decoherence

This is like The Cure with extra grunge. Welcome to my playlist, dear new song! Thank you Midnight Scribbler for posting it!

Your anti-war song for the evening. "Where do the boys lie? Mud! Mud! Mud! How does the grass grow? Blood! Blood! Blood!" My favourite song from Bowie's latest album, released in March of this year.

Oh yeah, SteamOS looks very interesting, and I can't wait to get my hands on that controller! I use Windows as well, mostly for running Reason and Adobe programs. Windows 7 ain't all that terrible. Y'know, for Windows

Yay DWM! If I wasn't using i3, I'd be using DWM. If you haven't tried i3 yet, check it out. It's a lot like DWM except with actual config files, and a keyboard shortcut to re-read those config files, which makes it much nicer to tweak! That said, if you have DWM working like you want, it's hard to argue with 2000 lines of C that provides so much functionality.

A lot of Linux users are also Ubuntu users, so I imagine many of us Linux ponies are using their default: Unity. The distro doesn't really matter, though, since any user interface can run on any distro. I voted for the tiling WM. Specifically, i3.

Thing is, smoking WAS badass, once upon a time, when we weren't as smart as we are now. Therefore, my rule is that smoking can only be badass if you are an otherwise badass person older than 50. For example, David Bowie, Sean Connery or your uncle Steve. I am a smoker. I smoke because I'm addicted. I don't particularly enjoy it anymore. Addiction saps your will to quit. I'll say it again: addiction saps your will to quit. That is why it is so hard.

I remembered another. There were some mean older kids at a camp I used to go to who kept telling me I was going to die whenever I did something. "Oh, you let an ant crawl on you? You're going to die!" "You sat on the toilet? You're going to die!" "You looked at the nozzle of the fire extinguisher? You're going to DIE!" And gullible little me believed them. Sigh. Speaking of mean kids, I also used to get really, really upset if I saw kids hurting insects. When I was six or seven one kid half-squished this big, beautiful shiny blue beetle and it was sorta still alive (but its guts were hanging out the back) and so I 'put it out of its misery' then cried for the rest of the day. I still remember it clearly so I may have been traumatized. I also used to wonder if I was really a boy because other boys kept calling me a girl (i guess i kinda looked like one when I was young) and yelling at me when I went in the boy's changeroom. To my credit, I just ignored them. That kinda stuff was pretty typical of my childhood. I'm very happy to be an adult now. I can expect at least a certain level of decency and chew someone out when they don't show it (and how!) Okay, pity party OFF I'm gonna go put Gypsy Bard on repeat now.

Thanks for giving it a listen! Technically the singing is pretty on-beat (I made sure of that in post) but yes, there are a few times where i went with a later beat because, well, there's a lot of singing and my breathing technique isn't very good (and I vainly tried to do it all in one take) -- point is, if it *sounds* offbeat in an objectionable way, that's something that needs fixing, so thanks for pointing it out. One or two specific examples would be very much appreciated (just note the time in the track and the word that is 'off') so I can know exactly what you mean. It can be difficult for me to hear these things after listening to it however many hundreds of times, especially with vocals Carbon Maestro has helpfully given me some tips on improving the instrumental portions. The whole thing will likely be redone once I've tweaked this demo to be as good as it can be. btw i love the music for rainbow road so maybe that's where that's coming from EDIT: I guess with the rainbow road comment you're maybe referring to the obviously sequenced piano stuff that you can hear most clearly near the start. Don't worry, that's probably going on the chopping block. It may appear later on in the song with a little more subtlety. Thanks again!

