25 posts from 2006 (page 2)

Another Christmas has come and gone, and there is still neither peace on Earth nor good will toward men - or women or animals, either, for that matter.

I received a good number of gifts, but the nicest is the ring that Christina gave me.  It's the Ring of Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings movies.  It's a beautiful ring, and probably a little too much for everyday, but it's pretty cool.

Unfortunately, I had left some of my gifts for my family in my work vehicle and had to have a friend of ours retrieve them and ship them to us FedEx.  They should be here tomorrow, but it was still a disappointment not being able to give them today.

10m

A co-worker told me that I needed to get Little Miss Sunshine as soon as it came out and watch it, saying that it was the funniest movie she'd ever seen.  Well, I did get it and I have watched it, and while I can't agree that it is the funniest movie I've ever seen, it is funny and very worth watching.

Like a lot of independent films, it's short on plot, but heavy on characterization and theme.  What's the theme?  In my opinion, it's "Never leave a man behind."  Or, "family is always there for you."  Or, "VW Bugs don't need clutches to run, so long as you can."  Okay, maybe I don't know what the theme is.

Tonight, we at at Gilardi's Italian restaurant in Springfield, Missouri.  Christina's parents, Dale and Lois, met us here and we treated them to dinner as a 45th wedding anniversary present.  That's right - they've been married for 45 years.  When Christina and I tell people that we've been married for thirteen years, people are amazed, wondering how two people can be together that long these days, and yet here Dale and Lois are having been together for almost half a century.

Tonight I toasted them and said, "To another 45 years!"

Gilardi's is literally a hidden treasure in Springfield, located in a small building back behind an old Victorian home in the historic section of Springfield.  The atmosphere is candle-lit and romantic, and would probably be a great place to propose.

I had the Gilardi's pasta, which was basically rigattoni in a cream sauce with sausage, which sounds very heavy but it was actually not too rich.  Christina had the gnocchi pomodoro, and she enjoyed her meal, too.

Strong Poison

Dorothy L. Sayers

I think this is the first Dorothy Sayers book I've read.  It is part of a series of books by this author staring an upper-class British sleuth by the name of Lord Peter Wimsey.

While I enjoyed the book, it was a very slow read.  I felt as if I should have had the annotated version.  The problem was that the dialogue was steeped in 1930's-era British slang, and much of it was very difficult to follow because of this. 

The text is peppered with lines like, "There are two of them, Bunter, two ladies lived in a bower, Binnorie, O Binnorie!"  I know this means something.  I mean, it looks like English.  I just don't know what.

Likewise, "I'm not expected to be serious.  A buffoon, that's what I am.  I now know exactly what Jack Point feels like.  I used to think the 'Yeomen' sentimental tosh, but it is all too true.  Would you like to see me dance in motley?"

Still, like a fantasy novel that references far away lands and royal family names that you don't know, you can glean much from context and still follow the story.  The characters are interesting and though the novel was written in 1930, it has a plot twist and red herring here and there just like a modern mystery.  I actually figured it out fairly early on, but then second-guessed myself when led astray by the decoy evidence and had to go back to my original theory before the end of the book.  It's a good read.

We made it to Oklahoma City, and tomorrow we'll finish out the journey.  The weather was clear the whole way, for which I'm thankful, and the traffic wasn't too bad until we got into Oklahoma and had to start dealing with these Okie drivers.  They've turned tailgating into a past-time.

How do you take your tea or coffee?
Submitted by Vasquez.

Orally.  Any other method would be much less enjoyable.

Curwx_600x405

We head out tonight for Missouri to visit my folks and Christina's folks.  It's a long drive, and I hope the weather holds out.  Right now, it doesn't look too bad between here and there.

060328_fly_glasses_big

I just got home after a very long day, and I'm too tired for a full blog entry.  Instead, here's a picture of a fly wearing glasses.  Enjoy.

According to some in the media, there's a new hero in the blogosphere.  His name is Perez Hilton.  Unfortunately, with heroes like him, we don't need villains.

He has a blog that reposts photos from the tabloids of celebrities, then he draws words on them.  It's his way of making fun of them, I suppose, but most of it is crude, thoughtless, and meanspirited.  It's the sort of thing you might have done when you were nine, drawing mustaches on the models in a Vogue magazine, but you got over it.

As it happens, Mr. Hilton hasn't gotten over it, and the tabloids are suing him for reproducing their photos without permission.

Want an example?  Here is a picture of Teri Hatcher out walking her dogs with her daughter.  This idiot captions the picture "Spot the Dog" and draws the word "Woof" next to Teri Hatcher.  Is this mature?  Is this playing nice?  How does this make a person feel?  Does he care?  Apparently not.

As it happens, I think he'll win the case.  What he's doing is a form of parody.  It's brainless, sophomoric, and infantile, but parody nonetheless, which is clearly protected by Supreme Court case law.

And some in the media are heralding Hilton as a champion of blogger's rights.

I wonder how long it will take us to live that down?

A new acquisition.  Actually, it was a Christmas present Christina received from one of her co-workers.  A smooth voice like smoked glass, juxtaposed with jazz riffs that can't sit still.  Very nice.