today's post is inri072, the orchestral works compilation.

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an unexpected result of the project to complete my discography, undertaken in late 2013, has been the construction of a handful of orchestral pieces, mostly as remixes of original tracks from the jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj period. while these tracks were initially written out as scored pieces for expanded instrumentation, they were generally written around the guitar and the expanded instrumentation was largely meant simply for colour. the exception to this is the psilocybin symphony, which was written as a piano concerto from the start and previously completed in early 2006. 

the ability to expand these pieces into orchestral works is the result of the advances in vst sampling technology that have occurred since 2003. while changes in instrumentation have been accompanied by extra writing (mostly on the guitar), tempo shifts and other general rearrangement choices, the existing technology makes it very easy to rearrange a rock song for an orchestra, by simply multiplying staves and changing the sound fonts. 

the condition i've set for a piece to be "orchestral" is that it must utilize the entire orchestra: it must have percussion, piano, horns, woodwinds/reeds and strings. guitars are generally treated like "first violins", whereas violins are generally not considered to be more special than other similar string instruments. some of the tracks also have prominent choral sections. all of these pieces meet this condition, except the last one which does not have a woodwind/reed section. 

my delve into scorewriting ended in 2003; the material in my third phase is more focused on live and manipulated guitars and synthesizers. i consequently feel that this is an interesting summary of my second period, taken from a specific angle that is otherwise largely relegated to single-only remixes. 

initially written and recorded between 2001-2003 and remixed and recorded further over 2014-2015, except track 2 which was completed in early 2006 and track 5 which was completed in 2017. the initial final compilation date was may 23, 2015, but track five was then added on oct 14, 2015 and the disc was finalized as lp021 on nov 29, 2017. track 7 was added as a download-only bonus track on jan 14, 2018. as always, please use headphones. 

this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018). 

* download only 

released may 1, 2003 

j - controller inputs, drum & other programming, orchestral & other sequencing, live guitars, live bass, live synths, effects, sound design, digital wave editing, composition, production. 

the various rendered electronic orchestras includes violin, viola, cello, contrabass, electric guitar, nylon guitar, guitar fret noise, bass guitar, synthesizer bass, french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, english horn, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, bamboo flute, flute, piccolo, synthesizers, mellotron, organ, piano, harp, koto, music box, clavinet, kalimba, xylophone, agogo, mallet, hammered percussion, woodblock, tubular bells, tinkle bells, glockenspiel, orchestra hit, melodic toms, electronic drum kit, timpani, orchestral drum kit and choir.

so, i spent the night doing that sealing i'd been putting off...

but, because the bottle doesn't last very long, it meant i had to finally start rearranging the other room., too.

it kind of works because tonight is sort of lost in between things, with a big day coming tomorrow. but, it means the recording side of the room is finally set back up again, with seals around the cracks to keep the shit out and protective plastic over the cold tiles. 

i'll need to catch up on the posts., tonight.

nah, they're closed early. oops.

tomorrow.

i can drop off the fit today, and will get the following tomorrow:

- pth

- calcitonin

- corisol

- osteocalcin ($65)

- cea ($36)

- panca/canca ($70)

that leaves the following for later, if at all:

- celiac ($90)

- igf-1 ($70)

& the following for a fast, coming up soon:

- amino acid fractionation

- gastrin (redo)

- aluminum

after that, i've run out of ideas, although i want to ask him about the remaining absorption concerns, as well.

so, the aluminum thing is generating evidence.

it's not just the water - it's also potentially the blue dye in the estrogen pills and the orange die in the progesterone pills. well, it's 6 of 'em everyday. if there's a lot of aluminum in the water...

so, my next set of requested tests will be to do with low stomach acid and so far includes:

1) gastrin (fast)

2) amino acid fractionation (fast)

3) aluminum 

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these tests are pending at lifelabs:

- asca   <---crohn's

- mercury

this test requires a 12 hour fast:

- amino acid fractionation   <-----total nitrogen

- gastrin (redo)

these tests can be done next time i go

- pth  

- calcitonin

- cortisol

i will need to pay for these tests out of pocket next weekish:

- celiac ($90 at dynacare)

- cea  ($36 at lifelabs)

- p-anca  + c-anca ($70 at lifelabs)

- psa: ($35 at lifelabs )

- another fit test ($59 at dynacare only)

