I live in Southern Ontario, in Canada for those keeping track, and there is a river called the Grand that runs through a large section of this part of the province. You would think with a name like 'the Grand' it would be rival the Amazon and Mississippi both in ferocity and length however it pales in comparison to either of those legendary waterways. Still it's a decent sized river and growing up we had this running tradition of canoeing the Grand River. There is a company that lets you drive to selected parts of the river, provide you with a canoe and let you paddle to another launch area where you disembark and are shuttled back to your car.
Ordinarily this would be considered a pretty fun family activity however on this fateful day things would be different for my family. Let me give you the run down of the characters involved in this epic yarn. Me: Cast in the leading role is none of than yours truly. The only child of two only children so you do the math on how often I was the centre of attention...not that it went to my head or anything. Another tidbit key to this retelling: my parents divorced when I was a baby. I don't tell you that for sympathy and you'll soon learn why.
Dad: The leader of the group, whether some of the other characters will admit this or not doesn't make it any less true. At this age Dad and I are attached at the hip and if you can picture the geeky side-kick to the action hero then you just pictured the two of us. Moving along...
Ape: Not a primate but the loving nickname for my Dad's girlfriend (later to become his wife and my step-mom). Ape had been around for several years at this point and had come to the realization that this group was crazy. What it says about her that she stayed around is either a testament to her character or speaks to her own insanity...
Nan: The matriarch of our little clan. Nan is the caretaker of the group and dotes after her only Grandson. On this occasion Nan had packed a delicious lunch as the total trip was several kilometres and would take several hours to complete.
Pop: the eldest of the group and the crusty old man character...except for real.
We divided up when we arrived at our launch and Dad, Ape, and I took the first canoe (I was young and sat in the middle mostly screwing around while the other two did the work) and Nan and Pop in the second canoe.
I'll skip right to the juicy part because the first hour or two consisted of just paddling and sightseeing. Once we had gotten a little deeper into our adventure however we came to a section of the river where the current picked up and I hesitate to use the word 'rapids' but a section that was far more difficult to tackle that the easy current we has passed through upstream. The three of us in the first canoe managed to make it through the rapids just fine but Nan and Pop, upon nearly making it through tipped their canoe.
Now here's what happened if you can try and picture this. Nan is in the front of the canoe and Pop is in the back. The rapids had caused the canoe to tip side-to-side a little bit and this startled my Nan. She shouted out and Pop, who believes it's a sin to let cooler heads prevail, begins to bark orders like a General on the front lines. This only causes my Nan to panic further and here is where she makes the pivotal error, she tries to jump. Those of you with canoeing experience know that jumping from a canoe is not a great idea. Now mix in a fast moving river and two seniors and you've got yourself something worth of remembrance.
Anyway, Nan tries to leap from the canoe...this somehow seems like a good idea at the time. Was it better to get wet by her own choice than have the canoe tip her out instead? I don't have the answer but all we here is cursing and then some splashing. By the time the three of us turn around two things happen within seconds of seeing the sight. The first, my Dad and I erupt into a fit of laughter. The second, Ape shouts out her concern for Nan and Pop.
As Pop cursing between mouthfulls of river water they manage to grab the canoe and move it toward the shore where we meet them. As tears of laughter stream from my eyes I notice something floating down the rive, the current carrying it farther and farther away, the Tupperware containing our lunches! We actually managed to resuce the contain, and thanks to it's patented seal, it saved out lunch!
Nothing but time however would save the comfort of dry clothes for Nan and Pop or the pyschological trauma of tipping a canoe. Ape decided it was probably best to ride with Pop the rest of the way, Nan joined Dad and I. I find that this story, like wine or whiskey, get's better and more enjoyable with age. What ridiculous stories/adventures do you and your family have?
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
So, What's YOUR Excuse?
Please indulge me today Fearless Reader. Recently there was much loathing in young Skywalker (that would be me) and I found myself in a slump the likes of which I hadn't been in for a few years. I didn't like where I was at at work and I suppose that is where my problems started but once the seed of unhappiness was sown there I let it seep into other parts of my life. Namely writing. I was crashing from the incredible high of completing my first novel and my creative juices were still flowing but I was trapped (or so it seemed to me) in having to edit this massive piece with no outlet for new material. Up until my novel the longest piece I had ever written totalled just over forty pages double-spaced. Darker than Shadow is a whopping 297 pages doubled-spaced and 96,000 words.
This may seem facetious and preach-ey but what got to me was the fact that I had chosen to be in the tight spot I was in. I had squeezed myself in between the rock and the hard place and then I was offended, hell, pissed off when I noticed that the walls were closing in on me. How could the world have the audacity, the sheer daring to try and fuck with me?
