I'm Susan Cooper. Never heard of her. But I do love good children's literature, so will have to check her out. Now if only she wrote science fiction...
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Pixar's UP - they just keep on making them better and better...

So a new Pixar movie, called "Up", is coming out in May.  Hooray!!

There is an article in the NY Times about it that amused me greatly:

"The film, about the adventures of a cranky 78-year-old who ties thousands of balloons to his house, features dazzling animation that evokes the work of Hayao Miyazaki, the refined Japanese filmmaker and anime master. Like Pixar’s Oscar-winning “Wall-E,” there are stretches without dialogue. A few scenes are rendered in black and white.

Some industry watchers, a few of them still griping about the hefty $9 billion that Disney paid for Pixar in 2006, are fretting about the film’s commercial potential, particularly when it comes to benefiting other Disney businesses.

Richard Greenfield of Pali Research downgraded Disney shares to sell last month, citing a poor outlook for “Up” as a reason. “We doubt younger boys will be that excited by the main character,” he wrote, adding a complaint about the lack of a female lead....

...The worries keep coming despite Pixar’s track record, because each film it delivers seems to be less commercial than the last,” Mr. Creutz said."*

Hmmmmm.   Evokes Miyazaki, artistic, "less commercial" - can't wait!


*http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/business/media/06pixar.html?_r=1&8dpc

Yes, I did vote for Barak Obama, and yes, I am interested in staying informed about his transition into office. 

But No, I am not happy about receiving unsolicited e-mails from the "Obama-Biden Transition Project" / change.gov website. 

I've never registered with the websites of either parties, and so am curious how they obtained my e-mail address.  Is anyone else getting these?

Government spam.  Great...

Can be found in this most amusing article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2208132/

I'm told this is a lot of fun to check out on Christmas eve:

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html

Hi everyone,

If you (or someone you know) were thinking of adopting a kitten in the near future, consider these little guys:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/pet/884253707.html

My brother and his girlfriend rescued yet one more batch of kittens. They have three left - two with gray striped coats and white paws, and one calico. All very sweet, about 8 weeks old now. Need a home. If you're interested, please let me know.

Does anyone happen to know where you can buy really big (over 24 oz) but cute/pretty tea cup or a coffee mug?

I've looked on the net but didn't come up with much. The Stash and Todd and Holland tea shops were of no help either; ditto Crate and Barrel.

It's a birthday request from a female friend. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

http://xkcd.com/459/

(make sure to mouse over and read the properties text too)

Always good to learn that a species - especially a fellow ape - is doing well:


Trove of Endangered Gorillas Found in Africa

A grueling survey of vast tracts of forest and swamp in the northern Congo Republic has revealed the presence of more than 125,000 western lowland gorillas*, a rare example of abundance in a world of rapidly vanishing primate populations.

As recently as last year, this subspecies of the world’s largest primate was listed as critically endangered by international wildlife organizations because known populations — estimated at less than 100,000 in the 1980s — had been devastated by hunting and outbreaks of Ebola virus. The three other subspecies are either critically endangered or endangered.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/science/05apes.html?hp

* Western lowland gorilla = Gorilla gorilla gorilla (Genus species subspecies)- it's just too much fun not to say :-)