psionic11

Here's the complete text. Keep in mind this is just a quick one-off assignment for a class. About two weeks on and off in the making. Extra credit. Silly subject material, anyway, but hopefully clever enough to make up for that... Bonus points if you can spot the allusions to Star Trek ====================================== Unusual Perspectives Snap! Then crash! Dropped from on high, from out of the sky, a broken branch has been forcefully sundered, severed, and delivered, thanks to today's restless winds. A young ant, narrowly missed, scurries frantically out from under this fallen tree, hurries worriedly back to his colony, his home and family, his community. But no one cares for news of twigs and near misses. "The queen mother is yet hungry, and yet you spew useless stories of self-interest that waste the day?" The elders gripe and moan, intone and say, "Outweigh the needs of the one, young ant, and think of us all. "Out! All who can be spared must go and find food for the needs of the many." And so, on to explore and discover, on a quest to ever uncover, our valiant wanderer has been handed his first clue. Young Ant: "That smell! It calls so sweet and strong to me. The wind, she brings a feast and song of glee! So -- quick! -- I turn and head to meet my fate... Like fire, I run, I dance, and long to be in touch with that which we need to feed." Meanwhile, in another part of the world, an old sock woefully withers and wastes away. His owner reveled in drink once again, this time at a picnic in the great outdoors. Though thankful to be temporarily freed from the confines of the too-familiar old sneaker, the sock's disgrace was firmly furthered by being trampled about on moist grasses and forgotten crumbs of food. Finally returned to the dry and warm home, as was custom, as he knew, the sock was likewise tossed aside and forgotten like an old report crumpled and thrown into a trashcan at work. Also accustomed, then, were the hours of self-pity and self-pittance and longing need for some other useful purpose in this seemingly cruel and pointless existence. Old Sock: "In damp, in dark (indeed), it is my fate! Again, alas, abused, astrewn, I wait... In gloom I brood, I'm torn and worn. I mold! I'm down, aghast, feel used and blue. I pray A soul will spy my need and call today..." Let us turn now, dear reader, to a chilly and manufactured universe: the inside of a refrigerator. Within the humming blackness lingers familiar and friendly smells: fresh milk and breads, sweet treats and meats, tastefully tart snippets of Kosher dills, and trusty condiments of ketchup, mustard, and various other busty sauces. But one particular covered dish, not content with being in such admirably inviting company, bemoans the existentialism of being a leftover. It wishes so badly to be dearly liked, so unlike those all too cheery salad greens and overly peppy peppers, who have so far lived the blissfully ignorant and mundane, if happy, lives of low expectations. With no such affectations, this covetous fish, once a fresh and an exquisitely blackened, high-dollar salmon, now sorely longs for that refrigerator door to be extravagantly flung open. "To admit the bright light, that it may bring a hungry hand aimed for what's left of me, succulent and delicious" -- these are its most contentious of wishes. Its best hopes are the tell-tale juices splashed down on the refrigerator rail down by the floor. Faint as they are, they are the very drops that could call and lure a hungry someone, anyone, from the outside world. Vain Food: I once was fresh and hot, but now I'm cold! They loved and dote on me, I felt so spoiled. Does no one need me now? Is this the end? Just one more taste before I get too old. I've dripped a path... come find me in my hole. Flash back to our tiny trekker, who has found his way into the house and into the kitchen. Back and forth he ventures, passing dishes and circling appliances. Particular juices, dried but still strong in promise, drive him to the foot rails of a metal giant, like the tallest, squarest, brightest, and strangest mountain he will ever glimpse upon. There, the dried salmon drippings are a fulfilling feast, but this is not enough for the needs of the many, nor for the finish of its quest anon. Young Ant: In there! On past that glass and round the bend Up here, through that, how odd this metal land I slip and fall, I'm lost again. No more! I leave this tease to find another friend And turn to far away and stronger scents Leaving the mechanical and unnaturally clean kitchen, the young ant spies another scent on the still air. It crosses over and enters the bedroom, where giant heaps of clothing lay like foothills of the warm and inviting kind. Young ant: Aha! The musk grows strong, I yearn for more It gives me hope of what I came here for A bug that's crushed and plump, a piece of cheese Like wind, I run, I shout, I've found my score: Yon smelly sock with dirty sole -- my whore! Old Sock: What's this? An ant alone in me he seeks He crawls around inside and starts to feed But lo, he stops to leave and beg me wait He seems to say tonight shall be a feast With friends he'll come to dine complete To be a source, a force for life, is great! At last my need is met, and now I wait I have no fear, my end is near. Though old, I'm worn and torn but filled with pride, for Fate Has shone and shown me bright and right today... Change the light, change the shadow.

