So Much for That

Instead of being at stake conference, I find myself relegated to sitting at home and typing this post. One of the things about having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is that you often do not get to do what you badly want to. To a certain degree, your agency is curtailed.

The entire weekend was a bust because I overdid things on Friday. Though I will admit that given the unpredictability of the illness, I may have already been in trouble. So I did not go to the birthday party, the two sessions of stake conference, and the special meeting with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Twelve. The latter is especially disappointing for me.

After knowing I was in no condition to go anywhere Saturday, I concentrated on resting up for today. It was to no avail and I knew I was in trouble from the moment I got up at 6 AM. My father offered to drive me, but it turns out the car would have needed gas anyway and though it was severely tempting, I would not violate the Sabbath. In the end, it would not have mattered because I was in very bad shape and would have been a zombie through the whole thing.

I have done that before and can testify to the fact that you come away with little to no benefit, since you don’t remember what was said. Instead of an uplifting and edifying experience, it becomes a miserable marathon of trying to stay awake. Only around 11:30 AM was I able to begin to function today to illustrate the problem.

Not being able to do things like this gnaws at my very soul and now I need to find my way out of the foul temper I am in. I will listen to my library of scriptures, hymns, and conference talks and hope to find some peace there.

Horror of Dracula (1958) Review

It is Hammer time which means another horror movie review to celebrate Halloween. This time the most famous vampire of them all gets the British treatment in glorious Technicolor! Blood is sucked, victims are seduced, and a battle of wits between good and evil is enjoined.

After the monster success of The Curse of Frankenstein, Hammer Films decided they needed follow it up with another horror movie. The obvious choice was to remake Dracula using the same formula of action, serious acting, pretty ingénues, gothic sets, and shooting in color. Bringing back the same director and stars would guarantee success. But did it work out as hoped?

Read on to see why I consider Christopher Lee’s Dracula the best portrayal by any actor and Peter Cushing’s heroic Van Helsing the definitive version.

After a long opening credits sequence, the camera zooms in on a crypt placard with the infamous name of Dracula on it. Bright red paint is spattered on it for shock effect and that particular bit is more amusing than frightening. But to audiences back then, it probably worked, since it was a far less jaded time. For us older folks, this kind of in your face “scary” mood setter brings forth feelings of nostalgia. At least it did for me.

Health 10-15-2011

So far this day has one of staggering about, mentally and physically. Crossword puzzle time was atrocious and Audiosurf was terrible. That is after giving myself extra time to wake up to deal with them.

I think assisting in unloading bags of wood pellets yesterday did me in. That is a beyond maximum output for me and I simply feel unwell. No cold or other bug symptoms, just fried from it.

So much for getting another session on the home gym in today. If I do that, then there is no way to get to a birthday party and stake conference later tonight. This makes me concerned about tomorrow, since I have to get up early to travel to Rochester for a single adults meeting with Elder Quentin L. Cook as part of stake conference.

Hopefully, all will work out. I also want to get the next horror film review finished that I began writing last night. Nausea from H2O2 is not helping. I feel like I can’t think right now. Ah, CFS brain fog is so much fun.

Health 10-14-2011

Typing using a cat as a wrist rest is not advisable, though I am doing so at the moment.

Yesterday went well, the optometrist was surprised how well I am doing with the bifocal contacts. 20/15 for the wall projection and able to barely read the smallest line on the hand held card. It looks like his saying I was an ideal candidate for the lenses was dead on.

Also picked up the cheapest plastic lensed prescription glasses I could at Wal-Mart. They are not bifocals, but are for working on models so I can peer over them for detail work. Being nearsighted is an attribute rather than a defect for working on miniatures. Weird getting dizzy from new glasses, but the old ones were fifteen years old. I can’t say I like the frames, but they are for home use only so I should not complain.

Got another session in on the home gym. Years of catching up to do, sadly. One of the rollers popped one end of its cover and I need to see if the lifetime warranty covers replacing it. Mostly a cosmetic issue, fortunately.

I am hoping the workouts will help with the bad lower back problems that intensified this year. Hopefully there will be synergy from the H2O2 therapy and the weight training. There should be plenty of oxygen getting to the muscle tissue now.

This week I started doing meditation daily again rather than sporadically. It simply was not enough doing it once in awhile and once again I hope for some synergy with everything else I am doing. After an aborted attempt to put together a music playlist to continue the mood after meditating, I finally have gotten an initial one functional. But I still need to comb through my music library for more.

Some of Pink Floyd’s tunes work, as do songs from The Alan Parsons Project, but most are instrumentals from classical, electronic, and game genres. The music from the old Sierra game RAMA is particularly suited to the purpose.

I seem to be adjusting to the downturn in temperatures better than usual and reactions to the soybean fields being harvested was less than expected. While the sinuses still objected, it was not nearly like before.

It may be the H2O2 therapy helping there. I despise drinking the vile stuff, but it is having positive effects. It is also nice to be consuming yogurt on a daily basis again without any bowel distress. So far, so good.

Adding Insult to Injury

That story about the trojan keylogger infection of the drone control system somehow managed to get worse. It turns out the base’s officers did not notify their superiors about it and they found out from the media. CYA at its best, folks. This really instills confidence about the competency of those in charge at Creech.

It also raises the possibility that this is a garden variety infection, rather than a deliberate hack. The stupidity on display is embarrassing and I hope some careers get black marks for this. Looking for a silver lining here is difficult, but maybe the military will finally do something about the security in place and harden the systems against hacking.

Oh yeah, this whole going mainly to drones is going to work out well…

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Review

To celebrate Halloween season, Hammer Time begins with a review of the horror film that made the movie studio famous world wide. Plagued by last minute changes to the story and makeup, Hammer’s interpretation of Mary Shelley’s famous novel still chills and thrills over fifty years later. But do not think it a shallow experience, for there is a real story in there too.

In the late 1950’s, British film studio Hammer Films decided to revive the old Universal monsters for another go around. Known mostly for their Quatermass adaptations, the studio focused on remaking Frankenstein. But Universal got wind of the plan and that forced rewrites to the script to avoid a lawsuit. The planned makeup had to change too. Sounds a bit messy, doesn’t it?

Thankfully, a good director, a competent script, and standout acting by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee combined to produce a true classic in the horror genre. Not to mention the movie was a killer at the box office, partially due to it being in color – a change made due to Universal’s threats.

That ability to use color is pressed into service right away with a nice matte composition featuring a lone rider on his horse. Right away the appropriate gothic mood is set and further expanded upon, for it is a dank and dreary prison that the rider has arrived at. The priest (Alex Gallier) has come to the prison at the behest of Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), a possibly insane inmate with a curious story to tell before he is executed.

Health 10-12-1011

Yesterday was qualifies as a good day since I got some things done. Best of all, I was able to get in a workout on my home gym. Sore today, but given that I have a touch of chest congestion to go with mild sinusitis, this is a victory.

The new bifocal contact lenses are behaving so far, but I will give it until the end of the month before I render final judgment. Hopefully the body will not decide to react to them, since they are a big improvement.

Crossword puzzle was barely acceptable with some mitigation due to running into words I had never encountered before. Audiosurf was much better.