DISCORD AGGREGATE: DA Bulletin No 2

Discord Aggregate Presents…

BULLETIN #605~x=}%-

Before we begin, a warning to you: do not (we repeat: do not (we repeat: DO NOT)) celebrate the New Year. Why? Simply because it has not started yet!

Details: www.discord-aggregate.com

And now, for your reading and smelling enjoyment we present the semi-annual once-a-week daily bicentennial monthly hourly DISCORD AGGREGATE Bulletin.

Since the first issue of DISCORD AGGREGATE BULLETIN, several people have asked us to describe “THE TEXTURE OF THE SKY” a little more specifically. Well, there is nothing easier than that!

A few words of history. When the idea for the novel first occurred to the authors (A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda), they were thinking of it just as that – a novel. However, soon it became clear that a book of this type is somewhat hard to picture. You may ask why. And we may answer.

Unlike a traditional novel that is read from the beginning to the end (even unlike Cortazar’s “Hopscotch”, in which the reading sequence is not straightforward, yet predetermined), “The Texture” is a dream whose sequence is unpredictable. At each stage of the “reading” you face a number of options, which direct you to a different location in the text. The logic of these leaps follows an intrinsic design of the Sky implemented by the authors. Since the Sky feeds off your dreams, its goal is to keep you dreaming forever.

It is important to mention that “you” is not used by accident. In “The Texture”, you are the main character, and it is your goal to get out! At the beginning, you get to select your sex, so that identification (or lack thereof) is complete.

QUESTION 20 (out of thousands and thousands submitted to DISCORD AGGREGATE )

Why do you think that your work will be interesting to other people?

People are currently undergoing what can only be described as a manifestation triggered by the presence of Discord Aggregate . This manifestation takes on several characteristics as follows:

A. The person first exists in the embryonic stage known as “Stupid Human”. Here, the embryo has not come in contact with Discord Aggregate whatsoever; they have not heard the name or viewed the web site (in fact, they probably have trouble with the word ‘Aggregate’!). For a better description, just think of the person you sat next to on the bus today.

B. The embryo finally sees the name, a name that will resurrect them from the rotten doldrums that constitute their lives. The angelic arm of hope will thrust forth from the sky and carry the soul off to a better place. Of course, this event may happen only because the embryo mistakenly grabbed “The Attack of the Absolute Zeros” at the record store instead of the much desired “Julio Inglesias’ Veteran’s Day/ Sad for Diana CD compilation”, but enlightenment tends to reach us in the most interesting ways. The embryo is now officially designated as “fetus”.

C. The fetus (once weaned off a small quantity of non-liquid Discord Aggregate art) suddenly erupts into a full-grown adult, nurturing itself on the super-powered sustenance. Its brain capacity expands to that of twice the typical human, whereby it blossoms into a SUPER INTELLECTUAL BEING, COMPLETE WITH A DISCERNING TASTE FOR ART AND LIFE OVERALL, FOREVER CHALLENGING ITSELF TO ERADICATE THE QUICKLY DYING DESIRE TO EXIST IN THE SHADOW OF SOMEONE ELSE, TO BE A SERIES OF UNORIGINAL THOUGHTS UTTERED BY SOMEONE ELSE, AND TO BE AN ENEMY OF EMPTINESS, FIGHTING ON ALL FRONTS AND IN ALL BATTLES, AND TO NEVER COMPROMISE ANYTHING THAT IT HOLDS SACRED!

So, this is why people will find the work of Discord Aggregate interesting.

Through all the choices you make, the Sky keeps a track of your score of positive and negative seconds, which determine which options are available to you at any “intersection”. The more negative time you have managed to accumulate, the more choice you have, and the higher is your chance to ever finish reading. If you are imprisoned by positive time, your chance to survive is severely diminished: you may end up dreaming for the rest of your life, supplying the Sky with the reality of your dreams.

