I’ve been finding a lot of old stuff lately.

Mostly old memory junk, and a lot of it is in stores or yard sales, so it’s not really mine, but more like stuff resembling stuff that used to be mine but got lost, or were never mine to begin with. Things like “The Last Unicorn”, a movie which happens to be on it’s 25^th-ish anniversary. Found in Walmart. Purchised. Watched. And for once, a movie I loved doesn’t actually suck now that I’m older. Sure, the book still wins (Now that I’m older, I’ve found and read that. I was so happy.) but the movie’s not bad. I fell in love with Schmendrick all over again.

And then there’s the microphone to my old “Hey You! Pikachu!” game that I thought was lost and gone forever. I haven’t found the plug for it, so it’s still pretty useless, and of course everyone else on the internet has lost theirs, so none of them are sold separately and I’d have to pay like thirty bucks to get a complete new game with all the accessories, and all I can think is “Nintendo 64”’s two console generations out of date and you’re selling it at that price?! I suppose there are people who’ll buy it at that, but I’m not one of them. Nope. I’ll go back to scrounging around my basement, it’s cheaper.

So I’m a cheap bitch. Sue me.

I also found an old beat up walkthrough book for “Ocaraina of Time” in a video game trade store. OoT has a special place in my heart as the game that introduced me to all video games, and I used to read my friends’ copy of the guide as they played the game, that one glorious summer that I spent with them all…

Of course, that same copy was later ripped and/or lost, so I bought this new (old) one. For memory’s sake. It doesn’t seem like yesterday, I don’t care what you corny TV people say, but I remember when my friends (All my friends were dudes back then…) tried to teach me how to play, and could only roll their eyes and tear at their hair when I insisted that all I wanted to do was grab that damn cucco and leap off the tallest structure I could find… And all they wanted was for me to get bored with that so they could reclaim the controller and whack the shit out of some monster… and I never got bored of flying…

Anyway, so Zelda. Happy memories. Purchaised. Skimmed. Going to play the game all over again soon. Very soon.

There are other things. Most of them are movies. Rigoletto… Secret of NIMH… Kimba… and some are just miscellaneous objects that trigger sepia-toned flashbacks. I find myself drawn to more childish subjects in my fanfiction endeavors as well (It’s funny, I’m beginning to mark my life by books and fanfiction…). I’ve recently taken up reading “Fairly Odd Parents” fics, especially those centering around Anti-Cosmo, who I never actually saw in an episode, but find fascinating nonetheless.

At the same time I’m watching all sorts of new horror movies. “Silence of the Lambs”, “Hannibal” (I’ve taken quite a shine to the Hannibal Lector character. I shall be seeking the books next.) and Masters of Horror’s “The Fair Haired Child”. I can’t say they were particularly scary, but they were interesting anyway.

But jumping back to childhood memories, I must say this; I have found it at last.

The one movie that dominated my childhood screen-time was originally a book. I have spent eleven or so years hunting this book (You can’t beat my obsession.). And at last I found it. Yes, it’s all in Croation- no one’s bothered to translate it into English. No, I don’t speak, read, or write Croatian. But yes, I have a Croatian-English dictionary and a book on basic Croatian grammar, and with God as my witness I will translate that book one word at a time. I’ve already finished a chapter. The book is called Čudesna Šuma. The movie “The Elm-Chanted Forest” is based off of it. A whole chapter of my life has come to a close and a new one has begun with this book.

Wow, I’m really lame, aren’t I?

Not for money, or fame, but partially for amusement and a touch of pride, I have placed my translation of the first chapter online for those who too, seek the origin of a childhood love. http://www.fanfiction.net/secure/live_preview.php?storyid=4332569

I suppose I'm a little melodramatic, yes?