Dumbstuff.

Just a couple more things I've stumbled across lately:

- You know what SPAM is, right? E-mail you don't want. But what about the e-mail that you DO want but that isn't personal (i.e. newsletters you've signed up for, ads from favorite stores, etc.)? Well, of course we need a term for that! It's now called bacn. Yes, with no "o".

- Are your kids nerds? Are you having trouble getting them to do their chores? Well, why not try Chore Wars! You sign up, create a character, and every time you complete a chore, your character gains experience points and becomes more powerful. Brilliant!

- This started out sounding stupid, but ended up sounding disturbing. The Chinese government has passed a law that Buddhists can't reincarnate without government permission. At first I thought this was just an example of stupid bureaucracy, but further down in the article, you find out that it's a ploy by the Chinese to mess with the Dalai Lama and not have to acknowledge his successor.


And now, here it is - your Moment of Vacation Zen from my recent trip:

Oooh!

Miscellaneous crap that intrigues me:

- Dungeons and Dragons 4.0 is coming! Not that I've played in the last five years. Sigh. But I've been enjoying the 3.5 system in NWN2, and check out the last section in the article about D&D's new online presence. Now that sounds cool!

- A new bar has opened in Chicago. It sounds pretty touristy, but the 70's/80's themed aesthetic also sounds highly amusing. It's called the Regal Beagle, named after the bar from Three's Company. Bwah-ha-ha!

- Maybe I shouldn't post this here, because I might want to get this as a Christmas present for someone, but I also wouldn't mind getting it as a Christmas present myself, so here it is: a review of the new Henrik Ibsen DVD Collection. Cate Blanchett in Hedda! Ian McKellen in Wild Duck! Lynn Redgrave in Master Builder! It's a theater geek's dream.

- And lastly, I try to stay away from posting YouTube videos, because so many other people are on top of it, but every once in a while one comes along that amuses me too much not to mention. So, just click here and enjoy. : )


And now, here it is - your Moment of Zen:

Mu.

I don't know what the story is behind this picture, but it is a Moment of Zen if I ever saw one!




Update: the photo comes from here.

Shtuff.

Hey, what's up? I've been pretty busy. Managed Second City's performances at Lollapalooza last weekend. That was super fun! We have a lot of added shows right now - this is our busiest time of year - so I'm working a lot. I'm also busy enjoying my new video game Neverwinter Nights 2, and reading an awesome book called The Darkness That Comes Before. When the new Harry Potter came out, I went back and re-read all of the previous books, so I could have the experience of reading the entire story. It was amazing! I couldn't have enjoyed it more. HOWEVER, that being said, I am so glad that I'm now reading a series where all the books are already written. It's getting to be pretty frustrating to me to try and read a series when I have to wait two years or longer between books (I'm looking at you, George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan). On the other hand, today I came across this article which explains why I am not so good at enjoying the anticipation of good things in the future: I'm just too emotional. I think we always knew that. ; )

And now, here it is - your Moment of Neverwinter Zen: