Veliremus Blog

Press to Play!

2010-12-21T17:47:00.003+01:00

New blog about games and the game industry!

http://www.veliremus.com/presstoplay/

The Ninth Layer Of Hell

2009-05-21T19:14:00.007+02:00

In the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri describes Hell in various layers. The farther down you get, the worse the sins get. For instance, the Ninth layer of Hell was meant for those most malicious of sins.

How right he was... I, however, would like to add bit of detail to the description of that last layer. For the very actual purpose is crystal clear to me. Let me know enlighten you, the reader, so that you may steer away from this place reserved for the doomed and the damned. The Ninth layer of Hell is reserved for one thing, and one thing only...

Leafblowers!!!

Every goddamn morning, I'm being pulled from my dreams by the sound of these blasted, devilish machines! The sound of Death, is what it is! It starts out slowly, and innocent. Government workers are cleaning the streets, in the background. Useful? Maybe. With good intentions? Probably.

But then it starts... The vicious monsters draw nearer and nearer. Your souls tell your body to wake up, for this must indeed be great evil approaching. Still drunk with sleep you stand up and walk to your window, only to lay your eyes upon the wretched evil that are leafblowers. The sound it produces... I'm certain that if you would record it, the spectogram would paint an ugly, twisted painting of your disturbed sleep.

Let's analyze the reason for why these leafblowers roam our lands.

Reason: They clean the streets of leaves.

Do they? Nay, citizens, they do not! The government, in it's Orwellian-Machiavellian spirit lies to you.

The leaves are blow unto the road, so that the gutter stays clear. Logical, right? But spot, if you will, the fault in this plan. One car drives by and the damn leaves are back in the gutter! But in this case, we can at least follow the general train of thoughts the big wigs in the government must've had. But now unto the next puzzle. You know those lines of shopping carts at the super market? You pop in a coin, do your groceries, place it back in the line and get your coin back (unless you cheated, in which case the "coin" maybe get stuck, effectively destroying the shopping cart infra-structure, all because you cheated). Are these lines the middle of an big wide open space? No, they are against the wall...

Somebody explain to me, then, why the Hell (see the general theme on this post yet?), these asshole blow leaves away from behind the damned shopping cart line!!

Some government building, Interior, Day
A man walks in, clearly in despair. He's foaming at the mouth, and the other government officials look scared.

Official #1: "Dear me, are you quite alright, sir?"

Man: "The-- The leaves... The-- The leaves!!"

Official #2: "What about the leaves? We have leafblowers, that clean our streets."

Man: "N-No... No streets. No streets! They are moving on... The leaves are...behind..." *swallows, and wipes the sweat from his brow* "Th-they are b-behind the shopping cart line!!!"

Official #1: "No! The horror!"

Official #2: "No, that's impossible! Nooooo!!!!" *blows his brains out*

Official #3 (having been promoted to the position of Official #2, by reason of suicide): "We're doomed! Leaves behind the shopping cart line, oh dear God, it's the Apocalypse! We didn't listen!"

Official #1: "Leaves behind the shopping cart... Gentlemen... This is how a nation dies..."

So, they are A. useless. B. expensive. C. wasteful (them suckers ain't runnin' on water!). D. useless. E. mind-bogingly annoying. F. useless.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I call for action! Shed the illusion that hath befouled you...and kick a leafblower in the nuts when you see one ;).

--

Lyric of the day: "Fuck man, I'm on a boat, mothafucka!" - The Lonely Island - I'm On A Boat
Excited about: Very, very successfully completing my internship! Evaluation was one hour of sheer ego boosting! Getting my iPod Touch (it can arrive today!).
Pissed off about: My wrists, still... And leafblowers, LOL! Slow pokes at school.
Looking forward to: Jamming with Sietze, that guy has to call me back! Teaching my writing class in June!
Listening to: Konk, by The Kooks. I actually bought it now. Very nice, I think this is a group that will age very well (more on that later).

