A Tranquil Walk to the Bus Stop (TWAC Day 16)

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Adam Randall
Today is my last day at the university before I finish for the Christmas holidays. Usually the weeks fly by in an instant, but this one, being the last, seems to be dragging on quite a bit.
    When I woke up this morning I was a little disappointed that it hadn’t snowed overnight. I remember reading on some website or another that heavy snow was either due on Thursday night or throughout Friday (overhearing people on the bus, I guess it was due only last night). I wasn’t too bothered by the lack of snow anyway, and just ate my porridge and prepared to leave.
    When I did leave my house at 7:05am, the walk to the bus stop was so nice that I decided I would make it my blog entry for today (rather than what was actually planned). Outside, it was still completely dark, as if it were the middle of the night; the sun hadn’t started to shine at all yet. It was cold too, but that nice winter morning kind of cold, not the shivering uncontrollably kind of cold. There was a slight wind, but not a overly strong one, and it was perfectly silent apart from the sounds of the gusts. Then came the best part of it all, I walked under a street lamp, and saw the tiny flakes of snow falling down through the light and it was one of the most lovely things you can imagine. I already knew it was snowing because my Mum had told me before she went out to walk the dogs, but when I had gone out in the dark afterwards it had just felt like rain, so to see in the light that it was actually snow falling was a very happy revelation indeed. A very good start to my last day before the break.
    The day is actually far from over for me, I still have a lecture and a seminar to attend. But I know that many of my friends (AKA you my blog readers) are also finishing for Christmas now, and I can’t imagine they’ll be reading this until their days are over. So I’ll say that I hope you have an excellent time off 🙂 and I shall see you all soon.
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The Christmas Song Less Listened (TWAC Day 15)

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Adam Randall
Just a quick Christmassy entry today. I’m going to suggest to you a Christmas song which isn’t really very popular but still just as good as, if not better than, the classics such as ‘Wonderful Christmastime’. I only heard about it myself because Apple very kindly gave it away for free on iTunes a year or two ago. So here it is, I hope you like it:
_ Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the song officially uploaded onto YouTube, so if somebody is reading this at a future date, the video will probably have been taken down. If that is the case please search for Glasvegas- A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) on YouTube, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find it.

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Post-Yuletide Depression (TWAC Day 14)

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Adam Randall
_One of the most common criticisms I see of Christmas is that it’s built up for so long (from as early as August for certain shops) and then when it finally arrives it never lives up to the hype. Therefore, people are always really excited about Christmas, but then kind of fed up after it. To use an analogy, it’s kind of like how everybody tells you that going out to nightclubs is really, really good and so in your mind it’s more fun than anything can possibly be, and then you actually go and it just turns out the be a horrible cramped sewer full of nymphomaniacs. But I digress…
Anywho, I would like to argue that Christmas actually does live up to all of the hype and that you’re fed up after Christmas for an entirely different reason. Here’s the best way I can explain it: Imagine you have a really cool best friend, you really like them (obviously, why else would they be your best friend?) they really like you, you’ve have known them for years and just generally enjoy being around them as often as possible. However, this little hypothetical situation is about to take a rather sad turn, either you, or your best friend, suddenly has to move far away, so you obviously can’t see each other anymore (unless you count talking online as seeing somebody, which I don’t, because it is quite bad in comparison to real life interaction). This separation hasn’t totally ended your best-friendship though! You can still just about manage to see each other for one day a year. Now, in this situation I imagine that around one month or possibly even two months, before your reunion, you’ll probably be very excited for that day indeed. You’d be more excited to meet them again then you would be for Christmas coming. But then, after you’ve spent a super fun wickedsick day together with them, you’re bound to be at least a little unhappy when it’s all over. I can’t imagine you’d say that because you’ve ‘over-hyped’ how good it would be to see your old friend again would you? You’re unhappy because this almost perfect event has come to an end and didn’t seem to last quite long enough, you’re unhappy because the thing was just as good as everybody said it would be and you imagined it’d be.

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Top 5 Video Games to Get You into the Christmas Spirit (TWAC Day 13)

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Adam Randall
_ One thing that can be occasionally fun to do (in moderation) is to play video games. Around the Christmas season I imagine that you have a lot of free time on your hands (well, that’s assuming you bought your presents on time!) so here are a few games that’re particularly good to play around Christmastime.

