Welcome to the Dream Incarnate
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heaven_monument.Here you'll find the following:
-Posts about my tumultuous and generally entertaining life
-Posts about the fandoms in which I participate
-Posts about internet phenomena like Youtube videos or other LJ communities
-Posts about other various happy things
Here you will not find the following:
-Posts about fanfiction. All my fanfiction has been moved to a personal community -
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arcanum_hm.-Posts about my musical arrangements. They're in this community -
ff_kh_arrange.If you're new to LiveJournal, welcome aboard!
1. To read my most recent entries, which is where you are now, click "dream today" above.
2. To find an entry sorted by date, click "dream yesterday".
3. To read entries posted by my friends and the communities I'm watching, click "dream of you".
4. To read my profile, click "dream of me".
5. To view my memories - or favourited posts - click "the dream relived".
6. To read entries sorted by tag, click the tag you want (to the left, below the ads) or click "tags" to view the tags page.
Want to be my friend? Comment in any post and introduce yourself! 8D
Thanks for stopping by,
~HM
Yes, it's getting much harder and requires orders of magnitude more thinking to get through the day, but university doesn't suck. In fact, it's quite good. I've made a bunch of new friends, I'm now part of an international honour society (Golden Key) and will probably join the committee next year, and I'm about to start advertising piano lessons around my university for extra cash. :3
( Science lurks under here )
Also, today I was accepted into a research scholarship, which would involve me working 200 hours over the next year (and a half?) on a casual basis, and being paid $4000 for it. It would look fricking amazing on my bare-ass CV, which I desperately need to fill to gain an 80-hour industry ~experience (basically an internship) next year, which is a third-year subject and is therefore required to complete the degree.
It's clear that I've left the mess of
ff_fortnightly behind me, and stardust808 and I have plans to start another Final Fantasy community with a strong zodiac motif, a fresh and exciting premise involving prompts, and a strong focus on controlled syndication to third party sites like Tumblr and FF.net. If you're interested, watch this space, because it's likely membership will be moderated.Recently, Google joined Microsoft, Apple, and other, smaller third-party developers in creating a cloud storage service. It's called Google Drive, and like its competition (SkyDrive, iCloud, Dropbox, Box, SugarSync, etc), it allows you to store whatever kind of files, documents, photos, videos, music, Chrome bookmarks, and whatnot, on an offshore server linked to your Google Account.
( More info about Google Drive and its competitors below )
Here's some links to help you compare services:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/24/googl
http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/24/295496
Call it the Post-PC era, or the PC-plus era, but it looks like cloud storage might make USB flashdrives and external hard drives a thing of the past soon enough.
Now get cloud-hopping, because while it might be a buzzword, cloud services are here to stay!
Since I promptly wrote almost 10,000 words, formulated the Dalmascan Royal Army's chain of hierarchy, and created a complex Azelas/B'nargin/Margrace family tree to complete about 35 prompts, my response will be uploaded to SkyDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage service.
MASSIVE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON IN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Please enjoy my take on the life and death of Vossler York Azelas, Dalmasca's favourite Prodigal Son Who Is A Bastard(tm).
(Author's note, please read before you begin:
This dissertation assumes a few facts, with which you should familiarise yourself.
1. The original game canon of Final Fantasy XII begins in the year 706 Old Valendian (OV), which has 365 days but 366 days every fourth year (as it does in real life).
2. The year is not based on the Gregorian calendar of January-February-March, etc, but a Zodiac equivalent. So my birthday, which is June 11, would be Gemini 23. Since Zodiac astrological symbolism is so heavily utilised within the game's narrative, I fit the birthdates of some important characters to be within an appropriate Zodiac sign. The upcoming Azelas family tree will have more information.
3. At the time of original game canon, Basch is 36, and Vossler is 38.
4. The in-universe timespan between Vayne's parade in Rabanastre and the fall of the Sky Fortress Bahamut takes approximately nine months, finishing in 707 OV. Both Basch and Vossler have birthdays during this time
5. I have not created names for many family members, including Vossler's parents, simply because I can't think of anything. D:
6. If you've read either version of my stillborn tangent-AU works like Stress, you'll find that I prefer to keep Vossler alive, for two reasons: a) I think it was completely unnecessary and useless to kill him off during the game, and b) Basch does not approve of necrophilia.
7. Dalmasca is a kingdom with an army, but no navy (since it's essentially landlocked) and no air force (because the technology isn't quite there yet). It follows a monarchy system similar to that of many Western European countries of the Renaissance and Early Modern eras, so it's very patriarchal - sons are preferred over daughters in noble or military families, for example. I tried to balance out this inherent prejudice by giving female characters strong life choices that aren't just "baby-making machine yay".
Go here: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=b
Headcanon meme: with thanks to vieralynn
If the character is someone who I have written often in the past or someone who is featured heavily in any of the WIPs you happen to know I am writing, feel free to hit me with whole list.
Fandoms: Final Fantasy X, X-2, XII, Kingdom Hearts (I, II, 358/2 Days - not BBS, CoM, or coded), Avatar: the Last Airbender (not the Legend of Korra, I don't know enough about it)
( List of questions below: select as many as you like and comment! )
The first episode is to be aired next month, but the first episode has been officially leaked (which sounds like an oxymoron, but bear with me)!
( Links under here. )
( And now for a personal life update, rated PG for whining and accidental Android fanboyism )
How are you doing, F-List? It seems like everyone else here is disillusioned with LJ and its current environment of failure and wank. It seems the sysadmins can't code in JS or PHP worth a damn.
fluid_static for the link.1) Galileo Galilei (hopefully English-speaking): the greatest scientist of all time IMO. It would be very fun to talk to him about Renaissance culture and arts, and the role of the Vatican in Western European politics.
2) Ella Fitzgerald: my favourite jazz musician by far. She's flawless and wonderful. We can sing and scat all night.
3) Bill Gates: not just for his money, I would want to discuss the early days of Microsoft (and all their lawsuits), the role of Windows and Office in shaping the late 20th and early 21st century, current technological trends (the browser war, the smartphone OS war, etc), and the importance of humanitarianism in the mega-rich culture.
4) Frederic Chopin (again, hopefully English-speaking): the greatest Romantic composer for the piano. I believe I owe him for my success in classical music interpretation. He was frequently ill and died well before he was 40, but he had a brilliant, creative mind, and embraced his homeland culture with grace and and an open mind.
Meals:
1) Antipasto (although can you really call this an antipasto?): a selection of Western European delicacies, like fetta cheese, stuffed baby capsicums, sundried tomatoes, good cheddar, arancini, and cold meats (which I will gladly ignore but my guests will enjoy), contrasted with a selection of Asian hors d'oeuvres like vegetarian spring rolls, samosas, peanut satays, etc.
2) Entree: Rigatoni with fresh sugo, in Napoletana style. Complex, fresh, earthy, aromatic, and invigorating, it's easily my favourite pasta by far.
3) Main: Pad thai. My sister introduced this to me a few years ago, and it's a truly delightful dish. Full of wonderful textures and flavours that linger for minutes on end after the plate is empty.
4) Dessert: Cookies-and-cream ice cream, because there's just something so whimsical and childish about it that I love, and home-made apple pies, because they're beautiful beyond words.
5) After-dinner drinks: I would offer a variety of liqueurs and spirits, but I'd stick with tea (with milk and two sugars, and I see all you tea purists getting your pitchforks, but haters gonna hate).
cantarina1 at postelectricdruid at The fiasco continues
ACTA in a Nutshell –
What is ACTA? ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A new intellectual property enforcement treaty being negotiated by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland, and Japan, with Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada recently announcing that they will join in as well.
Why should you care about ACTA? Initial reports indicate that the treaty will have a very broad scope and will involve new tools targeting “Internet distribution and information technology.”
What is the goal of ACTA? Reportedly the goal is to create new legal standards of intellectual property enforcement, as well as increased international cooperation, an example of which would be an increase in information sharing between signatory countries’ law enforcement agencies.
Essential ACTA Resources -
- Read more about ACTA here: ACTA Fact Sheet
- Read the authentic version of the ACTA text as of 15 April 2011, as finalized by participating countries here: ACTA Finalized Text
- Follow the history of the treaty’s formation here: ACTA history
- Read letters from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden wherein he challenges the constitutionality of ACTA: Letter 1 | Letter 2 | Read the Administration’s Response to Wyden’s First Letter here: Response
- Watch a short informative video on ACTA: ACTA Video
- Watch a lulzy video on ACTA: Lulzy Video
Say NO to ACTA. It is essential to spread awareness and get the word out on ACTA.
Via TumblrThis entry was also posted at http://cantarina.dreamwidth.org/131889.h
In the meantime, I've been helping in the rehearsals for my high school's yearly Christmas vigil mass. I'm the pianist for a choir of about 13 old scholars, current students, and friends of the community. All are under 25 (I think). We're doing mostly the usual hymns (Angels We Have Heard On High, Carol of the Bells, O Holy Night, etc), but my friend and I did a swing arrangement of Winter Wonderland that kicks some serious ass, and will be performed after mass. Should be good.
