Quintuplets

I am a drummer and love writing and playing music. Personal drum heroes of mine are Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater (I hope that link stays active, if not here's another), and Neil Peart of Rush. There are certainly others that I enjoy, but none that really inspire me as much as these two guys. They play very precise and creative progressive metal and rock respectively.

Having said this, in the conceptual realm of music theory, of which I know only so much, there is a large domain dedicated to rhythmic constructs, i.e. drum beats. One fascinating subject, to me, are polyrhythms.

A polyrhythms is at its basic form two rhythms played over each other. 2 on 3 polyrhythms have a strange and soothing sound and are commonly used by Phillip Glass (that's right, another reference to Glassworks). This video tutorial below, though, one I did for a video class, teaches the basic idea behind quintuplet polyrhythms.

Content aside, I also did the editing, directing and post-production on this video. So the color asides and black and white medium shot were intentional. Successful? That's a different question. I'd like to think so. The lower thirds are a bit large, but overall I'm happy with this edit. As a bonus, here is some unused footage from the (very short) shoot of me improvising and generally just screwing around on my kit.

No Time

This was a short film I did for an art class. I think the video speaks for itself (it has audio, for instance).

All of the post production was done with Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. The piano piece playing in the background is, in fact, an original piece that took no longer than the length of the video to compose, perform and record.

Nordin - To The First Power

I love composing and performing music. My genre of choice is progressive metal, owing to the legacy of genre pioneers Dream Theater.

I've also been known to show interest in other strange genres.

My dad, brother and I recorded an entire album of progressive metal under our (creative) band name, Nordin. Our website is here (made by me). You can buy said CD here or here.

Consequently, if you would like your own customized website I can do that for you too.

I made the following music video to go along with the song Manifold Sins. Enjoy.

Alleviate Episode 2 of 6

This is the second of six video blogs I made in the Alleviate series. This episode covers TVTropes and Pouet, an index of demoscene productions.

I've mentioned TVTropes before, but I'll do so again. This is the paragon of time consuming web design. It's a wiki about patterns (the tropes) in entertainment. Things like cliches, story conceits, common character types (both stereo- and arche- varieties), trauma inducing sights, nostalgia, general complaining, self-reference, and plot chasms (bigger than a hole). The content is not limited to the TV medium as the name might suggest but covers film, theater, anime, video games and even literature.

The other website, Pouet, is a great index of the productions from the demoscene, a subculture of computer engineers and mathematicians than create art using the limits of various computer platforms. The results can be quite amazing. Keep in mind both of those examples come from 64kb files.

You could fit that over fifteen times on a floppy disk.

The Penumbra Doorway

Raphael Morovo was an odd fellow. He had almost everything anyone could want in life. He was very wealthy, a result of an eventful life as what could be described as a professional adventurer. His main source of income was his fortuitous discovery, and subsequent negotiation of rights, to a vast oil field in eastern Forstat.

This monumental find enabled him to live in the opulent estate he now inhabits. Of course, for all of his accomplishments Raphael is not without his demons. He is haunted by nonspecific and all-consuming guilt. Seemingly sourceless, he would be seized by bouts of crippling depression and suicidal thoughts. Any prolonged consideration of the reason behind these episodes was met with powerful migraines and occasional blackouts.

The pain is especially pronounced when he spends too much idle time thinking about the Pylon.

But all of his worries seem secondary to his current situation. Alone in his sprawling estate, night has fallen and the rain has begun again. He knows that this time the rain won't stop. He awakes in his guest bedroom, where he always sleeps, and notices the bathroom has been boarded up.

There is a door in the floor.

A dresser on the ceiling.

A tape recorder under the bed.

Rust and decay.

And the pit.

The red symbol is so familiar to him.

Terrifying and comforting.

Alleviate Episode 1 of 6

During my last semester at the University of Houston I, like many before me, had little interest in doing what could reasonably be defined as "work". But at the same time I wanted to do something to contribute. The solution was, of course, to make a video blog. YouTube is full of these things. Morons with opinions in front of cameras, talking to the dot that is their webcam, deluding themselves into thinking that a single other soul in the universe cares about their idle ranting.

