The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 79 ~ "A Tangled Death" ~ Plant Monster

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 79 ~ "A Tangled Death" ~ Plant Monster

Hosts: Myself with my brother Robbie

"Plants, they seem harmless, right? Bouquets for Valentines and weddings. Daisies to brighten someone’s day. Fields of wildflowers to spark any lighthearted soul. But plants in stories? Oh, they be sinister. Seymour fed a plant human flesh and blood in Little Shop of Horrors. The villainess Poison Ivy uses plants to thwart her vigilante foes. The Whomping Willow protected a young werewolf from his classmates, and later destroyed a Ford Anglia. Plants can create many opportunities for plot points, plot devices, and characters in stories and art. Follow Sarah and Robbie as they explore plants in fiction as they create a plant monster, perfect for the upcoming All Hallows’ Eve."

This is the Halloween episode I did with my brother Robbie.  Plant monsters! Well, I've actually been wanting to do an episode centered around plants for quite sometime.  With it being Halloween I had to find a way to make it scary, and we all know how much I love ghosts. :P There are no ghosts in this episode.

As a note, I still can't say carnivorous.

And check out our FaceBook page!  Robbie's wife, Lindsay, has been working on it, and she's been adding some fun content.

So if you want to be a little creative, think up you're own story, maybe be inspired, have a listen to the podcast.  

Sarah

P.S. I am feeling better. Just needing this time to think and figure stuff out. Have a good week. 

Monday Movie Classics: The Goonies (1985)

A little while back I was having a conversation with a neighbor who is around my age.  She was going on about The Goonies, and how it was one of her favorite movies.  I never heard of it, and for some reason my brain said "Gremlins."  Why did she like Gremlins so much?  That movie freaked me out as a kid.  It just didn't make any sense.  "And I really like the adventure," she said, "and the treasure hunt."  By this point I was just baffled.  We were having two different conversations, and instead of clarifying the mental mishap, I nodded my head and walked away.

A little time passed and I was reading the new American Girl Courtney books, based in 1986, and again The Goonies kept getting mentioned.  Then I started noticing memes.  Articles here and there popping up.  "Where are they now," and so forth.  Sean Astin was in it?  Wow he's young.

It just came to a point that I had to finally see it.  This apparent quintessential 1980's film I somehow missed and knew nothing about.  

The Goonies is on HBO MAX.  Convenient.  No excuse, it was time.  Last week I turned it on, opening credits roll, and the sudden realization:  Wait, this is a Steven Spielberg movie?!! Okay, how did I not know about this film?  And I just looked on IMDb... Chris Columbus wrote the screenplay, and I'm done.

The movie wasn't at all what I expected.  I thought it would just be some pie in the sky sentimental tale about a group of boys in the 1980's, kinda like The Sandlot.  Instead it was an adventure, mystery story with a little bit of everything.  

The movie starts with the general "meet all the cast doing character defining cast things," so we know what we're dealing with and get a good primer.  The story picks up when all the young characters venture into Mikey's (Sean Astin) attic, where they look through all his Dad's stuff: Pirate paraphernalia, paintings, artifices, and a treasure map.  There's a lore, a legend, of a hidden treasure near their town, that no one has found.  And since Mikey's family is about to lose their home, and he's really depressed and wants one last, good adventure, he's determined to find the lost gold and gems. 

The small group joins on the adventure, later including Mikey's brother Brand (Josh Brolin), and a couple of girls, all the while thwarting some criminals in the process, and the whole thing turns into a race against time.  Solving mysteries and avoiding booby traps. 

Through the movie I kept getting Indiana Jones/Hook vibes.

In the end I'm kinda shocked I never heard of The Goonies, and it's nice to finally know what it's all about.  It's just a fun little adventure flick.  And now I need to re-watch Gremlins, because my memories are so morphed on the subject.  How did I confuse the two?!