My sister and I spent the other evening doing some Christmas baking. We made shortbread for gifts (I don't remember shortbread being that difficult to make, fml) and we started a triple-layer icecream cake. My other sister's birthday is on the 19th of the month, so the day after all three of us will do more baking and our Christmas shopping. I figure that, since I'm 18, I need to start buying/making gifts for more of my family.
My two piano students are doing quite well; I met up with my old piano teacher, who is helping me register for the Music Teachers' Association of South Australia. When I do, my name will be added to a directory of teachers that is freely available to the public. It's essentially advertising and regulation. I hope to eventually convince my old piano teacher to let me work for her, to allow her more time to complete her doctorate and write her music teaching book. We'll meet up again soon enough, I figure.
Finally, I've started to write fic again these last few days. I've continued playing FFX on my computer, and am now writing a novelisation. Check
arcanum_hm for the first chapter if you have nothing else to do.I'm seriously impressed. I probably won't use a tablet - ever - because I simply don't see the benefits (the iPad and its ilk (Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer, etc) are all useless toys, since they're as expensive (or more expensive - a $32GB iPad with 3G and WiFi for almost $1000? laughingwhores.jpg) as a 10" netbook but have maybe 40% of the functionality) but if this means we'll get a whole host of well-made, desirable, and most of all functional Windows tablet devices on ARM (a type of processor used in mobile phones and tablets), instead of the current Windows tablet devices (which are just regular computers underneath), then Microsoft will crush Apple and its oversized iPod Touch with ridiculous efficacy.
I am unimpressed, however, that when the ~classic Windows UI was shown in the video, it looked almost identical to what I have now in Windows 7. I read rumours that Windows 8 Desktop edition (aka the real thing) will integrate some UI features from Windows Mobile phones (as seen in the new tablet UI) as well as the tabs from Office 2007, 2010, and I presume 2012. Unfortunately, it seems they haven't got around to it yet.
2012, here I come. Planning on buying a 10" netbook next year or the year after, and then my next computer after that will be custom-built, dual-booting Windows 8 and GNU/Linux Ubuntu (probably 11.10 by then).
(With apologies to current users of Apple devices. I still love you, I just don't like what you use.)
My reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda and the USA's most wanted man, are complex.
The images presented on television screens worldwide are indelible. People dancing in the streets, chanting "USA! USA!" and the like, are utterly polarising. They also present several questions, which I will ask now, and I invite you to discuss with me your thoughts.
( 1. Is it acceptible to dance with joy at the death of a man? )
( 2. Could a man like Osama bin Laden, if captured alive, be rehabilitated to be of some use to society? )
( 3. What is next? )
tl;dr: Celebrate privately, for the world is closer to peace than before, but relent not or you'll get plutonium stuck in your ass.
- feeling...:
contemplative
Key points:
-She is not some bugchasing middle-aged leather daddy who is desperate to be "bred" with some trampy guy's HIV+ seed.
-She is not some flaming queen who dresses in drag and speaks with a lisp.
-Her sexuality is unknown.
-How she was infected is unknown.
-Regardless of all facts or speculation, she is human and therefore worthy of our compassion.
-HIV does not discriminate between sexualities, socioeconomic situations, races, genders, religions, political affiliations, or anything you can think of. HIV is a virus. Viruses are not sentient; they are technically not alive. (Thank you, Biological Science 100.)
Dear World:
Unless they're one of those crazy people who have a bugchasing/giftgiving fetish (I have nothing but contempt for those people who actively and knowingly choose to spread a potentially deadly disease so they can get off), every HIV+ person deserves some common decency with their zidovudine.
Thank God for antiretrovirals.
The fun comes from:
-HACKING
-Turbo function skips through scenes very quickly (depending on computer speed)... however, my computer isn't fantastically fast and I rarely go over the normal 50 fps... the best I've seen was 80 fps and that was rare. Even the animations for things like Grenades exploding for ~350 dmg or summoning aeons like Ixion bring my fps down to less than 20. Sadface.
-Convenience: I can breeze through the game quite quickly and not worry about grinding or waiting for desired drops
-HACKING
-Learn about the performance of your computer relative to other PC gamers
-Did I mention the ability to hack the game?
( Geekiness under the cut )
I met a few friends from school and other places that are doing similar degrees, so they'll be sharing some of my classes for at least the first year. I also met some new people - a girl who was made dux of her school, a 24-year-old lab tech who was studying all over again, etc.
First impressions:
( I am organised. I like lists. Do all organised people like lists? )
Completely unrelated: The latest episode of Glee, "Blame it on the Alcohol", is the reason why I don't drink and I don't think I ever will.
