Monday, April 24, 2006

2:50 AM - Yes, I've been playing video games.

What are blogs really for?

The answer is: it would really help if I posted something once in a while. For the past week or so, I've not been able to train in circus because my shoulder is sore, and I've been fighting a fierce depression. It's all related, but I think I am pulling out of it nicely now. Thank goodness.

One piece of good news is that Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates just released a new ocean which has a few of my island designs. Specifically, I did three islands for this ocean, and I also got to be the lead Archipelago designer for one of the Archipelagos! This was all very exciting. Since not all the islands have been discovered yet, I'll have to wait for the players to keep discovering before I can reveal which islands and Archipelago I worked on. But... you can always look at the Shantybones wiki page to see the list of what's been discovered. Ah, creative noseless pirate vanity.

Also, I discovered this little toy today. It's surprisingly good at what it does. I made a little sample for you. Please make your own! Some of the voices are simultaneously fun and disturbing.

Update: In trying to figure out why this wasn't posting, I learned that several people on MySpace and elsewhere are hotlinking pictures from this site into their own (crappy) webpages. Well, I've just crushed you all. Thanks for playing.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

3:25 PM - this post was brought to you by the number 12 and by the letter Bonehead

two quick links!

One is an article from the New Yorker that explains some of the boneheadedness about the people in the Bush administration who are gearing up for an invasion of Iran. The other is a video showing some Americans being interviewed for Australian comedy television, highlighting their boneheadedness about foreign affairs.

Supposedly the movie V for Vendetta, in its future dystopian way, mentioned that the world fell apart after the United States kept invading countries in the Middle East, and eventually the U.S. fell into a state of civil war. I hope it doesn't get that far, but we could guarantee that it doesn't get that far by not invading Iran. Boneheads.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

8:21 AM - I'm actually a little curious to know what the bruises will look like...

owwittie ow ow ow

I hurt like crazy. It hurts to even hit the shift key, that's how much it hurts. I am muscle sore and bruisy sore everywhere. I just tried my new aerial chain for the first time, and... I mean, I knew it was going to hurt, and I knew it was going to be awkward in places. But I just wanted to whimper like a baby after the first 10 minutes. I was too tired to get out my full volume of whining in the studio (poor Serenity, 6 months pregnant, putting up with me with such patience!) so I guess I am writing about it in my blog... sorry, I am a little incoherent.

The good news is that there is lots of potential. Potential to get stronger, potential to develop more pain tolerance, potential to eventually not be covered in grease every time I touch the thing. A single chain hanging from the ceiling is an immensely powerful image, so..... I'll take heart in that. It will be a powerful piece when I am finished with it. For the meantime, I'm going to munch on Arnica tablets and sulk like a miserable wounded wet filthy dog. With fleas! ;-D

I've been struggling in Brattleboro a bit... it's tough to be here. The town itself doesn't really offer much, although with the beautiful spring weather, I've been enjoying sunlight and warmth. I took a nice walk with a circus friend through the Madame Sherri Forest, and that was really rewarding.

I need a live-in massage therapist. Who can cook.

Monday, April 03, 2006

11:48 PM - show and tell!

a quick story

Most of you know how opinionated I am about gender and the way we think about things in our society. So...

There was a woman who is a trapeze student at Nimble Arts who came to see our show with her 4-year-old son. She's tried to get him interested in playing on their trapeze at home, but he would always say that trapeze was for girls. So when he came to the show and my piece was about to start, his eyes lit up and he said, "Mommy, it's a boy!"

Seeing me do trapeze allowed him to try it too; something he'd wanted to do but was afraid to because of some silly societal illusion about gender. It's really gratifying for me to help break down that gender prison for someone, especially someone so young. I hope he has a long happier youth because of it! (Ok, it's a stretch, but work with me.)

In other news, I have just received photographic evidence that I did not, in fact, teleport from Iowa to Brattleboro. Here are Karen and a groggy-looking me after a yummy breakfast in Pittsburgh. Astute readers may remember that while I was taking this picture, Fenny was being forced to check out of a hotel in another part of this city, and since I was late to pick her up, she basically was wandering around in a parking lot with her luggage in a strange city. Um.... tee hee?


So cute!