Hey, Monday is a holiday, isn't it? Huzzah! And wow, is it July already? Man, this year is flying by so quickly. I haven't done so much of what I wanted to do! But...I have done plenty still, so I think I am okay with that.
Just a quick post for you folks today and then I will let you be on your way to enjoy celebrating America's independence however you see fit (though, please, for all of our sakes, do try to refrain from any stupidly dangerous or illegal methods of celebration).
First, a quick reminder: My Stargate Atlantis rewatch kicks off next week you guys! Yay! Tune in Wednesday for my post about the pilot episode "Rising." I am given to understand the the entire series is available on Netflix if you don't have the DVDs and would like to watch along with me. I do hope you'll watch along! SGA posts will be twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday, and I will try to let you know in advance if there won't be a post for some reason.
This leads me into my next bit of news for you, regarding the blog in general. Starting next week, I am going to try something new. Each day of the week will be reserved for a specific kind of post. I know there are a few of you only reading for, say, my posts about yarn crafting. Well, now my main topics will each have their own dedicated day of the week, so you will know when to check for posts about what interests you. I am hoping that this will help streamline my writing for the blog a bit too, as I have found myself often flailing to settle upon topics for each post.
Here's what the new schedule will look like:
Monday: Stargate Atlantis Rewatch
(Please note there will not be a post this coming Monday because I will be enjoying my husband's day off due to the holiday. Depending on how the Stargate Atlantis rewatch goes, we will likely move on to the other Stargate series, and possibly other shows beyond that, like, say, Farscape or Buffy.)
Tuesday: Fun With Fibercrafts!
(This will be the day I feature finished objects, works in progress, projects I'd like to take on, or just talk about some aspect of knitting or crocheting I have on my mind.)
Wednesday: Stargate Atlantis Rewatch
Thursday: Writer's Podium
(Hopefully, hopefully, this will be the day that I can post excerpts of what I am currently working on. I have a new story I would like to start and I think that setting a goal to get a few page or even a chapter out a week to post here will keep me in line writing-wise. On the weeks where I haven't been so productive, I will have posts about writing in general, or what I am working on without it actually being the content. I do have a writing date today, so my fingers are crossed that I will have something fun for you next week!)
Friday: Mystery Bag!
(This will be the whatever post of the week. Here I will talk about my life in general (though I can't pretend that might not slip into other posts as well), parenthood, the video games I am playing or books I am reading, or just whatever is on my mind.)
It is possible that if something comes up about which I am just compelled to write, well, you might see some days with bonus posts. They will be labeled as such though, so never fear.
I am really kind of excited about this change up of "format" for the blog. I hope that you are too. It's all just a grand experiment, but my fingers are crossed that it works out well, for you and for me.
On that note, I will say farewell. Have a spectacular weekend dear readers! Have fun and be safe, and above all, enjoy yourselves, whatever you may do. See you back here next week.
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netflix. Show all posts
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Avoiding The Extremely Ridiculous
Lately I have been watching the first two seasons of the old 90's teen series California Dreams. It has made me quite thankful for the advent of Netflix, and my subsequent subscription to the service. Without Netflix, I probably would have bought this when it came out on DVD out of pure nostalgia and then ended up a month or two down the line selling the set and wishing I hadn't wasted my money.
Watching this show is a weird experience. It's not entirely bad, mind you, but I would be hard pressed to say that I am completely enjoying watching the show again. If you're not aware of this show, it was part of NBC's late Saturday morning lineup aimed at teens and preteens. It was probably the most successful of those series after Saved By The Bell, with which it had much in common. Instead of focusing on the group of kids' hijinks in school, however, California Dreams was centered around the band formed by the main cast and followed their attempts to get gigs and deal with the "typical" teenage problems all while balancing life with the band. I say "typical" with quotes like that, but actually I have to admit, even though the drama is heightened for television, the actual issues the show dealt with for the most part were things that, as a teenager, were often a big deal to me. It is just that the problems and their solutions are so ridiculously portrayed that I have a hard time taking it seriously now.
But when I was a kid, I adored this show. It was second in my affections only to Saved By The Bell, I have to admit. That's why I wanted to watch the show again, after all. But it doesn't really hold up well to the test of time, I suppose. I don't know how surprising that is, given that even after my complete rewatch of all of SBTB, I ended up giving away those DVDs.
It probably doesn't help that I married a professional musician, so the whole band aspect of the show now just makes me cringe. Also the music, while being mostly inoffensive, is so bland. The band didn't have its own sound, they just played whatever kind of sounded like what was popular at the time. Watching it now, having the experiences with actual musicians that I have, I just feel like these kids are posers. I know, I know, it's silly. It's just a television show. But my life has altered the way I look at that kind of stuff. Plus the producers apparently had no idea what live music was supposed to sound like. I mean, come on. Sigh.
So why I am I still watching? Well, there is the part of me that is enjoying the trip down memory lane. As I said, I did love this show once. It is nice getting to revisit with that Cori of a bygone day and remember her hopes and dreams (and subscription to Big Bopper). Like I said, it is not all bad. The show has its amusing moments. Besides, as I ride out the last of my pain meds from this week's dental escapades, it is the perfect level of mindless distraction.
