Typical Blog Update 2

So, after a brief respite, I bring you the second half of my day. This update is coming via my Mac laptop. It's pretty decent and the Japanese language support was a breeze, so I can't complain about that. I would like to mention, however, that the claims of reliability that Apple makes seem a bit exaggerated. About one week after first getting the laptop, I shut it down one night, and it refused to turn on the next day. I checked the battery and all that nonsense, and there appeared to be no reason for the computer's refusal to work. I ended up having to take the battery out and reset the thing to its factory settings, which is, I think, the second to last recommended thing to do in the manual, short of sending the computer back. It's weird because there's really nothing I could have done to it at that point to make it stop working, it just up and quit. Weird. But it's all fine now.

So, anyway, when I get done eating lunch, which is generally a sandwich and maybe some fruit or something, I get to the hardcore television watching. There are a couple episodes of Law & Order on TNT in the afternoons, and I watch those unless I've seen those particular episodes recently enough that I remember all the details. I'm a big fan of Law & Order, especially original recipe as I call it, and I'll probably write an update all about it sometime. An alternative to Law & Order is whatever Spike TV is showing, which is generally Star Trek. They show DS9 at some point during the day, but I don't know when so I don't really watch it ever. Also, it is kind of like a big soap opera but with phasers and Cardassians, so it can be a little to whiny and not golden-agey enough in its science fiction aspects. In the afternoon, however, they generally show Voyager, which is an ok show. It's basically a knock off TNG with different aliens and a cast that is inferior in every way, but there are some decent plots. Actually, I take that back. The Doctor is an improvement over Crusher in that he has more personality than a cement block, which is weird since he is a hologram. Also, the two are about as attractive, which isn't saying much for Crusher. I'm sure I've lost everyone who reads this but possibly my dad at this point.

I like to watch Jeopardy. It is pretty much the only gameshow I can stand because it at least has informative or entertaining questions/answers. Everything else is guessing prices or filling in the blanks and just makes me want to shoot the contestants and hosts in the face.

After a while it is time for dinner, and then the schedule is varied. Lately, I've had to work a spotlight for a play here, but that's over now so I'll have to come up with something else to do. I also waste time playing keyboard or concertina sometimes throughout the day, and doing a little reading. Last night I just finished Tolkien's The Children of Hurin (there should be an aigu over the u, but I don't know how to make that), or Narn I Chin Hurin as he says in nerdish. It tells the tale of the children of Hurin and Morwen, unsurprisingly. It is set in the elder days or some such nonsense, which basically just means that the villain is Morgoth (Melkor) and not Sauron, and the map is different. Almost the whole story is about Turin, son of Hurin, wandering around from place to place and suffering tragedies all over, killing his friends accidentally, and changing his name. Oh, and he marries his sister, who jumps off a cliff. Then he stabs himself and his mom appears out of nowhere and dies. So, I just saved you a few hundred pages of Tolkien-style mythology-sounding blathering. It's actually pretty decent, just a little depressing, for obvious reasons.

I've also been trying to read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, available free online at threekingdoms.com. I don't know why this isn't letting me choose a link option right now. I think blogger just doesn't like Macs. Anyway, if you haven't heard of it, Romance is an old Chinese novel-kind of thing. It is set at the fall of the Han dynasty and has a cast of presumably thousands. Many people just show up or are named for no apparent reason, and most people appear for only a couple seconds before getting beheaded. Seriously, there is so much beheading in this story it is incredible. Kind of interesting, but you will need a little Chinese history (provided on the site) to get some of it. It is also about 1500 pages long, spread out over 120 chapters, so it's a bit of a time commitment. Well, that's all for now.