Why Don't I Have More Nightmares?

Okay, so I'm a gamer.  I love me my video games.  Now, I've never considered myself a serious gamer, but the hubby says my choice of games indicate that I am.  Before we get into those games, I would like to briefly discuss my general strategy when it comes to video gaming.  I go into any game with two goals in mind:
 
1) Kill everything
2) Fuck everything

The order of these goals doesn't matter.  Obviously, not all games allow for both of these objectives, but I like to pursue them as far as I can.  For example, when playing The Sims Bustin' Out on my GBA, I hit on everything that moved.  If I could romance a character, I did.  In GTA IV, I don't really bother with the missons.  I go to the strip club, spend all my money, then run down pedestrians until my car explodes.  Repeat.

In order to keep an R rating, we'll be skipping most of the other games that allow for objective #2.  But know they exist.

So, what kind of games does Linda naturally gravitate towards?  While I enjoy a variety of games, mostly I'm drawn towards Japanese role playing games, particularly anything related to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise.  One of the first ones I got hooked on was actually a spin off from the series: Persona 3.  This game is one of my favorites.  It's basically half dating sim (a type of game where you work on your relationships with other characters) and half dungeon crawl (go and kill things).  The most notable thing about this game is the sheer creepiness of it.  It's a good sixty hours of nightmare fuel, and is definitely not for kids.  If it wasn't such a niche game, the parent groups would have raised a bigger fuss over this one than GTA San Andreas and the hot coffee incident.

This is from the opening credits.  Yes, that is your character blowing his head off.  What's more, this is how you activate your magic abilities and summon your persona.  You will shoot yourself in the head at least 1-10 times in every battle.  So will all your friends.

In the game, at midnight every night there's an extra hour--the Dark Hour.  You and your buddies are special in that you're awake for the dark hour.  Everyone else transmogrifies.

Into coffins.

But that's for the best, because pretty much the whole world transforms during the dark hour.  For example, here's your school:

You spend many hours climbing this seemingly endless tower.  It's divided into blocks, so every 20-30 floors the decor changes into something creepier.

This is pretty typical, and, disturbingly enough, not the creepiest thing in the game.  

Neither is the strange boy who visits you in the night.  Every month.

Although the swimsuits are surprisingly good armor, at least on the lower levels.  There's also a maid suit.  Oh, we love you Japan.

This is one of your boss battles.  This is not the creepiest thing in the game.

Neither is this, although it's probably close.  And yes, those are hand guns. 

So yeah, creepy, weird, and full of awesome.  If you get your hands on a copy, play it.  You won't regret it, I promise.  

Anyway, this game got me totally hooked and I started seeking out everything persona and mega ten related.  Currently I'm playing Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.  Basic plot synopsis is the apocalypse has happened, you got turned into a demon and I think you have to save the world.  Not entirely sure yet.  You get to kill things, and isn't that what's really important?

This is you.  Apparently having weird tattoos makes you a demon.

Now, I'm less than ten hours into it, but it's already really freaking creepy.  Actually I think I'm in hell.

Definitely hell.

...Or the theater?  No, wait, the theater in hell!

 Plus this kid and his old nurse are stalking me.

I think this might be the kid and his old nurse.  Except, she's young and he's old.  I think one of them may be siphoning energy off the other.

Now, one of the fun things about the game is you fight demons, but you can also recruit them to help you.  The demons themselves vary widely, from this:

Get your mind out of the gutter.

To this:

And some of them aren't even humanoid.  And then you'll be walking around and a big firey hole will open up beneath you and you'll be sucked into it into a desert with lightning and this guy will challenge you:

Yeah, he totally kicked my ass.  I'm picking a different hallway next time.

 And then there's the creepy shit that's on your side.  Like the manikins.

You have to buy supplies from this guy.  He hits on you a lot.  Not pictured: the unnatural creepy jiggly twitch all of these have.

Well, I guess the healer isn't too creepy, but I still don't understand why she's not wearing clothes.

And this isn't even all the creepiest shit.  These are the screen shots I found on the internet.  And all of this is less than ten hours into the game.  You know this has to be a good 30-60 hours long, and it's only going to get worse from here.  And when do I usually play?  At night.  Before bed.  I should definitely have more nightmares.

Puttering Part IV

Not a lot of serious stuff being done right now, and there probably won't be until I finish my Christmas weaving, but here's some little things for your enjoyment.

