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February 28, 2020 - meeting the lovely people from Dicebreaker at PAX East



March 29, 2019 - meeting the lovely people from OutsideXbox and OutsideXtra at PAX East



Feels like a lifetime ago! I want to be out of the house and around people again!!

Look, I love my husband and my stepdaughter but I miss OTHER people. If that makes any sense.

The Dicebreaker D&D livestream gave me life this morning (literally, I set an alarm to wake up) and getting to chat with other fans while the episode aired was lovely. Might do it again tomorrow if Luke does another music stream, which I thought he posted about but now I can't find it...

Anyway, what were you up to a month ago? A year ago? What was life like them?

There were lots of great taglines for ‘The Last Crusade’ but I think my favorite was “The Man with the hat is back. And this time, he’s bringing his Dad.”

‘Last Crusade’ was the first Indy movie I got to see in the theaters. I was 8 years old and already a hardcore Spielberg and Lucasfilm fan – I had all the Star Wars movies memorized, and knew most of ‘Temple of Doom’ by heart. ‘Raiders’, with it’s ghosts and melting Nazis, I had convinced myself, was too scary for me. (My theory is that the first ghost caught me off guard, sort of like the first ghost in ‘Ghostbusters’, which I didn’t watch from the very beginning for a LONG time because that memory of being scared kept me away).

I know we saw this in the theater. It wasn’t my first movie theater experience (I saw E.T. in the theater but have no memory of it except for things my Mom told me later), but I definitely don’t have the strong memories of seeing a movie with my whole family like I do with this one.

This was a world with no spoilers beyond the trailer, unless you searched for them. And by search, I don’t mean hopping on your computer. No, that Apple IIe did NOT have an internet connection just yet, or, at least, no world wide web to post your fan theories to. I’m sure I could have found some magazines with interviews and what not, but, again, 8. So I went into this movie just knowing that I loved Indiana Jones and had no idea what to expect beyond what Drew Struzan’s poster artwork told me.

So the opening sequence with a young Indy was a new idea. I didn’t really know who River Phoenix was so I didn’t see him as anything else but Young Indy. And then this happened:
Henry Jones Jr. gets his fedora and is magically turned into Indiana Jones.



Henry Jones Jr. gets his fedora and is magically turned into Indiana Jones.

and the movie really got started.

I don’t remember too much else about the viewing experience. Mostly just sitting in silence, probably munching on popcorn because how could you see an Indiana Jones movie without popcorn?

Yet, there is one moment, one scene, that I still remember, deep in my mind, deep in my gut, because of the reaction I had to it. When Donovan pulls the gun on Indy, threatening him to go in and find the Grail. Indy smirks and quips ” Shooting me won’t get you anywhere.” Donovan looks straight at him and says ” You know something, Dr. Jones? You’re absolutely right.” and then…



Donovan pivots ever so slightly and shoot Indy’s Dad.

Right – so I’m 8 years old here. I don’t know movie tropes. I don’t realize that Steven Spielberg doesn’t kill a Dad. I don’t understand that Indiana Jones movies are not going to go that dark. All I know is that Indy’s Dad just got shot. I remember feeling my guts squeeze, the heart stop, and my eyes just filling with tears. I remember my Mom leaning over, sort of giving me a rub on the back and perhaps whispering that it would be okay or not to worry or something along those lines. Something to calm me down so I didn’t lose it completely.

I believe once I saw that Henry was stable and talking, that Marcus was going to hold that little cloth over the wound, I calmed down, hopeful that Indy would save the day.

Of course, there was a happy ending (unless you were a Nazi, but then you don’t deserve one, do you?) and like all good stories, the heroes ride off into the sunset, laughing and smiling, with John Williams’ classic theme playing.



Since then, I have watched the movie many many times. I quote it constantly, especially the classic “No ticket.” line. I could probably act out entire scenes if I needed to. It is perfect from beginning to end. No downtime, no throwaway scenes, all of it important for the story.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, straddling the Gen-X and Millenial line. I didn’t get to experience Star Wars or the first two Indiana Jones’ films in their initial theater releases, and I’d say this movie marks the end of that Lucas/Spielberg summer domination era in some ways. Speilberg went on to make some fantastic, but heavier, films. Lucas waited another ten years to go back to a galaxy far far away. I’m so glad I saw this in the theater and have this memory, even if it was a bit of a traumatic one. This was the last great summer romp before both creators matured and grew apart.

If you haven’t seen this movie in awhile, sit down and watch it again. Turn out all the lights, pop some corn and settle in. 30 years later, it is still a lot of fun keeping up with the Joneses.

What are your Indiana Jones memories? Please comment or link to your post! I’d love to chat with other Indy fans.

