January: Twilight series.
February: I am Legend,
A little shocked and unbelieving that I only read Twilight in January.. hopefully it's just my sleep deprived brain being unable to recall clearly right now.
*I'm sure I read somethings between Feb and May but I didn't write it down and I can't remember.
May: Burn Notice: The fix, World War Z, T2 Infiltrator
June: The Strain, Jane Eyre
July: Pride&Prejudice, P&P&Zombies
August: Foundation, 2nd Foundation book

Our neighbour is a smoker and his exhaled cigarette smoke often wafts into our apartment. Annoying, but I can live with it if it's not too frequent I suppose.
However what I can't live with is cigarette butts flicked onto my balcony and I've found three in the last few days. This is not cool.

Just now I smelt again that familiar odour and wanting to avoid more butts being thrown on my balcony I went out there to stop it.
My body was spoiling for a fight, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest ready to.. I don't know what.
At first I couldn't locate the smoker and I haven't been sure if it's no3 or no5 that's doing it. Above me I couldn't see anything, nor to the right.. but I stayed out there enjoying the nice breeze. Finally I saw movement to my right and the dark shadow of my neighbour skulked back into his own apartment.

A few things occurred to me to say but I held my tongue not wanting to appear as angry as I had been. Now I feel quite triumphant about my non-confrontation and as Scott is busy on Vent/ffxi I have to report my joy here. :)

Nassim Nicholas Taleb: the prophet of boom and doom
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article4022091.ece?print=yes&randnum=1233293019614

Actually I wonder how long that article will remain online in that particular place..

This year's new Channel Ten promo's are nice. Stylistically they're getting it right.

Immediately Ten looks different to Seven and Nine, whose promo's are usually set on a beach with the local talent awkwardly throwing the channel logo to each other Brady bunch style.
But Ten have gone with an understated score to their ad and the stars are natural, identifiable and accessible even.

Even the title screens for what's coming up next are done well. Not new ideas but seen in a new medium.
A line traces underneath the words on screen and angles around particular letter's curves to point and move you to the time. Simple and memorable.
The lower, middle and upper parts of the screen which had been displaying what's on now, next and later, drop away to show you the face of the main character in the program you're currently watching.
That's a children's book style. And it really works.
It seems like Channel Ten's design department would be an interesting place to work.


The only fly in Ten's ointment is their news.. but I don't like any TV news really, maybe SBS whose news anchors are hot. Sandra Sully has helmet hair for frak's sake.. helmet hair!

Perhaps reading the Australian Magazine contributed to my dream as it contained several articles about Obama.

I didn't remember having it until I sat on the end of my bed, stared into my eyes in the mirror and noticed just how glassy with sleep they were.
And I got the image of sitting on some stone steps with Jess. The steps led down into some shallow water and on the other side of that was an indian temple, very colourful and very tall.
My sleepy memory slowly recalled the dream timeline and I realised this was the end of the dream.

In the beginning...

"We" are on a bus, of course the only people I can recall now are Obama himself and Jess but there are many on the bus. We're visiting people who voted for Obama in the recent election. First we visit a family but I don't remember that at all. Second we visit a Vietnam veteran's house. More of a trailer really.Obama is too tall for this small trailer and has to duck his head a little so as not to smash it on the door frame. His wife lets us into the lounge and we briefly and awkwardly wait until a young boy comes to fetch us outside to where we can see the 'vet' sitting at a pool table. Through a screen door in the kitchen and down two concrete steps to the veranda area outside the trailer. We join the vet and his son at the pool table, each of us to a side. The Vet is dressed in all camouflage and a cap is pushed down to his eyebrows. He offers us tea which we drink as he rambles about 'nam and why he voted for Obama.
Obama smiles very widely and laughs animatedly at the stories.
Obama's minders break up our meeting prematurely and herd us back onto the bus. On board we find out that our tea was drugged. There don't seem to be any ill-intentions or too dramatic side effects however and we continue on our drive.

Not too far down the road we take a side lane upon which we find the indian water temple. It must be the drugs working because we are in America, not India. Anyway, we pull up and mingle with the tourists. Taking photo's like regular people. I focus the temple in my camera's viewfinder ready to take a shot but I take a step forward and see it climbs higher and higher in the sky with more colourful designs all the way up.
I suggest Obama climb the steps a little so we can take his picture next to the temple.
We get the shot and we all go exploring the little/large/colourful temple. It turns out to be wooden inside and a maze.

And that is all I recall....

Today I visited an optometrist and $390 later I am getting some glasses for reading / computering.


and me in them...


