A Guide To Feeling Christmassy

First of all, regress. Immediately. Remember when the month of December was the slowest moving time of the year, and Christmas Eve would never end? We've all got too many distractions from the Christmas time and spirit which is why far too many people are saying, even on the 24th, "It doesn't feel like Christmas".

SO. Force yourself into it. Make the most of the time- this is why you will always hear me say that Christmas begins on the 1st December because the build-up was the most exciting part of childhood.

Go to events- Christmas movie screenings,  markets, parties, carol services, EVERYTHING- whether you want to at the time or not. You won't feel Christmas if you don't surround yourself in it.
Appreciate the decorations everywhere- the magical lights, trees going up in every window, wreaths... It's really quite fantastic to watch.
AND THE FOOD! Get it down ye! Mulled wine, turkey dinners, every place in town has a Christmas option coming up to the holiday! Saturate yourself in egg nog, it's the one month of the year that you can get away with it.
And movies! There are so many Christmas films, and again only one time to watch them. Everyone has a favourite, or maybe one you used to watch every year without fail. Bring the traditions back.
I had a one when I was a kid, that every night before the 25th I would sit on the floor under the tree, with only the twinkling lights on, and count the presents. I absorbed the atmosphere. Granted I was a weird child, but it was awesome :P

But of course, it's the people that make it the warm fuzzy time that it is. My favourite part is getting away with being sentimental, and giving gifts that you can't wait to see their faces when they open them. It doesn't have to be an insanely expensive time of year, you can give memories or keepsakes or photographs- things that only mean something to you and whoever you're giving it to.

That's my two cents, or rather my inner child's. There you go. Merry Christmas. Now listen to George Bailey...

Happy Mother's Day

This is a post dedicated to my mother, Rachel McCormack (1952-2005). And this is her:

My mother was the most beautiful woman I have ever known, and not once did I ever see her wear even a smudge of make up. She had a radiance that shone from her which did all the talking. She was the most gentle and warm person I have ever encountered- made better only by the fact that she never entertained this notion, she just went back to worrying about everybody else. She mothered six children in her lifetime and made them her all. She did not seek out a lavish career, instead she spent all of her time dedicated to her family. So much so, actually, that she had so many talents I didn't even know about until I was a teenager- I remember tinkering about on the piano when she casually mentioned that she'd learned how to play when she was growing up. She could draw and paint, and sew and knit, but she would never tell you. She was all about the herbal remedies, she was a dictionary of them.
She always told me never to cut or change my hair, because my hair was her hair. That should explain a thing or two.
She did the most hilarious impressions of the 'noise' I listened to as a teenager. When we watched The Shining, she was horrified, as she was by anything that depicted suffering. This coined her nickname for Jack Nicholson, "That Man Who Kills People And Then Laughs".
She sang everyday, she was always humming to herself. She gesticulated a hilarious amount. She absolutely detested Cliff Richard's Christmas song, 'Mistletoe and Wine', one of the few things she ever complained about. She thought it was hysterical the way that Belfast people (she was from Portsmouth) always recite conversations as "He says and I says to her and she says..." but soon she was doing the same thing.
She loved Toblerone.
She made the greatest birthday cake. Seriously, the BEST.
I think of her everytime I see a crocus, because in our old house, they would grow all over the garden and as soon as Spring hit she would send me out to see how many I could count.

So, I would like to tell my new friends about her, because sadly they'll never get to meet her. Plus, I guess I just want to say it somewhere (because it's Mother's Day after all) that she's my role model- not a world-changing figure that I'd never actually met...but the woman who taught me what a human being should be. There ain't no better gift than that.

