File this one under "Vague entries that a precious few may get."
Every now and then, I really wish I worked for a place like Kioken.
You know, other than the fact that they're bankrupt and defunct.
Incidentally, in looking up kioken (their website is gone), I found this post that explains what happened over there, as explained by the man himself.
Overanticipation leads to disappointment.
I mention this because I finally received my much-anticipated copy of True Love Waits and have mixed feelings after listening to the CD.
When I bought the CD, I was looking forward to three particular tracks: Fake Plastic Trees, True Love Waits, and Motion Picture Soundtrack. Indeed, it was Christopher O'Riley's live performance of an abbreviated version of Fake Plastic Trees that had me sold on the CD. And to his credit, O'Riley's full-length version of the Radiohead song recreates and builds on the original—staying true to the sentiments while intensifying the emotion. I think Fake Plastic Trees is almost reason enough to buy the CD.
I first heard the title track from the short snippet on the album's official site. After hearing a recording of the original's first live performance, I looked forward to hearing O'Riley's version, which seemed to do a better job of capturing the song's quiet, pleading emotion. And for the first two thirds of the track, it does just that—O'Riley starts with the song's plaintive melody and patiently weaves in other themes, one strand at a time. He preserves the song's tenderness while building an increasingly complex web of harmonies that accentuate the original melody. Unfortunately, O'Riley doesn't stop—the song climaxes in a frenzy that overpowered the theme. It felt like an unnecessary indulgence on O'Riley's part to showcase his technical mastery without enhancing the piece.
Ok, I'm tired, so I don't want to say too much about Motion Picture Soundtrack. It also fell victim to excess, though not as severely as True Love Waits—O'Riley concludes an otherwise moving piece with a few measures of an overwrought ending.
Bet you all didn't know that tomorrow, September 19th, is Talk Like a Pirate Day! So now you know, I better not catch you speakin' like them landlubbers, aye?
Ah, the temptation to embarass myself in public. *scheming*
Apapnerlnty, Cbmgrdie rsercaeerhs funod taht sncie ppleoe rgnziecoe wrod fmors, you can mscpalie all but the fsrit and lsat lteters in a scnetnee, and it wlil sitll be lgielbe.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:6-8
It's so disappointing when you've learned how to contain floats, and yet have no one who can share your joy, or even appreciate the gravity of such a revelation.
Alas, such is the lot of the CSS-obsessed.
4:30PM Edit: This has nothing to do with the above entry, but I'd like to mention that I've disabled commenting on the entry "These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears". Not because of you fine people, but because spammers have targeted that particular entry to post links to pornography, for some reason. I've already banned a half dozen IP addresses, but they keep coming, so I've taken down the comments until either Six Apart or I come up with a remedy.
If you'd like to comment on "these words like daggers..." now that I've resurrected it from archival oblivion, feel free to do so below. That is all.
staticlife and RayofLight, the two biggest inspirations that got me into web design, now appear defunct. There's a certain assumption of permanence with the web: whenever new content appears, old content is duly archived. Not in this case.
In particular, I really regret not saving a copy of the version of staticlife that really moved me: a transcribed letter after the end of a relationship, which led into a number of interactive pieces. I remember being awed by the prospect of the web as a venue for personal expression, long before "blogs" were common place. Even with the emergence of the personal web, staticlife always stood out as a place where thoughts were expressed with words and images.
Fortunately, I just discovered (after much googling) that staticlife is now resurrected as hellobye. Good to see Sun An is still around.
