Snapshots from My Day

I awoke to a three-inch layer of fluffy whiteness outside the house this morning. All is calm, all is bright. I find the snow soothing...except when I have to dodge other drivers in it. At least the trick-or-treaters didn't get snowed on last night.

I had a long talk with my brother this morning. It looks like I'm not going to get to see him much at Christmas and not at all for Thanksgiving. Rats. I understand that he's doing what he needs to do for himself and the girls, but it still sucks. I just wish people in my family could figure out how not to be mad at each other for the holidays.

I have bits of The Frantics' routines running through my head today:
  “How much is forty-four in real numbers?”
  “XLIV.”
  “XLIV? Why don't you just say 'XLIV'? Who can remember 'forty-four'?”
I got their CD, Frantic Times, in the mail yesterday.

I sang with the ward choir today. We did a piece we've been working on for about two months. The group has apparently tried this piece before and given up on it because it was too difficult. Well, we pulled it together, and it sounded great today. There was a fantastic spirit when we sang. I'll miss that song.
We started a new piece in choir practice that we'll do in a couple of weeks. It sounds good, although I'll never understand why the composer of this arrangement felt that the basses need to come in on a C when the piano is playing a B-flat.

Here's an excerpt from an e-mail message I got today.
“Hi-I understand that Colorado is up in the air for the election. Please encourage all of your (Party A) family members to vote. Tell any of your (Party B) people that the election has been moved to Wednesday. Thank you for your help.”
My response:
“Sorry, but I don't think that would work. We're talking about Colorado, not Florida....”

I met my new home teachers today. Well, I didn't really meet them – I had met them both before in church – but they met with me for the first time today in their capacity as home teachers. It's one of the other men from the High Priests group and his youngest son. I found out that Bill (the father) also served a mission in the South (Tennessee). Instant bonding experience.

This is from a conversation I had walking home from church today.
Them: “My mom told me she thought you were 29.”
Me: “Your mother is very generous.”

You can too barbecue in the snow.

I got out my sweaters today. I'm not much of a suit/sport jacket guy, never have been. I don't know why. It must be my extreme innate disrespect for authority. I'm such a rebel.

The election is the day after tomorrow. After that, if previous years are any indication, things at work are going to slow down to a crawl. I'd better dust off the old résumé.

I'll have to take down the Halloween lights after tonight. Yes, Halloween lights. They're kind of like Christmas lights, but all dark purple. (They're supposed to be 'black lights', but they're not, really.) I don't know exactly what happened to the Christmas lights I used to have - lost in the move, I'd guess. That's not an issue for a few of weeks, anyway. I refuse to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.

I suppose that's it for now. Sleep beckons. Perchance to dream....

Trick or Treat

We celebrated Halloween here last night instead of today. (Only in Utah....) One of my housemates had work and the other has a girlfriend, so I was home alone for Trick or Treat duty. I wanted to give out something a little unusual, so instead of chocolate bars or hard candy, I gave away packs of Extra sugar-free gum. And erasers. I found a couple of packages of neon-colored pencil-top erasers, so I gave those away with the gum. A lot of the kids seemed happy just to get the erasers, and I had to tell the to wait while I got out the gum. Go figure.

If resources were plentiful, here are some things I think might be fun to give away as Halloween 'treats':

• Sample-size tubes of toothpaste / toothbrushes
  
• 12-ounce bottles of Gatorade
  
• Markers
  
• Baseball cards
  
• Golf balls
  
• Canadian quarters
  
• Dice of various colors (and sides – d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20)
  
• Poker chips
  
• Carpet swatches
  
• Bottled water
  
• Vitamins
  
• Cloves of garlic (You can never be to careful with all those undead-ites running around!)
  
• Duct tape
  
• Tea bags
  
• Bus tokens
  
• Christmas cards
  
• Plastic screw anchors
  
• Blank cassette tapes
  
• Rutabagas
  
• Those Valentine's Day candy hearts that taste like Tums.
  

Actually, this is what I think I'd like to do for next Halloween: at Easter, I'll save the orange Paas dye tablet while I'm coloring the eggs. Then, when October rolls around, I'll decorate a lot of boiled eggs with black and green (and maybe yellow) crayons, then dye them orange to make them look like little Jack-o-lanterns. That's what I'll give to the kids. Bwahahahahah!

Not Quite Friday's Feast

The owner of Friday’s Feast is on vacation this week. So I’m substituting this meme, stolen from Cindy.

