Mercenary Pen's Meticulously Planned Machine of Prose Random Banter #182

[Mynxae]

Bah. Thinking. I do that once a month. It is apparently sexy.

But you are sexy *teases*

[Amidus Drexel]

I've never heard of any song on either of those.

Money by Pink Floyd is in 7/4, Whipping Post by the Allman Brothers opens in 11/4, Radiohead made a career out of weird time signatures, Shostakovich's Festive Overture just throws the need to write tempo out of the window, March of the Pigs has weird stuff that makes it 29/8. 9/8 for The Crunge by Led Zeppelin, Zappa has weird cruel stuff like the 9/8 after the 4/4 and 8/8, Jethro Tull's Living in the Past 5/4.

The only one I actually like playing apart from Take Five with odd time signature is Everything's Alright from the Jesuschrist Superstar musical which is in 5/4.

The most insane I have ever seen is Mahavishnu Orchestra in 13/8, played at speeds not meant for most humans.

EDIT: Forgot about Klavierstück IX, which... is just... Fibonacci series for rhythms and a 142/8 for one bar.

A lot of prog and experimental jazz/metal bands have odd time signatures. There are a fair amount of King Crimson songs with a time signature that sounds like it's just a sixteenth note or 32nd note over or under a "more typical" time sig, like 11/8 or 5/4. There are a fair amount of songs I can think of where the time signature changes every couple of measures, too.

Barre- n. (Music) a technique of playing a chord on a stringed instrument by laying a finger across the strings at a particular fret, raising their pitch.

It's basically using a finger like a capo. You can move the same shape up and down. Barre chords, y'know.

My favorite time signatures are 4/4 and 2/4. I'm a simple man.

Well, some people use barre (or bar, as I've often seen it written) to mean a measure, although that's far from a universal term. I mean, you could have even been talking about one of Jethro Tull's guitarists!

[Dimonite]

31/16 time is much more musically impressive. Or 23/12, if you wanna get crazy. >.>

... 23 is the worst number.

[Kneenibble]

I'm back from Proston, and I did not get a single opportunity to photograph scenery. Which is annoying, because we went the long way home.
And there was a lot of scenery to photograph! But we didn't get the camera out!

Admittedly, the scenery is much the same all the way, but the views are often spectacular, and even though the grass is practically grey this time of year, it makes it look even nicer for some reason...
Still, gravel roads are fun to drive on.


And sorry Kneenibble, I didn't see any budgies. I don't think we went far enough.

Thanks for thinking of me though! I think if ever I saw real wild budgies flocking together, I would explode in a cloud of pure squee.

I'm glad to hear you had a good trip.

[Mynxae]

@Ele, do you remember this moment of hilarity? I can't believe you took a screenshot of it but I found it in my WoW screenshots folder

Spoiler

Show

Makes me want to make a Mardelwing character again, cool name...

EDIT: Also, I wonder what set that is, 'cause it looks amazing and I want to transmog it for my druid..

[Amidus Drexel]

Eh, I'm off to sleep. I have to get up at some ungodly hour in the morning to take my sister to school.

Try not to add another ten pages or so before I get back.

[Mutant Sheep]

@Ele, do you remember this moment of hilarity? I can't believe you took a screenshot of it but I found it in my WoW screenshots folder

Spoiler

Show

Makes me want to make a Mardelwing character again, cool name...

EDIT: Also, I wonder what set that is, 'cause it looks amazing and I want to transmog it for my druid..

*cant get the joke because wasnt there*

*and also, EWW ALLIANCE CAT RIDERS. *

*also also, YOU MAKE ME WANT PLAY WOW. >__<*

[Mynxae]

*cant get the joke because wasnt there*

*and also, EWW ALLIANCE CAT RIDERS. *

*also also, YOU MAKE ME WANT PLAY WOW. >__<*

The 'Onwards?!' made me cack up laughing so badly. I was at his house at the time so he was like 'Huh? What's so funny?'

Play WoW then. Come on Nagrand, where the Allies are awesome

[MoonCat]

I tried to make that joke with the Showdown song and nobody caught it

I got it! I even laughed. In mah heid!

