On January 1st of this year moments from gone, I started the Vineyards. It was a good year to start it, for 2003 was indeed a memorable year, deserving of records. I dare not say it was the best year for me ever – there can be no comparison between this year and anything prior to 2000, they are in completely different levels.
I will not try to make a summary of important events. Not yet, at least. That would make null the point of many posts in which the greatest quality (or fault) is the moment’s view, the “live coverage”; analysis a posteriori are too easy to make. To deepen the value of these posts, I decided now to explain each of the quotes that serve as titles to them – or at least say where it came from. This, I concede, will be an analysis a posteriori (yes, I love the term). But I actually suppose it is better this way. I hope this little endeavour is of some value to the foolish academics who will one day scrutinize this Journal to sediment a profile on me – and then write long thesis that no one other than their peers will read. That, of course, assuming such academics are Brazilian; otherwise, they will write unauthorized biographies that everyone will read.
As said Aristotle, then, “Let us start, as is natural, with the first things.”
Jan 1st – “And so… it begins”
The first quote had to be from Babylon 5. Kosh says it to Sheridan. I have no idea why or when, but it engraved itself in my mind – as with most things Kosh says throughout the series. I had to start somewhere.
Jan 2nd – “AM or PM?” “Very AM.”
From Apollo 13, which I had watched in the previous October (and USA Channel announced every 20 minutes since May 2002). From those initial days where I believed I should write daily. Probably after being until near sunrise in Dark Ages, I posted that as if to say “I am still here. Are you still here?”, as Justin would put it. Justin is, by the way, the one to blame for all this.
Jan 2nd – “C’mon lads, he’s had enough, let him go.”
The first quote from Loom, which will be a constant. This is from one of the Shepherds patrolling the forests. I believe I remember each and every line from that game. This one was good here: the day started very bad, then I paid for it; once paid, sun was shining again: I got a freelance job offer. I had enough, they let me go. Life is simple sometimes.
Jan 3rd – “Let’s try that again, shall we?”
Loom again, from Bobbin Threadbare: one of the lines he says when a draft (spell, for you uhappy souls who never played Loom) fails. I wrote the entire post, and saw a little problem in it; edited it, and it disappeared. I tried again.
Jan 3rd – “Close your eyes, Bobbin, but keep your ears open! Here descends the Third Shadow.”
Loom yet again, said by Hetchel when she confronts Chaos (or “Choas”, heh heh). First post in Portuguese, and first political comment, on the government that had just started. I still agree with that quote, and will certainly agree for another three years.
Jan 3rd – “Why are you here? Do you have anything worth living for?”
Kosh again. And again, no idea when or why. For those who have no idea what the post is about, since it is in Portuguese: a journalist, founder and keeper of a site I particularly like, wrote about blogs, stating they served only as a place for everyone to speak about nothing to no one. Truly, at that point I only did not stop and wipe out the Vineyards out of respect for Justin, who went out of his way on the first day of the year to give me the code to start them. First post to have a comment, too – by ruby, no less, who knows these vines better than myself. She suggested I mentioned the Vineyards on a friend’s blog, to get more readers. A great irony, then, that his blog has been long dead, and my grapes still endure.
Jan 4th – “But… That is unbelieavable!”
You will forgive me, but this is one of the quotes I have no idea where I took from. It seems to relate to Alice in Wonderland somehow, but I really do not know. In this post I say I wanted to read that once I was done with Dante. Not surprising you will find it that I never finished Dante. School got in the way of my education.
Jan 6th – “Oh my! Aren’t you sweet little things!”
King’s Quest VII, by Valanice, about the hummingbirds, or whatever they were, in Etheria, or wherever that is. I am not sure why I used this quote (and I do talk about it in the post, too). The “sweet things” probably are all the movies I rented and the one I bought. Inside this post there is a twisted quote from American McGee’s Alice, spoken by the cat.
Jan 8th – “Ash on my tomato!”
