Track of the Week #2: "Troian Beauty"

So, it has been almost a year since I’ve done my last track of the week.  That’s ok because I’m back now to continue where I left off!!!

This week’s track is  “Troian Beauty”  from Final Fantasy IV.  I came upon this track as I was playing the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy IV a few weeks ago.  The general calm and catchy nature of this track really caught my attention.

In the game, the track plays when you reach the main castle in the kingdom of Troia.  Troia is a nation that seems to be run primarily by women.  There are other men around but women seem to be the majority.  It’s pretty cool.  This may sound odd but I feel like the song wouldn’t be out of place at a wedding at some white marble like place with lots of water flowing around haha.  It’s really just very carefree, relaxing, etc.

Anyway, once I reached that area I had the greatest inclination to just put my 3DS down, leave the music on and just write to the track on loop.  I didn’t but still...I like this track.  Here, you should take a listen too.  I have three links for three different versions of the track.  The first is the Super Nintendo version released in 1991, the second is the Nintendo DS version that I was playing released in 2008 I believe, and the final is very unique.

The final link is a full instrument version (I’m pretty sure at least) that brings another life to the track.  It’s pretty cool and may be my favorite version.  You see, it’s part of a Final Fantasy IV audio CD called Celtic Moon that took certain tracks from the original Final Fantasy IV soundtrack and pretty much arranged them with real instruments in a Celtic musical style.  I’d like to buy it one day to be honest.  So here are the links:

(Original Super Nintendo, 1991)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hXovY9nFXo

(Nintendo DS, 2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu7Ddlk-CD8

(Celtic Moon,  1991)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g21nOlM_T3s

Pretty cool huh?  I also find it pretty cool that Final Fantasy IV and Celtic Moon were released in the year that I was born!  To think that I was but a baby when these came out and now I enjoy them quite a bit. 

Finally, it may seem odd that Celtic Moon and the Super Nintendo version of FF IV came out in the same year.  I’m pretty sure that FF IV came out earlier in Japan than it did in America.  The 1991 is the American date.  So, there we have it.  Enjoy the music and until next time!

An Odd Dream

I had the oddest dream last night.  Let me tell you about it.  Well, let me tell you about the parts I actually remember.

What I remember was a guy in a car.  He wasn’t very happy.  He seemed to be very disgruntled with the state of society.  He was basically saying that people don’t appreciate anything in their lives.  He thought the human race was basically at an all time low.  So what he did was bring a large group of people together (like 100 I think) and had them go through certain “challenges.”  These were questions to be answered or certain scenarios that had to be dealt with.  If you did not take care of these in the way he wanted you too he would kill you. 

It really wasn’t a good dream.  It reminded me of Saw (I do not like Saw...will never watch one of those movies).  Well, at least what I know of Saw.  Anyways, there came this one point where I was with my family and we were all scared out of our minds. During this time, and this is the most interesting part of it all, I thought of a dream I had another time.  I thought something along the lines of:

            “What I wouldn’t give to be back in that crazy amusement park.”

You see, I had a dream a few months back where I was in this crazy/creepy/slightly dangerous amusement park.  It wasn’t as bad as the other dream.  The crazy part is that I thought of this while I was in the dream.  The idea that you can remember dreams you had earlier while still dreaming is amazing to me.

It was pretty awesome and makes me want to research into dreams more.  I think I will.  Anyway, the rest of the dream had lots of people going into a line for a “final challenge.”  My family and friends went and people on the sidelines were cheering etc. etc.  Basically, they split us up into different rooms.

The room I went into had two of my high school friends I recently hung out with and the boyfriend of one of my other friends.  That’s there the dream ended.

So, the point of this horribly vague and nondescript post was to point out the fact that it is interesting that you can remember dreams during other dreams.  Also, the notion that you can actually die is pretty scary too!  I’ll have to do some dream research.

True Remembrance: My Thoughts (Part I)

So, I found a FREE visual novel for download on the Internet (I only want to read free ones) about a week ago.  Its title is True Remembrance and it’s my first.  For those who do not know, visual novels are basically digitalized novels with an anime/manga art pictures.  It’s distinct and obvious.  There are basically two types:  the kind that lets you make choices (similar to a Choose Your Own Adventure novel) and the kind that don’t.  The ones that have choices usually have multiple endings and that ones that do not...don’t.

           

True Remembrance falls in the latter “no choices” category.  That is quite alright.  It’s basically like reading a novel with nice artwork and a cool anime intro on my computer.  To my point though, this post though is basically me talking about certain things that may “resonate” with me as I read this visual novel.  Something has.  Before I get to that allow me to briefly summarize what’s going on with it.

