Welcome to the last Blatherings of 2001!
I'm somewhat bleary-headed today, partly because I'm still recovering from Luisa's and Reid's LAN party, and partly because I caught some kind of bug. Don't think I'll be doing much partying tonight.
The LAN party was great; many thanks to Luisa and Reid for hosting it! For those of you not familiar with the term, a LAN party is traditionally a gathering of people who hook their computers up in a local area network, and play games until their eyes bleed. Sleep deprivation and junk food is also considered an essential element of the true LAN party.
The original quintessential LAN party game was Doom, though LAN gaming did exist before Doom. This year, the most popular game seemed to be "Return To Castle Wolfenstein", though there also was a lot of "Urban Terror" (which they kept referring to UT, which kept confusing me since I always associate that acronym to Urban Tapestry :-)).
Anyway, while others played networked computer games on the weekend, I played The Sims (Portia Potter is doing quite well, and didn't even accidentally set anyone on fire!), updated Waiting for Frodo and My Life In A Nutshell, worked on a special project with Craig White, and hung out and chatted with other non-gamers.
People dropped by throughout the weekend. Some stayed through the night, others just visited for a few hours to chat. It was the kind of party with all kinds of interesting pockets of conversation and activity throughout the house.
I'd peek into the basement and find Luisa's sons, Ronnie and Michael, trouncing Jeff and Bryan at Castle Wolfenstein (photo at the top is of Ronnie and Michael; there's also a photo of Jeff/Bryan later in this Blathering as they were losing to R&M). Upstairs, I'd see Mike Diamond beside his young son Kyle, their eyes glued to the screen and headphones on, networked into the current game. I got to hold Megan Kesner again (Jeff and Gail's baby, smiles a LOT), and congratulate David Brake and Delphine Grynszpan on their engagement.
Luisa and I got a lot of time to hang out and just chat, especially during set-up and tear-down at the beginning and end of the LAN party. This was one of the highlights of the LAN party weekend for me. :-)
Sunday consisted of some gaming (Iain, Jeff, Bryan, Scott, Michael, Ronnie, Reid) and gabbing (Luisa and me), clean-up and moving furniture back into their original configurations, and then dinner out at the Red Lobster. Red Lobster commercials on television always look so enticing; unfortunately reality didn't live up to the mouthwatering marketing ads, or at least when we visited. Filling, though, and by the end of the meal I was starting to doze off, I was so sleepy. Very embarrassing. :-)
BLATHERCHAT NOTES
This is it! Your last chance to publicly post your New Year's Resolutions before the New Year actually begins!
Scott and Amanda Snyder have posted new Zo|AMP|euml; pics on Sonomancer.
Chris Conway was the only one to post his 2002 Wish List in Blatherchat, so here it is:
Christo's wishes for 2002
1. people stop killing each other
2. Professional politicials to be abolished - jury system of government - 500 names pulled out of a hat i each country to serve as each country's parliament, well paid for 4 years. World government overseeing all countrys parliaments handed over to Urban Tapestry.
3. and thirdly..
4. DVDs to be made cheaper - especially Lexx DVDs
5. Dogs will be classed as vermin and be elimitaed from the surface of the planet (sorry dog-lovers - I'm not a dog person and this is my list)
6. The cities are domed over as we were promised in old Scifi books/films.
7. George Bush replaced by Bette Midler or similar.
8. actions taken to reduce human population - especially in the UK - 58 million!!! Ireland has 3 million , Denmark has 3 million. If humans were rats in the UK we would've called Rentakill long ago.
9. New album from Urban Tapestry please
10. I wanna get to see Brian Wilson touring UK in January
11. Wanna see Jefferson Starship again too in 2002
12. Advertising to be abolished. People will be supplied with a directory of available companies to buy things from.
13. Everone will be paid a wage for existing. Anyone wishing to have more money may work for it if they choose.
14. The more unpleasant and hard the job, the higher the pay. Sewage workers, nurses etc - highest paid. Politicians, musicians - will get nothing, or maybe dinner at most. A scale will have to be worked out. This will be sorted by the parliaments and final decisions made by Urban Tapestry.
