| SCA: Revel by the Lake |
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| 10:00pm 24/09/2005 |
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mood:  ecstatic
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Earlier today, I was down in the town named Bovine, where the SCA event was. I had a good time. I'm writing to remember it, and share it. Of course, I go to events for the fencing, primarily, so I'm going to write focused on that.
Fencing took forever to start. I see people gearing up, so I gear up too. I get to warm up against one fencer, for a brief while, while his Authorizing Marshals get ready. I then proceed to not fight for the next hour, or so. No watch, but it was a while. They do auths until Heavy needs to do auths. Bah.
Then the tournament comes around, and I only get in every 10 fights or so. Of course, my fights are too quick, and other fights are too slow, but everyone has to have their fun too. Michelle kills Bruhaha in a single attack, one round. And we were all giving her advice. She didn't need it. We all cheered.
It rains. We move stuff. Whee. In a light sprinkle, we continue the tournament.
Skerrstrond eventually wins. Boo.
But after the tournament it really kicks up. I fight Cy, I fight Don Mateo, I fight a fencer that just authorized that day. These were the fun fights. I manage to impress the Don, but I'll come back to that.
Feast. Yay. I don't have feast gear. Boo. Someone offers to let me use gear. I don't really want to wash dishes. Then I get a paper plate. Yay. Mostly, I'm thirsty, and I still don't have a glass. After eating, I improvise, and turn my plate into a suitable vessel. I drink like a fish. No alcohol, though.
Brian announces me a member of the Mistig alumni, I get a cool rectangular emblem to match the triangular one I still own for ... a while. Theron puts Chris and I in the service of Her Majesty, we act as guards. I make like a statue. I get a pewter coin, with His and Her Majesties names. Then the aforementioned White Scarf tells me that he was impressed, that he had to "turn it up a notch, and then turn it up again" while fighting me. I smile giddily, but maintain my composure as I thank him profusely, and he gives me a token as well. I'm to hold on to it for a while, and then pass it on to someone who impresses me, as it was passed on to me, and this White Scarf before me. And besides that, Cy has praise for me as well. I'm beside myself.
Also, due to the many number of people who won the same number of fights, I end up at the rank of Rook. Without both the Three-way ties, I'd have been a pawn, so I thank my luck for the skilled opposition. Do better next time, I suppose.
Derek, called William in SCA now, got award:
Impress a White Scarf
Praise from a fencer I thought invincible, when I started fencing.
Mistig Academy patch
Guard to Royal Court
Rook
/me happy dance. These SCA events are really going well for me. Now to get my own clothes, instead of borrowing from Gold Key |
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| A wonderful weekend |
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| 10:41pm 19/09/2005 |
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mood: happy music: Mike playing FF7
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So, I made it to an SCA event, making this my third in my two years of paid membership. I need to get out more. I went to "Viking's Come Home," in Traverse City. Long drive, good company, cold nights, warm thoughts.
So Aaron and I are carpooling down, in my Escort, because it gets better mileage. The UP goes by alright, as there's really only the one road, and a lot (LOT LOT) of straight line driving. We switch, so he's driving, at the bridge.
Our plan is to go down to Grayling, then take 32 across to 31, which becomes 37 and finally ends up at site. Well, we get to Grayling, make our turn, and go on our happy way. Traveling down East 32, late at night, I'm taking naps. At least we have radio again, the UP only plays country.
Oh, wait, we just passed 33. Where's that on the map? (Astute readers will already have noticed...) We're going EAST! We want to be west! D'oh. 50 minutes later, we're back in Grayling. From there, we don't do too much more incorrectly. We get to site at 1, and I get invited to Mike and Kat's tent, to sleep at 2. Cold night.
The next day, I'm awake at 9, for some reason, and I get out of the tent. Waking them both in the process. Tents really aren't designed to let a 6 foot person out a 2 foot door, without having anyone notice. I go sit by the fire, hang around the center area, watch a couple vendors set up, take a look at some scarves. Also, I get a shower. I can't STAND being unwashed. Around 10, there's a girl in a really cool hat, that's looking for help setting up the list field. What, did Derek hear fencing? He's gonna go help out, for sure! And the hat is a pirate hat, with the one side folded up, and a big feather on the top.
I promptly proceed to dump concrete dust on myself, trying to pick three of these (little) list poles up. Then I do some counting, realize there are 4 of us and only 6 poles, and carry one in either hand. We follow the Lady Marshal back to the field, and I notice she walks fast. Long legs. Two thumbs up.
