Is this how you Map Crunch?

Short answer: No. No it’s not.

I found myself on Google Maps today. No autographs, please.

Robots? In My Crosswalks?

Lord, is it mid-February already?

As predicted in my last entry, I’ve spent most of 2012 thus far watching movies. I’ve seen two from my list of 22 movies I want to see in theaters, and I’ve been watching them at home at the rate of about three a week. Today I finally watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 while Skyping with my friend. Well worth it, despite the shitty stream I had.

That movie I saw before that one, though, was a documentary called Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. Though not as well known as some urban legends, if you’ve spent enough time in Philadelphia, you have probably noticed the strange, rectangular tiles embedded in intersections and crosswalks. They have been dubbed the Toynbee Tiles, after the message most of them carry:

Toynbee idea
In Kubrick’s 2001
Resurrect dead
On planet Jupiter

Clear as mud, eh? That’s what I thought. When I was living in Philadelphia, I started noticing these tiles around the city. I remembered reading a Cracked article that profiled them, and after I noticed them, did a little more internet research, but was dismayed to find no one had ever really figured out what they mean or who put them there. Apparently, new tiles appear to this day, mostly in Philadephia, which has around 60 individual tiles. They also appear in large, Northeastern cities in the United States, like NYC and Boston. Some even appear in South America.

(I won’t spoil the documentary for you, as the filmmakers claim to solve the mystery of who makes the tiles and what they mean, but I definitely suggest giving it a watch if you’re interested in stuff like this.)

A photo I took in Philly near Temple University.

And the Toynbee tiles aren’t the only “street art” you find living in Philly. Graffiti and tagging are abundant in certain areas of the city. Larger than life murals decorate many of the city’s walls. Strange stickers and fliers adorn telephone poles and news paper boxes, advertising the unusual. And some street artists have even figured out the Toynbee tiler’s method of transferring images to asphalt, which is how I first noticed the robots.

This blog, if you weren’t paying attention, is called “Robots in the Crosswalks.” Though it might conjure up the idea of a couple of boxy, metallic beings crossing the street, it is actually named after tiny images of robotic-looking men embedded in the crosswalks of Philadelphia. I’ve heard them referred to as aliens, stick men, robots, skeletons and simply “little men.” There were quite a few of them around my school. I really liked them.

Since moving to the Bay Area, I’ve continued to see these little men in the crosswalks. I don’t know where they came from, what they mean, or if they mean anything, but they still fascinate me. I recently came across this blog article, which calls the robots “Stikman” and attributes them to an anonymous graffiti artist who goes simply by “Bob.” Sounds like my kind of guy.

If I do anything with this blog (when I do do anything with it), it’s share information and document things I find interesting. Though it’s anyone’s guess what the makers of the Toynbee Titles or Stikmen are trying to say, I’m sure it’s something, even if it’s only “Look what I did!” This kind of mystery appeals to me, because it is absolutely surreal and yet absolutely human. The abstraction these sorts of things bring to everyday life is pretty much what I’m all about. If you’re out there, reading, commenting, or whatever, thanks for sharing that with me.

Movies, Films, Picture Shows, Et Cetera

Though I’m impartial to new years resolutions (What do you mean I’ve already made some?), I’ve made up my mind about how I plan to enjoy my media this year. As far as reading goes, I won’t be buying any new books this year, and instead trying to focus on reading my usual amount (50, give or take), while at the same time reducing the bowing of my bookshelves. As for television, I haven’t picked up any mid-season shows I wasn’t already watching, and my interest in it is waning, especially with the abrupt “cancellation” of Community. This anime season is pretty good in comparison to past seasons, but most of what I’m watching is throw away humor shows, Persona 4 and a couple of “out there” shows; you know, the kind that gives anime its weird reputation in the West.

And then there’s movies. And, as far as I’m concerned, 2012 is going to be all about movies.

There are three separate superhero movies coming out just this year (I’m not counting the Ghost Rider sequel, no), a Ghibli film, something with Daniel Radcliffe in it and a number of other things I want to check out. Below is my movie list for the year, pulled from what IMDb currently has to offer.

