Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer is the second book I still had from the library that had some time still to go before it had to be returned (at least that was the case... sure hope I'm right that they're due back on the 1st otherwise I'll owe a couple bucks. I know that's not much, but I'd really rather not throw away dollars for no reason. A penny saved is a penny earned. "What's a penny?" Bah! Get out with this, you stupid kids today). It was recommended to me as an example of great science fiction that also happened to be written by a Canadian, thereby making this "Great Canadian Science Fiction".
I read through it much quicker than expected. Does that mean it's a good book? Well, ah, obviously reading through a book fast doesn't make it "great". Ah, man- I've really given myself a load of terms to unpack here. Wait, no I didn't, just the definition of good and whether it correlates to how fast a book can be read. Also, I said "good" first, then "great".
Anyways, I've talked about this book to a bunch of people because you get to learn a lot of possible facts about neanderthals. Wait, okay, I should get you up to speed on what this book is about: one parallel Earth had neanderthals be the dominant species, another Earth (presumably "our" Earth) had homo sapiens get the top job. When a quantum physicist neanderthal accidentally gets zapped to our Earth, he and his hand wrist A.I. have to acclimate to life on a new strange Earth, all the while his partner back in his home reality has been accused of the guys murder. And yes, I'll spoil it now, the book gets to pull the cliche "and who will be defending the accused?" "I will." aaand cue the supposedly murdered victim.
Okay, so good book? Well, I've likened it to an episode of the Magic School Bus: very informative on the topic of current genetic and anthropological theories concerning neanderthal's circa 2002 (maybe they've made some new discovery that would make everything in this book a giant waste of time, I don't know), but no actual story. Certainly not 400 pages of story. And the print was awful big. Really, this was a 150-200 page novel stretched out with science tid bits and superfluous Canadiana.
And I can't really explain that assertion as much as I'd like because I've run out of time and need to go to work. Maybe next installment I'll keep going. Probably not.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Superman on the Couch by Danny Fingeroth
I didn't end up finishing that collection of short stories by... I'm blanking on the name. I'm pretty sure it isn't Dashiel Hammet. There are really just the two big name American pulp detective writers, all the others you can get away with not knowing their names. That is assuming all necessary knowledge is that which could be useful on that game show with Alex Trebek. It's times like this that I wished I had internet at work, for the sake of spell and fact checking (ah, okay, Jeopardy, thanks coincidental use of jeopardy in a sentence, whew.) . Anyways, that short story collection was due back at the library, as was the OTHER mystery by a more contemporary guy who I REALLY don't remember.
(Remembered that I recorded some info so I could get them back from the library. The short story collection is "The Simple Art of Murder", and the other novel is "Minnesota Strip: A Dan Fortune Novel of Suspense". I neglected to record the authors, but this is fine.)
From there I dove into "Sewer, Gas, and Electric" by Matt Ruff, and it was pretty interesting. A sort of screwball vision of the future. I was only 25 pages in when THAT had to be returned. So there's another one that I have to get back.
That left me with two books that are only just due back on the first of June (I think...), the first of which being "Superman on the Couch" by Danny Fingeroth. It's a look at how and why Superhero's so enrapture our society (if you'd like to suggest that isn't the case, need I reference the recent success of the Avengers movie?). I thought it would be tonally similar to the various Superheroes and Philosophy books; a wide range of authors essays discussing a variety of topics using superheroes as a teaching tool. However, such was not the case.
Very little background information was given to the various topics discussed (Jung is definitely a person that exists, whatever his theories are). There was nothing said that I could, or would desire to, argue with, but it also wasn't particularly Earth-shattering. The book may be better suited to the less experienced fan, or rather, maybe better suited to someone who's read fewer 'academia of comic book' books. And I'm pretty sure I haven't read all that many!
(Remembered that I recorded some info so I could get them back from the library. The short story collection is "The Simple Art of Murder", and the other novel is "Minnesota Strip: A Dan Fortune Novel of Suspense". I neglected to record the authors, but this is fine.)
From there I dove into "Sewer, Gas, and Electric" by Matt Ruff, and it was pretty interesting. A sort of screwball vision of the future. I was only 25 pages in when THAT had to be returned. So there's another one that I have to get back.
That left me with two books that are only just due back on the first of June (I think...), the first of which being "Superman on the Couch" by Danny Fingeroth. It's a look at how and why Superhero's so enrapture our society (if you'd like to suggest that isn't the case, need I reference the recent success of the Avengers movie?). I thought it would be tonally similar to the various Superheroes and Philosophy books; a wide range of authors essays discussing a variety of topics using superheroes as a teaching tool. However, such was not the case.
