Bara Trams i detta inlägg
På Märthas begäran gör jag här lite reklam för Sundsvalls coolaste eldkonstgrupp, TRAMS!
(klicka på bilden för att komma till deras hemsida!)
(klicka på bilden för att komma till deras hemsida!)
Roasted Tofu
Created by Recipe Star
I HAS BUILT HELL K
Rednecks
Circle I Limbo
General asshats
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind
NAMBLA Members
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow
Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle IV Rolling Weights
Bill Gates
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled
River Styx
Scientologists
Circle VI Buried for Eternity
River Phlegyas
The Pope
Circle VII Burning Sands
Creationists
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement
George Bush, Republicans, Objectivists
Circle IX Frozen in Ice
Perspektiv
Have sum perspective.
Catchup
Ja. Nu har jag inte bloggat på ett par dagar, så vi fyller på med lite text. Lördagens konsert var awsum, även om det krånglade en massa med att bli insläppt. See, även om Club Deströyer och Stadshuset kommit överens om att de skulle få ha en lista med minderåriga som kunde få komma in utan förälder, så tyckte inte vakterna att det var bra och vägrade släppa min mig och Hattmannen. Efter en massa tjafs ringde jag mor min, som fick komma och smuggla in mig, och Hattmannen gick hem efter att ha fått pengarna tillbaka samt en fribiljett till valfri Club Deströyer-spelning efter han fyllt 18.
Väl inne träffade jag och Calle lite folk, bl.a. Göran och Joche 4.
Första bandet vi såg, eftersom vi missade Cynical Hatred pga vakterna, blev Degradead. Inte särskilt bra, jag själv kallade det "Metal by numbers" och Calle konstaterade att de lät som Bullet for my Valentine med growl. 2 / 5
Sedan spelade Zonaria. Unga killar från Umeå som jag hört tidigare och tyckt varit lite väl mycket Children of Bodom för min smak. Live var de helt okej, men de tog sig själva på lite för stort allvar för att jag skulle kunna ta dem på allvar. 2,5 / 5
Här började den bra musiken. Grave äntrade scenen, och de var grymma. Dödsmetallgänget har hållit på i över 20 år, och det märktes. Tungt, brutalt och stundtals fullt av Sepultura-grooves. Sjukt bra. 4 / 5
Sist men inte minst kom kvällens höjdpunkt, Satyricon. Senast jag såg dem var 2006 på Metaltown, och då var de grymma. Nu var de grymmast. Även om Satyr klippt av sitt långa svarta hår såg han ändå ondare ut än vilken corpsepaintad svartmetallare som helst. Iklädd en proper skjorta, svarta byxor och skinnskor och sin klassiskt iskalla min ägde han och Frost (med viss hjälp från de grymma sessionsmusikerna) scenen totalt. 5 / 5
Also; två dagar kvar till Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope.
Väl inne träffade jag och Calle lite folk, bl.a. Göran och Joche 4.
Första bandet vi såg, eftersom vi missade Cynical Hatred pga vakterna, blev Degradead. Inte särskilt bra, jag själv kallade det "Metal by numbers" och Calle konstaterade att de lät som Bullet for my Valentine med growl. 2 / 5
Sedan spelade Zonaria. Unga killar från Umeå som jag hört tidigare och tyckt varit lite väl mycket Children of Bodom för min smak. Live var de helt okej, men de tog sig själva på lite för stort allvar för att jag skulle kunna ta dem på allvar. 2,5 / 5
Här började den bra musiken. Grave äntrade scenen, och de var grymma. Dödsmetallgänget har hållit på i över 20 år, och det märktes. Tungt, brutalt och stundtals fullt av Sepultura-grooves. Sjukt bra. 4 / 5
Sist men inte minst kom kvällens höjdpunkt, Satyricon. Senast jag såg dem var 2006 på Metaltown, och då var de grymma. Nu var de grymmast. Även om Satyr klippt av sitt långa svarta hår såg han ändå ondare ut än vilken corpsepaintad svartmetallare som helst. Iklädd en proper skjorta, svarta byxor och skinnskor och sin klassiskt iskalla min ägde han och Frost (med viss hjälp från de grymma sessionsmusikerna) scenen totalt. 5 / 5
Also; två dagar kvar till Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope.
KÅNSÄÄR
Yay konsert ikväll!
19.00 - Cynical Hatred
19.55 - Degradead
20.55 Zonaria
21.55 Grave
23.30 Satyricon
Awsum. Nordfest is teh shiet. Black och death metal hela kvällen, förutom Zonaria och Degradead som är Melodeath. Vilket är lite smågay, men helt okej.