Today's thefridayfive questions:

1. Did you enjoy your senior year of high school?
I did! Our old band director left, who had a rivalry with the drama teacher, who also left which meant I was able to do band AND drama club without the extra IRL (and frankly immature) drama of that feud. I was drum major of the band so I got to be extra bossy. I remember dressing up for all of the pep rally week...I should probably scan some photos to share. It was a pretty good year. I just went through a bunch of cards I got when I graduated, from friends and family, and they made me feel pretty good.

2. Did you have a senior trip (high school) and were you able to go on it.
I don't think there was an official senior trip and I had no desire to go to Ocean City during "senior week". My friends and I, ever the nerd, drove out to Shenandoah National Park and camped out for the weekend. Full on roughing it. I remember hiking one day and not really factoring in that we would need to hike back and while we were trying to find our way to the campsite, I started singing Disney showtunes to keep my mind occupied. It's amazing any of them wanted to be my friend after that. We also go our first flat tire experience, my friend Amanda actually changed a tire!

3. Was graduating (from either high school or college/university) a big thing with your family or just another day? They made a big deal out of it but it wasn't like I was the first person in my family to reach the milestone. It was expected of me - both high school and college. But my Grandparents drove down from Maine to attend so that was extra special. I don't remember much about the college ceremony, but I wasn't as engaged in college life since I commuted. High school was a bit more emotional because I knew so many people there.

4. What were you looking forward to the most after graduating from either high school or college/university?
I don't really remember. I wasn't really sure what was going to happen with my life after high school except that I was supposed to go to college. In college, I guess it was moving out with my then boyfriend (such a stupid move, but go back in time and try to tell 21 old me any different, I dare you...**facepalm**)

5. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your graduating self?
Don't move out with this guy. Be yourself for awhile, find yourself first. You got this.
...also, you are skinny AF and pretty hot.

Be warned: I'm working on a digital photo program for work and part of me wants to scan ALL my photos to keep them safe...this makes me want start scanning all the photos from my senior year, which happens to have been 20 years ago EEK! WTF! NO!

My Grandparent's house went up for sale and my Mom sent me the listing and it is giving me all kinds of feels.

I mean, no one in our family needs that house - it is huge and all of them have had their families already and the grandkids are all grown up and either are not having kids (oddly, most of us) or have their one kid and skipped town.

But it is still sad to see it all empty and cleared out and wondering if someone will just buy it and bulldoze it to make apartments or something else.

Growing up, this was one of the few stable places in our family - Navy Brat meant we moved around a lot, my Dad's parents moved several times too - but the Gradys stayed put and I knew this house pretty well. I loved it so much I even took my high school friends up there to visit one summer because I just wanted them to see it and be in it. I took my friend Amy there too and Tim also visited several times. It was just an important landmark for me, so many family memories.

End of an era.

GAH now I'm tearing up at work! Let me go read some Pete the Cat books to clear my head!

Spent Saturday cleaning up and then went to my parent's today and got more stuff LOL. I think Tim was horrified when my Mom gave me three bags/boxes of Star Wars toys (which I had asked for because nostalgia)



So I spent about two hours tonight going through one of the bags, wiping off the dust, and them playing with the toys.



Possibly my favorite Star Wars toy. My Rancor got a lot of playtime because RotJ was my favorite of the movies when I was a kid (probably because of the super-mega-happy-ending) and I would drag my toy box out and play with my figure while I was watching.

Sidenote: I was digging through my parent's DVDs and found out my brother bought the Special Edition Limited Release of the Original Trilogy that has the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL RELEASES on the bonus discs!!!!!!! I totally "borrowed" them because I want to watch RotJ again but I know the one on my blu-ray copy will make me rage (GIVE ME MY YUB NUB DAMMIT! And don't get me started on the awful song added to Jabba's palace...)

( Fun with my slo-mo camera mode under the cut )

Only sad thing was opening up my Tie Fighter and seeing that the batteries had exploded in the back (well, they were probably 30 years old LOL). That is the only real damage I have seen so far that I am sad about.

I'll probably post more photos as I go through the bag. There's some Jurassic Park stuff in there too which makes me happy. I HAVE A T-REX! :D

OMG!! Day of the Tentacle was one of my FAVORITE games on the PC. It was a classic Lucasarts adventure game - meaning you couldn't die, it was all about a wacky story with wacky puzzles. And now Double Fine is remastering it for release next year!!!!! AAAAAAAAAH!

Did anyone else play DotT?

Also, the awesome stydia made this adorable blinkie for me and I keep forgetting to use him so I am going to add him to all my posts until Halloween. :)

I've been a fan of Monty Python since I was a kid. We used to watch the show as a family on Saturday nights on public television. I watched Holy Grail over and over and made my friends watch it too (how my parents didn't get into trouble, I don't know).

