To everypony out there today,


All you furries are gonna LOVE this deck recently released by theory11. Known as the Animal Kingdom deck, it is a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund in this special edition deck of cards. $1.00 per deck purchased will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund to benefit global conservation efforts.

But I guess one look will tell you exactly why I'd spread the word around

Have a look:

http://www.theory11.com/playingcard.....animal-kingdom

You can thank me later

Happy Hearth's Warming Eve,

Sean

I just got a letter in the mail that has me in for Jury duty 5 days before the MAS exam. Goddamnit lol...

I TELL Y'ALL IT'S FUCKING AMAZING I'M SURE


Yeah, it's kind of like that.

On a related note, whenever you think about the idea of liquefied ultra-concentrated zombie cure* used as a drink mix, this question invariably comes up: What is the correct proportion of mix:solvent?

Well, I did some calculations, and based the amount on a solvent of 500mL, typical water bottle size. They claim a ratio of 18 8-fl.oz. servings, which was pretty much the answer right there. So how to convert this into the correct SI units? They also say that there are 48 mL solute total in the 18-serving bottles, which is the crucial clue.

When you follow through, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you actually achieve a ratio of about 5.636 mL mix in 500 mL water, give or take. Gives a nice blood-red concoction I must add. By extension (since I have a fair stock of 1L military canteens), a total of 11.2713 mL, or a paltry .4 fluid ounces, is appropriate for a canteen. How to store such predetermined amounts? Simple really! Back in my Biochem MS program, we used 15-mL plastic sterile centrifuge tubes, perfect for storing such amounts and giving the impression of some biochemical testing substance to boot. The 50-mL tubes do well for whole bottles, though personally I'd pair that with a plastic 10-mL disposable syringe for practical purposes.

The more you know...

*P.S. I am considering a proposal to the Urban Gaming Club to add an additional clause to our local Humans vs. Zombies game: to allow for "zombie cure" tubes, in the format described above, which will revert the affected player to human status. These might be prizes or key items in missions or hidden as dead drops throughout campus, or even offered at the "feast" at the Cornucopia. Who knows? This will be fun :)

And to  aufybunny: nice to see that we're winning against the trolls but I warn you this: knowing 4chan you are treading upon eggshells no matter what; I suggest you tread carefully in the near future.

Happy Nightmare Night from Skyhawk Illusions!

Hey guys,

I'm currently doing a birthday present for Nikosei... it's going to be an AWESOME surprise . A preview of things to come, things to show off on FA soon :)

And as for you Regdeh... I haven't forgotten... it's just that the pic is taking longer than I thought it would D-:<

Hoping you well :D

Sean

WOW!  kitnabarii is doing a total of 300 badges!!! WOW!!!

Check it out here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3520681/

Thanks  talmak for the post! Better build up my conbadge collection to make up for the ones I lost last year.

Hey guys, Peregrine Skyhawk here :)

Morphicon was quite good to have attended. Too bad I wasn't able to meet Tagz, aka  xpatrickx, though he might have sighted me a few times, considering his Hypertrophe status. Pity, I really wanted to show him my new playing cards

On other news, I'll soon be posting pix of the stuff I tend to carry in my messenger bag, so stay tuned, okey? You'll be surprised how much a furry can carry in a bag of swag.

-Sean

P.S. Thanks  aufybunny for the time we had together at the Morphicon Hunger Games that Sunday night. Sure, you reminded me of some of my loose-cannon friends, but you're pretty cool . The swordplay was pretty much the best part of it all, and we really were able to go all out that year. Hope to do so again! :)

P.P.S. I will be performing Furception 2013 next year :). Cutie-mark shirt change effect I did at the Brony SIG? Check. Blue rubberband effect from said SIG? Check. High Caliber Holster? Check (stay tuned for pix!!!). Technical difficulties? Leshopenot. Awesome? It will be

All 52 episodes of MLP in glorious 1080p...

and they're all MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know my bedroom? The one in my latest pic?

