Extreme Makeover - Tiny Apartment Edition

My roommate and I have been fighting over him constantly being in the living room. I wake up. He's there. I go to work, he's there. I come back from work, he's there. I go to sleep, he's still in there.

When I told him he should think about taking it down a notch before I turned homicidal, he said he didn't want to spend any time in his room because he didn't like it in there. And since his room is basically an air mattress (admittedly a step up from my current pile of sleeping bags on the floor) and a mountain of dirty clothes, I couldn't blame him.

As a compromise, I offered to remodel his room - something I had wanted to do anyway - to try to make it more appealing than the living room.

In my rage, i forgot to take some before pictures, but here's what's been accomplished so far:



My roommate dresses mostly in browns and greens ("he dresses like a shrub" a coworker once pointed out), so I picked green for the paint.



As far as I know, my roommate isn't into magic, but I thought this vintage magic poster was cool so I rasterbated it anyway.

The top left corner is blackened because the spray adhesive I bought wasn't working too well and soaked the paper. The rest of the poster is full of airbubbles because I switched over to tacky glue because the spray adhesive wasn't working too well. Sigh. Still, the air bubbles aren't as noticeable when a camera flash isn't pointing right at them.



The (formerly in the living room) desk may or may not stay in here depending on what I find at Goodwill over the next few weeks.

I recently went to see the Metropolitan Opera's transmission of La Sonnambula, which left me pretty goddamn frustrated.

I should note that I love the idea of New York Operas being beamed into movie theaters across the globe, and it may prove to be a lifeline now that I live in a small town (albeit one relatively close to at least 4 cities with their own opera companies). I've been trying to see as many as my schedule and interest allows and I'll continue to do so.

And I should note that I'm a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to music and not the sort to complain, or you know even notice, when a singer goes for the high B-flat instead of the high C or other common complaints I see when browsing amazon reviews or youtube comments (which are actually often insightful and learn-ed on non-Andrea Bocelli opera videos, which I only mention because youtube comments are usually so insipid that I wonder if the awful IMDB forum users mass migrated). I don't think I'll ever go to an opera put on by a reputable opera company and think "Gee, these guys just aren't up to my standards". Not that I wouldn't like to have one of those ears, but that sort of refinement seems as distant to me as a superpower.

My approach to opera is much more base: I like hearing pretty voices singing pretty music surrounded by pretty sets. I'm always a little disappointed when I go to a show and they've opted for a minimalist set (the Prince Igor production I saw used only scaffolding, the Carmen I saw only used a white backdrop), but even that I can take in stride because, like with shoegaze, I understand that sometimes it's just about the music, man.

But La Sonnambula presented the first time, I think, where I would have preferred a blank white scrim or ugly scaffolding to the grandiose set it used. The story originally takes place in a small village where the townspeople will believe in ghosts before they believe in sleepwalking, but some one at the Metropolitan Opera saw fit to transpose the setting from the quaint village to a modern day Manhattan rehearsal hall. The villagers are now chorus members, the engaged couple at the center of everyone's attention are now literally and figuratively the leading tenor and soprano (Juan Diego Flores and Natalie Dessay, by the way, who are both fantastic singers and it's a shame they were usurped by their garish surroundings), and the "cleverness" goes on and on without actually going anywhere.

Out of context, the set is wonderful - when the host of the broadcast gave a pre-show tour of the set, I misunderstood and thought she was actually showing us around their rehearsal space and I was marveling at how nice it was. In the context of the show, it's a disaster. The idyllic storyline makes little sense in a modern day setting and the jarring juxtaposition continually pulls you out of the story. And the worst part of it was a minor set piece - a cast aside minature model of the Metropolitan opera stage showing an actual mountain village set laid out meticulously - a tease for what we could have had.

My roommate expected them to gradually ease into a the opera's actual setting and costuming...as a sort of bonus meta-story about how an opera gets put together starting with rehearsal stagings to dress rehearsals to performance. And while I think that would have also distracted from the actual story, it would have been interesting to see it executed.