So, here's the finished bobbin lace sample I was working on before.  Not fancy, but serviceable.  I'll be working on samples out of my book for a while, until I really feel competent.  If you want to follow along, I'm working out of Doris Southard's Lessons in Bobbin Lacemaking.  This is the first edging in lesson two.  I'll also be experimenting with a variety of different threads, too.  Traditional lace is done with a very fine thread, but I like something a little more substantial.  I might have mentioned before, but this is a silk embroidery thread.  Pretty sturdy, probably around 10-12 epi, to use a weaving measurement (that's ends per inch, or the number of times you can fit the width of one thread into an inch, for those who have no clue what I'm talking about).

We got these adorable bookmarks in at work with all these colorful owls on them.  It was fifty cents for ten of 'em, and that was before my discount.  I'd also been looking for something to put in those sweet frames.  I snipped out the purple owls, cut out a square of the rest of the bookmark, and pasted 'em together.  They were so much fun I made my buddy Laura a pair with brown owls (her choice).  I should probably wear these soon, they're so cute!

I ordered these ametrines on ebay and had to wait over month for them to come in from Singapore.  They're definitely heat treated, or otherwise man manipulated, since ametrine doesn't naturally occur in green and yellow, but the price was right and the stones are so clear and pretty I couldn't pass 'em up.  And it's my favorite stone.  The real trick, of course, was making triangular jump rings.

So, every once in a while I find some really awesome ready made components at Michael's.  This was one such case.  Pretty much I just added some jump rings (and not that many, either) but it makes for a super hot choker.

Here's a detail.  Each pack of components consisted of four bars alternating and preconnected.  No work on my part, but still awesome and blingy.  Kudos to whoever did the original design work on the pieces.

So last, but not least, we have giant squid.  The hubby got a couple expansion packs for Survive!  Escape from Atlantis in at the shop and of course, I immediately saw jewelry components.  A bit of drilling and wirework later, I now have fabulous earrings and a necklace.  The overall effect on is a bit much, but both pieces wear well on their own.

On a completely unrelated note, if there are any particular projects of mine you want to see featured here let me know, my beloved legion of invisible cats.  Also, let me know if there's a particular topic you'd like to see me rant on and I'll do my best to entertain and oblige.  Not all requests will be granted, but all will be considered.  As before, silence means you approve of my original plans to do whatever I want.

Until next time, Linda out.

Hulk SMASH!

So, now may or may not be the time to admit to my obsessive TV watching habits.  See, I can watch my shows as they air, altering my already too busy schedule around them, or I can wait until they come out on DVD and watch them all at once.  And I do mean all at once.  I have been known to go through a season of Smallville in four days.  Days when I had to work.

This has also been a great way for me to catch up on older shows that I missed the first time around.  Fun shows like I Dream of Jeannie and The Incredible Hulk.

The latter would be my current obsession.  Now some of you may be confused and think I'm talking about one of the movies, but I'm not.  I'm talking about the old 70's show with Bill Bixby as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. 

These guys.

I picked up the first season on a lark at Walhell, and quickly fell in love with Bixby's portrayal of Banner.  The next two seasons were picked up the next day, also for ten bucks a piece.  Alas, seasons 4 and 5 and the movies will have to come from Amazon.  Blasted Walhell, getting me hooked.

Now there are many things to love about this show, and a number of things that are just plain fun.  Let's go over my favorites, shall we?  I must point out, though, that I'm only on season three, so some things may be different in later seasons.

1) "Don't make me angry, Mr. McGhee.  You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."  McGhee, for those of you not in the know, Mcghee is a reporter on the trail of the hulk.  The line is used in the pilot, and then in the opening credits for every episode.

The part you're looking for is at about 00:42.   

It's not really The Hulk without this line.

2)  The "Oh, crap, not this again.  What the fuck happened?"  look on David's face every time he turns back into himself.  Especially amusing is how as the series progresses he just grabs a new shirt and throws on some shoes once he's come to.  I would even go so far as to say that Bixby manages to look even more exasperated and hungover every time.  Also convenient is the way Hulk stares off into space or looks at flowers or kittens, then sits down like he's worn himself out, just before he transforms back.  I particularly enjoyed the episode where David wakes up in the tiger enclosure at the zoo with a tiger cub in his lap.

