Messages

1

Unwashed Village / Re: A single second

« on: December 04, 2017, 07:10:07 AM »

I guess I've experienced four such moments in the last few years.

First was when my mother was diagnosed with both lung and breast cancer, very aggressive, with little hope of surviving them.

Second was when she died from acute pneumonia in hospital after fighting what had been looking like a winning battle against those cancers for several months.

And the third was when I found out that my long-standing girlfriend of 10 years had actually been lying to me about a great many things for all the time I'd known her. And these were not small lies, but rather ones of relationship-breaking proportions. So I broke up with her.

The fourth moment is...complicated, because it only occurred as a result of the loss of my mother, and it happened literally just a couple of days after I broke up with my gf. This moment was when I won the videomakers' competition for the game Elite Dangerous in May this year.

The brief for that competiton was to use the game's newly added camera suite to create a short story video (4mins or less). I was already very familiar with making Elite Dangerous story videos (I think by that time, my "Turjan's Travels" series had reached its 30th episode), but this was different - I felt I could take this opportunity to do something I never got the chance to do when my mother died : say goodbye to her.

So I wrote an narrative tale based on my mother's life, transposed it into the Elite Dangerous future galaxy, collected the footage I needed, edited it all together...and then very nearly didn't even submit the finished video for the competition at all. It was a deeply personal piece after all, and the main reason I made it was for me really. But a couple of my fellow videomaking friends encouraged me to enter it, and so I did, and it was chosen as the winner. And when I saw all the heartfelt comments the video received, and how watching it had caused a lot of viewers to contact their own mothers to say they loved them, I knew I'd made the right choice submitting the video after all. And I knew my mother would've been proud.

Of all the various artistic and creative endeavours I've turned my hand to over the years, I believe that this one video, "Stardust", stands as my best work. It was an ordeal to make of course, because I was forever fighting back tears as I edited it together, and even now I still can't watch it without my eyes blurring up.

But perhaps the saddest part of it all was that I couldn't share my pride at the success of that video with the two most important people in my life : my mother and my girlfriend. Because neither of them were actually a part of my life any more.

So winning that competition was very much a bittersweet experience. But then a lot of art is really, isn't it? The experience did reinforce my desire to keep making story videos though - I've always liked telling stories (as folk here in the UV know perhaps better than anyone else!) and I really like using video as the medium with which to tell those stories.

Anyway, for the sake of completion, here's the link to my life-changing video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU1FdR5JiP8

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Unwashed Village / Re: What games have you been playing latly?

« on: October 03, 2017, 05:44:34 AM »

I've been playing quite a bit of Fallout 4 lately (buried under a ton of mods, naturally), but mostly I'm still playing Elite Dangerous, and still telling Turjan's stories on YouTube ("Turjan's Travels" is up to 33 episodes now...a crazier total than even all my UV scribblings!).

Well, I say still playing Elite, but recently I came into possession of an Oculus Rift, so now it's not really playing Elite, but a feeling more like actually being in a spaceship and flying around the galaxy! Yes, the difference really is that great. 

Don't think I'll be trying Fallout 4 in VR though...no one should ever get that close to a giant naked mole rat in full on 3D... 

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Unwashed Village / Re: What's going on in your life?

« on: July 15, 2016, 06:15:25 PM »

Still making my Turjan's Travels videos...this week was something a little bit special though - one of the things about YouTube gaming folk is the whole community aspect, and that can really come to the fore in creative endeavours. I've already had several Elite Dangerous YouTubers making guest appearances in previous episodes, but this latest episode goes one step further...

A YouTube friend and I decided to write and create a story to be seen from both sides - he's a guest star in my version, while I guest star in his. While we both knew what was going on in the scenes we shot mutually (of course - duh!), we kept each other a bit in the dark about the rest of the episode, for fun

Anyway, here's a link to my side of the story :-
Turjan's Travels #20 - Mutiny

...and here's a link to Cmdr Josh Hawkins' version :-
Exploring the Milky Way Galaxy (Part 16)

It was quite fun doing that story - it took me right back to that 3-Way Unwashed Village story written by Petrarch, Darkfox and Brom. One tale, three versions, each detailing the same events as seen from three perspectives

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Unwashed Village / Re: R.I.P The United Kingdom...

