The End of the Arc of Vacation

Tonight marks the official end of my vacation. Tomorrow I will rejoin the working world. It was a good vacation and the last two days have been relaxed and enjoyable, even as I was playing reverse Tetris with my apartment. My plan tonight is pretty simple - a long hot bath, a little bit of DVR watching, some reading, and a full night of sleep. I am sure I'll have some more thoughts on this most recent vacation - but for now, tonight, I am content here at the end of the arc of vacation.

Minimalist Tetris

Thursday, I spent the entire day playing Tetris will all of my physical possessions. Basically, I took the entire contents of the apartment and moved it into kitchen/dining room or patio - stacking it into the kitchen in the reverse order I would need to stack it out.

Amazingly, it all fit and with some room to spare. (That is a tribute to the distance I've traveled on my journey toward a more minimal lifestyle.) At about 8:30 the workers showed up to rip the carpet out and replace it with new carpet. They did a good job and were done by about 2:00 in the afternoon.

In between, I spent the morning wandering, running incidental errands, getting some service done on my car (including a detail), and picking up a new bedroom lamp and a pair of incidental stands. I've completely redecorated the bedroom in a very minimalist style. So far, the only things in the bedroom are the bed and the two new stands, with the lamp and clock. I have a new wall hanging (a collection of empty frames, which caught my eye and was inspired by T.R.) which I haven't hung yet because my toolbox is still behind a pile of boxes.

As I play the reverse game of Tetris and shift my worldly possessions back into the apartment, much of the stuff is not going to make the shift back. Since everything was moved into the kitchen, everything is up on the block. As I move each piece I am asking - do I really want this, do I really need this, and do I really use this? At the end of this particular game, I am going to end up with significantly left stuff. I might even make it as far down the path of minimalism that I need to go.

Home, Sweet and Simple

Today was a traveling day. Now, as it winds down into dusk, my eyes are heavy. Part of that heaviness is probably allergies (in the last couple of days down in San Diego I developed a scratch in my throat that I've brought home with me), and part of it is just that great sense that comes of being home after a time of traveling. I've resisted the temptation to take a nap, largely so I can fall deeply into sleep once I slip into my own bed.

As nice as the hotel was, as comfortable as the hotel bed was, there is nothing quite like the comfort of your own bed, your own sheets, your own pillows and the soundscape that you know so well. I am sure I will sleep deeply and restfully tonight.

The last two days of the San Diego vacation were spent mostly in just relaxing and then relaxing a little more. On Monday we went out and saw "Captain America", which was enjoyable, then has dinner with a cluster of Tony's friends which was fun. On Tuesday, we had breakfast at Janet's, I had a work related teleconference, and then we drove up to Palomar Mountain and checked out the observatory. (There was other stuff in there too, but right now I am too tired to write about them.)

The Palomar Observatory was a pretty cool place - it was well worth the trip. The drive up the mountain was nice, but on the drive down the late summer haze had risen so all the vista's were blurred. I took a couple of pictures, but nothing of particular note. (So much of photography is about light - and good light makes all the difference.) The 200 inch telescope there is a pretty impressive feat of engineering and gazing at the displays of the various astronomical pictures and features was pretty cool as well.

Tonight though, it is simply good to be home and my plan is a quiet evening, followed by sweet and blessed sleep. Tomorrow will be a brisk day - I need to move all my furniture and stuff off the carpet so I can have the carpet replaced on Friday. That is going to be very cool and I am looking forward to it. I don't have that much stuff anymore, so I suspect everything is going to fit either into the kitchen or bathroom and onto the patio. I actually expect that it is all going to fit pretty seamlessly into the kitchen. Moving things around is also going to give me some incentive to do a bit more purging. I expect that a few bags and boxes of stuff are going to make the outward bound trip as I continue my journey toward simplicity.

So, at the traveling end of the vacation (though with four days left before I have to return to work) let me just bid every a simple goodnight.

Jim Henson, Deborah Ann Woll and Aphaereis

Okay, once again, let me start with a bit of a Non Sequitur. This song was the first song I heard this morning and it rode through the entire day with me and well into the evening. I thought I would share it with you - it's a great little song you might have heard before.

"This One Goes Out To The One I Love" by REM.

So, today moved very pleasantly. Breakfast at The Broken Yolk Cafe, then an easy day at San Diego Comic Con. I went to two panels - the first was a presentation on early Jim Henson (prior to the Muppets) with the archivist from the Jim Henson Company sharing four of his earlier works (all demonstrative of Jim Henson's particular brand of genius). Then they spoke about a collaborative work that is coming out as a graphic novel, based on an early script by Jim and his writing partner Jerry Juhl, written in the fifties and sixties. Here is a like to the work at Bleeding Cool...

A Tale of Sand

Following that panel, I went to panel called "Character Voices II" which was a panel with a half a dozen voice actors, talking about their work, and then doing a cold read of a tale about Snow White that was very funny. I will try and find a copy of it on YouTube and share it with you.

Following that, I headed across the street and donated some red blood cells via Aphaeresis. If you're not already a routine blood donor, I would encourage you to become one. It is an opportunity for you to quite literally save the life of someone you'll never meet - and that is very cool. So, by all means, donate blood.

While I was strapped to the machine, sitting there watching all the other donors, one of the cast of the HBO series "True Blood", Deborah Ann Woll, came in with her boyfriend to donate and to visit and encourage the donors. It was a very nice touch and they were a gracious couple. She chatted with donors and staff, signed autographs, and posed for pictures.

