Campfyre Stories

This one falls under the heading of Virtual Packrat.  I found this game many many years ago and I don’t remember how, but it’s a pretty neat city planner, quite addictive, lots of fun.

Enjoy!

Building the Best

Although I had resigned myself to not actually seeing V for Vendetta in the theaters, finally there was someone who wanted to see it with me.  Right up until the last minute I was convinced I was going to have to rent it, but we wound up catching it just in time before it left the theater.

And boy did that movie piss me off.  I had read the original comic books (really original, not the graphic novel compilation) only a few months ago, borrowing them from Dragonmaker.  i was really impressed (and continue to be) with Alan Moore’s work.  I had heard that he removed his name from the Wachowski Brothers movie, but after hearing mixed, but mostly decent reviews, I was keeping an open mind.

But I don’t think that even having waited to read the comics until after would have helped, which was what I assumed would be the case.
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So there I was reading the Ok Go website, checking to see when they’re coming to the area because I want to see them live, when I discovered they are playing Tulip Fest, which means free!  First off, OK Go is probably best known for their viral video of "A Million Ways".  If you haven’t seen it yet (and, chances are, you have) check it out now so you know kind of what I’m talking about.

So I was looking at the Tulip Fest website to see what other bands are playing and O!  M!  G!  They Might Be Giants is going to be there.  I wasn’t even sure they were still together, let alone performing.  Now I’m trying to figure out if I can get them to play Shoehorn with Teeth, since I’m pretty sure their set list will already include Birdhouse in Your Soul.  Both bands are playing on Saturday.  OK Go starts at 2:30 and TMBG follow around 4.  I always make Tulip Fest a priority and make it down for one day, but this year we’re going to have to make a point for Saturday, since Spawn is also a huge fan of TMBG (and will be hoping for Whistling in the Dark).

And here I was planning to hit Northern Lights a couple of days later so I could see OK Go live… 

Oh man, anyone in the Capital District, or from the Capitial District, or familiar with the Capital District (Dawn), I *highly* recommend going to the TMBG site and clicking the "Albany" link.  That was strange and funny and I love these guys.

It’s quite the cumbersome name for a movie and, frankly, sounds rather lame, but once I looked at the cast, I was sold.  There were a bunch of names I recognized and even more faces I recognized, but that wasn’t the best part.

Let me start by saying that Princess and I have been on a most incredible good snobby art house movie streak recently.  It started around the beginning of the year with Mrs. Henderson Presents and, though I know I’m forgetting some, has led us through Inside Man and Thank You for Smoking.  These three were all fabulous and Thank You for Smoking was possibly the funniest movie I’ve EVER seen.  Both of us are constantly bracing ourselves for another bad movie to show up at any moment, but another matinee night came and went with a brilliant movie that we probably came really close to missing entirely.

Apparently the reviews have been mediocre, and I don’t know anyone else who saw this, but it was really excellent.  Not too long, very riveting.  Princess’ head exploded at the end with the most excellent, didn’t-see -it-coming twist that was thrown at us.  i spent a lot of the movie wondering who some of the familiar faces were, but especially so with the kids from the flashbacks, and then I went home to look them all up on IMDB.  That’s when MY head exploded.

The reason I couldn’t place the kids from the flashback scenes is because they aren’t kids anymore.  All of the flashbacks are from a short film by the same director/producer/writer made back in 1990!  I was trying to place the kids, but they were familiar to me as adults.  One of the kids from the flashbacks even had a minor role as an adult in the movie.

Princess and I are both hoping that the original short film will be included on the DVD when it’s released so that we can compare it to the flashback sequences.  This movie already rated pretty high with me before I learned about the short film and now that I’ve got more of the behind-the-scenes information I’m even more in love with it.

If it’s playing near you, try to catch it and, if you can’t, make a point to rent it on DVD when it comes out, it is WELL worth the price.

Happy World Penguin Day!

Here are some links

I was thinking about writing about how stupid you feel when you spell your own name wrong…  and how much worse it is when you don’t even realize it until the spell checker catches it

I was thinking about writing about the 2:1 awake to sleep ratio and, if that’s really what’s healthy, I need a longer day.  30 hours seems about right.  Up for 20, asleep for 10.  That sounds good to me.

I was thinking about writing about the conversation that I had with my son and my brother about what happens after you die and what theories we’ve heard and what makes sense and what doesn’t.

I was thinking about writing about how every parent does something that other parents think is atrocious and that oftentimes the worst offenders are the most vocal about the things that  they, personally, disagree with.

I was thinking about writing about the couple of days work I’ll be doing next week, how serendipitous it was that it found me, how cool it is that they want me to head the site and how I can use this to further my job search.

And then I realized that I didn’t have enough to say on any one of the given topics.  So I didn’t actually write about any of them.

I think I am predisposed to like salesmen.  I’m not sure what it is, and I know that there are a lot of people who look at the salesman archetype and shudder or cringe.  But I like them.   I like the way they make jokes and, for just a fleeting moment, the corniest pun can feel like a private inside joke, and the two of us have something from which the rest of the world is excluded.