Very little background information was given to the various topics discussed (Jung is definitely a person that exists, whatever his theories are). There was nothing said that I could, or would desire to, argue with, but it also wasn't particularly Earth-shattering. The book may be better suited to the less experienced fan, or rather, maybe better suited to someone who's read fewer 'academia of comic book' books. And I'm pretty sure I haven't read all that many!
Odds and Ends
I keep a box of disposable gloves at work, just for whenever they run out here and yet I'm still expected to take out the trash. Tonight was just such a night that the building was out of its own gloves and I had to dig into my box.
I opened the lid, and saw all white gloves. My gloves are blue.
I dug down, and there were my gloves, buried under a layer of the gloves from the building. It seems like the other guard wanted to keep some gloves handy, because my blue ones wouldn't fit him (my hands are slim, and even I have trouble putting them on... who ARE these gloves for??)
After my evening with Jen on Monday (I already mentioned that) I left her apartment and needed to get my barings. I wandered along (I think) Davenport until I hit Avenue- now there's a street I know of! It was almost midnight, so quite dark out, and I wasn't sure which was was south (to Bloor). I picked the side that sloped down a bit. I walked along, passing a building, and caught a flash of the moon.
Hold the phone! If the moon is on that side of the sky, then shouldn't THIS way-? So I turned around, walked a ways, and finally found myself on recognizable territory- Bloor street! The point is, I wanted to brag that I navigated by moonlight. I'm practically Marco Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies.
That last sentence contained true information, yessir.
I opened the lid, and saw all white gloves. My gloves are blue.
I dug down, and there were my gloves, buried under a layer of the gloves from the building. It seems like the other guard wanted to keep some gloves handy, because my blue ones wouldn't fit him (my hands are slim, and even I have trouble putting them on... who ARE these gloves for??)
After my evening with Jen on Monday (I already mentioned that) I left her apartment and needed to get my barings. I wandered along (I think) Davenport until I hit Avenue- now there's a street I know of! It was almost midnight, so quite dark out, and I wasn't sure which was was south (to Bloor). I picked the side that sloped down a bit. I walked along, passing a building, and caught a flash of the moon.
Hold the phone! If the moon is on that side of the sky, then shouldn't THIS way-? So I turned around, walked a ways, and finally found myself on recognizable territory- Bloor street! The point is, I wanted to brag that I navigated by moonlight. I'm practically Marco Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies.
That last sentence contained true information, yessir.
Men in Black 3
Went to see the new Men in Black movie. I can't believe I still haven't read the comic it's supposed to be based off of. For that matter, I can't believe I haven't yet read any of the Flaming Carrot (aka, the book that started things off for the "Mystery Men" movie).
The theatre was pretty packed, which only matters in that it meant this cute little boy was sitting beside my brother on his mothers lap. I'll refer to that again later.
As far as time travel movies goes, as far as I can tell, this was actually one of the best for not futzing with its own rules of time travel. Case in point: the Bill and Ted movies, the first one they still have a clock to race against for their history project, wheras in the sequel they could take as long as they wanted to get back into the action. (That said, I have read a particularly long justification for the switch up in Bill and Ted, and it makes sense, but it also isn't something the title duo would have thought of, so I'm pretty sure the authors were stretching on that one.)
But for Men in Black: how to travel back to the present? Stop the events that necessitated going into the past, then SNAPBACK J is in the present. Doing it that way made for a cool little bit of foreshadowing in regards to some tragedy near the end- why hasn't J gone to the future yet? Oh, because the bad guy is still kicking.
They avoided the mind screwy ending of the first two films, I mean the universe as one of many marbles that impossible creatures (from our perspective) are playing with ending from the first one, and the world is contained in the locker of a larger civilizations Times Square or something, which is particularly impossible and turned me against the second movie ending.
That was a very unclear run on sentence. The nature of run on sentences.
Not that Josh Brolin didn't do a good job as Tommy Lee Jones's younger self, but the portrayal has been hyped up as the biggest thing about the movie, something that gets undercut when you see the slight differences between the older and younger 'K'. It should come as no suprise that a man is different when comparing his 30 and 70 year old selves, and it's essential to this story that that is so. That's why it's unfortunate that you may walk into the theatre expecting a straight copy of Jones from Brolin and therefore be disappointed.
Does the character Griff annoy you with his non linear, quantum perspective of reality? Yeah, me too. He just was never lucid enough to be particularly helpful, even though he was so depended on. I'm griping. Speaking of griping, giant neuralizer, but then K has a smaller one? What? Gripe gripe gripe. The giant old timey neuralizer was a good gag though, gotta give 'em that.