By the heavens, need I say it is from The Fellowship of the Ring? Nothing special about this one; I watched the movie, used the quote. Simple.
Jan 11th – “Well! It’s about time, you lazy idiot!”
Loom, by Master Edgewise of the Guild of Blacksmiths. From when I thought three days without a post was a long time. Heh heh heh…
Jan 13th – “I have freed hellish forces, and now the price must be paid!”
Alone in the Dark, the original, the most Lovecraftian: in the letter left by Jeremy Hartwood to his niece Emily, inside the piano, in the loft, where he hanged himself. My memory sometimes fascinates me. My complaint about spam mail. Nothing grand.
Jan 17th – “Please hurry, Alice.We are very late indeed!”
American McGee’s Alice, the Rabbit. Another post on the lack of posts. Bah.
Jan 20th – “No time to chat, the day is fading!”
“…Come, Valanice, let’s do some trading.” King’s Quest VII, the rat in the desert, who spoke only in verses (I tried that once or twice) and traded anything for anything else (but Valanice never accepts his offer of “blue mold” for her daughter’s golden comb). I was busy with that freelance work, thus the quote. And this post is very important: it mentions the first death of a power supply.
Jan 21st – “Oh, look! A jukebox!” “…D-7.”
Some episode from Monk. Adrian Monk is investigating a crime (of course) and the key witness/suspect is a lady who reminds him of his late wife Trudy. He takes her to dinner where he used to take his wife; she notices the jukebox, he whispers to himself, “D-7″, she chooses D-7. Cute scene. And this post was about music, so it worked.
Jan 21st – “Ve bzeat ‘im, you ans mee…”
That is supposed to mean “We beat him, you and me…”. It is what Scotty says to his bottle of whiskey after he gets a very resistant alien passed out. Star Trek, original series. I used nothing alcoholic, but I finished that freelance work – ahead of time, too. I am good.
Jan 22nd – “Everything about this world has been a torment.”
“The Bitter Suite”, Xena’s first musical episode, said by Xena to Gabrielle. I know nearly all the lines for that, too. A very fitting title to the post where I say I am not going to get paid anytime soon because the government cannot take 20% of it, and where I explain how the adorable currency and import system and taxes work in this miserable country. Perfect, no?
Jan 23rd – “Hyaaahhhaahahahaha!! Moeru moeru!”
Tenkuu no Escaflowne, the series. Dilandau says that a numer of times. Yes, that is a literal transcription: he has the most hysterical and maniacal laughter I have ever seen (but of course, I did not see many others). It is in Japanese, and means “Burn, burn!”. One has to love him upon seeing him torch an entire city while screaming that and laughing madly. A good quote to use when you want your CD burner to work.
Jan 24th – “A futile maneuver.”
By the Borg, sometime in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I never watched any episode with the Borg, no way to know for sure. It refers to the last line of the post, really; no reference to the post itself. Although one could say the “futile maneuver” was everything that Justin made me do and that did not solve anything…
Jan 27th – “We will have a wonderful day!”
This was said by a Mickey Mouse bot… in front of a hotel… in a Duke Nukem add-on… but I cannot remember its name, which I believe is a good thing. A quote to talk about a good day. That is all.
Fine… I indeed do not know the name, but it was something like “Pantyhouse Inn” and everything that was not an enemy was a naked woman. Happy now? But it caused serious problems with the game’s engine, so I had to get rid of it and reinstall the game ten minutes after launching it (and getting bored).
Jan 28th – “No, no, that’s not right!”
Bobbin Threadbare of Loom, again when a draft goes wrong. After a good day, a bad day. Nothing interesting.
Jan 29th – “If you can prove it, it means they screwed up somewhere along the line.”
Conspiracy Theory, of course. On a day everything (even the Notepad icons) were screaming for me to play more Final Fantasy Tactics, what else could I use as title?
Jan 30th – “Why do you pursue me to this deserted place?”