3)  David conveniently goes out of sight before the transformation, every time.  Sure, we might see him, but the punks beating him always manage to have their backs turned or to have tossed him in the next room.  You always hear, "Where's David?" after the ruckus, but no one ever puts two and two together.  At least it's a better disguise than Clark Kent/Superman has.  Glasses, indeed.

4)  The fact that the Hulk is played by an actual human being.  No CG, no special suits, just a wig, forehead and lots of green paint.  Okay, yeah, Hulk's not using cars as boxing gloves, but you have to appreciate the fact that he's an actual man.  Of course, the paint does get smeared from time to time, and his feet are usually pink on the bottom, but something about it is just cool.

 

Lou Ferrigno.  Really not that much makeup.

5)  The sheer amount of crap Banner takes before hulking out.  Seriously.  I would hulk out way sooner.  Heck, if I were Banner I'd have hulked out today at work, just dealing with the new pricing system.  Banner would have taken that, followed by idiotic customers, and being mugged on the way to his car.  It wouldn't be until the mugger backed over him with his car that he'd finally snap.

6)  The sheer number of near misses Banner has with McGhee.  Seriously, you would think that McGhee would notice the guy who's always got his back turned, or the guy who's always ducking into the back room, or slamming the door in his face.  We're almost on the Lois Lane scale of obliviousness on McGhee's part.

7) And, of course, who can forget the closing theme?  Every episode, David hits the road.  He's destroyed half the town, McGhee is hot on his trail, and he just can't stay.  So he shoulders his bag and hits the road.  Cue the sad music.

This is the end of pretty much every episode.  The scenery changes, and his clothes (he goes through shirts and shoes like you wouldn't believe), but not much else.

Puttering In the Studio, Part III

In a continuation to show exactly how many irons I keep in the fire at any given time, I thought I'd talk about my dabblings in painting.  If you've met my parents, you've probably heard them go on and on about how awesome a painter I am.  I think they exaggerate rather a lot, but I enjoy the process and most of my results have been pleasing to my eye, at least. 

I work in oil, since it takes longer to dry and I have more time to mix my colors.  With acrylic, by the time I get the color I want the paint's usually dry.  I'd been using bristle brushes--I started with them in undergrad and liked the texture a lot--but I picked up a couple of natural hair brushes on a whim and I'm loving them.  They hold the paint better and still give me a nice texture.  I like a painting you can feel.  I use linseed oil as a medium, but mostly just to stretch my paint a little further.

This is the one my parents told you about.  It's the only painting from class that a) I kept and b) I haven't painted over.  It currently hangs at the top of our stairs.  I gave a still life to my in-laws and a master study to my folks.  My mom loves this painting, but I refuse to give it to her.  I did paint her a mini version, though.  Oh, and for scale it's 3' x 4' (this one,not hers).

This one I did the summer after I graduated.  It's significantly smaller, about 14" x 18".  I didn't have a lot of space for drying (I had to paint outside) and it was something relaxing that I could do.  I'm pretty pleased with it.  It hangs in our hallway (I moved it for the pic--the hallway is kinda dark).

And this is what I'm currently working on.  It's a two panel piece--this is the first one.  I've got the second one started, but barely.  It'll be a reflection of this one in blues and purples.  I'm painting over one I did in class that was really ugly.  Each panel is 2' x 4'.  I plan on hanging the final piece in our bedroom at the foot our bed, if the hubby lets me.  I'm pleased with it so far.

I find a relatively abstract style works well for me for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, I'm very much about color, and abstracting things lets me focus on that without getting lost in the details.  Secondly, my drawing skills are kind of weak--I have to work insanely hard to get things right.  Somehow, just applying the various colors I see is much easier that trying to get lines and uberrealistic details.  2D work has always been more difficult for me--I think in 3D, so flattening everything out is just weird.  I think it's part of why I find textiles so fascinating--they can be 2D, 3D, or even both at the same time.  There simply aren't many mediums that are that versatile.  Still, painting is fun in the meantime.