Anyways, it was a lot of fun, I definitely recommend it. The 60's have been so big lately. I wonder whether we have to attribute that entirely to Mad Men, or if other things can get credit. As the movie takes pains to remind us, we did in fact land a man on the moon in that decade. Kind of a big deal.
The theatre was pretty packed, which only matters in that it meant this cute little boy was sitting beside my brother on his mothers lap. I'll refer to that again later.
As far as time travel movies goes, as far as I can tell, this was actually one of the best for not futzing with its own rules of time travel. Case in point: the Bill and Ted movies, the first one they still have a clock to race against for their history project, wheras in the sequel they could take as long as they wanted to get back into the action. (That said, I have read a particularly long justification for the switch up in Bill and Ted, and it makes sense, but it also isn't something the title duo would have thought of, so I'm pretty sure the authors were stretching on that one.)
But for Men in Black: how to travel back to the present? Stop the events that necessitated going into the past, then SNAPBACK J is in the present. Doing it that way made for a cool little bit of foreshadowing in regards to some tragedy near the end- why hasn't J gone to the future yet? Oh, because the bad guy is still kicking.
They avoided the mind screwy ending of the first two films, I mean the universe as one of many marbles that impossible creatures (from our perspective) are playing with ending from the first one, and the world is contained in the locker of a larger civilizations Times Square or something, which is particularly impossible and turned me against the second movie ending.
That was a very unclear run on sentence. The nature of run on sentences.
Not that Josh Brolin didn't do a good job as Tommy Lee Jones's younger self, but the portrayal has been hyped up as the biggest thing about the movie, something that gets undercut when you see the slight differences between the older and younger 'K'. It should come as no suprise that a man is different when comparing his 30 and 70 year old selves, and it's essential to this story that that is so. That's why it's unfortunate that you may walk into the theatre expecting a straight copy of Jones from Brolin and therefore be disappointed.
Does the character Griff annoy you with his non linear, quantum perspective of reality? Yeah, me too. He just was never lucid enough to be particularly helpful, even though he was so depended on. I'm griping. Speaking of griping, giant neuralizer, but then K has a smaller one? What? Gripe gripe gripe. The giant old timey neuralizer was a good gag though, gotta give 'em that.
Anyways, it was a lot of fun, I definitely recommend it. The 60's have been so big lately. I wonder whether we have to attribute that entirely to Mad Men, or if other things can get credit. As the movie takes pains to remind us, we did in fact land a man on the moon in that decade. Kind of a big deal.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
A revisiting in chinatown
A week or two ago I was visiting with these two guys I used to work with. I was reminded of the degree to which I keep some people at arms length when the one asked me about what my parents do for their anniversary, don't they go to new restaurants or anything. I hummed and hahed appropriately before switching topics. Ultimately, I don't really want these two to know me better than they already do, that's now our relationship.
Yesterday I had a great time hanging out with someone else whom I used to work with. I haven't seen her in a while, but she's one of my favourites. That said, she was similarly in the dark in certain respects.
I went into our meeting yesterday telling myself that I'd fill her in- because this is someone I wanted to have know me better.
We had dumplings. I've never had dumplings before- I actually ate a ton, because if it's in front of me, it's getting eaten (excepting the weirdly spicy spinach/kale looking thing from two nights ago. That wasn't happening.).
We talked about bikes and books. But I never did bring up that extra information.
It was just a really great time, why ruin it by making things heavy for no reason? I feel like I made the right call.
Yesterday I had a great time hanging out with someone else whom I used to work with. I haven't seen her in a while, but she's one of my favourites. That said, she was similarly in the dark in certain respects.
I went into our meeting yesterday telling myself that I'd fill her in- because this is someone I wanted to have know me better.
We had dumplings. I've never had dumplings before- I actually ate a ton, because if it's in front of me, it's getting eaten (excepting the weirdly spicy spinach/kale looking thing from two nights ago. That wasn't happening.).
We talked about bikes and books. But I never did bring up that extra information.
It was just a really great time, why ruin it by making things heavy for no reason? I feel like I made the right call.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Set the Second
I've got to really hand it to that caterpillar, it made for an enthralling show. It was pounding its way across the pavement like a madman, and I was rooted to the ground waiting to see what would happen when it hit the sewer grate thing. And how do you like that, it charged down into the unknown!
Then it kinda looked like it wanted to come back up, but still, I was impressed with the little guy.
