more website changes?

Alifbaa · Post by **Alifbaa** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:25 pm

First post, hope everyone is well. Meant to post this a while ago, but I forgot my password to login and life is too busy sometimes.

I was going to create a thread on BOC and their use of Semitic languages (Hebrew and Arabic) in their MySpace status updates. I find it a bit peculiar (I'm currently in the second year of a PhD examining Arabic dialectology), but it caught my eye when their status appeared as أشعة الشمس القرارات الجديدة quite recently. This happened roughly around the time that the atomic explosion logo appeared as part of their imagery.

This status update roughly translates into two phrases, firstly 'The Sun's rays' or 'The rays of the Sun', and secondly, 'The new resolutions' (it's also possible to translate resolutions as 'decisions').

As a little bit of background, Semitic languages form their nouns, adjectives, verbs etc. from a root cluster of three consonants (although occasionally two or four consonants can appear as the root letters), and each root cluster contains an underlying basic meaning. Quick example, the consonants K T B carry the sense of anything to do with writing, and various methods can be used to turn these three consonants into all kinds of different words associated in some way with writing. So you have the verb KaTaBa (he wrote), KiTaaB (a book), maKTaB (place of writing - office), maKTaba ( a library) and so on. I'm sure/hope you get the idea

OK, so to the status update. The interesting bit, in light of what Guido has just written about the domain registration of www.newcleardawn.co.uk, is the word 'rays' or أشعة . This word is formed from the root of three consonants ش ع ع (doesn't transliterate well so apologies for typing in Arabic), and carries the basic meaning of radiating light, and has very common usage in words dealing with various rays associated with physics (infra-red, x-ray etc) and also radiation/radioactive. You would use this root if you wanted to talk about nuclear radiation for example, but there are also some alternatives. Basically, in Arabic, it's an interesting link to me so I thought I'd share it.

Make of this what you will, it kind of adds to the BOC soup, but I thought it fits in well with what Guido mentioned. Do you think there is a tenuous link between the two? It could be rubbish, but at least it got me off my arse to post something for once, rather than just browsing the forum as I usually do. I could go on for hours

Cheers!

Mexicola · Post by **Mexicola** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:40 pm

mechanismj wrote:
Numerator wrote:"I've been told Dinsdale Piranha nailed your head to the floor."
Spiny Normon: DINSDALE!

OK, that freaked me out! Ummmmm. Secret? That's my surname! Dinsdale that is. Not Spiny Norman...

zeitgeist · Post by **zeitgeist** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:43 pm

i thought that owl logo was for boc--the trucking company...? or did i see that on one of their sites?

turquoise70 · Post by **turquoise70** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:11 pm

Alifbaa wrote:First post, hope everyone is well. Meant to post this a while ago, but I forgot my password to login and life is too busy sometimes.

I was going to create a thread on BOC and their use of Semitic languages (Hebrew and Arabic) in their MySpace status updates. I find it a bit peculiar (I'm currently in the second year of a PhD examining Arabic dialectology), but it caught my eye when their status appeared as أشعة الشمس القرارات الجديدة quite recently. This happened roughly around the time that the atomic explosion logo appeared as part of their imagery.

This status update roughly translates into two phrases, firstly 'The Sun's rays' or 'The rays of the Sun', and secondly, 'The new resolutions' (it's also possible to translate resolutions as 'decisions').

As a little bit of background, Semitic languages form their nouns, adjectives, verbs etc. from a root cluster of three consonants (although occasionally two or four consonants can appear as the root letters), and each root cluster contains an underlying basic meaning. Quick example, the consonants K T B carry the sense of anything to do with writing, and various methods can be used to turn these three consonants into all kinds of different words associated in some way with writing. So you have the verb KaTaBa (he wrote), KiTaaB (a book), maKTaB (place of writing - office), maKTaba ( a library) and so on. I'm sure/hope you get the idea

OK, so to the status update. The interesting bit, in light of what Guido has just written about the domain registration of www.newcleardawn.co.uk, is the word 'rays' or أشعة . This word is formed from the root of three consonants ش ع ع (doesn't transliterate well so apologies for typing in Arabic), and carries the basic meaning of radiating light, and has very common usage in words dealing with various rays associated with physics (infra-red, x-ray etc) and also radiation/radioactive. You would use this root if you wanted to talk about nuclear radiation for example, but there are also some alternatives. Basically, in Arabic, it's an interesting link to me so I thought I'd share it.

