When I brought my basket downstairs and started sorting it, I discovered a sad, lonely little pile that I’d forgotten last time (my splash pants, workout shorts, socks, a hoodie) and designated it the first pile to go in. I’d almost finished throwing it in the washer when I noticed there was something on the floor beside the splash pants, so I turned to take a better look and then shrieked like the girl I am.

It was a mouse. Dead, fortunately, because I don’t know what I would have done if it was alive¹. I finally managed to pull myself together and dispose of it, after having poked it several times with a broom to make good and sure it was dead because yo, those little buggers can JUMP².

I’m not sure what worries me more: that there was a dead mouse in my laundry or that my laundry was toxic enough to kill a living creature³

1. I suspect screaming and jumping about until I either succeeded in scaring the mouse off or hitting my head on any number of low hanging things on the basement ceiling.
2. There is a story about Bing bringing me a very not-dead mouse in the middle of the night once, and it ran up the curtain on my closet. I tried to knock it down with a broom so Bing could “take care of it” but it jumped at me. From several feet away. And almost landed on me.
3. Oh, I’m not really surprised there are mice – you can’t live in a house this old at this time of year without having a few, although I’ve seen very little evidence of them.

I expect there will be fun, frivolity, and, if things go all to hell, shenanigans.

The highlights:

Death Race 2000 – I arrived after it had already started, and Dave got me caught up. It was a great ice breaker movie because I could turn to the person sitting next to me and say, “Did Sylvester Stallon really just insult her by calling her a ‘baked potato’?”, or exclaim in amusement with everyone else when David Carridine put on a mask to have sex [4].

Lifeboat – This is a movie I never would have chosen to watch on my own, but I’m glad I saw it.

Glengarry Glen Ross – Since I got back, I’ve been raving about it to anyone who makes the mistake of passing through my line of sight. It was a truly awesome movie with so many outstanding performances, although I’d have to say Jack Lemmon was my favourite. He could go from depressed to obsequious to furious to begging in the blink of an eye.

Hard Core Logo – I have lengthy theories about the dysfunctional relationships in this movie, but in the end, it’s a bittersweet movie about a rock band.

Audition – All I know of this movie is that at one point, the cries of horror from those still standing woke me up. I snickered and went back to sleep.

In the end, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

(As for my NaNo story, sadly I’ve fallen rather behind. Sunday when I got home, I was too exhausted to write more than 500 words, and yesterday I didn’t get any done either. Maybe I’ll have to pull an all-nighter tonight.)

[1] Which was all of us, since we all nominated a slate of movies, and then ranked the nominees; the winners being the ones with the most votes [2].
[2] Or the ones Dave wanted to watch and snuck in.
[3] Seriously, go read his post! The funnest part of the whole thing were the photos and movies we made for each movie we watched – we weren’t just passive participants, we were ACTORS!
[4] And the dancing!

…”Be Careful With Lightsabres and Machetes”

Tell me – how awesome would that be if the Canadian Government commisioned and published a document on lightsabre and machete safety? It would probably have stuff like:

• When turning on your lightsaber, make sure the light part is facing away from you.
• Do not throw your lightsabre, unless you can use The Force to control its trajectory.
• Under no circumstances should you operate your lightsabre or machete if you have been consuming alcohol or other judgement-imparing substances.
• Be careful when using your machete to break open coconuts – you might end up cutting off more than the fiberous outter shell!

I am totally open to other suggestions as to what would be in such a document.

[1] We’re a depository library, which means we get to order and house government documents.

The link comes courtesy of a “ministry” site, where they also have a handy list of bands to avoid because they’re gay. Some are so obvious – Boy George, Pet Shop Boys, Eurasure – it isn’t at all surprising. Others – Metallica, Jay-Z, Kansas, Nickleback, Frank Sinatra – made me scratch my head. But the one that made me fall off my chair laughing was at the very bottom.

No kidding, eh?

• “My Dark Lord and Master, Satan. You were right – I don’t need a soul and I am doing so much better now!”
• “The Betty Ford Clinic. Betty, baby – we’ve got to do lunch sometime. And this time, it won’t be liquid.”
• “The Elder Gods. Cthulhu, Yig, Nyarlathotep, He Who Can’t Be Named – you guys rock!”
• “My massage therapist, Niles.”
• “No one. ‘Cause it’s all about me! Me! Me! Me! Me!”
• “I’d like to thank ‘Hooked on Phonics’ for making me a better speller.”
• “My accountant, Bob, for teaching me about sex, drugs, and RRSPs.”

“BOYS! GRAB YOUR BALLS AND PUT THEM IN DEEP!”

And, knowing him, he probably wasn’t even aware of what he said.

Homstar Runner is silly and goofy and fun for the whole family. The Strong Bad emails are the highlight, but I would play the games, too.

iLL WiLL PreSS is one I’ve mentioned before. The animation isn’t as slick as HSR, but it’s pretty funny nonetheless. Watch “Free Your Mind”, “Nuts to You” and “The Jiggly Butt.”

Weebls Stuff is very musical. Maybe you’ve heard/seen the annoyingly infectious Badger song video (if not, what are you waiting for?). Magical Trevor is also pretty catchy, as is Kenya. (Denise, I’m warning you – don’t watch the Salad Fingers cartoons! They creeped me out!)