Last year, the surviving Pythons did a live show, broadcast to theaters around the world. I didn't go but I noticed a few weeks ago that the library had the DVD so I put a hold on it. I thought it would be fun to watch and laugh at the classic Python bits.

But instead of laughing, I found myself feeling very uncomfortable.

I began to realize that I have an area of Python that I really love - usually bits that are on the more intellectual or weird side. The philosopher's soccer game. The penguin on the television set. Spanish Inquisition. BICYCLE REPAIRMAN! In other words, the earliest years of Monty Python. I think I only watched the first 3 seasons then would trail off.

But the live show was full of jokes from all the Python bits, bits that haven't aged as well. Most of them made fun of gay or transgender people. Or, at least, the crux of the joke was being gay.

Also, as far as musical numbers go, the Lumberjack Song is the only Python song I've ever really liked, with Always Look on the Bright Side of Life on my radar but not a favorite. Of course, Lumberjack is also problematic for the same reason - the joke is that he is a transvestite.

When I was 12, this was comedy gold. I thought it was hilarious. At 34, I found myself unable to laugh at it anymore. There was something unfunny about these old men performing these bits. I think I could probably watch the original sketches on DVD and find them amusing, but seeing it done today, knowing it was 2014 and they were still doing these jokes...I couldn't finish the show. I turned it off, I didn't want my memories of these bits sullied.

Have I lost my sense of humor? Was it ever funny? I guess I can just paraphrase the Pope when he was talking to Michaelangelo - I may not know comedy, but I know what I like.

Jon Stewart leaving The Daily Show later this year.

This hit my right in the feels. Stewart started in 1999, the year I graduated high school and started college. I had been a fan of the show with Craig Kilborn and was leary of this new guy taking over. Especially since he seemed to be some comedian from lots of stoner movies. But it didn't take long for me to become a fan. This was the year I really started getting into the news. I stayed up every night to watch. Jon was there to explain hanging chads to me, he was there for me after 9/11. He has always made the harsh realities of the world, of politics, of the scary amount of ignorance out there something to laugh at and then think about.

I am going to miss him so much. I can't imagine who they will get to replace him, if they get anyone. Big shoes to fill. He always felt like a voice of reason in chaos. Someone who knew the news had become entertainment but didn't try to pretend he was anything but...yet at the same time gave more thoughtful commentary on the world than any "real" news program.

And he actually read the damn books that people wrote before the guests were on his show so he could have an intelligent discussion.

End of an era indeed.

I don't usually do Throwback Thursday posts but this idea was in my head AND it happened to be Thursday so...here ya go:

I was driving around the other day listening to the radio (which I don't usually do, I usually have my iPod plugged in because ever since I worked in radio for a year and I can't really stand listening to it...but I was nice and lent my iPod to Tim for his 12 hour drive to Wisconsin) and this song came on.

And as soon as I heard the opening strums of the guitar, I was hit by a wave of memories.

Peal Jam and Nirvana were super big when I was in middle school. I wasn't into them at all. My musical tastes were still mostly focused on Disney soundtracks and whatever my Mom was listening to at the time (so, ya know, Phil Collins and Sting). Hearing the term "grunge", I assumed that the music would be loud and screamy and not my thing. So I kind of avoided them somehow.

But there was this really nice kid in my class, his name was Alec Miller. He *loved* these bands. He sensed my resistance and after we sat and discussed music for awhile (yeah, I'm sorta shocked that we were able to have an intelligent discussion about what we liked and disliked in music when we were only 13...). Anyway, Alec was a good listener and he returned the next week with a mix tape of hand-picked Pearl Jam songs that he thought I would like. Betterman was on that tape, I think it might have been the first song actually.

It's weird how the mind works because this song triggered this memory which lead to another memory of Alec, a memory that changed my young adult life. I can't really remember all the details, all I know is that Alec was being bullied by some other kids in the school. I think they decided that since he wore grunge style clothes, he was some kind of punk. One day, it escalated to the point where they flat out told him they were going to beat him up that day. I have a memory of Alec being a total wreck, his eyes bloodshot from crying and we convinced him to tell a teacher, that the thing you were supposed to do was tell and adult and they would fix it.

Unfortunately, the adults had the same biases based on Alec's look - he told them he had been threatened and they said nothing would happen and told him to go to class.

And then he got jumped by three guys on his way to class.

I'm not even sure I ever saw him after that. His mother yanked him out of our school and transferred him to another school. But I remember that day as the day I realized that you can just trust people in authority to do the right thing. If those teachers had taken him seriously, it could have been avoided.

So these are the things that go through my head when any of the low-key Pearl Jam songs come on the radio...

Do you have any songs with powerful memories attached to them? Write your own post or share in the comments!