Free fallin’
“Falling is just like flying, except there’s a more permanent destination.”1
I love that quote. Ever since I heard it, it kind of stuck in my head, sloshing around like melted snow. It is true, in its own way – skydivers know that best of all. But it also hints at something more, some deeper meaning. I don’t know whether the author really thought about this being misconstrued as a metaphor for life. But I like to think that he did; he just refused to explore it further, just letting it dangle there, for the world to see.
Oh yes, we think we’re flying. Some higher, some lower, some faster, some slower. Look at us go. Look at us, flapping those arms, going through the motions! Look at those fluffy clouds, man! Ground? What ground? We can see no ground from up here, and anyway, for us, the ground is just some theoretical abstraction that those folks of a philosophical persuasion thought up. Why, they say we’re all going to hit it sooner or later, and it’s “goodbye, flying” from there on.
Other folks say you’ve got to keep light while you’re travelling, ‘cause when you hit that ground, you’re going under! But just keep light and then, well, there’s a chance you’d bounce right back up, all the way to heaven. There’s even folks saying you just hop like a frog, depending on your baggage, and that your purpose in life is to get just the right weight to stop altogether.
As for myself, I know we all are falling. I’m guessing I’m about half way down, give or take a few years. If all goes well, that is, and I don’t hit some Everest. Like an idiot. If I steer free of mountain ranges in general. Who knows, maybe I’ll find me some good old chasm and ride this thing down for all it’s worth. Hey, if I’m really lucky, there might be some zero gravity zone at the end of it.2 But I don’t get my hopes up. All I’m aiming for are some nice barrel rolls along the way.
So. Wasn’t that a waste of a good metaphor? *ahem*. Welcome aboard Air Destiny. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.
- This is what Steven Moffat, one of the great screenwriters of our age, tells us in the – quite grand, to be honest – finale of the second series of “Sherlock”, a modern take of Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved character. [↩]
- That would be what some of you good folks are calling “The Singularity”. Kind of like a Heaven for nerds. [↩]
Letter to my younger self
Hi.
If you can read this, then the time machine worked. Also, it’s really me. I mean you. On your first summer holiday, you found that knife with the shiny red handle and there was nobody around to see you take it, but you put it back anyway. See? It’s really me. That is, you, but twenty years older. So listen.
First and foremost, stop worrying so much about all that petty crap. Everything works out fine in the end. Laugh some more, relax, live a little. Your good friends will remain your friends twenty years down the line. The assholes will be virtually forgotten by the time you get to college. So there.
Also, the cute little blonde girl that you fell in love with in 9th grade? Just have the guts to tell her outright – the sooner, the better. Sticking around like a love-sick puppy never solves anything. You’ll end up telling her anyway – right before you leave for college – and she’ll laugh it off and you’ll stay friends. The only thing unrequited love is good for is poetry. And your high-school poetry sucks.
Let your hair grow just like you always wanted. There’ll come a time when sadly that won’t be an option any more.
Go see your grandparents while they’re still around. They love you and your sister more than anything else in the world. You’ll be out of the country soon, and you don’t get to visit much. No, I’m not telling you where you end up. Spoilers, you know.
Spend more time with dad. He’s not going to be around for much longer. Get him to quit smoking, if you can. Also, stop talking and start listening every once in a while. Not everything is a contest of wills, and you don’t need to get your way every damn time. Might even be better in the long run if you don’t.
Be fair with others and treat them with respect, even when it’s so tempting to do otherwise. Don’t forget that people that love you get hurt the most. And when that time comes when you have no idea where you’re going (I promise you, you’ll know), just figure it out by yourself. Don’t take other people along for the ride. They only get hurt in the end.
Did you know that the metabolism slows down in your twenties? Neither did I. Now you have no excuse to stop exercising. Get a bike. Trust me, it pays off.
Hope this little letter won’t change our lives so much that the created paradox blows me out of existence. Or ends the universe as we know it. I tried to keep it as spoiler-free as possible; I’m only telling you things that you’re going to figure out by yourself later anyway. Well, duh. Have a nice life, mate. See you in twenty years.
* * *
Oh, what the hell. BUY GOOGLE!
Castlefest
So it came to pass that in the beginning of August, the Year 7519 since this World was Made, we found ourselves yet again setting foot on the hallowed gardens of Castle Keukenhof, with the Lords and the Ladies and the Orcs and the Trolls and the Elves and the Vampires and the Savages and the Steampunks and such, an ever growing list of common, warrior and faerie folk, coming forth in the sun to be seen and recognized. And there was much feasting and rejoicing and happiness all around, for many were they and varied their costumes, and there was mead and ale to be had, and meats from the grill, and bread from the oven, and song and laughter from the minstrels and fools, and even the warlocks and witches, such as they were, refrained from casting curses that day, and hid their evil eye from sight of the common folk. And I, being of whim and inclination to share with you all this joyous event, and having spent coin aplenty on such imp-powered Gnomish contraption known by its arcane name of CanonPicturer, went forth and set said imps to work, with their coloured inks and their wee paintbrushes. And the fruits of my labour I shall set here forthwith, pending leave from such Lords and Ladies that so graciously have lent their likeness to be pictured by the intrepid imps living in my Gnomish gizmo.
Or, if you prefer the announcement Twitter-style:
Been to #Castlefest 2011, great fun, pictures pending @ http://shadowscape.deviantart.com
It’s probably going to take a little while, what with them being shot in RAW and needing developing and cropping and whatnot, but I hope to get a steady flow of pictures published on my deviantArt account in a few days. Stay tuned 
Update: For all the people that ended up on this page while searching for Castlefest pictures, I’ll be posting my deviantArt submissions also here.
