tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114972092024-03-24T05:18:41.672+11:00a little east of realitychoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.comBlogger817125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-75257942043210399302010-03-23T00:03:00.004+11:002010-03-23T00:51:27.232+11:00seven minutes in ...heaven?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFP-rAVha2f3eAeB_kpAQi82EM0fmefCzb-IDu2jWDHCVCcfvI5wxr3CG25m5Qm4LgaypAOeUd9muAT-2GsEFf1GJNmIhEBWYJ_-P_c7Wv9vIBholOSHNqKemPquvslMn6yxVg/s1600-h/screenplay.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 193px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFP-rAVha2f3eAeB_kpAQi82EM0fmefCzb-IDu2jWDHCVCcfvI5wxr3CG25m5Qm4LgaypAOeUd9muAT-2GsEFf1GJNmIhEBWYJ_-P_c7Wv9vIBholOSHNqKemPquvslMn6yxVg/s200/screenplay.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451454930794380242" /></a>I'm trying to write a seven minute screenplay, draft due on Friday. I've had a few ideas ~ even one I like ~ but it's a real challenge to distill it down to the crucial elements so that it fits the time frame. I've watched a few short films now and it IS possible to tell an intriguing story in a few scenes. <div><br /></div><div>What it ISN'T is easy.</div><div><br /></div>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-55442690108434870932010-03-15T07:42:00.002+11:002010-03-15T13:57:14.172+11:00because there aren't enough happy endingsWhen I first saw this picture I was obviously horrified. Then I read the story.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSePzK9j0QFfWaGGxdW1Sf0AJZhLEu_42ilfOuyi0THL0bLmkFPgj1XSH6zQFF0TrqAWcZxrqDfh7jxx_dsiD9a8m5scsXf4IAU51kPThax_MmZKbRZO3cC4BLapYPub2Xstz/s1600-h/lao+lu.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 5px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 216px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439052860121853650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSePzK9j0QFfWaGGxdW1Sf0AJZhLEu_42ilfOuyi0THL0bLmkFPgj1XSH6zQFF0TrqAWcZxrqDfh7jxx_dsiD9a8m5scsXf4IAU51kPThax_MmZKbRZO3cC4BLapYPub2Xstz/s320/lao+lu.jpg" /></a>Here's Chuanliu: a guy with two kids. He's a rickshaw driver in Beijing. His wife is mentally disabled and spends her days picking up trash on the road. She is unable to care for the child. They have a two year old that has to be somewhere during the day while Chuanliu's at work. He's a migrant worker, so he can't get child care assistance from the Chinese government. Whatever arrangements he had made previously failed, because the month before this photo was taken, his four-year-old daughter was stolen. He said:<br /><blockquote>My wife can't take care of him and I have to work to support my family. So I chain him to a pole when I have a fare. I don't even have a picture of my daughter to use for a missing-person poster. I cannot lose my son as well.</blockquote>So what should he have done? And this is one reason I blogged this story. It was something to realise that there really might have been no good solution. He apparently doesn't have other family to rely on. I suppose his thinking was that if the boy at least stayed where he parks his rickshaw, then he would be able to check on him between fares. Though Lao Lu was chained (which makes sense, because a kidnapper could undo others bindings) he had mobility and relative safety (compared to being left alone able to wander away).<br /><br />Am I saying it's okay? No. Of course it's not okay for a two-year-old to be chained to a pole while his father works. But at least in this crap heap of a situation, his father loves him. He just can't provide for him, though he's trying. Apparently he's been offered large sums of money (probably by a family who have a daugher and can't try for a boy ~ highly valued in Chinese culture ~ because of the one child policy) to give his son up for adoption and refused. Good for him. He needs help, not to lose his last child.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5KApZemWZhZxfa_zyqtcMHY1V59W6zvocdhmdL9Sxv4P3KganiHgtTVQ8kQ0i4VMd1iCF7VjXqvHS8Etz9o9sW2nAfDueW_Qyp6Kh0lX-CVduYc71Nxu9CbFlldcq5HuE3iF/s1600-h/lao+lu+and+dad.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 216px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439052869506953602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5KApZemWZhZxfa_zyqtcMHY1V59W6zvocdhmdL9Sxv4P3KganiHgtTVQ8kQ0i4VMd1iCF7VjXqvHS8Etz9o9sW2nAfDueW_Qyp6Kh0lX-CVduYc71Nxu9CbFlldcq5HuE3iF/s320/lao+lu+and+dad.jpg" /></a>I imagine it must have been with some desperation that he came to this solution and it must have been humiliating to have someone take a picture of his son and expose their plight to the world. But a child care centre owner in Beijing saw the story and now Lao Lu will be in free child care for the next three years. May that person get twice the karma points they deserve. I wonder how many other centre owners read the story and just sat back and judged him as a bad parent.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-45575028972976305902010-03-14T06:36:00.000+11:002010-03-14T06:36:00.089+11:00randall...are you afraid of commitment?<a href="http://xkcd.com/712/"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 387px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 192px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447942022760541698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_hrX00z1e4PjbLySeXxSOwkq67xKUZptwTgrtr6beC53iowSsyKD-_svucrhF6p4NZzbhig60Djxjqe6hgjM7LOsD5yyesvmgyVYW0ooklumUA4cBSkAPkh0gRDtdQJazxWC_/s320/single_ladies.png" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div>Mouseover text: Using a ring to bind someone you covet into your dark and twisted world? Wow, just got the subtext there. Also, the apparently eager Beyonce would've made one badass Nazgul.</div><br /><div></div><div>The kind of mind that connects Beyonce with Tolkien...guys like this give me such a heart on. (Just to clarify, I mean xkcd's Randall, not Sauron. Evil overlords are so emotionally manipulative.)</div>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-50272116575599280602010-02-06T22:13:00.006+11:002010-02-08T00:36:40.015+11:00invictus<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_EFqhYGhGJqLsuREOzfisyjBP9rYu01aZQMBwwFmGrZRszGOWQMQUE7Lgys_qKPXMd4RLfEJ-SHKIVGqhdVB_53pjJY1l3N93EVdOQPjtwBr3UltJBhvhl1eD2oMrZLYj48j/s1600-h/Invictus.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 216px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435134202275648226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_EFqhYGhGJqLsuREOzfisyjBP9rYu01aZQMBwwFmGrZRszGOWQMQUE7Lgys_qKPXMd4RLfEJ-SHKIVGqhdVB_53pjJY1l3N93EVdOQPjtwBr3UltJBhvhl1eD2oMrZLYj48j/s320/Invictus.jpg" /></a>I quite like Clint Eastwood as a director, and he did a good job on this movie. It did gloss over Mandela's personal life (past infidelities and the like), only hinting at his problems. In one way this was a shame, because the contrast of his private weaknesses against his public successes would have made for an interesting study. <div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>But the story it did tell was quite inspiring. Mandela had a choice when he took office. After 30 years in prison, some would have only been interested in revenge, but he recognised that this wasn't a useful approach. He showed compassion and fairness to the white minority who really didn't deserve it given their history. One of the symbols of that group was the Springbok rugby team and he engaged with the team, found ways to allow South African blacks to engage with them, too, in positive ways. And all of this leading up to the Rugby World Cup, which South Africa was hosting. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The title of the movie (which means 'unconquered') actually reflects an interesting choice, from the director and the writer. In the movie, just before the Cup, Mandela gives the Springbok captain Francois Pienaar a copy of a poem he says gave him hope while he was in prison. It's not bad either, as inspiring words go. </div><blockquote>Out of the night that covers me,<br />Black as the pit from pole to pole,<br />I thank whatever gods may be<br />For my unconquerable soul.<br /><br />In the fell clutch of circumstance<br />I have not winced nor cried aloud.<br />Under the bludgeonings of chance<br />My head is bloody, but unbowed.<br /><br />Beyond this place of wrath and tears<br />Looms but the Horror of the shade,<br />And yet the menace of the years<br />Finds and shall find me unafraid.<br /><br />It matters not how strait the gate,<br />How charged with punishments the scroll,<br />I am the master of my fate:<br />I am the captain of my soul.<br /></blockquote><br /><div>There's just one thing ~ that isn't what Mandela actually gave Pienaar. In real life, Mandela gave him an extract from Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena" speech from 1910. The thing is, the extract is wonderful, and it's much more apt for a captain taking his team into the competition of their lives, with the country hanging on their success. The pressure must have been enormous, and they were copping constant flack in the media in the year leading up to the Cup. This is the extract: </div><div><blockquote>It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. </blockquote>Damn straight, Teddy. Wise words. I really wish they'd used it in the movie. Given how precariously Mandela risked failure in order to bring his country together at a crucial moment, I think that extract was the better choice.