Och jag är bäst, för jag kommer in fastän jag inte är 18 än. Awsum. Kontakter is teh shiet and all that.
19.00 - Cynical Hatred
19.55 - Degradead
20.55 Zonaria
21.55 Grave
23.30 Satyricon
Awsum. Nordfest is teh shiet. Black och death metal hela kvällen, förutom Zonaria och Degradead som är Melodeath. Vilket är lite smågay, men helt okej.
Och jag är bäst, för jag kommer in fastän jag inte är 18 än. Awsum. Kontakter is teh shiet and all that.
Das Nihilismus des Mathematik (aka. I don't care for them numbers)
Så. Matte B-prov imorrn då. Linjära funktioner.
Rätt roligt. Jag klarar de flesta uppgifterna, om jag får lite tid på mig.
Hade gått fort om jag haft en miniräknare. Har ingen miniräknare.
Hade jag bara engagerat mig mer hade jag kunnat ha roligt på mattelektionerna.
Tyvärr finns några hinder:
1. Jag stör mig på läraren.
2. Skolan är definitivt inte den bästa miljön att studera i.
3. Vi har mattelektioner på måndag och tisdag. Skitbra planering där, eh?
4. Jag bryr mig för i helvete inte. Jag hade gillat det om jag gjort det på fritiden. Jag gillar det inte nu.
Jag har helt enkelt ingen användning för ett betyg i Matte B. Inte i nuläget med min planerade karriär, i alla fall.
Anledningen till att jag stör mig på läraren har inte så jättemycket med hans ämne att göra, heller (förutom att han ofta gör fel och förklarar illa). Problemet ligger mer i att jag har ungefär noll respekt för honom, och det på grund av en ganska irrelevant sak. Han gillar Jan Björklund, nuvarande utbildningsministern. Samma herre som vill lägga ner arbetet med att integrera synskadade bättre i den vanliga skolan, och istället skicka dem till specialskolor som finns på ett fåtal platser i landet (askul att åka från Jukkasjärvi till Örebro, verkligen). Samma herre som inte ser nåt fel i att lärare slår elever. Samma herre som är partiledare för folkpartiet, och vill införa betyg och nationella prov så tidigt som möjligt i skolan. Åh, förresten. Han var för ett svenskt deltagande i Irakkriget också.
Men barnen måste ju disciplineras. Och dessutom ska matematik, och andra riktiga ämnen framhävas på bekostnad av mindre viktiga ämnen, som estetiskt flumtjafs (eller "hobbykurser", som han så fint kallade det).
Kalla mig trångsynt, men jag har svårt att respektera en människa som ser honom som någon att se upp till och välja till en av vårt lands ledare.
Rätt roligt. Jag klarar de flesta uppgifterna, om jag får lite tid på mig.
Hade gått fort om jag haft en miniräknare. Har ingen miniräknare.
Hade jag bara engagerat mig mer hade jag kunnat ha roligt på mattelektionerna.
Tyvärr finns några hinder:
1. Jag stör mig på läraren.
2. Skolan är definitivt inte den bästa miljön att studera i.
3. Vi har mattelektioner på måndag och tisdag. Skitbra planering där, eh?
4. Jag bryr mig för i helvete inte. Jag hade gillat det om jag gjort det på fritiden. Jag gillar det inte nu.
Jag har helt enkelt ingen användning för ett betyg i Matte B. Inte i nuläget med min planerade karriär, i alla fall.
Anledningen till att jag stör mig på läraren har inte så jättemycket med hans ämne att göra, heller (förutom att han ofta gör fel och förklarar illa). Problemet ligger mer i att jag har ungefär noll respekt för honom, och det på grund av en ganska irrelevant sak. Han gillar Jan Björklund, nuvarande utbildningsministern. Samma herre som vill lägga ner arbetet med att integrera synskadade bättre i den vanliga skolan, och istället skicka dem till specialskolor som finns på ett fåtal platser i landet (askul att åka från Jukkasjärvi till Örebro, verkligen). Samma herre som inte ser nåt fel i att lärare slår elever. Samma herre som är partiledare för folkpartiet, och vill införa betyg och nationella prov så tidigt som möjligt i skolan. Åh, förresten. Han var för ett svenskt deltagande i Irakkriget också.
Men barnen måste ju disciplineras. Och dessutom ska matematik, och andra riktiga ämnen framhävas på bekostnad av mindre viktiga ämnen, som estetiskt flumtjafs (eller "hobbykurser", som han så fint kallade det).
