I've been kinda busy in the last few days, so you can chalk it up to my oblivious state of mind. I finally noticed it on Monday though: the pregnant woman missing in Utah went to my high school, as did her husband. I didn't know her well--she was in a few of my classes; he was not--so it's not to be expected. I didn't know that she had married him, so her married name didn't ring any bells with me, nor did the photo of the woman who does bear a remarkable resemblance to a girl I once knew. But while listening to NPR, the reporters mentioned Lori's mother's last name, and suddenly the other shoe dropped. And it's really weird. Not so weird and unpleasant as it must be for her family and close friends, but still tinged with....well...I don't know. What's really strange is seeing the things people write or say about the case, and knowing that they are saying these things about people I went to school with. James and I talked about it briefly online, but admitted we didn't hang out in the same social stratosphere as Lori had: we were nerds, she was pretty and seemed popular. The last time I talked to her at any length was somewhere during our senior year--ten years ago. It's weird, because you think, "Could that have been me?" Trying to reconcile vague but benign memories with the news on CNN is weird. Seeing the names of other people I knew on CNN is weird. I always say I'd prefer not to show up on the front page of CNN...it usually means trouble. But it's...strange to see names I know on there.

(That's not real German. As far as I know.) Here is my con report. It lacks pictures because...I have to actually get them developed. That's right. Despite the fact that Lee has a totally awesome digital camera, we didn't take it with us. Be warned. Lots of geek talk, but lots of un-geek talk too. I am Queen O' Digressions.

Day Zero: Wednesday

We fly! We fly like tired beetles to Sandy Eggo. The flights are smooth and lacking in anything resembling excitement. The second flight includes a young girl native to Sandy Eggo, returning from a reunion with her biological father. He's Christian and very pious, she's non-practising Jewish--needless to say, her culture shock was high, and she was stressed out because of the visit. She (Danielle) is also a Harry Potter fan. She tells us she cried when the bookstore misplaced her Harry Potter pre-ordered copy the night book five came out. (I probably would have too.) She is, however, SHOCKED to hear that some Harry Potter fans (I'm talkin' about you, Ali and Cassie) not only like the Slytherins but write racy fan fic regarding Draco and Harry, Draco and Hermione, Draco and Ron, Draco and Snape, Draco and the entire Quidditch team in a full-on orgy. Her eyes get big. (It is right after this that I find out that said seatmate is only sixteen--which was a surprise to me. I worry that I am corrupting the youth of America.)

We land in Sandy Eggo without mishap. It looks just like I left it, which is always eerie for me. In fact, I often suffer strange time dissonances unless a place changes. I feel almost as if I never left, and if somehow, all my time in North Carolina was just a dream or a distant memory. This is pretty disconcerting.

We taxi to the hostel. Travis and Kelli are waiting for us, and they help us with our bags up to the room. The room is small and narrow and has two bunk beds. We have one--Travis and Kelli have the other. We plop down on our bunks and fall asleep.( Read more... )

Hawkstone's piccies - http://www.mikeintosh.net/gallery/comicon04?page=4

Lots of good links here, including background on the Cat Man - http://sandiegoblog.com/

Great shots of the Ugly Dolls and Bob the Angry Flower - http://www.penguinpalace.com/auto_gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album56


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Odd. Tal Bachman seems to have departed the ways of the Mo. The Toronto Globe and Mail has more:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040724/TAL24/TPEntertainment/Music


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Barack Obama rocks my world. You can see his keynote address at the DNC.

http://www.obamaforillinois.com/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={8683FB66-C0DB-4FAB-85C7-2FBCF770436E}