It's been getting more and more awkward though. True sitcoms are few and far between these days, and of those that are still around, I don't watch very many of them. Those that I do enjoy are, I would like to think, a little bit off the beaten path and have evolved past the old-school format. California Dreams, though, is from a time when that old format was flourishing. As someone who is trying to be a storyteller, the formulaic approach to the show is, at best, tiring to sit through. It makes me very glad to have access to all of the smart, well-written, modern shows I have access to these days.
There is a fine line between funny and ridiculous, and this show wasn't even trying to stay behind it. I have found as I get older that some of the more obvious attempts at humor--the physical, the slapstick, the playing dumb--are much more rarely able to make me laugh than actual wit. What makes this whole experience awkward for me personally is that I have recently been thinking that I want to try my hand at writing something funny.
The people behind National Novel Writing Month recently announced that they want to do a NaNoWriMo Summer Camp this year. The idea is to allow people who really can't devote the kind of time required in November or the people who want to write more than one novel in a month during the year a chance to have the fun in a month other than November. My writing buddy (who is a teacher, and for whom November was very much less than ideal) and I of course want to participate in the summer camp.
I know, I know. But Cori, you haven't even actually started revising your novel from last November! Why would you want to write another one? Yes, yes, you're right. But...let's not talk about last year's book right now. It will get done if it gets done and right now is not that time.
But back to summer camp. So, my friend and I want to try our hands at another novel-in-a-month this summer. After giving it some thought, I told my husband I wanted to just write something fun and silly. Silly. Not ridiculous. Not unintelligent.
Quite some time ago I mentioned that I wish I could capture some of the fun and funny the way that the Harry Potter books do. Every night I read a few pages of those books to my daughter (we're on the last one now), and whenever there's a funny scene, it just makes me itch to create something in the same vein. So when I say I would like to write something fun and silly, I am thinking something like my favorite bits from Harry Potter. Something along the lines of greats like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. But watching California Dreams, I have started getting worried that perhaps that is the best I will be able to do. Hence the awkward.
Not gonna stop me from trying. Hopefully my fears are what will help me avoid that particular path. I mean, I don't even have an actual story in mind yet, it's early days. But oh my goodness do I hope it's more Neville causing a distraction by turning into a canary than Sly and the rest of the guys dressed up as girls getting hit on by the football team. Sigh.
Note to self: All of the writers I listed above to emulate are British. Perhaps it would be a good idea to watch lots of Coupling and drink lots of tea while getting prepared to write. Also, avoid setting it at the beach with surfers in a rock band.
Check.
Watching this show is a weird experience. It's not entirely bad, mind you, but I would be hard pressed to say that I am completely enjoying watching the show again. If you're not aware of this show, it was part of NBC's late Saturday morning lineup aimed at teens and preteens. It was probably the most successful of those series after Saved By The Bell, with which it had much in common. Instead of focusing on the group of kids' hijinks in school, however, California Dreams was centered around the band formed by the main cast and followed their attempts to get gigs and deal with the "typical" teenage problems all while balancing life with the band. I say "typical" with quotes like that, but actually I have to admit, even though the drama is heightened for television, the actual issues the show dealt with for the most part were things that, as a teenager, were often a big deal to me. It is just that the problems and their solutions are so ridiculously portrayed that I have a hard time taking it seriously now.
But when I was a kid, I adored this show. It was second in my affections only to Saved By The Bell, I have to admit. That's why I wanted to watch the show again, after all. But it doesn't really hold up well to the test of time, I suppose. I don't know how surprising that is, given that even after my complete rewatch of all of SBTB, I ended up giving away those DVDs.
It probably doesn't help that I married a professional musician, so the whole band aspect of the show now just makes me cringe. Also the music, while being mostly inoffensive, is so bland. The band didn't have its own sound, they just played whatever kind of sounded like what was popular at the time. Watching it now, having the experiences with actual musicians that I have, I just feel like these kids are posers. I know, I know, it's silly. It's just a television show. But my life has altered the way I look at that kind of stuff. Plus the producers apparently had no idea what live music was supposed to sound like. I mean, come on. Sigh.
So why I am I still watching? Well, there is the part of me that is enjoying the trip down memory lane. As I said, I did love this show once. It is nice getting to revisit with that Cori of a bygone day and remember her hopes and dreams (and subscription to Big Bopper). Like I said, it is not all bad. The show has its amusing moments. Besides, as I ride out the last of my pain meds from this week's dental escapades, it is the perfect level of mindless distraction.
It's been getting more and more awkward though. True sitcoms are few and far between these days, and of those that are still around, I don't watch very many of them. Those that I do enjoy are, I would like to think, a little bit off the beaten path and have evolved past the old-school format. California Dreams, though, is from a time when that old format was flourishing. As someone who is trying to be a storyteller, the formulaic approach to the show is, at best, tiring to sit through. It makes me very glad to have access to all of the smart, well-written, modern shows I have access to these days.
There is a fine line between funny and ridiculous, and this show wasn't even trying to stay behind it. I have found as I get older that some of the more obvious attempts at humor--the physical, the slapstick, the playing dumb--are much more rarely able to make me laugh than actual wit. What makes this whole experience awkward for me personally is that I have recently been thinking that I want to try my hand at writing something funny.
