For some time now, I have been keeping the Band of the Red Hand updated on the forthcoming Blind Guardian (now released) with a song based around The Wheel of Time series. The thread contains samples of the album, and these samples were called “The sacred wheel of time cannot erase the medieval song” and was in 6 parts. Titled Wheel of Time, it is the 10th song on the album from the German power metal group. Please find below a YouTube link to listen to the song, as well as the lyrics. Enjoy listening to it, and I look forward to you commenting on the thread above.

Lyrics:

Now there is no end
The wheel will turn, my friend

I’m in flames
Cause I have touched the light
It pulls me so
We shall be one
Forevermore
That’s all I want
It’s all I need
Everything is fixed
There’s no chance
There’s no choice

It’s calling me
“Saidin”
So precious and sweet
My mind keeps fading away

It’s scratching deeper
My sole reliever
How can I find you now?

Passing through the flames
I see
How terror will rise
It soon will be over
Of father of lies
Like foul winds at twilight
It’s coming over me
Whata was and what will be?
What is?
I don’t know

Driving me insane
Just feel the heat
Madness creeps in
I’ll tear it down

There’s no end
Wheel of time
It keeps on spinning
There’s no beginning
Turn the wheel of time
There’s no beginning
Just keep on spinning

Light – it binds me
Light – it blinds me
Light – it finds me
Light denies me now

I creep along
So desperate and lired
Let me ask you
Why?
I am what I am
Prophecies I am the chosen
“Taveren”
The flame will grow
Feel the heat
I’ll keep on breathing
After all there’s no tomorrow

Wheel of time
Save my soul, find a way
And if I fail, will it all be over?
Oh wheel of time

The vision
So fleeting and vague
Once again I will bring down the mountain
One last glimpse
It is costantly slipping away

The young man said
“I will never give up”
The inner war
I can hold againt it
My mind, my mind
My mind’s in darkness

The young man said
“I will never give up”
The prophecy
Behold it’s true
I conquer the flame
To release the insane
I’m crying
I cannot erase
I’m the dragorn reborn
And in madness
I soon shall prevail
Twice I’ll be marked and
Twice I shall live
The heron sets my path
And name me true
Twice I’ll be marked and
Twice I shall die
My memory’s gone
But twice I pay the price

Wheel of time
Save my soul
Find a way
May it be as the pattern has chosen
Oh, wheel of time
Turn the wheel of time
It keeps on spinning
There’s no beginning
There’s no end, wheel of time
There’s no beginning
Just keep on spinning

Shine on
Embrace and deny me
Turn on, wheel of time
Shine on
You’ve burnt me, now guide me
Wave on, wheel of time.

Enjoy!

Corki
Marshal-General
Band of the Red Hand Social Group Leader

The month of June has swept sleepily past us, in a lazy rush that left me wondering how we suddenly leapt  from May to July! Around Shayol Ghul, June has been relatively quiet – which is to say, Ed only spammed sometimes. Occasionally one of us mustered enough energy to stab someone, now and again you’d see a Grey Man assignation taking place, but really it was just going through the motions. Or was it?

I got to thinking… then I sobered up and I couldn’t remember what I was thinking. Then I started drinking again, started thinking. Again. Even without tons of wild antics going on, SG is still the coolest place around. One must therefore logically deduce that it’s the people who make it so great. Even the cranky antisocial ones! And that’s when I decided that sleepy old June was the perfect month to talk about some of the fine upstanding folks you’ll meet around SG.

Now, SG as a social group is a highly organized society with a strict hierarchy and several politically charged factions competing against each other for glory, power, control, and just the sheer fun of creating mayhem! In terms of ‘who’s-who’ in SG, we’re run by a ruthless dictator who routinely picks fleas and ticks out of his fur and feeds them to his loyal subjects – none other than our beloved  cosmicpanda. Directly under him are the three dreaded faction leaders – Verbal for the Shadow Spawn, Nae for the Black Ajah, and Moghedian with the Dreadlords. They all  make up silly, self-important titles for themselves, and for the life of me I can’t remember the titles for any of them. Now directly under the faction leaders are the Chosen of each faction – Pete, Alaksuleiel, and Ed respectivlely.

But I’m not going to talk about them today.

No – today is about the members of SG! That’s what SG is really all about, you see? The staff and leaders of SG hog enough of the limelight with their attention seeking ways! I say, let’s shine the light on the humble, salt-of-the-earth regular old people who make up the lifeblood of our dear social group! Down with the bourgeoisie and power to the people! Viva la revolution! Yes that’s right – the June blog is a coup-d’etat for the non-staff members of SG.  They are some of the most interesting people you’ll ever have the pleasure of being stabbed by, and they are the reason our little organization is such a wonderfully evil place to be!

So to give you an idea of what our members are like, I’ll give you a little sampling of some of the people you’ll meet here. Now, I simply can’t mention everyone. Just the ones that paid me a lot of cash and/or points. Oh.. and the ones that blackmailed me. Haha! Okay okay I’m kidding, I love everyone equally (except the ones that are blackmailing me).  Nonetheless, I wanted to take a chance and spotlight some of the people that I think really add to the atmosphere of our little social group!

