new years eve messsage

Hey.

It's almost the New Year. The New Year and the new year. (One is the holiday, the other is a new chapter in time.) It's the end of some things and the beginning of others; a time of change and flux.

I feel like some good things will be coming my way in '09. I'm not sure what, and I can't predict where I'll end up or what will change (or stay the same), but I can feel it in my bones. '09 is going to bring something very positive and big in my life.

Stay tuned, I guess.

I truly hope that everyone who reads this has a happy, healthy and peaceful '09.

Lots of love.

winter wind

Do you ever feel as if cold is alive?

I mean a literal, creeping, breathing life force. One that has free will and can choose to nibble off your fingers in a fit of frost bite, or decide to simply pass you by, unscathed and unharmed.

I ask this question because, lately, I've been feeling as if the winter chill has some kind of intelligence. Some kind of internal brain with firing neurons and intelligent capabilities.

I know it seems silly, but if you've spent enough time in cold places, you might understand. The bitter wind is smart. It can find every crevice, every nook of your body that thermal fleece and jackets don't cover up. It can claw its way in to your clothing, curling icy fingers around your throat and limbs with uncanny ease. It can decide to blow at the most inopportune times, like when you're unloading groceries or trying to start a malfunctioning car.

I swear I've seen the winter air decide to bother someone. Knock someone over. Pull off a person's hat. Make them yelp in sheer frozen agony. Mischevious, often unkind things, just because it can.

Then again, the winter cold has some lovely aspects, as well. Those crystal clear nights, for example, when you can see all around you for miles. Or how pure and clear sound is, when carried on icy, still air. Even the way one's breath curls out like tendrils of smoke when words are spoken in the freezing daytime ether -- I love all of these things.

But yes, I still believe the winter wind is alive. It has a mind of its own.

It wants to eat you alive, but desires to play with you a little first.

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukah!

(It is a lucky person who can celebrate both!)

Enjoy the Jewish Festival of Lights and Christmas Cheer with these crazy youtube videos I found.

Enjoy.

updates and wanderlust

The Australian blog has been updated. Please go check it out. I'm about to do an entry on a remote alpine lake I found, but I won't reveal anything further until the blog post is actually up. Until then, go read about Toowomba and Spring Bluff, two very different but equally lovely spots in Queensland.

In the meantime, here I am at home, on my one day off this week. It's not even really a good day off, since I have a lot of work I need to do. What good is a vacation day if all you have to get done are chores? Despite this rather nasty fact, I am determined to make the most of my time away from working by lounging in bed as long as possible, updating my blog, and enjoying the fact I can stay inside, where it's warm.

Part of the appeal of staying in bed is the fact I have a fun book to read. 'The Sex Life of Cannibals' (which isn't nearly as erotic as it sounds) is about a young couple who move to a remote South Pacific island located on the equator. I'm having a blast reading about their misadventures dealing with the natives, and just how difficult life on a atoll can be. It is also making me desperate to travel again. I'm now having visions of being lulled to sleep in a hammock strung up between two palm trees, the sounds of the Pacific Ocean singing me to sleep.

When I think about travel, I inevitably make lists. I love lists anyway, but something about traveling makes me want to create long, elaborate catalogues of where I want to go and why. The South Pacific has now been added to that list -- and the more remote, the better.

Top contenders on my travel list include Mongolia, Spain, Russia, Japan, Solomon Islands (or some place similar), Cuba, Argentina or Chile, South Africa, Morocco, Bhutan and New Zealand. I'm pretty sure I'll manage to reach most of those places, given enough time and funds.

And let me say this, because people inevitably react strangely when I say I want to visit Mongolia: I almost went there last summer. I have plans on going as soon as I can. Just go rent 'Mongol' and you'll understand my fascination.

Anyway. I'm going to rest on my laurels a bit longer and then dive in to some much needed work.

i love ... my nintendo 64

i love this machine.

Dear Nintendo 64,

I love you. Yes, I really do. I love you despite all your flaws. The blocky, awkward animation you so commonly feature in your games, the laughable early 90's soundtracks that you so commonly utilize, even the completely unrealistic and often unreliable game play -- I embrace everything about you.

True, you're out of date. You're what one might refer to as 'horribly antiquated'. They don't even make your system anymore. You're like some kind of technological dinosaur. A buggy, funny, yet impossible to hate dinosaur.

Why am I so fond of you? That's easy. It's because you provide me with hours of entertainment. Well, and there's other reasons too. For one, there's nothing like plopping down in a chair after a long day and starting in to a death match round of 'Killer Instinct Gold'. Because chasing a yellow ball around on 'Mario Tennis' is oddly soothing. Because the scantily clad male characters in 'WCW vs. NWO World Tour' are cause for a good laugh or two. Because it's fun to race cars around in 'Wipeout' and then pretend to cry when you lose a race.

battling it out, Killer Instinct style

You're a very unassuming piece of equipment. I mean, you don't have any fancy bells or whistles; you don't require much in terms of tender loving care. You can't go online, you can't play DVDs or CDs, and you only support N64 games. You aren't exactly the pinnacle of game play achievement.

Despite this (or perhaps because of it), you're simple to use. Your only requirements are that games aren't jammed in to your console, and that the dust gets blown out of the cartridges every once in awhile. Sure, you can be fritzy and not work, but then again, none of us work correctly after a certain age. And you, ... well. You're a senior citizen in computer years. If you were a human, you'd qualify for the Denny's Senior Discount. It's great you can even function at all.

unintentional humor

But no matter your age or the ridiculous nature of your games, I will always love you. You are the one game system I have remained loyal to, and the one that I will probably always have ... until you break, anyway.

Lots of love,

Me

i like ... the fall

Over the span of the past 24 hours, I've slowly been absorbing the beautiful film 'The Fall', directed by Tarsem Singh. This movie is an absolute gem, with stunning visuals, a fantastical plotline, and a wonderful lead actress. Heavily stylized, and portrayed from a child's point of view, the film is, in my opinion, quite exceptional.

There are faults with the movie, of course. The acting comes across as stilted at times, there are long sequences where nothing makes sense, and sometimes it is hard to understand the accents of some of the actors in the film. However, these flaws are minor in comparison with the absolute visual feast that this movie provides.

Take this sequence for example, of a bandit riding a swimming elephant:

It's completely surreal, beautiful, and, dare I say it (?!), magical. Moments like these fill up the movie, and that's why I love it so much. Tarsem has managed to portray on celluloid what I always dreamed of as a young girl.

Here's the officail film trailer, which does not really do the movie justice, in my opinion. However, it does hint at some of the epic scenes to be found in 'The Fall'. The director of photography in this movie deserves some sort of medal, in my opinion. Every shot could stand alone as a photograph.

And, lastly, here's a clip from the start of the movie, when the adventure begins. It's not a spoiler, so you can watch this without getting any vital information revealed about the plotline. I'm really just posting it so you can see how starkly gorgeous the visuals are in this film -- and this isn't even the half of it! Wait until the film takes place in India ... oh, gorgeous! The best part is, I've been to some of the locations that are in the movie, including the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Paris, and Prague. It's like a visual guide to some of the world's most beautiful sights.