Rae Roy's Blog, page 60

Theatrical Tuesday – Horror, Generally

[image error]I’m a horror fan, though I know plenty of people who are more enthusiastic about the genre. Some of it I really don’t like. Saw, for example, is not my kind of horror. I guess that might be called torture porn. It has nothing to do with the blood. I really enjoy most vampire films and Cannibal the Musical and they have a lot of blood in them. I guess it might be because I can see psychos like that existing in the real world.

With others like Freddy and Jason, the probability of me being in that situation is low and so I can get both a popcorn feel out of them or find a metaphor that could help me tackle my own real demons. I think my favourite ones are small creature films. Sometimes they’re bloody, but usually we don’t see much of that. Usually there are a lot of silly things that happen. We can yell at the stupidity of the actions the characters take, knowing full well that were we in that situation we might also do dumb things and get ourselves killed. But they’re all very much not real. If leprechauns are real, they haven’t been proven to the wider world. Just like Bigfoot. It’s entirely possible if we evolved from apes that there could be multiple stages of human evolution on the planet at once. For some reason that scares people. Maybe because we like to think we are so far removed from being savage beasts despite how often we kill others who are different. Even the most supposedly tolerant people outright reject things that go against their beliefs despite factual evidence.

Anyway, I’m blathering on.

On the weekend I explored some oldies like Puppet Master as I got much of the collection for very little some time ago. They’re OK. Mostly I feel like there’s something missing. When you watch Leprechaun or Gremlins you get a clear idea of the rules of engagement. You know water is a bad idea. You know a four-leaf clover could be critical to your survival. With Puppet Master, he just seems rather like a psycho that can only be stopped by his wife. Now, there’s more to it probably. The last one I watched involved him putting himself into a giant puppet body rather than another human. He tried so hard to keep his wife with him and she screwed him over. I guess that could be deep. He didn’t seem to ask her what she wanted and treated all his minions like crap, so it’s no surprise his plans didn’t exactly work out.

I wonder if they were as shocking then as Saw was when it first came out. There was a post on a Facebook page I follow asking people what movie most disapointed them and one person said Citizen Kane. It wasn’t that they had read the book and felt the adaptation was horrible, but they didn’t get why the movie was important. It’s an integral part of cinematic history. Perhaps only those interested in film making care to know about it though.

I was watching Puppet Master and then I found out about George Romero. Immediately there were jokes about him becoming one of the living dead and not really being gone because his fans don’t want to believe it. I haven’t seen Night of the Living Dead, but perhaps that’s what I’ll watch today as I puppysit a pug for a friend. I’ve seen some of his other work. I think I saw Creepshow, but maybe it was Tales from the Crypt or something else that had a guy that was buried alive. I’m not thinking of the one where it was on purpose, but one where his vitals were so low he seemed dead and he was basically locked inside himself. The only thing he could do was cry. That stuck in my mind, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve definitely seen The Silence of the Lambs and I own The Dark Half.

The Silence of the Lambs was a phenomenal movie. Lines are regularly quoted from it today. Even people who don’t typically watch horror, know of it. I don’t know how close it resembles its source novel, but I do know it was a great film.

And you might expect that I wouldn’t like it given that I didn’t like Saw, but I don’t think the Silence of the Lambs was ever made to shock people. It focused on telling a story first. It told a story without shying away from the horrific bits, but also without amplifying them to a ridiculous level. The story focused more on the people solving the crimes and less on showing the victims being forced to do things like remove their own limbs or jump into a pit of used needles.

It really sucks that George Romero is gone. In truth, other than Walking Dead, I’ve never been much for zombie stuff. That’s another series that focuses more on the people rather than the monsters. In some older films, we rarely saw the monster and I know that was partly due to budget and technology limitations, but it said something else too. The monster we don’t know is far scarier than the one we do. We don’t know how to fight the unknown.

Knowing is the first step to handling anything.

I’m off to look after a doggo.

Guid cheerio the nou,

R~

Filed under: Musings Tagged: Movies

Merry Monday – Broken

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Image created using Bit Strips.

I didn’t do a lot this weekend beyond watch TV because I felt broken.

