Exit, Pursued by a Bear

February 10,11

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:59:21 GMT

February 9

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:42:37 GMT

February 8

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:19:23 GMT

From Picture a Day 2009

Today got two because I had to show off some of my putzing with my new homemade light box. Needs some work, as the caption says, but I love it and I look forward to using it lots.

February 6,7

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:39:23 GMT

Yeah... I really blow at posting these right away... BUT! I am doing them daily. So yay.

From Picture a Day 2009

February 4,5

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:44:34 GMT

From Picture a Day 2009

And a link to the album will be moved to the top of my journal. Feel free to check often! (Especially because I'll be in NYC for a week starting next Friday!)

A Love Story

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:00:11 GMT

I woke up this morning with all the trepidation of a condemned man on the dawn of his last day. God knows I wanted a cigarette and my last words were already waiting patiently on my lips: "You wanna talk to God? Let's go see him together. I've got nothing better to do..." Instead I was meeting an old lover. I set myself up for disappointment; after all, things that were once that wonderful can rarely ever be again. I actually fussed a little over my outfit. Was I dressed appropriately? Was my hair out of my eyes? Would I resemble at all the girl I was when we first met? Fresh faced and mop-topped, without all the care I wear in the circles under my eyes today? I had to talk myself down from a shot of Jameson to calm my nerves, reminding myself that it was still morning. I left my apartment early to gingerly make the trek to our rendezvous spot. I thought it only fitting that my mp3 player only found melancholy love songs to play today. When I got there, I took a seat and placed my jacket on my chair, as if to reserve a spot for him. A few feet away from me, a young and handsome man waited alone as well, also marking an empty chair with a jacket. We nodded to each other, a rare and fleeting moment of human connection in a day that had to feel just as lonely for him as it did for me. What if the love of my life didn't show? Or worse, what if he showed up without even a shadow of the man I had grown to love and spent a lifetime worshipping. I would soon have the answer. The lights dimmed and my heart leaped to my throat, my eyes welling with tears as that cherished name came across the screen once again.

A few confessions: I have said this before, but I haven't extrapolated as I must now. My apartment is covered in Star Wars memorabilia, it's true. Star Wars has always been marketed better. In truth, though, my heart belongs to Indiana Jones (that's Dr. Jones, to you). When I was first introduced to him, I was too young for him (five when Last Crusade released), much like Marion Ravenwood was when their paths first crossed. I was a child and I didn't fully understand but I do now. My love has grown and developed as I have, waxing and waning from adolescent lust that I didn't quite comprehend (particularly during two scenes in Raiders and Last Crusade that I'm not proud of...) to wishing that every man that broke my heart had the good sense to leave "forever", only to return years later wearing a leather jacket and a fedora so I could greet him with a right cross to the jaw. (Marion Ravenwood served as a role model for a young Shannon which today makes a lot of sense...) Before I became old and cynical at 24, and I dreamed of marriage, I wanted an Indy/Marion themed wedding far more than a Han/Leia wedding. (Shut up. I would have walked down the aisle to "Marion's Theme" and Marion had a white dress even!!!) Most importantly though, Indiana Jones deepened my love of knowledge and my desire to quest wherever I needed to to find it because he made it so noble and exciting. At three, before even hearing of Indiana Jones, I was deeply set on becoming an Egyptologist, so you can imagine what happened when I first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark three years later. I've watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade countless times (yes, more than I've watched Star Wars) and recently have come to appreciate Temple of Doom for what it is. The point is that these movies through worn out VHS cassettes and oft played DVDs are a part of who I am, perhaps more than any other movies ever. I put a lot on the line by even seeing this today. I risked my childhood and several angry hours of potential ranting.

For the most part, I was not disappointed. I will freely admit that nostalgia probably saved this movie for me. I have never seen an Indiana Jones flick on the big screen, and I was entirely charmed alone by the notion of finally doing that. There were very few references to the trilogy that I found to be heavy handed. In fact, I can only think of one. Everything else was in keeping with the characters (perhaps save Marion) and made me smile, laugh out loud, or clap. And the allusions that touched me the most were not quotes, or jokes, but just thematic moments, enhanced by a musical theme from whichever movie they were referencing. For instance, there was a particularly nice moment on the motorcycle calling to mind another nice moment on a motorcycle. This might be a touch best resonating with fans like me that can quote an Indy movie just by a random score track being played, though. (That was a game for my high school sweetheart and I during long phone conversations: he would fast forward to a random part of Last Crusade, make sure there was no dialogue or sound effects and play a couple seconds to see if I could quote the next scene...)

