How long has it been since I've kept up with anything System of a Down-related? Last I remembered, Serj had an enormous goattee-mustache combo and moderate hair (3"–4", roughly). Suffering through a few minutes of MTV this morning, I caught SOAD's ‘Hypnotize’ and saw a Weird Al-lookalike. Serj has curly hair down past his shoulder and looks relatively clean-shaven (mustache is gone, and goattee is shorter).
Also, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire carries on the horrid precedents set in the previous cinematic release. The movie is literally a 2.5 hour trailer, lacking all – not just a few or many – of the subtleties and details that make the book a good story. You're left with a teen drama with little humor and too much action.
Can the entirety of the series continue with major plot holes? Yes. But it no longer becomes Harry Potter or even a good movie. You're just left with some good special effects. Did they mention that Harry's and Voldemort's wands share the same core? What happened with SPEW and Winky and Dobby? How was Malfoy reduced to just a 5-minute conflict? Where did Harry accept the tournament winnings and give them to the Weasly twins? Will their joke shop even exist in the series? Et cetera.
I won't speculate on why J.K. Rowling accepted this rendition. I just won't bother watching the rest of the movies until someone I know rents them on DVD, because for me to spend money on renting is too much of a waste.
Thanksgiving was good. Spent a lot of time with the In-Laws & Co. Ate a lot, but short of suffocating myself. I need another day or two just to be at home, though. But that won't happen until next Monday, when I settle down in Springfield for a couple of days without need to leave the house.
I was playing around with loan amortization and saw that, by paying $200 instead of the monthly minimum of $140.97, I can reduce the interest paid by half ($4400 versus $2175). If I further increase it to $250 a month, it'd be $284 in interest. Pretty awesome, eh?
Asma discovered Elvis Costello last week and I'm now also hooked.
And either I have a strange acceptance of death, or no one with whom I've had a significant attachment to has died.
A most fortuitous event has occurred in the absolute death (meaning, not even mail forwarding) of shahid@uiuc.edu: I literally don't get spam anymore. Which is fairly promising for places with which I've signed up with using my designated spam e-mail. Have they not released their lists to others?
Apparently not.
It's strange, though. The last bits of spam were from the 16th. I no longer have to sift through my Junk mailbox in Eudora for things that might've been incorrectly marked.
We went vacuum shopping last weekend, and, being a little more broke than usual, we skipped out on a Dyson and settled for a Bissel Liftoff Revolution, well over $200 cheaper than the cheapest Dyson (considering that the cash register priced it $50 less than it should've been).
The Bissell is amazing. Layers of animal fur were easily removed where our old Hoover Windtunnel had obviously failed miserably. The carpet looks happy and healthy, and the air feels cleaner.
The only downside to Bissell is a small canister which we had to change seven times just for the babies' room. But now that the rooms have had a fairly thorough cleaning, it shouldn't be an issue with regular vacuuming.
Thanksgiving should be every weekend. I like turkey and stuffing and gravy.
This short tale starts off slightly more than five months ago, before the wedding.
If you remember, we had a sofreh aghd, which is a decorative wedding spread. A mirror, candles, and a few other symbolic items are placed on them. One thing that traditionally gets put on are walnuts and one another nut painted in gold.
Of course, given the hectic circumstances, the walnuts Asma had painted a couple of weeks before the wedding were forgotton until afterwards. For the longest time, they were just lying around the apartment in some place or another until we finally threw them out.
A few days ago, as I was looking around in Shirin's cage (mainly in her play area, in which she dragged a fairly large wooden toy from the raised platform a few weeks ago, progressively breaking it down to individual pieces), I saw a large, roundish object.
It was a walnut, and I was totally confused.
How did a walnut get into Shirin's cage? Did the bunnies, separated by fencing, somehow push the walnut through the wires that wouldn't let it fit through? How could the bunnies have even gotten a walnut ? They never leave the room when they're given a chance. And where did a walnut come from in the first place?
The wedding walnuts totally slipped my mind until I told Asma about the find, at which time she brought it up. But I'm still wondering where exactly she found it, and what possessed her to carry that relatively large item back with her.
Animals are great.
The weather's been nice, though it was unseasonably warm up until a couple of days ago, with a high near 70° and lows around 40°. That shift has made my throat aggravated and me feeling bleh. But I'm getting better. Looks like a pretty day outside.
My mother-in-law got her Ph.D on Tuesday, so yay! Congrats to her.
And I am going to Illinois on December 2 for a few days.
Back to work-from-home I go.
That Shirin is frequently going to and nibbling on the leaves on the coffee table is proof. It is quite cute if you could witness it.
Asma and I made the best crepe dinner ever on Tuesday night to commemorate our 2nd anniversary. Two years seems so long ago, almost another world. I've got a wife and kids – no more boozing around campus as a bachelor.
<3 to Moosh.
Tomorrow night we're going to The Capital Grille for a long overdue steak dinner. Do they offer 5 lb steaks? And will they give it to me for free if I finish it all in one sitting? Stay tuned.
I fohget eet, bruthaaaa.
Yesterday, Asma and I walked from Bethesda to Georgetown. All in all, around 13 miles was covered on foot.
Owie.
Men reading fashion magazines:
Oh what a world it seems we live in,
Straight men; (I know you're out there!)
Oh what a world
we live in.
And yes, that is one of the most literal uses of such a phrase.
Asma and I went to see Rufus on Monday night, with OK Go opening. All in all, it was the most entertaining show I've been to. The whole exaggerated dance-lip-synch thing (i.e. – end of The 40 Year Old Virgin) is a bit cliché, but it was still funny when they did it at the end of their acts. Rufus wasa gay Jesus being crucified, with lipstick, a tiara, and a blue, Greek-style lady's dress. How dare he commit such blasphemy against the prophet, eh?
OH WELL.
Rufus himself was a funny and personable guy. He talked to the audience a lot, burped mid-song (laughed, apologized, kept singing), and was just an overall casual person.
He didn't take himself seriously on stage, is what it comes down to. I don't know if he's normally like that, but it's nice.
And yes, he is gay. I didn't expect him to be so flaming, but I am not familiar with him and his music, either.
Ok, out of my system.
I am taking today off work to finish up a freelance project due next Wednesday. Once again, the weather is amazing. So serene, if it wasn't for the cars driving by or the car dealership noises behind the apartment. I think that once next week is over, I won't be overburdened with work. No big projects until January, it seems like. Aside from The CulturalConnect. But two jobs is more manageable than three.
So there may be time yet to hang out with wifey on pretty days like this and relax before winter comes.
As for Dunkin' Donuts coffee being amazing, that legend, I'm finding out, is so false. It's like any other drip coffee: bitter.
Two-year anniversary next Tuesday! Harry Potter a few days after that! The Lion, the Witch, and the Warddrobe a few weeks later!
I'm fresh, clean shaven, and motivated. Time to get some work done.
