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Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025

6:51am EST

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Max's Musings

by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

Rated: 18+ · Book · Writing · #2041762

A math guy's random thoughts.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Dave Ryan

Feb 18, 2024 at 2:19pm
In response to "La Mer"

One of my favourites as well. I used to think the English version was a translation of the French, but as you say it's a different song altogether.

The film "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" from 10 years or so ago got indifferent reviews but I quite liked it, and it has a great montage ending where all the loose ends are tied up, with the French version of La Mer (performed by Julio Iglesias) providing the background.

If you'll forgive the impertinence of adding to your blog, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SSIp2J3YHM

Dave Ryan

Feb 17, 2024 at 11:14pm
In response to "I Think I'll Make a Cake"

I'm not a great fan of Glass on the whole, but for some reason I do quite like his violin concerto.

And Stravinsky has just gone up in my estimation by several orders of magnitude for the Fantasia quote!

1 Like

Dave Ryan

Feb 16, 2024 at 6:23am
In response to "M'appari, Tutt' Amor"

I know that, in the eyes of some, this will destroy my credibility irrevocably as he appears to be a love-him-or-loathe-him type of performer, but as I've listened to the nostalgia radio stations over the years I have to admit that Billy Joel has grown on me. The man has quite an impressive body of work.

KingsSideCastle

Feb 6, 2024 at 8:12pm
In response to "Take On Me"

Take on me is an excellent choice.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 19, 2021 at 11:53pm
In response to "Visiting"

Two years late to read this but...

I loved Tulsa when I lived in Oklahoma. Read my poetry at the Gypsy... back in the day... 2004? Joined WDC because of someone I met there.

When I had a home I would've been delighted to have folks stay with me. Now? No room.

I've met folks in Minnesota, Iowa, England, Sweden, Romania, Australia and even here in Montana. Precious memories.

🐕GeminiGem🎁

Dec 9, 2019 at 12:24pm
In response to "Floaters"

At one of my eye exams in the last couple of years, the optometrist told me that floaters were just pigment from the colored part of my eye that detached and are literally floating around. Completely harmless. Dark-eyed people, like me, are more "susceptible" to them. I have them all the time.

WebMD is known for scaring the pants off of people. It is kind of like knowing what is running through your doctor's head while you are going through the history of your symptoms. The difference is, the doctor filters that information better than the web site does (usually).

When I was consulting a surgeon after my cancer diagnosis, she said, "So, how much research have you done on the internet?"

When I said, "None, I thought that's why I hired you," I thought she was going to jump up and kiss me.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, but if it got you in to get examined by a medical professional, I guess it wasn't so bad, lol

Cubby~On the Road Again!

Dec 8, 2019 at 12:17pm
In response to "Floaters"

I have a couple floaters, too, and at my last eye appointed, the doctor said they are nothing to worry about UNLESS, as what happened to you, the sparklers begin to flash and that could mean a detached retina and would need immediate attention. Just like you said! Whew, I'm so glad it turned out well for you.

1 Like

🌖 HuntersMoon

Dec 8, 2019 at 12:10pm
In response to "Floaters"

Interesting... and thankfully, not germaine to me at this time

1 Like

Elle

Aug 25, 2019 at 7:10pm
In response to "Visiting"

I enjoy meeting with online friends. I've been lucky enough so far to meet Jellyfish is in Egypt 💛

, Andy~hating university

and Wordsmitty ✍️

. Each of those was just a couple of hours in a public place. I don't think I'd feel comfortable inviting someone to stay at my house for a few days when I'd never met them before. But I can see that I'd be more comfortable with it if we'd exchanged Skype (or similar) video calls beforehand. I have an online friend that I've been communicating with since 2001, and I'd be happy for her to come and stay with me, but we've had video chats, we're friends on Facebook, we've exchanged snail mail letters and parcels, etc. But even the short meet-ups have been fun. It's so cool to put a face and personality to a name. I think people are always surprised that I'm not as outgoing as I come across on here!

1 Like

Elle

Aug 25, 2019 at 6:59pm
In response to "Word Doodle of Max"

That looks like a great way to waste time! I might have to try that out.

February 3, 2025 at 8:26am

#1083241

Soundtrack, Feb 3, Dies Irae

Actually, this one is just four notes, the ones that define the Dies Irae, a Gregorian chant dating to the thirteenth century. More generally, this chant uses Dorian Mode.

, something that turns out to be pretty common in popular music, whether intentional or not. The "la-la-las" from Horse With No Name from last year's soundtrack use Dorian mode, for one example. There's a YouTube video with snippets from fifty popular songs that use Dorian mode.

But back to those four notes, the ones in the Dies Irae.

One of the longer stories that I wrote last year, "Dreamin' Life Away"

, broke into twelve short chapters, and each had a musical theme. This is a slipstream story in which Dante, the point-of-view character, travels to the 1950s via a subway in his basement. Given his name, you can guess another famous literary journey that provides rich fodder the many metaphors in this story. Anyway, the third chapter, "Chapter 4--Danse Macabre"

uses a movement from Liszt's Totentantz that quotes those four notes. In this chapter, Dante strikes a deal to get new clothes, playing on the Faust legend. If you're interested in the specific Liszt piece, there's a YouTube video linked at the start of the chapter.

Instead of linking to Liszt here, I thought I'd instead link to a more interesting video that gives a half dozen or more examples of where these four notes have appeared in movies, ranging from Star Wars to Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the Capra classic It's a Good Life. Probably the most iconic example, though, appears in the opening credits to Kubrick's The Shining, where Jack and Wendy's VW winds through mounttain passes on the way to the Overlook Hotel. The Dies Irae plays in the background, alerting readers to the horror that's about to come.

Watch this video on the Dies Irae. It's worth time.

1 Like • Comment

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