Lyda Morehouse's Blog, page 66
March 8, 2012
All About Me
Here's the link to the .mp3 archived file of my "Write On Radio" show, http://www.kfai.org/node/42318 in which I talk about (and read from) the newest book, ALMOST EVERYTHING as well as PRECINCT 13 (which I mistakenly refer to as another Garnet book) and go on to discuss a few plot spoilers, and spend a long time critiquing my response to THE HUNGER GAMES.
I only managed to talk over one of the hosts at one point, so I guess, for me, that's a success.
I only managed to talk over one of the hosts at one point, so I guess, for me, that's a success.
A Fine Gerbil Animal
It's been a rather long day. First, I volunteered at Mason's school to chaperone a field trip to the Minnesota zoo. We had a good time, but our teacher Mr. G. is not the most organized. He's an awesome teacher, but, dude is less organized than ME. This says a lot.
Luckily, I am self-reliant.
So, we got through the day and didn't lose anyone. Most of us were where we were suppose to be most of the time. Everyone made it back to school. I think we even managed to have some fun. The bird show was particularly awesome.
When we got back home, which was earlier than usual, since Mr. G. let Mason and I go as soon as the bus dropped everyone back at the school, we discovered our dear, beloved gerbil Ms. Busy Bee had passed. Previously, I wrote about XOXO and her possible stroke. Well, XOXO aka "Bullet" survived and is doing really well. Ms. B. had been acting kind of strange the last couple of days, and we all thought by the little chirping noises she was making she had probably caught a cold. She was still moving around quite a bit, though yesterday I took her out of her cage and held her for a long time because she seemed a bit cold and unresponsive. By evening, though, when I tried to pick her up again, she ran off. I took that to be a good sign.
Alas, I was wrong.
She's now wrapped and boxed and in our freezer waiting for a spring thaw so that we can bury her. I'm skipping hooping tonight so that we can perform a passing over ritual for her.
:-(
Luckily, I am self-reliant.
So, we got through the day and didn't lose anyone. Most of us were where we were suppose to be most of the time. Everyone made it back to school. I think we even managed to have some fun. The bird show was particularly awesome.
When we got back home, which was earlier than usual, since Mr. G. let Mason and I go as soon as the bus dropped everyone back at the school, we discovered our dear, beloved gerbil Ms. Busy Bee had passed. Previously, I wrote about XOXO and her possible stroke. Well, XOXO aka "Bullet" survived and is doing really well. Ms. B. had been acting kind of strange the last couple of days, and we all thought by the little chirping noises she was making she had probably caught a cold. She was still moving around quite a bit, though yesterday I took her out of her cage and held her for a long time because she seemed a bit cold and unresponsive. By evening, though, when I tried to pick her up again, she ran off. I took that to be a good sign.
Alas, I was wrong.
She's now wrapped and boxed and in our freezer waiting for a spring thaw so that we can bury her. I'm skipping hooping tonight so that we can perform a passing over ritual for her.
:-(
March 6, 2012
Red Pineapple of Death
I haz teh fans so badly that I am at the moment working on a "Red Pineapple" tee-shirt for myself to wear under my kuk sool uniform. It's going to have to be a negative of the "original" since we have to wear black tee-shirts, but be warned: when I am doing forms, be scared. I'm imagining myself as Renji Abarai, the Red Pinneapple of DOOM!
Also, as I was searching through the vast wasteland of the Internets for a picture of Renji in this particular shirt, I came across his Wikipedia entry. Now, I feel the need to defend him. You KNOW, he may have lost to Byakuya Kuchiki, but that's only because Byakuya is a big, fat cheater. I want any Renji detractor to go back and watch the episode/read the Manga of that fight. Here's how it goes in a nut shell.
Byakuya: "Renji, where are you going?"
Renji (paraphrasing): I'm savin' Rukia and you can't stop me.
Byakuya: "You may not." (Note snottiness already present.)
Renji: "I will!"
