This has been a long week. Actually, it’s been a long month. So what better way to spend a Friday night than kicking back and relaxing in front of the computer screen and watching a short clip of a Japanese video?
As far as I can tell, this is from some TV show that wakes people up in tender, yet inventive ways. It's kind of like reverse lullabies. While it’s pretty grainy to start off with, stick with it. It becomes clearer.
One of the things I like about this video is that you don’t need to speak a word of the language to appreciate it. Some of the more subtle nuances may take more than one viewing, but if you’re willing to invest the time, I think you’ll be rewarded with a deeper and more intimate understanding of the Japanese culture.
Besides, what else is there to do on a Friday night?
Enjoy.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Thanks Anyway
When I was backing my car into the driveway today, I noticed what appeared to be a face in the pealing paint and wood grain on the side of my garage.
If I were a very religious person, which I'm not (and by the way, Jesus is ok about it), I would say it was the face of God.
But since I'm not, I'm pretty sure it's just the tree spirit who sacrificed himself so that I would have a place to park my car, which would be great- unfortunately it's completely packed with crap.
If I were a very religious person, which I'm not (and by the way, Jesus is ok about it), I would say it was the face of God.
But since I'm not, I'm pretty sure it's just the tree spirit who sacrificed himself so that I would have a place to park my car, which would be great- unfortunately it's completely packed with crap.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Things Are Looking Up
There was a game I had when I was a kid that was about three inches square, and had sliding tiles with numbers on them. The object was to get the numbers in sequence, but you couldn't slide one number until you slid the one before it, and so on. Generally, the game ended either with me trying to pry the numbers out of it, or throwing it against a wall in frustration. I bring this up because I was thinking about this game as I've been trying to clear a spot in my basement.
Why have I been foolish enough to try and clean the basement? Because today’s the day they’re delivering a new furnace (don’t ask). As a matter of fact, I’m waiting for a call from the plumber any minute now, telling me they've fallen through the basement stairs- or any number of other unanticipated nightmare scenarios.
On the brighter side, this, along with the bathroom experience and the tooth I broke over the weekend, is now making the news that I have to have a colonoscopy look like a piece of cake.
Why have I been foolish enough to try and clean the basement? Because today’s the day they’re delivering a new furnace (don’t ask). As a matter of fact, I’m waiting for a call from the plumber any minute now, telling me they've fallen through the basement stairs- or any number of other unanticipated nightmare scenarios.
On the brighter side, this, along with the bathroom experience and the tooth I broke over the weekend, is now making the news that I have to have a colonoscopy look like a piece of cake.
I’m already prepped.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Friday Night Video
I have no idea how I stumbled across this video, but am I glad I did! This is a trailer for a video game. At first I thought it was from maybe ten years ago. But the video was only posted last year, so I’m guessing that this may not be the case. Whenever it was made, it has to be one of the best gaming videos- or maybe video of any kind, that I've ever seen- and I've seen at least a few. There is nothing about this video that is not awesome.
First of all, take the game itself. Who wouldn't want to play a bulked-up, backwoods lumberjack (as if there is any other kind). And not just any bulked-up, backwoods lumberjack, but a “Fearless” bulked-up, backwoods lumberjack (that’s "Fearless" with a capital “F”!). How fearless, you ask? How about fighting off werewolves on cold winter nights, is that good enough for you? What do you do on cold winter nights?
Take a gander at the arsenal that you can acquire. This is not your ordinary, everyday NRA sanctioned collection of weapons (well, maybe it is)- these are historical weapons!
The game play itself looks awesome- swinging axes, riding zip lines, firing some kind of crossbow thingy, and best of all- swinging axes!
But by far, the best part of this whole thing is the presentation. Let’s skip right past the old movie "marquee card" style of writing- with the classic mixture of uppercase and lowercase fonts splashed liberally across the screen. And I don’t need to comment on the two minutes and four seconds (including credits) of pulse-pounding, in-your-face action scenes. They speak for themselves. What really, really sets this apart for me is the background music.
