etc.

The two good things about this movie: the cinematography and good use of zombies. The rest is overwhelmingly bad unfortunately. The first half was entertaining enough, the combination of raw, nervy acting and the really effective use of the camera made me feel like something terrifying was just about to happen. But then the plot took a ridiculous turn, when all of a sudden the authoritative saviours became the captors and tormentors and, right there, they lost me.

AlterNet’s new book is out Monday.

I’m not much of a Hallowe’en fan but here you go anyway: The Ghosts, Ghouls and Goblins Quiz. I scored a formidable 80%, despite.

More Drivers are on the Roads. Who Are You Most Likely to Run Into? A Student? A Politician? A Librarian?

A sure time-waster: the Bank of Canada Unclaimed Bank Balances search funtion.

I could possibly be teetering on the edge of my fourth cold in as many weeks. Working in a public service situation will do this to you, the virus won’t work it’s way out of the office until about April.

And so it goes.

I’m considering part-time work in addition to the full-time work I already do. Preferably something I can do in my own time, I don’t think I could manage showing up somewhere (else) on any regular basis for a paycheck. This will likely mean some sort of Web work, or maybe freelance research. If you’re wondering how I have time for another job, I probably don’t, but I’m not ruling anything out because I haven’t thought this one all the way through yet. Updates once I have.

I’m not often caught on the wrong side of stupidity, but last Saturday I set my duvet on fire as a result of careless candle placement, drove the passenger-side of my car into a wall in a parking lot, and bounced my head off a low-hanging concrete wall. And I’m not often caught on the wrong side of superstition, but once the head thing happened, I allowed myself to seek solace in that “everything happens in 3s” flimflam.

Girly writing? [via Caterina]

After trudging miserably through Atwood last week, it was nice to be able to pick up something completely accessible and read it in a day. No, I’m not an entirely unimaginative fiction-moron, huzzah! This book details a family’s struggle after losing their child during a camping trip. The prose unfolds elegantly, the characters are interesting and convincing, and I couldn’t put it down, and once in a while I read a novel that makes me think, ahh, good, old-fashioned story-telling.

I have been watching movies, reading books and zines, seeing friends, fixing to see more friends, writing letters and emails to all the many of you to whom I owe letters and emails, spending generous chunks of time with my parents and sister, cleaning in fits and starts when I am home, and generally trying to live as normal a life as one possible can with a funky omnivore living in one’s chimney. I haven’t referred to the infestation issue in a short while and I don’t plan to turn this into a journal of woes, so I’ll let you know when all is well again in our crazy little house, but until then, all is not well in our crazy little house.

Also, the mister has my camera for a few days which means 100% chance of no pictures around here for a while.

AND, one of our favourite readers is celebrating a birthday today. Happy day, Dad! Completely unbiased opinion? Best dad in the world.

I love going to see a film I know nothing about because inevitably, I come out pleasantly surprised. Two things about this film: it’s directed by the Coen brothers and it’s a screwball comedy. Clooney played it to the hilt and Catherine Zeta Jones is just lovely to look at regardless of what role she’s playing.