Xmas o menos

Ahh the holidays. I don't wear a watch, and since I haven't fired up the out-of-province cell phone since I arrived in Calgary, I have no quick way to tell the time: this is wonderful. Things I've been up to:

Pops and I caught Apocalypto. It's a great movie for history buffs (particularly the Guns, Germs & Steel-loving crowd) as well as connoisseurs of unrepentant gore. Thankfully, raised on a steady diet of zombie movies, I am unmoved by such things. Seriously though, the whole last hour of this film deserves a spot on my year-end list.

Carcassonne is quickly getting out of hand. Brother A bought the elaborate deluxe set, meaning a game can easily last several hours. Of course, the fun of it all causes Brother B to buy his own set - the combination of which might just put off a second term of law school. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were trying to set some sort of Carcassonne World Record...



I'm rereading Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. This is really one of the best books ever and should be read by everyone - twice. Just sayin'.

Holiday shopping: the malls in Calgary are, I suspect like everywhere else, a mess. However, I would venture to guess our parking lots are worse than normal, as every second driver in the city owns an oversized truck. The frontier days ended long ago people, there is nothing that needs that much hauling.

Because Brothers A and B are at work during the days, I brought out another excellent Christmas solitary pastime, the puzzle.



A 1000 piecer of the La Scala Theatre is all fine and challenging, but the end result will never be as awesome as the best puzzle we ever had (and somehow lost): The Bombardment of Algiers.



To make my return to town all the more Christmas-y, my parents put some eggnog in the fridge. Although, after I saw last week's Office, I'm mildly curious about a new drink, three parts eggnog, one part sake - the Nogasake.