Long day of skiing up at Hunter mountain are now over.

The roomies are watching Gladiator, and some affiliated IMDB multiple degrees of separation wandering led me to Terence Malick (who did the beautiful Thin Red Line) and his new movie The New World, which comes out this year - a much darker version of the pocahontas story than what Disney spat out.

There is a trailer, and Christain Bale and Colin Farrell are involved.

Sounds like a nice depressing work. I will probably want to see it.

Cable might get installed Tuesday, but after so many abortive installation appointments, I've stopped being optimistic.

I wonder if I liked my experience more today since I had rose colored goggles.

Overheard while watching Two Towers: Theoden looks like he has dioxin poisoning.

I'm watching The Two Towers tonight instead of the State of the Union tonight.

The story and acting are much better.

I never thought I would see the day when victims of suicide bombers in the muslim world were considered martyrs.

At the minimum, a cause for hope.

It isn't quite Secretary General, but Bill Clinton is starting work at the UN.

Also, I am very very displeased with the decision not to call what happened in Darfour "Not Genocide." I would compare the situation to that of Bosnia in the early nineties.

What do they need? Death Camps? White People? (a bit harsh perhaps, but the charge will doubtless be leveled.)

TF reality check: Despite terrorist attacks, 83% turnout in elections... in Vietnam, 1967

Last night''s dinner of sauerkraut beef soup and beef satay, made by Antonia and served with good wine, was amazing.

So good that I can't feel too bad about the cold I have today, which I am treating with my new concoction of thoroughly skilleted ground beef and uncle ben's rice.

To cope I watched Revenge of the Nerds for the first time, and just ran across this line.

I think robots are sexy.

So true...

Also, I am reminded of a thought I keep having whenever I am flying (in a plane) or when I am in tall buildings. Looking out over a city from several hundred or thousand feet is beautiful. It strikes me as particularly disturbing not that we can get so high, but that it takes such mechanical artifice to get us down safely.

Only the last foot is usually fatal (unless you are travelling fast enough, in which case it can be the first).

sigh. As Douglas Adams once noted, the key to flying is falling towards the ground, but missing it.

Or perhaps more succinctly (at the expense of cliche), it isn't how you get in the air, but how you get down.

Easterbrook (famous for his late 70s proclamations on the lack of safety in the then new fangled space shuttle) takes on Jared Diamond's new book Collapse in this excellent review.

My roommate has purchased Vegemite.

Supposedly it is good for your skin.

Frightening thought of the day: Rubbing vegemite all over your body.

Note the link for information about Vegemite for mums.

Sullivan points me to this article. Today's message from Iraq contains Hawaii, "tactical fashion faux pas," and lyrics from Tenacious D.

Warren on fantasy coffins. There are pics.