I was crouched there staring at it for far too long, I reckon.
Thursday night I did my second stand up comedy set. I was warned that my second time would be bad- of course that was why I went out of my way to make my first time LIKE my second time: chiefly by not getting a crowd of well wishers to enable bad jokes. As it happened, a friend of mine (besides the host) was there, so this set would have been more like the hypothetical first set in that I had more support. Despite my best efforts, or probably because of them, yes, this set was definitely worse than the first.
I had gone way over time on my first set, so I was determined to plow right through this one. Which would be fine, except I went ahead and forgot the one bit that actually got me laughs during my first set. That was a major faux pas.
I also decided to take my buddies advice and write my stuff down, then taking the notebook up with me. Recording the material was a good move, but referring to my notebook killed my flow and made me way more nervous.
The venue didn't help in that regard. A stageless, sleepy Hot Wings place, it lacked the blinding spot light, which I THOUGHT would be a good thing, but it turns out that just let me see the humourless faces. Ah, there weren't that many- well, there just wasn't much of an audience at all. My set as is invites hecklers- and I got heckled! I didn't expect that! I couldn't hear what the guy said, but apparently it was "You're not funny!"
I've never been called un-funny before.
Well, that guy wasn't really paying attention to the show,he was there for food, so I won't get too broken up about it. Looks like I'll have to try harder!!
I'll probably figure this out eventually. I need to be more carefully enthused.
This guy Nick that performed was amazing. Most everyone had left, or was in the process of leaving as he was getting started, and this was pretty disheartening for the guy, but then he just didn't care what he said and was hilarious, the highlight of the night. There's something to be learned from that, and I think it has to do with not caring about what the audience thinks, though that seems a bit extreme. Then again, if YOU aren't happy, what are the odds you're making ANY audience happy?? Find your crowd I guess.
Then it kinda looked like it wanted to come back up, but still, I was impressed with the little guy.
I was crouched there staring at it for far too long, I reckon.
Thursday night I did my second stand up comedy set. I was warned that my second time would be bad- of course that was why I went out of my way to make my first time LIKE my second time: chiefly by not getting a crowd of well wishers to enable bad jokes. As it happened, a friend of mine (besides the host) was there, so this set would have been more like the hypothetical first set in that I had more support. Despite my best efforts, or probably because of them, yes, this set was definitely worse than the first.
I had gone way over time on my first set, so I was determined to plow right through this one. Which would be fine, except I went ahead and forgot the one bit that actually got me laughs during my first set. That was a major faux pas.
I also decided to take my buddies advice and write my stuff down, then taking the notebook up with me. Recording the material was a good move, but referring to my notebook killed my flow and made me way more nervous.
The venue didn't help in that regard. A stageless, sleepy Hot Wings place, it lacked the blinding spot light, which I THOUGHT would be a good thing, but it turns out that just let me see the humourless faces. Ah, there weren't that many- well, there just wasn't much of an audience at all. My set as is invites hecklers- and I got heckled! I didn't expect that! I couldn't hear what the guy said, but apparently it was "You're not funny!"
I've never been called un-funny before.
Well, that guy wasn't really paying attention to the show,he was there for food, so I won't get too broken up about it. Looks like I'll have to try harder!!
I'll probably figure this out eventually. I need to be more carefully enthused.
This guy Nick that performed was amazing. Most everyone had left, or was in the process of leaving as he was getting started, and this was pretty disheartening for the guy, but then he just didn't care what he said and was hilarious, the highlight of the night. There's something to be learned from that, and I think it has to do with not caring about what the audience thinks, though that seems a bit extreme. Then again, if YOU aren't happy, what are the odds you're making ANY audience happy?? Find your crowd I guess.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The Dictator in spring
Not only am I behind on my own postings here, but, despite the fact that I only follow like four people, I'm behind on reading OTHER peoples posts.
Went to see the Dictator yesterday with a particular buddy of mine that had a slightly different taste in movies than I do. If not for him I wouldn't have gone to see the Dictator, or American Reunion, OR Harold and Kumar, what, Save Christmas? 3D? Save 3D Christmas?
Something like that.
Interestingly, it looked like he thought THIS was the Sasha Baron Cohen movie that took things too far. Well, I don't know. I saw half of Borat before the library disc punked out on me.
After that I zipped along to this cabaret performance thing at Broadview and Danforth. There were so many people there that I was glad to see and catch up, it's a little surprising to me how much fun I had with them. Not only that, but I met some new really nice people. Maybe I was just in the zone?
