New BryceLand

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I started stashing my stuff here a really long time ago. Back then I spent a lot more time at the computer, and my job involved web programming, so a totally homegrown website made good enough sense for me. Besides, back then we didn’t have the arsenal of plug and play blogging platforms that are available today. (“We coded our pages by hand without syntax highlighting in the snow both ways, and we liked it!”)

But I’ve finally realized that I don’t really need to personally build the car in order to drive it. In fact, time has shown me that in my new life, building the car leaves me with almost no time to actually go anywhere. Thus it’s time for BryceLand: Extreme Makeover Edition.

Along with this redesign, I’m reconsidering what BryceLand is about. It will remain a repository for my random projects—I’m keeping the most popular old stuff, and the things I’m most sentimental about—but it does have the potential to be more.

Back when I used to have more to say and more time to say it in, my voice on the internet was my LiveJournal. My account over there is permanent, and I can’t quite bring myself to migrate away just yet. I also started a Tumblr account at some point, but I use it mainly to follow other people.

Anyway, who says I have to decide right now what the new BryceLand will become? I’ll watch it unfold a bit first.

Piano recital

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Yesterday I hosted a casual little piano recital for just my students. I wanted to give them something to work toward, and the chance to hear each other, and have a little photo op for their parents.

They all worked so hard, I couldn’t be prouder. My favorite part was that when it was over, they all went up to the piano to play some more. The whole thing was exactly what I was shooting for: They all enjoyed it. Maybe even almost as much as I did. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

I’m up to ten students now, if you count Lydia, whom I teach only occasionally since she’s still so young. I would take more, but it’d get harder to juggle the lessons with my own kids’ after-school stuff. But the time flies by, I really enjoy it so far.

Variety Show auditions

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My kids’ elementary school does a variety show every year. I volunteered to help out with it again–which I’m still doing even though both of my kids decided to sit it out this year.

We held auditions this afternoon. There were upwards of 80 kids, it was kind of a zoo. I’m a little disappointed none of my piano students will be playing in it; I’m glad I’ve started planning a separate recital for them. There’s always next year.

I wish my kids were doing something too, especially Riley. He was a big hit last year with his handful of magic tricks. I’m tempted to try and get him in a quick comedy number “playing” the Blue Danube Waltz with his armpit, just because that’s what would pique his interest at this point.

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I try to maintain an absolute minimum of phone apps in general, and LJ’s android app has more bad reviews than good, but I’m giving it a chance. I’m hardly at the computer anymore, so making it easier to post from my phone should help me update more.

 

I’m off to run. Doing a 5k this weekend with Riley, that’ll be interesting. I hope he doesn’t manage to lose me in the crowd.

Watching “Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann” (1982)

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Timerider movie poster
Time travel makes even motorcycle movies more awesome.

Time travel is an opiate of mine. And so it came to pass that I watched a movie called Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann on Netflix streaming. It was made in 1982, and the movie itself is a bit of a time machine. Powered by cheese.

I learned from the opening credits that it was co-written and scored by Michael Nezmith. Cool, I thought, I wonder if I’ll see any influence from The Monkees. Then: OW, MY FRAMERATE. This opening motorcycle action sequence was shot in seizure-vision. Wait, now he’s off the bike, why is it still strobing at me??!? Was it just a problem with the video stream? It went on this way for almost the entire movie. Somewhere near the end I noticed it had been fixed, but I didn’t notice when it happened.

There’s some good acting going on behind all the dated production. The opening scenes are a slow start by today’s standards—lots of motorcycle footage, peppered with a bit of cheesy dialogue characterizing the protagonist—but stick with it, it gets much better. The score includes some fun synth rock and also acoustic Western stuff that’s proven more timeless.

Temporal prime directive! Spoilers follow.

I really enjoyed the way that the time travel wasn’t obvious, how he spent most of the movie not knowing it had happened, choosing simpler explanations instead. This freed the story a bit, kept it from getting bogged down with explanations. And it was refreshing to see a protagonist that didn’t feel the need to cower at the threat of causality paradoxes.

Near the end I got a little less forgiving of plot holes. “Here we are on horseback, chasing people. Looks like they’re having some trouble, and will now be pulling the motorcycle with a horse. Let’s all dismount so we can slow down.”

I don’t know if I was supposed to feel clever for seeing the necklace thing coming, but it was really like being hit over the head with a neon road sign. And then of course I have to spend some time in the mindblow quagmire of WHO MADE THE NECKLACE? And then eventually it will be so worn down as to fall apart. Then they’ll have to re-make it, or replace it. That must happen between 1875 and 1982. And if it does, does that mean it has to break and be replaced every time it passes through the loop? Et cetera.

Bottom line: Fun flick, even if you find some of the production deserves the MST3K treatment. Also got me thinking how it might be different if it were rebooted today.