Jaws still scares me.

I just had a mini-Twitter conversation with a friend about the craptastic shark movie, Great White. The poster art still sends chills down my spine. Then the subject of Jaws came up, as it naturally would, and there was that chill again.

I realized I was probably lucky I didn't see Jaws on the big screen when I was a kid. It scared the hell out of me on the boob-tube. I'd probably need a straight jacket if I saw it larger than life.

Nearly any imagery of sharks make me antsy, but it's not like I can't watch Jaws or or other shark related media. In fact I admire sharks their survivability. But I also respect their awesomeness too. I don't hold Jaws responsible for this. I probably could have seen any shark movie, even a zombie fighting one, to know they are worthy of giving a wide-berth.

Which is why I'm fine letting a poster scare me. I don't need to go back to the water.

Yes, I crochet and I like it!

I love to crochet. There I said it!

I opened my Etsy shop to sell my creations. There I said that too!

When I was around 9 my babysitter showed the lot of us how to crochet. My hands need to be busy as much as my brain does so I fell in love with it. Sadly, I stopped crocheting when I was about 12. Then a few years ago I got antsy. I needed to create something with my hands. I started going down the list of things I like to do (LEGO, sculpting polymer clay, writing) and it dawned on me I hadn't crocheted in a long time. I discovered amigurumi and fell in love with the designs I saw. When I was a kid I never knew you could make something more than a granny square with crochet.

It was such an eye-opener I started devouring video after video of how-to's on youtube. I've made a few dolls, which I enjoy doing, but I really enjoy making fun scarves to show off the quirks in my personality. I also want to incorporate my love of movies into my scarves.

So, this is the start.

When I can figure out hats expect more insanity then.

My Etsy Shop.

Yo yo as a sport, yo!

I always think Duncan when it comes to yo-yo, especially yo-yo competition. Looking at video today it seems there are quite a few sponsors for the sport.
See the awesome here.

More interesting is the caliber of action from the competitors. I'd much rather watch this than celebrity dance competitions. Especially celebrities who can't dance. It's also more interesting than watching cup stacking competitions, but not as much as X-games. I do consider yo-yo a highly concentrated physical sport, but with fewer broken ankles and backs.

Despite what Piers (from America's Got Talent) thinks about yo-yo it's a spectacle to behold. This kid made it fairly far in the competition. I don't think yo-yoing is made for Vegas, but he put on a good show.
Ian's final attempt.

I'd only try tricks with the yo-yo if I had insurance. Seriously, flinging what amounts to a rock attached to a string near my face is not appealing. But it looks like fun. I might not have the cajones to yo-yo, but I'm glad talented people and not-so talented people do.
He does a yo-yo slam two-fer.
Adding an exercise ball doesn't help.

I suppose this also means if you see me with a yo-yo I've lost my mind and am not afraid to break a face or anyone else's.

Thrift Shop Score! Nintendo Gameboy ?!

I'm something of a thrift store junkie. I never know what I'll find. This week I got the best score yet-- Nintendo stuff. This time around the swag consists of Nintendo Gameboy Advanced SP, Game Boy Color, and 3 original Gameboy games, Pac-in-Time, Donkey Kong, & Qix. About a month ago I scored the original pee green screen Gameboy. Now I realize this won't sound very exciting to some who absolutely have to be first in bleeding edge tech, but these machines are awesome.

I grew up mostly in the 80s, but I never had a Gameboy. I did have an Atari Lynx (fine machine, early color portable sickness), but I wanted my Nintendo in portable form. In fact when I was 14 I was close to talking a friend into saving money with me to afford one. I think he blew his money on Call of Cthulhu RPG books so that never happened. It was one of the few things I couldn't trade comics or gaming material to acquire. And I'm the guy who traded a few Magic cards (nothing spectacular) to get a guitar and amp.

When Pokemon came out I finally got a Gameboy from a friend. He jury-rigged an AC plug to play it. I guess he hated using batteries. Eventually that device gave out on me. It was tedious needing an outlet anyway.

So finding all this was nerd treasure.

I've been playing the crap out of Qix. This is a game I discovered at the Magic Scoop arcade when I was about 7. Loved it. I love the idea of being a little spark using lines that when completed in a box-like shape fills in to cause a segmented snake-like creature to slowly lose space to move. If it catches while your in the middle of shaping you die. Oh, and other enemy spark come out to follow your lines. There's something desperate and abstract that really tickles my brain. I like it way more than the Light Cycle segment of the Tron game. And I love the Tron game overall.

Anyway there are two benefits to having the Gameboys around. My young niece is occupied by them and considering I paid about $10 for both I don't have to worry about her rough hands. The second use involves chip tunes. I may not be musically trained, but I am inclined to learn and something about incorporating music from my favorite games in a non-game environment really charges me up.

So, yeah consider me in a tiny spot of Nerdvana from a quick visit to my thrift store.

An afternoon with Vicci Martinez

Seattle is putting on a series of concerts this summer and Vicci Martinez of The Voice fame performed today. It was a lot of fun. She's something of a rock folk blend and has a terrific voice. When she was on Team Cee Lo we voted for her. Not just because she's a local, but because of her talent.

I went to the show with my mom, sister, and nieces. I don't think my nieces were too into her. Then again they are still into Lady Ga Ga and whoever the latest hip-hop sensation is right now. I'm not blasting their music preferences, it's just an illustration their current mind-set. The music was excellent, but it also provided me a moment to explain how media works to my oldest niece (16).

Me: Would you have come to this if you hadn't seen Vicci on The Voice?
Niece: No.
Me: So, does it matter that she didn't win on the show?
Niece: No, I guess not.
Me: Cuz look where we are and we're about to buy a CD and DVD from her when the show is over.
Nice: That's cool. i never thought of it like that.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Later on I told her that one doesn't have to be on a reality show to let people know who they are. It just takes a bit more effort.

Here's a link to my youtube channel where I posted video of the event. I'm a noob at video. My second oldest niece and I are learning though. Subscribing is welcome.

Two cameras, one girl.