Nowhere near as clean now >:(

The Voynich Manuscript
The Major Arcana in a Tarot Deck
The Ten Sephirot in Kabbalah
The Doctor Who Series
Dubstep

have in common?

(hint: the better you know me, the more likely you'll find an answer)

My dad was asking me for help in some things and one of them was trying to remember the make of a brand of car that he once owned. Mom knew this information, but he didn't

Now, I had known he once drove a Buick back in the early 90s. What I didn't know was the make, and once I heard that he once owned a Buick Skyhawk, it was quite a shock.

Yes, a Buick Skyhawk. Talk about irony!

And what's more, that was the very first car I ever laid in; it was the car that took my newborn self from the hospital to home. Only now did I know this.

In contrast, the Sean Skyhawk moniker was established about 2007 to 2008. I'd adopted many more ridiculous pseudonyms and aliases in the past, and in this case, it was a choice between the names "Firehawk" or "Skyhawk". In the end, I chose the name Skyhawk and I've never looked back.

I'm starting to wonder if there is more to life than mere coincidence...

nn^ (^v^) ^nn

Hey errybody,

How's things?

I just recently updated my email address; you can now reach me at skyhawkillusions@gmail.com. I thought it would be more appropriate, considering the "Skyhawk Illusions" brand I intended to use.

Also, I'm reinstating Song of the Week. Consider this one the first of 2012:

"Experiments" by District78 ft. Moniker off the Web Original TV show "The LXD"



Enjoy, and see you on Monday!

~Sean ^v^

P.S. Who else finds Daring-Do sexy?

... not.

Ok, now that I've got your attention, I just wish to make a statement; I have been aware of the MLP-related art that has been surfacing within the past few months; between all the Trollestia fanart and 20% cooler shrugging ponies, it's gone a REALLY long way since its inception in 2010-2011, from Episode A to Episode Z. (No lie! Exactly 26 episodes were used for Season 1). And with Episode 2-A just released (which I have yet to watch) and the final straw (the banner on FA), the time has come for me to state my official stance to this.

So guys,... yes. I admit it. I'm starting out the road to bronyism. Before you choose to sever our contact by unwatching and blocking me, I must also state that I have not taken this to the degree as is demonstrated by the stereotypical basement-dwelling loser who sits in his computer surrounded by plastic crap. But... you know... it could end up that way.

I've always thought that religion is one of the most powerful forms of inception ever executed on mankind; to achieve that level of followers over millenia is simply astounding, and with the advancements of mass media, even easier than ever. Though I do not wish to earn the ire of pretty much half the world in my words, I find the purely patriarchical religions as were advocated by Abraham to be... saddening to say the least. As a wise man once said, we all are slaves to our own passions. And I think religious ones are no exception.

But you might ask, what does this have to do with ponies? Well let me ask you another question in return. Suppose a TV show designed specifically for young girls not only becomes popular among that niche, but continues to expand in a runaway pace throughout entire demographics, causing even the hardest men to enjoy it thoroughly? Something as powerful as that, to incept so many worldwide... this in my opinion could make My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic one of the most powerful 21st century psychological weapons to be unleashed onto Man. As Oppenheimer once said, "it worked!"

I am by no means a psychologist. But I could become that. In the three years of performing illusions and taking on the graduate-level curriculum offered to me, I have earned substantial knowledge in reading others, but not only that; I have not been entirely blind to the patterns around me.

You see, here's what I've noticed. If you expect anything to be so popular, and especially be so popular at the rate MLP or (my other example) Angry Birds does, you need the following:

1. Cuteness. If you are considering their respective target audiences, this is the defining factor in both Angry Birds and MLP. I believe it is the pivotal reason for Angry Birds, resulting in the plush toys out there. However, we must be careful not to put so much sugar into our work that it turns people off by its cloying excess.
2. Understandability. Angry Birds got the point of the plotline across very succinctly. MLP clearly delineated the surroundings, characters and environment.
3. Qualities one can EASILY relate to. For Angry Birds, this is not as important, though one can sympathize with the birds' plight thereby helping them out more. But for MLP, this is probably even more important than cuteness. The original TV series made the mistake of not accounting for this facet, hence subsequently earning the ire of today's fans (20 years later).