Make of this what you will, it kind of adds to the BOC soup, but I thought it fits in well with what Guido mentioned. Do you think there is a tenuous link between the two? It could be rubbish, but at least it got me off my arse to post something for once, rather than just browsing the forum as I usually do. I could go on for hours

Cheers!

welcome alifbaa and thanks for the in-depth info!! that is seriously an invaluable contribution for anyone following the myspace updates (i'm not, personally, but i had been wondering if/when someone with solid knowledge of both english and arabic would shed some light)

hope to see ya around here sommore

Mexicola · Post by **Mexicola** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:27 pm

That's actually a fascinating read. At first I wasn't sure how much of a link was there, but reading it again it does seem you might be onto something. Interesting..

iec · Post by **iec** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:37 pm

That specific owl is the logo of the Bohemian Club / Bohemian Grove.

Guido · Post by **Guido** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:58 pm

Thank you iec. That makes the link between the website and BoC even stronger:

iec · Post by **iec** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:05 pm

Oh no, this has stuff written all over it...

Frontline Net Observation Research & Development

FNORD.

Anyone read the Illuminatus Trilogy?

Wikipedia wrote:In these novels, the interjection "fnord" is given hypnotic power over the unenlightened. Under the Illuminati program, children in grade school are taught to be unable to consciously see the word "fnord". For the rest of their lives, every appearance of the word subconsciously generates a feeling of uneasiness and confusion, and prevents rational consideration of the subject. This results in a perpetual low-grade state of fear in the populace. This in turn perpetuates the need for Government, because without fear, people don't need Government.

In the Shea/Wilson construct, fnords are scattered liberally in the text of newspapers and magazines, causing fear and anxiety in those following current events. However, there are no fnords in the advertisements, encouraging a consumerist society. It is implied in the books that fnord is not the actual word used for this task, but merely a substitute, since most readers would be unable to see the actual word.

And that eye in the pyramid is usually associated with the REAL illuminati, and freemasonry.

Alifbaa · Post by **Alifbaa** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:06 pm

Thanks for the welcome!

I'm reasonably sure that this use of language is deliberate, although it's the only example of it. I couldn't apply the same analysis to their other status updates in Arabic (the Google/online translations posted in various threads are accurate enough) and I don't read/write Hebrew.

I only noticed the relevance of أشعة الشمس (the Sun's rays) because it coincided with the image. Arabic has a vast vocabulary, and a competent speaker can employ the nuances of meaning contained in roots to convey incredible depth. The status update I highlighted is a perfect example of how Arabic works. You could take this further and look at a 'new clear dawn' as a time when you'd most notice the 'nuclear rays' of the sun. I'm not saying that this is the case, just that good Arabic could convey this. Maybe BOC 'got lucky' in their translation, although given their admirable attention to detail, perhaps whoever is looking after their MySpace site knows what they're doing.

I'd love to know why they chose Semitic languages to encode their updates though.

dave_from_2001 · Post by **dave_from_2001** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:06 pm

iec wrote:Oh no, this has stuff written all over it...

Frontline Net Observation Research & Development

FNORD.

Anyone read the Illuminatus Trilogy?

Wikipedia wrote:In these novels, the interjection "fnord" is given hypnotic power over the unenlightened. Under the Illuminati program, children in grade school are taught to be unable to consciously see the word "fnord". For the rest of their lives, every appearance of the word subconsciously generates a feeling of uneasiness and confusion, and prevents rational consideration of the subject. This results in a perpetual low-grade state of fear in the populace. This in turn perpetuates the need for Government, because without fear, people don't need Government.

In the Shea/Wilson construct, fnords are scattered liberally in the text of newspapers and magazines, causing fear and anxiety in those following current events. However, there are no fnords in the advertisements, encouraging a consumerist society. It is implied in the books that fnord is not the actual word used for this task, but merely a substitute, since most readers would be unable to see the actual word.

yes. the jokes on us!

zeitgeist · Post by **zeitgeist** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:07 pm

iec wrote:That specific owl is the logo of the Bohemian Club / Bohemian Grove.

ahah! that's where i saw it.

Skytree · Post by **Skytree** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:09 pm

Alifbaa wrote:First post, hope everyone is well. Meant to post this a while ago, but I forgot my password to login and life is too busy sometimes.

I was going to create a thread on BOC and their use of Semitic languages (Hebrew and Arabic) in their MySpace status updates. I find it a bit peculiar (I'm currently in the second year of a PhD examining Arabic dialectology), but it caught my eye when their status appeared as أشعة الشمس القرارات الجديدة quite recently. This happened roughly around the time that the atomic explosion logo appeared as part of their imagery.

This status update roughly translates into two phrases, firstly 'The Sun's rays' or 'The rays of the Sun', and secondly, 'The new resolutions' (it's also possible to translate resolutions as 'decisions').