Water, Love and Static

2009-04-29T19:09:00.006+02:00

You want to post on your blog, but you can't find the time! How do you solve this? You make a micro-poem. Or rather, you extract a piece of text from a story you're writing. This particular piece is from Maartje. Maartje is the story I've been working on and off for more than a year now. It's one of those stories that takes you years, I think.

It's Dutch, unfortunately for the English people (if there are any reading this blog), and I don't want to translate it, as that will screw it up. It's about love. Yes, I know I'm a big sap ;).

Water/Liefde:
"Liefde is een wonderlijk iets
Je hebt het nodig
Om te leven
Net als water
Maar net als het lichaam teveel water kan hebben
Kan de ziel teveel liefde hebben
Opgekropt
De tegenhanger van haat
Dan wordt het gevaarlijk
Geniet, maar wordt verliefd met mate"

Good? Too sappy?

In other news, I've been working with Ableton Live, which is a digital audio workstation. I wanted to record some music. Lately I've been feeling the urge to create music, instead of just playing it. I've finally begun to write song lyrics, and I hoped to make the appropriate music for it.

So, I hooked up my good ol' Toneport to my PC and downloaded a trail version of Ableton. First impressions were: "Awesome! ...Okay, so how do I start?"

I experimented a little, after briefly skimming a tutorial, and managed to get my device working. Eventually I even found a way to use Guitar Rig 3's VST plug-in in this software, so I could use it to record my guitar. Brilliant. I twiddled and tweaked, and came up with some interesting sounds (read: I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and turned my guitar into a static producing torture device). Can't wait till I have time to really start recording.

I've been studying music theory too, which I hope to put to good use, by making a good song. Courtesy of Justin Sandercoe, of which I bought the theory book. Great stuff, anyone who's into guitar: Go check out his amazing (free) lessons. Music Theory is complicated as hell, but once you see it as a puzzle (which it really is, in fact), you start to take pleasure out of "solving" it. And once you can put it to use on the guitar it's even more cool.

Plus, you get to brag with cool terms like "Quasihemidemisemiquaver"! And you get to say: "Hey guys, I know how to construct a G Sharp Major Diminished Third Degree Chord!" Awesome, and sure to be a hoot at parties. The girls will be all over you in no-time (sarcasm).

Oh, and I've got strained wrists. Like a mild case of RSI. Not so fun... But thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster it's nothing too serious. Strange times...

--

Lyric of the day: "For all the times I never, never turned away, and now she's here on someone else's arm." - The Kooks - See The Sun
Excited about: Finally finding the courage to start writing song lyrics, and finally continuing Maartje.
Pissed off about: My wrists...
Looking forward to: Jamming with Sietze when my internship is over! Making music!
Listening to: Konk, by The Kooks. Really cool album, that.

About Music #1: Why Great Technique Doesn't Make For Great Music

2009-03-08T13:40:00.001+01:00

It's been a while... You have to understand that this is typically me. I make this blog to post the small things, but once I have it, I neglect it. Let's try to change that someday.

What I want to talk about today is music. It's the first piece in a string of things I have to say about music. Today specifically, it's about techniques versus actual music.

Let me clarify on that.

A friend once showed me this video, of Yngwie Malmsteen. It's called Arpeggios from Hell. Why? Because it's probably the sickest, fastest sequence of guitar licks you've ever seen. I watched it, and was impressed, of course. But I didn't give a damn about it...

Yes, it is amazingly impressing. Yes, I wish my fingers could move as fast as his do. But this is not music. It's merely (dangerous word, I know) a feat. It's like juggling; if you practise very hard, you can attain an impressive level. But juggling doesn't move you, does it? You can look at a juggler for a few minutes, and be like "Whoa, that's awesome!", but after a few minutes you won't be interested anymore.

The same goes for these kinds of videos. Just type in a search term along the line of "insane guitar" on Youtube, and have fun zifting through the many, many videos.

"What's your point, Rémy? Get on with it!"

My point is that music is not a string of guitar techniques. It's so much more. It needs to have soul, it needs to have life.