Fight ensues. Byakuya tries out his tired old flash-step trick and Renji (who still can't entirely see it), still manages to deflect it because Byakuya is so f**king habitual, he does the same move every time. Thwarted, Byakuya goes shikai. He's all "Scatter, a Thousand..." --oops, Renji's sword crashes into Senbonzakura and knocks the shikai out. Byakuya gets his WTF look (slightly more opened eyes) because Renji didn't have to call Zabimaru's name, and tries to ask Renji if this means he's achieved bankai, and Renji says (basically) "Check it out. My bankai is going to drive you to your knees." Byakuya is all snotty about it, tries scattering the thousand cherry blossoms again, but Renji is totally unscathed. Zabimaru achieves its stated goal. Byakuya has to pick himself up off one knee.
Things are looking good for Renji, right?
In a fair fight, yes. What is Byakuya next move? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Right, magic. Not, let's go man-to-man, sword-to-sword. No! Byakuya uses binding spell number 33, which Renji manages to mostly deflect but this leaves him open to... ANOTHER MAGICAL ATTACK, binding spell 61, which completely immoblizes him.
See this?
Are you following how dishonorable this is??
Renji can no longer fight. He's been spelled at a really high level. He is peirced with "six-rod light restraint."
It's also a fairly well established in the story at this point that Renji has some magic, but it's not his main skill set.
So, as his captain, Byakuya knows this. It's like you and your opponant both have swords (you're equal there), but you also have a giant laser gun, while your enemy has a pea-shooter. Fair to use the laser gun?
I think not!
Because, now that Renji is utterly helpless, Byakuya decides it's a good time to pick up his sword again. His opponent can't move a muscle. Can't lift his sword in defense, and Byakuya isn't satisfied with a swipe or two, no, he goes ninja on Renji's a$$, and rains a million sword-pettles down on him (his bankai).
THEN, when Renji is laying on the ground, completely torn to ribbons, Byakuya has the nerve to give Renji a lesson in "class." He says the difference is that Byakuya is much more noble and pure and awesome than Renji could ever even hope to imagine being. In his amazingly rude lecture, he tells Renji that there was never any way to win this fight because Byakuya is just that much better, he's too high up for Renji to even consider going after.
Seriously?
How would he know? He never let Renji fight! He tied him up and hit him with a cannon.
What makes Renji even more awesome here is that, he doesn't just lay there. He just got completely plowed (unfairly), but he gets up and goes again, even though his bankai is shattered and has returned to its sealed form unconsciously. Picture a regular katana now. When he gets to his feet, Baykuya nails him (almost literally) with more magical swords.
Is Renji done? No, he pulls them out of his body, one by one, and goes after Byakuya *again*. Only then, after actually scratching Byakuya's cheek, is he finally down for the count.
I think, without magic, Byakuya would have been pulverized.
And, I think Byakuya knew it the second Zabimaru drove him to his knees. What annoys me, is that Byakuya gives far more respect to Ichigo in their fight, moments later. He doesn't resort to magical restraints until much deeper in.
So, okay, Renji gets his butt handed to him a lot. But, at least one time, it wasn't a fair fight.
Also, as I was searching through the vast wasteland of the Internets for a picture of Renji in this particular shirt, I came across his Wikipedia entry. Now, I feel the need to defend him. You KNOW, he may have lost to Byakuya Kuchiki, but that's only because Byakuya is a big, fat cheater. I want any Renji detractor to go back and watch the episode/read the Manga of that fight. Here's how it goes in a nut shell.
Byakuya: "Renji, where are you going?"
Renji (paraphrasing): I'm savin' Rukia and you can't stop me.
Byakuya: "You may not." (Note snottiness already present.)
Renji: "I will!"
Fight ensues. Byakuya tries out his tired old flash-step trick and Renji (who still can't entirely see it), still manages to deflect it because Byakuya is so f**king habitual, he does the same move every time. Thwarted, Byakuya goes shikai. He's all "Scatter, a Thousand..." --oops, Renji's sword crashes into Senbonzakura and knocks the shikai out. Byakuya gets his WTF look (slightly more opened eyes) because Renji didn't have to call Zabimaru's name, and tries to ask Renji if this means he's achieved bankai, and Renji says (basically) "Check it out. My bankai is going to drive you to your knees." Byakuya is all snotty about it, tries scattering the thousand cherry blossoms again, but Renji is totally unscathed. Zabimaru achieves its stated goal. Byakuya has to pick himself up off one knee.
