Langue et la musique!

Bienvenue! Willkommen! Fáilte! ようこそ！And otherwise, welcome! I trust everybody had a nice relaxing spring break this week. Unless of course you didn't have a break, in which case I trust that you had a week. This week is dedicated to awesome music that's not in English. Because you don't have to understand the lyrics to appreciate the song (not that anyone says that you do, but a lot of people don't seem to realize this fact). 

Case and point, who could ever forget this internet gem?

We watched it for the amusing antics of one brave (or...something) individual, but don't tell me the song wasn't fully ingrained in your brain for at least the rest of the day. We called it the Numa Numa song, but it's actually Dragostea din Tei by O-Zone (Moldovan band, Romanian lyrics), if you weren't already aware. 

Also, you already know my obsession with this particular anime theme song. I'm going to embed it here again, just because I love it that much. Don't recall if I said so before, but this is Parallel Hearts by FictionJunction (Japanese band and lyrics), from the anime "Pandora Hearts."

(we'll get back to Japan, I promise)

Then there are songs that are probably more amusing if you can roughly follow or understand the lyrics, but infinitely more so with helpful subtitles. But this song in particular is so bouncy  it'd be nice and catchy whether you could catch the story in the lyrics or not. This is Le Cafe by Oldelaf et Monsieur D (French band and lyrics):

And that, kids, is why coffee is just for grownups and should never be abused.

Moving further westward, we get to the Emerald Isle, home of all that Celtic wonderfulness (Riverdance, anybody?). Despite the domineering Englishness in Britain, some pockets still speak Gaelic (among other things, I'm sure, but I only have Gaelic songs, so deal with it). So this here is Dulaman by Celtic Woman (brought to you by the same people who gave you Riverdance, so go be grateful!). I'm pretty sure it's about a girl trying to decide between suitors, or something along those lines.

Bear in mind that this particular song didn't incorporate Celtic Woman's super-excellent violinist, who is arguably my favorite part of the group. But alas, as classical music isn't technically a language, that will be another post for another day, I suppose. 

Jumping back to Japan for a Tokyo minute, I wanted to make a point that there is great J-pop that isn't tied to an anime. Then I looked through the songs I had, and according to Wikipedia, all were used for an anime. So instead I'll give you one that I never heard attached to a show, because then it will count...kind of. Anyway, this one is Rolling Star by Yui (Japanese band and lyrics). It was used at some point for Bleach, but I never really cared for that one, and so didn't hear it that way, so we'll pretend I didn't look it up....

If nothing else, this is an example of a good Japanese song that the anime incorporated, rather than a good song specially made FOR the anime, like Parallel Hearts was. 

And now we get to songs in other languages PLUS Latin, which is dead and therefore universal. The first is a German gothic/electronica...thing. I don't generally go for the goth-rock genre, but there's something about E Nomine and the way they incorporate the Latin and techno that just works for me. Also, it's great for keeping yourself awake for all those all-nighters/early morning adventures. This is Mitternacht (Midnight), and is probably one of the most well known E Nomine songs out there (and yeah, the whole album is about werewolves and vampires and things that go bump at midnight, if you were wondering. Also, yes, I do realize that whoever made this video doesn't know how to spell "German," but it's hard to find the right video, so shut up!):

Also, is it completely politically incorrect for me to suggest that if one were to listen to something particularly gothic, then German is the perfect language to accompany it? Yes? Too late, it's already been said. Make your complaints at the door. 

Finally, this last song mixes Russian AND Latin AND English AND is awesome. Yes, it's another song created for the sake of an anime (Ghost in the Shell), but try to deny that it's pretty wonderful. No, go ahead, try. Well, listen to it first, then try. It's Inner Universe, was composed by Yoko Kanno, sung by ORIGA, and like I said, is in English, Russian, and Latin. 

Ok, now try. You can't, because it's awesome. I particularly like the fact that Yoko used Latin as a breath of serenity in the midst of the fairly chaotic techno music, in contrast to E Nomine's use of the language to enhance their creepiness factor. Latin's pretty versatile for a dead language, it seems. 

Anyway, that's all I got for now. Come back next week and I'll either blow your mind with something awesome, or cop out again. Or something in between. Gotta keep things mysterious, after all.

Stuff and.....stuff....

