Best Band Ever

New, I know. I'm shocked. Also, two posts this close to each other? I must be sick or something. Go check out ES Posthumus. Now (yes, I know what it means.) Epic music like I have never heard before. Nightwish pulls a 9/10, Within Temptation gets a 7/10 or so, random death metal bands average about an 8/10, but ES Posthumus is off the charts with something like a 12/10. Maybe a 13. youtube them now, but make sure you have the sound up with good speakers and listen in high quality or you won't believe me. This is as crazy as it gets. The big bang itself probably only rated an 11/10.

Been painting with artrage2.5 has been great fun for the last two days. I've posted a sample of what this program is capable of. The second important thing I have to tell you is to never make macaroni and cheese when you only have soy milk as a substitute: the sauce grows bubbles. And it tastes rather weird. =D

Y2K

Wow.

3D

because messes are so much cooler in 3D. Did this with my phone and photoshop. Due to my ignorance, the left and right sides are trimmed quite a bit in the image, and the eyes take longer than normal to adjust, but its probably because I'm not using a 3D camera. This was just a fast experiment that turned out to work fairly well. I was excited.

Moonspell

Doom metal band from Portugal. I got ear raped by an electric toothbrush. Nuff said.

*reference courtesy of Jeph Jaques. Not sure he approves, but we won't ask him, will we?

Post-postmoderism

the new era

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-postmodernism

The future is here.

Happy Fourth

America used to be an almost ideal country. Some of the most scientifically recognized men in American history gave their work and their blessing to the country to make it function. Men like Ben Franklin. Yet the patriots of America slowly fell from being patriots for the sake of righteousness and goodness such as Nathan Hale slowly became nationalists for nationalism's sake. Nathan Hale's America was the bottom of the dung heap. Today we have risen to the top, but now, as recession begins to plague the country, we are slipping from our long held king of the pile position. 

Since his day America has done some truly foul things. America split over slavery, and racism is still a huge issue today. Who holds these things to be self evident? What were they again? Something about equality?

War crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, the two nuclear bombs in Japan. Wasn't there something about life in that document that we are, as a nation, so proud of?

Guantanamo. The pursuit of happiness? Weren't there two wars fought on American soil for the freedom of its citizens?

I realize that I am making broad sweeping statements about a country that are wildly inaccurate in many places. I know that my examples might not be as precise as I would like them. However, I also understand that it isn't any one individual at fault, but at the same time, maybe we should realize our new place in the new world, and maybe that place isn't at the top. If we can live out our lives in peace and freedom, isn't that worth not sacrificing our founding principals? Wasn't freedom what Nathan Hale gave his life for? The men in Valley Forge? Should we let what they died for slip away from us?

Dreaming

A few nights ago I had a dream about dad trying to wake me up. He used to employ all sorts of bizarre methods that went as far as beating the bottom of my bed with a hammer. Jarring. At any rate, he was not beyond hauling me out of bed by my feet, pouring water on me, or balancing hot coffee on my forehead until I woke up.

I had gone to bed sort of late the night before, and so my brain must have been really out of it by the time I started dreaming at 5:40 ish AM. In my dream dad was doing his level best to wake me up, and he finally pulled it off. I awoke and all I could hear was my brain screaming "psyche!" and cackling at me.

On that note, family/party gets in Friday. 

Drugged up

I just watched Korn rock out on youtube, and I had a moment where I was convinced I was there. Not because the quality of the video was awesome, or I was watching full screen or anything, I just all of a sudden understood where they were coming from. Bodies racked by dying drug highs, clammy and shivering, rough long sleeve shirts, not washed for the last two days on the road. Rocking out in front of fanatic fans, headbanging because your job depends on it, even though the beat is old. Sick of your own music, you know you aren't really the greatest musicians ever, extensive vamping and some pro mixers and speakers that go louder than the audience can take are keeping your show on the road. Tired, sleep is paramount in your thoughts, you regret the high this morning, it left you too tired to really face the day well, and you know you should have held off on it until after the show. You shuffle tiredly off stage, sign a few tshirts, album covers, posters, images of yourself. With the help of a few enthusiastic careless roadies, you get your gig loaded, and you shuffle off to your next high and sleep after that. You will eat in the morning, you promise yourself, and then maybe write a few lyrics to a new song while on the road in your old van to your next show.

I could almost do it. I think I might be able to take it. A life with my instrument, life, a stale, old, ruined life on the road with a worn guitar and battered car. 

Bikeless

So nothing permanent happened, just a flat tire. The world, however, seems to be conspiring against me to keep it flat. Somehow everything but fixing a flat has happened. I got a job,  I restrung my guitar, I lost a game of soccer, I beat Guild Wars, I did homework, I finished my computer program that is due in over a week, and I studied. I have the tools, the knowledge, and the love of grease that the job requires, it just doesn't seem to want to get done, and I don't know why. I love my bike, I like working on it, and walking to class is painfully slow. I guess my life is going well if the best thing I can write about is a flat tire, eh?

Switching web browsers

I'm now using Apple Safari to surf the web. Its cause Internet explorer is this huge gargantuan thing with a RAM footprint over three times as big as Safari. As a result, my computer can sling it around a ton faster, and the idiotic purdue webpage goes through its browser check tons faster every time I open it. Now I have to set up all my home pages again. Oh well. It's gonna be worth it if its gonna be this much faster. My next computer is going to be a bootcamped Apple. Period. See below for a less nerdy post.

things happenig

So aside from listening to Pandora, I have been talking with friends, and swing dancing is sounding awesome. youtube it sometime. There are some cool flips and stuff if you watch the right vids. I might pick it up and take lessons. Depends on what some family members say about it, Namely dad. I know I need the exercise, and this might be a good way to get it.