One of the most fatal pitfalls that one can have when writing a story is the Mary Sue; in Matsuricon, someone mentioned this definition: a direct projection of self into the story with all your secret desires and none of the weaknesses. It is always important for a character to have some flaw in some way or another; as we are all flawed, we can understand someone better if that person is too; after all, can we associate ourselves with a perfect robot? I think that would creep us out. And same here with Mary Sues. The original played on the tastes of little girls of the 1980s, so Hasbro's not totally at fault to make all their ponies Mary Sues. But as for Lauren Faust... we see these ponies have significant character flaws that have been exploited numerous times throughout the first Season either for comical effect or for a good story plot. They are characters we all can relate to.

Of course, popularity is a two-edged sword. Once EVERYONE starts enjoying something so much, it is so easy to get bored of the thing and leave, or express so much disgust at the apparent human state that you become a hipster. Look what happened with Angry Birds. Though a good concept (and so portable) it was limited by the boundaries as provided by a mere online computer game, so it did not have as much room to reach out more (other than admittedly good merchandise).

As for MLP,  nikosei once mentioned something in her journal about the new banner (I must stress this is not of my opinion and purely hers; also, I make no accusations of character by stating this) that I took great interest to and found relevant to the topic at hand:

I'll be honest. I don't like MLP. Mostly because I tend to not like super-popular things. It annoys me when something is so popular that I hear it or see it every single day. I just don't like conformity and how people become overly obsessive about things.

That raises a good point. My prediction is that people will get tired of MLP:FIM proper and move on to other things. The only problem with this argument is that no one could have forseen the chain reaction that was executed on the internet because of this very show. To start, it is near-impossible to count the memetic mutations that have emerged on the Web (even excluding all the shippings seen in fanfics). For instance, I once read a fanfic of MLP based on Assassin's Creed I found very enjoyable. Also, to consider the level of depth people have taken to creating Derpy Hooves as a character in her own right was quite astounding for a cameo background pony with an animation error the higher-ups did not take notice of. I think that MLP provides very fertile ground for creativity that is sorely needed in this demographic; once the Nile flood of conformity wanes, we are then left with the black soil where ideas can take root.

I do hope this entry has given you some thoughts. I also dedicate this to the fellow newly-induced brony friends  vant_talon and  zarelthewinddragon, whose induction to brony-hood I was also witness to.

Hoping you well,
Sean Skyhawk

After class tomorrow me and my brother Fawkestheskarmory on deviantART go to fucking Matsuricon, for three days. Me? I dunno, I'm probably going as either Arthur from Inception (assuming I gel my hair slick) and/or an off-duty reaper (accessories include a Night Fury navy robe and toy scythe). I'll probably be doing some magic stuff, so I'll try to stick around. Time to brush up on my shit :-<

COMISSION LIST

1.  duphasdan: official ref sheet for me and Kuro
2.  talmak: passport commish (still coming up with additional information)
3.  nikosei: comic arc cover (currently suspended due to personal reasons)
4.  kilju: pic of me and Kuro
5.  regdeh: still waiting for good chat times :)
6. Fawkestheskarmory on dA: in discussion for comic illustration
7.  husky657: Preliminary discussions
8.  holydrake: Paid Commission (already in progress, lineart of first character complete)

I've been chillin' for some time; recently I've been in discussions with about doing a possible joint commission fursuit head, so I'm really looking forward to that. I provide all the materials, and he anything else he has at hand as well as his expertise. So... I'm really paying a fursuit consultant.

