Friday, December 23rd

Say what now? (Spoiler free)

music: Genesis - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
mood: hungry

I finished listening to 2001: A Space Odyssey yesterday. Like I was telling Dan when I got home, there aren't many time when I can use "OMG WTF" and really mean it. This was definitely one of those times.

I actually had to listen to the last disc again because I thought that maybe I had inhaled some kind of fumes while listening to it the first time around. I understood the very end a little tiny bit more than before, but not by much.

So I put on my Geek Hat (really, when does it ever come off?) and fired up the Web to see if anyone could explain things for me. Most of the sites and discussions pertain to the movie in particular, but from what I can tell things line up pretty well between the two. After all, Kubrik and Clarke sort of wrote the book together for the movie. And from what I can tell, nobody else really knows what the ending truly means either.

In reading others' ideas and theories it has become clear to me that I wasn't focusing on what almost everyone else thought was the most important part: HAL. I thought the idea behind HAL and what happened was interesting and what HAL does is a very important plot point. However, I was surprised that HAL came and went relatively quickly in the book. My attention shifted to the bigger themes. The monoliths. The extraterrestrial intelligence behind the whole end of the book. The locations at the end of the book. These things made me completely forget there was a HAL 9000 on the Discovery.

I wonder if I'm alone in this? I'm looking forward to seeing the movie now. I have a feeling that HAL is played up quite a bit.

I'm kind of worried that I'll be disappointed in the movie in comparison to the book. I know I will be, but these days I judge all of those types of disappointments against Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban: the book versus the movie. Compared to the book, the movie was a shallow, trite piece of poo. I'll never read another Harry Potter book before seeing the movie again as long as I live. I'm just hoping they did proper justice to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
PikaPikaChick on 12.23.05 @ 12:46 PM CST [link] [No Comments]

Thursday, December 22nd

Of hormones and the season

music: none
mood: weepy

So OBVIOIUSLY I'm not a religious person in the "normal" sense of the word in today's America. I'm not of the Judeo-Christian persuasion. Heck, I'm not even Wiccan. I've got my thing and it works for me. This time of year means only time to be spent with family and friends and being a bit more generous than usual. Yule means the days start getting longer and the idea of the Sun King being born anew is a lovely thought.

Having said that, the combination of my increased holiday delight due to a lack of retail employment and my fresh Ortho Evra patch made this bring tears to my eyes. Young man with the mohawk, you rock. No, that doesn't do you justice. You fucking rock so hard it's crazy.

Happy end of December, everyone.
PikaPikaChick on 12.22.05 @ 08:33 AM CST [link] [No Comments]


Congratulations, Elton John & David Furnish!

music: none
mood: yay

Mazel tov!
PikaPikaChick on 12.22.05 @ 07:52 AM CST [link] [No Comments]

Wednesday, December 21st

Meet my new favorite artist

music: TV - Hercules
mood: ok

Shane Glines
PikaPikaChick on 12.21.05 @ 08:21 PM CST [link] [No Comments]


This made my day

music: Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty
mood: amused

wakka wakka wakka wakka
PikaPikaChick on 12.21.05 @ 11:33 AM CST [link] [No Comments]


Happy......yeah.

music: Black Eyed Peas - Shut Up
mood: blank

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all...

...and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make $country great, (not to imply that $country is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "$country " in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

PikaPikaChick on 12.21.05 @ 10:30 AM CST [link] [No Comments]


Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?

music: The Police - Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
mood: blank

I've been pretty quiet around here lately. The fact of the matter is that nothing much has been happening. We rented a couple of movies the other night:

The 40 Year Old Virgin
It started off funny. Really funny. Like, laugh till you cry funny. Then it turned into a girly love story and sort of sucked until the very end, which I'm still trying to wrap my head around. Age of Aquariuuuuuuuus!

March of the Penguins
OMG CUTE.

We're still presently in possession of a very small, scraggly black kitten. The kitten will be leaving us on Sunday by way of a precious display of ribbons, bows, and a big box.

I'm currently listening to an audiobook of 2001: A Space Odyssey. How did I ever go this long without reading, watching, or listening to it before? I'm looking very forward to renting the video and reading the sequals. It's been a long time since I've read any scifi and it's awakening an even bigger geek within me.

The whole time I'm listening to this book a tiny voice in my head is saying, "my gods, what if this were true? Sure as hell would shut those Intelligent Design kooks right up.
PikaPikaChick on 12.21.05 @ 09:20 AM CST [link] [No Comments]


Happy Yule

music: Story of the Year - Dive Right In
mood: blank

It all gets brighter from here.
PikaPikaChick on 12.21.05 @ 08:32 AM CST [link] [No Comments]

Tuesday, December 20th

Pass the chronic - WHAT - cles of Narnia

music: none
mood: amused

It would be illegal for me not to share this with you: WHAT
PikaPikaChick on 12.20.05 @ 08:25 AM CST [link] [No Comments]

Monday, December 19th

On the subject of being a bad Buddhist

music: TV
mood: wanty

I should own:

This, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and especially this.
PikaPikaChick on 12.19.05 @ 08:49 PM CST [link] [No Comments]


a-linky-linky

music: Dragana Mirkovic - Da-Da-Da
mood: eh

Twin Peaks 12 Days of Christmas

The greatest company of all time: Unotron, makers of washable mice and keyboards. The keyboard has been added to my Amazon Wishlist. Unfortunately it ships from TigerDirect, who are the Devil.
PikaPikaChick on 12.19.05 @ 10:51 AM CST [link] [No Comments]

Sunday, December 18th

Love and hate

music: The Pillows - I Think I Can
mood: utterly neutral

First of all, let me begin by saying FUCK CARTOON NETWORK FOR NOT PLAYING FOOLY COOLY ANYMORE. As usual, a TV network stops playing one of the most progressive, funny, provocative, and entertaining shows and replaces it with more reruns of the mediochre and, dare I say, derivative, "Family Guy." Now Dan and I will have to get our fix by tracking down the DVDs. Or I'll have to download them. SEE WHAT YOU'RE MAKING ME DO, ADULT SWIM?

Second of all, the graphics card in my computer hates The Sims 2. Haaaaates it.

Third of all, cosmopolitans on a Sunday night are fantastic.

Fourth of all, there is a very small kitty here who is showings a budding interest in computers, or at least people who sit in front of computers. Observe:


PikaPikaChick on 12.18.05 @ 08:34 PM CST [link] [No Comments]

Thursday, December 15th

Stupid snow

music: none
mood: grumpy

Dan is doing man stuff tonight and I wanted to go see The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I have since discovered that none of the local theaters believe in 7:00 showings anymore. It's snowing and people can't drive so it would take me an hour to get anywhere and the only showings are around 6:45 and 9:45. So here I sit.

I hate snow with a burning passion.
PikaPikaChick on 12.15.05 @ 06:57 PM CST [link] [No Comments]

Wednesday, December 14th

Best. Email. Ever.

music: Incubus - Clean
mood: amused

From: [higher-up]
Sent: [today]
To: [PikaPikaChick]
Subject: RE: old laser printers


you're dreamy, thanks.

PikaPikaChick on 12.14.05 @ 02:55 PM CST [link]

Friday, December 9th


This is the first year in a long time where I haven't worked retail during the Holidays at all. It's brought back a lot of lost cheer. I can hear a holiday song in the background without getting dry heaves.

Happy four day weekend to me, by the way. Nothing like rolling back into work after having two weeks off and only working three days.

Last Monday could have been better, however. I completely forgot that I took that day off because not only do I have a buttload of vacation days to use up, but I had a dentist appointment to get some cavities filled. I've never had a cavity in my life and was extremely apprehensive about having a needle stuck in my gums, something I've never experienced. I've had tons of piercings and lots of blood drawn out of various places on my body with no problem whatsoever, but my gums are the one body part I'm squeamish about.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I still wanted to claw my skin off while it was happening. What was really bad was the drilling. The smell, the smoke rising, the water choking me, the feeling that my jaw was vibrating, and that awful, awful sound. Afterwards I felt like my face was falling off a la Bill Cosby Himself. I also kept biting the inside of my cheek and the side of my tongue. The left side of the inside of my mouth felt like an an intruder and I had to will myself not to bite it off. I'm just crazy like that.

And I get to do it all over again next Monday.
PikaPikaChick on 12.09.05 @ 12:02 PM CST [link]


It's Friday

music: Something nerdy
mood: good

The Friday Five
1. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A microbiologist. No shit. I wanted to work in a level 5 lab with the craziest, most deadly and virulent microorganisms on the planet. And find a cure for cancer or AIDS.

2. Did you follow through? If not, what happened?
I started off as a biology major in college. I think if I would have gone to college anywhere other than UWRF I might have. I might also be a zookeeper right now.

3. Is your life turning out the way you thought it would when you were a kid? If not, is it better or worse?
It's definitely better. I always thought I'd never make it past age 17. But here I am with a great career and a wonderful husband and a house (that I own) full of pets and a turkey in the oven. Not fucking bad.

4. Paradoxes aside, if you could time-travel back to when you were 10 years old, what would you tell your 10-year-old self?
FOR THE LOVE OF GODS STAY AWAY FROM CREDIT CARDS!

5. Do you think the child you were, would like the adult you've become?
I think so.

***


Friday Fiver
1. What's on your feet?
My ubiquitous black Sketchers.

2. Turn to your right -- what do you see?
A window to the backyard. I see garages and Dan's boat in the yard.

3. What is the last thing you ate?
Fanny Farmer chocolates. One was dark chocolate with a lemon filling and the other was white chocolate and toasted coconut with a dark chocolate filling.

4. What can you smell right now?
The turkey that's cooking in the oven, the onions and apples I sauteed for the stuffing.

5. Do you wear hats?
All the time. I was wearing my MN North Stars winter hat (the kind with earflaps) this morning.
PikaPikaChick on 12.09.05 @ 11:59 AM CST [link]

Wednesday, December 7th

THE ULTIMATE GIFT

music: Descendents - When I Get Old
mood: torn

YOU WILL BUY THIS FOR ME NOW
PikaPikaChick on 12.07.05 @ 09:38 AM CST [link]