I will not apologize for the profanity nor will I apologize for anything that you read that stems from my brain and flows through my fingertips because I guarantee you this, we'll have a special agreement Fearless Reader, everything you read is 100% me. Now that we've got that little formality out of the way let me tell you that you might not even like that. And that's cool, we can agree to disagree and at the end of the day I'm not doing this for you (although if you like it that certainly makes my job easier, more enjoyable and well, justified) it's totally selfish but it's true. I do this because I want to, need to, and just can't seem to survive without it.
Now if you're still reading (Really!? I love you!) I want to give you a small piece of insider information and maybe you'll do something with that and maybe you won't but I certainly hope that you will. Without you I'm just another dude writing a blog, writing a short story, writing a novel or comic or screenplay without an audience and there are far too many of those that I would be satisfied by counting myself among their number. I need to be more than just another kindred soul. Thus I have ramped up the time I will be spending writing. It will let me do a blog post more often, write more short stories and edit my novel at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, you're still reading and if you are maybe, and this one is one huge maybe, you'll keep coming back and coming back again after that. Maybe together we can experience some amazing things but I can't control that Fearless Reader, I can only control the amount of material that I place in your hands so I'm going to amp up your dosage in hopes of hooking you on this drug: the written word in all it's forms and mediums. I've got it real bad but I wouldn't have it any other way.
This post is already too damn long so I'm going to put a sock in it but I hope that we are both back here soon. And for those of you that have made it this far I want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart because like I said it would be pretty damn sad if mine were the only eyes to grace this page, God help me if they are...
So I have a question for you...what's your excuse for not doing what you love everyday? For those of you that are doing what you love everyday or at least making an effort to make that happen I tip my hat to you good sir as you have been a better man (or lady!) than I.
Catch ya later Fearless Reader, oh and one for thing, what have you read lately?
Your Zombie Warrior (or on the twitterverse known by the inventive moniker: @codymudge)
This may seem facetious and preach-ey but what got to me was the fact that I had chosen to be in the tight spot I was in. I had squeezed myself in between the rock and the hard place and then I was offended, hell, pissed off when I noticed that the walls were closing in on me. How could the world have the audacity, the sheer daring to try and fuck with me?
I will not apologize for the profanity nor will I apologize for anything that you read that stems from my brain and flows through my fingertips because I guarantee you this, we'll have a special agreement Fearless Reader, everything you read is 100% me. Now that we've got that little formality out of the way let me tell you that you might not even like that. And that's cool, we can agree to disagree and at the end of the day I'm not doing this for you (although if you like it that certainly makes my job easier, more enjoyable and well, justified) it's totally selfish but it's true. I do this because I want to, need to, and just can't seem to survive without it.
Now if you're still reading (Really!? I love you!) I want to give you a small piece of insider information and maybe you'll do something with that and maybe you won't but I certainly hope that you will. Without you I'm just another dude writing a blog, writing a short story, writing a novel or comic or screenplay without an audience and there are far too many of those that I would be satisfied by counting myself among their number. I need to be more than just another kindred soul. Thus I have ramped up the time I will be spending writing. It will let me do a blog post more often, write more short stories and edit my novel at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, you're still reading and if you are maybe, and this one is one huge maybe, you'll keep coming back and coming back again after that. Maybe together we can experience some amazing things but I can't control that Fearless Reader, I can only control the amount of material that I place in your hands so I'm going to amp up your dosage in hopes of hooking you on this drug: the written word in all it's forms and mediums. I've got it real bad but I wouldn't have it any other way.
This post is already too damn long so I'm going to put a sock in it but I hope that we are both back here soon. And for those of you that have made it this far I want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart because like I said it would be pretty damn sad if mine were the only eyes to grace this page, God help me if they are...
So I have a question for you...what's your excuse for not doing what you love everyday? For those of you that are doing what you love everyday or at least making an effort to make that happen I tip my hat to you good sir as you have been a better man (or lady!) than I.
Catch ya later Fearless Reader, oh and one for thing, what have you read lately?
Your Zombie Warrior (or on the twitterverse known by the inventive moniker: @codymudge)
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Badasses
This weekend I finished reading "Just After Sunset" a collection of short stories by the King, Stephen King. Once I finished it I grabbed a book called Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death and John Madden's Oakland Raiders from off my shelf.
My veteran Fearless Readers will know that I bleed Silver & Black. Somehow this Canadian fell more in love with the gridiron warriors than the bladed beasts of the NHL. I was browsing through the bookstore one day late last summer and I came across this book and it caught my attention. The cover adorns an old football helmet, the patched pirate emblem shows significant wear and tear. The crossed cutlasses seem more literal than a part of the logo design. The helmet itself has a long and devilishly curved gash running along its side. I picked the book up without hesitation and took it home where it lay dormant on my shelf for a few months. Then NFL.com had a poll where fans could go online and vote for the team they thought was the GOAT (greatest of all time). The 1976 Raiders were the dark horse winner with the Raider faithful voting them through all the way to a narrow victory over the 2000 Ravens.