However, there were definitely a few people I talked to for too long and ended up sounding awkward with. My friend Amanda who was to sing for the crowd, she was nervous beforehand, and I WANTED to make her feel better, but I was just making her feel worse. Eventually my brain went "you're not turning this around, cut her losses and leave. Stop talking!" So I did. And she was great.
But man, more guilt for the guilt fire.
It was a generally well put together show, but that the raffle took forever to get through (but that happens at a lot of raffles.. it doesn't help that most people don't win anything. Even I didn't!), and that there were multiple issues with the microphones.
Nope, not feed-back problems, which is really the more important problem to avoid I guess, but the host and other non-technically abled people had trouble getting the microphone stand to stay pointing in the direction they wanted. It kept sliding down. Without the microphone stand being defective, I don't get how that could continue to be an issue. Did you figure out the problem? Okay, then it's fixed. That's how that's supposed to go.
It had a "spring" time theme that was nice, all bright, pretty and flowery. I looked at a calender, and we're, I think, two weeks from summer.
So they just got this one in under the wire.
I ended the evening eating a breakfast-for-dinner at 1am at the Lakeview restaurant by myself. I felt pretty dumb and alone, to have spent all that evening with people, but to still end up eating out on my own, surrounded by people that made sure to avoid just that. Well, that's how it goes with me. Always dropping on my sword, pretending like I didn't have a whole other field to drop on.
Why yes, that WAS the worst metaphor ever, thank you for noticing.
Went to see the Dictator yesterday with a particular buddy of mine that had a slightly different taste in movies than I do. If not for him I wouldn't have gone to see the Dictator, or American Reunion, OR Harold and Kumar, what, Save Christmas? 3D? Save 3D Christmas?
Something like that.
Interestingly, it looked like he thought THIS was the Sasha Baron Cohen movie that took things too far. Well, I don't know. I saw half of Borat before the library disc punked out on me.
After that I zipped along to this cabaret performance thing at Broadview and Danforth. There were so many people there that I was glad to see and catch up, it's a little surprising to me how much fun I had with them. Not only that, but I met some new really nice people. Maybe I was just in the zone?
However, there were definitely a few people I talked to for too long and ended up sounding awkward with. My friend Amanda who was to sing for the crowd, she was nervous beforehand, and I WANTED to make her feel better, but I was just making her feel worse. Eventually my brain went "you're not turning this around, cut her losses and leave. Stop talking!" So I did. And she was great.
But man, more guilt for the guilt fire.
It was a generally well put together show, but that the raffle took forever to get through (but that happens at a lot of raffles.. it doesn't help that most people don't win anything. Even I didn't!), and that there were multiple issues with the microphones.
Nope, not feed-back problems, which is really the more important problem to avoid I guess, but the host and other non-technically abled people had trouble getting the microphone stand to stay pointing in the direction they wanted. It kept sliding down. Without the microphone stand being defective, I don't get how that could continue to be an issue. Did you figure out the problem? Okay, then it's fixed. That's how that's supposed to go.
It had a "spring" time theme that was nice, all bright, pretty and flowery. I looked at a calender, and we're, I think, two weeks from summer.
So they just got this one in under the wire.
I ended the evening eating a breakfast-for-dinner at 1am at the Lakeview restaurant by myself. I felt pretty dumb and alone, to have spent all that evening with people, but to still end up eating out on my own, surrounded by people that made sure to avoid just that. Well, that's how it goes with me. Always dropping on my sword, pretending like I didn't have a whole other field to drop on.
Why yes, that WAS the worst metaphor ever, thank you for noticing.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
"Why I Shouldn't Do Stand up"
My stand up set ended up pretty interesting. The first interesting thing is that I finally did it, so that's tremendously cool that I've finally gone through with something, and something creative at that.
Jimmy (runs the show, my buddy) said two things: he was surprised with how comfortable I was on stage, and he congratulated me on the most meta stand up set he'd ever heard. That last part makes me really smile.
Except for the first thing I said about how comics tend to move their mike stand, none of what I'd said had been pre-planned to the degree that I had written it down in my notebook. Which isn't to say that I didn't pre-plan it, of course not. That which I was going to say had been running around my brain for the past week plus.
My set was about "why I shouldn't do stand up comedy" and then I told stories about why I shouldn't do stand up (that makes sense so far).
Though I saw the signal at the back to wrap it up, I ignored it twice, extending my set to 12 minutes. That number was edifying for myself, just letting me know "okay, I've got SOMETHING to say for a sets length of time" but after I got off stage and found that there was now two extra comics that had shown up for time, well, I felt like a jerk.