*WARNING* This post may be composed of way less awesome than previous posts have been. For your own safety, lower all expectations now! *END WARNING*

'Sup. As you may or may not have noticed, I didn't post anything last week, my reasoning being that I had given you two posts the week before and you could just deal with my self-proclaimed vacation (well, one post and a half, but still....). Also, the last two weeks were when the Grad School Beast goes on it's bi-semesterly hunt, fattening itself up before it's mini-hibernation during Spring Break. Long story short, I haven't had the time to read, watch, or hear anything new and wonderful to write about, and I've already used up my current stash of potential topics for when I have no topics (yes, it was a pitifully small stash. Shut up). So I said to myself "Self: Spring Break is coming up. You'll finally have some time to sleep and think and get back on all your tracks. Woo!" 

And then Spring Break came along (that's right, it's right now for those of you keeping score at home), and I came to the horrifying realization that I still had nothing to say, mostly due to the same reason stated above, which hadn't yet had a chance to rectify itself. 

So instead, I could just tell you about my Spring Break Adventures in Catsitting. Except that, as mature cats and therefore no longer adorably rambunctious kittens, they don't generally do much but eat and demand to be scratched. Then there's this, which pretty much exactly happened this morning:

except I'm not a dude, the room's not quite that messy, and it was the horrifying sound of something fragile falling from a high place instead of a baseball bat to the face. Same effect though.

-PS- I looked all over the room, and couldn't find anything that looked shattered, so the good news is that nothing seems to be broken. The bad news is apparently I'm hearing things now.

I could also tell you about my new venture into Dungeons and Dragons. It was the "Dragons" part that won me over. And also that I could make a character who was a dragon-person (don't ask, I don't know either), complete with working dragon wings, who radiates dragon magic, breathes dragon fire and is on a quest to learn about dragon heritage type things! DRAGONS! Otherwise, I've learned that D&D in it's entirety is apparently far more complicated than I care to know at the moment (or possibly ever, but definitely at the moment). 

Or I could just continue making blandly lame excuses about why I didn't sit and wrack my brain grapes for a better post idea.

Yeah, I'll go with that last thing. 

So. How 'bout that daylight savings thing again? It keeps happening, just like clockwork..hehhehhehee...

Ok, ok, I'm done. See you next week with what will hopefully be a much more post-like post!

In Response to Birdsong

Dear little songbirds,

Yes, we are all very excited that spring is here, and we can share in your jubilation that you have made it home safely after your winter-long visit down south. We understand that you must have a lot of catching up to do with the neighboring birds whom you haven't seen all winter. However, beyond your trees are windows, and beyond those windows reside various inhabitants who would be very much obliged if you would quell your vocalizations until a more a reasonable hour. Three-thirty in the morning, for example, is not reasonable. You see, we humans tend to associate birdsong with daylight, particularly in the early morning. You could then imagine our confusion when, while sleeping fitfully for fear of waking up late, we are suddenly startled awake in the middle of the night upon hearing your many warbles and believing it to be much later than it is. Therefore, in the interest of everyone's sanity, we hope that we can all come to the agreement that all birdsong should be postponed until dawn is actually breaking. In other words, we would all appreciate it if you would please find it within yourselves to SHUT THE HECK UP!!

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Some Concerned Citizens, otherwise known as "The Humans Contemplating Getting Cats Just to Hunt You Down"

Why teaching assistants need to sleep before grading lab reports

[It helps if you read it like this. And yeah, we parodied the parody. Deal with it. And when I say 'we,' I'm referring to another TA, Ashley, who is responsible for most of the first half.]



Book of Lab Rubrics. Chapter one. Verses 6 through 37, and verses 42 through 50.


And thus did Freshman the Slightly Dimwitted lifteth his plea to the TA: 
"Oh TA, bless this thy lab report, that with it thou will give high grades to thy subjects, in thy mercy." 

And the TA did grin. And the students did suffer with the conicals, and test tubes, and spectrophotometers, and reagents, and trials, and Lugols, and supplements, and standard curves, and pipettes, [...]


And thus the TA spake, "First thou shalt take out thy holy pen. And with it thou shalt write yon procedure which containeth three replicates, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thy shalt run, and the number of trials of replicate shall be three. Four thou shalt not have time for, neither shalt thou run two, unless immediately proceeding onto the third. Five is right out. Once the third trial, being the third replicate, hath been run, writest then thou thy holy lab report without thy group members, lest ye be deemed naughty in my sight, and thus snuffed to Academic Honesty, where there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth."


