Most people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death; and in the words of Jerry Seinfeld, ‘That means that people would rather be in the casket, than giving the eulogy.’

Really! Really? Seriously? Why?

Okay here’s a bit of history; I figured out in about grade 2 that during school, any oral presentations are perfect opportunities to make the other kids suffer really enjoy my speech, because they are a captive audience. They can’t go anywhere and nobody liked detentions, so they’d shut up and at least look like they were listening.

I can remember making over half the class come up and help me do my movie review of Return to OZ. We were allowed to do a ‘quick’ reenactment, which would have been fine but nobody else had ever seen the movie. (If YOU haven’t, why not?) Nothing like making Amanda and Joseph crawl around on all fours making a squeaky noise like the wheelers. HA!

Anyways what I am trying to get at is that the worst thing that happened was the teacher pulled the pin and suggested perhaps picking something a little less involved for my book review the following week. I wasn’t given a bad mark either, even though it really did suck as far as presentations go.

I got top marks in grade 11 by flinging old Girlfriend magazines around and playing a Little Pattie song, – He’s my blonde headed stompy wompy real gone surfer boy – (Yes, that’s the name of the song) The argument I made was the negative impact of the objectification of women in the media. I made the other kids sit up and take notice, right up until I played that song. *evil grin* then the suffering element came into play. I LOVED it.

Then we move into the cover band days when there was no teacher, there was no one there to smooth over any nerves I may have had before a gig. There was however alcohol, swearing, heckling and walk outs. But even when I was stepping out of the way from some drunken screwball slipping in the mud onto the stage I still remembered that I can make them all suffer… with the first line of the Offspring song, Pretty Fly For a White Guy. The collective moan was music to my ears. But they sang along.

I have taught craft classes with varying degrees of success, and I judge my success by the enjoyment of the participants… and their ability to laugh when I let them know I was about to make them suffer. (Trying to teach them how to make chain mail or a dream catcher)

So I guess by now you’ve worked out that my brand of making people suffer is to get them to smile, step outside what they would normally do, have no shame and to try something new, or just to be happy being a dag.

Sure I still get nervous, I shake like a leaf in the middle of a cyclone, and you know what though…? As long as I have the ability to make people suffer with a smile I’m happy. There is nothing to it.

Have a boyfriend (or girlfriend)? Been dating for a while? Not sure what to do on dates anymore? Well, no need to fear! I’ve set up a WHOLE list of different, and cheap date ideas!

1. Going to the Zoo.

Who doesn’t love animals?! There’s tons to talk about, you guys can walk around, hold hands, go to the petting zoo, and just have a good time together looking at all the different types of animals they have. You can go to a smaller zoo, so the entrance fee won’t be as much(:

2. Go to a Rec Center.

Rec centers have TONS of different activities to do! Instead of this date being a one time thing, you can come multiple times, each doing some new and different.

3. Mini Golf (Putt-Putt)

I love mini golfing, it’s so much fun! I’m not sure how much it costs, but the place Josh takes me to is around $12 for both of us. And as long as we don’t play the last hole (because the golf ball goes into the hole, and gets taken away!) we can go back to hole one, and play as much as we want!

4. Watch Movies, and Cuddle!

There’s nothing better than this! Together, make a list of movies you both want to see, than pick the top three or four, and make a movie night. Grab a blanket, popcorn, soda and enjoy the movie! This is a great way to spend the night together, and what’s better than cuddling?

5. Go to the Coffee Shop and then the Bookstore.

I don’t think this is for every guy though. Not all guys like coffee, nor reading, but if he does this is a great way to connect, and talk about books!

6. Buy two cheap $1 Kites.

Go to the dollar store (they have tons of cool stuff), buy a kite, go to a big empty field or a beach, and fly them together! This is a super cheap date, only $1 for each kite, and you get to spend the whole day together.

7. Cook Dinner Together.

Everyone should enjoy cooking! Or eating! So why not make something of your own together. It doesn’t have to be a three course meal, it could just be grilled cheese, sandwiches, or soup!

8. Play Video Games Together.

Again, I don’t think this is for all girls. Some girl do enjoy playing video games, just make sure it’s a game you both like, and can talk and communicate about.

9. Have a Picnic!

Awwwh, I love picnics! At a pretty beach, just you and him! I think this is the cutest thing a guy could do 🙂

10. Go on a Walk, Go to a Park!

If you’re tired of just sitting at home together, go out, get some fresh air. Hold hands and go for a walk, to a park. You can swing together, and go on the slides! And if it’s cold out, you can go back home, or stop somewhere to get some hot chocolate!

I hope this list helped you at least stir up some date ideas! Just remember, you don’t have to always spend a ton of money to have a good time. As long as you’re with that special someone, it shouldn’t matter what you’re doing, or how much it cost!

Helloooo? Is anyone out there?!

Oh there you are!