Socks, Fetishes, and Past Lives

I love my husband with all my heart.  I really do.  Sometimes I do have to wonder about him, though.  Especially when he acquires clothing for me.  He doesn't have a really good idea of my sizes, which is probably good, or I'd have a closet full of school girl and maid outfits.  Still, he does occasionally pick up cute things for me (other than ponies) and he seems to have shown an odd fascination in socks.  Now, while I have many girly tendencies, I also have enough male quirks that I often suspect I was a guy in a past life.  Chief among these is my ability to think like a guy, but there are other little things.  Like buying socks.

When I buy socks, I go to Walmart or Meijer and buy a huge pack of black or white socks.  All the same, that way I don't have to hunt in the wash for a matched pair.

This is what I buy when I get socks.   Usually I buy two packs.

I do own a couple pairs of knee socks, but only because I have this pair of boots that tend to chafe if I wear shorter socks.

A package arrived yesterday with socks my husband acquired for me.  After perusing his foot warming gifts, I promptly declared he had a sock fetish.

Rainbow striped over the knee socks.

Octopus socks.  The fact that they are men's socks doesn't bother me at all.

 These are also toe socks.

 Oh, look, over the knee toe socks.

Pink fuzzy toe socks.  I'm beginning to see a trend here.

 Okay, now these are awesome.  I have sharks eating my much better feet, ankles and legs right now.

These last two are the same sock in different colors.  I didn't even know they made thigh high socks.  And in order to really make them worth the bother I'm going to have to wear them with a skirt.  A short skirt.  

A very short skirt.  

Wait a minute....

Maybe that's not a sock fetish after all....

(socks and images courtesy of: http://www.sockdreams.com .  The ever so amazing hubby found the site.  I didn't even know there were stores devoted to socks.)

Puttering In the Studio, Part II

I'd hoped to get this up sooner, but the last week or so has been pretty crazy.  I've had all these random opening shifts at work, which is pretty funny, since some of the openers have had equally random closing shifts.  It reminds me rather a lot of that time I got picked to sing back-up for the Backstreet Boys.  Anyway, this week's feature is some more puttering.

 Yay, beads and stuff!  This was actually the work of one evening, minus the bracelet, which i found lying finished in my bead board.  In spite of my BFA in jewelry and metalsmithing, I actually started off beading.  Believe me, they are two completely different worlds, with jewelers looking down on beaders and beaders looking up to jewelers, wanting to make "real" jewelry.  That's how I got started myself.  So, anyway, let's take a look.  I'd like to point out that 95% of the design work was done prior to the evening of assembly.

Lost bracelet!  I had found these sweet brass numbers a while back and thought a charm bracelet using the numbers from Lost would be the perfect way to use them.  Some ready made chain, findings and enough patience to count and properly place the numbers made for a pretty fun piece.

I almost feel bad saying I made this, since it was a ready made pendant and all I did was cut a length of chain and put a clasp on it.  Sorry it's sideways, but I forgot to rotate it prior to downloading and I'm too lazy to redo it.  Ditto for the rest of the necklace pics.

The green beads are NOT neon green, they just caught the light badly in every pic I took.  This was actually a restringing project, since I had initially made it too large.  The beads are acrylic.

I love chandelier earrings, and I really liked these components.  The only tricky bit was picking out the beads from my too large stash.

Another add chain to ready made pendant piece.  Definitely an instant gratification piece.

 Yay, earrings! The top pair are glass and fluorite, and the bottom pair are glass pendants I found and removed the bails from.

This guy's been in the works for months, but I had to wait to string it because the hole in the centerpiece wasn't drilled properly and I had to go back and redrill.  The green bit is stabilized turquoise, the blue ones are regular turquoise and all the metal bits are base metal.  It's strung on waxed linen, a particular favorite stringing material of mine.

Anyway, this  all got me thinking about the attitude I've always had towards beaded jewelry, which is that it's not real jewelry.  Frankly, it's a really unhealthy way to think.  Sure, there's no fire and you're not manipulating metal, glass, or stone, but there are still design aspects and it's still quite wearable.  Technically, i suppose it would be costume jewelry, a term which has sadly fallen out of use.  Costume jewelry is usually made from base metals and glass, but there's a certain amount of flair it has that's lacking from so-called real jewelry.  Perhaps it's the low cost of materials that makes the difference.  After all, when you're paying over $600 an ounce for your materials, it's hard to really play around.  I'm not saying that what I've got for you today is on the same scale (indeed, anyone can do it), but that doesn't mean it's invalid, and maybe I should stop thinking so little of my throw-away pieces.