#Christmas In Kakamas

[sugarmusicnews]

Dawid Ryk – David Kramer

Eina – David Kramer ‘My naam is Dawid Ryk, meneer en ek is an arm man’. In that short opening line of the song, David Kramer paints a vivid picture not only with the lyrics, but also with his sharp edged vocals that kind of flatten sounds. Immediately an image springs up of a down and out man in a worn out suit who is probably a Cape Coloured. This image is enhanced as Kramer continues with this…

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

December 19th

Back before the Dark Ages fully took hold, Christmas of 2007 or so, my sister gave me a batch of thrift store Bionicles that included a mostly complete Tarakava set.

Mostly, so I cannibalised one to complete the other: I made the blue one and thus had a beautiful teal Kakama. I also had a Gali torso and a bunch of Technic parta, and the result was a teal/blue Toa named Lesovik.

I knew nothing about the real Lesovikk, having not followed Bionicle much that year. I only knew the name because one of my little brothers was super into Lesovikk (still is), but it's a decent Toa name and it drove him NUTS that I did it.

Neither Toa Lesovik nor the Tarakava stayed when I downsized a few years later, but I did love that mask.

Last year, I had found a new thrift store batch of... well, mostly K'Nex, but I could see some Bionicle stuff in it and I took a gamble. It was worth it: the teal Kakama has returned!

[afanofmanyhats]

A3, A34, B1, and C4. Three out of curiosity, one for revenge.

A3: I'm going to go with Teridax. Most of the other villains just feel... Samey, frankly. While his writing was inconsistent from year to year, it tended to be good, and he never felt non-threatening as The Big Bad. I think he's one of the best villains I've ever encountered in all of fiction.

A34: Kakama has been my favorite since I first read the description of its power in the Tale of the Toa. Especially now that I live in a different area, it would be so helpful in seeing my hometown. I also like the Rau and the Mask of Psychometry, because languages and history are what I'm studying in graduate school.

B1: You fool, I already know what my favorite set is! 2008 Takanuva. I got him for Christmas a couple years ago and he's sitting on top of my bookshelf. He's a good combination of an interesting build, aesthetic of the pieces, and being a character I like.

C4: My older brother had BIONICLE first, so I grew up with it. It's hard to tell, but I believe the oldest memory I can place chronologically is sitting in my family's van, holding either Onua Mata or Nuva. I must have been two. It features prominently in the rest of my early childhood memories too.