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Not sure if there's anyone out there still reading this blog after such a long break, but if so, what piece of writing do you find inspiring/motivating?</div>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-68823664746762120502009-10-27T23:59:00.008+11:002009-10-30T16:00:48.873+11:00antipodal bloggingOkay, as long as no-one on my blogroll has recently moved to Iceland, Northeast Canada or East Africa, I think I'm good.<br /><br />'The fool' over at <a href="http://www.mypetshadow.net/2009/10/anitpodal-blogging.html">My Pet Shadow</a> has tagged me (but this is not a meme) to be the next participant in his random (non-meme) post idea. :)<br /><br />Here's how it works:<br /><br />First, look through your blogroll and find the blogger whose location is the furthest from you on the globe. If your blog doesn't have a blogroll, then pick a blog you read regularly and use that one. Figure out the distance between your location and theirs in miles. Google can give you a bunch of links to sites that have a distance calculator. You'll need that distance to add to the running total.<br /><br />Second, post it on your blog. Be sure to include:<br />1. A link to their blog.<br />2. The distance from your location to theirs.<br />3. Add that distance to the running total stated in the blog post that tagged you and list the new total.9,725<br />4. A link to the post in which you were tagged.<br /><br />Third, let the other blogger know, via e-mail, a comment, carrier pigeon, or however else you communicate with others, that you've listed them as your faraway friend and let them know it's their turn. Be sure and let them know how this is supposed to work.<br /><br />If it happens (and it's likely) that the person who tagged you is also the farthest from your location, go with the second farthest. No point in having you both post back and forth ad infinitum. Even though that would give you both something to post on those blocked days when your brain's gone dry, it would be just plain stupid.<br /><br />In theory, people should be able to follow the path back to the origin (which is here) and forward to the latest.<br /><br />So without further ado:<br /><br />The blogger on my blogroll who's furthest away from me is bonnie over at <a href="http://frogma.blogspot.com/">frogma</a>!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8yHbhf_0lfiuLcan1zAeDgkB63kbpgbcWs07QPHpvs-ZutlRznMfLQAAKNNkS5fZRUjToREtNk468rPh_2aHOcRjaV8MLVgCISatGd-LNCuQKw6peroizzd-_ysd9wUi3dTQG/s1600-h/canberra+to+new+york.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397271672803922978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 369px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8yHbhf_0lfiuLcan1zAeDgkB63kbpgbcWs07QPHpvs-ZutlRznMfLQAAKNNkS5fZRUjToREtNk468rPh_2aHOcRjaV8MLVgCISatGd-LNCuQKw6peroizzd-_ysd9wUi3dTQG/s200/canberra+to+new+york.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/distanceresult.html?p1=57&p2=179">Being in New York</a>, she is 16,233 km or 10,087 miles away from me.<br />That makes the running total: 19812 miles or 31884 km. (We've only just begun...)<br /><br />Your turn, river rat! :)choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-14285163084071776912009-10-17T11:44:00.007+11:002009-10-17T17:12:18.766+11:00why i like twitter<span style="color:#ff6600;">Pink:</span> I'm watching this incredible show called "dinner for five" with Jon Favreau and its f*cking amazing!<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Pink:</span> If I were invited 2 this dinner, my guests would be Robert Downey Jr., Drew Barrymore, and Bette Midler. With myself and Jon Favreau. Weird.<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Pink:</span> Or Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.if u could have dinner (filmed) with 4 people-who would it be?<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Pink:</span> Is it too late to add Juliette Lewis, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn?<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Rove1974:</span> @Pink I was pretty busy anyway... ;)<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Pink:</span> @Rove1974 haha u suck. Let's film the next dinner! Ill wear a tu-tu.And floaties. Whatre u gonna wear? Can we do that on your show next time?<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Rove1974:</span> @Pink Two words: assless chaps.<br /><span style="color:#ff6600;">Pink:</span> @Rove1974 oooooh its recorded buddy!!! U just put that in writing!!!<br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;">amandapalmer:</span> i love the cure<br /><span style="color:#009900;">wilw:</span> @amandapalmer The Cure are the soundtrack to the very best part of my teen years. I love them, too.<br /><span style="color:#009900;">amandapalmer:</span> @wilw i feel guilty. i saw them at coachella, ecstatic, & wrote a 2-page open letter to robert smith that i've yet to send.<br /><span style="color:#009900;">amandapalmer:</span> (and @lanceperkins just joined us by sending me a text saying I LOVE THE CURE MORE). we can all share the cure, lance.<br /><span style="color:#009900;">wilw:</span> @amandapalmer I'd be afraid to send it, to be honest. I mean, what if I wrote that letter, and he wasn't awesome back? I'd be *devastated*.<br /><span style="color:#009900;">amandapalmer:</span> @wilw you know, i felt that way at coachella. i purposely didn't want to meet him because i was so terrified i'd be disappointed.<br /><span style="color:#009900;">amandapalmer:</span> all this nonsense is making me feel like i must retrieve my robert smith letter out the drafts folder & fucking finish it. to the wine!<br /><span style="color:#009900;">wilw:</span> @amandapalmer I'm so relieved that I'm not the only one. I hear he's a wonderful person, but I'd be terrified to take a chance.<br /><br />Edit: Later that night...<br /><span style="color:#009900;">wilw:</span> @amandapalmer ALL HAIL CAPSLOCK AND #LOFNOTC! Tonight's soundtrack, unsurprisingly, includes The Cure...<br /><br />(By the way, that's 'Losers on Friday night on the computer'.)<br /><br />I'll look forward to seeing Rove in assless chaps next time Pink is in town. Who would you be scared to write to in case they weren't as awesome as you hoped? I love The Cure, but Robert Smith isn't my guy.<br /><br />This is a hard question for me, because I lost my awe back when I was 13. It was my first concert and the band was KISS. Literally larger than life in their platform boots and huge costumes and there was I, right up the front and completely starstruck. And then the wind kept blowing towards the stage. No matter how hard Ace and Paul tried to throw guitar picks into the crowd, they would keep blowing back onto the stage. At some point, Ace leaned over and made some comment about it that made Paul laugh and I suddenly thought, 'they're just people'. Oh.<br /><br />I've admired people since then, I've crushed on people, but I don't think I ever again believed that someone was superhuman. Maybe David Bowie for a while, but that's different because clearly he was. :) But I'd hate to write to Edward Norton and find he wasn't as amazing as he seems. I'm definitely terrified to ever meet John Cusack in person, because then I'd have to face the fact that he probably wouldn't think I was awesome and need to hang out with me, which is a fantasy I'd like to keep hold of a while longer. :) I don't have to worry about Neil Gaiman, because I've met him eight or nine times now and he is very human and resoundingly awesome and that won't change. I've never met Viggo Mortensen, but I have this inexplicable certainty that he wouldn't disappoint me. I'd still expect too much of David Bowie, but I'm sure he's used to that. Even awesome people think he's awesome.<br /><br />Norton it is then. I wonder if <em>he</em> Twitters...choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-24666326858054538572009-09-30T11:11:00.001+10:002009-10-01T09:12:16.370+10:00blasphemer!I've been reading on <a href="http://athornyway.blogspot.com/">Craig's blog</a> about an attempt to have September 30 declared International Blasphemy Day. While I don't have any particular drive to blaspheme :) what I do find important about the idea of the day is that blasphemy is a matter of offence, and the truth is that it is not at all difficult to offend other people. Pretty much any religious idea or statement about religious doctrine or practice, for or against, can be deemed blasphemous by someone else. It is the nature of such things that where beliefs differ, offence will occur. People, generally, are easily offended.