Dates, Demises and Dr. Ned

The word of the week is sanguine. For various reasons.

Sept 20 – Planets and People

Just this week, I’ve finished watching the third season of The Guild, a web-based show that I like very much – not only because it’s writer / star Felicia Day is very engaging, but also because it has been made outside the traditional Hollywood system. Being financed almost on a by-the-episode basis for the first year, it’s engaging to watch knowing that it was created by a small group of people on a tiny budget, yet manages to make itself seem so much larger in scope. No cheesy CGI either, for that matter – heck, they even made a great music video:

Tonight was cool and clear, perfect for stargazing – planetgazing, in fact. It was perfect for a viewing of Jupiter, which made its closest pass to Earth since 1963, allowing people with simple telescopes a rare opportunity in the sky. With a little patience, we managed to zero in on the Planet of Storms – the sky was crisp enough that we could even see four of it’s moons as bright dots around the planet itself! Being able to see part of our solar system so easily, right from home, brought a connection that I found quite intriguing – knowing that people may visit the planet within my lifetime sent a shiver down my spine.

Sept 21 – Media Crossed

To tablet? To iPad? To iPhone? While I’ve been considering writing an article on why I don’t need any of these recent tech toys for my own life, for various reasons, another writer has written about his experience with the iPad over the last 5 months. He makes some interesting points about trends in accessing media, which seems to be the way things are going now – the Boxee is an excellent example of a device that lets you get at your media collection easily. Heck, even Netflix has arrived in Canada this month, so I’ll be checking that out soon enough, though I think I may have to up the bandwidth for my ‘net connection to make it really shine – the ‘light’ version I have isn’t really good enough for all we do here daily.

Ah do love a good cross-section: seeing a piece of technology rendered in a three-quarters view with all the internals displayed is just fantastic, I could look for hours through books of those kinds of drawings. Which I do, as I have a fair number of the Star Wars Cross-Sections books, as well as a cherished large matte posterboard of the Enterprise D – with some technical glitches included. So when I saw this article on io9.com about Robocop cross-sections, I clicked faster than I had in some time... and was entranced. ED-209!!

Sept 22 – First Date!

I had the day off today, which I feel I spent very well: I went on a date. For lunch, over at The Black Stilt cafe in Victoria – but I didn’t actually get to eat any lunch, as I was totally absorbed in conversation. Her name is Renee, and spent almost three hours seated at the window, chatting about all sorts of things. It was a really great first date, one that I felt only a little nervousness on. It ended far too soon, but she was definite about seeing each other again; she plays the flute! It was a lovely, charming day for me – and for her, from what I could tell.

I spent the evening at home, checking out a book I’d bought from Munroe Books across the road called Career Success Without A Real Job by Ernie J. Zelinski. It brings up some great points about working for a living, working for corporations and finding out that you don’t have to do both to be happy / successful. Since I’ve been considering the freelance writer’s life, as well as other non-regular paycheque income streams, it’s very interesting reading. Especially when I consider my lack of need for a ‘large’ income to support a big house / car / family / kids ... there’s some freedom there that can’t be overlooked by me. Sure looks like a better path than trying to get my head around the weird world of management...

Sept 23 – Energy and Zombies

Things have been on more of an even keel for me this week, moreso than in a long while - a new staffer has come online at work and is working out fantastically, so that helps a lot when trying to get work done. I’ve been adjusting my sleep schedule as well, waking up earlier and going to sleep well before midnight most days to try and stay on an even keel. I’ve even dragged out my sunlight-lamp( not a heat-lamp! )for those days where the clouds are thick and I need to keep myself feeling awake and energetic. So far, so good... we’ll see how the workplace pans out, as that’s where the vast majority of my stress arises from.

Further signs that zombies are going mainstream was spotted today on the roads of Victoria today: a Zombie Outbreak Response Team vehicle! I laughed out loud when I saw the Ford Aerostar van pass by, with one of the large logo signs plastered on the rear passenger windows. I think this sort of vehicular customization makes a lot more sense than those who spend thousands on vehicle add-ons that hold no resale value – plus it’s just a lot cooler-looking IMHO.

Sept 24 – Harlan???

What the heck? Brian emailed me today with the news that Harlan Ellison is dying! Damn, and here I thought the old axiom about only the good dying young was holding true for one of my favourite sci-fi authors. Interestingly, this week I picked up an anthology entitled Dangerous Vegetables by Keith Laumer... who was also friends with Harlan Ellison. In the foreward, Ben Bova writes “And, strangely, Keith and Harlan were friends with each other, but it was like the friendship between Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, built on mutual respect and admiration for each other’s talents rather than on softer sentiments.” I hope it’s just Harlan being Harlan, and not a prelude to his actual passing. Damn.

All right, it’s been a while since I’ve had anything breakfast-themed on the blog, so here’s a return to awesome: Batter Blaster. Organic pancakes in sprayable form... and word is, there will be bacon-flavoured varieties soon! I love pancakes, especially ones made in a solidly-seasoned cast-iron pan – having had many a pancake in my time from many parts of this country and others, I can say that there is a wide margin for error... it’s all in the batter, and you can tweak it as you like. My fave? Adding applesauce and cinnamon! With bacon on the side, of course.

Sept 25 - Inspiration

If you ever need some inspiration, when life seems to be getting you down, look no further than the following two stories. First, there is Terry Fox, who is a household name among Canadians decades after his attempt to run across the country. Recently, his route was retraced by a runner, who wanted to find the stories attached to the legend – and find them he did. Another inspiring person is the lesser-known Frenchman Philippe Croizon, who at age 42 recently swam the English Channel – with no arms or legs. If they could do what they did, then there’s no excuse for the able-bodied not to try to do as well, really.

Work stinks sometimes, especially when it comes down to timing. Tonight I tried my damndest to finish early, but work being work, things came up that demanded I not finish before 8pm, despite my wanting to. Why finish early? Well, there’s an indie band festival here called Rifflandia( that I learned existed this week )that runs this weekend... and my date from Wednesday played tonight at 7:30. I also found out that tickets weren’t being sold for individual venues and that the passes for the weekend had sold out earlier today, so I couldn’t get one even if I wanted to. Had I known yesterday, things would have been different... but I didn’t find out until today, so there was little I could do. So it goes sometimes. *sigh*

Sept 26 – Borderlands, plus Newt and John!

Darn – I woke up with a headache today due to the heavy overcast weather, but I set it aside so I could play a few good hours of Borderlands with Lucas! We finished off the majority of the DLC The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, which I’d played some portion of a few months ago but never finished – as usual. I have to say I love the visuals in the game, as well as the sense of humour that at times is very self-aware; it makes the game all that much more fun to play, on top of the excellent multiplayer experience it is already.

Holy episodes, Batman – Newt And John has reached their 40^th today! A milestone! If you haven’t already checked it out( and shame on you if not! )then click on over to the official website to start at the beginning, it’s just fantastic art. Mike Hogue does some stunning work with Flash, has worked on such projects as Stoked and Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets... it’s inspiring stuff. Scary too – those Shadow Puppets look too real to me! Go get ‘em Mike!

It’s strange sometimes writing this blog – it’s out there on the web for anyone to see, but only if I really tell people about it. Some folks on Facebook don’t know about it, and in general only some of my friends know about it... it’s got a lot about me in it, and at the least I don’t feel comfortable letting those I work with have access to it for various solid reasons. It helps me though, putting things down here – not in the sense of a diary, but more of a journal of where I am, and where I’m going... plus looking back at the blog shows me where I’ve been.