for me to adopt. The first gives me nothing. The second gives me some quirkiness but mostly nothing. The third gives me purpose. Memento, anyone? I’d rather have an artificial purpose than be swallowed by nihilism. I hope I somehow… urgh! I hope this turns out well.

This was Warren Zevon’s final public performance; he died about three months later, I think.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=WhRRWwH3Fro]

Isn’t this interesting? Why did they want to call the internet the intergalactic thingy anyway? To think I wouldn’t have known that had it not been for the Lain artbook, I wouldn’t have know that… I really need to research the history of the internet properly. Why didn’t we get taught this?!

Pax

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3FEKJNAE3c]

Pax

It’s not a uselessly semantic distinction, as YouTube commenters would have you believe. Even Apple, in their dumbed-down advertising campaigns borne of their selling-out (they’ve been doing it for a long time), refer to things like “surfing the internet” and making the “internet look good on your phone”. I understand that when this ridiculous error is so prevalent, even intelligent people can inherit it, so here is the truth:

• The Internet is hardware - it is the network (analogous to, say, a LAN)
• The Web is software* - it is one of the many applications** of the Internet (analogous to your company’s intranet site)

* It’s a big bunch of HTML documents. On its own, you wouldn’t be able to access web pages from anywhere unless you were directly connected to the computer or server they were stored on. However, you can connect via the Internet so you don’t require a direct connection. See?** Yeah, ever heard of e-mail? File transfers? Internet-enabled games? You don’t connect to “the web” when you plug your modem into a phone port, do you?

For clarity, Wiki strikes again.

The internet is a marvel of engineering and hardware design coupled with software transfer protocols so awesome that I believe that it is the pinnacle of not only communications design but of all electronics.The web is a dynamic and thus shifting, self-maintaining in some areas, self-destroying in others mass of files designed to be opened by web browsers over networks connections and ultimately the internet. It is a remarkable experiment in content creation and sharing and is obviously one of the most important and frequently-used applications of the internet (along with e-mail, IM and file transfer). A massive sociological wonderland, it is novice programming on steroids and in another dimension.The internet combined with the web (no, this is not called the interweb) and other apps is, I believe, humanity’s greatest achievement. While retaining our individuality, we are becoming able to function as a true collective, silenced by no-one. It is great but it is not good or evil; it is neutral, as things with extreme power often are - and thus corruptible.

However, it remains the basis for my faith in computer science. We have become more than the sum of our parts. We are both man and machine. We have transformed into something altogether more interesting than I thought possible.

Pax

I have completed the video for Requiem in C# Minor and here it is - YouTube, bringer of stuff, brings the stuff![youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xV0iq4VdFYY]Please forgive me; I’ve never made any sort of video or anything before and I don’t understand how to use iMovie (I think that puts my IQ at around 60 but hey)!The highly nonsensical and cheap lyrics are here:

Verse 1:

Needs of the many versus needs of the few, well

You cover it up and you start anew

There’s nothing more now that I can do

But stand and watch your dreams come true

Chorus:

It’s such a shame he had to die for me to live; I’m sorry

But we always knew that he had nothing left to give; I worry

Everything I used to be is gone and now my soul is empty

And I don’t think that there’s anyone broken enough to help me

Verse 2:

My prayers have been answered and the answer was no

I hate to say I told you so

His days were numbered and the number is up

And I have nothing to lose now but the blood in my cup

Verse 3:

I look for the sunrise but I see night fall*

I listen to your voice but I hear nothing at all**

Why don’t you label me and tell me who I am?

I can’t believe you don’t know I understand

* I don’t have very good temporal awareness

** I’m not just tone deaf…

Pax

I am working on a music video for Requiem in C# Minor and it’s well underway. I need a proper tripod, though - hopefully I can pick one up tomorrow. This kind of shows how much of an Apple fanboy I am; I recorded the song in GarageBand and am doing the video in iMovie. Speaking of iLife, we went to Brent Cross and I attempted to pick up the iLife ‘08. When I told the helpful selling guy that it would be run on a G4, he said “G4… hmm… I don’t know…”, looked at his mate (who pulled a face: “G4? Yeuch!”) and they somehow talked me out of buying it. Good salespeople indeed. At least I may have a real reason to upgrade soon. I actually hate most of the annoying, superficial losers that frequent the Apple store. They aren’t newbies, they’re n00bs. The difference is that n00bs never become productive, seasoned veterans - they keep their abrasive attitude forever.This is from a long time ago - it was recorded on my Nokia 6820 over at Elliot’s house. Warning: involves awesomeness.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_RVfECfFOI] I saw The Simpsons Movie and liked it, actually. It was good.I am going to screw up my exams when I get into gaming properly. The last time I could be even loosely classified as a gamer was back in Durston. A long, long time ago.Pax