Werewolf Wednesday: Full Moon Club

Full Moon Club
Full Moon Club shirt created by Werewolf V

It’s been a while since I bought a werewolf shirt, but the Full Moon Club flannel shirt by Werewolf V was worth the wait.

Most of the lycanthropic clothing I have consists entire of T-shirts. And unfortunately when Werewolf V released the earlier version of the Full Moon Club button-up shirt, I missed it.

So when I saw the announcement of a Kickstarter campaign to produce the new edition, I took a look at the shirt, and a look at my wallet, and …. there was no debate.

The Kickstarter was successful (though sadly, not enough to hit the stretch goal that would have allowed backers to choose a purple version), and after enduring overseas shipping times, my Full Moon Club shirt arrived.

This is a fantastic, comfortable, and beautiful shirt. The material is soft and the fit is just right. I also like the little touches, like the custom snap buttons, the black lining inside the sleeve cuffs, and the logo on the front pocket.

Full Moon Club detail
Logo on the front pocket of the Full Moon Club shirt

And of course, there’s the I-survived-a-werewolf-attack-and-all-I-got-was-a-shirt claw damage on the back, with the embossed Full Moon Club lettering across the top.

The fit is perfect, though I had some difficulty figuring out what size to order — mainly because the flannel shirts I was measuring to get a sense of it were thinner fabric. (During the Kickstarter, Werewolf_V was very helpful in assisting people like me figure out what size they would need.) I might be tempted next time to order a size larger, because I often like to wear a t-shirt under a button-up shirt; but on its own, the Full Moon Club shirt is very comfortable.

As of this writing, some of the extra shirts from the campaign are for sale at the designer’s online store. If you’ve been looking for a warm werewolf shirt that looks great, lope on over and check it out before they’re all gone.

Metal Monday: Killer Dwarfs / Killer Dwarfs

Killer Dwarfs
Killer Dwarfs

Fans of early 1980s heavy metal are likely already familiar with the self-titled debut album from the Killer Dwarfs, but if you’re a fan of heavy riffs, soaring vocals and big, stomping shifts in tempo and haven’t heard it, it’s definitely worth a listen.

Hailing from Oshawa, the Dwarfs (on this album, singer Russ Graham, drummer Darrell Millar, guitarist Bryce Trewin and bassist Ange Fodero*) show a strong New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound, with a dash of prog rock. At times the songs sound like Black Sabbath as played by Rush.

Submitting your writing, explained in Princess Bride GIFs

Film poster for The Princess Bride - Copyright...
Film poster for The Princess Bride – Copyright 1987, 20th Century Fox (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s easy to become disheartened when submitting your writing. We’ve all been there. Even after all the heavy lifting of writing a story or novel, revising it, getting feedback, even working with an editor, you send it out into the world with high hopes. Sadly, there is no guarantee of success, exception maybe perseverance, but even then you know not every story will find a home.

Take heart! Even great stories can take a while to find traction. Take The Princess Bride, now cherished as a classic film. Upon its theatrical release in 1987, it barely made a ripple, and was considered a flop. (For the inside story on what it was like to work on the movie, I highly recommend Cary Elwes’ book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride.) But thanks to home video and word of mouth, eventually the movie found its audience, and then some, becoming a cult classic.

I happen to think that in submitting your writing, as in many aspects of life, The Princess Bride has much to teach us.

Things I Wish I Could Say to Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams
Am I a fan of Douglas Adams? Why yes, I am… why do you ask?

I’ve been a fan of Douglas Adams since I was in junior high. A friend of mine thrust a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy at me and said, “If you like Monty Python, you’ll probably like this.”

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsHe was right. I devoured the whole four-part trilogy (as it was then) and found that Douglas Adams was one of those rare authors who could make me laugh my head off — and make me think.

I came back to his writing over the years, somehow managing to read his two Dirk Gently novels out of order, but understand them just fine nevertheless, and later howling over nearly every entry in The Meaning of Liff. I’ve recently been re-reading his work, and finding that Douglas Adams still makes me laugh, and think, and look at things in a new way.

Unique cannot take a modifier 

UniqueUnique means “one-of-a-kind.”

Something cannot be the most one-of-a-kind or very one-of-a-kind, as in the incorrect phrase “very unique.”

Something is either unique or it’s not.

You cannot modify an absolute.

 

 

Originally created by Mary-Agnes Welch, David Jón Fuller, and Julie Carl.

A blunt look at colonialism: The Outside Circle

I had the pleasure of reading Patti LaBoucane-Benson and Kelli Mellings’ The Outside Circle as well as interviewing The Outside Circleboth creators for Prairie Books Now. As a graphic novel it’s not only beautifully drawn, it’s a wrenching story of gang life, family and the legacy of colonialism in Canada. I’d say it’s appropriate — and would highly recommend it — for anyone in their late teens through adulthood who wants to learn what Canada’s history and government policies have resulted in for too many Indigenous people, and how reconnecting with family, either chosen or blood, and cultural teachings, can help. The Outside Circle is published by House of Anansi Press.

You might not think a PhD dissertation could be the inspiration for a graphic novel. But with The Outside Circle, Patti LaBoucane-Benson and Kelly Mellings have brought to life in a powerful story Canada’s colonial history and its effects on Aboriginal people today.