People often think of us as highly evil, but the truth of the matter is we’re probably not so much evil as we are painfully honest with a razor sharp sense of humor. But there ARE those among us who are the sweetest little delicate flowers that you ever could meet! Talya, Amadine, and Tigraine are the first ones you’ll see posting well wishes and encouraging words to anyone wandering into our little corner of hell. Oh, they’ll cut your ears off and wear them as interesting fashion accessories if you provoke them, but by default they are just delightful. Talya of course moonlights as the illustrious leader of the Black Tower, and so any time we get with her, we cherish! Amadine is an accomplished graphic artist and a solid mafia gamer  – if you happen to land on a team with her in mafia, I highly recommend steamrolling her though – it’s a highly satisfying experience!!! (‘love ya Ama!!) Tigs of course deserves special mention as having hands down has the most dramatic, exciting, suspenseful, action packed life of anyone I’ve met in SG. Others might stick their head in the sand while life batters them, but Tigs drags her life along behind her, determined not to let it spoil her fun -  whether she’s in jail, being run over by cars, or sorting out brouhahas. This girl is one trooper. Expect to see posts from her like “guys the plane I’m on is crashing and I have to stick my arm out of the window to try to hold the wing together – I’ll post more when I can.” or “Some bounty hunter has mistaken me for an international provocateur and I’m currently in a prison camp in east Cambodia – could someone send in my night action for me?” Yet none of it mars her sunny disposition!

Then there’s people like Lily. Do you remember that old John Hughes movie about the two geeky kids who blew up their house in a mad science experiment to create the perfect woman? Well, after the movie was over, the perfect woman moved here to SG and called herself Lily.  That’s really all I can say about Lily. You can always find Lily in a thread, and she always makes it better. Or more evil. Same ‘diff.

So far we’ve covered sweet and perfect, and now to look at odd and unusual!! WWWwombat. You know, I’ve sometimes wondered whether the triple W’s were just a warm-up to get to the actual ‘wombat’ part, or more a stutter of some kind, or if indeed it is the ‘world wide web  wombat’. No matter how you slice it, Wombsy definitely makes waves wherever he goes. My strong suspicion is that he’s a part-time English literature major with an enviable vocabulary, and an over the top style and humor that sees him through any situation in life. I fully expect to see him parachute into the super-bowl one day with explosives taped to his ears screaming “You’re all scum!”

Jelly though is definitely not scum. I don’t actually know Jelly, because she is always on LOA. I mean always. And she dutifully posts every LOA in the LOA thread (what else would an LOA thread be for?) so cheerfully! “I’m on LOA the next 4 days!” “I’m back from LOA but now I’m gone again for another weekend” “I had a great weekend but I’m only popping in as I head back out on LOA!”. Seriously, I want her life!

Wombat is wonky, Jelly is permanently MIA, and then there is the hairy nail-biter Krak, and Aemon the pit-bull American in long-term residence south of the border! I can’t really spell Krak’s entire name, and I can’t be bothered to go check it. When I first started in SG, Krak’s avatar was a picture of a big fluffy cat biting his paw,  and forever more I’ve associated him with that image. A hairy nail-biter.  Now he’s sporting a pic of  Calvin and Hobbes boogy’ing down – and while he’s still probably a hairy nail-biter, I have to admit the new pic suits him well because he’s as crazy as Calvin and – rumor has it -  he has this great big tiger tail just like Hobbes. I group Krak and Aemon in the same category because they both seem a little unhinged to me. Aemon and I joined up around the same time, and as a result, we ended up doing a lot of the same games and Grey Man Tasks. Of course, Aemon gained much more notoriety than I, for two main reasons. One, his ferocious approach to mafia games. I’ve seen pit-bulls attack with less tenacity! And two, that scandal out in the Blight – for that GMT where you have to spam all the threads? I did that same task just after him, and now every time someone mentions his name I see twin yellow smilies!!! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just go pick any thread out in the blight and you’ll see! We actually don’t see enough of Aemon anymore, because he’s too busy getting lynched on the first day of his all his games!!! (I, of course, have nothing to do with that!!).

Limi, Al Jenn, and Adella. I group these three together because in my mind, I’ve always thought of them like that three-headed monster from Greek mythology. Or like Fred, Daphne and Thelma. Janet, Chrissy and Jack. Dorothy, Rose and Blanche.  Whatever the threesome, these triplets are like the poppular cool kids who everyone really wanted to be friends with in high school because despite being so popular, they were genuinely nice! Oh, they’ll have no problem stabbing you, but they’ll be quite congenial about the whole affair. Particularly poor Al Jenn, who is is having the WORST time trying to be mean for his latest Grey Man Task. Which is particularly shocking given the number of role-models he has!! Limi has had a meteoric rise in rank, due in large part to a skill with graphics that is on par with Amadine! And of course Adella is the sweetie of Ed, and this means she is a very very special person indeed. Except I’m deliberately repressing all thoughts of Ed today, so that means Adella is just special!

So, when people ask me – “hey, why do you love SG so much?”, and I reply “well, it’s the people of course!” these are the people I’m talking about! If you’re new to the forums or unfamiliar with SG itself, I’ve given you some incentive to join us here in SG – and given you some great talking points to strike up a conversation with the interesting people you’ll meet here! If you’re a regular of SG, I bet you chuckled with familiarity at some of what you’ve read! And if you’re a member of SG and NOT mentioned in here, it just means you’re not one of my favorites. LOL! Kidding kidding kidding. Really it means you weren’t able to twist my arm with the threat of revealing some of my more embarrassing proclivities!! All joking aside, this month I wanted to give people a glimpse of how much I like and admire the people of SG, and I know I fell well short of my ambitions – you’ll simply have to come check us out yourself to really see it. Trust me – murder and mayhem never felt so good!