Kalla mig trångsynt, men jag har svårt att respektera en människa som ser honom som någon att se upp till och välja till en av vårt lands ledare.
Fantasy Transhumanism - from elves to synthetic deities
Från början skrivet av s/LaSH på RPG.net i den här forumtråden. Sjukt cool läsning, om man är lagd åt det hållet.
"Once upon a time there was a man who said "hey, elves are universally depicted as being pretty hot. I wonder why?" He concluded that, perhaps, elves had been created for the purpose of being, well, hot. And then he made the mistake of telling me.
"That makes sense," I said. "I suppose if you're going to cement an alliance between kingdoms, an eternally young bride of unsurpassed beauty would seem like an asset. Maybe that's where the first elves came from, long ago." And then we started thinking, and because two heads are infinitely crazier than one, we realized the following.
The bog-standard D&D fantasy can be perfectly described as a post-apocalyptic result of a fantasy transhumanism event. Perfectly.
Long ago the world looked much like medieval Europe, except there were wizards. That's all. Just some humans, some knights, some feisty kings, and some wizards. There might have been a few gods deep in the wild places of the world, but that's only going to be important later. Point is, everything is now in place.
Someone decides to create the aforementioned 'perfect diplomatic bride' or maybe build a harem of forever-young wives. This is done at great cost with powerful magic. For some reason the idea proves popular, and as magical theory advances and grows more powerful, so too does the ability to create these morally-dubious servitors, until things have advanced well beyond the medieval period and you're looking at a magic-enriched society with analogues to our own (but only analogues).
In this pseudomodern world, there is enough demand to justify the formation of an entire company devoted to creating these brides (and in the interests of gender equivalence, grooms as well; the demand can be assumed to be equal). In the past, each one was an individual artwork. Now they're being produced in quantities by the same company, they can at last be called a race: the first elves.
(Side note: does the logo Engineered Life Form sound familiar?)
At about this time, the first competitors are engineered. Nobody is silly enough to try to rival ElfCorp; they've got the market cornered. But in this pseudomodern age, industry requires raw materials, and that requires miners. The first dwarves are born, short and sturdy for optimal underground activity. There is some rivalry between (human) administrators in ElfCorp and DwarfCorp. They both, however, glower with hatred whenever somebody mentions the quick-growth soldier kits known as goblins, or the upgraded hobgoblins and orcs, sent to fight and die in the increasingly-vicious wars of the era.
Note that the corporations were unable to control the breeding of their creations. In an effort to maintain profitability, all engineered humanoids were made sterile. This was a huge flaw, one bound to cost them down the line. But these were days of great ambition, and they came up with a solution.
Synthetic deities.
The first syndei were probably military projects consuming the output of entire nations. The entities so created could distribute magical power upon request, making wizards more flexible and eventually creating an entire specialized role that dealt exclusively with the syndei: the first clerics. The syndei were even endowed with limited self-guidance so they could perform in the absence of user input. But the techniques became established, and a handful of civilian syndei were created, first as national utilities (a god of travel? a god of music?), then as corporate tools.
ElfCorp were the frontrunners. They created the Elf God as a control mechanism: it was in background communication with all elves, could channel magic for various utilities like the other syndei, and was generally a good central command. But the most important aspect was the soul reserve. All elves required an elf soul to operate. ElfCorp made a finite number and tasked the Elf God with their retrieval upon death, so new elves could be made.
This was eagerly copied by the other corps, resulting in a Dwarf God and an Orc God and probably some others by now. But ElfCorp was moving ahead, into territory covered by its rival DwarfCorp. They created a new product line devoted to underground operations: the Dark Elf. Sacrificing none of the aesthetic flair of our other lines, the Dark Elf is capable of extended underground operations. Tougher than previous models, and now available in a sleek black finish, buy yours today! As part of the new product rollout, they created a whole new syndeus called Llolth (it's possible they had an Internet).
This sets the tone for the rest of the Ancient Age. New races and deities were created when they were useful. More obscure and specialized creatures were created, and in the background, the wars grew larger and larger, demanding new engines of destruction.
Pocket dimensions were created, then full-fledged alternate planes with soul-retrieval mechanisms. These sacrosanct planar fortresses served as bases for the great political powers to wage war upon one another, increasingly using the original 'prime' plane as a battlefield. They enhanced themselves with new powers and physical features. One faction grew wings and focused on healing techniques. Another layered themselves with fiery scales and developed an entire culture of blood and chaos. Some of the greatest warriors of the age altered themselves so heavily it took centuries to grow to their full size; these mercenaries became great armored lizards with deadly breath and unnatural cunning, fully the equal of any outsider.