I missed martial arts on Sunday as my neck was killing me. I think I’ve been sleeping in strange positions because of the upper oblique muscle I pulled while sneezing on Friday and that’s aggravating my old herniated disc problem. I hope it resolves before the weekend as I have a martial arts demo and it would be ideal if I could practice before then.

Yes. A sneeze broke me. I suppose this is a sign that I’m getting older.

I like this video for giving me more options to tame my neck pain. Maybe it’ll help me heal it once and for all.

I still managed to get some cleaning done and feed myself. I’m annoyed at this silly injury. I’m going to try not to let it delay my Couch 2 5k start, but at least I can get some writing done while I’m broken? I’ll try a fast walk instead of a run…

As far as writing goes, I heard back on my first novel. They said it’s not quite polished enough, but encouraged me to resubmit after having some people go through it and help me fix it up! So I’ve been recruiting beta readers to help with that. I’m now making a list of readers for round 2. I had no idea so many people would want to help me with this

thing! IT’s really heart-warming and makes me want to cry. Happy tears of course.

I’ve also been converting my horror novel to third person as it was originally first person, but I felt like that was too limiting for the story that I want to tell. Some of it feels like too much telling instead of showing, so I’ll be fixing that at some point. I feel like it’s important to get the story written first and fix those things later. I guess that’s my writing process; writing in layers. I’ve talked about that before.

I really don’t mind that I have more work ahead of me as I want to give it my best shot. I always feel like I can do better and it’s time to dig deeper.

Off to walk quickly then continue working on my horror novel.

Guid cheerio the nou,

R~

Filed under: Musings Tagged: Discipline, Publishing

Symphonic Saturday – Music Software

[image error]Now that I’m done with my online course, I have about a month where I can play around with learning LMMS. I expect it will be a while before I try to actively record anything, but I can finally go through the tutorials and hopefully learn the basics. Audio recording packages like this have similar interface designs to some video production software, so it might even help me be prepared for one of my upcoming courses on Basic Video Production.

I can also play my guitar and use Yousician and Rocksmith  to improve my skills with that instrument. I think music is going to be a big focus for me outside of my writing and sewing for the rest of the summer. Also, movies and video games.

Last night, I spent some time working on drum beats on an Android app called Walk Band. The app is limited in that I can only do small sections rather than a whole song, but it lets me play around and try things out, which has its uses. I don’t know if I can import those into LMMS, but at least I’ll know what I want to put into LMMS once I know how to use it. The trumpet add-in doesn’t seem to function, which is disappointing to me, but as I have a real trumpet, I can maybe get my skill back up and record that in a normal way. Drums were the thing I was looking for most.

I’m enjoying playing around with it and am looking forward to seeing where it leads.

Guid cheerio the nou,

R~

Filed under: Music Tagged: Production, technology

Frisky Friday – Injuries and Sex

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Image created using Bitmoji

Having just pulled my upper right oblique while in a sneezing fit, I figured out what to write about today. Sex while injured.

Now, obviously this needs to be more of a tender rather than wild adventure, but injury doesn’t have to take sex off the table.

With many position options available, there is surely one or two out there that could be modified to allow for a good time and help one forget about the pain for a little while.

Doggy-style would hurt right now, but may be doable on a different plain. My legs are fine, so if he was sitting in a chair, we could probably make it work.

Missionary with a pillow supporting my back might work too. Here are some suggestions I came across while looking it up.

And if there are other challenges due to size, weight, etc then it might be more difficult to find a good position, but it’s out there.

There are many in the kama sutra.

If sex itself is painful, it could be a lack of lube, residual emotional trauma, Vaginismus, Sjogren’s Syndrome, PCOS, or a dozen other things. There’s help out there if you’re brave enough to go looking for the cause.

Don’t give up on your dreams

Thoughtful Thursday – The Reset Button

[image error]Taking a trip away from daily life is like hitting a reset button for me. All the things that were making me angry, worried, etc before the trip still exist, but they’ve lost their hold on me. They are less relevant to my existence and it’s easier for me to work around them.

