21 posts tagged “nano_08”
Weird happenstances are no stranger around these times but I couldn't help but crack a smile.
Replacing a little item I had written before about a small military outpost in a wooded area, then I come across a mini-adventure called "Into The Haunted Forest".
All that's missing is a Cthulhu reference and all the pices would fall into place. :-)
The joys of picking stuff at random.
My batteries are almost recharged, the only thing that I worry a bit is that all my female coworkers seem to have cold symptoms in some shape and form. Reading that the H1N1 virus seems to targen womet, I'm a little less worried. LOL Just to be safe, I'm stocking up on Zinc lemonade...
Keeping with the female outlook, no MtG but rather regular Tarot outlook for today... Daughter of Wands (Radha): Abundance. Joy. Good sense. Culture. Hmm, intriguing.
Must ponder on this
With November fast approaching, I like to browse baby books to find names for my characters.
I usually pick from French sources, since I'm centering my stoires around La Cité, but I was kind of surprised of coming across a news article listing the top 10 names for babies in Canada.
I was surprised to see names like Nathan, Benjamin, James, Abigail, and Madison becoming popular. But Jaxon??? Really???
The week that was has been a bit of a mess and with Cloud City not completely resolved, I'll have to forego my plan to go out next week-end. It would have been fun to prepare my next data gathering away from here. Still, since I'll probably spend Thanksgiving week-end by myself, I'll probably have enough time to prepare.
All this talk about books and notetaking links nicely to today's MtG Tarot pick as I got GLASSES OF URZA.
Then again, maybe it's a portent that I will have the opportunity to look into the future next week...
Having to leave a bit earlier than usual as I need to swing by Cloud City before work. It's a good thing I have a long week-end ahead (yay, Labour day!!!) as most of it will be filled putting the final touches on that project.
But there is one thing that has captivated my interest in the past few days and it is the rather strange circumstances under which a member of 2-drink-minimum crew (far from the worst fo the group) seems to have vanished from the company's payroll under a veil of secrecy.
It seems the fellow left, telling everryone that he was going on "vacation" last Friday. his voicemail tells indeed that tale. Except there was a rush order from Friday to close all his access at work, the kind of thing you expect when a speedy dismissal is involved. Add the fact that no offcial notice of his leaving the company has emerged and all "official" internal communication involving his departure (mainly to tell that person X will take over) put an unhealthy emphasis on his leaving on "good terms" and that it was his "personal decision"
That reminded of the kind of corp double talk I was suppose to use when I was "away" last winter. But the real answer is weirder still. Seems the guy picked to participate as a "surprise" contestant on whbat will constitute the Reality show flagship for BigMediaCo TV. That is why all his ties to BigMediaCo are seemingly severed (although, he seems to have been guaranteed his old job if he gets back, not surprising considering the potential good PR associated with such a move) and all the secrecy.
I'm a bit ambivalent for 2 reasons. While I was caught of surprise when this turned out to be the actual reason for this mystery, I had trouble to envision him playing the seducing Casanova, spicing the competition up a notch. His personality type just doesn't seem to be on that side of the cutthroat reality show persona. Personality-wise, I honestly thought he was better than this...
No the thing that kind of sticks in my craw is that these kind of shows have strict rules preventing people working in a company related to the one producing or hosting the show to participate, to prevent conflict-of-interest issues. The sneaky ways they are getting around this is something I would denounce if I were one of the other competitors who fell victim to such a trick,
Having said that, I'll just have to tune in to see just how low my soon to be ex former colleague can go...
On the data gathering front, I seem to be on a weird tangent where all the new sources I find turns out to be French translations of older RPGs.
This time around Midnight found its way to my grubby little paws. Having read about the background of this world. The bleak Evil has won hook is interesting while not pitting automatically players in apositive to reverse the trend but instead to stem the flow for a little while...
On the MtG Tarot side of things, I got STARLIT SANCTUM as today's draw. If you combine this with my recent data gathering, it seems that I am walkingin a world where the good guys are not necessarily ahead in the polls..
Something to ponder about as the first part of Cloud City comes into its own this week-end.
Have a nice Labour day week-end, everyone!
