It's taken me a few days now to formulate the words necessary to discuss Robin Williams, and even now I'm not entirely sure I can say anything that hasn't been said already, a thousand times over and by those far more eloquent than I. But, as the days tick by, I'm starting to realise that I just can't quite shake his death, that it's still hanging over me like a ridiculous, looming cloud. It's gotten to the point that I dread loading up Twitter and Facebook in the morning, in case I see another piece of memorial art, or read another story about how wonderful he was. I'm finding it exhausting, mentally. I just want it to all go away, to move on, to pretend it never happened, essentially. If somebody asked me a week ago what I thought of Robin Williams, I'd have said yeah, he's cool. I like his stuff. He's done great movies, but that would have been it. I wouldn't have called myself a huge fan, necessarily. I never sent him fan-mail. I just liked his movies, he seemed like a decent guy. And so, my emotional investment in his death shouldn't be this high. But it is. Because Robin Williams was always there. He's always been there. I was a little kid when I started watching Mork & Mindy. I grew up with Hook, Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Aladdin. He was a household face, a household name, and sadly it meant that I took him for granted. I'd imagine most people did. I don't like taking things for granted. I can't stand living on assumptions. It means I'm actually pretty cynical about a lot of things - my circle of friends could someday drift apart, my art career could dwindle away. I'm very aware that life changes, that things you love probably wont stay that way forever, so I try not to take things for granted. I've gotten pretty good at it, too. So here comes this actor, a piece of the furniture, always there yet never really in my mind, and he kills himself. And just like that, he's gone. And suddenly he is a 'was' and not an 'is' and his movies 'were' good and they no longer 'are' good and suddenly this vibrant, brilliant human being that was so damned vivid and real is simply gone and how preposterous was I to take his role in my life for granted. We invite celebrities into our lives through their movies or shows or music and we take them for granted. It's what they do. It's what they're here for. To serve us. To entertain us. It's all too easy to forget that they're human beings just like us, and that they are just as fragile and easily broken as any of us. And even when we lose one of them, they're still there, giving us everything they could possibly have given us. Robin Williams is no longer here, but yesterday I watched 'Dead Poets Society' for the first time, in his honour and his memory. Even in death, he gave me something new and brilliant. His gift that he shared with us will remain forever, and people will continue to take it for granted long after we stop eulogising him. But what a legacy that man left behind! The day he died, I went to the pub, corny enough to raise a toast in thanks to the man that gave me so much laughter as a child, and around me heard no less than three separate conversations about him and his career, every one of them sad, reflectful, respectful. He left behind a world in mourning in such a way I've never seen before. Somebody on Twitter noted that it was 'like a wake' and they were right. Celebrities die, and people are sad, but the outpouring of love and remembrance that came from Robin Williams' death was absolutely unmatched by any I've witnessed in my lifetime. What an epitaph. It was fitting, on retrospect, that I chose 'Dead Poets Society' as the film I watched to commemorate his life. I'd never watched it before, but the whole opening was a punch to the gut in light of Williams' tragic death. Life is short. We get one shot at it before the curtain call and we take for granted so much. This is the quote that grabbed me, said by Williams' character as he guides the boys to look at old photos of former students at their school: They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary. Robin Williams cut his own time here short, but even in that shortened lifetime, he gave the world so much. Life is what you make it, and I don't think you should take for granted any part of it. Give the very best you can, give the very most you can, so that someday you can look back and feel proud of all you achieved. Make it count. Make your life extraordinary. Thank you for the laughter, Robin. You really were a shining star. Goodnight.
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I love to travel! I don't travel abroad all that much at the moment but I do travel around the country attending various conventions and things! I've actually visited a lot of my 'must see' places (New York City last year being the most recent) but when the lovely Usagi from Usagi in Wonderland tagged me in this travel tag from the blogger Kerry over at Nerdy Habitat, I just had to do it! Rules:
Japan Specifically, Tokyo, but I'd love ideally to do a railroad holiday and make use of Japan's exceptional public transport. Japan is such a mystery to me, it seems so alien and different to anything I've experienced. The culture and history is nothing like here, and of course the shopping would be phenomenal. It would also mean I could tick Disneyland Tokyo off my Bucket List! :) North Korea Unsurprisingly, I couldn't find a great picture of North Korea, so have some flags instead. It's a bit of an odd one, this one. North Korea is a horrible, terrifying place, but I am absolutely beyond captivated by entire countries hidden behind closed doors. If I could travel safely in time, as well as space, I would love to just experience life in Soviet Russia before the curtain fell. Just the idea of this closed off country, oblivious to the world outside, and all the false propaganda that goes along with that to support its ideal. The culture that grows in such a place would be so interesting to see unspoilt. Kind of like a terrifying propaganda driven Madagascar. The closest we have these days is North Korea, so yeah, I'd love to visit someday, but of course I never will (properly, at least. I guess there are tours you can do now). Chernobyl Haha, another odd one here. Going on the same line as North Korea, Prypiat in Chernobyl in is a time capsule that you actually can visit now (after signing a million forms declaring own responsibility for radiation poisoning and being examined before and after with your very own Geiger meter). I just want to explore the place, see how it was left when disaster hit. Apparently there are schools with books still open on pages teaching English to the children as they evacuated. There are still some families now who live there, refusing to leave despite the danger that still exists. You're not allowed to eat or drink anything from within the danger zone. It's creepy and amazing and sad and fascinating all at once. Apparently there's a limited window for visiting because some places are deteriorating with time and neglect, so I'm sad I'll probably miss it. :( Thailand Anyone who knows me wouldn't necessarily put Thailand in a top list of places I'd like to visit, but I've always wanted to go somewhere that has a proper tropical beach vibe, white sand clear sparkling oceans. I want to relax in the sun and drink exotic drinks and explore the local markets. However, I can't stand the idea of just relaxing all day every day on holiday - seems like such a waste when there's so much out there in the world to explore - which why Thailand has such appeal to me. Bangkok seems like an amazing city to visit, full of life and, of course, fabulous shopping. That was fun! Thanks for the tag! It'd be nice to actually talk about visiting these places someday.