Also... maybe I haven't been keeping track of things, but I'm still waiting for some of the commissions/requests I've put out/won. It's entirely understandable that many of you guys are busy, and this does sound a bit impatient, but I'm posting this lest I forget. So the list is:

1.  duphasdan: official ref sheet for me and Kuro
2.  talmak: passport commish (still coming up with additional information)
3.  nikosei: comic arc cover
4.  ctrlaltelit3: simple pic of two gryphters
5.  kilju: pic of me and Kuro
6.  regdeh: still waiting for good chat times :)
7. Fawkestheskarmory on dA: in discussion for comic illustration
8.  husky657: Preliminary discussions
9.  holydrake: Paid Commission (already in progress, lineart of first character complete)

I... hope that's everyone... I might have  ghostt do a $30 cape if need be :)

Hello furries!

I'm SO behind on my SotW journals that I have discontinued the numbering system and have begun using dates instead. I THINK I'll be able to keep up, but no promises just yet :-\

Song: Shots
Artist: LMFAO featuring Lil' Jon
Album: Party Rock (2009)

This song was found while I was looking for random hip hop music, particularly Pitbull's songs. I started doing this after asking (at every class mind you) for the name of the song that was being used during training, and it kind of snowballed.

I thought Shots had this "... while I play unfitting music" humorous quality to it and it has quite a beat, though I've seen better in that particular department. As for the obvious extolling of alcohol usage (as in the line "The ladies love us/ when we pour shots/ they need an excuse/ to suck our c***s"), well that kind of contributes. Also, I'll be receiving this Big Ass Box of Magic stuff soon from Sankey Magic and I'll be shooting a satirical review with this song in the background (in its full uncensored glory :-P)

Watch, here:



Keep the crunk alive, oh, and of course: Blessed Be!

-Sean Skyhawk

First, I find that Horus figurine at Goodwill; not only that, I was the one who had to stock it. Second, one stormy day, well it was either swim with my Dad to reconnect or use the treadmill... as I am about to start, the power goes out, forcing both of us to go out to swim. I come back and then the power is back on.

Third, the same day I suggest that very book, I find this copy of Egyptian Revenge Spells in the library (the only one) and borrow it; Finally, I open the book to the info page on Horus and guess what his B-day is... July 15.

It just sounds weird

New quarter already, so let me get some things out of the way.

Where have I been the past week? It's been a boring 8 days, but at least I watched not one, but TWO CGI animated films! And let me review them right now!!!

THIS WEEK ONLY: SUPER DELUXE ANIMATION SPECIAL

Rio

Rio was the first film that was seen throughout the pre-Summer break. Basically, it follows the story of the cozy Spix' macaw named Blu, who was rescued in Minnesota after being left behind as a chick, avoiding the fate of most of the other exotic birds smuggled into the US. Fifteen years later, the ornithologist Tulio travels all the way from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to seek out Blu, so that he (the last male of his kind) could be mated to the last remaining female back in Rio (named Jewel). Of course they are stolen, and it's a race against time for our two lovebirds to escape before they are smuggled into the black market here in Rio. They're gonna need help; fortunately, Pedro, Nico, Rafael, Luiz, and many other quirky birdys will always stand by his side!

This was a rather whimsical film for me to watch and I found it quite enjoyable. Also, baby Blu in the beginning was insanely cute, and it was really funny to see how awkward our hopeless bird really was. Glad he made it in the end; the music selection was also quite nice. I also liked how Blu used some of his "street skills" (to use the term) to help the others out.

Still, it's less awesome than...

Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom

STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

As for music, why don't you head off to these:






Weeks 5 and 6
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1

I've been thinking about Synx recently. Well, actually, my interest has been rekindled because of a strange dream I had a few nights back.

Usually whenever I dream the different scenes go together like patchwork; it is very difficult for me to have a truly coherent dream, but it's happened before (like last night, but that's a different story)

On the night in question, in one part of the dream I was in some wide room with a bunch of skylights and golden sun poured from the ceiling (turns out that it was an actual location that was presumably torn down when the corresponding strip mall had its glass facade removed). Then off to the right, there it was; not a Synx at first, but my own Zanpakuto spirit Kuro. Only... he did not wear any clothes nor did he talk. I looked away (and I did not feel surprised at his presence, as if we'd been walking to this location together). Looking back... I don't remember that well. You know that feeling when you're looking at a painting in those haunted house horror games and whenever you look back at it the painting changes? Well change the scene did. Suddenly a white Synx was right next to him, standing upright. Look away, look back, now no Kuro, but a black Synx. Did he change into Synx form or did they merge? Neither of them interacted with me at any satisfactory level; they might have been statues for all I could perceive.

