into a re-friendship

He came back two weeks later after we met and we spent four wonderful days together, so we're just starting to get cozy in a re-friendship. I think we'll be friends for a long time.

Within a couple of weeks, a lot has changed with my work schedule, my new offices, investment plans, everything that's been anything significant in my life lately. There's been so much change that I'm having to keep notes to keep up? (yeah)

Well, this entire weekend has been one of travel for me, meeting a lot of *very* different people - no, characters is the better word here - and that's made me reflect, mostly on all the friendships I left back in California, converted comfortably to the periodic phone calls and emails. And also on the things I left un-tied. Things I never settled, probably mostly because I thought I'd go back really soon, and I haven't.

I miss people there, and definitely some places. If I spend the time to think about it, which I rarely do (and even then, only ever so briefly), I realize that I miss certain things.

Yes, I can get a little emotional, especially when I think about certain individuals. I guess it's my female prerogative to be that way.

I don't even know if anyone reads this blog anymore. I've been so remiss in updating it... Yeah, I think this pretty much qualifies as talking to myself.

I guess it'll just have to be a log about my life. wait, I think that's the whole point of a blog anyway, right? hm yeah whatever

Well one thing I know I wanna remember is what happened at the Kemah boardwalk. Despite the fact that noone reads this, I'm so shy about talking about certain things, I'm not even gonna write it down. Just the two words should be enough to be a reminder.

Let's face it, I have to make myself put entries into this blog. It just doesn't flow for me. I have to bother to remember the most one or two interesting things and then write them down. I think blogging might be better suited for people who like to do scrapbooking.
It's a nice craft, just not Amy's style I guess.

But since I've got all these posts up, and I love to finish things I start (haha), I'll keep posting entries that'll one day be lost in the www abyss, I bet to no end. I don't even think I'd ever go back to read any of these posts. If I did that, I'd definitely be surprised at myself.

I'm always on to the next thing, just don't like looking back. I like living in a continuous wave of relationships and events that blend and blur into one another for the sake of continuity. I don't segment things off in my life.. books, chapters, whatever, it's all one reeeally long poem to me. Even if I've referred to a 'chapter' in my life, that's b.s. I don't think I'm even capable of looking at my life or relationships in parts.

hmmm... so much for that brief look at - yeah, i don't know what that is either.

evolution of a relationship

Today, all things are good. V and I have made somewhat of a full circle and are - friends. It seemed like that could never happen, but it did. We're back on track and closer than we ever were before. After a short trip to Cali, he came back here to sort things out, and we did okay. And... so inspired and intrigued by the country life he was that he's decided to move to Quaid's state, sweet Montana. I'll look forward to visiting him.
In the meantime, I had the strangest chance meeting with a guy I grew up with and haven't seen since the last summer day we spent sitting on the beach in Malibu, California, when we were both 14. He was in Houston on a business trip and at the Cafe Express in downtown. I ran in to get a cup of coffee and get some work done on my laptop until it was time to go to the art gallery. I got tapped on the shoulder and nearly fell off my chair (really) when I turned around. He was on his way out with a business associate so we had a few minutes to say whatever. We exchanged numbers. He called that night. We met up and spent the entire night talking. I don't think there's a subject we didn't cover. He had to catch his plane the next morning. The good news is he's coming back in two weeks, and has managed to tack on some vacation time to his trip. I can't wait.

two months later

Somewhere in the end of feb and I'm still unpacking... and moving into my new offices. And as I'm excited about all the bigger and better things going on with work, my newly found country living schedule is starting to look more like my city-living caffeine-driven all-nighter schedule of the past. I've really gotten into something good with my hiking trips and photography. I've even managed to dust off my tennis racket and get on the court a couple of times. Amidst all the great stuff though, V and I decided to call it quits. We determined that what each of us wants out of life isn't so much the same as we'd thought. Normally that might be fine of course - variety is the spice. But in our case, it's the kind of spice that you really don't want to be having every day - there is after all such a thing as a clashing variety.

And that brings me to this... single in the lone star state. Well I guess it makes sense.

