My computer's acting like it's on heroin.

Woooo! Papal Death Watch '05 draws near an end. Now for all the fun of a conclave.

I saw Sin City last night at a sneak preview, and it was fucking awesome. Downside is, we got home after our bedtime, and then even worse, I couldn't sleep, and after I finally did fall asleep, the dog woke up with Jonathan at 3 AM and was very active. I slept through my alarm, and what finally woke me up was a massive headache, for which my drugs have been only partially effective. Yet oddly, Sin City was so good it was worth it.

Just got back from Vancouver. FYI, if you're on any psych meds, don't forget to take them when you go on vacation. Not a problem for the first day, but I figured, well, I bet my doc can just get a prescription filled here. Alas, this was not so, and I had to pay for a doc to give me a prescription. She didn't have any samples of my drugs, so she gave me some in the same class, which I popped without worrying. Well, apparently subtle differences in chemistry can lead to major differences in effect, and two hours later, I passed out, and didn't wake up for seventeen hours, during which I had a plethora of nightmares. For the rest of the day, I was in a fog, like I was dreaming while awake, and haven't felt that out of it since I used to do acid on a regular basis. I then decided two more days without my drugs would be better than another day like that. So for a few days now, I've felt much the same, very detached, and when asleep, my dreams were close enough to the surface that I could yell out in my sleep on occasion, and remember them in perfect detail. Too bad they were all incredibly painful nightmares, like one in which I had to choose between two drowning people on whose life to save. I felt the cold water and I couldn't choose and finally demanded one of the two choose, and I shouted to him, "Your choice!" but I did it out loud and woke Jonathan up.

Stuff I did. First day, we just sort of chilled out. Next day, we went shopping and went to Granville Island (which like Monster Island is actually a peninsula) and I got all three released volumes of Samurai Executioner, by the same guys who did Lone Wolf and Cub. Quite good, and I shall have to loan it to Corynn.

Thursday, we went to Chinatown and I got a scroll. We also had high tea, which has some scrumptious stuff, but reconfirmed my dislike for hot drinks. After that was also done, we got remarried. We found a marriage commissioner and just grabbed a couple hotel staff to be witnesses. Everyone was remarkably blase about the thing, which was nice, like a couple of fags getting married was an everday normal occurrence. Afterwards, we killed a bottle of wine we'd been saving, and went to Oasis to enjoy a meal and celebrate. Friday, we went to Stanley Park and got rather lost. We ended up walking for three hours. Stanley Park is pretty fucking huge. The border is ten kilometers long and we went about the interior as well, stopping to look at ducks and stuff. We read the Book of Esther, cause it was Purim, but my mental state was not such that going out and getting blotto was wise, so we tried to make an early night of it, but a group of frat boys and sorority girls decided the echoey fire escape stairwell was the perfect place to hang out all night long, and my already tenous sleep/wake pattern got taxed even further. We complained about it and ended up getting our parking free. Then we drove home. The puppy and kitties are rather glad to see us, and Bran appears to have gotten both taller and had a growth spurt in his ass, which is getting to that giant Corgi shape. Now to chill, let my brain get reacquainted with seratonin and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Fuck Tacoma. Fuck it so bad. We went to the Glass Art Museum today, and it was fucking awful. It's tiny and pathetic, and there wasn't even any fucking stained glass. It was all blown glass, and the blown glass they had was shit. I hate blown glass. And they had the fucking gall to charge ten bucks to get in. I kept thinking there had to be something more, but there wasn't. I hate Dale Chihuly, I hate his fucking museum, and I hate his fucking hometown.

I just found out that the day I was born, Spain officially transitioned from dictatorship to constituational monarchy. No wonder my dad wanted to name me Juan Carlos, after King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Did I meantion I'm happy because I learned the character for "Tao" finally?

道

Oh yeah. I also didn't get that job. The director solicits me to apply for a job I had not interest in, encourages me to apply, then doesn't even interview me.

So, yesterday, Sydney is looking through the yellow pages for a car repair place, and I decide to check if abortion providers are still the first category listed. They are, and I see one that says, "Student and Military Discounts!" and describes itself as located "in a cozy office in the heart of downtown." I thought it was hilarious, and take it over to Marybeth, my coworker, so she can laugh, and she gets a huge grin and says, "That's the one I went to! They're great there!" It was kind of shocking and funny that she mentioned having an abortion so casually, but now I know where to send any friends who need one.

I feel very geeky because of how proud of I am of myself for organizing all my trade paperbacks.

Wow. Not only could Ho Chi Minh lead his country to freedom from the rule of two imperialist superpowers, he could also bake a fine croissant.

You know, I hate people who wanna ban books, but they really do put together great lists of things to read.

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

The income tax is just. It simply intends to put the burdens of government justly upon the backs of the people. I am in favor of an income tax. When I find a man who is not willing to bear his share of the burdens of the government which protects him, I find a man who is unworthy to enjoy the blessings of a government like ours.

-William Jennings Bryan

I've decided I hate the vegetarian shark theme present in both Finding Nemo and Shark Tale. Sharks are predators who would die without meat, and they're the most beautifully designed predators in the sea. Trying to shield the fact that some animals are designed to eat meat, and some are fantastic prey for them, and that they co-evolved with that relationship is stupid.

Weird. I had a dream that instead of my usual menagerie of pets, I had an animate jar of jam, an animate bunch of grapes, a small monkey, and a mid-sized ape. The jam jar spat jam in defense, and the monkey kept looking for something to mate with. It was terrible.

EH Gombrich's book, The Story of Art, is fucking fantastic. Prior to reading it, I never had an appreciation for the Western masters, or why the hell they were considered great to begin with. It's given me a real perspective, and now I realize why certain pieces are in the Louvre. I highly recommend it.

I Heart Huckabees is way too much fun.

Reading an article about genocide through history is not the way to start a Saturday.

While I'm pleased that Seattle's homeless are organizing into these Tent Cities, I'm depressed that there are four now and plans for more. It's like we're going to be Sao Paulo any day now.