You call this exciting?

After carefully reviewing the emails and tabulating the votes received, I have crafted this week's blog to more closely conform to the requests of you, the readers. Enjoy! Only ONE link this week. So there.

May 26 - More B5. Yep.

Many of you wanted to know more about Babylon 5, so I thought I'd again recommend the Lurker's Guide to B5. This is a peerless companion to watching the episodes in order, as I am finding. I have been amazed all over again at the care with which each episode was crafted, even in the first season. The little details, visual and written, are astonishing, as is the fact that it was ALL written as a five-year story arc. As a writer, I am humbled by the sheer craft that went into creating such an encompassing work, and hope that I might someday know enough to attempt such a thing, should I be in a position to do so. Maybe, or maybe not.

May 27 - Niagara

I've booked off my vacation time for September, so that I can come back to visit Niagara. It's going to be costly though; the rail option looks to be no less expensive, so I'll likely nix that thought. Hopefully I can pick up a last-minute deal on one of the many sites I am monitoring / subscribed to, in the next few months.

May 28 - ?

Nothing interesting happened today. Really.

May 29 - Bio Scooters

I saw something amusing on the road to work today: a pack of scooters. Yes, scooters - not motorcycles, ridden by leather-clad bikers but instead a half-dozen people in casual dress with helmets, backpacks slung comfortably and just cruising along the road. It was highly amusing, and speaks to the attitude that Victoria has towards environmentalism. There are still quite a few motorcycles cruising around town, but they are outnumbered by the scooter crowd, who are themselves outnumbered by the bicyclists who are often three or four deep waiting at lights.

In the evening: BioShock looks amazing on my flat-screen TV; the retro design of the underwater city of Rapture( I love underwater cities, by the way )is just breathtaking. I love art deco, so it's enjoyable on many levels - pun intended.

May 30 - Friday Freezing

I managed to sleep until 8am this morning, a new record; this past week has seen me awake at 5:38 am three mornings in a row. Why THAT time in particular, I do not know; perhaps my neighbour's alarm I'm hearing somehow? I'll have to ask... but it's been annoying.

Damn, but it's cold here in the mornings, for being the month of May. My cycling jacket is a must, as the ten-degree temps make for a chilly ride in any non-windproof garment.

May 31st - Writing

Dang, but it's cold out... sunny though. I'm not as brave as some folks, who are perhaps used to Victoria's somewhat cool-ish weather of late. Setting up a blanket on the front lawn of the building to have lunch is nice, though not when it's 15 degrees C out there, sunshine or not.

I played a bit of an older PS2 game today, called 'Demon Stone', which interestingly has the voice of Patrick Stewart as the narrator. The gameplay is all right, but I mainly enjoy revisiting it for the story and character design - Zhai is especially well-done, though I question her personal motivations in terms of helping the other characters( she's a drow, after all, for those who care ).

In any case, I just relaxed today. Some writing was done, but I have a lot of my mind of late and the words aren't flowing to my satisfaction... more of a flow that you don't want to see or smell, if you catch my drift.

June 1st - Already?

The start of a new month always has me wondering what awaits me in the pages of upcoming days. Too bad I spent today working, but them's the breaks.

The second Sunday in a row spent working, but at least the weather wasn't super-annoyingly-sunny out, so spending the day inside wasn't so bad.

All for now. Next week: More Drama. More Excitement. More... B5?

A week's worth of links

For the picky among you, this week's blog is presented after being spell checked. Lots of links in this one, but no pics - yet. I'm collecting the ones I have to make a FB gallery this week, so look for it by the weekend. Read on...


May 18th - Another beautiful day, spent indoors

What a gorgeous day this one turned out to be. Seems like everyone but me was out there enjoying it... and by the time I finished work to head home, it had grown chilly and overcast. Odd that it could be so nice then cool off so quickly. The newscasters were saying that this has been the coldest spring in the last 35 years here on Vancouver Island; ironic that I chose to move here when I did.
On the bright side, I get plenty of light in my apartment, regardless of the weather outside - which is great for saving on electricity. I can only hope that I get a decent cross-breeze when the weather heats up, though again since I am next to the ocean I hope the heat will be lessened somewhat.

May 19th - Victoria Day? Meh.

Not much of a holiday here in B.C. weather-wise ... grey and drizzly all day. I spent some of today trudging up and down the stairs here, trying to get my laundry done; I MISS having in-suite laundry... you never had to fight everyone for one of the two washers or dryers. I know I was lucky, but DAMN if I had the space( or the funds )then I might spring for a washer of my own.