As a little bit of background, Semitic languages form their nouns, adjectives, verbs etc. from a root cluster of three consonants (although occasionally two or four consonants can appear as the root letters), and each root cluster contains an underlying basic meaning. Quick example, the consonants K T B carry the sense of anything to do with writing, and various methods can be used to turn these three consonants into all kinds of different words associated in some way with writing. So you have the verb KaTaBa (he wrote), KiTaaB (a book), maKTaB (place of writing - office), maKTaba ( a library) and so on. I'm sure/hope you get the idea

OK, so to the status update. The interesting bit, in light of what Guido has just written about the domain registration of www.newcleardawn.co.uk, is the word 'rays' or أشعة . This word is formed from the root of three consonants ش ع ع (doesn't transliterate well so apologies for typing in Arabic), and carries the basic meaning of radiating light, and has very common usage in words dealing with various rays associated with physics (infra-red, x-ray etc) and also radiation/radioactive. You would use this root if you wanted to talk about nuclear radiation for example, but there are also some alternatives. Basically, in Arabic, it's an interesting link to me so I thought I'd share it.

Make of this what you will, it kind of adds to the BOC soup, but I thought it fits in well with what Guido mentioned. Do you think there is a tenuous link between the two? It could be rubbish, but at least it got me off my arse to post something for once, rather than just browsing the forum as I usually do. I could go on for hours

Cheers!

Extremely interesting post. A solid academic knowledge of Arabic is something we've needed here for a while, though a few users have taken some good stabs at it.

I have a few thoughts on this, but they're just speculation. Firstly, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a new Boards album was apocalypse-themed. As mentioned a while ago, the Warp banner could have been a hint, combining a mushroom cloud with a logo that looked like it was peeled from a battered nuclear bunker.

The idea of the world ending is particularly acute in modern/pop culture too, I think (though each generation, it seems, is convinced the world will end shortly). So, this'd be a good time to play off all of those conscious and unconscious fears so many people have regarding 2012, etc. If you haven't been to a popular book store recently, just go to the new age section and check out all of the books on 2012...it's quite ridiculous, really.

Anyhow, when I read your translations, I immediately thought of our current, unexplained solar minimum (the Sun is remarkably inactive at the moment), and some fringe theories suggesting that it may be followed by an unprecedented solar maximum, possibly at a level which could disrupt electronic equipment or worse. Not saying I buy into this, but it's another one of those ideas floating in the ether, and a potentially catastrophic solar maximum is not beyond reason.

Another thought that came to mind was the Hopi view that we are currently entering the Fifth World, and leaving the Fourth. More detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Worl ... mythology). This is essentially rooted in the idea that endings are always coupled with beginnings, and that opposites define one another; life with death, light with dark, "threshold" moments, etc. Personally, I'm very attracted to this way of thinking, and have great respect for the Hopi.

So, the title "New Clear Dawn" exhibits both opposites in a play on words. Quite clever if that's the purpose.

Magic Brenda · Post by **Magic Brenda** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:12 pm

Weren't the previous updates in Hebrew? Israel/ Palestine... nuclear war. Jolly stuff.

Numerator · Post by **Numerator** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:15 pm

could be leading us down a dead end to throw us off the trail of a completely different direction perhaps?

Magic Brenda · Post by **Magic Brenda** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:16 pm

Numerator · Post by **Numerator** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:18 pm

That's better!

but seriously, the last thing I'd want from BoC is an album themed around an impending nuclear apoclypse.

Alifbaa · Post by **Alifbaa** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:18 pm

Magic Brenda wrote:

Hehe now I like this

boardsofdublin · Post by **boardsofdublin** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:23 pm

Numerator wrote:That's better!
but seriously, the last thing I'd want from BoC is an album themed around an impending nuclear apoclypse.

I think they'd do a great job of it!!! lol

Magic Brenda · Post by **Magic Brenda** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:23 pm

The only trouble now is that MDG is gonna say "I've had this FUCKING SONG stuck in my head all day" and Boc will go "What's that then?" and he'll play them that and they'll say "SHIIIIIT, we've been going about this new album all wrong, innit?" and thus it'll be delayed another millennia while they re-write it from scratch. Possibly based purely from samples of Lesley Gore, Millie Small and maybe Aqua.

turquoise70 · Post by **turquoise70** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:44 pm

Magic Brenda wrote:The only trouble now is that MDG is gonna say "I've had this FUCKING SONG stuck in my head all day" and Boc will go "What's that then?" and he'll play them that and they'll say "SHIIIIIT, we've been going about this new album all wrong, innit?" and thus it'll be delayed another millennia while they re-write it from scratch. Possibly based purely from samples of Lesley Gore, Millie Small and maybe Aqua.

i'd hold out another geological era for that kind of album.

but yeah... i'm not really keen on the apocalyptic themes myself. BoC may be hitting a very relevant cultural artifact if it turns out that's what they're doing, but i myself don't follow doomsday hearsay. i've always been afraid of catastrophic space events, though. like, really afraid of them.