Lewah

I’ve got back my keypad!  😁 Although I write quickly and smoothly with the pencil, I’m faster with the keyboard, and editing is easier (plus I can use spreadsheets and so on). Thanks, P, for collecting it for me!  Jerry had a massive attack of the “zoomies” this morning, and was bouncing all over the bed just out of reach, so I couldn’t catch him.  He’s been unsettled a lot today, whining and growling a lot; I think that he was hearing people out in the hallway and on the stairs, and that annoys and upsets him.  Don is good; he had trouble falling asleep last night, but is fine.  Hockey is paused for a day or so, as is football, so I can indulge in an excess of Star Trek (since I get to control the TV). This, incidentally, is the magazine-worthy room of my friend who dabbles in décor as a hobby (and supplemental income) which I’m sharing as we end this Christmas season.

Today we celebrate Epiphany, also called Tres Reyes, Les Rois or Lewah — all of which celebrate the arrival of the Magi to visit the infant Jesus.  It’s the official end of the Christmas season, so decorations will be coming down.  But in the great cycle of celebrations, it’s Christmas Eve in the Orthodox calendar, so another 12 days of Christmas upcoming!  Gotta love two Christmases (unless you’re doing all the cooking!). My Serbian Orthodox persona will be celebrating, including New Year on January 14!  Love the significance and symbolism of that, and how serendipity works.  Tonight, in Trinidad, they will be singing the closing of the parang season, and I plan on streaming this as my high school BFF will be performing.  Gotta support the fam!

Under the heading of “fun trivia, with no real application” is this new book that I found at the library that provides minute detail into the creation of a couple of my favourite TV shows.  There’s one on Star Trek, which includes such gems as “actors who were considered for the role of <name character here>” and the origins of some of the ideas for shows, costumes, cultures, etc.  Another on Doctor Who, which has undergone many changes in its 60 years.  I admire how the shows develop a consistent internal world that expands and changes over time, even updating the technology to maintain a level of “wow!” while keeping up with the external world.  My enjoyment of science fiction and fantasy overlaps my love of mythology and legends.  Really creative writers are able to take disparate cultures, blend them in interesting ways and create credible, new, strange-yet-recognizable worlds in which our problems are addressed.  The best ones (IMHO) do not rely on magical handwaving and mystical esoterica to address real problems, but use human ingenuity, community and connection to do that.  (With a few exotic touches so you’re distracted enough not to fixate on the issue.)  I’ve always been absorbed by science fiction, and what’s now called “high fantasy” (consider works like Lord of the Rings as examples of the genre.)  While they’re similar, in that both create worlds, fantasy deals with the impossible and imaginary (sorcery, chimerae, elves, etc) while science fiction is grounded in science (albeit with a few black box “don’t look behind the curtain” phenomena that fold into the background.)  Both of them, though, deal with some real world issues, making them accessible.  Having said that, I will say that there are many books/movies that fit those categories that I don’t enjoy.  Having been “raised” in the genre by authors like Asimov, Clarke, Silverberg, Heinneman, Anderson, Tolkien, Lewis, Butler, Jordan and Scott Card (to name my top 10) I tend to prefer the more “cerebral” style stories, where deaths are generally not depicted in gruesome detail, and there’s more politics than fighting — and wars are carried out according to the best military strategy.  Yes, yes, I know,  I’m a nerd.  But I’m happy with that 😁

That’s all for tonight… I’m so happy that I have my keyboard back!  Jerry is on my toes, trying to chew on my socks — why he has a hatred for my socks I don’t know!  It goes all the way back to when he first arrived — and guarding his toy.  I’ll wish you all a good night, and try to save my toes!