meme just too late

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.
Get through the wedding without any major catastrophes, have a healthy bank balance, make many pies for my inlaws, watch Return of the King as many times as I can, and not gain any more weight.

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.
John Bryant, the strangest boy in my highschool who introduced me to so many things
Professor Bregant, who taught my film class in Prague
Christian Carter Huey, another boy from my high school years who was such a good friend
Dr John William Smith, my high school journalism teacher
Mrs Gannett, my elementary school Talented & Gifted teacher

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.
Ride a horse properly, dance, some deadly martial arts moves, fancy pastry making, how to take apart computers and put them back together again

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).
Go to Columbia University & get a PhD, buy homes in New York and Prague, travel all over Europe, buy a nice car for Alan, build a gigantic personal llibrary

5. List five things you do that help you relax.
Take long showers, drive up and down 183, do strenous physical labor, read in bed, wear my Czech slippers.

adventures in D&D

Last night took so long because the bloody dungeon had only one path through it and you had to go through every single bloody damned room! Even our DM became annoyed with the book.

So we're in the Temple of Cyrus, which is a big scary machine place kinda like the Matrix. Winding through the maze, stopping to battle with nasty little probe droids and pissed off clerics. Turns out the extra dimensional being is also chasing Alexia and her zombies. Meier got in a few good whacks with his sword, stabbed a cleric right through the gut. (He was very pleased with himself)

At long last we made it to the central platform at the top of the temple. Little Alexia was there, preparing to bring her mother back from the dead. She didn't take kindly to Alex calling her a naughty girl and sent a lightning bolt at him. The zombie witches attacked and it was chaos from there. T'jaden popped off a fantastic rifle shot that did serious damage to Alexia, who turned around and zapped him. TJ kept falling unconscious, being revived, getting knocked down again over and over. The DM was trying to kill him. Right after TJ shot her, Meier unleashed a fireball on her ass that damn near killed her. She ended up throwing herself off the platform and into the lightning to escape. Meier is thrilled with himself, of course.

We won't believe Alexia is dead til we see her body though.

extended edition

We are watching the extended cut of The Two Towers, and I imagine I shall have something interesting to say about it later. But for right now, suffice to say Peter Jackson and this team are possessed of the most extraordinary vision and their execution is phenomenal. I've already cried three times and I'm only halfway through the film.

Eowyn's lament is one of the most gut-wrenching things I've heard. It's so sad and so strong, and just beautiful.