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To the Moon (and Back)

So the prize for the 'Music at Night' dare is a CD playlist.

I considered creating a playlist of just songs I associate with us but I thought I could do something a bit more creative. I made what is essentially a story CD which mixes story and music together.

Unfortunately I can't share the full CD, however this playlist has all the tracks on.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BookWormTales/videos?view=1&flow=grid

To The Moon (And Back)

Track 1- Moongazer (kan Gao)

Once upon a time there was a place where everyone knew where they fit in. They soared through life on a soft summer's breeze, content to let it take them on their path. However, as always, there were some who refused to be carried away by expectation. Yet, even amoungst them sometimes, no matter how they tried, the wind carried them off anyway. Other times they got around it.

Track 2- It's Hard to Get Around the Wind (Alex Turner)

Track 3- Spread Your Wings (Queen)

So he left vowing never to return. On the walk home he looked up at the sky and saw the moon shining down on him. It was then that he knew what he needed to do. With only half a plan he set to work, choosing to chase the impossible instead of being blown by the wind.

Track 4- Tonight's The Kind of Night (Noah & The Whale)

You wouldn't think someone would be able to build a spaceship in their garden shed but then you probably aren't the kind of person to chase the impossible. As he worked he never lost sight of that glowing orb in the distance. One day he would go there. He knew it. 

Track 5- The Moon is Calling (Nada Surf)

Finally it was ready.

5...4...3....2....1....

Track 6-Our Velocity (Maximo Park)

It was a long and perilous journey but finally he made it. He landed on the moon.

Track 8- Moon Fever (Air)

Below him the Earth was so small. His old life seemed a million miles away. There was nothing on the moon but stars and space and dust and a beautiful young woman...

Track 9-Stars Around Her (The Mountain Goats)

They spoke of many things. They laughed and even cried a little together and they stayed up the whole night watching the stars and planets shining around them. So naturaly they fell in love....

Track 8-My Lighthouse (Villagers)

Alas it was not to last. Having a limited supply of oxygen he knew he would have to return to Earth and they could no longer be together.

Track 10-Promise Her the Moon (Mr Big)

Before he left he promised he would never forget her and, if he could, he would return.

Track 11- Forget Me Not (The Civil Wars)

Weighed down with the thought of going home, he braced himself for the return journey.

Track 12-Homme Lune (Air) Track 13-Gravity (John Mayer)

The spaceship slowly broke away as it re-entered the atmosphere. He plummeted to the ground. He managed to escape with his life but his spaceship was in tatters around him.

Track 14- Retour Sur Terre (Air)

His relief at having survived was broken by his knowledge that he would never be able to go back to the moon- back to her.

Track 15- Straight Towards the Sun (Newton Faulkner)

The months passed but still he couldn't find a way to repair the spaceship. It seemed impossible, and for once the impossible might have defeated him. He was just about to give up when the tables turned again. .. Track 16- I Found A way (First Aid Kit)

She had come back to him. She had found a way when he could not.

Track 17- Sky High (Ben Folds Five)

And it didn't matter that they lived on Earth and people were always expecting them to go with the wind because they never did and because they had each other and that was all they needed.

Track 18-September (The Shins)

Each night thereafter they would sit together and look up at the moon, remember when they first met and dream.

Track 19- To the Moon- Main Theme (Kan Gao)

The End.

H

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Dare 4

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Dare 3 - Part the First

First things first. Apologies for the lack of updates. All work and no play makes Sam neglect his responsibilities towards microblogging and book-inspired escapades.

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Dare Number 3

Dear Sam,

As you know, I used to collect postcards. I particularly like these are they are linked to books. You may have noticed how I try to link each postcard to the present/dare which leads on to....

Dare

Send these enclosed postcards to 5 different people. Explain in your message why you have chosen that postcard for them.

Lots of Love,

Hoffi Xxx

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Here's the poem.

(Apologies for the delay. Had to clear the Vimeo upload limit).

S

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Dare 2

I've not done a video for this one- me in a bath for 42 minutes is less proof of dare completion and more ropey Tate Modern installation- so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with a photo (Figure 1) and some words on this occasion.

