I'm not going to complain too much about it, but I was hoping my new mix of Secret of Mana's boss theme would do a little better Hm. Oh well.

Anyway, not too much to report. I might finish off my mix of Final Fantasy 3's overworld theme (Veiled Wind) and then it's off to the races with Dancing Mad and my mix thereof! Let's hope THAT one gets a better reception.

I must now go and shower. Later days!

Weehee! Finally finished my Day of the Tentacle mix.

Okay, it's not so much a mix as a cover, which is new for me. Sure, it has the odd original element, but most of it is true to the original.

I think I'll be doing a lot of this before I finally get a move on my Dancing Mad mix - finishing older mixes, I mean. That Day of the Tentacle one has been sitting around forever, it's about time I finally got down to it. And I think my FF3 one is next, but we'll see where that goes.

I won't let Dancing Mad fade into oblivion! I promise!

So I decided that when in mixer's block, do something random. It pulled me back out of block when I was working on Biomechanics, and it may work now.

So, I give you Tetris Attitude, a sequel (of two or three) to Tetris Evolution. Don't ask me why I'm fascinated with the Tetris music - maybe it's some long-dormant Russian in me - but I am. It's good music, damn it all!

So anyway, Dancing Mad (or, Esperoid: A Tribute to Dancing Mad {if that'll fit}) is still coming along, still basically in the same stage as before... yeah. Hence, mixer's block. But hopefully that will come along soon. I'm attempting to save my fan fiction work for at school when I have nothing else to do and ideas flow freely.

So (and this is the fourth time I've started a paragraph with "so," I just realized), stay tuned, faithful fans and not-so-faithful fans and faithful hecklers and not-so-faithful hecklers alike. More is on the way!

- Ribbon

All right, I know I haven't been seen or heard from in, like, a month. Here's what's going down:

Currently, my priority is fan fiction. A story rewrite (or, reconstruction) project that I began in July is just about finished, and that has given me the motivation to, you know, actually finish it. So, I have been doing edits and proofreads and rewrites and everything else, and when it's uploaded I'll be writing the first original chapter for it that I've written in half a year.

So.

If you want to check that out, go to my site and find "The Restoration" and if it says [Reconstructed] in the description header, then I'm done!

As far as the Dancing Mad mix goes, I have made progress, but due to the nature of the beast and due to my own obsessive-compulsive perfectionism about this project, it could be another month.

Hopefully not.

Stay tuned!

- Ribbon

I am now level 7. Ph33r.

Anyway, I should inform you all that I should be able to get back to my mixing, for all intents and purposes, on Saturday or Sunday.

My next project, an ambitious one to start out the year of 2008, will be a mix of Dancing Mad, the ultimate masterpiece of all Final Fantasy songs. I am not sure as to which style I will be using to do this yet, but rest assured that it will include every iota of knowledge and effort within me - I'll need it to do that song justice.

Until I appear with that song, take care and leave love! :)

- Ribbon

I resolve this year:

1. To clean my bathroom more frequently than, say, once in a blue moon.
2. To treat Catholics with slightly more respect than usual, despite their lack of respect toward me.
3. To understand that some people, even those of sound mind, are going to enjoy listening to Gwen Stefani.
4. To live as though there is always something that needs to be done, and do it for a change.
5. To make a masterpiece remix of Dancing Mad.
6. To laugh at my own embarrassing moments.
7. To find Mr. Right... or even Mr. Right Now.
8. To share as many moments with my closest friends as I did this past year, and more.
9. To understand who I am, what I am, and why I am glad to be me.

10. In someone else's life - a friend, a relative, a stranger, or even someone I dislike - to take a moment and make it memorable, for there is no time for hate, and no time for grudges. This is the only life we have... I'm not going to waste it.

Life isn't about how many steps you take in a day.
It's about how many milestones you pass by in a lifetime.

Happy New Year, Newgrounds!

