steveherenow

[steveherenow]

i know that i need to walk down a twisting, pitch black hall, towards a distant and dim light: towards peace. i would feel safer and more confident if the hallway were illuminated, so i call out for help. a voice down the hall says, "look inward."

putting my faith and trust in this voice, i surrender to their guidance, and contemplate what their instruction could mean.

so, i check the pocket of my coat and find a book of matches. "thank you, guru, for giving me light!" the matches light my way for a short while and allow me to avoid a couple of obstacles and move down the hall, but i still stumble and knock into many things, causing me bruises and pain. eventually the last match dies and i become frightened again, so i call out for help. the voice says, "look inward."

with gratitude and faith, i surrender to the continued guidance and open up my coat and find a flashlight hanging around my neck. "thank you, guru, i can see so well now! the path is obvious!" with this flashlight, i can see obstacles and turns with great clarity, moving a great distance down the hallway, though still occasionally tripping on things that i miss with the beam of illumination. eventually, the light starts to dim as the battery slowly dies, finally shutting off completely. in my anxiety and helplessness, i call out for help. the voice says, "look inward."

the voice has never led me astray before, so with trust and love i check my shirt pocket and find a remote control for the hallway's lighting system. "thank you, guru, for making everything clear! now, i will finally be able to reach the end of the hallway!" now guided with absolute brilliance, i sprint forward, leaping over impediments and traps with total confidence. sometimes i do still trip and fall, but i simply laugh and cry tears of joy and love as i pick myself up and continue running. there is no way of knowing how much time goes by like this - i must have travelled miles, hundreds of miles down the gloriously illuminated hallway. i begin to grow exhausted, and despite the light and the sense of progress my fear eventually returns worse than ever before. if i cannot reach the peace at the end of the hallway with all of this beautiful light, surely it means i will never reach it. collapsed in despair, i call out for help.

i realize that someone is standing over me. i weakly raise my eyes and see that it is me! i am standing over myself and say, "what are you always shouting for? you never listen to me. look inward."

i place my trust, faith, and love in myself, and i look inward, into my heart, into my soul, into my awareness. i find peace.

i am still in the hallway, but it doesn't matter if it is lit by a candle, or the sun, or is absolutely dark. i do not need to call out for help. i have already reached my destination.

[steveherenow]

connected the melody.motivator to the sample.sensei going through the vox.vizier

[steveherenow]

12/23/2024: this was the sequencerer prototype after 2 weeks of learning PlugData

[steveherenow]

[steveherenow]

19 songs aleatorically generated over the course of a week in January during development of one ever expanding PlugData patch.

[steveherenow]

Hail and well met, optimate! Welcome to the bustling merchant city of Etherport! You must be here for the Crimson Ribbon Festival - no? My, my, my! How fortunate that we've crossed paths like this - the premium entry chips have been sold out for weeks, but it's your luck that I just so happen to have a few extra from a dear friend who was called away for business and thusly, with great regret, cannot attend. Here, here, they're yours! And a crimson ribbon to complete your unique sartorial presentation - now you're a real Etherian, ha! Cost? No, no, no - your money is your own, friend! Just allow me to show you how best to spend your time while in our beautiful city, that you may return home unburdened by remorse. Oh dear, you're staying where? That simply won't do - there's a very affordable yet truly comfortable inn that I cannot recommend highly enough, with a tavern just one level above which will provide unforgettable evenings, I guarantee it! It's just down Main Street, let's get a move on, I'll introduce you to the proprietor, a generous citizen indeed. I've even heard that the festival band has posted up there - if your luck continues, they may even perform tonight, as a warm-up of sorts before their headline set tomorrow! Tell me, optimate, is that lunar amulet gracing your elegant neck simply a beautiful keepsake, or are you an adherent of the cyclical faith? No matter, no matter - Etherport's Temples of the Moon should be seen and appreciated by all travelers and citizens alike, regardless of their philosophical proclivities! Let's make sure to stop by on the way to pay our respects - talk of the town is that the festival band players count themselves among the faithful. With your luck, friend, perhaps they'll be making a musical offering! Come along now, dear traveler, not a moment to lose... 

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1/9/2025

artwork by Ben Dale! <3

these patches directly influenced my decision to switch away from VCV to PlugData - i wanted to keep exploring generative chiptune, but wanted real melodies and basslines, song arrangement (verse/chorus/bridge etc), and just more flexibility in general. i've achieved all of that in PlugData - but VCV and Etherport hold a special place in my heart still!

[steveherenow]

[steveherenow]

this eldritch grimoire seethes and flickers with twilit magicks.

risk thou thy hand through the ward, to learn of beings and spells which rule and are ruled by liminality?

ends and beginnings share the same border and it wraps the world