*giggle*

I could explain. But I won't. For this time only, I think I'd rather revel in the geekiness. Eh.

Arrrrrgh, it be pirates!

In the long long ago, in the time before time, in the mists of the Big Bang (around 1990) a series of games came out. Remember, this is before Pirates of the Carabean were even a glint in some screenwriters' eye. The games were done by Lucasarts (All praise be to them!) and they were, in a word, Insane. In two words, Bloody Insane. In three, Hillariously Bloody Insane. They were a part of that dying breed, the adventure game. You didn't have to go around shooting people\aliens. You interacted with the enviroment, picked up objects, used them together and moved on in the game. They kept making sequels, we're probably on nuimber 4 or 5 by this point, but they can't beat the sheer insanity of the 1st two. Or indeed the rush when we found that when we needed 'a crushed skull' for a vodoo potion, we could use a Jolly Roger (Pirate flag, showing a flat (crushed?) skull). If you ever see them, have a look, old looking by our standards, but still great. The intro music was always the same, still makes me all goosebump-y. (Link below)

And remember, more than a decade before the trilogy I mentioned, we had young dashing pirates, female governors, zombie pirates, a jamaican priestess and curses left, right and center. Sound familiar?

Like Kosh said that one time on B5.

'..... And so, it begins....'

Yay! :)

I like it. I do. Promise.

I made the terrible mistake of reading the 1st two books in the Portuguese translation. Which was atrocious. Unusually bad, in fact. So for the longest time, I simply didn't get it. I mean, the books were good, they simply weren't exceptional. I know, I know, same thing can be said of LOTR, and I do love those. And its almost the same story (they all are), self discovery, a quest, good vs evil. So I was a bit off put. The number 4 came out. And it had dragons. And I moved to the HP side. Now, after a whole decade (has it been THAT long???) it's over. And I have to say, I loved the final movies (although some of the last books were a bit long winded). So yeah. I liked it. I did. I really did. Promise!

Shush dear, the grown ups are talking.

Twice in as many days, I was made aware of people's attitudes towards sexuality. Once by evilness, the other by ignorance. And I have to ask, why? I simply don't get it. I mean, in some cases, its religion. OK, fair enough, its something you love and sustains you, but I don't think it should explain or justify hate (God is love, unconditional love). In others..... Well, its even odder for me to get. Could it be sublimated bicuriosity? Feeling some interest in some other sexual preference and denying yourself to the point you rot inside and lash out?

I don't get it.

I'm blessed with friends and mates all over the spectrum, straight, gay, bi, trans, ace, queer, you name it. And they are lovely. Every single one of them. And that's amazing.

People quote Darwin all the time saying 'survival of the fittest'. To begin with, good old Charles never actually said it (it was a press thing to explain his theory in easy terms), and they usually miss the 1st part of the theory: there must be VARIATION withing the species for it to evolve and adapt.

People should just shut up at times. Seriously. Get on with their lives, live and let live. And it would be so much better.

I cannae break the laws o'physics, cap't!

I get annoyed when the laws of Nature get broken in movies. Not in an obvious way, Odin's Beard, I love sci-fi and all the suspension of disbelief that comes with it. It's a milder, more subtle affair. One of my favorite peeves concerns radiation. a) Radioactive rods are NOT green-glowing and b) Gamma radiation is also not green. Furthermore, in no particular order: c) Shooting a car doesn't explode it, d) I'm sick and tired of seeing harmless Hissing Beetles playing fetid cockroaches, e) DNA and finger scans take days or weeks, not 42 mins (1 hour episode, minus commercial breaks), f) filling a computer with data would give you a computer with a lot of data, not a self-aware computer. Thats pretty much it. Oh, and finally, g) Vampires should not glow. Under any circumstance.

Facebook, where art thou....?

I soooooo hope this is working....

The Darkness and the Light

Last week was weird. I lost someone, someone very close. Someone that, in theory, would have been responsible for me if the worse had happened. Trapped in a dark, dank cell of her own making, she couldn't take it anymore. And so she left. Seeing my grandparents shrivel and pass beyond the veil was tough, but they were old, with more days before than after, and sick. To see someone go through similar when she was neither is very weird. And brings back the old adage, people need to want to be helped, before than can be helped.

At the same time, the borrowing African mammal has been a beacon of niceness and hope. She's been a strength, a base of operations. Not only has she been there all the time, not 1 hour ago, she asked me how i wanted to cook in June, suggesting many dishes herself. And thats (it all) why I love her.

From the depths of darkness, to a new world of light. I love you, Jo. So much. And goodbye, aunt Cid. I shall see you too, Beyond the Veil.

I love old sci-fi and there's nothing you can do about it!

I think the keyword here is context. I love to include, to surround my stories with the context in which they were written. I like to know dates, countries, who, how, why.

Perhaps I should explain.