~ Aust

So, ADR has left the building. Gone. Fled back to that mythical land called real life wherein the rest of us only deign to visit on our way to much grander adventures here in SG. Actually no, that’s not true. I pushed him down a flight of stairs because I wanted to write May’s blog. He’s in a body cast somewhere coming up with catchier one-liners than I could ever dream of, but with all his limbs entombed in that chalky white plaster his one-liners will never again grace the interweb!!!  Well… no. I can’t say that’s true either, although that sure would have been diabolical wouldn’t it?  The truth is, he’s gone and he’ll be missed, just like all the great ones are. I didn’t know ADR well, but  he left an undeniable impact on every member of SG.

Yes, ADR is gone, after reviving the Shayol Ghul Blog with sublime style. Left some other poor fool to try vainly to follow in his footsteps this month. I wonder what sucker will agree to try to do that! Moron! Haha! Pity the fool! Witless ninny!

*sigh*

All right all right, yes, it’s me. I’m the witless ninny for May (I’ll appear in a pin-up calendar later this year). And although none of us will probably ever match ADR’s easy eloquence, we can continue with the course he has charted for us. And that is to rat out each and every one of you publicly – dredge up every deep dark secret – betray you – debase you – defame you and frame you – and of course *stab* you in the back – and then come tell everyone all about it here on this blog.  Because that is what we do. That is what SG is all about. We are the slickest, smarmiest, and quintessentially the coolest ‘Social Group’ on the block. If you don’t already know about us – read on and you’ll find out just what I mean. And if you’re lucky (or you lick cosmicpandy’s furry toes) we’ll even let you join us.

And so….I bring you the happenings of SG in the month of May!

They say April showers bring may flowers. Well, we must have had some bloody acid rain this past April, because the Mayflower we got is thorny, deadly, and deceptive. A little smelly too.  Our May seduction campaign was to seduce the legendary Dread Pirate Roberts, aka DPR, aka Wes, into joining our ranks! He fell for it (was there any doubt??) – and has joined Naeann’s faction – the Black Ajah. I’m sorry but anyone who has that many names/acronyms/aliases is just way too high maintenance. That’s probably why he joined the Black Ajah, so they can all sit around feeling misunderstood and unappreciated. Either that or he likes to win the faction competition each month? In either case, DPR chose the BA despite Lily’s best effort’s to entice him into the Shadow Spawn. I hear she used all her ‘toys’ too, and this just could be my imagination but I swear DPR has been walking a little funny ever since… Oh, Ed tried to seduce him as well, but ever since the Dreadies had him fixed he’s just not the solid performer he used to be. Anyhow, for those of you who haven’t heard, DPR is mafia Royalty,. (with a capital italicized R!). Meaning he’ll spin you on your head, convince you that you’re hallucinating, and then get you to lynch your dear old grannie just before he tears you apart limb by limb. Charming fellow, he’s fit right in with the BA so far! Welcome aboard, Wes! We had a number of other people join us in May, but mostly we were just excited about Wes. Oh, all right we were excited about Wolfie, Limi, Pankhuri, and Al Jenn too (just not as excited as we were for Wes…)

Also this May, we were invaded by an army of giant, hairy, angry Aiel maidens. Have you ever wondered what happens to angry women living in barren plains without access to something so mundane as a razor? They get really hairy!! They came to SG hoping to plunder and pillage, and rumor has it that a few of them were gearing up to lay some bridal wreaths at the feet of some prospective suitors (Hai Red my Schookums!). In the end Moggy, Amadine, Adella and Limi captured a few of these hirsute maidens and tried to teach the savages the ways of feminine hygiene… I last saw them sitting around beading each others’ armpit hair over in the Blight in some sisterly bonding, and so the Aiel Invasion ended with a celebration of crazy women making honking-noises with their beaded underarms.

Amadine was heard saying, “*gasp* Adella those green beads look so pretty hanging from your armpit! They really accent the clumps of deodorant! I’m so glad we made peace with those barbarian Aiel, killed them and took all their beads!”

Speaking of bonding, we’ve had more bondage this month than Madame Nynaeve’s House of Domination! Given the antics we’ve seen as these zany couples consecrated their undying devotion to one another, I anticipate a ripe environment for ambitious relationship counselors. Ultimately everyone was successful in securing their bonds, so congratulations to the happy couples Verbal and Naeann, Lily and Pete, and Moggy and Jelly. May you all live happier ever after. (get it? “May” you all live happier ever after?? Tough crowd…). Wait – what? Are you sure? Those weren’t the actual pairings? Seriously?? They seem like matches made in heaven! Oooh well it seems Nyn and Jelly, Verbal and Nae, and Lily and Pete are the happy couples!! Next week see sign ups for the support group: Bonds With Dysfunctional Boundaries!

