Friday night I went with Nathan to see Pan’s Labyrinth at the Oxford Theatre. We braved the cold for a few blocks of walking and were rewarded by one of the finest fantasy films I’ve seen in a long while.

It’s a beautiful film, in language, cinematography and storytelling. I felt a tinge of loss that I did not understand much of the Spanish being spoken; I have an affinity for the language and subtitles don’t do justice to the dialogue, I’m certain. Even still, I loved the dark, gritty and engrossing story.

I’m happy to see that a film of this quality, depth and imagination is receiving a lot of critical and popular success. Too often fantasy films have either been genuinely lacking or outside the vision of critics, so for a film as superbly done as this to become a resounding success is heartening.

My namesake, Apollo, “has undiminished Beauty and Virility. You name it, he has it. Thoroughly sickening to us mere mortals.” That’s according to Godchecker, a hilarious mythological encyclopedia that makes light of gods and saints while also being informative. It’s a fun spot to peek around if you’re a bit of a myth geek like myself.

How did it take me so long to discover book darts? I’ve had a package of 100 for a week or so now and I can’t imagine how I enjoyed non-fiction without them. Being able to mark specific passages and lines without damaging or marking a book at all is a godsend! And the copper arrows are so striking and classy looking. I’m soon to dive into Integral Spirituality, and I know I’ll want to be returning to various parts of it once I’m done, as is the case with any book by Ken Wilber. I’ll be even more thankful for the book darts soon.

Anyone who visits my home should know I have a love for Jones Soda and collect the bottles it comes in. Now I finally have a practical use for those bottles filling my knickknack shelves; Instructables has a quick and easy project for turning a glass bottle into an oil lamp. This project will have to be added to a couple other crafts I’ve been putting off.

Threadless, how I love you! Here are some of my favourite designs in the running.

I’ve been adding a lot of great blogs to my reading lists lately and The Art of Intimacy is one of my favourites. There Jennifer shares insight and inspiration on relationships. One of my favourite pieces so far was “The Stages of Love: Infatuation and Attachment“. I find both mere infatuation and mere attachment to be far too limiting and, as I said in response, “to lose direction through infatuation or to lose passion through routine and attachment are terrible pitfalls we don’t have to trip into.” Give me passionate devotion over either of those any day.And we shouldn’t forget play. I recently watched Honey & Bunny, a smart, sometimes silly erotic short film presented by Coco de Mer. If you are looking for a light and lighthearted flick to share with your lover, this should be considered.

For other erotic bits, I recommend Box Magazine and my favourite source for all things erotic, Violet Blue’s Tiny Nibbles.

P.S. Am I alone in thinking white tattoos are among the sexiest modifications out there?

Sunday night when I returned home from work was one of the most awful nights I’ve ever experienced. I went to sleep and an hour later I emptied my stomach entirely onto my bedroom floor. Three more times that night I was sick, often kneeling in the midst of it. I hadn’t been seriously sick like this for at least 10 years, so it was shocking. Monday I called in sick and spent no more than 15 minutes at a time out of bed. I simply could not move any more, no matter how much I willed otherwise. I was entirely drained of energy and ached all over. I managed to get some nourishment down, and then slept the night away. Tuesday I had a lot more energy and, although I still hurt tremendously, decided to go to work. I was pleasantly surprised at my recovery time, though that quick passing of the illness suggests a food poisoning that I can’t quite pinpoint. I am left at the end of this ordeal with a deep gratitude for my persistant good health. I can happily accept an abnormality like this in light of my usual steadiness. To be so crippled reminded me of the tremendous responsibility I have to benefit the world while I’m able. In a way, I’m thankful for the pain and terribleness of it all. It was such a challenge to just sit with the helplessness and pain in a meditative way, but that is something I feel is very important. To face suffering and even death without turning away is so vital to freeing ourselves. “Neti, Neti. Oh fuck, that hurts! Neti, Neti.”

One of the new experiments I’m trying because of my better blog software is integrating avatars. If you have signed up at MyBlogLog or have a Gravatar, your avatar (aka usericon, pic, mugshot) will show up beside the comments you leave here. I think it adds a more personal touch to our interactions. Also, in the sidebar I have a MyBlogLog recent visitors list.Please do sign up for MyBlogLog. It takes only a minute and is being used at a growing number of sites. Any extra touch of community is worth working for, I believe, and this does provide that.

And now, some more of my Threadless favourites.

Somehow I forgot to tell you the story of my jury selection experience of this past Monday. I arrived at the courts at 8:45 in the morning, as my summons had requested and joined roughly 200 fellow potential jurors. The day was filled primarily with waiting, with so much of the process leaving us on the sidelines. Rollcall, individual excuses, an overview of the coming trial and finally selection of a jury based on profession were interspersed by waits. Four hours were eaten up with the selection of 7 jurors for one civil trial, but what was most absurd was the case 200 of us put our life on hold for. We were there to potentially judge whether wrongdoing had taken place in woman who ran into a door vs. grocery store chain. I was thankfully not picked, through the luck of the draw, and saved giving 9 days to that.

I enjoy quirky visualizations, such as We Feel Fine, that turn data into art. In a world of limitless access to data, finding ways to parse it all and create meaning is rewarding. One recent discovery I made in this field was Packet Garden a program that collects data about how the internet is accessed on our computer and creates interactive worlds based on that data. More fun than practical, it immediately impressed upon me the potential projects like this offer for making data more accessable.

