#dorianbrightmusic

[a-suspicious-lack-of-bagel]

For the flower ask: Calla Lily, primrose, locust, and heliconia!

Calla Lilly (if you died right now, what song would you want to play at your funeral?): I've currently got Duruflé's Requiem stuck in my head from this evening's rehearsal. It's lovely and it seems appropriate! Other strong contenders rn include Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and Still Young by the Cat Empire.

Primrose (favourite kind of soup): Depends! In my head noodle soups are a different category. At the moment I'd probably say potato corn and bacon, I think? If you include various noodle soups - laksa if homemade but probably pho if not - tends to be less variable. Either way with plenty of lime.

Locust (favourite book as a child): how the HECK do you expect me to pick one? If we're going child=primary school, Albatross Two by Colin Thiele is a solid contender. Blueback by Tim Winton I read SEVERAL times in a row but didn't return to much after that I don't think? I mean I had serieses I came back to for comfort reading but that's different.

Side note: Americans, what the fuck. Why would you call a FLOWER a locust? a locust is a Swarming Insect of biblical infamy for its prodigious crop destruction abilities! Although I hear they're an invasive weed here so *shrug* maybe it fits?

Heliconia (do you like it when it rains): HECK yes. i LOVE the smell of rain; i LOVE when the humidity gets Used Up and takes temperature with it; i LIKE frolicking around in rain sometimes; i Really Enjoy snuggling up under a warm doona and listening to it rain. that said; Not a fan of continual light drizzle (which can kinda sting when it lands on u sometimes? and makes drying washing a pain); nor am i a fan of overcast cold weather with no rain (synaesthesia stuff - the music is EXCELLENT but not always good for my mental health / can be nostalgic in an unhelpful way.)

[doot-boi]

sleep, Ryan. sleeeeep.

Bold ask coming from someone in the same timezone. You first 🔫 /lh

[agentc0rn]

Interesting character parallels in designs...

I shared a story on insta about some patterns I noticed in the designs of characters I like, one of which is based on their hairstyles covering one of their eyes; this can be usually be seen as a visual hint to their secrets/hidden lore, which then my wonderful mutual @//dorianbrightmusic noted that:

"It's always a combination of them having seen too much and them having something to hide from the common view - skeletons in the closet. The characters always seem to be leaving something supernatural and once beloved - for Volo, the celestica clan + heritage; for AZ, his royal power; Arven, his connection to the professors. The covered eye (almost) always symbolizes a change of life direction".

I told my mutual that I never thought about the having seen too much part before in relation to their designs. Subsequently, I added that all of these three characters are wearing pretty big and heavy bags/backpacks, which implicates the heavy weight of the burden they bear hidden from plain view both in literal and figurative terms. Additionally, two are shown with one hand grasping the straps, suggests, espeically once you learn their story, they cling earnestly to something of significant value they had lost/seek to find, or alternatively, not being able to let go of the past that haunts them.

Now, putting a quick disclaimer, this is just our interpretations and not some confirmed, "objective" statements and such.

[a-suspicious-lack-of-bagel]

"List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ू•‧̫•ू⑅)♡" Thanks to @daydream-dryad-13, @dorianbrightmusic, and @0rchidrose for sending me this! I'll also be tagging rather than leaving in askboxes so I can better keep track of who I've sent it to.

When someone lets me know about something they think is interesting - this can be something as small as "hey look at this cool rock I found", or it can be someone explaining a topic they're interested in in considerable depth. i LOVE it when all you amazing people share interesting things with me!

People responding to stuff i've put out in the world - whether that's a "you ok?" after a vent, or a "ooh that reminds me of this!" after a blurble, or a "but hear me out, what if this" after an idea - you're telling me that a REAL PERSON not only LISTENED but JOINED IN??!? amazing.

I have recently discovered that there's a gluten-free French bakery about 15min walk from my house, and i am DELIGHTED. you're telling me there's this dude who heard we can't eat croissants, and not only did he go "damn that sucks" he went and STARTED AN ENTIRE BAKERY ABOUT IT??!? and there's sourdough?! which i haven't got to try yet cos it's only baked a few times a week and it sells fast and i'm busy but there are also ham and cheese croissants. which are ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS??!? granted, i am still suspiciously lacking in bagels specifically but I GET TO EAT CROISSANTS AGAIN AND THEY ARE DELICIOUS. this is a VERY good thing and i am VERY happy about it!

Bob Mintzer's piece Computer. The computer-y sections pop and bounce just like the inside of my brain and it's SO fun; and the opening chords never fail to bring a smile to my face. (It's now stuck in my head, which i'm looking forward to enjoying for the rest of the day!)