Stories, all stories, and sci fi is no exception, are a mirror to ourselves. We pour into them our fears, our dreams, our fantasies. Sci fi in particular, as a form of future prediction, is moulded by what is around when it is written. In E. E. 'Doc' Smith's Lensman saga, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is nuclear powered. Cars, planes, trains. Everything. And women are idiots. Well, at best, useless. (Although later in the series he introduces the first women sci fi character ever that is not stupid). Why? He was writing in 1949. The atomic age was 4 years old. And women were silly animals, kept at home.

And of course, a lot of the sci fi of the 50s, 60s and a bit of the 70s had to do with post-cataclysm Earth (the Cold War would do that to you)

The examples continue. In the original The Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu the robot is as scary as a dead bunny to 2011's eyes, but at the time? An unstoppable, all powerful robot? People must have been pooping themselves. Oh and you see doctors smoking in a hospital. I kid you not, its amazing.

And of course, the Daleks. Can you imagine a stupider design for a dangerous being? But at the time they appeared, they were evil incarnate. No emotion except hatred. Weapons powerful enough to destroy everything. How the kids must have been scared out of their wits.

How does current sci fi equate? With difficulty. But there are still a few groundbreakers. Either having humanity taking all its crap to the stars (Babylon 5, Firefly), or having bad guys that are 'unstoppable' not because they are wildly advanced, but because of their beliefs (Battlestar Galactica).

Oh and the original Star Trek series has an episode with alien hippies. I am so serious, you have to see it to believe it....

I love it. And there's nothing you can do about it!

Well.

Over the last week and change, I was ill. I'm thinking it was the flu, closely allied with something bacterial and nasty. The details are unimportant, bottom line was that I was as ill as I've ever been, in my life. I stopped eating (making me loose quite a bit of weight), couldn't move and felt, from head to toes, like crud.

It is in situations like these you start to value the small things. Not living alone, having someone to share the burdens with. Taking a deep breath and not feeling like reheated death. Yawning, and not starting to choke. Not feeling light-headed when I get up from bed.

Its been a slow recovery, but I'm getting there. And its good to feel good.

All shall fade.

I have no idea why this song touches me like it does. It just.... Does. It brings Middle Earth to life for me. It is a lament, but so is my native land's traditional music, and that's OK. Go to Youtube, check the original video, it's masterfully directed by Mr Peter Jackson.

All Shall Fade

Home Is Behind
The World Ahead
And There Are Many Paths To Tread
Through Shadow
To The Edge Of Night
Until The Stars Are All Aligth

Mist And Shadow
Cloud And Shade
All Shall Fade
All Shall...Fade

Zombies.

It becomes apparent, at times, that I have chose a very draining job. It leeches it out of me. Sometimes, I get home, and its all I can do to stay awake. I'm not complaining, really am not, I love what I do. But sometimes it feels like I shoud be an octopuss, 8 arms doing stuff at the same time. I feel like I coast, at times, like a zombie, I am so tired. But its all good. Half term exists for a reason!!

Plains, trains and maybe automobiles. Maybe.

I have a thing about booking plane tickets. It is half from a cock up a few years ago, that ended with me having to modify the booking (costing me twice as much in the process) and from the finality of it. Having no other demands on my time, I always thought something might pop up, and as such, booked things really late in the day. And I had to pay for it. Now there is something (someone!) that gives things a different color and shade. Someone that gives the future a purpose and point. I just booked tickets 2 months in advance!! And it felt pretty good... :)

Do ya know those jewels that you plug into the wholes on the cave wall, and its a key, and something opens? Exactly.

And so another piece falls (is falling?) into place. I'm glad, I really am. Now it time to NOT GET AHEAD OF MYSELF. Thank you. Carry on. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Tradition.

I'm not a huge friend of 'tradition'. I really am not. Doing things just for the sake of it sounds cowardly and unimaginative. 'We always have done it like this....' Don't get me wrong, I kind of like the sense of history, but NOT when it starts to screw things up. I saw some of it in Oxford. That monolith of an institution that I loved with all my heart. I could, however, see that it was cold, humourless and unstopping. Move out of the way or perish, we've been doing it like this for a thousand years.....

Two days ago I was asked to participate in a ceremony as old as Christianity. T is pregnant, and they want me to be the Godfather. I couldn't be prouder and am as happy for them as anyone could possibly be.

So....

Traditions.... I guess there's a place for them. It binds us to the past, but I don't think it should blind us from the future. Whoever he/she will be, will be loved, cherished, cared for,,,, And it will discuss with me the finer points of Faster Than Light Interdimentional transitions before the age of ten. Just you watch!

Cooking.

I love to cook. I do it as often as possible. For the longest time I wanted to do it, but couldn't. I didn't have anyone happy to do it with me. Ya know, maybe once a week, once a fortnight. But no more. Now I do. Over the last couple of weeks, I lost count how many time we cooked. Dunno, about 15 times? First couple of days, I guess we were around the stove about 3 times. I loved it so very much. Still getting used to it. Tired but so very happy.... :)