I AM: What I have made of life, not what life has made of me.
I WANT: The election to be over. I'm sick of it all: the anger, the lies, the mudslinging, the name-calling, the innuendo, ad nauseum.
I HAVE: A pony. Actually, I only have the Steven Wright CD of that name.
I WISH: I had done better on last week's Biochem exam.
I HATE: People who think the best way to make a point is by shouting.
I MISS: My nieces.
I FEAR: Heights and needles.
I HEAR: Asia's Silent Nation on my stereo right now.
I SEARCH: For a deeper knowledge of myself and the world around me.
I WONDER: What the @*%# happened to/with my ex.
I REGRET: Some things I've done, but I can't change them. So I try not to worry too much about them (with varying degrees of success).
I ALWAYS: Have a tune running through my head.
I AM NOT: As angry or judgmental as I used to be.
I DANCE: Like an epileptic Frankenstein's monster.
I SING: Bass in the ward choir.
I CRY: Less frequently now than I used to allow myself to.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: As patient as I should be.
I WRITE: Because I find it therapeutic and/or entertaining.
I WON: Tickets to a baseball game for knowing how to spell Jaromir Jagr's name.
I LOST: A lot of weight when I was doing Weight Watchers. (It turns out that I had mono at the time, too. That may have helped.)
I CONFUSE: Love for need on occasion. (See Robert Fisher's book, The Knight in Rusty Armor.)
I NEED: To see my friends more often that I do now.
I SHOULD: Head to the store in a bit. I'm out of bread, cheese, and juice.
MY FATHER THINKS I AM: Gentle.
MY MOTHER THINKS I AM: Smarter than I really am, probably. Moms are like that.
MAKES ME HAPPY: Good friends, good music, peaceful moments.
UPSETS ME: People who don't think.
THE PRETTIEST FEMALE I KNOW: There's this woman who rides the same bus that I do sometimes. I have no idea who she is. Is that pathetic, or what?
THE PRETTIEST MALE I KNOW: I'm secure enough in my masculinity to admit that Denzel Washington is a fine lookin' man.
THE WEIRDEST PERSON I KNOW: Just one? Come on down to where I work some time. We've got wierdos in all varieties, shapes, and sizes.
THE LOUDEST PERSON I KNOW: My brother Aaron, when he gets on a rant.
THE SEXIEST PERSON I KNOW: My next significant other...whoever she turns out to be.
YOUR CLOSE FRIENDS: Derek, Curtis, the old gaming group.
THE PERSON THAT KNOWS THE MOST ABOUT YOU: Probably Mom.
MY MOST OVERUSED PHRASE: Better than a slap in the face with a wet fish.
THE LAST IMAGE/THOUGHT I GO TO SLEEP WITH: "Futon beds suck."
WANT TO GET MARRIED: Technically, I still am.
HAVE ANY TATTOOS WHERE? And allow someone to poke me repeatedly with a needle? On purpose? I think not. (See "I FEAR:", above.)
SCREEN NAMES: Aeolean. It's a long, boring story.
SIGN: "I'm Stupid." Not my personal sign, mind you, but I'd like to have some to give away. ("Here's your sign....")
Oh, you mean astrology? As I noted once before, we Tauruses don't believe in any of that crap.
NATURAL HAIR COLOR: Dark brown.
CURRENT HAIR COLOR: Dark brown with some grey mixed in.

Random Musings

Hey, it is the title of the blog, after all....

1. We got snow yesterday for the first time this season. It started as small sleety chunks mixed with mostly rain and progressed to primarily small flakes. By the time I went to calculus, we were being dive-bombed by huge, wet snow globules. I love snow.

2. Big congratulations to my friend Tammy. I got her wedding announcement today. Way to go, girl - you deserve it!

3. Today's music: earlier I was listening to Rocket Scientists' Oblivion Days. Now I'm listening to Singularity's Between Sunlight and Shadow. Indy-prog day today, I guess.

4. Did you know that George W. Bush and John Kerry are related? No kidding, they're ninth cousins, twice removed. How bored to you have to be to research stuff like this?

5. Today's quote: "The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves." -Plato

6. The Red Sox are leading the Cardinals 4-0 in the ninth inning. It looks like Boston's finally going to win the World Series. Bad news: Mom will be disappointed, and Larry Walker won't get his championship ring. Good news: we can FINALLY quit hearing about The Curse.

Geek Holiday

Happy Mole Day, everyone!

The Mole Day celebration lasts from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. on this special day. Celebrate it with an appropriate beverage - 18 ml of water would be just about perfect.