Once I saw the enthusiasm there was for the '76 team I knew that I had to work 'Badasses' into my reading schedule, and fast. I'm two-thirds of the way through and I cannot hold back my glowing endorsement for this book. It's an absolute must read for any member of the Raidernation and definitely an interesting read for anyone who has an interest in sports history or football. The story is one of the birth of a team whose dominance stretched from 1965 to 1986 those twenty-one years included three Superbowl championships, bitter rivalries, the best winning percentage of any team during the 1970's (the supposed decade of the Dolphins, Steelers and Cowboys), and not a single losing season.
For years the Raiders epitomized the 'dark side'. They were the anti-Cowboys. Bizarro version of America's Team. The team you loved to hate, unless you loved the way they played the game, with a zest, intensity and violence that hasn't been seen since and may never be seen again. These were the days before the NFL and the teams of the league were about business and dollar signs. Al Davis' famous motto of "Just win, baby!" was all that mattered to every Raider whether you were the head coach or the punter, the quarterback or a defensive tackle. And win they did.
In present memory that Raiders lost a pivotal playoff game on a controversial call. The infamous Snow Bowl launched a Patriots dynasty and began Oakland's descent to the basement of the NFL. The team is now a laughing stock, 'Commitment to Excellence' doesn't seem to stand for much when the last ten years have yet to bring a single winning season (2010 and 2011 both ended in disappointing 8-8 finishes).
The Badass team of the 70's also lost a controversial playoff game, what Steelers fans and the NFL calls the Immaculate Reception. What we call the Immaculate Deception. But instead of sending the team spiraling to redundancy and a head coaching/quarterback extravaganza (see 2001-2011 Raiders), it sent the Raiders on a climb to their ultimate destiny, a long deserved Superbowl victory. Years of losing in the conference finals to the Dolphins and hated Steelers eventually saw the '76 Raiders reach the promised land where they destroyed the Minnesota Vikings to capture their first Superbowl.
As a fan, I long for the days of the Badasses to return to my beloved Bayside brawlers but who would have the balls, the daring, the guts and the sheer will to win at absolutely any cost? Who could lead a team of men to victory while appearing to be their equal in order to gain their respect, love and ultimately, their hearts and blood out on that field?
I don't have the answer. But I do know that whether they were rushing through you, perfecting the forearm shiver, letting you catch the ball just to jack you up, smashing your line into oblivion or picking apart a defensive secondary with the fastest receivers and a deadly accurate quarterback, the Badasses were sure to do one thing. Win.
I think we could all learn something from these Badasses (whether we want to or not!). Fearless Readers and Raidernation, I salute you! And remember...just win, baby!
My veteran Fearless Readers will know that I bleed Silver & Black. Somehow this Canadian fell more in love with the gridiron warriors than the bladed beasts of the NHL. I was browsing through the bookstore one day late last summer and I came across this book and it caught my attention. The cover adorns an old football helmet, the patched pirate emblem shows significant wear and tear. The crossed cutlasses seem more literal than a part of the logo design. The helmet itself has a long and devilishly curved gash running along its side. I picked the book up without hesitation and took it home where it lay dormant on my shelf for a few months. Then NFL.com had a poll where fans could go online and vote for the team they thought was the GOAT (greatest of all time). The 1976 Raiders were the dark horse winner with the Raider faithful voting them through all the way to a narrow victory over the 2000 Ravens.
Once I saw the enthusiasm there was for the '76 team I knew that I had to work 'Badasses' into my reading schedule, and fast. I'm two-thirds of the way through and I cannot hold back my glowing endorsement for this book. It's an absolute must read for any member of the Raidernation and definitely an interesting read for anyone who has an interest in sports history or football. The story is one of the birth of a team whose dominance stretched from 1965 to 1986 those twenty-one years included three Superbowl championships, bitter rivalries, the best winning percentage of any team during the 1970's (the supposed decade of the Dolphins, Steelers and Cowboys), and not a single losing season.
For years the Raiders epitomized the 'dark side'. They were the anti-Cowboys. Bizarro version of America's Team. The team you loved to hate, unless you loved the way they played the game, with a zest, intensity and violence that hasn't been seen since and may never be seen again. These were the days before the NFL and the teams of the league were about business and dollar signs. Al Davis' famous motto of "Just win, baby!" was all that mattered to every Raider whether you were the head coach or the punter, the quarterback or a defensive tackle. And win they did.
In present memory that Raiders lost a pivotal playoff game on a controversial call. The infamous Snow Bowl launched a Patriots dynasty and began Oakland's descent to the basement of the NFL. The team is now a laughing stock, 'Commitment to Excellence' doesn't seem to stand for much when the last ten years have yet to bring a single winning season (2010 and 2011 both ended in disappointing 8-8 finishes).
