Meet Justine

[seal]

I was in a hurry, and it's the very first pumpkin I've carved ever, so I do think in light of that, she is ruggedly handsome.
If I hadn't forgotten my butt ugly blond wig at R & M's, I'd put on her hair for you guys to see. But she's a lady with full dental benefits at least!

The weekend was spent saying goodbye to friends leaving town and visiting a haunted house and a haunted corn maze.

3 years ago I gave witness to the American phenomena that is the "Haunted House" (which I called "horror house" and the people around thought I wanted to visit a "whore house", so apparently I do have some form of unfortunate accent working against me). 3 years ago it was a haunted archaeological dig, this year we visited a haunted school with plenty of guys running around chasing you with chain saws!

Benefits:
1. Having one person in the group who used to work at haunted houses
2. To walk first in line
3. To have a cute screamer in the gang (it pushes your own adrenaline waay up!)
4. To watch the rest of the guys try to walk first in the next event because they've realized the boost of walking fist!
5. To walk last with the British guy, who was culturally amused.

A corn maze is another American phenomena, where you enter a corn field, chopped out into a maze (the weed is as tall or even taller than you), and sometimes have a map with you as a backup. The desired mood during this expedition would probably be one from countless horror movies where people are chased through corn fields. We took the haunted maze, where you didn't need a map, because it was only one route, but with monsterific benefits!

It was cute, and with some surprises (and once again with the chain-saw chaser!). Close to the end we had a terrified 10 year old shoving past us so fast he stomped on my foot without even noticing. So I guess the corn-terrors are extra effective on certain age groups.

Oddly enough, these adventures felt really beneficial for my nerves, which sadly nowadays are of the rather French variety. This period of my life, for some reason I don't really get, I am brooding a lot, feeling nervous for some unknown catastrophe entering my life, when I don't really have any reason to worry at all. I hate periods like this, I really do.

Sunday there was Werewolf Larp gaming in a fairly moderate group. I haven't larped nor played Werewolf in years, and I must say the story was charming and there was some great playacting going on. But I had completely forgotten the up-in-yr-face and yr-mama aspect of both Ww and larp and it may be that my nerves aren't up to par with it right now, we'll see.

I feel my life needs to be small and very old ladylike for a while. I have even considered going out to find some scented candles, lavender tea and bad new-age harp music to sooth me.

Maybe I'll take up some ancient textile craft, who knows...

A wonderful thing that's happened is that a friend has given me a job project that I love. I'm re-reading Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy and developing reading comprehension and vocabulary questions for young readers.
I've also been thinking a lot about the heat Pullman's books are getting from the religious right wing, and even though I'm not putting the books above stylistic critique when it comes to this, I still think that if atheist and non-christian children are shoved with the Narnia books all the time, in all fairness teenagers can very well read The Golden compass, et al. The Narnia books are misogynistic, propagandist and all kinds of things, and yet counted as world classics for children, much much younger than the kids who manage to read Pullman's books. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy certain parts of C.S.Lewis work, but there is no doubt whatsoever that his agenda is far more obvious than Pullman's)

I'll come back to a more thorough analysis of the Dark Materials trilogy, but I get irritated when it is okay to make propaganda for christianity pretty blatantly, but when there is propaganda against the same thing it is "evil" and dangerous for the kids, even if the main message is for them to think for themselves.

I can safely say that if I was a mother I'd let my child read both Narnia and Pullman. But I might respect my child more if she understood Pullman (there is no trick to understanding Lewis really, pretty blatant christian propaganda after all).

And last but not least: Have a fabulous birthday jlsjlsjls! Not many people have ever felt like such friends without me even meeting them, and not many have your rare gift of cheering up even the saddest of cases!

ETA: You guys!! I just got an email from Naropa University, that the archivist position I'd applied for isn't filled yet (which I surely thought it would be by now), the boss asked me if I was still interested in being one of the applicants! I realize it's not a huge deal, and that every damn archivist in this part of the state is applying, but still...it's so nice when people are nice...

Comments

[nerak-g.livejournal.com]

FABULOUS pumpkin! Really? Never carved before?

Awesome description of the corn phenom.

totally a first!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

It's all new to me, but it was FUN!
Next year I'll get all artistic on the pumpkin's ass!

[igferatu.livejournal.com]

feeling nervous for some unknown catastrophe entering my life, when I don't really have any reason to worry at all.

If you want, try my trick of imagining that the feeling nervous is what is magically preventing unknown catastrophes from happening already.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

man...I'm obviously busy saving the goddamn world from catastrophes all day long! (I should burn more calories while doing it, really...)

[wavebreaker.livejournal.com]

Nice pumpkin. Will she get her own LJ? ;-)

And congrats on the email from Naropa University. Keeping my fingers crossed that they realise they have found the best person to fill that position! :-)

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

ahaha, Justine has no hands, and thus can't write, so NO, I'm not writing her diary for her!

The Naropa thing only means that..I'm not pooped yet, but they show me respect, and in these days that feels nice.

[carrieb.livejournal.com]

Excellent pumpkin! Sounds like a fun fall weekend. Sorry your nerves weren't up for it.