Unsurprisingly, I spent a good deal of the day online, playing COD4 with my friends. Again, as I've said before, it's a HUGE bonus that I can still game with my friends from across the freakin' continent... talk with them too, relatively easily. Much as I detest Microsoft, I admit their 360 tech works as promised( excepting the Red Ring of Death ). When the network connection is smooth, that is ...

May 20th - Neither Open Nor Close Ye Be

Worked an odd shift today, neither opening OR closing, at my co-worker's request - which means I didn't have to unlock or lock anything. Nice to have a break.

One neat thing about Victoria, if somewhat trivial: they have coloured curbs here. It makes sense when you think about it: yellow means no stopping, red means a bus stop. Anything else is fair game for parking. Of course there are signs too, but having both really helps make the area function clear. Too bad Toronto hasn't caught on to this system; they have WAY too many No Left / No Right Turn signs!

May 21st - Plane, Train or Automobile?

I started looking into flight costs again for heading back to Niagara in September - yikes! Tickets are over $1,000.00 right now, no matter where I look. Seems one recent news article has pinned the increase in fares on rising fuel costs for airlines - not good news for people wanting to travel on the cheap. I also looked at train travel, but even though the cost is half that of a plane ticket, it will take at least four days to cross the county - amazing a century ago, but not so good for those of us in the modern era who have limited vacation time. Still, I've never crossed the country OR taken a train before, so I won't write that one off yet.

May 22nd - More B5

About a week ago I started to watch the entire Babylon 5 series from the beginning. An episode a day seems to be easiest before work, as I can watch it during breakfast. I'm amazed at the detail in each episode, especially with the breakdowns that the Lurker's Guide contains - amazing that the site is still there after ten years. I'll have to watch this series every 5 years or so. *grin*

The new bike seems to be working out well... or should I say, quite a workout. I'm still not up to biking UP the huge hill to my workplace yet, though I'm finding the lesser hills to be much easier after a few weeks now. Fortunately, I've not yet had occasion to use my new bike horn, but given the volume of traffic here compared to St. Kitts, it's only a matter of time. Not only was it cheap, but it's LOUD too!

May 23rd - More on The Dark Crystal

After working the morning shift, I did some grocery shopping at the nearby Safeway. It worked out well on my bike, as my backpack fit everything I'd purchased perfectly - seems my eye for spacial relationships is in fine form, given all the moving and packing I've done over the years.

I managed to pick up a copy of Legends of the Dark Crystal, a prequel to the 1982 film The Dark Crystal - love that film! I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of The World of the Dark Crystal by Brian Froud a few years ago - on the cheap too! A sequel film is in the works that has Genndy Tartakovsky( of Samurai Jack )at the helm as well as Brian Froud. The usual delays have pushed back the release date to 2009.

Also of note: my pal Lucas sent me a link about The Secret History of Star Wars, which looks to be a fascinating( and unbiased )look at the entire franchise, from the moment pencil touched paper to the current day. Thanks Lucas, both of you!

May 24th - Mount Douglas Park

After a somewhat early rise at 8am, I did my usual Saturday morning routine: laundry and cartoons! I enjoyed the latter more than the former, of course. After a little while spent playing BioShock( yes, I started late on it )it was time to head out for a few hours to Mount Douglas Park with my parents. What a gorgeous place! Just driving up the narrow, winding road to the top was an experience - no guardrail interrupted the view of the forest. And such trees! They towered above us, huge tall trunks topped in green far above, with slanted sunlight sending the occasional beam to illuminate the dusky world below. It was like a dream, in places - the slanted mountainside was thickly covered with ferns around the tree roots, covering the sheer rock with an abundance of life. All of this before we even reached the top!

Words seem inadequate for the majesty of the view. The clear, fresh sea air was warmed by the sun on the rock at the summit, permitting an stunning view for tens of kilometers. We could see all the way to Mt. Baker in the US, as well as the Soloman Islands offshore. The whole of South Vancouver Island lay spread out before us, a green veldt sprinkled with signs of civilization and bounded on all sides by the sea. All of this beneath blue sunny skies - it was heaven.
*deep breath* So, I will post the photos later in the week, once I whittle them down to a few dozen.... or less.

Hopped onto NWN for a while after a few hours of BioShock( engrossing game! )and met someone there I hadn't seen in a long time. He seemed to enjoy the new digs I'd set up in Nordock, and a grand time was had by all.

May 25th - Sunday Ends the Week

Worked the usual solo weekend shift, whilst another beautiful day passed outside with one less to experience it firsthand. The ride home was lovely as always, as well as being rather less strenuous for being downhill. I should mention that I pass quite a few heritage homes in Victoria on my way to and from work, and this inn is one of them. Some amazing properties here, simply awash in thick masses of gardens; some of the bushes are higher than the houses they front - incredible!

Yep, that's it. No witty quotes, just the usual heavy work in creating this blog...