#with backgrounds that are photos of the park i've taken myself!!

[smile-files]

i just went to the park/playground near my house so i could play on the swings, and i'm now considering setting my object show there instead of central park -- i know it better anyway!!

[sinspark4]

Roddy's Ghost Adventures

The Rake: This is the first video Rewind stumbled across after finding something called "The Dark Web" when searching for media for his crew mates. The video is distorted, corrupted, everything inside it is hard to make out or understand. All Rewind can gather from the feed is the panicked screaming of a human and glowing, yellow eyes. He does his best to clean up some of the feed but there are strange viruses lurking in the coding Rewind doesn't want to get anywhere near. He thinks he sees a forest, a house in the background, and a sign reading "Warren Park Trail, Montana." Then the video just ends. Abruptly. He took a moment to contemplate the recording before reading the caption.

Locals spoke of a creature known as "The Rake," a nightmarish being with sunken eyes, elongated limbs, and razor-sharp claws.

Legend had it that "The Rake" was once human, transformed by dark experiments or supernatural forces. Its first recorded appearance was in the late 1800s when it stared hauntingly at a family before vanishing into the night.

As years passed, more encounters were reported, each describing the creature's ability to appear and disappear, leaving behind an aura of dread. Witnesses spoke of its featureless face and guttural noises, claiming that even a brief encounter could plunge a person into madness.

Rewind snickered. This was ridiculous. They'd been on and off earth enough times they would have known if there were any humanoids outside of humanity by now. Some sparkling humans must have just gotten bored.

He ignores the twinge of discomfort ringing in the back of his processor and shuts his vocalizer off just in time to stifle the high-pitched yelp clawing up his intake when a bright yellow hand lands on his shoulder.

"Hey Rewind, whatcha got there?" Rewind turns his helm to stare up at his captain. Slowly, a smile spreads his lips behind his facemark. Oh this.....this will be good.

Log 1

Bots along for the ride: Rewind, Rodimus, Drift

Location: Warren Park Trail, Montana

Subject of interest: Urban Legend - The Rake

Notable Mentions: The air here seems....heavier. Shadows seem to somewhat defy sources of light. Rodimus has taken it upon himself to "Flame up" so everyone can see where they place their pedes. Drift's headlights help but they don't seem to penetrate the strange blanket of darkness. Walking around tonight in search of this legend has proven fruitless. Perhaps this is the first he can strike off the list? He will have to wait till they were back on ship and he had a moment to himself before he can review the feed. He's going to have to do a lot of tweaking before the video is comprehensible.

Here is the rendered photo without the drawn on Video Cam.

This is the first installment of my new mini-series. I am so excited to finally post this, I've had the rendered photo done for a while now and was just waiting on myself to finish up the companion comics.

This literally was entirely inspired from solely two things.

1.) As I was sketching Roddy for practice, the song "Dumb Ways to Die" came up on my for you playlist on Spotify. This kinda put in a little seed of sorts.

2.) My brother is starting to get into art and we often go to the cafe together to practice. It's great being able to have a critique buddy right there as you're working together. On the day after scenario 1, him and I went to the cafe and I had been practicing landscapes. My intent had been to make a fairytale like environment. I showed him, we looked at each other, and both stated. "Yeah that's haunted." It's like a light bulb went off in my head. A very very insistent light bulb.

And thus, "Roddy's Ghost Adventures" has been born! Stay tuned for future installments~

[jdenvs3000w24]

Nature blog week 2

For this week's topic, we were asked to reflect on our ideal role of environmental interpreter. This is something I've actually put quite a bit of thought into as it is pretty relevant to the job I hope to get after I'm done with my university degree. If you’ve read any of my previous posts you’ll probably be familiar with the fact that I'm from Nova Scotia. My ideal plan would be to return to my home and work for either Parks Nova Scotia or Parks Canada. In an ideal world, I would be doing tours for a specific park, such as Kejimkujik, showing kids or adults a targeted view of the world to pique their particular interest. Such as showing off all the birds to the birders, doing some herping for the reptile and amphibian enthusiasts, or a generalized walk-through for any first-time parkgoers or people who just want to learn more about the land.

(piping plover, photo by Parks Canada, from Kejimkujik Seaside Park)

 (Blandings turtle, photo by T. Herman, from Kejimkujik National Park)

I want to essentially be the voice of the forest. A person who gives the next generation the spark of interest to protect their natural world. Not only would I want to show off the wildlife of a park, I'd also want to show off cool outcrops that help to aid a story I'd tell about the area's geologic history. I want to be a storyteller with the land as my pages. 