I also asked for life insights. Here are some from Heather Munn:
- Con artists come in many flavors, but no matter how sweet, underneath the sugar coating, they are still rotting lumps of coal.
- No matter how thick or festering the lump of coal, some still make fine diamonds deep inside (ask me about the Christmas card I recieved this year)
There's more about strangers and the kindness thereof, but I couldn't figure out how to put it. Just trust me when I say that the crazyquilt ladies and the #filkhaven folk are some of the finest people around. What about the rest of you?
And re: my drooling over Sean Bean, Julie has kindly pointed out that if I'd like more Sean Bean action I should check out the Sharpe series on TV..."- a British based thing, sometimes shown on PBS in the States, available on video. Set in the the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Features Bean being super-herioc in a 'street-rat-orphan-made good' 'promoted-from-the-ranks-for-saving-Wellington's-life' 'struggling-with-the-difficulties-thereof' kind of way. Lots of good fight scenes, accurate history, good portrayal of social stigmas, and he almost always gets a girl...".
Talk to you all next year!
-- Debbie
In yesterday's Blathering I said that I was choosing not to visit the Lord of the Rings movie discussion board until I've had a chance to see the movie more times. I'd like to post a clarification, since there seems to be some misunderstanding. This was in no means a recommendation for people NOT to read the message board, but an expression of a personal choice (mine) similar to those who choose not read negative reviews until they see a movie.
It's true that my personal choice may influence others who have the same quirky mindset as me. But I'm also assuming that you're all grown-ups and can come up with opinions of your own. :-) Some of you might read a Blathering and think, "Hm, she has a point." Others might think, "Geez, what is she ON today?" Maybe some of you disagree with everything I say, but check in from time to time just out of morbid curiosity. :-)
I apologize to Allison for not making it clearer that my choice not to read additional negative LOTR reviews until I've had a chance to see the movie some more times was a personal choice and -not- a general recommendation for people to stay away from her board. As I mentioned yesterday, I think her message board is a great forum for those who wish to exchange reviews and comments about the movie, both bad AND good.
Hey, check out the photo above...Jill and Shane sent me an Eye of Sauron shirt! On the front is an embroidered red logo, and on the back is the text: "The Lord of the Rings: Weta Visual Effects Crew". VERYvery cool. I have been cheering and clapping for Shane's name in the credits each time I've seen Lord of the Rings, and now I'm going to be cheering and clapping even more loudly. :-) Jill also sent me some of the new New Zealand Lord of the Rings stamps.
Thank you, Jill and Shane! I'm even more of a geeky newbie Tolkien fan than I was before.
So I went to see Lord of the Rings last night for the third time, with Jeff, Scott D. (who saw it twice in one day), Parki, Lindsay and Wendy. First time I saw LOTR, I loved it. Second time wasn't as enjoyable experience because of the bad film quality/sound/audience experience at Elgin Mills, plus some of the negative stuff on Allison's movie board that was still in my head. Before I saw it the third time, I purposely stopped reading LOTR reviews and the message board. And I found myself enjoying the movie even more than the first time.
My moment of epiphany came during the car ride to the subway with Jodi and Allison. Like some other avid Tolkien fans, Allison was pretty upset with parts of the LOTR movie which didn't match the book (though she loved the rest of movie). I found myself fiercely defending why I still liked those parts, but also found my rabid enthusiasm for the movie waning somewhat.
Then I gave myself a mental kick in the head (easier than a physical kick, after all) for letting my own enjoyment of the movie be influenced by what other people thought of it. I purposely stopped reading the movie review board...that forum is wonderful for those who wish to voice and read opinions about the movie (both positive or negative), but I think I'd rather stick to my own little bubble of enthusiasm and see the movie another half dozen times without trying to argue why I like it so much. :-)
The audience at the Eglinton was great, by the way, remarkably enthusiastic (cheers, clapping at appropriate points, for instance) for a movie that has been out for over a week.