The people behind National Novel Writing Month recently announced that they want to do a NaNoWriMo Summer Camp this year. The idea is to allow people who really can't devote the kind of time required in November or the people who want to write more than one novel in a month during the year a chance to have the fun in a month other than November. My writing buddy (who is a teacher, and for whom November was very much less than ideal) and I of course want to participate in the summer camp.
I know, I know. But Cori, you haven't even actually started revising your novel from last November! Why would you want to write another one? Yes, yes, you're right. But...let's not talk about last year's book right now. It will get done if it gets done and right now is not that time.
But back to summer camp. So, my friend and I want to try our hands at another novel-in-a-month this summer. After giving it some thought, I told my husband I wanted to just write something fun and silly. Silly. Not ridiculous. Not unintelligent.
Quite some time ago I mentioned that I wish I could capture some of the fun and funny the way that the Harry Potter books do. Every night I read a few pages of those books to my daughter (we're on the last one now), and whenever there's a funny scene, it just makes me itch to create something in the same vein. So when I say I would like to write something fun and silly, I am thinking something like my favorite bits from Harry Potter. Something along the lines of greats like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. But watching California Dreams, I have started getting worried that perhaps that is the best I will be able to do. Hence the awkward.
Not gonna stop me from trying. Hopefully my fears are what will help me avoid that particular path. I mean, I don't even have an actual story in mind yet, it's early days. But oh my goodness do I hope it's more Neville causing a distraction by turning into a canary than Sly and the rest of the guys dressed up as girls getting hit on by the football team. Sigh.
Note to self: All of the writers I listed above to emulate are British. Perhaps it would be a good idea to watch lots of Coupling and drink lots of tea while getting prepared to write. Also, avoid setting it at the beach with surfers in a rock band.
Check.
~*~*~
Oh, and as it is Friday already (when the heck did that happen?), don't forget to swing on over and check out this week's Gronk! I am super excited because preorders for the first Gronk book start next week. Huzzah! Also, now I want to make a Gronk plushy....
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Willpower, I Don't Have It
Well, I did it. I swore up and down I wouldn't, and then I went and did it anyway. For the first time since I stopped working at the cable company we once more have a subscription to premium movie channels, sigh.
So, I may or may not have mentioned before, but I love Torchwood. In fact, the only reason I started watching Doctor Who is that I had learned its spinoff would begin airing on BBC America and I thought seeing the parent show would help me to understand what the heck was going on. Everything about Torchwood just sounded awesome and intriguing to me, and my assumption that I would enjoy it was not wrong.
I mean, come on, they had a freaking pterodactyl in the lab for the whole first season! Also, Ianto, my favorite character (Jack is awesome, but Ianto was just so very...Ianto) had the same birthday as me (day and year) and I thought that to be very cool.
You can imagine my dismay when after the last season (a shortened mini-series), it seemed as if the cards had been dealt and there would be no more new seasons. Bummer, man. But then the news came down that BBC had partnered with the network Starz to fund more seasons and production of the series would move (at least partially) to America and it would indeed continue. Huzzah! Except...it would no longer be airing stateside on BBC America but instead on Starz network. Sigh.
I really thought I would be okay not subscribing to Starz. My original plan had been to just purchase a season pass to the show on iTunes and watch the new episodes with a day or two delay that way. Except. I really don't actually like watching television shows on my computer. I don't even watch that many videos--if it's a "funny video" that is getting passed around the web and it is more than a minute and a half long, I am more likely to just pass than to watch it. Web series, usually clocking in at a maximum of ten minutes long, are the far edge of my patience for such things. I know that TV on the computer is the way of the future and whatnot, but as I have said before, we have our humongous television for a reason: I like to watch things on the BIG screen. This fad of watching television shows on smaller and smaller devices (tablets and phones, for instance) just baffles me. Those screens are so tiny, why bother? But whatever. To each his own and whatnot. My personal preference is to watch it on my television rather than the computer. I know there are ways to watch it through the television from the computer but those are not any ways I want to mess with.
Also, it goes without saying that I will want to get the new season of Torchwood on DVD when it comes out. I really didn't want to shell out the money for the season pass and for the DVD set, that just seemed silly. Still, I would have to pay more than the cost of both on an annual basis to subscribe to the channel. For just one show that seemed even sillier. Then I learned that Netflix actually had a deal with Starz allowing subscribers to view the network's original programming via their streaming services a day or two after it airs. Cool! Perfect solution! Through the magic of our gaming console, we do have Netflix on our television! But wait a minute, Starz, afraid of people not subscribing to their network if they can just watch the shows right away on Netflix, just renegotiated their agreement with the company. As of April first, there is a 90 day turnaround between the show airing and being available on Netflix. Still sooner than DVD, but...three months.
I was resigned to just hold off and wait until the 90 period had lapsed or the show came out on DVD, until all of the campaigning for the series on the internet started up. I just realized I am too excited about the new season. So I did a little searching around with my cable provider to see if there was any sort of good deal I could get, and I found one. For only a dollar more than just getting Starz, I upgraded to the next level of service up, and I get all of the Starz family of channels as well as the Showtime channels, a few other movie channels, and a few other general channels that I am actually interested in. Even better, currently existing customers upgrading to that tier get a three month discount that for me, since it was only a one level jump in service, comes out to getting the new channels for free for three months. Not too shabby I'd say. So I am all set for the new season of Torchwood, and my husband is just shaking his head at me in bemusement, glad I have something to keep me distracted from how many gigs he has coming up.