We set out the poles, some decision making goes on, she and I get a hole digger, it goes as unused as possible as we tie the rope to trees. The fields are set up, we have three 'zones' for fencing. The tournament is laid out.
"My Ladies Favor" tournament, roll a die for a body part immunity, and another for style of weaponry. My favorite is Non-rigid, with left hand immune. My best is single, Righthand with left immune. They're related, but I spare you the details. I make a showing, but find myself back near the Lady Marshal, saying someone else's name. (That means they won, you sicko) She comments that "You must be getting tired," and I retort, "Only a fool would claim to not be tired. I'm not tired." This does indeed imply that I'm a fool.
Fencing goes on for 3.5 hours, in this time I roll Case of Rapier (in which I'm not authorized) only 4 times, in a row, at once. I fence Lord Michal McKay (my teacher) only a few times, and we have trouble remembering our immunities. We were both body immune, and we both attacked at the body, he was gonna call it a double kill, and I reset to continue fencing, reminding him he had limited invulnerability.
Fencing ends, I make an emo sadface. I check out some wares, I finally learn the Lady Marshal's name, (at her request, it's Lady Marina Isabella deMedici) and I still can't put most names to faces or armour. Marina and her dad (?) are accepted as students of the victor of the tournament, and we cheer. Earlier, I had promised to fight the Lady Marshal, as she was getting the desire to kill people, running the show as she was. I thought she did okay, though. We have a few rounds, I make amazing graceful attacks. She parries them. She makes pressing attacks, thinking me thrown off by her limp. I have none of it. If I manage my parries, I connect square in her chest, taking care not to damage anything beautiful. If I miss the parry, I get steel in my kidney, and I'm convinced there's a hole in my hand large enough to wave through a blade.
Then we do a little 2 on one work, I'm okay at it, she's having trouble focusing on two attackers at once. She doesn't play many video games, which improves tracking of multiple targets.
Then fencing is really over. She has to go get set for feast, and I have to catch my group heading to Outback. After a shower, Kaylyn and I head up to Outback. Dinner is really good, but doesn't sit well with me. I guess there was milk in it somewhere.
I spend some time by the fire, while feast is still continuing, and some time coping with dinner.
Feast gets out, and the Lady Marshal spots me first. Our shire, Mistig Waetru, has a tradition of doing feast dishes. I find out what's up, report back, and washing starts. Michal does the scrubbing, I do the bleach dip, and the rinse. Then I hand it back to the driers, of which we have 5 million, since most of the shire wants in on the action. Dishes take a good while, but it's fun, and we have a progression of beautiful women (and some guys) through the door to the kitchen. Doesn't matter that they're bringing more for us to wash, as their bright faces cheer us up. Also, we can't remember words to any songs. Eventually we get the lyric sheets.
I break Marina's mind for a while with my "The moon is round" gag. I make a strongman pose (which to anyone who knows my physique is laughable) and say "the moon, is ROUND. It is over there." and make another pose to be pointing in some direction. I don't know if I've ever actually pointed at the moon. She laughs. For a while. And then some.
After dishes, it's time to go sit by the fire, sing songs, listen to songs, and become close with the shire. There's mead, to be sure, it is Viking's after all. But I remain dry, save for some grapes.
The night ends well. It's not so cold.
I get up at 9:45, after turning in at 4. Why? I don't know. I'm given a die, from the tournament, I guess I won a favor from Marina. It's loaded, as both dice were not cubes. It likes to fall on 3. Eventually, Aaron and I make the trip back to Houghton, and the weekend ends. But Saturday was sure fun. I'll do my best to make Viking's again next year. |
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| Partner practical |
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| 11:52am 15/11/2004 |
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I passed. Yay for me. Now I can learn the ancient secrets of... uh... screwing up accounts. Woot! |
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| Politics and ranting |
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| 11:58pm 16/10/2004 |
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I've got nowhere else to rant about it, so I'll put it somewhere that you don't have to read it, and I don't have to care if you read it. I'm gonna talk about my beliefs on some political issues.
First, I don't care much about who becomes president. I know it's horrible, and I have no right to say "this guy sucks" if I didn't try to pick the other one. So with that in mind, I don't much like either of our choices. I'm more interested in getting a greater choice.