First of all, thanks so much for your insights! Here are those points I didn't want to mention in my first post. Some of these are just my opinion. - The vocal line is scratch. As you correctly surmised, it was not sung in sections (though what you are hearing are sections of 3 different complete takes.) The melody is beyond my current abilities and will either have to be re-written to better suit my voice or will have to be outsourced (and still re-written. It does get pretty stale!) Sadly I no longer have access to a quiet room where I can be loud. - The instrumentation is too busy. When doing traditional recording, I'm a firm believer in 'less is more' and this song is basically the antithesis of that. I wrote it to learn my way around Reason (and in that respect it has been a reasonable success) so I basically puked all over the piano roll and tried to make it work. That's the main reason I'm calling this a 'demo.' I figured that once I had something approaching a 'finished' state, I would take the worthwhile concepts, refine them and re-do everything from the start. Your suggestions will help me make sure those concepts sounds as good as they can when I finally start deciding what stays in and what gets cut. - Very little effort has been put in to mixing or balancing things since I don't have any kind of monitoring to speak of ($10 computer speakers in 2.1 configuration, and the 'subwoofer' doesn't even have a crossover, it's just a full range mono speaker aimed at the floor -- not that I want a sub for monitoring.) Instead I ran tracks through a spec. an. and put in LPFs where I could see a lot of low noise I didn't want, did some fairly careless panning, sweetened my voice as much as i could (seriously! that's 'sweetened'!) and that's pretty much it. Anyway, I think your suggestions will be very helpful in making this demo as good as it can be, but I think that ultimately the whole thing just needs to be redone, while keeping your suggestions in mind and having a better idea of what I want the end result to be. This is the first time I've ever shared a song with anyone impartial, nevermind soliciting critique, and valuable objective suggestions aside, I really have no idea if it's any 'good.' I know I like listening to it but I think that's mostly because I know what's gone in to it so I can pat myself on the back for whatever little neat trick I made Reason do. Hardly the sort of thing anyone else is going to care about. Anyway, sorry for this long post and sorry if I sound like I'm trying to justify a weak track. Like I said, this is the first time I've ever shared with an impartial audience (aside from posting to the fan art section to a rousing chorus of silence! ) and I really have no concept of the quality of my own work, though I'm starting to get an idea that is isn't as great as friends and family have led me to believe. I guess that's how it goes, though! Lastly, I hope you keep doing this! It is a truly valuable service you're providing us with and you do a great job communicating with people who are putting their hearts on the line! You're helping make brony music better, so really: Thank you!

OK, well this is OT and it doesn't look like we're going to get a resolution soon, so we'll just have to agree to disagree for now. Simply put, I don't see respecting the roots of a language as being necessary, so long as it is still able to serve its purpose and allow people speaking (more or less) the same language to communicate. That's my position in a nutshell. People see things differently and that's fine I'm happy to discuss this in another thread if you want to start one but I fear it would become inflammatory (not from either of us, I don't think, but it's an issue people might have strong opinions on.)

Argh! I can't sleep now! Okay, here's the thing about English. It changes, constantly. We don't say "thou art" anymore, we say "you are." We don't write 'auld' anymore, we write 'old.' So what exactly is it the Americans are supposed to be respecting? Whatever iteration of English the Queen happens to speak? And should their English move in lockstep with whatever English the British monarch is using? Or should the Americans be respecting the English 'the rest of us speak' because there is no such language! Like I said before, Newfies don't talk like Kiwis. Canadians don't use the same spelling or even the same words as Brits. And now I'm going off topic in my own thread! ARGH! I feel like I'm getting trolled here. Someone please knock me out with a bat. Cricket or baseball -- I don't care!

Good one! 'Comprised of' is redundant. It's like saying "composed of of." Yes! It can be used as a more conversational form of 'ergo' or 'hence' if you have been explaining something and want to draw the conclusion or make the 'punchline' for lack of a better word. As I grow more tired, it gets harder for me to make intelligent conversion. So why am I not asleep yet? But English is constantly manipulated and molded to suit specific geographies. If a large group of Japanese left Japan and started their own nation, I would fully expect them to 'bastardize' it to suit whatever differences they felt they had compared to the 'mother' country. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Respecting a language strikes me as a romantic notion -- the purpose of a language is to facilitate communication. American english isn't so far removed from English that a Brit can't communicate with an American. However, I can see the point that in changing the spelling of words so they make more phoenetic 'sense,' Americans distance themselves from the origin of the word and thus may lose some appreciation for its nuance or history. But I consider that a practical issue. Maybe we mean the same thing but are just coming at it from different angles?