Hung out at bookstores with Scott most of the day, going to Parki's tonight.
Blatherpics:
- My Weta crew "Eye of Sauron" shirt! :-)
- Close-up of the embroidered logo on the front of the shirt.
- Eglinton theatre.
- Jeff, Andrew, Parki.
- IPods belonging to Jeff, Andrew, and Parki. :-)
- Scott Dixon. Scott's staying with us until tomorrow.
Today's Poll:
Have you made at least one New Year's Resolution?
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Taking a brief breather in the midst of the holiday chaos to catch up a bit. In the past four days, we've been to five Christmas parties/dinners around Toronto and out near Orangeville. During that time, my dinner has ranged from cheese and bread (no time to have a proper dinner between parties so I foraged in one host's cupboards) to turkey to roast beef to ham. Settings have also varied, from a quiet gathering in a friend's living room to the affectionate chaos of my cousins' buffet dinner to the crystal-and-china elegance of the Ridpath Christmas Eve feast.
We enjoyed all, but on drives between the various events, Jeff and I tried to figure out a way how to simplify future Christmas holidays. Tough call, though. On the one hand, each gathering has a special significance and is one we wouldn't want to miss. On the other hand, the combined effect is that we often end up stressed out and exhausted. I overheard the hosts of one of the above-mentioned parties say, "God, I can't WAIT until all this is over!" in reference to Christmas visits and events, after cleaning up after her own party and was getting ready to attend another. :-(
The situation reminds me a great deal of what happens at my favourite filk conventions. They are wonderful events and I wouldn't miss them for the world, but I always feel somewhat cheated at the end of each...there is never enough time to spend with the friends who gather there in addition to attending the concerts and workshops and open filks. As a partial solution, I've been trying to spend extra time with some of these friends outside of conventions, but geography and finances make this difficult (even more difficult in 2002, when I am ramping up my freelance writing career again).
A complicating factor in the Christmas holiday is that it's generally a time when out-of-town friends and family come to visit (so it's not as if one could easily arrange to get together some other time, at least not without making elaborate and possibly expensive travel plans).
I'd be interested in hearing how all of you handle the holiday season, especially from those who have multiple family/friend holiday parties. Do you get stressed over the holidays? Do you try to do too much? Maybe you find that your holidays are TOO quiet. Or maybe you just don't care. :-) Please post your comments in Blatherchat.
Here are a few highlights of the Christmas holiday for me so far:
- Going to see the Nutcracker ballet with Ruth, Sara, and Annie. It was Annie's first time at the ballet. She sat beside me on a booster seat (we could only get good tickets in two pairs, so Ruth and Sara sat elsewhere in the row), clutching her wooden Nutcracker toy and gazing wide-eyed at the costumed dancers on stage. By the end of the performance, her head was leaning on my arm; she was fast asleep.
- Seeing Parki's expression when he was presented with a Christmas gift that some of us had pooled resources to buy (a teller's window that he had been lusting over in an antique's shop).
- My Christmas gift from Jeff. He had put together a memory box package for me with photos from our sabbatical. There were three little booklets, each representing a different aspect of our time together, and each containing photos he had selected from our archives, modified in Photoshop, cropped, and printed. He put all three in a beautiful wooden box with a photo displayed under glass in the cover, a picture taken at the Wickinninish Inn where the housekeeping staff had arranged our robes in the shape of a heart on our bed. I gave Jeff a tape of a song I had written for him. :-)
Today my Dad is taking us out for lunch at King's Garden along with Ruth, Kaarel, Sara and Annie. This is another longstanding tradition in my family that became altered a bit over the years. Dad and Mom used to always go to Sai Woo's on Boxing Day (Sai Woo's used to be a well-known Chinese restaurant in downtown Toronto), and continued to do so even after having kids. I remember we always used to get bamboo scroll calendars when we left. Sadly, Sai Woo's shut down two years ago, so we decided to move Boxing Day lunch to King's Garden instead, a Chinese restaurant that's about a three minute walk away from our apartment.
