The final season begin early in 2010…

Lost features an orchestral score performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra and composed by Michael Giacchino, incorporating many recurring themes for subjects such as events, locations and characters, something uncommon in television music . Giacchino achieved some of the sounds for the score using unusual instruments, such as striking suspended pieces of the plane’s fuselage.

         On March 21, 2006, the record label Varèse Sarabande released the original television soundtrack for Lost’s first season. The soundtrack included select full-length versions of the most popular themes of the season and the main title, which was composed by series creator J.J. Abrams. Varèse Sarabande released a soundtrack featuring music from the second season of Lost on October 3, 2006.

        A soundtrack for the third season was released on May 6, 2008, with the fourth season soundtrack released on May 11, 2009.

   Pop culture songs have been used sparingly in the series, given the mainly orchestral score. When such songs are featured, they usually originate from a diegetic source. Examples are the various songs played on Hurley’s portable CD player throughout the first season (until its batteries died in the episode “…In Translation”), which featured Damien Rice’s “Delicate”, or the use of the record player in the second season, which included Cass Elliot’s “Make Your Own Kind of Music” and Petula Clark’s “Downtown” in the second and third season premieres respectively.

    In two episodes, Charlie is shown on a street corner playing guitar and singing the Oasis song “Wonderwall”. In the third season’s finale, Jack is driving down the street listening to Nirvana’s “Scentless Apprentice,” right before he arrives to the Hoffs/Drawlar Funeral Parlor, and in the parallel scene in the fourth season’s finale he arrives listening to “Gouge Away” by Pixies. The third season also used Three Dog Night’s Shambala on two occasions in the van.

       The only two pop songs that have ever been used without a source (i.e. non-diegetic) are Ann-Margret’s “Slowly,” in the episode “I Do” and “I Shall Not Walk Alone”, written by Ben Harper, and covered by The Blind Boys of Alabama in the episode “Confidence Man”. Alternate music is used in several international broadcasts. For instance, in the Japanese broadcast of Lost, the theme song used varies by season; season one uses “Here I Am” by Chemistry, season two uses “Losin’” by Yuna Ito, and season three uses “Lonely Girl” by Crystal Kay.

“Merlin – The Beginning of the End”

No name is feared more in Arthurian legend than Mordred

It is said that to know a person’s name is to know them; and a person without a name cannot be known for their identity is a secret. When the druid boy finally spoke his name, we felt the dread of the foreshadowing it foretold … for there is no more feared name in all of Arthurian legend than Mordred.

Continue reading article at:

LINK: http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6573

Release: August 19, 2008
Cost: $5[US]
Disc(s): Digital
Length: 18:22
Composer(s): Various
Arranger: xoc
Publisher: Good-Evil Records
Performers: xoc, pIENESS, Vegeroth, Streifig
Favorite Sections: A Nightmare on Elm Street (Falling Asleep/Boom Box) + Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Passed)

If you were part of the 100 fortunate, then you got a copy of this hillaiouslly well consctructed medley on 3″ CD. My album was copy number 87, which was cutting it pretty close. There are a total of 100 short themes covered on this medley, so the joy of hearing it is all yours as you try to guess what section comes from what game. There’s a challenge, try guessing every single section. I dare ya.

Confine formed in 1997 as one of southern Ontario’s most aggressive and chaotic hardcore (without being screamo). The band was formed of ex-Enter the Dragon members, though I don’t know who exactly. They released a four song demo tape that year and almost immediately OneDaySavior Records tried to get a deal with them, but in vain. The band’s first official release was their split with Avarice on Red Star Records, at the dead end of 1998. Once again ODS contacted them, and this time they managed to release “The Beginning of the End” in 1999. The band toured much through out the next two years, and in early 2001 recorded the last four songs due out on the CDEP “The Disease” on Re-Define Records. The band broke up 2001 and the final ep never saw the light (much like the disappointment of the Montgomery 21 release never coming out, on the same label) . If anyone has the tracks from that session or the demo tape and feels generous enough to hook me up…

Confine – The Beginning of the End + split

Some people will reel in disbelief and perhaps go on by shouting out the first names of assorted soul deities as I proclaim: The 1970s were the golden age of soul music. Of course, ’60s soul was fantastic, as the two volumes of Any Major’60s Soul compilations proved (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2). But by the late 1960s and early ’70s soul had acquired such a breadth of variety which the still nascent form of the previous decade did not have, by force of progress. The soul shouters were giving way to smooth guys, often singing in falsetto, and the Muscle Shoal horns went out and the string arrangements came in. And Motown and Stax had lost their way. As smooth as ’70s often was, however, it still retained depth. For the first half of the decade at least, soul produced some of the most gorgeous sounds ever in music.

