@aroford and I wrote a filk about the brave and steadfast Fallers who have made the Cipherhunt so amazing!
And the lyrics if people want them:
Oh some say there’s a statue, And to him we say “we’ll catch you!” Ah, we’ll find it yet, we bet you With our maps and ourcodes unfurled We will chase the clues from Georgia To the woods of California Oh we’re coming and we warned ya! And together we’ll search the world!
Oh we thought our show had ended
Though the wrap-up was quite splendid
Still we wished we had extended
Our time at the Mystery Shack.
But then Alex took to Twitter
And our hearts went all a-jitter
When we found he was no quitter;
There was one puzzle left to crack!
So of course we set off searchin’
For where ciphers might be perchin’
Oh the first one t’was a church in
Then in eastern and western shrines
We were led across the ocean
But we’d gladly make the motion
To prove our deep devotion
And get help from the family Pines!
It was off into the forest
Where the seekers did film for us
A hunt that was long and glorious
Until finally they reached their goal
So, brave May, we’ll watch you driving
And no matter how conniving
These next ciphers are, our striving
Will not cease till the puzzle’s whole!
The filk song of Swedish fandom, “Pappersframmatningen är trasig” written by David Nessle (ttto “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”) and performed by Erik Andersson in a recording from 1980.
Rough translation:
The paper feed is broken The papers are squished into small small balls Oh, the fanzine will come out too late (Cause) the paper feed is broken, so broken
The subscribers will be angry If the fanzine isn’t out by Friday Oh, then I will get lots of hate mail (Cause) the paper feed is broken, so broken
That I don’t know how I Can get the fanzine out on time Before it gets far too late Cause my mimeo is far too weak
The paper feed is broken The papers are squished into small small balls Oh, the fanzine will come out too late (Cause) the paper feed is broken, so broken That I cannot stand it no more I think I want to gafiate
(mod note: this is the best day of my life, also I’m a little ashamed I had no idea what “gafiate” meant and thought it might have been mistranslated)
I Am A Creature Of The Wood,
Forsaken In My Solitude
My Song Is Pleasure And Is Pain,
My Song Can Drive A Man Insane
So Come With Me, My Pipes I’ll Play,
And We Will Dance ‘Till Break Of Day
I Shall Be Thy Lover
“Creature of the Wood,” performed by Tricky Pixie (S.J. Tucker, Alexander James Adams, and Betsy Tinney), lyrics by Philip R. Obermarck and music by Heather Alexander
(Few, forgotten and lonely,
Where the empty metals shine—
No, not combatants—only
Details guarding the line.)
“Bridge-Guard in the Karroo” by Rudyard Kipling, set to music and sung by Leslie Fish. The poem is said (by Wikipedia) to evoke “the loneliness experienced by blockhouse soldiers at Ketting station on the Dwyka River while guarding the Karoo railway track, a lifeline during the South African War.” Thank god for Wikipedia, because I know nothing about the South African War.
To me weigh, heigh, the Asgard rolls,
Around the point and past the shoals,
With her ladies and her gentlemen,
She’ll soon be sailing home again
“The Asgard II,” a tongue-in-cheek sea shanty by Meg Davis, performed by Mark Heiman. If Meg Davis’ version is online somewhere, I haven’t been able to find it, but for some reason I do have chords.
Just to remind you that Nominations for the 2016 Pegasus Awards will close just after midnight on Sunday, July 31, which is less than three weeks away!
(What are the Pegasus Awards, you ask? Take a look here!)
To help with the Nominating ballot, you can check out the results of the annual Brainstorming Poll at http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/opinions.html. Remember, a song can be nominated whether or not it appears on the Brainstorming Poll, but it may be a good idea to check the award history to make sure it hasn’t already won one.
A project of compiling audio links for all the songs on the Brainstorming Poll has had to be shelved for lack of time, but you are welcome to check out the unfinished results (and suggest additional links if you feel so inclined).
The news has been full of reports lately that 80% of North Americans can no longer see the Milky Way due to light pollution. Can. not. even. SEE. the. MILKY. WAY! So, while this is a couple years old, it’s still depressingly on topic:
She grew up in the city. It’s the only life she knows, Surrounded by glass buildings, and the neon city’s glow. And the only stars she’s ever seen were on the picture show…
@filkyeahfilk and anyone else who likes space stories
Batya here: I’m pretty sure “Some Kind of Hero” was on one of the first filk collections I ever owned, although not this recording of it. “Dawson’s Christian,“ on the other hand, is one of those songs that I heard five different parodies of before I ever heard the original. (My favorites are probably “Dawson’s Mitzvah” and “Crossin’ Myths Some,” a terrible pun of a title for a hilarious crossover fanfic in song.)