Still, I would hate to think I subscribed to all of those channels for just one show. That is still pretty silly. Lucky for me Starz just this past weekend started up a new series that I have also had my eye on (but was more willing to wait the 90 days for). I watched the first two episodes of Camelot yesterday and I have to say I am already pretty hooked. I have found the endless variations in Arthurian legend fascinating since my high school days (at least), and I am very curious to see where this goes. Though, wow, they aren't afraid to be showing off some flesh, are they? Oh well, I'm a big girl, I can handle it.
Since I got Showtime in the deal, I thought I might also give The Borgias a try. The first episode is in my DVR waiting to be fired up.
Boo for no willpower, but huzzah for new period dramas!
So, I may or may not have mentioned before, but I love Torchwood. In fact, the only reason I started watching Doctor Who is that I had learned its spinoff would begin airing on BBC America and I thought seeing the parent show would help me to understand what the heck was going on. Everything about Torchwood just sounded awesome and intriguing to me, and my assumption that I would enjoy it was not wrong.
I mean, come on, they had a freaking pterodactyl in the lab for the whole first season! Also, Ianto, my favorite character (Jack is awesome, but Ianto was just so very...Ianto) had the same birthday as me (day and year) and I thought that to be very cool.
You can imagine my dismay when after the last season (a shortened mini-series), it seemed as if the cards had been dealt and there would be no more new seasons. Bummer, man. But then the news came down that BBC had partnered with the network Starz to fund more seasons and production of the series would move (at least partially) to America and it would indeed continue. Huzzah! Except...it would no longer be airing stateside on BBC America but instead on Starz network. Sigh.
I really thought I would be okay not subscribing to Starz. My original plan had been to just purchase a season pass to the show on iTunes and watch the new episodes with a day or two delay that way. Except. I really don't actually like watching television shows on my computer. I don't even watch that many videos--if it's a "funny video" that is getting passed around the web and it is more than a minute and a half long, I am more likely to just pass than to watch it. Web series, usually clocking in at a maximum of ten minutes long, are the far edge of my patience for such things. I know that TV on the computer is the way of the future and whatnot, but as I have said before, we have our humongous television for a reason: I like to watch things on the BIG screen. This fad of watching television shows on smaller and smaller devices (tablets and phones, for instance) just baffles me. Those screens are so tiny, why bother? But whatever. To each his own and whatnot. My personal preference is to watch it on my television rather than the computer. I know there are ways to watch it through the television from the computer but those are not any ways I want to mess with.
Also, it goes without saying that I will want to get the new season of Torchwood on DVD when it comes out. I really didn't want to shell out the money for the season pass and for the DVD set, that just seemed silly. Still, I would have to pay more than the cost of both on an annual basis to subscribe to the channel. For just one show that seemed even sillier. Then I learned that Netflix actually had a deal with Starz allowing subscribers to view the network's original programming via their streaming services a day or two after it airs. Cool! Perfect solution! Through the magic of our gaming console, we do have Netflix on our television! But wait a minute, Starz, afraid of people not subscribing to their network if they can just watch the shows right away on Netflix, just renegotiated their agreement with the company. As of April first, there is a 90 day turnaround between the show airing and being available on Netflix. Still sooner than DVD, but...three months.
I was resigned to just hold off and wait until the 90 period had lapsed or the show came out on DVD, until all of the campaigning for the series on the internet started up. I just realized I am too excited about the new season. So I did a little searching around with my cable provider to see if there was any sort of good deal I could get, and I found one. For only a dollar more than just getting Starz, I upgraded to the next level of service up, and I get all of the Starz family of channels as well as the Showtime channels, a few other movie channels, and a few other general channels that I am actually interested in. Even better, currently existing customers upgrading to that tier get a three month discount that for me, since it was only a one level jump in service, comes out to getting the new channels for free for three months. Not too shabby I'd say. So I am all set for the new season of Torchwood, and my husband is just shaking his head at me in bemusement, glad I have something to keep me distracted from how many gigs he has coming up.
Still, I would hate to think I subscribed to all of those channels for just one show. That is still pretty silly. Lucky for me Starz just this past weekend started up a new series that I have also had my eye on (but was more willing to wait the 90 days for). I watched the first two episodes of Camelot yesterday and I have to say I am already pretty hooked. I have found the endless variations in Arthurian legend fascinating since my high school days (at least), and I am very curious to see where this goes. Though, wow, they aren't afraid to be showing off some flesh, are they? Oh well, I'm a big girl, I can handle it.
Since I got Showtime in the deal, I thought I might also give The Borgias a try. The first episode is in my DVR waiting to be fired up.
Boo for no willpower, but huzzah for new period dramas!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Stuff That Happened This Weekend
I finished my "last" secret Christmas project. No pictures of it yet, but I am really really happy with how it came out. I will be posting some as soon as it has been given. I hope the recipient enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it! (I say last in quotation marks because my husband pondered earlier as to whether or not our daughter would wear mittens if she had them, because she keeps taking off her shoes and slippers and putting them on her hands, and I got it into my head to see if I could hunt down a real quick pattern for crocheted mittens to make for her.)
