I don't like swimming, and I'm not a beach bum. In fact, I have a fairly moderate fear of water. I also happen to live on an island. 

Oddly enough, some of my favourite movies growing up were Jaws and Piranha. Actually, now that I think about it, quite a few of my favourite films from childhood contained terrifying water scenes: Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Psycho, Sleepaway Camp, Let's Scare Jessica to Death. Yes, my parents allowed me to watch horror movies from a very young age. A lot of horror movies. But, even The Goonies and Stand By Me (two of my all-time favs) have somewhat scary scenes involving water. Alright, not the same kind of impending doom that the other films project, but ultimately undesirable circumstances in water.  No wonder bath time wasn't all that fun! 

In recent years, I've had this weird vision of a great white shark sneaking up behind me when I turn my back to the shower head, while showering. Strange, I know. Why the shower? I can't explain it. Makes absolutely no sense. It's the most illogical fear. Well, it's not exactly a fear--I know a shark isn't going to somehow morph into a silver fish and find its way into my bathroom, but the image itself still startles me. 

What is it about the water that causes so much anxiety? It's not just me that's terrified. Think about the films I listed above. Some of them aren't even about killer creatures from the depths, but rather just contain scenes that generally make you want to stay dry. Maybe it just makes sense cinematically; shots in water are fun to film and usually look pretty cool. Come to think of it, I've written a few short stories that have scary water scenes. Hmm. Of course, there's that fear of the unknown. I get that. But when your bathtub and shower become places of mystery and terror, well that just makes you want to let the dirt dwell awhile longer. 

Aliens is the ultimate Mother's Day movie, and Ripley is the best mother. 

In fact, the Alien franchise is, essentially, about motherhood and what it means to be female. Throughout the films, Ripley is constantly reminded of  her role in this world, and how she will likely never be able to alter it. She is a vessel--a womb--an object. For Christ's sake, she's almost choked to death with a porn magazine in Alien! Equality (or lack thereof) aside, Aliens is the perfect example of motherhood at its core. Protection at all costs. 

Ripley has returned to Earth after 57 years lost in space, in a cryogenic sleep, to find that her daughter has died. As her daughter aged at the normal human rate, unlike her mother, she was in her sixties. Ripley is tormented by the fact that she promised her daughter she'd be back from space in time for her 11th birthday, but she never fulfilled that promise. 

Throughout the film, we see Ripley risk her life to protect Newt, a young girl whose family was killed by aliens. Newt is around the same age that her daughter was when she left for space in the first film. Although there are moments where it seems like Ripley has failed to keep Newt safe, in the end, she comes through and gets her daughter back. 

For me, the best example of a kickass mother is the final battle between Ripley and the alien queen. We see the queen laying eggs--she is a factory--a baby-maker--a female. She's being protected by the male aliens, which harkens back to when Hudson (Bill Paxton) tells Ripley not to worry because they will protect her. This scene is remarkable. Mother versus mother. There are moments of recognition and appreciation between the two, but ultimately Ripley knows that she needs to destroy this female and her babies for the survival of her own species, and the alien queen must do the same. 

Two kickass mothers being pinned against each other, all the while trying to protect their young. It's sad. That scene where the alien is ejected from the ship makes me tear up. It's extremely powerful, and also reminiscent of the first film. What we have here is two of the best mothers on screen, fighting to the death. Awesome.

As it's Mother's Day, I'm sure that many of you (myself included) will be spending time with mom. But not all of us are so lucky to have mothers like Ripley or the alien queen. Some mothers suck! It's true. Not every mother is a good one. I feel for those of you who had to endure this type. Also, I feel for the mothers whose Ripley instinct never kicked in. We are not natural mothers--baby-makers--wombs. We are all different. For those of you with loving mothers, I hope you have a nice time with them today, if you are able to. For those with bad mothers, I hope you are able to appreciate some alone time, and do something nice for yourself. 

Yes, I'm still here. 

The fact that I often hear the robotic voice on the other end of the phone ask me that very question attests to my indecisive nature. How many times do I need to hear the main menu? How many times do I forget my options? Far, far too many. 

This could be why it's been over a week since my last post. I have, however, been busy working on other projects, one of which being a film review I wrote for 28dayslateranalysis, which you can read here! 

Projects aside, I've been taking more time for myself to relax and unwind the web of thoughts that are regularly spinning in my head. Lately, my shoulders have been a little more scrunched up than usual, and the crinkle between my eyebrows is cutting deeper than it typically does. That's why I've been going for nice long walks and spending more time outside, away from the computer, in an effort to stop the thought train from derailing. 

I'm not too worried about it, though. I'll get back on track. I always do. I just wanted to throw a few words out there in case anyone figured I had gone off the deep end. Nope. Still here. Plus, I tend to hang out in the shallow end, anyway.