In this series, we’ll follow the decade’s soul music in two-year cycles, starting with the years 1970/71. I have tried to find a middle-way between including the obvious and the obscure, cutting out many favourites from the former category and leaving the connoisseurs of the latter to indulge their needs over at the great Funky16Corners blog.

Followers of pop in this decade will recognise the sample lifted from the Chi-Lites Are You My Woman (Tell Me So). If to the listener the Chairmen of the Board song sounds a lot like something by the Four Tops, then that is because they were the flagship band on the Invictus label founded by erstwhile Four Tops songwriters Holland/Dozier/Holland (it helps that General Norman Johnson’s voice sounds not unlike that of Levi Stubbs). Also from Detroit and recording under HDH were 100 Proof (And Aged In Soul), which included Stubbs’ brother, and the Flaming Ember, the only white soul act in this collection (the Rare Earth fell victim to the brutal cull which I needed to exercise to keep this mix to a CD-R format length). Some acts were carry-overs from the 1960s (Franklin, Ruffin, Delfonics, Wonder, Five Stairsteps), some began productive careers in the timeframe covering this mix (Earth, Wind & Fire, Main Ingredient, Bill Withers), and others appeared in the charts briefly and disappeared again (The Fantastics, Jean Knight, 100 Proof Aged In Soul, Honey Come, The Beginning Of The End).

* * *

TRACKLISTING
1. The Beginning Of The End – Funky Nassau
2. The Chi-Lites - Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)
3. Jean Knight – Mr. Big Stuff
4. 100 Proof (Aged In Soul) – Somebody’s Been Sleeping
5. Flaming Ember – Westbound #9
6. Chairmen Of The Board – Give Me Just A Little More Time
7. Earth, Wind & Fire – Love Is Life
8. Stevie Wonder – If Your Really Love Me
9. The Delfonics – Didn’t I Blow Your Mind
10. Curtis Mayfield – Miss Black America
11. The Presidents – 5, 10, 15, 20, 25-30 Years Of Love
12. Freda Payne – Bring The Boys Home
13. The Fantastics – Something Old Something New
14. Honey Cone – Stick-Up
15. Betty Wright – Clean Up Woman
16. Ronnie Dyson – (If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can’t I Touch You
17. Jimmy Ruffin – It’s Wonderful (To Be Loved By You)
18. The Supremes - Stoned Love
19. The Five Stairsteps – Behind Curtains
20. The Main Ingredient - Spinning Around
21. The Persuaders – It’s A Thin Line Between Love And Hate
22. The Dells - The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)
23. Aretha Franklin – Call Me
24. Bill Withers - Grandma’s Hands

DOWNLOAD

* * *

As noted earlier, I had to conduct a ruthless cull to keep the mix down to a length suitable for burning on a standard CD-R. But there are three songs which are too essential to withhold entirely: Donny Hathaway’s great The Ghetto, which is as potent a jam in this studio version as it is on the mindblowing live album. Gil Scott-Heron arguably is not a soul singer, though this track certainly is. Baby Huey died in October 1970 at 26; his only LP, the Curtis Mayfield-produced The Baby Huey Story: A Living Legend (which features a fantastic nine-minute version of A Change Is Gonna Come) was released the following year. Running is a great fusion of soul and rock, much like Sly & the Family Stone, whom Huey used to support.

Donny Hathaway – The Ghetto.mp3
Gil Scott-Heron – The Needle’s Eye.mp3
Baby Huey – Running.mp3

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More ’70s Soul
More mixes

Warning: Spoilers for Merlin 1×08, “The Beginning of the End”!

Here is my live-blog/ running commentary on the episode:

• There is a man in a hooded cloak holding the hand of a little boy, who is also in a hooded cloak. Are they Jedi?The man asks a merchant for supplies, and the merchant apologizes for selling them out (the latter part was silent).  Oh yeah, guards are approaching. Merlin magically hears the little boy’s scream.  The father (or is he?) uses magic. He distracts the guards so that his son can get away.
• Credits, with that lovely theme music.
• The little boy talks to Merlin with his mind, asking him to help him. Merlin finds him.  Does that little boy looks creepy and evil … or is it just me?  I think he’s probably evil, as so many children on television are. Merlin takes the child to Morgana’s chambers, who is in there with Gwen. Morgana decides to help Merlin out, despite his supreme uncoolness of last week (reminder: urging Arthur on with the evil Sofia, with supreme disregard for Morgana).
• Arthur tries to convince King Giles not to execute the dad, who is revealed to be a Druid. Ooh, fun!  While Arthur says that the Druids are peaceful, King Giles insists on sending a clear message (i.e. “Off with their heads!”  Maybe ASH should play the Red Queen in Tim Burton’s new Alice in Wonderland).
• King Giles proceeds with the execution. We don’t actually see the deadly blow (thank goodness, as I have been having t.v. related nightmares lately), however,  the little boy’s horror and grief translates to breaking Morgana’s mirror, magically. So who gets the bad luck? Probably poor Morgana.  Typical.  Way to go evil child.
• Merlin asks Gaius about the Druids. Gaius is concerned that Merlin is getting himself mixed up in this. I sense a pattern. Merlin tells him about the mind reading.
• Merlin and Morgana discuss her helping him.  Merlin manages to insult her by saying he thought that she was going to hand the boy over to the guards, instead of  you know, actually THANKING her. What is it with the boys on this show?
• Morgana and King Giles have dinner. Ha! King Giles wears black leather gloves while eating dinner! Love it. Arthur defends the Druids. Morgana takes a wiser tact by agreeing with King Giles.  All the better to keep her secret, my dear.
• Later, we see that the Druid boy is sick. Why? Merlin says that he will treat the boy.  Knock knock.  It’s Arthur. He is going to search Morgana’s chamber for the Druid boy. Morgana and Arthur banter a bit and argue. Arthur is an ass and tells her to “go back to brushing your hair, or whatever it is that you do all day.”
• Gaius and Merlin: Gaius wants to start Merlin’s education. Good luck with that.  Merlin gets an anatomy lesson, which thankfully, we are spared.  He finally makes it back to Morgana’s with the medicine. The little boy calls him Emeris (sp?) in his mind.  The boy reveals that the Druids know about Merlin.  Again, the voice in the mind thing? Creepy.
• Merlin goes down to visit the dragon. The dragon explains that Merlin has many names, and that there is much written about him that he has yet to read. The dragon tells him NOT to protect the boy.  I was so right! That boy is evil. I have an idea that maybe he’s Mordred. [Oh yeah, I'm right about that too--more on that later]
• Meanwhile, Morgana treats the boy, and she hears his thoughts too. In his creepy voice.  Morgana looks lovely in green (vert) by the way (shout-out!).
• Gaius says that the search is a nuisance, and Merlin admits that Morgana is hiding the Druid boy in her chambers. Way to hold your ground!  He admits to “sort of” helping her.  Hmmm,  kind of throwing Morgana under the bus (or horse, as it were) here, huh?  Gaius reminds Merlin of his magicness, and the need for secretiveness. Merlin leaves out the crucial point about his convo with the dragon, and of course, that the Druid boy is EVIL.
• Gaius goes to treat the boy. We get a hilarious shot of Gwen, with an expression I can’t even describe: a mix of eye-rolling and disbelief.  Hee.  The little band of trouble-makers continue to plot to save the brat.
• Arthur is looking around for a mysterious sound, with a key magically flying around his head.  Every time he turns, the key moves so that he can’t see it, and thus jangles. Hee.  Merlin misdirects the prince, and then Arthur just pushes him out of the way and leaves. Hee.
• Morgana and Gwen have a sweet “let’s make sure that we’re still the most balanced people in Camelot” moment. Morgana is wearing a red riding hood. Seriously. Boy continues to be creepy. Morgana heads out with the boy, avoiding Arthur’s guards.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, Arthur finds Morgana with the boy, and is suitably affected … then he calls for the guards to restrain them.
• Morgana entreats King Giles, but he is immoveable. Uh oh, the King grips her neck with his evil black gloves, and tells her not to speak again until she apologizes.
• Later, in a room with Merlin, Morgana blames herself. Merlin is not much comfort, but agrees to help.
• Arthur and King Giles talk, but Arthur makes no headway.
• Morgana is waiting for Arthur in his chambers. Arthur says that he had no choice. Morgana continues to entreat him. What will he decide?
• Merlin watches as the preparations for the execution are made. Merlin bursts in to Arthur’s chambers and is brought into their confidence. A plan is made … blah blabbity blah blah.
• Dragon: “If the boy lives, you can not fulfill your destiny.”  Merlin surmises that this means that if that little boy lives, he will kill Arthur. Oh, it has to be Mordred.  Merlin says that the dragon can’t know that for sure. The dragon says that Merlin has it in his power to prevent a great evil, and that he must let the boy die.  I’ll bet he lets him live.
• Merlin goes to Gaius for advice, cryptically. Gaius literally says, “I just hope it doesn’t involve you putting yourself in terrible danger.”  Ha!
• Gwen and Morgana talk. Gwen is concerned, but Morgana insists on her bond with the evil child.  Gwen wishes her luck.  Morgana goes to dine with the king. She apologizes. Very good actress (the character)–she really sells it.  Giles invites her to dine with him. All is forgiven … but not forgotten I bet.
• Arthur commences with the plan.  He knocks out the guards, and steals the keys. Meanwhile, the little boy calls for Emeris/ Merlin in his mind, while Merlin is trying to ignore him in order to save Arthur.  Eventually, Merlin caves, and goes to help. The child says goodbye to Merlin, and creepily says that he knows that someday they will meet again.
• King Giles finds out about the escape and threatens Morgana.  Geez, give the girl a break.
• Arthur manages to get the boy out of Camelot, and  delivers him to a group of Druids. Arthur finally asks him for his name.  Ha!  It’s Mordred!!!  Future killer of King Arthur.  In lots of versions of the legend, Mordred is Arthur’s son with Morgause/Morgaine/ Morgana.
• Next week, Arthur fights the Black Knight.  I vaguely recall such a figure.  I will have to brush up on my Arthurian legends.
• Thoughts about the episode?  Post them below.