Hail Avogadro!

Today's Feast

Appetizer Name 3 things that you are wearing today.
1. Riddell high-top athletic shoes. It's so hard to find real high-tops anymore.
2. A black cotton Louis Armstrong t-shirt.
3. An Ogden LDS Institute Choir tour jacket from a few years back.

Soup Who was the last person you hugged?
Probably Jon, an old gaming buddy I saw for the first time in three years a few weeks ago.

Salad What do you like to order from your favorite fast food place?
I'm partial to the Jamaican jerk chicken rice bowl from Rumbi Island Grill. Too bad I don't live near one any more.

Main Course What time of day do you usually feel most energized?
In the early afternoon, I guess. Just in time for work. Yippee.

Dessert Using the letters in your first name, write a sentence.
Multiple iterations create highly accurate estimates--look!
(Ironically, this describes almost perfectly what I did in Physics lab yesterday.)

{Friday's Feast, 22 October 2004}

Internet Addiction

Are you Addicted to the Internet? 47% Average@Internet-User.com (41% - 60%) You seem to have a healthy balance in your life when it comes to the internet and life away from the computer. You know enough to do what you want online without looking like an idiot (most of the time). You even have your own Yahoo club or online journal! But you enjoy seeing your friends and going out to enjoy life away from your computer. The Are you Addicted to the Internet? Quiz at Quiz Me!

Okay, maybe I'm not as big a geek as I thought I was....

Random Insults

I don't know why, but I've had insults going through my head this evening. I don't use insults frequently ... not in earnest, anyway, and certainly not as frequently as I could. Here are some of my favorites.

"If my dog had your face, I'd shave his butt and teach him to walk backwards." -Max Klinger, M*A*S*H

He's a halogen. (i.e., one electron short of a full shell.)

Comment: "I was being ironic."
Retort: "No, you were being sarcastic. But it is ironic that you don't know the difference."

A couple of standard deviations off the mean.

"Scientifically speaking, it is because you are a spazzy, beetle-headed doofus with the intellect of a mule hoof that I have not yet succeeded in taking over the world." -The Brain (to Pinky)

Lady Astor: "Winston, you are drunk."
Winston Churchill: "Yes, madam, and you are ugly. But in the morning, I shall be sober."

Lady Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband, I would poison your coffee."
Winston Churchill: "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."

Couldn't find his own backside with both hands and a bloodhound.

The Alcalde: "You are becoming clumsy, are you not, my friend?"
Zorro: "To be your friend, I would have to be more than clumsy. I would have to be stupid."

"The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful." -Jimmy Buffett

Sailboat fuel for brains.

(Let me also recommend a look at Michael's Wacky Insult Page for the curious.)

Soda

I've made reference to the Jones Soda Co. in a previous post. I was picking up a few groceries on the way home from work today, and I decided to treat myself to a new flavor. (Incidentally, it was the cream soda: different, but good. 4/5) I noticed some writing inside the lid, so I took a look. It said:

"Soon you will be sitting on top of the world."

Then I noticed some smaller print around the edges. It said:

"We swiped these quotes from actual fortune cookies. Send your quotes to us at www.jonessoda.com."

So I started looking at the label. Each label is nearly unique; they use a lot of different photos. Next to the photo, I read this:

"Send us your photo, if we like it we will put it on our label."

But the best part was on the back of the label, just above the nutrition information. It read as follows:

"Ya gotta make a living somehow; we chose the beverage world. Good old soda with a twist. No hidden meanings, no billion dollar ad campaigns. At Jones, we want you to buy a lot of soda and recycle the bottles. The labels are kinda like our minds - always changing. Run with the little guy...create some change."

I like the way these guys think. Pass me another.

Day of Rest (?)

Today was a busy day for me. Last Sunday at church I volunteered to give this week's lesson in Sunday School/Choir. (In the ward I'm in now, we were sharing the building with three other wards until a few weeks ago, so the only time a room with a piano was available for the choir to practice was during church. So we meet in the chapel while everyone else goes to classes. We have a brief lesson, then spend about half an hour practicing music each week. It's a neat arrangement, but it'll probably be discontinued when our meeting schedule changes at the first of the year. We'll be back to practicing after the meeting block is over.)

So I got the lesson manual and gave it a look after I got home. About that time, I got a phone call from the ward. They told me that one of the speakers for next week's (i.e., today's) meeting had to cancel, and would I be willing to prepare a 10-12 minute talk on the subject of responsibility? Unlike most church members, public speaking doesn't bother me. I actually enjoy it, most of the time. I accepted.

