I think I've got a neighbor with a wood stove. Now that it's gotten cold at night, when I walk outside, I can smell burning wood. It's really quite pleasant. Small pleasure, I know, but I like it.
I need this. I'm sure you can agree, if you just take a look.
Ok, that's actually all I've got. =)
Also, my upstairs neighbor is watching a very loud action movie. It's probably "Band of Brothers" - he watchs that all the way through about once a week. Seriously. But regardless of what movie it is, exactly, I'm just a little disturbed that I can hear it pounding down into my living room at 3:45am. I mean, I at least have the excuse that I went to bed early and then had a nightmare wake me up - why, exactly, is my neighbor still awake? What's wrong with the world?
On second thought, don't answer that. I probably don't want to know.
I just had a nightmare in which I was chased around a twelve screen movie theater by Steven Spielberg, who was driving an explosive bus, looked eerily like John Travolta, and really wanted to kill me. That may well be the weirdest dream I've ever had.
Word (coming from Ukraine's Pravda - yes, it's in Ukrainian - Fistful of Euros, Tulip Girl, Neeka's Backlog, Europhobia, All About Latvia, and other blogs, along with Maidan, an English-language Ukrainian independent news site, founded in reaction to the "disappearance" and subsequent murder of Georgiy Gongadze, a Ukrainian journalist who is believed to have been killed at the orders of the outgoing Ukrainian President, Leonid Kuchma. Anyway - I'll post later today once we see how things develop, but you can hit those sites and those they link to for more - you can find live shots from the epicenter of the Orange Revolution, Independence Square in Kyiv, at this webcam, hosted by 1+1, a Ukrainian TV station.
EDIT: here's a few more English-language news sources, thanks to Victor Katolyk, a Ukrainian who's been posting in the comments at The Periscope and at Maidan: the Kyiv Post, Obozrevatel, and Unian (click on the "eng" link in the upper right).
I forget this once in a while, or it slips my mind at least, and then I'm reminded again. I just watched "Fever Pitch" - the original, starring Colin Firth, and the end, watching the Arsenal fans go nuts as they finally win the league, is so reminiscent of what it was like when the Sox won the Series. It was a little different - I was in a Sox bar in San Francisco, not in downtown Boston (the scene that prodded my memory took place in Highbury, the neighborhood Arsenal plays in), but the general feel was definitely the same. I'm worried about the US version of "Fever Pitch", though - not just because it's starring Jimmy Fallon as a Red Sox fan, but because they wrote it (and originally shot it) with the assumption that the Sox were going to lose again. They actually reshot it during the Series, once it was clear the Sox were going to win - that's why Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore were on the field in St. Louis after the end of game 4. I just don't think the story can work without a happy ending, and I don't know if a story that was initially wrote with an unhappy ending can turn into one with a happy ending by just changing the last scene. Ah well - off to see the Warriors vs. the Clippers - crappy Western Conference NBA, baby!
There were problems in my turkey preparation - my oven is in bad condition. It doesn't heat up well, it loses heat, and it doesn't report the temperature properly. But I keep forgetting - so the turkey took about 3 hours to cook, when it should have been 1/2 to 2/3 of that time. But it came out great - I've been eating one thing or another pretty much constantly from 3pm on. I'm so happily full right now. =) But I did screw up - I had a friend over, but I forgot that he's a vegetarian. And lactose-intolerant. Meaning that most of my dishes (turkey, Waldorf salad, ice cream for desert) were right out. Luckily, Safeway was open, so we were able to pick up some tofurkey (yeah, that's disturbing) bratwursts, which he mixed with out-of-the-bird stuffing and cranberry sauce for something vaguelly resembling a Thanksgiving meal. I know, it's weird, but hey - he liked it. So my first Thanksgiving as a cooking person pretty much worked - here's hoping next year I can get the timing right.