I’ve realized lately that I don’t care what most people think. I’ve always been that way, but as I get older, I care even less. People are going to do and say things based on their own weaknesses or limited life experience regardless of what I do. So I might as well be doing the things that give me joy.

Stories are what give me joy. And they come in so many forms, so whether I’m watching a movie, reading a book, listening to a song, writing poetry, or talking to loved ones, I can do what I enjoy most. Sharing stories with others is where the motivation to complete writing projects comes from for me. I don’t want to keep them all bottled up inside me.

Yes, I hope to one day make enough money doing these things to pay my bills. No, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with that. Getting a return on your investment is smart business, not “selling out”. Each novel is one project and as a former project manager, I know the workers always got paid for the work they did. People often focus on the artful side of writing without considering the business of it. A lot of work goes into a book and unless you want to put junk in the world or are incredibly skilled at every type of work needed to make a good book, there are people that need to be paid. Editors, cover designers, marketing, publicists, etc all get you farther than you can get alone. You need to know which things you can do and which you need help with.

Resetting is letting me look at my life from a different perspective just like sticking a manuscript into a drawer for a couple of weeks after completing a draft does to help one know how to revise it. Stepping away pulls me out of the weeds and lets me see the forest once again. It lets me see what matters and gets me back on course.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Musings

Warrior Wednesday – Budo as Life

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Coming back to the city after a weekend filled with sugary foods, alcohol, and over consumption makes me want to get serious about my fitness goals.

I have to admit that even when I was heavy, once I started doing karate, I shed pounds quickly, but I wouldn’t say I didn’t notice or that it was easy. It was hard work. Crunches, sit ups, burpees, side kicks, front kicks, push ups, leg raises, roundhouse kicks, punches, squats, lunges, etc. Not easy nor fun, but I went from being near 200 lbs to the right range for my body size. Those belts were hard won, so I never understand when someone says it’s easy to give up martial arts. Martial arts are a part of who I am. They aren’t just something I do to pass the time or get some exercise in.

Advancing doesn’t happen because you’ve been doing it for some arbitrary length of time, but your ability to demonstrate the skill level you are challenging for. To be able to demonstrate that skill takes a certain level of fitness combined with the ability to perform properly on the day. You’re more likely to screw up on the day if you haven’t been working on your fitness level and if you haven’t practised enough. Like anything else, you need to know it inside and out to be able to overcome the jitters that can wreak havoc. You have to keep it together. The right mindset and energy is crucial.

One of the high-ranking people in my primary martial art told me that 80% of my weak areas are directly related to my posture. If I fix that, many other things will resolve along with it. And I can feel that happening. Since I began focusing on my core, I rarely lose my balance now. I have more work to do, but I’m not in a hurry and I don’t have an inclination to focus on the finer details until I have the bigger foundational items in place. Big cuts, right posture, and strong legs. Any problems left after the big things will be easier to fix later. I may even figure those out on my own as I learn to control my body better.

But I struggle with general fitness because I sit too much between writing and sewing, so I’m going to do Couch 2 5K. I have no idea if I will ever care to actually run marathons, but I want to get more activity in than just martial arts a couple times each week. Running is pretty cheap as the main things are shoes and water, which I already own. I have a little mp3 player too. This contributes to its attractiveness as I don’t have cash for other things like a gym membership or karate. It may also help me deal with the heat better.

But what would the effort mean without taking a serious look at my diet? Almost useless. Things that help improve fitness include what you put into your body, the amount of energy you expend, and self care. I need to eat healthier, so I’m going to reduce starches and sugars. If I have potatoes, rice, or corn, I don’t need bread. In fact, many vegetables are carbs, so one can easily fill their plate with veggies rather than heaping it full of rice. With my past yeast issues, it’s best I not eat bread constantly anyway.

Weight loss is primarily done through eating properly. About 80% of it is food. And it makes complete sense as food is fuel for our bodies. If you put sugar in a gas tank, it rots holes in it, just like it does to our teeth. Eventually, sugar causes diabetes, blood pressure problems, yeast overgrowth, and more. But we are glucose-based organisms, so cutting all sugar is silly. Having a reasonable amount of fruit daily is healthy. It’s candy, pop, cake, ice cream, etc that should be had in moderation. I rarely drink pop, so that one is easy for me. Chocolate isn’t so easy, but I don’t think I do too badly as I rarely eat it. I’ve been pretty good outside of the weekend actually. But I’ve always loved pasta and potatoes. I’ve felt sluggish lately after eating a stir fry because I’ve been eating more rice than I need to, so that’s a change I’m making.

