The films that shape us

I remember being a kid and seeing a lot of different movies on TV, and watching home-taped VHS tapes that my dad made for me. I remember watching Beethoven 15 minutes at a time every morning before school when I was in early elementary. I remember renting Rock A Doodle Doo from Blockbuster, watching it so many times before it was due back that my dad connected two VCR's together and copied the tape for me (Looking back, I think he's one of my greatest influences when it comes to my skills of... Acquiring things) behind the original Batman movie he taped off of the Superchannel preview one holiday season, making a double-feature VHS for me. Movies like The Last Starfighter and The Navigator were a staple of the Family Channel holiday preview. I remember staying up late, hiding on the stairs, watching Star Trek. I remember seeing part of Star Wars on TV and asking my mom what movie it was. She told me what it was and was then shocked I didn't know (She doesn't remember this, but I sure do), then taking me to rent the original trology on VHS and watching through them all (almost in one sitting!) with me.

Indiana Jones. Jurrasic Park. The Jungle Book. 101 Dalmations. Ninja Turtles. WarGames.

There are a number of VHS tapes at my parents house that are barely watchable because I used them so much. A big collection of home-recorded movies (thanks dad), both from rentals and tv boradcast.

The movies we watch as kids shape the movies we love as adults. To this day, more than anything, I love adventure and science fiction. The thrill of adventure and the wonder of science fiction. My imagination was filled with possibilities.

I don't remember how old I was at the time, and I really didn't know what I had seen until I saw it again many years later as an adult, but I remember seeing part of a movie that was like nothing else. Glowing people inside a digital environment. I saw part of TRON, and it light up my mind like nothing else. I didn't know what to think, I didn't even know what I had seen. It wasn't the whole movie, maybe only 30 minutes of it, but it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. It's a shame to say, but I only saw TRON for the first time in its entirety a few years ago, but it instantly went on my list of favourite movies alongside Star Wars and Shawshank. The sense of wonder in me it created is something that I'm not sure I can explain, but I'm sure many people can relate to. In hindsight, TRON helped spark an interest in computers and technology that permanently shaped who I am today. I think all of my friends would like to thank the producers for that inspiration.

Last night I saw TRON: Legacy, and it's the closest thing I've seen that's come close to creating that same sense of childlike wonder I experienced so long ago. Legacy is easily the most visually stunning movie I've seen in a long time, recaptured my imagination, and made me really hate reality. I absolutely loved seeing it, and would see it again in a heartbeat.

I'll be the first to say I've got a terrible memory. Trying to think back at the movies that helped shape who I've grown to be is an impossible task, I'll never think of them all. But as I watch old movies, I remember the ones I've seen and the ones I've loved. So many terrible movies from my childhood and I will watch over and over again. Nostalgia creates thick goggles, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

And I'm curious, what movies do you remember from childhood really shaped your tastes and who you are now? I wish I could remember back through the fog of my mind, maybe you can do better.

And for anyone who's wondering, a light cycle for Christmas would be radical.

November 17th, in which Steve had a sinus headache, watched a documemntary about Yoga, and thought about what he's doing.

In which he sits at home and wonders where to go and what to do. Not this evening or tomorrow or even on the weekend. In which he sits at home and wonders where to go and what to do, to assert himself and become great, or to stay at a level of being where he does not input more energy that it takes to walk. In which he sits at home and imagines what he may become, or what he may continue to be. In which he sits at home and hopes instead of taking action. In which he sits at home and wonders what could be and what has been. In which he sits at home and thinks of what has passed him by. In which he sits at home and has curiosity of the world around him which he has yet to explore. In which he sits at home and thinks of more reasons why he hasn't done thing than there are thing he hasn't done. In which he sits at home and thinks.

In which he sits at home.

The map to Adventure

Here's what I'm thinking. Saskatoon to Revvy: Like 13 hours. Revvy to Salmo: Like 4 hours. Epic road trip to Shambhalla that includes a visit with Erik and Liz: Timeless.


View The road to Shambhalla in a larger map

Had a dream

I had a dream last night and I keep remembering parts of it as I see things today. Here's what I've got so far:

I think we were camping, in a big trailer, I'm not sure where. Nick, Braden, Will, Tony, Corey, Cheap, pretty much all of 613 and their girls. And Ryan too. The trailer was really long and kinda wide, almost like one from a trailer park, but in the woods. Maybe we were at the lake. I think that makes sense. Before I was in the trailer I was outside, on my cell phone, I had a new iPhone 4. I was talking to Tabi and she kept commenting on how clear I sounded, and I did the same. I'm not sure what we talked about. After I hung up I went inside the trailer, and everyone was sitting down about to eat lunch. I remember Kraft Dinner and hash browns. I sat down on the floor for some reason, and then I heard Stacey's voice. I stood up, and saw the Aussies. I yelled something and they looked my way, then Sarah ran towards me and I gave her a gigantic hug. We all talked, though I'm again not sure what about, and then we all went outside without eating anything. There was music, I don't know what kind, just that there was music, then there was a white light and that's it.