Red Tails – January 20 (out now!)
We Need to Talk About Kevin – January 27
The Woman in Black – February 3
The Secret World of Arrietty –  February 17
The Raven – March 9
The Hunger Games – March 23 *
The Cabin in the Woods – April 13
The Three Stooges – April 13 **
The Avengers – May 4
Hysteria – May 18
Men in Black III – May 25
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – June 22
Brave – June 22
Magic Mike – June 29
The Amazing Spider-Man – July 6
The Dark Knight Rises – July 20
The Bourne Legacy – August 3
ParaNorman – August 17
Hotel Transylvania – September 21
James Bond: Skyfall – November 9
World War Z – December 9
The Great Gatsby – December 28 ***

That’s quite a mix of films. I have everything on there from kids movies, to superheroes, to zombies, to period pieces, to horror to Edgar Allen Poe solving crimes. And there’s at least one movie per month, except, of course, for October. Poor October, no good movies get released during you.

I’m also going to keep track of the movies as I watch them, in a delightful visual format, you can find here, on my Tumblr.

What movies are you looking forward to this year?

__

* I haven’t read these books, but I want to see what all the hype is about. I also kind of want to see how similar it is to Battle Royale.
** I’m doing it for Sean Hayes.
*** Yes, I expect this to be terrible, too.

Thank You!

Strapya World's E-Zine as seen through my Gmail.

A big thank you to Strapya World for featuring me in their e-zine, as well as for the 500 Strapya points! I wonder what I’ll use them for…

And hello to everyone visiting from the link in the email. I hope you enjoy the review. :)

“For When Dreams Die”: Giving Up on Dreams, Part II

Sweet Dreams by QuiddityBoom on deviantArt

A while back, when I first started this blog, I mentioned I was working on an unusual project: I was learning how to forget my dreams.

A quick recap: I used to have a lot of stress dreams. They came in all shapes and sizes, from ones about losing teeth, to being sick, to horrible nightmares in which I couldn’t control anything.

Needless to say, these dreams were having a serious impact on me. I would wake up at points during the night, because they had rattled me awake. They left me feeling uneasy during the day, and I would dwell on them, trying to pick apart what they meant and why they had been so frightening. And finally, I found out from my dentist that I was grinding my teeth at night due anxiety, which was causing tooth pain, as well as making one of my fillings come loose.  These dreams were leaving me in bad shape.

I tried to read up on how to “forget” dreams, but I didn’t find much material. Most books and web sites about dreams were more interested in interpreting them than helping you forgot about them. Anything I found about forgetting “bad dreams” were the same things your parents teach you when you’re a kid: remember dreams aren’t real, breath deep, try to relax before going to sleep. A couple new age sites suggested trying lucid dreaming, but that was too complicated and impossible for me.

Instead, I did exactly what I told myself I would do: forget. When I woke up after an anxiety dream, I simply tried not to think about it. I focused on other things, like tasks I had to do that day, or I indulged in a form of entertainment. If images from my dreams came back to me during the day, I would allow myself to focus on the image for a few seconds and then put it out of my mind. I simply forced myself not to think about them.

Easier said than done, right? Well, not really. I’m an anxious person, and I’m on medication for it, but I know what does and doesn’t set me off. When I first found out I was grinding my teeth at night, it was during an job search. I had just moved, and though I wasn’t doing much else, looking for a job was secretly eating away at me. I have since found a job, which is one stressor out of my life. I’m still looking for more employment, but knowing I have a little income really helps me rest at night. And now, I try to keep in mind what does and doesn’t bother me, so I know to avoid it, if I can. I’m not going indulge my stress, because now I know it comes out to haunt me at night!

I have also seen a few experts about it, including a physical therapist and a chiropractor. Being able to manipulate my body into feeling relaxed, even when I’m not in my head, makes my brain slow down and calm down. I’ve been doing various exercises to both relieve pain and reduce stress. I’ve found my body’s natural reaction to most things is to tense up, and the less tension my body holds onto, the less anxious I feel.

And has it worked? Definitely. I still have the occasional anxiety dream, but I’m not having them as often as I used to, which was usually every night! Instead, I tend to have more pleasant dreams, or at least more forgettable ones. If I do have an anxiety dream, it’s become more natural for me to just get up and get on with my life, instead of dwelling on hidden meanings and scary images. The meaning isn’t hidden, anyway: I’m stressed, and I need to relax.