With this said, the problems a paper edition of the novel would have to face are clear. Attempts to contrive a design in which every page would have a cover, preventing the reader from accidentally seeing the pages they were not yet supposed to see, seemed a far-fetched solution, especially since the reader would also have to keep track of his/her score. This is what prompted a notion of putting the book together as a CD-ROM. However, a promising idea as and of itself, it was much less than realistic at the time of its origination (late 1996/early 1997). Unfortunately, the authors were not very knowledgeable in CD-ROM production. At that time, the writing was finished, and the editing began. Eager, as they tend to be, to step further than all other writers known to them, the authors assumed an attitude extremely demanding of their text. This, and a massive amount of other Discord Aggregate projects undertaken at the same time, led to the fact that the editing is still in progress. It is now in its final stages, and should be completed early this year.

THAT SOUND YOU ARE HEARING IS YOUR FINGERNAILS CHEWING THEMSELVES

Meanwhile, Discord Aggregate’s half-accidental plunge into web design took place. Founded in February of last year, the web site has grown into the monster it currently is, and provided a new genre pregnant with opportunities. The motto “web design as art” was born.

With the advent of Dynamic HTML (possibly the most artistically exciting invention since the Internet’s birth), a new medium for “The Texture of the Sky” was prepared. All A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda had to do was to realize that. Once they did, they set to work studying the new technology.

Not without the luck of being exposed to programming at work, Discord Aggregate members have learned Visual Basic, VBScript, as well as a lot of other things directly related to computer art. If in January the aforementioned CD-ROM project posed a puzzle, at this time it boils down to a set of technical requirements that have to be met. In other words, the issue is of a purely financial nature: the authors need to purchase audio/video equipment to make the CD-ROM production happen. With this and other goals in mind, Discord Aggregate is in the process of procuring funds.

QUESTION 8. Why and how did you come up with the name Discord Aggregate?

PLEASE PICK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS. ALL OF THEM ARE POSSIBLE; ONE OF THEM MAY BE TRUE.

Discord Aggregate was originally the name of the particle accelerator in our basement.

We built a name that included all of our initials.

Political power was our main objective, and DA says it all when it comes to the Electoral College.

Tickle Me Elmo was already taken.

We wanted an anagram.

We can’t remember why or how.

Discord Aggregate automatically slips through all firewalls.

DA looks real good in scrimshaw.

Say it 5 times fast.

It’s as close as we’re getting to a real DA.

Flamingos breed when Discord Aggregate is whispered to them.

We named ourselves after our native country’s abbreviation.

We fasted for 7 days and then ran into the desert. After having separate hallucinations, we all came together and ate Kit Kats until we were sick. Then we all collapsed in a circle and visualized world peace until a giant hammer came and slammed us each in the head. When we regained consciousness, we discovered we had all shared the same dream, which was of a slimy ear oozing along the ground with scraps of paper fluttering out of its hole. All the pieces of paper took flight at once and spelled out DISCORD AGGREGATE in the sky.

We saw it on a bumper sticker.

Discord Aggregate is actually not our name.

The name Discord Aggregate has been handed down for generations and kept in mothballs to save it from pesky insects.

We were drunk.

Our favorite record played backward chants DA.

It means the same thing when translated into 7 different languages.

It was a typo.

Meanwhile, “The Texture” will be put together on the web site as an interactive multimedia experience. The work on it will commence as soon as the editing is complete. And this is handy, since the CD-ROM version of the novel will be performed in HTML too, as a sort of upgrade. Naturally, the CD-ROM will feature an increased proportion of media elements (audio and video packed to fill up the 600Mb). As for the logical structure of the book, it will remain intact.

Published a few weeks ago, “LIFE AS IT IS”, found at www.discord-aggregate.com/life, may shed some light on what “The Texture” will be. (Of course, it will be much more than even the authors can imagine at this time – a great pleasure of playing in the fields of the unknown is the chance to surprise even oneself!)

So, what else is different about “The Texture of the Sky”, you may ask. And we may answer.