Scott D. arrives at our place today, and will be staying for several days. We might also be seeing Parki and Andrew Platzer this afternoon.
Hope you're all having a great winter holiday....
Blatherpics:
- Sara and Annie last night. Annie is wearing a paper mask and crown that came with her "Secret Princess Handbook" given to her by my dad.
- Dec. 23rd Christmas party at my cousin's place. From left to right: my cousin Daniel, Ruth, cousin Naomi.
- One of the napkin holders at the Ridpath Christmas dinner.
- Annie, me, and Sara at the Nutcracker.
- Tag from one of Sara's Christmas presents. Inside was a homemade pin made from coloured beads.
- Jeff and Brittany at his mom's place.
- Drinks cooling in the sink just before the Ridpath Christmas dinner.
Today's Poll:
Did you enjoy Christmas? YES if it was a positive event overall, NO if you were more relieved when it was over.
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I'll likely be offline until after Christmas, though if I happen to find myself near someone's computer, I may post in Blatherchat.
And don't forget your New Year's Resolutions!
Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. :-)
(Update 10:43 a.m.: I've finally updated My Life In A Nutshell. :-))
Despite the deceptive serenity of the picture above, today's Blathering is another rant, so feel free to skip it. Also, Luisa and Reid have more LOTR line party pics online, if you'd like to check them out. I especially like this one of us playing cards in line.
The focus of today's Blather-rant is
Obnoxious Movie Crowd Behaviour
Is it my imagination, or have manners in public movie theaters degraded over the past decade?
Last night, Allison, Jodi and I went to the Elgin Mills theatre to see Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately the reel of film was slightly damaged...vertical scratches could be seen several times throughout the movie, the sound was defective in places (cut in and out), and there was an annoying fleck that appeared near the top of the screen for 80% of the movie. Not sure if these last two irritants were the fault of the copy of the film itself, or the equipment used by the theatre.
Even the above could have been ignored if it wasn't for the behaviour of some of the audience members in the theatre. Several groups talked or whispered loudly throughout the movie (and I mean throughout the movie), knocked over cups and (what sounded like) large bags of popcorn, didn't bother trying to close theatre door quietly as they went in and out during the movie...nothing like the sound of a door slamming to pull one out of the magic of Middle Earth. Didn't sound like there was any sort of cushioning-type of hinges on these doors.
A group of teenage girls almost directly behind us were especially irritating, whispering and giggling to each other throughout the movie, even in the most moving scenes. I fumed but tried to ignore them - I've found that in the past, it hasn't helped...sometimes it's actually made things worse. I briefly considered moving, but realized I'd end up causing more distraction to others by having to clamber over them in the dark, looking for an empty seat. Allison couldn't stand it anymore during one point and told them to shush. They actually DID shush...for about fifteen minutes.
When one of them loudly whispered, "This movie is TOO LONG!" during one of the most moving scenes, I felt like turning around and dumping her popcorn on her head. But I didn't, because I don't do that sort of thing (not yet, anyway) and also because at that point there was only about ten minutes left in the movie. Others were shushed as well, with the same effect. Sometimes the shushers made more noise than the original offenders.
Maybe it's age, but I don't remember theater audiences being as bad as this when I was a teenager (and lord knows THAT was eons ago ;-)). It's one reason I'm willing to brave long line-ups in order to see a much-anticipated movie on opening day rather than wait until the crowds have died down...avid fans are much more attentive, and also tend to unite in jumping on any obnoxious audience behaviour. Just before yesterday's noon showing of LOTR began, someone's cellphone rang...if this had happened during the actual movie, I doubt he would have left the theater in one piece.
My theory is that with the invention of video and DVDs, people are much more used to watching movies in the casual atmosphere of their homes, where chatting and other distractions are the norm rather than the exception. Some carry these habits into the movie theatre (which becomes just a larger version of their living rooms). Kids tend to be worse in this behaviour because they've never KNOWN a time when you had to go the movie theater in order to see a full commercial-free movie. (And nowadays, even the movies come with commercials in the pre-show, which probably helps solidify the association of the theatre with the experience of watching tv at home, at least in their minds).
