The Pink Watch

When I was a child, my paternal grandfather (now long dead) gave me  Barbie branded watch. It might have been for my birthday, I can’t remember. I owned a few Barbie dolls, but I was not very interested in pink stuff. The only thing I liked about this watch was the fact that it had a little button that made the face of the clock light up, in this eerie green glow common to glow-in-the-dark stars.
After a few weeks the button and the light stopped working, maybe the battery voltage was too low, and the watch ended up in the kitchen drawer where my mother kept watches we children had outgrown and ones that needed fresh batteries or bands.
I wonder if this old pink Barbie watch still exists somewhere. My fascination with glowing things and my dislike for too much pink definitely have persisted.

My Absurd GOT/ASOAIF Theories

Most, if not all, of the following is written for personal amusement and mind games and therefore to be taken with a grain barrel of salt.

Predictions

• Arya kills Cersei and Daenerys, probably by killing Cersei first and taking her face to trick Dany into negotiations (or by arranging for them to kill each other), takes the Dragons and flies North to burn the Others. Optional: gives one dragon each to Jon and Lyanna (team badass girls). Or to the Hound. The Hound with a pet dragon should be quite interesting.
• Truly all (highborn) men die and the remaining want-to-be queens resort to mud wrestling until they get caught by winter. Then the small folks and wildlings take over the realm because these stupid aristocrats get nothing done.
• Sansa gets everyone in the North killed/captured/wighted. Wight-Sansa and Arya/Nymeria proceed to have an epic showdown.
• Bran or Jon contact Arya telepathically as soon as she fully wargs Nymeria for the first time and give her the full picture of the wintery mess. Arya meets Tyrion on behalf of Sansa (I think deep down he still likes her at least as a friendly companion), together they convince Daenerys and all the fire worshippers (except for Melisandre, maybe, she’s an annoying creep) to torch the White Walkers.
• No wight dragons. I mean, considering dragon glass, they probably are ice resistant. Let’s just hope they are fiery enough to cancel the disadvantage of being reptiles and therefore cold blooded.
• Sansa and Jon try warging each other after a major disagreement.
• Sansa wargs Cersei. I don’t know how and when, but it sounds like fun.
• Someone accidently wargs a tree or whatever and gets stuck.
• Meera kills Bran because she’s fed up with his behaviour. (Yes, she swore an acient oath in the books, but this guy will get them all killed if he continous to wreck havoc.)

 

Now to the real fun part –

Theories

• Time loop. Long night and another long night, many Brandons, Dragons gone and coming back,  a second Targeryen invasion from the east, … I came to this random conclusion today when discussing with the Nerd how GRRM is planting similarities/parallels all over the books, like the resemblance of Blood Raven and the Kindly Man (thanks to Order of the Greenhand for pointing this out).
• Interlocking time loopy multiverse mindfuck.
• The above, caused by some kind of apocalyptic rift in space-time. Some or all characters unknowingly wander over to another time and/or parallel universe without noticing … or maybe some (like Bran) warg across space and time in a much more drastic way than already obvious.
• Addendum to the previous thought: from the start I had the feeling that Lyanna Stark and Arya have a closer connection than just a bit of resemblance and the wolf blood. I’m not sure about the role of reincarnation in the multiverse of ASOAIF, not very likely in the truest sense, but Lyanna should have been a warg, too, and might have been vessel hopping until Arya was born and somehow either nestled into her subconscious, some kind of mind merging (what happens if you warg a baby or even a fetus before it develops a brain/consciousness?) to finally live the life she had been denied before, even at the cost of most of her memories. This in turn would give substance to some more nice mind games about Ned’s promise and why Arya wasn’t scared of the crypts and even the “ghost” (floured Jon) as a child – and why she was so close to Jon in general. Also, if Ned knew of or suspected this it might have furthered his decision to let Arya take sword fighting lessons, as it was a second chance for what remained of Lyanna.
• Simulation with constant fixing and partial repetition.
• Kobayashi Maru style simulation.
• All the people are already dead and the story arc is them being in a kind of purgatory, going through scenarios again and again until humanity is refined.
• The world is a repeated game of very elaborate chess (or cyvasse, the Nerd says) played by the deities/forces of that world, leading to a same-same-but-different character of the historic events, different ages having a different force getting the upper hand.
• Greyscale makes fireproof. Or wight-proof. Or both.
• Random ramblings/speculations: It’s often been suspected that the world of the storyline is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The question is, at what state of history came the apocalypse? The great castles mostly have been built so far back in history that their origins can’t be recalled, so mostly likely before whatever the apocalyptic event was (cf. the common theory that the lower levels of crypts etc. served as hiding places/fallout shelters). Had the pre-apocalyptic civlization advanced to modern anthropocene state, I doubt these castles (rare to begin with) had been preserved but no newer buildings (many, many because a lot more people). So at what point of development came the apocalypsis? Can we even draw any conclusions because of the possible space-time rift, cosmic reset, time loop, or whatever? Is the story moving towards the apocalypse (again) right now? Will we see the cataclysm that reset/looped this crazy multiverse? Are the Great Other and the light/fire deity (whichever might be the real deal) like matter and antimatter and their final battle makes the world go “poof”?
• I think it has been quoted quite a few times in connection with ASOAIF now on twitter etc, but here you go:

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

(Robert Frost)

What if GRRM has taken Inspiration from this and history is really somewhat repeating itself? Then to create symmetry this time ice will win. Game over, everyone dead. Valar morghulis.

