Books / Movies / Stories

I had a pretty hectic day yesterday. I had enough books to go out for it to be worth a trip to Manassas. McKay's took 32 of the 38 I had which meant that there weren't enough rejects to be worth hitting the other stores I go to. They don't pay particularly well, even though I go for store credit over cash. But their prices are low enough that it balances out. C&W pays a lot more, but their prices are absurdly high. Hole in the Wall actually pays the best, but you can only use credit there for half the price. At any rate, I had enough credit to get 9 books, with a small amount left over. I also learned that they are moving this spring, but just into a bigger space in the same shopping center.

On the way back, I noticed a large international grocery store, so stopped in. I did find the vegan mushroom sauce that makes a good substitute for Thai fish sauce, but could not find palm sugar. Their produce department is more expensive than Super H-mart. I contemplated buying a banana flower, but I was sure I'd discover that I didn't have all the other ingredients for the banana flower salad I like. Some other time.

Since I was done with the books so early, I decided to see Coraline. It was definitely worth going to the pricy movie theatre to see it in 3D. Overall, I was impressed with the technology, but the story was a bit predictable. If you can't see it in 3D, it would be best to wait to rent it (or to see it on an airplane, which is where I see a disgustingly high percentage of movies).

After running a couple of errands, I came home and took a nap. In the evening, I drove over to Bill's for the Voices in the Glen story swap. There was excellent turn-out, with 17 people, and a wide mix of stories. I particularly enjoyed Lauren's rendition of a Margaret Read MacDonald picture book and Jane's telling of the pickpocket story. And, of course, Tim's story of anti-freeze poisoning is always a hoot.

At least I was busy with fun things.

Adventure

I went to the Adventures in Travel Expo. I am inevitably disappointed in how many very unadventurous companies participate in this, but there's enough to keep me going, especially with half off the ticket price. (I figure the free travel magazines make it pay for itself). In particular, I've been contemplating somewhere in Central America for the November / December time frame and got some very good info from the Nicaraguan travel representative there. I can ignore the people who think a time share in Aruba qualifies as travel, never mind adventure travel.

In other adventure travel related news, I am pleased with this season of The Amazing Race so far. There are a few teams who irritate me, but two of the three who annoyed me the most have already gotten eliminated. I'm sure more teams will piss me off as the season goes on, of course, but it's off to a good start.

Finally, here's a rather distressing item about a place I am interested in. 71 children have died of rabies in Luanda, Angola in the past 3 months. The problem is, of course, infected dogs and poor children are more likely to come in contact with them and, hence, be bitten. Coupled with the lack of awareness that leads them not to get vaccinated right away, this has become a true tragedy. The government is now working to do something about the dogs, so there's hope. But I still found the story shocking.

And the Winner Is ...

This isn't actually about the Oscars, though I will say that I am really happy that Departures won best foreign language film, since I thought it was exquisite. And I'd never have seen it had I not flown ANA from Tokyo to San Francisco on my way home from Thailand since I am fairly sure it hasn't played anywhere near here. (Well, except for the Oscar related foreign film showcase at the National Archives, but that's not a theatrical release.)

What I actually intended to write about was Reann Ballslee being elected homecoming queen at George Mason University. The story has gotten a lot of press since Reann is the drag queen persona of Ryan Allen. But, here's the thing. Back in my undergraduate days (when we had to watch out for dinosaurs on the way to class and we planted giant redwood saplings), MIT finally decided to have a football team. That led to having an actual homecoming - and a homecoming queen. And who was chosen? Why, the winner of UMOC (Ugliest Man on Campus), of course. Leo wasn't a drag queen (though there was a woman who ran for UMOC using the slogan "would you want your son to look like me?") but the whole thing reflects how seriously we took the event. Apparently, there are students at GMU without any perspective who are appalled at the whole thing. Different times, different places, indeed.