![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Random
Our Urban Nature Walk yesterday was great. We walked around Jamaica Pond, and despite a dearth of binoculars, saw and discussed a dozen or so bird species, including one I'd never seen before (and without binoculars I originally IDed as a cedar waxwing). The white squirrel made an appearance, and one of the new participants identified a hedge as American bittersweet, a plant I knew existed but hadn't experienced. Naturally, Alexis took a bunch of great pictures, and if you haven't seen them yet, what's wrong with you? I mean, here they are. The same new participant told us of the burry man, a tradition I think we need to start up in the States.
We saw Grindhouse: Planet Terror this weekend. I enjoyed it, but I have a secret to confess: I'm tired of zombies. Yes, it's true. I think after Black Sheep I reached my limit, and yet I still have about 50 zombie movies in my Netflix queue. 28 Weeks Later and Fido are coming up soon, and I'm really looking forward to them, but after that I have to take a zombie break. Anyway, Planet Terror was generally well made, had some scary parts in the beginning, had a LOT of splatter gore effects (side note: I'm a very squeamish movie goer--I find convincing scenes of someone in pain very hard to take--but zombie movie gore doesn't gross me out for some reason) with squib packs that seemed to have a quart of goo in each burst. The cgi effects were mostly well-hidden. It just kind of goes on and on after a while (I don't know if this is a problem with Planet Terror or a symptom of my greater zombie fatigue) and wore out its welcome with me.
The guy behind BBT requested that I review Marquis, a movie co-written by the artistic designer behind Fantastic Planet which seems to be about the Marquis de Sade in prison having conversations with his penis, which is an animated character in the film. It hasn't been released on dvd yet, and out-of-print vhs copies cost between 15 and 60 dollars. If anyone has a copy they'd like to lend me, that would be most convenient. At this point, however, I think I need to watch something unfreaky to recombobulate myself a bit.
Last night was the first in many where I had vivid dreams that were NOT work anxiety dreams, at least not obviously. I've put more subconscious time into that than any other I've had. I should punch in when I go into REM sleep.
I vow every year to do no shopping of any kind between Thanksgiving and New Years to avoid the horror of the holidays, especially pumped in musical dreck, and every year I have to buy groceries and other stuff. The bell-ringer in front of my supermarket managed to clang her clanger in a slightly less annoying way than usual. Or maybe I'm mellowing out with age. I'll try not to rain on everyone's glitter-coated poinsettia parade, but I have some advice: RELAX. Don't work yourselves up into a yuletide frenzy, you Santa-ists. It happens every year, it's all festivities and ugly sweaters and singing ornaments and eggnog and forced cheer and meeting with friends and loved ones and blinking lights andhuman sacrifice claymation and cinnamon and menorahs and dreidels and wrapping paper and bows and awkward parties at work and dancing around explicit religious references at school and construction paper stars and butter cookies and BAM it's January and you're stuck with 2 to 5 more months of dark and cold and sleet and no public festivals except the Superbowl and Valentines Day. Except for you Australians. Do they have "the holidays" in Australia? And if so, WHY? Do you import Norway Spruces and spray them with artificial snow? Does Santa arrive wearing surfing shorts? Do you roast kangaroo nuts on an open fire? I digress. (I love you Australians, and I'm jealous of your upside-down seasons.) All I mean is, if you celebrate some kind of late December thing, don't burn yourself out, don't take it too seriously, despite what Old Navy and the diamond merchants (oh yeah, a 5000 dollar rock is a good gift) and the santa-hatted androids on TV would have you think, IT'S NOT VERY IMPORTANT. Some people don't celebrate any kind of holiday in December. Maybe I'll watch more zombie movies.
We saw Grindhouse: Planet Terror this weekend. I enjoyed it, but I have a secret to confess: I'm tired of zombies. Yes, it's true. I think after Black Sheep I reached my limit, and yet I still have about 50 zombie movies in my Netflix queue. 28 Weeks Later and Fido are coming up soon, and I'm really looking forward to them, but after that I have to take a zombie break. Anyway, Planet Terror was generally well made, had some scary parts in the beginning, had a LOT of splatter gore effects (side note: I'm a very squeamish movie goer--I find convincing scenes of someone in pain very hard to take--but zombie movie gore doesn't gross me out for some reason) with squib packs that seemed to have a quart of goo in each burst. The cgi effects were mostly well-hidden. It just kind of goes on and on after a while (I don't know if this is a problem with Planet Terror or a symptom of my greater zombie fatigue) and wore out its welcome with me.
The guy behind BBT requested that I review Marquis, a movie co-written by the artistic designer behind Fantastic Planet which seems to be about the Marquis de Sade in prison having conversations with his penis, which is an animated character in the film. It hasn't been released on dvd yet, and out-of-print vhs copies cost between 15 and 60 dollars. If anyone has a copy they'd like to lend me, that would be most convenient. At this point, however, I think I need to watch something unfreaky to recombobulate myself a bit.