The final noteworthy event in May was of course Census 2010. The hard-working folks in charge of SG actually wanted some feedback on how we all are enjoying things. I’m sure they got a ton of meaningful data, and I just can’t wait to see how they implement our recommendations. To give you a sense of how hard our Executive Team worked on putting together this census, I set up a little spy-cam in one of their brainstorming sessions. Behold, the meeting of the minds:

pandy: All right everyone, get to work, make up a new survey for 2010, and don’t mess it up or else!!!! *slams fist*

Moggy: Oh wonderful a census! We can really reach out and tap into the hopes and dreams of the next generation of SG! We will be inspired by the ideas of our members! *fawns with wonderment*

Naeann: Um.. yeah whatev’. Just tell everyone they have to give all their points to the Black Ajah and tell everyone they have to worship us. Don’t ask them any questions. *levitates*

pandy: seriously people get to work! I can’t work like this! No wonder FDM took a leave!! *pulls out ragged tufts of fur and starts drinking*

Ed: OMG A QUESTIONNAIRE THINGIE I LOVE THESE THINGS GUYS I’M ON GERMAN CLASS ON MY PHOne ‘im NOT TOO sureIcn focus too much!!! !!? <_-> :> :< :[] * bounces off the wall*

Moggy: Ok question one - how about “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” * stares into space wonderingly *

Verbal : Ask them about Angelina Jolie!!! Ask them if they know how I could meet her possibly! Ask them what her hair smells like!!!! *sniffs Moghy's hair*

Moggy: Ewww get off of me you creep! Pandy he's sniffing my hair!!! You pervert!! Ewww!! *shoves Verbal*

Ed: DOESn't ANYONE HAVE ANY RITALIN??? CRUSH IT UP CRUSH IT UP IT'S BEST SNORTED!

Pete: * yawn * Hey gang, be cool ok? Look just wake me up if you need anything. *goes back to napping*

Moggy: Queston 2: “How old do you think I am?” You get a free bunny if you say 'over 21!' *beams*

Nae: * randomly starts zapping people with lightning bolts * Bow to the Black Ajah!!! Bwa-ha-haaa!

pandy: *drunk and slurring* Allllrith *hic* let's justh go wiff last year's surv*hic*

Verbal: *licks Moggy*

Moggy: Why is Ed rolling up the survey papers?! Bad Ed! Stop that!

Really, it’s a marvel anything gets done.

Well, one can only hope that June holds as many excitements for us! Cheers to another month of murder and mayhem!

*stabs*

~ Aust!

So, a Blog, eh?

When pandy approached me on hands and knee’s asking me to revive the blog, I had objections. I had demands. I had half a bag of M&M’s and be damned if I was sharing. But most of all, I had a vision.

Later I found out that this was caused by my out-of-date M&M’s. Seriously, no-one would read a blog about camel breeding and husbandry, and if they do, I don’t want to know about it.

But the Shayol Ghul Blog, that is another story. This could be a blog that goes down in the annals of history as the single most important chronicle of life in the Shayol Ghul org. (Except of course the org itself, which when I take a look at the oldest post, it’s grown quite a Gandalf-esque wisdom-beard.) It could define a generation. That’s quite a lot of pressure to put on a young man, but boldly I stepped up, and here we are. You there, at home or work, or anywhere on your iPhone*, me chained up in the Black Ajah dungeons, surviving only on the moisture I can lick off the back of passing rats. This is nice. We should do this more often.

But I disgress! A blog, detailing the in’s and out’s of the daily Shayol Ghul grind, I can do that, surely! I lurk around the architraves often enough that I spy plenty of juicy gossip, plenty of news, but those all have their own posts anyway… So what to do?

I looked up Blog on google, and the second result was the wikipedia entry and definition, which (paraphrased) looks like this:

1. Blog. (A contraction of the term Web Log)
Some chump’s opinions of another chump, or another chump’s actions.

Theres a whole many thousand word article on the history of blogs, and the cultural and social impact, but that was a bit boring (read: high brow) for me and my readership. Oh, you didn’t know you were part of the readership? Yep, sorry, turns out by giving into that little spike of curiosity you’ve gone and supported this little venture. You’ll regret that when I go all mad with power and stage a bloodless coup-de-tat, bloodless being the worst kind of coup-de-tat and all.

What was I talking about? Oh right, blogs.

So I’ve gotta write something, probably pertaining to Shayol Ghul and the goings on within. So lets take a look at some recent events.

*scrolls through the org*

We have a new Org leader in cosmicpanda. Did anyone see how he came to power? That is a prime model of a working power-distribution system. Kudos go to all those who sent in legit applications, but seriously you were never going to win. Think about it. Panda’s are from where? CHINA, only the most efficiently corrupt government in the world. Young Cosmic obviously has friends in high places, and they are hoarding all the tea to boot. So that was a given, but with YC’s election to a higher duty, he left behind a power vacuum that threatened to DESTROY the Black Ajah as we know it.

It all came down to Naeann, and your humble blogger. (Oh no, I’m a blogger! When did that happen?! If someone can quote this in a research paper somewhere I’ll at least go down as a resource, or maybe a study…)

It was tense. The air in the BA was thick with tension. So thick in fact, you could call it foggy. But through the fog, came a gentlemen’s agreement between a gentlewoman and a sarcastic young man. Essentially I would roll over, give the position to Naeann, and in return receive a cheque in the mail that should be enough to set me up for life. Unfortunately that cheque never arrived and by the time the Fog of Tension cleared, I was pantless and strung up in a dungeon. My head is still spinning, though in fairness I could blame that on the M&M’s. Well played Naeann, I would say I am happy to serve under you, but that’s only because of geography.

As I type this, I realise the blog is probably asking more questions than it answers, so here are some answers to balance the mix:

1. A 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. A 6. Two rabbits and a tennis net.

Do I have a word limit on this thing? Probably best I cap it now, before I lose the point. In summation, uh…

??? at ed

Regardless,

Ashaman DeRouge.

* I get paid every time I say iPhone. Well, I’m hoping to anyway.