I got both the front panels of my official current crochet project done, huzzah! Now I just have to do the skirt part of the sweater and then assemble the pieces. Hopefully I can knock this one out this week.
I made some pretty significant progress in my video game. I blew through the first part of the Olympus Coliseum level in twenty minutes, I kid you not. I even beat Cloud, which I had never managed to do before! For those curious, the Olympus Coliseum level is a series of tournaments against various Heartless and other opponents. The initial part is five battles against Heartless (in a row, with no stopping to save or go to the menu to restock items), then Cloud (who I think is a FF character), and then Cerberus. After that, you can (and should) come back to the world periodically to compete in new tournaments, eventually fighting Hercules and Hades. You get extra loot if you complete each tournament by yourself and within a time limit after your initial play-through. So far I have completed the second round by myself, and I got to the last battle of it a couple of times in the time limit but haven't finished it yet (it is nine battles you have to complete inside of three minutes). Yesterday I got to the Monstro level, which is where I got stuck the last time I played. I am going to try to power through that today, so fingers crossed.
I will note that a few of the issues I have with the game that I complained about last week, I have already learned get corrected with extra in-game experience. Mainly the number of items your character can equip does increase (and I also learned the healing spell, so I can do that instead of potions if I need to, as long as my magic holds up). Also, after a while, you earn the ability to recover your magic power naturally over time. It is slow, but you can equip an ability to speed it up a little bit. It makes sense that this is something I would have missed the first few times through though, because I really wasn't paying attention to the abilities and I hadn't yet figured out the strategy involved in leveling up. So, that has made playing a lot more fun again. The camera still blows though. I will be running toward a target and as soon as I get close, the camera will just swing around and I won't be able to see anything. This seriously slows me down in combat, because I spend half the time running in the wrong direction as I can't see where my character is or is going. Sigh. Oh well. I am trying to ignore that part and enjoy the bit where I am actually having fun.
One of my very best friends had a birthday this past week, so on Saturday my daughter and I went out to dinner with her, her husband, her parents, and another friend at one of my very favorite restaurants, King Tut. If you like Mediterranean food and are in or find yourself in the Fort Worth area, please do give this place a try. The food is fantastic, the atmosphere is the perfect amount of cheesy, and the staff (it is owned and run by a family) are just super friendly. Dinner was a blast, and Baby Girl performed admirably, impressing people with how well behaved she is in restaurants. We got lucky with this kid, I tell you. Also, she continued her tradition of eschewing bread, sadly, but she did like the hummus even without the bread, so there's that.
I definitively decided that I do not want to get a dog. I know that may seem like it came from out of nowhere (it certainly did when I told my husband the other day), but I actually have, for the last few weeks, been thinking about getting a dog. Not seriously or anything, just idle thoughts. I think I am just dreaming of a new pet, even though I think right now the two cats we have are more than enough. I am an avowed cat person, and while I don't mind dogs, I much prefer them to belong to other people. But for some reason lately, getting a dog has seemed like, if not a good idea, then at least not a terrible one. But at dinner on Saturday there was a conversation about dogs and crate-training, and the kinds of accidents that are common when one has dogs...and after about ten minutes of listening to that I realized that nope, sorry, no dogs for me. If the kiddo gets older and wants one, there will be a lot of thought and proving levels of responsibility before it happens, but it will only be upon her request. I'll stick with my cats. There may still be accidents from time to time, but they are the kind I am much more used to handling.
After dinner on Saturday, Baby Girl and I went home and curled up together to watch my second favorite Doris Day movie, Lover Come Back. I hadn't seen that movie in at least ten years, and thought I would order it from Netflix to see if it was as awesome as I remembered it from my childhood. I have to say that despite the horrible gender stereotypes, it totally lived up to my expectations. I will be getting that to add to my permanent collection soon.
(For those of you wondering, my favorite Doris Day movie is Calamity Jane.)
Yesterday was just kind of a quiet day. Went to church (where my daughter somehow managed to escape from the nursery, but was thankfully found and returned by a nice couple before she could exit the church completely), then came home and spent the day with my husband and daughter. My mother-in-law had been out of town visiting her parents but she got back in yesterday and swung by for a quick visit on her way through Fort Worth. It was really nice to get to see her again.
All in all, it was a very good weekend. Plenty of time with friends and family, lots of time spent hanging out with my daughter, and I was still able to sneak away for some gaming and crocheting. Life is good, my friends.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some laundry to tackle, and I have to attempt to trim a 16 month old's fingernails. Wish me luck! Here, I will leave you with this awesome cartoon from The Oatmeal to start your week off right: Cat vs. The Internet
I got both the front panels of my official current crochet project done, huzzah! Now I just have to do the skirt part of the sweater and then assemble the pieces. Hopefully I can knock this one out this week.