Expanding on the stylistic ideas developed in “THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE CHRIST BROTHERS” (www.discord-aggregate.com/gospel.htm), A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda have once again put the English language to the test, often giving up grammar and other accepted standards in favor of a fresh, expressive, and genuinely original flavor. Words are meant to move a reader, to convey an emotion or a thought. However, “correct” language is not always efficient. Just like plowing a new field requires more than a rake, delving into the realm of the Sky requires more than just the language as we know it. It has to become a flexible tool ready to lend even the most unpredictable surfaces to its user.

But what type of things happen in “The Texture” that forced you to go to such extremes? you may ask. And we may elude the answer, pointing you to www.discord-aggregate.com/texture.htm. The two text samples available on this page will provide an explanation.

To summarize this article, we must say that to the best of our knowledge, “The Texture of the Sky” is a new radical step in the art of the novel. Whether it is a step you wish to take with us or not is entirely up to YOU!

TREAT YOUR BODY LIKE A PRISON

QUESTION 456. How do I get into Discord Aggregate?

It’s easy! Accumulate enough technical and conceptual expertise to convince yourself that your art is world-class. (A way to check your achievements is by comparing your work with that of the artists you respect the most. If you think you have almost caught up with them – then you are almost ready!) Get rid of all commercial plans, hopes, and intentions. Ensure that you are a responsible person, and that you don't drop your projects halfway. Create within yourself a dedication to art that is so strong that nothing could stop you. Then contact Discord Aggregate!

The time comes in every composer’s life when they realize that their work must be performed, displayed, dare I say flaunted?! Having reached this stage at the tender age of 3, I lived another 20 years before I was articulate and aware enough to realize that very few choirs would want to wander past their daily dose of dreamy auditory jello and tackle the eclectic entities of my choral comforts. So, in a feeble but frenzied effort to reach the dreaded General Public, I did the only thing sure to win me exposure and damn me to everlasting hell. I formed a choir for the specific purpose of performing my stuff. It held together for 3 weeks.

A few years later, I tried again- with a bit more success (6 months) and then hit the jackpot a few years later with The Random Choir in Santa Barbara (which actually lived on past my relocation to San Francisco). During the endless process of advertising, auditioning and rehearsing, I have found several nuggets of pure wisdom that you, as a captive audience, may find mildly amusing/useful/able to clean your sink without scrubbing. This article is designed to enlighten you and warn you in regards to the joys and horrors of

Starting and Keeping Your Choir Alive!

As you can imagine, this is quite a large topic. I have decided to skip the more crucial parts known as details and just tell you about the people not to put in your choir. The rest (ads, music, learning processes etc.) is just stuff that you can figure out from playing records backwards and reading the Sea Monkey booklet that comes with those little shrimpy things.

QUESTION 24. Why should people give money to DISCORD AGGREGATE?

Well, lets’ take a look at the things you have already invested in and decide whether you have received any return (whether spiritual or physical). For instance lets consider the original version of Michael Jackson’s monogrammed, hologram, reconstructed clay nose that came with a free stick of gum. This seemed like a good choice, like you were getting the most for your dollar, didn’t it? You probably thought it would look good over the fireplace. And didn’t the gum dissolve as soon as it came in contact with your saliva? Better luck next time . . .

And what was with buying up the entire stock of “I am a Pet!” food for your dead cat? Doesn’t seem like a prudent decision in hindsight, does it? The boxes don’t even stack well enough to make a small table. Lets take a look towards your future, to a time where you help change the face of the world’s society as we know it today.

You take the dollars that you save by not buying the rain forest property in Santa Fe and invest it in the art of Discord Aggregate, where those dollars will transform into creations that alter and challenge the collective consciousness of humanity. You will be planting the seeds that will be sown in the fertile soil of the mind, tiny leaves of thought sprouting in the heads of fulfilled bodies. Your help will make a difference even to the dead, who roam the earth in their transparent vehicles in search of good art, not able to rest their tortured souls until they achieve this goal. Discord Aggregate is proud to admit to having saved over 350,000 tortured souls to date! Join us in our quest to reach one million! Invest in Discord Aggregate!