Then the week got busy. We got temps at work again, as well as an extremely urgent and labor-intensive project that will run at least eleven of the next sixteen nights. School is school, and I got hit with the season's first cold on Thursday, which rendered me basically useless for about two and a half days.

End result: I finished writing the talk and preparing the lesson this morning before church.

Things went pretty well. First, church doesn't start until 1:00 for me, so I had all morning to finish up. The lesson was easy; I just had to introduce the topic and direct the discussion. The talk was a bit harder, what with my voice still not being 100%. But I said what I had intended to say, and I got a lot of good feedback afterwards.

I came home, greeted by the smell of Crock Pot chicken. After an early dinner (supper?), I watched a little TV (Broncos 31, Raiders 3; Teen Titans and Kim Possible) and then headed to the computer for some serious blogging. I actually find this relaxing. It's the closest I get to a social life these days.

I'm tired; the cold is still hanging on just a bit. So I'm turning in early. I hope to sleep soundly; cold medicine tends to give me bizarre dreams.

Triple Shot Meme

This comes from Derek, who got it from someone else, who got it from yet another location, and so on back into the depths of cyber-obscurity. So it's kind of like a bog-ish chain letter. But fun.

As stated, three of each.

Pet Peeves: Cell phones, Utah drivers, willful ignorance (such as smart people who talk like dey stoopid).
Favorite Sounds: Nieces laughing, thunderstorms, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
Favorite Flavors of Candy: Dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter.
Biggest Fears: Heights, needles, failure.
Biggest Challenges: Being sick, surviving the senior year, remaining sane while all the legal stuff plays out.
Favorite Department Stores: Smith's Marketplace (like an upscale Super Wal-Mart), Borders, Media Play.
Most Used Words: Splendid, approximately, temps.
Favorite Pizza Toppings: Ham, pineapple, mushrooms.
Favorite Cartoon Characters: Snoopy, Goliath (Gargoyles), Raven (Teen Titans).
Movies Recently Watched: Galaxy Quest, Deep Impact, and The Fifth Element, all on cable or video. I don't get out much.
Favorite Fruits: Cantaloupe, bananas, strawberries.
Favorite Vegetables: Corn on the cob, peas, home-grown tomatoes. ("What would life be without home-grown tomatoes? Only two things that money can't buy, and that's true love and home-grown tomatoes.")

Lucky?

I don't know how the conversation started, but yesterday at work, a couple of the other supervisors were talking about alcohol: how expensive it is, how sick it makes you, how stupid you act when you've had too much of it, and so forth. At one point, one of my co-workers said to me, "You're lucky you don't drink."

Now, I'm not as judgmental as I used to be. I try to be tolerant of other people's choices and lifestyles, even when I think they're stupid and short-sighted, as long as they don't make my life difficult. But this one hit me a little differently. From prior conversations with the individual in question, I know that he was raised as a Latter-day Saint (i.e., "Mormon"). So he was taught everything about alcohol that I was. Yet he chooses to drink, and I found it a little aggravating that he also chooses to complain about it.

Most of the time, I have to think very carefully before I respond to a statement that upsets, annoys, or angers me. Otherwise, I say something stupid and unproductive, and end up with my foot in my mouth. I should probably have athlete's tongue, it's happened so often. But on this occasion, the spontaneous answer was practically perfect.

I looked him in the eye and said, "Lucky? Luck has nothing to do with it."

Choice. It's about choice - —and accountability for the choices we make. When we make good decisions, we make our own luck.

It's Friday again? Already?

Appetizer What is your favorite beverage?
Right now, my favorite beverage is water with Alka Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine dissolved in it. The first cold of the season hit me yesterday, so I'm taking the stuff every four hours as directed.

Soup Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.
1. A candle warmer. I get the pleasant aromas of candles without the smoke.
2. A vertical sorter that holds my monthly bills, along with stamps and address labels.
3. Various books, CDs, and other stuff that I haven't made time to put away yet.

Salad On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?
I could tell you I'm a 10, but I'd be lying. Probably 8-9.

Main Course If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?
I think George Washington would be outraged at what typically goes on in the city bearing his name. So I believe we should change the name of our nation's capitol to something more fitting...like "Shysterville".