I don't normally mind modern time and space transposition, not only in opera, but across other mediums as well. It's something that compliments both the author and the audience with its twin implications that the story is timeless and that any of us could stumble across feelings as profound as the character's while running our everyday lives. But sometimes the details of the stories aren't timeless, and ignoring that and proceeding with the updating anyway will only undercut the emotions of the story that could have been timeless.

It's also something I think better left for material that has been and will be performed in a straight fashion time and time again. While I may be mistaken about how often La Sonnambula is performed, I can't recall another instance in the 15 years I've been sporadically going to see operas where I had the chance to see it and since I don't know when I will be able to see it again, I feel cheated.

The Finished Tree

I haven't been able to get a good shot of this because I don't have a DIY lightbox in Wisconsin quite yet. But here it is, finally finished:

Revisiting Perler Bead Sprites

Some sprites I've been able to make since moving to Wisconsin:

Wisconsin Death Trip

I think Wisconsin might be trying to kill me. Or the universe might be trying to kill my new roommate (his house was struck by lightning a month before we moved to Wisconsin), and now I've just been sucked into that vicious vortex.

The drive to Wisconsin became pretty horrific around Milwaukee because, as it turns out, Texas windshield wiper fluid freezes and windshield wiper fluid is actually kind of a necessity on salt-ridden freeways (who knew?). Semis and SUVS kept kicking up dirt and salt at my windshield badly enough that my windshield started resembling that frosted glass you put in shower stalls so people can't see ANYTHING. And because of the lack of moisture from not having functional wiper fluid, any attempt to wipe it away would just streak the whole mess across the windshield and make it less like frosted glass and more like glass with white paint thrown across it.

And yesterday morning, after waking up, I found this huddled in the corner of our living room:



I don't know if this is common or not in Wisconsin, but a kid who lived about 15 minutes away from me back in Texas awoke to find a bat in his room and it turned out to be A Big Deal. So after some lengthy debate with my roommate, we decided to play it safe, drama queen it up and go for a series of rabies shots. I just got back from the ER for the first one.

In case you are curious about the bat: after calling animal control who told us to call pest control and calling several pest control places who were all closed because it was Sunday, we just put some gloves on and tossed the bat outside and haven't seen him since - I'm glad he's apparently ok because I like bats, but post internet research says we were supposed to keep him somewhere and get him tested for rabies.

NP: Rolling Stones - I am Waiting

I've made the trek to Wisconsin, but I am still busy with moving stuff, so here's just another quick update:

NP: The Undertones - It's Going to Happen

Just a quick update on the Dragon Quest tree:

NP: The Kinks - Australia

Finished little Domingo today:

NP: Blondie - Accidents Never Happen

Another chance to browse my bookcases:



A good overview of my hobbies and some would-be hobbies is on display here: music (both playing and listening to), movies, cooking, French, math, and on the far right side (it's hard to see) are 3 books on how to be a ninja.



Philip K Dick on the left, Flannery O'Connor in the middle, and HP Lovecraft on the right.

See more of my books throughout my blog or on my flickr.

NP: Kitchens of Distinction - Breathing Fear

Well, I finally gave in and got an ipod recently and I've neglected my videogame stuff in favor of meticulously uploading albums and looking for podcasts. I considered writing a post gushing about how great ipods and podcasts are, but I'm not sure the internet needs more pollution about nearly decade old technology.

That said, I'm not sure where this blog is going. It was originally intended to just be advertising for my currently defunct etsy store until I realized there's no reason to come to a blog just to see updates on an etsy store, since you can just go to that etsy store. I turned it into a "personal blog" to give people content you can't find on etsy.

I'm not some one who is into self expression for the sake of self expression, so personal blogs are a hard sell for me. I always liked personal zines, but those take a lot of time, effort, and money so it weeds out a lot of the people who put less effort into their public diaries than they would a fart. Back in the day, a few skims through livejournal and I concluded personal blogs were something to be avoided.