Christmas and holiday wishes from Bitium Ribbon to everyone out there at Newgrounds! I hope your day is wonderful, even if you don't celebrate! And while you're at it, have a happy new year! Listen to my re-vamp of Tetris Evolution (a joke submission that will hopefully make you giggle a little) if you want some holiday audio cheer!

And, I would like to take a second and honour the passing of the great jazz artist Oscar Peterson, who died two days ago of kidney failure. A legend in his own time; Mr. Peterson, you and your music will be sorely missed.

Spread the love, spread the joy. That's what the season is about. Less fighting, less loss, and more love. Welcome life with arms wide open to everyone you meet, and put a smile on as many faces as you can.

xox

Bitium Ribbon
RIP Mr. Peterson

I have gotten questions on this, so I believe - as one of those hardcore classic FF fans there seem to be so few of - that it is my duty to answer the immortal question:

What the hell is Final Fantasy 4?

Let us begin with the original Final Fantasy. A smash hit on the NES (Nintendo) and there was much praise and gnashing of teeth. Thus, the people over in Japan decided that hey, maybe there would be a market for a sequel.

This sequel (which was the original Final Fantasy 2, released in Japan for NES) didn't make it to U.S. shores until after the time of Tidus and Yuna, when it was released as Dawn of Souls for the GBA. Final Fantasy 3, also for the NES, never actually made it this far until after Final Fantasy XII was out, and it exists (in physical, corporeal, non-emulated form, anyway) as a game for Nintendo DS, with a severely-extended plotline and spiffy graphics.

Then along came the dilemma of Final Fantasy 4. What to do, they said, with a game that is fourth in a series in Japan but only second in a series in the U.S.? Naturally, they thought Americans were too dumb to figure out how things actually happened, and the net result was, hey, why don't we call it "Final Fantasy 2 and give it to the yanks?"

And so it was that Final Fantasy 4 - starring the dark knight-turned-paladin Cecil Harvey and his white mage love interest Rosa - washed up on American shores as Final Fantasy 2.

This was followed by Final Fantasy 5, but that never made it here either. Final Fantasy 6 did, but under the label of Final Fantasy 3 (THIS is the one with Terra and the Espers, and Kefka, the best villain of all time).

After that, the piece of proverbial crap known as Final Fantasy VII (7) came along and its graphics made so many fanboys cream their pants that they overlooked how f***ing awful the Materia system is and how one-dimensional the characters are. Still, the perks of that game made up for its many, MANY flaws, so it seemed.

But what to do about the name? My God, they said, it's such a brilliant milestone that we can't just call it Final Fantasy 4. So what did they do? Called it what it was: Final Fantasy 7. Such an unlucky number. After that, everything else was exposed and ROMs came out of the woodwork for Final Fantasies 2, 3 and 5.

The rest, as they say, is history, including the spectacular piece of shite known as Final Fantasy VIII and onward.

Hope this answers any strange questions. :-)

w00t for a good work ethic when it comes to work that has no value in my real life other than to massage my ego!

New song is finished, alias Final Fantasy: Biomechanics.

I am also really, REALLY eating up this whole audio-artists-can-do-commentary-on-the ir-work thing. I used to be like, grr, Flash artists get a spot to talk about their stuff and we dont, throw socks at them.

Yes, socks.

But now, I can be like, yay, Newgrounds values its audio artists as much as it values its Flash artists - haha, as if - so now I can tell people all about my music!

It's a good day for Newgrounds, folks.

EDIT: Biomechanics and Secrets of the Sands both made Best of Week!! =D
Thank you! I love you all!

Don't know which song will be up next - most likely Final Fantasy, Veiled Wind.

Stay tuned!

Finally, after a HELL of a long time since it was begun, Secrets of the Sands is done!

I must say I'm quite proud of it, too. This is definitely one of my top contenders for personal favourite.

Meanwhile, the next mix project to be up, I think, will be Final Fantasy: Biomechanics - a mix of the Overworld Theme and Within the Giant from Final Fantasy IV. But now that I think about it, maybe I should have left Secrets of the Sands to be a big finale.

Oh well. :-)

EDIT: New winter banner =3