Oh, right. So the Broadway Shopping Center went BOOM today. I had, like, three people email me the news, one of whom was in the US! I have no idea what’s going on. But hey, as long as the curse remains on that side of the road, we’re okay. If anything blows up over here, though, I guess we’ll have to sacrifice a chicken or something.

Thanks to the reminder from Meg, the Snook and I headed off to the Agincourt Hotel tonight to vote in the Democrats Abroad primary. (Well, I was voting. He was just there for the beer.) Clutching my US passport, I was directed up two flights of stairs to a tiny, dark back room. There sat a couple nice expats (Oklahoma, Kentucky, and New York) running the election while a small meeting of the faithful took place around a corner. I presented my ID and filled out my forms. (Sí­ se puede!) Then I picked up some leaflets from the party organiser. Hey, they’re marching in the Mardi Gras parade! I’m totally considering it.

For the past hour or two we’ve been hearing a strange chattering out in the garden. “What the hell’s that?” I wondered. “Some kind of crazy bird?” “Fruit bats!” said the Snook. Instantly we both realized that our beautiful papaya tree in the backyard, the one with the lovely big fruit on it… is being feasted upon this very minute by these little fellas. (There’s an audio file there if you want to hear what they sound like.) I suppose it’s all right; the Snook doesn’t much like papaya anyway. I just hope they don’t poop seeds all over the place.

A question for the “Cushion Woman” from the shop this afternoon: So, does the raging sense of entitlement come as a perk with the black metal AmEx card, or is it just something you cultivated yourself?

Oh, sweet! Mason-Dixon are having a Teeny Project Runway contest. Hmm, I’ve already knitted shoes for the monkey. Maybe I could whip something else up for him and enter it?

The King of Kong Continued. The Onion’s AV Club gets an interview with Billy Mitchell from the movie. Look, I get that the filmmakers had an obvious bias and that Mitchell was definitely set up to the bad guy… but seriously, every time the guy opens his mouth he sounds like a dickhead. That’s not bias; that’s reality.

More rain for the next two months. What is this, Seattle? I really need to buy a decent umbrella.

Pacey + JJ Adams (the guy who created Lost) = ZOMG, MUST SEE.

I made my soup.

It was pretty tasty! (I left the seaweed off the top, as I’m not – as of yet – a fan.)