The word of the week is lifestyle !
April 30 - Iron Man Is Cool
Ever since my first brushes with science fiction, I've always wanted to put together a 'power suit' of some kind. From the flashy chrome of Captain Power to a fifty-foot-tall BattleMech, nothing says "I'm bad!" like power armour. Weirdly, I've never been a fan of Iron Man, as I've never thought past depictions of his armour were cool - clunky, in my opinion. Not until the recent designs of Adi Granov revitalized the character did I take notice; CTV did a great article on the character design for the original Iron Man movie. Lucky for me, since my crafting skills extend only to words and not the physical, other people have put together stunning examples of Iron Man costumes. The one below is simply the best on the planet; it has ACTUAL moving parts like flight stabilizers and the face shield:
May 1 - New Beginnings
It's a new month. By the END of THIS month, I will be happily ensconced in a NEW place in the BEST part of Victoria. By odd co-incidence, this is the SAME sort of arrangement as I had in my very early twenties: sharing a cool living space with my cool sister. THAT place was a half-house near Burgoyne Woods, down the road from Brock University and rather special in a few ways, the least of which being it was my first time Out On My Own. For various reasons it didn't work out, the main one being I was working full time AND trying to go to school full time; that's a story with only one unhappy ending. But the IDEA was great, though it ended in 1998 with my independence from then on, due to my need to support my family. I cherished that idea and that time, as it was something I KNEW I would get back to eventually. And make even better.
April 30 - Iron Man Is Cool
Ever since my first brushes with science fiction, I've always wanted to put together a 'power suit' of some kind. From the flashy chrome of Captain Power to a fifty-foot-tall BattleMech, nothing says "I'm bad!" like power armour. Weirdly, I've never been a fan of Iron Man, as I've never thought past depictions of his armour were cool - clunky, in my opinion. Not until the recent designs of Adi Granov revitalized the character did I take notice; CTV did a great article on the character design for the original Iron Man movie. Lucky for me, since my crafting skills extend only to words and not the physical, other people have put together stunning examples of Iron Man costumes. The one below is simply the best on the planet; it has ACTUAL moving parts like flight stabilizers and the face shield:
May 1 - New Beginnings
It's a new month. By the END of THIS month, I will be happily ensconced in a NEW place in the BEST part of Victoria. By odd co-incidence, this is the SAME sort of arrangement as I had in my very early twenties: sharing a cool living space with my cool sister. THAT place was a half-house near Burgoyne Woods, down the road from Brock University and rather special in a few ways, the least of which being it was my first time Out On My Own. For various reasons it didn't work out, the main one being I was working full time AND trying to go to school full time; that's a story with only one unhappy ending. But the IDEA was great, though it ended in 1998 with my independence from then on, due to my need to support my family. I cherished that idea and that time, as it was something I KNEW I would get back to eventually. And make even better.
Now, I can SEE myself in a similar place in life - writing my novel. Searching for a GOOD job, one that won't complicate my life but instead, compliment it. To get ON with where I SHOULD have kept going from in 1998, to think about getting my writing life rolling, finishing school and then look for new beginnings. Again, what this blog's all about… finding the future, not dwelling on the past.
May 2 - Valve Is Coolness
Of the things that interest me in terms of Working For A Living, video games are right up there. Other than BioWare( now owned by EA, booo! )the other company whose roof I would give an arm and a leg portion to sit under would be Valve. They do things differently, VERY differently. So different from the norm of how a typical corporation works that it's hard to grasp. So I was tickled to find Valve's New Employee Handbook on the web; it's stunning to read through. For those of you who can't or won't bother, let me pick out a few key points: (1)Their management structure is FLAT; nobody is pressuring you to Complete Assignments (2)YOU choose WHICH projects YOUR skills can best assist and will GROW your own skills (3)Nobody EVER gets fired for making a mistake; these are encouraged as you LEARN and GROW (4)Each employee is paid what they are worth; the more your peers value you, the more you make and (5)Steam has kept PC gaming alive and healthy. Well, the last point is my own opinion, but it's shared by millions, which according to Valve is a snapshot of the way they work: give Customers What They Want!
May 3 - Star Trek Reunion!!!!!!!!
When it was on television, I watched every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as soon as it hit the airwaves. I say this without hesitation, as I think it had some of the best characters in the genre at the time as the show progressed. Sure, it was episodic and didn't have the over-arching story arcs that came in later shows, but you could see from the first seasons that the cast had gelled and become family - it was right there on the screen. That kind of bond shone through and made the characters they played all the more captivating to watch as they grew, struggled and LIVED on the small screen over seven seasons.
Which made their reunion this past week in Calgary all the more poignant; it was the first time EVER since TNG went off the air that ALL the cast were together on stage at a convention. It was an event I WISH I had been able to go to to see, JUST for that reunion( apparently the Calgary FanExpo was mobbed for the same reason! )but luckily that magical hour-long even was ALL caught on tape. I was deeply moved by the emotions and caring expressed by each cast member towards the rest of their TNG 'family ' - watch it and see!
May 4 - May The Fourth Be With You!