These are just things I’ve done so far. I plan to continue looking into “forgetting dreams,” even if my research takes me in an entirely different direction, as it kind of already has. If anyone out there reading knows of any anxiety-less sleep resources, please feel free to let me know. :)

Review: Strapya World’s Alice in Wonderland 2012 Schedule Book

Note: This post is for Strapya’s Review Contest.

My last planner was awful. Because I bought it before the end of last year, I was forced into buying one that started in June 2011and ended in June 2012. I was hoping to find a 16-month planner, something akin 16-month calendars, but they weren’t available at the office store I went to. I probably should have taken to the internet in my quest for a 16 months planner, but in my haste to get one, I took the easy – and cheap – way out.

And “cheap” is definitely the right word. After only a month, the back cover fell off, and I had to keep the book permanently folded over to make sure nothing else fell off. And because then the pages were always exposed, they began ripping out and getting scratched up when in my purse. It was a mess. I tossed it as soon as the new year started, despite  it having six months left.

Luckily, for Christmas, my wonderful boyfriend bought me one of Strapya World’s Alice in Wonderland 2012 Schedule books, the A6 sized “Bottle” planner. (Sadly now sold out.)

Opposed to my old planner, this books is gorgeous. It’s in a smaller size than my last book, so it’s easier to fit into my purse. It’s not spiral bound, so none of the pages can fall out. In fact, it’s bound like a regular book, with a plastic sleeve over the cover to protect it from spills or purse damage.

I love the cover, which is designed to look like various sweets bottles and containers that implore you eat and drink the contents. Alice graces the cover a couple times in silhouette form, trapped in bottles, or  joining cookies as they tumble from the shelves. It’s cute and elegant at the same time, making the design very attractive. In fact, it was my favorite design, and though I told my boyfriend to choose which version to get, he picked the one I liked most.

The plastic cover also wraps around onto the inside of the book, providing small pockets for notes and business cards, as well as a pen holder.

But of course, that’s only the outside of the planner. The inside is designed like an actual book, with endsheets and a title page. And it had exactly wanted I wanted when I was first looking for a planner: four monthly calendars for September through December 2011! I’m actually a little sad I didn’t order the planner for myself earlier, because then I wouldn’t have had to waste time on the previous one AND I would have saved money. But, hindsight  is 20/20, etc.

For 2012, the book has both monthly and weekly calendars, decorated with Alice art created especially for the book. Holidays are also conveniently marked through the book, both Japanese and international. At the end of each month are summary pages, and though my Japanese isn’t great, I think the idea is to sum up what happened that month and how it affected you. I could be wrong, though.

Finally, at the end of the planner, there are cute note pages that can either be ripped out and used as scratch paper or left in for important notes you need to carry with you. There’s also a small address book and Japanese subway maps, which although not useful to me, are at least fun to look at. The only thing I didn’t particularly like about the extras was a number of pages devoted to weight, diet and calorie “data”, which assumes all women using it are constantly watching their weight and dieting; but it’s probably just a culture thing. While that would be inappropriate to put something like that in every schedule book in the US (and not just those made with the idea of weight loss in mind), in Japan, it’s probably a different story.

In short, I love my new planner! It’s cute, sturdy, filled with helpful information and has just the right amount of space for all of the things I have to remember. Though this one is sold out, there are other versions still available in different designs and sizes so everyone can find the exact right one for them, and I definitely encourage trying.

Things I Love Thursday #6 – The “I’m Pretty Sure It’s Friday” Edition

I thought to myself last night that I really should do a TILT post, and then I didn’t. So what else is new? I think my eyes were watering too much, as I’m just getting over a cold, but really. That was no excuse.

Why do so many of my TILT posts include Madoka cosplay?

➡ MOVING! Well, as a rule, I don’t actually like moving, but the fiance and I are finally moving into our own apartment after about half a year of living in his parent’s spare bedroom. I’m really glad that in the current economic climate of people not having jobs after graduation and moving back in with their parents, that we were only a burden to them for about six months, as well as the fact that we have the resources to now live on our own. Oh, and I’m really going to enjoy decorating.