5. Super Mario Galaxy
I’m not entirely sure why this game makes me feel festive, but still, it does. It could be down to the fact that the soundtrack for the game is wholly orchestral, or it might be because of the vibrant cold feeling landscapes in space that you’re strolling through, but either way, this game gets me in the Christmas spirit, and it might do the same for you. It especially helps if you choose one of the wintry levels: you can stand in a vast snowy landscape while snow slowly falls around you and chilling music plays! You can even turn into ice and skate around on the surface of lakes because the water freezes under your feet, it’s awesome!

 

4. Scribblenauts
Now this is a game where you write in the name of an object/thing and then it immediately spawns beside you, able to be used however you like. This means that you are able to create a lovely Christmas scene; you could perhaps go to the North Pole summon up Father Christmas and the reindeers, have a snowman and Christmas tree, whatever you need for the perfect yuletide feeling… Only to then summon Cthulhu and have him destroy everything and kill everyone. Plus, on top of that, you also have a number of festive missions that you have to do throughout the duration of the game.

 

3. Diddy Kong Racing
And now we move on to a game by one of the greatest game makers of all time: Rareware! Diddy Kong Racing is a nice little racing game featuring all of your favourite video game animals: Diddy Kong, Banjo the Bear, Conker the Squirrel, Tiptup the Turtle etc. But, aside from being a generally fun game, there are several winter themed race courses which feature some lovely festive music. You can race through a silent snow covered village in the middle of the night (complete with Christmas lights on display!) or even fly over a snow filled gorge and through an icy cave. Excellent for achieving the Christmassy feeling and what makes this one an even better choice is that you can play with up to four players at once!

 

2. Animal Crossing
There are four Animal Crossing games out at the moment (with a fifth being worked on) but for number two I’m really referring to any of the four as they’re all very similar. Anyway, if you play your Animal Crossing game around Christmas time you’ll be pleasantly surprised that the whole world of the game is covered in snow! But that’s only the start of the festivities, now you’ll find that several trees will have been decorated with Christmas lights, you can buy Christmas trees from the local shop, and if you play at night, you can walk through the snowy fields while the snow crunches under your feet and shooting stars fall overhead. It’s lovely!

 

1. Banjo-Kazooie
I’m not going to hide the fact that this is one of my favourite games, and coincidentally, it also happens to have been made by Rareware.  While this game in general is not overtly Christmassy, there is one particular level, called Freezeezy Peak, which captures the feeling perfectly. The whole level is a large snow covered world, you’ll find lakes that’re too cold to go in, making you shiver, snow men who through snow balls at you, a snow covered village, a polar bear family who want you to help find their Christmas presents, toboggan races, giant Christmas trees that need their lights switching on, ice cube people, walruses and everything else you’d expect in a Christmas level! It’s just magical.

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The Kindest Thing (TWAC Day 12)

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Adam Randall
So for today, I have a rather bittersweet Christmas story for you, one about the kindest thing somebody has done for me (hence the title). Despite that though, it is still a somewhat depressing story, so I hope it won’t be too sad a thing for my blog, especially as, for this month at least, they’re all supposed to be jolly festive entries, but I think it’s suitable so hopefully I’m not mistaken.
    Anywho, I’ll start with the sad bit so that I can quickly move onto the kindness aspect. So back in 2007, shortly before Christmas, my Dad died quite suddenly and it was all very upsetting. Anywho, this being a very short time before Christmas meant that, for my family at least, Christmas would be cancelled that year. This lack of Christmas was something which also made me feel a little sad (of course, this wasn’t the predominant cause of unhappiness though).
    Now we move on to the kindness aspect of this entry, and it becomes less depressing. I mentioned the lack of Christmas that year to my good friend Ben Wood, and it was this which lead to the kindest thing that had been done for me. Ben, and the rest of the Woods (I’m not sure which ones specifically) then, extremely kindly, bought a bin bag full of presents each for my brothers and I (maybe something for my Mum too, but my memory is a little hazy). A perfect example of Christmas goodwill and generosity, which is what turns this story from utterly depressing to bittersweet. So I’ll say again to them, as I imagine Ben at least will be reading this, thank you very much to all of you! 🙂