Things are looking good for Renji, right?
In a fair fight, yes. What is Byakuya next move? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Right, magic. Not, let's go man-to-man, sword-to-sword. No! Byakuya uses binding spell number 33, which Renji manages to mostly deflect but this leaves him open to... ANOTHER MAGICAL ATTACK, binding spell 61, which completely immoblizes him.
See this?
Are you following how dishonorable this is??
Renji can no longer fight. He's been spelled at a really high level. He is peirced with "six-rod light restraint."
It's also a fairly well established in the story at this point that Renji has some magic, but it's not his main skill set.
So, as his captain, Byakuya knows this. It's like you and your opponant both have swords (you're equal there), but you also have a giant laser gun, while your enemy has a pea-shooter. Fair to use the laser gun?
I think not!
Because, now that Renji is utterly helpless, Byakuya decides it's a good time to pick up his sword again. His opponent can't move a muscle. Can't lift his sword in defense, and Byakuya isn't satisfied with a swipe or two, no, he goes ninja on Renji's a$$, and rains a million sword-pettles down on him (his bankai).
THEN, when Renji is laying on the ground, completely torn to ribbons, Byakuya has the nerve to give Renji a lesson in "class." He says the difference is that Byakuya is much more noble and pure and awesome than Renji could ever even hope to imagine being. In his amazingly rude lecture, he tells Renji that there was never any way to win this fight because Byakuya is just that much better, he's too high up for Renji to even consider going after.
Seriously?
How would he know? He never let Renji fight! He tied him up and hit him with a cannon.
What makes Renji even more awesome here is that, he doesn't just lay there. He just got completely plowed (unfairly), but he gets up and goes again, even though his bankai is shattered and has returned to its sealed form unconsciously. Picture a regular katana now. When he gets to his feet, Baykuya nails him (almost literally) with more magical swords.
Is Renji done? No, he pulls them out of his body, one by one, and goes after Byakuya *again*. Only then, after actually scratching Byakuya's cheek, is he finally down for the count.
I think, without magic, Byakuya would have been pulverized.
And, I think Byakuya knew it the second Zabimaru drove him to his knees. What annoys me, is that Byakuya gives far more respect to Ichigo in their fight, moments later. He doesn't resort to magical restraints until much deeper in.
So, okay, Renji gets his butt handed to him a lot. But, at least one time, it wasn't a fair fight.
Continuing Adventures of "John Learner" and Godzilla
Two things.
First, Mason and I watched "GODZILLA: King of Monsters" on Sunday night. It was Mason's first ever black-and-white show, and he was very weirded out by the lack of color. "Is it going to be like this through the whole thing?" he wanted to know after the credits. "Can we get this in color?" I, being a parent, felt compelled to regale him with "back in my day" stories of how I actually grew up with a black-and-white TV, which we kept well into the 1980s, which I watched while walking to school, up hill (both ways!), with wolves chasing me AND we had ONLY THREE CHANNELS... and we liked it!
But, what struck me about GODZILLA is how much untranslated Japanese is in that film. There are, in fact, several scenes in Japanese WITHOUT SUBTITLES. Then, of course, are the badly dubbed bits you all remember... where the heroine is clearly speaking Japanese and, instead, this ridiculously 1950s housewife's voice comes out of her mouth. Very strange.
What I'd also forgotten (never known?) was how awesome the story gets when we leave behind the stupid American, Steve Martin, and follow the story of the mad scientist, his fiancee, and her lover. Oh the angst! The mad scientist even gets an eyepatch (which goes very nicely with his white lab coat)!! The lover is a naval officer, but clearly of lower class origins. The fiancee is torn between duty and passion!! She should stay with the man that suits her class and station, or go against convention and marry the other, though low born, who is heroic and handsome!? Luckily, the scientist twigs to their secret affair after he tries to brain the lover who has come to ask for the secret formula in the name of the government, in order to destroy Godzilla. They get in a fight because the scientist hates that his invention is so horrible and destructive, in fact, he swore his fiancee to secrecy... but Godzilla's stomping of Toyko and the prayers of the children melt his hard heart! So he teams up with the lover, and makes a daring and cunning plan to go to the bottom of the ocean where Godzilla is sleeping and release his oxygen eating bomb! But Godzilla awakes. Someone must stay behind and release the bomb at just the right moment. Knowing that in Japan there is no other way out for the fiancee, the mad scientist sacrifices himself at the bottom of the ocean, and radios up to the lover, "You have my blessing. Be happy together."