Here are the poems, extracted from the story part. I went masochist and decided to write in iambic pentameter (each line consisting of 5 alternating weak-strong syllables, as in uh-ONE uh-TWO uh-THREE uh-FOUR uh-FIVE). ======================================= "Unusual Perspectives" by Andrew Shaw Young Ant (outdoors, heading towards a house): "That smell! It calls so sweet and strong to me. The wind, she brings a feast and song of glee! So -- quick! -- I turn and head to meet my fate... Like fire, I run, I dance, and long to be in touch with whom or what we need to feed." Old Sock (in the house on a bedroom floor): "In damp, in dark (indeed), it is my fate! Again, alas, abused, astrewn, I wait... In gloom I brood, I'm torn and worn. I mold! I'm down, aghast, feel used and blue. I pray A soul will spy my need and call today..." Vain Food (sealed in refrigerator): I once was fresh and hot, but now I'm cold! They loved and dote on me, I felt so spoiled. Does no one need me now? Is this the end? Just one more taste before I get too old. I've dripped a path... come find me in my hole. Young Ant (in the kitchen, struggles to enter the refrigerator): In there! On past that glass and round the bend Up here, through that, how odd this metal land I slip and fall, I'm lost again. No more! I leave this tease to find another friend And turn to far away and stronger scents (Ant now turns toward bedroom instead): Aha! The musk grows strong, I yearn for more It gives me hope of what I came here for A bug that's crushed and plump, a piece of cheese Like wind, I run, I shout, I've found my score: Yon smelly sock with dirty sole -- my whore! Old Sock (dirty with smashed bits of food in it): What's this? An ant alone in me he seeks He crawls around inside and starts to feed But lo, he stops to leave and beg me wait He seems to say 'tonight shall be a feast With friends he'll come to dine complete' (Old sock, now content it has a noble purpose): To be a source, a force for life, is great! At last my need is met, and now I wait I have no fear, my end is near. Though old, I'm worn and torn but filled with pride, for Fate Has shone, and shown me bright and right today...

The professor *finally* responded today. I had made a few posts, as have other students, wondering why there was no feedback and few grades given so far in this online English class. We're already halfway through and the assignments and grades/feedback have been few and far between. Anywho, I posted my poem for the rest of the class to see. I'm hoping others will also post their poems, if they wrote them. The assignment was to write either prose or poetry using the techniques of assonance, onomotopaiea, simile, metaphor, and personification, all from a different perspective than normal. We could choose from either an ant, a wastebasket at work, food in the fridge, or an old sock. I tried to combine them all.

Reading bits and pieces as time allows...

QUOTE (Good,bad,andrush @ Mar 2 2011, 03:03 AM) This one is a little darker, and i wrote it today. Inconsistent. Inconsistent, you say. Discontent, he sighs. Ignorant, why can't you just... So damn ignorant. You are Inconsistent Egotistic. So persistent, you are. With your nagging. Won't you quit it, Quit your rambling. You are Numb. It's clear you don't understand How I play with Words. It's clear you don't understand The real criminal Herds. It's clear you don't understand So damn clear. Crystal clear. So obscure, So damn clear. Sheep in wolves' clothing you are Inconsistent. Beggar with a pretty face you arre Inconsistent. I don't want to see you are Inconsistent. Juggling, you are. Crumbling, you are. Inconsistent. You've definitely got the skill, the talent, and the knack. But this esoteric delivery requires an ardent fan-base, a devoted scholarship, that may have worked back in the day when poetry was the main method of delivery. Today, in the context of movies and reviews and blogs and up-to-the-minute news and constant social connection, do you want to still deliver in this style? Maybe yes, and if so, your choice. In other words, great potential and depth, but who do you expect your audience to be?

QUOTE (Running Rebel @ Mar 9 2011, 05:40 PM) It seems to me as we make our own few circles 'round the block, that we've lost our senses for the higher-level static of talk. Astounding statement.