So for the immediate future (but not right now, I'm tired) I need to write somewhere the material I came up with for my set (I'm not worried about it, but it's still something I should get on) and consciously dump the extraneous bits. Focus on the theme of the set, tighten it up. The next thing I have to do is make it funny.
Tightening it up will help a bit, but yeah, actual jokes to my stories are needed. It hasn't quite clicked into place yet. But it's close.
I was hoping for a more amateur crowd of performers that night so I'd look better, but unfortunately they were pretty solid. Except for the one person that was terrible... terrible but for the fact that she got the biggest laugh of the night out of me. I dropped my guard! She wasn't saying anything funny, so whe she finally did it was such a surprise that it absolutely floored me! Pretty sneaky move.
Jimmy (runs the show, my buddy) said two things: he was surprised with how comfortable I was on stage, and he congratulated me on the most meta stand up set he'd ever heard. That last part makes me really smile.
Except for the first thing I said about how comics tend to move their mike stand, none of what I'd said had been pre-planned to the degree that I had written it down in my notebook. Which isn't to say that I didn't pre-plan it, of course not. That which I was going to say had been running around my brain for the past week plus.
My set was about "why I shouldn't do stand up comedy" and then I told stories about why I shouldn't do stand up (that makes sense so far).
Though I saw the signal at the back to wrap it up, I ignored it twice, extending my set to 12 minutes. That number was edifying for myself, just letting me know "okay, I've got SOMETHING to say for a sets length of time" but after I got off stage and found that there was now two extra comics that had shown up for time, well, I felt like a jerk.
So for the immediate future (but not right now, I'm tired) I need to write somewhere the material I came up with for my set (I'm not worried about it, but it's still something I should get on) and consciously dump the extraneous bits. Focus on the theme of the set, tighten it up. The next thing I have to do is make it funny.
Tightening it up will help a bit, but yeah, actual jokes to my stories are needed. It hasn't quite clicked into place yet. But it's close.
I was hoping for a more amateur crowd of performers that night so I'd look better, but unfortunately they were pretty solid. Except for the one person that was terrible... terrible but for the fact that she got the biggest laugh of the night out of me. I dropped my guard! She wasn't saying anything funny, so whe she finally did it was such a surprise that it absolutely floored me! Pretty sneaky move.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Laaaazy
Huh, looks like the layout for blogger has changed a bit again. I like this one marginally better. Actually, no, much better.
Have been sucking with my posts here. It's hot. I just noticed that I'm sweating a bit.
Haven't done much reading lately. Need to return stuff to the library. Finally doing stand up bit tonight.
So yeah, this is clearly a super place holder post. There's a pizza with my name on it, and I've got to be somewhere.
So I definitely need to find some kind of bonus image for this thing.
Hey, it automatically added to the bottom of the post. Good job, blogger.
Have been sucking with my posts here. It's hot. I just noticed that I'm sweating a bit.
Haven't done much reading lately. Need to return stuff to the library. Finally doing stand up bit tonight.
So yeah, this is clearly a super place holder post. There's a pizza with my name on it, and I've got to be somewhere.
So I definitely need to find some kind of bonus image for this thing.
Hey, it automatically added to the bottom of the post. Good job, blogger.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Down a rabbit hole
Just woke up from a complicated interweaving of dreams, I'll try and record what I remember.
It began when I was physically drawn through a portal in the ground, a trapdoor that locked shut behind me, but was also somehow me entering a book, or rather a fiction. This was the first major part of my dreams, but it feels so long ago that it's also the part I forget the most of.
Whatever happened inside this fiction, I knew I had to escape. There were several levels, barriers to pass through to get back to the real world, and as I approached these barriers, navigating their different mazes, I was aware that they weren't constructed solely to keep me trapped here, but to trap a malevolent fiction in this world. I could feel that fiction following after me, biding it's time to attempt its own escape. I had to be careful- I knew that a fiction in the real world would be capable of creating anything it wanted, would be unstoppable.
I rushed through the different gates, a secret garden atmosphere existed for at least one of them, but finally I came to a ladder, leading up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. I climbed up, frantic to get through and shut the door after me. I knew the presence after me was right behind, and that I wouldn't necessarily be able to see it come and pass through.
Through the door, above the entrance, once again in the "real world" I try to close the door, but it isn't just a door, there were some kind of blocks resting on the door frame, and as I turn to attempt to close it one or both fall back in to the ground below. I freeze up, because I know I don't have the time to go down, grab the blocks, climb back up and shut the door.