American McGee’s Alice, by the old unnamed man. A reflection on the purpose of this Journal, and the state of blogs I read. Very unkind post, which I regret. It granted me a link on one of the blogs I mention, too – I am glad that link is gone now, that blog has become unreadable. In fact, I refer to it some months ahead.
Jan 31st – “Pahu pahu pahu!”
Chobits, that is what Sumomo says when she is happy. I had the empty, dumb belief that I was going to get paid soon. Hah. But it was a good time, none the less.
Feb 3rd – “Somebody set up us the bomb.”
Zero Wing, a game for the Genesis – in case anyone still wonders. No need to say anything else.
Feb 5th – “Please make a selection.”
System Shock 2, the machines that sell everything say that. Given this post is about four subjects, I thought it was fair to let the reader choose what to read. I doubt anyone did it.
Feb 10th – “I’m doing the radio today.”
The West Wing. Never watched an episode of it, but the quote is from there. A post about radio. I hate it, I regret writing it. ruby suggested that I erase it, but I cannot. Hiding the past does not change it. Profound, eh?
Feb 11th – “You are NOT just going to waltz through here without us seeing you!”
Loom, the workers polishing the Scythe, in the tower of the Glass City, home of the Guild of Glassmakers, founded by Lucent Bottleblow, maker of the first Scrying Sphere, which was stolen by a dragon in the year… hmm… 7332, I think. Not sure why I used that in a post about a bad movie (which was aired again two nights ago, imagine that!). Probably because those twelve chicanos of the duas manzanas were trying to take over Brazil – they would truly have to waltz through everything unnoticed to reach their goal. Discreet as a carrier parked next to Manhattan.
Feb 11th – “I am Miss Information and I will be your guide today!”
From the great animated series Histeria!. Really, what the blazes are they doing to these children..?
Feb 15th – “What? What evil is this?”
Loom, Edgewise, when the last blade of the ten thousand the Guild of Blacksmiths have to forge gets twisted. “A witch’s curse has twisted the final blade.” What evil is this indeed, that makes people go out in their absurd manifestations against anything coming from the United States? A witch’s curse has twisted their minds, I am sure.
Feb 16th – “No, no, that’s not right!”
And here I realize I used this one twice. I will never forgive myself, even if this post deserved this quote. “Communist greetings” ex inferis, you miserable cursed leftist playboy!
Feb 23rd – “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Curse of Monkey Island, a verse in the “A Pirate I Was Meant to Be” song. Because no one can take three posts bashing the dumb left in a row.
Feb 25th – “What have ye done to me sheep!”
Loom, the Shepherd who watches the flock – after Bobbin makes all the sheep green! Because I was given my big sheep that day. It sits in my bed all day, looking at me.
Mar 3rd – “My feet hurt… with destiny!”
A line from “Torg’s Dream Fighters”, a parody of bad plot and translation in fighting games, from Sluggy Freelance. A post about King of Fighters and other fighting games had to have a line from there.
Mar 3rd – “You killed my fish!”
Same applies.
Mar 5th – “It’s too much.”
This one may be wrong, because I saw the movie a long time ago, but it should be from Dances with the Wolves, when the indians (yeah, indians, no damnable politically correct “native American” junk here) are drinking coffee, and they put sugar in it. For a post revolving around the word “excessive”.
Mar 10th – “Do you comprehend what you have done!?”
Loom. Chaos says it when Bobbin rips the fabric of reality apart. He sounds really desperate then, I love that part. And Puppy sounded more or less like that after I finished showing him all the games I had just given him. Heh heh heh.
Mar 10th – “No! Can it be stopped?”
Loom again. Bobbin, when Hetchel says “the Pattern is failing of its own accord”. But I do not want to talk about it.
Mar 12th – “I believe this may be significant, captain.”
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. First mission, “Demon World”, said by Spock. Anyone want the full dialogue? I still remember it, too. Fitted nicely for a post regarding “The truth about the Landless Movement”.