What If I Just Want a Simple Life?

I get bombarded by notions of how I should live my life as a still kind of young adult. Travel, do crazy things, meet a million people, go to festivals all the time, party hard, eat at fancy places, save the world, be a sparkly social unicorn, …

Yes, sounds nice, but for the moment, I just want a simple life. I want to work, train capoeira, make art, learn about things at my own pace, sleep, watch the snail I put into a jar to keep it for a few days before releasing it again, I want to watch clouds and listen to thunderstorms, I wish I had more friends to simply hang out with to talk, sunset hugs, sit at the beach at night; I want to have more energy to ride my bike out of the city in my free time, just feel my kind of freedom again, or read more books again. Travelling all over the world is for another year. I want to be content, have what I need, feel secure for a while. I miss the fields, the old paths, poppies and green turning to gold, summer nights spent outside. I love and hate the big city. I love and hate what I left, what I lost because I had to run off with what was left of my sanity and sense of self, and I love and hate the melancholy of being stuck between these worlds. I long for friends and community and solitude at the same time. I’m dreaming of a small rustic house with a garden and a studio at the edge of a forest right beside the modern city, with friends willing to come over for stargazing. I want a simple life with space for my complex inner world.

How to Stay Sane and Healthy at a Big Capoeira Event

• Earplugs (foam or silicone)! Rodas and percussion classes are insanely noisy and can be stressful after a while, even if you don’t notice the effect for a long time, and keeping part of the loudness away can reduce the overall stress level by a lot! I even wore them during a few of the classes towards the end of the workshop this year, and it helped me to focus on the movements despite being tired and recovering from a headache. Also, think of your kids. I felt sorry for some of the toddlers being carried close to a roda with a bateria that was so load that even with earplugs I thought it was too loud. I might be more sensitive than the average adult, but kids have very, very sensitive ears. Protect them or at least limit their time next to the noise. (Earplugs are good for the workshop party and public transport, too.)
• Pack/plan your meals in advance. This year I packed almost identical lunchboxes for all days, but you can do as you please concerning variety. Use foods you know you can eat without feeling full or sick during training (e.g. I know I have to avoid dairy and meat before intense trainings). I packed salted nuts, dried banana chips, fresh bananas, hardboiled eggs, cereal bars, muffins, dark chocolate, and some gummy candy (great to chew on when things get stressful or your blood level crushes). In addition I had smoothies for the morning with me – plan carefully which foods have to be consumed before they are out in the warm gym hall for too long!
• Take some time off around the event, if possible. This year I used vacation time for the first day of the event (even though it only started in the evening) and for today, which is the day after four days of capoeira madness. Best decision ever. Use the time to buy favourite workshop food, take a nap, stretch, look at the photos and others you took, put your feet up …
• Be aware of your needs. Go outside when you need fresh air or some quiet, take a nap on a mat, hug your friends, say no to tasks you can’t perform without your stress level skyrocketing. Sleep in. Leave early if you don’t feel well or need some people-free time. Skip a class to practise on your own.
• If you want or have to help with the event, look for tasks that suit you. I prefer documenting the event with my camera, collecting dirty mugs and dry bottles, and helping with some small things when I have time over tasks that involve a lot of people stuff like check-in. If you like to drive a car, you can pick up people and do grocery shopping, if you like caring for people you can prepare breakfast, if you are strong or have energy left over after the event you can carry around heavy stuff or clean  … find your niche. This year I wanted to help with the final cleanup, but I was so exhausted I would not have been of any use, so I excused myself and started going through my pictures, which was accepted by the others far better than expected.
• Bring a small towel or washcloth to refresh your face or whatever body parts feel sticky and annoying in the middle of the day. Cold water clears the head, too.
• General advise: Have a backup plan to be more relaxed. If you know you might need medication or whatever kind of help in some situations, let one or two people know. If you e.g. can’t stand being touched by semi-strangers when upset or being overwhelmed by all the noise and chaos of dozens of moving humans, find a few trustworthy friends or teachers who will be able to recognize and handle such a situation and maybe feed you chocolate or take you out for a walk. Identify your needs in advance, communicate, feel safe.
• Bring your favourite flip-flops or whatever kind of comfortable slip-on footwear your prefer. Some spaces might be dirty or have a cold floor, or you might want to run out for a moment without looking for your socks and putting your sweaty feet into shoes. Bring a comfortable jacket or your favourite cozy hoodie to avoid cooling out between classes or when a mestre loves talking a lot before actually getting to work. Also great as a makeshift pillow or a mini-blanket to hide beneath.
• Drink lots of water or other healthy beverages. Pro tip: Use the bathroom during class, training rodas, or presentations to avoid queues.
• Let go of the idea of taking part in each and every class and event. This was so hard for me the first two years, but now I’m more relaxed about this. Let go of the idea that the schedule is fixed – this I learned the hard way this year. So. Much. Craziness. (If you want to know – they delayed the troca de cordas by two days while in the meantime our instructor and his friend got their more or less spontaneous formatura and were made a full mestres! This of course ended in about three additional hours of games, speeches, and samba de roda and a frevo circle.)