Sure, it starts off with the usual subtle, foreboding lead-in music. We've only heard it about a million times before. But when the action lets loose, so does the music! What kind of music is this anyway? Is this some kind of Irish music? Some kind of Scottish music? Is this some kind of Jig? Whatever it is, it works! While the local folk are presumably back in town, swinging their dates around at the hoedown,- you, my friend, are deep in the dark, frigid woods, swinging axes into werewolves!
As the one and only video comment (to date) so succinctly puts it, and I quote in full: “Cool”.
'Nuff said!
Turn down the lights and prepare yourself as you enter the world of werewolf killing lumberjacks!
First of all, take the game itself. Who wouldn't want to play a bulked-up, backwoods lumberjack (as if there is any other kind). And not just any bulked-up, backwoods lumberjack, but a “Fearless” bulked-up, backwoods lumberjack (that’s "Fearless" with a capital “F”!). How fearless, you ask? How about fighting off werewolves on cold winter nights, is that good enough for you? What do you do on cold winter nights?
Take a gander at the arsenal that you can acquire. This is not your ordinary, everyday NRA sanctioned collection of weapons (well, maybe it is)- these are historical weapons!
The game play itself looks awesome- swinging axes, riding zip lines, firing some kind of crossbow thingy, and best of all- swinging axes!
But by far, the best part of this whole thing is the presentation. Let’s skip right past the old movie "marquee card" style of writing- with the classic mixture of uppercase and lowercase fonts splashed liberally across the screen. And I don’t need to comment on the two minutes and four seconds (including credits) of pulse-pounding, in-your-face action scenes. They speak for themselves. What really, really sets this apart for me is the background music.
Sure, it starts off with the usual subtle, foreboding lead-in music. We've only heard it about a million times before. But when the action lets loose, so does the music! What kind of music is this anyway? Is this some kind of Irish music? Some kind of Scottish music? Is this some kind of Jig? Whatever it is, it works! While the local folk are presumably back in town, swinging their dates around at the hoedown,- you, my friend, are deep in the dark, frigid woods, swinging axes into werewolves!
As the one and only video comment (to date) so succinctly puts it, and I quote in full: “Cool”.
'Nuff said!
Turn down the lights and prepare yourself as you enter the world of werewolf killing lumberjacks!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
A Walk Around the Block
As the good weather has struggled to return, Sam and I have finally been able to resume our walks. At first it was down to Cumberland Farms, another day it was down to CVS and another day, it was a walk to Walgreens. Tonight though, he asked me if we could go for a walk around the block.
As we walked, he asked me about his brain tumor and what it was like when we found out, and how we knew that he had one. It surprised me because Sam has never expressed more than just a passing interest, if any interest at all, in hearing about his brain tumor in any great depth. He's always been well aware he had one, if for no other reason than the long scar on the back of his head. It's never been a secret. In fact, it's been a part of life, particularly in the years of the MRI's.
Tonight though, it was different. He wanted to know the background. Our walk was a mile long, which was long enough for the Cliffnote version. I told him the story about how we thought he had a series of ear infections, about how his balance would be off and his speech was delayed. I told him how we took him to the doctors over and over again but they never found the ear infection. I told him how it got to the point where his arm developed an occasional tremor but when we went to the doctors, they were unable to see it.
And I told him how on vacation, just a few weeks before his ultimate operation, he got sick at Cape Cod and he and I spent the night before going home, in the emergency room. And I told him how on the day we were going to go to the county fair he couldn't sit straight, how he leaned at an unnatural angle and when he tried to stand, he would walk into walls, and how I rushed him to the doctor's which was closed because it was early on Saturday. I told him how I took him to the emergency room, first in the morning and then, how and why we had to go back that night, how they did a scan and how we ended up having to bring him by ambulance to another hospital, and how Grandma stayed with his brother and sisters.