To me, Tai Shan lyrics are mature and poetic. They are not cheesy. These, however, are: everybody got to reverse polarity from the power train, to the glory game, thy kingdoms will be done making arrows out of pointed words, giant-killers at the call the hypocrites are slandering the sacred hall of Truth love is born with solar flares from two magnetic poles driven to the margin of error / driven to the margin of terror the most endangered species, the honest man, will still survive annihilation Let's face it, most Rush songs will contain some kind of lyric considered "cheesy" by your average, non-Rush troglodyte. <== Yes, the same people who think Lil Wayne or Avenged Sevenfold are not cheesy. One person's cheese is another's whine. YMMV

I'm interested, pm'ing you now soon as I figure out how to do it. I really like Gibson's The Neuromancer, and it's probably the only cyberpunk I've read. Will hafta look up what "steampunk" is...

I have a poem I wrote recently for English class. I think it uses imagery and language pretty creatively, wanna see it?

Bleak indeed. Chilly. Hope winter warms up soon for you up there.

QUOTE (psionic11 @ Dec 26 2010, 03:38 PM) QUOTE (HowItIs @ Oct 7 2010, 08:29 PM) So... I have a set of Taurus Pedals. Does that put me in the synth thread or the bass thread? Just got them a few months ago as a gift from my Hubby (who plays the keyboards and some guitar). I've always loved the great rumbling growl of the pedals. So now I'm learning to actually play them. Right now, I'm working on Subdivisions. Thankfully I have the sheet music. Any suggestions as to what other songs/parts to work on? Late congratulations on the Taurus pedals! The post definitely belongs in the synth rather than the bass section... Some suggestions on songs to learn for the Taurus, assuming you're playing bass guitar as well: Red Barchetta Big Money Jacob's Ladder Distant Early Warning Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato Marathon Xanadu Freewill The Spirit of Radio YYZ (middle section + keys, so your hubby can play the guitar solo) Oh yeah, just thought of a couple more songs with good Taurus parts: Time Stand Still (the corny video thread reminded me of those D A E bass lines) Show Don't Tell (easy D C parts) How's it going, How It Is?

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ Jan 6 2011, 10:13 PM) I'm also a new player who just got my first bass, an Ibanez GSR200: http://resources.ibanez.com/resourceservicehost/images/Ibanez/web/bass/products/GSR200JB.gif And the journey begins. This is all your fault, Geddy. Gratz, and welcome to the journey that is Geddy's bass lines. I'd start off with MP, some PeW, and maybe even Subdivisions since you play some keyboards. Have fun!

/bump Although the OP is a synth newb, I just want to mention the Behringer FCB1010 foot pedals as well. Most FCB owners are guitarists who program it to toggle their stompboxes or amps. I use mine to trigger MIDI notes. Since you can assign any MIDI note to any of the 10 pedals, but also can instantly change banks by using the UP/DOWN pedals, I have a couple patches I programmed into it. -- one patch for songs in the most common guitar keys (E, A, D, G, C) This patch has on the lower row of 5 pedals the notes A, C, D, E, G The upper row has B, C#, F#, G#, A -- another patch with the same notes, but an octave higher The FCB goes for around $100, more or less, depending on where you shop.

QUOTE (papaheavypsy @ Dec 24 2010, 03:32 AM) QUOTE (invisibleairwaves @ Sep 22 2010, 05:53 PM)Once you learn some of the math behind it (FM synthesis) , it's a little less hit-and-miss. Like Fast Fourier Transforms or Laplace Transforms? I'd say the more intuitive harmonic series would give you a better foundation for building FM sounds. Like the harmonics found on a guitar string (or like the overtone series if you play a brass or wind instrument): first harmonic ==> fundamental tone second harmonic ==> octave third harmonic ==> octave + fifth fifth harmonic ==> double octave sixth harmonic ==> double octave + third seventh harmonic ==> 7th (a bit flat) eighth harmonic ==> triple octave Using those ratios between the main operator and the modulating operator will give you pleasant or consonant tones. Use non-harmonic ratios, and you get metallic and noisy sounds. And besides thinking about only the ratios between two operators, you have to keep in mind the intensity as well. There's a variety of tones you can get using just one ratio, but varying the amount or level of the modulating oscillator. Complex in words, intuitive to do once it "clicks"....