Bird Pictures

Wohoo, I finally had the chance to test my new camera lens!

I went out on this sunny sunday and took some pictures of birds. I don’t feel like editing them at the moment, but here is a list of links to the out-of-camera photos (I’ll add the links of following posts when I find time to post the other birds).

• Robin
• Ducks
• Raven

Capoeira Update: May 2017

The promised update on my capoeira practise!

First things first: I’m getting closer and closer to a freestanding handstand. I’ve practised pushing off the wall a little and try to balance my weight before going back to the wall or the floor, as well as stopping right before my feet touch the wall. The wall is great to take away the fear of falling over with too much momentum. On a good day I can hold my balance three to five seconds. In addition I started practising without the wall, both handstand and underarm stand. I’m not yet able to get into a totally vertical position because I’m scared of falling over, but it’s much better than last year, so with building some more strength in my core, arms, and shoulders it should get even better soon.

I had a lot of colds this winter (and right now, because it’s still cold and wet outside – the shops display summer bikinis while I wear half-gloves and my warm, rain-proof anorak) and missed many classes, so I was thankful for the cheap, thick yoga mat I had bought on a whim. When I felt good enough I did some stretching, warrior poses, or even push-ups and planks. The worst was the month-long cough that caused me to lose a lot of core strength because I could do no crunches or similar exercises at all. I regained most of it by now, but my way to a six-pack has to start at zero again.

My knees hurt more than usual when doing lower movements like esquivas and rolés, so I have to be extra thorough with warming them up. I’m trying to loose a little bit of weight to take some stress off my joints (I’m not really overweight, but not in my ideal personal range for intense physical activity either) and eat even better food. I’ve learned to make yummy Thai curries and stir-fried noodles with lots of vegetables.

Some random things I’ve learnt/done: I went to an angola workshop with a friend and learnt a cool way to turn around on one leg – I don’t use it in real games, but it’s fun to throw into the mix in when we do warming up games without kicks. Last week or so I found a video tutorial that included a simple but cool transition from queda de rins to a turn (by extending the lower leg and crossing the upper one over it, standing up with the back to the other person, and then stepping around), which I started to use in slower games. On Wednesday I didn’t play in the roda because I was exhausted from the beginnings of my current cold, but I got the chance to sing two songs (with some help) while the others played, which made me really happy and a little proud.

Work in progress: slowing down/stopping in the cartwheel, getting back into doing more and different push-ups, the aforementioned handstand, not getting angry at myself when I have a bad day*.

If I feel well enough for training tomorrow I’ll try to start learning playing the atabaque in the music part of class. I tried the basic rhythm on my djembe already :)

 

*Sometimes I use my needed breaks to do sketches of capoeira movements, which is a nice way to spend time in class without feeling totally disconnected or useless. You can find some of my sketches and doodles on instagram.

 

Long Time No Write

Hi folks!

It’s been a while – mea culpa!

Some of you may have followed me on Instagram and Twitter for shorter updates and random thoughts. (And the Star Wars hair styles I did today and yesterday to entertain a co-worker, go look at them on IG if you need a chuckle!) I really want to get back into writing; I’m just not sure of the format.

There are some topics I want to touch, but I’d like to put more effort into these.

• Getting in touch with your body and your identity through martial arts (and handling blunt weapons, lol)
• Contentment vs. happiness
• Space (I’d love to create something about planets, moons, and asteroids, playing with different ideas right now)
• Navigating life with a mind full of opposites
• Background noise
• …

I’m busy with work most days and want to keep this blog completely separate from my job for different reasons. I’m still a linguist, doing linguist things in a language project for a big company, destroying (and fixing) templates, and occasionally dabbling in logic programming for internal purposes, while filling my desk with plants, listening to weird music, and drinking a little too much espresso. Sometimes I fold origami manta rays and other creatures when I need a break.

A long due update on my journey in capoeira will follow shortly!

Now I’m going to install the WP app on the “new” phone I got some months ago, so stay tuned for new random poetry spam.

See you soon!

PS: The last few months I didn’t find motivation for photography beyond the low-quality phone snapshots and I still haven’t posted the images from the last wedding I photographed. Life has been crazy, the weather disgusting, and nothing really interesting was going on. I’m waiting for the sky to clear so I can take pictures of the moon with my new tele-zoom lens, then next month I’ll be at the big annual capoeira workshop with my camera.