To be in this sort of role I would need to develop better public speaking skills than I have now, working on the podcast will help with that. Especially because we have to tailor one for kids and one for adults. Being able to switch how to convey the same information to different age groups will be a great asset for what I hope to do. As discussed in the course material, there are also different ways people learn, regardless of age. I found myself to be almost equal across the board but leaning slightly toward an auditory learner. I want to be able to pivot to different learning/teaching styles depending on the group/ individual I'm trying to reach. While I think I have a decent approach to that already having been in some leadership roles before, I hope to hone those skills further throughout this course and my academic career as a whole. 

As for the knowledge base I would most definitely need, I've tailored my university degree in environmental sciences in a way that provides me with the greatest understanding of our physical world. I've taken and will continue to take ecosystem-oriented courses like ecosystem science and biodiversity along with this semester’s terrestrial ecosystem ecology, I've taken environmental geology along with sedimentary environments. I'm currently taking Aquatic Systems and Biogeochemistry. And of course, I'm taking nature interpretation. Each one of these courses has and will give me the background knowledge needed not only to understand the land of which I want to show off, but also to be able to explain it in ways others who may not have the same education as me can understand. 

[backslashdelta]

Veggie Tales according to backslashdelta (me!)

It was recently brought to my attention that Veggie Tales, the animated children's show about sentient vegetables, is actually about the Bible.

I didn't know this.

I am a whole ass 27 year old woman, and I am very aware of the existence of Veggie Tales, but I have never watched an episode. Despite knowing about this show's existence for many years, I never knew that it was Christian programming.

Until now.

Thank you @kurthummeldeservesbetter and @finnmcnamhaira for bringing this to my attention.

I will now be giving a summary of what I think Veggie Tales is, given this new information that has come to light. I didn't want to google and spoil anything for myself, so I had these two lovely people send me some photos.

I've been told the image below shows the cast of main + frequently recurring characters. I've taken the time to label it with the characters' names:

Bob the tomato is also known as GodBob. He's like, the "main" main character and the one who is very much "and the moral of the story is..." y'know. Like the proxy for God. Hence his name, GodBob.

Hank the cucumber is Bob's best friend, and the other "main" main character (but a bit less so than GodBob, for obvious reasons). He's a big family guy, and everybody else in that photo that's green is his relative, regardless of what kind of vegetable they actually are.

Debra the cucumber (she looks different due to sexual dimorphism) and Christopher the broccoli are Hank's parents, and Henry the broccoli is his little brother. Harold the cucumber is his grandfather on his mother's side, and Clive the pea is Harold's brother. Greg the pea is Clive's son, and then Michael and Isaac (aka Mike&Ike) the peas are his sons. Reginald the squash is Bob's uncle, and Eugene the squash and Emily the carrot are his children.

Gracie the turnip is the only one who isn't related to anyone else, and that's because she's Bob's love interest.

Now that we have all the characters out of the way, I have a few screenshots of scenes. I'm going to take this time to explain what is happening in each scene.

This is clearly an Easter episode. This is a chocolate Easter bunny production plant, and Hank here is being unsafe by getting in the way of the production line. He's going to get painted with the brush that hand thingy in the background is holding and he's gonna have to go to the veggie rinse station (this is what their production plants have instead of eyewash stations) to get cleaned up. He's going to learn that this is a dangerous place and what that means is that chocolate Easter bunnies/the commercialization of Easter is Bad, and that it's not about chocolate it's about Jesus dying. Or coming back to life. Or whatever he did at Easter idk I think I was supposed to be a Christian once.

Oh there's a new character here! This is... I have literally no idea what kind of vegetable he is. But his name is... Simon. Because that name's the gayest. He's Bob's cousin who is visiting. In this scene they are putting on a skit, since clearly that is not a real door or bathroom. The skit is about not letting other boys be in the bathroom at the same time as you because they might see you naked and that's gay.

New guy?? Or is that Greg but a bit yellower? OR DOES GREG HAVE A TWIN?? Maybe twins run in the family. Anyway. This is clearly Noah's Arc except they made it pirates because they wanted to make it more entertaining for the kidding. I'm docking (get it? because boats? you dock boats? you park boats at a dock?) it points because Noah's Arc had nothing to do with pirates and also I don't think this many people were allowed on it. Could Noah take his whole family? Genuinely do not remember.

This is the time Veggie Tales did an extra-long special where they remade Prince of Egypt but with vegetables. This scene is Moses wandering lost and alone through the dessert in the night or something. That definitely happened. I've seen the movie. The regular one, not the vegetable version.