But like so many love stories, this one does not have a happy ending. There is no ride into the sunset, no closing kiss for Dr. Jones and I. This is not just because of the dismal third act of the movie, either. Our reunion suffered, as so many reunions do, from the very relics and memories that spawned the necessity of reunion in the first place. The memories and the fondness associated with them become their own entity, and grow to replace that which they memorialize in the first place. This is not to say that I no longer love Indy, only that once again my love has evolved and grown. He's older now. So am I. While the cynical intellect and chiseled jaw are still there, my dearest Dr. Jones is not the man I fell in love with anymore. My suspicions are that he never was, as people my age were raised with Indiana Jones as his own entertainment empire, and not the loving tributes to early film adventure serials that the films were intended to be. And now that I'm older, I can accept that. I can love my new understanding of the thing. And I can still hold on to the girlish crush that I've had since 1990, when I sneaked Raiders of the Lost Ark to the basement, and I ran screaming from the room at the sight of all those spiders only to return timidly just in time to see Marion throwing back shots - a particularly rebellious act for a woman in my super-Catholic household- and sat enthralled as the adventure unfolded in front of me. No, there was no "Happily Ever After" for us, I knew there couldn't be, but there were bittersweet tears of joy at the person I've become and the character he's remained. It was good to hear what he's been up to and comforting to know he hasn't compromised himself. While I wouldn't say no to another drink with him someday, I can finally stop wondering "what if..."

Indiana Jones. I always knew some day you'd come walking back through my door. I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable.

Shannon's Day Out

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Sat, 24 May 2008 23:59:15 GMT

I am beat. I've been so blue lately that I decided to take myself out on a couple dates this week. Today I took myself to the zoo and tomorrow I will take myself to see Indiana Jones (prepare for a post on that tomorrow afternoon). It's kind of nice just spending time with me. But I walked a lot today. At least 10 miles. And the smartest ten miles I've ever done. I brought three bottles of water (and bought a fourth), some beef jerky, and some SPF 50 (which I actually remembered to put on!). I'm still exhausted, but the best kind. So because of all my wandering today, I've got mad pictures. I took about 400 pictures in the last two days. I separated them, pared them down a whole lot, and posted them for your enjoyment. If you have any thoughts, please feel free to share them! It's good to know what works and what doesn't. Also, the link to my overall picasa site is at the top of my journal. All below pics feature a link beneath them leading to their specific album.

From Henry Vilas Z...

From Candids

From Carnival of D...

From Around Madison

Tee hee

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:48:41 GMT

When I devote so much time right now to reading food labels, it is ever so comforting to read the ingredients list on my bag o' carrots.

"INGREDIENTS: CARROTS"

Also: 9 baby carrots = 35 calories. 1 slice of bread with 2 tablespoons each of PB & J = 300. 1 PB&J = 90 baby carrots.

Quick rant because I'm sick and irritable

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:35:44 GMT

So whenever I get as sick as I currently am (and woo...let me tell you...), the first things I do are go for a walk to get fresh air (if the weather is not a recipe for pneumonia, that is) and then clean my place because whatever germ I have is probably alll over my place and the cleaner I get my place, the shorter my illness will be. What sucks is that I very rarely find I have the strength to keep up the cleaning as long as I need to. (Why am I so damn weak!? Why do I have the constitution of Poor Violet from the Simpsons?!) Anyhow, the reason I started this is because I'm currently doing laundry. Just socks. I own too many socks. We'll be doing a sock purge today. I always buy more and never throw out the bad ones. But I just dragged a load downstairs to find a girl using all the machines and before I could even register this was the case, she turns and snaps at me, "Calm down! I'm almost finished. God!" Whatever. I've got a fever and chills at the same time so I'm wearing a sweatshirt and a skirt to compensate. She, however, is wearing the most annoying of all ensembles for women my age. The trendy "sloppy" outfit. Sweatpants that probably cost more than one of my entire normal ensembles that still look better on her than my best clothes look on me, matching A&F tank top and hoodie worn off the shoulder so you know she really doesn't care, and American Eagle hat pulled over her hair that she took the time to do and oh, yes, her perfectly made up face. What is that? Are we really so shallow that we primp to look sloppy? Why would you pay $70 for clothes you do laundry in!? The same goes for workout clothes. Call me crazy, but I wear a crappy t-shirt and whatever soccer shorts were on sale when I go running. I don't have a matching outfit that, again, cost $50-60.