So, here is my official List of People Not to Ever Put In Your Choir (Or Your Bathtub).

The Nose Blower: Found at every audition, this priceless human artifact honks, snorts, glugs and basically wallows in bodily fluids for the duration of everyone else’s audition. The Nose Blower inevitably goes last and experiences a holy healing in which he, suddenly septically serene, soars through the ending of Manon with only one massive spray on the next to last note. He goes by the rule “If they remember me, no matter the cause- I’ll get the part all thanks to my schnozz”.

The Over-Appreciater: This lovely critter lives and breathes appreciation for tout-le-monde. She loves the hall, the floor, everyone who sings, your hair, your ears and most of all “music, and singing, and performing to show the world that I am a creature of luv”. The result of all her abundant affection is that there is never a quiet moment. Her hissed adoration creates a constant high end static that effectively makes anyone auditioning sound like they need Dolby B. Make this woman leave if she shows up. Can’t get her to leave? Tell her there are under-appreciated children at the local youth center that need mentoring and guidance for their big talent show next week. Lock the door after she’s gone.

The Café Mocha Prima Donna: My own personal favorite, since you can name-brand them into submission. The CMPD struts in, comments on the fact that there is no decaf coffee, brings his own mug (with either Yanni or Kenny G. on it), brushes off the chair before he sits down, squirms in his seat a lot (and somehow seems to like doing so) and nods his head knowingly each time another singer mentions what they’re singing. He sings show tunes and screams on the falsetto notes. Not only does he announce what he will sing and who wrote it in a big booming voice, but he will also add the name of the person who first “immortalized”, “realized”, “brought to life”, “discovered” or “lovingly displayed” the song on Broadway. No one ever sings in the CMPD’s world- they all “share their musical vision”. Don’t let this man get your home phone or he’ll call you at odd hours and expect you to get him gigs singing the national anthem at sporting events.

Last Nerve Nellie: She’ll get there late, she won’t have her music and if she does it will be in the wrong key. Her throat will be sore, she’ll drop her coffee on your audition notes, her untied shoelace will catch under the piano leg and she’ll snap back mid-stride and whack her flailing arm against the pianist’s face. She invariably will pick something in French and sing it with a Swedish accent. Steel yourself against choosing her out of pity- no matter how desperate you are for another singer, there is no room for anyone in your choir destined to fall off the riser 3 out of every 4 performances. Your only safety is in numbers- assign the Over-Appreciater the task of reassuring Last Nerve Nellie and take bets on which one of them will force their dripping neurosis onto the other first.

The Petrified Puck: This one fools me every time. He’s suave, dare I say dapper, and usually wears an aviator’s scarf. He breezes in and in a moment, everyone is twisting into rabid contortions to establish eye contact with him. Women gush, men deepen their voices and say damn a lot and you actually pick up your pencil to write some real notes when he takes the stage. As soon as he hits the boards the man freezes. He stammers, hems, haws, and then breaks into an exquisite tenor for about 10 seconds. His voice cracks, he turns beet red and asks to start over. The pianist starts again and you get about 5 seconds of lyrical beauty before he pops into falsetto and, fire engine red, asks to start over. The pianist no longer needs to glance at the music and, head tilted lower, starts again. This time, no sound comes out of his mouth at all until, voice now crackling like a roaring inferno, he asks to start over. The pianist is no longer really even playing. He forgets the words, then he changes the key, and soon he is sobbing on stage and telling you that his mother used to pour pancake batter on him and send him to play with the dog.

But enough! No more of these traumatic memories. Leave this bulletin, go out to a bar, meet people, make friends and maybe some of them will be able to sing…

QUESTION 22: What does the term “artist” imply, in your perception.

