WORD OF THE DAY! 1/22/13.

The Great Chain of Being
noun
1. Philosophy. The scala naturae (Latin, literally: "ladder or stair-way of nature"), is a classical Christian and Western medieval concept detailing a strict, hierarchical structure of all matter and life, believed to have been decreed by God.

EX. Today's comic is, to my pleasant surprise, based on lyrics from Kanye West's No Church in the Wilds feat. Jay-Z and Frank Ocean. The lyrics appear to be a beautiful perversion of The Great Chain of Being, which is better described as a pyramid as it attempts to prescribe a hierarchy to the universe with the lowest animals on the bottom, followed by more complex animals, with animals like lions higher up, followed by humans, then angels, then God at the top. It actually reminds me of a question I've heard posed in several different ways, but also eloquently by Terry Pratchett's DEATH in The Hogather (go read this book or watch the film):

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape."

My question, when it comes to philosophy, is would you rather be ashamed of humanity or be proud of it? Do you supress it or progress it? Would you rather be the falling angel or the rising ape?

Also, "Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccee!"

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/24/12.

343 GUILTY SPARK AS PLAYED BY WHEATLEY

monitor [mon-i-ter]
noun

1. A student appointed to assist in the conduct of a class or school, as to help take attendance or keep order.

2. A person appointed to supervise students, applicants, etc., taking an examination, chiefly to prevent cheating; proctor.

3. A person who admonishes, especially with reference to conduct.

4. Something that serves to remind or give warning.

5. A device or arrangement for observing, detecting, or recording the operation of a machine or system, especially an automatic control system.

6. An instrument for detecting dangerous gases, radiation, etc.

7. Radio and Television.

a. A receiving apparatus used in a control room, especially to provide a steady check of the quality of an audio or video transmission.

b. A similar apparatus placed in various parts of a studio so that an audience can watch a recorded portion of a show, the performer can see the various segments of a program, etc.

c. Any such receiving apparatus used in a closed-circuit system, as in an operating room.

8. Computers.

a. A component, as a CRT, with a screen for viewing data at a computer terminal.

b. A control program.

c. A group of systems used to measure the performance of a computer system.

9. Nautical.

a. A former U.S. steam-propelled, armored warship of very low freeboard, having one or more turrets and used for coastal defense.

b. (Initial capital letter, italics) The first of such warships, used against the Confederate ironclad warship Merrimac  at Hampton Roads, Va., in 1862.

10. A raised construction straddling the ridge of a roof and having windows or louvers for lighting or ventilating a building, as a factory or warehouse.

11. An articulated mounting for a nozzle, usually mechanically operated, which permits a stream of water to be played in any desired direction, as in firefighting or hydraulic mining.

12. (In hydraulic mining) A nozzle for dislodging and breaking up placer deposits with a jet of water.

13. Any of various large lizards of the family Varanidae, of Africa, southern Asia, the East Indies, and Australia, fabled to give warning of the presence of crocodiles: several species are endangered.

verb (used with object)

14. Radio and Television.

a. To listen to (transmitted signals) on a receiving set in order to check the quality of the transmission.

b. To view or listen to (television or radio transmissions) in order to check the quality of the video or audio.

c. To listen to (a radio conversation or channel); keep tuned to.

15. To observe, record, or detect (an operation or condition) with instruments that have no effect upon the operation or condition.

16. To oversee, supervise, or regulate: to monitor the administering of a test.

17. To watch closely for purposes of control, surveillance, etc.; keep track of; check continually: to monitor one's eating habits.

verb (used without object)

18. To serve as a monitor, detector, supervisor, etc.

 

SOURCE: dictionary.com

 

EX. I noticed something funny the other day while playing through the Halo 3 Campaign; The Monitor AKA Guilty Spark 343 and one of the main villains of the Halo trilogy (most non-fans haven't ever even heard of this guy) looks a lot like Wheatley or even Glados from the Portal series.

And today this popped up:

343 GUILTY SPARK AS PLAYED BY WHEATLEY

MUSICAL MONDAY! HARRY101UK's PORTAL 2 SONGS!

HARRY UK's PORTAL 2 SONGS!

First of all, if for some reason you haven't heard the theme songs to Portal 1 or 2, click the links below to these awesome songs by Jonathan Coulton. I love Still Alive so much that I actually have it on Rock Band and sing it pretty frequently.

Portal- Credits Song "Still Alive"

Portal 2- Credits Song "Want You Gone"

Back to the subject of today's Musical Monday are the works of Harry101UK, specifically his hilarious parodies of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've already talked about what that movie meant to me and if you're interested check this link below.

DISNEY FANATIC! #3 The Nightmare Before Christmas

The videos are impressive, not only because of the expertly imitated and synchronized voice work, but the clever word-play and effort obviously put into each video. Please check them out and make sure to subscribe to Harry101UK's channel.

THIS IS APERTURE

THE WHEATLEY SONG

P.S. "WHEN I'M WHEATLEY!"