It was quite an interesting dream; thing about it is, I have not been thinking about Synx AT ALL within the months before then (though admittedly I had seen some of your work couple years back). Very interesting how the least significant memories pop up in our dreams.

Made me wonder, though: what if Kuro somehow absorbed a Synx? You see, Kuro is what is known as a shadow creature; they are actually made of tiny nanoparticles that act via their hive mind to resemble a singular organism, such as a dragon. They are like cells of any multicellular organism, only that at any point they could "melt" into some tarry amorphous form. Alternatively, they could shapeshift into any creature of their choosing, but it would retain the same shade of darkest midnight blue in their skin (hence, presumably, the black Synx).

But what is more, because of this ability, they could theoretically consume organisms ala the Blob. I suspect that if they ever were pitted against one another, the Synx would put up quite a fight before Kuro ultimately started clinging onto and then melting right into the alien parasite, completely consuming it from without and from within. When Kuro reformed, though, he would probably have partial Synx-related biological traits (anesthetic venom, horns, faster regeneration, stronger hydrostatic muscles on more flexible bones, etc.). I suspect that the three different views could be interpreted as describing such a consumption (as I suspect that Kuro looked like he was covered in some tarry substance when I saw him)

I don't know, but I just thought it would be something interesting to put out there.

-Sean

Synx copyright  chimerasynx

Due to finals, I have decided to forgo the current Song of the week; Week VII will be released on June 8, 2011

So sorry for the delays; I've been behind because of the midterms and Furception. This constitutes the Song of the Week for Weeks V and VI of the whole shindig :)

[size=+2]THIS WEEK ONLY: SUPER DELUXE PRODIGY SPECIAL[/size]

"Omen" by The Prodigy off of their 2009 album Invaders Must Die

"Omen" is the nineteenth single released by the British electronic band The Prodigy. It was released on February 16, 2009, and it is the first commercial single from the album Invaders Must Die.

I first learned of this on the Intanet and only recently got really hooked onto it. It makes one want to DANCE and the xylophone is very creepy sounding. The video with the little old-fashioned girl reminds me of some of the horror films out there like "orphan" or stuff like that. Speaking of which, time to play The HOUSE (Pick your poison)

And for your entertainment, here's a video incorporating parts of "Omen:" EMBEDDING DISABLED BY REQUEST. PLEASE WATCH ON YOUTUBE



SECTION STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

And I've decided to post the previous links so that you guys can catch up on the previous weeks:

Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1

*Please note: Any apparent grammatical errors are intentional and are meant to accentuate the casual nature of the journal.

Soooo.... bin Laden's dead. I have nothing really there to say because of so many other things, but I suppose it's a good thing.

This is Sean Skyhawk's fourth week of Song of the Week and I've decided to make it a double feature! I had forgotten about this and I only came up with the song just now

"No Surprise" by Chris Daughtry off of his 2009 album Leave this Town

"No Surprise" is the first single from Daughtry's second album Leave This Town. The band first performed the song live on American Idol on Wednesday, May 6, 2009, and later began streaming "No Surprise", on their official website, on the evening of May 6, 2009. The song was made available on iTunes May 5, and was officially sent for adds at Mainstream Top 40 radio on May 26, 2009.

As for "Whataya Want from Me," I first heard this song over the radio (several times on that channel in fact) and only recently did I finally decide to download this from beemp3 and put it on my iPod. This song actually is a rock song this time and is even more melodious than the Adam Lambert song; I'll leave it there.