Au contraire mon ami, add some popcorn and a nice seat in the mezzanine and you'll see the enjoyable difference. Much more fun to watch then snails doing a salt maze.

If yer gonna use gratuitous francey-pants, at least eat the snails afterwards!

Indeed. It IS a good distraction from this HOMEWORK AUGH *cries*.

Haha! My jokes are more obvious!

Indeed. I'm avoiding the Mesopotamians right now. SARGON HAMMIRABI ASHURBANIPAL AND GILGAMESH!

And all the less funny for it.

The only instruments I played where the Recorder and Trumpet. Both were really really hard and I gave up and I actually got banned from music class for the rest of my middleschooling.

That... is brilliant! Mainly because of the implication that you were so bad you got kicked out.

... I WANT YOUR POWERS!

Bah. Thinking. I do that once a month. It is apparently sexy.

Music is fun!

<meows>

Basically, one year the music teacher said that at the end of the year, if we passed, we'd get a choice about wheter we get to stay in the music class or not next year. If we failed the class, we weren't allowed in any more.

Now, as someone who had no musical talent or ability to move my hands good enough, I picked trumpet as my instrument since it seemed easy. It was not. Long story short I didn't even bother doing more then show up, because the end result was no more music class for me

There are no words for how hard laughed, LaLa dear.

... 23 is the worst number.

SAY EIGHT! EIGHT IS BETTER!

ION: Thai food is ambrosia. MY GOD PEANUT SAUCE IS SO NUMMY!

[Cobra_Ikari]

I am allergic to peanuts, sadly. But I'm very fond of pad thai. Or that curry with the coconut milk in it. Coconut is delicious. =3

[Cobalt]

I used to play the guitar, but then I stopped. No real reason, and I didn't want to, but my two have been sitting there all nice and nostalgic-looking for long enough that I've mostly forgotten how to use them. Sometimes I take one out and pretend the vague muscle memory means anything, but no, it really doesn't. I can't even remember the names of the strings.

Pleasantly, I remember when I taught myself a personalized version of Dixie on them. Ah... They really are nostalgic things, to me.



I've been up late perfecting my senior research paper. It was mostly perfect, and now it's entirely perfect. But it's midnight and I'm tired. I could have totally done this in the morning. Or next lunch.

Before the essay, I was doing paperwork for JROTC. One of four of my rank, I designated myself the one to redesign all the forms we deal with since I don't trust others to do work that effects me when I can help it. One thing left to do, and it will either be the longest trial or the shortest simplicity of them all. I'm tired.

And the damned recruiters never pick up their phones.

[HalfTangible]

Haha! My jokes are more obvious!

Maybe one day they'll be funny, too!

jk

[LaZodiac]

So, a fun little update for those of you who follow my DND game.

A character is trying to turn city destroying plant monster to be his daughter.

[Elemental]

Thanks for thinking of me though! I think if ever I saw real wild budgies flocking together, I would explode in a cloud of pure squee.

I'm glad to hear you had a good trip.

We actually saw surprisingly few birds... Mostly crows and magpies.
Though we did see a brush turkey and a couple of goannas.

If you ever visit our wonderful country, I shall have to persuade my Mum to take us driving in the country. Just so you can experience the vastness of the wilderness. Even though it's actually not wilderness, as attested by the cows and fences that have likely stood for fifty years judging from how grey the fence posts have become.
Lots of fires this time of year however. But it needs to be done, because otherwise huge bushfires would result from all the dry grass. Which is actually rather picturesque.
Looking out across hills covered in gray.
It's very nice.

@Ele, do you remember this moment of hilarity? I can't believe you took a screenshot of it but I found it in my WoW screenshots folder

Spoiler

Show

Makes me want to make a Mardelwing character again, cool name...

EDIT: Also, I wonder what set that is, 'cause it looks amazing and I want to transmog it for my druid..

Dreamwalker perhaps?
And I remember it now... The onwards with question and exclamation mark.

Onwards?!




Oh, and on the topic of music: I play the tenor saxophone and the piano. I learnt to play the guitar once, but that was years ago. I need to buy one so I can remain in practice.

[AsteriskAmp]

If yer gonna use gratuitous francey-pants, at least eat the snails afterwards!