Tears in my eyes!! Wow, the drama!
For a 1950s film in Japan, I have to say it had a lot of what I love about Anime in it. Cool monsters! Awesome superpowers -- Godzilla's freeze/exposive breath. Eye patchs! A wildly angsty story involving a love triangle, complete with rivals who have to work together in order to save the universe.
Though, I did have a moment where I yelled out "SEE! This is why we need better language tapes!" Early in the movie, when we're still following the stupid American, he's at customs. A friend helps him through, and I even understood a bit of the conversation in Japanese because it was almost verbatum from the language tape, except what happens?? I'll tell you what! "Could you step out of line for a moment, sir?"
I was all, "Vindicated!" And, then when Gozilla rose out of Toyko harbor I'm thinking, "if only I had the Japanese to express my horror at this moment!" If I could only say in Japanese, "What is that rising from Tokyo harbor?"
First, Mason and I watched "GODZILLA: King of Monsters" on Sunday night. It was Mason's first ever black-and-white show, and he was very weirded out by the lack of color. "Is it going to be like this through the whole thing?" he wanted to know after the credits. "Can we get this in color?" I, being a parent, felt compelled to regale him with "back in my day" stories of how I actually grew up with a black-and-white TV, which we kept well into the 1980s, which I watched while walking to school, up hill (both ways!), with wolves chasing me AND we had ONLY THREE CHANNELS... and we liked it!
But, what struck me about GODZILLA is how much untranslated Japanese is in that film. There are, in fact, several scenes in Japanese WITHOUT SUBTITLES. Then, of course, are the badly dubbed bits you all remember... where the heroine is clearly speaking Japanese and, instead, this ridiculously 1950s housewife's voice comes out of her mouth. Very strange.
What I'd also forgotten (never known?) was how awesome the story gets when we leave behind the stupid American, Steve Martin, and follow the story of the mad scientist, his fiancee, and her lover. Oh the angst! The mad scientist even gets an eyepatch (which goes very nicely with his white lab coat)!! The lover is a naval officer, but clearly of lower class origins. The fiancee is torn between duty and passion!! She should stay with the man that suits her class and station, or go against convention and marry the other, though low born, who is heroic and handsome!? Luckily, the scientist twigs to their secret affair after he tries to brain the lover who has come to ask for the secret formula in the name of the government, in order to destroy Godzilla. They get in a fight because the scientist hates that his invention is so horrible and destructive, in fact, he swore his fiancee to secrecy... but Godzilla's stomping of Toyko and the prayers of the children melt his hard heart! So he teams up with the lover, and makes a daring and cunning plan to go to the bottom of the ocean where Godzilla is sleeping and release his oxygen eating bomb! But Godzilla awakes. Someone must stay behind and release the bomb at just the right moment. Knowing that in Japan there is no other way out for the fiancee, the mad scientist sacrifices himself at the bottom of the ocean, and radios up to the lover, "You have my blessing. Be happy together."
Tears in my eyes!! Wow, the drama!
For a 1950s film in Japan, I have to say it had a lot of what I love about Anime in it. Cool monsters! Awesome superpowers -- Godzilla's freeze/exposive breath. Eye patchs! A wildly angsty story involving a love triangle, complete with rivals who have to work together in order to save the universe.
Though, I did have a moment where I yelled out "SEE! This is why we need better language tapes!" Early in the movie, when we're still following the stupid American, he's at customs. A friend helps him through, and I even understood a bit of the conversation in Japanese because it was almost verbatum from the language tape, except what happens?? I'll tell you what! "Could you step out of line for a moment, sir?"
I was all, "Vindicated!" And, then when Gozilla rose out of Toyko harbor I'm thinking, "if only I had the Japanese to express my horror at this moment!" If I could only say in Japanese, "What is that rising from Tokyo harbor?"