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Quality Street Tins (TWAC Day 11)

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Adam Randall
_ These, in my opinion, are one of the best gifts that you can be given on Christmas day. I can’t really explain why I like these so much as a Christmas gift, but I’m going to try and use this blog entry to explain.
First, there’s the taste of Quality Street chocolates. I’m sure you may say “Hmm, well what’s so special about a Quality Street tin? It’s just a cheap gift people will get you when they don’t know what you actually like, it’s not even fancy chocolate like Thornton’s!” and while it may be true that people will buy you a Quality Street tin if they don’t really know what you want, if people know what I want, I’ll definitely be getting at least one Quality Street tin. They may not be the fanciest chocolate in the world, but somehow, the taste of fresh Quality Street sweets is something which is utterly delicious and, in my mind, inexplicably linked to Christmas.
Now imagine this little scene: Christmas is now over, it’s early afternoon Boxing Day, you don’t have people opening gifts you’ve bought them to look forward to, you already know that they loved what you bought them. You’re probably feeling a little sad that you have to wait another three hundred and sixty-four days until another Christmas rolls along, so you decide to try out the DVDs/books/CDs/video games that’ve been bought for you and end up realising that Christmas doesn’t end at midnight on the twenty-fifth of December. Depending on the length of your holidays, you’ve probably got a whole week off in which to relax and indulge in your gift. So while you’re watching/reading/listening to/playing with your new possessions, you decide also to open your Quality Street tin, taking one of them and eating it every so often… Pure Ecstasy!
I think this, perhaps, is why I like them so much, they always remind me of the total leisurely feeling of Christmas time, one that you don’t quite get at birthdays.

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Old Writings 2 (TWAC Day 10)

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Adam Randall
_ Today I’m going to post another piece of festive writing written by my eleven year old self in 2004. This is a Christmassy short story (again, totally unedited) that I wrote just a few days before the previously posted ‘The History of Xmas Trees’.  It’s called ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events at Christmas in Fox City’:

On Christmas Eve Father Christmas’s elves where on strike because they work all day of the year with no pay or food so no toys, DVDs, videos, computer games or food so Father Christmas had to get a whole town to make the presents “I know I’ll get Fox City to do it for me cus if they don’t they’ll get no presents.” He said. So he got into his sleigh and flew to Fox City.
“Oh it’s Father Christmas he’s come early.” Said Fox 2 “Attention Fox Cityans you are all on the naughty list unless you make all the presents, you see my elves are on strike so even if you don’t do it and your name isn’t on the bad list you’ll get no presents.” Said Farther Christmas, so the whole town went off with him.
You know how on TV you see Farther Christmas’s Elves as really happy little people making presents well maybe it’s true but he treated Fox City like slaves “Ow stop whipping me. I’ll get my lawyer on you.” Said Bobby. They were sent back late and because of that Farther Christmas was late so when he got to Fox City he just lobbed down the presents, Professor Nerb’s present (which was a Tiny Monster which grew giant when heated) went down a chimney and grew and started to destroy the town Dr. Z’s present was a dooms day missile also went down a chimney then went flying into the air then came down and blew up Fox City.

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A Celebration of Greed (TWAC Day 9)

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Adam Randall

There are some people out there who, believe it or not, don’t like Christmas or, at least, don’t get excited by it. But that’s fair enough, different people have different tastes and not everybody will enjoy the same things. But what annoys me is when people attack the Christmas holidays as being a ‘celebration of greed’ or for being bad due to commercialisation, which I don’t think it is.

Now, my main objection to the ‘celebration of greed’ criticism is that it only really applies to the people who raise it. Not everybody goes into Christmas thinking “Oh, I can’t wait to get all the toys!” children might, but they’re children so that’s okay, but to anyone older than fifteen Christmas will be a lot more than that. If you think people enjoy Christmas only for the fact that people give them loads of stuff, then that’s probably because you can’t see any value in the holiday beside the gifts. The best thing, for me (and I’m sure many others) is the buying of gifts for all of your family and friends. Either buying what they’ve told you they would like, or using your imagination to think up an awesome gift for people is a truly wonderful part of the holiday season.

