Just a quick one

skating,
originally uploaded by dkun.

Favorite G photo at the moment. Just sayin'.

Late to the party - Christmas Edition

Christmas 2008,
originally uploaded by dkun.

So the siblings have pretty much recounted the Christmas happenings. They got the good bits version of the holiday. We got stuck with the travel. I will not speak of it, for doing so will only summon the vile beast that is Airline Travel itself. Suffice it to say I will most likely never fly again, and shall never fly American Airlines again specifically.

As for the good bits version, there was some bowling, some games played (Qwirkle is quite good as is the Catan Dice game), far too much food consumed, and much ribbing of the favorite niece. (That means giving a hard time oh favored relative. See? It continues.)

Santa managed to find the wee bairns (whose photographically stolen souls are displayed for the world to see here) a touch early delivering gifts on Christmas Eve. They were a bit too worn out to fully enjoy such providence, but that's ok, they still had a good time.

At any rate, a good time was had by all. I especially enjoyed the nifty photo book sister "J" put together for us featuring pictures of Mom. That and she makes a good cup of cocoa! Home made whip cream. Yum.

Books have been consumed, notably the fourth Percy Jackson story Battle of the Labyrinth and Uglies. Both were quite good. (And still in the YA vein, hmm...) Also read through The Fall of Cthulhu Book One: The Fugue. That's one trippy story. Even by Cthulhu standards.

Lovely wife almost escaped having to suffer through Twilight, but cruel siblings forced it on her the night before we left. Poor soul.

Thanks to Dad and family for a nice time. Hopefully it will be a touch longer next time. And not bookended by the eye gouge inspiring torment known as air travel.

Both Sides the Tweed

I'm not a big fan of memes. This one piqued my curiosity though. So you have to suffer through it. Mwa ha ha ha. Oh and in the interests of full disclosure, I did skip one track as it was an untitled Japanese track from Serial Experiments Lain. Sorry about that internet.

Da Rules:
1. Put your iPod (or MP3 player, or iTunes) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag others, if so desired.

Da Meme:
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Tomorrow Never Knows, The Beatles
Magic 8 ball confused, ask again later. Alternately, this is very zen, go listen to the sound of one hand clapping and contemplate the futility of knowing if something is indeed, "OKAY"

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Sprite - Melonball Bounce, Raymond Scott
Apparently dropped on my head a touch too much...

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
See the Sun, Dido
Well. Really. This is not that sort of blog. Normally.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Washington, D.C., The Magnetic Fields
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ahem. Sorry 'bout that.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
I'll Find My Way Home, Vangelis
Strangely, I'll take this one. I'm pretty sure it was in my last fortune cookie.

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Into a Dream III, His and Her Circumstances - Act 1.0
Oh letter 'd', you're so dreamy. You're straight out of Twilight.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Dirt Bike, TMBG
Curse you iTunes for illuminating my secret passions! it's so true... I think I'd like to be alone for a moment. Leave the dirt bike.

WHAT IS 2+2?
Love is, Kenny Loggins
Apparently iTunes thinks I'm a swinger now.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Starting Up, Final Fantasy VIII soundtrack
I... I don't know what to make of this. Although he does change places of employment quite often.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sympathy for the Devil, the Rolling Stones
I always knew the Devil was a woman. And from the D.C. area...

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Alien Mind Bender, Pliant
I'm not sure anyone would argue with this. Least of all me.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Katamaritaino, Hideki Tobeta, Yui Asaka
Sou desu ne.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
State of Independence, Vangelis
Hee hee. <snicker> Bwa ha ha ha ha. This is spot on. (Sorry slacker siblings)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Armogohma (First Storm), Zelda Reorchestrated (Twilight Princess)
And now is the time when we dance the ceremonial, ah heck forget it.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
Oh I'll be satisfied. Actually, this is strangely appropriate as well.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Cut Flowers, Smithereens
Oh iTunes, must you continue to shine light on my secrets? Oh ikebana how I adore you.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Dialogue 2-8, Cowboy Bebop CD Box Set
That's what she said.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Cherry Blossom Color Season, Yu Miyake, Katamari Company Jr.
So pretty. So lively. So what the heck is going on here?

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Jenova Returns (J-E-N-O-V-A ~ Jenova Complete), Steffan Andrews
This is true. This is the worst possible thing that could happen. Damn you Jenova!

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
End Credits, John Murphy (28 Days Later Soundtrack)
Couldn't have said it better myself. And I knew it would be zombies.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Runners High, The Pillows
Also strangely true. Exercise, my deepest regret...

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Caribbean Blue, Enya
When they installed that Genius feature in iTunes they weren't kidding around were they?

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Re: Your Brains, Jonathan Coulton
Hee hee hee. Oh and zombies again.

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
99 Red Balloons, Goldfinger
Apparently when I'm the last man on earth. Go Apocalypse. Sorry honey.

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!, The Beatles
iTunes has been to Kansas. So true.

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Papa Was a Rodeo, The Magnetic Fields
I... I have nothing to say here. Move along.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Treasure Every Meeting, His and Her Circumstances - Act 1.0
Apparently I was my own Grandfather. This explains a lot.

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Hyrule Castle Soundscape, Zelda Reorchestrated: Soundscapes Vol. 1
... Your Princess is in another castle Mario. And another game for that matter.

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Both Sides The Tweed, Mary Black
Done and Done.

Before I Forget

This is probably as much Twilight as I can take.

And they totally fired Jacob. And the director. And the new director is the guy that helped direct American Pie. And The Golden Compass. You guys are screwed. Bwa ha ha ha ha.