Waitin' on Somethin'

I would talk about that decision I made or the cards of film I shot of deer, but it all seems so meaningless to me right now. I'm just waiting. Except I'm not sure what the heck I'm waiting for. No really, I do a lot of "stuff" everyday, but just doesn't mean much right now. I've been working, holiday shopping (and decorating), and even spending time with some friends. I had out of town guests/friends last weekend and had a really good time with them. But all of it just seems like minutes passing while I'm waiting in some government office line somewhere - and the thing is, I don't know where I'm waiting or what for.

I realize that this all sounds dreary and quite unlike my usual chipper self, but that's just how it is right now. I'm sure the clouds 'll shove off sometime soon but until then, you can read about me waiting.

Sometimes people make things more complicated than they have to be, I think. Don't you? Most people don't ever seem to be living "in the moment". Everyone's wrapped up with some menial nonsensical to do, paying attention to following rules and fitting some norm. When you move long distance, and you have to unpack all those sentimental things, like photos, and souvenirs, and just other worthless stuff that only mean something to you, it makes you think.

I unpacked a box today. It was full of photographs of myself... different times of my life. A few baby pictures, many of the teen and college years, a few afterward. And as I looked through the photos, I remembered so many of the people I met and spent parts of my life with for one reason or another. Only a few are still around of course. Most have moved off or just dropped off the radar over time. Anyway, most of the photographs are of vacations and trips I went on when I was in high school and college. Stacks and stacks of photographs of friends and I... in all kinds of places, either having a blast or just relaxing, "kicking back" as it were.

That's all the thoughts and memories I've got for now. I've run out. Come back again for more after awhile.

Unforgettable Nights

In case you don't know, it's hot in Texas, and I'm not talkin' about the weather. LOL
V and I have gotten to know neighbors and friends of neighbors, and friends and relatives of friends from L.A., and these people know how to have a good time. Every night this past week, we did something fantastic... Among the highlights were having a wine picnic out on a boat in the middle of the most beautiful lake, at night, telling stories and jokes; partying at a local saloon/bar built in the 1800s to wild live entertainment; midnight shopping with delicious starbucks macchiatos in hand; going to an opening cocktail party for an art exhibit; and having a texas style late night barbecue gathering. With warm weather in the evenings, easy traffic, and clean air, partying, shopping, or just sitting out by the lake is... magical. What can I say, any town where you see gorgeous rodeo cowboys drivin' big trucks with "Save a horse" B&R bumper stickers has got to be a great place to party ;-)

I haven't gotten around to capturing those photographs of deer yet, but I'm workin' on it. Y'all, tomorrow's a big day, because I'm going to be making a huge decision that could change the course of certain things... More to come on that...

The * Lone Star State *

I've settled in Texas now, it's been 16 days tomorrow! The air's cleaner, the water's sweeter, and everything is just plain better here - at least for now ;-) V decided to come with me, which is the most exciting part of this move for me. First week we got here, we started looking for a place for him and found a very *sweet* place very close by. He's in escrow on it for another 20 days or so... We've both promised not to let our careers and our work interfere with the relationship, especially because we know what's comin' up ahead. We're both going to have to work very hard to establish our 'enterprises' in this new place.

What's exciting... y'all will have to tune in to our broadcasts to find out!! LOL V and I already sent out emails to everyone who's already hooked up, so if you didn't get yours, make sure to check with either of us.

So early this morning, V came over for tea and we sat in front of the window, watchin the deer come through to drink water from the pond - what a sight! We went out the front and tip-toed to the back of the house, so stealthy - we got a few ok shots, but will try again to get better ones.

Ideas... I think now that I've moved out of LA, I've truly caught the acting bug. The last movie turned out better than I'd expected and a new project has already surfaced... My last three days in LA, I had no internet access so on the last day Jason drove up all the way from San Diego to give me a script that one of his friends had written - great reading for the plane ride. As much as I really want to be involved in getting it financed, I told them there's no way I could help in this go, at least not anytime soon. But I did agree that if they can get a commitment on their own, I'll give it a try. It's called (for now) Golden Rust, which I think is a great title. I have to admit, it's been encroaching on my thoughts over the past 16 days and I'm hoping it'll happen.

In the meantime... I'm missing everyone in LA! I already can't wait to go back and visit!

expiration date: none

I finally picked out and ordered most of my new furniture.