The Band’s search for its Dream Band takes the second month of its two month break. As a recap, our Dream Band currently consists of the following members:

- Carlos Santana as the guitarist
- Geddy Lee as the bass player
- Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel as the Female Vocalist
- Queen’s Freddie Mercury as the Male Vocalist

Last month saw the Band focus on soundtrack and film music. And for May, we have a double helping of themes – our main theme will be Classical Music, with a period at the end of May (and part of June) that focuses on the fun and games of the Eurovision Song Contest.

NOMINATE YOUR BEST CLASSICAL COMPOSER
Until Thursday 13th May 2010, I am looking to you to nominate who you think are the best composers of Classical Music, whether contemporary or past masters. I am looking for between 8 and 16 nominations, and those nominated will go into the “It’s A Knockout” contest to decide who takes the title of the Band’s Favourite Classical Composer.
LINK TO NOMINATE COMPOSERS

NOMINATE YOUR BEST PIECE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC
Until Thursday 13th May 2010, I am looking to you to nominate what are your favourite pieces of Classical Music, and they can be recent masterpieces or old time classics. I am looking for between 4 and 12 nominations, since there are 4 seeded pieces from when this contest was held in March 2009. All those nominated will go into the “It’s A Knockout” contest to decide which piece will takes the title of the Band’s and DM’s Favourite Piece of Classical Music.
LINK TO NOMINATE CLASSICAL PIECES

IT’S A KNOCKOUT THREADS
Once we have our nominations for both categories, there will be two “It’s A Knockout” threads running – one to pick the winner of the composers, and one to pick the piece of music.
“It’s A Knockout” thread for Soundtrack Composers –> link to be confirmed
“It’s A Knockout” thread for Pieces of Soundtrack Music –> link to be confirmed

TUNE OR NO TUNE
As a result, for the following weeks, some great pieces from the world of Classical Music will be picked for “Tune or No Tune”, as well as the winning piece from the “It’s A Knockout” contest for Soundtrack:

- Monday 3rd May 2010 –> Riders of Rohan by Howard Shore
- Monday 10th May 2010 –>
- Monday 17th May March 2010 –>
- Monday 24th May 2010 –>
- Monday 31st May 2010 –>

If you want to nominate a song that you think demonstrates amazing qualities for Classical Muisc for “Tune or No Tune”, please contact Corki by PM or email shen_an(_calhar@hotmail.co.uk).

ORIGINAL vs. COVER
After the success this thread had in September, this thread is still going strong. Each week, 2 songs will be posted for your to vote on. Corki will be running this until further notice. Also, if you want to run the thread for a week, please drop Corki a PM. It will try its best to keep to the Band’s musical theme for the month.
LINK TO ORIGINAL VS. COVER THREAD

GENERAL CLASSICAL MUSIC THREADS
There will be a general discussion thread about Classical Music. Please watch for the announcement of when this thread is started.

THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Every year, for the past 50+ years, Europe has come together to celebrate music, both awesome and terrible, in the annual contest that is Eurovision. This is now the third year that the Band has dedicated time to the Eurovision Song Contest. This year’s contest comes from Oslo after last year’s winner (with a horrible song!) was Norway. We will host a wide variety of threads for the week commencing 17th May 2010. This includes:
- Corki’s running commentary on the first and second semi-finals (25th and 27th May respectively)
- Corki’s running commentary on the Grand Final (29th May)
- A general discussion thread on the joys of Eurovision over the years
- A general discussion on this year’s contest from May
- A chance for the Band to pick their winner from those in the Grand Final using the Eurovision points scoring system –> last year’s winner was Iceland (who should have won the real contest!)
- Much, much more!

Corki
Marshal-General
Band of the Red Hand Social Group Leader

The Band’s search for its Dream Band takes a break for a couple of months as the Band changes its focus. As a recap, our Dream Band currently consists of the following members:

Carlos Santana as the guitarist
Geddy Lee as the bass player
Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel as the Female Vocalist
Queen’s Freddie Mercury as the Male Vocalist

For the next two months, we were either going to look at Soundtrack music, and Classical Music. And it was decided that it would be Soundtrack music first!

NOMINATE YOUR BEST SOUNDTRACK COMPOSER
Until Wednesday 14th April 2010, I am looking to you to nominate who you think are the best composers of Soundtracks out there in the business. I am looking for between 8 and 16 nominations, and those nominated will go into the “It’s A Knockout” contest to decide who takes the title of the Band’s Favourite Soundtrack Composer.
LINK TO NOMINATE COMPOSERS

NOMINATE YOUR BEST PIECE OF SOUNDTRACK MUSIC
Until Wednesday 14th April 2010, I am looking to you to nominate what are your favourite pieces of soundtrack music out there in the business. I am looking for between 8 and 16 nominations, and those nominated will go into the “It’s A Knockout” contest to decide which piece will takes the title of the Band’s and DM’s Favourite Piece of Music from a Soundtrack.
LINK TO NOMINATE SOUNDTRACK PIECES

IT’S A KNOCKOUT THREADS
Once we have our nominations for both categories, there will be two “It’s A Knockout” threads running – one to pick the winner of the composers, and one to pick the piece of music.

TUNE OR NO TUNE
As a result, for the following weeks, some great soundtracks from films will be picked for “Tune or No Tune”:

- Monday 5th April 2010 –> Now We Are Free by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard
- Monday 12th March 2010 –>
- Monday 19th March 2010 –>
- Monday 26th March 2010 –>

If you want to nominate a song that you think demonstrates amazing soundtrack qualities for “Tune or No Tune”, please contact Corki by PM or email (shen_an_calhar@hotmail.co.uk).