I made some pretty significant progress in my video game. I blew through the first part of the Olympus Coliseum level in twenty minutes, I kid you not. I even beat Cloud, which I had never managed to do before! For those curious, the Olympus Coliseum level is a series of tournaments against various Heartless and other opponents. The initial part is five battles against Heartless (in a row, with no stopping to save or go to the menu to restock items), then Cloud (who I think is a FF character), and then Cerberus. After that, you can (and should) come back to the world periodically to compete in new tournaments, eventually fighting Hercules and Hades. You get extra loot if you complete each tournament by yourself and within a time limit after your initial play-through. So far I have completed the second round by myself, and I got to the last battle of it a couple of times in the time limit but haven't finished it yet (it is nine battles you have to complete inside of three minutes). Yesterday I got to the Monstro level, which is where I got stuck the last time I played. I am going to try to power through that today, so fingers crossed.
I will note that a few of the issues I have with the game that I complained about last week, I have already learned get corrected with extra in-game experience. Mainly the number of items your character can equip does increase (and I also learned the healing spell, so I can do that instead of potions if I need to, as long as my magic holds up). Also, after a while, you earn the ability to recover your magic power naturally over time. It is slow, but you can equip an ability to speed it up a little bit. It makes sense that this is something I would have missed the first few times through though, because I really wasn't paying attention to the abilities and I hadn't yet figured out the strategy involved in leveling up. So, that has made playing a lot more fun again. The camera still blows though. I will be running toward a target and as soon as I get close, the camera will just swing around and I won't be able to see anything. This seriously slows me down in combat, because I spend half the time running in the wrong direction as I can't see where my character is or is going. Sigh. Oh well. I am trying to ignore that part and enjoy the bit where I am actually having fun.
One of my very best friends had a birthday this past week, so on Saturday my daughter and I went out to dinner with her, her husband, her parents, and another friend at one of my very favorite restaurants, King Tut. If you like Mediterranean food and are in or find yourself in the Fort Worth area, please do give this place a try. The food is fantastic, the atmosphere is the perfect amount of cheesy, and the staff (it is owned and run by a family) are just super friendly. Dinner was a blast, and Baby Girl performed admirably, impressing people with how well behaved she is in restaurants. We got lucky with this kid, I tell you. Also, she continued her tradition of eschewing bread, sadly, but she did like the hummus even without the bread, so there's that.
I definitively decided that I do not want to get a dog. I know that may seem like it came from out of nowhere (it certainly did when I told my husband the other day), but I actually have, for the last few weeks, been thinking about getting a dog. Not seriously or anything, just idle thoughts. I think I am just dreaming of a new pet, even though I think right now the two cats we have are more than enough. I am an avowed cat person, and while I don't mind dogs, I much prefer them to belong to other people. But for some reason lately, getting a dog has seemed like, if not a good idea, then at least not a terrible one. But at dinner on Saturday there was a conversation about dogs and crate-training, and the kinds of accidents that are common when one has dogs...and after about ten minutes of listening to that I realized that nope, sorry, no dogs for me. If the kiddo gets older and wants one, there will be a lot of thought and proving levels of responsibility before it happens, but it will only be upon her request. I'll stick with my cats. There may still be accidents from time to time, but they are the kind I am much more used to handling.
After dinner on Saturday, Baby Girl and I went home and curled up together to watch my second favorite Doris Day movie, Lover Come Back. I hadn't seen that movie in at least ten years, and thought I would order it from Netflix to see if it was as awesome as I remembered it from my childhood. I have to say that despite the horrible gender stereotypes, it totally lived up to my expectations. I will be getting that to add to my permanent collection soon.
(For those of you wondering, my favorite Doris Day movie is Calamity Jane.)
Yesterday was just kind of a quiet day. Went to church (where my daughter somehow managed to escape from the nursery, but was thankfully found and returned by a nice couple before she could exit the church completely), then came home and spent the day with my husband and daughter. My mother-in-law had been out of town visiting her parents but she got back in yesterday and swung by for a quick visit on her way through Fort Worth. It was really nice to get to see her again.
All in all, it was a very good weekend. Plenty of time with friends and family, lots of time spent hanging out with my daughter, and I was still able to sneak away for some gaming and crocheting. Life is good, my friends.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some laundry to tackle, and I have to attempt to trim a 16 month old's fingernails. Wish me luck! Here, I will leave you with this awesome cartoon from The Oatmeal to start your week off right: Cat vs. The Internet
 |
| No Daddy, you can't have my Christmas bear! |
Monday, November 29, 2010
Giving Way to My Creative Side
I feel like I got a lot done this past weekend, creatively speaking.
I hit 50,000 words in my NaNoWriMo novel and waved as my narrative just flew on by them. That was an awesome feeling, let me tell you. Technically, I have now officially won NaNoWriMo. However, I am not uploading my 50,000+ word document to the site's verification engine until I have completed the story, because the challenge for me was not about reaching the word count (though that was certainly part of it), but about actually finishing the story. I actually had a moment of panic when I realized I had passed that number, because holy cow I still hadn't made it to the climax of the story. This was Friday night. Saturday I had another writing date with my friend and fellow NaNoWriMo participant Miss T, and we pretty much camped out at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble for six hours giving each other feedback, bouncing ideas off of each other, and, well, writing. Despite the post-lunch difficulty finding a seat near an outlet (my laptop has zero battery life, I may need to finally cave in and consider getting a new battery for that thing), it was a fantastic experience. It also managed to kick my butt into high writing gear.