Angels, demons, and dragons had been born.
And in the ensuing battles, the baseline humans that remained on the prime plane forgot all this. Their cities were blasted, overrun with monsters and shattered by spellfire. The humanoids, now luxuries discarded by factions that played with the universe itself, also clustered into the distant places of the world.
And time passed.
And the treasure-filled ruins were overgrown.
And the fact that there was anything to forget, was forgotten.
And war raged beyond this reality.
And old systems broke down, unmaintained.
And eventually, civilization restored itself to the world. Humans once more built mighty cities and temples, but now they worshiped real gods, things that communicated and gave power to their followers. They didn't even ask too many questions of their followers, seemingly content to just have followers that asked for spells.
In the wilds, the humanoids likewise proliferated, but their populations were sharply capped. The elves don't have fertility issues; they simply do not have enough souls to have any more children.
And some broken things returned to the light of day.
Llolth had a bug. Or something. Whatever went wrong warped her command protocols, and now the dark elves are twisted beyond all recognition. But that's nothing compared to the orcs. Their syndeus was a battlefront unit, with enhanced self-determination protocols and the ability to look after its own best interests. It decided it wanted more orcs/goblins/hobs, but it didn't have the ability to make new souls.
So it decided to take them.
The prefab souls of the elves, dwarves, halflings etc. were easiest to convert, although human souls worked well too. All that the syndeus needed was for the target to be eaten alive by one of its followers. And so a bad thing started.
But this only happened because the syndeus went so long without orders or maintenance. And you know what that implies? Yep: Somewhere, there is a control room for each and every one of the syndei. And those chambers are the most precious relics in the world... or they would be, if anyone knew they even existed.
BONUS ROUND: Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a combination police/prison. It was engineered to recognize criminal behavior and ingest it into a holding community, which would be deliberately unpleasant until sentence was served. Imagine that: the moment a thief broke a window, pow! he's in prison on another plane.
But Ravenloft broke too.
Now its sensors seek out violators of ancient laws that nobody remembers. Few are chosen; the sensors are damaged. But sometimes people are just sucked in, and are never discharged. Discharge was broken. The plane is ruled by the most powerful inmates, immortal beings who were stolen from their unlives for their crimes, but quite enjoy their new domains. And still the plane seeks wrongdoers..."
"Once upon a time there was a man who said "hey, elves are universally depicted as being pretty hot. I wonder why?" He concluded that, perhaps, elves had been created for the purpose of being, well, hot. And then he made the mistake of telling me.
"That makes sense," I said. "I suppose if you're going to cement an alliance between kingdoms, an eternally young bride of unsurpassed beauty would seem like an asset. Maybe that's where the first elves came from, long ago." And then we started thinking, and because two heads are infinitely crazier than one, we realized the following.
The bog-standard D&D fantasy can be perfectly described as a post-apocalyptic result of a fantasy transhumanism event. Perfectly.
Long ago the world looked much like medieval Europe, except there were wizards. That's all. Just some humans, some knights, some feisty kings, and some wizards. There might have been a few gods deep in the wild places of the world, but that's only going to be important later. Point is, everything is now in place.
Someone decides to create the aforementioned 'perfect diplomatic bride' or maybe build a harem of forever-young wives. This is done at great cost with powerful magic. For some reason the idea proves popular, and as magical theory advances and grows more powerful, so too does the ability to create these morally-dubious servitors, until things have advanced well beyond the medieval period and you're looking at a magic-enriched society with analogues to our own (but only analogues).
In this pseudomodern world, there is enough demand to justify the formation of an entire company devoted to creating these brides (and in the interests of gender equivalence, grooms as well; the demand can be assumed to be equal). In the past, each one was an individual artwork. Now they're being produced in quantities by the same company, they can at last be called a race: the first elves.
(Side note: does the logo Engineered Life Form sound familiar?)
At about this time, the first competitors are engineered. Nobody is silly enough to try to rival ElfCorp; they've got the market cornered. But in this pseudomodern age, industry requires raw materials, and that requires miners. The first dwarves are born, short and sturdy for optimal underground activity. There is some rivalry between (human) administrators in ElfCorp and DwarfCorp. They both, however, glower with hatred whenever somebody mentions the quick-growth soldier kits known as goblins, or the upgraded hobgoblins and orcs, sent to fight and die in the increasingly-vicious wars of the era.