After that, once I had my free cookies and apple juice, I met Tony and Toby at Cafe Diem for lunch, then we wandered back. It was good to get off my feet, take a hot bath and just ease into the evening. The plan tomorrow is to just relax, do whatever strikes the moment, and enjoy the day. We've got two full days of pure relaxation that I am looking forward to, and then it will be back to San Jose. So, from the end of the last day of Comic Con - good night!

I Dream of Tarseem Singh

Love always begins with a preference and a passion. (That actually has nothing to do with the rest of the entry, but it was a thought in my head this morning, so I thought I would capture it here and save it.)

I dreamed of Tarseem Singh last night. He is the director of the upcoming "The Immortals" and his past work includes the Jennifer Lopez vehicle "The Cell". He is amazingly visual director and since I am a visual person, I am dazzled by his work. Yesterday we had gone to presentation for "The Immortals" and saw more footage of the film. (We'd also seen his presentation at Wondercon in San Francisco earlier in the year.)

So, last night, while I was sleeping, I dreamed that he directed a documentary of the life of an ordinary housewife in the fifties, yet it was entirely in the visually kinetic and dramatically staged style of "The Cell" or "The Immortals". Lots of billowing and flowing colors, lots of stylistic action, lots of wonderful music, and lots of dynamic posing. It was an amusing dream.

Today is the last day of Comic Con. As usual, its been nothing but fun. I have not got a ticket for next year yet - I am going to get it online rather than pre-register, in part because the changed the method for pre-registration - basically, you have to get up extra early in the morning and than go stand in line at another hotel for hours to get a ticket to buy a ticket. I am doing enough standing in line as it is and something in me rebelled at standing-in-line to get a ticket so I could stand-in-line to stand-in-line next year. I am still planning on coming next year, but I'll take my chances with online purchase. (Most of the people I know who went online last year were able to get their tickets without too much difficulty.)

They've changed the way they sell the tickets - pre-registration does not give you a price break any more, which pushes the total package up to $175 (with preview night) or $150 (without preview night).

Now, you combine that with something else that I've observed - it seems to me that attendance is down this year here. With the exception of Hall 20 (where most of the big TV show panels displayed), we've pretty much been able to get into everything we wanted to see. We even spent a couple of hours on Friday and Saturday in Hall H, in both cases dealing with truly minimal lines. That was actually awesome. From a matter of personal preference, I would like to see Comic Con drop in size to back around or under 100,000 people. That would be a good and vibrant crowd, without the significant over-crowding. (One of the signs of the off attendance has been the lines at Starbucks and the ATM's. Normally, on Saturday, give up all hope of success at either of the things. The lines were, in fact, reasonable. Also, the ability to move about the convention and the ability to move about the vendor halls were rather reasonable.)

But, all that said, it has been a great little vacation and once the convention ends today, we've got two days of vacation left. My poor foot has taken a battering, due to all the walking and line standing, but it has recovered each night fairly nicely.

Today will be a nice and relaxed day - there are a couple of panels that I would like to see, but other than that, my main plan has been to spend the day people watching and to walk the vendor. I've ventured onto the floor a couple of times, but I really haven't spent any time there. I like to get into the small press and independent sections and just wander around, maybe pick up a few pieces for enjoyment and a few pieces for the collection.

Saturday Shows - Part II

-"The Immortals", directed by Tarseem Sing

-"The Knights of Badassdom", directed by Joe Lynch

-"Snow White and the Huntsman" directed by Rupert Sanders (Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Sam Claflin)

And now, out for Mexican at Ponce's Mexican restaurant.
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Saturday Shows

10:00 - Attack of the Show with Kevin and Candace. Very funny panel from the folks behind a very funny show.

11:00 - Sanctuary (with Amanda Tapping). One of my favorite SyFy shows.

12:00 - Being Human - a show I've actually watched all of...once. But Tony likes it.
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A Pause on Saturday Morning

The last show we attended on Saturday was the presentation for TNT's "Falling Skies", with the full cast including Noah Wylie, Moon Bloodgood, and Will Patton. It was a fun and entertaining presentation and for the gift from the studio with got a light weight gray hoodie - with the alien "harness" from the show printed on the back of the hoodie. It is a pretty cool gift.

We had a simple dinner at the Marriott's there (I opened for crab cake and a salad), then wandered our way back through downtown to the hotel, where the day was basically done. I had a conversation with family and a conversation with T.R., then fell pretty rapidly to sleep.

Today, Saturday, is the big day for the convention - the largest crowd will be today, so, depending on how the panels stack up, today is usually the day where I spend most of the day people watching, taking pictures (the costume masquerade is tonight, so every one will be out in their costumed finest today), and wandering the floor. I may or may not slip into a couple of panel. My foot took a beating yesterday, so I am going to try and take it easy on it today.

As usual, this has been a great vacation, with good company, engaging panels, cool art, strange people, and the general niceties of San Diego. All in all a nice vacation.

Attack the Block

Aliens invade a tough neighborhood in south London. Edgar Wright. By the people who brought you Shaun of the Dead. It looks good. With Nick Frost as "Ron the Weed Dealer".
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Underworld Four

Attending the panel for Underworld Four, with Kate Beckinsale returning as the Death Dealer. "I see that there is a scene in the movie where you're naked. I just wanted to say thank you."

"The costume is just like a giant condom." Kate Beckinsale on her characters costume.

The film is shot in Real 3D. It looks hyper-kinetic and visually rich. The upcoming Blu-Ray box set will include animated shorts relating to the series.

Kate Beckinsale on acting advice from Emma Thompson - "Don't shit on anyone important."

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