Sarah

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 77 - "Feather's Landing" - Unfinished Business

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 77 - "Feather's Landing" - Unfinished Business

Hosts: My bro's Steven and Michael

"As the seasons turn to fall, watching the colors fade from the trees and the wildlife turn to hibernation causes the human experience to reflect on the frailty of life and the cycles of death. As we enter the month of October we enter our spooky season here on Creator's Playbook, and what better way to start us off than launching into the subject of unfinished business among the ghosts of the dead! Paranormal activity around the dead had been spoken about all around the world. The concept that the soul of the body is eternal, and can sometimes linger and torment, as opposed to finding rest. Why do the ghosts of the dead stay behind, and why are stories of unfinished business so much run to talk about? Join us as we explore the mysteries of unfinished business on today's episode of Creator's Playbook."

It's October!  :D  And all month long we're going to do episodes with a more Halloween-ish spooky vibe.  This month it's all about unfinished business, spirits and ghosts who linger.

 I hope you're having a great day and enjoying this beautiful weather.  

And if you have a chance, take a listen to the podcast.  Creator's Playbook is a podcast hosted by my brother's and I.  We take turns hosting and leading.  The theme of the podcast is all about creativity and storytelling.  Our episodes can be found on Spotify or wherever podcasts are heard.

Sarah

P.S. In terms on my last post, I'm slowly but surely feeling better. :0)

. . . Day by Day . . .

We live in an interesting time.

I've never been the type of person to run off and get a test when I get sick, which is why I choose not to do so this time.  Until this last year I didn't even know there were tests to see if someone has influenza.  With the pandemic everything has changed.  People run to get tested for a sniffle.  The common cold is still around.  Remember the saying, "The common cold can't be cured"?  But there are still so many unknowns.  

For work, school, and travel I understand the need for tests, it just seems to be controlling everything.  And there's that other topic.  And what's sad is that I don't even know what I'm allowed to say or not say.  What opinions I'm allowed to express or not.  What words I'm allowed to utter.  And why am I being so careful?

I haven't read Brave New World or 1984.  Last year I bought the books just to have, because books are important.  I just haven't read them.  The books seemed important because of the debate between the two: Which prediction will prove true?  From what I've been hearing it seems 1984 won out.  I need to finally read the books to see.

In terms of my health, these last few days have been weird.  I lost my smell Monday night, which freaked me out a little, only to gain it back yesterday.  The first thing I noticed was how much I reeked of peppermint.  It helps clear the sinuses.  I've also been coughing as well.  My appetite has been weird.  I'm not nauseous, just can't eat.  I've lost four pounds in four days.  I got medicine from the doctor to help my lungs, and I've doubled up on Zinc and D3, so I have hope pulling through.  My lungs are a little tight, but I feel my body fighting this.  

It's just fear of history repeating.  In 2019 I had two major respiratory illnesses, one of which I think was the new virus.  The more I hear, the more convinced I am, especially with the cough that wouldn't go away, and then being put on that lung medication that causes mental illness.  Last Summer was a battle.  Working to get my lungs better was a processes, one I don't want to go through again, but life is unpredictable like that.  But I'm going to have hope.  I going to believe I will heal.

Singing makes me cough again, so that will have to wait.  But I will get my lungs back, this is temporary, and I will strengthen my voice and stop being so overprotective.  I've been afraid of causing more damage.  All that coughing...  I couldn't sing for a good chunk of 2019.  Struggled in 2020.  I'm going to fight to get it back.  I'm going to Fight!

Life circles if we let it.  Some of us allow the repeats until we're aware enough and/or brave enough to stop.  We have to be willing to take that leap.

Sarah

. . . bringing home a cold . . .

I said I would review a movie today. Well, I did watch a movie this afternoon, in between napping.

The funny thing is that yesterday I wrote about scratching my glasses at the start of both this years and last years Disneyland trip. Last year I brought a cold home with me.

