I've made some changes here to kill some referrer spam, so let me know if something is borked.

New bento box! It is several decades old (hard to say exactly how old). Though I will proudly serve with it, I certainly would not pack it for lunch. The three shimmering trays are ceramic.

Incidentally, while this was sold as a bento box, I would not be surprised if it serves some other purpose. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear.

But not for the usual reasons.

They sent a fairly large box to Paul, via me. It looked to me like an anonymous gift, and considering the source, I sure as shit was going to screen it. So I open it up, and it's a promotional package. Why? They want Paul to host material at ebaumsworld. Why again? Because they got him mixed up with the New York comedian of the same name.

Thanks, you complete fucking morons, for making me pack this back from the PO box (it came at the same time as several other packages, and made my walk back to the office pretty unpleasant). I hope you die.

The faces are leftover spaghetti, meatless balls, and roasted tomatoes. For the Spousal Unit (left), eggs in a bed of dill, roasted asparagus, and balsamic hummus with pistachios. For me, carrots and a tuna bagel.

Best thing about Brokeback Mountain: some idiot movie executive didn't rename it Forbidden Love.

The Spousal Unit and I made a decision after seeing Brokeback: we should see a few more movies in the theatre. Our previous policy was that theatre viewing should be reserved for films with a high SBU factor. Seeing Brokeback in the changed our minds, because it was just a damned good experience. There's an immersive factor in a theatre that you can't get at home. You cannot comment on the film, nor pause for munchies, and that increases your involvement, making a good film even better.

I'm looking forward to the announcement of the Oscar nominations, because we'll gleefully spend President's Day weekend on a movie marathon with our friends J & K, drowning in good stories.

New thing I learned today:

Those magnetic things in DVDs, books, etc., that set off the scanners are called "chiclets".

I have this weakness. Okay, I have a lot of them, but right now I'm going to talk about one in particular. It's about spending money. Despite my commitment to a simplified life, I still manage to hemorrhage cash some days. I love to order delivered food, and I can piss away hundreds at Amazon. So I should tell myself to buckle down and quit it, right? Nah, that never works. Instead, I've set aside special days for particular vices, so my spending is kept to a low rumble.

For example, if left to my own devices, I can spend a bit here and a bit there at Amazon, until I've dropped a down-payment on a small independent nation without even realizing it. Instead, I now have "Amazon Day". It occurs once a month, and I have a generous-but-reasonable spending limit. For the rest of the month, I put things in my wishlist or cart and just leave them there until the 15th. Then I get a few things for myself and the Spousal Unit. It's a great time. Amazon Day once a month makes it special.

I do the same thing with D-dish, what I loves so sweet. Saturday is D-dish day, so I know we're keeping it to once a week, instead of "when was the last time we ordered? Oh, hell with it, I want Vegas rolls."

Best of all, I don't have to think about any of this stuff. I decide on the day and the frequency, then I put it in my calendar and forget about it. I know it's coming, and when it does, it's like a sweet little reward for being fiscally responsible.

On the left is balsamic hummus (storebought) topped with a little green onion, pistachios, and blue corn chips. On the right is some crusted tofu and stir-fried veggies leftover from tonight's dinner.

(cross-posted here.)

I love the Holga vignetting on this. KC (who really does have two pupils) is stalking Tina (offstage). So sleek and predatory.

Huh. Apparently this photo needs some straightening--I could barely tell in flickr. Ah well, adds to the charm.

Yesterday we had the distinct pleasure of meeting the world's most photographed cat, Tina (we also enjoyed seeing her people!).

Tina was exceedingly calm and made an excellent guest. KC, of course, thought she was the Worst Thing Ever. She followed Tina around the house, serenading her with a low growl.

Pictured above is Tina the Stoner, after she's discovered some of the house catnip stash. KC, sadly, is not stoned.

This Friday is the monthly meetup for Portland Bloggers. If you are a blogger in Portland, I hope to see you there!

I miss Vr.5.

Yes, the science was bad, but the computers were cool, the conspiracy was fun, and the whole show had a great look and feel. It aired for just 13 episodes in 1995 (10 in the US), and had me utterly hooked, but bad ratings brought its life to an end.

I recently bought a set of disks from eBay--transfers from video, with quality as good as you'd expect, I suppose. Still, I enjoyed re-watching every episode. I think I even got the Spousal Unit hooked.

Afterwards, I poked around the web a bit, and found a compatriot who has put up a pretty complete site on the series.

*sigh*

I think my love kills shows.