(and not Summer's Gauntlet, which is an altogether different ordeal. Hang in there,S!)
Yesterday was the beginning of 3 weeks of an annual ordeal at BigMediaCo. With people taking their summer vacations, leaving just half the staff and the workload piling up for projects due for early September, which is one of the peaks for the industry, it is safe to say that idle time is over. This goes double for me, as I will be (due to a combination of personal choosing but mainly due to low seniority) the only one who will be throughout the whole mperiod, making me the prime candidate to act as liaison between my transiting colleagues.
I like the busy work. Focusing on something that most of the time I enjoy prevents me from dwelling on the unsavoury aspects of the cubicle life. Not that I don't enjoying the gossip, like how "Polynesia" gains another sign of becoming a "White Elephant" as it was confirmed that we would Not support it, as no ressources was assigned to the project from our end (even for next year!). While it was pretty much the case right now, some of the consultants were "loaned". What could constitute yet another case of our work being "outsourced" is more a case of being put into a back burner. Add to the fact that there are rumours of yet another shakedown of the corporate ladder coming soon, this will make an interesting fall (pun intended). Here's hoping of the leeches are shaken loose. LOL
Just because I am swamped for work and Project Cloud City doesn't stop me from enjoying myself, though. Went to the FrancoFolies (Best French-singing festival in La Cité) last night and relax listenning to the different outdoor shows.
Speaking of music, came across something rather neat on youtube this weekend. Brooklyn's The Honorary Title seems to be another of these bands standing on the cusp of being discovered (even though, they seem to have one of their songs playing in a "One Tree Hill" episode) and seem (according to Yahoo! Music) to have been a nominee for the Shortlist Prize, I must admit I had not heard anything about them until now. If the couple of vids on their YouTube channel is any indication, it might be an interesting buy...
The MtG Muses are sending help my way with FLICKERING WARD as my card of the day.
Because protection, even if temporary, is better than nothing!
On the bus the other day, I was reading a copy of D&D's Epic Level Handbook which I borrowed from the library. So, here I am , minding my own business, and this guy slides next to me. Spider-sense tingling, I just look up, raised an eyebrow and return to my book, keeping an eye for...
"See you're reading role-playing games. I used to do that before Jesus saved me" <here we go!> Then a 5-minute monologue about how this poor soul was on a one-way journey to damnation (or one of the suburbs, as I was humming show tunes and missed on some details) with RPGs and arcades and how religion saved him. And he was on a mission to save everyone himself.
Now, I don't have anything about religion, but I do consider that it is a personal journey and people trying to mold other's opinions and passes judgement on others based on their "conversion".
It may have been pithy of me but as I was leaving, I said my only line in this little play: "Seems you traded one addiction for another, not only making a junkie but a flaky one at that..." Then again maybe I'm just one cog of the Darwinian social experiment!
I tool this as a sign that this book could be more useful than I thought for my data gathering. Haven't decided in what capacity yet, but it looks like a sign.
My latest Fantasia foray is "Crush and Blush (Miss Hongdangmu)" a very dark affair that would fit very well with movies like "Rushmore" of "Election" in the line of cynical and anti-heroic stories where teenagers are under the spotlight. While I'm pretty sure the translation was not able to fully convey the sentiments, I found it to be filled with wit and sarcasm but never falling into the easy slapstick and cheap dialogue that could ruin the experience.
Today's Tarot Outlook is Ace of Swords, when reversed: The seed of defeat - perhaps as yet unseen. A challenge met with the invocation of force, leading to disastrous results. Reason and intelligence misdirected or cast aside, resulting in injustice and falsehood. An excessive power abused. May suggest new ideas or information with dangerous implications.
Hmm, Maybe I should rethink my data gathering strategies...
Not much to do this week-end, went out last night to play pool with some friends last night and for some weird reason, last night was the first time I got to try Chili-n-Lime spiced almonds.
Nothing better than shooting the breeze with some friends, drink Bavaria beer, and managing to hit the little white ball more than half of the time, LOL
Seriously, this is probably the last week-end I'll have to myself for the foreseeable future, By that, I mean with almost nothing to do. What with my special project coming to fruition and other sundry activities. Nothing work-related, then again, there's not even enough work to fill the usual work week. I am now a master at twiddling my thunbs, slap a generator on them and I could probably power a small town. I should maybe think at attempting to enter the Canadian Idol Idle contest...
