This trailer for Season 1 of Buffy makes me all warm and giddy like.
I'd see that.
"Fruit punch mouth..." hehe.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Old Books
Going through my old things has turned into some kind of strange, subtle torture punctuated by moments of lightness and bold indicators of the evolution of my character, sexuality and personality. Apparently, I feel the need to deal with this by turning it into some form of entertainment. I didn't end up making it into Germany this afternoon; on the agenda for today was childhood books-and making an Apple-Raspberry Pie which turned out marvelously. I felt a little like Ned in Pushing Daisies.
A few highlights or lowlights of the book fest depending on how you take it:
A selection of Misty of Chincoteague novels by Marguerite Henry from my lengthy "horse phase."
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit, a book I remember quite fondly-not so much the 2002 movie, however.
Aaaand, Help!: I'm Trapped in My Gym Teacher's Body! by Todd Strasser. An interesting concept-kind of kinky. I liked this book as an adolescent. This explains alot of things.
A few highlights or lowlights of the book fest depending on how you take it:
A selection of Misty of Chincoteague novels by Marguerite Henry from my lengthy "horse phase."
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley-one of my favorites from times past, again with the horse thing.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit, a book I remember quite fondly-not so much the 2002 movie, however.
The Complete Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead which is still some good semi-historical fiction tracing the lives of Taliesin, Merlin and Arthur.
Aaaand, Help!: I'm Trapped in My Gym Teacher's Body! by Todd Strasser. An interesting concept-kind of kinky. I liked this book as an adolescent. This explains alot of things.Please wrest me back to the present now.
Friday, December 26, 2008
France, Germany, Switzerland-Repeat
I have had a rather enjoyable time here thus far with my family in France. It is the first Christmas the family has spent together in three years! We were also here in France at that time, a little over a year after I graduated from my high school in Germany, just across the border from where my parents now. I give you fair warning for the long post ahead, dear readers.
I have to say that while I've been having a good time for the most part, it is more than a little odd to be all "living" under the same roof for a week. While it is nice to have the family in one place for the holiday, it doesn't give me all warm and fuzzy feelings but the realization that the time of being together as a unit is long over and can't happen naturally again. I think that because it seems unnatural, I have more of a tendency to feel pressure to "perform" or perhaps a better word is "restrain" in certain circumstances. That's rarely a pleasant behavior to enact. I have this desire that we could all relate to the place each of us are at in our lives and though I'm sure some families successfully navigate that process or make some semblance of that, it's seems impossible to do with those you left sometimes, especially when people treat each other as figures as they were in the past.
The past is something I always have to face when I visit with the family. This year is no exception. Last time I came it was my former alumni from high school; this time it is boxes. Twenty-some boxes of my life, from grade school onward. My parents want me to go through them and downsize all that I have in storage. They are full of papers mostly, personal and academic all jumbled together in a vague order. '98 in one box, '01 and '02 in the second, Biology, Statistics and Creative Writing in another. Sometimes it's not so simple and all kinds of writing falls out on my lap. Some of which are embarrassing, some cute, some useless now, and others...others I would care to forget. Then I realize that forgetting is the easy part, but there is a price in that some of what I wrote then stems from a world from anxiety and hurt. Writing regarding events or ideas that were certainly formative in making the man I am today, but that is too striking to read in the present. I was shocked to experience the feeling that I wish I never had to write certain things about family, for school or otherwise. Some things are better addressed than forgotten, regardless of how strong the drive is to move on. My mom turned to me at one point during my adventures in filing and in a light-hearted tone asked, "So, taking a trip down memory lane, huh?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and mumbled a non-committal reply. Sometimes memory lane is a dark and twisted alley. I've thrown out old math and german tests or the like, some history notes, but I've saved all my writing assignments, journals and drawings. Most of these will remain in boxes, but some I have to take back with me. I can't box them up again.
One of my favorite part of these days here may very well come at night when I can curl up on the couch with my yellow lab, Athena-how I've missed her- at my feet and touch my present life via the keys on my laptop.
That being said, today's trip to Lucerne, Switzerland was most pleasant and the weather cooperated marvelously-except for the temperature which was hovering above freezing with the wind chill. It is one of the most visited cities in Switzerland and for good reason. It is full of stunning architecture-castles, bridges, bell towers, monuments and stone walls. There's a great new vista behind every building. The bridge in the above photo is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. Being the day after Christmas, there were few people walking the streets. However, also being the day after Christmas, there were not many shops or restaurants open. We weren't going to the city for either particularly, so it was fine except when it came to eat. After looking up and down narrow streets, we found an open restaurant-a modern, sprawling three-floor McDonalds. 
