TWO FISTED HOMEOPAPE September/20 - Digging my own grave of stress and deadlines.
But, it's so cozy down here. Isn't it?
♫ I applied for a rescue dog,
But if I get you dog,
You're rescuing me ♫
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2021 -- beyond.
Brain Power Cycle.
I’m cooked. It’s been a huge term and my brain is fried. I have two weeks off work, and I’m going to need to use a lot of them, but I first took the weekend to really just, well, stop.
I’ve spent the last 5 weeks sprinting through online learning, and I think doing a decent job of managing it, but I could feel myself sprint right up to the finish line of it all, still making calls and writing emails and building resources into the final hours of the Friday. So I thought a weekend of board games and movies and going for walks was a good idea. And it was.
Now, I have two weeks where I need to get ahead on some “old” stuff and charge ahead into some “new” stuff and I’ll hopefully see how I manage it before we return to teaching online for a few more weeks, at the least.
My plan is to chip away at some priority items over the next two weeks a little each day. It’s the sanest way for me to get stuff done, I’m not a wait and cram kinda guy anymore.
Alongside this, my writing is in an interesting place. Almost as if there’s a deficit of deadlines conveniently so I can focus on this workflow.
We are prepping the EVERFROST trade. I still have some BLACK BEACON oversight on elements of the second half. I’m pushing 2 pitches hard, and getting SHE Vol. 2 to the next stage of production. So, it’s stuff to work on, but nothing headache inducing.
The only headache is wishing I had more to write, or more coming out, but then that’d come with extra stress, and time needed, and I don’t think I can afford either alongside the teaching right now, so it’s probably all fortuitous. If I were given complete control and choice, I’d no doubt dig my own grave of stress and deadlines, so I’m glad when the world takes over and doesn’t allow my stupidity to take the wheel.
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Writing memes.
The ability to take something that’s been written and riff on it with more words is a hell of a skill.
This article looks at social media takes on the Baby Shoes 6 word story and the Plums Poem. It reminds me how clever and literate so damn many people can be. And that’s it’s a great mind-bending challenge to write something witty on a prompt or a hashtag.
I’ve always loved the writing response meme or activity. It's a chance to think quick, be creatively constrained, and try a dozen until one fits well. That’s fun for a classroom, fun for social media, fun all around.
Thinking alongside this, the ability to take a thought or belief and turn it into something else that clearly showcases the original thought is some arcane lexicographic sorcery. Case in point: ‘Wake Up, Sailors, Scurvy Is A Hoax’
It’s such a beautiful and simple and effective piece of writing.
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ASD&D.
Played the first game in a while and it was a blast. Set up my own sidequest where I wanted to quickly find the right kind of mark in a tavern I could fleece of their healing potions, and the DM graciously followed me along with it. Was a very fun 10 minute side hustle, that saw us get some potions that will keep us in good stead moving forward.
I’ve also just read the next Candlekeep Mystery, so as to play it with my young’uns, and it’s a good looking adventure. Moody, bit of intrigue, and lots of spots to fill in a few random encounters as the pacing needs.
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PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO SAMPLE
Metaphorical HER on Kickstarter - this looks really slick, and I like both Maddox and Stoll, both Very Good Blokes, so race in and pick up this beauty today!
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GRIST FOR THE MILL
As it’s school holidays, I’ve thrown down the gauntlet to watch 16 flicks and make them face off in a 16 Bracket showdown. The winners will be decided through discussion, and we don’t have to all agree, so it can be 4 separate brackets. A long list was brainstormed, and we are now two movies in. Everyone gets 4 movies to select, and each person will send one flick into the semis.
With lockdown, and maybe still some cold weather, I thought watching with purpose could be fun. No one has locked in all 4 of their flicks, but here’s the start.
SAVING MR BANKS - A great example of taking one thing from real life and showing it in a different way on screen. This is very well crafted emotional stuff, but it's not what happened, but it does make for a great narrative.
The concept of 'control' being so important, and the use of names as representing that control through interconnectedness, was interesting.
This is a sad one, and a little more intense than I was expecting for Family Movie Night - when the father starts coughing up blood and the harried mother wanders off into the lake, to be saved by her 8yo daughter, it got very quiet and serious around here. It's infectious in its desire to make you feel, and for that experience, it's a win.
QUEEN OF KATWE - a story of a young girl in Uganda who becomes their chess master. It’s a really lovely tale, that shows a whole other world from our suburban lockdown, and hopefully gives us all some perspective on what hardship can truly look like.
THE LAST JEDI - second time I’ve watched this and I still thoroughly enjoy it. To get a Star Wars flick that’s this good looking is wild. There are some shots in here that are insanely gorgeous. I also really liked Luke’s final stand. There’s a lot to dig into this flick about Luke and his sense of responsibility and how that changes. You can also look into how Rey and Kylo represent two sides of the same coin in that they are trying to build a future, and definitely move on from the past, but they have two ways of doing it. Rey wants to learn from the past, but Kylo just wants to destroy it. Rey wants a better future, Kylo just wants the past gone. Rey wants safety, which comes from a sense of power, and Kylo wants power, even if it disrupts the safety for everyone.
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Be one of the good guys, because there's way too many of the bad.
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POST CREDITS SEQUENCE
I would very much like to read every EC horror/sci fi/crime comic all over again. Just one a day, until I run out. They were always so glorious and short and sharp and I miss hunting them down in random longboxes.
Another excellent update! That WAKE UP, SAILORS, SCURVEY IS A HOAX is so good. Love it. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the 2 weeks!