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The End Is Nigh...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
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Coffee, the usual at John Ward. A girl comes into the café, nondescript in every aspect, clothes, face, mid-30's I'd guess, if I had to. She coughs and begins:
"Can I have you're attention please? My name is ...... and I'm here to tell you that there is going to be a nuclear armageddon in the next few days, and the world is going to be made anew...
On November 28th all those who've repented and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal saviour will ascend directly to heaven. It will be painless and there's nothing to fear.
I thank you for your time."
And then she's off, out the door, doubtless spreading the word to all the other cafe's and restaurants on Baker.
The café, a few eyebrows, otherwise nothing. Kind of her to give fair warning, but I didn't get the feeling anyone was taking her too seriously.
Halloween 2023
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
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Was I out last year? I don't remember.
This year, there are a hundred diversions and parties around town. It's make a choice. I settle on a Dosed Party for Friday Night, Saturday night to recover.
Take your meds, head out.
The evening, fantastic, a giant sub-basement, 2 DJ's, stilt-walkers with nothing on, "light spinners" (flames being forbidden indoors), naked girls writhing on beds, in cages on the dancefloor, they're investment in this is spectacular, meet people, chat...
The crowd, well, the theme is "Circus Freaks" but nobody got the memo, I got the memo but have no costume or inspiration and so merely put on a waistcoat and trousers, I'll be a "suit", this terrifies the men and draws in the girls...
One woman, older, full BDSM regalia, leather corset, mask, boots, stocking, she's spread in a chair, surveying the crowd...
It's a good look. There are lots of good looks here. And the mask, a smart touch, keep your party persona separate from your public persona, it is a small town.
The younger girls, a few touching on the same theme, unmasked, they don't care if they're recognized, it's good advertising.
I'm old school, from the age of discretion. I should have a mask.
Meet people, Jeanine, Jess, Akacia, I don't know why I'm getting names as I'll never put them to faces, the faces, they're all melting with the mushrooms anyways...
The night passes. It's an extraordinary party, but this town, it's got that going on once a month at least and the problem becomes rationing one's indulgences.
Saturday, recover, it takes a full bottle of Vodka to bring me down. And while out getting the second half on Saturday evening there are again revelers out, the streets are full, the bars are packed, and how can anyone do this two nights in a row? Probably easier without the Vodka. But it get's expensive, this.
Tuesday, a screening of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show", I go, no desire to see it (again!!!), but I'm curious as to the crowd.
Of course they don't disappoint. They've a contest for all they people who dressed up, in character, and they've pulled them onto the stage. There's one, a bit younger than me perhaps, he's kind of sheepish, he's been dragged up and is winning the applause, his costume - it is presumed - is that of "Brad", only - I've seen him around, this is how he dresses every day of the week, probably he's never seen this movie, and now, he's on stage, the audience is going wild with the voting, they've cottoned on to the joke, and he's growing more and more sheepish, in the end he wins second prize.
Now, time to recover and get back at my projects...
Chess...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
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And being prompted by my brother to play chess online I accept the offer and promptly lose 3 games. Simultaneously.
Which rather wounds my pride, although to be fair I haven't particularly been paying attention.
But it annoys me to the extent that I begin working on my game.
Now, my game, it's a combination of mistakes, blunders, errors, all of them, taken together and shaken up, and if ever I've won a game it's been a result of hard searching for a less worthy opponent.
Time to change that. I've got to up my ante.
So I play quick games vs the computer, my lightening quick moves showing me error after error...and there are a lot of errors.
Games, it would seem, are the long way around to learning this. I mean, it takes 10 minutes a game only to realize Blunder one, two, three in that I'm going to lose, and this is not boosting my ego. But it does explain the losses.
So I'm onto a different learning tack - that of the Chess Puzzles.
And this has vastly improved my game (not to good, just better).
I'll explain it like this. IN a game you're invested in the narrative, you're building up a defense, offensive strategy, and it frequently blinds you to what's going on everywhere else on the board. Whereas the puzzles, you don't have any investment, you simply have to see the board for what it is, and make the best move.
That is not always apparent, and there's been a couple of the puzzles where I would probably contest the will of the judges, but my contesting this is a little like ... well, I know there are many better players, and so maybe I'll just solve the puzzles as best I can and hope that the "reasons" or logic becomes clear to me as I go on.
I do enough puzzles, back to the games with my brother. Now, 6 games in a row I've won, a very slight effort at sharpening my skills has vastly improved the outcomes.
Only he's stopped asking me to play chess...
Probably he's working on his skills...
Apartment, Cleaned
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
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Finally, yesterday, I make the push, the last couple of hours cleaning, moving things under the bed (there be monsters) or into closets (more monsters), some sort of reorganizing will be necessary, but better would be to start ploughing through the hundreds of projects I've started and made no progress on...
I've gathered enough art supplies to see me into my twilight years, there's no need for my to acquire more (at least until this apartment - and the locker in Calgary - have been thoroughly emptied, which optimistically will take a few years...
Anyways, it's a big load off my mind to be able to sit in my chair and not look upon the mess, some attention, now, to be given to the heap of books next to the chair, but this bothers me a lot less than did the rocks, crystals and tools. And the island is cleared, a barstool, place where I can set up my computer and work, and I'm beginning to feel a little more settled...
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