This week I made a switch from NucleusCMS to WordPress. I had been using Nucleus for years but was finally won over by Word Press and its stronger community and feature set. I still need to make some changes to my photo setup, and there will sadly be some dead links, but I’m very happy with the upgrade. I’ll also be undergoing a move to a new hosting service before the end of the month, so please forgive any growing pains I’ll be undergoing.

I’m listening to Pilgrimage To The Southern Stars, the original recordings that would evenutally become Live‘s The Distance To Here, one of my favourite albums ever made. Live is one of the most consistantly awe-inspiring bands I’ve ever experienced, and there’s a song on this album, “Dance With You,” that never fails to break open my heart and move me in a torrent. Listening to it now, I’m awash with memories of intimacy.

Intimacy is enhanced by solitude. There’s a wide range of benefit to be found in time alone, but for me it’s most valuable in meditative and creative moments. While I wish to imbue each moment and everything I do with conscious plays of stillness and creation, it’s easier to access that when I’m alone. When I return to intimate moments with those I love after solitude I am better able to be present and to lovingly co-create our moments.

Part of skillful intimacy, as well as anything we do, is being playful with our identities. The more we become aware of and creative with our personalities, the more free of them we become. Liberated from narrow identities, we are free to use them in beneficial ways. Like the best actors, we are able to step fully into a role but not be bound by it.

We’re always wearing masks. We can be slaves to them or use them with great joy. Underneath it all is our Self unbounded, our original face. As William at IOC wrote today, “Do you know your true face? Can you feel it?“

Last week I added Integral Options Cafe to my daily reads in Google Reader and have been enjoying some wonderfully diverse posts from a fellow integral enthusiast. It’s deeply heartening to find someone as lit up as I am by Bodhisatvas, multiple-source orgasms and our trans-specialization future.

Through IOC, I discovered the transhumanist blog Sentient Developments. I hold the transhumanist approach with a huge ammount of skepticism, but there’s a lot of genuine potential to improve our lives immensely in the ideas championed by transhumanists and George Dvorsky presents a fine blog. “Must-know terms for the 21st Century intellectual” is an exciting piece that shows the span of knowledge we have to unravel in the coming years.

Enhancing our bodies, new energy sources, growing computing power and other advances will increasingly become appealing options, and offer us new solutions to today’s problems if, and only if, we use them with a highly evolved consciousness and ethical stance. Otherwise, we do risk great harm and greater problems. This is why we need integral so desperately.

Audrey Kawasaki, one of my favourite visual artists, recently relaunched her website and it now features more of her exquisite paintings. She creates a breathtaking balance of innocense and eroticism.

Over at StyleFeeder, the coolest fashion site I’ve ever encountered, I’ve been keeping my list of fashion pieces updated whenever I find a new item I’d enjoy having or generally think is appealing. Skull & Kitty pillows, a “Recognize me?” shirt and a corset umbrella stand out.

Now, here is my Threadless roundup. The following are some of my favourites still in the running.

How did I forget about Jakalope? I recently discovered their second album and have been listening to it every day since. Supreme pop-industrial, they’re a Canadian act that has stayed strangely under the radar lately. I haven’t been able to keep the songs on Born 4 out of my head, and it’s been a delightful, sexy haunting.

In a massive burst of love, I think we need to form a Hug Shirt network.

There are many of you dear to me that I miss hugging or have never hugged, and this would be a wonderful way to add a touch of the physical to our connections over distance. Technology can facilitate communion so very nicely. Thanks to ~C4Chaos for another much appreciated pointing!

De-lurk! Via Veerle, I’ve discovered the de-lurking campaign.

I invite you all to make yourselves known here and at other blogs. There’s a lot to be gained by knowing who reads these missives, so I hope you’ll de-lurk.

I think there has long been little doubt of my bookwormhood, but I took it over the top last night. The highlight of my night was discovering book darts. I’ve never had a reliable way to mark a line I was on when ending a reading session, but always wanted one. After having book darts lauded by a new friend of mine, I immediately ordered a package. They should be great for noting important passages I wish to return to. Something must bridge the gap until my entire library can be digital and accessable with Google Notebook.

Sunday I went for my first hike in a number of weeks. I looked around online for some recommendations for local spots and decided on Long Lake Park. Thinking I understood and remembered the directions well enough, I set out from my home and out St. Margaret’s Bay Road on foot. I made it as far as Chain Lake reservoir, and thought I’d made a mistake. I wandered around that area for a time and then headed home. Checking a map later I realized I could have walked a minute further and have found myself at the park. That will be a destination the next chance I have.

43 Things, my favourite to-do site, has introduced personal challenges as a way to get us serious about our goals. By creating a personal challenge, we are forming a public pact to finish a goal in a set timeframe and naming a personal punishment if we fail. I selected take a photo every day as my personal challenge and have pledged to pose naked for Project 365 if I fail. So if I miss a day between now and the end of the month, I will have to bare all for you.

And now I’ll end by letting you know that I’m more yang than yin.

Blance is fine, but having that and being skillful with extremes is far more playful.

I’m heading for the loft.