Here's the official music video for it (for lack of anything else)

The video begins with a guy trying to sign up for a mining job, but fails. Meanwhile a girl works at a diner and accidentally spills soda on a female customer when a guy behind accidentally bumps into her. Her boss starts yelling at her and fires her; she can then be seen walking out of the diner and throwing her apron to the ground.

The next camera shot is at the couple's home, their neighbor is leaving for a musical gig. Both argue about their foreclosure of their home. The final segment begins the next morning when the man wakes up and leaves. The girl wakes up and is unable to find him. The video concludes with the girl looking around town (alternating shots between the band and her running through town and bumping into a guy) then, finally, sitting down on the ground, leaning against a big rock wondering what will happen next and the camera pans out and the viewer can see that the couple are sitting on opposite sides of the large boulder, while in the video Chris and his band performs at the mining area. The video was directed by Nathan Cox.

---

"528491" by Hans Zimmer, off of the Inception soundtrack

This was actually my favorite when I first heard the song, though it was soon supplanted by "Mombasa" which actually immediately succeeds it in the soundtrack. Dang, why do all the songs I choose have so much emotion in it? This song played when Fischer Jr. finally reached the inside of the vault and spoke with the projection of his father for the last time. I nearly cried when he used the combination of the safe (5-2-8-4-9-1) to find the last will and ... the pinwheel shown in Fischer's photograph only for Fischer Sr. to die moments later.

The song emphasizes finality, catharsis, and climax with the parts leading up to the end crescendoing to its conclusion, followed by a variation of the iconic Inception Horn. Because of this, I will be using this as the penultimate song in the Furception soundtrack.

This is the scene I mentioned. You might not want to see this if you haven't watched Inception because it contains heavy spoilers for the movie. But it's your choice.



See you next week!

-Sean the Peregrine Skyhawk

This is Sean Skyhawk's third week of Song of the Week, which will update on Tuesdays from now on; this one's probably the least thought out of them all, I duly apologize. I'm really freaking out with the upcoming magic show I'm doing and all that crap, so forgive me...

Waiting for the End by Linkin Park off their 2010 album A Thousand Suns

I first heard of the "Thousand Suns" album when they advertised it in Target. I didn't know they were doing something after "Minutes to Midnight"; it was only after I had listened to the album in full that I actually was able to appreciate their style. Thousand Suns is in fact my favorite album, surpassing even their debut album Hybrid Theory (a long time favorite no doubt).

Why? Thousand Suns actually has a good story behind it. In my head, I visualize my own fursona, bag and staff in hand, battered from his numerous fights, wandering the wastelands that used to be the cities of the US and sleeping in hammocks under the stars. The Catalyst, the first I listened to, has this lamentation aspect to it, while the angry industrial hip hop beat of Wretches and Kings is near-impossible to not dance to (and Mario Savio has quite some passion in him).

My favorite, however, is "Waiting for the End". This one has this mysterious, almost dream-like aspect to it, and in the story of the post-apocalyptic traveler I always imagine that this song plays throughout a dream of some sort. The tried and tested hard rock style so associated with LP and the electronic tone throughout the song, combined with Chester Bennington's ability to SINGGGGGA makes this one the song I listen to more than any throughout the album.

The video is right here:



You can see why it has this dream-like feel to it; maybe this is what I should use for my "kick" music :D

-Sean

Also, I FINALLY learned Betwixt! Easy for me to do; I hope to fry  roxikat with it :D

Preview HERE

You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure where it will. But it doesn't matter.

How can it not matter to you where that train will take you?

This is Sean Skyhawk's second week of Song of the Week and just like the first one, it's also a double feature! Don't expect this trend to go on for too long, though, I can only keep this up as long as something sticks in my head...

"Whataya Want from Me" by Adam Lambert off of his 2009 album For Your Entertainment

This is the second mainstream single by pop vocalist and American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert. I don't follow pop culture too much (especially American Idol, ugh!) but I have to admit that, though others might view it differently, it produces quite a few gems sometimes.