Dessert What stresses you out? What calms you down?
One thing that really stresses me out is unmet expectations, in myself and in others. I get stressed if I don't do as well as I'd expected on a test, or if I have to explain the same thing to someone five different times. That's solved easily enough, though. I just need to learn to accept rather than to expect.
Music calms me down, although the specific music necessary to do so varies from time to time. Sometimes it's Beethoven, sometimes it's Joe Satriani. You can never tell.

{Friday's Feast, 15 October 2004}

Thought of the Day

This comes from one of the interviewers at work:

"There are many people who live under the illusion that they have hit a home run, when the truth is that they were born on third base. "

How much of our success is really our own?

Marketing Genius

As you've probably heard, filmmaker Michael Moore is involved in negotiations to bring his film Fahrenheit 9/11 to pay-per-view the night before the U.S. presidential election.

If he's successful, American audiences will get to see the film in perhaps its most elemental form: the infomercial.

Consider the following. Moore has a product to sell (a political agenda) in a competitive marketplace (the election). His goal is not only to inform consumers (the voting public) about his product, but to persuade them that his product is superior to the other products that are available (rival political agendas).

His campaign has all the characteristics of a successful advertising campaign. He has a catchy, easily identifiable slogan (the name of the movie), compelling imagery, and a clearly defined message. Not only has he established a comprehensive distribution network for his message, but he has also generated significant word-of-mouth advertising. He has even received substantial publicity in the press--and you can't beat free advertising. And with the pay-per-view release, he'll also have celebrity endorsements.

The success of his marketing campaign is obvious. It is nearly impossible to find someone who doesn't recognize the name of his movie, and practically anyone can tell you what message Moore wants to put across with it. It's hard to imagine a more successful advertisement.

The truly remarkable thing, though, is not the similarity of the F9/11 phenomenon to traditional marketing schemes, but the primary difference. In general, if you have a product to advertise, there is a significant cost in getting the word out. In other words, you have to pay for people to hear your message. In this case, however, Moore has succeeded in getting hundreds of thousands of people to wait in line to pay him to hear the message.

Say what you will about the man's politics, but you have to admit that Moore is a brilliant marketer.

(I guess that all these business classes I've been taking are really starting to pay off....)

It's Friday. Let's Feast!

Appetizer What are your plans for the upcoming weekend?
Actually, my weekend for this week started yesterday. (We get two days off school in the middle of Fall Semester each year; the rumor is that it's a concession to the professors as part of the transition from quarters to semesters a few years ago.) The most exciting part of the weekend was yesterday's visit to Curtis and Lesslie, when I also got to see a couple of guys I used to game with. From here, it's mostly mundane: laundry, work tomorrow, and study.

Soup Who was the last person you talked to on the telephone?
That would be Derek, the reason for which I'm not certain I can disclose publicly yet.

Salad Name a hobby that you've tried but eventually gave up for some reason.
Champions, the Super Role-Playing Game. (™ Hero Games, Inc.) I had to quit playing when I moved to Salt Lake City, away from Curtis and the rest of the group.

Main Course What is the most important personality quality in a mate?
This is a bit of a touchy subject with me, but I'd say the most important quality would be a willingness to be honest about feelings and to work through problems. Had she been willing to do so....

Dessert Why is the sky blue (be creative with your answer)?
Well, I guess that shoots down the whole 'refraction of light' thing. Hmmm, why is the sky blue? Maybe it's a sign from above that Cubs fans shouldn't ever give up hope.

{Friday's Feast}

Quote of the Day

This comes from today's issue of the University of Utah's newspaper, the Utah Daily Chronicle:

Todd Lamoreaux, a business student, said the need for a future draft will be determined by the winner of this year's presidential election.

"As long as Kerry wins, we'll have a more lovely America with no more war," he said. "The terrorists will go away and I don't think there will be any more wars."

I can only assume that Mr. Lamoreaux was being sarcastic, or that the paper quoted him completely out of context. I can't imagine that anyone with a modicum of higher education would say something so simplistically ludicrous.

If I honestly thought that either (or any) candidate could make the terrorists just "go away", they'd have my vote in a heartbeat.

If any of you think that either (or any) candidate can make the terrorists just "go away", please call me. I'd like to talk to you about a bridge....

Conference Weekend

While I was a missionary in West Virginia, a local member of the church related an experience he'd had. He was once asked, "Why don't you Mormons have revivals?" An appropriate question in a Bible belt state, I suppose. This man responded by saying, "We do. We call it General Conference."

Twice each year, members of the church gather to hear the teachings of church leaders. In most of the world, the proceedings are transmitted via satellite to church meetinghouses. In Utah, however, they're shown on the local NBC affiliate and broadcast on a prominent local radio station (both of which are part of a media group owned by the church).