Silly bad jokes/puns. When someone gets me with the 'hi X, i'm name' or similar - like, fuck you (on principle) but I love it. and when i get someone in a similar way - it's just so good! another one that always amuses me is "where's my fucking [item]?" "over there next to your regular [item]" - you understand the style? yeah.

there are many other things that make me happy (singing, in general; for one) but those are 5 specific examples that came to mind! now, for the 10 people who've reblogged me most recently that haven't sent me this yet: @atimewillcomeforsinging @musicalyikes @chilly-moss @mac-attac @verycisdragon @amastelaire @astronomical-bagel @most-definitively-a-human @thefairfeline and 1 other who I can't seem to tag, so I'll leave it in their askbox instead! And anyone else that would like to join - what makes you happy, you amazing people?!

[agentc0rn]

Fan remixes/arrangement you should totally listen to esp if you are a SV and/or XY fan.

I'm having so much thoughts and feelings about SV and the theories of area zero with XY lore again....Ive drawn some art while listening to these songs too. Wearing headphones are a MUST.

(the fourth is done by my mutual @//dorianbrightmusic!!! Go send her some love and support!!!)

[a-suspicious-lack-of-bagel]

I've been having some thoughts about knowledge, understanding, processing, and recall. Why is it that the teachers I got on with best - and most enjoyed the classes of - were my Physics and Maths teachers, yet my worst subjects academically were extension 2 maths and physics? (This one got rather long - 10.5 more paragraphs under the cut).

I think it's to do with what's being tested - knowledge vs understanding. As @dorianbrightmusic recently pointed out to me, I tend to have better understanding than I do knowledge - that's just how I learn. This means (at least for me) that, for example, I am alarmingly good at pretending to be prepared at uni: I can sit there in my tute, having barely skimmed one of the 3 set readings and not watched the lecture; and yet I'm still engaged in the tutorial discussion - and at the end, it's my one-sentence summary that goes on the whiteboard for our group.

The secret to an excellent participation grade (at least, in my experience) seems to be one's ability to PROCESS information: to absorb, synthesize, and have ideas about the topic of discussion - and while some prior knowledge is useful and highly recommended, it's not always necessary. Unfortunately for my marks, however; participation requires attendance (how inconvenient!); and EXAMS are more a measure of one's knowledge.

In an exam, you're typically expected to apply your acquired knowledge to a series of questions or problems. Rather than your ability to process information, an exam tests your ability to RECALL information - especially under time pressure. Sure, this is partly a comment on my lack of exam preparation; but my high-achieving colleagues went into their maths and physics exams armed with a catalogue of practice problems and a list of formulae used to solve them - whereas I walked into the hall with only the small reference sheet provided, and then mashed formulae and problems together willy-nilly until an answer appeared.

As a brief side note, I find essays to require a combination of both processing AND recall, as they're both persuasive and informative in nature. "Here's the cool idea I had" (processing), "here's my evidence" (recall), "and therefore I'm right" (processing again). Hence the subjects where my enjoyment tended to better match my marks: English and History.

Returning to my topic; unfortunately for me, it tends to be faster to recall stored knowledge than apply acquired understanding - and so my marks were less good than I'd have liked. Sure, I had no issues tackling the hardest problems in the exam; but if the "easy" questions take you just as long, you run out of time before you can get to them. It's much easier to apply a formula than invent one - so if you can just learn them all beforehand, you'll work faster. (Stay tuned for my next lecture: the many problems with how assessment is done, and why it still probably shouldn't change!)

Anyways, that's why I tend to prefer the theoretical to the applied (although other reasons also apply there), and that's why I got on so well with my y12 maths and physics teachers. Some of my earlier teachers were experts in navigating the education system, with a passion for their subject; but these two were experts in their subject, with a passion for teaching. (And also kind, intelligent, and neurodivergent; which helps.)

It's been apparent to me for a while that I'm never going to be a talented student of either maths or physics. The conclusion I've come to recently, though; is that I AM an excellent physicist and mathematician (well, at least I am when that's what I put my effort into). I'd be a perfectly good post-graduate academic - it's a tad unfortunate that "graduate in relevant field" is a prerequisite.

There's a saying that "those who can't do, teach; and those who can't teach, teach PE". That's bullshit. I've met teachers FAR more competent than many professionals in their fields; and one of the best teachers I've had's subject was PDHPE. (And a good thing too - it's Remarkably hard and ENORMOUSLY important to teach kids about consent, especially when your classes consist of a bunch of feral teenagers with VASTLY different experiences, prior knowledge, and sometimes trauma!)

However, I do think we need more people who can't RECALL so easily; who are intelligent but not always conventionally "academically gifted", in teaching. My Gran is admittedly biased (teacher who retired but refuses to stop teaching) but she thinks my vocation is in teaching - and for all the above reasons.

The world could use a few less paediatric bureaucrats with a passion for physics; exceptional though they are at the craft of marks-improvement. Instead, in my opinion, the world needs a few more physicists with a passion for teaching - their students end up with more brilliance than efficiency; and if they choose to stay in their field, they'll end up with more satisfaction for the same productivity.

[a-suspicious-lack-of-bagel]

oi @dorianbrightmusic I feel like you'd have opinions on this

thoughts on 'a dice'