Fugue dreams

I had a dream. When I woke before dawn today all I could remember was a word: Fugue. While I don't believe that every dream is significant, that's an oddly specific word or symbolic element to recall.

fugue
1 a: a musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts.

Hmm... interesting, but not necessarily significant, at least not in terms of coming up with blog filler. Probably just heard it in my sleep since I often doze off with the overnight classical station playing. But the implication of a recurring theme seems to resonate with us.

1 b: something that resembles a fugue especially in interweaving repetitive elements

Ah, now we're getting somewhere...

2: a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the acts performed.

Psychiatry: A pathological amnesiac condition during which one is apparently conscious of one's actions but has no recollection of them after returning to a normal state. This condition, usually resulting from severe mental stress, may persist for as long as several months.

(From Wikipedia): Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity.

• sudden, unexpected travel away from home or one's customary place of work, with inability to recall one's past,
• confusion about personal identity, or the assumption of a new identity, or
• significant distress or impairment.
  

Oh, I see what you did there, noggin. Trying to remind me to get back to some of the topics proposed in the first Tales of Radio Paranoia entry:

• 2011 NASWA Winter SWL Fest story.
• Friends getting knocked up.
• Leporidae dissembling.
• Wars and rumors of wars.

Alrighty then, the Fest story is coming along nicely, almost done, still waiting for BNtP's fourth and final entry in the Fester trilogy.

Stations getting The Knock from the FCC... hmm... this one may need to wait, at least regarding specifics. At least one station operator with whom we've discussed the incident prefers not to identify itself in conjunction with any public reports about the investigation. For now let's just say that RP is aware of three U.S. shortwave pirate station operators being visited by the FCC during the past year. Reportedly all three received what the agency calls a "verbal warning" (technically an oral warning, according to the descriptions given by affected operators, but we're parsing linguistics here with the government). Since that type of warning does not appear in the publicly available records on the FCC website, the site is not entirely useful as an indicator of current agency activity. From what we've been able to discern from studying recent records, the FCC only refers to "verbal warnings" in retrospect as part of their affidavits when pursuing official actions such as Notices of Apparent Liability, and forfeitures (which is how the FCC describes citations that include monetary penalties). RP may attempt a Freedom Of Information Act request to see if we can shake loose any information regarding these verbal warnings, but we are not hopeful. Field notes and internal memos are notoriously difficult to obtain via FOIA from any federal regulatory agency, unless the requesting party is involved in legal representation of the party.

Leporidae dissembling... the recurring theme of dissociative identity disorder is tempting to pursue but, eh, been there, done that. Still don't have the t-shirt, however. RP doubts His Hareness will see the humor in our blog. But if he does, we'd like a large.

Wars and rumors of wars! Yes, that's a good 'un. We'll tackle it soon. It's about time to offer an alternative perspective on the infamous Summer 2008 pirate war as well. So far we've refrained from publishing anything specific, here or elsewhere, out of consideration for three particular individuals who were subjected to some rather unpleasant attentions between the summer and fall of 2008.

And the most recent snit - which involved a grotesque confabulation by the lagomorph in response to relatively mild satire drifting downward from the North - makes the topic relevant again. The continued theme of piratical bunnyfolk labeling enemies as "child molesters" goes far beyond mere hyperbole, slander or libel. It seems to hint at some deep seated anxieties. At the very least it should not go unchallenged by reasonable people. Not that RP counts itself among those reasonable people. But you might qualify.

A recent alt.pirate.radio newsgroup post seems to be an attempt to put some perspective on the most recent spat:

"At this point, who said what or provoked whomever else really just
doesn't fucking matter..." --(Marconi's Ghost)

But we're inclined to agree with John Poet of The Crystal Ship, who countered that at this point attempting to smooth over or downplay the most recent spat between His Hareness and our Canadians friends amounts to the unacceptable compromise of "...a 'false moral equivalance'..."

To be continued.

By the way, as always, feel free to check off the Zeitgeist as LOL, meh or Fail, as you wish (beneath every blog entry). Points are not being scored and we have no idea who checks which box. It's only there for your amusement. Likewise, feel free to comment anonymously or via your Google or other account, whichever you prefer. If you have suggestions for blog articles or material to contribute, feel free to e-mail us.

---

Music video of the now: Dissociative Fugue by composer Stretta. In particular we liked his comments regarding collaborative projects and Creative Commons.

Book of the now: The Narcissist's Confabulated Life, by Dr. Sam Vaknin. "Moreover, he imposes his personal mythology on his nearest and dearest. Spouse, children, colleagues, friends, neighbors - sometimes even perfect strangers - must abide by the narcissist's narrative or face his wrath. The narcissist countenances no disagreement, alternative points of view, or criticism. To him, confabulation IS reality.

"We dare not confront or expose him, despite the outlandishness of his claims, the improbability of his stories, the implausibility of his alleged accomplishments and conquests. We simply turn the other cheek, or meekly avert our eyes, often embarrassed.

"Moreover, the narcissist makes clear, from the very beginning, that it is his way or the highway. His aggression - even violent streak - are close to the surface. He may be charming in a first encounter - but even then there are telltale signs of pent-up abuse. His interlocutors sense this impending threat and avoid conflict by acquiescing with the narcissist's fairy tales. Thus he imposes his private universe and virtual reality on his milieu - sometimes with disastrous consequences."

(Quoted in good faith cooperation with the author's stated conditions.)