- osteocalcin  ($65 at lifelabs)  <----double check, info from med labs

- igf-1 ($70 at dynacare) <-----double check, info from med labs

these tests need to be done at dynacare because only they offer them, although i'd rather they were done at lifelabs because they have a free reporting system:

- glutathione  <----- windsor site does not collect

- balp  (not yet ordered)

this test is covered by ohip but is not offered anywhere in the region:

- serum oxalate

- pyruvate <----manganese

this test is only available in a california lab:

-hepcidin

these tests were skipped, for now:

- vitamin e

- vitamin k

- selenium

- molybdenum

- manganese

- iodine

- copper serum

and, here's my list for absorption regarding my diet:

a - absorbing at high levels

b1 - next time

b2 - next time

b3 - next time

b5 - next time

b6 - next time

b7 - next time

b9 - absorbing at high levels

b12 - absorbing, and increasing stores

c - absorbing, at saturated levels

d - absorbing, but a tad low. i should check again soon.

e - pending  (paid)

cholesterol - perfect

k1 - pending (paid)  <----but ptt, inr, fibrinogen normal

fluoride?

aluminum?

sodium - absorbing & regulating

potassium - absorbing & regulating

magnesium - absorbing & regulating

phosphorus - absorbing & regulating

chlorine - absorbing & regulating

calcium - absorbing & regulating

chromium - next time

manganese - pending (paid) <----but,  pyruvate kinase is coming immediately

iron - not absorbing in food, but absorbing in pills

nickel - next time

copper - absorbing & regulating

zinc - absorbing & regulating

selenium - pending (paid) <----- need to find access to glutathione test, not priority right now

molybdenum - not available <---but pancreatic function is normal

iodine - pending (paid) <-----note that tsh is lowish. checking pth. no sign of goiter. dietary sodium is low...

mercury - pending

lead - low

my gastrin came in normal (76, without fasting....so, if anything, it's lowish) and they did ceruloplasmin instead of serum copper again, and it actually came in a tad higher - but still in the normal range for women on birth control.

the pyruvate got canceled for some reason. i'll need to figure that out tonight.

...and, for that reason, i need to once again stress the importance of approaching secondary sources with a lot of caution, as much of the theory is written with this idea that lenin "changed" or "fixed" marxism.

throw those texts on the dung heap, and go back and read marx directly, instead.

marx was a liberal economic theorist, and his insights remain useful.

lenin was a fascist that originated almost everything that is wrong with marxism, today.

so, if you want to be a leninist, whatever - but be clear about it. identify as one. don't smear marx, or bring him into this...

vanguardism is of course a leninist idea, and isn't present in the writings of marx. so, you can't really blame marx for it.

marx himself was pretty explicit in his support of democracy, and only criticized the french revolution in terms of it's inability to uphold it's own ideals - which is a criticism i'm certain he'd have repeated almost verbatim, if directed at the russian revolution, which was a bourgeois revolution, as well.

and, this is really the point i want to get across - i don't want to hear people describe leninsm as "marxism", as though they're the same thing. they're not. marx is not responsible for this in the way that lenin is.

we can still learn a lot from marx, but lenin belongs in the trash heap and we should all be a lot more specific in separating between these ideologies, rather than continue to conflate them.

i'll be the first to congratulate stalin for defeating fascism in europe and almost singlehandedly saving the world from utter destruction. that's credit he doesn't get and deserves.

but, i mean, it wasn't his choice - hitler stabbed him in the back. stalin's foreign policy, as he imagined it, was built on an alliance with germany, and not with the defeat it.

marxists always align with fascists when given the opportunity.

and, it's not the fault of marx, and not the fault of marxists in broader terms. it's the bloody vanguard - it's right in front of them, and they can't see it.

while late-onset alzheimer's is not a genetic condition, and there are no genes that code for it, or any statistically meaningful known associated genetic risk factors that increase the likelihood of getting alzheimer's as one ages, the mechanism by which it causes disease (it seems to be mostly caused by air pollution from cars.) leads to damaged genes in the patient with the disease.

it sounds like what she's observing is consequently a mechanism in the brain to clear damaged cells out, and that she may be confusing a reaction for the cause, potentially due to blurry thinking about what the cause actually is.

there are some forms of early onset alzheimers that appear to have a genetic basis, but it's not clear that what is called early onset and late onset alzheimers are actually the same thing.

you probably want to let these cells do their work, and focus on eliminating the factors creating the damaged cells that they're cleaning up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6L-lALrMEU

did tool use create language?

