Today, on the CBC's DNTO, they're playing anti-war songs, several of which are available on the internet. It's pretty interesting and poignant. I'd offer you the websites, but I'm afraid I missed them. The one that is currently playing, which I assume is called "Jacob's Ladder, not in my name", but I could be wrong, I really like. Oh, it's Chumbawumba. Well, there you go. Anyway, it's been excellent listening while I've been working on Booboo's thank you cards. I'm supposed to use a pseudonym for him because, well, I dunno, so I'm going with Booboo, who is not to be confused with Ryan (Poopy, also the nickname of family cat, Melody). Of course, if you delve back into my archives, you'll easily figure out who "Booboo" is.

Last night, Rick took me out for a movie and dinner. It was nice. On my suggestion, we went to see Miyazaki's Spirited Away, the film that won for best animated feature. It was dubbed to English, but this time I didn't really mind since the voice acting was very good. I'd still like to see it subtitled, though, just to see what was changed. It was beautifully animated, no surprise coming from Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro among many others), and decidedly weird-ass, also no surprise. It was funny, but also sad and lovely, and makes no attempt to keep it all straight for the viewer. The audience is expected to keep up with the oddities and quick direction changes. If you can't put aside your sense of reality, don't bother. If Crouching Tiger bothered you because of the improbably flying, ect., first, you need to loosen up and, second, this movie is way more bizarre. Sure, it's animated, which helps bridge that gap, but it's probably not for everyone. Anyway, I can't gush enough about the movie, so I'll just say that it's great and if you're my friend, chances are, you'll like it.

Spring is here, yes indeed ! I noticed, yesterday, that things were starting to poke out of the soil and this morning, I woke up to the mingled sounds of robins, blue jays, and crows. And Willi.

I worry for the jays and crows as they are highly vulnerable to West Nile with a 0% chance of surviving the disease. The idea of a world without them is quite depressing. I can only hope, though, that like so many things in nature, a balance is reached. I love crows.

"Ooh, Ms. Bris - a SPARKLY !"

Anyway, there's about a 90% likelihood that my pal Stewart will be moving into my apartment when Nick leaves. We're looking at May, I think. Stew hasn't actually come to see the place yet, but he will on Wednesday, which will give us some MUCH needed cleaning time. I will be moving into Nick's room when he's gone, and I've already got plans for the walls - the Satanic red paint is mostly going to go. I just can't take it in such doses. I think I'll leave one wall, though, and I bought a bunch of greatly reduced goodies from the ROM shops, which are closing in a couple of days. I have a wide array of rubber lizards and such, as well as a nice fake plant that can be cut up and used as wall cover. Trust me, it sounds weird, but it's going to be cool, and it's only going to take up a small corner of wall space.

Ever have those moments when you're doing something like driving your car, or sitting on the loo, or staring at nothing while you're walking down the street, and you get struck by an almost-inspiration? It's not quite a fully formed thought, not something that you can easily write down because it's only half there. It twitches and tickles in the peripheries of your mind, taunting you, trying to make you bring it into cohesion and just when you think you've got it - it's gone again, dancing somewhere else. Vague ideas come to mind and you try to make sense of them, but none of them come together the way that one almost-inspiration would, you just know it; if only you could wrap your head around it...

I've been having a lot of those lately.

I'm a grumpy bear today. I woke up with a pain in my shoulder that I'm vaguely aware of having caused at some point in the night. I lost my temper with Richard, because my hours are really sucking for April. Peter thinks I spend too much time on the Internet, based on the last day I was in, when I didn't take a lunch. Whatever. At least I look cute today. Well, except for my surly expression.

The oily liberation of Iraq has begun. Oily, as in greasy... and, as in oil. You mean to say people actually thought this was about the liberation of the Iraqis? Oh dear.

Money is really short this month - I made enough to cover rent, but eating will be a privaledge, not a right. I don't know, but I guess I really can't go on as I am. I've got a subscription to the Toronto Star and it has a nice fat jobs classified section, which I have taken to perusing regularly. I'm tired of being a data monkey and the fact that I really like the people I work with can only take me so far. I need a change very badly. This would be a good time for something awesome to drop out of the sky, you know? Maybe a lotto win or a sudden and marvelous career change, or a chance to shine... *looks up; sees the ceiling of membership* Hello? Anybody listening?

On a keen and positive note, my cafeshops store is now open ! I've got lots of MiRSCH related products including some prints. There will be more coming soon, and chances are, there will be a second shop with more fancy stuff to add. I have no idea if anyone will buy anything, but here's hoping. So, without further ado, visit my store !!

Sent to me by my mother, I decided that it was worth posting in here.

Subject: FW: UK Observer
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 10:12:16 -0500

Online commentary: Democracy in Iraq? Peace and reconstruction? Hasn't Tony been paying attention on his trips to Washington?

Terry Jones
Sunday March 23, 2003

Dear Tony,
I'm terribly worried that you may be losing your grip on reality. For example, a few days ago you went on television and announced that after the US has bombed Baghdad "We shall help Iraq move towards democracy." Now I don't want to be a wet blanket, Tony, but was it a leprechaun who suggested this idea to you?

Since the Second World War, the US has bombed China, Korea, Guatemala, Indonesia, Cuba, Guatemala (again), Peru, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Guatemala (third time lucky), Grenada, Lebanon, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Iran, Panama, Iraq, Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia - in that order - and in not a single case did the bombing produce a democratic government as a direct result.

