Inside of a Dog, It's Too Dark to Read

...when Farm Stores Eggnog might be available again, you hear an old acquaintance's name AND VOICE on NPR (HI KEITH!!) and you get to wish erised a Pen-Blwydd Hapus!

(I owe this LJ this icon, I think. I'm missing holidays again.)

Meissa and Gemma are four years old today! Goodness, it seems like just months ago that I droveanddroveanddrove with two itty-bitty puppies and D'Argo to bring them home.

A concept where fandom is actually seen as economically valuable.

It's a little long, but worth a few minutes. What are your thoughts? (Other than 'Happy Birthday', that is.)

( PEN-BLWYDD HAPUS to the Barefoot Birthday Girl! )

Here, proof that you're right - always a good present:
http://neuroanthropology.net/2009/07/26/lose-your-shoes-is-barefoot-better/
http://birthdayshoes.com/
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Not in the sense that it's a new year for me, although I suppose it is - but it's Rosh Hashana.

Anyway, Debbie took me to see The Dark Knight (out December 9th, widescreen and special edition, please?) and OMG I am so glad I got to see it in the cinema first, because I have not had a movie buzz like that in a LONG time. Skyhook! Joker mayhem! They actually made me flinch! (I also knew what sort of twists were coming often well before Debbie did - I'm not sure it's because of what Blade said, that I've got an internalised feel for movie pacing, or because I've been in that universe for so long, I have an uncomfortable grasp of the Joker's modus operandi.)

Harvey Dent's makeup was not half brilliant (it's a reflex, I swear). I have never seen such extraordinary digital work before, and I am in awe. Curious realisation, though - one shot made me remember that when the boat blew up when I was almost-7, just the one side of my face was burned, right up to the midline, because of the way I was angled to the blast. I had a lot more bandaging, though. And oddly, right this moment, I can't remember if it was the left or the right side. However, nobody was lost, it didn't explode on purpose, and most seven-year-olds have an underdeveloped sense of long-term vengeance, so I never identified with Harvey.

You can see I'm trying to avoid blatant spoilage here. I have likely failed. But it's your fault if you haven't been reading the comics. ;)

Skyhook!! WOOT!

Oh, what else - oh yes, I found I have what may be an uncanny ability to recognise an Armani suit when I see one. Or are they really that obvious? There is something utterly cool about a print ad that reads:


...with this quote in the press releases:

"As a Giorgio Armani Hand Made-to-Measure client, Bruce Wayne is demonstrating his status as a discriminating and sophisticated connoisseur of fine fashion, while also showing he has individual taste," said Armani.

[Joss] I LOVE me some immersion. [/Joss] Mind you, sticking the logo and the movie title on it kinda spoils the overall effect, but that's promotions for you. They still haven't quite learned from Blair Witch.

I think they're being sneaky with Barbara Gordon (Jr). They were playing her like a purloined letter - never quite showing her to us, but teasing. The Gordon kids are awfully young still, so if they are going to work Barbara into the Nolan Batmans, I can't imagine how they're going to fiddle with ages and time-passage.

Did anybody else notice Keith Szarabajka?

Did anybody else realise that the mayor of Gotham was Batmanuel? (Sometimes my joke fuse is very, very long or slowburning. I may have to giggle for an hour straight now.) (And yes, the eyes are naturally like that without makeup. Depp, eat your heart out.) ...did they do that on purpose?

Anyway, it's a fantastic movie, and I haven't got that wound up, that tense, that stomach-tingling for so long... heh. I thought the first one was great. Let's see if this one actually manages to pull an Oscar for a genre movie (for Heath Ledger).

Then we went back to Debbie's house and she stuffed me full of some very good roast chicken, and let me read chunks of the internet to her while she cleaned up. ;)

Monday I got to try to play catch-up on some bloggish stuff, wash dogs because after all that's been done here so far, I STILL have fleas around; and schlep my laundry over to Mrs Cummings's house because my dryer is broken and my washing machine only runs one temperature of water at a time. I had too much backlogged laundry for various reasons. It was there that I had serendipitous birthday cake. :) In-between, I got to talk to Rhiannon, who has just ventured into the blogosphere... so be nice to her. ;)

Thank you, those who expressed early birthday wishes. I don't expect much today except rain, but that keeps the house cool, so I do not object.

It was in Second Life, but a story's a story. Check it out at http://tanarian.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-got-to-tell-story.html

And PEN-BLWYDD HAPUS, YOOOOOOOLANDA! (not too early, not too late?)

Other than OMGoddess, actually being on time for a holiday for once, I don't have much to say. Other than the yard's looking much better of late.

Might have soon, though.

Well... I do have this: Somewhat appropriate to a holiday celebrating the dawning light of the year and the flame of knowledge, if anyone else is inflicted with being awake at dawn (like the song says, 'It's a great way to end a day'), Venus and Jupiter are doing a most spectacular minuet in the east. Jupiter was below Venus in the sky the past two days at eyecatching angles, and is now above by two degrees. In two days, it might be worth getting up early to see the two shiniest planets with a barely-there crescent moon all in very close proximity. (Pluto's in the shot too, not that anybody can see him without extreme effort.) On the 16th, according to my software here, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will form a pretty line across the lower sky. I always have a problem seeing Mercury around here - horizon's are too messed up. Either it's all trees or all clouds, and no way to climb above either. OK, one last set - March 5th, when the moon again, Venus, Mercury and Neptune will be in a tight clump just as the sun's rising - erm, rising at my latitude and such. Your sun may vary. Neptune, of course, is barely visible from here without extreme measures (optics, decent darkness) and Mercury might be washed out already by the time of the closest approach... but they'll all be there.

Don't forget the total lunar eclipse on the morning of the 21st - very good for North American East Coast and Steelhead City early birds.

And that it's Kellie's birthday. :D

It's STILL Heidi's birthday, and we have confirmation of at least ONE MORE back safe from Iraq! Myfanwy's husband is ON U.S. SOIL TONIGHT after deployment for a year!

And, mostly irrelevantly, I can't find my map of Europa Wulfenbach anywhere, and I need to suss out the layout of Sunken Britain.

Vexed, I tell you.



PEN-BLWYDD HAPUS, DRACHENAUGEN!!

[confetti]
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 HAPPY WIZARDING BIRTHDAYS!