Step by Step Guide to Voting by Absentee Ballot. Very handy bookmark for us expatriate types.

Friday Five:

1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?
I’m going to have to agree with Kristen here and rant about how “hemispherist” this question is. Folks, the majority of people in the world never have a white Christmas. Nobody in the southern hemisphere does (unless they live on top of a mountain). Nobody on the equator does. Hell, a good portion of the northern hemisphere never gets cold enough. So stop ramming it down our damn throats! That said, I personally wish I could have a white Christmas, not because it’s “traditional” or anything, but because that’s what I remember growing up. I miss sledding with Amy and Antny.

2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?
This is another one of those questions that stings for someone with loved ones on more than one continent. Ideally it would be my family and the Snook’s and all of our friends together… but it’s never gonna happen. Best not to dwell.

3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?
The day after Thanksgiving, we would always hit Michael’s craft store to pick up plaster ornaments and paints. Then back at the house we’d eat leftovers, paint the ornaments, and put up the Christmas tree. Mocking my brother’s artistic attempts was always a highlight. There’d probably be some sledding (if we had snow). As Christmas neared, it was inevitable that Amy and Antny – or as I like to call them, the Christmas Sneaks – would try to convince Mom and Dad that we should open our gifts Christmas Eve instead of morning. I was the traditional holdout. Sometimes they won; sometimes they didn’t.

4. Do you do anything to help the needy?
Not nearly enough. The bitter cold of London was always a sharp reminder that there were people out suffering in it. Here in Sydney it’s easier to sail through the day without noticing. I should make more of an effort.

5. What one gift would you like for yourself?
A really nice new digital camera, maybe even an SLR. That’d be cool.

Last night I convinced the Snook to come to an advance screening of Lost in Translation with me. He was reluctant at first. (I think he was a little worried it was going to be a girly movie.) Within five minutes he was loving it just as much as I knew he would. The opening shots of Tokyo are just mesmerizing. I just kept thinking, “It looks like a William Gibson novel!” The Snook said he was mentally comparing everything to anime films. We laughed when we recognized some of the more bewildering video games from the George Street arcade in Sydney. He squeezed my hand when a giant EPSON billboard floated past. We laughed at Bill Murray’s fish-out-of-water routine. It was all very amusing.

Then it changed. It changed for me when Bob Harris agreed to go out with Charlotte’s friends. It was at once unbelievable – that a fifty-year-old guy would go out with these young people – and totally understandable, because it was the first “real” thing this guy’d done in a long time. By that point, I realized I actually cared about the characters. I kept worrying that they’d show Bob standing in the corner by himself. I was worried that Charlotte would be embarrassed by him. Instead they sang karaoke and danced and talked to strangers and had a great time. They became friends. So then I was hooked. I wanted them to get together – because neither of them seemed to have anything else – but I also wanted them to resist that cliché. In the end I was totally satisfied with the resolution. I agree with Ebert that the words they exchange at the end of the film are none of our business. When two actors create characters so real, sometimes you have to grant them their privacy.

I noticed the other day that Stairs has his iChat name listed on his site. Nobody else I know has it and I haven’t been able to try out the Voice Chat yet. This morning I found him online and was able to have a quick chat. It worked perfectly! That same two-minute call to the UK would’ve probably cost me $5 on the telephone. Now if only I could convince my family to all get Macs… You know, in the long run it would probably actually be cheaper, considering how much I spend on my Telstra bill.

Absolut Vanilia + Diet Coke = Everything I Dreamed It Would Be.

Jesus the Hot Air Balloon. If I saw that at a distance I’d probably drive off the road. I think it might even be tackier than the Titanic Super Slide (in terms of tacky inflatables, that is).

Running out of cash to buy an awesome gift for that special someone? Send them an E-Gift! My friend Sharon Lee designed and built that site and it’s adorable. She’s such an awesome designer. I’m hoping to get her to do some stuff for the Dahl site. I can vouch that she won’t spam you or anything; it’s just a fun Flash widget to drum up interest in her design company. (If any MeFite wants to post it to the ‘Filter, please feel free. I’d have done it but I don’t want to get called out for a self-link.)

So what’s the deal with the US finale of Survivor? We just saw Christa get booted and apparently there are only two episodes to go. We’re getting one Sunday night and then the last on Monday. Does anybody know the US schedule? Basically, I’m trying to find out how long I have to go Internet-less to avoid being spoiled…

Create your own snowman. Kinda fun. I like these little fun Flash widget thingamabobs.

New Poll: Mom sent me a picture of little Joey sitting on Santa’s lap. I was surprised to see that the kid wasn’t screaming. Every picture of me on a mall character’s lap up til the age of five features me bawling my head off. I think the Easter Bunny was the worst. At least Santa is a recognizable human. Which mythological childhood character scared you the most?