In which three surprising things happen

So Saturday afternoon, my mate Nick and I head off for a bit of wandering around the new Albany mall. It's pretty much the same as all the other malls, only slightly bigger. Nick wanted to go and check out Magnum Mac, since he's going to be in the market for a new computer soon. Surprising thing number one:

I finally get to check out the iPod touch and the latest nanos. And if I was going to replace my ipod today*, I would probably pick the nano over the touch. I mean, the touch is nice and all. Really nice. But those nanos are so cheap and look like they're pretty tough.

After that, we headed in to the city to see Beowulf - the mind imploding IMAX 3D version. It's not bad. I'm not a purist, so changes to the story didn't bug me too much. Surprising thing number two:

I was far less bothered by Angelia Jolie's totally unanachronistic high heels than I was by Beowulf's mysterious naughty bits. Yes, I know having the hero fight naked makes it difficult to secure a non-restricted rating. But in my opinion, far better to show some Geat wang than rely on convenient posts, helmets and random scenery to preserve decency. It's kind of jarring to be reminded of Austin Powers in the middle of an otherwise gripping fight scene.

I liked Beowulf, but I think I might enjoy it even more on DVD when the audience doesn't all have to wear Elton John glasses.

Anyway, saw the movie and headed back home. Actually, we headed back to my parents' place, since Liz was there with the kids (since the movie was over dinner time). And surprising thing number three:

I WAS COMPLETELY CONNED!

Liz had organised a surprise party to celebrate my first story appearing in Shimmer. You know that bit in the Matrix where Keanu Reeves realises his whole life is a lie and there's this whole other universe going on that causes him to act really badly? That was me. Especially the acting badly part. The place was absolutely packed, martinis were flowing like, well, martinis actually, they take a surprisingly long time to build, and everybody had a great time. That whole "let's go check out computers and go to the movies" thing? An elaborate ruse to get me out of the house.

Rasel was there, which was nice. Unfortunately, so was his camera. Rasel makes Robert Capa look like a hobbyist who may have occasionally taken a picture or two. And of course, said photos appeared on Facebook only hours after the party. No, I'm not linking to them here - there's a picture of me looking completely shocked that could be a still from Eraserhead. You'll just have to go and find Rasel on Facebook. There's a mystery for ya, scoob!

But seriously, it's been amazing that so many people are excited about me being published. Writing doesn't happen in public**, so it really meant a lot to have everyone there. I just hope they don't do it for every story. I've got a whole bunch of them I'm really happy with at the moment and my liver might not be able to take it.

As is now traditional on the b0t, we close with a music video. And since I mentioned Robert Capa up above, this would be the perfect place for Falco's Kamikaze Capa, but I can't find it on the youtube, so another Falco instead. Not Rock me Amadeus.



*which I'm not because as I've mentioned before, it's the original old school 5GB version, forged by the hand of Zeus himself, of mithril or spandex or something. Whatever, it's been in heavy use every day 2001 and it's still going strong. No way am I replacing this puppy until it's completely and utterly dead. Then I'll frame it.

**actually, in my house it happens at the kitchen table, even though I have a perfectly good desk