Take Jimi Hendrix, for instance. Now, Jimi is one of the untouchable guitar gods. You cannot say anything negative about him, because everyone agrees on the fact that Jimi was the greatest guitar player of all time. Just like you cannot say anyone bad about Picasso. Personally, I don't agree, but that's for another time. What I mean is, that while he has amazing skills, it's not always good music. For instance, watch, or rather listen, to this video. Is that music you want on your iPod? No. But why not? Cause it's undeniably amazing... Because stringing together amazing guitar 'tricks' is not music.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Jimi Hendrix is a bad musician, or a mere 'juggler'. Au contraire, he is amazing, and has beautiful songs, like The Wind Cries Mary. Note that this song is not as over-the-top as the previous video. It's still very impressive play, but the real power of this song comes not from the guitar licks... It comes from his own signature sound, combined with the relative simplicity of the actual notes. It's the notes you don't hear (and the muted strings) that complete this song. The most beautiful parts about songs like this are the moment of rest (like the riff during which he sings "The wind cries Mary..."), and the small, personal bends and curls.

Music doesn't have to be complex. It needs to have meaning.

I think a lot of my favourite songs are songs that are, in essence, pretty straight-forward. It's the way the musicians play it, that gives me the shivers (the good kind). The best possible combination, of course, is using these techniques to express yourself better, what I think they were meant for in the first place.

This Live version of Snow ((Hey Oh)), by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a good example (The song begins at 1:30, but nothing is stopping you from watching the whole video ;)). If you watch John's fingers, you'll see how amazingly complex the riff is, but if you look at his face and body language you'll also see the love that's given to this complex riff, which really rises it above simply putting your fingers in the right place, at the right time. Also listen to the keyboard. It's the opposite. It's very simple, and I suppose anyone who hasn't touched a keyboard in his/her life could do it. But doesn't it add a beautiful emotional layer?

It's a philosophy, you could say. I follow it myself, or I try to most of the time. See the black, see the white, and try to pick the best way in between, utilizing the best of both worlds. In this case: Use the techniques to express yourself and make music, not to impress. Easier said than done, obviously.

Next time, on About Music #2, I'll talk about perfectly playing a song, versus having fun on stage. I hope you've enjoyed this bit, and please feel free to comment. I've got some new pieces in the pipeline, about games, the internet, relativity.

Lyric of the day: "The Mission. The Method. The Downfall. Arrested. Cause it's not the first time. Nor is it the last time." (Red Hot Chili Peppers - We Believe)" - Somewhat mysterious, isn't it?
Excited about: My new DVDs! I can't wait to absorb all this knowledge. I'm also looking forward to better structuring my guitar training schedule.
Pissed off about: How things on the internet get horribly twisted out of proportions, and why people can't just get along online. Watch for an article about this...
Looking forward to: Celebrating my birthday with my classmates. Going to see Watchmen with my best friend.
Listening to: Stadium Arcadium, which I've really rediscovered after studying the music. Robert Cray - Twenty, another great example for today, actually...

When inspiration strikes...

2009-02-12T16:27:00.003+01:00

When inspiration strikes it's good! It's like you enter a stream, that carries you closer and closer to where you're supposed to be.

After a week of not knowing what to do with the narrative I'm writing for Cultural Oil, I talked to a friend via MSN, which triggered the burst of inspiration. Do you notice it makes your body go faster? You think faster, your fingers move quicker. It's a wonderful feeling, and I use music to keep it going. Think of jumping off a cliff with a delta flyer, and the music's the wind; It will make you go just a little further...

I'm watching the movie Eagle Eye today. I've half an hour to go, and I must say that I kinda like it. It has its flaws, and it gets mediocre reviews, but I like the potential nonetheless. I'm like that when watching movies; even though the movie has its faults, I can switch off my art-filter and enjoy the plot, or the potential of it. Anyone who's a big fan of conspiracies and the "Big Brother is watching us"-idea, you should check it out.