i think if his thesis is to be taken seriously, it should be generalized to the idea that working together may have been a dominant factor. but, i mean, humans aren't unique in our tabula rasa at birth - essentially all advanced mammals rely on taught behaviour rather than instinct. is designing a stone age tool any more complicated than designing a hunt of a gazelle? i mean, how are they co-ordinating that, anyways? the lions need to watch and learn and understand and repeat....

so, it may have been a factor, i'll grant the point. but, i don't find the idea that it's the dominant stimulus to be compelling.

that said, i agree that the definition of language as a generative grammar is a little too restricted. i mean, we realize today that our brains are more like quantum computers than turing machines, so this idea that our brains have to work something like a recursive grammar (because they're computers.) is probably superseded.  but, it's still interesting to wonder if there's something to the idea of our brains approximating turing machines, and that having something to do with the ubiquity of recursion in human language.

but, if that's true, it seems to be unique, or almost so, as no other species communicates that way. 

so, we should get over our arrogance around the point and expand the definition of language to include birds tweeting, elephants rumbling, dolphins crying and, yes, dogs howling, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uUilIN-8gk

during the course of occupy, it became progressively more apparent that the chapter i was involved with was dominated by law enforcement. we had a few talks about this - it was understood that at least one of us was a cop, and nobody was disillusioned by it. there was a general understanding that we would refrain from attacking each other, and i tended to shrug it off because i didn't expect to break any laws...

i understand that this is the wrong argument, except in situations where there's ambiguity, and i sort of fall into that fairly badly. i adopted a position very early on that i didn't want stupid thugs thinking i was up to things i wasn't, so transparency was in my interest - not because i don't value my privacy, but because i felt my safety might be under threat if i wasn't open about what i was doing. it only takes one dumb cop for somebody to lose an eye or a head (or end up in jail on bullshit charges that require a human rights trial to sett straight, as it may be).

so, i just talked freely and didn't think much about it.

but, as time went on, and i got to know the characters better, it became more and more obvious that almost all of them were cops. supposed strangers seemed to know each other fairly well, even. and, people would come in and out of the group with stories that didn't pass smell tests.

but, more suspicious than anything else was the nature of a large number of the arguments that started appearing. for a bunch of supposed anarchists, they sure often sounded like statist collectivists.

i think there were maybe one or two other people involved that weren't cops...and they tended to get attacked and expelled by the clique of cops fairly quickly, which seemed to be the point. as such, i'm not entirely sure why they let me hang around, other than that i appeared to be in a different category of some sort.

i'm getting the same feeling as i'm sorting through the kind of standard group of fake leftist youtube sites, from zero books & jacobin to some of the more obvious theatre, like jimmy dore (do you think this guy gives a fuck about anything except his bank account?). these were old feelings when initially attached to democracy now and the young turks, but it's taken some time for them to come back with this newer wave of channels. but, it's basically the same bullshit - for a bunch of self-identified leftists, they sure seem intent on attacking and marginalizing anything that might actually lead to any sort of popular resistance. i mean, i'm as anti-cool as anybody, so i can readily relate to the cynicism, but it seems almost methodical - there seems to be some entity in the background that's trying to undo the contemporary left, with the apparent intent of reconstructing it along even more pliable grounds.

and, they all have the same handful of guests on over and over again, which are the talking heads intended to push the project - it's just like network television in that sense.

this isn't the first time i've expressed my disappointed in the quality of the discourse on youtube (that sounds silly, but it's still a million times better than tv, and i have some reason to be disappointed for that reason), but it just seems to keep coming and coming - every time something seems sincere on the surface, it exposes itself over time. it's constant, and the only exceptions are the people that get attacked and spat out.

i keep pointing out that we live in the era of orwell, and that most of us would never be able to figure it out, if it were actually true. but, i remember reading articles about exactly what i'm describing happening in china, which only differs from north america in this respect in terms of transparency - we can figure out what they're doing in china if we read the right foreign sources. we have no idea at all what they're really doing over here. the mentality appears to be that dissent is some kind of mental illness, and what critical thinkers need is to be healed of their disease - and taught to love big brother, in the end.

so, the takeaway here is probably to remind you to remember that all of the critical defense mechanisms you built up over however many years of watching bullshit on tv shouldn't evaporate when you start watching vloggers on the internet - these people remain propagandists, are generally working under state control and are still trying to cure you of your illnesses. and, they will brainwash you into statist compliance, if you let them...

i'll be focusing more seriously on the harvard science lecture series this week.