I was talking with Girl this weekend about matters of the heart and I came to the conclusion that anyone who could use the phrase "and what do I need to do right now to make this happen tonight?" in a romantic fashion would not only be my personal hero, but would likely become a legend in the dating annals.  It’s all about selling yourself, dating is.  Just like resumes and job interviews are about selling yourself.  Most things in life, in fact, can be construed as being some how based in the idea of sales.

The more I think about it, the more I see that those with sales experience or even just the sales persona tend to succeed.  Look in any industry, in any successful position, these people have spent their lives selling something, not necessarily something tangible, not necessarily selling for money, but it’s sales nonetheless.

I look at the things that salesmen need for success and the list is fairly short and common sensical.  A honest demeanor; regardless of the stereotype of used-car salesmen, you’re generally not going to buy something from a sleazy person who doesn’t seem trustworthy.  A likable disposition; salesmen tend to LIKE people, and interacting with people, and if they don’t, they can fake it really well.  You want to be around people who want to be around you, right?  A never say die philosophy; these are not people who allow themselves to be kicked when they’re down, hell, most of them don’t even allow themselves to be down when they’re down.  No matter how bad a day you’re having, you have to get out there with the expectation that the next day will be better, otherwise, what is there?

I think that I live by some kind of sales philosophy.  I’m all about selling myself or my ideas, whether in business or in romance or even in family life to a certain degree.  Maybe I lean a little more toward marketing, since I am pretty consistent about changing the packaging periodically, although the core product stays the same, even when the intention to revamp is there, it doesn’t usually take flight as I get distracted by something shiny.

Like that shiny…  what is that?…

*wanders off*

I went and saw the baby last night.  My son’s half-brother, which is a strange thing to say.  I’m not all that big into babies.  My mother asked the question of Spawn and he couldn’t have give a better answer:

"So, is he cute?"

"Of course he’s cute, he’s a baby."

Yep, that’s it, too.  Babies are cute, even when they’re ugly.  All babies are cute, all species of baby mammals are cute, it’s a survival mechanism.  However, in a lot of ways, most babies look the same too.

I’m really not into babies very much.  Give me a child that can walk and is starting to talk and I will have a great time, but babies under a year just don’t DO anything.  Unfortunately, they like me, I’m good with them, they get quiet and fall asleep in my arms after screaming in everyone else’s arms.  It’s like dogs, I don’t care for them as a group, but they seek me out.

So I went and saw the baby and I held him for some 5 minutes before losing interest and refocusing on the mom and dad for the rest of the hour we were there.  These are the rules:

The ONLY baby pictures I want to see are photos of babies whose parents or siblings I know.  I’ll allow for nieces and nephews if you either a) do not have children or b) have grown children and this is a novelty to you years later.  Do not show me pictures of the same child at the same age in 20 different easter dresses.  Do not show me one picture for each hairstyle that month.  I will look at the  baby pictures, but I don’t want to see essentially the same picture 100,000 times.

If you tell me the story of your labor unsolicited, I will return the favor.  However, my story will probably beat yours, it’s pretty gruesome and  painful.  I avoid telling mothers-to-be because I don’t want to frighten them.  There is a reason (several actually) why I only have the one child.

If you give me a screaming baby to comfort and quiet, and I succeed, do not reward me with "You’re so good with babies, why don’t you have another?"  The answer is simple and you already know it.  1) My son is 12.  2) I don’t have a long-term partner that I want to have children with.  3) I don’t like babies.  It is not my goal in life to procreate more than I already have, it is not a compliment to me to hear "Why don’t you have more?"

But, I don’t know, I guess that babies are cool to have around.  The grow pretty quick and as long as I can give them back I do my best to enjoy them…  I just prefer them a whole lot more once they’re interactive and not nearly so fragile.

I love them.  As I have said before, they are my favorite flower.  I think they probably have been ever since Gene Wilder used one for a teacup in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  They’re fleeting, the first sign of spring with their little heads peeking up out of gardens, but in my region, they only last for a few months before they disappear until next year.

Several years ago, Spawn asked me what my favorite flower was and why.  I told him at the time that I liked daffodils because they are "such happy little flowers" and have always loved that phrase as a descriptor.  Until today, I had never heard anyone else say that and then, as I was buying daffodils, the man in the flower shop told me that he loved how they were such happy little flowers.  It made my day.

Another thing I love about them is the alternate name, Narcissus, which has a neat myth behind it.  I’m not nearly as self-absorbed as I come off, especially online, but I do enjoy the facade of narcissism from time to time - most notably when role-playing a FyreGoddess persona.  Beyond that, though, I think that daffodils deserve the attention and the spotlight.  Maybe it’s the self-absorption, but I find that they’re rather difficult to find whether cut or growing, even though they’re among the easier flowers to cultivate.

Having said all of that, I’m going to head off and enjoy my freshly cut flowers.  I’m also going to categorize this as Narcissism because, even though it’s not about me, there really is no better category for it

I feel like it has been FAR too long.  I took off and cleared my head and when I came back I found that

nothing

had

actually

changed.

Not that I expected some magical fix where everything was fine once I got home, but I was feeling good about and looking forward to the impending interview, I figured maybe with my head clear, things would stop raining down on me in all the bad ways, you know?  I wasn’t looking for perfect, I was just looking for something small, something starting to get better.

I am all kinds of stuck right now in trying to figure out where to go, what to do…  And the thing is that things are not letting up.
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