March 5, 2012
Write On, Baby!
Hey, you groovy cats, I'm going to be one of the guests on this week's "Write On! Radio" show! So, if you want to tune in, here's the info: Tuesday, March 6, from 7:00 - 8:00 pm Central on KFAI (90.3 FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul). It is also streaming live (or in archive) at: http://www.kfai.org/writeonradio.
KFAI has been delightfully loyal to my career all these years, and I'd love for y'all to tune in, particularly if you've never listened before. Steve McEllistrem (one of the hosts) is a somewhat-closeted-science fiction fan, so he's always willing to read my books, which is great. Plus, I'll be live, in-studio, which is just COOL. I get to wear the giant headphones and talk into a hanging microphone. It makes me feel like I'm Dr. Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati.
Also, I heard from my guest liason/all-around-god-of-Fandom yesterday and I will be on two panels at this year's Anime Detour. The first one on Saturday, March 31 on "Fullmetal Alchemist" at 10:00 am which means I should probably take the time to finish watching the series and get "Brotherhood" under my belt before then. Shouldn't be too hard. Once I got over my shock of "Cry of the Chimera" it's been easy to get back into it. Alas, Netflix only has dubbed streaming. The voices are OKAY, though I think I'd understand Mustang better if I knew what kind of voice he was really supposed to have. Perhaps I'll luck out and "Brotherhood" will be subbed.
The second one is about an Anime I know nothing about, but I sensed they needed a warm body to make the panel viable so I will be "the panelist with the (hopefully) insightful questions."
I'm still waiting to hear about this weekend's panels for MarsCON. But I'm expecting to be there Saturday (mostly), and possibly a bit of Sunday. If I'm scheduled for anything on Sunday, I'll have Mason in tow, since Shawn actually has to put in some weekend hours that Sunday. Hopefully, I'll see some of you there.
My guest liason also hinted that I will be on a "metric ton" of panels for CONvergence, which actually made me happy. As long as someone fetches me food (and probably more importantly caffeine) when I need it, I can pretty much talk all day. In this way, I am a true extrovert, particularly as defined by the Meyers-Briggs. I get my energy from interacting with other people. I leave the party late, with increased energy.
Speaking of weekend hours, Shawn had work on Saturday, so she's off today. Our big plans are to go fabric shopping, and possibly hit GoodWill (my pants, ehm, are too big. I need a size smaller. HOW AWESOME IS THAT???!!) I'm behind on taking care of the animals too, so the only other thing I NEED to do is change the fish tanks.
Such a glamorous life I lead!
KFAI has been delightfully loyal to my career all these years, and I'd love for y'all to tune in, particularly if you've never listened before. Steve McEllistrem (one of the hosts) is a somewhat-closeted-science fiction fan, so he's always willing to read my books, which is great. Plus, I'll be live, in-studio, which is just COOL. I get to wear the giant headphones and talk into a hanging microphone. It makes me feel like I'm Dr. Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati.
Also, I heard from my guest liason/all-around-god-of-Fandom yesterday and I will be on two panels at this year's Anime Detour. The first one on Saturday, March 31 on "Fullmetal Alchemist" at 10:00 am which means I should probably take the time to finish watching the series and get "Brotherhood" under my belt before then. Shouldn't be too hard. Once I got over my shock of "Cry of the Chimera" it's been easy to get back into it. Alas, Netflix only has dubbed streaming. The voices are OKAY, though I think I'd understand Mustang better if I knew what kind of voice he was really supposed to have. Perhaps I'll luck out and "Brotherhood" will be subbed.
The second one is about an Anime I know nothing about, but I sensed they needed a warm body to make the panel viable so I will be "the panelist with the (hopefully) insightful questions."
I'm still waiting to hear about this weekend's panels for MarsCON. But I'm expecting to be there Saturday (mostly), and possibly a bit of Sunday. If I'm scheduled for anything on Sunday, I'll have Mason in tow, since Shawn actually has to put in some weekend hours that Sunday. Hopefully, I'll see some of you there.