Geez, I do sound like a miserable old curmudgeon, don't I?
Maybe I should go have some eggnog or stand under mistletoe or something.
On a positive note, I got to see the trailer for Spiderman (which looks pretty cool) and Star Wars (I liked the trailer better on the big screen than I did after downloading it to my computer).
On an even more positive note, our nieces Annie and Sara are sleeping over tonight!! This will be Annie's first time spending a night away from her parents.
Today's Poll:
If people in the row behind you were doing something distracting throughout the movie (talking, crunching popcorn too loudly, whatever), would you say something, or just try to ignore them? YES for saying something, NO for ignoring them. Feel free to elaborate in Blatherchat.
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For those that missed it, I posted my Lord of the Rings line party Blatherings here (and updated it with extra photos late last night), and my movie review here (WARNING: major spoilers in my review, so don't read it until after you've seen the movie). You can find the Electric Penguin general Lord of the Rings movie discussion boards here, and the board for posting reviews/discussing the movie here (spoiler warning again, including possible spoilers about Books II and III).
Jeff and I spent a quiet evening at home yesterday, our heads still in the movie. Both of us plan to see it again (for me, that's not so surprising...Jeff, on the other hand, rarely sees movies in the theatre more than once). After watching the Discovery channel's final instalment about Lord of the Rings (this time about Weta Digital and special effects!), we were channel-surfing a bit and caught a TVO show where someone was interviewing our friend Michelle about Lord of the Rings (!). She and Peter Howell (the Toronto Star movie critic) were discussing the book, with some references to the movie. Michelle's a fantasy writer whose books have been written under Michelle West and Michelle Sagara.
Wow, at IMDB, Lord of the Rings is currently rated an average of 9.7 out of 10 by users. I browsed the top-rated U.S. movies of all time in the IMDB database, and the #1 movie so far is Titanic (1997) with an average rating of 7.1 out of 10. Obviously, the more avid fans will have seen it on opening day (most of whom WANT to like it :)), so I suspect that LOTR's rating will drop gradually over the next while. I'm still curious, however, to see by how much.
(Updated 10:23 pm with extra photos from Guille and Scott)
To avoid giving away Lord of the Rings movie spoilers, I've posted my movie report on a separate page (*WARNING*: there are spoilers in my report, so only read it AFTER you've seen the movie!). And feel free to post your own Lord of the Rings review and discuss the movie here (again, spoiler warning...there also may be spoilers re: Books II and III).
It was quite the thrill to see Shane McEwan's name in the final credits (Data Operations Manager, under the credits for Weta Digital). For those who haven't been reading my Waiting For Frodo comic strip, Shane is the guy from Weta who e-mailed me about the comic, and whose character has been integrated into the comic strip itself (he gave Rosie a genuine LOTR crew jacket!). We all clapped and cheered pretty loudly when his name appeared on the screen. Woohoo, Shane! (You can read some Weta-related letters here).
The people at the Paramount were remarkably well-organized and decent about the whole process. They let us in at 11 instead of 11:30, and allowed people in 20 at a time to prevent the usual mad rush for seats. One of the reasons I like seeing movies at the Paramount is because of the stadium-style seating (one of the reasons my sister and her husband are coming here to see the movie instead in their area), the cushy seats, and because we can walk there (saving the price of subway tokens, though that difference doesn't really matter when you factor in concession stand costs...a small bag of popcorn cost me $4!). Anyway, ticket prices can be pricier than the theaters further away from the downtown core, but I find it worth it.
Again, I posted my movie report on a separate page to avoid giving away spoilers.
After we came out, a reporter from the Toronto Star interviewed me about Waiting For Frodo. Not sure if he'll actually use anything, but if any of you who get the Star notice something, I'd appreciate you letting me know, thanks!