I could feel overwhelming happiness the entire time. There was absolutely no negative energy the entire time, I felt great. Everyone was excited and happy, and it was just amplifying how I felt. It was amazing.

That's all I've got for now, if I remember anything else I'll try and update it.

Diet experiment, March 2010 (Preview)

As many of my friends already know, I've been doing a little diet experiment through the month of March. Well, there's only three days left, so I'll be trying to do a writup on it when it's finished. I'll say right now that it's so far so good! I'll have a full premis and outcome written up, with all of my misadventures and keen discoveries. Until then, ciaoabunga!

An activity pledge to myself

I'm taking this from the Facebook note I wrote yesterday and slapping it here for prosperity sake. Enjoy!




Well, it's the new year, and I'm sure lots of people have made resolutions for 2010. One of my resolutions for this year is to be a lot more active, and get myself back to a practible level of fitness. I don't want to run a marathon or lift obscene amounts of weight, I just want to be healthy and be able to do what I used to be able to do without hesitation; bike for more than 5 minutes, run for more than 2, and lift myself more than a foot. Biking and climbing were my bread and butter when I was a kid, and I want to get back to that.

So, I'm pledging to myself to be more active this year, and I've tried to come up with a little regime to be able to do that. I've wanted to start running again for a while now, and going climbing with Jill ans Ann and Dan the other day really brought that back into my mind, I forgot how much I liked climbing. Anyways, this is what I've come up with for myself.

I'm on campus 5 days a week, and I've been wasting away the PAC membership we all have this school year, so I'm going to try and use it every day.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be cardio and endurance training. Running, rowing, cycling, and maybe some low-weight lifting. I need to strengthen up my cardio system so my muscles can actually recouperate when I'm lifting my heavy self up. And as it stands right now, I get a kittle winded walking up the Arts ramp on campus, and that's just not good.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be strength days. I've never been into weight lifting, I don't know how to target muscle groups, and I've always found watching myself in the mirror to be way to self indulgent and superficial for my tastes. So, with inspiration from Jill and Ann the other day, I want to use wall climbing as a full body strength and endurance training workout. I like it for two reasons; first, I'm kindof heavy right now, so lifing myself around will be a great form of natural resistance.
Second, I'm a big fan of practical exercise. I think focusing on one or two muscles at a time is a little silly, and not really all that helpful in the real world. Climbing not only works most of my body at once, but it works it in useful ways, ways I can actually use in the world. Also, it's just down right fun.

I also want to start playing squash again, but I need a new squash partner. Graham isn't going to school this year so i'm down an opponent. I can also use squash as one of my cardio/endurance days, lots of running involved. Plus it's super fun, I think. Any kind of sport would be great, really.

Right now the only thing I need to do is take the climbing safety orientation at the PAC so I can start climbing at school, and maybe a partner to climb with would be handy too.

So that's step one to a happier Steve in 2010, the rest of the steps will take a little more work, but hopefully they shape up well. Overall I'm really looking forward to this year, it started great and has been going strong ever since. I hope everyone is looking forward to a great year as well, and will help me keep the good times rolling.

Mood: happy :)
Listening to: Hot Hot Heat on Sirius Alt Nation [can't find my Zune for work today :( ]
State of mind: forward thinking and excited

Revel...Stoke?

Okay, so this one'll be two days in one. Partly because I didn't type anything up last night, and partly because there wasn't a whole lot to write about, until the evening anyways. Yesterday we left Victoria at around 11, I think, and while we were waiting to board the ferry I checked Facebook, and noticed that Nick had written on our friend Eriks wall, saying he was going to be in Revelstoke. I didn't have a whole lot to do while we waited so I was looking at my maps and realized we would be going right through Revelstoke! Now, I was at least a day behind on my Facebook updates reading, so I thought that Nick was going to be through Revelstoke the next day, and thought it would be really cool if we stopped in Revelstoke the same time Nick was passing though. After some logistical planning, we decided to drive straight through to Revelstoke that day, so we wouldn't lose too much time getting to Calgary on Thursday. That's when the 'not much' kinda took over. Got on the ferry. Took pictures on the Ferry. Got off the ferry. Oh, I played Star Wars Trilogy Arcade on the ferry, that was pretty sweet. But it was rather uneventful. We basically were just driving from there. I did some navigational awesomery to make sure we got on the Coquihalla this time, instead of going around it.