I dislike our current voting system. To be clear, that we get to vote is a great responsibility and privilege. However, that doesn't mean it can't be improved. Our current voting system supports minority interest groups, package deals, moderate standings from both parties, and a two-and-only-two setup. These are not good things.
First, minority interest groups, as I use it, means an organization that has a goal, that is contrary to the goals of the majority of the population. Our campaigning candidates tend to speak in favor of what these groups want, not in favor of what the nation wants. If a candidate can secure votes from these groups, regardless of their standing on other issues, and regardless of the overall benefit to the nation, they tend to do so. It is a more assured vote, but it is harmful to the 'majority rule' concept on which voting is supposed to be based.
I also dislike the package deal system. When I go to buy a car, my options are greater than a Viper and a Corvette. They are not just a Taurus and an Escort. I get to choose from a great variety of options, that I can pick and choose the things important to me. If I like fuel economy but don't care about off-roading, I get an Escort. Our two candidates only present two options, and those two options are supposed to cover the whole spectrum of opinion?
In addition to having only two packages to choose from, the packages tend to look very much alike. The majority is perceived to have an opinion like so, and if you deviate from that, you lose votes. So, the candidates take a position similar to that of their opponent, and differ only on a few points. If I don't really care about the war on terror, but was interested in who'd be better at cleaning up Detroit (My example is bad, but that's why I'm not a famous writer) I'd be out of luck, because no one has expressed an opinion on it.
Both of these problems stem from the fact that our voting system can only support 2 major parties. The expression "vote for him, throw your vote away" is a valid one, because the system enforces it. The 'one person, one vote' idea makes it a duopoly, where you vote against candidates you disfavor, rather than for the one you like. And that's just not a good way of doing anything.
So, here is my platform. It isn't my idea, I learned of it elsewhere. Our voting method should be expanded to a system that takes each candidate, pits them round robin against each other candidate, and the victor is assured to be the one most favored by the population. There is no winning with %40 of the vote. There is no winning while having a lesser popular vote. There is a clear winner. You can ask, though, what happens when A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A. Suffice to say, it can be mathematically reduced, and you can look it up yourself on votingmethod.com or just plain google.
Since the prior method would need to educate a good deal of our population, it would take time to gain favor. In the meantime, there is a simple but better method known as Approval Voting. This works by letting you cast one vote for each candidate you can live with, and that you favor. At some point on your personal preference, you draw a line, and you vote for everyone above that line. If you only disagree with one candidate strongly, you can cast one vote for each other candidate, and it has the result of putting that disfavored candidate down one vote in comparison. There is no situation where you have to 'tactically' choose to vote Democrat, for example, so the Republicans don't win. This is a superior scenario, compared to decisions currently made at the polls.
The main hindrance to this method, is that it doesn't favor Democrats or Republicans. It favors everyone. And some politicians will not favor things that benefit this nation. The true display of patriotism is to act for the betterment of your country. |
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| Good poetry, but not mine. |
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| 01:12am 04/10/2004 |
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"It seemed an easy thing, to step into the nothingness, to fall, to die.
But then, for an instant, I saw it, eyes filled with endless sorrow,
and I turned back to face my pain."
- Snow-Fur, kitsune poet
- On the Guardian of Solitude. |
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| I never update, he sez |
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| 01:21am 10/09/2004 |
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I don't update, because it gets me in trouble. There is the rest of the world that reads my journal, and I don't care. But there is a small number who doesn't understand that LiveJournal is just an outlet, and take things literally or the wrong way. Some things are meant to be funny. Some, to brag and boast. Some to enlighten, some to vent, some are just plain lies. This doesn't reach some people.
Note: This is a vent. |
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| Doing fine |
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| 01:39pm 09/09/2004 |
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I'm happy to be back to school. I have my high-speed connection, always on, so I can get mail, music, and comics. I have fencing, when I've been able to make it, for friends and exercise. I have food at regular periods, and I don't have to make it. I had a cold, but it's going away. I have stuff to do, most times, and when I don't, I have other stuff to do. |
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| Good reason never to drink |
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| 03:35pm 01/09/2004 |
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Nothing against you... Just way freaky. When I have the peppermint Schnapps, it's Joe... With a cattle prod... And that's just odd.
Even for Joe.
Edit---
NOTE- This *NEVER HAPPENED*. It is just a silly livejournal meme, where the boxes get filled in by a random generator... thingie. Again, *not* a true story. |
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| I'm not dead... despite what you might have heard |
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| 09:32pm 10/06/2004 |
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I'm working as a lifeguard at Independence Oaks beach. I make a good wage, and I get decent hours. Summer is still a break, I don't work so much to counter that. I've got friends to spend time with, so I don't get bored.