The novel is basically about a world where a good part of the population is in this incurable state of depression called “The Dolor.”  This is so bad that not even leading psychiatrists can come up with an answer for it.  Instead, the answer comes in the form of people who have the ability to the erase the memories of other people.  These people are employed by the government to do just that:  erase the painful memories that are causing people to develop the suicide inducing “Dolor.” 

The visual novel follows one of these memory erasing people who calls himself Blackiris.  He is a young man who is very good at what he does but doesn’t seem to enjoy it.  He, and others with this power, do their work in a small town that was developed especially for them.  They take in paying “Guests” who they basically live with and guide through life until they have gathered enough information to go along with the memory erasing process.  It is an interesting twist to the whole doctor/client relationship leading to the somewhat horrifying memory erasing part.

The story begins with Blackiris being assigned a new Guest:  a girl no older than 15 it seems who goes by the name of La.  La seems to be different than the other guests that Blackiris gets. I suspect that their time together will prove to be a most emotional and complex journey of self-discovery for the both of them.   I’ve only read the first chapter though so I’m curious to see where it all goes.

My thoughts:

Since that’s all out of the way, my thoughts on this are hovering around the idea of erasing memories to escape from pain.  It is sort of like running away don’t you think?  And ultimately, can we run away from our unhappiness?  Even if we forget those painful memories that bring us unhappiness will we really be happy?  I don’t know.

I honestly don’t think so.  Won’t the problems you were facing before still be there in some way or another? 

So far I think the story will deal with the nature of our memories, dealing with pain, and just living life.  We have to deal with our pain not run away.  Though, maybe it’s different when it’s a large majority of the population dealing with something as unfortunate as “The Dolor.”  It seems like an emotional “Black Plague.”  I know that sounds pretty broad, but I’ve only read the first chapter as I said before.  Overall, I’m definitely intrigued and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Care to read with me?

http://trueremembrance.insani.org/index.html

Valentine's Day

A few weeks ago in my poetry course, my sister called me out in class to ask me about my Valentine’s Day feelings.  I will be honest and say that I was blindsided.  In this fit of minor confusion, I told her that I feel like it should be anything but a stressful event.  If two people truly feel for each other, they should have very little pressure.  They should agree to do something for each other, but no pressure!

After recently waving at Valentine’s Day as it has gone by, I’ve come to a few greater conclusions.  Please allow me to elaborate upon my Valentine’s Day views. 

1.  Commercialism

This is the one aspect that I really do not like about Valentine’s Day.  Though, the commercial atrocities are not just limited to this holiday.  Christmas and so many others are “whored” out so much for their financial opportunities by business that their true meanings are very rarely publicly spoken upon.  Unfortunately, I feel like this attitude trickles down to individual family households.  I have to say that I have been guilty of this as well in the past.

I have browsed message boards and seen people talking about that they’re going to get or wish to get for Christmas.  The actual spirit of it is less frequently spoken upon.  I am beginning to get a bit sidetracked now.  This is about Valentine’s Day, not Christmas right?  Point is, Commercialism clouds the true spirit of holidays into something selfish.  At the same time, it is the responsibility of individuals themselves to spread the word of and celebrate holidays for their true meanings.  See, I am getting side tracked again!  Moving on…

2.  Genuine Love

           

My second view on Valentine’s Day involves the idea of genuine love.  I feel that if you are in a relationship with someone and you love him or her dearly, then every day you are with together that love should be visible.  You should not wait for one day to show your love for your loved one.  Valentine’s Day should be sort of like a “super love” day you could say.  I am not entirely sure what I mean. 

Ok, here’s what I would do on Valentine’s Day if I had a woman I was with:  I would be motivated, by my feelings for my dearest lady, to do for her.   I would give her a wonderful gift and treat her to a wonderful time. It would be out of love you see, not out of obligation or just something you need to do.  If it feels like a chore to show affection toward the one you are with, then maybe there is something wrong.  I have had a few short stints of relationships but nothing particularly long term so maybe there is something I am missing here.  I do not think so though.  Love is love.  Love results in loving actions.

3.  Stress

           

If anything, I do not feel as if it Valentine’s Day should encompass a large amount of stress.  If two people have feelings for each other those feelings should naturally motivate them to want to do something for the other person to make him or her happy.  It should not be a forced thing or something to be stressed over.  As I said earlier, it should not be a chore. 

Overall, I just think it’s important to trash the generic properties of Valentine’s Day and make it something that is truly special between you and your significant other.  It does not necessarily have to be a fancy dinner or rose-petal filled romantic escapade!  There is certainly nothing wrong with that (I would certainly spoil a young lady), but know what your significant other likes.  For example, a friend of mine said that she and her boyfriend just walked around the downtown area of our city.  They both enjoyed that time together very much.  

Anyways...Valentine’s Day should be enjoyed with minimal stress.  One day is no excuse to not love fully and genuinely on the other 364 days of the year.  Have fun with it and be thankful for the one you love.  And that is what I have to say on that.