In case you sell or will sell furniture... Don't charge me (or anyone else) 9,800 for a plain mahogany round pedestal table, even if it's solid mahogany. And don't charge me 18,000 for a table you call "kierkegaard" unless he personally used it or wrote something on it (in indelible ink) (and you can prove it).

And.... don't charge three times as much for the same brand, same item when other trustworthy merchants sell it for 1/3 the price!

The amount of money I or anyone else has is completely irrelevant to these stipulations. So there.

the story about the cat

my marmalade story doesn't compare... to this story about the cat.

this took place (and I do mean really took place) 80-88 years ago in a far away land, about 3 hours north of the northern Greece border. Then and there, it was the habit and prerogative of young men to hunt rabbits for good eatin'. When a young man would be able to aim properly and hunt a rabbit, he would hang it on the limb of a nearby tree to skin and then to later retrieve to take to the local grill pit. As it so happened, there was a beautiful wild cat that would roam in and around the local streets and farms, attacking and eating chickens from resident farms. So many young men tried to catch that cat, but it was a smart one, stealthily moving about the streets, hiding, and escaping all intentions - at least until that one day when one young man, hunting alone, was successful. He shot with a steady hand and a sharp aim, and killed the cat. He then hung it on the tree to skin and save it's especially shiny and beautiful fur as a souvenir.

He took the fur and left to have it cleaned and preserved. Minutes after he left, a group of his young hunter friends happened to see what to them looked like a delicious skinned rabbit hanging from the tree. They decided to play a game on their friend and steal away what they thought he had saved for his own enjoyment. Giddy with excitement, they took their prize to the local pit and had it grilled into kabobs. As they drank their drinks and scarfed down the delicious 'rabbit' meat, they laughed at what a wonderful joke they had played on their friend.

Later that evening, when all gathered at the local pub to drink, play games, and be merry, they waited for their hunter friend to express his annoyance at having his prize catch for the day stolen. When he made no mention of it, his friends asked, "so how many rabbits did you catch today?" and so on... When he seemed unresponsive about catching rabbits, they asked him, "what about the rabbit hanging on the tree"... And his response, of course, was "well i don't know what rabbit you're talking about, cause I didn't hunt any... but i'll tell you what i did hunt... that cat that was eating all the town's chickens is what i hunted...hung it on the tree and took the fur too." The loud chuckles and laughes turned to silence, and then of course to the sounds of whimpers, coughs, and puking.

So many lessons in such a short little story (and a true one at that)...

concrete

a warmer shade of yellow golden sun
cast the shadow of my car's well
traveled soul onto the cold concrete

glassy like tired eyes, the shadow
reflected platinum rays to the iris
of my right eye, pressuring
my rods and cones to print colorful memories

into my brain

setting off a chain reaction, from
somewhere deep behind my eyes, trickled
a salty dew

licking my lips, breath escaped from
the corners of my mouth

where everything went i don't know
but it's still going and i can't stop it

ready or not, i'm shoved ahead in time,
in anticipation of seeing a platinum sun

meant to be

Some things are just meant to be. For me, the past forty-five days has been full of life-changing ground breaking experiences, one after another. I'm moving to Texas, played the supporting character in a brilliant foreign film, re-discovered who my real friends are, have possibly met *the one* and dating, lost a distant relative, found another distant relative, rebuilt a relationship with a long-lost cousin, took a big risky step in business (and it worked out),... and heck, I don't even remember the rest.

the move... I'm going to Texas where I'll be living on a very *sweet* piece of Earth.

the film... I've been inactive as an actress for years but when I got a script that actually moved me... made me laugh, tear up, all about a girl who left the city she grew up in to go live on a ranch in... that's right, Texas - how could I say forget it. I got the script two days after I decided I would move to Texas. !meant to be! The good part, the dates to be filmed in Texas matched the dates I had already cut my plane tickets for. amazing, I tell ya. But a couple of big catches. My character was the last one to be cast - the actress originally casted fell ill. They wanted me to play the supporting role whose character was required to be somewhat of a "chub". So, I did something I would have never thought I would ever do. I agreed to gain a lot of weight in a short period of time to be part of what I felt was a beautiful Spanish and Portuguese film - and all in the middle of the hectic move I was making in real life. That's where the friends and V come in...