Today's MtG Tarot draw is kind of a head-scratcher. DAUGHTER OF AUTUMN. I don't know but I think it's connected to S somehow. I need to busy my mind if only to keep the Sadness at bay...
Well, another St-Jean-Baptiste has come and gone, and even the news earlier this week about tensions because of some artists were gonna sing in Shakespeare's tongue (shocking, I know) has been quashed rather quickly.
I guess it's a sign of maturiy that the firebrands have been shut off so quickly and while I consider myself on the Sovereignity side of the argument, I never understood the knee-jerk reactions about ANGLO = EVIL that some people have.
Having said that, I do have my heckles up when people who spend their whole lives in La Cité, not only unable to understand basic French but acting shocked, SHOCKED if soemone talk to them in anything but English. I will mercilessly mock these paeans.
Another thing that kind-a bugs me these days is how each time you see a couple in a movie or on TV, they must be in a relationship in RL. Are actors today so bad that they cannot "play" or "make believe"?
Does that mean that Daniel Radcliffe is really a sorceror? Or maybe that Robert Pattinson has been bitten by a vamp. So much for Method Acting...
Since last night's show was the unofficial start of the Summer Festival season in La Cité, it stands to reason that my MtG Tarot draw would follow on the urban theme. It's no surprise that I drew ICATHIAN TOWN. Summer in the city, hard to beat...
I don't feel so good. Not because of my health but I got a general sense of unease, I guess I should have taken a few days off. Work feels weird like biting into an apple and finding that benath the skin lies an orange.
I'm going at half-speed, it seems... Even my data gathering feels sluggish. I'm taking a few RPG-related items out and replace them with more mundane, because Summer always feel more a time to pursue anything but my regular duties...
Tulio (Strength), when reversed:
Weakness in the face of obstacles and adversity. Tremendous power released at the wrong moment. Inability to defend oneself. Confusion, and lack of preparedness. Illness, hardship, distress and the failing of physical force. Dominant behavior, abusiveness and a possible loss of reputation.
The Tarot outcast for the week is a bit of bleak but it fits with how I feel.
Wee the deed is done... Went yesterday to another edition for next season of "Bluff", that quiz show I went on last year. Hopefully, I'll be able to do better With the gift of experience, know that I know what I am up against, maybe I'll do better this time around. It would be nice to get my hands on $50K.
Maybe, I should go and try getting an advantage, as it were. Maybe, Necromancy? Maybe the mastery of the dark arts is the only thing missing from utter victory.
Seriously, came across one of those D20 clones called "Castles & Crusades" which has a lot of the feel of the old-style bash & grab D&D. And of course, there will be a sourcebook for the "evil" things. Theirs is called the "Black Librum of Natarus"
It feels like something from a sausage factory, with all the tropes. Heavy of the stomach and not very filling.
Still on the cliché bandwagon, here's today MtG Tarot draw. TROKIN HIGH GUARD is hard to apply into my day-to-day behaviour but I'm sure there's a link between this and my chances to win some money and get my face on TV again...
Sorry, I have neglecting my blogging duties. I could blame it all on work (then again, why state the obvious, eh?) but to be truthful, I was spending it all on catching up on "Dollhouse", "Heroes" and various bits of TV goodness embedded in my DVR.
Plus reading this month's issue of Wired has all but engrossed with its myriad of puzzles, hidden codes, and other great articles.
I especially liked the one about the Kryptos sculpture. Ever since I first heard about it over 10 years ago, I wanted to go and visit it. Maybe this summer?
Here's a great link about the sculpture itself.
Of course, all of this is fun and games, but I got my own bit of trivia with all these texts from Johannes Francke that I received all these years ago. Resaca? Well Wikipedia speaks of a Battle of Resaca that happened arond my birthday. But I am at a loss about how robbers?
If the Georgia Guidestones were any closer to that place, I would think there's a link between the 2. I guess I'll have to make sure there's no hidden Abrams code in the Star Trek movie...
