India, for me, represents a sort of amalgam of a holy place and a fairy tale. It has long been a dream of mine to visit India and take a holy pilgrimage, of sorts. I’m well aware that things like the plague are still prevalent there, but I think that is all part of the, for lack of a better term, charm.

In my mind, India’s rich religious history coupled with its, even today, untamed natural wildness makes the country seem like no other place on earth. This opinion has been confirmed to me by both Indians and Westerners who have visited there. A professor of mine once told me of a summer when he spent 2 months in India. He went with no itinerary and no real idea about what he would do once there. He did know someone who lived there, but he admitted to me that he was in a state of near anxiety for his entire trip because of how different from his normal life it was.

So one can hardly fault me for proclaiming (even before I have seen it) the new Wes Anderson film to be one of the five greatest films ever made. The mystical algebra works thusly…

Wes Anderson + (Jason Schwartzman*Owen Wilson*Adrien Brody)

—————————————————————————————————— = greatest film of all time

India + a train

But I suppose not everyone shares my near maniacal fixation with all things India. Nevertheless, I give to you this trailer, so you might judge for yourself…

yep, that much! I know. Ok, aside from testing how painfully long I can make entry titles here on the ol’ Normality, I did want to drop in for a bit, because I was obviously and completely absent this last week. So to make up for it, here’s a nonsense-filled-egotistical meme, of no merit whatsoever! Yay! I stole this from Doctor Mary, so blame her for bringing it into existence anywhere near me O_O:

(more…)

Which is the title of the research paper I am working on right now…the one that is, currently, about 7 pages long and needs to get to 13 by Thursday, which is, all things considered doable. Of course, I also have a 5 page paper to revise, and another 5 page paper to write, by the same time…so that’s not so good. Plus I take a final that night.

As an undergrad I would blame my current state of affairs on too much napping and video games, now I have “real” excuses like work and a kid. But I tend to work better under pressure, which is why I’ll have an ulcer by the time I’m 30, no doubt.

In case any one is, I don’t think curious is the right word, a glutton for punishment maybe…here’s a paper that I wrote about Emily Dickinson where I site both Douglas Adams and George Lucas as sources (oh yeah, I rock out with my c**k out)…and here’s one more on T.S. Eliot, though it doesn’t have any good citations…feel free to steal either to your heart’s content…

I certainly can’t say that my wintery solstice was as bad as Gilgrim’s…I still have the thing where my eye is pink, but other than that it was a decent holiday by all accounts.

We got the kid what she is calling her “car.” Which is really a Power Wheels version of an ATV. It tops out at a robust 2 mph, which is still enough to throw her head back when she hits the throttle…

My haul, if you will, consisted of mostly DVD’s, which is always welcome, though I’ve yet to watch Bender’s Big Score, but tonight may change that…

Last year began a tradition wherein I make a mixed CD for the wife. Last year, actually, had two installments. The first I titled, “Music to Love By” because my wife is sappy, and the second was christened, simply “Let’s Rock” for that is what that CD does: IT ROCKS!

This year brought just one installment, appropriately titled “Music for a Hip Mom.” See if you do not agree:

01. Muse - Starlight
02. Feist - 1, 2, 3, 4
03. Silversun Pickups - Well Thought Out Twinkles
04. Interpol - Evil
05. Hot Hot Heat - Let Me In
06. Starsailor - Poor Misguided Fool
07. Modest Mouse - Fire It Up
08. Razorlight - Hold On
09. The Mooney Sukuzki - My Dear Persephone
10. Killers - Bling (Confessions of a King)
11. The Cribs - Mirror Kissers
12. Bloc Party - Blue Light
13. Stereophonics - Dakota
14. The Kooks - She Moves in Her Own Way
15. Spoon - The Underdog
16. Keane - Crystal Ball
17. The Shins - So Says I
18. Arcade Fire - (antichrist television blues)

Those that know me, or have been following my personal bloggings for the last year, know that I have a thing for French Bulldog puppies. You see, whenever I’m sad, or am having a bad day, all I have to do to help thwart the pain of my current predicaments is do a google image search for the inarguable cuteness that are French Bulldog puppies. Most of the time this works to an amazing degree. I developed the habit when I was working at Blizzard and my teammates and I would participate in ‘image search races’ where we would use the google function to try and find the best, weirdest and funniest or most random images the fastest.

This tradition and practice has continued into my new job. Although there is no official ‘race’ everyday, there is still the occasional need to find the weird and obscure. To this end, and in celebration of this weird and delightful net-surfing pastime I present to you my collection for today of the weird and unusual from ye olde interwebz. Behold:

A creepy man in a creepy hat

“Spiders are the fiercest hunters on the planet!”

this is why furries frighten me… O_O

. . .

And there you have it, my image findings for the day, enjoy, smile, and try not to think too hard about the weirdness that is out there waiting to be found on purpose or by accident in the digital-web-i-sphere.

–Aleister