Growing up, Star Wars and all it entails played a HUGE part in shaping my psyche… and would explain more than a few quirks too, at that. I've seen the movies often enough that I no longer NEED to see them; I can replay them almost scene for scene in my head, which also shows I may not be using the space up there for the best purpose… but I digress. Today is May The Fourth, Star Wars Day for the unenlightened and a day I like to quietly celebrate by adding to my collection of Funny Star Wars pictures. I do draw the line at cruel pictures or poorly drawn art; they have to make me smile AND be a little unique in their way. So for your edification today, I give you… Calvin and Hobbes Attack The Death Star:
May 2 - Valve Is Coolness
Of the things that interest me in terms of Working For A Living, video games are right up there. Other than BioWare( now owned by EA, booo! )the other company whose roof I would give an arm and a leg portion to sit under would be Valve. They do things differently, VERY differently. So different from the norm of how a typical corporation works that it's hard to grasp. So I was tickled to find Valve's New Employee Handbook on the web; it's stunning to read through. For those of you who can't or won't bother, let me pick out a few key points: (1)Their management structure is FLAT; nobody is pressuring you to Complete Assignments (2)YOU choose WHICH projects YOUR skills can best assist and will GROW your own skills (3)Nobody EVER gets fired for making a mistake; these are encouraged as you LEARN and GROW (4)Each employee is paid what they are worth; the more your peers value you, the more you make and (5)Steam has kept PC gaming alive and healthy. Well, the last point is my own opinion, but it's shared by millions, which according to Valve is a snapshot of the way they work: give Customers What They Want!
May 3 - Star Trek Reunion!!!!!!!!
When it was on television, I watched every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as soon as it hit the airwaves. I say this without hesitation, as I think it had some of the best characters in the genre at the time as the show progressed. Sure, it was episodic and didn't have the over-arching story arcs that came in later shows, but you could see from the first seasons that the cast had gelled and become family - it was right there on the screen. That kind of bond shone through and made the characters they played all the more captivating to watch as they grew, struggled and LIVED on the small screen over seven seasons.
Which made their reunion this past week in Calgary all the more poignant; it was the first time EVER since TNG went off the air that ALL the cast were together on stage at a convention. It was an event I WISH I had been able to go to to see, JUST for that reunion( apparently the Calgary FanExpo was mobbed for the same reason! )but luckily that magical hour-long even was ALL caught on tape. I was deeply moved by the emotions and caring expressed by each cast member towards the rest of their TNG 'family ' - watch it and see!
May 4 - May The Fourth Be With You!
Growing up, Star Wars and all it entails played a HUGE part in shaping my psyche… and would explain more than a few quirks too, at that. I've seen the movies often enough that I no longer NEED to see them; I can replay them almost scene for scene in my head, which also shows I may not be using the space up there for the best purpose… but I digress. Today is May The Fourth, Star Wars Day for the unenlightened and a day I like to quietly celebrate by adding to my collection of Funny Star Wars pictures. I do draw the line at cruel pictures or poorly drawn art; they have to make me smile AND be a little unique in their way. So for your edification today, I give you… Calvin and Hobbes Attack The Death Star:
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May 5 - The Avengers is SO COOL !
After a cartoonless Saturday morning( mourning? )I MORE than made up for it by going to see The Avengers( in 3D / UltraAVX! )in the afternoon. I was prepared for a good movie, given the limited hype I allowed myself before going to the theater. What I wasn't prepared for was a GREAT movie - Wow! Apart from a few slow spots, Marvel really knocked it out of the park this time! Superlatives aside, I was with the characters the whole way through the movie; even Loki, whom I thought somewhat uneven as a villain, had enough good moments to win me over in the end. Really, I could nitpick the film to death( as others have I'm sure )but it is the ONLY film I can think of since LOTR that I would go BACK and see AGAIN - something I almost never do! I'll be buying it for SURE on Blue-Ray in 3D( yay new TV! )and I hope, HOPE it is packed with special features like Iron Man. Wow… I spend the rest of my evening having cool parts of the movie bubble up and make me smile. :-) 9.5 out of 10, easy - even RottenTomatoes agrees!
May 6 - Lizzie Beautiful
Yesterday I saw a video that made me re-evaluate some of the things in my life, in a positive way. Most of you have probably not yet heard of Lizzie Velasquez, a 23-year old woman who years ago was voted the Ugliest Woman on YouTube. This was due to her having a rare condition, so rare that only 3 other people in the world share it; among other things, it keeps her at a weight of 60lbs, has made her blind in one eye and distorted her features. Yet she has NOT given in to despair and instead has fought against the handicaps life has given her: she has set herself real goals and accomplished them. Things like graduating college and doing motivational speaking that not every able-bodied person in this world has accomplished. I have to say that stories such as hers move me deeply, to KNOW that the ONLY thing holding YOU back is YOU. Success comes in many forms but it is never GIVEN to you - you have to want it, to work for it and earn it. Lizzie's goals are concrete, real and for her, part of making a future for herself in a world where looks are still the measure of a person, instead of the powerful beauty of self that we all can achieve.
It's been a fruitful week for me, writing-wise. After a slow start, the creativity started bubbling up and my muse got into full swing by Friday, with thousands of words pouring out. Most of them backstory, which meant that Chapter 2 has been re-written almost totally and looks to become my new Chapter 1, depending on reviews. May looks to be a VERY productive month!
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