vivdunstan

Very sad to hear that Prunella Scales has died. A wonderful actress, but most of all Martin and I enjoyed her charming canal trip programmes with husband Timothy West. I'm downloading (on demand in the UK) some of her past canal trips to rewatch, including the Leeds & Liverpool canal and Venice.

Doing another quick reading, drawing 4 cards at random, and arranging them from top to bottom in order of how much I connect with them. With the option to ignore or reduce in applicability the card I place at the bottom. Then some personal reflections on the topics raised by the cards drawn tonight, and how I feel about them.

I'm using my new in hand Venetian Tarot deck this time. Not only is the art gorgeous - Renaissance Venice inspired - but it's also fantastic to hold in the hand, great to shuffle, and gold gilded edges. Just lovely.

My first reaction was "Aarrgghh! I've drawn the Hanged Man!" But thinking more, it's the card in today's random draw that resonates with me the most. I'm currently in a state of transition, in more ways than one. I recently got some big work-related things finished, and am moving on to focus on other things. And I'm also seemingly starting to slowly come out of my latest 3-month neurological flare. And want to have fun. Meanings associated with this card can include all of sacrifice, release and new perspective. And I honestly feel that's on point.

Alongside that the Seven of Cups and Knight of Wands both fit in with this state of transition and where I'm moving to. The Cups card is often associated with romance, but also with new ideas, adventures, passions more generally. And I'm very much feeling that I want to pursue things I'm passionate about. Likewise the Knight of Wands brings up ideas like impulsivity, action and determination. And again ties in so strongly with how I'm currently feeling.

I placed the Ten of Swords at the bottom in my arrangement today. This is one of the more bleak cards in the Tarot deck, associated with despair, trauma and feeling rock bottom. I just don't feel that, though I do feel the hope this card can conversely be associated with. But yup, not really the card for how I'm feeling today.

That was so much fun. And wow, these cards are just stunning.

Finishing relistening to Doctor Who audio "The Chimes of Midnight" from Big Finish, while revisiting some of the comic art previews drawn for the early Big Finish audios in their Doctor Who Magazine coverage. Those were such a treat to see each time in the magazine, back in the day, a couple of decades ago.

Here are those for audios "The Chimes of Midnight" (2002), "The Stones of Venice" (2001), and "...Ish" (2002). Others can be found in the Doctor Who Wiki.

I'm working steadily through this year's IFComp interactive fiction game entries, playing, judging and reviewing as many as I can. This morning I had fun with a sequel to Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Next I'm eyeing (1) a horror thriller set in 1970s Venice, (2) a game where I have to stop a berserker at a circus using a bunch of clown props, and (3) a game combining Hans Christian Andersen storytelling plus time travel.