ORIGINAL vs. COVER
After the success this thread had in September, this thread is still going strong. Each week, 2 songs will be posted for your to vote on. Corki will be running this until further notice. Also, if you want to run the thread for a week, please drop Corki a PM.  
THREAD: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,47430.0.html

GENERAL THREADS
There is a general discussion thread about Soundtrack artists, which was started by Krakalakachkn. You will notice he started it back in February, but I hid it until now. It is very much open to discussion! And there is a poll as well.
THREAD: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,54321.0.html

MARCH BANDNESS
The local radio station of one of our members holds a contest every March to determine the best in the rock genre. We are currently coming to a close with the vote. To get involved with the remaining ties at KSHE95 Radio station contest, check out their website and use your mobile/cell phone to text your votes. However, you can also get involved with the Band of the Red Hand, as we will be running the same brackets at the same time – but free! And we are drawing to a close, so check out the link below to find out where we are!
BotRH THREAD: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,55254.0.html

Corki
Marshal-General
Band of the Red Hand Social Group Leader

I understand that, even as Chosen, you can’t do everything and so you’re at the mercy of incompetent underlings. That, of course, being the reason why all of you are getting wooped. So then, wouldn’t it be a good thing for other talented authors to have the chance to tell your stories? Take a look at RJ’s ‘Conan Books’. Certainly not the original author but very worth the reading all the same. Of course the victors write the histories but I thought you……oh so mighty(giggles with barely contained hilarity) Chosen would see the value of others creativity in showing the “truth” of your awesome exploits(in sleeping for thousands of years).

Your faithful servant,
(who probably won’t wake after this)
Millon Daine

---

Dear Hearing Impaired

We’re not getting wooped, we’re making woopie. Except for Lanfear, the poor daahling, since Lewsie Wewsie is too busy with his new (much younger) girlies.

As for your rather rambling and incoherent question: why would we want someone else to tell our tale? People now believe we slept for thousands of years and that we’re … shall we say, less successful than we actually are. *smirks*

Toodles

Semi
Standing right behind you and giggling softly

---

Dear Millon,

I refuse to answer on the grounds that you’re an insufferable twit who doesn’t even have the three brain cells it would take to realize that taunting the Chosen in parenthesis will still constitute death in the sweetest way Semi can imagine.

~Messy

---

Dear Millon,

You’ll not get a rise out of me with these flagrant accusations of us getting whooped! We NEVER get whooped! We are lulling our opponent into a false sense of security so that his inevitable downfall will be that much sweeter.

And NO ONE has EVER whooped me!

SHUT UP!! NO ONE SAY A THING!

THAT INCIDENT IN TEAR NEVER HAPPENED!!

The Great Lord help you if ANY one of you opens your mouths!

*Prepares the weaves for Balefire as he eyes his fellow Chosen..!*

~Be’lal

---

Aaah Tear. Fond memories. So fond. *Smirks at Belly.*

Messy darling, I still disagree with you on that point – it should take only 2 braincells to realise the obvious. The third braincell is only needed to switch on the little light bulb.

Semi
Feather touching the back of Millon’s neck with her fingertips.

---

Dear faithlessful,

No-one can tell our stories, for one thing no-one should ever know the full extent of our plans – if they did, we’d have to kill them. Of course then they’d be dead and that’d mean they wouldn’t be able to write anything. If Aggy gets his hands on them, of course, they might be sort of alive but I still doubt writing would be on the cards.

~ Graendal

---

Dainty,

Let us discuss this in your dreams….at length. Forever, perhaps?

Happy Nightmares!
Moggy

---

I’m sorry, did you really just say that the Conan books were worth reading? Bwahahahahahahahaha! You’re funny because you have no taste!

-Sammael

---

Here is a story for you.
Demandred paid a visit to Millon Daine. Demandred set Millon Daine on fire. The end.

/Dem

---

And to add to the parting gifts from my colleagues, I offer you this: an eternity of Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Cher, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, and the Jonas Brothers. You will also be left with a pistol with one shot. I think you know what to do.

-Asmodean

---

After our inevitable triumph over the Light, there will be no more need for fools like you to have entertainment like “prequels”, “outriggers”, or “FoxNews” to waste your time on. You’ll be much too busy slaving away for the Great Lord in his extreme punishment mines. Yes, where you’ll be mining extreme punishment. It’s a valuable commodity, you know.

Cash Cows and Carnivores,
~Balty’gar

Dear Chosen

The New Year is fast approaching and I will be attending a party with a few friends. However some of the people there I less then dislike, so my question is how would you recommend I kills/make disappear these people without any one at the party being suspicious. As well what awesome parties have you been to in your many years of grand experiences and life?
(I bet any party with the Chosen is a great one, but personally I would stay away from the drinks.)

D. Rahien

---

Rumours are wonderful things, sow them right and you won’t have to worry about them even turning up.

~ Graendal

---

Rahien,

Based on the word misuse, lack of punctuation, and spelling issues, I can’t be bothered to instruct you. You’ll just mess it up.

Die in a fire, you middle school drop out.
-Sammael

---

This Age has been instrumental in the development and proliferation of the rumor of subliminal messages in music. This theory, while in and of itself a total sham, does have some basis in Ancient Greek music theory. The Greek philosophers postulated that music played in certain modes could affect the moods of people, either positively or negatively.