What Christmas is, is a celebration of nostalgia and love for others. Everyone has their own little routine for Christmas, one which they’ve likely had for years, we look forward to it because it reminds us of Christmases from the past, which we really enjoyed and will continue to enjoy as we celebrate it every year… Christmas is not a celebration of greed, and anybody who claims that it is must be awfully pessimistic.

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The Homecoming by Earl Hamner Jr. (TWAC Day 8)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Adam Randall

The HomecomingAnother suggestion for Christmastime reading today! You may remember that, about a month ago, I wrote a review of the novel Spencer’s Mountain by Earl Hamner Jr. (which happens to be my favourite book), The Homecoming is a sequel to that book… Or at least, I think it is. Some things in it seem to suggest (to me) that it takes place after the events of the first novel, while others seem to suggest that it is, in fact, a prequel. But whether it is a prequel or a sequel is not important, what is important is that this is an enjoyable Christmas read.

Clay Spenser is supposed to be home on Christmas Eve afternoon so that he can be spending Christmas day with his family, however as time passes by and the weather gets worse and worse, Clay doesn’t seem to be coming home… As such, Olivia (his wife) sends their son Clay-Boy out to find him while she stays at home and tends to his many brothers and sisters. That’s the general premise of the book, a very simple one too, but still one which makes a very enjoyable read! Also, I think I should add, as Hamner says at the start of the novel, that this is very loosely based on true events.

As Clay-Boy travels around his hometown, we meets a variety of different characters all of whom are easily imaginable and loveable! As a little side note, many of these characters would later be seen in the TV series The Waltons which started with a movie length adaptation of The Homecoming.

It’s a very nice read and would be especially enjoyable if read in the lead up to Christmas! Hamner’s writing style is one which is very easy to get into, and the fact that this is also quite a short novel means that this would be a nice bit of light reading for anybody!

Basically, this book is a joy! 9/10

Buy it here.

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Cross-Eyed Crazy (TWAC Day 7)

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Adam Randall
For today’s Christmas themed entry I have a bizarre little anecdote for you, one which contains an (un)intriguing medical mystery.
    It was a Saturday during mid-December (2010) and my family and I were watching a Korean film before we went to bed. The film was pretty good actually, I mean, it did featuring pretty shocking things like people having their teeth pulled out, men eating live octopi, and probably nudity too, but it still managed to be a good film, so I guess that says something for it.
    Anyway, the film ended and everyone went off to bed. I went into the bathroom so that I could brush my teeth before going to sleep, but when I was in there something very strange happened. Seemingly for no reason, I went completely cross-eyed. My newfound cross-eyed-ness meant it was rather difficult to see properly, so I wandered over to the bathroom mirror to see just how bad my eyes were. When looking at my reflection I was able to make my eyes normal again by aligning them with what I saw in the mirror, but this far from solved the problem. I’d become very dizzy when I went cross-eyed, and while my eyes may have been straight again,  it was almost as if the two of them weren’t in sync with one another, I still couldn’t really see properly.
    I staggered into my bedroom, and planned to turn off my laptop. I realised I was still on MSN talking to somebody so I said goodbye and tried to sign out. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t just by balance and vision that had been impaired; it seemed as if my mind wasn’t working properly either. As you probably know, to use MSN you have to type in a password, but, for some reason, I was thinking I needed to do that as well to sign off. So I mistyped my password to my friend about four times (luckily they didn’t realise what I was doing) and got increasingly confused as to why it wasn’t signing out. In the end I just held down the power button on the laptop so that it turned off.
    The next morning I still hadn’t fully recovered, I still had a strange feeling of dizziness and of being light headed, so I felt a little odd while we were all putting up the Christmas decorations. Luckily, by the evening it had totally passed. But this is by far one of the strangest things ever to have happened to me, the best way for me to describe what initially happened was that it felt like being drunk (a feeling I am ashamed to admit I have experienced before), but how on Earth could this have happened? I guess we’ll never know, and I guess it’s unimportant too since I’ve been fine since then.
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