We pretty much drove in a strait line for a while, cell coverage going in and out the whole time. When we were a couple hours away from Revelstoke, I started trying to get ahold of Liz and Erik. All hail Facebook, I was able to get Liz's number and start texting her to try and meet up with them in town. Ah, text tag. After a little bit of back and forth, we got at least a few things worked out, an extra phone number, and some awesome planned out. More strait lines... And then we were almost in Revelstoke! Got mom a hotel room at the hotel Liz works at, and the woman at the counter called her on the radio and then gave me the walkie, and I called Liz to the foyer, that was pretty funny. Got mom settled, got ahold of Erik and he and his friend, who was visiting him from Ontario, make their way to mom's hotel room. Introductions ensued, and before long we were walking downtown to get some supper, we went to an Indian restaurant that also serves German food. Talk about a strange combination :P But it was really good. We took it back to the hotel room, and had to do a little improvising to get enough chairs set up for all of us. Sebastian and I constructed a bench out of two luggage racks and an ironing board. It actually worked really good, oddly enough. Again, goood food. I think I'm starting to grow a good liking to butter chicken.

After supper, we did some figuring and decided that I'd stay at Liz and Eriks for the night. It would give mom a chance to relax a bit, and give me a chance to hang out more, and let the former couch surfers become the couch surfed. Erik had to work during the night, he works the graveyard shift at the front desk of the super expensive hotel at the base of the ski hill, so I hung out with Liz and one of their friends, and Sebastien too when he got home again. We walked around town a bit, and tried checking out the meteor shower. Not much luck on my part, but Liz saw a few meteors in the sky. A good time was had. I think we got home and went to bed at around 3am, a big change from the rest of the trip so far, but it was a lot of fun. Erik got home at 7:30 the next morning, and we started getting out of bed at about 9ish. I'll say this: Liz and Erik have a really comfy couch. It is to be tried. After some more morning hangouts and some pretty great nostalgic video game conversations, we headed back to mom's hotel so we could check her out and get on the road again. We checked out at about 11, and decided to get some quick breakfast at Denny's.

Quick breakfast at Denny's is not what we got. I swear, it took an hour and a half to get breakfast at Denny's from the time we got there to the time we were eating. Erik and I had several rounds of table Jenga, and by the time our food actually came, it was rather disheartening that it was pretty crappy. We weren't exactly impressed. Long wait, poor food. Worse Denny's ever. Avoid it. Plus it put us that much longer behind schedule. So after breakfast, lots of goodbyes were said, and on the road again we were. I think I skimped out on a lot of the details from the Revelstoke hangout, but I'm trying to get two days in this post. Let me just reinforce that it was awesome, and Erik and Liz rule. I hope they read that :P But on the road again we were. And it kinda sucked today. About 20 minutes out of Revelstoke, I lost all cell reception, and we hit construction. We were driving through construction from Revelstoke to Banff. It was supposed to take 5 hours, we left at about noonish. We didn't get into Calgary until about 10 to 7 tonight. Construction all the way. You know what the worst part about being in a construction zone that long is? Not the slow and boring pace (That's actually alright for picture taking), not how behind schedule you get, not anything related to that at all. There's no place you can pull over and go to the bathroom. Anywhere. From Revelstoke to Banff. I'll tell you this much, by the time we were able to stop in Banff, I was racing like a piss horse. Tabi warned me about the construction before Banff but I didn't believe her, I guess I learned my lesson :P

But after Banff the road got pretty good. And then it started raining. Pretty good too. I guess that's my payback for saying to Tabi that at least it wasn't raining when she had car trouble coming into Saskatoon last week. Karma... It wasn't really all that bad, not once we hit the bathrooms, and it was a pretty straightforward drive to Calgary. The only problem is that the reason I wanted to get into Calgary at a decent time on Thursday was to try and hang out with Mike, but we didn't actually start trying to work out hangouts until I was almost in the city. Hindsight is 20/20 though, we'll put some actual effort into it next time. It sucks, but I guess it happens. So we got into Calgary, and after some re navigation (Sheila didn't take us to the right adress for my Aunt and Uncle, so I had to get us to their house the old fashioned way), we arived safe and sound at Aunty Brenda and Uncle Michael's house, just in time for some Chinese food.

And that's more or less the last two days. I'm sure I'll think of little tidbit stories as I talk to people, so ask me! For now it's time to relax a bit, take a look at some computers (There's always an issue for me to figure out wherever I go :P ), and get ready for tomorrow. Tabi and I are going to drive to Dumheller tomorrow, the weather is a little crappy for the Calgary Zoo, so dinosaurs will make a nice substitution. I need to empty my cameras and charge my batteries. Other then that, I'm going to try and get a good nights sleep, probaby on another couch. But oh well, this couch isn't too bad. So I don't mind too much. That's all for now then, hopefully I'll have some more awesome stories tomorrow to recall, I'm looking forward to the day. Tah tah for now.