Starry Wisdom

Entropic Words from Neilathotep

Monday, December 29, 2003

Funny Story

So today was my first day of work. I got in at about 10am, as I was supposed to. However when I got off the expressway I saw that the light at the intersection was out. As I drove up the street, I saw that all the lights were out, including the lights at Ironport. I got in and they said, “well, it looks like we’re going to have to all leave, as the emergency lights’ batteries are almost out and we can’t stay.” So I filled out my W-4 and I-9 forms and then went to breakfast with my group and went home. What a silly first day of work!

posted by neil at 8:15 pm
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Saturday, December 27, 2003

Fruitcake, Part II

I cracked out the fruitcake yesterday, as it had aged the recommended two weeks. It’s actually pretty good. I ate a piece plain last night, and this morning I lightly toasted a piece and ate it with some marscapone cheese, which was recommended in the show from which I got the recipe. It was quite delightful that way!

posted by neil at 2:20 pm
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Saturday, December 20, 2003

Two things

I want to punch people. All the people involved in this story. Except maybe the people who called up after the fact.

Listen, if you can picture yourself possibly thinking of maybe wanting to euthanize a pet for any reason other than “great pain, going to die soon, but in huge great pain now” DON’T GET THE FUCKING PET. I want to go find that former owner and punch her in throat. People piss me off!

posted by neil at 11:50 pm
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Friday, December 19, 2003

76

I made some holiday cookies today. They are sugar cookies that I iced. I made the icing myself. Soon I will no longer have time for all these baking experiments, but here is a picture of some of the cookies.


posted by neil at 5:29 pm
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Wednesday, December 17, 2003

75

I saw Return of the King today, the 11:30am show. I waited about 45 minutes in line before they let people in, which wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t right up front in the line, but I was close enough to get a seat in the stadium near enough the middle. I bided my time before the movie started reading the new Al Franken book. Then it was 11:30, and nothing happened. Then it was 11:40 and they told us they had a technical problem, and to be patient, so people started getting antsy. Then it was noon and they said they thought they knew the problem and it was going to take the booth tech to fix it, but it was OK because he was on his way. They also said that a couple hundred people could still get seats to the 1:00 show in another theater, but not everyone. People started to get very ornery then. Thankfully the show got started around 12:15.

Oh, there was also some crazy older guy dressed up in a white robe, beard, and hat with a white staff and plastic sword who worked the line, saying the poem about the rings of power and telling us that there will be a great battle on the Pelennor Fields. Then, for some reason, he singled me out and said “I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that if the movie is like this in quality, you’ve wasted your money. It’s ok, if I was in your place, I’d think that as well.”


I liked the movie a fair amount. It was very long but didn’t seem that way. I did have some problems with the way some things were presented, and some of the effects (particularly the far shots of hobbits in the same seen as taller folk, where they used quite obvious doubles).

They left out one of the parts that I find to be very integral to the story and meaning, but I already knew it was gone beforehand. I am speaking of “The Scouring of the Shire”, which Peter Jackson claims to really dislike so he didn’t bother adapting or filming it. Quite a shame, because it really helps show two things, one that the war wasn’t just in Gondor, and the other was the loss of innocence of the hobbits in general, which seemed a key thing to the beginning of the Fourth Age.

Whatever, the movie is about as well done as one can expect, and it most regards it kept the spirit of the original if not the exact plot. And the most important thing is that it was very entertaining and I didn’t feel like I wasted my time or money. But my bladder was mighty full and my legs needed a stretching when it was over.

posted by neil at 5:27 pm
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Tuesday, December 16, 2003

74

So, starting 12/29/03, I will be working again!

posted by neil at 8:57 pm
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Friday, December 12, 2003

73

In what will probably end up being a misguided experiment, I made a fruitcake today. Lest you think I am totally insane, I did not use nuclear candied cherries or pineapple or anything like that. Just natural dried fruit, rehydrated in rum. The macerated fruit mix tasted pretty good, and even better after simmering with some sugar, apple juice, and freshly ground spices. So maybe this isn’t misguided. I’ll know more in a couple of weeks, when the cake has properly aged.

posted by neil at 4:31 pm
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