A Winter's Tale

I really, really wish that the grill of the A/C unit right outside my bedroom would stop choosing the weekend that I get the flu to start hitting the fan. I think this is like the third year in a row this has happened.

The older sibling (who could probably go as "thebrightseason" or "the original yellow bastard") sent me a recent New York Times article regarding Midtown Atlanta:

We skip dessert, heading instead for a nightcap at our favorite spot down on Ponce, an Atlanta institution since 1965. The anticipation grows as we near. Will the circular beacon in the window flash its neon welcome?

“Hot Now,” it screams, and the whooping commences in the back seat. We watch as our glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts rumble down the conveyor belt, knowing that a frosty night in Atlanta cannot end any more warmly than this.

Mmmmmm.... doughnuts.

I know that Emergency Broadcasts are important, and I've even tolerated your stupid interrupt-the-program-when-you-test-the-system-during-primetime-programming test procedure.

But tonight, I watched you completely interrupt the penultimate episode of this season of Supernatural some five minutes from the ending, thereby completely obscuring the action from when ( spoiler ) to when ( spoiler ), rendering my watching of said program incomplete and unenjoyable, for the broadcast of an emergency notice of a child abduction which contained no discernable details other than it was in the state of Georgia.

In short, you suck donkey balls.

So last night, I ended up hitting a local bar for their Guitar Hero competition. Having played very little actual Guitar Hero II, I didn't sign up to compete, my primary reason for being there was to meet up with El Guapo, his brother skander, and his other brother who to the best of my knowledge has no sort of blog. I get there somewhat earlier than the rest of the gang and mill about the bar while I wait for the Guapos. At one point one of the competitors walks up to me and asks, "Did you play at the competition at the Independent a long time ago?"

When I reply in the affirmative, he responds: "Dude, you're the reason that I play Guitar Hero!"

I'm not sure what to think of that.


Listening to the morning radio, I learned that the general contractor assigned to do roadwork on I-20 near Atlanta may be fined for exceeding the early-morning time alloted to blocking a lane on the interstate and causing a disproportionate amount of gridlock. Coupled with the recent news that Turner Broadcasting will likely pay some two million dollars for the media and police disruption of Boston as a result of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force viral marketing campaign, it occurs to me that if we're going to make people pay for screwing up traffic, then the purveyors of the Big Dig probably owe the city a pretty penny.


And finally, from countessmary: Bold the series that you've seen for 3 or more episodes. Underline the series that you know for sure (or that you've seen them complete). If you want, add three more series (keep it in alphabetic order).

I added Beauty and the Geek, Cupid, and Psych.

( big list of television series )

When someone in atlanta asks for a place to get bubble tea in Midtown, suggesting the gigantic megamart off of Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth is quite helpful in the sense that it is not.

I managed to catch Serenity three times this weekend--Friday night I met up with leeannslytherin and crazchica. Saturday, I avoided the Florida/Alabama game with another viewing and then met up on Sunday with countessmary (who I wasn't able to sit with Friday night) for a third.

In general, the Mandarin in the movie is much better than the Mandarin in the series. Since some of the longer phrases are either spoken offscreen or look a bit like they've been ADR'd, I suspect that they had a dialogue/dialect coach come in to a recording studio and run them through the phrases multiple times and picked the best one.

( Some Mandarin Translations--Possible Spoilers )

Like I said earlier, Serenity is good, and much of the success of the movie (and any possible future Firefly-related projects) is dependent on both the first and second weeks of ticket sales. So here's an offer for those of you that read this who have little idea of what I've just talked about. Of the qualifying persons who: live in the Atlanta area and have seen neither Serenity nor Firefly, the first one who comments on this entry will receive: one ticket to a showing of this movie for this coming weekend. I'm thinking the 4:40 showing at Regal Hollywood 24, but I'm flexible.

In other news, I watched Mirrormask this Saturday night, and it was good, too. A bit slow at parts, but visually striking.

I'm going to IKEA.

After flipping me off not once, but twice some five hours ago after I had the audacity to honk at you for cutting me off, I'm still pissed off at you. If there's ever the off-chance that I run into your stupid slacker ass again, I do intend to beat the living shit out of you.

James, in need of an Anger Workbook.

If you ever go to one of the various locations of The Loop Pizza Grill in Atlanta, GA and consider an individual pizza with the "roasted garlic" topping, please keep in mind that while it might suggest chopped and/or minced garlic, "roasted garlic" consists of WHOLE GARLIC CLOVES scattered all over the six-inch-diameter pie.

Not that this is a bad thing.

Got back last night from a lazy, lazy week in Miami.

After mom's visit for a few days, we drove from Atlanta to Miami, with a stop in West Palm to pick up the elder brother. During the stop, I watched him play Counterstrike for a few hours before I began to feel slightly nauseous. Must be nice, having a computer fast enough to make you vomit.

Watched the entirety of the the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions with Jerry and Dad. Mom bowed out in the middle of Two Towers, and though she watched a bit of Return, I don't think it's something she's thrilled to partake of.

I've somehow managed, however, to get my parents (mostly my dad) addicted to Everwood. I watched most of the first season while I was down in Miami, and at some point, I'll need to send the discs down to them so they can watch the whole thing in rapt attention.

Things my brother has overheard his FSU-alum co-worker say:

• "Well, you should understand. It's in your native language."
  regarding the Aramaic The Passion of the Christ to someone from Italy.
  
• "It must suck to lose to an in-state rival."
  to a Virginia Tech-alum regarding Virginia Tech's loss to West Virginia a couple of years ago.

Got cash, some Tai Chi books, Katamari Damacy for the birthday/Christmas. "Katamari Damacy is not a violent game, but you can roll up balls of little children and nobody knows what happens to them after that," according to Wired.com.

Drove back up yesterday, listening to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I also had some PKD short stories, the Return of the King audiobook, Prisoner of Azkaban, and some recording to help me learn French. Personally, I think all of the above would have been more worthwhile...