But about 5 years ago, I stumbled across a teenaged girl's blog that detailed her to day to day life. On its face, it was mundane stuff - she had an asshole ex and an afterschool job and she spent her spare time reading and cutting herself - but it was well written and hit all the right notes. It was just angsty enough to emphasize, but not so angsty it delved into self pity. It was arty enough to be interesting, but never dwindled into pretense. Smart but not pedantic, introspective but not naval-gazing, and so on and so on. I felt a bit like I was reading the blog of a Daniel Clowes heroine.

Then she got a new boyfriend and spent most of her time blogging about how awesome he was, and I lost interest. But it did leave me with the impression that personal blogs can be awesome. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to write about my day to day life because I'm not sure I have the skill nor the inclination to make it as interesting as the teenaged girl did, but I am going to make it a resolution (oh, let's make it a New Year's resolution, simply since the timing is convenient) to try to pollute the internet a little more.

So expect personal-style posts about tv shows, movies, books, poker and so forth. I'm not sure what it will accomplish, if anything, but I'd like to give it a go. Of course I'll keep updating on the video game crafts since any glance at my stat counter instantly reveals that's why people visit this thing, and I'm not one to deny people what they want.

NP: Sonic Youth - Incinerate

I finished the second Metroid I was working on:




And some works in progress shots:










Hopefully this is looking more like Pelle and less like the beginning of a Jackson Pollock painting.

















The going is, uh, slow on little Domingo. He's a little boring to work on.































Another Dragon Quest monster. I was thinking of creating at least three of these (the already completed Godbird + WIP Face Tree + ????) using primary color backgrounds. Maybe if I have the stamina I'll make a full ROYBGIV series.

NP: The Only Ones - Some One Who Cares

I'm a fan/user of the website 43 Things - the idea is to put together a list of up to 43 goals and then publicly document your progress. You can choose from already created goals, make up your own, whatever.

Most of my goals have been sitting on my list for a year or more with little to no progress made. Occasionally, I delete a few either because I decide they're stupid (Beat all the Zelda Games) or because they're not going to happen in the foreseeable future (Eat at In-N-Out Burger...yeah, I reach for the stars). And some of the ones I have accomplished, I haven't so much "accomplished" and instead just did once or twice so I could check it off and list something else. Did I go letterboxing once? Sure. Did I go letterboxing twice? Nuh-uh.

But even though my list is mostly stagnant, I still get a kick going through other people's goals and entries, and I occasionally stumble across a potentially valuable resource regarding lock picking or juggling. So when I saw that 43 Things was coming out with a book called Dream It, List It, Do It, I went to Barnes and Noble and bought it.

Now for some reason or another, I thought the book would focus on a handful of goals and include personal stories or resources - something along the lines of Get a Hobby or You Can Do It!, only broader in scope than the former and hopefully not as lame as the latter. And because it was holiday season and I hate crowds, I didn't bother to even crack it open to look at it first, for fear I'd waste precious seconds around noisy strangers.

But it's not a journalistic look at goal-pursuing nor a conglomerate of resources. It's mostly just one long list of goals, with the occasional anonymous personal paragraph about, say, dancing in the rain or a resource sidebar about, say, changing your name lazily inserted in intervals. And what's most infuriating about the book is the empty boxes next to each item, as if this book is actually going to function as 4,000 things to do before I die checklist. I'm sure I'll be checking off "Start a non-toxic housecleaning company" or "Become Aquaman" any day now.

I'll give 43 Things a pass for trying for the quick buck, because they're an expansive social networking site that keeps their advertising revenue to the ubiquitous but innocuous google ads and because I was too big of a dolt to skim the fat little book beforehand, but really, I feel burned.

NP: Brian Eno - True Wheel

I finally finished it:



I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, and I've already got plans for my next big Dragon Quest-related project.

NP: Portishead - Half Day Closing (Live)

Well, my resolution to lessen my focus on the needlework is officially done for now. I spent the day sick in bed and instead of reading or drawing or any of the other million of things I could have done, I opted to put some dvds on and stitch.