I dislike escargot, the only way I managed to finish a plate of them was with gratuitous application of butter.

Oh, and on the topic of music: I play the tenor saxophone and the piano. I learnt to play the guitar once, but that was years ago. I need to buy one so I can remain in practice.

One of those isn't like the others.
Saxophone isn't an instrument.

-Elitist pianist joke-

[Elemental]

I dislike escargot, the only way I managed to finish a plate of them was with gratuitous application of butter.

One of those isn't like the others.
Saxophone isn't an instrument.

-Elitist pianist joke-

Just because it's easier than clarinet.

Actually, the funny thing is, I'm not really that fond of jazz, but my sister who likes it is terrible at it.
She can't even swing Moondance properly!

[AsteriskAmp]

Just because it's easier than clarinet.

Actually, the funny thing is, I'm not really that fond of jazz, but my sister who likes it is terrible at it.
She can't even swing Moondance properly!

Why is the Bassoon better than the clarinet?
What genre do you play?
Because it keeps you warm for more time.
Is that even possible?! Moondance is... inherently swing-ish, how does one...

[Elemental]

Why is the Bassoon better than the clarinet?
What genre do you play?
Because it keeps you warm for more time.
Is that even possible?! Moondance is... inherently swing-ish, how does one...

Stop making fun of the traditionally wooden wind instruments.
Even though it is so fun to do so.
I'm in a youth concert band, even though I really don't count as youth for the purposes of our ensemble. So it's a mix. We've got some jazzy stuff and some non-jazzy stuff, fast stuff and slow stuff. Basically, whatever our conductor feels like.
I think the problem may have been that the arrangement called for the melody to be played on trombone. And because we lack any trombones in our band and we have two baritone saxophones, my sister plays the trombone part by sight transposing it from bass clef to treble clef.

[MoonCat]

I dislike escargot, the only way I managed to finish a plate of them was with gratuitous application of butter.

Hmm. I like them. My only problem is that the darn things are so hot that I can't eat them without burning off my tastebuds and missing out on their flavor after my first snail.

[AsteriskAmp]

Stop making fun of the traditionally wooden wind instruments.
Even though it is so fun to do so.
I'm in a youth concert band, even though I really don't count as youth for the purposes of our ensemble. So it's a mix. We've got some jazzy stuff and some non-jazzy stuff, fast stuff and slow stuff. Basically, whatever our conductor feels like.
I think the problem may have been that the arrangement called for the melody to be played on trombone. And because we lack any trombones in our band and we have two baritone saxophones, my sister plays the trombone part by sight transposing it from bass clef to treble clef.

There is brass as well.
School Orchestra operated something like that, we'd play a lot of non-classical stuff sometimes, sometimes we'd play disco or rock, sometimes we would play Persian Market.
Why do French Horns sit behind Saxophonists?
Why not manually transpose once?
So they have somewhere to empty their spit valves..

Hmm. I like them. My only problem is that the darn things are so hot that I can't eat them without burning off my tastebuds and missing out on their flavor after my first snail.

Wait for them to cool down?

[AtlanteanTroll]

TISM has some ridiculous song titles, guys.

[LaZodiac]

Hmm. I like them. My only problem is that the darn things are so hot that I can't eat them without burning off my tastebuds and missing out on their flavor after my first snail.

I...but...but snails are icky and gross. How could you eat them

[Elemental]

There is brass as well.
School Orchestra operated something like that, we'd play a lot of non-classical stuff sometimes, sometimes we'd play disco or rock, sometimes we would play Persian Market.
Why do French Horns sit behind Saxophonists?
Why not manually transpose once?
So they have somewhere to empty their spit valves..

Wait for them to cool down?

I think she's too lazy to do so. After all, she's got an efficient system of doing it by sight.
Admittedly, there are jokes about every kind of instrument. We usually make fun of strings in band.
I'd offer to do it for her, but I'm not nice enough and the year is almost over.

[AsteriskAmp]

TISM has some ridiculous song titles, guys.

While on the other hand they have a band member named Les Miserables.

They might be playing to the old English joke regarding Australians.

I...but...but snails are icky and gross. How could you eat them

You cook them repeatedly. And add butter.