...and wish me luck, 'cos I'm making turkey for the first time. Here's hoping it comes out edible. =)
The ex-Soviet bloc has given the world some truly great examples of how non-violent movements can bring real change, from Solidarity in Poland in the '80s through the Velvet Revolution in Prague to the overthrow of Milosevic in Serbia and the arrival of democracy in Georgia last year. We're seeing it again, now, in Ukraine. The Russian-sponsored ruling party has managed to win the presidency in Ukraine again, thanks to what foreign observers are calling widespread irregularities and fraud. But the opposition isn't taking it lying down - they're in the streets of Kiev, and have been for a few days. They've faced off against riot police, placing flowers in their riot shields - I saw a great picture earlier today but can't find it now. There's been consistent international condemnation of the election - from the US as well as the EU, though Putin has endorsed the pro-Russian ruling party, but that's not a shock. Anyway - the Guardian has good coverage, but you really need to read Timothy Garton Ash's piece:
Can Europe's velvet revolution claim another prize? When Ukrainian demonstrators on the frozen streets of Kiev place flowers in the perforated metal shields of their country's riot police, they are sending us two desperate yet dignified messages: "We want to join Europe" and "We want to do this in a European way". Peacefully, that is, supplanting the old Jacobin-Bolshevik model of violent regime change with Europe's new model of velvet revolution - as in Prague and Berlin in 1989, as in Serbia's toppling of Milosevic, as in Georgia, where exactly one year ago the people's president marched into parliament bearing a long-stemmed rose. If we, comfortably ensconced in the institutionalised Europe to which these peaceful demonstrators look with hope and yearning, do not immediately support them with every appropriate means at our disposal, we will betray the very ideals we claim to represent.
Go read the whole thing, and then wish the Ukrainian people good luck - they deserve it.
I brought the big computer from work home for the weekend, to do some work with it that would be a lot easier to do in person. I've got a monitor that a friend lent me, a little fifteen inch CRT, but I've been trying to figure out the right way to set it up in here...there really isn't anywhere for it, unless I drag a table up to the couch and have the computer right next to the table with the monitor on top. The computer, in case I hadn't mentioned, is about two feet tall, two feet deep, 7 or 8 inches wide, and really, really loud. It's a beast. So having it that close to me is annoying and inconvenient, having the coffee table at an awkward angle blocking easy access in and out of the room is unpleasant...you get the point. Then, on a whim, I dug up the S-Video to Component Video dongle for the computer (which has a badass new video card with TV out)...and lo and behold, it looks pretty decent on my TV. If I were to do this full time, I'd have to get a wireless keyboard/trackball setup, since the computer would have to live near the TV. And I'd have to come up with some kind of wiring scheme (probably running the computer's audio and video through the DirecTV HD receiver) so that I could switch back and forth between the various inputs (old A/V for the TiVo (which is connected to an SD DirecTV receiver), component for the X-Box, component for the DVD player, DVI for the HD receiver)...but hey, it's fun to play with for right now. Plus, having all my MP3s playing through my home theater is nifty.
For some reason, I always thought squirrels were quiet, if not near-silent like rabbits. Well, they're not. I'd heard a strange kind of grunty-squealing from the trees outside my apartment for months, and I'd assumed it was a bird. It sounds kind of like a bird, albeit an unpleasant bird. But while sitting outside reading today, I saw a squirrel run up to a tree branch and start...doing whatever it is that it's doing. That noise. It's loud, it's repetitive, and it's a squirrel. Right outside my window. Well, at least this isn't as disturbing as the time I walked out of my apartment to find two squirrels madly going at it on my driveway. But all told, I don't think I'm a huge fan of squirrels. Whenever I walk under the trees, I'm convinced they're going to throw nuts down at me. I know, it sounds like I'm just channeling bad cartoons, but they *do* throw nut shells down out of the trees, so hey, why not at me? After all, I did walk in on two of them - they probably consider me a rather rude individual.
There are three hours of broadcast television I watch every week. Well, two right now, since one of them isn't on the air until January 5th. That'd be "The Simpsons" and "Arrested Development" on Sundays, "Lost" on Wednesdays, and eventually "Alias". Well, ABC's moving "Alias" to 9pm Wednesdays when it comes back, so it'll be on right after "Lost". Same creator - JJ Abrams - and "Lost" is a (deservedly) big hit, so they're hoping that it'll provide a good lead-in audience for "Alias". I'm happy because now I'm going to have the only broadcast dramas I watch on back to back.
Ok, that doesn't make quite as much of a difference as it might, since I've got TiVo and all, but I'm happy - anything that helps "Alias" stay on the air wins for me.
I know, not the most erudite of subjects...but damn, this game is GREAT. I just spent a couple hours playing Halo 2 with three guys from Tennessee. We got our asses kicked a lot of the time, but hell, it was FUN. I'll have more to say about this later (once I've got some sleep), but I think I won't need to spend money on another video game for a good long while. Nice.