So practical productivity for today was nil. Videogame needlework productivity for today was off the charts...well as off the charts as these time consuming projects can be.

Here's some updates:



Domingo from the original Shining Force game was some magical squid thing that hatched from an egg. When you start him off, he's horrifically weak, but if you give him a little time and attention, he turns into a killing machine.





























The standard Ramia update. I am still plug-plug-plugging away at it while trying to keep my eyes from rolling to the back of my head.























Well, this probably looks like some random squiggle at the moment, but it's really just the start of Pelle, a centaur with a giant chin, also from the original Shining Force game.

















And another metroid I am working on per a request. The metroid is finished, I just need to do to the background.













Also, thanks to benjibot for pointing out that the Phoenix Wright needlepoint by rgcainmd is posted on the Sprite Stitch forums.

NP: Mission UK - Severina

I thought I had left the giant chicken in a rental car I had after a minor car accident (not my fault) put my own car in the shop. But I found it, floating around my closet, and got back to work on it. And here's where it stands:




I'll estimate that I've got about 20-30 hours of background stitching left before it's finished. That's a lot of boredom ahead. I may start in with a few other needlepoint projects to keep me sane.

Because I'm moving in less than a month, I'm mostly in limbo. I don't want to start any long term projects or finish any bulky ones that will just contribute to the pain in the ass that is moving. That means my perler bead Megaman will probably lie in pieces for at least a month longer.

Here's a few ideas I may or may not carry out after I move:

- A complete series of The Shining Force in my usual framed needlepoint

- Topiary

- Video Game Quilts

- Needlework Pillows (I finally found a place that carries tapestry wool)

- Automata

NP: Siouxsie and the Banshees - This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us

So I decided I will be shutting down my etsy store sometime tomorrow, probably during the afternoon after I get off work (I want to get some recent orders sent first). I'll make the metroid and Zero needlework that two people requested and then that's that for the time being. Other than that, I've got to start focusing on getting ready to move to Wisconsin and my christmas shopping.

Also, check out benjibot of Sorrytown, USA did using my tutorial. Awesome.

Some one over at Pixelgasm also used it to make a fantastic Phoenix Wright needlepoint, but unfortunately Pixelgasm moved recently and a lot of the posts were lost and they've yet to repost it. But it was awesome. Trust me.

NP: Joy Division - Warsaw

So it turns out, if I'm not doing video game fancraft, then I just don't have a whole lot to blog about. Luckily, I've gotten a few requests from people through etsy that I need to start working on (so much for the resolution to not do any more needlework for a while...once I thought I was out, they pull me back in), so I should have new pictures soon.

NP: Mission UK - Wasteland

Thought I'd post my progress on the Dragon Quest god bird:



Assuming I decide to shut down my store on etsy, this may be the last needlework I do for a while. I was looking at my 43 things today and I realized how much stuff I've had up there for ages and haven't even started pursuing because I spend so much time on these things.

I'm sure I'll be aching to decorate my Wisconsin apartment with them, but until then, I need to do some other things.

NP: Wire - Mr Suit

I managed to finish this today:



It'll go up on etsy in the next few days if the person who requested it no longer wants it (it's been a while, so that's a distinct possibility).

While I'm at it, I should note that I'm also seriously considering shutting down my shop. I enjoy the idea of these things floating around strangers' houses and the extra income is nice, but running the shop and having a full time job is starting to take its toll. Then again, I've had a rough couple of days, so it may just be my bad mood talking. I'll have to mull it over.

Oh, and an update on that giant chicken:

NP: Psychedelic Furs - Midnight to Midnight

I played another round of Arkham Horror tonight, and while the game is supposed to take 2-4 hours (according to the box top), I have found I can lose much more quickly than that.

While playing, I took some notes - yes, seriously - just to illustrate how ridiculous the game is. That's assuming I am literate and understood the rules correctly, which isn't really a safe assumption.