Tagged!:
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After agonizing over it for ages, I've finally officially given this blog an actual name! Since www.reaperfox.com started out as an online portfolio rather than a blog, I always just called it, well, Reaperfox.com. My online handle everywhere is Reaperfox, so it kind of made sense and made the 'branding' simple. However, since I've started actually getting involved in the blogging community, I've found that folks are starting to tag me in things! I love being tagged, so thank you for including me, but 'Selena at Reaperfox' just sounds weird!
So, Dream Somehow is reborn! It's the name my old Livejournal had, so I figure I'll use it here, too. It's the title of an Oingo Boingo song. Can't say I ever really understood what the song was on about, but I've always found the lyric 'life is a dream, somehow' very pretty. I'd link to the song but I can't find it anywhere online. It wasn't one of their best anyway, but I always liked the title. Come to the rescue now Come to the rescue and stay for a little while Come to the burning house All of the ladybug's children are screaming fire Come to the rescue now Tomorrow may change--tomorrow may change Or it may never come Tomorrow may change--tomorrow may change But it may never come Turn around--turn around--turn around--what do you see Come to the rescue now Come to the rescue before all our worlds collide Life is a dream somehow LIfe is speck of dust lodged in God's eye Life is a dream somehow Come to the rescue now Come with a mission and come with a broken heart Life is a dream somehow Life is a dream and our lives are a world apart Come to the rescue now Come to the rescue Life is a dream somehow Life is a nightmare and life is a bitter pill (Life is a dream somehow) Life is a Disneyland ride which is better still Come to the rescue now Life is a drowning pool Life is a circus for fools just like you and me Life is a mortal coil Wrapped in cheap tin foil on a kitchen sink Come to the rescue now Tags:
Yay! Oh my gosh, I am loving being a part of the blogging world! Actually throwing yourself into communities and events to get to know other bloggers is pretty great! It especially helps that I've found some really cool communities out there full of people into the same dorky stuff as me. You guys are all great! It's awesome getting to know ya'll!
So in light of all that, the lovely Kelsey from April Sprinkles nominated me for a Liebster Award! Thank you! 1.) If you could dye your hair any color/colors without any negative affects (physical or society wise) what color(s) would you choose? If you're not interested in any particular color, what style would you try? I have said for the longest time I'm going to bite the bullet and go pink! Specifically either a gorgeous full on baby pink or a rich dark pink on top (kind of like the background for the Liebster logo above!) and light baby pink ombré on the bottom! I already have red/blonde ombré which is kind of cool but I really do need to just go pink someday, I think! Just to satisfy the urge! 2.) What's your favorite one-liner from a movie or quote from a book? "I move the stars for no one" - the Labyrinth <3 3.) Light side or the dark side? Jedi or Sith? (Or any other good vs. evil references you care to use.) Which side would you be on? See, I'd love to say the dark side, because they have the coolest characters and baddies are generally so much more interesting than the good guys, but I'm so bad at being bad! Whenever I try to do an evil role in a game, for example, I end up feeling guilty and turning into a good guy! I can't rob and murder old ladies in Skyrim or Fallout, I just can't! So even though it means I can't hang out with Loki anytime soon, as much as I'd like to, I think I'm gonna have to side with the good guys. For shame! 4.) If you could have an unlimited supply of something, other than money, gold, or anything that can be traded for goods, what would it be? Art supplies! Markers, pencils, pens, paper, printer ink! I spend so much money on replacing my art supplies (or just buying shiny new ones) that it'd be nice to have an unlimited stock. 5.) Favorite snack you probably shouldn't eat but do anyway because it's so delicious? Oh man, I shouldn't eat half the junk I eat! I don't actually have a very active sweet tooth, I prefer savoury these days, but even so, the occassional lust for chocolate creeps in. The one thing I love though that everyone can't get their head around? That gross hot dog stuffed crust pizza Dominos does! I could easily order a whole pizza just to nom on the crust! I know it sounds utterly gross but seriously, it's the yummiest thing ever and so danged expensive but I don't care. It's delicious! My nominations!
