Modern Monster Marathon

 

Next week is Hal-Con, so that means I've only got this last weekend for horror movies.

I did my slasher-fest last weekend, so this time I'm going old-school but with a twist.

Rather than re-watch all the classic black and white movies from Universal, I thought I'd take those monsters and try and watch their updated versions. It took a bit of thinking, but I've got the following flicks ready to go:

• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 
• The Mummy (with Brendan Fraser)
• The Wolfman (Benicio Del Tor remake)
• I MIGHT try and watch Shape of Water for some gillman representation if I have time

Starting in a few and continuing tomorrow night. Fun, fun, fun!

Cheers

P.S. Just found out the parents/sister are bringing chicken tenders and cinnamon buns home from a day at the cabin, so I guess snacks are covered

Embracing the Mouse

 

Okay Disney, you win.

I just recently finished Ahsoka on Disney+ and have started watching Rebels and, nearly a decade since they bought out Lucasfilm, I must admit that I'm now a full-fledged fan of Disney Star Wars.

I've been a life-long fan of the old Expanded Universe (now Legends), still owning a vast majority of the novels, comic books, and Essential Guides. 

In the last eight years, I've watched the sequel trilogy and other films, as well as shows like The Mandalorian. I've liked them, but none of them have given me those same, deep, fanboy vibes like the older stuff did.

Even when Ahsoka debuted, I kind of rolled my eyes at what I thought was just another Disney cartoon turned live-action, but it was seriously great! Good story, good acting, and clear set-up for some kind of future story. What finally won me over was that some of the finale's action scenes brought back memories of the old Dark Forces and Jedi Knight computer games.

Like I said, I'm already several episodes into Rebels (Ahsoka acts as a sequel to the cartoon) and enjoying it. I might even be tempted to follow that up with a dive into the new wealth of novels, which I've so far avoided.

Cheers!

Perspective

 

Fitting Joubert syndrome Awareness Month, here's a short, interesting story from the 2017 JS conference in Phoenix.

After representing the Board and conference's adult attendees at a scientific event one evening, I attended the Dad's Night.

Amidst all the fun, I overheard a conversation between two guys I've known for many years. One has three daughters with JS, the other has one who's affected and three who are not. For anonymity-sake, let's say Dad 1 and Dad 2 respectively.

Dad 2 asks Dad 1 how he does it, day to day with three girls with Joubert syndrome. Dad 1 says that they just do it, explaining that all three are close enough in age and similar enough that the family can usually just all go in one direction. He then asks Dad 2 how HE does it, with a family going in multiple directions. Roughly the same reply (they just do it), adding that everyone does their best to include his affected daughter. 

 I've kept the memory of that discussion in the back of my mind ever since that night. It serves as a good lesson in perspective, and how we tend to see each other.

What I take from it is that everyone has their own set of challenges and, for the most part, seem to deal with them the best way they can. Also, when you think you have it rough and are admiring someone in a "better" state, that same person could be admiring you for a similar reason.

Cheers

Six Random Things

 

Stealing from a writing prompt about random dreams, I decided to think of half a dozen random things I've thought would be fun to do. These range from realistic and probably achievable at some point, to just a little bit out there and weird.

1. Try flint knapping

Flint knapping is how ancient humans and human ancestors made stone axes and other tools. Being a fan of prehistoric stuff, I've always been curious about it and just think it would be cool to learn

2. Run the length of a pro football field

I'm not a football fan, but the disabled part of me would be curious to see if I could do it.

3. Learn an old, ancient, or archaic language

Something like Gaelic (not so old, I know), Latin, or Old English, just for kicks.

4. Take a university course

I don't think I'd want to enroll in a full program, but it would be fun to be able to audit some classes. I should see if that's even a thing...

5. Stay at a safari hotel in Africa

Dream vacation!

6. Try out for Jeopardy

Using the buzzer would be a nightmare if I ever actually got on the show, but it would still be neat to try to apply.