Sadly this is a repeat occurrence as well. Started yesterday afternoon getting a sore throat at the base of my throat. Now it's moved into my sinuses. My temp is rising as well. Not an official fever, but I've been chilled all day and now I'm up a degree.

I was going to push through and hop on the computer, but instead I'm writing with my right thumb and using predictive text.

Last week was amazing, though, so I don't regret it. It's just funny bringing home a cold both times, despite the change in procedures. Same result.

Have a good week.

Sarah

Scratching My Glasses in the Dumbest Way Possible: Four Eyed Pride Problems

First of all, I just got back from Disneyland!!  I was there last week, getting all the feels.  And I finally got to ride Rise of the Resistance.  0_0!!!!!!!!!!!! More on all this later.

But.... -_-;; So, one thing that all (well, I probably shouldn't speak for everyone), but probably most likely a lot of people who wear glasses... don't like getting scratches on their glasses.  It's so annoying.  Little blurred lines.  And it's even worse when it's located directly on the main line of sight.

Well, while staying in a hotel in Mesquite last weekend I was writing in my journal, and I went to brush my hair back as it was down.  The pen I was holding bumped my glasses, and at first it didn't seem like a problem, until I noticed a blurred line.  Maybe it was an eyelash?  That happens.  But no, it wasn't.  The line was indented.  Scratched! And before getting to Disneyland.  At least it was just below my main sight line, so there were ways around the blur.

And you want to know what's even weirder?  The time before that I scratched my glasses was in February 2020, eating at the Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney, the night before going into the parks.  That time my eye was stinging a little, so I used apart of my hoodie to dab my eye, and scratched my glasses with the zipper! -_-;;

So case in point, Disneyland isn't safe for my glasses. :P

But then I've scratched my glasses with a ring once.  Lost my glasses canoeing.  Lost my glasses swiping a bee that got into the car.  Broke my glasses playing PE soccer.  Oh, and so much more.

In other news it was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints this weekend.  Listened to it in the car and at the hotel on the way back, all five sessions.  So many good talks.

Have a great week!

Sarah

PS. Classic Movie Monday will be posted tomorrow evening as I didn't have anything prepared.  Going to Disneyland was completely spontaneous.  Getting the Creator's Playbook Celtic Fairies episode edited and finished took priority.

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 76 - "Light in the Shadows" - Celtic Fairies

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 76 - "Light in the Shadows" - Celtic Fairies

Hosts: My bro Steven and Myself

"We’ve grown up hearing about Fairies, popularized by a certain Tinker Bell who is small and sassy. Fairies have largely been commercialized, gracing children’s books, postcards, figurines, and shows. But who are the Fairies? They take many forms throughout the Celtic lands of Ireland, Scotland, The Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. There are legends and stories, beliefs, that are shared and different. Tales that haunt and tales that warn. Join Steven and Sarah as they talk about all things fairies, creating a story, and getting caught up with the lore and mystery about these secret fiends. The book referenced in the podcast is “The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries” by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, who traveled the Celtic lands in the early 1900’s gathering testimonies and first hand accounts."

This was such a fun episode to prep!  I listened to "The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries," which is over 9 hours.  So fascinating, and it brings a whole new light to the Fairy Faith, from the Fair Folk, the Gentry, Tylwyth Teg, Pixie's, Fae and everything in between.  So much information straight from those who lived it, living at a time when the Celtic beliefs were waning in light of Christian beliefs.  If you're interested in the history of myth, folk, fantasy, and apart of what the Celts believed, this book is worth a listen.

It was hard summing up a 9+ hour book in a few minutes, and I left SOOO much out, but it was fun talking to Steven about what was in the book, and a new angle to the mysterious fairies.  I was surprised.  Nothing like what I grew up with watching Disney, but is that a surprise?   A lot of it is dark!  Really dark.

And in Creator's Playbook fashion, Steven and I had fun creating a fairy story.

You can listen to the Creator's Playbook podcast on Spotify and other great podcast places online. 

I hope you're having a great time!

Sarah