I fiddle with something at the base of the door that, to my mind, tightens the security of the various barriers below, buying me some time. But even then, I know it's coming, and what's worse, I now know there are others coming as well.
I do my best to replace the lid on this "Pandora's World", but the door only half shuts and I know I've failed. The fiction has escaped. I didn't see it happen, but I know all the same.
The second part of the dream I didn't have access to any dream abilities, things were "real" now. A famous figure died (my brain kept calling him Fred Durst, and saying he was from Limp Bizkit, while I also kept thinking when I was more awake-ish"that's not right, he was in Blink-182. Obviously, I have no idea what band the REAL Fred Durst is a part of.) and my friend was accused of murdering him. In crime scene pictures, as well as pictures of her held by the police, she was naked, deathly gaunt and pale, with thick blue veins all over her body.
I knew she was innocent, that this "Fred Durst" was the fiction. He used his powers to assume a human identity, to become rich, to have anything he wanted. But because he could simply have anything he wanted by thinking it, I knew that the case was he had grown bored of life, and willed his own death.
I had to prove this to save my friend, but I didn't know how to do it.
And I guess that's all I remember of my dream.
It began when I was physically drawn through a portal in the ground, a trapdoor that locked shut behind me, but was also somehow me entering a book, or rather a fiction. This was the first major part of my dreams, but it feels so long ago that it's also the part I forget the most of.
Whatever happened inside this fiction, I knew I had to escape. There were several levels, barriers to pass through to get back to the real world, and as I approached these barriers, navigating their different mazes, I was aware that they weren't constructed solely to keep me trapped here, but to trap a malevolent fiction in this world. I could feel that fiction following after me, biding it's time to attempt its own escape. I had to be careful- I knew that a fiction in the real world would be capable of creating anything it wanted, would be unstoppable.
I rushed through the different gates, a secret garden atmosphere existed for at least one of them, but finally I came to a ladder, leading up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. I climbed up, frantic to get through and shut the door after me. I knew the presence after me was right behind, and that I wouldn't necessarily be able to see it come and pass through.
Through the door, above the entrance, once again in the "real world" I try to close the door, but it isn't just a door, there were some kind of blocks resting on the door frame, and as I turn to attempt to close it one or both fall back in to the ground below. I freeze up, because I know I don't have the time to go down, grab the blocks, climb back up and shut the door.
I fiddle with something at the base of the door that, to my mind, tightens the security of the various barriers below, buying me some time. But even then, I know it's coming, and what's worse, I now know there are others coming as well.
I do my best to replace the lid on this "Pandora's World", but the door only half shuts and I know I've failed. The fiction has escaped. I didn't see it happen, but I know all the same.
The second part of the dream I didn't have access to any dream abilities, things were "real" now. A famous figure died (my brain kept calling him Fred Durst, and saying he was from Limp Bizkit, while I also kept thinking when I was more awake-ish"that's not right, he was in Blink-182. Obviously, I have no idea what band the REAL Fred Durst is a part of.) and my friend was accused of murdering him. In crime scene pictures, as well as pictures of her held by the police, she was naked, deathly gaunt and pale, with thick blue veins all over her body.
I knew she was innocent, that this "Fred Durst" was the fiction. He used his powers to assume a human identity, to become rich, to have anything he wanted. But because he could simply have anything he wanted by thinking it, I knew that the case was he had grown bored of life, and willed his own death.
I had to prove this to save my friend, but I didn't know how to do it.
And I guess that's all I remember of my dream.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Saturday stuff why not
Spent my Saturday getting up far too early for my liking (it's been a while since I've really seen 11am) to enjoy Free Comic Book Day.
Made the first trup off to the Beguiling store with my brother Jordan while he was on the way to work- when we parted ways at the streetcar I yelled over that he had his debit card out instead of his metropass, then he showed that one finger over was indeed the pass. I really need to stop fussing over that guy and let him be his own dude. Then again, he tried to order some high end slice at Pizza Pizza just before that because he was apparently unaware of how buying a slice of pizza works.
Embarrassing.
Learning my lessons from years past I went to Beguiling (or rather the kids comic store opposite Beguiling, actually on Bathurst, that was a little surprise) then to, uh, the comic store a few blocks east on Bloor. L something. Dragon something? I always forget this place. And it took me years to finally find and go to it to! It had always been under my radar. Anyway, two stores and I pretty much had everything I wanted.
Visited the Toronto Comics Art Festival, and who should I see right away bu Jeff Lemire. I always see that guy! I really wish I enjoyed his work more, then maybe we could be buds! But I don't so scratch that option.