Bearing this in mind, I recommend a more musical approach. Find music written in either Phrygian or Locrian mode. These two modes, with the most dissonances and minor-sounding tonalities, will possibly drive these undesireables of your’s to suicide. I heartily recommend that, for the sake of science, you try this yourself, see how it works.

-Asmodean

---

Dear D

That little private note you slipped me has been burned. And of course I promise not to tell Asmo that you want to hire him to sing exclusively for those nasty people you don’t like till their ears bleed.

All my love

Semi
The Discreet

---

Dear D,

The fact that you are bothered by useless peons means you’ve missed the point of not liking people. I would turn my focus inward, personally. The only true revenge is growing stronger than your foes and ignoring them so they get a front row seat for the carnage you intend to reap upon the world later.

~Dr. Messy

---

Rahien,

*stands beside Messy and nods*

~Moggy

---

Rahien,

Were you unaware of the fact that asking questions so close to the holidays leads to them not being answered. I’m popular, I happen to have a busy schedule around this time of year. It is truly a pity that you don’t.

–Lanfear

---

Lanfie, dear, locking yourself up in the bathroom for two weeks just because Semi asked if you had gained weight does not really qualify as “having a busy schedule”.

~Dem

---

… Is that where all my ipecac has been going?

… What? Musicians are supposed to look starved. It’s part of the charm. Besides, I never know what my colleagues have put into my coffee. The worst part is, it’s usually not poison. I remember Aggy thought my vacuum-sealed 500-dollar-per-pound coffee was the perfect place to store “specimens” from his work at cross-breeding Darkhounds with Trollocs. That bottle was a lifesaver.

I hope you’ll pay me back for that, Lanny.

-Asmodean

---

Actually, Asmo dear,

Most musicians worth their salt can afford not to look like skeletons before they are one. The fact that you look gaunt speaks volumes for your lack of musical ability. Thank you for finally admitting it so we can laugh about it for a while.

Charm, indeed.

~Messy

---

Dear Amateur,

I think you should convince the host/hostess to make it a themed party– Murder Mystery! They’ll be so busy giggling and trying to find out who the “killer” is, they won’t notice that the stiff is REALLY a stiff until it is too late.

Theatre and Thumbscrews,
Balty’gar

Hello there!  For your perusal, here follows a digest of what’s been happening around the Dragonmount Social Groups during February, along with some info on current events coming up in each of our various Social Groups.  Enjoy!

Aiel Group– 28 Active Members, 3 New Members.

The Aiel received a new leader (Minuet) recently, and she has been working very hard to increase activity in the Social Group, with good success!  During February, the Aiel “visited” China, and celebrated the Chinese New Year.  They held several discussions about Chinese History, the Chinese Zodiac, and even a Chinese Scavenger Hunt.

Upcoming Projects:  For March the Aiel are visiting Ireland and learning about the traditions and observances of St. Patrick’s Day. They are also studying their history, food, drinks, art and music.  Please stop in and have a pint with them.  Slainte!

Band of the Red Hand Group– 33 Active Members, 4 New Members.

It’s a momentous time for Band leader Corki and the rest of the BotRH, as they are in the middle of migrating their offsite repository to Dragonmount.  Even with all of that work on their plates, they still found time for lots of activity during February.  New Captain-Generals have been chosen for the divisions of the Band: Canis Rufus is the new Captain-General of the Cavalry; Amavia for the Archers; and Krakalakachkn is taking over the Infantry.  The Band is also now officially on Twitter– you can find them (and follow them, please!) here: http://twitter.com/DM_BotRH .  Along with their regularly scheduled music threads like Tune or No Tune, the Band worked on their “Dream Band” as well as taking a trip to Russia for February’s travel destination.

Upcoming Projects: There are whispers that the Band will be reviving it’s very popular Dice-playing game in the NEAR future, so keep a watch for that.  Additionally, the Band will be celebrating it’s 5th birthday soon, and you should expect for there to be LOTS of revelry at the BotRH then (keep tuned for updates!)

Black Tower Group– 38 Active Members, 10 New Members.

The Black Tower was Mafia crazy during February, hosting multiple threads about Mafia and even a game or two.  The members have also been getting to know each other (maybe more than they planned on!) in the ongoing “50 Questions” threads.  In recognition of the upcoming Empy Awards at DM, the BTers have been coming up with their own “categories” of awards and making their own nominations.  My favorite one– “Most likely to Twapped by the OL.”  I think seeing leader Talya twap anybody would be entertaining.

Upcoming Projects: The Black Tower and the White Tower groups will be collaborating in late March for a Trivial Pursuit competition that promises to be VERY fun and very competitive!  The BT will also be hosting a St. Patrick’s Day ball, so be sure to stop in and say hi!

Kin Group– 18 Active Members, 2 New Members.

The Kin showed their love during February by completing both a Valentine’s Craft Exchange and a Card Exchange. It was also Random Acts of Kindness Month, in which they reward members (and visitors) for the little things they do to make someone else’s life a little brighter.  There was an epic thread in this theme in which a couple of Shayol Ghul Group’s evil members were forced by leader Loraine (U4ea) to say and do nice things to everybody who replied to their thread for an entire week.  Needless to say, the over the top sugary sweet sentiments by members who typically greet each other with *stabs* were a sight to see.

Upcoming Projects:  The Kin will also be celebrating all things Irish in March, with “The Pub” (featuring drinks, fun, and new recipes posted daily), Irish Joke of the Day, Irish Sayings, and the March Craft Exchange.  Stop in to visit them (but watch out for their knitting needles!)

Ogier Group– 14 Active Members, 1 New Member.

