inspired_mind

While knitting I tend to semi-watch various tv shows. One of these shows recently did a rerun of their first season, which I never saw before. Aside from being so low budget it was almost embarrassing, I was surprised how different the music was compared to later seasons. It was in fact music I heard in a different tv show before. This show used it in different contexts tho, which was so distracting that I couldn't fully focus on the episode itself. When I mentioned this to a friend, whom watches both tv shows as well, he said he didn't even notice the change! I knew I was pretty good at recognizing instrumental tunes/music, but I always assumed this was a generic ability most people had.

Aside from the music thing, I managed to finish various knitting projects. Tried out a pattern for a hat with cat ears, which I was skeptical about at first, but it turned out pretty nice. Decided to try make a baby sized version of it, speed knitting it in less than 24 hours to have it finished as a gift for aien_hime 's baby girl. It was a bit of a gamble, as there weren't any known baby sizes for this pattern but the result was great. As I feel a tad too old to wear the cat ears hat, I gave it away along with the baby sized one. Mother and daughter got matching hats now.

Tried another pattern for a hat with the same kind of yarn I used for my gran's infinity scarf. I loved the result, finally having a hat that's worth wearing. I really don't have the head for most hats so it's nice to have one now that doesn't make me look like a complete idiot.

Speaking said infinity scarf, gran asked me to remove the seam to turn it into a regular scarf. It was too bulky to stuff it under her coat in it's previous form. So I tried to remove the seam but apparently I did such an awesome job blending it with the scarf itself and I cut the wrong strand of yarn, partly ruining the scarf....argh! Mom came to the rescue and managed to mostly fix it. Gran said she barely noticed the damage and is happy with her new regular scarf, but as its creator I know the damage is there and it annoys me. At least I now know kind of creations to use this kind of yarn for.

Also sort of revived my WoW account, which I have been playing on and off again. Finishing some achievements and storylines, focusing on 2 chars max. Not having an active guild really limits the options you have. Real raiding is a nogo. LFR is an interesting alternative to experience raid content, even if it's incredibly dumbed down, but the kind of people you encounter in these PUGs are often clueless idiots whom don't even bother to read the tactics for the encounters... There is a freakin' ingame dungeon journal with a summary of all phases/boss abilities. Maybe I am getting too old to deal with al these idiots in videogames? Curious if the next expansion will improve some stuff, time will tell.

~*~Maru~*~

Ever seen one of those movies or tv series where some dude is mopping the floor, while being clueless about his surroundings, due to being distracted by the music on his walkman/discman? I am like that when I do my chores at home and noone is watching. Hip shaking and headbanging included. Occasionally humming or even singing. It probably looks quite amusing, but I honestly don't care. I lurve my mp3-player, it makes travel and chores so much more fun. My mp3-player may be somewhat ancient compared to those fancy devices nowadays, but it still works just fine. I went through 4 headsets tho, my current Sennheiser one having died partly one week ago, thus temporally using the ones of my smartphone (because having no stereo sound sucks). But gawd, they are so no comfortable and the sound is simply terrible. Four more days till my trip to the north of the country for a cinema visit (want to see Epic in full 3D glory and it's my turn to visit a certain friend) and shopping trip for a new headset.

The Skinfish Spa was an awesome experience btw. The first few minutes were a tad scary with the fish swarming to nibble/vacume my feet and legs. But eventually it starts to feel like you are sitting in jacuzzi, with the occasional ticklish feeling when they nibble at sensitive part. They also had a chair/basin combo for the hands, it was certainly interesting. The weather was excellent, with the roof windows providing a gentle wind. We had the entire attic for the three of us as well, so we had 2,5 hours to do whatever we wanted to do, not worry about other people wanting to try the massage chairs/sofas as well. Wasn't that impressed by those, but suppose it was nice to try.

Better get a coffee before I have to log for raid in WoW. 8% health wipe on a certain turtle boss, argh...so close.

