Tuesday 23 September 2003

Pic of the day: Supreme comic book by Alan Moore. It's pretty funny, and I won't even quote Radar, the Hound Supreme, and his misunderstanding of human mating habits. There are enough other things on a September day ...

Gems of the day

And be assured, I am quite happy to have another day. I wish I could have thousands of days more. We shall have to wait and see about that, though. This morning I called my doctor and got an appointment on October 10th. Hopefully he can say something useful about the daily recurring pains in my lower right side. Since I don't have the other appendix symptoms of fever, intense pains and throwing up, I don't think it is an emergency after two months ... Well, two months and a day. The first time I noticed it was July 22nd. I remember because that was the day I last saw an old friend who I (here) call Great Earth Mother. Yes, she is that memorable. ^_^

In fact, today a coworker of mine brought a greeting from the above mentioned G.E.M. I don't think I grinned like an idiot, it is kinda hard to be sure, because I know I did grin. Coworker praised friend's looks as well as her personality, and I heartily agreed to it all. It is all true and more! (Hmm, why do I feel a premonition that one of my readers will once again try to enroll me in a humanity class?)

***

You find the most fascinating things on the Net. Evidently my North American friends can now register for the upcoming Wife Carrying Championship on October 11th. (If the link doesn't work, try sundayriver.com and navigate with the frames.) I had heard of the sport from Finland, where it has been practiced some years before it caught on in America. Now if that won't motivate people for getting in shape, I don't know what will. Is it just my poorly suppressed bondage tendencies, or does lugging a wife around sound like a cute thing to do? I sure think so. Would have been my kind of sport, if not for the small detail about a wife being needed. Oh well. Details, details, life is nothing but.

While in the romantic (?) corner, allow me to quote this gem of a dialog from the Supreme: The Return comic book / trade paperback / graphic novel which I bought a few days ago. This one was like I would have done it myself:
"Supreme? Do you, you know, like me?"
"Uh, yes. Yes, I do."
"Uh-huh. And when you like a girl, do you always take her to a string of different worlds, times and dimensions to get her attention?"
"Uh... well, actually, yes. What do people normally do?"
That, I believe, is a very good question. Then again, Alan Moore is known for his, um, supreme writing, and I thoroughly enjoyed the prequel, Supreme: The Story of the Year too.

***

Speaking of North America, the US dollar has plummeted since last week, certainly compared to the local currency here in Norway. In fact it has slid a little further since the morning, and is now down to 7.07 NOK. This was hardly unexpected, if you have read my utterances of judgment over the dollar, but it certainly came quickly when it came.

And just in time for the release of Hybrids, the final book in the Neanderthal Parallax series by Robert J. Sawyer. I have praised his earlier Neanderthal books in this column, so it should come as no surprise that I jumped for Hybrids. True, his Neanderthals are the ultimate Noble Savages, totally unrealistic, and the science is dubious at best. But the way he sees our entire civilization from outside is worth it. The books are ridiculously expensive, but I get it for well under half price as an e-book from fictionwise.com. First I get a Buywise rebate as a "club" member, then I get 50 percent off that price again when paying by credit card. And I can read the book on my home computer at no extra cost, there is no special hardware required.

Good old Cassie the Pocket PC is not up the latest standard required to read a secure e-book like this, so I cannot read it on the bus unless I buy a newer Pocket PC. But don't despair, for I am still only halfway through Rulers of the Darkness, the fourth book in that series by Harry Turtledove. It is a book I can put down, but it is harder to not pick it back up. The whole series is recommended, so far at least. The problem is that the series is not yet completed, so you will be stranded waiting for more.

Well, I think that shall suffice. You probably don't want any details on my current game of Master of Magic, or the paper cut (?) on my external reproductive apparatus (actually, I wonder whether this is somehow related to the surprise discovery of a pine needle in my underwear), or other trivial details. Every day is a special day at the Chaos Node! But enough is enough. I hope you enjoyed my day. I did. May there be many more.