I would let my child read Pullman or Lewis, but I would want to talk with him about it as he was reading it and discuss The Big Questions. We are an agnostic family.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

absolutely! I would discuss both the Narnia books and the dark materials books. But what worries me is the "it's all dangerous" reflex that certain religious groups have. I myself could never call myself an atheist, but oddly enough I didn't find Pullman anti-spirituality, just critical of the church as a dogmatic and political factor.
Also, the trilogy is a pastiche of Paradise Lost, which I think many are forgetting.

In a democracy, various religious groups should accept that if they can spread their own mission - for instance in the form of children's books, people with other aspects of faith are allowed to do so too.

Perhaps I need to point out that I don't mind Christian criticism of the books, the discussion of them. It's the banning-lust that makes me gag.

[tuckova.livejournal.com]

YAY NAROPA! Good luck!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

They are a month late w. the whole process, and apparently still trying to find someone to fill the Archival supervisor position (the boss of the processing archivist position that I'm applying for)

It is still not v. likely that I'll get it, but I do know that I like Naropa better than any other place I've seen. Never before has a manager sat down and personally written me explanations in this very friendly manner.

Also: I'm having fun with the books! Do you want the material sent to you book by book or all at once?

[shipbuilding.livejournal.com]

GOOD LUCK, MY LOVELY! I'm so excited for you.

And as for your pumpkin, I think it is quite lovely! My pumpkin carving tips [a result of running my college house's Halloween events for three years]: scrape the inside of where you want to carve as much as you can, so you have a narrower surface to cut through, when you are freehanding a design with marker, make it a little smaller so you can cut on the outside of the line, and sometimes those little kits are super fun, if you have the patience to use the little poker tool to create pumpkin perforations.

Oh man, I love Halloween!

You are so smart!

[flavorpacket.livejournal.com]

Now I want to run out and get a pumpkin. But then I'd be tempted to make some baked goods. Yikes.

[zombienought.livejournal.com]

That jack o' lantern is absolutely great! It
looks like it belongs in The Nightmare Before
Christmas.

Have you tried the very American candy corn
yet?

And what, exactly, are French nerves?

Do you swim anymore, ever?

[flavorpacket.livejournal.com]

And what, exactly, are French nerves?
I'm suspecting there's a whole lot of ennui involved.

[flavorpacket.livejournal.com]

Haunted houses? Yes! Corn maze? AW. HELL. NO.


Now you have me wanting to read children's books to see what I've been deprived of.

And why am I not at all surprised, but VERY pleased for you re: Naropa?

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

oy, you and your faith in me. I still don't really think Naropa will be my break, but they sure could give lessons in how to be a perfect and graceful potential employer. Other places should learn from them.

haha, that picture is Creee-py. I was thinking very much "Children of the Corn" thoughts when I was in the haunted maze, and they even had dirty little boys and girls in farmer clothes sneaking around whispering "you're gonna die" or "I'll rip your head off" to us!

Well, The Narnia books and the Pullman books are educational, that's for sure, and eventually your niece will reach the age!

[clsisold.livejournal.com]

Neat Justine-o'-lantern. Quite a toothsome wench

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

She has a fetching smile, hasn't she!

[rel13612.livejournal.com]

From where I stood, You definitely seemed up to the transition from tabletop. For needing to flesh out the background you played a well defined concept. I think you'll be more comfortable once you have more of your background written. I liked both the character and how you played her. You contributed heavily to my characters integration into future story. I think your character and the boar pack have great potential interaction.

If you do decide you want to try a different character, then pretty please try a Glasswalker. David has a whole binder of Silver Fang's that hate Glasswalkers. It'd be nice to have a PC ally to help deal with them. Almost as much fun as a PC Silver Fang where the NPC's are manipulating us against each other... Nevermind, David would never be that evil.(no, I didn't manage to type that with a straight face.) If you keep the Silver Fang remember, that I knew most of what I was signing up for when I created a Glasswalker, so no mercy for me.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

oy, I promise to think about it. I've only ever played BGs and GWs in Ww before, and then only tabletop!

[tabannon.livejournal.com]

(Gar! I somehow just lost my whole comment. Bah!)

I love your takes on American culture. It would be very easy for you to take an aloof, elitist stance, because - let's be honest - American culture can be pretty immature and completely lacking any sort of self awareness. Instead you jump in with both feet. You are like the new anthropologist who is able to simultaneously study a culture from third person and first person perspectives.

Great Jack O'Lantern. Traditional, and yet still frightening. Our family may be skipping the tradition this year. The kids painted ours instead. For some reason, they chose blue and purple pastels, so our front porch is looking more like Easter than Halloween. At least we have the requisite glow-in-the-dark plastic skeleton welcoming trick-or-treaters. (When my wife isn't looking, I arrange his hands in suggestive ways. Poor guy lacks any genitalia at all.)