I think she's too lazy to do so. After all, she's got an efficient system of doing it by sight.
Admittedly, there are jokes about every kind of instrument. We usually make fun of strings in band.
I'd offer to do it for her, but I'm not nice enough and the year is almost over.

That's just painful, I used to write everything leaving all of my sheets insanely annotated for future generations which wouldn't know what: arcv/nqut ice-cream would even mean.
What do you do with a violinist without talent?
You make him stand over a box and take the violin away. Let him swing the arc.

[Elemental]

That's just painful, I used to write everything leaving all of my sheets insanely annotated for future generations which wouldn't know what: arcv/nqut ice-cream would even mean.
What do you do with a violinist without talent?
You make him stand over a box and take the violin away. Let him swing the arc.

She actually explained her system to me once. Supposedly it's really easy to sight transpose trombone to baritone saxophone.
And I know people who do that. I myself don't even though I should. But seriously... The number of people who show up at rehearsal without a pencil is shocking.
And if they're still really bad, give them another stick and send them to the back.
Even though that makes no sense because percussion is complicated.

[Coidzor]

So, a fun little update for those of you who follow my DND game.

A character is trying to turn city destroying plant monster to be his daughter.

...What? It seems like there are crucial parts of this sentence that are missing for it to parse correctly.

Also, snails are an excuse to eat garlic and butter. Which is silly because you need no excuse and mushrooms give a nearly identical experience in most cases and are more readily obtained.

I am allergic to peanuts, sadly. But I'm very fond of pad thai. Or that curry with the coconut milk in it. Coconut is delicious. =3

Massaman/massamun, I think. I'm trying to imagine pad thai without peanuts and failing.

[LaZodiac]

...What?

Also, snails are an excuse to eat garlic and butter. Which is silly because you need no excuse and mushrooms give a nearly identical experience in most cases and are more readily obtained.

Look, there isn't much more I can say to make what I said make ANY more sense then it already does.

Oh, ok.

[Mynxae]

I am allergic to peanuts, sadly. But I'm very fond of pad thai. Or that curry with the coconut milk in it. Coconut is delicious. =3

I haven't had Pad Thai in so long.. It's so delicious.

[AsteriskAmp]

She actually explained her system to me once. Supposedly it's really easy to sight transpose trombone to baritone saxophone.
And I know people who do that. I myself don't even though I should. But seriously... The number of people who show up at rehearsal without a pencil is shocking.
And if they're still really bad, give them another stick and send them to the back.
Even though that makes no sense because percussion is complicated.

I can sight transpose stuff to C, F, Dmin, Amin and up to two semitones away, anything more and I need paper. Unless the chords are written down, then I have no limits. But in piano transposition is considerably easier than in other instruments, glockenspiel is a piano with only one note (or two if you learn the Burton grip) at a time, the Accordion is effectively a piano where you move your arms and the Kazoo is very very easy to play. Harmonica is hard to even play something outside of the key it is in, so I can't sight transpose on it (or read at all while playing it).
Yah, sometimes those black notes come two at a time and you like only have two arms.
Pencil is a most, even if you sight transpose because of director indications though. I had to have mine chained to my belt to prevent it from being stolen.

[Cobra_Ikari]

I...but...but snails are icky and gross. How could you eat them

You put them in your mouth, same as any other food.

A better question is, why would you voluntarily eat them? >.<

I hear they're rather chewy. Like most mollusks, I guess.

Also, snails are an excuse to eat garlic and butter. Which is silly because you need no excuse and mushrooms give a nearly identical experience in most cases and are more readily obtained.

Massaman/massamun, I think. I'm trying to imagine pad thai without peanuts and failing.

Sauteed mushrooms are amazing. Never used garlic in making them, though, now I'm curious.

And it's either that one or...Panang? I forget. And the peanuts go on top, you just ask them to put them on the side. The prevalence of peanut sauces in Thai cuisine kinda limits me, though. On the plus side, it's more an inconvenient allergy than a life-threatening one, so...

I haven't had Pad Thai in so long.. It's so delicious.

That's a shame, I went to a Thai restaurant last week. They also had dollar sushi there, which seemed a bit strange, IMO. >.>