Note that the corporations were unable to control the breeding of their creations. In an effort to maintain profitability, all engineered humanoids were made sterile. This was a huge flaw, one bound to cost them down the line. But these were days of great ambition, and they came up with a solution.
Synthetic deities.
The first syndei were probably military projects consuming the output of entire nations. The entities so created could distribute magical power upon request, making wizards more flexible and eventually creating an entire specialized role that dealt exclusively with the syndei: the first clerics. The syndei were even endowed with limited self-guidance so they could perform in the absence of user input. But the techniques became established, and a handful of civilian syndei were created, first as national utilities (a god of travel? a god of music?), then as corporate tools.
ElfCorp were the frontrunners. They created the Elf God as a control mechanism: it was in background communication with all elves, could channel magic for various utilities like the other syndei, and was generally a good central command. But the most important aspect was the soul reserve. All elves required an elf soul to operate. ElfCorp made a finite number and tasked the Elf God with their retrieval upon death, so new elves could be made.
This was eagerly copied by the other corps, resulting in a Dwarf God and an Orc God and probably some others by now. But ElfCorp was moving ahead, into territory covered by its rival DwarfCorp. They created a new product line devoted to underground operations: the Dark Elf. Sacrificing none of the aesthetic flair of our other lines, the Dark Elf is capable of extended underground operations. Tougher than previous models, and now available in a sleek black finish, buy yours today! As part of the new product rollout, they created a whole new syndeus called Llolth (it's possible they had an Internet).
This sets the tone for the rest of the Ancient Age. New races and deities were created when they were useful. More obscure and specialized creatures were created, and in the background, the wars grew larger and larger, demanding new engines of destruction.
Pocket dimensions were created, then full-fledged alternate planes with soul-retrieval mechanisms. These sacrosanct planar fortresses served as bases for the great political powers to wage war upon one another, increasingly using the original 'prime' plane as a battlefield. They enhanced themselves with new powers and physical features. One faction grew wings and focused on healing techniques. Another layered themselves with fiery scales and developed an entire culture of blood and chaos. Some of the greatest warriors of the age altered themselves so heavily it took centuries to grow to their full size; these mercenaries became great armored lizards with deadly breath and unnatural cunning, fully the equal of any outsider.
Angels, demons, and dragons had been born.
And in the ensuing battles, the baseline humans that remained on the prime plane forgot all this. Their cities were blasted, overrun with monsters and shattered by spellfire. The humanoids, now luxuries discarded by factions that played with the universe itself, also clustered into the distant places of the world.
And time passed.
And the treasure-filled ruins were overgrown.
And the fact that there was anything to forget, was forgotten.
And war raged beyond this reality.
And old systems broke down, unmaintained.
And eventually, civilization restored itself to the world. Humans once more built mighty cities and temples, but now they worshiped real gods, things that communicated and gave power to their followers. They didn't even ask too many questions of their followers, seemingly content to just have followers that asked for spells.
In the wilds, the humanoids likewise proliferated, but their populations were sharply capped. The elves don't have fertility issues; they simply do not have enough souls to have any more children.
And some broken things returned to the light of day.
Llolth had a bug. Or something. Whatever went wrong warped her command protocols, and now the dark elves are twisted beyond all recognition. But that's nothing compared to the orcs. Their syndeus was a battlefront unit, with enhanced self-determination protocols and the ability to look after its own best interests. It decided it wanted more orcs/goblins/hobs, but it didn't have the ability to make new souls.
So it decided to take them.
The prefab souls of the elves, dwarves, halflings etc. were easiest to convert, although human souls worked well too. All that the syndeus needed was for the target to be eaten alive by one of its followers. And so a bad thing started.
But this only happened because the syndeus went so long without orders or maintenance. And you know what that implies? Yep: Somewhere, there is a control room for each and every one of the syndei. And those chambers are the most precious relics in the world... or they would be, if anyone knew they even existed.
BONUS ROUND: Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a combination police/prison. It was engineered to recognize criminal behavior and ingest it into a holding community, which would be deliberately unpleasant until sentence was served. Imagine that: the moment a thief broke a window, pow! he's in prison on another plane.
But Ravenloft broke too.
Now its sensors seek out violators of ancient laws that nobody remembers. Few are chosen; the sensors are damaged. But sometimes people are just sucked in, and are never discharged. Discharge was broken. The plane is ruled by the most powerful inmates, immortal beings who were stolen from their unlives for their crimes, but quite enjoy their new domains. And still the plane seeks wrongdoers..."