<br /><br />On 9 July 2009, a law was passed in Ireland making blasphemous libel a crime for material "that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion; and he or she intends, by the publication of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage". Matters held sacred by any religion: can you see how easily (and inappropriately) that law could be deemed to have been broken?<br /><br />Some time before the law was passed, a debate was held at the Guardian Hay Festival between Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens. It was a wonderful rambling conversation that examined many different issues relating to religion and blasphemy. The whole debate is 78min and can be downloaded <a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/culturevulture/archives/2006/05/08/listen_to_steph.html">here</a>, but this nine or so minutes below is a good representation of the kind of points they make. It is not important whether you are religious or not, atheist (as they both are) or not, offended by what they say or not. I think this debate would be thought-provoking for anyone on the subject of blasphemy.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lfmqiBfoPwA&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lfmqiBfoPwA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />From <a href="http://www.blasphemyday.com/">blasphemyday.com</a>: <blockquote>The primary focus of the Blasphemy Day movement and indeed this website is not to debate the existence of any gods or deities...<br /><br />The objective of International Blasphemy Day is to open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjected. </blockquote>Without honest, open discussion religion can become a fence within which freedom of mind and will is contained and captured. Questioning, criticism, accountability, doubt ~ all are necessary and should remain legal. This is not to say that inciting any kind of action or violence against believers or non-believers is okay. Other laws govern that kind of action in many countries. But the right to think and express those thoughts, whether warped or wonderful, should be protected by society and its laws.<br /><br />What do you think? Let me know what you think about the debate, too, if you end up listening to it. And in the spirit of the day, I have a recommendation for anyone who knows the Old Testament in the Bible. You don't have to love it or read it every day; you just need to be familiar with it. I'd like to recommend <a href="http://b10mediaworx.com/b10mwx/peculiar-pages/the-fob-bible/">The FOB Bible</a>. From the linked page:<br /><blockquote>The Old Testament re-imagined through poetry, verse, closet drama, e-mail, and short story. At once irreverent, whimsical, sexy, feminist, and poignant, this ain't your mama's Bible, and you sure didn't learn this in Sunday school. </blockquote>I find this description apt. I like the way the pieces explore and question various ideas in the Bible, and without the need to come to any particular conclusion. Not only that, but it's really well-written. Here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDEsxmtXINE">one reading</a> ~ it's a fun one and pretty much the only of the Youtube readings that isn't mumbled or otherwise inaudible (favourite line is when New Testament god 'whistled in disbelief and the air around him filled with tinkling bells and minty freshness'). I really wish the one about Abraham was there. I love that one. I also have no doubt that it, and several of the other pieces, would be labelled blasphemous by someone, because the authors dare to think and feel and bring new perspective to old words set in stone. Enjoy.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-84515292505281421782009-09-22T08:39:00.004+10:002009-09-22T09:00:22.147+10:00so many draft posts, so little time<div>In the absence of a real post, here's a fun article for you. It's an exclusive interview with members of the 'real' global vampire community. I actually thought it was a parody at first, but apparently not. This first exchange I found interesting:<br /><blockquote>Q: What do you think is the largest major concern facing the modern vampire subculture?<br /><br />A: I would say that currently, the largest concern and struggle for the modern vampire subculture is trying to solidify identity and structure for the various facets in the subculture. </blockquote>Seriously? That's their greatest concern right now. As opposed to say, the fact that they are delusional? I guess that can be hard to spot from the inside.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFvoF-Rm8dMOYRpYcsD70Rq1Af1ONeJ3y-yIXolDfrHPEN-RrhM0BAmYXtfevlTPBqMuucpClbEn9HU7DCXAHagzumvcLK0QtMbDfNfpVzFQf-_QYSGujzdeT7nanR1WEU12v/s1600-h/fangs.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 0px; WIDTH: 111px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 67px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384059101292618258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFvoF-Rm8dMOYRpYcsD70Rq1Af1ONeJ3y-yIXolDfrHPEN-RrhM0BAmYXtfevlTPBqMuucpClbEn9HU7DCXAHagzumvcLK0QtMbDfNfpVzFQf-_QYSGujzdeT7nanR1WEU12v/s200/fangs.jpg" /></a>On a more serious note, though, I wonder what it is in a person that causes them to 'awake' to the idea that they need to drink other people's energy or blood. I don't think it's an issue if their prey are willing (and there are people out there who willingly let others drink from them), but what intrigues me is the need to do it. Other rituals, like piercing and tattoos, other rites of belonging or passage, I can kind of grasp the reasons for them, but this one still floors me. And when someone simply believes they are a vampire, well yes, that speaks delusion to me. But delusions have a purpose and damned if I can even guess at this one...</div>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-84905031866776688912009-09-13T23:08:00.001+10:002009-09-15T02:06:36.119+10:00officially mormon no moreI didn't make an appointment to see the bishop when I went to hand in my resignation letter. I'd had it sitting in my bag some time, not because I was hesitant, but because my writing group, which used to meet every second Sunday right across the street from the chapel, is now meeting elsewhere and I'm never in the area. Somehow today it felt necessary to have this decision, made a long time ago, finally actioned.<br /><br />But he was in a meeting, and so I waited. Two wards meet in that chapel. I chatted with friends before they left for home and then sat alone for a while before new people started filtering in to attend the afternoon session. Just before the meeting started, one of my ex-seminary students came through with his family. Six** is a funny and deep-thinking kid (technically now a man, but young enough to be my kid, so whatever). I always wish I knew him better ~ he's just good value. He was probably surprised to see me there, given that he knew I had stopped attending back in January. He has his own issues and doesn't necessarily attend by choice. It's something we talked about a long time ago, when my mind was thick with doubt, but I wasn't yet talking to anyone else about it. I always felt bad for not telling him exactly how I felt at the time because I thought maybe he needed to hear that not being part of the church was a valid option, a choice he had a right to if he wanted it, and I don't know if I said it out loud to him like I should have. I think he knew I supported him no matter what, but I don't like not being open, especially when I trust the person I'm talking to.<br /><br />I wanted the chance to talk to him and explain why I was there today, but the meeting was starting and he had to go inside. The ward was having their Primary presentation, an annual event where the Sacrament meeting ~ the music and talks, etc ~ are provided by the children in the ward under twelve. It was a little surreal. There I was, waiting just outside the chapel area where the meeting was happening, knowing that I was there to end my membership, all the while listening the children sing about eternal families and sharing the Gospel, etc. One talk featured a story about (ironically my favourite of the presidents of the church) Spencer Kimball telling a man whose many children were all active in the church and had all married in the temple (a special thing in the LDS church, with eternal blessings attached to it) that his was the greatest success story he had ever heard. Part of me felt sad because I taught in Primary for so many years and I still miss the kids I taught last year. But another part of me was responding to the memorised quotes and talks and songs by reflecting on how young the kids start learning that these things are truths and wondering what Six was thinking as he listened. Maybe he still had his headphones on and missed it all.<br /><br />Finally the bishop was free. I explained why I was there, gave him my letter, and apologised for what I felt was probably an awkward meeting for him. I could tell he was holding in his emotions when he asked if this was a step I really wanted to take. I explained that I had made the decision over a long period of time and was sure it was what I wanted. I didn't explain much more, because I knew that everything I felt I needed to say was in the letter. Talking to him about it then would have put him on the spot; probably make him feel like he had to find the magic words that would fix my broken belief. He's a good guy; I didn't need to put him through that. He started to explain 'the process from here', but I stopped him to explain that actually the only part of the process that involved me was that they would send a letter later to confirm I was no longer considered a member and I was cool with that. Then I wished him and his family well and that was that.