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Signing off...

(With thanks to avtherav for the link.)

I missed the very beginning, but a couple of seconds after I started watching, I shouted out: "TRON!" Gotta maintain the Child Of The Eighties street cred, right?

And then I stared at the screen, waiting to see what product was being advertised. (Remember: missed the beginning, and was watching this on an actual television so no helpful filenames.) When the logo for the Honda Civic came onto the screen, I grumbled, "Well, that was a clever commercial, but the Civic's target audience has no clue what Tron is." Those of us who know about Tron - and will appreciate the commercial - are way older than the demographic they're trying to sell to. Even I (at age almost-27) am at the very young tail end of people who know Tron...people in their 30s are more like it. And people in their 30s generally aren't buying Civics. The ones who are will do so even without the commercial; and Honda shouldn't be selling Civics to the rest of them when they could instead be pitching the Accord (or the Pilot something else more appropriately sized for families with 1.7 children).

All that said - I still like the commercial.

In the meantime (and with thanks to maric for showing me the way), I am dellighted to announce that I am, apparently, in tune with my (somewhat disturbed) feminine side:

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

There. I've complained.

This is the most pathetic NoBloPoMo attempt ever.

Perhaps tomorrow I can get myself to talk about politics.

Erm, I should probably write something profoud, shouldn't I? Something more insightful than a glimpse at what we're having for dinner? (Homemade sushi maki, mostly vegetable rolls because I don't trust myself with raw fish, but there will be California roll as well, assuming the mock crab sticks I have are still good. I think I undercooked the rice slightly. And oversweetened the vinegar. Bah. At least there'll be soba noodles and edamame to fill up empty belly space.) It need not be earth-shattering, but a month of dinner menus is not going to get me anywhere in the blogging world. Not unless I also open a cooking school, which...no. I'm good, but I'm nowhere near that good.

Over the course of the past few weeks I finally almost-finished unpacking, sorting, and shelving our books. I say "almost-finished" for two reasons: (1) there are definitely still some books lurking the corners of still-packed boxes...I recognize that there are titles missing, but I just can't find them; and (2) there's a smal;l stack of books, mainly my casebooks from law school, that will not fit on the living room shelves and are destined for a bookcase in our bedroom...which does not yet exist. The bookcase, I mean, not the bedroom. The bedroom is most certainly there, along with a very comfy new bed whose existence I verify each and every night, and most afternoons as well.

I'm calling that good eough for starters. No, it's not profound, not in the least, but I fear that if I try too hard right now, I'll only get discouraged.

He was gracious enough to compliment the seasoning in general, and said that it was a good stew, as stews go, just...not his thing. This is a problem, because I have three more blocks of pre-cut stew meat in the freezer, each weighing in at about five pounds. The intent was to defrost one every few weeks, use about half for a cholent that Shabbat, and use the remainder for dinner several days later. And the general expectation is that it would be in stew form, because what else do you use such meat for? I suppose I could still make the stew anyway, and have it only for myself for lunches, but that seems a little excessive. You can't really freeze stew, because it has potatoes in it, and you aren't supposed to refreeze raw meat that's been frozen and defrosted once already. So, I need suggestions. Anyone?

I can't help but wonder whether the whole thing is a hoax blown out of proportion, a practical joke or a dare intended to freak out a few other students that went a step too far. My gut tells me that's all it is, and there's no need to worry. Still, I'll be holding my breath every time I check the news tomorrow.

-=-

Okay, so that wasn't a splash of a post, given my month-long silence. I want to blog again, really I do, but the right topics never hit me at the right times. So maybe I need to just make a twice-a-week commitment and stick with it, even if I have nothign to say but, "My, aren't the leaves beautiful today!" (And, really, if you're in the greater Boston area, check out your local leaves, because we're already past the peak for most trees and in a few short weeks all we'll have is scraggly branches with a few dried-up hangers-on. Perfect for decorating with little white lights, huh?)

I think I need another blog redesign. Maybe having a flashy title bar (and nesting code that actually works properly) will energize me to write again. It's also probably high time I overhaul my sidebar to highlight different posts and include a more up-to-date list of blogs I actually read. Or, at least, to purge the ones that don't really exist anymore. And then maybe I could redo the categories, because pretty much nobody ever got the joke there, and even I'm not sure what goes into what category anymore. And then...

...well, first I have to run to the store for some milk.

From this week's PostSecret:

Yom Kippur is an interesting time to contemplate this image and its associated (non)believer. We like to think we will pass through the Ten Days of Repentance with a sense of awe and reverence and emerge after Yom Kippur with a profound understanding of ourselves and the world. Or, at least, some level of preparation for and acceptance of Divine judgment (whatever that may mean in your eyes). I'm not sure I've ever succeeded in making it through this time of year quite like that. Most years, though, I've at least managed to feel a sense of humility by the onset of Yom Kippur, admiration of the structure and poetry of the liturgy, and a joyous relief at the single long note on the shofar at the end of the fast.

With less than a day to go, I jsut don't think it's going to happen this year. I'm angry and confused and probably not for the reasons most of you think. I'm trying to view my expected confinement to bed on Monday as an opportunity to commune with (er...yell at) God on a more personal level, rather than having to focus on the longer prayers and piyutim lead by the chazzan. But instead I am wondering how I'll cope without the structure, and with all those hours of quiet contemplation. Contemplation in general, I can handle. But not alone. I'm afraid that the anger and frustration will only build while I'm alone, and if I even manage to make it to shul for Ne'ilah Monday evening, hearing the shofar will be no relief after a full day of lonely self-torture.

On a more positive note - and I think I've said this before - I am somewhat grateful that I'm angry at God. You can't be angry at something that you don't think exists, and I don't think I could handle being an atheist just now.

Tell me: What do you pretend to believe? What do you know now? And just how did it used to be?