➡ Finally having Christmas As I may have mentioned before, I had to spend this Christmas alone due to a death in the family, so tomorrow (after the finally move push), everyone will finally get together and celebrate the long overdue holiday.

➡ Getting a new email address Though initially not something I loved, I recently had the opportunity to change my email address for good. Google locked me out of my previous email address due to some log-in dysfunction, and because I would not have had email access for a week – !!! – on top of my phone not working (long story), I opted to just say “screw it” and create a new one. I’ve since gotten back into my old account and have been able to switch things around I needed to, but it’s really nice to start fresh.

Bobby Hill, ladies and gentlemen!

➡ Getting a raise! Though I’m still terribly underemployed by most standards, I got a raise yesterday! Right now, it’s only by a dollar, but when my boss’ ship comes in (as they say), it’ll go up another dollar. It’s not huge, but it’s good news for someone who can only work 10 hours a week.

➡ My boss’ foster puppy was adopted My boss (besides being a freelance writer/editor, working on her forth graduate degree and having a life of her own) fosters the occasional dog, and her latest was adopted today. We took the dog, Muffin, to meet a prospective new family of a mom, her sister and her teenage son and daughter, and they IMMEDIATELY fell in love. But it’s hard not to with a puppy as cute as Muffin. Sadly, I don’t have any pictures to share (Perhaps I will in the future, though!), but Muffin is a tiny, black, shaggy-furred, 10-week old puppy of indecipherable breed. He’s rambunctious, playful and cute as a button. He didn’t even have a name until my boss started fostering him, and originally he was being called Munchkin, due to his size. But that morphed into Muffin, which is oddly fitting for him. I hope he’s happy in his new home, and I’m so glad they new family took to him so quickly.

EDIT: Lies! Here’s a picture of little Muffin.

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot, Etc.

Goodnight, 2011...

Two holiday posts in a row are kind of a drag, but what can I say? I’m moving again for the second time this year, I spent the last week battling a cold (still losing) and taking care of four (admittedly small) dogs, and Google ruined my day by locking me out of my primary email address. I took care of the email thing by just creating a new one and waiting until Google gives me my old one back, so I can forward important mail to the new one (hello, iTunes receipts), and then shut it down. Because who needs that headache?

So I’m hoping, in the new year, that I am less busy in the “see above” kind of way, that I get a second job (knock on wood) and that I get an adorable pet of my own that does not bark or pee on the floor. Not that I don’t love those dogs, but I am ready to return to The Town of Cats, if you know what I mean.

Happy New Year to all, and to all, a great 2012.

A Very Happy Merry To You

Have a Happy Merry and enjoy this dog in a sweater.

It’s that time again. Time to decorate the crap out of everything, buy expensive gifts and eat until you pass out. I hope everyone out there has a very happy holiday of their choice, and a fun New Year, if you’re, you know, into that. If not, have a lovely Yuletide Season, and may you enjoy the 365 366(!!! 2012 is a leap year!) days following January 1st.

I’ll be having a a bit if blue Christmas myself this year, as my fiance’s great-grandmother is dying, so I’m spending my Christmas at home, watching the family’s collective dog pack. Thankfully, everyone should be back in time for the New Year, so we’ll celebrate all sorts of things then. My New Year’s resolution doesn’t exist yet, but should I find one, I’ll let you know. Maybe it will be to update this blog more often. And/or turn it into the kind of blog that’s actually interesting. ;) We’ll see.

A very happy merry to you and yours. ♥

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (SPOILERS)

1Q84 has been all the rage in the literary world this Fall. Along with The Art of Fielding and whatever Stephen King most recently shat out, I can’t read a book blog or walk into a bookstore without seeing the cover. Compound that with having spent most of November (and a week of December) reading it, and watch my brain slowly turn to mush. Uh, you know, in a good way.