Cheers!

Blogtober 2023

 

New accessible hiking trail at Bonnechere Provincial Park

Blogtober is here for another year.

I've already got a lot of writing ideas, a good mix of nice disability-related stuff, some geekiness (including a Hal-con post to cap off the month!), and maybe even a couple of posts I've been a little nervous to write until now.

It's looking like a busy month outside of the blog, so it might be a fun, efficient idea to combine some writing nights with anticipated Fearfest movie marathons on the weekends.

Cheers!

Museum Travel?

 

Last week, after visiting Science North in Sudbury, I had a fun, and probably accessible and affordable, travel goal: Visiting all of Canada's major museums (and possibly some in the US as well).

I've been to all of Ottawa's major museums, The Museum of Immigration/Pier 21 and the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. I'm sure there are plenty of other interesting places across the country. I've always wanted to see Montreal's Biodome. Next trip, maybe?

 If I can somehow manage that, it would be awesome to then expand to the States, specifically the American Museum of Natural History and The MET in New York, The Smithsonian, and the La Brea Tar Pits/George Page Museum in Los Angeles.

Lofty goals for sure, but fun if doable.

Cheers!

Northern Ontario 2023

 

Last week, I took a well-deserved road/camping trip with my father through Northern Ontario.

We started out at our family's cabin, spending a relaxing Sunday afternoon and night there before leaving Monday morning.

From Petawawa, we stopped in North Bay for lunch. Afterwards, we drove to Sudbury to spend the night. We checked into our hotel (the room had a surprisingly accessible washroom/shower), had supper, then drove around.

The one thing I wanted to do there was go to Science North and see the Big Nickel. I did both of those, but we found out that the Nickel had been moved to another location, so we went there that evening and looked around.

The next morning, we went to Science North proper. It was very similar to Ottawa's Science Museum.

The best thing about the museum was probably the building itself. The entire structure is built into the rock. 

To get from the entrance to the exhibits, you literally walk through an underground tunnel, with rods in place to measure the rock's movement! 

The exhibits were very kid-friendly, but still pretty fun. A lot of live animals like insects, with an entire floor of Ontario wildlife. There were frogs, a beaver pond with fish and a live beaver, a porcupine that was taken out for a walk (followed enthusiastically by a group of little kids)

We also saw a couple snakes, a live show about bats, and one very photogenic turtle.

Yo!

The other floors had exhibits about the human body and outer space. I found out that my grip strength sucks, crashed a simulated lunar lander and was disparaged by Richard Nixon, and learned that Sudbury was used for NASA training.

 Had a good lunch at Peppi Panini and drove to Sault St. Marie. We made it to Pancake Bay Provincial Park (AFTER a massive storm, thankfully), and set up camp. Nice site, but very cold (strange, given that I'm writing this only one week later during a 40+ Celsius heatwave!).

The next day, my father and I headed out for a day trip to Wawa. First stop was to Voyageur Lodge for some candied smoke trout and the Lodge's famous apple fritters. 

My parents had had them on a similar trip a couple years ago and have bragged about them ever since. They were delicious!

I also got this photo on the way out.

I'm an avid monster/cryptid enthusiast and, weird as it may sound, I can totally believe there's something like Sasquatch roaming somewhere out there around North Ontario, especially given the geography and amount of signs for moose and bear (neither of which I saw at all).

Anyway, we drove to Wawa, stopping at many of the lookouts, parks, and touristy spots along the way. Lots of nice beaches and quite a few "biggest" things.

The goose in Wawa

We drove back to the campground and went to the beach to watch the sunset.

After another cold and uncomfortable night, and thinking about the Labour Day weekend traffic we might face, we decided to pack up a day early and drove back to Sudbury. Best pizza, shower, and sleep I think I've ever had!

The next day, we met a leader of Clan MacLellan for breakfast and drove all the way home.

A couple little rough moments, but a great vacation overall.

Cheers!