grassmonk.net

Having recently viewed the wonderful Finding Neverland, I am now ready to state, without equivocation, that I could listen to Johhny Depp speak with a Scottish accent all day, every day. Better yet, I’d love to hear him converse with Billy Boyd.

I am now determined to learn a passable Scottish accent. Right now, every time I try, what comes out is a combination of French, random English, and a wee bit of Irish accent, with a pinch of Scottish thrown in on a good word. I must consult my Scottish mission companion for pronunciation tips. I also must rewatch The Lord of the Rings and Finding Neverland several times for educatory purposes.

Of course, it could have used a lightsaber or two, but I’m hoping to compensate for that omission by playing Lego Star Wars very soon.

I just finished reading Shadow of the Giant, the latest in the decidedly amazing Shadow subset of the Ender series. After being somewhat astounded–again–by the enormous talent of Mr. Card, I paid a visit to the forum on his site via The Philotic Web, where I learned that there are at least three more Ender books in the works.

At first, I despaired, because I know I’m going to have to wait forever before they come out. Then I realized that I’m okay with the wait, for the following reasons:

1. OSC writes a ton of other stuff, so it’s not like he’s only got the Ender books going and only puts them out every couple of years, unlike a certain author, who shall remain nameless.
2. When I finally do get my grubby hands on the newest book, every speck of it is wonderful. There aren’t any endless pages consisting of nothing but “Oh no, what dress shall I wear today while I sniff at the men and emphasize my bosom by folding my arms a certain way” or “I’m the Dragon Reborn brood brood brood” or “I was going to [fill in the blank], but that will have to wait for the next book,” which also seems to have become a tendency in the nameless author’s work. (Don’t get me wrong, the first seven books were GREAT. But I’d like some of the plot threads to get resolved before I die, let alone Mr. Jordan. Oops, did I just say his name?)
3. Orson is a really cool name.

Go read some Ender. Now.

Well, I have a new baby girl now. She’s cute as cute can be and wonderful wonderful wonderful. Here is her own little page.

A quick note to say no, I am not dead. I know many of you were worried.

Of note at the moment:

• I should have a daughter sometime in the next week or two. Look for pink to make its debut at the grassmonk.net.
• Metroid Prime 2 is awesome.
• The new R.E.M. CD is fantastic.
• Somehow I thought the live Goo Goo Dolls CD would be better than it is.
• The Return of the King is still the best movie ever, even if the extended edition wasn’t quite all I was hoping for.
• Church starts at 9:00 this year. Ugh.
• I will have my own office next week.
• Christmas With the Kranks was better than I thought it would be, and it saved me from having to sit through Fat Albert. It was, however, not anywhere near as good as The Incredibles.
• grassmonk.net redux is on the way, with more blog entries. Maybe.
• Further bulletins as events warrant.

…or do I just like to think so? You be the judge, but note that I’m leaning on the side of the latter. I’ve just completed a new poetism, which you can check out here. It’s been in composition for a couple of months now, as you faithful and astute readers of the grassmonk blog will no doubt recognize upon reading it. It’s probably not one of my best, but it is a step in the write direction.

Yes, desperately sad pun intended.