My guest liason also hinted that I will be on a "metric ton" of panels for CONvergence, which actually made me happy. As long as someone fetches me food (and probably more importantly caffeine) when I need it, I can pretty much talk all day. In this way, I am a true extrovert, particularly as defined by the Meyers-Briggs. I get my energy from interacting with other people. I leave the party late, with increased energy.
Speaking of weekend hours, Shawn had work on Saturday, so she's off today. Our big plans are to go fabric shopping, and possibly hit GoodWill (my pants, ehm, are too big. I need a size smaller. HOW AWESOME IS THAT???!!) I'm behind on taking care of the animals too, so the only other thing I NEED to do is change the fish tanks.
Such a glamorous life I lead!
March 1, 2012
The Good News: Geeks are Loved.
I'm coming down with something. It feels like a mild cold, but I feel drainy and achey and tired. This is made worse by the fact that I still have Mason (until Monday) and Thursday is my errands/animal care day.
Oh, and I ran out of coffee filters.
But not all is lost, my friends... for I have Good News!
Yesterday at WoWW (Women of Wyrdsmiths Wednesday),![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380923608i/3292608.gif)
naomikritzer
and I were talking about the sheer joy of introducing lone fans to the community (what us old-timers call Fandom, with a Captial "F"). She has a librarian who recognized her as an author (which is it's own kind of thrill... I had that happen recently at my pharmacy...) but as they got to know each other Naomi realized this was a woman who hadn't heard THE GOOD NEWS. There are cons, you know. Places where people LIKE US gather.
That made me laugh so hard I suggested we should make a Fandom tract. Naomi is now hard at work on one. I hope to contribute some art. Soon, I plan to be standing on some busy downtown street corner with a bright, rather-too-cheerful-it's-almost-frightening smile on my face, handing these pamphlets out to passing strangers who hit my nerd-dar saying, "Cos-playing sister, have you heard the Good News?" and "Geek brother, your fannish rants are LOVED!"
Tell me that wouldn't be AWESOME??????
Oh, and I ran out of coffee filters.
But not all is lost, my friends... for I have Good News!
Yesterday at WoWW (Women of Wyrdsmiths Wednesday),
naomikritzer
and I were talking about the sheer joy of introducing lone fans to the community (what us old-timers call Fandom, with a Captial "F"). She has a librarian who recognized her as an author (which is it's own kind of thrill... I had that happen recently at my pharmacy...) but as they got to know each other Naomi realized this was a woman who hadn't heard THE GOOD NEWS. There are cons, you know. Places where people LIKE US gather. That made me laugh so hard I suggested we should make a Fandom tract. Naomi is now hard at work on one. I hope to contribute some art. Soon, I plan to be standing on some busy downtown street corner with a bright, rather-too-cheerful-it's-almost-frightening smile on my face, handing these pamphlets out to passing strangers who hit my nerd-dar saying, "Cos-playing sister, have you heard the Good News?" and "Geek brother, your fannish rants are LOVED!"
Tell me that wouldn't be AWESOME??????
February 27, 2012
Nazi Zombies
Last night, Shawn and I watched "Dead Snow" a Norwegian language film about a group of medical students who are... well, eaten by Nazi zombies.
It was AWESOME.
Plus, I think it counts as an "art film" as I had to read subtitles. In all seriousness, it was very much in the vein (pardon the pun) of a lot of the recent zombie films. That is to say, it was both seriously terrifying, while also having moments of WTF hillarity. For instance, there's an absolutely horrifyingly tense scene where our heroes are trapped in the rickty cabin in the middle of nowhere and the zombies are attacking... they grab the poor schlub who was doomed the moment he had sex in the outhouse with his girlfriend, and they LITERALLY pull his face apart and his brain plops onto the floor with a sort of wet, squicking sound.
YEAH!!!!
AND there's the other moment when one of our heroes is hanging off the side of a cliff by... what? a thread? NO!!! ZOMBIE ENTRAILS!!! Seriously, dude is hanging on to a zombie's uncoiled small intestine.
I have to ask you: Does it get any better than that?? No, it does not, my friends. It. Does. Not.