Then I saw my friend Miles, but I just waved because he was super busy, and then I saw this one friend of a friend but didn't say hi because I don't really know her at all, then I saw an actual friend, whom I regaled with the story of Metta World Peace... of course that was to explain the reference where, when I almost accidentally elbowed a guy in the crowd I said "I almost pulled a World Peace".
I could have finally talked with Francis Manapul, and I considered laying it out there: I love your art, but I'm not nuts about your story. I decided to just skip it and not insult the guy.
Ah! But maybe he could be better!!! Whatever.
Then I travelled down to the Planet X store on Queen East to hang with Jimmy for the rest of the day, getting some stuff for my brothers birthday... and for me. That's kinda wrong.
My knee hurt a bit when I stopped moving. I wonder if another aggravating factor to my knee stuff is my jeans. Something to consider.
Jimmy and I walked around for a while downtown, then parted ways just before he was set to do a comedy bit. I was exhausted and needed to get home.
Almost fell asleep on the trip, but finally made it. Watched a video with Simon, then had to beg off another because of sleepiness. Sent a text a little before midnight asking Jordan to bring home a pizza from the store for dinner. He calls at 1 or something to get me to turn on the oven. Or maybe it was 1 when he woke me up with a plate of pizza. Then I fall back asleep (for an hour?) before waking up enough to force myself onto an elbow to eat the pizza that was beside me that whole time.
Then I sleep until 7am, which I think is the best I've slept in a while, and now you're all caught up. I forget my dreams right now, which is disappointing, because I know a bunch of stuff happened. Also it was like getting yanked outta the Matrix when I got that oven turn on call. Or maybe it was the pizza.
I don't have any idea!
I'm not too crazy about this post, it's pretty slapdash. But I also kinda like it for that same slapdashness. It's a paradox.
Made the first trup off to the Beguiling store with my brother Jordan while he was on the way to work- when we parted ways at the streetcar I yelled over that he had his debit card out instead of his metropass, then he showed that one finger over was indeed the pass. I really need to stop fussing over that guy and let him be his own dude. Then again, he tried to order some high end slice at Pizza Pizza just before that because he was apparently unaware of how buying a slice of pizza works.
Embarrassing.
Learning my lessons from years past I went to Beguiling (or rather the kids comic store opposite Beguiling, actually on Bathurst, that was a little surprise) then to, uh, the comic store a few blocks east on Bloor. L something. Dragon something? I always forget this place. And it took me years to finally find and go to it to! It had always been under my radar. Anyway, two stores and I pretty much had everything I wanted.
Visited the Toronto Comics Art Festival, and who should I see right away bu Jeff Lemire. I always see that guy! I really wish I enjoyed his work more, then maybe we could be buds! But I don't so scratch that option.
Then I saw my friend Miles, but I just waved because he was super busy, and then I saw this one friend of a friend but didn't say hi because I don't really know her at all, then I saw an actual friend, whom I regaled with the story of Metta World Peace... of course that was to explain the reference where, when I almost accidentally elbowed a guy in the crowd I said "I almost pulled a World Peace".
I could have finally talked with Francis Manapul, and I considered laying it out there: I love your art, but I'm not nuts about your story. I decided to just skip it and not insult the guy.
Ah! But maybe he could be better!!! Whatever.
Then I travelled down to the Planet X store on Queen East to hang with Jimmy for the rest of the day, getting some stuff for my brothers birthday... and for me. That's kinda wrong.
My knee hurt a bit when I stopped moving. I wonder if another aggravating factor to my knee stuff is my jeans. Something to consider.
Jimmy and I walked around for a while downtown, then parted ways just before he was set to do a comedy bit. I was exhausted and needed to get home.
Almost fell asleep on the trip, but finally made it. Watched a video with Simon, then had to beg off another because of sleepiness. Sent a text a little before midnight asking Jordan to bring home a pizza from the store for dinner. He calls at 1 or something to get me to turn on the oven. Or maybe it was 1 when he woke me up with a plate of pizza. Then I fall back asleep (for an hour?) before waking up enough to force myself onto an elbow to eat the pizza that was beside me that whole time.
Then I sleep until 7am, which I think is the best I've slept in a while, and now you're all caught up. I forget my dreams right now, which is disappointing, because I know a bunch of stuff happened. Also it was like getting yanked outta the Matrix when I got that oven turn on call. Or maybe it was the pizza.
I don't have any idea!
I'm not too crazy about this post, it's pretty slapdash. But I also kinda like it for that same slapdashness. It's a paradox.
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