There was something in my life that was not letting me be. It gnawed away at my senses all the time. And then I would break down. I would cry like a baby and fall asleep. The nightmares would not end and my sleep would give in. It went on. I can’t remember for how long. Time was too slow to be measured and raced away to even things up other times. Some times it made me happy and then I would fall into a well of sadness and drown. Feels like you have died and hell awaits you. Then you realize that this is hell. You don’t have to die to go to hell, because you have already been sent to it. This life is a prison. Your senses are the iron bars that hold you back.

I wondered sometimes that is that the idea behind life? Why was this world made? Why were we doomed to be born? The answers came but in vague, uncertain ways. Only when I had passed that moment and time came to reflect on it I would realize that maybe then, at that point of time, if I had just stopped everything and had gone numb, holding all my senses back, perhaps I would have found the answers.

But it happened only in retrospect.

An American who left the United States to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia is strongly condemning President Obama’s efforts to seek “a new beginning” with the Muslim world, mocking Obama’s “magic of charisma” and warning of more attacks against U.S. interests.
The 20-minute audiotape, called “The Beginning of the End,” was posted Thursday on several jihadist web sites as a direct response to Obama’s much-publicized speech in Cairo on June 4, when he promised “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world.” Read More

Obama is weak and Al Qaeda, Iran and the NK knows it! This American sees Jimmy Carter when he looks at Obama!

Adios everybody,

this is my last post on this blog. After days of painful wanderings into the realms of crazy, bewildering experiences, I have decided to visit this holy place for the last time and pay homage to all those who were there.

Though I am not a ape given to occasional ramblings, distant forests of unkown beauty call me. So, I have decided that I shall leave. But not before I have done the last duty that blind hand of fate has assigned me.

Every end is a seed. So this be.

I used to do this a lot. I would write about what I was thinking. I was afraid thought that someone would read it who I didn’t want to and I would be embarrassed or feel bad about what I wrote. So I stopped writing and deleted that blog. But what the hell. Life is short, right? I don’t care much what people think on a day-to-day basis. Why shouldn’t I be able to put my thoughts down for all the world to see (well I guess not all the world, cause, lets be serious, how many people are actually going to read this?).

Today was a typical day in my life– well actually it was a typical day in what has been my life for the past week and a half. I just finished my first year of graduate school and I have no summer job and therefore, not much to do. My days consist of getting up, going for a 3 mile run, eating, and then any number of things could take place. Today for example, I hung out with my mom on her lunch break and then went to Whole Foods to get groceries for dinner. Then I watched repeats of 90210 on SOAP net, made dinner, talked to my sister about my dad’s impending nuptials, watched the movie Doubt, and now here I am sitting in bed blogging away. Life is boring right now. I cannot complain though. I enjoy getting up at 10 am or later, going for a run, and then spending the day leisurely doing whatever I please. But I wish I was working. I applied for a job for the summer and it doesn’t feel like I am going to get it. I have not heard back in the time frame that the woman said she would notify me so it doesn’t look good. Back to the drawing board I guess. Something has to come through for the summer, the student loan money I have isn’t going to last through the entire summer, that’s for sure.

