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Thursday, December 24th, 2009
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casadetodd
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here's a photo of our kitchen table with generic, non-specific winter holiday tree. We open presents this evening so we can GET SOME SLEEP afterwards. My family always opened present Xmas morning to preserve the illusion that an obese Coca-Cola pitchman delivered the gifts magically during the night. I could never sleep well Xmas eve as I was WAITING FOR THE LOOT! Well, now I can make my own rules (with Sue's agreement, of course).
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casadetodd
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Please enjoy your celebrations--and libations (if you partake).
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
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bpende
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This week, we're going to take it a lot easier than planned. I think instead of the heavy discussion about the nature of animal studies about a baboon troop and its impact on the discussion of human interaction... we're going to celebrate the holidays. Specifically, we're going to play Jonathan Coulton's PodSafe Christmas Song... it's my show, I can take it easy when I want :) Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa everybody. Some key links This  is available as an mp3 for download.
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Monday, December 21st, 2009
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Sunday, December 20th, 2009
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casadetodd
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1. Heads at Greg's in Portland, Oregon
2. Odd Fellows Lodge, also Portland
3. Grocery loading docks in the rain, Milwaukie (south of Portland)
4. Leave a Note, my grandparents' house, Milwaukie
( Click to view the other three... )
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Saturday, December 19th, 2009
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casadetodd
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I haven't posted for a week or so, with work, holiday packages to prep and mail, April trip decisions to make...my head has been spinning a bit. I finally booked tickets from London to Cairo, so we'll have four full days in Egypt. That's enough time, I hope, that we'll be able to spend most of a day in Alexandria. I doubt,though, that we'll have time to find Alexander the Great's long-lost tomb (it's possibly somewhere under the city).
Sue and I will have short weeks at work for the rest of the year, so we should be able to rest and get things caught up here at home. Meanwhile, here's a pic I took today during a long walk.
( Larger version... )
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harleymae
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I think this may be the longest time I've gone without posting in LJ. Basically, I've been working on 5 projects at the same time that all have a deadline of... right about now. :P
When not working on 5 projects, I've been watching TV and going to the Dickens Fair! Today will be my third time and I'm going with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lastcatastrophe. :D I really love it and it's only on between Thanksgiving and Christmas so I want to just go as much as possible. I wonder if I should have bangers and mash today, or English tea again. Maybe I can have both...
I've been watching some of the movies I've had on my DVR for months... years... and I really enjoyed War of the Worlds, The Prestige and Eat Drink Man Woman.
Ultimately, War of the Worlds was a flawed movie because of the ending, which was really rushed, but at the same time I don't think they had much of a choice because at this point, everyone knows how the story ends and dragging the movie out for the "surprise" ending that everyone already knows is pointless. I really enjoyed most of the movie though because they did such a good job depicting the sheer horror that people experienced, and it was suspenseful and surprisingly scary. Also, the desperation of people in dire circumstances leading to violence, always very fascinating to me.
I really liked The Prestige too. A lot of it was the Victorian setting. I loved the clothes and atmosphere and it was actually really cool to go to the Dickens Fair the next day and be in Victorian London. :P We actually watched a magician perform the disappearing bird cage trick and I was super excited! Then Chip pestered me repeatedly to explain to him how it was done, haha. The other thing I liked about it was the obsession the magicians had with wanting to be the best, and the escalation of revenge which made me a little bit nostalgic for the Hong Kong dramas my mother used to watch when I was a kid where there is all kinds of escalating despicable acts in the name of revenge and then in the end everybody dies or goes mad. Good times.
Eat Drink Man Woman was a fun movie. Unsurprisingly, being a Westernized Chinese person myself, I dig Chinese movies made by Westernized directors, heh. There were so many scenes of food preparation and cooking and unfortunately I didn't enjoy it because it just reminded me of being a kid and everything making me throw up. :( To this day I mostly avoid Chinese food. I did like that it was filmed in Taiwan and I liked looking at all the buildings and streets and... I know the movie was made in 1994, but was it set in an earlier time? It's really hard to tell, sometimes countries just look like they're 20 years behind the times.
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Thursday, December 17th, 2009
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Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
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bpende
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bit of a good, old-fashioned ranty question. Do liberals and environmentalists have to deliberately make it so hard on themselves? Seriously, the biggest carbon footprint of any conference? And it's the conference on global climate change? Seriously? I'd also like to solicit some feedback around a 2004 study about a baboon troop that radically changed its violent behaviour... and maintained that change. Can humanity change its violent nature? Are animal studies irrelevant with regards to humans? Let me know what *you* think. Some key links This is available as an mp3 for download.
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Monday, December 14th, 2009
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mrmonkeybottoms
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An IM conversation I had with Favorite Co-worker after narrowly avoiding death while on my way to buy creamers for coffee for work:
HIM: I could go to sleep right now.
ME: lol
ME: curl up under the desk
HIM: do you think I would get in trouble if I curled up under the desk
HIM: ?
ME: I will ok it for you
ME: dude, I almost dies at lunch today
HIM: why did you almost dies?
ME: a car ran a red and I was coming through the intersection to go to Superstore to get creamers
ME: damn creamers
ME: I had to veer wildly to avoid death, and he didn't even brake
ME: so you are all lucky. LUCKY I SAY
ME: right now I'd be an episode of ER and you guys would have no creamers. Oh, the HUMANITY
HIM: ARE THE CREAMERS OK???
ME: lol!
ME: hahahah, I am dying
ME: I have to save this conversation forever
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Sunday, December 13th, 2009
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mrmonkeybottoms
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!!!!!
Let's all squee in the comments. Spoiler, obviously, duh.
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Friday, December 11th, 2009
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casadetodd
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From: "Mr Ken Reek" <ken_reek7@yahoo.com>
To: undisclosed-recipients
YOUR PART PAYMENT APPROVAL
Attn:
Your file appears in my desk two days ago Through FMS office that you are among people approved to be paid half of their payment of USD$8 million dollars. Signed by the Vice President, On behalf of Mr.President.
I need your information, to confirm with the one we have already here in our file, if you are the rightful owner to be paid. Thank you very much for your understanding.
Regards,
Mr.Kenneth Reek
FOREIGN PAYMENT INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT OFFICE(F.I.D.O)
***
Mr. Reek,
Why am I only going to get half of my USD$8 million dollars? I'm not confirming anything unless I'm to receive the entire USD$8 million dollars. I'm certain that the other undisclosed-recipients will feel the same way. Frankly, I think the whole thing stinks, and that the proper Mysterious Cash Windfall regulatory agency should put a leash on F.I.D.O.
With all due respect,
Todd
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tired.