10:10 pm - I choose Amanda Sharpe, the student, at random to be my investigator and Nyarlathotep to be the villain I'm not so secretly rooting for.

Amanda, like all the investigator choices, gets a certain amount of items drawn at random at the beginning of the game, but I won't bother to recount them here since I never once used any of them.

Now the point of this game is basically to not let things get too fucked up and let Nyarlathotep wake up. Gates to other worlds are opening and spawning monsters almost every turn and, as a solo investigator, I can't allow 1) the number of open gates to reach 8, 2) the town to get too freaked out and overrun with monsters (measured by "the terror track" which goes to 10), 3) myself to take too long (measured by Nyarlathotep's "doom counter"). There's a few other official ways to wake up Nyarlathotep, but they are of no concern to me right now because I will have already lost before they're even remotely a possibility.

If Nyarlathotep wakes up, and he will, I can still fight him, but as you will see, that method doesn't work out too well.

10:15 - The game opens with a gate leading to the City of the Great Race opening up in the graveyard and it spits out a Star Spawn monster. Because a gate opened up, the doom counter moves to 1 (Nyarlothotep's doom counter goes to 11).

10:18 - Because of some movement limitations, I can't make it over to the graveyard so I bum around my side of the board and try to collect tokens I'll technically need but never have a chance to use. While I'm doing this, not only does another gate to the Plateau of Leng open up, but something bites me and I lose some stamina and sanity. Sigh. Doom Counter is now at 2.

10:24 - I manage to make it through the dimensional gate and into the Plateau. The Plateau turns out to be a quiet place to rest for now, and I gain back one of my stamina points. This is the only good thing that has ever happened to me during this game.

While I'm exploring the plateau, another gate opens up back in Arkham. Doom count = 3.

10:27 - I'm still exploring the Plateau (you must spend 2 turns exploring in order to have a chance of closing the gate afterwards). While I'm exploring, the humidity gets to me and I lose that stamina point that I got back the last turn. Sigh.

Back in Arkham, another gate opens up to Celeano while I'm dying of heat in the plateau. Doom Count - 4.

10:30 - This is a good turn...I get through the gate and back into Arkham and manage to close the gate. And another gate doesn't open up, although there's a sudden surge of monsters in town.

10:33 - Again, I can't manage to reach anymore gates so I have to bum around and pretend like I'm not wasting valuable time. I find out something horrible about my family tree and lose some more sanity.

A gate to R'lyeh opens up. Doom Count - 5.

And this is where the kiss of death comes: Miskatonic University starts doing experiments on monsters, and if I don't kill the monsters off, they will multiply and break out into the streets.

10:36 - I try to make my way to Miskatonic U, but can't quite make it.

No gate opens up this time, but a monster surge fills up the outskirts and the terror track makes its first advance from 0 to 1.

10:42 - I try to kill off one of the easier monsters in Miskatonic University and fail.

No gate opens up again, but that just means there's another monster surge.

10:45 - I fail to kill the Miskatonic University monster again, and all hell breaks loose. The streets fill up with monsters, the terror track instantly goes to 10, its highest setting, and because there is so much shit going on, Nyarlathotep wakes up.

Now I've been avoiding going into stat mechanics, but it's kind of important here. My maximum fight stat is 4, which usually means I can roll 4 dice and hope one of them hits 5 or 6 for a successful attack. But I have to temper this against Nyarlothotep's combat rating, which happens to be -4, which happens to mean I have 0 dice to roll to get the 5 or 6 that I need. See the issue here?

Of course, I got a magic spell in the beginning of the game that would let make 9 additional dice rolls (at the cost of my sanity, however), but wouldn't you know, Nyarlathotep is resistant to magic.

He takes about 3 turns to devour me.

10:55 - I've now managed to efficiently and thoroughly lose a 2-4 hour game in just under 45 minutes. And I actually did relatively well this game. I never once lost a turn or got booted to the "lost in space and time" square, which is where I spent the majority of my time the last few games.