Almost finished my Christmas shopping, hoping to finish the last of it today.
Jeff's sister and parents came over to visit last night with our niece Brittany. Brittany was fascinated by my harp (she kept pronouncing it as "heart" at first), and asked if she could play my guitar. When she asked me to play something, I played the "Hockey Monkey Song" for her. All my nieces/nephew recognize the Hockey Monkey Song by now. :-)
We ordered in Thai food. I love Thai food. Unfortunately, I'm also beginning to suspect that I'm allergic to something in Thai food, or at least that there's some common Thai ingredient that doesn't like me. This majorly sucks.
I am pleased to announce that my office is actually semi-organized right now! I went through all the filing cabinets and dumped old papers and files I know I'll never need again.
While purging, I found an uncashed cheque for the first short story I ever sold...a whopping US$5 from Hob Nob magazine for a piece called "Harmonica Man". I had been so excited that I couldn't bring myself to cash the cheque. :-)
Received my contract from F&W publications yesterday...looks like I'm doing my daily online column for sure, starting January. I'll be taking over the Market Watch column currently available at WritersMarket.com, for those interested.
New Year's Resolutions
Only 13 more days to work up the courage to publicize your New Year's Resolutions for next year! Most people think of New Year's Resolutions as an "easily made, easily broken" sort of thing, mainly because they set unrealistic goals. This is a chance to break that habit. That's how I'm looking at it from the point of view of my own resolutions, anyway. :-)
Post your resolutions here.
Today's Blatherpics:
My niece Brittany, playing my guitar last night.
Today's Poll:
From where you are sitting RIGHT NOW, can you see any snow?
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Jeff and I went to Sara's piano recital on Sunday morning; Ruth had already saved us seats. Sara was a lot more confident than I ever was in my piano recitals, and actually seemed to enjoy performing. We were all beaming with pride, of course. :-)
Watching the young students fidget nervously in their seats as they waited for their turn, clutching their music books, brought back memories of the recitals I had both participated in as well as the ones I had organized when I taught piano. I had always hated playing in recitals. Even the word "recital" brings back immediate memories of sweaty palms, triphammer heartbeat, trembling hands.
My worst piano recital was also my last, a Christmas recital in 1988 at the Royal Conservatory of Music. I didn't know anyone in the audience (not even my piano teacher could attend), and my mother was dying of cancer in the hospital.
The students at the recital were from a number of different piano teachers at the Conservatory. Because I was the most senior student, I was scheduled to go last, and would perform a challenging Rachmaninoff piece by memory.
Finally it was my turn, and I walked up the stairs to the main stage where a grand piano sat gleaming in the lights. The lights made it difficult to see the audience; their faces were blurry splotches in the darkness, a sea of strangers who were waiting for me to finish so they could claim their young ones and go home. I heard the rustling of programs, a shifting of bottoms in creaky seats.
I remember launching into the opening measures of the Rachmaninoff: full-bodied chords, confident and full of promise...but then I stopped. My mind had gone totally blank. I tried again, but stopped in the same place. The silence in the audience was deafening; I could feel everyone's eyes on me, urging me on, pitying me. I started sweating. After several agonizing minutes of more aborted attempts, I finally gave up.
Stood up, faced the audience, looked at the Director of the Conservatory (who had introduced me in glowing terms, telling the younger students that if they worked hard, they might someday be able to play like me) and apologized, saying that I couldn't go on. It was an awkward moment; the Director didn't want the recital to end like this, but what could he do?
After he made his farewell speech, I numbly went to my seat and got my coat and music book, filing out with the rest of the crowd into the cold night. I didn't look at anyone, couldn't look at anyone - I just wanted to get home. I had wanted to do the recital as a kind of tribute to my mother, but now I was glad she hadn't been there to see my failure. She had always been so proud of my piano playing.
On the way out, one sympathetic mother put her hand on my shoulder and told me that she had enjoyed the part of the piece I had played. I managed to thank her before dissolving into tears as I turned away, hurrying away into the winter night, hiding in the crowd.