Harold! And his wife?!?! Debra's mom?!?!?! This is Margaret the cucumber (again, sexual dimorphism). Harold is one of the Three Wise Men and it turns out he has a wife! And that's who they're depicting right now. Very fun.

I hope this has been an entertaining an informative explanation of Veggie Tales. Thank you for your time.

[calpicowater]

Week 32/52: August 6th - August 12th 2019 | Vancouver Skyline 🏙

Had a huge break from work this week (4 days off hehehehe my first long break in ages). Bless. I spent my days off reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. UM IDK WHY BUT I LITERALLY LOVE THIS BOOK MORE THAN I LOVE MYSELF. 10/10 totally would recommend! And I don’t just like this book because it’s gay lmao it’s actually well-written and I love the plot and dialogue..... as well as how reading the book made me feel LOL........ anyway. During the last day of my mini vacation, I went to get ice cream with Vicky at Rain or Shine. I got a single scoop of their honey lavender flavour and it was very lavender-y LMAO..... literal flower pieces inside the ice cream. Still yum. We also walked around Queen Elizabeth Park~~ enjoy some photos of the YVR skyline. I definitely want to come here at night some time. 

On Saturday, I went to Rice Burger and Spiritea with Mia! I tried the prawn tempura rice burger~ it was yum but I felt like it needed a bit more sauce. The tempura was super deliciously fried though!! Also, I tried the cherry cloud tea from Spiritea and it was so good >0< I was literally licking the cap because I wanted to eat all the cheese cream *heart eyes*. Ended off the hangout by buying 15 packs of Samyang original ramen for $10 and splitting it with Mia LOL. 两只猪����

[me-on-set]

Harrowingly Strange

When was the last time you had to face a moral dilemma? I am still reeling. I actually just got home. I think I invented a new selfie style. I wanted to take a photo of my makeup on and off.

As I currently write this, I am not an actor but instead have been doing background work for the past year. I've occasionally been a featured extra and was a body double once.

It's fascinating, seeing and doing the work that embodies being on set.

A couple of days ago, I received a message from a casting agency that had my headshot asking to submit my photo for a featured non-speaking role with a local production company. It was a one or two day shoot at $200 per day. I said yes and I got the gig.

When you are cast, you get an email the night before with details about the set location, start time, special instructions, and wardrobe. This show I booked was for a reenactment TV series about real world events. The exciting news was that this particular episode revolved around a crisis that occurred in my parents' homeland. I was to play someone at home seeing the news on television, and then in a second scene complain to police of their incompetence. I was asked to bring leisure clothing one would wear at home.

When I first started being an extra, I would bring my clothes in a backpack, trying really hard not to care too much. That behavior did not last. I found my interest stumbling forward into a natural evolution. I started taking luggage to neatly carry my wardrobe options. I found that I would mostly get cast as a mid-30's businessman. This led me to comfortably bring my outfits in a garment bag. It's funny how familiarity can grow your views.

For today, I packed shorts, sweatpants, t-shirts, a hoodie, a pair of runners, and a pair of flip flops. I got these flip flops during my last vacation with my mom overseas in her hometown. I also brought some henley shirts and arrived on set in khakis and a short-sleeved polo because there was also a mention of button-ups being an option.

The majority of work involved as an extra is waiting. It's a good idea to bring a book, although in this day and age, occupying oneself with a smart phone is a much more fulfilling time killer. I didn't end up using any of the clothes I had brought except for my belt and my runners. After my hair and makeup were done I decided to satisfy my curiosity by searching keywords of this specific production. I searched the name of the character I was to reenact. Adding quotations to strict strings of words, I had soon discovered the event I was going to portray. This was when my moral dilemma began.

I was born and raised in North America by immigrant parents who arrived in their early 20's. The typical experiences had by people of color paint a relatively positive mural that represents my upbringing. Having visited my ethnic country many times throughout my life, I felt, and still feel, a deep connection to the motherland. This connection is common for others like myself, powered by identity in a time where life will sometimes present it as a limitation. Conversely, this only strengthens cultural pride.

The role I was to play was an international representing their countrymen against the very country I identify with. Pangs of uneasiness flooded my body. There was another featured role performer who had an earlier call time. We sat together in the holding area. He was cast to play the part of a family member learning the news of the event. What surprised me more was the fact that he was a recent immigrant from my country of ethnicity. Us both, cast in roles of coincidental conflict of interest?

