I saw Spike & Mike’s Classic Festival of Animation last weekend. Variety abounds, so there’s likely to be something for everyone with lots of laughs in between. Animation gets you into the mind of the creator a lot more than a typical live film. That might not be the case if the movie industry wasn’t so ruled by mass consumption. Live-action films that haven’t been through the big studio mill are probably more true to their creator.

When I read Hemingway’s wonderful dialogue-based story Hills Like White Elephants, I wondered about absinthe, which gets a small mention. Absinthe was banned in the United States and many European countries early in the 20th century. Some entrepreneurial Londoners discovered in 1998 that it had not been legally banned in Britain and began importing absinthe from the Czech Republic. So bar patrons can order up a drink containing the 140 proof liquor with its scant traces of wormwood, which give it supposed hallucinogenic qualities. In a New York Times article, Amanda Hesser details her experiences with the potent fluid. (Update: Regular reader Steve says you can try ordering Deva absinthe at http://www.spiritscorner.com/, a Spanish site.)

There may be a buyer after all for the Iridium satellites. Motorola has been keeping them running at great expense, hoping for a long shot deal. I asked my brother, who knows about such things, why people weren’t snapping at this seemingly wonderful opportunity: an already orbiting set of communications satellites, all ready for a global application. According to him, these satellites were designed very specifically for their intended purpose. Modifying them would of course be prohibitively expensive. So any buyer would have to use the same original techniques of data transfer, which they don’t really want to do (here he used some fancier words which have slipped my memory). I suppose that if Iridium had prepared themselves for potential failure, they could have designed the satellites to be more multi-purpose, and facilitated a buyout of their assets. But who thinks of such things when you are planning to conquer the world?

The top of my monitor must be like a hot tub for the cat. She’ll sit up there for a spell, then move down to the top of the desk for a bit, then get back on the monitor. This didn’t happen in the winter. Oh wait, the top of the desk wasn’t clean in the winter. Hmmm.

I have a theory that people with DSL get selective amnesia about their installations. I heard horror story after horror story from people about getting their connections up while they were going through it, but those same people bugged me incessantly to get DSL myself. Well, luxurious high-bandwidth is not going to paint over my memories. Covad won’t service my loop unless I go with IDSL. I don’t want to lock myself into a 1 year contract at a lower speed if there is a small chance I may be able to get something whizzier within a year. So, I’m back to calling @Home every few weeks and being glad that at least I usually get clean 50K+ modem connections.

Today I installed my new Wacom Graphire. It is a combination wireless pen and mouse with tablet. I didn’t need the wireless mouse because I am a Kensington trackball addict, but it was part of the set and it will be nice for visitors. As I started using the pen, I realized that I am very unaccustomed to using a pen on a tablet away from the actual computer screen. I used to work with pen computers and I’m used to using a pen right on the screen so I can see what I’m doing with it. There’s something really odd about using a pen and not being able to look directly at what I’m doing with it! I suppose it’s amusing that I have no problems using a mouse or trackball, but this “natural” pen interface is throwing me for a loop because it’s not a direct interface. Oh, and for those keeping track, I got the “blueberry” model (even though I don’t have a matching iMac) so I can add the tablet to my collection of see-through electronic devices. Alas the pen and mouse are not clear.

I had fun perusing the list of all the things that have been sold in vending machines. According to this, the very first vending machine in 215 B.C. dispensed holy water. (via Yahoo’s Weekly Picks)

I finally made it to IKEA yesterday. Seems there’s a lot of that going around; I’ve seen many other web loggers mention IKEA recently. I’ve been wanting to go since opening day, but decided that the massive crowds would not add to my enjoyment. So I contented myself with the catalog until a weekday opportunity arose. There were people there but not a big crush of them, so it was very manageable. The most amusing thing I bought was a plastic box full of bendy drinking straws. Everything at IKEA has an amusing Swedish name (well, maybe it’s not funny if you know Swedish) and these straws were labeled “GROGGY”. All the prop books in the display rooms are in Swedish. My boyfriend described IKEA twice during our excursion. First he said “This is like Costco but with lots more furniture.” Later he said “This is like a giant Swedish Crate & Barrel.” I’m not sure how I would describe it because, well, IKEA is…IKEA.

If you can’t make it there yourself (I’m hoping to soon), ArchitectureWeek has a description of what it’s like to visit The Rose Center for Earth and Space, the striking glass cube addition to New York’s American Museum of Natural History. A suitable structure for a venerable topic.

I’ve just started reading McDonald’s Behind the Arches by John F. Love, a well-written history of the business of the ubiquitous hamburger franchise. Therefore, an item in the paper piqued my interest; Boston Chicken, the parent company of Boston Market restaurants, is being acquired by McDonald’s Corp. Boston Chicken filed for bankruptcy in 1998. That was about the time I stopped eating there (no, it wasn’t my fault!). From what I’ve already learned about McDonald’s business practices, they seem well-suited to whip the lagging restaurant chain into shape. As of January 2000 there were 858 Boston Market restaurants. In December 1997 there were 1166.