<br /><br />It was so strange, driving away. In some ways this was such a small thing ~ a piece of paperwork to tie off a loose end that's been dangling for months. But in some ways it's huge. The LDS church is part of the culture I grew up in, has always been a massive part of my social network, and was a major influence in the forming of my core values. It took me a long time to stop attending, even after I felt I should (it's uncomfortable to be a non-believer in amongst all that certainty ~ I didn't realise how often it's stated/reinforced/implied/sung until I no longer felt the same) because I needed the time to say goodbye to it. I did do that, which is why I'm calm today. Way back when I first realised that I no longer believed Joseph Smith (founder) to be who he claimed to be, and knew immediately (because my mind always plays things out to their logical conclusion) that this would end with me leaving, I think I cried for about two weeks straight.<br /><br />I got lucky on the way home. There was Six walking along and I offered him a ride. He didn't seem particularly surprised by my news, but then his mind was full of more pressing things. Actually I was glad to just leave it behind and focus on my conversation with him as we drove. He leads a busy life and I'm not sure how long it'll be before I catch up with him again.<br /><br />To those who read this blog who are members, let me state for the record that I adore you and will still be happy to read about your church adventures and milestones and will never think you are silly to be LDS. This decision is not about me rejecting everything I ever learned at church. Maybe I would feel differently if my church experience had been more negative (and I acknowledge that for some there is a lot to be bitter about) but I was actually pretty lucky in the people I knew and worked with at church. I had amazing teachers who loved me unconditionally back when I was (I'm fairly sure) a complete snot. I still have wonderful church friends, some of whom I've known since my early teens.<br /><br />I was actually warned that my family and friends might disown me if I left the church (by someone it happened to). My mother (the only active member in my family) and every friend I've told so far all reacted the same way ~ they were surprised/shocked, they told me that they would respect the decision (even if they felt it was a sad thing) and then we moved on. I'm sure at some point someone will react poorly and tell me it's a huge mistake or that I'm going to hell or something, but as long as my close friends and family are cool about it, I don't really care what anyone else says. I even had a few friends respond by telling me that they were also not attending church, or were experiencing serious doubts or, in one case, were also planning to leave. That was a surprise, but interesting.<br /><br />And life travels on.<br /><br />**(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HofoK_QQxGc">0:48-0:53</a> a reference Six will understand if I end up sending him a link to this post. :))choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-10692060467562272022009-09-09T09:09:00.001+10:002009-09-11T03:14:52.152+10:00number nine...number nineTurn me on dead man. (That's what it says when you play it backwards.)<br /><br />Okay so, in no particular order, nine things I'm grateful for at 9:09 on 09/09/09:<br /><br /> - the upcoming work conference that will allow me to visit my lovely friends in Brisbane for free<br /> - friends who turn me onto excellent songs/bands<br /> - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/watchtheguild">the Guild</a>. Geeky goodness for gamers. Actually gamewise I prefer Duke Nukem to World of Warcraft, but luckily a guy at work has <s>overwhelmed me into a glazed stupor</s> helpfully supplied me with WoW game information I have no use for but which now means I understand pretty much every game reference in the show.<br /> - writing group, writing prompts, words in general<br /> - current homestay student. Blueberry Boy is nice, independent, has a good sense of humour, can feed himself if left alone, occasionally cooks Japanese food for me too. Like tonight. Just a pleasure to live with and staying eight months...bonus!<br /> - Youtube.<br /> - People who take the time to provide English subtitles for the <a href="http://www.jdorama.com/">Japanese</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ichglotzutube">German</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5CC4888C3D6245DF">Catalan</a> stuff I like watching. (Anyone ever notice that gay couples in soap operas are not constantly cheating on each other like most soapie couples seem compelled to do? I think it's because the characters are less common and there's pressure from the fans to portray them well and in functional relationships. Anyway, makes for excellent, not-tearing-one's-hair-out viewing. Brooke Logan-Forrester-Marone is so ridiculous I want to break things when she's on the screen and it's been at least ten years since I watched an episode of that soap.)<br /> - So You Think You Can Dance? US, Canada and Australia. That show has attracted some fantastic, creative choreographers.<br /> - my new Doc Marten shoes<br /><br />I wonder what this list will look like by 10/10/10...choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-51837164163730550772009-08-26T02:24:00.002+10:002009-08-26T02:30:42.827+10:00and canberra gets even more boring...<blockquote>Canberrans will no longer be able to enjoy fireworks over the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Industrial Relations Minister John Hargreaves today announced the <a href="http://canberra.iprime.com.au/index.php/news/prime-news/fireworks-banned-in-the-act,147851">permanent ban on the importation, sale and use of fireworks</a> in the ACT. </blockquote>We got two evenings, from 5-9pm over one long weekend, in the middle of Canberra's soul-sucking winter, to buy and use fireworks. It was something actually cool about Canberra, because fireworks are illegal everywhere else in Oz. Now I'll have to wait for my next trip to Japan to play with fireworks. :( <blockquote>"The Government understands that many Canberrans will still have fireworks that were bought legally on previous Queen's Birthday long weekend. We will be encouraging people to do the right thing and hand in any stored fireworks for safe disposal without any questions asked." </blockquote>Yeah. That's going to happen.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-35403800870241894672009-08-25T14:17:00.001+10:002009-08-26T01:59:32.833+10:00blonde jokes are usually kinda sillyBut this one made me laugh. :)<br /><br />THE BLONDE WHO MARRIED A CATHOLIC<br /><br />On their honeymoon, the blonde bride slipped into a sexy nightie and, with great anticipation, crawled into bed, only to find her new Catholic husband had settled down on the couch.<br /><br />When she asked him why he was apparently not going to make love to her, he replied, 'It's Lent'.<br /><br />In tears, she sobbed, 'That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Who did you lend it to, and for how long?'choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-35690275704053963412009-08-08T15:22:00.004+10:002009-08-08T18:09:47.864+10:00ink notes #2: the tipping point<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGpna2byhCJNTrRFRqiie2KplXhpCbWVTZdRqpl_MAzG1wvDIh9fcTwTe-C-8tVG3GLKKlYoH0CJFAE-YNTKlMbVXxhsIwyhxD1uGLknidt45Q5WEbsq5t9aC96mpe8GRuYQf/s1600-h/ink+notes+logo.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 152px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367498318089965746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGpna2byhCJNTrRFRqiie2KplXhpCbWVTZdRqpl_MAzG1wvDIh9fcTwTe-C-8tVG3GLKKlYoH0CJFAE-YNTKlMbVXxhsIwyhxD1uGLknidt45Q5WEbsq5t9aC96mpe8GRuYQf/s200/ink+notes+logo.bmp" /></a><br />Here's my entry for ink notes #2.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYPCYboEpmk">This was the music prompt.</a> Go <a href="http://agignac.blogspot.com/2009/07/ink-notes-1.html">here</a> if you want all the info on how the challege works. If you like writing - poetry, short fiction, whatever - come on in, the water's fine. :) I'm actually a bit late with this one, so here's the link to <a href="http://agignac.blogspot.com/2009/08/ink-notes-3.html">the current challenge</a>. My entry for that will be along shortly.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>The Tipping Point</strong><br /><br />Gio crept into the house, cursing silently at the huge click as he shut the door. What was the opposite of ‘ninja’? This was the craziest damn plan now that he was putting it into action, but when she had given him that soft, hopeful look in the car it had felt like the only possible course. Just thinking about her now he could feel his heartbeat slowing. She calmed him, that sweet brown-haired girl.