I first heard this song over the radio and back then, I thought it had this rock edge to it. It was only later on that I found out that it was actually a pop song (technically pop rock so I wasn't too far off) and a good one at that. I certainly like the edge to it and the emotion behind the singer.

Here's the official music video for it (for lack of anything else)

---

"Mombassa" by Hans Zimmer, off of the Inception soundtrack

Now dis I like!!! I downloaded the entire Inception soundtrack as soon as I finally jumped on the Inception bandwagon even before its release. I haven't been able to watch it a second time, but I have to admit that Inception is a considerable influence in my work (at least in the future).

"Mombassa" is now my official favorite from the Inception soundtrack. It takes place when Cobb is being chased in the alleyways of the eponymous city in Kenya, but there are two other possible situations I can totally imagine it in: a round of parkour and falling in slow motion while it's a race against the clock to complete the other two sub-dream levels, a minute to win it! Of the entire soundtrack, this is the fastest beat without a doubt and the blend between electric, traditional percussion and classical orchestra provides for a most electrifying mix!

Here is a live performance of the song from the Inception Premiere:



And this is the famous "Inception in Real-Time" video from YouTube, which uses this song as a backdrop. In it, the first to third dream levels along with the limbo stage are sequentially added and compared side to side. Needs moar 24 :D



See you on Monday! I'll eventually edge it until I update on Sundays.

Sweet dreams!
-Sean the Peregrine Skyhawk

After having seen the journals of  vant_talon's brother from another mother  zeezy, I decided to try something similar of my own. So here is Sean Skyhawk's Song of the Week, and the first entry will be a double feature, so double the music, double the fun!

"Shape of My Heart" by Sting off of his 1993 album Ten Summoner's Tales

After other magicians insisted on it, I finally got "Shape of My Heart" on my iPod. I can totally see why this old Sting song is such a favorite within our community; after all, "we deal the cards as a meditation." I like it for its mellow nature and its thematic elements; also, Shawn Farquhar used it in his ACR as shown in the videos below. It so makes me want to sing... maybe this is my heartsong.

Here is basically the act, with a few variations, that won the World Championship and Grand Prix of Close Up Magic in Beijing, China in 2009.



and another with better quality:



"Flutterby" by Philter, available as a free digital download here: http://thephilterlounge.com/music/

I first heard the song from the following video; now, I follow the magic community a lot and this came up under Andrei Jikh's channel. He was using this video as an entry to the Nikon contest "Your Day in 140 Seconds or less". As opposed to "Shape of My Heart," "Flutterby" is a more futuristic, almost dreamlike state. Listening to it evokes the feeling of falling in slow motion and feeling the wind as you travel ever so slowly downward; it's truly exhilirating. So here is the video that got him into the contest:



Also, feel free to explore Andrei's channel --> http://www.youtube.com/user/238662Jikh

Oh, and I also uploaded an image of my totem/talisman; I encourage you to read the description in full because it's quite interesting. Maybe you can find some interpretation I haven't thought of before, like  duphasdan did.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5568069

Well, it's a month and a half away from Morphicon, so it's about time for me to make this announcement. I have finalized the routine I wish to do and all I need now is confirmation with the staff.

Ladies and Gents, I will be doing a 1 hour magic show in the Griswold C room at 2:30 PM Satyrday at Morphicon (May 14, 2011). About high time I debuted in the field somewhere and what better way to do it than here!

As those who have seen my channel will attest, I'm mostly a card guy; even so, there will also be some pretty cool stuff such as fire, explosions, penetrations, mice... and to close the routine, I will randomly invite one lucky lovable spectator to the stage and cut hir in half!

I'll be hanging around at the Dealer room after all this nonsense is over; those who stop by while I'm there will witness quite a few effects I would have liked to include into the show but couldn't due to time restraints... they are just as good if not better!

In any case, I sure hope you look forward to it because I surely do!

-Sean Skyhawk

PS To check the real-time schedule log onto e477.com/cgi-bin/viewer.cgi. Oh, and can you find which of the above is false? First to do so is the first on stage :)