Daily Archives: February 14, 2002

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So after Buffy last night, I flipped through channels looking for my weekly The West Wing fix. What did I get instead? The Mists of Avalon. Part One. Sigh. The severity of mental gear-shifting was almost painful.

I finished Cryptonomicon yesterday. Neal Stephenson really has a problem ending his books, doesn’t he. I mean, don’t get me wrong; I’m all for the “life goes on” feeling in a novel, but sometimes I wish there was a bit more… well… finality.

Just recorded a telephone interview with CJAD, our local talk radio station. Being one of the local Pagan Poster Girls, I get a lot of calls around Friday the 13th and Hallowe’en. And now, evidently, Valentine’s Day. I love the producer; he’s terrific. We talked about the historical and ethical issues surrounding Valentine’s Day and spellcraft, which is terrific, because I hate shallow gag interviews about love potions. There’s a new host that they paired me with though, who asked me my areas of specialty (academia, historical practices) before we started, then proceeded to completely ignore all the pre-production work to ask me, in the interview, how to do a love spell to make Meg Ryan fall in love with him.

You know, it’s people like this who laugh at the concept of magic who really tick me off.

I was as polite as possible while telling him that he was an idiot and it’s a serious topic, but it really burned me up. On top of it all, this happened only a couple of hours after I turned CFCF (a local TV station) down for a TV spot. We’re short-staffed today, and a TV interview takes up a chunk of time and manpower that we simply didn’t have. I told them courteously that we’d be delighted to do an interview at any time, with two days notice so that we could get in an extra staff member to meet their needs. Who wakes up on Valentine’s Day expecting to go on TV and talk about love potions (ugh)?

Well, obviously I should.

Now I hear you all wondering, “Magic? A serious topic?” Heck, yes. That, however, is a topic for another day.

CURRENT READING:
Player of Games, Iain M Banks. Excellent. Nice, smooth read. An author who is obviously right at home with making you feel like you’re wherever his protagonist is.

Or Not

Or maybe not. Came home last night with a blinding migraine. Music would have been bad. Instead, I chose the intelligent alternative of having a warm vanilla-y bath. Mmm.

Today is Pick On Single (Or Partnered and Unhappy) People and Make Them Feel Guilty Day. I’ve always disliked Valentine’s Day. It either makes you feel you should be with someone (which is far from a necessity to be happy or normal), or if you do make up part of a couple, it makes you feel like you should heap piles of chocolate and flowers on them. What’s wrong with chocolate and flowers the other 364 days of the year? Or, why not (as I did) wash the dishes for your love instead? Or pick them up from work rather than making them take the bus alone? There’s so many better ways to tell them you care.

Speaking of beloveds, it’s my husband’s birthday this weekend (photo courtesy of the Grand Poohbah), and as we will be entangled in twelve solid hours of rehearsal for next week’s show, we’re going out tonight to celebrate. As always, the only present he’s asked for is to see a bunch of people having fun, so a whole whack o’persons will be gathering at the pub for cider and baked Brie. Good fun. A few of us pooled cash and got him the three-DVD set of Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and the extra DVD with all the developmental material on it. He’s an animator by career, so he drools over stuff like this. It’s cute. Personally, I’m taking him to see Stuart McLean & the Vinyl Cafe tour when it hits Theatre Outremont next week; we love Stuart and consider him the nearest thing to a modern bard Canada’s got. (Although Gordon Lightfoot runs a close second.)

Must be off! Must dare the elements and public transport to cog, so that we can buy kitty kibble for the moggies. (Isn’t that the most important reason?)