QUOTE (HowItIs @ Oct 7 2010, 08:29 PM) So... I have a set of Taurus Pedals. Does that put me in the synth thread or the bass thread? Just got them a few months ago as a gift from my Hubby (who plays the keyboards and some guitar). I've always loved the great rumbling growl of the pedals. So now I'm learning to actually play them. Right now, I'm working on Subdivisions. Thankfully I have the sheet music. Any suggestions as to what other songs/parts to work on? Late congratulations on the Taurus pedals! The post definitely belongs in the synth rather than the bass section... Some suggestions on songs to learn for the Taurus, assuming you're playing bass guitar as well: Red Barchetta Big Money Jacob's Ladder Distant Early Warning Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato Marathon Xanadu Freewill The Spirit of Radio YYZ (middle section + keys, so your hubby can play the guitar solo)

That's the one, kbomb. Rush mixtape, ftw!

QUOTE (kbomb106 @ Oct 18 2010, 08:10 AM)Just the other day, my friend posted on my FB wall that he thought the lyrics to Tom Sawyer were "and the Space Invader gets by on you," and was surprised when he looked up the lyrics and found out he was wrong. I was watching an old episode of Futurama, one where they take turns talking to the "what-if" machine. Fry asked what if life were more like a videogame. And so we're presented with a scenario where several mostly classic 80's videogames make cameo appearances: Asteroids Donkey Kong Mario Brothers PacMan Qbert Space Invaders Near the end, Earth is being invaded by Space Invaders, and it's up to Fry to save the planet. He used to rule at Space Invaders, so he puts his lucky helmet on, cranks up some music, and proceeds to kick butt. The song thats getting airplay while he's shooting 'em up? -- Tom Sawyer "...and the space he invades, he gets by on you..." Get it? Space invaders, space he invades. It happens quickly, but when I caught it, it sure made me smile inside. Then it made me mad for a sec: "Wait a minute, are you saying that nerdy videogamers listened to Rush while dominating?" Then I laughed again, cuz I realized, "why yes, yes indeed, that IS how it went down back then." At least in my case. Ah, videogames, Dungeon and Dragons, and Rush in the 80's. Brings back memories of how me and my 7th to 9th grade circle of friends killed time together.

Great post!! Every other Rush song has a great, great catchy intro. Think about it... how few songs do they have that DON'T have a great intro? They're in the minority, aren't they? Great intros, great choruses. Great verses, great solos. Great bridges, great extended instrumental sections. And many a great outro. Superb songsmiths, they are. Anywho, here's a few more unmentioned great intros: Fly By Night Cygnus X1 La Villa Strangiato Red Barchetta YYZ New World Man Distant Early Warning Body Electric Manhattan Project Big Money Grand Designs Territories Turn the Page Open Secrets Time Stand Still Tai Shan Show Don't Tell Dreamline Cold Fire Alien Shore Caravan

No One at the Bridge is a high song, it's highest being F# (desperation). Most of the parts vary from B to E tho. Cygnus' highest note is a shredded Bb (torn apart). There are also other sections where he's hitting high G's and A's, above that Bridge F#. It also dwells mostly higher than Bridge, varying from C to F. That half step makes a big difference when you're already in legendary Banshee land. Not to mention he's playing the bass hard as well. At least with Bridge he could concentrate on just singing. There must be some decent vocal processor, some FX, Geddy could use nowadays. Like, sing an octave lower but the processor only ltes the audience hear his voice an octave higher. Sounding like a Banshee, and not a chipmunk...

I sadly don't have my DW8000 anymore, miss it more than my Juno 106. I did several Rush songs on it: Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato YYZ Subdivisions 2112 intro (band never performed whole song live tho) Countdown The Weapon The Camera Eye For The Camera Eye, I assigned the data slider to waveform, and just manually jiggled it to reproduce the sample and hold part, but with more "color"...

QUOTE (invisibleairwaves @ Dec 16 2009, 04:07 AM) This finally showed up today http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f141/invisibleairwaves/micron_angle_blue_lg.jpg Alesis Micron analog modelling synth. It's got a Tom Sawyer sweep preset...it isn't very good though Yeah, that Tom Sawyer sound isn't very convincing... what were they thinking? They must have a different set of ears or something. I got better-sounding Rush sounds on my DW8000. Still, the Micron is a nifty little machine. I'm sure it can do a nice TS sweep. Working on it. On the Korg, I went with the approach of quick LFO => filter cutoff => on a basic sound where the filter ENV dove while the LFO worked on it... Seems with the preset Micron approach they take a bass sound, but apply a heavy resonance dive attached to an ENV dive... no LFO involved? For me, the dive is two different sounds: the Taurus bass and an OB dive w/LFO. The dive is the important part to emulate, forget about the bass, it can be done by just about anything. Layers is all we need.