The most depressing thought I have in a day, generally, is that I don't get to see you, my current reader.
My biggest concern in a day is who I'm gonna spend tomorrow with. Sure, my job requires me to watch a lake, and there are some dumb people in the water, but I leave that at work. |
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| Songs that describe my thoughts |
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| 12:54am 12/05/2004 |
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Saturday night burns a redness on my face
I tasted you, you tasted me, you were never my taste
Now you're left alone with precious thoughts
Of half asses half-an-hour stops
And talk so small I can't remember ever saying a word
Laced with thick naivetè, Firm delusions can't be swayed
Tell yourself you're happy, We both know the truth
It's false behind the dirty talk, the dirty sheets, the sexy walk,
your eyes are closed your heart is open wide and that's no good
There is something up my sleeve
There is nothing in-between You and me that you can't see
So beg my pardon
Honesty's a virtue that can hurt you let it be
The thought that counts is counting down the minutes 'till I leave
and when I do you'll be looking for security in words
Though you know that you won't get it for the better for the worse
I apologize for me
Then I'm back in a couple of weeks
I'm too weak to help it
Don't know how to end it
I apologize for me
-- Eve 6, Saturday Night.
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So, there's a couple people that can apply these lyrics. Mike's got an idea of what I'm thinking. Settle, Mike, I've stopped thinking about it all the time.
Shout outs to everyone at their homes. Yo. |
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| Not my POV, but interesting |
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| 09:07pm 05/05/2004 |
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To cause harm is to end motion.
Understanding leads to acceptance.
Height is depth.
I have no needs, no fulfillments, and no disappointments.
To truly exist, is to exist only for others.
I will wait for beauty. |
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| Cute Meme, as someone else said |
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| 04:46pm 29/04/2004 |
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 Your Seduction Stye: "Sweet Talker"Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm" You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone... Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-) You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear Partially, because you're a great reflective listener and good at complementing The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person. Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life You can finess your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face. Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life* What Kind of Seducer Are You?More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva |
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| Food on Thursday |
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| 08:42pm 28/04/2004 |
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It'd be really cool if everyone got together to eat Thursday. Wads is doing a special meal, it's Italian. Anyone with meal plans, show up. Anyone without... I don't know if they're selling tickets. Usually, it's between 8 and 10 dollars. I command all of you to come, have fun, and chat with friends.
Command! |
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| Skewed self image. |
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| 04:54pm 27/04/2004 |
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mood:  curious music: No music while computer is broken
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For brief periods of my life, I get a clear view of myself, and those around me. I understand what I am, and how I relate to others.
One of those periods have just passed. I no longer know who thinks what about me. Who am I, in the minds of others?
Leave a comment, as to how you see me. Be as descriptive as you want. Because I asked for it, fair game. |
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| Arg... Windows. |
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| 09:32am 26/04/2004 |
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mood:  aggravated
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So my computer broke a few days ago, when Mike and I were gonna play Stepmania. I don't see any way the two are related, unless Mike had an EMP generator in his pocket. My drive decided to corrupt the first and last partitions, which are my Windows System and Windows Data partitions. I know the drive is alright, because I'm typing from a Redhat install that's been on this computer for a while. So, I have a computer again, however, it's only partial.
Techieb0y has been a lot of help to me, with all my tech problems. I owe him a Jolt cola, or something. Thanks.
Unless someone wants to tell me that using a USB hard drive could have screwed up the two partitions, it isn't Mike's fault. I blame windows.
Now, I have to get a module that can read NTFS, (freentfs.o?) and I'm going to see what's left on the partitions.
Windows Rescue Disk... doesn't. I can see the drives, but it won't let me see the files. It tells me there is an unrecoverable error. Well, thanks windows. That's if it gets past scanning the drive in setup.
[root@localhost /]# fdisk -l
omitting empty partition (5)
Disk /dev/hda: 122.9 GB, 122942324736 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14946 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 1 1305 10482381 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda2 1306 2088 6289447+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda3 2089 2871 6289447+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda4 2872 14946 96992437+ f Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 2872 5481 20964762 83 Linux
/dev/hda6 5482 8091 20964793+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda7 8092 14422 50853726 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda8 14424 14946 4200997+ 82 Linux swap
What's busted? hda1, hda7. |
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| Click for picture that goes along |
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| 01:01am 18/04/2004 |
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mood:  thoughtful music: More Eve 6
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Mask, cloak, and Book. Things to hide behind. Ways to cover my self from others. Why hide? What is there to cover?