the friends... Well it's always a big disappointment to find out someone you respected as a friend is in reality shallow and selfish - and a total nerd. When someone changes their mind about you because you gained weight and they don't know you did it to be in a film, they suck. But it's an incredible feeling to discover who stands by you and is honest when your life is completely upside down; I have the best friends in the world and it seems the best of them always shine and are anchors in difficult times. Mar, Scott, John, Rob, Mike, Neno, Shav, Jas, Julie, Karen, Ish, Sandy, Ani, you all are my lifesavers! I can't believe what you guys helped me do... Thanks for all the delicious cooking (canolis and pakhlava!), tracking down the freakin' fattiest food in LA (it's always Mexican OL'E), and the support. And thanks for being there while I change back to myself - 15 mile at 4am SEE YA & really, *looooove ya!* I can't believe how much I'll miss you all and everyone else... you all are officially and unofficially invited to A's Lone Star Ranch.... wooohooo And the day I'm back to pre-film status, we're having the biggest kebab and bbq party ever known to a hye! Anhavadali....! LOL

the one... I'm falling in love faster than I can think about it. If you know us, you know what I mean :-) I never thought I would ever actually meet the guy I always pictured myself marrying - sure it was always a hazy picture, but this is as close as it gets. lol And the best part is that we've been friends for awhile, but who thought things would turn out like this. For the first time, I saw him - I mean I really saw him and then finally realized that he was so much like the person I've always pictured. And yeah Scott, I'll admit it - you told me so - yeah, and a long time ago :-) but just to point it out - I think you're the only one who thought so. It was the gold apple wasn't it? haha Retrospect. And the irony... it was the decision to move to Texas that changed everything and brought my *trophy bf* V and I together. Sometimes you have to think about losing something to realize just what it does for you.

the lost relative... I am going to miss you so very very much. I always thought you would be here to see and share a lot more of my life and hope that in the brief times we spent together that I was able to convey to you how much I respect and love you.

the found relative... I'm so glad that you're back in our lives.

the rebuilding... *mmmmwwwwaaaaaa* Yes al goozem razr-mah...

the step... Sometimes the strangest events are the best sources of ideas.

Well, I guess that about wraps up my thoughts about the last 45 days of my life. I feel so much better now that I've put all these bits and bytes together to form this post.

So You Probably Figured Out That....

Ok, so you probably figured out the secret about the little marmalade story in my last post. Really, stop with the emails already, thank you very much. If I ever worked with you, and even if I did ever bring in marmalade, really, it was ok. :-)

A Little Marmalade

I was working at some place and I went for a walk on my break. I came to a trash can and looked inside because I was bored and saw some marmalade. I really like marmalade and I was upset because who would throw away marmalade?! So I picked it out of the trash and took it back to work with me. Before anybody could see me, I put it in the cupboard. The next morning, I came in and saw all my coworkers enjoying marmalade with their coffee. And everyone was asking who brought in this great marmalade. With a smile on my face, I took the credit. Everyone was happy and it all worked out.

Capoeira

Capoeira is slowly working its way into my life. As much as I've been resisting starting to study it given my already hectic life schedule, I now find myself entertaining the idea, even looking up local instructors. I first learned about Capoeira a few years ago but recently I had the opportunity to talk to someone who's been a capoeirista his entire life. His stories, comments, and reflections about this martial arts sport reminded me of the time in my life when I'd get up at 4 am to practice and train for sports - at the time, getting up so early to do something so challenging was one of the hardest things I did. But now, it's a feeling I miss. And as I think this, I glance over at the stack of canvases leaning against the wall - I miss that too. I feel like I have to make time for all these things I enjoy and all those things, like Capoeira, I want to start to enjoy. At the same time, I'm told that "meeting the right person is a full time job" lol Great, so I'll be single forever? Really, whoever came up with that idea I don't think has a clue.

Traveler

After travelling to all kinds of places in California, I returned home last night. Home. *sigh*

I met many interesting and not-so-interesting people, made a few friends, and almost bought an orchard. The sweet scent of orange blossoms can make you drunk with idealistic notions of living amongst orchards of the sweet smelling fruit. And then you come back home, to a suburbia where you need to wash the pollution out of your hair and schedule everything.