Melancholy is Fun

I've been looking forward to seeing The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for quite some time. I requested it at the Library and it showed up last week. So we spent part of the weekend watching the series. It was brilliant. If you have any tolerance for/interest in anime this is one worth checking out. It follows Kyon (see Sis there's a K name - that you shouldn't use) a normal High School student whose life gets turned upside down by one Haruhi Suzumiya. She's on the lookout for aliens, time travelers and espers (psychics for you non Japanese folks). And poor Kyon gets dragged along for the ride. What follows is a tongue in cheek look at anime cliches served with lots of humor and some seriously snarky inner dialogue. I could watch this over and over. And I just might. It's a little FLCL a little Excel Saga and a lot awesome. And the opening and ending themes are great. Hit youtube and check out some of the dance numbers put together for Hare Hare Yukai.

In other news Hikaru no Go volume 13 was fun to flip through.

And the weekend draws nigh. As does Christmas and the end of the year. Where has this year gone? Although in a lot of ways I'm pretty glad to see it go.

Partially for my Uncle

First, I finished Death from the Skies and it was great. It seems to me that boys go through some distinct phases growing up. First there are Dinosaurs (G says Raaarrr!) and then there's Astronomy. This book rekindled quite a bit of my old love for Astronomy. Never mind that the book focuses on the destruction of the Earth a dozen or so times. Death by Asteroid! Death by solar flare! Death by black hole! They're all great. Well, ok, horrific, but you get the idea. The science is always at a manageable level and if you like sci fi apocalyptic tales, it's nice to see what might really happen. So give Death a chance.

Oddly, speaking of growing up male, that brings me to my current book: The Elfish Gene (another one with a subtitle I can't be bothered to type up). If you played D&D or knew someone that played D&D I suspect this book will bring back memories, fond or otherwise. It might also help you understand that poor creature that was the nerd in the 80s. I'm not very far in, but I can already tell this will be a great book.

My own sordid past with D&D all starts with my Uncle Paul. I still have fond memories of the old red box and the hours of fun it led to. I also remember pestering him to let me fight a Dragon with my brand new magic user. The death my poor character received at the hands of the foul beast was one I still treasure. My Uncle probably still rolls his eyes at the thought of some young kid with magic missile and an obvious death wish.

And if that last paragraph made any sense to you at all, you really need to read The Elfish Gene.

In (mocking) Twilight news, they fired the director of the film as they gear up for the sequel. And it also sounds like they fired the actor that plays Jacob. The werewolf. That's not a werewolf. Because in a movie about vampires that are not vampires, you better have werewolves that are not werewolves. Has the last decade of bad fantasy cinema taught you nothing? At least you can rest assured there will be no leather clad heroine in the Twilight sequel. That would just lead to impure thoughts and we know nobody in that series has those...

Christmas fast approaches. Which means I will have to brave airline travel. I don't think I'm ready for that. Trip to see the family notwithstanding. I hate airports.

If you're not watching Leverage on TNT on Tuesday nights you should be. And the Librarian movies were pretty good too. I only caught most of the second and the third, but (go figure) our Library carries them so we'll be watching the first two on DVD. They're a little National Treasure, a little Indiana Jones, a lot The Mummy, but it works. Although Noah Wyle is no Brendan Fraser. It was funny seeing Gabrielle Anwar in the second one. Glad to see she's still working (Burn Notice!) I liked her quite a bit in 80s/90s. Whenever that silly Invasion of the Body Snatchers re-telling came out. That and If Looks Could Kill with that Grieco kid. I think she was in that.

Well, that's quite the bit of rambling. I should point out at this point that Blue Moon does look to be rather fun, especially once you're familiar with the cards. It does look like there's a learning curve there, but I think it will be worth it. Also, I managed to collect all 120 stars as Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy. I won't comment on what kind of a geek/nerd that makes me. Did you not read the beginning of this post?

For my sisters (in insincerity)

Here you go. It's like a car wreck, actually, more to the point, it's like a bad relationship. I can't help but mock my poor sisters' love for Tryharderlight (and feed that addiction so I can then mock it some more). If I were feeling really abusive, I'd link to all the articles decrying the series as a step back for women's rights by something on the order of 50 years or so. But I won't, I'm not that mean. At the moment.

Mostly I'm just glad it's the weekend. And I can sleep. All weekend. Hopefully after the next 48 hours this stupid head cold will be gone. And I can return to the land of the living.

Head full of cheese

While the normal human head may weigh about 8 lbs or so, I'm pretty sure mine is clocking in at about 15. I really dislike sinus infections. From the way everything acts like a slow-mo action shot to that slight sore throat to the aforementioned hefty head full of snot, they're not fun. And don't get my wife started on the snoring. Ear plugs indeed...

In other news, G has caught the Star Wars bug. He's been playing through Lego Star Wars (or Star Wars the Clone Wars as he insists on calling it as everything SW related must be named after the show on Cartoon Network) with either my wife or I (depending on who he can con into it at the moment) and having a grand old time. Apparently he finished the game (a feat I myself have not yet managed) and decided that the movies had to be consumed next. I told lovely wife that he could only watch the first one without me. For Star Wars movies are an ancient male bonding ritual and he's not allowed to watch them the first time without me. Or there will be hell to pay. (Apparently the viewing of Ep 4 this afternoon was accompanied by much light saber wielding, toy x wing flying and "hey that was in the game! I remember that!" commentary.) Now to find a way to get that really cool Lego Millennium Falcon... Hmm....

Picked up Blue Moon courtesy of Father-in-Law for my birthday. Will report back on how it is. Looking forward to it as we really enjoy Blue Moon City.

The Graveyard Book and Death from the Skies are still being consumed. I'm going to run out of patience to read long before things to read... Although they may take a backseat to Zombies: A Field Guide to the Living Dead which is lurking on the hold shelf for me. That plus some Rolling Stones, gotta catch up on my classic rock yo.

It needs to snow. That is all.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go use my head for a paperweight.