There are always a few announcements concerning changes in personnel and projects that the church is involved in. But the main point of Conference is for members to hear words of guidance, comfort, and warning from church leaders. Not much of it is new information. Most of it comes in the form of inspired reminders of things we've probably been taught for years. That's how it seems to me, anyway. I don't seem to need to learn as much as I need to remember.

It often seems that the speakers are talking directly to me. There are two main lessons that I take from this Conference:
1) You don't need to worry so much. Things will go the way they're supposed to go.
2) You know what you need to do to help things go they way they're supposed to go. Do it.

Reassurance, coupled with a call to action. Yes, I know what I need to do; it seems that six months ago, I was saying to myself, "I have a few things to work on." Now, I still have a few things to work on. Most of them are the same things.

More humility. Less stubbornness. More study of the scriptures. Less pointless web surfing. More prayer and meditation. Less mindless escapism. More faith. Less worry. More kindness. Less condescension. More praise. Less criticism. More gratitude. Less grumbling. More self-confidence. Less self-pity. More optimism. Less cynicism. More forgiving. Less judging. More patience. Less anger. More laughter. Less of it at the expense of others. More service. Less selfishness.

That's about enough for now. Let's check back in about six months.

Baseball and Business

This comes from the sports section of yesterday's USA Today:

Q: What has to be done between now and opening day to get the [Montreal] Expos in position to play in Washington, D.C.?
A: It's almost as if they are an expansion team. It starts with renovating RFK Stadium. From there, virtually an entire front office staff will have to be formed, and they will have to market the team, attract sponsors, set up concession and parking arrangements, work out TV and radio deals, sell tickets, and, oh, by the way, field a team.

The lesson seems to be that the team itself is secondary to the marketing of the team. That's no surprise, I suppose. In today's world of big-money professional athletics, foul lines, three-point lines, yard lines, and blue lines are never as important as the bottom line.

Call me naĩve, but I could swear there was a time when baseball, basketball, football, and hockey were sports rather than industries.

This Friday's Feast

Appetizer What sound, other than the normal ringing, would you like your telephone to make?
Call me retro, but I would like a telephone that rings like old telephones used to ring - with a bell rather than electronic chirping. If I ever get a cell phone, I'll look for a ring tone that sounds like the phones on 70's cop shows.

Soup Describe your usual disposition in meteorological terms (partly cloudy, sunny, stormy, etc.).
Shall I compare me to a summer's day? Well, maybe. I guess my disposition is kind of like summer days back home: generally warm and clear, but always with the possibility of storms that appear suddenly and leave a short time later.

Salad What specific subject do you feel you know better than any other subjects?
Is "Useless Trivia" a subject?

Main Course Imagine you were given the ability to remember everything you read for one entire day. What books/magazines/newspapers would you choose to read?
I'd read my textbooks and supporting materials for this semester and next semester in their entirety. Yes, I'm a grade slave.

Dessert If a popular candy maker contacted you to create their next candy bar, what would it be like?
It would be a low-fat, low-carb, great tasting chocolate confection that came in several varieties (with almonds, with crunchies, white chocolate, etc.) and sold for a nickel. Hey, we've split the atom, why can't we create a dessert that's healthy, flavorful, and inexpensive?

{Friday's Feast, 1 Oct 2004}

It's That Time Again

With the coming of October, it's time to reread one of my favorite books: Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October.

For the unfamiliar, the book is the quirky, lighthearted story of a group of magickal practitioners who prepare for a rare and powerful ritual that takes place when the full moon shines at midnight over Victorian London on All Hallow's Eve. Important characters include a mad Russian monk, a witch and her black cat, a Transylvanian count, a doctor and his hunchbacked assistant, the Great Detective, and a man named Jack who's really good with a knife.

The story is narrated by Jack's 'companion', a dog named Snuff. Snuff takes us through the story day by day, as if keeping a journal of events. Many amusing, bizarre, and surprising events take place as the various players plot, plan, and interact. Allies become enemies and then allies again, and unexpected things are revealed about the characters one by one. Zelazny's narration (through Snuff) is fast-paced and complex while remaining conversational. The occasional illustrations by Gahan Wilson are macabre yet entertaining. In all, the book is highly original, paying homage to Victorian gothic literature without being depressing or derivative.

This is a book unlike any other book I've ever read. I heartily recommend it to anyone who could use a light, amusing, unconventional read. My rating: five howls at the moon.