January 2014 – Home of the Autographed Cat

He’s Going The Distance

On January 31, 2014

There’s a joke popular among people around my age. “When I was a kid, you couldn’t ‘beat’ a video game. They just got faster and harder until you died.”¹

That’s a statement that could be applied to Imagi Studio’s “endless runner” game, Temple Run 2.² As the genre suggests, there’s no finish line in the game. You run until you make a mistake and die; the goal is simply to run as long as possible and rack up the highest score.

Of all the various games in this particular category, TR2 is my favourite, and its the one I’ve played the most. And although there is no ending, at this point I’ve pretty well beaten it in any meaningful sense. I’ve unlocked all the upgrades, I’m the top score by far amongst any of my friends who played the game. I’ve picked up all but two of the achievements.³

I guess I need to start looking for a new favourite iOS game. 🙂

My darling Angie reminds me that this joke was originated by Ernie Cline. ↩
Also available for Android. ↩
The two remaining, “Mega Runner” for 1000 total games and “Infinirunner” for 10,000,000 metres, are endurance challenges. The only thing I’d need to pick those two up is keep playing it over and over until I did. ↩

Tim Griffin

By autographedcat

On January 26, 2014

In Blog

Tim Griffin #conflikt

(Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center)

Hello The Future

By autographedcat

On January 25, 2014

In Blog

Hello The Future #conflikt

(Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center)

Sunnie Larson and friends

By autographedcat

On January 25, 2014

In Blog

Sunnie Larson and friends

(Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center)

The glow cloud is angry!!

By autographedcat

On January 17, 2014

In Blog

The glow cloud is angry!! #fear #nightvale

(Neptune Theatre)

Welcome…to Night Vale

By autographedcat

On January 17, 2014

In Blog

Welcome…to Night Vale

(Neptune Theatre)

Upon The Fields Of Catnip

By autographedcat

On January 16, 2014

In Songs

Upon The Fields Of Catnip
by Rob Wynne
TTTO: “Fields of Gold” by Sting

You’ll remember how I would always purr upon the fields of catnip
You’ll forget the spot where I used to sleep as we play with balls of yarn

So the time to go was a time I chose upon the fields of catnip
In her arms I slipped through the summer door to play with balls of yarn

“Won’t you stay with me? Must you leave so soon to roam the fields of catnip?
All these years you’ve gazed from your lofty perch and played with balls of yarn”

But the quiet calls and it’s time to go upon the fields of catnip.
Feel my body still as I slip away to play with balls of yarn

“I never sent you away lightly
and there have been times I regretted
But I thought you’d be there waiting to play with balls of yarn
We’ll play with balls of yarn”

Now a year has gone and I still run free upon the fields of catnip
Let a kitten romp through my favourite haunts and play with balls of yarn

You’ll remember how I would always purr upon the fields of catnip
I’ll be waiting here, ’till we meet again, and we’ll play with balls of yarn
We’ll play with balls of yarn
We’ll play with balls of yarn

It’s been a little over a year now since we lost Dayna. Earlier today, I saw on Facebook that a friend’s beloved pet had crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and someone commented that he was “running around in fields of catnip now”, and this just poured out. I still miss you, you weird furry little kitty.

Moss Bliss performed this song as part of a 2×10 set at Gafilk in 2018.

Another GaFilk gone by the way

By autographedcat

On January 15, 2014

In Blog

I’ll write more about Gafilk a bit later, but I wanted to share this with you. Every year, I write a short introduction for the front of the program book. This is what I wrote for this year.

Sixteen years ago, Gafilk was born.

Stop and ponder that for just a moment. Sixteen years ago was the last century. Sixteen years ago was the last millennium.

Children born the same weekend as Gafilk I are now in high school and able to get drivers licenses.

The first Gafilk banquet wouldn’t be for another 3 years. Nor would the first Super Secret Guest. The My Filk game show wouldn’t début until the following year. A number of people we could not today imagine Gafilk without we hadn’t even met yet. Some of the people we could not then imagine doing Gafilk without are no longer with us.

The best things about Gafilk as we know it today, the traditions we honour every year, didn’t come about because of careful planning and deliberation. They were happy accidents. “That was fun,” we’d say. “Let’s do it again next year!” And next year, and next year, and on and on until today. As our first Super Secret Guest, Lois McMaster Bujold once remarked, “It only looks inevitable in hindsight.”

But there’s one thing we had at that first Gafilk, sixteen years ago, that we still have today. It’s the same thing they had at the first filk con, and at filks dating back to before most of us can remember:

Put the chairs in a circle. Gather your musical family to sit in the chairs.

Make magic.