It was all business travel, but somehow it felt more like a vacation. Along the way, I met people who told me the secrets of where to get perfectly and truly organic fruits. And I ran into someone I hadn't seen since I was 8. I didn't recognize him at first, of course. I was shopping at his quaint organic food store and he asked me if I needed any help, which I did, because I couldn't find the roasted cashews. We got to talking and it turned out that his favorite nut of all was the cashew. We talked some more and upon mentioning that I was from the San Fernando Valley, his eyes twinkled and told me that he went to school there for one year when he was very young and before his parents moved up north. A few sentences later, we discovered that we had been in the same class that one year. And, what's more, we'd been good friends that year. That night we went out to have dinner and reminisce, catch up on all that had happened in our lives. It's a great feeling to "reconnect" with someone. We promised we'd keep in touch and we inked his visit to LA in mid-May. I'm looking forward to that.

On my way back, I bought two large boxes of fresh-picked organic strawberries. Mmmm... They have a sweet smell and an even sweeter, juicier taste. You just can't get strawberries like that anywhere around here, or at least if you can, I don't know from where. So I'm making strawberry jam. There's nothing like homemade strawberry jam made with sweet, ripe strawberries.

Tonight, I'm going out to an art gallery opening of a friend, which is why I came back last night. Hmm... I'm already running kind of late. I better go.

Saturn's aurora defy scientists' expectations

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Thursday, February 17, 2005
Source: Space Telescope Science Institute

The dancing light of the auroras on Saturn behaves in ways different from how scientists have thought possible for the last 25 years. New research by a team of US and European planetary scientists led by John Clarke of Boston University, USA, has overturned theories about how Saturn's magnetic field behaves and how its auroras are generated. Their results will be published in the February 17 issue of the journal Nature.

By choreographing the instruments aboard the Earth- orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the Cassini spacecraft, while it was en route to Saturn, to look at Saturn's southern polar region, Clarke and his team found that the planet's auroras - long thought of as a cross between those of Earth and Jupiter - are fundamentally unlike those observed on either of the other two planets. The lights that occasionally fill the sky over Saturn may, in fact, be a phenomenon unique within our solar system.

In Clarke's experiment, Hubble snapped ultraviolet pictures of Saturn's auroras over several weeks and Cassini recorded radio emissions from the same regions while measuring the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that trigger auroras. Those sets of measurements were combined to yield the most accurate glimpse yet of Saturn's auroras.

The observations showed that Saturn's auroras differ in character from day to day, as they do on Earth, moving around on some days and remaining stationary on others. But compared with Earth, where auroras last only about 10 minutes, Saturn's auroras can last for days.

The observations also indicated, surprisingly, that the solar wind may play a much larger role in Saturn's aurora than previously suspected. Hubble images, when combined with Cassini measurements of the solar wind, show that it is the pressure of the solar wind that appears to drive auroral storms on Saturn. In Earth's case, it is mainly the Sun's magnetic field, carried in the solar wind that drives auroral storms. In Saturn's case the orientation of the magnetic field plays no major role.

Seen from space, an aurora appears as a ring of light circling a planet's polar region, where magnetic poles typically reside. Auroral displays are initiated when charged particles in space collide with a planet's magnetic field and stream into the upper atmosphere. Collisions with gases in the planet's atmosphere produce flashes of glowing energy in the form of light and radio waves.

Scientists had long believed Saturn's auroras possess properties akin to both Earth and Jupiter. Like Earth's, they were thought to be influenced by the solar wind. Like Jupiter's, they were assumed to be influenced by a ring of ions and charged particles encircling the planet. The new results do show, however, a feature of Saturn's aurora that matches Earth's: Radio waves appear to be tied to the brightest auroral spots. This similarity suggests that the physical processes that generate these radio waves is just like those of Earth.

But, as the team observed, though Saturn's auroras do share characteristics with the other planets, they are fundamentally unlike those on either Earth or Jupiter. When Saturn's auroras become brighter (and thus more powerful), the ring of energy encircling the pole shrinks in diameter. When Earth's auroras become brighter, the polar region for several minutes is filled with light. Then the ring of light dims and begins to expand. Jupiter's auroras, however, are only weakly influenced by the solar wind, becoming brighter about once a month, at the most, in response to solar wind changes. Recent model work has suggested that the key feature that make Saturn's magnetic environment special, is Saturn's strong magnetic field that works together with a dominating process where the magnetic field lines break and re-connect with other lines.