Apparently I'm a little long-sighted, more in my right eye than my left too. Huh..
Here's hoping I can say goodbye to tired, tired eyes.

Skins season 1 & 2
The Wire - tv series, all of it~
Dexter season 2 & 3

Book by David Sedaris. Particularly 'when you are engulfed in flames'

DVD versions of movies I don't own but would like to...
Happiness
James Bond's, all of them~
The Breakfast Club
Planet of the Apes original movie

Olympics!!!!

As one of the bloggers on TV Squad said "They have yet to invent an Olympic sport I won't watch"
Which isn't entirely true for me because I've turned off some of the Handball matches I've seen. Perhaps I'm missing some intricacies in the sport but it really just looks like running and throwing a ball.

I saw some beautiful Men's diving and gymnastics yesterday. I'm very jealous of the skill of these athletes. I'm not as flexible as I once was :P

Track and Field starts today ^_^ I have a full day of couch sitting ahead of me. Interspersed with Wiiiiii though.


In ffxi news Ataramith continues being a giant douchebag and Reyals decided to quit having heard nothing about his hacked account from Square :(
I'm going to make a Cooking with Yul blog somewhere to keep track of my pile of gil and the quest for a morrigan's robe. mmmmmm... refresh.

Ok, laundry to do before the olympics begin so hello and goodbye LiveJournal that I never update.

As I wrote it 11am-ish this morning.

Four friends investigate an old abandoned station. Why?
A long narrow walkway, paved, finally opens into an arched area. Rooms lead off. Just wooden doors to the right and left but double glass doors straight ahead.
Arched open area is leafy and on closer inspection covered in rats.
A body, stiff, missing it's eyes is discovered under the leaves.
A/My mobile phone lights the area.

Some of us want to go immediately but one looks through the glass double doors and sees taxidermied/stiff beaver/animals sitting on chairs and lounges and having tea. As we pass through the doorway my phone light switches off and it starts playing an interactive reflection/movie of where I am.
As my light dies the ones in the room come on. There are no beavers! and it's beautifully, if creepily, furnished. Many things we each want.

Arguments about leaving/staying as we explore further. One girl always leading finds another door, wooden and sort of hidden in the wall. The room behind is unlit at first and we can hear/see the scurrying of more rats.
As we step in, the room lightens and an old crone/bag lady (not there before! Now no rats!) stands and asks who we are to tramp around uninvited in her place.

I stammer apologies while backing out. Friends however step further in to talk to her. I grasp one of my friends shirts before they get too far and pull them back through. "She's creepy! This place is wrong, let's all leave"
My phone continues it's odd behaviour.

Crone shuffles through doorway. "No, no, you cannot leave" she says sinisterely "I never have guests" smiling.
Conversations and odd behaviour from friends ensue. Tea is made by one of my friends at the decrepit old lady's suggestion.
I remain lucid and wonder why no one asks about the dead man outside, and all the rats.

Crone gets her special ingredient for tea. They look like long skinny curly fingernails as she walks by the flowery lounge I/we sit on. But everyone else says cinnamon. I deliberately spill my tea in the doorway. She is angry.

I walk around room with my mobile phone and wait. Friends are all in the other room with crone. One by one they drift out. Now each fixated on the one thing they want so much.
Crone shuffles my way.
I'm staring through the glass double doors wanting to leave but now seeing a vast lake beyond the arched area.
Touching me she says she knows it's hard to accept my father is dead but he's been missiong for a week and she knows he is gone.
"What! how do you know about this, how could you know!"

I pace by the doors but am distracted by a beautiful sight. There are water horses galloping and leaping and playing across the surface of the lake. They crash forward like waves and roll back as the sea does. There are water people among the horses, helping, herding them.
The beauty pushes my grief into tears and I cry watching the spectacle.

I don't know how long I sleep but I wake to a gentle push on my shoulder. I'm outside and the horses/people have all frozen in position. Beautiful. Two men stand by me.
"One touched by us must join us"
Sadly realise I must. Think of my lost friends and family and smile as I walk onto the lake holding each waterman's hand.

Epilogue...

Evil lady has three more rats and one more beaver/animal.

Scottie gave me the very unexpected gift of a new little toy for Christmas.
I typing this entry out on it. It... I can't go on calling itit. I hereby name thee barry.
Anyway barry is fairly intuitive, typing is still awkward but the auto-complete / spell-checker is nice.

I'm so tired.. I'll conclude this experent here for now but I'll tap out another entry on barry soon.