<br /><br />He moved easily down the empty, carpeted hallway. No toys left out from play, no small, haphazard shoes sprawled across Janine’s perfect space. She had no tolerance for such things. God she could be cold. It firmed his resolve, pushed him past her sleeping form in their bed and on to the waiting chest of drawers.<br /><br />It didn’t take him long to fill the overnight bag. He couldn’t tell in the dark what matched and didn’t, but Bron didn’t care what he wore anyway. He risked another minute of potential discovery sneaking into the en suite for a few toiletries; even managed one of the pillows from his side of the bed. Janine muttered a little in her sleep, but didn’t wake. He left as stealthily as he’d come, but the air tasted like freedom when the door clicked again with him outside and walking away.<br /><br />Thirty minutes later they were on the Kings Highway heading East with a full tank and way too many snacks. They’d gotten Bron’s gear earlier before the stealth mission to his place. She was singing along with the radio, mostly getting the words wrong but her voice was pretty. Goofy girl. She’d changed everything – everything – and she didn’t even know it. He could see her eyes were heavy with not enough sleep and he reached into the back seat for the pillow.<br /><br />‘Tuck it between you and the window. I know it’s awkward with your seatbelt on, but if you put the seat back a little you might get comfy enough to sleep.’<br /><br />As she shifted around, still singing softly, he tried to focus on the road. In the back of his mind the realisation of what had really just happened was building with each extra kilometre he put between himself and Janine. By the time he hit Braidwood he knew for sure that the next time he went back to the house it would be to collect the rest of his things. He’d left his wife tonight. He couldn’t quite take it in, but looking over at his daughter sleeping in the seat next to him, he couldn’t regret it either.<br /><br />When Bronwyn’s mother had found him, let him know that he had a six year old, Janine had accepted it…but not gracefully. She didn’t want her in their house. He could be a father if he wanted to, as long as it didn’t impact on her orderly life.<br /><br />Bron stirred, stared out into the darkness still half asleep. ‘Daddy, are there really going to be kangaroos right on the beach?’<br /><br />He grinned. This was the tale of wonder that had them both begging her mother to let them take off on this crazy midnight run to the coast; the roos that came in droves down to Pebbly Beach in the early morning.<br /><br />‘There really are. I called ahead and they’re all quite eager to meet you.’<br /><br />She giggled sleepily. ‘Kangaroos don’t have phones.’<br /><br />No, he thought, but I have you. The fallout I’ll deal with later.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-60444029120195144892009-07-31T18:54:00.007+10:002009-07-31T19:04:48.612+10:00surrender, to the meme<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-USGpNg-RLH545TxSo02Txoe3BrtU0snz82wgvy8l2ZlTYiPZvigTd8v71ImcV4wsahFGiRtBW1jHQbr7FVval9iZhhtMb1Pocs-FgANQGxBiMAH9PZUMUXDUUwRv3iOktVZP/s1600-h/fake+book+cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364546472729778754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 202px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-USGpNg-RLH545TxSo02Txoe3BrtU0snz82wgvy8l2ZlTYiPZvigTd8v71ImcV4wsahFGiRtBW1jHQbr7FVval9iZhhtMb1Pocs-FgANQGxBiMAH9PZUMUXDUUwRv3iOktVZP/s320/fake+book+cover.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>This fun little meme comes via <a href="http://agignac.blogspot.com/2009/07/drape-by-doris-foster.html">Amanda</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Introducing my new book cover! (Fake, of course...) Make your own, using the following directions:</div><br /><div>1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click <a href="http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/" target="_blank">http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/</a><br />The name that appears is your author name.</div><br /><div>2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click <a href="http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml</a><br />The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.</div><div><br />3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click <a href="http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php" target="_blank">http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php</a><br />Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.</div><br /><div>4 – Use Photoshop, <a href="http://www.picnik.com/" target="_blank">Picnik</a>, or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.</div><br /><div>5 – Post it to your site along with this text.</div><div></div><br /><div>I like this picture and I liked finding out about Picnik, which I'll be using again. The word 'surrender' was already on the picture. I just cropped, recoloured slightly, and added the name. I'm glad that was the first pic with a person in it, as the second was soldiers. I'm not sure it came out as cool as <a href="http://eastofreality.blogspot.com/search?q=album+cover">my fake album cover</a>, but interesting nonetheless.</div>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-89075809754106593942009-07-27T21:01:00.005+10:002009-07-27T23:07:50.319+10:008 out of 10 cats ~ woohoo!Joy, oh joy, <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/8-out-of-10-cats">8 out of 10 cats</a> is back. I couldn't find any reference to the new season and then suddenly I'm checking again and finding eight belly-laugh-worthy episodes waiting for me. Woohoo! I could use a good cackle.<br /><br />(Remember to read these out loud in a British accent. It's better.)<br /><br /><strong>Jimmy on Susan Boyle:</strong><br />Yes this is the story that Susan Boyle came second in Britain's Got Talent. Or, as the Daily Mail reported it: a 48-year-old woman has been beaten by 11 youths from East London. There were 19 million witnesses and no-one's come forward: BROKEN BRITAIN!<br /><br /><strong>Jack Whitehall on the British government expenses scam:</strong><br />It did go properly extreme, though. When I opened the newspaper and read about the guy that claimed for a moat I thought, you <em>better</em> be the MP for Camelot!<br /><br /><strong>Sean Locke on the same:</strong><br />That duck island really annoyed me. I'll tell you why. Because it was a floating island. So that's not an island - it's a boat! Ducks don't need a boat - they can swim. That's like giving a ladder to a magpie!<br /><br /><a href="http://eastofreality.blogspot.com/2008/07/alex-zane.html"><strong>Alex Zane</strong></a><strong> on Obama's visit to the Middle East/Egypt:</strong><br />He got a standing ovation at the University of Cairo and everyone's like, that was fantastic. But it was a university. It's not hard to get a standing ovation at a university. I got a standing ovation when I was at university for drinking a pint of vodka from a tennis shoe.<br /><br /><strong>Jimmy Carr on the same:</strong><br />Obama has pledged financial support for Egypt. I'm worried about where that money's going - it could be some kind of pyramid scheme.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-49217397202799790702009-07-23T23:32:00.001+10:002009-07-23T23:35:37.706+10:00gaiman and mckean on quay and svankmajerRandom quirk like this just makes me happy.<br /><br /><object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HCgwSBnGjzo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HCgwSBnGjzo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-87442915727500444492009-07-18T13:10:00.007+10:002009-07-18T13:56:05.053+10:00two things a tattoo told meI just saw <a href="http://www.contrariwise.org/2009/07/16/not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost-2/">this tattoo</a> on the <a href="http://www.contrariwise.org/">contrariwise blog</a> (tattoos inspired by literature, song, etc) and I think my first response is a bit telling.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUchKETC3pTd-f-yL0CrK_QDU0QKXU-WWoYHgu1TCNbqydzJHa5hlOBqjb5RwxQUXropW1cNhhhFEsuC7JtS4cDB0IhB4SmJlRBruGlo2YapRlEVjdH40M5PdUC3ZEmStH8Gp/s1600-h/wander+lost+tattoo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359634267547423346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 241px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUchKETC3pTd-f-yL0CrK_QDU0QKXU-WWoYHgu1TCNbqydzJHa5hlOBqjb5RwxQUXropW1cNhhhFEsuC7JtS4cDB0IhB4SmJlRBruGlo2YapRlEVjdH40M5PdUC3ZEmStH8Gp/s320/wander+lost+tattoo.jpg" border="0" /></a>1. It bothered me that the line was straight instead of following the natural line of the arch of the foot. Aesthetically it's not as pleasing, but it also feels like they've tried to impose something rigid onto something free and flexible. Seems a shame given that the words themselves suggest a freedom to live as you choose without judgment or constraint.