Heh

I won a contest! I won a MirrorMask contest! See. Here's the post I commented on in order to win (btw, The Mumpsimus is a good pace to go for commentary, reviews and other good things about SF).

MirrorMask

From Neil Gaiman:

. . . I got a note from the publicists at Sony asking me to stress that the first weekend's attendance will seriously affect what happens next. So if you are in a town that isn't showing it, and you want to see it, getting your friends who are in a town where it's showing to go and see it as soon as it's come out will increase the chances of it getting to you.

Therefore, I hereby command (or else very humbly beg) everyone I know who lives somewhere MirrorMask is playing to go see it as soon as possible. Even if you have no idea what MirrorMask is. You won't regret it.

Edit to add: The annoying thing is, even though the movie opens tomorrow, I don't actually know where it'll be playing because Cinema Clock only lists movies through today. Perhaps this is a good time to look for a new movie listings site . . .

They Got Architeuthis!

This is really cool: Japanese scientists have captured the first-ever photographs of a live giant squid! There have been a bunch of dead ones, but this one's swimming around in it's natural habitat. Sea monsters are cool! (Link via Gadgetopia.)

I Am . . . Captain Jack Sparrow!

Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?

Busy

Yeah, so I've been here three weeks and hardly blogged at all. I've had homework and work and er . . . the playing of video games, and . . .

Well, I've been busy. I will write a proper blog entry soon. There are lots of wonderful things to say about the city and the school.

Oh, yes, and Tropical Storm Ophelia made her way through these parts yesterday. We had a lot of rain and a bit of windyness. They had predicted a lot more wind and many, many blackouts. Alas, not a blackout in sight. Or out of sight. Or . . . you know what I mean. It was actually kind of disappointing.

Fathead and Smelly (and the Colour of Apples)

I went to the "New Student Orientation" at NSCAD today. What a very long, very dull day it was. Normally, I avoid orientation-type things, but NSCAD is such a small school, in such a strange building (well, buildings) that I thought it might be a good idea to attend the presentation and go on the tour. I won't go into all the boring details, but, though I did actually collect quite a bit of vital info, I feel like I was flattened by a steam locomotive. Or maybe several of them in a row. The AC wasn't working in the (very small) auditorium, and with all those people in there it was soon very hot and stuffy. And there was a large-headed man sitting in front of me, so I couldn't see any of the speakers unless I tilted my head at an awkward angle. And then a guy sat next to me who had a very strong . . . er . . . odour. I tried not to lean too far over towards the woman on my other side.

And then there was much standing in line, which I had to abandon in order to go on my tour (I actually considered blowing off the tour so I could get my student i.d. quicker). I think I would have enjoyed the tour a lot more if I hadn't already been worn out by boring speakers, stuffyness and heat. And standing in line. NSCAD is a truly bizarre and wonderful place, as a physical place. I won't try to describe it now, 'cause I'm actually really wiped (see locomotive note, above). And, as luck would have it, My Smelly ended up in the same tour group as me. And he kept standing next to me. Not being able to breathe made everything that much worse.

And after that, there was more standing in line, but not for as long and at the end of it, I had a shiny new i.d. (in the photo of which I look somewhat less dead than I felt). There was a small mixup when they thought I was Justin Sylvestre--um . . . I may have appeared to be something that recently crawled out of a shallow grave, but I'm fairly certain I didn't look like a boy. My t-shirt was on the snug side, and while I may not have huge boobs, they're kind of hard to miss. Not to mention I'm rather hippy (that is, I have sizable hips). Even baggy combat pants could not hide that.

But I wasn't going to go into all the boring details, was I? Oh well, too late. I survived, and I love the school's physical incarnation; now I just have to see how I fare in classes. We were told that NSCAD is very hard to get into, and very hard to stay in. And yet, they let me in. I'm still scratching my head over that, but not complaining.

So. Apples. Jerome Russell "apple green" hair dye is a colour I have never seen on any apple, but I rather like it. It's darker and quite a bit bluer that my old "spring green," and I think it's actually more striking. In a good way. And, incidentally, I am only the basest of amateur freaks compared to many of the people in my new school. There were a lot of very ordinary-looking people there, but then there were all sorts of interesting colours of hair, styles of dress and intensities of body adorment and modification. I think I shall like this place very much indeed.

Of Hair and Noses

But not hairy noses.

