Today
I'm kinda cooling my heels, preparing for the next few days, which
have some important meetings and things coming up.
So
imagine my delight at learning that I can use Power DVD to capture
every frame from a DVD scene, then auto-resize 'em in Photoshop, then
drop 'em into Ulead's Gif Animator (ImageReady's to much of a hassle
to learn) and in less than 5 minutes, I can spit out some relatively
interesting animated gifs, which I like because they always work (unlike
mpegs) and don't require any downloading or special instructions to
be carried out on the part of the user. Plus you get the same visual
information as an mpeg, at smaller sizes. Dig it.
(It's
unfortunate they don't have audio capabilities, but really, aren't
all of you already listening to CDs as you surf around? I've always
hated those sites that force you to listen to lame midi versions of
Kurenai when you visit 'em, too. I didn't wanna be the same
kind of musical dictator. So if you're not listening to something,
may I suggest Pierrot's Finale for now?)
I'll
be having sushi with the in-laws tonight, and that's about the extent
of my legitimate activity today... I do kinda wanna get a Pierrot
tab book, to learn a few riffs, but that can wait til next week (which
I think I've said every weekend for the last month now)...
And
South Park wasn't on last night, dammit.
Back
from Dinner
now
playing: Tributized: A (Shitty) Tribute to Def Leppard (1999)
Ugh,
I never thought it'd be possible to fill up on sushi... each one's
so little! But I'm stuffed beyond capacity... the skin over my stomach
is so taut i'm a-feared it'll rip if I make any sudden moves... <kssricch!>
Aiiieeee!
The
restaurant was near Kayo's high school. naturally I asked, "Oooh,
can we go??! There'll be high school girls there, right?!"
Through
gritted teeth: "No it is a Saturday."
But
as it turns out, there were schoolgirls all over the place on the
way there -- despite the fact that it was 8pm on a Saturday... and
a national holiday (something obscure like Respect for the Aged Day).
Anyway...
Two
interesting bits happened at the restaurant, which was a small, traditional
place, filled up all the way, with just 20 or so people inside.
The
first thing was two drunk businessmen types who insisted on talking
to me in "English" way too much, until finally my father-in-law
had to kind of go "Sumimasen!" to the owner of the place,
as in "Sumimasen, please kick these fucks out." They weren't
purposefully mean, but now I know what it's like to be Harrison Ford
and eating dinner and having people keep coming up to you and talking
to you: it sucks. You're
friendly at first, but gradually you get like, "Um, can I eat
with my family now, dick?"
(Kayo
and her friend Tomoko were at the trendy Manhattan restaurant Moomba's
(now closed) a year or so ago, and Harrison Ford and some movie-biz
type guy were seated next to them, which must've been very cool. Had
-I- been there, I would've -had- to say, "Wow, hello!" to
him at the very least -- so I'm glad I wasn't there, otherwise Harrison
Ford would hate me as much as I hated the two annoying drunks this
evening for disturbing me repeatedly... although, I suppose, I wouldn't
have been quite so intrusive, but then, after 30 years of it, I'm
sure he finds the merest eye contact intrusive.
So
that was one thing. The other thing was that a plane flew overhead.
Just a typical noisy 747 or whatever, kinda low -- but everyone got
hushed for a second, waiting for it to crash into something. This
was the first plane we had heard since Tuesday night (Tuesday morning
in New York). Having not heard planes for a week, and having seen
repeatedly Plane #2 crashing into Tower #2, the natural reaction was
"uh-oh." Then it passed, and we went on eating, and forgot
about it, mostly...
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