When it comes to acting, the only other time I recall having feelings of apprehension was during a big budget movie filmed in a church. I was a church goer among a sea of church goers seated in church pews. We were instructed to portray the enjoyment of a church service. Some of us were selected to stand and sway to the Christian music. Some had their eyes closed, head tilted to the ceiling, palms facing up to the heavens. As easy a physical task that is, I instead opted to clap along to the band and pretend to really feel the sounds of my favorite music. I know it's just acting but I was driven by the thought of my mom seeing me do anything other than that on camera. So, I coursed the music through my veins. I know the history of the band members, the albums, this music moves me, pretend.

I received my paperwork and read it over a cup of coffee from craft services. It was standard paperwork that I've filled out over a dozen times before. I looked at the inviting exit door. I was parked right outside. This is not that big of a deal, is it? I imagined this TV episode making its way to the news overseas, the citizens all over the world deeming me a traitor for perpetuating a negative image, not merely through action but through representation against them. Against us. Am I selling out? For two hundred bucks?

I thought about getting up and leaving. I thought about all of the hard work that people have put into this specific production. If you haven't been behind the scenes before, it is quite the trip. An assortment of heavy duty cables line the floors, taped in place. Racks of props in designated areas. The backstage crew zip around in sync, bursting with walkie-talkie sounds and hollers of instruction. There is a commonality in the many interactions, their minds tuned into the goal meant to be achieved. This is their career.

This is my hobby. I am a prop. Would leaving this put a blemish on my record in the local film community, or the film industry as a whole, because I wasted everyone's time being sensitive? As I languished, I get a message from my best friend and I tell him I'm on set. I tell him:

For some reason, that makes me feel better. I just might be able to work with that mentality. The other guy has finished. He returns his wardrobe and collects his belongings. I ask him if he knows what this show is about. We speak in our language among the English-speakers. I ask him if he thinks people back home are going to be mad at us. I ask him if he knew we were going to be doing this. He seems ok with it all. He said he was there during the actual event. He's new to the industry. We laugh about how we can pass as different races. This is his first time being on camera. He said he enjoyed the experience. I ask him if he'll continue. He said yes. I hope he does.

Finally, wardrobe is set and I am wearing a navy blue golf shirt and some gray slacks. I want to feel good, like the other times I've worked. How can I get that feeling? They're calling me on set. They adjust the lighting while I sit in front of the camera. A fog machine fills the mock living room belonging to my character. When the camera rolls, there is a fake TV in front of me that I am to watch casually at first and then grow increasingly interested as the live footage I am pretending to watch unfolds. I am supposed to build up into a frustration with the host country. My country. As I understand it, the real guy is being interviewed and I am the reenactment; the illustration of his side of the story. I do the scene. Twice. Filming took less than 5 minutes total. The whole time I was thinking about my mom. I can remember it still, a few hours ago today, the director describing the gradual transpiring of the footage to guide me. To help me see a reason to be frustrated on camera. It wasn't helping. It's not his fault. I don't think it's anyone's fault. I don't think they even knew why I would be uncomfortable. I don't think they knew much about the countries involved in the event. They even spelled the city name wrong. I don't even think the takes were that bad.

I wish it wasn't about my country. If it were different, I feel like I could have given more - like I had done at the church.

It's unsettling to perform make-believe, but for myself I have managed to apply a mental exercise that immerses me into a character; to actually be the person. The trick is to relate. To tie the emotion to a real memory and relive it. If it had only been about another country, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the process a lot more.

I'm writing this and I was hoping it would help me shake away this dread. Thoughts of regret imagining if I had only researched the keywords sooner. Maybe I would have cancelled. But that wouldn't have been better. I would be blacklisted and never cast as another role again. Or maybe I'm being dramatic. Hey, that's good for this line of work, right?

I honestly hope the final cut looks great. This is the biggest role I've ever been in. They gelled my hair funny like a nerd, I had on large framed glasses, just like the portrayed, and they put makeup on my upper lip to hide my dark, clean-shaven stubble.

When I got home, before I washed my makeup off, I took a before and after mirror selfie because my face looked comedically smooth. Taking the pictures reminded me of when I was sipping coffee in the holding area. I had taken pictures of my paperwork. I remember my mind racing. The feeling was like gathering license plates and insurance information after a collision. You know, just in case I have to stand trial, my cultural membership in jeopardy. I can review my situation with a lawyer to see what I can and can not say during a variety show interview that is getting my side of the story after viral, captioned screenshots of me flood the internet with embarrassing memes, stamped into history. Jesus Christ, that would be the worst. Here I go again with extreme maybes. It's an entertaining curse that I will forever be engulfed in my own hypothetical torture.