Why do you think it will be any different in Iraq? Or did your fairy godmother promise you this along with a golden coach? In the same TV appearance you also went a bit dreamy and said that you were going to "put the money from Iraqi oil in a UN trust fund so that it benefits Iraq and no one else." Hasn't anyone told you that they've been debating how to use the Iraqi oil field money in the White House for months, and there is a strong body of opinion that thinks it's a good idea to use it to cover the expense of the US military operation, which, let's face it, is going to be colossal. $6-$9 billion a month - that's a lot of money for a nation in the economic mess George W Bush's America is currently in.

And then what on earth did you say to that nice Clare Short to persuade her not to resign? She came out of your office saying that you'd "persuaded President Bush that there must be a UN resolution on creating a UN mandate for the reconstruction of Iraq." Now come on! You've been playing with the pixies haven't you? You know perfectly well that President Bush and his people don't give a goblin's cuss for the UN. Richard Perle, who happens to be chairman of Mr. Bush's defence policy board, only this week called the UN "the chatterbox on the Hudson" - despite the fact that it's on the East River (hope his geography is a bit more accurate when he starts ordering the bombing!) Perle was penning an obituary for the United Nations and he didn't seem too sad to see it go. "What will die is the fantasy of the UN as the foundation of a new world order...the liberal conceit of safety through international law administered by international institutions."

And what will replace the UN, in Mr. Perle's fairy tale world? Why the good ole USA of course! It will administer worldwide justice and punishment in the interests of "a new century favourable to American principles and interests". Not much comfort there for us elves and brownies. You know Mr Bush and his advisors can't wait to sell the UN building off as a luxury apartments with stunning views of the East River - sorry, Richard! - the Hudson. (I'm sure they're going to swap the names so as to bring the chairman of the defence policy board's remarks into line with reality.)

And, Tony, I hope you didn't persuade Clare to stay in your government by promising that she could be in charge of all the UN reconstruction and humanitarian aid, because you know that's only going to happen in dreamland.

Mr Bush and his chums want this to be an exclusively US business. They're only allowing American companies to bid for the £640 million worth of reconstruction planned (paid for no doubt by Iraqi oil) and that includes running the health and education services. Poor Clare is going to have a big empty office and nothing to do in it. What's more the UN won't continue its humanitarian aid (which currently feeds 60% of Iraqis) because the yanks will insist on US troops delivering it. Washington boasts that its soldiers, when they've killed enough people, will magically transform into kindly aid workers. But Justin Forsyth, the head of policy at Oxfam says: "We don't want our aid equipment to be offloaded off the back of a US military lorry, because if we were to do that we would be seen as part of a belligerent force."

So all little Clare Short will have got for compromising her principles and making herself a laughing stock is a short trip to Washington and somebody else's hanky to blow her nose in. And I bet you don't make her Deputy Prime Minister in the next reshuffle. Now I can't believe that you have done any of this deliberately. It must be those fairy folk, whispering in your ear. So why don't you look into your heart and see if there is any glimmer of truth and honour left in there, and then chase those goblins and elves away. It could just work.

Best wishes,
Terry Jones

Terry Jones writes regularly for The Observer. To all those readers who have written in to ask if this Terry Jones had anything to do with Monty Python, the answer is yes.

This past weekend was Ad Astra. It was a good time, but completely exhausting. Neither Nicole nor I recall a convention so thoroughly tiring as this one. When Sunday rolled around, we were barely able to communicate. That said, I did do some bouncing when I discovered that my Viking Women ink painting had sold. I was even more excited to learn that Nicole had bought it. She said, when we were driving home after closing up the booth, "I can safely say that I bought the only thing that I really wanted." Thanks, Nicole !

To stroke my ego a little, I think I was the most hit on at this convention than I've ever been at any other. It starts with the clothing, but once they discover I'm approachable, wow. I was into invite only rooms, and enjoying the perks that came with, such as the rowdy blender party in the not-the-con-suite and the green room where I got to enjoy a very smooth, delicious cuban cigar. Anyway, enough stroking. It was a great convention at which to meet people since it wasn't huge and overpowering like so many are. I got to mingle with everyone. It helps to be friends with Nicole, too, since she knows just about every person to have ever attended any Toronto-based convention.

My friend, Kelly, came up from Kitchener-Waterloo to visit on Saturday, and she spent the night at my place. It was her first convention and I think she enjoyed herself quite a bit. She bought a boudoir corset and lacy velvet coaty-thing from Nicole and since I was given my pinstripe corset that day, we wore our lovelies all about the con. The three of us (Nicole, included) were interviewed for some television something or other, I can't remember what it was, but we got to talk about fandom and how it has influenced us, etc. When asked "What is the master of all fandom?" I first answered, "Fanfiction," but then changed my answer: "No, the Internet !" Afterall, it is the Internet that has allowed the fen to find each other.

Kelly and I went out to Mississauga for a Realms get-together, but no one showed up, so we had a drink and some dinner and went back to my home. While at first disappointed that no one showed up, we quickly decided to enjoy some one-on-one girl time and that was nice. We did a lot of laughing, sharing our dumb-people stories, mine from the ROM and hers from working at a travel insurance company.

What else is new... I dunno. The Academy Awards were on last night. I watched about two thirds of it. The dresses were generally low-key, mostly black, and very elegant. A number of awards went the way I thought they should, and the competition was quite stiff. U2 played their nominated song and Bono sucked. He's destroyed his voice. There were many sentiments expressed for peace and the safe return of the troops, and Michael Moore, who won for Bowling for Columbine, brought up all the documentary film-makers who'd been nominated and made a very strong anti-war statement. He was answered with cheers and jeers from the audience. That was a good moment.