Today being my birthday might have been a good day to start as a gift to myself, but it looked stormy and I really wanted to finish the book I was reading on the weekend. I’m also wanting to play some videogames and try a D-Box movie. Spiderman would probably be fun in that format. I’ll start the running on Monday as it’s 3 days a week and I’ll work on some other things like finishing that online course first. I’ll start the healthier eating tomorrow or maybe next week as well. I’m considering treating myself to a dairy and gluten free cheesecake before the diet changes.

[image error]Goals Update

Novel – The Blood Waitress Club is coming along nicely. I wrote a bit on the weekend. I’ve caught up to a point I wrote a long time ago when it nagged me to be put down onto the page. It came out better than I originally thought.

Screenplay – I’m still reading Save the Cat. With the course wrapping up, I can put more time into this.

Sewing – My purse is almost done. I will start my products on Monday regardless of whether or not I’ve finished the purse.

Kitchen Reno – There’s only one drawer left, but I have to focus on cleaning my living room, kitchen, and bathroom as they’re coming to do pest control in a week and a half, which requires me to empty my cupboards. So much for making progress by getting things put away…

Course – This is almost done. I may even get this done after the movie this afternoon before playing video games and enjoying cheesecake.

Reading – According to Goodreads, I’m halfway through my reading challenge for this year having read 6/12 books. I aim for 1 per month, but sometimes I get no where near that. We’ll see what happens when school hits. I might log scripts I’ve read where possible. I read Gremlins, but the script isn’t listed in Goodreads.

Cleaning – I got all my dishes cleaned before leaving for the weekend, so I just need to maintain that now. I have a bunch of laundry to do again. I have too many clothes, but little idea what to get rid of.

Well, I must hop in the shower if I have any hope of making the movie. Since I have Scene points, I get to have fun for free.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Martial Arts Tagged: Discipline, Fitness

Theatrical Tuesday – Orphan Black

[image error]I started watching this show because it’s on the list of Aurora Award nominees. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. The premise is complex, yet the casting is simple because one actress plays many roles. As a writer, we can see how many different ways we can go with a character, just from watching a couple of episodes. While it is science fiction, the science isn’t so complicated that it takes over the story. The story comes first and the technical details second. It is firstly a story about people and relationships in a strange situation.

With a cast full of strong female characters, it may not appeal to all viewers, but I like it. There’s the soccer mom who enjoys theatre, drugs, and the shooting range; a criminal; a cop; a religious zealot; a transgendered male; a science nerd; a woman who desperately wants to be a mother; and more.

Every time I think I know what’s really going on, they put a twist in.

The production value is decent. It errs on the side of showing less. This may relate to budget as Canadian television programs have to do more with less.

Shows like this may be particularly relevant in a political atmosphere continually focused on identity and what is right or wrong.

If you have time, check out this action-packed story.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: TV Shows

Merry Monday – Happiness

In the past, I was envious of the things others had. I’m not exactly sure when I grew out of it, only that I know I did. I’ve realized I don’t need things like cottages, boats, horses, gardens, etc. Well, I’d probably like a garden more than any of the others. 

Visiting someone’s cottage, for example, is a nice weekend away for me because I don’t have to maintain the thing. Hanging out with friends is fun once in awhile, but my introverted nature loves to get back to my little 500 square foot condo in a low bug zone. Somewhere along the way, I became a city woman who would much rather be playing video games or watching a movie than camp in the country.  

So for me happiness is a place with amenities nearby. Pho restaurants, bookstores, dishwashers, concerts, a bustling market, museums, and art galleries. Now I just need the funds to enjoy everything that’s available in Ottawa…

If I did have a garden, it would be full of edible things, but laid out in a pretty way. There might not be any grass, but a durable moss that looks like it and never needs cutting. 