Starting a sentence with a conjunction is pretty well accepted in informal writing. In fact, the most legitimate use of the technique is to imply a kind of informality. I agree that it's annoying when overused. One word sentences are also used for effect, the most common use case being to create impact, which you illustrated nicely. Of course, it has been a long day and it could be that some jokes and whooshing over my head What annoys me is when people inappropriately start a sentence with "Well," or "So,". This is another example of conversational style writing. A good use case for starting with "Well," would be if you were asked "Why is your hair like that!?!?" "Well, the barber had tremors and I'm lucky to still have an ear." I can't think of a good use case for starting a sentence with "So,". With everything I can think of, the "So," is completely superfluous and only stylistic. But like I said, it's been a long day and I'm tired. Can anyone else think of a good usage? Are you saying Americans should speak English as it is spoken in England? How about the rest of the English speaking world? By your standard, English is foreign to any country that isn't England. Do you not expect those countries to get it right, either? Do you make a special exception for the colonies? How well does your average Briton speak English? I think it's kind of unfair to pick on the Americans -- English is one of the most varied languages going, from a geographic standpoint. Newfies don't speak like Kiwis. Canadians don't spell it 'tyre' or have 'boots' on the back of their cars. I'm still not sure I understand. What exactly are they supposed to be respecting? The language? The country? Anyway, I'm exhausted and I think I'm getting a little cranky, so apologies if I bit anyone's head off for no reason! Good night and keep the grammars going! Whatever the heck that means....

Busy busy busy day at work. I've been skimming the thread dying to write replies! Finally I have some time to myself, to please forgive the length or this post! (because y'know.... normally my posts are so short and concise!) I often have to watch myself with this. Because my writing is often takes a conversational tone, and in spoken conversation it isn't uncommon to spontaneously 'take the role' of a subject in order to add a kind of expressiveness. For instance "decoherence was walking down the street, not seeing the flower pot plummetting towards him. BAM his head's stove in!" Despite describing an event that happened in the past, switching to present tense lends the story a sense of immediacy. This conversational technique has to be used very carefully and sparingly or it will annoy the crap out of the reader. My example here actually isn't very good ^^;; I think the difference with spoken grammar is that you can constantly gauge the listener's reaction and clarify or change your phrasing based on that. The rules for grammar in casual conversation are far less important than when you are writing for an unknown audience, imho. I agree with this completely! Unless the grammar is so bad that you think there is a chance you might misinterpret what is being said (in which case, one can politely ask for clarification) don't be a schmuck!! I have dealt with completely broken grammar in emails and help tickets when I was working a tech support job. I can't fix a problem if I don't understand what it is. Quite often the only thing to be done is to call the person and actually have a conversation with them. 'Gray' is most common in American english, though either spelling is usually acceptable anywhere as long as you are consistent. You chose an interesting example of a double negative -- one that I would consider almost legitimate due to its irony. Think back to the old gangster stereotype, where a seemingly uneducated criminal is implying that he did not commit a crime while actually saying he did. Then, when he got busted, they couldn't get him on lying to the police because "Well I wasn't lyin', copper!" Well, dropping the 'g' in written form is a stylistic choice used for effect. Dropping the 'g' in spoken form is often part of an accent. If that bothers you, never go to Newfoundland or you will be driven batsh*t crazy! 4 Left Alive -- if you're good! I don't understand how English is a forgeign language to Americans, unless you're making the point that American english isn't the same as English (the language of England.) I can buy that, but in that case why should Americans care about speaking this foreign English properly? Many of them can't even speak American english properly! (Just as many people in commonwealth nations can't even speak the "Queen's English" properly!)