<br /><br />2. It also bothered me (way more than it probably should have) that there is no full stop on the end of the sentence. For me to have it written without one, I would have had to make the first letter lower case.<br /><br />It's a strange thing about rules when it comes to language. It's not just a matter of obeying the rules and I'm aware that language changes and develops over the years. But I really like the sense of order and 'rightness' that comes from grammar, spelling and punctuation rules. So much so in fact that 'correct' language that conforms to those rules is actually more beautiful to me.<br /><br />It's the same feeling I get from using traditional poetic forms. I like free verse, I often use it myself, but sometimes when I force myself to be creative within a strict traditional form with a set rhyming scheme or other limitations, what I produce is so much better ~ more musical, more satifying to read aloud. The ideas have more clarity and the thing as a whole is more beautiful to me.<br /><br />Does anyone else find that? Not just with writing, but any art form? Also, if you were going to get a 'literary' tattoo, whch line/s would you choose and why?choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-90211351710426170512009-07-15T22:38:00.007+10:002009-07-18T17:35:44.869+10:00holy approaching wall of water, batman!This would definitely be the first time I've ever been glad I don't live on the coast. Twitter is already alive with people wanting to go 'catch a wave'. Good grief.<br /><br />NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SUMMARY FOR AUSTRALIA NUMBER 2<br />Issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) at<br />09:27 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009<br />***************************************<br />TSUNAMI SOURCE:<br />An undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.9 has occurred at 07:22 PM EST on<br />Wednesday 15 July 2009 at 45.960S , 166.470E off W. COAST OF S. ISLAND, N.Z.<br />Sea level observations have confirmed a tsunami has been generated.<br />***************************************<br />ADVICE:<br />People in areas with threat of land inundation and flooding are strongly advised by emergency authorities to go to higher ground or at least one kilometre inland.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-41199575393798054192009-07-15T13:16:00.015+10:002009-07-18T14:57:43.338+10:00surreal and funny harry potter conversation<div>##SPOILER ALERT##</div><div>##SPOILER ALERT##</div><div>##SPOILER ALERT##</div><br /><div></div><div>Harry Potter books 6 and 7.</div><br /><div></div><div>##SPOILER ALERT##</div><div>##SPOILER ALERT##</div><div>##SPOILER ALERT##</div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk_nNuj2nUPi3cAmf-glFsfhW4sdlgLcTSAGjerJPe3Vj551itNSETN-q26MOnq61ZE1k_vGZN38c4vEJVjH2MMNq24nn0X9QMlhFKtlKHSBU9CSRM4t1lx3grNTcdgEiAVjD/s1600-h/snape+on+balcony.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359658803144251570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 132px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk_nNuj2nUPi3cAmf-glFsfhW4sdlgLcTSAGjerJPe3Vj551itNSETN-q26MOnq61ZE1k_vGZN38c4vEJVjH2MMNq24nn0X9QMlhFKtlKHSBU9CSRM4t1lx3grNTcdgEiAVjD/s200/snape+on+balcony.bmp" border="0" /></a>So Band Boy (who used to be Drummer Boy but sings and plays guitar now (18-year-old)) finally got around to reading the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, finishing a couple of days ago just in time to see the movie premiere (in just under five hours, yah). Last night we were talking about watching the trailer and seeing that one moment (1:53 in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96QRVfto7OM">this linked video</a>) where Snape says 'it is over' and feeling overwhelmed by the fact that this is the moment when he kills Dumbledore.</div><br /><div></div><div>Now here's the thing. I'VE read the 7th book and I know that what Snape is doing there is heroic and painful and beautiful. However, Band Boy HASN'T read the 7th book and is under the impression that he has just read the big Snape revelation, the proof (FINALLY!) that Snape is eeeeevilllll.</div><br /><div></div><div>So for the next ten minutes I'm having a conversation with him, trying to be as empassioned as he is about the fact that AFTER ALL DUMBLEDORE HAS DONE for Snape, after he SUPPORTED him when SO MANY PEOPLE said that he was still a death-eater and couldn't be trusted, that RAT BASTARD killed him!! And how this is the end of the (Harry Potter) world as we know it. And asking HOW HOW HOW could Dumbledore have BELIEVED him for ALL THOSE YEARS?</div><div></div><br /><div>hehehehe</div><div></div><br /><div>He is so going to want to kill me when he reads the 7th book. But I remember that moment of devastation on that balcony o' death when I was reading the 6th book, and I'm not going to take that away from him. It's a heart-wrenching scene, but it's also fantastic writing. And thank goodness they cast Alan Rickman as Snape.</div><div></div><br /><div>Oh and can I just say how thrilled I am that Lupin's back again, and with David Thewlis still in the part. He's one of the reasons the third movie is still my favourite. I'll let you know if that changes after tonight. :)</div>choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-58953339169694405772009-07-13T23:06:00.000+10:002009-07-14T01:34:32.769+10:00ink notes #1Amanda has posted details for <a href="http://agignac.blogspot.com/2009/07/ink-notes-1.html">the first <em>Ink Notes</em> challenge</a>. The idea is to use music as a writing prompt: to listen to a song or instrumental piece and see what inspiration comes. The embedded video is the music she chose this time. If you'd like to participate there's still plenty of time as Amanda's allowing two weeks for people to blog their writing (story, poem, non-fiction, whatever) and provide a link to it at the bottom of <a href="http://agignac.blogspot.com/2009/07/ink-notes-1.html">her post</a>.<br /><br />My story follows after the video. I wrote it with the music playing and you might like to read it the same way. It was a pretty fun exercise. If you have a writerly bent I hope you'll give it a shot.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m54SmVsQqgc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m54SmVsQqgc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />From the window<br /><br />He watched her from the window, sitting to the side where the curtain hid him from view. She was kneeling next to one of the beds in the vegetable garden. Her fingers, pale and exact, reached into the rows of young vegetables to pull each unwelcome weed from the soil. Methodically she made her way across and down the bed, shifting sideways on her knees from time to time.<br /><br />He tried to mentally record it all: the turn of her wrist as she threw each weed onto a growing pile, the curve of her shoulders and back as she leaned to reach the far side of the garden bed, the exact nut-brown of her hair and the tortoiseshell clip that held it tightly so it wouldn’t fall into her eyes as she worked. Perhaps she wouldn’t leave while there were plants still young. He sighed. He didn’t know what would keep her here; that much was clear.<br /><br />Then she was done and reaching into her bag of gardening tools for a short, thin knife. She moved to other rows, to vegetables fully grown and ready to be eaten. She studied the beds, bending to each worthy specimen – two zucchinis, four or five spring onions, a butternut pumpkin; fat roma tomatoes, basil and coriander from the herb bed to the side. She turned with hands full towards the door that led to their kitchen, but then stopped.<br /><br />A moment passed before she made her way instead to the outside tap. He had to lean into the window to see her hands under the rushing water. She lifted each part of her harvest to the flow, then shook off the water and placed it in a cotton carry-bag. So she wouldn’t be home tonight. Again. He wondered briefly what dish she would make with them. She was the gardener, the vegetables were hers. But he had often turned the soil for her back when they could not stand a whole afternoon apart and he still felt a pang as she placed the bag of produce into the basket of her bicycle.<br /><br />As she led the bicycle out to the driveway, he pressed his fingertips against the cold glass. Even if he knocked now she wouldn’t hear him. She was already too far away.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-42896220756544421392009-07-06T23:18:00.001+10:002009-07-07T04:52:56.482+10:00meme for grownupsHere’s a meme aimed at grown-ups via Sean from <a href="http://aloneandunobserved.com/2009/06/18/a-meme-for-grownups/">Alone and Unobserved</a>. If you’re a grownup, and you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged. If not, seek your parents' permission first.<br /><br />1. What bill do you hate paying the most?<br />Electricity bill, especially in Winter.<br /><br />2. Do you miss being a child?<br />I miss the stuff I did as a child, like playing in a treehouse or riding my little orange two-wheeler with no hands or exploring the dump and other places I wasn't allowed to go. I miss having so much time to read. I miss that feeling of really believing that your dad was magical and knew everything. There's also a mountain of stuff I don't miss and wouldn't want to return to.