My bootleg Red Hot Chili Peppers DVDs arrived today! Awww yeah! I ordered them off of Markplaats (which is like the Dutch equivalent of Ebay) and didn't even have to pay shipping costs! The Peppers play in Paris, Bilboa, Pinkpop (Dutch Festival) and Chrowjdsodjsodjsods or something (some place in Poland in any case), and in Poland they play This Velvet Glove, which is a remarkable, as it's a song only the people who have the album would know (as supposed to their normal playlist, which is mostly classics like Californication and Scar Tissue). It's a delight to play on the guitar, let me tell you.

Finally, I've written a piece about music, which is part of a big series I'm going to do on this blog. But it's not final yet, so I don't want to post it yet.

Lyric of the day: "En je blijft iemand die welkom was. Zo welkom...dat het altijd pijn doet. ("And you'll stay someone who was welcome. So welcome...that it always hurts") (Bløf - Zo Mooi Zo Mooi)"
Excited about: Finally getting my inspiration back!
Pissed off about: I was pissed this morning, but I'm good now!
Looking forward to: Watching my DVDs! And explaining my idea to my boss tomorrow... I wonder how she'll react...
Listening to: Blof's new CD: Oktober. They played a lot of songs at the concert (more about that soon!).

Because Writers Need A Blog...

2009-02-02T17:53:00.003+01:00

Yes, I made a blog. I said I wouldn't, I'm doing it anyway (Yes, Jun, I can hear you roll your eyes =P. But it's not a Hyves!).

"Why, Rémy, tell us why!"

Simple. (Warning: The following text contains a very defensive statement that's not meant personally)

Reason #1: I'm a writer (or I call myself a writer, when can you actually call someone a writer? How many lines of text does that take?), and I need to write. Now, I've had a lot of small ideas, that were too short for an article, or didn't fit in on my portfolio site. They're just the right size for a blog, though.

Reason #2: Jane McGonigal has a blog. Jane McGonigal is awesome. John Frusciante has a blog. John Frusciante is awesome. I want to be awesome.

Reason #3: I need/like to vent. I'm a vent-y guy. I know not many people will probably read this, but I want to write anyway. I'm also aware that freakin' everyone has a blog nowadays. I shrug to that. See me shrug: *shrug*. The reason this blog is different is that I don't need anyone to read it =). So, if you're thinking: "Why the hell is this guy making a blog? Why would I bother reading this?", then I'd say: "Why the hell are you reading it then...?"

There, now we have the passive-aggressive introduction out of the way... Hi, I'm Rémy =). I'm a Game Design student, specifically a Design For Virtual Theatre and Games student at the HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht/School for the Arts Utrecht). And I'm currently working at Cultural Oil, which is a reality game company in Amsterdam. It's a very cool company, and it's an awesome project I'm working on, called The Experience Run (working title, click here to help me out with a questionnaire). It's gonna change running as you know it, peoplez!

Uhh, what else...? Oh yeah, I'm a guitar player (advanced beginner?), I've been playing for almost a year now, and I'm not unhappy about my progress. I own a Fender Stratocaster, which I love (to brag about), and a Line 6 Spider III amplifier, which I love (to brag about) too. Furthermore, I'm a giant fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as all my friends know (and get sick off, hehehe).

I'll be posting some stuff on games, music, etc. I even have a cool little Twitter widget! I don't know what people like about Twitter, but I intend to find out. Cause when a politician in your country has a Twitter, and you don't, there's something awfully wrong...

Okay, that's it for today, I think. I'll upload some interesting material soon.

Lyric of the day: "Everyday depression in a beautiful dress, ohh lady made a beautiful mess, I guess." (Quixoticelixer - Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Excited about: This blog. I might wake up tomorrow and go: "What was I thinking?", but I like it at the moment.
Pissed off about: Surprisingly enough, I'm not really pissed off about anything at the moment. That's a rare situation for me, ya know =P?
Looking forward to: Bløf concert, 10th of February! Yeah!
Listening to: The Empyrean. John's new album. Boy, it's weird, but also very spiritual and deep, and I kinda like some songs.