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Holiday notes
Dec. 10th, 2014 11:17 pmI did the "celebrate Halloween all month long" thing for the first time last October. I'm a bit ambivalent about this relatively new practice: it's had the bonus of holding Christmas creep a bit at bay, but a month seems a bit too long to spend dwelling on the dark and dreary. But I enjoyed it! My celebrations were mainly limited to posting spooky material on Tumblr, reading a couple vampire novels, and playing horror games, but I think that's part of the formula for success - don't constantly steep yourself in horror; take it in doses over a period of time.
Oh, and I did carve a jack-o'-lantern. It doesn't seem like many people actually do that anymore; if the pumpkins are carved at all, it'll be with scenes and patterns from stencils, not the traditional faces. Most of the time, though, they'll just put a bunch of pumpkins around the outside of the house. Rainy Maine is quite productive when it comes to...well, produce, so pumpkins are plentiful and cheap, and many folks take the opportunity to support local farmers by being rather lavish with their decorating. (The Pine Tree State takes a similar tack with evergreen wreaths: one on every window, not just on the front door.) I think, though, there's a lot to be said for the old-school charm of a hand-carved jack-o'-lantern; it encapsulates the homemade feel of a holiday marked by parent-crafted costumes and kids going around their neighborhood door-to-door. (That image may be a little antiquated, but it still fits enough around here.)
Anyhow, I decided to attempt that some holiday-post-a-day thing on Tumblr for December that I did for October, but it ain't goin' as well as before: while it was relatively easy to find spooky shots, I'm having a heck of a time finding Christmas (or even suitably winter-themed) shots from games. An unusual number of Japanese action & sci-fi games take place during Christmas (Spy Fiction, D2, Overblood 2, Blue Stinger, Raw Danger), perhaps owing to the influence of the Die Hard series - particularly in the 32-/64-bit eras, where many designers were heady on the newfound freedoms of 3D & the space afforded by CDs and set out to realize their interactive-movie dreams. I can't rely on those games exclusively, though, and I went through a lot of the obvious candidates for this post from a couple years ago. Here's hoping for some Christmas fanart in the tags I check.
(I tried searching DeviantArt for Christmas fanart for various titles, but save for a cute Terranigma piece and, of all things, a reenactment of the triple-dog-dare scene from A Christmas Story with Pyramid Head and Valtiel, I came up empty-handed. Also: I know that niche fetish art was always present on DeviantArt (obviously), but did the site just completely go down that hole recently, or what?)
In other Christmas news: since I don't have many people for whom to buy Christmas gifts this year, I've decided to participate in one of those programs where you buy presents for needy children from wishlists they've made. It's actually been pretty fun! One of the kids was fond of tractors and racecars, and I managed to find at the local farm-supply store a set of diecast race tractors. (This kid was also into what his list calls "MN-10 characters"; if anyone knows what this is, please weigh in.) Another kid I chose because he asked for a "boy dollhouse," and since I live in a rural area, no one else around here is going to fill this request, so I had to step up. Since he specified that it be a "boy" dollhouse, I assume he doesn't want a regular one, so I found this log cabin dollhouse online that I think'll fit the bill. Here's hoping he likes it! (And that it arrives on time.)
I'm less certain about how I handled shopping for the third child, a 4-year-old girl who "likes Frozen" and "loves pink and purple" (that being the entirety of her list). I got her a Frozen doll, then a pink penguin (to go with the theme, see), a pink & purple plush purse w/ballerina mouse attached, and a set of pink-and-purple costume tiaras. Beauty & dollies & not much doing. Hm. I'm limited by the very short list and also by what a 4-year-old can safely do - you can't give her much that's not a hazard at that age - and I imagine any girl whose defining interest is "loves pink & purple" is going to be a gender traditionalist, but...well, I'm still disappointed in myself for not finding a better solution.
I've spent a bit more than I intended for each kid; I'd see a pretty OK gift at one store, reason that I might not find anything better down the line, get it...and then, whaddaya know, find something better down the line (that I would also purchase). I'm also vaguely unsatisfied with this R/C car I got racecar kid...did anyone actually like R/C cars growing up? I had this Camaro that hung around a long time, but I didn't actually do much with it. It's the little car you control that goes around by itself, it looks neat, it should be awesome, yet you run it back and forth a few times, and that's all you can do with it. I had the foresight to get him a car that can be recharged via USB (I'll include a charger) so his parents won't have to spent big bucks on batteries, but, well.
I've gotten a couple gifts for myself recently: I bought the 20th anniversary Angelique artbook that was recently released and a fancy Sailor Saturn action figure from Figuarts. Naturally, given my luck, both came with imperfections: the figure's box is crushed on the bottom (which doesn't matter to the figure but drives me nuts reflexively), and the book somehow, be it in transit or right after I opened the package, got a stub on one of its corners that shows up on over 3/4 of the freaking pages. It's small and, due to the positioning of the images on the pages, affects (very minorly) only about three of them, but - daisies, can't I have anything nice?! The book's really beautiful, though. Yura Kairi's light colors and delicate line art are made for the printed page, and there are so many details that are lost in the electronic versions. Really recommended for any fan of the series.