Mar 17th – “Beautiful eyes…”
An angel in the form of a girl passes by the main character when he is walking back home; he only sees her eyes, and thinks that. Before he thinks of anything to say, she is gone. The irony: she was in a mission; sometime later, she fails it. Because of that, she is forced to stay on Earth – as a cat. Later she transforms back into a girl, and then an angel, but spends some time in the catgirl stage… What in the world can be more beautiful than such a sequence? And to think it is forever bound and doomed to be in the dating-sim game “True Love”… Such a shame.
Oh, in any case, that was precisely what I remembered when that Valkyrie passed by – that scene in the game. It was funny, because on early March of 2001 I thought of the exact same phrase, and that was before I played the game.
Mar 21st – “Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards…”
That is from Lord of the Rings, no idea where – I did not notice it in my translated version. “Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.” From that comes the most overused parody in the history of nerddom: “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.”. Again, I am not sure why I used this quote. Perhaps it relates to the other Lord of the Rings quote in the post…
Mar 26th – “He is back!”
More Shepherds from Loom, again one of those patrolling the forest. This one was just to say I was posting again after a period away. Why I made such a big noise about it is beyond me – it was not the first time I went for five days without posting.
Apr 2nd – “It’s dawn.”
First scene of Loom! Bobbin observes the sky atop a mountain. The sun is rising, the last stars can still be seen. Beautiful scene. And it was indeed dawn when I posted that – the sun was beginning to rise, and if I remember I went outside to try to catch a glimpse of it before posting.
Apr 11th – “We Are Right. W.A.R.!”
To talk about the war in Iraq, I could not remember anything from Platoon, Apocalypse Now, The Thin Red Line… I had to remember something from Dinosaurs (that sitcom that had Baby and his “Not momma!”, “Gotta love me!”, etc). There was an episode where the bipedal dinosaurs were arguing with the quadrupedal ones over what was right, to walk on two or four legs. The bipedals came with a slogan to their campaign: “We Are Right”, or W.A.R.. Fantastic.
Apr 16th – “What kind of dining set defines me as a person?”
My favorite quote from Fight Club, and it had to be from this movie because the post was supposed to be mainly about this movie. But I believe one can make a metaphorical parallel and relate my displeasure about Reader’s Digest with it – after all, among the many Reader’s Digest products, they do have dining sets.
Apr 27th – “Nothing dead here.”
That is the name of a chapter in Sluggy Freelance. It served to remind the reader that I was not dead, after over ten days without posting, and to point to blogs that did seem dead – and one of them now indeed is…
Apr 27th – “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”
That was said by Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux. Polzonoff had a good idea, among the many he has all the time. It deserved the quote.
May 6th – “That side of the pattern is no longer in our reach.”
Loom, said by Lady Cygna Threadbare (who was a swan at the time) after Bobbin tears the fabric of reality apart. Because the t.A.T.u. girls are in no one’s reach…
May 7th – “I am an angel, sent by God.”
A personal favorite! This is said by Monica on every episode of Touched by an Angel. Then she glows in orange and people start believing in God (in a very Christian sense, no less). Her accent is the best – if not from the British Isles, it has to be like hers. In any case, this line was cute for the religion bashing in the post, especially that horrid Holy Roman UFO Catholic Church part.
May 20th – “It broke again. Can you fix it?”
From X-Men: Animated Series (not Evolution – the one from the mid-90’s). Said by Jubilee on the first episode, when she takes her CD player to the mall to get it fixed – she kept frying it with her powers. Losing the third power supply made me feel that way.
Jun 11th – “It’s not necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike.”
Said by Calpurnia. Felt just right for a time when I did not post for twenty days because I did not feel I had to say anything. “This is obvious, why should I bother and bore them by explaining in all detail?”
Jul 20th – “Well! What have we here?”