Every time we got distracted from the story, either by an animal running by or listening to a bird singing, Sam would direct me back to the story with a "Anyway, you were saying...".
I told him a lot, but not everything. I told him it was scary, but I left out the fear. I told him I was scared of losing him, but I didn't tell him I was scared for years and years after. I held a lot back, but then, I always have when it comes to talking about this. But all of the emotion is still there.
As we walked along, Sam spotted some crocuses poking up. Winter is finally being pushed aside by the struggling spring weather.
It's been too long.
As we walked, he asked me about his brain tumor and what it was like when we found out, and how we knew that he had one. It surprised me because Sam has never expressed more than just a passing interest, if any interest at all, in hearing about his brain tumor in any great depth. He's always been well aware he had one, if for no other reason than the long scar on the back of his head. It's never been a secret. In fact, it's been a part of life, particularly in the years of the MRI's.
Tonight though, it was different. He wanted to know the background. Our walk was a mile long, which was long enough for the Cliffnote version. I told him the story about how we thought he had a series of ear infections, about how his balance would be off and his speech was delayed. I told him how we took him to the doctors over and over again but they never found the ear infection. I told him how it got to the point where his arm developed an occasional tremor but when we went to the doctors, they were unable to see it.
And I told him how on vacation, just a few weeks before his ultimate operation, he got sick at Cape Cod and he and I spent the night before going home, in the emergency room. And I told him how on the day we were going to go to the county fair he couldn't sit straight, how he leaned at an unnatural angle and when he tried to stand, he would walk into walls, and how I rushed him to the doctor's which was closed because it was early on Saturday. I told him how I took him to the emergency room, first in the morning and then, how and why we had to go back that night, how they did a scan and how we ended up having to bring him by ambulance to another hospital, and how Grandma stayed with his brother and sisters.
Every time we got distracted from the story, either by an animal running by or listening to a bird singing, Sam would direct me back to the story with a "Anyway, you were saying...".
I told him a lot, but not everything. I told him it was scary, but I left out the fear. I told him I was scared of losing him, but I didn't tell him I was scared for years and years after. I held a lot back, but then, I always have when it comes to talking about this. But all of the emotion is still there.
As we walked along, Sam spotted some crocuses poking up. Winter is finally being pushed aside by the struggling spring weather.
It's been too long.
News From the South
After Rachael moved to her current apartment, one of the first things I did was to look for a news website in her area. This, I figured, would help me determine whether I should be worried about her, or really, really worried about her. The results have been mixed. On the first day that I bookmarked the site, there was a story about a couple of murders that happened within blocks of her home. That was a pretty good fit with what I had envisioned.
Over the last several months I've found that, while murder isn't uncommon, it’s not quite a daily event either. There are some positive stories. The other day, for example, the headline read, “Judge Denies Convicted Killer’s Shock Probation Request”. I found that to be good news.
On the other hand, recent stories have also covered flash mobs made up of the city's "youth". These mobs have been showing up and attacking pedestrians and convenience stores. Some parents of the accused have spoken up and said their children have been unfairly singled out. I'm assuming that what they mean is that while it's their kids that have been caught and arrested, the other kids have gotten away. Life is so unfair.
While there’s a lot on that site that makes me uneasy, there’s also a few “feel good” human interest stories. They currently have a slideshow up, titled: “Woman shows her love for the cats rule yard decorations". If you don’t quite follow that sentence, don’t blame me. I copied it verbatim off the website. Regardless, it get’s the feeling across. Here’s the first picture off the slideshow:
I didn't bother looking at the rest of the photos. I'm pretty sure that this picture says it all.
The weird (some might say “disturbing”) thing is that, except for the signs, this house looks eerily similar to mine.
I’m not sure how or if this ties into the seeming abundance of murder stories, but I feel like there’s a connection here somewhere. It's just one more reason I'll be glad when she's home.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
A Short Clip
There's no story behind this, I just came across this when I was browsing tonight. I'm surprised it's not more popular. I like it.
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