February 28, 2000

That is the substitute me, when I don't feel like taking a picture. It kind of looks like me, don't you think? Especially the mouth open part, since I'm always talking. This is courtesy of Fontalicious -- it's from a font called Chickabiddies.

I had a really nice weekend. Saturday, I had a group meeting that actually went pretty well by the end. Different group than the one I usually talk about. Then I met Molly at the mall and ended up buying a mini-trench coat with a button out lining. It's really cool. It's kind of a microfiber, and it's a olive/khaki color. I like it anyway. I got it for less than half price because they were having a great sale. So that made me happy.

Then, we met up with Mary and went to see "Wonder Boys". I really liked it. I'll try to do a review this week. Suffice to say, if you liked the book, you will like the movie. For once, they didn't ruin it with the adaptation, I thought. And Michael Douglas, who I normally hate, didn't bug me. After the movie, we went to dinner and gabbed, which was fun also.

Yesterday, Jim and I went and bought subs and then had a little picnic because it was so beautiful out. The temperatures yesterday were in the sixties, and it was like May weather. You don't get many of those in Syracuse, so we had to take advantage. We went and sat at a picnice table next to the Erie Canal. It was really nice. We drove over to visit his parents for a while. Then we went to the mall and bought more RAM. How exciting! We had a nice time though.

I wrote down some things I overheard at the mall this weekend to share with you. I read over in Xeney's journal that some people like dialogue, and the combination of seeing "Wonder Boys" and reading "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers has made me want to be a good writer, so I'm trying to be more observant. My big downfall in writing fiction was always that I am terrible with dialogue, so I'm trying to listen to what other people talk about so that I can make my own more natural. And I am always astounded at the stupidity and inanity of people's conversations, mine included. Some excerpts:

MOM: I'm carrying your shoes.

8-YEAR-OLD KID: Can I go on the escalator?

MOM: Not without your shoes!

Why wasn't the kid wearing any shoes in the mall? Why can't he go on the escalator with no shoes? Why was the mom carrying his shoes? These are questions that will never be answered. Here's another:

TWENTY-SOMETHING WOMAN: [yelling] Why is this magazine six dollars?

[no one answers. I look around to try to figure out if she is talking to me, since I am closest to her at the moment. She's not. Finally, her friend appears from around the corner.]

FRIEND: Who are you talking to?

TWS: You! Where were you? Why is this magazine six dollars?

FRIEND: [laughs hysterically]

Don't you hate when you go to talk to someone and that person has walked away? It happens to me all the time, but I've never seen it happen to someone else. This was the first time. And why was that magazine six dollars?

[Scene: Saturday night. Jim and I are laying on the couch. I am playing with his hair, because he cut it really short, and it's really fun to touch.]

JIM: Can you feel the scar on my head?

ME: Can I feel it? No. I can see it. Where did that come from? Did you ask your mom?

JIM: No, I forgot. I don't know where it's from.

ME: If they made a movie about your scar, it would be played by Gary Sinise. And your head would be played by John Malcovich.

JIM: What? What are you talking about? [laughs]

ME: I have no idea.

[Later that night, we are watching television and "Ransom" comes on. Gary Sinise appears on screen.]

ME: Look, it's your scar!

Maybe that's why I'm no good at dialogue. The things I say don't make any sense, and I write like I talk, so my written dialogue doesn't make any sense, I guess. Anyway, that was my dialogue experiment entry. Hope you enjoyed it!

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Wendi from slumberland.org wrote in to say that she might have been the first to point to the Grim Reaper Age guesser thing (on 2/17). I didn't get it from her, but I'll credit her, because she has a cool site!

Here's a mainstream story about the PlayStation 2 and here's a list of links to every story Videogames has done about the PS2. It comes out in Japan on March 4, so many more details should be available then.

I really, really, really wish I had read this article by Jeffrey Zeldman about dealing with web design clients before I did my internship last summer.

The Starbucks/Kozmo relationship makes sense to me, but the 7-11 thing doesn't make sense. Why would you want to order something at 7-11, and have it delievered there as well? Isn't the whole point of e-commerce that you can order and recieve items from work or home and don't have to go out to a store to get them?

Thanks to Gael, who linked me from her Star Tribune weblog! Gael also does the always cool Pop Culture Junk Mail.

So I'm swiping a bunch of links from Gael, including this site about clementines because Molly and I were trying to explain them to Mary the other day.

Also from Gael, I rode this carousel at two different locations -- when it was at the [now-closed] Roseland Park in Canandaigua, and now at Carousel Center in Syracuse!

Also from Gael, the monument in Winslow, Arizona. I drove through Winslow when we went to Arizona on spring break and yes, I sang the song.

I was wondering if we could get a better long distance rate, and I was also wondering if I should change my cell phone package, and lo and behold, I come across MyRatePlan.com, which might answer both questions. My only complaint is that after you do a search for a long distance carrier, it should link directly to the company's website so you can get the plan details and sign up.