Not sure about the Sailor Saturn figure, though. It has such huge, ugly marionette joints in the elbows! Judging from the photos, I don't think they show up on the outside of the elbow, only the inside, but I'm waiting till Christmas to open the package, so I'm not sure. The figure was on sale; I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. We'll see, I guess. Desperate suspense!
.
Oh, and I did carve a jack-o'-lantern. It doesn't seem like many people actually do that anymore; if the pumpkins are carved at all, it'll be with scenes and patterns from stencils, not the traditional faces. Most of the time, though, they'll just put a bunch of pumpkins around the outside of the house. Rainy Maine is quite productive when it comes to...well, produce, so pumpkins are plentiful and cheap, and many folks take the opportunity to support local farmers by being rather lavish with their decorating. (The Pine Tree State takes a similar tack with evergreen wreaths: one on every window, not just on the front door.) I think, though, there's a lot to be said for the old-school charm of a hand-carved jack-o'-lantern; it encapsulates the homemade feel of a holiday marked by parent-crafted costumes and kids going around their neighborhood door-to-door. (That image may be a little antiquated, but it still fits enough around here.)
Anyhow, I decided to attempt that some holiday-post-a-day thing on Tumblr for December that I did for October, but it ain't goin' as well as before: while it was relatively easy to find spooky shots, I'm having a heck of a time finding Christmas (or even suitably winter-themed) shots from games. An unusual number of Japanese action & sci-fi games take place during Christmas (Spy Fiction, D2, Overblood 2, Blue Stinger, Raw Danger), perhaps owing to the influence of the Die Hard series - particularly in the 32-/64-bit eras, where many designers were heady on the newfound freedoms of 3D & the space afforded by CDs and set out to realize their interactive-movie dreams. I can't rely on those games exclusively, though, and I went through a lot of the obvious candidates for this post from a couple years ago. Here's hoping for some Christmas fanart in the tags I check.
(I tried searching DeviantArt for Christmas fanart for various titles, but save for a cute Terranigma piece and, of all things, a reenactment of the triple-dog-dare scene from A Christmas Story with Pyramid Head and Valtiel, I came up empty-handed. Also: I know that niche fetish art was always present on DeviantArt (obviously), but did the site just completely go down that hole recently, or what?)
In other Christmas news: since I don't have many people for whom to buy Christmas gifts this year, I've decided to participate in one of those programs where you buy presents for needy children from wishlists they've made. It's actually been pretty fun! One of the kids was fond of tractors and racecars, and I managed to find at the local farm-supply store a set of diecast race tractors. (This kid was also into what his list calls "MN-10 characters"; if anyone knows what this is, please weigh in.) Another kid I chose because he asked for a "boy dollhouse," and since I live in a rural area, no one else around here is going to fill this request, so I had to step up. Since he specified that it be a "boy" dollhouse, I assume he doesn't want a regular one, so I found this log cabin dollhouse online that I think'll fit the bill. Here's hoping he likes it! (And that it arrives on time.)
I'm less certain about how I handled shopping for the third child, a 4-year-old girl who "likes Frozen" and "loves pink and purple" (that being the entirety of her list). I got her a Frozen doll, then a pink penguin (to go with the theme, see), a pink & purple plush purse w/ballerina mouse attached, and a set of pink-and-purple costume tiaras. Beauty & dollies & not much doing. Hm. I'm limited by the very short list and also by what a 4-year-old can safely do - you can't give her much that's not a hazard at that age - and I imagine any girl whose defining interest is "loves pink & purple" is going to be a gender traditionalist, but...well, I'm still disappointed in myself for not finding a better solution.
I've spent a bit more than I intended for each kid; I'd see a pretty OK gift at one store, reason that I might not find anything better down the line, get it...and then, whaddaya know, find something better down the line (that I would also purchase). I'm also vaguely unsatisfied with this R/C car I got racecar kid...did anyone actually like R/C cars growing up? I had this Camaro that hung around a long time, but I didn't actually do much with it. It's the little car you control that goes around by itself, it looks neat, it should be awesome, yet you run it back and forth a few times, and that's all you can do with it. I had the foresight to get him a car that can be recharged via USB (I'll include a charger) so his parents won't have to spent big bucks on batteries, but, well.
I've gotten a couple gifts for myself recently: I bought the 20th anniversary Angelique artbook that was recently released and a fancy Sailor Saturn action figure from Figuarts. Naturally, given my luck, both came with imperfections: the figure's box is crushed on the bottom (which doesn't matter to the figure but drives me nuts reflexively), and the book somehow, be it in transit or right after I opened the package, got a stub on one of its corners that shows up on over 3/4 of the freaking pages. It's small and, due to the positioning of the images on the pages, affects (very minorly) only about three of them, but - daisies, can't I have anything nice?! The book's really beautiful, though. Yura Kairi's light colors and delicate line art are made for the printed page, and there are so many details that are lost in the electronic versions. Really recommended for any fan of the series.
Not sure about the Sailor Saturn figure, though. It has such huge, ugly marionette joints in the elbows! Judging from the photos, I don't think they show up on the outside of the elbow, only the inside, but I'm waiting till Christmas to open the package, so I'm not sure. The figure was on sale; I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. We'll see, I guess. Desperate suspense!
.
