Saturday 28 November 2020

Writing Nights

 



My motivation to write has been lacking lately, and the once usual writing day at a coffee shop is clearly out, so I'm trying a wacky experiment. Instead of a writing day, what about a writing night?

Everyone else has gone to bed, and I'm currently in our basement sitting on a futon which, in couch mode, feels a lot like the booths used by some of my former choice writing spots. I've got a coffee table pulled over for my laptop and a bottle of water, and a memory stick full of music playing on low for background noise. It's pretty enjoyable!

Since this post seems to be moving along nicely, I may do this one Friday or Saturday night per week for the foreseeable future.

Cheers!

Wednesday 11 November 2020

(Old) English Lit

 


Throughout the pandemic, I've been using some time to read through a lot of old books I've had lying around, potentially getting rid of some at a later date. 

Last night, after more than a month, I finished King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Sir Thomas Malory, which was originally published in 1485. 

Definitely not the original

That's just thirty-five years after the invention of the printing press and over 500 years old!

This version came with a really neat introduction about the history of the legends and the book itself (where I learned the printing press factoid from), which was almost as good as the stories that followed it.

The stories were pretty much what I expected: Arthur, Merlin, the Holy Grail, etc., except with less fantasy and way more religious imagery.

 The writing and language was pretty fun to read. Very old! A lot of ye's, thee's, thou's, and weirder words that probably haven't been spoken in a couple hundred years. Thank goodness for Google!

A+ read, keeping it, might read it again some time.

Cheers!

Friday 6 November 2020

Snikt!

 


Two years ago, I wrote a post about being a mutant. 

I bought a couple comics last week, and after reading them, I realized I may be a very specific mutant.

Let's see:

Short? Check!
Hairy? Check!
Canadian? Check!
Prone to the occasional outburst? Check!
Progress due to a combination of Western science (surgeries, therapy, etc.) and Eastern martial arts (a decade of Taekwondo)? Check!

Blogverse, I think I might be Wolverine!


Cheers...bub.

Wednesday 4 November 2020

My Achievements List

 


I wrote a post recently about going through a bit of a slump. I think after nearly three quarters of a year, I can finally say that this pandemic sucks!

A little while ago, the slump turned into doubt, and I couldn't stop thinking about everything I haven't been able to do recently, and might not be able to do for a long while. 

During a moment of clarity, I decided to get positive. Instead of dwelling on the negative and everything I can't do, I wrote up a list of all my greatest achievements, big and small, going from getting my black belt in Taekwondo at seventeen, right up to attending CORD's Rare Disease Day conference this past March. 

Staycations, vacations, comic conventions, things I've written, college, jobs, volunteering, disability-related gigs and events, they all made the list.

It was a really helpful little exercise, and I've looked back at it a few times, for continued positivity, and to add the odd thing I might have forgotten. 

Cheers!