Saturn's auroral displays also become brighter on the sector of the planet where night turns to day as the storms increase in intensity, unlike either of the other two planets. The new images also confirm that, at certain times, Saturn's auroral ring was more like a spiral, its ends not connected as the energy storm circled the pole.

Now that Cassini has entered orbit around Saturn, Clarke and his team will be able to take a more direct look at the how the planet's auroras are generated. The team is planning to probe how the Sun's magnetic field may fuel Saturn's auroras and what role the solar wind may play.

Review of Being Julia

The past few days have been super busy for me, more than usual...

I saw Being Julia on Wednesday. I thought it was almost a great movie. I thought the actors did a great job, which I was expecting, especially with Annette Bening. Although given the cast the movie has the makings of being an especially great award sweeping movie, it doesn't cut it. I think the wrong pieces were left on the cutting room floor. Certain scenes ran too short. Others that should have been combined into one were split into a fragmented view of the story, which reduced the impact of some of the more powerful ideas and advances in the plot. The skill of conveying who Bening's character was in a superiorly subtle way as a thread throughout was completely undermined towards the very end of the movie when she has a discussion with her son, who explains it to her - very disappointing to hear it put so plainly after it had been so perfectly conveyed, because it took away from the effect. The movie was just OK, with the potential to be great.

NASA Cassini Spacecraft Witnesses Saturn's Blues

STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Cassini Image: Mimas Blues

Mimas drifts along in its orbit against the azure backdrop of Saturn's northern latitudes in this true color view. The long, dark lines on the atmosphere are shadows cast by the planet's rings.

Saturn's northern hemisphere is presently relatively cloud-free, and rays of sunlight take a long path through the atmosphere. This results in sunlight being scattered at shorter (bluer) wavelengths, thus giving the northernmost latitudes their bluish appearance at visible wavelengths.

At the bottom, craters on icy Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) give the moon a dimpled appearance.



Images taken using infrared (930 nanometers), green (568 nanometers) and ultraviolet (338 nanometers) spectral filters were combined. The colors have been adjusted to match closely what the scene would look like in natural color. See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06142.html for a similar view in natural color.

The images were obtained using the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Jan. 18, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (870,000 miles) from Saturn. Resolution in the image is 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) per pixel on Saturn and 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) per pixel on Mimas. The image has been contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

A Quote for a Hectic Monday

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

- John Burroughs, naturalist and writer (1837-1921)

Review of a Foreign Film - Black

Last night, after much ado about selecting a movie everyone was willing to see and after I suggested we see something "funny and lighthearted" (which everyone was in the mood for), we couldn't make a choice and so settled on an ambiguously titled film that's not rated, has no description in the moviefone listings, and was just a, well, plain mystery. The movie is called Black.

Luckily for me, Dave, and Tal - the foreign film fans of the group - the film turned out to be a Hindi film with English subtitles. I'm a Bollywood fan, despite the fact that musicals aren't particularly my genre. The movie Black is definitely not a musical. Within the first 15 seconds of the movie, I took out my mini-Kleenex pack and got ready for what I was sure was going to be a tear-jerker. Good call - the tissues came in handy... even for the "macho man" of our group (tears dried up yet Johnny?)

Anyway, the movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, who's absolutely brilliant as always, and Rani Mukherjee, who in this film did an outstanding job for such a difficult role. The movie was a little over 2 hours, which for a sad movie, can be hard to get through. But the movie was so well made - from the cast to the cinematography to every last detail, that the time flew. This movie really commands the audience's attention and committs them from the beginning to the end.

So that was the movie.