An artist is an angled view; a clean slate; a focused intelligence; a forced reality. An artist is awareness, ability, an anchor and angry if here and now falls short.

Art itself is a state of being and the process of creating art is made up of several layers. Layer 1 is vision/sight/inspiration and all of the cliches that come with it. Artists see or hear or feel beyond whatever common ground exists in the now. Eyes wide, ears straining, they reach for a different angle with the intention of showing an internal vision.

Embedded into the next layer is the ability to release preconceptions, eliminate all that should be and erase the past. An object or experience is known for the first time and all the miracles of discovery are manifest.

The mind layer follows- weighing, analyzing, referencing the abstract and defining the shapes and tastes that bridge into the here and now. The issue of “how” arises and techniques are tossed around until specific ways to realize the vision shake loose.

Lastly comes perseverance, discipline, courage, commitment, and constant intent. This world’s reality is quite comfortable and does not take to being dislodged lightly. Only the fierce edge of an artist is sharp enough to cut into our days and carve out space for a new idea. Discontent is the mother of creation and the very concept of creating a better reality implies dissatisfaction with the current one.

I have heard it said that artists are responsible for beauty, or truth, or communication, or healing or even for peace. An artist really has only one responsibility; to accurately reflect the reality within.

Accuracy can take a lifetime. Fortunately that’s what we have.

The Texture of the Sky

(The Musical Rendition)

Discord Aggregate is now in the rehearsal stages for the musical version of the novel “The Texture of the Sky”, written by A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda. It will exist as an entity unto itself, however fragments will serve as a soundtrack to the CD-ROM version of the book. Discord Aggregate’s intention is to present an innovative interpretation of the novel, incorporating new and abstract approaches to the making of the music during the recording, mixing, and mastering of the CD. It will be recorded on ADAT’s using either 16 or 24 tracks, then mixed and mastered to a DAT using “Pro Tools” (the software that was used for the mastering of the CD “The Attack of the Absolute Zeros”).

The instrumentation will be provided solely by Discord Aggregate, including Pamela Zero’s soaring vocals, A. Molotkov’s spine-snapping violin, and S.B. Reda’s ear piercing saxophone. The eclectic selection of instruments does not end there. Also to be heard on the recording are keyboards, percussion (bongos and tabla), guitar, bass, theremin, harmonica, as well as various forms of electronic media, with the appropriate amount of digital processing and effects.

Discord Aggregate members will be providing recitations of selected passages from the novel, marking the first time since the recording of “Step Forward and Be” that they have collaborated on a spoken word project. Demo versions of “Zabda Rect” and the “The Carrier of Time” have already been recorded, and in the planning stages for the CD is a 16-track violin extravaganza, as well as a terrifyingly surreal three-part harmony, all of which verify what is fact – the CD will constitute a journey into the strangest territories of the unknown, both for listeners and Discord Aggregate.

WHEN IN DOUBT, DISBELIEVE

QUESTION –2. What are in your opinion the most tragic traps, or misleading notions, in art?

The lack of understanding that art is not a recurring entity. Art is something new, not merely a repetition of existing art. Most individuals involved in the art-related spheres attempt nothing more than producing work based on techniques, ideas, topics, and approaches that thousands other artists have used or are still using. This way, art becomes craftsmanship. The majority of known artists are not artists, but craftsmen.

Topical art is another sad deviation. Political and economical events and figures are fleeting, in ten or twenty years no one could possibly be interested in them. It’s a matter of individual choice: how soon do you want to be completely forgotten?

“A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda meet Zabda Rect in The Hierarchy of Evil”

A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda’s third novel finds the authors battling their way through a bureaucracy of evil spirits, both of the traditional and here-to-fore unheard of sort, in hopes of finding and stopping the maniacal Zabda Rect, who controls this violent and disgusting world. In order to do so, the authors must insinuate themselves into this hierarchy through the use of a self-made “mimicking device” – it is this device that allows them to transcend the confines of the physical world into the land of the souls, where they will await their transport back to the flesh in some new capacity.