« on: July 10, 2016, 03:54:33 PM »

The problem with this whole thing is not so much about the European Union, or the pros & cons of staying or leaving it...it's really about politics in general.

Specifically, how 'politics' as a concept is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the 21st century - and politicians have only themselves to blame for that.

By getting into bed so thoroughly with 24hr televised media, politicians have become a willing part of a celebrity-oriented, attention-seeking circle jerk. The media want their stories (good or bad, they don't care) and the politicians want their exposure in the limelight, so the unholy incestuous narcissism feedback loop continues unabated.

The key thing for me about the whole EU referendum is that BOTH main political parties campaigned to Remain. On the day of the vote, all the tv and online media were citing exit polls saying the remain voters had won - because that was they all expected. The sweeping arrogance of the politicians and journalists on tv the night of the referendum was quite frankly disgusting. Before the votes had actually been tallied, both the politicians and the media had already decided in their own minds how the vote result was going to go.

So when the actual result came in they were all completely lost and confused.
Which to my mind illustrated perfectly everything that's wrong with how the current culture of politics and media works. Because as always, the reality was that they were BOTH completely out of touch with what the public were really thinking and feeling.

Media and politicians take 'the people' for granted. For one, they're just 'ratings' and for the other they're merely a currency they use now and then to get elected. And so when these 'people' turn round and suddenly do something unexpected, the self-obsessed media and politicians automatically look around within their own ranks for someone to blame...because it simply couldn't be the 'people' could it? Because they're just...people, they can't think for themselves can they?

It shows with crystal clarity their extreme arrogance.
It simply never occurs to them for one instant that the public voted the way they did because they're actually utterly sick of politicians and media telling them what to think, saying they themselves are the only important ones, that they know best, and never bothering to listen to what the people actually think.

In very real terms, the referendum vote was nothing short of a revolution.

Except there were no guns or swords in this revolution, no noblemen facing the guillotine, or rich palaces being ransacked by outraged peasants.
No.
What's happening here is a communications revolution. It's all about the accessibility of information that was previously considered to be the exclusive bailiwick of the power-broking elite. By which I mean of course...the media and politicians. They are now no longer in control of information, but the sad truth is because they're so complacent and arrogant, they haven't realised it yet.

I predict this EU vote will only be the first of many similar situations around the globe, where 'people' will be the ones calling the shots, against the brainwashing desires of journalists and politicians.

And the really sad part?
In a way, the politicans are right. They ARE the ones who should be steering humanity's ship - but by allowing themselves to be blindsided by the lure of celebrity, they've ended up forfeiting any right they had to be respected. And when people see the excesses of politicians, and the sickening hyperbole of headline-grabbing journalism, they just say "You know what? Screw it. Screw you, and you, and all this! It's not relevant to me any more. If you want my respect, my vote, my views, then you have to damn well EARN it!"

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Unwashed Village / Re: What's going on in your life?

« on: July 02, 2016, 11:40:41 PM »

I empathise entirely Hanged Man, I lost my mother just over a year ago when she fell suddenly ill with two very aggressive cancers.

Still haven't got over the shock of that - probably never will actually. It was from her that I inherited all my creative and artistic abilities, so we were always close. I'm enjoying making my YouTube stories, but every time I finish one, there's still a part of my mind even now that wants to show the completed video to my mum to get her opinion of it.

And for all I know, that part of my mind will always be there, able to acknowledge that she's gone, but never truly willing to accept it.

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Unwashed Village / Re: What's going on in your life?

« on: May 25, 2016, 01:54:10 PM »

Since January I've been making machinima type videos with the game Elite Dangerous. The first one I did was really just something for the amusement of my fellow galactic explorers, showcasing a peculiar bug in the game's engine.

