At Work Upstairs

Good things:

Finally this crappy nameless decade is over!  Maybe now the 21st Century can begin.

Music: Neko Case, Joel Plaskett, Chris Smither, Billy Bragg.

Manga:  Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

The graphic novel.  Jason Lutes's Berlin.  Aya.  Angora Napkin.  Tatsumi.

Web-comics.  Kate Beaton, Nobody Scores!

TCAF.

Books without pictures: The Year of Lesser, Home, Brooklyn, Too Much Happiness, Somewhere Towards the End

A visit to Halifax. Lots of tasty food (haddock!) which was needed to power up the hills. Oddly good weather.

The Ottawa Comix Jam.

Tiger and Elin.  Now maybe I can be my Mom's favorite. (Note from Heather: ooooooo. She's going to be mad.)

Lenore Zann elected to Nova Scotia legislature.  Take that, Italy! (Note from Heather: I dunno about Italy but I like my mother's finagling a campaign button right off Lenore, especially since Mum is a genetic Tory.)

Most popular post: "Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillar."

Douglas figured out cross-hatching.

Bad things:

"Kill your darlings."  The calculated and manipulative slaughter of favorite characters ruined the final half-season of Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and of course, before 2009 ever began, Lost.  Save the darlings! (Note from Heather: no one remind him about the Star Trek movie. Please oh please oh please.)

Bus strike.  Nobody won that. (Note from Heather: Though we did learn how long it takes to walk from the Byward Market in the freezing dark. It takes slightly longer if you're propositioned along the way.) (Douglas: No, it doesn't.)

Ottawa's dysfunctional city government.

Ottawa drivers.  You can divide cities into two groups: where a yellow light means Stop, and where it means Hit the Gas.  Ottawa drivers pass on a yellow light.  They also pass on the shoulder, turn right looking left, and always take the pedestrian's right of way.  Contrast Halifax and Calgary. (Note from Heather: This could easily be expanded into a discussion about the strange invisibility of Ottawa pedestrians at Stop signs.)

The end of bookselling.  If Pages can't make it, there is no hope.

Working through 9 months of CCAA/Chapter 11-induced craziness. Let's not talk about the missing severance package.

Heather busted up her hand in Halifax.  (Manga readers, think Madarame.) (Note from Heather: Sometimes I come over all-determined. May or may not be connected with being any sort of sensible.)