Wow. I would love to have the entire text of “Romeo and Juliet” as a poster. What a cool idea. I wonder if it’s very hard to read though? (Link courtesy of Steve.)

Holy crap. Moire has alerted me to an old Hoosier tradition that dictates than if a younger sister gets married before an older one, the older has to dance in a pig trough at the younger’s wedding reception. I’m not kidding. Apparently they even made special stockings for the older sister to wear. Good grief.

LOTR: The Two Towers was good. Very good. I had read a lot of reviews beforehand and was expecting to be put off by some stuff (bad blue-screening, inappropriate dwarf humor, etc.), but honestly, none of that bothered me at all. Gimli’s orc-killing contest with Legolas was one of my favorite parts of the book, and I would’ve missed it if they’d left it out. The Ents weren’t anything like I’d imagined, but I still thought they looked good. (The Snook thinks they would’ve been cooler as stop-motion animation, but he was still a fan.) Even frickin’ Liv Tyler didn’t bother me so much. (Although, what was that business about her and Aragorn, like, breaking up before he left? And why didn’t we get to see her knitting the stupid flag, since that’s all she does in the damn book? Okay, I guess she did bother me a little.) All in all, I liked: all the ass-kicking, everything Legolas did, the Ents, and Gollum. I didn’t like: Aragorn’s nasty hair. Couldn’t the king of men take a shower every now and then? (Falling off a cliff into a river doesn’t count.) I’m sure Eowyn could lend him some conditioner.

Oh, and did anyone else decide that Smeagol was not, in fact, a hobbit, but a house elf? He looked disturbingly like Dobby.

Thanks to Stefanie for sending along this interview with Hermey Elfin, “Santa’s CIO”. Very amusing. I guess being a dentist doesn’t pay very well these days. 🙂

In case you couldn’t tell, the Snook and I aren’t doing anything special this year. No travelling, no decorations, and no gift exchanging. (We did buy ourselves an air conditioner though, which has already been much appreciated.) Mostly we’re just enjoying having two weeks home together. I’ve been doing lots of crafting (I’m sure you’re surprised), and he’s been brewing and tinkering with his computer. It’s nice. We’ve also been indulging in our new mutual addiction to The Amazing Race. (We had three new episodes in 24 hours! God, I want to smack Flo.) Tomorrow is Lord of the Rings day, and we’ve already got our tickets for the first 9:30 a.m. show. I’m also hoping to get in some time at the beach this week, if the sky ever clears up. (It’s been warm but cloudy.) Oh! And rumor has it Kristen’s arrived Down Under, so I’m hoping to meet up with her when she hits Sydney.

See? Lots to do. I’m a little sad about not having a traditional Christmas, but I think that’s just something I’m going to have to get used to while I’m here. I forced myself to get up at 3:30 last night and call home to catch everybody having dinner at my Mom’s. It was pretty cool to hear the crowd noise and be passed around to all my relatives on the phone, but it’s also nice to just step back from all that every once in a while, you know?

Oh, and unlike every other (lazy ass!) blogger in the known world, I will not be taking time off for the holidays. That is my gift to you, my friends. (Not that I’ll have much to discuss beyond craft projects and TV shows, but you never know…)

Curious how we celebrate Christmas Down Under? Wonder no more.

Jakob has published his list of the Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes of 2002. Forget web design; how about English? Since when is “web design” hyphentated? Tsk tsk, Jakob.

Ooh, I didn’t realize the Indiana quarters had been released! What a crappy design. A friggin’ race car? That’s our one symbol of state pride? I would’ve at least put some corn or Amish people on it.

My sister sent me an e-mail to say thanks for the Gryffindor scarf. It’s the funniest thing ever. An excerpt:

I F***ING LOVE THE SCARF! It is the gorgeous fruit of your labors. It is the manifestation of all that is good about crafts. It is a work of art. I can’t even tell you how much I just KNOW others covet it. They must. I wore it shopping all day yesterday at the mall, and though it was hot as hell and I got all sweaty, I caught smiling glances of recognition from many a potter-loving geek, mom and child. (Jim here at work thought it was a USC scarf! I set his ass straight.) I now feel I must strive to
live up to Gryffindor standards when I wear TS. I must be honorable and true – and brave and loyal. I am a Gryffindor. I rock.

How great is that? I hope the others I’m making are so appreciated!