And again… Loom! The dragon, after mistaking Bobbin for sheep. Tee hee hee. A return after a long absence. I did not post for so long because I was pacing myself by ruby’s old blog (“I’m easy”, now long gone). Once I realized she had abandoned it again (40 days later) I came to the conclusion I should stop doing that. But at that point I was completely uninspired, and writing had fully fallen out of habit – putting together this little post felt very much like looking for sheep and getting a Weaver instead.
Jul 20th – “Gotta catch’em all!”
The major slogan for the Pokémon series looked just right for my “capturing songs” post.
Jul 21st – “Guten Tag, Elftor!” “Hey, take that back!!”
For a post about my hatred for the German language, what better than someone saying “good day” and being answered with “take that back!”? Elftor is always a pleasant reading. Of course, I am being forced to swallow all these posts about the German language now… Silly world.
Jul 23rd – “Any questions?”
I think this is the name of a chapter or episode in one of the many webcomics I read, but I cannot remember… A post filled with questions, serves it right. Even the quote is covered by doubt.
Jul 25th – “Yo te voy a matar!” “What did he say?”
A post where I complain about dubbings and subtitles in anime I download had to have this quote as title. It is from an episode of Jag – the two main characters are kidnapped by Colombian terrorists. Problem is, I saw it dubbed. And what is worse, they dubbed even the terrorists, so they spoke some very broken mix of Portuguese and Spanish. “Yo te voy a matar!” “Que foi que ele disse?” “Disse que vai nos matar.” Mas não era óbvio!?
Jul 26th – “Taking the emulation scene seriously…” “…nowhere.”
That is the opening phrase of OverClocked, a webcomic now long dead about emulation. Worked nicely for a post about emulators.
Jul 27th – “Release!”
For a post about Digimon, I used a quote from Cardcaptor Sakura. Maybe because it was two animes, maybe because I was finally “releasing” the information that I liked a grandly commercial series. I will never know.
Sep 5th – “Quoth the raven”
One quote, from myself. So I quote Poe’s Raven when the Raven is quoted.
Sep 9th – “We are Siamese if you please.”
A post about “cats”, the first verse of the Siamese Song from Lady and the Tramp. So many other sources of cat quotes I could have used, I later realized…
Sep 28th – “Grow up, young lady – that’s what they will say”
King’s Quest VII, “A Land Beyond Dreams” song, by Rosella; first verse. It refers to multiple things in this post, but two stand out: the fact I got a job, and that “but maybe it will be, soon”. But that is another subject entirely, of which I would rather not talk about here.
Sep 29th – “Lime is alright in public, but not lemon.”
Alck once tried to join a MUD. He had no idea what he was getting into. He read that line in the rules, and did not know what it meant, so he asked me. I laughed very hard that day, and that line was stuck in my head forever. For those who do not know, lime and lemon are two levels of, let us put it this way, roleplaying (although it can be used in other environments, such as anime). Lime is limited to soft erotism; lemon’s limit is one’s imagination. Alck was rather embarassed to have asked that. In any case, seeing that the post mentioned “Lemon Tree”, that was the first quote that came to mind. If it had any other meaning at the time? Be not so indiscreet!
Oct 1st – “That was a rhetorical question.”
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. McCoy says it at the end of a mission, but I cannot remember which. And the entire post is meant to end in a question no one can answer. Fits.
From this point on, the quote did not encapsule the entire symbolism anymore; many posts ahead need the song for a complete understanding.
Oct 4th – “And the man trembled in the solitude; – but the night waned and he sat upon the rock.”
Song: Thanatos – If I Can’t Be Yours
Silence, by Edgar Allan Poe. This post is meaningless. Find a relation between the title and the text if you like, but know I planned none. All the meaning is in the quote and the song. It was an incredibly lonely day – the only day I did not write “Nyo” on the stall while showering.
Oct 10th – “But why is the rum gone!?”
