Castle in the Air

I'd like to take a moment to discuss a blog I like to read called Got Medieval. It's a blog about all things medieval, obviously. Perhaps I'd be horrifying the author, Carl Pyrdum, though, if I let on that my favourite thing about the blog is the posts on medieval marginalia from illuminated manuscripts.

It's remarkable, for example, how the margins of these manuscripts are full of monkeys.

There are pigs wearing hats.

Rabbits and hounds go to war.

And then there are bears!

I guess I find it so amusing, because everyone knows I like nonsense and random unrelated foolishness. It also reminds me fondly of Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Those butt trumpets? They weren't made up. But don't take my word for it - see for yourself.

I like Star Wars. Well, I like the original movies. The new prequels stank in my opinion. Still, I've never been enough of a fan to know a lot of trivia or anything. So I was surprised at how elated I felt to get my first lightsaber.

I was also surprised about how difficult it is to be a good Jedi. I guess I did remember all of the things that Yoda says to Luke, but I'd never really considered them deeply before. Did you know that Jedi aren't supposed to have romantic relationships? I wonder where baby Jedis come from. Yes, and they're supposed to always do good and to never allow their personal interests or selfish desires to interfere in their decisions.

It's tough work to be a Jedi! I think the first time I realized how difficult, was during the quest Lovers and Secrets( Read more... )

Check out this tunnel of trees via Curious Places.

I've long enjoyed this blog, by Kate Winter, which identifies an archetype I really love in stories, the girl underground. The author identifies the archetype in some of my favourite stories, Alice in Wonderland, Pan's Labyrinth, The Labyrinth, The Perilous Gard, to name a few.

Today, Winter examines Spirited Away. I really enjoyed reading her discussion of the movie and remembered I haven't shared this blog here yet and that people might be interested, so, enjoy.

Go forth at once and read this: The Princess and the Pirate. It's a final fantasy V tour de force in the works by auronlu. I don't care if you like Final Fantasy V or not or even if you've ever played it. Trust me, you will like Faris and you will especially like Faris the way auronlu is writing Faris. In case you are wondering, Faris is a smarmy back-talking flamboyant pirate dandy with a very interesting secret.

I am so gleeful that this story exists and I am so looking forward to further installments. GO. READ. NOW.

Okay, I am a sick individual, but once upon a time my brother and I had a lot of cheap video games. One of them was Shadows of Cairn. I laughed my butt off at a particular quest in the game. You ran into a crazy old man in a sewer and he sent you to retrieve his 'dog.'



Just start watching at 8:07. Or, you know, don't for your sanity's sake. I am sure I am the only one who thinks it's that funny, but I think the pinnacle of the internet has been achieved now that there is a Shadows of Cairn walkthrough on the internet. Don't think I haven't searched for one before!

That weren't no dog, it was a rat and I'm gunna eat 'im!

My latest efforts. I'm going to use them for decoration at the wedding too.

More behind the cut.


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Shane and I love to play board games together. We've been really tired lately of playing Scrabble over and over again. I did some research to find good two-player games and found that there are some super interesting ones available.

Just recently I bought three games and honestly, some of them were so affordable I was a little shocked! I got two of them for less than $20 each (without shipping).

The game we decided to play today was called Dread Pirate and this was the more expensive of the three, but it is a beautiful game. The box is made of wood and has a hinged lid with a magnet. It's in the shape of a book. The pieces are made of metal and glass and the board is a cloth map. I think that's why Shane was eager to play it right away.

I won't go into too much detail about the game play itself, since we are really novices, but the first play through was a lot of fun and it seems like it has good replay value since so much of the play is left to chance.

Also, I was the Dread Pirate! But really it could have gone either way.

I wasn't really going to bother having cake at the wedding, but I think now I am going to be baking them. So, cake toppers . . . I wanted a geeky one, but I wasn't sure what to do. WoW is all well and good as a theme, but both of us played so many characters that I'd never know which to pick. Therefore, since we both like LOTR and we're already having one song from the movies in the ceremony I decided to make hobbit versions of the two of us.



Obviously, I still have to come up with some kind of base or other for them to sit on or something. The logistics have not been fully worked out yet. Next, I practice making cakes.

. . . and I regret it. I think my newest resolution is going to be not to allow myself to feel this blah all of the time.

Basically, I don't like spending money. If I had my way I'd do vintage and thrift shopping, but there's not exactly a lot of choice in the crummy little city I live in.

I hate the actual act of shopping. Most of the time I leave severely frustrated, because according to most clothing stores I am big, when in my everyday life I don't feel that way. Well, I'm actually 'on the verge,' if you will. I'm not big enough to be a plus size, but my size doesn't seem to be readily available in normal stores either.

So, a shopping trip at the mall or whatever typically goes like this:


Hence, I do a lot of shopping online. Not that it makes any sense, but it seems to be a way for me to find my size and I don't have to see myself in a three way mirror in some kind of hideous garment that was made for a twig-person with big boobs.

Unfortunately, the fact that I hate getting clothes only compounds the problem, because then I end up doing a scramble to have something moderately professional looking for my job, which means I end up looking dowdy, but appropriately dressed nevertheless.

But how do I fix this, because I don't really know?

1. I guess one thing I can do is to start shopping less in frantic chunks (often based on online sales) instead choosing things I really like more frequently.
2. I guess I can also look at clothes more or something, so I know what I actually want. I am not really stupid about it. I am just cheap and lazy about it. I mean, I kind of do know what I like.
3. It might help to define that . . . So I like clothes with a bit of a vintage look. I mostly hate things without sleeves of some sort. I like bright colours, but crazy patterns don't always do it for me (although I do adore novelty patterns sometimes). I much prefer to wear skirts on my own time, but not to work, because I have to walk a lot and I can never find comfortable shoes that work with skirts. But I kind of hate pants though, because my body is what 'they' like to call banana shaped - ie. in pants I look like a giant walking tube or rectangle, because I don't naturally have much in the way of waist or hips. I love my legs, but they look best in heels, which I don't wear very well (I am a klutz).

All of this is further compounded by the fact that I have an irrational feeling of guilt whenever I purchase clothing for myself. Oh well, baby-steps I suppose.

------- Just made a silly binge purchase online, but hopes some of it will not look awful.
P.S. Also bought her wedding dress online, but is determined to force herself to get alterations so it looks awesome.