And now, my questions! 1) If you could visit any setting or place from any video game, movie, TV show or book, where would you visit and why? 2) With Easter just coming around the corner, what is your favourite holiday? 3) If you could have any other skill that you don't already have, what would it be? 4) What one celebrity would you most like to meet? And how do you think that meeting would go? 5) What's your favourite cartoon? (or cartoons, if you can't narrow it down!) Tags:
I know this blog is tiny, and I'm very new in the geek lifestyle blog-o-sphere. Over on Livejournal, I used to have hundreds of readers. It was so much easier to gain followers and friends there, the community was interwoven and built from the ground up as a place to connect and be connected. I'd join groups for whatever TV show or movie I was into, and the fandom there was second to none - intelligent, fun, creative.
I am stupidly loyal to Livejournal. Years ago, I was bought a permanent account and I still hold it in high regard. LJ is the place I called home for a decade, where I made friends I'm still very close to now, where I shared fanfic and talked fandom and drew a daily webcomic for a whole year about the life and woes of the Tenth Doctor. I still reblog all my entries over to LJ. I will until the website dies, and honestly, when LJ does go the way of Geocities, I will cry genuine, heartfelt, dumb nostalgic tears. A lot of fandom moved over to Tumblr, but Tumblr doesn't have a community that holds the same sense of heart - if nothing else, the lack of comment system has seen to that. I wanted a central hub to call my own online. I've always had a website for art, but these days people don't really bother with them all that much, preferring instead to use Facebook fan pages, DeviantART or Tumblr to act as their online portfolios. I needed something more here, and that's where the blog came in. In looking elsewhere for community, I found lifestyle bloggers, fashion bloggers, and finally, thankfully, perfectly, geek lifestyle bloggers! Girls who, like me, loved being girls, loved girlie things, but also loved video games, board games, movies, TV shows and comic books as much as I do! I've always found a dumb conflict between those things. I love fashion, styling my hair, shopping for clothes. My not-so-secret, not-so-guilty pleasure comes in the form of 90210. I love all that silly 'normal' stuff. I read 'Glamour' magazine, for crying out loud. And yet... I spend every single evening playing 5 hours+ of League of Legends, Team Fortress 2 or Wildstar. I sell video game art at comic book conventions. I cosplay. I own like fifteen MtG decks, an army of Lizardmen (largely collecting dust), I've played Medic in various ETF2L highlanders. I flew out to America, twice, for Starsky & Hutch conventions. Up in the loft, I have over a thousand My Little Ponies (oldschool collector!), every single issue of Sonic the Comic in pristine condition and about twenty video game consoles. I watch cartoons. I draw cartoons. I love being a geek, or a nerd, or whatever the heck the lingo is these days. And most of my friends are guys, because it's so rare finding girls into this stuff, even though I KNOW you're out there! I know you are! Hello! Which is why I'm so glad I've found places like 'Female Geek Bloggers' over on Google+. I've since found a ton of cool, awesome, creative girls who get it. Finding a community without a backbone like Livejournal is difficult, and I'm so glad places like Bloglovin' make it easier to follow people regardless of blogging platform. Easier, but still not easy. Which is why I originally started typing out this long waffly post. I guess I'm trying to say thank you ! To anyone who has stumbled across my blog here and taken the time to follow me or comment. I really appreciate it. I feel pretty disjointed since LJ became such a sparse place to blog, so I'm very thankful that I'm still able to reach out, in some tiny form, here, on my personal blog. Let's be friends! :) Tags:
"Mozart was born into a world without Mozart. I found these words on a lovely blog the other day and I had to share them. I can't imagine a life without creating something. I'm not talking epic novels or chart topping songs. Creativity comes in so many forms; cosplay, roleplays, chiptunes, vlogs, blogs, worldbuilding, baking, even daydreaming about a fanfic idea, a ridiculous MTG deck you want to build, or a TF2 cosmetic you want to put onto the Steam Workshop.
Creativity is what you make it. It takes passion and imagination, and it can be anything you want. I think one of my biggest drives with art and blogging is just the knowledge that I wont be forgotten, that in fifty years time someone might find a silly picture I've drawn when they use whatever search engine exists in the future. I hope they find me, and react the way people react now when they see my art. I hope I make the future smile. :) Tags:
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Hi! I'm Selena an artist, blogger and gamer!
Dream Somehow is my little corner of the internet where I talk about life, the universe and everything! Here, you'll find travel, adventures, vintage style, life in the South West of England, a little bit of Disney dreaming and a whole lot of geeky nonsense. If you'd like to learn a little more about me, click here! Instagram
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