Contracting and Expanding

Having reread my last blog entry I can only wonder what I was thinking. It's not that I disagree with any particular thing I said, but I was way too enthusiastic on the subject. Yes Barbarella and Zardoz were awesome, but were they as awesome as I waxed poetic? I'm just not that sure anymore.

Still, give them a watch, hopefully you won't regret it.

While you're at it give Bubba Ho-Tep a watch too. I could never figure out if it was awesome or I wanted those two hours of my life back.

Things I'm currently excited about:

in a wicked age

Possibly one of the awesomest RPG's I've come across. The total rulebook is only 37 pages, the entire world is created interactively by all players. There are sites dedicated to alternate world oracles with an almost limitless ability to adapt the system to any setting.

What struck me most was this"
"...I’m certain that if any two of your friends come to a dispute you’ll be able to help
them resolve it."

It would be easy to be disdainful or sarcastic about such seemingly naive statement but it really says great things about what kind of game this expects to be.

You're all there working together to create the best story with maximum fun for all. Difficult? Yes. Worth the effort? Totally.

Find the right people to play it with and the whole rpg experience become reborn.

eclectophilia: the radio show

The name of this blog was originally created for a show proposal for a local community radio station. Basically it's an awesome name and an excuse to do a show where I play whatever I feel like.

Although I received excellent feedback about the idea when I first came up with the it, the station manager at the time thought that it was a bad idea because I wouldn't have a stable concept. She thought that a show that might play bluegrass one week and punk the next wouldn't be able to hold a listenership. Not a bad argument except that when I did some market research I got all positive feedback. Summarily rejected on one woman's narrow opinion. Ah well.

I ended up doing a Celtic music program called Aura's Kilt. It's taken me over two years to really enjoy Celtic music again. Too much of a good thing I guess.

But now the station is under new management. This time I have ideas for the first ten shows and Cheesy Punny names for most of them. I just need to check my playlists to ensure I have enough Canadian Content to meet CKLU's broadcasting license and I will be ready to make my pitch.

WACHAH!

They don't make them like they used to...

After something like 23 hours awake I have just finished watching Barbarella for the first time.

Let me give you some history. I am a fan of B Sci-Fi. I have been since I was a kid. I would search out the best of the worst I could find looking for cheesy monsters and (often) some seriously awful acting. Rubber suits would do in a pinch but what I wanted was every movie I could get my hands on with the wonderful art of claymation (or stop-motion animation for the "correct" term I suppose).

Fortunately I was a child of the 80's and I had a wealth of campy claymation to choose from.

Some notable examples are The Thing, a 1982 remake the 1951 film The Thing From Outer Space. It features a team of scientists in the Antarctic doing research. They find something in the ice and hilarious horror ensues. Notably the sets and acting are pretty good but the claymation is premo. The first season of the X-files features an episode named "ice" with a similar story which I choose to think of as an homage.
Another great classic of the stop-motion animation horror genre, and a personal favorite is Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor(1990). To quote the Wikipedia article for this film.

"By limiting cast and location costs, production was able to concentrate efforts on effects,"

You have my personal guarantee that it is a lost classic.

So back to Barbarella. As I got older I lost my taste for cheesy movies, I just couldn't get into them the way I used to. Maybe it was the rise of CGI which just doesn't have the same heart or maybe I just got too much of a good thing and needed a break. Lately I've been looking for them again, rewatching the old favorites.

And then I stumbled accross Barbarella and it changed EVERYTHING.

The sets, the visuals, the sheer audacity of imagination. The truly horrendous score. It was intoxicating.

Here was a whole world of camp and imagination that you just don't get in today's "everything looks like the same gothic set" era movies. It reminded me of how much I loved Zardoz(1974) but always thought that it was a unique and beautiful alien alone in the world.

But no!!! It has family; parents, siblings, second-cousins twice removed, a whole new genre to be explored!!

I have a quest now, a raison d'etre! I must seek out and find these rare jewels, collect them and catogorize them.

And maybe someday I will find that most priceless of artifacts the 60's psychadelic flick with my wonderful claymation monsters there too, to terrorize the gogo-booted heroines and sling thong clad men.

Ah heaven, I aspire to thee!

Settling In

Moving has come and gone, boxes are being unpacked, sore backs, legs and arms nursed.

The new place is wonderful!!

That said, life for the last few days has been full of the most basic elements of life.

matching
On Friday we drove down to the Sweeties hometown to witness the marriage of his best friend from his high school days.