Murakami’s latest novel is a behemoth of a book, clocking in at 925 pages. Originally published as three novels in Japan, 1Q84 tells the dual stories of Tengo and Aomame, two thirty-year-olds residing in the year 1984 – or so they think. Tengo is a big guy with a steady job as a cram school math teacher who dabbles in writing. Aomame is a fit lady working as a sports club instructor who dabbles in killing domestic abusers. At some point in their less-than-normal lives, they enter what Aomame calls “1Q84,” a different version of reality, where two moons inhabit the sky and creatures known only as “Little People” make chrysalises out of thread found in the air. In this world, modeled on the world of the novel within the novel, Air Chrysalis, Tengo and Aomame find themselves facing some pretty incredible things.

Despite taking me a while to read this novel, I did enjoy it. Though much emphasis is put on what a strange new world the characters find themselves in, Murakami’s attention to detail and his tendency to rewrite scenes from different characters’ perspectives make the novel utterly realistic. The length adds to the realism as well. Does it matter to the plot what Tengo ate for dinner, or what Aomamae thought about the weather? Certainly not, but it adds that much more depth.

Speaking of depth, you will close this novel knowing all of the intricacies of most every character’s life. You will know Aomame’s muscle stretching routine, every book that Tengo’s read throughout the duration of the novel, and Ushikawa’s – a complicated antagonist’s – misshapen head, inside and out. Even secondary characters shine due to how much information Murakami gives you. This book does not fall short if you are the type of person who loves to know absolutely everything about the characters you’re reading about.

That said, the length would definitely be off-putting for some. While I never found the novel tedious or (too) repetitive, I did find myself putting it down more often than I would a 300-ish page novel. 1Q84 isn’t a novel; it’s a commitment.

As compared to some of Murakami’s past works, the novel falls short in some departments. For instance, 1Q84 was nominated for a Bad Sex in Fiction Award, and though it didn’t win, it deserved the nomination. While you might need a cold shower after reading the likes of Kafka on the Shore or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 1Q84‘s sex scenes are so sub-par, it’s embarrassing. Here’s an example:

A freshly made ear and a freshly made vagina look very much alike, Tengo thought.

If you say so, Tengo.

Another sex-related problem stems for the character of Aomame. While she is and acts pretty cool for most of the story, her sexual encounters and fantasies read, like, well, male fantasies. Which shouldn’t be so surprising as a man wrote the novel, but it’s pretty blatant. Aomame often thinks about the time during high school when she and her then best friend Tamaki got naked and “explored each other’s bodies.” There are various other allusions and scenes in which Aomame is put in same-sex situations, though she later point blank denies being a lesbian and loves to have “wild nights” with random men. Which, of course, should be no problem; a woman deserves some fun, especially to kill the stress of being a hired gun. But her taste in men is embarrassingly transparent. Aomame likes older men with “well-shaped heads”, preferably balding.

…

On the (rather fragile) dust jacket, it looks like Murakami still has a decent head of hair, so I’ll just quietly side-eye that particular character trait and move on.

And speaking of the dust jacket, Chip Kidd’s design for the American release of the novel is stunning. The photography on the front and back cover, the use of bold block letters on the cover (see above), the illustrations of the moon(s) and even the page numbers manage to be exciting; they seem to be playing a game of Pong with one another, in which they bounce from the top to the bottom of the page, and then flip in the opposite direction once they reach either end. The dust jacket (reminiscent of the jacket for Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things) allows the cover photos to be seen in their entirety, and when taken away, removes parts of the models’ faces. Perhaps it is a subtle nod to the theme of duality that runs through the novel; perhaps it’s just really cool looking. Whatever it is, Kidd really outdid himself.

Overall, the novel has everything you want from Murakami: magical realism, weird sex, music & literature, young people looking for meaning, life in Japan, cats and a really clever title (if you know how to count to ten in Japanese). Though I wasn’t thrilled with some of her characterization, I loved seeing Murakami write a woman who wasn’t just a love interest, but a main character who makes her own decisions. And while many of Aomame’s decisions are often fueled for her desire for Tengo, many of Tengo’s decisions are made for the same reasons. Not only is duality a theme in 1Q84, but egalitarianism could be considered one as well.

1Q84 is an amazing, lengthy, frustrating and beautiful novel. Just make sure you have the time and patience before you give a decent amount of your life to it.

1Q84 on Goodreads.