The Ogier stretched their mental muscles in February with an excellent riddling thread, the Architecture thread of the month, and discussions on books (including some great ones on TGS– so those of you who haunt the DM Book Discussion boards might want to check out the Ogier too!)

Upcoming Projects:  There is a proposed project in the works with the Writers Guild, and leader Samuraiflip05 also has spoken of a tour of the Social Groups.  I know many will be pleased to see the DM Ogier leave their stedding to come visit!

Shayol Ghul Group– 35 Active Members, 6 New Members.

Group leader Far Dareis Mai unfortunately decided to step down as leader at the end of February, so I don’t have a full report on activity during that month for you.  We’re in the process of looking for a new group leader now and should hopefully have one soon!  Verbal32 was chosen this month to lead the wily Shadowspawn faction (go SS!).  After all was said and done though, the Black Ajah faction came out on top in the points race, with a whopping 3687 points earned as a group.  That’s dedication!

Upcoming Projests:  Watch for the Shadowspawn to start hosting a new game similar to “The Gong Show” soon, and the Aiel and Wolfkin are planning an invasion of Shayol Ghul soon as well!

White Tower Group– 137 Active Members, 12 New Members.

It was a month of fun and friendship at the White Tower during February.  The Blue and Green Ajahs held a Disney event to celebrate all things Magical Kingdom.  The week featured a Disney Mafia thread which has been quite entertaining to watch the various characters battle it out between Town and Scum.  There’s also been Disney Trivia, Caption contests, and more!

Upcoming Projects: Currently the Red Ajah is holding it’s annual event for International Women’s Week, with topics like Influential Women of History, Inventions by Women, Guess the Quote, Women’s Shelters and more.  The event is in full swing, so please stop by!  As mentioned in the BT report, we will be collaborating with the Black Tower for a Trivial Pursuit team competition later this month that should be fun for everyone.  Come check it out– I promise not to have you stuck in a Novice dress or Algai uniform (unless you stay for more than 30 seconds!) 

Wolfkin Group– 39 Active Members, 1 New Member.

This month the Wolfkin also succumbed to Mafia mania, with 2 different themed games during the course of the month (Safari Mafia and Scooby Doo Mafia).  They also had their regular buffet of varied topics to pique your interest– including a discussion on Dreams, a picture thread of beautiful sunsets and a thread about the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.  Additionally, the Nature Calendar Picture Competition wrapped up and the results will be announced sometime in March.

Upcoming Projects:  Wolfkin leader Doselan plans for construction of the Nature Calendar to begin, and he and Aiel leader Minuet are planning a joint raid on the Shayol Ghul Group as soon as SG gets a new leader to plot with them!

————————-

Other News– The DM boards were majorly restructured during February in order to provide an easier navigational experience, and following their group leader’s resignation, the Seanchan Social Group was restructured into a set of “Entertainment” discussion boards with sub-forums on TV, Movies and Console Gaming.  Krakalakachkn will be serving as the new moderator of these boards, so congratulations to him!

That’s my report for this month; we hope to see you visiting us soon in the Social Groups!

Claire

WT Social Group Leader

DM Social Groups Admin

The Band’s search for its Dream Band continues in March. With Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel winning the position of Female Vocalist, she joins Carlos Santana, the guitarist, and Geddy Lee, the bass player, in our Dream Band. Now our focus shifts to the world of male vocalists. And there are a host of activities surrounding this theme, which you can find highlighted below.

NOMINATE YOUR BEST MALE VOCALIST
Until Sunday 14th March 2010, I am looking to you to nominate who you think are the best male vocalists. Between 8 and 16 is what I am looking for, and those nominated will go into the “It’s A Knockout” contest to decide who takes the role of Male Vocalist in the Band’s Dream Band.
Nominate your male vocalists in this thread

IT’S A KNOCKOUT
Once we have our nominations, there will be a “It’s A Knockout” thread to pick the winner and who takes the position of Male Vocalist in the Band’s Dream Band.
Link to be posted when thread is started

TUNE OR NO TUNE
As a result, for the following weeks, songs that have some of the best male vocalists will be picked for “Tune or No Tune”, along with a song by Sharon den Adel, the winner of the Female Vocalist battle:

- Monday 1st March 2010 –> Ice Queen by Within Temptation
- Monday 8th March 2010 –> Long Tall Sally by Little Richard
- Monday 15th March 2010 –> You Got It by Roy Orbison
- Monday 22nd March 2010 –> I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye
- Monday 29th March 2010

If you want to nominate a song that you think has some amazing male vocals in it for “Tune or No Tune”, please contact me by PM or email shen_an_calhar@hotmail.co.uk.

ORIGINAL vs. COVER
After the success this thread had in September, this thread is still going strong. Each week, 2 songs will be posted for your to vote on. At the moment, Krakalakachkn is running the show. Also, if you want to run the thread for a week, please drop Corki a PM.  
THREAD: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,47430.0.html

GENERAL THREADS
There will hopefully be a thread to discuss the great male vocalists, and you can post clips of their singing talent as well.

MARCH BANDNESS
The local radio station of one of our members holds a contest every month to determine the best in the rock genre. To get involved with the KSHE95 Radio station contest, check out their website and use your mobile/cell phone to text your votes. However, you can also get involved with the Band of the Red Hand, as we will be running the same brackets at the same time – but free!
BotRH THREAD: http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,55254.0.html

Corki
Marshal-General
Band of the Red Hand Social Group Leader