Like this!

Now I get to be that moron. I get to be your moron. And I couldn't be happier.

I produced six episodes for the class and the first is about Hulu and Wikipedia vandalism (the smart kind, not the stupid kind). The remaining episodes will be released in the coming days/weeks.

Misty Day, Remains of Judgment

It is no secret that Silent Hill 2 is the greatest video game ever made. The game is very much an experience like no other. As far as sequels go, undoubtedly the finest example as well considering the restraint that went into its design.

There are roughly two different kinds of horror movies and video games. The first is the traditional American style which is heavily based on gore (Hostel), the literal manifestation of fears (Arachnophobia), monsters (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and generally speaking violence and mayhem. These elements make for visceral and shallow attempts at scaring the audience. Usually the only reaction these methods can elicit is an involuntary jump when something loud happens on screen.

The so-called jump scare. Usually accompanied by a scare chord.

Note: Follow that link at your own risk, you may look up at the clock and see that seven hours have passed and the sun, previously set, is rising despite your efforts to will the Earth's rotation backwards to give your night back. You're now addicted to TVTropes.

Now, shallow doesn't mean bad. These efforts are like potato chips; delicious, but gone quickly and rather unhealthy in large amounts.

The second method of horror is what I'll call the Japanese style. This methodology relies on an atmosphere of dread to create horror by implying horrible things, using supernatural elements like ghosts, symbolic manifestations of fear, alternate realities, and unreliable narrators. Of course, this style was not invented by the Japanese but the term is used basically as a distinction between the two ideologies of modern horror movies.

Games fall into these two categories as well. The American style is epitomized in the Resident Evil series with its gun-toting heroes and flesh-eating enemies. The Japanese style is epitomized by the Silent Hill series, specifically the second.

I prefer this style of horror. Disturbing. Lovecraftian. Psychological.

This is the painting that James Sunderland finds in the Silent Hill Historical Society as interpreted by my meager painting abilities:

"Misty Day, Remains of Judgment"

It's him.

Acthelion Ammonis

An appropriate alliteration is always ahead of the aberrant adjudication of alphabetic assonance. I am the arbiter of arbitrary aptitude, amply able to apply my awe-filled aperture at able-bodied associates.

Alas! Whence I am absolved of anonymity, I will announce apathetic apologies to the annoying agents amidst me. Adjoining adherents are all aware of an awkward aura around the altar of artistry that abridges my arrogance. Again and again, astute acolytes of altruism will amp my ability to allude to areas of ancillary actions, but such apparent ambition is an abhorable act.

Aural and aesthetic answers await.

Unlock the secrets of the website. Logic and reason will get you the answers.

Japanese Garden Photos

I was contacted by my sister a few weeks ago about a lady who needed some things for her wedding. She wanted to have a photo booth set up at her reception, so it became my task to create some high quality photo collages that fit the wedding's theme, Japanese Cherry Blossoms.

This is how one of the panels turned out.

Fortunately, Hermann Park has an authentic Japanese Garden. Hooray convenience!

I took many different shots of the garden and only ended up using a few. The better ones ended up here and can be purchased. You can also commision me to do a photo collage by following this link.

The First One

First!

There, I trolled my blog entry. Cathartic in a way.

Sad in another.

Since this is the first entry I feel the need to praddle on about my mission statement, my desires and dreams and various other irrelevant personal matters, but I won't. I'll spare you any excessive self-indulgence (naturally, there will be some, this is the internet after all, a breeding ground of strange humanity).

The succinct purpose of this blog is to be an outlet for all of my personal creative endeavors. This serves a few ends, namely, to act as a sort of online portfolio for all of my digital art, video, music etc. and also a place to make money by shameless cross-promoting other sites I operate. Like this one!

This goal is noble and bold, like an English king. Yes, that was formatting-based humor. The first, but not the last I assure you. This blog is 100% original content* so I'll make sure to include actual content and not just a wall of text.

So, here is a link to my Etsy site where you can buy things from me! So go be a good capitalist and give me money.

*=until I get desperate and start linking to youtube videos of adorable dogs in order to get traffic, but I'm not at that point yet