Cell Phones, Pizza Grease, and a couple Strokes of the Pen

Prince Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity.
-Opening line to 'Elantris'

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Monday morning, I had a 4-minute persuasive presentation for my technical communication class.  Not exactly the definition of a fun morning.  It was a tense wait; I was only the fifth person to present that day, but I still had almost half an hour of gut-wrenching, chair-gripping, nostril-widening waiting.

Finally, my turn to give a presentation arrived.  I think I blacked out during the presentation the guy before me gave, because I don't remember any of his presentation.  Come to think of it, I don't remember much of any of the presentations from that day.  Maybe I was in a zombie-like state.  Either way, I was up next, walking dead or not.  I shambl

ed up front, accessed the virtual drop-box, and managed to find my name in the list.  Opening up the PowerPoint slides, I checked the remote, smashing random buttons with decaying undead fingers until I found the ones that worked.  And then I waited more.

For those of you who have given many presentations before, there's nothing more awkward and silly than standing up front, slides ready to go, and waiting for the people in charge to give you the green light.  So I just stood there, grinning nervously at the people in the classroom, who were surprisingly willing to keep their eyes on my horrifying zombie form.  Then the professor looked up from his note-taking, and gave me... the nod.

And, at almost the same time, my cellphone started ringing.  Out loud.  Up front.  When I was about to be graded.  My slick zombie fingers almost dropped the phone as a sly grin edged its way onto my face.

"Yeah, this is a bad time, I'm about to make my presentation on..."

ILLEGALLY FORMATTED DATA, BACKTRACKING TO PREVIOUSLY CORRECTED DATA

The class was about to start, but I had a couple minutes.  Time enough to put the plan into action.  I leaned over to the student closest to me, three chairs to my left.

"Hey, do you think you could call my cell phone? Like, right as I'm ready to start presenting?"

DATA REFORMATTED, RETURNING  TO ORIGINAL POSITION

"...ringing cell phones! As you can see, cell phone ringtones are a major distraction..."

Bingo! The hook worked just as planned.  And just like that, I went from being a zombie back to a normal human being.  And I was eager, instead of lethargic.  Probably a little too eager: I went over the time limit, which earned me some docked points.  But it was still went really well: the hook was well-received, and it kept their attention from the start.  That was one of the more fun things I've done this quarter!

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One of the events I've been looking forward to took place tonight.  A bit of research, my trench coat, and a hefty book, and I was out the door toward the University Bookstore.  The Gathering Storm's big book tour was here at last.

While it wasn't too big or bombastic, there were plenty of people there for Brandon Sanderson's signing.  And quite a lot of random posters, bumper stickers, and other goodies to pick up.  I grabbed Elantris while I was there, the first paperback I've actually found.  Brandon was gracious enough to sign both my copy of The Gathering Storm and Elantris, so I came away happy.  Soaked from the rain, but happy.  Good thing that trench coat keeps the rain off.

Brandon Sanderson Book Signing

Local Cuisine

Musical Motifs: Villainry

One of the most powerful tools in music is the leitmotif, a simple melody or line that ties to a concrete idea.  Think of the Jeopardy theme.  What do you think of when you hear it? Tapping your foot while waiting for something?

The true power of leitmotifs, however, is seen through the relatively recent media of movies and games.  The soundtracks made for these are often made up of a set of themes, describing situations, places, or people integral to the story.  The strength of these themes, and how much they are varied within the soundtrack, is what makes them so powerful.

Today, I'm going to look at a few different themes, tied with one of the primary features of any story: the villain.  There are a several kinds of villains that are seen frequently.

1. The Insane (or totally evil) Villain

This kind of villain is seen more frequently recently, thought there are several good examples in older literature, as well.  The themes tend to follow the same thought process as the villain: chaotic, unpredictable, or simply crazy.  Their insanity, however, is a direct result of their evil hearts.

• Final Fantasy VI: Kefka, Dancing Mad (4th Tier) 
• Listen carefully for the common theme.  One carries his sense of madness and cruelty, the other his desire to destroy.
  