And, you know, as I said, I think it's sort of like the awesome that is the Bruce Campbell early EVIL DEAD movies. In fact, a chainsaw does get involve at some point. And, there's a wonderful "there, I fixed it" moment when our erstwhile hero sews up his own cut throat (he's a med student, remember,) and then for good measure DUCT TAPES it!!
Anyway, it was awfully fun. Otherwise, Sunday was mostly a pajama day for us. I ended up having to go to the grocery store briefly in the morning, but then I changed back into my PJs and we hung out reading, napping and other low energy things. After all the excitement of yesterday, it was fun.
Today, we're going to hang out briefly with a friend to return her bike lock that got left in my trunk on Saturday when we gave her a ride home from the Kuk SoOlympics. Maybe we'll try hitting the library. I have some Manga to return, and maybe, since we'll be right there, we'll stop in and see if Half Price has any for me to buy.
I haven't been doing any serious writing in a long time, though I have been working on fannish things. I've decided to continue to self-indulge until Mason is back at school at the beginning of March. When he goes back to school; I'll go back to REAL work. That gives me a few more days to play. When I do go back to being serious, I have a couple of proposals to work on, e-books to get ready, and other such things to write. I should be able to stay busy, though I will admit that I am very... distracted when there's no actual contract. I have an amazing amount of discipline when I have a contract, but without one I feel very loosey-goosey.
It's weird.
It was AWESOME.
Plus, I think it counts as an "art film" as I had to read subtitles. In all seriousness, it was very much in the vein (pardon the pun) of a lot of the recent zombie films. That is to say, it was both seriously terrifying, while also having moments of WTF hillarity. For instance, there's an absolutely horrifyingly tense scene where our heroes are trapped in the rickty cabin in the middle of nowhere and the zombies are attacking... they grab the poor schlub who was doomed the moment he had sex in the outhouse with his girlfriend, and they LITERALLY pull his face apart and his brain plops onto the floor with a sort of wet, squicking sound.
YEAH!!!!
AND there's the other moment when one of our heroes is hanging off the side of a cliff by... what? a thread? NO!!! ZOMBIE ENTRAILS!!! Seriously, dude is hanging on to a zombie's uncoiled small intestine.
I have to ask you: Does it get any better than that?? No, it does not, my friends. It. Does. Not.
And, you know, as I said, I think it's sort of like the awesome that is the Bruce Campbell early EVIL DEAD movies. In fact, a chainsaw does get involve at some point. And, there's a wonderful "there, I fixed it" moment when our erstwhile hero sews up his own cut throat (he's a med student, remember,) and then for good measure DUCT TAPES it!!
Anyway, it was awfully fun. Otherwise, Sunday was mostly a pajama day for us. I ended up having to go to the grocery store briefly in the morning, but then I changed back into my PJs and we hung out reading, napping and other low energy things. After all the excitement of yesterday, it was fun.
Today, we're going to hang out briefly with a friend to return her bike lock that got left in my trunk on Saturday when we gave her a ride home from the Kuk SoOlympics. Maybe we'll try hitting the library. I have some Manga to return, and maybe, since we'll be right there, we'll stop in and see if Half Price has any for me to buy.
I haven't been doing any serious writing in a long time, though I have been working on fannish things. I've decided to continue to self-indulge until Mason is back at school at the beginning of March. When he goes back to school; I'll go back to REAL work. That gives me a few more days to play. When I do go back to being serious, I have a couple of proposals to work on, e-books to get ready, and other such things to write. I should be able to stay busy, though I will admit that I am very... distracted when there's no actual contract. I have an amazing amount of discipline when I have a contract, but without one I feel very loosey-goosey.
It's weird.
February 26, 2012
Kuk SoOlympics
I spent four hours today at the Kuk SoOlympics (an in-house competition at our dojon.) It was a blast. I placed last in every event I entered, but I really couldn't have cared less. I had tremendous fun. I really, REALLY love all the people there, and the energy was amazing. In fact, I'm only feeling a little down right now because I think I blew all my reistsu (spiritual pressure) cheering for all the competitors.
My only regret is not taking better advantage of the mystery event. It was "make-up your own form" and I wish I'd had the presence of mind to just not even try kuk sool moves, but go into a Uhara (from Star Trek) seduction dance. That would have been awesome.