I travel around Nunavut a lot and it's taken me a while to get all the place names right. The one I still have trouble with, mostly because NOBODY in the south pronounces it correctly, is Iqaluit. The proper pronunciation is "EE khal ouit." The emphasis is on the first syllable, the second syllable is a kind of soft glottal stop (which gives many english speakers problems) and the third syllabe is very short and soft. Typically you will hear it pronouced "ee KAL ou wit" or "ee KAL weet." Unfortunately, if you say it correctly in the south, you'll often get a funny look or people might think you're being pretentious. Even if you go to one of those pronunciation sites, what they'll tell you is WRONG. Just goes to show, southerners know nothing about Nunavut which, BTW, is pronounced noo-noo-voot, without emphasis on any particular syllable. People from Nunavut are nunavummiut, which is pronounced noo-noo-voo-mute, again without any particular emphasis. The one I'm currently trying to get is the town I just flew out of, Kuujjuarapik, in Quebec. Other fun place names in the north: Tsiighetchic (sig-a-chick), Qikiktarjuaq (kick-ick-tar-joo-ak -- that "j" is very soft. Most eople just call it 'Kick'), and the place I am right now, Sanikiluaq, which actually isn't that hard to pronounce (sani-kill-oo-ak) anyway, i gotta get back to work now. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse in to northern place names!

Well, I'm a straight male but I'm still going to say David Bowie (who is obviously an alien) Why? Well, I'll just leave this here by way of answer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM77bPlTuyg ADD: My friends know I'm a huge Bowie fan, and some of them have asked me whether he was gay (a perfectly reasonable question given all the gender bending he does.) My reply is "no, he's married to Iman." (it's funnier if you say it out loud) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_%28model%29

Yeah, I thought of some more. Mixing up then and than. One refers to time, the other is comparative. "This is greater then that," which would make sense if you put a comma between 'greater' and 'then' but it still wouldn't mean what the writer probably intended. "Milk, eggs, and flour." Okay, this is more of a personal pet peeve, because that's supposedly the expected form in the States, but it looks bloody weird to this colonial! "Milk, eggs and flour" is the form I expect -- no comma before the conjunction.

Oh wow.... here's the new Basia Bulat song which I only just heard. I coulda swore there was an official video for this but i can't find it right now Also, some contemporary Buffy Ste. Marie -- show me another pop/rock singer that can do this live. She's in her early 70s in this video. No joke. Just.... wow.

My problem with these is that they're both very processed. However, I happen to know that they're also both very talented singers! I hadn't heard that Paramore song! Really cool vocal melody!

i'm often guilty of that. to me it is a way to indicate extremely informal speech, but that's just my personal rule and i don't expect others to necessarily accept it. quite often i'll think twice, go back and add in proper caps. i'll leave this one as is just for you, though hehehe I once pointed this out to a friend back in high school and she insisted she didn't overuse it. I proposed a challenge and we agreed that she would give me $0.10 every time she used the work 'like' in that way for the next five minutes. Easiest three bucks I ever made! She wasn't even that bad compared to some of the other students! At the end of the five minutes she said something like "Argh, that was like the most frustrating -- ARGH!!!!"

Yeah, I hate that rule too, mostly when people quote it at me because I made some typo. As weird as is may seem, their attemps at correction seize me with a feisty feeling that is quite foreign to my nature. I think I deserve the "Most Contrived Sentence" award for that one...

Your avatar sums up my reation nicely. @#$% English and its posessive pronouns!!! I'm sure I botch that all the time. Pah! Twilight's uniqueness is near infinite!!

I'm in sanikiluaq, worked a 12 hour day, the hotel is cold, the weather is miserable, I have to cross pol a 4.5m satellite dish tomorrow and I can't sleep. And I'm still not over this cold. On the bright side I'll take home a bundle of money for all the overtime! So I'll pick the middle option.