[...]


And so quoth Freshman in yon lab report: "Thus the amylase spake unto the yeast: 'And ye shall ferment thyself unto alcohol; as alcohol, ye shall be ferment. After fermentation, alcohol shall ye be.' So it was written, so it was done. And it was good."


Yea verily didst Freshman offer up yon lab report as a sacrifice unto the TA. But it was not pleasing unto the TA, and a foul stench it didst create in the nostrils of the TA. Freshman didst spew such falsities upon the foundations of Science that the TA didst cringe to call him "bio-major."....


Amen. 




[yeah, so, that's not so entirely far off. Between the two of us, we've got bio majors claiming that enzyme reactions can be stopped with sufficient amounts of water, DNA is made of amino acids, yeast turns into alcohol, and a liquid stain will absorb all the water in a test tube. If you're not a sciency person, that's all so wrong it hurts. It's akin to a lit major trying to tell you that Hemingway wrote Othello.]

Common Ailments of the Average Student (and suggested remedies)

Recreational Insomnia (to be fair, this one was coined by Megan, but I have since thoroughly adopted it).

Symptoms and manifestations: The Recreational Insomniacs may find themselves, as the name suggests, unable to sleep for fear of missing fun. When school requires a sizable chunk of your life, sleep becomes less important than time with friends. The typical symptoms of insomnia (including but not limited to heightened looniness, decreased stability, and increased spontaneity) often become a desirable side effect, resulting in the insomniac being deemed as "more fun," much like being in a state of inebriation. Eventually, not sleeping becomes habit, and the insomniac will be unable to sleep regardless of the circumstances.

Suggested Remedies: Invest in Kevlar, high tech weapons, a loyal domestic servant, a sweet ride, and hire Hans Zimmer to compose a personal theme song for you, following the obvious course of action once said investments have been made. 

Spotlight Mind-blanking Syndrome

Symptoms and Manifestations: This is the effect one experiences when placed in the center of attention with a particular message to convey. The sufferer may prepare exhaustively before the presentation in question, only to instantly forget simple concepts once all attention has been focused onto him or her. Some symptoms include: nausea, sweating, uncontrolled gag reflexes, total memory loss, and verbal incoherency. 

Suggested Remedies: 

-Imbibe copious amounts of alcohol immediately before the dreaded event. (Youtube insists that no version of this clip be embedded, else it would already be here for your convenience)

-Clone yourself, sending said clone to do all the dirty work involved in presentations. *WARNING* Chances of clone retaliation are high. Also, the clone is highly likely to have the same conditions as the host.

Chronic Public Incoherency: 

Symptoms and Manifestations: This disorder is frequently and erroneously associated with Spotlight Mind-blanking Syndrome. The sufferer of this particular disorder is fully aware of what information needs to be presented (thus, there is no memory loss involved), yet is unable to communicate with the audience. The resulting frustration often manifests as gibberish, a regression back to a native language if in a foreign environment, or the frequent misspoken word. 

Suggested Remedies: The same alcohol solution for Spotlight Mind-blanking Syndrome can apply here, provided that the sufferer is careful not to reach the point of slurred speech. Otherwise, the sufferer can sacrifice entertainment in order to focus on being understandable. This often has the affect of ensuring that the audience isn't paying attention anyway. 

Quantum Performance Effect

Symptoms and Manifestations: This is less of a disorder, and more of a natural phenomenon that occurs when an individual's performance suddenly increases when being observed by an authority. The name is derived by a common notion in quantum mechanics, stating that a particle's behavior will change due to the influence of observation. In much the same way, a sub-par teacher or employee may suddenly acquire skills and discipline that were previously nonexistent, merely because of the addition of a third-party observer. The observer must, however, carry with him the threat of unemployment, or else the phenomenon does not occur.
This phenomenon extends beyond work performance, as can be seen here. 

Suggested Remedies: You can't remedy a phenomenon. Third party observers with no authority may acquire entertainment at the Quantum Performer's expense by periodically declaring that the boss has suddenly arrived. 

Happy Heart Day!