Ideally, I would like to finish the story this evening,, I have until midnight tomorrow to upload the story, but I would like to not be frantically working until the last moment to finish. That kind of stress just isn't necessary. But if that's what has to happen, then I will accept it, as long as I actually meet the goal. I think it will happen. I crammed as much writing into yesterday as I could. Thankfully, Sundays are a slow internet day for me, which means more of my allotted computer time can be devoted to writing rather than reading the eight zillion blogs I follow in my feed reader. I've gotten my characters to the climax, now they just have to survive it and let me wrap up this part of their story. I definitely think there is enough here for another novel, maybe two. So I do think I will be returning to this world. I devoted a lot of time to world building, and as a result, I have a wealth of information that didn't get conveyed in this particular story but will be very helpful down the line.
I know I've said several times already how glad I am that I decided to participate in this challenge this year, but I truly do feel that it bears repeating. In addition to getting me writing an actual narrative once more, it has also helped me to see a lot of things about my writing style that need to be addressed. Learning your weaknesses is always a good thing if you are willing to work on improving them, I feel. I also think that this has brought me and Miss T a lot closer to each other, which has been very nice indeed. There's always room in my world for stronger friendships. When we closed up shop on Saturday we discussed continuing our writing dates on a regular basis throughout the year. I really hope we can juggle our respective schedules to make that work, because it is a fantastic idea. So if you consider yourself a writer at any level, and you like to write any kind of prose, I strongly recommend that you consider NaNoWriMo next year. Even if you don't reach the 50,000 words or finish your story, there is so much to be gained from the experience.
In addition to my writing, I also got quite a bit of crocheting done. I am now done with my sweater and it is so warm and cozy! I love how it came out.
The pattern for the sweater is Ladylike Pullover (pattern # 90189AD), by Lion Brand. It is available for free (though free registration on the site is required) at Lion Brand's website.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Grey Heather (7 balls to make size L)
Hook size: J-10
Ever since I got the sleeves attached and started working on the yoke, I have been constantly fighting the urge to slip it on and try it out, unfinished or not. So it was nice to finally finish and be able to put it on! While I was working on that, I also managed to burn through my Netflix DVDs and a few episodes of Atlantis with my husband, which added to my feeling of productivity.
I also managed to wrap some more Christmas presents, we bought several for our daughter when we went to the store this past week, and several more that I had ordered from Amazon came in. The trick is to find a place to do it where neither my daughter nor my cats (specifically, Tony) can get into the wrapping paper. My husband found this video online and is convinced Tony would let us do this to him. I am not so sure, but it is an amusing thought.
Speaking of Christmas and crochet, if you are looking for something crafty to do for the geeks in your life, I found some awesome crochet patterns this weekend. I will totally be making all of these things soon.
The Cthulhu toque. This is available in adult and baby sizes. You can purchase them pre-made or buy the pattern for only $5 if you want to give it a try yourself. I am totally going to be making one for my daughter next year. Not that she actually wears hats, she takes them off as soon as we put them on her head, but still. Also, my recent online discoveries of all of the cuddly Cthulhu crafts really make me feel that I need to actually read some Lovecraft one of these days. So...it's an educational gift as well, right?
I also stumbled across patterns for Star Wars Amigurumi. You can buy the set of ten patterns, or each pattern is available individually. I need an R2D2 and a Stormtrooper for my desk, and I think Miss T has first dibs on a Yoda for her classroom. The author has a lot of other cute patterns available as well, including a dragon and a wizard. Ooh.
Word Count Update: 62,648
Page Count Update: 113
I hit 50,000 words in my NaNoWriMo novel and waved as my narrative just flew on by them. That was an awesome feeling, let me tell you. Technically, I have now officially won NaNoWriMo. However, I am not uploading my 50,000+ word document to the site's verification engine until I have completed the story, because the challenge for me was not about reaching the word count (though that was certainly part of it), but about actually finishing the story. I actually had a moment of panic when I realized I had passed that number, because holy cow I still hadn't made it to the climax of the story. This was Friday night. Saturday I had another writing date with my friend and fellow NaNoWriMo participant Miss T, and we pretty much camped out at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble for six hours giving each other feedback, bouncing ideas off of each other, and, well, writing. Despite the post-lunch difficulty finding a seat near an outlet (my laptop has zero battery life, I may need to finally cave in and consider getting a new battery for that thing), it was a fantastic experience. It also managed to kick my butt into high writing gear.
Ideally, I would like to finish the story this evening,, I have until midnight tomorrow to upload the story, but I would like to not be frantically working until the last moment to finish. That kind of stress just isn't necessary. But if that's what has to happen, then I will accept it, as long as I actually meet the goal. I think it will happen. I crammed as much writing into yesterday as I could. Thankfully, Sundays are a slow internet day for me, which means more of my allotted computer time can be devoted to writing rather than reading the eight zillion blogs I follow in my feed reader. I've gotten my characters to the climax, now they just have to survive it and let me wrap up this part of their story. I definitely think there is enough here for another novel, maybe two. So I do think I will be returning to this world. I devoted a lot of time to world building, and as a result, I have a wealth of information that didn't get conveyed in this particular story but will be very helpful down the line.