Song: Breech – Charms
Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean (if you did not, watch it). The song here only leads to the mention of the champagne, and it shows I finally gave Thanatos a rest. The rum, because it was about a drink, of course! And the wine was gone, if not the rum. The wine was gone! How can one celebrate alone when the wine is gone!? Why was the wine gone!?
Oct 11th – “There are no coincidences in this world.”
Said by Mizuki-sensei on the final episode of the second season of Cardcaptor Sakura. Because the Vineyards needed a break from cryptic posts that never get explained, and surely Z’ha’dum was no coincidence.
Oct 13th – “You know the Amazon ways, and yet you are not one of us.”
I will not explain this one. It would require a post of its own.
Oct 15th – “For we shall win through, no matter the cost!”
Song: Debbie Gibson – Lost in Your Eyes
The quote is the final statement of Arcturus Mengsk in his inauguration speech, as he became leader of the Humans, at the end of the first campaign in the original Starcraft. The days would not end, and that damned book would tear the heart of me, but I would win through, no matter the cost! The song for this post could have been “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor, or even that version from Man on the Moon, “I will survee”), but Debbie Gibson is low enough. And what does the song mean, then… Well, remember early March, 2001? Yeah.
Oct 24th – “At a time like this, it’s positively indecent that you don’t need a glass of port.”
From My Fair Lady, of course. The entire long post is permeated by that. That was the day when I achieved a victory much similar to Black Mage’s in his debates. Not very lasting, though, I must say.
Oct 25th – “You know, there used to be a little respect mixed up in my hatred for you… but not anymore.”
The death of yet another power supply was awarded a quote by the beautiful warrioress/goddess/spawn of hell/angel Callisto, from Xena.
Oct 27th – “Cars don’t behave. They are behaved upon.”
Song: Frank Sinatra – It Had to Be You
That is from “Driving Miss Daisy”; it is a post about how to nearly wreck your car, after all – and if I remember, that line is used after she wrecks hers. It was a silent day because that victory from above was not very lasting. But the song may state otherwise.
Oct 28th – “Even if I had an army around me, I’d still notice you were missing.”
Song: Frank Sinatra & Bono Vox – Under My Skin
That quote is from the Xena episode “Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards”. It had to be from that episode, because it was about a dream that takes place in Athens. And that was the only good quote I found in the entire episode! But I concede, it fits nicely, although my eyesight may prove it wrong… The song was there because I felt like listening to it. It had no other meaning then.
Nov 9th – “It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong.”
This was said by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was supposed to apply both to the movie and to the situation in which it was watched. Later I realized the situation was not completely wrong, per se. But I already regretted writing this post either way.
Nov 16th – “These blue-vein’d violets whereon we lean / Never can blab, nor know not what we mean.”
The special post, only one marked as private. Two verses from Shakespeare’s “Venus and Adonis”. I said enough.
Dec 12th – “I’m sorry, friend. You’ve no manner of luck at all.”
Pirates of the Caribbean: the prisoners escape the dungeon through the hole made on the wall by the Black Pearl’s cannon. Captain Jack Sparrow, in the other cell, cannot escape. One of the prisoners tells him that. No direct relation to the post; I just ran out of luck that day.
Dec 24th – “(And at Christmas you tell the truth)”
I had to have a line from Love Actually in my Christmas post. And it had to be from the scene with the signs. It just had to be!
Dec 31st – “The year of pain, and the year of joy.”
Song: Frank Sinatra – It Was a Very Good Year
It began with Babylon 5, it ends with Babylon 5. This is part of the opening speech for the 4th season. “It was the year of fire, the year of destruction, the year we took back what was ours. It was the year of rebirth, the year of great sadness, the year of pain, and the year of joy. It was a new age. It was the end of history. It was the year everything changed. The year is 2261. The place is Babylon 5.” But just those two phrases are enough. 2003 was a year of light and darkness, pain and joy, and many other different antagonisms. Very unique, very memorable in many senses. Very long, and very fast. As the song says, it was a very good year.
Happy New Calendar Day to all of you.
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