Anyway, here's that selfie I invented:

Yeah my bathroom mirrors are dirty.

I can't wait for my next job that I can cleanse my palate with. I really hope I can accept today as purely an actor's portrayal, and not a turncoat betrayal. This can't be my last go at acting. I ate some of my country's food for supper. I feel a bit better. I'm wearing a shirt that is emblazoned with our country's sports hero.

I have always been excited to see the final release of a production I am in, except for this one now. Uncontrollably, my perverse curiosity into the film world is only strengthening, so I don't think even the worst thoughts can slow my future participation. The silver lining is that the uncomfortable bar is set to a new level. I could reenact a murderous deviant now without batting a moral eyelash, I like to think. All for the sake of film.

- WSS, February 8, 2019

[peaamlipoetrydoctor]

Happy New Year 2022

[[Alt Text - the image is a screengrab from my Instagram account, so it appears in the square 3x3 format that has become such a well-established visual language in mainstream social media. The images are all taken from my daily walks during or shortly after First Lockdown 2020. TL peach-coloured roses. TC the statue of the shepherd plus sheep in Paternoster Square. TR a glimpse towards St Pauls through the Paternoster Square development. CL a sandstone church, Myddleton square, at dusk. CC the trouser legs of the statue of Fenner Brockway, Red Lion Square. CR from the shoreline of the Thames, looking back towards the steps and up to the sky and to the cranes above. BL the bright turquoise painted shop front of Epic Pies, with the image of me taking the photo appearing reflected in the glass door of the shop. BC two young men in smart casual business wear walk in front of a graffiti'd monster, with the Barbican towers in the background. BR inside the Barbican complex this time, two red hot poker flowers in the garden in front of a tower.]

Apologies in advance that this might be quite a dull post for anyone else who comes across it but I haven't yet summarized my year in writing for 2021 and it's finally occurring to me that if I don't, no-one else will... My plan, then, is to write up the summary today and over the next couple of days, I'll put a copy of the poems that are already "out in the world" into the few posts following, for future reference.

So, first up, I have to acknowledge that 2021 was when I completed my doctoral thesis and had the corrections accepted:

Working through climate grief: A first person poetic inquiry.

It's on its way into the British Library ETHOS database and can also be found on my supervisor's website, Dr Steve Marshall / writing.

Turning to poetry, I think I will always have a special heart-leap of joy at the thought of Allegro Poetry, which was the very first poetry journal to publish any of my work - and double bless the editor Sally Long, who took a piece both in March (Lockdown, issue 26) and September (Spring Equinox in Leeds, issue 27).

Next up, I was included by Dissonance Magazine in their month-long special focus on NaPoWriMo writings , April 2021(National Poetry Writing Month).

This was "I Come From" which was one of my early doctoral poems about the shifting consciousness of coming to see myself as within-Nature and from-Nature, not separate-from or superior-to, as is still quite normal, I think, in many Western culture contexts.

NB I see that Dissonance had to go on hiatus in May 2021 due to a personal emergency, and I vm hope that the emergency is loosing its grip and normality is returning...

Also linked to NaPoWriMo, my poem "Rage is the Thing with Wings" was a featured poem in response to one of the daily prompts, chosen towards the end of the month (Day 25) by convener and curator, Maureen Thorsten. A sort-of nonsense poem, but a fun one to write.

In May, Muse Pie Magazine accepted "Small Talk" for Shot Glass, an online journal for short poetry (14 lines or fewer).

In the summer, Wingless Dreamer accepted a villanelle about Midnight, "The Midnight Hush" and (yeay!) it placed as one of the 10 finalists in that competition; I had another piece accepted in the Decembre competition later in the year, "Hope in Mid-Winter", although that one had to content itself with simply being published.

In October, another moment of great gratitude - three poems published in issue 2 of Paddler Press who, to my astonishment and joy, then picked one of these to be one of their Pushcart Nominations for 2021 - "Before Lockdown, I Used to Walk to Work..."

In November, "The Postman's Park" appeared in the 2021 City Lit anthology of creative writing, Between the Lines 2021.

And then, at the end of November, another joy, another first - placed as a finalist in a competition that carried a modest cash prize for all 10 finalists. This is officially the first time I've received ££ for any of my writing. And there's been QUITE a bit of writing over the years.

This was "To My Executors" for the Literary Taxonomy competition. The challenge is to write a new piece linking someone else's first and last lines. Here, the source material was from Katherine Mansfield.