As I said to my dad, menus at McDonalds do differ quite a bit around the world, so it was a cultural experience. I made up for it by having a vanilla Berliner post-"Chicken Mythic" sandwich. I'll share pictures of the whole trip as soon as I can gather them from the couple cameras we used. On our way back we cut across the German border and back into France with a great meal by Mom and a viewing of Iron Man with the family.
Tomorrow will be a quieter day for the most part. I will likely visit my old high school for a few photos along with my old dorm. I'll pick up a German pastry from the local bakery a few blocks from the campus. Tomorrow might also be the day I eat lunch at the best Turkish döner kebab in the world-no joke. In the evening, we will be having my dear, dear friend, professor, drama director and choir instructor, Michele, over for a dinner of Mom's homemade pizza! I'm very much looking forward to the good food and good company.
I have to say that while I've been having a good time for the most part, it is more than a little odd to be all "living" under the same roof for a week. While it is nice to have the family in one place for the holiday, it doesn't give me all warm and fuzzy feelings but the realization that the time of being together as a unit is long over and can't happen naturally again. I think that because it seems unnatural, I have more of a tendency to feel pressure to "perform" or perhaps a better word is "restrain" in certain circumstances. That's rarely a pleasant behavior to enact. I have this desire that we could all relate to the place each of us are at in our lives and though I'm sure some families successfully navigate that process or make some semblance of that, it's seems impossible to do with those you left sometimes, especially when people treat each other as figures as they were in the past.
The past is something I always have to face when I visit with the family. This year is no exception. Last time I came it was my former alumni from high school; this time it is boxes. Twenty-some boxes of my life, from grade school onward. My parents want me to go through them and downsize all that I have in storage. They are full of papers mostly, personal and academic all jumbled together in a vague order. '98 in one box, '01 and '02 in the second, Biology, Statistics and Creative Writing in another. Sometimes it's not so simple and all kinds of writing falls out on my lap. Some of which are embarrassing, some cute, some useless now, and others...others I would care to forget. Then I realize that forgetting is the easy part, but there is a price in that some of what I wrote then stems from a world from anxiety and hurt. Writing regarding events or ideas that were certainly formative in making the man I am today, but that is too striking to read in the present. I was shocked to experience the feeling that I wish I never had to write certain things about family, for school or otherwise. Some things are better addressed than forgotten, regardless of how strong the drive is to move on. My mom turned to me at one point during my adventures in filing and in a light-hearted tone asked, "So, taking a trip down memory lane, huh?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and mumbled a non-committal reply. Sometimes memory lane is a dark and twisted alley. I've thrown out old math and german tests or the like, some history notes, but I've saved all my writing assignments, journals and drawings. Most of these will remain in boxes, but some I have to take back with me. I can't box them up again.
One of my favorite part of these days here may very well come at night when I can curl up on the couch with my yellow lab, Athena-how I've missed her- at my feet and touch my present life via the keys on my laptop.
That being said, today's trip to Lucerne, Switzerland was most pleasant and the weather cooperated marvelously-except for the temperature which was hovering above freezing with the wind chill. It is one of the most visited cities in Switzerland and for good reason. It is full of stunning architecture-castles, bridges, bell towers, monuments and stone walls. There's a great new vista behind every building. The bridge in the above photo is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. Being the day after Christmas, there were few people walking the streets. However, also being the day after Christmas, there were not many shops or restaurants open. We weren't going to the city for either particularly, so it was fine except when it came to eat. After looking up and down narrow streets, we found an open restaurant-a modern, sprawling three-floor McDonalds. 
As I said to my dad, menus at McDonalds do differ quite a bit around the world, so it was a cultural experience. I made up for it by having a vanilla Berliner post-"Chicken Mythic" sandwich. I'll share pictures of the whole trip as soon as I can gather them from the couple cameras we used. On our way back we cut across the German border and back into France with a great meal by Mom and a viewing of Iron Man with the family.Tomorrow will be a quieter day for the most part. I will likely visit my old high school for a few photos along with my old dorm. I'll pick up a German pastry from the local bakery a few blocks from the campus. Tomorrow might also be the day I eat lunch at the best Turkish döner kebab in the world-no joke. In the evening, we will be having my dear, dear friend, professor, drama director and choir instructor, Michele, over for a dinner of Mom's homemade pizza! I'm very much looking forward to the good food and good company.
Passing
This week saw the passing of two very important and lasting women in the entertainment industry, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, wife of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry and Eartha Kitt.