Next time.
Mason did great. He even took first place in his group for forms. He was pretty tired by sparring, but he did all right there, too, getting a second place medal. And a third place in the obstacle course.
I ended up having to go first in my group for forms, and I can't tell you how nervous I was... I shook through the whole thing, which really isn't me, so I'm not sure what that was about. Ah, well, I've decided on a rival now -- all good Anime heroes need a rival, after all, and he will bring me up as I try to take him down.
My only regret is not taking better advantage of the mystery event. It was "make-up your own form" and I wish I'd had the presence of mind to just not even try kuk sool moves, but go into a Uhara (from Star Trek) seduction dance. That would have been awesome.
Next time.
Mason did great. He even took first place in his group for forms. He was pretty tired by sparring, but he did all right there, too, getting a second place medal. And a third place in the obstacle course.
I ended up having to go first in my group for forms, and I can't tell you how nervous I was... I shook through the whole thing, which really isn't me, so I'm not sure what that was about. Ah, well, I've decided on a rival now -- all good Anime heroes need a rival, after all, and he will bring me up as I try to take him down.
Fan Art
My most recent:
Byakuya Kuchiki, whom, I have to say I struggle to draw. He's one of those Anime characters with THE EYES. Plus, he's a very delicate-looking man in many pictures, but in the Anime (and the Manga) he's really quite hard and unbending. It's his tragic flaw, actually.
I have theories about him, too. I really think that one of the plots Aizen set in motion was implanting the idea of treason in Renji's mind in order to distract Byakuya (Renji is Byakuya's lieutenant.) I think that's why Aizen is quick to approach Renji when Rukia is brought back, AND he works to get Renji reinstated after Byakuya would have him dismissed for insubordination. What this says to me? Aizen needed Byakuya distracted for a reason. I think he was scared of him.
We've started the Arrancar arc, and it's fairly awesome. My only question right now is, okay, so they're freaked that Aizen is after the golden key/key to heaven but they haven't even dispatched their best yet. No offense to my boy Renji, but he's a fukataicho, not a taicho. Let's get some of the heavy hitters in the game, pronto!
Byakuya Kuchiki, whom, I have to say I struggle to draw. He's one of those Anime characters with THE EYES. Plus, he's a very delicate-looking man in many pictures, but in the Anime (and the Manga) he's really quite hard and unbending. It's his tragic flaw, actually.
I have theories about him, too. I really think that one of the plots Aizen set in motion was implanting the idea of treason in Renji's mind in order to distract Byakuya (Renji is Byakuya's lieutenant.) I think that's why Aizen is quick to approach Renji when Rukia is brought back, AND he works to get Renji reinstated after Byakuya would have him dismissed for insubordination. What this says to me? Aizen needed Byakuya distracted for a reason. I think he was scared of him.
We've started the Arrancar arc, and it's fairly awesome. My only question right now is, okay, so they're freaked that Aizen is after the golden key/key to heaven but they haven't even dispatched their best yet. No offense to my boy Renji, but he's a fukataicho, not a taicho. Let's get some of the heavy hitters in the game, pronto!
February 24, 2012
Man Things
Mason is now officially ready for the Kuk SoOlympics. We have purchased "the cup." I should say, though, standing in that huge aisle at the rather awkwardly named Dick's Sporting Goods store, I was overwhelmed by our choices. Weirdly, it wasn't size. There seemed to be standard boy/teen/man options. Or even type... there were really just three of those, as well -- with or without jock strap, basically.
No, what was overwhelming was the color choices.
I had no idea that men would care quite so much about whether the cup, which they are presumably wearing UNDER their outfit, is red, black, yellow, blue... or if it had FLAMES. Seriously, the color options were astounding. I sort of favored the powder blue, but Mason went with basic black (I guess it goes better with with more things, you know.)
Gah.
No, what was overwhelming was the color choices.
I had no idea that men would care quite so much about whether the cup, which they are presumably wearing UNDER their outfit, is red, black, yellow, blue... or if it had FLAMES. Seriously, the color options were astounding. I sort of favored the powder blue, but Mason went with basic black (I guess it goes better with with more things, you know.)
Gah.
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