Last night was the first in many where I had vivid dreams that were NOT work anxiety dreams, at least not obviously. I've put more subconscious time into that than any other I've had. I should punch in when I go into REM sleep.
I vow every year to do no shopping of any kind between Thanksgiving and New Years to avoid the horror of the holidays, especially pumped in musical dreck, and every year I have to buy groceries and other stuff. The bell-ringer in front of my supermarket managed to clang her clanger in a slightly less annoying way than usual. Or maybe I'm mellowing out with age. I'll try not to rain on everyone's glitter-coated poinsettia parade, but I have some advice: RELAX. Don't work yourselves up into a yuletide frenzy, you Santa-ists. It happens every year, it's all festivities and ugly sweaters and singing ornaments and eggnog and forced cheer and meeting with friends and loved ones and blinking lights and
no subject
no subject
no subject
Yes, yes we do. To be truthful it's just Christmas where I am. It's mental. I'm constantly surprised by how prevalent the winter motifs tend to be. I'm in Queensland, a northern state, so it's hot as hell all through December here, but you'd think the whole of the country was pining for England to look at the decorations. We get "White Christmas" piped in to shopping strips, most Santas wear the whole furry kit and people spray fake snow of every variety all over the joint - while it's 35 degrees Celcius outside. It's deeply bizzare, and something I notice acutley - I'm a pagan, so it's all Midsummer to my eyes. Fake snow is the dumbest decorator idea ever. Christmas Day is often the hottest day in December, hot humid and oppresive, but people still wear velvet Santa hats. Christmas trees are often dusted with fake snow, unless some sensible person decided to use an eucalyptus branch, which sometimes replaces the pine (plastic or plantation) and fills the house with that awesome bush aroma. Could never talk my mother into doing that, though.
Santa does sometimes arrive in surf shorts, though it's nowhere near as common as the sweltering red suit. Pulled by six white boomers, apparently, though I'm going on heresay here since I never saw them and man, I looked.
As for the kangaroo nuts on open fires, there's often fire bans on that time of year, since it's the height of summer and usually tinder dry even in urban areas. You're more likely to find seafood, especially prawns, trifle, ice desserts of all types and cold meats.
KRINGLE KAOS
HO! HO! HO!
Re: KRINGLE KAOS
Re: KRINGLE KAOS
Re: KRINGLE KAOS
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
For groceries we go to the local farmers' market at 6:30 am on Saturday to beat the crowds, and then we go to the grocery store for dry goods right at 8 am when they open. Then we go straight home for the rest of the weekend.
Maybe this is why we can still enjoy the season without going crazy ourselves. The insanity is so unnecessary.
no subject
no subject
I wonder sometimes if the pagans have more fun at the holidays than we do, but this leads to the question, what would it mean to be pagan in the 21th century? The Icelanders have been reviving asatru, and unsurprisingly it attracts the attention of erudite symbolic analyst types in their prosperous land. One thing they get that we don't is a different menu and mead, mead, mead.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
I'm with you on this. Everyone needs to calm the hell down and, at the very least, enjoy themselves.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
We celebrate a weird mix of (totally nonreligious) holidays around here, mostly focused on the solstice/new year. Our cards usually say "merry winter!"
I do have to admit, having a 2 year old who goes "ooooh" at the sight of gaudy xmas decorations is melting my heart a little bit. But he's just a magpie who likes the sparklies.
Re: the holidays
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/21/1520253
Re: the holidays
no subject
Christmas Dinner is usually a BBQ, and an afternoon at the beach. Chicken and salad are quite popular too.
re kangaroo nuts, no, but we do give out their scrotums as coin bags.
Bittersweet
Re: Bittersweet
Re: Bittersweet
no subject
The frenzy is bad, too. People feel obligated to spend beyond their means, and having deadlines for extra obligations without having extra time to fulfill them is a sure recipe for stress.
But as for the holidays themselves, I'd argue that they are important. In your list of obnoxious things about the holidays, you included "meeting with friends and loved ones." Why is this a bad thing? Just as the Commandment to "keep holy the Sabbath day" forces Jews (and adherents of all the spin-off religions) to take a mandatory breather every week to unwind and to reconnect with their deity, I think holidays give us a similarly structured time to reconnect with family--natural or intentional--and to nurture bonds we may have neglected. Groaning about doing so seems a sure sign that it needs doing--sort of like an out-of-shape person whining about exercise.
no subject
I try not to worry too much about Xmas...what happens happens and I don't get all crazy about buying stuff and whatnot...
I loved having Christmas in Chile when it was hot during Xmas! :) fun fun fun...