( I SUPREMELY MAD )
heaven_monument, successful businessman?
Firstly, I would like to apologise for not updating in weeks.
Recent developments in my life had me fearing (irrationally) for my future, and then exultant. Here's the rundown, with a running score:
( Fun fact: a particular Pokemon that debuts in the upcoming releases Pokemon Black and White changes appearance with the seasons. It's a ~deer~ known as Shikijika in Japanese. Pity it never comes in ~teal~. )
And now, the shoutouts:green_animation, I must ask for your patience as I hurriedly cobble together the remainder of my gift fic for you. I know it's two weeks overdue, but as you can see, life is a bit of a mess right now. I swear you will receive it in good time.fluid_static, I am doing your so-called MEME OF DOOM as soon as I finish this tl;dr post.
In FF13, I have just begun Chapter 4, and completed the first Eidolon battle, which was weird, but interesting.
Both are exquisite games, but neither of them are perfect. Here's a mini-review for both. Minor FF13 spoilers, and for other FF games, ahead!
( Final Fantasy XIII mini-review under this cut )
It's still addictive, but I'm afraid it goes in fourth position of the five FF games I've played.
FFX > FFX-2 > FFXII > FFXIII > FFIV Advance.
( Gran Turismo 5 mini-review under this cut. )
A disappointment in the details, perhaps, but Gran Turismo 5 is still the ultimate driving simulator, and I will play the shit out of it for the next five years as I did with GT4 (450 cars left to go, and around 35% of the game to go!). I will seriously have to consider GT6, though, if it comes out when I am alive. Polyphony Digital are such trolls, delaying the game about twenty times... they are in so much danger.
You will not believe. I certainly didn't.
( Spoiler alert! )
Feels good man. Celebration post, y/y/mfy?
Recently, I rediscovered my love for Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII, certainly one of the more controversial releases in the acclaimed series (the others being FFX-2, FFIX, and FFIV).
I decided to make a challenge of my fifth save: an Enforced Class Challenge. This involves a careful tweaking of the licence board so that each of your six characters generally fulfil a standard 'class' as popularised in earlier Final Fantasy releases. For example, a Warrior generally uses one-handed swords and heavy armour, while an archer would use bows and arrows and occasionally other ranged equipment, and light armour.
After careful deliberation and over 9000 hours in MS Paint allocating licences by use of coloured dots that became redundant after I printed it out on my monochrome laser printer, I came up with the following:
Vaan: Warrior/Thief
Balthier: Gunner/Time Mage
Fran: Archer/Red Mage
Basch: Knight/Paladin
Ashe: Black Mage/Necromancer
Penelo: White Mage/Chemist
( The problem with my design... )
On that note, I would like to share with you my secrets for a quick and easy playthrough of the game. These involve acquiring certain weapons easily and early in the game, fast levelling secrets, and opening new areas of the game before you get there in the storyline. Most of these are well known, so if you have any to add, please comment!
( Six ways to a less panic-filled playthrough... )
There are plenty of other ways to abuse the secrets of FFXII's gameplay for the purposes of making the game easier. Share yours below, or feel free to discuss the merits/perils/annoyances of any gameplay challenges you have attempted!
ohnotheydidnt: (warning, slightly NSFW) Some of the worst vintage advertisements ever. Racism? Sexism? Classism? Advertisements that exhibit pro-smoking, pro-drinking, pro-domestic violence, pro-"a woman's place is in the home" stances, all in the name of profit? You got it!
Laugh and be horrified simultaneously on Oh No They Didn't.
(This should be their new slogan.)
In other news, I applied for about five jobs at once - office supplies stores, 3x pharmacies (for obvious reasons), bookstore. Nothing's back yet, but it's been less than a week. I'm terrified of being rejected. There are other options, but still, longtime LJ friends understand what I've been through with my previous job...
Schoolwork dump 3/6: Text analysis essay for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner
Off-topic: Apparently the wonderful people of 4chan are planning to raid Tumblr and bring it to a screeching halt. To those who have one, lock your tumblrs down if you can, and don't forget to hide your kids, hide your wives, and hide your husbands too, because they're DDoSing errbody out there.
Here's a mind-numbingly boring essay on one of the most popular sci-fi-noir films around, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (the Director's Cut).
Question: How does the director of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, utilise a variety of techniques to create sympathy for the character of Roy Batty?
992 words
Schoolwork dump 2/6: Text analysis essay for Cormac McCarthy's The Road
Question: How does Cormac McCarthy utilise symbols to explore a range of ideas?
1000 words
( This is the very definition of tl;dr. )