Projecting Cinema Geekery

So having got my memory card reader into gear again, I've found a whole lotta photos from recent times. Including which are some from the Ulster Folk Museum. The best part of this entire place in my biased opinion is The Picture House- the turn-of-the-century style cinema consisting of benches, a wall for a screen, a piano for soundtracking and this old beauty of a projector:

Unfortunately it is not in use, probably because of the HUGE fire hazard, expense and the fact that it'd need to manned all day everyday. But it's lovely to see, and reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso :)
These days it's all digital which is a bit of a tragedy in my mind with regards to skills not being needed so much anymore. I'm glad I learned how to do it before the chance was lost completely.
The only cinema I know that has nt gone digital at all is the last independently run cinema in all of Belfast, The Strand on the Holywood Road. This was my local back in the day, the place I had my first ever cinema experience- in the form of Aladdin! It uses the old reel-to-reel method on its behemoth machines. The seats are hard and void of legroom, the stairs sport the same old weathered carpet that they did fifteen years ago. But it has heart- it has never sold out, it has been threatened by loss of profits time after time but always stood strong. The tickets are still bus-esque little stubs, the popcorn is sweet and crunchy from the old popcorn maker. And to top it off, they have an original standee from the Wizard of Oz in the main corridor. You need that kind of genuineness once in a while, if only to be reminded of the humble and magical beginnings of the moving pictures.

Return of the WiFi

I have at last restored the internet. And many tales I have to tell.

Firstly. Alice Kona Band EP is complete, sporting my photography on the cover and a fantastic logo designed by the talented Danni Gowdy. You can see it and buy it ;) here- http://alicekonaband.bandcamp.com/album/iv-death-by-water
I am rather chuffed!

I am still doodling like a crazed monkey with a pen on the second issue of Don't Panic, featuring a poor little fuzzy character who is just a little bit confused....more on that later ;) Ink supplies will be replenished to the point of a giant TANK just to make sure we get this out there into people's hands at fecking last. Hell, into our own hands for that matter.
The third Film Devour short-film festival was held to great success by the legendary Brian Mulholland, with twenty?..I think.. movies therein. They ranged from cocaine-sniffing puppets to vampire housemates to chilling tales of murder and conflicted loyalty. It was fantastic to see how much passion there is around here. There's nothing better than getting a few mates together and just making something, purely because you love doing it. Hooray for Brian, GO GO GADGET............BLACK BOX!
 
And speaking of film/acty type things, I'm going to be auditioning for a part in The Water Clock come April, a lovely dark little story featuring many female, deranged characters...so maybe I'll stand a chance :P
I've entered some more poetry contests too but they apparently don't get judged until June, soooo....

The new job training is going well I think..there's such a buzz about the theatre, everyone's so happy and excited to be there. It's really quite excellent :)

AND! I went to Durham, and York, to visit two of my sisters. We roamed many quaint shops and cobbled streets, and sampled some bizarre ales and markets. There were so many hats....SO MANY HATS and I was so very poor. The heartache. And holy great jabberwocky, we found this place called The Fudge Kitchen...which is exactly what it sounds like. We indulged in a big ol'slab and quote Diana, "It's like the McCormack version of passing 'round a joint". Aheheh! Also, an establishment worth mentioning was The Guy Fawkes Inn- where he was allegedly born. It was a lovely wooden ornate pub serving up all kinds of beer and ale. I tried the 'Dark Treason' stout :D Yes, mostly for the name- it wasn't so good apart from that...

And finally, I'm going to Prague in May with my dad. I'm insanely excited. It's going to be quite the geek fest- we plan on having an opera night, both all dressed up and disguising our riff-raffness. Plus, I hear they have good beer.

But, currently, I'm quite content right now- I have cookies, tea and my Frasier boxset. Yesterday was payday, which means there's oil in the tank. We won't be cold tonight, kids!! ...It's the simple things :)

Let's Go Outside

Book Fair at Mount Stewart- dusty volumes and bent spines stuffed into boxes to rummage through, in one of the most beautiful National Trust properties in our wee country. Lovely. I picked up four poetry books- including “Curious and Comic Verse”, which held this little piece of gold:

“There are several reasons for drinking,

And one has just entered my head;

If a man cannot drink when he’s living

How the Hell can he drink when he’s dead?”