<br /><br />3. Chore you hate the most?<br />Vacuuming.<br /><br />4. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?<br />At the guy's house, roughly oooooh, a million years ago? This question just makes me sad. :)<br /><br />5. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be?<br />I would learn a lot earlier how to be responsible with money.<br /><br />6. Name of your first grade teacher?<br />Miss Tucker. Nice lady.<br /><br />7. What do you really want to be doing right now?<br />I'd like to be working on a t-shirt design, but can't find the cable that connects the camera to the computer to upload the photo I took to use as a tracing image.<br /><br />8. What did you want to be when you grew up?<br />I wanted to be a teacher, but I honestly think that was a lack of imagination on my part. I didn't have a lot of life experience beyond school and so I conjured up a career that exists in school. Of course I have now actually been a teacher in a high school (in Japan) and loved every minute of it. I know now that (if I could be bothered getting the extra qualification) I could be a teacher and like it, but I really don't think as a kid that I had a clear picture of the job to judge it by.<br /><br />9. How many colleges did you attend?<br />Two for my degree and one more right now.<br /><br />10. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?<br />Because it's warm, purple and looks good with these jeans.<br /><br />11. What are your thoughts on gas prices?<br />They're high, but I work less than ten minutes from my house, so I tend to not care too much in terms of paying those prices. I will say that I don't think gas prices are a reason to go to war over oil, and that if people bought local goods and produce where possible and used public transport more often that we wouldn't need so much petrol. Also bio-fuel research and development is causing starvation and should not be vigorously pursued at this time.<br /><br />12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?<br />Quick, snooze button!<br /><br />13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?<br />Remembering a nice conversation I had with someone at work earlier that day. I often replay conversations later.<br /><br />14. What famous people would you like to have dinner with?<br />Living people? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVHHMpq2VnY">Noam Chomsky</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjdb9oNLX5I">Neil Gaiman</a> (I was at the linked event, incidentally), <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3AoArVY4uY">John Cusack</a> and the guys from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XvjotNkgM4">Domoto Kyoudai (and if Shingo and Gackt come along I'm cool with that)</a>. But not all at the same dinner party.<br /><br />15. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?<br />I slightly scratched my neighbour's car last year. Apart from that any crash I've had has been someone else crashing their car into mine.<br /><br />16. If you didn’t have to work, would you volunteer?<br />Yeah. Last time I volunteered it was doing literacy tutoring. I'm not sure what I'd do if I didn't have to work at all.<br /><br />17. Get up early or sleep in?<br />I like to sleep in on the weekend, but on work days it just pisses me off if I wake up and realise I've slept late. I like getting to work early because I need about an hour without the phone ringing or people wanting something, just to get organised and settle into my day.<br /><br />18. What is your favorite cartoon character?<br />Right now...maybe Stewie from Family Guy. I no longer watch the show (I hit my crass humour threshhold somewhere around season 4) but he is always hilarious. When I was a kid I really liked Birdman and the Herculoids. And Batfink. And Cool McCool. And Wylie Coyote.<br /><br />19. Favorite thing to do at night?<br />Movies, internet, writing.<br /><br />20. When did you first start feeling old?<br />I don't feel old. I don't even feel as old as I am (I often find myself feeling like people my own age are old-fashioned). However, I first felt like someone 'older' when I was talking to a younger friend one day about relationships (and the drama and uncertainty of relationships) and realised just how much crap I don't put myself through anymore because I have more of a sense now of who I am and what I want and where I will and won't compromise. I think I really 'grew up' the day I realised that I'm not afraid to be alone. I don't like it, but I'd rather be alone than be in a bad relationship.<br /><br />21. Favorite lunch meat?<br />Turkey<br /><br />22. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?<br />I guess in Australia the equivalent would be Kmart or Big W? I think this would go something like cheap shirts, greeting cards, and random home stuff like door hooks or a desk lamp. There's nothing I get <em>every</em> time.<br /><br />23. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?<br />No. I think it's a commitment that can take a relationship to a whole new level. I do recognise that it doesn't suit everyone's take on romance and family, but I'm definitely into monogamy and think marriage is cool.<br /><br />24. A favorite movie you wouldn’t want anyone to find out about?<br />I think I'd own up to pretty much any 'guilty pleasure' movie if pressed. Um...Xanadu? (No seriously.) I also really like 'Bring It On'. :)<br /><br />25. What’s your favorite drink?<br />Nonalcoholic? Water, apple cider.<br />Alcoholic? Malibu (Barbados white rum, coconut flavour). I'm not much of a drinker, but I want to try tequila one day to see what all the fuss is about.<br /><br />26. Who would you like to run into from high school?<br />Sandy, Tracey, Dagmar, Craig. Would be nice to see any of them and talk over old times.<br /><br />27. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?<br />106.3 (80s till now) 104.7 (Top 40) and Triple J (indie/alternative rock mixed in with top 40 stuff that doesn't suck) and I switch between them all the time to find songs I like.<br /><br />28. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?<br />Gossip Girl. :)<br /><br />29. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?<br />Being afraid to make the first move and losing a guy as a result. (Of course he was also afraid to make the first move. We talked about it later, but by then he was dating someone else.) It was a long time ago and it would have ended, but it would have been a lot of fun while it lasted.<br /><br />30. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work?<br />Yeah. He's an older guy, and quirky, but we get along pretty well.<br /><br />31. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purposes?<br />No, but I did spill oil on one of the kitchen hotplates and had to pour salt on it to kill the fire. It was a bit scary actually.<br /><br />32. Last book you finished reading?<br />'Strange Pilgrims', a book of short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read some and then put it down for a few months and only just got back to it. I'm currently reading 'Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain' by Oliver Sacks. Interesting. Hoping to squeeze in 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult before going to see the movie in a couple of weeks. I'm borrowing it from a friend, but she hasn't finished it yet.<br /><br />33. Do you have a teddy bear?<br />In a box somewhere.<br /><br />34. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?<br />In my car? Camping? This is a stupid question.<br /><br />35. Do you go to church?<br />Not for six months now.<br /><br />36. How old are you?<br />I find it strange how reluctant I am to answer that question. In real life it doesn't bother me at all. Weird.<br /><br />37. Have you ever been arrested?<br />Couple of times in the 80s by the fashion police. You know how it is, you're with a few friends, you get a little carried away and suddenly you're wearing an electric blue, button-down shirt with puffed sleeves and ruffles and way too much pink blush...um, yeah.<br /><br />38. Have you ever attended a public protest against a major corporation or a government?<br />Yes. Most recently the Howard government's terrible industrial relations laws (later overturned by the new government).<br /><br />39. Do you feel that your type of employment traps you or liberates you?<br />I work in the public service as a policy analyst. This allows me a certain amount of choice in moving between departments without losing my accumulated benefits, which is handy. The pay is decent. I like the work, but to say it liberates me is probably a bit rich. I don't feel trapped. I do sometimes feel like I get too comfortable and would have trouble going back to the private sector.<br /><br />40. Is voting a duty, a privilege, a right, or an option?<br />A duty and a right.<br /><br />41. Have you ever sat on a jury?<br />No.<br /><br />42. Have you ever seen someone die?