I'm cranky and this took a lot out of me. I'm crawling back to the couch until my socks are done.

This is too funny

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:55:58 GMT

And I feel sooo cruel for laughing as hard as I did...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9_CdNPuJg

Goddamnit.

Argh!

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:56:13 GMT

When did I get so fat? And why aren't I losing any weight? I've been inadvertently starving myself between having no appetite and craving only plain white rice at night and I've been working out a little bit every day. I know it won't happen over night but jesus. I threw a girly fit this morning getting into my swim suit. I wish I had a waterproof snow suit to wear. I would do it. What also bothers me is the fact that I'm thinner than I've ever been everywhere but my stomach - where I'm thicker than ever. I know it's stress and ulcer related bloating (because the vomit inducing pain wasn't enough :( ) but that doesn't sufficiently shut my brain up.

It's stupid, but I'm seriously upset about this. So much so that I almost cancelled my vacation.

Hardly working then working way too hard

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:13:47 GMT

The system was down (cue Strong Bad) today so from 9am to 4:30pm I did nothing remotely productive. Thank god I brought my minis to work to paint or I would have died of boredom (yes. I painted minis alll day at work. my boss commended me on keeping my non-work activities work related...). Then at 4:30, the computers came back to life and we had to redo all of Monday's work, effectively. Monday had been erased in the system so we all had to re-enter the orders from Monday to make sure that customers got charged and our inventory wasn't off. I didn't get home til 8pm tonight. Those last few hours were absolutely spirit crushing. High pressure, high stress data entry with one boss dejectedly wandering out of the office never to be heard from again and the other pacing up and down the aisles of the sales pit making sure that we didn't screw up because if we screwed up one order, we would be back in that same position again. *shudder* At first I was thinking that I wouldn't appreciate my vacation so much if I wasn't actually working this week.

I was sooo wrong. I am dying for a busy day on the phones with my customers tomorrow and I never ever thought I'd say that.

Kalahari!

Good night, friends!!!

Taking a break from painting Shaun...

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:15:37 GMT

...and I thought I'd say a few words.

KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI! KALAHARI!

I am so stoked for vacation.

I still have to pack. What board games to bring!? (Ev - I know Steve doesn't read this anymore (who can blame him...) so you should sit down and check out my list of games on boardgamegeek.com)

Back to painting a tiny cricket bat and shirt with "red on [it]".

I hadn't thought of that

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:41:27 GMT

Have you ever vaguely thought of something as an option, dismissed it for one reason or another and formed a sort of mental block about it? Have you ever then had someone else point it out to you again with a great big "DUH" attached?

I had that happen to me tonight. Apparently it's obvious to everyone but me that one of my very best friends has feelings for me. It's nothing I can entertain right now. It's something I recognized as having incredible potential but I've always dismissed it for something I still can't ignore. So I have a mental block on it. Plus, there's the still being heartbroken over Tristen thing...

It's not an option. But damn is it ever intriguing/thought provoking...

Rest in Peace

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:23:26 GMT

Gary Gygax passed away today.

Rest in Peace, gentle nerd soul. :'(

On second thought...

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:06:51 GMT

Maybe a wiki is a better idea... Blast. I forgot how haphazardly I'm approaching all of this.

ARGH!!!!!!! DAMN YOU SLOPPY CREATIVE THINKING!!!!!

Upgrade

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:52:10 GMT

I am upgrading to a paid LJ account. It's cheap and in lieu of my website (my poor, poor website that I miss but I just don't have enough time for...) I figure I can spend a couple bucks a month to make myself happier here and make the site more useful for me in the long run. I'm also going to make this a friends only journal. Does anyone know if there's a quick menu option to do that or do I have to go through each of my nearly 800 posts and set them to friends only?