I swear, I should just rename this place "Help Andy Learn How To Be A Functioning Adult"...anyway, I'm looking for recipes that are very leftover friendly. Specifically, the kind of thing you can throw in some tupperware after cooking it, and then just lob into the microwave the next day. I'm never going to be the cooking-every-day type, but I don't need to be. I just need to find dishes that are pretty easy to make in the first place, and that are about as good the next day, or the day after, etc... So I reach out to you, Dear Readers, because you're all far more competent in the ways of the world than I am. Plus, I bet that none of you have messed up making macaroni and cheese. I did. Twice in college - got the water and milk measurements flipped, ended up with macaroni and cheesish soup. I don't reccomend it.
Random question - how do you go to bars on your own? Stupid-sounding, I know, but I'm not really sure what one *does* at a bar on their own. Yeah, there's the drink-'til-you-fall-over option, but that's not really my style. What else would one DO at a bar? I'm trying to figure out how to get out and meet more people, and I've got a good number of seemingly decent bars within walking distance, so I really feel like I should take advantage of that...but I have no idea what I would do. Any suggestions for this inept dork?
Ouch - Halo 2 (and the original Halo) do more damage to my eyes than any other video game I've ever played. It's impossible for me to look away, so I end up sucked in for an hour or two of constant play without a break. Most video games I play end up giving me opportunities to look away for 30 seconds or so, say once every 10 minutes, but not the Halo games. They're just too addictive - there's too much to them. I just can't stop. I am an addict. And now I'm going to go get my fix...
Really, just fantastic - go see it.
So the story now is that we lost because of homophobes coming out in droves to vote against gay marriage - and while they're at it, voting for the Homophobe in Chief. What's sending me into a rage is the talk that maybe the Democrats should back away from gay marriage (or civil unions or even gay rights at all) so that they can "take this issue away from the Republicans". Oh FUCK no. We're on the RIGHT side of this, even if the majority of people in this country are on the wrong side. I'm not giving up on my core convictions just to win an election, not now, not ever. If the Democrats nominate a supporter of the anti-marriage amendment (such as Evan Bayh), I'm out. I'm gone. I'll ditch the Democrats, I'll vote third party, and I'll keep doing so until the party comes back to me. I'm not asking for a drastic move to the left - I know that's not what we need to win. But a move to the right? Selling out gay Americans? Never.
Well, yeah. Not much else I can be positive about, but at least Clark'll have another shot at the White House. He'd be a great president.
I'm on the leather couch at Isotope, kickass comic store in the Sunset in San Francisco...I'll be perched here for the rest of the night, more or less. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by and grab some beer. The election results will be getting projected onto a big screen here. Should be fun. 'cos Bush is gonna lose and such.
Every time I open my front door (or seemingly every time), there's a new door-hanger on it for Ira Ruskin, the Democratic Assembly candidate for my district. I don't know how they get there - once, I caught someone hanging it, but most of the time, they just seem to appear by magic. This time, I can tell you that I was sitting here, less than four feet from the door, for just about the entire time from when I went for a walk around 10am 'til I opened the door just now. I didn't hear a thing. And yet there was yet another door-hanger there when I opened it. I feel violated and stalked.
I know, stating the obvious, but I'm trying to keep my head from exploding over electiony stuff by listening to music I've gotten my hands on recently, and oh my GOD, Revolver is a great album. I'd lost my copy a few years ago and just replaced it a few weeks ago, and I have no idea why it took me that long to replace it. Such a great, great album. I find myself unconsciously singing along with every song. Definitely makes me feel better.
Don't know how I feel about this - the latest commercial for "The Incredibles" features a Jane's Addiction song. It's a great song, and I'm looking forward to the movie, but I just don't see a family movie and Jane's Addiction having much to do with each other.
By the way, it's election day. Go vote.
A lot, already, actually. I can't stand it being midnight-level dark at 5:30 in the afternoon. I have no problem with the sun rising at 8 in the morning, if we can get 'til at least 6 or 6:30 pm before the sun sets.
Here goes, state-by-state, with electoral votes, no margin of victory given, safest states first:
KERRY WINS...
BUSH WINS...
So yeah - Kerry wins.
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