I went downtown on Friday, only to discover that the piercer had called in sick (they apparenty tried to call me to cancel), so I still have no extra nose holes. I have a new appointment for Thursday afternoon. I also stopped in at another tattoo place, one which I had seen highly reccommended online by quite a few people, and they gave me an estimate that was $150 dollars less than the first place. So I'll probably go back when I have things sorted out and am sure I'll have enough money for everything, and make an appointment to get that done. And maybe I'll see if they can touch up my celtic knot and my raven, too, sometime.

And as for hair, I asked a purple-haired girl in the comic shop where a good place to buy hair dye was, and she told me about a hairdresser's supply place (also open to the public). My green bits are looking pretty pale--like grass that's been under a board too long. I picked up some bleach (though I don't need more bleaching yet) and a jar of "apple green," which is a little less electric than the "spring green" I had before. Yes, I am metamorphosing into a freak. But I'm going to art school, and I'm a writer, so that's okay.

Connections

So yesterday I sent out emails with my new address to four people I hadn't connected with in ages (forgetting, of course, to send it to people I have seen recently--don't worry, I'll remember eventually . . . or you can get it from Sue). I was curious to see if any of these people would respond, but it's been so long I didn't want to assume I could just pick up the conversation as if no time had passed (this seems to happen to me a fair bit; this is why I am World's Worst Correspondent). Anyway, to my delight, there was a new email waiting for me this morning, from Heinz Insu Fenkl, who was the prof of the writing workshop/seminar I did in New Paltz, NY a few years ago, and a very fine writer (also a very good teacher). He said he keeps looking for my name on books on the YA racks. Erk. Now I feel vaguely guilty for not making a greater effort to send out those mss. Anyway, now I am happy. Well, happier, as I've been pretty happy in general since I got here, despite the airline and aiport crises, student loan hassle and all that.

Which Witch Hunter Robin Character Are You?

You are Amon! Prone to silence and not one to
smile easily, you never the less get the job
done.


Which Witch Hunter Robin Character Are You?
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What Inuyasha Character are you?

Your Kagome! you like to hang out with your friends
and are always the first person to volunteer to
show a new student around, you are kind and
giving and enjoy having a occasional sleep-over
with the girls!


What Inuyasha Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

More Email and Stuff

So, I got my work email working, and I'm now using webmail for shaw, so I should be able to get anything anyone sends me. We have a cable connection here now (for a couple of days now), though I'm not checking my mail as often as I used to. I'm getting caught up on work, but my stats pretty much sucked this past week.

What else? I'm wokring on Fey again, and might even have something to post by the time my computer arrives.

I've made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon to get my nostril pierced, and the tattoo I want will cost more than I was expecting, so I'll wait on that a while (it's gonna be cool though--a slightly modified version of the fairy on this page of Fey on my upper back.

I encountered a sale at an art supply store yesterday, when I was downtown doing bank stuff. How could I not go in? I managed to escape with only a handful of Letraset markers and a Moleskine notebook--this one with storyboards printed on the pages, for roughing out my comic. I'd seen a sample of this notebook in Paper-Ya in Vancouver and was going to buy one there, but they were sold out. So I was pleased.

I also found one of the local comic shops--Strange Adventures Comic Bookshop--where I picked up a few books, including an on-sale copy of the first volume of the 2001 Nights manga. They have a "free with purchase box" too, from which I snagged a hardcover copy of the last 2001 Nights. So now I need only the middle volume. I'd read the second and third books from the library a while ago and really liked them.

I had to break down and buy my next pair of Doc Martens new, since I've had no luck at Value Village. They look so pristine! I grabbed a few more bits and pieces at WalMart (which is between home and the bus stop), and have most of my for-school shopping done. Just need a little tv to play PS2 games on (very essential for de-stressing; nothing smooths away the cares of the day like fragging monsters), and a monitor for my Mac when it gets here. And maybe some sort of thing for holding toiletries. But anyway. I am settling in. Earplugs, I discovered, make even better snore-filters than pillows, so I slept more soundly last night (though I hadn't been seeping too badly, considering the upheaval).

Anyway. Once the Mac gets here, I'll put up some pics. I'm especially anxious to share photos of the boykittens, Poe-the-aptly-named and Sam-who-has-thumbs. And Queen-of-the-Universe Bast is actually getting along with them. More or less.