• The Dark Knight: Why So Serious? 
• While this theme wasn't varied much in the movie, everything about it carries the Joker's broken mind: skittering and jumping, screeching and discordant.

2. The Melancholy Villain

These villains are generally evil, but with a past or motivation that usually makes the reader/watcher want to sympathize with them, despite their deeds.  Their themes are quieter, and saddening, though they can change to a more menacing one with a slight touch of the reins.

• Full Metal Alchemist: Homunculus, Transient Life, Thread of Life 
• The homunculi were undoubtedly evil: they destroyed thousands of lives, just because of their desire to be human.  But that same desire, and the sadness of having the memories of their lives before being homunculi make them sad characters, as well.
  

• Phantom of the Opera: Why So Silent
• His selfish desire for Christine overshadows everything he does, but his sad past, his mocked face, and his forced seclusion make you pity him however slightly.  His theme is not, however, the classic one you've heard.  The middle of this song is his true theme, though I can't find any other examples.  This one also fits somewhat in the insane category, due to its edgy quality (and the character's obvious insanity).

3. The Selfish Villain


Whereas the insane villain is simply evil for evil's sake, the selfish villain often has a personal goal or motivation for the evil they do.  Their themes are more structured than those of the insane villains, reflecting the often ordered way with which they attempt to reach their goals.

• Full Metal Alchemist: Deep Forest, Dante, Warning, Dancing, Revelation 
• Dante was the ultimate extension of the motivations of the homunculi.  She discovered an alchemic method that would allow her to live forever, by body-jumping; however, the cost of each jump was thousands of human lives.  She lived for 400 years this way.  There are several versions of her theme, each becoming more threatening as more is revealed about her past and who she really is.

• Final Fantasy IX: Kuja, Fall of Neo-Kuja, Annihilation of Brahne's Fleet, Recalling Bahamut, etc.
• Kuja's role is too complex to flesh out here; suffice it to say he was jealous of the main character's task, and most of the outcomes of the story stem from his reaction to that jealousy.  His themes vary from brooding, to threatening, to outright rage.  There's more than I can list here!

These are all the representative themes I can think of for today.  The strength of all (or most) of these is their frequent use and variation.  Try listening for these kinds of themes next time you watch a movie.  Lord of the Rings, for example, has a fascinating score, filled with all sorts of themes, each tied to a person, nation, concept, and the list goes on.  Pick out each one as you listen, try to follow the thread each motif weaves.  It's a fascinating way to look at music, and it can deepen your appreciation for a set of pieces.
(And for those of you too lazy, this site dissects it for you.  Incredible work!)


Motifs also affects the way we view the movie or game: whether we realize it or not, the themes tie us emotionally to people.  As the themes change along with the character's circumstances, our emotions are swept along with it.  This is one of the most potent tools in music: the ability to affect people emotionally.  I'll talk more about this in later posts.


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Picture of the day:

From Dorm Mini-Tour: Lander

Birthday Tour

Just watch me, L.  I'll solve equations with my right hand, and write names with my left! I'll take a potato chip... and I'll eat it!

-Death Note

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Been awhile since I posted.  There hasn't been much to speak of going on, besides midterm fun.  But, since my birthday was this Friday, I thought I'd put a little effort into a post.  But just a little.  After all, I still need a couple brain cells for the second part of this quarter.

Went home to hang out with friends for the aforementioned birthday.  And pounded down so much sugar, I'm surprised I didn't wipe out completely the next day.  As it was, we still managed to go camera hunting.  The family all went; we brought our decoys (my dad's big camera lenses), scents (battery acid), and rifles (a loaded debit card; Visa, I think).  We hunted in a couple locations for a decently sized one, so we would be sure to be able to fit it on the car.  We finally spotted a couple herds, but nothing small as we were looking for.  One of the big males told us about a second herd to the south; I guess someone else got his girlfriend, or something.

We ended up getting a Canon PowerShot A1100 IS.  Nothing incredibly fancy, but it should be plenty for taking decent pictures around campus.  I even took the time to make a mini-tour of Lander! Keep an eye out on updates.  I'll probably be doing more building tours, and who knows, you may even see the infamous garbage squirrels of UW.