Stuff

The clouds stayed away long enough to let the air turn cold. I thought the frogs might freeze, but they've croaked all night. A chilly low fog has now formed, and the trees at the end of the block are vague shadows in the early light, but I can still see a few stars. As the light grows, I see that the lawn is dew-sprinkled and the rooftops white with frost.

I tried to watch an old movie, but kept falling asleep. As soon as I gave up and turned it off, I was wide awake. Maybe the movie was at fault. It was Stanley Kramer's 1960's production of Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools. I saw it many years ago at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. I believe it was the splendidly ornate decor of the theatre which kept me awake that time. I can recommend the theatre, but not the movie.

The last day of January is when I usually realize that I'll probably survive the winter. So far this year, it's felt like winter for about sixty or seventy hours altogether. I have no sense of accomplishment.

The clouds in the east have turned a pleasant salmon color. They've made me crave either lox or persimmons. No matter that I can't decide. I have neither.

Unfulfilled

A few sprinkles and a bit of silent lightning are all the current storm has brought so far. The birds seemed to be agitated bout something today. They chirped so much that it might as well have been a gray day in spring. I kept expecting something to happen-- an earthquake, a tornado, a rain of pilchard-- but nothing did. It's disappointing when portents come to nothing.

featureannounce included among its notices of recent site changes (may not yet be live) something called Jam Rewards promotion, but the link leads only to an error page with a note reading "Sorry, your Affiliate ID number is invalid." What? No explanation. I wanna be rewarded with jam, dammit! Why does LiveJournal lead me on? It's disappointing when links lead to nothing.

Boingboing mentions a new game called Perplex City, which it calls a cross between a collectible card game and an alternate reality game. Players register, buy cards with puzzles on them (available on line or in shops, mostly in England as yet), solve the puzzles and advance in the game. There is actual cash money ($200,000) awaiting the player who finds the "lost artifact" around which the game's story line is centered. Have they created a clever loophole in gambling laws? I don't know, but I get the feeling that Perplex City could be the beginning of a huge fad. I probably won't be joining the over 14,000 registered users the game already has. I'm not that good at puzzles.