I found the tool on the blogspot dashboard that shows you where your pageviews are coming from, which is both slightly creepy and wonderfully awesome. I say awesome because I then learned that this blog has been viewed at least twice by people in India, Poland, Germany, and Australia. WORLDWIDE, BABY! Granted, that's probably all from other people doing image searches on some the of the pictures I used in the New Year's post, but hey! That still counts as WORLDWIDE VIEWAGE, BABY!!!

Alright. Celebrations aside, today is technically the all hallowed holiday of chocolate and roses erroneously named after St. Valentine. So here is your obligatory heart:

romantic organ, ain't it?

Somewhere down the line we went from that, to this:

which is infinitely more marketable.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had a couple of other awesome things to include this week, but they deserve more time than I can afford this weekend, and you probably have romantic plans to attend to anyway, so hop to it! I'll be back next week for some actual average nerdiness.

*while really tired, reading out a description from some personality test*
Mandi: It also says that you tend towards really flamboyant....
Dayna: Wait...I'M GAY????

You'll either like this alot, or you'll feel kinda whelmed

Happy Superbowl! Or, more specifically, Happy Superbowl commercials! Here's hoping for some good ones this year, as I felt last year's were a little disappointing. And yeah, that's officially all I care about that. Moving on!

So there's this blog I was just introduced to. It's called Hyperbole and a Half, and it's pretty much one of the best things I've ever seen. I particularly suggest checking out this post about spiders and how evil they are, or the one about the Alot. And then you will understand. Or you won't, but I bet you'll be entertained! (and yeah, the title typo was on purpose, which you now realize and feel dumb for thinking I was dumb. Psh.)

[insert clever transition from blogs to DC cartoons here]

I have a bit of a confession to make. At one point in the last two years or whatever, Cartoon Network had this show, Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I didn't watch it then, but now I am...and I kinda like it. If you haven't seen or heard of it, it's pretty much Batman adventures that always involve at least one other Justice League member. I know, I know, he's supposed to be broody and work alone unless he has a Boy Wonder around, but he's still part of the League, right? It's totally campy, but like a throwback to the old school Adam West era, when punches still sounded like "BIFF," "BAM," and "POW," and all significant actions were accompanied with a trumpet blast.

Yeah! Except animated, and therefore acceptable!

Granted, I'm not very far into the series at all, so the constant inner monologue-journal Bats gives us may easily get quite old. And I already can only take the campyness in small doses, but it still makes me smile sometimes.

On the flip side, Cartoon Network currently has this new cartoon going on called Young Justice, and so far I kind of love it. Basically it's about the mini-Justice League, made up of the various sidekicks: Robin (the first one!), Kid Flash (you know, the one before Impulse? Which must be why Impulse thought of a better name?), Aqualad (but not the one you're thinking), Miss Martian, Speedy, and Superboy (yeah, not Supergirl, but this conveniently created clone...whatever, he still does Superman stuff). It's not Gardner Fox's creation, and therefore doesn't have the same kind of "you can take me seriously" tone as the Justice League animated series, but neither is it campy. Since it's about the kids, it's ok for it to be a little lighter. Don't worry, though, there are still plenty of issues to go around, like all of them struggling to get out from their mentor's shadows, Robin's inability to be a leader, Speedy's inability listen to authority, and Superman's inability to handle the weird paternal responsibility he now has for this surprise clone.

Also, it's a different kind of clever at times. Like the fact that some of the sidekick names really just suck (or make no sense) and people are aware of it. And I'm loving the running joke going on with Robin and his issues with abbreviations.

I now look for situations wherein I can describe myself as "whelmed"

By the way, Robin is Jesse McCartney. Yep. Lucky for me I only learned that after I was hooked, otherwise I may have boycotted the show on principle. But I have to give it to the kid, he doesn't do a terrible job of it. Especially not when he unleashes his creepy laugh, which is sufficiently creepy enough to almost make me reevaluate my opinion on the potential of such teenie-bopper pop stars. Almost. I'd offer a clip, but I guess it hasn't been on the air long enough (and/or Warner Bros is a mad copyright stickler) to have any yet. So you'll just have to take my word for it. Or watch it.

Otherwise, tune in next time for some more average nerdiness, and maybe a puppy if you're good!

Robin: "If 'dislike' is the opposite of 'like,' shouldn't 'disaster' be the opposite of 'aster'? So then, this mission will be a complete aster!"