As the vote on the European Reform Treaty approaches, both sides of the debate are increasing their canvassing campaign.
Most notably, the volume of posters to be found throughout the capital city has risen exponentially. While these posters mostly deal with the expected issues of an economic and environmental nature, there is a specific one that stands out. Apparently, should the treaty be accepted, we will be insulting the memory of those who "died for (our) freedom".
This is absolute rubbish. While one may mount an argument that our freedom was bought with blood, this is irrelevant to the referendum. The fact is, we have a free country and a democratic populace that has a right to vote in any way they choose. Do these groups honestly believe that the ghosts of past leaders will haunt us for exercising the same democratic rights that they fought for?
These scare tactics are a despicable attempt by liars and manipulators to take advantage of our national pride. If past fighters for sovereignty would have any problem with this referendum, I am positive it would be regarding this underhanded and downright appalling campaign strategy.
These issues will not affect my vote. They will, however, make me far more wary of people who are so willing to dupe and deceive the population.
-The English Student
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Aeon Flux: Ether Drift Theory
Society innately believes its' ideals to be correct and exportable. Often, this is totally unjustified.
Trevor Goodchild's "petri-dish" of a civilisation becomes breached by exterior forces. The result of which is the utter destruction of all the life and achievements of this population. A haunting echo with past colonisation creeps forward from this catastrophe.
Monetarily and militiraily, powerful societies have had a tendency to forcefully export their own institutions, religion and attitudes. As Robinson Crusoe violated the untainted island, world leaders have enforeced their beliefs on virgin soil. This of course, is always implemented to the advantage of the originating country and government.
While "colonisation" is usually associated with the Age of Exploration, few things have changed since the fifteenth century. The Cold War opponents of the United States and Russia created puppet states to further their own ideals. In more recent times, the wars engulfing the middle east seem like an attempt by western forces to derail alternative world views. If such a perception of reality was truly "correct", people would naturally accept it, thereby negating this reason for war.
As Trevor's "perfectly balanced eco-system" crumbles into oblivion, we the sole survivors are left to consider the adverse effects of colonial attitudes.
-The English Student
Trevor Goodchild's "petri-dish" of a civilisation becomes breached by exterior forces. The result of which is the utter destruction of all the life and achievements of this population. A haunting echo with past colonisation creeps forward from this catastrophe.
Monetarily and militiraily, powerful societies have had a tendency to forcefully export their own institutions, religion and attitudes. As Robinson Crusoe violated the untainted island, world leaders have enforeced their beliefs on virgin soil. This of course, is always implemented to the advantage of the originating country and government.
While "colonisation" is usually associated with the Age of Exploration, few things have changed since the fifteenth century. The Cold War opponents of the United States and Russia created puppet states to further their own ideals. In more recent times, the wars engulfing the middle east seem like an attempt by western forces to derail alternative world views. If such a perception of reality was truly "correct", people would naturally accept it, thereby negating this reason for war.
As Trevor's "perfectly balanced eco-system" crumbles into oblivion, we the sole survivors are left to consider the adverse effects of colonial attitudes.
-The English Student
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Nine Inch Nails: The Slip
Nine Inch Nails released their newest album, The Slip this week and once again we are given a chance to engage with Trent Reznor's wonderfully twisted mind.
This album was not released in a traditional manner. On May fifth, Reznor posted a blog entry on the Nine Inch Nails website with the message that the new album is finished and that "this one's on" him. Following a quick registration, fans are capable of downloading the entire album in various format including the high quality .OGG and .FLAC file types along with the more mainstream (but still high quality) .MP3 format. This marks a change for the band whose work has increasingly appeared online for download, but never for free.
Of course, one can naturally make the argument "you get what you pay for" and assume that this album is not being sold simply because it is not of commercial quality. However, this delusion quickly falls away upon first listening to The Slip. Reznor retains the original hard rock industrial sound that has been found on all Nine Inch Nails work and once again creates a wonderful album. From the charging dark beginning of "1,000,000" to the thrilling evil of "Head Down", Reznor gives us an album full of bleak macabre art.
Of course, this album is far from perfect. There is a drop off in quality between the two highlights of the album, "Lights in the Sky" and "Demon Seed", wherein we are given an extended instrumental track. This is not so much a bad song as a wasted opportunity. However, the main criticism that could be leveled at this, the seventh Nine Inch Nails album, is in relation to originality. Reznor has not moved far from his comfortable genre in this new work. Yet when one looks at the actual quality of this production, coupled with the maturing songwriting and vocal skills of Reznor, we quickly find that while this album is not entirely original, it is almost certainly the best example of what Nine Inch Nails are renowned for.
