Yesterday I dreamt that T.S. Eliot and I were playing in the snow with Nyla. It was late at night so it was dark, but the moonlight was bright, reflecting beautifully on the snow banks. Nyla was frolicking around like a little snow leopard. <3 (Note: It's not unusual for T.S. Eliot to be in my dream -- we seem to hang out together fairly often on the subconscious plane!)
A few years ago I started a "dream journal" in which I record some of my more notable dreams. I don't write down every dream; just the ones that seem significant, either because they were particularly funny/odd/scary or the more "insightful" dreams that felt like they have some important message or psychological significance. I seem to come up with some pretty "out there" stuff whilst sleeping....although I'm sure most people feel that way about their dreams. You may remember that one of my dreams was featured in Jesse Reklaw's "Slow Wave" web comic. One of these days I'd like to do a small "anthology" publication of excerpts from my little dream journal. (It would have to be a "best of".) Every now & then I flip through & re-read some of the dreams recorded in my journal. Some things in there are really bizarre and funny. Other entries are completely terrifying and violent.
Generally, dreams are my happy place. Even the nightmares are a form of "escapism" for me. In my dreams I get to hang out with cool people and do interesting things -- it's much better than real life!
This is quite old now, but "Silence of the Lambs: The Musical" still cracks me up. This is my favourite tune from it. This Lego version is a YouTube classic! :)
I caught this documentary on tv several weeks ago and thought it was very interesting. It's the story of Forrest J Ackerman, founder of "Famous Monsters" magazine and the world's original "fanboy". Although I'd heard of "Famous Monsters" magazine before, and heard the name Forrest J Ackerman before, I wasn't really aware of what an interesting character he was!
Affectionately known as "Uncle Forry" he is known as the earliest rabid fan of the sci-fi and horror genres. In fact, it was he who first coined the term "sci fi"! Over the course of his life he had personal encounters with legends of the genre (having personally met H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bela Lugosi... the list goes on and on! It would be shorter to list who he hadn't met!) He had a vast collection of movie props and memorabilia long before the advent of ebay or the notion of "collector's items" existed, and for many years actually ran a museum out of his home (the "Ackermansion") that was open to the public! He was involved in one of the first ever fan conventions and showed up dressed in costume -- and thus he invented cosplay too! In fact, the extent of his fandom was so legendary that he was actually given a special Hugo award: "#1 Fan Personality" (never awarded to anyone else)! His list of accomplishments is long, varied, and completely remarkable. Take a quick look at Wikipedia to get an idea of all the pop culture phenomena that Forrest J Ackerman was involved in -- it's quite astounding!
Another small thing that I didn't realize that Forrest J Ackerman "invented": Those horror movie still photos with the joke quips on them (which we've all seen copied on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, in some of the Marvel comics "magazines", Cracked magazine, etc.). Anyway, that's just a small example of the far-reaching influence this fan had.
As I was watching the documentary I was getting excited at the prospect of someday visiting the Ackermansion, but sadly Uncle Forrie passed away in 2008. Ah well.
Oh, and of interest to Lost fans: Daniel Roebuck, the actor who played "Arnzt" is in it! Turns out he is himself a huge fan/collector of Famous Monsters and all things Ackerman. Neat.
I guess one of the things I find so fascinating about stories of collectors and fans is that really, in some cases, it's a strange "alternative lifestyle". Their love of a genre is like a religion to some of these people... or a form of obsession! Personally, I've never found any one thing in my life that I could devote myself to that completely (well, apart from my family, of course!) Another aspect I find so interesting in the case of Forrest J Ackerman is how one person can attach himself to so many diverse and influential people (authors, filmmakers, etc.) and forge his own little niche in that world. (He was even Ed Wood's "illiterary agent"!) And of course, the retro-addict and pop culture junkie in me loves to just ogle at these kitschzy old collections! If you get a chance to watch this short little documentary, I recommend it.
I've been kicking around this idea for a party for a while and one of these days I'd like to try it out. This would work best around the holidays but it could work anytime as a just for fun event.
The Rules:
Everyone must bring 1 "gift" item to the party. This item must be either:
a.) Used. (Either something you found at Value Village, etc or possibly something you had and no longer need. If buying from a thrift store we'd agree upon a spending limit of $5 or something like that.)
OR
b.) Something you made. (For example it could be a CD, a pie you baked, a drawing, etc, etc.)
The overall rule is that whatever you bring, it must be something "cool". (This is not an opportunity to get rid of old junk from your basement!)
From there I figure it could work one of two ways: either a straight-up gift exchange (people drawing names beforehand), or perhaps more interestingly as a "Yankee swap". The swap idea adds the extra fun of people fighting over items that are particularly cool. The drawing of names is fun too because it would be neat to see what you could find at Value Village with someone else in mind.
I just think it would be interesting to see what people would find/bring. Also, I hate the expense of the holidays and this would be a fun alternative to the traditional gift giving.
So, what do you think?
(Yes, I know this post isn't exactly topical. Just throwin' it out there while I think of it!)
Welcome to Wide to Receive, a blog about.... well, whatever I feel like ranting & writing about. As the title suggests the format here is open. My main points of interest are art, comics and electronic & alternative music, so I'll likely be doing a lot of CD & book reviews, opinion pieces, sketches, etc. I'll also be highlighting any creative projects that might be going on around me. This is an opportunity for me to keep up with writing as well as to share what's on my mind and what's on my mp3 player & bookshelves these days. I welcome & encourage you to add your comments here.
It's also worth noting that the opinions here are mine, but any of the books, CDs, photos etc referenced here are all copyright of their respective owners and used only by me for the purposes of review.