Still gotta figure this blog and wordpress thing out… right now it says “draft saved at 3:32:39 am” it’s definitely only 11:33 here. Weird. Well something for me to do tomorrow while I watch 90210.

I saw this on BuddyTV, and I wanted to share it with you! Enjoy!

SlideshowLost: Easter Eggs for Episode 5.7 “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”

Thanks NWA.  Thanks for your vote of confidence.

Good news folks, I made it back stateside!  With only a few hiccups and a lot of soldiers, I was able to pass easily into the United States of America on Friday.  “Do I have anything to declare?”  No way!  Unless they’ve changed the rules and I now need to declare how much I love America every time I enter its borders.

_________________________________________________

So sorry that I crapped out on the whole “posting lots of exciting things my last week in Germany” thing.  But I figured I could still let you guys know what I did in frantic Frankfurt… and beyond!

Think of it as a song-and-dance higlights review of my five months in Europe.

ETA: I wrote this blog post on 22 December 2008, but I didn’t publish it because I was going to re-edit my video with a different more upbeat song.  Well, I did that, and then I lost it, and I haven’t had the motivation to do it again. bllllllaaaaeeeerghhh.  Now I’m sitting at my computer listening to German music for the first time since getting back, and I figure I should probably finish off this blog.  So this is the first draft, always intended as an experiment, thrown together during my time in Germany.  Just don’t listen to the words, and you should be fiiiiiiine.

Episode 8 – The Beginning Of The End

When a druid and his boy apprentice are caught in Camelot, Morgana and Merlin hide the boy from Uther’s guards- but the druid is executed. Uther declares that anyone harbouring the boy will be dealt with severely. They must try and smuggle the boy from Camelot without being caught. But why does the Great Dragon insist that Merlin should not help?

arrodillado, tu serás abandonado
esto es el principio
mira lo que piensas, pueden leerte tu mente
esto es el principio
tengo mi marca, miralo en mis ojos
esto es el principio
no reconozco mi reflejo
esto es el principio

pensamos que escalamos tan alto
tan alto y al final somos condenados
encaramos nuestras consecuencias
esto es el principio del fin

espera tu turno, serás el último en la fila
esto es el principio
quitaté de en medio porque lo estoy haciendo mio
esto es el principio
dios ayuda a quellos que pueden ayudarse a si mismos
esto es el principio
puede ser demasiado tarde es todo lo que te puedo decir

pensamos que hemos llegado lejos
dependemos de todas nuestras mentiras
encaramos nuestras consecuencias
esto es el principio del fin

Release History
[v1.0] – Tried keeping a journal at Blogspot. Didn’t like my layout options.
[beta 7.33, 9.55] – Attempted maintaining a LiveJournal account. Worked okay, but too casual for my blogging style.

So this is the new incarnation of The Positron Dimension, or as the kanji would have you believe, pojitoron no menseki, the menseki referring to a dimension as more of a room rather than a coordinate along a directional extent or alternate plane of existence.

To be honest, I’m not sure in what direction to take this thing or what to tell you to expect from this humble WordPress. I plan to update as much as possible with random interesting things while trying to be as original as my thoughts will allow. As this space proliferates with writing and I grow accustomed to WordPress functionality, I will probably start compartmentalizing posts, but for now everything will be shown on this main page.

For now I’ll let the posts speak for my own personality. When I hit 21, I’ll explicitly let you know more about me for those vaguely interested. Just don’t expect too much, okay?

Anyway, Happy New Year, and I look forward to hopefully reveling in 2009 with the rest of you.

-Positron

I did it!  I blogged every day in November.  I can’t believe I actually made it, especially since I missed so many days at my own computer.  There were plenty of filler posts, but I am almost certain I would have never written such a comprehensive summary of Italy if I hadn’t started this project.  With just 18 days left until I leave Germany, I’m going to try to continue to blog as much as possible.  It probably won’t be everyday, because that was a wee bit stressful, but hopefully I will keep up a pretty high blog posting count.

So is there anything special you guys would like me to write about during my last few weeks in Germany?  Are you missing the day when half of my blog posts were about food?  Would you like to see more pictures of Frankfurt?  Like to know more about what I do as an au pair?  What my favorite Chinese restaurant is?  How much a movie costs at the English movie theater?

Let me know, and I’ll do my best to fill you in!