The Eye of Sauron

Okay, maybe not. Still, one has to admit that a red sunrise is kinda creepy. I have it on fairly good authority that there's a couple of Nazgul hanging out in this area. I'm sure there's no other explanation for folks who rasp and wear all-concealing, shabby, black clothes.

Flix

So watching "Wanted" gave me exposure to a whole load of movies that will likely gain some of my hard-earned cash this year:

* "Wall-E" - I'm seeing this as soon as I find time that avoids the worst of crowds

* "The Dark Knight" - Oh yeah.

* "Hancock" - Yeah. I know. I'm still interested in seeing it.

* "Death Race" - I wasn't interested until I watched the trailer. Now? I'm so totally seeing this.

* "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" - Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in addition to Brendan Frasier? Even if the acting sucks and the plot is total garbage, I'm there. Hell, I enjoyed "The Scorpion King" (although that had Kelly Hu in a bikini, but still...)

* "Get Smart" - I'll probably wait to see if this migrates to the local Speakeasy, but I'm enough of a fan of the old series to want to see how they handled this. My folks liked it.

* "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" - HELL yeah.

* "Babylon A.D." - Again... Michelle Yeoh and she's paired with Vin Diesel? Good times.

I guess I should save my money.

Another weekend over

All said, this was a pretty eventful weekend.

Friday night I met up with one of my friends for a "writing group" thingie that was quite productive. There was beer involved and we wound up at Thalassa for a pint.

I admit that it wasn't terribly productive to go to Thalassa, but the scenery was nice. Made me feel like a fossil, but at least I got to enjoy the sights.

*sigh*

Saturday... not so awesome. Initial plans fell through (big surprise) and I felt pretty sick for most of the day (thanks wood smoke!) so I wasn't exactly super-productive.

Then "The Girls Rebel Force of Competitive Swimmers" DVD arrived. Needless to say, this is pretty much trash. Mmm... trash. Perfect compliment to "Machine Girl".

Sunday, after family time, I met up with Steve and we hit a showing of Wanted.

This movie ROCKED!

It was sort of "Fight Club" meets "The Matrix". Oh, the plot was silly, but it didn't need to be serious. It was a fun flick and I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of it from start to finish.

And I honestly can't say that about many movies.

Thus far, "Iron Man" and "Wanted" have really, really pleased me. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" wasn't bad either.

I'm hoping to find time to hit "Wall-E" at some point over the upcoming three-day weekend, inbetween all the other madness.

Genius

Foamy the Squirrel is a source of great NSWF social commentary.

Misanthropic joy.

Quotes of the Day (or week)

Barak me Obamadeus

The Banana Viking is listening.

shameless plug

No smoking zone

Yep. Woodsmoke.

Still hanging in the air.

I can tell the crappy air quality is affecting me. I've been feeling sick all week long. My contacts have been bothering me and I've been more tired than usual.

It could be a coincidence. I could be sick or fighting something and it just happens that the air is crappy.

It's also possible that climate change isn't being influenced by human activity.

Unlikely, but possible.

I could win the Lottery too.

So my back twinge is fading. Yay. To any who have suggested chiropractors, you know my answer and even should Hell freeze over, it's still not likely.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

If the air doesn't feel too crappy this afternoon, I wanna try running to get some much-needed exercise.

First I have to get through the potential drama of the day. I came in to be greeted with an offline IM that read like a couple chapters of a novel.

A novel written in obscure code made up of individualized slang that appear to comprise the writer's personal language.

And after years of association, I still don't speak this or understand what the hell is going on.

Context is a lovely thing. For those who aren't in the habit of providing it, I strongly suggest considering including it in your communcations.

Works wonders.

Gonna be a long day.

Red Sunrise and Black Coffee

Walked to Peet's just now.

The sun was rising as a magnificent red ball hovering just over the hills. Looked like something out of "Lord of the Rings" for a moment, amidst the greyish haze that passes for air.

I took pictures, but my little pocket camera won't do the scene justice.

I'm not sure pictures can.

It was really beautiful and kind of ominous with the smell of woodsmoke in the air.

This was one of those moments where I'm really glad I'm a morning person. The streets and buildings are quiet. With that strange, reddish sunrise, it makes this place look eerie and otherworldly.

If I thought I was dreaming, my first sip of my small cup of Peet's snapped me out of that. I don't add cream or sugar. It's midnight-colored liquid darkness for this little addict.

And damn is it bitter.

Seems I'm feeling all poetical this here mornin'.

I must've bumped my head or something.