I used to participate in a theatre troupe's haunted house I think you would enjoy. Each room was a different skit. They were still scary, creepy, and generally bloody, but we had real actors playing the parts. One year I got to play the part of a torture victim. I was in a cage with a mad man equipped with power tools. The room was dark except for strobe lights. Palid me in my underwear, wine poured down my throat each act. By the end of the night, I didn't know who I was. It messed with my psyche quite a bit, even though I was in the know.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I'm only aloof and elitist when I playact, and even then I stink at it!
(actually, I love halloween and haunted houses and all that jazz, I'm just a big kid really)

I demand photos of the naughty skeleton and his wayward hands!!

Yr haunted house and actor experience sounds rad, I'm envious!

[jhvilas.livejournal.com]

That's a real nice pumpkin ya got there... be a real shame if sumthin was to happen to it... ;) I used a Dremel tool one year to carve a couple of pumpkins. I thought using it was going to be really cool, but it turned out that the little saw-like thing that comes in pumpkin carving kits worked better than the dremel tool, believe it or not.

WRT the job, perhaps you could use the pumpkin to scare them into giving you a job. :)

no molestin' of Justine!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Whaddayamean somethin' happenin' to it??

I'm watching Justine with a shotgun now...

[kejn.livejournal.com]

yay, applicant!!! where is naropa??

i want to visit a corn maze! you think there's any chance of finding on in colorado in january? :-D

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Naropa University is in Boulder actually, it's the Buddhist university here, and it has very impressive collections of poetry and audio records of famous poets who've lectured there. (I'm listening to Allen Ginsberg's lecture right now actually, all from Naropa audio archives!)
The university has a really good reputation all over the US when it comes to writing classes and such.

If it takes a corn maze in January to make you come here, I'll bloody well arrange one, ya leetle tease!

[lizardek.livejournal.com]

I love the pumpkin and you totally made me miss Halloween in America EVEN MORE and I didn't think that was possible!!

mwah!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

My work here is obviously done!

yr a natural

[flightviolation.livejournal.com]

HI JUSTINE!

Re: yr a natural

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

She sez she'd totally want to get together with you for some wine and cheese. She's totally dissin' me for you!

[birds-hum.livejournal.com]

ooh congrats on the Naropa thing!!! keep us posted!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I shall, but I'm not really holding my breath. This probably means that they haven't started their process yet, for the position.

[wolfchilde.livejournal.com]

That is a nice pumpkin, I wouldn't have suspected she was your first. I haven't been to a haunted corn maze in eons, I used to like them because I refused to follow the path and would trek through the corn barrier. Haunted houses never really do it for me though, a little too over the top. I miss roleplaying with you!!! Hells I miss talking to you on a regular basis. Good luck with the job, even if I secretly want you to move to SF and work at the LGBTQ History Archives :P

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I secretly want to move to SF and work there too!
Maybe if I find a decent on line game, we'll both join. I'm not going to game table top much currently, so finding something decent wouldn't be out of the question...

[tooticky.livejournal.com]

Great pumpkin! And good luck!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'll need it!

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

Awww ... thank you (just realized I still haven't written my reply to your last post ... my brain is about three weeks behind the rest of me these days!). And we WILL meet one day, teaming up to spread terror throughout whichever poor community marks the intersection point. ;p

And hurrah for your first in-depth Hallowe'en AND for your hearing from Naropa ... I know you're working hard at the don't-get-your-hopes-artificially-up thing, but I know I sure wouldn't check on the availability of an applicant that I had absolutely no interest in. While you wait for 'em to get their act together and do the sensible thing of hiring you, here's a giggle that combines Hallowe'en and the job hunt

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

hahaha..I'd LOVE to run around with a chainsaw and scaring ppl, and get paid for it!

I agree, I feel pretty confident we'll meet one of these days!

[seamusd.livejournal.com]

Excellent chop job, dawlin'!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Thanks Jamie! It was mostly freehand & fast. Next year I'll make a pattern in paper first and use a proper marker!

re: permaban

[seanseansean.livejournal.com]

I am not the people trolling my application nor do I know who is doing it. the trolls do not have the same IP or ISP as me, so you there's your evidence that isn't me. As for the believing that I don't know who it is, I can't think of a way to prove it. All I can say is that I have nothing to do with it. Normally I wouldn't really care, but I was considering possibly reapplying in like six months or something, or at whatever point I felt like my craft had improved enough. Being permabanned and considered a troll would not allow me to do that, obviously.

Re: permaban

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Hi seanseansean!
I am well aware that this might be the case. However, I'm playing hardball with trolls now, and I do it on a case by case basis. If they do things like this, they need to be aware that other people than themselves will be affected.

This case is reported to lj abuse now as well. Don't worry, things will calm down, and if you are serious with re-applying, just email me on sealwhiskers@yahoo.se and we'll talk.

[ill-fitted-sole.livejournal.com]

I'm late but: Happy Halloween, really cool pumpkin (I'm kinda in love with it), and congratulations regarding the archivist position. I'm rooting for you!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

It's nice hearing from you!
Don't be a complete stranger!

[sithhappens.livejournal.com]

I'm even later, but that's a nice pumpkin you carved. I couldn't even do that well. :)

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Thanks Frank!
I've heard that they sell pumpkins at least in southern Sweden now, around Halloween. Meh, pumpkins are like children, the effort makes them pretty, I've never seen a truly bad pumpkin, it's just nice that they're there, you know?