The first had a more active role in the formation of my pop culture conscious as the voice of every single Star Trek computer in every incarnation of the series, film and television series alike. I have fond memories of Saturday nights growing up when the family would order bake-at-home pizza from Papa Murphy's and gather to watch that week's episode of Star Trek. First it was Star Trek: The Next Generation, then Deep Space Nine and Voyager when they came along. The former Mrs. Roddenberry was always there. She had just finished her work on J.J. Abram's Star Trek relaunch prior to her death. Come May, we'll all have a chance to hear her tell the crew once more in soothing, neutral tones that the ship is most certainly going to be destroyed.
While Eartha Kitt was never a huge part of my cultural upbringing, I did have the fortune of meeting her through my previous place of employment a few months ago. She was in Seattle for a string of performances at Dimitrou's Jazz Alley. One Saturday afternoon, I spent about an hour with her and her assistant/make-up artist trying to find an Italian restaurant that was not only open for lunch but that served Capellini-angel hair-pasta. Ms. Kitt was quite particular about this. Nothing else would do. Thankfully, I pulled some strings with The Pink Door and we were able to accommodate. She is one of the few people to have ever been nominated for Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards. She passed away on Christmas Day, ever the "Santa Baby."
The first had a more active role in the formation of my pop culture conscious as the voice of every single Star Trek computer in every incarnation of the series, film and television series alike. I have fond memories of Saturday nights growing up when the family would order bake-at-home pizza from Papa Murphy's and gather to watch that week's episode of Star Trek. First it was Star Trek: The Next Generation, then Deep Space Nine and Voyager when they came along. The former Mrs. Roddenberry was always there. She had just finished her work on J.J. Abram's Star Trek relaunch prior to her death. Come May, we'll all have a chance to hear her tell the crew once more in soothing, neutral tones that the ship is most certainly going to be destroyed.
Majel Barrett Roddenberry
February 23, 1932 – December 18, 2008
While Eartha Kitt was never a huge part of my cultural upbringing, I did have the fortune of meeting her through my previous place of employment a few months ago. She was in Seattle for a string of performances at Dimitrou's Jazz Alley. One Saturday afternoon, I spent about an hour with her and her assistant/make-up artist trying to find an Italian restaurant that was not only open for lunch but that served Capellini-angel hair-pasta. Ms. Kitt was quite particular about this. Nothing else would do. Thankfully, I pulled some strings with The Pink Door and we were able to accommodate. She is one of the few people to have ever been nominated for Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards. She passed away on Christmas Day, ever the "Santa Baby."
Eartha Mae Kitt
January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Not After Midnight
Gremlins is one of my favorite movies and if I kept a list of favorite Christmas movies it would surely appear close to the top.
Before the Furby and Tickle Me Elmo, there was:
and the dreamy Zach Gilligan as Billy Peltzer.
Gerald: If it isn't Captain Clip-On. Guess who almost signed for unemployment today?
Billy Peltzer: I give up.
Gerald: You... But Mr. Corben had second thoughts. He gets so sentimental around the holidays.
Billy Peltzer: Imagine that.
Gerald: If it was up to me, I would have fired you in a second.
Billy Peltzer: Well, a merry Christmas to you too.
If only real businesses worked that way. I was laid off early this month just in time for Christmas, but thankfully, I was offered a new and exciting job this past weekend. I hardly had time to celebrate before heading off to France! Champagne when I return to the US of A!
Before the Furby and Tickle Me Elmo, there was:
and the dreamy Zach Gilligan as Billy Peltzer.
Gerald: If it isn't Captain Clip-On. Guess who almost signed for unemployment today?
Billy Peltzer: I give up.
Gerald: You... But Mr. Corben had second thoughts. He gets so sentimental around the holidays.
Billy Peltzer: Imagine that.
Gerald: If it was up to me, I would have fired you in a second.
Billy Peltzer: Well, a merry Christmas to you too.
If only real businesses worked that way. I was laid off early this month just in time for Christmas, but thankfully, I was offered a new and exciting job this past weekend. I hardly had time to celebrate before heading off to France! Champagne when I return to the US of A!
All Kinds of Shiny
A fantastic Christmas themed Firefly fan video.
Have a wonderful, shiny Christmas, everyone!
Have a wonderful, shiny Christmas, everyone!
Dear Old Danny
Dear Daniel Radcliffe,
You look neither youthful nor overly charming in this picture of you visiting the London cast of Spring Awakening.
Please take note.
And shave.
Thanks, Dan.
You look neither youthful nor overly charming in this picture of you visiting the London cast of Spring Awakening.
Please take note.
And shave.
Thanks, Dan.
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