I am fried. I know it looks like I was writing blog posts all last week, but actually, I’d written those in a frantic two-day session over the previous weekend. I’ve spent the week reading paper after paper in preparation for the biggest post of my blogging career. I don’t want to say anything until it happens, but watch this space for the news.

I’ve now finished reading. Notes are arranged, photos mostly chosen. I wish I could say I was eminently knowledgeable about my chosen subject, but it’s the bloody North Cascades. Confusing as hell when you scratch around beneath the surface. Still, I feel I’ve figured out enough to write semi-intelligibly, perhaps even semi-intelligently, about them. And I’ve rediscovered my adoration for the reading of scientific papers. You might be surprised when I tell you this, but one of my favorites was Brown et al, “Revised ages of blueschist metamorphism and the youngest pre-thrusting rocks in the San Juan Islands, Washington.” It’s beautifully written, and it’s fascinating – you’d think a paper about dating rocks would be boring, but it’s far from it. More like a geological detective story. And I will blog it one day.

Continue reading “Musical Monday, With Musings on Geological Research” →

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of my favorites. I love metal, I love classical, I love the fusion of the two, and I love the fact someone managed to make Christmas music that doesn’t suck.

Of course, I had no idea they existed. I first became acquainted through Savatage’s Dead Winter Dead album, on which this song appears. A friend said, “Hey, you know that’s actually a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song, right?” And I said, “Who, wha?” and he gave me that look that said pity the poor TSO-deprived fool and introduced me.

And I was amazed that there was Christmas music I could play without wanting to vomit.

Being an SF writer, I’m quite fond of “Wizards in Winter,” as well:

I love the fact we live in an age where people can program Christmas lights to play along to heavy metal and win prizes for it.

There. Now you’ve got all that insipid Christmas crap washed out of your brain. You can sleep to a more satisfying soundtrack, and if you’ve been a very naughty geologist indeed, maybe Santa will have been so kind as to put some nice coal in your stocking.

The Universe is conspiring against me. Three extra-long days at work ended tonight, and I said, “Huzzah! At last! I can get shit done. I just have to catch up on my Twitter stream.” Then a friend popped up needing some assistance, which was a lot of fun offering, and didn’t take long. Then there was the excitement with the drunk person left passed out in a car by friends and waking in a panic with no idea where she was, thus leading to drama with car horns and a call to the police to assist with ensuring her safe return home, as she was too far gone to even tell us what the situation was, much less where she lived.

And I still haven’t finished reading for Los Links.

And I’m on my way to Burien Little Theatre in the afternoon for some fun with Inspecting Carol. It’s at 2 pm, if any of you locals wish to join me.

Anyway. That’s why you’re getting a song rather than a post with actual substance in it, but this is an important song. I actually meant to post it some time ago. You see, I have a brilliant young geologist friend named Helena, pronounced the way Kamelot pronounces it, and she always reminds me of this music: beautiful, intriguing, and a lot of fun to listen to. She’s quite a bit less tragic than the Helena in the songs, though, a fact for which I am grateful.

So here is Helena’s Theme:

While we’re on the subject of Kamelot, I’d like to reestablish my metal cred by playing one of their metal songs. Loves me some Roy Khan, especially when Simon Simons of Epica is joining him.

Nobody talk to me about the fact Roy’s left the band. I want to think happy thoughts. That is a hugely depressing thought.

Fuck. Now I’m depressed. Quick! Kitteh with dolphins to the rescue!

Tip o’ the shot glass to my coworker and friend Starspider, who prevented me from spelunking the pit o’ despair by finding this video and forcing me to watch it at work.

Once again, we have reached the point in the week where there’ll be no Los Links for you if Dana doesn’t get her reading done.

So here’s a lovely video and a version of “Palladio” you may not have heard, even if you have heard “Palladio,” which you may not have done.

And the album version, for comparison’s sake, and also because I love it:

I know, I’m killing my metal cred with all this stuff. But I’ve been a fan of classical and classical-inspired music since blasting Beethoven and Vivaldi in a Cadillac El Dorado whilst wearing headbanger clothes in high school. Lookers-on have absolutely no idea what to do with that.

Still reading, I’m afraid. I’ve got something full o’ substance planned, and if all goes well, I’ll be able to write it up tomorrow. It has got Ed Yong in it. I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am about that.

In the meantime, since many of you seem to be enjoying songs, I figured I’d share one of my favorite finds.

This may be one of my favorite things ever. I love the song itself, I love the video, I love the feeling it leaves me with. I think I want to spend the rest of my life with it, although it’s probably too early to make that kind of commitment.

What say you all?

If I don’t get some reading done soon, there won’t be any Los Links. So I’m going to throw a song at you and run. I found this whilst spelunking YouTube for new-to-me music, and it surprised me. I’d somehow assumed from something else I’d stumbled across that her music was kind of light and pop, but no – we’ve got this gorgeous, dark, classically-influenced delight:

Right. This is your cue to talk about the music you love.

Yeah, so I wasn’t having a good night: noisy neighbors, totally blocked, gloomy about various and sundry, just about to give it up as a bad job and go straight to bed. But, y’know, I’d got YouTube pulled up, and there was that Tristania song I hadn’t heard in a while, and then an Epica song I’d never known existed, and then, and then… Long story short, I ended up on a gallop through some new symphonic metal. I’ve discovered a few new bands I believe I’m falling desperately in love with. And then I found this:

I love Tchaikovsky. I love metal. Combining the two has made me a very happy Dana indeed. I even got some writing done. Amazing what an infusion of fresh music can do for the creative process, isn’t it just?

This is life, people. It may suck sometimes, but it certainly has its moments. And sometimes a moment is all you need.