But Elite-playing folk seemed to like its quirkiness, so I started making other videos about Commander Turjan and his travels.

Pretty soon I realised that what I'd been creating was pretty much Unwashed Village Turjan in Space, lol

It's up to 16 episodes now anyway, and as long as I keep thinking of suitably Turjan-esque stories I'll keep making these videos

Here's a link to my YouTube channel if anyone fancies a look.

Turjan's Travels

For those UV who recall my story writing style of old, what would you say about Cmdr Turjan? Is he essentially just a slightly less tea-obsessed version of the same fellow who ran The Greasy Spoon tearoom?

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Unwashed Village / Re: Love

« on: September 22, 2013, 01:42:20 AM »

More gratz old friend!

I shall raise a mug of tea to celebrate - actually I'll raise two, for you and your new missus both =)

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Unwashed Village / Re: Caption This: 8-21-2013

« on: August 22, 2013, 10:12:13 PM »

In today's science news : 'Three camel compress' found to produce localised anti-gravity effect - film at eleven.

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Unwashed Village / Re: My name is Horatio Cornblower, and I am curious about your opinions

« on: July 19, 2013, 10:44:37 PM »

Thanatos...the high school teacher? 

Man, I'm having trouble wrapping my head round that image, lol
Bizarrely though, I suspect that behind the self-deprecation, there lurks an extremely competent teaching fellow. Radical perhaps, unconventional certainly, but most worthy I'd say. Well done indeed!

So, non-western contributions to measurement systems...hmm...if you like, you can exclude the British (as instructed) and still give them a tangential mention to annoy your paper's creators. Do this simply by referencing Longitude and saying how the French went all pouty when their "Bureau des Longitudes" attempt to steal control of the world's seas from the English failed, and their gallic metric temporal scheme sank without trace

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Unwashed Village / Re: Holy shit, all the TNAW that I wrote ten years ago still exists

« on: July 19, 2013, 10:30:40 PM »

Oof.  Your timeline sounds about right; I'm 28 going on 29 now, and I wrote that shit when I was 15-16, so 13 years seems about perfect.  It's, uhm.  It was a big deal to me at the time?  And it's still kinda funny.  I think.  Maybe not. 

Dude, though, I just remembered, the whole reason I stopped was that I lost the last five because I was a dumbass teenager and I screwed up on angelfire somehow, you still had them!?  I know I posted that shit!  Hell!  I don't know whether to kiss you or slug you!

No worries matey, I'll pass on the kiss-slug and settle for a handshake. Or a bro hug. Or just a cup of tea

They were funny stuff indeed, those TNAWs, and clever too - I liked them, which is how they wound up in my archives 

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Unwashed Village / Re: Holy shit, all the TNAW that I wrote ten years ago still exists

« on: July 17, 2013, 11:35:59 PM »

Nice to see you again Than

I had a poke around in my UV archives and found a couple of TNAW files from (wait for it...) not 10 years ago, but actually 13.
Ouch.
If I felt old before, now I feel ancient! 

Evidently I cut'n'pasted the text directly from your forum posts of the day - TNAW 1-9 are in one file together, with TNAW 10 bringing up the rear in a file of its own.

Let's see if the board allows me attach them as a .zip...

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Unwashed Village / R.I.P. UVer David "Kama" Hartstein

« on: June 12, 2013, 04:03:49 PM »

On June 10th David Hartstein passed away in hospital in Boston.

We knew him here as "Kama, the Eternally Hopeful", an Eldar elf of aristocratic background. If memory serves, he joined the UV way back in 1999, and his UV elven persona featured in many of the stories and yarns our community posted over the years, always as a witty, erudite and gentlemanly character with nearly the same obsession about tea as my own alter ego Turjan.

And so he was IRL too - always polite, ever the gentleman, and with an ever ready dry and clever wit. And yes, like me he did indeed have a real life obsession with tea. But there was something that not too many in our Village knew : David suffered from a rare blood condition, one where left unchecked, his bone marrow would eventually literally try to turn his blood cells into bone.