<br />Yes. I was with a friend at the hospital when her step-mother died from cancer. She just kind of slipped away.<br /><br />43. Are you making any preparations for old age or for retirement?<br />Yes, but I'm not satisfied yet that I've done enough to avoid living in a cardboard box on the side of the road. We'll see how it goes.<br /><br />44. Do you have children? Or, if not, do you wish to?<br />No, except the ones I borrow from time to time. I would very much like to raise kids, but I don't care if they're biologically mine or not.<br /><br />45. Have you ever served in your country’s armed forces?<br />No. I'm not sure why (because I've always been pretty coordinated when it comes to sport and such) but I have this ominous feeling that I'd end up shooting myself in the foot, or blowing up the wrong building or something equally counter-productive and unsoldierlike.<br /><br />46. How is your relationship with your parents different from what it was when you were a child?<br />When I was a kid I worshipped my dad and resented my mother (because she was the one trying to raise me properly and he spoiled me). As an adult I respect my mother and really enjoy her company. My dad is not a bad person, but he is flawed in ways that make it hard for me to be around him for long periods of time. Sometimes we get along really well, but it never lasts.<br /><br />47. Have you ever had a substantial conversation with a homeless person?<br />Yes, but not very often.<br /><br />48. If life is “a journey”, then where are you going?<br />I honestly don't know. I feel a strong need to establish some security for myself and I suppose that's the destination I'm seeking financially. In terms of me as a person I care less about where I'm going than about what happens along the way. I don't think I'm ever going to do anything really profound, but if I can have a positive impact on the lives of people I meet and interact with, I think I'm okay with that.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-31902345249209253022009-07-06T11:11:00.009+10:002009-07-06T14:54:52.491+10:00the bitch is...well, a little over-rated actuallyI'd forgotten this story. I like this version because it's not all 'Christianed up' like the version you mostly see floating on the interwebs.<br /><blockquote><p>An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.<br /><br />But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.<br /><br />But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing. Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."<br /><br />The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?" The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed." </p></blockquote>Obvious really, but it doesn't stop people from feeding their anger and negativity until it consumes their better self.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXWh2sY7C5Jz95nHikRfYi2zhbSO7MyqLC8WinPAPvZ5cmvdc4GrXo9XfaTTB7ctD8RdW1DO9yiYhlj8HbI_bVIm96x-3IcAVRjYCXW-hHlbpQr-azzrmeLZlXngMi0wQsQOK/s1600-h/two+wolves.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355188599864673138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 10px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXWh2sY7C5Jz95nHikRfYi2zhbSO7MyqLC8WinPAPvZ5cmvdc4GrXo9XfaTTB7ctD8RdW1DO9yiYhlj8HbI_bVIm96x-3IcAVRjYCXW-hHlbpQr-azzrmeLZlXngMi0wQsQOK/s200/two+wolves.jpg" border="0" /></a>I think I do this sometimes and it's just wasted energy. Recently I started working with a guy that is always calm. At first I found this kind of annoying, actually, because I mistook it for a lack of passion about things that matter. But as I've gotten to know him over the last few months I've realised that he doesn't lack feeling; it's more that if anger isn't going to change anything, he will only give limited energy to it. He is, however, quite insightful when it comes to solutions, and I think this is a result of him being calm enough to really apply his rationality to a problem.<br /><br />This is a workplace. Things go wrong and management occasionally suck and there are any number of people ready to bitch about it. It's actually kind of nice to work with someone who doesn't <em>always</em> need to vent, even if this does throw my own impatience or irritation into sharper relief (embarrassing!) in the process. Maybe I'll become more zen as a result.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-33877246302048862552009-07-02T12:20:00.001+10:002009-07-03T12:26:56.378+10:00buffy vs edwardAttention Buffy & Twilight fans!!! This is easily the coolest pop culture vampire-related thing I've seen in months:<br /><br /><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/g%2BMPgYrmTInndA" width="570" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br /><br />Beats all the fake New Moon trailers for sure. Must have taken ages to put together.choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-75763586244417394132009-06-29T02:48:00.006+10:002009-06-29T03:34:47.095+10:00woohoo...sort ofThe good news:<br /><blockquote>Thank you for your submission to FIRST 2009 [university anthology]. We received almost 200 pieces [around 35 make it in], the overall standard of which was impressive. We are very pleased to advise that your work <em>Friends</em> is under consideration for possible inclusion in this year's publication... </blockquote>The bad news:<br /><blockquote>pending approval after some reworking. </blockquote>I got the 'suggested edits' later that week and they basically gutted it. I sent a rework that incorporates most of their suggestions, but argues against a couple that I thought were a bad idea. If they're only interested in it with all the changes made then I'll pass. In that state it isn't the poem I wrote and I wouldn't want my name on it. But I can live with the rework I sent them.<br /><br />In truth it changes what the poem is about; what I was trying to express when I wrote it. For that reason it's a little bitter sweet that it will be published in that form. I can't post the poem here as it has to remain unpublished until the anthology is released, but maybe at that time I'll post all three versions and you can tell me if you think their revisions were on the mark or not.<br /><br />The other interesting thing is that I submitted five pieces (two poems and three stories) and the only one that made it in is also the only one that was created from a real personal experience. Unfortunately this means I should probably tell the other person concerned before the anthology is published. I didn't think there was any point in doing so before, because I didn't know if it would be accepted anyway. Telling him then might have given the impression that the poem was supposed to deliver some kind of message to him, but in fact the poem was not written for, or in any practical sense directed at, him. It was just my way of expressing for my own sake how I felt at the time.<br /><br />Of course now it's six months later and my feelings are completely different, so it will be a bit weird to bring it up. But I do still like the poem and I'm happy for it to be in the anthology, even if the committee's edits have made the whole 'finally getting published' thing a bit anti-climatic. But you know, yah and all. :)choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497209.post-23731982349728753762009-06-04T11:51:00.001+10:002009-06-05T11:57:53.286+10:00wish i'd been thereThis is definitely my favourite <a href="http://notalwaysright.com/">Not Always Right</a> post so far this year:<br /><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/pointless-paranoia-meet-pistol-packin/2028" rel="bookmark">Pointless Paranoia, Meet Pistol Packin’</a><br />Movie Theater Rochester, NY, USA<br /><em>(A young man asks for a ticket for an R-rated movie and hands me his ID. I’m about to sell him the ticket when the lady behind him speaks up.)</em><br /><em><br /></em>Lady: “Wait! That picture in the ID doesn’t look like him at all!”<br /><em>(I look at the ID. It appears he’s been sick since the photo was taken, but it’s clearly the same guy.)</em><br /><br />Me: “Well, ma’am, I’m fairly certain that this is the correct ID. Now, if you’d just step up–”<br /><br />Lady: “No! You can’t sell to someone with a fake ID. He could be a terrorist, for God’s sake! You should call the police!”<br /><br />Me: “Ma’am, that is definitely not necessary. I am responsible for checking identification, and I–”<br />Lady: “I need to talk to your manager!”<br /><em>(I begin to respond, but the guy politely waves me off and turns to the woman.)</em><br /><em></em><br />Man: “Miss, I have another photo ID here, with a more recent picture. Do you think this matches?”<br /><em>(He pulls a card out of his wallet and hands it to her. She goes completely </em><em>white.)</em><br /><em></em><br />Lady: “Well… um… yes, that’s, uh, fine!”<br /><em>(She squirms for a moment, then exclaims, “I’ll be right back!” She drops the card and leaves the theater in a hurry. I give the guy his ticket.)</em><br /><em></em><br />Me: “What was that you showed her?”<br /><br />Man: “Oh, my handgun permit.”choshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07724444970503533654noreply@blogger.com0