The prize was the bottle of Radox Bath Soak (Figure 2 - other 'soaks' are available), which I was given in advance of the dare- a classic error but plausible given the nature of the dare and, I like to think, showing a rather touching level of trust.  

I quite enjoyed the 'bath soak'. The bath water became a sort of cool green, foamy affair that made me think I was in Spirited Away. There was no time to bang on about Miyazaki films, however. My objective was to ponder the meaning of life.

Now, I'm quite good at pondering (particularly if it means I don't have to do something else), but this is a doozy. So what did I learn when I emerged prune-handed (Figure 3) from my near-three-quarter hour pickling?

I guess the origin of this dare was in Tim Key's superlative Masterslut, a bath-centric poetryfest which Hoffi and I saw at successive Fringes. It only feels right, therefore, to write and perform my response to this dare in verse...

Video on the way...

S

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Dare Number 2

Dear Sam,

This present is linked to our time in Edinbugh. Hopefully you'll understand why.

Dare

Take a 42 minute bath and find the answer to life, the universe and everything.

lots of love,

Hoffi

xxx

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Memory moment- Diesel Sweets.

I don't think they are really called diesel sweets. I don't know where that name originally comes from but I remember when we started using it. It was 2010 and we were on a double date with a couple who have since split up. We all decided to go to the cinema to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Before the film we hit the refreshments deciding to share the joy of a bag of Pic N Mix. Included in that bag was a generous helping of Diesel sweets which had already been established as a favourite. At the time we called them 'pink and blue sour cola bottles that aren't cola flavoured.' (A mouthful in both the edible and verbal sense.) After rejoining our accompanying pair the girl (whom I had only met that evening) saw the 'pink and blue sour cola bottles that aren't cola flavoured' and announced that they were called diesel sweets where she came from (wherever that was). I don't remember who the girl was and I never saw her again after that night but the name stuck.

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One man and his hard-earned diesel sweets.

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Dare passed!

Dear Sam,

I am pleased to inform you that you have fufilled the requirements for the first dare (probably needlessly formal but this is a serious buisness). Therefore that bag of diesel sweets will be presented to you this Thursday.

Looking forward to seeing you,

H

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Here's my attempt at the first dare.

Apologies for gabbling, was trying to keep it under five minutes.

(And also if you can ignore me smacking myself in the face with my own glasses, that would be grand).

S

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Prize number 1- Diesel Sweets

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Dare number 1

(why do these pictures always look on eway on the computer and another way when I upload them?)

It reads:

Dear Sam,

You may recall that scene from Juno where Bleaker finds the orange tic tacs in the mailbox. Clearly that wouldn’t work here (no such mailboxes) but this is along the same lines.

Dare

To eat one of your favourites try eating something new that you might like.

Lots of love,

Hoffi

xxx

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The Introductory Card

(The section of writing that has been removed contains info on how to get onto this account.) I don't know why the second picture is the wrong way round.

The text says (if you can't read my poor sideways writing) -

Dear Sam,

I know it is not your birthday but this, in a way, is your birthday present. The reason I am giving it to you now is twofold. Firstly because in these cold wintery months everyone needs something to cheer them up and secondly because this isn’t just any birthday present. In order for this to work I am trusting that you will play along. I hope that this is going to be fun. I guess we will see. So far I have had lots of fun plotting and planning and I have even got a bit carried away (as you might be able to tell from the number of presents in the box but new ideas just kept coming to me. Indeed there are still more gifts to come…)

  Basically the idea is that you open one present each week. Attached to each is a postcard with instructions for a dare on. In order to keep the present you must complete the dare, got it? Well no, you haven’t actually because there is more. We will be documenting this on our very own blog. Once you have chosen a gif to open you need to tell me what symbol is on the envelope and I will post a copy of the dare to the blog then it is your job to complete the dare and post evidence (written, audio, visual) to the blog as proof of its completion. I’m hoping positing it to the blog will provide you with motivation to stick with this, you will find some of the dares very easy and some might be very hard- you’ll find out when you open the envelope.

  I hope you like all your presents and you enjoy this adventure I have made for you as much as I have enjoyed making it.

Lots of love,

Hoffi

xxx

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Ready and waiting.

The Box of Dares ready to be given to Sam tonight. I love making surprises.