Between the time we bought our tickets and went into the theatre, we had about an hour to kill, so we walked to the Sports Chalet and spent some time there. The guys argued over who could lift more weights while us girls browsed the colorful pilates and yoga equipment. Afterwards, we went next door to this huge no-name discount bookstore. To my disappointment, they had absolutely no art books, but I was happy to find that they had a great poetry section. I couldn't resist, I picked up a copy of June-tree. Tal (the girl for whom dating is like an extreme sport) bought a copy of a how to find the perfect man book. Tal... LOL

Light Continues to Echo Three Years After Stellar Outburst

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Thursday, February 03, 2005
Source: Space Telescope Science Institute

The Hubble Space Telescope's latest image of the star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) reveals dramatic changes in the illumination of surrounding dusty cloud structures. The effect, called a light echo, has been unveiling never-before-seen dust patterns ever since the star suddenly brightened for several weeks in early 2002.

The illumination of interstellar dust comes from the red supergiant star at the middle of the image, which gave off a pulse of light three years ago, somewhat similar to setting off a flashbulb in a darkened room. The dust surrounding V838 Mon may have been ejected from the star during a previous explosion, similar to the 2002 event.



The echoing of light through space is similar to the echoing of sound through air. As light from the stellar explosion continues to propagate outwards, different parts of the surrounding dust are illuminated, just as a sound echo bounces off of objects near the source, and later, objects further from the source. Eventually, when light from the back side of the nebula begins to arrive, the light echo will give the illusion of contracting, and finally it will disappear.

V838 Mon is located about 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Monoceros, placing the star at the outer edge of our Milky Way galaxy. The Hubble telescope has imaged V838 Mon and its light echo several times since the star's outburst. Each time Hubble observes the event, different thin sections of the dust are seen as the pulse of illumination continues to expand away from the star at the speed of light, producing a constantly changing appearance. During the outburst event whose light reached Earth in 2002, the normally faint star suddenly brightened, becoming 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun.

The new image of V838 Mon, taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, was prepared from images obtained through filters that isolate blue, green, and infrared light. These images have been combined to produce a full-colour picture that approximates the true colours of the light echo and the very red star near the centre.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

New interest for saving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge seems to have recently been sparked... For everyone who's been asking, here's the link to the petition again:

http://www.sierraclub.com/petition/arctic/

We're also currently trying to organize another Oil on Ice event. If you'd like to take part, send an email.

The Meaning of This Blog

This blog's been in and out of consciousness quite a bit. Those of you who've complained as to why it doesn't get updated more often or why the juicy details and *expanded view of things with a touch of satirical sarchasm* about key events haven't been included have seen this blog go brain dead - and then the comeback which so far has been nothing.

After all that time of anticipating the bit of spare time I'd have to start blogging and shortly after I started blogging, I've discovered that I have absolutely no idea as to what the meaning of this blog is.

Is it to share thoughts and ideas that are easier to share in writing than by just talking? Is it the appeal of sharing thoughts with perfect strangers and friends at the same time?

I'm definitely not anonymous here. People have my blog address in their little pdas - true, I'm at fault for mentioning that I started the blog in the first place (it's just that I was so excited!) but the fact is it's out there.

When I first starting making entries in it's pre- brain dead existence, I promised myself I would try to make non-mundane posts only. That didn't happen.

the hard place: all things in my life that aren't exciting are mundane
the rock: exciting things are usually too exciting to share with the whole world and my poor blog is caught in between - *sigh* the hard place, the rock...

ok, so after giving the whole meaning of the blog some thought, I think I'm gonna try to make it like a personal journal and commentary about things I find interesting. I'm sure it'll get personal, so fair warning there ;-) And all this just means that I'm where I started, except now I'm consciously there.

So, here goes...

Excuses... Well, that and Da Ali G Show

Ok, so maybe I do have an excuse for not posting to my blog more often. I think I've been really stressed out lately with a lot that's been going on. It's unusual for me to be stressed out, but I am. So there, that's my excuse. Although I do have to say too that it's funny how you find out which of your friends you're most emotionally tied to when you hit rough waters. Right now, I might feel like I'm out at sea alone in the midst of a storm, yet I can't complain, cause that would be like someone who worked all his or her life to be a celebrity and then complains about the paparazzi. Oh, and I also can't complain cause I can always watch Da Ali G Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm. What am I talking about, as long as there's Ali G, who cares! [Booyakasha!] LOL

Did I Say....

Did I say it was back? Hmmm... maybe not so much yet. But it'll be back, probably when you don't expect it - stop pestering me people!

It's Back...

Ok, this blog's back...