I got my bike back from down south last week. It needs air in its rear tire, but I know a guy with a nice pump in my building, so I should be able to borrow one from him. We had our first game of ultimate Frisbee this year on Saturday this last week. I love that game. Patrick Hart tore some turf up. The guy is a Frisbee beast.

So my life isn't all just sports and dancing right now, I also have other things to worry about. Like my test tomorrow and 4 page paper due the same evening that I should be writing now. So only a few more weeks to Summer from here. I'm freaking out. I don't think I will do worse than a C in any of my classes though, which I figure is pretty good. My last two tests were an A and a B, so that's all good. I got a perfect score on my last English paper. I wrote that in the afternoon, I write this after midnight, which usually causes a change in the quality of a post... goodnight.

Music Mapped

So I was shown a wonderful and beautiful thing today. Pandora.com is an amazing online radio that has a huge and complex system that analyzes every aspect of music and then finds other music like it so that you can listen to any genre and discover new bands and new... stuff. If you like music, you have to try it. It is free, no spam, Its beautiful, elegant, easy to use, easy to find things, essentially everything a good website should be, and then it plays the most amazing music. There are also links to discussions about music, talks about the intricacies of music, how to record music, what makes a song a song, and I'm excited and I'm going to go back and fool with it for hours before I go to bed. Its the most amazing thing that has happened to me in a long time. I don't just throw those type of comments around either. This is fantastic stuff. You have got to try it. I don't think I have ever advertised so vehemently for anything ever before in my life. You gotta try it.

The TCK Experience

Here you can see that I really do live in two worlds, and I can't have both halves at once. Sucks to be me. This picture was generated for me by the facebook application friend wheel. Cool, huh? If you click on the picture it will take you to a much larger picture where you can see everything a little more clearly. Really shows the value of family. They are the only ones that bridge the gap.

Some weird stuff

That last post was 12^2 posts. Exciting.

At the moment I've just gotten back from a confusing computer science lab where I had to figure out how to do address passing between the main and sub main functions. This is after I had already solved the problem.

I'm playing Evanescence on an R&B equalizer setting, which is interesting. Brings it out somehow. I guess there are good things about R&B: they have good EQ settings. Fun.

I have a thought for a deep post, but it involves finding my phone cable and uploading pictures and stuff and I'm supposed to be writing an English paper.

pickups and tuning forks

Did you know that if you bang a tuning fork and hold it up to the pickups of an electric guitar it will make an interesting noise? Just so you know...

Freaking Busy!

Some post huh? Its just huge. I'm reading papers by people who claimed to be second in their class and ranted for nine pages about how they were better than the other guy. Juvenile...?

I'm 19 now. My birthday sucked. I spent five hours writing computer programs that didn't work, and took a physics test that decided to not like me. Nuff said.

Blindside is random. The music goes up, the music goes down, and there is no telling which way it will go next. Its like the author took a pgp key generator, converted the whole thing to binary and then worked out an algorithm to convert ones to possitive note frequency shifts, zeros to negative shifts. Then did it again with timing. Then started screaming.

I have to get back to explaining why my revisions are as crazy as they are so that I won't be persecuted by this person for the rest of my life. I'm crazy? Maybe.

Well, I'm evil. I don't post in forever and then this is all I get out. The problem with blogging is that the more things you have to blog about, the less time you have to do it.

And the spell checker isn't working anymore.

For Those Who Stayed up with me....

my bird did come. At 2:45 sharp. We may actually be able to board by 3:15AM, and be off the ground by 4:00 AM. Remarkable. I have really enjoyed this Internet connection, definitely worth the 7 bucks I had to put into it to make it work. I got several hours of entertainment out of it as well as a good long conversation with various family members. I can't wait to see them, I'm only hours away now!

Santa Clause and Anti Clause

Well, I just finished reshuffling my suitcases for my flight back to Yemen. Royal Jordanian is a mess. Yes, they may be cheap, no, you don't really want to fly on them because they have had numerous flight schedule changes, and I have no idea how much it costs to be over weight. So I had to go under the weight limit, and Seeing as I am carrying gifts from two sets of grandparents, an aunt and a family member for Christmas, I felt a good deal like Santa. Unfortunately, due to all the stuff I was trying to get rid of my clothes and other "essentials" before I had to become Anti Clause and start leaving gifts behind. Fortunately I managed to get everything in and situated... Mostly... Minus three or four books, one pair of shoes, two sets of my clothes, my backpack, my guitar amplifier, and a ton of other useless stuff. I think I forgot one of my gifts in my closet in my dorm, and as I am now in Columbus, I can't just pull it out and stuff it in. All the gifts are in at any rate, and I think I managed to get some stuff that will make people happy. It is nice to be able to bring special stuff from overseas, and it does make shopping for gifts a bit easier.

At any rate, I should go spend time with grandparents. Pray for a smooth flight and no random security checks.

WOOT!

I finished my first semester of University. I just have to hold out for another day. I think I have the books, video games and empty pieces of paper to keep my mind off of all this glorious free time. I haven't been this high since... uh... um... A while. (That's sad Graham. I know, but you can shut up. No, you. Go away, there is only supposed to be one personality going on here. What? Why? Just because the semester ended doesn't mean you can utterly loose it. Since when have I lost it? Just now! What? Yes! I'm me, what does that have to do with loosing it? Uh... Only everything? Oh...yeah...about that...forgot... heh, sorry me. So, now that we are done arguing with myself, we can continue our blog.) I now feel the delirium of nearly pure bliss. The only two things disturbing my inner peace (shaky as it is) is the fact that I have to wait a whole week to get on an airplane to go home, and the second is the simple fact that I have a good solid another 7 semesters to go, and they probably only get harder. Oh well, I have a month off now. Time to destroy something.