Welcome to another Life with Lisa! This week’s post isn’t going to be too long (well I hope not), it’s going to more informative than usual. Burn Bright is always looking for ways to branch out, doesn’t matter if it’s with the[intlink id=”7224″ type=”page”] Book Club[/intlink] (which you should check out; we’re reading Angel Arias this month!), Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube. But we’re always looking for new, fun and exciting things!

Drum roll please!

Tumblr! We made a Tumblr! If you don’t know what a Tumblr is, it’s just another blogging website where you can post pictures, videos, re-post others’ posts, and so much more! Of course we’re going to continue using Burn Bright, that’s never going to stop. But Tumlbr is just another chance for us to branch out.

Want to see what I’ve been slaving over (with the help of some others, thanks guys!) for the past week, trying to get everything done, looking nice, and ready to go for our GRAND OPENING on MONDAY!

Here’s a sneak peak of the the layout!

Again, don’t forget the GRAND OPENING is on MONDAY, so make sure to stop by, leave a nice comment or two, and have fun browsing Night Creatures 🙂

Lisa

***We’d really like to thanks Tracey Lea for designing the graphic and background for us.Thanks Tracey! We couldn’t have done it without you!***

Speculative fiction has been inundated with the undead element for decades; we’ve all seen our fair share of evil zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghouls, ghasts and ghosts. Even a few mummies have risen from the crypt in the last decade or so to try and scare the pants off us.

But what about the good guys who just happen to be mortally challenged? And by good guys I don’t mean the Anne Rice kind of undead who are generally naughty boys until they meet the right girl/guy/werewolf. I mean the kind of lurching characters who just try to get along in their un-life without meaning harm to anyone; the Friendly Dead.

Thankfully I’m not alone in thinking that just because you lose your pulse you don’t lose your humanity. Over the last decade or so there have been several pretty well known authors trying to bring the dearly departed back into the fold. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be scared of the majority of the undead, just that we should look at them on a case-by-case basis.

I’ll start with a personal favourite; Terry Pratchett. Yes, I know, I go on about him often but when you are a prolific as famous as he, you get a few perks.

In 1989 Pratchett broke ground for the pro-undead movement with Pyramids; a novel parodying Egyptian culture by asking the big question: “What would our ancestors say if they were alive today?”.  This story humanises the mummy community far better than the 1999 Brendan Fraser movie The Mummy ever did.

Since then the friendly dead are a constant element in Pratchett’s works; the most notable of these being theCity Watch series where the undead comprise a large part of the city’s police force, including a ghoul cafeteria lady.

Moving forward to the year of 2007 saw the emergence of the young adult supernatural novel series Skulduggery Pleasant; an ongoing work about the adventures of the skeleton detective and his mostly human counterpart Valkyrie Cain in their attempt to stop the world being destroyed again and again.

Skip another couple of years and we get Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner; a beautiful example of film noir style writing in a modern context. The main character, a private investigator and self-confessed zombie named Richter, attempts to locate an artefact of unimaginable power in full Maltese Parrot style.

What do all these stories have in common? Besides the fact that they are all fantastically written stories full of plot, action and humour? The main characters are not just undead but members of my Friendly Dead category.

They all have emotion, they all act like everyday people –for the most part – doing everyday things, and they are all believable. They don’t just lurch around the place eating people or burying them under the floorboards for later.

Context is everything; the undead are no exception. So next time you meet a zombie or skeleton don’t just run away or try to club their head off; try getting to know them first.

Hey Ya’ll, I just want to start off by saying sorry that this post is a bit late. I had a rough day yesterday (headache, and lots of school work), and couldn’t find the time to make this post. But I’m feeling tons better today, and I’m ready to go! This isn’t going to be a very long post, promise! I always feel like I babble about a lot of random stuff, that probably doesn’t have anything to do with our topic of the week, or that you guys even care about. I’m really trying my best not to do that, but whenever someone gives me the chance to talk, I take the full opportunity, until someone shushes me, and I quietly sit back down. I think I’m doing it right now… Anyways!! Tomorrow isn’t just any Saturday, nope!  It’s something veeeery special! It’s myyyyyy BIRTHDAY! I’m turning seventeen, isn’t that just bananas?….I feel really old. (I hope I can blow out all of my seventeen candles, and get my wish.) Sadly, my brother is off in college, so he won’t be able to spend it with us, but he’ll probably call me and sing Happy Birthday over the phone. My friend Joyce took me to the movies today to see In Time with Justin Timberlake (which I hope to review, on next week’s Life with Lisa post!), and to get ice cream. YUM! My parents let me decide on where we should eat out, for my actual birthday (let me remind you, which is tomorrow!), and I picked Olive Garden! Have any of you ever been there? They have unlimited soup and salad; it’s to die for!

post-birthday p.s – And I ended my birthday in a perfect way: Josh came over to carve a HUGE pumpkin and we watched scary movies all night. …I don’t really like scary movies, but since it was Halloween, why not? – Lisa.

[The team at Burn Bright wishes you a Happy Birthday too, Lisa! 😀 ]