It was a nice ceremony presided over by the Bride's father, a Presbyterian minister. I'm used to short and sweet United Church ceremonies so it seemed long. The man managed to lecture the groom for awhile and then busted out some props (Bride and Groom Mickey & Minny Saltshakers).

I thought he might forgo the regular father of the Bride speech at dinner since I couldn't think of anything else he might have to say but he managed to eek out another TWO speeches before the end of the night. He also forgot the marriage license in his car and had to go get it halfway through the ceremony.

Otherwise it was one of the nicest weddings I've been to.

Other points of interest during the night: the roast was ball of beef with a three foot diameter and I actually convinced the sweetie to dance ONE dance with me. Unfortunately it was the chicken dance. Maybe next time I can talk him into a slow dance.

hatching
Today a good freind of mine gave birth to a healthy baby girl. They named her Gavin.

I will visit them tomorrow and will try not to think to much about how much I want my own.
Technically it is my hormones that want it, I'm still on the fence but they can be very persuasive when faced with an actual tiny cooing human. (tiny screaming human is not a deterent either)

Unemployed accountants do not make good parents. At least not until the sweetie graduates and starts a career.

dispatching
Okay, no one died recently. Though one of the new roomies did trip over a series of boxes causing an 8 foot headlong sprawl accross the living room ending in his head going through some drywall.
He suffered no damage. Though I did laugh so hard I had a stitch in my side once it was confirmed he was OK.

I might be a jerk.

Life Lessons

disgusting

When I was a child my mother taught me not to wipe the steam from the mirror after I shower. The reason is that the steam tends to carry dead skin and other particles that you wash from your body. Gross right, and if you wipe it with your towel the stuff you just washed away transfers to the towel and back to you as you dry off.

Last night my roommate had just come from the shower and i popped into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

My toothbrush was dripping with condensation from his shower!

laughter

Yesterday I was watching a British car show called Top Gear with my sweetie when my roommate brought an old friend by. (Someone I have known for years independently of the roommate) They sat down on the couch to make armour and my sweetie and I stayed around his computer watching clips of the show on youtube. Example (worth watching the whole thing!)

Now my laugh is not some pretty girlish giggle. It's prett weird. There's a scene in the movie Amelie about laughs. I am all those wierd laughs together plus some crow cawing sounds for good measure. I was once told by a very EX boyfreind I should never laugh in public. Ever.

I remember taking that to heart and being embaressed by my laugh. For a long time I didn't laugh at all. Then one day my Mum commented that she was so happy to hear me laugh when I'm around my sweetie. I realized how much better I felt about it. That I had been stiffling myself for no good reason. Much of the time I still only smile at something I find funny but I'm aware now and try not to supress myself. Last night when I was laughing, harsh bursts of coughlike laughs, not pretty to be sure. I didn't stop because there were other people around. I wasn't embaressed by it anymore.

Laughing is healthy, it's good for the soul and I'm not ever going to give that up for anyone again.

Moving

Been getting lots of moving done, yessiree.

It's been great having the new roomies help with boxes since my sweetie is out of commission.

The apartment feels empty without any books in it.

I havn't done any writing since last Monday though I did get about half of a short story written at that time, the rest of it is knocking around my head for a bit like a rock in a tumbler. I'll pull it out and put it to paper when it looks a little better. Or so I tell myself.

I have a few writing projects on the go now so I need to focus and get some of them finished before I get overwhelmed.

I also have a finished micro-fiction called The Last Laugh that is begging to be turned loose.

I'd feel bad about putting off the writing but moving is hard and I'm still doing more now then I have since high school. In my book that's a win.

Heh, in my book.

Timing

My sweetie was injured at work yesterday. He pulled or tore something in his left forearm. The doctor has said no heavy lifting for two weeks.

As we are moving during the month of May this means he's out of commission for the majority of moving time.

Eeep?

Mothers Day

A happy mothers day to all!

The sweetie and I went to my Mum's and made her sushi for dinner. Tasty.

Sweetie called his mom down and they had a nice chat. As a rule boys who are good to their mothers make excellent boyfriends and my sweetie certainly makes me believe it.

I gave my mom a bar of organic hemp soap, patchouli scented (her favorite) and shaped like the goddess. (Picture stolen from fellow blogger Irish Gumbo)

The soap is hand crafted by a local artist.

I purchased the soap at mimi and lulu's. Here's a link to their facebook group with some amazing photo's of their awesome shop.