Last September I saw the Bangles perform. I grossed you all out with the notion of the “carrot sac”. I hosted a dinner for some American friends. Roald Dahl had a birthday. So did my brand new little brother. I raved about kiwifruit. I shared some Buffy spoilers. All these little mundane life moments, you know? There I was, just swimming along, oblivious and happy. And then something terrible happened. After a year, those words don’t even seem like mine anymore. I’m disconnected enough now to see my own reactions objectively. I see my own confusion and fear, along with a secret and shameful sense of excitement at the fact that my generation would finally have a “defining experience.” I watch as those feelings turn to anger and sadness. Then, gradually, equilibrium is regained. I’m almost disturbed at how quickly I came to accept the situation and move on. Does anyone else feel like that? I didn’t know anyone in the World Trade Center, and no one I know even lives in New York. It’s almost as if this anniversary of mourning makes me feel guilty for not being more affected. Am I all alone here?

The most prophetic quote from the month: “As Snookums put it this morning when we were going our separate ways at work: ‘If America goes to war, we’re going to Australia.’ I couldn’t have put it better myself. Get me the hell out of here.”

And that’s all I have to say about that.

The other day while perusing eBay I noticed a copy of Roald Dahl’s The Gremlins going for $150 AU. It was his first book and it’s extremely rare. As that price equates to about $80 US, my jaw just dropped. To compare, here’s the very same book going for over $300 US. I’ve seen them sold for even more. I figure that all the Americans just bypassed the Australian auction since it was in a different currency. I’ve actually already got a copy, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to get another one dirt cheap. The Snook agreed that it’s a pretty good investment. So I waited and watched. The auction sat at $150 AU for most of the day, but as soon as we hit the magic five-minutes-left mark, the price started rising. I watched it go all the way to $300 AU. The Snook and I conferred and agreed that we’d go as high as $350. With one minute to go, I put in my bid… of $357.50. The odd numbers are key. Most people bid in “blocks”, so you’ve got to have just a *little* bit extra to win. I had it at $320… less than 30 seconds… then $330… only fifteen seconds… then $350… and I got it! For $355, to be exact. See, I told you the extra $2.50 was key.

Now I’m sorta having second thoughts. Not about the money; I have no doubt I’ll be able to sell it for a profit later. It’s more the mercenary nature of it. Some other fan wanted that book pretty badly and the younger me would’ve let them have it. Instead I’m just perpetuating what is already an overpriced market. Do you think that was a shitty thing to do? In my defense, I’m not fabulously wealthy and I could certainly use an extra hundred bucks or so. Should capitalism outweigh youthful ideals?

Holy crap! Television Without Pity, the website formerly known as Mighty Big TV, almost went under. They’ve managed to secure a deal to stay online, but they’ve got to cut some shows and implement even more intrusive advertising technologies. That sucks. I hope they offer some sort of subscription model. It’s one of the few sites on the Net that I’d actually pay to access.

I’m going insane. You know the song “All I Want” by Toad the Wet Sprocket? (Yeah, I’m putting together a 90’s mix CD.) Wasn’t it the theme to a TV show? At first I thought it was Party of Five, but no, that was the Bodeans’ “Closer to Free”. Was it Melrose Place? The IMDb is not helpful. What the hell am I thinking of?

Will Self, the author of one of the books we’re scheduled to read, has announced a plan to “lock himself in a one-bedroom flat on the 20th floor of a Liverpool tower block and allow the public to observe him while he writes a short novel”. Apparently he mourns the loss of these high-rise residential monstrosities, many of which are being torn down. I think he sounds like a bit of a loony.

I just started my second ever Metafilter thread. It’s about the Big Things that serve as tourist attractions here in Oz: the Big Banana, the Big Pineapple, and the Big Prawn (to name just a few). I just told the Snook that I want to visit them all. 🙂

Fun Australian Slang:
The Aussies have this fun habit of taking the first syllable of a word and turning it into slang. (Hence, “Aussies.”) Here are some more that I like:

• mozzies = mosquitoes
• cozzies = swimming costume = bathing suit
• derro = derelict = bum
• surfies = surfers
• aggro = aggressive
• ambo = ambulance
• Maccas = McDonald’s
• arvo = afternoon
• garbo = garbage collector
• piccie = picture, photograph
• pokie = poker/slot machine

Now try and use them in a sentence today. 🙂

The good news: Notre Dame beat Purdue and improved to 2-0 this season. (Sorry, little brother.) The bad news: Our offense hasn’t scored a touchdown yet. Of course, that means our defense ROCKS.

Happy (slightly belated) anniversary to Nicci, who just celebrated five very happy years of weddedness. (Is that a word?) Her post about her husband turned me into a big mooshy girly-girl.

Woohoo! Pictures from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I’m still not loving Dobby. But other than that, it looks great. And hey, Tom Riddle is hot! (Both links courtesy of Moire.)

[Related note: The Snook and I watched the James Bond film A View to a Kill the other night. It’s the last one Roger Moore did, the weird one 80’s one with Grace Jones and the Duran Duran theme song. Anyway, Christopher Walken plays the bad guy, this pseudo-German psychopathic genius horse breeder and microchip manufacturer. (Seriously.) He’s really young and he’s got dyed blond hair. Halfway through the film I blurted out, “He’s Draco Malfoy!” And he seriously is. If they ever need a flash-forward in one of the Potter films to Draco about 30 years older, Walken in a blond wig would be perfect.]