I don’t know what the meaning of happiness is, but I think the first step on the path to getting there is knowing who you are. It’s also important to realize that you will grow and change, so what makes you happy today might be different than what works for you tomorrow.  This is part of what makes long term relationships so difficult. Many people fall in love with someone expecting them to never change. That’s just not realistic. 

Change can be scary, but the short term troubles that happen when you make a change are necessary to help build a foundation for a happy future. 

So take a step. 

Take another one. 

Before you know it, you’ll be on the path to happiness. Enjoy the little bumps along the way because they’re part of the journey. It’s important to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Musings

Symphonic Saturday – Canada Day Music Review

Canada Day was special this year. It marked our sesquicentennial (150 years). As such, around the country there were concerts to celebrate and CBC live streamed parts from all of them. First it took us to a performance by The Trade Offs. Next up was the Arkells

in Victoria, BC. We traveled next to Moncton where Couer de Pirate entertained us. Then Buffy St Marie played. After her, there was a unique group with 2 East Indian male dancers, 1 female white violinist, 1 male singer, and 1 male drummer who played a drum that hung on a strap. If anyone knows who they are, please let me know.

We then heard some country performed by Brett Kissel. Alessia Cara played a song for us. We saw a medley that included Dean Brody and Louis Jean Cormier before Serena Ryder sang. Then the Arkells were back before Cirque du Soleil put on a show. Walk Off The Earth played a tune before Bruce Cockburn made me realize some of Barenaked Ladies’ songs are covers. Then Alessia Cara shocked us by having performed at one Canada Day concert before driving about 5 hours to the one in Ottawa.

What would Canada be without some Gordon Lightfoot? Followed by a band that performed La Bamba. I prefer the Ritchie Valens version. Several people, including myself, were surprised Deadmau5 was Canadian when they brought us to Halifax. Dean Brody performed again and then I saw Stephanie Bedard and Remi Brassie? in Montreal. Montreal looked to be the funnest place to watch from with an artistic  flair not seen elsewhere.

In the capital, people endured day long rain and intermittent storms. There were delays, but I haven’t heard anyone complain about anything other than the lineup.

I heard Alanis was performing and several other bands, but I didn’t see them. I’m not sure if they were in the live stream, because I was tired and switched to the fireworks stream when they were finally available.

I happily watched from the comfort of my home where it was dry and crowd-free.

Some didn’t love the diverse elements, but I thought they were neat. I also liked seeing places like Vancouver because they looked different than here. Anyway, if you’re looking for some new music, maybe one of the artists above can help you.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Music, Reviews

Frisky Friday – Ancient Self Love

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So they discovered a man in Pompeii whose naughty bits were out when he died. Judging by the look frozen on his face, he did not suddenly die and fall that way, but decided to exit the world with a bang.

People are trying to protect this man’s dignity saying that perhaps he was peeing or protecting his package by covering it with his hand.

Basically, they are ashamed for him and feel a need to cover up a natural human thing that has been demonized. Look, I get there are some weird things out there when it comes to masturbation like the sex robots that are being made to allow men to have a pretend relationship with a female seeming machine, but that doesn’t mean there was anything wrong with this man dying the way he did.

Stop projecting your beliefs on a man who was part of an ancient civilization. He chose to experience a little pleasure when the world around him was blowing up with no hope of survival.

I mean, he could’ve chosen to grab the nearest woman against his will or something equally awful. He chose to touch himself. Babies do it in the womb. Children do it at young ages. Teens do it A LOT. Adults do it too.

Sure, it might be an odd sight in a museum that children would laugh at, but sexuality is a natural part of human existence and I’ve never understood why nearly all of it is treated as disgusting or taboo.

Some things may make propagation of the human species difficult, but I don’t believe we should have the right to say someone can’t like something like sexual spanking, as an example. We might not understand it, but we don’t need to. As long as no one is being abused and no children or special needs individuals are involved, go enjoy yourself.

If you saw the sky that day and were smart enough to realize there wasn’t time to run, would you just stand there and wait for death, or would you get it on with your partner if you had one? Maybe you’d just hold them close, but that’s not what some people would do.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Musings Tagged: Sex