~*~Maru~*~

I finally did it. I managed to get a 100% accuracy score in Osu, thus earning me a SS rank. Needless to say, I am one happy bouncy Maru. I know it's 'only' an easy mode beatmap, but even one teeny tiny non-perfect hit means no SS rank (as far as I can tell at least), so in my eyes it's still quite an accomplishment. Here are two pics (too lazy to do a LJ cut), should anyone want to go 'screenshot or it didn't happen' on me =p

The score:


The ranking:


I dunno what it is with me and music, but I always had a thing for music/rhythm elements in games. Maybe it's because I used to play piano in the past, or just because I get my inspiration from music. Heck, in MMO games I rely very much on sound to improve reaction time. In WoW I play with ingame (tho rarely background music) sounds on, to hear when a raidboss does certain attacks, I even recognise the sounds of certain cooldowns of the priest class and some other classes too. This resulted at the start of Cataclysm in some confusion, as the proc sound of a certain caster trinket had the exact same sound as the Divine Hymn spell of the priest class. Several times I would look around me, wondering why in the world my fellow priests would waste that 8min cooldown spell at that moment...or even getting confused, wondering why I didn't notice we had another priest in the raid!

If WoW would get a Bard class as their next hero class, I would probably reroll instantly, as I greatly enjoy said class. I can still remember the sounds and rhythms, the way my guitar sounded like of my minstrel in LOTRO. Or simply enjoying the fact I could swap instruments. Having to refresh my 30 second buffs in Rift got never boring on my Bard, simply because the music I made was so lovely. Heck, I even adjusted the order I casted my songs, because it sounded better to me. Even in the short time I played Eden, I loved my Bard, despite the fact that heavy/deathmetal turned out to be not as awesome as your average guitar.

The only exception in this would be singing games. While I love to sing (and dance) while noone is around, I am simply too embarrassed to do it in front of others, which is probably because I heard how my voice sounds, disliking it greatly. As a result, I do not speak on Ventrillo either, even tho my beloved guildies keep telling me to do so. Sorry peeps, but this Maru sucks at spoken English, ain't going to happen. Plus it would only distract me from my job as healer anyways, as I concentrate too much on pronouncing stuff properly. Funny thing is, I used to be in the school choir as a kid...never had issues with that, but that's probably because you blend in with 30 other kids, thus not drawing attention to myself. I may have a big mouth when typing, but deep down I really am quite shy...I start stuttering when doing a presentation in front of my class, to give you an idea how bad it is.

Woosh, my lil' victory post got quite a bit longer than expected O.o

~*~Maru~*~

Well, this isn't the post I was originally planning, but I since it's music related, it will still do. You see, Maru has discovered the wonders of OverClocked ReMixes. Now, I ain't a stranger to remixes, as one of my long time favorite Gundam Wing songs, is in fact a techno remix.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I have been listening to various orchestra and a capella songs as of late...which in turn renewed my interest in The Legend of Zelda music. At some point, I found this amazing theme, which was supposedly from Wind Waker, but I couldn't remember it at all. After some research, it in fact turned out to be an OC Remix and quick google search later, I was happily browsing on the official website. The thing I like most about remixes is trying to recognise what original theme was used and also to try to find a recurring style in the work of the remixer. Anyways, here are some of my favorites:

A Storm in the Desert
The 'Bolero of Fire' has always been one of my fave ocarina tunes of Zelda OoT, thus hearing this in a full orchestra version was amazing. The 2nd song used in this remix, 'Windmill Hut' is also one of those themes in OoT I never got tired of. I would often end up staying in said windmill, just to hear the theme on repeat.

Into the Golden Sunset
I never truly played any of the NES/SNES versions of Zelda, tho I did watch my baby brother play them. Despite the lack of knowledge of said games, I do know that 'Overworld' (from Zelda 3) is one of the most iconic Zelda themes out there and this piano remix of it certainly is lovely. Yes, I am a sucker for piano pieces, sue me =P

Waltz for Zora
Ever wondered how Overworld would sound like when Jazz-styled? Exactly like this. It's simply awesome. That saxophone is reall really epic. And the mental images this remix spawns in my head are downright amusing XD

The Darkness and the Light
Once again based on Overworld, but entirely different. I love the usage of the tibetian bells. One of those remixes that makes you just sit back and relax.

Sadly, I couldn't find any worthy remixes of my all-time favorite theme, 'Gerudo Valley'. But I guess I am a bit picky when it comes to that particular one, as it is one of my most vivid memories in OoT, when I walked into that valley and the music started playing...I was in love.

Well, off to find more remixes!

~*~Maru~*~