The Badass team of the 70's also lost a controversial playoff game, what Steelers fans and the NFL calls the Immaculate Reception. What we call the Immaculate Deception. But instead of sending the team spiraling to redundancy and a head coaching/quarterback extravaganza (see 2001-2011 Raiders), it sent the Raiders on a climb to their ultimate destiny, a long deserved Superbowl victory. Years of losing in the conference finals to the Dolphins and hated Steelers eventually saw the '76 Raiders reach the promised land where they destroyed the Minnesota Vikings to capture their first Superbowl.
As a fan, I long for the days of the Badasses to return to my beloved Bayside brawlers but who would have the balls, the daring, the guts and the sheer will to win at absolutely any cost? Who could lead a team of men to victory while appearing to be their equal in order to gain their respect, love and ultimately, their hearts and blood out on that field?
I don't have the answer. But I do know that whether they were rushing through you, perfecting the forearm shiver, letting you catch the ball just to jack you up, smashing your line into oblivion or picking apart a defensive secondary with the fastest receivers and a deadly accurate quarterback, the Badasses were sure to do one thing. Win.
I think we could all learn something from these Badasses (whether we want to or not!). Fearless Readers and Raidernation, I salute you! And remember...just win, baby!
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Avengers
If you haven't seen the Avengers yet (or don't plan to this coming weekend) I'm sure you probably have a very binding commitment or an amazing excuse because everyone and their grandma (yes literally) is rushing out to see this film. I've had the pleasure of seeing this movie twice. In fact I went to the midnight opening of the film and then an evening show the next night!
I left the theatre with a smile plastered on my face. What a ride! For a movie over two hours it did an amazing job of not letting you realize that little fact (unless your bladder rudely reminded you). Joss Whedon and Co. did an exceptional job of pacing this epic. What an appropriate word. Epic. It's a word that is watered down by hipster douche bags who wear their pants too low and have their wallets attached to an obnoxious chain. Avengers really did reach that level though- epic. Any fan of comics knows that it takes some serious bad-assery to change the Avengers because of the capabilities of the team and it's members.
Robert Downey Jr. was unsurprisingly one of the many joys to be found in the film. His dialogue was snappy and witty and he exuded the confidence, arrogance and brilliance of Tony Stark through every pore. Another win was the performance turned in by Mark Ruffalo. His scenes as Bruce Banner really exemplified the character and made us all forget that Ed Norton turned down the role. Tom Hiddleston portrayed a more sinister, defined and, thankfully, more evil, Loki than the previous version from Thor. I excitedly await the release of Thor 2 in hopes of seeing one of my favourite Marvel villains grow even more.
Thinking back on it I can't even think of a single criticism out of the entire flick! Actually there were a couple times during the action scenes in New York (don't worry I won't get into spoilers) where it seemed the action was moving faster than the eye could keep up with which brought back memories of the Transformers franchise (barf).
If you haven't figured it out already I loved this movie. I could go on about it much longer than 90% of you would care to read so I'll stop now while I still (this is awfully presumable on my part) have your attention. Go see this movie! You will not regret it.
Your faithful Zombie Warrior (my dear friends and family read: Cody Mudge, soon to be, Published Author)
I left the theatre with a smile plastered on my face. What a ride! For a movie over two hours it did an amazing job of not letting you realize that little fact (unless your bladder rudely reminded you). Joss Whedon and Co. did an exceptional job of pacing this epic. What an appropriate word. Epic. It's a word that is watered down by hipster douche bags who wear their pants too low and have their wallets attached to an obnoxious chain. Avengers really did reach that level though- epic. Any fan of comics knows that it takes some serious bad-assery to change the Avengers because of the capabilities of the team and it's members.
Robert Downey Jr. was unsurprisingly one of the many joys to be found in the film. His dialogue was snappy and witty and he exuded the confidence, arrogance and brilliance of Tony Stark through every pore. Another win was the performance turned in by Mark Ruffalo. His scenes as Bruce Banner really exemplified the character and made us all forget that Ed Norton turned down the role. Tom Hiddleston portrayed a more sinister, defined and, thankfully, more evil, Loki than the previous version from Thor. I excitedly await the release of Thor 2 in hopes of seeing one of my favourite Marvel villains grow even more.
Thinking back on it I can't even think of a single criticism out of the entire flick! Actually there were a couple times during the action scenes in New York (don't worry I won't get into spoilers) where it seemed the action was moving faster than the eye could keep up with which brought back memories of the Transformers franchise (barf).
If you haven't figured it out already I loved this movie. I could go on about it much longer than 90% of you would care to read so I'll stop now while I still (this is awfully presumable on my part) have your attention. Go see this movie! You will not regret it.
Your faithful Zombie Warrior (my dear friends and family read: Cody Mudge, soon to be, Published Author)
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