In the years I knew him, David tried several experimental drugs, but ultimately he was left with only one choice - a bone marrow transplant. Without that, his chances of survival were zero. Even with it, his chances were still far from 100%. If a donor could be found, he'd face radiation and chemotherapy to kill off his own marrow, then undergo the transplant procedure, remain on anti-rejection drugs... a daunting prospect.

But David was nothing if not a fighter, so in April this year when he learned a donor had been found, he went into hospital to begin the procedure. And all was going well - after the transplant his blood profile was near normal for the first time in decades. However, the procedure had also left his immune system in a weakened state, and sadly he contracted pneumonia. He fought on, and the medical staff fought alongside him, but in the end the fight was lost.
David left us on Monday night.

As many UVers will remember, David was an enthusiastic fan of Tolkien's writings, especially those about elves. In 2003 he came to stay with me in England, and together we walked the very paths where Tolkien himself had wandered years before, taking inspiration from the English countryside. I still remember David's smile as he strode happily through the fields - it was as if for a moment his illness had vanished, swept away by his sheer love for nature and elves and Tolkien's vision.

The other thing David loved was Doctor Who. As a child he and a friend used to challenge each other to Doctor Who trivia quizzes on their daily journey to and from school. That passion for all things Whovian never left him, so when the series was resurrected, he was a happy man indeed. Moreso when David Tennant took up the mantle of The Doctor, for some said our David himself bore more than a slight resemblance to the new Tennant Doctor!

David liked to attend Dragon Con, and in 2007 he siezed the chance to go dressed as the tenth Doctor. And he became quite the centre of attention! Many folk did a double take and stopped to ask for photos to be taken alongside him. David made many new friends there, and there's no doubt that helped keep him going in the ongoing battle with his condition.

I raise a cup of PG Tips tea to him now, and imagine him whizzing off through time and space in his own TARDIS, and landing on a world filled with mallorn trees, sweet music, and of course, dancing elven beauties.

David "Kama" Hartstein was a man of many dreams, and while a physical body may fail, it's not so easy to kill a dream. Rest in peace old chum, you will not be forgotten.

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Unwashed Village / Re: An Unwashed story.

« on: March 17, 2013, 05:07:55 PM »

I'm afraid I wouldn't be trusting any tea-like substances left in The Greasy Spoon...I should know, I brewed them
You'll need to badger BC for some Bastard Ale instead Mr.X - there's a man who knows his hops!

Hmm...I may yet have something of use though...

*digs through ancient rucksack*

Aha! Thought I still had this lying around somewhere!

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Unwashed Village / Re: An Unwashed story.

« on: March 11, 2013, 02:31:53 PM »

...they look for old treasures and artefacts to sell for booty.

*brushes dust off BC*

Well now, here we have a unique artifact indeed, Vestibulis denizenii! He doesn't need an archaeologist to identify him of course, for he is himself Unwashed archaeology 

I could try to sell him for booty, but he's been doing that himself for years anyway - however the lack of wenches in the Vestibule leads me to deduce that such a sales pitch is not exactly efficacious. So in the words of Captain Jack, "I see no profit in it for me" 

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Unwashed Village / Re: An Unwashed story.

« on: March 10, 2013, 02:30:02 AM »

If Turjan was still around I'm sure he would be able to shed some light on it.

...and as if by magic, a lurking archaeologist emerges from the shadows, carrying a torch

*brushes dust from the artifact then sheds some light on it...*

Yep, what you have here is a story penned by a New Zealand UVer by the name of "The Late Fishman Bob". It dates back to...crikey, about the year 2000 I'd say. And that would actually be Fishman Bob's site you've linked to. A quality find there indeed, Mr. The Hanged!

*begins to wander off back into the shadows*

What's that you say? Where have I been?

Oh, nowhere.
And everywhere. Just here and there really. Not far away whichever way you look at it - The Greasy Spoon is full of shadows these days, plenty of places to lurk.
Lurk, and drink tea. Because there's always time for tea