I'm opting for the LJ community for the 7th Sea business but I have to make myself kinda clear, to the point of almost being a bitch. I am not a big fan of teamwork. This is my baby. In sharing this, this is not me saying "Now you write a chapter!" No, no. I need player feedback and eventually playtesters. I need people who have played before and hated it, people who have played before and loved it, and people who have never played before to look at this and understand and want to play. Sorry if that seems bitchy. I really am sorry. I just... I've had so many ideas stolen and commandeered from me in the past, I really want this to be mine (you know, the idea that I'm hijacking and rewriting... :o/). In saying that, I'm asking for your absolutely free advice. If this takes off, thanks, dedications, playtestings and free product abound. I'm going to post things and I want you to tear them apart. I am definitely up for suggestions (magic, swordsman schools, guilds, sects, cults, etc). I guess I'm pretty shamelessly and selfishly asking for your help on this. You have my deepest and most heartfelt thanks.

Here's a link to the community: http://community.livejournal.com/7threnaissance/

Hooray!

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:09:51 GMT

It's the future! AND the past! Never the present!?

http://344design.typepad.com/photos/timetravel/01epttmmarquee.html

Be sure to look at alll the products and their descriptions. I want a bottle of Nihilism wine more than most anything.

Ideas for how to post ideas

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:26:38 GMT

So I'm really really deeply entrenched in 7th Sea work right now. I want some sort of forum to post my ideas and things to in order to get feedback from interested and trusted parties, but I'm blanking on how to do that. I like LJ's format best of all blogs I've used but my only reason to not use it is that I don't want to log in and out of blindmeadowlark. I like remaining logged in. (Wah... I know...)

I also really love LJ because 60% of the people I want to share developments with are already on here and then they don't have to check something different. You can just friend that journal and stay updated.

Any ideas? I want to get this started yesterday (a common theme these days...). Thanks!! I really appreciate the help and input!

Weekend!

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:22:39 GMT

All week long, I lived for this weekend. It did not disappoint.

I can't think of the right or, rather, good enough words to describe it all, so I'll just thank everyone who made it fantastic. Evan and Steve, I love you two more than I think I'll ever be able to love anyone else. Potential suitors will just have to understand that you two always come first. Thanks for the spooning and Planet Hollywood-ing and the being you-ing.

I'm enjoying the stupidity of the Oscars and a little disappointed that my new primer was...hmm...blotchy? It sprayed chunks on my minis which now need to be stripped before I can paint them but I think I'm better off just reading and sipping Jameson anyway. It seems like a far more appropriate end to such a remarkable weekend.

*sigh*

7th Sea News

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:18:31 GMT

I've entirely revamped my plan of attack for 7th Sea 2nd Edition. The way I see it, it would be done in a couple, much smaller core books. The main book would focus on character creation, game play and basic culture for the world. I want to leave the history and political world entirely out so that people feel more free to create their own world. I realize that the history and standard intrigue is probably the biggest turnoff/obstacle for new 7th Sea players. Instead, I would want all the NPC/event info to have its own book so people who want it can use it but those who don't can just invent their own. That's the point of role playing any way, isn't it?

I'm starting a game for a bunch of Neophytes that will be entirely off the cuff so I can watch them explore the world and see what appeals to them the most. I think this will be the best possible experiment for me in writing the new rules. I will also be testing some new rule concepts I've engineered. This is what I'm most scared of because I suck with mechanics. Hopefully my suckitude will just make the mechanics I come up with easier for other people to understand. Nothing clever, just functional.

Finally, I have been fixating on a campaign idea I want to run for the old group. It would be set in Numa (7th Sea equivalent Rome) with players as either senators or random characters at the moment in history when the "Strangers" show up and bestow magic to the first citizens of Theah. :)

Meme

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:22:35 GMT

1. Fact: I'm a slob but when I'm spending time at another person's home, I obsessively clean up after myself. Maybe not immediately, but within a few minutes.

2. Habit: When crossing the street, it really bothers me to cross at an angle and I can't just step onto a curb, I kind of speed up the two steps before it and do a tiny leap onto the curb. I don't know why.

