Phantasmic Links 4.10.05

Wow. It's taken a few hours to sink in, but I think I know what that dream was about. After a pleasant morning doing yardwork at my dad's lot, I attended the afternoon wake for my dad's mechanic friend. While there, we spoke with someone my dad used to work with, who I discovered in the course of the conversation was the deceased's first cousin. What I DID know about this man was that 17 years ago I had gone to school with his multitalented daughter, and had failed on two occasions to ask her to dance, first in eighth grade when my dad took me home early and four years later when I couldn't call her out of the blue to invite her to the senior prom at the private school I had attended. As he joked with my dad and reminisced, he'd occasionally have stories about his children. It was odd that my heart sank when he mentioned his daughter had married, odder still that there was no relief when he mentioned she and her husband had separated. She had spent a good number of years in Europe where she met her husband, and it was unclear whether or not she still lived there. When we took our seat again I thought I heard my mom whisper to my dad that she saw the man's daughter in the front row. I could only see the back of her head and occasionally the side of her face, but years of admiring her from the back row of my middle school band had given me some familiarity with her appearance. It COULD be her. The wake hours neared to a close and after my family and I said some prayers over the coffin and made our way to the exit, I stole a glance in her direction. I think it WAS her.

It's strange. In high school I had gained some perspective and realized I was in love with the idea more than the person, since I'd only spoken to her once or twice. I admired her looks and her talents, and the small bone of “I think you're really nice” thrown me when she signed my yearbook only added to my infatuation. She might as well have given me a card that said ”I choo-choo choose you.” For four years of high school I dreamed of seeing her again, and only once ran in to her at a train station and shared a five minute conversation. College brought new crushes and new heartaches, and finally my first job out of school rewarded me with a girlfriend for a few years before she went on to better things. Yet today, old feelings resurfaced. For a time I was angry with my parents again, and then tried to rationalize things. What if I had gone to high school with her? Would I ever have gone out with her? Would she still have left the country after graduation? Perhaps it was good that I “lost” her when I did, to be spared that pain later on. The whole experience today made me realize what a big place the world is for some people. I like it small, and someone like that would have been limited with me. More importantly, I still didn't go over to her and say “I don't know if you remember me, but...” if that was her today. I just felt the need to get as far away as possible. Deep down, I've been blaming my parents for my sad social life for years, but it's not them; it's me. It's funny how much has happened in her life in what seems a very short amount of time to me. I haven't changed, but everyone around me has. I have to accept responsibility for the things I decided to do with my life, as well as the things I decided not to do.

My apologies for the tangent. I usually keep the introductory paragraph to my Sunday column to a short glimpse of my thoughts, and today's was originally going to be about how I enjoyed fresh air and yardwork and thought I was finally maturing from the lazy kid that stayed indoors while his parents toiled in the garden. Instead, I had a bit more to say, enough to be a blog entry on its own. If you've made it through my gibberish though, you'll be rewarded with this week's PHANTASMIC LINKS:

The Film Geeks LIVE!! Even an accidental deletion couldn't keep a good blog down, and they're in the process of rebuilding from browser caches. Back from the dead, Film Geeks 2.0 is phantasmic!

Speaking of films, the next link explains the difference between widescreen and fullscreen. Those are some great examples that should clear things up for anyone who prefers fullscreen. Hat tip to Darrell for the link.

SHAMELESS PLUG! I'll post mine tomorrow night, and then Tuesday the battle is ON! For those who can't wait, sample some blog party goodness over at Jerry's.

I think I have this. It wasn't until finding that web site that I knew what it was called, and I can now say I have an extremely MILD case after seeing those photos. Wow.

It's about time someone reenacted Se7en with puppets. That's what the internet is all about, seeing a need and filling it.(Warning: This video contains spoilers as to the film's ending for those who haven't seen it, as well as strong language and puppet violence. Viewer discretion is advised.)

In animation, music makes all the difference.

Why do I stay up until 3AM trying to beat endless games?

”He's a scrappy flyboy dwarf on a mission from God. She's a brilliant renegade femme fatale with a song in her heart and a spring in her step. They fight crime!” In a parallel world, that could have been me and my dream girl.

My Cloaksense™ tells me I should memorize this site...

Start from here and be prepared to laugh yourself silly at these vintage comics. Ah, the good old days. Remember when Lois looked like Misty Knight? Who could forget Batman's true love? Of course, Archie comics were much more innocent. But no one is a match for Marvel's greatest team-up! I could look at this site all night...