Mask: So others don't see my face. So they don't really learn who I am, and they can go on with their life unbothered by the animal underneath. Yeah, it's noticeable that it's a mask, but most people won't peek. And I don't take it off.
Cloak: Comfort blanket? It's a buffer between me and the world, and a way to keep the rest of me hidden. I can pull it around when I'm insecure, and it will comfort me. It also keeps me warm, and sheltered.
Book: Redemption? A hope for something better. It is a guide, that I am not lost completely. If I follow what it tells me, I may find my way to a better place, and a better self. |
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| Missed a couple days |
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| 03:33am 09/04/2004 |
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I haven't written in the last 4 days. I haven't had much to say. Things happen, life occurs. It's not something in which I think everyone is interested. However, last night... Wednesday night, I watched some more Eva. Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's an interesting anime series which shows the struggle for Man to become independent of god. Or, that's the way I see it. It really only has the struggle of one boy to be accepted, and come to terms with humanity. Every time I watch the series, I find another small thing I missed. For one thing, the motto(?) of NERV is "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world." Look at that again, it's God is in *His* heaven. Meaning, he isn't here. A lot of the series is like this. Another part is when Shinji's dad says that "Science is the power of Man." They are at the south pole, which has been purged of original sin. Nothing can survive there, it's the new dead sea. Except Man, though Science.
The second half, which I have yet to re-watch, is more theology. Yay. I tend to reference Eva way too much. It'll be good to remember why. |
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| Who feels like a drone... |
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| 12:42pm 05/04/2004 |
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I've noticed that a lot of people are stuck in their actions. They have the same responses when presented with the same stimuli. In fact, someone could write a reverse turing test, and they would fail.
I think I may be one of these people. I'm not particularly thought provoking. I interact with other people, but right now I don't feel like the Observer.
One person I know stands out in my mind as being real. Being the observer.
Ever read the Wheel of Time series. How Rand is the Ta'varran (I don't know if that's even close). He spins the fabric of reality around him. He influences chance, to be the way best for him. I can think of one person with that kind of pull on the universe. Hint, it's a female.
And if you reply to my post, you who spins, you don't count. |
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| Song analysis for fun |
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| 11:14am 05/04/2004 |
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mood:  melancholy music: Uh, Hello?
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Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello, I´m your mind giving you
Someone to talk to
Hello
If I smile and don´t believe
Soon I know I´ll wake from this dream
Don´t try to fix me, I´m not broken
Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
Don´t cry
Suddenly I know I´m not sleeping
Hello, I´m still here
All that´s left of yesterday
-Hello, Evanescence
This is a song about pain of such magnitude, it forced someone to make their own world in their head to avoid it. The lyrics tell me a story beyond what they actually say. I see the person in the song dealing with the loss of a great love. An end-all, be-all, my rock and foundation kind of love. I've never experience love like that, and I'm saddened, because even if it leads to pain like this, I still think it'd be worth it.
In the first verse, I see that the person has tried to return to a childlike state, in their mind, to avoid the pain of loss. Even there, they still feel some, because only rain clouds play in the mindscape. There is a part that still knows what's going on, that is trying to bring the rest of the mind back to reality. However, the words are unanswered as yet, shown by the repeating of "Hello." "hello, (is anyone home?)"
For the next verse, some progress has been made. The cut off part knows what it's doing, but it is still unwilling to leave the fantasy. It doesn't want to come back and deal with the pain.
Have you ever seen someone eating, but it doesn't look like they are tasting the food? Or walking down a hall, not hitting anyone, but not really noticing the world? That's how I see the person in this song. They are going about life, but they aren't really 'alive'. They won't be, until they can find a way to understand, and handle, the pain of their loss. The lie in the second verse is the automatic responses of the body. It's a program. See Mike's old posts for more on that.
On the third verse, there is understanding. There is recognition that, yes, the world exists, and this happened. However, the person doesn't have any ties left to who they were before. The love he/she lost was the basis of his/her world. Therefore, they are "all that's left of yesterday." And I take yesterday to mean before, not just the passage of one night.
I wish I could experience love like that. I think the pain would almost be worth any length of time in love.
(tangent) So why do I push people away? |
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