3. Fact: The first sign of depression for me is pulling out my copy of the poetry of T.S. Eliot.

4. Weird Thing: My eyes change intensity to match my mood. Dark, almost black when I'm angriest/saddest, a light, caramel color when I'm happiest.

5. Fact: My inner monologue is usually performed ala Gilbert & Sullivan. Lately I've been segueing to Stephen Sondheim

6. Habit: Assuming people who aren't as well read as me are less intelligent than me. : /

7. Goal: Perform with an opera company or musical theatre troupe again.

8. Fact: My voice changes every six months. In the fall, most people wouldn't notice because it only affects my singing voice, but in spring I sound like Kathleen Turner for a week. Currently I'm a contralto. :( I miss being a mezzo soprano.

9. Fact: Whenever I listen to a musical or opera, I mentally cast all of my friends in the roles and wonder if we could pull off a performance. Best mental performance to date? 1776.

10. Fact: I have a single pack of Purplesaurus Rex Kool-Aid left and I am keeping it for the toast at my wedding (should I ever have one). That's right. I'd rather have Kool-Aid than champagne.

Redo, redo!

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:05:54 GMT

Ever since I hit "send" last night I've been filled with regret. Every moment has been filled with anxiety about whether or not I made the right decision. Why doesn't life have a do-over button? I've never felt like this after making a decision like this before. I've been sad. I've wished things were different but I've never spent every waking moment asking myself if I made a mistake. Tristen sent me a response today that not only read as genuinely upset and apologetic, but like things might be getting back on track for him. Naturally.

I don't want to be fretting about this. But ultimately it comes down to a decision to either be miserable with him or miserable without him. The line is remarkably thin. The thought I keep having is that I tried to get rid of an emptiness in my life by cutting around it. I only made a bigger hole.

I am so looking forward to the weekend. Anybody wanna take a bullet and sleep with me to take my mind off of things? No?

It was worth a try. I mean, I might as well complicate things.

whimper

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:39:50 GMT

http://gizmodo.com/357952/nerf-vulcan-ebf+25-fully-automatic-toy-dart-gun-rambo-juniors-weapon-of-choice

From Sarah Vowell's "A Civic Thrill"

hail_gloriana@hotmail.com — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:14:47 GMT

One of the items on Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's platform is election-day voter registration. Theoretically, I support anything that increases voter turnout. On the other hand, what's easier than filling out a card with your address on it four weeks before the election? Christ, this thing's been going on for over a year now. Who are these lazy idiots who can't pay attention more than five minutes before they cast their votes? Isn't voting called "suffrage," a word that sounds like doing it should hurt a little?

Speaking of suffrage, I'll end this on the following thought. The protagonist in a recent movie called "The Contender," about the confirmation hearings of a vice-presidential replacement, admits that she's an atheist but says that she has a religion. Her faith is the idea of American democracy itself. It's what she believes, believes IN. I was struck by that, because that's how I feel too. During the New Hampshire primary I got in a screaming fight with candidate Gary Bauer – okay, I screamed, he didn't – who had just whipped out a little paperback copy of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution out of his pocket and said that anyone who doesn't believe in God, doesn't believe in those documents because of the phrase "endowed by their Creator." I told him that, on the contrary, those documents for me have superceded God, that they are my Bible.

All of which to say, look up the word "suffrage" in the dictionary. In mine, after noting the main meanings – the privilege of voting, the "exercise of such a right," the third interpretation of suffrage is this: "A short intercessory prayer." Isn't that beautiful? And true? For what is voting if not a prayer, and what are prayers if not declarations of hope and desire?

Please go vote today, Wisconsinites. It's to the point that I'd almost argue that the primaries are more important than the actual election to make sure the candidate of your choosing even makes it there so you don't have to settle.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

February 10,11

February 9

February 8

February 6,7

February 4,5

A Love Story

Shannon's Day Out

Tee hee

Quick rant because I'm sick and irritable

This is too funny

Argh!

Hardly working then working way too hard

Taking a break from painting Shaun...

I hadn't thought of that

Rest in Peace

On second thought...

Upgrade

Hooray!

Ideas for how to post ideas

Weekend!

7th Sea News

Meme

Redo, redo!

*whimper*

From Sarah Vowell's "A Civic Thrill"

whimper