Overall, The Slip relies on the heavily used canvas of former Nine Inch Nails material. However, the brilliance of this particular iteration highlights the true nature of Trent Reznor - an artistic genius.
-The English Student
This album was not released in a traditional manner. On May fifth, Reznor posted a blog entry on the Nine Inch Nails website with the message that the new album is finished and that "this one's on" him. Following a quick registration, fans are capable of downloading the entire album in various format including the high quality .OGG and .FLAC file types along with the more mainstream (but still high quality) .MP3 format. This marks a change for the band whose work has increasingly appeared online for download, but never for free.
Of course, one can naturally make the argument "you get what you pay for" and assume that this album is not being sold simply because it is not of commercial quality. However, this delusion quickly falls away upon first listening to The Slip. Reznor retains the original hard rock industrial sound that has been found on all Nine Inch Nails work and once again creates a wonderful album. From the charging dark beginning of "1,000,000" to the thrilling evil of "Head Down", Reznor gives us an album full of bleak macabre art.
Of course, this album is far from perfect. There is a drop off in quality between the two highlights of the album, "Lights in the Sky" and "Demon Seed", wherein we are given an extended instrumental track. This is not so much a bad song as a wasted opportunity. However, the main criticism that could be leveled at this, the seventh Nine Inch Nails album, is in relation to originality. Reznor has not moved far from his comfortable genre in this new work. Yet when one looks at the actual quality of this production, coupled with the maturing songwriting and vocal skills of Reznor, we quickly find that while this album is not entirely original, it is almost certainly the best example of what Nine Inch Nails are renowned for.
Overall, The Slip relies on the heavily used canvas of former Nine Inch Nails material. However, the brilliance of this particular iteration highlights the true nature of Trent Reznor - an artistic genius.
-The English Student
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Audio Surf
Music is a pure medium and this simplicity should not be interfered with. Audio Surf, however, engages with music to create a unique experience.
When I have some spare time on my hands, it often occurs to me to play a shallow freeware game for some quick entertainment. Unfortunately, these games rarely satisfy me, as the game mechanic is either too simple or too complicated. In addition to this, many of these games force you to listen to their own terrible soundtracks without an option to play your own music. But at last, a game developer has found the perfect balance of these elements.
Audio Surf is an Independent Games Festival award winning program developed by Dylan Fitterer. The player chooses a music track from their hard-drive and following this, Audio Surf analyses the song and creates a racing track that corresponds to the instrumental levels of the song. As the music moves between various tempos and phrases the racing track corresponds with colour and speed changes. Overall, this creates a wonderful physical iteration of a song that the player can directly experience while engaging with an entertaining game mechanic.
This fascinating development comes at a time when both the gaming and music industry are facing particular challenges. The music industry is struggling to make profit as a result of an increasingly prolific piracy scene, while the gaming industry is becoming stagnant as a result of growing developer monopolies. I believe that innovations such as Audio Surf are the best answer to both of these problems. I would certainly consider paying for an album if the ability to use their music in Audio Surf came with the package and likewise, I will readily pay for a game that offers so much revolution.
Audio Surf has the ability to show both industries the way forward. But regardless of whether this lead is taken, the game itself is a magnificent combination of entertainment and innovation and as such, must be played.
-The English Student
When I have some spare time on my hands, it often occurs to me to play a shallow freeware game for some quick entertainment. Unfortunately, these games rarely satisfy me, as the game mechanic is either too simple or too complicated. In addition to this, many of these games force you to listen to their own terrible soundtracks without an option to play your own music. But at last, a game developer has found the perfect balance of these elements.
Audio Surf is an Independent Games Festival award winning program developed by Dylan Fitterer. The player chooses a music track from their hard-drive and following this, Audio Surf analyses the song and creates a racing track that corresponds to the instrumental levels of the song. As the music moves between various tempos and phrases the racing track corresponds with colour and speed changes. Overall, this creates a wonderful physical iteration of a song that the player can directly experience while engaging with an entertaining game mechanic.
This fascinating development comes at a time when both the gaming and music industry are facing particular challenges. The music industry is struggling to make profit as a result of an increasingly prolific piracy scene, while the gaming industry is becoming stagnant as a result of growing developer monopolies. I believe that innovations such as Audio Surf are the best answer to both of these problems. I would certainly consider paying for an album if the ability to use their music in Audio Surf came with the package and likewise, I will readily pay for a game that offers so much revolution.
Audio Surf has the ability to show both industries the way forward. But regardless of whether this lead is taken, the game itself is a magnificent combination of entertainment and innovation and as such, must be played.
-The English Student
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