Meanwhile . . .

On the bus in the land of the souls, A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda are mutating into new flesh configurations, fellow bus passengers sway with the motion of the vehicle, dangling from the sticky strap. They are headed back as vampires, the authors, prepared, along with real vampires, to horde victims in personal stash for political favor, political corruption. This is the way of the hierarchy, evil contain the masses use as means to climb to next level.

Meanwhile . . .

The hierarchy’s inhabitants operate and travel along different levels of a 2D time/3D space model, whereby the higher the level one is on, the more dimensions are exposed to them. The dimensions may be restricted to the traveler based upon the different categories of evil, i.e., if one has full space restriction, they will only be entitled to move in time. Vertical time allows a traveler to bypass the normal sequential structure. As a result, multiple consequences of the same event can exist independently (in the same, or different time), thus creating the basis of the deja-vu premonition. As in space there is no actual distinction between different directions, there may be no intrinsic distinction between directions in time. Effectively, any movement in time would be a movement in both of its two dimensions, unless one of them or both are restricted.

QUESTION 0. Why should people give money to Discord Aggregate?

Because it’s the best way to spend money (and often the only worthwhile way). A contribution to Discord Aggregate’s project will associate your name with art that is to be recognized and remembered.

Meanwhile . . .

In order to weave through the impossible maze of dimensions and levels, the authors resort to magic by tapping and recording the thoughts of dying people – these thoughts (the prophetic visions of the almost dead) lead A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda to Zabda Rect. They come upon this discovery while posing as vampires, gorging on illegal bodies and thusly performing experiments on them.

Meanwhile . . .

The authors have found Zabda Rect, perched atop the hierarchy in the form of infinite power! Zabda Rect knows no bounds, moving through all dimensions, including a new one - horizontal time. In the final battle, A. Molotkov/S.B. Reda discover the true nature of Zabda Rect’s existence. Once this truth is revealed, the authors are abruptly extinguished. Their death (and the exposed attempt to bring down Zabda!) releases a wave of violence upon humankind that had not been experienced before.

WHAT’S UP AND WHAT’S EAST BY EAST EAST

WITH DISCORD AGGREGATE THIS VERY SECOND:

Time to start those last minute preparations for the recently announced New Year’s celebration, scheduled to happen sometime around 5:13 p.m. on February 1. In the meantime, DISCORD AGGREGATE will be busy in the brain center, completing the super amazing “Ghosts” (composed and performed by Pamela Zero) as a Dynamic HTML experience! Also, you must brace yourself for the soon to be completed (not to be confused with completed) web installation for the film, “The Death of Dr. Van Der Hoven”, by A. Molotkov and S.B. Reda (see Dynamic HTML).

RECENT ARRIVALS ON THE DISCORD AGGREGATE WEB SITE:

Life As It Is (a multimedia installation revealing things you have not known about YOUR life!)

Start (another Dynamic HTML project to intimidate you)

DISCORD AGGREGATE Goes to New York (a true-to-life description of the famous trip)

Components of DISCORD AGGREGATE web site available as channels for off-line viewing

and much much more, if you are not afraid . . .

QUESTION 31. How do I get one of my questions answered in the DISCORD AGGREGATE Bulletin of the unknown?

First, you have to transport yourself to the future so that you can read the next line . . .

Good, I never believed that you would make it. I will answer your question in a recent bulletin, but before I can do this, you must go into the past and await further instructions, located in the next line . . .

Do not turn around, just listen to what I have to say. As soon as I am through speaking, you are to return yourself to the present, sit in your room and think about something you would really like to know about Discord Aggregate, arrange these thoughts in a cohesive, grammatically correct email, address that email to amolotkov@discord-aggregate.com and await the release of the previous bulletin to see if your question was answered.

For those of you who have been writing so persistently, “The True Tall Tale of the Spinning Painting” will be included in the next DISCORD AGGREGATE Bulletin!