I know I've said several times already how glad I am that I decided to participate in this challenge this year, but I truly do feel that it bears repeating. In addition to getting me writing an actual narrative once more, it has also helped me to see a lot of things about my writing style that need to be addressed. Learning your weaknesses is always a good thing if you are willing to work on improving them, I feel. I also think that this has brought me and Miss T a lot closer to each other, which has been very nice indeed. There's always room in my world for stronger friendships. When we closed up shop on Saturday we discussed continuing our writing dates on a regular basis throughout the year. I really hope we can juggle our respective schedules to make that work, because it is a fantastic idea. So if you consider yourself a writer at any level, and you like to write any kind of prose, I strongly recommend that you consider NaNoWriMo next year. Even if you don't reach the 50,000 words or finish your story, there is so much to be gained from the experience.
In addition to my writing, I also got quite a bit of crocheting done. I am now done with my sweater and it is so warm and cozy! I love how it came out.
 |
| Lady Grey by Cori 2010. |
 |
| A closeup view of the pattern detail. |
 |
| Action shot! |
The pattern for the sweater is Ladylike Pullover (pattern # 90189AD), by Lion Brand. It is available for free (though free registration on the site is required) at Lion Brand's website.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Grey Heather (7 balls to make size L)
Hook size: J-10
Ever since I got the sleeves attached and started working on the yoke, I have been constantly fighting the urge to slip it on and try it out, unfinished or not. So it was nice to finally finish and be able to put it on! While I was working on that, I also managed to burn through my Netflix DVDs and a few episodes of Atlantis with my husband, which added to my feeling of productivity.
I also managed to wrap some more Christmas presents, we bought several for our daughter when we went to the store this past week, and several more that I had ordered from Amazon came in. The trick is to find a place to do it where neither my daughter nor my cats (specifically, Tony) can get into the wrapping paper. My husband found this video online and is convinced Tony would let us do this to him. I am not so sure, but it is an amusing thought.
Speaking of Christmas and crochet, if you are looking for something crafty to do for the geeks in your life, I found some awesome crochet patterns this weekend. I will totally be making all of these things soon.
The Cthulhu toque. This is available in adult and baby sizes. You can purchase them pre-made or buy the pattern for only $5 if you want to give it a try yourself. I am totally going to be making one for my daughter next year. Not that she actually wears hats, she takes them off as soon as we put them on her head, but still. Also, my recent online discoveries of all of the cuddly Cthulhu crafts really make me feel that I need to actually read some Lovecraft one of these days. So...it's an educational gift as well, right?
I also stumbled across patterns for Star Wars Amigurumi. You can buy the set of ten patterns, or each pattern is available individually. I need an R2D2 and a Stormtrooper for my desk, and I think Miss T has first dibs on a Yoda for her classroom. The author has a lot of other cute patterns available as well, including a dragon and a wizard. Ooh.
Word Count Update: 62,648
Page Count Update: 113
Friday, November 26, 2010
I Am Taking the Day Off
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! If you are braving the Black Friday crowds and hunting out good deals today, I wish you luck. I kind of think you're crazy (it's called, Amazon, folks), but, still, I wish you luck. Happy hunting.
Me? Well, I have spent the past two days cleaning, running errands, and cooking. So today, I am taking the day off. Other than tending to Baby Girl and getting some writing done, I am just going to chill. This shouldn't be terribly difficult seeing as how our lovely sixty and seventy degree weather seems to have abandoned us. I know my husband wants to try to start getting some of the Christmas decorations up, so yes, I will help him get the boxes down from the attic. But in return I am gonna make him sit down and watch some Stargate Atlantis with me.
I have a few DVDs from Netflix waiting to be watched. Just so you can get a sense of my own personal brand of schizophrenia, they are: Hello Again, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and the second disc of the complete series set of Crusade. I may or may not watch some of those. If I don't, I will probably give in to the siren call of Towers of Midnight. I am about halfway through and man oh man things are heating up.
I am also making some pretty good progress on the sweater I am currently crocheting. I have gotten the main part of the body and one of the sleeves done. So if I give in to the movies, I will definitely be trying to get the second sleeve done.
And there you have it. That's my day. Fun, no? I hope you and yours are happy and blessed. Have a wonderful weekend folks.
Word Count Update: 47,799 out of 50,000
Me? Well, I have spent the past two days cleaning, running errands, and cooking. So today, I am taking the day off. Other than tending to Baby Girl and getting some writing done, I am just going to chill. This shouldn't be terribly difficult seeing as how our lovely sixty and seventy degree weather seems to have abandoned us. I know my husband wants to try to start getting some of the Christmas decorations up, so yes, I will help him get the boxes down from the attic. But in return I am gonna make him sit down and watch some Stargate Atlantis with me.
I have a few DVDs from Netflix waiting to be watched. Just so you can get a sense of my own personal brand of schizophrenia, they are: Hello Again, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and the second disc of the complete series set of Crusade. I may or may not watch some of those. If I don't, I will probably give in to the siren call of Towers of Midnight. I am about halfway through and man oh man things are heating up.
I am also making some pretty good progress on the sweater I am currently crocheting. I have gotten the main part of the body and one of the sleeves done. So if I give in to the movies, I will definitely be trying to get the second sleeve done.
And there you have it. That's my day. Fun, no? I hope you and yours are happy and blessed. Have a wonderful weekend folks.
 | ||
| Yay! Weekend! |
Word Count Update: 47,799 out of 50,000
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)